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harrygoeswest · 2 years

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Trigger Warnings: sweary sweary language, bullying

Word count: 9,451

Chapters three & four

five

I’d felt bad for ignoring George the other day, so I sent an apology and a brief response to his question, and we ended up arranging to meet that evening, but this time he picked me up and we drove out to Lechlade where he lived.

It was a beautiful village, much like Bibury - on the river with locks to watch the canal boats come and go. We sat outside The Riverside pub, with food this time as well as a shared bottle of wine, and talked endlessly about nothing while we watched the world go by.

In hindsight I wish I hadn’t gone. Not because I didn’t have a nice time - I did. But that was all it was; nice. He was gentlemanly to a degree, though somehow I felt like all our conversations lead back to the same thing. For a man who seemed to hold chivalry to a high importance, he talked about sex a lot. I’ve never been the type to squirm over those kinds of conversations, but it did get boring after so long.

And it’s not like he was bad in bed. He wasn’t incredible or utterly life-changing, but he wasn’t terrible. He was adequate. Unfortunately, adequate was not what I was looking for.

So when I woke early on the Saturday morning and found him wrapped around me, similarly to the way I’d been held in that dream that fucked me up so badly the other day, I felt nothing. Whoever that man had been in my dream, it was not George. For some inexplicable reason this all made me feel guilty. That was all I ever seemed to feel at the moment. Either that, or embarrassed. The latter wasn’t quite so uncommon.

I decided it was time to leave, even though it was only early. The alarm clock on his bedside table read just before 6:30am.

I peeled myself out of his hold and sat on the edge of the bed for a minute, rubbing my eyes and my face. I then went straight to the bathroom and used the loo. On my return I got dressed in yesterday’s clothes (obviously).

“Everything okay?” George asked, having not moved an inch.

I looked at him with a smile. “Yeah, fine. I just really need to get home before my daughter gets mad at me.”

That seemed to startle him somewhat. He frowned and rolled onto his back. “You have a daughter?”

I wasn’t at all surprised by his reaction. In fact, most men seemed to be put off the second I mentioned Ruby, so I’d often use the information as a scapegoat to leave.

I hummed. “Yep, she’s nearly 6.”

“Wow,” he coughed and sat up, “you, er, you look too young to be a mum.”

I tipped my head to the side. “Maybe.”

George didn’t say anything else.

I finished getting ready and then found my phone. “What’s the number for a taxi?” Ubers didn’t exist in the Cotswolds yet.

He gave me the contact information without moving a muscle. He didn’t even move when I had to leave. I knew after hearing the revelation of my young spawn he’d never try to contact me again. It was always the way. Fortunately it was exactly what I wanted.

At home I showered, dressed, and had a substantial breakfast before I collected Ruby from my parents’ house. I had a bit of a dickie tummy from the amount of alcohol consumed in the heat yesterday and wanted to make sure I wouldn’t be feeling shit for Ruby all day. The weather was too nice to miss out on doing something fun with her.

I drove the car around to Mum and Dad’s, noting how warm it felt even though it was only early spring. I’d put a dress on but didn’t pay a thought to my thighs when I made that decision. Now they were sweating and I was dreading the later unavoidable chafing.

“Mummy!” Ruby squealed the moment the front door opened, and appeared not seconds later at the end of the hallway.

“Morning, angel!” I squeaked, taking her in for a tight hug once she’d charged into me.

“Grandad did my hair!”

I looked her over as she pulled back, and my expression dropped. Dad had given her pigtail braids but they were uneven, one-sided, and somehow her parting went diagonally across her head rather than straight down the middle.

I coughed, “I can see that.”

“Do you like them?” She grinned at me, smoothing her little hands over the top of them.

How could I tell her they were giving me anxiety? I couldn’t. “Love them!” I said briskly. “Do you want to go and get your things?”

“Okay!” Ruby squeaked, and skipped away again.

I followed her at a much less enthusiastic pace. In the lounge, Dad was tidying away Ruby’s toys into their designated boxes.

“Morning, darlin’,” he said around a smile.

“Hiya.” I returned, noting that Mum was nowhere to be found. “Mum gone to the salon?”

“Yep.” He sighed. “Sorry about her hair.”

At least he knew it looked shit too. “It’s fine. She likes it, so who cares?”

“I suppose. What are you going to do today?”

“I don’t know.” I said lightly, and perched on the edge of the sofa. “It’s so nice outside, I want to take her somewhere.”

“Why don’t we go to the country park? My treat - she can wear herself out on the inflatable thingy.”

“Isn’t that a bit big for her?”

“Nah!” He stood up, taking the box of toys with him. “I’ll go in with her if it makes you feel better? Make sure she don’t drown or whatever.”

My gaze narrowed. It wasn’t very often my dad would offer to do a child’s play activity. “Are you avoiding staying at home alone, Papá?”

He huffed, but I knew he was joking. “Excuse me for wanting to treat my only child and grandchild to a nice day out.”

“Alright, fine. If that’s what you want to do, we’ll do that.”

“Well, it’s not about me, is it? It’s about Ruby.” He said, and I followed him out of the room.

I rolled my eyes. “Ruby?!”

“Yeah?!” She shouted back from her bedroom.

“Do you want to go to the water park today?”

Ruby squealed. “Yes please!” She ran across the landing to stand at the top of the stairs.

I was just waiting at the bottom. “Do you want to go on the inflatables with Abuelo?”

“Yes! Yes I do!”

I turned over my shoulder to where Dad had paused trying to shove the box into the right space on the shelf. “I think she wants to do your suggestion.”

“Alright.” He chuckled. “We’ll have to get a shift on, then, before it gets insufferably busy.”

I ushered Ruby to hurry up again.

My dad cleared his throat once she was out of earshot.

“What?” I asked at the look on his face.

“I’ve spoken to one of the local breeders about the dog.” He practically whispered.

I grimaced without thinking. “Okay,”

“He said there aren’t any around here at the moment, but he’s going to get in touch with others that aren’t a ridiculous distance away and see what he can find. Once he’s found one I’ll let you know so we can go and see them.”

I took a deep breath and nodded. “Alright.”

Dad placed his hand on my arm. “Floss, we’ll figure it out.”

“I know. I just don’t want it to turn out that we can’t get one in time or we get the wrong one, you know?”

“I do. But she’s an angel. Even if we don’t get a blue one, she’ll be happy with a Great Dane. In fact, I’d be willing to bet she’d be happy with any dog.”

I wasn’t sure.

I still wasn’t entirely convinced or even sold on the idea of getting this puppy at all, but it seemed I didn’t have much of a choice. Ruby had played me like a… what’s the saying? Anyway, Ruby had me wrapped around her middle finger.

“Mummy!”

I sat up at the sound of my daughter’s squeaking, a panic rising in me as it did any time she sounded scared.

“Mummy, Mummy!” She cried again, and I threw the covers off me, eyes still barely open.

The bedroom door was flung open as I swung my legs over the side.

“What’s the matter, darlin’?” I asked, not braced for the way she launched herself at me. I sounded half-dead.

“We need to go!” She yelled, and I realised then that she was excited, not scared.

If she mentioned a fucking blue Great Dane called Bongo I would actually shout at her for the first time in my life.

“Go where?” I said tightly as I pulled her up to lie next to me in bed.

Except she didn’t lie down, she sat on top of me like a damn monkey. “Kid’s club!”

Suddenly, it felt like the world had slowed down. Kid’s club? She fucking hated kid’s club. I’d witnessed a screaming snotting fit five days a week for the past six months over kid’s club, had I not? Did I dream that? Or was I dreaming this now? I might’ve slapped myself but that wouldn’t set a very good example.

“Kid’s club?”

“Yeah! We need to go now!”

I blinked at her. “Why?”

“Because!”

I looked at the time. 06:59. I sighed and turned my stare to the ceiling. My alarm was set for 7 anyway.

“Mummy, come on!”

“Alright, alright!” I flinched away from her when she smacked my arm. “Stop hitting me, please.”

Ruby’s hands fell to her sides. “We need to go, Mummy.”

I nodded absently, and then the alarm started screaming. I stopped it within seconds and sat up again. “Let’s go, then. Eager beaver.”

Was I completely bewildered by her sudden u-turn in attitude towards the morning club? Absolutely. Did I think that as soon as we pulled into the car park she’d start throwing another of her tantrums? Yes, I did. For that moment I couldn’t fathom what might have brought her to change her mind.

Ruby got dressed faster than she ever had done before, and was so keen on getting to school that she even put her own shoes on. She waited by the door, her little school-branded satchel in hand. I giggled to myself when I found her that way. She looked so cute.

I pecked the top of her head and turned her around by the shoulders. One thing she hadn’t done was her hair. I quickly brushed it and then tied it up for her in a ponytail with a scrunchie the same colour as the school uniform.

We then loaded up into the car and drove around the corner to the school. I kept an eye on her throughout the short journey, but she just had her head permanently in the window watching the world go by.

We pulled into the car park and I braced myself for a change in attitude. I thought she might scream when I got out and moved around to open the door for her, but by the time I got there she’d already let herself out.

“Bye, Mummy! Love you!” She shouted as she ran off through the gate towards the cabin.

I stared off after her with a blank look, suddenly unsure of what to do with myself. Perhaps Lorraine had finally listened to me and made my daughter feel comfortable enough to spend an hour at the club before going to school. I still didn’t know what the initial problem was, but I was just relieved to see Ruby her normal self again in the mornings.

And it continued that way for the rest of the week. Every morning she would charge into my bedroom minutes before the alarm went off to wake me up, demand we get up that instant and then wait by the door fully dressed and satchel in hand ready to leave. I’d drive her to the school and then she would launch herself from the car and into the hut to start her day.

I was relieved to some degree, obviously. It hadn’t been nice seeing her so distressed over a little club for so long and it was comforting to see her excited about it all of a sudden. I just didn’t know why. My usually very forthcoming child had kept her experiences in that hut very close to her chest - both good and bad.

While before I was trying to work out the mystery of why she hated going, now I was trying to figure out why she loved going.

I hadn’t been on a blind date in… well, ever. This was an unusual idea to me. Why would I want to go on a date with someone I’d never seen or heard of before? Why would anyone want to do that? I couldn’t for the life of me find any kind of appeal, and yet I was surrounded by people that did. I mean, Bibury was a small place. All the surrounding villages were equally small, if not smaller. There was actually every chance I knew this person very well. But then I hated the idea of not knowing until I arrived. At least with Tinder dates I knew what I was getting myself into.

Mostly.

There was one terrifying occasion where I thought I was meeting up with a handsome older man. Turned out he was just old. And I mean nearly 80. I didn’t live that one down for a while.

Because I didn’t know who I was meeting I had no idea what to wear. I spent nearly 2 hours trawling through my wardrobe trying to find something I was satisfied with, and yet I never seemed to be satisfied at all.

I knew I was going to The Swan, but the difference was it was dinner at The Swan. I might’ve been in there most Fridays for a drink or five, but I’d only ever eaten there with Ruby and my parents. Never on a date. For some reason, the prospect of eating completely threw me and all my usual outfit choices.

Eventually I decided on a burnt orange belted culottes jumpsuit with butterfly sleeves. I left my hair loose and gave it a quick brush, applied the smallest amount of makeup because I actually just couldn’t be bothered to, and put on a pair of white strappy braided low heels. I didn’t bother with a jacket, even though I knew I’d probably regret it later.

I walked from my house into the village and to The Swan, smiling at pretty much every single person I passed because I knew them in some capacity, whether it be well or not so. It was another pleasant evening. It seemed summer had come early and honestly I was delighted about it.

The Latin in me craved the sunshine and the heat. I often fantasised about moving Ruby and I to Colombia or Peru to make the most of it, but I knew my mother would never hear of it. While she was proud of our heritage she despised the thought of going back to South America to live.

Inside The Swan I found the host in the restaurant, a staff member I wasn’t very familiar with, and gave over Zara’s name.

The host smiled and looked through the diary. “Perfect. You’re just in that table by the window,” she pointed to two armchairs facing each other with a dining table between, nestled into a crook with a tall window.

It was all very romantic and lovely, and I’d forgotten quite honestly that I was here for an actual date, not just a one-night stand. The table had a tall candle in the middle of it and the lighting was dimmed ready for the evening.

I looked at the person already sitting in the left-hand chair, staring intently at his phone. My stomach fell.

“Oh my God,” I groaned, taking a step backwards and knocking into the desk. “Shit,” I looked at the host again, “I’m sorry.”

“Are you okay?”

I wasn’t okay. I moved out of sight of the table.

It was the dentist. Harry Styles, the sexy dentist, was my blind date. Zara had royally stitched me up. I was starting to panic. I could feel it in my chest and in my ears.

There was no way I was going to manage a date with him. I could barely string a sentence together in front of him, let alone sit with him for however long and eat in front of him. He’d get to the end of it and never want to see me again. Perhaps that was a good thing. But it was easier for me to actively avoid him than for him to actively avoid me.

I was so annoyed. He looked so good. He’d dressed up a little - wearing beige suit trousers and a black shirt that kind of looked sheer. His hair was a little floppy and messy like he’d just washed it and let it dry to its own will.

I had no problem fancying him. He was very fanciable, evidently. And Zara had been right - anyone would be a fool not to find him good-looking. His looks were absolutely not the problem. It was his profession and my idiotic inability to not be able to build a bridge.

Could I leave? God, I hated to have to be that person to stand someone up on a blind date, but I couldn’t bear the thought of facing him after those two ridiculous incidents in his practice. I knew for sure he thought I was crazy. I didn’t want to cement that even further by spending two hours just embarrassing myself in front of him.

“Miss?”

I looked back to the polite host. “Christ, I’m sorry. Um…” I peered around the corner for another look at him.

He was still very pretty and still very invested in something on his phone. I found myself yearning for him and I needed to stop.

“No, yeah,” I met her gaze again, “I can’t be here with that man. It’s not his fault, I’m just… completely and utterly useless.”

She looked very confused.

“I know I’m not making any sense. Basically, I just need you to tell him I’m sick or something. Please? I’m sorry to put you on the spot but I have embarrassed myself in front of him twice already and I’m not gonna do it a third.”

The host relaxed and lifted her head. “I see. Leave it with me.” She smiled.

“Thank you!”

I allowed myself one more peek at Dr Styles before I practically ran from the pub.

I was riddled with guilt and shame. I just stood someone up. I’d never done that before, because I’d always thought it incredibly rude. I was incredibly rude in one sense, but I was also terrified. Why did the only single man to roll into town for the first time in years have to be beautiful and a dentist?

In haste, I walked to Geri’s and let myself in without even knocking. I found her and Zara in the living room sharing a bottle of wine and a curry from the local takeaway.

“Why are you here so soon?!” Geri stood up at my breezy entrance.

“You can’t have embarrassed yourself already…” Zara said with a frown.

“No, actually,” I pointed at her, “I left before I could do that. In fact, I left as soon as I walked through the door.”

“Why?!”

“Because that man has seen me covered in grease and dirt and talk absolute rubbish on two entirely separate occasions, and I am not opening myself to a third!”

“How the fuck have you managed that? He’s only been here a few weeks.”

“With great ease, apparently.” Zara muttered. “I can’t believe you stood him up! You look incredible! He’d be drooling over you!”

I flopped down on the sofa with a sigh, gladly taking the half-empty wine glass Geri offered to me. I took a long drink. “Yes, but he is on another level, isn’t he? Like… next to him I am nothing.”

“False.” Geri shook her head. “He might be pretty but you are beautiful, señorita.”

I giggled but it was filled with anguish, and leant my head on her shoulder. “Thank you. Still doesn’t change that I know he thinks I’m batshit crazy.”

“You are batshit crazy.” Zara corrected. “But who cares? There is not a person in this village who has a bad word to say about you.”

“That’s true.” Geri agreed.

“Also, you don’t have to marry the poor sod. You could’ve just had dinner, gone home together; bit of sexy time; bit of fun; sent him home in the morning.”

I pouted. “I am not letting a man with a face that gorgeous anywhere near my,” I gestured wildly to my face, “food funnel.”

“Just call it your mouth, you absolute weirdo!” Zara hissed.

Geri rolled her eyes. “Why do you think Ruby calls her nose a snot bucket, Zara?”

“You are joking.”

I ignored the two of them and carried on drinking.

“Anyway, you’re never going to find the love of your life by not going on the blind dates I set up for you. You’ll be single forever.”

“Maybe I like the idea of being single forever.” I retorted. “I don’t want some stuck up male moseying into my life and telling me how to live it, or how to bring up my child. I’m just fine on my own, thank you very much.”

“Bet that’s not what you were thinking when Ruby’s daddy minced his way into your knickers, was it?” Geri quirked a brow.

I was having a hard time imagining Federico mincing his way into anything. How does one mince? Is it slug-like? Or like a criminal in a cartoon, with the jutting of shoulders and long strides with high knees?

“Well, he wasn’t exactly around for very long, either.” Zara muttered, and then looked directly at me. “What was he doing here again?”

I decided to tell a little white lie. I shrugged, “I dunno, some study abroad scheme, I think. I don’t remember much.”

“Was that the last time someone shagged you?” Geri’s question made me feel like a child who didn’t know anything.

I scoffed. “No.”

“Floss, why did I even bother setting up that date for you?”

“I don’t know. I had a moment of weakness? A vivid dream where I was stupidly craving the physical affection of a man. I won’t be doing it again.”

“You’re not holding out for that Italian, are you?” Geri asked quietly.

“No.” I laughed. “If I never saw Rico again I wouldn’t be surprised, and I’m okay with that. I’m happy where I am.”

My two friends looked at me in silence for a moment.

Eventually, Geri said, “Hungry?”

“Fucking starving, mate.”

six

The Easter holidays came and went in no time at all. Part of me had wanted to take Ruby away for a few days somewhere, but since I was apparently about to break the bank buying a dog for her, I’d tossed the idea in the bin and pretended not to think about it.

She didn’t seem to mind. She had so many friends I could never remember the names of that she spent most of the holidays at other people’s houses. On one Friday I had let her arrange a sleepover which she seemed to especially enjoy. Geri came over to help with it, and while the girls had the rule of the roost downstairs, we stayed upstairs and shared a bottle of wine and stuck a film on, but kept the door open so we could hear them in case anything happened.

Mum and Dad also offered to have her a few times so I didn’t have to worry about arranging childcare. She only came with me to work twice, but she seemed to enjoy herself. She always managed to find a way to entertain.

We were back to Monday morning, and I was having an internal debate whether she’d kick up a fuss over kid’s club again or wake me up early like she had done every day the week before the holidays.

When Ruby did inevitably wake me up, I nearly choked at the sight of her fully dressed in her uniform.

“What on Earth?” I laughed, sitting up.

“I want to go now, Mummy!” She squeaked, a delighted smile on her face.

“Rubes, it doesn’t even open until half 7, and I don’t pay for you to turn up that early.”

“Please?”

“No, darlin’.” I didn’t want to give Lorraine the satisfaction.

Ruby huffed and began to stomp away.

“Excuse me,” I called after her, and she stopped at the unimpressed tone of my voice, “come here, please.”

She turned to face me with a scowl, marching her way back to me.

I took her hands in mine and made sure she was looking at me before I spoke. “I’m over the moon that you’re enjoying that club again, but we don’t throw a strop because we can’t get what we want, do we?”

“No.” She muttered, looking to the floor.

“No, we don’t. Now, I can’t send you there before 8 o’clock because that’s not the arrangement I have with them. I also don’t have to - I like our mornings together. So, we are going to go at 8 like we always do, and in the meantime I am going to get ready at a normal pace and you are going to wait for me. Okay?”

“Okay,” She said.

“Good girl.” I replied, and kissed her hands. “Now, you can go and watch TV if you want while you wait. And if you haven’t brushed your teeth I’ll be really upset.”

My daughter’s hands slipped out of my grip, and she trudged her way out of the room. I watched after her as she left, a slight pout to my lips. She was cute and all, but one day she was going to give someone a real run for their money. I just hoped that whoever she did end up with liked a challenge.

I got ready at my usual pace since I was actually in less of a rush than I usually would be. It felt warm again so I dug another t-shirt out of the wardrobe and a pair of black jeans for the journey. I’d only have to cover up with a boiler suit when I got to the garage anyway. I tied my hair up without looking in a mirror, made my way downstairs and pulled my boots on.

Ruby was still eagerly waiting by the door when I got to the foot of the staircase. I giggled at her and stroked my hand over her hair.

Once again I drove her to the school and she spent the entire journey staring out the window. I didn't dare ask her what she was thinking - I didn’t want to pull her out of her daydreams like that, as curious as I was to know. As soon as I’d stopped the car in the car park she unclipped her belt and wriggled her way out of the car.

