#choices heart fanfic

[jerzwriter]

Hot Idea

Book:              Open Heart (Post Series)

Pairing:           Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Kaycee MacClennan)

Rating:            Teen

Words: 990

Summary: Ethan & Kaycee are poolside on one of the hottest days in Boston's history; Ethan's eager to go inside until Kaycee mentions wedding planning. Then, there's a brilliant idea.

A/N: This is loosely based on an old ask from @potionsprefect. I think this took place just days after Kaycee got her official engagement ring in As Planned. And look at me keeping it under 1,000 words!

It was sweltering outside. One of the hottest days in Boston’s history, bound to break all records. Ethan removed his sunglasses, or maybe they slid off; he was undoubtedly sweating enough for that. After a long chug of ice water, he rolled over on his lounger to address his fiancee.

“If there is a god, she intended for days like this to be spent one way… and one way alone.”

Despite the heat, Kaycee couldn’t help but grin. “If and she. There is a reason I said yes to you, Ethan.”

“And that’s what it is,” he smirked. “I assumed one of my many other talents made you arrive at that decision.”

“It was a million little reasons. But tell me, how did the possible goddess intend for us mere mortals to spend days like this?”

“Indoors,” he deadpanned. “Where it’s air-conditioned.”

“Poolside isn’t good enough for you?” She teased.

“Before dating you, I didn’t know my condo had a pool. Does that answer your question?”

“Well, it is boiling,” she agreed. “And it’s our only day off this week; we probably should go inside and start discussing wedding plans.”

“You know,” Ethan said, reclining in his chair. “If we drink more water, it’s entirely bearable out here.”

Kaycee reached for her glass of ice water and playfully tossed it atop Ethan’s bare chest.

“HEY!” He hollered.

“What? If ingesting the water will keep you cool… and away from discussing wedding plans… I figured external application would merely assist you.”

“You realize I have a glass right next to me, and I’m not above retaliation.”

Reaching over, Kaycee stole his glass and chugged the water in its entirety. “There! Now, that threat is eliminated.”

“But there is still ice,” Ethan winked. “And you know our history with ice.”

“Mmm,” she hummed. “Nice attempt at deflection… but I’m not letting you off the hook. Why are you so unwilling to discuss wedding plans with me? If I hadn’t received two beautiful proposals, I’d think you had cold feet.”

 “It’s not you,” he sighed. “Or the marriage. I’d head down to City Hall today and make it legal. It’s… the wedding…”

“I know,” Kaycee sighed, slumping back into her chair. “I’m not all jazzed about that part either.”

“Wait,” Ethan exclaimed. “You’re not? I assumed you’d want a big, fancy thing with all the trimmings.”

“Have I ever alluded to that?”

“No,” Ethan agreed. “But you went on and on about how you liked Reynaldo’s wedding in the City.”

“I did. For Reynaldo, but it’s just not… me.”

“Your mother would kill us if we eloped,” Ethan stated.

“Without question,” Kaycee laughed. “My Mom is part of the problem. I know she means well, but she’s Italian. She can’t help herself. A wedding means a church, hundreds of distant cousins I never knew I had, and a dress that would make Cinderella look understated.”

“Hundreds?” Ethan moaned.

“Don’t worry,” Kaycee smiled, gripping his hand. “We aren’t doing any of that. But… I have to the talk I’ve been avoiding with my mother.”

Ethan removed his glasses and looked at her sincerely. “Kaycee, what do you want?”

Kaycee closed her eyes, a slow smile spreading on her face. “I want a pretty dress, but nothing fussy. I want our closest friends and family there, but no one else. Good food, drinks, music, and laughter are musts, and at the end of the day, I better be married to you. But outside of that… I don’t care.”  

“Well, I approve of that,” he beamed. “So, how do we go about doing this?”

“I’ll talk to Mom. She’ll come around… eventually… with my father’s help,” Kaycee sighed. “Her heart’s in the right place, but. I wish I could avoid the headaches. Maybe we should plan a surprise wedding,” she laughed.

Ethan’s eyes went wide. “Kaycee! You’re brilliant!”

“I am?” she asked. “I mean, I am... but why now?”

“That’s a perfect idea! We plan the wedding… something simple to our liking. Then, we invite everyone to our ‘engagement party,’ and when they show up… SURPRISE! We’re getting married!”

“Wait… are you serious?”

“I’ll admit it’s unorthodox, but….”

“But I freaking love it!” Kaycee gushed.  

She jumped on Ethan’s lap before he knew what hit him. Peppering him with dozens of little kisses, the remnants of her pink lip gloss leaving slight kiss marks all over his face.

“Would you stop,” he chuckled. “We’re in public!”

“Ethan Jonah Ramsey! We have done far worse in public, and you know it! Do you really think we can do this?

“We can do whatever we want,” he assured. “I just have one request.”

“What’s that?”

“I want it to be soon. I’ve never seen the point in long engagements, and if we aren’t going to have a gala to prepare for, I see no need to delay.”

“Ethan Ramsey rushing to the alter,” she giggled. “Who could have predicted this?”

“OK, wiseass,” he smiled. “Stay on topic! Where should we have this? Mistral has a private room; we could look into that.”

“As much as I love Mistral, that is a little stuffier than I envision.”

“OK!” He snapped his fingers. “La Famiglia in North End, it’s one of your favorite places. It’s Italian, so your mother will be somewhat happy… it’s perfect!”

“It could be,” she pondered. “But I was thinking…Oh my God!” she gasped.

“What?”

“Our vacation! The house rental on the Cape!”

“We could do it there!” Ethan enthused.

“It’s perfect! Do you agree?”

“I agree… there’s only one problem.”

“What’s that?”

“Kaycee, it’s three weeks away.”

“So we better get moving,” she said, jumping from her chair. Let’s get into that air conditioning you were talking about. We have a wedding to plan.”

“You know,” he grinned as they walked toward the elevator. “This was all part of my master plan to get you inside.”

“Ethan?”

“Yes.”

“Hush.”

“Ah, it’s like we’re married already.”

Tagging separately.

[alea-jottun]

As a S1 Caitvi casual enjoyer and S1 Jayvik shipper, S2 reminded me of why I usually DO NOT want my ships to become canon.

Also, the extreme arcane S2 defenders are annoying. It's fine if you liked S2, great for you, but it doesn't change the fact S2 couldn't follow the most basic writing principles and gave up on everything S1 stood for. (Side note, I don't think you realize how good you have it, with the criticism being contained in one tag : back in my days, media criticism was in the same tag as the media itself, so you were forced to see it even if you just wanted to casually enjoy fandom productions.)

Also, most people here (rightfully) complain about the treatment of Cait, Vi and Jinx, but I do not see many posts about how the writing fundamentally betrayed Mel, Jayce and Viktor too. Might post about it later.

Honestly at this point, I am not sure I like Arcane anymore. Thinking about it doesn't bring me the joy it used to.

[choicesficwriterscreations]

Celebrate YOUR Top 5 Creations of 2024

It's that time of year again where CFWC give you a chance to highlight your most popular fanworks -- Fanfics, Edits and Fanart -- on Tumblr (by notes) and the ones near and dear to your heart even if they didn't get the love they deserved, aka...

YOUR:

Tumblr Top 5

Creator Top 5

How to Participate

Tumblr Top 5:

Go to JetBlackCode Note Counter, enter your blog name and run the scan to identify the top 5 original posts by Notes in 2024. If the top post is not a fanfic, edit or fanart, find the next one that is.

Create a post with a list of links to your Top 5 most popular fanfics, edits and/or fanart this year. Please mention the Choices book/series associated with the creation.

Creator Top 5:

Select your favorite top 5 creations from this year, the ones you're most proud of and the ones you want to show extra love. They could also be your most popular, but don't have to be. Want to highlight a series? Go for it. YOU decide!

Create a post with a list of links to your Creator Top 5 in 2024. Please mention the Choices book/series associated with the creation.

Then What?

Tag @choicesficwriterscreations on the posts and use the tag #cfwc top 5 2024

We will reblog your Tumblr Top 5 and your Creator Top 5 posts within 48 hours, and add them to an event masterlist.

