#everyone remembers where they were when you kiss guys on molly happened

[talia-rumlow]

Home Sweet Home (AU Rumlow X Reader) Chapter Five - Best Friends

This story is progressing. And I´m falling more and more in love with it. I really hope you do too.

Pairing: Brock Rumlow (Mechanic ex Military Brock) X Reader

Word Count: 1517

Summary: You tell your best friends about what happened between you and Brock.

Warnings: Age-Gap

DISCLAIMER: This is an AU story. But I still don´t own any of the MARVEL characters, only my original ones.

HAPPY READING!

The following Monday, you sit at your local diner, waiting for Jess and Molly to meet you for lunch. Your head is spinning around everything that happened this weekend. Work has been a drag today, thankfully you worked alone, so you had a chance to think. Just a couple of phone calls, and some orders that came in. You managed to do everything you were supposed to. But you couldn't seem to get Brock out of your head. Your belly clenched every time you thought about him, and that made it extremely hard to concentrate. And you're still not sure if you're dreaming or not.

- So... Kissed him yet?

Jess asks, casually sliding into the booth next to you. You take a breath, look at her.

- Where's Molly?

You ask. Hoping to derail this particular conversation.

- Ahh.. We should wait until she gets here. This will be so great!

Jess says, smiling widely, and rubbing her hands together.

- I want all the dirty details.

She continues.

You friendly roll your eyes at her, before you lift up the menu. Stupid move, you know. You and Jess always have your lunch here, ever since you got back from New York, and you both know what you're going to get. So the menu thing isn't necessary at all. You know that, and Jess knows that.

- Oh my God! WHAT happened. Tell me, tell me, tell me!

You give her a "shut up" look.

- Not here, Jess. Everybody knows my dad!

You whisper, trough your teeth.

Jess instantly get's up.

- Drive through then. You can talk in the car!

Then she drags you with her outside. You bump into Molly in the door.

- Drive through, Molly! YN's gonna tell us something.

Jess says, walking fast and firm over to her car, with you in tow.

- I call shotgun!

Molly shouts behind you.

Fifteen minutes later, you all have your food, and Jess parks the car.

- So, YN! Spill!

She says, turning towards you.

- Jess! Maybe she isn't ready!

Molly states, taking a big bite of her burger.

- Oh, please, we always tell each other everything. And this is the juiciest thing yet. This is even better than me and Ben!

Ben fucking Caplan, the first guy Jess slept with. Every girl liked him, he was like the hottest guy your age. And everybody wanted him. So when he and Jess started dating, it was a big deal. Then the stupid fucker cheated his ass off, and Jess dumped him, pretty publicly. And that was also a big deal. At least for people your age. People still talked about that. And Ben never got back his old status after that. Jess made sure of it. Showed Ben Caplan, and everybody else why you should never mess with Jess. Ben never got his reputation as the schools stallion back after Jess told everyone how he really was in bed. You don't remember every single detail, but words like "flaccid" and "magnifying glass" were used. You still have a deep respect for Jess, for how she handled that situation. Not every 16 year old would be able to think on their feet like that. But then again, Jess always had a smart mouth and a quick response to every single situation.

- He's a good kisser, if that's what you mean!

You say, as Jess takes a sip of her soft drink. As soon as the words leave your mouth, Jess almost chokes on her drink.

- I knew it!

Jess almost yells.

- Did you sleep with him?

Jess asks, turning around to face you again.

- YN, you don't have to answer that!

Molly states. Turning to face you as well.

- What are you talking about, Molly? Of course she needs to answer that. We want to know. Both of us! I told you when I slept with Ben.

Jess says, so eager that she's almost levitating off her seat.

- To be fair, it was actually Ben who told everyone about that.

Molly states, probably to take Jess down a notch.

She's not wrong. Ben broadcasted his encounter with Jess in such a manner that he just as well could have made a statement on the schools intercom. It was almost so you thought it would be on the News at one point. Stupid fucker. But it gave Jess some PR. PR she still lives off to this day. You actually think it was this thing with Ben that gave Jess her rough exterior, and the "I don't give a fuck" attitude. A perfect example of the term "all PR is good PR."

- I slept IN the bed with him, but no. No sex happened.

You say. After all they are your best friends, and you do need to talk about this. Carrying this around alone will be impossible.

You don't know if it was his intent or not, to have you in bed with him. But when he woke you up there on the couch, you kinda just followed him, and he didn't say no. You both slept with your underwear on. Sweet Brock, so considerate after he found out. He didn't even kiss you after you got into bed, but you could feel his breath on your neck, he was close enough for that. Just thinking about that, sends shivers down your spine.

- And?

Jess asks. Putting some fries in her mouth.

- Nothing. Nothing happened.

You answer, shrugging.

- No!

Jess says, slapping her hands on her thighs.

- Tell us about the kiss!

She continues, almost jumping up and down.

So you tell them. About the pool, how he held your face, and about how slow and careful he was. About the kitchen, and how he lifted you up on the counter, how his hands felt on your back. How he kept saying that he was sorry. And about how he found out you were a virgin.

When you're done talking, you're almost out of breath yourself, and both Molly and Jess just looks at you. You can almost see the stars in their eyes.

- YN and Brock sitting in a tree...

Jess sings, and does a little dance. You friendly nudge her shoulder.

- YN...

Molly suddenly says. Her voice sounds concerned.

- Yes!

You answer. Looking at her.

- What about your dad?

Molly asks, in her own concerned way. You know she only want's to look out for you. That she doesn't want you to get hurt. But her question makes your stomach sink.

You never thought of your dad in all of this. The stuff with Brock was so intense, it kinda took everything else away. And you never thought anything like this would ever happen. So your dad sorta never entered your head. What would he think about this? He wouldn't be happy about it that much you know. But you have no idea what he'd do about it.

Molly looks at you.

- Probably best not to tell him. You don't even know if this is going to be a thing, right? No use in worrying about that now.

Molly says, putting her hand comforting on your knee.

- Yeah...

You say, looking down on Mollys hand on your knee. What did you actually do? What did you think was going to happen? Why did you do this? Brock is your dad's best friend, since childhood. This is never going to end well. And what is Brock thinking about this? You need to talk about this. You need to figure out what you're going to do, when your dad gets back.

- Lunch break is over, time to head back to the trenches!

Jess states, as she starts the car.

- You work at Starbucks, Jess. How much hard work can it be?

Molly says, holding in a laugh.

- Oh, you have NO IDEA how hard it is to get a caramel latte, almond milk, no foam, to be absolutely "right" in a customers eyes. AND, and, you have no idea how rude people get, when you get it wrong!

You almost laugh yourself. Both you and Molly knew how much Jess hated her job, and Jess knew how much you and Molly liked to tease her about it. It's been a couple of times you and Molly showed up at the local Starbucks when Jess worked, just to give her the most ridiculous drink order you could come up with. Of course you never actually made her make them. But you messed with her. Thankfully the three of you go way, way back, and you could all take a joke. At least from each other.

And right now. You couldn't be more thankful for them. You would never be able to carry all of this alone, and the fact that both Molly and Jess had your back in this, helped you to relax a bit about the whole situation you managed to get yourself into. Whatever happens next, you know you'll always be able to talk to the two girls sitting in front of you. And you couldn't stress enough how grateful you were for that.

Why? Just why did it have to be Brock?

@nekoannie-chan @bat-mar @late-to-the-party-81 @here4thefanfics @rip1009 @there-goes-thefighter @differenttyphoonwerewolf @saiyanprincessswanie @ladysif8

Check out the Home Sweet Home Masterlist HERE!

Check out My Frank Grillo Masterlist HERE!

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[one-blaze-of--glory]

Ok so basically theres this guy called fitz hes the main character of these books hes the bastard son of a prince and he lives in the royal castle where he is training to be an assasin. In the castle (buckkeep castle) theres this lovley albino jester called the Fool and he and fitz become friends after he told fitz a prophecy. So one time fitz returns from his uncle verity's wedding after being poisoned by his other, evil, uncle regal and he tells this girl hes in love with named Molly (who kind of represents his dream of life if he wasnt a royal bastard and didnt have to go through trauma) that he has dreamed of her while he was gone (it was true and kind of flirty - he also described his heart turning over in his chest when he saw her then (REMEMBER THIS ITS IMPORTANT) and leter he meets the fool and tells him he has dreamed of him (using the exact same line. Hello fitz?) Then he "enjoyed the brief look of surprise on the fools face" after he told the fool he missed him.

The fool helps fitz against his evil uncle regal from killing the king and they have like character peralels. Anyway one time the fool gets beaten up by regal's man and fitz wants to patch up his wounds and he runs his fingers fown the fools jaw and goes "who did this to you?" With the intention of MURDER like some kind of ya fantasy love interest anyway some time after the fool leaves with fitzs aunt to find his good uncle verity in the mountains (he sin the mountains because they are in a war with a collection of island called the outislands, lead by a guy and a woman called the Pale Woman (this is relavent later)) and fitz stays and goes on a tiny little murder spree killing the people who killed the king using their magic then he is taken by regal and gets tortured and dies but he got better thanks to his wolf and very queer coded forbidden magic

Plot goes by and fitz starts going to find verity he befriends two lovley ladies named kettle (old. Very old) and starling (we support womens wrongs) and he gets shot by an arrow in the back and the fool finds him and takes care of hom and when he wakes up the fool cries about him having been beautiful and tells him how he the fool is something called the white prophet and fitz is his catalyst and he says to fitz "seeing you here alive gives the air back to my lungs and if there is anyone i am fated to be with im glad its you" and they touch forheads and fitz describes feelling a sort of "starnge feelling of comfort" anyway afterwards fitz fool fitz aunt kettricken kettle and starling go on a quest to find verity and at some point starling becomes convinced the fool is secretly a woman and in love with fitz and when fitz confronts the fool about it fool goes "well am i not, fitz?" "Im serious! Sge thinks you love me!" And the fool is like "i do love you" and fitz and deconstructs gender and attraction and fitz is like "i love you as a man loves another man" and fool goes "he loves me he says! And i love him!"

Anyway then the fool starts to shed his skin and gets sick because of it so shanenigans ensue like fitz having to bridal carry the fool. Also they sleep curled up next to each other.

Plot happens again after they find the uncle and the is now stuck with these hands that guve him a power to know things intaely on three of his fingers and for plot reasons he touches them to fitzs wrist and they become one being!!! And have a sort of magical bond were the fool goes "ypu really do love me!!" And then for plot reasons fitz has to stay in the mountaisn while everyone goes back home riding living stone dragons (one of them fitz gave memories of his ex to. Basically molly and fitz had a child and then molly hooked up with fitz's adoptive father and fitz os understandbly angry) (he is also angry about verity doing a brainswitch with him so he can produce a child with kettricken since he is dying due to putting his soul into a stone dragon with kettle. Moving on)

So fitz and the fool depart and the fool kisses fitz on the mouth!!!

It takes fitz seven years to travel back to buckeep where he settles down in a cabin with an adopted son named Mishap (starling brought him. Shes fitzs fwb now) (shes his only friend for fifteen years. CRINGE) and anyway. This is all the first trilogy i can continue if you want. It gets only gayer :3

that sounds super intriguing! wait this is the one where the author is so against the gay shipping? when it's bordering canon?

[weasleyswizardpleases]

Low Profile (reader x fred and george)

Summary: You and your best friends find yourself entangled in a secret polyamorous love affair, right under their family’s noses.

Warnings/Notes: Cw language, kissing (but no sex of any kind), family not accepting poly/queer relationship, bruising. This is for the wonderful and talented @lunalovecroft​’s 2.7k trope-inspired writing challenge! It’s also part of my loose series of fics that take place over the summer when y/n stays at the Weasleys’ house. No twincest- v shaped poly relationship. Here’s my masterlist if you want more! Enjoy!

Ever since you and Fred hooked up the first night of the summer, you’ve been joined at the hip even more than usual, and since George is always with Fred and usually with you, he had to be told once it was clear that you and Fred were gonna be more than a one night stand. You were a bit sad, knowing that it’d probably make him feel left out, in a way. You noticed that George looked a bit miffed when the two of you told him you were dating, in the loosest sense of the word. 

“What’s the matter, you jealous Georgie?” you tease, putting your hand on his knee flamboyantly. He blushes and you and Fred exchange a look.

“Oh my god, you actually are, aren’t you?” Fred asks, half-mocking. For once, George seems to be at a loss for words. He looks quite uncertain and a bit sad. You figure that you may as well break the tension and speak honestly; it’s more important to you to be frank and maintain your friendship than anything else. You clear your throat.

“George, honestly, if you’d been there instead of Fred that night, I’d probably have hooked up with you, too. We’ll all still be friends. That’s why we’re telling you, so we’re not keeping secrets,” you say, trying to goad him into speaking. He shakes his discomfort off and begins.

“Oh, I knew this would happen! We used to just be friends before the two of you started making eyes at each other all the time. Now I’ll barely be able to talk to the two of you- my two best friends, mind you- without all this lovey dovey shit. What an absolute nightmare!”

You open your mouth to speak, but George barrels on, looking at Fred this time.

“And you, some brother you are. You know how I feel about Y/N, I thought we had an agreement to keep it platonic all around?”

“It’s not my fault they’re interested in me!”

“George, I said I would have kissed you that night too! Actually, that’s what I’ve been trying to say to both of you. I’ve got feelings for you, both of you.”

They stop bickering and turn to look at you, turning the idea over in their minds.

“What are you saying?” asks Fred, looking a bit hurt.

“I’m saying,” you take a deep breath, “that I’ve never been better friends with one of you than the other. We do everything together. I don’t want that to change. Besides, you two are identical. Did you think your birthmark was that big of a selling point, Freddie? Of course I think you’re both good-looking, look in the mirror for goodness’ sake!”

They blink at you, then turn away to confer with one another in whispers. You tap your foot impatiently, but when they turn around, they’re beaming.

“So what you’re saying is you’d be fine with us sharing you?” George asks.

“More than fine. I’d be absolutely chuffed,” you say, returning their smiles.

“It’s settled, then,” Fred says, and plants a kiss on the top of your head. You look up at George permissively, and he puts his arm around you and gives you a squeeze.

“One thing, though. Mum and Dad can’t know. Mum especially. She’s not the most open-minded when it comes to this stuff. Especially with us. At least, I doubt she is,” Fred says.

“Yeah, funnily enough it never occurred to me to ask what she’d do if my twin brother and I started a poly fling with our best friend who also lives with us and sleeps in our bedroom, but if I had to guess, I don’t think she’d approve,” George adds, smirking.

“That’s ok. We have a pretty good track record when it comes to keeping secrets,” you say, a mischievous glimmer in your eye.

That evening, you’re helping Molly fold linens when she steps away for a moment to take the kettle off. You feel four hands slip around you from behind and soon you’re pulled into a kiss, Fred on your left, kissing you hard on the neck and collarbone, and George kissing your lips, taking your bottom lip gently between his teeth. You kiss them passionately but push them away after a second, regaining your composure.

“Not here!” you hiss, grinning. They exchange a cheeky glance and kiss you on each cheek before scurrying back to their room, giggling. You shake your head and turn back to folding sheets, just as Mrs. Weasley returns.

“My, my dear, that’s quite a bruise you’ve got there, what happened?” Mrs. Weasley clucks, gesturing to your collarbone where you’re surprised to see a dark, newly formed hickey.

“Oh, pickup quidditch match. I’m not very good, I’m afraid,” you say, the rush of the small lie filling you with butterflies.

“Well now, we are wizards after all. We can’t have you running about looking as if you’ve been sleeping under the whomping willow,” she says cheerfully. She extracts her wand and uses a quick healing spell on the spot, which fades quickly. You wonder if she really doesn’t recognize the bruise as a hickey, but you shrug. The twins have certainly gotten away with worse under this roof.

That night, you and the twins are in the kitchen having a midnight snack. The rest of the house is quiet. You’re sitting on the countertop, helping yourself to a biscuit, and George is leaning on the counter beside you. You feed him a little bite and he licks the crumbs from your fingers playfully. Fred is rummaging through the fridge across the room, and George peers into the fridge nosily. Something piques his interest, and he heads over, whispering to his brother indistinctly. You catch them giggling, and can hear snatches of their conversation. They appear to be working on something as they chat eagerly.

“Take the…”

“... and the… yes! Use a…”

“... that’s just bad…”

“...dare you…”

You hear the familiar sound of compressed air decompressing, and Fred whirls around with a pie tin full of whipped cream in his hand, grinning devilishly.

“No!” you whisper-scream, nearly falling off the countertop, but you’re not fast enough. Fred flops the tin into your face with a splat, and George laughs so hard he winds up on the ground kicking. You lick the cream from your lips, hungry for revenge.

You know Fred is secretly quite vain about his hair, and you waste no time sliding off the countertop and wrapping him up in a hug from behind. He suspects your ulterior motives immediately, but it’s too late for him to escape.

“Oh darling, give me a hug my sweet,” you say, making exaggerated kissy noises while burying your pie covered face in his nice clean hair. He flails about, and you tickle his ribs defensively, causing him to buckle. You fall to the ground with him, giggling and shoving at one another. Just as George joins in, trying to drag you off of his brother, kissing you all over as he tugs on your legs, you hear a floorboard creak. 

Ginny, whose room is closest to the kitchen, stands at the foot of the stairs, gaping at you. You’re sure she saw the kissing, and, well, the whole situation does look a bit… familiar. You whack George on the head and nod in Ginny’s direction.

“Oh, hello Ginny,” Fred says, disentangling himself from his situation beneath you.

“Hello, big brother,”

“Hello, Ginny,” George says, surprise straining his voice.

“Hello, other brother,”

“Hello, Ginny,” you say uncertainly, standing up and wiping your face off with a tea towel.

“Hello, Y/N,” she says. “Some of us are trying to sleep, you know,” she says, raising an eyebrow knowingly. Everyone speaks in hushed tones once again, having remembered that it is indeed the middle of the night. She nods curtly and scampers back upstairs, smiling cheekily.

“Did she see?” George whispers.

“Oh, she saw,” you assure him.

“But she wouldn’t say anything, right?” Fred asks.

“Surely not,” his brother replies nervously. 

“But if she does…” 

“We’re toast. No way mum believes us over her.”

“You guys are being too paranoid. Ginny isn’t a snitch like Ron and Percy, she wouldn’t blab on us for a bit of… roughhousing,” you say hopefully. The twins agree, and you help each other get cleaned up, George dabbing your face clean with a wet towel, giving you gentle kisses in between. 

The rest of the week goes by uneventfully. As far as you know, Ginny doesn’t say anything about what she saw, and life in the burrow goes on as usual. In the mornings, you and Hermione read quietly in the living room over tea. She reads the paper, you look at the comics, every once in a while stopping to remark on a thought you’ve had. 

Then George wakes up. He’s quiet in the mornings, a bit slow, although not very grumpy. Then Molly gets up and usually whips up some sort of breakfast, and by the times everyone’s up you all gather round the long table and eat together. Then, if you’re lucky, you run off outside or to a neighbor's house or abscond to the attic with Fred and George, away from prying eyes and away from Molly’s commands. If you’re unlucky, Molly enlists at least one of you in some chores, usually out in the garden. 

The next time the three of you come close to getting caught, you’re doing just this- de-gnoming with Fred, George, and Ron when Ron gets a headache and goes inside, complaining that it’s far too hot. In reality, the day is rather mild, although the sun is bright enough that Fred and George both have pink sunburns radiating across the bridges of their noses. You flick Fred on his sunburnt cheek and he winces.

“Ow! What’s that for?!” he asks, nearly dropping a gnome right back into the grass. 

“I need your attention!”

“For what?”

“A kiss,” you reply devilishly. He obliges you and kisses you dramatically, dipping you low, holding you in his arms. “Like this, mi amore?” he asks in a silly accent.

“Lunchtime!” Molly calls from the doorway, causing Fred to drop you to the ground and George to leap in front of the two of you oddly, trying to obscure his mum’s line of sight. You brush yourself off and head for the house, hoping Mrs. Weasley didn’t see anything.

“Fred Weasley!” Mrs. Weasley says shrilly, and you all cringe. You hold your breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “Fred, did I just see you toss Y/n to the ground? That’s no way to treat a guest, especially when you’re meant to be doing housework!” You sigh deeply, relieved. “Come in, dearie, I swear, sometimes I don’t know who raised those two!” she says, putting an arm around you to guide you in the house.

[rogue-durin-16]

THE RIGHT MOMENT

Summary: Y/n and George had been crushing on each other for too long, but neither of them said anything. They both were waiting for the right moment to do it, but with a war upon them, was there really such thing as 'the right moment'?

Pairing: George Weasley x Reader

Genre: angst-fluff

Tags:

George Weasley: ———

Permanent taglist: @elia-the-bibliophile @randomparanoid @karlthecat15722 @thebutchersdaughtersblog

Warnings: injuries, blood, implicit beating

A/N: (dis bish long lmao) Idk what is this, I just wanted to do something for George. Bill and Fleur's wedding came to my mind and I was like, ok but what happened after the death eaters arrived? And this came out, so enjoy <3

Rogue-durin-16 masterlist

I wasn't expecting to see her.

I had heard my mother mention her name whilst talking about the Order, and I knew she had befriended Fleur at the Triwizard Tournament, but seeing her apparate in our yard was... Well, surprising.

"Son, snap out of it!" My father called me out and I corrected my wand movement; I had almost messed up the canopy, and I blamed the way her dress and hair flew with the wind as she approached our home's entrance.

Fred walked to me the moment we had secured everything, glancing at the house before questioning, "am I delirious or that was Y/n?" with a knowing grin and an intent eyebrow wiggle.

As if taking a cue, we saw the girl coming out, now with a borrowed jacket on, making a beeline to us. "I'm... Pretty sure it's her." I replied, giving the girl a smile when she waved. "Morning, lady."

"Morning, gentlemen." Fred then turned around and stepped to her in order to give her a hug. "Long time no see, huh?"

"Indeed." I agreed, following my brother's lead and hugging Y/n; her arms were quick to wrap around my neck and shoulders and squeeze me tight; I would have sworn she let out a relieved sigh. "Fleur invited you?"

"Your mom, actually." Her reply left me puzzled. "I heard your night was... Eventful." She pointed at the bandages covering my ear with a worried look. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than last night." I replied, scratching the back of my neck.

"You sure, Georgie?" It was then that I remembered we weren't alone. "Last night he was feeling Saint-like." Y/n frowned in confusion. "Because he's holey." Fred pointed at his ear just like I had done the night before and I could feel my cheeks burning. "Get it?"

"Oh, no! it's sooo bad!" She laughed at the joke and a smile tugged the corners of my lips. "I think that's the lamest joke you've cracked." She pointed out.

"I know! I told him."

"Okay, I was bleeding out." I defended myself. "I think I'm allowed to crack a lame joke."

"Dunno, George, it was really bad." I threw my head back with a groan at Y/n's teasing. She waved at Fred, who said something about having things to do inside, and when my eyes landed on him over Y/n's shoulder, he mouthed a clear 'go for it'. "Tonks told me about Mad-Eye." She spoke again in a more serious note.

"You said it," the smile vanishing from my face. "Last night was eventful."

"When your mother told me you got hurt, I just... I got really scared." Her anxious words took me aback. "I went straight into the house to see you." The wind made her hair flow again, and I had to put my hands in my pockets to stop myself from tucking that bloody strand that kept getting in her face back behind her ear. "I was so happy you were out preparing stuff and not in there, unconscious in a bed."

"Well, I'm very happy to see you." I replied, my eyes digging into hers to make sure she knew how much I meant that. "Missed tons that smile of yours."

"I missed your lame jokes." I rolled my eyes at her response. Right after, she stepped forward and gently pulled me down; one of her hands holding onto my forearm, steadying her, while the other one cupped one of my cheeks so she could press a kiss to the other. "See you." And with that, she was off to greet the rest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Do it."

"She's talking with Luna."

"Excuses." I puffed tired at Fred's reproach before taking a sip of my drink. "C'mon, you got absolutely nothing to lose."

"My dignity?"

"She fancies you!" I shook my head no. "How many times are you gonna have the opportunity to dance with her, Georgie? Stop being a twit."

"Not yet."

"Oi, have you seen Y/n?" Ron approached us, taking a seat by my side.

"It's the only thing he's seen." I pinched the bridge of my nose, unable to deny what my twin had just said. "Just do it." I groaned. "Okay, I'll do it."

"No!" I jumped up and tugged Fred down in the process. "Alright, I'll go."

READER'S P. O. V.

"Yeah, I was about to—"

I involuntarily let out a squeal when a hand tickled my side. "Hello, ladies." I spun my head to see George behind me. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but may I have this dance?"

Luna replied before I could. "You see, I was wondering how much time it'd take you to ask her." I turned as red as a beetroot; my only comfort was that the towering ginger's face was the colour of his hair. "I think I'm odd man out." She waved us goodbye and headed to see Harry.

"I reckon Luna is way too observant." He spoke, tugging my hand.

"Were you ogling me, Weasley?"

"Maybe." He came to a stop in the middle of the dancefloor and pulled me close. "Couldn't take my eyes off you." He confessed quietly.

