#anyways thanks again chelsea for tagging me this was fun :)
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Hi can you do #8 with Jey uso X female please thank you
8. Can you feel how much I want you?
Thank you for the prompt!!! This one really pushed me out of my comfort zone, I've never written X reader before but I hope I did it justice!!
Prompt list can be found here
Pairing: Jey Uso/Reader Rating: Mature Word Count: 775
tag squad: @feelschicken @elementaldoughnut12 @harmshake @southerngirl41 @imabillyami @jeysbvck
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It’s the night after your triumphant debut at the Royal Rumble, and you’ve been dragged out of your hotel room to a club to celebrate with the rest of the locker room.
“Come on, y/n,” Trinity had whined, “What fun are you gonna have all cooped up in here?”
You’d had a hot date planned with a bottle of rosé and the jacuzzi tub in your suite, but she didn’t need to know that.
Trinity recruited Chelsea and Maxxine to help you get ready, throwing together an outfit and helping with makeup since you really hadn’t planned on going out this weekend, not with the Rumble weighing so heavy on your shoulders. But things had gone well, your position in the company was now secured, so what harm was there in going out and having a little fun?
The harm, of course, came in the shape of drink after drink being bought and passed your way until your body was loose and the dance floor started calling your name.
You drag the girls to the floor as the music blares, holding your drink overhead as you sway your hips to the beat.
That’s when you spot him, across the room with his dark eyes locked in on you.
Jey Uso, Iron Man of the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble, and your best friend. At least you hope so. Things have been strained between the two of you in the last few months, and as much as you’ve been trying to explain it away with how busy you’ve both been, it’s been bugging you.
Having caught him staring, you get the bright idea to wave him over, beckoning him with your fingers.
He rolls his eyes but obliges anyway, making his way through the crowd to your side.
“Hi Jey,” You wrap an arm around his neck and lean into him, and it feels like the most natural thing in the world.
An unreadable look crosses his face and he frowns, “C’mon, Y/N, that ain’t fair.”
“What? I miss you, that’s all.” You pull your hand back as doubt and self-consciousness creeps in, but he grabs your wrist before you can get too far away.
“Miss you too,” He looks so serious and out of place under the bright flashing lights. Normally he’s the life and soul of the party, but not tonight.
“Jey…” You breathe, just barely audible amongst the noise around you both.
The air between you is electrified with tension. His eyes, those gorgeous gorgeous eyes, look into your soul as he inches closer to you, wrapping a strong hand around your waist and pulling you to him.
“Y/n…” He whispers your name into the few inches of air between you before connecting your lips together.
You melt into his arms and even deeper into the kiss. You’ve been dreaming of this moment for years, never quite daring to believe that Jey would really want this with you.
When finally you part for breath, you open your mouth, mind full of questions, but he shushes you with a finger to your lips.
“I been wantin’ to do that for a long time, but it was never the right moment. Then with not seein’ you the last few months, I was goin’ crazy. Then seein’ you at the Rumble? And how you look tonight?” His eyes roam over your body and you feel your cheeks flush with heat. “Just couldn’t wait no more.”
Your mind races, searching for a way to reply that will convey the depth of your emotions and feelings, but words are escaping you.
You grab Jey’s shirt and pull him in again for another bruising kiss. The hand on your back clutches you even tighter, his other hand coming to cup your face. His tongue licks into your mouth, deepening the kiss and causing you to moan.
The room feels 10 degrees warmer than it did before, and your hips grind forward to brush with his and you feel heat and desire drip down your spine.
Jey’s hands go to your hips, turning you around to pull your back up against his, and what you felt before against your thigh is even more prominent now against the swell of your ass. He leans in, brushing his lips against your ear.
“Can you feel how much I want you, baby?” He grinds the heat of his dick against you and all rational thought leaves your mind.
You rock your hips to feel every inch of him, this man that you’ve loved for years, before turning back around to cup his cheek in your hand.
“Let’s get outta here.”
#jey uso#jey uso x reader#jey uso x y/n#jey uso x you#smut prompts#anon answered#my writing#wwe fanfiction
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ten songs i’ve been listening to on repeat recently ✨
thank u thank u darlings @courtjestermerlin, @moondal514 and @ittyybittybaker for tagging me, this is fun!
1. gwen - wilt
2. vicious - sabrina carpenter
3. a handsome stranger called death - FOE
4. bone church - slipknot
5. a night on the town - the dear hunter
6. you are the apple - lady lamb
7. candy - rosalía
8. it remembers - every time i die
9. crimson stone - converge, chelsea wolfe
10. amends again - the ongoing concept
i am giggling, this is a truly... uh... interestingly curated playlist bahahaha, but anyway apparently that's what spotify says i've had on repeat recently? so there you go!! apparently i have to tag 10 people which honestly jhdfgjkshd why do you think i even KNOW ten people???? if you see this tag you’re it xoxo
#pretty sure 'amends again' made the list because it gave me a fic idea!!! vicious is also fic related (jlz in growing pains fhjfdgfh)#anyway i'm bad at music but i've been driving a ton for work and for the house move so there's always music on#i don't know how to drive without music on lol#surprised the noah kahan album didn’t make the cut#because i’ve listened to that constantly for days now#anyway this is a mess lol#tag games#[insert melting emoji here]
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gtkm tag
i was taged by @taect to do the get to know me tag ! thanks for tagging me!💖💖💖💖💖💖✨✨✨✨✨
rules: answer q’s then tag 20 blogs you want to know better
nickname: tose akgae
gender: female
zodiac: aquarius
height: 177cm? / 5′10″
age: 19
time: 4pm
fav bands/solo artists: shinee, nct, bts, exo, 2ne1, hyuna, Hans Zimmer, Tokio Myers, the 1975, twenty one pilots, imagine dragons, bastille, Galantis, Børns, vance joy, misterwives, Hayley Kiyoko, Janelle Monáe, dua lipa and like 12 trillion other artists that i prob forgot.
song stuck in my head: the first tokyo ghoul intro
last movie i saw: Howl’s Moving Castle
last thing i googled: “how to find the domain of a function” JJSJSJS IM GOING TO FAIL CALC.
other blogs: uhh i have a couple others but i dont want them connected to this blog right now so they’re going to stay a secret for now😉
do i get asks: no binch i get roasts. where are all my cute anons who have secret crushes on me. why dont i have any of them.
why i chose my username: bc im too uncreative to think of a good one so nishat was nice enough to give me a good one.
following: 62, i will follow more once i transfer my sideblogs over to this account. but until i do that im trying to keep the number low and strictly nct.
avg amt of sleep: ....................4 hours. listen i have a problem.
lucky number: 9
what i’m wearing: tshirt and shorts. ladies im the epitome of high fashion. someone get me a modeling job with gucci.
dream job: idk really. originally my goal was to be an astronaut, but i think doing something with languages would be cool also. and if i could do ANYTHING id want to compose movie scores, but idk anything about music so that one is really just a dream lol.
dream trip: Japan or New Zealand but really i just want to travel everywhere..
fav food: chicken nuggets, chocolate, and sushi.
play any instruments: my dog and i howl together and thats really beautiful.
fav song: Married to the Music- SHINee and One Day- Hans Zimmer
play(ed) any sports: i used to play basketball a while ago but i just run now.
hair color: blonde/brownish??? binch idk im not a salonist. but the bottom half is dyed blue soon to be pink
eye color: blue
most iconic song: here we go.. BABY NEGAE BANHAE BEORIN NAEGAE WAE IRAE DUREOPDAGO MULLEISEOJI MALGO GEUNYANG NAEGAE MATGYEOBWALA EODDAE MY LADY.....its Ring Ding Dong- SHINee
languages you speak/are learning: i speak english, i know how to read/write latin (idk if this counts but im counting it. a hoe did not spend 4 years studying that language to NOT use it for clout) and im learning Japanese.
random fact: i ate an ant one time. it tasted like lemons. stay away from them Ten.
describe yourself as aesthetics/things: dancing in the rain, walks on the beach at dusk, seeing the moon in daylight, denim jackets, doc martens, piano music at 3am, the smell of books, airports, speeding with the windows down and music blasting, bare feet, badly dyed hair, tens nose, empty parks.
tagging: s @yestodav @yutainpink @hyuckiesgf @renjns @do-bunny @dongsxcheng @1oveten @jungwoop @pledisboo @yutende @neo--city
#im sorry if youve already been tagged for this !! i know this one is going around right now#also theres no way in hell im tagging 20 ppl. thats taking it out of hand#soon these tag games will want us tagging our ancestors from 1600s#plz sir john smith of the vatican does not need to be tagged#anyways thanks again chelsea for tagging me this was fun :)#tagged#about me
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tag game: the alternate love interest
what if your oc were an islander on a different season? who would their love interest be?
(Yes, I'm getting to old tags, sorry) Thank you for tagging me, @justtuesdays ♥
This is a bit boring from me because I haven't played seasons 4 or 5 (and I probably never will, because even if I looked past my problems with FB, 1) I'm not spending money on gems and I think there's no way to passively farm them like on the original app, right? and 2) I despise match 3 games because I suck at them), and also I only have one OC, but I guess I can throw Simon in too? Just for fun?
Season 1:
Liz: Jake. Well, technically... I believe she would be extremely put off by this indecision and she would not like the fact that he puts her in an extremely awkward situation when he confesses his feelings. So, he would likely be the only one she would be actually interested in at the beginning, but would eventually end up in a friendship couple with Mason (because musician) or Rohan (to save him from Erikah and because psychology).
Simon: TALIA. Omg, it would be fucking perfect. I mean, in a way Simon is a chaotic Talia, I feel. They would get along great, maybe even stay together after the show.
Season 2:
Liz: We know.
Simon: Chelsea. And I would love to see it. I don't know, there's something, again, about their energies. Simon is as far as it gets from oblivious, he's the person you want to hear advice from because he has taken everything into account and processed it through both common sense and empathy... He would find Chelsea so endearing I would fucking melt. And she would be so supportive of him. Ugh, I love the idea of them. Also they look the fucking same it would be hilarious, come on. (Also also, he would look respectfully at Arjun if they met, but I'm not sure how that would work exactly...)
Season 3:
Liz: God, another friendship run. Maybe I've written her so tailored to Lucas that I can see no chemistry with anyone else Sofía don't forget even her chemistry with Lucas is questionable maybe she's just that dull but... Probably Bill at first because she would feel like at least it would be interesting to talk to him, but she would get a bit tired of everything turning into a debate all the time. Then she would shift to Rafi because she would think he's fun, but there wouldn't be any spark because she would be afraid of being manipulated *war flashbacks* Seb would be her best friend, OF COURSE. They would be so mean and judgy...
Simon: Yasmine. Mostly because she's also a musician so they would have that in common. They'd talk about songwriting and the music scene... Another candidate might be Iona? He would find her dry humour hilarious and he'd like how independent and strong she is. Does... does he have a thing for girls with shorter hair than him? Maybe.
Anyway, thanks again! This was fun to think about ♥
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tag 9 people to learn more about their interests!
tagged by: @leondaltons 💕 thank you, love!! this was fun!
(i took out the this or that’s because the post was getting long + i’m indecisive anyway xoxo)
MUSIC
fav genre? ah i’m terrible at genres but i’ll try lol—indie/indiepop, chill electronic/some dubstep + house, funk
fav artist? fkj or janelle monáe
fav song? right now i’m gonna go with back pocket - vulfpeck but ask me again tomorrow lol. (pspsp watch that video if you need a smile 😌)
most listened song recently? i’m on a marian hill kick so prob subtle thing
song currently stuck in your head? now? ^^
5 fav lyrics? more adventurous - rilo kiley // raise it up (rabbit heart) - florence + the machine // let him fly - patti griffin // on the radio - regina spektor // q.u.e.e.n. - janelle monáe (ft. erykah badu)
BOOKS
fav book genre? literary memoir // magical realism
fav writer? kiese laymon
fav book? heavy: an american memoir - kiese laymon // the chronology of water - lidia yuknavitch
fav book series? probably the xenogenesis trilogy (aka lilith’s brood) - octavia butler
comfort book? gotta be tiny beautiful things: advice on love and life from dear sugar - cheryl strayed
perfect book to read on a rainy day? umm the first one that came to mind is the red garden - alice hoffman. ooh or beloved - toni morrison.
fav characters? oh shit 👀 okay okay lemme think. lauren olamina (parable of the sower - octavia butler) // lacey may (godshot - chelsea bieker) // wallace (real life - brandon taylor) // mama day (mama day - gloria naylor)
5 quotes from your fav book that you know by heart? all from one book?? my brain does not have that much storage space lmao but this question is enabling so here are 5 book quotes in general that come to mind:
1. “understand this if you understand nothing. it is a powerful thing to be seen.” // freshwater - akwaeke emezi
2. “the nation as it is currently constituted has never dealt with a yesterday or tomorrow where we were radically honest, generous, and tender with each other.” // heavy: an american memoir - kiese laymon
3. “i thought once that gods are the opposite of death, but i see now they are more dead than anything, for they are unchanging, and can hold nothing in their hands.” // circe - madeline miller
4. “i want to meet you in every place i ever loved. listen to me. i am your echo. i would rather break the world than lose you.” // this is how you lose the time war - amal el-mohtar + max gladstone
5. “and the gentleness that comes, not from the absence of violence, but despite the abundance of it // crush - richard siken
TV AND MOVIES
fav tv/movie genre? when i can access the Attention Span, slice of llfe.
fav movie? moonlight (dir. barry jenkins)
comfort movie? beginners (dir. mike mills)
movie you watch every year? ...v for vendetta lol 🙈
fav tv show? fleabag
comfort tv show? new girl
most rewatched tv show? ^^ or schitt’s creek
5 fav characters? across tv and movies? how dare you lol just gonna ignore that and do both sry 😘
TV
nick miller (new girl) // moira rose (schitt’s creek) // jesse pinkman (breaking bad) // fleabag (fleabag) // captain holt (brooklyn nine-nine)
MOVIES
imperator furiosa (mad max: fury road) // mona lisa vito (my cousin vinny) // patrick verona (10 things i hate about you) // marta cabrera (knives out) // the girl (a girl walks home alone at night)
whew!
tagging (with no pressure 💋): @coldshrugs, @nellplays, @griever-reciever, @homeformyheart, @lilas, @griffin-wood, @elmshore, @pearlsandsteel, @ejunkiet
#my brain said#:darthkermit: *you will milk as much procrastination time out of this as humanly possible*#🤡💩#but it was fun to remember what it's like to have ~Interests~ other than screaming about IF in the tags lmao#what a concept#tag game#tag meme#caitlyn.txt#long post
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mixtape | track six
| masterlist | faceclaims | playlist | visual by @brockhsmpton
“Okay so let me get this straight. You have a boyfriend. Your boyfriend is famous. You’re flying to LA with said boyfriend. And you’re staying at his house? Cause he’s 20 and has a fucking house.”
“Uh yeah, that pretty much covers it.”
“Jesus, I move across the country and then you decide to start getting interesting.”
Indy flipped her grilled cheese over in the skillet, and then flipped off the camera, getting an eye roll from Charlie that she felt through the facetime call.
“You gonna be okay on the plane?”
“Don’t wanna talk about it,” she grumbled, trying to push the nagging thoughts from her mind.
“Indiana. You’ve gotta tell him before you get on that plane. If you can even get on the plane that is.”
“I said I don’t want to talk about it. Just drop it, okay?”
Her list of distractions was dwindling as she finished all the work that had been piled on her before fall break, which was really only a long four day weekend. All she had left was an exam that afternoon, and then it would be time to go.
Grayson had insisted that they take Beks advice, take a trip out of the city to somewhere other than Jersey. It had been an interesting conversation to say the least.
“That sounds fun but I can’t.”
“Why not?”
She hesitated. Her usual excuse for getting out of things that made her anxious was simple. School. Too much homework, upcoming exam, blah blah blah. Usually that just earned her an eye roll, maybe an off hand ‘nerd’ comment too, but then the subject would be dropped.
Grayson wouldn’t be swayed that easily; and, she didn’t even have her default option. She scrambled for ideas with her thoughts running wild until he reached across the couch and laid his hand on top of hers.
“Hey, where’d you go?”
“I was thinking about airports.” It wasn’t a lie, but that was only partially the culprit of the knot in her stomach.
“It’s a straight flight to LA, super easy. I’ve done it way too many times, I know my way around.”
She chewed her lip and he squeezed her hand.
“C’mon, you’ll love it. LA is shitty sometimes but it’s amazing too. And you can meet Eden finally, she’s always asking about you. And Adele too. And I can show you the house, the pod studio. We can go surfing if you want. I’ll take you to Monty’s.”
“Gray. I can’t afford it.”
“Like I was gonna make you pay for it,” he laughed, but she stayed still beside him, unable to find the same amusement.
“I don’t want you to spend money on me like that.”
“Money doesn’t mean much to me. Doesn’t mean anything to me really,” he shrugged - she couldn’t imagine what that must feel like. It felt a bit hypocritical, for her to be acting like she struggled with money while she sat in her nice Chelsea apartment. But that money hadn’t come from her own pockets - it came with the price tag of guilt and the threat of it being taken away if her dad felt like it, which kept her and her ever shrinking savings account on edge. Money didn’t seem to be a real concept in the Dolan family however, and she tried to remind herself of that while Gray toyed with her fingers.
He switched to other tactics of persuasion when the silence stretched a bit too long, moving closer and nuzzling into her neck, pressing little kisses to her skin in between murmurs of “please Dee” and “c’mon baby”.
She conceded, gently tugging on his hair to get him to come back to her.
“Fine. But I’m paying you back one day. When I can.”
Grayson knew that wouldn’t be for years, and he liked the idea of her and him that far in the future, so he just nodded and kissed her again.
Charlie stayed on the line while Indy ate and then moved on to finish her packing, throwing in too many outfits for just four days and four nights, but she wasn’t sure what California called for. It took her a good five minutes of digging to find her bathing suits that she hadn’t drug out since the summer, but she eventually added them to the bag as the final touch and got everything ready. Charlie convinced her to take a few pieces of skimpier clothing in case the ‘vibes were right’, which had Indy blushing bright red and eventually making an excuse to get off the phone before she had to get into her sex life any further with her sister.
Her breathing settled for a moment when her phone buzzed, a message from ‘gray 💚 ’.
Plane snacks?
Also does coffee make you shit your pants
Cause I’ll get you some for the ride to the airport if it won’t hurt your tummy on the plane
:)
Leave it to him to put a smile on her face even as her stomach continued to turn. She tried to convince herself it was her exam that had her so worked up, but she knew better.
if 4 years as a barista gave me anything it was immunity in that department
so yes to the coffee pls :)
and just get me whatever you’re getting for snacks please
Gotcha, I’ll swing by and get your bag
Good luck on your exam! Not that you need it
I’ll be waiting outside in the ugly ass truck 💜 I love you
see you soon, I love you too
With that she packed up the last few things, leaving her bag in plain sight before she left for class. She was able to clear her mind enough on her walk, getting herself into ‘school mode’ before she got to the building. The exam went easily, as she expected that it would - it was nice to have subjects like medical terminology that were so cut and dry sometimes. Either you know it, or you don’t, as Nicole used to say. No point in guessing.
Indy didn’t like having to guess.
Which was why she had the airport map pulled up on her phone while she stood on the sidewalk, leaned up against the building as she tried to plan out the best way to get to the terminal that they needed. She’d already done this - three times, actually - but it made her feel better anyways.
She heard the rumble of the engine first, but it only held her ears for a moment. Because then, it was a giggle, and a squeal, and a whispered voice saying “no, that’s them, that has to be them! Who the fuck else would have a truck like that?”
Indiana’s stomach tightened even more somehow at the realization of what was happening. Charlie’s voice rang in her ears - your boyfriend is famous.
They’d never talked about what to do in a situation like this, but she’d seen enough stories about celebrities who hid their relationships to know that ‘undisclosed’ was the default setting. Suddenly very thankful that she’d decided to go with a hoodie that morning, she pulled the fabric up over her hair and dropped her head, keeping her eyes trained upward to watch what Grayson was doing.
She watched the girls go up to the cab and ask for a photo, which Grayson seemed to happily oblige to, though he didn’t get out of the car. He noticed her a moment later and his smile faltered at the realization that she’d been waiting on him. The girls asked him to give their love to Ethan and then went on their way. Indy held back for a few moments, waiting until they were out of sight before she hurried forward and got into the passenger seat.
“You must have finished that exam quick, I figured I’d be waiting on you,” Gray teased, but his voice was a bit tight.
“It was pretty easy, you either know it or you don’t.”
“Right. Well, I wouldn’t have known any of it,” he laughed, eyes still scanning the street - whether for cars or people, she couldn’t tell. “You ready to go?”
No. “Sure.”
The pair had felt the peace of comfortable silence enough in their relationship so far to know when it was absent, and there wasn’t a trace of it to be found. Indy was too caught up in her own mind to react to Grayson’s attempts to engage her, from the hand on her bouncing thigh to the looks he snuck, eyes darting from the busy road for a moment. She kept her coffee in both her hands - drinking it was counterproductive in terms of her nerves most likely, but the warmth of it was comforting enough for her to justify it. Grayson’s mouth got drier with every exit they passed, and he kept his cool until they got to the pay to park lot at the airport and he shifted the truck into park.
“We don’t have to go you know.”
The dejection in his voice was finally enough to pull Indiana out of her own little world. Her eyes came back into focus as she turned to him.
“Gray-”
“If it’s about the money, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I just really wanted to show you LA, cause it’s a big part of me, and I didn’t want you to be stressed about the price of tickets.”
“It’s not the money.”
“Then what is it? Because you’re pissed about something, obviously, and I’d like to be let in on the secret if you don’t mind.”
She shrunk under his harsh tone, unsure of whether she should even say anything. She hated when she got like this, and hated even more that she didn’t even have a hope of control over it, despite it being herself, her own mind causing the issues.
“Planes.”
“What?”
“It’s not you, it’s planes. Airports. Flying in general. I just… I don’t like it.”
“Oh. Well, I mean, I’ve been on plenty of planes, and nothing bad has ever happened while I was on there.” There was an airiness to his tone, as if it was as simple as his own testimony fixing the entire situation.
“That… doesn’t help.” She didn’t even like the thought of him being on a plane, much less the both of them. She practically flinched at the sound of one flying over them.
Grayson’s wheels were turning, slower than he wanted them to as he scrambled for an idea, anything that could make her feel better at the realization that his words had only made it worse.
“Can I have a redo on that?”
She looked up at him - at his sheepish smile and the blush on his cheeks, and the next breath she took in was a tad easier.
“Sure.”
“I’m sorry you’re feeling anxious, what can I do to help?”
His tone was so flat that they just looked at each other and then busted out laughing. Indiana couldn’t remember the last time someone had made her laugh when she felt so terribly. It was almost foreign to her - she felt like she shouldn’t be doing it somehow.
“Sorry, that was - fuck that was formal,” he laughed, rolling his eyes. “What I meant was, whatever you need, I’ll do. You just have to tell me.”
“Uh… not going.”
His hand moved to the gear shift, ready to put it in reverse and leave. She placed hers on top of his, holding on when he moved away.
“Kidding.”
“No you aren’t.”
“Okay, maybe I’m a little serious. But I want to. I want to go, it’s just hard. Having someone with me that I trust helps though.”
His chest swelled a bit at the realization that he was considered one of those people - it was one of the best honors he could imagine being given by somebody that he cared about, probably because it wasn’t something that he gave out easily. He pulled her hand up to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the soft skin.
“I’ll be with you then. You can hold onto me the whole time.”
“You sure about that?”
He frowned immediately at that, reaching his hand over to her thigh, running a thumb over the material of her leggings. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I mean you’re probably gonna have more fans coming up to you and stuff. I figured you didn’t want them like… knowing about me.”
“I never said that,” he countered, squeezing a bit. “I mean if you don’t want to, that’s okay, but I’m okay with it if you are.”
There was a sincerity to his gaze that conveyed what he hadn’t said - an almost plea for her to be okay with it. And so she was, at least enough for her to give him a nod and a quick kiss before stepping out of the truck.