Tumblr tags can be wonky, so if you don't see the reblog, send an ask to this blog with the links to your posts or DM @liaromancewriter.

The event runs from December 1 - 31, 2024. The event masterlist will be posted shortly after.

Signal boosts are appreciated!

[moeblob]

I love Chris so much you guys.

[liaromancewriter]

Favorite Ex

Premise: Ethan runs into an old flame, and it brings some much-needed closure for both of them.

Book: Open Heart Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Cassie Valentine) Rating/Category: Teen. Angst. Words: 1,570

A/N: Submission for @choicesmonthlychallengenov2024 prompt day 26: "regret" and @choicesprompts Angstgiving prompt "what could have been"

Ethan Ramsey needed a drink.

The annual National Medical Symposium in Miami, with its focus on cutting-edge medical advancements, had been interesting enough. Still, the obsequious flattery that went hand in hand with his increasingly rare visits to medical conferences got on his nerves. He couldn’t care less about what others wanted from him, but after all these years, he knew how to play the game.

Naveen would joke that with age, he’d gained maturity and wisdom. His wife would just snort and proceed to tease him about getting soft until he took her to bed just to prove her wrong.

She pushed him out of his comfort zone. And for her, he was willing to embrace the unknown.

A few years ago, he hadn’t been so… flexible. He reflected absently, walking into the busy hotel bar and scanning the room for an empty seat.

Or as willing to admit that he needed someone to come home to. Someone who understood him and filled the empty holes in his heart. He couldn’t deny it anymore, not even to himself.

Seeing a patron settle his tab and leave, he rushed to grab the padded bar stool. His shoulders dropped at the thought of sipping smooth whiskey while decompressing by exchanging sexy texts with his wife.

Should’ve insisted she accompany me, Ethan thought wearily, raking one hand through his hair.

He placed his phone on the bar, smiling as he often did at the sight of their wedding picture on the screen. He traced one finger down her laughing face, the photo a reminder of the moment she'd insisted he smile—really smile—for once.

He wondered when he’d become such a sap. Maybe she was right, and he was getting soft in his forties.

“What’ll be, sir?” The bartender asked hurriedly.

“Whiskey, neat.”

Ethan froze at the familiar voice behind him. He hadn’t heard it in years, but he’d know it in a dark room with his eyes closed.

Surprise had him swiveling on the stool to face her. Sparkling green eyes met shocked blue ones.

The years fell away as if no time had passed since that fateful night at Donahue’s when she’d correctly guessed his drink order on her first day as an intern at Boston’s Edenbrook Hospital.

“And don’t be stingy,” Dr. Cassie Valentine said, a smile tugging at her lips. “Judging by the look of him, it’s been a three-finger kind of day.”

“Hello, Dr. Ramsey.”

Ethan opened his mouth to speak, but the words caught in his throat, refusing to come. He inclined his head in greeting instead, a poor acknowledgment of the woman who’d been the first to breach through his walls.

The one who’d made him break all his rules and not give a damn about the consequences.

His mind flooded with memories. The quiet intimacy of watching the snow fall outside as they cuddled after making love. The warmth of holding hands on their way to Derry’s for coffee and a stolen moment of peace. The thrill of sneaking glances across the diagnostic team’s office despite their resolve to keep things strictly professional at work.

If it hadn’t been for his temporary but all-consuming love affair with Cassie, would he have even given Joanna a chance?

Ethan hoped the answer was yes. He loved his wife, and it would be an incredible disservice to what they meant to each other for him to believe otherwise.

“Still a man of few words, I see,” Cassie teased as she slid into the empty seat beside him, resting her chin lightly on her hand.

“You know me well,” he said gruffly, swallowing the lump that had lodged in his throat.

“I thought I did,” Cassie cooly inclined her head, but the laughter in her eyes betrayed her. “I still can’t believe you’re here. Remember when we attended this conference when I was an intern?” She giggled. “You hated every minute of it and weren’t exactly shy about saying so.”

Ethan hunched his shoulders. “I wasn’t that bad.”

He had a very different memory of that time. It had nothing to do with the symposium and everything to do with a moonlit balcony and his morals drowning in the heady scent of her perfume.

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, you were!”

The bartender returned with his drink, setting the lone glass in front of Ethan. The man looked questioningly at Cassie, but she shook her head.

“Not in the mood?” Ethan asked as he lifted his glass.

“Can’t,” she said, placing one hand on her belly.

Ethan stilled, a mix of complicated emotions he didn’t dare examine too closely surging through him.

Whenever he thought of Cassie, which wasn’t as often now as it had been in those early years, he still saw the resident who worked side by side with him during the day and slept in his bed at night.

The one he’d fallen in love with but could never confess the words to because there was a timer on their relationship. When her residency ended, she’d move on, ready to conquer the medical world with her amazing diagnostics instincts. And he’d be left behind. Again.

So, he’d held back and let the words fade into the ether.

It had been for the best, Ethan reasoned. Her eventual departure hadn’t lessened the hurt, but it had been cleaner.

He hadn’t been looking for love again, but one day, he bumped into a red-haired chef at the farmer’s market, and his life tilted on its axis. Literally, in this case, since he found himself falling to the ground and grabbing her on his way down.

So, he burned his dreams of what couldn’t be and allowed himself to believe in a new and permanent love.

In the last few years, he’d heard of Cassie’s accomplishments; her groundbreaking research, the accolades that followed. The diagnostic medical community was small, after all. He’d felt pride at seeing her star rise, convincing himself that was all it was. Just pride. Nothing more.

Until now.

“Congratulations,” he said softly, the word heavier than it should have been.

He forced a smile, willing himself to ignore the ache that stirred, a reminder of what could never be. He had made peace with it. Or so he thought. Yet here she was, and peace felt like a lie.

“Thanks,” Cassie said with a wistful smile. “I’m still in my first trimester, so we’re keeping it on the DL.”

She tilted her head, her gaze dropping briefly to the wedding ring on his left hand. “You’re married?”

“Yes. Two years next month.”

A silence fell between them—heavy, unfamiliar, and uncomfortably awkward. The rowdy laughter of a group of physicians erupted nearby, breaking through the tension like an unwelcome intrusion.

Cassie glanced toward the noise, her lips twitching into a faint, distracted smile before her gaze returned to him.

Ethan fought to keep his gaze steady, trying and failing to ignore the curve of her lips or the way her stylish blonde hair framed her timeless features. He remembered its softness against his skin as she nestled against him before drifting off to sleep, their hands still touching when they woke the next morning.

Joanna wasn’t into cuddling. She was often too tired after a long night at the restaurant and preferred sleeping on her side, her back to him.

Until this moment, Ethan had forgotten he enjoyed the intimacy of a lover wrapped around him. Cassie had once called him a world-class snuggler, and he’d cherished the title as if he’d won a Nobel Prize.

They had been happy. So, why couldn’t they make it work?

“Are you happy?” she asked eerily, picking up on his ambivalence.

He wanted to say yes. He was happy. Hadn’t he been reflecting on just how much a mere ten minutes ago? So, why was he hesitating?

Shame spiraled through him. He adored Joanna, and he loved their life together.

And yet, a part of him still wondered about the road not taken. Maybe it was time he stopped.

He drew in a long breath. “What happened to us?”

Cassie slid him a guarded look. Her fingers curled and uncurled in her lap.

Ethan didn’t think she’d respond and opened his mouth to take the words back.

“You never asked me to stay.”

He sat back, poleaxed.

“We went from gold rush to cold touch,” Cassie said, sadness clouding her features. “As my residency was ending, I could feel you slowly pulling away from me. And still, I waited for any word from you, something to give me hope that we had a future together.”

Ethan could hardly move, let alone speak at the confession.

“You were my best nights and my worst. I cried myself for weeks after, and then I let us go.”

Cassie slid off the stool and smoothed down her dress. “I’m glad I ran into you. I’ve wanted to say these words to you for the longest time but never had the courage.”

Her eyes softened as she took a step back. “You will always be my favorite ex. Goodbye, Ethan.”

And then she was gone, her scent lingering until that, too, was an ephemeral memory.

“And you will always be mine,” he uttered silently, reaching for the phone and the one he had chosen to be his forevermore.

