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because-she-goes · 1 year ago

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summer girl

warnings: tooth achingly sweet fluff, domestic!matty, them being heckin adorable. Enjoy!

“Matty, put down the camera for two seconds and look around you! We are in the most beautiful city in the world with some of the best art in the world. The land of Pablo Picasso, Antoni Tapies, Manolo Valdes and Joan Miro!” Nora, clearly, was elated to be on their honeymoon. Matty and her had thrown around ideas for the trip for a full 3 months before making a decision: Rome, Paris, Greece, Australia, Japan, Amalfi Coast, Ireland, Miami… until they landed on Spain. It then took another two weeks to narrow that down to Barcelona and come up with an itinerary and to-do list. La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, The Picasso Museum, La Boqueria all being Nora’s picks. Matty decided on a sunset walk on La Rambla, the aforementioned Fundacio Joan Miro, Parc de la Ciutadella, and going to see a FC Barcelona game at Camp Nou. At every art museum, Matty would make the comment that Nora’s art was leagues better while she wandered around in awe - it never failed to make her giggle and blush.

The pair had been running around for a week or so now, Matty taking every opportunity to photograph Nora at their various stops and compliment her outfits and hype her up a bit. His favorite of these photos was taken at a secluded quiet beach they had found one afternoon, and it was like something out of Baywatch. Nora, in all her bikini-clad glory coming out of the crystal blue water. He thought his heart stopped at that moment and almost dialed for an ambulance. How was he this lucky? Not even in his dreams did he imagine this perfect of a wife, of a vacation, of a life. He was brought back to reality by her waving a hand in front of his face and giggling at him. “Like the bathing suit, Handsome?”

“O-oh god yes, Honey. You look positively drool-worthy in it.” He stuttered.

They took another dip in the water, dried off and changed into their walking clothes. She had gotten the most beautiful white sundress for the trip, lacey and delicate. Matty was in his summer uniform of a tee shirt, some sort of dress pants or jeans and sneakers. He currently was wearing Nora’s favorite of his to steal: it was a white shirt that had “I’m a little devil from Niagara Falls, Canada” written across the chest with a little cartoon. It had been put through the wash so many times now that the collar was starting to get loose and holes dotted the hems. The comforting shirt also allowed for his arm tattoos to be out on display, Nora was going a bit insane ogling them as they walked holding hands. Deciding they both needed to cool down a bit after being in the blazing spanish sun all day, they stopped for some shaved ice and coconut water.

That night for dinner, they went to a tapas bar and drank red wine like it was water. They sat in a quiet corner of the restaurant and giggled away as they recalled the early days of the relationship and their trips to London and New York to visit each other - always greeting the other with a ridiculous sign and flowers at the arrivals gate. The band in the bar was playing some Pete Rodriguez and basa nova as the two spent what felt like an eternity talking.

“You know, I have that Mets hat framed somewhere in storage from your first trip to London… kept it all these years later.” He confesses bashfully, half drunk.

“Well, good thing I still buy that candle from the time you came to New York for my birthday.” She reciprocates. The idea of the other keeping mementos of each other and their early love is enough to make them cry.

“Okay, before we get too emotional here, wanna go back to the hotel, Handsome?”

“I’d love nothing more, Honey.”

When they stumble back into their room, Nora runs for the closet where she was keeping his surprise wedding present. Matty was fixing them both glasses of kalimochos - red wine and coke from when they met, still being their drink of choice.

She grabs the guitar case and walks back to the small suite’s living room. “My love, come here for a minute… got something for you!” Nora’s voice rings as she calls him over.

“One second, Darling… just gotta grab something as well.” A devious giggle follows. He walks to their bedroom and grabs a neatly folded printed receipt from the side table.

“Alright, buttercup… let’s see what you’ve got.” She unsuccessfully hides the guitar case behind her back and giggles when she pulls it from him as he makes a reach for it. “C’mon don’t tease, baby. Lemme see what you’ve got in that… I wonder what it could be.” His eyes glimmer in the light and a smirk falls on his stupidly perfect lips.

“Here you go, baby… Had the hotel people drop it off while we were at the beach earlier.” She holds out the case and he gives her a wink as he grabs it. Opening it quickly, his face drops. Within it is a beautiful black Spanish guitar with cowboys sitting around a fire carved into it and “Singin’ Cowboys” engraved and covered with red paint. Matty’s heart stops and his eyes mist over. It is the most stunning, well-crafted instrument he’s ever held in his own hands. He takes it out and begins to play the start of “Iris” by The Goo Goo Dolls and his stomach sinks - it sounds even prettier than he could’ve imagined.

“My love… this is the greatest gift anyones ever gotten me. I love it so much, gonna treasure it for the rest of my life. I love you, baby… so so much.” He tells her as he looks up at the angel before him. How could she possibly be real? He wipes some tears from his eyes and kisses her with such tenderness and warmth that it takes her back a bit and knocks the wind out of her. When they disconnect for air, she holds his face for a moment before kissing his forehead. “My sweet boy.” She whispers.

“My sweet girl.” He kisses her nose and taps it quickly. “Now, beloved, here is yours. I couldn’t physically get it here because it’s being shipped to New York currently, but I made sure to print out the order and a copy of it to give to you while we were here.” He nervously twists his rings around his finger… a habit he’s picked up since their New York wedding months ago.

“Oh, please Matty you didn’t have - oh holy shit… is- is this real?” She quickly asks, reading the paper over and over again to verify its real. An authentic Antoni Tàpies, one she’s always dreamt of since she learned about Spanish art in high school. She must’ve told Matty a hundred times about the art in Barcelona and all her favorite artists in Spain.

“Very real, baby… Hopefully you like that specific piece. I thought it had a cool energy to it and matched some of your work. What with the the hands and semi-heart above them.. Plus it’s from the 60s which I remember you always saying was one of your favorite decades in art!” He scratches the back of his neck as he rambles and tries to remember what she’s told him over the years and the information the seller gave him.

“Matty… Les Mains is one of my favorite pieces of art like ever… You’re insane oh my god! I love you and thank you thank you thank you, Handsome!!” She runs into his arms, still clutching the piece of paper in her hand. She knocks him back at first from the force of the hug, but quickly his arms wrap around her waist and he kisses her head.

“Love you too, baby. Can’t believe I am lucky enough to spoil you for the rest of my life and have you forever.”

“Me neither, Handsome.. and for the record, having you as my husband is the greatest gift I will ever receive.”

“Couldn’t agree more, Wife.” He kisses her again and in that moment it feels like time and the world ceases to exist. Just him and Nora in Barcelona… husband and wife.

#the 1975 #matty healy #matty healy fluff #drew’s writing :)#matty x nora #an encounter #HONEYMOONERS BABY #theyre so stinking cute omfg

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theghostpinesmusic · 8 days ago

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Desolation Wilderness Loop (1/4)

There were times when this trip felt like an exorcism first and a hike second.

Lindsey and I's 2022 hike of this same loop through the Desolation Wilderness features prominently in the second chapter of the actual book I'm currently working on, so I've already written a lot about it elsewhere and I don't want to make this trip report excessively long by rehashing the story in detail here. For anyone who's interested in the full story, though, I'll likely share some bits and pieces from the book here in the near future anyway, and I'll be sure to include that story.

For now, suffice to say that we'd had a hard couple of COVID years coming into the summer of 2022, but had had a lot of reasons to think that things might finally be getting a little better. On the top of the list for me was a trip to Ohio and Arkansas that we'd planned for late August. Though I live far away from my family (me in Oregon and them throughout the south and midwest), I've usually been able to travel to see them at least once every year or two since 2005, but of course COVID had put a stop to that. What had made it worse was the fact that my brother and his wife had had their first daughter a few weeks before COVID lockdown had begun, so by August of 2022 she was already two-and-a-half years old and I hadn't met her yet, except over Zoom. This trip was meant to "fix" all that, and help get things back to "normal" after the craziness of the previous few years.

Of course, Lindsey and I got COVID for the first time two days before our flight.

Once we were done spending a week staggering feverishly around our house in the August heat, we spent some time trying to figure out a way to reschedule the trip before work started in September, but there wasn't a way to make it work. Hoping to end the summer on some kind of high note, at least, we ended up planning a week-long trip to Lake Tahoe instead, with a four-day hike in the Desolation Wilderness bookended by a few days spent relaxing in South Lake Tahoe and Truckee.

To make a long story short, unbeknownst to us, the soon-to-be 85,000 acre Mosquito Fire started just west of Lake Tahoe on the night we arrived, and so by the time we were two days into our hike, we were choking on noxious wildfire smoke that made it impossible to see across to the other side of the lake we were camped at. For the next two mornings, we had to wake up and brush thick piles of ash off of the tent and the rest of our gear before we could start our day. We hiked like that for most of three days, and it was one of the most miserable experiences of my life. We spent two days afterward in an AirBnB in Truckee, and it wasn't much better, though we were at least able to sleep inside of a building.

In theory, Desolation Wilderness was and is a beautiful destination for a backpacking trip, and its granite blocks and deep blue alpine lakes are basically my ideal hiking environment, so I left that summer hoping to come back as soon as possible to "redeem" our exceptionally bad experience. "As soon as possible" turned out to be the middle of this past August, when I'd had to pivot at the last second after cancelling hiking plans elsewhere due to wildfire smoke (for what felt like the hundredth time in the last ten years). So it was that I found myself parked for the second time at the Echo Lake Trailhead, just southeast of the Desolation Wilderness boundary.

The Desolation Wilderness requires you to reserve a permit that specifies a particular "zone" that you are then required to camp in for your first night in the Wilderness. For our 2022 trip, we'd spent the previous night in South Lake Tahoe, a few miles from the trailhead, so we'd gotten a permit that allowed us to camp at Clyde Lake, a granite-enclosed pond ten miles and one crossing over Mosquito Pass away from the trailhead. This time, I knew I'd be getting to the trailhead after a nearly six-hour drive from Klamath Falls, so my itinerary couldn't be nearly as aggressive. Instead, I'd gotten a permit that would allow me to camp at Lake Of The Woods on the first night, partly because it was a short hike from the trailhead, and partly for sentimental reasons: camping at that lake was one of my few fond memories of our previous trip, as we'd spent a lazy afternoon swimming among its weird granite islands and then watched the smoke-smeared sun set behind Pyramid Peak before settling into the tent for the night amidst another rain of ash.

This time, the air was clear (if a bit cool for August) as I stepped out of the car at the trailhead and walked half a mile down a paved road to the trailhead at the edge of Lower Echo Lake. Here you can take your first look into the heart of the wilderness area from a dam at the east edge of the lake.

It was hard to stand here again and not remember our excitement at the beginning of a new adventure back in 2022, as well as how quickly that excitement had curdled, how twenty-four hours later we'd been choking on wildfire smoke while climbing up to the Fontanillis Lake basin, with two more days of traversing a landscape straight out of Dante still ahead of us.

But, as I said, this was supposed to be an exorcism. I took a deep breath of clean air and started down the path, traversing above Lower Echo Lake to the north. The first two-and-a-half or so miles of this lollypop loop aren't technically in Desolation Wilderness. This becomes clear very quickly, as the north shore of both lakes are dotted with small cabins and the sounds and smells of boat motors fill the air. It's a gorgeous hike nonetheless, with the lakes spreading out blue beneath you to the south and the granite cliffs that make up so much of the wilderness already towering over you to the north, but the character of the landscape definitely changes noticeably as soon as you leave the Echo Lakes behind and climb briefly up to the wilderness boundary.

There's actually a water taxi you can pay for to take you from the trailhead to the boundary to cut out this bit of the hike, but I'd driven six hours one-way to exorcise some demons, and I wasn't going to do that by riding on a boat.

Above the Echo Lakes, beyond the boundary, the wilderness very quickly starts to look, well, desolate. Shortly after the boundary, a use trail descends to Tamarack Lake and, for the enterprising bushwhacker, Ralston and Cagwin Lakes. This area is awesome, and would be a great first-night camp spot for anyone starting very late in the day. I bypassed it on my way in, though I would drop down and explore it a little on my way back to the car three days later, as I'll write about eventually.

You climb slowly but steadily once past the boundary, and as you climb, there is less and less shade to be had; however, in spite of it being mid-August, the temperature was unseasonably low and the wind was gusting, so the sun didn't feel as oppressive as it might have otherwise. I passed through the Haypress Meadows, dotted with the remnants of wildflowers that must have been vibrant just a few weeks before, then struck a left-hand turnoff toward Lake Of The Woods. This is the sharpest climb yet, as this side trail climbs and then descends down off the northern shoulder of Ralston Peak, but it's over quickly.

Switchbacking down into the lake basin from the east, I was suddenly overcome with emotion as Lake Of The Woods came into view. After a moment, I realized why: we'd descended this exact same way in 2022, but the smoke had been so thick that the lake had been obscured and nearby Pyramid Peak had been rendered invisible. Now, looking down on the lake glittering in the sun with the silver mountain hanging over it under clear skies, it felt like a weight had been lifted off of my chest. As silly as it might sound, I felt like I was seeing Desolation Wilderness as it "should" be for the first time.

I dropped down into the lake basin to find it much busier than I'd expected for a weekday. Since the area requires you to camp in an established, numbered site, I worried for a moment about finding an available spot: I wasn't sure where else I would be able to camp near a water source that was also in my permit area if every site was already taken.

I needn't have worried, though: appropriately enough, the only spot still available on the north shore of the lake (clearly the best side) was the same site Lindsey and I had camped in last time. I gladly took it and set up camp. There had been a strong, cold wind blowing all day, and it continued blowing from across the lake as I settled in for the night, but I tried to angle my tent in such a way that would minimize my exposure throughout the night.

With a few hours until sunset, I somehow got the idea in my head that I should reprise my 2022 swim amidst the granite islands. I'm not going to say this was a mistake, but it was...let's just say it was an experience. For one thing, it was much colder this time than it had been last time. For another, once I psyched myself up to jump into the water, it felt (at least temporarily) warmer to be in the water than to be in the cold, wind-chilled air. So I went on a bit of an expedition, not only swimming out to and around what Lindsey and I had decided was "my" island two years ago, but also swimming into and out of a number of weird little inlets and bays formed by the tumble of granite that mazes the lake.

By the time I pulled myself back out of the water, my arms and legs were completely numb from cold, and the sun was just getting to the point where it was threatening to disappear for the night behind the mountains. I spent a few minutes sitting on a dry rock, trying to avoid putting on (and thus soaking) my dry, warm clothes until the wind had dried me off, but eventually I came to realize that the wind was going to freeze me to death well before it dried me off.

On the heels of that realization, though, I also remembered that even if the sun wasn't shining on the surrounding rocks anymore, it had been for the last twelve or so hours. So I spent fifteen or so minutes moving from rock to rock like a lizard, laying belly-down on each one until I'd sucked all of the warmth from it before moving on to another. Eventually, I'd warmed and dried up enough to put my shirt and long pants back on, and then I waddled up the hill back to the tent and curled up into my quilt (this was the summer of discovering the backpacking quilt for me) until I could feel my hands and feet again. By the time I crawled back out, it was almost night.

While the sunset wasn't nearly as spectacular as the fire-mottled one Lindsey and I had watched two years before from the same spot, I still enjoyed watching the alpenglow slide across the top of Pyramid Peak before heading back to camp to make and eat dinner.

Often, when I eat dinner just after sunset on a backpacking trip, one of two things happens: I either fall into a deep sleep pretty much immediately, or the warmth and calories imparted by the food wake me up to the point that I spend another hour or two messing around before grudgingly climbing into bed. This time, the latter thing happened. So, I spent awhile taking some night photos of the lake, the trees, the stars, and Pyramid Peak.

These were "marred" a little bit by the moon rising brightly behind me in the east shortly after full dark had settled in, but even if the photos aren't that great, the real-life effect was gorgeous.

Eventually, after I'd gotten tired of rock-hopping and photo-taking (and the neighbor's dog had finally stopped barking at whatever it'd been barking at for the last three hours), I settled in under my quilt for the night. Blocked from the wind by my tent's fly, it wasn't really that cold, and the wind itself trailed off significantly as the night wore on. I slept the sleep of a guy who was reasonably sure that his luck was going to hold this time around.

#desolation wilderness #photos #writing #trip reports #lake tahoe #backpacking #hiking #walking

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agoblincat · 19 days ago

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Thinking our trip to Yosemite NP might become a reality next year if I plan it out right! I have too many bills as of now that I need to take care of first, so no vacation any time soon….got a new truck and busy fixing up the other cars we have.

My new job has pto accrual instead of just a static 1 week off and that’s it, which is super nice so I can actually be able to save up some time and money between now and then!

Was trying to plan for spring, but fall might be more realistic… summer gets too busy and I wouldn’t be able to take a week in summer anyway.