He got to her bags before she could, and he was grateful that he’d only brought a duffle. He managed both bags with one hand and grabbed onto hers with the other as they started through the parking lot.
And he didn’t let go a single time, apart from the security scans and her going to pee after they made it through, in which he waited outside the bathroom for her with his arms crossed. Ethan met up with them at the terminal, buzzing with excitement at the prospect of getting to see Eden for the first time in a month. He was staying an extra week to get some quality time with her, and he was a constant stream of excitement. Grayson kept his attention on Indy though, trying to read her for any signs that things were getting worse. He kept a hand on her bouncing leg, running a thumb back and forth constantly, leaning over and pressing a kiss to her temple every so often.
“I’m gonna go check something really quick, I’ll be right back. Ethan, stay with her okay?”
Ethan didn’t question it. He slid over to replace his brother for a moment as he headed up to the desk at the gate. Despite his bubbly charm, Ethan had a calmer nature to him than Grayson did, no matter how hard he tried to exude the same level headedness. It came effortlessly to his twin it seemed.
“Gingerale helps calm me down on planes. Don’t know why but it does,” he mumbled, scooting a bit closer so his arm was pressed up along hers on the small bars between their seats.
He didn’t seem to need a response, and Indy was grateful. She leaned against him a bit more as a silent thank you that he seemed to accept, and they stayed that way until Grayson returned, switching out places again, wrapping his arm around her shoulder immediately.
“I upgraded us to first class.”
“What? Why!?” She spoke for the first time since the car, surprised that her voice still sounded stable.
“You’ll see. C’mon, we’re about to board. You still sure you want to do this?”
She couldn’t give him an answer, but she stood up anyways and held onto his arm as they scanned their tickets and moved down the jet bridge. He pressed kisses to her blonde hair, ducking down a few times to check on her as they made their way down and got settled into their seats, Ethan settling into the row beside her.
Indy kept her lip tucked underneath her top teeth, looking around at anything to distract her from where she was as her mind raced, so fast she couldn’t even pinpoint what was making her the most anxious.
“Focus on me. I’m right here,” Grayson hummed, reaching over to turn her face towards his for a moment. “You’re okay. We’re okay.”
“Yeah.” There wasn’t an ounce of conviction in her voice. She felt like she was going to cry, and she tucked her hood up over her ears, trying to drown out anything that sounded remotely like an airplane. Her lungs weren’t working how she wanted them to, and she sucked in breath after breath, none of them deep enough to relieve the tightness in her chest.
“Here. Try this.”
Long fingers tucked into her hood, moving her hair back from her ear so he could slip one of his headphones in. It fit snugly, and he scrambled to his phone, pulling up his Cudi playlist and scrolling through until he found what he wanted. The familiar intro of Teleport 2 Me, Jamie started to play as the final passengers boarded onto the rather large plane. How had everyone gotten on so fast? It seemed her mind was running away from her, making time move faster, bringing on the inevitable.
“This song makes me think about you, you know. I know Jamie is your middle name but still.”
She barely registered his words as a few tears snuck out of the corner of her eyes. Even her lips were shaking as she tried to breathe, curling in on herself with her knees pulled to her chest. The flight attendant was nice enough to not ask to see her seatbelt, sensing that she was better left undisturbed.
The guilt started to eat Grayson alive as he watched her struggle, running a hand over her back and leaning over to hold onto her, looking to his brother for support. Ethan’s eyes were wide with concern but he was just as helpless, not even being able to reach a comforting hand across the aisle because of the flight attendants passing by. It only got worse as they began to move - Grayson couldn’t tell if she was shaking harder or if it was just the movement of the plane.
The only good sign he got was her reaching her hand out in search of his. When he laced his fingers with hers she squeezed so hard he knew his bones were moving in a way they weren’t meant to, but he didn’t dare pull away. Not when he was the cause of her being in so much distress. It put a pit in his stomach, a mixture of the urge to apologize over and over and the wish that he could somehow climb inside her mind and soothe her, make her believe that she would be alright.
So, he did the next best thing he could think of. As soon as they had taken off, which felt like it took hours, he reached to her waist and unclipped her seatbelt.
“Come here.”
It took a moment for her to process, but once she understood Indy didn’t hesitate to climb over into his lap, curling up so small that she fit comfortably there in the wide first class seat, head tucked into the nook of his neck as he wrapped her up in his arms.
“You’re okay, I’m right here. I’ve got you.”
“I’m sorry, fuck I’m sorry,” she squeaked. If anyone else in first class heard it, they elected to ignore it. “It’s not usually this bad.”
“Shhhh, don’t. Just close your eyes. We’ll be there before you know it, okay?”
She reached a hand up to his neck, tucking it in against his skin under his sweatshirt as an anchor before she closed her eyes. She wrestled with her mind, trying to override with a focus on what she was physically feeling - his warm skin under her fingertips, the roughness of his beard against her forehead, the change of the song in her headphone. Her other ear was pressed against his chest and she tried to listen for his heartbeat, getting sidetracked when his hand moved her hoodie up barely so he could get underneath to her skin. One finger began to trace.
I-M-S-O-R-R-Y
She shook her head, tilting up to press her nose against him. It was her that should be apologizing, she thought. She hadn’t warned him properly of what to expect. That being said, it was true that she hadn’t had such a bad experience in a while - it only clicked then that it probably had to do with the fact that Grayson was on the plane too. If it crashed and she died, so would he, and the thought of it made her want to hurl. Instead, she clung to him tighter, forming letters by his collarbone with her fingertip.
N-O-T-Y-O-U-R-F-A-U-L-T
He pressed a kiss to her forehead, leaving his lips there for a moment before he shifted and rested his cheek on top of her head.
S-T-I-L-L-S-O-R-R-Y
She nuzzled closer to him.
I-L-O-V-E-Y-O-U
Against her hip, she felt four gentle squeezes, a silent I love you too as they continued through the sky.
--------------------------
“Jesus. It’s hot. Like, hot hot.”
“Ethan. It’s Cali. Of course it’s fucking hot.”
“Yeah, but it’s not natural for it to be this hot in fucking October. Anywhere.”
Indy listened to their bickering quietly, catching her breath a little more with each mile she put between her and the airport. It was just her leg bouncing now as she sipped on her gingerale - it had appeared on her tray table at some point in the flight and she hadn’t been able to stomach it until she made it out of the airport and into Ethan’s tesla, which was driven by Adele, a sweet woman with a kind smile and soft voice.
Grayson sat in the backseat with her, still on alert for any sign that she was anxious, hand resting on her thigh. But he breathed easier as he watched her body finally begin to accept that she was on the ground, and by the time they pulled up to the gate she was almost back to her normal self.
She enjoyed the feeling of her feet on the hard concrete of the driveway when she got out of the car, feeling a bit like a celebrity when the door swung open over her head. Grayson grabbed the bags and was immediately at her side, taking her hand and leading her up to the door. It wasn’t the first time that Indy had seen the inside of the house - she’d gotten glimpses of it on a few vlogs that they’d watched with Bekah one night. But there was a warmth to the space that didn’t quite read on camera, a familiarity that she realized was traces of Grayson everywhere, from the Cudi vinyls on the shelf to the wood based furniture that he’d definitely had a hand in making.
“I’m going to get Eden, I’ll be back in… I don’t know how long,” Ethan winked, immediately grabbing his keys and heading back out to the still warm Tesla, leaving his bag off the side of the kitchen.
“You up for a tour?”
If she was honest, her body was entirely exhausted, and her mind wasn’t far behind. But she perked up for his sake and nodded, taking his hand as he started to guide her through the house. He stopped in each room, showing off little details he’d helped pick out, from the colorful couch in the sunken room off the kitchen to the floating desk in Ethan’s room that he’d helped him install. The podcast studio was the most eclectic of any of them, with a massive wooden table that almost seemed carved around the blue light in the middle - not to mention the hot pink wall of the entrance, which was cut off by a wild jungle wallpaper wall that stretched from one end of the house to the other. Grayson spoke a mile a minute, explaining every step, every change they had made to the house since they’d bought it. Indy’s mind struggled to keep up, to visualize what he was saying, describing rooms she’d never seen.
“Ethan got the master this time around, so my room is a little smaller, but it’s cooler anyways.”
He guided her into a dark room on the right side of the hallway. It was somehow calmer than the rest of the house, and it practically zapped the rest of the energy out of her as soon as she passed the threshold. He showed her the green bathroom, the fancy toilet he’d picked out, his massive and meticulously organized closet. But when she flopped down onto the bed, she knew she was done for.
Grayson smiled when she hummed against the comforter - the first true sign of relaxation she’d shown since he’d picked her up from campus that morning.
“You tired bubs?”
“No,” she lied.
“You wanna take a nap?”
“No.”
“Your eyes are closed.”
“I’m resting, I just need like… 30 seconds.”
“You can sleep.”
“You were gonna show me the backyard though.”
She felt the bed dip down slightly, and then his lips were on her temple.
“The backyard will be there when you wake up. Besides, I need to get some work done anyways, and you’ve had a shitshow of a morning. Sleep, and maybe we can go get dinner with E squared later if you’re up for it, and I’ll take you to the beach.”
“E squared?” She muttered, only half motivated to stay awake for the answer.
“Ethan and Eden. They’ll be back over in a few hours I’m sure, he’s saving us from having to listen to their reunion fuck through the walls.”
“How considerate.” Her voice was muffled in the pillow, and it made Grayson smile. He moved to his closet, opening the extra drawer he used to store his blankets and pulling one out for her.
She vaguely felt the weight of the fabric being laid over her, and a gentle hum that sounded like ‘I love you’ before her body finally gave in and succumbed to sleep.
As soon as he knew she was out, Grayson got to work on all the things that he’d neglected in the last month. He made quick work of a full email inbox, a few calls that he stepped out of the room for, a Wakeheart campaign approval that he forwarded to Ethan - something about being back in LA lit the fire under him that always seemed to simmer out in the cool Jersey air. It took less thought, less intention to go into his kitchen, use his preset on the coffee machine with his favorite mug under it. Jersey was home, but LA was home, and he never realized how much he loved it until he was away for a while. His phone buzzed, loud against the counter - a text from Ethan running across his screensaver of the only picture he’d taken with Indy so far. He made a mental note to take more over the next few days before he opened the message.
Be there in 10, make sure everyone has pants on
He liked the message and stood up slowly, closing his laptop before heading back towards his room. He paused in the doorway, unable to help himself as he looked in.
Indiana was sprawled out across his bed, one of her legs escaping from under the covers. The pillow was tucked under her head, held by one arm while the other reached out to the empty side of the bed, hand splayed out on the fabric. With his phone already in his hand he couldn’t help but to snap a quick picture of her, a sweet memory that he knew he’d want to keep. He felt a little guilty having to wake her up from what seemed like such a peaceful nap, but he also knew she’d be made if he didn’t give her a chance to freshen up before Eden got there. So he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her temple, rubbing along her back until her eyes blinked opened.
“Time to get up sleepyhead,” he teased, keeping his hand on her hip as she rolled over and stretched out in the most adorable way.
“Hmmmm, c’mere,” she grinned, reaching up for him and pulling his lips down to hers. The little cat nap seemed to be the recovery her body needed, a reset that allowed her mind to focus on other things, like how good Grayson looked in the fresh t-shirt that he’d changed into while she was out. He indulged her, moving a knee onto the bed so he could get above her and get behind the kiss.
“Ethan’s gonna be here in 10,” he murmured, but his lips still moved against hers, his relief palpable that she seemed to be doing better.
“Then we have 9.”
“Eden’s coming too.”
She pulled back with wide eyes, and before he could say another word she was rolling out from underneath him. It took her two whole rolls to get to the other side of the bed, which was almost as endearing to Grayson as the way she scurried to her bag in the closet, immediately pulling out clothes like her life depended on it.
“Baby, it’s just Eden.”
“No, it’s Ethan’s girlfriend Eden. Which means she’s not just Eden, it means she’s very important.”
“Important? You act like this is a job interview or something.”
“It’s a girlfriend interview, which is worse.”
“A what?” He struggled to stay focused on her answer as she pulled her leggings off and wiggled into a pair of high waisted black jean shorts as she spoke.
“When you have a woman in your life, a good woman, who isn’t your girlfriend, they go into protective mode. It’s a maternal thing I think, but it doesn’t matter who it is, they keep an eye out for you. And the biggest threat that those women can see for their guy friend is a new girlfriend. It doesn’t mean she’s gonna hate me, but she’s definitely gonna want to vet me at the least. And I bet it’s worse because I’ll be around Ethan so much so she’ll want to be extra careful. Plus, she doesn’t know me from adam, and...hey. Hey. Are you listening to me?”
At some point in the middle of her explanation she’d taken her shirt off, and Grayson’s mind had gone a bit fuzzy at the sight of her bra - dark purple, with a peek of lace under the cups.
“Yeah, yeah sorry. Eden’s nice though, she’s sweet, there’s nothing to be scared of.”
She turned to him with a frustrated frown that he kissed away when he closed the distance between them, hands moving to hold her bare hips. Her skin was soft and still had a trace of warmth from sleep, and it made him hold on and rub his thumbs against her for a moment, trying to process that she was actually there with him.
“If you say so.”
“I do say so, and besides, her opinion of you isn’t going to change my opinion of you.” He kissed her forehead quickly and let go so she could get ready. She pulled a tank top on and headed into the bathroom, freshening up until the moment that she heard the front door open, signally Ethan and Eden’s arrival.
“Do I look okay?”
“Perfect as always,” he beamed, taking her hand and leading her back out towards the kitchen.
“Grayson!”
Eden came running around the island and barrelled into Grayson like she hadn’t seen him in years. He caught her with a smile, a laugh and a ‘hey evil’, an inside joke that Indy wasn’t let in on. She didn’t have time to dwell on it though, because she was immediately wrapped up in tan arms, her vision obscured by a curtain of wavy black hair.
“Hi! I’m Eden, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Hey, Indiana, nice to meet you too!”
The hug was as awkward as any first hug she’d ever had, but the smile on the boy’s faces made it worth it when Indy pulled back. Ethan was glowing in the way you only glow after you get laid for the first time in a long time, and he’d apparently worked up an appetite, because they didn’t spend more than five minutes in the house before they were headed out to Monty’s. Indy still tried to open the Tesla door like a normal one, barely stepping back in time when it lifted up above her head. To her surprise, Eden jumped into the backseat beside her, forcing Grayson up to the passenger seat next to Ethan.
“So, you’re in school right? To be a nurse?”
“A doctor actually, but yeah, I graduate in a little over a month with my Bachelor’s,” Indy explained, preparing herself for the questions she was sure to get, being careful to be truthful in her answers without accidentally saying something that would make Eden hate her. Ethan’s girlfriend had a sweet face, peppered in freckles that almost looked faded in her warm toned skin. Her eyes sat large on her face, making her look a bit like a doe. But her outfit told a different story - everything about it spoke confidence and bad bitch energy in a way that Indiana was only used to seeing on LA model’s instagrams. It hit her quickly that it was very much possible that Eden might actually be an LA model, and the thought made her mouth run dry.
“What do you do?”
“I’m a graphic designer.”
“Oh really? That’s amazing! What kind of work do you do?”
Eden launched into her career, from how she got there to what major brands she’d worked for - some of which shocked Indy. Grayson reached back behind his seat a few minutes into the drive, holding onto her leg and running his thumb along her skin as he balanced listening to his brother and listening to the girls. The energy settled in the cab, and Indy breathed out a sigh of relief at the realization that, for now at least, she’d passed the test.
It didn’t stop the questions though. A constant stream of information grabs, from her favorite things about New York to her family. Grayson squeezed tight when Eden mentioned her mom, throwing Ethan an unjustified look of annoyance. Indiana didn’t mind, though she didn’t love the look of pity that came over Eden’s face when she let her know that she had passed. But it moved on quickly, on to questions of her apartment, her college, her friends.
The only pause came when the Tesla rolled to a stop outside of Monty’s, which was packed with a long line outside. Eden let out a small sigh, reaching down for her purse.
“Usual, guys?”
They both nodded, a bit of unspoken tension growing in the air.
“Indiana, you wanna come with? The boys can just circle around.”
“I uh… yeah, yeah sure.” Indy went along with it, stepping out of the car quickly, trying to look back at Grayson through the window for some explanation, but they were so tinted that she couldn’t even guess what his facial expression was. Eden linked their arms quickly, leading her down the sidewalk and to the back of the line as if nothing had happened. Indy watched Ethan pull away quickly, and swore she could see a very concerned Grayson through the windshield.
“It makes it easier if they don’t have to get out. Too many people, and with a line this long the paps would show up.”
Two brunette girls in front of them turned around, interest piqued.
“Paps? For who?”
“No one, mind your damn business,” Eden said, waiting until they turned around to melt back into her usual friendly demeanor.
“I didn’t even think about that. About like, getting recognized I guess. But it happened in New York for the first time this morning, on campus.”
“LA is the worst for it. People see you take a picture with someone and then ask for one even if they don’t know who they are. Well, most people our age know who they are actually, but still. It’s not as bad in other places, just the occasional person. Et-” she cut herself off, knowing the girls were still eavesdropping. “He loves meeting fans but it gets to be a lot sometimes. So I try to help him out when I can. They’ll never ask for it, but they never turn it down either.”
Indy swallowed hard. She said it so casually, as if it was totally normal for the two of them to be standing there while their boyfriends drove around just so they didn’t get mobbed. She felt like a million pairs of eyes were on her as they inched forward in line every few moments. Eden just looked at her nails, picking at her cuticles.
“Does it ever get… normal? Them being recognized?”
“You learn to ignore it. And they don’t go out as much as you think. We’ll go out to show you around because you’ve never been here, but most of the time they’re home bodies. They kinda had to be, coming out here so young.”
“I can’t imagine coming out here at 15,” Indy mumbled, shaking her head.
“They’ve been through a lot. But then again so have you. So has everyone, at the end of the day.”
She was taken aback by the sudden depth of the conversation, but it didn’t last long, because soon they were close enough to the menu that Indy was asking questions. The Tesla circled again while they waited on the food, which came in little brown boxes stuffed into a bag. The girls waited on the curb for Ethan to pull back around, climbing in as inconspicuously as they could, getting settled into the backseat again.
“Got the goods?”
“You know it,” she grinned. Grayson reached back for Indiana again - he’d missed her in the few minutes that they were gone, and he didn’t realize he’d been anxious until it faded when she was back with him.
“We’re going to the secret beach, it’ll be like 10 minutes, so don’t eat all my fries.”
“I bought us all an extra to share.”
“Atta’ girl,” Ethan said, pressing on the gas a bit harder.
The secret beach, it turned out, was just a less populated one. But it was peaceful, washed pink by the beginnings of a sunset over the ocean. Grayson couldn’t tell if he was more overwhelmed by the colors in the sky or the feeling of finally having his own girl with him, someone’s hand to hold as he moved down the sand beside his brother and Eden. It had been almost a year of him being a third wheel, and he couldn’t stop looking over at Indy, his girl, who was there with him.
Her eyes were on the ocean. Sure, she’d seen the atlantic ocean plenty of times, but the pacific was different. It seemed bigger somehow, bluer, and it took her breath away. Food forgotten, she tugged on Grayson’s hand, only pausing to kick off her shoes before she was running down towards the water, laughing when the froth of the waves tickled her toes. Grayson’s shoes were soaked, but he didn’t care as he followed her down the coastline, laughing and yelling, picking her up around the waist and spinning her around, stopping to kiss her hard as the waves crashed. Ethan took a video on Grayson’s phone, a proud smile on his face as he watched his brother light up. Eden rested her head on his shoulder, remembering the days where that was the two of them, when everything was brand new and on fire.
The duo’s burgers were cold by the time they made it back up the beach, and Ethan had already started in on Grayson’s fries, much to his dismay. But they settled in the sand and ate their food, falling back into the group conversation between bites and swallows.
“So, you’ve been in LA for what, 5 hours now? Are you sold yet?” Ethan picked up another fry from the extra container, dropping it into his mouth.
“It’s gonna take a lot more to sell me on anywhere this far west,” she laughed, crumpling up the paper that her burger was wrapped in and tossing it into the box.
“Has Grayson made you a Jersey girl already?” Eden teased.
“It’s grown on me for sure, but nowhere compares to New York.”
Grayson chewed his last fry a bit slower.
“Yeah? Ethan took me into the city once when we were visiting Jersey but I don’t know much about it if I’m honest. I grew up in Texas.”
“The city is special once you get to know it. There’s so many different people, different cultures, new places to go. And it’s got all the best hospitals, which just makes me work harder because I want to work in one some day. Plus it uh… it’s just always been home to me. I can’t imagine living anywhere else really.”
Grayson’s stomach tightened, suddenly very full of food and smaller than when he’d started eating. They’d never really discussed living situations. He racked his brain, tried to remember if he ever mentioned that he was only staying in Jersey until the tiny homes were done. Surely she realized that he was going to come back to LA. He couldn’t tell if he’d subconsciously thought that she would want to move with him, or if he just assumed that they would handle the distance. But his mind was instantly filled with the image of Indy curled in on herself in a first class seat, and he resisted the urge to get up and walk it off as the guilt returned. The sun seemed to set faster, turning the beach indigo as everyone got up and headed back for the car.
Ethan took an extra moment to fold up the picnic blanket they’d brought, letting the girls get just out of earshot.
“Don’t do that.”
“What?”
“Don’t go all doomsday on this shit and shoot yourself in the foot. Cross the distance bridge when you get to it. You all haven’t been together a month yet, if you start talking moving across the country she’s gonna freak. Give it time.”
Most of the time, Grayson despised Ethan’s big brother persona - 20 minutes wasn’t a flex when it came to maturity in his book. But in certain moments, he was grateful for his level head. It helped him breathe a little easier as he headed back to the car, happy to see that Eden had shifted to the front seat. He took the back, a bit annoyed at the space between their seats - another perk of his Porsche, no doubt. But he settled for resting a hand on Indy’s thigh and leaning over for the occasional kiss as they found their way home.
Each couple bid their goodnights despite the early hour, a silent understanding of the do not disturb courtesy to be followed. Indy and Gray bumped hips as they brushed their teeth in the same sink, toothpaste filled smiles shining at each other in the mirror. They fell into each other like they’d done it a million times, even though they could still count on two hands the amount of times they’d had each other like this. It didn’t matter that they were in a new place. Grayson felt the same above her, beside her, behind her as they worked each other up and eased each other down. Their voices echoed off the walls the same, the attempt to stay quiet still there as they tried to give the other couple the same respect that they were no doubt trying to give them.
The travel caught up with Indy first - she was much less versed in time changes after all, and she fell asleep right after her quick shower, curled up in Grayson’s arms, his nose full of her vanilla shampoo and his mind racing, running laps around two words. New York.
He felt like he heard more about the city in his next few days than he did when he was actually there. They facetimed Bekah the next morning, glad to see that she’d made it out of surgery successfully, and that all was smooth sailing so far. She was ecstatic that her two friends we’re getting a break, and she excitedly showed them the new view of the city she had since her recovery room was on the other side of the hospital.
Indy wore a New York sweatshirt that evening when they went back to the secret beach, and she fell asleep with it on on the couch at home, leaned back against Grayson’s chest. He carried her to bed and kissed her forehead, but his eyes focused on the letters, which seemed to be staring at him in the dark.
They ordered pizza for lunch the next day, after an anxiety filled morning of Eden and Indy in a follow car behind the two of them longboarding with their friends. Eden asked about what made NYC pizza so much better, and it seemed like Indy could have talked for hours about crust and sauce, seasoning and ratios.
By the third day, it was consuming his every thought, and despite Ethan’s advice to let it play out, he knew he had to talk to her, or at least try to.
Indy was none the wiser. The LA sun had warmed her skin and her mind, leaving little lines of its presence on both. By the second day the house felt less like a hotel and more like a home, and she understood why the boys loved it so much. Eden became more than an acquaintance; she was easy to love, and the interview seemed to have stopped for the most part. But a part of her still itched for her New York apartment, the bustle of the city, the familiarity of campus and Jets and the blocks that she walked down.