He and Cassie were finally where they belonged. In the past.

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

All Fics & Edits: @bluebelle08 @coffeeheartaddict2 @crazy-loca-blog @jerzwriter @justyourusualash

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@thosehallowedhalls

Submissions: @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

Ethan & Cassie only: @cariantha @custaroonie @youlookappropriate

[cariantha]

Sweet December

Book: Open Heart, Book 2 (post-attack) Pairing: Dr. Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Dr. Sawyer Brooks) Rating: General Category: Fluff, Christmas Word count: 1K Summary: Ethan eavesdrops on a conversation between Sawyer and her best friend. A/N: This fic was inspired by this Instagram reel and a little “Caption This” fun with a friend. It was meant to be an angsty fic, but then I listened to Sweet December by Brett Eldridge and Kelly Clarkson and changed directions. Merry Christmas!🎄

Events/Prompts: Participating in Winter Holidays 2024 hosted by @choicesholidays | Cuddling by the fireplace

With plans to spend their day off together, Ethan insisted that Sawyer come to his after her late-night shift at the hospital. The apartment was dark except for the glow of his bedside lamps, drawing attention away from the living room and the surprise he had set up for his girl. 

The tactic worked. An exhausted Sawyer entered the quiet apartment well after midnight and headed straight for the bedroom like a moth to the flame. After a quick kiss and a much-needed shower, she draped herself over Ethan’s body like a blanket and passed out within minutes. 

It was mid-morning when Sawyer padded into the kitchen, still a little groggy, with her phone pressed to her ear. Finding no evidence of Ethan's morning coffee, she assumed he was still at the gym, which was his usual weekend routine. 

“That sounds like so much fun. I’ve always wanted to visit New York during Christmas time…” Sawyer told the person on the other end of the line. “Maybe next year.”

When she put the phone on speaker so she could start the coffee, her best friend’s voice filled the room. 

“What about you? Are you going home to Arizona for Christmas?” Christian asked. 

“No. I love my family and know they are concerned, but they have been so overbearing that I’ve started dodging their calls,” she confessed. 

“Oof.” 

“I know,” Sawyer grimaced guiltily, “and I know they mean well, but I just need time to process things on my own. I can’t take any more time off, anyway. I just got back to work and need to catch up on my clinic hours. Besides, I’m looking forward to experiencing a Christmas like in the movies. You know, someplace cold enough that it snows, and you can cozy up by the fire and drink hot chocolate."

“Will you spend Christmas with Ethan, then?”   

From the living room, Ethan watched as Sawyer shrugged her shoulders. He’d been listening to their conversation while he lounged in front of the fireplace, waiting for her to turn around and notice him. 

"I don't want to assume, but I hope so," Sawyer answered softly, then sighed deeply. "God, Christian, I know it sounds so corny, but when I start feeling all upside down, he turns me right around."

"Awww..."

Ethan continued to watch and listen as she tinkered with the coffee machine. 

"We’re both working on Christmas, but a wintery night cuddling by the fire like we had at Dagger Mountain would be amazing. As for anything else, I think Ethan’s more the ‘spirit of Christmas’ type than the ‘holiday spirit’ type. Last year, when I came over to help with Naveen's case, I brought him one of those potted tabletop trees from the hospital gift shop because he didn't have a tree or a wreath or anything. It made me sad for him."  

Ethan raised his brows in surprise, then looked to the corner of the room where, the night before, he set a five-foot balsam fir into a tree stand. Boxes of ornaments and garland that the doorman helped carry into the apartment sat on the floor nearby.  

Christian chuckled. “You sound like Cindy Lou Who talking about the Grinch. Girl, he's been a bachelor for a long time. Guys don't care about that shit. Sam wouldn't bother either if it weren't for the boys."

"Yeah, I guess you’re right." 

A loud pop from the living room made Sawyer jump. She quickly spun around to find Ethan reclined in front of the fireplace. Christian’s voice faded into the background as Sawyer's senses awakened with the warmth of the roaring fire. The smell of fresh pine needles. The twinkling of white lights in the corner. The soft crooning of Bing Crosby’s “Silver Bells.” The taste of creamy chocolate and peppermint from the cup that Ethan walked over and offered her. 

“Sawyer? Hellooo… did I lose you?” 

Reaching for her phone, she apologized to her friend. “Sorry about that, um, Ethan just surprised me… Can I call you back later?” 

“Of course! I should go anyway. I think Sam and the boys are ready to leave for the ice rink.”

“Have fun and send me pics. Love you.”

“Love you, too, babe.”

Sawyer ended the call and set her phone aside. “Hi,” she greeted, standing on her tiptoes. 

“Morning,” Ethan answered, bending down to meet her halfway for a tender kiss. 

Gesturing to the living room, “What’s all this?”

“Since you're not going home for Christmas, I thought we could celebrate together. Here.” 

“Really?”

“Yeah, really,” he confirmed with a peck to her lips.

“I’d love that...” she blushed with embarrassment, “as you probably heard.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and looked at the glowing tree. “You bought a real tree?”

“Given your family’s Christmas tree business, I knew anything else would be considered sacrilege.”

She smiled up at him. “You remembered that?” 

“When it comes to you, I remember everything.”

Pressing herself tighter against him, Sawyer rested her cheek on his chest. “It’s so cozy in here. And look! It’s snowing outside.” Sawyer moved to sit on the sofa, tugging the sleeve of Ethan’s robe to get him to follow. “Come cuddle with me.”

Ethan sat, draping an arm over her shoulder, tucking her into his side. But just as they got comfortable, Ethan moved to stand up. 

“Where are you going?”

“I forgot,” he started, “I bought one of those big fluffy blankets you said I needed for cuddling on the couch. It’s in the hall closet.”

Sawyer smiled so big. “You are so sweet sometimes.”

“Sweet?! Uh-oh, my reputation for being a Grinch is in jeopardy.”

Reminded again that he heard every word of her conversation, she scowled at him. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you it’s rude to eavesdrop? You could have cleared your throat or something.”

Ethan winked, letting her know there was nothing to worry about. “Let me grab the blanket.”

“No,” she demanded, catching his hand before he walked away. Lying back, she pulled him down and on top of her. “A blanket’s good, but you’re even better.”

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[arsenicflame]

steddyhands modern au inspired by this post:

(1828 words, themes of kink but nothing explicit, established blackhands & gentlebeard-centric. Happy Pride!)

Stede picks up leatherworking in the wake of his divorce. He's not exactly sure how it ended up being such an important hobby for him, only that he had always admired the intricate designs on his horse's best bridles, and with little else to do with his time, he decides to give it a go.

It's rocky going at first, but he's having fun working with his hands for the first time in his life, and there's a sense of satisfaction in seeing the design come to life as he works. With practice, his skills improve, and he learns how to make things that are truly one of a kind.

He starts off posting his pieces online, as a way to reach fellow enthusiasts, but quickly finds himself with a rather large audience. Stede’s style is unique, and, after many requests from his followers, Lucius encourages him to make some more basic pieces he can sell. It's not about making money for Stede, but another way to meet new people who share his interests- as Lucius keeps telling him, it's sad that his personal assistant is the main person he talks to these days. 

So Stede sets out on a new adventure, and has quite the time designing a new range of patterns for the market. He makes purses, belts, bracelets, and, most importantly, dog collars- all still with his unique designs embossed into them, of course. He rents a booth at his towns monthly craft fair, and very quickly finds himself with a new group of friends in the other regulars- Pete, his usual neighbour, who sells an array of wooden figures he carves, Roach, who runs a stand for his bakery, and Frenchie, who isn't actually a stallholder, but is almost always busking near his friend Wee John’s stand of knitted goods, bringing life to the market even in the pouring rain. There's also Buttons, another regular at the market. Nobody is exactly sure what he does there- he doesn't sell things, or seem to buy anything either, but rain or shine, he's there with the birds.