“Ruby!” I shouted after her, and fiddled my own way out. I hated running, but I was sure as hell going to this morning.

She ran straight to the hut without a hint of hesitation, and I just about caught up to her in the doorway. She looked around the playroom at all the other children, and her shoulders slumped with sadness.

“What’s wrong?”

Ruby turned around and walked back out of the hut again. “Nothing.” She muttered.

I was confused. And bewildered. One minute she couldn’t wait to get here and now she didn’t want to go inside again.

“Ruby, darlin’, you know you can tell me what’s upsetting you.” I reminded her, crouching down beside her and taking her hand to encourage her to look at me.

“I know.” She mumbled, angled towards me but not looking directly at me.

“So why don’t you tell me what’s wrong?” I squeezed her hand.

“Because you’ll think I’m silly.”

“I promise you I won’t.” I hummed, bringing her hand to my mouth. “Talk to me, muffin.”

She debated for a moment. I could almost see her thinking, eyes drifting slightly with her thoughts. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped at the sight of another car pulling into the car park.

I followed her gaze, brows furrowing. A familiar black Range Rover pulled in, parking a few spaces away from mine.

“Yay!” Ruby squealed, and immediately ran off again.

I took a few deep breaths. “Oh, fuck.”

At a much less enthusiastic pace, I followed Ruby back across the playground to the car park. Simultaneously, Dr Styles made his way out of his car to keep a cautious eye on his own child.

“Oscar!” He shouted after he’d closed the door.

That name rang a bell. Why did that name sound familiar?

I looked at the child that Ruby was suddenly so eager to see. He looked like his dad, that was for sure. He was a little blonder than I expected, and his hair didn’t quite have the curly bounce to it that his dad’s did, but he was so very similar to the dentist in the face. He was a very cute little thing, I had to say. Not as cute as Ruby, obviously.

Oscar and Ruby met halfway and immediately grouped close to one another, giggling over something.

I tucked my loose fluffy bits of hair behind my ears. The dentist made his way towards me, wearing blue scrubs on his lower half and a tight-fitted black t-shirt on his top. His boobs looked better than mine, and he pulled off casual-doctor-chic better than I did casual-mechanic-chic.

The closer he got to me the more weighted I felt. He looked at my t-shirt as he was about to speak, and got cut off by his own breathy laughter. “Morning,”

I quickly glanced down at myself, reminded of which one I was wearing. It was white with a red printed line-drawing of a pair of legs on a bed, face-down, with the caption ‘Lying Down Club’. I cleared my throat and looked anywhere but directly at him, “Hello,”

There was a moment of dead silence between us, but Oscar and Ruby were chatting away with ease.

“Oscar actually asked me to drop him off later.” The dentist said, arms now folded across his chest.

I looked at him properly then. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah, I usually,” he pointed a lazy finger at the children and swallowed thickly, “drop him off when it opens, but he said he doesn’t like being there early because Ruby isn’t there.”

“Oh…” I couldn’t help but smile a little. “That’s very sweet. Ruby asked me to take her earlier today, actually. But I’m meaner and said no.”

“I don’t think it’s mean.” He shrugged. “It’s a lot of money to send them here.”

I nodded in complete agreement. “And the woman that runs it is fu-,” I stopped myself from swearing, even though the children were not interested in our conversation, “she’s horrible.”

“Lorraine?”

“Uh-huh.”

The dentist smiled at the floor. “Yeah, she’s a stern woman.”

“Certainly one way of putting it.” I muttered.

Suddenly the children took off again, running towards the hut.

“Hey! Ruby?!” I yelled.

“Bye, Mummy!”

I lifted my hands up and sighed. “Bye, then.”

Dr Styles chuckled behind me. “Must be nice to have so much energy.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.” I huffed and turned to face him again. “She woke me up this morning fully dressed and ready to leave before my alarm had gone off.”

Harry smiled, and I forgot how to breathe for a minute. “I’ve had two weeks of it. Took him to my Mum’s for the Easter Holidays and all he spoke about the entire time was Ruby. He adores her.”

I felt my cheeks warm but I didn’t know why. He was complementing Ruby, not me. Still - it made me proud to know that other children enjoyed her company and looked forward to it. “I had been wondering why she suddenly enjoyed coming here so much. Up until the week before the holidays I used to have to push her, kicking and screaming, to go inside.”

“It’s nice. I’m glad he could settle in here.”

“So am I.” I smiled back at him.

We stayed just grinning at each other for some time. I couldn’t take my eyes off him, he was so handsome. Perhaps I was a fool to have stood him up, but he didn’t know that was me. Or at least I hoped he didn’t. Still, I stood before a beautiful man that I would happily look at all day. Perhaps we could end up being good friends one day. It didn’t change that he was a dentist and I was terrified of having him anywhere near my teeth.

He looked at his watch then and panicked. “Shit, I need to go.”

“Oh, me too.”

“My first appointment is in like, 10 minutes.” He laughed, turning away. “Bye, Florence.”

“Bye,” I said with a limp wave, wandering back towards my own car.

Well - one mystery had been solved this morning. Ruby had apparently become best friends with the dentist’s son. There was nothing wrong with that at all. It just left me with that terrifying internal panic that I may have to see the sexy dentist more than I really needed to.

Bollocks.

Every so often, my dad’s friend Frank would bring his car into the garage for a seasonal service or it’s MOT or some other reason. I’d known Frank since I was a baby - his wife Diane was also a regular client of my mother’s and they were very close friends. My mother had always shown a kind of disdain towards Frank, and I’d only recently understood why.

“Good morning, Florence,” he knocked on the window that looked into the office at the garage.

The sound startled me a little, so when I looked up I was wide-eyed and somewhat irritated. “Oh. Hi, Frank.”

I was sure I wasn’t expecting anything from him for a while - he’d not long had his summer service. I ran my finger over the little calendar on the desk.

“I’m not due in for anything - I’ve just been hearing a few little problems with it.”

I took a moment to collect myself before I moved. I stood and faced him, noting the way he leaned against the doorframe as if he owned it. His eyes were dark and glaring and it made me squirm.

“What’s happening?” I asked, trying to keep my voice even as we moved out of the office to the garage floor.

“I don’t know, I was kind of hoping you could tell me.”

I lifted my head a little and stood in front of the car with my arms folded.

Deemed to be one of the most beautiful cars ever made, Frank owned a red Ferrari F355. He was obsessed with it, as anyone should be if they spent such an obscene amount of money on a car they barely drive. I, on the other hand, could take it or leave it. It was pretty to an extent, but the amount of problems it had weren’t worth the hassle of just owning it. Frank had had his since 1995 when they were first released, and I honestly couldn’t believe it had lasted so long. It was the only one of its kind I’d even seen, but it was notorious for its failures.

“Show me the problem, then.” I encouraged, bored of waiting.

“I was kind of hoping you’d do it.” He smirked, jiggling his keys in front of me.

I gave him a flat look. “Get in the car and start the engine, Frank.”

I half-expected a snide remark in return, but he saved me the headache today and did as I told him to.

The engine roared to life a minute later, echoing around the open garage and probably scaring the farmer across the road. I circled around the car while Frank revved the engine in a stupid and wanky manner. I was listening for any tell-tale sign of what might be wrong with it, but I couldn’t hear anything apart from just loud engine and exhaust noises.

I signalled for him to turn the engine off again and sighed.

“Well?” He asked as he got out again.

“I don’t know. I’ll have a look into it and come back to you.”

“Okay, thanks, Florence.” He smiled, and squeezed my arm.

That was why my mother didn’t like him. A squeeze on the arm from a man I’ve known since infancy might not seem like anything drastic, but he’d been known to do far worse. He was a dominating man - calling me Florence when he knew I’d always gone by Floss was just one of his many little ways to express that it was his way or no way at all. Up to this point I hadn’t had a terrible altercation with him, but I know my mother had. Mine was almost inevitable.

Frank was smart. He always came to the garage when he knew Dad wasn’t working. He knew that if he ever tried to pull anything with Dad around it would not end well, so he always visited when he wasn’t in. He also thought it was easier to charm a woman with talk about his expensive car than a man. Unfortunately for him, I knew a hell of a lot more about cars than my father did, and no amount of mechanical chat ever really impressed me.

“Will you do me our special family and friends discount?” He asked when I didn’t say anything, his hand still on my arm. He began stroking it, and I felt sick.

It was true - I had in the past naively agreed to charge him fees without labour costs because he was a family friend. Now he asked for it every time, and it constantly put me out of pocket.

“I’m not gonna agree to that until I know how much work there is to do.”

“Don’t be like that, Florence.”

“Frank, I don’t know how many problems there are with your problematic car. If it’s more than a day’s labour, I can’t really afford to go without it this time - Ruby’s birthday is coming up.”

Telling him that was a mistake, but it was already too late. I could see the newfound smarm in his eyes.

“Let me guess - she wants something extortionate like a dog.”

I might’ve been a bit thick, but I wasn’t an idiot. I knew my dad would’ve told Frank that Ruby wanted a dog in passing comment, he just liked to pretend it was a lucky guess.

“You already know she wants a dog.”

“I promise I didn’t.” He lifted his hands. “How about we make a deal? You give me the friends and family discount on whatever the car needs, and I’ll help you out in getting Ruby’s dog.”

“Or, you could just pay me the labour fees I’m owed and you don’t have to provide any money towards the dog.”

He laughed and looked away. “Come on, Florence. Loosen up a little.”

The last thing I wanted to do around that man was loosen up. “No.”

Frank huffed. “Think about it. I’ll even pay for the insurance on it.”

“No. I’m not a charity case.”

“And I didn’t mean it like that.” His voice had become soft and sweet and it was disgusting. “I’m just trying to help you out, we love Ruby.”

“Frank?”

My dad appeared on the forecourt, and I exhaled heavily. Thank fuck for that.

“Dave! What are you doing here?” He sounded jarred. I should hope so, too.

“Come to see Floss about something.” Dad said, and seemed perturbed by the question. It was an odd question, actually. Why did my dad have to explain himself for showing up at his daughter’s garage that he occasionally worked at? Come on, Frank.

“Ah, right.” He coughed. “Well,” he looked at me, “think about what I said, Florence. And let me know about the car.”

“Uh-huh.” I mumbled, but never looked at him.

Dad waited for Frank to leave before he spoke again. “I have some good news. Thought I’d tell you in person rather than on the phone.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

While Dad explained himself, I felt around the Ferrari for the bonnet lock.

“That breeder I mentioned has found a litter.”

“Where?”

He looked hesitant when I met his gaze again. “Wisbech.”

I’d never heard of it before. “Where is that?”

“Cambridgeshire.”

I lowered my head, still none the wiser.

My dad rolled his eyes. “It’s about a three-hour drive.”

I tipped my head back and sighed. “Well, I guess that serves us right for wanting to find something so bloody specific.”

My dad hummed. “He did also say that there was a litter in south Somerset with a ‘merle’ colour one.”

“What does that mean?”

“I think it’s light grey with little black spots.”

“Sounds pretty. But it’s not blue, is it?”

“No. And, if we were going to travel all the way to Taunton for a puppy, we might as well just travel to Cambridge for the one she actually wants.”

“Yeah, I think that’s fair.” I nodded.

“What’s wrong with this piece of shit, anyway?” He knocked the side of Frank’s Ferrari with his knuckle.

“I don’t actually know. It’ll probably be anything and everything that can go wrong with one, though.”

Dad laughed. “Want some help? I’ve done everything at home your mother asked me to.”

I grinned, patting his shoulder. “Sure. I need to put it on the lift because I’m almost certain there’ll be something wrong with the suspension.”

I didn’t finish Frank’s Ferrari until over a week later. I was right - there was a lot wrong with it. Suspension included. The exhaust manifold was fucked, and I’d told Frank about a year ago that he’d need to replace it sooner rather than later because it was a known issue with the model. Did he listen to me? No. Now his bill with me would afford about 10 blue Great Dane puppies. Sadly, I wasn’t taking home the full five-figure bill since most of it was going towards paying for obtaining the damn rare parts from inconvenient parts of the world.

Frank was in the garage waiting room while I finished the very last touches. Zara was in the front seat of the car while I was tightening the last bolt underneath. I rolled out and stood up; absolutely filthy, as I had been every day this week, and stuck my thumb up at Zara.

She started the engine and it finally roared to life, and I let out a long sigh of relief. I could finally get this fucker off my hands and out of my garage - and I meant Frank, not the car.

I wiped my hands on a clean cloth and went to find the old man so I could get rid of him as soon as possible.

“All done.” I said as I handed him the keys.

“Thanks.” He grunted. “Think I might have to skip out on the winter service this year, Florence. You’ve bled me dry.”

“Cars have a life expectancy, Frank. Especially expensive ones with as many problems as yours does. You’re lucky it’s survived this long.”

“I don’t control the prices of the parts.”

“Neither do I! I’ve charged you what they charged me, and that’s without shipping costs. You want to keep your shitty expensive car, you’ve got to expect to pay the bloody fees to fix it.”

“So what are you saying?”

I pulled a face. Was he really more stupid than me? “I’m saying either get rid of the thing or face the costs of it.”

“Floss,” Zara interrupted us.

I turned my gaze on her, and she was standing in the waiting room doorway with the office phone pressed to her chest. “Yeah?”

“It’s the school asking for you.”

As any parents’ would, my stomach dropped. I looked back at Frank. “It’s fixed, for now. Excuse me.” I headed towards the door and took the phone off Zara and squeezed out of the room. “Hello?”

“Good afternoon, is this Mrs Fuentes-Carter?”

I was too concerned to comment on the title error. “Yes…”

“Hello, I’m calling from the school reception.”

“Is something wrong?”

“Ruby is absolutely fine, but there was an incident at school today and Mrs Moon would like to speak to you at the end of the day if possible.”

“Incident? What kind of incident?”

“I think it would be best if Ruby’s teacher spoke to you about it.”

I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “Okay, fine.”

An hour later I was pulling up at the school, parking in one of the few remaining spaces. Geri, Sharon and Debbie were already waiting by the gates, and I could also see the dentists’ car, but he wasn’t in it or visible outside. As I made my way across the carpark towards the school reception I gave Geri a limp wave, but I could tell by the look on her face that she didn’t understand what was happening. Actually, I didn’t understand, either.

Inside I announced myself to the receptionist, and she guided me down the hall to the right classroom. There, outside the door, the dentist was waiting with his arms folded and a concerned look on his face. I slowed my walk, noting that neither Ruby nor Oscar were waiting with him.

“What’s going on?” I asked, glancing into the classroom where the door was closed.

“No idea.” He said, aggravated and without looking at me. “That woman who runs the morning club is in there with her kid and ours.”

I frowned. “Why the fuck aren’t we in there, then?”

Before he could answer, I wrapped twice on the door and opened it without waiting. “Excuse me, what is going on?”

“Mrs Fuent-,”

“I’m not married.” I said flatly.

Mrs Moon sat back a little. Lorraine and her son were sitting on the other side of the desk facing her in plastic red chairs made for children, while Ruby and Oscar were sitting on the carpet in the far corner of the room, each reading a book.

“Miss Fuentes-Carter,” Mrs Moon tried with me again, “I’d politely ask you and Dr Styles to wait outside until-,”

“Absolutely not.” I retorted. “It is inappropriate for you to have a conversation with another parent while our children are present but we aren’t. If we leave, so do the children.”

Mrs Moon grew frustrated, but she didn’t know how to answer me.

“It’s alright, Connie.” Lorraine said calmly, and stood from her seat. “We were just finishing anyway, weren’t we?”

The teacher started again, “Um, no-,”

“We have an appointment to get to, so you can discuss the incident with Florence and the doctor.”

“Mrs Houchen, please si-,”

“Follow up with me in an email if you need to!”

We all watched as Lorraine and her well-built son breezed from the room, and it suddenly felt deathly quiet. I met Harry’s baffled gaze, and then I looked back to Mrs Moon, who seemed to be exasperated. Oscar and Ruby were still very quiet, but they were looking at us.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but what the hell is going on?” Harry demanded.

Mrs Moon pointed at the now empty chairs opposite her and rubbed her cheek. “Would you both like to sit down?”

“No.” We said simultaneously.

The teacher nodded despairingly, and stood up from her seat to perch on the edge of the desk closer to us. “I didn’t expect this all to be quite so dramatic, so I apologise. There was an incident at lunchtime and I was hoping it could be sorted in a more… calm manner than this.”

“Who is in trouble? Our children or Lorraine’s?” Harry asked, arms still folded across his chest.

“Ben Houchen claims that Ruby pushed him and Oscar hit him.”

“Excuse me?” I choked.

“I know, I know.” Mrs Moon stressed. “It’s very out of character for Ruby, I’m well aware, and for Oscar… well, I’ve never heard him raise his voice at all. Only when he’s playing football. So, I’m just as surprised as you, honestly.”

“Did anyone see it?” I asked.

The teacher shook her head. “No. At least no one wants to admit they’ve seen it.”

I screwed my face up.

“I should also add that neither Ruby nor Oscar have denied that it happened.”

I looked at my daughter as Harry did Oscar, and the look she gave back to me was blank, but I could see in her eyes she was sad about something. One thing I knew about Ruby is that she didn’t lie. She was too forthcoming to care about lying, even if she was in trouble. If she didn’t want to tell me something she simply wouldn’t, but she would never outwardly tell me that she hadn’t done something when she had. It was that reason I knew that whatever was claimed to have happened between my daughter, Oscar and Ben, it probably actually did.

“Have they said anything about what happened?” Harry asked, seeming a little calmer than me.

“They won’t say anything about the actual incident, but Ruby has told me that Ben isn’t very nice to her.”

I gritted my teeth. “Is this the first time she’s said anything about it?”

“Florence, I assure you - if I’d have known earlier that she might’ve been struggling with another student, I would’ve done something about it. I absolutely do not tolerate bullying in my classroom, or anywhere else.”

I felt emotional. I felt like a bad mother again. My eyes welled up and I tried to swallow it all away. “Ruby, come here for a second.”

My small child stood up and ran over to me. I knelt down in front of her and took her hands. “Muffin, will you tell me what’s been going on?”

She looked at me, then at Oscar, Mrs Moon and Harry each in turn and shook her head.

I stroked her face. “Why not, poppet?”

“Because you’ll be mad at me.”

“Ruby, we are not going to be mad at you for telling the truth.” Harry said softly, a lot closer behind me than I realised. “Neither of you.”

Ruby looked at Harry for a while, and then turned over her shoulder to look at Oscar again.

“In order for us to be able to get to the bottom of the issues, we need both of your help.” Mrs Moon said with her hands pressed against her thighs. “And we are not going to punish you for being honest, because what do I always say to you guys?”

“Honesty is the best policy.” Oscar muttered, staring at his lap.

“Exactly.” The teacher smiled.

“Was Ben telling the truth?” I asked, thumbing over Ruby’s cheek. “Did you push him?”

Ruby inhaled, lips pouting, and she nodded twice.

“Okay.” I took her hand and squeezed it.

“Oscar, did you hit him?” Harry followed on.

“Yeah, but only because he deserved it.”

I pressed my lips together, and I could see Mrs Moon staring at her lap, mouth a thin line.

I missed the silent communication between father and son, but in the next minute Oscar was trudging across the room. Harry placed Oscar on the table closest, and he sat cross-legged on the top of it while Harry sat against the edge next to him.

“Thank you for being honest, mate.” His voice was quiet and warm, and he rubbed his head. “What happened that the two of you felt the need to do that?”

Oscar looked at Ruby, refusing to speak again.

“Ben isn’t very nice to us.” Ruby finally admitted.

“In what way, baby?” I cooed.

“He says mean things. He says that I don’t have a daddy because mine doesn’t love me. And he says it’s funny that Oscar’s mummy isn’t here anymore and that she’s better off without him.”

I felt sick. I was on the verge of tears again, and I could see Harry’s hand visibly tighten around the edge of the table.

“Before Oscar was coming to kid’s club, Ben used to chase me around and pull my hair. I asked his mum to tell him to stop but she always just used to say that it meant he secretly liked me and he was just teasing me. But he’s never been nice to me, he’s just nasty and spiteful.

“And when Oscar started coming in the morning he stopped for a bit, and it was fun there. And then this week he started talking about Oscar’s mummy and being mean to him about it. But it was okay being at kid’s club now because even though Ben is not very nice, Oscar was still there.

“Oscar was really upset yesterday about what Ben had been saying and he’d hit him on the arm, so I said we should hit him back. Grandad always says we should hit someone back because it’s not nice.”

