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readyplayerhobi · 4 years ago

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Flower | 40 | End

; Hoseok x Reader

; Genre: Fluff, angst

; Word Count: 6.9k

; Warnings: Slight anxiety attack, mentions of panic, slight body issues

; Synopsis: You finally decide to take a dip into the world of online dating and find the Flower dating app. One of the top matches for you proves to be a guy who looks to be your complete opposite; tattooed, pierced, a metalhead and oh…incredibly handsome. What happens when you throw caution to the wind and reach out to him?

; A/N: So...this is it 😢 Flower is officially over! I started writing this on November 15th, 2019. Almost a year later, here we are with 40 chapters, 3 drabbles and 180k of words. Can you believe I actually finished it? I hope you’ve all enjoyed reading it and the journey of the MC finding herself and falling in love with Hoseok. It’s been so fun to write and it’s sad to let it go. If you’ve enjoyed reading this, please let me know with a comment or an ask! I’ve loved reading how much you’ve all felt seen or embraced by the MC with her struggles and I’d love to hear your thoughts on not only this chapter but the whole fic! Feedback is what keeps authors going and I came very close to leaving writing once Flower was finished but I’m still going to carry on. I’m not sure if this chapter is good or not, but I hope you enjoy it anyway and think it a fitting end to the story!

; Flower Masterpost

“Okay...okay. Let’s do this...you can do this. It’s easy. Just...walk down the aisle. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? Well, Hoseok could not be there or I could have a heart attack and drop down dead. That would suck. But it would resolve a lot of my issues, I wouldn’t have to worry about everyone watching me. On the other hand...I’m going to marry the love of my life. As long as he turns up” The soft sounds of your muttering are probably barely heard over the soft playing music through the speakers in the room, YouTube playing mindlessly to itself.

It was a good job, as it meant that no one else in the room could hear your panicked thoughts that were being verbalised. Hoseok and you had decided to get married at an exquisite mansion hotel with the ceremony itself being in the elegant gardens outside. There was a full-sized maze alongside a stunning fountain, the centrepiece being a marble depiction of Aphrodite rising from the shallows.

You’d taken a walk around the perfectly groomed gardens the night before, taking in all the decorations that you’d painstakingly picked out over the months that had been artfully arranged by the staff. The flowers in the gardens were beautiful, a smorgasbord of pinks, oranges, violets, reds and yellows that brought the whole area to life. Alongside it looking visually perfect, it also smelled amazing as well with the soft scent of different flowers mixing.

At night, the tiny fairy lights that had been strung up around the building front and the metal trellises that were organised in the garden gave off a soft, golden glow. It made the whole place look ethereal and you were excited for everyone else to get to see it during the reception tonight.

The actual wedding ceremony was scheduled to start at two in the afternoon, with only friends and family invited for that. It would be outside as well, with Hoseok and you standing at the end of a make-shift aisle on the lawn section of the hotel’s garden. Temporary chairs had been arranged on both sides for your guests, dark wood with ivory silk draped over everyone. At the end of the aisle, each chair had a silk bow in ivory and deep purple alongside a bouquet of specially arranged flowers.

It all looked perfect and you’d marvelled at it yesterday, amazed that they’d managed to bring your vision to life. Now all you had to do was walk down it and get married, which was where you were a little panicked.

The room that had been assigned to the bridal party was on the lower floor of the hotel, reducing the risk of you potentially killing yourself by tripping over your dress while walking down the stairs. It was technically two hotel rooms connected through a shared bathroom, which you found bizarre.

Your mom and Hoseok’s mom had taken the other room for their use to get changed, the hairdresser and makeup artist they’d hired working there to make them look their best for the ceremony. Even now, you could hear them chattering and laughing away with each other. Even through your anxiety, you can’t help but smile as you hear them get on so well.

Any fears you’d had about them not liking each other had quickly disappeared. Instead, they’d become good friends and liked to meet up now and then to have a talk over coffee or something. It pleased you to see your mom getting to have more friends.

Eden and Amelia had also chosen to get ready in that room, not wanting to crowd the one you were in too much. It was already full of dresses and a ridiculous amount of makeup and hair product with only four of you so you couldn’t even imagine the chaos with five of you.

In your room was Soyeon, Chungha and Dahyun alongside you. Dahyun was currently three months pregnant, having successfully been inseminated with Jungkook’s sperm. He’d agreed to their request and after a few months of getting prepared for the attempts, Dahyun had undergone the procedure. What it had been exactly, you didn’t know because you hadn’t felt it was your business to pry into something like that.

It was a privilege to even know they were trying before anyone else. Their announcement had come at your bachelorette party when Dahyun had refused alcohol, immediately leading Soyeon and you to be suspicious. You’d never seen Chungha’s beloved ever turn down a drink so it had been a clear sign of something at least.

Needless to say, your party had happily become a celebration of their impending baby. Thankfully, you weren’t one of those people who got overly annoyed at others announcing things at events. Or at least, not big events. Your bachelorette party had been a perfect time to find out, whereas you might not have been so amenable if they’d told everyone today instead.

That was normal though, right? Today was your day. Yours and Hoseok’s. People who felt the need to co-opt special days like that were a special type of self-absorbed in your opinion.

Given it was so early into her pregnancy, Dahyun isn't showing that much. Which meant her bridesmaid dress hadn’t needed to be altered too much. None of them has gotten into their dresses just yet, instead currently in the process of getting their face and hair done. Chungha’s hair has already been done, elegantly styled into a beautiful updo with a few tendrils curled around her face.

The makeup for the girls was a smokey eye with subtle blush and contour, alongside a neutral lip. It wasn’t anything flashy, but you’d loved the concept of it all. Particularly with the small and delicate crystals that dotted along their waterline, adding a little sparkle to match the tiny crystals on their deep violet dresses.

As a present to each of them, you’d bought them a gift set from Pandora. In each one was a pair of dainty stud earrings with a heart design alongside a matching heart-shaped pendant necklace. All the hearts were encrusted with brilliant-cut stones, making the perfect gift that could be used again in the future for casual use.

They’d all been in awe of it and surprised at being given presents as well. You hadn’t even known it was a thing until you’d looked up wedding preparation online, discovering that you should also buy something for Hoseok. Which had led to you buying him the fancy watch he’d been drooling over for months now. It had been eye-watering expensive, but it had been worth it for his excited text this morning.

Along with the watch, you’d also written him a letter. It was meant to be light-hearted and fun, but you’d ended up writing way too much as you’d poured out your love to him alongside everything you felt for him. To your eternal embarrassment, you’d ended up crying while writing it as you’d told him everything you’d never been able to vocalise, including writing possibly a million times that you love him.

He’d been instructed to not read that until just before the ceremony.

His present to you was a gaming table, which might not seem to be very sentimental to anyone else but you’d been ecstatic over it. For years now, you’d been saying that you wanted to buy a proper table that was designed for board games and that could then be used as a normal table when converted. They were super expensive so you’d resigned yourself to never getting one, but he’d printed out the receipt of what he’d ordered and put it into an envelope for you to open tonight.

Neither of you had ever been a traditional couple, and that certainly wasn’t about to change with marriage.

“Hey, you okay?” Amelia asks, interrupting your intense thought process as she sits down next to you. As usual, her aura is warm and reassuring as she reaches over to gently squeeze at your hand. You don’t spend a huge amount of time around her, but you knew both Eden and her enough to want them in your bridal party.

“Yes? No? Maybe? I don’t know. I’m just…” Trailing off, you struggle to find the right words and instead gesture towards the air. It makes no sense but you can’t quite figure out what you’re trying to say. Mainly because you can’t figure out what your mind is thinking.

“It’s okay to be worried, don’t feel like you shouldn’t be. If you’re anxious or nervous then that’s okay as well. Don’t let anyone tell you how you should be feeling, just feel what you are. Trust Hoseok, trust yourself and all your family and friends. We’re all here for you and we want you to have the best day possible. Tell us if anything is wrong, okay? I have no doubt that Chungha and Soyeon would strong-arm everyone into whatever was necessary to make you feel comfortable.” She says, smirking as she nods over to the two women who are chattering away in their respective chairs.

“I know, I know. I’m trying. It’s just...god, everyone is going to be staring at me and I hate being the centre of attention,” Looking down at your hands, you chew at your lips. “What if I mess up the vows? Or I freeze or drop the ring?”

“Hey, it’s normal to feel that. I doubt there’s anyone who’s gotten married who wasn’t at least a little bit anxious about messing something up. Yes, everyone is here to watch you, but they’re for Hoseok too. I’m sure he’s just as worried that he might make a mistake, and if you do then, so what? It’s not going to ruin anything, it just means your human. If anything, people will probably find it endearing. The only person you should concern yourself with is Hoseok, and I doubt there’s anything you could do today to ruin the day for him. Unless you don’t go.” Amelia laughs when you give a shocked gasp, jaw-dropping open and eyes wide.

“I would never do that! But what if he decides he doesn’t want to get married anymore?” Now the worry that had wiggled itself deep inside your mind comes to the fore and you find yourself almost whispering the words. It feels like a betrayal to Hoseok for even thinking he’d do that, but you can’t help the fear.

You must not have been quite enough though as Chungha speaks up, facing you in her chair with a stern expression on her face as she wags her finger. “Lady, do not think that. I don’t want that thought to even enter your head. As if Jung Hoseok is ever going to back out now. I think that man would’ve eloped with you if you’d asked instead. He’s going to be standing at the end of that aisle, probably bawling like a baby.”

“Maybe not that far.” This is from Eden, who’s laid out on the bed in the centre of the room, playing Zelda on her Switch. She’d had her makeup done earlier and is now waiting for the hairdresser to be free while Amelia is waiting for her makeup. All of you had decided that you’d be last to get ready to make sure that everything looked as fresh as possible.

“Want to bet? That man is gonna be sobbing.” This starts up a whole ten-minute discussion about whether or not Hoseok was going to cry at seeing you. Namjoon hadn’t cried but Jimin had during their weddings, surprising no one. But Namjoon had cried at the birth of his daughter.

You weren’t sure, to be honest. Hoseok didn’t cry all that often and you could probably count on one hand how many times you’d seen it over four years. On top of that, you weren’t entirely sure that you wanted to see him crying. It made your chest hurt when he did and you always ended up crying too.

Something about seeing strong and proud men cry was just heartbreaking to you.

For a while, you just sit back and let the conversation wash over you as they all debate and borderline argue, intensely amongst themselves. They’d all switched around now and they’ll soon start getting into their bridesmaid’s dresses, which meant you’d be finally getting ready.

Your nails had been done the night before with a beautiful design in the same colour scheme as the wedding. They looked so pretty and elegant, which was a surprise to you every time you looked at them as you never really bothered doing your nails. While you liked to do fancy makeup looks now and then to post onto social media, nails were not something you were interested in.

Maybe you should reassess that thought.

“Anyway, what we’re all trying, and failing, to say is that Hoseok loves you and if he doesn’t cry then he’s crying inside at how beautiful you are.” Soyeon states firmly, sitting next to you and admiring your nails as well. All the bridesmaids had the same style to keep the theme going and she wiggled her fingers with a bright smile.

“I’m not even ready yet, you don’t know if I’ll be beautiful.”

There’s dead silence in the room after the comment, with even the hairdresser and makeup artist turning to stare at you. Between the six other women in the room, you’re pretty sure that they’ve got every emotion from shock to annoyance to incredulity covered. Feeling yourself get warm at their attention, you look down to your lap in embarrassment.

Obviously, the wrong thing to say.

“Okay, we’re going to ignore that you just said that. You don’t need to be dolled up and in a wedding dress to be beautiful, it’s just going to enhance what you already have. And I don’t want any arguments on that.” Poking your side lightly, you playfully wince at Soyeon as she scolds you. Everyone else is nodding along solemnly before they carry on with whatever they’d been doing.

“Seriously though, I overheard your conversation with Amelia. She’s right. Embrace your feelings but don’t let them overwhelm you. Standing in front of a crowd is nerve-wracking for anyone, but you’ve got the love of your life standing there with you. Just focus on Hoseok, he’ll get you through it. He always has, right?” Soyeon said.

Giving her a half-smile, you nod and do a remarkably good job of looking like a scolded child or something. You know it’s just because she loves you that she doesn’t want you to berate yourself, along with the fact that she knows what you’re like. If someone doesn’t verbally acknowledge your problems then you’ll just obsess over them.

Your phone screen lights up in your lap before it begins to vibrate suddenly, Hoseok’s name visible on the screen. Frowning down at it, you wonder why he’s calling before a multitude of emotions and thoughts runs through your mind.

“Go take it in the bathroom.” Pulling you up, Soyeon practically pushes you into the bathroom before giving you a smile and a thumbs-up as she closes the door.

Seeing the other door is also open, you peek out and let everyone in that room know that you’d be using the bathroom for a few minutes and to not come in. Once you get the acknowledgement, you close and lock it as well before pushing up to sit on the counter.

“Hobi! Why are you calling?” Leaning back against the mirror, you frown deeply as you question him. The first response is just his familiar deep chuckle, the sound already helping to soothe some of your frayed nerves.

“Amelia texted Joon, who told me. I don’t want you to stress yourself out! Not today, today’s meant to be a happy day. No stress. Or anxiety.” Snorting, you roll your eyes as you trace an invisible design onto your thigh.

“Sure, like that’s gonna happen. You know me. And why are you calling? We’re not meant to see each other until the wedding, it’s bad luck!” There’s a brief pause and you can practically hear him rolling his eyes, the deep sigh he lets out telling you all you need to know.

“Meeps, I’m pretty sure that only counts for physically seeing each other. I can’t see you right now. I don’t recall anything about not being allowed to hear you, or talk to you. Besides, we make our luck.” He sounds so nonchalant and now it’s your turn to sigh at him.

“You’re going to get us hit by lightning or something.”

“Impossible, the weather schedule for today is meant to be sunny with a little bit of cloud later on. Nice warm temperatures that aren’t too hot but also not too cold. Perfect. No lightning.” His immediate rebuttal has you laughing, unable to stay mad at him for too long. Not when he’s trying so hard to take your mind off things.

“Seriously though, are you okay? What are you worried about? Talk to me.” Hoseok asks, his voice calm and steady as he stops joking around. There’s a brief moment of resistance, the thought that you don’t want to bother him with your silly thoughts or annoying emotions before you remember that you can trust him. No matter how ridiculous it sounds in your head, Hoseok will listen and he won’t make fun of you.

“I’m just...scared. Of all the people. Like, they’re going to be watching me or staring. What if I look fat or ugly? Or I fuck up saying the vows? Or I drop the ring or my dress splits or something? Or if I trip down the aisle?! Or if you decide you don’t want to marry me anymore?” As you begin to reel off the questions that have been plaguing your mind, you can feel your chest getting a little tighter and your breathing shallower.

With the practised ease of someone who’s dealt with your panic attacks over the years, Hoseok makes calming and reassuring noises over the phone until you’re silent. Just listening to him, you take in the comforting words as he lets you know that you’re okay and everything is fine. Finally, once he thinks you’re calm enough, he carries on.

“Meeps, that’s fine. Don’t be upset that you’re having those thoughts. I’ve had every one of those thoughts today as well. I mean...not the dress one. Substitute that for pants splitting or something, which is even more embarrassing because my underwear is not black today. But the point I’m trying to make here is that it’s normal to have those thoughts today. I’d probably be more worried if you weren’t having them.” He pauses to laugh before you hear shuffling noises.

There’s no doubt he’s probably not even getting into his tuxedo just yet and you curse the fact that men take far less time to get ready than women. He’ll probably only start like...an hour before the ceremony begins or something.

“But all I’ll say is, it doesn’t matter if anything goes wrong because we’ll fix it. You and me, just like always. You won’t look fat or ugly because you’re neither fat nor ugly anyway, instead, you’ll be the most beautiful woman here. Which you always are to me but don’t let my mom hear me tell you that. And I’m going to be standing at the end of the aisle, I promise you that. I’m the one who proposed to you and I will be there, waiting for you. That’s one thing I can assure you of completely.” Hoseok says this firmly, his voice perhaps more serious than you’ve ever heard it before.

You can practically feel his determination to make you understand that he’s going to be there. That he’s going to marry you today, no matter what happens. It makes your heart swell with love and emotion, causing you to press your hand against your mouth.

Hoseok takes your silence as a positive, choosing to let it carry on for a little longer before speaking once more.

“I love you, Meeps. And by the end of today, you’re going to be my wife. We’re going to have a great day with a beautiful ceremony and a fun reception before probably going to bed drunk. Or at least, I’m going to be drunk. Not entirely sure if I’ll be able to take you to Poundtown tonight-”

“Don’t ever say that again.”

“But if not tonight then definitely tomorrow. Unless you don’t want me to drink, in which case probably tonight if you’re up for it.” Shaking your head, you can’t help but smile at his stupid comments. He always knew how to cheer you up, even if it was with the most ridiculous thing you’d heard today.

“You can drink, I’m not going to make you sober throughout the entire reception. I want you to have fun with everyone, so if you end up drunk then that’s fine. Just don’t go overboard.”

“Choosing to ignore my Poundtown comments, I see.”

“Jung Hoseok, I am going to hang up now. I will see you later, okay?”

“Okay. Love you.” Feeling a little shy, you murmur your next words into the phone.

“Love you too.”

The ceremony is officially about to start and you stare at the open door, knowing that outside all your guests are waiting. Not only that, but Hoseok is at the end of the aisle. You’d been reassured by everyone there who had peeked out to make sure, quelling your fears and worries.

All the groomsmen had come inside upon finding out you were here, lining themselves up alongside their specified bridesmaid partners and chatting away happily. They all looked incredibly handsome in their suits, the colours matching the bridesmaids perfectly and you felt a little pride at having thought of a good colour scheme.

Your mom is fussing around you, making sure that your dress looks perfect and that your bouquet hasn’t fallen apart or anything. Sighing, you gently push her hands away as she tries once more to move your necklace.

All of them had given you something as part of the tradition for the bride. Dahyun had lent you a beautiful Cartier bracelet, glowing with diamonds, as part of the ‘something borrowed’ while Chungha had bought you diamond earrings for the ‘something new’. Your mom had given you the bracelet she’d worn for her wedding, now occupying your other wrist and Hoseok’s mom had provided the necklace adorning your neck.

It was a beautiful silver necklace with a dainty leaf design, leading to the main piece in the centre which was dotted with tiny diamonds. Each leaf spreading out had either amethyst or an aquamarine gem in alternating order. She’d ordered it specially made for your wedding, matching your engagement ring with the gems and fulfilling the ‘something blue’.

You’d been amazed at everything they’d given you, understanding now why they’d all told you now to buy any jewellery for the day. They’d all decided to make sure you had everything you needed anyway.

But you knew that your mom’s need to keep straightening out your dress or brushing away unseen dust was just to keep herself preoccupied. She’d already cried once when you’d come out in your wedding dress, makeup and hair all done. That had earned her an exasperated sigh from the makeup artist.

“Mom, mom, come on,” You coo to her, smiling before taking her hands and squeezing. “You gotta go out there, go get your place.”

She hesitates for a moment, unwilling to leave you before nodding. After a few words of reassurance from her to you, telling you that you’re going to do well and it’s all going to go fine, she turns and hugs your dad tightly before kissing him. You’d feel embarrassed at the sight of it, never quite being comfortable with your parents' displays of affection, but it just causes you to laugh softly.

Once she’s out the door, you hear the music begin from outside, the notes flowing through the door faintly. Everyone inside quietens and you can almost feel the excitement ramp up. It just makes you feel more nervous though, particularly when they start to head out in their pairs slowly.

“Are you ready?” Your dad asks, his eyes already going glassy with tears as his lip wobbles slightly. Giving him a concerned look, you immediately reach up to wipe the tears as they start to fall, feeling your heartbreak at the sight of your dad crying. He never cried.

“Dad! Don’t cry, oh my god. I’m sorry.” Cleaning up his face quickly, you’re stopped by the gentle way he grasps your wrists. For a moment, you think that he’s going to push you away but instead, he pulls you closer and carefully hugs you.

It’s a little awkward as you’re trying not to ruin the carefully done hair and makeup, but you can’t deny your dad a hug. Especially when you’d never really been much of a hugger growing up. You would be cruel to deny him one, especially on your wedding day. Your parents were feeling emotional that their little girl was getting married today.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s just your old dad getting sappy. You look so beautiful. Hoseok is so lucky, you better remind him of that every day.” He’s pulled back now, giving you the softest smile that is still a little watery. His hands move to your shoulders and he stands back to examine you fully, his eyes taking in everything.

Before you can respond to him, Yoongi is disappearing out of the door and heading towards the aisle. He’s alone, as you’d planned, but in one hand is the bouquet that Hoseok’s sister would’ve held had she still been alive. It had been his suggestion to hold it, symbolising the family member that Hoseok didn’t have anymore and you’d been more than willing to agree.

You wondered what Hoseok thought when he saw it as neither of you had told him that Yoongi would be holding it. Hopefully, he was happy with it, along with his parents.

