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harrylilies · 4 years ago

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The Royal Series | Pt. VII

The Royal Series Masterlist

Sometimes, time ran faster than you could comprehend. A month after your trip to Amsterdam, you were filled to the brim with contentment.

Not only were you happy that you and Harry were official, but somewhere amidst that trip and what followed, a friendship seemed to spark between you and Prince Fred.

Fred was more than meets the eye. He was respectful, funny, and an understand person, and perhaps that all was deeply appreciated but none other than your best friend, Nia, whom Fred had been seeing for a short while after way too many stolen glances, soft teasing, and hushed conversations in Amsterdam, though they were yet to make anything official.

"Y/N, come on," Fred groaned as he sat on your sofa. "I can't possibly take her there."

You rolled your eyes, putting your laptop aside as you crossed your legs and turned his way. "You can't always take her to fancy restaurants, that's boring."

"And I can't also be seen in an amusement park when our families are basically planning our wedding."

You sighed, your shoulders slumping in response.

“Also, about that, have you told Harry yet?"

You pursed your lips together, shaking your head. "No," you looked at him, "I haven't."

"Y/N..." Fred dragged, leaning his head back.

"I know! I know what you're thinking but I can't tell him anything when he's on tour. Tonight is his last day in the first leg of the tour then he's coming back and won't go back until March. I think I have time." You shrugged. "I have time, don't I?"

"Not for long." He answered, reaching to take the cup of orange juice you poured him. "If he's the right person, he'll stay." Fred reminded you.

"What if he's the right person and he doesn't?" You asked quietly, "How can he, after his girlfriend drops news like that on him?" You rubbed your temple, closing your eyes.

"Have some faith, will you?" Fred said, "Have you told your brothers about him?"

"Not yet. I'm telling them tonight. They're coming over for dinner." You answered him, standing up and stretching your arms over your head.

"What an eventful life." Fred chuckled, unlocking his phone and looking at the screen. "Fuck, I have to leave. I have two hours to get ready for my date."

You cooed, poking his arm. "By the way, Nia will look stunning tonight."

“How did y-Ah,” he chuckled, “Group chat or whatever.”

"You bet." You pointed at him, "Don't forget. The olive jacket, not the navy blue one."

"Yes, ma'am." Fred nodded, walking towards the door with you behind him. "Have any plans for that breakfast in Buckingham we're having tomorrow?"

"Think we should have fun. Show Ganny that this is the last thing we need." You told him, holding your door knob.

Fred nodded as he looked at you while holding his jacket on his arm. "Seeing Harry tomorrow?"

You grinned, nodding. "I am."

He smiled, leaning down and pressing a chaste kiss on your cheek. "Have fun tonight. I'll see you tomorrow."

"You have fun, too. Take a picture or two and send them to me, yeah?" You wiggled your eyebrows making him laugh. "I'll see you tomorrow, Freddie."

With that, he left.

Right as you closed the door, FaceTime's ringtone came from your laptop. You took long strides towards it, smiling when you saw it was Harry. You instantly accepted the video call, already feeling giddy as it connected.

It only took about 3 seconds before you saw his face, looking tired yet with a heart-warming wide smile, "Hi."

You tilted your head, smiling softly at him, "Hi."

"I'm at the airport," Harry said, flipping the camera to show you what was around him before turning and showing you a group of people, all waving and calling for him. "Was just there with the fans." He informed you before flipping the camera again so you could see his face. "And I miss you."

If you really and literally had butterflies in your stomach, you were pretty sure they were constantly growing in numbers every time you talked to Harry. "I miss you, too. I'm seeing you tomorrow, aren't I?"

"You definitely are. Y-Hang on, baby," his eyes looked away from his phone as he talked to someone else.

Completely oblivious to the tint on your cheeks and the wide grin on your face at the pet name. "Baby." You had whispered quietly to yourself, leaning your head back on the couch.

"Hm?" Harry looked at you, "Did you say anything, love?"

"No," you shook your head. "You just called me something new, that's all."

Harry's eyebrows furrowed and if it weren't for the fact that he was a continent away, you would've kissed that frown away. "I did?"

"You called me baby." You giggled.

The amusement and admiration went both ways because hearing your giggle, seeing you with your hair up in a messy ponytail and glasses on your face, Harry couldn't help but silently admire the way you looked and sounded. You looked effortlessly beautiful; the kind of beautiful he never encountered and the kind of beautiful he never would've thought would call "his.” "I did, didn't I?" Harry smiled, looking at you through his phone's screen, "You bring out the sap in me."

"I'm not complaining." You shrugged with a soft laugh.

Harry chuckled, looking up from his phone before looking at you again. "I have to go now, love."

"Are you still sure about me not picking you up from the airport?" You asked him.

"We can't risk you getting seen." Harry repeated his words from a couple of days ago, "I'll be all yours at 7 tomorrow."

You sighed, nodding. "Right, I know. You're right. Text me when you land?"

"Of course. I'll see you soon. And because I won't be there tonight, goodnight, baby." He pressed his lips to his front camera, making you break into a smile.

"Goodnight, H." You pressed a kiss to your hand before putting it on your laptop screen. As you both waved, you ended the call.

"How's your campaign going, Tiny?" Your brother, Harry, asked before taking a sip of his wine.

"Really well. We reached 3 million just last night." You grinned, watching as everyone erupted in supportive cheers.

"Y/N, that's amazing!" Meghan gasped.

"And it's only going to grow and get better. Good job, Y/N." Kate smiled warmly at you before looking at William.

"I knew you could do it." William said with a grin, "Pa would be so happy for you."

You cringed, "Let's not talk about that part of the family right now," you began, tucking a locket of hair behind your ear, "Especially since I'm telling you something that they won't like."

Your brothers and their partners all broke into serious faces, looking at you intently. Har put his fork down, leaning closer to the table, "Are you okay?"

You nodded instantly, gulping a sip of wine. "I'm okay, great even. It's good news."

"Well say it, I'm shitting myself." Har said, making you laugh.

"Okay, uh," you cleared your throat before looking at them. "You know Harry?" Everyone looked at your brother in confusion, making you roll your eyes. "Not this one."

"Styles?" William asked and you nodded, "Oh, you mean your Romeo. What about him?"

"We're uh," you smiled nervously, putting your hands on the table. "We're together now."

"Like officially?" Meghan asked.

You nodded, "I saw him when I was in Amsterdam with my friends and we made it official."

Meghan awed, standing up and approaching you to wrap her arms around you, "I'm so happy for you!"

You grinned, letting her give you one final squeeze before she sat down beside your brother. "He really seems decent, Y/N. I'm happy for you." Kate grinned at you.

"Thank you, Kate." You smiled back at her before glancing at your brothers who seemed to be in thought. "What?"

"When are we meeting him?" William asked, "Har, you remember a move or two from your military service?"

"Of course, I do. We can learn a few new moves, too. Just to show him that he can't break Tiny's heart." Harry replied back, dramatically hitting his fist against his palm, laughing as you groaned.

"Yup, you're never meeting him." You nodded.

"Aw, come on!" He laughed, "We're just looking out for you."

"Just because I'm a father of two kids and soon third, doesn't mean I'm any less of an older brother to my baby sister." William shrugged at you with a teasing grin.

"You're awful!" You laughed as you all began to stand up from the table.

"Wait," Kate looked at you before laughing in disbelief, "Does that mean he met Fred in Amsterdam? He knows?"

You nodded, "They did. Actually, here’s the funny part. Harry still doesn't really know about the whole thing with Fred."

"Oh shit." Meghan instantly reacted.

You nodded, holding yours and William's plates in your hands as you shook your head with a smile to your two housemaids once they approached to help, giving them a “Thanks, we got it” as you walked to the kitchen, your brother Harry behind you with his and Meghan's plates. "Are you going to tell him?"

You put the plates by the sink before leaning on the counter as the rest came to the kitchen, putting plates and cups away. "I am. Tomorrow."

"Noticed you and little Freddie are friends now." William said, fixing the apple magnet on your fridge.

"He's interested in Nia."

"I feel like you're in a teenage drama series." Kate joked.

You laughed, "But seriously, I'm happy with how things are now. I mean, imagine how bad would it be if he wasn't actually interested in someone else? Besides, he's a great person."

"Harry's just greater." Har said before letting out a low groan, "We have to find him a new name."

"Romeo." William said, making you swat him on the arm.

"Romeo it is."

"No!"

Standing up and smoothening your black dress, you smiled politely at Fred's parents.

"So good to see you, Your Highness. You have grown to be a beautiful woman." His mother, Lady Gwen, smiled at you as she kissed your cheeks.

"Thank you. You look wonderful." You complimented her with a smile.

"There's the princess! Look at you!" His father, Dean, exclaimed, shaking your hand enthusiastically.

You chuckled, glancing at Fred who rolled his eyes at his parents from behind them. As they both moved to greet your family, you and Fred greeted each other with a firm handshake, both snickering to yourselves. "Hello, Fredrick."

"Hello, Your Highness Princess Y/N. It's wonderful to see you." Fred said, bowing his head.

"How was your date?" You whispered, wide eyed.

Fred grinned, the blush on his cheek not going unnoticed by you. "Amazing."

You let out a low squeal before looking behind you at everyone else settling, "We should sit. Come on."

Taking your seats and sitting after your grandmother sat, everyone chatted quietly.

"Y/N here told me that you had fun in Amsterdam." Your grandmother told Fred, smiling at him.

Fred glanced at you before looking at her and nodding, "We did. Y/N has very nice friends."

"She does," she staggered, "It's only because she's nice herself. When she was young, you could easily mistake her for an angel." She laughed.

Your siblings snickered under their breath, knowing for fact that none of you were angels when you were younger. You had broken way too many ornaments and precious Chinas to be angels.

"What about your older days, Y/N?" Fred smirked, looking at you.

You shrugged in a smug manner, "Not so angelic. What about you, Fred? Are you any angel?"

"Definitely not. I like to relax by listening to heavy metal and attending raves undercover. In fact, I have taken a liking for tattoos. Think maybe I should get a small one," he leaned closer, as if he only wanted to direct his next words to only you, "On my rear." Fred said before leaning back on his chair casually, holding his cup of tea as his parents stared at him in shock, as did the Queen,

"Vulgar." You said under your breath jokingly, causing him to laugh, covering his mouth.

"Scandalous." He whispered.

"Oh honey, you're too humble," Lady Gwen began, looking at her son as she chuckled nervously. "You know, Y/N, Fred here is an amazing polo player, just like you." She grinned, raising her eyebrows.

Giving her a tight smile, you replied. "Oh, I actually stopped playing polo."

Her face fell, glancing at her husband who coughed to stifle his chuckle. "Is that so?" She chuckled reluctantly, "Well but you still play the piano, right? Fred here is excellent when it comes to music. Fred plays piano so well."

"I don't actually. I like playing the cello. Piano is a bit boring for me." Fred replied.

"And I don't always play the piano for everyone. Just a few people get to see and hear me play the piano." You added before steadily eating a berry.

Your eyes caught your grandfather who was laughing as he looked at his cup of English tea. He looked up, giving you a discreet wink before bringing his cup to his lips.

"Remember when you broke that cello Eugenie got for my 21st birthday?" Har asked you, playing along.

You nodded, "God, these instruments are just enormous. Take up too much space."

"Okay," Lady Gwen laughed awkwardly, "Tell us about your Amsterdam trip. It was fun, wasn't it?"

"It was," You nodded, "My favourite part was when we all went to that nude beach."

Your father, Prince Charles, choked on his tea, having Camilla rub his back soothingly. Your brothers, however, weren't discreet as they burst out laughing, your grandmother looking at you in horror.

You casually sipped your tea, looking at Fred, "It was a fun trip, wasn't it?"

"It's really cold, isn't it?" You asked one of your personal guards, Sid, hugging your sweater closer to your body as you got out of the car.

"Just like how December should be." He smiled warmly down at you.

"It's our favourite season of the year, Sid." You smiled, remembering how years ago when you were younger, you had a conversation with Sid about how you liked December season and how festive it was, "You can really go the coffeeshop around here or do anything you want."

Andrew nodded at you as they both walked you to Harry's front door, standing at a fair distance. "We'll feel better waiting here."

"If you change your mind, you can text me. I'm just going to stay indoors." You said before ringing Harry's door bell and taking a step back.

"Have a good night, Princess Y/N." Sid tipped his head slightly at you.

"You, too, Sid. And you, too, Andrew."

As soon as you finished your sentence, the door opened to none other than the man you would proudly shout that he was yours. His hair tousled on his head, almost transparent framed eyeglasses fixed on his nose, a grey sweater and black joggers covering him as he stood barefoot. Harry instantly wrapped his arms around your waist, making you squeal as he carried you off of the ground, walking backwards and inside the house, making you wrap your limbs around him as you pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"God, I missed you." He breathed out against your neck, pressing a chaste kiss on your skin before kissing your shoulder. He kicked his door shut after making sure your guards weren't standing there and walked inside his house, with you still wrapped around him.

"Feels like years since I last saw you." You whispered against his shoulder, moving your lips to press a kiss on his sweater clad skin. "You smell nice."

"Yeah?" He smiled, plopping on his couch, with you on his lap. His hands moved to clasp his fingers behind your back to support it, making you lean back to get a better look at him.

You grinned, moving your hands to cup his cheeks, squishing his face so he looked like a fish, making you laugh and Harry to shut his eyes, letting out a muffled "kiss.” You let his cheeks go, resting your hands on his shoulders and leaning down till your lips were pressed against each other, chest to chest.

It was something that puzzled Harry himself. You see, Harry read all about relationships, the stages and love. He read about women and men and mostly knew about what to say and when to say it (sometimes). He read all about the thumping heartbeats and butterflies. He read all about the stages; infatuation, liking and falling in love. Harry read all about lust and emotional connection. Harry seemed to know what to do and understanding to how he was feeling; he had a plan. But that's the thing. It was never about lists and plans.

You meet someone for the first time and all of the sudden, it's like your heart has been yearning for so long. You see them and you think all about the good the world has to offer — the good that you want to offer.

You meet someone and all you want to do is write about them; their eyes, their laugh, the crinkle of their nose.

You make lists and plans and it all crumbles when you meet someone. That's the thing about love, the best kind of it is when it's spontaneous. When you have no idea what the fuck you are feeling or when the fuck you began to feel it but fuck, it's going to be the best feeling you've ever felt.

So, with a blanket covering the both of you, Amy Winehouse's vinyl playing and your hushed whispers making you giggle as your head was on Harry's arm as you both lied down on the sofa, it all felt natural and familiar. His hand playing with yours, lacing your fingers together before tracing your palm lines as he told you all about Tokyo. Looking into his face, your lips seemed to have a mind of their own as they pulled up in a faint smile as you watched him talk, green eyes boring into yours.

Without thinking, his hand that was draped from the sofa as you slept on his other arm was raised, beginning to softly stroke your hair as Harry continued talking, seeming oblivious to his actions. You hummed, turning to your side and fully looking at him, your leg on his.

"How do you celebrate Christmas?" He asked gently, looking at you with so much care.

"Well," you lied more comfortably in his arms, "We go to Granny's country home in Norfolk. We open gifts on Christmas Eve then at 5 that day, it's time for tea and all that in the saloon then it's fancy dinner. I usually stay with Will at his place instead of with Granny because it's always too noisy and there's always a commotion there so we leave after dinner," you told him slowly, your palm on his chest as he looked down on you, "On Christmas day, we have breakfast then we attend the church service at St. Mary's Magdalene. At 1, it's turkey time then at 3, we watch granny's speech. It's hectic but nice."

"That's really eventful," Harry admitted, bringing her body closer to his, "When are you usually done with everything?"

"Around 5:30."

"What do you say," he began, his dimple seen as he gave you a cheeky smile, "You spend the rest with me?"

Your eyebrows furrowed but the smile didn't leave your face as you shuffled back a little to have a better look at his face, "Where?"

"Back at my home, in Cheshire." Harry nodded slowly, his hand grazing and tracing your hip.

"With- with your family?" You let out a small laugh of disbelief. Harry grinned and nodded. "You want me to meet your family?" You asked quietly, moving to lie on top of him, making him laugh and lock his arms behind your back.

"It's Christmas. I can't think of a better vibe for a first meeting and I certainly can't wait for next year's Christmas." Harry answered, giving you a shrug.

"Are you sure about this?" You asked him, nuzzling your head in his shoulder as you tried to stifle your grin.

"I'm sure." Harry replied back as quietly.

And because for the rainbow to beautify the world, there has to be rain, your smile faltered. You sighed against his shoulder before pulling away and sitting up, getting somewhat seated on Harry's thighs with your legs on either side of his body.

"What is it?" He asked, frowning. "Does it make you uncomfortable? Because we've been together for a month? I just - I thought that we've known each other for three months now and it has been ama-"

"H," you chuckled, cutting him off. You leaned down, giving his lips a soft peck, "It's not about that. I'm flattered that you want me to meet your family."

"Then what is it?"

You leaned back again and sat, your palms resting his stomach, your eyes traveling to the bit of skin that showed from when his sweater rose up, seeing a hint of his tattoos. "I have to tell you something." You spoke, avoiding his eyes.

"Baby, you're making me nervous." Harry admitted, resting his hands on your thighs.

You gulped, glancing at his eyes for a second before looking back at where your hands rested. "I'm, uh," you stuttered, a deep frown on your face. "You know Fred?"

"Your friend?"

You cleared your throat before nodding slightly, "You know how I'm the only daughter?" You asked him, watching as he nodded, "Well, since I'm the only daughter, my family decided to plan my life ahead. My siblings did what they wanted because, I don't know, they thought of them as hopeless cases I guess but they waited for 11 years for a girl and when I came, they couldn't," you shook your head, "They couldn't have but the best for me. The best for the monarch, So they, uh," you fiddled with your fingers on his stomach, "They arranged a marriage for me."

What?" Harry instantly reacted, pushing himself to lean on his elbows as he looked at you in disbelief. "What does Fre- He's-" He sucked in a breath, "You're arranged to marry Fred?"

You nodded reluctantly, cringing when you heard Harry let out a small chuckle of disbelief.

"So you have your life planned and I'm guessing your firstborn's name and you come into my life because...?" Harry asked in disbelief, the hurt in his tone being clear enough for you to pick up on.

"No, no," you instantly denied, looking at him. "I know it sounds bad but it won't happen."

"It won't happen because you're hoping it wouldn't or it won't happen because you talked to your family and this isn't actually going to happen?" He asked you firmly, looking intently at your eyes.

You gave him no answer first, making him scoff slightly before plopping back on his back, moving his hands to his face as he rubbed it. "Harry, I wasn't lying to you." You said, moving off of him to sit beside him instead.

"You kept this from me, Y/N. Don't you think that this was the first thing I should know? You let me meet him for fuck's sa-What was he doing with you in Amsterdam? What was that?" He looked at you with a frown.

"My grandmother had him come with me as a way to get us to know each other." You replied quietly.

"And you did. Fuck, Y/N, and all these times you told me that you were with Fred, were you practicing your vows? Choosing the table cloth?" He asked sarcastically, making you almost wince.

"No, Harry. I told you the truth. I don't want to be with him. I'm not going to be with him, whatever happens."

"So your entire family must hate me, don't they?"

"They don't," you shook your head, "It's just my grandmother and father, they're still somewhat attempting because they think you're a fling or it’s just me rebelling against them."

"Am I? Am I something you're rebelling against them with, Y/N?"

"Of course not!"

Harry sighed, his rings clad hands moving to cover his face. "Is there anything else you're not telling me?"

"My brothers know about you and they want to meet you," you began, "And Fred has been seeing Nia."

"And how is Nia coping?" He asked, looking you, resting his arms beside him in defeat.

"She knows that nothing will happen. That there's no way this marriage will happen." You assured him, "I know it sounds ba-"

"Awful." Harry corrected you with a small chuckle, making you smile sympathetically.

"Awful. But I haven't been lying to you. When I told you that I really like you, I wasn't lying," you shook your head, "When I told you that being with me wasn't easy, I wasn't lying either."

"What about that time you told me that you weren't scared?" He asked gently, one hand reaching to grasp your hand on his stomach.

"I don't want to lose you." Your reply came the second he closed his mouth, determination and sincerity dripping from your words.

Harry sat up, leaning towards you until it was you on your back and him hovering you, "And I don't want to lose you."

#The royal series #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfic #harry styles x princess #harry styles imagine

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its-karma-bitches-00 · 3 years ago

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ENDGAME

Chapter 2: Gone

Description: So... I know many Daminette fans don't like Damian being younger than Marinette so 🚨SPoiler AleRT 🚨 Damian is gonna be younger for a while but an event happens that gets their ages exchanged. (Sort of)

Warning; swearing, angst.

Summary: Where half the population fades away.

-----

Previously:

"Check the international news" Damian said appearing out of nowhere, Marinette nodded switching her tabs to international news

"What the fuck is that?" Chloe asked pointing at the phone

Boy... the world was in for a life changing ride.

***

"It's a spaceship" Marinette answered listening carefully at the reporter "In New York"

"Should we help or something?" Chloe asked

"No, the Avengers seem to have it under control, besides I think the adults will take care of it." Tim reassured "I don't think there's any of anything to worry about this literally happens all the Time!"

"For once, Drake is right I don't think we should waste our time on this." Damien added

"I guess..." Marinette nodded hesitantly but deep down, something told her that something bad was gonna happen.

"Why is it donut shaped?" Chloe asked as Damian facepalmed.

***

"So are you dating Damian or Tim?"

Marinette choked on her water as Chloe burst into laughter. The rest just stared unable to understand what was so funny.

"What's so funny?" Tim walked towards them voicing everyone's thoughts

"Is that coffee?" Marinette interrupted, eyes shining at the cup in Tim's hand

"Yes..." he said, narrowing his eyes

"Please gimme" Marinette very 'kindly' requested. now, she had this look that clearly said 'if you dare deny my wishes, you're totally dead'

The entire group of friends 'ooh'ed and "ahhh"ed but Tim wasn't gonna back down.

"Oh, you want this?" Tim asked waving the cup around

"Mmm-hmm, weren't you saying that Chivalry isn't dead? You can prove that by handing me the cup" Marinette smiled cunningly.

"Hmm you're right" Tim nodded taking a sip before spitting it back in and handing it to her, bowing "sorry, I had to check if it was sweet enough for my lady"

The boys in the group howled and whistled, Marinette looked at him in absolute disgust "This is why I won't date you"

"I never asked you on a date" Tim smirked "And I have a girlfriend so.."

"Ugh, I swear I threw up a bit and swallowed it" a red haired girl named Margret gagged.

"Same here" Chloe scrunched her nose

The loud laughter soon died down, it turned Into hushed conversations about the spaceship in New York

"Do you think we're are gonna die?!"

"No" Tim denied "It left earth long ago so...No."

