#didn’t see filter and only caught like half of ministry’s set

[transsexual-divinity]

Hey Mr. Rob Zombie you can slam in the back of my dragula 😏😏

[captains-writing-desk]

Bothersome Pt. 2

Universe: Harry Potter

Character: Severus Snape

Type: F!Reader insert (You, yours)

Words: 2,649

Prompt: For my dear anon asking for part 2 of Bothersome! This be the fluffy and angsty part.

Note: Sorry it took me a while I went home to visit my parents for a while. Hope you like it!

Gimme feedback and requests guys!

Part 1

-

True to his word, Severus didn’t leave you anything, not even the script he seemed to have spent all day writing. No matter, you could do some really fun things and make the students love you far more than him, though in all honesty most students would already have placed you higher in the ranks of favourites before you even set foot in the room for the first time. What if he despised you for it though? Hang on, since when had that ever crossed your mind in your decisions? Never. You would do it.

Your lessons went down without a hitch and were received very well since you’d ask at the end of each lesson how the students found it. Most responses were along the lines of ‘Much nicer than Snape’s lessons’, Which you assumed would happen but was still good feedback nonetheless.

When fourth period came, Albus caught up with you after sitting on the last ten minutes of the lesson, taking in the students feedback before coming to see you.

“I see they’ve taken quite fondly to you. Not just because Severus isn’t here.” He chuckled softly and you mirrored.

“I hope so. I look forwards to rubbing it in his face. Not that he would care much but still, I’ll say they learned more.” Would that be suspicious to the headmaster? Would he catch on to what happened between the two of you.

“He is easy to tease, especially in the nature of your relationship. Perhaps you’ve outgrown being an assistant. ” He caught you off guard with that one and you stared incredulously at him for a moment.

“Our relationship?” You pressed but tried to remain casual.

“You’ve a relationship based on insults no?” He smirked and you knew then that you’d put your foot in it by merely questioning the word relationship. Forgetting it can be any sort of bond. Bollocks.

“Oh yes. We do I suppose.” You laughed nervously, “Though I suppose it’s more that I just irritate him relentlessly.” You added in an attempt to make the situation a little less awkward for yourself.

“I doubt that very much.” He chuckled and excused himself as the students for the last class of the day started filtering in. You mentally kicked yourself over the whole interaction then greeted the students.

It was a nice easy lesson to end on, some fifth years that required little supervision, just answers to some of their questions when they needed for their OWLs preparation essays which they were able to finish outside of the lesson anyway.

You found yourself staring at the pillar where everything began the night before and got yourself lost in your thoughts. You started overthinking and getting anxious about seeing the man again and you would have started panicking had a voice not pulled you back to the room you were in.

“Professor?” They had repeated this a few times as you tried to shake yourself out of your daze.

“Sorry..” You finally looked at the student, “I’m not your professor you know. Yet.” You smiled and some students chuckled.

“Soon. I hope.” The student joked then proceeded with their question.

Soon enough practically all of the students had gotten bored of writing and were starting to get distracted.

“Alright I can see you’re all very bored. You’ll have plenty of time to be bored in the examinations so you can do what you like with last ten minutes of the lesson.” In all honesty you were pretty tired yourself and your mind kept wandering in the silence, so some mindless noise would be helpful. The class were definitely happy with their free reign and gave their thanks before turning to make conversation in amongst eachother as you went and sat at the desk.

“Professor?” You had not expected any of the students to talk to you but it was another welcome distraction.

“Yes?” You leaned forward, resting your chin on your hand.

“How much longer will you be here? You seem far more advanced to be an assistant now.” Everyone today was out to surprise you with their questions that you barely knew the answers to. You had been an assistant for some time now and you really had caught up to Severus’ level now. What would happen now?

“You know what. I’m really not sure.” You answered after a moment of thought, thinking about it, what had Albus meant earlier about outgrowing being an assistant? Was it time for you to leave and find an actual professors position? “Not very long, I fear.” You added quite blankly and the students made their jokes about how they wished you would replace Severus. The last few minutes went by with you sat in silence, wondering what your future held.

-

You meandered to the great hall for dinner and slowly picked at your food.

“Are you alright?” Minerva interrupted your blank but racing thoughts, “You seem to be off in the clouds.” She added with a terse smile, seeming quite concerned.

“Yes. Yes, I’m alright.” You cleared your throat and leaned closer to her, “Though I think it’s dawned on me it’ll be time to move on soon to find a permanent position.” You whispered softly and she smiled endearingly at you.

“You’ve grown fond of things here haven’t you? Yes, I think it is high time you found something more suited to your level now. You can’t stay an assistant forever you know?” She reassured you and mentioned you should have a word with Albus later.

“I suppose I should. He did mention it briefly earlier but I didn’t really think..” You trailed off as your heart rose into your throat, watching Severus walking through the students and you quickly averted your eyes to meet the gaze of Minerva, and Albus behind her. Minerva furrowed her brows and Albus had a look of masked amusement.

“You don’t look so well.” Minerva reached for your shoulder and pressed her other hand to your flushed cheeks.

“I’m quite alright.” You reassured with a weak smile and fidgeted your hands. Everything suddenly felt like too much and your body was telling you to run or perhaps to die in a hole in the ground, or both. Minerva went to speak again but Albus appeared between the two of you with his arm held out to you.

“Come. Let’s get you some air. I insist.” He added as you started to protest, taking your hand and urging you to stand. You let him help you to your feet as you felt your legs might give way. Severus had now sat in the empty chair that was next to you, brushing against your arm ever so gently but you stayed focussed on Albus’ arm and trying to look as normal as you could.

“You’re not in trouble.” He nudged you playfully as you stepped down from the plinth of the table you’d been sat at. You let yourself laugh to calm your nerves and it helped you at least look well as not to draw too much attention. You let go of his arm as you walked through the rows of students but he put his palm between your shoulder blades to keep you steady, as if he was afraid you’d fall.

-

After walking half of the grounds in s somewhat comfortable silence, you felt you needed to bring peace to your thoughts finally.

“Professor?” You caught his attention as he strolled casually next to you.

“Yes?” Be turned his head curiously to meet your gaze.

“You mentioned earlier it was time I should move on from being an assistant. What am I moving on to? How soon?” He chuckled at how desperate your voice seemed to get at the end.

“It is entirely up to you what you choose to do. You are welcome to stay here a bit longer if you like, however I feel like you’re getting nothing from assisting Professor Snape any more.” He was right, you hadn’t learned anything new for god knows how long.

“Where can I go?” You whispered, unsure of what else to say.

“I believe the ministry has some options for you but nothing practical for you. I am able to write to other schools and ask if they have anything for you. However, should you choose you want to stay here, I have a small proposition for you.” He smiled expectantly and you stared back.

“What is it?” You finally asked.

“Well, I noticed how much the students enjoy your approach to teaching, not just because Severus wasn’t there. You have a way of engaging with them and a good balance in your teaching style which is refreshing I must say. Now, I’ve only seen you a few times in one day but the students are all very keen to see you teaching them and I would have to give you a few weeks as a trial to see how you’re doing.” He started to excite you but you pushed that feeling down just in case.

“Doing what?” You pressed.

“I’d like you to revive Alchemy. If I recall, you had a great passion in it once but it is not a well taught subject I must say but I think you could bring it back into light. What do you think?” You had come to a stop in your walk back to the castle and he turned to stand in front of you.

“I haven’t done Alchemy in a fair few years, I’d be a little rusty but I’m sure I could do it.” A grin started spreading across your face which you could barely contain.

“Take some time to think about it and let me know what you think.”

“I’ll do it!” You barely let him finish his sentence and he laughed.

“I thought you might. Though as you said, you’re going to be rusty, so come see me tomorrow morning and we will go over what you remember and go from there, alright?” He put his hand on your shoulder.

“Absolutely. I’ll be there.” You nodded your head vigorously making him laugh once more as he turned towards the castle.

“I’ll see you in the morning, you should let Severus know you won’t be with him tomorrow.” He bid you a goodnight and disappeared inside.

“Right. Yes. Severus.” You muttered as your grin faded and your stomach flipped. Why were you worrying so much, nothing ended badly, he even kissed you goodnight but you knew, this changed the nature of everything. You took a deep breath and went back inside, following the corridor to the dungeons and pausing outside your own room, staring further down at the door to Severus’ classroom where you saw a faint light and the door slightly ajar.

“Bollocks.” You whispered and let your back softly thud against your door with your head thrown back then a long sigh.

“Long day?” You jumped out of your skin and turned your head to see Severus stood directly next to you, leaning against the frame of the doorway.

“Merlin!” You held your chest to calm yourself but that would not happen around Severus. How the hell did he get out of his room and here so quickly and quietly.

“Are you alright?” He asked after a moment of silence.

“Well I’ll probably die of a heart attack now. So thank you.” Finally regaining some sort of composure.

“What happened to you earlier?” He pressed with his brows furrowed and you looked to the floor.

“Nothing really. I just needed some air.” You sighed and looked up at him finally, watching his pupils dilate.

“Hmm. A likely story. How did you find today?” He folded his arms and pressed his lips into a firm line.

“It went great. The students love me. I wish I could see their faces in the morning when they realise it’s you teaching and not me.” You felt yourself relaxing as he seemed to be the same Severus you had known, it felt natural.

“Will you not be there to see the sheer excitement?” He raised his brow and you laughed at his sarcastic remark.

“Actually I’m spending the day with the headmaster tomorrow.” You folded your arms to mirror him.

“And why would you do that?” He tilted his head slightly and you felt your last little worry leave your head, why had you even worried in the first place.

“I probably shouldn’t tell you. Very top secret and they haven’t written your letter of termination yet.” Your body had slowly turned so that your shoulder was against the door instead and you faced him.

“Surely it’s a letter of commendation for putting up with you this long.” His lips formed a small smirk and you had yet another evil idea. One that would perhaps even put your mind at rest a little more regarding your situation with him.

“You should come inside for a moment.” You said softly with a sigh and led him inside your quarters where you sat him next to you on a sofa.

“The Headmaster spoke to me today about my position here. I’ve outgrown being your assistant, he said I was far too accomplished to stay.” You had to add some sort of zinger of course but remained serious in your expression. He searched your eyes for a moment and settled for you being truthful.

“Where will you go?” He forced himself to speak.

“Well he said he has found a potential position for me which is why I’m going to see him tomorrow.” You weren’t exactly lying, just withholding certain bits of information. He was silent for a long time, thinking so hard you could see the cogs in his head turning.

“Severus?” You were actually rather concerned now as you put your hand on his knee. He stares at it for a moment for putting his own hand on top of yours.

“I could teach you more.” He said softly.