As we swayed, I let my forehead land on his chest, savouring what I dreaded would be one of the last precious moments before everything went down.

"George?" He hummed, raising his brows as a prompt for me to talk. I took a deep breath and told myself that what I was going to say mattered little compared to whatever was looming over us. "I've been wanting to tell you this, but I just... Didn't find the right time." Our faces were mere inches away. "But I don't think I'll ever find the right time at this point so—"

I jolted, holding onto George, when a blue volute plunged into the tent; a Patronus.

It was not until Shacklebolt message was ending that I realized George's arms were around me, pulling me flush against his chest.

Both our hearts were hammering violently, and I was sure he could feel mine as clearly as I felt his.

When the Patronus vanished, panic began to spread. I noticed how my own breathing picked up. "Y/n." This time it was George the one calling my name; his whisper sounded so clear compared to everyone else's screams and cries. "If I don't say this out loud, I'll combust—"

"Y/N! GET DOWN!" Tonks's shouts snapped us out of it. We obeyed just in time to see a red hex flying over us, being stopped by Tonks herself.

George and I grabbed our wands and pulled each other back to our feet before joining the Order.

"FREDDIE!"

"LUNA!"

We parted ways, George making his way to reach his twin while I ran to a moderately tipsy Luna, who seemed to be struggling to find her father.

As soon as I made sure she was out of the picture, I jogged to help the twins, casting protection spells against two death eaters.

"STUPEFY!" I managed to take out the one attacking George, and he was quick to stun the one duelling his brother.

"Leave!" George tugged my hand, attempting to get me out of the canopy, his brother quickly rushing to their little sister.

"I'm not leaving!"

"Y/n—" I moved him out of the way to shield us from another hex. "Please— Flipendo!!" I saw another death eater flying away from us. "Shit!" George's hand gripped mine for dear life, making me back off with him to get back in when he realized it was too late for me to leave.

Soon enough it was just the Weasleys, Fleur and her family, Tonks, Lupin and me inside the tent, all back-to-back, surrounded by death eaters.

Corban Yaxley stepped out. "My apologies to disrupt the celebrations." he offered a fake apology to the newlyweds which was equally disgusting and scary. "Let's try by fair means." I knew my knuckles had gone white, given the strength with which I was gripping George's hand. "Where is Harry Potter?" He knew no one would speak. "Aight, by foul it'll be."

I looked around and I saw Molly and Arthur shielding Ginny; Bill and Fleur held onto each other; Lupin and Tonks pulled Fleur's sister and parents behind them; Fred gave a quick look at his twin before moving closer to us.

"Take them inside and register the house."

Soon we were being pushed into the Burrow, a bunch of death eaters before us ready to put all upside down.

We stayed quiet meanwhile, leaving out an occasional 'don't touch that' or a 'there's no need to break that' from Molly and Arthur.

"I reckon you won't find Harry in my grandma's glass cabinet, smart arse." We all turned to Fred, his mother giving him a pleading look.

"Maybe he's between the plates, Freddie," George jumped in, attempting to draw the attention off his brother. "You'll want to check the cutlery too, in case he's now a teaspoon." He suggested to Yaxley with a challenging look.

The death eater tilted his head to the side, as if he had noticed something worth of interest in George. "What happened to you?"

Everyone went livid.

"I fell downstairs." George replied through gritted teeth. His tone was full of what could be easily passed as anger, but by the way his hand was shaking, I reckoned it was fear.

Yaxley seemed to think for a second before turning to two of his mates. "Start with him, then the twin and we'll move on to—"

Before I knew what I was doing, my wand was out and hexing one of the guys that had tried to remove George from us.

"Take their BLOODY WANDS!" Yaxley stalked to me and grabbed my arm, pulling me away. "We'll start with you, miss."

"No! Wait, she doesn't know anything!" George tried in vain to persuade them, pushing through the death eaters in an attempt to get to me. I looked at him and shook my head no, already psyching myself up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were rather quick, and not half as bad as I thought they would be. I was thrown back into the living room with only a shiner and the promise of bruised wrists.

It was enough for George to jump up; not to check on me, though, but to do something as stupid as my impulsive hexing.

"Okay, crippled," three death eaters grabbed him before he could do anything and dragged to the bathroom they had gotten me in. "your turn."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

He looked bad.

Molly was about to throw hands when we saw George leaving the bathroom; a cut on the cheek, a bloody nose, a black eye and by the way he flinched while walking, probably an injured rib.

But the worst was the red pooling the bandage around his head, and the way he was struggling to keep his hand off it.

"C'mon, blabber." It wasn't surprising when Fred willingly approached Yaxley and punched him strong enough to throw him down. "You know-” He got up, motioning at his minions so they would get Fred in. “that just made it worse."

I spared Molly an enquiring look, to which she replied with a nod; in an instant, I was gently pulling George to the settee. "Let me see..." I pursed my lips, tilting his head to the side so I could check his wound. A sigh left my lips, suddenly realizing I couldn't really take off the bandage in front of them. "Can you sit it up?" I whispered only for him to hear.

He nodded, his hand travelling up to mine, which rested on his cheek, to give it a reassuring squeeze. I didn't think twice about how wrong the timing was before leaning in and placing a kiss on his lips.

GEORGE'S P. O. V.

My body moved forward by itself when she pulled back, attempting to chase her lips. I managed to stop myself when I remembered we were surrounded by death eaters and my family was right behind Y/n.

She then gave me a small smile and moved to grab a fresh towel from the kitchen. I caught a glimpse of my family's looks before she came back, ready to clean the blood on my face.

She aided Fred along with my mom; he bore the burnt along with me.

The sun was rising when Yaxley decided to leave. My father rushed to send a Patronus to the trio, and everyone felt a bit of relief and finally scattered through the Burrow. Ginny claimed she would take care of Fred, and she took my twin to our room.

"Now, let's check that." Y/n spoke, standing up so she could remove the damp bandage. "What happened?"

"He threw a punch and—" I hissed when the bandage left my ear, earning a concerned ‘sorry’ from Y/n. "The wound opened. It began to bleed, and they decided to stop." She only nodded, grabbing again the towel, now mildly red due to the blood it had cleaned. "That kiss was too short." I didn't even know how I managed to let that out.

She stopped, her eyes going up and down my body before inquiring, "want another one?"

"Please." She didn't need anything else for her soft lips to return to mines. This time it was one hell of a kiss, but my mouth chased them again when Y/n pulled away, only that this time her lips did return to mines for another short kiss. "Should I ask you on a date?"

"I doubt we'll be able to go on a proper date." We both chuckled; as sad as it sounded, it was true. "You can make me a coffee after I fix this, though."

"Gladly." I replied, my thumb caressing her cheek before bringing her to my lips one more time.

"FINALLY!" We both jumped at Fred's yelling. "It was about fucking time, really."

"Do you wanna get beaten up again?" Y/n harmlessly shoved my shoulder, hiding a laugh. "I just realized," I signalled my black eye and then hers. "We're matching."

"What a lovely way to match, is it not?" She replied, shaking her head with a smile on her face. “Come,” she caressed my cheek before carefully pulling me up. “I saw clean bandages over the sink.”

“Yes ma’am.” 

“Y/l/n,” her eyes travelled to my brother. “don’t you snog my brother in the lavatory where we just got beaten up.”

“Piss off, Fred.” She responded indifferent, pulling me with her into the bathroom, leaving the door completely open; she probably feared my mother would burst it open at the possibility of us doing inappropriate things in there.

“Yeah, piss off.” I agreed, siting down on the toilet so she could clean the wound. “She can snog me wherever she wants.” I added, muffling a laugh when Y/n cursed us both under her breath. “I’m sorry, love.”

“No, you’re not.” 

“No, I’m not.” I confessed with an amused grin.

“Why do I even fancy you?” She questioned, faking disappointment in herself.

“I’m very handsome?” I casually suggested, tilting my head for her to wrap the bandage without much difficulty. 

“Must be.” She agreed, leaning on to peck my lips. “Now where’s that coffee, sir?”

I got up, leading Y/n to the kitchen and instantly preparing the coffee pot. “It’s gonna be the best coffee you’ll ever taste.” I stated, as if it was a scientifical fact.

“Confident, are we?” she laughed, sitting on the counter besides me.

“Well, my four-year-long crush just kissed me.” I confessed. “So yeah, very.”

“Fred’s right.” I hummed, looking at her with an eyebrow raised as I handed her the coffee. “It was about fucking time.” We smiled at each other, way too widely for two people who had just gotten roughed up. We stayed next to one another in silence, looking through the window; I found the customary landscape particularly beautiful. 

[spcncershybrid]

She will kill us all- Fred Weasley Imagine

GIF IS NOT MINE

(Summary: Your two best friends rope you into their recent prank little did you know you would be hurt too.)

Fred Weasley X Reader

So basically I’ve seen a lot of people being like ‘oh just imagine Fred’s death being a prank and at the funeral George stays behind and Fred just wakes up saying what a good prank.’ so uh here is something similar. There will be a second part!

April 29th , 1998

“Hey Y/N.” The twins say in unison as I enter their shop.

“Hey why is the closed sign up?” I say pointing to the door.

“We have a plan-“ George starts.

“-a brilliant, heart wrenching, sad idea.” Fred finishes.

“The both of you and plans is never a good thing.” I say sighing.

“Also if it’s just the both of you doing it why did you guys call me?” I ask confused.

“Well our mother won’t kill you for the idea we have planned.” Fred says nodding over to his brother who agrees.

“Just spill your brilliant, heart wrenching, sad idea” I say looking at them suspiciously.

“Well so you know how the whole situation with the Dark Lord is happening.” George says.

“Yes?” I question looking at them.

“Well one of us is planning on fake dying-” Fred says.

“I already hate the sound of this.” I cut him off.

“So I can fake die then at the funeral you guys can hide my body then we can all go home.” Fred finishes raising his eyebrows at me.

I dryly laugh. They can’t be serious. That idea is insane.

“We know what you're thinking-” Fred starts.

“Yeah that you’re insane!” I exclaim looking at them.

“She will literally kill us when she finds out!” I say rubbing my eyes in disbelief.

They really want me to be a part of this!

“She won’t hurt a hair on your head.” George says as Fred nods agreeingly.

“You know what. The thing I get in return better be amazing for helping you gits.” I groan.

“Yes, she’s on board!” George and Fred cheer circling around me.

I can’t believe I’m doing this.

May 2nd, 1998

Today’s the day. 

Instead of you-know-who killing us Molly Weasley definitely will.

I can’t believe I agreed to this.

“You ready guys?” George asks looking over to Fred and I.

“Ready to die at the hands of your mother.” I say sarcastically as I twirl my wand along my fingers.

They both laughed at my words and George headed inside.

Fred and I stare at the chaos engulfing around the school.

“After this we should go on a date.” Fred says swaying back and forth.

“Oh Fred Weasley you’ll be the death of me.” I groan softly looking up at him.

“Not if my mum kills you for helping us.” He says laughing as he stares back at me.

I roll my eyes at him and punch his arm.

“So will you?” He asked a playful smirk resting on his lips.

“Sure.” I say giving him a side hug as I notice Percy come upstairs.

“You go with Perce. I'll help fight inside. I promise I’ll be safe.” I say letting him go kissing his cheek.

“I promise I’ll stay alive for our date.” He says kissing the top of my head before going with Percy.

I run inside the building dodging the falling rocks and have my wand held high prepared for the fight of my life.

Little did I know it’ll be the one thing to fight for.

Later in the Great Hall

I walk beside George slightly limping as we enter the Great Hall. Immediately being met with sadness seeing our fallen friends whose lives have ended.

“Why is my mum crying?” George says as he stops abruptly.

“George who’s that on the floor?” I ask stopping next to him as my body grows cold.

Molly looks over at us, tears falling down her face.

We run over to her, dropping to our knees next to Fred’s body.

“There was an explosion that sent him flying into a wall. There was nothing I could do.” Percy said stunned as he watched the pair cry.

“No. You arse you promised!” I whisper angrily as I clutch his clothing tears already making its way down my face.

“Fred! Oh my gosh Fred!” I sob as I shake his body vigorously hoping his eyes would open.

”Come on brother please this was supposed to be a prank.” George whispered for only us to hear.

“He’s dead. My precious boy is dead.” We hear Molly say as we stand.

I look over to George and hug him. We both sob in each other’s arms, parts of us dying with the boy that lie on the floor.

One Week Later

I look into the mirror as I smooth out my black dress.

Today is the funeral. Fred’s funeral.

I take a deep breath and head down the stairs meeting the Weasley family.

We stand together mourning the loss of Fred, each of us nearly tearing ourselves apart as we look at his body lying peacefully in the casket.

“I wish this was a stupid prank.” I whisper to myself.

George walks up to me and stands beside me.

“So much for the plan.” George said sadly as we watched Arthur and Molly cry as they held one another.

“We’ll lay him down tomorrow morning. Morning was his favorite.” Molly said as she headed inside.

Soon enough the Weasleys head inside leaving George and I with the casket.

“You know he promised me he’ll stay safe. He even asked me out before the whole mess.” I say breaking the silence between us.

“Before the war he wanted to ask you out. He fancied you a lot. Ron and I bet each other a galleon if you two got together. I guess I owe him one.” George says laughing quietly recalling the memory.

________________

“They surely will get together.” Ron said as he stared at Y/N and Fred laughing and scheming together.

“They won't, they're both scared.” George said watching the pair.

“They would look cute together. Have you seen him when she’s near.” Ron said, staring at his brother sitting in front of him.

“You should’ve heard him yesterday talking about her. She walked in and he turned as red as our hair.” George says laughing.

“We should set a bet. One single galleon.” Ron said, smirking as he watched as Y/N slapped Fred’s arm playfully.

“You’re on brother. I bet that they won’t get together. This will be easy; they are both too scared to ask each other out. The Yule ball was pure luck for them. It’s been this way since second year.” George says confidently holding out his hand.

“I bet that they will get together.” Ron says matching his brother's confidence and gladly shakes his hand.

“Remember when he stepped on my foot during the ball.” I say laughing with him.

“I thought you would never walk again after. I was surprised he asked you seeing as you burnt the paper ball he threw at you to ask you in the first place.” George says laughing as we both reminisce on the events of the Triwizarding Tournament era of our lives.

________________

“He won’t ask me Angela, it's pure knowledge. Fred Weasley doesn’t like me.” I say sadly looking ahead at a Hufflepuff pair of students walking hand and hand after being asked to the infamous Yule Ball.

“He surely will. Just give him time.” Angela says comforting me.

“I sure hope so.” I say looking at her and get back to writing in my book.

Later on…

We all sat in the Great Hall as Snape walked past us, book nestled in front of his face. 

Fred has non stop been flinging paper balls my way nearly getting me in trouble.

Out of my peripheral vision I notice him ball up another piece of paper.

I pull out my wand concealing it under the table as Snape walks past up stopping right behind Angela, who might I add is sitting right next to me.

Fred chucks the paper towards me but I react quickly.

“Incendio.” I say pointing my wand to the paper watching it burn and the charred pieces fall onto the table.

“Fred Weasley if you throw another paper ball my way I will use that spell on you.” I say glaring at him as I naturally get fed up.

“Open it next time.” He hissed looking at me.

Angela and George snicker watching the two of us bicker at each other.

A few moments pass and I silently pray that he won’t throw another.

I look around the room and hear a small thud in front of me.

I look down noticing a scrunched up piece of paper in front of me resting on top of my book.

I look over to Fred who’s motioning for me to open the paper.

I uncurl the ball and read it.

‘Georgie told me you were complaining about not having anyone to go with to the ball. So Y/N Y/L/N I invite you a one night Weasley special. Will you go to the ball with me? As friends.’ 

I smile at the scribbled writing and look up at him. He’s mimicking a ball like dance and nods to me. I roll my eyes and nod back as he cheers silently.

Although it was only as friends I was overjoyed. 

“Told you.” Angela whispered to me as the twins get back to work.

Day of the Yule Ball 

“Does this color seem tacky?” I ask Angela as I twirl in the mirror.

“It’s simple and cute. Fred will lose his mind looking at you in that.” Angela says as she smooths out her dress.

The dress wasn’t too elegant but it wasn’t plain either. It was a simple blue dress with glitter cascading the bottom half reminding me of the night sky.

I link arms with Angela as we head down the grand staircase making our way to the twins.

George and Angela grab each other’s hand and walk away leaving Fred and I standing alone.

We stare at each other not sure of what to say.

“You look beautiful.” Fred said looking at me.

“Thank you. You don't look too bad either.” I say laughing as we head inside where the students gather waiting for the champions to arrive.

After a while everyone dances with each other. I on the other hand stay sitting down watching the night unfold before my eyes.

“Come on you said you’ll dance.” Fred said walking over to me holding out his hand.

I grab his hand reluctantly and he pulls me to him as we sway back and forth to the beat of the song. 

That was until we twisted too quick and his foot stepped harshly on mine causing me to wince in pain.

“I am so so sorry.” Fred apologizes profusely as he guides me to a table.

“It’s alright just remind me to never dance with you ever again.” I say jokingly as I slip off my heels noticing a large bruise slowly appear on it.

“Noted.” He said sheepishly as he helped me stand and led me to Madam Pomfrey.

________________

“You alright.” George says snapping me out of my memory.

“I will be.” I say sadly before turning on my feet and enter the Weasley home, leaving George outside.

I head upstairs not even bothering to stay down knowing I’ll break down at the sight of everyone upset.

Meanwhile...

George paces around outside staring at the open casket blankly.

What if the potion went wrong when he got hurt? He thought.

Yes he was scared that his brother was truely dead, the thought horrified him. The day their mum pronounced Fred dead he was scared believing he died.

But what if that wasn’t the case? He thought as he stopped.

He entered the house and looked around seeing if anyone was up. He quietly entered the different rooms noticing everyone asleep from the long day.

He quietly exited the home and went up to the casket staring at his brother's pale face.

Remember George just pinch him and he’ll wake up. We made this up ourselves. George thought to himself as he stood over the body.

His hand waved over his brother’s and pinched the back of Fred’s palm.

George stepped back and stared at him silently praying the potion worked. It had been a week at most since Fred ingested the potion. 

Slight movement was beginning to be noticeable and suddenly Fred’s eyes were wide open taking in the night sky. He coughed slightly as George silently cheered.

“Welcome back to the land of the living brother.” George said, helping his brother out of the casket.

“How long was I out from that awful potion?” Fred said his legs buckled as he stood up for the first time in a week.

“A week.” George said, stabilizing his brother.

“Oh man how mad do you reckon they’ll be?” Fred asked, getting excited to see his family's reaction to the whole ordeal.

“Very. Y/N and I cried a lot. Mum and dad cried enough to fill an ocean.” George said laughing.

“You and Y/N cried? You saw me take the potion and I told you to tell her.” Fred said, slightly confused remembering the moment like it was yesterday.

“Beware drinking this might taste like what cat litter smells like.” George said, handing a special blended potion to knock Fred out.

“We don’t even own a cat. How do you know what it smells like?” Fred asked, causing George to roll his eyes.

”I can’t believe we’re doing this.” Fred said as he stared at the bottle.

“Me neither.” George says smiling widely.

“So after I drink this what will you do to wake me up.” Fred said mixing around the liquid watching it swish together.

“All I have to do is pinch you and you’ll wake up.” George said.

“Okay so it’ll affect me later during the war and make sure you tell Y/N so she doesn’t think I died for real.” Fred said as he held the bottle to his lips.

“Of course brother.” George said as he watched Fred drink the potion.

Fred gagged as he drank the potion as the different flavors coated his throat.

“Of course we cried. Percy said you were hit by an explosion that sent you into a wall. I thought you died for real. But later on in the night I remembered the potion would have protected you from anything.” George said as his brother regained mobility.

“So why did Y/N cry?” Fred asked, crossing his arms.

“I never told her about the potion Freddie. She was worked up about the war and it slipped my mind.” George confessed causing his brother.

“She cried over my dead body because you forgot to tell her I wasn’t actually dead! George, that was one thing that wasn’t supposed to happen.” Fred silently exclaimed.

Fred never wanted Y/N to cry over the prank. They already dragged her into the idea he didn’t want her to be heartbroken over the fact that he wasn’t really dead.

“We both thought you were dead Fred. There was no way of telling if you were alive or not.” George argued back.

“Please tell me that she didn’t cry for the whole week.” Fred said, staring at his brother.

George stood silently.

“She will be furious you know. Oh gosh she’ll probably hate me after this.” Fred said, running a hand through his hair.

“She wouldn’t hate you Fred. If anything she’ll hate me.” George says laughing slightly.

“We’ll worry about that tomorrow for the big reveal.” George says shrugging as he guides his brother to a shed on the property.

________________ 

“Where’s my boy? He’s gone!” Molly Weasley’s shocked voice pierces through the quiet home.

I quickly get up and head downstairs.

What does she mean he’s gone?

“He should be in the casket Mrs. Weasley. I don’t think we have grave robbers.” I say rubbing my eyes as everyone comes down the steps.

“He’s not here!” She yelled, sounding shocked.

Ron and Harry ran into the living room in confusion as they heard the commotion.

“Who’s not here?” Ginny asked as she walked in.

“Fred.” Molly said as she clasped her hand over her mouth.

I furrow my eyebrows and look around the room noticing one person of the Weasley clan isn’t here. George.

I huff and stomped upstairs. I walk along the hallway and knocked on his door furiously.

“Come in.” I heard him say.

I open the door angrily.

“You better have one hell of an explanation Weasley.” I hiss.

“On?” He asked confused as he sat up from his bed.

“Where is he?” I say crossing me arms.

“Who are you talking about?” He asked as he stood up from his bed.

“The bloody grindylow’s. You know exactly what I’m talking about George Weasley. Where is he?” I ask my voice raising slightly as I tap my foot on the floor.

“Y/N I wanted to tell you.” George started.

“Tell me where he is or you're both dead for real.”  I say staring at him sternly.

“He’s at the shop. He’s in the flat.” George said as he stared down at his feet.

“This isn’t over.” I say as I walk out of his room.

I walk over to the room I’m staying in and grab my wand. I grab my old quidditch jumper and apparate to Diagon Alley.

I walked down over to the joke shop. I placed my hand on the handle and opened the door. I made my way towards the flat and opened it. Low and behold what do I see, Fred Weasley.

“Why are you here?” He asked startled.

“You’re lucky I don't have your head on a pike and because I know how to apparate properly.” I spat.

“Look, I know you’re mad.” Fred said as he put down a book.

“That’s not even the beginning Weasley. You had me worried sick you were dead for crying out loud. I cried for you, Fred and you’re here alive. Was the prank worth it? Was it worth the tears and the heartbreak? So help me on Gryffindor’s name was this whole thing worth it.” I yell at him as I bite back tears. Some cascaded down my face and I quickly wiped them.

“Y/N I’m sorry. I told George to tell you.” Fred said, his voice cracking.

“You’re sorry is all you have to say for yourself! You can forget about that damned date! Don’t even contact me!” I spat angrily as I ran out the room and down the steps.

I wiped away my tears and apparated back to my room at the Burrow.

“Stupid Weasley’s.” I muttered as I grabbed my rucksack off the bed. I began to fill it with my things.

After a few minutes most of my things were packed. I grabbed a fresh piece of parchment and sat down at the desk.

‘Dear Molly Weasley,

Sorry I won’t be here for the funeral. My condolences but I’m leaving. I wish you all the best. I'll be with my parent’s. Thank you for giving me a place to stay for the week I appreciate it.

                                                                                                                       Love,

                                                          ��                                                    Y/N Y/L/N’

I sealed the letter with tape and placed it onto my desk. I grab at my broom and open the window. I hop onto the broom and clutch the top. I pushed my feet off the window sill and flew off. The trip won’t be too long but it’ll probably take a while.

I soared through the air and sighed. I am going to miss them.

[midnightsconspiracy]

Public Opinion

Public Opinion - @midnightsconspiracy

Summary: Being a public defender made you rather unpopular, especially with your new boyfriend's co-workers

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1443

Requested: Yes!!

‘This might be a bit random but I was thinking one for Mouse where the reader is like a successful, powerful lawyer and is secretly dating mouse, but when the team finds out they judge her until they meet her? Sorry if it’s too specific I’m in love with your fics.’

A/N: I am on a creative roll tonight! 4 fics in one night!!! Requests are still open

Masterlist

When you had met Mouse you knew things might be have been a little rocky, considering your jobs were notorious for hating each other, you working as a public defender and him working within the police force. But that had not stopped the both of you from entering a relationship, deciding that it didn’t bother you, both loving what you did and each other, neither wanting to compromise. You had met him at a Rangers reunion, your brother having served alongside Mouse in Afghanistan. You two had instantly hit it off, both keeping each other company, having your original partners blow you off. He had told you of his friend Jay, who he’d originally meant to have gone with, but being abandoned last minutes for his girlfriend instead. That had worked out in both of your favours, allowing you to have the time of your life, talking for hours getting buzzed whilst drinking the free drinks the event offered. After that night you had lost contact for a couple of months before he reached out asking you to go on a date. You were sceptical at first, why was he just reaching out now and not in the three months he’d had your number? But you had said yes anyway, remembering how good you had felt when you were with him.

