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highwaytothedangerzone502 · 2 years ago

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India Lima Yankee - Chapter 31

Pairing: Rooster x Female OC

Word Count: 3498

Warnings: Mention of death

Summary: Juliette Kazansky discovers Maverick is back in town for a special training detachment, but she's more than a little blindsided when Rooster arrives too. Having not spoken to him for almost ten years after their less than amicable break-up, Juliette can only imagine how the next few weeks are going to play out when she remains head over heels in love with him while he wants nothing to do with Juliette other than to forget her.

Or so she thinks.

Notes: Chapters in italics are flashbacks.

Chapter Songs: Bring Me Back to Life Without You

Chapters: Chp 1 Chp 2 Chp 3 Chp 4 Chp 5 Chp 6 Chp 7 Chp 8 Chp 9 Chp 10 Chp 11 Chp 12 Chp 13 Chp 14 Chp 15 Chp 16 Chp 17 Chp 18 Chp 19 Chp 20 Chp 21 Chp 22 Chp 23 Chp 24 Chp 25 Chp 26 Chp 27 Chp 28 Chp 29 Chp 30 Chp 31

Juliette

Two days.

That's how many were left before the pilots shipped off. As Juliette helped her mom prepare the large meal to feed 18 mouths by setting places at the table, the sinking feeling settled in more and more. One or more of these people may not be coming home, Maverick now being included in that group. Juliette knew she'd had a part in that, even if it was Cyclone who made the final decision. Still, he never would've made it had she not suggested it.

At the thought of Maverick, she wondered where he'd gone. He'd arrived early with Juliette to help prep for dinner. Twenty minutes ago, Mav said he needed the bathroom and had yet to return. Glancing around the kitchen, dining room, and living room, even outside on the back porch, the aviator was nowhere to be seen. Juliette slipped out of sight from her mom and brothers and down the hall to the bathroom, just to make sure he wasn't actually still in there. She doubted it, and her feeling had been right. The door to the bathroom was open, and so was, strangely, the one to her father's office, albeit only slightly cracked. It'd been kept shut ever since Ice had died.

Juliette poked her head into the room. In the golden light of the setting sun filtering through the semi-opaque blinds, she saw Maverick sitting in her father's chair, staring at a group photo of them back when she was in college. It was at her graduation. She was flanked by her father and Maverick. Bradley hadn't been able to come because of training, much to his dismay, but he'd surprised her the following week by showing up on her doorstep with flowers and tickets to a Rascal Flatts concert.

Juliette stepped inside the room and shut the door to give them some privacy. She grabbed a chair and sat across from him. "Talk to me, Mav. What's on your mind?"

"I remember that day," Maverick said, nodding at the photo. "Your dad was so proud of you for graduating top of your class and having a job lined up with Lockheed. I remember him telling anyone and everyone on base."

Juliette smiled. "I could hear him yelling from the stands when I walked up on stage. You too."

"I was proud of you too. I think I was even prouder when you slipped and landed in a kneeling position and threw your hands up like you'd fully intended to do that."

"Whoever thought putting a tarp on the ground when girls are walking down a steep ramp to get to it in heels was a dumbass!" Juliette defended with a smile.

Maverick chuckled. "You had a hell of a bruise on your knee from that."

"I did. Rooster even asked me about it the following week."

"I'm glad you two are back together. You both seem to be better because of it."

"I think we are. He's been my rock since Dad-" A knot formed in her throat, effectively stopping all words. Rooster had spent each night with her since they'd gotten back together. Between having him around and working during the day, Juliette hadn't had time to think much about her dad or the hole in her heart from his death. It came back with a vengeance now.

"Whether you realize it or not, you've been mine, Jules. I wouldn't have gotten that plane if not for you, nor would I be where I am now. I know it's because of you I got my position back, and-" Maverick eyed her knowingly- "I'm pretty sure you're the reason I'm flying as mission leader. Cyclone wouldn't have considered the idea unless someone brought it up to him, considering his opinions about me."

"I don't want you up there, but I know it's what you wanted. I'm not as worried about the pilots having you up there with them." Juliette clenched her jaw, her anxiety rising at the thought of her following words. "What scares me is knowing you'll do anything to protect them. Especially if you send Rooster."

A heavy silence fell between them, both thinking about the impending mission that Maverick and the pilots would deploy for in just a few days and the ramifications that could come from it. Juliette studied Maverick's face, noticing his green eyes welling with tears. Seeing him about to cry made the knot return, and it took a Herculean effort for her to speak in a steady voice. "What is it?"

Juliette followed his line of sight to another photo. In it stood Bradley and Jules, flanked by Maverick and Iceman, respectively. It was from Bradley's high school graduation, one of the last times the two men had been on speaking terms. "If I send him on this mission..." Maverick began, sniffling. He could barely look Juliette in the eye. "He might never come home. And if I don't send him, he'll never forgive me. I don't know what to do, Juliette. I know now is not the time to be thinking about this because we're about to have this dinner as a- as a way to decompress from the stress of the mission. Still, I see this photo, and I see a man who I consider my son. I see you and realize you might never see him again if I send him up, and I can't do that to you. You would never look at me the same, and I don't-"

"Mav-" Juliette reached over and placed her hand on his knee- "listen to me. Don't think about me when choosing whether or not to send him up. In the event you do, and in the unlikely event he doesn't make it back, it would not change how I see you because I know you would've done everything in your power to save him. It's not time to make the decision yet, but I know you'll make the right one, and if you need me to help you make it, I'm here."

"I know you are, but you shouldn't have the burden of helping me make that decision on your shoulders. It's not a light one to make."

"It's not, but I wouldn't offer it if I wasn't willing to help carry that burden. You don't have to bear it alone."

Maverick rested his hand atop hers. "You've done so much for me already, Juliette. I can't ask you for this too."

"You're not. I'm offering."

A ghost of a smile tugged on his lips. "Be on standby for my call when I'm on the carrier. If I need a shove to make the right decision, I know you'll do it."

"Whatever you need, whenever you need it, I've got your six, Mav. Always." Juliette squeezed his knee reassuringly, heart aching at the vulnerability in his face. She wished he didn't have to make the decision at all because he'd been through enough when it came to Bradley. Now, he had an opportunity to reconcile with him, but it came with a near impossible decision.

The doorbell rang, breaking the moment. They stood up, but before leaving, Juliette pulled Maverick into a hug, hoping to convey her support and sympathy for him through the gesture.

"I love you, Jules. Thank you for everything," he whispered.

"I love you, too, Mav." They broke apart. "What do you say we both push aside our worries for tonight and focus on having fun?"

"Sounds like a plan." Maverick and Juliette left her dad's office, and she shut the door behind them. While Mav went to the kitchen, Jules opened the door. She found the twelve pilots and Hondo on her front porch, all carrying a homemade dessert save for Rooster and Phoenix, who both held bouquets.

"What's all this?" Juliette asked, looking at the food and flowers.

"We wanted to bring flowers for your mom," Phoenix said, glancing at the arrangement of white roses and blue irises. It reminded Juliette of the bouquet she'd received from them, and she had no doubt the color scheme chosen for her mom was intentional. "Rooster thought it'd be nice to bring some for you too, as a thank you for the invite. The rest made desserts."

Juliette quirked an eyebrow, unable to imagine some of the pilots baking the desserts they'd brought, especially Hangman, who appeared to have made a pecan pie with the nuts placed in a neat and orderly circle spiraling outward.

"This is absolutely amazing, and the flowers are beautiful," Juliette said sincerely, taking the bouquet from Rooster. "You didn't have to do all this, but it's very much appreciated. Come on in. We can put any desserts that need to be refrigerated in the outside fridge."

One by one, the pilots stepped inside and made their way into the kitchen. Juliette introduced her mom and brothers to each aviator, keeping a careful eye on Joey. Her eldest brother smiled as he shook each pilot's hand, but she could see the calculating look in his eyes, analyzing how much she meant to the pilots and if it was equal to how she felt about them. Joey was no idiot, sadly, and he knew there'd been an ulterior motive to this get-together. As Juliette walked past him to put her flowers in a vase, she warned him, "Play nice."

"Don't worry, Mom already warned me," he mumbled, reaching over her head for a drinking glass. Juliette took a deep breath, forcing herself not to let her brother get to her. She planned on enjoying tonight and letting his words annoy her would do nothing to help her endeavor.

"All right, everyone!" Sarah clapped her hands, garnering everyone's attention. Grab a plate and help yourselves!"

"Cooks go first," Rooster said, motioning at the Kazansky's to dig into the array of food. The rest of the pilots agreed, so Juliette, her mom, and her brothers chose not to argue. Everyone piled their plates with food and crammed together at the table. Juliette sat between Hangman and Rooster. Maverick, her mom, and Hondo sat across from her. For the next hour, everyone ate, drank, and chatted. Even Joey, who had gone into this dinner with more than a few reservations, was joking and grinning alongside the pilots. Juliette mainly talked to those around her until she heard Payback and Fanboy mention her name.

"Are you gossiping about me down there?" she asked, staring pointedly at them.

"Just telling Joey here that you're the reason we had to do two hundred push-ups our first day of training," Payback said drolly.

"It's the last time we ever make a bet with you," Fanboy joked, pointing his fork at her. "Never underestimating you again."

"You'll never underestimate Maverick again, either," Juliette said, smiling proudly at the man across from her.

"You had too much glee in your voice when I got shot down," Hangman remarked, smirking at her. "How'd you know Mav was going to use the sun as a blinding technique to get behind me?"

"How do you think I got the idea?" Maverick said, grinning.

"That wasn't my intention. The nickname slipped out because you-" Juliette looked up at Hangman- "were way too happy during that first fight."

Hangman snorted. "So what you're saying is if you hadn't been there, I might actually have shot Mav down?"

"Don't flatter yourself that much, Sunshine. He still would've kicked your ass."

"You sound very confident about that."

"That's because I am."

"All right, Maverick-" Hangman turned to his instructor- "one day, I want a rematch, and I want Princess here with you because whoever shoots down the other first has to do two hundred push-ups."

"Got yourself a deal," Juliette declared, offering her hand to the pilot. He shook it. "It's a good thing you work out a lot so you can handle all those push-ups."

"Dude, I'm sorry, but I'm putting my bets on Maverick and Princess," Omaha said.

"No faith, huh?"

"Well, yeah, but it's in Mav and Jules, not you."

"Rooster tried to warn you," Maverick added, chiming into the conversation, much to Juliette's surprise, "but I interrupted him. I couldn't let him spill my secret."

"I know what you're capable of," Rooster replied, shocking Juliette even further. Her boyfriend typically tried to avoid any interaction with Maverick outside of training. For him to willingly engage in conversation with him gave Juliette the slightest hope that perhaps his resentment was slowly melting away.

"You've all come a long way from the first day of training. I'm proud of all of you," Maverick praised, looking each pilot in the eye, although his gaze rested a fraction longer on Bradley.

"I'm glad you and Jules are both still here leading this training detachment," Phoenix remarked, smiling at them.

Joey frowned. "Were they not supposed to be?"

Shit... Juliette hadn't told her mom or brothers about Maverick being temporarily removed from his position, nor had she told them that she'd helped him commandeer an F-18 to prove a point. Her mom and Jack would understand, but Joey would throw a fit.

"Cyclone grounded me for a day, and Juliette helped me get my place back," Maverick answered swiftly, meeting her gaze. She could see that he recognized her family didn't know what she'd done and that she wanted to keep it that way. She shot him a grateful smile.

"Still don't know how you pulled it off, Juliette," Payback mused, shaking his head. "God help the poor souls who owed you favors."

"Who on base owes you favors?" Joey prodded, locking eyes with his sister.

Juliette didn't back down. "They weren't mine. Dad told me about them in case I ever needed to use them. I simply cashed in on them."

"I still want to know what kind of favors these people owed you that let you take up an F-18 at the last minute without Cyclone's approval," Harvard added. The others, save for Maverick, Hondo, and Rooster, nodded in agreement.

Jack choked on his drink while Sarah Kazansky raised her eyebrows at her daughter. Meanwhile, Joey demanded, "You stole an F-18?"

"No, I called in a favor with someone other than Cyclone who could get us the plane. It was all done by the books. We merely took a different, more discreet route to do it."

Jack snorted. "I'm sure Cyclone wasn't happy about that."

"No, he was not, but it's all fine now. Maverick is back where he belongs."

"So are you," Maverick said, smiling appreciatively at her.

Hangman lifted his glass. "To Maverick and Juliette!"

"To Maverick and Juliette!" the other pilots cheered, lifting their glasses. Rooster discreetly placed his hand on Juliette's leg, smiling adoringly at her. Her heart soared at the toast. As sweet and simple as it was, it meant the world to her.

The rest of the dinner went off without a hitch. Joey remained relatively quiet after discovering how Juliette helped Maverick, but she didn't care. She was having too much fun with the pilots. After picking up the dirty dishes and placing them by the sink to be cleaned later, they played a few rounds of volleyball until they'd worked off dinner. Then everyone piled their plates with different desserts and migrated back outside to the fire pit. Juliette and Rooster snagged one of the love-seat Adirondack chairs, trying to sit close enough that they could touch each other but far enough away that no one got the wrong idea about them, even though it'd actually be the right one. Juliette still didn't want them knowing she and Rooster were dating, afraid of being accused of favoritism when it came time to choose them for the mission.

Still, as the night wore on, and as she watched the pilots laugh, joke, and chat like there wasn't a care in the world, Juliette found herself spiraling more and more at the thought of losing any of them.

Juliette couldn't stand the idea of not seeing Hangman's cocky smile or Phoenix's sly smirk that suggested she knew the secrets of everyone here. She couldn't stand the thought of not hearing Bob's sweet southern drawl or Coyote's boisterous cheers when he scored a touchdown in dogfight football. Juliette couldn't fathom not listening to Fanboy ramble on about Star Trek and all his other favorite shows and movies or Payback humming the song 'Payback' ever since he discovered that's what Juliette's ringtone for him was. She dreaded the idea of not hearing Omaha try to convince everyone that his hometown of Omaha was a great city, or Harvard and Yale playfully bickering about which of their alma maters was better, or Fritz complaining about his tech issues on his too-old laptop, or Halo gushing about her nieces and nephews.

Most of all, the ones that nearly paralyzed her with fear were the ideas of never having Rooster or Maverick around again. Juliette couldn't bear never again receiving one of Maverick's fatherly hugs and hearing stories of his antics from his younger years, or never seeing Rooster belt out to 'Great Balls of Fire,' of never seeing her boyfriend swagger into the room in the Hawaiian shirts only he could pull off, of never having Rooster's arms around her again and making her feel like she was home.

Heat rose in her cheeks, and it had nothing to do with how close she sat to the fire. Juliette quietly excused herself, stating she needed the bathroom and was going to get more dessert. No one batted an eye, continuing on with their conversation. It wasn't exactly a lie. She did need the bathroom and wanted more dessert, but Juliette didn't head back out the moment she'd completed what she'd gone inside for. Instead, she began unloading the dishwasher, needing to give herself a mindless task, something she knew the outcome of, in order to lessen the anxiety of the unknown ending of the mission.

While Juliette put a new load in the dishwasher, she heard the sliding glass door open. If anyone asked, she already had a plan to tell them she saw the dishes and simply wanted to help her mom by getting another load going. That plan flew out the window when Rooster entered and said, "I came to check on you. You've been gone a little too long for a bathroom break and to grab some dessert, and judging by the fact you're cleaning-"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Juliette countered a little too quickly.

"You clean when you're anxious." Rooster joined her side and, much to her relief, didn't prod about what was on her mind. He probably already knew anyways. It's what was always on her mind: the impending mission and her dad's death. Instead, he silently helped her finish the dishes and clean more of the kitchen. On the one hand, Juliette wanted him to pull her into his arms and hold her, letting the stress she was holding in momentarily melt away. On the other hand, she knew if Rooster did such a thing, she would most likely break down with the thoughts that had just been in her head mere minutes ago, and she didn't want anyone walking in on that.

As they finished up and were about to head back outside, their group entered, yawning and stretching.

"I think we're going to head back," Phoenix said, setting her plate down next to the sink. "Do you need help with anything before we leave?"

"Absolutely not," Sarah Kazansky declared, shaking her head. "I want all of you to go back to base and get some rest for training tomorrow. You have a big mission coming up, and I want all of you at the top of your game for it."

"Yes, ma'am," the pilots echoed.

"Rooster, you're staying, right?" Jack queried casually. "We still need to catch up. It's been too long."

"Wait-" Coyote motioned between the two men- "you know each other?"

"Yeah. We go way back." Jack walked past Juliette, winking at her on his way as a silent 'You're welcome.' She smiled gratefully at him. They could be the best of friends or the worst of enemies, and tonight, Jack was on her side.

"We're all old friends," Juliette added, wanting to avoid her brothers spilling the beans about hers and Rooster's past. The pilots didn't need to know that. Not yet.

With that said, no one else inquired about Rooster's relationship with the Kazanskys, and the pilots bid everyone goodnight. As they shuffled down the sidewalk, Payback and Fanboy shouted over their shoulders, "See you at training, Princess!"

"See you tomorrow!" she hollered back, grinning. While her mom, Rooster, and Jack returned inside to continue cleaning the kitchen, Juliette and Joey remained outside. They stayed there until all the aviators had gotten in their cars and drove out of sight. Then, as Jules shut the door, Jack asked, "Can we talk?"

***

Tags: @lgg5989 @shanimallina87 @polikszena @summ3rlotus @souslesyeuxde @gleasonmalfoy @icemansgirl1999 @supernaturaldawning @thedarkinmansfield @lyannaforpresident @lapilark @getmyprettynameoutofyourmouth @simpofthecentury @shadeops21 @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @double-j @picklejuicesposts @bradshawsandbridgetons @majdoline @ophesworld @jakexfmc

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sailorhyunjinz · 4 years ago

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~ 𝕋𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕡𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 ~

Part II

All picture rights to their respective owners.

ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕥: Photographer!Hyunjin x fem!model!reader, model!bestfriend!Felix, barista!Seungmin, agedup!straykids, fluff, character driven story, stranger to lovers, summer!au, mentions of death/passing away, mentions of injury, slight angst, mentions of self doubt, mentions of bad economy.

𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕕 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥: 4.6 k

ℕ𝕠𝕥𝕖: lmao if anyone is wondering why the cafe is open at night; it actually exists! most commonly found in korea but hey this fic doesnt have a set place so just imagine that it’s a cafe that works 24/7 ALRIGHTY?

If you have any feedback I’m more than happy to receive it! <3

Taking pictures of you - MASTERLIST

ONE｜TWO｜THREE

“What do you think this means? Why does he want to contact me?”

You anxiously paced around the living room, Felix sitting on the small grey sofa, his soft brown eyes going from left to right, following your distressed figure.

“Maybe he just wanted to talk to you directly, make it feel more personal you know?”

Felix sounded unsure of his own answer as he tilted his head questioningly, his gaze still glued on you.

“But why does he want to know me personally? Does he do this with every model?” You bit your lip as you thought, stopping hastly before running to the kitchen and grabbing the water bottle from the day of the photoshoot.

“y/n! What are you even...” Felix abruptly halted his sentence before widening his eyes at your intentions.

“Surely you’re not actually gonna call him?” he asked in surprise.

“I should at least find out what his motive is! I can’t just ignore the poor boy can I?” you held the water bottle tightly in your hand, removing the plastic wrapper with the number scribbled on and observed his delicate handwriting.

“He seems...strange, to say the least. He rarely talks to people during events and is only ever interested in anything that involves his work.”

Felix knew since he himself was a model. The two of you met during a casting in the earlier years of your career, both being youthful teenagers with dreams and slightly puffy cheeks, babyfat that eventually got away and revealed your hidden features. The day of the casting Felix injured his foot causing him to fall when walking in front of the hawk-eyed judges. Your heart ached when you saw his desperate figure on the cold floor, he was just like everyone else in that frigid casting room, just a youngster with a dream. You passed the audition, smiling as you accepted a blue clipboard with papers from the judges, feeling everyone’s eyes drilling into your back with jealousy. Moments later, after night had fallen over the big city, you found Felix hunched over a small step of stairs meant for the fire escape.

“H-hey,,,uhm, are you fine?”

You hestitated speaking to the quivering boy, his hands covering his face as tears dripped of his chin.

“W-what do you care?!” he spat towards you, his attitude making you want to leave but you felt to guilty to do that, after all he was simply upset and not actually mad.

You inched closer to his cowered body and sat down next to him on the hard stone steps. You looked at him in guilt. You had passed the audition but how were you any better than him? Softly, you put your hand on his shoulder, patting it a couple of times and letting the dark haired boy cry out, his sobs echoing in the dark stairway. He leaned into your touch and you ended up hugging him in silence for what seemed like hours.

Times change and here he is. Signed to a highly respectable agency and catching flights left to right. Nothing more made you prouder than knowing that he didn’t give up on his dream.

“Felix! He’s not strange... maybe he’s just shy?” you tried to defend Hyunjin but realised how defensive you got over somebody you barely knew.

“Shy? In this line of work?” he furrowed his eyebrows, glancing at the white wrapper in your hands. “I’m not sure...what if he’s interested in you in that way?”

Your heart almost jumped out of your chest upon hearing Felix’s words.

“You mean r-romantically?” you cleared your throat, feeling butterflies in the depths of your stomach.

“Well...that will never happen, don’t wanna ruin your career, right y/n?”

Your gaze fell onto the white wrapper in your hand as your heart started beating faster.

“R-right y/n?” He coughed as you grabbed your phone and started typing in the digits, glancing over at the wrapper and pressing accordingly.

“Y/n, are you crazy? What if he actually has romatic interests in you? That could ruin both of your careers especially since he’s a world famous photographer that has every girl wrapped around his finger because of his looks.” Felix spoke bitterly, looking at your phone screen and then back at you with heightened eyebrows.

“I’ll guess I’ll have to find out, Felix”

“Ok but do that after I leave, I don’t want to hear you talk about him anymore and also be careful. You never know whats brewing on the inside in people like him” he said while rolling his eyes.

“What you wanna eat then bestie?” you laughed as you threw your phone onto the couch and made your way to the pantry.

♡

Hours later Felix was waveing at your from the other of the door, you waved back at the freckled boy, smiling at him.

“Be careful with that dude!” he yelled as he walked down to the flight of stairs, his voice echoing in the old apartment complex.

“I will, mom!” you laughed at his cute consideration before shutting the heavy door.

Silence broke out once the door shut, leaving you alone in the apartment yet again. You dragged your feet on the light laminated floor, making your way to the couch where your phone was buried underneath a multitude of pillows.

“Where did I put that number”. You searched for it, finding your phone and the wrapper wedged between two seat cushions. Sitting down, you landed with a thump on the soft couch, the blue light from your phone emitting onto your face as you typed in the number yet again. A big lump was situated in your throat, your hands shaking as you sent a message to the number.

[y/n] Hi! It’s y/n, it was a pleasure working with you.

You stared at the message you sent before cursing to yourself.

“Why the fuck did I write that? He’s gonna think that I’m some sort of weirdo, can I ever do anything ri-”

A pling from your phone erupted in the living room, catching you off guard. It’s probably not him, why would he reply so fast?

You were wrong, it was him.

[Hyunjin] Hello! It’s Hyunjin, hope you weren’t too surprised at me leaving my number. I’m just happy that you decided to reply.

You gulped as you typed. It didn’t seem like he’d ever done something like this before.

[y/n] No, not at all! Did the pictures turn out well?

[Hyunjin] Oh, you haven’t seen them?

[y/n] My manager usually shows them on the date of the release...

[Hyunjin] How about this, we meet up and I’ll show you the pictures beforehand. We’ll keep it a secret from your company.

M-meet up? This soon? A million thoughts passed through your mind in an instant, your mind zoning out while your eyes were glued on the well-lit screen that displayed the messages. You were curious about the photos but also about him. Wanting to know more about the blond boy and his abrupt ways you replied back, fingers shaking while moving over the keyboard.

[y/n] Sure, when and where?

You didn’t have any work to do anyways so why not solve the mystery called Hwang Hyunjin?