Stede’s been doing this a few months by the time June rolls around. As he's setting up his stand, he notices that the area is much busier than it’d normally be at this time of morning. Lucius, who got roped into helping run Stede’s stall somewhere down the line (despite his protests that this is not what personal assistant means… But hey, he got a boyfriend out of it, at least), reminds him that there's the parade today, too- not realising that Stede had no clue there was a parade today, and especially not that it was pride. Stede immediately jumps to fretting about the amount of stock he’s brought, and Lucius takes the cue to escape, saying he’ll go and grab them coffee (but really, he's off to flirt with Pete)

Lucius is still missing when Ed stumbles across the little leather stall. Stede’s just ran back to his car to fetch his last boxes of inventory, and by the time he returns, Ed’s already begun to narrow down his choices. Stede greets him, starting to tell him that they're not actually open yet, but before he gets more than a couple of words out, Ed’s exclaiming “You're a Kiwi!!!”

The two of them smile at the shared recognition, and Stede says he’ll make an exception, just for Ed, and asks him what exactly he was interested in. Ed tells him that he's looking for a collar “for his boy”, and points out the particular design he was looking at. It happens to be one of Stede’s favourites from this latest run of work, a fact he mentions to Ed. It leads them into a discussion about Stede’s craft, and Ed’s Izzy, and then everything in between. Ed’s listening intently to the things Stede’s telling him, completely drawn in by the process, and by Stede himself. He watches as Stede stamps Izzy's name into the collar, and Stede even lets him have a go at one of the stamps. 

Lucius reappears sometime in the middle of this- only to immediately retreat again, seeing Stede engrossed with Ed. He sets up camp at Pete's booth opposite, watching this man flirt intensely with his boss- and Stede flirt back just as hard. Does Stede even realise he’s doing it? Lucius had known Stede was gay since before Stede even admitted it to himself, but this is on a whole other level.

The pair stand there so long that Izzy comes to look for Ed- the two of them are manning a float on the parade with their crew, and it's past time for them to get geared up. He's already worked up, frustrated to have been left to set up everything alone, when Ed had just gone to see if he could get them both coffee. So maybe he's a bit of a prick, approaching with a brash “where the fuck have you been, Edward”, to which Stede brings the same energy, giving a bitchy “Ed! Do you know this guy?” Izzy tenses, ready to snap, but then Ed cuts in, excitedly telling Stede that this is “his Izzy!” Which confuses the hell out of Stede. 

Forgetting his earlier attitude, he asks Ed if he “really named his dog after his friend”, only to be met with confusion right back from Ed at where the hell Stede got the idea he had a dog from. Stede gestures at the bag with the collar in it, to which Ed has to tell him, “oh, no, that's for him.” Ed tells Stede that they're here to run a float for their local leather society, and while Stede is certainly shocked by what Ed’s saying, he's not finding himself… uninterested. It's simply that he’s never even considered any of this before, especially not that people would use the things that he made for this, but Ed sounds so enthusiastic about it all. He tells him about how his friends would love to see Stede’s work, about how classic leather gear is always so fucking boring- but not Stede’s stuff, no, Stede’s stuff is “fresh” and “fascinating” and unlike anything Ed’s ever seen before. 

Ed's enthusiasm is incredibly infectious, so when he invites Stede to come back to see their float, he readily agrees. It’s a concept Izzy’s less than enthusiastic about. He doesn’t really want to bring this man who’s dressed like he just walked out of a HOA board meeting to their kinky little corner of the world, but he is having a lot of fun watching Stede squirm, so decides not to raise a protest. He does demand he gets his long-overdue coffee first, though (Stede pays for it- as “compensation for him distracting Ed from his job”, he says, not giving Izzy a second to process before he's tapping his card)

By the time they return to the float, Fang, Ivan & Jim are waiting for them, all already geared up. Stede is stunned silent at the sight for about 5 seconds, before he starts actually looking at the quality of Jim’s harness, and proceeds to go off about the poor quality of the craftsmanship, about how the hardware is tacky and completely the wrong choice with this leather, how his “ten year old daughter could do a better job!!!” 

There's complete silence from the group, until Izzy, of all people, bursts into laughter at Stede’s audacity (and, the fact he was staring at Jim's tits completely unabashedly, like he hadn't even noticed them in the first place). Izzy's laughter sets Ed off as he tells the group about Stede’s misunderstanding- “you didn't say he was a person!” “I mean, he's my dog”- and soon everyone's having a friendly giggle at Stede’s mistake.

It's somewhere in the middle of the retelling that Ed remembers that this whole thing happened because he was buying Izzy a gift. After a moments fumbling, he presents Izzy with the collar-  It's a rich, deep black, embossed with a rolling pattern that resembles waves. It’s made from a firm enough leather to take the tooling, and to remind Izzy that he’s owned while he’s wearing it, yet still soft enough for long term comfort. Izzy's eyes immediately lock on to it, an unreadable expression coming over his face, and Ed turns it; first so he can really see the design and Izzy’s name embossed into it, and then so he can see the small “Ed ♥” on the inside of the collar, right over his swallow tattoo. 

“I did the heart,” Ed says to him softly, intended only for Izzy’s ears. Izzy's eyes flick up to Ed’s, and he raises his chin to give Ed the room to put it on. Ed buckles the collar around his neck almost reverently, a test of the tightness turning into a caress of Izzy's neck. It's a perfect fit.

It's as though something comes over Izzy; so twitchy and abrasive earlier, now silent, staring at Ed with a look akin to worship in his eyes. He obediently tilts his head for a kiss as Ed's fingers move to his chin- It's a sight to behold, and one that has Stede intrigued. He wants to know more about this lifestyle, and these men in particular. He wants to be the one to put that expression on Izzy's face.

The moment breaks as Ed and Izzy pull apart, and Ed calls for the crew to finish the last bits of set up. Izzy shakes himself a little before running off to bark orders again, but even still, there remains a softness to him that wasn't there before. 

Ed turns back to Stede with an apologetic smile, already obvious that he has to get going. Before he can speak, however, Stede jumps in -“My business numbers on the card in the box… I'll be around all day”- Ed’s smile turns more genuine at that, promising to stop by if he gets a moment, and that he’ll send his friend's Stede’s way- “if he wants that kind of business.” Stede says that he does, actually- that he's seen a whole new world already today, and, while he was a little taken aback at first, he can feel the passion Ed and his friends have for this life. If there's one thing that's ever mattered to Stede, it's other people's enthusiasm. Maybe he doesn't completely understand yet, but he would like to try.

One year later, Stede’s back at the market on pride weekend again, far better stocked for the crowds this time around. Lucius is finally free to spend the day flirting with Fang & Pete to his heart's content, now that Stede’s roped his own boyfriends into helping him run the stall- and into modelling the merchandise. Ed loves that part, while Izzy needs a lot more convincing, but the puppy eyes Stede & Ed weaponise against him make a very good argument.

[secriden]

Everything about Style is just driving me feral with want to have THK right now, immediately.

The way he's all big, bold gestures and confident swagger; the way his introduction includes a literal arms-wide-open welcome. The overalls unbuttoned until nearly the middle of his chest and how he's the only one in the main cast to be (literally) this uncovered (everyone else has 2-3 layers on).

I wonder if this hints to how vulnerable his character is, narratively speaking: how he potentially is the one that starts out with the least information (apparently Kant doesn't tell him who Fadel and Bison are when he makes that deal with Style?); how he may be the least physically familiar with violence because he's just a mechanic (vs Kant's background with crime/the police. Also the way in the trailer Style is constantly in shock when Fadel does something violent around him); how he chooses with his heart even after he finds out the full truth about Fadel ("You know I know everything").

When he describes his life, it's so... innocent? We get a snapshot of what he thinks his life is about and it's: fixing cars, collecting vintage cars, bowling and hanging out with his best friend. Every other character's answers are layers of subterfuge and double meanings but Style's answers create such a contrast by being so unfiltered. This is a character that (at least at this point) is guileless and without agenda.

I'm so excited to see Style pursing Fadel. I'm so excited to see Fadel try to remain stoic and unmoved in the face of Style's unabashed interest and enthusiastic flirting. I'm excited to discover why Style goes from attraction to being willing to risk it all for Fadel.