That evening he had told you how he was meaning to call but had been going through some stuff at work that kept him from doing so. The date had bought back memories of how much you enjoyed spending time with Mouse, eventually leading to more and more dates each month, until finally, you started formally dating. Mouse was not the easiest boyfriend, having problems with his PTSD and anxiety, but that didn’t make him any less loveable in your eyes, in fact, it made him more so. It bought you both closer together, he relied on the fact that you were willing to help him, encouraging him to seek help each time he felt as though he was spiralling out of control. After six months of seeing you, he already felt as though he was a better person, he had started therapy to help deal with his trauma caused by the Rangers, going out to socialise with his friends more and was just generally happier with his daily life. The one thing he didn’t understand though is why you chose to become a public defender. You knew it was his police and military background talking, but it didn’t bother you too much knowing not many people understood why you did what you did, being a public defender, and a good one, was an extremely controversial job. Explaining to him that you liked to help the underdog, he stared at you like you were mad, as you realised he would never understand why. Once you had felt as though you trusted him enough, you decided that you wanted to meet the other important people in his life, his co-workers. You finally wanted to meet the notorious Jay Halstead, the one he had told you so much about on that faithful day. But he had been hesitant when you bought the topic up, knowing how they had reacted when he had told them originally.

The team had noticed a difference in Mouse, being much happier, even being more talkative than usual. They had questioned him extensively, wanting to get to bottom of what or who was causing Mouse to act differently. Whilst at Molly’s, he had decided to reveal all over a couple of beers, informing the team that he had met a girl a couple of months ago, and had only recently become official with her. The team had been happy at first, congratulating him on finding someone, despite his traumatic past and the consequences of that. But things had turned sour when then had pried more on who this mysterious person was. He’d told them that you were a public defender, and they might have known who you were considering you had defended some high profile criminals that they had worked on. That had changed things dramatically, all of them knowing exactly who you were, disliking you over the fact you had gotten off or lessened the sentence of people who had done awful things and they had spent a long time trying to find. Jay's reaction had been the harshest blow to Mouse, being his best friend, he just wanting the man's approval. This recent disapproval of your relationship made Mouse really question what he wanted, you or Jay? Determined that he wanted to keep both of you, he devised a plan, maybe if Jay met you, he would change his opinion on you. So he decided that he would bring you along to when they would next all meet up at the infamous bar.

Mouse had been telling you for the past week that you two were going out on Friday evening to meet his friends, so you were excited, not knowing what had happened with him and his co-workers last time they had drunk there. Getting ready, you put on a nice outfit, waiting for Mouse to be ready so you could finally leave. A few minutes past and Mouse still had not emerged from the bedroom, despite seemingly already being ready as you were getting changed. Walking into the bedroom you found him on the bed, head in his hands, silent and unwavering. Calling his name out, he looked up, giving you a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, walking towards you to plant a slight kiss on your forehead. Asking if he was ok, he shrugged it off, giving you a small ‘yes’, proceeding to walk out of the room to grab his keys and wallet. The car ride over was silent, as tension filled the air, a tension that you didn’t understand. Walking into the bar and over to the booth, Mouse introduced you nervously, bringing down your excitement a couple of notches in the process due to his strange disposition. Following your boyfriend, you greeted everyone, noticing all of the grim faces staring back at you. The first to speak up was Jay, introducing himself with an awkward smile, the table falling into silence afterwards. You knew something was off but that didn’t stop you from being your normal, kind self.

“Mouse talks very highly of you all, I especially appreciate all the work you guys do,” you said, trying to create conversation to cut the tension.

“Yeah, sure you do,” Jay sarcastically commented, verbally disagreeing with your line of work

“I know you guys don’t like the work I do, but I have a reason for it, just as you have yours for becoming police officers.” Trying to reason with them was going to be hard, having gone in a totally opposite direction career-wise to them, having a fixed outlook on your job. But you were determined, loving Mouse so much that you would fight as hard as you could to be in their good books.

“It's not the same though, we catch criminals, you release them.” Adam piped up, adding more fuel to the fire of hatred, directed towards you.

“Maybe we should leave,” Mouse said, knowing you were probably extremely uncomfortable with the situation.

“No,” you replied, wanting to stand your ground and explain yourself to these people.

“I do it because no one else is routing for the underdog, they’re thrown into the system and spit out into a life of more crime. I help them have a chance at life, a chance of justice, even if sometimes they don’t deserve it.” Raising your voice, you started getting angry, these people weren’t even giving you a chance, not only hurting yourself but also Mouse in the process.

“Ok.” Jay followed up.

“Plus you should be happy for your friend that he’s happy and found someone that he likes, not hating on me and trying to sabotage this relationship-” you exclaimed, pissed at the fact his friends would do this to him.

“I like you.” Jay butted in. Confusion bounded onto your face at the sudden expression of fondness. Why had they changed their minds so quickly? The conversation continued as normal as if that argument had never even happened, not only chatting as usual but including you in them as well. Little did you know your outburst had changed his mind completely, deciding that maybe you weren’t so bad, that your fiery self would stand up for you and Mouse no matter what, and that was just what he needed. So maybe you were good for Mouse after all.

----------

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[onlyfreds]

Announcement | Family of Four

Title: Announcement

Summary: It’s time to tell the rest of the family the great news.

Warning/s: mentions of pregnancy, mentions of food, mentions of teenage pregnancy (but it doesn’t really occur)

Series Masterlist

“Fred, honestly, calm down.” I said to my husband who was practically bouncing off the walls in excitement.

“I know. I know. I’m sorry.” He said with a small grin as he sat down.

We were heading over to the Burrow, just like we did every Sunday because Molly always insisted that “Sundays were for family.”

“We get to tell them, today right?” He asked, not being able to hide the huge grin on his lips.

I chuckled at his antics that were similar to a child on Christmas eve, “Yes, Freddie. We’ll tell them today.”

I ran my fingers through his hair, “But you better contain your excitement Freddie. Because if you don’t, you’ll ruin our surprise altogether.”

He took a deep breath, “Okay, okay. Just don’t make me wait too long.”

Fred stood up, placing a chaste kiss on my lips, “Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?” He asked, resting one hand on my stomach while the other was on the small of my back.

I smiled, “Slow down hot shot. We’re just on step one. Don’t jump to step three.” I joked.

We then apparated to the Burrow.

As usual, we were met with Molly’s bone crushing hug.

“It’s good to see the two of you again!” She said with a huge smile as she went on to give Harry and Ginny a hug.

Ginny caught my eye and gave me a knowing smile accompanied with a small wink.

Hermione, along with Ginny, appeared next to me as soon as Fred went over to George and Ron.

“So, how’s the little one doing?” Hermione asked quietly, sporting a grin.

“Shhh!” I shushed her, looking around to see if anyone heard, “Aside from the morning sickness and throwing up, the little one is doing alright.”

Ginny smiled, “I’ve been so excited to see the look on mum’s face when you tell her the news. It’s been so hard to not just blurt it straight out to Harry.”

Hermione quietly laughed, “For once I’m thankful that Ron can be oblivious at times.”

“Auntie Y/N!” An excited voice squealed, signaling us of the arrival of Bill and Fleur.

“Hey Victoire!” I greeted as I scooped up my niece.

“She’s been missing you like crazy.” Fleur said.

I turned to the little girl in my arms, “Well, I missed you too kiddo.”

“You and Fred make a wonderful couple.” Bill said, placing a small kiss to Fleur’s forehead as he glanced towards his brother. “When are you guys going to have kids yourself?” He asked.

I laughed nervously, “Dunno. Maybe sometime in the future.”

Fleur giggled, “Well, Victoire would love that wouldn’t she?”

The child clapped excitedly, “Yes! Yes!”

That’s when Molly ushered us to the table to have some lunch.

We exchanged stories with each other.

Harry and Ron were debating about the latest happenings at the Ministry while Bill and Ginny were discussing about Ginny’s latest Quidditch match.

I felt Fred interlock our fingers together under the table.

I looked at him and gave him a questioning look.

He shrugged, taking another bite of his chicken, “Just trying to contain my excitement.”

I smiled, taking a sip of water, “Bill asked me earlier when are we going to have kids.”

“What did you say?” He asked.

“I said that maybe sometime in the future.”

He laughed, “But the future is actually the present.”

I rested my head on his shoulder, “Exactly.”

Afterwards, I helped Molly clean up after lunch.

“You never changed.” She said with a small chuckle when I offered to help.

“Some things never change.” I said, “Take a look at the twins for example.”

She laughed, “I never thought that someone would be able to put up with those two. Especially Fred.”

“He can be quite a handful.” I contemplated, “But, in a good way.”

Molly flicked her wand, causing the dishes to wash themselves, “He’s lucky that he found you Y/N. The two of you are a perfect match.”

I subconsciously rubbed my hand over my stomach, “I’m the one who’s lucky to have him, Molly. You and Arthur, have raised a wonderful son.”

She beamed with pride as she gently patted my shoulder, “I’m absolutely positive that when the two of you have children of your own, you’ll be wonderful parents.”

I sighed contentedly, “I hope so Molly.”

I walked over to Fred, squeezing his hand gently, “It’s time.”

He grinned as he stood up, clearing his throat so everyone’s attention was directed to him.

“Y/N and I have an announcement to make.”

George threw a pillow at him, “You’re killing me with the suspense! If you don’t make the announcement now, I’ll do it.”

Fred chuckled, throwing the pillow back to his impatient twin before turning to Molly and Arthur.

“How much would you like to welcome another member to the family?” He asked.

Arthur smiled looking over at his wife, “The more the merrier. Why do you ask?”

But Molly seemed to get the gist as she stared at us with wide eyes, waiting for what we would say next.

Fred placed a hand on my stomach, “Y/N is pregnant.”

Everyone started cheering as Molly and Arthur ran over and gave Fred and I a hug.

“That’s the most wonderful news Y/N. Congratulations.” Molly said, patting my cheek.

Arthur pulled me in for another hug, “Another grandchild! I couldn’t be happier for you and Fred.”

I went over to where Harry and Ginny were arguing playfully.

“You knew?” Harry asked in exasperation, “You knew and you didn’t bother to tell me?”

Ginny laughed, crossing her arms over her chest, “Well Mr. Potter, that’s because you can’t keep a secret to save your life.”

“Keyword secret.” I said causing the couple to laugh harder.

After Ron and Hermione had gave their congratulations Bill and Fleur came over and hugged me tightly.

“I can’t believe that a while ago, we were talking about when you and Fred would be having kids just for the two of you to announce that you’re already having one.” Bill said.

Fleur gave a small smile, “I don’t know about you but I already knew that something was up.”

Her husband looked at her, “What? You knew she was pregnant?”

Fleur shook her head, “I didn’t know she was pregnant. I just knew that something was up.”

I chuckled, “How?”

“Maybe our friendship intuition. Or maybe just the fact that you would subconsciously place your hand on your stomach every now and then.” She said.

Fred then appeared by my side, his hand around my waist as he placed a kiss on my temple, “How’s my princess doing?”

I giggled, giving him a sweet peck on the lips, “I’ve never been better.”

“Ah here’s the couple of the moment.” Percy said as he made his way towards us with his wife.

He reached forward and ruffled Fred’s hair with a huge grin on his face.

“Congratulations! And not just on the baby.” Percy said with a subtle wink.

Fred looked at him confused, “What else?”

His older brother laughed, “On not making her go through teenage pregnancy.”

Audrey playfully smacked him on the arm, “You don’t have to be so mean.”

My husband laughed, “I’m glad to see you joke Perce. But maybe we have to work on your jokes sometime.”

The news of my pregnancy still hung in the air as our friends and family chatted with each other.

Fred absent-mindedly fiddled with the loose thread of my blouse.

Molly stepped forward handing me a glass of water.

“I remember when Arthur and I first had Bill. He was an angel.” She said, smiling fondly at the memory.

“Then when Charlie and Percy came along, they were just like Bill.”

Before continuing, she jokingly pointed a stern finger at Fred, “But when you and George came along. You were absolute nightmares.”

Fred gasped, placing a hand over his chest, feigning offence, “What are you talking about mother dear? We just like to keep you on toes.”

Molly rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to me, “For your sake Y/N, I hope the baby is like Bill. And for your sake Fred, I hope the little one is like you. An absolute nightmare.”

She then turned her attention to Victoire who was trying to show her something.

Fred rested his chin on my shoulder while he rubbed his hand over my stomach.

“I still can’t believe it.” He said quietly.

“Believe what?” I asked.

“That there is a tiny human being inside of you. One that’s a little bit of me and a little bit of you.”

𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚕 𝚃𝚊𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝:

@lumosandnoxwriting @whizboingies @wand3ringr0s3 @famdomhideout @nova-darling ​ (if your username is crossed out, that means I couldn’t tag you)

𝚂𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜  𝚃𝚊𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝:

@the-romanian-is-bae @manuosorioh

[ohheyitsokay]

good eye

part 4 of the ‘hey batter batter’ series

pairing: Francisco Morales (Frankie, Catfish) x reader

wordcount: 3.5k (I’m only 14% sorry about that)

warnings: strong language, extremely mild injury, Benny Miller working out, a little bit of a cliffhanger ending

summary: it’s a Triple Frontier baseball AU! Trust me, you don’t need to know anything about baseball. 

“good eye” is an encouragement for batting players, essentially applauding them for having good judgement when and when not to swing.

In this chapter, the guys becoming increasingly aware of how interesting you are to the whole gang - and what they’re going to do about it. 

>>

Bottom of the ninth inning – the end of the game.

Sometimes players fixated on the score, glancing at the flashing lights or acting desperately but for Will, keeping it in his head was just as natural as breathing. Floating around first base made it easy for him to keep an eye on everything, and stay focused under the summer sun. His team was up by two.

The opposition was at bat – their final advantage as the home team. He didn’t feel particularly nervous, but couldn’t breathe easy just yet. They already had two outs, thanks to his little brother’s inhuman speed and some excellent Garcia pitching, and just one more to go before it was all over. Preferably, this would happen before the man on third made it to home base. 

There was a bead of sweat rolling down, down, down his temple over his cheekbone, and into his beard. The clouds from the start of the game were long gone – even with his cap, his blue eyes were getting tired.

They were focused on the batter, not even Pope, and never the crowd, since it was always just a blur of noise and rival colors and waving hands. The closer the game came to an end, the more the mass of people writhed with tension. It was better just to ignore it. There was no reason at all, but he looked up just for a split second and he saw a single, tiny form make itself clear, sending a confusing thrill down his spine.

A familiar crack rang through the air and he snapped back to focus. The batter was hurling towards him, the crowd was holding it’s breath as he looked around, almost frantically.

Where was the ball?!

Your form was still in his minds eye, he didn’t understand, but then – there, in the outfield. No, here. Instinct had taken over.

It was in his glove, and his left toe had found first base. Will heard a curse as the opposing player plowed behind him a second too late, a yell from the umpire, and then the satisfying groans of the other team’s fans.

Pope crashed into him first, then whoever else was the closest. It was giddy and triumphant chaos, hands clapping his shoulder, sweaty hugs, slaps, and high fives, and Will barely noticed any of it. Jogging back to the locker room was quick, the crunch of their shoes in the grit of the field like a stampede, impossibly loud. The locker room wasn’t as bad. It would have been louder if they had lost, like they had expected. Something still felt strange in his gut as they changed and rinsed off and packed their things.

You were interesting to him, he liked how real you were. He was normally the one that grounded others, that kept his head, learned his lessons and left the game on the field. It was nice, spending time with someone he didn’t have to do that for – or really anything for. There wasn’t a need to put on a show for you, or be your steady sidekick. It was nice. But it had only been a lunch and a night at the bar, no reason to know the shape of you, much less be thrown off by it.

He was taking extra care to clean his newest tattoo, absentminded, when the locker-talk caught his attention.

This was the first away game they had won this season, and everyone was debating why their luck had changed. Some of them were arguing loudly, ridiculously, and as usual, his friends started gravitating together, interested, but with lower voices and cooler heads.

“Do you think it was because I wore last weekend’s socks, Fish?” Benny was grinning, as his friends eyebrows answered for him. Frankie was superstitious, but in a way he’d gotten from his abuela, not the game. Will had a thought, the confusing last moment of the game clicking into the conversation, his eyes meeting Pope's for a moment.

“Actually, I have a theory,” he kept his voice quiet. If the rest of the team got wind that William Miller was participating in the banter, they’d be all over him, sure he was right only because he rarely cared. His friends looked at him, curiously, and he chewed on the idea for a moment, liking it more and more until he actually believed himself when he told them.

Their good luck charm?

You.

-

Tom had missed the conversation, occupied with a love-sick staff member in a quiet corner of the stadium.

He would never admit it, but he always needed a distraction when the winning catch had nothing to do with him. And Molly had to travel with the team most weeks anyway, the availability becoming increasingly more appealing than trying his luck with a random fan.

The next day after practice, he found her again and this time, despite the crude nature of the location, he took little more time. It was strange, to grab her without pent up frustration driving his actions, but not an entirely unwelcome change of pace.

He didn’t dwell on it, almost running away, but she did, trailing her fingers over the places his had been as she put herself together again. She wanted to remember each one, to savor them like it was the first time. And maybe it was – the very first time he had even kissed her with no particular personal agenda. Of that, she didn’t feel as guilty about wanting more.

Tom had long since slipped out the door when she finished the process, just slipping on her heels when the someone knocked.

Opening it, she found an eager and awkward shortstop pushing into her office. He seemed nervous, more nervous than she had seen him during photo shoots and press conferences and final innings. It wasn’t what she expected – not the demeanor the players normally held when they asked for favors. Professional athletes were confidant, suave, even. Ben had something else going on, something sweeter, maybe even innocent.

He called her ma’am, and she rolled her eyes when he asked for you number.

“Don’t you boys ever talk?” she was kind of annoyed. Ben was confused, it showed on his face.

“Tom got it awhile ago,” she started, and he got it, immediately. The older man hadn’t told any of them that you would be at the bar last week. He wondered if you knew he had arranged it. Something felt off but before he could ponder it she finished.

“And Santi got it yesterday.” Actually, she was more than annoyed. You hadn’t seemed special at all when you’d been there opening weekend. Your grandfather was sweet but nothing about that day could explain why three of the players were willing to bend the rules to find you again.

Tom’s voice rang in her ears: he’s got it bad for her. That didn’t quite fit what she was seeing, but she cooled down a little.

She didn’t even have to shoo him away, his thank you, ma’am, sorry to bother you made her feel like an old lady as he turned on his heels and trotted off.

The younger Miller was increasingly thoughtful, but he could feel something shift in the air. Then he shrugged it off. He was sure he’d find out, sooner or later.

-

“Ben, where’s your brain?” Catfish had caught him making eyes upside-down at the girl standing by the athletic trainer while he was mid workout. He didn’t really need a partner to work out, but they tried to go together, to spot on another and to argue over who could bench press the most.

He watched as his friend’s brain and body scrambled to put down the weights and he stood up too fast.

Across the room, girlish laughter bubbled and Benny blushed, still not attending as he grabbed the water bottle he was being offered and squirted himself in the mouth.

“What?”

Frankie shot him an amused look, gesturing vaguely, his point now proven. This had happened before. The young player was almost certainly going to tell him some random information now to distract him and trying to avoid the inevitable teasing.

“Did you know Tom got her number?”

It worked. There was almost no context, but he knew immediately and there was a twist in his stomach. It was the answer to a question he didn’t know had been on his mind - Catfish fully short circuited.

Redfly got your number? That was why Frankie had found him putting the moves on you before they were scheduled to meet. He was shaking his head, dazed, when Ben added, “And Santi got it a couple days ago, too.”

A moment of silence, and then,

“Fucking what?!” 

Heads around the private gym turned.

Ben hissed for quiet as he dragged him towards the locker room, and he found himself allowing it as he heart tried to catch up with his mind. No way Pope was going after you too.

“Weird, right?” Frankie felt like ‘weird’ was putting it mildly.

“I just asked for it,”

“You -"

“- because I wanted to be friends, but,” the younger man was ignoring his sputtering panic. He didn’t know if he should be mad or grateful. “Why wouldn’t they tell us?”

That stopped his racing heart. That was the question, wasn’t it? Frankie dragged his hand down his face, smoothed his mustache, readjusted his hat, trying fruitlessly to ground himself.

He said something noncommittal in response, barely hearing himself as he changed the topic. Ben was watching him, he could tell, but it wasn’t as though he could explain why he had reacted so strongly. He didn’t even know why.

It’s not like the feel of you against his hand was all he had been thinking about for the past few days.

His head was spinning, and not in the same way as when he had heard you were at the last game.

Of course other men had their eyes on you. You were gorgeous. His hand twitched on the locker as an image of him pressing you against it flashed through his mind. Shoving it down, he moved on.

You were smart, too, and kind. Certainly he couldn’t be the only one who liked the way you looked when you were thinking, or the little messiness of your hair, or the curve of your neck and shoulders as you leaned against the table.

There was a flare of something green in his chest. He was thinking about your hand on his arm, the way it made him feel like he was your anchor, the white lines on the ground guiding your feet. That, was his. For a moment, his brain reminded him of your lips on Pope’s cheek, your fingers on Benny’s shoulder, and palm on Redfly’s jaw. The locker door resonated in the quiet room as he slammed it shut. Even your eyes in Ironhead's for just a moment… it made him want to kidnap you, press into your space, surround you with his body until all you could see or touch or think about was him. Or maybe it was the opposite. Maybe what he was aching for was for there to be a room full of handsome, athletic, perfect men, and for you to seek him. Find his eyes, and hold them in yours until you reached each other. To choose him. 

Either. Or maybe both.

Whatever he’d been saying got lost on his tongue.

Benny was looking at him thoughtfully, and Frankie sighed, his anger slowing to a simmer. It was absurd, he knew that. Knowing didn’t make it go away, but it helped.

Really, he should be lucky he got any of you at all, that alone was a minor league miracle. Hiking his bag up, he clapped his friend on the shoulder and changed the topic once again.

The smell of dirt and grass and sweaty men faded as they walked out of the room, and when someone made a group chat that included you, Frankie remembered that he liked his friends. The bats in his bag clanged like bells, and Ben said something that made him laugh, and he thought he was a fool to have forgotten it.

-

Santiago was the first one there, over half an hour early, by accident or design you had no idea. He made all of James' things look small, and it made you laugh, because you knew it was only the beginning.

You’d been added to a group chat a few days ago. The list of total bizarre things happening to you was increasing every day of knowing them but you couldn’t exactly complain. It was exciting and honestly, you ached for them in a way you couldn’t explain. Seeing Santiago sent sharp excitement through the anxiety of preparation, but even with the handsome man removing his shoes, you couldn’t help but check behind him for Francisco.

It had been a joke, sort of. They had invited you out and you retaliated by saying you owed them a meal. You should’ve known, already, they weren't afraid to take you up on it, and you’d had to use James as your crutch. His house was much bigger than your apartment, and he was so excited to talk to them it was adorable. Before you’d even turned to Santi properly, they were already chatting, and you watched, smiling.

He looked good. It really was almost as if they actually were family – not physically but you could see it in how they interacted. Santi was more cleaned up than he’d been at the bar, thanking your grandfather like it really was an honor to be welcomed into his home. Jimbo was standing as tall as he could to scruff the younger man’s perfect hair, and you laughed as he clarified that they were always welcome, as long as they helped cook. And when Santi grinned, agreeing readily, the line on his forehead smoothed.

The stress of hosting even such strange guests lessened again, and you slipped back into the kitchen.

Not two minutes later, he found you there, and you could feel him watching you, lounging against the door as graceful and powerful as a panther. Slicing vegetables to grill, you let him, for the time being. He would tell you what he was thinking if he wanted to.

It made you smile again, when his large, calloused hands began to make motions for you to let him take over. Determined or maybe even insistent, but not entitled. He mimicked your cuts, checking silently for your approval, and you saw something in his eyes you hadn’t noticed before.

Over food and drinks he had been smart and clever and passionate – an idyllic picture for over-ambitious fans. None of that was gone, but there was another layer under it, something distinctly humble, and if your dreams hadn’t already been occupied, you might’ve fallen in love with him a little bit. Prepping food to the sounds of quiet music and the rhythmic thumps of the knife against the cutting board felt domestic, but in a familial way. There was no pressure for words, for you, and when he did speak, it seemed as though he agreed.

“This might sound fu… uh, stupid but I’m glad there aren’t bobble heads around.” Of him and his friends, he implied. You wondered if he checked his language for your sake, or out of mindfulness for James.

“He really respects you guys,” you shrugged. “He’s always lecturing me on remembering that you’re human, and not overstepping normal people boundaries.”

Pausing your salad assembly, you stole a glance at him, only to find deep brown eyes looking at you curiously. His hand scraped over the stubble on his jaw, and you could almost see his thoughts, running diamonds in his head.

“Is that why you shot Redfly down?” he wasn’t looking at you, so he missed the tilt of you head. You didn’t need to know the nickname to know what he was talking about, but he clarified a moment later.

You weren't prepared for this to come up, but it shouldn’t have surprised you.