[Hyunjin] 2 PM, tomorrow

An adress was attached to the message which led to cafe you used to work at, not to far from your place. You placed your phone beside you and looked up at the white ceiling, sighing heavily. Maybe Felix was right, it’s strange to meet someone you’ve only met once, especially since he’s met countless of models just like you if not even better. The thoughts consumed too much of your energy and you ended up falling asleep on the couch, chest heaving peacefully.

♡

The sudden vibration of your phone woke you up, the sun shining through the window as you grabbed your phone, light straining your eyes.

[Felix] I’m 100% sure that you messaged that dude, right?

You laughed before typing through squinting eyes, laying down on your back.

[y/n] What if I did?

[Felix] You’re insane

[y/n] That’s my charm, Lixie~

Putting the phone away you slowly sat up, looking around the sunlit living room as if you’d never seen it before. Rubbing your weary eyes, you yawned before thinking ‘breakfast!’

Without even taking one step to the kitchen your phone vibrated once again. You lifted your eyebrow at the signal but ignored it for the time being, thinking that’s it’s Felix pestering you about your desicion to talk to Hyunjin. After you made a bowl of porridge and quickly washed up in the bathroom you grabbed the phone, wanting to scroll through your socials but what you saw on your home screen made the spoon of porridge that was on it’s way towards your mouth stop.

[Hyunjin] Slept well?

You’ve met him once and he’s already asking such a question? But something made you believe that this isn’t how he normally is. He’s hiding a type of shyness underneath those bold messages and actions. This Hyunjin isn’t the one that you’ve been described, this is a different Hyunjin.

Your mind was blank. What do you even reply to that? In search for answers you texted Felix, knowing he wouldn’t give you a good answer but at least some emotional support.

[y/n] Lixie, what does one reply to the question “Slept well?”

[Felix] You don’t, you pack up your things and you leave.

[y/n] You dickhead

[Felix] That’s my charm y/n~

If you could punch someone through the screen you would punch Felix. Returning back to the message that Hyunjin sent you, you quickly typed something down and sent it.

[y/n] Yeah, fine! Everything well with you?

[Hyunjin] Yes, it’s fine. See you later then, y/n

The porridge infront of you had cooled down, now being a sloppy mess of oats with a spoon slowly sinking into the substance. You stared at the message before your gaze returned to the breakfast bowl. This wasn’t going to be an easy day.

♡

The clock ticked as your stomach was filling up with butterflies, one by one.

“This is a casual meeting not a date, y/n” you mumbled as you tapped your foot, standing infront of the multiple racks of clothing in your slightly stuffy walk-in closet. You rarely wore even half of the clothes. Most of the pieces were sent by companies or given to you after photoshoots, this being both a blessing and a curse.

Your hand gravitated towards a white blouse with puffy sleeves because it reminded you of him. You shook your head wanting to get the thought out of your head. You hated that you cared so much about him but at the same time you knew why. Because he ignited a feeling of longing. A feeling called love.

Snatching the blouse from it’s hanger you digged through your drawers and fished up a pair of beige colored wide pants. You glanced at the brown watch on your wrist as you stepped into the pants, pulling off your pyjama top in one swift motion before putting on the flowy blouse. You looked in the mirror, combing through your hair with your fingers and reaching for a pair of pearl earrings that rested in a small tray infront of the mirror. Turning around, you observed the shelf that displayed the dozens of shoes in your possession, all while tilting your head and putting on the small pearls. Varnished heels would be good, right? Stretching out your arm to grab the heels, your gaze feel on your watch. As usual, you were going to be late and you hoped with every bit of your mind that Hyunjin wouldn’t find you rude. With the heels on you grabbed your purse, throwing in your keys that were decorated with keychains off all shapes and sizes as you staggered out the door.

The breeze hit your face as you made your way down the street, the heels clicked against the broad stone sidewalk making both women and men turn their heads. Lucky for you, Hyunjin chose the cafe where you happened to know somebody working at.

That somebody being your friend Seungmin.

You see, when you were just starting your career money was an issue. Your family wasn’t well off and when you set out to find your calling in the big city without a stable job your family was worried to say the least. You moved into a small apartment that more looked like a mouse burrow than an apartment. Holding a bag of trash you went down to the lobby of the apartment complex, the trashcan reeking as you lifted the lid and quickly threw in the bag, bending your spine backwards with a disgusted look on your face. Walking back you accidentally knocked down a paper that was resting on a corkboard by just how fast you walked passed. The light yellow paper landed infront of your feet, halting your movements. You picked it up.

« Searching for barista assistent »

The pay wasn’t too bad and neither were the working hours and so you folded the paper and went back into the apartment, smiling as you thought that this was the moment when everything changed.

And it did. Seungmin became one of your first friends in the city, right after Felix came into your life. You have very fond memories of that cafe. Working late nights with Seungmin, drinking coffee to stay awake through the late hours.

“What’s your dream, y/n?” Seungmin asked on one of the first days, still not knowing who you were and what your goals in this big city was.

“I-i want to become a model” you muttered underneath your breath, scared that he was going to belittle you and crush your dreams into nothing but fine powder.

“I believe in you, y/n” he said in a low voice, wiping the counter, not making eye contact as you stood on the other side.

Silence overtook the empty cafe, the low humming of cars on the road being the only noise that was heard before you cleared your throat, looking down at your shoes and leaning against the counter.

“Thank you Seungmin, that means a lot” you said before the silence took over again.

You swore you could’ve cried right then and there. Hearing those words when being in such a vulnerable situation really did mean a lot to you. His words stuck with you and in every interview where the interviewer asked about what you want to tell to aspiring models you always said those words. “I believe in you.”

The neon pink open sign in the window was brightly lit, the silhouette of people sipping on their lattes and chatting could be seen from the outside of the reminiscent building that was covered in hops. You stepped in, your heels making a loud clicking noise on the dark walnut colored wood flooring.

“How can I hel- y/n!!” Seungmin looked up at you, standing infront of the espresso machine as steam was billowing out. The other co-workers gave you a glance before returning to their tasks.

“y/n! I haven’t seen you in so long, how are you?” he asked, you had contact on the phone but didn’t meet each other too much due to different schedules.

“Minnie! I’ve missed you!” you squealed out as he walked through the low wooden gate that seperated the working area from the rest of the cafe. Seungmin pulled you into a hug, warmness emitting onto you as your bodies touched.

“I’ve been good!” you continue, smiling as you pulled away from the hug seeing Seungmins waist defined by the strings of the apron wrapping around him, a kitchen towel hanging from his shoulder.

“But I have to tell you something, Seungmin” you say quietly making the dark haired boy tilt his head in question.

“I’m meeting Hwang Hyunjin here in about 5″ you say with a smirk, knowing Seungmin would be jealous.

“Wait,,, the Hwang Hyunjin?!” he said a bit too loudly, alerting the customers before he turned to them with a embarrassed smile, bowing his head in an apology. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“He was the one that suggested it, I couldn’t help it” you answered to which Seungmin’s eyes widened.

“H-he knows about this place?” He was stunned as he looked into your warm eyes.

“Yeah? Such a coincidence right? I was sur-” Your sentence was cut short as Seungmin’s breath hitched and a cold breeze hit your back. You turned back and there he was.

Hyunjin.

His presence shined in the relativly small rustic cafe. A white t-shirt and black slacks decorated his well toned body, a long leather coat draping over his shoulders as his black boots shined perfectly. Multiple silver chains hanged around his neck and the rings from last time were boldly placed on his lanky fingers. The blonde boy is tightly gripping what looks to be brown leather computer clutch.

He waved awkwardly and you smiled sweetly his way, playfully hitting Seungmin whose mouth was wide open, looking at the dashing boy. Hyunjin walked over to you, the other guests staring and some of them already picking up their phones to capture this moment. He looked oddly stiff, mannerisms totally different from how you saw him last.

“Hi Hyunjin! uhm,,, this is my friend Seungmin, he works here.” you said, trying to initiate a conversation but only earning a wide eyed expression from Seungmin before Hyunjin spoke.

“Nice to meet you!” he smiled, his eyes forming into half-moons.

Seungmin snapped back to reality before bowing slightly, his eyes twinkling and his ruffled hair landing infront of his deep brown eyes.

“It’s an honor to meet you, mr Hwang”

Hyunjin chuckles slightly at his cute gesture.

“Your cafe seemed charming” was the only thing he could response before looking at you and blushing.

“2 americanos, Minnie” you said, momentarily glancing at Hyunjin before staring down at your heels.

“It’s on me” Seungmin leaned in to whisper in your ear to which you giggled and looked at Hyunjin’s confused expression. You pointed at a table in the corner of the cafe with your chin, signaling to sit down.

As you walked over to the cedar table you couldn’t help but to wonder about his duality. He seemed so comfortale last time, talking to you with no problem and being as bold as to leave his number but now he seemed like a young school boy that wanted to ask his crush out. You started to understand what Felix meant by “people like him”.

You sat down on one of the wooden chairs with steel details, the only thing seperating you from Hyunjin being the light ash table. He pulls out his computer, clicking away as you observe his perfect features. His concentrated eyes were fierce but had a soft gaze, his plush pink lips being soft, perfect for kissing you thought as your eyes drifted to his adams apple that bobbed everytime he swallowed.

Before Hyunjin could show you his screen Seungmin came over, shyly placing the drinks on the table and striking his sweet smile your way to which you laughed inaudibly until he went back behind the counter, observing the action from afar.

Hyunjin cleared his throath nervously as he turned his computer to show you the colorful photos, looking at your judging gaze in reassurance as he sipped on his americano.

You were amazed. The photoshoot seemed simple when you modelled but no one could have ever guessed that by just looking at the photo. It had a touch of charisma. The angles, the lighting and the editing made this originally plain photo look dimentional while still having a youthful touch with the pastels.

“W-what do you think?” He said, looking at the screen as his ring finger flicked through the pictures, pressing on the right arrow key on the keyboard.

“It’s amazing, no wonder you’re so famous” you said while grabbing your americano without lifting your gaze from the enticing photos. Heat rose to Hyunjin’s cheeks upon hearing your words. Sure, he’d heard it before but not from you. Not in that cute, geniune voice that ringed through his ears like music.

“Thank you y/n” he said, his gaze drifting over to you. He was stunned from how beautiful you looked in the cozy ambiance of the cafe. A wall plant descended down behind you as your eyes twinkled when you caught eye contact with the blond boy. Everything he wanted to do right now was to capture your beauty, make this moment last forever.

“Earth to Hyunjin” you said, giggling as his gaze froze on you, feeling your heated cheeks get even hotter.

“Uhm,,, s-sorry, wanna get some sneak peaks from other photoshoots?”

You nodded excitingly, feeling special but also questioning why he treated you so specially. He was shy, theres no doubt about that but it almost seems like he trusts you. You move your chair closer to him, wanting to see the screen properly before you notice Hyunjin shifting awkwardly in his seat, not used to being this close to you.

“H-here are some I took last week, another one of mr Styliz many projects” he smiled timidly before taking another sip of his beverage.

Once again you were amazed by his talent but what caught your attention even more was how undressed the female model was, her curvy body being covered by nothing more than a short glittery dress with a plunging neckline, displaying her cleavage. In her hands there was a delicate red bottle, decorated with art deco lines.

“What was the concept?” you asked, curious of this sensual vibe that emitted from this photo.

“Something along the lines of elegancy. It’s for Aurora Perfumes”

He namedropped the famous brand in the most colloquial fashion, seemingly an everyday occurence for him.

“Y-you worked for Aurora? That’s,,, wow” you were speechless as Hyunjin quietly giggled at your reacting, waveing his hand in the air in disagreement.

“I don’t like to b-brag about my career so hopefully I don’t come across that way” he said, almost worryingly.

“No! Not all, it’s really impressive, your entire career is.”

Your sweet voice made his heart flutter, never before had he heard compliments sound this pleasant.

“Why did you become a photographer?” you asked, your curiosity bubbling over as he looked at you with his penetrating brown eyes. The mood suddenly got cold. Hyunjin took a deep breath, exhaling loudly from his nose as you sipped on your coffee.

“I’m an only child and therefore I spent a lot of time with my grandparents when I was younger.”

You knew this was going to be a sad story, you bit the inside of your cheek, regretting asking that question as you thought that it might be too personal but judging from how Hyunjin’s words spilled from his mouth you believed that he felt comfort telling you.

“They had photoalbums stacked up in their attic which I flipped through for hours, observing their youth and innocence and seeing how time fled by. When I got my first camera I was overjoyed, taking pictures of everything around me and putting them up on my wall, acting as if my room was an art gallery.”

He smiled when talking, his voice turning mellow as he reminisced.

“But when my grandparents passed away,,, I noticed that I didn’t have any photos of them nor of my friends or family which made me feel disappointed. I had spent so much of my time trying to capture beauty when beauty was infront me.”

Shivers ran down your spine as his sugared voice ran through the words. Hyunjin looked nervously down on the table and you did the same, not knowing what to say or how to comfort the blond boy.

“I-I’m sorry for your loss”

That was the only sentence you could muster to say but Hyunjin glanced at you, his dimples appearing as he smiled.

“Why are you sorry? No one usually asks me that question so it feels nice to get it off my chest.”

You nodded shyly as silence erupted in between the two of you.

“It really was a pleasure working with you y/n, I would like to have you modell for me again” he blurts out, trying to put an end to the painful silence.

“Y-you what? B-but my manager hasn’t told me anything ab-”

“No, just the two of us.”

You went quiet, not believing your ears. A photoshoot, the two of you? Isn’t that practically a confession? Your dazed mind seemed to wander off to places far off, imagining the tension that would be looming over the both of you. Felix sure as hell wasn’t going to like this but you didn’t care. Hyunjin seemed comfortable with you, talking as if he’d known you for years and now he was asking you to modell for him? Saying no to this opportunity would be a crime.

“S-sure, when were you thinking?”

“You free tomorrow?” Hyunjin says, leaning back in his chair and spreading his legs comfortably, looking up at you through a curtain of blonde.

“Yeah,,, sounds great!”

A smile crept up on your face as heat rose to your cheeks, feeling everything and nothing all at once. In this moment you didn’t care about the shutter coming from the guests phone cameras. You just cared about him.

The next half an hour went by in a blur. In that short time you probably covered half of the conversational topics on this earth. Hyunjin laughed as you told him about your childhood.

“That’s so cute y/n”

“Well it wasn’t cute in the moment but now I can laugh at it” you laughed with him, stroking a piece of your hair behind your ear.

“I think you’re cute y/n”

“Of course I was cute when I was little” you roll your eyes at him, tears prickling in your eyes from laughter but when you glanced at Hyunjin he wasn’t laughing, he was simply observing you.

“I think you’re cute now”

You froze. All these things he’s saying made your heart beat faster than ever, a nervosity that couldn’t be described with words.

“You too” you exclaimed without thinking to which Hyunjin glanced at you with a grin. He coughed before streching his arms.

“Time to head home?” He said, packing up his computer.

“Yeah, I have something to do” you said looking at your watch, knowing very well that you had absolutely nothing to do for the rest of the day except for anxiously thinking out every potential scenario that could occur tomorrow.

“Meet me at my studio tomorrow at 5 pm”

You nodded carefully, knowing exactly where his famous studio was.

“Don’t tell Bangchan I showed you the photos” he laughed mischievously, looking a bit like a ferret.

“Alright, alright I won’t even though I really want to tell him how good of a photographer you are” you said cheekily as you stood up. The both of you headed towards the wooden door with glass panes, flashing a wink towards Seungmin that had his eyebrows heightened, amazed from how the little cafe lit up with two attractive people walking side by side.

Outside the sun beamed, the bustling of the city and high skyscrapers stimulating your senses.

“Guess I’ll see you tomorrow Hyunjin”

You scratch the back of your neck nervously as you speak before remembering something.

“Oh! Do you have a concept in mind?”

“Wear whatever, I’ll think of a way around it” he said.

“Mhm! See you tomorrow!”

“Text me when you’re home, ok?”

That sentence made your heart flutter and before you could embarrass yourself by saying anything stupid he waved, his rings shining in the sunlight. Turning around, you promptly started walking back home.

Your heart thumping, your thoughs scattered, your mind dazed.

𝕋𝕒𝕘𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥

@vogueinnie @that-anxious-bisexual @putmetogetheragain13 @hyunsluvv @lawleighette @meow-minho @minaamhh @ohmysparkle @hwangi @rindomo @fleeingreality @nycol-ie @jisungsplatforms @p0t4t0don14ll

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angryschnauzer · 5 years ago

Text

Superior Specimen - Chapter 1

Summary: One night when you are following the Archaeology tag on instagram you stumbled across a fun looking dig... and an even more interesting Paleontologist who soon follows you back. Over the following weeks you start chatting and a friendship soon grows.

Relationship: AU Henry Cavill x Female Reader (No race or body shape mentioned)

Warnings: Slow Burn, NSFW, 18+, Mutual Masturbation, Phone Sex

I do not operate a tag list, but please follow @angryschnauzerwrites and put that blog onto notifications, as you will then be notified whenever i post something new.

I don’t have a masterlist, but all my works are on AO3, link here. Usually i post oneshots to Tumblr and AO3, and multichapters exclusively to AO3, but as this is my first henry story and its going to be a short series, i’ll post to both places.

Superior Specimen – Chapter 1

It had all started innocently; you’d been cruising the paleontology and archaeology tags on Instagram, checking out the progress of the summer digs you were unable to go on, one in particular catching your interest. The dig in the Siberian summer desert was posting some fascinating photos and clips, and you were following them avidly from that point on.

A week later when you got the job at the Natural History Museum and you proudly posted a selfie in your uniform, you saw some familiar accounts like and comment, one in particular leaving a chain of hearts, and when you clicked on the profile you saw it was one of the palaeontologists from the Siberian dig. Hitting that ‘follow back’ button you didn’t think much more about the account.

It was your first day and you couldn’t have been prouder of your own achievements. You knew that jobs within the archaeology and palaeontology fields were few and far between, and unless you were blessed with some very rich parents or managed to snag some sort of sponsor or bursary, actually following the dream and getting in at the upper levels was almost impossible. You’d worked your socks off, volunteering on domestic digs during breaks from university, taking jobs after your degree to advance your language skills, and now it had paid off; the front desk at the most renowned museum in the country, perhaps even the world. Now as you stood beneath the skeleton of the Blue Whale in the giant atrium of the gothic building, you adjusted your name badge, polishing the three flags that were adorned on the bottom of the badge to show the languages you spoke, and watched as the security guard unlocked the doors for the days visitors to excitedly rush in.

The following weeks rushed by, you thoroughly enjoyed your role and settled into it quickly. You were called upon to help translate for confused visitors from overseas, held a level head when people got out of hand, had met all the staff - it surprised you how small of a number of staff there actually were - and above all you felt completely settled.

At the end of a long day you finished up your shift and clocked off, grabbing your bag from the staffroom lockers before stepping out into the warm summer evening. Checking your notifications you saw a DM, and smiled when you saw who it was from; the guy from the Siberian dig that over the last few weeks you had started chatting to casually.

@Kinghenry; “Looking beautiful as always. How was work?”

You smiled where you could see he’d replied to an on-the-way-to-work selfie you’d posted that morning;

“Good. Tiring. And thank you <3”

You saw the little notification that your message had been seen, and paused as you saw that he was writing, meaning he was online right at that moment;

“What are your plans for the rest of the night?”

“A scented bath, then I’m ordering takeout and bingeing Netflix”

“So, no-one to take you to dinner?”

You smiled at his sly way of asking if you’re single;

“Nope. Why; are you asking?”

“Absolutely. Plus, I brought you a gift back from the dig”

“Oh yes? What’s that, a bunch of bones?”

“Just one. A big one. Wanna see?”

You laugh-groaned at his innuendo, before another message came through with the icon that the user had attached a photo. Your thumb hovered over the icon, hesitating. Had this casual flirting advanced to dick pics? And more to the point; did you actually want to see what he was packing? Hell, you’d seen the crew shots of the dig and had seen him tagged, the guy was built like Hercules. Taking a deep breath you looked up and noticed you were almost at the entrance to the tube station. If you didn’t tap it now you wouldn’t have enough signal in the underground train tunnels to download it, and you knew he would have had the notification that you’d gotten the message. You tapped on the photo… and waited…

The laugh you let out once the photo loaded bubbled from your throat; there he was, stood in the Siberian desert, chest bare, and holding what must have been a femur from an enormous bi-ped as it was well over 4ft long. You knew that fossils were incredibly heavy, so for him to be holding one of that size you felt a tingle in your stomach at the thought of how strong he was. Screenshotting it your phone buzzed where he sent another message;

“So, what do you think? *wink*”

“That’s an impressive bone”

“Heavy too”

You felt a bead of sweat slowly make its way down your back, the heat of the summer evening still intense in the city, and you knew if you stood outside the tube station much longer you’d melt;

“I’ve got to get on the tube, talk later xxx”

Later was quite a few hours later, and as you sank into the scented bath, you’d indulged yourself with oils, petals, candles; the whole nine yards. The obligatory candle-lit shot of your legs peeking out of the water headed to your grid, before you settled back and relaxed.

Your phone propped up in the wooden bath shelf playing your music, and a glass of wine half-drunk as you let the feeling of the waters soothe you. After a couple of songs you heard the chime of a notification, peering out of one eye to see that he’d sent you a message. Wiping your hands on a towel you opened it and smiled;

“Sorry if the tease was too much earlier”

“Not at all. I opened it, didn’t I? *wink*”

“That you did… you curious little thing. How’s the bath?”

“Warm, wet, and relaxing”

You knew you were being a tease, but you’d had a glass of wine before you’d even gotten into the bath so you were a little emboldened by the alcohol. Your phone chimed and you saw another photo notification, tapping on it and letting out a ‘ouff’. He was standing in front of a full length mirror, wearing just a pair of running shorts that clung to his sweat drenched body and left absolutely nothing to the imagination, the clear outline of a heavy cock resting against his thigh to the point you were surprised it didn’t peek out from the leg hole.

“I could do with something warm wet and relaxing right now… got all worked up at the gym”

Your jaw literally dropped; you couldn’t tear your eyes away from the screen as your entire body shuddered with lust. Turning onto your side you flipped the camera to selfie mode, and snapped a shot of your body; doe eyes, the swell of your breasts glistening in the candlelight, down to the curve of your hip as it emerged from the cloudy blue and green water. Not a single thing was showing - nipples and pussy just hidden by the water - but it was obvious you were completely naked. You hit send and settled back into a more comfortable position, watching the screen as it changed from sent to seen then the little notification to tell you he was typing;

“Look at what you’ve done to me”

The photo that loaded was taken from chest height, and he caught his stomach and Adonis belt, and his shorts were obscenely tented. He was typing again, and much to your surprise it was a phone number;

“Here’s mine, or you can show me yours… number that is…”

Taking a deep breath you hit the number and raised the phone to your ear, hearing it ring before a deep voice answered;

“Henry?”

“Yes, is that you Princess?”

“It’s me” you found your free hand had slid down your body to the juncture of your thighs, just his voice was turning you on.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m touching myself… your voice… fuck…”

“So, if my voice is turning you on so much you must touch yourself, taking you out for dinner will be an interesting experience. Will I need to slide my hand under the table and pet that little pussy of yours?”

“I guess I’ll have to skip wearing underwear then…”

The groan that you heard down the line sent sparks to your clit as you rubbed figure eights over the sensitive nub, and you longed to hear it in person, whispered against your ear, his hot breath fanning your skin.

From that point the conversation entered the gutter, Henry had the dirtiest mind and the deepest voice, his words wrapped around your brain like it was enrobed in salted caramel, and when you came you called out his name so loud your neighbours probably heard. As you came down from your orgasmic high you heard a quiet chuckle;

“Feel better now Princess?”

“Hmmm yes, thank you”

“I need a shower now… somehow I’m even more worked up than before the gym… Hmmn I wonder why?” he mused down the line

“Shame I can’t lend a hand to help out” you countered, and the sharp inhale of breath told you he’d liked what you’d said.

