#and yeah in my mind walter helps him when his face decides to be difficult sometimes | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

enthusiasticharry · 5 years ago

Text

Baby Steps

summary: you’re harry’s sons therapist, and he isn't the only one you end up helping.

word count: hi! it has been a long while since I’ve posted on here so I hope you enjoy this 8.6k piece of pure fluff and smut!

masterlist | asks

As a child, Harry had never been given many opportunities to freely express himself. He grew up in a rural area where the sheep overruled the people and the only extra-circular activity available was playing football at the park with his friends that weren’t truly his friends. He was only a mere teenager when he decided that whenever he had kids, he would give them as many opportunities as possible.

He tried in school, don’t discourage him about that, but it didn’t work out as planned. That’s how he ended up working within the company he did. He started from the bottom, working 9 to 5 within a cubicle everyday until he had worked up to become chief editor. He had his own office, with his name written on a plaque upon the door and his photos sat upon the desk. It made day to day that little bit more enjoyable.

“Finishing early today, Mr. Styles?” Genevieve asked, watching as he closes his door behind him.

“Yes, I am.” He smiles politely, “It’s been in the calendar for weeks.”

“I’ve noticed.” He knew she hadn’t. Genevieve was okay at her job, he supposed. She was an apprentice the company had hired straight out of university and of course he didn’t mind that she was still finding her feet, “Enjoy your evening, Mr. Styles.”

“You too, Genevieve.” He nods his head at the girl and walks towards the exit.

At the ripe age of twenty-eight, Harry knew that he still had his entire life ahead of him but at the same time he was pretty content. He had his job, his small town house and more importantly his son, Theo. He hadn’t expected his girlfriend of a couple of months to get pregnant but in his mind he knew what had happened and that it was something that the two of them had to take responsibility for, but she didn’t think the same thing. Harry had loved her, and he had hoped that she had loved him and their son as much as he did but it just wasn’t meant to be. He had suspected that she was going to leave, he just hadn’t expected it to be in the middle of the night whilst their son was a month old and still nursing.

It was the following morning that Harry knew that he was going try his damned hardest to be the best Father possible for his son, try to give him the world and everything good that came along with it.

“Harry!” Mrs. Walters, the woman who lives next door exclaims as she throws the door open, “Please come in.”

“Hi Mrs. Walters.” He smiles, following the elderly woman into the living room, “Has he been good today?”

“We had a little disagreement at nap time but apart from that he’s been perfect!”

“I’m glad to hear it. He’s never been the biggest fan of naps.”

Just seeing Theo’s little face light up as he walked into the room was enough reason to keep his heart beating for centuries. Theo was the absolute double of Harry, and he could even see it himself. Even at three years old he had his father’s green eyes and curly brown hair and it was another thing that caused his love for his little man to grown everyday.

“Dada!” He toddled over to his father, only just starting to feel confident upon his feet, and wrapped his arms around Harry’s legs, his chunky cheeks pressed against his shin.

“Hi bubba.” He picks his son up and rests him upon his hip, “Did you have a nice day with Mrs. West?”

Theo nods and drops his head down upon Harry’s shoulder with a light sigh of content.

“He’s been amazing, Harry, don’t worry.” The older woman drops her head to Harry’s free shoulder, “I’ll see you two tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow, Mrs. West.”

Theo’s little hand rests comfortably within Harry’s as they walk through the door of community centre, his little feet tapping upon the wood in his trainers.

“Harry! Theo!” You exclaim, walking over to the two of them with a large smile across your face, “I’m so glad you could make it this week!”

“Yeah. Sorry about last week, I couldn’t get out of work on time and then once I did he wasn’t in the best of moods.”

“Don’t worry about it! It’s totally fine, we understand that you can’t make every week.”

Harry nods his head.

“Anyway.” You have a nice smile and it was probably the first thing that Harry noticed about you when you met, “We’re just about to get started.”

Harry sits down, crossing his legs as he does so. Theo drops down upon his father’s lap straight afterwards, his face pressed into the material of Harry’s crisp white dress shirt. Harry’s eyes bounce to look over the other children, the ones who acted similarly too Theo when they first joined. They all either sat in their parents laps comfortably or on the floor now, not one with a flicker of anxiousness across their features.

Theo and Harry have attended three of these sessions to help with confidence, and Theo had only just started to leave his shell in the last twenty minutes of the last session they went to and now it felt as though Harry had messed everything up again. He felt as though they were back to square one.

Then he feels a hand upon his shoulder.

“Its okay.” You smile, squeezing gently, “He’ll be okay, don’t worry.”

He will be, Harry knows that.

Another week had passed and Harry was yet again sat in a circle in the children’s room of the community centre with Theo sat upon his lap. Harry felt a little more at ease this week, since his little boy sat forward with a small, very small smile on his lips as he looked at… you? You hadn’t been there to greet them like you were last week, and he certainly hadn’t had the chance to say hello yet. It had been a warm-ish day today and Harry concluded that was probably why you were wearing a cute yellow sundress with small white flowers on it, something he had never seen you in before. You still wore your smile, Harry had noticed.

“Today.” You always overplayed your facial features to interest the children, “We are all going to write a story together.”

Theo’s little eyes widened in excitement.

“You like that idea, bub?” Harry whispered. Theo nodded.

“So I’ll start.” You touch your chest, “Then we’ll pass to Edith’s mummy and then Edith and we’ll continue that way around the circle!”

Harry and Theo would be third, which wasn’t too bad. He just hoped that Theo would get involved, he loved stories enough to have a mind spiralling with ideas.

“Once upon a time, in a land far, far away there lived a princess…” You start, smiling to the person next within the circle.

“…in a big castle with a swimming pool!”

“She has dog!”

“…called muffin who she loves to play with in the…”

“Park!”

“Then.” Harry started, leaning so that he was speaking to Theo as well as the rest of the group, “One day, something magical appeared in front of her…”

“Dinosaur!”

Harry beams and whispers, “Well done Theo!”

The story finishes with the princess riding the dinosaur along a rainbow, courtesy of the little girl called Tara who finishes the circle. Normally the children disperse the last twenty minutes or so to play amongst themselves whilst the adults talk about what type of week they’ve had. They were doing just that, but today, Harry’s heart stopped at the sight of his little boy sat with little Tara drawing at the tiny desk when usually he just does that on his own.

Harry had honestly never thought that he would be going to group behavioural therapy for his three year old son, but, he promised he would do anything for his little boy.

“Hi everyone.” They were now sat around a table, one fit for adults, whilst a few of your colleagues watched the children, “I’m excited to hear how all your weeks have been!”

Tara’s mum starts, explaining that this week the nursery had phoned up to explain that she hadn’t spoken to anyone at lunchtime but there had been the odd time where she’d had a small conversation with a couple of classmates.

Harry listens to a few others. How Ryan had bit a kid at school the other day, how Delilah refused to say anything for a couple of days that week. Harry had never experienced Theo biting or injuring other kids but he had experienced him shutting down and not speaking to anyone.

“Harry.” You smile, “How has little Theo been this week?”

“He’s, uh, been okay I suppose.” He runs his finger across his bottom lip, “Nothing out of the ordinary. Had an odd hour or so yesterday.”

“Has he made any friends at nursery, yet?”

“No. I don’t think so. I’m trying to get him in everyday but it’s proving to be difficult.”

You smile, “He’ll get there Harry. It might take him a bit longer than normal but he will get there.”

After listening to the other parents, the meeting for that week finishes. Harry waits for Theo to finish his drawing before helping him into his coat. Your words pondered through his mind — he certainly hoped that Theo would get better but it was a walk, not a sprint.

“Hi Theo.” You beam as you walk towards the two, “Can I see your drawing?”

After a few moments of contemplation, he passes the drawing to you.

“Wow! It’s beautiful! Can you draw me one whilst I talk to your Daddy?”

Theo listens to your request and starts on the drawing straight away, picking up colour after colour whilst Harry looks at you with furrowed eyebrows.

“I just wanted to have a quick word, nothing bad, I promise.”

Harry nods.

“Theo is making excellent progress in the program and I’m sure you’ve seen the results for yourself but as you know he is going a little slower than the rest of the kids.”

“If this is because we missed one then it’s completely my fault—”

“It’s not! Don’t think that, it’s not!” You’re quick to say, “I was thinking the other day of ways to help and I remembered that my friend runs a group at the weekend for children that are struggling to cope with the loss of a parent.”

“But I thought he was too young to be affected by that?”

“I thought so too but I did some more research and even though he was very, very young when his mother left, it could still be affecting him.” You swallow and tuck a piece of your hair behind your ear, “He will have noticed that he doesn’t have two parents and that could be the stem of all of the problems.”

Of course this had run through Harry’s mind a few time but he always brushed it off because he was so young when it happened. The fact that woman might be the reason his son was so quiet and not himself all of the time caused his stomach to flip. He hadn’t seen her since that night but she was still affecting him day upon day and he hated it.

“When is this group?”

“Oh!” You exclaim, happy that he hadn’t just shut the idea down, “It’s on Saturday at ten whilst twelve but you can come and go as you please.”

“Will you be there?” Why had he just asked that? He probably sounded like such a weirdo.

“I will.” You smiled, “Just for you.”

Harry certainly hadn’t expected to spend his Saturday morning sat at upon a bench outside the community centre watching Theo play with other kids. He was surprised how easily Theo had left his shell around all of these kids but he supposed they all had something in common, that they were raised by only one parent.

Another thing he hadn’t expected was to be sat sharing the said bench with you, but he wasn’t complaining.

“Black coffee.” You smile, holding out the cup for him to take.

“Thank you.”

“It’s no problem.” You take a sip of your own cup of tea, “He seems to be doing well.”

“I’m really surprised. The last time I saw him gel to someone so quickly was when he met our neighbour, Mrs. West.”

You smile, “It’s good. You’ll be able to figure out which group works the best for you both.”

“Will you be here every week?”

Is he flirting? You certainly weren’t complaining, anyone with eyes could see that Harry is a very handsome man but never in a million years did you think that he would be flirting with you. Maybe he wasn’t even flirting and you were just letting your imagination run a little too wild.

“I—”

“I’m sorry.” He’s quick to say, “What I meant is that he’s comfortable around you, and I would hate for him to loose that sort of comfort.”

“I completely understand.” You nod. So he wasn’t flirting with you. There was a part of you that was sort of disappointed and wished that he had been flirting with you, “Well he seems to be enjoying himself here so how about we slowly introduce him to just coming here. I’ll come for the first couple of weeks so that he’s comfortable.”

“Thank you. I haven’t said that enough but I honestly can’t thank you enough for what you’re doing for my son.”

“It’s my job, Harry. I do this for a reason.”

“But you didn’t have to do this. Spend your Saturday morning sat on a bench with me to make sure that Theo is okay. You didn’t have to do this.”

“But I am. I’m doing it because I care about that little boy and I want him to get better. And you’re certainly not bad company.”

Harry smiles and looks away. It probably makes it more obvious that his cheeks are flushing at her words. You have always made Harry nervous, even from the first meeting when he asked whether you could help his son. Was it wrong? Probably. Did he care? No, as far as he knew this crush was harmless and it wasn’t as though it was reciprocated he supposed.

“I know I’m not as exciting at Theo but I do try.”

“I can tell.” You smile, “Was he okay at nursery yesterday?”

“The same I think. Nursery didn’t say anything when I picked him up and they usually do if something happened. Good or bad.”

“That’s good. Some will just ignore the problem. I’ve helped a few parents who have struggled with that.”

“I’m lucky.” He nodded, “We’re lucky.”

“How are you?”

“I’m fine. Theo’s getting better, that’s the most important thing.”

You sigh, “Not Theo. How are you?”

“I’m getting there. I’m taking each day as it comes, I suppose.”

“Do you have people that you talk to?” You ask before immediately trying to retract your question, “I understand if you don’t want to tell me. I can be nosey sometimes.”

“No. It’s fine.” He coughs to clear his voice, his eyes watching as Theo sits in the sand pit with a bucket and spade, “I talk to my mum and sister if there’s anything really wrong.”

“Nobody else?” You’re daring, and your eyebrow raises in nervousness.

“I’m single if that’s what you’re asking.” He chuckles.

Your eyes bug, “Well I—”

“Its okay, YN.” He laughs now, his dimples deepening, “Are you single?”

“I am.” You smile, “I’m glad you have someone to talk to that isn’t your three year old son. It’s important.”

“I know. I kept a lot of it to myself at the start and just tried to be the best that I could be for Theo but it hit a point where I needed help, and I knew I did.”

“It’s commendable that you did that. Too many single parents try to do it on their own and it just doesn’t work. It not only causes them to fizzle out but it causes strain on the kids.”

“Have you got children?”

“No.” Your lips curl, “I just enjoy working with them — to a degree obviously.”

A chuckle passes. It’s at this point that Harry realises that this is the first conversation you have had with him that passes the point of being somewhat professional. You’re dipping your toes in the idea of the conversation being about getting to know each other rather than being about Theo or any information about the group.

“I can’t imagine.”

“You never know what the days going to hold when you walk through the door. They say to never work with children and animals.” You laugh, “Where you do you work?”

“I work at a publishing company. I’m the chief editor. It’s not the best but it pays the bills.”

“It sounds very interesting.”

“It isn’t. The amount of articles about interior design I read on a weekly basis is sort of absurd.”

“Interior design?”

“I work for an interior design magazine. I probably should’ve explained that first.”

You giggle, “I bet your house is immaculately decorated.”

“To a degree.” He chuckles, “Living with a three year old sort of means you’re house always looks like a bomb has hit it.”

“I can imagine.”

“I wouldn’t change it for anything. Yeah it is a mess but it isn’t too bad and he’s leaning that he won’t get treats if he doesn’t clean up after himself.”

“Nice. I’m sure that works a treat.”

“It does.” He laughs, “Literally.”

“He’s a good kid, Harry. You can tell. He’ll be perfectly fine.”

You keep saying that.

Harry received a message the following Wednesday around lunch time that he hadn’t expected. He was just about to tuck into the salad he had pre-made this morning fort lunch when his phone lit up on the desk. A small message box covers up his wallpaper which was a photo of Theo in the bath, bubbles on his head in a cone shape and upon his chin like a beard.

Hi Harry, Its YN. I promise I’m not weird I just got your number of the system to send this. I’m just letting you know that tonight’s group is cancelled, I’m bunged up with a cold and would hate to pass it onto any of the kiddies :) Hope you are well.

Hi YN. I’m sorry to hear that. I hope you feel better soon. See you next week. H.

Harry couldn’t hide that he was a little disappointed. He was starting to enjoy going to the centre every week. He could say that it was because his son was slowly coming out of his shell, and that was part of it, but ever since your conversation he had that one weekend he enjoyed the few words you spoke to each other.

If he was more confident in the way you felt about him, he probably would’ve messaged to ask if you needed anything bringing but he thought that it would’ve been a little bit odd. Hopefully in the future it wouldn’t be as odd.

“You can’t eat your chips yet, buddy, they’re too hot.” Harry explains, picking a couple of the chips from Theo’s plate and blowing on them. The young boy sat and watched his father, waiting for his chips before chewing them happily.

“Oh! Harry!”

You’re stood with a drink in your hand, jeans and a floral blouse hanging loosely upon your figure. You looked cute and cuddly, something that Harry had missed seeing over the past week or so.

“Hi YN.” He smiles, wiping his mouth with his napkin momentarily, “How are you feeling?”

“Much better, thank you very much.” You smile.

“Would you like to sit?” He asks, motioning to the spare seat, “You don’t have to if you’re busy or anything.”

“No. I would love to. Are you okay with that Theo?”

For the first time since you’ve arrived the little boy looks up at his eyes immediately light up at the sight of you stood there.

“Miss YN!”

“I’m guessing he’s okay with it.” Harry smiles, watching as you pull out the seat and seat and sit down. “You weren’t in a rush, were you?”

“No.” You smile, sipping on the hot cocoa you had just bought, “I had just finished for the day actually. Did a bit of shopping and then decided to walk over here.”

“Sounds lovely. Anything exciting?”

“If fruit and veg is exciting, then exciting.”

“Hey, take it from me, trying to make fruit and veg exciting for your kids is the most exciting thing about fruit and veg.”

“Not a fan?” You ask, looking at the young boy who had started to munch on his chicken nuggets.

“Not really. Can you not tell?”

You laugh, looking at Theo’s plate which just had chips and chicken nuggets on with a blob of ketchup on the side.

“He seems to be enjoying those?”

“Oh god yeah.” Harry laughs, “He can eat for England. Takes after me in that sense.”

“That’s good. Some parents sometimes come in saying that their children don’t eat and it’s worrying them.”

“He went through a phase when he turned around two and a half of not eating but he rectified that very quickly himself.”

“That’s good? Have you had work today?”

It was only then that you had noticed his attire. Jean flares and a shirt that said something about eating honey. On anyone else you it would’ve set warning alarms within your head but he made it look suave and quite attractive.

“No. I have weekends off so I can spend them with Theo. I sometimes do a bit of work from home but not a lot, do you?”

“Sometimes. If there’s an emergency I’ll sometimes have to go in.”

“Is it hard? Do you find working with vulnerable children hard?”

“Challenging, I’d say. Maybe not hard. Some of the things that have happened to the children to cause them to behave the way they do are hard to listen to. Trying to get them to talk or just explain how they feel is even harder.”

“You do God’s work, YN.”

“I wouldn’t say that. I hate the though of children suffering, and I’d like to think I do my best to help with that.”

“You do. From experience you do.”

“You’re forever feeding my ego. I kind of like it, keep it coming.”

“Eh.” He curves his lips and moves his head from side to side, “You’re not that bad to look at either.”

“Cheeky! But you’re not too bad yourself, Styles.”

“Daddy!” Theo interrupts, “Toilet, please.”

“Okay bud.” Harry stands up and so do you, “You don’t have to go, I’ll be back in a minute.”

“No it’s okay, I probably should leave.” You smile, “I told Norman that I’d only been ten minutes and that was half an hour ago.”

“Norman?”

“My dog! God, I probably should’ve specified that. Norman’s my dog.”

“Ah.” Harry laughs, “That makes more sense. I’ll see you later YN.”

“Bye Harry.”

When you got home that night, you see the majority of the time sat staring at your phone whilst Norman stares at you as though you’ve gone crazy.

“I should just text him.” You sound crazy talking to your job but it is oddly comforting, “What’s the worst that could happen?”

Hi Harry! It was lovely seeing you and Theo today. I hope you had a lovely rest of your day :)

You immediately regretted sending the message. Would he think you were weird? Had you just ruined any chance you had of it going any further? Your stomach twisted and your phone lit up.

We did thank you, YN. I hope Norman wasn’t too mad that we kept you out longer than expected. H.

You giggled. He remembered.

He got over it pretty quickly. Gave him a treat and everything was back to normal.

That’s good. It’s a good thing dogs are forgiving creatures.

Rather I bribed him to forgive me. He can be stubborn when he wants to be.

I think you might be describing my son. He certainly didn’t get his stubborn side from me.

Good. I would hate to have to bribe you to speak to me.

Well that depends what you would have bribed me with. But hopefully you’ll never be in the bad books.

You seem to have very high expectations of me, Styles. I might just surprise you.

I’m going to hold you to that. The next time I see you I expect to be surprised.

Are you free any time soon?

Not until next weekend really. I finish work at five-ish everyday.

Is there any chance that you’d maybe want to do something after work? I can hopefully surprise you?

I’d like that very much. Tuesday okay?

Perfect! See you then, Harry.

Sweet dreams, YN.

Tuesday couldn’t come quick enough in your eyes. You were pleasantly surprised that you’d even managed to bag yourself a date with the man, usually you’d shy away from the male species as much as possible. That didn’t mean that you didn’t spend the entire time messaging Harry the other day with warm cheeks and a fuzzy tummy. The fact that he could’ve thrown everything back into your face being the thing that scared you the most.

You had messaged Harry last night that you were going to a restaurant, not a fancy one but one that required a smart/casual dress code. You spent probably a little too long getting ready, curling your hair and applying the make up you wore too perfection, dressing in some high-waisted trousers with a long-sleeved tucked in to reserve the warmth that the British summertime had selfishly taken away.

You had hundred’s of thoughts bouncing around in your brain. It wasn’t everyday that you bagged a date with the man of your dreams and even if it didn’t work out — at least you could say that it had happened. If it didn’t work out it was probably a good thing that Theo had started to make the move from your group to your friend’s to avoid uncomfortable confrontation.

The reservation at the restaurant was for eight, so you had arranged to meet there for around politely declined. The drive was quick but the wait for Harry seemed to take hours.

When he did arrive, your breath caught within your throat. He was wearing simple dress pants with a silk floral shirt tucked in, the first couple of buttons undone. It revealed tattoos that you were shocked to see that he had upon his chest and stomach. It intrigued you to know whether he had more tattoos. A part of really wanted to see them.

“Hi.” He smiles and wraps his arms around you in a welcoming hug. He smelt really good.

“Hi.”

“You look lovely.”

“You don’t look so bad yourself, Styles.”

“Shall we go in?” You nodded.

The table reserved for the two of you was small but lovely, located in the corner of the restaurant by the floor to ceiling windows. You had been to this Italian plenty of times in the past and it had become one of your favourites. As you sat down, you had ordered a bottle of wine to share between the two of you.

“Is that your first surprise?” He asked as the two you tapped your glasses together in cheers, “Drinking on a work night?”

“It’s a special occasion.” You shrug, “You’ll have to figure out yourself whether it’s part of the surprise or not.”

He raised his eyebrow at you before he broke into a smile.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

The waiter comes a few ticks after that, asking what we would like. I order a bowl of pasta whilst Harry orders a pizza of some sort.

“How was Theo when you left him today?” You started to tuck into the bread and dips that the waiter had brought as an appetiser.

“Absolutely fine. I’ve never seen someone so exciting to spend time with their grandmother.”

“Weekend’s with my Grandma were the shit!” You exclaim with a smile, “We used to bake and she’d cook me all of my favourite dinners.”

“You were spoilt rotten, to say the least?”

“Of course I was! That’s how little Theo is feeling.”

“Are you close to your family?”

“Yeah I am. More so my Mum and Grandma. I don’t really have the best relationship with my Dad.”