“I don’t think you can.” You whispered, feeling guilty for trying to invoke something in him, you’d tell him the truth now and stop joking. “Besides, if you remember something to teach me I’ll only be down the corridor.” You smiled quite flatly, still feeling bad about your joke.

“What do you mean?” He looked at you now with a frown.

“Well I’m going to be doing Alchemy. Potentially anyway. Right here. Albus is going to see how I do tomorrow, if it goes well he will give me some time to prepare, them give me trial a period in a classroom.” He narrowed his eyes at you and your smile grew sheepish.

“That was cruel.” His voice sounded somehow deeper than ever.

“I’m sorry. Poor judgement on my part.” You squeezed his knee and looked at him with sincerity. He realized now what you had been trying to do and he almost went to retaliate but Minerva had been right earlier when he asked her what happened after you left the hall.

‘She’s worried about leaving here, about leaving someone close.’ She had said to him and he had shook it off as her playing games as she did with joking about the two of you but she had been right on this occasion.

“I don’t know what I’d have done I’d you left before I even got to figure any of this out.” His hand twitched against yours as a gesture for ‘this’. It wasn’t a big statement but you didn’t want a big statement. In fact it was the perfect statement, because now you could both figure everything out as you are meant to. Nothing can fall into place just like that but this was a pretty good start.

[silversoulstardust]

wolfstar secret santa

Merry christmas and happy holidays! This is for you, @ms-stony for @wolfstar-secret-santa . I decided to carry on an abandoned project and incorporate a little bit of accidental confession and a family unit with Harry. I hope you like it! :) 

**********

“When this is over, we’ll be a proper family.” – Sirius Black to Harry Potter, Order of Phoenix

I took this line to heart and made it happen. A canon divergent where nobody died in the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange at the Ministry of Magic. Harry was back home to his godfathers on winter break and learned how they fell in love.

************

 It was a calm wintry night at the Lupin-Black household at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Harry was back from Hogwarts for the winter break and the house became more lively than usual with just the two of them; Remus and Sirius. They had their warm soup, fresh sourdough bread and roasted chicken with gravy for dinner and everyone ate till they were full; stomach heavy with food as they filled each other with stories they had missed. Remus didn’t want to discuss the Order too much during this good time, so it was mostly Harry talking about his adventures and shenanigans he was up to with Ron and Hermione. A professor that he was; Remus interjected once in a while and gave Harry a warning shot when his story was about them doing something that were borderline endangering themselves, but Sirius always came into Harry’s defense. “Ah come on, Moony. Live a little. What’s life without a little risk? Isn’t that right, Harry?”  And the boy nodded with excitement at Sirius’s statement. He smugly smiled in Remus’s direction as he stuffed himself with more chicken. Remus shook his head, helpless, but there was a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. It was like having James with them all over again. His logic was outnumbered.

Afterwards, Remus made all of them a steaming mug of hot cocoa topped with marshmallow and he made sure to put a little extra marshmallow for Harry. The boy had gone through traumatic and abusive childhood at the Dursleys, Remus was adamant to make him feel welcomed and loved in his household. It was Harry’s first time returning to this place for holiday after Remus had properly moved in and he wanted to make Harry feel at home. He settled on the couch in front of the fireplace and set the mugs on the coffee table, pulling out the book he’d been reading. Like a magnet, both Sirius and Harry brought their own reading material and settled around Remus. Sirius had his head on Remus’s lap, lying on 2/3 of the couch whereas Harry sat on the ottoman, looking through an old photo album he had already seen few times before. Remus held his book up with one hand as he had another of his mindlessly caressing through Sirius’s tuft of black hair. They sat quietly like that for a while, enjoying each other’s company in comfortable silence with the sound of fire cackling in the background. Harry observed alternately between the two adults, looking like he was ruminating something in his head but yet to come with words to express it. Soon enough, he cleared his throat for attention.

“Hey Remus, I was wondering about, about something,” Harry’s hands held up an old photobook from Remus’s Hogwarts years. He could see a couple of photos of Lily and James at school, the Marauders line up, James’s quidditch practice, Lily and Remus beaming with pride showing off their prefect badges with a little smudgy handwriting that read ‘nerds’ scribbled at the bottom. At the bottom most left corner of the album was a photo of young Sirius Black and Remus Lupin with arms around each other’s shoulder in a half hug stance, head pressed against one another, blissfully smiling into the camera that their eyes appeared closed. “I’ve always heard stories about how mom and dad fell in love and got together, but I don’t think I’ve heard about…. yours and Sirius.”

The book Sirius was reading slipped on his face with a loud thud at the question. Remus who was clearly caught off guard by Harry choked on his own spit.

“What makes you think we’re together, Harry?” teased Sirius as he peered over the book. “We could just be an unnaturally close friends, you know. The kind that don’t mind living together, sharing beds and sometimes arguing like old married couples.”

Remus rolled his eyes with affection.

“Oh come on padfoot, I might be as dense as a brick wall sometimes,” exclaimed Harry with vigor, “but I can also see there’s something more than just friendship here! Okay maybe Hermione had to point it out at first. But I also saw how you guys look at each other and I would never look at Ron that way. I’ve seen it in couples at Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop before they snog each other into oblivion.”

Sirius barked with laughter. “Well we didn’t want to scare you off and make you uncomfortable, Harry. We plan to tell you when you’re older.”

“You must understand that it is not an easy subject to broach, Harry,” added Remus as he closed his book and stuffed it on the side of the couch. He continued running his fingers through Sirius’s hair. “Most people would avoid ‘the talk’, and even in muggle world they’re still scared to discuss and accept it. We have come a long way for sure, but bigotry, sadly, still exist. There’s this popular phrase they use – God said Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.”

Sirius huffed, but did not comment further.

“Well I’m not most people, am I?” Harry looked up; his burning gaze locked with Remus’s. “I’m your godson. Your best friend’s son.”

Remus felt warmth enveloped him with the acceptance. “You really are your parents’ son, aren’t you Harry? Lily was the first person who knew about us back in Hogwarts and she was so thrilled.”

“James was a little stunned to know about us though, right Moonbeams? Can’t believe we’ve been snogging in secret under his nose for the entire year before he accidentally caught us in a broom closet when he tried to hide from Filch,” Sirius grinned at the memories.

“That’s right, that was in our sixth year,” added Remus nostalgically. “But you actually made your advances at me earlier than that.”

“What did he do, Remus?” Harry sat forward, turning to face Remus to listen to his story intently. He put down the photo album in exchange for the cocoa drink in his hands to keep warm, sipping it from time to time. “Nothing too, er – explicit, please.”

“On our third year, Sirius actually let it slip that he liked me.”

Sirius hoisted himself by the elbow and frowned at Remus. “No, I did not! We didn’t secretly fu – date each other until our fifth year and didn’t make it Marauder official until sixth.”

“Calm down, Pads,” Remus pushed Sirius’s head back on his lap. “Yes, that’s the fact, I’m glad you haven’t forgotten despite Akzaban,” – Sirius winced at the mention of his twelve years wrongful imprisonment as Remus continued – “I’m talking about Christmas eve.”

“What Christmas eve?”

“Well it was on our third year Christmas eve, when we were the only one left in the common room of Gryffindor Tower. Initially all of us were planning to stay over the holiday together, but James’s mother suddenly fell ill, and Peter’s parents tempted him with imported exotic food for Christmas dinner. They bailed on us at the last second. Only you and me left then, and I too contemplated on going back home to my parents but I knew you would rather stay alone in school than going back to this house –“ his eyes wondered along the length of the ceiling and around the room, “ – to Walburga and Orion, to your parents. So I stayed to accompany you.”

“How noble you were, Messer Remus,” Sirius closed his book and put it aside as he pushed himself up to sitting position facing Remus. “But I don’t recall this memory.”

He chuckled. “I doubt you would. You were sick and drowsy half the time. Have you no recollection at all?”

Sirius scratched his beard, frowning. “No. I didn’t do anything bad to you, did I?”

“On the contrary, I was the one who did you harm, Sirius,” he patted Sirius’s hand and left it there. “You suddenly came down with flu that very evening but refused to go disturb Madam Pomfrey because you said she’s human and need holiday with her family too, so I gave you muggle cough syrup my mother had packed for me at the beginning of the year.”

“And?” Harry exchanged curious look with Sirius, equally excited to know the rest.

“And, well, let’s just say, you should be glad you’re not a muggle. You see, probably because your body is not used to it, the medicine had more affect than just drowsy. It made you braver, more honest, more raucous than usual. Like a drunkard. It turned off your brain filter for a couple of hours before you succumbed to the drowsiness and slept through the night.”

“Hmmm. And what did I do in that few hours, Moony?”

“You took down one of Gryffindor’s wall flags and put it on as a cape, climbed on the furniture in the common room as you declare to the world that you’d protect me and the marauders against animals, aliens, wizards and muggles alike, even if you had to die while doing so. You tried to fight the lion statue in the common room using a ruler, Sirius. All because I was laughing at your antics too much and stumbled against the poor statue, you thought it was hurting me. Imagine you stabbing a stone with plastic ruler until it bent and break. You cried because your sword was broken. It was sweet of you, really.”

Sirius was giddy with laughter. Remus continued his story. “When I managed to pull you away, you turned to look at me, face inches away from my own. You stared into my eyes and went still for a moment, told me you like me more than you like warm soup on winter evening, assured me that I’m the most beautiful person on earth, squished my cheeks and ….well, we kissed. It was more of a quick peck on the lips, but we were thirteen years old then and it was a big deal. But you were …under the influence of cough syrup. I was happy it happened but quick to dismiss it. I’ve never told a soul about this until now. And to think about it, I probably slowly fell for you after that incident, eventually became completely besotted in our fifth year.”

Sirius laced their fingers and raised it to his lips to kiss Remus’s knuckle. Remus was slightly nervous at the openly displayed affection he was having with Sirius in the presence of other people, but he realized how silly it was to think that way as Harry was impassive to the action, draining the last of his hot drink in the cup. “You were closer with James since the beginning, Sirius, but with me… after that incident I noticed how protective you were of me. Probably without you realizing it. Always up for a dog fight with people who teased me at school. It was you who always stayedback to watch over me after a nasty transformation. Last one to go and first one to arrive around the full moon. Patched my bloodied body and learned some spells from Madam Pomfrey to mend simple wounds and broken bones. The first to suggest to the others to learn a branch of difficult magic and transform into animal to ease my transformation. Even before we were involved romantically, you’ve always been looking after me.”

“And I’ll do it again in a heartbeat,” Sirius cupped his cheek. “Harry, close your eyes lad.”