Turning back to you, your dad squeezes your shoulders reassuringly before smiling at you. Ironically, all it does is make you more nervous as you realise that now you’re the one who’s going to have to walk down that aisle next.

“Come on, it’s time to make your fiancé cry.” His words in a teasing tone, your dad turns to face the door before offering you his arm. Standing there, you stare at him before looking at the door with trepidation. Nerves roil in your stomach as you hear the faint sound of music playing, knowing that everyone out there is waiting for you.

Which in turn means everyone will be staring at you.

Those nerves quickly turn to anxiety and your breath comes faster, chest feeling a little constricted by the tight bodice of the dress. Without even realising it, your hands start to shake and the bouquet in them shudders visibly.

Quickly, your dad takes the bouquet from you to make sure that you don’t accidentally deflower them or crush the stems. The last thing you needed was to ruin your perfect bouquet only minutes before you were supposed to walk down the aisle.

It frees up your hands and you find yourself flapping them as you stress, trying to shake out the negative emotions as you pant. Your dad’s eyes widen, obviously panicking himself at your obvious distress. He’s never had to deal with you struggling like this before and he doesn’t know what to do but his paternal instincts kick in quickly.

“Hey, come on, sweetheart. Breathe, breathe. Take a big breath in, come on, that’s it. Not let it out slowly. And again, that’s right.” Talking to you in his comforting voice, tone level and low, you follow his instructions and start to feel a little calmer as you force yourself to calm your breathing. It’s hard, and you still feel the anxiety but it feels a little more manageable now.

Closing your eyes, you run through all the tips your therapist had given you for how to cope with anxiety attacks. What worked for you was to sing in your head, the lyrics, whatever song you were loving lately. It probably takes longer than you’d have liked but finally you feel like you can cope with your emotions enough to carry on.

When you open your eyes again, your dad is giving you an expectant, yet worried, look. Shaking your hands once more, you reach out and take the bouquet from him before taking a deep breath. Linking your arm through his, you straighten your shoulders and lift your chin before smiling at him.

“Okay, okay. Let’s go.”

Walking down the aisle is surprisingly less stressful than you’d imagined. The famous wedding song plays through the air as you walk slowly and the whole atmosphere feels almost like a fairytale. The soft lights twinkle even in the daylight while the gentle, warm breeze makes the ribbons on the chairs flutter delicately.

Along the floor, the white and purple rose petals that Namjoon’s daughter had spread in her role as flower girl were strewn haphazardly. A few of them caught the breeze and rolled delicately to a new place, making it seem like the floor was consistently changing. You liked it, smiling at the sight of how beautiful everything looked.

Everyone was staring at you, as you’d expected, but surprisingly it wasn’t as intimidating as you’d thought. You didn’t exactly enjoy it but it wasn’t terrible. Probably because you were more focused on initially admiring how perfect everything looked. How months and months of thought and money had finally accumulated into the perfect wedding.

But mostly, you weren’t as bothered by the staring because you were focused on the end of the aisle. There was no real altar here, given that it was being held at a hotel and everything, but the metal garden arch at the end had been decorated in delicate flowers, ribbons and lights to make an even better end.

And beneath it stood Hoseok.

If you’d ever thought Hoseok looked handsome before then it paled in comparison to him today. His black tuxedo made him look tall and slim, every part of him looking perfectly put together and elegant. The deep purple waistcoat beneath his jacket contrasted with the white of his shirt perfectly; the colour combination making his skin almost glow with health and happiness.

There was only the slightest hint of tattoos at the edge of his collar, leaving to the imagination the artwork he had permanently on his body beneath his clothes but you didn’t need to imagine. You’d seen them all, traced them delicately into your memory over the years until you could point out where they were without even seeing them.

Finally reaching him, you paused to look at your dad and gave him a bright smile of gratitude before giving him a second hug. This one was a little tighter than before and when you let go of him, you saw that he was crying once more. He didn’t give your hand to Hoseok, instead just gave him a stern look while trying to surreptitiously wipe away his tears.

“You look after her, Jung Hoseok. You make sure she’s the happiest woman.” There’s iron in his voice, telling Hoseok that it wasn’t a question but more a command. But there’s also love and affection in it, something Hoseok can tell as well by the way he nods his head.

Handing your bouquet to Chungha, you take Hoseok’s proffered hand. Up close, you can take in the details of his face better and you take a moment to simply admire him and imprint him into your memory.

The sides of his head had been shaven, the undercut short and seen with the style he’d chosen to wear today. His hair had been styled back, pushed away from his forehead. It was a look that had made you weak in the knees many times over the years and you’d practically begged him to have it for the wedding, knowing that he’d blow everyone’s mind with how handsome he looked.

Hoseok had a face that looked like it had been hand-carved by the gods from the finest marble anyway and this hairstyle showed off all the highlights of his face. The high cheekbones that made his smiles so animated, his cutting jawline, the clean slope of his nose, the heart-shaped smile that lit his entire face and the dimples that made him seem so human.

His lip ring was still in, the silver shining in the sunlight. He’d been unsure whether to wear it but you’d told him to embrace himself and keep it. You’d fallen in love with him as he was, and you wanted him to show himself how you saw him. Which included his piercings and tattoos.

Your heart clenched though when you looked into his eyes finally. Hoseok’s eyes were one of your favourite things about him. The crescents they turned into when he smiled brightly, pushed into the shape by his cheeks and the way his eyes could practically dance with delight when he was happy.

Today though, those beautiful and expressive eyes were watery with tears. The wet streak on his cheek told you that he’d already had some of them fall and you frowned at the sight of them. Everyone had been right; Hoseok had cried upon seeing you down the aisle.

“Baby.” You whisper, unsure if you’re meant to talk to him. Deciding you don’t care, you reach up to wipe away the tears and smile when he kisses the palm of your hand before nuzzling into it, uncaring of everyone else.

“Meeps, you look perfect. I read your letter, I love you too.” Before you can stop him, he’s leaning forward and pressing a quick kiss to your lips. There’s a murmur in the crowd, alongside some laughter and he looks over at everyone with a raised brow.

No one says anything though and he gets a satisfied look, ignoring your shy expression as you turn away from everyone.

“You’re not supposed to do that.” Keeping your voice low, you give a hesitant smile to the official who will be taking you both through your ceremony. Hoseok lets out a snort of laughter as he squeezes your hand tight, letting his thumb run along the back of your hand lovingly.

“I don’t care. It’s our wedding, I’ll do what I want.” And before you can stop him, he turns you and gives you another kiss, this one lingering a little longer. Eyes widening, you can’t help but giggle as you hear yet more laughter.

You should be annoyed at him, but you know he’s a force of nature. Plus, you don’t care. It feels nice to know he can’t help himself.

“Okay, let’s get married, Meeps.” He grins at you before facing the officiant once more. Staring at him a moment longer, you smile at him and nod.

“Let’s get married.”

Hobi Hobi,

We’re getting married today! Are you excited? I hope you’re reading this when I told you to, if not then you’re cheating >:[ it feels weird to write a letter. I don’t even know if I’ve ever done this before, so I’m sorry if it sounds really cheesy and lame. What do people write in these normally? I’m just going to write what comes to mind so if it ends up sappy then you’re not allowed to tease me later about it.

Anyway, I want you to know that I’m sorry that I suck so much at telling you how I feel and my emotions. I wish I could be one of those people who’s telling you every moment how handsome you are and how much I love you but I can’t. I’m sorry :( I’m trying, I swear! Even if I don’t get to tell you as often as you deserve, I hope you know that I love you more than anything in the world.

Don’t ever forget that, okay? Even when we’re arguing over something silly or we go to bed mad at each other, don’t forget that. I know we’re pretty good at talking things out but there’s always that chance that we could have a big blowout. So I want you to remember that I love you.

I’m still not entirely sure what I did to deserve you, but I don’t regret sending you that message. If anything, I think I should send the Flower team a big bunch of flowers or something for creating the algorithm that brought you up as a match. Imagine if it hadn’t and I’d just deleted the app, we’d have never met and I’d still be lonely and sad.

But we did meet, and I took a chance on you by sending you that embarrassing message. And then you took a chance by actually meeting up with me and going on that date. I still remember it, and I don’t know if I ever told you but I still have the ticket for the escape room. I know you still have yours in your wallet :) Thank you for giving me your time, even if I wasn’t your type. I hope I’m your type now.

I’m not sure that I will ever be able to tell you how important you are to me. Not only myself but my life. You’ve helped me to embrace myself and learn to love myself over the years through kindness. I know my limits in terms of my mental health now and you’ve helped to support me with the medication and the therapist. Neither of those were things I’d been comfortable with doing before your encouragement. But you also gave me a safe space to break down in; somewhere that I knew I could be at my most vulnerable mentally without having to risk being hurt even more.

You held me when I cried, you comforted me when I panicked and you calmed my anxiety over the years. I can never thank you enough for helping me to understand that these aren’t deficiencies and I’m not broken. I just need a little help to get through things sometimes. At the same time, I hope that I’ve become that safe space for you as well. I know that you’re not as emotional as I am, but I feel that you’ve opened up to me about things that hurt you. I’ll keep your secrets safe and I’ll always be here for you!

I hope you’re happy with your life now. With me, and our home and our furbabies. I hope you stay happy, and if you don’t then talk to me. Please. I don’t want us to ever realise that we’re making each other unhappy and I don’t want to ever be the reason for negativity. I want to spend the rest of my life with you in our little home, growing old together as we play board games and dote on our animals while you increase your tattoo collection even more. I know that people like to say that they can’t imagine their lives with their significant other, but I really do feel like that.

My life without you would be hollow and monochrome, as you bring colour to my world and fill it with joy and happiness. I’ve never laughed as much as I have these last few years with you and I know we’ll keep that in our relationship if we try hard.

I don’t really know where this letter is going and I’m babbling now. But I guess the main thing is just that I can’t wait to marry you. It may not be very feminist of me but I can’t wait to take your name and be your wife. I can’t wait to call you my husband. I’m going to be terrified in the ceremony and so nervous but I’ll be happy too, I promise! I still can’t believe that you picked me, out of all the women you’ve seen, to be your girlfriend and then decided that you wanted to marry me.

Jung Hoseok, I solemnly swear to treasure you for the rest of your life and make sure you know how much I love you. I might not be able to tell you all that much, but I’ll show you. I’ll make you smile and laugh, I’ll buy you things that make me think of you, I’ll hug you tight and cuddle you until you’re complaining.

So in case it wasn’t obvious enough, I love you. I just want you to know because I know I suck at telling you, like I said. I’m also bad at writing letters but what’s new? I’ll finish this off quickly so you’re not spending too long reading this. Don’t want to make you late for our wedding after all.

I love you. I love you, Jung Hoseok. I love you, Hobi. I love you, I love you, I love you.

Lots and lots and lots of love, your soon to be wife <333333

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saturnville · 3 years ago

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cupid’s arrow!

V. The Wedding

a/n: last chapter in this miniseries. i completed this series in a handful of days yet it took a handful of months to post it all lol. thank you for the love and support on it. hope y’all enjoy this last party in adrian and sarai’s story.

pairing: adrian and sarai

warnings: none.

divider by @firefly-graphics

It came quicker than she expected. Their wedding day—March 8th—it came quicker than she’d expected. They’d gotten engaged on a fall day in November, she remembered clearly, she always would.

Now only a handful of months later, she’d been solidifying and checking off another thing on her list. She thanked God for her new salary and Adrian’s work as a surgeon. It gave them a lot more wiggle room than other young couples and for that, she was grateful. They planned a small, but beautiful wedding in Albany, New York.

The guest list was less than fifty, an agreement easily settled between the two of them. Extravagance was never eye-catching for either Adrian or Sarai. That of which prompted their wedding venue to be simple yet mesmerizing simultaneously.

It would be held in a garden, a garden that reminded her of the one spoken in the Bible—Eden. That where it flowed with earthly riches and substances. Flowers would surround them and the green leafs would brush away the nerves surrounding them.

It came quicker than she expected. She drew in a deep breath and opened her eyes. She was getting married.

Marriage. The commitment that legally bound you to another. The commitment where her soul, mind, and body would be intertwined with another. Marriage. She used to be indifferent towards it, seeing it as unimportant or just another social construct. However, it wasn’t until that man, her man walked into her world like he was meant to be there that she knew her mind began to change.

Now, she stood inside the small tent set up for any last minute touch ups were necessary, with her best friends at her side, preparing to usher her down the aisle to the man she deemed as her world.

She looked different, she inquired as she looked in the mirror Katya had brung along. No longer in her usual blazers, crop tops, and Doc Martens, she was almost unrecognizable in her long, white dress with a deep neckline and lace sleeves. Her locs had been retwisted and curled to fit her liking. Her usual minimal makeup was traded for full bridal glam—shimmery eyeshadow, lashes, and glossed lips. Beautiful, nonetheless, yet different. She couldn’t deny her fondness of it all.

The curtains of the tent peeled back and two heads poked in.

“You look so beautiful,” Katya gushed as she skipped towards the bride to be.

“Thank you.” If her skin was any fairer, the warmth that bubbled underneath her flesh would be revealed. “Is it time?”

“It’s time.”

“How is he?” She hadn’t seen him all day, as they followed the traditional wedding protocol—no seeing the bride or groom the day of the wedding. They spoke on the phone after waking up and sent a number of texts throughout the day, but overall, their communication was limited.

“He’s good. I can tell he’s nervous but the good kind. He won’t stop smiling; he’s ready. Are you?”

Sarai nodded. “I’m ready.”

Her mother’s wedding song played throughout the speakers. The sweet instrumental of You by Jesse Powell filled the atmosphere and ushered in the spirit of love throughout the small garden.

The guests rose at the sound of the music and the whispers of the bride soon coming. From around a corner turned Adrian’s niece and nephew, Tristan and Malia. The cutest twins she’d swore she’d ever laid eyes on, came waddling down the aisle with flowers tossed and a soft pillow with two rings pushed inside of them. Coos from the audience came immediately.

Following shortly behind was Sarai in all her glory. The gasps and cries of the other guests. She walked with his father at her side but everyone around her was blurred and unimportant in that very moment.

She wore no veil, rather a simple tiara and for that he was grateful. He was able to see every detail of her beautiful face—the small scar above her eyebrow that makeup failed to conceal and the beauty mark on her lip that his lips brushed against with every kiss.

The smile on his face was as bright as the son as he inched closer. The tears in his eyes blurred his vision and he had to quickly wipe them away. He couldn’t believe it—he was marrying the love of his life, and it was overwhelming in the best way possible.

Adrian’s father, Dean, kissed her twice, once on the cheek, and once on the forehead. “I love you, my daughter.” Sarai smiled tearfully and nodded before turning to Adrian who was beaming with as much joy as she was.

“Hi,” she grinned.

“Hi.” He reciprocated the same energy. “We’re getting married.”

“Yes, baby, we are…”

Their small moment was interrupted by the priest who began the traditional script they’d heard before but never fully took in.

Their vows were beautiful, heartfelt exchanges of love and adoration to one another. Oral love letters shared with tearfully guests, a pouring out of love for all to see.

“Do you, Sarai Lauren Jones take Adrian David Lorenzo to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do,” she breathed.

“And do you, Adrian David Lorenzo take Sarai Lauren Jones to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

His smiled reached his eyes. “I do.”

The next minute seemed to slow as it became officially official. “You may kiss the bride…”

The hoops and hollers of the guest were muted as Adrian pulled Sarai into his embrace. The world stopped spinning and it was just them, in the midst of greens and flowers and other vegetation.

His lips were warm, they always were. Hers were soft, they always were. Their kiss was sensual and passionate while also sweet and appropriate for the guests present. It took a few moments to pull away and the goofy grins on their faces showed their excitement.

“I love you, Sarai.”

“I love you more, doc.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Lorenzo! Congratulations…”

Hand and hand, they walked down the aisle, strutting proudly towards a new life—together.

tags: @neeville @melaninhawtie @brattyfics

#original content #original story #original writing #saturnville #original characters #anthony ramos fc #adrian lorenzo x sarai jones #adrian lorenzo and sarai jones #adrian and sarai #anthony ramos #anthony ramos imagine

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antoineroussel-archive · 4 years ago

Text

take you one day at a time - brock boeser

series: take you one day at a time

summary: Annie makes a promise to Bo that she won’t date any of his teammates. Brock makes it a difficult promise to keep.

warnings: this contains references to past domestic violence. It’s not graphic. ‘9 November′ is a conversation about one specific event and implications of more. 20 January, 21 January & 9 February all make reference to the ex-boyfriend after it’s revealed. This also heavily features Jake Virtanen. He is not an antagonist in this story; it was written well before any accusations were made public.

songs: partner in crime - ocean alley | golden - kingswood | mean it - lauv & LANY | forces - japanese wallpaper feat. airling | fallingforyou - the 1975

word count: 15,554

8 September

Annie looked up from her phone as the front door opened to see Bo and Holly walking inside carrying far more groceries than they needed for the two of them—far more even for three if they were feeling generous. She followed them into the kitchen and peeked into the bags that were left on the bench.

“We feeding a small army or something?”

“Brock & Petey are coming over for dinner,” Bo answered, helping Holly put things away as Annie sat down on a stool.

She looked down to what she was wearing and also remembered that she hadn’t washed her hair since she’d made the trip to Vancouver four days prior and groaned, “Do I need to dress up?”

“Uh, no? It’s Brock & Petey.”

“Prince Charming is coming for dinner; a decent person would wear something better than sweats.”

Bo rolled his eyes and pushed one of the bags towards her, “Brock will probably wear sweats.”

“I’ll be wearing the same thing as royalty? Oh, swoon,” she said, standing and throwing the back of her hand against her forehead dramatically before she took the bag of groceries and went about helping.

Though it had only been four days since her arrival, it was easy to fall into line with Bo and Holly’s routines. Mostly that meant keeping out of their way; but, if Annie was intending to stay for any extended period of time, she knew that she would have to re-learn to cohabit with her brother. And get used to living with her brother and his wife.

Gus was the easiest part of it all, though he was considerably smaller than the dogs they’d had growing up and was very good at getting under foot.

Annie had met Brock a few times over the time he’d been playing with Bo and she’d met Petey at Bo’s wedding over the summer. It was only a matter of time before they came over for dinner.

They sat down, later that evening, at the dining table—that Annie knew for a fact only got used for family and for when Bo thought Annie might say something to their parents about making guests eat on the couch in front of the TV. She wouldn’t tell their parents, but it was nice to think she had some power over him.

“What’re your plans for tomorrow, Annie?” Bo asked, in a way so pointed that he was only able to get away with it because he was family.

“Job hunting, I guess,” she said with a shrug, stabbing a carrot and bringing it to her mouth.

Brock nudged her with his elbow, “Putting roots down?”

She shrugged again and let her fork clatter against her plate. “I suppose.”

“What do you do?” Petey asked and Annie was more than happy to continue down that path of conversation. Especially if it meant that Bo was going to be less overt about her getting out of the house.

She’d barely seen the sun since she arrived.

She grinned across the table at Petey, pushed back the sleeves of her sweatshirt to reveal all she could of two full tattoo sleeves. She leaned forward, her elbows on the dining table. “Tattoos. Do you want one?”

Petey paled. She didn’t think it was possible with his already exceptionally pale skin. ‘Green’ might be a better descriptor.

“She’ll give you the ‘Bo Deal,��” Holly said.

“Five times the regular price,” Bo chipped in.

“Don’t be silly,” Annie objected. “Petey’s on his ELC: four times.”

“What about me?” Brock asked, putting on his most endearing face. “What would you charge me?”

Annie tilted her head, taking time to consider his question. The answer was easy: “Ten times. I know what you signed.”

He rolled his eyes but Petey found it highly amusing and his laughter was contagious around the table.

“You’re on dishes,” Bo said when they’d finished eating, stacking up his and Holly’s plates and putting them on top of Holly’s. “We cooked.”

Annie grumbled as she stood, but it was mostly for show; she would wash all the dishes in the world if it meant she didn’t have to cook a proper dinner for the rest of her life.

Everyone disappeared into the next room to watch some television—no doubt whichever hockey game was on. At least, Annie thought it was everyone. As she was turning back around in the kitchen to collect the rest of the dirty dishes, Brock was standing in the doorway, arms full of plates.

“Want some help?”

“If Bo knew that I said yes to having one of our guests help with me dishes, I think he’d ground me.”

“He can’t ground you.”

“I’m living in his house for free, he can kind of do whatever he wants,” she said, although she knew Bo would never.

Brock smiled, stepping forward with the plates and putting them with the other stack. He said, “What he doesn’t know won’t kill him, then. Why’d you make the move to Vancouver?”

“A few things: end of a relationship, needed to get out of small-town Rodney, needed to never live on another farm. Mostly I needed to not have everyone in town know everything about my life.”

“I’ve never done the small-town thing.”

“There were more people at your college than my town,” Annie said, though she didn’t have actual statistics on hand, “or like, any of the towns around mine. Combined.”

“What’s the rush in getting a job?”

Annie looked at him with raised eyebrows to ask incredulously, “Because I need money?”