He nods, “My mum and Dad divorced when I was young so I was brought up my Mum. She remarried when I was nineteen.”

You hummed, “Are you close with your stepfather?”

“I was.” Harry coughed to clear his throat, “He died in 2017.”

You immediately felt bad.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

He stops the sip of his drink quick, “You haven’t, I promised. How are we supposed to get to know each other if you don’t ask questions?”

“We sort dived right into the deep shit straight away.” You laughed, “Quick fire questions: favourite band?”

“I honestly couldn’t pick one.”

“Well.” You sighed, “I tried but that answer was boring. Pick one!”

“I don’t know.” He shrugs, his smile growing, “I love Fleetwood Mac, The Zombies, The Kinks—”

“Basically anything from the past?”

“Pretty much.” He laughed, “I grew up listening to Shania Twain and Joni Mitchell with my mum.”

“I would’ve loved to have that childhood.” You laughed, “My mum was all for Bon Jovi, Meatloaf and Prince. Always said ‘I could’ve been a rock chick’.”

He laughs and sips his drink.

The conversation for the rest of the evening flowed better than you could have expected. You honestly don’t think you’ve ever been on such a lovely date before in your life, if you could even call it that.

You learnt about his childhood living in Holmes Chapel whilst he learnt about yours. You hadn’t expected to enjoy his company so much and even as the night came to a close you found yourself not wanting to leave.

“I must admit.” He starts as her walks you towards your car, “I was quite disappointed when you said I couldn’t pick you up.”

“Why was that?”

“Because I’m not able to drive you home, walk you to your door and hopefully give you a little something to remember me for the night.”

“Really? Who said that I would have let you?”

“You wouldn’t have?”

“I don’t know.” You tease, “Why don’t you come over and try?”

The smile on his face as he leaned in is something that will haunt your dreams at night for the better. Your eyes flutter closed and sigh in content as his lips touch yours. It was a little embarrassing, but there had been a few moments late at night where you have wondered what this would feel like. Those were enjoyable dreams but the real this was so much better.

No tongue was involved but you already knew that this was something you could become addicted to. The feeling of his large palm against your cheek as his kissed any worry you had away from the night. Your whole body tingled and if you weren’t in a public car park, you wouldn’t know whether you’d be able to contain yourself.

You both pull away breathlessly.

“I think you would’ve let me.”

“I certainly fucking would.”

If Harry had any other option — he would’ve taken it in a heartbeat.

When Harry had woke up this morning, he had expected it to be like his normal Monday morning. Waking up early and making breakfast whilst Theo sleep in. Then he’d wake Theo up to have breakfast and then Harry would dress him for the day.

That hadn’t happened this morning.

When Harry had walked into Theo’s room that morning he found his son, already awake with tears streaming down his face. He tried to comfort his son, and tried to get him to talk but he just didn’t stop crying.

That’s how he ended up stood in the corner of his son’s room with his phone pressed tightly to his ear.

“Harry? Hello?”

“Hi.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, well uh, not really.” He scratches the back of his neck, “There’s something wrong with Theo.”

“Is he okay?”

“No. I came into his room this morning and he’s non-stop crying and he won’t talk to me.”

“I’m on my way.”

You drove as fast as you could. The sound of Harry’s voice, mixed with his words and the faint sniffles in the background was enough to send your heart spiralling. You used the message that Harry had sent with address to navigate your way towards his house.

Doors unlocked.

You raced your way up the stairs, taking two at a time and saw Harry waiting at the top of the stairs.

“Thank you.”

“It’s no problem.” You squeezed his arm in reassurance, “Is he in there?”

“Yeah.”

Then you saw him. The small boy with the brown curly hair and the green eyes that matched his Father’s peering up at you, small sobs leaving his lips.

“Hi bud.” You smile, “Is it okay if I sit down?”

The small boy nods and you do so, a small sigh escaping your smiling lips.

“Your Daddy phoned and said you were feeling a little upset this morning and asked if I could come and talk to you. Is that okay?”

He nods again, sniffling slightly.

“Is there anything you want to tell me?”

He shakes his head.

“Can you tell me why you’re crying?”

“Dream.” His chest heaves up and down.

“Did you have a bad dream?” A nod. Okay, you could work with that.

You hadn’t realised that Harry was stood at the door, leant against the frame with his eyebrows furrowed and his thumb running across his lip. He honestly wouldn’t know what he was going to do if you hadn’t been so lovely and come to check on Theo at such short notice.

“Was your dream about Daddy?” Another nod.

It honestly broke Harry’s heart. He had never ever though that something like this was the reason his son had gotten himself into such a state.

“Have you been having a lot of these dreams?” Nodding. So much nodding, “Are they scaring you?”

“Daddy hurt.” His voice was so quiet and unsteady.

“Daddy gets hurt?” Your palms start sweating, “Is that why you’re so upset? And you go quiet sometimes? You think Daddy’s going to get hurt?”

“I’m right here Theo.” Harry walks over and drops down to be face to face with his son, “I’m not hurt, and I’m not going to hurt.”

“You don’t move.” He cries become louder and louder the more they spoke.

Harry leans over and pulls his son off the bed, dropping him onto his lap and wrapping his arms tightly around him. You watch as Harry smooths his hand across his son’s back, hoping that it will calm him down and stop the crying. Harry’s catch yours and your heart physically breaks for him. You’d never seen anything like this in your four year career.

“Listen to this, bud.” Harry wipes his tear stained face briefly, “How about we take today off nursery and work and we’ll spend the day together.”

Theo nods and you smile, gently standing up and removing yourself from the situation. For the first time you can look at Harry’s house. It was exactly how you had pictured it to be — immaculately designed with a splash of Theo in ever corner. You drop down upon the sofa with a sigh and use your hand to try to rub the fatigue away from your face. You hadn’t had a morning like this in a long time.

Twenty minutes or so later, Harry joins you on the sofa with a deep sigh.

“How is he?”

“He’s asleep right now. I laid with him and he drifted off.”

“That’s good.”

He reaches over to grab your hand that was comfortably rested upon your thigh, threading his fingers nicely between your own.

“I’m sorry for calling so early. I know you were probably busy and this didn’t help.”

“It’s okay.” You give his hand another squeeze, “I told you that I’d help in any way that I could.”

“I know.” He nods, his voice starting to break, “It’s just so fucking hard YN.”

“Hey, don’t cry.” You move so that you can wrap your arms around his shoulders, pulling him into a comforting hug, “I know it is but we can sort this out, I promise.”

“Just knowing that this was because he has been worried about me. What kind of parent does that?”

“I want you to listen to me now, Harry.” You place your hands upon his cheeks, pulling his head up from your shoulder so that he’s looking directly at you, “You have done nothing wrong. This was completely out of your control.”

He nods and you wipe the tear that had fallen down his cheek away.

“I’m going to help you now and we’re going to get Theo better.”

He leans forward and to your surprise places a deep kiss to your lips.

“Thank you.”

Harry had invited you over as a thank you a couple of days later. You had told him multiple times that he didn’t have to thank you for anything and that you’d do anything for him and Theo but he insisted. Theo was still next door with Mrs. West after being picked up from nursery and she made it complete aware that she didn’t mind watching him for a few extra hours so that he could do this for his friend.

If Harry was honest, he doesn’t have many friends. Mrs. West has spoken to him about it on many occasions and he supposed that the old woman was just excited that he might actually have a friend that wasn’t herself or his son.

You had arrived at Harry’s house to see the dining room set out with plates and cutlery and wine glasses with delicious smell coming from the kitchen. He greeted you with a soft kiss upon the lips and a small hug.

“Has Theo been okay?” You ask, leaning against the counter as you watch Harry fry the vegetables for the stir fry.

“He’s been better. He’s been talking a little more according to to the teachers.” He starts to plate up the noodles, “For the first couple of nights he stayed in bed with me, as you suggested but last night he stayed in his own.”

“Did it go okay?” The two of you walk with full plates to the dining room.

“There were a few tears but he slept through the night.”

You honestly couldn’t have been happier for the two of them. You have worked with the two of them for a couple of months and now finding out that things were actually starting to work left you feeling happier than you had ever expected to be.

“That’s really good. I’m happy for you.”

Before you knew it the time had escaped from the two of you. Somehow, you had made your way to the sofa and now sat with large glasses of red wine in your hands.

“Are you sure you don’t need to get Theo?”

It was nearing seven, and you started to worry.

“If I go now he’ll probably kill me.” He laughs, “Mrs. West brings out the sweet treats around this time.”

You giggle and lean forward to capture your lips upon his. His hand reaches up to cup your cheek, the other resting lightly upon her thigh. In one confident movement, you shift your body so that your knees are either side of his hips. A part of you still couldn’t believe that this was happening, not only with anyone but with Harry.

This had all happened quicker than you had expected but you weren’t complaining.

“YN.” He pulls away breathlessly, “Hey, are you sure?”

“God yes.”

“Okay then.’

He skilfully picks you up, wrapping your legs around his waist as he carries you towards his bedroom. You land upon the bed with a small thud that causes you both to giggle. He presses his lips to yours one last time in a breath-taking, heart-stopping kiss.

“Move up.” You shuffle your bum up the bed so that your head is rested upon the lush pillows. Harry’s fingers toy with the zipper of your jeans, his eyes looking for any sign of uncomforted on your face, “This okay?”

You nod quickly, “It is.”

He sighs shakily, his fingers slipping into the band of your jeans, pulling them down your legs. You lift your hips up to aid him in the movement. At this point you were glad that a day ago you hd decided to have a pamper session and shave your entire body.

His lips place small kisses along the inside of your thighs, your body withering under his touch. It had been a long time since someone had touched you in this way, and your senses felt as though they were on override.

“Harry.” The small moan escapes your lips as he licks a stripe along your clothed centre.

“God.” He hooks his fingers into the material and pulls them down your legs, “You’re so fucking wet.”

You hum as his lips wrap around your clit, your chest heaving up and down as he uses his tongue to flick the sensitive nub over and over again. This had all happened so quickly and you felt so overwhelmed that you had no idea if you were going to last very long at all.

“Fuck.” You moan, “Harry.”

“That’s it.” He murmurs against your centre, giving your clit a few kitten licks afterwards, “Say my name again.”

“Harry.”

He suckles on your clit so quickly that you’re left breathless, your fingers threading through his curly brown hair. You tug on it causing a groan to escape his lips against you, sending your orgasm rushing in.

“M’coming.” Your chest heaves, “Fuck, baby.”

Harry pulls away after coaxing you through your high, his lips and chin glistening with your juices. He licks what he can before lifting up so that you can kiss him. He drops down, his head falling into your neck and for the first time you can feel him against your exposed thigh.

“Do you want me to help?’

“No.” He smiles, pushing your hair away from your face, “Tonight was a thanks to you. Hopefully there will plenty more opportunities for you to repay me in the future.”

“I’m excited for that.”

“Daddy?” The little voice wakes the two of you up from your slumber, “Miss. YN?”

“Hiya buddy.” Harry’s quick to pick the little boy up and drop him in the middle of the two of you, “Did you have a good sleep?”

Theo hums and cuddles into his Dad’s chest, “Morning Miss. YN.”

“Morning Theo.” You smile, “I’ve told you before, you can call me just YN.”

You and Harry had started to see each other frequently since the last date and very recently, in the past few days or so you’ve both made the jump of having sleepovers. With Theo it made it difficult for Harry to stay over at yours so you stayed over at Harry’s — not that you minded one bit.

“Okay, YN.” He smiles, leaning forward to place a kiss to Harry’s dimpled cheek.

“What do you fancy doing today bud? If you ask nicely YN might be able to stay with us today.”

“Really?” His eyes widen in excitement.

“Of course.” You smile and ruffle his hair, “But it’s your day, what do you want to do?”

“Can we go to the cinema?” You both nod, seeing as though that’s a very doable request from the little man.

“What do you want to go see?”

“Frozen 2 please, daddy.”

“Of course.” Harry kisses his cheek and your heart swells at the sight.

Theo sat the entire time in the cinema contently chewing on his popcorn as his eyes never left the screen. Harry’s hand was firmly grasped within yours and you both repeatedly picked it up to kiss the back of each other’s. It was the simple gestures that drew you to Harry in the first place, from that very first day at the centre.

“Did you enjoy it?” You both have one of Theo’s hands in yours, swinging him up as you walk along the pavement.

“Yes Daddy.” He beams.

“What do you fancy doing now? Fancy a McDonalds?”

“Can I have an ice cream, please?”

“Of course, baby.”

It was rare that you and Harry managed to get a night alone with each other, but this specific Saturday night Anne had offered to take Theo and the two of you weren’t complaining. It had been two or so months since your relationship grew from being professional into something more and you were yet to fully consummate your relationship.

You did other things, of course, in the dead of night when Theo was fast asleep. You were both just uncomfortable with the idea of having sex and reaching that last level of intimacy whilst he was in the other room.

The thought physically made you shudder.

“Are you hungry, baby?”

“I could eat.” You respond, sitting across from Harry as he scrolls through his phone whilst leaning upon the kitchen island.

“Pizza?”

You scoff, “Is that even a question?”

Once the delivery of your pizza’s arrive, you don’t think you’ve ever seen someone inhale a pizza as quickly as Harry did. He even ended up eating a slice of your own.

Cleaning up was easy and before you knew anything, you were both changing and getting ready for bed. It was at this point you could go through the plan that you’d created a week or so ago when you learnt that this day would be happening.

You dressed yourself in delicate white lingerie that would have anyone swooning and dropping to their knees. You tousled your hair, applied some lip balm to your lips and walk out to the bedroom.

“Fucking hell.” He drops his phone onto the bed beside him, “Where have you been keeping that?”

“It’s one of the surprises I always ramble on about.”

“Totally worth it.” He throws his hands up and makes grabby movements towards you which you give in to.

His arms wrap around you waist and pull you down so you could press your lips to his. There was something different within the air today and you could both feel it.

“You wanna feel me?”

“Always.”

His fingers reach up to unclasp your bra, dropping the lace material to the floor as you clamber upon his lap. His lips wrap around your pebbled nipples, the feeling of his swirling tongue earning breathy moans to escape your lips.

“Sensitive?”

“Just finished my period.”

“Ah.” You thread your fingers through his hair, tugging slightly.

You drop to your knees, looking up at him through your eyelashes as you use your hand to palm him through his boxers. You place two kisses to each of the ferns, another one at the top of his happy trail before you hook your fingers into the material of his briefs, pulling them down as he lifted his hips to help.

This wasn’t your first rodeo with Harry’s dick, but that didn’t mean that you became any less nervous every time you saw it.

“Are you just going to stare?”

“I’m contemplating?”

“Contemplating what?”

“Whether or not you deserve me to suck your dick. Leave me to it, baby.”

He shuts his mouth the second to place one kitten lip to his base, your eyes watching as his stomach heaves up and down at the feeling. Wrapping your lips around the tip, you start to bob your head up and down, using your spit to ease yourself into it. Harry’s hand reaches out to grip your hair, guiding your head up and down but making sure to not go too far.

“You’re amazing. Fuck, YN baby.”

You use the free hand that wasn’t aiding you by jerking the length that you couldn’t take to squeeze his thigh, right by his tiger once before allowing your finger to rub over your sensitive nub through your panties, allowing any sort of friction to be released.

“Gotta stop baby.” He gently pushes you off of him, your mouth releasing him with a pop, “Need to last for you.”

Once you’re stood up he pulls your panties down your legs, watching as you step out of them. You both switch positions so that you’re laid on top of the plush comforter whilst Harry fumbles through his bedside table, taking a foil packet out.

Your eyes never leave him as he gives himself a few tugs before rolling the condom on, giving you a once over before bending down.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” He questions once and you nod, muttering confirmation as he moves to hover above you.

You feel a little discomfort at first, probably due to how long it had been since you last had sex.

“Move, Harry.”

“M’kay.”

His lips are on yours again as he starts to move his hips, finding his rhythm as he thrusts in and out of you. You whine into his mouth whilst he groans into yours, the feeling becoming all too unbearable for the two of you.

“Feel so good, H. So big, so full.”

The chuffed face he pulled as he continued to thrust his hips to yours, his lips wrapping around your nipple briefly was enough for you to fall for him again.

“M’gonna come, baby.”

“I know, H, me too.”

He slipped his hand down between you both to use his fingers to rub your sensitive bundle of nerves, sending you over the edge. A long moan of his name leaves your lips, your back arches and your eyes start to water.

“That’s it. Fuck! Squeezin’ me so tight.”

He moans as he comes, spilling into the condom whilst his movements halt inside of you.

He head drops forward upon your shoulder, the two of you masking in the overwhelming thing your had just experienced.

“There’s no one else I ever want to do that with.”

“Looks like you’re stuck with me, then.”

“YN.” Theo catches your attention as you wash both of your hands after the painting session you had both just had, “Are you my new Mummy?”

Your movements halt as you look down at the little boy, his features becoming more and more like Harry’s everyday.

You look up to Harry who’s stood drying his hand a couple of metres away, a goofy smile present on his lips as he nods at you.

“If you want me to be Theo, but are you sure?”

“I love you, YN.”

“I love you too, now go dry your hands.”

Harry passes him the towel to dry his hands which he does with little no disagreement.

“Are you going to go turn the TV on whilst Daddy talks to Mummy?”

The words felt odd leaving his lips, but a good kind of odd. You watch as he leaves the bathroom and bounds towards the living room.

You wrap your arms around Harry and sigh contently into his chest.

“I can’t believe he just said that.”

“I can. There’s no one else I’d want to be his mother.”

You stand on your tip toes to kiss his lips once.

“I love you, Harry.”

“I love you too.”

#harry styles #harry styles one shot #harry styles fic #harry styles smut #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fluff #single dad!harry #therapist!yn #harry styles writing

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letstalkaboutsebbaby · 4 years ago

Text

Related Activities - Chapter 4

The district has a new attorney and Marshall is going to learn the hard way that he should have acted sooner in pursuing his passion for Caroline.

Pairing: Andy Barber x OFC (Caroline Kline) / Walter Marshall x OFC (Caroline Kline)

Author: Deb @letstalkaboutsebbaby / @letswriteaboutsebbaby

Rating: Mature

Warnings: crime talk, smut (hi @klaine-92 - it's starting!)

Walter Marshal is a man that has little to no time to lose with useless things. His house lack decoration because he sees no need for them. A couple of frames with pictures of his daughter, some cushions that he didn’t know were uncomfortable when he bought them, and a painting in his bedroom. He has few friends - his brother and a couple of guys whom he grew up with - fewer reasons to trust new people, but he trusts Caroline. He likes her, he wants her more than he cares to admit to himself, not really confident in his relationship skills.

One of the things he needs the most is the only thing she can’t ever give him - silence. She’s always with something to talk about, a view over some case, a question about his past experiences, or a song to softly sing when she knows he’s not wanting to talk. Marshall feels like he can listen to her singing the whole discography of the Pretenders before he’ll get enough of her voice.

Waking up early after a hard day, he stays in bed contemplating his next steps to make sure she’ll understand he needs time cause he can’t start a relationship while worrying about the cases they have now. Obviously, they’ll always have to work and it’ll always have a lot of shit to deal with but at the moment it’s too time-consuming and he wants to start a relationship with the possibility to really give her time and attention. Looking at his phone, a text gives him hope that things will go as planned: Only pick me up if you bring hot chocolate with vanilla cream. It’s the closest thing to “I’ll forget you’ve been so dumb” he will get and since his apology hasn’t been so eloquent either, he’s fine with it.

After half an hour and bringing a big cup of her favorite drink, he picks her up at her apartment. From the driver’s window, he can see the pale rose curtain on her room reminding him of how contrastive their houses are; her full of cute decor items, different patterns on the walls, soft rugs, mirrors and candles everywhere. If it wasn’t Carol he would’ve said the person spent a lot of time decorating the place, but somehow it feels effortless for her. It’s like anything he finds difficult is incredibly natural for her.

As she climbs in the car, Marshal smiles at her and she smiles back, quickly reaching for her drink. He stops her hand midways and holds it between his. “Can you at least say good morning?”

“Good morning, big guy. You look better”

“I am. Look, Car...I’m not in the right mind to...to do anything other than find these fuckers. Let’s look forward to that week off, can we?” His big fingers caressing her palms and bringing butterflies to her stomach. As handsome and sweet as Andy is, her attraction to Marshall has been something growing since day one and her heart is more invested than she would like. The way he calls her ‘Car’ only adding to the entire sexiness of him.

“So let’s find these fuckers...Give my hands back, I need to drink and you need to drive.” she teases. “Any new clue?”

“No, some test results will be ready today tough, so I guess we’ll at least have something to go after. Yours?”

“Nothing either, I was just talking to Andy last night and he thinks the same modus operandi was being investigated in Massachusetts. He’ll bring the files today so I can give a look before interviewing the guy again.”

The mention of a night talk with Andy bothers Marshall and he can’t really pay attention to anything Carol says after it and she notices the change in his behavior but decides not to ask the reason.

Shortly after they get to the station, each working on their own cases, Andy gets there for the suspect interview, files ready for her to analyze.

“Hey, that’s for me?” Caroline points with a smile when she sees him.

“I believe it’ll cost you something” he replies, sitting by her desk.

“I’m ready to pay for it. What’s the price?” she plays along.

“Dinner tonight.”

“Done. Pass me the files, Sir.”

The friendly chat is something she really likes about him. A bit of flirting doesn’t hurt, right? Caroline reads the info and adds sticky notes to some of the papers while Andy talks to one of the cops. When the suspect is in the interrogation room, she calls Andy to go along with her.

“You go ahead, I’ll watch by the glass” he responds.

“You don’t want to get in?”

“Go on...I trust you, I’ll be there if you think a different approach it’s required.”

Once she’s there, with a bust in her confidence after Andy’s speech, the suspect is clearly trembling as she makes the questions but answers everything as determined by his lawyer - even though a peeved tone is always present. In the next room, Andy is watching the interrogation when Marshall enters to do the same, just as the suspect changes the subject to the previous encounter with the detectives.

“Were’s your bodyguard, Miss? Not going to intimidate me today?”