She thought she’d hidden it well, but she learned she was mistaken on the last night they spent in LA.
“You’re ready to leave, aren’t you?”
Indy perked up from where she had settled on his chest. It was routine now, for her to rest against him and trace patterns on his skin before they dozed off.
“Hmm?”
“You’re tracing N-Y-C on my chest. You want to go home.”
“Home sounds nice, the plane ride doesn’t though,” she laughed a bit. Laughing was good. Calm, and put together. “Guess it’s just my subconscious.”
Grayson sighed against her, running his fingers over her back as he looked up at the ceiling.
“I didn’t realize you were so attached.”
“To what?”
“To the city.”
“Oh. Well, yeah. I mean, it’s home.”
“Home can be multiple places. LA is home, Jersey is home, hell, even Australia is home for me in a way.”
Indy’s neck got tired from craning up at him, so she shifted up to sit with her legs criss cross as he lounged back against the pillows.
“Well, I’ve never really had to make anywhere else home. New York has everything I need I guess.”
“You’ve never wanted to try somewhere else?”
Indy sighed, finally understanding.
“Gray, baby, it’s not like I hate it here. I know it’s important to you, and it should be. I’m just saying that New York is… well, it’s New York. It’s important to me, it’s where I’ve planned out my future.”
He sat up further, propping up on his elbow, resting a hand on her knee.
“What does that mean though? ‘New York is New York’. I mean, it’s a cool city, I’ll give you that, but it’s not just that, right?”
It took a moment for Indy to find her words. She’d never really tried to explain it to anyone, but if anyone would get it, it was him.
“It’s my mom.”
Grayson’s face fell immediately, and he opened his mouth, but she kept talking before he could.
“I know she’s not there. She’s wherever she is, I guess. But she breathed New York Grayson. That’s the last place that I knew her while she was still her, and the last place that she knew me. My memories of her live in that city, and when I’m not there I feel like I’m even farther away from her. And I already feel like I’m forgetting little things, because it’s been 4 years now, and I can’t even tell what I can’t remember, and it’s scary.”
Her breath caught in her throat a bit at the realization of what she was saying, what she was admitting. She’d never spoken any of it, not even to Charlie.
“Leaving would feel like moving on and leaving her behind, and I can’t do that. I can’t.”
Her face fell into her hands, and when Grayson’s arms moved around her and pulled her close, she let him.
He held her there until her tears stopped, rocking her barely back and forth until the wave had passed. He thought of Sean, of where he was, and what he would say. And he did his best to take on the heart of his father, to be like the man he so admired - selfless, and good, and strong for others no matter what it cost him. He pressed a kiss to her hair before he spoke.
“No one is asking you to leave. I promise, I’ll never ask you to leave. I promise.”
#SURPRISE HEHE#mixtape#wowza I did not expect to finish this tonight#well#~this morning~ i suppose#please let me know what you think!!!#love you guys!#grayson dolan imagine#grayson dolan fanfic#grayson dolan fanfiction
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For the prompt thing: kaiba + yuugi + professionalism!
this was fun!! thanks to @dxmichelle for the retail stories. kaiba as a retail worker is like me when I was a retail worker because when i worked at a barnes and noble, i spent a LOT of time perfectly squaring the books. anyway all the kaibacorp adventure park castmembers get some fat fucking pay raise/benefit boosts after this
***
This was all Jounouchi’s fucking fault and Seto was never agreeing to any stupid fucking bets again. When did he become a good duelist, instead of just a lucky one? And he knew it, too, announcing his plans to win the Domino City Invitational with the kind of brash, easy confidence that was a front for nothing, a Roman wall around nothing, with nothing he needed to defend on the other side. As hard to read as a coloring book. Asshole.
“The gods have struck men down for less hubris than this,” Seto snapped, over a game of poker at Yuugi’s weekly game night. Mokuba had badgered him into attending after their return from the yearly strategic planning retreat with the board. You need to be around normal people! No more sharks in people suits!
“So what? You don’t believe in higher powers, Rich Boy.”
��“In my experience, a god and a higher power are two separate things."
“Oh, okay, Neeshee. Maybe you don’t believe in me, but you do believe in games,” Jounouchi said.
“Devastating insight,” Seto said. “And it’s Nietzsche.”
“Bless you. Don't be rude and sneeze into a tissue next time. Let’s make a bet. When I win the Invitational, you… pick up all my shifts at the Kame Game Shop for a week. I take home all the paychecks, but you do all the work. You know, bog-standard capitalism.”
Seto rolled his eyes. “When you lose, you give the jet a good wash and wax. Then you throw your deck and your Duel Disk into the river, and never duel again.”
“Deal. And I tell you what, Kaiba. One day we’re gonna meet across the field, and you’re going to lose, but it won’t even bother you, because you had just so much fun,” Jounouchi said, extending his hand across the table, with a savage grin.
“Don’t fucking threaten me,” Seto said, shaking his hand.
Asshole! Jounouchi stomped the competition with an ease Seto hadn’t seen since he was fourteen and unceremoniously sacking Inspector Haga at the Pan Pacific Final.
At least Yuugi gave him his own nametag, instead of making him wear Jounouchi’s: a plastic, turtle-shaped badge with a white space for his name. There was a line below it that said MY FAVORITE GAME IS... chess, Seto wrote in moodily, with the marker. Then he affixed it to his dark-green apron, neatly and precisely, just over his heart.
Yuugi nudged the curtain into the stock room aside, wearing a matching apron and smiling like he was trying very hard not to laugh.
“Ready to clock in - oh, no. This is the Kame Game Shop,” he said, reaching up to fix Seto’s name tag, tweaking it to sit slightly at an angle. “Perfect right angles are for squares.”
“A KaibaCorp Adventure Park castmember wouldn’t be caught dead with their nametag this sloppy,” Seto snapped.
“It’s not sloppy. It’s jaunty and playful,” Yuugi corrected. “Now, let’s review. You’re an engineering prodigy, so I’m sure you can handle the register. What do we do when a customer walks in?”
Seto sighed, hands bracing on his hips as his eyes rolled towards the ceiling. That asshole picked up five full days of double shifts.
“Welcome them when they walk in,” he said, as Yuugi nodded along. “Ask if they need any help. If they’re just browsing, leave them alone. Provide recommendations if they ask.”
“And?” Yuugi prompted, raising his eyebrows.
“Wrap and bag their purchases and thank them for wasting my fucking time.”
Yuugi reached up, pressing the tips of his index fingers into Seto’s cheeks. “No! Smile!”
Seto bared his teeth.
“Can’t believe people call you a bad sport,” Yuugi said. “Maybe just smize instead. Go! Clock in! Upsell your own Duel Disk!”
Seto let out a final dramatic huff, took the clipboard off its hook on the wall, and added his billion-dollar contract signature to the timesheet, below several rows of Jounouchi’s scrawl.
***
After four hours, Seto took his lunch break, an all-too-brief thirty minutes in the alley behind the Game Shop, leaning back with one foot propped against the wall, answering emails on his phone with all the speed and fury his thumbs could muster. It was high summer. Vines spilled over the wall on the other side of the alleyway, limp and vibrating with heat. Even the shade under the wall was warm.
The side door opened. He turned his head, preparing a choice little bon mot for Yuugi, and paused, his breath hitching in his chest with a wild regret, birdlike, startled suddenly out of hiding.
He stared at Sugoroku, privately cursing Jounouchi for the nth time for making the fucking bet, winning the fucking Invitational, and putting him here in this fucking alleyway, staring at Sugoroku. It was too late to go back inside. Sugoroku stared back, hoary-haired, stooped under the weight of his years. Even wizened, with skin like old, pale leather, the family resemblances were clear: the same big, warm eyes, the same bright smile, no less weakened for age.
He shuffled out the door, dragging a small garbage bag of recycling beside him.
“Open that up and drop this in, will you please? My back’s not what it used to be.”
“Yes,” Seto said, rapidly stooping to take the bag. Should he add sir? Yes, sir? He hadn’t said 'sir' to anyone in ten years. What was he supposed to say? Sorry. I was not myself. I was myself, but the worst version. It was the beta release of me and we have removed the bugs (the murder bugs) in advance of stable release. All remaining bugs are acceptable. We have added accurate legal and medical disclaimers to all our SolidVision and Virtual World products about how the sensory intensity of KaibaCorp proprietary holographic technology may exacerbate existing heart conditions. I am taking good care of her and I love her and she loves me. Who? Her. The dragon.
He dropped the bag into the recycling bin several steps away and turned around to face Sugoroku, summoning his resolve with an inhale, exhale, firm and deep.
“How’s your first day?” Sugoroku said.
“My company isn’t going down in flames without me,” Seto said. “Color me surprised.”
“How’s your first day here?”
“Enthralling. The adrenaline high of consumer retail is really just something else - ”
“Speak up, I can’t hear you over all that racket you’re making,” Sugoroku said. Seto paused, bewildered, mouth half-open - and shut it, color flaring across his face.
“Uh - fine,” he muttered. “It’s fine. I helped an eight-year-old pick out a board game.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. She came in with all the allowance she’d saved up and she wanted something she could play with her sister. I sold her on mancala."
"That's a classic. Not a board game, but a classic. And hard to sell to children."
Seto scoffed. "I hate the crap they pass off as board games these days, with all the… fiddly, little plastic pieces and the arcane rules. Children get drawn in by the colors, but they don't have patience for the rules, so it ends up forgotten at the bottom of a bookshelf somewhere with half the pieces sucked up in the vacuum cleaner. Mancala is simple. You can play it with a patch of dirt and a handful of gravel. But if you want to win, you need to play with skill and wit. It's timeless. It’s elegant."
"Well, you've sold me. I haven’t played mancala in years. Shall we play tomorrow? During your lunch break?"
Seto said nothing, resisting the urge to bite his lip, a bad habit and a sign of nervousness.
“Yuugi speaks very highly of you, you know,” Sugoroku said. “I’d love to know why.”
He chuckled and shuffled back inside, leaving Seto fuming with an odd, stomach-clenching embarrassment.
He checked his phone. Three more minutes left of his lunch break, and his feet were aching. He should’ve worn different shoes, not the Chelsea boots. Tomorrow. Mancala? Damn Jounouchi to hell. Better shoes.
***
“Excuse me,” the woman said. “Do you have Legendary Heroes II?”
Seto abandoned his task of aligning board game boxes at perfect right angles. Fuck jaunty and playful.
“No. That’s not out until December,” he said. The production issues on Legendary Heroes II were a fucking nightmare, and the thought of making his game developers crunch - making them miserable, overworked, and more likely to quit and get snapped up by Schroeder Corp - gave him hives. So he’d pushed release back to December, allowing the small hit to his stock under the rationale that the holiday retail season would make up for it. But she didn’t need to know that.
“But - it’s my son’s birthday next Saturday, and Legendary Heroes is his favorite game,” she said, hands clenching loosely by her stomach, a gesture of pleading.
“I’m delighted to hear it. It does not change the fact that the game literally does not exist,” Seto said.
“Can you just check in the back? He’s been asking about this for months now,” she said, and Seto clicked his teeth, face slipping into a snarl - from the corner of his eye, he saw Yuugi, watching him.
Smile, he mouthed, and pressed his fingers into his own cheeks, putting on a manic, plastic grin.
“Of course. I’ll be right back,” Seto said, smiling, and stormed away. As expected, he did not find Legendary Heroes II in the stock room. He dawdled, checking his email, firing off a few replies, advising Mokuba on the right way to handle the zesty temperament of their general counsel - this’ll be fun, Mokuba said, I get to run KaibaCorp without you, like, dying or something - WHAT? - and stashed his phone back into his apron pocket.
“My apologies,” he said, returning to the woman. “We don’t have it in stock. If you’d like to pre-order it, it’ll be available just in time for Christmas. Just log on to the KaibaCorp website and enter the Kame Game Shop as your pick-up location. If you’re still looking for a birthday gift, I strongly suggest the new Duel Disk. The design is much better for children than the old one - lighter and more streamlined, with less intense haptics. If he already has a Duel Disk, he can bring that in for a trade-in.”
“Oh, perfect!” she said. “We'll do that. Thank you. You’ve been so helpful.”
“You’re welcome. Have a fantastic day,” Seto said, still smiling. He watched her leave and returned to his board game boxes, feeling hideously, fabulously smug. A customer walked in, carrying a bare Duel Disk under his arm, and Seto shot him a cheerful welcome. The man ignored him, heading straight to Yuugi at the counter.
***
Yuugi swallowed, squared his shoulders, and lifted his chin.
"I'm sorry. We cannot accept a Duel Disk return without a box or a receipt," he said. Clearly stolen.
"But I bought it here two weeks ago. And the stupid piece of shit is defective," the man said. "I want my money back!"
Loud enough that Seto, re-stocking towards the front of the store, turned towards them, with open curiosity.
"What's the nature of the defect?" Yuugi said.
"It just doesn't fucking work. I don't know what else to tell you," the guy said. "Are you gonna do the return or not?!"
His least favorite type of customer: smashing reason apart with the baseball bat of belligerence. Yuugi steeled himself for the inevitable slew of insults.
"Sir. I can't do the return without a receipt - "
A hand came down on his shoulder, pulling him with polite insistence out of the way. Seto, with a canny, feline smile, the kind that foretold bloodshed on the dueling field.
"Oh no, Yuugi," he said. "Let me handle this."
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The Meaning of Home, Chapter 3
The Meaning of Home Chapter 3
Tags for all Welcome to PHU novels will be available at the PHU tag list on Pillowfort. This list is under construction as of Sept. 5, 2021.
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“You could have mentioned.” Pawel fills a bowl with chili from the slow cooker, then adds a scoop of spiced chicken and cheese, and tops it with sour cream. He hands it to his dad and points to the table. “There’s salad, too.”
“More meat, Dad,” Conor says, handing him his bowl. “Beans are weird. They have a really strange texture.”
“They’re also good for you.” Pawel doesn’t skimp on his son’s bowl; he’s seen just how much his kid can pack away. “And you need to eat salad, too.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Conor mutters. He slides into one of the chairs at the tiny round table that sits between the kitchenette and living room. When all three of them sit down, there’s barely room to move. Pawel’s afraid he’s going to take a bite and end up elbowing his father in the nose.
Still, it’s good to have real food with them, and know that both of them are eating something healthy.
Pawel sits back a bit from the table so he doesn’t knock knees, and holds his own bowl in his hands. The chili isn’t as spicy as he usually makes it at home, but that’s probably better for his father’s stomach anyway.
“Could’ve mentioned what?” Dad asks.
He sounds so innocent.
“That the guy who takes in fosters and happens to work with you is Leo Papa. As in my ex-boyfriend Leo,” Pawel says dryly. “We bumped into him and Emma and another one of his fosters—”
“Jennie,” Conor supplies.
“—At the grocery store,” Pawel finishes, as if Conor hadn’t interrupted. “And oh, funny thing.” He glares at Dad, who blinks back at him, calmly eating. “Turns out Leo’s married to Colt Harrison. My other high school ex.”
“Emma’s dads are the guys you dated in high school?” Conor asks. “They’re really cool. Why didn’t you keep dating them?”
“Leo graduated and left. Colt and I went to different schools. I met your mom.” There’s a lot more to each of those stories, but Pawel doesn’t want to get into the details right here and now. He’s not sure he wants to talk about the drama of his teen life with his son in general.
Conor already knows enough of the details, like the fact that he was born while Pawel was still in school.
“Colt’s really calmed down,” Dad muses. “He used to have a lot of attitude when he was a kid. I remember when you first started dating him, and he’d look down at our house. He thought everything should be served up on a silver platter. Being a dad’s taught him a lot more about reality than anything else did, I think.”
“Are you telling me he doesn’t drive a Porsche anymore?”
Dad barks out a low laugh. “Where would he put five kids in a Porsche? They’ve got practical cars. Although if they take in any more kids, they’ll need one of those big vans, or a miniature bus.”
“Emma wants Dad to find her parents, so she can go home,” Conor reminds them. “She says she’s not staying. I’ll be sad when she goes, though. And her house is fun. It’s kind of chaotic. I mean, Duke’s quiet—he doesn’t talk at all—but Matt’s always saying stuff, and he keeps changing into different animals. And Duke and Matt fight, even if Duke doesn’t yell. He still seems to get his point across, and then he chases Matt, and yeah, it gets messy. You met Jennie—she’s cool, for a little kid, but she’s always eating. Nevaeh’s really pretty. She’s learning how to drive.”
Conor shovels food into his mouth, a spoonful between every sentence. His spoon clatters back into a mostly empty bowl, a few beans lingering in the bottom. “Can I go call Alan? We’re going to game tonight. I got my homework done while you were cooking.”
“Salad,” Dad reminds him, and Pawel’s thankful for the backup, even if Dad himself hasn’t taken any yet.
Conor puts just enough lettuce and vegetables into his bowl to satisfy the requirement, and finishes it quickly. He drops his spoon on the table. “Gonna go call Alan. Bye!”
The place is small enough that even though the door to the guest room bangs as it bounces closed, then open again, Pawel can still clearly hear Conor shouting a hello to Alan.
“How the hell do they have five kids?” Pawel can’t imagine trying to wrangle more than one.
“There are two of them. There’s a better adult to kid ratio, plus you know Leo’s family helps out.” Dad pulls the salad towards him, heaping his bowl full. “That’s what family does, and you know it. Ours is just smaller than most.”
Him, his dad, and Conor. Yeah. It’s a pretty small family.
Which reminds him, he should probably tell his dad about Chelsea.
Dad points his fork at him. “I’ll agree, though, I didn’t see it coming,” he continues. Pawel stays silent; Chelsea can wait if Dad’s going to tell him more about what the hell’s been going on while he was absent. “Leo and Colt were good together; have been since they first met. But when Leo came in and said he needed a few days off to go pick up a foster kid—almost four years ago, now—it was a hell of a surprise. Matt had a tough time of it, too. His parents gave him up, put him right into the foster system because he’d Emerged as Clan. If Lucy hadn’t gotten him out….” Dad trails off, shaking his head.
“Leo said something about Lucy and Rowan,” Pawel says slowly. “I have two students whose parents are in a triad, and two of those parents are Lucy and Rowan. I’ve spent time with their family in Vermont.”
“Likely the same,” Dad says. “Lucy’s a teacher, and she keeps an eye out for Talented kids who might slip through the cracks otherwise. Apparently she’s been doing it since before the Emergence; it’s just easier now. She’s got a network of teachers, and one of them knows Colt, and that’s how it all came together. Matt did so well with them that when Lucy found out about a thirteen-year-old girl who’d run away from her family with her baby sister, she brought them straight to Leo and Colt, too. Rowan’s a lawyer, and he’s the one who works to make sure the kids are safe, and aren’t going to end up back in bad places. Nevaeh and Jennie’s parents didn’t want a little girl who sparkled all the time, and they were a danger to her, so they were declared unfit.”
“Conor thinks they’ll adopt them. Since Jennie’s grown up with them.” Pawel’s still trying to assimilate it, putting “parents” into the same box as “ex-boyfriends” in his brain. He still sees them both as the awkward teenagers they used to be.
Colt would say he has never been awkward.
He might even be right.
“They’ve thought about it. I think Colt’s looked into it, but even with the parents out of the picture as they are, they’re still alive, so adoption becomes a tricky thing.” Dad picks up his empty bowl along with Conor’s and takes them over to the sink.
Pawel uses the freedom to stretch his legs under the small table. He’s barely eaten anything yet, so he starts working his way through his chili, letting his mind spin.
He should get in touch with Lucy and Rowan. They’ve talked before, more than once actually. Maybe it’d be good to let them know he’s aware of their efforts. That he knows Leo and Colt.
No, not like that. That makes it sound like he knows them better than he does. Until he ran into Leo in the store, he hadn’t seen him in more than a decade. It hasn’t been quite as long for Colt, but close enough.
Still. This sounds like something he should offer help with. Even if he can’t foster, he can help with Lucy’s ability to network down in Unity. He’s sure she could use that, and well, he owes her family for all the help they’ve given in the last year.
He scoops up the last mouthful of chili. That’s decided then. He’ll give them a call later. Or text them. Reach out, anyway.
“Bring me your bowl.” Dad waits until Pawel brings his dishes over before he adds quietly, “Never did figure out if you ended things on good or bad terms, but I know you moped about both of them enough to figure they weren’t easy breakups. They’re both doing well now. They’re good for each other. Leo’s a valuable part of my force, and Colt’s a voice to be reckoned with in the courtroom. They fight for Talented folks to be safe. So if you’re thinking of somehow getting in the middle of this….”
Dad’s voice trails off and he gives Pawel a look.
Pawel has no idea what Dad’s thinking. “Get in the middle of… no. What? I was just going to reach out and offer to be a liaison in Unity, if Lucy and Rowan don’t already have one. And thank them for all the help they’ve given us. And maybe talk to Colt and Leo about whether I can help Emma out. Since apparently people disappearing has become my specialty.”
Dad huffs and turns away. “Fine. Just don’t go making any trouble for them. They’re good folk.”
“I won’t. I’m just going to—” Pawel gestures at the couch, but that’s not really helpful for getting any distance or privacy. “Actually. Why don’t you go put your feet up. I’ll finish the clean up.”
“You cooked.” The protest is half-hearted.
“And I was home all day, so I can clean, too.” Maybe being home support is a good way to thank his dad for everything he’s done. It’s something Pawel can do, anyway.
The TV goes on loud enough that Pawel can hear it clearly over the running water. Pawel takes a moment to tap out a quick message to send to Lucy.
Heard you help find foster homes for Talented kids in need. My son’s met a few of the kids you placed in my home town. If you ever need a contact in Unity, I’d be happy to help.
He leaves his phone face up on the counter.
He’s up to his elbows in suds, scrubbing the inside of the slow cooker, when his phone buzzes. He glances over to see a response from Lucy.
I’ve actually got folks in Unity and Valiant, but that doesn’t mean we can’t talk. I already know you’ve got a vested interest in keeping Talented kids safe, and a larger network means more help. Just like we’ve been telling you with our family in Burlington: lean on people when you need them.
Even people who barely know him are giving him advice.
He lets the screen fade; he’ll reply later when his hands aren’t soaking wet. Instead he finishes filling up the small dishwasher and gets it started. As soon as the rumbling begins, Dad turns up the volume on the TV so he can hear over the rattling of the dishwasher.
It’s just too much noise for Pawel. He makes his way to the guest room, knocking on the half-open door before he nudges it wide enough to step inside. Conor waves a hand, and Pawel takes that as meaning close the door, so he does.
“What are you playing?” Pawel looks at the screen, but all he sees is Alan, who waves at him.
“We haven’t started playing yet.” Conor’s voice is too loud, his headphones still covering his ears. Pawel taps at them, and Conor removes them and switches the sound to the speakers. “We’ve just been talking. Alan was telling me about all the things happening at home. I really like my class and my teacher here, but I really miss home. Except for Marjorie. I don’t really miss her.”
“But you miss me,” Alan says, grinning. “Hi, Mister Szczek.”
They’ve known each other long enough that Polish names, along with the random few words Conor knows and has shared, roll off Alan’s lips like he’s part of the family. Well, he and Conor are schoolyard married, so maybe he is part of the family.
“Hi, Alan. Actually, I’ve got a question for you both.” Pawel sits down on the bed next to Conor, leaning in so he’ll be on camera. “I picked up tickets for SongFest out in Buffalo this weekend. I was thinking you could join us if you boys want.”
“You got us tickets for SongFest? Do I get to see Rory and Thorne on stage? What about that girl? Trish? Is she doing music there, too? You changed your mind! You said I was too young for concerts.” Conor bounces on the bed enough that the laptop wobbles. Pawel reaches out to stabilize it as Alan laughs.
“You’re too young for clubs,” Pawel says. “And this is going to be a long day, out in the hot sun, assuming it doesn’t rain on Saturday. But I figured we could give it a try, and since it’s outside, the music won’t be quite as bad on your ears. You already don’t listen to half of what I say.”