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. I’d never felt so degraded through my child before because of another parent. I didn’t know how to react - I didn’t know what to do. My baby girl was being led to believe that it wasn’t okay to not have a dad, because some horrible, nasty woman had brainwashed her child into thinking that. What kind of cruel, spiteful person do you have to be to think it’s okay to bring up your child to believe that?

I could hear Harry whispering to Oscar, and I immediately brought Ruby into my arms for a tight hug. I kissed her cheek, my tears dripping onto her skin, but I didn’t want to let her go.

“I’m so proud of you, Ruby.” I whispered.

“I love you, Mummy.” She mumbled.

“I love you, too.”

“Um,” Mrs Moon started, her voice cracking, “I’m sorry that the two of you had this happen to you in my care. I’m ashamed that I missed it, and I can assure you it will not continue. I am also really proud of both of you for telling the truth, and for standing up for yourselves. I do have to say that physical violence is not the way forward… but, you should be proud of yourselves for being honest and telling us the truth.”

“Neither of you should feel ashamed for not having another parent. And you definitely shouldn’t be made to feel that way by a bratty child who hasn’t been taught any different.” Harry said, his voice coarse. “Not having your mum or dad is not your fault. In fact, there’s no fault to have on anyone’s part. You’re both amazing children, and you should not be made to feel guilty, or lesser than, because you’ve only got one parent.”

I stared at Harry, somewhat awed by him. I wouldn’t have been able to put it as eloquently as that, but I appreciated him and that we were on the same wavelength.

We helped the children collect their belongings, said goodbye to Mrs Moon for the day, and walked through the school corridors out to the car park. Ruby clutched onto my hand the entire time, while Harry had Oscar on his hip. He looked a little big to be doing that now, but after the revelation we’d just had, I didn’t imagine Harry cared very much.

It was a bittersweet moment - one that was of course about to be tarnished by the sighting of the cause of all our problems.

Lorraine was piling things from the hut into her car, badgering Ben in the process. I thought I’d calmed down, but seeing the woman whose child made my daughter upset and did nothing about it filled me with a rage I’d never experienced before. Nothing had ever made me really angry, and this other mother was the exception.

I was about to do something so out of character, I’d terrify myself.

“Lorraine!”

I’ve got big ears!

Chapters seven & eight

#harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles imagines #harry styles fic #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles writing #harry styles fluff #harry styles smut #harry styles angst #harry styles ff

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w000ble · 10 months

Text

TRANSCRIPT - FROM 31:39

Tim: I found out that atoms don't look anything like every atom I've ever seen drawn looks like. (Bryn: No, that's complete lies) Tim: They're all lies! Bryn: Yep. Tim: Because all of the electrons are basically everywhere in a big cloud of potentialness— (Bryn: Yes, absolutely.) Tim: —and so it wouldn't look anything like every atom I've ever been shown! EXPLAIN!

Bryn: Atoms are drawn like solar systems because... apparently people who draw diagrams of atoms believe children are stupid. Tim: I would have preferred a cloud of— look, here is a globe, the atom is everywhere and nowhere all at the same time— again, if you'd have told me that, and that dude's crazy-ass name, I'd have been much more interested in science! Bryn: (Cracking up) Ben: To be fair though, it would make it much more difficult to count the electrons when you were doing one of those puzzles about like, 'we knock the electron out and what isotope does it become' so you have to count the electrons and work it out. Tim: Just dissolve it into a cloud and go, 'best of luck!' Ben: Yeah exactly, exactly you just flick one out of the cloud and like (PFBBBT) 'Have a guess. :)'

Bryn: This is actually an important point about science— is, y'know we talked about science being a method of understanding truth, or not, as the case may be. Tim: It's an onion of lies! Bryn: —and a lot of science is lies, because what science really is, is a model of the universe; of reality. It's not— you know, it is not necessarily a perfect understanding, and especially when quantum physics was being developed, where we discovered stuff like: an electron is actually a cloud of possibilities, we discovered that the universe is much weirder and harder to understand than we could possibly have imagined before, Tim: So we stopped trying. Ben: (Pffffft) Bryn: Basically, yes. What we have to accept is that our understanding of the universe is what we call a 'model' and the model is only useful as long as it makes predictions. But the model can also be useful, even when it doesn't necessarily reflect reality. And so chemists, to understand chemical reactions, and to understand things like isotopes or chemical bonding between elements— their model of the atom doesn't need to care about the fact that electrons aren't little balls of stuff orbiting around the center of the atom. (Tim: Okay. Alright.) Bryn: Their model allows them to make accurate predictions of the real world based on something that is not technically true, but— We've talked about the scientific method— hypothesis, test conclusion. If their hypothesis is a model that, in certain circumstances, we can say, 'an atom works like this,' and it makes correct conclusions, then it doesn't matter that the real picture is more complicated. And we do this all the time in physics as well. So you've probably both studied— y'know back in school— stuff like the laws of motion, and you probably had to calculate cars moving around, or billiard balls, or things on slopes.

Tim: I was asked to, I can't claim that I ever did— but I was certainly asked to.. Ben: Probably, and at some point I was asked about Boyle's law, and shown a spring, and I was like 'ah, (unintelligible), I dunno.' Bryn: (Cracking up) Sure. In all these examples, we ignore air resistance. Unless you're studying— y'know, and depending on what age you're studying these things, you may or may not ignore friction. But we know these things from our everyday experience exist, and we know that if we wanted to get super accurate results, we'd have to include air resistance and friction, but actually the results that we get by ignoring them are close enough that if we don't need to be 100% accurate, if we're just trying to make a decent prediction, the prediction is good enough most of the time.

Tim: It's spherical chickens again. ((I think this is a reference to the previous Tim & Ben do Science episode)) Bryn: It's spherical chickens in a vacuum, absolutely. And it's an important joke in a way, because what it says is, 'well, reality is complex and messy as we've already established, and science helps us understand it, but if science is making accurate predictions, that's really what's important.' And accurate predictions are essentially specific to a certain field or a certain test. If I say, 'well if I chuck this acid and this alkalide into a cup together, I don't need to know what's going to happen with every single atom inside. What I need to know is what's gonna end up in the cup at the end. Tim: There's potentially a lovely analogy, I think, from cartography where they say 'the only true map is the exact size and shape of the thing you are trying to map.' (Bryn: Absolutely.) Tim: '—but best of luck taking that on a short camper-vanning holiday in the Cotswolds.'

END TRANSCRIPT - AT 35:45

And you're telling me we're supposed to be more engaged, as high school students, with a model by some guy named Bohr than the QUANTUM CAT BOX guy??

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isimpfortoomanypeople · 2 years

Note

Omg! You did amazing portraying the whole sibling thing and relationship.

The part where yn scared bully was funny.

Please do another, maybe an epilogue like Billy spying on dates?

"Get out of the fucking tree,"

"I'm birdwatching,"

"it's two am idiot,"

"fuck,"

Lmao anything with badass reader (hargrove ) dating Steve

A/N: Aww thanks so much and I’m so happy that you loved it. I love this idea of Billy spying on them and just being an idiot.

Stay away from my sister- Steve Harrington x Fem Y/N Hargrove part 2

Part 1

Warnings: small mentions of catcalling, the reader is Billy’s fraternal twin to include all readers

A/N: I’m from the U.K. sorry if this sounds overly British, apologises for all spelling and grammatical mistakes as I’m super dyslexic, enjoy

It’s been a week since Tina’s party, one week exactly since you kissed Steve in front of your brother’s face. You wished that you would of recorded Billy’s reaction because it was hilarious, he looked mortified like he had just witnessed the worst thing imaginable. From his big reaction you would of expected him to at least yell at Steve, yell at you for betraying him for kissing the Harrington boy, but no Billy was being oddly reasonable it was unsettling. Sure he made the occasional glare towards him whenever their eyes met but this new found silence was so unlike the brother you knew.

“What’s wrong darling?” Steve asked as he slid his arm around your waist. It was like clockwork at this point, Steve met you at your locker daily at the exact time to carry your books to class, snaking his arm around your waist and pepper your face in a million kisses just to see you blush. Which according to Steve was the most adorable thing in the world. But today there was something off about you, you seemed distracted and dazed like your mind was in a different dimension entirely.

“It’s just Billy, I don’t know. He’s been too quiet about us dating, I was at least expecting some form of reaction by now” you sighed closing the metal door of your locker, passing Steve your chemistry textbook.

“Maybe Billy has accept us dating?, I mean you were very intimidating. You even scared me for a second” he smirked, gently guiding you towards the direction of your next class.

“Have you met my brother? He loves the dramatics, he’s up to something and I don’t know what”

“Forget about him, are we still good for tonight?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world” Steve leant into you, placing a long tender kiss on your lips. “Now go, before you’re late to O’Donnell’s. that woman is seriously terrifying”

Steve laughed, placing another kiss on your lips before running down the corridor hoping to get there before the bell rang.

You watched him go and felt your heart flutter which made the butterflies in your stomach race. The corners of your lips curled into a small smile as you realised, yep your definitely falling for Steve Harrington

——————————————————————————

Swiping on another layer of gloss upon your lips before grabbing your jacket and headed towards the front door. Before you could turn the handle you heard Billy’s voice.

“You look nice”

“Thanks, Steve is taking me out?” Your voice dragged out the sentence till it sounded like a question, highlighting how unsure you were about your brother’s nonchalant attitude towards tonight.

“Oh, where is he taking you?” He asked completely unfazed by the whole situation which further added to how out of character he was acting. Billy hated Steve’s guts, he despised his whole existence to the point he practically knocked him over during a basket ball game. Now he was okay with his sister dating the boy he hates, something wasn’t adding up which led to an uneasy feeling in your stomach.

“He’s taking me to the movies” you took a moment to observe his face and saw no reaction upon his features, not even the little twitch in his eye that he gets when he’s on the verge of rage. “Why are you so okay with this?”

“Huh?” He looked at you like you just grew another head, this started to irritate you. You knew your brother more than anyone and for him to be totally unfazed was exasperating.

“You hate Steve to the point you nearly punched him at Tina’s party, now you’re okay with me going on a date with him? So what gives?”

“Why do you care about what I think? You made it very clear that you would kill me if I laid a finger on the ‘king of Hawkins’, Y/N I saw you punch that guy who catcalled you a few days ago. I’d rather not take that risk” Billy shrugged, gently brushing past your shoulder as he walked towards the kitchen.

Your eyes grew wide and your brows furrowed together, Billy is definitely up to something. You’re definitely not going crazy or picking up on signals that weren’t there, he’s definitely up to no good.

A knock at the door brought you out of your thoughts, you turned the handle and called over your shoulder

“Don’t do anything stupid while I’m out”

“Wouldn’t dream of it”

You open the wooden frame to see Steve, he stood in blue jeans with a blue striped shirt, he looked so handsome that all your sentences got lodged in your throat. Leaving your mouth agape staring at him.

He chuckled about how blatantly obvious you were being, like he could see every cog in your brain coming to a screeching halt. You truly were the most beautiful person he had ever laid his eyes upon.

“Ready darling?”

You quickly darted your eyes away from him as you felt your cheeks flush with embarrassment from being caught, but who could blame you when he looked this good?

“I’m ready”

“You look beautiful by the way”

you smiled back at him, as your cheeks became nearly as red as the dress you were wearing. Steve had some form of hold over you. You once prided yourself upon being an independent person, who obtained the same level of “I don’t give a fuck” attitude as your twin, but when Steve was around that persona faded away leaving you in this lovesick mush.

——————————————————————————

Steve chose ‘nightmare on elm street’ for you both to watch, he was secretly hoping that you’d become scared and would cuddle into his side for comfort. While he could do that romantic cliche of putting his arm around you, holding you closer, whispering into your ear that he’d protect you.

What Steve didn’t factor in for is that you were Billy’s twin, Billy would force you to watch ‘Carrie’ and ‘the shining’. Doing that whole annoying brother thing of scaring you with the horror classics of Steven King and all of the classics within that genre . You were now use to scary movies, in fact you were starting to like them.

So Steve’s plan to act as the protector was ruined, you may or may not have even acted as his protector every time Freddy’s face flashed across the screen. But you swore to secrecy that you didn’t have to hold Steve tight while he had his head buried in the dip of your shoulder.

You both didn’t want the night the to end, so Steve suggested that you both go to the most beautiful place in Hawkins, a small secluded woods that contained a beautiful lake within the middle. Steve didn’t tell you the name of the lake and how he pretty much invented the place, in fear of you thinking that he’s a player. Steve swears that he has left those days in his past, for he has only known you for two weeks but he swears that he has never met anyone like you. He has never met anyone who has captured his heart the way you have, he was far from saying ‘love’ but he knew deep down that he would say those words to you in the future.

Staring up at the stars, nestled upon Steve’s chest looking at the night sky, this felt romantic and familiar as if fate has brought you to this moment.

“What are you thinking about?” Steve questioned looking dotingly at your face illuminated in the pale moonlight.

“Just how beautiful this is”

Steve dipped his head to down gently kiss your forehead, you smiled relaxing into his embrace-

Wait did that tree just move? You slowly arose from Steve’s warm arms to investigate the disturbance further.

Upon closer inspection you saw a leather jacket stretched across one of the branches, and familiar curls of sandy blonde hair.

Wait! Surely not?

“Billy?” You called up to the shadowy figure a few branches above from you. The figure froze not daring to move an inch.

Shit! Billy thought, he has done so well so far not to be caught. He didn’t want to spy but he’s heard about Steve’s old reputation of being a player and he was making sure that his sister wasn’t going to be hurt, plus Billy doesn’t trust Steve as far as he can throw him.

Billy froze in place hoping that if he didn’t move you wouldn’t see him and go away

“Billy?” You called again, silence was the response you received. You couldn’t help but let out a laugh over this whole situation.

He seriously doesn’t think that you’re that stupid?

“Billy get out of the fucking tree!”

“I’m birdwatching” he blurted back, cringing as he didn’t have time to register what he just said till it was out in the open. He was honestly such a terrible liar

“It’s 2am you idiot” you hissed, you didn’t know wether to laugh at how much of a fucking idiot he was being, or if to die of embarrassment for you could hear Steve’s howls of laughter over this mortifying situation.

“Fuck!” He groaned, he smacked the palm of his hand to his forehead. He truly was an idiot and now all he wanted to do was wallow in his own embarrassment.

“Go home you creep” you joked, the moonlight wasn’t bright enough to see his reaction but you knew that he was turning as red as a beetroot. Yep Billy you definitely aren’t going to hear the last of this.

A/N: I just love the idea of Billy being a protective brother and to me Steve is a himbo, I don’t make the rules he just gives off that energy. Thanks to everyone who has sent in their requests, I’m currently working on them :)

@manyfandomsfanvergent

#stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things imagine #stranger things steve #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x female reader #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x fem

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endversewinchester · 1 year

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And now back to our usual programming.

I love the mirroring.

I truly love Sirius trying to be a dad. I love the idea of him and Harry cooking breakfast together even more. Great job Molly for picking up on his insecurities.

He really just doesn’t want to be alone in that house. This is so sad. Good to see him and Molly patching things up though.

And now for the complicated adulting thing.

I know it may sound like he’s being super dismissive, but let’s rewind with canon context. Dumbledore knows Harry and Voldemort are connected, and I think it is safe to say the adults in Harry’s direct proximity know too.

Early on in the book, some 300 pages ago, if you guys can recall, Molly and Sirius get into an argument. The point of that argument is how to handle Harry. How much they know vs how much he can and should know at 15 years old without it becoming harmful to him. The argument settles by both Molly and Sirius conceding that Harry has the right to know, but only to an extent.

I’ll also remind you guys that Sirius doesn’t like it. He wants Harry to know everything, but concedes to Lupin and Molly (and Dumbledore), and so he starts following what they agreed to do.

Meaning that when Sirius is all about trying to defuse Harry’s story, it’s not because he doesn’t think it is important, or that Harry doesn’t have the right to be worried. It is because he is respecting the decision of the other members of the order about what Harry should and shouldn’t know. And so he does his best not to react and leaves before Harry could press him further.

Is that very helpful to Harry? Not really. He could have done as they did for the movies, and said something comforting, yep. But this is the duality of the character. I can promise you he is doing this with Harry’s best interest (at least what Molly, Remus and Dumbledore told him) in mind.

And this, because werewolf discourse is actually very interesting to me. Here we have two completely different adults dealing with their personal biases very differently.

Molly knows Remus. She’s having meetings with him every other week at Grimmauld Palace, and yet her immediate reaction is still prejudice. Why? Because she was conditioned to it since forever, as was most of the wizarding world. To her, Remus is probably the exception. Not the rule.

And Arthur has the exact opposite POV. He knows better now, and he understands werewolves aren’t inherently dangerous just for existing, which is fantastic. Great job Mr Weasley. My problem with him here comes in the last few lines.

1- It’s not his secret to tell. Sure, he didn’t mention any names but it’s not exactly hard to put two and two together that the ministry agent with 7 kids is talking about the former Hogwarts teacher. Same one that is in the papers every now and again and being accused of being dangerous.

2- “Finds it very easy to manage” is just not true at all. Earlier in the book we see Remus, and Harry states he looks worse than he did in PoA. We also know Umbridge is making his existence miserable with her laws, which is why he is currently living off Sirius’ money. So no. It’s not easy to manage. Least of all the scars all over his body from all the years he had to turn on his own and the wolf would self harm in frustration. The days spent at the Hogwarts infirmary and probably at St. Mungos after particularly awful transformations, and so on.

I understand that Mr. Weasley wanted to offer some comfort to the guy, but it’s really not his place to speak on life as a werewolf. Remus keeps a very soft and sweet aspect to himself throughout all books, really, but that does not mean he doesn’t struggle with his condition.

What he should have done instead was sent an owl to Remus (or asked Molly or any of his children to reach out to him) and see if he wanted to help, or if he knew any packs nearby or other resources that this guy could reach out for in the werewolf community. That way he’d be with people that acknowledge and share the strugglers of lycanthropy but that made it work, and could help him make it work.

Anyways that’s all to say, don’t do this kids. Don’t speak on behalf of disabled, chronically ill or any group of people you don’t belong in just because you know someone that is part of those. Thank you.

#cami reads #harry potter and the order of the phoenix

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my-systems-cringe · 2 months

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oh yeah goddamn i never ever ever want to exist publicly as a system and im not even like prime target for this shit

-minor

-weve had like. 3 hosts, im the third

-i do not think there is an alter who is not traumatised

-communication is actually kinda okay, or we're making an effort for it to get better

-making an effort also to make the headspace nicer and have better relationships

-have 1 introject which is a combined OC and dsmp introject

-pretty bad with handling our trauma? like... not a "gOoD viCTiM" and also ive seen on fdc like "the host shouldn't have any trauma reactions because hosts cant have trauma"

-im not sure if we even would want to get professionally diagnosed?

-emotional abuse being the first major trauma and the one that caused cptsd, while there were other elements it was mainly that

-switches are characterised by a sense of nothingness and then asking around like. am i x. no okay am i y. no okay am i z.... okay yep z i guess im fronting now

(this blog made me feel a lot better things have been really rough. it was kinda cool to see the ideas dismantled so hard)

[Disclaimer: This blog is going to be deleted soon. I am clearing out the inbox. Thanks for participating in my "make fun of systems cringe" account for however long it lasted. I know I never posted much, but it just got to get old kinda fast. Know that, regardless of what you think might make you fake, you know yourself the best; ignore the haters and just try to live your best and most productive life.]

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crabbyloveswizard · 1 year

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Marking Out: Cheering the Heel (or, Conversely, Booing the Face)

Yep; it’s time for another wrestling essay.

Today’s essay was prompted by my watching of an old Wrestling with Wregret episode (available here) and hearing Mr. Zane say something that just struck me as off.

"If you’re a heel and people are cheering you, then you’ve failed at your job.”

This paraphrased sentiment is not uncommon, but I have a hard disagree on this point. But since this is my blog - welcome to my TEDTalk! We’re discussing audience reactions this time so strap in.

First, my hot take: I don’t think the content of the reaction (i.e. cheers, boos, chants) matters all that much. I think the fact that there is a reaction at all is what matters. I think that the only way you truly fail at wrestling is to be boring and to elicit no reaction from the crowd at all. I feel like Vince McMahon also thinks this way, and it’s to the detriment of his product, but that’s an entirely different rant than the one I’m about to go on.

There are three reasons for my stance on this, and they are outside of both the content of the video (an audience hijacking a show) and the general exceptions people make for storyline alignment turns or giant spots during the match. Come on now, everyone pops for a good spot; we’re not touching low-hanging fruit like that one.