“I just need the answers, I don’t think you need to be intimidated in order to give me the truth. You’re smart enough to know there’s only one way not to be sentenced to death in a case like this and it starts with giving me information” she states.

“Are you fucking him?” the suspect challenges as his lawyer tries to make him behave. “You look like a good fuck”

The suspect enrages Marshall and he’s ready to go inside and put him in his place, but Andy stops him with a hand in his arm.

“You can’t really blame him” Andy calmly says.

“What the fuck do you mean?” Marshall verbalizes with no calm at all.

“The way you act...he knows you’re here and all he wants is for you to enter that room and give his lawyer a reason to ask for a transference.” He asserts the situation, stopping Marshall from ruining Caroline’s work.

“I better go” The detective mutter.

“Don’t worry, I got her” Andy claims, much to Marshall’s displeasure.

When the interrogation ends Caroline meets Andy to deliberate for some time. Eventually, he went back to his office, promising to pick her up at the end of the day, both concentrating on work before the time for a new date came around. They decide to have dinner at hers, dismissing the idea of going home to get ready for a formal event - buying some take-out from an Italian place she likes and finding comfort at her floor once again.

“This is delicious” he declares, the pleasure clear on his face.”Can we do this every night? I want to try out all of their dishes.”

“It’s so yummy, right? I can’t have it every night though, I would end up in the worst shape.” Caroline says kiddin’, trying to imagine if he really wants to spend more time with her, and for what reasons.

“I find it very hard to believe you could get into a bad shape, babe, you’re gorgeous.”

A bit abashed by his comment, she smiles shyly and drinks a gulp of wine. “Well, in this case…we can do this sometimes before you get tired.”

“If I get tired we can change to japanese food, or mexican…”

“I was talking about the company”

“No sense. I might get tired of air before this happens.” He smiles and gets closer to her, an arm inviting her to lean on him. “You’re like...you know the feeling when you’re little and you know a Christmas present is waiting for you downstairs?” her head resting on his shoulder turns up to look at him.

“Yeah” she whispers back, looking deeply into his baby blue eyes. “I’m not sure the wrappings would be more interesting than the actual prize…” she tries to jest, but he holds her face, his thumb pressing over her lips. The way he looks at her gives no space for misinterpretations and the butterflies in her belly are very hard to ignore.

“If you agree to a hundred dinners more I can try to find out…” Andy’s low timbre functioning as a poison that keeps her weak - no reason to leave his arms, no desire to be anywhere else but in his presence.

“A hundred?” she softly asks.

“Just to start…” his lips softly touching hers before he kisses her. “You deserve better, you know?” She wasn’t sure what he means...deserve better than what? But his lips are on hers again before she can think further about it, both of them getting lost in sweet and deep kisses. Caroline wasn’t aware of the time, only able to feel Andy and the desire he evokes; not even the fact that they’re now lying on the couch seems to register in her mind, just his scent and the weight of his body over hers. Resting his forehead on hers, Andy whispers in the most enticing way “I’ll be what you need, sweetie. Everything you need.” while his hands expertly unbutton her jeans.

That was a completely different end to her night… she’s spent months dreaming about finishing her day in this same position with Marshall but it didn’t feel wrong to be with Andy - he’s attentive and attractive, very easy on the eyes - anyone would love to have him and she’s not about to lose this guy waiting for someone that never gave her anything more than a promise of a week off together. “We should take this to the bedroom”.

“Shhh...just relax.” He before taking her pants off and lying between her legs, positioning them around his waist; he slowly slides an arm to hold her neck as she stares at his eyes, entranced by how hot he looks at this moment. “Choose me, babe. Just tell me you want me.”

She can feel how hard he is through his pants and nods unconsciously “I want you, Andy.”

He tries hard not to lose control, wanting to watch her surrender, to see her gradually becoming his. “I want you too...so much” he starts moving his hips, rubbing his covered hard-on over her panties, a hand moving to grip her butt, helping her to grind against him “You look so beautiful...take what you need to feel good, babe”.

The friction on her clit driving her wild, making her squirm and cling to him. “Andy, please.”

“You have no idea how much I want to fuck you right now...to take these clothes off and slide into you…” as he declares all he wants to do to her, she keeps grinding and kissing his jaw as if he’s going to disappear. “So fucking cute” Andy sits and brings her body with him, finding the view of her straddling his thighs the most erotic sight ever. He touches her tits through the shirt and holds her as she rides him. Caroline wants him to lose control, but all she accomplishes is to get closer to cumming, so she hugs him and lets herself go listening to his sweet praise of her.

With her body still trembling she opens her eyes to look at his proud face. “Stay.”

“I can’t. I need you to have a good night of sleep and think about what you want...then tomorrow you’ll text me let me know if you want another date.”

“A third date.”

“Yeah”

“I already know the answer”

“I’ll believe you when you’re not looking like you want to fuck so much” he jokes, standing up and putting her on the couch, adjusting his pants as much as possible with his cock still hard.

She stands up and slides her arms around his neck, bringing Andy close to kiss him once more. “I’ll text you tomorrow.”

Grabbing her hand, he takes his jacket from the other couch and walks to the door, stopping with a hand in the handle “I’ll be waiting. Have a good night, Car.” he gives her a light peck before leaving her house. She shivers when she hears him calling her ‘Car’ the exact same way Marshall does. She’s so fucked.

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sammyxorae · 4 years ago

Text

Falling For You (Spencer Reid x Reader)

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Word Count: 3,901

Warnings: fluff, angst, cussing, suicidal thoughts, kissing

Author’s Note: I’m so excited to be starting another series, especially one with Spencer. I apologize for this one being so long, but I just couldn’t find a place to break it up. I’m going to try and update every couple of days!

***

“What do you think it’ll be like when we’re in love with someone when we’re older?” you asked your best friend as the two of you lay in the bunker, smoking a joint. You were only 12 at the time but at that moment, you felt as nothing in the world could bother you. You felt content and at ease with your best friend by your side.

You heard her giggle and felt her nudge you to hand the joint back over. “Well Y/N/N, I bet it’s going to feel amazing and nothing like we have felt before,” she spoke quietly, looking over at you with a look in her eyes you’ve never seen before.

“What are you thinking about Kitty? You look like you’re going to eat my face,” you laughed but before you could say anything else, you felt her lips on yours. It was a surprise for you and stopped her immediately.

She looked at you with hurt in her eyes and anger. You’ve known the things she has been through, you looked down at the bruises on her arms. She only told you about the way her Dad hurt her and you felt awful rejecting her. “I’m sorry Y/N/N…” she trailed off for a moment but then continued, “I’m so sick of being rejected though, Y/N/N, by men. And hurt by them. They’re fucking pigs.” She began to sob through her words.

You pulled her into you, hugging her and stroking her short brown hair. “I’m so sorry Cat, I wish there was something I could do. I will always be there for you.”

***

That was years ago. You were now in your late twenties and still living in the same town that you guys lived in, but one day, Cat was taken from her father who finally got sent to jail for the abuse and other charges. She was then put with an adoptive family, which seemed to be good at first and the two of you sent letters back and forth for a while. They slowly stopped, receiving and sending less and less, until one day she sent me a letter stating that she was going away for a while, that she killed her adoptive father because he was doing the same thing to her as her biological dad. That was the last letter you ever received from her. You tried to search for your friend throughout the years without any avail. Until one day you saw her on the news.

You were surprised, but not entirely, especially with what she revealed in the letters and the way she acted when you were kids. There were things that Cat did and acted as a child and teen that really threw you for a loop, but you just chalked it up to her abuse at home. Now, as a licensed professional, you knew differently. Trauma has a significant effect on the brain and a child’s psyche. Many individuals who are children do “bounce back,” what is called resiliency, but there are others who unfortunately continue to struggle and develop further mental illnesses.

You looked at the TV screened again, focusing on Cat’s face. It broke your heart, even though you heard of what she did. You felt that guy feeling that you needed to see her one last time. No one should ever really be alone, even though she is a prolific serial killer.

***

You had gone to see her and it was just about what you expected, but a little worse. She was quiet, she looked disheveled, she was more cunning, more manipulative than she used to be. The only thing that was the same was the moment she saw you, there was that look in her eye. It was the same one that she had the night she had kissed you all those years ago.

“I’ll always be there for you Kitty. You know that,” you walked over and kissed her head before you got yelled at by a guard and left.

***

When you got to your apartment, you didn’t realize how emotionally taxing that experience was for you until you felt like you were going to pass out, throw up, and didn’t even hear Walter, your German Short-Haired Pointer dog barking at you.

“Calm down buddy. I know, it’s been a rough day being a dog, huh?” you smiled patting his head.

You knew you had to get yourself in check before it totally consumed you. After you lost Cat as a teenager, you had a really difficult time with your best friend gone. You were depressed, anxious, and couldn’t handle her being gone. There had been nights where you felt as if you had lost a piece of yourself. You loved her, but not in the way that Cat seemed to feel about you.Eventually, you got into therapy yourself and one coping skill you learned to help yourself, was running.

“You want to go for a run boy?” The dog started barking like crazy, running around in circles, grabbing his toys, throwing them in the air. You couldn’t help but laugh at his antics as you changed into your running clothes and shoes.

“Alright Walter, let’s go buddy!”

When you got to the park you and Walter kept at steady pace as the audiobook in your ear played. You were listening to a crime series that had captured your attention from Denmark, but translated in English. You looked around and noticed a tall, lanky, but good looking man sitting down at a bench, you nodded at him as you were about to pass him, but the next thing you know, you lost your footing, and Walter was chasing after a squirrel.

Spencer’s POV

He had been out of jail for a few days, not even, and he had to take time off. Yet, he couldn’t get out of his mind that his mother was kidnapped and that he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. And it was all because of Cat Adams. She was a main center piece for his rage.

Emily Prentiss, his boss and colleague, told him as much as she wanted to have him on the case, he was too close. She also made sure that the last 3 days he had been receiving therapy services to help him cope with everything. One thing the therapist made him realize is that he doesn’t have any friends outside of work, which he was mostly okay with, but that he also hasn’t had a conversation that wasn’t entirely work related as well.

With that said, he decided that he would go to the park and try to “free” his mind, as the therapist said. Anyone that had known Spencer, knew that “freeing” his mind was nearly impossible. The man was a genius with an IQ of 187 and could read 20,000 words per minute. Not your average man. Spencer instead did what he does best, watch people. He’s always found it comforting and relaxing. He immediately noticed a woman and her dog jogging, she had nodded her head at him, and he waved to her. He noticed quickly how pretty she was and seemed to be enjoying herself, but also on alert as she ran.

Almost as soon as he turned his head, he saw her fall straight in front of him as her dog ran off after a squirrel. He ran right over to the woman to help her.

***

Reader’s POV

“Shit!” you yelled out. “Walter get back here!” you screamed again. Reaching down to your bloodied leg and knee, and then your ankle that throbbed. When you looked up, the man that you had noticed moments prior came over to you in a hurry.

“Are you okay?” He asked with concern in his voice. You noticed how his curly, brown hair hung over his face and how his golden brown eyes had stared down at you with worry.

“Yeah…” you trailed off, wincing at your ankle when you touched it. “I just need to get my dog. So much for being loyal.”

“Well, actually, in the list of the top 10 most loyal dogs, German Short-Haired Pointers are not on that list. In fact, most believed that Golden Retrievers would be on the list but they didn’t quite make it, actually being voted at number 11. However, German Short-Haired Pointers are one of the world’s most accomplished hunting dogs.” The man continued to ramble as he looked at your ankle, touching it in different places. “Well, it doesn’t seem to be broken so you should be okay, but those gashes on your leg really should be looked at.”

You laughed through the pain saying, “What are you? Some sort of doctor.”

“Actually, I have three PhDs in Mathematics, Chemistry, and Engineering…” he stopped himself when he noticed you were looking at him, smirking but also with a cocked-head in almost confusion.

“But you weren’t actually asking. I’m sorry.” He offered you a hand and helped you up.

“Thank you for helping me…?” you paused, hoping he would catch your drift in wanting to know his name.

“Spencer.. Dr. Spencer Reid.” He smiled as you grabbed his arm, holding you up.

“Well thank you Doctor, but now I need to find my dog if you don’t mind.”

“What’s uhm, your name? If you don’t mind.” He stuttered.

Was he nervous?

“Y/F/N Y/L/N.” you smiled, pushing your bangs behind your ears, taking out the last earbud and putting it in your pocket.

“I can help you find your dog if you’d like and you should probably go to the ER for that. It could probably use some stitches,” he said as the two of you walked a few steps until Walter came running up to you with a dead squirrel in his mouth, wagging his tail as if he just brought you the best present in the world.

You couldn’t help but giggle, “Ew” more giggles, “Gross.” Spencer and you both laughed.

“I told you they were accomplished hunting dogs,” Spencer smirked looking at you with a look that lasted just a little bit longer than you expected. Spencer kindly bent down and grabbed Walter’s leash.

This man is incredibly handsome and I could look at him for days. Stop it Y/N, he’s just being kind and helping. Sometimes you had a hard time separating kindness from something more.

“So how about I get you a ride and make sure you get to the ER for your leg,” he asked again as you held his nice strong arms, Stop Y/N, toward the street, out of the park.

“No, no. I can’t do that, I really should get back home,” you let go of him trying to walk as you grabbed Walter’s leash, but nearly fell all over again. Spencer was quick to catch you before you fell to another impact, possibly making the wounds worse.

“What are you? A ninja or a cat with those reflexes,” you couldn’t help but laugh at his mannerisms and behaviors. He was an interesting person and you were just wanting to get to know more about him.

“No, just something I do everyday. But honestly, I’m a pretty clumsy person,” he admitted with a hidden smile.

Between a few more words, you and Spencer agreed to let him buy you an Uber to take you and Walter home. The Uber man was not particularly happy about the dog part, but you guys had bribed him with extra cash due to the situation.

The ride wasn’t long and soon you were back to your apartment, Spencer helping you out of the car and getting Walter.

“Shit. Of course, the one time I really need an elevator, I don’t have one. Guess I’ll crawl,” you groaned with irritation.

“Or, I could carry you up. Nothing weird, I’ll just give you a piggyback ride,” he shrugged as he looked at you.

At first you thought he was joking but no, this man was serious. Carrying you up three flights of stairs wasn’t too bad, but it seemed like a lot to you. You huffed out in defeat and gave in to his offer. He bent down so you could get on his back. He was careful to not touch your leg or ankle so he didn’t hurt them.

“You ready?” he asked.

“Up, up, and away!” You yelled with a hint of playfulness. He giggled and you gripped on tight. Luckily, Walter knew where the door was and he ran straight up. You only hoped that’s exactly where he went. Obviously he had a track record of not listening to you.

As Spencer carried you, there was no way that you could ignore the fresh smell of shampoo in his hair and how his toned arms and shoulders felt under yours.

“Did you just smell my hair?” Spencer laughed as he continued up the stairs.

“I absolutely did not just sniff your hair that smells like flowers,” you lied with a snort.

Just before you could say something else, you guys were at your door, with Walter waiting right in front.

“Thanks for doing one thing right today,” you sighed with a smile, patting your dog on the head. You opened the door and smiled to Spencer, “Thank you again for helping me out again, Spencer. I appreciate it. Also, you haven’t told me what you do but from what I understand you’re the combination of a cat and ninja.”

“Let’s just say I work for the government and I’m used to this stuff,” he pushed his hair back.

You noticed immediately the form sweating on his forehead and the way he licked his lips unintentionally. Get a grip Y/N.

Snapping back to what was in front of you, “Spencer, please let me thank you by ordering some food for you and get you something to drink… As long as that doesn’t seem weird.”

Spencer hesitated for a second, looking down, letting his locks of brown and curls fall in front of his face. He looked up with a gentle smile and agreed.

“I’m going to hobble my way into the bathroom and take a shower and then try to deal with the bandages and cleaning up my wounds. There’s a folder in the top drawer to the right of the refrigerator with restaurants that you can choose to order from. I’ll be done in like 15 minutes, tops. Please make yourself at home, seriously. Mi casa es su casa,” you smiled and began to hobble just down the hallway.

After 15 minutes, like you said, you got out of the shower and realized that you didn’t grab any clothes. Shit. You groaned out loud to yourself. Why wouldn’t you grab clothes before you went to take a shower when there’s a hot man standing in your living room? You grab the towel and walk out in the hallway, hoping that he doesn’t see you, but as soon as you walk out, you run straight into Spencer’s chest.

��Ope! Shit!” you jumped with startlement.

Spencer immediately covered his eyes, “I’m so sorry! I was just coming to knock on the door and check on you.”

You gained your composure and blurted out, “Quit it. You act as if you hadn’t seen a woman in a towel before.” You walked away into your bedroom, wondering where the hell that confidence and flirtatiousness came from. Sometimes you surprise yourself.

Back out in the living room, you had noticed that he had fed Walter, and you finally sat down on the couch. “Thanks for feeding Walter. How did you know where his food was?” You had it in a particular cabinet, not where you figured most would keep it.

“You’d be surprised how many individuals’ kitchens are similarly put together and organized,” he spoke with confidence.

“People are creatures of habits,” you both said at the same time and looked at each other and giggled. You felt the red on your cheeks rise up and almost the same for his. I guess that’s what happens when you’re a therapist, you recognize people’s body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice.

While you sat down, you attempted to verbally direct Spencer through your apartment to find the medical box you had of bandages and stuff to clean your wounds. Luckily, he was incredibly smart and able to understand your horrible direction. After a few curse words, tylenol, and an ice pack later, you thanked him once again for putting the bandages on you and began to talk about where to order. The two of you both agreed to get chinese, oddly enough ordering pretty similar orders.

The two of you sat on the couch, him sitting next to you, your shoulders touching lightly, as your leg up on the coffee table to keep it elevated and iced. Both of you agreed to watch some Disney movies to pass the time, talking about what you did, telling him that you’re a therapist. He seemed to be understanding when you talked about what you do, how you love helping people but that it is exhausting.

“I couldn’t agree more. Burn-out is real and people sometimes forget to take care of themselves. That’s my favorite part of my job too,” he rambled on.

For a while, the two of you fell into a pattern, eating, talking about the movies that were on, laughing about the things that each of you have experienced in life, and sometimes just enjoying each other in silence.

You learned that he found it funny that your dog’s name was Walter because his middle name was Walter. He learned that you have lived in this city your whole life. Also, that the both of you have never been out of the country. You found each other holding each other’s gaze a little bit longer than usual, like at the park, but this time more comfortably. You also learned this man was walking genius. Which had you interested in anything he did or said. Having an eidetic memory could be a curse and blessing, from what it sounded like.

***

You don’t know how much time had passed, but you realized that you had fallen asleep. It must’ve been hours later. You noticed that there was a large figure behind you and an arm around you as well. You almost freaked out until you realized that the man who had helped you yesterday had stayed the night by accident and was near you. Spencer. You thought to yourself. You turned slowly to see his face. He seemed calm and his breathing at a normal pace.

Without trying to wake him up, you looked down and saw that Walter was asleep at the other side of the couch. Oddly enough for a dog, he didn’t like mornings. You attempted to move your way into the kitchen behind you, noticing that your leg wasn’t hurting as bad as last night, but still some pain. You looked at the clock, it was 5am, and you instinctively began to make some coffee. Not trying to be creepy, but you watched Spencer as he slept, moving a little bit here and there.

You grabbed the coffee cups and miraculously made it back over to the couch without falling or spill, and almost as if the smell hit his nose, he was awake.

“Hey,” you whispered to him, handing the coffee to him.

He smiled and grunted out the word hey, taking the coffee and sipping it slowly. “Thanks, I can never turn down a cup of coffee.”

The two of you sat there in silence but Spencer was the first to talk. “I’m really sorry about staying the night. I hope that didn’t bother you.”

You put your hand on his hand, “absolutely not. Seriously. I really had an awesome time getting to know you last night and hanging out. You’re seriously hilarious and great company,” you blushed as you said it. I probably sound like a freaking idiot. Good one Y/N, you’ll probably scare a nice person away. Although you were a therapist, you had a lot of self-doubt about yourself, something you really struggled with, but sometimes there was that confidence.

“Me too. It was... normal,” he said with intention and obviously using his words carefully. “My life is not really what most would consider normal.”

“What is normal anyway?” You questioned with a smirk and partially a rhetorical question.

Before Spencer could answer, hsi phone began to ring. He grabbed it and immediately you saw fear and maybe some anger in his eyes.

“I… I-I- have to take this, sorry…” he trailed off, getting up and going down your hallway, as if he knew the place. You were concerned because that was the first time you had really seen Spencer, in the last 24 hours that you’ve known him, seem defeated almost. You weren’t trying to eavesdrop but you still couldn’t hear him.

Spencer’s POV

“Hey JJ, what’s going on? Did you guys find my Mom? I should be there..” he spoke trying to calm himself. He was still frustrated with the fact that he couldn’t be part of this. He wanted to find her. After all of what Cat Adams has put him through, she had to go and hit him where it hurts the worst. Having his Mom kidnapped.

“I know Spence, I’m sorry,” JJ stayed quiet for a moment then stated “One big thing we found out is that Cat and Lindsay, aren’t just a partnership, they were lovers. Well, for Lindsay they were or are lovers. However, we found out that Lindsay is in love with Cat, but we don’t think that’s the same for Cat.”

Every time he heard her name, he felt this anger build up more and more inside of him. One that he never really had before prison. People say prison changes a person and Spencer had always found it to be a saying people would use to rationalize their behaviors, but now, he believed it. He would never kill Cat Adams, but he sure wouldn’t feel any different if she died.

“Spence? Are you listening to me?” JJ brought him back to reality.

“Yeah, sorry. So Lindsay is in love with Cat… Cat is manipulative, she will do whatever it takes to get control and achieve her goal,” he said with that anger slowly starting to build up. He began to breathe slowly, to calm himself. He couldn’t let it get the best of him.

“They recently got into a fight, somehow, they had connection with one another in person, we’re thinking that Lindsay pretended to be someone else to get into the prison and bypass security or there’s a mole allowing this all to happen. All we know is that it caused a riff between Cat and Lindsay, making this a possible way to break the connection between the two. Unfortunately, Lindsay is still being loyal to Cat. Love can do some weird things to people.”