“Yes and no,” was the most honest answer. “He’s already got a girl, whether he knows it or not.” You felt good, talking to him, good like laughing, so you did. It was a strange moment, when the team’s outfield dreamboat had leaned in to kiss you, and you turned him away, but it wasn’t weighing on you at all.

Santiago was grinning at you, hands still, and you wondered if this was the first moment the two of you were seeing each other clearly. Biases and judgement and wariness stripped away easily in the kitchen, like the peels of potatoes.

“So,” his tone and eyes were mischievous, and you had never felt more like an almost stranger was your brother. “If one of the other guys asked you out, you would consider it?”

Face flaring with heat, you barely contained a squawk. He let out a triumphant noise and you shoved him. There was no doubt he wasn’t talking about himself, but you still wanted to melt into the floor.

“Don’t think I haven’t seen –”

“Shut up shut up shut up!”

Both of you were laughing when the other men pushed through the front door.

Santi answered their raised eyebrows by sticking out his tongue.

-

There was moments all the time in baseball, where when you have the ball and have to choose which opposing player gets to make it safe and who you’re going to try to get out. It’s a split second where you feel torn in two, and that was exactly how Frankie felt now.

When he had seen you, flushed and laughing, part of him wanted to give a damn thank you speech to Pope for helping bless the world with that, and the other part of him wanted to murder his best friend.

They had all pushed into the little home and he tried to focus on greeting James and looking at the cozy, dated furniture, the humble decorations, clearly cleaned just for them. There had been a moment, where you’d waved at what felt like just him, and his heart rate had doubled. He tried to talk with the guys, the friend you had invited, or help grill or set the table or … anything, but all he wanted was to find you again.

Staying by your side the other night felt as natural and the ball hitting the palm of his glove, time and time again. It was exactly where he was meant to be.

And you were so lovely he wanted you to press into him so close he absorbed just a fraction of your glow. He wanted to wrap you up and take you with him wherever he went, or maybe just settle into your shadow, to follow you forever. It felt greedy, which he didn’t really mind, but the problem was that it was unrealistic.

You were working hard to be a good host, floating around, making sure everyone was content, helping, handling things, or happily having heaping helpings of your cooking. There was another game on the TV, and James was telling stories, and his friends had made themselves right at home. In a strange way, it felt like a Sunday with his abuelos, and cousins, casual and comfortable. It was telling, of you, fitting, and he liked that, but it was distinctly missing... you.

Santi found him, listening to James, trying not to look over his shoulder for you, hand twitching to find it’s place on you again. They kept their voices low, trying to be respectful, as they caught up on the last few minutes, hours, days. Frankie felt a pang of guilt, wondering if he had been subconsciously avoiding his friend. There was still some more private communicating they had to do… He offered Pope a drive. That would do it.

There was an understanding as the looked at each other, under the music and talk, and clatter of dishes. Will was making James laugh, loud and care-free. The uneasiness settled in his gut – he trusted Santi with his life. He could certainly trust him now, with whatever this was.

Not long after, Frankie found himself being herded through the little house, around tables with glasses and napkins, and back into the little kitchen. There was a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder, and then he was alone with you, for the very first time.

Your eyes were big, staring at him, as you held a pile of dirty dishes.

He wanted to kiss you.

Of course, he didn’t, only cursing himself as he awkwardly offered to help. When you shook your head, your hair fluffed, and with the sunlight through the window, he was having trouble remembering how to function.

Frankie was solid, known for being sturdy and safe. Not like Will was, with his ethics and upbringing like roots into the ground, but that of Atlas, supporting the world on his shoulders.

He was the cornerstone of the team, the background man behind the curtain, with hair and eyes and thighs that Santi swore made women swoon.

And he was doing dishes in the kitchen of your grandfathers house, weak in the knees because you had smiled at him, impressed and grateful. His mind was telling at him to talk to you more, to say something interesting or impressive or to make you laugh when he heard you yelp.

The sound was awful, and adrenaline pumped into his blood as he realized you were hurt. Swinging around he didn’t see you for a moment before registering you had sat down, hard, and were clutching your wrist. There was a thick line, throbbing and an angry red – burnt.

When his knees hit the tile, he didn’t even notice the dull pain. His hands grasped yours as you tried to apologize, explaining the stove was still hot after you had turned it off. Frankie heard you, really he did, but he mind was chanting do something! And stringing Spanish curses, demanding that he protect you, that he fix it.  

He didn’t realize how close he was to you until your eyes found his. it crashed into him the realization that if he leaned forward, tilted his head a bit, and sunk a little lower onto his knees, he could have your mouth against his. 

Panic slowing, he looked at you. You were so sweet and beautiful, collapsed on the kitchen floor with him like the two of you were the only things in the world, and you were trying to tell him you were fine, that it was a silly accident. Frankie felt ridiculous, caught up in his thoughts, and he just... threw aside logic.

Time stopped, and he kissed the burn.

>>

taglist:

@fangirl-316 @scribbledghost @writeforfandoms @beautyagegoodnesssize

hey batter batter taglist:

@icanbeyourjedi @studyofawearymind @hnt-escape @athalien @the-witty-pen-name

[weasleylangs]

in the summer sun - f.w

Pairing: Fred x Fem!Reader but honestly it’s just a whole Weasley family slice of life fic. Summary: The war has ended and the Weasley’s appreciate their family now more than ever. Warnings: Mention of the war, mention of Fred having a near death experience, mention of PTSD, anxiety, nightmares and injuries, opening scene involves an anxiety attack, fuck is said twice by the way. Word Count: 3.1k

A/N: This fic is inspired by this ask I received from Kai @weasleyclaw for the ‘send me a made up title game’! The warnings sound scary, but I promise this is a super fluffy slice-of-life fic with Fred and the reader, just existing after the war! Fred lives, obviously but he still had an accident and in reality, he’d be going through a lot of shit and I didn’t want to ignore that!

I am in no way romanticising mental illness and trauma, I myself struggle with a variety of mental illness and trauma and representation is super important, babey!!!!!! Proper support is important!!!!!!

I still can’t decide if I love or hate this but.... [schedules while I’m asleep]

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

Fred sat up quickly. Heavy and ragged breathing coursing through his lungs as he struggled to catch his breath. He couldn’t even remember what he was dreaming of now that he’s awake, only remembering flashes of green and a loud ‘bombarda maxima’ before being shocked awake by his anxiety and fear.

He’s been plagued by nightmares for three months, ever since he was fighting in that seventh floor corridor and the wall came crashing down on him. He knows it’s normal to be haunted by these memories, he almost died, for crying out loud, but he would really like to have one night where he sleeps through it without being jolted awake. 

He could feel the pressure in his chest get stronger as he struggled to breathe as he checked the clock on the bedside table. It reads 6:30am and when he looks out the window he realises the sun is already rising and the summer heat is making it into their bedroom. His girlfriend of five years sleeps in the bed next to him, snoring lightly having not been woken up by his oncoming anxiety attack.

Fred struggles to remember the grounding technique she taught him when he had his first attack. She’s his biggest supporter, always there when he needs her, but he wants to get better himself . He doesn't want to rely on her for the rest of his days no matter how often she reminds him it’s okay and that she wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.

He’s got his legs swung over the side of the bed, his body closing in on himself when he feels the bed move and arms wrap around his middle, “Breathe, Freddie, and tell me five things you can see,” she whispers gently in his ear.

His eyes darts around the room, searching as he tries his best to breathe, “The tree outside our window, the lamp, that chair,” he struggles to speak as his breathing is laboured, “your book on my bedside table, my slippers…”

“Good job, my love. Now, four things you can touch.”

His hands grab hers, “Your hands,” he says as he turns to face her, “the duvet, my shirt and…” His hand moves, from her hand to cupping her face, “your hair.” 

This continues, Fred rattling off three things he can hear, two things he can smell and one thing he can taste before he realises his breathing has slowed down, his hands have stopped shaking and while the pressure in his chest is still there, it’s been alleviated and he knows it’ll disappear in a few moments. 

Y/N whispers soft praise in Fred’s ear as she lays him back down in their bed. She’s so proud of the progress he has made in just a short few months. “Do you want to talk about it?” 

He shakes his head, while he barely remembers, he knows it’s the same nightmare as usual. Hogwarts, duelling, wall comes crashing down and Fred almost dies. It’s more of a flashback if anything, that he’s constantly reliving the worst day of his life.

“That’s okay, we can just lay here and rest before we go to your mum and dad’s… If you still feel up to going?” Y/N knows when nights like this happen, Fred usually wants to stay in bed and recoup his energy and try again the next day. 

“No, no, we have to go,” he says and it’s not because it’s an obligation, he truly does want to. After almost dying, after spending almost a year without knowing if Ron, Harry and Hermione were okay, after Bellatrix Lestrange threatened to kill both Ginny and his own mother and with Percy reconnecting with them all, he appreciates family time like he never did before. They all deserve to have happy, carefree and relaxing days and that’s what today is meant to be for them all.

“If you’re sure, my love,” she whispers, pressing a soft kiss to his neck. Fred probably won't fall back asleep, the sun has risen and while he won’t admit it, he’s too scared to try and sleep again. But he doesn’t mind, he’s perfectly content having Y/N fall back asleep in his arms and sometimes, rarely but sometimes, her soft snores lulls Fred into a light, undisturbed sleep.

-

It’s lunch time by the time Fred and Y/N apparate to The Burrow. Fred’s still recovering physically from his injuries - having your entire body crushed by rubble does that to you, so he happily side-along apparates with Y/N instead of solo floo’ing places. 

When they walk into the house, they’re met with a chorus of hello’s and Molly dragging Fred into a hug and kisses his cheeks repeatedly, and then continues to complain that he has no meat on his bones and that he needs to be eating more while shoving a muffin into his hand. 

George is snickering by the table because someone who isn’t himself is finally being on the receiving end of his mothers affection and he has Angelina Johnson awkwardly beside him. When Y/N raises her eyebrows at him, he mouths a ‘I’ll explain later’ before winking and walking Angelina over to her. 

“Hey, Angie,” she says, pulling the girl into a hug. While they were never close at school, considering Y/N wasn’t a Gryffindor, they still got along when the time arose, “didn’t know my little Georgie here got himself a bird.” 

George groans at the fact Y/N completely ignored him and Angelina blushes as she tries to hide her face behind her hair, but Y/N can see that she’s smiling and not at all bothered by the teasing, “Hey, I’m only teasing, come here!” she says as she pulls the embarrassed girl into a tight embrace. While Y/N drops the subject of Angelina and George finally getting their lives together and dating after years of pining, George knows Y/N is going to corner him later and get the answers out of him.

Hermione and Ginny quickly run down the stairs and grab Y/N, pulling her into a hug as well. Soon enough, the entire family is trying to squeeze inside the living room - including Bill and Fleur who always turn up for the Weasley get together and even Charlie has taken extended leave from his job in Romania to stay and spend the summer with everyone. 

Because of the overcrowding, Ron whistles loudly, grabbing everyone’s attention, “Who wants to play a game of quidditch and let mum have some peace and quiet?” Immediately Harry, the twins, Angelina and Charlie are out the door, already fighting about teams and position. Y/N briefly hears Harry whine ‘I want to be on Charlie’s team but he plays seeker’ as their voices fade. Ginny stays back, wanting to catch up with Y/N for a bit and promises to join everyone later.

Fred loves nothing more than spending time with his siblings. Growing up as a twin, he’s had someone constantly by his side, but he loves his huge family more than anything. George and he spend 5 minutes fighting over who gets to be beater until they just decide they’ll just be on different teams before they realise they don’t have enough siblings for a full team anyway, meaning the beaters are out of the equation.

This causes the twins to just start jokingly fighting over who plays chaser before Ron and Harry has to break it up so they can actually play. 

Fred adores flying. His hair has been growing out and the wind through it as he flies is one of the best feelings in the world, he thinks. It makes him forget all his worries, his only focus is snatching the quaffle out of George’s slimy grip and getting it past Charlie, who’s playing both keeper and seeker for the other team to make up for the lack of players.

“Oi, Ickle Ronnikins,” he calls out from his broom, wobbling slightly as he yells to get his brother’s attention, “mind paying attention to the match and not your girlfriend? George is getting every shot in, mate,” He’s teasing of course. They can see the girls through the window and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t sneaking glances at Y/N.

Meanwhile, the three girls sit at the kitchen table chatting amongst themselves and Bill and Fleur are outside in the garden when Percy and his girlfriend turn up. There’s tension in the air, there always is when Percy turns up. It’s not that no one wants him there, but given his history of being a ‘right prat’ (Fred’s words), everyone is cautious. 

But he goes right up to Molly, pulling her into an embrace and kissing her on the cheek and then turns to his dad and gives him a hug. 

“Hey Gin, Y/N, Hermione,” he gives them a curt nod as they say hello back before pulling the girl beside him closer, “this is Audrey, my girlfriend. Do you guys mind hanging with her while I go find the boys?"

The girls, of course, nod. “How long have you and Percy been together for?” Y/N asks as the girl sits and she hopes she isn’t coming off rude. She’s been with Fred for five years and never met Audrey and Hermione’s been in the Weasley’s lives for even longer, so it’s clearly a recent development. 

“Around this time last year… With everything going on and Percy not being on speaking terms with everyone, we haven’t really had the chance to meet…” she trails off and Y/N senses the awkward tension rising, so she grabs Audrey’s hand in a reassuring matter.

“Don’t stress about that. You’re here now and you’re family,” while Y/N isn’t officially a Weasley, her and Fred have spoken about their future together on numerous occasions so she doesn’t feel like she’s speaking out of turn offering ‘Weasley Family Status’ to Audrey, “I’m Y/N, Fred’s girlfriend.” 

“And I’m Hermione, Ron’s girlfriend,” Hermione adds and before Ginny even speaks, Y/N interrupts her, “You’re obviously a Weasley, Gin,” and the girls all start giggling.

“I’m Ginny, Harry’s girlfriend!” she exclaims proudly when all the girls finally calm down and it only sets them off again.

What the girls don’t notice is that Molly’s watching them, with a smile on her face. She’s always wanted daughters - she loves Ginny and she loves every single one of her sons, but she wishes she had been able to give her a sister. But watching the scene unfold in front of her, how these girls welcome Audrey so easily into their lives, Molly’s eyes well with tears as she realises she has the most wonderful daughter and future daughter-in-laws a woman could ask for. 

“How’s Fred doing?” Ginny asks. Of course, everyone’s suffered from the war, but everyone is constantly concerned about Fred. 

“Between seeing his psychologist and his physical therapy appointments, he’s doing really good,” she says, looking out the window and she laughs as she sees Fred holding Ron in a headlock, shouting something about how rusty he is at keeper, “there’s days it’s hard, and he has really bad nightmares sometimes, and there's days where they make him not want to leave the house but he had one this morning and was determined to get here today. I’m really proud of him.” 

Molly rubs Y/N on the shoulders, almost like a thank you for being there for Fred through it all as she places muffins in front of all the girls and takes her own seat. She takes a moment to scold Arthur for trying to repair the muggle radio playing he’s stolen from work before joining in on the girls’ conversation as they eat. 

The sweet moment is interrupted by a voice that is clearly Percy’s shouting and both Y/N and Audrey’s automatic assumption is that the worst has happened. Especially when Y/N hears the familiar voice of her boyfriend shouting incoherently. 

All the girls rush out the door, expecting to break up a fight but that isn’t what’s happening. Instead, Fred has Percy on the ground, rolling around in dirt and they’re both laughing . Molly has to excuse herself, tears welling in her eyes at the sight of Percy being accepted by his brother. 

“What’s going on here?” Audrey questions. It’s clear she’s still weary, worried that at a moment's notice, Percy’s siblings will turn on him and forget his apology. Fred looks up, winking at Y/N before looking at Audrey and flashes her a cheeky smirk, “Perce said I suck at quidditch.” 

Everyone rolls their eyes at this as Y/N grabs Fred’s hand and pulls him up. She lives with him, so one would think that the time spent apart at The Burrow is no big deal, but secretly Y/N has always been super clingy, wanting to always have Fred in her sights, and it's only worsened now they live together.

“Hi Freddie,” she giggles, tucking herself close to his side despite the summer heat blasting down on them, “I miss you.” she whispers.

Fred lets out a cackle of a laugh, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and leading her to the tree they always sit under as he tells Ginny to take his spot on their makeshift quidditch team. Secretly, he was hoping to get away from the game because he needs a break and maybe an attempted nap under the tree. 

He settles down first, stretching his legs out as he leans against the trunk and then he pulls Y/N down to sit between them and to rest her back against his chest. This has always been their favourite way to cuddle.

��What’s the go with George and Angie? I knew they were going on dates but...” Fred asks, and Y/N shrugs. “He just said he’d fill me in later so I’m still waiting. But she’s at family day, so it must be getting serious.” Fred hums behind her, resting his chin on top of his head as he watches his family on the makeshift field in front of them fight over quidditch rules. George is trying to teach Percy fake rules and Ginny’s smacking him over the head as he laughs at the confused expression on Percy’s face. 

To their right, Arthur’s got the radio working and he’s charmed it to blast 80s muggle music loudly for the entire family to hear. Bill’s dragged Fleur to dance around with him and Arthur’s trying to get Molly to join them. Charlie’s sitting with Audrey and Hermione, probably droning on about dragons as usual and the girls listen intently, gasping when appropriate. 

“What are you thinking about?” Y/N asks. Fred is never this quiet, usually speaking every single thought that comes to his mind without any sort of filter. It’s gotten him in trouble a fair few times, from both his mother and Y/N. 

“I’m just happy,” he says quietly, tucking his head into her neck, and Y/N doesn’t miss the crack in his voice, “I’m so happy I’m here with everyone.” She shuffles in her spot so she can sit and face Fred and he can’t meet her eyes because his own are welling with tears.

“Don’t hide, my love, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” she coos as she cups his cheeks in her hands. He leans into her touch and smiles as he sniffles. 

“I know, it’s just…” He trails off and Y/N knows what he’s going to say. He almost wasn’t here and that thought haunts the both of them more often than they’d like to admit. “I know, but that doesn’t matter, because you’re here , and I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am you are,” she whispers, pressing a kiss to his cheeks.

“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you,” he says and Y/N’s heart swells. Marriage and lots of ginger babies has always been in their life plan, but hearing Fred say it, so, so vulnerably, almost brings her to tears. “Forever, Freddie, you promised,” she replies and he leans forward and presses a soft kiss on her lips. 

He’s always promised. He promised forever when they were 16 and they’d only been together for a year as they danced at the Yule Ball until 12am. At 17, when he admitted he wouldn’t be finish the school year. He promised once again at 18, before he flew out of Hogwarts with George. At 19, straight after George had his ear cursed off and he was sick with fear because the war was real and happening.

At 20, they were fighting in their school and he’d promised, ‘We're surviving this fucking thing and I’m marrying you as soon as I can.’ 

They pull apart and Y/N is smiling at him, adoration filled in her eyes as Fred feels around in his shorts, clearly trying to grab something. When he pulls it out, Y/N’s eyes catch the small, velvet black box and while she doesn’t want to get her hopes up, her heart is racing.

“I’ve been carrying this everyday, waiting for the perfect time,” he chuckles, shaking his head. You’d think Fred Weasley would have a huge and bizarre proposal, most likely with fireworks and dancing gnomes somehow, but in reality, this is perfect. He’s surrounded by his loved ones, there’s no war and he wants nothing more than to officially make Y/N a Weasley. 

“Is that now, Freddie?” she says and he nods, smiling. Y/N thinks he’s never looked happier in his life. He knows what her answer will be so he doesn’t feel the slightest bit nervous.

“I promised you, we're surviving the war and I’m fucking marrying you as soon as I can, so here I am,” he pops the box open and Y/N gasps. It’s nothing extravagant but she doesn’t mind. Small and classy, just like she’d always wanted and she doesn’t even realise she’s crying until Fred’s hand wipes her tears with his free hand, “Will you marry me?” 

She barely gives an answer, nodding her head violently as she wraps her arms around his neck and presses her lips to his. Their teeth clash and they both laugh at Fred not being prepared to be jumped before getting a verbal response. Y/N pulls away and puts out her left hand, “Of course I’ll marry you.” 

He slides the ring on her finger and it’s a perfect fit. They continue to sit in front of the tree, watching their family but Y/N constantly catches herself looking at the diamond ring sparkling in the sun and she’s decided she’s never been happier as well.

Everything is perfect, because it’s the calm after a very, very long storm and she’s never taking family for granted again.

[childrenofthenightt]

That’s The Way

Pairing: Jimmy Page x Reader

Word count: 3.6k

Warnings: none, this is kind of an introductory/fluff chapter if you will :)

Story summary: Y/N Y/L/N, an ordinary seventeen-year-old girl, gets pulled into the world of rock and roll on a fateful night at the Marquee Club in London when she experiences the musical phenomenon of the Five Live Yardbirds. She grows up fast, navigating her way through the downfall of The Yardbirds, the legendary skyrocket of Led Zeppelin, era-defining decadence instigated by the ‘60s and ‘70s mindset of free love and personal gratification, and finding the courage to express how she fell deeply in love with one of modern music’s greatest guitarists.

Author’s notes (from Molly of rebel-without-a-zeppelin): Hi everyone! A little disclaimer on my part: this is the first story I’ve ever shared for public consumption. I’ve been toying with this idea in my mind for a very long time now, and I’ve finally mustered up the courage to share it with you all. I hope you like it. I am incredibly honored to collaborate with Syd on this project; this is truly our baby, as it has a very long, detailed, intricate plot, so saddle up for lots (and lots) of drama! This is also a sloooowwwww burn, like really, really slow lol. Over the course of the story, please feel free to send me your theories and comments; I would absolutely love to read them. Please enjoy, and happy reading!

---------

3 May 1965

The sound of a car horn beeped incessantly from the front of Y/N’s house. Dropping her backpack down on her bedroom floor with an annoyed huff, she sprinted down the steps. She never did get enough time to prepare, and it was no different today. With her friend Carolyn in tow, Y/N made a beeline for the front door, the click-clack of her Oxford shoes pounding across the hardwood floor. Y/N’s mum, who nonchalantly strolled out of the laundry room with an armful of freshly washed and folded bath towels, leant against the doorframe.

“Now remember Y/N: no drinking, no drugs, no sex. No going home with strange musician guys, nor are you allowed to go to their hotel,” her mum instructed calmly, knowing she’d receive an eye roll from the girl. Her stern expression at home on her gracefully-aged face, the girls receive the speech they get every time they go out.  “You too, C. Even though I’m not your mother, I still worry about your safety.”

Both Y/N’s mum and dad had a very protective instinct over their eldest daughter, just like their other three children. Even at Y/N’s healthy age of seventeen, she longed for the freedom and trust that her older brother had gained at her age.

“Thank you, Mrs. Y/L/N,” Carolyn replied with a little laugh.

“Mum! This is literally the fourth time I’ve been to a Yardbirds gig, and nothing bad has happened,” Y/N huffed. Her mum raised her eyebrows.

Lillian, Y/N’s little sister, walked into the foyer and surprised Y/N with a big, tight hug around her waist. Y/N gasped at the sudden contact, but chuckled when she realized it was her younger sister, and reciprocated the hug.

“I don’t want you getting hurt, Y/N. Boys are icky. And stupid!” Lillian said in a whiny voice, her face muffled by being buried in Y/N’s stomach.

Y/N ruffled her sister’s muss of dirty blonde waves affectionately, rubbing her back to soothe her worries. “I promise, I will come back perfectly fine! I won’t let any boys mess with me, Lil,” Y/N said with a smile, “And when I come back, I’ll tell you everything that happened.”

Lillian gazed up at Y/N with a similar smile, her small teeth shining a bright, pearly white and her chin resting on the taller girl’s stomach. “Okay,” she said, content, before releasing from Y/N with a stuffed animal tucked under her arm.

“Where’s Charlie?” Y/N asked, hoping she could say goodbye to her younger brother before she left.

“I think he’s riding around the neighborhood on his bike with his friends,” Y/N’s mum replied with a shrug. Y/N felt a little disappointed, but she figured she’d talk to him tomorrow at breakfast about her night out.

Thomas, Y/N’s older brother, continued to honk the horn rather obnoxiously, growing quite impatient. It’s a wonder the neighbors weren’t at arms, knocking on their door. He was forced by his parents to be Y/N and Carolyn’s chauffeur to the Marquee Club in London.

“We have to go, or else Tommy will have my head,” Y/N said as she started to open the front door.

“Wait!” her mum said, sloppily placing the towels down on a nearby counter to dash to the door and give Y/N a hug and a kiss on the head goodbye. Finally pulling away her weathered hands flew to Y/N’s shoulders, and gripping them firmly, she continued, “Be good. Love you.”

“I know, I will. Love you too,” Y/N smiled, before dashing down the steps and to the passenger seat of the car. Carolyn was in quick pursuit, following her to the car and taking a seat in the back.

“It’s about time,” Tommy huffed impatiently, tapping his fingertips on the top of the steering wheel as he put the transmission into drive.

“Sorry. Mum was giving me and C a safety brief,” Y/N replied apologetically.

“Why are you two still in school uniforms?” he snorted, shifting to look over at the girls; their studious appearance of white oxford shirts, sweater vests, plaid kilts, white knee socks, and smart oxford shoes would be quite out of place among the audience at the show.