“That can be arranged… anyway, I have an issue I now need to take care of, and as you’re not here I need to take the matter into my own hands”

“Both hands?” you asked coyly

“Jesus woman… you’re gonna be the death of me, I’m so fucking hard I could burst right now”

“Well I’ll let you go, but I’ll say what I said before, shame I can’t lend a hand. Speak soon Henry”

“Absolutely, take care Princess”

Chapter 2 >>>

#henry cavill #henry cavill x reader #henry cavill smut #henry cavill x you #henry cavill x female reader

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robininthelabyrinth · 4 years ago

Note

noncon-anon🔪🔪🔪...2!: Regardless of how much jealousy he holds toward his half brother, Meng Yao never expected or wanted to have Jin Zixuan on his knees before him. Certainly not like this, at least (his half-brother wrapped in chains, in the middle of the Sun Palace’s main hall, with Wen Ruohan and who knows how many other people watching) but he hadn’t been expecting Jin Zixuan to get captured either, and if this is what he has to do to remain in the Chief Cultivator’s favor, then so be it; may the gods forgive him for this violation of his kin (...and maybe if he puts on a good enough show, Wen Ruohan will let him keep his half-brother alive).

ao3

warning for adult content (full warnings on ao3)

Meng Yao had spent years not thinking of Jin Zixuan as anything other than an obstacle in the way of his ultimate goal – his father’s recognition, himself as the heir and eventual master of Lanling Jin – and he bitterly resented Wen Ruohan for trashing all that effort.

It was impossible to keep the image of Jin Zixuan that he’d had in his mind before: the spoiled, arrogant princeling in the same make as Wen Chao, less a human being than a statute of gilded gold, all fancy clothing and flawless appearance.

There was nothing of that now.

There was nothing arrogant about the frightened young man on his knees in front of him, chains carved with suppression arrays wrapped around his body – they’d been designed for a much stronger cultivator than he, Wen Ruohan’s mind lingering too often on his chief-most enemy in the war, Nie Mingjue, and Jin Zixuan was as helpless beneath them as a lamb, shivering in blind terror at being taken away from all he knew dear. His retainers had all been taken off to the Fire Palace or killed where they knelt, their corpses dragged off leaving smears of blood on the ground, and only he remained.

Meng Yao’s envy.

His brother.

His mother had always wanted to give him a brother, he abruptly recalled, and hated Wen Ruohan all the more for making him remember it. Her womb had closed after him, such that she couldn’t try for another even if she’d wanted to, but she’d day-dreamed about him making friends with the legitimate sons her sect leader – that was how she always called him, her sect leader – would undoubtedly have, pointlessly giving him advice on how to make friends with them, impress them, make them like him.

Not – this.

Never anything like this.

“Look at the gift I got for you, Meng Yao,” Wen Ruohan said, smiling. “A twin from another womb, born on the same day as you, but unlike you planted in the legitimate belly and so hoarded like a treasure – I would wager that you wish you could peeling his skin off and wrap yourself in it, wear it back to Lanling Jin.”

Meng Yao smiled. “Sect Leader Wen does me too much honor. This lowly one does not deserve such a gift.”

We may be born on the same day, but I’m three years older than him, and my mother isn’t a disgusting vicious old hag like Madame Jin. How dare you compared them.

“And yet I have chosen to give it,” Wen Ruohan said, brooking no disagreement as always. “You do such fine work in my Fire Palace, Meng Yao, with strangers who have never looked at you twice – I cannot wait to see what marvels you will accomplish with a target that you actually abhor. Which of your fine instruments will we try on him first? Should we break his spirit by removing his sword hand, or cut off Jin Guangshan’s hopes along with his balls?”

He laughed, endlessly amused by himself.

Meng Yao smiled along – mother wanted me to be his friend – and mentally ran through his options as fast as he could. He couldn’t risk angering Wen Ruohan, not when the other man held the entirety of the Nightless City in the palm of his hand, not when the only thing keeping Meng Yao himself out of the Fire Palace and strung up on his own instruments of torture was the quality of his service.

“I will of course not disappoint the Sect Leader,” he says smoothly, and pretended to ignore the way Jin Zixuan flinched, with his face so similar to his own, to the face his mother had loved so foolishly. “Only…”

“Only?”

Meng Yao ducked his head bashfully. “Sect Leader is too generous to me, it makes me go beyond myself; I start to think of things I should not. When I was young…ah, but it does not matter.”

“Don’t equivocate,” Wen Ruohan ordered, but his attention was caught, as Meng Yao had intended. “What were you going to say?”

“It’s only that when I was young, my mother would tell me stores of Lanling Jin,” Meng Yao said, and hated, hated, hated Wen Ruohan for making him have to share such things. “Her hope was that my father would accept me as his recognized son, but failing that, she had always assumed he would take me at least as – as a servant for the one he already had.”

He didn’t need more than that: Wen Ruohan got it right away. “And so once you were rejected you dreamed of the opposite, is that it?”

“It would satisfy this lowly one’s most fervent dream, Sect Leader.”

Wen Ruohan smiled, but it was not a pleasant smile – it was full of hidden dangers. “Ah, Meng Yao, you dare to dream so high! There’s only one problem with your suggestion that I see. This well-born child, this treasure of Lanling, what possible servant could he make? His hands are so clean and soft, he would not be able to do manual labor nor even sweep your floor. What possible use could you make of him?”

The answer came to Meng Yao at once, and he hated himself this time even as he responded with a pleasant smile: “Well, Sect Leader, in the absence of any other use, I could always have him serve me in bed.”

Wen Ruohan burst out laughing, caught by surprise.

He loved the idea, of course, as Meng Yao knew he would. Wen Ruohan was a man with esoteric tastes; he enjoyed torturing and humiliating his enemies, and the prouder the man the more he longed to ruin them. Even within the time Meng Yao had worked in his Fire Palace, he had seen Wen Ruohan offer a brother his family’s freedom if only he would forcefully take his sister’s purity, which the unfortunate man had done, weeping piteously all the while.

Yes, Wen Ruohan loved the idea, and because of that, Meng Yao had a chance of saving Jin Zixuan’s miserable life that he’d only need to later end, if he was to truly achieve all of his desires.

He would, too. He wouldn’t hesitate to end Jin Zixuan’s life if it served his ends.

Just not - like this.

My mother wanted us to be friends.

“Very well,” Wen Ruohan said, waving his hand. “You may have him as your bedwarmer.” Meng Yao had not even begun to salute in thanks when he added, “But before you accept such a gift, you should try it out.”

Meng Yao was not so foolish as to let his smile freeze. “Here, Sect Leader?”

“Why not here? It may as well be witnessed.”

Like a marriage, he meant, and Meng Yao hated him.

“Of course, Sect Leader,” Meng Yao said, and this time he completed the salute, bowing deeply, and made his way over to his hapless younger brother who was shaking like a leaf, just as unable to flee.

Meng Yao knelt before him and began to open his clothing, taking a moment to lean forward and hiss in his ear, “Keep your mouth shut. Play along and you will live; resist and you will die.”

It was neither threat nor reassurance but merely fact, but Jin Zixuan clearly needed the words – needed to think that there was someone here on his side, however illusionary the sensation was.

Whatever he was thinking, it worked.

Jin Zixuan stopped trying to fight and submitted as best as he could, even if he couldn’t help but flinch any time a new piece of flesh was exposed.

He was quivering like a quail, and Meng Yao sighed and reached for his half-brother’s cock, making him squeak in an undignified fashion as he started stroking it.

“Is that entirely necessary?” Wen Ruohan asked, sounding bored.

“I intend to get plenty of use out of him, Sect Leader,” Meng Yao replied, his tone equally bored as if this were merely a chore even as Jin Zixuan’s cock unwillingly started swelling up beneath his palm. “If I tear him up the first time I bed him, I’d have to stitch him up and wait for him to heal before I can take him again, lest I want to risk his death. And there’s only one legitimate heir, isn’t there?”

Wen Ruohan chuckled. “I suppose so.”

“Besides,” Meng Yao continued, because he knew he had to keep Wen Ruohan’s interest. “There’s some fun in this as well: look how responsive he is, getting hard for me already. He’s tied up in chains and bared for half the world to see, and all he cares about is his dick.”

“Reasonable, for a son of a pleasure-lover like Jin Guangshan,” Wen Ruohan agreed, and he sounded much less bored now. “Your shared father.”

“Our shared father,” Meng Yao agreed, and reached down with his free hand to open his own robes, pulling out his own cock. “Would you like to see how similar we are?”

He lined himself up next to Jin Zixuan – they really were similar, in both look and size, and Wen Ruohan laughed as Meng Yao shifted over to pleasuring them both at the same time. Jin Zixuan had his lips pressed tightly together, but he couldn’t help the little whimpers and mewls that broke free now and again, nor the way his hips bucked up under Meng Yao’s skillful work. He wasn’t the first man Meng Yao had pleasured like this, and, if anything, he seemed almost unexpectedly inexperienced.

Meng Yao would have assumed that Jin Zixuan, as Jin Guangshan’s son, would have had his fill of brothels by this age, have fucked every hole in every way that whores offered for sale and then some, but perhaps his jealous bitch of a mother wouldn’t let him.

Certainly it didn’t take very long before he was coming helplessly in Meng Yao’s hands.

“Did you like that, brother?” Meng Yao asked him, and Jin Zixuan looked at him in betrayal. “You came so quickly – you liked having your brother’s hands on you, didn’t you? The same blood as yours. They say mine is less pure on account of your mother being born in a palace and mine in a brothel, but in the end it seems that you’re the one that turned out the whore.”

Jin Zixuan’s face was red and flushed, but he didn’t say a word, didn’t resist as Meng Yao pushed him down and spread his legs, merely grunted when Meng Yao slid fingers slicked up with his own come into him one a time.

“You’re tight here, which is to be expected,” Meng Yao continued, aware of their audience – the one on the throne being the only one that mattered, although there were plenty of guards watching avidly as well. “I doubt anyone’s ever made use of you before, unless our shared father has even more interesting tastes than I thought…”

Jin Zixuan flushed even redder and shook his head furiously.

“No? Then let your older brother be the first.” Jin Zixuan’s body was involuntarily relaxed after his orgasm, and Meng Yao was in a hurry, knowing that he couldn’t draw this out too long lest Wen Ruohan grow bored – he stretched him roughly, making as much space as best as he could, then put his cock at his entrance. Before he did anything more, he reached over and grabbed Jin Zixuan by the hair, forcing him to bend forward so that he could see Meng Yao’s cock about to breach him. “At the brothel, they say a woman always remembers her first man. They say it’s because her body shapes itself to him, molding the inside to accommodate him, never to be the way it was before – making her the perfect fit for his cock and no one else’s, no matter how many others she might one day take. I’ve heard the same is true for men. What do you think, little brother? Are you ready to take me into you? Are you ready to watch as I turn you into something fit only for me?”

Jin Zixuan couldn’t tear his tear-filled eyes away.

Meng Yao pushed in, and Jin Zixuan whined, high and loud, pathetic. It didn’t stop Meng Yao at all, pushing in inexorably – Jin Zixuan was hot and tight, about what he’d thought he’d be, same as anyone else. There wasn’t any magic to incest, no matter how much it got Wen Ruohan off.

(It got Meng Yao off, too. But he’d be a very poor whore’s son indeed if he didn’t know how to separate business and pleasure - and this was a performance. Would he say such ridiculous words, words that no one would believe if their dicks weren’t hard, otherwise?)

“Fuck, you’re tight,” he said, because he knew Wen Ruohan liked to hear it, and maybe also because he liked the way it made Jin Zixuan have to turn his face away in shame. “You really were a virgin, weren’t you? Look at you, giving yourself to me like a bride on her wedding night, taking me all inside of you. What a good little bedwarmer you’re going to be.”

He settled in all the way, hips pressed against warm flesh, and enjoyed the sensation of Jin Zixuan futilely clenching around him in an attempt to get him out.

“I’ll teach you all the tricks to please me,” he said, starting to rock back and forth, moving in and out. “Every morning you’ll present yourself to me to use; every evening too, and if I get bored during the middle of the day I’ll use your mouth. Once I’ve gotten you properly broken in, I’ll rent you out to anyone who asks – I bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Make you the good little whore and me the master, make you earn on your back that gold you’ve always worn as if you deserved it.”

He was thrusting in earnest now, Jin Zixuan’s legs around his waist, and to his amusement it looked like Jin Zixuan was getting hard again. It wasn’t really a surprise, a natural reaction to the strange and confusing sensations he was enduring, none of which said anything as to whether or not he was enjoying himself at all, but Meng Yao dropped his hand onto Jin Zixuan’s cock yet again.

“See, you’re halfway to a whore already,” he mocked. “Getting hard on big brother’s cock like a good boy. Good and obedient – you’re going to come with my cock inside of you, and belong to me forever.”

Jin Zixuan was whimpering, tears streaming down his face, but it still didn’t take long for him to come.

Meng Yao finished shortly after.

He allowed himself a few moments to enjoy the sensation, and then pulled out, pulling Jin Zixuan’s leg up so that Wen Ruohan could see the come dripping out of his abused hole.

“Well done,” Wen Ruohan said, clapping. His eyes were avid. “Well done indeed. As always, Meng Yao, your craftsmanship is exquisite. You may keep him – although perhaps another show might be in order, soon enough.”

“Of course, Sect Leader,” Meng Yao said, and snapped his fingers for a guard to take Jin Zixuan to his room. Sad and miserable and pathetic, but still alive – just as he’d promised.

Naturally, the situation of keeping Jin Zixuan as his personal pet wasn’t tenable in the long run, and so it was only a few days later when Meng Yao kneeled in front of Wen Ruohan and said, “Sect Leader, I have an idea for something we can do with Jin Zixuan.”

“I’m listening,” Wen Ruohan said lazily. “What do you have in mind?”

“I have left him alone and isolated in my bedchamber these past few days, growing increasingly nervous and paranoid,” Meng Yao said. “I propose to allow him to ‘escape’ with some information to deliver to Sect Leader Lan, who will believe his peer well above he might believe some anonymous sender of notes. And he, in turn, will pass the information along to Sect Leader Nie…”

Wen Ruohan’s eyes lit up in immediate interest, as Meng Yao had expected. He was always keen to hear any word about Nie Mingjue.

“I believe this mechanism will allow us to lure Sect Leader Nie into a trap,” Meng Yao said. “And then…”

He let his eyes drift over to the chains that had so recently housed Jin Zixuan.

“Do as you suggest,” Wen Ruohan ordered at once. What did one little Jin Zixuan matter to him, next to the possibility of gaining a Nie Mingjue?

Meng Yao saluted and left. It was settled, then – Jin Zixuan would be let go and make his way back to the Great Sect’s side of the war, they would both put this unfortunate incident out of their heads, and life would carry on as if nothing had happened.

(Years later, when Jiang Yanli coaxed Jin Guangyao into a bedroom where Jin Zixuan waited, shivering in a completely different way, it finally occurred to him that he hadn’t told Jin Zixuan that that was the plan, and also perhaps that the other man lacked his own talent for compartmentalization – but in the end it all turned out all right anyway, even if it did mean he’d need to revamp his plans for conquering the Jin sect to find a way to keep his new pet alive in the long run.

Damn Wen Ruohan. It was all his fault!)

#mdzs #jin guangyao #meng yao #jin zixuan #my fic #my fics #gilded gold #proving all those people who said I was the chocolate box right I guess #Anonymous

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luverofralts · 3 years ago

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Arkhelios University

One of Ulyssa’s favourite parts of living in Twikkii Island was being so close to her godson, Theo. She and Maura were waiting for a while after their wedding to start having kids, so for now she enjoyed spending time with her godson as practice. It was nice to be able to hand him back to Roman after a tiring day at the park, and not have to worry about feeding or bathing or tucking in a feisty toddler.

Maura also enjoyed spending that time with her cousin Adrian, who she had never been that close to prior to him marrying her fiancee’s ex/friend. Being the heir to the throne often meant that she didn’t get to see much of her extended family, and when she did, it was often in a group setting. From what she knew of her cousin, Adrian did seem to honestly be excited to be married and expecting a child with someone as strange as Roman. If they were happy, then she was happy for them. She didn’t really see what exactly Adrian saw in Roman, as he was odd, usually in trouble, and came with a kid and an unhealthy attachment to his ex-boyfriend, but that was who he had chosen.

One of Roman’s favourite parts of leaving Arkhelios was the beach. The desert he grew up in was surrounded by deep, cold water that was too dangerous to swim in, but in Twikkii Island, the water was warm and clear and perfect for swimming. If Elaine and Lucy had been amazed at the difference a pool made in their lives, they would absolutely lose their minds swimming in the warm ocean waves. There were even local shipwrecks that people often scuba dived to. When he had a spare moment, Roman planned to take scuba lessons to dive out there himself. The ocean was amazing, and nothing in Arkhelios could match it for beauty.

When Roman had dried off from his swim, he and Ulyssa sat down to discuss their ongoing research into his dreams. Roman had nothing to report on his end, other than the dreams were still occurring regularly. Ulyssa had made a few inquiries for a dream specialist, or a demonic specialist, but there weren’t too many of those on their small series of islands. There were probably resources in Pleasantview or Strangetown where there were larger populations of demons and witches, but it would take time Ulyssa didn’t have to sort through their options. If things got worse, Ulyssa would make it a priority to assign one of her assistants to the task, but Roman had wanted to keep this search as private as possible.

“Are you still working on the Ginny problem?” she asked, pulling a seat across from Roman. He shook his head, and placed another card on the table.

“No, I’m just practicing,” he said. “I think I’m getting better at this, my readings are way more accurate than when I was a teen.” He looked around them for eavesdroppers, and leaned towards Ulyssa. “Last week, I was trying to read Adrian’s future as practice, and I saw two girls in his future. I predicted that we were having twin girls, and just last week, we went for the check up with the doctor and sure enough, it’s twins! They couldn’t get the gender from the scan, but it has to be twin girls. I’m actually finally doing this right.”

Ulyssa couldn’t tell if he was prouder to be having twins, or for successfully predicting them.

“Wow, that’s a lot to process,” she said, looking surprised. “Are you ready for twins? Twins and Theo on top of that? That’s more than I can imagine handling.”

Roman shrugged.

“We’re excited for them,” he answered. “I mean it’s not like I’m a teen dad begging Abe’s mom to let me stay with her family anymore. We have the money to hire extra help if it’s too much. I just have to come up with another girl’s name besides Romana.”

“I will punch you as hard as I can if you actually name one of them Romana, you narcissist,” she laughed. “I’m glad you two are excited though. You don’t always look excited when you and Adrian are together.”

Roman chose to ignore her comment, and laid down another card.

“Are you sure that you’re not pregnant?” he asked, pushing a card towards her. “I always see three girls when you’re around. It’s strange. I think the third one is yours.”

Ulyssa glared daggers at him.

“If you’re actually thinking that I’m having a daughter with you, we’re going to have to have a serious conversation about boundaries,” she said. “There is never going to be a repeat of our past relationship, just so you’re clear.”

Roman looked just as disgusted as Ulyssa at the thought of them sharing a child together.

“Ew, why would you even say that? I never said that it was our daughter, just that one shows up when you’re around. Maybe it’s your and Maura’s kid in the future, who knows. Forget I even mentioned it if you’re going to be like this.”

Fortunately, Roman had to start with dinner, so he gladly made his escape from the awkward conversation. Tonight they were having locally sourced lobster in honour of their important guests, and Roman had to get a start on it if they were going to eat anywhere near on time.

“How’s dinner going?” Adrian asked, appearing from the hall like he was waiting for his husband.

Roman rolled his eyes and continued chopping the food on the counter.

“What do you want?” he sighed. “You always loiter around here when you want something, so just ask and get it over with.”

“You told Ulyssa about the twins,” Adrian stated, obviously setting up his next question. Roman already knew from experience what was coming next.

“Yes, I told her about seeing a third child, and she claims it’s not hers,” he replied coldly. “They’re not pregnant, it was probably just an error I made. A misjudgement. I’m not as skilled as my grandmother, I’m going to make mistakes from time to time.”

“But you were right about the twins,” Adrian insisted. “How can you be wrong about a third child? It’s got to be just as easy as reading the twins.”

Roman stopped chopping and breathed a frustrated sigh, borne from having this same argument so many times.

“I’m not pregnant,” he hissed quietly. “I told you I’m not. I even took that test you forced me to buy to make absolutely sure. I’m doing my absolute best to remove Abe out of my life, you know that. We’re looking for help about the matter, and I’m staying away from him. This completely imagined third child you’re so hung up on isn’t Abe’s and it isn’t mine. I’m not having Abe’s baby, so you can just-”

Ulyssa chased after a giggling Theo in the hall, and Roman dropped what he’d been about to say, and resumed chopping, a little more aggressively this time.

“You just go back there all the time,” Adrian continued, pressing the issue once again. “You see him all the time-”

“To drop Theo off.”

“You were gone just last week again,” Adrian insisted.

“You know that Wanda is forcing me to help with her holiday party. I had to discuss that with her. Would you like me to give you signed transcriptions of all of my conversations in Arkhelios?” Roman threw the lobster dish into the stove and slammed it shut.

“Don’t make me sound like that, I’m not imagining how you act around Abe. I see how you two look at each other, and how you wake up every single night screaming his name.”

Roman glared at his husband and crossed his arms.

“You don’t really give me any reasons lately to be shouting yours. Maybe in the future I should sleep in the guest room until Ulyssa and I sort this out,” he stated icily. “Then Abe and I can just abscond together privately in our dreams.”

“Maybe you should start sleeping there,” Adrian agreed. “It’s a bit too crowded in our bed with all three of us.”

Black smoke began billowing from the oven and Roman swore.

“You’ve ruined dinner with your insane jealousy,” Roman spat, trying to salvage what he could of the meal. “We invite the future queen to dinner and because you keep piecing together absurd conspiracies, and forcing me to refute them, everything is burnt. She’s not really going to want to push through a restaurant license for the guy who can’t even cook a lobster.”

“Dinner looks great,” Ulyssa said politely.

The lobster was barely edible, and they all knew it. It sat on their plates looking charred enough to have escaped a house fire, but the women diplomatically smiled.

“It’s ruined, I’m so sorry,” Roman apologized, resentment heavy in his voice. “Adrian felt the need to watch over my shoulder the entire time just to make sure that I wasn’t hiding Abe in a cupboard.”

“We can just order something if you want,” Ulyssa suggested, hoping to break the tension at the table even a little. “Or some of this lobster might still be good. Maura? We could order something pretty quick. Do you feel like anything in particular?”

Maura shook her head, amazed at the drama that came with their meal. She had met Roman in school, and knew all about his deep feelings for Abe, and his tendency to fail out of things spectacularly, but she had honestly thought that he and Adrian were happy. Well, happyish from all of Ulyssa’s stories.

“I think some takeout might be fun,” she suggested, holding Ulyssa’s hand, grateful that she had found the one person from Arkhelios that didn’t seem to be drowning in personal drama. “We can order whatever you guys feel like; I’m not picky.”

Her suggestion came too late, as Adrian and Roman had already removed themselves from the table to loudly continue their argument.

“Just order something, and I’ll go throw Roman in the ocean to calm down,” Ulyssa sighed, getting up from the table.

Behind her, Theo was painting his high chair with toddler food and laughing. Ulyssa scooped the messy toddler up in her arms and snapped her fingers, enveloping Roman in a bright, magical light that immediately deposited him in the ocean outside. Maura gave her cousin a withering glare and once he realized that Roman was gone and how inappropriate he had been acting in front of his guests, his face turned red.

“I’m going to order dinner, and you are going to fish your husband out of the water, and sort your problems out so we can eat in peace,” she commanded, and Adrian immediately nodded. “I will make a call personally to Pleasantview tomorrow, and we’ll see about fixing this dream business. I want you to be happy Adrian, and it sounds like fixing this problem will be a good start towards fixing your marriage. You’ve been married for less than a year, and you’ll be adding two more kids to care for shortly. You need to sort this out before they’re born. They need you two to be a team.”

She hugged her cousin with a hopeful smile.

“He did choose you, Adrian. Maybe he’s still hung up on his ex, but he still chose you.”

#sims 2 #arkhelios #arkhelios university #Roman Bellamy #Ulyssa Durant #sims 2 pictures #sim: adrian siew #adrian siew

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pastelwitchling · 4 years ago

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🚨 PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME YOUR SPECULATIONS/RANTS 🚨

Now, with that out of the way, let’s talk about 3x02.