“So we’re nowhere closer to finding my mom?” his voice broke.

JJ stopped speaking and then he heard Emily speak, “Hey Spence, I know it’s Sunday morning, but something just happened. I need you in here this morning. We’re transferring Cat Adams back here. She’s agreeing to talk. On one condition,” she trails off, Spencer knowing where this is going.

“If she talks to me..” he spoke quietly. He rubbed his eyes and hair, “I’ll be there soon.”

***

@spnackleholicswainer @alexa-ann-blog @crazysocklovingfangirl@totallysupernaturaloneshots @crowleysplaythings @i-dont-understand-that-url @baritonechick @samanthasmileys @sammys-angel @dont-hate-relate-pls@thegameison97 @growningupgeek @ive6669 @your-favorite-emo @fandom-has-ruined-my-life @youcanhavit @hillface89 @angelkurenai@letmewriteyourlove @fangirl1802 @robbenedictxreader @ellienovak@psycho-moose-sammy @ashiewesker @hudine @paddy121996-blog@wayward-mirage @zymmas @evyiione @heatherhoney2000-blog @gabriels-trix @your-not-invisible-to-me me @carry-on-my-wayward-girls@reigningqueenofwords @writings-of-desire

#criminal minds #criminal minds fan fiction #criminal minds fanfiction #spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #doctor spencer reid #cat adams

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xuxszx · 5 years ago

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quarantine haircut |Henry Cavill

Pairing: Henry Cavill x Reader

Warning: none

Words: 1153

A/N: So I wrote something which was in my head for soo long, and I actually wrote it one day, but Tumblr decided it wasn’t as good as it should be 😂 and delete it. So I decided to write it once again, and here we are.

But I don’t know if I should tag someone or not 😩 so if you don’t want to be tagged just tell me 😄😘

Hope you like it ♥

It was another day of quarantine and Henry looked almost like at Nomis. To tell the truth, you didn't mind - his lovely curls returned, but Henry insisted he had to cut his hair and beard. And you could survive his hair, but you wouldn't let him cut his beard. After all, he looked even more handsome in it, if it was possible.

"Then cut my hair, and if you do well I will use you to the beard too" he said one evening. At first you firmly refused, bald Henry Cavill has never been shown to the world. It was good that way. In fact, you've never seen him like this before. But when he really wanted to shave and cut his hair like in Sand Castle, you took matters into your own hands.

After watching dozens of tutorials, reading several articles and ordering all the necessary stuff like hair razors, scissors, combs and hairdressing clips - both of you were ready for what was to happen in the bathroom, where according to Henry was the best light and place.

He sat comfortably in the chair he had brought from the dining room. Everything was fine, you covered his shoulders with a cape, combed his hair a few times with a brush and then with a comb. You separated the upper part of the hair from the side ones and the trouble began only when the razor came into your hands. Your hands were trembling terribly, and your heart is beating like crazy.

"Hey. Relax, babe. It'll be okay, in the worst case I'll be bald. Besides, no one but you and Kal will see me, we are still sitting at home" he said, grabbing your trembling hands in his. “Hey, look at me. Take a deep breath and do it. For me, hmm?” he added, doing Geralt's 'hmm' and you were ready do anything for him.

So once again you took the hair trimmer and set the first line at ear level. You drove the machine down the line and that's how Henry Cavill became a bald man. To shorten part of the hair above the marked line, you have caught the scissors and, with a help of comb, slowly cut long strands of hair. It takes you so much time, that Henry was fidgeting on the chair.

"Don't you dare to move, Henry" you said, cutting another part of his hair. He muttered something that sounded like "Fine, mom" and you rolled your eyes. Sometimes he was ridiculous. But you loved him with all of your heart.

When you finished cutting the sides and it was time to take care of the tip of his hair, you groaned quietly. You had no idea how to do it, and closely watching you Henry didn’t help at all.You pulled out the hair clips and curls fell on his forehead. He looked charming, but you promised him you would cut it.

Cut hair fell to the ground like raindrops on a rainy day. And Henry looked more like August Walker than Walter Marshall.Cut hair fell to the ground like raindrops on a rainy day. And Henry looked more like August Walker than Walter Marshall. Although his beard still looked like Captain's Syverson.

Henry moved a few more times in the chair, but you didn't even comment on that. You tried to do everything in your power to make your man look his best.That he could put some Instagram selfies that all his fans were waiting for with you. To be honest, how many food photos he could share.

"I don't know, maybe you really should cut your hair like Captain Syverson has" you said, when you tossed scissors and comb on cupboard. All this cutting his hair, takes you almost one and half hour. ”What do you think?”

“It’s… better than I thought it will be” he said, as he was looking at himself in the mirror. “Thanks, babe” he turn around to you, and kiss you in the middle of your lips. The kiss was sweet. “So… do you want to shave my beard?”

“I don't think it's a good idea. You'll do it better"

“Yeah, but you know how it is…”

“You’ll make a hole in the middle of your cheek and you’ll have to cut it all, I know” you interrupted him. “You really want me to do it? Cause I don’t think I can handle this.”

“I believe you can do it” he encouraged you, and God! He could asked you for anything with those his eyes and smile. He was your weakness and he know about it so well.

"You're abusing me, Mr. Cavill"

“This isn't abuse…” Henry denied, but come on! He exactly known what to do to force you to something.

“So what it is?” you asked as you takes comb and combed his thick beard.

“Ok, fine it’s abusing” he admitted.

If you thought cutting hair was difficult then shortering his beard was even more difficult. But it was all Henry's fault, which was fidgeting all the time. Even when you were holding razor near his face, he couldn't be still. You groaned in fear when, correcting some of the shortcomings, the razor rolled down his neck and the red liquid leaked from under the blade.

“Oh, my fucking God! What I’ve done!” you screamed. You threw the blade to the sink and pressed the towel to his neck. Everything was almost fine and you had to cut him at the very end. He looked surprised at the whole situation. But when he shook himself, he grabbed the towel that you clung to his neck so tightly, and standing in front of the mirror, he pushed the fabric away and saw a little cut which only a scab left.”I told you it was a bad idea!”

“Calm down, woman. I'm fine” he told, as you take off the cape of his shoulders. Henry looked at himself in the mirror and gently touched his new beard and hair.

“I'm so sorry, Henry” you apologised once again, when he was standing under shower and you were cleaning all the mess in the bathroom.

"I told you it's okay. Do you know how many times I've hurt? he asked, then came outta the shower. Damn, he looked so handsome and delicious, that you unconsciously licked your lips. "Do you see something you like, little bird?"

“Maybe”

"How much do I owe you?" He asked, pulling you closer to him. He tucked a strand of hair behind your ear and gently pinched your cheek as all the annoying aunts did.

"I think the cake is enough" you smiled at him and then kissed him. Henry looked really good in this version of him. But to be honest, this man would look great even in a trash bag. "And a lot of cardio in... maybe kitchen this time?"

Tag list: @thethirstyarchive @hnryycvll @mrsaugustwalker @yespolkadotkitty @onlyhenrys @laketaj24 @littlefreya @ifuseekamycavill @avengersandlovers @supersweetstache @dangerouslovefanfic @followyoursecretsmutblog @honeychicana @viking-raider

#henry cavill x reader #henry cavill x ofc #henry cavill x you #henry cavill x y/n #henry cavill x female reader #henry cavill imagine #xuxszxfanfiction

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notgonnarememberthis · 4 years ago

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today (of all days) - pt 5

Surprise!!! Through encouragement of friends I’ve decided to release one chapter a day to finish this story off the day before prodigal son returns! So the next one will be the plus one coming out tomorrow and a bonus chapter coming Monday. Hope y’all like this one!

The knock is soft and hesitant, Gil almost misses it while he’s combing over files. He checks the time with a huff, he should probably get dinner soon anyways. Maybe he’ll roll by Malcolm’s and make sure he’s eating, knowing all too well that he’s throwing himself into this case just as hard, if not more, than he is.

He stretches himself out before walking to the door, mindful of Icarus who has half the mind to trot beside him to try to dart out the door if he opens it too wide. He opens it slowly, foot placed in front of the ginger cat to keep it back.

Jessica stands in front of the door, a bag in one hand and a drink tray balanced on the other. She sucks in a breath and he can see her carefully planned speech falling apart. This was the first time he’s seen her since that day in the station, when she admitted she was talking to Martin again. When he offered to be her ear again. She swallows heavily only able to get out, “Can I come in?”

“Yeah,” He nods. “Of course.” He steps aside letting her slip by with ease. She smiles down at Icarus who takes the opportunity to rub along her legs. He knows if she hadn’t had her hands full, she’d be scratching his head right now. “Is that?”

“Mel’s diner, yes it is. I got the cherry pie too.”

“How’d you know, I was just about to make dinner.”

“You and Malcolm have remarkably similar eating habits. Meaning it’ll be the last thing on either of your agendas until either a case is finished or someone snaps you out of it.” She settles everything on the table, pulling the food out of the bag with an almost robotic motion. He recognizes it, her mind and body has flipped into pure survival mode. She’s able to mask it when talking but her body language gives it away.

He sits on the couch next to her, eyes trained on her face the entire time. “Jess?”

She tenses, her eyes closing as she’s found out so quickly. Her posture deflates and she drops her head into her hand. “Please.” Her voice comes out more tired.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong.” She tries to hold him at arm's length, instead focused on her food but he takes her hand in his. She may not have come with the vintage bourbon like usual but he can see through it all. Mel’s is her comfort food. After a rough day, they’d bring Malcolm and Ainsley there, enjoy the atmosphere of anonymity. The noise of the customers was always enough to drown out her own demons. He’s more than able to see through it all.

“Talk to me.” He says, his voice soft as he runs his thumb along the back of her hand.

She sighs, tipping her head back. Her jaw clenches, emotions bubbling to the surface that she forces back down again. “I’m writing a memoir.” She doesn’t look back at him, she knows what his reaction will be, or she thinks she does.

“A memoir?” His eyebrows furrow and he shakes his head. “You said you’d never give in. That they could say whatever they wanted but they wouldn’t get a word from you. What changed?” She sighs, in the way she did any time they were brought up. “Birdie.” He nods in understanding.

“She’s been cut off. She’s emptied all her assets and she came to me… to publish her own book.”

“Why not just pay her off?” She’d done it before. Paid reporters, journalists, and other nosey bastards for her family’s privacy. She paid good money so that it was never leaked that Malcolm had changed his name. As far as the public knew Malcolm Whitly had faded into obscurity.

“They were going to publish with or without her. Another author would take helm. We’d be exposed. I checked the information and it’s true. The publishing company is desperate. They’d already been looking for a writer who would take the chance for years.” No doubt, any writer who stepped up that would risk Jessica Whitly’s wrath would be one without good intentions. The book would be a slander on her family. No amount of burying the story would protect her, Malcolm, or Ainsley from that blowback. And Martin would revel in that chaos.

“So you’re taking the reins.”

“I don’t have a choice.” He wants to argue with her. That there’s always another choice but here, he finds it difficult. With Jessica writing it she’s telling her story, It’s not going to be tampered with by a second party. When it hits the shelf she’ll only do interviews with people Ainsley trusts, no Barbara Walters situation ever again. No second hand writers will hound Malcolm or Ainsley for their comments, knocking down boundaries that her kids aren’t even aware exist most of the time. It’s not about them. It’s about controlling the narrative.

The words feel awfully familiar. “Do Malcolm or Ainsley know?” She doesn’t even need to answer by the look that passes over her face, fond exasperation with some worry.

“No, and I intend on keeping it that way for a while.”

“Jess.”

“Ainsley will just talk about how this is a good thing. She’s always excited about stories. Having them read mine is,” She lets out a bitter laugh. There were aspects of the aftermath that she kept from them. How it tore her apart more than she would ever admit. It was only recently that Ainsley got a peek past the incredible intricate persona Jessica put on for others. “Then Malcolm, he won’t like it at all. He’ll worry. He has enough on his plate right now. I’m not going to pull either of them into this if I can help it.”

“They will find out eventually.”

“I’ll keep it a secret as long as I can. I would appreciate it if you would too.”

“I won’t tell. But I think you should.”

“Not,” She shakes her head and he can see she’s trying to blink away tears. “Not yet.”

“There’s something else, isn’t there.”

Jessica laughs but nods, “The publisher pitched a name today. He wants to call it The One Who Survived. Bullshit, if you ask me.”

“Jess,” He moves to place a hand on her shoulder but she stands, anger flaring up with the movement.

“Why does it always go back to him?” She asks, he’s not sure if she’s looking for an answer but she continues before he can make a sound. “I raised two children. Both of which were stellar students. My son went to Harvard, worked with the FBI. My daughter is a critically acclaimed journalist and a newscaster.” She rakes both hands through her hair pacing across the living room. Atlas watches from a perch, his tail flicking with interest. “I have contributed to hundreds of foundations, I am a businesswoman. Why, why am I only the ex-wife?”

Gil steps up, his hands settling on her shoulders. She stops her rant, eyes falling on him in the same shocked and vulnerable gaze when he holds her. They haven’t been this close since… He pushes that to the back of his mind. “This is your memoir Jess. Not theirs. You’ve got the control here. Use it.”

“But-”

“But what? They’ve been asking for 20 years and you’re finally giving them what they asked for. It’s your story.”

“Where do I even start?”

“Wherever feels right.” She lets out a slow breath and for a moment they stay like that. Standing in the remains of a connection that never dies. Her movement is slow, when she finally does, making sure that he stops her if he wants to. Her arms wrap around his torso and she tucks her head into his chest. He returns the hug, holding her close with his chin resting on top of her head.

“Thank you Gil.” She mumbles into his shirt. He runs a hand down her back in a comforting gesture. Having her this close makes his heart race and he’s certain she can hear it too. They’ve missed out on so much time. But for now he’s just happy to have her back again.

“Always.” He whispers, dropping a kiss to the top of her head.

#prodigal son #gilica #jessica whitly x gil arroyo #gil arroyo x jessica whitly #jessica x gil #jessica whitly #gil arroyo #take some fluff #before more angst tomorrow #5+1 Things #5+1 fic #notgonnarememberthis fics #fanfic #prodigal son AU #today (of all days) pt 5 #today (of all days) part 5

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leonthecardboardunicorn · 6 years ago

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But All Things Considered, Chapter 11

"Zeus, you better not try to summon something-"

Alfonse shook his head as he heard Lucious yelling after Zeus. He then turned his attention back to his father, barely able to hold back his laughter. "Well, those make quite the interesting pair, don't they?" It had been a long time since his father laugh like that, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Just make sure you have your wand, just in case," he warned. "You never know when you might have to fight something."

"I'll be sure, I'll be sure!" Walter said, waving his hand, the eggnog spilling out of his glass. "It'll take more than a little beast to take me down!"

“Are you sure that you're going to be okay?" Alfonse asked. If his friends thought that he was a bad drunk, they should have seen how ridiculous Walter could be with his drinks. "On second thought, maybe you shouldn't have your wand-"

"Don't worry, dear," Winona Goldstein stepped up to her husband, pulling him by the arm. "I'll take care of him. Why don't you go be with your friends?" She pulled Walter away, but another group came over to him.

"Liz, Klaus, it's good to see you again," he said, pulling each of them into hugs. He didn't think that they would come, but here they were.

"Looks like Father's up to his usual antics," Klaus said with a hint of a smile.

"It's nice to know that things are always going to be interesting with this family," Caesar said, coming to Alfonse's side, slipping his hand in his own. "Oh, while we've got you, there was something that I've been wanting to ask you for a while. How did you two get together anyway?"

Liz and Klaus glanced at each other, their faces going red. "O-oh, it's not that interesting of a story," Liz said hurriedly. "I'm much more curious about the two of you! I always thought you two would be cute, but it seemed so sudden."

Alfonse glanced at Caesar. "Should we tell them?" he said quietly, and Caesar shrugged. "Well, it's kind of a funny story actually. You see, after I revealed my identity, all of these noblewomen started harassing me.."

Liz's jaw dropped as they told their long story, and Klaus buried his face in his hands. "You've got to be kidding me," he said.

"In retrospect, it may not have been the greatest idea, but-"

"That's not the funny part," Liz said with a smile. "You see-"

“We were fake dating too," Klaus finished for her. "I asked her to be my partner for the same reason, but well.." Now it was Klaus's turn to blush, and he slipped his hands in Liz's.

"Oh, I see that we weren't the only ones who's fake romance turned genuine," Alfonse said with a smile. "But I'm happy for the two of you, honestly."

Klaus shook his head, but Liz just laughed and put her head on his shoulder. It may have been a rocky road, but it seemed like it had worked out for all of the parties involved.

"Come on, it should be right around here-"

"What are we looking for?" Alfonse asked, although he was pretty sure he already knew.

"The mistle- Oh." Caesar broke out in a wide grin as he saw the other pair standing under the mistletoe, though they immediately broke apart.

"Ahem. I was just trying to stop him from summoning something. Yeah," Lucious said, folding his arms.

"Is that why-"

Lucious grabbed Zeus by the arm and pulled him away. Caesar let out a little laugh. "Well, I saw that coming." And then his entire attention was grabbed as he saw that now Alfonse was standing under the mistletoe, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh, okay~"

They shared a sweet kiss under the mistletoe, but, as always, it was broken up by Caesar turning to a pig. Alfonse didn't even bat an eye, scooping him up and pressing a kiss to his nose.

"You know that you're going to have to do that a lot," Caesar pointed out as soon as he was back in his human form, but Alfonse never lost his smile.

"I don't mind. I mean, it's a little different, but.. I love you for all of you, including the piggy side of you.”

Caesar's face went bright red, and he let out a squeak that sounded suspiciously like an oink.

Alfonse's grin grew wider. "Did you just-"

Caesar hadn't even been aware until that very moment that he'd do that. "No, I didn't, shut up."

"That was ridiculously cute," Alfonse said, taking Caesar's hand and kissing him again.

"All right, everyone, it's time to open gifts!"

Caesar knelt by the tree, watching as the gifts were passed out; Alfonse came to sit by his side, whispering in his ear, "I thought that we'd give our gifts when we got back to the dorm."

"That works for me." Caesar felt the small box in his pocket. As much as he would love to see Alfonse's face when he brought out the ring, most of the rest of the party thought they were already engaged. No, much better to give it in private.

But he did find some.. interesting gifts from the others. He opened one of the gifts to find a tiny costume, and he didn't need to think hard about who it was probably from. "Zeus, is this a Santa costume?"

"Just your size! There's a little hat in there and everything!" He had half a mind to remind Zeus that he kept his outfit between forms, but he decided against it.

"Is this a scrapbook?" Alfonse asked, and Walter nodded.

"For all of the wonderful memories that you're going to have," Walter said.

"I can help provide you with photos," Klaus said. "I still have my collection of photos of Elias that I should share."

"I remember you showing me those!" Liz said. "Elias was so cute when he was little."

"Klaus, what photos did you show her-"

"That reminds me," Alfonse said, "I think I have some baby pictures of Klaus that would go nicely in this~"

"Alfonse, don't you dare!" Caesar laughed as he watched the family. He had never thought that he would get the chance to have a family like this, so how wonderful it was to know.

"Look, it's the first snowfall of the season! Isn't it beautiful?"

Caesar couldn't take his eyes off of Alfonse as they walked together, and he was reminded of his dream from long ago. At the time, it had seemed impossible, but now here they were.

"We should take the long way home so we can admire it," he told Alfonse. "I wouldn't mind."

"Well, we could do that," Alfonse said with that charmingly innocent smile, leaning down to gather snow in his hands, "or we could have a snowball fight!"

"What- hey!" Caesar barely had time to dodge before Alfonse started flinging snowballs in his direction. He knelt down and started gathering up snowballs, which was a difficult task when dodging Alfonse's snowballs. "How did you even learn how to do this? I thought that as a noble, you'd be too busy studying all the time!"

"Me and my brothers used to do this all the time!" Alfonse boasted proudly.

Okay, so maybe things weren't quite the same as they had been in his dreams, but this wasn't bad either, he thought.

Alfonse laughed as the pelting of snowballs came to a halt. "Truce?" Caesar nodded. "We could build a snowman together, if you'd like; I haven't done that in a long time."

"That sounds like fun."

"And then maybe after this, we could go ice skating, I saw a pond over there-" Caesar couldn't help but smile as Alfonse talked about the plans they'd make; coming home from the party had turned into an impromptu date, and he was fine with that.

"Sure, sure, my dear, we've got all the time in the world." And they'd have many more winters to come, he thought. Maybe now was the best time to secure that. "But, actually, Alfonse, there was something that I wanted to ask you first."

"Sure, anything!" Alfonse replied without hesitation. He hadn't even asked yet.

"Once, I had a dream that we spent a day in the snow like this, that you would stay by my side, but when I woke.. I thought that it couldn't be. I thought only about my curse; I thought that I wouldn't get the time to spend with you. But now we have more time than I'd ever dreamed, and it's all thanks to you."

"I didn't do anything," Alfonse said shyly, but his face was burning red.

"You saved me, Alfonse, time and time again. With you, my dream became a reality. And so I wanted to ask you.." Finally, he knelt, taking out the box from his pocket, revealing a golden ring. "Alfonse Goldstein, will you marry me?"

Alfonse smiled. "Yes!"

Caesar slipped the ring onto his finger, pulling him into a kiss. When he transformed, Alfonse scooped him up in his arms and twirled him around in the air. He set Caesar down on his feet, pressing a kiss onto his forehead.

"And now, Caesar, there's something that I wanted to ask you as well." Caesar tilted his head.

"Growing up as the heir of a noble family, I thought that all of life's choices would be made for me," Alfonse explained. "Where I'd live, what I'd do with my life, who I'd marry.. And then, when things happened with Elaine, I freaked out because I believed that I'd made the wrong one. I abandoned everything, and I didn't have the courage to come back and face it. But, with you, I was finally able to make a choice for myself, and I couldn't have made a better one. And now I have a choice for you." This time, Alfonse knelt, revealing a golden ring. "Will you marry me?"

Caesar couldn't stop smiling. "Yes!"