“No time to change, just like usual,” she replied, turning on the radio, soft melodies pouring out at a low volume.

The three drove in silence, except for the sound of the radio playing, until Carolyn had dozed off on the somewhat lengthy car ride. Occasional small talk between Y/N and her brother permeated the quiet that fell over the group, but it picked up when they were only a few blocks away from the venue.

“You gotta stay safe in there, Y/N,” Tommy said, looking straight ahead. His teeth clamped down sharply on his bottom lip: a dead giveaway to the nerves he must have been feeling.

“I know, Dad,” Y/N joked, punching him lightly across the shoulder. Her bright smile wavered and fell when she saw his grim expression.

“I’m serious, you know. I don’t want my sister being pestered by some wankers in a blues band.”

Y/N smirked at her brother’s sudden defensive behavior. “I can take care of myself. Trust me. This isn’t my first rodeo. You should’ve seen the first Yardbirds gig we went to. Utter chaos...” The tilt of her lips signalled that she was joking, and Tommy huffed out a laugh.

Carolyn, stretching with a grunt, had miraculously woken up just as Tommy pulled up to the front door of the Marquee. Glancing at the venue with awe dancing in their eyes, Y/N and Carolyn disembarked from the car, walking closer with the façade of calmness and competency.

“I’ll be back later to pick you girls up. Have fun, but not too much fun,” Tommy rolled his window down as he said this, winking playfully.

Y/N waved to her brother as Carolyn thanked him graciously for the ride. Arms linked, Y/N and Carolyn entered the famous Marquee. Nervousness and anticipation began to pool Y/N’s stomach as she was greeted by the decadent atmosphere of the club: the smell of smoke, alcohol, and sweat hung in the air as her eyes were flashed by many people mingling about, dressed in typical mod clothing. Y/N and her friend looked at each other, feeling like aliens in their intelligent dress. They tactfully made their way through the crowd as they found their way to their usual spot, a small leather-upholstered booth set against the wall near the stage.

“Today might be the day, Y/N,” Carolyn said as they settled into their seats.

“I don’t know,” she replied, smoothing out her skirt, “the idea of that is both scary and exciting to me at the same time. We’ll just roll with the punches, I guess.”

“Which Yardbird do you have your eye on?”

Y/N smirked as she thought for a moment. “Hmm...I’m not sure. I guess they’re all pretty cute in their own way. What about you?”

“Yes, I agree. But I must admit, I do have a very soft spot for Chris Dreja.”

“I’ll pray for ya, C,” Y/N chuckled.

~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, backstage, five live Yardbirds were performing some pre-show rituals in the hopes of easing the preliminary anxiousness. Jeff, Keith, and Jim were peeking out the little sliver of curtain that allowed them to see their gathering audience.

“Look! It’s those two schoolgirls again!” Jeff pointed to the two teenage girls in school uniforms, chatting in their booth waiting for the show to begin. They were huddled together in conversation, legs daintily crossed as their faint giggles floated over to them. Jim couldn’t help but smile at the sound, though he recovered quickly, not wanting his bandmates to get any ideas.

“What’s wrong with that? They must like us,” Keith replied.

“I think they’re both really pretty, especially the one with the Y/H/C hair,” Jim pointed out, trying to be as subtle as possible.

“Yeah, maybe we should invite them backstage after the show… have a nice little chat,” Jeff winked at the singer and the drummer cheekily.

After taking a final glance at the two conversing girls, the three returned to the backstage area where Paul and Chris were. Jeff immediately enlisted Giorgio, their manager, to complete the agreed-upon mission. Jeff loosely draped an arm around Giorgio’s shoulder before bestowing the request as politely as possible. Not trying to be suspiciously polite, of course, because everyone in the band and its entourage were firsthand witnesses of Jeff’s temper and stubbornness. Yikes.

“Okay, I’m going to need you to do me a favor,” Jeff said to Giorgio with a mischievous smile.

Giorgio rolled his eyes, knowing this “favor” would have to do with scouting girls from the audience. “What d’ya need, Jeff?” he sighed exhaustedly.

“Don’t complain, please,” Jeff deadpanned. “There are two pretty birds in the audience, wearing their school uniforms. They’ve been coming to our shows for a little bit now, and they seem nice—”

“You want me to bring them backstage after the show?” Giorgio interrupted, somehow telepathically knowing, by routine, what the guitarist’s request would be.

“You finish that sentence like you know what I’m about to say.”

“That’s because I do, Mr. Beck,” Giorgio retorted sarcastically, “this happens a lot more often than you think it does.”

“Whatever,” Jeff grumbled moodily, knowing he was right, before walking back to the group of musicians in preparation.

~~~~~~~~

Y/N and Carolyn continued to gossip happily about what was happening at school, not a care in the world. They felt the stares of older men in the club, who silently disapproved of their knee socks being scrunched by their ankles, because that wasn’t the “proper” thing to do. But they didn’t care. Who are they to judge?

Every teacher scolded girls at school who did the same thing, because they didn’t want their long legs to be “tempting” or “distracting” any boys. A bloody nuisance, is what it is.

The girls were snapped from their thoughts by the sound of a heavy guitar tone being blasted through the speakers in an opening riff. Their eyes were stapled, almost transfixed to the stage as they took in the five sharply-dressed men in front of them, singing their songs and playing their instruments.

As much as Carolyn enjoyed The Yardbirds and music in general, Y/N had a rather deep connection to it, odd enough as it was. She could play the piano fairly well, so she understood where these musicians were coming from cognitively and creatively. From what she’d read in magazines about current popular musicians, like The Yardbirds for example, she liked the same music they did. Y/N understood dynamics, tempo, tone, key, and musical notation, just like they did. Perhaps she’d be able to get into an intelligent musical conversation with at least one of them one day.

Two straight hours of hits, obscure songs, and blues covers from The Yardbirds’ catalogue were played for the Marquee Club patrons, hypnotizing its drunk and high onlookers with polished musicality and instrumentation.

As the final song concluded, both Y/N and Carolyn, unbeknownst to the other, felt a sinking feeling of disappointment that fell like a pit in their stomachs. They wouldn’t have the chance to meet the band. No one from the entity had approached them yet, and momentarily the five live Yardbirds would be exiting the stage for the night.

After they said their goodbyes and thanks to the crowd, they disappeared behind the curtain. The main lights of the club brightened to signal that the show was over, as the voices of all the patrons raised in rave of the spectacular show they had just witnessed.

Discouraged, but still in light spirits at what they had just seen, Y/N and Carolyn stood up from their seat and headed for the front door. Y/N expected her brother to be waiting in front; it was late, so might as well not make him wait longer than he needs to.

Y/N and Carolyn were merely a few feet from the door when Y/N felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. Turning around to see a man with a dark beard already baring a jovial tight-lipped grin at her, the girl was quite surprised, maybe a little weirded out, but she reciprocated the gesture as genuinely as she could.

“Hello sir, what can we do for you?” Y/N greeted, discreetly nudging Carolyn to help her out and become a united front with her in front of this stranger.

“Good evening ladies, I was sent by Mr. Jeff Beck to offer you an invitation backstage to hang out with the band.”

Y/N’s stomach dropped and her face broke out into an obvious mad blush, much to her dismay. She was internally screaming. The Jeff Beck had spotted them in the crowd?! This had to be a dream.  Wait, this could be a complete drunken buffoon trying to trick them. Y/N remembered what her mother had said, and took the proper precautionary measure.

Y/N smiled in the most composed way she could. “Thank you for such a gracious invitation! Could I ask your name, if you don’t mind?”

“Giorgio Gomelsky, manager of The Yardbirds,” he replied, in a seemingly proud manner.

Okay, this was real. Y/N knew that Giorgio was definitely the manager’s name. She turned to Carolyn, who looked just as excited as she was.

“What are your names, dears?” Giorgio asked, pulling them out of their daze of what seemed like a fake reality.

“I’m Carolyn, and this is my friend Y/N,” Carolyn piped up, excited that she finally got an opportunity to speak to someone close to The Yardbirds.

She internally agreed to let Y/N handle the “diplomacy” part of the introduction, knowing that she was best at that. Carolyn knew her friend was quite shy, so she knew to step in when Y/N was starting to feel anxious. She noticed Y/N starting to fiddle with her fingers while talking to Giorgio in the most collected way she could muster; as excited as Y/N was, Carolyn knew she was growing very nervous.

“Well, it is certainly lovely to meet you both. So, what do you say? Would you like to meet the lads?”

After one final glance of excited mutual agreement, Carolyn replied, “Yes, we’d love to.”

Giorgio led the pair of girls back the way they came, through a sea of inebriated people, but this time through the backstage door. Y/N made an appoint to walk behind Carolyn, in an attempt to collect and relax herself. She was starting to sweat a little, her stomach doing flips and her hands becoming cold and clammy.

~~~~~~~~

“Our guests should be arriving any minute now,” Jeff said as he was placing his guitar back in its case.

Chris was standing and chatting with Paul in a corner when he turned around in surprise at the news. “Guests? What guests?”

“We had Giorgio invite two girls from the audience to come back here,” Jim replied, walking over to sit down in a metal folding chair.

“And why weren't we made aware of this?” Paul asked, as he walked to get another metal folding chair to place near Jim.

“It was their idea,” Keith replied, pointing two fingers between Jeff and Jim. Paul and Chris just nodded in recognition.

“I didn’t hear you disagree, Relf,” Jeff clapped back. He then told Chris and Keith to get some chairs for themselves and the two girls that would be walking through the door at any second.

Before Keith could respond, a couple knocks resounded in the room, signalling the arrival of the guests. Jacket lapels and ties were quickly straightened, even though each person was still glazed with quickly-drying sweat from the show they had just played, before the room fell unnaturally quiet as Giorgio opened the rather squeaky door.

The initial tension in the room that lasted a split second could be cut with a knife. Y/N felt her heart pounding in her chest, a cold sweat already running down her back, as five pairs of eyes landed on her, Carolyn, and Giorgio, warm smiles following suit.

She felt like internally combusting.

“Boys, this is Y/N,” Giorgio broke the momentary silence by introducing her, “and Carolyn.” Y/N smiled shyly and sent them a little wave, a dusty shade of pink seeping its way to her cheeks. Carolyn’s greeting was much more exuberant than Y/N’s, as she took the initiative to go over and shake all of their hands amiably. Y/N realized she had to follow her friend in order to make a good first impression.

Knowing that the boys wanted to spend time with the girls without being chaperoned, Giorgio left the room to attend to other business affairs.

Upon first glance, Y/N was the most beautiful girl that four of the five Yardbirds had ever seen. Perfect features, long legs, a calm, gentle, sweet demeanor… Just an absolutely angelic young woman; a vision.

Jeff had obviously recognized her beauty, from seeing her at multiple shows, but he thought she was way out of his league. He decided to focus on getting her to laugh and relax around them, because he noticed just how nervous she looked. She was turning pale right in front of his very eyes! Paul and Chris began to internally question themselves, how have I not seen this girl before? She is so gorgeous! Jim had been glancing at her sporadically throughout the show, soaking up her faraway presence. He noticed how her eyes glistened in childlike wonder as she watched them do what they did best: perform the Chicago blues.

“Well, it is very nice to meet you both,” Keith replied enthusiastically. “I’m Keith,” he alluded to himself, then pointing to the other members of the group while giving their names, “and this is Chris, Paul, Jeff, and Jim.”

“I mean, we know who you guys are, but it’s so lovely to finally meet you,” Carolyn replied. Y/N nodded in agreement.

“Come and sit down! Make yourselves comfortable. We don’t bite,” Jeff joked, motioning to the open chairs. The girls smiled and accepted his invitation, Y/N taking a seat between Jeff Beck and Jim McCarty, while Carolyn took a seat between Keith Relf and Chris Dreja. The chairs were arranged in a circular formation, so each person could talk to the other with ease.

“Tell us about yourselves!” Paul initiated, “I think Y/N should go first though, because you haven’t said too much yet,” he laughed at the last part. Y/N giggled (a little too idiotically for her own liking), but she felt herself become starstruck at how her name sounded coming from one of their voices.

Y/N clenched her cold, clammy hands in her lap as a method to ease her anxiety before starting with a smile. “Well, I’m from Saint Albans. This is our fourth time, I believe, coming to see a Yardbirds gig. Carolyn and I came to see you with Eric Clapton once, and then this is the third time with Jeff.”

“Oh, that’s fantastic! I guess I see where your favor lies in terms of guitarists,” Jeff responded playfully.

“I guess you’re right,” Y/N laughed, “I will admit that I love what you’ve done with the body of work. Clapton was a blues purist, which I respect, and he’s great, but I think your playing is much more interesting and unorthodox.”

Paul, Jim, and Jeff all raised their eyebrows at Y/N’s comment. They were impressed with how she understood their musicality.

“Are you a musician?” Jim asked Y/N.

“Not in your sense of the word,” Y/N chuckled, “But I’ve been playing the piano for most of my life, so I understand music. Probably more than your average female audience member,” she added with a grin.

“That’s so cool! Are you classically trained, or is it just a hobby?”

“Classically trained,” Y/N admitted to Jim shyly.

“Oh wow, so you’re the real deal,” Jeff added.

“I’m not a professional, so I’d say no,” Y/N laughed.

“You probably know more about music than all five of us combined!” Paul said.

“Well, I know that you know much more about the blues than me!” Y/N answered playfully.

“Okay, I’ll give you that,” Paul smiled at Y/N. She cursed herself in her mind for feeling weak at Paul’s simple sentiment, but tried to keep her composure as best she could.

The four of them, especially Jeff and Y/N, began to bond over their love for different musicians. Y/N expressed her love for Chet Atkins and his fingerpicking style, Scotty Moore’s lively soloing style, and Robert Johnson’s slide technique and open tunings, rendering the three men shocked at her knowledge on the subject. Y/N loved how easily Jeff could make her laugh, and how interested Paul and Jim were at whatever she had to say, significant or insignificant. Chris Dreja, who was in a little group with Keith and Carolyn, occasionally spaced out of his conversation to hear what Y/N had to say.

They bonded for about an hour and a half about everything and nothing, until Y/N abruptly realized that Tommy was probably waiting for a while outside for her and her friend. She apologized to the band profusely for such a sudden departure as she and Carolyn walked towards the door.

“Say you’ll come visit us again after the show?” Jeff called to Y/N as she turned towards him in the doorframe.

“Absolutely,” she smiled brightly.

---------

Thanks so much, hope you enjoy!!

Taglist: @y0uth--anasia @reincarnated70sbaby

[ditzydawn11]

bloody twins

Neville Longbottom x reader (non-gryffindor)

not requested

warnings: the twins being assholes

1065 words

You fall victim to one of the infamous Weasley Twin pranks but thankfully Neville is there to stand up for you

You knew you fucked up as soon as the words left your mouth.

You were hanging in the Gryffindor common room waiting for your boyfriend to get back from class. You and Neville had been dating for quite a while so you had pretty much been adopted into his friend group despite not being in the red and gold house. You got along well with everyone and were happy to make more friends outside of your own house. You had particularly grown closer with Hermione and Ginny, exchanging girl gossip frequently since most of the group were made up of guys. However, you enjoyed talking Quidditch with Harry or talking about classes with some of the other boys. You were comfortable and friendly with everyone but enjoyed spending your time with Neville the most, though you may have a slight bias as to why.

You and Hermione were discussing an assignment from your shared Transfiguration class. That was before the infamous Weasley Twins bolted through the door riding the adrenaline high from their most recent prank. You weren’t particularly close with either of them simply because your paths had never crossed.

“What poor student did you two torment today?” Hermione questioned. “No student,” George replied, “We charmed Snape’s robes to catch under his feet and trip him when he walks” Fred finished. Hermione just rolled her eyes as the redheads made their way to the stairs to go to their shared dorm room. You leaned over to Hermione and whispered “I’m glad to say I’ve never had to endure one of the twin’s pranks before.”

Saying those 15 words were probably the worst thing you could have done because unluckily for you, both boys heard every word. They both quickly turned back around to face you two who were sitting on the couch. “Freddie, I think we have a Weasley prank virgin over here,” George said with a shit-eating grin. “You’re right Georgie. I reckon we will have to change that. Though we’ll have to make it a quickie because we’ve got practice in a bit.” Fred announced. Before you could run, curse, or even blink George tossed a Jelly Legs Jinx your way leaving you unable to escape and Fred picked you up and tossed you over his shoulder.

You pounded your fists against his back begging them to put you down but the stubborn assholes didn’t show any mercy. You began to piece together your fate when you realized that you three were approaching the black lake.

“Shit. Shit. Shit. Put me down. No-,” you screamed as you were tossed in the freezing lake. Of course, it had to be January so the lake was still ice cold. When you came up to the surface for air you saw two lanky gingers running far away back into the warm castle. Luckily the jinx had worn off so you swam to the shore and crawled out coughing up icky lake water and wringing out your shirt.

You trudged back to the castle completely freezing and soaked with the little dignity you had left. You would just dry yourself except you didn’t have time to grab your wand before you had been rudely kidnapped. Fortunately, most students were in class or were studying so the halls were pretty empty saving yourself from any further embarrassment.

You turned a corner on your way back to your common room when you coincidentally saw Neville a few yards away. When he realized who the sopping wet figure walking towards him was, he quickly rushed to your aid.

“Darling what happened?” he said while simultaneously examining you for any injuries. “Bloody twins.” was all you said which was enough for Neville to put together the pieces. “Come here,” he said with his arms outstretched. “I don’t want to get you wet.” you chuckled. Instead of protesting he just wrapped his arms around you letting you melt into him. He walked you back to your dorm so you could change and gave you his sweater that was already warm from his body heat to heat you up quicker. You two then went back to the Gryffindor common room to retrieve your wand and meet up with Harry, Hermione, Ron, Dean, Seamus, and Ginny.

All of you guys sat and laughed on the couches enjoying your evening together. You explained what happened and everyone shared their Weasley prank stories to make you feel better and know that you weren’t alone. Ron unsurprisingly had countless stories to tell about growing up as the twin’s personal test dummy for all their pranks.

When Ron was telling everyone about the summer where they bewitched all his pants to constantly fall down to show his knickers, Neville had excused himself. “Sorry I just need to grab something from my dorm, I’ll be back.” You figured he was just getting a jacket because he had given you his. You didn’t pay much thought to it and continued to listen and laugh at Ron’s story.

What you didn’t know was that Neville didn’t go to his dorm and actually stormed into Fred and George’s room. Neville seemed to abandon all his shyness and insecurities at that moment when he flung the boy’s door open and chewed their ear off. “Hey if you two ever come near y/n with any of your pranks again, I will hex you into oblivion. I’ll rat you out to Snape for cheating on that potions test, I’ll tell Filch who actually turned his cat into a mouse last year, and I’ll make sure to let Molly know all the crap her sons have done at school without her knowledge. Leave y/n alone.” and with a slam of the door, Neville was gone.

Fred and George were terrified and actually a little impressed with Neville’s outburst. Neville came back downstairs and snuggled up to you on the couch. “Hey what did you need to get?” you asked not seeing anything new on Neville. “You know when I got to my dorm I couldn’t remember for the life of me what I came to get,” he laughed. You smiled and pressed a short but lovely kiss to his lips and curled into his side ready to enjoy the rest of the night with your best friends and boyfriend.

And let’s just say Fred and George never came near you again.

[aliwritesfic]

Night Shift Part 3 (F!Reader x Frankie Morales)

Summary: Yours and Frankie’s weekends take very different turns

Word Count: 2K

Warnings: Emotionally abusive relationship, very brief mention of drug use, drinking, T*m D*vis makes an appearance

Part 1 Part 4

Frankie slept better that week than he had in months. Every night was long, uninterrupted, mercifully dreamless sleep. The diner had done exactly what he had hoped. When he awoke that Saturday afternoon, he felt better than he had in ages. He hummed while he rummaged through the refrigerator, grabbing out some leftover padthai and throwing it in the microwave.

Each night that week, a routine between you and him had formed. You’d work, barely exchanging words until the dinner rush was completed, then you’d make him a coffee and he’d make you something to eat. You’d requested something different each night, and each night you’d spoken to him a little more. Some nights you were in a better mood than others, but he quickly realised it wasn’t personal against him.

He found he was a little disappointed when he woke up that afternoon and remembered that it was his day off. If he was being honest with himself, he’d grown to enjoy your company. Something about you intrigued him, made him want to get to know you more.

Frankie spent getting stuff together for poker night with the boys. It was his turn to host, so all he had to do was make sure that his dining room table was clear and his portable speaker was charged. 

While he got ready, his mind kept wandering back to you.

He thought of the way you had a different smile for certain customers. The truly genuine one was reserved for only a select few of your favourites. He felt himself hoping that one day you’d give him one of those smiles, instead of the one that didn’t really reach your eyes and disappeared quickly. 

He thought of how when the diner was quiet, you’d lean against the counter and sip your coffee, your gaze firmly out the window. 

He thought of how when your shift ended and you checked your phone, your face would change for just a fraction of a second before you’d say goodbye and rush out the door. 

Jesus fucking Christ, he thought, do I have a crush?

Frankie hadn’t had a crush since high school, when he had finally had the guts to ask out Portia Inglewood. That relationship had lasted until he left the military, and brought all the emotional baggage with him.

A loud banging on the door knocked him out of his thoughts. 

“Cat!” Benny didn’t wait for Frankie to open the door. “We’re here, and we have beer!”

“You know where it goes,” Frankie called back. 

Santi grinned at his best friend and handed him a beer. “How’s the new job?”

“It’s exactly what I need right now,” Frankie told him. Santi nodded in understanding. They all had their own ways of dealing with what they carried. “Plus, the extra cash doesn’t hurt.”

Frankie didn’t want money - he had plenty from when he’d do private jobs with Santi. If he ever became desperate, he knew he could just join Santi on his next job. 

“Well, extra cash or not, I’ll always be the hottest person you’ve ever worked with,” Santi winked, making Frankie roll his eyes.

“Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better, man.” Frankie laughed. 

The night progressed in a haze of pizza and beer and poker. Will lost money to Tom, and Tom promptly lost it all to Benny. Santi told the group about the new girl he was seeing, some French expat over stateside for a few months. Benny double checked everyone was coming to the fight next weekend. Tom revealed that he and the girls were moving to Ohio to be closer to Molly’s parents. The boys promptly began planning a going away party, which would basically just be another poker night but with more beer and possibly a cake.

Any worries Frankie held seemed to melt away on nights like these. At one point, he briefly wondered what you were doing and if you were thinking of him too. Yep. Definitely a crush.

~*~

You didn’t like Kurt’s friends. Unfortunately, you were stuck spending your Saturday night with them crowded in your apartment, loud and disrespectful as hell. It didn’t matter to them that you’d asked time and time again could they please go outside to smoke, could they please put their beer bottles in the recycling bin, could they please not use your nice plates to do coke on. 

If your grandfather could have seen you now, he would’ve called you a push-over. You hated that you had become this person - afraid to stick up for yourself in your own home. Hell, you didn’t even know at what point you’d become this person. It just seemed to happen over the five years you’d been dating Kurt.

You had lost yourself in trying to be what he wanted.

With a sigh, you sealed yourself away in the bedroom with a bag of Doritos and your phone, wishing you could call your grandfather. You still had his number in your phone. Occasionally, you’d look at it, the numbers seared into your brain. 

Instead of calling the now disconnected number, you settled for messaging Sara. She was one of your only remaining friends from high school, and knew as much about your feelings as you were willing to let on. The thing was, you knew what she would say if you told her how you felt every single day. How lost, how hopeless you felt. She’d tell you to leave, forget Kurt and all the years with him, but to you it wasn’t that simple. 

Part of you still loved him, despite everything, and that part remained hopeful that you and Kurt could fix the fractures in your relationship. Plus, a voice in the back of your head told you he was right when he said he was the only one who could ever love you. 

Being alone, unloved, was one of your deepest fears.

This was one of the nights you actually missed being at the diner. You missed the lemon scented countertops, the radio that seemed to be permanently set on the oldies station, hell, you even missed Frankie and his amazing food. He’d been working with you less than a week but he had already wedged himself into your stomach. But, it was just two more nights until you were back there. It struck you that this was the opposite of how most people thought. No one you knew actually wished to go back to work. 

It was almost dawn when you were woken out of your half sleep by Kurt stumbling into the room. 

“Baby,” he slurred, crawling into bed beside you. “Baby, I love you.”

“I love you too,” you mumbled, moving over so he could fit in the bed easier. He reeked of sweat and booze. 

“I’m sorry,” he planted a sloppy kiss on your neck. “I really try to be good.”

“I know,” you ran your fingers over his head. He liked his hair cropped short, in an almost military like style. “I try too.”

“Can we go back to how we were?” Kurt continued kissing you, his hands moving drunkenly over your body. You bit back a sigh, knowing where this was heading.

You decided it would be easier to let him do what he needed, despite how badly you wanted to sleep. The only saving grace was you knew Kurt would only last a couple of minutes before it would be over. 

~*~

“So, what’s the new guy like?” Manny asked. You were seated outside, at one of his favourite cafes. The sun shone down warmly on you both, brightening your mood.