Oh my gooooods, this episode, guys. This post won’t be nearly as long as last week’s (Edit from future Rin from half an hour later; it is indeed as long as the last one), but there’s quite a bit to unpack here, so let’s get started.

First, Liz. I skipped every single one of her scenes 😂 I am so bored and completely uninterested with her work in LA, and her relationship with Heath. I feel like these past two episodes, and this episode in particular, she really has nothing to do anymore with Roswell. Everyone has some role to play, but she has this whole separate storyline going on somewhere else. She just doesn’t seem to have any integral part of the story this season. So yeah, every time her and Heath came on screen, I just skipped until it was over.

Second. Y’all. I could not bring myself to skip any other scene. Everyone’s storyline was interesting enough to watch, everyone was so fascinating. I even legitimately enjoyed Maria’s scenes! (Save for the one with Michael catching her, but I really enjoyed her reaction to him! I like that they’re giving them their old banter back with none of the “romance”, if that’s what you can even call it.) I really enjoyed everyone’s scenes. There’s such a clear improvement with the writing so far (gee, I wonder what changed), and I really hope the rest of the episodes are as good and even better than this one was.

Max looked so good this episode, his smiles and laughs at the beginning -- MY HEART 😍 I’m so proud of him for having written a manuscript, and maybe it also just makes me really happy because he and I connect so much now 😂 He’s a bookworm who’s written a novel, I’m a bookworm who’s written a novel -- I just love it very much 🙈❤

Hate me all you want, I don’t care, but I thought the Wyatt and Rosa scenes were extremely cute. If the show goes in this direction of truly redeeming Wyatt, I could totally ship them. I really, really enjoyed them, they were very cute to watch. I swear, I had this smile I couldn’t help the whole time like, “Aww!”. Obviously, I want Wyatt to be properly redeemed, I want him to be an actively better person, and I want Rosa to firmly decide that he’s good first, but if they do redeem him, then I’m all for this, I really loved it 🥰💗

Michael is the Dictator’s son?! I’ll tell y’all honestly, I thought Mr. Jones was actually the Dictator, and I was really shocked in the best way. This is how you surprise your audience. Not shock for the sake of shock, but shock that is relevant, that makes sense in the story, that makes people want to keep watching, not stop. What a brilliant turn of events, and you know I had a fic planned the second it happened which will hopefully be coming soon. No promises, but I’ll do my best.

And finally, we get to my Alex. Yeah! Alex is in this! I love how the general consensus has just been shock that he’s in it at all 😂 (Hell of a job, PR team, I can see you’re really on top of things 👍🏻.) I will confess though, I was a little worried about that when I found out, just because we know that Alex has to miss two to three episodes, and I’d hoped to get them out of the way early on, but it’s Alex, so you know, the world’s a better place for it.

Alex is officially Black Widow, and I don’t normally do this, but I 👏🏻 CALLED 👏🏻 THAT 👏🏻 PLOT 👏🏻 LINE 👏🏻. The way the Black Widow movie had inspired me to write about Alex, the way I just envisioned Alex as I was watching in that theater, the number of fics I wanted to write but didn’t because I was done with aus. And then the number of non-au fics I ended up wanting to write instead. Nevertheless, it doesn’t matter because I 🌝 called 🌝 it 🌝. Here is the fic where I called it. I’m very proud of myself for that one, and even prouder of the writers for recognizing what I’d already known since the Black Widow release date.

Words cannot describe Alex’s beauty this season. In the diner, in his cute suit, in that white-tee, the scene when Ramos (who I guessed was the one conducting the psych eval the second I saw him, by the way) opens the door and the lights come back on, the purse of his lips, the way he studied the Lockhart Machine (did anyone else just immediately think of Gilderoy Lockhart when they heard the name?), when he said, “No. I’ll take this one,” like the freaking badass he is?!!! 😍

I really enjoyed this episode. Admittedly, I am worried now that Liz is back since it seems like every time she’s around, they focus too much on social issues as oppose to the actual story going on, but I’m holding out hope for the best. I had a lot of fun, I don’t trust Mr. Jones at all, even less after the way he talked to Isobel. I’m really hoping the writers don’t take the typical route of doubt gnawing away at her and then making her help Jones despite it being the obvious worst thing to do. I’m also a little frustrated malex hasn’t interacted yet, but I’m sure it’s coming, and, according to Vlamis, in a really, really good scene. I’m choosing to keep faith that these writers know what they’re doing.

Gods, could you imagine if these people had been free to work on season 2 without constant interceptions from CAM? How different life would be. Alas, there’s no use lamenting the past. I just know that I’m eager for the story to move forward, and as Alex had been, for the first time in a long time, I’m hopeful.

#alex manes #michael guerin #malex #rnm thoughts #roswell new mexico #roswell new mexico s3 #rnm 3x02 #max evans #isobel evans #rosa ortecho #kyle valenti #maria deluca #wyatt long #liz ortecho

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dreamii-yume · 4 years ago

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Not a request! ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～ ♡ Just Yume trying to dive into darker topics and kinks, that’s all lol Just a heads up in case the whole concept becomes a little too uncomfortable~ (b ᵔ▽ᵔ)b

♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎

Lilia had been watching over his Darling for a very longtime, from beginning and all the way until the end. He had seen both her tears and her smiles, heard every cries and laughter, everything. He was with her throughout the thick and thins of her life. Yet, his Darling had always been a bar that he could never seem to reach no matter how high he could jump. She wouldn't let him, the world wouldn't let him, even a part of himself is preventing him from doing so.

He's sick of it all.

♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎

It happened in the darkest of the night, in the middle of nowhere, in a no-named town.

Lilia stood high at the top of a bell tower as his menacing red eyes looked down on the chaos that was erupting before him. A gentle breeze blew on his hair so peacefully in contrast of the horrors that was happening from beneath. A mischievous smirk forms on his lips as he watched the flames engulf the houses of the unfortunate villagers, all running for their lives. Green flames roared intensely with no sign of stopping, destroying everything in its way. Bodies soon laying down on the ground one by one, quickly losing what little strength they have left either from a severe injury or the flames that caught up to them.

It was a heart-breaking sight, truly. Lucky for our protagonist though, it takes a lot more than disruption of harmony to break his heart.

Satisfied with view he got, the ancient fae jumped down from the tower, only to land ever so gracefully on the ground, his cloth having not a single wrinkle in them. Lilia looked around, the nonchalant smirk remaining on his face as his eyes observed every single thing around him. He found the green flames swallowing the poor humans' home pretty, like a sight of a bonfire in a camping trip. He walked around without the slightest bit of concern for the screams of anguish the people around him was letting out. Lilia even had the nerve to skip ever so cheerfully, humming as if he was walking around in wonderland.

Until, his sharp ears had heard it. A different kind of sound, buried deep within the terror around him.

Lilia stopped to look around, eventually following where he thinks the sound was coming from. It was quite the walk, he had to go through the corners of many burning houses with all its twists and turns, not to mention avoiding any flaming debris coming down at him. He couldn't really fathom it himself why exactly he was following this sound even after realizing what it could be. Perhaps it was the boredom finally getting to him that a single cry was enough to make him this curious? Even if he knew that he was risking the possibility of disappointment in the end, Lilia always thought of how it wouldn't hurt to try.

Finally, he reached a place far back from the center of the town, a cute little isolated house that was also unfortunately destroyed by the green flames. It had become quite the ruin, deteriorating far quicker than the other houses in the town, sparks of flames still remained to decorate the edges. Lilia approached the wreck of a house, finally coming into terms with a large of debris standing in his way. There was no doubt about it, this was where the sound of an adorable blabbing nonsense was coming from, or rather, underneath this material. With almost no effort at all, Lilia lifted up the debris like that of a window shutter and the price revealing itself to him.

Lilia blinked. It was just what he thought it would be.

A baby tucked neatly in a basket, covered ever so lovingly with a warm blanket. The creature sucked their own thumb as they stared at him curiously with big doe eyes.

Unlike other children in this size he's seen before though, this one smiled innocently upon seeing him, blissfully ignorant of their current situation and their once called home. They laughed, an adorable squeal coming out of them as they must've thought that Lilia was the seeker of a game of hide and seek. The fae was actually astonished on what kind of miracle had befallen on this one human baby to be able to survive such catastrophe. What incredible luck, the universe must've really wanted this poor child to keep on living, even if it's just for a few more minutes. Lilia couldn't help but to return to his usual, laid-back smile as he placed his free hand on his hips, careful to keep the heavy concrete from falling onto the baby.

At least he wasn't disappointed.

"It's unfortunate, isn't it? For us to have met like this." Lilia said, even if he knew that children at this age wouldn't understand any words he'll say. Finally, his hand grew tired of the debris' weight and eventually just threw it in the other direction. The tremors of it falling on the ground reached the child, causing them to laugh once more. Lilia stepped forward and crouched down to have a closer look at the baby who was reaching out for him with their cute, little hands. He chuckled and let them hold one of his fingers as some sort of entertainment.

The baby was very cute, with large (E/C) eyes staring back at him and plum rosy cheeks. Lilia also had come to the realization that the child was most likely a female considering how she was wearing such a cute, puffy dress and headband around her head. Her hair was already a bit longer, giving Lilia the conclusion that she must be at least close to a year old by now. Lilia also paid attention her little basket, it serves as her bed as a few toys were just laying around. Finally, Lilia noticed words written in the hem of her blanket, most notably, her name.

" '(Y/N)', huh..." Lilia read, looking back at the child, who actually responded well at the sound of her given name. He chuckled and brushed his hand on her puffy cheeks. "That's a wonderful name."

Suddenly, Lilia's ears perked as heavy footsteps were heard behind him but the fae did nothing but continue on playing with the giggling child. He didn't need to turn around to know whose presence was looming over him. "Malleus." Lilia called, closing his eyes as he unfortunately has to pull away his hand from the baby, earning a disappointed gurgle. He stood up from his spot before turning around and sure enough, it was the same horned fae that he expected it to be. "Have you had your fun? Are you ready to head back home?"

Malleus silently crossed his arms, not saying anything but his body language was enough for Lilia to understand his response. He then turned his attention towards the cradle of sunshine that his supervisor was so focused on. "A human child...?" Malleus exclaimed, blinking as he raised an eyebrow at the older fae. "Don't tell me that you're going to bring home another one?"

"Well...What can I say?" Lilia shrugged as he gently carried the baby in his arms, removing her from the basket. He smiled widely, his fangs shining under the moonlight as he joyfully spun the child. Lilia looked at Malleus with a cunning look in his eyes, something that the horned fellow had to sigh at. He brought the child close to his face, nuzzling in her warmth before giving her a slight tickle in the tummy, making the child laugh whole heartedly. "You know how much of a soft spot I have for children."

Lilia then brought the child close to Malleus, as if he was flaunting her to him. "See how adorable she is~? I found her under the rubble here and isn't it a mystery on how she survived this long?" He said, excitedly as the child matched his enthusiasm. Malleus merely grunted at his supervisor's behavior, watching him play with the kid in his arms. "I've always wanted to know how it's like to raise a girl, you know~? Like my very own little princess~!

"Besides, wouldn't Silver be delighted to have a sibling this cute?" Lilia said, listening to the child's gentle laughter, like that of bells ringing. "I personally think it'll be fantastic."

Lilia stared brightly at the child, like an angel given to him by God himself. She was certainly worth keeping, worth raising.

A child desperately spared by the universe, only to befall in the hands of someone like him.

No one was quite sure whether it was a blessing or a curse.

♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎

Lilia raised you in a strange but ever-loving manner.

You were placed in a castle so grand, deep within the Valley of Thorns. You were protected, cherished, and loved by not only Lilia, but Malleus and Silver as well. Malleus soon grew fond of you like how Lilia had been the first time and had found himself unable to refuse your invitation to play with him. Silver had treated you like how a brother would, much like what Lilia instructed him to do so. You had no one to fill up the mother role in your very circle but when you already have three eccentric members in your family, what more could you ask for?

Lilia admits that he may have spoiled you a little more than he did with Silver. He would give you anything you would ask him for, even things that you never explicitly asked him about but still somehow, he knew you wanted. It was a bad habit he got from parenting you, but he couldn't help himself especially whenever you would give him those irresistible pleading eyes of yours. To his surprise however, you grew up just fine, you didn't hold any spoiled traits that he was dreading to see. You grew up wonderfully, having remembered all the kind manners and respect that Lilia had specifically engraved in your brain.

Lilia couldn't have been prouder.

"Me and Silver played Knights today! He was so cool! Swinging his sword with a swish and then, bam!" Your little mouth that had just learned how to talk, babbles on and on while making exaggerated hand movements. You were all tucked in your bed, completely dressed in your pajamas with Lilia beside you. He rests his cheeks on the palms of his hand, chuckling at your story. "You should come play with us too, Father! Malleus-sama said he would play as the dragon next time!"

It was already past your bed time but thankfully, Lilia wasn't that kind of overbearing parent that makes a fuss just because they're children aren't sleeping at the right time. Truth to be told, he loved the nights where he got to talk with you like this, hearing stories from you when he was away. "Oh my, that Malleus said that? How controversial~!" Lilia gasped, putting on a fake surprised expression just to entertain you. When he heard you giggled, that's when he returned to his usual, laid-back smile. "I'll come by when I get the chance, alright~? I'll make sure to be the knight who saves you, Princess~"

You giggled once again when Lilia playfully tapped your little nose. "Eh~? But Silver's already playing the knight! Father can't take over his role, silly~!" You said. "Father is better off just playing as Father!"

Lilia puffed his cheeks. "So you prefer Silver being your Knight over me~? How mean, I'm hurt~!" He faked a cry with no visible tears but still enough to pull on your heartstrings. "Did Silver finally became the replacement to the number one spot in my little Princess' heart, I wonder?"

Blinking, you quickly sat up and frantically shook your head in panic. "That's not true! Father is still number one in my heart!" You declared, eyes sparkling in innocence as you laid your head onto him, giving him a big hug. "Silver's a great knight, very cool and amazing, but that doesn't mean he can replace Father!

"I still love Father the most~!"

Lilia couldn't help but smile, feeling genuine warmth in his chest as he stared lovingly at your innocent self. He stroked your hair before leaning down and hugging your small frame in return. You grinned, prompting him to give you a light peck on the forehead, a symbol of deep love between father and daughter.

"I love you too, sweetheart."

This was your daily life. Comfortable, sweet, and wholesome, being well-taken care off by Lilia himself. You and Lilia built your relationship together as family until it grew so strong that things like being unrelated by blood does not matter anymore. He was your beloved father and you were his precious treasure, a jewel hidden away from the public's eye. You thought of how lucky you are, how your relation to one another would forever bloom as that of a parent and a child.

Lilia thought of the same thing as well.

…Until he, the wise ancient fae, who lived for who-knows how long, had made a grave mistake.

♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎

Continue the spice~?

I hate how unnecessarily long this got...It probably got boring right at the end so, I’m very regretful about that. <(￣﹌￣)> I didn’t know how to save it aaa- This drained me all of my creative energy way too much lol I’m currently working on three Sinfics at once and the next one is requested so, don’t worry~! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

#yandere twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #yandere #lilia vanrouge #yandere lilia vanrouge #diasomnia #sinfic #Spicy Dream

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stargazing-dreamer-girl · 4 years ago

Text

My sister’s ghost band and me

In which you sometimes forget that you’re dealing with ghosts and can’t actually touch them.

Platonic!Alex Mercer x reader, platonic!Reggie Peters x reader, platonic!Luke Patterson x reader

Oh, it’s gender neutral reader btw

WC: 6k

A/N: It’s finally finished! I worked really hard on this, so I hope you like it. For some reason I can’t tag the person who commented on my post about the concept for this story, but I hope this finds their way to them :)

Ever since the three ghost boys have appeared in your life nothing has been the same. Your sister Julie who had lost such a big part of herself when your mother died finally had that back and you’ve never been prouder of her. The music she was making with the guys was so beautiful and you would never stop being grateful to them for doing what you couldn’t, bringing music back into her life.

So, it was no wonder that the one song of them that was on YouTube was playing on repeat in your household. You were humming along to ‘Edge of Great’ while preparing dinner when the front door opened and your dad walked in.

“Man, I love that song!” He exclaimed when he noticed what you were listening to. He shrugged off his coat moving his head along to the beat.

“No way! Me too!” You laughed turning the volume down a little, so you could talk to your dad without having to scream over the music. He came over to the kitchen, pressing a small kiss to your temple in greeting before glancing into the pot and letting out a cheer.

“Yes! Your pasta! I love you!” He pulled you into a hug eliciting another laugh from you. When you looked over at him, he was still staring into the pot mesmerized. You lifted up your hand to bop his nose taking him out of that trance.

“Love you, too, papi.” The alarm going off then alerted you that the breadsticks were done, so you moved around your dad to take them out of the oven. “I know you need to take Carlos to practice, so I’ll just set some aside for you guys and you can reheat it when you get back.”

“Yes, right. Thank you!” He called for your little brother right after who came running down the stairs immediately. “Let’s go!” You shouted a quick “Bye!” after them which was left unheard with the door falling shut before you finished talking. The only noise in the kitchen now was the muffled music coming from the studio, the video you had been watching having finished long ago. You shut your laptop and put it in the living room to make some room in the kitchen.

You were about to call Julie in for dinner, before you thought better of it. Instead, you filled two plates with pasta and took some breadsticks, before you left the house and walked over to where your sister’s band was rehearsing. The music got louder the closer you got to the big white doors, a song you didn’t recognize playing.

Pushing one of the doors farther open with your foot while balancing the plates you were greeted with the sight of Julie belting out what had to be the last note of their new song before they noticed you. Luke was the first to look over, exclaiming your name with a smile on his face which prompted the rest of the group to turn towards you as well.

“I brought dinner!” You announced, mostly to Julie since the three boys weren’t capable of eating anything. She moved away from the keyboard to take one of the plates from your hands setting it down on the table. You followed right after her after greeting the boys and went to sit down on the floor, your back leaning against the couch. “That sounded great! Is it a new song?” You asked before taking the first bite.

The guys moved to join Julie and you around the table. Even though they couldn’t eat they still provided great company. When Luke sat down right next to Julie you shared a look with Alex. You were always talking about how obvious the chemistry between the two was on stage and wondered if it would ever transition to off-stage as well.

“Yeah, it’s called ‘Stand Tall’ and it’s definitely an anthem!”

“Well, I’d love to hear the whole thing some time.”

Julie nodded excitedly. “Just come to the next band practice! I don’t even know what you’re always doing huddled up in the house.”

“Gee, thanks! I might be focusing on school work or something equally insignificant.”

“You can just do your work here while you’re listening to us play,” Reggie chimed in, earning approving nods from the group.

Alex plopped out of the studio at some point during dinner saying something about meeting Willie. Julie left shortly after as soon as she was done eating. Flynn had texted her and wanted her to come over. But, being the good sister that she was, she took your plate inside with her before she left. Then it was just you, Reggie and Luke left in the studio although the latter didn’t really count since he was so focused on songwriting that he didn’t react at all to anything you said.

You remained sitting on the ground, but turned to face Reggie. He had made himself comfortable on the couch you had been leaning against. Resting your head on your arm you looked up at him, a small smile on your face.

“What’s up with you?” He asked, an uneasy chuckle escaping him as he realized that your undivided attention was on him.

You bit your lip trying to refrain from breaking out into a huge grin. “I heard the cheerleaders talking about you today,” you told him with a wiggle of your eyebrows.

His face went red in an instant, a stark contrast to his pale skin tone. He started stammering before just smiling wildly over at Luke. “You hear that, dude? The cheerleaders talk about me!” But Luke was still so focused on his notebook that he didn’t notice. He did, however, notice it when Reggie threw his flannel at him to get his attention.

“Hey!” he exclaimed, scrunching up the flannel in his hands before throwing it back at his friend, hitting him right in the head. “What did you do that for?”

“You’re not listening! They just told me some great news and you didn’t even listen!”

“Wait! What news?” Luke shut his book focusing his attention on you as he waited for you to repeat yourself, probably expecting something more exciting than what you have told Reggie. You could see it in his face. When your words sunk in, his face fell, his expression somewhere between boredom and annoyance. “And that’s why you stopped me? Dude, I was working on some killer lyrics!” With that he grabbed his notebook again and teleported out of the garage.

Reggie quickly got over his best friend abruptly leaving and turned back to you. “Well, I hope, you told them that you know me. I’m nothing without my greatest fan.”

“So, I’m your greatest fan now?”

“Well, of course, there can’t be another reason you’re always at our gigs,” he replied smugly, leaning forward in his seat. “And always notice when someone’s talking about me.”

You tried to hide behind your hands as you felt heat rising to your head. “I’m just attentive when it comes to my sister’s band. It’s got nothing to do with you personally.” You shrug, peeking a glance at him from behind your hands. The pout on his face made you reconsider though. “But you’re a pretty great guy.”

He moved off the couch to sit on the floor with you. You had already learned that Reggie could be easily excitable. He was like a puppy, so you couldn’t resist when he watched you with a big smile and sparkling eyes to bop his nose like you always did with your siblings and your dad. What you didn’t factor in was that your finger would go right through his face.

You quickly pulled your hand away and jumped up to bring some distance between yourself and the situation. The pacing you started wasn’t really a conscious choice. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think. It was an impulse and I momentarily forgot. God, that was so awkward. I can’t believe that just happened. I’m so sorry, Reggie.”

When you were met with silence you stopped your pacing to look up at him. He was still on the ground following you with his eyes. But instead of looking horrified or angry he had a smile on his face when he called your name. “It’s fine. I feel honored, really.” The confused look on your face prompted him to explain some more. “I always see how you do that to Julie, Carlos, your dad, even Flynn. You do it to the people you care about and I’m happy I’m one of them, even if it’s not the same and it might be a little weird, ‘cause, like, I can feel something but it’s not quite touch. But I can definitely feel that you have a lot of love in your heart. You mean a lot to me, too. To all of us. I wouldn’t mind if it happened again because I know it means that you love us.”

“That was really sappy.” You tried to play it off but his words meant a lot to you. They were true and having it laid out in front of you like that brought tears to your eyes.

“Oh shit, I didn’t mean to make you cry!” He jumped up and quickly moved over to you. His hands hovered just above your cheeks. He was cursing himself for not being able to wipe your tears now and just wrap you into a hug.

“They’re not sad tears, Reggie. I’m fine. I’m just… grateful to have you guys in my life.” You gave him a small smile before excusing yourself to turn in for the night. The incident replayed in your mind and even though you couldn’t help but feel embarrassed by the fact that you forgot about him being a ghost for a second you appreciated the words he told you.

The incident was soon forgotten. Well, not that soon. You had made the grave mistake of telling Julie about it and she went on to tell it to Flynn. They both kept teasing you because of it. But at some point, even that died down and you didn’t have to constantly think about your slipup. Reggie’s behavior around you didn’t change at all either which calmed you immensely.

When you got home that afternoon the house was unusually quiet and when you shouted out for your family members nobody gave you a reaction.

“Nobody’s home,” sounded from your right, making you jump in surprise. Alex, adorned by his pink sweatshirt, had appeared right next to you. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. But I heard you come home and thought I’d come over. Julie and Luke are working on some lyrics, so they banned us from the garage.”

You calmed down from the shock fairly quickly. A side effect of having ghost friends was that it didn’t freak you out as much anymore when one just appeared out nowhere, or at least you learned to recover fast. “So, where’s Reggie? I can’t imagine he got to stay when you were thrown out.”

“Oh no, he’s down by the beach, I think. He sometimes still goes to where his house used to be and just sits there for a while.” You hadn’t known that. It always seemed like Reggie was faring well with being a ghost, but appearances can be deceiving. That’s nothing new.

“It must be hard for you guys. Knowing that the people you knew now have a completely different life while for you guys it was just such a short period of time. How long did you say it felt like you were in that dark room? An hour? That must be so surreal.”

“An hour, yeah,” he confirmed. “I mean, it’s not like we had the best relationship with our parents to begin with, but not even knowing if they are still alive or where they are, is pretty weird.”