#wizardess heart #caesar raphael #alfonse goldstein #golden bacon #but all things considered

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lacrosselifestyle · 4 years ago

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An Insight into Endicott Lacrosse with Matt DiLorenzo

Hailing from the city of Monroe, New York, Matthew DiLorenzo now plays lacrosse at Endicott College, a small college located on the North Shore of Massachusetts, in a quaint town called Beverly. DiLorenzo, or as his teammates call him, DiLo, is a six foot tall, 170 pound, long stick defender, which means he plays defense right in front of the goal with a longer stick than an offensive player uses. While he might be tall and slim, DiLorenzo is not one to underestimate on the field, as he was the 2019 Don Bosco Prep MVP. DiLorenzo went to Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey for high school, where he played lacrosse all four years. DiLorenzo wears number 30, the same number he wore throughout his high school career. At Endicott, DiLorenzo is majoring in exercise science, and wants to go into athletic training when he is older, as helping people out is one of his many passions. DiLorenzo is also a part of the Exercise Science Club at Endicott, where he hones his skills in the field he is going into. Even though DiLorenzo has not gotten to play much yet because of the Covid-19 Pandemic, he is an integral part of the team and helps out in more ways than most. He is especially helpful in coaching up the younger players, as he is very knowledgeable about the sport of lacrosse. Outside of lacrosse, DiLorenzo is a great guy to hang out with and a friend to many. Now, here is a deeper insight into DiLorenzo.

How did you get started with lacrosse?

I played football growing up, and one of the kids on my team, who I was pretty good friends with, had a dad who coached lacrosse. So I talked to him about it with my dad and my dad said I should give it a try since we had never heard of lacrosse. I ended up trying it and I thought it was really fun. I liked it because it’s kind of like football but with a stick.

How was the commitment process for college?

It was definitely difficult because my high school coach didn’t really help at all so I pretty much had to do it by myself. My parents really helped a lot too, but it was mostly about filling out a lot of paperwork and making highlight tapes and a lot of tedious work that you have to do over and over again to get in front of a lot of coaches, but in the end it paid off. It was also a lot about finding out what coaches you do and don’t like and finding out where you fit in and what kind of players the coaches are looking for.

What other choices did you have for schools to go to besides Endicott?

I had a good amount of other options for school, but my top ones were: Springfield College in Massachusetts, Washington College in Maryland, The University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, and Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey. I also probably could have walked on at a lot of colleges if I decided to go somewhere else.

Why did you choose Endicott?

I chose Endicott for a lot of reasons, but the main reason was the internship program, I mean obviously lacrosse was a big factor too, but after hearing about the internship program it really set Endicott apart from all of the other schools I was looking at.

What are your goals now that you’re on a college team?

My biggest goal is to be an All-American, but that’s what pretty much everyone else’s goal is too. Some smaller goals would be to start for sure or just to get some playing time in general. Maybe even scoring a goal, like at least one would be cool for me, but that’s more of a hope really. Obviously as a team goal I want to win the CCC Championship, but besides that there’s not really anything else.

What is your favorite part about playing defense, as opposed to another position?

To begin with I don’t really get hit as much and I get to do the hitting which is a lot less pain for me and helps me get my anger out a little bit. I don’t have to run too much either anymore which is nice because I played some LSM in high school and I would always be winded after doing that so I don’t really want to do that again unless I have to. There is the occasion that I have to step in front of a shot and get hit but I don’t really mind that too much anymore.

How is playing your position different from playing LSM?

So now I play close defense which is like just the guys that play right in front of the goal. LSM stands for long stick midfield, which basically means I have the same stick which is longer than offensive players' sticks, but I run a lot more and have to play some offense sometimes.

How would you describe your playing style?

Definitely faced paced. I’m not really too much of a flashy or take away player, but I’m more of a team player in the sense that I don’t often get beat by the guy I’m guarding and I’ll do everything I can to get in his face and just play solid defense, and hopefully he either drops the ball and I’m in the position to make a play. I’m more of an IQ player too, like I know all the plays and where everyone should be standing and stuff like that.

What do you look for in a coach and what do you like about the Endicott Coaches?

I like a coach that is hard on you and tells you if you’re doing something wrong because they actually want you to be better, but doesn’t just yell at you to be a jerk or anything. As far as our coaches, they are really good guys and care about us and want us to be better men off of the lacrosse field as well as on the field.

What about your playstyle helps you stand out against other players on the team?

I have a very high lacrosse IQ and I know what I am doing on the field, like I am never lost on defense and I always know where to go and what to do while playing. I also help the younger guys on the team out and help tell them where they need to be on the field in certain situations and just help them out in general.

What about helping the younger guys do you enjoy?

I just like helping out the team anyway I can. I just figure later down the road they’ll be playing at some point and I would rather have someone playing with me that knows what they're doing because It helps out both me and the rest of the team. Also seeing them fix their mistakes in practice and get better is really rewarding to see.

What other sports are you a fan of and what other athletes do you admire?

I’m a big football fan and it’s really the only other sport that I like to watch. As for athletes I admire, I love Eli Manning, not just because I’m a Giants fan, but because he’s a really great person too. He does a lot of charity work which I admire a lot and he also won the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. Another thing I like about him is that he is really humble which is always good.

Do you try to emulate any of that with the way you play lacrosse?

Yeah I try to be humble for sure and not be too cocky or anything like that. I just try to play my game and not get distracted too which is something he does well, and I also try to just be a good person in general and play fairly.

What is one of the weaknesses in your game that you think you need to improve on?

Definitely opening my mouth more. I’m a pretty quiet individual so I always have to think about communicating with my teammates because that is a huge part of having success at this level. I think I’m pretty strong skill wise but my communication is not as good just cause I’m not a super talkative person.

Do you have any other hobbies?

Yeah I like playing video games and watching T.V. when I’m not busy. I like cooking a lot too. That’s one of my favorite hobbies for sure because I like good food and I like eating, which I guess is another hobby.

What video games do you play?

I haven’t played in a while, but I like Call of Duty, the Star Wars video game called Fallen Order, and the P.G.A. Tour game is really fun too. I’m not a huge sports game guy though because they just piss me off too much. Mortal Combat is really good too though, I love that game.

Do you have any rituals or superstitions you do before a game?

Sometimes if I play well in a game I’ll wear the same pair of socks or underwear in the next game. Obviously I wash them just so everybody knows. Or if I play well with a certain eye black style I’ll just keep wearing that style for a while. Maybe I’ll try to eat a certain breakfast a lot if I play well after eating something specific. I’m a big pasta dinner the night before a game too cause you gotta be ready for the game and have enough energy, but that’s about it.

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seenoevil-ff · 7 years ago

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7 ✝ A Funeral

“It is * * * Death alone that can suddenly make man to know himself.” –Sir Walter Raleigh, The History of the World (1614).

Nunc lento sonitu dicunt, morieris

Now this bell tolling softly for another,

says to me, Thou must die. – John Donne, Meditation 17 (1624)

XAVIER

The stifled sobs of my mother rang in my head repeatedly.

She screamed and pounded her balled fists against my brother’s chest, outraged. Her arms flailing, the stench of blood permeating the air. While I was just unable to move from my position, I stared blankly at the lifeless body of the man I knew to be my father.

That he was dead. Carver Brown was deceased.

I wasn't all sure what I had just done but apparently it was enough for my mother to be as broken as she was. My eyes watered, I could feel my heart rate quickening again but this time I was in a state of panic. There were sirens surrounding us when my mother finally wandered over to my father’s body. Cheeks stained from her tears, she palmed his face as she sobbed uncontrollably. Her body shaking while attempting to form a coherent sentence.

I did this.

I clenched my jaw tightly as tears fell down my cheeks, my brother silently crying out. My hands trembled uncontrollably as I stood to my feet to walk to the front doors of the headquarters. Even though it was understood that jail was never an option again, I was prepared to surrender. The past two days have been turbulent – while I had a lot to be thankful for with the birth of my son there was so much to follow afterwards. A big event followed by a series of crippling and impactful events.

“Yo..Xae what you doing man?” Maddox questioned, lifting his head. His eyes widened when he noticed exactly what I was planning to do.

“I’ve fucked up.” I mumbled while staring at the numerous police cars parking in front of the building.

“Don’t say that shit bro, you snapped…you fucking snapped.”

As hard as he tried, there was no excusing my actions. He knew it. Murder was the most serious of the crimes I’ve committed, never getting caught there was a rush but the victim was my own blood. I didn’t feel he would be served any justice unless some kind of punishment was delivered to me. I had barely any fight in me to go against the system built to kill men like me.My mother was so broken by her grief and guilt, she didn’t even realize the reality of the situation. Her husband was dead, her only child was going to be imprisoned.

“You really are unrecognizable with this weak shit at the moment.” I heard Zane comment.

“You did this….” I whispered back to him.

“It was rightfully so, you heard with your own ears yet you want to be blind to the truth. Go ahead and kneel.” His words echoed until I could no longer hear him.

The police burst through the doors with guns drawn. “NYPD! On the ground now!”

The SWAT officers stormed in to restrain me as one pinned me against the wall, giving the others a chance to handcuff me. Detectives that I recognized and knew on first name basis walked right past me to my father’s body. When Maddox protested he was threatened with jail time and a murder accomplice charge, there were no questions asked because they couldn’t wait to book me for the crime. They had a win. When we arrived at the 19th precinct, I was processed and held after my rights were read. I chose not to speak so for all they knew I was mute. Even when the detectives threw out photos of Carver’s carcass I was still unbothered or appearing that way. The entire time I was held in that small cell there was only time to think about what was said. My thoughts also drifted to Rakim along with his purpose for initiating this. There were ample of ways to kill my father but he chose this route.

Revenge was now my goal.

For now I simply utilized some of the solitude to grieve my father that had raised me. Over the years, Carver was a difficult man to live with sometimes but he did have his moments as a loving parent. Closing my eyes, I allowed myself to reminisce, back to when I was only four years old.

“So you really are just going to give up like this? What the fuck did we talk about yesterday?” I heard Belial speak.

My eyebrows furrowed as I opened my eyes, “How did you get in here?” That was all I could ask, keeping as calm or normal as possible. She stood with her body leaning against the wall, arms folded with her lips pouted. A chuckle left her lips as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

“So your father is dead and you decided to take the wrap for it, never thought you would kneel for Rakim…” Belial decided to sit on a bench, crossing her legs.

“I killed him…” I mumbled. “I killed him because something in me had to do it, he told me something… and I just lost it.”

“Damn right you did. I don’t fucking like the guy that much but why take liberty to stab him anyhow? He was shot, you could have done nothing. Remember you have son, nobody will be able to bail you out of bullshit constantly.”

“I really don’t need you preaching right now, Reina.” I added heavy emphasis on her former name, the name that had long since been shed from her. A scoff then a cackle left her lips, her movements became paces. When her heels stopped clicking in the small space, her head turned in my direction.

“Far from a preacher, but wasn’t it you promising or wanting to not make the same mistakes that you supposedly left in the past?” she inquired.

“I did.” I remarked.

“Then stop fucking up.” With those words she turned on her heels and was gone again, disappearing to whatever circle of Hell she had come back from.

Much time had already passed since my imprisonment. Apparently it had gone so quickly that I found myself meeting the morning sunrise. The holding area had become busy and noisy so sleep was no longer achievable. I chose to sit in my cell to await my time while thinking of my last move. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind that Rakim would feel the vengeance for my father. If he didn’t know death or destruction before, he would know it now. I guess one thing his mother didn’t fucking teach him was manners—better still she hadn’t taught him the consequences of not respecting your elders. He will know my name and my wrath in every degree. That was my promise.

When the cell doors opened with a loud clank, the deputy called out my name. “Brown! You’re free to go. Someone loves you enough to pay that big ass bill on your head.”

Someone loves me enough is right.

MADDOX

In just twenty four hours, my entire family begun to fall to pieces.

Shiloh nearly lost her life giving birth to my nephew, my brother goes missing only to appear again at a meeting, our father is murdered, and now my mother is completely inconsolable. This was an eventful couple of days and now I sit outside of the precinct awaiting my brother to exit the front doors. My eyes darted on occasion while I closely observe my surroundings—at this point we had to remain alert. Rakim had gotten the upper hand just like he wanted. Lucifer’s death would weaken us or just maiming him would. Never would I have thought my own brother would finish the act but there was way more to this story.

All we needed was answers.

The first words I could hear from Xavier was him cursing out the officers as he exited.That brother of mine, my blood, you couldn’t help but love him. There was a slight tension between us because of what occurred, he felt he needed to isolate instead of closely analyzing the situation without ripping himself to pieces.

I watched him and the continuous bickering until I stepped up closer to the front entryway to grab the back of his shirt. With a gentle tugging, I pull him to my side in a headlock.

“If you didn’t already pay attention, the entire precinct and task force have a hard on for you. Quit while you’re ahead.”

“Everybody hates Xavier, everybody…the list is growing bro. I breathe and it’s an issue.” He chose to find humor in the situation but I knew him very well.

I closely studied his demeanor.

He was more quiet than normal so the remaining question was what exactly was happening inside of his head. I didn’t know what to say or do because I was grieving myself. But I didn’t blame him for what happened, because our father had already been badly wounded… there was no way of knowing if he’d make it if the stabbing didn’t occur. Always have I been the one to comfort and protect my brother — in this situation I didn’t know how.

Once we pulled up to our mother’s home, he hasn’t budged from the passenger side door. Recognizing his stubborn nature, I chuckled then stepped out to leave him to his devices. He’d eventually enter the house on his own. Scarlett immediately met me at the door with her eyes bloodshot red.

Her voice was solemn as she called for Xavier and for a brief moment I saw that connection. Mother and son were in an emotional war. She loved him, he loved her and hated himself, apart of her was uncertainty as to who he was.

“Mama... you both need to talk. You both need this...” I urged.

“Yeah… you’re absolutely right.” Her voice cracked as more tears threatened to fall.

She was indeed trying her best not to cry again. Scarlett gathered her strength and began walking toward the car. Xavier opened the passenger door to immediately pull her into an embrace, causing her to sob once more. After a brief moment the pair walked back toward the house. It was time to prepare to bury our father. It was indeed a funeral of the century..

AMANI

I had definitely lost track of whether it was day or night.

The cold beads of sweat that had formed on my forehead caused me to shake slightly. Lately I had been having a lot of those, nightmares, I couldn’t exactly remember or understand what they were about but it was something about today. Today was the day I felt my life was going to change drastically. I breathed in the smell of marijuana smoke, huffing as I curled my naked body under the covers. I was waiting to hear a voice, to hear some familiarity. If it had been Rakim — I would have rather played dead.

“You do know… your bourgeois ass can’t sit in the bed all day.” A voice I recognized stated.

I turned my head while clutching the sheet close to my body to cover my breasts and the rest of my frame.

“Who said I would sleep all day? Maybe I want to be fucking left alone?” I shot back. It was the attitude of “I’m supposed to keep watch over you.. take that up with my brother.”

It was Terrell.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. A soft smirk appeared on my face as he began to swallow hard, it was always fun to watch these niggas sweat over a woman like me. I dropped the sheet and began to run my fingers through my messy tresses.

As a captive and Rakim’s alleged guest, I may as well put on a little show. I strutted toward the bathroom with my hips swaying ever so seductively.

“So you’re going to watch me get dressed as well?” I purred.

His expression was priceless and a bit of a turn on as I twirled in the mirror. My fingers brushed against my puffy folds, sliding them against my clit.

“Uh... nah.. Ima let you handle your shit. I’ll be outside the door, we can’t be late.” Terrell’s face turned beet red as he rushed out of the room, leaving me to wash myself in peace.

My daily routine was that I would awake to someone watching me as though I were a child. So why not have a little fun in the process and taunt my “babysitters”? Rakim has his work cut out for him if he thinks I’m not going to defy him. He isn’t my father nor my man but that sense of having control apparently strokes his ego, my defiance excites him for some reason. I can only imagine that’s why he keeps me alive..

A black some what form fitting Vera Wang dress, a large black hat to sport with matching heels seemed approapriate enough for church. It had been years since I can recall setting foot in one but the process of a funeral I knew all too well. When I exited the bedroom, I saw all of the men gathered in the hallway. They were definitely good looking, fine as wine despite the attitudes they carried. Rakim flashed a bright grin, revealing his pearly whites as he wrapped his arm around my waist firmly.

“As my date, I have a proposition for you...”

“And that is?” I replied.

“To look just as beautiful as you are... you’re going to make someone a very happy man.”

The statement somewhat confused me, my brow lifted and my face twisted. There had to be a reason for this feeling I was having. We arrived at the church to see an entire line of cars. The turn out for a man named Carver Brown was indeed grand. When we stepped out of the car, it was Rakim who coached us to remain incognito. I refused to put on shades because these people didn’t even know me or anything about me. Once my eyes fell upon whom I believed was Carver’s wife, I lowered my head to walk toward the church, her cries growing louder.

The closer I stepped to the church, that feeling began growing and the visions that clouded my head wreaked havoc within me. There was a little boy, with bright eyes, a smirk, a man draped in black with skin as pale as the moon...terrifying eyes. There was this laughter and an infant that I didn’t recognized. I had ran face first into someone which caused me to stumble.

“Oh... I’m so sorry!” I spoke.

When I looked up into those eyes..I felt weak.

“I...I...uhm... excuse me.” I mumbled.

“You good.” He replied.

When the doors of the church were opened to those who remained after the family. I no longer wanted to sit with Rakim. I was much too curious. The pastor began the ceremony, the choir singing their hymns but I noticed that the man I bumped into began to fidget and shake. The outbursts of cries from his family and some close friends caused me to feel something that I was truly unable to feel since my mother had died. The shredding sadness, that same pain resurfaced—I felt grief for people I didn’t even know.

When it was time for eulogies, everyone was broken down and the funeral soon came to a benediction. It was time for them to bury... as everyone stood and it was time for the pallbearers to lift the casket, there was gunfire. I ducked and covered myself as everyone in the pews behind me scrambled. The moment my body hit the floor, my eyes made contact with an infant, with those eyes... the same eyes as the man I had bumped into prior before entering the church.

Before I could even move, I felt someone sheild me from the barrage of bullets that came flying toward me.

ZANE

Back to reality.

I didn’t even know this girl....but I wanted her. I dove head first into the gunfire just to save her which was something I never truly cared to do. I roughly shoved her into the pews with the other bystanders to fire back at Rakim and his goons. Maddox was hot on my trail as others followed my lead, little did he realized he had entered the church out manned and over powered. The disrespecting of Carver’s homegoing indeed sparked an outrage. It was my family that was in danger, my family being disrespected.

There was no other choice but to fight back.

“Yo pull back man!” Rakim barked as they began to take cover and run from the church. No one was leaving until I put a bullet in them. The last bullet to discharge had pierced whom I assumed to believe was Rakim’s shoulder.

“Ah!” The smell of his poisonous blood filled the air, I definitely got him but there was no way this bullet would kill him.

Until next time...

I finally turned to face the beautiful woman I saw behind me, but she was already gone. My eyebrows furrowed as I finally ran from the church to see if she would be spotted in the streets.

Nothing.

“Fuck....” I mumbled. Something in me said I would see her again but I was still curious...

“Who was she?” Xavier and I finally spoke aloud in complete sync.

#chris brown #chris brown fanfic #chris brown fanfiction #ASAP Rocky #high end #heartbreak on a full moon #yaris sanchez #yaris sanchez ff #asap rocky ff #asap mob #Cassie Ventura #michael b jordan #team breezy #august alsina #trey songz

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anaceinthecrowd · 7 years ago

Text

Let’s get personal. 100 Questions!

1: 6 of the songs you listen to most?

"I'm Only Sleeping" by The Beatles

"No Exit" by Childish Gambino

"Friend" by C418

"Beauty" by Tim Minchin

The old NBC Olympics closing credits mix by various artists

"Rey's Theme" by John Williams

2: If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

Damn! I was hoping to meet someone from another Earth. Well I guess if I have to meet someone from THIS Earth it would have to be Stephen Colbert. He seems like a super nice guy. He's also smart and hilarious.

3: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17.

“him.” How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere by Larry King

4: What do you think about most?

If I'm wasting my life doing what I'm doing.

5: What does your latest text message from someone else say?

"Ask Alexa to play Valentine music. It's good and grandma will love it" from my mom.

6: Do you sleep with or without clothes on?

With

7: What's your strangest talent?

Idk if this is a talent but I have a near-encyclopedic of all things Disney World.

8: Girls... (finish the sentence); Boys... (finish the sentence)

Boys are good but some are assholes. Girls are good but some are assholes.

9: Ever had a poem or song written about you?

Idk but I don't wanna say no just in case someone did and I just forgot xD.

10: When is the last time you played the air guitar?

Today

11: Do you have any strange phobias?

I have an immense fear of missing out.

12: Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose?

Yes

13: What's your religion?

Not religious, nor spiritual.

14: If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?

Going for long walks

15: Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

Behind

16: Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band?

The Beatles. Almost every song they ever put out was great. They became the biggest influencers on music in the last century and they did it in just a few years. Most musicians work their whole lives to have an ounce of the influence and raw talent each of them had. Plus they had an incredible effect on culture, notably helping facilitate the change that came from youth for the first time having enough money to buy what they wanted, not what they got from older people. The youth got to decide what they wanted and they wanted the Beatles. Not just the music but their fashion, art, movies and so on.

17: What was the last lie you told?

I've never told a lie! (He says as his nose doubles in length)

18: Do you believe in karma?

I used to.

19: What does your URL mean?

It's a pun on "a face in the crowd" which is a saying about being unknown and hidden in plain sight and I felt like this applied to my experience with being asexual. Also I typed "ace" into a pun generating website.

20: What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength?

My greatest weakness is fast food. My greatest strength is n/a I'm weak as hell.

21: Who is your celebrity crush?

I like some famous people but I don't really have crushes on any.

22: Have you ever gone skinny dipping?

Yeah but I didn't like it.

23: How do you vent your anger?

Complaining to friends (still not sure why they put up with it)

24: Do you have a collection of anything?

Mistakes? XD I used to collect snow globes but they started to brake and get green water so I stopped.

25: Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?

I'm so damn lonely I'll take anything. I wish that were a joke.

26: Are you happy with the person you've become?

I hope to be one day.

27: What's a sound you hate; sound you love?