Top itinerary ideas include Yosemite falls (including bridalveil and cooks meadow trails), mirror lake trail, and a day exploring Wawona/Mariposa Grove areas. Maybe a drive through Tioga Road and Glacier Point if it’s open by the time I’m able to book it…

Let’s hope it all works out ✌️

#goblin cat blurbs

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freedformwriter · 5 months ago

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Slow holiday

The thing about superlatives is that they build expectations. If a tourist board bigs up a place as ‘the longest lock system in the United Kingdom,’ I get ideas. Then there’s the name: Neptune’s Gate. With a title like that, I expect some sort of neo-classical architectural flourishes. Perhaps a statue of the god’s chariot drawn by a team of dolphins. What we find is an entirely functional and wholly unpretentious bit of old timey civil engineering. A canal lock looks the same no matter how many occur in rapid succession. Aside from a brief flutter of excitement when a steam train chugs by –What? A nineteenth-century canal and a train? This is definitely a holiday paradise for a certain type of person – there is a pall hanging over the place. An efficiently coiffured woman in a waterproof coverall appears to share my impatience with this inactivity. A man in an official looking jacket promises it will be ten more minutes. ‘They are going to open the lock in ten minutes,’ I whisper to my mother. She is sceptical, and rightly so.

Nothing happens quickly on a canal. When Britain imported the Slow Television trend from Scandinavia a decade ago, programming featuring wood carving and forest song was fine, I guess. But the star was a real-time and unfiltered two-hour journey down the Avon and Kennet Canal. When we return from inspecting the recreational barges with kayaks about bikes lashed to their sides, the decisive woman still stands waiting on the embankment but a small hive is forming at the lock mouth. Like the rest of the tourists, we are drawn, phones out, by the ineluctable pull of something happening. The craft of the efficient woman – I reckon it’s a thirty-foot sailboat – moves into the lock, only to be followed by a sister craft. This one’s crewed by three young men in the requisite overalls with the life vests snapped between the legs, but up top they are stripped down to the single layer. A mesh top in once case. A third boat come into sight, flying the Norwegian flag. The presumed husband and wife crew look the part: tanned and fit with weathered skin and impressive weatherproof gear. A smaller craft tucks itself in at the end. Room for one more.

The last boat is not distinctive, not in build or allegiance, but the crew’s summer civilian clothing stands out with glaring inappropriateness. A portly older gentleman steps gingerly onto the concrete embankment in his leather Oxfords. Ah, now we have the star of our show. He carries rather than wears his life preserver but, really, it’s how he caries himself that marks him out as an Englishman of very recognisable type. He projects a blithe confidence; his own common sense will win through despite any little inconvenient gaps in his knowledge. He promptly flubs his guideline, making a fixed rather than the necessary looped mooring. His partner on the boat quietly panics as the boat slides from the embankment. He leaves her to haul in ineffectually on a static line and looks about at his audience, doling out nods and smiles for us all. His careless conviviality has the benefit of drawing out the Norwegian couple and we get a full itinerary of the four-week tour while the boats descend with surprising rapidity. The next gate opens, and our Englishmen leads his boat on to the next lock like he’s taking a trusted horse out on a rope bridle.

Sitting on the cast iron black-and-white mooring at the next lock, I give myself over to this slow experience. The pace is perfect, the boat hands moving with patient economy to perform their repetitive task. They have long since settled into their roles – one half on the ships and the others on the shore – and have given themselves over to canal time. I’ve experienced this shift on my canal trips. What’s fascinating is how, by creating this slow spectacle, they pull in bystanders. Like sitting around a campfire at night, watching people perform this kind of work connects us to an almost primordial human ritual. What else have people done to pass the time for vast stretches of our history? Fine, we are all holidaymakers susceptible to a bit of time wasting, but people’s willingness to watch hours of glass-blowing on the televisions suggests spectatorship can feed our souls. It will take our sailors around two hours to complete all eight locks of Neptune’s Staircase. Had I thought to bring a picnic lunch, I would watch the complete show.

#writerslife #writersinspiration #Neptune's Gate #Caledonian Canal #canal lock #slow tv

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sakurahisuii · 5 months ago

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The Art of Spontaneous 😎

6/20/24

👋🏽Hello Friends!👋🏽

One thing about me is that I'm not a spontaneous person. I enjoy being organized and having a plan. Something about me is that I hate change. Ironically enough, I decided to pick a job that has consistent changes in the daily operation. I've learned to not let the changes affect me too much since this is something to expect in my workplace.

Lately, as I've been trying to heal and move forward in my recovery journey, this is the first time I'm not actively looking for a relationship. Yeah, I get lonely and in my feels, but I know this is something that I need to do so I can fully heal and fix parts of me that I want and need to fix.

Since I've been more aware that I'm alone, I've noticed I've been actively looking for new things to do, and I'm not talking about hobbies. I'm talking about going out and trying something new. For example, a few weeks ago, a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to see a concert with him, and I said yes. I've never really been to a concert before. Usually, when it comes to something like this, I need to be organized and have the itinerary planned out, but I didn't have time to do that. I also didn't have expectations for how the event went, and I had a lot of fun.

Recently, I went to visit my sister-in-law's sister, who happens to also be a longtime family friend of mine. Of course, as any great host, she focused on what I wanted to do, but at this moment in time, I just wanted ✨to do things.✨ Just do something fun and live life. Originally, the plan was to go to an art museum or the Zoom, but then the idea of a wine and music festival was brought up. After a few minutes of going back and forth (not arguing, just the amount of time in between texts and making sure it was truly a want for both parties to go), we decided we were going to go. We got the tickets the day before the festival, so I had to locate a picnic tent or beach tent. This was stressful since I didn't have much time to get one, and I have heat intolerance and need to be in the shade and hydrate more.

Also, I didn't 100% know what a picnic tent was; for anyone else who does, it's a canopy.

I was able to locate a beach tent for a good price, packed up my car the day of the festival, and headed on my way.

When I got to my SIL's sister's apartment complex, we hung out at her apartment for a little, but she had asked me if it was okay to spend the night at her boyfriend's apartment, and I knew her boyfriend. Since I was in an "adventure" mindset, I was like, "Let's do it." The wine and music festival went really well, and the three of us really enjoyed our time there. We also had a great night overall!

Going to bed that night, I didn't realize that another adventure was about to happen the next day!

As my SIL's sister and I got up, got ready, and left her boyfriend's apartment, we got breakfast and visited this cute old town close to where she lives. This crosses "take a day trip somewhere out of my town or state" off my summer bucket list.

Now everything about this little day trip to this town was great, except the roads. I wasn't a fan of that. Everything we did while we were in this town was spontaneous. I didn't know exactly where I was going or what I was going to do next. There were a few shops that my SIL's sister wanted to take me to because of my interests, but we even saw a little railroad museum. These museums aren't usually my cup of tea, but I really needed to use the bathroom, and that was one of the only places that had a public bathroom, so we thought, "Why not?"

Something else that I got to explore was a Vinvl record store. I've never been to one before, and we spent at least 30-45 minutes there. While waiting for a price check on a few vinyl records for my SIL's boyfriend, I decided to take a look through the records. I thought about getting some vinyl records, but that would mean I would eventually need to get a record player. Thankfully, I didn't give in to my impulsiveness because having vinyl is an expensive hobby, and I already have a few expensive hobbies.

I had such a great time on my spontaneous trip with my SIL's sister, and this showed me that not having a plan at all times is okay. Just going with the flow is okay. And especially that, that is very okay if things don't always go EXACTLY to (my) plan.

I can't wait to see what other adventures I'll have this summer. I know I have a lot planned!

Until next time, friends! 💝

- Jade

#borderline blog #mental health blog #borderline personality disorder #bpd #mental wellness #bpd blog #mental health #mental health awareness #self care #bpd thoughts #mental health journey #self discovery

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casspurrjoybell-30 · 10 months ago

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Howling Love - Chapter 14

*Warning Adult Content*

Camryn Summer.

"Earth to Camryn, buddy we need you here," Kendra called out as I was stuck going through my itinerary for the road-trip Amille and I were going on.

I had already made a reservation at a spa then a woodland lodge, it was the perfect location for our date, then we would stay there for as long as we wanted until we had to head back home, since we were also getting a week break from school.

It was the perfect time to do so, of course I rescheduled our plans to the free week so it wouldn't impede on any other school plans, it was just great, I was way too excited but I didn't care.

"Yeah, sorry what?" I questioned Kendra who just face palmed.

"Camryn we need you to pick a location for the bigger gym, we also need an evaluation done on the pack house, the houses being renovated also need extra material, we need you to come up with a budget for that too," my mother asserted seriously and I wondered why she was so worked up.

"Uh, Kendra where's my bag?" I asked suddenly, not really surprising him.

I had rushed over to my dad's office after leaving Amille and his cousins with his uncle in the city, apparently they had secretive shopping to do.

I was jealous I couldn't get to shop with Amille but I had spent most the week with him even today morning we had gone on a run together so I couldn't out rightly protest not having time with him.

But I was still jealous. I couldn't help it.

I rummaged through my neatly packed documents bag, Amille had bought if for me.

Apparently, I was messy with documents, so it was better I separate school and pack documents, it made a lot of sense since I could find what I wanted easily.

"The new location, outlined on the map, the plan structure and all the requirements from budget to contactors, I've already contacted them they start work Monday, pack house evaluation, I had Maxine do the research along with Orlando, we catered to everyone's needs and are changing the kitchen equipment plus the basement pool is freezing, needs fixing, it's being done today, as for the materials I talked to beta Kyra and he's handling the procumbent, this is estimated and final budget approved, the contractors resume work today. Can I go back to what I was doing now?" I stated leaving my mother, Kendra my assistant and also my father who had come in shocked.

"I was prepared to give you a lecture on responsibility. When did you get all this done?" Mom asserted as I dropped another file on the table.

"During the week. Amille helped, he's a really great motivator, those are the detailed reports of the cases we've had of integrated wolves we've had in the pack, territory expansions and the festival plans," I stated nonchalantly earning a snicker from Kendra.

"I'm impressed, clearly you're ready, all this time I was worried, thought you would never get to this stage but you've been efficient Camryn, these last documents weren't even on your roster for this week or the next," Dad praised and that feeling Amille had told me about bloomed inside of me.

A sense of accomplishment through my father's praise.

I owed it to Amille though, he was the one who helped, along with our friends.

He had made me learn not to rely solely on myself but my friends, we all had school but he shared the work easily and in a few days I had all the work I needed done, complete, he was brilliant.

"I think you're ready, soon the pack will know too, if they don't already, I'm already anticipating the party, it's going to be great," Kendra exclaimed and I turned to look at him questioningly, why was he so pumped up.

"What party?" I demanded and he looked at me in surprise, so did my parents.

"Camryn, you couldn't have forgotten right," Mom stated and I still looked at her with questions.

"Camryn, your birthday is in two days, have you forgotten, why do you think I've been putting you through so much pressure lately," Dad asserted and I had to be honest.

I felt no pressure, I was content, anything that he used to do that made me mad or frustrated lately it barely made a dent on me, with Amille it glided over me because he was my sounding board, he made sense but on the part that my birthday was that soon.

I had completely forgotten, it had slipped my mind even to the point that my wolf stirred at the mention of our birthday, we had no idea.

"You can't be serious, you forgot," Mom mumbled in somewhat a controlled tone.

"I've been so busy, I guess I got caught up with everything it slipped my mind," I replied.

"Or caught up with someone." Kendra whispered and I kicked his shin under the table making him grunt out in pain.

"Don't tell me it's that friend of yours you're always with," Mom stated with a rising anger, her tone did nothing to hide it.

I knew why though, over the course of the week, the more time I spent with Amille, the more I learnt about him and his dad, also about their history.

They were once part of this pack, well his dad was anyway, he had a history with my father which is why he crashed the barbeque and caused the scene.

It also led to me learning why my mother didn't like Amille very much, he was the son of the man her husband used to love and I was close to asking him to be my boyfriend and the school.

Almost everyone saw us as a couple already, she didn't want to acknowledge Amille in my life, it made her angry, you could just tell.

"We aren't talking about Amille here, this is about Camryn," my father suddenly intervened with a low warning growl and I was grateful his intervention sliced through the building tension.

"Yes, yes. I already planned, well half of it is done. I didn't know if you wanted a big party so I planned for both," Kendra mentioned showing me his plans on his tablet whilst my parents had a silent conversation which was making things awkward.

"Kendra I like small parties, they are more meaningful you know that, you can have the big party for the pack, it wouldn't be right not to have them celebrate, I'll meet you later at the shop, I have things to do," I surmised and before anyone could protest I was packing my stuff and out the door before anyone could say anything.

Once outside and in my car I banged my head on the steering, how had I forgotten my own birthday.

I was turning eighteen and I was going to find my mate.

Was Amille my mate? was he the one?

It started bombarding me, questions and doubts, would I have him when I turned eighteen, would we be together.

It terrified me thinking that we wouldn't be together, the past months had been bliss, he had come into my life and showed me nothing but kindness, the beauty of the world that I had never seen.

He didn't break my heart further no, he made me whole again.

Able to stand on my own two feet, able to stand in front of the pack and lead it with my whole heart, he had done so much for me, was I willing, would I ever be willing to just let him go and love someone else.

I don't think so, I could never lose him, not Amille.

I quickly dialed Orlando wanting to know where they were.

"Hey man, you done already," he exclaimed and I nodded but then realized he couldn't see me.

"Yeah I'm done. Where are you guys?" I asked not wanting to seem desperate but I was.

"By Ford, Amille wanted to get you hotdogs, he said they were your favourite or something," he replied and I chuckled tears bubbling in my eyes, he knew that too.

I had a weird thing about food, I liked it all and didn't have a favourite but then Amille asked the service lady at Ford's cafe to let him make a hotdog in his style.

It seemed ordinary until I ate it and till now it's my favourite thing, they actually paid him for the recipe and named the hotdog after him for some reason, it's actually a patron favourite.

I wiped my tears away calming down.

"Can you guys wait for me there, I'm really hungry," I finally spoke.

"Yeah, sure. Teja stop eating my fries, Amille," Orlando whined before the call cut making me laugh, anything could happen when I turned eighteen and scent out my mate but the one truth I knew was that if it wasn't Amille DeAndre Laurent.

I was rejecting whoever they were, Goddess forgive me, all I wanted was Amille and no one else, he was the one for me, damn the consequences.

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dustofbrokenheart · 3 years ago

Text

The Covenant: Summer Plans

Caleb Danvers x Reader

Word Count: 845

Summary: Yet another post based off of this by @saviorsong. Caleb attempts to plan a nice vacation get away with reader. Dedicated to @dhampiravidi for the belated birthday!

Caleb paced back and forth. He stopped, put both hands on his head. He sighed deeply then turned around to the front desk.

You watched all this from your spot in the passenger seat of the car where it was parked in front the bed and breakfast. Caleb had gone all out and planned a weekend trip for just the two of you, ‘something to celebrate the end of summer’ were his exact words.

What he really meant was that he planned an extravagant trip for your birthday.

And in typical Caleb fashion, he’d spent weeks finding the best of everything. The best town, lodging, restaurants, attractions, the whole ten yards.

That was the thing about Caleb: he was super thoughtful and details really mattered to him. So when the bed and breakfast website had said the room would be ready for check-in at three, he had planned to be in the room at 3:01 sharp.

You glanced at the time displayed on the dash. It was now almost 3:25

Judging by that, along with Caleb’s actions, you had a hunch that things were running behind.

You waited as he walked out and sat down in the car.

He was silent.

Normally, he’d be doing his best to explain things to you in that calm, soothing way of his. If he wasn’t doing that, it meant he was still processing and panicking.

Deciding to help him out, you rested a hand on his shoulder. He looked over with anxious eyes that had you cooing sympathetically. “Hey, hey. What’s the matter, baby? Come on, you can tell me.”

“Ugh.” His head lulled backwards, knocking into the car’s headrest, and he reached for your hand to give it a firm squeeze. “The room was supposed to be ready at three o’clock…I literally built the whole itinerary around that time.”

Just as you had suspected then. “How much later did they say it was going to be?”

“About another hour,” he said, frustration heavy in his voice. “There was this music lecture I was planning to take you to at four, and we have dinner reservations at five. I figured we’d need some downtime in the room to get cleaned up before all that, too, which is why I planned for three.”

Early on in the relationship, when Caleb had told you he was a Virgo, you had laughed. Not everyone fit into their sun sign category but he certainly did. He was methodical with everything that he did and was always trying to fix your problems, even those fixes were preemptive.

So it wasn’t surprising that he not only built in time for you to shower, knowing that you always felt a little gross after traveling, but that he also a sequential schedule based off of it.

Many would have pointed out that him being the oldest sibling, even if it wasn’t technically by blood, had a lot to do with his personality, but you held firm that it because of the stars.

“Well, how about we just skip the lecture?”

“… But I really wanted to take you to that. The speaker has a really interesting background in—”

You silenced him with a kiss. Nothing too obnoxious. Just a soft, lingering press of lips.