“I could try to find them for you.” It was more of a question than a statement, but you at least wanted to give him the option. “If that’s what you want.” He said nothing for a while, just stared at the floor, at you, at the pictures hanging at the wall. “You don’t have to decide now. I just wanted to let you know that that may be an option, but I get it if that’s not what you want. Just take your time and think about it.”

You picked up your backpack you had dropped when Alex first appeared and moved towards the stairs. “I need to do my homework. Do you want to join me?”

He nodded excitedly. “I’ll see you in your room!” He announced and popped out of the living room. You could just shake your head at the use of teleportation, but hurried to get up to your room yourself.

Alex was already lying on your bed when you got there and set your backpack down by your desk. “That sure seems convenient.”

“What does? Oh! That! It kinda is. Still freaks me out sometimes, too, though.” He rolled to lie on his stomach and watched you sit down at your desk. “Do you have a lot to do?”

“Not really.” You shook your head, grabbing the stuff you needed. “I should be quick.”

So, you did your homework with Alex watching you. From time to time he asked questions about what you were learning in school and you explained it to him to the best of your knowledge. That was one of the reasons you liked doing homework with Alex. Explaining the material to him helped you understand it better as well. And you just liked being around him.

When you were done you didn’t even bother to put the stuff away before you jumped onto the bed next to Alex. “So, what have you and Willie been up to?” You asked. The boy next to you turned onto his back to look up at the ceiling and you followed suit.

“He took me to an empty museum and then we screamed there.” His voice went up at the end, making it sound like a question. He actually just didn’t know how to say it without it sounding completely bizarre. “It was actually really freeing.” He paused to think about his next words. If he spoke about it, it would become a real thing and he didn’t know if he was ready for that. But eventually, he did speak them. “I don’t know. I really like hanging out with him. It’s fun and he gets me to do things I normally wouldn’t. He teaches me about stuff I’ve missed out on. And I think I’m falling for him. Hard. And I don’t know what to do about it. I mean, a ghost romance? That sounds weird to me. Does a thing like that even work?”

You thought about it for a second. You didn’t even know if that question was just rhetorical or if he actually wanted an answer, but it was an interesting thing to think about.

“I mean, you’re both ghosts. You can see and hear and touch each other. It’s not that different from a relationship between living people, I’d say. You just won’t grow old together. Physically, I mean. But what matters most are your feelings. So, if you like him, go for it. He seems like a great guy.”

“He is,” Alex answered absentmindedly, a dreamy smile on his face as he looked off into the distance.

“You’re so cute!” You squealed and lifted your hand to his nose but stopped yourself before actually reaching his face. The moment with Reggie flashed back into your mind before you dropped your hand. The nose bops you gave your family had become second nature for you, so actively stopping yourself felt wrong. Not doing it to show your affection felt wrong. But you didn’t want a repeat of that embarrassing situation. Instead, you laughed it off when Alex tilted his head questioningly. “Anyways, I’m hungry. Would you give me the honor of joining me in the kitchen?” you asked dramatically after standing up from your bed.

He didn’t even answer, but disappeared with a plop. “You coming?” sounded from downstairs right after. You could just shake your head at him but hurried downstairs nonetheless.

“You have to stop doing that! It’s so unfair!” You complained when you reached the kitchen and opened the fridge. Pulling out some ingredients for a sandwich you looked back at your friend. “And you always complain about them too! But then you use them nonetheless. Sounds to me like you don’t appreciate what you have.”

“What is he not appreciating?” sounded a voice behind you which made you scream in surprise. Not your proudest moment.

“Luke!” You scolded the brunet who had appeared in the kitchen as well. “Don’t do that me! You guys are gonna kill me one day!” He gave you a sweet smile as he apologized. You couldn’t stay mad at him if he looked at you like that.

“So, what is Alex not appreciating?”

“His ghost abilities! You guys can teleport and summon your instruments. That’s so cool! And Alex just keeps complaining about stuff. And I get it. To get those abilities you had to die which is not great at all, but you can’t change it, so I say you should just appreciate what you have,” you ranted while preparing your sandwich. Luke watched on, nodding along to what you were saying. His face fell a little when you mentioned their deaths, but he came back around quickly.

“I totally agree. We can do some really cool stuff now. I always tell Alex the same thing, it-“

“Ok, yeah, I see you two are conspiring against me here, so I’m just gonna go and leave you guys to it.” With that he plopped out of the kitchen, disappearing off to who-knows-where.

“As I was saying, isn’t it amazing how we are connected to our instruments, even in death? And that we can summon them! And the teleporting, of course! It’s so easy to get around!” Luke jumped into a monologue telling you all about the upsides of being a ghost while you just stood there and listened.

You could see it in his eyes before he started speaking about it. The bad parts of it all. The fact that he can go see his parents but that they will never know he was there, that they have to live with the fact that their child died before them. It was like that for all the boys. Thinking about their parents, their families, it was painful. Luke didn’t know if his situation, actually being able to visit his parents, was better than what Reggie and Alex had to live with. Their parents had left. They had nothing to go back to. But their family situations also were not that great. Which was another part. None of them would ever have a chance to make things right with their parents. If that would even have been possible when they were alive. It was a big ‘if’, but one that plagued the boys’ minds often.

Hearing him talk about it, you were reminded of your family. Your dad, tia Victoria, Carlos, Julie. Your mom. Even if she wasn’t with you anymore, you were glad you still had the others. You couldn’t begin to imagine what it was like for them. All you wanted to do right now was to give Luke a hug and to let him know that you were there for him.

“Luke.” You finally spoke up after a minute of silence that had occurred after his story. You weren’t quite sure what to say. No words would be right to express your thoughts and feelings in this moment. “We love you, Luke. Reggie, Alex, Julie and I. We all love you. I know we can never be your mom or your dad, but we’re family. You mean so much to us. I know, we haven’t known each other for a long time, but you guys have become such a huge part of our lives. It’s crazy! I just want you to know that you’re not alone. You have people who love you. And your parents love you, too. Even if they can’t see you, even if they don’t know you’re there. They love you.”

Tears started to cloud your vision, mimicking the ones that were already rolling down Luke’s face. His blurry figure moved to stand close to you. You felt a coldness at your nose. Realizing what he did you let out a small chuckle. It was a ritual shared between you and your loved ones, letting you know that your words had reached him, that he understood and felt the same.

Hearing your name spoken from the direction of the front door you were pulled out of the situation. A quiet plopping sound let you know that Luke had left. “Why are you crying in the kitchen?” Carlos asked. Your little brother cautiously moved towards where you were standing as if he was dealing with a scared animal. “Is it a feelings thing? Should I call Julie?”

“I’m fine, Carlos. Don’t worry. But… would you give me a hug?” You opened your arms to lure him in.

“Eww no. Get away from me!” He started running away when you stepped closer. You followed suit with your arms wide open. And that was how your dad found you when he came home from work that day, you chasing Carlos around the living room. Your tears had dried and were replaced with laughter. Especially when your dad took your side and scooped Carlos up in his arms as he tried to run past him.

“Group hug!” you exclaimed and joined the two in a hug with Carlos still complaining even though he didn’t do anything to get out of the situation.

“Can you tell the boys I won’t make it to practice today? Something came up.” Before you could answer her, Julie had already hung up on you. You were left wondering what was so important that she would miss band practice, but soon gave up on actually finding an answer to that.

You had almost been home when you got the call, so instead of going into the house you went straight for the garage to let the boys know Julie wouldn’t be coming. Faint music was coming from there. It seemed like they already started without her anyway.

“Guys! How many times do we have to tell you not to play when neither Julie or I are here? Our dad could hear you! And Carlos is already on that whole ghost hunting trip, so you shouldn’t feed into it anymore than you already did!” You side-eyed Reggie with that last comment, but he kept his eyes on his bass, plucking on the strings.

“Well, hello to you, too, Molina. We are doing great. Thanks for asking.” Luke had stepped up to you, guitar still hanging around his neck. “Nobody’s home and we were playing on volume 1. No one could have heard us,” he justified their behavior.

“Okay, fine.” You relented. It did make sense that they should be allowed to play under those circumstances. “Anyways, Julie won’t make it to practice today, so if you want to work on some stuff without her, I’ll stay out here with you.”

“Well, it won’t really be band practice, if not even the whole band is present,” Alex noted to which the others agreed.

“But you should still stay out here with us!” Reggie exclaimed and if he could, he would’ve pulled you from your spot by the doors to the couch, so you wouldn’t even have a chance to think about leaving. But he couldn’t, so he tried to will you to move with his thoughts. When you walked over to the couch you noticed the astonished look on Reggie’s face, but decided not to comment on it.

“Why do you barely spend time here with us? It feels like we always have to come into the house to spend time with you,” Alex questioned. His hands were fumbling with the hem of his sweatshirt as he made eye contact with you. He realized in that moment there was much more to that question than he had thought.

You hesitated with your answer, not knowing if you should put your innermost thoughts and feelings out there, but after the talk you had with Luke the other day you knew you could trust them. “I don’t know. I guess, it still feels weird being in mom’s studio. Some moments it doesn’t bother me, but other times it just overwhelms me and it reminds me so much of mom that I can’t stay in here. I’m sorry. I love spending time with you guys, but sometimes it’s just too much.” Your gaze moved around the studio, from the floating chairs over to the grand piano and back to the boys in front of you. “Some days are just harder than others.” You shrugged, hoping that the boys wouldn’t stay on that topic.

“But Ju-“ Luke started but was stopped when Alex elbowed him in the side. “Dude, what? Julie ha- ohh. Sorry!” he mumbled, averting his gaze. Comparing people’s grieving progress was not a thing one should do and he just realized after, what he had been doing and regretted it instantly.

“Anyways, you know what I realized?” Reggie decided to change the topic for which you all were grateful. “You have never heard a live performance of a Sunset Curve song! You’ve just heard us play the new songs with Julie.”

“That’s right!” Luke piped up, back in his element. “We can play you something!” He jumped up and grabbed his guitar without even waiting for your answer. The other boys followed suit. Alex got situated behind his drums while Reggie grabbed his bass. Moving up to the mic in the front Luke pointed a finger at you. “This one’s for you! This is Now or Never.”

You recognized the song as the first track on their demo. The song that got them here. It brought back memories of the night they first showed up in the studio. Your dad had asked Julie to go through the stuff in the studio for the move. She had begged you to come with her since she didn’t want to be alone to do it. When you found the demo, you didn’t think anything about it when you put it into the player, but then the boys appeared and turned your whole life upside down. And now you were here, with a ghost band playing you a song, for everyone to hear, but only you to see.

You were the only one who got to see Reggie and Luke sharing a mic, Reggie rocking with Alex in the back, them all just feeling the music. It was indeed what they were born to do. It was obvious for anyone who saw them on stage that that was where they belonged.

When the song came to a close you jumped up and applauded them. They bowed to you, big smiles on their faces at your reaction. “You guys sound great! I loved it! Thank you!”

The song still resonated within you when you sat back down with the boys. Their excited chatter filled your ears as you watched them interact with each other. The short amount it had taken you and Julie to get used to the presence of ghosts was crazy, but you couldn’t think them away anymore. They had become such a big part of your life as if they had always been there. You liked to believe in Flynn’s theory that it had been your mom who had brought them into your life, that she looked out for you and your family even from beyond the grave.

You were pulled out of your thoughts when Alex spoke to you. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“I was asking what you’re thinking about.” He repeated himself.

“Oh, um, you guys, my mom, Julie. Everything that’s happened… You guys are really important to me, you know. It’s… I don’t know. We haven’t known each other for that long, but I wouldn’t want to think you guys out of my life even if that might be selfish of me.”

“Well, good thing we’re not planning on leaving,” Luke commented, sending you a wink. You scoffed but let a smile take over your features. They were idiots, but they were your idiots.

“So, what’s been happening at school?”

You looked at Reggie with a raised eyebrow. “You want to know about school? Really?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “I actually kinda miss it.” He looked between Luke and Alex to see if they felt similar but got no reaction from them. “Well, guess I’m the only one. But how is it?”

“Same as usual, I guess. Bunch of work to do, some good teachers, some bad, Carrie starting drama as usual. Did Julie tell you Nick broke up with Carrie?” The boys shook their head no, now intrigued. “Well, he told Julie he broke up with her because she’s “not the nicest person” which is true, obviously. We all know that. But I wonder why he just saw it now? Like, why did he get together with her in the first place? I never knew! Someday they were just together and I have zero clue how it happened,” you let them know, “Oh, and Julie and Nick partnered up in dance class!”

“They did?” Alex exclaims, living for the drama. “Isn’t he the guy Julie likes?”

“He is! She’s been crushing on him for, like, forever! And now that he’s not with Carrie anymore and they spend time together at dance practice…” You let the end of the sentence hang in the air. “So, yeah, that’s what’s been happening at school,” you concluded. With the boys showing up at school sometimes, you didn’t know how up-to-date they actually were with Los Feliz High drama. If you could even call it that.

“So, she’s with him now?” Luke huffed. He frowned as he leaned back against the couch. “Instead of practicing with her band.”

“She might be.” You shrugged. “I actually don’t know where she is or what she’s doing. She’s her own person, you know. She might be my sister, but that doesn’t mean I know every single piece of information about her. I can just assume. And I like to assume that she’s with Nick, practicing their dance. Because, one, they get a grade for it and she shouldn’t fail and two, because I am living for the whole Nick drama.”

“Same,” added Alex in a nonchalant voice which had you do a doubletake.

“Wait! Did you learn that from Willie? You didn’t use ‘same’ that way before, right? That’s not a 90s thing.” You stared at him with big eyes. The confirmation came as a small nod as he turned his head to avoid anyone’s gaze. “That’s cute. I like it. Sometimes I feel like you guys don’t understand me right when I say stuff like that, so that’s awesome that he teaches you stuff like that.”

“Hey! I want to learn that stuff, too!”

“Well, Reggie, Alex can just teach you what he learns from Willie.”

“But what if I want you to teach me?” He asked moving over to your seat. He sat down on the arm rest of your chair looking down at you with big puppy eyes.

“I’d be such a bad teacher. Just tell me if you don’t understand something and I’ll try. I can’t promise you I know all of the references or memes though. You do know what a meme is by now, right?” The boys nodded. “Ok, good. That’s a start. Now, Reggie, may I please have the chair back to myself? It’s not that big to begin with.”

The boy stood up quickly with raised hands, before he motioned for you and the chair. “It wouldn’t really make a difference. I’m basically air.” He flailed his arms around. Luke and Alex just made some agreeing noises. Reggie stopped his wild moments as he saw you watching with a smile and a raised eyebrow. “See.” He knelt down in front of you and lifted a finger to your nose. He gently pressed down, the cold feeling of his finger not going through you this time.

As his finger made contact with your nose it became dead silent in the studio. Luke and Alex were staring at the scenario in front of them, while you and Reggie looked at each other with wide eyes, before you jumped up causing Reggie to quickly move back. “You can touch me!” you exclaimed. “How? Why? What? How is this possible?”

Your mind was racing with just one thought being clear in all the chaos. Reggie had just touched you. You were scared, in a way, as you held out your hand towards him again. Would you be able to do it again? Was it just a one-time thing? But when you felt the ghostly touch of his hand as he interlaced his fingers with yours you knew it was real. It felt different than touching a human. There was no warmth, but you could still feel him. You could feel his hand in yours.

Your other hand was shaking as you covered your mouth in shock, tears threatening to spill from your eyes. “Alex?” You beckoned the blond forth who was just waiting for you to signal him that it would be alright to try. Timidly, he tried to touch your shoulder and when his hand didn’t go through either he wasted no time wrapping his arms around you in a bone-crushing hug. Sobs and laughter escaped your mouth. You hugged him back with one arm while Reggie was still staring at your intertwined hands in awe.

Luke didn’t dare move from his spot by the couch. This might all be a dream, even thought ghosts didn’t sleep and didn’t dream. But this felt so much like a dream come true that he didn’t dare disrupt it. Even when you made eye contact with him, silently asking him to join you, he couldn’t move a muscle.

You let go of Alex and Reggie slowly, their hands falling to their sides. Luke watched you walk around Alex until you stood in front of him raising your hand to the space between the two of you. His gaze wandered between you and your hand before he lifted his as well, but, as your hands were inches apart, he stopped, doubt clouding his mind once again. This couldn’t really be happening. So, you took the decision from him, placing your palm against his and as you had suspected, felt the resistance of his hand.

His face lit up instantly. His arms moved around your waist, picking you up and spinning you around as he let out victorious sounds. As soon as you were put back onto the ground, Alex and Reggie joined into the hug, almost crushing you, but you didn’t stop them. This was what they needed. And you did, too.

You didn’t know how it happened, what had changed, for you to be able to touch the three ghosts, but you were grateful for it. From then on, not a day would go by without a hug from a ghost. They liked touching you. An arm around your shoulder, around your waist, a hand reaching for yours, one of them lying with their head in your lap while you carded your fingers through their hair.

If you had before sometimes forgotten that they were ghosts – the realization coming back when you couldn’t touch them – it got even worse now.

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the-other-art-blog · 4 years ago

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Little Women (book): Chapter 44 My Lord and My Lady!!!

I mean just the title of the chapter makes me smile. Seriously, why didn’t Greta adapted this chapter??? It’s about money and art. It was perfect for her movie. I’m sorry, I just can’t get over the fact that Timmy had no idea this happened. But anyway, this is about the book. There’s so much to discuss, this will be long.

Come on, Laurie goes to Orchard to get Amy back home because he can’t possibly find something. Sweetheart.

They do a simile with the weather that’s beautiful and it’s basically Laurie saying that Amy keeps him grounded and focus. And Amy replies saying,

‘Lovely weather so far. I don’t know how long it will last, but I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.’

This is a recurrent quote. When I read it the first time, I thought she was talking about her alone. But she’s talking about the marriage. Everything so far has been amazing, love among roses. But she knows there will be difficult times and she’s ready to take them. This is bittersweet because we know Amy will suffer multiple miscarriages before their Bess is born. And even then, she’s going to be a frail child.

I read an article that blamed Amy for discouraging Laurie in his pursuit to become a composer. It couldn’t have been farther from the truth. Since Laurie was in Vienna, he realized he didn’t have what it takes to be a genius, just like Amy. Then he began craving for hard and earnest work. Now, back in Concord Laurie is proud to say he will continue his grandfather business. Amy’s parents are very pleased to hear that. I’m sure everyone was surprised to see the changes in Laurie, from the boy who didn’t even want to go to college to an honest and hard-working man, responsible for his own family.

But Amy also has plans. She’s going to be a lady of society, as any woman who married into a family like the Laurences should have done. But they also plan to be a good influence in that society.

Once their gone, Mr. and Mrs. March talk about them. They both agreed they are happy and that it will last. Marmee is especially proud. She was worried when Amy told her about Fred Vaughn, but now she is relieved that Amy knew best and chose the best man for her. Jo agrees, though she still longs for the same happiness. But it quickly fades because Mr. Bhaer enters the house!!! These two are such dorks.

Going back to Amy and Laurie... it’s just too amazing.

Everyone, except Jo, knows Bhaer is there for Jo. Amy is a bit worried that Laurie may be jealous. It’s not that, just that he would prefer Bhaer to be younger and richer. He just wants a good life for his best friend/sister. Amy reminds him a woman should never marry for money. Ahh this is great!

‘I’d have married you if you hadn’t a penny, and I sometimes wish you were poor that I might show how much I love you.’

‘You don’t really think I am such a mercenary creature as I tried to be once, do you? It would break my heart if you didn’t believe that I’d gladly pull in the same boat with you, even if you had to get your living by rowing on the lake.’

I’m just going to leave those quotes for anyone who thinks she married Laurie for money. Laurie says he and Marmee talk about that. If anything, what attracted her the most, or at least initially to Laurie was his looks.

‘Yes, I am, and admiring the mple in your chin at the same time. I don’t wish to make you vain, but I must confess that I’m prouder of my handsome husband than of all his money. Don’t laugh, but your nose is such a comfort to me.’ And Amy softly caressed the well-cut feature with artistic satisfaction.

This is Amy. She is a visual person and enjoys seeing beautiful things, so forgive her for choosing the most handsome man in town.

Amy does show some insecurities towards Jo but Laurie reassures he’s happy with her. So then they discuss a way of helping Jo and Bhaer. Because that’s Amy’s dream: to help others. She says it over and over again!!! They could have gone to donate to charities like so many other rich people do, but instead the decide to help talented people achieve their artistic ambitions.

It’s so fitting. Both Laurie and Amy gave up their dreams of being famous artists because they didn’t have genius. They could have grown bitter about it. But instead they decide to help those who really have genius. I love them.

Amy is also a very grateful person. She acknowledges that she achieved her current status because she got help from lots of people. I don’t remember if the whole “I want to make my own way into the world” conversation actually happened in the book. But Aunt March was right in the 2019 movie. No one, NO ONE succeeds on their own. We all need people,we all need help. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Jo herself needed her family, the public and the editors to succeed. The important thing is always to say “thank you”.

Ambitious girls have a hard time, Laurie, and often have to see youth, health, and precious opportunities go by, just for want of a little help at the right minute. People have been very kind to me, and whenever I see girls struggling along, as we used to do, I want to put out my hand and help them, as I was helped.’

Greta exploited that first line in this quote during the whole press tour, but I’m not sure she remembers why Amy’s saying that. The point is, Amy wants to help girls achieve their dreams. And here’s another “prophetic” element. May Alcott Nieriker was not only a talented painter. She also wrote a guide for women called Studying Art Abroad and How To Do It Cheaply. I don’t have the actual information now, but I think she also wrote columns in a newspaper encouraging women to study art. Neither May nor Amy were Queen Bees, they wanted to succeed, but they also wanted other to be with them. That’s amazing.

Laurie is on board. I mean, they have grown so much. Both of them started as probably the most spoiled characters. And now they are deciding to become a philanthropist couple.

So the young pair shook hands upon it, and then paced happily on again, feeling that their pleasant home was more homelike because they hoped to brighten other homes, believing that their own feet would walk more uprightly along the flowery path before them, if they smoothed rough ways for other feet, and feeling that their hearts were more closely knit together by a love which could tenderly remember those less blest than they.

You can ship whoever you want, but don’t trash this couple cause they are nothing but kind, generous and grateful. And they’ve achieved it with each other’s help and love.

In my opinion, people who hate Amy and Amy and Laurie read the book until Jo rejects Laurie. Then they do a tantrum and stopped reading/ paying attention. Honestly, that’s the only explanation I can think of for all the hate Amy receives.

#little women #little women 2019 #amy march #amy and laurie #Amy x Laurie #Jo and Laurie #jo x bhaer #louisa may alcott #seriously what's wrong with people who hate Amy #ugh I can't #apparently no one is ever allowed to make one mistake ever #except if you're Jo or Laurie than you can screw up dozens of times and people will ignore it #isn't being a Christian means being able to forgive?#honestly Greta #you had so much material

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griffxnnage · 4 years ago

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home || r.w

pairing: ron weasley x fem!malfoy!reader

word count: 1.5k

warnings: angst, draco being annoying, favouritism, being disowned, swearing, violence, injury

Being a Malfoy has its perks; the money, the fame, the status. But then again, there's the hate, the rumors, and the twat twin brother, Draco. Sure, we're siblings, but he's an entitled little git, who doesn't know when to shut his gob. Another downside is having your parents critique everything, including (but not limited to) your choice in friends; they hated that I was friends with Harry, Ron and Hermione, not only because of their house, but the fact that they were 'blood traitors' and 'mudbloods'. They also disliked me because I was also sorted into Gryffindor on that first day. I couldn't be prouder of my house, but it always stung whenever they dismissed me, focusing all their attention on Draco; the perfect child in every way.

I'd been friends with the trio since first year, and things certainly were never boring. Things really took a turn when Ron asked me to be his girlfriend in 2nd year. I, having had a crush on him since I'd laid eyes on him, said yes right away, and we've been together for almost 2 years; 2 years of heaven. He is anything and everything a girl could ask for; he's handsome, he's very caring, affectionate and protective, and his family members are the sweetest people you'll ever meet. The thing was, Mum and Dad didn't know that I was dating Ron; in fact, they didn't know anything about my life. They hardly asked, and they sure as hell didn't care. Draco didn't know either, he was too busy making people's lives a living hell (Or so I thought, but back to the story).