A sound I hate is the smoke detector going off when I'm cooking and a sound I love is that sound (like I think only Disney world fans will get this) when you're out in front of test track and the cars go by on the track above.

28: What's your biggest "what if"?

What if I'm actually the villain of my story?

29: Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

No and yes

30: Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm.

Right: fan. Left: laptop.

31: Smell the air. What do you smell?

Pine scented candle. I love scented candles.

32: What's the worst place you have ever been to?

My middle School. It was the border between two gang territories. We'd have gun and bomb threats every day.

33: Choose: East Coast or West Coast?

I live on the east coast but I gotta go with West coast just because I've been to more of it.

34: Most attractive singer of your opposite gender?

Idk

35: To you, what is the meaning of life?

To find what you live to do and do it as much as you can.

36: Define Art.

If someone makes anything and calls it art, it's art. I think that's how it works now.

37: Do you believe in luck?

I believe I don't have it.

38: What's the weather like right now?

Sunny and in the 80s. Way too hot for winter.

39: What time is it?

9:33pm EST

40: Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed?

Yes and no

41: What was the last book you read?

Steve jobs by Walter Isaacson

42: Do you like the smell of gasoline?

I shouldn't but yeah xD

43: Do you have any nicknames?

Drew

44: What was the last film you saw?

I saw Chris Rock's new stand-up special this morning. It was really good!

45: What's the worst injury you've ever had?

I ran on the top of some bleachers, tripped, and fell all the way down, breaking my collarbone along the way.

46: Have you ever caught a butterfly?

I can't remember

47: Do you have any obsessions right now?

My most recent obsession has been with anything made by Donald Glover/Childish Gambino

48: What's your sexual orientation?

Ace. I mean... It's in the name.

49: Ever had a rumour spread about you?

Many

50: Do you believe in magic?

Depends on what you mean by "believe" and "magic". I like magicians xD

51: Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?

Yes

52: What is your astrological sign?

Idk and I'm sick of googling it every time I'm asked about it.

53: Do you save money or spend it?

A bit of both

54: What's the last thing you purchased?

10 piece chicken nugget meal and a vanilla Coke from Wendy's.

55: Love or lust?

Love

56: In a relationship?

No. Happy Valentine's day!

57: How many relationships have you had?

0 58: Can you touch your nose with your tongue?

59: Where were you yesterday?

Home Depot

60: Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?

A strawberry scented candle.

61: Are you wearing socks right now?

62: What's your favourite animal?

Cotton-Top Tamarin

63: What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you?

The Scarab Gun from Halo 2 is a pretty good secret weapon I guess. JK just be yourself.

64: Where is your best friend?

Oregon

65: Give me your top 5 favourite blogs on Tumblr.

As of writing this I don't follow anyone yet so let me get back to you on that.

66: What is your heritage?

A little bit of native American but primarily white eruopean as far back in history as you can go.

67: What were you doing last night at 12AM?

Sleeping

68: What do you think is Satan's last name?

Trump

69: Be honest. Ever gotten yourself off?

I'm not answering that question.

70: Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend?

Idk.

71: You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?

Save the dog.

72: You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?

Honestly this question is so fucking depressing I'm skipping it.

73: You can only have one of these things; trust or love.

What is love without trust?

74: What's a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?

(Once again only people who've been to Disney World will get it) the music at Soarin' (over California (it's just better))

75: What are the last four digits in your cell phone number?

Like I'm gonna put my phone number on here. Ha.

76: In your opinion, what makes a great relationship?

For me... Having one would be just fantastic.

77: How can I win your heart?

Tell me something I Don't know. I love learning.

78: Can insanity bring on more creativity?

I'm not sure it brings on more creativity, but any change in mental state in a creative person will bring on a different kind of creativity.

79: What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far?

Picking the high school I went to.

80: What size shoes do you wear?

10.5

81: What would you want to be written on your tombstone?

I want it to be blank just to fuck with people.

82: What is your favourite word?

Actually...

83: Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart.

Barracuda

84: What is a saying you say a lot?

Here's the thing...

85: What's the last song you listened to?

"Me and your mama" by Childish Gambino

86: Basic question; what's your favourite colour/colours?

Black, silver and light blue are a few favorites.

87: What is your current desktop picture?

Artists rendering of Epcot.

88: If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explode, who would it be?

Satan Trump. #callback #comedy

89: What would be a question you'd be afraid to tell the truth on?

When my family asks me why I don't have a girlfriend yet I'm always afraid to come out and tell the truth to them... That I'm asexual and have no interest in dating anyone except another ace, and because of the rarity of aces its really difficult to find someone. I have no interest in coming out though. It wouldn't change anything.

90: One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren't really doing anything, they're just standing around your bed. What do you do?

Laugh my head off because I'm obviously being punk'd. Where's Ashton?!?

91: You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what's even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power?

I mean the obvious superpower I now have is the ability to digest radioactive material. But if I could have any power I'd want to be able to travel through space and time.

92: You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?

See now this is why that superpower would come in handy! You wouldn't have to choose! (See how I dodged that question. That's my real superpower!)

93: You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

Idk but if I could live my life just as it happened but without being overweight, that would be great.

94: You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be?

If I say John Lennon will it bring him back to life? Cause if so then yes, John Lennon. Final answer.

95: You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?

My mind says south Korea because the Olympics but my heart says to go to Oregon to see my friends.

96: Do you have any relatives in jail?

Not that I know of.

97: Have you ever thrown up in the car?

Yes

98: Ever been on a plane?

Many

99: If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say?

"Can't we all just get along?"

100. Age?

101. What’s a good way to spend a Valentine’s Day when you’re single, lonely and bored?

This.

#100 questions #asexual #ace #disney world #the beatles #childish gambino #scented candles #valentinesday #valentines day #punk'd #john lennon #tim minchin #c418 #test track #larry king #wendy's #cotton-top tamarin

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twdgfanfiction · 8 years ago

Text

Chapter 38 - The Newest Arrival

Winter had finally passed. The snow that Lee was so used to seeing around his community had melted away, the sun shining high in the sky as he felt the warm rays on his back, his jacket left in his office as he enjoyed the heat for the first time in months, his bare arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the railing running along the top of the wall, preventing any of the guards from falling off accidentally. Just standing there, he stared off into the thick cover of trees, the long road stretching for as long as his eyes could see, the concrete car park visible without the thick blanket of snow covering it. Any car that had been left behind was taken long ago by the people living in the community, stripped for parts that were used to repair their trucks and other things.

In the distance, he could hear the horses snorting and galloping around the green grass, the herd having been cut in half to allow Wellington to use them. Caleb still remained with Howe's however, the young stallion proving too wild and dangerous for Wellington to use for their scouting, though the male horse seemed to have calmed down for Sarah and the new livestock carer. Lee didn't trust the animal, recalling just how much damage Caleb did to Alex and that being the main cause of his death. His thoughts drifted to Walter and Ellie, wondering how they were faring in their search for Matthew.

Over the months since he went to Wellington, he went back to focus on the food and medical situations, both of which improving since he took charge. Along with that, he had sent some of his scouts to return to the lodge where he met Matthew and Walter, wondering if they had returned there. Sadly, the scouts had no such luck in finding them, only finding the lodge to be abandoned, the bodies of Pete and Michael, Tess' brother, found having been left behind to rot. Nick didn't know about the fate of his uncle's body, and Lee made his point that no one tell him. Nick was recovering, if only slowly, and he still had moments where his depression got the better of him.

Lee would be a liar if he denied the fact that he was worried, and not only for Nick. Lilly was coping with the loss of her eye, but he saw her lose control over her emotions, her self-worth nonexistent after Carver put a bullet in the side of her face. All the anger and harsh words she threw at him, it was difficult for Lee not to take it personally. With the stress of leading and his friends being affected like this, all he wanted was to protect them, to help them out of the darkness that they found themselves in. The only thing that gave him hope was Christa and Omid, the couple getting ready for her due date, the time just around the corner.

Omid was excited, ready to be a father yet understandably frightened by the experience, confiding in Lee just like he did that night when Lee returned from Wellington. He tried to steer his friend in the right direction, offer him support for the time came and his baby would finally come into their world, and he could tell that Omid was worried for his baby. Their world was not normal or safe. Every corner hid potential dangers, and they had to try their best to protect both home and friends, but Christa wasn't as optimistic as they were. She didn't know if she would make it past the birth, despite Jack being on the scene and all the medical help that they can spare, and more than once she expressed this worry to her friend. With mutual agreement, it was decided that it would be for the best if Omid didn't know about these doubts.

Suddenly, he heard soft footsteps approach him, his head turning to the source of the sounds with a neutral expression on his face, a small smile appearing when he noticed Joel coming towards him. Pausing around a foot away from him, the guard turned his back to the railing and leaned against it, adopting a more casual posture with his rifle held in both hands, the barrel pointing towards the ground and his finger tapping against the smooth metal just above the trigger. The two survivors were silent if only for a moment, before Joel muttered to him. "You feeling alright?"

"I can't complain. I'm just glad all the snow's gone, I've had it up to here with the cold." Lee confessed, looking out over the car park outside their walls. With a deep frown, he didn't even look at Joel as he asked him. "This thing with Charleston. The bandits… I ain't gonna lie, it's what's mostly keeping me up at night."

"Same here. Scouts that came back saw some unsettling shit, seems that the bandits are getting bolder. We're seeing them branching out of the city over these past two months." Joel explained, a wary look on his face as he paused, looking down at the people that were walking around the front of the mall, enjoying the spring sunshine. "We've lost a few good people with the raids on the trucks. I thought changing the routes would give us a chance, but… I don't know. Maybe our luck was bound to run out eventually."

"Christa suggested going after the source, but their numbers are multiplying like shit, and with Wellington still rejecting people… It seems that everytime we put a dent in them, they just take it in their stride." Lee growled, feeling frustration at how helpless he was in protecting his people.

"We can get through this. Hell, it seems that the bandits are more into destroying things from Wellington rather than attack us, but with this alliance, I fear it's all about to change." Moving from off the railing, Joel instead turned to face Lee fully, his face stern and eyes narrowed as he added. "There's a storm coming. I just hope we aren't all destroyed by it…"

"That makes the two of us." Lee sighed, quickly adding with a low tone. "You got a smoke?"

"Sure do, traded one of the scouts some batteries for their radio. Got no signal, but at least we have some music playing." Joel replied, a small smirk replacing the serious look he just had whilst he rummaged through his pocket. Lee watched as he pulled a packet out, resting his rifle against the low wall as he flipped the lid open, tapping the bottom so that the end of a cigarette popped out. Offering it to Lee, Joel said nothing as the former took it, nodding his thanks as he placed it between his lips, holding it there whilst taking the lighter that the guard offered next.

Joel then took another cigarette out of the box, closing the lid and shoving it back into his pocket. Whilst he was doing that, Lee had already got a small flame going, bringing it to the end of the cigarette as he watched it burn, passing the lighter back to Joel as he took a slow drag. Holding the smoke in his lungs for a few moments, he let it bellow out of his nose and mouth, watching as the smoke drifted away in the gentle breeze. Joel didn't have the finesse as Lee did, taking a drag and quickly coughing his lungs up afterwards, his hands shooting up to his mouth as he hacked loudly. Unable to stop himself, Lee let out a deep chuckle, giving Joel a pat on the back to help the struggling survivor.

"You really should give those up." He joked, taking another drag as Joel controlled himself. "How's married life suiting your sister?"

The mention of his sister caused a genuine smile to appear on Joel's face, his voice gentle when he responded to the question. "She's so happy nowadays. It… It makes doing this shit that bit easier, you know? A reason for me to keep going, if only to keep her safe. There's people here that make you feel the same, right?"

"Yeah. I guess all the stress is just me wanting to protect them from all this. Losing people you care about, after a while… it just gets too much." Lee nodded, his face fallen in grief as he recalled his departed friends.

Joel noticed the shift in his face, a sympathetic look in his eyes as he too leaned his arms against the railing, continuing to smoke whilst he mused over his own problems. "Be honest with me, Lee. If you had a chance to change your worst mistake, would you do it? Even if it means that the present you're in now might never exist?"

Lee was stumped with that question. Thinking about it, he didn't even know what his worst mistake was. Over the course of his life, he had made so many, enough that he had long lost count, but there was one that stuck out in his mind. Slowly, he nodded, being watched by Joel as he finally confessed. "Yeah, I would."

"Huh. I suppose I would too." Joel hummed, letting the smoke roll out of the corners of his mouth. "You wanna tell me what you'd change?"

Lee was nervous, almost unwilling to tell Joel, but with just them standing on the wall, and the honesty of the guard with him before, Lee decided to let some information slip. If only some. "I'd have been more honest with Clementine."

"Clementine? That's a pretty name, who'd it belong to?" The other survivor questioned, an eyebrow raised at the name.

With downcast eyes, Lee stared at the ground below, watching the plants peeking out of the cracks in the tarmac, his voice low as he finally revealed. "She was in my group, just after all this happened. She… didn't make it."

"Ah…I'm sorry to hear that. Truly. If something had happened to our Kai, I wouldn't know what to do with myself." A cough came quickly after that confession. Lee didn't lift his gaze, rather staring down at the ground whilst Joel took one last drag of his cigarette, flicking the burning stub down to the ground just outside their walls, before he just stretched his arms forward with a tired expression. "I guess my designated smoke break is over. Best get back on my patrol, or Christa will have both our heads."

"I don't want her working so hard, not with the baby coming soon." Lee confessed, flicking his own finished cigarette over the wall as well.

"You try and tell her that, you're gonna find yourself on the other side of these walls. Hell, I only suggested that she takes a break." Joel mused, quickly adding with an indifferent tone. "I suppose it's just hormones. She should get better once that baby's shot out of her."

"Jesus, man, do you have to word it like that?" Lee groaned, turning around to look at the people walking along the open spaces down below, quickly spotting Omid amongst them with a worried look on his face. He just stood there, watching his friend glancing around down below, before turning back to Joel and dismissing him. "I got something to take care of."

"Same here, talk to you later, boss." Joel replied, walking back along the wall with his weapon back in his hands. Sparing no more time on the wall, Lee walked over to the ladder leading down to the ground, quickly scaling down it, boots hitting the tarmac of the car park inside the walls. He stepped away, turning around to spot Omid amongst the different face, some people sparing a short glance at the leader before their tasks brought their attention away once more. Ignoring them, he made his way over to his friend, a warm smile on his face when Omid finally noticed Lee from the crowd.

"Oh, hey, man." He greeted, standing still as Lee paused right in front of him. "I just came out here for some fresh air. Christa woulda come with me, but she just wanted to check over the guard rota first."

"I told her to take it easy. All this work, it's not good for the baby." Lee replied, crossing his arms as Omid appeared slightly worried, his eyes shifting over to a family enjoying the sun, the children, who Lee recognized as Thomas and Connie, sitting down beside their adopted parents.

He listened as his friend slowly confessed. "You know, I've been asking some of the dads around here for advice. Just to see if there was some sort of trick to going about this fatherhood, and they just laughed and said half the time, they have no idea what they're doing. No gonna lie, that really doesn't help."

"I suppose you just go along with it, do what you think is right for the child." Lee explained, watching the family laughing and playing as he sadly added. "I didn't know what I was doing with Clementine. Thinking about how to keep her warm and fed, safe from danger, that was what kept me up at night… but she was also what kept me going. Even when things got really fucked up, her smile made it that little bit better."

"Sometimes, Christa and I wonder just how Clem would react to being here. Kids her own age for her to play with, the walls keeping her safe… I know you still miss her a lot, we all do." Omid revealed. Lee involuntarily winced at the mention of her name, unable to stop his heart from constricting painfully, his throat feeling like it would close up at any minute. He swallowed hard, staring at Omid as he forced a smile on his face, quickly continuing. "But that's enough gloom. Hell, what you've done to this place, people are happy that they have safety and food. I know I'm glad that my baby will be raised here rather than on the road."

"Do you ever think what we would've found if we managed to get to Wellington? If Carver never found us in the first place?" Lee asked. Omid was silent, appearing thoughtful for a few moments before shrugging.

"I don't know. Considering they've been sending people away, we might have gotten there too late. Sofia would have been crushed…" Omid's voice dropped low, his face clearly showing some of his true emotions before he raised an eyebrow, quickly changing the subject again. "I thought we were meant to stop with all this doom and gloom? We should do something to take our minds off it, drinking, give each other tattoos, you're good at that, right?"

"What do you mean by that?" Lee asked, placing his hands on his hips with a small smile on his face.

"Well, you've been to prison. Don't they teach you how to tattoo your name on someone's ass in there?" he asked.

Eyes widening, Lee shook his head with a deep sigh. "No, I was on my way to prison."

"Oh…" Omid glanced away sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck whilst grinning, a deep chuckle coming from his throat as he continued. "You know, we could play some poker. Al's got a pack of cards and a vicious gambling addiction-"

"Lee? Lee, you there?" a voice suddenly called out, crackling from deep within Lee's pocket. An eyebrow raised in confusion, the leader fishing the object out and staring at Omid, the latter somewhat surprised with the interruption.

Quickly, he pressed the button, never breaking his gaze from his friend as he answered. "Yeah, I'm here. Who's this?"

"It's-it's Sarah. Look, you gotta come to Omid and Christa's room like right now, and see if you can find Omid." Sarah explained, her words stuttering out and clearly sounding nervous, pausing whilst Lee watched Omid panic slightly, mouthing to him to ask her. Just like his friend, he was freaking out immensely, but hid it better when he turned his attention back to the radio.

"He's here with me, what's wrong?" he asked.

Before Sarah could answer, the sound of screaming could be hear in the background, causing Lee to stare down at the radio in surprise, eyes widening and glancing up at Omid, trying to appear as calm as possible when he noticed how freaked out the other survivor was. Hushed words of encouragement were muttered, and immediately after the young teen spoke up again, sounding even more nervous as she revealed. "It's Christa. Her water broke, and right now, Jack and I are trying to keep her calm but she wants Omid. Just, get him up here, okay?"

"Alright, we're coming up now." Lee replied, releasing the button and shoving the radio back in his pocket, looking up to see Omid staring up at him in shock, his mind likely reeling a thousand thoughts a second as he turned on his foot, practically running up the path to the front doors. Cursing under his breath, Lee followed after him quickly. "Omid! Wait up, man!"

Omid said nothing, rather wrenching the door and going inside of the main building, Lee hot on his heels. People passed by, confusion clear on their face as the two men made their way to the staircase, Lee finding it easy to keep up with his shorter friend, though he shared the panic that Omid was feeling. Obviously, this wasn't his kid, nor would he ever be in the same shoes as Omid, but Christa was one of his closest friends. The pressure the baby will put on both of them, he hoped they were prepared for it. Reaching the stairs, they both took two steps at a time, the sound of people laughing being heard from the restaurant, Lee recognizing Gabriel's hearty laugh from the more quiet chuckles.

Once they reached the top, Omid nearly ran into someone, the force of him colliding sending the person backwards, a high pitched grunt of pain coming from them. Looking at them properly, it turned out to be Riley that they bumped into, her eyes narrowed in pain and annoyance, voice sharp as she snapped at them. "Damn, you want to have another chance at giving me a concussion?"

"I'm sorry, I just need to get back to my room." Omid excused, the words spoken so quickly that he didn't even take a breath, whereas Lee just stood there surprised, having not seen the teen approaching them. Omid sighed deeply, offering his hand to help the teen up.

"I know," she started, taking his offer and got back onto her feet, brushing her sweater down. "Sarah sent me to find you guys. We better hurry, Christa's screaming the entire building down."

Nodding, the trio quickly made their way to the stairs leading up to the second floor, Riley and Omid rushing up ahead whilst Lee stayed close, able to hear cries of pain from the floor above. Concerned, he just followed after the two survivors in front of him, rushing over to the room that Omid and Christa took after the rebellion, the former sparing a nervous glance with Lee before Riley opened the door. She stood there, gesturing for them to go in with a nod of her head. Omid wasted no time, going inside, whereas Lee paused, staring down at Riley as she stared off in the distance, unable to look inside the room.

"You coming in?" he invited, staring at her as she thought about it.

Quickly, she shook her head, voice nervous as she stammered. "N-Nah, I'm, erm, I'm good."

She coughed quietly, her hand curled in a fist as she brought it in front of her mouth whilst Lee smirked, a raised eyebrow and crossed arms causing her to frown as she elaborated. "Look, I'm just not good with any of that… stuff. You know, babies and that sort of thing? I-I… hmm."

"You can't be afraid of blood, I saw you cake yourself in that sort of shit with your scouting missions." Lee replied.

"It's not the blood, it's just… the other shit. Fuck, I don't even know what it's called. The fucking placenta or whatever!" she hissed, cursing under her breath as she added. "Man, Sarah's gonna be there anyway. She's the medical helper, I'd just get in the way. I'll wait out here, or better yet, I'm gonna go and enjoy my day off."

"Come around later. Sarah'll want to show you the new baby she helped deliver after all." He offered. Riley's stern expression softened, a sheepish smile on her face as she glanced away, a rose tint to her pale cheeks as she looked back up at him.

"You think I can… hold the baby?" she asked, glancing inside the room as she added. "I-I mean, I've never done that sorta thing before. Hell, I was an only child… I don't even know how to actually hold one, but, c-can you, maybe, show me how?"

"Sure thing. Go on then, enjoy your day off without someone screaming in your ear for hours. God knows that's how I'm gonna be spending today." Lee joked. Riley let out a small laugh, her smile minute but genuine, and she nodded slowly, walking away from the room to do her own thing. Watching her until she reached the stairs, Lee turned his attention back to the cries of pain, the hushed whispers of comfort given by Omid whilst Jack helped her through the birth.

Going into the room, he noticed the doctor standing at the end of the bed, a mask over his face as he stared down between Christa's legs, propped up and spread to allow him to help her through the labour. Sarah stood by his side, visibly grossed out by what was happening, whilst Omid had ran to Christa's side, holding her hand as she focused on her breathing. Pained eyes flashed over to where Lee was standing, Christa smiling softly before the pain forced her to cry out again. Instead, Sarah turned to him, gloved hand resting on the woman's knee as she called out.