He remained tense at first but gradually his mouth relaxed as did his shoulders.

Finally.

You pulled back and he tried to follow, only for you to stop him by placing a finger against his lips. “Now that you’ve calmed down, here’s what we’re going to do.”

Realizing you were being serious he straightened out and listened expectantly.

“We are going to skip this very cool lecture—yes, we are and you can’t change my mind,” you insisted as he was about to interrupt. “It sounds great but if we don’t make it, it’s no big deal and it will not ruin this trip. Besides, getting ready for dinner is a much better use of time.”

He was still hesitant. “Are you sure? I know life has been hectic lately and I wanted to make sure your birthday was perfect.”

“Positive. I’m sure you have a bunch of other cool stuff planned for the rest of the week, anyway.”

“I guess there is the yoga at sunrise thing I wanted to check out at the park,” he admitted much to your dismay. Waking up early wasn’t too bad but exercise at dawn? The things you did for love. “Oh, and there’s an occult tour tomorrow.”

You gave him a look. “Are we going on this tour just so you can poke fun at the inaccuracies?”

“Why else would I have signed us up?” The two of you shared a laugh. “But now that you mention it, maybe I should go back in there and Use. You know, to get the room faster.”

“Caleb Danvers, I swear I will litter your car with all of my food wrappers. Do not test me.”

He leaned for another kiss, his brown eyes warm, and whispered, “Love you.”

_______________

It’s still summer, right? Right! At least for a few more weeks. Thanks for reading! The Covenant tumblr presence is pretty small so I appreciate every single one of you taking time to check out my stuff :)))

#the covenant #caleb danvers #caleb danvers x reader #the covenant imagines

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sooibian · 3 years ago

Text

So Let's Runaway - Costa Brava

Prologue >> Costa Brava >> Seville >> Cuéllar

Pairing: Kyungsoo x Fem!Reader ft. bff!Chanyeol

Genre/Themes: Fluff, angst, humour, travel AU, road trip through Spain, travel buddies Chansoo

Warnings: Grief, loss, heartache, toxic relationships, mildly explicit language

Description: A bachelors trip turns into a soul-searching journey when an unlikely group of three travels through the scenic landscapes of Spain. Their experiences present them with opportunities to mend bridges, face their fears and fall back in love with the true essence of life.

Word Count: ~ 5.3k

A/N: this story is a part of @supermwritersnet ‘Around the world in 31 days’ event. event masterlist.

Tag list: @sooadorable @rosetvler @changshapatrol @his-mochi-cheeks @is-that-baekhyuns-shirt @j-pping @kysoobydoobydoo @exoxobsession @camillapad @reekyungsoo let me know if you’d like to be (un)tagged.

@smolgirlbigthoughts thank you so much for the description!!! ;~~~~~;

After having stayed the night (or whatever was left of it after a red-eye flight) in an Airbnb in Barcelona, the three of you hired a Lyft to Europcar to pick up the SUV that Chanyeol had pre-booked for the Costa Brava - Seville - Cuéllar itinerary. What you’d gathered from your several conversations with Chanyeol after that serendipitous coffee date was that each of the three friends had handpicked an adventure sport to try out in these places.

Chanyeol had chosen scuba diving in the rugged coast of Costa Brava with its spectacular cliffs and countless coves. Kyungsoo had appositely picked out an adventure sport involving throwing oneself out of an airplane thousands of feet above ground a.k.a. skydiving in Seville, the capital of Andalusia, resting, wise and old, upon the Guadalquivir river. And Yixing, bless his heart, had wanted to take part in a bull run in Cuéllar that takes place on the last Sunday of August each year.

Twirling the car key on his finger, Chanyeol, dressed in baggy black shorts, a loose fitting purple tee, super dark oversized shades and a snapback cap worn backwards, strongly resembled that ‘smiling face with the sunglasses’ emoji as he walked out of the booking office with Kyungsoo following closely behind. All set to catch a few winks in the rear seat comfort of the SUV, you pulled down the brim of your sunhat but suddenly, a blur of turquoise swooped past you, capturing your attention. Your drowsy eyes wrestled the summer sun to land upon a gorgeous turquoise Buick convertible swerving around the parking area before coming to a fashionable halt. A portly, bespectacled man stepped out of the vehicle and deposited its key with the booking office.

This was it.

This was the car ideal for a road trip, not some mafia boss’ kidnapping vehicle.

The essence of time dawned upon you so you trotted to where the Buick was parked and went down on your knees, hands folded in an implicit plea. The two men, startled at first, were quick to realize what was up.

Kyungsoo fixed you with a judgemental gaze that wasn’t any different from a mother’s fed-up of her child’s tantrums while Chanyeol broke into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. Shoulders hunched under the weight of his tan leather backpack, Kyungsoo crammed his hands into the pockets of his khaki pants and sighed, “The SUV’s more practical.”

With a twinkle in your eye, you exclaimed, “Screw practical! Just look at it! It’s a convertible and we’re on a road trip!”

Grinning from ear to ear, Chanyeol advanced towards you gingerly. “Shifu, my love-”

Jutting out your lower lip, you crossed your arms over your chest and whined, “Don’t call me that after you’ve ditched me for Miss Perfect Hair!” causing Kyungsoo to roll his eyes which distracted you from Chanyeol’s stealth attack.

All of a sudden, the beanpole leapt at you, maneuvered you like he would a balloon sculpture, tucked his arms under your knees, picked you up and shoved you in the backseat of the dreary black vehicle with sun shades on windows darker than Kyungsoo’s soul. With Chanyeol’s finger pressing down on the ridge between your eyebrows, you laid down on your back, sulking, “Some road trip this is. Can I atleast drive?”

Before slamming the car door shut, he teased, “Take a nap.”

And...you tried.

Forty five minutes into the drive, you tried so hard to make up for the red-eye flight but Kyungsoo’s phone Just. Wouldn’t. Stop. Ringing. To make matters worse, he sounded like a broken record parroting the words ‘margin call’, ‘shorting’, ‘S’, ‘B’, ‘stop loss’ over and over again. The same damn thing, every single time.

“Enough Kyungsoo! We’re on a vacation, dude,” Chanyeol chided, the almost indiscernible crack in his voice indicative of his annoyance.

Leaning back into his seat, Kyungsoo bragged, “The last thirty seconds earned me enough commission to be able to buy at least five bags of the kind I bought Aera yesterday.”

“Now, why would you buy Aera a bag?” Chanyeol asked, a hint of suspicion evident in his tone. The sounds of their voices had been mercilessly thwarting your attempts at a peaceful slumber but, this was different. The lack of response from Kyungsoo seemed to have piqued your interest. Your eyes fluttered open to a one eighty shift in Chanyeol’s mood. Brows knit together, his fingers impatiently drummed on the steering wheel as you both waited for Kyungsoo’s answer with a bated breath. But in his stead, it was his stupid phone that broke the silence.

Wide eyes fixated on the screen, Kyungsoo suddenly cried out, “Stop the car!”.

“What?!”

“Stop the car, Chanyeol!”

Letting out an exasperated groan, Chanyeol rashly veered the car to the right before hitting the brakes, causing you to nearly roll off your seat. Kyungsoo darted out of the vehicle and the next thing you knew, he stood facing the hood of the vehicle, his laptop perched atop the bonnet and his life support cellphone clutched in one hand.

Bowing to the screen, he greeted, “Moshi Moshi!”

“Is he taking a work call right now?” you mused.

Chanyeol snorted, “That’s Doh Kyungsoo for you.”

Chuckling softly, you squished your face against the back of Chanyeol’s seat and groused, “Well, along with loony, your friend seems to be fluent in Japanese.”

“Yah! Cut him some slack. He’s had a rough couple of weeks,” explained Chanyeol, wrestling with a bag of chips in his hands.

“Yeollie -”

It was on the tip of your tongue.

You wanted to tell Chanyeol about your encounter with Kyungsoo on the rooftop but there was no way you could explain your own presence in the first place. To make matters worse, you were the worst liar you knew. So, you decided it was a story that best remained untold for your own sake, your mother’s and inadvertently, Kyungsoo’s.

“Yeah?”

“Can I have a chip?” you asked instead.

“All yours!”

“I’ll have just one, thanks.”

“You alright, Shifu?” Chanyeol slurred around a mouthful of chips, “Is there anything you need?”

“A nap would be nice,” you jested while nibbling at the edges of the deep fried snack.

“Aww, sleepyhead, we’ll be there in an hour.”

Humming in agreement, you reached for another chip and cooed, “Are you alright, Yeol? What’s with the whole ‘bag for Aera’ situation?”

Chanyeol’s head spun around to give you a warm, dimpled smile. “Don’t worry. It’s not what you’re thinking.”

You couldn’t help but notice how he had wolfed down an entire packet of chips in a matter of minutes along with a can of some neon and black fizzy drink. A distant memory of Chanyeol guzzling an entire bottle of water in three seconds for shits and giggles back in Uni stretched your lips in a wistful smile.

By then, Kyungsoo was done with his twenty minute long call against the quaint cerulean and stone backdrop of fishing villages by the coast. Who needs a virtual background when you’re surrounded by coves of deep blue sea and beaches of golden sand? As he reached for the car door, you whispered in Chanyeol’s ear, “One more call and I’m chucking his phone out the window.”

Grinning mischievously as he fastened his seatbelt, Chanyeol sang, “Oh, Shifu, I’ve missed youuuu!”

The moment Kyungsoo stepped inside, a tangible gloom proliferated in the enclosed space. Chanyeol started the car and you quietly curled up in the backseat. Kyungsoo’s head spun around, round eyes blazing with conviction. Pointing towards the trunk, he said, “Do you see that cloth bag on top of Chanyeol’s trolley?”

“This one?” you asked, hoisting yourself up on one elbow, your arm carelessly flapping all over the luggage before landing on said cloth bag with a dull thump.

“Hand it over, please,” winced Kyungsoo, “Be gentle, it’s a gift.”

Passing him his precious ‘gift’, you let out an annoyed huff and laid down again, facing the backrest. But curiosity got the better of you. You immediately turned back around to see what this ‘gift’ looked like.

Kyungsoo loosened the strings of the canvas tote to reveal a black Birkin Cargo. Soft and lightweight, it was supposed to be Hermès first off-road bag. Your droopy eyes flew open in awe of its high-brow craftsmanship and it was certainly a thoughtful gift for a bride-to-be. If this gift was meant for you, you were sure to forgive any and all of his crimes but the bag didn’t seem to have the same kind of effect on Chanyeol.

The air was still thick with tension.

Gaze fixed on Chanyeol’s profile, Kyungsoo murmured, “I didn’t want to do this now.”

Eyes on the road, “Spill,” grunted Chanyeol, as if expecting the obvious.

“This is an ‘I’m sorry’ gift for Aera,” started Kyungsoo before lowering his voice to a whisper, “I picked it up from duty free last night...it’s fifteen times Yixing’s annual agricultural income.”

Chanyeol clicked his tongue in disapproval at Kyungsoo’s snide remark.

“What do you want to apologize to her for?” he then asked with a deep sigh.

“I- I can’t make it to the wedding,” said Kyungsoo, faltering in his otherwise steadfast speech.

“Why?” quizzed Chanyeol in a terrifyingly cool tone while anger started to rise within you. Why he allowed this midget to walk all over him was beyond you. Didn’t he have better friends?

“I pushed back an important appointment for this trip. It was either Spain or the wedding. And since you insisted on Spain...”

Furious, Chanyeol struck the steering wheel with his palm. With the rattle of the metal strap of his Rolex reverberating in the car, he bellowed, “The actual fuck, Doh Kyungsoo?!”

“What?! I said I’m sorry!”

“No, you didn’t! Besides, ‘sorry’ doesn’t fix anything! You’re supposed to be my best man - are- are you listening to yourself right now?!”

Chewing on the insides of his cheeks, Kyungsoo patiently waited for his friend to simmer down. After a pregnant pause, Chanyeol resumed reasoning with him, his tone evidently milder this time, “Okay, okay, talk to me. Does this appointment have to be on the exact same day as the ceremony?”

“No, it doesn’t and...it isn’t,” Kyungsoo explained before hurriedly requesting, “Can we do this later?”

Chanyeol took a sharp right turn along the tapering road and brought the car to a screeching halt. Brows furrowed, lips quirked in an angry smirk, he looked Kyungsoo straight in the eyes and you felt as if the air conditioner had suddenly started meting out the chilliest of blows.

“No, I want to talk about it right now! So, tell me. What’s more important than your best friend’s wedding?”

Kyungsoo took off his glasses, threw his head back and pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “Chanyeol, please -”

“No, I need to know!”

“Then remember it was you who wanted to have this conversation on the first day of our trip,” he stated curtly.

“Enough with the drama Kyungsoo!” Chanyeol’s roar rang through the car.

“FINE!” Kyungsoo grumbled, “I got a job offer from the London office and...I accepted. I leave a week after we’re back in Seoul….since it’s a new position I cannot fly back for the wedding. And I would’ve...I- I was going to fly back for the wedding had it not been for this trip.”

“So you decided to leave. Forever. Just like that. Without even talking to me about it first.” Chanyeol thought out loud, his tone tellingly casual.

Looking out the window, Kyungsoo whispered audibly, “There’s nothing left for me in Seoul.”

Without another word, Chanyeol started the car.

Putting his glasses back on, Kyungsoo threw his hands up and argued, “So you’re not going to say anything?!”

Chanyeol cranked up the volume on the car’s stereo in response, leaving Kyungsoo tongue-tied.

***

Ten minutes into the drive, Kyungsoo’s phone blew up for, conservatively, the fifteenth time. But before he could even swipe to answer, Chanyeol lowered the car window, plucked his phone out of his hand and chucked it into the shrubbery by the roadside and continued to drive at an accelerated speed.

Kyungsoo’s mouth fell open but no words came out and unbeknownst to you, you were mirroring the dazed look on his face.

Chanyeol stuck his thumb out to where you were seated and justified indifferently, “It was her idea.”

It wasn’t a house. It was a warzone.

The spacious three bedroom apartment had invisible borders drawn out and nobody dared to encroach upon the other’s territory.

After arriving in Costa Brava, the three of you settled in and freshened up before heading out for a scheduled theoretical lesson on scuba diving conducted by your PADI certified instructor. The lesson had ended sometime around sunset and through the entire thing, you acted like complete strangers, making it more awkward than necessary for the twenty something instructor.

After the lesson, Kyungsoo offered to drive the trio to a boutique hotel, Hostal Sa Rascassa’s restaurant, which was supposed to be located on the edges of a tranquil, secluded cove and served traditional sea-food centric dishes like -

“- grilled sardines, cod fishcakes and octopus stewed with onion and pepper,” Kyungsoo counted on his fingers, making your stomach growl and your mouth water.

Chanyeol brushed him aside with a bitter, “I’m not hungry.”

Turning to you, Kyungsoo asked politely, “Wanna come?”

From the corner of your eye, you noticed Chanyeol shooting you a death glare so you decided to wriggle out of the situation by citing tiredness.

Kyungsoo lifted his shoulders in a dismissive shrug and took off in a taxi, leaving the car to the two of you.

“Where do you wanna eat?” Chanyeol asked as you got into the passenger’s seat.

Slack jawed, you chastised a giggling Chanyeol, “Yeollie, you’re absolutely horrible!”

It had been months.

Months since Natasha had walked out of their shared apartment.

And ever since then, every night, the moment Kyungsoo’s head would hit the pillow, a sense of hopelessness would erupt right in the middle of his chest. Spreading its wings far and wide, this despair would engulf him entirely and render him sleepless.

Nothing he tried helped his disposition so he’d started working on accepting this feeling as an inextricable part of his being. Something he’d have to learn to live with for the rest of his life.

Overcome by exhaustion, Kyungsoo drifted off only to be jolted awake by a jarring memory.

Hands balled into fists, Natasha yelled, ‘HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?’

‘This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, Natasha! This deal could help us!’ Kyungsoo thundered in the face of her dogged determination to not let this slide.

‘Can’t you see that I don’t care?’ She met his bloodshot eyes with tears welling in hers.

Brows knit together, Kyungsoo ruminated on his thoughts before firing back, ‘Are you saying that you don’t care about my life?’

Exasperated, Natasha ran a hand through her hair to ground herself and argued, ‘Stop it, Kyungsoo! Don’t confuse your work with your life! Your work isn’t your life. It’s just a part of it. WHAT ABOUT US?’

‘Us?’ Kyungsoo deliberated, ‘I bought this apartment so that we could live together.’

Natasha retracted with every step Kyungsoo took towards her, expression coloured in unpleasant shades of anger and disgust. Letting out a mirthless laugh, she taunted, ‘Oh, please! You bought this apartment to impress people with your upmarket address.’

Aghast, Kyungsoo sank into the couch, his mind flitting between despair and hope. Head in his hands, breathing jagged and raspy, he reasoned, ‘I can’t believe you’re saying this to me! I’m planning a future with you.’