“I like him, I think,” you said. “He’s nice, quiet.”

“And pretty cute, right?” Manny wriggled his eyebrows. 

“I hadn’t noticed,” you lied. Of course you had noticed. It was impossible not to notice. 

“Don’t feed me bullshit, I can tell when you’re lying.”

“Ugh, fine. He’s good looking. But that doesn’t mean anything.”

“That’s the thing lover, it only means something if you want it to.” Manny took a conspiratorial sip of his drink. “And I didn’t get a gay vibe from him.”

“Oh good, because the only thing holding me back from jumping his bones in the kitchen is that I didn’t know his sexual preference.” You rolled your eyes, deciding to quickly change the subject. “Anyway, how’s the new job?”

“I’m loving it!” Manny lit up. “Everyone says teenagers are the worst group to teach, but it’s like they forget middle school exists.”

You smiled at Manny’s happiness. It thrilled you to see someone you considered your best friend so happy. If anyone deserves the whole world, you thought, it’s him. But he wasn’t going to let you change the subject that easily.

“You know, maybe you could invite Frankie to one of our lunches,” Manny said slyly. “It could be a night crew thing.”

“That would mean inviting the weekenders,” you reminded him. Manny held a grudge against the weekend crew, but you could never figure out why.

“No, weeknight crew only. Come on, lover, it could be fun! Plus, I want to get to know my replacement a bit better. Make sure I’m not handing the spatula to someone I don’t approve of.” Manny pouted and switched on his puppy dog eyes.

“Ugh, fine, I’ll ask,” you conceded, “but don’t be surprised if he says no. The man probably has a life.”

“It can’t hurt to ask though, and I will bother you about it until you have an answer.”

“What are you planning?” You knew that look all too well.

“Just on making a new friend,” Manny said innocently. “Lover, you can never have enough friends.”

At that moment your phone buzzed with a text from Kurt.

Where r u?????

You grimaced and sent a quick reply, hoping it wouldn’t lead to what it usually did.

At lunch with Manny from work. I’ll be home in a couple hours, do you want anything?

“Why don’t you just break up with him?” Manny asked, watching you carefully.

Is he the gay 1?

Yes, you met him and his husband last year.

“It’s complicated,” you said. You didn’t have anywhere to go. You were terrified of being alone. Part of you still felt like you could salvage what you had. The one and only time you had tried to break up with him, he had threatened to kill himself if you left. 

“You deserve better than that,” Manny said. You remained silent, not sure if he was right. “You’ve been unhappy for ages now.”

“I’m happy!” You protested.

“No you aren’t. Don’t fucking lie to me. You’re miserable with that douche bag, even James agrees.”

“I haven’t seen James in months! How the hell would he know!” You were getting defensive, but you still managed to keep your voice lowered. 

“Lover, I talk that man's ear off every chance I get. Because I love him. Because he likes to hear me talk about my day and the people important to me.”

“I’m important to you?”

Manny rolled his eyes and threw his napkin at you. “Of course you are, you’re a sister to me. Stop trying to change the subject.”

“What subject!” You scoffed.

“The subject of you for some reason wanting to stay in a relationship with a man who makes you miserable,” Manny’s voice softened and he gently held one of your hands. The gesture almost made you tear up with its gentleness. You merely shrugged.

“Like I said, it’s complicated.”

Manny nodded. “Just please think about it, for real. I couldn’t sleep at night if I never said anything to you about it.”

The walk home was slow, you took your time to sort out your scrambling thoughts. Manny had offered to drive you, but it was a nice day, and you wanted to enjoy the sunshine. You pushed the issue of Kurt to the side, knowing either way the outcome would be the same unless you magically grew a spine and a few extra zeros in your bank account.

Instead, you thought about Frankie and how best to ask him to Sunday lunch. Honestly, if there was going to be a night shift tradition, it just felt downright rude to not at least extend an invite. And if Frankie said yes, well, that was even better. It was like Manny said - an opportunity to make a new friend. Just a friend.

So why did your stomach flip at the thought?

Tagging @hnt-escape if you’d also like to be tagged just let me know <3

[meher-sumedha]

Gwynriel Headcanon : Summer Court - Jealousy Jealousy

Alright so, I had not posted all week so here is the compensation.

Over the last few days, the crew and Gwyn had gotten pretty close. They talked and were finally frank with each other. But it happened that night, when Gwyn had finally found the courage to wear a neclace which had a small red stone in the center.

They were at the dining table and were talking politely to each other. Jack making a joke saying that Azriel is getting sloppy but everyone knew that wasn't true, including him. Suddenly Elain noticed the red neclace on Gwyn's neck and jealousy filled her.

"Where did you get that necklace? " She had asked. Knowing where the situation was gonna go. Azriel had noticed the neclace on Gwyn and only hoped Elain wouldn't notice. His hopes were gone unheard by the gods. He was happy to see the neclace on her.

Happy to see that she wore his necklace, constantly touching it to make sure it was there, it made her feel comfortable. Azriel knew all that and it made his chest fill up with pride. But right now, everything was going downhill.

"Clotho gave it to me, i don't know who had give-", Elain cut her off by saying, "Azriel gave me that neclace on the night of the winter solstice, I want it back".

Gwyn looked towards Azriel, hoping that whatever Elain said wasn't true. But Azriel looked down, not meeting her gaze. That was enough indication for Gwyn to know she was true. She was so hurt.

She thought that this neclace had found her, it had always given her comfort. The nights which she had nightmares at night, and the days which were nightmares.

It was her only source of comfort and to find that it was never meant for her made it even more difficult.

Gwyn's eyes were swelling up with tears now. Before she let any of them fall, she took out the neclace and handed it to Elain before walking out.

The tears took the best of her as soon as she walked out of the front door and into the huge ground. She knelt down on her knees and let the tears flow. She cried and cried until she felt a hand on one of her shoulders. She looked up and so Jack, he sat down on her right.

Then came Tom, who sat down on her left. Then one by one, all the others came and sat down in a circle. Not one of them speaking a word, just offering that they were their for her. Gwyn stopped crying and just hugged her knees and hid her face in them. Unable to meet what she thought would be the judging eyes of them. She was wrong.

Jack finally broke the silence and said, "He's not worth it" He said. "You knew? "Gwyn innocently asked. "Of course we knew Gwyn, If I may call you that", One of the girls, Samantha said. Gwyn nodded.

"W-we see the wa-way you look at h-him during practice" Tom said. Gwyn smiled and said, "It's that obvious? ". "Yeah, you fucking right it is, you're love struck, you're like what, 22, just 4 years older than us" One of the girls, Molly said. Gwyn liked Molly the best, because she always said the truth and never sugar coated it. All the other girls hated her. Mostly because she was the best at practice.

They all just stayed there for the night and that's how their friendship started. They all became really good friends. Like "really good" like Molly and Tom, who just glanced at each other secretly. It was no secret for Gwyn, she knew they liked each other but never interfered. Every night, they started coming outside and starting a bonfire. They talked about their pasts and hopes and dres, it was like a new family, even Tarquin started coming.

Today was supposed to be no different, but Today was. Elain and Azriel were here. Hand in hand. They sat down in a corner of the ground and started their own bon fire. Sometimes Elain glanced at Gwyn and then kissed Azriel, while looking at her. Gwyn had had enough. She got up and Tarquin asked, "Where are you going? ", "I need a drink" She said.

Tarquin and everyone chuckled. "Since when did you start drinking? " Tarquin asked, while laughing. "I can drink" She said. "No you can't" Tarquin said, still laughing like crazy.

"I'll prove it to you" Gwyn said and went inside the huge mansion. She then went to the kitchen and brought a bottle. Tarquin stopped laughing now, "Gwyn calm down, that's Faerie wine, you'll have a terrible headache" He said. Even Azriel was looking in her direction now.

"Really" Gwyn said and popped open the cork. She then started drinking straight from the bottle. She didn't stop until Tarquin finally came up to her and took the bottle from her. Gwyn was feeling very drowsy now, but it felt like all the problems in the world had disappeared. She then sat down. Her mind still fuzzy.

Tarquin noticed she had almost finished half of the bottle, and even a quarter of Faerie wine was very dangerous. Gwyn noticed that Jack and the others were playing a game.

"Hey! What game are you playing without me" She asked, her voice very slow. She saw Tarquin go back to opposite her and rub his head but she could care less.

"Truth and Dare, wanna play? " Jack asked. "SUURE" She replied. "Fine, Gwyn, Truth or Dare?", Molly asked in her usual tone. "Mhmm, DARE" Gwyn said. Before anyone could say anything else Jack said, "I dare you to kiss me" And everyone gasped. "It's not like she's gonna do it, Chill out" Jack said.

"No, no, I can do it" She said and got up. "Really? " Jack got up with her. "Yeah" Gwyn said and everyone started whishpering to each other. "Fine" Jack said and started coming towards her to kiss her.

Tarquin suddenly pushed Jack to the ground and put her hands on Gwyn's face and kissed her. Her lips were the softest. They were the definition of perfect. He then stopped himself before it became too obvious. When he pulled away, he saw a smirking Jack on the ground, he knew, this smart son of a bitch knew.

He also saw a red Gwyn. Her cheeks were completely red and she was just staring at him with her eyes wide open. WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED, Her rational self said. But she was too drunk and the started thinking if it was really that bad.

"You're a good kisser" She blurted out while touching her lips, the realization never kicking in. Everyone had quieted by now. It was Tarquin's turn to blush now. "Well Goodnight" She said and hugged Tarquin before sliding away from the bondfire and skipping.

Tarquin had no idea what the hell just happened. He then saw her skipping and smiled. He then went back to his room without telling anyone, to think about how soft her lips felt on his.

Azriel was burning, like literally burning. He was so infested in watching Gwyn skip away that he didn't notice he walked into the bonfire and his shoes had caught fire. After multiple shoutings and shakings from Elain, Azriel finally came out of his trance and put out the fire.

His shadows were wrathful and ruthless. He knew today he wasn't gonna get any sleep tonight, his shadows won't let him. Gwyn had once told him that she had never kissed a guy, she wanted to wait for her mate. But she just wasted her kiss on a FREAKIN GUY WHO DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO STAY IN THE REAL WORLD.

He was gonna kill someone tonight. He was sure. He then just walked out of the ground and into his room. Remembering that he had wanted to be her first kiss, he had wanted to see her blush after their first kiss. He had kissed her before, a little peck she had given him on the lips before falling asleep. He knew Gwyn wouldn't remember it and thought he wanted it to stay that way.

He didn't. He didn't want that memory to be of his and his alone. He wanted to share everything with her but now, it was too late...............

TAGLIST - @trashforazriel @imsointobooks @hlizr50 @shisingh @katiebellf

[cedricslover]

Troubled pt.3

Pairing: Cedric x Fem! Reader

Pt.1 Pt.2 Pt.3 Pt.4 Pt.5 Pt.6 (Final)

Series summary: A very unfortunate situation happened and it resulted in very unfortunate events. You had everything, a good boyfriend that everyone dreamed of, best friends that you got in a twin pack, and a loving school. It was a calm before a storm and in your sixth year the storm came. You faced the consequences your deceased parents run from, you were only left with your only family, your little brother. What would you do in order to save him? The answer is, everything, even if it means joining a terrorist group of wizards, joining THE DEATH EATERS…

Chapter summary: as the Yule Ball came nearer you tried to avoid your problems and just enjoyed the holidays. You were not successful and what you thought would be a lovely evening turned out to be not.

Note: there is no specific house:))) i can make requests if y’all have one. Sorry for the long wait   

Warnings: angst, shouting, yeah pretty much that’s it.

Word count:  3,3k

Hello Molly, 

         I really appreciate how you thought of me having no one to buy me a dress. I really hope I’m not being a hindrance to you. I would prefer any type of dress as long as the sleeves are long up to my wrists. It’s very cold and I have quite an allergy towards the cold and I would really be grateful if it’s a long sleeved dress. Nevertheless, I’ll lead the color to your liking and also the designs. 

       I know you won’t agree but there are a few galleons here just enough for my dress, I don’t want you to waste money on me. That’s all. Take care! Oh and greet Arthur for me too.         

Yours truly, 

Y/N

You sighed as soon as you sealed the envelope. Then, you suddenly glanced at your mirror that was on your table, you’ve never seen your eyes quite this lively since- well since that incident happened. You immediately rejected the negative thoughts that were slowly creeping in your mind. 

‘Stop.’ you told yourself. For the next few days, you wish to never think of your problems first and just enjoy this time. Just this once, again. 

You stared at yourself again at the same mirror, now smiling, you saw yourself, the same self you were last year. She was there, looking back at you and doing your signature wink. 

“Heading to the owlery?” Adrian Pucey suddenly appeared in front of you as you walked the hallway. You rolled your eyes as you replied to him with full sarcasm “Obviously. Now if you please excuse me” you really tried to sound pissed, it's not that you’re not pissed but you’re not pissed enough to sound like it. You just know where this conversation would go. 

“No” He said with full confidence, now you’re seriously pissed. Adrian was a hard headed jerk and you wish to punch his face every time his mouth is opening. “Okay” you rested your face, now showing your bitch face, and without a doubt, punched his stomach and pushed him sideways. You heard him groan before you continued walking and heard the laughs of the students. 

“Way to go Pucey!”

“Told you to stop hitting on her, look at you now”

“Poor Pucey!”

You walked with a smirk plastered in your face. 

“Cedric’s a lucky guy. Too bad” you shivered at the voice of Professor Moody who was just standing beside you. “What was that Professor? I didn’t quite hear what you said after you mentioned how lucky Cedric is” you let out a little laugh as you stopped, intrigued as to what Professor Moody said. “Nothing Y/L/N. Just about that ferret boy” he gave you a little smile before walking away, limping. 

You stared at Professor Moody’s back, you wanted to talk to him, about what is happening to you, he’s an ex-auror, he might help you. But when you were about to follow him you remembered that you weren’t supposed to think about your problems but instead, enjoy yourself. 

You arrived at the owlery, it was really slippery, you heard the owl's hooting while the smooth breeze made you quiver. And as soon as you entered, your pet owl landed on your arm. “The Burrow okay?” you watched your owl as she flew her way to the sky. 

“Hmmm?” you felt warmth wrapping your waist as you stared at the sky, still looking at the direction where your owl went. “You want hot cocoa?” You felt Cedric’s breath in your neck as he rested his face on your shoulder. “Are you a hot cocoa? Because if you are, then yes” you shifted your gaze to him and smiled, looking at those grey eyes, those perfect lashes, and his fairly disheveled hair that almost appeared as golden brown. “Stop looking at me like that, it’s making me blush” he broke your eye contact and stood straight while his face was obviously red, you don’t know if it is because of the cold or he was really blushing. 

“You look cute” you said as you reached for his face and pinched both his rosy cheeks while scrunching your nose. “I know” he smirked and you just playfully rolled your eyes, of course he knows, he’s Cedric Diggory for Godric’s sake. 

“Yeah alright let’s get hot cocoa at Hogsmeade” you started walking and when you were about to reach the stairs you suddenly slipped, luckily an arm wrapped your waist before your body reached the ground. “Be careful next time love, it’s slippery” Cedric’s breath was visible, it was really cold and you’d really appreciate a nice warm kiss. 

Before Cedric can even help you stand up straight you stole a kiss from him and started running, cautiously of course. 

“Hey! Come back here you kiss stealer!” Cedric yelled as you raced down the owlery, your hair bursted in the winter air and your giggles made it even more Christmas-y, if that’s even a word. 

“OW!” you felt sudden coldness on your back, started in your clothes and down your spine, you knew what was that and who did that. “Oh you wanna play this game, git” you slowly gathered snow with your hands and as fast as the snitch you turned and threw it directly to Cedric’s face who was still busy laughing at you. “TAKE THAT!” you started running faster than ever when Cedric wiped the snow off his face, you laughed maniacally as you headed to hogsmeade. “COME BACK HERE!” Cedric shouted again, obviously freezing because you just threw snow directly to his face. 

“Oi! Oi! Y/N!” you heard Fred called you  as you ran past them at the entrance of Zonko’s Joke Shop.

“Later twins!” you waved the back of your hand and sprinted again when you felt Cedric was getting nearer, thankfully you’re not as jacked as your boyfriend, your fitness comes in handy. 

You laughed again as you turned your head and saw Cedric getting tired and panting. You felt bad but still laughed as you went back to him. 

“Sorry” you wrapped your arms to his right arm. He was obviously annoyed or pissed, his lips were pursed. “Ced…” you started slowly pinching his arms while looking at his face, “Ceddie” you said sweetly and saw he was forcing himself not to smile. “Babyyy” you started poking his waist to his tummy and felt his hard abdominal muscles. “Hubby” you wriggled your eyebrows as you saw his face look at you with wide eyes and his cheeks and ears started turning red. “You were waiting for that one aren’t you? You sly badger” you teased him as you two walked the snowy Hogsmeade, his arm over your shoulder, giving you access to his heat while you wrapped your arm to his waist, wishing this moment would never end.

“Oi! Hands off missy!” you shouted across the hallways when you saw a group of students, probably fifth years, crowding over Cedric. At first, you just let it off, Cedric was undeniably popular and this kind of scenario is considered normal, until one girl lays her hand on Cedric’s chest and is about to rest her head too. 

“Thank you love” Cedric smiled at you when you walked to him and the girls immediately avoided you. “You’re so soft despite your muscles” he reached your waist and gave you a kiss, “No I’m not, I just want you to be possessive” he whispered to your ear and slowly licked it that made you immediately look around, alarmed that someone just saw what Cedric did, thankfully no one did. 

“Ced!” you hissed while he chuckled and let go of your waist, “I got to go, see you later, I love you” he said and waved at you before turning his back and started half running, he must be running late. 

You walked again towards your common room when the twins ran in front of you and passed you a box. “Your dress arrived!” they both yelled while running and before you can even ask why they are running you saw Professor McGonagall following them, “Fred and George Weasley come back here this instant!” she shouted that made your eyes go wide and looked at the twins’ back. You shake your head and continue walking the hall while thinking about what the twins had done this time. 

Days have passed by and today was the Yule Ball, you never left your dorm, even if there are a few knocks on your door telling you to go out, it was Christmas, why do you even want to spend your day in your dorm. 

Well maybe you just wanted to have an alone time, it was hard not to think about your current situation, what might happen, you’ll never know. 

You shove all those thoughts into your head and lock it, this is not the time for that. You stood up and observed your dress, beside it was a note from Molly,

Dear Y/N, 

              This is the best one I could get you, I hope you liked it sweetie. Oh how I wish I can see you wearing this dress, this would look very very perfect on you my dear, have fun! 

Love,

Molly

You smiled as you read her note, Molly was there when you needed a mom after yours passed away. The Weasleys made you and your little brother like family, that’s why you’re so thankful to your bestfriends, they are the best. 

After putting on your dress you looked at yourself in the mirror, the long sleeves just hid the dark mark perfectly and since it is fitted you won’t have the trouble of it slipping down, the dress was your house color and was a high neck one, with small flower patterns that are connected and surrounded the neck to the shoulders and navel, the upper part of the dress was fitted and complimented your shape well, while the remaining skirt is flowy and long that it drags as you walk. You felt not a princess, but a queen, high neck dresses are more often seen on queens. You chuckled as you pictured yourself as a queen, with a crown and all.

Walking the hallways felt long enough, like an hour passed by as every time you walked people kept staring at you, it made you anxious and conscious that they see your dark mark that’s why you kept pulling the sleeves as you walk.

But of course, the ignorant, the weak, the obvious, would be caught easily, you kept your straight face as you walked the halls, your head high, covering your anxiety that they might be looking, not just the students, but the death eaters, observing you from afar. 

“I’m looking forward working with you, Y/N” 

The face of Voldemort in the form of a malnourished child sitting on the couch of your old house appeared, beside him was Peter Pettigrew and Nagini. 

“Yes My Lord, I am looking forward to serving you” the image of you appeared with them, bowing down, looking stoic. 

“I’ll be keeping an eye on you my dear” Voldemort’s arm stretched, it was all just skin and bones, then it reached your chin, as you watched yourself, you saw a glimpse of disgust in your face. Voldemort raised your face while Peter smiled widely and Nagini hisses. 

You took a deep breath to remove that memory from months ago, he can never be observing you here at Hogwarts, it’s impossible, his subjects couldn’t possibly enter this castle, this is protected, Hogwarts is one of the safest place, or so they say. 

You stumbled as you bumped into someone, “Professor Moody?” you looked at him and saw his arranged self. You picked his flask that fell and handed it to him. “Are you okay Professor?” his face was sweating and immediately grabbed the flask from your hand and drank it. You immediately smelled the foul stench from the drink as he drank it, “Professor I think your drink is expired” but before he could even answer you, you were called by Hermione. 

“Sorry, I have to go” you forced a smile at him and ran towards Hermione, grabbing your skirt and lifting it so you won't step on it. “Come on, it’s almost time!” she said and grabbed your arm as you two walked fast in the now almost empty hallways. 

“Woah calm down Cinderella” you said and looked at her, her blue dress is perfect. “You look gorgeous by the way” you said and smiled at her as you two were almost on the marble staircase. “Not as gorgeous as you, have you seen yourself?” she said and looked at you, up and down. You felt flattered. 

“Hermione it’s not good to compare. We’re both gorgeous” she smiled at you sweetly, you treated Hermione like a little sister, of course others won’t even realize she needed one, she’s just that know-it-all Gryffindor for them, but for you, she’s just a girl who wanted validation, a girl that thinks academics is the only thing she’s good at. 

“Let’s walk together shall we?” you offered your hand and she took it, you squeezed it, not sure if the assurance is for you or her. 

You two walked the marble staircase, hand in hand, your dress dragging from behind, people straight away looked at the two of you, you only saw one expression from them all, they’re all in awe. 

As you two arrived at the last step Viktor Krum arrived and kissed Hermione’s hand, you smiled at them as Viktor took Hermione away. 

“Wow” you were greeted by Cedric who was now in front of you and was looking at your face. “You always look beautiful” he said and kissed your cheek before offering his arm that you eventually took. 

“How was your day darling?” Cedric asked you while you two were waltzing at the Great Hall. “Doing good, how about you?” you answered as he lifted you up, his forehead creased like he was expecting this question. “Not quite good actually-” you two turned, “my girlfriend, you know, Y/N, she never came out her dorm today,-” you two turned again, “she never even greeted me a Merry Christmas” his face was happy but his jaw said otherwise, his jaw was clenched, “I don’t know what is happening to my girlfriend these past months” he was still doing that fake happy expression, probably not to attract attention, “I feel so left out, I’m her boyfriend yet it feels like she built a door that no one can enter, even me, me who was supposed-” he lifted you, “to be her person, her safe space” he said. You two looked at each other and stopped when almost all of the people were dancing with their partners. 

You surveyed him and knew, Cedric is mad. 

He held your hand and dragged you out of the Great Hall. Now you two are outside, you instantly felt the cold but thanks to your long sleeved dress it was fine for you. 

“What’s going on?” you looked at him, squinting your eyes. “What’s going on?! Isn’t that something I should ask?!” he popped off, the veins on his neck are visible. “I-” you tried to come near him but he backed up. Your face went pale and you tried to fight your tears from falling. “Y/N tell me what is going on?! I can’t understand you anymore, so I tried to ask your brother through a letter even if he’s three years old, because he knows you better than anyone, and do you know what happened?! The letter went back, he’s not there anymore! Y/N! Where’s your brother?!” he held both your shoulders, he was also fighting his tears back, Cedric is a softie, he never wanted to shout unless he is frustrated. 

“Y/N! Tell me!! Where is Theodore?!” the mere mention of your brother’s name acted like an activator for a bomb, tears started streaming down your face. “Where is… he” Cedric’s voice slowly calmed down as he saw you losing it. 

“He is… somewhere safe” you cannot mention it, you don’t want to. Looking down at the snow, the dark mark felt itchy.

“Y/N, where is safe?” his voice was full of suspicion, you raised your head, now composing yourself. There are no expressions left, you’ll just do it. 

“Theo baby!” you called immediately as soon as you entered your house, it seems different now, no mum that would greet you with a kiss and a cookie, no dad that will help you carry your trunk to your room, the only thing that was the same was your little brother running to you with open arms. 

“Big sisteeer” the tiny baby voice rings your ears, you smiled and kneeled expecting his hug. 

“How’s my baby?” you baby talked him and arranged his messy hair. “I was playing” he told you while he was squeezing your cheeks. “Hmm?? Really? With who?” you stood up and placed your trunk at the doorstep. 

“With big guy!” he pointed in front of the both of you and what greeted you was complete terror. “Amycus” you say his name with pure hatred and disgust, you immediately grabbed your wand and pointed it to Amycus Carrow, you know him, how? Simply, he killed your parents. 

“Why are you here?” you backed up, picking up your brother, you wanted to apparate, so bad, but your baby brother can’t possibly handle that. He might splinch. And Amycus knows that, you can’t escape.

“Relax young girl, I just came here to fetch you” he smirked and before you could even throw him an attack spell, you felt dizziness, your eyes slowly closing, you felt weak, “no-” they were taking Theodore away from you. You should've known, the Carrow siblings are like attached in the hip, you should’ve known, Alecto was there. 