But also -- in a very different way than what Kant will doubtless be to Bison -- I'm excited to see how Style will become an escape for Fadel. Fadel, who just wants to sleep for 25 hours (he's so exhausted) and live a normal life, maybe open a restaurant that isn't just a front and a cover for the illicit job he maybe no longer wants, who enjoys solitude but wants to find someone to spend it with (he sounds so desperately lonely, my heart breaks for him).

Someone uncomplicated, who lives life fully, who isn't afraid to go for what he wants and who wears his heart on his sleeve.

In less than 5 minutes, this interview shows us the ways they could fit together like missing puzzle pieces, and I am so, so excited to see it fall apart and come together.

[potionsprefect]

Everything Has Changed

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x Victoria Clarke

Word Count: 802

Summary: After the Senator attack, life at Edenbrook Hospital will never be the same

Rating: Teen

Category: Angst

The hospital was bustling like it always did but at this current moment in time, it was in the media spotlight. After the terrible events of the last 24 hours, Edenbrook was adjusting to a new normal.

Sienna Trinh looked out of the window of the hospital. Everything carried on as normal outside, no one seemed to be aware of the horrors that had occurred inside just hours before. Why did it have to be Edenbrook to suffer?

No one’s lives would ever be the same again, they would forever be haunted by the events of the last day. The last day they never wanted to experience.

Sienna walked to her best friend Victoria’s room where she was sleeping. She looked so peaceful. It was hard to imagine the ordeal she had been through, how she had been so close to death. Sienna couldn’t imagine losing her.

“It’s hard to imagine isn’t it.” A voice said. Sienna turned to see Ethan walking up the corridor.

“I was so sure we were going to lose both her and Rafael. I’m glad we didn’t.” Sienna sighed.

“Me too. How are you holding up? After everything that happened with Danny?” Ethan asked.

Sienna closed her eyes for a second, thinking over the answer in her head. “I don’t really know how to feel. I’m so relieved Victoria and Rafael are ok. But Danny… he’s gone.”

“I know. And it won’t be easy. We’ve all felt a sense of loss. But I think Danny would want us to remember we did a good thing. And I think we should remember that going forward.” Ethan smiled as he looked at Victoria.

“Well there’s no time like the present. Go in there and be with her.” Sienna smiled.

Ethan chuckled before opening the door. He went and sat by Victoria’s bed, grasping her hand as she continued to sleep.

“I’m so glad you’re still here.” Ethan said as he pressed a gentle kiss to Victoria’s hand.

As if she heard him, Victoria opened her eyes. “Me too.” She said.

“Did I wake you?”

“No I was just resting my eyes. How is Raf?”

“He’s doing well. There’s still a long way to go but he’s going in the right direction.”

“That’s good. Although I don’t think life for either of us will be the same again. My lungs are scarred I’ve been told.” Victoria said.

“That’s no surprise. None of us really know the after effects. It looks like you both might be useful for science in the future.”

“Hopefully not for a few years. How is everyone coping?”

Ethan sighed. “They’re not really if I’m honest. Life for all of us is going to be different.”

“Do you think people will expect us to say something? It’s on the news.” Victoria said.

“Not right now. And even if you did, there’s no way you will be saying something without the approval of HR.” Ethan replied.

“You don’t like HR. I’d love to see you interacting with them.” Victoria laughed.

“Never in a million years.” Ethan said. He noticed a box by Victoria’s bed. “What’s that?”

Victoria looked over at what he was pointing at. “Oh it’s my inhaler. I’ll need to use it if I ever get short of breath. I guess that’s the new normal for me now.” Victoria sighed.

“There was always a chance of some effects. But you’ll learn to live with it. It’s better that than the alternative.”

“I suppose. How are you after everything? I haven’t really asked.”

Ethan sighed. “Lots of things. I’m relieved you’re alive along with Rafael but sad that Danny died, angry that the Senator escaped.”

“I know. Me too. I have a lot of unanswered questions. But right now, all I need is you by my side to help me recover.”

“Well that is a guarantee. I need to update Naveen on what’s happened. I’ll be back later.” Ethan stood up and pressed a kiss to Victoria’s forehead before leaving the room.

Whilst Ethan was telling the truth, he made a detour. He headed towards the men’s bathroom. He rested his hands on the sink, head bowed and he could feel himself shaking. Without thinking about it, he broke down, tears streaming down his face and his cries leaving his body one by one. He had been holding it in for so long, he wanted to be strong for Victoria. But now he was letting it out, finally allowing all his emotions to be spilled out.

Ethan washed his face and wiped his eyes before he headed to see Naveen, each step feeling much heavier than the last.

He knew life would never be the same, but for now, he had to be strong. For himself, for the hospital.

For Victoria. And she mattered more than anyone.

Oops I wrote angst lol

Tag list: @ohchoices @swiftiexstarwarssimp @queencarb @genevievemd @choicesaddict5 @schnitzelbutterfingers @gryffindordaughterofathena @sophxwithers @romewritingshop @coffeeheartaddict2 @mm2305 @nikki-2406 @maurine07 @nishas-paradise @replayfootsteps @mainstreetreader @lsvdw-blog @kiara-36 @quixoticdreamer16 @headoverheelsforramsey @shanzay44 @itsjustamesshonestly @josiesopenheart @mysticalgalaxysstuff @custaroonie @ireneadlerisseggsy @takemyopenheart @kachrisberry @rookiemartin @jamespotterthefirst @a-crepusculo @natureblooms24 @jerzwriter @wanderingamongthewildflowers @rosebudde @lucy-268 @liaromancewriter @bex-la-get @writer-ish @toadfrog26 @tessa-liam @peonierose @cariantha @kyra75 @openheartfanfics @choicesficwriterscreations

[lilymoonlily]

4k words Timebomb hurt/comfort smut-ish oneshot coming your way tomorrow Arcanians - or whatever the fuck our fandom name is

[jerzwriter]

It's Christmastime - and Ethan is thoroughly unimpressed. Luckily, he has Kaycee to turn that around - but can she make it happen?

Book: Open Heart Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x Kaycee MacClennan (F!MC) Rating: Teen Words: 1,411 Summary: See above.

A/N: Participating in @choicesholidays winter event - New Traditions - they have a few in here! :) Also, @choicesdecember2024, I think Miracle is the best match! lol

The line felt like it stretched the entire length of the mall, accompanied by all the annoyances that came with it: frazzled parents, sugared-up kids, and the occasional beleaguered adult questioning their life choices. It didn’t take long to determine what group a tall, scowling doctor with his arms crossed in front of his chest belonged to. Ethan Ramsey was firmly in the last group, and Kaycee couldn’t have been more amused.

He should have expected this, she thought; after all, this was their second Christmas together, and he had already survived year one at her side. She smiled at him, the picture of holiday cheer in her red sweater adorned with tiny reindeer. That sweater wasn’t a split-second decision. No, Kaycee had taken months to find the perfect design and purchased two, one for each of them. Ethan was wearing his, too. It would be visible if he took off his leather jacket, but he had made it clear before they left his condo... he was NOT taking off his leather jacket.

Kaycee’s eyes were full of mischief as she gently nudged him with her elbow. “You’re awfully quiet today,” she said with a slight smile.

Ethan let out an exasperated sigh. “You dragged me here against my will. Can’t you just enjoy my silent suffering?”

Chuckling, she stepped closer and leaned into his side. “Stop it, grumpy! You enjoy this, too! You’re just too much of a curmudgeonly old man to admit it!”

He arched an eyebrow, looking at her with a frown. “Negative,” he deadpanned.

“Yes, you absolutely are!” Kaycee insisted. “You’re so lucky to have me here to fix all this bah-humbug of yours! Besides... remember what I promised you later... if  you’re a good sport.”

His demeanor seemed to change on a dime, the corners of his mouth twitching upward despite himself. He leaned in close and whispered so only she could hear him. “I seem to remember a promise that involved scanty red lingerie and mistletoe. Can you remind me of the other details again? It might make this whole experience a little more bearable?”

“Sorry, babe,” she answered with amusement. “There will be no reward until we finish the task at hand, and your chances are better if you do it with a smile on your face.”

The line continued to shuffle forward at an excruciatingly slow pace, and though he tried to contain it, Ethan’s grumbling continued. “This is ridiculous.” “You realize we’re adults, Kaycee.” “We really don’t belong here.”