‘The future is yet to come, Kyungsoo. WHAT ABOUT OUR PRESENT?’

‘STOP YELLING!’

‘THEN LISTEN TO ME!’

Hands on his knees, Kyungsoo’s gaze shot up to rest upon Natasha’s flushed face. ‘What do you want?’ He demanded in a terrifyingly low tone.

A silent tear slid down her cheek as she explained with a quiver in her voice, ‘I want your time, Kyungsoo. I want a relationship not a retirement plan.’

Helpless, Kyungsoo toyed with the words in his mind before blurting, ‘If the chairman of Nakamura Corporation wants to meet me then I have- to- go! If he likes the presentation, he’ll give us the entire account. Don’t you see how big this is for me?’

‘But what about us, Kyungsoo? What about our dinner plan?’

‘We can postpone it to next month, can’t we?!’

‘It’s my birthday, Soo. I can’t postpone my birthday. You’d promised me this dinner...no matter what! You cancelled the reservation without even asking me first.’

Cupping her face in his hands, he pressed his lips to hers and whispered, ‘Baby, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry...but I have to go.’

When you padded into the living room, sleep befuddled at 5 a.m., you caught Chanyeol and Kyungsoo locked in an embrace, both of their eyes squeezed shut, as if wordlessly conveying an incredible degree of warmth and affection towards each other.

All of it….in “bro code”.

You imagined the conversation in your head, in two deep, distinct male voices:

‘I’m sorry I threw your phone out the window, bro!’

‘It’s what I deserved, bro!’

Rubbing away the drowsiness from your eyes, you tiptoed back into your room so as to not disrupt this….whatever this was supposed to be.

***

Underneath the purple-pink skies, enveloped in the cool early morning breeze, Kyungsoo, Chanyeol, and you, dressed in spandex scuba suits, huddled together in solidarity on the boat’s bulwark.

The diving site that Chanyeol had picked was called ‘Boreas Wreck’. The Boreas was a high sea tugboat that served for the German Navy during World War II. It was deliberately sunk in 1989 for the purpose of creating an artificial reef and thus, a scuba diving attraction.

“Any non-swimmers?” the trainer asked and Kyungsoo’s hand shot up in the air.

Her full lips curled up in a dazzling smile. “You’re brave,” she remarked and you heard Kyungsoo swallow hard, inviting a snigger from Chanyeol.

Hands on hips, her perfect figure accentuated by the spandex, she instructed, “You will be diving deep into this sea now, do you remember the theoretical part I taught you on the shore?”

Chanyeol and you were confident (and loud) in your affirmation.

Kyungsoo, not so much.

With the bulky dive equipment on, the instructor created a circle with her thumb and forefinger, gesturing, “All okay?”

The three of you responded by following suit.

First dive, twelve metres depth.

You’d become the proverbial fish out of water except you were not the fish and you were under water and your whole world had been turned upside down….quite literally.

You spun around to find the instructor assisting Chanyeol with his breathing rhythm and Kyungsoo curled up like a shrimp, hugging his knees. Arm extended, he gave you a “thumbs up” which meant an entirely different thing under water from what it did on land.

Thumbs up, in diving lingo, spelled trouble. It meant that, for whatever reason, the diver wished to ascend. But, by then, you’d known Kyungsoo long enough to understand that there was no real cause for concern.

The look in his eyes told you that he was simply struggling to adapt.

You swam towards him, with your legs and not your arms, in order to maintain good buoyancy control. Clasping your hands together in a mitten grasp, you signalled him to hold onto you. Kyungsoo created a circle with his thumb and forefinger to signal “okay” before putting his hand on your forearm, the soft ripples caused by his gentle movements gleaming in the artificial light from your gear.

You then raised your other arm and flattened your hand, palm down, to “pat” the water in front of you as you would the head of a dog. Wearing a comforting eye smile, you essentially asked Kyungsoo to take it easy and relax. You then levelled your hand with his eyes, palm facing up before drawing a deep breath, wordlessly asking Kyungsoo to breathe slow, deep and long.

Another nod. Another “okay”.

He then pointed his index finger to his ear, the gesture indicating that he couldn’t clear his ears and had trouble equalizing. So you locked your eyes with his and took his elbows in your hands to pull him up to ascend slightly before quickly pushing him down again while wondering whether he’d paid attention to the theoretical lessons at all.

He squeezed his eyes shut before giving you another nod which meant that the equalization was a success.

Kyungsoo’s thumb and forefinger met in another “okay” but this time with an eye smile which you reciprocated with an “okay” before snapping your fingers into a teasing finger heart.

All traces of agreeableness instantly vanished from his visible features.

***

The deeper you went, your fluo green spectrum widened, whelming you with the underwater world’s tranquil beauty which neutralized the shooting pain in your ears and the violent thumping of your heart. Corals in the shape of giant mushrooms floated around you and sea urchins greeted you with their bright purple-brown spikes glowing under the ocean’s natural light. At your feet, a shy goby fish with its large head and tapered body tunneled its way into the sand upon sensing the arrival of strangers.

While you were immersed in this exquisite scenery, a wide eyed Kyungsoo grabbed your attention by waving at you, his hand holding a pink fin.

‘That fin looks familiar,’ you thought before realizing it was your fin that had released itself from your right foot. You almost choked from laughing with the regulator on and the mask attached to your face as Kyungsoo helped you stick it back on.

Having been privy to breathtaking videos and countless stories of the mysteries and magic of the underwater world, a first-hand experience felt surreal. You were quick to adapt to the environment and didn’t try to fight it or control it and your first breath under water had been an experience like no other.

The Boreas Wreck was home to a number of incredible marine species such as Mediterranean sponges and blue gorgonians, scorpionfish, sea urchins, starfish, goatfish, mullets, bream, lobsters, groupers, and barracuda. While you couldn’t pindown all the enticing, drop dead gorgeous palettes of reds, blues, and yellows that crossed paths with you, shoaling, schooling...or even solitary, it didn’t take away from the sheer awe you were overcome with at every second of your time several azure and viridian metres below the surface of land.

The instructor then guided the three of you inside the boat’s wreck, which was safe to enter since all hazardous items had been removed before Boreas was scuttled. With an excited Chanyeol in the lead per usual, you visited some of its confined rooms, and went further in to explore the kitchen, the engine room, the bridge and even the captain’s cabin. The dilapidated metal and wood body of the civil boat, covered almost entirely in sea fauna, was nothing short of a beautiful nightmare.

Traversing, you reached one corner of the boat basked in a blinding white light, enveloping you in a gentle embrace. Emotions so carefully locked away came flooding through the dam of your forced stoic indifference. Giving in, you stretched your arms out, allowing yourself to freefall into a distant memory.

Haphazardly flapping your arms and legs, you struggled to keep your head up but no matter how hard you tried, the pool water made its way into your mouth, nose, and eyes, even.

‘Appa!’ you managed loudly as you felt yourself drowning again.

Your Appa was the one who always came to your rescue.

No matter where you were, no matter how bad things got. He was always there. So when he just stood there, a smile on his face, watching you grapple with a force that mercilessly dragged you down while you kicked and punched and floundered to stay afloat...a mysterious emotion rose within you.

You felt betrayed by the man who was supposed to have your back.

Seething, ‘Appa!’ you bawled, but to no avail.

Until...magically...you didn’t need his help anymore.

After days of relentless torture, you’d finally found yourself moving forward, cutting through the water with synchronized movements of your arms and legs.

But the exhilaration hadn’t lasted long.

A couple of minutes in and you realized that that force was winning again but this time, you didn’t drown.

This time a familiar pair of hands grabbed you before you went under and threw you up in the air as your misty eyes took in the biggest smile on your father’s face with an equally big one gracing your bright features.

Circling his arms around your tiny torso, he nestled you into himself.

‘My champion!’ he whispered into your swim cap covered ear.

***

Back on the boat, with your diving gear off and fresh towels wrapped around your shoulders, you sank to your knees, completely wracked with sobs.

You felt a million emotions, all at once, the reigning one being embarrassment at this sudden outburst. With his arms around you and his chin resting on the top of your head, Chanyeol whispered, ‘It’s okay, it’s alright,’ to ground you while gently rocking you back and forth until you’d let it all out. Turning around, you buried your face into the crook of his neck as if to hide away from the inquisitive eyes of Kyungsoo and the instructor. Chanyeol held you closer, his hand stroking the back of your neck in silent support.

Even after a sumptuous lunch of salmon canapes, baked scallops, rice with spiny spider crab, mixed seafood finger foods complete with a chocolate semi sphere, Chanyeol was uncharacteristically quiet and Kyungsoo, uncharacteristically amiable.

“Feels a little morbid to be eating all this seafood after a dive,” you jested with a serious expression, nibbling on a piece of dark chocolate. And it was only then that the boys went back to being their true selves. Amused, Chanyeol guffawed, “Good to have you back!” while Kyungsoo choked on his sparkling white wine.

Shortly after, Chanyeol excused himself to make a call to Aera.

Kyungsoo ordered two coffees for the both of you and you noticed how he kicked about a conversation starter in his head as opened his mouth only to clamp it shut several times, before finally mustering, “I just want to say -”

“No,” you interrupted him in a mortified haste, “no, please don’t say anything I don’t wanna talk about it except, I’m really sorry for making it so awkward for you guys back there.”

“Oh, no,” he gave you a dismissive wave of hand, “it was just Chanyeol, me, and...erm...the pretty instructor who we’ll never see again. Chanyeol makes a complete ass out of himself every waking hour and as for me, please don’t worry about me. Especially not after you found me blind drunk on a rooftop in the dead of night. We all have our moments. I’m sorry,” he suddenly stopped short, expression solemn, “you said you didn’t wanna talk about it.”

You chuckled, teasing, “Pretty instructor, huh?”

This was the longest conversation you’d had with Kyungsoo so far and truth be told, you were caught off guard by... his smile. His resting face was a natural frown, mostly due to his poor eyesight. And in your experience, if he had his glasses on, it was Chanyeol who was the primary reason for his scowl, with you being a close second.

It took you a moment to take in that dazzling, heart shaped smile of his before you could speak again but it was Kyungsoo who lugged the conversation forward.

“I just wanted to thank you for what you did for me back there. I think I felt a little overwhelmed by the,” he pondered his thoughts before concluding, “the vastness of the ocean. Sorry, I’m no poet.”

“Don’t mention it,” you smiled, “How did you feel by the end of it?”

“Umm,” Kyungsoo ruminated on your question, “I felt like I was in the moment...like, reaching a stage of subtle awareness from surface awareness.”

“And you say you’re not a poet,” you quipped, “So, like, meditation?”

“Maybe. It felt as if I was letting go of...of all the emotional baggage -” he trailed off rather plaintively.

Voice laced with hesitance, you sang, “So….maybe…you’ll sleep better tonight?”

Clearly taken aback by your question, Kyungsoo exclaimed, “What?!”

“I’m sorry but, it’s very obvious that you haven’t been sleeping too well.”

Thick eyebrows scrunched together, he let out a confused ‘Oh!’

“Did Chanyeol -” he continued, only to be interrupted by a booming, cheerful voice, “Think of the angel and the angel appears!”

Kyungsoo looked up at a beaming Chanyeol and deadpanned, “That’s not how the saying goes. Anyway, what took you so long?”

Eyes holding a glint of humour, Chanyeol placed a neatly wrapped iPhone box in front of Kyungsoo and took the dramatics up a notch with a stage performer-esque curtsey thus inviting amused stares from the nearby tables in the courtyard style restaurant. Kyungsoo unwrapped the packaging with the eagerness of a five year old on Christmas Eve and to his disappointment, instead of the high end handphone, he opened the case to a hot pink flip phone.

Kyungsoo let out a low growl, “The fuck is this?”

Standing at a safe distance from his fuming friend, Chanyeol quipped, “A phone,” while making no effort to suppress his laughter.

“Thank you, Mr. State The Obvious, but I’m an adult male, not a Japanese schoolgirl!”

Tickled by his own little prank, Chanyeol threw you under the bus by triumphantly howling, “It was Shifu’s idea!” before darting out of the premises.

Dumbfounded, you exclaimed, “WHAT?! NO!” as Kyungsoo fixed you with a death glare.

‘When were you going to tell me about this?’

Maybe this was one of your endless nightmares.

Maybe this wasn’t happening at all.

Your mother deflected your question by putting things away. Dirty dishes in the washer, clothes in the dryer, leftovers in the fridge, while you followed her around like a lost puppy, a crumpled, time stained letter held delicately in your hand.

The throbbing in your head now bordering on numbness, bile rising up your throat, your legs threatening to give away, you reiterated your question, vociferously this time, surprised at your own power of will. A quality that forever eluded you. The inability to voice your needs, your opinions, masked under a not so thinly veiled sense of self deprecating humour was...you, in a nutshell. This sudden surge of fighting spirit consuming you whole felt alien but at the same time, very natural and, at the same time, it was taking a toll on every nerve, every muscle, every bone.

Every second felt like your last.

‘Would she be able to handle it all over again?’ crestfallen, you mused, ‘The grief. The sympathy. The cumulation of my life -- all these decades condensed into a tiny vessel of ever fading memories. The sands of time trickling through her wrinkled fingers.’

‘Eomma, please -’ you cried out, only for your plea to fall upon deaf ears.

It wasn’t until the next morning that she spoke to you again.

Bloodshot eyes framed by the weight of living, she handed you a warm cup of tea and let out a deep sigh.

‘He never wanted you. It was your Appa who accepted me...he accepted us… It’s been three days since your Appa -,’ wracked with sobs, it took her a while to compose herself to be able to speak again, ‘don’t dishonour his memory.’

‘Why should I believe a word you say? Why should I believe that- that my own father never wanted me?’

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itsmeevie01 · 4 years ago

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Bio!Dad Bruce Day 10-Consulation

Tim was not expecting to receive a call from his little sister in the middle of September. They had almost two months before she was going to be joining them for Thanksgiving and he had seen her right before she had gone back to school. When he picked up the phone at 3 am, he knew that something had to be wrong. Marinette knew that he was 6 hours behind her. “Mari?” The tears on the other end of the phone made Tim pause. “Mari what’s wrong?” his confusion was palpable. “Marinette, is everything ok?”

“I- “

“Little Bit, its ok, take your time. Just talk it out with me” now, more than ever, Tim was grateful at Damian insisted on keeping a rigid sleep schedule. The brat was awful with emotions and Tim didn’t want Marinette’s first impression of the kid to be him cussing her out for being vulnerable.

“they left me! Chloe and I worked so hard for this trip, and they left us!” understanding hit Tim right in the face. Marinette and Chloe had been working all summer to help the class raise funds to go on an overnight trip. The class had raised enough to spend a week exploring the countryside, and Tim was planning on flying out and surprising his sister later in the week. Well, he had been planning on flying out later in the week, it looked like he was going to be there much earlier than expected.

“Mari, hey. That’s awful. I know that the past weeks have been hard. Can you take a deep breath for me? Talk me through what’s going through your head.” A jagged breath on the other side of the phone made Tim close his eyes and reminded himself that he couldn’t just show up and scare the kids for hurting his sister, no matter how much he wanted to.

“I…I thought they knew how hard we worked for this trip. All the planning, all the fund raising. We worked so hard and they just left us! Chloe and I got here and- “here, her voice broke and Tim could hear his sister wrestle her breathing back under control. “they left at 5 am. THREE HOURS EARLY. They-“ once again Marinette broke off, but Tim could tell that the girl was slightly calmer. At this point, he could practically hear her mind running through plans a mile a minute. “they plotted to get us off the trip, but Chloe and I had made all the reservations in our names. Chlo is on the phone with Alix, apparently, she was told the departure was changed to 10, and all the others are saying the same. It- it came from Alya. So…that’s a start.”

“what was on their itinerary today?”

“just settling in, the bus is supposed to return to Paris this afternoon. The goal is to be able to relax and not worry about the ins and outs of the Akuma and emotional control.” Tim paused for a minute as he digested what his sister was saying.

“wait in Paris. I’m changing my ticket. I’ll be with you before you know it, and we’ll get you all out to meet up with your class.” At his sister’s protest, Tim snorted. “M, I was planning on surprising you later this week, so its not that hard to do. Plus, I’m using B’s money.” His sister sniggered at his last comment.

“Tim?”

“yeah M?”

“Thank you.”

“Always, Little Bit.” At the nickname, Marinette snorted.

“I’m going to go start putting out fires. See you soon, brother.”

“see you soon, Mari.”

That evening, Marinette stood at the airport waiting on her brother. Once he came into view, the girl started fighting her way through the crowds to her brother. When she got to him, he wrapped her in a hug. For just a moment, the girl let herself cling to her brother and relax. Tim was here, and he was going to help her fix things.

When they made their way outside, the siblings found Chloe waiting impatiently by the car. When they were in her sight, the blonde huffed and strode back the way she had come. The duo laughed and followed after her dutifully.