Anyways, the day of the Yule Ball had finally arrived, and Hermione and I, who shared a dorm, were very excited, and very prepared. There was makeup strewn across the vanity in our bathroom, and different sample perfumes in the cabinets, along with multiple dresses in both of our closets. We both found our dresses, and Hermione looked absolutely stunning in her rose coloured gown. My dress fell to the ground in yards of cream-coloured tulle, and hundreds of little crystals concentrated at my waist, making it look thinner, cascading down the skirt, and making their way up the bodice, with some on the long puffy sleeves. It was absolutely gorgeous, and I knew Ron was going to love it. He loved me in anything, really, (mostly nothing) but it was nice to dress up for once; wearing those uniforms can really get boring.

We both made our way down the grand staircase to meet our dates; Hermione was asked by Viktor Krum, and I'd asked Ron to be my date, just as a formality. I could see him in the crowd of excited students, and we locked eyes, love and admiration filling my heart. It wasn't until I made it to the bottom of the stairs when I noticed his attire, and then snorted. "Oh, lay off it Y/N, they're old. Mum didn't want to send new ones." He groaned, embarrassment evident in his face. "Ron, you look lovely," I smiled, shaking my head, and kissing his cheek. McGonagall came over to fetch Harry and Pavarti to open the ball, and upon seeing Ron, she had to do a double-take. I couldn't hold back my snickering, and McGonagall just looked away, not knowing what to say.

After the formal ball was over, The Weird Sisters came and changed the whole mood of the ball; it actually started to feel like a dance. Harry, Ron, Hermione and I all danced together like madpeople, jumping up and down, screaming, just having a grand old time. We'd been dancing for a couple hours when the first slow song came on, and all the people without dates walked off the dance floor to catch their breath. Harry left as well, even though he had a date; 'I guess he's just having a bad night,' I thought to myself.

I felt a timid tap on my shoulder, and turned to see my boyfriend, clad in his colourful robes, holding out his hand, bowing slightly. "Might I have this dance, m'lady?" He purred, making my heart flutter. "Yes, of course, kind sir," I played along with his act, breaking character when he pulled me into him by my waist. I put my chin on his shoulder, and he nestled his face into my neck. "You look amazing, love," I could feel his breath on my neck, and his hair tickled my cheek, the intimacy making me blush. "You look ridiculous, Ron," I laughed against him, and he chuckled, playfully nipping at my neck.

We danced and talked for a few more slow songs, until Draco decided to make an appearance. "What the hell, Y/N?? Why are you dancing with the blood traitor? Don't you have any shame? Father will hear about this!" He sneered, looking back at the people who started to watch. "Draco, please, don't do this here. Let's go outside." I pleaded, anxious to get out of there. Ron instinctively moved in front of me, protectiveness in his nature. "Well, actually, Mother and Father have heard about it; they won't let you come home. They disclosed it all here, in this letter." The fact that he was happy when he handed me the parchment sent a shiver down my spine. "Please tell me he's lying, Y/N." Ron sounded helpless, something I wasn't used to hearing.

As I read the letter, my heart sank as I found that Draco had been telling the truth, and that I was 'no longer a Malfoy' according to my parents. Draco smiled, satisfied with my defeated expression. Ron looked at me, hopeful, but I just shook my head and looked at my high heels. Draco started laughing and teasing me, other people jeering him on. It was all I could do not to cry then and there, until Ron took me by surprise, taking a swing at Draco, socking him right in the jaw, making Draco drop to the floor, clutching his face. The fact that Ron would throw the first punch took me by surprise, and I stole him away before Draco or any of his goons could retaliate, with Harry and Hermione in hot pursuit.

"Ron, what were you thinking?!" I yelled, worrying like crazy. "He was talking shit, what do you expect? I broke my bloody wrist, for Merlin's sake!" He held his arm, and my whole mood changed; he really did that for me? I made him go to the Hospital Wing and see Madam Pomfrey, which left me with Harry and Hermione. "Y/N, don't worry, we’ll always have your back," Harry put his arm around me, and Hermione grabbed my hand, patting it and giving me a kind look. They led me back to the common room, for us all to get ready for bed. Once we were all calmed down for the night and relaxing on the couches, Ron decided to show up, all fixed up by Madam Pomfrey.

He gave Harry and Hermione a look that said, 'Get the hell outta here!'. I waved goodbye, and opened my arms for Ron to come cuddle. As he was playing with my hair with his unbroken hand, he was whispering in my ear, "Y/N, you know I'm always here for you right? I'm always here, darling," I sat up from lying on his chest, and looked him in the eyes, "Of course I do, Ron. I'm here for you too, love. Do you know that?" I held his face gently, encouraging eye contact. He looked at me with those gorgeous blue-green eyes, and promised, "Of course, Y/N." With that, he took my chin, looked at my lips, and kissed me gently. The kiss was short, but he immediately went back in for another, this one longer and full of love, and understanding.

"Y/N, I have a question," He asked when we both came air, panting. I nodded, beckoning him to ask. "So I sent an owl to my mum when I was getting fixed up by Pomfrey, and she responded right away. Since, you know, you won't be staying at Malfoy Manor anymore, do you want to come live with me and my family at The Burrow?" Tears welled in my eyes; this gesture was too kind, too selfless. I'd never experienced anything like it before. I nodded my head like crazy, wanting nothing more than to live with him, and actually have a place where I feel safe, where I feel free. I flung my arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug, which he gladly returned, whispering to me how proud he was, and how excited he was to start a new chapter with me. When he kissed me for the millionth time, I knew that I made the right decision of having him in my life; he just made it so much better, so much brighter. I finally felt hopeful of a future where I'll be happy, and I knew he was going to be in it for the long haul.

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sukirichi · 3 years ago

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— LOVE LETTER FROM ANON ; 💌

this is from an ask i received. i copy pasted and replied here as a text post since i can’t put “read more” on anon asks and it’s quite long hehehe. to the anon who sent me this, i give you loads of my love, thank you so much for everything !!

[ the ask ]

hi lovely,

i just read earned it and i have a couple things i’d like to say to you if you don’t mind. before i start, i completely understand if you don’t want to share this ask or even read at all which is fair. but if you do decide to read it, i know that one person such as me cannot change the decisions a writer had made such as discontinuing a series but i hope that this allows you some sense of peace or happiness towards your creation and end of earned it. i’m actually writing this is my notes before i send it to you so that’s how you know i truly mean it. buckle up baby!

i’d like to start with this; i just read and finished all the remaining chapters of earned it. i don’t know how to say this without sounding arrogant or cocky which truly isn’t my intention here, i promise so i’ll just say it as is. i swear to ever loving god, i’ve scoured the entirety of tumblr, ao3, fanfiction.net, wattpad, everything and anything, and it still isn’t very often that i find works like these, far and few between dare i say. ive looked through almost everything i could get my hands on to read in the jjk fandom and dear god, do you manage to keep on surprising me. i’ve read majority if not all your works along with following you on ao3 and tumblr, and i must say. i truly am so fucking impressed. completely and absolutely fucking floored if you will. the amount of plot twists and pure emotion you managed to put into this is only something i can dream of ever creating.

i cannot lie, it truly my hearts to think that people gave you so much shit over this to which ended in you deciding to discontinue along with your lack of interest which at least, is understandable unlike the hate. i literally cannot comprehend how people would be unhappy with the outcome so far after reading it since it was beyond fucking magnificent in my eyes. it kept me on my toes the entire time whilst never managing to bore me once and as someone with adhd, thats fucking hard to do, i’ll admit it. props to you. and as much as i want to grovel and beg for crumbs, something, anything to know about how it ends, i know that that will most likely accomplish nothing to both you and i so decided to just say this.

thank you for writing this. thank you for not only writing it but dealing with the experience of unwanted and negative criticism to the point you had to stop and discontinue it whilst also being generous and amazing enough to keep it up so other people could still read it. i really hope your proud of earned it and how it turned out so far, because if i were you, i’d be so bloody fucking proud i wouldn’t know what to do with myself.

my friends often tell me i overstep my boundaries and i really hope i aren’t doing that with this but i just really, truly, wanted to express my genuine appreciation and thanks towards your writing and towards you as a writer that puts out content, not to mention for free!!!!, for people like me. i also don’t want to seem as if i’m glorifying earned above all your other works, because that’s not what i mean. your writing is just… just fucking chefs kiss. sorry, my brains starting to run out of words at this point but oh my god. thank you for letting me experience the experience of earned it even though there was no proper end. i’d rather have that than nothing at all. and maybe i misread this entire thing, maybe you are goddamn proud of your work, which you fuckinf should be considering the pure quality it is. once again, chefs kiss!!

i just… i don’t know what to say anymore. your writing, quite literally, has made me completely fucking breathless in a good way of course. anyways, i hope this wasn’t too much of a ramble and at least managed to make you smile or something. have a lovely day sweetheart!!!! <333 :*)

OMG ANON PLS FORGIVE ME IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK ME DAYS TO RESPOND TO, I DIDN’T WANT TO GIVE YOU A HALF ASSED RESPONSE SO I WAITED TO GET MY MENTAL ENERGY BACK TO A HUNDRED PERCENT SO I CAN SEND BACK MORE LOVE TO YOU WHOLEHEARTEDLY !! FIRST OF ALL UHM…

you really made me speechless with this one, you have no idea. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve reread this and teared up a little bit because you know… I’m so shocked like I really have no idea what I did to receive such a sweet message because I’m just writing silly fanfics when I’m feeling it yknow? Or at least that’s what it seems like because it turns out I have a huge impact on others and I’m able to make people happy like I’ll never EVER get used to that feeling and I mean that in a good way !! Like I’m in a constant state of disbelief that people are this affected by my content and I’m just…

I’m so thankful truly PLEASE can I give you a hug I’m so happy sobs sobs sobs

also baby, thank you sm for this again AAAAHH. I’m not sure if you really mean ‘Earned It’ the mafia! gojo series or ‘Reckless’ the CEO gojo series though ?? Both are discontinued but Earned It was discontinued bcos my dumbass killed Naoya there and he was my favorite so I lost the motivation and it was all my fault SOBBSSS. as for Reckless though, yeah I’d say it was mostly the hate I got for it that demotivated me into continuing it :// but if this ask is meant for Earned It, then yes thank you so much for the kind words as well, though I didn’t really receive hate for it so no worries !!

and aaah anon im…I’m at a loss for words lmao but the part where you said where you would be proud if you wrote it, that’s really…LIKE IDK it just hit me bcos oftentimes I look at something I poured my heart into, but then I’d have days where I’d be like YIKES that wasn’t a good one. its so easy to forget the effort we put into something when we’re affected by external factors. and yeah even though I really don’t want to continue either series anymore, thank you for leaving me the important note of being proud of myself <33

although the series (earned it) wasn’t really something I’d properly executed and planned for, I do remember being passionate over it and feeling truly excited to update. even if it didn’t end out the way I wanted it to, it’s still something I poured my heart on and that’s magnificent on its own, so I’ll be prouder of myself from now on <33

no worries bb you are not overstepping any boundaries at all !! believe me when I say this ask truly do means a lot to me – more than you’ll ever know. messages like these are what keeps me going, as feedback is important to writers, but most of all it’s the genuine support and sincerity that gets to me.

I’m truly humbled and grateful right now. thank you for this again and again and again.

THIS MADE ME MORE THAN SMILE !! there’s a lot of things I’m struggling with even if I don’t publicly express it, but messages like these will always have a special place in my heart. I’m sincerely grateful for everything, and I’ll continue writing here and sharing my works!! It’s supportive people like you that make these moments worthwhile. I’ll never forget this message anon AAAAH I LOVE YOU SO MUCH THANK YOU THANK YOU YOU HAVE AN EVEN BETTER DAY OR NIGHT, you have me weak in the knees for this

OKAY BRB SOBBING IN HAPPINESS

#asks with naoya's trophy wife #suki: for keeps #uwu anon

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something-tofightfor · 4 years ago

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Seasons to Cycles / 3

Pairing: Logan Delos x Reader

Word Count: 13,467

Rating: M (Mentions of drug use, sex with multiple partners, language, what happened to Logan in the park)

Summary: After spending time at Juliet’s, is there any reason for you and Logan to see each other again - especially with Ariella coming in for a few days? The answer is yes... and the situation is a lot more interesting than it may seem.

Another invitation to Juliet’s reveals a lot more truth about Logan, about his past ... and about his future.

Author’s Note: Nothing really to say here, except that writing Ariella makes me feel physically ill. I probably made her a lot more terrible than I needed to ... but oh well. The next one is where things really pick up. Thank you all for your feedback so far!

When Logan called the following Thursday, it surprised you, though not as much as it should have. You’d texted back and forth throughout the week; nothing serious, just saying hello and catching up, but like with other aspects of your friendship with Logan, the replies were coming much easier than they had been.

You’d looked the two of them up after spending the day with him at Juliet’s - finding out more about his relationship with Ariella, as well as more about the woman herself, and while she’d had a few high profile relationships before Logan, it seemed that their engagement had come out of nowhere. In between the text messages about your jobs, Juliet, and a TV show that you discovered both of you watched, you wanted to ask him about the woman, but at the same time, you didn’t. Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to, you reminded yourself as you gathered your laundry from the dryer, phone pressed to your ear. Because I think he’ll tell you. “This might sound strange,” Logan said, without much of a greeting. “But I was wonderin’ if you wanted to come over on Sunday and watch the season finale of -”

He continued, but you could barely hear him over the sound of the alarm bells going off in your head. This is bad. But when you realized he’d finished speaking, you hummed, closing your eyes. “Is that a… Logan, is that a good idea?” You didn’t want to assume anything about his intention behind the invitation, but it still made you feel uncomfortable. “We’d know why I was there, but if anyone …”

“Who’s gonna find out? There are hundreds of people that live in this building, you could be visiting any of them.” He paused. “I’m not trying to make you … I just thought …”

“This would be three weekends in a row, Logan. I don’t know how I feel about the fact that I’ve already seen you more than your fiancée has in the last …” But you trailed off, putting down your laundry basket and grabbing for your phone. “Isn’t she supposed to be here this weekend? Why -”

“She is. She’ll be in tomorrow and then fly out on Saturday night to go to her meeting. I’m leaving Monday for the Mesa, and I just thought …” What did you think, Logan? “You can invite Jess if you want, I …” I could.

“She doesn’t watch. Can’t get into it, so that won’t…” You began folding towels, holding the phone between your cheek and shoulder. “Logan, why are you … I’m sure you have a ton of friends, so why …” Why are you questioning this?

“You get along with my sister.” He said it simply, but you understood the weight of the words. “And like I said, I lost a lot of my friends when I changed my lifestyle, so it’s nice to …”

“Do you consider us friends, then?” It was blunt, but you needed to ask. “I mean we haven’t really known each other for long, so it might be too soon to …”

“I do.” There was no hesitation. “And I know that it’s probably hard for you to believe, especially since we just met, but I like you, and I like that you aren’t intimidated by my history.” I don’t know a lot of it, Logan, but I … “So I’m inviting you over, and you can say no if you want, but I just thought I’d ask.” Pulling your phone away from your ear, you pressed the button for speakerphone, setting it onto the table. “I’m gonna take your silence as -”

“I’ll come over, Logan. Just give me your address, and I’ll be there.” He let out a breath, asking if you were sure. “Yep.” Stacking the towels together, you smiled, even though you were angry at yourself. You’re setting yourself up for disappointment. “Besides, I’m pretty sure the neighbors will appreciate the fact that I’m not yelling out loud in my apartment for an hour and a half.”

---

“So you’re going out to the Mesa Monday morning?” She was laying on his bed on her stomach, legs bent at the knee and joined at the ankle. “Clients?”

“Yeah.” I told you that three times. “Gonna be there about a week, give or take.” He looked over his shoulder, watching as Ariella propped her chin up on one hand, her eyes on him. “How long will you be in San Fran for?”

“Not even 24 hours, Logan. If I wasn’t seeing you, I would have just flown there, but instead …” She waved her free hand in the air. “Here I am.” You could act a little happier about it. “And then I’ll be back home. Nathan’s birthday is next week, so we’re going to Amsterdam for a few days, and than I’ll…” He tuned her out, eyes roving over her face and then moving back, taking in the sight of her against his sheets, stretched out on his bed. Another trip. Another … another story we’re going to have to buy to keep it quiet, another …

“Ari?” He shifted toward her, reaching out with one hand to touch her left, his thumb rubbing against the ring on her finger. “I can come see you in London on my way home from the Mesa, stop by for a couple days. Maybe we can meet with some of the -” She laughed, tossing her head to one side. “What’s so funny?”

“That’s why we have a wedding planner, Logan. So we don’t have to deal with it.” But I want to …

“Don’t you want to be part of the planning, Ari? Even a little? I know you picked out a dress, but -”

“Actually, about that.” She sat up, straightening her shirt., her hands smoothing it down her sides. “There are a couple of designers that are asking if they can make my dress, and I’m meeting with my publicist to figure out what the best option is, exposure-wise.” Is that all this … don’t you … “You could probably do the same with your suit … tux, whatever you choose. Maybe even the rings, too”

“Well, won’t we have to -” She rolled her eyes.

“You know as well as I do, Logan, that this wedding is going to be the only thing people talk about for months. It’s going to be good for us and for Delos, so we might as well get as much out of it as we can, don’t you think?” She was twisting a strand of hair around her finger, and Logan fought back a wince. “Call the planner again, figure out what they think will look best, and then have them give you options. It’s simple.” She was looking around, her lips pressed together. “And are you going to look for a house? I don’t want to live in an apartment in the middle of …” Logan gritted his teeth, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair.

“I thought that since we’d be living there together, a house would be something that we could …” She stared at him, deadpan, and Logan cut himself off. “... find together, but I guess I can find a realtor when it gets closer. Maybe I’ll use Juliet’s, she found her -”

“No suburbs, Logan. If I’m leaving London and coming here, I want to live by the beach. Or at least somewhere I can see it.” That’s the most reasonable thing you’ve said all day. She said his name again, and Logan’s attention went back to the woman, who was climbing out of the bed and walking toward the bathroom door. “I’m going to shower, since I have to be at the airport in just under two hours.” He nodded, and she gestured to the open door. “Are you gonna -”

He forced a smile. “Nah. Wouldn’t wanna make you late.” The woman actually laughed, her eyes lighting up. “Go. Your stuff’s still in there from last time, so you won’t have to get on the plane smelling like …”

“You always smell good, Logan.” She wrinkled her nose. “That wouldn’t be a bad thing.” As she disappeared into the room and closed the door behind her, Logan lowered himself onto the bed, rubbing his hands over his face. This just gets more and more exhausting. But maybe … He pushed himself to his feet, making his way out into the living room and sitting on the arm of his couch, eyes on the city stretched out in front of him. The sun was just beginning drop behind the buildings to the right of his balcony, and Logan chewed on his lip as he stared through the glass, thinking.

Ariella’s visit had been no different than the last time she’d been in LA, though much shorter. He’d picked her up from the airport in one of the Delos cars, waiting by the gate, and even though he thought that there had been a few paparazzi, there’d been no pictures of the two of them popping up. But they know she’s here, she posted a picture from the plane, and … He rubbed the back of his neck, thinking. And we went out for dinner last night, so…

Logan liked the press at times, understanding the need to bolster the Delos image with being seen publicly, giving the photographers what they wanted every now and then. Especially after what happened a couple years back, and with Juliet’s divorce. We both kinda fucked that up, didn’t we, Dad?

Between Juliet’s public divorce, and Logan’s very public downward spiral, there’d been a fair amount of rebuilding for the Delos brand, starting with Logan’s trips to rehab and continuing with the introduction of the everyday tech line and his engagement. Ask which of the latter two I’m prouder of. Looking down and then back up and out the window, Logan sighed. It’s not that I don’t care about her, because I do, but … “Logan?” He looked back over his shoulder, seeing his fiancée standing in the doorway wearing a simple blue dress, her wet hair braided and hanging over one shoulder. “I’m gonna keep this here, alright?” She was holding a small tin in one hand, a lopsided smile on her face. “Not trying to take it on a commercial flight, and since I don’t have access to the Delos jet yet…” She shrugged, moving the tin back and forth. “That would be a story.”

Warily, he stood and walked toward the woman, head tilted to the side. What is it this time? “Ari, what -” But when he put his hand against her shoulder, the other one curving around the back of her head to tilt it up and look into her eyes, disappointment hit him like a freight train. “You gotta slow down with that shit, you know that.” He leaned down, lips finding her forehead, the skin hot beneath them. “Why’d you -”

She leaned into his touch, sniffling twice before she answered. “The shit’s better here than at home, and I…” She sighed, her lips against his throat. “You know that, Logan, you used to bring it -” Her heart was racing beneath his palm, but Logan stiffened, pulling away.

“Used to. Not anymore.” The woman opened her eyes wide, straightening up and staring at him. “You know I -” She ran her tongue along her lower lip, pupils dilated, and though eighteen months prior, the action would have caused Logan to grip her by the arms, pushing her back into the bedroom and opening the small tin for himself before he took her to bed, he wanted to do none of those things. “I don’t do that shit anymore, don’t want it in my…” But the woman rose up on her toes, lips finding Logan’s and lingering.

“You know the deal, Logan. It stops when we get married. All of it. But until then?” She kissed his cheek, mouth moving slowly over his skin, and Logan closed his eyes, the hand at the base of her skull tightening, his fingers sliding down her bare arm toward her elbow. “Until then, I’m gonna keep doing what I’m doing. That’s what we agreed, right?” We did. It’s all there in the… He felt her teeth close around his earlobe, and Logan’s eyes closed, fingers of both hands flexing as his body reacted to the feeling. “Besides, you wouldn’t get in the shower with me, so I … improvised.”

“Ari.” He sighed her name out, pushing her away gently. “Look at me.” She did, head tilted up slightly, and Logan let go of her hand, reaching up to brush his thumb beneath her nose, removing a tiny spot of white from her pale skin. “Just because I know that doesn’t mean I wanna…” He drew his lower lip into his mouth, watching as the woman’s eyes followed the movement. “I don’t want to see you like this right before you go, especially since I don’t know when we’ll see each other again.” It’s the truth. “You never answered me, do you want me to stop in London when I -”

“Nah.” She gave him a lopsided smile and pulled out of his arms, shrugging her shoulders. “I’ll see you when I come back in for your dad’s party, that’ll… that’ll be good.” Will it? That’s another month. “I’m gonna put this in this drawer.” She stepped over to the kitchen, pulling one of the smaller drawers open and sliding the tin in. “I’ll get it when I come back, unless you …” She glanced up. “Unless you decide to use it before then.” No. I won’t. I’ll move that to the safe after she’s gone. She walked back toward him, her bare feet padding over the wooden floor and reached up, her hand cupping his cheek. “When I come back, Logan? We can meet with anyone you want. A caterer? Florist? Venues?” Really? “I know I should care more, but I’ve never really… thought about my wedding, Logan, and it’s just … overwhelming.” I didn’t either, I didn’t even have a steady relationship until…

Though he kept his expression impassive, Logan realized that he’d never been in a steady relationship. Yeah, we’re engaged, but … “I’ll look into it, Ari. I’ll let you know.” He reached up, covering her hand with his and squeezing. “Let me call you a car. You may not be usin’ the jet, but I can have one of the Delos drivers here in ten.” She agreed and he stepped away, pulling his phone out of his pocket and tilting it. As the screen lit, he was surprised to see a message from you, reminding him that you needed his address. Shit, I forgot to send it to her. I’ll do that… Swiping his finger in the same pattern as before, he opened the app to order the ride, typing in Ariella’s name as the passenger, which auto-selected her preferences. This shit is convenient, at least. “All done. It’ll be here in eight minutes.”