"Lee!" she smiled, before Jack turned to the leader, his face stern and eyes focused on Lee.

"Lee, if you're gonna be here, go and keep Christa calm. Sarah and I got it down here." He ordered, turning his head back to his task on hand as Lee nodded, walking up to the other side of Christa. Worry was clear on his face, staring down at her pained expression, sweat rolling down the side of her face as she panted.

Looking up at him, she gritted her teeth as another sharp pain ran through her, eyes squeezing shut as did her hand around Omid's, her boyfriend clearly showing the discomfort coming from his constricted hand. Opening her eyes again, she turned to Omid and panted. "I'm sorry. I-I didn't know it would hurt this much!"

"It's alright, honey. I think my hand can get through this." He joked back, earning a smile from Christa before she laid her head against the propped up pillow.

"Work on your breathing, it'll get you through it, man." Lee retorted, shooting a smirk at Omid that was returned back, the latter raising an eyebrow as he conceded.

"Alright, I'll let you have that one, asshole." He could only be distracted for a moment before Christa's screams grew louder, his face falling as he turned to Jack. "Jesus, isn't there something we can give her to help?!"

"Omid, we are low on painkillers, and I don't want to give Christa something that could affect her and the baby." Jack replied calmly, showing sympathy for their situation as he added softly. "Please, just let me do my job. She'll be in good hands."

Nodding, he and Christa listened as Jack went on to explain to her. "Christa, you're only in the early stages of labour, but when I tell you to, I need you to push. Can you do that for me?"

"Yeah, yeah, fuck… okay." She gasped. Lee was silent whilst he explained that, before he turned back to look at Christa, noticing her hair starting to stick to her forehead with sweat shining off her skin, thankful that he didn't have to go through labour. His mother told him what his birth was like, and it haunted him, especially now watching his friend go through the same thing.

"You're gonna be okay, Christa." He consoled, raising his hand up as he offered. "If this gets too much, just squeeze my hand, okay?"

"Thank you…" she sniffed, wincing once more as her hand shot out to grab his. Lee wouldn't lie, he regretted offering his hand with the strength she was squeezing it, but given a choice between that and labour, he'd pick getting his hand crushed any day. Sarah appeared by his side, a cloth in hand, and gently wiped Christa's face as she whispered.

"You're doing great, Christa. Just hang in there, okay?" A smile appeared on her face when Christa nodded in response, too tired and in pain to form any words, before returning to Jack's side to help him.

Lee felt like it was hours before anything happened. Suddenly, Christa let out a horrific scream of agony, causing him to jump back in surprise as he glanced over at the doctor, Sarah's face paling as she backed away for a moment, needing some time to compose herself before she could help again. Omid just muttered words of encouragement to her, before her pain caused him to call out to Jack again. "Dammit, what's going on?!"

"Well, I'm gonna need Christa to start pushing now. Her cervix is fully dilated." He responded, glancing between Christa's legs to her face, his voice calm and composed as he ordered her. "Did you hear me, Christa? Your baby's coming now, I need you to start pushing."

"I heard you the first fucking time!" Christa snapped, her teeth gritting together as she turned to Omid, her voice pained as she shook her head. "Jesus, please, I just want the pain to stop…"

"I know. It won't be long now, we're almost there." He replied, taking tight hold of his girlfriend's hand and letting her squeeze it, eye twitching in pain whilst he watched Jack and Sarah working at the bottom of the bed. Lee continued to stand there, feeling powerless, unable to help his friend or make her pain stop, and seeing her once strong face crumpled crushed him.

Quickly, he turned to Christa, watching her agonised stares at the doctor whilst he reminded her. "Think about all you've done to get to this moment. You remained strong so that your baby can come into a world that's safe for it, right? Well now we need you to keep being strong. You can do this, I know you can."

"That's easier said than done." She confessed, before nodding slowly. "Okay, okay… I can do this. Hopefully."

Her jaw clenched as she pushed. Lee stood there, holding her hand whilst Omid comforted her, the couple anxious for the arrival of their newborn baby. The pain was obviously having an effect on her, the drowsiness clear in Christa's face as she continued to push, her cries of pain and her begging for it to all stop loud in the air, and they were all unable to do anything. Instead, all Lee could do was offer her a comforting smile, and wait the labour out. Omid, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck, his head constantly snapping back and forth between Christa's face and the doctor working away delivering his baby, Sarah moving around to prepare the towels and other equipment needed to clean the infant.

Suddenly, Jack's voice called up to them, a short laugh coming from the doctor as he sounded genuinely excited. "I can see the baby's head! Keep going, Christa, you're doing great!"

"I've decided that this is the last goddamn baby I'm ever having!" Christa snapped, turning to Omid when he tried to speak, quickly adding. "If you tell me to hang in there one more time, I'm gonna make you bunk with Lee!"

"What did I do?!" Lee asked, standing there with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

Christa couldn't respond, gritting her teeth together as she let out a long list of curse words under her breath, her eyes squeezed shut again in an attempt to handle the pain. Lee turned to Sarah, noticing her shocked expression at witnessing the labour, and couldn't help but laugh when she finally spoke up. "Woah, the baby's head is… pretty big."

"That's around the normal size." Jack replied, an eyebrow raised as his shoulders tensed. "And they're coming out pretty fast. Shit, get the towels ready, Sarah!"

She quickly got on it, rushing towards the small set up they had for the labour process, grabbing the towels with both hands as she returned to Jack's side. Lee was anxious, his stomach flipping during this entire labour, and he could only imagine the ups and downs that Omid and Christa were going through. He winced when she squeezed his hand particularly tight, making no comment about it whilst watching the doctor and his assistant, listening to Jack's orders as he gave them to the young teen. "Alright, get the towels ready. I'm gonna help the baby out once the head and shoulders pass."

"I'm ready." She replied, watching Jack's movements as she raised an eyebrow, nervously glancing up at Christa as she added. "Christa? I think you might need to give the little guy a big push now."

"She's right," Jack started, not even looking at the pained woman. "Give me one last push, just so I can get the baby out."

Nodding, Christa prepared herself mentally for the final push, her hands constricting around Lee's and Omid's as she gave out a loud scream of pain, her head leaning against the pillow and her breathing loud. The two male survivors beside her gave each other a look, before the sound of crying brought their attention down to the end of the bed, Lee's face completely showing his shock at the sight. Sarah stood there, a bundled up baby in her arms as she brought the infant over to their mother, a grin on her face as Christa stared at the baby, her panting loud as she gasped. "That's… that's my baby?"

"It's a girl." Sarah replied, pressing the bundle to Christa's chest whilst Jack clamped the umbilical cord, wiping sweat from his brow with his sleeve as he turned to Omid, scalpel in hand and a smile on his face.

"It's usually the father that cuts the cord. You up for it, man?" he asked, holding the sharp blade out for him to grab.

Omid was stunned. The baby finally here and being through the labour, he just nodded silently and took the scalpel, watching as Jack showed him where to cut. Lee watched with pride, looking down at Sarah as he congratulated her, a wide grin on his face at the lovely scene in front of him. "Hey, you did good, kid."

"Thanks." She replied, staring at the crying baby before she added. "I just can't believe it. I delivered my first baby. I-I mean, Jack did most of the work but… still, it's nice, you know? No matter what, we've met someone new. Someone who can give people hope."

"Hope…" Lee muttered, watching the baby being held in Christa's arms, her tired face practically beaming with love for her newborn child. Softly, he whispered to the little infant, staring at her pudgy face. "Hey, there. You've been crying for literally all your life, you know that? I mean, after what I've seen, it's your mom who should really be crying that much."

"Lee." Christa laughed, turning to Jack as the doctor moved to take her baby, watching him worryingly before he calmed her down.

"Don't worry. I'm just gonna clean him up, and then you guys can attempt the first breastfeeding." He explained, turning around as he called over to Sarah. "Come over here, Sarah. I should show you how to properly clean babies."

Lee left them to it, turning back to the happy couple as he chuckled. "Well, that was an adventure, but let's not do this again. God knows I could go a lifetime without seeing that."

"I think I agree with you." Christa smiled, resting her hands on her abdomen, glancing over at the baby being cleaned as she muttered. "We still need to name her."

"I guess we can't go with Omid Jr, huh?" Omid joked, earning a smirk and a raised eyebrow from Christa, before he just laughed softly. "You're right, you're right. How about Genevieve?"

"That was my great aunt's name, and I don't want her to have a name from our grandparent's time!" she shot down, shaking her head with a bright glow to her face, a smile widening as she saw the baby being brought back to her. Lee moved out of the way, letting Sarah through as the young teen passed the calmed down infant back to the mother.

"You guys thinking of names for her?" she asked, standing there as the couple nodded.

"Having a pretty difficult time about it, though. Bit weird, considering we've had nine months to think of one." Omid joked.

Staring down at the baby's sleeping face, Christa quickly added with a knowing tone. "That's because we've been distracted with surviving these past nine months."

Her boyfriend threw his hands up in defeat, looking down at the baby with a warm look, a gentle smile on his face whilst Christa appeared thoughtful, quickly turning to Lee as she remembered. "I told you the name I wanted if the baby was a girl, didn't I? Natia."

"Natia? That's an awesome name." Omid agreed, taking the baby whilst Christa rested. Lee watched as he gently rocked the baby in his arms, slowly sitting down beside Christa on their bed, his voice soft as he cooed. "Natia… You like that, don't you? Well, I guess that's settled then. Man, our cat would have loved you… as long as you're not allergic. My cousin was allergic to cats, his face blew up every time he came to my house."

"I think all she's gotta worry about is the dog." Christa chuckled, watching her boyfriend connect with their baby. Suddenly, a guard opened the door, everyone standing around turning their attention to the person as they stood there, nervously rubbing their neck.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you, boss," they started, before pointing their thumb backwards urgently. "But we got newcomers in the quarantine that Jack needs to check over, and I don't wanna keep them waiting long enough that shit starts to fly."

"It's alright, I'm finished here anyway." Jack shrugged, keeping his mask on as he pulled the gloves off, leaving them on the trolley as he then turned to Sarah. "I need you to take these back down to the clinic for cleaning, then stay to keep an eye on the baby. Anything happens, you have your radio."

"Will do." Sarah nodded, turning her attention back to the adorable baby.

Whilst his friends were distracted with the newcomer, Lee moved over to Jack, his voice quiet as he piped up. "I should come with you. Just to welcome them and lay down the rules before we let them out into the community."

"I woulda asked you, but I thought you'd want some time with the abby." Jack responded, his voice somewhat muffled underneath the mask, and the two started walking out of the room.

Lee shrugged at that, turning around to give a final glance to the scene before the door shut behind them, giving the people inside some privacy to welcome their newest arrival. "Omid and Christa should have some time alone with their baby. The birth doesn't mean I get to stop doing my job around here."

"You and me both." Jack chuckled, lowering the mask so that he could inhale fresh air. "Man, I could use a break after this. If anything, it's nice seeing a new face around here, especially a baby's, but I ain't gonna lie to you, Lee… Most of the time, the births aren't easy. Christa's pretty lucky."

"You've had to do this before?" he asked, feeling a solid lump in his throat at the thought of someone giving birth during Carver's reign, and Jack's grim expression did nothing to help his intrusive thoughts.

"People have unprotected sex all the time nowadays, especially with the stress of just surviving. Carver made a point that babies only drag us down, affect the whole community without giving anything back. Most of the time, I've had to deliver miscarriages and stillborns. I'm not proud of what I've done here, Lee… I know that." He sighed, his eyes falling down in grief whilst all Lee could do was offer a hand on the shoulder, smiling awkwardly in an attempt to pick him up.

However, Jack just glanced up at him, before continuing on to the staircase, following after the guard that came to collect them. "Come on, we better get a move on."

All throughout the walk, Lee just stared ahead anxiously, occasionally glancing at Jack's back with his stomach twisting painfully, wondering about the things that Jack had to do under Carver's rule. His deeds clearly worn him down, sitting heavily on his shoulders, and from what Lee had seen in the past, it would only be a matter of time before someone snapped again. When they reached the shutters leading into the quarantine, Lee had to remind himself that it was no longer a pen, and he was no longer being forced to live in the cold outdoors with only a thin blanket to keep him warm. If he closed his eyes, he could have sworn it was being back there again, being corralled like animals against their will, waiting until the cold and infections picked them off one by one.

His thoughts were brought back to the present when the shutters rattled loudly, being pushed up by the guard who led them there before he gestured for the two survivors to go inside, Jack pulling his mask back up as they both entered the closed off area. Having not been in there since the rebellion, Lee was surprised with the improvements made, the roof now covering the whole area rather than half, and the workers working hard to make the beds more comfortable, the blankets thicker than what he had before. Slowly, Jack turned to Lee, gesturing for him to start speaking.

Clearing his throat, Lee took a few steps forward, watching as a group of six people noticed their presence and started to make their way towards him, pausing as he addressed them. "Before I lay down the rules and what will happen from here on out, I just want to first welcome all of you to Howe's. I hope that you will all settle into the community and prove that you can contribute. We aren't assholes here, but be warned, I will not tolerate rules being broken in my community, so consider this your first and final warning."

Pausing, he listened as one of the survivors coughed, watching Lee intently as he continued. "Alright. First off, you will all be examined for bites and injuries by our doctor, Jack. If he gives you the all clear, you will then be put to work in areas that best suit your skills. Your past before the plague will be taken into consideration also, so be honest with his questions. We will not tolerate stealing, abusive behaviours to anyone, nor will I tolerate any act of violence. You do that shit, you're getting exiled. Do I make myself clear?"

"What's gonna happen if your doctor finds something? Like a bite or something?" a woman asked, stepping out from the line with narrowed brown eyes and shaggy black hair cut extremely short.

Lee raised an eyebrow at her question, before he explained it to her. "Any bite victims will be put down if it cannot be amputated, or the victim will not survive the procedure. I'm sorry, but we cannot risk the safety of our people for one person. Injuries sustained before you came here will be treated by our doctor, along with any preexisting conditions being recorded for future use. It'll be his decision in what happens, so do not keep anything from him."

"We won't hide anything. Thank you, for taking us in." A man nodded, moving forward and clasping the woman's shoulder, sharing a look with her whilst Lee just crossed his arms, trying hard not to intimidate any of the newcomers.

"It's no problem. Work hard, and you'll come to enjoy your time here." With that, he turned his back to them, turning to Jack as he quietly muttered. "Keep an eye out for anything suspicious. We gotta be careful with new people."

"Don't worry about it, I've done this before." He replied, moving closer to the newcomers as he instructed them. "I'm Jack, the community's doctor. I'm just gonna do quick body searches, take vitals and just make sure you guys are in general good health. You."

He pointed to the woman before, her face twisted in annoyance as he gestured for her to follow him. "I need you to come over here so I can check you."

"Come on, don't you have a woman to do this?" she snapped, crossing her arms in complete refusal.

"Look, I'm a doctor. This is my job and I'd really appreciate it if you just give me a break, especially since I spent the last few hours delivering a baby." Jack sighed, rubbing his face in exasperation. Lee didn't blame the woman. She was in a strange place, and not everyone would be happy with being checked over by someone they literally just met. Standing there, he watched as the woman raised her eyebrows in surprise, a growl coming from her as she just followed after him to a closed off area for privacy.

Lee remained where he stood, turning to the other people as the man from before piped up, rubbing his stubbled chin with his palm. "So, you've been in charge for long?"

"Been going for three months. Honestly, you guys found this place at a good time." He answered, eyes glancing over at the private area that Jack took the woman, before he continued the questions. "So, what's your story? I mean, any skills or anything that Howe's can use?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself." The man laughed, moving forward and taking Lee's hand, shaking it with a firm grip. "Name's Rahim, I worked up in Baltimore in an dentist clinic. The woman your doctor just took was my girlfriend, Amanda."

"She's…" Lee paused, unable to think of something positive about the man's loved one.

Whilst he was thinking, Rahim let out a snort, moving closer as he muttered. "She's a bitch, but I love her like that. Hell, she's gotten me out of trouble more times than I can count."

"And that's a lot, considering he can count very high." A sudden voice joked, Lee and Rahim turning to spot Amanda walking back, Jack beside her with a stern look on his face. Pausing beside him, she kissed his cheek and turned to Lee, quickly adding. "Don't worry. We're not gonna be causing shit for you. In fact, we owe your scouts our lives. They're miracle workers."

"She's clean of any bites or injuries. Now, I got other people to look at in here, so why don't you go and enjoy a break? God knows you deserve one after all the effort you put in these past three months." Jack pressed, giving the leader one more smile as Lee nodded.

"I could use a break. You sure you got things around here?" he questioned, unable to stop some worry gnawing at him, leaving their doctor with people they've never met before. Rahim seemed nice, but surviving in this world for months had a drastic effect on one's trust.

"I got this. Go on." Jack answered, turning his attention back to the people in the quarantine whilst Lee just nodded, turning his back to the people as he walked back to the shutters, keeping his sights set forward as he left the closed off area to go on to do other things. The guard stayed with Jack, ensuring that the doctor was safe in case things got a bit hairy. Alone, Lee just walked along the hallway, enjoying the serenity of his peaceful community around him, his footsteps echoing against the solid marble as he drifted off into his thoughts.

Time didn't allow him long, however, as he nearly collided with someone whilst making his way towards the stairs, his hands fast in grabbing them to stop the person from falling over, Looking down, he realised it was Riley, her face annoyed as she griped. "Goddamn, are you just gonna keep pushing me over?"

"Sorry 'bout that. I was just thinking, that's all." He excused, forcing his mind to focus on the teen in front of him rather than slip back into the daydreams he was having. Riley waited for him to let go off her, an awkward smile on the grown man's face as he released her sweater, watching whilst she smoothed it out for a second time that day, readjusting the beanie that she had taken to wearing to hide her shortly chopped hair. He never even noticed her hair until she started wearing the hat.

Riley just scoffed at that, before she averted her gaze slightly, her voice nervous as she asked him. "So, is Christa done? Like, with the labour?"

"Yeah, she's given birth. It's a girl." Lee smiled, a delighted smile on his face as the picture of the baby's face appeared in his mind, the pudgy cheeks and closed eyes. He missed having someone like that in his group. Innocent, that is. Crossing his arms, he couldn't stop the joy from coming up in his voice as he revealed. "They've decided to name her Natia."

"Natia, huh? It's a pretty name, I'll give them that." She chuckled, a smirk on her face before she asked him abruptly. "Is Sarah still with them? I kinda wanna, maybe, see the baby, if that's alright?"

"It's no problem. Come on, kid." Lee welcomed, gesturing for the young teen to follow after him. The two made their way up the stairs, an awkward silence between them as Riley rubbed her lower arm, looking at everything besides Lee whilst he just glanced down at her. Slowly, he decided to speak up, his voice a low drawl as he mumbled. "So, you can say that it's none of my business but… I do appreciate you being there for Sarah."

"Well, where else would I be? She needs me!" Riley pointed out, unable to meet Lee's gaze as she allowed a small smile to appear on her face, her voice calmer as she continued. "And Sarah is pretty cool. I mean, all this medical nonsense goes straight over my head, but she's just, I don't know, taking it all in? You know what I mean?"

"I do. You're not the only one, I'm useless at medicine too." He confessed, earning a quiet giggle from the young teen as they both fell in silence again. Just as awkward as before, he didn't know what to say to break the tension between them, and quickly decided to stay on the topic of Sarah as a mutual interest. "So… how did you and Sarah become friends? I mean, the way you two act, you seem to have known each other for a while."

"I've known her for about as long as she's been here, even before the escape with her dad." Riley explained, her face fallen in sorrow as she glanced away, continuing to walk until they reached the stairs leading up to the second floor. Taking them slowly, Lee glanced down at her, a worried frown on his face.

"Well," he started, thinking of a way to go about the conversation. "I was just wondering. She never mentioned anyone from here when we first met."

"Yeah, well I don't blame her." She sighed. The look on her face made Lee pause, wondering if it was right to continue to the conversation that was clearly upsetting the young teen. Instead, he elected to stop it there, but offered an ear when Riley opened up on her own accord. "You know when you say something, and it hurts someone real bad, how… how do you go by making it better? Like, how do you fix it?"

"Well, do you regret saying whatever it was that hurt them?" he questioned, a small smile on his face when Riley nodded, staring down at her with sympathy in his eyes whilst he answered her question. "Be honest with them. You apologize, and if they want, you stick with them through thick and thin."

"Yeah, okay, that makes sense." She hummed, appearing somewhat relieved with the advice as she smiled up at him. "Thanks."

"No problem, kid." He smiled back. Both of them reached the top of the stairs, making their way over to the store close by, the gentle hum of chatter around them setting a calm atmosphere in the community. Adults sat on the benches, talking and laughing quietly, whilst the few children that weren't outside playing were reading by their feet, engrossed in whatever fantasy story they were reading. It was a nice sight, needed more than the shit Lee saw before, and he paused to take in the calm scenes around him. Riley appeared to enjoy it just as much, a warm glow to her pale face as she laughed quietly.

"This is really nice, Lee. I know you got loads of people saying this, but… I just wanna say. You're awesome." She praised, watching as he turned back to her, her laughter growing at the sight of his shocked face. "Don't let it get to your head. You still got a lot of work to do, but you've made things so much easier for everyone. I can't remember the place ever being like this when Carver was in charge."

"I'm just surprised with how many people actually like me ruling. Honestly, I half expected this place to go up in flames in the first week." He joked, a grin on his face as Riley just returned it.

Her grin shrunk however, eyes nervously glancing over at the door leading into Omid and Christa's room, her hand returning to her lower arm to rub through the wooly fabric. Softly, she wondered. "I know this doesn't make much sense, but I'm excited, but nervous at the same time. I mean, babies can sense all that crap about you, like if you're a good guy or not, right? What if the baby doesn't like me?"

"How can anyone not like you, Riley? You have that way about you." Lee joked, though the concerned expression on the younger girl's face caused him to lighten up, moving closer as he placed a hand on her shoulder, keeping eye contact as he consoled her. "Hey, it'll be alright. You're a good person, so you have nothing to worry about with the baby. Okay?"

Nodding, she inhaled deeply, breathing out through pursed lips before muttering. "Okay. Come on, then."

