#and if you didn’t know (you probably do) you can watch Mat in a midsummer nights dream

[billdecker]

🩷 photos from February 🩷

[outerbankspreferences]

The Roommate - Chapter II - The Invitation

Word Count: 1481

MASTERLIST SERIES MASTERLIST

A/N: This took me way too long to update, but next chapter everyone is going to meet, I hope you like it! Also just so you know, my request are open!

It was a long flight home, and the boys were simply happy to be getting back. They had a long week of filming a head of them, and the weren’t overly happy with the results of the weekend. Madison told them she would pick them up from the airport so they wouldn’t have to cab back to the apartments. As promised, she was waiting at the pickup gate, “hey guys, how’d it goes?” She asked, hoping for a good outcome. She flinched when all three boys groaned getting into her car. Rudy sitting in the front. “There are too many weird people in LA, we couldn’t find anyone.”

“Yeah, either they were too smelly, or had pets, or something else.” Austin spoke up sitting in the back next to Drew.

 “Ugh guys that sucks. I’m sure you’ll find someone. I mean even if you had to find another place, you’re giving the landlord a lot of notice maybe he’ll let you out of the lease.” Madison tried to encourage them.

 “What did you guys do all weekend?” Drew asked changing the subject. “Oh, you know, the normal hung out at Chase and Maddy’s. We were thinking of having a party this weekend. It’s going to be a lot of the cast last week filming, kind of a celebration thing.” She explained to the boys.

 “Sounds like fun, can you drop me off at Elaine’s?” Rudy asked the brunette. She had been texting him all day, it wasn’t normal for them to go a whole weekend without seeing each other since they started dating.

 Once Rudy got to Elaine’s apartment, he put the code in and went up, walking in without even knocking. “Hey baby, I missed you.” He spoke, walking up to her engulfing her in a bone crushing hug. “Hey, how did the roommate hunt go?” She asked, wanting to feel the situation out before she mentions anything about Oliva. They walked over to the couch and got comfortable as Rudy explained what happened. “I just feel bad you know. I’m bailing on them and I don’t want them to get stuck with a shitty roommate.” Rudy explained to her, running his hands through her hair. “Well, I might have a solution to your problem.” She spoke up, looking up at him. He raised his eyebrows motioning for her to explain.

 “Do you remember my friend from college Oliva? I met up with her for lunch and she was telling me about a job in LA that she was considering taking, but she needed a roommate. Do you think Austin and Drew would mind having a girl for a roommate, Liv’s great, and she cleans!” Elaine said trying to sell the idea to him. Rudy thought about it for a minute, they probably wouldn’t mind. “I mean I don’t know, I could ask them, what does she do?” He asked. “She’s a paralegal. She works a lot, apparently she’s taking someone’s MAT leave at a smaller firm.” Elaine explained. “Well, I can ask them tomorrow when we’re filming, but can we go to bed I’m so tired.” Rudy whined, both trying to get a good night’s rest.

 The next day Rudy was scheduled to film with Drew and some extra’s they hired. They were filming the midsummer’s episode which required everyone to be dressed up in nice suits. Rudy walked over to the wardrobe trailer to get his suit on for his character. When he got in, Drew was there getting ready dressed in a blue suit. “Hey just the guy I wanted to see.” Rudy spoke up, making Drew look up at him. “Hey man, what’s up?” Drew asked while on of the girls fixed his suit. “Elaine was telling me about a friend of hers that was looking for a roommate in LA. Only problem is that it’s a girl, would that bother you guys?” Rudy explained trying gage his reaction. Drew thought about it for minute. He had grown up with two sisters, and didn’t really know if he wanted to live with girl, “what does she do?” He asked, wanting to get more information before he committed to anything. “Uh a lawyer or something, I don’t know something to do with law. Ask Elaine when you see her, it’s her old college roommate.” Rudy explained going into a dressing room to get changed.

 “Do you think Austin would mind though?” Rudy hollered out, just as Austin was walking in. “Would I mind what?” He asked curious about what was being discussed “Uh, having a girl for a roommate, I guess Elaine’s friend is moving to LA.” Drew explained, wanting to get the reaction of his friend. “Oh yeah that would be fine. Girls always make the place smell nice. What’s her name?” Austin asked Rudy. “Oliva, I’ve only seen old college pictures of her put Elaine said she’s nice.” Rudy told the two boys. “Well, when can we meet her?” Drew asked, wanting to meet her before committing not as sold on the idea as Austin was. “How about we all go for lunch or something, maybe Tuesday?” He suggested thinking a more neutral thing was a good idea. “Yeah sure, Tuesday works for me.” Austin said, Drew nodding in response.