“Mom says my dad and me have selective hearing,” Alan volunteers.
“She’s not wrong. Sometimes it’s better to just not listen. Can’t get in trouble if you don’t hear it,” Conor agrees. His gaze slides sideways, as if he forgot Pawel is sitting there. “Soooooooo,” he draws the word out before his gaze locks back on Alan on the screen. “Can you go with us?”
“We’d be driving out on Friday,” Pawel clarifies. “The actual festival is in Buffalo on Saturday, and it goes late. We’d have a hotel for both nights, and come back on Sunday.”
The smile falls away as Alan shakes his head. “I can’t this weekend. It’s my cousin’s birthday next week, and we’re doing a big family thing this weekend in Boston. She’s my aunt’s miracle baby, and we always get the whole family together to celebrate her. She’s three this year. She’s my oldest aunt and my youngest cousin. I’m youngest, before her.”
Conor ducks his head. “Oh.” He pulls his blanket onto his lap, picking at the fuzz on it.
“We’ll have to find a different weekend for Alan to come out and visit then,” Pawel says firmly. The boys have been apart for two months, and that’s a long time in a nine-year-old’s life. “Then you can introduce Alan to Emma.”
“We’ve met.” Alan sounds cheerful about that. “She’s pretty cool. She and Conor call me sometimes. I think she should come live with you guys when you come home.”
Conor makes a low scoffing noise. “She’s not like a stray dog. We can’t just keep her. She’s already got foster dads, and besides, my dad is going to find her parents. Then she’ll have to go wherever her home really is. Which will suck, because I really like hanging out with her, but it’ll make her happy, so that’s cool.”
“Yeah, that’s really cool you’re going to do that, Mister Szczek,” Alan echoes.
It’s very cool, right up until the moment Pawel thinks about how that means figuring out a plan, and then interacting with Leo and Colt to enact that plan.
“I’ll do my best.” Pawel touches Conor’s shoulder. “Why don’t you guys do your game for a bit. It’s a school night, so you still need to get to bed.”
Conor shakes his head, as if he can shake off the blues. Maybe it works, because he’s smiling when he reaches for his laptop. “Okay, Alan. Let’s do this.”
Pawel is clearly dismissed.
He exits the room, leaving the door propped just enough that he can hear the rumble of Conor talking as he puts his headphones back on, and nothing else. Dad’s half-asleep on the couch, watching a show through his eyelids, so Pawel sinks down there and joins him. As Dad snores softly, Pawel grabs the remote and stops the show. Dad can get back to it later, and he won’t notice Pawel channel surfing while he snoozes.
Time passes in a haze of snippets of comedy and drama. Pawel can’t seem to find anything he really wants to watch, and Dad has no opinions as he naps. Pawel keeps one eye on the time, and he’s just about to call out when he hears Conor yell, “Got to go! Bye!” The sound of the laptop closing is clear enough to make Pawel wince, but he knows that machine has put up with a lot from his son already.
Conor emerges a few minutes later, already in his pajamas. He heads straight for the bathroom, and Pawel can hear the water running as he brushes his teeth and gets ready for bed. By the time Conor makes it into the living room, the noise has disturbed Dad, who sits upright and yawns.
“Bed,” Pawel says firmly, not entirely certain which one of them he’s talking to. Probably both.
“Goodnight son.” Dad squeezes Pawel’s shoulder as he stands. He reels Conor in for a long hug on his way by, then disappears into his own room.
Conor stands there, hands clasped behind his back, his lower lip drawn in between his teeth.
“You want something,” Pawel says.
“Since Alan can’t go and you said you already bought a ticket, can we bring Emma with us to the festival this weekend?” Conor blurts it all out in a rush, biting his lip again when he’s done. “I know you don’t know her really well yet, but she’s nice and we won’t be trouble and it would really be a lot of fun.”
If Pawel takes Emma all the way to Buffalo, he can’t see her foster parents letting her go alone.
Pawel slides his palm over his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. He hears the soft, defeated exhale from Conor.
“Okay,” Conor says softly. “I get it.”
“That’s not—” Pawel hesitates, peeking between his fingers at where his son stands there, waiting for an answer. “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll talk to her fathers. Foster fathers.” Even without Emma there to correct him, he corrects himself. He understands the importance of terminology. Sometimes you have to make sure you say things the right way. Words have power, even when you’re nine.
Words might even have more power over children. That’s why it’s important to acknowledge the ones they want to use.
Conor darts across the room, plowing into where Pawel is still on the couch for a flying, tackling hug. “Thanks, Dad. I love you. Can I tell Emma you’re going to ask? Should it be a surprise? When are you going to ask?”
So many questions.
So many complications to this one simple request.
Pawel wraps his arms around his son, choosing to just hold on for the moment. He pats Conor on the back, and Conor slowly disengages from the hug, bouncing on his toes as soon as he’s upright.
“I’ll talk to Leo and Colt,” Pawel promises. “But you need to give me time.”
“It’s already Tuesday,” Conor whines. “You said we’re going on Friday. That’s not a lot of time. Wait, what about school? Are you taking me out of school?”
“That’s one of the things I’ll need to talk to Leo and Colt about.” One thing among several. And this is coming out of the blue, after all these years of silence. Because of course Pawel’s son has managed to dump him into chaos. It’s what the Szczeks do.
“For now,” Pawel adds, “go to bed. Let me take care of the adult things, okay?”
“Okay. G’night, Dad!” Conor slams the door to his room behind him.
Pawel’s left on the couch—his bed for the summer—alone with his thoughts.
So. They’re taking Emma to the festival. He promised. If her foster fathers allow her to go.
There are so many ways in which this could get awkward.
It’s up to Pawel to take the first step, so he opens his phone and brings up a text to Leo’s number.
Okay. Dinner. When?
He presses send. There, that’s started. It’s in the hands of his exes now.
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Happy Halloween
Summary: Watching movies with your best friend leads to a surprise ending
A/N: I meant to post this for Halloween, but the weekend kind of got away from me. Since there were no trick or treats here, I didn’t have any candy for Halloween in the house and I wanted something sweet.....so I wrote a little fluff piece. Enjoy!
“What are you doing down here?” Dean asked from the doorway of the Dean Cave. You jumped a little at the sound of his voice and glanced back at him over your shoulder.
“Nothing.” You replied, trying to hide the candied popcorn in your lap. He chuckled as his eyes settled on the container of mixed chocolates on the small table set between the two recliners.
“I see.” He teased. “Hey, is that the Charlie Brown Halloween?” Dean asked, focusing on the TV.
“Yes.” You admitted. “It’s a Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. It’s kind of a tradition in my family and I didn’t want you guys to make fun of me for watching a cartoon.”
“I think you are forgetting who you are talking to.” Dean reminded you, walking into the room and settling down in the other chair. “You’ve seen me watch Snobby Doo and who knows what else.”
You chuckled as you rolled your eyes a little. “That’s fair.” You told him, handing the popcorn out so he could take a handful.
You met the Winchesters at The Roadhouse and it wasn’t long after that you started hunting with them on and off. Through the years, the three of you had been through a lot together and Dean had fast become your closest friend.
“This was always playing at the motels we stayed at as kids..” Dean said, gesturing to the TV and pulling you out of your memories. “Sam and I watched it every year, until I got more interested in Halloween parties. The more Sam found out about the life, the more he hated Halloween so …” Dean explained, shrugging his shoulders.
“Yeah, it does kind of lose its magic when you know what’s really going on out there.” You admitted. “Did you ever dress up and go trick or treating?”
“Sure, once or twice when I thought we could get away with it. We went as a couple of ghosts using the bed sheets one year.” He said, chuckling a little. “One year I swiped super hero costumes from the Halloween store, then Sam ended up breaking his arm jumping off the roof.”
“I think he told me about that one.”
“Yeah, I think that is the last time we did the whole costume thing.” Dean confessed. “I figured you would be watching scary movies for Halloween anyway.” He added, changing the subject.
“Nah, they are all on my laptop and I didn’t feel like watching them by myself.” You replied.
“I’ll watch them with you.” He said simply.
“Really? I thought you said they were boring. You never get scared watching them.”
“No, but you do.” He teased. “It’s kind of adorable to watch someone who is a fearless badass at fighting monsters get scared at those silly movies.”
“Thanks a lot.” You scoffed, a little embarrassed and threw a small handful of popcorn at him.
“Hey!” He shouted playfully, and you both started laughing. “So, what do you say?” He asked, picking up the popcorn and throwing a couple of pieces back at you.
“Alright, you’re on.” You answered. “My room in 20 min? I’m going to put this stuff back up in the kitchen.”
“You got it, but this candy is coming with me.” Dean replied, picking up the small container of chocolates and holding it close to his chest. You shook you head as he grinned and headed back down the hall.
When you walked into your room, Dean was already leaning against the headboard of your bed with the laptop set up next to him. You grinned and hopped up next to him and started the movie. You loved watching scary movies and often ended up leaning forward, completely tense during the scariest parts.
Half way through the movie, you jumped and you could hear Dean snickering quietly. You glared at him over your shoulder and playfully shoved his knee, but that only made him laugh harder. He reached out and pulled you back to him and wrapped an arm around you as you rested your head on his chest.
“I’m sorry. It’s just cute.” He teased, squeezing you harder when you tried to pull back, your cheeks turning red.
You moved away, but he moved with you and for a moment both of you froze, only inches apart. You didn’t know who moved first, or even what you were thinking, but your lips met his and suddenly everything changed. You felt his hand slide down your back and you leaned into him, kissing him deeper.
Dean pulled back, ducking his head and squeezing his eyes closed tight. He took a couple of deep breaths and you waited, afraid to even move. “I’m sorry. That shouldn’t have happened.” He said, trying to catch his breath.
“Maybe not.” You whispered. You had never thought of Dean as anything more than a friend, but now that you had, all you could think about was how every part of you wanted to be more. “But since it did….can we do it again?”
He glanced up at you, surprised. You simply raised an eyebrow at him and brushed your lips lightly against his. You stayed close, letting your fingers trace the outline of his jaw and looking up as his eyes danced.
“Are you sure about that?” He asked, studying your reaction. You smiled
“If you are.” You answered. “You’re my best friend. I don’t want you to do something you don’t want to…”
“Oh, I want to.” He replied, a mischievous smirk on his lips. “I just know it could really mess things up.”
“Not if we don’t let it.”
ToBeContinued......
**Thank you to @talesmaniac89 for the beautiful divider**
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Can you do a little text with your opinion about the Volturi members? What you like and dislike, they personality, they story... Would be interesting! Kissessss and have a great day! 💜
Imma have a little fun and throw the very young me into the mix to. Let's see child me vs adult me's opinions on the Volturiiii.
Fun fact: I wasn't team Volturi until I was like fifteen. Before that I was team edward... I don't want to talk about that 🤔😒
Also I'm a sucker for villains. If it isn't obvious already, I like the villains more than the heroes. (We all love a bad boy though, don't we?--- TIK TOK NOW IS NOT THE TIMEE.)
So everything i say is just my opinion and should be taken just as that.
Aro: Younger me was like "this...is a terrible person. There really is no need to expand on this." However adult me has been like "GUYS this guy is possibly the SCARIEST character. This man rips off heads AND SMILES ABOUT IT." He gives me child snatcher vibes (from the movies in particular). I thoroughly enjoy the power hungry persona. He's really fitting to be the puppeteer behind the Volturi. Even if he makes it seem it's a group effort with himself, Marcus and Caius. Realistically, Aro gets what he wants and isn't afraid to do what it takes to get it...sorry Didyme. What's even darker about it, WHICH I LOVE, is that he isn't heartless. Smeyer wrote that Aro genuinely loved his sister. It's all good to have a character that's a evil heartless monster but what's more terrifying to me is the ability for someone to do evil despite their love and emotions. It doesn't hold them back and that's what I find particularly frightening now that child me didn't comprehend. Micheal Sheen, from what I remember of his interview years ago, played on the idea that vampires of Aro's age kinda begin to lose their mind. Which, hell freaking yes. However there is one thing I hate for Aro's character that happened in the movies. Breaking dawn part 2. That fucking laugh. Don't get me wrong, hilarious. I can't not laugh but for his character I felt it was too 'hey hey I'm a crazy man hehe'. It was a but too much, even for an eccentric Aro. However, I'm not to mad at it because again, it was funny to watch. I thoroughly enjoy the ‘friendship’ Aro and Carlisle share and i love that it is ‘maintained’ throughout the books. I think it’s just a really nice detail. (I love lore. I am a sucker for it.) The one thing that didnt sit right with me is Aro marrying someone so that he wasnt the alone one whilst his co-leaders were very much in love? Was a little off for me but i suppose that just adds to the character.
Caius: child me would shrink into the seat because what did I do to this man? High key still think I wouldn't want to be Caius' child because imagine doing something wrong and you get that glare? No thank you! Scary angry man. As an adult... "He's an angry boi but...DAYUM WHY IS HE SUDDENLY SO HOT?" Just...don't get angry with me. You'll get annoying real quick and you're too pretty for that. I enjoy the taking-no-shit attitude he has but felt it could have been a little more prominent in BDP2 where Aro asks if Caius' is challenging him. I full believe Caius to an extend would be like "yes, yes I am. Don't be an idiot Aro. Use that braincell!" Which is why I adore the meme vibes I see every now and then of Caius hating Carlisle because why does Aro love that blonde so much? CAIUS HAS BEEN NOTHING BUT LOYAL-- Anyways, I can totally get why Aro wants him on his team. Caius is so angry and has so much hatred that he’s a good asset to the coven, even if not having a special ability.I do find it hard to imagine that Caius is a century older than Aro though. Although I cant picture him over forty years old lol. Although i do personally enjoy the whole Caius x Athenodora route. IT’S TRUE LOVE! Okay so maybe thats a little dramatic but its better than Aro’s lmao.
Marcus: movie Marcus is absolutely not nineteen years old and that's just a fact. If anything, he's the forty year old one lmao. Child me couldn't care about this man. He was the man who said nothing and slumped on a throne. That was Marcus. That was his character summed up. Then adult me rolled in and OMG NO DON'T DO THIS TO THIS SWEET MAN. LET HIM BE IN LOVE. As an adult i definitely became more attached. I feel like i was too young back then to get why Marcus was in the Volturi. He seemed very out of place and like a filler co-leader more than anything. However as i’ve gotten older (and written for him), I recognised that's the point. That’s Marcus’ evident grief. He isn’t there by choice and losing Didyme caused him to fall out of line with the coven. He’s lost point or purpose. Almost like its become meaningless because the love of his life was gone and he couldn't save her.So what was the aims of the Volturi to protect vampire kind when they couldn’t protect their own? He couldnt protect her. I had never heard of anything like bond identification and once i had- i was shook, like it became clear why he had been so necessary in the first place. That really is handy to understand everyones bonds in a coven, he could direct Chelsea and the two alone could destroy covens by bonds alone. Marcus makes the Volturi more realistic in a lot of ways. Like in a family, there is the happy times, goofy people like Felix, the twins representing a close bond. Afton and Chelsea, love that cant be divided. The list really goes on. Marcus represents love and heartbreak, pain, loss grief, the sad moments every family goes through. In that way he makes the coven seem less invincible, a group of people who at the end of the day, have their own weaknesses and immortality doesn’t mean a perfect existence. Especially when, in my opinion, Bella fantasized about immortality and how perfect it would be. Even after her change, she waited for her happy ending because that was somehow guaranteed in some level. Which in the end, she got but not everyone gets that happy ending we all want. I also personally think Marcus is the most feeling of the Volturi, despite being apathetic. A result of heartbreak. It’s shown he can still feel more in his own ways when he voted against Renesmee being destroyed. Furthermore, he advocated that vampire hybrids were a lot like vampires. He made that relation openly before anyone. Its almost as though losing Didyme helped him value a life?
Jane and Alec: Child me thought these two were badass...and that still remains in my adult life. It’s always been uncomfortable to me that someone so young is so sadistic and powerful. Jane is the older twin with the ability of pain illusion...yikes. Her ability was evident in her human life along with Alec’s. His gift is sensory deprivation and these two were my favourites in the whole Saga. Still kind of are if im honest. I thoroughly enjoy the twins backstory. It has the most detail. I have a tag for the twins. Canon!twins is the tag for the twins in their book age. Unless this tag is present, the twins have been aged up :). They are very much canon but I put a bit more emphasis on tantrums. If they get angry, they both have tantrums. So whilst (unless tagged) they aren't children they can be very childish and these tantrums are pretty deadly. They’re also very possessive? I dont even know if thats the right word i’m looking for in all honesty. Lets say they get very attached if they like you. These two are probably the most secluded out of the whole Volturi.
Felix: Felix! High ranking guard due to strength and speed. I am a major supporter of Felix being a gladiator when he was human. He as a lighter grey cloak meaning he isn’t as high ranked but is so good at what he does that he’s been kept for centuries...and a lot of them. Personality? FINALLY, WE’VE GOT ONE WITH PERSONALITY!! (Im writing these out of order and i’ve just finished a chunk of Volturi members who have personalities as invisible as Afton.) Flirtatious and Light hearted, we love flirtatious and light hearted! Basically a comedian! Helllll yes, keep it going! Extremely vicious and highly aggressive? You know what? I still like it. He wouldn’t be a Volturi without a dark side. Cold blooded murderer. Yes. 10/10. Finally, someone Smeyer seems to actually care about. He flirted with Bella a couple of times in the books and i was FOR IT ALL THE WAY. I was very sad i saw none of it in the movies but im used to heartbreak by now. Im in this fandom after all. We were robbed of a lot. Strongest vampire in the world? I believe you, he’s also a hecking treeeeee. HE DO BE A TALL BOI. He actually makes Demetri look small and that’s still hilarious to me. Demetri is actually tall. However, if it isnt obvious we clearly traded backstory for personality. I cant get both smh. So...as i said before I fully believe Felix was a gladiator back in the day, hence his physique and height and excellent fighting abilities he has even as a vampire but then it kind of ends. I will say from the dawn of time, i don’t think Felix is the most academic man, just because of his era. I also think majority of the Volturi couldn’t read of write in their human lives and had to learn much older, most learning as vampires. Felix was one of these vampires, Although even now he isnt the most great at it. Then a wonderful writer known as @wallwriterstuff included it and now it’s canon in my eyes. I fully believe Felix is a slow reader and writing isn’t his strong suit either. Wallwriter also includes the possibility that Felix could be dyslexic which im all for too. For a very long time i’ve considered writing a dyslexic reader with the Volturi but have always hesitated because i don’t have it and wouldn’t want to upset someone for any misunderstandings or inaccuracies. However what i will say is that i think vampires would be the most understanding to humans with dyslexia. Learning things like that in later development or as an adult is difficult and they wouldnt think any less of you for struggling with reading, writing, numeracy- you name it. You’ll probably find they’re with you in the struggle at least half of the time. He’s also the goofball of the Volturi, even though he’s not really a goofball in our eyes, he’s the closest to a goofball out of the whole Volturi ...Emmett beats him in the Goofball wars.
Demetri: Oh yeah, it's Demetri's turn! So Demetri was previously in Amun's coven. When Chelsea gave him the old razzle dazzle...I've said Chelsea's gift so many times at this point it's getting old. I have two characters left after Demetri 😂😂 Anyway, with that Demetri was like "welp, I'm in the Volturi now." And now that they had a better tracker the previous one was kicked out. He isn’t much of a talker, polite and formal. He’s elegant (more graceful than i could ever be) and charming...yeah he is, you can say that AGAIN. He is also very calm, when next to Felix, i think everyone is calm but you know, we’ll say he’s a very calm person. I like how he was originally in the Egyptian coven with Amun. Given Amun’s goals this a pretty nice detail. NOW LETS GO TO MY VERSION. He’s very charming, calm, polite, formal and even a lil’ but quiet, i kept him pretty canon because he actually had a description to go on :)))))))))) Moving on. Demetri can be a very successful flirt when he wants to be and does have a Casanova reputation. However beyond the charming Volturi guard who has a brutal side like the rest of them, he has a chewy centre, deep down. I added that he had a child in his human life, one he doesn’t remember and very few people know about. He remembers that they died of an illness very young (around six?) but can’t remember what they look like. For that reason he doesn’t like talking about his child, he feels awful he doesn’t remember them and the loss still hits a pang in his chest.
Heidi: Alright im ready for this one! Child me didn’t necessarily enjoy Heidi? I was rather passive about her. It was all ‘pretty vampire used for her looks’ in my eyes back then and i was never comfortable with that. I’ll get into my take on Heidi in a moment, roll on the backstory! So Heidi knew Victoria as they used to be coven mates and we’re going to continue on as though Heidi didn’t care when she was killed? Like...its genuinely a burning question in my mind! If she didn't care, could that show the extent of Chelsea’s power in action!? (can we tell im enthusiastic about this coven yet?) It’s quite smart to have someone lure in prey. I wont lie, Heidi has quite the badass role in the coven. I wouldn't have thought about that I reckon. I’ve always thought that showed a kind of superiority. Oh you guys need to hunt your prey? pfft, ours literally comes to us. Her backstory really starts with Heidi being mistreated in her human life...a common theme Smeyer has. It can get old- i wont lie but when i give it some thought it kind of makes sense. Rosalie said it herself in eclipse, if any one of them had their happy ending, they’d be six feet under but i’d love a little bit more creativity. I could go on about how male vampires ended up being changed in comparison to female vampires but i’ll swiftly move on because that’s a whole other thing alone. Heidi was changed out of pity. (Which kinda infuriates me just to type, a pity change? Really? Really Hilda? we’ll see why it annoys me when i explain my take on Heidi.) Heidi was happy in her coven with Hilda, Victoria etc, which is hell yes. We love that. This is around the time she discovered her gift. Vampires were attracted to her and humans fell prey to her easily. Yup okay. I’ll take that. After a newborn vampire caused ‘too much attention’ Aro spared Heidi and Chelsea used her gift on Heidi. Nice, very nice aaaaand that’s where it stops and im left hanging. Personality time with Smeyer! Lets goooo. From what i remember and can find- she didn’t fucking have one. Apparently being pretty is enough for everyone. Which in hindsight, fair enough on a human Bella’s perspective, its literally Heidi’s gift to lure you in no matter what. She could tell you she’s a serial killer (and technically is lmao) and is about to sell your kidneys on the black market as to which you’ll be like ‘sign me the fuck up, want my liver too? Here, let me lie on the table for you. I’m down.’ without even realising what just happened. But even beyond that...Heidi has no personality traits mentioned. In New Moon she appears to be a little flirty which im all for, why the hell not? But...thats it? Thats all I get? Then we get into fanfictions, because i read them growing up. Heidi was depicted as flirtatious, promiscuous and then it varied between manipulative or she wasnt very smart. Which i’m knocking absolutely no one for. I think you can get a badass character who is incredibly dumb. I think all characters are actually valid whether they’re a genius or flat out dumb. I love them all. However it never really sat with me. I was never quite satisfied which i was fine with until i started writing for myself. That’s when i knew i’d have to really think about what my version of Heidi would be or i’d never be happy with my work. That and you also begin to fill in the blanks? The more you write the more you flesh out a character for yourself and so that rolls into my version of Heidi! So for my Heidi, she often gets the same trope of ‘she’s pretty and rich, those types of girls have easy lives who always had everything given to them.’ Then when it’s discovered she didn’t have a good human life. It turns to the next assumption of ‘oh she’s pretty and stupid enough to be used and manipulated’. In a lot of ways, that’s what Heidi wants everyone to think. Underestimate her, please, its all the easier to manipulate you if you do. She’s actually very smart and her rough human life made her more tough and intelligent. She’s very manipulative and yes she’s very flirty. You can look but you cant touch! She enjoys the attention her beauty gets her but if only these people would care more about what she’s like as a person. She’s not a barbie doll she will play you if she needs to. The only one who’s actually gotten far enough to sleep with Heidi is Demetri and even then the two don’t see each other romantically. They’re good friends who thinks the other is very attractive but that's where it ends. They’re basically friends with benefits some times lmao. However, Demetri got that far because he see’s the intellect Heidi actually has and acknowledges it. He thinks shes a queen who should be treated as such. She could take anything she wanted, a storm that people can only hope to survive in one piece. Secretly she enjoys a family setting. Whilst she never really wanted children (especially when she was expected to when human), she couldn't help but melt inside seeing little human children with their loving parents. She wants that for all children. Whether that's because she lacked such affection growing up, no one knows. She’s also a really good friend, you bet she’ll have your back. Crappy ex? Well we’ll show them, wont we (Y/N)? She’ll be a bitch and enjoy every second of it. She also loves the single life, believe it or not, you’ll have more difficulty getting Heidi to settle down than you would Demetri which speaks volumes. So yeah, move past her gift and really get to know her and you might have a very good friend. I also don’t see Heidi having a preference between male or females and that’s in all honesty. Times have changed and if she is attracted to another female then she wont be ashamed of it. She never has been (Demetri was the first to figure that out, Felix may be the last.) Even when the times weren’t approving of different sexualities, she didn't care. She will flirt with you and find it ridiculously cute if you get flustered.