“Bo won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I can’t freeload forever. Besides, Bo might be willing to pay for a lot of things but getting my roots touched up isn’t something I’m going to ask for.”

Brock’s eyes followed her hands as she raked her fingers through her hair, knowing all too well how desperate she needed help. The three inches of mousey brown was quite the contrast to the bright blue.

“I can lend you the money.”

Annie dropped a plate into the sink in shock and barely cared that it might have broken as she asked, “What now?”

“How much will it cost?”

Annie rolled her eyes and finally turned on the faucet to start rinsing the dishes. She said, uncomfortably, “More than I’m willing to tell you. Definitely more than I’m willing to borrow.”

“You’ve gotta look good if you’re going for job interviews—not that you don’t look good,” he said quickly. Annie smiled to herself. “I’m just saying, if you can make an appointment for the next day or two, I’ll chip in and you can pay me back.”

“That’s stupidly nice of you but no hairdresser will be able to fit me in for everything I need done on such short notice.”

“Jost’s girlfriend—a buddy of mine on the Avs—his girlfriend is a hairdresser around here. Let me make the call and—”

She turned her entire body to face him, in absolute disbelief.

“Why?”

“Why what?” He asked, looking up from his phone where he seemed to actually be making a call to Tyson Jost.

“Why would you help me out with this? You hardly know me.”

“I know Bo and I know that you two are basically the same person. I��d do it for him, so why wouldn’t I do it for you?”

Annie stood frozen, still in utter disbelief. Brock was being far more earnest than she could ever have imagined. He kept nodding down to his phone, as if all he needed to make the call was for her to say yes.

By the time Brock left that night, Annie had a hair appointment for Wednesday.

9 October

Requesting a night off two weeks after starting at a new job wasn’t ideal. She’d fully expected to be told that she had to work while everybody else went to the Canucks home opener—she got lucky, though.

Her time off had been as good as secured when she pulled the Horvat card and then Bo came in the weekend before to meet everyone. Just to make sure. Though Bo hadn’t confirmed it, Annie strongly suspected that he would be starting the game with a newly printed C on his chest. It was the only reason she could come up with for him to personally come to the tattoo parlour and make sure she was at the game.

And it became even more obvious when she and Holly were escorted down to the bench. Everyone—Bo, Holly, the entire team, and the Old Guard of the Vancouver Canucks —were excited, but they all seemed to know exactly what was going to happen while Annie stood there with shaking hands until the moment came.

Bo Horvat was officially the 14th Captain of the Vancouver Canucks.

Brock’s hand had settled confidently on Annie’s waist when he stood beside her and asked if she was joining them out for a drink to celebrate their 8-2 victory. Next to no thought went into it before she agreed and was shuffled into a car and pressed between him and Quinn in the backseat. Inarguably she was pressed closer to Brock, but that was far from unintentional.

When they made it out onto the streets of Yaletown, Brock never strayed too far from her. As they passed the line of people who were waiting to get in, Annie kept looking back over her shoulder to laugh at the glares she was getting. Brock’s arm never left her shoulder; he ignored everyone who wasn’t with their group. Only, he wasn’t ignoring anyone as much as he was caught up in the excitement of their first win for their new captain.

Somehow—minor miracle, bribery or perhaps some posturing—they were able to secure a few tables towards the back of the bar.

As Annie took a seat, she made sure to pull her seat up right beside Brock so that their legs were pressed together from hip to ankle. His arm was still wrapped securely around her shoulders even as they each had to lean and shout when they tried to have a conversation with anyone else.

Every time someone returned to the tables with a new drink, a new chant of ‘Bo! Bo! Bo!’ rang out; even other people in the bar joined in.

Getting to know everyone was easy—the team was young or, at the very least, young at heart—and having Brock, Bo, and Holly all willing to drag Annie into a conversation if she looked like she was missing some context meant that she was never lost.

The night was long, longer than she’d had in a long time, but she wasn’t drunk by any means. That might have been because she was drinking with her older brother, or maybe it was because she was trying not to embarrass herself in front of Brock. She just knew that when she went to the bathroom, there was no weird spinning sensation when she was sitting in the stall.

As she was making her way back to their tables, she ran into Bo and Holly, the latter of whom was tilting quite precariously.

“We’re gonna head off,” Bo said, Holly lightly protesting. “You coming?”

“I think I’m going to say. I’m making friends.”

“Don’t do anything stupid and call me if you need me.”

Annie shoved his shoulder at that, turning him around so that he would actually leave.

Brock wasn’t sitting at the table when Annie walked back over to the table. She put her hand on the back of Emma’s chair, leaning to grab some pretzels, and was promptly told that Brock was at the bar. She made a beeline for him.

Her hand met his shoulder, and she pressed her body against his back and asked him to get her a cocktail. Even after he’d ordered her drink, she stayed close to him and watched as her drink was made whilst enjoying the warmth of his body.

“Do you want to sit outside for a bit?” Brock asked, handing over her drink, and leading her away from the noise at the bar.

Pressing right up against him on one of the outside couches was a mindless decision. Brock made his hand at home on the top of Annie’s head, his fingernails scratching lightly against her perfectly recoloured roots. He put his beer down on the table in front of them and with his free hand, ran his fingers up her bare arm.

Annie shivered, her entire body shuddering at the gentleness of his fingers; at a touch she hadn’t felt in such a long time.

“What’s this tattoo mean?” Brock asked, poking just above her elbow.

She laughed, knowing that he was poking at the two-scoop, salted caramel waffle cone, “It means that I like ice cream.”

“Are they all just things you like?”

“Well, yeah, but this one’s for Bowie,” she said, moving her arm around to find the striped jumpsuit with no body and a face that was only identifiable by the lightning bolt across it and the spiky red hair.

Brock laughed—most people did when they noticed the hockey stick being held up by the ghost hands.

“And these are my parents.” She showed the bodiless wedding clothes and hair of her parents.

Further up her arm, on the back of her bicep, Brock found torn jeans and spiky hair—Joel, her high school boyfriend. She spoke fondly of him, no ill will, and how it was her first tattoo, and she didn’t, for a second, regret getting it.

“It was an important time in my life,” she explained. “We broke up because he went to college to play hockey and I continued my apprenticeship in Ontario.”

Brock’s lips pressed briefly to the shell of her ear. Annie moved even closer. Brock’s finger traced over her tattoos—the objects and the colour that filled in her sleeves. Her arms were easily manipulated as he inspected every inch of them.

Under her arm, the left one—the one that did not contain her family or Joel—Brock stumbled upon a blacked-out rectangle.

“You’ve covered this up,” he said, startling Annie at first with the tickle of his finger and then the realisation of what it had once been. “What is it?”

“A mood killer,” Annie said softly. “And a story for another day.”

Brock brushed his thumb over it once more. He pressed another kiss to the top of her head, sending a shiver right down to her toes and she sighed, letting herself relax right against him.

He asked her about the process of getting tattoos from the initial want and idea to the final decision. She laughed quietly. If he was someone who thought every tattoo had to be profound, then Annie was not the person to ask. She demonstrated as such by reminding him of the salted caramel ice cream cone and then by pointing him to the box of Thin Mints on her forearm.

Annie barely felt herself being moved; she was so relaxed and pliant. However, when Brock’s hand was lifting her chin and his mouth was on hers, she felt everything. All at once, Brock was touching and kissing her more gently than she could ever remember being kissed before. Even as she pushed up into the kiss, trying to angle her body so that she was seconds away from throwing her leg over his thighs, Brock was quick to slow it down.

A loud banging on the window behind them had Brock jumping back, his head hitting said window and eliciting a painful yelp. Annie wasn’t as shocked, but she was aware enough to glare at the faces of Jake Virtanen and Troy Stecher, both with shit eating grins. She banged back on the window as she watched Emma pull Stech away. Jake stood in place and pulled faces.

“We should probably get you home, anyway,” Brock said into her ear.

Annie recoiled, “Home? We’re not going back to my brother’s house to fuck. You live alone, we’re going there.” She stood up, taking both of his hands in hers and trying to force him to his feet.

“I’ll go there, and you’ll go to Bo’s,” he said easily, despite the confusion rising within Annie. “I want to do this right.”

She rolled her eyes and let go of his hands so that he fell back onto the couch. “Why’re you such a gentleman?” She asked, reaching out for his hands again. “I’m no lady.”

Once Brock was on his feet—smiling innocently—he dropped his head to kiss her again. Annie immediately lost all fight within her and held his hands against her chest. She tried to prolong the kiss as much as she could, reeling Brock back in whenever he tried to pull away, but eventually she begrudgingly let him lead her to say goodbye to the people who still remained inside.

As Annie was walking through Bo’s house, up the stairs and to her room she only swayed once or twice into the banister—not even because she’d been drinking but because mid-step she’d remember just what it felt like to have Brock kiss her; to have him want to woo her.

14 October

Having her parents around felt better than Annie had expected it to. She hadn’t cried when she’d left them for Vancouver even though she had no intention of returning to Rodney—they would come to Vancouver whenever they could to visit their Golden Boy after all. She loved them dearly but had always been an independent soul. Until her father hugged her tightly and told her how much he missed having her at home.

“Hi, I’m Bo. Your son. Who also doesn’t live at home,” Bo joked, noticing that Annie was on the brink of tears. Their mother instantly moved to fuss over him.

Brock and Petey arrived the next day for a free Thanksgiving dinner. They brought their appetites and their manners; much to the delight of Cindy and Tim who prided themselves on cooking an amazing Thanksgiving Dinner.

“My parents love you,” Annie said easily to Brock when they were alone in the kitchen. “Do you have that effect on everyone’s parents?”

Brock reached into the fridge, pulled out a beer and shrugged. “I don’t aim for it. Parents just like me.”

Annie cackled at the sincerity of his answer, and then even harder at the confused expression that settled over his face. “You aren’t real. You can’t be.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No, Brock,” she said softly. “It’s really not.”

Later, they ate. Annie tried desperately to avoid the hinting looks being given to her by both her mom and her dad—the hinting looks that clearly meant they wanted her to lock Brock down as soon as possible. That did mean she was talking a lot to Brock and fuelling the fire, unfortunately.

Annie was keeping Gus occupied and out of the kitchen after dinner, sitting in the living room and watching The Office. She hadn’t heard anyone come into the room; didn’t know she’d been joined until a heavy weight settled into the couch beside her and Brock laughed at a joke on the TV.

“I was being a nuisance,” Annie said slowly, exhausted from a long day of socialising and eating. “Why did you get kicked out?”

“I was standing around doing nothing. Bo just told me to sit down.”

“Lucky.”

Annie settled further down on the sofa, her hand never leaving Gus’ neck, and didn’t hesitate to get comfortable by pressing into Brock’s side and resting her head on his shoulder. He lifted his arm, rather unconsciously, and wrapped it around her shoulders before bending his arm so that he could massage the top of her head with his fingers.

It was heavenly.

So much so that Annie’s eyelids grew heavy. Nothing could wake her from her sleep, except for Brock trying to move off the couch slowly as he and Petey were leaving.

She melted back into the warmth of Brock’s arms easily as they said goodbye, feeling safe and sure thanks to the firm palm against her upper back.

Bo stopped her in her doorway as Annie was getting ready to get into bed and let sleep consume her again. She looked to him expectantly and patiently, dropping down onto her bed.

“Please don’t get with Brock.”

Annie frowned, her back straightening. She said lowly, “If you’re about to tell me not to date him because he’s a shit guy—I swear to god, Bowie, your ass is going to be on the line for not trying to do something about it.”

“Uh, no, that’s really not what this is about,” Bo said hurriedly. “You know I’d call him out on any BS.”

“Of course, I do,” Annie relented easily, her shoulders sagging. “I just can’t work out why else you’d be trying to tell me who to date. That’s not your usual M.O.”

“It’s my first year as captain,” Bo said, his face turning white. “I’m so scared I’m going to fuck this up and the idea of external factors making it even harder makes me want to puke. Just one season. Please.”

Annie frowned and wasted no time in standing and stepping forward to hug him tightly.

“Okay,” she whispered, igniting the pang in her chest. “Brock—the whole team—is off limits. I can do that.”

26 October

Halloween was Annie’s favourite time of the year. Partly because her creativity was able to run free; partly because she always knew someone who was throwing a party that she didn’t want to miss. And as she was heading to her first Team Party, she was able to go all out in her costume.

The train of her dress was in her hands as she, Bo and Holly ascended the stairs to the Tanevs’ house, and she was certain that she couldn’t move her face due to the amount of makeup she was wearing.

Almost the very second they entered the house, Annie felt Brock’s eyes on her, raking from her stiletto heels, up the high split in her dress.

Annie immediately found Jessica and turned so her back was to Brock.

“The Corpse fucking Bride,” Jessica exhaled dramatically as she made Annie do a spin. “Holy shit, girl. Your hair is just perfect for this.”

For close to an hour, Annie was shuffled between people who wanted to inspect her costume—the blue tint to her skin, the way the tint highlighted her tattoos, the perfectly tailored and tattered wedding dress, the makeup she’d spent hours on.

She was floating on air by the end of it.

All it took was one person—and she couldn’t even remember who—to say, “Luckily you’ve already got a ring or Prince Charming over there wouldn’t be wasting any time,” to come crashing down.

And then the floor fell out from underneath her when Brock stepped right into her space for a hug that she had to deftly avoid, even if she was screaming internally to let him.

“You’ll turn blue,” she explained when Brock looked hurt and confused.

“Right—you’re a hot commodity. You look amazing, Ann.”

If her face wasn’t blue, she would have turned bright red in that moment.

She asked, deflecting, “Did they come up with the group costume purely because of you?”

Around the room were men in assorted Shrek themed costumes, the inflatable ones were her favourite because she’d been able to hug Quinn and Thatch without worrying about transferring blue directly onto them—with the added bonus of course being that hugging inflatables was hilariously fun.

Brock was unimpressed, grumbling, “Unfortunately.”

“You pull it off well,” she assured him, quickly looking away as the corners of his mouth turned slightly upward.

As she started drinking, she was introduced to Emma and Micaela and welcomed warmly into their conversation. The relief was instant when they accepted her because more often than not, she was assumed to be standoffish just because of her hair and tattoos but she supposed that now she was out of her small town those things were hardly out of the ordinary.

It didn’t take much alcohol—which Emma and Micaela were more than happy to ply her with—for Annie to abandon all caution about her blue body paint, or about keeping her distance from Brock.

A small group of the younger guys and their partners had gathered in the backyard, and despite the raging bonfire, she found herself tucked under Brock’s arm. She crossed her right leg over her left and leaned into Brock enough that she could hook her right foot behind his calf.

His hand made its way to its favourite spot in her hair.

They were so close that she could hear every single inhale and exhale. It was enough to nearly lull her to sleep.

And then her brother’s voice carried across the yard.

She carefully extricated herself from Brock; slowly enough to not grab anyone’s attention. As she began to walk away, Brock caught her hand and quietly asked if she was okay. She squeezed his hand and nodded.

Bo was happy to accept her into the conversation he was having with Tanev and Markstrom, and she stood with them with a small, polite smile. It was difficult to not look back over her shoulder whenever she heard Brock’s voice, but she managed.

“Thanks for letting me come,” she said to Tanev, as the conversation lulled. Then she turned to Bo, “And thanks for not being too embarrassed to bring your baby sister.”

Bo laughed, his arm swinging over his shoulder so he could shake her, “This was a test. Had to make sure it wasn’t a fluke you didn’t embarrass me at the bar.”

“You know better than to tell me your biggest fears, Bowie,” Annie responded, threateningly, plastering an overly innocent smile on her face.

The three men laughed.

Annie was grateful for the space she’d found.

3 November

A solid knock on her bedroom door reverberated in her room just a few seconds before Bo opened it. Annie poked her head out from underneath her blanket to glare at him for daring to interrupt her attempt at sleep.

“Brock’s here.”

Annie’s eyes widened and her heart began to pound. “He’s what?”

“He’s carrying multiple shopping bags,” Bo continued.

“What did you tell him?”

“That was I was going to see if you were still awake.”

“Am I still awake?” She asked him, uncertain what the right response was given their little deal. Given that she’d purposely rejected Brock’s invite to a night of drinking with Petey and Jake because of said deal—in addition to the surprise of her period, but that was something she could typically manage on a night out.

“You’re an adult, Annie. I’ll tell him whatever you want me to tell him.”

It wasn’t often that Annie didn’t like her brother for being so trusting of her, for believing in her abilities to make her own choices. Sometimes, like that very moment, she wished he’d just tell her what she should be doing. He waited, though. He stood in her doorway, expressionless, and didn’t look like he intended to move until she made a decision.

She sat up in her bed, disappointed that her cocoon had been ruined, and said, “tell him he can come up.”

Bo nodded and left without any judgment on his face.

Annie was slow to stand and find a pair of shorts so she wouldn’t be caught in just her underwear and tank top, but she was back in bed before Brock was in her room.

“Hey,” he said softly, pity filling his voice when he saw how sad she looked once again curled up on her bed. “How’re you doin’?”

“Shit.”

The pity heightened as he stepped to the bed so that he could let her see what was inside the bags he was carrying.

“I bought ice cream but also Pepto-Bismol because I didn’t know what type of sick you were.”

“Did you buy out Rexall? This is a hell of a lot more than just ice cream and Pepto,” Annie said, taking note of the naproxen and decongestants. “It’s definitely take-naproxen-and-curl-into-a-ball time, though.”

He handed her the naproxen bottle and left the room to take the ice cream down to the freezer. He hadn’t been gone very long when Holly appeared in his place.

“Bo did this for me not long after we started dating.”

“I know,” Annie whispered, “I was with him at the pharmacy.”

Holly smiled sympathetically but didn’t say anything else for which Annie was thankful. She did stand in the doorway for moral support until Brock returned with two bowls of ice cream in hand and a hot water bottle tucked under his arm.

“I have it on good authority that these also help.”

Annie pulled back the covers on her bed, gesturing silently for Brock to join her. He put the bowls on the bedside table before he sat up in the bed with his back against the bed frame, but Annie was all about comfort and laid down on her side—the only position she found comfortable at that time—and placed the hot water bottle behind her back.

The relief was immediate, and she moaned and scooted towards Brock, resting her head on his thigh.

“You’re my hero, Brock Boeser. A real Prince Charming.”

As she began to fall asleep, Annie vaguely recalled taking hold of Brock’s arm and cuddling it to her chest.

There was a knock on the door, Annie couldn’t have begun to guess how much time had passed, and Annie was able to mutter a soft ‘come in’ despite being on the brink of sleep.

“I’m not here as Annie’s big brother,” Bo said. “But I am here as Brock’s captain: you have to go home, dude. We’ve got morning skate and a game tomorrow; if you sleep sitting up like that, we have no hope against Washington.”

Brock lifted his free arm, swearing when he saw the time on his watch. “I didn’t realise how late it got. I’ll just grab my stuff and get out of here.��

“Shoot me a text when you make it home,” Bo said as he left the room—the door was wide open as a sign that he was not kidding about Brock needing to leave.

Annie curled tighter around Brock’s arm in protest as he started to move.

“I really need to go, Ann. I’m sorry,” he apologised, brushing her hair off her face. “Captain Bo will kill me.”

She grumbled but let go of his arm, sitting up in her bed as he started to stand.

“Thank you for coming over. You’re probably the sweetest guy I’ve ever met.”

“You can’t have met very many guys then,” he joked, self-disparagingly.

“You’re a softie, Brock Boeser, and the world would be a better place if people were more like you.”

He didn’t respond, just tried to turn away as his cheeks reddened. He busied himself with collecting any garbage they’d accumulated.

She pushed up the strap of her camisole that had slipped down her arm and sighed, “I’m sorry for ruining your plans with the guys.”

“I’d rather be here with you.”

Her eyes fluttered shut and her heart constricted. She had no intention of opening them until after Brock was gone afraid that she might get out of the bed and do something silly like kiss him, which would be so far removed from what she was trying to achieve. However, she once again felt Brock brush the hair out of her face but this time it was followed by his lips pressing against her forehead and her eyes opened of their own accord.

“Please give me a chance, Ann,” he whispered, his breath fanning over her forehead as he pulled away.

Annie pulled the covers up over her chest to her chin as she watched him go.

9 November

Annie didn’t want to be heading to Brock’s house, but Jake’s texts were moving from passive aggressive to straight callouts after a month of her flaking on all of his invites. On all of Quinn and Petey’s invites, too.

Brock had stopped trying a few weeks ago.

“She is real!” Jake exclaimed, throwing open the door to Brock’s apartment. Annie flinched; his voice way too close to her ear as he hugged her.

“I wish you weren’t.”

They walked through to Brock’s living room where Quinn and Petey were stretched out on couches. Brock was nowhere to be seen.

“Why don’t you love us anymore?” Jake asked.

Annie rolled her eyes and said defensively, “Because you’re never here. I don’t have to wait around for Emma and Micaela to be free.” She watched Jake lean over the sink and recoiled. “They also don’t spit in sinks.”