"What do you think it didn't destruct the world like all the other times?"

"maybe they just wanted to plant so they could regroup food for the rest of their planet?"

"Could be" Marinette giggled as the bell rang signaling the end of the lunch break "meet you guys at the lockers after school?" Everyone agreed, waving goodbye to each other.

School ended pretty fast, some teachers even gave updates about the spacecraft, which was long gone and there wasn't anything to worry about. "Schools officially done" Chloe yawned "Now I gonna go to the manor, take a nice warm bath and have my beauty sleep"

"Yeah, today was weirdly boring and tiring, being head boy sucks!"

"Speak for yourself" Chloe snorted "at least you don't have to keep dancing saying 'Go Gothamites!' "

"I don't know today seemed pretty fun" Marinette smiled

"everyday is fun for you." Tim and Chloe deadpanned

"Hey losers." Damian said walking towards them with no emotions...as usual "Except for you angel you're an absolute win-win." Damian remarked, sending her finger guns

"Oh great! Now I have to listen to his unbearable flirting!" Tim threw his hands up in frustration

Marinette sighed "here they go. Again." Before any of them could speak a black limo pulled up in front of them, the window rolled open revealing Jason wearing sunglasses.

"Get in losers, we're going shop- I mean, home!".

Damian rolled his eyes "Why are you wearing sunglasses in a car with black tinted glasses?"

"Where's Alfred? He usually comes to pick us up." Marinette asked making herself comfortable in the car "We thought we'd give you a ride" Dick smiled at her "how was school?"

"Fine" Damian answered "what about the alien spacecraft?"

"Gone" Jason informed "with Iron guy, spider guy and another guy."

"Another guy?" Chloe asked

"Some wizard. don't worry, justice league is already searching for them" Dick smiled again "you guys want to buy anything-"

"Coffee!" Tim and Marinette yelled in unison interrupting the old robin

"-except something you're addicted to like coffee, nail polish or katanas and bloody murder?" Dick blinked at them

"No" all of the huffed

"Awwwwww you kids are so cute!" Jason gushed before leaning back to ruffle their hair

"God! what is hell is wrong with you? it took me so much time to get this perfect hair!"

"Jason I swear to God no more croissants for a month"

"Dude, what the fuck?!"

"Touch me again Todd, I will chop your fingers off."

"You still think they're cute?" Dick asked

Jason shook his head no.

***

Marinette slumped against the soft mattress at Wayne manor relaxing herself the doors suddenly opened and a monkey barged in, jumping on her. And as monkey she meant Stephanie Brown

"Lets do something funnnnnnnn!"

"Steph I'm sorry, I'm tired. go hangout with you're boyfriend." Marinette whined, pushing her off.

"But whyyyy?"

"I'm tired Steph and why are you acting like a kid?, you have a boyfriend. Go make out with him or something"

"But Timmy is busy" she whined

A knock on the door interrupted Marinette "come in."

The door pushed open and Titus ran in jumping on the bed and licking Marinette's face "Titus!" She laughed "Good boy"

"Dinners ready" Damian said from the door way.

"We'll be there" Marinette smiled

"Where my affection when I need it?" The blonde next to Marinette asked to no one in particular, before standing up and walking towards the Damian "lets go! For a delicious dinner awaits us"

Marinette, Stephanie and Damian entered the dining room together, where everyone was seated laughing and talking. "Hey kids" Selina smiled a glass of water in her hands "didn't get to see you all day."

"Yeah" Marinette smiled taking the empty seat between Chloe and Dick, she looked around at the wonderful sight, a year ago Marinette would have never believed that she would be living at Wayne manor, eating mashed potatoes with them. "You okay?" Chloe asked

"I'm fine." Marinette smiled before remembering "Bruce? What-"

"Uh...guys?!" Cassandra's panicked voice exclaimed, everyone snapped their heads towards her fading hand. "Oh God" Dick gasped as he too started fading away

"Bruce" Selina called before completely fading out. The same happened to Steph, Cass, Chloe, Alfred, Dick, Duke, Kate and lastly...

Marinette.

That day, Half the world was wiped out because of the infinity stones.

Never to return ever again.

-----

THIS STORY IS FROM MY WATTPAD ACCOUNT

@Aquaqueen2020

#damian x marinette #mlb x dc #the avengers #avengers endgame #jason todd #platonanic!timinette #platonic!jasonette #platonic!dickinette #daminette #marinette x damian #maridami #maribat #mlb #chloe bourgeois #stephanie brown #batfamily

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imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl · 4 years ago

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The Perfect Bad Boy (Pt. 05 of 18)

Pairing: Billy Hargrove X Reader

Word count: 2.8K

Summary: Working as a lifeguard in the Hawkins Community Pool, you try to fit in after moving from New York. Things were going pretty well when you notice you've been under someone's stare. Billy Hargrove, Hawkins' bad boy, has been staring at you since day one. You never intended to have anything to do with him, judging by the reputation he has. But Billy won't leave you alone, determined to show you his feelings are different this time...

As if your heart flooding you with confusing feelings wasn't enough, there are weird, strange animals lurking in the woods... But those have to be just part of the wild live of the woods surrounding Hawkins... Right?

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{Stranger Things Masterlist}

Would You Believe Me?

“When are you planning to tell me about this Billy?” Diane stands by the kitchen door frame, an eyebrow raised at you.

Taking another bite of your apple, you roll your eyes. “He's just a friend. I have nothing to say.”

“I know you, (Y/N). And I know you've been hanging out with him.” She comes to sit across from you at the table, and you feel like a child under her stare. Diane has always been your best adviser, the one you tell everything since you can remember. But you couldn't bring yourself to tell her about Billy yet. With Monica, you don't have a choice since you work with her, and she has been around when some stuff happened. But with Diane... You feel like it'll make things real.

You're just about to deny everything again when you remember how confused you are, how there's always a fight inside of you, between two different lines of thought, and suddenly you need Diane's opinion on it. “Billy is a friend.” It's different now, you're admitting it. “He... He offered me a ride home when my car wouldn't start and we stopped to eat tacos. A couple of days after he stopped by this snack bar I was with Monica's friends and... Well, he punched David in the face because he called me dumb.” The memory brings a smile to your lips.

“What?” My aunt smiles too. “I heard some kids talking about David being beat up but I'd never guess that. What else?”

“Uhm... He said he likes me that day.”

“Oh...” She mumbles, furrowing her eyebrows. “So Billy is interested in you.”

Shaking your head slightly, you look down. “He's as interested as he would be in any other girl, right?” Your voice is lower now. “Aunt, Billy is the perfect bad boy. He has the looks, the attitudes, the pretty face, the breathtaking body, and the long list of heartbroken girls.”

“Honey, haven't you heard?” Diane keeps her voice light, taking your hand over the table. “They say the perfect bad boy is bad with everyone except to his girl.”

“Well, I'm not his girl,” you mutter, not sure why saying this makes you feel sad. You shouldn't be so sad about something that's true, something that you made up your mind about. “We're bound to break apart.”

“(Y/N), you're a smart woman. You can read the signs and I trust you to choose what's best for you, as you always have. Even when it meant to leave New York behind and come to such a strange place.” Her eyes are like beacons, reassuring you. You wish she was your mother instead of Kate. “You'll know if you're meant to be with Billy or not. I trust you enough for that, as should you.”

“I love you, aunt.” You breathe out, standing up and hugging her. “Thank you... And not only for this, but for everything. For taking me in and for moving here with me.”

“It was a pleasure, honey. Both to come back to my hometown and to be with you.” Diane never had kids, and her husband died eight years ago. She's still young though, and you hope she finds someone. But until then, you're ok with being somehow her kid. “Now I gotta go. Have a nice day at work.”

“You too.”

Half an hour later you're at the pool, on your chair, eyes scanning the sea of people. The sun is shining bright, and the kids seem especially electrified today. Despite having a lot of people to watch over, you're getting bored by the second, finally understanding why Monica sometimes complains so much about this job.

Billy, as usual, keeps shooting you glances every now and then, winking and smiling when you look his way. After rolling your eyes at him for the hundredth time this morning, you turn your gaze at Monica, who has a meaningful smile on her lips. You get the feeling she'll never stop teasing you about it. Well, she will have to one day. 'We're bound to break', the sentence comes to your mind again, and you decide to let the hot wind blow it away. Mon has a weird expression on her face, which makes you furrow my eyebrows at her.

She then gestures at her eyes. 'Look', you read the word on her lips, just before she gestures at Billy.

That again. You don't want to stare at him. You know he's hot, you don't need to be constantly reminded of that. Running a hand through your hair, you force yourself to focus on the activity that gives you some money at the end of the month. You're not bored anymore, you're thankful you have something to keep your mind off things you certainly shouldn't be thinking about.

When your lunch break finally comes, you jump from your chair to the ground, making the way over Monica, touching her leg. “Hey, you. Lunch, c'mon. I'm starving.”

“I'm a good friend.” She simply says, not even bothering to look at you. Monica can be a freaking interrogation sign sometimes, and you're about to ask her what she means when you notice Billy, standing a few feet away. “I switched my lunch breaks with him.” She looks down, taking her sunglasses off. “You're welcome.”

“I hate you, Mon,” you mumble, sighing at the laugh that leaves her lips.

You have no choice but to walk towards Billy, trying to keep your eyes on his face. But you use the distance to take a quick look, just so you can tell Mon you did it and she'll stop bugging you about it. He's tall, obviously, way taller than you. So you have to look up not to have your eyes glued on his chest. The guy works out. A damn lot, you're sure, and his tan is perfect. It makes you wonder if he even tries because it doesn't seem like he does. Billy doesn't have to act, he just is who he is. No doubt why he had no trouble carrying that heavy backpack during the trail, his muscles look like stone, iron. Even though the small distance you can see how his chest moves when he breathes, and the well-defined muscles of his bare arms. But you're getting close now, so you avert your eyes.

“Was it your idea or hers?” You inquire as soon as you're walking side by side to the cafeteria.

“Mine. I asked her this morning and she accepted.” As you walk, you notice all the heads turning.

The boys look with either anger or envy, and the girls keep checking him out shamelessly. Even the married ladies don't seem to hide the lust in their eyes. You feel a little weird, suddenly so small and out of place. But you can't blame them. Billy is a hell of a view. “You ok?” He suddenly asks. “You tuned out for a moment.”

“Just thinking.” You reach the cafeteria and you get your lunch from the fridge, moving to the microwave.

“About what?”

“The stares you were getting while we walked over here.” It comes out abruptly, and you realize you're angry. Why are you angry? You can't be mad because people are staring, he's not yours.

“People always stare.” He says, coming to seat with you on the table next to the microwave. “But today is for a different reason.”

“Oh, of course.” You avoid his eyes, letting your hair down from the ponytail and detangling it with your fingers, just so you have something to do.

“You only notice half of what's going on around you.” You mumble as a response, not sure if there's anything else you can say. “I never spent this much time without going on dates, and I never spent this much time hanging out with the same girl.” Billy's lower voice slowly makes you raise your eyes, meeting his. “People are impressed. I am impressed.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It's been a while and I still want to be around you, to get to know you.” As he speaks, you look at the door, because you don't want anyone listening. It's bad enough that you'll end up telling Monica, which only makes you even more confused. You don't need someone else adding up to the mix.

'We're bound to break'. It comes to your head again. “How long do you think it'll last? You know you'll get tired of this little game you're playing, Billy.”

“From the bottom of my heart... I don't think I could ever get tired of you.”

The sudden beeps of the microwave make you jump up, thankful for it breaking through the atmosphere. You get your food and hand Billy his since he shoved it into the microwave with yours.

“Every time I see you it's like the first damn time. It took me by surprise too, believe me.”

“Just eat, Billy. Or it'll get cold.” A stupid thing to say since there's smoke coming from both your meals.

“If I find a way to prove you I'm not joking, that I mean every word I say when I say you're nothing like the other girls, that I'm being serious this time... Would you believe me?”

Holy shit, you need to get the hell out of this cafeteria. You don't want to listen, you want to be left alone until whatever is driving you towards Billy disappears. But can you do that? Stand up and walk away when you're right here with him, nobody else around... You don't think so. “I'd like to see what you would come up with.”

He takes a deep breath, resting his back against the chair. You can only watch as he takes one of his earrings off, doing the same with his necklace. “The hell are you doing, Hargrove?” You mumble, crossing your arms.

He gives a quick glance before focusing on whatever he's doing. He removes the pendant of the necklace, throwing it on the trash next to the fridge. You raise an eyebrow, your hunger momentarily put aside. Billy passes the silver chain through the tiny hoop of his earring, making a whole new necklace. The earring is kinda nice, and it looks badass on him. It has four black little stones and a metal piece at the end, which reminds you a claw.

Your eyes follow him as he stands up, walking around the table to stand behind you. You were just about to ask what he's doing when he puts the necklace around your neck. “Move your hair up, please.”

With wide eyes fixed on the light green wall across the cafeteria, you do as he says, feeling the cold metal against your skin. You're even more confused now. “Wear this every day, and I'll wear mine every day too.”

“Is it... Is it supposed to make people think I belong to you or something?” You burst out, still a little shocked, a little perplexed, trying to control the butterflies on your stomach.

“Then they'll think I belong to you too.”

“Just-just eat, Billy. Please.” You stutter, looking down at your food as your heart drums on your ears.

“And I making you nervous?”

Biting back a smile, you don't answer. You quickly search through your mind for anything else, just so you can change the subject. “I heard you study at Indianapolis University. The same I happen to have transferred to. Which course do you take?” That's good. You got your mind to function.

“Mechanical engineering.” He shrugs his shoulders when you raise your eyebrows. “I always liked cars, so it wasn't a difficult choice. What about you?”

“Biomedicine. I'm planning on specializing in Hematology and get a job on Hawkins National Hematology Lab.”

“So you plan on staying here?”

“Yes. I came to stay.”

There's a change in his expression, as it softens like he just realized something new about himself. A small, genuine smile breaks into his lips, beautiful lips. You were just about to ask what's on his mind when James, another lifeguard comes into the cafeteria and you decide to keep your mouth shut.

•••

When you walk out of the bathroom, still drying your hair with a towel, your eyes fall on the necklace lying on the nightstand, near your telephone. Sitting on the bed, you touch the earring, wondering if Billy is wearing his now. “What's happening to me?” You breathe out, throwing yourself down on the bed.

Your phone starts ringing, but you don't pick up. You know Diane will answer it downstairs. You hear her low voice coming from the living room, your eyes on the ceiling, and your thoughts revolving around him again.

Him.

You don't even need a name, he's the only guy you think about.

“Honey! It's Monica!” Your aunt yells.

“I'll pick up!” You shout back, moving up just to pick up the phone before lying down again. “Hi, Mom.” You hear the sound of the downstairs phone being put down as you speak.

“So. How was it?”

“Uhm... It was a lunch break. We had our breaks together and we had lunch.”

“Seriously? That was it? Don't you think I noticed something very unusual around your neck when you came out?”

Sighing, you let out a humorless laugh. Monica is very perceptive, the reason why she's coursing psychology. She's always paying attention to everything. “Mon...” It's almost like a cry.

“Talk to me, (Y/N).”

“I can't keep doing this.” You cover your eyes with one hand, and the image that immediately comes to my mind is him. “I'm... Scared.”

“What happened in the lunch break?”

“Billy said stuff, you know... That he won't get tired of me, that still wants to be around me...” Tossing around, you hug a pillow. “He took one of his earrings and made it into a necklace... He gave me and told me to wear it every day because he will wear it too.”

“(Y/N), I think Billy is falling in love with you.”

“No, Mon, I–”

“I've seen how he treats girls, (Y/N). He never acted like that. All day long I see them walking around the pool in the tiniest bikinis they have, but he never looks. He used to devour them with his eyes, but since that Monday, when you started working... His eyes are on you, on such a... Kind way. It's like he's someone else entirely.”

“I want to believe you,” you whisper, eyes focusing on the necklace. “What if we're bound to break?”

“Give yourself time, then. And give you both a chance. (Y/N), you need to stop overthinking and enjoy your summer. If you're bound to break, you'll know. But for now, enjoy the attention he's giving you. And if it doesn't work, at least you would have enjoyed it... I mean, you like being around him, don't you?”

“Way more than I should.”

“Then try living in the moment for a while. When it's time to think and make big decisions, you will make them.”

Nodding to yourself, you know she's right. If you keep overthinking, maybe you'll be the one to ruin everything. “You're right...”

“Now, you can either stay there or come with me, Chris and Jason to the mall. What will it be?”

Smiling, you stand up, already moving to chose what to wear.

An hour later you're at Starcourt Mall, completely reformed about a year ago, Monica tells you, after it was destroyed by an explosion. The place is very modern, but it's still very different from those in New York. But you like it, how lit up it is, and crowded. Families, teenagers, and kids, who pass by, running. You take in the lights, the laughers. Monica laughs at something Christopher says, his arms around her shoulders. Jason had to bring his two toddler siblings, so he's walking a few feets away, carrying the two years old Michael on his arms and holding Melanie's hand, who's the five years old.

“Hey. Have you crossed paths with David? After he had his ass kicked?” Chris asks.

“No. And I hope it remains that way.”

“It's a small town, you'll bump into him eventually. But I think he won't bother you anymore.” He says and Monica nods.

“Yeah...”

“You and Billy dating yet?” Jason asks, making it clear he was paying attention.

“Not yet,” Monica answers before you can say anything. Rolling your eyes, you decide not to say argue.

Blushing a little, you touch Billy's earring around your neck. A smile comes to your lips, and you hope he'll be wearing his tomorrow... It's stupid, but it kinda makes you feel closer to him, even though he's not here.

You decide to follow Monica's advice, but you'll still be careful. You can do both.

@chloe-skywalker @dpaccione @tilesandtokens

#imagine billy hargrove #billy hargrove imagine #billy hargrove x reader #billy hargrove x you #billy hargrove x y/n #billy hargrove fanfiction #billy stranger things #stranger things imagine #imagine stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things x reader

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teamhappyme · 4 years ago

Text

a series of promising events (2/5)

aaron hotchner x female!reader

word count: 10.6k (yeah i have a spacing problem)

a/n: part 2 of this series is here! some dialogue, cases, and themes taken directly from criminal minds (S03 EP20, S04 EP01, & S05 EP08). originally, i had it planned to be 3 parts, but after editing, and looking at the word count, it makes more sense to be 5 parts. i don’t want to inundate you lovely people with massive word counts (even though 10k is massive) so this is the finalized count. because i finally got my shit together and finished this out, part 3 will be up wednesday morning, part 4 will be up friday morning, and the final part 5 will be up sunday morning. thank you to everyone who showed some love for part one, and thank you to anyone else who stumbled across my crazy writing and read along!

at the end, I’ve tagged the peeps that interacted with part 1. if you don’t want to be tagged for the other parts, just let me know :)

ok enough of my rambling inner monologue, here we go friends!

link to part 1: here

****

May 2008

We were in New York, investigating what started out as five connected shootings in the city. After twelve hours, we were up to nine fatalities.

We delivered the profile at nine thirty, finally satisfied with the outcome after a day's worth of combing over crime scene photos and witness statements. Hotch didn’t want to waste another second, making sure the profile went out before the night shift went out to patrol.

“Now, our first theory is that we’re dealing with a team.” Derek started. “In the case of the D.C. snipers, there was actually one intended victim.”

“John Muhammad wanted to kill his ex wife, but he knew if he did, he’d be the prime suspect, so he created a spree in order to mask his primary motivation.”

Spencer added before turning to SSA Joyner. “Muhammad and Malvo also left a death card at one of their scenes, just like this unsub.”

“We believe our unsubs have studied that case. They’re opening a line of communication.”

There was an outpouring of judgement focused on us, since we were in charge of the D.C. snipers case as well. These unsubs know we’re here, and they’re trying to show they can outthink us.

“Yes, they are playing games. But what that tells us is at least one of them has some intelligence.” You tried to hold your ground, and not let their opinions get to you.

“And like I said,” Prentiss interrupted, ready to put these cops in their place. “They know these cases. He’s also studied the placement of the surveillance systems well enough to avoid detection.”

“We’ve asked officers to canvass their precincts, and look out for a father-son type of duo that fit the dominant-submissive profile.” Rossi had Reid hand out some gang related profiles, just in case the profile shifted. But we were pretty confident in our first go.

“Talk to the people on your beats, look out for anything suspicious. And let's pray that this isn’t random.” The detective in charge finished and let his precinct disperse.

“Hey y/n/n, we’re gonna head back in five if you want a spot in the fun suburban.” JJ teased and lightly shoved Spencer’s shoulder.

You smiled and started packing up your backpack. “Okay. Just, leave the fragile doctor alone.”

After packing up any files you wanted to review when you got back to the hotel room, you let Morgan and Rossi know the four of you were headed out. They weren’t much further behind with Prentiss and Garcia.

You met Reid and JJ in the lobby, droopy eyes and mouths full of yawns adorning the three of you. It was a long day, and it was only going to be worse tomorrow.

“Where’s Hotch?” You asked, ready to get your feet out of these narrow leather dress shoes. You were wearing your combat boots tomorrow.

“He’s checking in with the lady friend.” JJ nodded her head toward Hotch, who was conversing with Joyner in her office. They were standing close, and you thought you caught a smile on his face. “Do you think they’re into each other?”

“She looks like she could be Haley’s twin,” Spencer added and you sighed.

The moment the team arrived at HQ this morning, everybody noticed the resemblance to Hotch’s ex-wife. SSA Kate Joyner went pretty far back with our unit chief. They went through the academy together and had some assignments overlap over the years. If it were up to Morgan and Garcia, the two of them would be out on a date right now. But you and Rossi quickly quieted the rumors, not wanting to deal with the rage that was Aaron Hotchner if he knew we were discussing his love life.

It had barely been six months since Haley left with Jack, and Hotch had just taken off his wedding band a few weeks ago. He didn’t tell any of you until you all witnessed him getting served in the office. It slapped you across the face, especially since you’d just met Haley and Jack for a quick lunch a month and a half before. I guess she wanted Hotch to tell you when he was ready.

As much as you valued your three year friendship with Aaron Hotchner, you knew Haley deserved better. Hotch adored his wife and son, and would fight heaven and earth to keep them safe. Unfortunately, he was too busy fighting the demons from hell to be a present father and husband. Everyone had their breaking point, and Haley had hit hers. From what Hotch has told you, they’re still amicable, and are trying to be friends again. After all, it wasn’t a lack of love that ended their marriage. It was a lack of prioritizing his family.

“Knock it off. He’s on his way over.” The three of you turned to one another, pretending to hold an intriguing conversation about one of Spencer’s magic tricks. Truthfully, you were always intrigued in his magic tricks; you never understood how he could pull endless quarters out of your ear. But that conversation would have to wait for another day.