Reason number one: regardless of what your plans are, you will always have someone who sympathizes with the villain. This is true of any piece of media, and the harder you try to make your villain unrelatable the harder someone is going to defend them. I mean, no matter how indefensible Joffrey was in Game of Thrones there were still fans out there who defended his actions. Sure, they were few and far between, but the fact of the matter is that they exist. This ties into a sub-concept here: people will root for/defend their faves no matter what. This holds just as true for wrestling as it does for fictional characters and celebrities. If Becky Lynch was your favorite, sometimes the alignment turns don’t affect you and you’ll cheer for her regardless of position in the feud. At least in a wrestling storyline aspect this is less problematic than, say, ARMY defending one of their faves who sampled the Jim Jones tapes for a pop single where you can audibly here him talking to his followers before the poisoning.

Reason number two goes back to storyline, but as I mentioned before we’re not focusing on alignment turns, where cheering for a heel is acceptable because they’re refocusing their alignment for a new feud. No what we’re talking about is something WWE has been particularly guilty of, but they are by no means alone in this. What we are talking about is…poor writing. Where a face has been cast in a role that is just the most annoying thing, or the person playing the face is putting nothing into it, or the storyline the face is supposed to be the hero in is just unrelatable to a normal person. Where what has been presented is so unrelatable, disconnected from what the crowd wants, or simply doesn’t move the crowd the way you intended it to. Where, despite all the set-up and decisions made, the crowd finds itself naturally on the side of the heel and will react to that then to what you’re directing them to react at. I’m thinking particularly of Rhonda Rousey’s debut, and the way Becky Lynch was made out to be a heel but the crowd never bit that bait. Everything Becky did was justified because Rhonda just wasn’t face material for the crowd; especially when it feels to the crowd like you’re sacrificing Becky’s popularity to force another girl into that role that nobody wants her in.

When it comes to this, I don’t lay the blame on the crowd OR on the wrestlers. Rhonda vocally expressed frustration backstage that it didn’t matter what she did the crowd hated her anyway. It didn’t matter what dirty thing you made Becky do. The crowd had spoken. The blame for shit like this lays firmly on writing & booking. But it’s an overlooked part about ‘cheering the heel’ – nobody thinks that you’re cheering the heel because of bad writing; they simply rewrite the bad storyline in their head so that the roles are reversed. I’ve seen people talk about how ‘no I know what story the writers really wanted to tell’ to excuse shit ass decisions that result in these role-reversals. Stop excusing them; you’re cheering for the heel because they wrote the face like shit and the heel is the relatable one. Admit it and move on.

The final reason, number three: never underestimate a hometown crowd. I legitimately think that this is entirely overlooked when talking about reactions, and I’ve seen it more times than I can count. Dr. Britt Baker was one of the biggest heels in the business when she walked into Pittsburg the AEW Women’s World Champion, and they lost their goddamn minds for her. It does not matter how much even personally you might buy into disliking her as the heel; the moment she walked through those doors that audience was going to scream that someone they know is coming back to their colloquial ‘home’ and with a championship was even better. Daniel Garcia has been a pretty good heel but he can’t come back home to Buffalo without the crowd losing their minds for the Buffalo Boy from the car accident who finally made it big.

On a slightly more personal note (but not, considering) – I would be one of those people cheering for Garcia, and I did a lot of it when he was the Empire State Wrestling Champion despite being a heel. Didn’t matter; at his last match there wasn’t going to be any booing it would be disrespectful to all he did to start with. Speaking of ESW – the first show they got to hold after COVID took over the world? Show kicked off with a match between two locals: the heel (Captain Nick Ando) from the next city over, and a hometown face (Brandon Thurston). As preliminary context: Thurston is a great wrestling talent & trainer, but has never been well-liked. The crowd considers him to be unrelatable and while this was fine as a heel, he has never really been over as a face.

I don’t think I ever heard a bigger pop, a louder crowd, more ecstatic cheering, than I did the moment Nick Ando finally walked through that curtain. Conversely, I don’t think a crowd has ever booed deeper for someone than they did for Thurston; they made damn sure to let him know he was neither forgotten, nor forgiven for being a boring ass unrelatable face. And despite that…if you had seen Thurston’s face (I did; I sit by the ramp for a reason) you would have recognized the look of pure joy that rested there. That man could not keep a smile off of his face if his life had depended on it. We may as well have been chanting ‘welcome home’ because that’s what it looked like…he looked home.

Which is why I reiterate – it’s not the content of the noise being made. If you are adamant that cheering a heel means their doing their job badly then how do you account for the hometown pop? Brushing it off seems insincere; they are just as big of fans of the product as you are after all and they’re showing that appreciation. People don’t feel like the hometown representative is some stranger after all; the crowd takes a sort of ownership of that person and the town is proud. Proud that someone ‘made it big’ and proud that they can take part in that in even a small way by hosting a show and turning out for support.

Whether we cheer or boo is irrelevant in the long run; the wrestler isn’t going to look back and remember much of the content of the noise. But they are going to look back and remember a crowd that made noise for them. That loved them back with their lungs as forcefully as they could. That they haven’t been forgotten; relegated to nobodies or a single sentence in a history book. If you ever saw Mickey Rourke’s The Wrestler than what I’m saying should be crystal clear to you. Thurston’s face was so full of joy not because he was being booed but because he was remembered; because during COVID he wasn’t forgotten and ignored and overshadowed.

It is the reactions that keep this business going. In that regard, then, the only way to fail is to be boring.

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catboyebooks · 1 year

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before they activate the shutdown sequence, hinata asks togami what's going to happen to them if they shut down the program. togami hesitates a beat before replying that there's no need to worry, they won't let the sdr2 group get hurt. souda asks for a more detailed explanation, and so the dr1 main trio explains:

if they activate the shutdown sequence, all data from the simulation will be deleted. this will destroy junko's AI, and will also delete their avatar selves. that doesn't mean they'll die irl, of course, but it does mean none of their memories etc from the VR program will copy over (since they're bypassing the graduation sequence) and they'll essentially just revert back to how they were before they entered the simulation. (it's naegi and kirigiri who provide most of this explanation. togami says he doesn't think they should have told the group all that, but naegi reasons they won't agree to do it unless they know what will happen if they do.)

hinata's like, hold up, doesn't that mean we just go back to being shsl despair? junko says that yep, they sure will! they'll go right back to being under her influence! no one's happy about this and kuzuryuu asks the dr1 trio if there's anything they can do; kirigiri says she gets the concern, but this is the only way to stop junko, and naegi says he still thinks they'll be able to overcome the despair. it becomes pretty clear at this point that naegi & co. consider the sdr2 cast to be victims of junko, not allies of hers. naegi calls what happened to them "brainwashing," which has already been implied at various points and which i already knew to be true ofc but it's the first time it's been outright said. (i'd consider junko's reaction here a confirmation that she brainwashed them, too. she asks naegi to stop saying "brainwashed" because the idea of washing a brain is nasty. doesn't deny doing it at all.)

despite naegi's confidence that the group can overcome their brainwashing even if the whole VR beach vacation thing was a bust, the sdr2 survivors are upset at the idea of losing their memories of everything that happened in the simulation. hinata realizes that, if this happens, they'll completely forget about nanami — and if nanami only ever existed in VR, if the program will be completely wiped when they leave, and if they won't keep their memories of her, it will be as if she never existed at all. absolutely nothing of her will remain. and this seems to get to him on a very deeply existential level that i think goes even beyond how he feels about nanami.

junko also points out that their bodies are different irl; she uses komaeda as an example and says he'd still be missing a hand. i guess no one else knows exactly what state their irl body is in but after the stuff fake!naegi said to them earlier, they're not feeling optimistic about it.

souda asks why they all became shsl despair in the first place. naegi answers first and says he doesn't know, he asked them the same thing irl but didn't get an answer. junko then offers her take, which, to paraphrase, is essentially that people with big aspirations are the easiest to break. yknow, her usual "hope leads to despair" argument. this gets rejected as not an actual explanation, so junko says, fine, you guys being shsl despair is just part of the game world and those guys being future foundation is also just part of the game world and who even knows what's real or not anymore. happy? (i don't think this is helping hinata avoid an existential crisis, but i do like the fourth wall jokes.)

togami wants to hurry up and start the shutdown but junko insists on a review of the facts first. if they force shutdown the program, the sdr2 survivors will lose their memories of the "school trip" and go back to being despair brainwashed, the dead people will remain comatose irl, and junko's AI will be deleted. it doesn't sound so great when you put it that way, i guess.

#kes plays sdr2

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sparkylurkdragon · 2 years

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I posted 9,085 times in 2022

That's 4,216 more posts than 2021!

246 posts created (3%)

8,839 posts reblogged (97%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@/taggthewanderer

@/antiqueanimals

@/dzamie

@/typhlonectes

@/vaspider

I tagged 9,085 of my posts in 2022

#queue - 3,949 posts

#oh dear - 1,841 posts

#wildlife - 1,318 posts

#pets - 588 posts

#cats - 487 posts

#yep - 446 posts

#dragons - 390 posts

#housecats - 374 posts

#sonic the hedgehog - 373 posts

#pokemon - 345 posts

Longest Tag: 110 characters

#there's a villain who can be foiled by playing someone's favourite song from what some quick googling tells me

My Top Posts in 2022:

Oh this episode was so good!!

Feathered Velociraptor using WAIR and in general just being scrappy and delightful little ground-hawks!

Tyrannosaurus rex mating displays!

Deinocheirus in all its Fucking Bizarre Glory!

Quetzalcoatlus!!! Showing off mastery of air and land! That beautiful display of how we think pterosaurs took off!

I’m just beside myself grinning! This is what I want to see from dinosaur media! Dinosaurs and their contemporaries just being incredible, beautiful animals existing in their environment!

94 notes - Posted May 25, 2022

Ah-ha, I see! We're at the part of the horror story where we're yelling at the protagonists!

281 notes - Posted October 1, 2022

Miss Urist's reaction when I clicked my tongue at her and announced a friend of mine said hello.

308 notes - Posted August 18, 2022

So here’s a comparison to maybe help newer fans understand why a lot of LJ-and-older fans are so defensive about drabbles being 100 words exactly.

It’s like haiku.

Drabbles are writing challenges. It’s a specific writing challenge to create a story or scene in 100 words exactly. Not 99, not 101.

It’s just like you can’t have a haiku in a 6-7-5-syllable format: it might well be a haiku-inspired piece of poetry, but it isn’t a haiku because it doesn’t Rise To The Challenge of the format, and you definitely couldn’t call Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” a haiku just because it’s also a poem.

I mean, I guess you could? Language is malleable. But folks will look at you strangely and think you have perhaps missed the point.

5,175 notes - Posted July 15, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Here’s the thing about LGBT+ vs. Queer.

I’m ace, nonbinary, and demiromantic. With LGBT+ I’m included in the plus. And I’m happy to be included! Indeed, folks pointedly using LGBT without the plus makes my hackles raise.

But. I am sick of being in the fucking plus sign like an afterthought.

And no, adding more to the alphabet soup doesn’t help that feeling. There’s a limit to what human brains can cram in. I don’t think it’s reasonable to make folks say an increasingly long acronym every time they mention the community. I appreciate the effort, but you’re always going to either leave someone out or cram them into the miscellaneous field the plus sign represents.

With Queer I’m just there, alongside my queer siblings. The details may be different, but I’m just as queer as a cis allo gay man or a trans allo straight woman or a genderfuck individual.

We already tried to meet folks who don’t like queer as a word halfway with MOGAI. Marginalized Orientations, Gender Alignment, and Intersex. It’s inclusive without using the Dreaded Q-Word. Surely, if the objection was to “queer” as a Terribly Traumatizing Word (just like, oh, every other word used for us: “gay” was the slur of choice where I was growing up), MOGAI would be the perfect solution, yes?

And yet, that was thrown back into our faces and turned into an insult. So, at that point, I said fuck it and fuck you. I’m queer, and if its inclusivity makes you mad, good.

23,554 notes - Posted May 30, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #original posts #long posts #happy new years

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beifongsss · 4 years

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the boiling rock [zuko]

Pairing: Zuko x reader

Disclaimer!: The reader is Sokka and Katara’s older sister!

Requested?: Yes! By @thegirlwholikestomanythings: “ Hi! I have a Zuko x reader request if you don't mind. Maybe something like the reader being Katara and Sokka's older sister and Zuko having a big crush on her after he joins in S3?”

Summary: Sokka goes to break Hakoda out of The Boiling Rock and is shocked to find you there as well. He’s even more shocked when he figures out that Zuko’s a simp for you.

this is based off of the boiling rock episodes but there are a few changed made! there’s also like a pov change halfway i’m sorry. TIS A LONG ONE!!

.masterlist.

When Zuko defeated Combustion Man, Aang didn’t let him join the group until he gained approval from all of his friends.

“Toph, you're the one that Zuko burned. What do you think?”

The blind earthbender smirked, a sinister look on her face as she pounded her fist into her palm. “Go ahead and let him join. It'll give me plenty of time to get back at him for burning my feet.”

Satisfied with her answer, Aang turned to the Water Tribe boy. “Sokka?”

“Hey, all I want is to defeat the Fire Lord. If you think this is the way to do it, then, I'm all for it,” he said, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall near him.

“Katara?” Aang asked uncertainly, noticing the stony look on the Water Tribe girl’s face.

“I'll go along with whatever you think is right,” she replied, glaring at Zuko.

“Great!” Aang said, ignoring Katara’s reaction. “Then that’s settled. Welcome to the group Zuko!”

Zuko paused slightly, looking around as he noticed the absence of the other Water Tribe girl he had always seen with the Gaang.

“Not that I’m complaining,” the prince said, a questioning look in his eyes. “But isn’t there someone else you should be asking? Where’s the other Water Tribe girl?”

The group went silent at Zuko’s words as Katara’s face hardened and Sokka looked away, a sad expression making it’s way onto his face.

“She’s gone,” Sokka said roughly as he began to storm off.

Katara reached out for his arm, grabbing onto him as he passed her. “Sokka, it wasn’t your fault.”

“Not my fault?” Sokka roared, stray tears escaping his eyes as he faced Katara. “It was my invasion plan Katara! I should’ve taken the fall. Not her!”

He shrugged her hand off before walking off deeper into the Air Temple. Katara sent Zuko another glare before hurrying after her brother, leaving him alone with Aang and Toph. Zuko glanced at Aang uneasily, not wanting to ask about what had happened. With a sigh, Aang sat down looking at Zuko expectantly.

The prince sat down across from Aang as Toph sat to his left, the usually loud-mouthed girl abnormally quiet.

“The other Water Tribe girl that would travel with us is (Y/N),” Aang explained quietly. “She’s Sokka and Katara’s older sister.”

Zuko nodded in response before speaking. “W-What happened to her?”

“She got captured by the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun,” Aang replied, looking down at his lap. “You know about the invasion right?”

Zuko nodded once more.

“Well it was Sokka’s invasion plan,” Aang continued. Zuko’s eyebrows rose up in surprise, going unnoticed by Aang. “He came up with it and (Y/N) and Hakoda, that’s their dad, fine tuned it. They thought of everything that could possibly go wrong and when the day came, Sokka was the one leading it.”

Aang’s face suddenly turned into one full of guilt. “I-It was actually my fault that she got captured. If I hadn’t gotten distracted by Azula, we could’ve gotten away before the eclipse was over. Instead, they caught up to us before we could get back to the beach. Hakoda told us all to leave on Appa and to take the youngest members of the group but (Y/N) didn’t fit because we had Teo, Haru, and The Duke with us. So she decided to stay behind and take the blame for the invasion so that they wouldn’t go out and look for us. She said that they’d believe her because she was traveling with the Avatar and because she was the daughter of the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe and she had a reason to want to attack the Fire Nation.”

Aang couldn’t stop the tear that slipped out. “I guess she was right because we weren’t followed after we escaped.”

“C’mon Twinkletoes,” Toph said, leaning back on her hands. “(Y/N) knew what she was getting into. She’s not dumb. She’s strong, smart, and patient. In fact, I’m willing to bet she’s making those Fire Nation guard’s lives hell.”

Zuko observed Toph as she spoke about the missing Water Tribe girl. “How are you so sure?”

“Please,” Toph scoffed, cracking her knuckles. “She’s the only idiot here that can beat me in a fight. She’ll be fine.”

“Oh,” Zuko said, slightly surprised. “Is she a waterbender too?”

“Nope,” Toph said. “That’s how I know she’s okay. She can beat me in a fight, and I’m the greatest earthbender in the world! I invented metalbending.”

Zuko’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at Toph’s words. “She beat you without any bending?”

“She did,” Sokka’s voice rang out. The group (except Toph) turned around to find Sokka walking towards them. “Which is why we needed her here, not in prison. She shouldn’t be paying for my mistakes.”

Without another word Sokka climbed onto Appa, shooting Aang a look when the Air Nomad shot him a worried glance. “Don’t worry Aang. I’m just gonna clear my head. Yip yip.”

The conversation ended with Sokka’s departure and silently, Aang showed Zuko to his room.

“Hey, can I talk to you for a second?” Sokka asked, catching Zuko’s attention as he handed him a cup of tea. Zuko set down the tea and followed Sokka to where he was standing, softly petting Appa when he opened his eyes to look at them.

“So, what’s up?” Zuko asked, looking back over at the group before focusing on Sokka.

“If someone was captured by the Fire Nation, where would they be taken?” the Water Tribe boy asked, trying to look nonchalant. At Zuko’s suspicious look, he spoke again. “When the invasion plan failed, some of our troops were taken. I just want to know where they might be.”

“We both know this is about your sister, Sokka,” Zuko replied. “I can’t tell you.”

“What? Why not?” Sokka asked, mildly irritated.

“Trust me,” Zuko said, turning to leave. “Knowing will just make you feel worse.”

“It’s not just about (Y/N)!” Sokka hissed, causing Zuko to stop in his tracks. “It’s my dad. He was captured too. I need to know what I put them through.”

“It’s not good Sokka,” the prince replied, not meeting his eyes.

“Please.”

Sighing deeply, Zuko gave in. “My guess is, they were taken to The Boiling Rock.”

“What’s that?”

“The highest security prison in the Fire Nation,” Zuko ignored Sokka’s horrified look. “It's on an island in the middle of a boiling lake. It's inescapable.”

“So,” Sokka said, trying to appear indifferent. “Where is this place?”

“Why do you need to know?” Zuko asked, eyes narrowing. “What are you planning?”

“Nothing!” Sokka tried reassuring the prince. “Boy, you’re so paranoid.”

Zuko rolled his eyes before replying. “It's in the middle of a volcano between here and the Fire Nation. You guys actually flew right past it on your way here.”

“Thanks Zuko,” Sokka said before letting out a very fake yawn as he stretched. “Just knowing makes me feel better.”

“Sure it does,” Zuko scoffed, watching the Water Tribe boy walk away. Noticing that everyone was getting ready to go to bed, he stealthily climbed up onto Appa’s saddle, gently shushing the sky bison when he once again opened his eyes.

At this moment, Zuko sort of regretted joining Sokka on his journey. After having successfully convinced him to take his war balloon instead of Appa, the two boys found themselves existing in awkward silence.

“Pretty clouds,” Sokka spoke first, slightly startling Zuko.

“Yeah...fluffy,” the Fire Nation prince replied before focusing on the fire again. Sokka began whistling casually, drawing Zuko’s attention. “What?”

“What?” Sokka asked, the awkwardness between the two boys palpable. “Oh, I didn't say anything. You know, a friend of mine actually designed these war balloons.”

“No kidding,” Zuko said with slight surprise.

“Yep. A balloon...but for war,” came the other boy’s reply.

“If there's one thing my dad's good at, it's war.”

“Yeah, it seems to run in the family.”

“Hey, hold on,” Zuko said, slightly offended. “Not everyone in my family is like that.”

“I know, I know,” Sokka replied, hands raised in defense. “You’ve changed.”

“I meant my uncle. He was more of a father to me. And I really let him down.”

“I think your uncle would be proud of you,” Sokka said, looking at Zuko intently. “Leaving your home to come help us? That's hard.”

“It wasn’t that hard.”

“Really?” Sokka asked in disbelief. “You didn't leave behind anyone you cared about?”

“Well I did have a girlfriend,” Zuko replied, smiling slightly. “Mai.”

“That gloomy girl who sighs a lot?” Sokka asked, trying to hold back his smile.