After being certain that their godson had closed his eyes, Sirius pressed his lips against Remus’s, soft and gentle but with firm assurance. His warm hands slid down Remus’s neck and further down to pull him closer by the collar of his jumper as the kiss deepened. Remus mirrored him and did the same, crumpling Sirius’s shirt in his hands. It was Harry’s loud throat clearing that they broke apart, slightly ashamed for losing control in front of a kid. Harry peeked in between his fingers to see if it was safe for him to open his eyes again. “Please save it for later Moony, Padfoot. When I’m dead asleep and can’t hear a thing.”

“Well,” Sirius tried to sound casual as he straightened his shirt, “if there’s one thing that’s changed since then, is the fact that I no longer dread to be here in this house on Christmas holiday. I have a family now,” he beamed alternately between Remus and Harry, sounding terribly fond.

Harry was taken aback by Sirius’s words but was quick to snap out of it. He couldn’t contain his joy shot up from his seat, depositing himself on the couch between Remus and Sirius. The boy threw both of his arms around their shoulders and pulled them close, grinning from ear to ear. “That’s right, we’re a family!”

In the time of an impending war loomed over them, Remus couldn’t thank Merlin enough for his stroke of luck to have had Harry and Sirius in his life. All the darkness he went through in his life felt worth it now that he was here in this moment with them, like the presence of light at the end of a tunnel.  For a first time in a very long time, he look forward for the future; to more time with Sirius, with Harry. Remus echoed under his breath; a smile stretching across his face.

“A family.”

[lothtor]

“Unrequited”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17809238

Harry knew everything about Tom Riddle so when he finds a ring box his whole world is changed. Read on as Harry tries but fails to put aside his feelings to figure out the mystery witch/wizard that Tom might be proposing to. Harry learns the hard way to not apparate angry but thinks that the reward is worth the risk. Okay so the summary is not the best but I was inspired by Take a Step Back and Look by Anonymous for Infernal. It’s a Drarry but like my shipper mind was like Tom and Harry would do this too.

You can either read it online or keep reading under the cut-   

Harry's world shattered when he found the green velvet box in the pocket of one of Tom's robes. Being raised in the pureblood customs helped Harry recognize the little box for what it was: an offical courting ring. Even though Tom was a half-blood, much like Harry himself, he held himself like a pureblood so it would make sense for him to follow traditions.  

Harry prided himself in knowing everything about his flat-mate. They had been living together since they graduated from Hogwarts two years ago. Both of them decided to stay together since they practically shared a dorm at the castle. During their last year, Harry spent most of his nights over at Tom's private room as Head Boy. They were also the only ones that could put up with the hectic schedule of the other; Harry as an Auror-trainee and Tom working sporadic hours as an assistant to the Undersecretary at the Ministry.  

Harry was actually the one to suggest they live together in Diagon Alley since it was close to both of their work offices. With his younger siblings running around the manor, Harry felt that it was too noisy and imposing to stay with his parents after he graduated. He still saw his father every day at the office but he was kept busy as Head Auror. When Harry approached Tom, he was worried that Tom would say no since it was obvious the infatuation Harry had with Tom during their school years.  

Harry's friends teased him relentlessly during the last years even going as far to set up dates for him with Tom. Thankfully, either Tom didn't care about his crush or ignored it for the sake of their friendship. Tom would joke around that Harry was the only one who didn't fawn over him like the rest of the school. Harry would always laugh trying to hide the pain he carried. It was the main reason why he never actually made a move on Tom.  

Tom's friendship was the first one he made on his own. Harry had escaped the other purebloods on the train and found the compartment Tom occupied on the train. It was Harry's first time on the train and Tom almost shooed the bright eyed child away until Harry had convinced him to stay. Even though Tom was his senior he found the young boy interesting. From there the two were inseparable. They were seen together outside of classes and when Harry surpassed his peers and was promoted to a higher grade, the two sat together in classes.  

Hermione and Ron had been trying to pressure Harry into asking Tom out on an 'official' date, or so they called it. They were convinced that both Harry and Tom had been dating in all but name since their fifth year. Harry vehemently denied this since they were just friends and it was normal for friends to go to restaurants and other places together. To shut them up he said by their logic the three of them had been a thruple since they met. Ron made a face at that and Hermione gave up.  

However, as Harry stared at the little green box he felt his heart give a painful squeeze. Harry always knew that Tom would eventually get someone in his life but Harry felt that he had a couple more years before he had to move on. Living with Tom didn't help his unrequited crush since seeing Tom everyday made Harry's heart soar. Especially the nights where the two of them watch terrible muggle movies on the tv Harry hotwired to work in their magical apartment. Tom would complain the whole time about how terrible the acting is or the graphics but he would sit there for the whole movie with Harry. Sometimes when Harry fell asleep during one of them he would find that Tom had paused the movie and read a book as to not disturb Harry's sleep.  

Harry racked his brain for a name, any name, that Tom had mentioned recently that could help Harry figure out for whom Tom bought the ring. Well Harry thinks it’s a ring at least. It had the Slytherin crest imprinted on the top signifying that the contents were of importance to the family. The little box looked like the box that rested in his trust vault. As the heir to the Potter line Harry had first dibs on the family engagement ring. His parents had created a new ring when they got married instead of using the one passed down through the generations. Something about his mom not liking how chunky the engagement ring was.  

The only person that came to mind was Nagini, who as a snake maledictus could understand Tom when he spoke parseltongue, but she was much too old for Tom, in Harry's opinion at least. However, Tom hadn't mentioned meeting Nagini in couple of weeks. Curiosity got the better of Harry and he opened the box. Even though he wasn't the Heir of Slytherin he could open the box and look inside. He just couldn't take the ring out of its holder.  

The ring reminded him of the locket that dangled from Tom's neck. The ring had a green diamond on the top that was intertwinned with white gold and silver snakes decorated the edges. The slytherin crest shone through the diamond and shifted as Harry tilted the box around to get a better look at the ring resting inside.  

Harry snapped the box shut at the front door opened. He jumped dropping the box back onto the pile of robes on the ground. Panic set into Harry and he apparated up to his room out of fear getting caught.  

"Harry?" Tom's voice filtered through the flat but Harry could only hear the blood rushing through his ears.  

He couldn't let Tom know that he was snooping through his robes like a creep. So when he heard the footsteps get closer to his room he pictured the Potter manor and was gone in a snap.  

He landed in a heap on the front stairs of their house in Godric's Hollow. His parents stayed and made modifications to the small house instead of moving to the giant Manor near the top of the country. His dad always said that it was too close to the Malfoy's for his liking. He was still reeling on the stairs when the front door opened. His sister answered the door and Harry watched as her face went from confusion to amusement in seconds. Her short red hair bobbing with every bubble of laughter that escaped her lips.  

She reached down and hauled Harry up by his shoulder.  

"Who was that?" His mother's voice drifted up from downstairs.  

"It's Harry!" His sister, Seraphina, yelled back.  

Their mom was up the stairs in a flash. Her long red hair pulled back into a bun. She pulled Harry into a strong hug. The scent of strong herbs wafted from her person. She must've been in the potion's dungeon brewing. Even though Harry was a good head taller than his mom she could still make him feel small. She judged him with a look.

"What brings you home?" As his mother, she could always tell when something was bothering Harry. This time was no different.  

"I just needed a change of scenery." 'And be as far away from Tom while I figure out how to put away my feelings.' His mother quirked an eyebrow at that. Harry had never left the flat willingly and not without Tom.  

"You and Tom get in a fight?" She squeezed his shoulders trying to convey comfort but it just increased his panic.  

"No. It's just the stress of examinations coming up." Harry wasn't wrong that exams were coming up but he wasn't worried about them in the slightest. He was at the top of the class in both spell-work and theory. Hopefully his mother doesn't look too deep into that excuse.  

"Your father says that you're a natural at the coursework." Harry internally groans. Of course his father would brag about his talented son. Him and Sirius were the worst at constantly talking about Harry and his deeds. Even when Sirius had his own children they would embarrass Harry at every opportunity. Any gala turned into Harry's worst nightmare as the two men would drag Harry around.  

"Can I just stay here for the night?" The suspicion in her eyes faded replaced by worry.  

"Of course. Sera has to leave back to Hogwarts tomorrow and I doubt she had completed her coursework." As the prodigy child, Harry was always the designated tutor for his younger siblings and it seems that hasn’t changed. He wondered how his family was faring without their at-home tutor.

It was Harry's turn to laugh as Sera's face darkened to the same shade of red as her hair. He followed Sera to her room missing the flickering of the fireplace indicating a call.  

However, Sera noticed it and at the top of the stairs she dragged Harry to crouch beside her. Harry was about to question her but the fireplace announcing who was calling distracted him.

"Tom. What brings you to call?" His mother was still lounging on the couch. Harry shrunk further behind the railing afraid that the fire figure of Tom would be able to see him. Tom had his arms crossed across his chest and if Harry could read his body language (and he could) he looked worried.  

"Harry. Have you seen him?" There was something more to his voice but he had never heard Tom through the flames. Sera scoffed next to him but he elbowed her to keep quiet.  

"Why?" Harry loved his mother.  

"He apparated out of our flat without a word and I'm worried something might've happened."  

"Well you have nothing to worry about. Harry is upstairs helping his sister study." The last bit was forced out and the two spying knew that Lily knew they were there. They scrambled to Sera's room before their mom finished the call.  

Harry had fallen asleep on Sera's bed while he waited for her to finish the essay on Wringroot and its uses in hair potions. His nap didn't last long as nightmares plagued him. Harry woke up more tired than when he fell asleep. The aroma of dinner floated through the house and Harry dragged himself from the warm bed in favor of food.  

However he stopped dead in tracks on the stairs as he stared at the back of Tom's head. He was sitting down on their couch and somehow got a hold of Harry's baby album. He suspected either Sera or his mom but it was his father who came from around the corner. Two cups of tea floated behind him. He spotted Harry frozen on the stairs. He looked like a stag in headlights and his father laughed at the comparison.  

"Nice of you to rejoin the living." Tom turned on the couch and his eyes softened at the sight of Harry. Harry felt his stomach flip at the small smile that graced his features.  

"What time is it?" The light that was filtering through the window was artificial so the sun must've set. He didn't mean to sleep that long but trying to teach Sera anything not quidditch related was trying to make a square peg fit into a circular hole. It was frustrating. That plus the emotional exhaustion it didn't take Harry long to pass out.  

"Around 7 o'clock. You missed dinner." Even though the smells coming from the kitchen were tempting he actually wasn't hungry.  

"That's fine. Not actually hungry." The pit in his stomach grew when he caught sight of the lordship ring on his father's finger and was reminded of why he ran away today.  