She bit her lip to refrain from laughing, her amusement growing with each mumbled complaint. She peeked ahead and saw it wouldn’t be much longer; the jolly man in red was getting closer with every step. “Stop it, Ethan! You know I’m right about this.”

“Right? Right about what?”

“That this is going to be fun. Admit it—deep down, you’re excited.”

Ethan snorted. “The only thing I’m excited about is how you’ll be repaying me later.”

She looked up at him with a smirk and playfully punched his arm. “If you keep torturing me here, I may just renege on my promise!”

Ethan looked stricken. “You wouldn’t!”

Kaycee didn’t get a chance to answer as they finally reached the front of the line, where an overly excited elf dressed in green and red tights greeted them with an almost eerie smile. “Hi there! Are we going for the basic photo package or the deluxe? The deluxe comes with extra prints, digital downloads, and even a festive frame!”

Before Ethan could say a word, Kaycee jumped in. “Deluxe, please. I want as many prints as possible to send to all our friends and family.”

Ethan’s eyes went wide. “That was not part of the deal,” he protested.

Kaycee remained the picture of holiday bliss when she smiled at his side. “Ethan, but it’s Santa!”

How had he ended up here? He was almost forty. He should be home with a glass of spiked eggnog by the fireplace. He ran a hand down his face and grumbled. “This is absolutely absurd.”

He was about to complain more when a tiny voice from behind interrupted him. Ethan felt the little hand tugging at his jacket just before the words hit his ear. “Mister, are you saying you don’t believe in Santa Claus?”

Ethan froze, turning to find a little boy of no more than six staring up at him. His wide eyes were filled with innocence, almost begging Ethan to offer a reassuring response. Ethan glanced at the boy and then at his parents, standing behind him. They watched with an amused expression as they waited for his reply.

Ethan hadn’t asked for it, but in that moment, memories from his own childhood rose to the surface. When he was about this boy’s age, he would spend his whole year compiling lists for Santa, three to be exact. One was a compilation of all the good things he had done, and the second was confessions of the not-so-good stuff. That one had an attachment with explanations and how he attempted to atone.   Then, there was his Christmas wish list. Each year, when he wrote it, he was sure he wouldn’t receive most of the things he asked for. He might have been young, but he was smart enough to know his family was struggling. He could tell when his Mom put an extra sweater on him instead of turning up the heat, when his dad insisted on taking extra shifts even though he was tired, and when his parents would put a few items back before they checked out at the grocery store. He was young but bright, and he knew.

Yet, every Christmas morning, it seemed like a miracle took place. He had no idea how it happened, but most, if not all, that he wished for would be wrapped beautifully under the family Christmas tree. Back then, he took that as proof positive that Santa was real. There was no other way. He hadn’t thought about that for years, but standing before this little boy, he could feel the emotion welling inside.

There was magic during the holiday season. It didn’t come from mythical creatures in red suits or tiny reindeer – but from the people who loved us the most. It came from parents who worked hard to create that magic, including his own parents, who did without themselves just to see the look in his eyes on Christmas day.

It came in the form of the beautiful woman beaming at his side. The one who knew him better than he knew himself and was not about to let him spend the rest of his days thinking wonder and hope were something that had died long ago. She insisted they had a place in his grown-up life, and looking at her now, it was apparent, the message was received.

He knelt down to the child’s level, his voice soft and tender, his eyes warm. “Of course I believe in Santa Claus. Santa is all about the magic of the holiday season. And you know what? That magic is real. One hundred percent real.”

The boy’s eyes sparkled with his reply. “Really? You mean it!”

Ethan nodded, wrapping his arm around Kaycee, who was beaming up at him with so much affection it made his chest tighten. “Really. It’s all around us – it’s surrounding you and me.”

The boy grinned as he turned and hugged his parent’s knees, and Ethan met the gaze of the woman he loved. “YOU are all the magic I need,” he murmured placing a kiss atop her head. “Thank you for reminding me of who I used to be.”

Kaycee’s eyes filled with tears as she held him tight, he didn’t know it, but he had just given her the greatest gift of all.

“Uhm, so... the pictures?” The now irritated elf asked.

“You heard the lady,” Ethan stated. “The deluxe package, in fact, make it two!”

Before they stepped into the winter wonderland that served as a backdrop to Santa’s throne, Ethan turned to Kaycee once more. “Merry Christmas, baby,” he said with a smile she’d cherish for all time.

“Merry Christmas, Ethan,” she whispered back.

Ethan took her hand and led her down the candy cane-trimmed path toward Santa, knowing precisely what he’d say when the jolly man asked him what he wanted for Christmas. He already had his gift, and she was standing by his side.

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

[hey-missy-youre-so-fine]

Being a marauders fan is so funny, like we were exposed to the Harry Potter franchise, and just immediately were like “you see this guy? The dad that died before the series started? And the kid that died like two decades ago and gets like one or two pages total in the entire series? Yeah, I like those characters.”

Like we literally found a bunch of (canonically dead) characters that are barely mentioned in the books/movies, delicately scooped them up and developed their characters because J.K. Rowling didn’t. And now we have fanfics longer than the freaking Bible about dead gay wizards from the ‘70s, all based on character head cannons that the internet collectively decided was canon. And the best part is that no one can prove it wrong, because the vast majority of characters that lived during the marauders’ era have hardly any background information in the material!

Seriously, though, the fanfics are so long. Like I’m still reading All the Young Dudes, Just Lovers, and Choices. And I haven’t even started Crimson Rivers yet.

[connorsnothereeither]

Incorrect actually, that song is my blorbo’s song. He owns it, you see, and he will see you in court for assigning it to the wrong character

[choicesficwriterscreations]

CFWC F/AtoW: Jan 5 - 11, 2025

✒️ = Fanfic | 📱 = Text Fics/Edits | 🎨 = Fanart Ⓜ️ = Mature Content 18+ | 🔥 = Explicit/NSFW 18+ 🏳️‍🌈 = LGBTQIA+

BLADES OF LIGHT AND SHADOW

Love Springs Eternal ✒️ | Mal Volari x F!Human!MC - @storyofmychoices

CRIMES OF PASSION

Emma Plushie Doll 🎨 | F!MC - @cadybear420 C: @loreofyore

Painkillers ✒️ | Juliana Georgescou - @spadesofgrass

DESIRE & DECORUM

Waiting For You ✒️ | Ernest Sinclaire x F!MC - @bluelovessss

ENDLESS SUMMER

Could be Our Last Night on Earth 🎨🔥🏳️‍🌈 | Estela Montoya x F!MC - @marmolady

Last Night on Earth ✒️🔥🏳️‍🌈 | Estela Montoya x F!MC - @marmolady

IMMORTAL DESIRES

Mary Plushie Doll 🎨 | F!MC - @cadybear420 C: @mercedesdecorazon

OPEN HEART

King of the Casa 📱 | Tobias Carrick x F!MC, Multiple Characters - @jerzwriter

Love In Every Heartbeat (Series) ✒️ | Rafael Aveiro x F!MC - @rafasgirl23415 Chapter 23: Kisses from Maldives Chapter 24 – Out Of Difficulties Grow Miracles 

No Tea 📱 | Ethan Ramsey x F!MC - @liaromancewriter

THE ROYAL ROMANCE

Forevermore (Series) ✒️Ⓜ️ | King Marquise (Liam) Rys x F!MC - @khoicesbyk Chapter 11: Somber

One Handsom Devil (Series) ✒️ | Drake Walker x F!MC - @onehandsomedevil-trr Chapter 19: Cordonia in Crisis

Princesa Real 3 (Series) ✒️ | Liam Rys x F!MC - @belencha77 Chapter 4: Llamado a la unidad Chapter 5: Fortaleza interior Chapter 6: El eco del caos

Two 2 Tango (Series) ✒️Ⓜ️ | Maxwell Beaumont x F!OC - @tessa-liam All is Fair in Love and War, part 2

MULTIPLE STORIES

MC Line up 🎨 | F!MC - AVSP, CoP, FA, TPS, TRR - @mariemarieohcontrary

[bri1234]

Ever After

Book: The Cursed Heart 2

Pairing: M!Kieran x F!MC

Word count: 2.4K sorry

Rating: Teen, light fluff

Summary: What if… Kieran gave up his immortality to be with Ella until the end?