“Ready to go?” Hotch pulled the keys out of his pant pocket, and the three of you nodded as Spencer called shotgun. A smile crossed your lips, never getting over the jovial things Spencer loved to claim when his intellect wasn’t needed to solve a case.

The fifteen minute ride to the hotel downtown was silent. You were all exhausted, emotionally and physically, sick of having to watch people die over and over again.

The four of you made it into the lobby, tomorrow morning’s papers already spread across the table. “The late edition didn’t miss a beat.” You said and picked up one of the papers, the headline reading ‘Execution Style’ with a still from one of the murders. You showed it to Hotch and he shook his head.

“I’m glad I never stooped to this level when I was publishing.” You murmured, reading the first paragraph of the article.

“JJ,” Spencer started and pointed across the lobby, causing all of us to turn. It was Detective Will LaMontagne Jr., JJ’s adorably chivalrous Louisiana boyfriend.

“Will.” You could practically hear the smile on her face as she led the walk over to him.

He was supposed to fly into D.C. to visit JJ for the weekend, but came to surprise her in New York when he heard the news. Spencer and I shared a look as Hotch extended a hand to him.

“Detective.”

“I’m sorry for showing up like this, I know you’re working. But, um. I can’t stand you being on this case. And me not being here, not with what’s going on.”

JJ shook her head in the slightest, and you started to get nervous.

“Is there a problem?” Hotch asked, concern completely taking over his voice at the thought of any harm happening to his team. The couple shared a knowing look, and your patience was starting to run thin with the information being withheld. JJ meant the world to you, and you wanted to make sure she was okay.

Reluctantly, she turned to face you all, a shy smile covering her face. “I’m pregnant.”

Spencer looked over at you, not knowing how to react to the news. But you couldn’t help the smile widening on your face.

“Oh my god, JJ! Congratulations!” You wrapped your arms around her and she laughed, most likely out of relief. This was a secret she kept for a long time.

“I’ve asked JJ to marry me,”

“Will.” She cut him off as Hotch gave him a congratulatory handshake.

“We’re working out some kinks.” He added as Spencer was next to hug your blonde friend. A baby, in the BAU. You might have been more excited than JJ.

“We’ll, uh, give you both some privacy.” Hotch started towards the elevator, and JJ was quick to follow.

“Hotch,” She didn’t continue, you knew this wasn’t the exact situation she wanted to tell everyone she was having a baby.

“JJ, you could have told me.”

The tenderness in his voice could have broken your heart in two right then and there, but add on the fact that you swore you could see Hotch’s eyes tear in the slightest, you were done. You didn’t want to mention it in front of Reid, but you knew this had to do with Haley. You’d be an idiot not to notice.

The three of you filed into the elevator, leaving JJ and Will to talk in private. You all got off on the fourth floor, Reid’s room the first to come up in the hallway.

“Night Spencer.”

“Goodnight. Seven a.m.,” He reminded you as he opened the door with his keycard.

You and Hotch walked down another ten feet before he found his room.

“Goodnight,” He mumbled out and reached for his key.

“Hotch,” He closed his eyes, nodding his head in the slightest.

“I’m tired, y/n.” You could’ve pushed harder. You could have gotten him to crack if you started nagging enough. You’d earned the title as baby sister from the team since you could whine and nag them into doing anything. But tonight didn’t seem like a good time for your skills.

You nodded, understanding this conversation wasn’t going to happen.

“Goodnight. Get some sleep.”

Despite your best efforts, you didn’t sleep a wink. Hotch had gone over his files and called for Kate to meet him in the lobby. But then there was an explosion, and you had to watch from your window as Hotch sat by Joyner, waiting for her to die.

Once the team had caught the second unsub and wrapped everything up at the precinct, you headed to the hospital to check on Hotch. And unsurprisingly, he was refusing any further treatment for the ringing in his ears he tried to deny. You saw him kick Rossi out of the room, the third member that couldn’t get through to him.

“Bobo, why don’t you give it a try. Can’t yell at the baby with a broken arm.” You were the one to tackle the unsub, and landed pretty hard on the pavement downtown. Nothing a black cast covered in smiley faces from Spencer and Garcia couldn’t fix.

“I know you can’t tell, but I’m flipping you off right now.” You responded to Morgan as you raised your casted hand toward him.

You headed to Hotch’s room, knocking on the window before you walked in.

“I swear to god if you try to put me in another MRI,” He started to raise his voice when you interrupted him.

“Shit, I should go tell Morgan he was wrong. Boss is willing to yell at the baby with a broken arm.”

He turned around to face you, the lines on his forehead disappearing once he saw it was you and not Rossi.

“What happened to your arm?” You smiled and glanced down at the cast. “Just another day on the job. Tackled the unsub, the pavement was not very kind to me.”

He sat on the edge of the bed, trying to put his tie back around his neck. You scoffed, stepping over to him.

“Why the hell would you want to put that back on?”

“Because it’s part of my suit.”

You knew better than to pull it out of his hands. He was holding on to any semblance of control, and his outfit was all that he had left. Instead you took a seat in the stiff chair across from him, watching as he grimaced every time he lifted his arms too high.

“If your goal is to get me to stay another minute here under observation, you’re not gonna win.”

You shook your head. “That’s not my goal.”

He sighed, giving up on putting his tie on. He moved to finish his top button, he was at least going to be covered.

“You should be excited for JJ.” You started, testing the water on this subject.

“Did I suggest otherwise?” He asked and you shook your head.

“When was the last time you saw Jack?” His eyes widened the slightest, and you regretted asking the question. You gripped the arms of the chair, ready to be ripped a new one.

Instead, Hotch let out a sigh, and you snapped your head up. “Two weeks. Haley went to visit her mother for a week, and then we went from Florida to New York in three days.”

He was already away from Jack half the week when they were still living under the same roof. Now he was lucky if he got to say goodnight on a weekend.

“Why don’t you take some time off? I’m sure you have weeks saved up. I’ve been here three years and have never seen a tan on you.��

He shook his head. “Strauss would never approve of it.”

“Hotch,”

“Y/n, I really want to get out of this hospital room and call my son.” You shook your head, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Fine. But you’re not flying home. You have a choice between Morgan and Rossi to drive you home. My recommendation would be Morgan, you don’t want to sit through four hours of Opera music.”

You stood up, refusing to meet his eye. You were sick of dealing with stubborn men.

“I’ll see if they can fax your records to D.C. before we leave.”

He muttered out a thank you as you left the room, shaking your head at the rest of the team.

“Nothing?” Morgan asked as you returned to them.

“Nothing. Even the baby gets yelled at.” Spencer spared you a glance and you gave him a small smile. You would be fine. “And Derek, you’re driving him back.”

***

January 2010

You didn’t think it could get worse than seeing Hotch with nine stab wounds at the hands of Foyet. You desperately wanted to believe that it couldn’t be worse than that. But you were naive to think that he would let Aaron survive and not make him suffer.

None of you would be able to erase the image of Haley’s bloody body lying in the home where she and Aaron created their family. You wouldn’t forget the sight of Hotch beating into Foyet’s face, or the sobs that raked through his body once Derek had shaken him off. This was a tragedy that shaped the entire team.

After Haley’s death, the seven of you took turns checking in on Hotch, Jack, and Haley’s sister Jessica. She stayed close by when Hotch was on leave, helping him with Jack’s routine, and how to explain to the four year old where his mommy went. She moved back into her apartment a few blocks away before Aaron returned to work. He wanted to prove to her that he could do this on his own, that he could be the strong father that Jack deserved, and that Haley would be proud of.

While the three of them were together, the team would try and make it over every Saturday for dinner. Hotch needed to be around friends, and Jessica needed a guilt free night to spend with the people that made her feel good. He was reluctant at first, not wanting us over the apartment, complaining that it was a mess, and it was too small to fit everyone. But it was impeccably neat, the result of a widow not being able to sleep. Once he became comfortable with us coming around on Saturday’s, we’d pick two weeknights to stop by with a dinner, movie, or game to help take their minds off of the pain. Although you and JJ stopped by every friday regardless of whose week it was, Hotch really appreciated the extra company, and so did Jack.

Despite his attempts at being independent, there were one too many distressed calls being made to you or JJ if he couldn’t get a hold of Jess, or if he didn’t want to burden her with the responsibility.

Your feelings about Jack Hotchner hadn’t changed in the four years since you met him. You would still do anything to see the adorable little boy smile. So, it was easy to say that you didn’t mind the late night phone calls worrying about Jack’s stuffy nose or when he should take the chicken out of the freezer without it going bad. Because the more he reached out to any one of you, the closer he was to finding a new normal.

However, all of you were surprised to see SSA Aaron Hotchner in his office only a month and a half after the event. Sure, he made remarkable progress, but you all assumed he would take a little more time, maybe take Jack on a well deserved vacation. Instead, you walked into the office on a monday morning, Hotch the first one in attendance.

That was two weeks ago.

The readjustment period had worn off, and Hotch was back to being a drill sergeant. Even more aggressive than he was before.

The case we were working was local, saving us the discomfort of sleeping in a hotel bed. We were in Virginia, investigating two murdered families, similar to ‘The Fox’.

“Who?” You asked, not familiar with the creepy nickname.

“Four years ago Karl Arnold, aka the fox, killed eight families.” Derek informed you. It must have been just before you started at the BAU.

“Similar to this case he took the father’s wedding rings, except in his case he took them as trophies.” Spencer finished.

“Hotch, you gave evidence at Arnold’s trial. I think you should go see him.” Derek was acting unit chief since before Haley’s death, and continued his position even with Hotch’s return. Strauss was weary now more than ever to give Aaron the title back so quick.

“I’d like to take l/n with me.” You looked over to Hotch, his eyes resting on yours, waiting for your approval.

You gave a small nod, placing your sunglasses over your eyes. “Okay. Let’s go.”

Hotch got the keys to a suburban and before you could meet him at the car, Prentiss pulled you back.

“Hey, are you sure you’re okay with this?” She was always looking out for you, heck she was the one that made you pack extra barf bags for crime scenes. She knew meeting face to face with a family killer would do a number on you. But Hotch can’t face this guy on his own. Not after what happened.

“I’m good. Not the first time I've interrogated a psychopath.” She reluctantly nodded.

“Okay. Just, let Hotch take the lead.”

You gave her arm a squeeze. “I will. Let’s find this guy.”

The ride to Red Onion Supermax was a short and quiet one. Hotch filled you in on the particulars of Arnold’s case, making sure you knew it inside and out. This was a team effort after all.

You couldn’t get a clean read on Hotch, however, on the ride over. He’d yet to crack a true smile or laugh in the weeks he’d been back, which normally wouldn’t be so out of character for him. But Reid had been trying to get him to crack with every magic trick he knew, even agreeing to let Derek joke about his lack of childhood and understanding of pop culture. But nothing worked.

It worried you to see the regression he’s made since coming back. You knew how happy he was at home with Jack, that a smile crossed his face most of the day when he was playing legos with his son. You hoped he was here because he wanted to be, not because he felt like he had an obligation to the team or the Bureau.

“Karl has a big ego. He’s going to answer every question with a question. He’ll try to gain the advantage with me by asking why I’m not wearing my wedding ring.” You looked down at his left hand, the gold band that you noticed on your first day, now gone, along with the woman he loved. “And then he will turn his attention to you.”

“So that’s why you brought me along.”

“Your presence will throw him off guard. And he’s going to want to describe to you in graphic detail every sexual act he committed with the families.”

“To freak me out?” Because you haven’t even met this sick bastard and you were certainly already freaked out.

Hotch met your eye, and you knew this was only going to get worse. “To pull you into his fantasy.”

The guard radioed for the gate to open, and you tried to contain the tremors in your hands. This was a wing of psychotic sexual sadists, they would pick up on your nervous ticks.

You looked to Hotch once the gate opened, and he nodded for you to go in.

“Go ahead.” You followed the guard in, surprised at the lack of noise you were welcomed with. “Keep your eyes forward. More than anything he’s going to want to see images of the children.”

“We can’t give him that.” You argued, as you started to hear the men from their cells.

“We have to give him something or we’ll get nothing from him.”

You’d kept your breathing under control the entire walk down the hallway, until a man crashed against the glass, causing you to flinch and spare a glance.

“Isn’t that, uh,-”

“Derek Payne.” He finished for you, his eyes still straight ahead.

“It’s reinforced glass.” You scoffed. Of course he wasn’t worried about another man ripping him apart.

“Easy for you to say, he tore apart fourteen women.”

The door opened to the interrogation room, and this time Hotch entered first. You were met with Karl Arnold, red bushy hair and a beard to match. He was average height, and a little stocky, not what you pictured him to look like.

“Hello Karl,” Hotch greeted him as we settled in on the other side of the table.

“Agent Hotchner,” He stood. “I wasn’t informed you were bringing a, uh,” He glanced at you, looking you up and down before turning back to Hotch. You really regretted wearing a white silk top with your dress pants today. “They just said two agents.”

“This is Agent-”

“Y/n, l/n.” You tried to control the dilation of your eyes as he looked right through you. “I know all about you.”

Now you understood why Emily asked you if you were sure about this. He kept his eyes on Hotch as he started the interrogation, never looking you in the eyes longer than a second. Even if you directed a question toward him, he would only answer to Hotch. He was a misogynist. You don’t know why you’re so surprised at this discovery, he tortured wives and families.

When he offered up his book of dialogue between him and his fans, he smelled your perfume as you reached across the table to grab it. Hotch quickly took it for you, letting you sit back down in your seat. Your gut was no longer in your stomach, it was lodged in your throat.

“How’d you lose your ring, Agent Hotchner?” It was beyond your level of profiling to understand how Hotch could just sit there and take the assault on his personal life from a man who ruined families, especially with what he’d just been through. You’d never mastered the art of compartmentalization quite like Hotch. But right now, you were thankful for your uncontrollable emotions.

“I can look past your refusal to answer my question, if you let me see the children. It’s the only way I can truly help you.” You gripped the files harder at the mention of the victims and looked at Hotch.

“Can I speak with you for a second?” He nodded and the two of you stood.

“Is there something wrong, y/n?” You bit back the sarcasm that was threatening to fall from your mouth.

“Nothing’s wrong, Karl.”

You exited the interrogation room, still clutching the files close to your chest.

“We cannot show him these.”

He looked at Arnold, who seemed to find your eyes, even through the reflective mirror. “These images will be his undoing and will lead us to the killer.”

“These are not just images.”

“That’s exactly what they are.”

“Hotch, I am not about to parade a dead twelve year old girl in a bathing suit in front of a serial killer who gets off on it.” You raised your voice, not willing to compromise any respect you had left for these victims.

“Then show him the others. It’ll gain his trust and get him talking. He won’t talk to me, he knows I know everything that gets him off. But he’ll want to tell you just what he would do to them. I told you, he wants to pull you in.”

You shook your head. “These are children! Helpless children whose fathers have to live with what this animal did to their families! These strangers do not get to see the torture and humiliation that they went through.”

“If you can’t stomach showing him what he desires, then I’ll do it. Because we’re not leaving until we get a name out of him. You’re either with the team or you’re not.”

You scoffed. “You’re not the unit chief anymore. I do what Morgan says if we can’t come to an agreement.”

It was bold of you to remind him of his subordinate place. But you were equals now, despite the decade between you two. You didn’t have to listen to his orders if you felt they were wrong.

He reached for the files, but you turned away from him. “I’m going in there. Not you. But I’m going to run the interrogation my way, not exposing these children. If you have a problem with that, you can call Morgan.”

You motioned for the guard to let you back in. You took your seat across from Karl, a smirk still evident on his face.

“What, no Agent Hotchner?”

“You know, yours was one of the first cases I studied,” You started, trying to loosen up the muscles in your face. Going against every natural instinct in your body was making it hard to relax. “I’ve been fascinated ever since. I wanted to tell you sooner, but I was embarrassed with him in the room.”

“You’re embarrassed because you want to know what I did, don’t you.” You pushed out a smile, a little giggle behind it to entice him.

And of course it did. “Yes.”

“I can show you exactly what I did to them.”

“Tell me.” You tilted your head to the side, pushing some hair behind your ear. You were fighting the bile rising in your throat with every word you exchanged with him.

“Children are so precious, so clean. But they need guidance, especially the girls.”

You narrowed your eyes. “Why?”

“Girls have much more to lose than boys. It’s a fact, the female body can handle pain much better.” If this wasn’t a serial killer across from you, you’d agree with him and make some jokes about the female anatomy. But he was enjoying this, just like Hotch said. He was pulling you in.

“What did you do to them?”

He smiled. “I showed them, what men, their fathers, and brothers, are capable of.”

“And what is that?”

“Once I killed the children, It always amazed me how little the father fought the inevitable, the dying.”

“I never thought I would get these answers, let alone from the man himself.” You pushed out another smile, because you knew he was holding back. He was almost willing to trust you, he just needed to be groomed a little more.

“It takes a good woman, to make an honest man. And you’re prettier than Agent Hotchner.”

He was dancing around the information now, knowing that he had your time and attention. “Karl, do you know why you killed all those families?”

“I already told you why.”

You dropped the sweet tone, and pushed up on your elbows. “No, you told me how. And your motivations were all driven by sex, motivations you learned from your father.”

You saw him flinch, and you knew you were getting somewhere.

“You assert your dominance by making the father, the head of the household, watch you torture, assault, and take anything you wanted from the people he’s supposed to protect. Now your admirer, they don’t have the same ambitions as you do. And normally, that would bother a man like you. You want to be adored for every single part of your mess. But like you said, they’re an admirer, not a fan. So I’m guessing it’s a woman, who you’ve really come to care for.”

He tugged on his shackled wrists, you clearly got what you were looking for.

“Those women, those girls, they needed to be taught a lesson. How to obey who’s in charge. And you,” he laughed as he inched as far across the table as he could. “The things I would do to you if I weren’t nailed to this table. You’d be done before I could call your name.”

Before you could respond, Hotch came into the room, demanding a name. You stood up, no longer needing to play a role.

“It must be distracting, working with such a beautiful woman everyday.” You didn’t spare him another glance as you heard him mumble out a name to Hotch, finally getting what he wanted: power over you.

“Morgan, we’ve got a name. It’s a female guard in intake. Get everybody here ASAP.” The guard led you and Hotch back down the hallway, through the lion's den, and back to the elevator. Once inside, you let out a breath. Hotch turned to look at you, but you spoke up before he had the chance.

“Don’t ask me to do that ever again.”

You would’ve yelled at him, tore him to pieces in the elevator ride from the fourth floor to the exit, but there was a guard escorting you out. You didn’t want him to have the privilege of watching two FBI agents battle it out. And honestly, you weren’t sure if you had the heart to yell at him after all he’d been through.

But once you were escorted through the exterior gates, your team in sight, you regained the nerve to give Hotch a piece of your mind.

Not before he spoke first though.

“You did exactly what needed to be done. I didn’t ask you to act that way toward him, and I’m sorry you feel that that was your only way in. But I’m not going to apologize for getting the name of the killer.”

“So you would have acted in the same degrading way if the roles were reversed?”

He scoffed. “Yes, I would have. Because unlike you, my feelings don’t impair my judgement or ability to do this job. You’re an asset to this team, you need to find a way to get your emotions in check.”

You stopped walking, turning around to face him. You were in the middle of the driveway now, SWAT and BAU canvassing the scene. But you were going to do this here and now.

“The only reason you brought me here was to appeal to that sick son of a bitch. The only thing that makes me an asset to you is the fact that I have a vagina and you don’t. You turned me from a Supervisory Special Agent into a fighting fuck toy! You watched as I drained every ounce of respect I had for myself to turn into what that psychopath desired, all because I wouldn’t show him pictures of innocent children.” He looked over your shoulder to the team, embarrassed that they were hearing this. “At least have the respect to look at me while I’m talking to you!”

Hotch had never heard you yell like this. You were the calm one, the baby, as Derek called you. No one ever pushed you so far over the edge to get a reaction out of you. At least, not until he did.

“The next time you ask me, JJ, Prentiss, or Garcia to flirt our way into a serial killer's mind, to expect us to degrade ourselves in order to save another woman, I will not hesitate to report you to Strauss.” You could hear footsteps behind you, but you continued on as tears started to form in your eyes. “You used to say that my empathy was what made me an amazing agent. That my ability to connect with victims and families was the reason I’m here. So do not try and make me feel worthless for possessing something that you wish you could have. Because the way you act, with no capability for empathy, is a depressing way to live.”

“Y/n,” Spencer rested a hand on your shoulder, but you shook it off.

“Figure out the man you want to be.”

Before you could say anything else, Spencer dragged you away from Hotch and towards the cars. You could feel the tears freely falling down your cheeks, but you made no effort to remove them. You ignored the stares from the rest of your team, not giving them the satisfaction of knowing what went down in that interrogation room. Instead, you got into the passenger seat of the suburban, and Spencer started the drive back to the office.

Rationally, you knew you went off too hard at him. He never deliberately asked you to flirt with Arnold. He asked you to show him the pictures of Lucy, to get him to crack under the fantasy. But you refused. You would rather make yourself go through that pain than any young child. It’s what you’d always done.

Spencer tried to convince you they hadn’t heard the conversation. That they were all too focused on SWAT’s apprehending of the guard to pay attention.

“Spence,” You started and looked over at him. “We all had our earpieces in. You heard every word.”

And he was silent the rest of the ride back. You were exhausted, and you wanted nothing more than to go home and fall asleep on your couch with reruns playing in the background. But you had a mountain of paperwork to finish, and still needed to debrief when the team got back.

Halfway through your stack, the team came back to the bullpen. Prentiss gave your shoulder a comforting squeeze as she passed by, heading for her desk. Derek had agreed to let everyone go home without debriefing. This was the earliest we’d been done with a case so close to home. We needed to capitalize on our rest.

JJ was the first to go home, excited to be home in time for dinner with Will and Henry. Prentiss and Rossi followed shortly after, going to celebrate the win of this case at an expensive restaurant, at Dave’s expense.

“Come on you two, don’t make me drag you out of here kicking and screaming.” Derek addressed you and Reid as he pulled his coat on.

“We’re right behind you boss man.” Spencer said and turned his desk light off, grabbing his cane. He should be able to ditch all mobility aids soon.

You swung your backpack over a shoulder and turned off your own light. You didn’t even make it out of your four foot space before Hotch called out to you.

“Y/n, could I see you before you leave?” He was standing in front of his office, on higher ground than the rest of us. Power move, you thought to yourself. But he wouldn’t be that petty.

You looked back to Reid and Moran, the former nodding to you before seeing himself to the elevator. Now it was just Spencer, his eyes begging for you to leave.

“I don’t need to remind you how deeply you care for all of us. But if you keep putting yourself out there to comfort him, you’re going to get destroyed.” This was the first time Spencer had mentioned this to you. Sure, you’d been helping Hotch out at home, a little more than normal, but everybody was pitching in. His wife died for god's sake.