 To say that Oliva had been busy all weeks was and understatement. She had been prepping for court all week. It was big case, and she was lucky to be able to help. It was her speciality; she would help investigate different people and gather important information towards the case. She loved her job, she basically lived out of her car, but still felt very professional. She moved around so much that she didn’t really need to have an office.

 She had promised Elaine that she would come over and meet the two guys she wanted her to live with but honestly couldn’t find the time. She had blown off lunch one too many times and couldn’t believe that hadn’t found someone else to live with them.

 Oliva was sitting in her car, trying to stuff a bit of lunch in before her next meeting with a client. She was listening to the radio flipping through Instagram when her phone started to ring. Elaine was calling her, she cursed herself, knowing her friend was trying to reschedule plans.

 “Hey Elaine, I’m a little busy right now, can I call you back?” Oliva asks quickly, trying to get her off the phone. “I can hear the radio Liv; you’ve got me on speaker phone.” She responded bluntly into the phone. Oliva reached over and turned the stereo down, upset that she got caught in a lie. “Why did you cancel plans? Come on, I thought you wanted roommates, you can’t leave them hanging like this.” Elaine scolded her through the phone.

 “I know, I’ve just been busy. I don’t mean to keep canceling, plus I don’t want to meet them over lunch it’s awkward, I’m and awkward person.” If she was being honest it was more of her insecurities getting to her. She had always been on her own, never having anyone to tie her down. She felt if she took a place with these guys she would be stuck there, and Oliva was terrible with commitment.

 “Okay, well why don’t you come over for a party and then you can meet them that way, more people less awkwardness. I think their going to love you Oliva, they’re nice guys. Rudy said they seemed happy to have you!” She hyped her up. Elaine was always the more out going one, never scared to take a leap of faith. “When is this party, and am I going to know anyone besides you and Rudy?” She asked, not really wanting to go. “It’s Friday night, and probably not but that’s okay it’s just the cast and couple of other people. You’ll have fun Liv, I’ll text you the address, be there around 8, sound good?” Elaine asked, hoping her friend would take the offer.

 Oliva pondered the offer for a minute. Should she go? She did have the whole weekend off with no plans. Even if she stopped by for an hour it would be better then sitting at her place watching a shitty movie eating take out again. She sighed into the phone. “Ugh okay, but I can stay for like an hour top. Then I’ll have to leave.” She reasoned with Elaine; she could almost see the excitement on her face. “Okay perfect! I’ll see you Friday, we normally do brunch the next you should come! And bring those jello shots you made back in college!” “Elaine, I’m not going to have time for shots.” Oliva said to her, “I know what you said, just bring them!” And with that Elaine hung up on her before she could protest anymore.

TAG LIST: @lemur46 @fttayla @drewstarkeysbitchh  afterglowsb-tch13 lostsoulwalking

[accio-ambition]

Hello hello hello! Welcome to a new week of @captainswanbigbang chapters and stories. You might notice that the rating on this story has risen. After some guidance from the CSBB mods, I aired on the side of caution. So maybe this gives you a little bit of incentive to see exactly why it's gone up. But it won't happen for a little while still. You know, after Killian shows up. That might count as a spoiler, but, c’mon, you knew it ws coming, didn’t you? Once more, a huge massive thank you to @sotheylived for betaing this mess of words and @shipsxahoy and @queen-icicle-fandom for not only reading through the whole thing but making great art to it. I'm still amazed.

Summary: Bouncing around with her son for the majority of her life, Emma Swan has told herself she’s happy in the city. It’s where the most camera operating jobs are, and that’s how she makes her money. But when an old friend calls her and asks for her help on a new project in small town Maine, Emma finds herself in a place she’s never been with people she doesn’t know filming a profession she knows nothing about. But when the captain of the ship she’s filming begins taking a keen interest in her and her life, she finds herself wondering whether she might just catch something other than fish. Deadliest Catch AU Rating: M Content warning: Character death, some violent situations

FFnet/AO3/Cover art/Snapshot art

Chapter Three

They make it into a road trip, not that they have any other choice. It’s not like she can afford to ship all of their stuff across the country, especially after the down payment she had to make on the house.

(To be fair, if she were to have a dream house, this would be as close as she could get to it. Slightly Victorian, three bedrooms, a view. It really is something else.)

She rents a U-Haul and they load as much furniture and as many boxes as they can into it on a Thursday night right after Henry graduates the fifth grade.

(Even on her deathbed, she will not admit to tearing up at that silly ceremony. He’s moving to middle school, not leaving the house and going to college.