"So what are you doing here?" He didn't mean for the words to sound callous but the pain in his heart felt vindicated at the hurt that flickered on Tom's face.  

"Your mother invited me for dinner."  

Harry hummed as he plopped down onto the couch. His mind more preoccupied on how to get his flat-mate to open up about his upcoming engagement. Harry could read confusion in the placement of Tom's brows.  

"Sorry for snapping. It's just stress. Don't you have plans?" 'Like the girl you're apparently woo-ing.' Harry thought bitterly.  

Tom's brows dropped to shadow his eyes, a sign that he suspected something and Hary only hoped that the jealously didn't creep into his voice.  

"Not particularly. I thought something happened to you when I heard two apparation cracks echo through the flat."  

Harry pressed himself further into the couch and was starting to think that his family was purposefully leaving him alone with Tom. His father hadn't stayed long in the living area and even his sister, Sera, was nowhere to be seen. Now more than ever he hoped that dinner didn't consist of his family ratting him out to his crush. While it was no secret that Harry had feelings for Tom, Harry never actually told his family about his unrequited feelings.  

"Nah. I was getting my things together." It wasn't too far outside the realm of possibility for Harry to apparate around the flat. There was one time he toppled Tom over when he apparated to the kitchen from his room just for a glass of milk. Harry had promised that he could only apparate in the flat when he was the only one home. Tom rolled his eyes and Harry could physically see the worry leave his person.  

"Why the sudden trip home?"  

"I was hoping that dad could give me some pointers on the exams!" Harry raised his voice hoping his dad could hear him.

"I will not!" His father responded from across the house. Harry smiled.  

"It was worth a shot." He shrugged and Tom laughed. Both of them knowing that Harry didn't really need to cheat in order to pass with flying colors.  

"Are you staying the night?" The sudden shift in tone had Harry staring into Tom's eyes.  Back was the worry and Harry caved.  

"Not anymore. I forgot that I'm the tutor sibling." Harry bemoaned. Harry himself was pants at trying to teach others since it came naturally to him. Tom, on the other hand, was gifted in teaching and leading others. It was a big reason he wanted to become the youngest Minister of Magic in a millennia.  

Harry stood up stretching out his arms feeling the sleep leave his body.  

"I'll go inform my parents and we can go home."  

------

The next couple weeks had Harry investigating Tom's life trying to find the witch he was interested in. Nothing had changed in Tom's work schedule but he did spend more time with his Knights. Even if he always dragged Harry to the meetings. Harry himself spent the time discussing with Rigel, Regulus's son, about the newest defense techniques. Harry had even tried to pry the information from Draco but he made a face like he had sucked on a lemon at the question.  Besides Harry himself, Tom didn't really talk about himself to anyone.  

By the end of the third week, Harry realized that Tom wasn't going to tell him himself so Harry started doing research for Tom. If Harry couldn't marry Tom himself then he would make sure his best friend had the best damn wedding of the century. He was flipping through a wedding catalogue when he was startled by his name being shouted. He fumbled with the papers almost dropping the catalogue as he whipped around at the caller.  

It was Luna Lovegood, Neville's fiance, who had yelled his name. Harry should've recognized her voice from anywhere. She became a permanent fixture in his life after they bonded over taking care of the thestrals in the forest during Harry's fifth year. It was the year after he saw Cedric die at the hands of a wizard in the alleys of Hogsmeade. She helped through the mourning process and he was proud to help Neville get together with this brilliant witch.  

"What brings you here?" Her breathy voice always seemed to hold a deeper meaning no matter the words she spoke.  

"I’m helping Tom." Harry could never lie to Luna who had been his confidant for many years besides Tom.  

"Why would Tom need venues?"  

"I think he's going to ask someone to marry him soon." They walked through the stacks of catalogue until they came upon a table.  

Luna waved him to sit down and explain. And that’s what Harry did. He poured out his heart to the platinum blonde who only sat there staring at him like he was an interesting magical creature. He had started on how he knew that it was a courting ring when she raised her hand to stop him.

"I am engaged to Neville, Harry." Harry felt the heat rise in his cheeks. Even if Neville wasn't big on tradition his grandmother was.  

"Right. Sorry."  

"Why don't you speak to Tom about this?" Harry pursed his lips. He was very much against revealing to Tom that he had been snooping through the laundry. Even though he was just trying to find the shirt he lent to Tom a week ago.  

"I'd rather he tell me." Despite the jealous feelings he harbored over Tom's supposed crush, Harry also felt betrayed that he didn't talk to Harry about this matter. So the childish need to harbor anger over this slight in their friendship was strong.  

Luna giggled and they continued talking only this time the conversation centered around Luna's planning and her upcoming wedding. Her and Neville were going to wait until Neville finished his Herbology mastery, which would take another two years. However, Luna didn't mind since the Quibbler had grown in number now that it reached countries outside of England. The Americas really enjoyed the newspaper and Luna was helping her father set up offices in those countries.  

It was hours before the two parted ways. Luna leaving to meet Neville at the apparation point. Harry left the shop with his heart lighter and his mind determined. He was going to help Tom woo this witch if it was the last thing he did.  

Speak of the devil and he shall appear was the muggle saying that Lily Potter always said. Harry found himself holding back laughter as he saw the familiar green robes leave the Ministry. Harry watched as he weaved through the post-work crowd. He felt a smile form on his face as he watched Tom get closer. He wondered why he was walking home instead of apparating. Harry ducked behind a couple walking spying on his flat mate. He was walking towards a café and Harry was never more glad to have the invisibility cloak than in that moment.  

He pulled it on and began his journey of stalking his flat mate. Tom strode forward and Harry had to walk fast just to keep up with his long legs. Tom took the long way to Diagon Alley and when he arrived he went straight to the ice cream shoppe. Harry had to take a step back. Tom wasn't a fan of sweet things so why was he going there.  

Harry's answer was soon revealed when Rigel Black stepped forward to greet Tom.  

"How goes things?" Harry inched forward trying to keep his nosey self satisfied but not to be breathing down the two wizards necks.  

"Not well. I can't seem to bring it up to him."  

'Him?'

"Tom it's been weeks." Rigel chastised Tom. Harry was shocked. Tom abhorred when people looked down on him and he never did like discipline.  

"I know. I just can't risk losing Harry." Tom's shoulders sagged and he looked much older than 22 years old in that moment. Harry was frozen to the spot. His blood was rushing through his ears and Harry had to take deep breathes in order to stop himself from fainting.  

"You won't lose him."

"But I can't take that risk. I thought he found out last month but things have gone back to normal now."

'Were they talking about the engagement ring? Why would Tom think that him getting engaged would ruin our friendship?'  

"You can't keep this from him forever. I'm amazed you've lasted this long."

Harry had to shift in order to avoid not getting hit by the other patrons of the shop. He missed a bit of conversation.

"I just love him so much." Tom whispered the confession and Harry was trying to figure out if they were still talking about him or Tom's mystery crush. Who was a wizard by the sound of it.  

"Then just ask him. Before someone else does." So Tom's wizard was also being pursued by someone else. Harry racked his brain for who that could be. Most of Tom's acquaintances were either engaged or already married. The pureblood customs demanding that their children be engaged by their coming of age ceremony.  

"I don't have to worry about that." Tom said so confidently that Harry almost felt sorry for the bastard that ended up with him. Tom had a streak of possessiveness that had only gotten worse with age.  

"You sure? I heard my uncle talking about the Potter's putting together Harry's assets. Uncle Siri thinks that they're putting together a marriage contract." If Harry wasn't leaning against a pillar he was sure he would've fallen onto the ground.  

Both him and Tom were thrown by the news. He hadn't heard of his parents doing such a thing. Especially about the assets. He knew that they were only accounted for when engagements were settled. Harry couldn't hear any more before he sprinted past the two needing answers. In his haste he bumped shoulders with someone but he paid it no mind as he got out of the ward's area.  

Harry was on the street when he ripped off the cloak and apparated at the same time. Unbeknownst to him, Tom was shocked to see Harry suddenly appear on the not so crowded street. When someone invisible ran into his shoulder he was sure it was a pickpocket.  

Harry landed in their backyard far from his aim of the front stairs but this would have to do. His shoulder but Harry ignored it. Adrenaline coursing through his veins and he threw open the back door. Luckily it was during the week so only his mom was home.  

"Mom!" Harry's voice took on a screechy quality but he was livid. How dare they set up an engagement for him. They were against it when his grandparents tried to set his father up during his school years.  

"Harry?" She appeared from the living room.  

"How dare you!" Harry ran forward crowding her space. Her face was painted in worry and shock. She reached towards Harry arm but he jerked it away. His shoulder throbbed again this time a hint of pain followed.  

"Harry?"  

"You hypocrites! You talk about how you don't want to force us into the 'stuffy pureblood traditions' yet I hear you're setting up an engagement for me!" Harry tried to wave his arms to prove his point but he found that his left arm wasn't responding to him.  

He glanced down at his arm and found his robes to be soaked with blood. The adrenaline left his system as quickly as it came.  

"Harry. There is no engagement." She placed a hand on his face dragging his eyes away from his mistake. Both pain and relief flooded his system. His mind running in circles as his body started to shut down. He spared a glance at his shoulder once more and promptly fainted.  

--------

Harry's mouth felt like it was filled with cotton when he emerged from the black. He opened his eyes to the plain ceiling of St. Mungo's. Harry scrunched his face wondering why he was at the hospital. The last thing he remembered was talking to Luna and he left there in perfect health. He sat up to find everything in working order. His left shoulder felt a little tight but other than that he had all of his limbs. He propped himself up to find that he was alone in the room.  

'That’s weird.' Anytime he got even remotely injured during his time at Hogwarts had either one or both of his parents waiting by his bedside.  

Harry got up from the bed and he was even more confused when he was still wearing his robes from earlier. He got to the door when he figured out why no one had come in since he awoke. He reached for the door knob only for his hand to pass through it. Harry whipped around to stare at the not so empty bed. His body was resting on the plain white sheets and Harry was glad to see his own chest rise and fall. Harry had always seen himself via mirror but it was truly disorienting to see himself how everyone else did.  

He was in the thin hospital robes with his shoulder wrapped up in bandages. Harry touched his own shoulder only to find it free of any type of healing item. Harry was staring at his own body when the door opened. A multitude of voices flooded the room.  

"We don't know why he won't wake up. We administered an Awakening a few hours ago." The mediwizard stepped through the doors first shortly followed by his parents. They looked worse for wear but the figure behind them looked ragged.  

Tom was wearing his normal green robes but his skin had a sickly pallor to it. Harry's siblings weren't there so it must be the same day as his accident.  

"We will check on him in a couple more hours but the splinching injury has been fully healed."  