“Thanks.” The woman lifted both hands over her head, stretching as she walked back toward the bedroom. “I’ll get my bag, and then …” Her voice trailed off as Logan replaced his phone in his pocket, following her. Stepping back into the main room a few seconds later, a small suitcase trailing behind her, Ariella paused, one hand on the marble countertop. “Why haven’t you asked me about last weekend, Logan?” He heard a quiet clicking as she tapped her fingers against the surface. “I got the alert from my publicist that the story was axed, but…” Here we go. He was familiar with the mood swings, the changes in Ariella’s behavior, but what was new was the fact that she was trying to pick a fight with him immediately before leaving. It’s giving her ammunition. Giving her an excuse to…

“Because I don’t want to know.” His words honest, Logan looked straight into the woman’s eyes. “That’s three, Ari. Three times we’ve had to … catch things before they go too far. The deal was -”

“I know the deal, Logan.” She snapped at him, all traces of affection that had been present only minutes before gone. “Just like you do. It’s not my fault I get followed more than you do, that people want to -” He laughed, reaching up with one hand to scratch one side of his face, nodding. So we’re going to go there? Alright.

“No, but it is your fault that you’re getting sloppier, so that’s on you.” The anger he felt was real; bubbling over after months of reflection, and Logan reminded himself to take a deep breath, reining it in. “But that’s what the lawyers are for, right? Keeping shit like that away from the press?” She shook her head at him, and just as Logan was about to speak again, his phone pinged, letting him know that the car was only a few minutes away. “There’s your ride.” He gestured to the door. “Good luck with your meeting, Ariella.” The woman looked as if she wanted to speak but didn’t, instead walking past Logan and to the door. “And have fun with Nathan next week. Hopefully in Amsterdam, you won’t be followed as much as you are in London, so you -”

“Oh, fuck you, Logan. You act like you’re a goddamn saint.” She snarled the words, turning back to him and flexing her fingers around the suitcase’s handle, the diamond on her finger glinting in the overhead lighting. “Remember when we met? You were worse than me, and I didn’t judge you for it. Now you’re acting like… Jesus, live a little, Logan. Otherwise, the next thr-” She cut herself off, shaking her head back and forth. “We both knew what this was, Logan, so I don’t know why you’re giving me so much shit right now. Make the most of it - I sure am.”

“Yeah, I fucking know you are.” But he didn’t raise his voice, just watched the woman with a half smile on his face. “Have a safe flight, Ari. I’ll see you in a few weeks.” She didn’t say anything else, instead turning and pulling the door open after walking the final few feet toward it, Logan standing in the middle of his living room. It shut behind her, and though she didn’t slam it, Logan closed his eyes at the sound. This was so much easier when I was … His eyes opened and went to the kitchen, staring in the direction of the drawer she’d used. So much easier. So much less… But he looked away, taking a deep breath and stepping toward the balcony, sliding the door open and walking out onto it.

Logan’s fingers closed around the railing, gripping the metal as he leaned forward. He was only 17 stories up, but the view calmed him, his anger subsiding the longer he stood in place. She isn’t wrong. I did know. I do know. But as Logan dropped into one of the chairs, one hand covering his face, it didn’t make him feel any better. That could have gone much differently. He rubbed at the bridge of his nose, thinking. I wasn’t even going to mention Nathan or last weekend, or … she knew that we had to pay them off, knew what they got pictures of, knew what … and she still… “Fuck.” He swore again, slamming one hand on the table before he lifted his head, looking down Grand Avenue toward the Convention Center. He felt his phone vibrate, and for one long second, he thought that it might have been Ariella, calling to apologize, but when he pulled the device from his pocket, it was another message from you, complete with an apology for bothering him.

I know you’re busy, and I hate bothering you when Ariella’s there, but I thought I’d try again before it got too late. If you still want me to come tomorrow, I need your address. If not, I’m going to call my friend Kira and see if she wants to watch together. If you have to cancel, Logan, it’s no big deal, just let me know.

As he swiped up, he saw that your first message had been sent hours earlier, and Logan groaned. She was there when I ignored Ari’s call, so she probably thinks I’m… Logan scrubbed a hand over his face, swearing for a third time and then pushed the button to call you instead of just messaging back. She won’t answer. But you did, on the third ring, greeting him by name. “Sorry it took me so long, Ariella just left to get on her flight, and I just saw your first message.”

“Don’t apologize. I figured it was something like that, and I didn’t want … I shouldn’t have sent two messages, that looks …” No, it doesn’t.

“If you come over early tomorrow, we can get somethin’ to eat before.” He cut you off, resting his elbow on the table, fingers curled and tucked beneath his chin. “How’s that sound?” He heard you take a breath. Why does she second guess everything I say?

“I guess we’ve gotta eat, Logan.” He released the breath that he’d taken, smiling. “I’m not too picky, so whatever you want to order works for me.”

“We’ll just order when you get here, it’s fine.” Logan sat straight up, then leaned back in his chair. “That’s onea the nice things about living here - plenty of options.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “What time you wanna stop by? Show starts at 9.”

“I can get there at 8:30?” Logan laughed out loud, and you did too, but yours was nervous. “What’s so funny?”

“What’s the point, then? We won’t even have time to order or eat, and then…” He realized that he wanted to spend longer than that with you, and Logan stopped speaking, eyes going wide. Oh, that… “I mean, if you have something to do and can’t get here til then, that’s fine, but…” Your end of the line went quiet, and Logan was afraid that the connection had been broken when you finally spoke again.

“What time do you want me there, Logan? I have no plans, except going grocery shopping, and…” You sighed. “I have work Monday, and you have a flight, so…”

“Any time after 5 is fine.” That gave you a larger window, and Logan figured you wouldn’t get to his place until at least 6, but the earlier time appealed to him. Especially since after that I’ll be … gone for a week, at least. “Just let me know tomorrow, alright? I’ll let you go now, but I wanted to call you instead of texting, because I…” Why’d you call, Delos? “It was easier, and that way I didn’t have to wait for an answer.” And because I wanted to. The sound you made convinced Logan that you’d rolled your eyes, but when you spoke, you sounded happy.

“Why don’t… why don’t I shoot for 5:30? What’s the address? Where do I park? Is there a garage, or -” Shit, I didn’t even think of…

“I get two spaces in my name, plus a couple guest spots, so when you pull in, turn in off of Olympic, and give my name at the gate. I’ll let ‘em know you’re coming, so they’ll tell you where to go.” You repeated the information, and he was almost positive that you were writing it down. “I’m on the 17th floor, in 1703, so just take the elevator up, or I can come meet you in the lobby.”

“Elevator’s fine, Logan. I think I can manage.” He agreed, standing and walking back into his condo, eyes moving around the room. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?” He agreed, saying your name and telling you to have a good night. “Oh, I’ll try. I’m about to run out and grab dinner, and then I’m going to watch a movie, so… thrilling Saturday over here.” It’s better than mine.

“What’s for dinner?” He couldn’t help asking, even as he stood in front of his own refrigerator, hand on the door. “That way I won’t pick the same thing for tomorrow.”

“There’s this place that’s right around the corner that’s a tiki bar. I can walk there, it’s so close, and it’s a hole in the wall, but they have like fifteen different types of tropical drinks.”

“That’s not food.” He grinned, imagining you with a frozen drink in your hand, twisting the tiny umbrella between your fingers. “And you’re drinkin’ alone in a bar?” You laughed again at that, and Logan was happy to hear that there was no hesitation or apprehension to the sound.

“No, I usually meet friends there. But tonight, I’m going by myself. And I know it’s not food, Logan, but they don’t have a kitchen, they just have different food trucks park on the side street.” You cleared your throat. “So, I’m going, and I’m gonna order a giant Mai-Tai to go, hope the taco truck is there tonight, and bring it all home to eat alone while I watch my movie.” That sounds great. He held back from saying it, though, just agreeing with you. “So I’ll see you tomorrow, Logan?”.

“Yeah. I’m gonna go pack, that way I don’t have to do before you get here, or after you leave.” Even though it won’t take me long, since I only need a few outfits. He said goodbye and then hung up, still standing in front of the refrigerator. Tacos actually sound really… “C’mon, Delos.” He rubbed at his beard, shaking his head. “You …” But the more Logan thought about it, the more he realized that after hearing you talk about tacos, nothing else would cut it.

---

When you parked in his garage the next night, you spent a few minutes looking around at the cars that were parked around you. Mine’s the least expensive one in here, by… You sighed. By far. Though Logan never made you feel as though you didn’t belong anywhere near him, the surroundings often did; the expensive hotel, Juliet’s multimillion-dollar home, Logan’s high rise, the talk of the parks and his traveling … it was all new to you, and much more extravagant than you were accustomed to. But there’s a first time for everything, right? Exiting the car, you saw Logan’s parked in the space next to yours, meaning that you weren’t in a guest spot - you were in one of his. I figured he’d have two cars parked here, but I guess…

You texted him as you locked your door, heading for the elevator, and even though he didn’t reply, you saw that he’d opened the message. Alright. It rose quickly, and when you stepped onto his floor, you took a deep breath, straightening your shoulders. It’s just a TV show. We’re just … But you knocked, taking a half step back, and waited for Logan to open the door. He did after only a few seconds, and you were happy to see that yet again, Logan was dressed casually, in a pair of black joggers and a white t-shirt, hair loose around his face. “Hey!” He grinned, gesturing for you to come in. “You’re early.”

“Not by much!” You walked into his apartment, glancing around. “It’s 5:30, Logan, I -” But he was laughing, following you down the short hallway and into the living room. “It’s so open. This place is…” Your hand trailed over the countertop, head turned toward the longer hallway. “Wow. That view.” He followed you silently, letting you look around, but when you turned back to face him, he had a smile on his face, eyes sparkling. “It’s gorgeous, Logan.”

“Is it?” He looked down and then back at you, tongue wetting his lips. “I guess I forget what it’s like to see this place for the first time, I’ve lived here for …” Furrowing his brow, he thought. “Four years?” His dark furniture was a stark contrast to the white walls and gleaming fixtures, large pieces of artwork adorning the walls, along with a massive TV mounted to the largest one, directly across from the oversized couch. It’s not stuffy. It looks … it looks comfortable, not just … formal. “Wanna see the rest of it?”

“Sure.” Without hesitation, you agreed, Logan motioning for you to follow him down the hallway where he pointed out the first bedroom, which was being used as an office, and the bathroom before leading you into the master bedroom, where he’d opened the drapes all the way. Without speaking, you walked past a large painting hanging on the wall and over to the glass, raising one hand to touch it with your fingertips. “Damn, this would … not be a good choice for someone that’s afraid of heights.” You looked over your shoulder, seeing that he was just a few feet behind you, watching you. “There’s so much glass, Logan, it’s…” You searched for the right word. “Stunning.”

“Yeah?” You nodded. You sound like an idiot. “Thank you.” Logan raised one eyebrow. “You should see my closet.” A few seconds later, you were standing inside of it with him, one hand covering your face as you laughed.

“When did we leave your condo and step into a…” You opened your eyes, using two fingers to flip through some of the hangers. “Tom Ford? Burberry? Givenchy?” This rack costs more than my… “Was there a portal or something I missed? Did we -”

“You think you’re so amusing, hmm?” He stepped closer, reaching past you to straighten one of the jackets. “I run a company, remember? I have to look professional.” As he drew his hand back, it glanced off of your arm, causing you to freeze in place. “If you turn around, you’ll see the…” You did as he spoke, and laughed again.

“And we’re back.” Even he laughed at that, watching as you shook your head while you looked at the opposite side of the closet, filled with less formal clothing - jeans and button downs, a few jackets and hoodies. “I really shouldn’t joke, though.” You looked over at Logan, who was leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest. “You wear the hell out of a suit, Logan.” He seemed surprised at your candor, but you were just being honest. “And having options is never a bad thing.” Whatever he’d planned on saying, he abandoned it, instead leaning forward and staring into your eyes.

“Yeah, but have you seen me in a tux?” Snorting, you ignored the question and walked past him and back into the room. I have. I’ve looked at too many pictures of you in all kinds of … “Bathroom’s just through there, I think you’ll like that, too.” He was right, and as you stepped through that doorway, you stopped in your tracks, eyes straight ahead. Oh, that shower, it’s… I bet the water pressure is… and it’s huge, two people could easily…

“Wow.” You knew that he could see your expression in the mirror’s reflection and so you turned toward it, frowning slightly. “I don’t mean to be so …” He stood next to you, hands on the counter’s edge, and waited. “I don’t know what I was expecting Logan, but this …”

“Why are you apologizing?” He was frowning too, and despite the fact that you wanted to continue staring into the glass, you turned your head, facing him head on.

“Because it’s just an apartment, Logan. It shouldn’t … I told myself I wasn’t going to …”

“Can I tell you something?” He reached out, laying his hand over yours for a second before pulling it back. Sure, I … “Seeing you react to this place? Your genuine reaction to it?” He laughed quietly. “It’s better than all the people that are used to it, and don’t even… don’t even bat an eye.” It’s not, stop. “And it’s much better than the people that used to come here and not even see it.” You watched as his eyes wandered back toward the bedroom before coming back to you. “So thank you, for bein’ honest about it.” You stared at him for a few seconds, and then decided to lighten the mood. We need it, this is too…

“You know what else I’m going to be honest about, Logan? You bit down on the corner of your lip. “I’m really hungry.” His lips parted and then he laughed again, straightening up and reaching out to you, tugging on your elbow. He didn’t even think about that, he just … But you didn’t think twice before you followed him, either. ---

After looking over the menu, you’d given him the go-ahead to surprise you, and when the delivery was made, the two of you took the food out onto his balcony, talking over your meal. Within an hour and a half, the two of you had eaten most of the food that had been delivered from Katsuya, and you were more than content. He ordered almost the whole damn menu, I think. But it was … “This the first time you’ve had -” You nodded, watching Logan’s surprise. “Damn, this is a whole night of firsts for you.”

“Actually.” You took a long drink out of your glass, the ice water deliciously cool in the slightly humid air. “Since I met you, Logan? It’s been a lot of firsts.” He leaned forward, elbows on the table and watched you.

“Like what?” I shouldn’t have said anything. “Oh, come on, you can’t just say that and then …”

“Well.” You reached forward, picking up one more piece of edamame and putting it into your mouth. “First time having to remind someone that ice cream is frozen and does actually melt if left out.” He wrinkled his nose, the lines deeper than usual. “First time embarrassing myself by trying to play the piano next to someone that -”

“Hey, you were really good for someone that hasn’t played in a while.” Ok, but still.

“Eh. Sure.” You eyed him, waiting a second. Do I keep this … “First time meeting someone’s sister based on the fact that I didn’t try to break up an engagement and sleep with you after knowing you for five minutes and having some drinks.” He actually laughed at that, mouthing the word ‘wow’. “What? It’s true.”

“It is.” It was his turn to take a drink, though he didn’t take his eyes off of you. “Keep goin’.”

“We’re already to tonight, Logan. This is only the third time we’ve actually… well, fourth if you count Whole Foods, but …” You shrugged, leaning back in your chair. “How many more firsts…” But you stopped, pressing your lips together as you realized what a dangerously loaded question that could be. Oh, no. He stayed quiet for a few seconds and then reached up, pulling his hair back from his face with one hand and using his tongue to lick at the corner of his mouth. I’ve never seen that look on his face before, he’s never done …

“Plentya firsts, actually.” Logan’s voice was low, but there was no hesitation. “But not ones … not ones that -”

“Stop, Logan.” Suddenly feeling panic, you shook your head back and forth, eyes widening. “Don’t.” You can’t, because I can’t, because if I think about any of that, I …

“There’s somethin’ you need to know about me.” He said your name, and though your heart was still beating rapidly, you managed to look back at him, hoping that your eyes weren’t wild. “The most important thing about me, actually.” What? “I never lie. Ever. I told you that when we got to Juliet’s, but … I can bend the truth, sure, and I do it, because I need to sometimes, for work. But outright lie? I refuse to.” He was still eyeing you, but you didn’t hear any indication that his words were forced. He said the same thing in the car. “And you can’t believe me, I know that, because anyone can say that they don’t…” He looked frustrated.

“Why are you telling me this, Logan?” You were still leaning back in your chair, arms protectively crossed over your chest. “What -” What does his honesty mean to me? It’s not …

“I don’t know. It’s not good business, I can say that for sure.” You had to chuckle at that, but cut it off quickly. “Call it a tell, call it a fault, call it whatever the fuck you want, but if we’re gonna keep seein’ each other like this, getting to know each other? You need to know that every single thing that I tell you is the truth, because…” His eyes clouded over for a few seconds, but then he blinked, refocusing on you. “Because it is.”

“Logan, what…” You took a deep breath. “I don’t understand where this is …”

“I like you.” He said it simply. “I like seeing you and talking to you.” You watched as his expression changed, the man sitting up straight. “You asked if I thought we were friends, and I said yes, and it was the truth.” Ok, but I already knew this, and I agree.

“And I like you, Logan, but that doesn’t …” Confused, you sat up too. “Why are you telling me this? What are you -”

“There’s so much you don’t… so much that …” He laughed quietly, looking down. “So much I wish I could tell you.” What the hell does that mean? “Forget it for now, alright? I shouldn’t have said anything, but you … you walked into it, with the whole “firsts” thing.” Though you wanted to know what he was talking about, you were content to let it go for the time being. He’s leaving for a week, and maybe he’ll have time to… and I don’t have to think about whatever this is, or what he… “I just want you to know that whatever happens, everything I say to you is the truth.” Logan stood, beginning to clear the table, throwing napkins and empty dishes into the delivery bag. “I know I gotta earn that trust from you, but maybe … maybe you hearin’ it will be …” This is strange, something …

You stood too, helping him, and within only a few minutes, you were both back in his kitchen, Logan sorting through the trash and you washing dishes. Say something. “So this truth thing.” You glanced over, watching as he stopped moving, meeting your eyes. “Has it been your whole life, or just since…” You made a face, realizing that you were walking into delicate territory. “Just since you got clean?”

“Both.” He answered immediately. “More now, because there’s nothin’ altering my thoughts, but … it’s been since I was a kid. Juliet used to know that she couldn’t get away with anything, because my mom would always …” His eyes filled with warmth. “I definitely didn’t get it from my dad, but honesty - and integrity - have always been really important, especially when it comes to Delos.” I get that. “And even with the people I’ve been with? Never lied to them, either. Never promised ‘em anything, or led ‘em on. When it was just sex, it was just sex. When it was just me not wantin’ to be alone? They knew it.”

As you stood in the middle of Logan’s brightly lit kitchen, listening to and watching him speak, you had to wonder if his truth with you was at the same level it was with everyone else. But this is so new, he has no reason to… “I appreciate that, Logan. It’s much easier when you know where you stand with someone. I’d rather have someone tell me in the beginning that they’re just trying to get laid instead of letting me get attached and then …” You lifted one shoulder, watching as his eyes moved with the action. “Leaving, or… letting me down.”

“Fuck ‘em.” He stepped closer, reaching behind you to turn off the water. “They do that shit, they don’t deserve you.” You don’t even know me. How can you … “D’you want a drink? We’ve got about twenty minutes, so we should…” He gestured to the living room. “Get comfortable.” That was an abrupt change. But it was … “Go ahead and get whatever out of the fridge, I’m gonna close the blinds and…” But you reached out, shaking your head as you touched his arm. “What?”

“No, don’t.” Looking past Logan, you stared out the window. “I live on the ground floor, Logan, the view is …” I could get used to it.

“Alright.” He cleared his throat. “But if there’s a glare on the TV?” He leaned closer, head angled. “I told you so.”

---

Even though the two of you were settled on the same couch, there was space between you. It’s better this way. He was trying to pay attention to the show - which truly was one of his favorites - but it was difficult. And this is a great episode, so… But Logan’s mind wandered, his eyes with it, and he found himself watching you more than he watched the TV. And that’s hard to do, it’s a goddamn 82 inch screen. You’d asked him for a blanket before the show started, explaining to him that you needed to have something to do with your hands when things got tense, and he’d obliged, pulling one of the extra ones off of the shelf of the front closet and passing it to you.

It hadn’t taken long for you to wrap it around your shoulders, covering up the exposed skin of your arms as you gathered it in front of your face, fingers gripping the material tightly. He found it incredibly endearing, the way you were engrossed in the show - commenting occasionally, turning your head to look at him when something shocked you, one hand shooting out from beneath the material to grip his arm at one particularly tense point. This is the most at ease I’ve seen her, and she’s more tense than … He grinned at the thought, eyes leaving you and going back to the TV. “Oh, shit!” He swore as one of the main characters began fighting another, Logan leaning forward, hands on his thighs. “Oh, that’s not…”

“I know!” You agreed with him, and he saw you moving out of the corner of his eye, shifting on the couch to lean forward too, shoulders hunched. “He shouldn’t -” But both of you groaned as the man tripped, flying forward and into the weapon the other was holding, a spray of blood erupting from the wound. “Fuck!” As the scene faded to black and then cut to a commercial, you yelped and looked at Logan, a pained smile on your face. “Sorry, I’m -”

“Don’t apologize!” He laughed, head moving back and forth. “If you could feel my heartbeat right now, it’s racing.” You moved before you thought it through, he could see it in your eyes after the fact, but only a second later, your palm was pressed against Logan’s chest, touch firm. “See?” He stared at you in the low light, watching as your eyes left his face and then focused on your hand before moving back up, slowly. Yeah, I know that look, I… Your name left his lips, but before you had a chance to reply, the show started again and you pulled your hand away, Logan feeling the tips of your fingers curl just slightly before they were gone.

Throughout the next twenty minutes of the show, Logan again tried to focus on the TV in front of him, and he found it easier. But why? The final commercial break began, and you spoke, voice quiet. “What do you think’s going to happen, Logan? I don’t think he’s dead, I think he comes back right before -”

“Oh, definitely.” He moved, realizing at the last second that he’d scooted closer to you instead of further away, his left knee nearly touching your bent right one. “There’s no way they let that be the last time we see him, he’s too important to kill off-screen, and we need to know what happens to that other asshole, so…” You laughed, giving him a smile. ‘

“Thank you for having me over, this was a lot of fun.” Yeah, it is. “Maybe next season we …” But you cut yourself off, lips pressed together. By the time the next season airs, I’ll be… married. “Well, we can text each other at least, right? Yeah. Yeah, we can.

Neither of you spoke for the entire last segment of the show, and by the time the credits started rolling, Logan saw that you’d pulled the blanket off of your shoulders, balling it up on your lap and leaning forward, eyes fixed on the screen. You’d been right - the character wasn’t dead, showing up at the last possible second to finish the fight, though bloodied and unsteady on his feet, collapsing at the last second before the screen faded to black. Figures. At least someone got to get even with … The image of William flashed in his mind, the man’s nose bloody after Logan’s punch, the single hit not even coming close to making up for everything that the man had done to him. But it’s what I could do. And he’s gone. He’s not in Juliet’s life anymore, or Em’s, or… “Should -”

“Shhh, Logan, there’s always an …” You stopped yourself as the after-credits scene began, the only thing visible on the screen the bare feet and lower legs of a woman, firmly planted on the floor next to a hospital bed. “Oh, my God.” You leaned further forward, mouth open. “Oh, my God.” The woman stood, one of her ankles wobbling, and then the camera began to pan upward. “Logan, it’s…” I know, it can only be… The music grew in intensity, and the final shot revealed that the woman in the hospital was the main character that had just been potentially killed off’s sister, who’d been missing for nearly the entire season. I wasn’t expecting… Before the screen faded to black again, the woman spoke only one word - her brother’s name. “Fuck!” You said it. You turned toward him, eyes still wide, and before Logan could react, you had both hands on his leg, squeezing. “Logan that was…” Both of you looked down at the same time, realizing what was happening, and as you swore under your breath and began pulling away, Logan moved, too. Don’t do it, Delos.

But he did, swiftly grabbing for your wrists before you could pull them away, his fingers circling them easily as he said your name. You froze, and Logan could feel your pulse racing beneath his fingertips. Is that from the show, or from… But he had an idea that it was from him, and the proximity that the two of you had. We’ve been walking this line all night. I shouldn’t have invited her over, this isn’t… “Tell me to let go.” He watched your lip quiver, eyes closing and your lashes brushing your cheeks. “I will, and we can -” Your grip on his leg tightened and for one brief moment, Logan thought that you weren’t going to speak.