Still, he’s her little boy and he’s growing up far too fast for her liking.)

It takes a lot of time and strength – especially the couch and their mattresses, she has Henry run to their neighbors and ask for their help – but the truck is full and her trusty Bug is hooked to the hitch, all ready for them to set off in the morning.

“How long is it going to take us?” Henry asks that night as they sit on the floor of their empty living room eating pizza.

She shrugs. “Probably closer to a week than not,” she tells him in between bites. “Depends on how much driving we do in a day.”

“You mean you do,” he quips back.

Emma makes a scrunchy face of displeasure. “I expect you to entertain me. No falling asleep for the entire ride.”

Smug smirk intact, Henry chomps on the last bit of his slice. “I promise nothing.”

They both sit in silence for a while, digesting and contemplating their next step in life together. At least on Emma’s part, memories of what’s occurred in this apartment flitter across her mind. Frequently stubbing her toe on that doorjamb, Henry sticking seasonal jellies on that window for the world below to see.

It’s not much, but it’s been a psuedo-home for them.

Henry breaks the quiet by standing up to stretch. “Can we stop at some famous places?” he asks.

Standing up beside him, careful not to spill any of her leftover crumbs on the sleeping bag they’ll sleep in tonight, Emma says, “That’s up to you. You’re going to be my navigator.”

His eyes go wide and he utters yes under his breath. “Perfect for Operation Pirate!”

Emma rolls her eyes. “Yeah, yeah,” she says through her last bite of pizza. Brushing her hands off, she nudges him toward the sleeping bag that awaits him in what used to be his bedroom. “You’re going to have to get a good night’s sleep to be worthy of my first mate tomorrow.”

(Although how she’ll sleep tonight as the captain of their vessel is up for debate.)

(She’s not going to sleep well at all.)

But still, Emma is taking one last walk through the apartment as the first rays of that hot Arizona sun hit her for the last time. She’s got hot chocolate in one hand and her phone in the other, watching for a reasonable time to wake up Henry and savoring these last moments alone.

And then it’s on the road. Phoenix to Albuquerque, Tulsa to Cincinnati, a brief hop around (and maybe illegally over, whoops) the border at Niagara Falls. It takes them about ten days, with all the stopping Henry has her doing, but it’s well worth it. When else are they going to road trip across the country like this?

When she pulls off the highway exit marked Storybrooke, Emma finally understands what David and Jefferson meant. Not even five minutes’ drive from the highway and they’re surrounded by trees. A couple more minutes and Emma watches as a sign welcoming them to town rolls past the passenger window.

It really is small. Smaller than she thought it would be, but somehow also larger.

(To be fair, she had no idea what she was expecting. She just knew that it wasn’t anything like Phoenix.)

There’s one stoplight at the entrance of town, flashing yellow. There’s the diner, a B&B, what looks like a handful of mom and pop shops. Absentmindedly, Emma wonders where these people get their groceries because Storybrooke doesn’t seem like the sort of place to house a Winn Dixie or a Giant.

She turns right at the next intersection, heading closer to the water. Her foot lets off the gas and the car slows to a crawl as Emma peers at the numbers adorning each house and mailbox.

The house looks just like the pictures, maybe better. The sun is setting behind it when she pushes the gearshift into park on the street. Surprising no one, Henry is conked out, his head leaning up against the window with his jacket balled up in the space between his head and shoulder.

Turning the truck off, Emma’s careful to be quiet getting out. She doesn’t want to wake Henry, number one, but number two, she wants some time to explore her new digs on her own.

The gate squeaks a little bit as she pushes it open. The third step up to the front door creaks when she puts her weight on it. Ms. Shoemaker told her she’d put a key beneath the welcome mat, and when Emma squats down, she finds the key in the exact middle of the dusty outline. Carefully, she inserts the key into the lock, turns it, and gently opens the door.

She’s got a house. A real bonafide house with a fence and a porch and a fucking welcome mat.

For a moment, she allows silent tears to roll down her cheeks, her hand over her mouth to hold sobs in. As a kid, this is all she really wanted: a place to plant roots, somewhere to look forward to coming back to at the end of the day. She had it for a little bit before Neal and now it’s come back to her somehow.

Right now, Storybrooke feels like the right decision.

After wiping her face and cleaning herself up a bit, Emma heads back to the truck and, this time, she doesn’t hesitate slamming doors and talking to herself. Henry’s got to wake up, which he does with a start when she sneezes while grabbing her purse.

“Are we here?” he asks slowly, stumbling over his words and rubbing his eyes.