She spotted a bean bag on the floor beside where Petey was sitting on the couch—a bean bag that had definitely just been vacated by Jake—and collapsed into it before pulling off her shoes so she could curl up comfortably. She shook Petey’s leg and quietly said hello.

The game playing on Brock’s overly large television was interrupted by the front door opening and the scurrying of dog’s feet was followed by Brock calling out, his voice drawing closer, “I swear to god I just saw Annie outside.”

Coolie raced directly for Annie, a new person for him to investigate. Underneath the boisterous dog, Annie was able to squeak out a ‘Surprise!’ as Brock froze, visibly shocked to see her.

“I guess I did see Annie outside. I didn’t expect you to come.”

“I know. I’ve been MIA. I’m really surprised you guys keep asking me.”

“You’re fun to have around when you do show up,” Petey said, causing Annie’s head to snap up to look at him.

“I’ll be better, I promise.”

Coolie eventually calmed down, settling in Annie’s lap, and wagging his tail as she scratched behind his ears. She was grateful for the distraction.

They welcomed her back into the group easily, even if Brock was being a little quieter when it came to her. He had no problem making his frustration at the game and the refs known, it was just when Annie would talk he’d close his mouth for a few minutes. Everyone noticed; Quinn gave him a kick in the thigh at one stage when it became overwhelmingly uncomfortable.

As the boys were leaving after the game, Jake sent her more than one concerned look and asked multiple times if she was sure she didn’t want a ride home. Annie assured him that she needed to talk to Brock.

Brock had moved outside by the time her conversation with Jake was done—he called a final goodbye through the open patio door. She joined him, curling her arms around her knees, and bringing them to her chest. Coolie settled at their feet.

“How’s your dad?” Annie asked, keeping her eyes focused on the lights of BC Place across the river.

“You don’t have to pretend to care,” Brock whispered. It wasn’t mean or aggressive, but it split Annie’s heart in two.

“I’m not pretending. That’s a horrible thing to pretend to care about,” Annie said. “I wouldn’t ask just to make small talk.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Annie quickly checked to see if he had turned to her but he, too, was staring at BC Place.

“He’s…” Brock said slowly. “Doing his best.”

She prodded him for more information and relaxed significantly when he parted with it. They hadn’t known each other very long before Annie made her promise, but in that six or so weeks, despite road trips and conflicting work schedules, she’d come to learn a lot about his family. Without even meeting them, she cared about them and their well-being.

A lot of it had to do with the lightness and joy in his voice when he was telling her stories about his summers or his childhood.

Silence settled over them, the lights of Vancouver distracting both of them. Annie was conflicted by how easy it was to just be with him.

“The tattoo was for my ex-boyfriend,” Annie breathed, deciding it was as good a time as any. “I don’t know how much Bo mentioned a guy named Sean?”

“Mostly just to the older guys?” Brock asked, uncertain. “He asked for advice a lot.”

“We broke up in August… except it wasn’t so much breaking up as it was me finally getting a restraining order.”

Brock tensed beside her and asked, “was he at the wedding?”

She laughed, though it was far from funny.

“You’d remember; it would have been a nightmare. Bo bought him an all-expenses paid trip to Cabo for him and a friend. I’ve never seen Bo lie as well as he did when he was telling Sean the best place available was only free the week of the wedding.” Annie paused before adding, “What Bowie doesn’t know is that Sean gave me Trich when he got back; but, because guys usually don’t get symptoms, it was obviously my fault and I couldn’t leave the house for two weeks because I couldn’t see out of my right eye.”

The silence that grew was no longer comfortable. Annie tore her eyes away from Vancouver to look at Brock and the tightness of his jaw.

“He hit you?” He asked through clenched teeth.

“I didn’t get a restraining order just because he gave me an STI,” she said, the joke in her voice only caused him to tense up more. “Told you it was a mood killer.”

“I didn’t know.”

Annie nudged his thigh with her knee. “You didn’t really know me until two months ago.”

“Was that the only time he hit you?”

“No. It wasn’t.

Brock moved around, dropping his arm over Annie’s shoulder. She leaned into him and sighed.

17 November

If it would stop raining for more than three seconds, Annie would have been much more willing to head out to Granville Market. She’d promised Emma that she would meet her for coffee, though, because even seeing her and Micaela had become difficult; so, she pulled on a cap and called an Uber.

Hanging out with everyone was getting progressively harder because they all seemed hell bent on talking to her about Brock. She supposed she understood; it was easy gossip.

She found a table inside, overlooking False Creek, and enjoyed the view even with the cloudy sky above.

Emma arrived, took one look at Annie and went straight to the counter to order their coffees. They both understood they’d be there for multiple drinks, so Annie was prepared to buy the next ones and some cakes.

“I’m surprised you aren’t working today,” Emma said, dropping down into the seat opposite Annie. “I feel like that’s all you do these days. Nights.”

Annie frowned. That wasn’t even a lie—even if she’d been purposely taking more shifts. She said, “I still owe Brock the money for getting my hair dyed.”

“He won’t ask for it,” Emma stated, certainty in her voice. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m not worried that he’s going to ask for it,” Annie sighed. “It’d be super shitty to take his money like that.”

“I don’t know, I just get the impression he’d buy you the moon if he could. Lavish you with presents.”

Annie let the words settle in her mind because it was a place she didn’t regularly let it go. It had to be deflected.

“Are you saying that Brock Boeser wants to be my Sugar Daddy?”

“No,” Emma said firmly. “I’m saying he wants to be your boyfriend and spoil you.”

Annie didn’t say a word, just levelled Emma with a glare and waited for their coffees to be delivered. It was a weird silence for more than a few minutes, but phones made those silences a lot easier to ignore. She used the time to Venmo Brock what she owed him.

Emma restarted the conversation before Annie had even finished the transaction, turning the topic to Phoebe, her Bernese Mountain Dog. Listening to that was not a hard ask.

By the time Annie stood up to buy their second drinks, the sky had cleared up and False Creek was as beautiful as ever. Annie enjoyed the rotating roster of the tattoo parlour because it meant she got to enjoy the midday sun—even if she did so from inside and behind glass.

They sat there for a couple of hours before Emma offered to drive Annie home. Brock’s car was on the street when Emma pulled up out the front of the Horvat house. Emma’s eyes lit up at the sight and her mouth opened to say something, but Annie was out of the car and slamming the door before she could hear.

“It’s just me!” Annie called as she walked inside.

“We’re in the kitchen, come say hi!” Bo called back.

Annie breathed deeply a few times to prepare herself, only her heart began to beat faster.

She waved as she walked in to see Brock and Bo sitting in the breakfast nook, huddled over what looked to be car brochures.

“Who’s getting what?” She asked, pulling an Audi pamphlet towards her and flicking through it so she didn’t have to make eye contact with Brock.

“Might be time for a bigger car,” Bo answered, “if we’re hoping to have kids soon.”

Annie hummed, having been privy to many conversations Bo and Holly had had about kids. She’d also unfortunately seen far too much skin on more than one occasion when they hadn’t quite made it to their bedroom.

“I hate how much of an adult you are.”

“Yeah, me too,” Bo agreed as he stood and swiped up some of the brochures. “I’m gonna go see what Holly thinks.”

He’d barely left the room before Brock spoke to Annie, softly saying, “You didn’t have to pay me back.”

Annie sat down opposite him, in the seat Bo had just left. He was so sincere in what he was saying, and she couldn’t help but remember what Emma said.

“I was always going to pay you back. I know money might not be a big deal to you anymore, but it is to me.”

“Which is why I think you should keep it. I can send it back to you.”

“I will keep sending it back to you. Just let me do this.”

She was so focused on his face that she wasn’t paying attention to his hand reaching out across the table until they were covering hers. His thumb brushing over the tattooed bushel of rain lilies on the back of her hand made her toes curl.

“Only if you don’t need it.”

“I promise.”

He smiled at her, making her already weak stomach flutter.

Bo and Holly walked into the kitchen; Annie only realised when Holly was nudging her into the next seat so she could sit down. Annie pulled her hand away from Brock’s, averting her eyes to the table and pretending that her cheeks weren’t flaming red.

She was stuck at the table for close to half an hour, trapped between Holly and the wall, using her phone as a distraction from the tension that had developed between her and Brock. Or the tension that had developed between her and Bo. Holly was the only one who seemed to actually want to determine what car to buy.

The very moment she was able to get out, she excused herself and disappeared to her bedroom. Mostly so that she could sit on her bed and ingrain the feeling of Brock’s thumb against her hand deep into her brain.

Bo appeared in her doorway, as he so regularly did, not long after Annie heard Brock leave. She smiled weakly.

“I shouldn’t have told you what to do,” he said solemnly as he nervously tapped the doorframe. “With Brock.”

Immediately Annie panicked. It was something she’d wanted to hear, sure, but she’d made a promise.

“Remember 2011? Lauren Shelby?”

Bo laughed at the memory, “Basketball captain, yeah.”

“I asked you not to date her,” Annie said slowly, purposefully. “And you didn’t. I owe you one.”

“I started dating Holly instead, you did me a pretty big solid.”

“Then the next guy I date will be my forever—that’s how it works, right? Like that Dane Cook movie.”

Bo’s tapping got louder momentarily before he gripped the doorframe. He said, “That’s a shit movie. You deserve a way better life than whatever happens in a Dane Cook movie.”

“It’s not a big deal,” she lied. Through her teeth. “Thank you, though.”

“I want you to be happy.”

“Then let me take a nap; I’ve got work later.”

He didn’t look even the slightest bit convinced, though he left like she’d asked. She curled into a ball on her bed and tried to wipe the memory of Brock she’d only just burned into her brain.

5 December

Annie agreed to go out with the boys because it was shaping up to be most of the team and not just Brock, Petey, Quinn and Jake. She’d done well at deflecting their invitations, again, but could tell they were getting suspicious and more frustrated; though she’d be surprised if Brock hadn’t shared at least some of the weirdness with them.

Holly had also promised to be the designated driver which meant Annie could get blind drunk without having to worry about hailing a taxi and becoming a public nuisance.

It also allowed for many buffers between her and Brock, even if they ended up facing one another across the table. Try as she might, Annie couldn’t stop looking for his reaction when she said anything vaguely funny or whenever somebody said something that was vaguely relevant to him. It wasn’t helping that everything that was vaguely relevant to Brock also seemed to be vaguely relevant to her.

After a couple of drinks, as Annie wandered back from the bathroom, she felt a tug on her arm just before she was spun around by a man with bright green hair and tattoos up his neck. She raised her eyebrow and tried to pull her arm back to her side. Unsuccessfully.

“Can I help you?”

The smirk that found its way onto his mouth made her skin crawl. Her heart began to thump loudly in her chest. It only got worse when he asked, “What’re you drinking?”

“Nothing you buy me,” she growled, pulling her arm more forcefully. His grip was just tight enough that her bicep when she finally got free.

She all but ran back to the table and frowned at Holly who was watching her knowingly.

“You aren’t going home with that guy?” Jake asked, leaning his elbows onto the table to see around Brock who was glaring at the ceiling.

Annie’s eyes fell shut for a brief moment as she tried to work out where the conversation would go. She said, “He’s not my type.”

“What’s your type then?”

“Not that,” she scoffed, taking Bo’s drink and claiming it as her own. “I’ve done tattooed guys with spacers and neon hair dye and they’re not worth it.”

“But that’s just you as a dude.”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “And who’d want to date me?”

Brock looked at her right as she finished speaking and looked ready to open his mouth and refute her until he was jostled by Jake leaning heavily back into his seat. His mouth snapped shut but his eyes never left Annie and the scowl on his face never shifted.

A conversation about tattoos picked up quickly and didn’t take very long to gain ground. Beside her, Jess Kohout was alternating between inspecting Annie’s tattoos and talking about what she was planning on getting next. Petey told everyone to not bother trying to get her to do them as she liked to charge according to their contracts; she scolded him for losing her easy money.

Annie lifted her glass to her mouth, sighing when she was met with nothing but ice against her lips. She pushed her chair back and walked over to Tanev, shaking him to get his attention.

“Tan, will you be my chaperone to the bar? I don’t trust that guy to not try it on again.”

“I’ll come,” Brock said, placing his hands on the table and pushing himself up. Annie was sure she had never seen him so irate.

“You’re not intimidating enough,” Annie said easily, avoiding looking at him and the busted lip that he’d gotten a few days earlier.

“I’ll come,” Bo said.

“You’re even less intimidating than Brock,” she said, knowing it was necessary to deflect that offer if she didn’t want people to think she was refusing Brock’s offer specifically.

“I’m going,” Chris said, lifting his glass and drinking the remaining half of his beer in one quick mouthful.

They were barely away from the table when Chris did a quick check over his shoulder. Annie followed his gaze, quickly turning back when it was clear he was looking at Brock and the frustration rising within.

“I think you broke Sunshine’s heart,” Chris said, throwing his arm over Annie’s as Tattoos-And-Spacers’ eyes tracked her across the bar.

“Beau Bennett’s here?” Annie asked coolly.

Chris laughed, his hand landing on Annie’s shoulder, “Message received loud and clear.”

She wasn’t absolutely certain what that message was; it meant that Chris was going to leave it be, though, so she wasn’t going to complain.

18 December

Annie had gone full festive for Christmas Skate—reindeer ears with bells and a Christmas sweater with an unholy amount of tinsel wrapped around it in no discernible pattern. She was very disappointed in Bo and Holly for thinking their red tops were enough.

“I’m just saying,” Annie said as they walked into the practice arena, “It’s Christmas and also the first Christmas in like five years that I’m actually getting to spend with you.”

“We’ll get dressed up for Christmas Day.”

“Yeah, alright, Mr Grinch. Remember there are kids here and you need all the help you can get.”

Holly’s hand covered Annie’s mouth, a clear instruction for her to keep it shut—very few people knew about the pregnancy and they wanted to keep it that way.

When Annie’s mouth was free, she made another jab at their lack of Christmas spirit before tightening her grip on her skates and sprinting towards the locker room so neither could retaliate.

Kids were running around—some wobbling on skates, others just trying to evade having skates put on—and she navigated through them towards Bo’s stall where she started working on the laces of her Converse.

“There’s more tinsel on you than there is on my tree,” Brock said, taking a seat in the stall beside her.

“You need to up your tree game, then. Clearly.” Annie turned to smile at him before she pulled one of her skates onto her lap and cursed as she tried to sort out the laces.

“I’ve got it,” Brock said, taking the sake from her before she could protest.

Seconds later, he was kneeling in front of her, helping her get her foot into the skate. She stared down at him, breathless. Before she could stop herself, she was brushing her thumb over his cheek. His cheeks tinted red, but just barely, and Annie bit into her own lip.

A loud raucous occurred when Bo stepped into the room, and Annie pulled her hand back to her lap and decided to follow Teddy Roussel as he ran around the room. She desperately attempted to avoid eye contact with Emma or Micaela. They were both delighted.

“Is that tight enough?”

Annie looked back at Brock, unable to stop herself from smiling. “Thank you.”

She looked away again as he pulled her other skate from the stall. She was certain she would kiss him if they made eye contact for more than two seconds.

Out on the ice, Annie wasn’t purposely trying to keep her distance from Brock—for the first time in a long time—but she was getting pulled in multiple directions by her friends and by the children who were all fascinated by her blue hair.

Brock also had his hands full with kids—literally. Tucker Pearson was cradled in his arms as he moved effortlessly across the ice. Annie could tell Brock was talking to the baby, evidently full and important conversations if Brock’s animated expressions were anything to go by.

A weight collided against her legs, making her teeter dramatically. When she was steady, she saw Teddy Roussel smiling up at her sheepishly.

“Bo said you used to play goalie. Would you be goalie for me?” Teddy asked.

“I’m sorry, bud. I don’t have any gear and I kind of like my teeth in my mouth.”

“I can keep the puck on the ice!”

“Oh, I know; I’ve been watching. I’m just thinking about me making a diving save and then BAM! I look like Tanev.” Noting the upset look on his face, Annie said, “If you can find me some gear that fits, we’ve got a game.”

His face lit up and he skated directly to his father.

Getting corralled to the photo area was delightful. Seeing that they’d enlisted a call up from Utica to be Santa wasn’t even half as amazing as seeing Quinn dressed up in an elf costume.

“I hope they’re paying you extra for this,” she said, flicking the end of his hat. The bell jingled.

“Danger money because they knew you were going to be here.”

Annie cackled gleefully.

After having her photo taken with Santa and Quinn the Elf, Annie stood by to watch Bo and Holly have theirs taken. Naturally, she was roped into a family photo.

What she didn’t think was at all natural, was the Social Media team’s insistence that she also get her photo taken with Brock. He did happen to walk in just as the family photos were finishing, and at least one person in charge of Social Media seemed to have some idea of whatever was going on between them—there had been a lot of people with cameras in the locker room earlier. Annie made sure to keep her hands in her lap and nowhere near Brock.

The photo had just been taken when Teddy came rushing in, shouting that they’d found goalie equipment for her. Brock and Holly were utterly confused, whereas Bo looked positively delighted by the idea of his sister getting dressed up in second-hand goalie pads.

He at least helped her get into them.

She’d pulled off her sweater, knowing that the chest plate would get caught all up in the tinsel, and put a practice jersey over the top, and then had Bo haul the leg pads over her jeans before she skated onto the ice in her poorly fitting helmet.

Micaela wolf-whistled loudly.

“I’ve never looked better!” Annie shouted. “You wish you looked this good!”

Teddy was ready at the blue line, skating towards her and shooting blocker side. It went right in. Annie quickly realised she was out of her depth.

It couldn’t have even been that long that had passed when Bo skated towards her, his smile still firmly etched.

“Was I this much of a sieve when we were kids?” She asked breathlessly, just as a shot slipped in five-hole.

“Yeah,” Bo said without hesitation. “Would have been harder if you weren’t in the net.”

Annie groaned as he skated behind the back of the net.

Brock replaced Bo, looking no less delighted.

“Are you letting him score?” Brock asked.

“I really wish I could say no. They’re going right into the net, though, so I won’t be too banged up.”

Seconds later a puck was shot right into her chest plate. She groaned again.

“You ready to call it a day?”

“It’s way more exhausting than I remember. I’m also sweating like mad.”

“Give me a minute.”

He skated straight to Rous, who nodded and moved to pull Teddy away. Annie was grateful and quickly left the ice while Teddy was still screaming his thanks.

Brock followed her into the locker room just as she collapsed into a stall and pulled the mask off her head and managed to pull the practice jersey off with quite a struggle.

“You look dead,” he laughed, flattening out her hair for her. Annie sighed and let her eyes fall shut.

“I remember that being a lot easier when I was eight.”

“I don’t think you’ll be getting any EBUG calls.”

Annie startled when Brock’s hands reached to her right side, shifting her arm out of the way so that he could undo the chest plate.

“I’m really gross, I can do this myself.”

“It’s fine. I’ve got it.”

Brock was gentle as he helped her remove the goalie pads--the chest plate first, followed by her skates and then some awkward shimmying to get the pants down her legs. She was certain that she stopped breathing.

He was staring up at her with such soft eyes, such earnest, that Annie wasn’t able to stop herself. A gentle fist caught the collar of his t-shirt, pulling his face closer to hers and she kissed him just as she’d been longing to do since the beginning of October. Even though Brock was hovering awkwardly in front of her, it didn’t stop him from holding the back of her head to bring her closer. Without breaking the kiss, Annie managed to get to her feet to make it easier on both of them and she melted into his body.

As he pulled away, slowly, painfully, she chased his lips.

“I’m falling in love with you.”

Annie froze at the words, only to pull apart from him so violently that she collided with the stall and delayed her attempted barefoot sprint from the room. In the middle of the locker room she left Brock alone to deal with the confession that had fallen from her own mouth.

20 January

The Instagram post wasn’t a surprise—Annie was the first person to know about the pregnancy and she had known for nearly two months. The real surprise was the panic that settled deep within her stomach. The panic that was entering every part of her psyche through even the smallest of entries.

Which is how she ended up at the door to Brock’s apartment—after an Uber ride she was never going to get five stars for—when she hadn’t seen him since she’d left him in the middle of the locker room.

“Uh… What’s wrong?”

If Annie hadn’t been bouncing up and down anxiously, with mascara running down her face she might have just thought he was very perceptive.

“Holly’s—she’s pregnant.”

“Yeah, I know, Annie. You know I know. Why would you come here just to tell me that?”

Annie became even bouncier. “Because I’m gonna have to go back to Ontario and I can’t go back to Ontario. I can’t—Sean’s in Ontario and—”

“What are you talking about?” Brock asked, his voice sounding somewhere between tired and concerned. Nothing was showing on his face. “Why do you have to go to Ontario?”

“They’re having a baby, Brock,” she stressed, because it should have been clear enough.

“Annie—I don’t understand what’s wrong.”

A woman appeared behind Brock whilst Annie was trying to control all the words and thoughts flying through her head. The woman put a hand on Brock’s arm and leaned in to ask him a question whilst staring curiously and worriedly at Annie.