Warning: There are spoilers in here.

A/N: This is the first fanfic I’ve ever posted. Please be kind. I’m very new to writing things like this and am unsure if I'm doing any of it right, but I wanted to explore Kieran giving up his immortality and some other things that were heavily teased in book 2 but never happened! Kieran giving up his immortality doesn’t happen in my headcanon, which I have yet to write anything about lol, it's just more of a what if :)

Also, this is my submission for the International Fairy Day event, with the prompt "Reading a Fairytale to the children."

Tagging: @choicescommunityevents @choicesficwriterscreations

“Once upon a time, there lived a young prince who was cursed by an evil fairy to be a beast until he found true love.

He lived alone in his castle with only a few servants for several years. Not many dared to visit because of his beastly appearance.

But one day, a man entered the castle. The Beast did not know this man, but watched him in the shadows.

The man made his way through the castle and eventually found the Beast's most prized possession, a rose. But this was not just any ordinary rose. As he neared his twenty-first birthday, the petals had started to wilt off faster. Every time one fell, he had less and less time to find true his love.

The man went to take it, for he had planned to bring it to his daughter as a gift. He promised her he would bring something back. But the Beast stopped him, and held him captive for attempting to steal.

The man, terrified by the hideous creature, asked to bargain with the Beast, claiming that he needed to get home to his daughter. The Beast told the man that he would return home and send his daughter to the castle, for she would be taking his place. The Beast ensured him that she would be well taken care of. The man, feeling as if he had no other option, agreed. He made the journey home to his daughter.

When he arrived, he told her what had happened. At first, she refused to leave. But eventually, she decided that she had to go, fearing what the Beast might do if she didn’t.

She made the journey, leaving her father and heading to the gloomy castle she had only seen in passing.

When she arrived, the Beast greeted her. He was shocked by her beauty, and she was scared by his beastly appearance.

At first, they both despised each other. But as time went on, the Beast slowly grew fond of Beauty, as he nicknamed her in his head. And Beauty had slowly grown fond of him. She realized that appearances do not make up who you are, but it is who you are within.

Despite his newfound feelings towards her, the Beast had kept it a secret that his time was almost up. Pushing this aside, he decided to let her go back to her father. He could see how much she missed him as each day passed.

Beauty was overtaken with joy at first. She had missed her father dearly, but also didn’t want to leave the Beast. So, she told him that she would return home, but promised to visit him soon. The Beast nodded, and watched as she left, heading towards her village. He had accepted his fate, and was happy that he was granted one last moment with her before the last petal fell.

Beauty had made it home safely, ignoring the pang in her heart of leaving the Beast. Her father was so happy she was home, and safe at that. She spent the next several hours retelling all of her time with the creature. But as she continued explaining it to her father, that same pang in her chest continued to grow. She had realized at that very moment that she had loved him, and felt the need to tell him immediately. With that, she told her father that she needed to go and left without explanation.

When she arrived at the castle, she found the Beast near his precious rose on death's door. He had told her of the curse, just not the extent of it.

Beauty, now understanding, confessed her love for him during his final moments.

When she watched his eyes close, she believed he was gone. As tears fell down her face while holding the Beast in her arms, she felt movement. Looking down, she found the Beast, who was very much alive, changing back into his princely form. For Beauty had just broken his curse.

Now returned to his former self, Beauty and the prince lived happily ever–”

All of a sudden, Kieran was interrupted by a very loud yawn. He looked down at his daughter, who was slowly starting to fall asleep in his lap.

“Daddy, why does that story sound so familiar?” Eve asked him with her face scrunched, gears turning in that pretty little head of hers as she tried to fight off sleep. She’s heard a story like this one before, she just can’t quite remember where or who.

Kieran was about to respond when the door to his daughter’s room opened. He watched as his wife came into view. A smile spread across his face. It took all his restraint to not run over and kiss her senseless. He would have waited for her at the door of their home, but didn’t want to disrupt the bed time process for their little Eve.

“Mama!” Eve squealed as she jumped out of Kieran’s lap.

“There’s my sweet angel,” Ella said smiling as she bent down to scoop her off the ground. Eve clung to her mother’s chest.

After a minute of hugging her mother, little Eve pulled back to look at her face. She put both of her tiny hands on her mother's cheeks.

“You are unharmed?” She said with a serious look on her face, her big eyes pouring into Ella’s. Both Kieran and her laughed.

“You, my dear, are just like your father,” Ella said with a smile as she tickled her little girl. Eve let out delighted giggles as she squirmed in her mother’s arms.

Kieran, who was sitting on the edge of Eve’s tiny bed, watched the interaction between his wife and daughter fondly, heart swelling with love. Eve was a spinning image of Ella, just with his dark eyes and wicked smile. Despite being a changeling, she looked completely mortal. He can only believe that it’s because he’s mortal now, and for that reason, she looks completely mortal as well. He then stood up and within two strides, he was right at his wife’s side.

“You are unharmed though?” He asked with the same serious face their daughter had.

Ella used her free hand to cup her husband’s cheek. “I am unharmed, my love.”

Kieran smiled as he put his hand over hers and laced his fingers through. To him, she had only been gone for three days and yet it felt like forever. But for Ella, it had only been a few hours since time works differently in the Fae realm. Regardless, this was her first time leaving Kieran and their daughter ever.

Kieran pressed a kiss to her temple and then rested his forehead right where he kissed. He whispered in her ear, “We have missed you dearly, beloved.”

Ella, still holding Eve, who within not even a few minutes had fallen asleep on her chest, whispered back, “I have missed you both as well, my love.” She looked up at him with a smile.

Eve started to stir in her arms. “How come she’s so tired?” Ella asked him, chuckling a little. An affectionate smile spread across his face. Kieran whispered back in her ear, “She refused to go to bed until you were home safe. It very much reminded me of you back when we met,” he said with an amused smile.

Ella swatted him playfully, but he caught her hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to her knuckles. “I’m not even back for ten minutes and you’re already teasing me,” Ella responded, smiling even wider.

“I have three days worth of teasing to make up for. Plus, I know you’re rather fond of my shenanigans.”

Ella muffled her laughter, as her daughter was sleeping in her arms. She carefully carried the sleeping changeling child over to her bed and tucked her in. She bent down and pressed a kiss to her daughter’s head. Kieran, who had made his way next to her, did the same. He whispered, “Sweet dreams, my little gremlin.”

Ella watched the interaction with a smile. Oh how she loved seeing the bond her husband and daughter have grow.

Once Kieran stood up, he reached his hand back to lace with Ella’s and started walking to the door, gently pulling her along. Once at the entrance, Ella quietly shut the door behind them. When she turned around, Kieran was on her within seconds, peppering sweet kisses all over her face. His hands freely roamed her body, soaking up every part of her that he missed over the past three days.

“Kieran!” Ella squealed quietly, laughing as the attack of kisses continued. “I see you were not lying when you said you missed me,” she said smiling while affectionately rubbing her nose against his.

The same affectionate smile broke out across Kieran’s face as he rested his forehead against hers.

“I could never lie to you, my love. Besides, every second I cannot have you in my arms is a time when I miss you,” Kieran responded as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

Ever since he had given up his magic, he has only worried for Ella more because he no longer can protect her like he used to. But Ella constantly reminds him how she has taken care of herself longer than she has known him and is still in one piece.

Ella had to travel into the Fae realm to visit Longclaw, who had requested her help with healing a group of Fae that received some nasty iron wounds. Kieran and Eve were supposed to travel with her, but Eve had woken up with a cold the morning before they were going to start their journey. After a very long discussion of what was best, Ella had convinced Kieran that she’ll go by herself and he’ll stay and take care of their daughter.

So, that is exactly what happened. Kieran has lived without magic for six human years, and within that time, he has caught a cold and cared for both Ella and his daughter when they were sick. And after watching Ella for years, he’s learned to adapt to the mortal healing ways.