'Splinching? I haven't done that since I first started apparating.' Harry moved forward. His robes passing through the edge of the bed.  

Tom moved to stand by Harry's head. His parents were a few feet away huddled together. His father was clinging to his mother and they stared blankly at the unmoving body. Tom placed a hand on Harry's cheek. Harry felt the warmth radiate against his skin and he touched his cheek.  

"How did this happen?" Tom whispered pulling up a chair. It was quiet before his mother spoke. Her voice soft as if Harry were just sleeping.

"I'm not sure. He came flying through the house accusing us of setting up an engagement."  

Memories came rushing back to him. He staggered as they assaulted him. Harry tried to catch himself on the bed but he fell right through. Once his spiritual body connected with his own he sunk in unable to pull himself free. The more he struggled the more his body started to move. Taking a leap Harry dove into his unmoving body hoping that it would do what he hoped.  

Harry opened his eyes again to find Tom leaning over him but nothing had changed. He cursed knowing that it didn't work. Harry let himself feel the warmth from Tom's hand and tried to brush the hair out of Tom's face. Harry noticed that his form was transparent against the real form of Tom. His parents had shifted to the couch that rested against the back wall.  

He sunk back into his body hoping that he could tell Tom how he felt. When Tom's hand moved to Harry's own, Harry sneaked a glance to the wizard.  

However, this time was different. As soon as Harry opened his eyes the occupants of the room shifted. Harry scrunched his eyes at the blinding lights beaming down at him.  

"Wha-" Speaking was difficult and Harry could hardly hear himself.  

The hands encircling his own shifted to cradle his face before Tom's face was in front of his own. He couldn't resist asking the question that had been burning in his mind.  

"Who is the ring for?"  

"For someone so brilliant you are so dense."  

Before Harry could ask what he meant by that the medi-wizard was stepping through the door.  

--------

Once Harry was discharged from the hospital, his family hovered around him until he shooed them away. The doctor's still didn't know what caused the mini-coma but Harry just wanted to go home. It had been a long day and he had training the next day. When he expressed this to his father, he gave him the day off.  

"But-" Tom cut of Harry's protest with a look. Harry was still being propped up and the only reason he was even walking was due to his help.

"Fine but I think I will be fine with my mother hen of a flatmate." Harry patted Tom on the arm. He hadn't left Harry's side and if Tom pressed Harry any closer they would be one person. His parents agreed on the chance that Harry would visit them tomorrow so they can talk about what caused him to splinch himself in the first place.  

They walked the short distance to their flat since the medi-wizard recommended that Harry allow himself some time to recuperate. But, if Harry was being honest, apparating didn't make him scared. He would just have to be more careful from now on.  

Once they crossed the threshold Harry made his way to the couch. He let go of Tom and used the things on the way to further his way to their very comfortable sofa. Harry crashed down on it. Tom wasn't far behind. Harry watched as Tom summoned a blanket from upstairs. Whoever Tom was going to propose to would be so lucky.

"What?" Tom froze and in doing so the blanket hit him in the face. Harry realized that he must've said that out loud and color drained from his face.  

"I..uh..found the ring?"  

"I figured you did." Tom sighed sitting down by Harry's feet.

"So who is it?"  

"Who?"

"Quit being obtuse. The person you're thinking of proposing to."  

"I'm not planning on proposing for a while."

"What? Why do you have the ring then?"

"I have the ring because I wanted to see it. Anyways I'd have to be dating someone to propose to them."

Tom lifted Harry's legs placing them on his lap. Harry snuggled further into the pillows on the couch. Glad to know that they can still have their small moments.

"And why aren't you? Dating them I mean."

"Because I'm afraid." The words were soft and Harry almost didn't catch them.  

"Afraid of what? Them rejecting you?" Harry scoffed at the absurd notion. "Everyone at Hogwarts was vying for your attention. Hell, I'm sure you have people turning their heads at work now."  

A small smile pulled at Tom's lips and Harry sat himself forward. His face serious.

"Plus they would be stupid to not love you." Harry trailed off as they stared at each other. Harry felt exposed and stripped down to nothing from Tom's stare. His dark eyes searching for something, an answer maybe.  

Harry's breath hitched as Tom reached forward. It happened so fast that Harry hardly had any time to react. Tom's lips were pressed against his own. Needy but not pushing the boundaries. When Harry's eyes shuttered closed and he pressed into the kiss, Tom wrapped his arms around Harry pulling him closer. It was awkward with Harry's legs being in the way but Harry couldn't have thought of a better first kiss with Tom.  

Tom pulled away and Harry had to stop himself from whining like a child. He pressed their foreheads together and a breathy laugh ghosted over Harry's lips.  

"Was that okay?"  

"More than okay."  

[notforconsumption]

Claustrophilia

Otherwise titled, ‘Simon gets beaten up and not even on purpose this time’

For the lovely @high5runner5‘s prompt;  “ I would love if I can suggest my idea of 5 and Simon ending up in like in a confined place like a small broom closet or big crate for a few hours while they wait for back up to arrive and the place is just so s m a l l. For these big giants!!”

I’m so sorry for the wait! This took me f or e v e r because I was busy and it was only meant to be short, but discipline is hard and I’m terrible. Especially because it’s generally hilarious thinking of the different scenarios with these two behemoths being squished together.

But here we are regardless. I hope I wrote your Five adequately and if you want me to change anything I can!

Most of the time, these things were Simon’s fault. What it was didn’t generally matter. If something went horrendously, hilariously wrong on a run and Simon was there, it was his fault. Nine times out of ten. Unfortunately, this mishap of all mishaps was actually Runner Five’s fault.

When they’d entered the industrial park that morning it had been under the cover of a heavy load of fog, approaching from the thickest forest in the area. They had good reason for caution, the group of people they were avoiding operated more like a plague than its survivors. Thieves, yes, but also murderers. A word used less nowadays, when half the people Five knew had at some point had to put someone down who still had a beating heart.

The line between keeping yourself safe and villainy was far blurrier now, but these lot were definitely on the unpleasant side of it.

They weren’t Deadlocks, or Riversides, or any of the groups Abel had got trouble from before. They were, however, the nuisances who had suddenly sprung from the West to begin stealing Abel’s already infrequent supply drops.

No one knew how they were always ahead of the Abel crew, where they got so much military-grade weaponry, or precisely where they had come from. Information was one of the things Runner Five and Runner Three had been sent out to find, their main goal being stealing back the missing medical supplies Abel was sorely in need of. The painkillers, canned beans, and extra bedding they could have forged on without. The ammunition and prescription meds were a different story.

Usually it would have been Sara that Abel would have sent on such a mission. Someone capable of sneaking in and able to shoot their way out if need be. Sara was, apparently, busy doing something rather important and secret so her mantle fell to the next best runner. And to Simon.

Those were Sam’s words. He hadn’t been happy about sending anyone into such hostile waters, least of all without their usual set-up, and some snappishness had escaped his filter.

Regardless of their operator’s reservations, that morning Runners Three and Five had set out into the early morning mist.

When what looked to be the bulk of the group’s fighting forces had piled into an open top Landrover and rumbled off into the distance they had made their move. There was no telling where the gang were going, but the area was so isolated Sam had given them a good half an hour until they needed to scram.

It took them just ten minutes to find a way in and find the first room of note. They had been stuffing suspect files into their backpacks when Five’s ears caught a faint noise. She laid a hand on Simon’s arm, one finger on her lips as she stared unseeing at the wall, listening.

Footsteps, coming in their direction.

Simon caught Five’s eye and they moved, jerking their packs closed and darting across the room towards a second door, leading away from whoever was approaching from the other direction.

Five was there first and yanked the door open just as a man they hadn’t heard coming from the other side reached for the handle. They stared at one another for a moment, all three dumbstruck, then Simon socked the man across the jaw.

His head snapped to the side and his eyes rolled back, unseeing as he crumpled to the floor. Behind them, the other door opened and the Runners were out of sight before the alarmed shout reached them.

“I knew this was a terrible idea,” came Sam’s voice, crackling through their headsets.

“Not helpful, Sammy.” Simon darted around the next corner with his bat raised, ready. There was no one, so they kept running, but they could hear the commotion behind them drawing nearer. “If you could find us a way out that would be great.”

“I’m trying, but there’s not much I can do! All I have is your headcams. We’ve got nothing in the complex or close enough to see you through the windows. I thought they’d all left.”

“Well, they didn’t. Fantastic.”

The end of the corridor approached fast and the runners exchanged a glance. One door, one way to go. Unless they wanted to risk going back.

Five shoved the door open and closed it as quietly as she could behind them. There was no lock to the door, and looking around, nothing heavy and handily close by to prop against it.

They were in a warehouse, one they had spotted on their way in attached to the side of the office building. It had been gutted, machinery stripped and upper walkways pulled down to create a space the size of a cathedral and twice as cavernous. Every small shift of their shoes echoed. Other than a couple of half-dismantled cars and work benches on one side, the place was open and bare. Bereft of any place to hide.

“Bastards,” Simon hissed, and at Five’s questioning look he pointed towards the huge double doors that were the only other exit. In one of the far corners were a pile of army-green crates. Some were small, suitcase small, others were big enough to drive your average family car through. Despite the thin layer of dust collecting on them, all were clearly marked with the Ministry’s crest. “It doesn’t look like they’re even using the supplies they’re stealing from us.”

The cold distaste Five had been carrying for these people sparked into a fury, how dare they endanger Abel lives when they didn’t even need the things they were taking? What could motivate them to do this?

Her lip curled in distaste but before she could reply they were interrupted by the rumble of a four-by-four approaching the door-side of the warehouse.

“Guys,” Sam called to them with a slight tremor in his voice. “I don’t want to alarm you, but it looks like the people who left earlier are coming back, and they’re just as armed and mean-looking as they were earlier.”

“We can hear that Sam,” Simon said, striding further into the room and looking about as if he could find another exit through sheer effort. “Why didn’t you warn us? We’re fair trapped in here.”

“They just appeared on the long-ranges cams! Last time I saw them they were driving north towards Highbream but then they vanished and suddenly they’re back here!”

“And you were worried me and Five wouldn’t be any good at espionage. Looks like you should have been worrying about someone else’s abilities.”

“Hey!”

“Sam,” Five cut in, foreseeing that they were about to dissolve into bickering and she wasn’t about to die because the two of them were acting like toddlers. “How long do we have?”

“A minute, tops. Maybe less, oh,” Sam groaned and Five could hear his fingers drumming frantically against the comms desk. “Oh, God, they’re approaching the warehouse you’re in. If there’s no way out you have to hide. Five, hurry!”

Five hustled over to Simon and couldn’t help taking hold of his arm as if she could whisk them both away. It didn’t look like there was anywhere for them to go and they both knew it.