“You should let go, Logan.” He heard the finality in your voice, though there was a slight waver to it. “You’re engaged, and I don’t … I can’t let …” When you met his eyes again, he saw that you were torn. Oh, if she knew, if she knew what … “Please, Logan.” He released you immediately, and you pulled your hands away, sitting straight up. “I need to go, I need to …” He waited until you’d stood to rise, once again reaching out, but this time, only touching you at the elbow briefly. “Logan, what -”

“I said I wasn’t a cheater, and I meant it.” You looked up at him, waiting. “This hasn’t ever been about me wanting to get you into bed, to have … this be some big secret.” He sniffled, glancing up at the ceiling. “I don’t even know if I’m just way fucking off base here, but I -”

“You’re not.” You swallowed hard. “Logan, this is … you’re …” I’m not? Despite outward appearances, Logan doubted a lot of things in his life, including the way people acted toward him - and their reasons for the behaviors. But then… “But it doesn’t matter, Logan. Because you’ve got a fiancée. You’re getting married, and I’m not going to be …” He watched you fighting to get the words out, your eyes slightly unfocused. “That isn’t what I want to be to you, Logan.”

“It’s not what I want for you, either.” But you don’t.. You don’t know, and I can’t… “I didn’t invite you here tonight because I wanted to fuck you.” He was blunt, but felt he needed to be. “There are parts of my life that aren’t … I told you, before, that you can’t believe everything you read, and I don’t know what you’ve …”

“Logan, I don’t care what the magazines or the websites say about the way you are with the other people in your life. I don’t give a shit if you slept with the entire population of California, but I would like to believe that what you - yourself - have told me is true. That you’re a good man, and that you’re honest and that you aren’t a cheater.” He heard your tone change as you spoke, each word coming out stronger than the last. She means it, she isn’t bluffing, and it’s not for show. “You’re a good looking guy, Logan. Really good looking. And you’re funny. You’re smart. You’re everything that people tick off on those little boxes in their heads when they think of someone that they’d want to be with - even just physically.”

“You -” But you cut him off, stepping closer to him and reaching up with one hand, letting yourself touch his shoulder. What is she doing?

“I’m guilty of flirting with you, Logan. And I won’t apologize for it, because you did the same thing back.” I did. “But now I think that I need to … not do that anymore, because I don’t want you to get the wrong impression of me.” He watched you frown, lips pressed together. “That’s not why I answered your calls, or why I text you back, or … the reason I came over here.” Goddamn this fucking NDA, I could just … “I’m going to go. I don’t want to keep digging myself deeper into this hole that I…” You closed your eyes, composing yourself. “Thank you for dinner. Thank you for having me over to use that giant TV. Thank you for -”

But it was Logan’s turn to cut you off, one finger pressed against your lips to silence you. Stop. “You’re welcome.” He pulled his hand away, focused on the sight of your surprise, eyes widening and your fingers flexing against his shoulder. “And for the record, I appreciate the fact that you think I check off those boxes, because a lotta people would be more than willing to tell you otherwise.” That got a small smile from you, but he also saw that you were still confused. Me too. “I was out of line. I shouldn’t have ...tonight? I shouldn’t have grabbed you, but it … happened.” And I’d do it again if you gave me the chance. “It won’t happen again.” Unless I find out a way to explain this to you. “So don’t apologize. And don’t worry - I’ll keep my hands to myself the next time I see you.”

He watched a look of disappointment fill your eyes - but then it was gone, replaced with one of relief. So her reactions depend on mine. Interesting. “Deal, Logan.” You pulled your hand away from his body and dropped it to your side. “But I really am going to go, it’s getting late, and I’ve got to work early. What time’s your flight?” Like nothin’...

“Ten. But I’m not flying commercial, so they can’t leave ‘til I get there.” Your lips twitched back into a smile, and Logan was happy to see the expression on your face again. “Private planes?” You raised one hand so that he could see it, using your pointer finger to draw a check mark in the air. Oh, you … But laughed before you did, nose wrinkling. “Ariella’s a lucky woman, no more TSA lines and all the snacks and drinks she wants?” She hasn’t been on one of the jets yet, actually… “Have a safe flight, Logan. And a good trip. I hope you can close the deal.”

“Already done, the trip’s a formality to show ‘em what they’re buying.” Your eyes lit up, and you congratulated him. “Nah, I had nothin’ to do with it, it was all Juliet. But still.” He grinned at you. “A week in the park? Always a good time.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” You turned away from him and started walking back toward the counter, where your bag was sitting. “Hey, do me a favor.” You turned toward him as you slung your purse over your shoulder, reaching up to push your hair away from your face. “I looked it up, and I know you can’t take pictures or anything of the park, and you can’t bring anything back with you, either.” He nodded. “So when you’re out there? If you have time? Focus on one thing that you’ve never really paid attention to. And when you get back, if … when we talk again?” You smiled at him, as if the previous 20 minutes hadn’t happened. “Tell me all about it, and make me think I’m right there with you.” You could be, maybe.

“I can do that.” He stayed where he was, watching as you stepped to the door. But before you pulled it open, Logan called your name, out, taking two steps toward you. What are you going to say? “Let me know you got home, alright?” You assured him you would and then you were gone, the door closing softly behind you. He groaned and dropped down onto the couch, covering his face with his hands. “What are you doing Delos? She isn’t … you’re not …” With difficulty, he pushed you from his mind, standing and walking down the hallway and into his room. You gotta get sleep, you’ve got meetings while you’re flying out.

But by the time Logan climbed into bed a few minutes later, his mind was racing with thoughts of the upcoming trip - and of the first Host he was going to take to bed. It’ll be about goddamn time, it’s been over a month since I’ve… Thoughts interrupted by the quiet chiming of his phone, Logan reached over to grab it, blinking at the bright screen in the darkness. She made it.

Home. Thanks again for tonight. Can’t believe she’s alive … next season’s going to be B A D for the people that killed her brother.

He laughed at your message, typing a quick reply out and then setting the phone back down on his nightstand. It is. He let out a deep breath, rolling onto his side and closing his eyes again. Maybe Clementine? Or Angela … if she’s still at the Mesa intake hub.

---

By Wednesday, you were no longer mortified by what had happened on the couch at Logan’s, and as you thought more about it, you realized that it had been for the best. He knows I won’t act on anything, and I know he’s… not a cheater. You hadn’t meant for the flirting to get to the point it had, nor had you meant to actually overstep and touch him the way you had, but you’d gotten caught up in the moment. Who wouldn’t… especially with someone like him?

It could have been the show, the beer you’d had, or maybe simply the closeness you felt to the man you were barely getting to know, but you’d put your hand over his heart - and then against his leg - without thinking… and then when you had, it had been too late.

You were attracted to Logan - physically, emotionally, irrationally, because you knew it wouldn’t go anywhere, but for a few moments, you’d felt the same coming from him, too. It isn’t possible. It can’t be possible. Not from him, not with … not with me.

There had been a few stories about Logan and Ariella online; pictures of them in the airport and then out at dinner, comments about their upcoming wedding, a closeup of her ring, glinting on her finger as they sat together at a table. He’s got her, so why would he… But Logan’s past wasn’t a secret either, the numerous times he’d been spotted out with different men and women, the stories that they told about him - sex in hotels and clubs, hooking up in private cars and rooms, drug use, Logan blowing exhausting amounts of money on meaningless bullshit - and a small part of you thought that maybe old habits didn’t die completely, and part of him was still looking for some sort of thrill before he settled down for good. But he said he wasn’t…

You sighed, spinning in your desk chair, eyes on the clock. I wonder what he’s doing right now. You didn’t know the exact location of the Mesa or the parks, but you knew that it was somewhere near the Philippines, meaning that for Logan, it was already the following morning. Bet he’s sleeping. Or… You’d also read - and seen - Logan do interviews about the Hosts and his interactions with them, and you knew that he took advantage of his time in the parks. Does he consider that infidelity? Interested, you glanced again at the clock and then turned to your desk, quickly clicking through your emails to make sure you had nothing to do. I’ll just … You pulled your phone out, opened Reddit, and started doing research. I know he’s not everyone else, but I wonder what other people think of sleeping with the…

Nearly a half hour later, you were floored by the fact that it was relatively evenly split between people that considered going to bed with Hosts cheating and those that didn’t care since they weren’t real people, and couldn’t form lasting attachments. But even though the Hosts can’t remember things, the people… Sighing, you put your phone back down, tapping your fingers on the desk. I wonder how I’d feel about my husband or boyfriend or...

There were pictures on the subreddit that were taken from the original Delos and park sites, and you had to admit that all of the Hosts pictured were gorgeous - men and women alike. So it was perfect for him. You thought of Logan in the park - riding horses and shooting guns and hitting an unsuspecting Host with his full smile, and realized that they - unlike you - wouldn’t have told him to stop, wouldn’t have been able to resist him, because they were designed not to. So it’s not a challenge, then. You tapped your fingers again, narrowing your eyes at the screen and then standing, deciding to take your break. I wonder how real those things are, anyway. Does it feel real?

Before you could stop yourself, you grabbed your phone, picking it up and unlocking it, navigating to Logan’s text messages. I know you’re in the park and won’t answer for a while, but … I’m sitting here and wondering: how real are they? When you’re with the Hosts, does it feel like a human? I could just wait and ask, but if I do, I’d talk myself out of it. Do people get pissed about what happens in the parks? It’s so strange to me. And I’m rambling now so I apologize but … I have to know, Logan. You sent the message and then laughed at yourself, wondering how many times he’d been asked. But I’ll never have the chance to find out, I’m just… curious. Stepping outside, you turned your face up toward the sun, smiling. Wonder what Ariella thinks of it. Or if she’s been to the parks with him. But after a few minutes, even that thought had disappeared, replaced with only more questions about the parks and the Hosts - and about the design and planning behind them.

---

You were surprised to get a text from Juliet the following day, the woman simply saying hello and asking how you’d been. Weird. I wonder if Logan asked her to message me? But you replied, not thinking anything of it, and were shocked to find that Juliet didn’t mention Logan once the entire time you spoke, trading messages back and forth for nearly an hour. She invited you over for lunch on Sunday, which you accepted, especially after she told you Emily would be there. I want to meet her, everything I’ve heard is …

It was less of a surprise that Juliet wanted to be friendly to you than it was that Logan seemed to want to get to know you, so on Saturday morning, you headed back over to the house, a small bag packed with your bathing suit just in case.Juliet greeted you at the door, a small girl with Logan’s dark, straight hair peeking around the corner of the wall that led into the kitchen. She’s got his eyes. “Come in!” Juliet stepped to the side, waving her hand. “Emily Grace, come and meet my friend.”

You watched as the little girl stepped fully into the hallway, dressed in a frilly green dress, a small stuffed horse in one hand. “She’s really cute, Juliet.” Crouching down, you smiled at the little girl, saying hello. “I like your dress, Emily.” She stopped a foot or so away from you, tilting her head to one side and staring. That’s … Logan does that. “And your horse, too. Does she have a name?”

“She might not say anything to you, it takes a minute for her to -” Juliet spoke quietly, but Emily interrupted her, holding out the stuffed animal.

“His name is Bubble.” Bubble? “He lives at Grandpa’s.” You looked up at Juliet, even as you felt the material of the horse bumped into your arm. “Bubble.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Bubble.” You took it from her, holding it carefully as Emily eyed you, and you had the sneaking suspicion that if you stood up too quickly, the girl would not have been happy. Well. “Thank you, Emily. He’s a very … I like his spots.” Handing her the stuffed animal back, you watched as she hurried out of the room and back toward the room you’d sat in with Juliet the last time you were at the house, yelling the words ‘thank you’ as she retreated. “Bubble?”

Juliet laughed, closing the door. “Yes. Bubble. That’s the name of the horse that my dad bought her, and that one … the stuffed one? It’s from Logan, and he had it made to look like the real thing.” You felt a surge of affection for the man and it made your entire body warm, but you stayed quiet. “She’s still too little to do anything but pony rides, but my dad, he… he’s trying to be a better grandparent than he was a parent, so it’s something.”

“Your dad has a farm?” Juliet laughed as the two of you walked into the living room, the woman shaking he head.

“No, he lives in Malibu, on the coast. No room for horses. He boards them at a place in Calabasas, so it’s pretty close.” The two of you settled onto the couches, Emily quietly playing in one corner of the room. “Logan and I grew up riding, and he thought it would be something that Em and I could do with my … my ex, and…” She trailed off, her eyes on the little girl. “Do you know about William?”

“I know you got divorced, and it wasn’t a friendly split.” You chewed on your lip. “Logan hasn’t said much about him, just that they didn’t get along, and he was happy when you guys separated.”

‘Logan was actually a big reason why we split.” She looked at you, keeping her voice down. “William wasn’t a good guy. I… I saw it, but didn’t see it, you know? Logan tried to tell me, but I didn’t …” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s over now, and I was able to save my relationship with my brother, so…” Oh, I never would have… You stayed quiet, eyes on the woman because you were unsure of what to say. “And I have Emily, so it wasn’t all bad.”

“She seems like a good kid. Logan talks about her a lot.” She laughed, leaning back against the cushions and tucking both legs beneath her. “You’re on his lock screen.”

“Oh, you’ve seen his phone’s lock screen?” She arched an eyebrow at you. “Usually, he won’t let that phone -”

“I put my number in it for him, before he left the hotel?” Don’t make this out to be more than it is, Juliet. “But after he handed it to me, I got distracted and we were talking, and it went dark, so he had to unlock it again, and it was you guys.” You shrugged. “No big deal.”

“I’m just giving you a hard time.” She called out to Emily, the little girl turning her head back toward the two of you. “Tell me when you’re hungry, alright?” With a solemn nod, the little girl turned back to her toys, and Juliet went quiet again. “He’ll be back tomorrow night.”

“Logan will?” Why is she telling me this? “He said he was going to be gone for at least a week, so I figured he’d -” Juliet shook her head.

“Nope. He got a message out through one of the park’s access points to let us know he was coming home a couple days early.” I hope everything’s … “One of the new clients got sick. It wasn’t anything to do with the park, so it’s not a problem, but he just wasn’t feeling well, so they all decided to head back to Sweetwater.” Sweetwater? “That’s the main entrance. Everyone gets dropped off there, because it’s really tame compared to other parts of the park. They were already close, so instead of spending a night there and then catching the train, they just …” She held up her hands. “Left early.”

“I don’t think I could imagine leaving a place like that up until the last possible second.” You spoke without pause, wincing at the end of your sentence. “I mean, it seems like it would be so overwhelming, so much to see and do.”

“It is.” She eyed you. “But the more you’re there, the less… real it gets. You see the cracks, see the … truth.” She gave you a small smile. “I could get you in. It’s not a big deal. Send you off on a weeklong -”

“Logan said the same thing. He asked me if I wanted to go, and I don’t…” You bit down on the corner of your lip. “I don’t think that’s a place to go alone, Juliet.” You shrugged. “And like I told him, my friends and I aren’t really your target demographic financially, so…” She smiled as you finished. “What?”

“He asked if you wanted to go to the park?” Yeah, why? It’s a huge part of his life, of course he’d want to know if I was … “He really does want to be your friend, then.”

“What?” But she didn’t answer, as Emily’d made her way over to the woman and put both hands on her leg.

“Lunch.” She paused, blinking twice. “Please.” Juliet wrinkled her nose and leaned down, her arms going around Emily’s waist and lifting her, standing in the same motion.

“Come on, we can keep talking while I make lunch.”

---

You hadn’t gotten to continue your conversation about Logan while Juliet got everything ready, but you hadn’t stopped thinking about what the woman had said. Why does that mean… it shouldn’t… he’s just …

The three of you ate outside at the table on the patio, Emily devouring grilled chicken, avocado and fresh fruit while you and Juliet had salads with the same ingredients, and you were surprised at just how relaxed you were. As you ate, your eyes wandered over the yard, landing on the pool where you and Logan had spent the better part of the afternoon before moving to the fire pit, where you’d ended the night before he’d taken you home. We spent all damn day together, and it…

By the time Emily was ready to take a nap, you were slightly tired too, and instead of going back inside, you and Juliet stayed on the second patio in the bar area, stretched out on the outdoor furniture. “You going to ask me about it?” Her words interrupted your thoughts, and you turned your head toward Juliet, confused. “What I said about you and my brother?”

“About him being my friend?” She nodded. “I hadn’t planned on it, I -” But I want to know.

“Logan and I grew up really … privileged. My mom had some money, but my dad worked really hard to build Delos from the ground up, and it paid off. He’s an asshole, and wasn’t always the best father - especially to Logan - but he’s a good businessman.” This has nothing to do with … “We had a lot of opportunities that other kids didn’t. Trips and clothes and cars and … and when we were old enough? We took advantage of it.” She eyed you. “Everyone knows about Logan’s teenage years and his 20’s, but mine?” Her eyes closed. “They were just as bad, I was just more private about it.”

“Really?” You laughed. “Juliet, I wouldn’t have -”

“I didn’t have a lot of the same problems as Logan.” She let out a breath. “He’s always been the better looking one, the … in demand one, the person that …” She fluffed her hair out, head moving back and forth. “Everyone wants Logan, and it’s been like that since we were kids, so he’s always been the focus, especially after our mom died. He’s a couple years older, so everyone paid attention to him, and I was just in the background.”

“You wanted people to pay attention to you.” She agreed.

“I did, but it was exhausting. I had to try to be like him, and for him, it was just … that’s how he was. How he is.” Why does this … she’s… “So I had a couple years where I tried some things and dated some people, and it just … wasn’t what I wanted. I’d had enough of trying to get people to like me in the same way that everyone seemed to like him … so I just stopped.” She’d stood as she spoke, walking back behind the bar and emerging with two large bottles of water, handing one to you. “But Logan’s the opposite. He couldn’t turn it off if he wanted to - so if he was pushing people away, I knew there was something wrong.”

“I don’t understand.” She waited until you’d taken a large drink. “How does that -”

“You know about his... struggles, right?” She said the words slowly, as if they pained her, but you told her that you did. “So when that all happened? I saw the change in him before anyone else did. It was like he was a different person. I didn’t know what he was doing at first, but I knew something was up. He wasn’t… he was off, even with me, and …” She frowned, staring at the pool’s sparkling surface. “He just wasn’t Logan. It got a little better after William and I got divorced, but everything that he went through? It changed him.”

“Juliet, I’m sorry. I still don’t understand.” You wanted to - and didn’t want to offend her by not picking up on what she was saying. “I -”

“I know that Logan really wants to be your friend, because he’s treating you the way that he would have treated someone close to him before any of this happened - before William, before the park, before he switched from recreational drug use to … to not caring whether or not he’d wake up after going to bed.” Hearing her put it so bluntly made you gasp, one hand rising to cover your mouth. Oh, Logan. “He doesn’t lie. He always tells the truth and says what he’s really thinking. But that doesn’t mean that he makes an effort, if that makes sense.” She sat up, adjusting her position on the couch to face you. “And with you, he’s making an effort.”

“Juliet, we don’t… it’s only been a couple weeks. He’s not doing any -”

“No, that’s just it, though.” She licked her lips. “How do I explain this to you without making him sound like a …” Scrubbing a hand over her face, Juliet took a deep breath. “If Logan doesn’t want you in his life, he won’t make any effort to keep you there. He doesn’t need to, because there’s always going to be someone else to step in, even now.” Even though he’s engaged, you mean. “He’s different now. And I know that I keep saying that, and you have no idea what it …” she swore, and for a second, you felt as though you were sitting outside with Logan and not his sister. “Can I be blunt with you? Like, really blunt?” You nodded, narrowing your eyes. “A few years ago, if you wouldn’t have slept with Logan when he got you and your friend back to that hotel room? You probably wouldn’t have had another chance to spend time with him.”

Sucking in a breath, you stared at her. Hearing it makes it sound … “Juliet, I -”

“And if you had seen him again? And you’d turned him down a second time?” She laughed, the sound carrying on the warm, dry air. “He would have forgotten about you before he’d even left the room.” She leaned in, her fingertips pressed into the cushions you were sitting on. “I can see it, even now, the way you’re reacting to how I’m… you like him.”

“Of course I like him, Juliet, he’s -”

“That’s not what I mean.” She rolled her eyes. “I mean that you like him, as in you find him attractive and -”

“He’s engaged, Juliet. It doesn’t matter how good looking I think he is, or how much I like spending time with him. We’re going to be friends, and … that’s it.” She watched you without speaking, waiting for you to continue. “So what changed him? Meeting Ari-” Juliet’s laugh was louder than you’d expected, her eyes closing before her head tilted back.

“No, Logan was still… Logan long after the two of them met for the first time.” So he wasn’t sleeping with just her, even after they...

“But you said he was -”

“Yes. But he was still my brother, still… himself, under all of the other bullshit. He did what he knew, what he was used to, and that didn’t… to tell you the truth,” she continued, moving closer. “It’s a little strange, even now, to see him so …” She curled her lip. “But sometimes, I think that this Logan? The Logan that we’ve gotten to really know since he got clean and involved in Em’s life? This might actually be the real Logan.”

“As opposed to… what?” You were confused, because you knew that in her mind, she was making perfect sense, but to you, she was all over the place. “You seemed to think that him being different was …”

“It is a good thing.” Her expression changed, Juliet growing much more thoughtful. “For the most part.” What does … “I love not seeing him trying to hide his arms, or… or not wearing clothes are are slightly too big to hide how much weight he’s lost. Seeing him back where he belongs - at the head of Delos - is something that I hoped for even when I was married to William, and not worrying about seeing him in the tabloids because of someone new, or a scandal every other week is …” Juliet gave you a smile. “But at what cost?” Cost? What? “Seeing him with Ariella is …” Juliet paused. “You’ll see, if you ever meet her.”

“Why would I meet his fiancée, Juliet? That doesn’t make any sense. I don’t need to -” I don’t want to meet her, I don’t want to… “From what he says, she isn’t even here often, so there’d be no …”

“You’re right.” The woman relaxed against the couch cushions, her eyes moving over the yard. “Can I ask you something, though?” She met your eyes again, a serious look in them. “If you’d met Logan, and he wasn’t engaged, what would you …” Is she really asking me this? Is she…

You wanted to be honest with the woman. Her affirmation that Logan was, in fact honest - and her willingness to tell you about herself and her life gave you confirmation that the Delos siblings valued honesty above all else. But does it … “I wouldn’t have slept with him after meeting him at Whole Foods, I can tell you that much.” She snorted and you continued. “I knew of Logan before we met, so I would have put two and two together even without the magazines in front of my face, but … I don’t know.” You began picking at the fringe on the hem of your shorts. “I have no interest in being a one night stand, or doing something for a story, or for the … thrill of it.”

“So even if he was single, you wouldn’t have tried to -” Shaking your head, you drew your lower lip into your mouth, thinking.

“Not right away, no. And if that meant that I lost out on my chance to do more than talk with him?” Your shoulders rose and fell. “I don’t mean I need to be in a relationship with someone for things to be physical, but I don’t make it a habit of picking men up at the grocery store, or sleeping with them while my friends are passed out in the other room.” Taking a deep breath and holding it for a few seconds, you blinked. “And if what you’re saying, and what he says is true, if he’d been single, then he probably wouldn’t even have looked twice at me, because he would have had plenty of options.” You weren’t fishing for compliments, nor were you putting yourself down - it was the truth. “Everyone that Logan’s been seen with is -”

“Using him.” She spoke plainly, her words surprising you. “He knows it, I know it, my dad knows it … they know it, too. Sure, there mighta been a couple of them that weren’t 100% doing that, but … it doesn’t matter how pretty you are, or how handsome if all you’re going to do is fuck someone for bragging rights. He’s a fucking person, and not one of the Hosts.” Is that really what it’s like for him? What it’s been like for him? “I appreciate you being honest with me.”

“I have no reason not to be, Juliet.” You took a long drink from your water bottle, thinking. “Same with him. Why would I lie to someone just because I thought it would make me … that’s unnecessary.” You set the bottle down, holding your hands together on your lap. And I’m not a good enough liar. “I’ve got nothing to gain in this, not really. And I definitely don’t want to be another person that hurts him, or takes advantage of him, or …”

“I knew I liked you.” She reached forward, checking the time on her phone. “Em’s gonna be waking up in a little while, so we should go back inside, but …” Juliet watched you for a few seconds, her warm brown eyes searching your face. “You’re not like … you know what? I think you’re going to be good for my brother.” Though you appreciated the comment, you felt slight disappointment at it. If she thinks that about me, then what does that say about everyone else he knows?

---

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