“Spence, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He let out a sigh and fidgeted with his cane. You found it at a consignment shop on one of your weekends off, and bought it for him without hesitation. It had an eagle engraved in it’s clutch, something regal, medieval, and screamed Spencer Reid. You ignored the price, a forty dollars more than you would’ve liked to spend on a walking stick, but the look on his face when you gave it to him was priceless.

“You need to stand up for yourself. Nothing excuses the way he treated you today. Regardless of your decision to play a character.”

God, could he read you.

“No pair of rose colored glasses could cloud that. Not even yours.” He gave you one last shadow of a smile before limping his way to the elevator.

Once you regained your composure, you turned to make your way up to Hotch’s office. He was sitting in his chair, staring at the paperwork waiting to be filled out before him. You knocked on the open door, and he stood up without even looking at you. You were going to take Spencer’s advice and stick up for yourself, so you had to set the pace.

“Can this be quick? I wanted to get home before traffic started up.” He rounded the front of his desk, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he leaned against it.

“I’m sorry for the way I treated you back at the prison.” You nodded, not wanting to verbally accept the apology that was due to you hours ago. “I was out of line and completely blinded by the case. I should’ve listened to you and taken your reservations into consideration. It was narcissistic of me to think I was the only one capable of making the right decision.”

“Thank you.” You stuttered out, still absorbing the tone of his voice. His word choice was self deprecating, a cry for help if you didn’t know any better.

“Y/n,” He started but was interrupted by a shaky breath. “I hate that I made you feel like all you’re good for is to romance your way into their heads. You deserve to be treated with respect, to be valued because of your empathy and your psychological understanding of victims and their families. If I’ve ever made you feel like you were worthless before this afternoon, please tell me.”

“No, you’ve never made me feel that way.”

He nodded before turning to grab a piece of paper from his desk.

“Good. Because I’ve written up a complaint for Strauss, describing my behavior and language directed toward you today. You shouldn’t have to wait for a next time to file it.”

He extended the paper to you, and you walked until you were standing in front of him, accepting the complaint into your hands. But you didn’t even read it before tearing it in two.

“What are you doing?”

“Hotch, I’m not filing a complaint against you. Everything that I did today was my choice. You didn’t force me into anything.”

He ran a hand through his hair, the first time you’ve seen it tousled in the office.

“I was uncomfortable showing Arnold those pictures. So I made the choice to play a character, to appeal to his fantasy. You weren’t in the room, and you didn’t suggest that. If anything, you tried more than anything to get me to stick to the script. Did you have some choice words for me that weren’t necessarily appropriate? Yes. But we all have our moments. After we got out of there, I felt sick that I had to do that to get a name out of him. It wasn’t the first time I’ve camouflaged myself for the greater good, and it won’t be the last. I took out the self hatred I had on you, because you were there. Because if I did it your way, I wouldn’t be able to look at myself in the mirror again without feeling ashamed. But you didn’t deserve it.”

“Yes, I do. I deserve to be ridiculed for telling you that your empathy is a weakness. I deserve to be ridiculed for yelling at Garcia for missing something on a search. I deserve,”

His voice broke, and you froze in place. You were about to see Aaron Hotchner cry for the first time in four years. “I deserve to be punished for Haley’s death.”

Your own eyes started to water as you saw a single tear roll down his cheek. Without thinking, you reached forward and held his hands in your own. They were shaking, and he tried to pull them away from you. But you held on tight, you weren’t going anywhere.

“Hotch, look at me.” He kept his gaze on the windows, looking out onto the concrete roof.

“Hotch, please.” You were quieter the second time, and that’s what got him to meet your eyes.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you that you could’ve prevented Haley’s death if you did one thing instead of the other. Because no matter what you did, Foyet would’ve found her, and done this all over again.” He tried to look away from you, but you tugged on his hands, begging him to stay. “But what you did prevent, was Foyet taking away the greatest thing you and Haley ever made. You saved your son, Hotch. And you ended Foyet’s reign of terror. You get to spend every day reminding Jack how amazing his mother was. How strong, resilient, and fierce she was. How she looked death in the eye and didn’t even flinch. You get to live the rest of your life for your son.”

He nodded and closed his eyes, letting the few remaining tears fall down his face. You let your own fall with the reprieve of no longer being under his stare, not wanting to fall apart when he needed you.

“I love her. I never stopped loving her. The divorce, it wasn’t because of that. It was because of this job.”

You squeezed his hands before letting them go, letting him wipe off his face.

“I know. And I know she never stopped loving you.”

You never thought you would get to this moment when you first met Haley. You let out a small laugh while remembering your first encounter, how pregnant and angry she was at Hotch.

“What?” You smiled and shook your head.

“I’m just remembering the first time I met her. She was pregnant, she called you a robot, and was cracking jokes left and right to try and get you to crack.”

That got him to smile. “I could always make her laugh when we were younger. She had the funniest, most embarrassing laugh. But it was Haley. And it was addicting.”

You wanted him to remember her like this, with a smile on her face and the loving soul she was.

“I truly am sorry for what I said to you, but you have to know I didn’t mean it.”

You nodded. “I know you didn’t. Just apologize to Garcia in the morning, and get home to Jack. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He gave you a small smile as you picked up your backpack.

Spencer’s words stung in your ears while you were holding Hotch’s hands. You loved everyone on this team as your family. And Hotch needed you to be there for him a lot more over the last two months. Sure, you’d brushed off some harsh conversations with him considering the circumstances, but you knew when it went too far, like today.

“Y/n,” His voice pulled you from your thoughts, stopping you at the door. “Thank you.”

You nodded. “Of course.”

Maybe you did care too much for people. But if it helped them get back to normal, you’ll continue wearing those rose colored glasses a little while longer.

***

March 2010

“I’m grocery shopping. Because I have no food in my apartment and I never thought I’d say this, but I’m sick of eating pizza.” You threw a box of cheerios in your cart, careful not to hit the eggs on their way in.

“That’s how you’re spending your saturday? Our first saturday off in a month?”

“Well, unless I want to spend another twenty bucks on one meal, I’ve gotta do my grown up chores.” “You need to get your butt back home so we can go out and drink.”

Emily was relentless, to say the least. Every single weekend you had off, her number popped up on your phone the minute you got home. She hated resting in her own solitude, and tried to drag you along for any activity she could think of. Shopping, drinking, walking around the national mall, and, in desperate cases, running. But her record wasn’t stellar in getting you to attend.

“I’m spending the afternoon with my couch, a book that has taken me too long to read, and probably eat an entire bag of smartfood.” You chucked a box of granola bars in your cart too when you heard a kid cry. You turned to the end of the aisle, but the parent was blocking the child. “Besides, it’s dinner tonight at Hotch’s.”

“He canceled this morning. Rossi was supposed to call and let you know.” You rolled your eyes. Of course Dave forgot.

“Daddy! I want the poptarts!” You heard the kid yell out again. But you knew that voice, and you couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face.

“Em, I’ll see you on Monday. Have a shot for me.”

“I’ll have two.”

You laughed as you hung up the phone, pushing the cart over to your favorite little boy on the planet. You didn’t think to give the father another glance when you didn’t recognize him, but that’s because Aaron Hotchner is never without a suit at the office. He was dressed in jeans now and a quarter zip, looking like a normal dad.

When you approached the two boys, Jack was leaning against the shelf, tears streaming down his cheeks as he kicked his feet against the ground.

“It looks like SSA Hotchner could use some help profiling his son.”

Hotch was quick to stand up, meeting your eye. You only smiled while crouching down to Jack’s level.

“Hey little man, what’s the problem here?” He wiped the tears from his cheeks, and your heart broke at the redness in his eyes.

“Daddy won’t let me get any pop tarts.”

“That’s because you ate the whole box in one day without my permission.” Aaron argued back.

You hid your laugh in your shoulder, not wanting to upset Jack any more. But Hotch had already caused him to spiral into a meltdown again.

“Jack, have you ever had ants on a log?” He shook his head, tears continuing down his chubby cheeks. “Well, they were my favorite snack when I was little. It’s celery, peanut butter, and raisins all set up on a plate. And the best part is, you get to make it yourself! Now, I know how much you love peanut butter, and I bet if you ate this snack, Daddy will let you get poptarts the next time you go grocery shopping.”

“Okay.” He said and nodded his little head. “But I’m sick of grocery shopping.”

“Me too buddy.” I sat down next to him. “I do not like having to walk up and down these aisles searching for food. So, why don’t we sit here while daddy finishes his list?”

You spared a glance at Hotch and his practically full basket. You knew he would be done in ten minutes if you stayed here with Jack.

“Are you sure?” Aaron asked and you nodded.

“‘Course. I don’t need food that bad anyway.” He sighed and made his way back to his carriage.

You pulled a piece of paper and a pen out of your purse and handed it to Jack.

“Aunt Jessica told me that you know how to write your name now. Can you show me?”

He sat up straight, laying the paper down on the floor. You watched as he made a loopy uppercase J, followed with big and small letters to spell out the rest of his name.

“That’s awesome buddy. What about your last name?”

“Hotchner!” He yelled out and you laughed.

“Yeah, let me spell it out for you.” You wrote it out on the paper and it took him a few minutes to copy down.

“You’re turn now, y/n.” He handed you the pen and you wrote your name down, saying the letters as you wrote them. Jack repeated you, and it made you laugh. You forgot that kids were such sponges.

By the time you finished writing Aaron and Haley’s names for Jack, Hotch was back with his cart. “Alright buddy, it’s time for us to go. We gotta let y/n finish her grocery shopping.”

“No! I want y/n to come home with us for dinner. She was helping me spell everyone's names!”

You smiled as you stood up, giving Jack a hand. “Maybe next time buddy. But you gotta get home to try those ants on a log.”

“Actually, we’re making pizzas for dinner, Jack’s saturday choice. You can come over, if you don’t have any plans already.” You’d never heard Hotch this nervous before. It made you laugh a little.

“I’d love to. Only if I get to put extra cheese on my pizza though.”

“Of course!” Jack exclaimed and you matched his smile.

“Awesome! I’ll let you two pay for all this food and I’ll meet you at your house okay?” Jack nodded before running to the front of the cart.

“You sure you don’t have any plans? I don’t want you to give up another saturday night at my expense,”

“Hotch there is nothing more exciting than spending my weekends with the cutest four year old on the planet.” He smiled, but you knew he still wasn’t convinced. “Besides, every other twenty-nine year old I know is in a stuffy club in uncomfortable clothes. This is much more my pace.”

He nodded, a small smile on his face. “Okay. We’ll meet you at the apartment in a half an hour.”

“Sounds good. See you soon Jack!” You waved to the little boy and quickly tried to finish buying the staples that could get you through a few days at home.

You got home and quickly put your food away, making sure everything that needed to be refrigerated was chilled. You switched your t-shirt for a long sleeve tee, opting for sneakers instead of boots. Comfort was the utmost importance on days off.

It took you twenty minutes to get to Hotch’s apartment from yours, arriving at five on the dot. You were known for, and proud of your punctuality. Hotch answered the door after two knocks, and you couldn’t help but focus on the noise of three different locks unlocking.

He greeted you with a slight nod of the head, button down replacing his quarter zip.

“Do you even own comfortable clothes?” “This is comfortable.” You rolled your eyes, as he took the poptarts from your hands, raising his eyebrow at you.

“Didn’t I just have this fight with my four year old son about not buying these?” He asked as he let you in the house.

“Yes, but I’m the fun dinner guest. I bring the treats for the children.”

He tried to hide the small huff of a laugh that escaped his lips, but you still caught it. “You will be the death of me.”

You let out a laugh as he led you into the kitchen, putting them away on the top cabinet. I reached for my hip and pulled my holster off, putting it on the counter.

“Do you have somewhere I can put this? Last thing I need is to drop it while I throw up my pizza dough.” He unlocked the drawer in his desk, placing it in there before locking it back up.

You heard tiny footsteps running down the hall. “Y/n! It’s pizza time!”

You smiled as he tugged at your legs. “I know! I’m so excited!”

“Alright buddy, you’re up first. Show y/n how we properly throw our pizza dough in the air.” Hotch pushed a step stool over to the counter, waiting for Jack to step up. The grin on the little boy's face was ginormous as he powdered his hands with flour, taking the small ball of dough Hotch separated for him.

The two of you were on either side of Jack, each ready to follow his lead in the process. “Ok, on the count of three. One, two, three!”

You spun the dough in your hands before throwing it in the air, watching it separate the slightest bit. Jack’s giggles filled the apartment as he let his dough fall onto the counter. Aaron shook his head, you could tell this part of the meal was always a struggle for the little boy.

You watched as Jack spread out the miniscule amount of sauce he wanted along his crust, topping it off with a mountain of cheese. You taught him the more cheese, the better, and he clearly still believed you. You added some pepperoni to your own oval shaped pie, unsuccessful in making a perfect circle crust. But, not everyone could be the perfect Italian chef like David Rossi.

While the pizza’s were in the oven, the three of you sat down to play a few rounds of Candyland. You hadn’t played since your time at DCFS, and you forgot how there was no real objective to the game. It certainly wasn’t your game of choice, but Jack was still a little young to be able to contend with you in a game of monopoly. A few more years, you thought.

Once the pizza’s were done, Jack helped you set the table as Hotch cut the pies. You felt a little out of place, crossing some very important boundaries by having dinner with just the two Hotchner boys. This saturday was much different than the ones you spent when the whole team was over, Henry and Jack putting on dance parties for the guests.

You started to become more aware of your actions around the apartment; how you knew where the placemats were kept, that Jack used his purple cup for milk at dinner, and the strict no electronics rule at the table. However, that had been established by Haley years ago. The thought of her had a shot of guilt running through your stomach, sitting down with her family for dinner, just three and a half months after she’d passed.

You’d been thinking a lot about what Spencer had said that night at the BAU. He was vague, too vague for the doctor that could tell you how long he’d been alive down to the second. After a few sleepless nights, you called the doctor in question and demanded he explain himself. But after his admission, you quickly regretted having all the information.

Spencer Reid has known you for almost five years now, and has seen you through the moments that have shaped your adult life. Killing Stephanie Moore, testifying in the fisher king case, being your excusing phone call from multiple dates, and holding your hand as you took in one of your former foster siblings from a bad relationship. There was absolutely nothing in your life that could be hidden from him.

So when he told you he noticed your feelings for Hotch ‘about two years ago’, you nearly stopped dead in your pacing tracks. Not because you didn’t know your own feelings for the man, but because you didn’t realize it had been that long. That he had been married to Haley, albeit only for a month longer, that you started to notice how handsome your boss was. Upon hearing the truth out loud, and from another person, you ran to the bathroom and threw up a few times.

You were so embarrassed, so ashamed of caring for someone that couldn’t be yours. For caring for someone who’s wife you truly adored. After the third round of puking, Spencer reassured you through the phone that it wasn’t your fault. We can’t control who we love. And yes, he said love.

“Are you okay y/n?” Jack’s little voice pulled you from your thoughts. You smiled at his sauce covered face and nodded.

“Yeah, I’m fine. How’s your pizza, Jack?”

“Awesome! Daddy is the best pizza cooker ever!”

“You sure you’re okay? You look a little pale,” Aaron commented and referenced your plate. You hadn’t taken a bite.

“I’m good, really. Just thinking about how I’m going to make a bigger lego tower than Jack after dinner.”

That got the little boy to laugh, successfully switching the conversation to Jack’s favorite toys. But you noticed the glaces Hotch snuck your way, not believing you for a second. You were an awful liar.

The longer the three of you sat at the table, the larger your smile grew around these boys. Seeing Hotch being able to relax and really enjoy his time with Jack always brought a smile to your face. He was a natural father, sliding into the role of playmate and swaddler, cuddler and soother. You even remember him helping JJ out with Henry’s swaddle at work one day.

But you knew he felt guilty, not being able to be present in his son’s life everyday. You saw it in the hundred’s of views of the video of Jack’s first steps, the late night phone calls while away on a case just to say goodnight to his little boy. He missed out on a lot of the baby years, and he would be making it up to Jack for the rest of his life, with nights like these. With the whole weekend devoted to Jack Hotchner’s favorite things, minus the sugary pop tarts. Hotch had mastered the duality of being a Supervisory Special Agent for the FBI, and the loving father to Jack Hotchner. It was one of the reasons why you started caring so much for him.

“Alright Jack, you can build one tower with y/n, then it’s bath time and off to bed.” You saw the pout on Jack’s face as Hotch cleared our plates, and you helped him off the chair.

“Come on, maybe if we’re quick enough we can make two.”

He giggled as he led you to his room, stuffed animals and toys galore. This boy won’t want for a thing.

“Okay, you make a big blue one, I’ll do purple.”

You finished much quicker than the four year old, but under no circumstances would he let you sit and watch him make his masterpiece. Instead, since you had nearly two and a half feet on him, you stacked your tower on top of his and continued adding pieces to make it bigger. He cheered you on as it started to reach your head, and you were getting excited yourself. Until, it came to a crashing fall with the last green piece on top.

“Noo!” Jack yelled out, trying to catch the falling pieces.

“It’s okay Buddy, you can always make another one.” Aaron’s voice trying to soothe his son caught both you and the little guy’s attention.

The two of you turned to see Hotch leaning in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. You wondered how long he’d been standing there.

“And maybe next time, we can make one as big as daddy.”

Hotch let out a laugh as Jack smiled at you in amazement. He liked how your brain worked.

“Bath time, bud. We gotta get your face cleaned up from all that pizza sauce, and ship you off to bed.”

“But y/n’s here,” He whined, not wanting the lego fun to end.

“Well I have to get home and take a shower too, bud. Don’t worry, there’s plenty more playdates in your future.” You said and stood up, giving the little boy a high five.

“Go wait for me in the bathroom okay, I’m gonna walk y/n out.”

“Okay. Bye bobo.” He said and ran off to the bathroom, leaving you speechless in his bedroom.

“You let him be around Derek Morgan way too much.”

“Probably. But you can’t compete with the guy who brings over a new lego set every weekend.” Hotch got your gun for you, walking you back to the front door.

“Are you kidding? You’re his hero, Hotch. He asked me last week if I was a superhero like daddy.” He cracked a smile, but his eyes were glued to the floor, unable to meet your own.

“Why did you cancel dinner tonight?” He sighed and lifted his head. You’d been wanting to ask him since you were at the grocery store. The team had been coming over for three months now, and it was something we all started to look forward to.

“I was sick of feeling like a burden to you all. I mean, asking you all to give up your Saturday nights, sometimes our only free night of the week to spend in my depressing apartment, it had been enough.” If only you could show this man how much the team cared for him through your eyes, he would never doubt his worth another day in his life.

“Hotch, the highlight of my week is coming here to be with you all. My family. Watching Henry and Jack play with each other, listening to Spencer and Penelope fight over who the true godparent is, and getting to be on the receiving end of Rossi’s awesome cooking?”

He nodded, mumbling an ‘I know’ a few times under his breath. But he needed to know that as much as you all come here for Jack, you guys care for Aaron and his well being just as much.

“I come here every saturday to make sure that Aaron Hotchner has not dressed in a suit for the sixth day in a row, and to make sure he knows that he’s doing such an amazing job with Jack. That he is being the best father, friend, and boss, that he can be.”

This time, his eyes were locked on yours as you got a real Aaron Hotchner smile out of him, dimples and all. You couldn’t help but make a check mark in the air, the team tally still going strong. He playfully rolled his eyes as you swung your bag across your shoulder.

“So who’s in the lead now?”

“Me, for the last six months. I can’t be dethroned.” You felt your cheeks grow warm, hoping he wouldn’t think too much into your stat keeping.

“Well, that seems like a pretty accurate tally.”

You made sure it was. And selfishly, you hoped no one else could get that beautiful smile to cross his face like you could.

“Thank you for coming over. We both had a lot of fun.”

“I did too. I’m around anytime, my tower building skills are not occupied for many other people.” He let out a laugh as he opened the door for you.

“Goodnight y/n. Let me know when you get home.”

“I will. Night, Hotch.”

You got home in twenty minutes, texting Aaron as you walked through your door. Quickly changing into pajamas and throwing Legally Blonde into the DVD player, your phone dinged at a new message.

It was from Hotch, a picture attached to the message. It was of Jack, towel wrapped around his head, eyes shut from grinning so wide. ‘He wanted me to send this to you. He said, ‘this is how happy I am that y/n was here tonight.’ Thanks again for everything. Goodnight.”

You couldn’t help the tears that pooled in your eyes at the sweet little boy in the picture, and his amazing dad behind the camera.

****

tags: @simplyprentiss��@michaelahah @ssahotchner99 @svrgicalhands @hotchtopic @unionjackpillow @philcoolson @tommhollandzxhaz @kathleenjasmine @canimarrypizzaornah @reaperwalking @inlovewithaaronhotchner @shelbymm11 @mrshotchner23 @tropicalwrites

#aaron hotchner x female! reader #aaron hotchner x female!reader #aaron hotchner fic #aaron hotchner fanfiction #aaron hotchner x reader #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds #aaron hotchner

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yetanotheremptypage · 3 years ago

Note

Hello 💓

I adore your fic 100 ways to say I love you and I wait for a new chapter everyday.

In TVWLM Kate's insecurities are one of the things i love about her character and its what makes her so relatable to me. But I wanted to give you angsty prompt( a happy ending if you do write it) , how she tells him how unfit she is to marry someone like him and then Anthony being indignant on her behalf.

I think its prompt 90 " i just want you to be happy"

Dearest anon— I know you technically asked for prompt 92, “I want you to be happy,” which another anon also prompted (and will come soon, I promise!). There was no way to combine the parameters for both of your prompts. However, you miswrote your request as number 90, and I actually think that prompt works better for insecure Kate, so I’ve used it instead; I hope that’s alright!

no escaping your love #22: talk (Read 1-21 here.)

#90. "You can tell me anything."

Kate couldn’t be in the drawing room anymore. It had been a whirlwind of a day, and all she wanted to do was curl up into a ball in her bed and cry. About what, she wasn’t exactly sure, but certainly the situation she’d found herself in—engaged to the Viscount Bridgerton, who had been courting her sister up until this morning—seemed like one worthy of a few tears.

As the new center of attention, there was no way to sneak off, so after a curtsy to Lady Bridgerton—Violet—she left the room as quickly as she could. She didn’t slow down even after she was out of sight. And especially not when she heard footfalls behind her.

“Kate!” Anthony called just as her hand gripped the banister. She froze and looked over her shoulder at him, frowning as he crossed the hall towards her. “Are you well?”

“Perfectly, my lord,” she said, and it sounded unconvincing even to her own ears. Perhaps it shouldn’t have surprised her when Anthony gripped her arm and pulled her down a hallway, but it did, if her squeak was anything to go by.

He led her into a study—apparently they could only conduct conversation surrounded by books or lakes—and shut the door. She pressed her lips together and, before she could chicken out, said, “Why, Lord Bridgerton. Should we be unchaperoned like this?”