“Yeah. Everyone in the Fire Nation thinks I'm a traitor. I couldn't drag her into it,” Zuko explained before hesitating slightly. “Besides, I didn’t truly like her. Trust me, I know that sounds bad. When we were kids we liked each other, but we’re not kids anymore and we’ve both changed and things just weren’t working out.”

Sokka nodded in understanding before crossing his arms. “My first girlfriend turned into the moon.”

Zuko paused for a few seconds, looking up at the moon and wondering if Sokka was being serious before turning to him. “That’s rough buddy.”

Silence ensued again, the scene almost relaxing if it weren’t for the fact that the two of them were heading for the most high-security prison in the Fire Nation.

“So,” Zuko broke the silence, looking at Sokka uncertainly. “What happens if we get there and (Y/N) isn’t there?

The question caught Sokka off guard, causing him to scowl. “She will be.”

“But,” Zuko pressed, trying to make the boy understand. “What if she isn’t?

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Sokka replied, crossing his arms and looking away as he tried not to think about Zuko’s words.

“Why don’t you just wait until after Aang defeats my father to set everyone free?” Zuko asked softly. “You’d have a much better chance then.”

“You just don’t get it!” Sokka yelled, looking back at Zuko. “See you and your sister might not get along very well but (Y/N) is the most important person in my life. She was the one who took care of me and Katara after our mom died. She was the one who basically led our tribe after the men went off to fight. She always knew what to say and what to do. We need her Zuko. I need her, Katara needs her, Aang definitely needs her, heck even Toph needs her!”

Zuko stayed silent as he focused on the fire, giving Sokka a few minutes to calm down.

“You’re right Sokka,” he finally said. “I don’t get along with Azula. We’ll find her.”

Sokka didn’t reply, instead choosing to look up at the moon, hoping that he had made the right choice.

Soon enough, they had reached The Boiling Rock. Zuko followed after Sokka, a bit disgruntled at the fact that his war balloon had been destroyed. They had somehow managed to get guard uniforms and sneak into the prison, a feat Zuko found impressive considering that Sokka didn’t have a fully thought-out plan.

“I hope these disguises work,” Zuko hissed, shoving Sokka softly with his shoulder.

“We just need to lay low and find (Y/N) and my dad as soon as possible,” Sokka quietly replied, rubbing his shoulder. “Ow!”

“Guards!” another guard ran past Sokka and Zuko, causing them to flinch. “There’s a scuffle in the yard. Come on!”

The two boys exchanged looks before running after the guard, eventually coming to an open space where a guard was harassing a prisoner. The rest of the guards were trying to keep the other prisoners away from the confrontation. Sokka subtly tilted his head, motioning for Zuko to join the other guards. They split up slightly, trying to keep the crowd in control.

“I didn’t do anything,” the prisoner in the middle of the platform stated, walking away from the guard. “I’m going back to my cell.”

“Stop right there Chit Sang,” the guard said, sending a fire whip towards him. “I’ve had it with your unruly behavior.”

One of the prisoners Zuko was trying to hold back began to slip past him and he reached out to grab them. His eyes widened when he made eye contact with the girl, who then promptly proceeded to shove him off of her and onto the ground. Zuko stared at the girl, his heart speeding up slightly and his stomach lurching as she shot him a glare and marched right up to the guard who had created the fire whip.

“Leave him alone!” she growled, stepping in front of Chit Sang. The guard simply laughed before stepping forwards.

“What are you gonna do Water Tribe scum?”

Zuko flinched as Sokka swatted him, tilting his head towards the girl. “That’s her! That’s (Y/N)!”

Sokka grasped Zuko’s arm tightly, knowing that he couldn’t jump to his sister’s defense. The two of them watched in anticipation as the guard shot out a blast of fire, aiming it at you. Zuko’s eyes widened at the sight. You weren’t a bender, you were going to get burned.

His jaw dropped as you gracefully slid underneath the blast before coming up and swatting the guard’s hand away. When the guard tried to aim at you again, you swept your leg in a graceful arc, knocking him down. You were amazing.

“Cuff her!” the guard barked, embarrassment clear on his face as all the other prisoners cheered. Two of the other guards grabbed you roughly, cuffing your hands behind your back and shoving you roughly in front of the guard you had knocked down.

“You think you’re tough, don’t you?” the guard asked. You didn’t look at him.

“Look at me when I speak to you!” the guard screamed. The yard went silent as everyone waited to see what you would do. Slowly, you lifted your head and met the guard’s eyes. His face held a smug expression, which was soon wiped off when you leaned forward and spit in his face.

The yard went wild again, the guards struggling to keep the prisoners under control. The bully guard lunged forwards, gripping your face tightly in his hand. He stared you down for a few seconds before tossing you to the ground. Scowling, he turned to Sokka and Zuko, who seemed to be the only guards not busy at the moment. “You two! Take her to her cell.”

Sokka picked you up and Zuko led them inside, stealing glances at you as you walked. At one point Sokka caught his gaze, giving him a confused look before his eyes widened in realization. He looked between you and Zuko before glaring at the prince and shaking his head furiously. Zuko avoided his gaze after that. They found your cell quickly enough and Sokka softly pushed you in before stepping inside and pulling Zuko with him.

He took off your cuffs easily enough and you stepped away from him, rubbing your wrists gently.

“What do you want?” you snarled, eyes shifting from one guard to another.

“(Y/N)!” one of them cried out, moving towards you. You sidestepped quickly, grabbing his arm and shoving him up against the wall. He groaned in pain as you pulled his arm back.

“What do you want?” you hissed, not taking your eyes off of the other guard.

“(Y/N/N),” the one you were holding squeaked. “It’s me!”

Your eyes widened at the voice and you stepped back, still keeping your hand on the guard’s arm. “Sokka?”

Sokka used his free hand to take off his helmet, a large grin on his face as he turned to look at you. “Yes! It’s m-”

His words were cut off when you yanked on his arm, pulling him close to you as you wrapped your arms around him in a tight hug. Sokka melted into the hug, wrapping his arms around you tightly as he held tears back.

“Spirits,” you whispered, pulling back and looking at your baby brother. “Sokka what are you doing here? How did you get here?”

“Uh, we took my war balloon,” the other guard replied. You froze slightly at the familiar voice, turning to find Prince Zuko standing there, waving awkwardly.

“You,” you snarled, stomping up to the prince and pushing him up against the wall. You held your forearm against his throat, staring him down. Zuko didn’t do anything in return, a dazed smile on his face as he stared back at you.

“(Y/N) what are you doing?” Sokka yelped, placing a hand on your shoulder. You looked away from Zuko, glancing at your brother in disbelief.

“What do you mean? Have you forgotten that he’s tracked us all over the world? Or that he’s tried to kill us? Multiple times!” you glanced at Zuko again, noticing that he was still smiling. “Why are you smiling at me? Sokka, why is he smiling at me?”

Sokka snorted softly, the scene in front of him reminding him of the first time Aang had met him and Katara. Shooting a tired look at Zuko, he gently pulled you away from the scarred prince. “I don’t know why he’s smiling at you but I do know that he’s part of the team now, so lay off okay?”

You looked at him in disbelief before whirling around and facing Sokka. “Alright but that still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

“We’re here to break you out?” Sokka said, rubbing the back of his neck as he turned his gaze to the floor.

“Seriously?” you hissed, stepping closer to him and causing him to stumble back. “This couldn’t have waited until after Aang defeated Ozai?”

“I told you so,” Zuko mumbled, shooting a pointed look at Sokka.

“Stay out of this,” you whisper-yelled, pushing him back up against the wall with one hand. “You have to leave. Both of you.“

“Well you see,” Sokka said, chuckling slightly as he met your gaze. “We can’t exactly do that.”

“Yes you can,” you replied, grabbing Sokka and proceeding to push the two boys towards the door. “Just get back on your little war balloon and leave.”

Zuko and Sokka exchanged nervous glances at the mention of the war balloon, causing you to narrow your eyes at them.

“Don’t say it.”

“It popped!” Sokka squealed, bouncing away from you as he noticed your expression. “But we’ll get out of here, and you’re coming with us.”

You couldn’t help but facepalm at your brother’s words.

The guards had only released you from your cell when it was your turn to do the cleaning. You hadn’t heard from Sokka since he had left you, and you were worried that he had gotten caught. You were so distracted by your thoughts that you didn’t notice the other prisoner who was mopping, resulting in you bumping into them and falling down.

“I’m sorry,” the other prisoner said, extending a hand to help you up. You glanced up, making eye contact with Zuko. Your eyes widened almost comically and you grabbed his hand, simultaneously pulling yourself up and pulling him closer to you.

“Where is my brother?” you asked as you leaned in close, panic in your voice as you whispered in his ear. Zuko tried to ignore the blush on his cheeks as your close proximity, focusing on your question.

“He’s fine,” he whispered back. “It was just me who got caught.”

You let his hand go, stepping back and nodding subtly before going back to mopping. Zuko stayed close to you, pretending to be focused on his mopping as he stole glances at you. Feeling his gaze, you looked up and arched an eyebrow as you made eye contact. The prince flushed when he realized he had been caught, looking back down before speaking.

“I-I never introduced myself,” he spoke softly. “I’m Zuko.”

“I know,” you replied flatly, walking further away from him. Zuko stood awkwardly for a moment before inching closer to you again.

“So you’re (Y/N),” he spoke again. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

You snorted at his words, your eyes not leaving the ground. “Yeah I’m sure it is.”

“You’re a really good fighter,” Zuko continued, still trying to make conversation. “Even back when I was still hunting the Avatar you were the one that I was most worried about holding off.”

“Good to know,” you said drily, finally looking up at Zuko. “Look, Sokka may trust you but I don’t, okay? First of all, you haven’t really done anything but cause trouble for us. Second of all, you actually brought my brother here. I appreciate the sentiment but I’m not exactly thrilled at the idea of my baby brother breaking into a Fire Nation prison.”

Zuko swallowed harshly, looking away. “I’m sorry. But he was really adamant about rescuing you and your dad and-”

“Wait,” you interrupted Zuko. “I’m the only Water Tribe member here. My dad is still being held somewhere in the Fire Nation capital.”

Zuko’s eyes widened briefly before he composed himself. “Oh. Alright then I guess that means we can leave as soon as Sokka comes back to meet us.”

The two of you continued to mop in silence before someone suddenly grabbed your upper arm, causing you to stiffen and causing Zuko to get into a defensive stance.

“Calm down, it’s just me.”

“You really have to stop doing that Sokka,” you hissed, yanking your arm away from him. “Zuko told me about why you’re here. I hope you know we can leave now. Dad isn’t here.”

Sokka’s face fell briefly before he forced a smile onto his face. “He may not be but guess who is? Suki! Why didn’t you tell me she was here (Y/N)?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” you whispered. “Maybe because I was too busy freaking out about the fact that my kid brother and the Fire Nation prince broke into prison and don’t have a way to get out!”

“Shh!” Sokka hissed, putting his hand over your mouth. “Be quiet! And I’m not your ‘kid brother’, you’re only a year older than I am.”

Zuko stayed quiet as the two of you stared each other down before Sokka let out a yelp and took his hand off your mouth. “Did you just lick me?”

You didn’t reply, a smirk on your face as you crossed your arms. Zuko stifled a laugh at the scene in front of him, coughing quietly when you shot a look at him. The three of you stood still as a new voice interrupted.

“So, what’s the plan?” Suki stood near you, hiding in the shadows that the staircase provided. You exchanged a glance with Sokka, nodding in encouragement.

“So, listen, I think I have an escape plan,” Sokka began, a little nervous at being in charge of the escape plan. “I checked out the coolers again, and the point of them is to keep firebenders contained, right?”

“Yeah,” Zuko replied, unsure as to where this was going.

“So, they're completely insulated and sealed to keep the cold in. Well, to keep the cold in, it also has to keep the heat out, right?”

Zuko and Suki exchanged confused looks before looking over at you, only to see you smiling widely as you caught on.

“Just get to the point Sokka,” Suki said, glancing around nervously.

“It's a perfect boat for getting through the boiling water!” you said, eyes sparkling as you looked at Sokka proudly. Despite the situation, Zuko found himself smiling at the sight of your smile.

“Sokka,” you said, leaning in close to your brother while keeping your eyes on Zuko. “He’s doing it again.”

Sokka scowled and smacked Zuko’s head, causing the boy to straighten up and ignore Suki’s smirk. “The cooler as a boat? Are you sure?”

“I’m telling you, it’ll work,” Sokka said, giving them each a serious glance. “I walked around the perimeter. There's a blind spot between two guard towers. It's the perfect launching point. I already tested it out. We'll roll the cooler into the water and just float with the current. It'll take us straight across. As long as we don't make a sound, no one will notice. And bing-bang-boom, we're home free.”

“But how are you going to get the cooler out?” Suki asked, a worried frown on her face.

“Yeah. How are you gonna get the cooler out?”

The four of you turned as Chit Sang landed next to you, causing Sokka and Zuko to stutter as they tried to tell Chit Sang that they weren’t planning anything. You rolled your eyes, stepping closer to Chit Sang before speaking. “That’s easy, isn’t it? We just need to get a firebender into the cooler.”

Sokka and Zuko gaped at you, shocked that you had given them away.

“Calm down,” you scoffed, patting Chit Sang’s back. “Chit Sang and I go way back. He’s the one who made all the other firebenders leave me alone.”

Chit Sang nodded before turning back to the group. “Look I won’t tell the warden about your plan if you let me come along.”

Sokka stared at you intently, the two of you having a silent conversation before turning back to the group. “Fine! But we need to get someone into the cooler.”

Sokka handed Zuko a wrench. “Here. You’re going to unbolt the cooler, from the inside.”

Zuko looked back at Sokka, confused. “How am I going to get in there?”

You grinned widely, patting Zuko’s chest as you walked past him. “I got this. Follow my lead.”

You picked up your mop, motioning for Zuko to do the same. You began mopping, casually walking around as you kept Zuko in your periphery. The prince didn’t dare look at you so he was caught by surprise when you bumped into him from behind.

“Hey!” you snapped, turning around and glaring at him. “Watch where you’re going.”

Zuko froze for a split second before realizing this was your plan. “You’re the one who bumped into me. How about you watch where you’re going?”

A smile played at the corner of your lips as you stared each other down. Zuko noticed and felt his cheeks grow warm as he tried to hold back a smile of his own. The two of you stood there for a few seconds, staring at each other until Sokka coughed loudly.

Tearing your eyes away from the prince, you lunged at him. He easily dodged your swing before throwing a halfhearted punch back at you. You rolled your eyes as you kicked at him, losing your balance slightly as he swatted your leg away. You recovered quickly and threw another punch, a soft gasp leaving your mouth when he grasped your wrist and twirled you around, your back pressed against his chest as his arm held you tightly in place.

You struggled for a moment, sighing in defeat when you realized just how strong he was. You tilted your head back slightly, your lips brushing against his ear as you whispered into it. “You have to firebend at me Zuko.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he mumbled back, causing you to roll your eyes again.

“I’m a big girl. I can handle myself,” you replied. With a grunt, you elbowed him in the stomach. He let out a soft ‘oof’ and you took that chance to break out of his hold. You dropped down and spun, your leg outstretched as you tried to knock him down. He jumped over your leg easily before shooting out a blast of fire at you. He held his breath for a second, sighing in relief as he noticed you roll out of the way.

“No firebending!” a guard shouted, roughly grabbing Zuko from behind. You sent him a soft smile, receiving a smirk in return. As he was led away, Suki came up to you, a big smile on her face.

“So,” she said, her tone teasing. “What was that?”

“Yeah (Y/N),” Sokka said, crossing his arms as he came up to you. “What was that?”

You rolled your eyes before walking past the two of them. “It was a fight.”

“That’s not what it looked like from my point of view,” Suki called out after you, causing Sokka to send a glare at her. You simply chuckled at her words.

“(Y/N)?”

You stood up from the floor of your cell, looking at Sokka as he stood outside your cell. “Yeah?”

“It’s time.”

Sokka opened your cell and threw you a guard’s uniform before quickly closing the door and allowing you to change. When you were done, you knocked on the door three times, fixing your helmet as you waited for him to open the door.

Together, the two of you made your way towards the cooler, trying to avoid any guards on your way.

You opened the door to the cooler, a small frown making its way onto your face when you noticed that Zuko was shivering.

“I can take you back to your cell if you’ve learned your lesson,” Sokka said, looking way too smug. You rolled our eyes and focused on Zuko as he looked up at the two of you. His eyes met yours as he let out a breath of fire, his shivering stopping completely. He sent you a cocky smirk and you ignored the flopping you felt in your stomach at the sight of it. (A/N: y’all know what smirk i’m talkin bout)

“Yes I have,” he breathed, showing you both all the bolts and screws he had removed. “Completely.”

“I got Suki and Chit Sang out of their cells a few minutes ago,” Sokka whispered. “They'll be waiting for us at the shore.”

“Someone’s coming!” you whisper yelled, letting out a small yelp when you were pulled into the cooler. The three of you barely fit into the cooler but that didn’t make it any less cold. Even though you had grown up in the South Pole, you found yourself shivering at the temperature, your breath coming out in icy clouds.

Zuko glanced down at you, a frown appearing on his face as he noticed you shivering. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around you, bringing you in close as your expression changed into a bewildered one. You opened your mouth to say something, but quickly shut it when you realized just how warm he was. Sokka, unfortunately, didn’t stay quiet at the scene playing out in front of him.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he screeched quietly, trying to pry the two of you apart. You quickly pushed him away.

“Sokka, shut up,” you mumbled as you wrapped your arms around Zuko, your teeth still chattering. “He’s warm and I’m freezing.”

Sokka’s jaw dropped as you casually buried your face into Zuko’s chest, a content sigh escaping you as you got warmer by the second. Sokka stayed quiet as the voices outside got closer, instead miming a throat slitting motion as he stared Zuko down, causing the prince to swallow harshly.

“...Yeah. new arrivals coming in at dawn,” a male voice sounded, catching your attention.

“Anybody interesting?” a female voice asked in reply.

“Nah, just the usual. Some robbers, a couple traitors, some war prisoners,” you and Sokka exchanged a disbelieving look. “Though I did hear there might be a pirate.”

“No fooling!”

The voices faded as they walked away and you all took that chance to leave the cooler.

“War prisoners,” Zuko stated, his eyes not leaving Sokka’s. “Could be your father.”

“I know.”

“Well, what should we do?” Zuko asked. “Are we going ahead with the plan or are we waiting another night?”

“I don't know!” Sokka cried out, looking distraught. “Is it right for me to risk Suki and (Y/N)’s freedom, all of our freedom, on the slim chance that my dad is gonna show up?”

You stayed quiet, not knowing what to say.

“It’s your call Sokka,” Zuko finally said, trying to let the other boy know he was there for him.

Sokka thought about it for a moment, eyes focused on the ground. After a few seconds he looked up and scowled, crossing his arms as he glared at you. “You can let go of him now (Y/N).”

A bright blush erupted on your cheeks as you looked at Zuko, an embarrassed expression spreading across your face as you realized you were still holding onto each other. You stepped away from him quickly, clearing your throat as you did so.

The three of you had somehow managed to get the cooler down to the shore, not that it mattered considering the fact that Chit Sang had just taken your only means of escape. It wasn’t his fault really; it was you and Sokka who had been extremely hesitant to leave, not wanting to risk the chance of your dad being on the gondola the next morning.

Suki and Zuko had stayed behind with you, the four of you waiting in the blind spot for the gondola to arrive. It had almost been light out when alarms were set off, causing all of you to whip your heads to where the cooler had been floating off.

“The plan failed!” Sokka said sadly. “They got caught.”

“I guess it’s a good thing we didn’t go along with them huh?” you said, earning a dull look from your brother.

“The gondola's moving,” Sokka said suddenly, grasping your hand. “This is it. If my dad's not there, we've risked everything for nothing.”

“We had to,” you whispered back, squeezing his hand. The four of you now stood in the yard as you waited in anticipation, looking up as the gondola doors opened.

“Is that him?” Zuko asked as the first prisoner got out.

“My dad doesn’t have a nose ring!” both you and Sokka exclaimed, looking at the prince weirdly. More men came off the gondola, both you and Sokka shaking with anxiety as you kept an eye out for Hakoda.

“Where is he?” Sokka asked as the last man stepped off. “Is that it? That can’t be it.”

“I’m sorry,” Suki whispered, rubbing both of your backs.

“Hey you!” the guard called out, drawing your attention. “Get off the gondola.”

You waited with bated breath for the last person to emerge, your hand tightening around Sokka’s and causing him to wince. Your eyes widened as you watched the final prisoner get off, dark jaw-length hair surrounding a face that held tired blue eyes. You immediately turned to Sokka, tears threatening to spill.