Sulpicia: Sulpicia was an orphan which i used to develop my own version of her. Sulpicia grew to love Aro which im on the fence about but yup, i’ll take it. You’ll see what happens with my version in a bit lmao. and that’s where it stops. I get no personality again but do you know what we do in this fandom? We create one and fill in the blanks baby! So i write Sulpicia very materialistic and vain, she’s most snobbish of the wives and due to the other two, also considered the meaner one. She didnt have such things as a child being an orphan so when she got the opportunity to have it-she jumped. She isnt easily impressed and married Aro not for love but for immortality, money and status. (He’s only married you for your money, princess Jasmine! HE ONLY MARRIED YOU FOR YOUR MONEY! Damn it tik tok, but make it princess Aro) Which works well, because Aro doesnt necessarily love her either, he just wanted a mate so he wasnt the odd one out.He literally created her because he was like “Yup, you’ll do.” The two recognised they made a great team and image so they kinda grew to love each other? A little bit? Sure we’ll say its love...sorta. ANYWAY, It’s a highlight to Sulpicia being locked in that tower where she doesnt need to see Aro every little moment, it’s better than having a husband who she’d need to see everyday. ...Yeah my Sulpicia is something else lmao.
Athenodora: Athenodora is one of the oldest vampires in existence which kinda has me shook but I'll take it. She met Caius when he was fleeing from the Romanians, the two travelled together until they met Aro. Whilst on their nomadic travels they seemingly became mates. That's all we know about that. As to which the Volturi coven was made. Athenodora is completely loyal to Caius as well as highly dependent on him and I think that's very realistic given her circumstances. That's where their story ends...maybe for Smeyer but not for me! 😁 So I picture Caius and Athenodora being different sides of the same coin. Athenodora really mellows Caius, she is no where near is violent and sadistic as he is but due to her unwavering loyalty and dependency, she doesn't feel inclination to go against him...also because of Chelsea and Corin but I've said that so many times in this post I think we get the point. I think she's actually more gentle and soft spoken but that being said. She is very reserved and if she were to be angered she'd very much change. She could cut you down with words alone. Caius loves it. However beyond this is someone who is very maternal. Caius would appreciate it more if the two had children but instead it has created empathy. Caius doesn't want that when he can rip their head off. She struggles a little more with the 'no second chances' and that's another reason why Caius keeps her locked away and away from it. These two love each other more than words can describe. After being through so much with someone, the love can only grow. The two would happily risk their life for the other. Caius is saddened that he could never give her the family she wanted. He knows that to this day, Athenodora tries to reign in that side of her. He's a very supportive husband who's very different around his wife. He's much more tolerant, and angry. Simply more at ease. If anything happened to Athenodora, to put it simply...there would be hell to pay.
Didyme: Married to Marcus and Aro’s biological sister. Cute, me likely, keepy going. Her gift was happiness induction. VERY ADORABLE- Dont be as menacing as your brother...please. She was born several years after Aro and was changed by Aro ten and a half years after he was turned. (Dont tease me with all this lore Smeyer, I know what you’re gonna do) Aro was deeply disappointed her gift was just to make people happy- its okay Didyme, we love you. Aro is just...Aro. Her gift made many fall in love with her and its so freaking cute i CANT- but she only felt the same feelings for Marcus. MY HEART IS SO WARMMMM. Unfortunately they were so happy together that they lost interest in anything Volturi and were ready to leave. (Uh oh.) Aro, being the sneaky fellow he is, was like “I’m really happy for y’all of course you can leave. I love you my babies. My best friend and my sisterrrrrrr, I am the captain of this SHIP.” but was actually like “wait, no, no, no, not my Marcus. D-D-Did-Didyme I NEED him.” Think Sid the Sloth from ice age in the first movie when Sid really wants the baby. So this man is like...gonna have to do it to em and murder. He killed Didyme secretly (dunno how he pulled the secret part off- like i know how he did it but how did no one hear or see anything or even suspect anything IT WAS LITERAL FRIENDLY FIRE but we love the drama so continue.) Ironically enough she was very close with Aro and the two actually did love each other, Aro is just...murderous apparently, to the extent that even his sister isnt safe. And that’s it. That’s Didyme. Which im like...alright Smeyer i see you. I like this and expanded on this with my Didyme. i get the vibes that Didyme is the most innocent and kind of all the Volturi. Losing her meant losing the consciousness within the Volturi making them all the more ruthless because there was no one to say. “Guys, maybe lets rethink this? and quickly because i cant get Caius to put down the torch thats currently on fire.” Losing Didyme made Marcus mostly become passive and would rarely stop anything that happened. I often wonder if that provoked a lot of guilt for Marcus later on. (However thats a spoiler for something im currently writing...;) ) I also think of her as a major daydreamer and the most soft, gentle person anyone will ever meet. Like its difficult not to like her despite being in the Volturi, even the Romanians would have struggled if they met her. So in the long run...i hate nothing about Didyme, only find more and more love lmao.
Corin: So im going to be honest and tell you i have no idea what Corin would look like. I’ve got nothing and when i was younger i wasnt even sure if Corin was male or female. Like a lot of these names, i had never heard of the name ‘Corin’. I dont write for her as of yet because im still trying to figure her out. I think she’s quite quiet, she lets her gift do most of the work for her in keeping the wives, Chelsea and Caius when he doesnt get to go on a rampage, content. She was brought in also after Didyme died but Marcus refused her gift.That’s all i’ve got for her. Her gift is amazing, pretty underrated in my personal opinion since like Chelsea, she really helps keep the Volturi unified but other than that, I dont have much to say about her. :(
Afton: Another character i basically filled the blanks in for myself. So what we’re told is that he’s Chelsea’s mate and has the ability to disappear . Whilst thats a pretty cool trick...the volturi dont necessarily need it but they have to keep Chelsea happy and she demands that Afton stays so welcome to the family Afton! I also recently learned that if you hide behind Afton and he goes invisible infront of an opponent, you too will also be invisible. I figure that is until the opponent moves and basically changes their perspective but i could be wrong with that last part. That’s all we get so time for my unnecessary input! SO AFTON IS A TOTAL SWEETHEART. He’s very shy but polite. This is a complete opposite to his mate Chelsea. It’s actually what she liked about him. At first is was just be flirtatious to the shy vampire but when she actually got to know him... she fell hard. It was also Chelsea who had made the first move since Afton was so shy. Of course she’d never say so and Afton would never want to embarrass her so that was never really disclosed to anyone who wasn’t around at that time. She brings Afton out of his shell a lot and it wasn’t long before the two were mates. Chelsea is the light of his life. Hands down. He puts up with a lot for her and is happy to do so. She could ask anything of him and he’d do it and she doesn’t even need to use her gift. He buys are anything she wants almost instantly. He cant help but adore her passionate personality, like how hooked she can get on era’s such as the 1920′s, her love for jazz music and her ability to gush on and on about anything. The two had what the other lacked and that made them an excellent team. I love their relationship. I cant help it. However, as i said before Afton is very shy and tends to keep to himself. Sadly that, paired with Chelsea’s demand to keep him in the Volturi has left Afton a little bit outcasted. All the other permanent guards were wanted and considered important whilst Afton...not so much. Although that isn’t to say the other guards are mean to him or anything. They aren’t! (Except the twins who are...the twins.) Felix and Demetri tried to include him a lot but it was very difficult to break him out of his shell. That doesn’t mean to say they wont invite Afton when he’s around. Chelsea always appreciates their efforts. Afton is notably good friends with Santiago, who often preferred solitude as well.
(Guard to the left is who I imagine Afton is)
Chelsea: So supposedly Chelsea’s original name is Charmion? When i was younger i didnt really care much about her. I only really knew her gift and that she was the reason Afton was kept in the Volturi, since they were mates. From what im aware Chelsea basically wasnt in the movies/not identified. There wasnt much said about her in the books either. So since then i’ve kind of developed my own persona of Chelsea that could be completely inaccurate to canon but canon was my foundations with characters like these. She was always a red head in my eyes with ringlets, a copper kind of red head. I also pictured her to be small. However the newest addition to her character would have to be the mid-Atlantic accent. I blame Poppy Hill for this one. That character screamed Chelsea to me. She was very close to how i imagine Chelsea to be. So now Chelsea has an accent that i have no clue how she managed to maintain being in Italy so long and being born in Greece. LMAO. We’ll say she was very attached to that time. However, I think the time she joined the Volturi was actually very good for the story. She first came around just after Marcus had lost Didyme and Aro had her use her ability to keep Marcus in the coven. it’s really cool how she could really make or break the coven. Although, Aro was smart enough to not fully rely on her, using Corin’s ability on Chelsea to make sure she’d be happy and stay within the Volturi. Thats where the information on Chelsea really ends Over the years Chelsea has appeared in my writing and so beyond this point, Chelsea’s character is only my depiction. I figure Chelsea is a talker, like she can talk her way in and out of situations with ease. She enjoys being manipulated and even more so, being needed.Much like her gift, she gets under people’s skin- not in terms that she’s annoying but more so she can figure out people very well. Her mate is the complete opposite and so she often speaks on the behalf of them. Chelsea is very social and charismatic. She along with Heidi are the only two Volturi members who will be out and interacting with humans if necessary. Heidi for her ability but Chelsea purely for her social skills. She’s also the most interested in human culture. She loves the parties- the 1920′s being her favourite era in terms of fashion. She has no issue changing her name and has done so multiple times when the names run out of fashion.It’s like playing dress up! I’d actually love to write more about her. I’ve really grown to love her character, even if i filled in some blanks for myself. I think she and Afton’s relationship is one of the best, up there with Carlisle and Esme- despite the two being very different. It’s a part of their dynamic!
(I always imagined Chelsea to be a red head but Poppy Hill from THOHH is a very close depiction to Chelsea in my eyes)
Renata: A stressed little bean that lives on stress. I remember thinking when i was younger she was the big threat since she was Aro’s shield but now that im older i see...a stressed little five foot bean. I have no idea what she looks like but always imagine her dark hair tied in a tight bun, looking almost painful. Another who wears heels, like Heidi but she is very rigid just as she has been described. Her uncle is a bit of an ass considering he begged her to go with the Volturi so there wouldn’t be a threat. Dude, can you not just...hand over your niece? At least hesitate! Just like that, thanks to Chelsea, she’d give her life to protect Aro and...I have nothing else. Yes it does drive me mad that there are two named guards i know next to nothing about.
Santiago:So what’s known about Santiago is that he doesn’t actually have an ability. He’s just very good at battle techniques and fighting which is why he’s kept around. If they need fighters, they’re top three are Felix, Demetri and Santiago...in that order. Santiago is also much faster than a regular vampire (as shown in breaking dawn part 2- he caught up to Jacob and Renesmee quite fast despite the two having a running start and wolves supposedly being very fast- much like a vampire) That’s all we know of him so then i got in there and this is how I write Santiago. I gave him the background of coming from a superstitious family. Like he would be told tales of demons and witches growing up as well as things like voodoo. He knew an awful lot of urban legends and whilst he stopped believing in the bad luck his family taught him, he still held interest and couldn’t help the instinct of unease when witnessing such things as rituals. It’s ironic really. However Santiago always deems that humans have it all wrong. These forces are beyond human understanding and shouldn’t be played with. In that way, perhaps Santiago still has some belief in things such as superstition. He’s very secretive about it and would never clarify it for you. Santiago keeps to himself and can be quite standoffish. He can also be blunt even if it’s insulting- he doesn’t tend to care. Although he and Afton became quite good friends since the Afton was an outcast and Santiago didn’t enjoy large groups, or most people in general.
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⭐star⭐
okay bear with me because i’m typing this on my phone and that is an instant recipe for a mess 🥴
i’m typically super indecisive but there’s one fic i’ve been dying to talk about for months and it finally came out this week but i still want to talk about it—
so spoilers for feeling borrowed, always blue below
writing this fic was a roller coaster of emotions, much like the story itself. i don’t think i’ve ever cried this much writing anything— so yeah it is validating and reassuring when people tell me they cried too shsjks
i also wrote it over the course of three months: july - october, which is the longest i’ve worked on a project since my first fic which was an ongoing wip which i wrote/posted over six months. and then after those three months, i had another almost three months to let it sit and even get the chance to self-edit it which i’ve never done before sghjkss. i think this was definitely a big project and having that extra time to tackle it really helped.
the biggest struggle i faced was figuring out how to resolve everything - as you know if you’ve read it, louis was stuck in a seemingly impossible situation and for the longest time, i wasn’t quite sure how i was going to get him out of it. in the end, it was really rather simple. i remember talking to my dear friend who also beta-read this for me, chelsea, about how i was getting closer to the climax and still didn’t know what to do and we were talking about contracts and movies we’d seen with similar elements and i was thinking about how my original plan: dean cheating, isn’t necessarily enough for them to dissolve the entire contract... but then i got to thinking about what was most important to the cartiers. what made them put on this whole charade in the first place, and that’s, of course: reputation. after that, everything sort of fell into place. i kept thinking: what if there was something more hazardous to their reputation about louis marrying dean? what if louis and dean threatened to become public image nightmares? what if, what if, what if -
writing that scene when louis went to dean’s was arguably the hardest scene to write from the entire fic but i literally could not stop writing it. i started in the evening and literally had to drag myself away from the laptop to eat dinner because i didn’t want to break the trance i had fallen into trying to figure out the best way to have the scene unfold. i was also conflicted on whether or not to show the scene where they went to the cartiers but in the end i chose to gloss over it because it’d just be a lot of reiterating or what louis already told dean and it was completely unnecessary. i also decided to add that small bit about louis talking about how he went into design and later used it as a distraction/clutch after harry broke up with him because having those two explosive scenes back to back was just *too* intense and i needed to diffuse some of the tension. i’m pretty satisfied with how the whole sequence played out, legal inaccuracies beside.
other than that scene, this fic has two of my top five (and tbh, three) favorite scenes i’ve ever written: the scene where harry comes to louis’ flat confess and then the scene where louis goes to harry’s flat to break the news. writing both of those scenes involved a whole lot of tears and breaks in which i frantically paced my room and tried to get ahold of myself :’( but i’m so proud of how both of them turned out :’) evoking emotion in the reader was definitely the biggest goal for this fic and i really do think i accomplished it.
also a note on the smut scene: pretty sure this is also the first time since my first fic that i didn’t have to tag “d/s undertones,” or something akin to it because this was genuinely the most romantic/sappiest smut i’ve ever written and yes i cried my way through writing it. there was really no other choice - both louis and harry were so relieved and happy to be where they were at that point and there was nothing else they could do but make sweet love. there was plenty of flowery paragraphs and metaphors and winded prose to help meet the atmosphere i was going for and i had a list of three words i wanted to exhibit which were: awe, bliss, and joy. i think that succeeded too :’)
as for implementing those VOWS: aka the sappiest part!! i was just thinking about how harry knows how much louis wants to get married and have his dream wedding and how this whole fiasco completely turned the whole concept around - he wanted louis to know that the disaster wasn’t the real deal. that one day he really would get married to someone he loves and have the wedding of his dreams and that hopefully he’d be that someone. it was a promise, i suppose.
okay epilogue time! there was really only one choice for the epilogue in my mind and that was obviously louis’ actual wedding to harry :’) i wanted to show that he truly did get what he wanted in the end and everything he deserved and obviously i had to introduce nora too! i wasn’t sure how much of the wedding i’d show but then i realized when i got to louis peeking out to where harry was standing at the altar that the best decision was not showing the actual ceremony. the whole concept of a “wedding” was the biggest theme of the story - the crux, if you will - and the whole story was about fighting for love and being strong and getting to that damn wedding (the real one, not the fake one <3) and in the end, the physical wedding itself didn’t matter because louis had reached the metaphorical wedding -- does that even make sense? anyways, the only way to end the fic for me was with that last line of him stepping into the first act. that whole running analogy of him acting in play was a big theme throughout the fic (especially in the second chapter) so it seemed fitting to bring it back one last time.
and as harry from there’s nothing like it (nothing at all) would say: the end is just the beginning. louis’ story is far from over; he stepped into the first act of the next chapter/play/whatever of his life when he walked down that aisle and i was very proud <3
and now, here’s a few of my personal favorite lines because yes i have favorite lines from every fic and i never get to talk about them:
In a month he’ll be married, yet he’s still sleeping alone.
-
Harry’s eyes close and he exhales, head tipped back as if he’s been listening to the most beautiful symphony. “Say it again,” he says roughly.
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“I’m always a fool when it comes to you.”
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“You are my entire heart, Louis.”
-
The love singing through Louis’ body right now is the kind of feeling they write ballads about - the kind of feeling people would kill or die just to experience even once. He can feel it vibrating in every single cell, bleeding from his heart into his arteries and veins and overtaking his mind and soul.
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A garden filled with flowers, yes, but also filled with the most important people in both of their lives: a garden of love.*
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Steady as flowers, steady as lavender, steady as a Tomlinson - or, a Tomlinson-Styles, he supposes.
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Louis steps forward and into the first act.
* just want to quickly say that family was another big theme of this fic and not just family by definition but family as in those who care about you and love you unconditionally. family as in his friends, as in the baby in his stomach, as in Harry. family is what makes it all worth it in the end :’)
OKAY i’m definitely forgetting some but those are just some bits that make me feel happy even though i’m the one who wrote them.
this is already rambling on so long but it was so much fun to do so thank you for whoever submitted!
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what are your absolute fav queen fics/queen writers? i feel like i’ve read everything://
I got you bby, sorry it took me like. a week to reply? I started making a list but got distracted and started reading and rereading stuff… but I got you. ya girl reads a lot of fanfic. so here’s a list - as comprehensive as I could get off the top of my head - of a bunch of queen writers I love and my fave works of theirs in no particular order. I’m sure I forgot a bunch of ppl I love; make sure you check my fic rec tag for all recs!! I highly recommend every fic I reblog tbh (and you can tag search for specific pairings and stuff). for now, here are some of my faves:
@rogersben - nadia is one of the most talented writers I’ve ever encountered in and out of this fandom and I kinda wanna adopt her. perfect characterizations, v hot smut, heart wrenching angst, she does it all. pretty sure break up with your girlfriend is her magnum opus. also check out what a display and literally everything else she’s written. masterlist
@blindboytaylor - izzy and bella are a writing dream team; their individual series are both amazing and give me all of the feels and I highly recommend. Landslide is only on chapter two but it’s already v engrossing and so interesting and cool, much like the writers. masterlist
@supersonicfreddie - Just Fun was one of the first series I got really involved with on here. It’s angsty and lovely and perfect and has amazing side characters and a particularly fantastic reader. all of catherine’s writing is lovely and perfect, really. masterlist
@istheresomebodywhocanimagine - READ TOMORROW NEVER CAME. it’s such an amazing and underrated series. shoutout to Bang a Gong/Get It On and Death of a Bachelor. this blog has a very amazing, very long masterlist and I feel very blessed to be able to read their works tbh
@strangeandwonderfulconcepts - I’m a sucker for anything Chelsea writes tbh. READ. DRUMMING. LESSONS (if you haven’t already, which I kinda doubt?). also and they were roommates and also, I know ben isn’t queen, but I gotta include all of their ben x roger x reader. probably my favorite bxrxr out there. I don’t say that lightly. I take my ot3 very seriously. masterlist
@90sbrianmay (formerly theglowissodivine) - one of the first writers I ever followed and one of my favorites. made me fall for roger taylor. You Shook Me is an amazing series with a great reader. I Win and You’re Mine were a couple of my early favorites in the fandom and I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read them. Forbidden is one of the best pieces of smut I’ve ever read. masterlist
@angrylizardjacket - fun fact: first queen/borhap blog I ever followed! their and then there was light series is gorgeous and angsty, and again, I know you said queen, but their bxrxr is one of the absolute best out there. gets heartbreaking sometimes, which is harder to find for poly ships and I appreciate it. masterlist
@deacytits - I love all their stuff, but I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read their present day!Brian fic Savile Row, and all of their sugar daddy!John stuff in particular. masterlist
@brian-roger-deaky-and-fred - Oranges is probably my favorite John fic out there. both parts are. one of my favorite fics overall, really. also need to give a shoutout to In the “Not Friend” Way. please make sure you read more of their stuff though. masterlist
@ogrogerbattle - I’ve read peaches and pearls so many times it’s embarrassing. must-read. it’s amazing and hot and the way caty characterized roger was so sweet? read it and you’ll definitely wanna read caty’s whole masterlist
@sweet-ladyy - someone needs to shut me up about Matters of the Heart already, but it’s the best goddamn series I’ve ever read. blake’s a genius. make sure you’ve also checked out Stormtrooper in Stilettos and blake’s entire masterlist tbh
@rogerfckintaylor - the actual queen of all roger taylor smut. ellie’s very much responsible for my falling in love with roger. also, no one writes present day!Roger like her, so check out Fur Coat, Lingerie and her masterlist
@gwilymz - I didn’t know I needed sub!Brian before I found this person, but I did. I really did. please do yourself a favor and go read all of their sub!Brian blurbs and hcs from their blurb masterlist. then read Helter Skelter. then read everything else. then come over and thank me. you’re welcome. masterlist
@hystericalqueenstan - She Rescues Him Right Back. did you know you needed a Pretty Woman style roger one shot? cause I didn’t, but I’m so grateful it exists. make sure to check out their borhap stuff too if you’re interested; it’s really very amazing. masterlist
@rogershamsandwich - I’m mostly a fan of heather’s because of her borhap writing, but then today I read Dancing on My Own and it was so beautifully written and heartbreaking and it made me want a cigarette so I had to include it. make sure you check out her masterlist if you’re into borhap though
@zodiacal-dust-and-curls - T’s the kinda writer that’s very good at making you feel things. read It’s Late if you wanna get super sad, and kindly refer to T’s masterlist for all other emotions. take your pick, T’s got them all
@queens-n-roses - Polaroid was one of the first roger fics I read on here and I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read it. it was one of the big reasons I fell in love with roger taylor. thank you, Zoe. here’s her masterlist
@rogersbabyyy - another actual angel for making me fall in love with roger. enemies with benefits has wonderful banter and I’m a sucker for that trope, and I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read anatomy lessons. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything hotter tbh. masterlist
@redspecialty - everything, really, but huge shoutout to Dress. perfect, perfect, perfect friends to lovers. check out all of her masterlist though cause she’s amazing
@fruityfreddie - I still remember the feeling I got right after reading Angélique. it is so very beautifully written. the descriptions are so perfect istg I was tingling with anticipation by the end. I haven’t read part 2 yet, but I’m sure glad it exists and I can’t wait to catch up. masterlist
@heavymetallibrarian - highest recommendations are Cake and Bookstore, especially the latter. soft nerdy rockstar boyfriend roger is the only roger I care about, thank you very much. but make sure to check out their entire masterlist
anyways, big big thank you and so much love to all the Queen and BoRhap writers. I know the fandom’s been getting quieter lately; thank you all for working so hard and giving us so much content and keeping it alive. I’m a big fan of all of you and I hope you know how much we appreciate your works. and thanks for asking, anon, hope this helps you! I was as brief as I could. and let me know if you want BoRhap recs as well - this list could get twice as long!!