“With them” your voice is hard as ever, emotionless in just a snap, you pulled the hem of your sleeve upward and showed your left forearm to Cedric. Your heart shattered in pieces as you saw horror in his face, he probably thought you left your brother at the orphanage, he never thought…

After showing it you immediately return your sleeve into place, “now I think that’s enough explanation on what is going on.” you acted like you shake off the dirt in your shoulder, you’re trying your best to act like everything is just nothing. 

“Of course you wouldn’t want any relationship with a death eater,” you started the conversation again after the long silence, terror overtook Cedric’s face as he looked at you again. He wanted to say something but it seemed like he can’t word it out. 

“Let’s break up” you fought the tears and said it like you’re just announcing something light to him. He looked at you like he can’t believe you’re saying this, but there’s still something in his eyes. 

He agrees. 

He doesn’t want any connection with a death eater. 

“Well, I think that’s settled then” you turned your back to him and took a step forward, you were about to enter the castle again when you were stopped, someone’s holding you back, someone’s holding your wrist. 

You closed your eyes, you can’t hold it much longer. You took a deep breath and turned around but before you could even talk his lips met yours. 

The kiss wasn’t innocent, it wasn’t passionate, but it was love, the kiss is something new, maybe it was both of your tears that you can taste, but it was more, it’s a kiss for a love that can’t happen, a love that will make you regret all your decisions more, a kiss that doesn’t want you to go. A kiss from your person that had no other choice. 

“I love you” He said between your kisses, salty tears filled both of your lips, “so much”. 

It was a kiss after a break up. Merry Christmas indeed.

[seanfalco]

Happy Birthday Winnie | Misfits Timeline Anomaly’verse

an oc x oc collaboration between @seanfalco & @super-unpredictable98​

Word Count: 7k Warnings: Recreational drug use, alcohol, smut, public sex

[ masterlist ]

"So, where are you guys takin' me?" Win asked again curiously.

"For the thousandth time, you'll see when we get there," her Nathan exclaimed with a laugh. "Maybe we shoulda blindfolded her too," he muttered, glancing over at his twin.

"That would've been nice, wouldn't it, babe?" Lyddie's Nathan teased before biting her neck softly.  

"Don't worry, it's gonna be amazing, you're gonna love it, I'm sure of it," Lydia put both hands on Win's shoulders, massaging her.  "Now relax and enjoy your day."

"Mmmm," Win hummed, the sound turning into more of a moan than anything under their attention.  "I guess I can do that," she joked, letting her eyes slip shut. 

"That's a good girl," her Nathan teased, taking her hand to give it a squeeze as he looked out the train window.

"Fuck, I hate when you say that in public..." Lydia shuddered while still massaging Win's shoulders.  "I look like a nymphomaniac with zero self control." 

"And where's the lie, Lollipop?" her Nathan leaned back with a laugh, reaching into her backpack for more snacks.

"Mmm, you can call me a good girl any time," Win taunted.  "Besides, if you're a nympho, Lyds, then so am I," she laughed.  

"And I wouldn't have it any other way," Win's Nathan murmured, waggling his eyebrows.

"Yeah, maybe my mum was right when she said I'd find my crowd," Lyddie looked out the window.  "I think we're almost there!" she cried, holding Win tightly. 

"How d'you know that?  Have you been here before?" her Nathan asked in the middle of devouring a tin of cookies.  

"Once, when I was a kid, but it's been so long..."

Win snagged a biscuit before leaning closer to the window to see if she could get any idea of where they were going.  All she could see were crowds of people and tents.  "Is this some sort of festival?" she asked excitedly.

"Might be... why?  Does the birthday girl like this sort of thing?  I had no idea!" Lydia gasped dramatically.  She had the idea a few months back.  She thought it would be nice to take a little time off and be as far away from Win's family as possible on her special day.

"Oh my God," Win exclaimed, turning back to throw her arms around Lydia.  "This is the best birthday gift.  Thank you thank you thank you!"

"So I guess you like it then?" Lydia joked, hugging Win back.  

"What kinds of drugs d'you think they got in there?" Lyddie's Nathan mused. 

"Nathan!  Probably all of them, but we're not doing that, not after what happened at the club,” Lydia snapped. 

"What, wou almost shaggin' me at the car park?" he snorted.  "We're here, might as well try somethin'... we're immortal."

"I'll do some Molly," Win murmured with a smirk.  "It's not a proper festival if you're not a little high," she teased, winking at Lyddie's Nathan.

"As always the mum of the group is gonna have to take care of everyone..." Lydia rolled her eyes. 

"Nah, c'mon!  Do it with us!" her Nathan pouted. 

"Forget it, I'm not gonna be peer pressured by my fiancé, no way.  It's Winnie's first birthday in this dimension, I wanna remember it."

"Aw, maybe I shouldn't then," Win deliberated as they got up to exit the compartment.  "I don't wanna make Lyds be the designated driver, as it were." 

"But it's your birthday, babe, you should do what you want," her Nathan argued, following her out.

"That is true, you are the boss," Lydia grabbed her backpack before Nathan could reach it.  "I don't really mind it, you're too adorable for me to be upset." 

"And I'm not?" her Nathan asked, perplexed.

"I think you're adorable," Win exclaimed with a smirk.  "I think you're all adorable," she teased, throwing a cheeky grin over her shoulder at them before climbing down the steps to land on the platform outside.  "Looks like it's a bit of a walk," she noticed, shading her eyes from the sun overhead.

"I'll give you a piggy back ride if y'want," her Nathan offered.

"D'you want me to carry you too?" Lyddie's Nathan asked, poking Lydia’s arm. 

"Ha, very funny..." she muttered, putting her beach hat on.  "Take the backpack, and be careful, there are breakable things in there, breakable gifts," she whispered, following the others.

Once they made it to the entrance, Win's Nathan let her down and they showed their tickets to get in, getting coloured wrist bands so they could drink. 

"Okay, let's find the schedule," Win exclaimed, bouncing on her toes to look around, lost in the sea of people.  "Then we can figure out which acts we wanna see and plan our day."

"Here, I have it on my phone somewhere..." Lydia searched for a few seconds before showing it to Win.  

"D'you have any more food in there?" her Nathan whined, opening the backpack, but was surprised with a black velvet box.  "Lollipop, c'mere" he pulled her to the corner. 

"What?  If you keep eating everything there will be nothing left for the rest of us..." 

"No, not that, what's this?  Are you gonna... y'know... pop the question?" 

"Oh my God!  No, I got her a bracelet, why?  Do you think she's gonna be disappointed?"

"Okay, I think I've decided which act I wanna see first," Win announced, handing Lydia back her phone, noticing the looks on her and her Nathan's faces.  "Everything okay?"

"Brilliant," Lyddie's Nathan smiled, quickly closing the backpack.  "Let's go then." 

"Well, do you?" Lydia muttered under her breath, she hadn't even considered that, but now she definitely was. 

"No, I don't think so, it's a nice surprise," he assured.  "I just thought... y'know.  You're very romantic, I thought this was another cinematic stunt."

Win led them to the stage for the act she wanted to see, the music having already started.  “I still can’t quite believe I’m here.  I’ve wanted to come to this festival forever.  You guys are the best.”

"Seeing you happy is my gift," Lyddie embraced Win from behind as they danced together.  Her Nathan disappeared for a second, returning with four bottles of hard lemonade which Lydia was reluctant to drink at first, but she wanted to have a good time with them.

“Thanks babe,” Win exclaimed, trading him a kiss for the bottle, bringing it to her lips as she swayed with Lydia.  Once that set was up she excitedly pulled them with her to the next band she wanted to see, the stage on the other side of the field.

“Hey Lyds, I know I probably don’t have to ask, but d’you have any sunscreen in that bag of yours?” Win asked, reaching for the zipper.

"Yeah sure," Lydia was already a little buzzed and didn't even remember the velvet box inside.  "I brought like four bottles just in case, Nathan did that thing Hermione did to her bag in the Deathly Hallows, anything we might need is in there."  The boys couldn't bother either, they were too busy sharing a joint to even realize what Win was doing.

“Nifty,” Win exclaimed, reaching in the bag and feeling around.  “What’s this?” she asked, pulling out the little box before finding the bottle of sunscreen.

"Oh, that’s... that’s a gift for you, I was gonna wait until later when we're alone," Lyddie murmured, remembering her Nathan's words and hoping Win didn't get the wrong idea.

“Oh!” Win exclaimed, quickly dropping the box back into the bag.  “I don’t wanna ruin your surprise!” she said instead, quickly zipping the bag back up.

"Don't worry, you're gonna love it... I hope you will..." Lydia took the sunscreen and tossed the bag to her Nathan while she helped Win apply it.

“I’m sure I will,” Win murmured.  “I wonder what it is,” she mused with a grin before turning to reach toward Nathan.  “Here, gimme that joint,” she exclaimed.

Lyddie's Nathan passed it to her with a smirk.  "D'you want some, Lyds?" 

"No, thank you," she answered, almost getting distracted as she ran her hand up and down Win's chest.  "I'm pretty sure you're the people they warned me about in D.A.R.E," she joked.

Win laughed, offering the blunt back to Nathan before pulling Lyddie in close to kiss her.  “Thanks for helping me, now I won’t burn,” she murmured.  “Do you need any help?”

"You know, I did put on sunscreen before we left the train, but I won't complain if you wanna put your hands all over me," Lyddie mumbled against Win's lips.  "Or other parts of you..."

“Mmmm, I like th’way you think,” Win murmured, playing with the hem of Lydia’s shirt.  “Hey boys, we gotta use th’restroom, we’ll be right back,” she said, stealing one more hit before pulling Lydia with her to go look for a secluded spot to snog.

"Can you believe that?" Lyddie's Nathan exclaimed, watching as the girls disappeared in the crowd.  "Won't even invite us..." 

“Don’t worry bout it, I’m sure by th’end of the night we’ll be gettin’ lucky too.  Might see if anyone’s got some molly though, since Win mentioned it earlier...” he mused. 

"Yeah, yeah," Lyddie's Nathan agreed, following his twin.  He really wanted to see how Lyds would be like high, but he wasn't gonna push her. 

Lydia happily followed Win until they found a space behind the stage where they could be alone.  "So... what could you possibly wanna do away from everyone?" she asked, flashing her girlfriend an innocent smile.

Pinning Lyddie’s back to the wall she finally let her hand slip under her shirt to feel her as she kissed her neck.  “Just wanted t’put my hands all over you,” Win answered as she worked her way up to her lips.

"Oh, Winnie," Lydia gasped.  She loved how hot Win's skin felt, how close her breathing was.  "Only you can make me feel like this," she sighed, sliding her hands down her girlfriend's back.

“Only me?” Win asked softly, Lyddie’s words warming her making her feel incredibly special.

"Only you," it was true, each of her lovers made Lydia feel amazing in a different way, and only Win was able to leave her breathless like that.

Win moaned as she slipped her tongue into Lydia’s mouth, her hand sliding down the front of her shorts.  “Be good and be quiet for the birthday girl,” Win murmured teasingly.

Win's words made Lydia shudder and she nodded obediently.  "I'll be quiet," she whispered, letting her eyes shut as she enjoyed the feeling of being touched like that.  "Anything for you."

“I may be waiting for my other gift, but I want this one right now,” Win teased, circling her fingers around Lyddie’s clit as the music washed over them from the nearby stage.  “I wanna make you come, baby,” she purred.

"You're so good to me," Lydia breathed before her lips were on Win's again in an effort to silent her needy moans.  She couldn't believe they were actually doing this out in the open; it was risky, but that only made Lyddie hotter.  "Winnie, I'm--"

“Good girl,” Win groaned, capturing her lips as she felt Lydia shudder as she came.  “Fuck that was hot.  You’re so sexy, Lyddie,” she purred, pulling her hand from her shorts and bringing her fingers to her mouth to clean them.  “We should probably find the boys, I bet they’re getting jealous by now.”

"They can be jealous all they want," Lydia kissed Win once more before taking her hand.  "Right now I'm yours," she took a deep breath, trying to recover.

——

"Oh, finally!  What were you two doin' in the bathroom all that time?" Lyddie's Nathan asked. 

"That's not something you ask people, Nate," Lyds mocked.

“Takin’ a massive dump, since y’asked,” Win joked, pulling him into her arms for a kiss.  “Why, were you feeling neglected?” she teased, already feeling light and floaty.

"A little bit, yeah," Lyddie's Nathan huffed.  "We got you a little somethin', but I don't know if you deserve it anymore... maybe we'll just keep it all for ourselves," he looked back at his clone and winked.

“It’s my birthday, and there’s plenty of me t’go around boys,” Win replied, glancing from Lyddie’s Nathan to her own, pouting at them.  “But if that’s how you’re gunna be, I’ll just go off with Lyddie again,” she said, taking a step back from Lyddie’s Nathan.

"No, don't!" he yelped, reaching for her.  "I was just screwin' around, I love you, baby, c'mon..." 

"Awww, you're adorable," Lydia teased him, squishing his face between her hands.  "So cute when you're jealous." 

"You two are gonna end up killin' me," Lyddie's Nathan grumbled, taking Win's hand and handing her a small plastic bag with colorful pills in it. 

"Good thing you're immortal then."

Win, grinned as she took the baggy from him, pouring the tablets out into her hand.  “Ahhh thank you babe.  Okay, who wants one?” she asked, placing one on her tongue before her Nathan obediently opened his mouth for her to give him one.

Lyddie's Nathan opened his mouth as well and looked at his fiancé hopefully. 

"Stop giving me that look!" Lydia said, shaking her head. 

"Okay... but I think you'd have fun," he muttered.  "If somethin' happens, just do your Wolverine thing and cure yourself." 

"First of all, since when do you know about Wolverine?  And second of all, if this shit reverses my powers, it won't be pretty!  I'll probably have an asthma attack or some shit." 

"It won't!  It's gonna be okay." 

"Ugh, if my mum knew about this... alright, hit me," Lyds grunted before sticking her tongue out.

“Okay, here we go,” Win exclaimed, giving Lyddie the last pill.  “Just enjoy it Lollipop,” she murmured, chasing the pill with a kiss.

The sun was beginning to sink toward the horizon as they headed toward the food trucks parked off to one side.  

“God, I’m starving,” Win’s Nathan exclaimed, leaning against Lydia, his other arm draped over Win’s shoulder.

"Me too," Lyddie leaned back against him.  "I want something with a lot of cheese, and then I want soda." 

"Y'can't have soda, baby," her Nathan laughed.  "That'll give you a stomach ache." 

"Fiiiine you buzzkill, juice then," she took Win's Nathan's arm.  "It's so weird that I took the pill, but I don't feel any different." 

"Just wait, Lollipop, you'll see."

Once they got their food, Win found a nice empty spot in the grass for them to sit, the drugs starting to take effect, washing over her and heightening her senses.  Crawling into Lyddie’s Nathan’s lap, she moaned around her bite of food, the burger she’d gotten tasting better than anything she’d ever eaten before.

"Wow, okay," Lyddie's Nathan was taken by surprise when Win got on his lap, but he snaked his arms around her, wanting her to stay.  

"You look so beautiful right now," Lydia watched Win's Nathan while eating her pizza.  She still didn't feel any different, or so she thought.  "Like, I'm really hungry, but if I wasn't I'd kiss you."

“You want a kiss, Lollipop?” he asked, smirking as he set aside his nachos, sucking the leftover cheese sauce from his fingers. 

"More than anything," Lydia smiled, taking his fingers in her mouth before pressing her lips to his.  "Hmmm, you're so hot." 

“You’re hotter,” Win’s Nathan countered with a smirk. 

"I don't believe you," Lyddie, shoved the rest of her food in her mouth. "You and Winnie are the hottest people in this festival."

"Aren't you forgettin' anyone?" her Nathan teased. 

"Oh, you have the same face, of course you're included," Lydia huffed. 

“God, I feel good,” Win murmured, leaning back against Lyddie’s Nathan’s chest.  “The stars are starting to come out.”

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Lyddie's Nathan ran his fingers through Win’s hair.  "Like you," he murmured, kissing her cheek before going back to his kebab.

“Aw, you’re sweet,” Win giggled, finishing her food and stretching.  “I’m torn,” she whined. “I wanna go dance, but I’m also really comfortable right here.”

"I'm full, I kinda wanna listen to music and relax," he said, holding Win close.  

"If you want, I'll dance with you later," Lydia offered, without taking her eyes from Win's Nathan while she fed him his nachos.

“That sounds perfect,” Win murmured, turning in Lyddie’s Nathan’s embrace to get comfortable, resting her cheek against his shoulder as she gazed up at him, playing with the strings on his hoodie. 

“Now this is paradise,” Win’s Nathan sighed.  “Good music, a hot girl feedin’ me,” he murmured with a grin.  “I could get used t’this.”

"Oh, it's paradise alright," Lydia licked her fingers clean when she was done, and offered him her drink.  "Was it good, Natty?"

“So good,” Win’s Nathan replied, taking a long drink before passing the straw back to her, pulling Lydia into his lap.  After all, nearly every couple in the grass around them were in similar positions, snogging or cuddling.

Lyddie's Nathan smiled before leaning in to press his lips to Win's, taking his time to savor her kiss.  "We wanted t'make sure things were perfect for your big day." 

Win moaned into Lyddie‘a Nathan’s mouth, pulling him closer. “It’s more than perfect, you’re perfect,” she assured him, her head spinning, her body aflame with pent up need, the drugs heightening every sense.  Just feeling his hands on her skin was driving her crazy. 

"I love you, Winnie," Lyddie's Nathan kissed her back, matching her enthusiasm.  That's when he had an idea, remembering the day he proposed to Lyds -- he’d made her come by licking a lollipop and using his power to mirror the sensation on her clit -- deciding to do the same thing, this time he took Win's hand and gently stroked her palm. 

"I don't know why, but... I feel hornier than usual," Lydia whispered, running her hands under Win's Nathan's shirt, along his chest and his stomach.  “Kiss me, I wanna taste you."

“That would be th’ecstacy, m’love,” Win’s Nathan chuckled, shivering under her touch.  “C’mere,” he growled playfully, slipping his hand behind her neck to pull her closer as he opened his mouth to her.

With a soft moan, Lydia captured his lips.  "Remind me why they say drugs are bad again?" she joked, pulling him closer tugging at his shirt.  "I want you, Nathan, I've never wanted anything in my life like I want you right now."

“I love you toooo—“ Win gasped as the sensation hit her and she squirmed in Lyddie’s Nathan’s lap.  “Nathan, are you—doing this, or am I going crazy?” she asked, her breathing turning heavy. 

"What?  D'you feel somethin'?" Lyddie's Nathan asked, faking confusion while still rubbing the palm of Win's hand firmly at a steady pace.  "What's wrong, sweetheart?" 

Win glanced down at her hand, noticing that the sensation seemed in sync with the movement of Nathan’s fingers.  “Oh, you sly dog,” she moaned, biting her lip as she threw her head back.  “Why have you never done this before?  This is so fuckin’ hot.  Jesus, Nathan,” she breathed.

Win’s Nathan laughed harder, looking around, frowning at Win and his clone, unsure what exactly was happening, but Win looked like she was having fun.  “Let’s go for a walk, find somewhere t’be alone,” he whispered in Lyddie’s ear.

"Oh, I love how everyone's taking me for walks today..." Lydia grinned, taking Win's Nathan's hand, giggling just imagining what he wanted to do, shivers running down her spine from his whispering.  "Be right back," she announced, not that the others cared.

Spying a small pavilion with a sign for indoor bathrooms, Nathan headed toward it, pulling Lydia with him.  “Hope you’re not averse to a quickie in the loo,” he whispered in her ear.  “I wanna shag you so bad, Lyds.”

"I'm not averse to anything that involves your cock inside of me, Nats," Lydia exclaimed, barely making it to the bathroom without jumping his bones.  Her sex drive was usually crazy, but the drugs made it ten times crazier.  "I've never done this before... it's so exciting."

“You’ve never shagged in a public toilet before?” Win’s Nathan exclaimed, pulling her into the small one room stall with him and locking the door behind him.  “Well, I am a master at it by now,” he said, pinning her against the wall as his mouth went to her neck and his fingers went to the button on her shorts.

"No, only locker rooms and car parks," Lydia gasped, burying her fingers in his curls as his kisses awakened every last bit of her body.  "Oh, please, Natty, take care of me," she moaned, fumbling with his jeans, her hand sliding under his boxer briefs to palm his erection.

“Oh fuck, Lollipop,” Win’s Nathan groaned, tearing Lydia’s shorts and knickers down to pool around her ankles, urging her to wrap one of her legs around his waist as he pressed his cock to her entrance, kissing her deeply as he began to press into her.

Lydia kissed him back, whining as she felt his cock teasing her.  "Please, shag my brains out, Nate... fuck, you're so sexy, I need you," she mumbled, pulling Nathan closer again, desperate for him, his taste, his scent, it was all driving her mad.

“Oh God, Lydia,” he groaned, focusing on kissing her as he thrust up into her, filling her abruptly, not giving her time to adjust before he began to fuck her.  “Fuck, you feel amazin’,” he gasped.

"Nathan!" Lydia nearly screamed in pleasure, holding onto him for support, her head wondering for a moment, remembering their wild nights in New York, it was so good to feel like that again.   "Choke me," she breathed.

“Gladly, Lyddie,” he exclaimed, his hand not holding her leg circling her throat, lightly at first before squeezing, watching her expression as he continued to pound into her.

The feeling of Win's Nathan's hand on her throat made Lydia's mouth fall open, immediately driving her to the edge.  Her hands blindly grabbed his ass, encouraging him to move faster.

Win's Nathan yelped in surprise, but he sped up at her urging, thrusting into her even rougher, her back no doubt digging into the wall, but she seemed to be loving it and Nathan lost himself in her, feeling his pleasure crest quickly.

"I'm so close, Nathan," Lydia managed to say, enjoying his reaction to her unexpected touch.  She had to bite her lip not to cry out loud as she came undone for him, her body tensing up as she stared deep into his eyes.

"Oh, fuck," Win's Nathan breathed, pressing his forehead to Lydia's as she came, clenching around him tighter and he gave several more jerky thrusts as he spilled his seed in her, stilling to catch his breath.  "Fuck, baby, that was hot as fuck," he panted.

"I fucking love you," Lydia breathed, slightly overwhelmed by how good it had felt, how intense the sensations were; she even teared up a little.  "And I love fucking you," she laughed before kissing his collarbone softly.

Nathan laughed, pulling out and tucking himself back into his jeans.  "I love fuckin' you and I fuckin' love you too, baby," he exclaimed, taking her face between his hands to kiss her, brushing her tears away from her cheek.

"Sometimes I can't believe you're mine, at least half of you is..." Lydia murmured, pulling her shorts back up, feeling slightly lightheaded.   waited for so long, I-" Lydia nearly fell, holding onto him.  "Sorry, I got a little dizzy," she laughed.

"Whoa! Lyds, you okay?" Win's Nathan exclaimed quickly, catching Lydia before her legs went out from under her.  "Maybe we should get yeh some water and go sit back down for a bit," he suggested worriedly, wrapping his arm around her to keep her stabilized as they headed back to where Win and the other Nathan sat.

"I'm... I'm fine, I think I just need some water," Lydia assured, though she didn't know if that was supposed to happen, she was just happy to not be alone.  "It's probably cause I've been drinking, and this is my first time, nothing serious."

——

"Y'like that, huh?" Lyddie's Nathan kissed Win's neck with a smug grin, his fingers moving slightly faster.  "It's a special trick, for special occasions, such as your birthday... just gotta be quiet, okay, baby girl?  Or everyone's gonna know you're a dirty little thing," he purred quietly. 

Win whined but nodded, pressing her face into the crook of his neck to muffle her moans.  “God, I love you,” she murmured, kissing his neck, her breathing punctuated with a sharp breath every few moments.  “If you keep that up I’m gunna come soon.” 

"And that's not what you want?" Lyddie's Nathan asked, slowing down a little, but not stopping.  "Don't you wanna come for me, Winnie?" he murmured, bringing her hand up and kissing her palm gently, dragging his lips along her skin. 

“I—ohhh,” she sighed, her words melting.  “Please Nathan,” she begged softly.  “I do wanna come. God, I feel so dirty doing this right out in th’open,” she confessed. 

"You're a filthy girl, Winnie... but y'look so cute when you beg," Lyddie's Nathan murmured, licking her palm, slow at first, but more vigorously as he felt her squirming in his lap.

“Oh god, yes,” she whined. “Nathan, I’m—“ she didn’t get to finish her sentence before she came, pressing her face into his chest as she tensed, gasping a breath, her fingers of her free hand balling in his shirt. 

"That's my girl, so good, that was so fuckin' hot!" Lyddie's Nathan praised, holding Win against his chest.  "Happy birthday, baby," he said, kissing the top of her head, trying to ignore his own excitement.  He didn't wanna ruin the moment.

As Win came down from her orgasm, her head still swimming slightly, she tilted her chin up to look at him.  “I wonder what the people around us thought of you licking my hand,” she giggled before kissing his jaw.  “Thank you though, baby, but what about you?  I wanna make you feel good too,” she whined in his ear. 