The next morning, Marinette, her brother, and her friends stood on the platform of the train station. Today, they would travel out to meet their class. Marinette had received a call the night before, because no one had singed in. when the girl had explained the circumstances, the hotel desk person had shaken their head and assured her that the rooms would be there for them when they arrived.

When they reached their destination, Marinette had been buzzing with energy and excitement. Not only were they out of Paris, but now she and her friends were going to be able to bond and have fun. Even better? Her older brother was with her.

While her friends organized their bags, Marinette checked in. after getting everything cleared up, she and Tim made their way back over to the group. When key cards had been handed out, the friends split up to find their rooms. Max and Kim, Adrien and Nino, Alix and Chloe. Marinette slipped into her single and smiled at Tim who was across from her, next to the guys’ rooms.

That evening, Chloe called their teacher and found out where they were eating. The friends met up with the rest of the class, who were mostly clueless. Rose and Juleka welcomed them with opened arms, Ivan light up at the sign of the group. Sabrina smiled, and Arure and Mireille beckoned them over to where Nathaniel and Marc were sitting with them. The only people who didn’t look happy were Alya and Lila. Shit.

“Marinette! Why did you change the departure time, if you knew you couldn’t make it! We had to sleep in the worst hotel ever because of you!” when Lila started to cry, Chloe rolled her eyes.

“Listen Lila, I know that you like to blow things out of proportion, but Sabrina sent me a picture of the hotel. It was perfectly fine. Now, if you are done with your tantrum, get your stuff. We have the hotel keys.” At that, Bustier hurried over, suddenly very interested. The teacher stopped short, when she realized that Marinette had brought someone with her.

“Marinette, who exactly is this?” The girl flashed her teacher a dangerously sharp smile.

“My brother. He came to help make sure that everything was smoothed over.” The sugary sweetness in the girl’s voice made the teacher pale. The way the teacher stood nervous and fearful made Marinette happier than she had been in a while. She knew that the teacher was trying to ignore the tensions in the class, but that wasn’t how it worked. In the end, it might have worked too, if Marinette wasn’t so familiar with the doubled standards the teacher had started to enforce. Now this? This is where it would become fun.

#b!dbwm #b!dbwm2020 #bio!dad bruce wayne month 2020 #My writing #plot? is that what this is?#sorry its short #im catching up today #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupen chang #maribat #ml x dc

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blackberry-gingham · 4 years ago

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if you haven’t already, could you do something with being childhood bffs with george and it developing into romance?

Aw, this is cute 🥺 of course!

Ik I've done the teddy!george to Beatle George romance, so for this I'm going to do like actual kids to like high school/teddy! George romance :)

Also, this is super long sorry, but idk how to do a cut so oof 💀 anyway, enjoy!

---

You've known him since forever, the boy with the raven hair and funny eyebrows.

You're earliest memories go back to growing up on the streets of Liverpool. Causing trouble on the playground, getting into mischief behind your mother's backs...

He was your best friend. Still is, as a matter of fact. Until the day everything changed.

You're story starts off on a playground, during a mild day in mid August. The sun is shining brightly and the birds are chirping and flitting through the trees happily. If only you could say the same for your mood.

The old swing set creaks methodically as you and George go back and forth.

It's your last summer before your senior year of high school. You two have been going to the same school this whole time at least, but you can't help this nagging feeling that you and George are going to drift apart after school.

He's changed so much since you were kids.

Lately he's made some... other friends. It's not that that's bothering you of course. No, it's more so that they're all teddy boys. And now, so is George. Not to mention they fancy themselves a start up band, which has only been eating up more of George's time away from you.

Besides, you have no idea what to expect with this final year. Honestly, you're scared as it is, and even the thought of losing your best friend is too much to bear.

"Whatcha thinking about square?", George detects the worry undulating off of you, despite the neutral expression on your face. He knows you too well.

You snap out of your thoughts and paint a smile on your face, "Oh, nothing! Are you looking forward to your final year?"

George fixes you with a look. He doesn't believe that nothing's wrong, but knows to not push you if you don't want to talk about it. "Suppose so, although more just to get it over with. Oh, that reminds me! The lads and I have a gig lined up in a few weeks, can you believe it?"

You're heart drops, and you fear you can already feel him slipping away. "That's wonderful George, I can't believe it!"

His face lights up, "Isn't it? We're going to the top I tell you, I'm sure of it!" George digs his boots into the mulch abruptly, and you slow to a stop as well. "Um, I don't suppose you'd come to the gig, will you?"

You fix him with a suspicious look, there's something afoot here... "When and where?"

"The pub downtown, two months from tomorrow, at 3 am", George's voice gets quiter as he goes. The old him would know not to ask something like that in a million years. After all, your parents would never allow it. And if you got caught...

"George... I-"

He cuts you off, suddenly feeling bad it seems, "No no! I-it's alright, I shouldn't have asked. It's not right, you have school and all"

"So do you, ya know", you lean in and laugh a bit, trying to lighten the mood. Thankfully the tension seems to melt and George laughs, brushing off the accusation. At last he stands and offers to walk you home. You agree and take a few steps after him...

...Only to trip over an old piece of tarp sticking up from under the mulch.

You let out a yelp, but before you hit the ground, George catches you. He helps you up right and holds onto you for a moment to make sure you're steady, "That was close! You alright square?"

"Fine, thanks to you", you laugh, then kick some mulch over the exposed tarp. "Damn thing..."

George laughs and the two of you walk on, "Say, do you remember when we were kids and you fell off that same swing set?"

"Ugh, how could I forget! I still have the scar on my knee", you pout.

"Really? I didn't know it was that bad"

"It certainly was! Don't you remember, after I fell you picked me up an-"

"...Carried you all the way home?", George finishes the thought for you.

You smile distantly, reminiscing on better days. "Yeah..."

The two of you talk a bit more about your younger days. All sorts of fun and embarrassing stories come to light as you make your way through town. For a moment, you feel like you're with the old George again.

And then, it all screeches to a halt as you arrive on your doorstep.

"Well, here you are then!"

"Yeah... Um, see you tomorrow per chance?"

George's face falls, "Oh... Actually I have practice with the lads... Then I'm helping with chores around the house all this weekend. M-maybe we can hangout again next week?"

The smile you give him doesn't quite reach your eyes, even as you agree that that sounds like a good plan.

It turns out that date does get pushed back a bit more, but you're thankful to have at least one last day together before school starts up again. Things are normal for a while. Well, the new normal, that is. George tries to be in three places at once between you, the lads, and school, and you're worried for him.

You keep waiting to see which of the three he's going to drop to take a load off his schedule... And you're deathly afraid it'll be you.

But somehow he manages to juggle all three, and before you know it, the night of the gig is upon you. George brings the topic up with you momentarily at school, just to give it another try. You’ve been feeling so estranged from him lately that you want nothing more then to say yes...

You just... can’t.

George says he understands, but he can’t mask the disappointment in his eyes. It’s the last look you see from him that day. However, that night, is a different story.

Clack... Clack. Clack clack... Clack.

A strange noise rouses you from sleep and you get up to investigate. It’s coming from the window... You peak outside to find George out in your yard, throwing rocks at the glass. He sees your outline and starts waving his arms franticly. Quickly, you check the time. It’s 2:03 am.

You heft the window open and George immediately starts chattering. “Morning square! I’m on my way to the pub, I thought maybe you could just sneak out with me since you want to go!”

“Are you mad? You’ll wake the whole house!”, you whisper angrily.

George drops his voice a bit too, but refuses to leave. He says a few more suave and charming words, but more then anything, you can’t deny that you do want to go with him... It takes a little convincing, but you make up your mind to go. You disappear to throw on some going out clothes and navigate your way down out the window and over the roof. It’s a little trick you learned from when you were young.

You haven’t done that in ages...

At last, you and George race off to the bus stop and as though sneaking out past midnight wasn’t exciting enough, the way he grabbed your hand to pull you along through the dark sent your heart soaring.

And when you arrive just in the nick of time the gig to start, you almost hate to admit how much fun you’re having. To think, you almost missed this... The boys are amazing up on stage and the crowd loves them. While you must say, they are all good, you didn’t take your eyes off of George the entire time.

One of the teds, Paul you think, steps up to the mic. “Thank you, you’ve all been wonderful! But before we go, there’s one last song we want to play for you... This goes out to all the sweethearts tonight, it’s called Love me do!”

It’s not on the itinerary, but the crowd whoops and applauds regardless. You focus your attention back to George and he winks at you. In that moment, you experience a feeling you’ve never had in your life. Your blood runs cold, yet you feel on fire. Your fingers and toes tingle, yet you still have complete control over your body. You feel weightless, and yet as though you could collapse.

The song is wonderful, but you were hardly able to pay attention, you were so busy mulling over what that wink meant...

When everything is over, George hurries to catch up with you after the show. He seems so alive.

"You were amazing up there Georgie, absolutely wonderful!"

"Really? You liked it?"

"Of course! I didn't know you were so talented! Why have you never played for me before?", You laugh, but George seems to grow shy all of a sudden.

"I didn't think you were interested... But uh, now I know, I suppose!", he laughs, trying to mend the awkwardness before you can interject. "You know what? We should be getting you home, yeah?"

You whip around to look at the clock. It's nearly 4:30. When you turn back to George, he can already see the panic in your eyes. Without another word, you both race out to the bus stop and wait anxiously to catch a ride.

George tries to make a little small talk and reasure you, but you're having a hard time loosening up. All you can think about is what'll happen if you're caught...

And when you get home, your worst fears are realized. Your dad is sitting on the front porch and the lightning your room has since been turned on. George goes to hold your hand, but you nudge him away as you trudge to your doom.

Your dad doesn't say a word. You already know how much trouble you're in. He looks at George with a deadly scowl etched into his face.

"Sir, I'm sorry, it was m-"

The door slams in his face, and all George can hear is the sound of yelling from the other side as he's forced to walk away.

You're not allowed to see George outside of school for a looooong time. Which is almost fine with you. You can't believe you listened to him...

George tries to apologise to you fervently the next time he sees you, but you blow him off. It takes a few days before you speak to him again, and George feels crushed. That night couldn't have ended more terribly. There was so much he wanted to tell you... But, he can't let you go.

Over time you come around to better terms with your lifetime friend. It takes some work, but George is determined to restore your trust in him. And slowly but surely, your grievance becomes forgotten. He hasn't spend this much time with you since you were children. And honestly? He hasn't been this fun since then either...

He takes you out for ice cream on weekends. You go to the park after school together nearly everyday, that you can. And once you're officially allowed to spend time with him, he even invites you over to watch practice with the lads.

And before you know it, winter has passed and spring is nearly gone too. It's the end of the year and there's one last hurrah to come before graduation. Prom season is upon you.

You know who you want to ask you, but you fear it's too much to even hope. But then, one sunny day...

Clack... Clack. Clack clack... Clack.

Curious, you get up from your desk and wander over to the window. You throw it open and look out. There in the lawn, George stands with a large, handwritten sign above his head. He looks up at you with big, puppy eyes, and he's never been more afraid in his whole life.

Prom? The sign reads.

You scamper out of your window, and nearly trip in your excitement to say yes. George drops his sign and catches you before you hit the ground. You jump up, alight with excitement, "Yes, yes!", you can't stop bouncing, even as George holds you steady.

George smiles at you with an affection you've never seen before. He doesn't say a word. Instead, he picks you up and gives you a spin while you yelp in surprise. When he puts you back down, the two of you share a long look and you think, there's no one in the whole world you'd rather give your first kiss to.

As though he can read your mind, George leans in slowly, giving you an option. But you can't contain yourself, you rush forward and throw your arms around his leather covered shoulders. The smell of his musky hair gel and warm leather jacket wash over you as he holds you tight.

It's the kind of embrace you'd grow familiar with. You don't know it now, but you'll find yourself wrapped in it for the rest of your days.

#the beatles #george harrison x reader #friends to lovers #teddy!george #highschool au #all the tropes lmao #Beatle fics

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mercuryonparklane · 3 years ago

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I just found this one-shot I wrote based on ‘betty’ that has been sitting in my notes since September. I thought I’d share, if anyone is interested in that. The characters belong to Taylor and her co-writers, of course. I just borrowed them for this fic.

‘Please, come over’

Jamie Mann stares at the text for far too long, watching those three little dots appear and, then, disappear once again. Betty hates sending more than one text in a row. Even more than that, she can't stand it when a message goes unanswered.

Still, Jamie can't quite think of what to say. Her mind flashes back to prom two weeks earlier and the boy who swayed Betty around the dance floor while she laughed at his stupid jokes. Betty told her that she isn't interested in boys, but damnit if she isn't very good at hiding that fact.

Jamie throws her phone down next to her on the bed and pulls the hood of her sweatshirt over her head. She fiddles with the strings of the sweatshirt until she hears the ding of a new message.

'I'm in front of your house. Get your ass out here and hop in.'

Jamie fights the smile on her face, but she can't help feeling a little less hurt in the moment. August was the kind of friend who could convince you to do things you would never even think to do. Like the time they hopped the fence at school on a Friday night to smoke in the softball dugout. Or the time August managed to sneak them into some gay club in the city. Or the time they almost ditched the cop trying to pull her over for running a red light. Okay, so maybe they weren't actually going to try to escape and maybe August's uncle happened to be the cop in question. But still...

Jamie grabs her backpack and puts it on as she heads down stairs.

"Where do you think you're going, young lady?"

"Mom, I literally just graduated high school last night and I turn 18 next month. I'm basically an adult."

Her mom pulls her into a hug. Jamie lets it happen for a few seconds before escaping her grasp. Mrs. Mann runs her fingers through her daughter's hair trying to fix it best she can.

"Hmm... that will have to do. Now, truthfully, where are you going? Yeah, yeah, I know you're all grown up now, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop worrying about you."

Jamie rolls her eyes, but smiles nonetheless. "I'm staying over at August's. She's outside waiting for me, so can I go now?"

"Of course, dear. Have fun."

"Sure thing. Night, mom."

Jamie heads out the door and jogs to the midnight blue '67 Mustang idling in front of the driveway. She throws her backpack in the backseat before taking her spot in the passenger seat.

"So, what's the plan?"

"I was thinking we could go to that party Betty Davis is throwing."

A lump forms in Jamie's throat as she tries to come up with some excuse as to why they shouldn't go. August knows that Jamie is a lesbian, but she doesn't know anything about Betty. It was not something Betty wanted anyone to know about.

As far as anyone at school knew, Betty and Jamie were acquaintances at best. Betty was head cheerleader and Jamie was basically a skater burnout. Betty was class president and Jamie wasn't even on most of her teacher's radars. Betty was going to Yale next year. Jamie was going to a state school. Betty came from money. Jamie's mom worked two jobs to send her to private school. They weren’t exactly the likeliest of friends and no one would ever guess they were more than that.

"Come on, please? Don't you want to know what the popular kids get up to on the weekends?"

"Nah, it sounds pretty lame. I'd rather hang out just the two of us before you take your little road trip around the county, which I still can't believe your parents agreed to."

"You should come with me."

"What?"

"We would have so much fun. Besides I'm a little scared about driving around by myself."

Jamie scoffs, "You? Why, August Adams you are the bravest person I have ever known. What could possibly scare you?"

"I don't know... a car accident, rapists, serial killers, muggers, creatures..."

"Okay, I get it. I just mean... you've been planning this trip for two years. Wasn't it supposed to be some great big adventure of self-discovery?"

August shrugs. "I already know who I am. I'm a bisexual goddess, who is going to be the CEO of a major corporation someday, and no one can stop me. But also I'm just a girl sitting in front a girl, asking her to join me on the trip of a lifetime."

Jamie's heart skips a beat. She loves Betty so deeply, but being with her was torture. It would have been four more years of hiding. 'Just until we graduate college,’ Betty's words echo in her head. Four years is a long time and Jamie is sick of hiding. August came out Sophomore year and didn't care about what anyone thought of her.

"You know what, that sounds amazing."

August squeals and leans across the center console to wrap her arms around Jamie. "We're going to have so much fun, James!"

They never went to Betty’s party. Instead they drove to 7-Eleven, bought snacks and slurpees, and spent the rest of the night at the one skate park in town.

It took a bit of convincing before her mom felt comfortable letting her go on the five week trip. The fact that August had family sprinkled along their route, with whom they would be staying most of the time, helped to reassure her. August created an itinerary for Jamie's mom, so she would have an idea of where they would be and with whom.

A week into the trip, Jamie gets an unexpected text.

'I heard you left town with August Adams. Thanks for the heads up. Hope you have fun.'

The three dots show up and disappear, then reappear once again.

And finally, after almost a minute, 'I hear she's a great lay.'

Jamie doesn't even reply. Her blood boils just a bit. They'd never officially broken things off, but seeing Betty kiss that boy on the dance floor was the last straw. Jamie didn't want to hide anymore. She wanted a girlfriend who's hand she could hold while walking down the street.