He laughed, a true laugh that made her feel warm inside. His gaze on her didn’t help matters. Truly, it was growing quite hot.

“I suppose if we’ll get caught we’ll just have to get married.” She tried to smile—it was the punchline to her own joke, after all—but it didn’t feel like a laughing matter any more, not now that the words had really been spoken aloud. It sounded like a chapter from some other Kate Sharma’s life.

She must’ve made some sort of sound or face because Anthony suddenly frowned at her. He took a step forward and his hands twitched awkwardly, like he wanted to reach out and take hers but stopped himself at the last minute.

“Kate, I— I hope you know that you can tell me anything. That might be troubling you.”

She did, of course. He’d seen her last night in the library—really seen her.

And yet.

“I’m just tired, my lord. And...overwhelmed.”

“Overwhelmed?” he asked, his frown deepening. Now he did reach for her hand. “Did something happen?”

“This happened, Anthony. I’m just an earl’s granddaughter. I’m not— I’m not fit to be a viscountess, I’m not as social or welcoming or beautiful—”

“Stop that this instant.” He took the hand that wasn’t holding hers and used it to cup her face, a strange intensity in his gaze. “I never want to hear you say anything like that again.”

“Anthony—”

“Do you think I would marry someone I didn’t think would be a wonderful viscountess? Do you think I would be friends with someone who had nothing to offer the world?”

“No—”

“Then why do you think yourself to be either of those things?”

She stuttered, trying to find the words. He was so close, and every inch of him touching her, even through his gloves and hers, seemed to set her nerves on fire. It was hard to find rational thought. Or, perhaps if she was understanding his point, irrational thought.

“But Edwina—”

“Will not be my wife.”

Not anymore her traitorous mind supplied. And the illusion snapped.

She pulled away from him, dropping her hand loosely against her side. She gestured towards the door without looking him in the eye.

“You should go back. People will talk—”

“Let them,” he said, and then he kissed her. She startled, woefully unprepared, but then she tentatively wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down closer to hers as their lips met again and again. A different heat, the one she’d felt in his study, in the gazebo, grew in her, making her bold, making her want to cast away every doubt she had and bury herself in him.

But Lady Danbury’s words, and Cressida Cowper’s glares, and Anthony’s promise, and Edwina’s face rattled around her brain. And even when he let her go and led her back to the staircase, they lingered. Waiting, waiting, waiting.

#thanks for the prompt!#kanthony #kate x anthony #bridgerton #no escaping your love #my fics #my ships

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sopxhiea · 4 years ago

Text

Mischief

Alfie Solomons X Old Friends!Reader

Summary: Alfie’s promise to call her is momentarily forgotten until he finds his beloved friend at a club and things take a left turn.

Part 1

“You’re staring again.”

“What are you gonna do about it, stud?”

The floor is sticky under the soft taps of the people moving around, all of them moving to the same beat but at different rhythms. The club is decorated with gold linings and columns of hard metal in the corners, the wooden chairs and leather booths make a square and the dance floor remains in the middle.

The music changes every now and then but the dancing remains lively, chatter and laughter fill the air after each dance while the floor is mostly occupied by young souls. It’s a good night, the corner bar booming with business while the men take the liberty of ordering drinks for the already drunk girls.

God knows what day it is.

The low suede heels you were wearing rest in the booth the young lad you came here with was gentle enough to get for you. The ends of your satin dress move with each and every movement of your body, you feel the eyes on you as you move seductively to the loud music. Your hair dances along with you, long strands adding poise to your moves as you move around almost too expertly.

He didn’t call.

You are in good terms with it, seeing as you’re semi-drunk and dancing in a new bar with a young lad. He seems nice, you think as he moves with you. You can see the glint of lust in his eyes as you take one step to the left and two to the right, he soon follows. You’ve met him in the library, out of pure coincidence and you weren’t the one to miss the chance.

It’s not your fault, you convince yourself. It’s been three weeks since you told him to call you and you didn’t go out at all while waiting for him. You knew he was busy, he’d become the owner of an infamous bakery after the war and you knew the busy schedule that came with owning a business. But today marked the end of the third week of you waiting for his stupid call.

You don’t realise that one of the eyes ogling you belong to him.

There was a voice at the very back of your mind, telling you that he probably didn’t want you after hearing what was being said about you on the street. You were alright with it, there were a dozen lads who wanted to take out because of the said things and you’d do fine on your own. He knew that you would.

But seeing as your brother had been dead for three years and the buffer in between you and him was gone, he saw no reason to pass on the chance to take you out. He had truly been busy dealing with the damned men around here to even get a chance to scratch his head.

Your body moves, almost too expertly to the music as he watches you from the entrance for a while. People’s expressions change around him, the young souls with smiles on their faces drop their gaze to the ground and mutter ‘excuse me’ under their breaths.

But his sole attention is on you.

The way you smile to the lad who is dancing with you. His hands should not be touching you, Alfie thinks but the thought flies away before he can process it and his focus shifts to your body, the way it seductively moves. Your hair follows your movements, falling around your face and swatted away from your face when you push it back for some relief.

Your face is flushed but it’s the same kind of flush a little kid would have from playing in the playground. You look happy, no care in the world while you shout the words of the song that’s playing. Some of your girlfriends surround you, he knows some of them since you live with the said ladies.

His breath catches in his throat for a moment, but he soon turns to normal.

He regains his posture back and moves to the bar, most eyes on him but you and your friends are oblivious as you get lost in your own world. The song ends not too long after and Kate, your housemate catches the familiar hat of your beloved gangster and taps your shoulder, pointing at him then.

You gulp and turn to face Alfie through the crowd but he’s already looking.

There’s the hint of a smile on your lips and he mirrors the expression, he looks a little tired but better than usual. You mutter ‘pardon me’ under your breath each time you have to pass by someone to make your way to him, to the one person you really wanted to see.

When you stand in front of him, chest heaving and breath still unsteady, he takes a good look at you. All you seem to be doing these is dancing, he thinks. Each time he sees you, it’s with the same wide eyes and the same rising chest that created lustful images of you in his mind.

He’s not daft.

He’s a true gentlemen but he’s a man after all. He sees the way men look at you, not because they heard things but because you’re very pleasant to look at. He recalls teasing your brother about his looks since you were polar opposites. You’d grown to be the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on while your brother remained the same, not changing in the slightest.

“Hi.” you speak, voice breathy as he drinks the image of you. He knows this is what you’d look like if he ever were to kiss you senseless.

“‘ello, dove.” he speaks, nickname stuck after years of using it and instead of grimacing at it, you just shrug.

“What brings you here?” you ask, sitting on the tall stool next to him. You’re much shorter than he is, younger too but you already look younger than you are. You know he’s not a regular club visitor like yourself.

“Ollie told me you’d be ‘ere.” he speaks, not seeing a reason to lie as to why he was here.

He knew he didn’t call but he didn’t want to. He wanted to talk face to face instead and since that wasn’t your strongest suit, he had his trusted assistant follow you for a while.

“So you had Ollie hunt me down. I see chivalry is not dead.” you speak with sarcasm dripping from your words. He manages to let them pass by without having them bite him and musters up a smirk you know so well, you recognise it immediately.

He wants to talk.

He chuckles at your words at first, this banter in between you and him is easy. It’s second nature to the both of you. You know he’ll ask how you’ve been doing and apologise because he hasn’t called. You know you’ll forgive him, you always do because after all, he’s your Alfie.

“Can we talk, dove? Outside, yeah, too much fuckin’ noise in ‘ere.” he speaks while his breath fans your face. The bar is too loud so he’s leaning in as he speaks. You lose yourself in his orbs for a second but pull back.

You nod at him, hand meeting his arm and pulling him by it but it lingers on his hand when you start walking. His built form follows your small one through the crowd, cutting through the chatter and the people around while you drag him gently from his hand. He sighs at the touch, it’s the most he’s gotten after the kiss he’d stolen three years ago.

He convinces himself that he doesn’t think of it, that it doesn’t mean a lot to him. He’s had his share of women through the years that followed the kiss, each time wishing that it was you. He wouldn’t tell you much about it with the fear of losing you, what if you didn’t feel the same?

The night air attacks your small form but you have your coat in hand. Your feet are bare, finding relief against the harsh cold pavement after all the dancing you’d done. Alfie doesn’t realise you’re not wearing shoes until he realises you’re at your natural height since the distance in between you and him is larger, you’re literally staring up at him while you wait for him to speak.

“Your feet, yeah, they’re goin’ to get dirty, dove.” he speaks and makes a move to walk inside the crowded club but your small hand grabs him by his coat and you stop him, hand keeping him in place while you hug your coat.

“It’s alright. It feels good, actually.” you speak, feeling the cold pavement under your small feet while your body burns up from the dancing earlier.

He looks down at your small form then, hair wavy and falling around your face as you hug your coat tighter, it’s big on you but he knows you like them that way. Your cheeks are flushed, eyelashes contrasting the color of your skin while you blink up at him. There’s a smile on your lips, amused almost at his lost orbs but you speak up soon enough.

“So you want to apologise?” you ask before he can even ask how you’ve been doing. He blinks down at you for a second and you giggle like a kid, making a smile appear on his lips before he speaks to you.

“I’ve been fuckin’ busy, right. Runnin’ around the place, I didn’t get a chance to give you a proper fuckin’ call, dove.” he speaks, reasoning behind filed with excuses but he knows you’ve forgiven him from the way you’re smiling up at him, head nodding at his words.

“Yeah, I know how it gets.” you speak, you’re in your good spirits today and he thanks his god for that.

Then for a while, he just stands there.

He looks at your familiar face under the dim street light, your eyelashes flutter under his heavy stare but you just look back at him. He sees the girl he loves, the one he chased through the woods that one time you were playing hide and seek. He’d tackled you to the ground then, a few scratches of wood evident on your arms when he’d taken a look. He’d swore on his life he’d never let you get hurt that day even though you’d told him it was just fine.

A faint smile leaves your lips and you shake your head at the man before you, despite the lack of communication and the years that have gone by, he’s the same. Your speaking voice is a mere whisper and he wants to kiss you senseless but he’s hesitant because of you “You’re staring again.”

He smiles down at you, wanting to cradle your small face in your hands but before he can even think it twice, your hand grabs the front of his coat and pushes him close to you. He’s closer to you then, too close. He feels the the warmth radiating off your body, his own limbs crave it.

You let his face close to yours. Your face barely touches his as you stand on your tiptoes, staring at his blue orbs and daring.

Daring him to do something. Daring him to kiss you and tell you that he’s wanted this for a while now. You know he does but he’s far too hesitant for you. He’s hesitant that he’ll cross a line and he’s hesitant that he’ll hurt you, even though all you want for him to do is to cross the damn line.

“Lass, you’re too close.” he speaks into your mouth when it hovers against his own. He feels your smell all around him, far too intoxicating as you let him have the pleasure of the things he’s only dreamed of in his dreamiest dreams. He’s warning you but you’re out of fucks to give.

“What are you gonna do about it, stud?” you smile against his lips as they hover above yours. You want him to kiss you so you push him. The buttons you know so well are right under your fingers as you press onto them, one by one.

He’s far too scared, you think.

He’s scared of your dead brother. You don’t know why, it’s not like he’s going to come crawling from his grave. You hate him, because he was gone too soon but you hate him more because even though he no longer exists, he’s still standing between you and Alfie. He’s scared that it’ll break what you have, the bond that remains the same even of you don’t see each other for years on end seems fragile to him when he thinks of kissing you.

He leans forward.

Your eyes are locked into his when he does, his plump lips meet yours in a split second. Your lips are soft against his, feeling the way his lips mould into yours in a perfect manner. You moan lowly and it takes all his willpower to keep himself from taking you right then and there. Your hand is already resting on his chest and there are fireworks going off in your head.

This isn’t like him, you think.

He tastes the wine on your lips, the red one you like drinking and you know it makes you flush but he loves it all the more because of it. His hands grab you by your waist, lifting you up on the slightest so you don’t have to stand on your tiptoes. You smile into the kiss, almost as if you’re congratulating him on finally taking the step.

He thinks maybe you’ll fight him off at first, you’ll scream at him and feel awkward because you only see him as your dead brother’s old friend who occasionally pays visits but then something happens, something that breaks the borders built around his poor old heart and make him want to giggle like a kid.

You kiss him back.

His whimpers are desperate, desperate for something more than a kiss but when he feels your breath lessen, he breaks the kiss and settles for what you offer to give him. He watches you once again, chest heavy while you struggle for a moment to keep your eyes open. He smiles then, hand lifting to caress your cheek while you look up at him, a triumph smile on your lips.

You’re known for kissing guys in alleys and letting them get in between your sheets. It’s the mix of alcohol and adrenaline most of the time, getting the best of you while you mourn different things in your own way.

But you’re going to make it hard for him.

You’re a fairly hard catch for most but you decide to make it even harder for Alfie. After all, he’s known you since you were twelve and what fun would there be if you just let him have you?

“Bastard.” you whisper under your breath and Alfie’s eyes widen at your words. He knows you’re calling him a bastard but he’s out of reasons as to why. He chuckles at the word, there could be a million reasons why.

But he doesn’t think it’s because he’s made you weak in the knees.

Before he can ask something or even get a word out, you take a step back and hug your coat, your soft voice fills the silence.

“I need my shoes..” you speak and he nods, he’ll wait for you so he can take you home. “..and you can shoot the lad who brought me here. He’s the Italian.” you smile, a waver of shock flickers on his face as he watches your small form enter the crowded club.

He knows he’s dancing with the devil now.

But he thinks it doesn’t matter because he knows that devil. He’s seen the way you look at him, it has harsh lines of sorrow but it’s all coated in love. He doesn’t know what kind of love it is just yet but seeing as you were feverishly kissing him back a minute ago, he thinks he has a shot.

You make your way inside the bar, crowded and a little hot as you walk through the groups of people. Your beloved lad who brought you here beams with a smile when his eyes land on you. You flash him a smile but it’s apologetic, he sees the underline and you know he’s going to be angry.

You mouth ‘I’m leaving’ to him through the crowd, getting your shoes from the booth while the lad keeps his hand on another girl. He’s coming to talk to you, you know so you flash him a smile and wave goodbye before getting out quicker than you come in and before he can even comprehend, you’re out of his sight and the club.

Alfie waits for you outside with his hand in his pockets. You see his smug smile and the hint of the blush coating his cheeks is evident to you although you don’t comment on it. He sees you hurriedly coming towards him and is about to say something but you greet him with a laugh he can’t miss and speak softly.

“I think we should run.” you speak, amusement evident on your face while Alfie stares at you in confusion. He can’t help but mirror your contagious smile and before he can ask, the Italian bloke screams your name from the entrance.

You feel Alfie’s strong hands on the back of your waist while he spins you around so that his large body is shielding you, the bloke can’t see you like this. You giggle into Alfie’s chest, amused to no end when he starts walking in the same position, his steps fastening with each passing second.

The cold streets of London are filled with laughs and Alfie’s small chuckles as you walk on the cold pavement, your feet still bare. The air is light as you joke about the lad you just left, chest filled with genuine laughter while Alfie joins you.

It’s like old times again.

Your hand brushes against his while you walk next to each other. The amusement is faded now, the night seems much calmer to the both of you while you walk in silence. It’s comfortable, the same kind of stillness that is born from feeling content and almost...happy.

A smile lifts the corners of your lips as you look at him. It’s very well past midnight now and you know he’s going to be late for work tomorrow unless he chugs a whole bag of coffee into his mouth. You see the glint of want in his eyes as it dances with love, nothing but adoration.

You want to tell him to kiss you again, that you don’t care about the consequences if there are any. There’s also the part of you that wants to play the game, make him push as you pull and tease him to no end but before you can say something, he stops.

And you realise you’re on your doorstep.

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

Tagging: @clairecrive @parkbearum @sourirez @vetseras @mollybegger-blog @itsjusttaralove

a/n: Let me know what you thought of the chapter/if you want to be tagged!! <3

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thejemersoninferno · 4 years ago

Text

Happier.

· Pairing: Chris Evans x Reader.

·A/N: I love Ed Sheeran and I love Chris. Big thanks to @jewels2876 as always, best BETA out there.

PS: words in italics are flashbacks.

·Word Count: 2720.

·Warnings: angst, language, mentions fifty shades of grey.

You still remember how your heart skipped a beat when he was around. You still remember how nervous he made you. You still remember the taste of his lips on yours. You still remember the way he used to hold you tight while kissing. You could feel his breath on your skin. His lips on yours. His lips on your neck, arms, chest, stomach, legs. You still could feel his hands reaching for yours. Your heart racing waiting for his arrival. Your heart stopped, worried sick when he was late. Your heart aching being apart from him for work. Your eyes spread tears down your cheeks on your first time. Your eyes hurt after long days and nights crying after a fight. Your tears of joy after making up. Your tears spread down your face when he asked to move together. The laughter filling every room you two stood together. The laughter lighting the room after a tickle battle. The pain between your legs and his whispers telling you you should stop. His lips touching yours asking for your forgiveness for hurting you. His body shaking above yours. The kissing deepens and your bodies becoming one. The pain when you lost your puppy in a car accident. The pain you felt when he had to go away for a while. And the love. Above all else, you felt his love, his tender and kind heart. Him next to you. You were his and he was yours. You were one.

“What's on your mind today, doll?” Your co-worker tried to have a small chat.

“Mmmh dinner. What's in my fridge?” You joked.

“You can always eat me,” He winked and you both laughed. The bell from the door rang and you both smiled at the new customer.

“I'm so tired,” Your friend whined, “I want to go home,” He pouted.

“It's been twenty minutes,” You chuckled.

“The longest twenty minutes of my life,” He laughed.

Sooner than later lunch break arrived and you both sat to eat your sandwiches. You chatted and laughed at your jokes. Back at work you both focused and made a countdown to finish the day. You both met up after dinner and went for drinks.

The next morning you had a day off while he had to work. Your days off usually were lazy, bed, shower or bath, bed, read, eat, bed and well, bed. While your work wasn't as tiring as it could be, during the night you couldn't sleep and stayed awake all night. Some nights you would fall asleep watching a movie or reading, others silence wasn't quiet enough. Some nights music filled your room and some nights not even your breath was heard. Some days you woke up smiling and ready to work and some days you wanted to quit. Some days you brought a milkshake for your friend and you and some days you didn't even say hello.

You knew he had questions but you also knew he would give you as much as space as you needed. Maybe that's the reason you two become close friends and hang out most of the time. You told him about you, your family and your old friends. Once you said his name, he asked but then quickly changed the subject to your tearing eyes. He was a good friend and you appreciated every second around him. You still remember you both fought over a movie in a charity shop. Later, he invited you over to his house to watch the movie and then he said you could take it with you. You weren't so sure but something about his goofy smile and his superhero top gave you a good vibration about him and three years later you were still fighting over the same movie and whose house was the best to watch the movie.

“So, are you sure you want to watch this movie?” He asked, trying to persuade you.

“Yup,” You nodded sitting next to him and putting the popcorn between you two.

He laughed and nodded “Okay then,” you knew why he didn't want to watch the movie but you just chuckled at his expression and kissed his cheek. He tugged your top closer to him and kissed your temple.

“I can't believe we're watching this,” he whispered.

“Sshh,” you shussed him, focusing on the movie.

“Can we..,” You interrupted him with a kiss and he smiled on your lips. He pulled you on his arms and you straddled your legs around him. You kissed deeply and your hands travelled around each other's body. A squeal from the TV brought you back and you laughed at the scene. He growled and you kissed his temple.

“It's just a movie,” you told him.

“Just a movie? It haunts me!” he pouted, you chuckled and kissed him deeply.

The sun accompanied by your alarm woke you up. You rushed towards the shower and half an hour later you entered your workplace. The day went through as usual, tonight you were going to celebrate your friend’s birthday and you had to rush over home to get a quick shower, get ready and run to the restaurant.

The night by far has been incredible. The bar wasn't so full and the music and drinks were good. His brother joked about getting him a stripper and you couldn't help but spat in your drink and the people next table looked at you and they laughed their asses off. Every time you met his brother he made you laugh till the point your stomach hurt. These two were amazing. Suddenly, the song changed to Wonderwall and your friends started singing, you joined them and laughed at your friend squealed as it was a high note. By the time the song was finished you needed the toilet, you went for a pee and back to the table in under 15 minutes. There was a small queue.

“You're my Wonderwall,” He sang before kissing you. The kiss was sweet, kind, tender, full of love.

“And you're mine,” you told him, separating from him. He smiled at you and hugged you from behind.

“So, are you coming?” He kissed your shoulder.

“Only if you kiss me hard before you go,” you sang this time.

He laughed and spun you around against the wall and kissed you and tackled your side. You both laughed and ended kissing deeply.

“Doll, tequila then?” Your friend asked.

“Yeah, that's fine,” you answered confused.

“Where were you?” his brother raised his eyebrow.

“What?” You asked about drinking the last sip of your rum cola.

“Your mind went away choosing our shots,” he explained finishing his drink.

“Oh, nothing, I was just thinking,” you assured him and looked around the room.

Your friend came back with six shots, two for each of you and he went back for the other drinks. You drank them quickly and the second went right after. You were talking, your friend went to the bathroom and his brother found a young lady smiling at him and he went to chat with her. You waited patiently and both men came back at the same time. You kept talking and drinking, you were finishing your drinks to go clubbing when you spotted him.

“This is so boring,” You said.

“Don't let him hear you,” he laughed.

“Can we go with the rest?” You asked, kissing his cheek.

“Not going to work, peaches,” he kissed your forehead and you sighed next to him and tried to focus in the movie. You weren't a big fan of this movie, therefore boredom reached your brain after thirty minutes and you wanted to go drink outside with the rest of the team. He was focused in the movie, he was enjoying it and you smiled when he chuckled after the character line you heard. You pulled yourself closer to him and held his hand trying to focus again.

“Next round it's on me,” Your friend's brother said.

“Next round at the club!” your friend clapped. You drank your drink quickly and your eyes went back to the same table. She said something making him laugh. She touched his arm and he strangled their fingers together. From your spot everything seemed empty. The bar looked different. The people went quiet. Your friends weren't paying attention. Or maybe it was you watching him smile, laugh, clap and touch her so tenderly that your heart melt at the sight.

Your friend startled you with his touch and pulled his face closer to yours to whisper he was going to the bathroom again. His brother was talking with the pretty brunette he met before. You laughed at his invitation to join him and he kissed your forehead before leaving. You turned your head to his brother and then to him. Your eyes met. Your heart stopped until she kissed his hand and he turned to smile adorably at her.

The next morning your world seemed stuck in time. Every time you closed your eyes you went back at your last Diablo shot your friend brought. Now, fresh and refreshed with cold water you decided your friends taste on drinks was lethal. During the day you kept texting each other about your headaches and how you will never drink again. Like last weekend.