“Sokka,” you whispered. “It’s dad.”

You had been pacing back and forth worriedly ever since Sokka had gone to join the other guards and quite frankly, both Suki and Zuko were tired of it.

“Please just stand still (Y/N),” Suki said, gently reaching out and grabbing you. “If something was wrong, we would’ve heard it already. Your brother isn’t exactly the quietest.”

You nodded in agreement and sat down, nervously biting your lip as you waited for Sokka to return. You barely flinched as Zuko sat next to you, Suki giving him a knowing glance as she wandered off slowly.

“Look,” he began, staring straight ahead. “I know you don’t like me, but I need to tell you this okay? As much as you can’t help but worry, you shouldn’t. Sokka’s smart and he knows what he’s doing...sort of.”

He chuckled at the halfhearted glare you directed at him. “I’m kidding. But really, Sokka’s smart and brave and he was so set on coming up here and breaking you out and I know he’s going to do it because he has heart. Plus he has you helping him out. So stop worrying so much okay? Also, never repeat any of what I just said to him”

You snorted at Zuko’s words before bumping his shoulder with your. “Thanks Zuko. You know what? Maybe you’re not as bad as I thought.”

The prince’s eyes widened in shock and he smiled down at you, blushing slightly when you smiled back. Your moment was ruined when Sokka came sprinting back, causing Suki to join you as well.

“(Y/N), c’mon! I found him,” Sokka exclaimed. Without another word, he grabbed your arm and dragged you away from the group. A wide smile was on his face and you felt yourself smile as well when you came to a stop in front of a cell.

Sokka slid the door open, looking around before ducking inside and draging you with him. “Thank goodness you’re okay!”

“Oh you’ll see just how ‘okay’ I am,” Hakoda replied, swinging at what he believed to be a guard. You stepped in front of Sokka before pushing Hakoda’s arm out of the way, ducking under it and pushing him softly before pulling Sokka out of the way.

Hakoda’s eyes widened at the familiar movements,searching the faces of the two guards standing before him. “Sokka? (Y/N)?”

"Dad!” you cried out in unison with Sokka, the two of you removing your masks as you smiled at Hakoda. His eyes filled with tears as he brought you into a hug and you couldn’t help but let a few tears slip as well.

“Where’s Katara? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine dad,” you said, tightening your hold on Hakoda. “She’s not here.”

“Where’s Bato?” Sokka asked, pulling away. “Where’s everyone else from the invasion?”

“The others are being held at a prison near the Fire Nation palace,” Hakoda replied. “They sent me here because I kept being difficult after they singled (Y/N) out as the leader and sent her here. But before I left, I met some young women who said they knew you. The...Oshinama Fighters? ”

“You mean the Kyoshi Warriors?” you asked.

“That’s right.”

“Their leader Suki is here,” Sokka said, a blush visible on his face. “She’s gonna escape with us too!”

“Good. We'll need all the help we can get.”

“And you know Prince Zuko?” Sokka asked, getting excited at the thought of finally leaving.

“The son of the Fire Lord?” Hakoda asked hesitantly. “I don't know him, but I know of him.”

"Well he’s here too!” Sokka exclaimed.

“That sounds like a major problem,” Hakoda replied, crossing his arms as his face hardened.

“Actually,” Sokka said, smiling nervously. “He’s on our side now.”

Hakoda shot him a disbelieving look, causing you to step in.

“I had the same reaction dad,” you said, putting a hand on Hakoda’s shoulder. “But he really has changed. He came here with Soka to break me out. He’s been a big help.”

Hakoda’s face softened at your words. You had always been a good judge of character, so if you approved of the prince, then he did too. “So, do you have a plan?”

“We had one,” Sokka said, looking down sadly. “But some of the other prisoners got involved and ruined it. I dunno if there's another way off this island.”

“Sokka, there's no prison in the world that can hold three Water Tribe geniuses.”

“Then I guess we’d better find two more to help me plan something,” you teased, making Hakoda laugh and earning a dull look from Sokka.

You sprinted towards the yard, having been distracted by another guard for a few minutes before all the prisoners had been let out. When you reached your dad, Suki, and Sokka, you were surprised to see Chit Sang speaking with them.

“Hey you! You're lucky I didn't rat you out,” Chit Sang said, staring Sokka down. “But my generosity comes with a price. I know you're planning another escape attempt, and I want in.”

You nodded at Sokka, telling him to go along with it. He sighed softly before facing Chit Sang. “Actually, we're trying to escape right now, but we need a riot. You wouldn't happen to know how to start one, would you?”

“You seriously couldn’t start a prison riot?” you asked in disbelief, looking at the three of them in disappointment. “C’mon Chit Sang, let’s show them how it’s done.”

The two of you stepped forwards, Chit Sang picking up another prisoner as you strutted up to one of them.

“Hey everybody!” you yelled, the yard going quiet as you spoke. Without hesitation, you punched the prisoner closest to you. “Riot!”

The yard exploded into chaos as people began fighting and throwing stuff around. You quickly fought off the prisoner that you had punched before returning to your friends.

“Impressive,” Hakoda said, looking around at all the chaos.

You turned and swung as you felt someone bump into you, the person letting out a loud grunt as your fist met their face. Your jaw dropped as your eyes met piercing gold ones, your hands coming up to your face in slight horror as you realized that you had just punched Zuko.

“Yep,” he said, clutching his face. “I probably deserved that after everything I’ve done to you.”

“I’m so sorry,” you choked out in between giggles, earning a smile from the prince.

“Zuko! Good, we’re all here,” Sokka said, drawing you all into a huddle. “Now all we need to do is grab the warden, and get to the gondolas!”

“And how do we do that?” Zuko asked.

Sokka hesitated for a few seconds. “I’m not sure.”

Zuko groaned, throwing his hands up in frustration. “I thought you thought this through!”

“I thought you told me it's okay not to think everything through”

“Maybe not everything, but this is kind of important!” Zuko cried out.

“Hey fella,” Chit Sang interrupted, tapping Zuko’s shoulder before pointing at you. “I think your girlfriend’s taking care of it.”

“You’re dating my daughter?” Hakoda asked, glaring at Zuko.

“W-What? No!” Zuko cried out, slightly fearful of the Water Tribe Chief.

“Damn right you’re not,“ Sokka said, crossing his arms before Chit Sang spun him around.

“Your girlfriend too buddy.”

All four males went silent as they observed both you and Suki. You swiftly made your way up the tower, effortlessly taking guards down as you inched towards the warden. Suki took a stance at the base of the tower, fighting off any other guards who attempted to rush to the warden’s rescue. She was a truly impressive sight, her training as a Kyoshi Warrior shining through as she took down every guard that came at her effortlessly. Sokka stood a few yards away, awestruck at the sight in front of him.

Meanwhile, you had successfully made your way up to the top of the tower. You made quick work of the remaining guards before finally facing the warden.

“You wouldn’t dare,” he snarled, getting into a defensive position.

“Watch me,” you quipped, lunging at him. You avoided his punch, grabbing his wrist and spinning him around before shoving him up against the railing. You grabbed his sash, tying his hands before knocking him down and making sure he was tied securely before smiling over at your dad. “You’re my prisoner now warden.”

Down in the yard, Hakoda, Zuko, and Chit Sang all stared at you in awe, Sokka still focused on Suki.

“That’s my girl,” Hakoda stated, a proud look on his face as he looked up at you.

“Do you think she’d want to be my girl?” Zuko muttered dazedly, unintentionally speaking louder than he meant to. When he realized what he had said, he looked up in embarrassment, being met with an amused glance from Chit Sang, a harsh scowl from Hakoda, and a sharp slap from Sokka.

“Shut up!” Sokka hissed before grabbing Zuko’s arm and rushing to join you and Suki.

You all ran to the gondola, making sure that the warden was still tied up as you dragged him with you.

“We’re almost there!” Suki cried out.

“Spoke too soon,” you groaned as a group of guards came across your path, immediately sending two blasts of fire at you. You yelped as Zuko pulled you out of the way before stepping in front of you and dissipating the blasts. He sent a series of blasts back at them before grabbing the warden from you.

“Back off! We've got the warden!“ he shouted, successfully stopping the guards. When they didn’t make any movements he grabbed your hand and tugged you along. “Let's go”

Suki was the first to make it to the gondola, holding the door open for everyone else. “Everyone in!”

You all clambered on and you glanced around, realizing that someone was missing.

“Zuko!” you yelled, looking back at the prince. He started the gondola and you felt yourself panic as the guards closed in on him. “What are you doing? Hurry up!”

“I’m making it so that they can’t stop us!” With a few kicks, Zuko managed to break the lever that controlled the gondola before sprinting towards you. You leaned out of the door slightly, watching him in anticipation.

“C’mon Zuko,” you whispered to yourself, biting your lip as the gondola left the platform, now hanging freely. Zuko sped up and jumped, his feet landing on the edge of the gondola. He wobbled for a bit before you grasped his arm, fully pulling him into the gondola and into your arms. Zuko looked at you in confusion before wrapping his arms around you as well.

“Are you sure they’re not dating?” Hakoda asked, his voice quiet as he addressed Sokka. Sokka sent Zuko a menacing glare, the scarred prince gulping and loosening his hold on you when he noticed.

“What were you thinking?” you cried out, finally pulling away from Zuko and slapping his head.

“Ow!” Zuko hissed, rubbing the spot you had hit. “I was thinking ‘let me get rid of this lever real quick so that they don’t catch us’.”

“You could’ve gotten captured!” you yelled at him, taking a step towards him.

“Way to think ahead,” Sokka commented, saving Zuko from another slap.

“We’re finally on our way.” Suki sighed, sharing a soft smile with Sokka.

“Wait,” Hakoda said, leaning out of the window. “Who’s that?”

You leaned out of the window on the other side of the gondola, resisting the urge to blush as you felt Zuko’s chest press up against your back as he tried to get a good look at the platform.

“That’s a problem,” Zuko groaned. “It’s my sister and her friend.”

“This is a rematch I’ve been waiting for,” Suki growled, cracking her knuckles.

“Get in line,” you scoffed, your eyes narrowing as you watched the princess approach. You climbed out of the gondola and onto the roof, being followed by Sokka, Suki, and Zuko.

Suki and Sokka turned to face Ty Lee as she landed onto the roof gracefully, quickly becoming preoccupied with the chi-blocker. You carefully observed Azula as she landed a few feet away from you, staring you down as she stalked closer.

“Well, well, well,” she spoke, her voice taunting. “If it isn’t the Water Tribe scum.”

“Don’t speak to her like that,” Zuko barked, stepping slightly in front of you.

“Aww, does Zuzu have a little crush?” Azula teased, pouting as she shifted her gaze to Zuko. “Snap out of it Zuko. We raided her village multiple times. She’ll never see you as anything other than a monster.”

“Still not over what your mother used to say about you huh?” you shot back, missing the hurt look in Azula’s eyes as she shot lightning at you. You swiftly dodged the blast and ran at her, sliding onto the ground when she let out another blast.

Zuko watched as you stood up, landing a solid hit on his sister before bouncing back and dodging the hit she sent your way. He tried to find an opening to attack Azula but eventually gave up for fear of hurting you. Instead he chose to jump into the fight and wipe out the blasts Azula kept sending at you, even if you were expertly dodging them.

Azula soon grew tired of the fight, and knowing that she couldn’t beat you in the moment decided to send a blast of fire at Zuko. She caught him off guard and although he managed to wipe out the blast, he ended up tumbling back and landing dangerously close to the gondola’s edge.

“Zuko!” you yelled, momentarily distracted from the fight. Azula took this chance to kick you down, punching you before kicking you once more when you tried to scramble to your feet. You were sent stumbling against the metal handle that attached the gondola to the cable, gasping in pain as you crashed against it. She grinned widely when your head hit the metal.

You blew your hair out of your face, wincing as you reached up to touch the sore spot on your head and sighing when you noticed the blood on your fingertips.

“You have nowhere to go,” Azula stated, stalking towards you. Blue fire danced at her fingertips, her eyes hungry with anticipation as you struggled to stand. “Such a shame, you could’ve been a great asset to me.”

“I would rather die than join you,” you shot back, finally managing to stand up.

“Fine,” Azula spat, the fire growing as she narrowed her eyes. “Have it your way.”

You closed your eyes and braced yourself, knowing that you were in no shape to block her attack. You felt the heat approaching before it disappeared. Opening your eyes, you gasped softly as you saw Zuko standing in front of you. He sent blasts of fire back at Azula before the gondola swung dangerously, sending them both stumbling.

“They’re about to cut the line!” Ty Lee shouted at Azula.

“Then it’s time to leave,” the princess smirked. “Goodbye Zuko.”

Azula blasted away as Ty Lee backflipped gracefully onto the other gondola. Zuko glared at Azula briefly before rushing to your side, reaching down and gently picking you up.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his face twisting with concern as you stumbled.

“Yeah,” you breathed. “Just peachy.”

You tried to walk on your own only to stumble once more and fall right into Zuko’s arms. You shook your head slightly, trying to walk off once more.

“(Y/N), stop,” Zuko said, scooping your legs up and fully carrying you.

“P-Put me down!” you yelled, drawing Sokka and Suki’s attention.

“Hey! Put her down,” Sokka cried, rushing over to your side. He was stopped when the gondola swayed again.

“Stop struggling,” Zuko hissed, tightening his grip on you. “You can’t walk without stumbling. You probably have a concussion.”

You pouted but stayed silent, knowing that the prince was right. Carefully, he made his way over to the edge of the gondola, noticing that Hakoda was leaning out of the window. Carefully, he handed you down to him, making sure that you were safely inside before swinging himself in as well. Sokka and Suki quickly followed.

“They’re cutting the line,” Zuko stated, exchanging glances with everyone else. “The gondola’s about to go!”

“I hope this thing floats,” Hakoda said, fussing over your head wound as you tried to push him away.

“Hey!” you suddenly cried as the gondola began to move. You glanced out the window. “Who’s that?”

“That’s Mai!” Zuko exclaimed, his eyebrows furrowing as he observed her fighting with the guards.

The gondola made it to the other side without any other mishaps. When you got there, Zuko carefully picked you up once again, making his way out of the gondola. Sokka kept his gaze on him, only looking away when he felt Suki grab his hand. She shook her head at him before looking at you and Zuko. “Calm down. There are worse people she could be with.”

Sokka rolled his eyes at her words before trailing after Zuko, a barely visible smile appearing on his face as he noticed how Zuko was fussing over you as well. Hakoda and Chit Sang tossed the warden back into the gondola before joining the group. They all walked for a while before Zuko paused, standing on the cliff that was overlooking the rest of the volcano.

“What’s wrong Zuko?” you asked quietly, your eyes not leaving his face as he scanned the landscape in front of him. At this point, everyone else had backtracked to where you were standing.

“My sister was on that island,” was his only response.

“Yeah, and she's probably right behind us, so let's not stop!” Sokka said, trying to convince Zuko to keep moving.

“What I mean is she must have come here somehow,” he replied, his eyes still looking around.

“There!” you exclaimed, pointing at a large airship. “That's our way out of here!“

The six of you all managed to make it to the airship quickly enough and Zuko quickly lit the fire and guided it away from The Boiling Rock. The atmosphere was lively as everyone tried to catch up with each other, the excitement from the day eventually leaving everyone as the sun began setting. One by one, everyone fell asleep until it was just you and Zuko awake.

You had been looking around the ship, smirking in victory when you found a first aid kit. Silently you wandered out to where Zuko was, trying not to startle him.

“Long night?” you asked, leaning on the wall next to him.

“Someone has to keep the fire going,” he retorted, a faint smile present on his handsome face.

“Can you help me?” you asked quietly, meeting his eyes as he turned to face you. He nodded and you handed him the first aid kit before sitting down in front of him. You flinched slightly as his hand grabbed your jaw, closing your eyes as you reveled in his touch, remaining oblivious to the way his heart was racing at the close proximity. His touch was feather light in comparison to the guard who had grasped your jaw in a similar way back at the Boiling Rock. You snorted softly as you recalled the incident that had taken place a mere day ago; it seemed like it had happened ages ago.

“I’m sorry,” Zuko whispered, tilting your head to get better access to the cut on your head.

“It’s fine, it doesn’t hurt,” you murmured back, eyes still closed.

“Not about that,” Zuko replied, cleaning the wound as best as he could with the supplies you had given him. You hissed softly as he tried to place the bandage on, breathing deeply to try and ignore the pain. “I’m sorry about everything. I’m sorry for hunting the Avatar down and chasing you all around the world. I’m sorry about your mother. I’m sorry for the raids that tore your village apart. I’m sorry that I kept causing you harm even when I had the chance to do good.”

You opened your eyes at his words, reaching up and gently grabbing his hand to bring his attention to you. He could’ve sworn his heart skipped a beat. You stared at him in silence, his golden eyes never leaving yours even as he fidgeted uncomfortably under your gaze. Your face softened as you realized just how full of guilt Zuko really was, your heart aching as you realized that you couldn’t spend any more time hating him. Not when he had already done so much to try and make up for his mistakes.

“No Zuko,” you finally spoke, guiding him to take a seat in front of you. “I’m sorry for being so harsh towards you. You did more than enough to prove that you aren’t the same bratty prince you were when we first met but I wasn’t willing to look past the fact that you were once our enemy. You left the Fire Nation to help Aang and I can’t imagine how hard that was-”

“Trust me,” Zuko interjected, laughing humorlessly. “It wasn’t that hard. My father and sister are horrible people.”

“Still,” you said, leaning in a bit. “They’re your family. Betraying your family isn’t easy, even if you don’t get along with them.”

Silence ensued as Zuko stood up and carefully finished bandaging your cut. He took his seat in front of you once more, watching the fire as you watched him.

“What?” Zuko asked, his cheeks heating up he realized that you were still staring at him.

“Thank you Zuko,” you stated, finally looking away from the golden-eyed boy.

“Don’t thank me,” Zuko replied. “It was Sokka’s idea to break you out.”

“I mean for saving me from Azula,” you whispered, looking back up at him. “She really had me backed into a corner.”

“I wasn’t going to let her hurt you,” Zuko stated, staring into your eyes. “Sokka would’ve killed me if we came all this way just to lose you to her.”

You giggled at his words, causing him to smirk in satisfaction as he realized that he had made you laugh. “He would’ve, wouldn’t he?”

There was another silence before you spoke up again. “In all seriousness, thank you. I never thought that I’d be calling Prince Zuko my hero.”

Zuko gulped as he realized just how close the two of you were. Neither of you made a move to back away and you flushed when you caught yourself glancing at the prince’s lips.

You blushed harder when you realized he had caught you in the act.

“Zuko,” you whispered, squeaking softly when said boy leaned forwards and connected his lips with yours. The kiss was soft and hesitant, with both of you holding your breath as you realized you were kissing each other.

Pulling away, Zuko’s eyes widened. “Oh spirits. I-I’m sorry. I can’t believe I just did th-”

You cut Zuko’s apology off with another kiss, this one a little less awkward. His hand came up and grabbed your waist, pulling you a little closer as his other hand cupped your cheek. Your hand came up to grab his forearm, your brain trying to comprehend the fact that you were kissing Zuko and wondering how in the world he was such a good kisser.

“I thought you said you weren’t dating my daughter.”

The two of you flew apart as you heard Hakoda’s voice.

“D-Dad!” you exclaimed. “We weren’t- I wasn’t-”

Hakoda held up a hand to stop your stuttering. “It doesn’t matter. He risked his life to help your brother break you out of prison which means he’s good in my books. Just please don’t kiss in front of me. And maybe don’t let Sokka find out about this just yet. Good night.”

You turned to Zuko in embarrassment as Hakoda walked away, making eye contact with him before the two of you dissolved into laughter.

“Well that’s one way to get the parent’s approval,” you muttered, smiling at Zuko as he wrapped his arm around your shoulder and pulled you into him.

The two of you spent the rest of the night awake, talking about everything and nothing, stargazing as Zuko kept the flame alive.

“You know, I used to know the moon spirit when she was alive,” you said smugly, glancing up at Zuko as he smiled widely at you.

“Oh really?”

“Yeah! In fact, she was Sokka’s first girlfriend.”

Zuko smiled and pressed another kiss to your lips, smiling softly when he felt your hand come up to his chest.

And in that moment, Zuko knew he had made the right decision by deciding to join the Avatar. After all, if he hadn’t then why would the universe have chosen to reward him with something as amazing as you.

taglist!