“This is Bo’s sister. It’s fine, Rose.”

Rose relaxed considerably, the worry shifting quickly to concern. “Oh! Are you okay, honey?”

Annie’s eyes darted between them, though they didn’t have to move very far because Rose was still pressed up close against Brock.

“Yeah. I’m gonna go.”

Nothing else was said, Annie left far too quickly for a response. She had nowhere else she could really go without warning—though nowhere was going to be a worse idea than Brock’s, so, as she walked circles in the elevator, she ordered another Uber to take her to Petey’s.

Only, Brock was waiting for her when the elevator doors opened, huffing. The fire door slammed shut a second later.

“What do you want from me, Annie?” He asked hurriedly, stepping directly in front of her so that she couldn’t make another run for it. “I can’t keep doing this. You say you don’t want me, and I respect that—but getting upset because there’s someone else in my place? All the stuff that happened at the Christmas Skate? It’s killing me.”

“It’s killing me, too.”

He sighed, loudly, frustration oozing from every part of his body. “Then why?”

“I told Bo I would wait until after his first season as captain. One season before I put it at risk by getting too close to his team. I want to be with you so badly, Brock, but he’s my brother.”

Silence overcame them; it didn’t overcome the lobby to his apartment building. Annie jumped back when the elevator dinged, and the doors opened for a young family to walk out. Brock waved at them.

She was getting ready to walk away, her phone buzzing with a notification she assumed was to let her know her Uber was close, but Brock’s voice stopped her.

“Are you asking me to wait for you?”

“I’m not asking you for anything,” she assured him. “If I was going to ask you for something, I would have—I would have asked back in October.”

“Then what, Annie?”

“Then nothing. You go back to your girlfriend, and I go back home and start packing to move back to Ontario.”

“Annie—”

She was quick to cut him off, “What? It’ll be easier if I’m not here, anyway. I’ve gotta go.”

Most of Brock’s sentence came out muffled, except for two crystal clear words: ‘running away’.

21 January

Annie woke just before midday; her body clock having shifted to the late hours she was working as well as the fact that she’d left Petey’s sometime around 1am that morning with a lot of alcohol coursing through her veins. Despite his obvious confusion, he’d welcomed her inside and heard her worries about the baby.

Then he’d called Brock, because, surely, he was better suited to handle it, and Annie had promptly opened a bottle of vodka and poured it straight into her mouth.

Finding Bo waiting for her in the kitchen made her head pound even harder.

“I had some really strange conversations with Brock and Petey this morning,” he said, not even waiting until she’d turned on the Keurig. “About you showing up to their places crying hysterically about how we’re apparently going to send you back to Ontario when the baby comes?”

She didn’t even have the energy to be upset by the idea anymore. Her mind was defeated, and her voice showed it as she sighed, “I can’t go back to Rodney, Bo.”

The conversation seemed to die there, leaving the air tense and palpable. She sighed again. The K-cup process was at least enough of a distraction to her hungover brain that she didn’t have to think about how he was definitely waiting for her to finish.

As she sat down at the table, she stared down at her coffee and only looked away when she noticed the pen and notepad she’d left there after breakfast the day before. She reached out for the pen, her right hand still wrapped around her warm mug, and started to draw mindlessly while she waited for Bo to speak.

“I’m never going to make you go back there,” he assured her. “I’m not kicking you out. Besides, Holly’s already been talking about all the fun stuff you, her and the baby are going to do while I’m on road trips.”

She didn’t look up from her paper—Fin the Whale standing up on his tail fins was coming along nicely—as she asked softly, hopefully, “I can stay?”

“Yeah, Annie. I promise I’m never going to put you in a position where you have to be anywhere near Rodney. Or Sean.”

“I really thought I’d have to leave.”

Bo sighed, sounding pained, “Never. I told you that you could stay as long as you need or want.”

“Holly’s okay with that?”

“We talked about it years ago. We just needed to get you to come here.”

Annie ran over Fin one last time to ensure he was coloured in properly. She spun the paper around and pushed it to Bo, showing him a scratchy drawing of Fin the Whale with a hula hoop around his waist, one on each of his side fins and one balancing on his nose.

“You should get this tattooed on your back,” she said with a tired yet sincere smile.

“Only if you get yesterday’s cat tattooed on your neck,” he said instantly, flipping the page to the mangy cat she’d drawn with drool coming from its mouth.

“I’ve already got a spot for it here,” she said, pointing to a small blank spot above her right wrist.

He laughed, full bodied, and Annie was grateful that he was no longer looking at her with intense pity in his eyes.

“Did you know that Brock has a girlfriend?” She asked, false confidence taking over.

Bo sighed. All relief left his face.

“I don’t know if she’s his girlfriend,” he hesitated, “but I knew there was someone. How did you find out?”

Annie tapped the pen against the table and drank half her coffee in one mouthful. She explained, forcing herself not to choke on her words, “She was there when I went to see him. It sucked so bad, Bo.”

“I didn’t know if you’d want me to tell you.”

Annie hated the sadness in his eyes—the guilt she could see.

“It might have been less embarrassing if I hadn’t just shown up as a total mess, but it was going to be shit no matter how I found out.”

Bo apologised. Annie shook her head. Then she pushed Fin back at him and told him a full back tattoo was the best way to make it up to her.

“He’s not Sean, you know.”

“Obviously. Why would you even say that?”

“Because I told you that you didn’t have to wait and that I just wanted you to be happy and the opposite of that is happening.”

“I’m—” Annie sighed. “I’m dealing with it.”

27 January

It had taken a lot of convincing to get Annie to go out. Micaela insisted that everyone was going to be there so Annie had to be. She thought it was ridiculous for it to be such a big day, like they were reuniting after a long summer and not after the one-week All-Star Break—which most of them had spent with a teammate or two anyway.

Regardless, she ended up in the Pearsons’ backyard, with Tucker laying on her thighs, and definitely panicking that she was going to do something to hurt him. Her focus on him meant ignoring Brock and Rose was at least semi-possible.

She wasn’t even drinking because she couldn’t stay long before work beckoned. There was exactly one time she’d tattooed while drinking and it cost her out of pocket for the cover up. So, sober she was.

Huddled away in her corner, trying to remember nursery rhymes from her childhood, Annie thought she was going to be left alone until it was time to leave.

She thought wrong.

“It’s so good to properly meet you!” Rose was beaming enthusiastically as she sat down beside Annie. “The boys talk about you, like, all the time.”

“That’s because they’re all assholes,” Annie said, flashing a smile at Petey and Quinn who were none the wiser to the venom in her words.

“Hardly. They’ve been singing your praises for weeks.”

Annie focused back on Tucker so that Rose couldn’t see the blatant eye roll.

Rose didn’t move. She sat next to Annie and made occasional baby noises at Tucker but otherwise didn’t say a word. Annie twitched—and tried to disguise it as her shifting Tucker.

“How long have you and Brock been together?” She asked, partly to fill the silence and partly to know if it was any relation to what happened at the family skate.

“A couple weeks, I guess,” Rose shrugged. “I don’t think there’s an official date.”

“A couple weeks and you’re already invited to team stuff? Moving a bit fast, don’t you think?”

“Oh, I’ve known him for a while—basically since he got here? I was in university and we’ve been friends for years? We kind of started whatever this is,” she said, gesturing broadly in a fine demonstration of the vagueness that accompanied ‘this’, “a couple weeks ago.”

“Right,” Annie said tersely. “Well. Neat.”

“You don’t like me,” Rose stated, no question in her voice, yet she didn’t seem offended by the idea.

“I don’t know you,” Annie responded, perturbed by Rose’s casualness.

“You want Brock.”

“No. I don’t.”

Rose breathed out a laugh and stood up, simply saying, “Okay.”

Annie bounced Tucker gently, earning a baby giggle which alleviated the ache in her chest only somewhat. Rose and Brock’s laughs shattered that pretty effectively.

8 February

Maybe Annie had decided to go out that night because she’d heard Brock had fractured a rib during the game; that could never be proven, though. She wasn’t avoiding him.

She’d asked around at work for the grittiest dive bar in Vancouver and started getting ready while she waited for an answer. The February weather wasn’t ideal for such a low cut, sleeveless top but it wasn’t anything a leather jacket couldn’t fix—something she could take off to show the many hours of work that had gone into the art on her arms.

It wasn’t her smartest idea to go out without a friend, but she had a very clear plan that didn’t need any interference. In fact, she’d been sitting at the bar for ten minutes, barely having started her first drink when a man with a lip ring and a bright red Mohawk convinced her to join him and his friends at their table. So, she ordered a second drink to take with her.

Even though she was certain that he’d told her his name at some point, Annie had no idea what to call the man wrapped around her. The attention was wonderful. The neck tattoo he had peeking out of his shirt was mightily interesting.

Drink after drink, Annie kept up with him and his friends—she was smart enough to switch to beer after her first few... It didn’t stop her from getting drunk very quickly.

The exact time was lost on her, but Jake’s head appeared over a group of people Annie didn’t recognise and she waved at him across the bar.

“Doesn’t he play hockey?”

Annie rolled her eyes.

“Virtanen, right?” said someone else. Everyone craned their heads to get a look.

Again, Annie rolled her eyes.

The guy who was wrapped around her, leaned into her ear, and started telling her in great detail how much better he was going to be in bed than Virtanen.

“The only way you can know that is if you’ve fucked him, because I fucking haven’t.”

He didn’t let up, though. Her eyes were rolled so far back in her head that she could hardly see anything in front of her. It was far from the first time she’d had a man slurring useless and uninteresting dirty talk into her ear—it didn’t make it any less enjoyable.

As she finally tried to stand up, his arm snaked around her waist, pulling her forcefully into his lap.

“Where’re you going?”

“Bathroom. Maybe to say hi to my friend, I don’t know.”

It turned out to be the wrong thing to add.

She struggled against him, desperately trying to pull herself out of his grip. He continued to whisper heinous things into her ear.

Annie pulled a drink from the table, and, as she poured it behind her legs and onto his lap, said, “I hope you also like water sports.”

He released her instantly and started swearing at her aggressively, all pretence about taking her home was gone. As she scurried away, he seemed to get his wits back and grabbed her by the upper arm so tightly she was certain it would bruise.

“I fucking dare you,” someone growled over her head, and she looked back to see Jake staring daggers into the man’s head.

Annie’s arm was freed, and she immediately put herself behind Jake. They walked away, Jake constantly checking back over his shoulder, and Annie pulled them to the bathrooms and bounced up and down childishly when she saw the line to the ladies, complaining that she couldn’t wait that long.

Jake put one hand on her shoulder, and the other on the door to the men’s room. He pushed the door open, and guided Annie inside whilst doing his best to keep her shielded.

The wolf whistles were instantaneous, Annie felt herself readying to turn around and walk out, but Jake was opening a stall door and gesturing for her to go in.

The small stall started to spin around her, but she managed.

The men on the other side of the door, that Jake was holding closed with a hand on top, started up with some disgusting comments that were amazingly less disturbing than what was being whispered in her ear. She didn’t know exactly what Jake was doing but whatever it was had everyone else shutting their mouths.

Some of the looks they got from the line of queuing women were dangerous—there were sure to be rumours about Jake Virtanen pulling a woman into a bathroom stall, though Annie supposed that some of them were just jealous that she hadn’t had to wait in line.

Jake and Annie left the bar immediately after that, just in time to see the man being escorted out by security. He was being dragged and it didn’t look to be because he was resisting, he really just looked like he couldn’t stand up anymore.

Outside the bar was cold, normal for February Annie presumed, and she shivered and bit her cheek to stop her teeth from chattering. Jake was pressing his phone to his ear.

“Are you talking to Bo? I don’t want you to talk to Bo,” Annie slurred, reaching over to take Jake’s phone. She was easily deflected.

“I’m not talking to Bo.”

Annie huffed, leaning against the brick wall, and sliding to the ground despite Jake’s increasingly loud protests. He crouched down in front of her, speaking into his phone again.

She listened as best as she could, only able to decipher that he was trying to work out what he should do with her—Annie was quick to make it known that she did not want to go back to Bo and Holly in the state she was in. Jake sighed.

“You wanna come to mine?” He asked.

“I want to go to bed.”

“Okay,” he said into the phone. “Mine it is. Thanks, man. I’ll let you know.”

Jake narrated ordering an Uber in a sing-song voice that made Annie smile.

She shivered and moved to pull her jacket tighter around her body and looked up at Jake with a pout. She said, “I left my jacket inside.”

“Annie,” he groaned.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered. “It’s okay. It doesn’t matter.”

“Nah, come on, we’re going back in,” he said, hauling her back to her feet. “We just gotta be quick.”

People parted for them, Jake walking behind Annie as she led him to her jacket. Never had she felt so powerful—even if none of it was her own power. They marched right to the table, where Jake asked politely exactly once for a woman to remove Annie’s jacket before Annie took matters into her own hands and forcibly took it back, because it had been a Night and she was slowly losing her will to stay awake.

“You all fucking suck,” she said, pointing her finger and sweeping it over the remaining group—if it were something she was able to remember when sober, she would have realised that it was not very menacing at all.

9 February

The next morning wasn’t one Annie wanted to face. Her head pounded, her stomach churned, and she was in a bedroom she didn’t recognise wearing a very large shirt she hadn’t ever seen before.

Décor was non-existent so she wasn’t even able to piece anything together.

Her clothes were haphazardly folded at the end of the bed, another anomaly, so she changed back into them despite how horrible they smelled.

Leaving the bedroom was a relief; she was recognising some of the furnishings and by the time she reached the kitchen she’d worked out where she was. Even before she’d seen Jake closing the fridge door.

“You look like shit.”

“I feel it, too,” she mumbled through a dry mouth.

She sat in a bar stool at his island counter, took off her jacket and immediately rested her cheek on the cool stone bench top.

“I thought you didn’t do tattoos and spacers.”

“Huh?” Annie grunted, before remembering back to months prior. “Oh, I mean that’s not actually a rule. Tattoos or spacers or dyed hair don’t usually mean anything other than maybe I’ll have something in common with them. It was a self-deprecating joke; not a very good one.”

A plate of eggs and bacon was pushed towards her, the scraping against the table making her lift her head. It was pushed back immediately, as she gagged. Water was the only thing she could even think about stomaching.

“Rose went back to Calgary.”

“Okay?” Annie muttered, after taking a few seconds to recall who Rose was. On any other day she would have been delighted to hear such news.

Jake pulled out the bar stool beside her and moved the plate she’d rejected in front of him, next to the one he’d already prepared for himself.

“You’ve got him tied around your little finger and you don’t even know it.”

“It’s not… I know that it looks like I’m doing the wrong thing—maybe I am—but there’s so much going on.”

“He told me about the Bo-thing. I spoke to Bo about it—”

“It’s not any of your business,” she groaned as she sat up straight despite her pounding head. “He’s your friend, I get it, but I am too, right? And I made a promise, and maybe I made that promise because I needed to. For me. You can relay all of this back to Brock, and hopefully it’ll make sense to him, but Jake, you’ve gotta listen to me: I’m not trying to hurt him. A month before I landed here, I was in an awful relationship and it would have been even less fair if I’d asked Brock to fix me.”

“I didn’t know,” he said softly, and Annie was reminded about how much she hated that response. As if people expected to be able to look at her and see her past—if they expected her to part with the explicit details the day they met

She shrugged before laying her head back on the bench.

“Yeah, well.”

14 February – Dice & Ice

Annie hadn’t been going for anything in particular when she’d chosen the dress—it was a nice dress: gold, sequinned, long with a high slit up her left leg. She’d worried only for a second that it was too much and that the Canucks for Kids charity would not appreciate her tattoos being on show for the whole world to see; Bo and Holly had failed to calm her down but Micaela came in clutch. Annie already had her hair dyed jet black—partly for a change and partly to not earn the ire of the charity organisation or the Canucks head office—so Micaela was able to convince her she was fine.

“Holly’s way better suited to this than I am,” Annie said, looking around the room to see all the players in their suits and their partners dressed to the nines.

“You fit in great,” Bo assured her.

Annie rolled her eyes and sought out Emma and Stech the second she saw someone walking towards Bo.

Holly’s pregnancy decided to start causing problems only days before the event, so, between organising a dress and every beauty appointment under the sun, worrying had been far from Annie’s list of priorities. Until Brock walked into her line of sight and she stopped speaking mid-sentence.

She smiled at him—his eyes didn’t stop on her for even a second as he scanned the room.

“You’re worried that getting a cat is what?” Emma prompted. “Bad for Gus? The baby?”

“Uh… I don’t…” Annie swallowed the lump in her throat. “I can’t remember. Sorry.”

It didn’t take long for Emma to work out what had gotten Annie so worked up—she took hold of Annie’s hand and squeezed tight.

Emma and Micaela both knew. About the promise. About Sean. About the kiss. Annie had told them not long after Christmas skate because telling Bo didn’t feel like an option and she couldn’t make Holly keep that secret from her husband.

“I didn’t think you’d hate it this much,” Bo whispered as he moved to stand right beside her later in the evening.

“What’re you talking about?”

“You look upset,” he clarified.

“Yes, I’m upset! I look like this and the only person I want to look at me hasn’t even glanced my way all night.”

“Annie—”

“I ruined that myself,” she groaned, putting her face in her hands before throwing them into the air as a new thought came to her. “Fuck, and Jake’s probably told him all about that asshole I nearly went home with last week.”

“What asshole?” Bo asked, squaring his shoulders.

Annie tried to brush him off by saying casually, “Jake took care of it.”

He wasn’t having any of it.

“Are you okay?”

“What? Yeah. Fine. Like I said, Jake took care of it.”

“Do I need to know what Jake did?” Bo added firmly, “As his captain?”

“Nothing that’ll get him in trouble or anything. I don’t think the asshole will remember anything at all about that night. He literally blacked out as he was being escorted out of the bar, so.”

Bo didn’t look at all satisfied; he was definitely going to be confirming that with Jake. He started to walk away, only to turn around and sigh.

“I thought you were done getting yourself into sketchy situations.”

Annie huffed, “Nothing bad happened; Jake made the save.”

“I wish people stopped having to make the save.”

“So do I, but here we are,” she shrugged, her shoulders hiked right up to her ear so that she didn’t stamp her foot. “I just wanted a night out.”

“I know. And I trust you—”

“You don’t trust anyone else. Nothing to worry about, Bo. You can go find Jake now. I know you want to.”

Micaela found her just a little while later and pulled her into the crowd of people to get her to mingle. Lots of people were delighted to be meeting the captain’s sister—why? Annie had no idea—and more than a few were interested in her tattoos, especially after Micaela revealed that she worked as a tattoo artist. The handful of people who didn’t appreciate her tattoos were quiet about it, but some eye rolls and pursed lips were nothing Annie couldn’t handle. She won some money playing poker and immediately went back to her table to put it into the collection bucket.

“Jake spoke to me,” Brock said, startling Annie as he appeared by her side. “I told him to fight his own battles and keep his nose out of everyone else’s.”

“He means well,” she said sheepishly.

“He doesn’t have all the facts, though,” Brock smiled. “Do you want to come outside with me? There’s heaters.”

Annie blinked at him slowly, unable to fully comprehend what he was asking after he hadn’t looked at her all night. He stretched his hand out to her and it was on instinct that she reached out to hold it and let him lead her to the balcony.

The breeze was expectedly cold until they were stood directly in front of one of the large patio heaters. Brock didn’t let go of her hand. Annie’s lip began to quiver.

“I didn’t tell you about the promise because I didn’t want you to wait until the end of the season only for me to not be ready,” she said hurriedly, not wanting anything to get in the way. “I still don’t know if I’ll be ready.”

“You’re worth waiting for,” he said simply, accompanied by a gentle squeeze of her hand.

Annie breathed in deeply, holding it until her chest felt like it was going to explode. Brock didn’t stop looking at her, his eyes soft and patient.

“Are you saying that you’ll wait for me?”

“Yeah, Ann.”

She laughed derisively. “I’m still trying to work out how you’re real.”

Her hand dropped to her side, and she panicked for a brief second before Brock’s arm wrapped around her shoulders. She wrapped both her arms around his waist and smiled out over the view of Vancouver.

“I made some, um, decisions last week. I don’t even know if I need to tell you—”

“I know already. Nothing to tell, I promise.”

“Jake actually told you that part?” Annie questioned, incredulous. “Jesus.”

“He called me because he didn’t know what to do with you. Or he thought I might be a better person to make sure you were okay.”

“I wouldn’t want to deal with me when I’m like that, either.”

“Drunk? Piece of cake. I really didn’t think you’d want to see me.”

Annie held him tighter, trying to convey silently just how much she always wanted to see him because she knew she’d start crying if she opened her mouth. He seemed to understand, or understand enough, because he pressed a long kiss to the top of her head and his hand began to rub up and down her arm.

“For the record, tattoos and spacers? Very attractive.”

“Neon hair dye?” She asked quietly.

“For sure, but I’ve had a slight change of heart recently and might be favouring black right now.”

She smiled and buried her face into his chest.