#this could have been so much longer i promise i tried to keep it short#long post#and i mean it check out my fic rec tag cause i read way too much fanfiction#i need to chill srsly
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Of Monsters and Men, and a Woman.
- I think I smell smoke. -
I wished we had seen a dialogue like this in season 11.
Many thanks to the more than helpful @chekcough and @unremarkable-house for volunteering as beta-readers and their valuable input.
Tagging @today-in-fic
“Oh, isn't this nice? A family reunion."
A cold, familiar voice suddenly filled the air and made Mulder and Scully look in the direction it was coming from. A figure appeared slowly from the shadows a weapon trained at them, showing them a smug smile.
"Spender," Mulder spat.
They had been trying to find an exit out of the huge, run-down and abandoned factory complex where they had found Jackson hiding from his pursuers. Initially, the boy hadn't been willing to let his birth parents interfere, insisting he could look out for himself, but eventually, he had called for Scully through the communication channel he had used before. He was still a teenager, only seventeen years old, traumatized and alone after the assassination of his adoptive parents. Of course, Scully and Mulder had rushed to their son's side, armed and more than ready to protect him from whoever wanted to harm him.
They hadn't expected their old foe to show up at the scene, though. Not after the enemies had been presenting themselves as Purlieu lately. But the agents should have known better, should have anticipated that this man was pulling the strings in the background and would make his appearance somewhere along the road. So, here he was: Carl Gerhard Busch, C.G.B. Spender, Cancer Man, the Cigarette Smoking Man...good God, if there was one person they could name as the evil incarnate, it would be him.
Spender's voice was sugar-sweet but full of dishonesty as always. "Hello, Fox. Dana. I see you have reunited with your offspring after having cut the ties so harshly when he was a baby. Congratulations. I'm happy for you." A disdainful sneer was spreading on his face, proof of his feeling of superiority. He pulled a trademark cigarette out of his pocket with his free hand, put it to his mouth, fished for a lighter in the same pocket, lit it, took a slow, deep draw, then calmly watched how the smoke was leaving his mouth. "The three of us haven't seen each other in a while." His eyes fell on Scully. He scrutinized her from head to toe, unable to conceal that he liked what he saw. "Dana, you look fabulous. What a great pleasure to see you again after all we've been through together."
Scully took a few steps backward, wrapping her arms around herself. "I can't say that I'm sharing the sentiment. If I had been given a choice, I wouldn't have gone through anything with you," she snapped.
Spender only smiled at the unfriendly retort as if he hadn't expected anything else from her. He hadn't been lying though, he was enjoying this immensely. He had been looking forward to this particular moment for a very long time and he was going to savor every minute of it.
"Why so rude, Agent Scully? I remember fondly the nice little road trip we took some years ago, the three days and nights we spent together, the gourmet dinner at a deluxe restaurant prepared by a renowned chef. I will certainly never forget how stunning you looked in the dress I gave you. The black one with those little straps and low neckline." His eyes fell on her chest. "I sincerely hope you let Agent Mulder see you in that dress."
"I burned it," Scully hissed. The knot deep within her tightened. Of course, she remembered the trip, but not with the same glee as the Smoking Man. She felt shame and embarrassment, even guilt when she thought of how naïve and imprudent she had been to follow him without telling Mulder. Not only had it left her with nothing but a blank CD-ROM and empty promises but also with a cracked partnership. It had taken them a while to repair their relationship, until Mulder was able to forgive her and Scully to forgive herself.
"What a pity. It was such an expensive dress. And it suited you so well. You were a feast for the eyes for everyone in the restaurant that night, Dana."
Spender let the words roll off his tongue with a delightful smile on his lips. Unabashedly, he ogled Scully's body, his eyes wandering slowly from her slender waist, across her chest, and up to her face. He looked into her eyes probingly before starting to walk around her, giving her the once over. When he took a luxurious draw on his cigarette, his eyes resting on her backside, Mulder had enough.
"Cut the crap, you sick bastard! What do you want?"
Spender kept his eyes on Scully for another beat, then turned around in exaggerated casualness, tsking and looking at Mulder with disapproval.
"Fox, that's not the way you should speak to your father."
A sour laugh escaped Mulder's throat. He shook his head and threw a side glance at Jackson. The boy had no idea of what was going on in front of him but watched the adults intently. His biological parents had a history with this threatening old man, but not a friendly one. The way they had been addressed by their first names instead of their customary way of calling each other by their last names had sounded like a mockery, not like a sign of familiarity or friendship.
Spender had his weapon pointed alternately at each of them and enjoyed his position of advantage. Scully had positioned herself in the line of fire in movements so small they were barely perceptible, sheltering Jackson off the weapon's potential trajectory. This, thankfully, had gone unnoticed by Spender but not by the boy, and it made him feel protected and cared for but also anxious. This man meant business, that much was clear.
"If you came here to satisfy your sick need of feeling more powerful than us, go ahead. Make fun of us, remember all the moments you held our lives in your hands, but leave our son out of it. Let him go." Scully's voice was strong and full of determination. If she was apprehensive, she did a hell of a job not showing it.
"Aaaw, mama bear is protecting her cub,” the Smoking Man snarled. “How sweet. You should have stood by your son during his childhood instead of giving him to two ignorant and completely overstrained people who'd never had the ability to protect him. Did you really believe it would be that easy to hide him?" He fell silent as if giving her time to answer, watching as Scully exchanged an anxious look with Mulder, he then chuckled. "I always knew where he was. I knew of his broken arm at the age of five, I attended his Little League games, watched him celebrate his first home run, and I know his childhood sweetheart's name was Chelsea."
"What the fuck?" Jackson cried out, shocked by what he was hearing. He had no idea who this man was and why he had such an interest in him. Before he could say any more, Scully took a few steps forward until the man's weapon almost touched her chest, shielding Jackson even more. Her back and shoulders were straightened and her chin was up, but her face had lost its color. She was pale and her voice was a bit shaky now.
"Ever heard of the Constitution, Spender? The 14th Amendment and the Right to Privacy?"
Her question was met by a laugh. Spender put his cigarette to his lips, drew with relish, then let the butt fall to the ground and stepped on it. The grinding noise of the sole of his shoe stubbing out the smoking butt on the floor reverberated through the place, grotesquely amplified by the high concrete walls surrounding them.
"Is that really meant to be a serious question, Agent Scully? You know as well as I do that the Constitution is nothing more but the democratic fig leaf for governmental institutions to pretend they let legitimacy and righteousness guide them. You and Agent Mulder also haven't always played by the book as far as I remember, so spare me your moral indignation."
"What is your interest in our son?” Scully asked. “Have you been afraid of losing your power over us, is that why you spied on his childhood? To use him as leverage over us after all?"
The Smoking Man shook his head and grinned. "Agent Scully, I've never lost my power over you. Have you forgotten the little something in your neck?"
Jackson didn't understand what this meant and why it was knocking the wind out of his birth mother. The man's words were clearly meant to provoke her, and it was working. She gasped and touched a spot at the back of her neck right at the bottom of her hairline. Jackson didn't know what that 'little something' was and what it had to do with anything, what he saw were Scully's trembling fingertips rubbing a spot on her neck as if it itched. The man definitely had succeeded in rendering her speechless.
Not so Mulder. He looked like he was regurgitating a dustball when he spoke and his voice sounded like a rabid dog's growl. "You son-of-a-bitch!"
"You have something to say, Agent Mulder? Fox?"
"Scully asked you a question. What's your interest in Jackson? Why are you here?"
Spender only hummed, pulled another cigarette out of his jacket and lit it. The package was empty now. He crumpled it up and let it fall to the ground next to the butt he had thrown there already. Jackson had to think of his mama who had taught him never to litter. Despite the tenseness of the situation and the much worse things this man was clearly capable of, this childish act of disrespect made the boy's blood rise. His birth parents were scared by this guy who was playing a game of cat-and-mouse with them, that much was obvious, and Jackson asked himself if they remembered that he had a biological advantage he could use to chase this unbearable chain smoker away.
"I told you at the very beginning that I was looking forward to a family reunion. Have you not listened? A father wants to see his son once in a while," Spender supplied.
"Bill Mulder was my father, you have never been a father to me."
"Well...son...genetics don't lie. A biological fact is a biological fact. You may call Bill Mulder whatever you want, all you got from him was his name. But that's another story. Anyway, I wasn't talking about you and me, Fox."
As the last words were leaving his mouth, Spender turned away from Mulder and laid his eyes on Jackson. The boy froze, every muscle of his body strained. Mulder and Scully looked at each other with slack expressions on their faces. The already strung up atmosphere was tensing up even more.
"Who were you talking about then?" Mulder hissed.
Of course, there were not that many other possibilities of who he could have been talking about. Although Mulder, Scully, and Jackson were anticipating an answer, they were also fearing it. It seemed like time was standing still. Somewhere in the factory there had to be a broken pipe because the constant dripping of water could be heard. It echoed through the deserted place, which was cold, dirty, and scarcely lit. The way the Smoking Man's face was illuminated whenever he drew on his cigarette reminded Jackson of his first slumber party when his papa told creepy stories and scared them holding a flashlight under his chin. This man was also creepy, but not in a playful manner like his papa. This man was dangerous and Jackson felt unease running up his spine as the man fixed his cold eyes on him, saying nothing, simply staring at him.
When Spender finally chose to answer, all three of them seemed to hold their breaths. Looking noticeably at Jackson and in a tone of voice more suitable for ordering a glass of Chardonnay in a fancy restaurant than wrecking the life three people had just begun to re-establish together, he said, "well, Fox, if you can't put two and two together yourself, it shall be my pleasure to break this to you: when I said I was looking forward to seeing my son, I was talking about this young lad here."
Boom! The bomb had exploded and nobody had thought of taking cover.
Scully's head flew around. Her hand had left her neck and clutched at her chest instead. She bore her eyes into Spender’s as if she wanted to read his mind, backing away from him at the same time. Mulder's brows were drawn together, his glance darting between Scully and Spender looking for answers in their faces. Jackson was just standing there like a pillar of salt. This guy, this horrible smoker, had just suggested he was his father, now being the third person claiming this particular family bond with him.
How had his life become such a mess? A few months ago, everything had still been fine. He had some peculiar abilities, granted, but he knew how to handle them...most of the time. He had a mama and a papa who loved him dearly, he had a home, he had friends. His life was in order. And then the broad-shouldered men in black suits had shown up, sitting for hours in armed dark limousines across the street, observing him, and an alarm inside his head had gotten off. Then the visions had started, visions of spaceships, of a worldwide pandemic, an apocalypse, and of a woman with red hair. All of this had brought him here, to an old, chain-smoking moron who was telling him he was his father. What a freak show his life had become.
“Bullshit!” Mulder grunted eventually, pulling Jackson out of his dark thoughts. “After all these years, you think we’d fall for your dirty tricks, Spender?" Scully's hand was still pressed to her chest. Slowly moving further away from the Smoking Man she whispered, now unable to conceal her apprehension, "what exactly are you implying?"
"I'm not implying anything, just stating the biological facts. Aren't facts something you've always been so keen on finding, Doctor Scully? And the fact is that I am William's...uh, sorry, young man...Jackson's father. He is my son, not Agent Mulder's."
Hearing him speak it out loud only made things worse. All the air seemed to have been sucked out of the room. Mulder, Scully, and Jackson could barely breathe. The mere idea was earth-shattering. It turned their world upside down, a world that had just begun to reset since the three of them had been reunited. Jackson looked helplessly at who he believed to be his birth father - Mulder - the man who had hugged him so fiercely while whispering in his ear, "I've been looking for you forever", and "I held you when you were a baby".
Mulder was thunderstruck himself, hit to the core, struggling to process the words the old man had just spoken. It was Scully who rediscovered her voice first. "I've never heard such nonsense," she grunted, parts of her self-confidence regained. "If it wasn't so damn sickening, I'd laugh. Wouldn't I know if we had intercourse?" Mulder's face contorted into a pained grimace at that. He winced unmistakably, earning himself the Smoking Man's pitiful smile. Then Spender turned toward Scully again, the corners of his mouth curving up in a smug smile while answering her in a too-sweet voice, "how would you know? You were sedated."
Mulder groaned again, but Scully remained composed, stoic almost. "You mistreated me while I was unconscious."
It came out like a statement, not a question. Jackson was impressed by how calm she sounded. No, impressed was the wrong word. Confused. How could she make such an outrageous allegation and remain so cool? Unlike her, Mulder was not able to keep his composure. The words were growing from the deep of his throat, raw and desperate. "If you harmed her, you’ll pay for it. I will make sure you do, even if it's the last thing that I do."
"I didn't harm her, I gave her what she longed for the most. What you couldn't give her, Fox."
"What do you mean?"
"Hadn't you donated sperm for Agent Scully to get pregnant just a few months earlier, and hadn't the procedure failed? Well, I was more successful," Spender said with twisted satisfaction.
Scully threw Mulder a worried glance and wrapped her arms around her waist once again. She swallowed uncomfortably before she spoke. "You impregnated me? You?" This time, it was a question. An unsettling, agonizing, disgusting question.
"Not the way you may think, Dana. With science. I got you pregnant with science. I had the best doctors care for you and perform the transfer of the ova we had gotten from you, inseminated with sperm I had provided. You would have been thrilled to be a part of a scientific experiment of this immeasurable value, had I been able to tell you then."
The man was speaking in a manner so calm and unfazed he really had to believe that what he was saying was totally normal, whereas, in fact, it was totally crazy. The words 'sedation', 'insemination', and 'experiment' were swirling around in Jackson's head and it made him wonder what kind of trouble he had ended up in. This crazy shit, which had started with the men in the black suits following his every step, seemed to get weirder every day.
"Those weren't doctors, those were rapists. You are a rapist. You hadn't gotten my ova, you'd taken it from me against my will. That was medical rape, twice, and no scientific experiment. Highly unethical and a violation of my right to physical integrity. I can't remember signing a declaration of consent."
Again, the restraint with which she was talking was remarkable. Mulder, who could hardly contain himself, who looked like he wanted to put his hands around Spender’s neck and press until the last bit of air left his lungs, was puzzled by her cool demeanor. Hadn't she just been told that their baby wasn't theirs but hers and…? He couldn't even bring himself to think the unthinkable. The mere thought of it made him want to gag. It would mean Jackson wasn't his son, but his half-brother. It would mean Scully hadn't conceived, carried, given birth to and nursed his son, but that Cancer Man's. He felt a tingling sensation at the back of his throat.
Spender clicked his tongue. "A declaration of consent...you amuse me, Agent Scully. You of all people should know I act on behalf of a circle of people who don't let formalities bind them. Your consent is irrelevant. We are working toward a larger goal, a goal you know fairly well."
"Creating a superior race and ruling the world," Scully spat out indignantly.
"Creating a human-alien hybrid, achieving what herds of scientists have tried but failed so far. William was our first success."
The world started to spin around Jackson. What had this caricature of a human being just called him? A human-alien hybrid? He had understood by now that this kid they were talking about all the time, William, was him. He was Jackson Van De Kamp formerly known as William, the Alien. How on earth had he been drawn into this crazy shit?
"He isn't yours, he is ours. Mulder's and mine. He is not one of your lab rats. He is our son, and we made him."
She sounded so sure and Jackson wanted to believe her so badly. He didn't want to have anything to do with this unhinged, nicotine-addicted lunatic. He didn't want to be special, let alone superior. He wanted normalcy, he wanted to be just a normal boy. Kids his age shouldn't have to deal with crap like this. He wondered how his birth parents had managed to get themselves into this fucked-up mess and if his adoption had anything to do with it. His birth mother, Dana, had talked about bringing him to safety when she had spoken to what she had believed was his dead body in the morgue.
The Smoking Man was standing in front of her, towering over her. His legs apart and his chin up, he was looking down on her with a self-satisfied expression. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly before he spoke. "Dana, how can you be so sure?" The way he called her by her first name again, his voice a mix of superficial friendliness and subtle wickedness, made Jackson's blood run cold. He didn't know this man who was inhaling one cigarette after another, but he radiated malice with every fiber of his being. The way he conversed, how he played with his birth parents, how he gloated when he was shooting his poisoned arrows at them. But what was clearly meant as a fatal wound bounced right off of her this time.
"Do you really believe I was so naïve as to accept my pregnancy as a God-given miracle?” she asked, her lips curving into a slight smile. Spender's expression froze. “I knew my medical condition, that I was barren, a situation you were not entirely blameless in. Of course, I asked myself how I had been able to conceive. Emily's short life and what had been done to me during my abduction was ample proof of what you and your kind were able and willing to do. I needed to know my baby was normal and healthy, so I sought proof of what I felt so strongly - that my baby was Mulder's.” She looked at Mulder, throwing him a reassuring glance before she turned back to Spender and continued. “I’m a scientist, and scientists conduct scientific tests to get proof. That's exactly what I did. As soon as William was born, I had a DNA paternity test done. Three times. I supervised all three procedures myself to be a hundred percent sure the results were reliable. They were, and they showed a match between Mulder and William. There is no doubt whatsoever that they are father and son."
The Smoking Man's once self-assured outer appearance was cracking even more. He nervously fingered the lighter in his hand and his right eyelid twitched when he spoke. "That's impossible! I watched over your insemination. I was told the transfer of the fertilized eggs had been a success. And you were diagnosed as pregnant shortly thereafter, weren't you? So it had to have been successful."
"The transfer might have been successful, but that doesn't necessarily mean the eggs made it into the uterine wall, especially if there already was an egg attached to it, an egg that had gotten there naturally. I did the math, believe me. I calculated the possibility of ovulation, natural conception and implantation back and forth, it's highly plausible that I was already pregnant when you took me on your little trip. Unbeknownst to me, and obviously also unbeknownst to you and your so-called doctors. They neglected to test for pregnancy before they performed the transfer, which is, by the way, a standard procedure in every fertility clinic."
Spender's cool appearance was now falling to pieces before their eyes. He looked like a deflating balloon. He hadn't seen this coming. Just a few minutes ago, he had felt so superior, but this woman was making him dizzy with her scientific narrative. "I...I don't believe this," he stammered.
"I was pregnant with Mulder’s child," Scully continued coolly. "A real scientist rules out everything that has the potential to ruin an experiment, but your doctors weren't thorough enough. Too bad for you.”
She waited, letting her words take effect. After what seemed an eternity to all the people listening to her, she went on.
“You were wrong all these years believing William was your genetic offspring. You may have a biological connection to Mulder, but that's all there is. You don't belong to this family, it's just the three of us: Jackson, Mulder, and me. Now get your sorry ass out of here before I put a bullet through your head for all the times you abused me and the ones I Ioved."
Spender swallowed all of it, every word, and he had difficulties getting them down. But he was a vicious man used to dealing in vicious circles, he wasn't knocked down easily. He wouldn't have survived all these years among reckless men, had he not had the capacity to take a blow. He strolled over to Scully slowly placing one foot in front of the other, his eyes never leaving her. He drew a circle around her so small he was almost touching her, lighting yet another cigarette he procured out of a new pack.
"I am the one with a weapon in my hand, Agent Scully. You are aware that I could shoot you before you even pulled yours out of the holster." His firearm trained at her, he circled her once more until he came to a halt in front her, eyeing her intensely. "Give me your gun!” He demanded harshly now, holding out his hand, palm up.
Jackson was amazed by how fast the man had recovered. His ice-cold eyes, bereft of any sign of emotion, bore into his birth mother. She held her ground for a moment but then obeyed and handed him her gun. Then he turned to Mulder who reluctantly pulled his weapon out of his hip holster and let it dangle on his outstretched index finger in front of the man's face. The smoker unhooked it with a satisfied grin and put it away. He was in possession of three firearms now, he held all the power despite the momentary crack in his façade a few minutes ago. "Do you still feel like threatening me, Agent Scully?" he asked, mocking his now defenseless opponents.
"One day, you will pay for what you've done, Spender. One day, justice will be served and you will rot in hell where you belong," Scully spat at him, her chin up.
Jackson admired her for her bravery, for how she stood up to that man who was holding all the aces. The boy hummed a low-key Hallelujah, so silent only Mulder, who was standing right behind him, could hear it. He acknowledged it in return with a muffled snorting only audible for Jackson. Father and son in shared admiration for this tiny woman's greatness.
Scully had impressed Spender too, but he wouldn't let anyone know. He made sure to thread enough irony into his voice replying, "ah, Dana, let me compliment you on your bravado and your optimism, but for men like me, there will always be a way out. I'm not so sure about you though. It seems to me your current position is quite precarious." He lifted his gun, pointed it at her forehead, and released the safety catch. The metallic click was so loud, amplified by the surroundings, it made Mulder's and Jackson's eardrums vibrate.
Mulder's right hand tingled. Not many people knew he still carried a second weapon at his ankle. If only he could reach down there, he might be able to get it out before Spender realized what was happening. He bent forward and groaned, holding his stomach with both hands as if he was about to throw up. When his ankle was within reach, he slowly stretched his right hand out, continuing the gagging sounds to keep up the illusion. He was almost there, could already feel the hard steel under the fabric of his pants leg, when the sound of a weapon falling to the ground echoed through the factory hall.
Mulder looked up, expecting to see Spender's gun still aimed at Scully's head, but what he saw was Spender's face twisted in horror. He was holding up his empty hands and was gasping for air like a fish out of the water. Mulder had never seen this man in anything but a smug pose, arrogant and overbearing, but this was fear, mortal fear.
Mulder rose completely and caught Scully's sideways glance. By the look of the confused lines on her forehead, she was as clueless as he was about what was going on. They both watched as Spender stumbled a few steps backward and tripped over his own feet transfixed by something behind them. His mouth opened but no words came out, only a choked scream. Scully and Mulder looked wildly around for the source of his terror but saw nothing. The building was completely empty save for them and quiet but for the whimpers of the now weak, powerless man.
Mulder looked over at his son and noticed that he was the only one who seemed to be in control. And then realization dawned him. Jackson was pulling one of his tricks. He was creating an alternate reality for Spender, maybe one of his gruesome monsters. Mulder couldn't tell, he couldn’t see what Spender saw, and neither could Scully, given the puzzled look on her face.
In the end, it didn't matter what the smoker saw, the only thing that mattered was that he got on all fours and started crawling away, whining like a baby. Watching him coil in mortal fear was striking a chord within Mulder that surprised him. He never imagined he could rejoice in the suffering of another human being, not even a man he loathed from the bottom of his heart, but all he could feel was satisfaction. It would have been easy to reach for his weapon now and bring this to an end for good, to make Spender pay with his life for all he had done to them, but Mulder couldn't bring himself to do it. He just watched as their enemy of twenty-five years got awkwardly to his feet, his tail between his legs, and started running without turning back to them once again.
When the Smoking Man was gone, Scully turned around to look at Mulder and Jackson. "What the hell was that?" she asked, still unable to understand why he had fled. "One minute he’s threatening to shoot us, and the next he can't get out of here fast enough."
"Jackson?" Mulder only said, throwing his son a challenging look.
"He must have seen something that scared him a bit," Jackson replied looking at the space between his feet.
"A bit? He was terrified!" Scully said.
There had to be something really interesting on the floor because Jackson wouldn't look up to meet his birth parents' eyes. "Yeah, well..."
"You created a false reality for him, right? Like you did for us when we were at your parents' house."
Jackson answered Mulder's question with a shrug of his shoulders. He had used his powers more than once for the wrong reasons, to tease people or scare them just for fun, and had been berated for it repeatedly. This had seemed like a good moment to use them, but he wasn't quite sure if it would be appreciated or not. "Someone had to do something. I couldn't stand this asshole and his self-satisfied grin any longer," he offered as an explanation.
"Why didn't we see it?" Scully asked.
"I didn't make you see it, only him."
"You can decide who sees what you create and who doesn't?"