@musicalkeys, @mywigglybaby, @bubblebars, @iguessthefloorislava

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thevoidfishsminstrel · 4 years

Text

Alex Danvers wasn’t phased by much. Had she expected to get an alien sister? No. But she went along with it (eventually) and was a good sister. Had she expected to get recruited by a government agency? No. But that was fine, and she was good at her job. Had she expected to be gay? Also no. But she accepted it and she was… well she was a disaster on that front, but she was happy.

The one time that she possibly, maybe, perhaps faltered a little, and thought, ‘this cannot possibly be my life now’, however, was during the months after the arrival of one Lena Luthor to National city.

———

“Alex! I broke Lena Luthor’s chair!”

Alex whirled around to see Supergirl anxiously striding towards her through the DEO, whisper-shouting her name. “You did what?”

Kara came to a stop in front of her, nervously wringing her hands. “I broke Lena Luthor’s chair.”

Alex blinked. “How? I thought you and Clark were just interviewing her?”

“We were! I was just standing behind one of the chairs in front of her desk and holding the back of it and then she looked at me and I wasn’t expecting it and a bit of the chair just kind of broke off in my hand. I tried to squish it back into place and tucked the chair under the desk but I think you might be able to tell if you looked too closely.”

Alex sighed. “Okay. Don’t worry, I’ll get it fixed.”

Kara deflated with relief and grinned. “Thanks Alex.”

Ten minutes later, Alex phoned the L-corp lobby with an excuse to get Lena down there while J’onn phased through her balcony door and swapped the very obviously hand-shaped-dented chair with a new one that would hopefully go unnoticed. She had naively thought that that would be the end of it.

———

A week and a half later, Alex got a panicked phone call from Kara claiming that she had seen Lena at a restaurant and stayed to have brunch with her but there was now a large chunk of table missing from where they had been sitting, caused by Lena laughing at one of her jokes. Suspicion had begun to creep into the back of Alex’s mind but she was too exasperated to pay it any attention.

Kara said she had managed to cover it up with an empty bread basket and persuade Lena they should go to see the crepe stand that had been at the park recently.

Alex, Winn and James had arrived at the restaurant half an hour later in fake uniforms and a fake van, claiming a table replacement had been ordered by the restaurant management. They quickly set up the new table and took away the cornerless one along with the piece of wood that had Kara’s fingerprints permanently embedded in it.

———

Over the next few months, they replaced glasses, vases, windows, tables, chairs, various cutlery, and an array of annoyingly abstract decorations that had to be specially 3D printed because no replacements existed.

A new section of the DEO budget had to be put aside, labelled ‘Cleanup’, and the superfriends became unofficially known as ‘The Cleanup Squad’ (although Winn only said it out loud once, given Alex’s thinly veiled threat afterwards).

It wasn’t until Alex witnessed one of the events that preceded the need for The Cleanup Squad that her subconscious suspicions hit her like the ton of bricks they would have to fix.

It was a standard game night with a shot too many and a brain cell too few, all of them shouting over a game of two truths one lie, when the delivery guy arrived with their food.

Kara went to get the door while Lena had her go. That was the first mistake.

Kara had been sneaking alien alcohol into her drink for the past hour.

Lena’s third sentence was ‘I’m more often attracted to women than men’.

Kara’s foot went through her floorboards with a crunch and she stumbled into her front door, making the whole wall tremble worryingly. Alex shouted out one of the other sentences as a guess to distract Lena from looking behind her to see what the noise was. That was the next mistake.

Kara took the food from a slightly confused looking delivery guy, thanking him and checking the bags as he walked away, as Lena cheered, wine sloshing around in her glass.

“Alex wins! Women are hot and I like to kiss them.”

The door came off its hinges in Kara’s hand and as she went to correct her mistake she smashed it into the doorframe with enough force to bring down a plane. The door, doorframe and half the wall collapsed to the floor, leaving a shellshocked Kara among the rubble, holding a useless doorknob.

Nia slung her arm across Lena’s shoulders to stop her turning around again and cheered. “Woohoo! That’s great! Hey can you teach me how to win at Monopoly?”

Lena frowned. “But only half of us have had a go at-”

“Yeah! You guys set up Monopoly while I go get snacks with James.” Alex not-so-subtly dragged James up with her, glaring at Winn. “What about you, Winn?”

He jumped up with a nervous laugh. “I need the toilet! Yep!”

They all scurried off to where Kara was just standing and blinking. Alex took the food and doorknob from her hands, putting the food on the counter and the doorknob in a nearby vase while Winn and James started haphazardly piling bricks back up into a wall-ish shape. Nia and Brainy seemed to be going through every single Monopoly card and asking Lena about it in a kind of terrifyingly over enthusiastic pop quiz.

Kara snapped out of her daze and began helping as Alex sent a message to the DEO to get a new door there as quickly as possible. She dragged Kara out into the hall and made her laservision off the entire door and doorframe of her neighbour who was luckily currently on holiday. While Kara did that, she kicked the old bits of door and brick dust under a rug in the hall.

Kara fit the new door into the hole that James and Winn were leaving, blowing her freezebreath over the whole wall to freeze it all in place for the time being.

Before she could go back inside, Alex grabbed Kara by the arm. She raised an eyebrow at Kara’s confused look. “Want to explain what just happened?”

Kara blushed and glanced at (or probably through) the door. “I um… I just got distracted by the food.”

“So it was nothing to do with Lena openly admitting she’s bisexual?”

Kara blanched. “I- wha- pff no.”

Alex rolled her eyes and opened the door to let Kara through before she broke anything else.

They all moved back over to the living room area as casually as possible, Winn setting out the food.

Alex leaned down to speak quietly to Kara before she sat down herself. “You know you can talk to me right?”

Kara nodded shyly and she let it go.

———

The last operation The Cleanup Squad did, it was Nia that called.

Alex sat up in bed, having only just managed to fall asleep, and picked up her phone. “Hello?”

“Alex? Kara’s about to break Lena’s coffee table.”

Alex sighed and waved away Kelly’s questioning look. “Okay. I’ll call J’onn.”

Ten minutes later, Alex was hanging onto J’onn like a backpack as he hovered just under Lena’s balcony with a replacement table.

There was a crash from inside.

“What was that?” Lena’s voice came from somewhere further inside her apartment and J’onn floated up to peer through the windows.

“Nothing! Just… a video on my phone.”

Alex’s phone buzzed with what was presumably the panicked text she just watched Kara send.

Kara went further into the apartment, rambling to Lena about how they should get into their pjs before they watch the next movie.

J’onn alighted on the balcony and they quietly made their way inside. J’onn cleared the broken table into a bag and flew off to dispose of it while Alex set down the new one.

Just as she was putting into place, Lena wandered into the room. Their eyes met briefly before Lena turned towards her kitchen, filled a glass of water, and left again, as though she hadn’t seen anything.

J’onn was back in the next moment and they disappeared back out into the night.

———

Lena opened the door with a smile and stepped aside to let Alex in. “Alex. What can I do for you?” She shut the door and led her over to the kitchen. “Tea? Coffee?”

“Coffee please.”

Alex sat down at Lena’s kitchen island, thinking about how to phrase what she was going to say while Lena made them both a coffee.

Lena set a mug down in front of her and sat down across the island, waiting patiently for Alex to start talking.

“Do you know?”

Lena smiled, raising an eyebrow. “I know lots of things.”

Alex rolled her eyes. “Fine. Do you know about what we’ve been doing?”

“You’re going to have to be a little more specific, Danvers.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I know you saw me last night, Luthor. Why didn’t you say anything?”

Lena smiled and shook her head. “Alex, I have the most high tech security system in the world and an IQ that is most definitely higher than a five year old, and even a five year old would be able to notice you lot trying to rebuild furniture around them. Did you really think I didn’t notice? You replaced a $1000 chair with Ikea furniture.”

Alex went to defend herself but just deflated. “Yeah. Sorry.” She swirled her spoon through the coffee foam. “So why didn’t you say anything?”

Lena shrugged. “She’ll tell me when she’s ready.”

Alex watched her for a moment and smiled. Yeah. She was pretty sure she’d be her sister-in-law one day.

———

“Alex?”

She pushed past Kara into her apartment. “I think you should tell Lena.”

Kara blushed and stuttered as she closed the door. “Wha- I- There’s nothing to tell!”

Alex frowned at the odd reaction before she realised what Kara thought she meant and rolled her eyes. “No not that. Well… that too. But that’s not what I meant. I think you should tell her about Supergirl.”

Kara gaped at her. “Really?”

“Yeah. She proved beyond a doubt that she’s trustworthy and I can see how much you two mean to each other.”

Kara bit her lip, looking down and wringing her hands together. “But what if… what if she hates me for it?”

Her eyes were so big and sad and scared when she looked back up that Alex immediately wrapped her in a hug. “That’s not going to happen, okay? And the rest of us are here for you whatever happens. You know that, right?”

Kara nodded against her shoulder. “Okay.”

———

Kara stood outside Lena’s office, trying to drag her courage back from where it had run to hide, and wiping her sweaty palms on her slacks.

The door opened and Lena hesitantly poked her head out. “You doing okay out here?”

Kara gave a strangled laugh and nodded unconvincingly.

Lena stepped out of her office to join Kara in the corridor. “Okay, well, do you want to tell me why you’ve been standing out here for the past ten minutes?”

She gulped, breathing getting a little faster.

“Hey, hey it’s okay.”

Lena took her hand, stroking her thumb across her knuckles gently. It calmed her down a little and she sighed, leaning back against the wall and sliding down it, hand slipping out of Lena’s.

Lena came and sat on the floor beside her, offering her hand again.

Kara gladly tangled their fingers together, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry, my hand’s a little sweaty.”

Lena laughed and bumped their shoulders together. “That’s okay.”

Kara sighed and brought her other hand up to her glasses. “Lena, I-” She closed her eyes and removed her glasses with a shaky hand.

She felt gentle fingers take them from her grasp and opened her eyes to watch Lena carefully fold them up and place them on the floor beside them. She looked at Kara with a soft smile. She reached up and traced the same fingertips across Kara’s cheek, making her eyes flutter closed.

“I know.”

Kara’s eyes snapped open. “You did?”

She nodded.

“Oh. Well now I feel like I’ve made you sit out here on the floor with me for nothing.”

Lena laughed, her eyes and nose crinkling adorably, and Kara couldn’t stop herself from smiling even as her heart beat faster.

“Well since you already knew I was Supergirl, I feel like I should tell you a different secret. Like how I think I’m in love with you.”

Lena’s breath hitched, eyes flitting between Kara’s as they subconsciously leaned slowly closer. “You think?”

Her tongue darted out to wet her lips and Lena’s eyes followed. “I know.”

“Good. Because I am definitely in love with you.”

Any other thoughts melted away when their lips met. Kara’s hand automatically slid to Lena’s waist as Lena pressed closer, soft and warm and perfect.

There was a crunch and Kara fell backwards a little, accidentally pulling Lena so she was almost in her lap, as she made a hole in the wall with her back. They broke apart giggling, resting their foreheads together.

“Sorry.”

Lena kissed her again but they were both smiling too much for it to last long. “At least you don’t have to call Alex everytime you break something around me now.”

#supercorp #a ‘lotl writing

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juniorgman187 · 4 years

Text

Things We Know By Heart (Spencer Reid Fluff)

Summary: Reader teaches Spencer how to slow dance in preparation for his wedding. The only problem? Reader’s in love with Spencer, and she isn’t the bride.

A/N: S/O to Kyla who bullied me throughout all of elementary school. Ik you’ve probably changed since then, but you literally traumatized and tormented me for more than six years of my life. So I felt like including you in this story as, “Kayla,” Spencer’s fiancé. Tehe, I’m petty like that. Couple: Fem!Reader x Spencer Reid Category: Fluff Word Count: 6.5k

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

I think we’d all like to believe that somewhere out there is our person. And somehow, someway, they’ll get to where they need to go, right where they belong.

With us.

That’s what I’d like to believe.

I’d like to think that no matter what happens along our journeys to each other, we’ll arrive at the same destination regardless.

But that isn’t necessarily true, is it?

Because maybe, my soulmate got lost along the way. They met somebody great, someone they think is their person, and they married that person. They had kids and eventually, grandkids with that person, even though, deep down - they knew it wasn’t right. They stayed with them anyway because their fear of being alone superseded their fear of being with the wrong person for life.

And what am I to do when that happens? When my person finds a different person.

Am I supposed to believe that the universe will be so kind as to give my soulmate the courage to leave their relationship behind and forge a new one with me?

Am I supposed to expect that the world will supply me with another person, the person I’m supposed to marry?

Or do I simply wait for my person to come to the conclusion that they’re meant to be with me after all and my naive entitlement to a soulmate is validated?

Is life really that magical?

This is the story of what happens when your person loves a different person.

∙•○⦾☉☼☉⦾○•∙

With his hand at the nape of my neck to support my head and his other hand flat against the small of my back, he dipped me backward, leaning with me as I arched my back and bent the leg closest to the crowd, pointing my foot to elongate my leg artistically. This was our ending position so I remained in it until the song ended. The two of us bowed to thank the audience and to conclude our performance. Roses fell at our feet while the sound of applause echoed in the room. I was never a fan of being the center of attention, but there was something about this overwhelming praise that was particularly blissful. It was intoxicating.

“I didn’t know you knew how to dance like that.” I gushed to my partner; my cheeks growing pink from the heat and the head rush I got.

He positioned his mouth right beside my ear so I could hear his words clearly over the rowdy cheering. “There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, Princess.” said Morgan.

A gauntlet formed to clap for us both when we walked off the dance floor. Hand-in-hand, Morgan led me back to the table through the double file line of people. The team howled with excitement when they saw me and Morgan approaching.

“So this is what you two were keeping a secret from us? That you’re dance partners?” JJ had to ask.

“Yep. All those late nights and secret rendezvous.” Morgan said, shimmying his shoulders be suggestive of a sexual innuendo, which I was not a fan of. Out of mock offense, I chucked a small towel at him with a grouchy command to “Shut up!”

He took the towel to the face like a champ, laughing it off and dabbing his sweat away.

“I don’t know who was sexier up there - Princess or my Hubba Hubba!” Garcia squealed pretending to claw at Derek, reeling him over towards her.

“You looked like a natural up there, Y/N. Were you a dancer before?” Prentiss questioned while handing me a glass of water that I desperately gulped down.

“My mom sent me to dance classes as soon as I could walk.” I jokingly explained after gathering my hair into a makeshift ponytail and lifting it off of my neck, cocking my head to the side and fanning the back of my neck to cool down.

“Maybe you should teach Reid how to dance before the wedding. He’s got two left feet and I don’t think he wants Morgan to teach him how to waltz.” JJ quipped, making Derek throw his head back in laughter. The thought of Morgan and Reid slow dancing would truly be something - something hilarious. I laughed, too, until Reid’s voice interrupted me.

“Yeah, that’s actually a really good idea. Would you mind, Y/N? Kayla would be so happy.”

I thought he was joking, but his humorless expression told me otherwise.

“You want me to teach you how to dance?”

He pursed his lips and nodded, not understanding why I was so confused.

“Um . . . yeah. I can do that. Sure.” My tone wasn’t very convincing, but Reid’s optimism made him oblivious to my reluctance. He smiled and hugged me with one arm around my shoulder.

“I have to call Kay and tell her the good news.” Reid dashed away from the table, pulling out his phone to dial his fiancé.

I darted toward JJ with fury and grabbed her by the arm, dragging her into the bathroom for privacy.

“What the hell was that? ‘Oh, Y/N, you should teach him how to dance.’ You know how I feel about Reid!”

Rather than giving me hostility back, she broke into a smile. “Exactly! If you spend more time alone with him, maybe he’ll finally admit to himself that he shouldn’t be marrying Kayla,”

I rolled my eyes and turned my back away from her.

“We all know Spence would be happier with you.”

As JJ spoke, I trudged to the nearest sink, holding onto the sides for stability as the ground below me swayed. She followed me, rubbing up and down my back comfortingly.

“You know how he is. He keeps things to himself, until eventually they’re forced to come out. If you dance with him, maybe he’ll finally tell you he loves you without actually having to say it. Do this for him . . . and for you.” JJ gave me one last pat on the back before exiting the bathroom to leave me to my devices.

Normally, teaching a friend how to slow dance in preparation for his wedding would be sweet. It’d be a selfless gesture and an act of service for him that would show how much love there was in our friendship. In this case though, it was anything but.

For the six months that Spencer and Kayla had been engaged, the team was relentless in trying to end it. I tried to stay out of it in case all hell broke loose, but I couldn’t escape it. No - I was at the very center of it.

Before Reid even knew Kayla existed, he was head-over-heels in love with me. He’d ask me on coffee dates, wait by my desk for me, and he would always try to sit beside me at the round table or on the jet. It was sweet, really, but it could never go anywhere.

I was in a committed relationship with my high school sweetheart Patrick. (Maybe Spencer had a thing for unavailable girls).

I moved in with Patrick after graduating from college, and after years of working in the BAU (and years of Spencer loving me) Pat proposed. At first, being engaged brought me so much joy, but halfway into our engagement, something changed.

I was in Wisconsin, consoling a grieving widow. She was hysterical after I delivered the treacherous news of her husband’s gruesome murder. She eventually calmed down and proceeded to ask me about my engagement when she noticed my ring. I gave her the bare minimum, fabricated a couple things here and there, but then she asked me the million dollar question.

“Are you in love?” Her eyes glimmered with hope.

My immediate answer was a habitual “Yes, of course.” But after seeing how deeply this widow loved her late husband, I couldn’t say in good conscience that that answer was actually true.

That night I went to the hotel and lied on the bed, praying for clarity.

Perhaps I wasn’t actually in love with Patrick. Maybe we’d been together for so long that it just felt safe and comfortable and familiar. Maybe it was the fear of disrupting the arrangement of my life that stopped me from ending things sooner.

The fact of the matter was that I’d only ever known a life loving him, but that didn’t mean I was in love with him. Maybe I was settling for something with Pat, because I wasn’t sure if I could have a better relationship with anyone else. With all these doubts, I needed a sign.

A knock on the door interrupted my inner dialogue.

When I opened it, who else was standing there, but none other than Rossi.

“We need to talk.” He ordered.

He followed me back into the room and sat at the foot of the bed. He said he noticed something was off about me, and I admitted that there was. So that night, I took advice I probably shouldn’t have from the man with multiple failed marriages, but it was a sign - and it was good enough.

When we returned to Quantico, I asked Hotch for some personal time, which he was happy to permit. That same night I went home and broke off the engagement with Patrick.

I felt despicably cold when I watched him tear up and ask me, “Why are you doing this?”

There was truly no concrete moment in our relationship that incited my decision, but it was merely the realization that being with him wasn’t right, because how could I stand there watching him beg for a change of heart but still feel nothing?

Maybe I was much less than not in love. Maybe I didn’t feel a thing for him at all. Not hate. Not empathy. Not love. Just . . . nothing.

Completely indifferent.

Within the week of personal time I took, I spent most of it moving into Rossi’s guest house. After I came back from work, it took all of two hours before someone brought up the absence of the ring that I used to never take off, and I’d assumed they’d already noticed it the moment I walked in - they were just too afraid to ask.

“I ended things with Patrick.” I casually stated, not even looking up from my portfolio to give it the attention it probably deserved.

While the rest of the team’s jaws dropped on the floor, Rossi was fighting a smirk considering this wasn’t news to him and having seen everyone else’s reactions was a priceless moment for him.

There was a brief moment of awkward silence on the jet as the team processed my information, until finally Hotch cleared his throat and started debriefing again. In the seat next to me, Spencer was very poorly hiding his enthusiasm. Hearing I broke off the engagement was like a green light to make his move. And honestly, it was.

So I waited.

And I waited.

Then I waited some more for him to jump at the opportunity.

But he didn’t.

He never did.

Instead, he introduced Kayla into our lives, and eventually, they’d get engaged, too.

I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t developed feelings for Spencer while I expected him to act upon his palpable affection for me. And because of my newfangled feelings, I could never tell another soul that I sincerely believed Spencer got engaged just to spite me - to show me just how painful unrequited love was.

The strangest part of it all, though, was that there was never a moment following the ending of my engagement and the birth of his own that showed me that his feelings went away. He never treated me differently or stopped talking to me. Even in the early stages of his relationship with Kayla, he continued to act like I was the only girl in his life. He was so consistent with his actions that it confused me.

Did he love me or not? And was I in love with him or not?

Evidently, the team seemed to have my answer.

“He loves you and you love him. It’s as simple as that.” Prentiss explained curtly.

Agreeing nods came from JJ, Morgan, and Garcia, who’d abducted me as soon as I exited the elevator that morning and snuck me into Garcia’s Bat Cave for an intervention.