“You look incredible tonight,” he added. “I’ve tried so hard to not stare at you; I got told off for ignoring someone when you walked in.”

“That’s kind of dumb.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, “but you’re the one who’s falling in love with me.”

Annie closed her eyes as her entire face grew hot, but she buried her face further into his chest.

4 April

Watching it unfold made Annie’s stomach drop, despite the excitement around her. Holly on her feet, her hands above her head clapping loudly. Emma and Micaela hooting and hollering.

Annie could only watch in abject horror as Brock initiated a fight with William Carrier.

Objectively she knew why he’d taken issue—nobody could deny that the Knights had been targeting Petey all game—but judging by the way Carrier was holding himself, he had a lot more experience than Brock.

“You’re not even a little bit impressed?” Holly asked as both Brock and Carrier were being escorted off the ice by referees. Her voice was nearly drowned out by the tapping of hockey sticks and the roaring crowd.

“I’m impressed it took him so long to go down,” Annie frowned.

Brock was out of sight and down the tunnel and no doubt moments away from being checked out by the trainers within seconds of the fight being broken up. She scooted to the edge of her seat, trying to convince herself that she had no business rushing down after him; it was a fight, after all, not a career-ending injury.

While Brock was still off the ice, Petey scored a goal to put the Canucks up 2-1, so at least the fight had done its job and ignited something in the team.

Brock returned to the bench 10 minutes of game time later, when there was less than four minutes left in the third. His face was blown up and broadcast on the screens for everyone to see—the bruise on his cheekbone already blooming. Annie rolled her eyes and shook her head as the home crowd were cheering appreciatively.

It was the most exciting thing to happen in the dying minutes; despite the Golden Knights pulling Lehner for the extra attacker, neither team was able to get even close to scoring and the game ended in a 2-1 victory for the Canucks.

The best way to close out the regular season.

As soon as they could, everyone in the family box made their way slowly down to the locker room. It was expected that between celebrating and the media that the boys would take longer than usual so there was no rush. On the leisurely walk down, Holly threw her arm around Annie’s shoulders and swayed side to side.

“So… it’s the end of the regular season,” she teased, her voice light.

“I know.”

“And…”

“And I still don’t know,” Annie admitted, not shy about it at all.

Holly shook her kindly, knowing all too well the thoughts that had been going through Annie’s head for the past few months.

The players emerged from the locker room slowly but surely, all boisterous and animated. Every time the locker room door opened, it was clear that they were happy to have won and the boisterous behaviour they brought out probably paled in comparison to what was happening inside.

Bo would be the last one out—he always was—which meant Holly would be hanging around long enough for Annie to see Brock. Which was simultaneously wonderful for the support and also awful because it guaranteed that nothing she did in that hallway would go unseen.

Though, there was next to nothing that would surprise anyone who had witnessed how close Brock and Annie had become since February.

She buried her face in her phone, only looking up to smile and congratulate the boys who got close enough as they walked by and once when Jake swiped her phone from her.

“Your boy will be out in a second,” Jake said, bonking her on the head with said phone. “Looks like he’s been in a fight.”

“I know,” Annie deadpanned. “His face was plastered across the arena.”

She took her phone back and wagged it in his face to get him to leave her be.

The door opened; the boys inside still incredibly loud despite there only being a handful left. Since she wasn’t focused on her phone; she saw that it was Brock just as Jake had promised. Annie grimaced immediately; it was impossible not to stare at his face.

Brock made his way over to her immediately, despite the unimpressed look she was certain was on her face.

“Why would you do that?” Annie asked in exasperation, stepping into Brock’s space and brushing her fingertips gently over his cheekbone.

“They were picking on Petey, what was I supposed to do?”

“Leave the fighting to someone who’s good at it?”

His hands settled on her hips, holding her gently enough that she could break away if she felt the need.

“Did I look good?”

“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “You looked ridiculous and I’m mad about it.”

Brock leant closer to her, to speak softly just to her. “I’m sorry. I won’t make a habit of it.”

Annie was watching his mouth as he spoke, and she moved her thumb from his cheekbone, pouting as he winced, to run it over his bottom lip. He froze in front of her, his fingers an even pressure on her hips.

“I’m so scared,” she revealed, her voice barely audible even to her own ears.

“I know,” he nodded. “You don’t need to be.”

Annie sighed, longingly, moving her thumb to his chin and rising up on her toes to press her lips against his so lightly that they barely even touched. They both stood in that same position for what felt like hours.

“Sorry,” Bo’s voice came out of nowhere—awkward and unsure. “Are you coming home with us?”

Annie buried her face into Brock’s neck. His hand moved to her back, holding her close.

She mumbled, her eyes falling shut, “I think I’m gonna go with Brock.”

Please consider leaving feedback - reblog and write in the tags or send an ask, I’m not fussed. I just want to know what you’re thinking!

#brock boeser imagine #brock boeser fic #hockey imagine #hockey fic #nhl fic #nhl imagine #one shot

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oddsnendsfanfics · 4 years ago

Text

Unraveling at the Alter

Genre: Fan Fiction

Pairing: Henry Cavill/OFC

Warnings: Fluff.

Rating: G

Length: Drabble

Disclaimer: a strict work of fiction, I own nothing except the original characters and the plot line. In no way am I affiliated to any of it.

A/N: Thank you @agniavateira for helping me with this :) It is massively appreciated.

Henry Cavill Master List

This was it.

Years of waiting.

Years of heartache, joy, and more love than he knew was possible.

Henry sighed and rubbed his hands against his slacks, licking his lips nervously, he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. Oh god. Oh god! He bent forward, fighting the urge to vomit. Why the fuck was he so nervous? It's not like this was anything new. He'd been madly in love with her for years, even when they weren't together he had held some sort of twisted hope for this very day.

Not to be that man, but Henry had been somewhat in love with her from the first week he'd met her. All of those years ago, some days it felt like an entirely different life.

“Dad,” Ivan laid his hand on Henry's arm.

“Hmm?”

“Are you okay? Do I need to get Uncle Charlie?” His blue eyes watched his father with great concern.

All morning the house had been consumed in chaos. Henry had taken up residence in the office, at the opposite end of the house from where Nell had been getting ready upstairs. His brothers – and Nell's, fathers, mothers, Ivan, and Kal had been in and out of the room a hundred and one times. Until his mother had the sense to ask them all to get out. With the exception of his best man and his dog.

Henry was thankful for the bit of silence, before the actual ceremony. Evidently he wasn't hiding his nerves as well as he had hoped to.

“No, wild boy, I'm fine. Thank you.” Henry forced a smile to ease his son's worries. “Have you seen your mum?” Henry hadn't set eyes on her since this morning, when he was woken by Ivan jumping on their bed and urging his dad to hurry downstairs.

Ivan smirked, his eyes sparkling as he nodded eagerly. He had never seen her look so pretty, he may have even cried a little. “Dad, she looks like a princess! But without all the stupid frills and no singing mice.”

Henry laughed at Ivan's details. Leave it to Ivan.

With some tradition, Henry had yet to see the dress that Nell had picked. His only hint had been that it wasn't a traditional wedding dress, although she was confident he would love it all the same. She was head over heels for her dress. The delicate blue and white beading at the top gave way to a flowing emerald satin skirt. She'd found it while looking for bride's maid dresses.

Since they were getting married in their own garden, Nell felt that a relaxed look would be acceptable. Besides, she had no interest in putting on a big poofy, over the top dress, only to take it off an hour later and never wear it again.

Unconfirmed, Henry had a sneaky suspicion that her dress in some way matched the attire she had found for him. Nell had convinced him to go with a dark green waistcoat and slacks, who was Henry to argue. She had been dressing him long enough to know what he would look good in. Ivan looked adorable in his matching attire.

A soft knock on the door, with something mumbled through from the hall, indicated that it was time for Henry, his best man, and his dog to take post in the garden.

“Coming,” Ivan called back, smiling like the cat who'd found the canary.

“Kal,” Henry whistled, the big dog lifting his head and huffing. Slowly standing with a yawn, Kal licked his lips and sauntered over to big Henry shaking his head. This silly blue bow tie that they had put on him was beginning to get in the way of a good nap. “Come on, bear. It's time to roll.”

“Dad,” Ivan walked beside Henry, his hands in his pockets.

“Yes?”

“Are you happy to be marrying mum?”

“I have no words to tell you how happy I am, wild boy.” Henry beamed. “Are you happy about this?”

“I guess,” Ivan shrugged and smiled. “If it makes you and mum happy. Why not?”

“Always the supportive one,” Henry rolled his eyes, chuckling at Ivan's passive demeanor.

The groomsmen looked smart, well put together, and turned out better than Henry could have imagined. Ivan stood straight, his hair styled to match his dad's, with Kal at his side. One bride's maid, then two, a third, then fourth, by the fifth Henry was again feeling like he was going to vomit. Deep breaths. Hands sweaty, he wished he'd asked to see Nell before hand. He would have been able to tell her how spectacular she looked while crying like a baby, in private.

No use wishing for that now.

As the music began, he could feel his hands shake. Kal whimpered beside Ivan and nudged his nose into Ivan's side, moving him closer to Henry. Smiling at his dad, Ivan reached out, taking his hand.

Nell had spent the morning fretting over every tiny detail of her day. Was her hair the right way, her make up as she had sampled? Did her dress fit and fall the exact way it had the moment she'd fell in love with it? Would Henry be pleased? Would he be as shaky as her? Crying and trying to catch breath.

More than once, Nell had felt like she was being sat on by an elephant. Only to be filled with sudden excitement and wanting to scream in pure delight. Her sister and mother had barely left her side since she'd woken. Ivan had come barreling into the room before dawn, jumping on the bed and shouting for Henry to get out. Leave it to their son.

Her father had assured her that Henry looked every bit dashing and handsome as she had wished. Perhaps more, now that she saw him in his perfect wedding suit. They couldn't have planned this better. The weather was amazing, for a mid November day. Nell had worked hard on her garden, since they'd moved in a few months ago, making sure it was perfect for the day.

“How is your dad?” She'd asked Ivan a few hours ago.

A mischievous grin, the wild boy shrugged. “He looks like a prince, but without the stupid Disney animation.”

Cheeky. Like his father.

Taking her father's arm, Nell inhaled and exhaled slowly. Her hands trying to steady the bouquet that she held in her left hand. Around her the music began to play, when asked about music for the ceremony Nell had casually mentioned how cool it would be to have an instrumental version to one of her favourite songs. What she hadn't been expecting was Henry to deliver. One bride's maid...two...She closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry before she got down the aisle.

“Deep breath, Nelly.” Walt winked gently patting her hand. Nell nodded and smiled. “You're going to knock him dead, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, dad.” Her voice barely cracked above a whisper.

“Ready?” Walt looked at his youngest, smiling wide.

A slight nod, Nell took her first step forward, humming to the music to soothe her. The distance from the back door of the house to where Henry waited in the garden was exactly 152 steps, at the pace she would be going. She had practiced a time or two, while she had been home alone – using Kal as a stand in for Henry. In the garden a few chairs were placed, along with a delicate arrangement of lights. Who would have thought she'd be able to pull this all together in less than four full months.

60 people, all who were close and meaningful, around the garden to share in the day. Nell could feel the tears welling. At the end of the meticulous stone walkway, Henry stood with Ivan clutching his hand. Neither one of them did a very good job at keeping the tears at bay. Ivan reached up, wiping his sleeve across his eyes. Henry swallowed the lump in his throat trying not to sob loudly.

Ivan had been right when he'd said Princess. Nell was somehow more spectacular than Henry had imagined. Walter stopped, giving Nell a kiss on the cheek and Ivan a quick wink. Stepping forward to meet his bride, Henry let out a breath and a low whistle.

“Thank you,” He gave his father in law to be a quick nod.

Muttering back a quick congratulations, Walt took his seat in the front next to his waiting wife. Kal leapt forward a little greeting Nell with an affectionate “boof!”.

“Kal, sit.” Ivan quickly hushed the big dog.

Giving the couple a quick moment to sort themselves, Michael smiled and patiently stood. Henry had asked him to marry them, off the cuff, since he and Nell couldn't agree on anyone else to do the job. A soft laugh from the crowd when Kal tried to wiggle free from Ivan, again.

Ignoring the bit of commotion around him, Henry was lost in the sight before him. The soft, gentleness was Nell through and through.

“Oh, my darling.” Henry cooed, holding her hand tightly. Kissing the back of her hand, he smiled warmly. “You look,” he swallowed the lump in his throat. “You,” he sniffled. “Janelle, my darling.”

“Dad,” Ivan nudged him with his elbow in the back, Kal contained by his uncle beside him. “Tell her she's pretty! Don't just stand around and cry.”

A camera flashed and a few chuckles filled the air, from those close enough to hear Ivan's commentary. Rolling his eyes, Ivan sighed and gently shook his head. Adults.

“Shush, you.” Henry chuckled at Ivan, tears on his cheeks. “Nelly, you are...wow. Absolutely wow!”

“I love you,” Nell smiled, kissing his cheek. “And you, wild boy” she peeked at Ivan, “stop teasing him.”

“I love you all, and I hate to rush this moment, because you look fantastic.” Michael shook his head, trying to stop his own flood of tears, his baby sister looked absolutely stunning. “But...” He gestured to the crowd.

Nell giggled and Henry laughed. “Of course, of course.”

“I love you,” Nell mouthed quickly to her big brother.

Reciting vows that they had written for one another, exchanging their rings, and listening as Michael recited some words about love and marriage – no doubt something he had found when he went online to become ordained, Nell couldn't help herself as she became lost watching Henry. A time or two she had heard their guest chuckle, which prompted her to giggle along. Words lost to her, as she admired the man before her.

The crinkles on his eyes, the soft dimples when he smiled, or the smoothness of his voice when he read her the vows he'd written. God she had been so lucky.

“You are now husband and wife.” Michael happily announced, “Henry, I know she's my sister, but...this once I'll encourage you to kiss her.” he teased, slapping Henry's shoulder. Everyone sharing in their happiness.

Rolling his eyes, in typical Cavill fashion, Ivan groaned as his parents stood in front of everyone kissing like a couple of teenagers. His uncle shielding his eyes, Ivan giggled loudly. Thanking him for the help. He was bound to have nightmares over that kiss. Gross!

Kal wiggled and bounced on his leash, trying to convince whoever had a hold of him that he could be a good boy. He had spotted a squirrel earlier, on the east side of the house, in his duty of wedding dog, he didn't have a chance to properly investigate.

Around them people clapped, cheering the happy couple as they turned to face their guests, for the first time, as husband and wife. Nell wiped a few more tears away, sniffling. Henry smiled softly, his swiping his thumbs across her cheeks.

“Mum, momma, mum.” Ivan broke their moment, gently tugging at Nell's arm.

“Yes?”

“I love you. And I think you look really pretty. I told dad you looked like a princess, but I don't think he believed me.”

“I didn't say that.” Henry rolled his eyes, taking Nell's hand to step forward to join the guests waiting to mingle and personally congratulate the couple.

“You two are something else.” Laughing, Nell snagged Ivan gently pulling him into a hug. Kissing the top of his head, he was nearly as tall as her. Catching her mother's eye, she smiled, “I think they're waiting for us.”

“Do we have to take photos?” Ivan groaned, walking beside his parents, glancing around to see where Kal had gone off to. As best man his duty was to see his dad didn't freak out and to keep Kal out of trouble.

“Only a few, then we're having lunch and you are free to do whatever you want, for the day.” Nell instructed. “It won't be that bad. We're taking some photos here, so we don't even have to leave.”

She had opted to do as much as she could at their house, the property allowed for space to set up and still have room to wander off a little. If one didn't want to be directly in the crowd, they were welcome to take a walk around the few paddocks and wander down the small lane.

This was certainly not the lavish and large wedding that one would expect from a well known celebrity. Henry had snorted and groaned when Nell had informed him, a few days ago, that people were speculating about their upcoming wedding. The only people who mattered were those invited, as far as Henry was concerned. They had made a proper announcement about their engagement a few weeks ago, although their family and friends had known days after they had initially discussed it.

“Don't forget, tomorrow morning Bridie and Joe are coming round to take you for the afternoon.” Henry chose now to remind his son of his former Nanny's visit. “And you owe Sophie a dance.”

“I won't forget.” Ivan had been waiting weeks to see his friends from his former life in Ireland. He had marked off the days on a calendar in his room, even. He was excited not only for a party, but to see those he missed and didn't often see with his parents' work schedule.

“And you, Mrs. Cavill.” Henry winked, “Need to be ready by noon, tomorrow.”

“I will be, but I wish you'd tell me where we were going.” Nell pouted.

Henry had set up a four day escape to Rome, since they would be traveling for The Witcher press in a couple of weeks the honeymoon would be short. They had agreed to take Ivan along for the press tour, spending a few weeks together as a family. Between interviews and appearances. Easier said than done. But Henry wanted them with him, it would be nice to retire to a hotel room and have his family.

“Sorry, no can do. But I have things packed for you, Sadie helped me. I will tell you this, you're going to love it.” He kissed the back of her hand.

“Fine,” Nell sighed. “Since you're not going to tell me, shall we go around to the front and find the photographer? Before our mothers come over here.”

More than once, she had spotted their mothers watching, allowing them a few moments alone as husband and wife. Yet, keeping track of time.

“You're right, let's go around.”

The Cavill and Stewart clan were vast. Multiple siblings, spouses, and children. Trying to wrangle everyone, Kal included, into one or two large group photos had been a task. Nell was glad that the photographer was gracious and understanding. Attempting to get that many people in a space and all looking the same direction, succeeding in the second try – miracle or possibly witch craft. Nell wasn't sure, but she was in awe.

Henry's favourite photos would no doubt be the ones of his own little family. The three – four with Kal – of them together, happy and content. Nell sighed and shook her head, when Henry and Ivan went about their usual antics. Nobody else was bound to have a photo of their husband with their son thrown over his shoulder, while their giant dog jumped up trying to get in on the playfulness.

After photos and lunch, as promised, Nell gave Ivan the go ahead to do as he pleased. As long as he didn't retreat to the den and spend all day playing video games with his cousins. He had to still be around, if needed for more wedding activities. Like watching people Ooh and Awe over silly things. Did that many people need to cry over his parents dancing? His dad often looked like a wounded duck, although it never stopped him. Ivan could watch his parents dance to that nauseating Thomas Rhett song any time. His dad said it perfectly described how he felt about his life.

Whatever. After his dance with Sophie, who he was gaining height on, he disappeared with a couple of Henry's nephews and Kal. As long as they didn't set anything on fire, they were allowed to roam and play on the property.

After a dance or two, Henry and Nell agreed to split ways for the moment. Mingling and enjoying their guests. It would be rude of them not to engage. Taking a little break, Nell stood at the back of the garden, enjoying the last bit of warmth from the day before the cool evening set in. She'd hugged, kissed, and thanked so many people that her head was beginning to swim a little.

“Has anyone told you that you look an absolute vision,” Nell's older sister, Sadie, approached extending her arms and embracing her little sister, kissing her cheek.

“I have heard that a time or two, but I think they were only saying it to be polite.” Nell winked and laughed. Gently fanning herself with her hand, it was far from warm outside, but the commotion was enough to make anyone sweat a little. Fanning herself, she blew out a breath, her cheeks hurting from all of the smiling. How could she not? If there was ever a day to walk around with a perma-smile, it was today.

“Let me guess, Hen can't stop complimenting you.” Sadie teased.

“He's said it a few times, too.” Winking, Nell beamed.

“You know, Nelly, I'm just happy that you are happy. Cliche, yes, but as your big sister that is my job.” Squeezing her sister's hand, Sadie smiled fondly “It hasn't been easy, but what good romance is?”

“Looking back, I think we had to grow and excuse the corny, if it's yours then you need to let it go.” Nell shrugged, stealing a quick glance at Henry across the garden. Standing with one of their guests, chatting happily. “Had we not been apart, I don't think I would have realized or appreciated how much I need him. Or how much I love him.”

Henry had asked her to marry him several times in the past, getting shot down each and every one. Looking back, had she agreed, surely they would have been facing divorce by now. At the very least angry and bitter with one another, trapped in a loveless marriage with kids they resented as much as they did one another.

Life worked out for a reason.

“Sweetie,” Sadie hugged her sister, holding her tightly. “I'm so glad this worked out, because honestly, I can't think of anyone better for you. He loves you, so much.”

Hugging her sister tightly, Nell sniffled, trying to hold back another flood of emotions. Thankful, when she heard Henry gently clearing his throat, asking to steal his bride away for a moment. Hugging him as tightly as she did Nell; Sadie smiled waving them along.

“So, Mr. Cavill, what's the urgent task?” Nell linked her arm in his, leaning her head on his shoulder.

“Don't be mad,” Henry smirked, glancing around, nobody seemed to notice them escaping. “I wanted to have a moment with my wife, nobody else around.” He chuckled when Nell looked up, she'd been following his footsteps allowing him to lead her.

Around the other side of the garden, she giggled and hugged his arm tightly. “You rascal. Leading me astray, well I'll be.” She joked.

“I love you,” He whispered, kissing her temple.