#twdg #twdg lee #twdg sarah #twdg christa #twdg omid #tablesturned #au #story

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hoodsmoaked · 8 years ago

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Let It Snow | Part 1 / ?

Summary: Oliver Queen spends the days before Christmas trying to find the murderous new archer in Starling City and renew family traditions. An odd request from Moira puts her son in a difficult position, but it also puts an unexpected twist in Oliver’s strange partnership with Felicity Smoak. (S1 AU)

Disclaimer: I do not own nor make any profit off of Arrow. It belongs to The CW, DC Comics, etc.

A/N: This is an AU story set during 1x09: Year’s End. It was meant for Christmas, but things went sideways and it wasn’t until this week that I actually put it down. Thank you @stygian-omada-fan for sensible words when I was feeling overly sensitive. <3

Chapter 1: Bits & Pieces

“Mom, you can’t be serious.”

At twenty-seven years old, with a veritable ocean’s worth of hell swelling behind him and a galaxy’s worth looming ahead of him, Oliver Queen still had absolutely no idea how to take up a debate with his stern, self-assured mother when she set her heart and mind on something she wanted.

Today, a mere morning and afternoon after Adam Hunt’s murder at the hands of the new Starling City archer, that something was Oliver’s honored presence at the Queen Consolidated annual staff Christmas party which his mother and Walter were set to attend in two days.

“I am exceedingly serious, Oliver,” Moira Queen looked as deeply frustrated as Oliver felt inside, at last setting down the book she had been attempting to read when Oliver stalked into the room waving a red and green invitation. “It does no harm to attend an employee party at the company. Why are you so averse?”

“For one thing, I’m not even an employee at Queen Consolidated, Mom!” Oliver reiterated for at least the fourth time in the discussion, growing irritated with his domineering mother. “I thought we clearly discussed my stance on working at the company after the Applied Sciences building opened?”

“You can still have the decency to represent our family and your father’s memory at a company function,” Moira countered with easy grace and authority Oliver remembered all-too-well from before the island. Even if her discipline had been directed at people other than himself, Oliver had never forgotten the sting infused with such taut coldness.

“You spend enough time up at Queen Consolidated to give people ideas,” Moira continued more reproachfully than Oliver felt was warranted. “A great deal of people have come to think you’ll be joining the company some time in the future, regardless your belligerent scene at the groundbreaking. It has been months since then, anyway. A person can change their mind and many believe you have or soon will. Hearing the way you talk now, I have to wonder myself what other reason could possibly draw you up to Queen Consolidated so frequently. Are you sure you haven’t changed your mind?”

“Undoubtedly positive,” Oliver enunciated more clearly and slowly than strictly necessary, hoping to make his point and have done with the subject. He had a visit with an IT expert that couldn’t wait.

Observing his facial features with heavy focus, under which effects Oliver use to squirm self-consciously, Moira finally sighed and turned her eyes away.

“All right,” the Queen matriarch remarked after a pause, turning back to her son with another familiar, unbending expression that led Oliver nearer to agitated groaning than usual. “I’ll leave that subject alone for the present time. However, I am still asking you to attend the annual Christmas staff party with us. We’ve already sent your response and I wouldn’t want to put any of the planners out with extra money spent for a seat that won’t be filled. Humor me, Oliver, please?”

Suspecting far more in Moira Queen’s pleading expression and request than a simple desire to appease the party planners, Oliver nevertheless didn’t dare say anything in that regard and merely nodded his agreement. If he required another ‘public scene’ to nail the point home with his mother, then he could plan it later; time indicated other plans must come first.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” Moira smiled warmly at her son and laid a motherly hand on his forearm. Settling back down to read her book, Moira left Oliver to evacuate the room on cautiously rapid feet.

Rolling back his shoulders to ease out some of the tension of the argument with his mother, Oliver headed out the front entrance and hopped onto the motorcycle for what had swiftly become routine visitation to a certain IT specialist at his family’s company.

The IT department was dark and yet comforting – despite the brightness outside – when the billionaire headed in, finding the ponytail-styled blonde sitting very engrossed in a tablet behind her desk. Incredibly engrossed, as a matter of fact.

Barely smiling at her inordinate concentration and allowing the tension with his mother to fade away, Oliver finally spoke up, “Hey.”

Felicity Smoak startled as though he had shot off a gun beside her, gasping a little and rebuking Oliver’s presence immediately, “Don’t you knock?”

“Felicity, this is the IT department,” Oliver retorted with heavily-buried amusement in his voice, shaking his head for emphasis as he added, “It’s not the ladies’ room.”

Laughing a bit breathlessly, Felicity looked down with some sheepishness as she agreed, “Right.”

Taking the time to close something on her tablet – curious, Oliver thought to himself – Felicity finally looked back up at him with wider eyes as she asked, “What can I do for you?”

Already spinning a rather elaborately carved lie in his mind, Oliver put a good deal of playful emotion into his voice as he answered, “My buddy, Steve, is really into archery. Apparently, it’s… it’s all the rage now.”

Turning away to put her tablet down on the desk, Felicity commented casually, “Yeah, I don’t know why… Looks utterly ridiculous to me.”

Felicity’s expressive face and blue eyes displayed a sense of ‘whatever floats your boat’ that forced Oliver to forcibly dispel a laugh that wanted to escape his throat. Instead, he remarked neutrally with a simple ‘mm-hm’ to guide the conversation along. Still, he couldn’t help staring a moment at the blonde; if only she knew what he did with his nights…

Rushing forward in spite of his humor, Oliver added, “Anyway, it’s Steve’s birthday next weekend and… I wanted to buy him some arrows.”

So saying, Oliver popped the lid off the container he held, pulling out the long black arrow of his nemesis with far more casual ease than Felicity’s widened eyes portrayed in her own senses.

“Thing is,” Oliver went as though nothing was amiss, “he gets these… special… custom-made arrows and I have… no idea where he gets them.”

Holding back the projectile in both hands with a pause to make sure he had the quirky woman’s full attention, Oliver finished with, “I was hoping you could find out where this came from.”

Allowing his request to settle in the quietly-charged atmosphere between them, Oliver at last rolled the arrow up and back down within reach of Felicity’s grasp, presenting it like a priceless artifact. And in truth, he supposed it was. Finding this new archer meant saving lives, really. As the new enemy had proven, he cared little for collateral damage.

Felicity’s smile looked more mysteriously invested with a mystic giddiness than Oliver expected from most people. Struck by the intensity with which he had brought the brilliant young woman into his dark activities, and the potential price that might already lay on her blonde head, Oliver couldn’t help feel suddenly wrong.

Yet it was too late now for that particular concern, wasn’t it? Oliver repressed a frown and decided he couldn’t change her involvement now. All he could do was ensure her safety from here on out. Besides, he found he needed her skills and knowing assistance more than he thought he needed anyone’s help in his mission.

“Careful!” Oliver warned the eager investigator anyway, pulling the bow back from her hand before she could actually grasp the arrow.

A shadow of exasperation and annoyance crossed Felicity’s still-eager features while she waited for him to drop the arrow to her clutch. She agreed more quickly than Oliver cared to hear, “Yeah.”

Dauntless even with his warning, the IT expert’s expectation led Oliver to release the arrow to her fingers as planned.

Taking it with a burst of smile, Felicity instantly began to examine the arrow in her hands, searching up and down the metal with subtle excitement. Within seconds of Oliver taking a seat before the desk, his constant researcher found what she needed to see.

“The shaft’s composite is patented,” she informed the billionaire, glancing between the patent name and her computer. “And that patent is registered to a company called Sagittarius.”

Smiling at her rapid success, Felicity looked back up at Oliver and offered up the black arrow. When Oliver did not immediately take it in hand, the blonde added informatively, “That’s latin… for archer.”

Shaking himself enough to reach for the weapon in the IT expert’s hands, Oliver responded slightly awkwardly as he put away the arrow, “Really... Could you find out where and when this was purchased?”

Felicity smiled again, her subsequent head tilt and sigh telling Oliver his question was very ridiculous, but she would do as he asked all the same. A few clicks and the specialist began answering him, “According to Sagittarius company records, that… particular arrow is part of a bundle shipment… Two-hundred units...”

Her face bespoke the growing disbelief in Oliver’s admittedly shoddy story-telling. Hobby archers didn’t purchase two-hundred highly customized special units for casual practice.

In spite of that, Felicity began to write on a notepad, explaining, “…sent… to this address.”

Ripping off the sheet, the blonde handed it over with what Oliver dubbed her ‘easy success smile.’ Felicity Smoak had many different types of smiles, he found out; this was only one of the vast multitude of bright expressions she wore.

“Felicity…” Oliver began, taking the paper with an unnecessary flourish and a wider smile than normal. Taking a little breath, the sandy-haired billionaire completed his thought, “You’re remarkable.”

“Thank you for remarking on it,” Felicity quipped instantly, eliciting a softer, warmer smile on her face – almost shy, if Oliver was to judge.

Still smiling, Oliver stood from his seat, grabbing the arrow as he made to leave. Before he could fully turn away, he leaned back towards the IT expert to add, “and Merry Christmas.”

“I’m Jewish,” Felicity corrected in a heartbeat, the words rushing from her mouth.

Oliver turned back thoughtfully at the sudden words, pausing to sincerely offer, “Happy Hanukkah.”

Felicity had brought nervous fingers to her lips, clearly worried over her expulsion of information, but Oliver felt pleased to know a little more about his babbling blonde acquaintance.

Before he fully turned back to the doorway, Oliver’s eyes caught on a familiar red and green invitation lying on the far side of the desk space. Struck by how awkward Felicity must feel being part of a Christmas-specific party, Oliver frowned slightly.

“The company should really expand to a holiday party,” Oliver commented out of the blue, drawing Felicity eyes back up to the man she must have thought gone from her office.

“Um… what?” she asked, bewildered.

“The annual staff party,” Oliver clarified, gesturing at the same invitation he had waved in his mother’s direction not an hour before. “It should be broadened into a holiday party, not just Christmas. Employees like yourself are being excluded for no reason.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Felicity half-laughed, the same nervous and awkward sound when she didn’t want to get into a particular topic or wasn’t prepared for the turn of discussion. “I just go to socialize a little. Make sure no one thinks I’m a total recluse.”

“Well, that doesn’t make it right to exclude your holiday,” Oliver smiled at her honestly. “I’ll throw a word to Walter about it.”

“That’s… really not necessary,” Felicity replied, making a very goofy face as she worked through words she did and didn’t want to actually say. “You don’t have to bring me into this. I’m just fine… Finest fine that ever fined… Uh…”

Intervening despite the amusing word salad tendency Felicity had, Oliver concluded firmly, “I’m going to say something about it. You don’t have to be involved, I’m sure there are plenty of others who would appreciate the gesture, so no names are really necessary.”

“Well, okay,” Felicity bit her lip at the anonymity she’d been granted on the subject. “That’s probably true. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Oliver nodded at her firmly. “I’ll see you at the party, then.”

“You’ll be there?”

Oliver bit back a real smile at the higher tone to Felicity’s voice as she asked.

“My mother seems to think I can be convinced to become a part of the ‘team’ some day,” was all Oliver explained.

“Ah, I see,” Felicity nodded knowledgeably, then stopped suddenly to shake her head in the negative. “What am I saying? I don’t see. I mean I understand what you said, and it makes sense, but I… you know what, I’ll just see you at the Christmas party.”

“Holiday party,” Oliver corrected slyly, smile lingering on his lips as he glossed over the blonde’s awkward spouting. “It’s not too hard to understand my mother’s hopes. Although I think it will probably snow in Starling City before that happens… Not that I would mind a little snow.”

“You want snow?” Felicity lifted an eyebrow in surprise.

“I’m not saying I want a white Christmas, exactly,” Oliver paused, then shrugged. “I kind of miss a little snow here and there… Nevermind my odd wishes… I’ll see you at the party, Felicity.”

Felicity calmed in the face of his casual exit, allowing her face to ease into a little smile as Oliver walked out of the IT department with a fresher, calmer acceptance of his party attendance, all thoughts of causing a scene in any way dissipating completely.

The day of the party flurried into being with a great, fluttering to-do of activity overseen by Moira and Walter in tandem. After last minute orders and directions had been put into place, the Queen matriarch returned to the son she had literally begged to attend the event, joining him in a seat at the edge of the room where no one was working.

“Well, Oliver,” Moira spoke up with a knowing hedge in her voice, turning to look at her son with cunning expectation. “You seem to have picked up a peculiar investment with this party since three days ago. May I ask what changed?”

To the average observer, Moira’s question belied none of the hard edge of curiosity and suspicion that Oliver now heard like clockwork.

“It just didn’t seem right to exclude people in the workforce here who celebrate differently from us,” Oliver proposed with a casualness he didn’t precisely feel. For reasons he couldn’t pinpoint – reasons beyond keeping his secret – Oliver didn’t want his mother to find out about Felicity any more than she already might have.

“I see,” Moira allowed with secretive agreeableness.

“Can you excuse me, Mom?” Oliver attempted escape before the interrogation could begin, standing before his mother could even respond.

“Of course, sweetheart,” the socialite agreed more warmly than necessary, leaving Oliver wary of who he spent time with during the party. Moira Queen would not wait for an answer before drawing conclusions Oliver didn’t need.

Taking a trip out into the hallway, Oliver breathed deeply to calm himself and allay his concerns. Already dressed in his black suit and tie for the party, he had no excuses to actually leave before it all started. Sighing over his luck, the vigilante simply made his way around the floor as slowly as he could possibly meander without causing concern (or more likely, suspicion) from his mother.

With that concept in mind, Oliver amazed himself by finding a clear view of the city through a wall of empty office windows, and a hitherto untapped well of observatory staying power. Over all the hubbub and traffic and buildings far below, Oliver found a strange kind of peace in the constancy of Starling City’s populace he had never before felt.

“Oliver?”

Starting minutely at the intrusion on his surprisingly peaceful thoughts, Oliver turned to find Walter standing in the doorway with hands clasped behind his back.

“Walter,” the younger man greeted his stepfather with a nod.

“The doors will open in fifteen minutes,” the British businessman informed Oliver cordially, turning amused a moment later, “Your mother of course was worried you’d changed your mind at the last minute.”

Affecting a half-laugh, Oliver remarked wryly, “Well, we both know Mom likes to worry over nothing sometimes.”

Laughing as well, Walter added with a tilt of his head, “I must say I’ve found your mother to be far more rational than most, actually. But I suppose for children of any age, their parents seem overzealous much of the time.”

“I guess you’re right,” Oliver nodded as an end to the subject, smile stretching a little less than naturally on his features. “We’d better get back before she worries any more.”

By the time they reached the main space for the celebration, the guests had already begun to arrive, many employees followed in by spouses or adult relatives while more people than Oliver expected came all alone. Moira and Walter dragged him around the room meeting all the heads of departments and their assistants, sparingly followed by some of those not positioned in leadership yet holding respectably important jobs.

The party was in full swing, champagne flowing and wine swirling while canapés flooded trays around the room, when Oliver finally saw the familiar blonde ponytail bouncing through the crowd like a ball of sunshine. Repressing a smile with his mother so close, Oliver quietly and casually made his way through the employees towards the more secluded windows.

As expected, Felicity found him first, eyes widening briefly with pleased recognition behind her glasses as she made her way over. Much to Oliver’s pleasure in the moment, Moira Queen remained heavily involved in an intense debate with the Head of Accounting across the room, her back facing them.

“Oliver, hi,” Felicity made a funny, manic little wave at her shoulder level, drawing Oliver’s attention to the red dress that crossed subtly over the chest emphasizing a silver leaf necklace and tiny silver studs, the skirt flaring past the hips. Matching red suede footwear with a multitude of straps adorned Felicity’s feet. Just enough quirk to offset the basic dress, Oliver noted with the edge of a smile.

“Felicity,” Oliver nodded when the blonde stood close enough, a larger smile teasing his lips.

“You um… seem to have… you know,” Felicity blew out her lips and cheeks in a ridiculous expression as she gestured goofily around the room, “changed things up.”

“I told you it wasn’t right,” was all Oliver said, lightly shrugging.

“Oh! I, uh… got this…” Felicity began haltingly, reaching around in the small silver purse hanging from her shoulder with a sudden frown and pinched brows, until she exclaimed, “Ah! This. I got this for you.”

Smiling proudly, the IT expert whipped a rectangular item into the air before Oliver’s nose, gripping her purse in the other hand.

Allowing a brief moment to feel startled in spite of himself, Oliver finally took a better look at whatever hovered in front of his face. Surprised to find a bright blue envelope between Felicity’s fingers, the billionaire instantly responded, “You didn’t have to do this.”

“Oh, I wanted to,” Felicity waved him off, the encased card fluttering between them like a butterfly. “It’s the least I can do for you – for being so thoughtful.”

Caught by her logic and the stubborn will settled into those blue eyes, Oliver sighed and let it go, accepting the gift from her to slit the envelope and open the card itself.

“No, wait, don’t—!” Felicity tried to stop him, hands rushing forward too late to stop Oliver’s fingers from popping open the folded greeting.

A plume of white burst into Oliver’s face as though a gust of wind had suddenly thrown itself into the room, bits and pieces of white, glittering confetti blockading the billionaire’s eyes.

“…open it…” Felicity belatedly completed her warning, cringing visibly at the sight of Oliver’s crisp black suit decked out with tiny white snowflakes.

“Oh, I’m – I’m so sorry,” Felicity apologized, hands holding her mouth like it might run away from her. “You… you said you wanted snow… I meant for you to open it after the party. Well after…”

Oliver closed his eyes briefly to retain his stoic image and opened them again to find Felicity worrying her bright red fingernails already. The brilliant blonde looked horrified, eyes wide and elbows almost locked together before her.

“Thank you, Felicity,” Oliver said simply, taking a moment to actually read the Christmas card and its grateful message for his party interventions before looking back up at his companion, “I appreciate you getting me this.”

“You’re welcome,” Felicity responded, the phrase nearly a question.

“I think attacking confetti is the least of my worries right now,” Oliver said as dry as a bone, the first real tease he’d made in a long time.

Felicity laughed, really laughed, with a sort of deep giggle from the back of her throat Oliver never heard before. The unexpected sound was warm and pleasant, with that same quirkiness this particular woman had always been imbued with.

“At least you aren’t giving the same kind of ridiculous stories you usually do,” Felicity commented boldly, leaving Oliver more speechless than he cared to admit.

“Ah,” Felicity instantly tried to redact her words, eyes closing tightly in mortification for her slip, “not that… you are… a liar. No, not at all. It’s just, amazing, how… creative… all of yourrrr… acquaintances arrrreee…”

The drawn out words came across even more ridiculously than Oliver could have imagined – if he imagined it, which he highly doubted. Felicity Smoak was startlingly unpredictable and unexpected in her mannerisms and reactions. How many times had she caught him off guard with her blunt honesty and quirky sarcasm since they met in October? Oliver had long since failed to keep an accurate count.

“I do have fascinating acquaintances,” Oliver nodded, lips firmed up with false realization. “Thank you. For noticing.”

“My… pleasure,” Felicity laughed low and uncomfortable through her front teeth. “Always glad to clear up a mystery for a frie-friend… friend? ah, uhm… friendly! acquaintance!”

The blonde Oliver had chosen to go to for technological expertise looked ready for the ground to swallow her whole. Had the billionaire not seen his mother turning slightly, he would have spent more time reassuring his go-to IT.

As it was, he still couldn’t leave it all to sit so oddly between them.

“As I said… you’re remarkable, Felicity,” Oliver settled for, adding a tiny smile that belied his acceptance of the blonde’s many verbal slips. Moira nearly turned around, her eyes practically approaching Oliver and his very female company…

“Of course, thank you,” Felicity ended their talk quietly and far more calmly.

Moira turned back around at someone’s new greeting, and Oliver exhaled softly in relief.

“You’re welcome,” he nodded once at Felicity, blue eyes reassuring under the social mask.

Nodding once in return with a mild smile tightening over her teeth, the blonde turned awkwardly around towards the rest of the party, ready to head into the nearby crowd.

Out of the blue, without a warning, Oliver spoke as carelessly as Felicity often did.

“We’re hosting a party at the mansion this Friday,” he nearly blurted out, stunned by his own barefaced suggestion.

Felicity whirled around in equal shock, eyes wide and wondering behind her glasses and red lips slightly parted.

“I know it’s technically a Christmas party,” he was able to recover a little, but still didn’t know quite how to move forward with the offer.

“Well, it’s a personal family party, so… that… makes sense,” Felicity appeared to recover herself a bit as well, slowly working through what precisely Oliver was saying underneath it all.

“Would you like to come?” Oliver pushed the words out, stamping out his hesitation. Felicity could be trusted and he had already put it on the line; may as well finish it.

“I… well… that’s nice of you,” the blonde managed, eyes still wide blue pools staring up at Oliver. “Why would you want—”

Oliver cut across the IT expert’s doubts with a wave of confidence he didn’t expect to feel as an idea washed over him, “You’ll see snow to rival the whitest of Christmases.”

“You can’t really promise anything about the weather,” Felicity smiled a little goofily, blowing out through her lips in disbelief buffered by rich amusement. “Everyone knows that.”

“Well, I can promise you snow,” Oliver swore steadily. “Come and see for yourself.”

“Oh, really?” Felicity challenged him with a light laugh. “You’re on, Mr. Qu–”

“Oliver,” he corrected immediately, head tilted sideways a moment.

“Oliver,” edited Felicity quickly, eyes thoughtful and struck by recollection all at once. “Point being… I accept.”

“Good,” Oliver concluded easily. “The party starts at six.”

“All right,” Felicity said in a mix of quiet and some shyness, already stepping back as though she wasn’t entirely sure how to end the moment they became so caught up in.

“I’ll see you there,” Oliver ended it more conclusively for the awkward blonde, tapping the card she had given on her red-capped shoulder.

Moira Queen never turned around and Oliver walked away feeling gloriously successful for the first time in many years.

My stories and story prompts can be found on the page called The Written Word on my blog.

#CW Arrow #Let It Snow #Part 1: Bit & Pieces #olicity #THEWRITTENWORD #arrow season 1 #arrow au #arrow fic #arrow fanfiction #arrow 1x09 #arrow year's end

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