“Yeah,” she replies quietly. She nods toward the house behind him as she adds, “The house is unlocked if you want to go look at it, but I thought we’d just call it a night.”

His jaw cracks with a yawn. “Good idea,” Henry grumbles, “Which one’s David and Mary Margaret’s?”

“To the right.” Probably. She’s kind of focused on going through her purse to make sure nothing fell out in between pit stops, but even then, when she hears the passenger door groan open, Emma instinctively tells him, “Be polite and knock on the front door. They know we’re coming.”

“Okay.” Emma hears him fumbling around and grabbing his backpack from his foot space before the passenger door slams shut behind him.

She follows suit, finding everything in her purse in its proper place for once, and closes the driver’s door. She inhales deeply, soaking in those last sweet rays of midsummer sun. It had been staring her in the face all day, burning her eyes more often than not, but after a long day of driving, it’s relaxing.

Still, all Emma wants is some food, a shower, and sleep. Lots of it.

Thankfully, living next door to friends makes that easy.

Emma’s pulling her and Henry’s bags from the Bug when she first hears the squeals. She barely has time to turn around before arms wrap around her shoulders and pull her into a tight hug.

“You made it!” Mary Margaret says in her ear, moving them back and forth. “I’ve been worried sick about you.”

Chuckling, Emma drops the bag she’s holding and returns the embrace. “I texted you when we were in Portland.”

“I know, but you’ve been driving for days, so I know it’s probably been tough.” With a contented sigh, Mary Margaret releases her from her grasp and pulls back to observe her. Even when they barely knew each other, Emma always felt like the other woman eyed her up and down like a mother would: made sure her clothes were clean and sturdy, her hair washed, her stomach satisfied. “Are you guys hungry? Do you want to start unpacking?”

“I don’t know about the kid, but I could use some food and a shower.”

Fully embracing that mothering nature of hers, Mary Margaret picks up Henry’s bag and begins to usher her up and into her home. “David’s just finishing up the spare room. I hope Henry doesn’t mind sleeping on a hideaway in the office.”

“He’s ten, his back will recover from it if necessary,” Emma says with a laugh. She heaves her own bag over her shoulder and takes a step away from Mary Margaret to head back to her house. “I’ve got to lock the place back up, but I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that.” The way her friend waves off the idea of safety - although there isn’t anything in the house right now, Emma still doesn’t want people going into it uninvited - appalls her. Mary Margaret glances back at her once she reaches the gate and shakes her head good naturedly. “People in town don’t really do that, especially for buildings they know aren’t lived in.”

Cautiously following her, Emma narrows her eyes. “Do people know that we’re going to live there?”

Mary Margaret nods. “They know someone is. Not you specifically,” she clarifies. She looks back at Emma again, at her raised brows and general air of confusion about her. Mary Margaret shrugs. “It’s a small town.”

“No kidding,” Emma scoffs under her breath.

Opening the front door, Emma is hit with the overwhelming sense of comfort. Before she even takes a complete step into the house, she can smell something delicious wafting out the door. It’s vaguely reminiscent of late night study sessions at the 24-hour diner near campus, of rocking Henry to sleep in his bucket carseat while trying to catch up on what she missed while incarcerated. It’s comforting and a little bit stressing, but overall relaxes Emma.

Actually making her way into the house, she spots the blanket she used to wrap herself in on the few occasions she hung out at Mary Margaret’s over the back of the couch. She recognizes a picture hanging on the wall in the entryway: it’s a picture of David grinning wide at a laughing baby Henry, her son’s eyes squinted closed in pure joy. She remembers taking that picture, one evening while the two of them tried to study for a test. Henry had been crying since they sat down, keeping them from doing anything, and didn’t stop until David picked him up and started making funny faces.

It’s comforting. It’s home. Not hers - her new home is approximately 150 feet to the left - but what she felt was home for the first time in that big city all on her own.

Her moment of reverie comes to a halt when David comes clunking down the stairs to her right. She looks up, smile already across her face in preparation for seeing the man who’s the closest thing she has to a brother in her life.

“Emma!” He wraps her up in a warm hug before he even reaches the bottom step. “Glad to see you made it across the country in one piece.”

“Yeah, there were some close calls there,” she jokes. Nodding toward the second level, she asks, “Where’s Henry?”

“He’s upstairs in the office settling in.”

“Did he ask you for the wifi password?”

“No, but I gave it to him anyways.” David claps her on the back and ushers her toward the kitchen, wrapping his arm around her shoulder as she wraps hers around his waist. “That’s how kids function these days, if Mary Margaret’s to be believed.”