Monday arrived and so did work. After a long day at the office, that's what your friend said, you went for a beer or two. Next morning he was going to Dallas for a new job interview. Just the thought hurt you both, thinking he could be leaving soon made both of you sad. His possible new boss told him they would open a company in Boston and he could stay. The two of you stood positive and kept thinking they'd stay. You were walking back to your apartment, chatting, laughing at silly jokes and his answers to the interview questions, your stomach hurting and some tears spreading down your face.

“But what if I fall for real? Should I play it off or pretend I'm so low-key Ana?” He asked concerned but humorous.

You laughed so loud, “You better take me to a helicopter ride!” You yelped when he tackled your sides.

“So you're my Jose?” He questioned raising an eyebrow.

“Well, I'm certainly not Kate,” You smiled.

“You're my Ana,” He put hair behind your ear.

“I'm not helping you spank him,” You chuckled.

A loud laugh escaped his mouth and he hugged you tightly.

“I rather spank than be spanked,” You both collapsed laughing and tighten your cuddle.

He kissed your forehead and then kept walking. Sitting on a bench there were two men. You knew them. And they certainly knew you. One of them couldn't hide his surprise and the other stroke his arm trying to stop him from doing anything. Your friend said goodnight at them and kept walking. You kept your eyes on him and tried to breath and walk.

“He's cute,” He giggled.

“Uhm, what? You asked.

“The guy over there, he's cute,” He looked behind and smiled.

“Uhm, yeah, sure,” You smiled at him and kept walking.

“She's happy,” He hummed.

“How do you even know? First of all, did you know? You did, didn't you?” The blond tall man glared at him.

“I wasn't sure,” The brunette spoke.

“Of course you did! Now I understand!” He looked at the man sitting next to him, a young happy puppy arrived and licked his fingers but he was lost in his mind. Scott knew something was happening with his brother the night he arrived and laid down with Dodger watching a movie, he wasn't paying attention and he didn't even stop him from switching channels. Scott sighed and looked at the figures disappearing at the end of the road. If he only could do anything.

Chris, Scott and a playful Dodger walked back home in complete silence. Chris went to his room after filling the Dodgers water bowl. Lisa looked at Scott and he nodded. The family spoke about the events back at the park and afterwards Lisa went to talk to her big son.

“She's happy, ma" The big beefy man whispered sadly.

“My darling don't do this to yourself,” Lisa stroked her son's hand and pulled him closer.

“I know she's happier now,” He cried.

Lisa’s heart broke at her sight. Her son, her baby son was crying again. After all this time he still cried like the first time they broke up. Lisa wrapped her son on her arms, kissed his hair and whispered sweet things to him.

“Good luck, idiot,” You hugged your friend.

“You're an idiot,” He chuckled.

“You're an idiot,” You tackled him.

“I'll call you once I'm finished,” He kissed your forehead one last time.

You walked down the street listening to music when a cute dog ran around your legs and you laughed. You stopped your music and kneeled to pet him.

“Who's a good boy? How are you doing?” You pet him and he licked your face.

“You're the best boy in town,” You kissed his head and he ran away from you. You saw him run and turn at Park Avenue. You smiled and walked back to your place.

Your afternoon is filled with music and wine. Before going to bed your friend texted you telling the interview went perfectly and the company will open soon in Boston. You congratulated him and settled up your alarm.

You were eating your muffin sitting on a bench waiting for your friend, music running through your headphones. Your muffin fell from your hands and a puppy ate it before you could pick it up again. You chuckled and the dog looked at you and barked. You pet his head and he ran away.

“So, you're back in town?” You heard behind you.

You turned around and your old friend smiled at you. At first you froze on your spot but then moved to face him.

“Oh, hi there,” You said nervously.

“How are you? Shorthair uh?” He pointed to your hair and smiled.

“I am good, thank you. How are you? Yeah, it's been like this for a while,” You smiled at him.

“It fits you,” He nodded, “So, you're here all by yourself?”

“Uh, actually no, I'm waiting for a..”

“Babyyy,” Your friend shouted and hugged you tightly, interrupting your words.

“Hi there,” You giggled.

“I have to ask you something but first,” He faced your old friend, “Hi stranger, I'm Michael”

“Hi Michael, I'm Scott,” He offered his hand and your friend pulled him for a quick hug.

A bark distracted the three of you and a playful puppy jumped on Scott for his attention.

“I'm sorry, gotta go,” Scott patted Dodgers head and held his lace, “Nice to see you again,” He waved walking away.

“So, you know the cute muffin and you didn't say anything?” Your friend asked, offended.

“You never asked!” You laughed.

Both of you walked to the closest coffee shop and sat there until it started raining. You ran back home soaking wet and chuckled at your luck.

“Well, maybe it's true,” Scott said to his family.

“You know her! She would've said something!” The oldest Evans pointed.

“But it's been too long! People change!” The younger woman shrugged on her seat.

“Do not listen a word,” Lisa pulled her son closer and kissed his temple, “I know you were happier with her, I know you both were happier together, you both hurt each other like nobody hurt before, I know someday you will feel it too but for now,” Lisa held her son chin to face him and massaged his temple, “For now my son, you can wait until he breaks her like lovers do, like you did, you can wait for her and love her, that's the only thing you can do, be there for her,” Lisa kissed her sons’ forehead and he hugged her tightly.

“Ain't nobody missing him like you do, ain't nobody hurting him like you do,” Michael whispered in your ear holding you tight and comforting you.

“I was happier with him,” You cried, “What am I supposed to do?” You hummed.

“Love him,” Your friend assured you, “You love him with everything you are and have. You can only love him.”

✿

Love, J x

#Chris Evans x Reader #chris evans fanfics #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans fandom #chris evans fic #chris evans x fem!reader #thejemersoninferno writings #thejemersoninferno masterlist

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get-lost-in-fanfiction · 3 years ago

Text

LOST - Another Story

Rating: M

Word Count: 3.4k

A/N: Hey guys! It’s finally summer for me so I can write a lot more, hopefully I can get chapters out faster! Enjoy White Rabbit!

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White Rabbit

I wake up to the sound of someone yelling for help. I must’ve fallen asleep on the beach and no one had the decency to put me back in my tent. I thought Sawyer might have, but I guess I was wrong. I quickly scramble to my feet, and glance down the beach to see Jack still asleep. I waste no time pulling my shoes and socks off as well as my outer shirt before running into the water. First I have to get Boone, then worry about the lady.

I swim as fast as I can, my arms and lungs burning. I was never a great swimmer and I’m beginning to wonder why the sudden savior complex. I dive under the water, looking frantically around for Boone. When I can’t, I swim up for air, gasping for a moment before diving back under. Hands pull my waist out of the water, I fight back until I see Jack dive under and pull Boone up with him.

“You okay, just take deep breaths now. Come on, just breathe, just breathe.” Jack says to Boone as he takes deep gasping breaths

“Did you get her?” Boone asks.

“What?”

“There was a woman—I was trying to—did you get her?”

“Jack I’ll get her!” I shout, trying to swim out farther. My heart, lungs, and limbs are screaming at me to go back to the beach.

“Amelia, no, leave her! I’ll go back, get Boone to the shore!”

“Jack!”

“No!!” He screams at me and I flinch. Boone is pushed into my direction as Jack swims farther. Boone and I swim to shore, and I can see Kate and Charlie running to the water to help us.

“Jack?” Kate asks us as we collapse into the sand.

“He’s still out there,” I gasp back. Fuck. That was such a mistake. I pull myself out of the sand as Boone hands me my shirt.

“Thanks for trying Amelia,” our hands brush as I take my shirt. I’m not attracted to Boone, but I can see he’s attracted to me. I didn’t know red-heads were his style. I feel bad for him, trying his hardest to get over Shannon when I know they’ll both die in the end.

“Yeah no problem..” I say as Boone, Kate, and Charlie trudge off. I angrily pull on my shirt, socks, and tie my shoes. Fuck Jack for helping, fuck myself for thinking I could do anything alone.

Back in my tent I rummage around in my bag for a hair tie. I pump my fist in the air when I finally find one and crawl out of my tent to put up my air. I changed out of my wet shirt and pants to shorts and a new shirt, and I can see Sawyer staring when I come out of my tent. Once I've put my hair up I turn to him with my hands on my hips. He holds up his hands in defeat when he notices my defensive stance.

“I might have to change your nickname to legs now, peaches,” he says with a smile.

“Oh I'm sure you'd love to, dimples,” I shoot back.

“That the only nickname you've got for me?”

“Well I hate to say it but I'm not as literate as you,” I saw with a shrug. I don’t hear Shannon walk up, but i do hear her voice behind me.

“Have you got it or what?” I whip around and I can hear Sawyee chuckle to himself.

“You're in my light, sticks,” He replies.

“Lightsticks? What the hell is that supposed to...?”

“Light, comma, sticks. As in those legs of yours,” He says with a cheeky grin and I shake my head.

“Unoriginal today aren’t we?”

“Well what can I say?” Sawyer grins and I shake my head. I can tell Shannon is looking between us, confused.

“Look, while I really love my new nickname, and I think it's really sweet…” Shannon finally says.

“Calm down. I got your damn stuff,” Sawyer cuts in.

“t'll keep off sand fleas?”

“You bet. Even has aloe.”

“How much?” I scoff to myself a little at her words. Shannon just glares at me.

“Your money's no good here.”

“Then what the hell do you want?” Sawyer just smiles at her.

“If you really think I'm going to…” Shannon begins.

“Five grand,” I snort out loud and Shannon gives me a gross look.

“I thought you said my money was no good here.”

“I was negotiating. I can take an IOU. Something tells me you're good... for it.” Shannon just throws the bug dope at Sawyer and storms away. I chuckle to myself as she does.

“You’re out to have everyone on this Island hate you,” I shake my head fondly as I say it.

“Lucky I have you then, peaches.” He grins at me. I just shake my head and walk away.

“People just kind of took what they needed because we were supposed to be rescued, but we weren't,” I hear Hurley say. Oh fuck.

“Even if we divided it up, split the bottles in half it wouldn't be enough for 47 people,” Charlie adds.

“46. There are 46 of us now,” I butt in before Jack can. He looks at me oddly.

Hurley and Charlie make room for me in their circle before Hurley continues, “People find out this is all we have left, they're going to freak out, man.”

“The boar's running low until we can catch another one. What should we tell them?” Charlie says panicked. He glances at me. Charlie and I haven’t really been buddies, he probably heard the news and didn’t trust me.

“I don't know,” Jack says.

“Maybe we can make one of those water finding sticks,” Hurley suggests and I have to suppress a smile.

“What should we do with the stuff we've got?” Charlie asks hurriedly.

“I don't know,” Jack says again. He walks away and Charlie and Hurley follow with the suitcase of water. I walk slowly behind them to catch the conversation.

“We should put it in the tent, yeah?” Charlie suggests.

“MMaybe the dog can find water?” Hurley shoots back.

“Probably better if no one knows how little is left.”

“I mean, dogs can find pot and bombs, so I'm sure they can find water.”

“Don't tell the others we're running low. That way you can ration it. Then you can decide what…”

“I'm not deciding anything!” Jack shouts and I flinch a little

“Why not?” Hurley asks.

“Dude, give Jack a break. He’s tired and looking sick. Leave him alone.” I say loudly enough for them to all hear me. Jack looks surprised I’m sticking up for him.

Charlie and Hurley walk away and I sigh quietly in their direction. I rub my temples and stare critically at Jack. He doesn’t quite meet my eyes, and the look he does have is filled with guilt.

“Amelia…” Jack starts, unable to look me in the eyes.

“Yeah I know Jack, it’s alright,” I say calmly, sticking my hands in my short pockets.

“I meant to come to you sooner but…”

“I understand.”

“How can you be so nice, show so much mercy?”

I sigh and look out towards the ocean before I reply, “Because I would want you, the camp, everyone, to do the same for me,” I look at Jack again, “Even if I know they wouldn't.”

“You're very wise, Amelia,” Jack says in awe.

“I had to grow up fast,” I shrug.

“I'll see you around Amelia.”

“Bye Jack.”

I turn to look at Clarie and Kate talk about hair brushes and zodiac signs. I smile to myself and turn to return to my tent when I hear a voice that makes me sigh, annoyed.

“Hey! Amelia!” It’s Boone.

I turn around to see him jogging up to me, looking in Jack’s direction, “Yeah Boone?”

“Have you talked to Jack about this morning?”

“No, I haven't,” I cross my arms other my chest, and pop my hip to the side.

“Well, I’m going to,” he says before taking off in the direction of Jack sitting in the sand. Oh Boone.

I realize now that White Rabbit is really a Jack-centric episode, meaning I don’t really have a lot to do. I can’t be bothered to go out and help find him dangling off a cliff in the jungle. I know he’s going to find the caves soon, so I need to make up my decision now if I’m going to the caves or not. To be honest I really don’t want to. I don’t want to be caught up with Ethan, nor do I want him to single me out because Ben knows something about me. I don’t want to be abducted or killed, so I think I’ll just stick it out on the beach for now. I realize I’m not making a great adventure for myself, but I am trying to play it safe. I want to last all of the seasons, running into the jungle where there is a very real possibility that I could be killed doesn’t sound fun. I am not protected by plot. Suddenly I hear Walt calling, “Hey! Hey!” and I am on my feet.

I quickly run over to where Claire was being taken to the infirmary tent. I skid to a stop, panting slightly to catch my breath while I assess the situation. Kate comes in behind me.

“What happened?” She says to no one in particular.

“She just dropped,” Charlie replies and I decide to step up, and take Kate’s lines.

“It must be the heat,” I hear myself say, “Is she breathing?” I know Kate is looking at me oddly.

“Yeah, I think,” Micheal replies to me.

“Come on. Let's get her inside,” I say.

“Wake up,” Charlie says gently to Claire and I push him aside as softly as I can.

“Claire? Claire, honey, wake up. Claire? Can you hear me, Claire. Come on,” I sigh to myself, “Wake up. Come on. Come on, please wake up. Come on. Claire, can you hear me? Alright…” I sigh again, in relief, when Claire wakes up. I knew it would happen, at least with Kate. I took a risk, and it paid off.

“Hmm?” Claire huns groggily.

“Hi. It's me. It's.. Amelia.”

“What?” Claire asks.

“You passed out. Just take it easy, okay?” I turn to Charlie, “She needs water.” Charlie leaves to look for the water, but Kate is still standing there. I think she is shocked. I mean I must’ve stolen the words right out of her mouth, and I can bet she doesn’t trust me as much anymore. Girl solidarity is diminishing.

“Don't move, okay?” I say to Claire, “I think you have a fever, but if you keep really still that's okay. It's okay, it's okay.”

“What the... The water's gone. Someone stole it!” Charlie exclaims. Suddenly Kate is pulling me out to the beach and I see Locke and Sayid gathering up as well.

“Where is the doctor?” Locke asks.

“I don't know. No one can find him,” Kate side glances at me, “Thankfully Amelia was around to help a bit, though.”

“Is this the last of the camp's water supply?” Sayid asks Kate and I look at the near empty case.

“Yeah,” I hear Kate answer.

“Keeping it all in one place, foolish.”

“I can go into the jungle, try to find some fresh water.”

“You're not going alone.”

“When the others find out the water's gone it's going to get ugly,” Locke begins, “ And when they find out that someone pinched it, it's going to get uglier. I'll go. Camp needs you three here, you especially Amelia. With the doctor gone you need to be our leader. And besides, I know where to look.” I stay quiet after Locke’s little speech. I didn’t want to be the leader but here I am. Of course I just had to be a doctor. The group dispersed and Locke pats my shoulder encouragingly.

I find myself standing around with Sayid and Kate. I feel weird, and too young. I don’t really remember how old the both of them are, but I know it’s enough that they can look down at me. I’m only 20 and I’m having to be the leader of the Losties until Jack eventually comes back. Soon enough Hurley comes running up to our little group.

“Uh, the Chinese people have water,” He says looking weird. And with that Sayid goes right off to Sun. I follow, worried.

“Where did you get this? Where did you get this?” Sayid begins to yell at Sun, “Where! Did! You!-“

“She doesn't understand you,” Kate butts in.

“She understands me,” Sayid spits back, “Did you steal this water?”

“죄송하지만 무슨 오해가 있는 것 같은데요. 그런 게 아니라…” Sun speaks quickly in Korean.

Suddenly Jin is running up to us, yelling, “떨어져, 이 새끼야. 내 와이프 한 번만 더 만지면 넌 죽어.” I don’t know what they’re saying but I know it’s not good. I also realize that I haven’t been interacting with Sun or Jin at all. I then resolve to tell Sun my secret, and I trust she will tell hers to me. A secret for a secret.

“Just take it easy, alright. We just want to talk, alright?” Kate begins, “This had water in it. Is it yours? Who gave you this?” She speaks calmly as Sayid fumes. Jin then points at Sawyer who's smoking a cigarette. Kate moves to go to him, but Sayid and I stop her.

“I don't see the water,” Sayid says.

“And?” Kate asks.

I decide to speak up again, “You go after him now, he'll give you nothing. But if you wait, a rat will always lead you to it's hole.” I’m quite the line stealer today. Kate nods in agreement and we dispurse to wait it out. We plan that I will confront Sawyer about it, since I know him best. I like the plan because I means I get another chance to talk with Sawyer. I haven’t done that recently.

Finally we can see Sawyer walking to his 'hole' and grabbing a pack of cigarettes. Kate nods at me and I quickly run up to him. At the last minute I decide to tackle him, bad move.

“Well, it's about time,” He chuckles at me.

“For what?” I ask.

“I made this birthday wish four years ago,” Sawyer says, “Although I didn’t picture you in mind when I made it.”

“Where's the water?” I ask and Sawyer flips me over so he's on top.

“That's better,” He says cheekily.

“Get off of me,” I scoff and suddenly Sayid arrives and drags Sawyer off of me.

“Give us the water, now.” Sayid says angrily. I feel an arm wrap around my shoulders protectively. Kate must’ve seen Sawyer and I’d interaction and wanted to protect me from him.

Sawyer shoves Sayid, “Touch me again, huh!” After a moment Kate let’s go of me and begins to look through Sawyer's stuff.

“You really think I stole your damn water?” Sawyer asks angrily.

“We know you gave two bottles to the Koreans,” Sayid answers.

“I don't give nothing to nobody.”

“It’s not here,” Kate announces.

“I traded Mr. Miyagi the last of my water for a fish he caught,” I laugh a little at the nickname, “We worked it out caveman style.”

“You gave him your last two bottles?” Kate asks.

“Water has no value, Freckles. It's gonna rain sooner or later. And hell, I'm an optimist.”

Sawyer gets something out of his suitcase as we begin to walk away. “Hey, you forgot something,” I turn and Sawyer throws me a badge, “Seeing as you're the new sheriff in town. Might as well make it official.” I roll my eyes and toss it back.

“Keep it dimples, I’m just filling in for the Doc.”

“Whatever you say blue-eyes.”

It’s nighttime before anything happens again. I know somewhere out there Jack is smashing the empty coffin of his father with a metal pipe. I also know that right in that area are the caves with the water to save us. I sit around a random fire close to my tent, and Sawyer is sitting there with me.

“So,” He begins, “Fillin’ in for El Jacko while he’s away huh?”

“Yeah, why?” I glance over at him across the fire.

“Nothin’ just wondering why you jumped me is all.”

“Well I thought that would be the best tactic,” I shrug at him.

“Awe well here I was thinking you wanted to have some fun.”

I roll my eyes and laugh a little, “In your dreams James.”

“Did you know that I didn’t have the water?” Sawyer suddenly asks very seriously.

Before I can answer Boone is discovered to be the thief of the water. Great timing Charlie. I glance at Sawyer before we both get up to see the commotion.

“Where'd he hide it?” Michael asks as we arrive.

“I don't know. This wanker had three bottles on him. Why'd you do it, pretty boy, eh?” Charlie spits angrily at Boone.

“It was just sitting in,” Boone begins, “it was just sitting in the tent, and Jack just took off.”

“Claire could've died!” Charlie shouts.

“I tried to give her some sooner, but it just got out of hand. No one would have understood.”

Suddenly Kate walks up and I can feel Sawyer move away from me, figures. “What is going on?” She asks.

“Someone had to take responsibility for it. It would have never lasted!” Boone shouts.

“Oh shut up!” Charlie mumbles. Then he pushes Boone and Sayid steps in to stop a fight. Then, Jack shows up.

“Leave him alone!” Jack shouts as he exits the jungle, ah yes. Live together, die alone time, “It's been six days and we're all still waiting. Waiting for someone to come. But what if they don't? We have to stop waiting. We need to start figuring things out. A woman died this morning just going for a swim and he tried to save her, and now you're about to crucify him? We can't do this. Every man for himself is not going to work. It's time to start organizing. We need to figure out how we're going to survive here. Now, I found water. Fresh water, up in the valley. I'll take a group in at first light. If you don't wanna come then find another way to contribute. Last week most of us were strangers, but we're all here now. And god knows how long we're going to be here. But if we can't live together, we're going to die alone.”

After Jack’s speech, I look up at Sawyer and take a step back when I see him staring at me. I then glance around and everyone seems to be standing around feeling stupid. Then Charlie and Hurley start getting water for people, and our group disburses. But instead of walking away with me, Sawyer walks up to Boone. I quickly follow him just in case.

“So, how does it feel?” Sawyer asks Boone.

“How does what feel?” Boone answers.

“Taking my place at the top of everyone's most hated list. Sucks, don't it?” Then he walks away. Boone looks at me like a kicked puppy and I can't help but feel a bit of pity towards him. To be honest I never really understood Boone at this part, but who am I to judge. I like Sawyer after all. I turn to leave but Boone grabs my wrist.

“Amelia,” Boone begins to say, but I yank my arm out of his grasp.

“Not now Boone,” I say calmly.

“But-”

“Night Boone,” I call as I walk away. Sawyer is already at our fire. I catch a bit of Kate and Jack’s ending conversion.

“My father died. In Sydney,” Jack says.

“I'm sorry,” Kate replies.

“Yeah. I'm sorry, too.”

I don't acknowledge I heard them, if it were me I would want that to be somewhat private. I mean, I don't have a father either, but Jack is the leader. I walk up to Sawyer and sit in the same spot I was before. After a few moments, he speaks up.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Which one?”

“You know which one, blue eyes.”

I sigh, “Yeah, I knew you didn't steal the water.” I look over the fire and see a smug smile tugging at Sawyer’s lips. I laugh a bit, “What’s so funny?”

“Why is it you're always around me?” Sawyer asks.

“You’re the least annoying out of all of them,” I reply coolly.

“Uh-huh.”

“And you don't have a savior complex or want to run or anything that Jack or Kate have that’s a major flaw.”