After a minute of being in each other's embrace, Kieran pulled away to lead her down the hallway to the stairs. As they walked down the steps, Kieran spoke. “So tell me, how was Longclaw? Did you see Oleander at all? How are they? Do you know–”

As Kieran reached the floor, Ella stayed on the first step so she was almost at his height. She pulled him around so that he was directly in front and facing her. She gently put a finger to his lips.

“Everyone is doing well and are planning on visiting us soon. Jack said he’ll be here in a day or so,” Ella said with a smile as she removed her finger from his lips and wrapped both of her arms around his shoulders. Kieran smiled, as he was happy that everyone was alright and that his brother would be here soon.

He brought both of his arms around her waist. “I’m glad everyone is alright,” he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Despite being mortal for six years, it still feels strange to him not knowing if those he knows well in the Fae realm are safe. When he was Night Prince, he could rest easy knowing that everyone he loved was under one roof, his home. But at the time though, that was just Longclaw and Sir Monty. So much has changed since he met Ella.

Kieran would confide these thoughts in her, and Ella would often ask if he regretted his decision to become mortal. Kieran would immediately say no, for he would rather give up his immortality than live an infinite life not by her side. He would rather grow old with her than watch as the inevitable grew closer for her, but not for him.

“I’m also glad,” Kieran continued as he scooped her off the stairs, carrying her bridal style, “that you are home and our little Eve is doing better.”

“She seemed more like herself,” Ella added as he carried her into the kitchen and placed her on the counter so her legs were dangling off.

Kieran chuckled as he leaned against the counter, both of his hands planted on either side of her. “She’s been practically bouncing off the walls all day waiting for you to come home. Around lunchtime she asked me when you were going to be home just about every minute, and then she asked if we could play dress up with all the dresses Oleander made for her.”

A huge smile spread across her face at her husband retelling his day to her. She was just about to ask if he agreed when he quickly said, “Don’t even ask me what she had me wearing. I swear she makes everything mismatched on purpose.”

Ella’s delighted laughter rang through the kitchen. Kieran couldn’t help but smile as they both started laughing at their daughter's shenanigans. “I would have loved to see that,” Ella said, still giggling from imagining the chaoticness of Kieran’s day with their little Eve running about.

Once both of their laughter died down, Kieran rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and feeling more at peace than he has ever felt. For once in his life, he finally feels like he can breathe, with no expectations of ruling or dealing with power-hungry Fae who only wished that he were dead. Or even spending endless nights flying around as a beast. He just feels, well, happy. His Fae life has been over for six years, and while that life gave him Ella, he wouldn’t trade his six years of being mortal for anything.

Now this does not mean that Kieran’s going to forget his time as Fae. No. He looks forward to sharing those stories with Eve. Whether it's a bedtime story he was told as a child that he spun to fit more of Ella and his story or Eve asking about his past when she’s older. He couldn’t wait to share all of it. Well, most of it anyway. Maybe there are even a few things Ella doesn’t know. Maybe he can surprise her as well.

Thank you for sticking around if you read all of this! Something I love about TCH is how it’s somewhat similar to Beauty and the Beast, so I wanted to have Kieran retell the fairytale. I kind of put my own spin on it and combined the Disney movie with one of the many versions of the story I found here!

[liaromancewriter]

The Twins’ First Christmas Tree

Premise: Ethan and Cassie have their hands full getting ready for their first holiday as parents.

Book: Open Heart (post series) Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Cassie Valentine) Rating/Category: Teen. Fluff. Words: 885

A/N: Submission to @choicesdecember2024 prompt 12 "decorations" and to @choicesholidays Winter Holidays 2024 event.

It was a postcard-perfect winter day. Light snow fell outside the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Boston Harbor. Weak rays of sunlight struggled to break through the brooding gray clouds drifting above chopping waters.

Flames from a gas fireplace flickered softly, casting a warm glow across the room, while Christmas music filled the air with joyful melodies. The ordinarily pristine living room was a cheerful chaos of garlands, stray ornaments and empty decoration boxes.

“Eloise, no!”

Ethan Ramsey rushed to grab a forgotten piece of sparkly tinsel from the floor before his daughter could put it in her mouth.

“This is not candy,” he said firmly, crouching before her and easing the string out of her hands.

Hard as it was, he reminded himself not to waver when her lips quivered, and tears pooled in her green eyes at being denied a treat.

Kids, like dogs, could sense weakness.

Not that he’d share such a sentiment out loud. He’d learned his lesson the first time a few months ago upon seeing his wife’s shock and exasperation at his matter-of-fact statement.

Ethan picked Eloise up from the floor, tucked her against his chest and joined the rest of his family at the newly decorated tree in the corner.

“We should’ve trimmed the tree during the twins’ nap time,” he told his wife.

“Maybe,” Cassie smiled softly. “But it’s their first Christmas tree, even if they won’t remember anything.”

She jostled Sophie in her arms, stopping her from pulling a shiny ornament off the tree.

“No,” Cassie said gently, shaking one finger for emphasis.

It had taken them twice as long to decorate the tree because the twins kept getting into the box of decorations and running off with ornaments.

Well, crawling more than running, thought Ethan. Even though the girls had taken their first steps a week ago, they were more likely to crawl than walk just yet.

Cassie had laughed at their antics while he had pinched the bridge of his nose so many times he feared it was permanently indented.

“Switch,” said Cassie when Sophie got restless and reached for her father.

Ethan passed Eloise to Cassie with practiced ease, then scooped Sophie into his arms. In one smooth motion, the four of them came together in a warm embrace, a brief moment of connection before they naturally drifted apart.

Sophie babbled excitedly and patted his cheek, looking over her shoulder at the tree and then back at him.

“I see,” Ethan nodded sagely. “Yes, the tree is very pretty.”

He adjusted her position so she was facing the tree, his arm holding her securely against his front.

“Just two more, and we’re done,” Cassie said, pulling Eloise back when she tried to snatch the garland off the tree.

She reached for the open box on the coffee table and removed two colorful ornaments in the shape of snow globes with ‘Eloise’ and ‘Sophie’ written inside.

It was an early gift from their grandfather, and Ethan knew his father would appreciate seeing it on the tree.

“Here,” Cassie said, handing him Sophie’s ornament.

Ethan took Sophie’s hand in his, gently wrapping her tiny fingers around the ornament.

“Let’s hang this one together, Soph,” he said softly, guiding her toward a low branch on the tree.

Cassie held Eloise steady as the little girl’s chubby hand reached out to grasp her ornament.

“Eloise, this spot looks perfect for yours,” Cassie said, pointing to a sturdy branch beside her sister’s.

The twins cooed and babbled, their laughter spilling into the room as they clumsily helped their parents attach the ornaments to the tree. When both ornaments were finally in place, Cassie leaned back and admired the tree.

“Their first ornaments on the tree,” she said, her voice warm with pride and nostalgia. “Soon, they’ll be old enough to decorate their own Twin Tree.”

Ethan wrapped an arm around her shoulders, still holding Sophie. “Dad’s going to love this.”

“Good job, babe,” Cassie teased, adjusting Eloise in her arms so the twins were side by side. “You’re practically a Christmas tree expert now.”

Ethan rolled his eyes. “Nice to know I have a marketable skill in case the bottom ever falls out of medicine.”

“You have many skills,” she smirked, her gaze dropping to the front of his pants.

Ethan knew their daughters were too young to understand, but that didn’t stop the blush from spreading across his face. Cassie laughed, enjoying his reaction.

She tilted her head to press a soft kiss to the underside of his jaw, her voice low as she murmured, “To be continued.”

The twins started to get restless again, and Ethan knew it wouldn’t be long before they made a grab for the decorations on the tree. Lately, he and Cassie had their hands full just trying to keep up with their ever-active children.

“Here. You do the honors,” he said, handing her the remote for the lights.

“Let’s light this baby up!” Cassie exclaimed, flicking the switch.

The twins let out a delighted “Oh!” in unison as the lights flickered to life, their wide eyes reflecting the colorful glow.

Ethan didn’t believe in perfection, but in this moment—with the soft glow of the fireplace and twinkling lights reflecting in the twins’ wide, curious eyes—he couldn’t imagine anything more perfect.

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