So, she got one. Sort of. The text kind of sent her into overdrive and she may have decided to see if all the rumors about August were true. They were. She definitely knew what she was doing and it was nice, but it wasn't the same as it had been with Betty. It was lust. There was no romance in it. At least not on Jamie's part.

Unfortunately, she had no idea the other girl had wanted this since they were Freshmen. It killed Jamie to tell her the truth. August was beautiful and fun and clever, but Jamie's heart belonged to someone else. She confessed everything about her relationship with Betty and how she wished she had gone to that party the night after graduation.

August won't tell anyone. She might be hurt, but she wasn't heartless. She'd never out someone nor would she ever try to get back at Jamie. They did decide to give each other some space. In fact, they only met up once more that summer. It was the day before August was set to leave for school. They hugged awkwardly and promised to keep in touch and to hang out over Thanksgiving break. They didn't keep those promises.

Betty doesn't message her again. Jamie rides past the girl's house on her skateboard almost every day for a month before she finally gets the nerve to text her.

'Hey, I'm near your house. Can we talk?'

She sits on the curb across the street from Betty's house for an embarrassingly long amount of time before she finally gives up. She stops riding by her house.

It's not until her mom drags her to the mall insisting she needs a new wardrobe for college that she finally sees Betty again. She catches sights of the girl from the store across the way and she tells her mom she'll be right back. She's about to step into the store, but someone grabs her by the wrist and drags her towards an empty service hallway. Jamie's heart stutters until she realizes who exactly has a hold on her.

"What the hell, Inez?"

Inez roughly releases her grasps once they are out of the earshot of passersby.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Me?! What do you think you're doing."

Inez rolls her eyes. "Stay away from her, you freak!"

"What gives you the right to tell me what to do?"

"I don't know. Maybe the fact that Betty told me all about how you're desperately in love with her and tried to put the moves on her and that's why she had to switch homerooms. Which I said was weird because as far as I knew you were off playing Thelma and Louise with August Adams. So just, like, leave her alone. She's not... like you."

Jamie bites her tongue. There is so much she wants to say, but it would only make things worse. "Whatever. Maybe you should tell your friend not to flatter herself."

Occasionally, over the next few years, Jamie checks Betty's social media accounts, looking for any hint that one of the girls in her pictures were more than just a friend. Jamie thinks about the night after high school graduation often. She fantasizes about what would have happened if she had gone to Betty's party. Would the girl have finally kissed her in front of their classmates? Was she already drunk when she sent that message? Had she finally been ready to say 'fuck it all' and let everyone know she wasn't who they thought she was?

Jamie will probably never know. But she spends her college years chasing the feeling she had when she was with Betty. There were a couple of women who she thought she had been in love with. Maybe she had been, but there was always this one piece of her heart that hung on to past love.

She dates quite a bit the first couple of years after college, until she eventually gets into a committed relationship. It's great for a while. It lasts four and a half years. She's devastated when it ends. But also, a part of her is relieved. It doesn't really make sense until that next Thanksgiving weekend when her high school class is having its ten year reunion.

She contemplates not going, but she's already R.S.V.P.'d and she's already going to be in town to celebrate Thanksgiving with her family. So, she musters up the courage to go.

The first person she recognizes is August Adams. The other woman greets her with a tight hug.

"James! How are you? God, it's been too long."

"It has."

It really has. Jamie missed her friend. She screwed it all up so much back when they were kids. But the woman still had this brightness that radiated from her and Jamie let herself bask in it.

"Oh, you have to meet my wife," August wraps her arm around the waist of a gorgeous brunette, "This is Autumn. I know, I know. Don't even start."

Jamie chuckles, but keeps quiet. After catching up and seeing way too many pictures of August's kid (she was a proud mom and it was kind of cute, to be honest), Jamie was left alone when the other woman found another old friend to talk to. She didn't mind. It gave her a chance to finally get to the bar and get a drink.

Jamie orders a whiskey on the rocks.

"I'll take one of those too, please," a voice speaks from beside her.

Jamie turns her head and takes in the sight before her. Betty hasn't changed much. If anything, she's even more attractive than she was all those years ago.

"Hi."

"Uhh..." Jamie clears her throat, "Hey."

Betty bites her lower lip, a smirk forming on her face anyway. "You look..." Her eyes scan Jamie's body and Jamie shifts a bit under her gaze, "good."

"That's all." Jamie elbows her playfully. The bartender sets their drinks in front of them. Jamie lifts the glass to her mouth.

"Let me try that again. You look incredible in that suit, but all I can think about is what you'd look like out of it."

Jamie chokes on her drink, pounding her chest with her fist as she coughs. Betty quirks her eyebrows and smirks smugly, while Jamie tries to gain some sense of control over her own body again.

"Umm... wow, that... I wouldn't mind..."

"Are you here with anyone?"

"No. I'm actually single at the moment. You?"

Betty doesn't even bother to answer. Instead she kisses Jamie. It takes a moment for Jamie to register what is happening, but eventually she gets a hold of herself and reciprocates the kiss, matching the passion of the woman in front of her.

There are a couple of 'whoops' from former classmates and a 'Get it, Davis' before Betty pulls away.

"Do you want to get out of here?"

How could Jamie say no to that? After that kiss? After ten years of dreaming about this moment? She couldn't.

"Definitely."

'Out of here' isn't very far. It's actually a room at the hotel where the reunion was being hosted, but really it was better than Jamie could have ever dreamed.

As they lay together in the afterglow, Betty runs her fingers through Jamie's curly, golden locks. Jamie rests her head on Betty's chest, her fingers tracing random patterns across Betty's toned abs.

"You're still as fit as you were back then."

Betty buries her face in Jamie's hair. Jamie feels the laughter rumble through the other woman's chest at the comment. "Really? Those are your first words after everything?"

"I can't help it, when you look like this."

"You're not so bad yourself."

Jamie looks up at Betty incredulously, "I'm sexy as hell."

"Hmm... I mean, you're attractive, sure. 'Sexy as hell', may be a touch too far."

"Oh, yeah?" Jamie smiles up at her as she moves her hand down Betty's abdomen. "Let me show you a touch too far."

Being with Betty makes Jamie feel like she's 17 again. All the years away from the girl did nothing to quell her desire to be as close to her as humanly possible. Somehow it was like a part of Jamie's heart had finally found its place again. It was a part that she thought had long been lost and she had resigned herself to the fact that the puzzle would sit there in her chest missing that one piece forever.

Maybe she didn't know much back when they were kids, but she knew one thing that would always ring true: Betty Davis is, has always been, and will always be her person.

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thegeekyblondegirlwholovesstars · 4 years ago

Text

Coming Home Part Five

Warnings: Nothing for this part that the show doesn’t cover:)

This has become such a labor of love for me and I just want to extend my thanks to everyone who has been reading. You all mean a lot to me. I hope you enjoy part five, let me know if you want to be added to the tag list<33

JJ x Reader

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

“I don’t want to do this right now Rafe.” you looked him up and down, avoiding his eyes. He had a split in his eyebrow and his left cheekbone was swollen and bruised. It only just occurred to you that it was JJ who pulled him off of you last night and he clearly gave him some of what he deserved.

“Look I just want to apologize.” Rafe shifted his footing, you knew he expected you to invite him in. “Can we please talk y/n?”

“No. There’s no apologizing for what you did last night. I don’t want to talk to you. Please leave.” You said bluntly and swallowed the lump in your throat as tears welled in your eyes. You went to close the door but he stuck his foot in and stepped closer to you, causing you to flinch and stumble slightly backward.

“Oh come on baby doll at least look me in the eyes when you talk to me.” he stepped into you and grabbed your hands.

“Rafe. Get away from me. I’m done with you.” you pulled your hands away from his grip and pushed past him, leaving him in the doorway.

“Where are you going?” Rafe said, closing your door and stepping back out onto the path.

“Anywhere you’re not!” you shot back at him, your eyes fixed firmly on the ground as you bolted down your front walkway. You collided with John B’s chest. Sarah stood next to him holding your clothes.

“Woah woah, slow down there. You good?” John B looked up the path and realized that you weren’t.

“Rafe what the hell are you doing here?” Sarah shot at her brother, she stepped in front of you protectively as John B slinked his arm over your shoulder.

Rafe ran his hands through his slicked back hair and then spread his arms wide and shrugged, “I didn’t know I needed to make an appointment to see my girlfriend now?”

“I’m not your girlfriend Rafe. I never was.” you fired at him from behind Sarah, his face fell.

“What the hell are you talking about!?” he raised his voice making you jump. “We’ve been going out since the night you got here.”

“Yeah we’ve been seen together and we’ve gone out. But you never asked me to be your girlfriend.”

Rafe huffed and turned away from you, throwing his head back. “You’re gonna regret this.” he turned back to you and pointed, jaw clenched and fury in his eyes.

“I think we're done here” said John B definitively as he took Sarah’s free hand and turned, keeping his arm over your shoulder. You reached your arm around his waist and leaned into him slightly as you walked toward the van. The lump in your throat burned as you held back tears.

“Your hair looks better straight y/n.” Rafe dug at you as John B opened the passenger door for Sarah.

You turned back toward Rafe and shot him a glare, “I don’t remember asking for your approval.” With that Kie slid the van door open and you got in, not daring to look back. You sat down on the floor and let your head fall back against the paneling in front of the passenger seat.

“What took so long?” inquired JJ from the back seat, an unlit joint in hand.

“My brother.” Sarah answered

“You’re kidding right?” Kie shook her head.

“Unfortunately no. She’s not kidding.” You confirmed, head still tilted back as you looked at the ceiling. With your words JJ became rigid, dropping his joint into the seat.

“So that asshole really came back less than 24 hours after beating the shit out of you and thinks you’re gonna come back to him?” JJ’s voice was hard with anger. “And I thought I was stupid.”

“Don’t talk about yourself like that JJ.” you looked at him while your heart offered you a nice pang to the chest. “Can we not talk about this right now guys? I was really hoping to get my mind off of last night and enjoy you guys today.”

“Not talk about what?” Kie played dumb and smiled. You let out a chuckle as she turned to JJ, “So do you care to tell us the itinerary now that y/n is here?”

“Nope.” JJ smirked. “It’s a surprise.” He looked at you and raised his eyebrows.

“You are without a doubt Blondie” you shook your head at him and smiled.

The van pulled into Hayward's and you bolted out of the door, taking the familiar route through the back door which you had traveled hundreds of times.

“Someone’s excited.” John B commented and raised his eyebrows in amazement at just how fast you ran.

“No kidding.” JJ said, exchanging a look with John B.

You got about halfway through the damp and dimly lit back hallway before you realized they weren’t behind you. You turned around and ran back toward the open back door, sticking your head out into the sunshine and warm air you said with a smile, “Well, are you guys coming or?”

“We’re coming. We're coming.” Kie answered you as the four of them surged forward.

“Slow down there Speedy Gonzales.” JJ laughed, jogging to catch up with you. Once he was within an arm's reach you grabbed his hand and began running once again.

“Hey I don’t remember signing up for summer PE” he held on to his hat as he was jolted forward.

“Very funny.” you said with a smile, turning your head back toward him. As you were about to whip your head back around you tripped on a loose tile causing you to fall face first onto the hard ground. JJ landed on top of you. Hysterical laughter came from down the hall, Kie snorted.

“Shut up.” JJ said putting his middle finger on display to the three others. Still on top of you.

“JJ! JJ! My back.” you hurriedly spoke as pain flowed up your spine.

“Oh my god! I’m sorry y/n.” He immediately pushed himself off of you allowing you to turn yourself over and sit upright.

“It’s not your fault I’m a klutz.” You blushed and your heart fluttered as he helped you up. You turned away from him and began to walk forward but he stopped you. JJ raised a hand to your upper back and moved his hand across it lightly. When you fell your hair had shifted from cascading down your back to down your shoulders and your front, revealing your bandaged back. Though your aunt had placed bandages over the cuts themselves, the bruises were still very visible. The deep purples and reds heavily contrasted your freckled complexion.

“I know last night was bad, but I didn’t think it was this bad.” he spoke softly under his breath. “I understand you’re not ready to talk about it yet but Bug I need to know what happened.”

You turned to look at him, his face was riddled with concern and anger flashed beneath his eyes. You took a step into him and looked into his eyes and whispered. “We can talk later. Forget about it for now.” He nodded understandingly and gazed back into your eyes while you made a bleak attempt to prevent them from filling with tears as you thought about the events of last night and the feeling of seeing Rafe this morning.

“You all good y/n?” Sarah asked.

“No more banged up than before.”

“What about me??” JJ looked at Sarah offended that she had not been concerned for his safety.

“You didn’t have a teenage boy fall on top of you JJ.” Kie patted his chest and squeezed by the two of you, continuing down the small hallway.

“I still took a tumble.” JJ said snarkily.

John B cupped his face and pulled JJ into his chest. “Oh sweet boy are you okay!?” “Did the little girl hurt you?”

JJ wiggled himself out of John B’s arms and pushed past you walking down the rest of the hallway. You turned to look at John B and the two of you doubled over with laughter before continuing forward. Once you reached the entrance into the main floor of Hayward's you excitedly pushed through the door and ran into Hayward's arms. After Kie and JJ had appeared through the door he had waited there for you.

“Hey kiddo! I’ve missed you so much. Pope told me about your parents, I’m so sorry. I’m here if you need anything.”

“It’s so good to see you Mr. H.” you looked up at him, “I’m as good as I can be, better than before now that I’m back with these guys.” you motioned to your friends.

He smiled warmly at you and rubbed your shoulders. “I’m happy to hear that, you’ve become quite the young lady since I last saw you. I know your parents would be proud.”

You smiled. “Thank you Mr. H… I was wondering if you could let Pope off a little early. We were going to show Kie and Sarah all the stuff we used to do as kids.”

“Sure thing Bug!” He chuckled. “I’ll go get him, he’s loading up the boat for a delivery.”

“Yay!!” you laughed excitedly. After Hayward left to retrieve Pope you noticed JJ, standing about ten feet away from John B, Kie, and Sarah. He was leaning on the counter pouting, you walked up to him and leaned your elbows on the counter glancing at him. “You good there?”

“Mmhm.” He softened slightly at the sound of your voice.

“No you’re not.” “What’s up?”

He huffed. “I’ll be fine, my ego is just a little bruised.”

“Understandable. I’ll leave you to mend your ego.” You patted the counter rhythmically and joined Kie, Sarah, and John B.

“Hayward looks exactly like I remember him.”

“I know right! The man doesn’t age.” Sarah threw up her hands in amazement.

“I don’t know what water he’s drinking to stay young but I’ll take some of that.” John B snickered.

“Dude you’re sixteen.” JJ said as he put his hat on your head and moved, placing his arm on Kie’s shoulder. She shrugged him off, letting his arm fall to his side.

“Yeah and?” “I don’t wanna get all old and saggy.”

“Saggy?” Pope said joining the rest of you.

You lifted JJ’s hat from over your eyes and re-positioned it. “I wouldn’t wanna go there if I were you.” you looked at Pope as he laughed.

“Okay so can we get going!? I’m dying to see what you guys used to get up to as kids.” Sarah said, pulling the group toward the door.

Sarah and Kie walked toward the van but you, Pope, John B, and JJ stayed rooted to the sidewalk outside of Hayward's. The two other girls looked between the four of you confused.

“Yeah um we didn’t have cars back then.” Pope explained

“We can walk everywhere except for one place.” JJ stated.

The girls nodded and made O shapes with their mouths, understanding. They joined the four of you on the sidewalk. JJ took first lead, directing the group to the left and down the street.

“Hayward's was the perfect meeting place for the four of us because it’s pretty much equal distance from all of our houses.” you explained as JJ turned down a side street. “My old house is about four blocks that way.” You pointed to your right.

JJ turned and walked backward as he began doing his best tour guide impression. “First stop on today's walking tour of the cut is the bell tower!”

“Oh my god the last time we were here you almost fell through the rotten floorboard in the attic.” You pointed at Pope and giggled.

“Listen I forgot about it okay.” he said defensively. “Might I remind you that on that same day you missed a rung on the ladder and slid down to the ground.”

“No need for the reminder, I still have the scar on my shin from the rungs that I hit on the way down.��

Kie and Sarah cringed as they imagined the feeling. “Man you guys must have had some good times.”

“We did.” John B smiled and looked between you, Pope, and JJ who had returned to his normal walking stance.

“Y’all are in for a day of stories.” you added putting your arms around the girls. You were happy to have them here, relieved at how fast they’d become your friends.

Turning a corner to see the bell tower in all its glory you gasped. “Wow, it’s even better than I remembered.”