“Sweetheart, I've got plenty o’ flaws.”

“I know, but I also know that you can change.”

“Is this some future stuff again?”

“Unfortunately, yes James.”

“Don’t say my name like that,” Sawyer says with a small chuckle.

“Like what?”

“Like you know me.”

“But I do know you.”

“Whatever you say blue eyes,” then he gets up and dusts himself off, “I’m goin’ to bed.” And with that, he leaves me alone at the fire.

“Night..” I reply quietly, knowing he can't hear me. I decide that the fire isn't going to be a major hazard if I leave it burning so I get up for bed as well. Most people had already, and I realize I'm probably the last. I take one more look at the glittering black ocean under the moonlight and then duck into my tent to try and get some rest.

LOST

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Please let me know if you’d like to be tagged in updates!

#lost #abc lost #lost fanfiction #james “sawyer” ford #james ford #sawyer ford #james “sawyer” ford x oc #james ford x oc #sawyer ford x oc #lost tv series

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alj4890 · 4 years ago

Text

And Then I Left You

(Thomas Hunt x OC*Amanda) in a what if to the And Then I Met You

A/N The Hollywood group throw a farewell party for Amanda. She and Thomas continue to struggle with remaining silent about their feelings for one another.

@krsnlove @my-heart-beats-for-ya @aworldoffandoms @flyawayboo @trappedinfanfiction @everythingmarvelsherlockspn @sophxwithers @kate-mckenzie @twinkleallnight

Song they dance to: I'm in the Mood for Love

Masterlist

Chapter 3 In the Mood

12 weeks in Hollywood...

Thomas straightened his bowtie and studied his reflection. Smoothing his hair on the sides, he allowed his typical frown to disappear, replacing it with one of sadness.

This is it. She's really leaving.

After tonight, he would only have one more week to spend with Amanda. Seven more days of quiet mornings spent together over coffee and tea. Six evenings spent discussing whatever topic came to mind. Six more nights being tempted to tell her what was in his heart.

As he walked downstairs, he wondered if Addison's insistence that Amanda get ready for the party at Ryan's was not meant to teach him some type of lesson. It certainly was not farfetched that she would try and show him how life would be without his duchess around.

His footsteps paused in the living room.

The silence in his house was oppressive.

There was no muffled sounds of typing. No familiar sounds of laughter. No smile being flashed his way. No footsteps hurrying to join him. No suggestions for how they should spend the evening together.

This would be his chance to return to how his life was before she arrived.

Thomas already despised it.

When he got into the waiting town car, he glanced at the empty spot next to him.

She truly has done a number on me.

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

Ryan's Mansion in Malibu...

"You went to too much trouble." Amanda looked about at all her new friends had done.

Each room opened for the party was decorated for a specific decade. Addison had insisted they do so and dress as they did in the movies for that time period. Holly had been in charge of assigning each guest a particular decade.

Ryan had supplied the residence and made certain for this to be the party to top all Hollywood parties.

Addison was beyond thrilled that everything had gone as planned. Her excitement at seeing Amanda happy caused her bouncing to make her bow fall off her head.

With her blonde hair in a ponytail and dressed in a poodle skirt, she looked like she had just stepped out of the movie, Grease.

Holly joined them, pushing her colored lens glasses up. Her short, psychedelic dress and white go-go boots matched the sixties era room perfectly.

"This wasn't any trouble." She replied.

"Ready to see what I made?" Addison gripped Amanda's hand and pulled her up the stairs. "I designed a dress specifically for one of your favorite decades!"

While the two disappeared down the upstairs hall, Ryan stepped out of his room.

He smiled at them while flipping his brown leather jacket's collar up. "Well?" He spun around. What do you think?"

"You look like you are one of the fighter pilots from Top Gun." Amanda replied.

"Holly must have known I like to take the ladies' breaths away." He winked at them.

"I can't believe you used that movie's love song for your own sex appeal." Addison rolled her eyes with a giggle.

"It was too good to let pass." Ryan quipped. "Sorry ladies, but I feel the need, the need to host a party." He slipped on a pair of aviator sunglasses and told them he would see them downstairs.

The two laughed and hurried into one of the guest bedrooms. Amanda stopped when she saw a strange man in there.

"This is Craig." Addison quickly did the introductions. "He's the most talented stylist I've ever met."

He grinned bashfully.

"I told him your hair needed to resemble the fashion of the late thirties, early forties to match your costume." Addison explained.

Amanda touched her long hair, while a smile slowly formed. "Craig, how do you feel about cutting some of this?"

Addison's eyes widened. "You don't have to. We can find a way to put it in an appropriate style without any cutting. Can't we Craig?"

"I want to." Amanda decided before the stylist could answer. "I've been thinking of changing how I look for a while now."

Craig opened up his case and showed her all the hairstyling tools he had brought, choosing a pair of scissors.

"I can't watch." Addison covered her eyes when the first lock was cut above her shoulders. "Don't cut too much!"

"Keep going, Craig." Amanda encouraged.

Within minutes, her long wavy hair was now a bunch of curls, brushing her neck and jaw line.

Addison lowered her hands and gasped.

"Your eyes are even bigger than before!"

Amanda critically studied her reflection.

"I love it!" She thanked Craig, then sat back and let him part it, and fluff it out to match some of the photographs of classic film stars.

Addison retrieved a shimmering evening gown she had designed after watching a few of Amanda's favorite classic movies.

"It's like a mixture of Judy Garland's and Myrna Loy's hairstyle." Addison added once she saw the end result. "And this dress is perfect for it."

Once Craig left, Addison helped Amanda into her costume.

"What decade did Holly give Thomas?" Amanda asked.

"The same as yours." Addison grinned at the blush on the duchess' cheeks. "Don't worry, there are other guests given that era too."

"Oh." Amanda turned from side to side to see how the dress hung. "I can't believe my figure allowed me to wear something so elegant!" She hugged Addison. "Thank you."

Addison hugged her tight then ordered her to hurry downstairs when she was ready.

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

Thomas nodded and spoke a few greetings as he walked inside. He scanned the rooms filling up with people. Just when he was about to check outside to see if Amanda was mingling there, Ryan clapped him on the back.

"About time you arrived." Ryan stepped back and studied him. "I'm getting a definite Cary Grant vibe from you."

Thomas merely grunted. "And you are trying to be Tom Cruise."

Ryan laughed while gesturing to his back patio. "In case you were wondering, your duchess was last seen going outside."

With his signature, charming smile firmly in place, he left to mingle with a group over by the bar.

Thomas squared his shoulders and made his way outside.

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

"Want me to freshen your drink?" Chris asked.

Amanda shook her head. "No, thank you." She had no intention of a repeat performance of her girls' night out.

She still wasn't clear on what happened the night she came home drunk. Waking up wearing Thomas's shirt had caused her to panic. She didn't know how she could ask him, let alone face him.

But she had to know.

When he knocked on her bedroom door, her immediate reaction was to jerk the covers up to her chin. Taking a deep breath, she called out for him to enter.

Thomas walked in with a breakfast tray.

"What's all this?" She asked, sitting up in surprise, thus forgetting to hide she had his shirt on.

"Something to hopefully help get you through your hangover." He replied.

She bit her lip as he prepared her a cup of tea. "That's very thoughtful of you."

Taking a sip and closing her eyes in appreciation, she forced herself to ask how badly she had behaved. She knew from the couple of times she had experienced tipsiness that her friends said she was a little more daring than usual. She didn't have her usual doubt and fear keeping her from experiences.

She eyed him closely as a slight smile formed on his lips.

"You were," Thomas lifted his eyes to meet her steady gaze, "not too much trouble. You were tired and I helped you upstairs."

Her brow furrowed. "How did I get in your t-shirt?"

Her worry grew when she noticed a slight flush to his skin.

"You went swimming to cool off." He coughed and lifted a lid off some toast he had made. "When it came time to change your clothes, you asked for one of my shirts to sleep in."

Amanda leaned forward. "That's it? I didn't do anything else, did I? Anything I should apologize over?" She closed her eyes in embarrassment. "I mean, I do apologize. I can't imagine having your houseguest come in drunk and demanding clothing."

He reached over and took her hand, gently squeezing it to get her to look at him. "You have nothing to apologize for. You," he swallowed as he glanced at the spot he had slept with her in his arms, "You went right to sleep once your head hit the pillow."

She gave him a grateful smile while turning her attention to buttering a piece of toast. "Thank you for putting up with me."

A thought that there was more to the story kept coming to mind, but she decided she didn't want to know. She already had enough to deal with over secretly loving him.

What if I let it slip?!

"I, Thomas," she rambled nervously, "I didn't, I mean I hope there was nothing," she paused, "Did I say anything that I should know about?"

Thomas stilled. "What do you mean?"

"Um," she picked at the toast on her plate, "You know, anything like something I would have said to you that might have caught you off guard?"

He refilled her teacup while debating on what all he should reveal. "You said I smelled nice."

A burst of surprised laughter escaped her lips. "Well, that is something I can say is true while sober."

He chuckled at that. "Thank you."

Her smile slowly fell. "Was there anything else I might have said?"

"You told me you danced." He stood up and motioned toward the food he had prepared. "Eat what you think you can stomach, then join me downstairs." He slipped his hands in his pockets. "We'll take it easy today."

"Didn't you want to go out to dinner tonight?" Amanda's question had him stopping in her doorway.

"Only if you feel well enough." His frown eased as he looked back at her. "Eat, while it is still warm."

"Earth to Amanda." Holly waved her hand in front of her face.

"Sorry." Amanda set her barely touched drink on a table. "Lost in thought."

"I'm always lost in thought." Shannon confessed. "Or sleep deprivation. I don't think our daughter will ever let us sleep again."

While the couple shared stories of being new parents, Amanda searched the patio and beach area for Thomas.

Shannon gripped her arm, taking her once more from her thoughts that she was always hoping to see him.

"Look who's coming over!" She whispered.

Amanda felt her lips part at an extremely popular, and extremely handsome, actor dressed in a WWII uniform.

"Chris." He shook the actor's hand before kissing Shannon's cheek. "Shannon. I haven't seen you two in ages."

He smiled at Amanda and Holly.

"Patrick, I don't think you've had a chance to meet Amanda before." Shannon made the introductions.

"Cordonia." His eyes narrowed in thought. "I don't think I've ever heard of that country."

"Few have." Amanda replied.

His smile reminded her of Ryan's along with that twinkle in his eye. He seemed of a similar height. His voice was not too deep so he would be perfect for the role she had in mind.

"Mr. Fields? Have you heard of The Earl's Undoing?" Amanda asked.

"That's all anyone has talked about since I got home." He replied. "And please call me, Patrick."

"I think you would be perfect to play Lord Carlisle, Lord Arthur's younger brother." She explained.

Chris stepped back and critically studied Patrick. He noticed Ryan walk outside and called for him to come over. "Stand by Patrick." He ordered.

Ryan and Patrick stood side by side.

"I don't believe it!" Shannon breathed. "How come we never noticed this before?"

Holly removed her glasses and stepped closer to them. "It's incredible."

Ryan and Patrick both quirked the same eyebrow while a similar smirk settled on their lips.

"I knew we were both handsome," Patrick teased.

"But not this jaw droppingly handsome." Ryan finished with a wink.

Thomas quietly joined them and looked curiously around at the group.

"We've found Carlisle!" Holly exclaimed, gesturing toward Patrick.

He narrowed his eyes in study.

Amanda slipped over beside him. "They even finish each other's thoughts."

He slowly nodded as he glanced at her. Then he did a double take. He reached up and gently tugged on a lock of her hair.

"What are you doing?" She asked, trying not to laugh at his strange reaction to her hair.

"Is this a wig?" He asked.

"No." She laughed then shook her head to prove that it was her own. "What do you think?"

"You cut your hair?" He muttered, his expression of one of complete disbelief.

Her smile disappeared. "Yes, I did." Her eyes searched his. "Do I look that horrible?"

"No." He cleared his throat and forced himself to focus on Patrick.

"Would you like to read a few lines with Ryan?" Thomas asked. "He has a copy of the script, if you are interested in joining the production."

"Are you kidding?" Patrick couldn’t believe he was being given a chance. "Just give me a second to read over it and I will audition whenever you want."

Ryan led him away, telling Thomas to come upstairs to the game room when he was ready to see the audition.

"Now all we need is Marija cast." Holly announced. "Keep an eye out."

She and Shannon excused themselves when they noticed some of their former classmates they hadn’t talked to in a while.

Amanda kept her gaze averted from Thomas. She was determined not to let him see how much his actions toward her haircut stung.

Thomas tried not to stare at her. He slipped his hands into his pockets so he wouldn't be tempted to brush the windblown curls back. He couldn't help but notice the change it wrought. Her eyes that he already found difficult to not get lost in, were even more vivid. His gaze dropped to the curls that had been styled to draw the eye to her lips.

He swallowed and looked around for a distraction.

A song from the 1940's began.

"May I have this dance?" Thomas asked.

"Of course." She mumbled, placing her hand in his. "We are dressed for it."

He led her to the dance floor that Ryan had constructed on his private beach. He took Amanda in his arms and began to do a slow box step.

The romantic lyrics drifted through the night air, causing each to think how appropriate the words were when they were near each other.

I'm in the mood for love

Simply because you're near me.

Funny, but when you're near me

I'm in the mood for love.

Thomas raised his hand he had placed on the small of her back to brush her hair out of her eyes. His lips curved when she looked up at him curiously.

"This hairstyle is lovely on you." He let the back of his fingers brush down her cheek as he tucked some of the wayward locks behind her ear.

She smiled at him. "Truly?" At his nod, she relaxed in his arms. "Thank you."

Heaven is in your eyes

Bright as the stars we're under

Oh is it any wonder

That I'm in the mood for love?

Their eyes remained fixated upon one another as the song continued.

Amanda felt the overwhelming urge to tell Thomas why she had to return to Cordonia. The words were on the tip of her tongue, more than ready to tell him that though she had to participate in Liam's social season that she only wanted to be with him...that Thomas was the only man who held her heart.

She had never been so tempted to do so. The thought that when he discovered the reason for her leaving, he would simply assume she preferred Liam and the crown to anyone else. It was eating her up inside. She hoped when she confessed that he would state that he too felt something for her that wasn't mere friendship.

Why stop to think of whether

This little dream might fade?

We've put our hearts together

Now we are one, I'm not afraid!

What did she have to lose? The words were nearly bursting from her lips. The way he was looking at her as they danced...the moonlight...the romantic song...all seemed designed for such a heartfelt confession.

If there's a cloud up above

If it should rain we'll let it

But for tonight, forget it!

'Cause I'm in the mood for love.

I'm in the mood for love

"Thomas, I have to tell you that--"

He twitched then reached in his coat pocket.

His cell was vibrating.

"It's Ryan." He explained while answering. "We'll be right up." He ended the call and took her hand. "Patrick is ready for us."

She couldn't quite keep her disappointment hidden. "Then we shouldn't keep him waiting."

He tucked her hand into the bend of his arm. "What were you about to say when we were interrupted?"

"Nothing." She replied. "Nothing at all."

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

Patrick's audition was a success. Thomas was impressed by not only his performance with so little time with the script but also the playful almost brotherly affection already between him and Ryan.

Amanda barely paid attention to any of it. She couldn't believe that she had been so willing to not only break her promise to Liam but to also forget her pride and admit to feelings that might not be returned. She believed she wasn't brave enough to take such a risk.

I'm taking too many chances, she thought to herself. Thomas is becoming far too tempting to remain here. I have to do what I don't want to. I can't risk losing him nor ruining what we have. I can't tell Thomas that I'm in love. How could I possibly face him again once he tells me he can't return my affection?

Excusing herself from them, she went to one of Ryan's bathrooms on the second floor. She locked the door and sent a quick text to one man she knew she could count on to help her.

Barely a minute went by before her phone rang.

"Hey, Drake." She kept her voice low. "I need you to call me in five minutes and ignore how I respond."

"Okay." She could hear the curiosity in his tone. "What am I supposed to be calling about?"

Eyeing the closed door when she heard footsteps go by, she lowered her voice to barely above a whisper.

"That I have to come home immediately." She bit down on her lip over her decision. "It's time to leave Hollywood."

#thomas hunt x oc #the royal romance #choices thomas hunt #choices red carpet diaries #thomas hunt x amanda #thomas hunt #thomas hunt rcd #and then i left you #and then i met you #trr drake #drake walker #choices the stories you play #choices fanfic

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tweedlydumbtweedlydoo · 5 years ago

Text

Surprises (Spencer Reid) #1

Off Limits Masterlist (My other Spencer Reid series)

Requests: {OPEN} CLOSED

I am currently taking requests for:

The Vampire Diaries:

Elijah Mikaelson

Damon Salvatore

Criminal Minds:

Spencer Reid

Derek Morgan

Tag List: @on-my-way-to-erebor , @haileymorelikestupid , @angryknightstatesmantrash

Warnings: mild smut

NOT MY GIF

Chapter 1 of 3 or 5 (Not sure yet).

Summary: She’s a bartender at a high end hotel. He’s just solved a difficult case and is enjoying a celebratory drink. Long story short, there’s a one-night stand. Two years later, their paths cross with a few surprises in store.

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

Kate is a 21-year-old college student working as a bartender at one of the high-end hotels in Atlanta. When she turned 18 and graduated high school, she moved from Long Island to Atlanta. She was tired of the north and decided to try her hand at living in the south. She attends college at Georgia State University and is on the path to get her Bachelor’s in Business. To help pay her way through college, she landed a job as a bartender.

Spencer and the BAU team have closed a case they’d been working in Atlanta. It was a difficult case and after hours of work, they finally catch the unsub. To celebrate, they decided to wind down at their hotel bar. They’d been sitting around a table, talking and drinking when the team decided they were ready to head to their rooms. Spencer was still on a high after solving the difficult case and decided he’d stay a bit longer. Instead of taking up a whole table by himself, he made his way to the bar to sit, choosing to sit at the end.

He watched as the woman behind the bar laughed with a man a few seats down. Sh had medium length black hair. She wore tight black pants and a white blouse that she’d buttoned low enough to see a peep of cleavage. He watched as she made her way to him, putting her hands on the bar, and leaning against it, she flashed him a smile, “What can I get you, handsome?”

Embarrassed, he cleared his throat when she spoke, he’d had his eyes on her chest, “What does the beautiful lady recommend?”

She blushed and looked him over, puckering her lips, in thought, “Hmm. I think you’re a bourbon kind of guy… Maker’s mark. On the rocks.” She smirked.

She couldn’t help but notice how handsome and sexy he was. His hair was chestnut brown. It was longer, came close to his shoulder and it had some curl in it, it was messy, but it worked for him. He wore a blue button up, which fit him nicely and a navy-blue tie. She could tell by the way his shirt molded his body that he was fit underneath. There was a gun holstered to his side. She assumed a detective.

“I’ll take it.” He chuckles, impressed. She’d recommended his drink of choice.

She begins to make his drink, “So, I’m assuming detective?” She nods her head toward his gun.

“Good guess. FBI.”

“Wow. An FBI agent? That’s pretty impressive.” She sets the drink in front of him.

He pulls his wallet out of his back pocket and pulls a $50 bill out, sliding it across the bar to her.

She glanced over her shoulder, standing on her tippy toes to look for her boss. She doesn’t see him and looks back at Spencer, sliding it back to him, “First ones on me.”

He raises an eyebrow at her, “Isn’t it the guy who’s suppose to buy the girl a drink?”

She smirks, “My shift ends in 30 minutes. Wait around and maybe I’ll let you.” She gives him a wink before heading to the other end of the bar.

And he did just that. He wasn’t going to pass up buying the beautiful woman a drink.

After her shift ended, she went to the back and grabbed her purse out of the locker before heading back to the bar. She was surprised to see the guy still sitting at the bar. She’d figured he’d have left already. As she walks toward him, he’s the one smirking this time, “So, how about that drink?”

“One condition.” She pulls the stool out from beside him.

“And that one condition is?” He asks, intrigued.

“I don’t want to know your name and I won’t tell you mine.” She steps up on the stool, “Once we share names, this becomes something, and I don’t want that right now.”

He nods, “I can agree with that.” He liked that idea. A no strings attached. Whatever happens tonight, happens. Yet they will move on after like they didn’t know each other. He needed a night like that. He needed to get the mind off the girl that broke his heart before he left for the case. He needed to forget about her. This was the perfect opportunity.

An hour and three drinks later, the two of them are walking down the hallway to his hotel room. More or so stumbling and laughing. Before he’s even unlocked the door, he’s pushed her against the door, his lips pressed against hers. He reaches behind her and inserts the key. When the door opens, the two of them stumble in and the door slams behind them. She leans back against the wall and starts slipping her shoes off.

He watches as she struggles to take her shoes off, taking the time to unholster his gun and setting it on the desk. Then he works at loosening his tie and throwing it on the desk where his gun lies.

She straightens up against the wall after taking her shoes off and pushes the hair from her face. She watches him start to unbutton his shirt, biting her lip as his chest becomes more visible.

He lets the shirt hang open as he’s pushed himself against her, his mouth finding hers. She moans quietly as he starts pressing kisses down her neck, simultaneously working at the buttons of her shirt. He pushes it open and his lips find her breasts. Her hands lock onto his hair and she pulls his head back up to her, kissing him.

He slides his hands down her body to the back of her thighs. Picking her up with ease, he carries her over to the bed and slowly lays her down, peppering kisses down her body.

Spencer woke up to the sound of his phone buzzing. He groans and rolls over, turning off the alarm he set. He looks at the time; 7:00 am. He had to be at the jet in 30 minutes. “Shit.” He mumbles quietly and slips out of bed, careful not to wake the beautiful woman lying in his bed. He quickly gathered his things and gets dressed. Before he leaves, he puts all her clothes neatly next to her and then sat a glass of water and some aspirin on the table next to her. He looked at her once more before he left. She looked like a goddess tangled in the sheets. He wondered if their paths would ever cross again.

When he arrived at the jet, the team was waiting.

“Damn, kid, rough night?” Morgan laughed, taking in his attire. He still had last night’s clothes on, and his hair was a tangled mess. There hadn’t been time to get ready. He had pulled his sunglasses on as he stepped out of the car, hoping to block out the sun. His head throbbed at the noises around him.

“Shut up.” He mumbles, following them onto the jet.

“What was her name?” Emily asks, taking a seat. Spencer doesn’t answer and sits down in the chair, rubbing his head.

“Oh shit. You don’t even remember?” Morgan asks, chuckling a bit.

“We didn’t exchange names.” He groans, closing the little blinds on the airplane window next to him, “now please can you all shut up? I have the worst hangover ever.”