“I’ve got it on good authority,” Mary Margaret interjects, carefully pouring a pot of pasta into a colander in the sink. When the steam clears, she busies herself with checking the sauce on the stove and dressing the salad next to the sink.

She’s so domestic, Emma thinks, settling nicely into the role of Mrs. Nolan. The way that David leaves her side to gather silverware and set up the table without so much as a question shows he’s acclimated to the husband title quite as well.

(She’s happy for them, she really is, but it is a little bit sickening in the way that watching puppies and babies play for too long is nauseating.)

“So dinner’s nothing too fancy, but there’s a lot of it, so we should all have enough for tonight and then I can send you back with leftovers.”

“Oh,” Emma comments, caught off-guard by her friend’s thoughtfulness. “Thanks Mary Margaret.”

She slides the pasta into a serving bowl with a smile in her direction. “That’s what I’m here for.” With the pot of sauce in one hand and a ladle in the other, Mary Margaret points between her and her husband. “We’re here for,” she corrects herself. “Really though. Especially as you guys are getting accustomed to the place and the job. If you need me to watch Henry, that’s fine. I’ll be working at the summer camp soon, but he can come with me.”

All Emma can do is nod and mutter, “Thanks.”

David sneaks up behind her and surprises her with a brotherly kiss to her temple. Emma, unable to help herself, giggles. “And we’ll help you out tomorrow with moving things in,” he offers, walking past her to press a sweet kiss to Mary Margaret’s cheek before taking the salad bowl she’s holding.

Emma sighs in relief. “Great. Henry’s strong for his age, but moving that couch by myself was horrible.”

David laughs as he sets the bowl on the dinner table. “I can’t possibly understand why.”

“Are we ready to eat?” Mary Margaret asks.

“I was born ready.” Chuckling to herself, Emma steps to the bottom of the stairs, shouting up for Henry to wash his hands and make his way down, “or else I’m going to eat your dinner too!”

“Don’t you dare, Mom!” he responds quickly, sounding almost like a baby elephant trying to run for the first time.

Henry stumbles down the stairs soon after, barreling into the only empty chair left at the table. Together, the four of them eat in what soon becomes one of the happiest meals of Emma’s life. Henry and David hit it off immediately, trading smiles identical to the one hanging up only a few feet behind both of them. The Nolans talk about their wedding and subsequent honeymoon in the U.K., staying in castles and being treated like a king and queen. It’s nice to catch up with them. It makes Emma feel like she was privy to something she knows she has no right to be privy to.

The boys scarf down their food - second servings, even, in the case of her son - before quickly washing their dishes and scurrying off to the living room to watch some show David had DVR’d and Henry had been dying to watch.

Meanwhile, Mary Margaret and Emma stay at the table, talking and sipping at their respective glasses of wine until Emma yawns so intensely that it causes her jaw to crack audibly enough for her friend to hear it.

“Oh, I’m sorry for keeping you up,” Mary Margaret swiftly apologizes, her hand coming to rest on Emma’s knee in sympathy. “You must be exhausted.”

“A bit, yeah,” Emma admits. Another yawn surprises her and her one eyelid feels heavy with fatigue.

Standing from her seat, Mary Margaret grabs Emma’s hand to help her rise as well. “Here, let me show you to the guest room.” She leads Emma up the stairs, saying, “I know you’re pressed to move everything in, but don’t worry about getting up early tomorrow. Sleep in, take some time for yourself. We’ll take care of Henry until you get up.”

For some reason, Emma starts to tear up. She’s been on her own raising Henry for a decade that her friend’s simple offer to care for him is too much at this exhaustion level.

“Thank you, Mary Margaret,” she says graciously. Slowly, Emma opens her arms, silently asking for a hug, an offer Mary Margaret is more than happy to take her up on. “I know I’ve said it a million times since I got here, but I mean it.”

“You’re not alone here,” Mary Margaret whispers in her ear, her chin comfortably tucked into her shoulder. “This is the village it takes to raise a child.”

They linger in that embrace for a couple of minutes, Emma taking the time to absorb the warmth and homeyness that Mary Margaret emitted. Those tears from earlier threaten to roll down Emma’s cheek - fat drops that are completely unnecessary for such a happy moment. Sniffing, she finally pulls back and sends her friend a watery grin.

Mary Margaret mimics her smile, patting Emma’s cheek gently. “Sleep well, Emma. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yeah, see you in the morning,” she mumbles back. Stepping into the guest room, Emma happily falls onto the mattress and sinks into oblivion, traveling clothes and all.