You jogged in the entrance and glanced around. A warm fuzzy feeling filled your chest. You could practically see the ghost of your younger self running around the main floor, up and down the ladder, giving concerts from the stage, and flopping onto the ground when you all were worn out after a long hot day. This place was just as sacred to you as the Chateau. You smiled at John B before climbing the ladder. There were endless deep talks between each of you in this loft. One night you all snuck out and met here just before you all went into middle school. It was on that night that you realized you had feelings for JJ. This memory made your heart skip a beat. As if on que you saw a messy head of blonde hair emerge from the trapdoor at your feet. You pulled JJ up into the loft. He moved behind you and planted a hug on you from behind, his arms draped over your shoulders. Pope came up after him, followed by Sarah, John B, and then Kie. Once everyone had joined you in the loft you pointed out the rotten floorboard to Kie and Sarah before moving to open the window.

“Wow” Kie drew in a breath taking in the view of the beach.

“I know right.” Sarah said. You looked at her confused.

“I showed her last year,” John B explained.

“Ohhh. Okay.”

“Sometimes when things would get rough,” John B started, “with our parents, or money got tight, or we got fed up with school. We would all just come here and sit. Most nights like that we wouldn’t even say anything.”

“Just be there for each other.” Pope finished John B’s sentence.

“That's really…”

“Deep.” Kie joined Sarah. You could practically see their hearts melt as they pictured the four of you as little kids just sitting up here and not saying a word.

“Okay enough with the mushy stuff.” JJ interjected. “Let’s keep things light. Last night was pretty heavy and I think we need to have some fun.”

You all exited the bell tower and returned to the street. Pope took the lead now. “Next stop on our tour of the cut is…drumroll please” Everyone patted their thighs. “The place we all know and love. Rixons cove.”

After about a ten minute walk through several side streets and hidden shortcuts. The six of you arrived at Rixon’s cove.

“You guys both know Rixon’s” John B addressed Sarah and Kie. “But I figured y/n would want to stop here.”

“You figured right Bookie.” you rubbed his shoulders before climbing up into your favorite tree, forgetting you were wearing a dress.

“Umm uh, y/n.” Sarah pointed at your dress which was now up at your waist. The boys all had their heads down at the ground, JJ looked up quickly but Kie slapped him upside the head prompting a quick “Ouch!” before he glued his eyes back to his battered work boots.

“Oh um… whoops.” You said embarrassed as you climbed down and sat on one of the logs which formed the makeshift fire pit that you and John B had built with Big John and your dad when you were five. “You may lift your heads now boys.” “Thank you.”

Everyone laughed as Kie sat down next to you and John B, Sarah, JJ, and Pope each found a log for themselves.

“I think the last time I was here…” you trailed off and looked down, fidgeting with a button on your dress. Taking a deep breath, you finished, “Was the night I told you guys my mom got the job in Rhode Island.”

“Yeah. I think it was.” JJ said looking over at you.

“There were a lot of tears that night,” John B remembered.

“But we had a lot of good times here” Pope added, trying to shift the mood. “Remember when you almost fell in the fire because John B and JJ were trying to hug you after they rolled around in the marsh?”

You broke out into a fit of laughter. “YES! We were what? Seven?”

“Six.” John B corrected you laughing along. “You hadn’t even lost your first tooth yet.”

“Good thing Pope stopped us before you fell in.” JJ sniggered. “You would have been burned to a crisp”

“No kidding” you raised your eyebrows at the thought, taking JJ’s hat off your head and running your hands through your hair.

Looking at the way your long hair fell over your torso JJ’s stomach flipped and he gulped. His heart began to race before he remembered what was hidden by your hair. He jumped up in an attempt to avoid a fit of anger at the thought of last night’s events. “So I think we need to head back to Hayward’s and retrieve the van for one last stop.”

JJ walked over to you and helped you up from the log. Helping you to your feet before offering his arm. You linked it with your own and kicked out your feet together as you began to walk. This was an old act of yours. It was hard not to make note of the way your palms began to sweat as you could feel his rippling biceps against your arm. You looked up at him before continuing the routine that you two had practiced many times over, looking at his soft eyes and mane of untameable blonde hair, your stomach fluttered.

You started in your awful posh British accent, “Kind sir, where are we off to on this next stop in our adventure?”

JJ started in his accent “Well madame” but he couldn’t finish, laughter overtook him. “Your accent has somehow gotten worse.” He joked.

“I’ve been out of practice” you grumbled, hiding a grin.

“Whatever you say.” he shot back cheekily. You slapped his arm playfully and laughed.

With a few shortcuts the walk back to Hayward's only took about eight minutes. You all hopped back into the van sitting back down in your same spots. Pope took the side window seat.

“So Bug, any guesses as to where were headed?” John B asked from the driver's seat.

“Honestly I have no clue.” you admitted.

“This one is your favorite,” he hinted.

It clicked, “Battery Jasper?!!”

“Yep”, he, JJ, and Pope all said in unison.

“Yes! I can’t wait.”

In the back JJ retrieved his joint from earlier and took his lighter out of his pocket. He lit it and took a hit.

“JJ!” Kie and Pope scolded together.

“What!?” he said.

“Whatever” Pope huffed.

“Pass it over here?” you reached your hand toward JJ, he stared at you in surprise.

“Mrs. Goodie Two Shoes smokes?” he asked, passing it to you.

You inhaled nodding. You exhaled and answered, “Yeah, I prefer it to drinking to be honest.” “And besides, my back hurts. It’s for the pain.” you furrowed your brow joking as you passed it back to him.

“That’s my girl!” he smiled and leaned back. JJ took several drags before passing it back to you and allowed you to finish it.

You finished it as John B pulled off the road in front of Battery Jasper which was just up the hill. Getting out of the van you dropped the joint on the ground and stamped it out with the ball of your foot.

You followed John B up the hill and awaited your favorite view of the coast. “It's so gorgeous up here.” You sat on what was left of the crumbling wall of the old fort.

“Do you know what we came up with here?” John B asked sitting next to you and crossing his arms over his chest.

“How could I forget?” you responded.

“A few weeks after we met JJ and Pope.” You explained to Kie and Sarah who were sitting on the wall opposite you, JJ and Pope were sitting on the remains of the wall to your right. “My mom and dad brought the four of us here for a picnic. As you know, I had already been given the name Bug by Big John and I call John B Bookie, well these two”, you pointed at JJ and Pope, “wanted “B” nicknames too.”

“So.” John B continued your story, “We gave JJ the nickname Blondie, for obvious reasons.” He gestured to you indicating that he wanted you to finish the story.

“And Pope the nickname Big B. Which stands for Big Brains. Even then he was the smartest out of all of us.”

“Thanks y/n”

“No problem Pope” you smiled at him.

“Okay that’s absolutely adorable.” Sarah gushed.

“Why thank you Ms.Cameron.” JJ stood and curtsied.

You guys sat there as the sun set over the water, chatting about anything and everything. The girls asked to hear more stories from your childhood. The four of you each obliged. You told stories of your time in Rhode Island and they told tales of the goings on on the island while you were away. Laughter littered your conversation as you began to feel the love you had been longing for since your parents' passing.

“I love you guys.” you blurted out cutting Pope off from telling a story about John B losing his trunks while surfing.

“We love you too y/n” Kie responded immediately.

John B reached over and took your hand. “What brought that on you so suddenly Bug?”

“Being back here with you guys.” you answered him with a warm and grateful smile. “It feels like old times, it feels like I’m finally home.”

John B pulled you into a hug and the rest of the pogues followed shortly after. The bear hug lasted for a few minutes, your mind drifted and you spoke to the girls from the center.

“Are you guys going to midsummers?” Everyone came out of the hug with a smile and returned to where they had been sitting.

They nodded before you continued, “It’s being held at my house and I was wondering if you guys wanted to come over and get ready beforehand and stuff or maybe go shopping for our dresses together?”

“That sounds like so much fun!” Sarah said.

“I’m in.” Kie announced.

“Sounds like a plan” you shot finger guns at the girls and gave them an over exaggerated wink, prompting a laugh from everyone. “Now what about you boys?” You leaned your head on John B’s shoulder.

“What about us?” Pope inquired.

“There’s no way I’m having a party and letting you guys stay home.”

“I’ll take Pope,” Kie blushed and pushed some hair out of her face.

Sarah shared a look with John B that essentially said “Do I even have to ask?”

Without hesitation you asked JJ, “Blondie, wanna be my date?”

“Hell yeah baby!”

You moved behind JJ and put his hat back onto his head before leaning down to give him a hug from behind. “The Pogues are crashing Midsummers!!” you celebrated.

Everyone echoed you enthusiastically. JJ moved his hand to your arm and rubbed his thumb back and forth before turning to whisper in your ear, “Can we go talk?”

I know this was a little long but I hope you enjoyed. If any of you ever need anything please feel free to message me I am always here:) Thank you for all you do!💕💕

@tangledinsparkles @hopelesswritingxd @im-a-stranger-thing @jenahbell @annedub @hmspxgue @harrysbbby @spn-pogues

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emmerrr · 5 years ago

Note

Hii for the fic prompt: pynch + "come over here now and bring a tarp"

Lie-ins were a rarity for Adam.

It was a Sunday, which meant Ronan had to go to Mass, and Adam would see him whenever he got done spending time with his brothers. Gansey, Blue, and Henry were spending the weekend at Georgetown with Gansey’s parents, going over their summer road-trip itinerary. As for Adam, he had no homework to finish, no job to go to today, and he was sleeping in.

He was woken around eight thanks to what sounded like a torrential downpour outside, but it soon quietened down to the nice comforting sound of steady rainfall, and Adam smiled and snuggled further into his blankets and fell back asleep.

He was yanked jarringly out of sleep an indeterminate amount of time later by his phone vibrating on his makeshift bedside table. The phone was new (to him at least; he’d purchased it second-hand) and so he was still getting used to it. Gansey and Boyd were really the only ones who called him, seeing as Ronan was allergic to his phone and was with Adam most of the time anyway, and Blue still didn’t yet have her own. Henry was in touch often, although strictly through text messages; a slew of emojis that Adam left unanswered most of the time.

He reached for the phone with some trepidation, as no doubt it was Boyd calling to ask Adam to come in last minute. His spirits lifted immediately when it was Ronan’s name on the caller-ID, although this was quickly replaced by panic, as it seemed like the only reason Ronan would be calling was because something terrible had happened.

Adam sat up, fumbling the phone in his haste to accept the call.

“Hello?”

“Parrish. Good, you’re up.”

His heart settled; Ronan’s tone was too casual for there to be any dead bodies to bury. Ronan continued, “I’m at Monmouth, come over here now. Bring a tarp.”

…Or maybe there was a dead body to move.

“What?” Adam said.

“Also a ladder, if you have one.”

Adam did not have a ladder. “What?”

“A mop, too,” Ronan added.

“What?”

“Stop saying what.”

“Start making sense!”

Ronan quickly relayed the gist of the situation: he had gone to Monmouth after Mass to pick up some of his stuff to take back to the Barns, and had discovered a hefty leak in the roof, pouring water into the apartment thanks to the deluge they’d had. To sum up, Ronan required assistance.

After hanging up the phone, Adam hurriedly washed his face, brushed his teeth, and got dressed before grabbing his keys and heading straight out.

He had exactly none of the things Ronan had asked for, but he managed to borrow a mop from Mrs Ramirez who was still in the St Agnes office, and he swung by Boyd’s to see about borrowing a ladder and some tarp.

He pulled into the Monmouth lot fifteen minutes later, and Ronan appeared at his elbow as he was pulling tarp out of his back seat.

“Oh nice,” Ronan said appreciatively, and he helped Adam carry it up. “This should do the trick.”

Adam left Ronan in the apartment with the tarp and went back down to his car to grab the mop and and the step-ladder Boyd had let him borrow. When he returned, he got a good look at the damage for himself.

The leak was in the centre of the room, coming from the highest point and still steadily dripping into a bucket, which was on top of Gansey’s bed, which had a giant wet patch under the bucket obviously from before Ronan had got there and seen what had happened.

“So…what’s the tarp for?” Adam asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I was gonna cover Gansey’s bed with it, keep it from getting more soaked than it already is.”

“You didn’t consider moving the bed out of the way of the leak then?”

Ronan’s mouth opened, closed, then opened again. “No,” he said thoughtfully. “No I did not.”

Together (and quickly), they moved Gansey’s bed well out of the splash zone, and Ronan lay down the tarp where it had been, emptied the bucket out of the window, then put it back under the leak.

There were a few wet spots on the floor where the leak had splashed over, and Adam got to work mopping them up.

Ronan looked at the step-ladder. “What the shit is this?”

“It’s a ladder.”

“A baby ladder for babies, maybe,” Ronan scoffed. “I need a big one. I’m gonna dream a fix for the leak, but I’ll still need to get up there to put it in place.”

“Then you should have been more specific,” Adam said easily. “And also, how the hell was I supposed to fit a full-sized ladder in my tiny car?”

Ronan shrugged as if to say “not my problem”, then stood at the edge of the tarp, looking up at the leak.

Adam carried on mopping and said nothing, because Ronan was clearly thinking.

After a minute or so of Ronan quietly muttering to himself, he said, “That might work,” then came over, took hold of Adam’s hand and led him through to his room.

He lay down in his bed, pulling Adam down with him.

“Not that I don’t love where this is going,” Adam said, “but how will this help, exactly?”

“Mind out of the gutter, Parrish. I need to dream.” Adam pouted and Ronan laughed, kissing him in consolation. “I’ll sleep better with you here.”

It made Adam glow to hear that, and when Ronan rolled over onto his side, Adam pressed up against him, wrapping his arm around Ronan and holding him close. He kissed Ronan on the back of the neck and said, “Go to sleep. I’ll be here.”

Ronan hummed lightly in response, and a few minutes later, his deep and even breathing told Adam that he was asleep.

Adam wasn’t sure how long it would take for Ronan to get what he was after. It was hard to tell when it came to dream-stuff; sometimes Ronan would be in and out, sometimes he pulled out the wrong thing, sometimes he pulled things out accidentally, or sometimes it took hours.

Even if it took hours today, Adam wouldn’t mind. He nestled into Ronan’s warmth, his palm over Ronan’s heart. He liked the steady beat under his hands that told him Ronan was alive. Adam didn’t much like sleeping alone either these days.

He was just starting to drift off himself when he felt Ronan stiffen in his arms, the telltale sign that he’d brought something back. Adam carefully sat up and leaned over to watch as whatever it was materialised in Ronan’s frozen hands.

It was still so bizarre to watch something appear in what had just been empty space, no matter how many times Adam had now witnessed it. It was like your mind forced you to blink to compensate for the weirdness of it.

Adam blinked.

In Ronan’s hands was a grey…substance. Adam wasn’t sure what it was made of. He didn’t want to touch it. It looked sticky.

“Ronan,” he said, knowing Ronan could hear him even though he couldn’t move yet, “I hope you don’t need help to fix this leak because I am not touching that thing.”

Adam started to count the seconds, and he was up to fifty-two when Ronan’s eyebrows twitched. At just past a minute, a grin spread across Ronan’s face and he sat up, brandishing his efforts. Adam reared back, pulling a face.

“I didn’t dream it to be pretty, I dreamt it to plug a hole.”

“What’s it made of?” Adam asked dubiously.

“Fuck knows,” Ronan shrugged. “Dream stuff. It’s like silly putty kind of. C’mon.” He got up and Adam followed him out of his room.

“In the dream, it stayed pliable like this until you mould it in somewhere, and then it hardens to whatever that material is. So in theory…”

“…It’ll patch up that leak and also be a perfect match to the roof?”

Ronan gave Adam a thumbs up. “Exactly.” He looked up at the ceiling. “Only question is how we get it up there.”

“I can’t get a bigger ladder,” Adam said.

Ronan waved this off as inconsequential. Then he laughed. “I’m gonna have to throw it.”

“Uh huh, okay, interesting. Quick question; what if you miss?”

Ronan almost looked offended. “Who do you think you’re talking to, Parrish?” He looked up again. “Alright, fair enough though, it is quite far.”

Scientific curiosity started to get the better of Adam and he took the stuff from Ronan. It really did feel quite a lot like silly putty.

He pulled at it, testing the viscosity. “Will it even adhere properly to the roof if you throw it?”

“It should,” Ronan said absently, looking around the room for something to assist in his efforts. His eyes lit up. “Oh, I have an idea. Help me with the pool table, would you?”

“Is this going to be a good idea?”

“I don’t know, let’s see.”

The pool table was heavier than the bed had been, but they managed to get it close enough, and then Ronan grabbed Adam’s borrowed step ladder and set it up on top of the pool table.

“If I stand on that, I’ve got a much closer shot to throw it at the hole in the roof.”

“You also have a much higher chance of falling off and breaking your neck,” Adam said helpfully.

“There’s that sunny attitude,” Ronan said cheerfully, and hopped up onto the pool table before climbing the step ladder. “Pass me my gunk.”