When Kate wakes up the next morning, she’s alone in the hotel room. She looks at the clock next to her; 9 am. She sits up a little and looks around the room. Her clothes have been put neatly next to her on the bed. Her head throbs; her mouth dry. On the bedside table is a glass of water and a couple aspirin. Thoughtful of him. She bites her lip and grips the sheets to her chest as memories of what happened last night flooded her mind. He had been one of the best she’d had in a while. And they’d really hit it off at the bar. As she laid back on the pillows, she wondered if her path would cross his again.

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

Here is chapter one of my new series! I hope you enjoyed. I should be posting chapter 2 later this week.

Leave your thoughts or comments down below xx

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katefiction · 4 years ago

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A Royal Christmas Carol

by katefiction (Maria) / 2013

The voices of hundreds of feverish and excitable people rose and fell through the crowd. Occasionally, snippets of conversation could be heard like little balls bouncing up from the ground. ‘How much? Ten pounds?’, ‘Oh she’ll absolutely love that!’, ‘It looks yummy…I might just have to try one’.

Catherine Middleton’s voice was just one of them.

‘Brutwurst for the pretty lady?’ a vendor said, thrusting a long German sausage in her direction.

‘Oh no thank you’ she replied politely.

‘Only two pounds for you’ he said, with a twinkle in his eye, his thick German accent adding extra charm, ‘it’s delicious!’

‘I’m sure, but I’ve just had some stollen and mulled wine from that stall over there’ she said pointing to one of the wooden huts that were lined neatly in a row.

‘Stolen my business!’ he said, throwing his arms theatrically in the air, followed by something in German that Kate presumed to be an expletive.

Kate giggled, pushing William along gently before they were convinced into buying any more food. They both already had a bag each filled with meats, gingerbread and fudge.

It seemed to William that his new housemate wanted to stop at every stall possible at the Christmas Market that had landed in St Andrew’s that December day.

‘Oh that’s gorgeous!’ Kate enthused, looking at some blown glass baubles with a hand painted design.

William trudged on behind her, his feet sore from the walking and fingers numbing in the wintery air. He pondered for a second whether this was what having a proper girlfriend felt like. The constant pretence of being interested in the wooden toys, sparkling decorations and handmade crafts that Kate had insisted on showing him that afternoon. Not to mention always having to carry the heavier shopping bag.

Still, William might not mind all that much if Kate were his girlfriend.

‘What do you think Will? Should I get one for Mum?’ she said holding a bauble up to the last bit of daylight there was left.

‘Urm, yeh?’ he replied, looking over to his protection officers who blended into the crowd like two bored men waiting for their wives.

‘Oh I don’t know though, she might not like it. It’s one of those marmite things, you know, she’ll either love it or hate it’

William nodded, ‘how much is it?’

‘Twelve pounds’

‘For ONE bauble?!’ he exclaimed.

‘You’re paying for the quality and the craftsmanship’ she explained.

‘Extortionate’ he muttered so the vendor couldn’t hear him.

‘Oh don’t start that again’ she laughed putting the bauble down and walking away from the little wooden hut a little mournfully.

It was a fact well known that William Wales hated Christmas. He thought it a brazen excuse for companies to rip people off. Who says you should have a turkey, a tree, and a mound of brussel sprouts at the table? And why, oh why must Christmas songs be obligatory from November onwards?

As they walked back to their little home in Hope Street, Kate rattled off all the things she still needed to get for their house Christmas meal.

‘We still need crackers, and to decorate the tree, oh and I should fish out my snowman slippers!’

If William weren’t as enamoured with Kate as he was, he would find this irritating. But the plain fact was that just recently, he found nothing about Kate irritating.

The way she threw her hair behind her shoulders, sending a gentle waft of her shampoo scent in his direction. The manner in which she gently touched his arm when she was teasing him. He liked everything, every little thing.

‘I think the snowman slippers are going a bit far’ he said drily.

‘Oh bah humbug!’ she retorted.

Just as he was about to tell her how her festive spirit was all a concoction of the media driven world, a small ball of energy, about knee height crashed into them.

‘Whoa’ Will shouted, almost dropping his bag.

‘Tim!!!’ screeched a high Scottish voice.

From around the corner leading up to Hope Street came a rather dishevelled looking woman. From a far, she looked like she could be fifty, with dark thin hair and bags under her eyes. As she grew closer, however, it was clear to William and Kate that she was thirty at the most.

‘Say sorry Tim!’ she shouted at the little boy, who was now peering into William’s carrier bag.

‘Sorry’ he said.

‘It’s fine’ Kate said kindly.

Tim, like his mother, was scrawny and tiny too for his ten years.

‘Righ’ come on’ Tim’s mother said, grabbing him and pulling him along the street.

‘But Ma, they’ve go’ a turkey!’ they heard him say, ‘you said the shops were all out o’ turkeys!’

‘They must’ve gone somewhere fancy, we can’nae afford somewhere fancy’ she replied.

It was true, William and Kate had queued for half an hour for their turkey from a high end butchers in town.

‘But I want a turkey this Christmas!’ he moaned.

‘I said no! We’ll have ham’

Their voices were cut off when they entered one of the terraced houses on the street William and Kate were walking down.

‘I feel terrible now’ Kate said, looking down at their overflowing bags.

‘Don’t, if we hadn’t been preconditioned to associate turkeys with Christmas, that little boy wouldn’t know any different’

‘Do you ever get tired of being a Scrooge?’ she asked.

‘No’ he laughed.

‘What made you hate Christmas so much anyway?’ Kate said as they approached their house.

‘No reason’ William said. ‘I just do’

Christmas Past

‘Where are you going!?’ she shrilled.

‘I told you, I have a meeting’ he responded calmly.

‘I don’t believe you’ she said defiantly.

‘Well that’s not my problem’

William stood behind the door, peeking through the crack at the two figures inside his father’s study. He couldn’t see much, just the odd shadow or a splash of blonde hair going back and forth.

‘I don’t want you to go!’ she continued.

‘I have to’

‘Please Charles…’

Sometimes the shadows would come closer and William would jump back quickly, scared to be found eavesdropping.

After a minute’s silence, the voice of his mother came again, but quietly this time. ‘I know where you’re really going’ she said at almost a whisper.

‘I am going to a meeting’ he said sternly.

‘Why must you lie? Why must you lie to me?’

William could hear the familiar closing of her throat, her voice becoming wobbly. He pressed his eye closer to the door crack.

‘William, what are you playing?’

William was almost thrown backwards by his heart jumping at the shock of his six year old brother’s voice behind him.

‘Shhhhhh’ he ordered quietly, turning around with his hands on his hips. ‘Go away’

‘Why?!’ Harry said at his normal volume.

‘I said shhh!, it’s grown-ups only’

‘You’re not a grown up’ Harry sulked.

‘I’m more of a grown up than you now push off’. He attempted to push his brother down the hallway, but he wouldn’t budge.

‘I’m gonna tell mummy and papa you were spying’ Harry said, poking his tongue out.

The voices inside the study began to raise once again, footsteps approaching the door.

‘It’s Christmas in two days Charles! Please think of the boys!’

The footsteps stopped briefly. ‘I must go, I’m sorry’.

Darkness covered the whole crack of the door and William sprang to action.

‘Go, move!’ he said, pushing Harry down the hallway and around a corner just as the door swung open. Neither Harry nor William dared peek to watch their father descending the stairs, but they heard him. Seconds later, their mother’s heels clicked on the hardwood and she shouted over the bannister.

‘I hope you’re happy! You’ve ruined Christmas! Ruined it!’

A door slammed. Then there was silence.

‘Go back to the playroom’ William told Harry as they released themselves from the soldier like stance against the wall.

‘Where are you going?’

‘I’ll come in a minute’

‘And we can play spies again!?’ Harry brightened.

‘Yes, we can play spies’ he agreed.

Harry ran off, leaving William to tread carefully down the hall, purposely avoiding the creaky floorboards he knew so well. He went into the study and pulled a few tissues from the tissue box on his father’s desk and set off to find the familiar sound of sobbing.

It wasn’t long before he found it, at the end of the hall in the first floor bathroom.

‘Mummy?’ he said to the shut door. There was no response, just the harmony of sobs.

‘Mummy?’ he said again. She couldn’t hear him, so consumed by her sorrow as she was.

Deftly, William kneeled onto the floor and pushed each tissue under the door one by one. Then he waited, and waited and waited until finally she came out, mascara wiped from her cheeks, her smile back on her face, but the sparkle gone from her eyes.

Christmas Present

William had never told anyone that it was that Christmas when he was eight years old that has ruined it for him for years to come. No-one need know how his parent glared at each other in stony silence over the turkey at the dinner table. They didn’t need to know how Charles had lavished gifts on the boys that year, only for Diana to say he was ‘trying to make up for something’ when she thought they weren’t listening.

He’d never enjoyed Christmas since that year, and after his mother passed, it seemed even more meaningless.

‘We’re home!’ Kate called to their housemates, as she brushed her boots onto the door mat.

Fergus bounded down the stairs, eager to lay his hands on the sweet treats they’d bought.

‘Don’t let him near them!’ Kate said immediately to William, ‘they’re for tomorrow’

‘What a taskmaster’ Fergus laughed. ‘Was she like this all day?’

William stared at Kate dopily but said nothing. Their hands had just touched when she took his bag off him and he was reeling from the after effects.

‘Helloooo?’ Fergus said. ‘Bit distracted are we?’

William frowned at his friend, but Kate was so caught up in her festive haze that she didn’t notice.

‘Can you two unpack this stuff? I need to put up the tree’ she called from the kitchen where she placed the shopping down. ‘But no snacking, Will I’m trusting you to keep him in check’

She flashed a wide grin at him, causing butterflies to flutter inside his stomach.

‘I’ll rugby tackle him if I have to’ he said.

After Kate had gone upstairs to relay the wonders of the Christmas Market to Olivia, Fergus set about interrogating William.

‘So did you talk to her?’ he said, inspecting a gingerbread man.

‘About what?’ he replied, his cheeks flushing.

Fergus sighed, ‘About you two, you should do it before Christmas’

‘There’s no rush’

‘Not if you’re not worried about her going home for a few weeks and kissing some loser from Bucklebury under the mistletoe’

William didn’t reply to this, focussing instead on a bottle of wine.

‘I’m just saying, you don’t wanna leave it too late, Kate’s a good one’

‘I know that’

William more than knew that. But beneath it all, he was shy and insecure and did he really want a steady girlfriend anyway? He tore open the gingerbread man to distract himself.

‘William!’ came Kate’s voice from the stairs as she spotted him eating the biscuit.

‘Sorry’ he smiled. ‘Couldn’t resist’

She tutted and rolled her eyes at him.

‘You keep telling me to get into the festive spirit, so I did!’ he teased and read from the label of the gingerbread, ‘“enjoy your Christmas with Gingerbread George” – see he told me to eat him’

Kate pulled it off him and snapped off the arm to taste ‘Gingerbread George knows that festive spirit isn’t about eating yourself silly’

‘You tell him Kate!’ Fergus chimed in. ‘It’s about drinking yourself silly too’

Kate scowled at Fergus playfully, ‘it’s about spending time with your loved ones and being thankful that you have them’

‘Isn’t that thanksgiving?’ William teased.

‘Yeh and Christmas is about Jesus?’ Fergus added.

‘You two are impossible!’ she huffed jokingly.

As Kate went over to the living area to decorate the tree, Fergus saw an opportunity to leave them alone, patting Will on the back and sprinting upstairs.

‘So what do you do on the actual day?’ Will asked, helping her to attach some baubles to the tree.

‘We usually go to church, and take a nice walk, play board games…oh and dad usually buys some kind of fancy dress outfit and turns up in it’

Will laughed at the thought of Mr Middleton in fancy dress.

‘Pretty similar to our family Christmas then, minus the fancy dress’ he said.

‘See, not so different, you and me’ she said with a nudge.

‘Apart from you actually like Christmas!’

‘I’ll make a convert of you yet, just you wait’

‘I doubt I’ll ever enjoy it’ he said, his mother’s dulled blue eyes suddenly popping into his head.

‘Maybe when you have kids you’ll change your mind’ she said placing the star at the top of the tree.

William scoffed, ‘doubt it’

Then would’ve been the perfect time to talk to her about how he felt. Surely that little nudge was a sign?

Kate looked at him expectantly, like she was waiting for him to say something. But his thoughts had been clouded by memories of Christmas’ past, the stale feeling it gave him, the one he thought he’d never get over.

‘No, Christmas is about money and pretending to like people you wouldn’t talk to any other time of the year’

Kate shook her head; clearly her patience with William’s attitude was waning.

‘Well I’ll enjoy it regardless’ she said plainly, getting up and heading upstairs again.

Will cursed himself; he’d just missed his chance.

Christmases Yet To Come

That night, he slept fitfully, images of Kate and Gingerbread George floating in his mind. He had probably eaten too much of it, he thought as he drifted uncomfortably from reality to dream.

He found himself standing in a large living room, a sparkling tree in the corner, a cream sofa covered in thick throws and a fire crackling under the mantelpiece.

To his shock, out from one of the rooms came someone who looked very much like himself. Well a version of himself that he almost didn’t recognise. This William had bags under his eyes and much less hair, but he was smiling, beaming even at something he was holding in his arms.

‘Rockin’ around the Christmas tree, at the Christmas party shop’ he sang, bouncing the thing up and down in his arms.

‘Those aren’t the lyrics’ came a voice he knew so well.

Kate appeared from the room looking just as, if not even more beautiful than William knew her.

‘It’s Christmas party hop, not shop, that doesn’t make any sense’ she added.

‘Alright Mother Christmas!’ he laughed. ‘Mummy’s such a know-it-all isn’t she?’

It was only then that Will noticed what his older self was holding. A bouncing baby boy.

Was it his? Surely it couldn’t be his.

‘George, tell daddy that mummy does know it all, yes I do’ she said tickling the baby’s stomach. ‘Especially about Christmas’

Kate held up a tiny red knitted jumper that she’d had behind her back, a reindeer design was on the front.

‘That’s ridiculous’ the two Williams said in unison. The younger clapped his hand over his mouth before realising that no-one could hear or see him.

‘It’s cute Will!’ Kate insisted.

‘He’s gonna be boiling in that thing’

‘He’ll be fine for a few minutes while we take some pictures, won’t you my pumpkin?’

William sighed in defeat.

As he stood observing from the corner, William recognised the look that his older self was giving Kate as the same dopy look he often gave her in their home at Hope Street. Was it conceivable that this could be his future? Married to Kate and with a baby that he sang Christmas songs to?

George screamed out as Kate tugged the jumper gently over his head.

‘He hates it!’ William shouted over the noise.

Will walked over to the sofas and sat close to the three of them, finding himself grinning at their domesticity.

Kate managed to get the jumper on and began snapping away with her camera, while William stood behind her making faces at the baby until finally after all the fuss, George cracked open a huge smile.

‘That’s my boy!’ Kate beamed.

For the next hour, or what felt like an hour as he had no sense of time, Will followed the family around the house. He watched them as they laughed together, chatted about a trip to Australia and other everyday things. He smiled with them when they fed George, and got frustrated with them when he wouldn’t eat.

When George was safely tucked up in bed, they sat down again at the couch, and he was surprised to see his older self voluntarily switching on Miracle on 34th Street. What had happened to him?

‘I love this film’ Kate said happily, tossing her legs up onto William’s.

‘It’s a good one, especially that scene at the end in the court room’

‘Do I need to get you some tissues?’ Kate teased.

William smirked at her, as did Will.

So this was what normal family life was all about, he thought.

Just as he was about to get comfortable and watch the film with them, darkness clouded over his dream, pulling him away.

He tossed and turned in his bed, neither waking nor going back to that room in Kensington Palace. Instead, he found himself plunged into a study, just like the one his father had.

There was William, the older, sitting at the desk, writing letters. Only this time, he was even older, fifty maybe. He sat with no expression on his face, a lamp flickering on his desk. There were no pictures on his desk, no sign of his wife or child, just emptiness.

‘Oi’ Will shouted.

But William couldn’t hear him.

He walked around the desk and behind the chair, where he could see William dating the letters as 24th December.

‘Oi’ he repeated. ‘It’s Christmas Eve, what are you doing here alone? Shouldn’t you be with your family or something?’

Will knew instinctively that there was no Kate or George in this scenario. This was the William of a future without a family.

And he hated it. He wanted to see himself ice skating with his kids, or chasing after them with snowballs. He wanted to be forced to watch Christmas movies, and eat turkey and brussel sprouts, and spend ridiculous money on visiting Father Christmas’ grotto with George.

‘Get off your arse!’ he shouted at his older self. ‘It’s Christmas!’

‘Get up! You’re married remember?! Go to your family!’

Of course the older William didn’t move, he merely sat solemnly, and just like he’d seen somewhere before, the sparkle gone from blue his eyes.

Will woke with a start, feeling like he hadn’t been asleep at all. He sat up for a few minutes dazed from being snapped out of the particularly vivid dream. But it had felt so real, he thought. He could almost taste the crackling fire from his apartment.

On walking downstairs, unable to stay in bed any longer, he found Kate warming some croissants in the oven.

‘Morning’ she said brightly. ‘Sleep well?’

‘Not really’ he said rubbing his eyes, ‘I had the weirdest dreams’

‘About what?’

He considered for a moment telling her the truth, but maybe it was a little too strange. ‘Um Gingerbread George…he came to life’ he said.

Kate laughed.

‘Can I help you with the lunch today?’ he asked.

She eyed him suspiciously, ‘you want to help?’

‘What’s wrong with that?!’

‘No, nothing’ she said, waving a butter knife in the air, ‘just surprised that you want anything to do with Christmas, that’s all’

William smiled, ‘I promise I won’t do anything without your approval’

‘Fine, you can start on the turkey stuffing, that’s hard to mess up’ she joked.

So William and Kate set about making Christmas lunch. William was pleased to spend this time alone with Kate before they went home and once or twice he almost plucked up the courage to ask her out. The dreams from last night still ran through his mind. If he didn’t ask her now, would he end up that lonely old man working on Christmas Eve? Was it even possible that he could know a happy family life so different from those tense Christmases of the past?

By the time Olivia and Fergus emerged in the kitchen, William was still mulling over his thoughts and was alone with Kate no longer.

Timed perfectly by Kate, at one o’clock, the four of them sat down at their small table, food and drink almost falling over the edges.

‘It all looks amazing’ Olivia enthused, ‘I can’t wait for you to cut into that turkey’ she said to Kate.

The turkey was the centrepiece of the table setting, golden brown and oozing with juices and stuffing.

‘Actually I think Will should have the honours’ Kate said, slipping on her snowman slippers for the occasion.

‘Me?’ he said unconvinced.

‘You’ve shown your Christmas spirit today, plus you made most of it, it’s only fair you should carve it’.

They exchanged a look over the table, and Will knew he was doing the dopey eyes again, realising how much he liked Kate’s attention.

‘There’s enough to feed a small army here’ Fergus remarked as William picked up the knife.

Just as he was about to slice the knife through the turkey, he stopped abruptly.

‘Will?’ Kate said.

‘You’re right…you’re absolutely right’ he said vacantly.

He dropped the knife on the table and picked up the entire turkey, platter and all.

‘Um Will, are you ok? … where are you going with that?’ Kate said, concerned as William headed for the front door.

Kate, Fergus and Olivia exchanged worried glances.

‘Come with me’ Will said, attempting to put on a baseball cap while balancing the turkey with one hand.

‘Where?!’ Kate asked, but William was already on the doorstep, so she was forced to jump up and follow him.

William turned right from their home, and strode up the street purposefully. ‘Keep up!’ he teased as he turned and saw Kate rushing behind him.

They rounded a corner onto the next street and William looked searchingly at each door, finally recalling the one he wanted.

It was then that Kate understood what was happening, and she couldn’t help smiling to herself as William rang the doorbell at his chosen house.

The door opened a few inches, ‘we haven’t got any spare change’ a voice snapped from behind the door, and began to shut it again.

‘No we’re not collecting for charity’ William said quickly. ‘I’d just like to…well I have something I’d like to give you’

‘I’m not interested in finding Jesus’ she said spikily.

‘Wait please’ he said before she could slam the door in his face, ‘we met yesterday, we live down the road, your son’s Tim isn’t it?’

‘What has he done now?! TIM!!!!!!!!!!’ she screeched.

‘Nothing!’ Kate attempted, ‘please could you open the door’

The woman finally relented; opening the door fully as tiny Tim came storming down the stairs.

‘Wow! Ma look a’ tha’ turkey!’ he said, his eyes transfixed.

William grinned at his excitement. ‘It’s for you, if you’d like it’

‘Wha’ for?’ the woman said suspiciously.

William pondered for a second and then said, ‘call it Christmas spirit?’

Kate beamed and placed a hand on William’s back.

‘There’s nothing wrong with it honestly, we made it this morning, I know it’s a bit large…’

‘…but you can cut it up and put it in the freezer until Christmas day if you’d prefer’ Kate finished for him.

‘I’ve go’ three more kids in there’ she said, ‘they’ll polish that off’

‘So you’ll accept it?’ Kate said hopefully. ‘As a gift’

‘I can’nae really say no, can I?’. For the first time the woman smiled, softening her face considerably.

William handed the turkey to her, and ruffled Tim’s hair, who was still transfixed.

‘Thank you’ the woman said. ‘From all o’ us’

‘No problem’, Will said, lowering his hat and turning away.

‘Wait, what are your names?’ she said.

‘It doesn’t matter’ William said. ‘Merry Christmas to you all’

‘Merry Christmas’ she said back to them both.

William and Kate walked back to Hope Street partly in silence, nothing really needing to be said.

‘Do you think Olivia and Fergus will be pissed off I’ve given their turkey away?’ William asked eventually, as they walked purposely slowly.

‘We have more than enough other food’ Kate said sensibly. ‘Besides they’ll have the same opinion as me when they know where it went’

‘Which is?’ he said, smirking.

‘That you’re very sweet and even a little awesome’

William stopped in the pavement, ‘you think I’m awesome?’

‘You know I do’ she said rolling her eyes as if it was a silly question.

‘Right…well the thing is, I think you’re kind of awesome too’ he said, with all the confidence he could muster.

‘Do you?’ she gave him a smile that made him blush.

‘And I was thinking…maybe when we come back after the break, we could…um…you know’ William was bright red and running out of words.

‘Be awesome together?’ Kate suggested.

‘Yes, exactly, if you wanted to, obviously’ he mumbled.

‘I thought you’d never get the hint’ she chuckled.

‘Well I’m not very observant’ he said calmly though his spirits soaring.

Kate reached on her tip toes and kissed him on the cheek, sending the flush roaring back to his face.

Maybe that dream last night wasn’t just a dream, perhaps it was the push he so badly needed, he thought optimistically.

He looked down and saw that to his great amusement, Kate was still in her snowman slippers.

‘Nice slippers’ he teased, pulling a face at their gaudiness.

‘Oh bah humbug!’

#katefiction #royal fanfiction #cambridge fanfiction #kate middleton

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