"Well, you orgasmed in front of everyone, so I wouldn't worry about what they think," Lyddie's Nathan chuckled, but the thought of Win making him feel good was also an interesting one.  He snapped his fingers and a blanket covered them.  Everyone around was high, so it's not like they’d even notice...  

“And I’m the dirty one?” Win asked, cocking an eyebrow at him as her hand slipped under the blanket, and she shifted so she could unbutton his jeans, freeing his throbbing cock with a smirk.

"I thought y'were a fan of public sex..." Lyddie's Nathan mused, cupping Win's tits playfully as she found a comfortable position. "I just wanna please you, darlin', I wouldn't want my girlfriend missin' out on the concert,” he teased.

"I am," she replied, "I'm just sayin' you're as dirty as me, if not more," she pointed out, arching her chest into his hand as she stroked his length, brushing her thumb over his sensitive head and feeling his cock twitch in her hand.  "I love doin' this with you," she sighed, leaning against his shoulder as she worked her fist up and down, slowly at first. 

"I might be, a sexy bird taught me a trick or two at a hotel pool once," Lyddie's Nathan started, but soon he had to press his lips to Win's shoulder, tryin not to be loud.  "Fuck, baby, your hands are-- Jesus..." he mumbled. 

Win laughed, relishing his reaction.  "God, you're cute," she cooed, kissing his temple.  Wanting to tease him further, she sped her hand up, squeezing slightly as she worked him, drawing his earlobe between her teeth.  "Be a good boy for me, Natty, can't be too loud now or everyone'll know what we're doin'."

"Oh, you're evil, Winnie."  Lyddie's Nathan threw his head back, his eyes clenched shut, much like his fists.  "I love when y'wank me off like this, baby, don't stop," he groaned, bringing her closer, seeking her lips. 

Win grinned into the kiss. "And I love you baby," she replied, jerking him faster still.  "I want you to come all over my hand, make a mess under this blanket, y'filthy boy," she purred.

Lyddie's Nathan's best efforts to not be obvious about what was happening were lost when he heard those words.  "Fuck..." he moaned, slightly louder than intended as he came, not caring anymore what people would think, he was pretty sure half of them were doing the same thing anyway. 

Win's grin grew and she kissed Nathan despite the sticky mess still covering her hand.  "Good boy," she murmured.  "God that was hot."

"So hot!  I have no clue why I feel like this when y'call me a good boy, but Jesus... I fuckin' love it," he confessed.  Win had been confusing him, he was usually the dominant one, but he liked when she took charge like that.

"Really?" Win asked, taken aback, her stomach fluttering at his admission.  She'd always been the dominant one between her and her Nathan, and while she liked subbing with Lyddie's Nathan, there was something about watching him submit to her that excited her more than she could say.

"Well, you are good, so so good t'me," she murmured, running her clean hand through his curls. 

Before she could draw on his power to clean up his little mess, Lydia and her Nathan returned.

"Hey, loves of my life," Lydia smiled wiping the sweat from her forehead as she carefully sat down next to the others.  "Do you have some water?" 

"You okay, babe?" her Nathan asked, quickly zipping up his jeans and turning to check on her, opening the backpack to get her bottle.  "Y'seem a bit... shaky." 

"Yeah, I'm fine, how was your... sexy adventure?" she asked, sipping some water while leaning against Win's Nathan.

Win borrowed Nathan’s power to clean off her hand.  “It was very nice,” she answered with a grin, glancing at Lyddie’s Nathan.  “You?” she asked.

"Good, great," Lydia nodded, holding Win's Nathan tightly with her head against his chest.  "It was amazing actually.  In a second I'll be good to go again if you'd like..."

“Damn Lollipop,” Win’s Nathan laughed, kissing the top of her head. “I think you should probably rest for a bit first, huh?”

"I hate it when you're right," Lydia huffed, her head still spinning.  "How about... I give you your gift then?" she suggested, reaching for her backpack to fetch the black velvet box.  "Happy birthday, my love!" she cried, offering it to Win.

“You really didn’t have to get me anything, babe,” Win exclaimed, though she opened the box excitedly, having been wondering all day what could be inside. 

“What is it?” her Nathan asked curiously.

“Oh my God, Lydia, this is— it’s beautiful, I’m never gunna take it off,” Win gasped, pulling out a small silver bracelet with a heart shaped charm with the letters N + W + L + N on it. “Nathan, can you help me?” she asked, holding out her wrist for Lydia’s Nathan to wrap the bracelet around.

"This is so sweet," Lyddie's Nathan helped Win with the bracelet and kissed the back of her hand.  "You could've asked me t'make it,” he whispered to Lydia. 

"I know, I just saw it on my way home the other day and couldn't resist, so I asked for the engraving and..." Lydia smiled, watching how happy she was.  "It looks perfect on you."

“Thank you, Lydia, I love you so much.  I love all of you so much!” Win cried, feeling slightly overwhelmed with emotion as she pulled them all in for a hug.

"We love you too," Lyddie squeezed her back, feeling insanely lucky.  "Do you still wanna dance?  Cause I'm feeling better and the boys are horrible at it, so they would just embarrass you." 

"Hey!" her Nathan shouted, knowing that she wasn't exactly wrong.  "A little respect please?"

“I would love t’dance!” Win exclaimed, helping Lydia to her feet. “Boys?” she asked hopefully. “You sure you don’t wanna come too?”

"I'll go just to embarrass you, Lyddie," her Nathan got up, dusting his jeans.  

"As I suspected, the best way to get you to do something is telling you that you shouldn't," she smirked.  "Are you coming, babe?" she looked back at Win's Nathan.

“Course I am, I wanna dance with the birthday girl,” he exclaimed, letting Lyddie help him up.

Lydia pulled him as they headed toward the stage.  She was never very good at dancing like nobody's watching, but right then she couldn't be bothered by anyone else.

Bracketed by both Nathans, Win shook her hair out, moving to the music as she pulled Lydia closer while grinding against her Nathan.

What a sight they must've been, dancing, kissing, and holding each other... 

"I’ve just had the best idea," Lyddie wrapped her arms around Win, “once we get to the hotel..." 

"What hotel?" her Nathan interjected, confused. 

"The one I asked you to find and make a reservation at?" 

"Oh... I knew I had forgotten somethin'," he grimaced. 

"So you're telling me we don't have a place to sleep?"

“Maybe there’ll still be rooms available?” Win’s Nathan ventured, though he had a feeling it was doubtful.

"In the middle of a music festival?" Lydia was trying very hard not to freak out.  "In a town with two hotels?  We're fucked..." 

"Nah, I'll fix it!" her Nathan tried to calm her down. 

"Just like you did with the corpse in the car that one time?" she scoffed. 

"I did fix that, we're not in jail so it worked!" he whispered.  "Calm down, we can make us a tent, problem solved."

“There’s an area for camping,” Win pointed out, gesturing over toward the far side of the field.  “A tent sounds fun!” she exclaimed.  “But maybe make it a lot bigger than it looks on the outside,” she giggled, not worried at all as she pulled out another joint to light.

"See?  You worry too much, baby, give us a little credit, you're not the only responsible one..." Lyddie's Nathan held her from behind. 

"That's arguable," she teased.  "But if Win's happy with it, then cheers."

“I still wanna know what this ‘best idea’ of yours is,” Win purred, wrapping her arms around Lydia as her Nathan plucked the joint from her fingers for a hit.

"Well, I was just gonna say I brought our special toy so maybe I could use it with you once we're alone," Lyddie murmured.  "If you want..."

“Oh?” Win exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.  “I’d like that a lot, Lollipop,” she replied, straightening.

"Good, cause I wanna fuck you until you scream," Lydia purred before biting Win's neck softly.

“Ohhh,” Win groaned, wrapping her arms around Lydia’s neck.  “God that sounds amazingggg,” she whined.

"We get t'watch, don't we?" Lyddie's Nathan asked hopefully.  He’d never seen Lydia doing that yet. 

"I'll think about it..." she taunted.

“Aw c’mon baby, I like an audience,” Win grinned, taking Lyddie’s Nathan’s hand.  “I’m feeling a little worn out, shall we go pitch our tent?  It’s not like there’ll be no music tomorrow.”

"Very well," Lyddie's Nathan kissed Win's temple.  "Let's go then. I just hope nobody notices the tent showin' up out of thin air... but it's dark enough, I think." 

"You think?" Lydia laughed.  "You are so carefree, I gotta try that sometime, cause being in my head is exhausting."

“You want another hit of this?” Win’s Nathan offered, passing Win’s joint around as he wrapped his arms around both girls as they began to head toward the camping ground.

"I have to take care of the pipes," Lydia frowned.  "We have a gig coming up, but I like to watch you." 

"Okay, big reveal..." Lyddie's Nathan opened her backpack and got a rod out of it.  "What's that?" 

"That's--" he smashed the rod on the grass and an entire tent came out, making her jump and nearly fall, “--our tent!" 

"JESUS CHRIST, Nathan! Was this really necessary?" 

"No, but it was fun, wasn't it?"

Win laughed.  “Ahh, it’s perfect!  Thank you babe,” she exclaimed, raising up to kiss Lyddie’s Nathan’s cheek before hurrying through the flap into the tent.  “Oh my God, Lydia!  You have t’see this!” she exclaimed, gaping at the furnishing.  “It looks like a fuckin’ hotel in here.”

"Okay, this is amazing!" Lyddie walked inside and jumped on the bed, pulling Win with her.  "I love it ! You're the best, Nate..." 

"What was that again?" her Nathan asked, joining them with a smug grin.  "I didn't hear ya..." 

"You're the best, thank you," Lydia repeated, pressing a kiss to his lips.

“My hero!” Win exclaimed, kicking her shoes off as she fell to the bed. 

“What about me?” her Nathan exclaimed with a huff and she pulled him down as well.

“You’re my hero too babe, always will be,” she said, pressing a kiss to his lips.  “Seriously, this has been the best birthday ever.”

"I'm happy you had a good time, I've been so anxious all day to make sure everything is perfect, so it's good to know it all worked out," Lydia embraced Win, kissing her all over her neck and shoulders.  "It was a lot of fun... I just wish I could make you a cake."

“Aw babe,” Win cooed, giggling at her kisses.  “I don’t need a cake, I’ve got something just as sweet!”

"As soon as we're back home I'll make you one, I'll make you an entire dinner," Lyddie mused before remembering her offer.  "Are you too tired for my surprise?  Cause if you wanna go to bed I understand."

“I’m not too tired!” Win exclaimed, perking up.  “I want your surprise!”

"Boys, would you be so kind as to strip her naked for me?" Lyddie asked as she got up and dug through her backpack for the pink bag she kept the special toys on trips.

“Gladly!” Win’s Nathan exclaimed, peeling her top off and unsnapping her bra.  

“Oh!” Win exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"Very good," Lyddie praised as her Nathan got rid of Win's shorts and knickers.  "So beautiful, all for me..." she slowly shed her own clothes and made a show of putting the strap-on on.

Win wet her lips as she fell back onto the bed, watching Lyddie while anticipation coursed through her.  “Oh God, Lyddie,” she breathed, turned on by how possessive she was being.

"Look at you, so needy, I love to see you like that..." Lyddie crawled atop of her.  Lyddie's Nathan on the other hand was extremely confused, if having Win make him a submissive wasn't enough, now he couldn't stop staring at his fiancé with that dildo on.

Win’s Nathan knew that look, he was pretty sure he’d had that look on his face the first few times Win wore the strap and he smirked, turning his gaze back to the girls. 

“I am, I need you so bad, Lollipop!” Win cried, running her hands down Lydia’s back.

"Do you?" Lyddie reached between Win's legs, circling her clit while looking up at her Nathan to catch his reaction.  "I guess you deserve it after how nice you were to me earlier behind the stage..." she teased her entrance.

Win whimpered, squirming under Lyddie’s touch, wanting more.  “Please, baby, I want you t’ruin me,” she begged desperately.

Lyddie slowly thrust into her, kissing her chest tenderly.  "Like that, sweetie, is this what you want?" 

"Jesus..." her Nathan breathed, swallowing nervously.

“Yes, more Lyddie,” Win gasped, her hands sliding down to grab Lydia’s ass.  “Please I want you t’ruin me.  Wear me out.  Use me.”

"That's a good little pet," Lyddie growled, slamming into her, moving fast and roughly.  "You're so good for me," she leaned in, pressing her lips to Win's.

Win let out a muffled cry as she kissed Lydia back desperately.  “Oh God, Lyddie, you’re amazing!” she whimpered in between kisses.  “I’m already so close, fuck, you fuck me so good baby!” 

“Holy shit...” Win’s Nathan muttered as he watched, spellbound.  Fuck but we wanted Lydia to do that to him.

"Yeah? You're gonna come for me, baby?" Lyddie kept moving vigorously.  She usually felt pretty awkward in situations like this, but seeing Win screaming her praises filled her with confidence.  

Her Nathan decided not to question it, he was too horny to think, all he knew was Lydia looked incredibly sexy like that.

“Mhmm,” Win nodded, unable to form words as her climax hit her like a bus and she raked her nails down Lyddie’s shoulder blades as she cried out before going limp.

"That was so hot," Lyddie took a second to breathe before pulling out.  "So, how was the show, boys?" 

"I- fuck!" her Nathan stuttered, quickly cleaning the mess from his hand.

“One of th’hottest yet!” Win’s Nathan exclaimed, quickly tucking himself back into his boxer shorts.  “You’re gettin’ really good with that thing, Lyds.”

"Would you like to give it a go sometime?" Lyddie changed into a shirt and joined them in bed, pulling Win into her arms.

“Fuck yeah, I would,” he replied eagerly, kissing Win gently on the temple as he pulled her into his arms.

"You okay, Natty?" Lyddie asked, looking at her Nathan, who was strangely quiet. 

"Yeah, just a bit tired," he cleared his throat. 

"Aww do you want me to be the big spoon tonight?" she giggled. 

"NO!" Nathan jumped. "I mean... I wanna hold ya, I love you," he kissed his fiancé's cheek.

“C’mere,” Win called from the bed.  “I want all my loves.”

"Yes, baby," Lyddie snuggled Win, pulling the blanket to cover them.  "It's getting chilly in here..." 

Her Nathan hesitated for a second and joined them under the covers, stroking Win's hair.

Win opened her eyes to smile at him, reaching out to caress his cheek.  “Thank you guys for making my birthday so perfect.  I love you so much.”

"I love you too," Lydia sighed, soaking in their warmth.  "First birthday in this dimension, only a billion more to go... I can't wait."

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

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[porkchop-ao3]

A Thrill I’ve Never Known (Chapter 66)

Where Next?

Thanks for your patience guys ❤ This one is pretty short, I'm sorry about that, but there is action coming, promise. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter with cute little Jack 😊

Tagging @emily-strange and @actuallyhansolo​​ ❤

(All chapters tagged with #ATINK and also posted on Ao3, username PorkChop)

-

I didn't see much of Arthur for a couple of days. Things were strange at the camp, there was no sense of permanence at all, there was plenty of talk about what next, where next? Some people had their answers, but mostly the camp was quiet with everyone in their own bubble of quiet contemplation. Everything had fallen apart in a matter of days and suddenly everyone had to figure out what to do next. 

I just waited patiently, doing what I could for the group. I hunted and provided some meat for everyone to fill their bellies with, it helped us to keep warm. It wasn't the toastiest of locations, so far north, but it would do until we had our plan. 

Arthur had spent the past two days with Charles. They had broken Eagle Flies out of prison after nightfall and they were up first thing the following day to be with Rains Fall. He was meeting with the army; things were not good and he was hoping to salvage some sort of deal or relationship of trust. That's where they were as I was sitting by the fire, wrapped up in a blanket and keeping an eye on Jack for John and Abigail, who were nearby discussing their plan. All I knew of it was they were wanting to get as far away from this place as possible. I wondered if we would ever see them again, or if they would keep on going further and further until the only evidence we'd ever have of their existence was a letter in the post once or twice a year. It made me sad to think about it, but I couldn't for one second protest it. We couldn't have much of a happily ever after, not after the things we'd done. We just had to make the best of things. 

"What're you doing, Jack?" I called out when I saw him wandering a little too close for comfort to one of the geysers.

"Just looking," he shouted back to me, though he stopped and turned around to smile at me. He was still smiling. It astounded me, honestly, he'd taken everything so well. 

He did ask about Dutch once or twice, wondering when we were going back to him. Abigail was usually the one to tell him the truth, but softly, carefully, while John and the rest of us sat tongue tied, unable to think of the right words to satisfy a four year old in such a situation. Jack usually responded with silence, and I couldn't tell if his silence was a signal of sadness or indifference.

I watched the boy as he picked up a pebble from the ground and then eyed up the geyser. I knew what his question was going to be before he opened his mouth. 

"What would happen if I threw this inside?" He called. I exhaled a chuckle and went to answer, though the words got stuck. I didn't actually know.

"Uhh," I vocalised cluelessly, "I s'pose it'd shoot back out again." 

"Can I try it?" 

"Best not," I chuckled, "the speed that thing would come out– I don't know. I wouldn't if I were you, sweetie. What if it falls down and bops you on the noggin?"

"I'd be okay," he assured me, and I cocked my brow a little. 

"Your momma might not be, I'm supposed to be looking after you. I imagine she'd toss me in there if you got hurt on my watch. C'mere." 

He kept hold of the pebble but did as he was asked, and came trotting over to me with a pair of rosy cheeks.

"Sit by the fire, okay? It's freezing out here, ain't you cold?" 

"No," he told me, his tone was high and it was very obviously untrue.

"Your nose'll drop off if you ain't careful," I warned, a little smirk on my face. He touched his pink nose and considered it for a moment. 

"It didn't fall off when we were in the snow." 

"The snow?" 

"With Uncle Dutch and Hosea, and everyone else. Before you were here," he said, gazing down at the rock in his hand, scratching at a piece of mud caked onto it until it gathered under his fingernail. He wiped it on his trousers.

"Ohh," I nodded, I'd heard about it before, their short stop at Colter after the Blackwater fiasco. "Wow, seems like a long time ago, I bet. You've been to so many places since then, ain't you?"

He hummed his agreement and nodded, not looking up at me. 

"You like going to different places?" 

"I guess so," he shrugged, "but sometimes I get bored." 

I chuckled, "yeah, I think we all do," I smiled at him and stroked his hair for a moment. It was feathery soft and light, and I sighed at his innocence. Such a sweet boy. I had no doubt that Abigail and John loved him and were the best parents they could possibly be to him, but I wished he'd had more normal beginnings in life. And I hoped he'd forget some of the awful things he must've seen and heard. 

"How're you feeling, about going away with your ma and pa?" I asked him. 

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" I repeated, leaning my head on my fist as I leaned forward and down to his level. 

"We're going away. Uncle Arthur, and you, and Sadie won't be there? And all the others?"

"No, sweetheart, we won't. But I'm sure it won't be the last you'll see of all of us, hm? Right now, your mama and papa only wanna take you someplace safer, you understand that, don't you?" I asked softly and he sighed, his little shoulders jerking with it.

"I guess so," his voice was small and I gave his shoulder a little squeeze. 

"Keep your chin up, little prince. Your parents love you to the moon and back, a million times over. You're gonna be okay," I smiled at him, even though he was staring at the rock. I considered it for a moment. "Can I see that?" 

He looked up at me in question, and noticed that I was looking at the rock. He paused for a second before handing it over. I inspected it for a moment, it looked much smaller in my hand than it did in his but it still filled up most of my palm. I clutched it tight in my hand, then looked at Jack as I kissed my knuckles. I closed my eyes for a few moments, and I heard him giggle. 

"What're you doing?" He questioned and I scrunched my face up, shushing him softly. 

"I'm concentrating," I murmured, and continued the performance for a few more moments, his giggles continuing until I slowly cracked one eye open, and then the other. 

"What did you do?" He stood up and turned to me, his hand going to mine, trying to pry my fingers from the stone, his cheeks round and rosy with his grin. 

"I filled it with my love Jacky, and a little extra that I got from Karen, Mary Beth, Tilly, Hosea, Kieran, Molly, Sean, Mr Trelawny, Reverend Swanson, Mr Pearson, Uncle…" I made a show of gasping for a breath after listing off so many names, then swallowed before deciding to mention the names which followed, "and Javier and Bill too, and Mr Strauss… and Dutch." 

My voice had wavered and I needed a second to compose myself. I cleared my throat, and was grateful that Jack was preoccupied by looking at the grey lump of rock in my hand. It was warm from my body heat and he gasped a little when he took it from me, marvelling about it's temperature.

"But it's a big rock. Plenty of room for more love. How 'bout you ask everyone to hold on tight to that rock, and put all their love and care into it. So, as long as you've got that, you'll be safe, and you'll be able to remember all of us and know that we ain't ever leaving you, not in our hearts." 

"Okay!" He did a little jump and squeezed the rock in his hand again, holding it to his chest with the biggest smile I'd seen all year. It warmed my heart despite the freezing temperatures. I glanced up to where Lenny was sat wrapped up in his winter coat, a book in his gloved hands. 

"Why don't you go ask Lenny if he don't mind taking a break from reading?" I suggested, and Jack immediately spun around and ran over to him. 

I watched him from a distance, as he excitedly explained the concept. Lenny chuckled and looked up at me from across the camp. He put his book down, laced his fingers together and pushed them out to stretch out his hands before giving them a shake and rocking his head from side to side, limbering up before taking the rock from Jack and cupping it tightly between both hands and squeezing it as hard as he could, eyes intently focused on them. I grinned and laughed to myself, loving his commitment to making the boy smile. I knew everyone would be just as eager to please, not afraid of making a fool of themselves. 

For the rest of the afternoon Jack went around the camp asking people to contribute to the pebble. I was glad to have given him something to amuse him, and perhaps something to remember us all by, even if it was just a simple rock. It would be nice if he remembered us all each time he looked at it, if it didn't get lost along the way during whatever trips he and his parents were about to embark on. 

In the late afternoon Arthur came back. Charles was not by his side but he quickly reassured us that he had simply gone to visit the Wapiti Reservation after the negotiations hadn't exactly gone to plan. I tried not to listen to the details, despite this horrid feeling that built in the pit of my gut as days went by. I kept trying to reason with myself that Arthur had been putting his life in danger far longer than he had known me and had always come out alive. It didn't stop the voice in my head that would whisper about his luck running out…

Before I spiralled into those thoughts I got on with preparing dinner. As long as I had Arthur back in my arms at the end of the day, whatever chaos had found him while he was gone was not worth thinking about. Torturing myself was not going to help anyone, especially not Arthur, who would no doubt grow tired of my whittling about his well being. I just had to keep telling myself that soon this would all be over. 

–

"Canada, I'm thinking. Would be their best chance. They can't stay here much longer after all of that mess we left behind after the negotiations today," Charles was saying over his helping of rabbit stew. He'd returned from the reservation, where he'd apparently spent the best part of the evening convincing them to start packing up to leave. "Rains Fall seems hesitant, not that I don't understand him.  They've been moved around enough, all they want is to settle and have peace so they can live."

"Doesn't seem like they'll be able to do that here though," John said, and Arthur murmured a sound of agreement.

"He's coming to terms with that I think. He knows they'll have to move on sooner or later, it's just hard for him to accept right now, even harder for Eagle Flies. He's even more against the idea," Charles replied.

"He's got a lot of passion and fire in him, that man. He ain't quite learned though, that sometimes passion like that can get you killed," Arthur said. Charles silently nodded in agreement and looked down at his plate. "Canada, you say?"

"Canada," Charles nodded. "And I'd go with them."

"Really?" My brows raised. A quick, sharp pain went through my heart as in a second it became reality that the group was splitting up. These people I had lived with for so long and come to love, we were all going separate ways...

"Yeah. I don't have any other ideas," he chuckled a bit, then shook his head and became a little more serious, "I like it, with them. I feel closer to my mother." 

I smiled, comforted by the fact that even if Charles wouldn't be with us, he'd have a family.

"Arthur," I heard from behind. It was Sadie's gravelly whisper and my heart dropped. I knew what she was going to ask. Arthur, sitting beside me around the fire, glanced over his shoulder and nodded. Then he wordlessly leaned over to kiss my temple, and got up. He stepped over the log we sat on and headed away from the group with Sadie.

They were going to the O'Driscolls' hideout. More bloodshed. More danger. I took a breath and met Charles' eyes.

"I'm happy for you Charles. You deserve to be with people who care about you, who'll all keep each other safe. And the fact they also share your heritage, that's even nicer," I smiled at him and he nodded, "when do you think you'll go?"

"Soon as I've convinced them," he chuckled a little again, the corner of his lip lifting. 

"I'll miss you," I told him. It seemed to startle him but only a little, he was often cool and calm and not even surprising words of emotion could throw him off for long. 

"I'll miss you too," he said after a moment, and the words sounded almost like a revelation, like he also hadn't fully wrapped his head around the fact he'd be saying goodbye to us all until now. "We'll write to each other, all of us, yeah?" 

"Definitely," I nodded, my smile widening, "and if I ever find myself in Canada, I'll have a free place to stay, right?" I teased just a little and he laughed. 

"Of course.”