Jackson nodded. "You were the only one who saw me as Peter Wong in front of the hospital."
Scully's heart ached a little thinking back to that moment. She had been longing for contact to her son for so long, and then he had been standing in front of her, talking to her, touching her, and she hadn't known it had been him. She had felt a strange connection to this man who had bumped into her, who had been so compassionate about the broken snow globe and who had smiled at her when she told him she liked this particular windmill she was holding in her hands.
"Did you bump into me on purpose?"
"Sure."
"Why?"
"I was curious about you after what you'd said to me in the morgue."
More heartache. Unknowing of what he was doing to her, Jackson continued. "You sounded so sad and so...honest. And I also had to make sure you'd gotten my message about the windmill. The snow globe in your hands showed me you had."
"So our meeting at the gas station wasn't a coincidence either."
"Of course not. I had something else to say to you."
If filled her with joy that despite her giving him away as a baby, he had wanted to establish contact. Even if without revealing his identity.
"The Malcolm X quote," Scully supplied.
"Right. I hoped you'd draw the right conclusions and realize it was me you'd talked to."
"Mulder recognized the quote and we both realized at the same time it must have been you. My heart almost burst when I saw myself talking to my son, my living son, on the surveillance tape."
"Surveillance tape?"
"The gas station had a CCTV system," Mulder explained. "On the surveillance tape, you were being you and not some pickup artist."
"Yeah, well, my mind is just so strong. I can manipulate people's perceptions but not a machine."
"Still, it's a powerful talent you've got there," Scully noted.
"A talent?" Jackson chuckled. "I see it more as a curse. It makes me an outsider. People think I'm a freak. Which I probably am. It has come in handy a few times lately though."
Scully took a step toward him. She would have liked to embrace him, pull him to her chest, just like Mulder had done at the motel when the two had first met, but instead, she only put her hands on his shoulders to make him look at her. "Listen, Jackson, you are not a freak. And none of this is your fault. You are who you are because you are our son, and from now on, Mulder and I will care for you. We will protect you. You are not alone."
As much as Mulder enjoyed watching mother and son talk to each other, he also got increasingly nervous. What if Spender had a backup? What if he knew and simply forgot for a moment about Jackson's ability to create alternate realities and realized he had been fooled once he had run far enough and cooled down his nerves? They had to get out of this building and off the premises as quickly as possible.
"Guys, let's get in the car and out of here. Spender doesn't work alone, and I don't want to be here when one of his cronies shows up to finish what he hasn't been able to do."
"You're right, Mulder. Come on, Jackson. We'll get somewhere safe," Scully said, nudging the boy forward with her hand on his shoulder.
They ran outside through the same steel door the Smoking Man had fled through and jumped into Scully's SUV. Mulder took the seat behind the steering wheel, Scully the passenger seat. Jackson climbed into the back. "Buckle up, Jackson," Scully tossed over her left shoulder in full maternal mode, "we will have to take some unexpected turns if someone follows us."
But no one followed them. It was a quiet ride, each of them taking their time to process what had happened and what had been said in the factory building. It was Jackson who finally broke the silence.
"You really are my parents, right? Both of you." His eyes met Mulder's in the rearview mirror, Scully turned around in the passenger seat and looked at him. It took him a moment until he was able to meet her intensive gaze, but then the direct connection enabled him to clarify. "What this man said was bullshit. That I am a product of a scientific experiment, that he...uh...that he made you pregnant with me against your will."
"He tried, but he failed," she said, maintaining their eye-contact without blinking. "I am absolutely certain that you are our son, Jackson. Mulder's and mine. You are not an experiment. You were conceived in an act of love." Scully glanced briefly at Mulder after having put so much emphasis on the word 'love' that her voice trembled. He kept his eyes on the street but nodded and smiled. "Not in a laboratory," she concluded.
"But..." Jackson left the rest unsaid. He threw his hands in the air and let himself fall back against the backrest.
"But what?" Scully probed.
"Why am I like this? So...creepy?"
Scully unbuckled her seat belt and climbed across the middle console into the back to join Jackson. She didn't want to talk to him about this any longer twisting her neck. She needed to be able to look him in the eye. She would have wanted to take his hands in hers and squeeze them to assure him but didn't dare. "You are not creepy," she said, laying her hand gently on his lower arm instead, hoping he wouldn't pull it back. He didn't. Not instantly anyway, but after a short moment. She berated herself inwardly for invading his personal space against her better judgment. Had she known that he didn't mind her touching him as much as she thought and that his awkwardness around her was caused by not knowing how to interact with a woman he felt so close (she was his mother, for God's sake) and yet so distant rather than resenting her, it wouldn't have hurt quite that much.
"You haven't seen what else I can do, Dana. Uh, you mind me calling you Dana?" Jackson asked, suddenly uncertain.
"Oh, uhm...no, not at all. Dana is fine."
"I mean since he," Jackson tilted his head in Mulder's direction, "calls you Scully."
"Well, that's a thing between us going back to the time we started out as co-workers. People outside of work usually call me Dana. Friends and family anyway. So Dana is perfectly fine."
It was a start, wasn't it? Scully didn't dare to hope that one day Jackson would call her something more affectionate, like 'mother' or maybe even 'mom'. She had been a mother to two children and had never been addressed as such by either of them. It was a wound which had never healed.
Unaware of Scully's inner struggles, Jackson resumed, "great! So, Dana, you haven't seen me do these other things I'm capable of. Like make people explode, for one. You were freaked out, weren't you?" the boy asked looking at Mulder who was observing them in the rear view mirror more than he should, given the fact that he was running at more than 80 miles per hour. "I was glad you made me duck!" he joked from the front, but the joke never made it to the back. Scully and Jackson were too much involved in their conversation to appreciate his effort.
"Whatever it is that you are capable of, Jackson, it doesn't make you a freak. Most certainly not in our eyes." Scully did her best to assure him of Mulder's and her determination. He needed to know that this time they would stand by him come what may. "You are our son, our flesh and blood, and we love you. Even if you might think otherwise because you were given up for adoption."
"But why am I like this? If you are my biological parents, and I wasn’t created by this chain-smoking moron, why am I not normal like you? You seem like pretty normal people to me. You are not some aliens or hybrids or whatever this guy was saying I was. You may be a little crazy, but still, you're normal, everyday people."
Scully sighed. "As you might have guessed, we have a history with this man, this chain-smoking moron. He's been using us to his own ends, mistreated us, harmed us time and again. I was abducted as a young woman and had become involved in a sinister, abhorrent plan of a group of ruthless men. Unethical tests were performed on me and my DNA had been tampered with. And the same happened to Mulder, only a few years later. He had been experimented on, manipulated, and mistreated so much that he almost died."
Scully saw no use in telling Jackson that Mulder had indeed been dead and buried, and that his coming back to the living had been nothing but short of a miracle. What the boy was hearing had to be disturbing enough, giving him more disconcerting details wasn't helpful, so she continued with the facts he needed to know to get the picture.
"What I'm trying to explain to you is that our genomes have been manipulated, and I take it that's the reason you are who you are. You're a combination of both of us. It's for everyone to see in your looks. You have Mulder's hair and his height, and you have my eyes and my freckles on your nose. Your abilities...well, they are likely a result of what they have done to our genetic material. I don't have any other explanation."
"Wow," was all Jackson said, "you aren't as normal as I thought."
"A lot of people would call us crazy as well. And a bit spooky. At least when it comes to me," Mulder tried for another joke but failed again. Neither Scully nor Jackson laughed.
"You already had powers as a baby, Jackson. You had spun the mobile above your crib once in a crying fit, and you had made a piece of rock hover above your face. And when I had realized that there were people out there holding an interest in you, the man you just met being one of them, I thought the only way to protect you was to hide you in another family far away from us."
"You gave me away to protect me, not to get rid of me." He didn't need to pose this as a question, he had understood.
"Yes," Scully breathed. "It was the only way to get you out of reach of these people."
"Well, your plan obviously didn't work out. The things he told you about me, they were all true. It creeps me out to imagine this maniac has been watching me all the time."
Jackson thought back to his childhood, to some of the events the Smoking Man might have been present at: his first day of school, when he scored the decisive penalty which had secured the championship for his soccer team, prom night and his first kiss... A cold shudder ran down his spine.
“Spender might have watched you, but so have we," Scully said, only now taking the time since she had climbed into the back to buckle herself up.
"You have?" Jackson asked incredulously.
"We have?" Mulder echoed, looking flummoxed. Scully had never told Mulder that for all these years someone had been holding a hand over their William, someone who hated the Cigarette Smoking Man just as much as they did. She had feared that had Mulder known there was indeed a way to their son despite the closed adoption, that one day he would have tried to track him down.
"When I gave you up, I asked a friend to keep an eye on you because I knew that if we did, we would lead them right to you. His name is Jeffrey, and he helped me find you when you started communicating with me through the visions. I demanded he breaks the promise to never disclose your whereabouts to me."
Mulder took a sharp intake of breath. His molars were grinding when he asked, "you hired Jeffrey Spender to protect our son?"
"I didn't hire him. He..." Scully was struggling for words. "Mulder, you were gone, I was all alone in this and I didn't know what to do. He had come to me, had tried to protect William from you-know-who by secretly injecting him with magnetite. Jeffrey Spender was the only ally I had."
He'd been injected with what? Magnetite? For protection? Jackson remembered how the results of his blood work had always made his doctors frown. This story was getting crazier by the minute. But there was something else that had piqued his interest even more. "Spender? This guy's name is Jeffrey Spender? Haven't you called the smoking asshole Spender, too?" Jackson asked.
"Yes. Jeffrey is his son and my half-brother," Mulder explained. This new information cleared something up Mulder had racked his brain over for some time. "Now I understand why he called me when you were in the hospital after your seizure, Scully. I didn't know what to make of his warning on my voicebox that someone was coming after us."
"This man's son helped you protect me? He's worked against his own father?"
"This man is also my biological father. It speaks for itself that both his sons loathe him that much, doesn't it? It speaks for how profoundly evil he is."
Jackson let that sink in for a moment. He couldn't imagine a life where there was so much hatred, so much mistrust, and fighting against each other. He had been brought up by people who loved and cared for each other, he had always felt safe and protected, at least until these strange men in black suits had first shown up. He didn't know his birth parents very well yet, but Dana had spoken of love, both in the morgue and just now, and Mulder acted like he cared about her very much. They were good people, driven by love, not by hate. They made him feel cared for. Since the assassination of the Van De Kamps, he had felt alone and entirely on his own, but it seemed he had belonged to someone all the time. Maybe he had been wrong, maybe Dana and Mulder, his birth parents, were able to protect him after all. He could at least give it a try, couldn't he? "Where are we going?" he asked.
"We have a house out in the countryside," Mulder answered from the front. "It's secluded and well protected. We should go there, get a hot drink and some food and decide in the comfort of a warm, safe place what to do next. We'll be there in about an hour."
"Good idea, Mulder. Let's go home," Dana agreed.
Jackson turned his head away from Scully on the word 'home' and looked out of the window to hide his happy smile. His limbs felt light all of sudden as if a lead weight had been lifted off his body. He was glad that the rest of the trip was silent, that neither of them tried to engage him in a conversation. Mulder focused on driving them to their place as fast as possible, pushing the speed limit, and Dana leaned her head against the headrest. Surprisingly, she was asleep in a matter of minutes.
"She always falls asleep in the car," Mulder said when he caught Jackson's puzzled look at her sleeping form. "The motion lulls her to sleep."
Jackson only nodded. For the rest of the ride, he watched the dark scenery passing by outside with a feeling of warmth spreading through his body. The feeling replaced the cold fear he had been so used to during the past months, and it was more than welcome.
#xf fanfic#msr#Jackson aka William#Scully's baby was no experiment#Mulder is William's dad#season 11
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Take A Stand // Colin Ritman X Reader
A/N: Hey loves! This is one of my first requested fics and so to whoever requested this, I hope I did well! And sorry for not posting a lot, writer’s block is a bitch. Well I hope you enjoy this anyway!
REQUESTS ARE OPEN BTW
Requested: Yes // Could you maybe do a colin x reader, they have been working together for years and have been dating (or maybe married for a while) Colin loves his work but y/n not so much, maybe Thakur treats her differently than everyone else (maybe sexism or flirting etc) and eventually she breaks down over it and Colin tried his best to remain calm and comfort her but can't help but feel the need to stand up for her. It's just an idea but I love your writing and would love to see your take on this 😊
Warnings: Large amount of profanity and sexism
Not my gif!! (Please tell me if you, the owner, would like me to take the gif down!)
“Bloody hell, (Y/n)! This is one of the best games I’ve seen this month!” Mr. Thakur, Tuckersoft manager, complemented you.
You had just recently showed your husband’s boss a new video game you had created. It was fun, adventurous and tricky, everything you thought you needed to include in your game.
“Thank you very much.” You blushed slightly.
“We’d love for you to work here, (Y/n). But...” Mr. Thakur trailed off in his sentence.
“But what?” You said, worryingly.
“It’s just...well you’re a woman.” He bluntly stated. Suddenly, your eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“And? Is there a problem with myself being a woman?” You questioned him, your expression becoming annoyed.
“N-No! It’s not the fact that you’re a woman! Well actually it technically is but...we can’t have a woman here at Tuckersoft as a video game developer. It would make our company look like a joke compared to others!” Thakur explained.
You could hardly believe what you were hearing. Just a minute ago, Mr. Thakur was stating how your presented game was one of the best he’s seen this month! Now, he’s trying to explain why on you, being a woman, would be bad for the company.
With every word Mr. Thakur was trying to say to ‘make up’ for his actions, you were becoming more and more irate. Your fists clenched in fury. But you couldn’t allow yourself to explode, that would make you have less of a chance of working at the famed gaming company.
“But-But what about Chelsea? She works at the front desk! And Maria! There are at least a few several other women working about the building!” You tried to rationalize with him. Unfortunately, it was to no avail.
“Chelsea just works the phone and has a small, mini job. Maria just brings everyone coffee in morning, she’s like everyone’s personal assistant. No woman in the Tuckersoft company or building is a full on game developer, and there never will be.” Thakur answered.
“But Mr. Thakur, I—“ The manager interrupted you before you could say anything else.
“Apologies, mate. But I just can’t hire you. Please show yourself out of my office.” Thakur finished, waving his hand towards the door of his office.
Still furious and annoyed, you exited his office with a slam of his wooden door. You didn’t want to overreact on the situation, but fuck that, he was being hella sexiest and it pissed you off! It’s 1984 for crying out loud!
You stomped right passed your husband’s work desk, where he sat listening to music while working. A rolled up cigar was between his lips as always.
He saw your angry face and decided to leave you alone to cool down until he arrived home that night. Colin watched as you left the building, still mad.
That’s right, you were married to Colin Ritman. The Colin Ritman as most people described him. The well known game creator who worked with many other creators, as well. Married for two years and in love for less than five, it was a dream to be with him.
Another dream you had was to work right along side him. You were a small developer yourself, trying to find a place in a company that would accept you. Tuckersoft was of course your number one pick, but now that was out the window.
After watching you leave, Colin saw Stefan Butler, a new coworker at the game company, approach him with two cups of coffee. Stefan gave a cup to his new friend and took a sip of his own.
“Hey Colin, I-I think I saw your wife (Y/n) pass by. She um..looked angry about something. Is-Is she alright?” Stefan asked.
Taking out the cigar from his lips, Colin sighed and took a long slurp of his coffee cup.
“Guess we’ll find out tonight.”
Colin’s POV:
That night, Colin came home just before midnight. He tiredly barged into his flat and was expected to have his lovely wife cover him with ‘welcome home’ kisses, until he remembered what happened that morning.
Colin walked straight to his shared bedroom and opened the door to find his wife laying in the darkness on their bed. (Y/n) was facing towards the opposite side of the room, away from him.
“(Y/n)?” He called out.
There was no reply.
“(Y/n), love, are you alright.” Finally, there was an answer.
“Go away, Colin.” His wife told him. Sighing, he sat on the end of the bed and saw a small view of her face.
Slight tear tracks were still a bit visible and it caused the developer to tense a bit. Colin hated seeing his beautiful wife cry, it almost made him want to break down with her.
“You know damn well that I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong,” Colin leaned over and gently rubbed (Y/n)’s blanket covered legs. “What on the world happened this morning? Interview not go so well?” He asked.
Suddenly, all the emotions (Y/n) was feeling came out. The sadness, frustration, and anger she had for what happened this morning built up over the course of the day spilled out into one big pile of emotions.
She sat up in the bed, her eyes clearly showing the emotions she was feeling and locked eyes with her beloved husband.
“Your son of a bitch boss this morning told me I couldn’t work at Tuckersoft with you because I am a fucking woman. He said it would be ‘bad for the company’.” (Y/n) explained to him.
Colin finally understood. Now, he too felt mad. He knew Mr. Thakur was clearly not a good man, but this was way too far for Colin’s liking.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Colin asked.
“I didn’t want to seem like I was overreacting. Plus, I was too angry this morning to function.” (Y/n) laughed a bit at the end of her sentence. Colin smiled, liking how his wife was smiling again.
The game creator’s eyebrows furrowed. He knew he couldn’t let this go, he wouldn’t let it go because it’s a big thing. Not as big as (Y/n) would think, but still, Colin wanted to protect his wife from anything.
Suddenly, an idea was framed in his head.
“Love, come with me tomorrow to work. I’ll have my own little discussion with Thakur.” He proposed. (Y/n) shook her head.
“No no, it’s fine. You really don’t need to do anything. I’ll just find another job or something.” She insisted.
“Nah. Just come with me tomorrow, please.” Her husband used his irresistible puppy eyes. (Y/n) groaned then agreed.
“Good, because I’m sure it’ll work.”
Regular POV:
“You want to fucking quit?!”
You, yourself was confused as well. The next morning, like you said, you came with Colin to work to have a talk with Mr. Thakur. The manager greeted both of you before asking what you both needed. Then Colin dropped the bomb shell.
“Colin what the bloody hell are you—“ You began to question until Colin shushed you.
“Yeah, I wanna quit.” Colin answered bluntly. He kept a straight face while yours was confusion and Thakur‘s was fury.
“Colin, mate, why the fuck do you want to quit?” Mr. Thakur barked.
“If you won’t hire (Y/n) because she’s a woman, then I sure as hell don’t want to work at a company who’s manager is a sexist bitch.” Colin replied, getting up into his boss’ face.
“Y-you can’t just quit!”
“Why not? Because you know you need me and without my games, your company would fly into the dumps before you even knew it?”
“B-but....!” Thakur trailed off, not really having a good reason to say.
Meanwhile, you sat in one of the chairs in the office. You said nothing as Colin and Mr. Thakur glared at each other.
“Hire (Y/n) and I won’t quit.” The developer suggested. The manager huffed in annoyance, knowing he had lost the argument.
“Fine. Just don’t fuck it up. And (Y/n),” you anxiously looked over to him. “I apologize. You can start working tomorrow, I’ll have a desk put in for you.” With that, Mr. Thakur assured you both to leave his office.
Once you left, you jumped in the air in joy right into your husband’s arms. You squealed out in joy as you hugged him and Colin just laughed and hugged you back just as tight.
You kissed his cheek and let go of him, before slapping his arm a bit hard.
“Ow! What-What was that for?” He cried out. You rolled your eyes and crossed your arms.
“For almost losing your job because of me, you arse!” Colin let out a chuckle and you leaned him to give him a passionate, full kiss on his soft lips.
“I love you. Thank you for standing up for me.” You pulled him into another hug. Colin squeezed you back.
“No worries love, no one messes with my lady.”
TAGGED:
@creativedogs
@sugarfloss
#bandersnatch#black mirror#blackmirrorbandersnatch#bandersnatch x reader#bandersnatch x you#Colin#colin ritman#colin ritman x you#colin ritman x reader#x reader#will poulter#will poulter x reader#will poulter x you#stefan#stefan butler#stefan butler x you#stefan butler x reader#stefan butler imagine#stefan butler imagines#stefan butler x reader imagines#stefan butler x reader imagine#colin ritman imagine#colin ritman imagines#colin ritman x reader imagines#colin ritman x reader imagine
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Friends Will Be Friends || Chapter 13
A few elements from the main plot: A very special group of friends: early days, drama, laughter, booze, success, rock stars life, girl power, friendship, love, sex, music, misunderstandings, some more drama, family. Pairings in the tags
Summary Chapter 13: The concert in Peterborough, December 1973. The after party.
Word count: 3.8K
Warnings: There’s a little smut in this one (kissing, touching, mention of sexy times and blah blah, nothing strong), language, drinking
A/N: Hi folks. This happens right after chapter 12 and it’s a bit long, but it explains some of the stuff we have knowingly spared to tell you before. So be careful and enjoy yourselves, lovesies 💖😏 As usual, if you like what you read, comment, like, reblog and share this with others! For everyone who follows and supports this story, thank you guys (you know who you are)! You are real stars! ⭐💗
"I'm telling you, Mel! He was all red and self-conscious, I’ve never seen him like that!” Chelsea was widely gesturing, trying to explain to her friend the awkward scene she had witnessed the previous night. They were sitting on some sound boxes scattered on the stage the boys would have performed on in a few hours: they were in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, for the last gig of the year and of their tour.
Everyone was excited for that night: the girls were thrilled of having their boys at home for a few weeks before they headed back in the studios to record the new album. The guys were thrilled to conclude their second official tour and, of course, to spend some time away with their girls: they had booked some suites in a hotel in Peterborough for the whole week from Christmas Eve's eve until New Year's Day so that they could have spent both Christmas and New Year’s together and, just as Freddie had requested, throw a huge party.
“I wish I had been there Chel! I don’t know what I would give to go back and see his face” Mel chuckled, picturing Brian trying to disappear inside his curls. And she surely would have liked to meet this mysterious lady who had made Brian May blush.
“Well, if we’re lucky we might see her again… He invited her here”
“No way!” they both giggled like little girls
“What’s so funny girls?” Brian came on stage to tune his Red Special.
The girls exchanged a sly look, Mel got up and dangling on her feet she got closer, looking at him through her lashes “Nothing Bri”
Brian narrowed his eyes, wondering why the hell was she grinning so wide and why the heck Chelsea had the same wide smirk on her face as she sat five feet apart, biting her thumbnail innocently.
“You told her didn’t you?” he snorted at Chelsea; the girl looked away nonchalantly
“You brat” he breathed out. Chelsea pretended to be offended and gasped.
Mel was still looking at him “This girl actually stole your heart, didn’t she?”
Brian moved his attention to her and scoffed “I wouldn’t say that… I just thought she was very pretty and she was very kind to me, so yeah… I flushed, big deal uh?”
Mel smiled fondly “Look at you all flustered just thinking about it!” she pinched his cheek and he waved her hand away, the edge of his lips lifting in a half smile. He knew Melissa could not be any more right: he had been completely starstruck by that red-headed girl and he couldn’t make his head around it.
“I’m not gonna see her again anyway, so…” he admitted more to himself than to her.
“Didn’t you invite her here?”
Brian turned to fulminate Chelsea one more time but she had disappeared. Brian sighed. They were alone and he knew he could trust Melissa with anything “I did, but she lives all the way on the other side of England… Let’s say my hopes are really low right now”
Melissa smiled again “You never know, Bri. The universe works in mysterious and unspeakable ways… It might just surprise you”
Brian let out a quick laugh “C’mon Mel, we’re scientists… aren’t we supposed to be a bit more objective?”
“Maybe… but we are allowed to hope we are actually headed somewhere, aren’t we?” she gently caressed his arm “Just, have a little faith in the universe. It knows what it’s doing.”
She gave him a little smile before stepping away and heading behind the scenes. Before going off stage she turned one more time “It worked for me” she said and Brian smiled warmly. He felt sincerely more hopeful, but he forced himself not to think about her too much. He was too damn scared to be let down again.
Melissa passed through the thick black curtains and walked down the few steps, heading towards the dressing rooms. She was still smiling from her conversation with Brian over science and belief in the universe. Science. Physics. Job. Her mind quickly connected those dots and she sighed to herself: she had to talk to John.