From the door came the sound of clanking and chains rattling over an engine rumbling ever closer. Five met Simon’s equally panicked eyes.

“We could try going back the way we came?”

“They’re looking for us.” Five shook her head and her eyes caught on something.

“Well, we can maybe die, or we can definitely die. Personally, I prefer Option A.”

“Wait,” Five said, already dragging Simon with her, away from the way they came and towards the double doors.

“Five, have you gone mad?” Simon tugged at her grip, but still followed her.

Without answering Five dropped to her knees and found the handle in the metal grate she’d spotted and yanked. It didn’t move, but she could feel it shift. Bracing her legs, Five heaved, pulling the metal door off of the floor a few inches. Her muscles strained against the years of rust, then Simon was there, helping, and they had it open enough to see into the space below.

“It’s too small,” Simon shook his head, and he wasn’t wrong. The hole was shallow enough that they wouldn’t be able to sit up without stooping, and only wide enough for one of them to do so at all.

“It is,” Five said, and pushed Simon in.

“Hey!” He yelped, his voice muffled as Five dropped down on top of him and yanked the trapdoor after them, plunging them into darkness just as daylight flooded the warehouse.

As the car entered the building the runners lost all sense of orientation. They struggled to hold themselves in a way that didn’t shove their faces either into hard concrete or the other’s shoulder, all the while the engine sound reverberated louder and louder as the acoustics of the warehouse threw it around. There were voices, too, laughing and pitched strangely as they were amplified off the far walls. The sound grew until it felt like a physical force, a swarm of wasps pressing unbearably close all around.

Then, just as Five was sure it couldn’t get any louder, the engine died. For a moment no one even talked. The absence of sound rang nearly as loud as the engine had. It was so clear and quiet. Five knew that any mistake they made would bring the people above down on them.

Five’s hand shot up to her headset, bashing her elbow on something hard, and dialled down the volume to near zero. Sam would have to wait until talking to him wouldn’t get them killed.

“Oww.”

“Si, your headset,” Five whispered.

“You hit me on the fucking nose.”

“Oh,” that had been what she had hit. “Sorry. Headset, though.”

Somewhere to Five’s sides she felt the air shift and the bits of Simon that were dug into her ribs attempt to move.

“Nope, not happening. Unless you feel like hopping out for a second. Not for the first time, my glorious arms cannot be contained.”

Five sighed. She wanted to hit him again, but then it wasn’t his fault he couldn’t move. She was pretty sure one of his arms was pinned by her right leg. Something was, at least. Five reached blindly until her hand hit something warm and definitely Simon. His headset emitted three bursts of static and Five almost flailed in panic.

The heavy metal roof was disrupting their link to Sam, but not entirely. Snippets of his voice were sneaking through and the people above were talking now but they still might hear.

“I’ll get it, where am I?” Five asked, tapping her hand against whatever part of Simon she had found.

“Below my right shoulder,” Simon whispered, voice low as he caught onto Five’s urgency. He’d evidently come to the same conclusion about their precarious position. “You’re touching up my pecs. Switch is on the same side, back of the headset.”

Five slid her hand up until she felt the shape of Simon’s shoulder and followed his neck until her hand cupped the side of his face and she searched for the little switch on the back of his headphones.

Staring into the heavy gloom as she focused, Five fancied she could almost see the sharp outline of Simon’s jaw. It might have been her imagination, though. She could feel where he was, with his face in her palm, her thumb resting on his cheekbone, and irregular puffs of warm breath just reaching her neck across the space between them.

With a tiny ‘click’ Five’s fingers found the switch and turned off Simon’s headset just as the static began to whine again.  She sagged as much as she could in relief, which turned out to be tragically little with her right shoulder jammed painfully into concrete.

“That was a bit close for comfort.”

“Your headpiece is a piece of shit. It only has an off switch, and it’s impossible to find.”

“Hey, not all of us can be given the best and shiniest equipment. Your headset might have all the bells and whistles of a fully functional piece of kit, like a fancy-pants volume adjustment, but only a select few are so lucky. I’m stuck with this Frankenstein’s monster of a thing.”

“Simon, my headset didn’t have a working microphone for three months.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like you use it all that much anyways.”

Five didn’t have much of a response that, so she lifted her hand from where it still rested against the side of Simon’s face and flicked him in the general vicinity of his forehead.

“Ow, watch the face! All this abuse. I’ll scream, I will,” Simon hissed as Five tried to contain their silent laughter lest it spill over into sound. “If I have to bring a hail of bandit fury upon us to save my poor, beautiful face I will do it.”

“Maybe they’d keep you alive because you’re so pretty.”

“Oh you know it,” Simon instinctively went to toss his hair, almost knocking their foreheads together. “Wait, no. Is that a good thing?”

“You could be a bandit wife.”

“I’ve changed my mind, I’ll suffer your abuse in silence.”

“Maybe it’d suit you. Trotting around in a little flowery apron.” Five couldn’t keep the smile out of her voice despite the discomfort of her knees pressed into the concrete and the bizarre cold-hot of being underground but pressed so close to another person. “And nothing else.”

“Why, Five,” Simon grinned, and Five could just see the glint of his teeth. “Never knew that was your thing. You know you need only have asked and I would have been happy to indulge you.”

There wasn’t enough light for Simon to see Five’s expression, scrunched up as if she had smelt something awful. She wouldn’t lie and say Simon was unattractive, but the mental image Simon’s suggestive drawl had created wasn’t one she wanted to revisit.

“No thanks, Three, I’ve,” Five was stopped short by the sound of a door slamming not far away. Her mouth shut so fast her teeth clicked together. The two of them had been so focused on talking that they had been distracted from listening. They were tangled so closely together, it was too easy to forget there were people outside their little hidehole.

There wasn’t quite silence, they were pressed too close for that, but above each other’s breathing neither Five nor Simon could hear anything from above them. No more laughter, no voices, no footsteps. As if everyone had left. Or, were also holding still. Waiting. Listening.

Five leaned forwards until she felt the scratch of concrete on her forehead and figured she was somewhere near Simon’s left shoulder.

“Do you think they’re gone?” Her voice was barely more than a breath.

“No. Maybe? We’ll have to wait a bit and see.”

“Yeah,” Five sighed, leaning back into her previous position which was, to tell the truth, no more comfortable than resting her head against the cold grit.

The waiting lasted about a minute before Five decided she was too bored and too uncomfortable to sit in silence any longer.

Pressing both her hands against the metal door, she strained upwards. With her legs askew Five had no leverage to push against and had only her arms’ strength. Luckily for her, all the time spent on Abel’s training ground had resulted in this not posing much of an issue. After a moment of strain, the door gave a few inches. Fresh air rushed in along with the light.

Five’s eyelashes fluttered as she fought to keep her eyes open against the sun, lest she miss something. After a moment of blindness the warehouse melted back into sight around her. From the partially open door, Five could see a surprising amount. The emptiness that had made it so difficult to hide made it easy to conclude that, unless they were crouching right behind her, there was no one else in sight.

They had all left. Five sighed in relief and went to lift the trapdoor higher only for it to stop with a clang. Five pushed against it, but this wasn’t a matter of elbow grease. She could feel that this wasn’t that the door wouldn’t move, it couldn’t move. There was no give to it.

On closer inspection, it wasn’t hard to see why. Five blinked mournfully up into the sun before lowering the door and herself back down.

“Well?” Simon whispered, not bothering to temper the keenness in his voice.

“There’s good news and bad news,” Five told him, no longer bothering to whisper.

“Sounds ominous.”

“It is. The good news is that they’ve left. We’re free of heavily armed arseholes for the moment.” Five sighed and Simon waited. “The bad news is that we’re stuck down here.”

“What, why? You got the door open fine.”

“The door’s not the problem,” Five said, shrugging and feeling the walls scrape her arms. “The problem is that they’ve parked on top of us. The trapdoor won’t raise more than a few inches.”

“Oh. Shit.”

“Mhm.”

The two of them sat there for a moment in the dark and let that sink in.

“Have I mentioned yet what a terrible idea this was?”

“Not helpful, Si.”

“No, but there’s not much else I can do besides give you feedback right now. As much as I enjoy being sat on by a beautiful woman, I generally prefer to do it somewhere more spacious than a gnat’s chaff and with fewer bits of broken fusebox digging into my backside.” Simon shifted as if to emphasise his point, and Five tipped into the wall as he threw her off balance. “Or, I think that’s what it is.”

“I’m going to call Sam,” Five decided, reaching up again to open the trapdoor. They might not be able to crawl out of the small gap, but it would hopefully give their headsets better signal with which to reach their operator.

“Fat lot of good he can do us down here.” Simon grumbled, which Five ignored as she attempted to balance the whole weight of the door on one of her forearms and hold her headset out of the gap with her other hand.

It took some one-handed fumbling, but Five managed to turn the volume dial and position the signal box so the static turned to words.

“Five, please,” Sam was pleading through the headset. “I can’t hear or see you, I’m blind and, God, I can’t tell if you’re okay. No one’s come out, why are you still in there? Why is Simon’s headset dead?  Oh God, Five-”

“Sam!” Five cut him off. “Sam, we’re okay. We had to be quiet.”

“Five! You’re okay!”

“Yes, we’re both fine, but we’re stuck. We need someone to come help us get out.”

There was a longer pause before Sam replied. “Stuck? Stuck how? I’m not sure anyone is close by.”

“Tell him they’ll have to be,” Simon called up from the bottom of the hole. Glancing down with the light filtering in from the gap, Five saw the awkward angle that his neck was forced into and how his splayed legs were jammed up against the walls. His chest was nearly as broad as the width of the hole, his shoulders broader. It was no wonder he was pouting.

“Si’s right, Sam. If you don’t send anyone to get us out then, well. We live in the floor now.”

Over the soft background static Five heard the keyboard-clatter of Sam switching between cams at high speed. “Okay, okay, Runner Seven isn’t too far,” Sam paused for a moment, calculating. “Yeah, okay. Help will be with you in twenty minutes. Maximum.”

“Did he really just say twenty minutes?” Simon whined.

“Thanks, Sam.”

“No problem, Five, you two stay safe until help gets there.” With a last fuzz of static, the line went quiet and Five sagged in relief, allowing the door to close over them. She stretched out the arm she had used to prop it up as far as she could, shaking the ache out of her bicep.

“I can’t believe we have to wait nearly half an hour. I’m going to die. This is how it ends.”

Five snorted, but she shared Simon’s disappointment. His hip bone was digging painfully into her thigh and that was about all of her legs that she could actually feel. The rest of them had gone ominously numb.