“I love you, too.” Nell smiled, leaning into him. “So, this is it huh? Married life?”

“It looks like,” Henry beamed.

“I'm glad you accepted my proposal. Despite how awkward it was.”

“I would have been crazy not to, my darling.” Kissing her softly, Henry sighed happily. “I feel as though we've barely seen one another today. Would it be rude to say good night and sneak upstairs?”

An advantage and disadvantage to spending their wedding night at home. They could call it an evening anytime they wanted, but then it felt forced and rude. As if demanding guests to leave, which is not what they had intended. Nell had made it very clear that she wanted people to stay and enjoy, having car service to take people wherever they needed to go after.

“It's only 7pm.” Nell smiled, leaning into Henry, shivering slightly. “Do you really want to go in?”

Smiling mischievously, Henry wrinkled his nose. “Maybe? Is it wrong that this is our wedding night, but all I can think about is going to bed and snuggling with you?”

“Snuggling?”

“Among doing other things.”

“Ah, yes. Of course.” Glancing around, Nell furrowed her brow. A few spots had fresh dirt and Kal tracks. “Have you seen Kal lately?”

“He was with mum and Simon.”

“Hmm, well before we do anything tomorrow. We need to fix these flower beds. Someone found another squirrel it seems.”

Laughing, Henry looked at Nell for a moment, a sly smirk playing on his lips. “You are something else, my darling wife.”

“What? The dog tore apart my garden, I can't leave here with them looking like...”

“Nell, we can worry about that tomorrow. I can have Ivan and dad fix them, if you want. Or we can hire someone. I can't allow you to spend the morning of your honeymoon gardening. Which, by the way, I think we should discuss.”

“That top secret honeymoon? Are you going to tell me where we're going?”

Henry shook his head. “No, but I will tell you that it's been a while since we've been there, together,” Nell frowned. That could be just about anywhere. “We land and check in, then I have dinner reservations. The next morning, late morning, because I intend to keep you in the room as long as possible.” He bit hit bottom lip, “I have made us a booking for a couple's massages and then...”

“You have this all planned don't you?” Henry nodded, Nell winked, “what if I don't want a massage? What if I want to stay in our hotel the entire time and...”

“But we did that last time, this time...” Henry paused, eyes wide. Shit.

“Are you taking me to Rome?”

“I didn't say that.”

“You didn't have to. I think you gave it away pretty well. The only other place we've stayed in a hotel the entire time was the second trip to Jersey. Unless we're honeymooning in Jersey. Which if we are, I am fine with that, but Rome? Oh my god, Henry! Ugh, I love you! I love you. I love you! That is the perfect honeymoon.” Nell bounced eagerly, and she wondered where Ivan got it.

“I suppose you would have found out at the airport, anyway.” He teased, “So? You really like it?”

“Oh my god, of course! Henry! This is amazing. I could not have picked a better place.” She flung her arms around his neck, kissing him softly. “You are a fantastic husband. Have I told you that, today?”

“I don't know that I am as fantastic as my wife, but I certainly try.”

Take Us Home – Alan Doyle, is the song I had in mind for Nell’s entrance

Blessed - Thomas Rhett is their first dance

#henry cavill #henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavil x ofc #henry cavill fanfic #unraveling at the alter

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soclonely · 3 years ago

Note

Congratulations on 800 wifey! You already know I’m putting in a request for Commander Wolffe! Dealer’s choice on prompt and relationship status with the good commander!

-🦴

MY WIFE HELLO! Imma just go on ahead and give you what you truly deserve this fall season!

Characters: Wolffe x Pelvie (das you) Romantical Relationship

Prompt: 7. An Autumn Wedding

Word Count: 295

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

"Its freezing!" Pelvie shivers, curling up closer next to Wolffe. "Why would they have an outdoor wedding in November?" She adds, glaring toward the bridal party table. "I am so going to get back at her for this one day. Maybe we will have a Christmas wedding outside!"

Wolffe chuckles, wrapping his arm around your shoulders and pulls you in closer. "If you do that then the two of us might catch a cold. Then how would we enjoy the honeymoon? And besides, I thought you liked the Fall." He offers you a sip of his hot cider, shuffling his bum uncomfortably."The bigger problem is these kriffing haybail seats. I'm going to be picking straw out of my dress pants for weeks." He grumbles. "Promise me we won't be doing these for our wedding."

Pelvie snorts,catching the attention of some of the grooms family nearby. She waves and smiles politely, pointing to the drink in her hand. As they turn their attention back to the best man giving his speech, she lowers her voice."What works for some people, doesn't work for others I suppose. It was a lovely ceremony and I am happy for them. But, maybe we should plan our own for early fall. Oh at that nice farm we went to for our first date remember? We picked out those big pumpkins and that goat rammed its horns up your-"

"No need to bring that up!" Wolffe hushes you, face flushing slightly. "The scars are enough of a reminder." He chuckles again, giving your side a small squeeze. "But that sounds like perfect plan to me. But... no haybails."

"Right!" Pelvie nods, clapping along with the other guests. "And no December wedding. I want to enjoy my cruise without the sniffles."

#platonic pelvis cracking anon #star wars #the clone wars #autumn prompts request #800 and 900 follower celebration

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taylizmasterpost · 4 years ago

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TayLiz Returns (August 2011 - January 2012)

Now, Taylor’s music suggests her and Liz got back together and broke up a bunch of times. It’s kind of hard to pinpoint that exactly, since they’re on tour together constantly and can’t really have a break from each other that would be discernable by an outside source such as myself. However, this is the time for it! Time for mess! Time for fun!

9 August 2011 - Speak Now in Chicago. Taylor covers Sugar, We’re Going Down by Fall Out Boy:

youtube

The lyrics that stand out here to me are:

Is this more than you bargained for, yet? Oh don’t mind me, I’m watching you two from the closet Wishing to be the friction in your jeans Isn’t it messed up how I’m just dying to be him? I’m just a notch in your bedpost But you’re just a line in a song

Of course, once again. Taylor could just like the song. But I think it’s interesting.

10 August 2011 - Speak Now in Chicago night 2. Taylor covers I Want You to Want Me:

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This one is REALLY INTERESTING in the wake of Liz’s breakup. Some choice lyrics:

I want you to want me I need you to need me I’d love you to love me I’m begging you to beg me

Oh, didn’t I, didn’t I, didn’t I see you crying? Feeling all alone without a friend, you know you feel like dying

So does Taylor want her back? Or does she just like the song? Could go either way.

16 August 2011 - Taylor goes on a Girls Trip to Charleston with Liz, Caitlin, and a few other friends. Now, in a birthday post years down the line, Liz would reveal that Taylor specifically planned this trip because Liz was having a good time (We’ll get there in Late-Stage TayLiz). This feels like healing breakup blues to me.

While there, Liz tweets about possibly sharing a bed with Taylor again:

Taylor takes some great black and white photos of everyone that will show up in a later photo blog and Liz tweets about how much she loves retro photographer Taylor:

18 August 2011 - End of Charleston trip.

Liz tweets about Taylor healing her heartbreak blues:

That night is Speak Now in Alberta. Arm lyrics: “Find the Grace in the things you can’t change, and help somebody if you can.” Taylor covers Complicated by Carolyn Dawn Johnson:

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Choice lyrics, you know the drill:

I’m so scared that the way I feel is written all over my face We used to laugh, we used to hug, the way that old friends do But now a smile and a touch of your hand makes me come unglued

I wanna hold you close, I wanna push you away I wanna make you go, I wanna make you stay

Another friend tells me that my name is always on your lips They say I’m more than just a friend, they say I must be blind Well, I’ll admit I’ve seen you watch me from the corner of your eye

What an utterly appropriate post-Charleston trip song.

19 August 2011 - Speak Now in Alberta. Arm lyrics: “Hey brother, we’re all learning to love again.” – Mat Kearny’s Learning To Love Again.

22 August 2011 - Taylor posts “The Charleston Photo blog” on MySpace, featuring pictures from the Charleston trip:

So, clearly, they had a good time.

23 August 2011 - Liz quote tweets Taylor about the Charleston photo blog:

27 August 2011 - Speak Now in LA. Taylor covers Bette Davis Eyes:

youtube

Now, not only is this an EXTREMELY GAY COVER considering it’s about how beautiful a woman is, but Bette/Betty is a popular nickname for Elizabeth. And just look at the lyrics:

And she’ll tease you And unease you All the better, just to please you She’s precocious And she knows just What it takes to make a pro blush

IS THIS NOT EXACTLY WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING EVERY NIGHT DURING BETTER THAN REVENGE? TEASING? UNEASING? MAKING A PRO BLUSH??? Hmm, Taylor, what an interesting choice of a cover in the wake of the Charleston Trip...

It’s worth noting that Liz also grew up in the LA area, making this even more special if it is about Liz.

5 September 2011 - Taylor and Dianna Agron meet for the first time at the Fairfax Flea Market after being introduced by mutual friend, Ashley, who was working for Dianna’s hairstylist at the time. Dianna had lowkey outed herself that summer with #Shirtgate and considering all the mess going on with Liz, it’s possible Ashley (among Taylor’s other friends) were looking to introduce her to someone else.

8 September 2011 - Taylor diaries about writing Red the previous day and then recording it:

In a later interview, Taylor described Red like this:

“So this is a song that I wrote about the kind of relationship that is both the best thing and the worst thing at the same time and that’s why you can’t forget about it. It’s called Red.”

So, I have a two big theories about Taylor writing and recording Red at this point in the timeline:

1) TayLiz have IMMEDIATELY broken up again after the Charleston trip, and that’s why a mutual friend decided to introduce Taylor to Dianna.

2) Taylor and Liz are about to get back together again, and Taylor writes Red as a way of looking back on what she had with Liz back in 2009 before diving into a relationship with her again.

I’m leaning towards 2, but 1 could be true too. Who knows?

13 September 2011 - Rodarte show at NY Fashion Week. Taylor is interviewed by Vogue while there. She says there’s “just been this earth-shattering, not recent, but absolute crash and burn heartbreak” and that that’s what the next album is about. This really makes me think TayLiz breaks up IMMEDIATELY again after Charleston.

Taylor also gives these four things she’s learned about love and life recently:

Number two and four read like Jake shade to me.

16 September 2011 - Speak Now in Nashville. Taylor brings out Hayley as a special guest, they sing “That’s What You Get.” Hayley would later say she was surprised Taylor didn’t ask for Misery Business as That’s What You Get wasn’t one of their more popular songs at the time. (Keep in mind this is the song TayLiz jammed to years ago at the Paramore concert):

youtube

This song makes me think there’s a lot of back and forth happening between TayLiz right now if we look at it lyrically. However, things could be great in TayLiz land and Taylor just chose to perform this song because she knew Liz liked it.

19 September 2011 - Liz performs Jenny Turn Around with Tyler Hilton after Speak Now in Nashville. Tyler tells a story about how he went to the TS concert just before and Taylor had said that her and Liz both really love this song.

29 September 2011 - Liz tweets about crying to the song “The Heart Won’t Lie” by Vince Gill.

And thus, the back and forth continues.

16 October 2011 - Taylor recommends Liz’s YouTube channel and she gets an influx of subscribers:

30 October 2011 - Taylor diaries about being sick on tour, getting Meredith, and having written two songs in the last few days:

This usually signifies there’s a lot going on for her emotionally, although it’s hard to tell what since we don’t know which songs these are. (My best guess might be Treacherous??)

31 October 2011 - Liz tweets about getting married.

Taylor posts a photo of her, Liz, and Caitlin on Instagram:

8 November 2011 - TayLiz have a “soul feeding time” together:

9 November 2011 - Taylor posts a wedding dress train picture to IG with the caption “Dress train…”

12 November 2011 - TayLiz flirt more onstage during BTR:

18 November 2011 - Speak Now in Columbia South Carolina. Arm Lyrics: “Where would we be today, if I never drove that car away?” These are from the song “Don’t Think About It” by Darius Rucker. The lines before this go:

When we make choices we got to live with them Heard you found a real good man and you married him I wonder if sometimes I cross your mind Where would we be today If I never drove that car away?

To me, this plus the dress train pictures reads as Taylor’s reaction to Emily getting married the following day.

19 November 2011 - Emily gets married. TayLiz are papped leaving a restaurant in London:

27 November 2011 - CMT Awards in Nashville. Taylor arrives with Liz and others.

1 December 2011 - Taylor shoots her vogue cover where she cuts her bangs at the Bowery Hotel. Her band (including Liz) comes to support her and her and Liz take a photo with their matching hair:

13 December 2011 - Taylor’s birthday. She’s recording something in the studio and posts a photo to tease the Red album (presumably she’s already titled it at this point).

Here are some pictures from the party:

22 December 2011 - Safe and Sound is released. TayLiz both tweet about it:

Taylor also posts about it on IG:

IN CONCLUSION: After Taylor pursuing her all summer, and Liz’s breakup with Jason, TayLiz took off again. They (maybe) shared a bed during Charleston, and Taylor certainly seems to have covered Bette Davis Eyes with her in mind. Their relationship is a little less obvious than they were in 2009, but that makes sense, considering the way Taylor has skyrocketed in popularity since then. Of course, they still are going to have some problems...

TayLiz Breaks Down (January 2012 - March 2012)

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onegayastronaut · 4 years ago

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ah fuck... what did us white people do to embarrass ourselves now? 😂

I want y’all to take your minds back to November 2016, when these white folks thought it would be wise to hold a wedding right on the beach. In fall. So anyway, I get there, freezing my ass off because my mom forced me to wear a dress, right. I’m already in a pissy mood because I had spent good money on a suit, but that’s neither here nor there.

We get to the venue, the sky is looking stormy. I look up, and say, “$500 says it’s going to rain during the ceremony.” A few other guests snicker, my mom shushes me. The wedding proceeds, and as vows are exchanged…what happens? IT STARTS RAINING. People are panicking, looking left and right for shelter. And where might the closest place be to get out of the rain? The stank, dirty restroom. Everyone makes a run for it, and it is in there where vows are exchanged.

And we haven’t even gotten to the juicy part yet! During the reception, the in-laws start fighting. One calls the other an “in-bred”, the other side dishes on how the groom had actually cheated with one of the bridesmaids. Everyone is sitting in stunned silence as this goes on, and the bride leaves in tears. Most of us stay seated because we wanted to finish the food, but it was by far the wildest wedding I’ve ever been to. I even told my mom, “If wearing a dress allows me to see shit like this, I will allow it.”

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be11atrixthestrange · 4 years ago

Text

Step 1: Getting To Know Her

From 12 Fail-Safe Ways To Charm Hermione Granger

Step 1: Getting To Know Her

All witches are unique. Before pouring effort into charming a witch, it’s important to get to know her well, Aim to understand why you like her, and stay observant, because there will always be more to learn.

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

Ron was lying awake in bed, flipping through the old and tattered book, and he couldn’t help but chuckle when he read part one, ‘Getting To Know Her’. Like that’s remotely possible.

He smiled softly at her sleeping form beside him. Her dark and bushy hair splayed wildy across both pillows, and the stress lines that appeared on her face throughout the day seemed to vanish in the night. She looked peaceful and calm, and it was contagious. Funny how the same girl that could rile him up and ignite his passion could also ease his anxiety. Her effect on him was undeniable, even this far along in their relationship.

Ron had a date planned for tomorrow, and he was pretty damn excited about it— so much that he couldn’t sleep, which is why he had picked up the old book again. His anticipation for tomorrow resembled a kid’s on Christmas Eve. He’d taken Hermione on plenty of dates before, but this one was going to be a surprise for her, and it had to go well. Maybe it was time to refresh his memory in the art of charming witches.

He nearly skipped this chapter the first time he read the book. It was in his sixth year, back at Hogwarts, and he scoffed at the book’s assumption that he would be interested in trying to charm a witch he didn’t know. He figured he could skip it because, well, he knew Hermione. They had already been through so much together, and he knew her like the back of his hand, or so he thought. But it turned out that Hermione was a complex witch, and even after years of friendship, she still managed to surprise Ron. Even now— they lived together, spent the majority of their time together, and could finish each other's sentences, but sometimes she still left him scratching his head, working new details into his understanding of her.

He recently learned that the scar on her knee was from a biking accident when she was younger. It needed stitches to heal. Muggle doctors actually sewed her skin back together. He was horrified when she told him— His parents had always been able to cast a cushioning charm around the Burrow’s grounds in case someone fell from their broomstick, and any cuts and scratches could be easily repaired with a dab of dittany— no needles required. Although it was a minor detail of her life, it further differentiated his childhood experience from hers, and unveiled that a lot of his knowledge of her upbringing was based on assumptions, not facts.

She surprised him again the first time he threw her a birthday party at their new flat. They had recently moved in together, and Hermione had insisted on living in Muggle London so her parents could have easier access to their new place. To go with the theme of their home, he decided to throw her an entirely muggle party, complete with muggle decorations and games and a cake baked the hard way— magic-free. He was quite proud of the result, and definitely didn’t expect her panicked reaction when she came home to find their apartment bursting with balloons. Hermione— who fought dark wizards as early as age sixteen, was afraid of balloons simply because they could pop anytime. Mental.

Ron’s perception of Hermione was constantly expanding with more information— Hermione had grown into a new person over the past decade and a half. The witch he met on the Hogwarts Express was completely different from the one sleeping next to him, and he had no idea what to expect in another fifteen years. This thought used to terrify him. He remembered discussing this with his brother Bill the summer before his wedding, after learning he was going to marry Fleur.

“What if you fall in love with someone, and then they change?”

Bill’s answer left Ron quite confused at first. “That’s the most exciting part,” he had said.

Of course, now Ron understood exactly what Bill had meant and agreed whole-heartedly. There was something exciting yet reassuring about how truly unknowable people were. Hermione was like an ocean— well studied and explored, yet ever-changing and mysterious.

At this point he had known her for fifteen years, and the words “Get To Know Her” made him laugh for completely different reasons that they did at age seventeen. This time, he laughed because he knew he never would.

******

There were many moments that stood out as turning points for Ron— moments when his knowledge of Hermione expanded, and his feelings for her strengthened.

There was a clear shift when he discovered her crying in the bathroom on that first Halloween, Hermione was no longer a “nightmare”, but a vulnerable, insecure kid who simply wanted to fit in— just like him. He saw her in a new light, and realized her commitment to studying so much, and showing off her knowledge wasn’t intended to be condescending, it was her attempt to make sense of a world of which she knew nothing. Knowing nothing meant knowing no one and the hurtfulness of his words took on an entirely new dimension. He had teased her for having no friends, but he also had the power to change that. On October 30th, she had been an annoying know-it-all, and by November 1st, she was his best friend, and he thanked Merlin every day that his eleven year old self had changed his opinion.

Things changed again in his fourth year. By the Yule Ball, Hermione had outgrown the young, precocious, socially awkward first year that pointed out dirt on his nose, and corrected his pronunciation of wingardium leviosa. She was a brilliant, confident, and strikingly pretty young woman, but his 14 year-old self was stuck to his original perception. He was forced to reassess when he saw her dancing with Victor Krum at the ball, looking magnificent in her periwinkle dress. He watched her laughing, dancing, and carrying herself with poise and confidence, while other girls lurked nearby, their faces contorted with envy. Victor Krum effortlessly ignored them because he was so drawn to Hermione, and he wasn’t the only one— Ron couldn’t take his eyes off of her either. Her words swam back his mind, suddenly changing everything.

“Just because it’s taken you three years to notice, doesn’t mean no one else has spotted I’m a girl.”

Why hadn’t he noticed before? And now that he had, what the bloody hell was he supposed to do about it? Hermione had evolved from a friend to a girl to a girl he fancied and Ron was left with the daunting task of moving forward with that revelation, somehow.

Although unsure how to proceed, he grew accustomed to his new feelings about Hermione. He edited her character profile in his mind to reflect this new person, someone who was infuriatingly clever, beautiful, and confident. This was Hermione, not that.

He kept learning, and her definitions expanded over time. He added both fearless and terrifying in their fifth year, when she risked her prefect badge to help form Dumbledore’s Army, jinxed Marrietta Edgecombe, and fought valiantly at the Ministry of Magic. He added flirtatious during their sixth year, when he could have sworn he saw her eyes that lingering on his taller, scruffier, more athletic-looking body, thanks to a combination of puberty and Quidditch. That same year, he briefly added not interested when her signals became too vague for him to trust, and completely fucking mental when she set a flock of canaries on him. Those descriptions changed again when they reconciled, and he fell right back into his old pattern of wanting her, this time slightly more confident that she felt the same way.

At that point he was convinced that knew her. He had adjusted his definitions so many times and finally felt that he had landed on something all-encompassing. But of course, he was wrong.

It was at the Burrow before Bill and Fleur’s wedding when she alerted him to another unexplored cavern of her personality. It had been a few months since the Lavender incident and they’d been dancing around their feelings for one another since then. Ron wasn’t sure how he was supposed to make the first move, or if it had been an appropriate amount of time to date someone new after breaking up with Lavender, so he just continued to hang around her, lamely hoping something would just happen between them.