Earlier that month she had applied to a research committee at the Imperial – the college where she was studying – and just a few days before she and the girls had left home to meet the guys in Taunton, she had received a call from the head of the department: they had accepted her.
For some reason she had not told anyone yet, maybe she was afraid of jinxing it. But the research committee would have started working just a few weeks into January and would have lasted at least until June and then from September to November if they gained good results. Which meant she couldn’t leave London for at least six months straight and she couldn’t follow the guys on tour as much as she had done in the past year and a half.
She knew this was a big shot for her and she couldn’t be more thrilled, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit sad that she would have ended up being the one left out.
Besides she didn’t want to spoil everyone’s fun just a few days before Christmas by bothering them with her worries, especially John. But her mind kept on coming back to that and it was driving her crazy. She had to talk to John. She had to hear his comforting words.
As she opened the door to John and Roger’s dressing room her eyes fell on the two tangled figures making out on the sofa.
"Oh my God, guys! Keep it down!” she shouted at Roger and Chelsea, covering her eyes with one hand, the other still on the handle, ready to close the door.
Chelsea flushed and giggled in embarrassment, while Roger laughed out loud at his sister’s reaction.
“What did you think we were doing? Holding hands?” he chuckled.
Mel snorted still not looking at them “I was looking for John, you doofus”
“He’s not here” Roger stated the obvious.
"Well, you don't say" she was about to slam the door when she heard Chelsea shouting that John was looking for her too.
Just as Mel turned around, closing the door behind her, she saw her boyfriend coming up to her with a big smile on his face.
“Hey sweetie” she gave him a little kiss “you were looking for me?” he asked.
“Just wanted to say good luck for tonight” she placed her hands on his shoulders, leaned in to find his lips and kissed him passionately.
John pulled away and smiled “Someone’s in the mood?”
She smirked and gave him a light peck on the cheek “Just a good-luck-kiss”
John chuckled “I’m not sure that’s a thing hon’” he managed to say between kisses.
“You guys are so mushy-slushy. It was cute at first, but now I wonder if I’m getting diabetes” Mary walked past them, rapidly heading to Freddie’s dressing room.
John chuckled and Melissa reached out to playfully slap her bum as she passed beside her. Mary mouthed an ‘ouch’ before disappearing into the stall.
John shook his head “We are pretty sappy, aren’t we?” he leaned in to kiss her again, a smile still on his face.
“Yeah but it’s sweet” Mel replied between kisses. John was directing her to his dressing room but Mel halted him.
“I wouldn’t go in there. Rog and Chel already going at it and I’m thrilled by the idea of making out right on the couch right next to my brother” Mel chuckled.
John let out an embarrassed chuckle and took her hand, dragging her through the corridors. They were giggling and stumbling in their feet until they reached an unused stall and John closed the door behind them. He turned around and smirked at the girl, making her softly chuckle.
“You are a dork” she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed the tip of his nose.
John smiled and laced his arms around her waist, while slowly directing her to the table in the middle of the room “We’ll see about that, honey” he said with a nifty smirk. He glided his hands to her thighs and lifted her up so that she could sit on the table, while he placed himself between her legs.
She squealed and softly giggled before kissing him again. She knew perfectly well that she was only pushing forwards the conversation they had to have.
Melissa regretfully pulled away, placing a hand on John’s chest, who was trying to inch further, hands on her thighs and a longing smirk on his face.
“John, I need to tell you something” she looked down and the smile died down on his face.
“What’s wrong Mel?”
“Nothing, honey” she gently cupped his cheek “I just need to tell you this because I’ve been holding back too long. I got a small temporary job as a researcher at the Imperial…”
“What? That’s great Mel!” he immediately hugged “it’s what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it is” she sadly smiled “I have my first shift on the 14th, and I’ll be working 5/7 until June. Then again, if everything goes as planned, from September to November”
“But…”
Mel sighed “But that means I won’t be able to see you most of the year.”
John realized she was probably right. They had some songs ready to be recorded and had booked the recording studio for January and February. Then the plan was to tour for about a month in the UK to present the new album and in April, if everything had gone their way, they would have flied to America for a two months tour. Then again some recording in the summer and another tour throughout the autumn.
Mel was sadly looking at her hands, maybe regretting telling him just before what was supposed to be a joyful occasion. John noticed how miserable she was and quickly lifted her chin up to look into her eyes
“It’s gonna be fine Mel,” he softly said with a smile “we’re gonna find a way of seeing each other, honey”
He lightly kissed and then added “And I want you to know I’m so proud of you for getting this job. You deserve it.”
Mel smiled and shook her head “What did I do to deserve you, Deacon?”
John lifted an eyebrow “Deacon? That’s new…”
She smirked and drew him closer “What? You prefer John Richard Deacon? It’s a bit long to say everyti-”
“Stop talking”
She couldn’t finish because John crushed his lips into hers. She smiled into the kiss and wrapped her arms behind his neck. Melissa thought to herself that John was really good – maybe even too good – at making her stop worrying about things. He always knew what to say and how to react at every single worry she would expose him.
“You know you can’t kiss your way out of everything, right?” she managed to say between kisses.
John playfully smirked “We’ll see about that, honey”
***
The crowd applauded one last time. Brian put down his guitar to join the others upstage and bow to the audience. As he stood there, between Roger and Freddie, he tried to scoop the crowd with his eyes, hopeful to see a mass of red curls.
When he didn’t he felt a staggering pain in the chest; he was more disappointed than he cared to admit. Mel’s little speech on hope and universe and all that crap had actually made him more delusional than he would have wanted to be.
He stumbled behind the curtains of the stage and went straight into his and Freddie’s dressing room, careless of the interrogative faces of the girls and the crew that were waiting for them. When he heard someone screaming that the bus had just arrived to take them to the hotel, he didn’t even bother to change his clothes. He just picked up his bag and Freddie's and headed to the back door of the building.
He wasn’t sure whether he was sad or angry or disappointed. Maybe he was all three at the same time.
He climbed onto the bus and sat in the front, waiting for all the party of people to come up. When he exchanged looks with Melissa, she gave him a sad smile. He didn’t return the smile and looked another way: it wasn’t her fault but he could feet a gulp of rage coming from his deep throat and he knew if he had opened his mouth, he would have thrown it up all over her.
When they arrived at the hotel, his first impulse was to run as fast as he could to his bedroom to avoid any other possible human contact who could invite him to the band’s Christmas party. Freddie had invited a lot of people but Brian could not stand the idea of standing among his friends. He normally didn’t care that they were three couples and he was the only single one (Roger had tried many times of fixing him up with girls he knew but Brian had always kindly refused).
That evening, however, he thought he could have thrown up at the sight of them being happy as ever and him being alone and, what was more, “dumped” by the only girl he actually wanted to see.
He walked fast into the lobby and asked for the key to his room. The receptionist cordially obliged and as he turned to go upstairs he caught with the glimpse of an eye a mass of curly red hair getting up from the bar and running toward Melissa and Roger.
Brian felt his chin touch the ground. Chrissie.
“Chris! Oh my God! What are you doing here?” Mel exclaimed hugging the redhead tightly.
The girl chuckled and stumbled on her feet, overwhelmed by the energy the blonde put into the hug.
“I wanted to see you guys! I actually was at last night’s concert but didn’t get to say hi. So when they told me you had one more gig, I rushed up here”
“And you rushed up here just to see me and Mel?” Roger asked cockily.
She laughed and turned to hug him tightly as well “It’s good to see you, Chris. It’s been too long”
Chelsea was helping John and Freddie with some bags but it didn’t slip her eyes the way Roger looked at Chrissie and the way she hugged him. Don’t be ridiculous, she must be just a friend, she said to herself, trying to ignore the peak of jealousy staggering her stomach. She focused on the packing and missed the rest of the conversation, her eyes forced on what she was doing and not on the way Chrissie was holding Rog’s hands.
“It is… we have so much catching up to do!” she said enthusiastically, still holding Roger’s hands “But I must say, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for your guitarist… Brian, I think…” Chrissie tried to play it cool, pretending not to know that his name was indeed Brian and, more importantly, pretending that she hadn’t rushed to Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, just to see him again. And of course, to catch up with Melissa and Roger, she thought. Oh, c’mon you don’t even believe it yourself.
Brian still had his chin on the ground, but when he heard her say his name he startled out of his trance and stepped closer to the small group, clearing his throat to introduce himself.
When Chrissie laid her eyes on him and smiled warmly, Brian’s heart skipped a beat. How the hell did she manage to make his mind blank out of any reasonable – or at least normal - thing to say?.
“I see you made it, at last, Chrissie” he managed to say.
Chrissie felt a rush of electricity throughout her body, hearing him say her name. She nodded and quickly hugged him, as a way of greeting him. It was an embarrassed hug from both parts and when they pulled away they both giggled and looked down, flushing.
Mel and Roger exchanged knowing looks and Mel had to bite down her lip, realizing that Chrissie was the girl Chelsea had told her about. Brian and Chrissie looked immensely cute, standing there and looking everywhere but at each other.
Roger broke the awkward silence “Chrissie I hope you’re planning on staying the night, cause we’ve got a huge party waiting for us in the hall. Would you fancy joining us?”
Chrissie glanced at Brian, before turning to Roger and saying “I’d love to. But I have yet to book a room for the night… if you guys excuse me one sec-”
Roger placed an arm on her shoulder and guided her towards the hall, Melissa and Brian two steps behind “I sense you won’t be needing one, dear” Brian flushed and slapped him on his head, making Roger loudly cackle. Melissa covered her mouth to contain her laughter, earning a cold stare from Brian as well.
***
The party didn’t turn out to be that huge anyway. A hundred people, more or less. Mostly from the band's crew, a few of the hotel’s guests and some friends of the band. Quite a lot of people for a Christmas party in the three-star hotel of a small town, but not enough as Freddie had hoped.
As he walked through the crowd, saluting their guests and wishing Merry Christmas to everyone, he had Mary on his side, acting like the significant other she was. They walked up to John and Chelsea, who were enjoying their drinks by the curtained window.
“This party is a bummer” he breathed out, crushing on the nearest armchair.
“What are you talking about, Fred? Everyone’s enjoying themselves!” Chelsea rubbed his shoulder.
“Besides, it’s a great way of saying good-bye to the whole crew and wish them Merry Christmas” John added.
“I guess you’re right…” Freddie admitted “I just feel like there’s not enough booze and everyone is awfully… still”
The others chuckled, then Mary said, “Maybe it’s better not to have everyone hammered the day before Christmas… It’s fine, honey, relax” she gently rubbed his shoulder and sat on his lap to wrap an arm around his shoulder to kiss him gently.
Chelsea smiled and looked away, her eyes scooping the room to find her boyfriend who had apparently disappeared from her sight the moment she had left him at the reception with Brian, Chrissie and Melissa.
She hated to admit she felt some kind of jealousy. Unjustified jealousy, at that. Is it unjustified? she couldn’t help but wonder. She trusted Roger obviously, but a part of her still feared he could get sick of being her boyfriend and could realize he preferred going back into the one-night-stand game. She shoved down the last drops of her flute and furrowed her eyebrows as the alcohol lingered down her throat.
John noticed she was upset, so he placed a hand on her elbow to stir her away from Mary and Freddie.
“Are you okay?” he simply asked.
Chelsea forced a smile “Sure. I’m fine”
“Doesn’t seem like it”
“Doesn’t seem like your business” she mocked him, then realized what she had said and to whom she was talking to.
“I’m sorry, John. I’m a bit dizzy and… upset. Dangerous combo” she let out a forced laugh “but I don’t think I want to talk about it”
John studied her face. She had been upset since they had arrived at the hotel, almost an hour earlier. He knew he was on risky territory, but he needed to know,
“Did Roger do something to upset you?”
“How did you-” she started, but then corrected herself “No, he didn’t… I’m just wondering where he is” She decided to say.
John wasn’t convinced “Chel, you know you can talk to me, right?”
Chelsea turned to him and smiled, sincerely this time “I know,”
She sighed. Oh, what the hell, this is killing me.
“Do you know who this Chrissie is?” she asked, maybe more brutally than she had intended.
John scoffed “So that’s what this is all about…”
Chelsea smacked his upper arm “I’m not jealous, jerk”
“Never said you were…” John grinned “Look Chel, I actually have no idea who the hell Chrissie is but I have to say, if – and let me stress if – you’re a teeny tiny jealous, it’s not worth it. Roger would literally die – or better kill – for you. I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about”
He smiled at his best friend and when he saw her smiling slightly back, he felt he had done something good. He wasn’t sure he was right, though. He had felt the urge to reassure Chelsea, but deep down he feared she might be right to be jealous. He decided to keep those thoughts to himself and just warmly smile at her, promising to himself he would have done anything to spare her from any suffering.
If there was something he was sure of, it was that he would have done anything for two of the most important women in his life: Chelsea and Melissa.
In the exact moment he thought about her, she appeared in his sight, cheeks red and glittery eyes – probably from the alcohol she had ingested. She was stumbling towards them, anchored to who he identified as Chrissie and followed by Roger and Brian.
The four of them completed the circle of the small group. They all looked at each other, no-one knowing what to say. Roger broke the silence “For those who haven’t met her yet, this is Chrissie” he pointed at the redheaded girl between him and Melissa “we had some classes together in high school and she used to hang around a lot with us” and he indicated himself and Melissa.
Chrissie shook hands with everyone she hadn’t met yet and when it came to Chelsea she said “I know you! You were the girl who was helping Brian last night. Chelsea, right?”
Ugh, she’s nice. Chelsea nodded “Yeah it was me, good to see you again” she forced herself to smile politely, repeating John’s words inside her head.
“Now that we are all here,” Freddie started, getting up and gesturing to the waiter to bring them some more flutes of wine “I propose a toast”.
When they all had a glass in their hands, Freddie looked around to the group of people standing in front of him. Roger had crossed the small circle to reach Chelsea and wrap an arm around her shoulders and look her fondly in the eyes; John had his arm around Mel’s waist and she had rested her head on his shoulder; Chrissie was awkwardly standing a few inches in front of Brian but when Freddie made eyes at him, he slowly placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her closer to him, so that they were now in some way hugged too; Mary was as always by his side, arms wrapped around his, head resting on his shoulder.
Freddie smiled, feeling his heart filling with joy at the sight “To us”.
Chapters: ⤎ previous | next ⤏
A/N: Hello again! Hope you enjoyed this one 💗 we’re gonna tag the lovely people who read, liked and commented the previous chapters. If you want to be tagged in the next one, comment under this one or leave us a message. Our inboxes are always open for you beautiful people
Tag list: @littledarlingwellaway @its-a-metephor-brian@bohemiandelilah @onevisionliz@misshystericalqueen @loki-lover095@deakysgurl @inthelapofthe39 @starsoflovingness-wq@minetticatinwonderland @cairdes20 @friendswillbefriendsblog@o-holynight @trash-record-collection @please-stop-me-now@theappleofmybri @marvelsbunch
Cheers, folks! ✌
#fluff#queen#queen band#john deacon fluff#John deacon imagine#john deacon smut#joe mazzello!john deacon#roger taylor imagine#roger taylor fluff#roger taylor smut#ben hardy!roger taylor#john deacon x oc#john deacon x reader#roger taylor x oc#roger taylor x reader#70s queen#queen imagines#queen imagine#fwbf#friends will be friends#wewillwriteyou#deakyswhitequeen#sweetgcreature#bohemian rhapsody#borhap boys#ben hardy#joe mazzello#gwilym lee#rami malek#roger taylor
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Fairy Summers is a short story request by @vhum for my 300 follower celebration.
It is a World of Make Believe AU featuring Chelsea x Puck told over a series of summers as they age together and maneuver through life's struggles, fantastical and mortal.
I will be uploading in parts just for easier reading. Also, playlist.
CW: Contains coming-of-age themes, familial abuse suggestion.
~*~*~*~
Part 2 spans over the summer the kids are 8.
I also made the chapter shorter than originally intended. We were pushing towards 3,000 words so I cut off.
Part 1 can be found here.
~*~*~*~
“Aloha, Auntie!” Chelsea smiled big and wide, running straight into the open arms and inhaling.
“Ahola keiki!” A large chest bounced against the small body as she laughed, sending waves of cocoa butter scent washing out over Chelsea. “Howzit, Susan?”
“Aisus!” Susan threw down her luggage at the doorway. “This lolo keiki! She’s made up an imaginary friend.”
“Oh did she now?” Grey kinked hair tickled at Chelsea’s cheeks as an oily nose rubbed against her skin in warmth and familiarity. “That’s nah so bad now. We all had imaginary friends at the Island.”
“Don’t encourage her, Auntie!” Susan stomped a foot as Alan eased around her.
“Don’t listen to that kinna pono.” Auntie whispered in Chelsea’s ear, loud enough for Susan to hear. “That’s not the Island way, keiki.”
Alan quickly stepped in front of his wife, earning an angry, simmering glare as he spoke up. “Thank you for letting us stay with you this year.” He grinned, lowering his head. “The flights got Susan all bothered-”
“Ahyea.” Auntie lowered Chelsea, “Go play.” She swatted her bottom softly. “There’s more things out in those woods to befriend.”
Happily Chelsea scampered out the back door, avoiding Susan all together, though she didn’t miss the conversation about Grandpa or how sick he’d become. She slowed as the path faded from view. Aunties house was backed right up to the market, crowded and full of sounds and smells. Still it didn’t take long for Chelsea to see the blond hair sticking straight up with shocks of green at the tips. A wide green split the tanned face, green eyes squished behind baby fat cheeks.
“Chelsea!”
“Puck!”
Feet churned and adults laughed, moving out of the way for the two to collide and topple over one another in their embrace. Chelsea melted into the warmth of him, far warmer than Auntie had been. He smelled spicy too - like all the herbs Uncle used on his pig cookouts or the ones Grandpa put in his Shepherd’s Pie. Puck Pulled out of Chelsea’s arms, yanking her to her feet, grabbing her flip flop and tossing it at her.
“C’mon, Human.” He was still grinning wide and wild. “I’ve got adventures for you.”
“Okay.” Chelsea hurried to cram her shoe on, chasing after the fae. “So what are these adventures.”
Puck shrugged, weaving between two adults. “I found a new swimming spot.”
Chelsea hid her frown. “Okay, but that’s-”
“It’s really shallow and warm so the manta rays like to coast in there.” His eyes flashed up, the sun catching them as his hand darted out, grabbing two cherimoya halves from a vendors table.
“Puck-!”
“Oh relax, Princess.” He rolled his eyes, grabbing a handful of dirt and setting it on the table. “Look.”
To Chelsea’s shock the gravel and grime had become shiny gold pieces. “How did you-?”
“I’m a fairy, remember?” He held the fruit out to her. “Now hurry. I’ve been planning this all summer.”
Chelsea smiled wide, teeth scraping against the green skin as her legs followed after Puck in the crowd, her heart full. Let Mom call him imaginary.
Puck stopped, his body jerking suddenly. Chelsea stepped around to peer at the fae’s face and laughed, fruit juice ran down his chin in rivulets and stained his shirt in a wide puddle. With a smirk he grabbed her hand and wiped his mouth against her cheek, earning a squeal of protest.
~*~*~*~
“Take that, Princess!” He growled, aiming the squirt gun at her and firing without mercy.
“Ladies!” The oldest in the birthday party summoned her team, “FIRE!”
With battle cries the girls legs churned as they ran from behind the table, fingers on the triggers, hands priming their weapons to keep the water streams going. The boys running in a disorganized mess to return fire. Chelsea squealed as Puck made a beeline for her.
“I’m not a Princess!” She yelled, halting in her tracks and turning, water balloon in hand. “I’m a dragon!” With a mighty grunt she heaved the balloon, watching in horror and fascination as it exploded by their feet, drenching them both.
“You’ve got terrible aim, Dragon.” Puck frowned, shaking off his bare foot.
“Alright kids!” The mother stepped out of the fancy house, an off-islander who had money to burn by the looks of the themed party. “Time for cake!”
Water guns and revelry was forgotten as children crowded the table to sing a loud and enthusiastic version of Happy Birthday for a nine year old Chelsea didn’t know. When they had first arrived Puck had grabbed her hand and shushed her at her protest.
“You complain and my magic won’t work.” He had warned as they stepped into the mass of kids swirling around the yard. “Just join in and don’t say anything. It’s fine, we aren’t hurting anyone by having some fun and eating some cake. I even brought a present.” He held up a small box that sparkled.
Still guilt nagged at Chelsea as she pulled out a heavily frosted cupcake. It almost felt like stealing. It really felt like lying. Sticky wet fingers squeezed hers and green eyes smiled.
Puck shook his head. “This is fun, right?”
Chelsea frowned. “I mean…” She looked at the water guns, at the cupcake in her hand. “Yeah.” She smiled slow. “It is. Back in Montana we just take care of Grandpa and his farm.”
Puck tilted his head, peeling off the cupcake wrapped and tossing it into a hanging garbage bag, grabbing Chelsea’s and doing the same. “What’s Montana like?”
“Big.” Chelsea’s eyes went wide as they wandered down the fenced path towards the beach. “You could walk for hours and get nowhere. The mountains look close sometimes but they aren’t. The sky looks like you could touch it but you can’t. Not ever.” She waved big with her arms. “The snow is so cold and it lasts forever. It snowed in June this summer.”
Puck’s eyes went wide as he licked frosting off his fingers leaving his tongue and lips blue. “June?!”
Chelsea nodded, saving the bottom of the cupcake for the waters edge where the little creatures and birds wandered, crumbling it as they walked, watching the things eat it. “Sometimes the snow is really light and fluffy and pretty. Sometimes it's not and I don’t like it. Grandpa is really sick and in winter it’s worse. It’s in his bones Mom says.”
“Oh that’s sad. If you can catch a fa-”
“Mom says they aren’t real.” Chelsea interrupted quickly, rubbing her arm where her bruise was still just visible. “She says you aren’t real.”
Puck stiffened. “So I’m your invisible friend then?”
Chelsea nodded, feet tromping in the wet sand, letting it splatter up her bare legs.
“Good. Let me be your imaginary friend. I’d rather just be for you anyway.” Puck looked up at the coast line. “Want to see the manta rays?”
~*~*~
Chelsea's feet splashed in the warm waters, Puck floating a few feet away.
"We're leaving early." Her voice echoed off the rocks, joining the ambiance of leaves rustling and waves lapping.
Puck said nothing.
"Three days." She sat on the sand, letting it engulf her waist. "I-I don't want to go back. It’s cold. There’s no ocean, no manta rays. Or fruit. The animals are… different there too. Not bad, just different. Bigger maybe. And-”
"Let's go climb that tree." Puck pointed lazily, sinking as he did so.
Chelsea frowned sour, turning her head quick to glare at the fae, squealing as a splash of the warm water hit her square in the face. A symphony of cackles met with the splashing of water as more waves came at her. On the defense she returned fire, hands working at rapid speed to return wide waves instead of haphazard sprinkles.
"Ah! No fair!" Puck floundered as her onslaught quickly overtook him, "You're cheating."
"I'm just cupping my hands!" She protested with a laugh, slipping in the soft sand and face planting in the water, bursting back through the surface with a gasp, both children filling the air with their joy.
The water stilled. The wind whispered. The sun grew pink and the sky dusty. A small hand found hers, startling her, making the sand fog the water around her calves and waist.
"I will find you in Montana." Puck's eyes gleamed again, so bright and magical.
His horns silhouetted in the colorful dusk, his wings just barely even there. Chelsea didn't wonder why, though maybe she should have.
"I will find you." His young voice repeated with a power much old than he was, far more permanent and ageless. "I swear it."
"You won't-"
He crouched beside her, both hands clasped around her own. "I will never leave you with her. Never."
~*~*~*~
Tag List: @vhum @thelastoftheflyinggraysons @nemothesurvivor
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#fairy summers#modern fairytale#urban fantasy#chelsea x devon#chelsea x puck#wip#300 follower celebration#womb1 au#puck x chelsea#short story#world of make believe au#my writing#writeblr
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