“We need to stop this wedding.” Garcia demanded.

And since that glorious intervention, the team (minus Rossi and Hotch because Rossi seemed genuinely happy for Reid, and Hotch would definitely tell us it wasn’t our place) began trying to put a wedge in the relationship. I, however, made the smart choice not to be involved.

If I was trying to get him to love me, why would I do something that would surely make him hate me like breaking up his engagement? Plus, the blind optimist in me believed that if I was actually meant to be with Spencer, it would happen regardless of Kayla.

So anytime Morgan, JJ, Prentiss, and Garcia suggested something, I refused to participate. I was able to steer clear of any wedding crasher shenanigans up until JJ’s “slow-dance” suggestion.

If Reid knew the true intentions behind these dance classes, he surely wouldn’t be pleased, but clearly - he didn’t. Because when I walked out of the restroom and back to the table, Reid still had a huge grin that took up half of his face, making his eyes look nearly shut.

“Thank you again for doing this.” Reid beamed.

“Of course! What are friends for?”

Morgan, Prentiss, JJ, and Garcia exchanged satirical glances at my choice of words.

What are friends for if not to purposefully set two people up in hopes of ending one person’s betrothal?

∙•○⦾☉☼☉⦾○•∙

Later that weekend . .

“Come in!” I called out, buckling the ankle strap of my heels.

The door opened partially and then all at once to reveal the one and only. I peeked my head out from behind a wall that was obstructing my view of him, immediately noticing a bouquet of lavender wrapped in twine.

“Oh my goodness, what is this?” I asked in pure delight as he handed me the pretty purple flowers.

“It’s a thank-you gift for agreeing to help me.” His lips formed a thin straight line, which was his version of a smile. A smile I appreciated whenever I was lucky enough to have caused it.

“They’re lovely, thank you.” I told him, hugging him briefly before fetching a vase from the kitchen to put them in.

“Oh, good, I’ll tell Kayla you liked them. She’s the one who picked them out.”

The glass vase nearly shattered the moment he said that, but luckily, my reflex skills spared the vessel.

How big of a fool was I for thinking that he gave me flowers out of the kindness of his heart because he knew lavender was my favorite? But then again I probably needed that brutal reminder of why he was here in the first place - for Kayla.

As I put the vase on the kitchen island, I spun around, brandishing a fake smile.

“So we should probably get started. I don’t wanna keep you here for too long.”

“There’s no rush. Kayla won’t be home until late at night.”

I tried not to think of the potential innuendo that lied within his statement, but Spencer wasn’t type to be disloyal, and I wasn’t going to be the woman to make him such a person.

“You look really nice, by the way.” I heard him say from behind me, catching a whiff of his cologne that was intoxicatingly sweet.

I did my best to not take the comment personally and let it get to my head, but I’d be lying if it didn’t elicit any response. I smiled to myself, which thankfully, he couldn’t see since my back was towards him as he followed me into my backyard.

“You smell different.” He added.

“Good different?”

“Yeah, absolutely. Is it a new perfume?”

I furrowed my brows. “No, it’s the same one I’ve been using for years.”

“Interesting,” I could feel him taking in this information, and I could hear the gears in his head turning at an even faster rate to spit out more information. “Did you know that you pick your soulmate by subconsciously reacting to pheromones that transmit their genetic compatibility? Yeah, there’s a relationship between attraction and scent, which dates back to our primal instinct. So if someone smells appealing to you, even if you don’t know it, it could relate to your attraction to them and vice versa.”

“Ah, then maybe I should consider changing my perfume to improve my love life.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I love the way you smell.”

In the back of my mind lied the unanswered question I neglected to voice, “But do you love me?”

When we reached the backyard, I heard him gasp in awe.

“It looks beautiful, Y/N. You did great.”

Nestled in my backyard was a dark wooden deck, surrounded by plentiful greenery. Lining the perimeter of the shiny wooden deck were asymmetrical rocks, while above us hung strands of fairy lights that cast a sheer golden glow on the entire scene. The ambiance was not for Spencer specifically, but I was happy that he appreciated it nonetheless.

“You ready?”

He signaled yes by putting his thumb up and so it began.

“Alright, so slow dancing can be broken into four easy steps, but first, you gotta know how to hold your partner correctly.”

Spencer and I took a step towards each other, and I could feel the nervous energy radiating off of him. I tried not to call attention to it, so I simply continued with my process. Outstretching my arms to form a T with my body, I guided him verbally.

“So I’m the follower. And you’re the leader. Got it?”

He nodded.

“Leader puts their right hand under the follower's left armpit and cups their hand around the follower's shoulder blade.”

He understood my instructions, and in the most awkward manner possible, he fumbled his way into the right position, albeit, not perfect.

“Now, hold my right hand as high as my eye level without raising my shoulder.”

Spencer was glaringly anxious, so I gave him a word of encouragement. “Hey, don’t be nervous. It’s just me, okay? And you’re doing great.”

I could see the nerves beginning to settle, translating into the conviction with which he took my hand, raising it at the perfect height.

“Great. Just like that.”

My praise brought out that smile in him that only ever came out on rare occasions. The kind where it’s brief, his teeth showing, a light chuckle escapes him, and he’s looking down as if he’s too shy to look at me.

“Okay, step two is basic footwork. Leader starts with their left foot and takes a step to the left. And then your right foot is going to meet your left foot and tap. The count is one-two.”

I watched as Spencer tried to process what I was saying.

“Do you want me to demonstrate first? And then you follow?”

He nodded rapidly as if saying yes wouldn’t be enough to communicate how much he needed me to lead. We broke apart so that I could turn my back towards him. I felt a cold draft blow under my dress as I spun on the ball of my feet, making my skirt flutter upwards majestically.

I felt him watching.

“Alright, so I’ll start and then you can catch on. It goes one-two.”

Left foot step. Right foot tap.

“Then three-four.”

Left foot step. Right foot tap.

“Then to the right this time. Five-six.”

Right foot step. Left foot tap.

“Seven-eight.”

Right foot step. Left foot tap.

“And back again. One-two. Three-four. Five-six. Seven-eight.”

My eight count continued until the click of my heels on the patio was joining by the sound of Spencer’s feet shuffling behind me. I knew if I turned around to check on him, it would only psych him out and make him more nervous, so I stayed facing forward so he wouldn’t feel that I was scrutinizing his technique.

After a minute or so of following me, I spun back around, catching his lingering stare in the region of my hips. He tried to play it off and pretend he wasn’t, but I felt it.

“You did really well tonight. I’m proud of you. I think that’s a good place to stop for today.”

He thanked me with another hug, the kind where we nuzzled his face in the crook of my neck.

God, I could feel him breathing on my shoulder.

I tried not to not to let myself indulge in it, reasoning that this was just a way for one friend to thank another, but I couldn’t help myself when the hug lasted longer than it should’ve. I tightened my embrace around him, drawing him in closer, and shutting my eyes as if taking my sense of sight away would heighten my sense of touch and magnify this feeling I never wanted to end.

“You take care, okay?” I said, rubbing my hand up and down his back to signal we should pull away, a signal he understood.

I was the first to walk away, merely because of the worry that I might sooner cry if I had to stay under these lights with him a moment longer.

I wasn’t sure I could do this again unless he was mine. Otherwise, I’d just be under the stars, dancing with the love of my life that I couldn’t have - feeling that feeling again, and not being able to act on it.

Is this what happens when your person loves somebody else?

∙•○⦾☉☼☉⦾○•∙

I know I said I couldn’t do it, but I did it anyway.

I guess that’s what love is. Doing things you don’t want to do because your care for the other person surpasses the discomfort. True love makes you do things like that, even if they aren’t in your best interest.

When he came over the next night, we danced again. Undoubtedly, he stumbled - even came close to falling - and yet, I fell in love all over again. After that, it got harder to separate dancing from my feelings.

The next day, we had a case. He came to my hotel room and we danced in the dim golden light of the hotel room’s chandelier. God, it was so ambient and romantic, I think I fell even harder for him - if that was even possible.

From then on, every time we were in the same place, he leapt at the opportunity to dance with me.

“Guys, look what I learned last night! Come, Y/N! Come on, come on.”

He waved me over eagerly with his hand, even helping me out of my seat in the round table just to speed up the process. All too excitedly, he assumed the leader’s position, and he danced me around the entire conference room in front of our coworkers. He spun me around the table, he dipped me in the doorway, he held me in his arms by the glass board.

Can you really blame me for falling in love?

“Wow, Y/N! I’m impressed. You really whipped him into shape.” JJ remarked with a clap.

I hid behind a faux smile, but Spencer was too elated to recognize the deceit. He was like that now. Maybe love made him more of a fool, more naive and blissfully unaware, whereas love made me more devoted and cognizant.

It went on like that for weeks. Practicing whenever and wherever we could.

He’d pull me into the hotel lobby at midnight to dance - not even batting an eye at the looming presence of the receptionist.

He’d ask me to come to his apartment and we’d dance in his living room or in the narrow hallway, just for fun.

When we were at Rossi’s, he’d drag me to the kitchen, with Rossi’s gentle music playing in the background, and we’d sway by the fireplace sometimes.

We danced once in the elevator when it got stuck. I never thought he’d be so fearless to do that, but he looked like he was genuinely enjoying himself, almost like he didn’t even notice we were stuck in an elevator.

While we waited for the jet, we’d danced on the tarmac, looking like a moving bundle of clothes, our movements stifled by our thick peacoats, layers of clothes, and scarfs.

After a dinner during cases, when we’d split a cab back to the hotel, he’d get me to dance on the sidewalk, even convincing me not to pay attention to the onlookers on the street, the honking cars, or the confused pedestrians. I was always embarrassed to be in the spotlight, but somehow with him, it was easy. It felt like it was just the two of us, dancing under that streetlight.

I never understood why people wanted to live in a moment forever, but for the first time that night, I did. That was a moment I wanted to freeze in time. I wish I could’ve stayed there forever. There in that moment, it really felt like it was our own little world. It was easy to believe we’d end up together, and we were the ones getting married, and we were in love.

But again, that was in that moment. In that singular, fleeting moment. And then life moved on, whether or not I was ready for it to.

The day of rehearsals inevitably came, and I wasn’t originally supposed to be at the wedding rehearsal since I wasn’t part of the ceremony, but Spencer asked me to be there, deliberately neglecting to tell me that the reason he wanted me to come was so that I could fill in for Kayla, which had I known that, I would’ve certainly declined.

When I walked in, the team was all there, sitting in the pews, with their heads turning to me where I was standing at the entrance of the church. It felt like an eerie nightmare that I was living out where I was Spencer’s bride walking down the aisle, and this was our wedding. I couldn’t tell you what was so nightmarish about it - probably because none of it felt right - but I was sick to my stomach when Spencer gestured for me to meet him at the altar.

“What’s going on?”

“Kayla had a last minute dress alteration in Norfolk and got stuck in traffic. She won’t make it for this rehearsal, but she’ll be there in time for the dinner rehearsal.”

“So why am I here?”

“I wanted to practice my vows on you, if that’s okay.”

I gulped hard, trying to swallow the lump in my throat to open up my suddenly-closing airway.

“Um, I don’t really know if -”

“Please, Y/N. I’m just nervous that I might mess up-”

How could I say no? True love makes you do crazy things, even if they aren’t in your best interest, right?

I reluctantly agreed.

Spencer’s hands were trembling and I could see it by the way his notecards were shaking, even from the fact that he brought notecards alone, and that he didn’t already memorize his vows. I wanted to put my hands around his and hold them to settle his unsteadiness, but I knew that wasn’t my place. I figured my words would do a better job at not crossing a boundary that was already crossed.

“Hey,” I comfortingly whispered. “It’s just me, okay?” Calling back those words from the first time we danced months ago. “You don’t need those notecards. Just speak from the heart.”

And sure enough, his heart spoke.

“When people used to tell me stories about what love felt like and what is what, they always said they fell in love with that person. Like it was sudden and all at once, but with you - I walked into love with you. With my eyes wide open, choosing to take each and every step along the way. I never believed in fate or destiny, but after I met you, I finally believed. I believed that we are only fated to do the things that we’d choose anyway. And I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality. I’d find you and I’d choose you.”

My breath hitched as I got lost in his eyes and how they were looking right at me, completely unmindful of the way everyone around us saw how he spoke to me.

I think he even got lost too, because what he said next, didn’t even seem to register in his mind before it came out of his mouth.

“I love you . . . Y/N.”

Gasps rang through the church, ricocheting off the high ceiling, and in that moment I knew, I knew he was going to kiss me.

He lunged forward in the heat of the moment. Clearly not thinking straight, he held my face in his hands, and I swear to God, I could’ve kissed him back.

I would’ve.

“Spencer?”

Every single head in the church turned toward the small voice, too distinct to misplace.

“Kayla, wait!’

And there I stood, alone at the front of the altar, watching him run after her.

∙•○⦾☉☼☉⦾○•∙

I sat by my phone the entire afternoon, waiting for someone - anyone - to update me. No one ever ended up texting or calling, so I figured the dinner rehearsal wasn’t cancelled. At least, in that case, my dress didn’t go to waste.

After spending an ungodly amount of time curling my hair and putting on my makeup, even achieving a smoky eye look, I finally slipped on my navy-blue, satin, floor length dress, donning nude heels and a dainty gold necklace with a single diamond pendant that laid right on my sternum.

It was a shame that this was a moment where I should’ve felt at my prettiest, and yet, I’d never felt so ugly.

I was riddled with the guilt of knowing I would’ve kissed Spencer if Kayla hadn’t walked in. I felt even worse that I was so consumed by his speech that I didn’t even hear her come in.

How long had she been standing there? Long enough to watch what I knew everyone else saw? These questions never left me. Not even when I pulled into the site of the dinner rehearsal.

Clutching the front of my dress to walk without resistance, I came to the entrance, and opened the door to reveal . . . nothing.

Staff was removing chairs and tables.

Waiters were collecting plates and utensils.

And Spencer was standing in the very middle of the empty room, watching it all happen silently, like he was just the shell of a man.

“Spencer!” I called out from the entrance, in no hurry to meet him at the middle of the room. He turned on his heels, with his hands sheepishly shoved into his pockets.

“Gosh, I’m sorry, Y/N. I should’ve called to let you know it got cancelled, but um, Kayla broke my phone.”

“Well, it’s time you got a new phone anyway.” I chuckled, which thankfully earned a chuckle from him, too.

“What happened, Spencer?” My voice was quiet, as if it was any decibel higher it would sound more like a scold than genuine concern.

“She, um, she told me she needed some time to think. And I, I told her to come to the rehearsal dinner if she still wanted to get married and,” He mirthlessly chuckled. “Well, you already know.” His words were chosen carefully to deliberately avoid what he hadn’t yet come to terms with.

She didn’t come.

I wasn’t yet sure whether or not to console him or to berate him for what he almost did, but I chose the former.

“I’m so sorry, Spence.”

He looked up from the ground, still managing to avoid my gaze, by looking up at the ceiling, and pretty much everywhere my face wasn’t.

“I understand if you want to leave right now. I just need to pay the owner and I’ll be out of here.”

I shook my head instantly. “No, I’ll be right here. If you want me to be.”

He bit his lip to stop a sob from escaping. “Yeah,” He nodded, cowering his head. “I’d like that a lot.”

As soon as I saw his cheeks get red, I took it as a cue to approach him and hug him. He was grateful for my compassionate touch, immediately opening up his arms to hug me back. His embrace around me was needy and desperate, and it felt like he was clawing at my dress, acting out of anger that the fabric was stopping us from being that much closer.

With his shoulder digging into the spot right underneath my chin, it was hard to utter the words, “You look really handsome, by the way.” I said, finally acknowledging his light beige suit and white button up shirt.

“Thanks.” I heard him mumble into my shoulder.

“Kayla doesn’t know what she’s missing.”

To my surprise, he didn’t recoil, flinch, or so much as react to her name. Instead, he simply pulled away, wiping the moisture under his nose, and straightening out his suit.

“We should . . . we should probably talk about what happened earlier, right?”

I sighed and shook my head. “Not if you don’t want to. We can save that conversation for another day.”

He looked appreciative of my avoidance, but I knew he wanted to talk about it.

“Hey, excuse me,” He stopped a staff member by clutching their arm gently. “Do you mind, actually? Leaving two seats behind.”

The staff member complied, doing as he said, and leaving two chairs behind, setting one right across from the other. I took my seat, and Spencer took his.

“I probably shouldn’t have spoken from the heart, huh?” He joked, finally seeing the humor in his situation.

“No, it was good that you did.”

“You think so?”

“Definitely. I think Kayla would’ve appreciated it.” All too quickly he responded with, “I wasn’t talking about Kayla.”

I was talking about you, his somber eyes said.

I looked away from his gaze immediately, trying to find a reprieve from the conversation that I was doing my best to avoid.

“It was a really good speech. It sounded so natural. Like something you knew by heart.”

“Something I knew by heart?” He didn’t seem to understand what I meant.

“Yeah, some things we just know by heart. Like the lyrics to our favorite song, or a recipe, how to dance,” We both chuckled at the reference. “Or . . . how to love.”

“Do you think we know who to love by heart or do you think we make that choice ourselves?”

“I think it’s both. I think we can’t control the person we’re meant to love. That, by some miracle, we’re handed this person that complements us better than anyone else. But I also think it’s our choice on whether or not we pick them. Maybe we aren’t willing to stand the test of time and wait for our person, so we don’t pick them and settle for someone else. Or maybe we do pick them and we live out the rest of our lives together. I think that’s what makes love so special. It’s a person choosing you over and over again.”

Isn’t that what we all want? To feel chosen?

“And what if we make the wrong decision? What if we’ve met who we’re supposed to love, but we chose to love another?” His eyes were searching within mine for the words that I wasn’t saying out loud. Out of fear that my eyes might expose me to Spencer, I looked away.

“I think -”

Spencer cut me off. “Look at me.”

My head didn’t move, but I shifted my gaze just as he wanted.

“When two people are meant to be, nothing and no one can end them. They may get lost a time or two on their journey, but true, real love will always conquer. Nothing can compete with them. Others can only attempt to fill a void. And eventually, the two will be reunited. That’s the beauty of true love; you always end up with the right person, at the right time, regardless of any other factor.”

Quiet fell upon us two after I said my piece. My breathing slowed down and the knot in my stomach came undone. The lump in my throat disappeared.

All my bodily barriers broke down. There were no more emotional walls up between the two of us anymore. I was completely vulnerable - nothing to hide me. Not even my eyelids could hide the windows of my soul. Spencer had already seen into them.

He saw my soul, my secrets.

“Dance with me.” He extended his hand in the air between us two. With no hesitation, I accepted his offer and followed his lead. He’d never danced so naturally before. Somehow, his stiffness had withered away. The thick tension that used to loom in the air above us two dissipated. Something new replaced the contents of the atmosphere.

Love.

Unbounded.

Unrestrained.

Unbridled.

Limitless love.

Spencer drew me in closer so my head could lay on his chest. Previously, I was looking at his face, but now the view was of our connected hands. My fingers were intertwined with his, and I didn’t even notice how his thumb was rubbing small circles on the back of my hand until I saw it with my own eyes.

Had he always done that, but I couldn’t feel it until I saw it for myself? If so, what else had he been doing that I couldn’t feel?

“Loving you.”

I removed my head from his shoulder after hearing him answer the question that I pondered silently, wondering if suddenly just acquired the superpower of telepathy.

“What?”

“Loving you. That’s all I know how to do by heart.”

A wave of relief came over me when I realized he hadn’t read my mind, he was just simply adding to our conversation from before.

“That’s not true,” I mirthlessly chuckled. “There’s lots you know how to do. You know thousands of chess permutations, you know how to geographically profile - you know how to dance now.” I countered playfully.

He shook his head. “I know how to do those things, but sometimes, none of it makes sense. I used to lose matches against Gideon, sometimes the comfort zone is inaccurate, and until today, I couldn’t dance very well,” He chortled. “But loving you. That always made sense. It never failed me or disappointed me and it’s so all-consuming that if I try to love anyone else - it just doesn’t make sense.”

Of all the words in my vocabulary, each of them were failing me. I was rendered speechless. Spencer cleared his throat and looked away for a moment, before finding the nerve to say it.

“I choose you.” He proclaimed.

So, I was right.

There are some things we know by heart.

Lyrics to our favorite song.

A recipe.

How to dance . . . how to love.

And who to choose.

“I choose you, too, Spencer.”

. . . So to answer my question from before, is life really that magical? . . .

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

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