His mother made an effort to keep them apart that summer, as she was— rightfully— scared they were planning something dangerous, so in order to spend any time together, they had to be sneaky about it. One day, his mother sent Hermione and Ginny to change all the sheets without realizing she had already asked them to, and instead of asking for a new chore, Hermione wandered up to Ron’s attic bedroom where he was busy tidying up.

“Hi,” she said before jumping and landing prone on his bed. “What are you doing?”

“Cleaning up my room,” he replied. “Not sure why I have to do it, it’s not like any of the guests will come in here.”

“You know why,” said Hermione. “To keep us busy.”

“Oh I know,” replied Ron, laughing at his mother’s antics. “Care to help me?”

“No, I think I’ll just sit here and watch,” she said with a coy smile.

Ron looked over and grinned at her. She was so cute lying on his bed like that. He couldn’t help but think she looked quite sexy too, with her skirt riding up, revealing more parts of her leg that kept him up at night. Sexy was another word Ron had added to her profile, one he found himself noticing much more frequently as of late.

He shook his head as if to jumble the randy expression that had undoubtedly formed his face, giving away thoughts that were best kept to himself— at least for now. At this point, they had not discussed where they stood relationship-wise, and gawking at her exposed thigh could easily ruin anything that remained unsaid.

“Mind if I join you?” he asked. He winced as he said it, hearing the unintended flirtatiousness of the words only after they left his mouth.

Fortunately his comment was well received. “Well, maybe take me to dinner first..,” she said playfully before shifting toward the edge of his bed, making room for him to sit down.

He felt his face warming as he lowered himself to the bed beside her and realized he had nothing to say. Dreading an awkward silence, he spluttered the first question that came to mind. “So uh, have you ever been to a wedding before?”

She turned onto her side to face him before nodding. “A few, but only muggle weddings. I was actually a bridesmaid in my cousin’s wedding last summer.”

Ron had expected that she’d attended a wedding before, as most people had. He was surprised by the other part of her answer. “You… have a cousin?”

“Yeah,” said Hermione. “This was Ellie’s wedding. She’s about five years older than me. Have I not told you about her?”

“No, I thought it was just you.”

“Hmm,” she said contemplatively. “I don’t have any siblings, but I have a lot of cousins. My extended family’s actually quite big.”

It wasn’t a personality-altering detail, but it revealed a sudden gap in his data. Ron wracked his mind for any missed conversations where he could have learned more about her family. “I never knew that. Are you close to your cousins?”

She shrugged. “Well I guess I just don’t talk about them that much. But growing up they felt like my siblings.”

“Do you visit them a lot?”

She hesitated before answering. “I used to,” she said, a hint of sadness in her voice. Ron suddenly regretted asking about her family, remembering what she had just done to keep them safe. “I probably won’t see them much anymore. At least not for a while.”

In a moment of courage, he reached for her hand, which was lying on his bed between them. He squeezed it gently and smiled. She returned the gesture, caressing the back of his hand in a way that sent shivers down his spine, but Ron was distracted by the glisten in her eyes as she reflected back on her family.

Also, his head was spinning. Hermione knew his family so well after their years of friendship, it almost felt like she was part of it. How had she never mentioned this detail about hers? Had he never even asked?

He had only met her parents once or twice, and he didn’t really converse with them when he did. Hermione had spent holidays with his family. His mum would send birthday and Christmas presents. Fred and George would take the mickey out of her like she was their own sister. She felt comfortable waltzing into his bedroom and sitting on his bed, and he had never even been to her house. He didn’t even know what it looked like.

“Can I meet them someday?” he asked boldly. “Your cousins, I mean.”

She paused in thought before answering cautiously. “Well, they don’t know I’m a witch. They think I attend a muggle boarding school. Whenever I visit them, I have to lie about everything. It’s a lot of work. A lot of stress.”

Ron hadn’t thought of that— she lived in a world that her family knew nothing about. Even if they got through this war, and she reunited with them, he would have to learn a whole lot more about muggles in order to keep up the lies she must have developed over the years. “I’m a good liar,” he said. “And a quick learner.”

“I’m happy to hear it,” she laughed.

Ron chuckled too, glad he could cheer her up, even if temporarily. But he was overwhelmed by this new information. There was a lot he didn’t know. He wondered what she told her cousins she studied at school, and what they thought she was planning to do after graduating. He didn’t even know how many cousins she had, how old they all were, or their names.

Now that he thought about it, he didn't even know her parents’ names.

“What are your parents’ names?” he asked.

“Jean and Hugo,” she answered. “Why?”

“I’m just curious.” He looked down at her hand, which he was still casually holding. He gave it another squeeze and saw her smile brightly at him when he did it, and he grinned softly back at her. It was the same Hermione, yet there was still even more about her to discover— things about her that he had never even thought about.

He felt a bit guilty learning exactly how many questions he’d never bothered to ask. But his guilt was overshadowed by his excitement to learn more. He really was a quick learner when the topic held his interest, and nothing held his interest quite like Hermione Granger.

#ROMIONE #hp fanfic #hpromione #hp ficlet #hp fandom #ronweasley #Hermione Granger #ron x hermione #ron and hermione

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winryofresembool · 4 years ago

Text

Things We Lost in the Fire, ch 23

aka Caleo uni au

Fic summary: Calypso starts studying at a new university, but to her annoyance her new flatmate is a loud mouthed mechanic who also likes to sneak his dog in whenever. But as she learns to know him better, she realizes they might have more in common than what she first thought. Eventually, even the darkest secrets come out…

Chapter summary: Halloween chapter, part 1.

A/N: This is the first part of possibly a long-ish Halloween 'arc' that is to come. I have to warn you that I only have 1 more chapter as a draft version and the said chapter is a mess and has caused me a lot of insecurities so... I'm not entirely sure how long it will take me to work through the issues that chapter has. I still hope I will have something to post next Friday! Please be patient with me, I promise I have every intention to continue and finish this story.

Thanks for all the lovely comments the previous chapter got! You guys are the best :) And keep them coming because that is literally the best reward I can get :)

Words: 3200+

Genre: romance & hurt/comfort

Warnings: none

previous chapter / AO3

...

“Hey Sunshine, you ready?” Leo asked her flatmate one November Friday as he was pulling his winter coat on in the hallway.

“In a minute!” Calypso yelled from her room. “Just… One final touch up!”

Leo checked his watch. “Okay, as long as it’s really a minute! You know Argo II isn’t waiting!”

“You do know that Argo II doesn’t have feelings, right? It’s a car,” his non-understanding flatmate argued.

“You better hope he didn’t hear that!” Leo protested. “He may just not turn on at all if you claim such things.”

“Oh my gods, Leo. Sometimes I wonder if you care about your machines more than people.”

Leo didn’t respond to that. To himself he mumbled. “At least I know how to fix them. And can’t hurt them.”

The flatmates were getting ready to leave for Jason and Piper’s late Halloween party. Most of the members of their friend group had been busy doing their own things on the real Halloween weekend but they had decided that they’d still want to have a small gathering at Jason and Piper’s house on a later date. Percy and Annabeth would be there, as well as Jason’s sister Thalia, her ‘friend’ Reyna, and Jason’s friend and a distant relative Nico. To Calypso Leo had told, that he had only met Nico a couple of times, because apparently Nico was a bit of a lonely soul and he wandered around the country doing who knows what. That fall, though, he had apparently met someone who had managed to keep him rooted to his home, so Leo suspected that there was a possibility that Nico really would show up this time.

Leo snapped out of his thoughts when Calypso’s door was pulled open, revealing the girl in her costume. His mouth opened involuntarily as he took her in. She was wearing a white chiton like dress with golden decorations around the neckline and accessories that matched the theme. Those included a golden headband and a belt, a bracelet made of real flowers, strappy leather sandals and since her own hair was short now, she had gotten a caramel colored wig that she had braided to one side, reminding Leo a lot of the hairstyle Calypso had had when she had moved in. She smiled at Leo shyly. “Well, what do you think?” She asked, lifting the hem of her dress slightly to show it off better.

“You’re… you’re…” Leo felt the words escape him again. With frustration he wondered how one person could do that to him. Leo Valdez never ran out of words.

“Calypso?” she tried to guess what he had wanted to say.

‘What?” He asked with confusion, unable to follow Calypso’s track of thoughts. In his mind he had answered her question ‘prettier than greek goddesses’ but he realized too late that she had meant that she was dressed up like the Calypso from the Greek mythology. “Oh, now I got it. Must have sniffed too much machine oil or something…Anyway, I see you have some self irony, dressing as your name sake.”

“That was kind of the point, Valdez. A girl named Calypso who studies Greek mythology? People comment on my name so often that I decided it’s time to make it clear that yes, I’m aware of that coincidence.”

“Ooh, the great revenge,” Leo chuckled. Suddenly he noticed that Calypso had turned more serious, her hands fiddling with her purse.

“Really, though, what do you think of this? I made this dress and these bracelets myself. And my mum gave me this before we moved here,” she pointed at her headband. “Apparently it’s something that’s been running in our family; my grandma wore it in her wedding picture and so on…”

“Oh… Well… that’s cool,” Leo said, mentally cursing the ‘error’ message on his brain. “You did a good job. I mean… I once saw a painting of Calypso in the Indianapolis Museum of Art and I think you look nothing like her… in a good way!”

“Aww, thank you.” Calypso seemed happily surprised about Leo’s comment, and he swore the expression made her even cuter. He also wondered if he should have a doctor check his heart because it seemed to do funny things in her presence...

“You’re welcome?” he replied stupidly.

“So, where is your costume?” Calypso asked curiously, apparently only now paying attention to the fact that he indeed wasn’t wearing one yet. “I thought you said we’re in a hurry.”

“I can’t drive in mine, it’s difficult to see from under it,” Leo explained, returning to his room to get a huge sports bag where he had packed his creation a bit earlier. He had spent several days making it and he was kind of proud of the final result. Although, seeing Calypso now, for a moment he still wondered if he had made a mistake with his costume choice, but it was too late to change his mind now. “I’ll put it on when we get there.” He gestured towards the bag.

“Okay,” Calypso nodded while changing her shoes into more fall suitable ones. “I’m looking forward to seeing what you have come up with.”

“Good, because it will blow your mind,” Leo claimed.

“I will refrain from forming any opinions before I see it,” Calypso noted, putting her keys into her pocket. “Now, come on, mister Mysterious, I hear Argo II isn’t very patient.”

Leo secretly loved it when Calypso attempted to joke back, and he grinned at her as he held the door open so she could leave first.

“Let’s go then, Sunshine.”

…

The drive to Jason and Piper took about 20 minutes so Leo and Calypso had a lot of time to talk about whatever came to their minds. At first Calypso gave Leo pretty short answers and he got worried that something was wrong between them again, but eventually Leo got her curious about the guests at the party that she hadn’t met yet.

“The Hunters are traveling a lot because of their competitions so I haven’t met Thalia that often. She’s a little bit scary, though. She has this edgy look going on and I’ve heard she is super strong; she’d ninja throw me on the floor before I’d have time to say Festus if given a chance. I’m trying very hard not to give her any reasons to do that.”

“Ouch. She sounds like something else,” Calypso said.

“She is,” Leo confirmed, almost getting chills only thinking about her. “She can be nice if you get to her good side, though.”

“Is it just me or does someone have a crush?” Calypso asked teasingly.

“What? No!” Leo exclaimed, glancing at Calypso’s reaction briefly. “Alright, maybe I used to have but that was when I didn’t know what was the best for me. But that was a long time ago. Besides, she’s totally dating someone even though they won’t admit it.” ‘And I wish I was dating someone else as well’, he thought, but left that unsaid.

“Oh? Will I get to meet that person today?” Calypso asked with curiosity.

“I think you will. From what I know Reyna’s always with Thalia. They claim they are only best friends but Jason has told me that they are keeping a low profile because it’s forbidden inside their team to date their teammates.”

“That sounds like a basis for a tragic love story,” Calypso said while staring out of the window with a dreamy expression. “I don’t even know these people but as a hopeless romantic I hope they will find some solution.”

Leo thought Calypso was very cute when she talked like that “Yeah. I hope.”

“So, do you know this Reyna personally?” she asked then, distracting Leo from his thoughts.

“You could say that,” Leo answered, trying to focus on the road instead of the girl next to him. “The team visits Waystation regularly because Jo and Emmie used to coach them back in the day and as a fellow Spanish speaker Reyna has always paid special attention to me. I swear, sometimes she treats me like I was his little brother…”

“Aww, that’s kind of sweet in my opinion. What is this team you were talking about, though? Did you say Hunters?”

“Oh, yep. The Artemis’ Hunters, named after the Greek goddess Artemis, naturally. It’s an archery group… Hey, is everything alright?”

Leo couldn’t help but notice that Calypso had shifted uncomfortably on her seat and adjusted her seatbelt a bit looser around her shoulder when he had said the name.

“Yeah. Don’t worry. I just… used to know someone who was in the Hunters as well, so I was surprised they have some connections here, that’s all.” Calypso turned her head to stare out of the window, sending Leo signals that he should drop the topic. He decided to push it a little bit further, though.

“You did? But you said ‘was’. Is she not in it anymore?”

“No,” Calypso shook her head, but didn’t elaborate.

“OK.” Leo sighed. A few moments earlier Calypso had been smiling and teasing him about some old crush and now she was acting cold again. Clearly the Hunters were a painful topic for her, but Leo couldn’t figure out why. Had something happened to the person Calypso had known? And why did she have to be so secretive? Leo wanted so badly to be able to help her and understand her, but when she was not opening up, it was very hard to do anything about it.

“Any guesses about what my costume may be?” He decided to change the topic. That seemed to cheer his flatmate up a bit.

Calypso closed her eyes while thinking, a tiny smile forming on her face. “Hmmm, I imagine it’s probably something flashy. But knowing you it could also be your work coveralls and working boots. I know how much you love those, after all.”

“It’s flashy, alright,” Leo said, his grin returning back to his face. “I’ll give you another hint: it’s a character from one of my favorite TV shows or movies.”

“You have a lot of those,” Calypso reminded him. “Ooh, now I know!! You’re Dalek! That’s why you would have a hard time seeing from under the costume.”

“No,” Leo shook his head, “But now that you say that, that would’ve been cool! Why didn’t you give me that idea earlier?”

“Because you already had an awesome idea? Or that’s at least the impression I got,” Calypso reminded him.

“Well, yeah. I still like my current idea. Maybe next time I’ll make a Dalek.” Leo had a goofy smile on his face as he imagined building a Dalek costume from the scratch.

“Sounds like a plan. So, will you reveal to me what you will be this time?” Calypso asked.

“Nah, you’ll see soon. Good things are worth waiting for, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Calypso shrugged. “Although our opinions on what’s good tend to differ a bit based on our previous TV watching experiences.”

“Yeah, but that’s why it’s good we are flatmates. It’s good to broaden your horizons sometimes and learn about different things that other people like,” Leo pointed out.

“Maybe you’re right,” Calypso admitted. “But are you saying you have learned something from me? What could that be?”

“That olives taste bad? That sometimes Venusaur can be more useful than Charizard?”

“Not exactly what I was looking for, but I’ll take that.” Leo turned his head just enough to see a small smirk on Calypso’s face.

“I was just messing with you because I think you secretly like it,” Leo said with a grin. “But really, you have taught me a lot. That we shouldn’t let fears control the direction of our life. That Greek mythology is actually pretty fascinating even if tía Callida made it sound boring as hell, and we should all learn to understand different cultures better. And, you know? There’s no way we can know every single thing about someone else so we just need to learn to trust and give them a benefit of the doubt sometimes. And finally, I shouldn’t underestimate your Mario Kart skills.”

Calypso snorted at the last part. “Sometimes you do surprise me, Repair Boy. That was a good answer.”

“I can feel my reputation as the Bad Boy Supreme getting shattered to pieces. What about me, though? Have I taught you something?” Leo asked. If he was honest to himself, he didn’t want to know because what could he possibly teach to a smart girl like her?

“You taught me that chilis are evil and you should never eat them the way I did,” Calypso replied, and Leo was fully prepared for more teasing. But it never came.

“You have also shown me sometimes persistency can be a very good thing – otherwise we probably wouldn’t be friends now. We also shouldn’t judge a book by the cover – I’m just saying that when I first saw you I was kind of prejudiced… but since learning to know you better I realized I was wrong. And remember that time when Jo and Georgina were visiting us and you came home a bit late? Jo told me some stories about you before you arrived and that made me understand how far hard work can sometimes take us. You’ve come a long way… and while there are always things we can work on and improve, I think it’s important to be proud of the things we have already achieved, even when looking ahead.”

“Wow… those are some really nice things you just said there…” Leo stumbled to find the right words. Especially the last point had hit him hard because he had had a very hard time with his self esteem recently. He still didn’t know if he would be allowed to retake his lab test – and more importantly, if he was even capable of trying. That was just the tip of the iceberg; it definitely wouldn’t be the only time he would have to face his fear during his studies and later on in the work life, and he would eventually have to make the difficult decision whether it was worth going through. He did want to get over his fear, but with her own issues on her mind, he hadn’t wanted to ask her to help until the situation was better.

“Hey,” Calypso squeezed his knee gently and Leo was afraid he’d accidentally brake so fast they’d crash somewhere. Thankfully he managed to contain himself. “I know I nag and tease you sometimes, but I hope you know despite that I actually care about you and respect you for the things you do. I’m… glad you’re my flatmate.”

Leo was very thankful that it was dark in the car because he was positive that he was redder than a chili pepper. After swallowing hard, he managed to croak: “Yeah. Thanks. You’re pretty neat too.” “Pretty neat?” Calypso asked, cocking her eyebrow.

“Argh, sorry, you can’t expect a guy to be able to think straight after you tell them something like that!” Leo exclaimed. “But, uh, I mean, I think the same way. That it’s nice that you’re my flatmate.”

“Glad we have that established.” Calypso smiled at him. Again Leo wondered what it was about that smile that made his heart go crazy. He had had a couple of short term girlfriends before Calypso had moved in and even though he had liked them, there was something different about how Calypso made him feel. But now that Leo thought about it, he realized that for example Khione, his first girlfriend (who had turned out to be quite an ice queen in the end) had had a smile that had never quite reached her eyes and made him wonder what was truly going on in that head of hers. His second girlfriend, Echo, had been a sweet girl but something about her smile had said that she’d rather be free of relationship bonds. Leo thought that he had probably sensed that from pretty early on because it had been a smaller shock for him than his first break up. But Calypso’s smile? It made Leo want to see it over and over again, and instead of wanting something from him, it seemed to give him more energy. It made him feel restless, but in a positive way.

When Leo snapped out of his thoughts, he realized that Calypso was staring at him weirdly, as if he had been in his daze for a while.

“What?” he asked a bit nervously.

“You just completely missed my question,” Calypso stated, frowning a little.

Leo tried to shake his head to clear his mind a bit. “Sorry, I was just… remembering something. But what did you ask?”

“I asked if there’s any news from your professors about your studies. It’s been a while since you’ve said anything about that.”

Leo gulped. “Yeah. Right. Um, at the moment I’m continuing to attend the classes except the lab one. I guess I should ask the lab professor if he would still let me redo the test at some point. But the other problem is, I’m not sure if I can. You know, if I have it in me to get over my stupid fear.”

“It is not a stupid fear, Leo. You have your reasons. But I do believe that you can get over it. And I want to help you. We should start working on it soon, how about tomorrow or some time next week?”

“Tomorrow is fine to me.” Leo started tapping his fingers against the wheel, a sign of him feeling anxious about the topic. “I… really appreciate your help. Is there something I can do in return?”

“You already did!” Calypso said to his surprise.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Remember that flower shop you mentioned to me?” Calypso asked. “I guess I’ve been so busy this week that I forgot to mention this but it looks like I’m getting the job! The interview went well and the boss invited me to see how they make their flower arrangements and they even let me do this.” Calypso showed him her flower bracelet that had some small roses and several other flowers the names of which he didn’t know. “She will make her final decision on Monday but I might start working there already next week.”

“That’s awesome news! Congrats!” Leo said, genuinely happy for her.

“Thank you! And sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, it seems we have both been rather busy this week, I feel I’ve barely seen you…”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m glad I was useful for something! But look, that’s Jason and Piper’s place.” He nodded towards the building in front of them.

Leo looked from the corner of his eyes how Calypso would react to seeing the house. From what he knew Calypso hadn’t been there earlier; she and Piper had hung out more at their flat due to the closeness of the university. He wasn’t disappointed when he saw Calypso’s mouth open a bit.

“I know, pretty impressive.” Leo said.

“I have seen big houses before but this looks way nicer than the ones I know…” Calypso noted. Leo wanted to ask more about that but he knew that the friends were waiting so he decided to leave it for later. Once he had parked the car, some strange instinct told him to rest his hand on hers for a moment before he gestured to Calypso to step outside.

“After you.”

#caleo #leo valdez #calypso #heroes of olympus #percy jackson and the olympians #trials of apollo #my fics #caleo uni au

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