Adam wrinkled his nose. “That sounded gross and you know it.” He stepped up onto the table and passed Ronan the dream silly putty magic fix. Then he wrapped his arms around Ronan to keep him steady and pressed a kiss to his hip. “I love you, please don’t fall.”

“I’ve got this,” Ronan said confidently, then tossed the grey stuff straight up.

His aim was good, and it hit the ceiling with a squelch. The dripping stopped immediately, and Ronan looked down at Adam, triumphant. “See? And you doubted my genius.”

Adam didn’t even have a chance to respond before Ronan’s dream fix lost its grip and fell right back down, landing on the pool table at Adam’s feet. The rain immediately started to trickle back through, splashing off Ronan’s head.

“You were saying?” Adam said dryly.

Ronan climbed down and they hurriedly moved the pool table back out of the splash zone, then put the bucket back out.

The absurdity of the situation suddenly hit Adam and he burst out laughing. “You had to mention your genius.”

“It would have worked if I had a proper ladder so I could reach properly!” Ronan insisted, then he sighed. “You’re not gonna let this go, are you?”

“I mean, not any time soon,” Adam admitted.

“What do we tell Gansey?”

“We tell him he needs to call a roof repairman. And we suggest he gets a new mattress.”

“If he kept his bed against a wall like normal people this wouldn’t have happened,” Ronan said.

“So it’s his own fault really.”

“Obviously.”

Neither of them were heartless, so they stripped Gansey’s bed and threw his rain-damp sheets in the washing machine, although there wasn’t much they could do about the mattress. At least there were other beds in Monmouth that Gansey could sleep in considering Ronan would be sleeping with Adam that night.

They made sure the tarp and the bucket were in place and all the wet patches on the floor were mopped up, then Ronan took a picture of the set-up on his phone and sent it to Gansey, captioned it ‘lol’ then promptly turned his phone off.

He reached out his hand to Adam. “Alright, our work here is done. Let’s go on a date.”

Adam snorted. “Yeah? What do you wanna do?”

“Don’t care. Anything. Nothing.”

Adam twined their fingers together. “Nothing sounds good. But pizza first.”

“Pizza first,” Ronan agreed, and together they headed out into the rain.

#the raven cycle #pynch #tumblr prompts #trc fic #trc

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whiskynottea · 5 years ago

Photo

An Interruption in the 1st Law of Thermodynamics.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18, Chapter 19, Chapter 20, Chapter 21, Chapter 22, Chapter 23, Chapter 24, Chapter 25, Chapter 26, Chapter 27, Chapter 28, Chapter 29, Chapter 30, Chapter 31, Chapter 32, Chapter 33, Chapter 34, Chapter 35, Chapter 36, Chapter 37, Chapter 38, Chapter 39, Chapter 40, Chapter 41, Chapter 42, Chapter 43, Chapter 44, Chapter 45, Chapter 46, Chapter 47, Chapter 48, Chapter 49, Chapter 50, Chapter 51 Chapter 52, Chapter 53

AO3

Beta-d, as always, by @theministerskat! Thank you, love!

Chapter 54. Counting Days

There is a subtle feeling of trespassing, wrapping itself around your heart and squeezing lightly, when you step into someone’s empty bedroom. A feeling strong enough to make your breath come slow and heavy, your feet tread with caution, not to disturb the spirit of the absent owner. As if your own body marks you as an intruder and tries to make your presence subtle, even though your rebel hands leave invisible fingerprints on every surface, proof of a long-lost innocence.

I was sitting on Jamie’s bed, looking around, feeling the emotions rising in my chest.

I was in his room. His bed, his books, his posters on the walls.

And yet, I wasn’t home.

This couldn’t be home without him. It couldn’t be home without his clothes neatly hanging in the closet. The air felt empty of laughter, the sheets immaculate and wrinkless underneath my fingers. No one would whisper dreams and stories to me when I’d lay down at night.

“Are ye going to sit there all day, lost in your ominous thoughts?” Jenny’s stern voice came from the door, and I turned to look at her without knowing the answer to her question, or how she had deduced the nature of my thoughts.

I hadn’t seen Jamie in months, and though I always missed him, I had never felt his absence drive into me like a knife through my chest. Never, until the moment I entered his room and realized I would be sleeping in his bed without his breath on my neck, without his arms around me. It didn’t feel right.

“Claire!” Jenny’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts once more. “Stop it! I’m not letting you stay here, with that morose look on your face, staring at Jamie’s stuff.” She looked at me through narrowed eyes, both hands fixed on her hips. “The best Fraser is here, anyway,” she added with a light shrug and a wink. “No?”

“Your Da, you mean?” I teased her, and couldn’t stop my smirk as I saw both her eyebrows rise.

“I should leave you here, crying over the shirts Jamie left behind.” She wore a smug grin and tilted her head towards the stairs. “Come! I’ve made tea.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot how tea is a synonym for panacea.”

She stopped just outside the room and turned to look at me, squaring her shoulders. “What kind of Englishwoman are you?” she challenged me with mock offence.

Avoiding her sharp glance, I rose and walked to the door. One Fraser was always better than none. And even though I felt like curling up in Jamie’s room and being miserable, arguing with Jenny Fraser required more energy than I had.

Sleeping in Jamie’s bed without him was not as horrible as I had thought. We talked every night until I fell asleep, and I carried his voice with me in my dreams. It was enough to make me wake with a smile on my face.

Days raced by, as they always did when I stayed at Lallybroch. Between texting and calling Jamie, studying to be prepared for medical school, reading classic literature with Jenny, and choosing between her endless versions of labels for Lallider -- the Lallybroch cider she and Ian had made over the previous months -- there was hardly any time to think about how quickly the days were passing.

I had missed Jenny. Her warm smile when she listened to my stories from Zambia, her crude tone when she decided I had talked with Jamie enough and it was time for us to go for drinks, her loud laughter when she had more than two pints, and the hugs she gave me every time she suspected I might be feeling lonely.

When I was a little girl, I always tried to imagine how my life would be if I had siblings. Someone to talk to late at night, someone to conspire with when Lamb couldn’t hear us, someone to hold my hand when I was afraid. Someone who would be there, and I wouldn’t be alone.

Jenny and I might not build fortresses or climb trees together, but I had found my sister in her. And I knew she would be there for me, no matter what happened between her brother and me.

Not that I planned to let anything ruin my relationship with Jamie. Now that we could call each other every day, his only complaint was that we were all together at Lallybroch, and he alone in Ann Arbor. Alone as a figure of speech, because he was never really by himself, what with John, Hector, and the other members of the swim team going out or gathering at their dorm. He still proclaimed that we shouldn’t have fun without him though, and kept sending pouty faces every time I sent him selfies from our nights out in Inverness. At the end of the night, however, when I saw his eyes smiling at me through the screen, we would count down the days together until his return to Scotland.

As Jamie’s arrival approached, I started researching destinations in Scotland, wanting to spend a few days alone with him. I had been almost sure he’d be as excited as I was when I proposed the idea of a road trip to the north, without plans or itinerary, when I got Jamie’s text rejecting my idea.

Scot: You haven’t had enough of Scotland already, Sassenach?

Sassenach: I’ve never been to the North Coast! I saw pictures and there are so many places to visit! Jenny told me you traveled there with your parents, when you were children. Do you remember anything?

Scot: It was green.

Sassenach: 🙄

Scot: Okay, yes, I remember. Wide beaches, the ocean, rivers running down emerald hills, Highland coos. That’s all.

Sassenach: Well, that sounds GREAT! It’s enough for me!

Scot: Not for me. It will be tiring. And I doubt we’ll find rooms to stay.

Sassenach: FFS

“Well, that’s a twisted face, if I’ve ever seen one,” Jenny remarked as she came to sit on the bench next to me, a sheen of sweat appearing on her forehead from the shining sun.

I huffed. “It’s your brother, you know. The beginning of all evil in my life.”

Jenny laughed, blue eyes crinkling with mirth. “What did he do, now?”

“I suggested we travel for a few days, go to the North Coast. But he doesn’t want to.”

“Oh.” Jenny averted her eyes, looking far at the hills hiding the horizon. “He must have missed Lallybroch. Not that he’ll ever admit it.”

“Yes, that’s what I thought, too,” I agreed, then took in her rosy cheeks and short breaths. “And where have you been?”

“Wi’ Ian,” she replied, simply, and I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively.

“We were examining the trees at the orchard, if you need to know,” she exclaimed indignantly.

“Oh, I’m sure you did.”

Jenny pursed her lips ready to reply when my phone buzzed with a picture of Jamie sending kisses, probably feeling guilty for turning down my suggestion of a week of summer holidays alone.

“So how are things between you?” Jenny bumped into my shoulder with hers, wisely changing the subject as she turned her eyes away from my phone. “With the distance and everything?” A playful smile was on her lips, but her eyes were serious, inquisitive.

“It’s… Okay.” I took a moment before I continued, my fingers trailing on the bluebells of my necklace. I had replied to the same question hundreds of times, but I couldn’t give a superficial answer to Jenny. “It’s not okay, actually,” I chuckled nervously, feeling self-conscious all of a sudden. I rubbed my hands together, interlinked the fingers to keep them from moving, then crossed my legs before I untangled them again. “But we make do,” I asserted, nodding to myself.

Jenny studied me, then made a strange noise in her throat. “I haven’t seen ye fight. Do ye? Did you get distant?” she asked, now straddling the bench to look straight at me.

“No, no. Nothing of the sort. It’s just… I miss him, you know? I want to share things with him and he’s not here. So I end up texting him and sending pictures with the most trivial things. He does the same.”

Jenny nodded, frowning. “It’s working, though.” She smirked, her gaze falling on my phone again. “Ye may seem ridiculous, and trust me ye do, but ye have kept your lives together even though you’re not in the same place.”

“I guess so.” I gave her a timid smile. “I know that sending him a picture of my meal is stupid, but then he sends me his and I feel connected to him, somehow. It’s not like eating lunch together as we did at school, but it’s something.”

Jenny nodded, and we kept silent for a long while.

“You know,” she started, running her fingers through her sleek black hair and fixing them up into a ponytail. “After Christmas, when Jamie and I came back at Lallybroch with Ian, I went through this phase when I all I could think was, ‘That’s it. That is all I’ll ever have.’ I was with Ian, whom I knew my whole life, and we would go to uni together and I would always be with him. And it scared me, realizing that.”

I turned to look at her, this girl that never stopped surprising me. I had been in Edinburgh back then, and I would never have imagined Jenny having second thoughts about Ian.

“I mean…” she continued, rushing to explain when she saw my confusion. “I grew up in a small place and Ian had always been there. I don’t remember myself without Ian around. We were kids when we got together, that summer when he kissed me, and it had felt like the most natural thing in the world. Then, I saw you and Jamie getting separated by an ocean I wondered what my life would be if I wasn’t with Ian. If I would be the same person, if I would be different. If I would study abroad, not having Ian to keep me in Edinburgh.”

“Did you want to?” I asked. “Did you want to leave Scotland?”

Jenny sighed, and a soft smile curled her lips up. “No, not really. It didn’t take me long to realize I am the person I want to be when I am with Ian. He smooths my edges. He makes me laugh. He understands me even when I don’t understand myself. I grew up with him and I know now that I want to grow old with him. To live with him by my side. To share the journey.”

I nodded, smiling as I took in the beauty of her conviction. “Sometimes I wonder whether things would be easier if I hadn’t met Jamie when I did,” I confessed as the sun dove lower, kissing the top of the hills. “If I met him after university, after we’d done all we needed to do. Maybe everything would flow then, and we would be together without the distance between us.”

“But if so, you might have never met him.”

“I know,” I agreed, seeing how pointless that route of thought was. “And that’s why I don’t regret having to live through this. Because I have him, right? I still have him, even though he’s miles away.” Tears welled up in my eyes and rolled down my cheeks, and I felt Jenny’s arms around me, pulling me closer to her. I hadn’t told a soul about these thoughts. Not even Jamie. I cried harder.

“Ye have him and he has you. You went to bloody Zambia and the two of you stayed together. You’re strong, Claire.” She ran her hands against my back, her words as soothing as her caress.

“I know. It’s not rational, this fear that I’ll lose him. We talk every day, we share everything.”

“You love each other, silly! That’s enough.”

“We do,” I admitted, brushing tears away.

“I won’t let him hurt you. And I won’t let you hurt him, okay?” Jenny kissed my cheek as if to emphasize the love in her words. “I promise. I’m the wise one, after all.”

“Right,” I laughed, and hugged her tight.

Three weeks at Lallybroch were more than I had initially planned, but they still weren’t enough. A sunny Sunday morning, however, I kissed Jenny, hugged Ian and Brian, and took the train back to Edinburgh. Lamb would start his sabbatical a few weeks after I left for Oxford, and we wanted to spend time together before Jamie returned from the States.

It felt like our days in Egypt, when the two of us had stayed home drinking tea and Lamb filled my imagination with stories of broken artefacts that made his eyes glint with excitement, revealing ancient civilizations and Gods who lost their power when people found new ones to grant their wishes. Those quiet afternoons when he’d tried to show me the internal need humans have to be remembered, the necessity to leave something behind, stronger than flesh and bones. But now I was the one telling the stories, and they were not tales of the past. I was sharing stories of the present, of people who were living and breathing the same moment we did, but Lamb would only meet through my eyes. I talked about their lives, their families, our differences and similarities, of the way they changed who I was and made me a better person. Of the way I might have affected them, too. Lamb was the best audience I could ever ask for, his proud smile and kind eyes filling my heart with joy.

When Lamb wasn’t at home, I found myself strolling around in the city. Edinburgh was different in summer, its streets full of cheerful tourists wandering, standing to listen the bagpipers on the streets or heading towards the castle and the palace. Some days I let my feet take me wherever they would, only to find that I subconsciously visited the places I walked to with Jamie. More than once I ended up at Calton Hill, watching the city with my hair dancing on the breeze, and I could almost feel Jamie’s long fingers tucking the errant curls behind my ear, his hand lingering on my neck as he leaned in for a kiss. And some days, when the sun hit my face long enough, I could almost feel his smile -- warm, full and gentle. As if pieces of our soul were interwoven with this place, making it ours no matter how far apart our bodies were. As if my brain refused to take in the surrounding without conjuring memories of him.

I was sitting on our bench at Calton Hill when Jamie sent a picture of his sleepy face, right after he’d woken. The text came seconds later.

Scot: One. More. Day.

Sassenach: Less than 24 hours!

The following morning, 22 hours after I’d left Calton Hill, I was waiting with my luggage at arrivals, ready to go back to Lallybroch. It required a humongous amount of strength to stop cracking my knuckles and keep my legs from bouncing.

His flight had arrived ten minutes ago. People came rushing by me, tourists looking for the information desk, Scots searching for their families and friends.

I thought I would count the days, the months, I had been away from him while waiting. I didn’t -- couldn’t. My mind was blank, as though primed to create new memories.

And then, as I thought my heart would give way from overworking, I spotted him. Tall, red curls falling against his forehead, blue eyes looking around -- searching for me.

My gaze met his and I started walking towards him before I realized it. It was different than our first reunion. I had felt consumed by his presence, then. We had kissed with all the desperation and elation of our passion. Now I wanted to hold him, to get lost in him, to feel his heart beating as I lay my head against his chest.

I didn’t know how long we were hugging for after I crashed against him. How long we were kissing, after his lips found mine. How long we kept still in each others arms, reluctant to let go as if someone would pull us apart. Finally, I took a step back and smiled at the grin lighting his face.

“Come on,” I said, taking his hand in mine and reaching for my luggage with the other. “We have a train to catch.” It was exactly what he’d said to me, when I arrived in Detroit.

His grin grew wider. “I don’t think so, Sassenach.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning, as I turned back to look at him.

“Well,” he blushed. I hadn’t seen Jamie blush in a long while. He ran a hand through his curls and smiled again. “The first time I texted you --”

“Can’t we talk about this on the train? We’re going to be late!” I interrupted him, and he sighed theatrically.

“No. Now listen, will you?”

I looked at him through narrowed eyes but didn’t speak again.

“As I was saying, the first time I texted you, you told me that your favorite food is mushroom risotto, and then ye promised ye would escape with me. First destination…” He squeezed my hand in his, looking at me expectantly.

“Paris,” I whispered, recalling our conversation almost two years ago, and watched him pull out two plane tickets from his backpack.

“Paris,” he confirmed, waving the tickets in the limited space between us. “A week, just the two of us.”

I gasped. If I had any air left in my lungs I was sure it would leave my body in a scream. Instead, I stood there, stupefied, looking at him.

“We’re going to Paris?” I asked, at last, stupidly.

“We are, babe. We’re leaving in two hours.”

Before he could say one more word, I took his face in my hands and kissed him. It wasn’t an easy kiss, given that my mouth would not comply since I couldn’t stop grinning.

Chapter 55

#thermodynamics #the first law of thermodynamics #jamie x claire #high school AU #college AU #outlander fanfic #outlander fanfiction #jenny and claire

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