If anyone unfriendly discovered them now they’d be almost useless, unable to spring up and fight, let alone run. Five didn’t need to attempt to walk to know she’d fall straight on her face if she tried.

“I’m going to attempt to move us around,” Five told Simon, feeling along the wall for a good spot to brace against.

“If you hit me in the face again I am going to throw you into the next ditch we find. One filled with zombie bits. And nettles.”

“If I were you, I’d be more concerned about me hitting other things.”

There was hitch in Simon’s breath as the weight of this registered.

“You’re evil.”

“Only if I actually hit you.” Saying so, Runner Five pushed her left hand against the furthest wall and found Simon’s shoulder with her right. With luck, she would be able to rearrange her legs in a less crippling fashion and then help Simon into something like a sitting position. She couldn’t make his life much worse by trying. Anything would be better than being hemmed in the way he was. “Don’t move.”

“Never fear,” Simon laughed. “I’m not about to go anywhere.”

Five found that lifting her hips from where she was awkwardly perched on Simon’s side proved less difficult than expected, even using primarily core muscle power. It was when Five removed her left hand from the wall to lift her numb leg up and over Simon that she encountered difficulties.

As she was attempting to manhandle herself without kicking Simon in the face, Five leant most of her weight on his shoulder, a point that had felt sturdy enough until Simon adjusted his leg then suddenly it wasn’t. Five’s hand hit the floor as his shoulder slipped from under it and Simon’s whole body shifted as Five’s weight pushed him down. She dropped her leg to stop herself from headbutting the wall and collapsed onto Simon’s torso which had shifted several inches downwards.

“Fuck!”

“God, sorry, you okay?” Five wheezed, the breath knocked from her lungs.

“No! I mean, yes, I think. Oww,” Simon groaned, and Five rose and fell with his quick breathing. “I think I unstuck one of my legs. Bashed my head on the floor, hurts like anything.”

“Here,” Five said, and reached around where their chests were too close to wiggle her free arm through and found Simon’s head. With gentle fingers she lifted Simon’s head from the floor and probed the back of his skull, seeking the hot stickiness of blood. Simon choked on a curse when she found a tender spot, but there was no broken skin beneath his hair. Only a slight lump that would leave his head tender. “Feels fine.”

“To you, maybe. I’m going to have a killer headache. Why am I the one who keeps getting injured by your bright ideas?”

“Because you need to be useful for something.” Five leaned further down to slip her arm under Simon’s head, so it came to rest on her forearm rather than the harsh concrete. “Better?”

“Kind of,” Simon sighed, his breath warm on Five’s cheeks. She had bent nearly flush with Simon from where she sat low on his stomach and, while it was more comfortable, Five couldn’t help the heat that rose in her face. To even the most impartial of observers their position would look compromising, their faces a feather’s width from each other and Simon’s now raised legs trapping Five there. She couldn’t put more space between them if she wanted to.

For the first time, she was glad of how dark it was. There were some things that Sam didn’t need to witness through the headcams.

“Hmm. If it’s any consolation, Si, my legs feel better now.”

“Oh yeah, good to know you’re comfortable there. Using poor, abused Simon as your pillow.” Simon’s hands, gesturing as much as they could where they were trapped, briefly found Five’s legs where they rested on either side of him for a moment as if to illustrate his point. Then he flinched and let go, quickly as if burnt.

His mouth half formed an apology, then he stopped, closing his eyes and biting his tongue as if saying something would make the awkwardness realer than it already was. As if he could escape the strange intimacy by not acknowledging it.

The place where Simon’s hands had rested, a little above Five’s knees where her shorts had just ended, felt too warm and too cold for the loss. She struggled for something to say to cut apart the sudden tension that had descended to fill the non-existent space between them but then the moment drew on too long. With every slow second that passed the weight of words grew and Five almost missed the part of the day when they were running from people with guns.

Simon broke the silence with a frustrated sigh.

“Soooo,” Simon broke the silence. “What’s the first thing you’re going to do when we’re out of here?”

“What?”

“What are you planning to do when we get back to Abel?”

Five frowned down into the space where she could near feel the shapes of Simon’s face. “I heard you the first time. But, why?”

Simon groaned and attempted to shrug, a motion Five could feel from the movement of his chest rather than see. She waited, her usual humour strangely absent from the tip of her tongue. “Because I’m distracting myself,” he eventually admitted.

“From?” Five asked, newly concerned Simon that was now actually in worse pain than he was before. It took a couple seconds of expectant silence for Five to realise that it wasn’t physical pain that was the problem this time. “Oh. Ohhhh.”

“Yep.”

“You, oh. Um.”

“Very eloquent, Five.”

“You know what, I think you were right. We should have taken our chances with the gun-toting psychopaths.”

Simon laughed, loud and longer than that deserved, sounding only a little strained and a little hysterical.

“You know what, Five, it was worth getting stuck down here just to hear you say that.”

Runner Five groaned and slumped over to rest her forehead against Simon’s, allowing any semblance personal space to die a final death. It was going to be a long twenty minutes.

[nadiineross]

requested by @csquirrel27

27. “If we get caught I’m blaming you”

Chloe breathes a sigh of relief when Nate comes sulking back to their table, pouting at a disgruntled Elena. 

“Okay, fine,” he says when he slumps into his chair between Chloe and Elena. “If you get the candlestick, you win.”

Chloe dips her head and smiles, then, through her curled lashes, she looks up at Nadine. She’s sitting next to Elena, one arm extended over the top of an empty chair, a leg carefully crossed over the other. 

“Partner?”

Nadine’s eyes flit to meet hers and her balled up napkin is discarded on the table. She finally flashes a devilish smirk and, Christ, Chloe is infatuated. 

“Watch and learn,” Nadine says to Nate, standing in a swift motion. It’s the first thing she’s said to him all night and judging by Nate’s scowl, he knows this too. 

“Be back soon,” Chloe sings, patting Nate’s gelled hair. Behind her, she hears Elena snort and an amused “let it go, honey.”

They’re at the wedding of a rich man notorious for hoarding things and doing absolutely nothing with them. Simon Irving had plenty of antiquities that could lead to bigger finds, but he refused to use them, preferring to use them as decor.

An atrocity, honestly. Tonight, they have their sights set on a century old candlestick that the groom-to-be had been boasting about earlier. Apparently, a good addition to his collection of paperweights. 

Completely by chance, Nate had been invited to the excessively extravagant wedding and, after months of needling, Chloe had managed to rope him into asking for two more invites. 

(He’d told Irving that they were interested in selling a priceless tusk from India, which, for the record, is sitting comfortably in the hands of the Ministry of Culture and has been for the last two years.) 

Of course, a bit of friendly competition didn’t hurt anyone, so after being seated, Chloe injured Nate’s ego enough to make him insist on doing the work for her. 

Now, Elena’s poking at his wounded ego, looking fantastic as she does, and Nadine’s leading her by the arm to the dance floor. 

Chloe’s in a bright red dress, a slit up one leg, and a scooping back. Nadine, stunning as usual, is dressed in a crisp dress shirt tucked tidily into her pants. 

“Hm, you look dashing, love,” Chloe says, putting a hand on Nadine’s shoulder. 

There’s a crack of a smile, but otherwise, Nadine only squints over her shoulder. 

Chloe keeps her eyes on Irving as Nadine leads them through the crowd, weaving through and taking large arcs around the crowded spaces. 

The door that leads to the study is located near the stage at the front of the hall, half hidden behind sweeping red curtains draped across the walls. 

There’s a staircase that’ll lead to the upper floor and thanks to Irving’s lack of filter, Chloe knows the door to his study is adorned in what must be clear evidence of cultural appropriation. 

A guard slips through the door, closing it with a whirring and a click. 

“No go,” Chloe murmurs, thumb idly smoothing at the fabric of Nadine’s shirt. 

Nadine curses, and like that, they’re off again, making circles around the room. 

Only one hallway other than the entrance is open to guests which leads to the bathrooms. They have no choice but to go through there. Nadine lets Chloe hold onto her arm, escorting her, and oh, that’s a bicep, all right.

Inside, a lady is washing her hands, so Chloe lets go of Nadine’s arm and makes for one of the stalls. It’s an awkward moment where Chloe’s hiding out with a toilet and Nadine’s loitering, waiting for the lady to leave, but it dissipates with the lock of a door behind the sound of clicking heels. 

“Game plan?” Nadine asks as Chloe comes back out the stall. 

“Don’t have one.” 

“Didn’t think so,” she says, voice filled with mirth, letting Chloe brush by her to grab onto the sink. 

Chloe takes her heels off, leaning sideways, and raises her eyebrows. “Isn’t the study right upstairs?” 

She knows the answer, so Nadine doesn’t answer, just takes Chloe’s shoes and rolls her head around on its socket. She hooks the points of the heels into her belt loops and tightens the belt by one hole. 

There’s a window at the end of the bathroom, probably popped open because one of the other guests wanted a smoke. Chloe lets her go first, bowing with a twirl of her hand. 

“Chivalry at its finest,” Nadine says dryly, peering out the window and, once deemed safe, hoisting herself over the sill. 

There’s a row of windows above, too high to grab from where they’re hanging, toes on the thinnest of ledges. 

At the edge of the building, before it turns the corner to the front, there’s a gargoyle that they can use as a step up. 

Chloe, having climbed out second, is closer, so Nadine cants her head towards the gargoyle. “After you.” 

“Chivalry at its finest,” Chloe replies, teasing. She grabs the edge, legs dangling briefly, before heaving herself up. She uses one hand and pinches her dress between her fingers, giving it a little flutter. “Well, if the boys bothered to enjoy the view, it’s right here.”

A couple guards below them share a cigarette, guns slung behind them. 

Nadine rolls her eyes, joining Chloe’s height with more grace. 

“Show off.” Chloe scoots along the wall, peeking through windows every now and then. 

“Out of shape,” Nadine replies, airily. 

“Oh, you love my shape.” Chloe tries a window and grunts in annoyance when it doesn’t budge. They shuffle along, prying at one more before a dusty window finally creaks open. “Third times the charm, as they say.” 

“All things come in three,” Nadine intones. 

Chloe can’t help but smile, pleased.

The room they climb into must be a guest room, guessing by the lack of personal effects. Still, Chloe noses around curiously while Nadine wipes her now-grimy fingers clean with tissues from the fancy tissue box on a nearby desk. 

Unhooking them from Nadine’s pants, Chloe helps herself back into her heels. 

When they’re both done, Nadine takes the lead. The hallway is empty, but they stick close to the sides, ready to duck into a room if anyone turns the corner. 

“Wait,” Chloe says, stopping Nadine with a hand on her elbow. “That look right to you?”

There’s a door decorated by phrases written in a logographic script. Irving is white as they come and, well, that’s certainly not the Starbucks logo. 

Nadine closes the door behind her and flips the lights on. 

Again, Chloe slinks around the room, like a cat. 

Nadine fixes her sleeves, unrolling them so she can refold them up to her elbows. There’s a bunch of candlesticks on the fake fireplace, and she lets Chloe examine them while she takes a blazer off the back of the leather desk chair. 

“Why hello, Lumière,” Chloe says, twisting off the bottom part of a candlestick. 

Nadine takes the candlestick from Chloe who lets out a huffy “hey!” and uses duct tape from the desk to stick it to the inside of her new blazer. 

“Come on, Frazer,” Nadine says, “If we get caught I’m blaming you.”

Chloe wants to protest. Instead, she bites her tongue and helps Nadine into the blazer, brushing the shoulders and arms down. 

“Completes the look,” she says, appreciatively. 

“You think?” Nadine asks, opening the door. She promptly closes it and plunges them into darkness. “Fuck. Two guards in coming.” 

Chloe tugs them into the corner between a shelf and the wall, pressing her front flush against Nadine’s. They can hear each other’s breathing, feel the rise and fall of chests. Chloe could trace a rough outline of the candlestick if she wanted to. 

“Heard the bridezilla was thinking of leaving boss,” came the gruff voice of guard number one, muffled by the door. 

A thin band of light swept across the room when one of them opens the door. 

“No way,” says the other one, into the room, “he’s loaded. If he asked me, I’d marry him too, and just for a cut of his money.” 

The lights come on. 

Chloe’s pulse jumps. However, she relaxes when a warm hand cups the small of her back, and they somehow sink deeper into the wall. 

“True.” It goes dark again, and the door shuts. “Wouldn’t spend any of it on all this dead people shit, though.” 

They wait in silence until Chloe can’t hear the sounds of their boots on the hardwood floor. Then, she sighs and pulls back far enough to get a better look at Nadine’s face in the dark. 

“That was close,” she whispers. 

“Too close,” Nadine agrees. 

No one moves. To be fair, Chloe’s practically glued to Nadine, hands on her waist, so Nadine can’t exactly go anywhere. 

It’s rare that they’re dolled up like this. It’s not their first time, but when the opportunity arises, Chloe embraces it readily. Part of it is because she likes the fancy dress, but mostly so she can see what Nadine will whip out of her closet next. 

In all honesty, she prefers Nadine in dresses, but there’s something to be said about the crisp suits and shiny dress shoes. 

Chloe had done Nadine’s eyeliner—which is flawless, thank you very much—and picked the lipstick color, but the application was all on Nadine who is surprisingly adept at the art of makeup. 

And this is when Chloe realizes she’s been staring at Nadine’s mouth for the last minute. Nadine’s eyes are dilated. The ticking of Irving’s grandfather clock has her tensing up. The intensity between them only worsens. 

Chloe juts her chin out ever so slightly, edging closer. 

In the time it takes Chloe to blink, Nadine’s twitching her head to the side and clenching her jaw. 

“Let’s go.” 

“Oh.” Chloe clears her throat, drawing back jerkily. “Yes. Yeah.” 

Nadine smiles blandly in acknowledgment. 

This time, they follow the sound of the party, navigating the hallways, and take the stairs down to the first floor. There’s the door at the end that’ll lead to the side of the stage. 

Nadine stops short. “We need a keycard to get out.”

“We’re too close to the ground to climb out,” Chloe says. They’d get caught with one leg out the window. The only way is going back down to the bathroom. 

The sound of the same two guards making their rounds filters through the chatter from the wedding, causing Nadine to tense up in alarm. 

“Nate’s going to enjoy this,” Chloe says, resigned. 

“Or,” Nadine says. 

“Or?” she prompts.  Nadine sounds unsure, but Chloe’s all ears for pretty much anything that’ll get them out of this.

She clasps Chloe’s wrists in her hands, backing them into the wall by the door, and very deliberately placed Chloe’s palms onto her chest. “Or kiss me.” 

It’s a shock to her system, like being dunked in cold water minus the actual dunking or the water. Maybe she’s been knocked over the head and is experiencing some kind of hallucination. 

Chloe gathers her wits and manages to nod hastily, neck arching forward to meet Nadine halfway. 

They’re kissing just as the guards to round the corner. 

A second goes by, maybe two, but it’s enough time for Nadine to weave her fingers into Chloe’s hair and suck at her lip. Chloe can’t really unbutton the blazer and risk exposing the candlestick; all she can do is splay her fingers out to cup Nadine’s breasts. 

“Whoa, hey—Hey!” 

Chloe follows after Nadine when she pulls back before she remembers what’s happening. Then, she’s staring wide-eyed at the guards storming down the stairs and letting out her most convincing damsel-in-distress shriek. 

Nadine winces. Whoops. 

“You’re not supposed to be here,” says guard number one. He’s grimacing too. “Neither of you.”

“We—“ Nadine tries to say, but Chloe’s prodding at her front. “What?”

“Zip me up,” she demands, much too loud for a whisper, but too hushed to be anything else. “Come on. I’m so embarrassed. Oh my god.” 

The guards are both glaring now, and one of them has his hand on their radio. 

Chloe turns and lets Nadine pretend to zip her up. “If Irving sees us, we’re screwed six ways to Sunday.” 

“Cry or something,” Nadine hisses. 

“You think I can cry on command?” Chloe huffs. 

“Fix this. I said I’d blame you and—“

Chloe turns abruptly, crumpling her face into the look of someone on the verge of a breakdown. They should be familiar with it, what with all the talk of the bridezilla. “I’m so, so sorry. I just... We just... We—We really—“

The guards share a glance. “Uh.”

Nadine looks physically pained by where this is going, but she sucks it up and turns with an apologetic look. “So sorry, gentlemen.” 

Thankfully, the second guard cuts them off before Chloe can go off on a spiel about their fake yearlong secret romance. “Okay, okay. Stop. Just stay out of here. If you two cause any more trouble for us, we’re going to have to notify Mr. Irving.” 

“We won’t make a peep,” Chloe promises, shakily stepping away from Nadine. “It’s because, well...”

The first guard groans softly. “Look, ladies, just get out of here.” 

Nadine takes Chloe by the arm and gives the guards a strained smile as they swipe a card across the keypad, holding the door open. 

“Again, we’re really sorry,” Nadine says when they’re on the dance floor, turning to the annoyed guards. A closed door is all the response she gets, which is to be expected, but sheesh.

Chloe straightens up immediately and blows a breath out, fixing her hair. 

“Whew,” she says, skirting around the dance floor to the bathroom. Everyone’s seated now, but they blend in on the sides with the servers. “That could’ve gone better.” 

“Tell me about it,” Nadine mutters, wiping her lipstick off with the back of her hand. 

Checking her makeup in the mirror, Chloe wipes at the edges of her lips and adjusts the stray hairs over her face. She studies Nadine from the mirror. “Think you can ditch the blazer?” 

“Best not.” 

Nadine lets Chloe pry her hands from her face and clean the lipstick off for her. They’re awfully close. Fingers trail along Nadine’s chin, and she swipes a tongue across her bottom lip. 

Chloe inhales, sharply. “Nadine, love,” she murmurs. “You better not kiss me right now.” 

Eyebrows raised, she meets Chloe’s eyes. “Why not?” 

“I just fixed my bloody lipstick, for one,” Chloe says. 

The live band from the party is muffled by the door, adding that something to the atmosphere, and Nadine’s looking endlessly amused. Really, it would be a disservice not to kiss her, so Chloe does. 

Nadine’s mouth is warm and compliant under her’s, and this time Nadine takes care not to mess up her hair. It’s softer than the one in the hallway, more delicate. This is something more suited for a first kiss.

They part for a fleeting moment so Chloe can nudge Nadine into the wall by the sinks, and then they’re kissing again. She has no qualms with undoing Nadine’s blazer, slipping her hands over Nadine’s midriff with the candlestick resting on the back of her hand. 

“Someone’s keen,” she whispers into the space between their mouths after she pulls back a bit to grin. “Is that a candlestick in your pocket or—“ 

Nadine cuts her off with a scoff pressed to her mouth, scraping at Chloe’s lower lip with her teeth. 

She’s cupping Chloe’s cheeks, pressing in more, when there’s a slam and— “Oh, Christ!” 

Both of their heads snap to the door, to a gobsmacked Elena Fisher. 

“Come on, Elena,” Chloe says, miffed. “Close the door.” 

Elena does her one better by twisting the lock, too. Nadine only blinks and looks away, once again wiping her face. 

“We saw you guys come in here after getting caught and, well,” Elena stops there and ends up gesturing vaguely. 

Now, Nadine smirks. “Tell your husband that we win.” 

Chloe narrows her eyes at Elena’s purse. “Hey, can we fit a candlestick in that?”

“Sure.” Elena shrugs, letting Chloe have at it. It was expensive, but she’s never been too touchy about getting nice things dirty. “I’ve also got lipstick in there. Just saying. You know, if you needed.” 

There’s a pointed look along with that, and Chloe huffs out a laugh. 

Elena patiently waits for them to wrap up; it’s not much, just reapplication and stuffing the blazer into the bin. 

They leave the wedding before the ceremony even begins, barely eight in the evening. Chloe doesn’t think the bride will follow through and, honestly, good for her. 

With a butthurt Nate acting as a body pillow for Elena in the backseat, and Nadine riding shotgun as per usual, they hit the road back home. It’s an hour drive to Nate’s and thirty from there to the hotel they’re staying at, so they drop Nate and Elena off along the way. 

“That was fun,” Chloe says after they’ve parked. The candlestick sits in the cup holder between them. 

She nods. “It was.” 

Chloe turns to face Nadine. “We...” She bites her lip, frowns a little, and weighs the candlestick in her hand. “This’ll probably take us to Europe somewhere.” 

Nadine hums, not really caring, as long as there’s a payoff and they’re both alive to receive it. 

Neither of them says anything for a while. They’re secluded, and it only worsens the prickly sensation of another shoe about to drop.

It feels strange, even though they’ve been alone in many different cars in many different situations before. 

“Switch to a suite,” Nadine finally says. 

It’s out of nowhere and not exactly something that would woo Chloe’s socks off, but she grins anyway. Nadine notices and her eyes twinkle under the blue-ish parking lot lights, lips curving. “What?” 

“Oh, nothing,” Chloe says. “Don’t worry a thing, china.” 

Nadine clasps a hand to the back of Chloe’s neck and twists over the dashboard to kiss her.

Picture this: them, kissing in a parked car underneath a Marriott, hands against hot skin. The scene is something neither of them will forget.