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alwaysfeelingsaintlike · 4 years ago

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Driving Me Mad [G.W] - Part 1

Series Description: You and George come up with a plan to help each other out by pretending to date each other. But what happens when you actually start to catch feelings...

Pairing: George Weasley x Gryffindor fem!reader

Word Count: 2.2k

Description: You reconnect with George during a friendly game of spin the bottle.

A/N: This concept was inspired by one of my favorite 90s teen movies, Drive Me Crazy (which everyone should watch btw). I wrote this a few years ago and recently re-worked. This is part 1 of 8! Enjoy :)

“1…2…3…4…” you heard Fred calling. You took off at a run to find your spot. You were playing hide and seek, like you always did at these reunions. The Burrow was the best venue for hide and seek because there were so many great hiding spots, both inside and out. Fred and George seemed to be the best at this game, but you had one secret spot where no one could ever find you. You ran down the stairs quickly, hoping you wouldn’t be heard or spotted. Your parents were in the sitting room with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, waiting for the roast to finish and you tip-toed to the one area where you shouldn’t have been, the kitchen. It was an unspoken rule that the kitchen was off limits when Mrs. Weasley was preparing dinner, but you were never one to follow rules. You heard the adults talking in the other room and knew you had a very limited window to get situated. You opened the cabinet under the sink and went to climb in when you realized there was already someone in there.

“Hey! This is my spot!” you whispered, still trying to keep your cover.

“Well too bad, I was here first,” he spat back.

“READY OR NOT, HERE I COME!” Fred called. Your eyes went wide in panic and you shoved yourself into the cabinet.

“Slide…over…” you said as you dug your elbow into George’s side. You knocked over stacks of bowls and pans and you quickly shut the cabinet door hoping to muffle the noise.

“I can’t believe you took my spot,” you grumbled.

“Your spot? I don’t see your name on it,” he teased. You smacked him and he winced. “Now, that wasn’t very nice.”

“Shh…you’ll give our position away.” You heard footsteps coming across the tile floor and held your breath.

You sat there for what seemed like hours, whispering insults back and forth and laughing about stupid things. The hardest part about sitting there was that dinner was starting to smell amazing. It was torturous. That was the downside to having a great hiding place; you were stuck there until you got found.

“Okay, I give up. You guys win. Just come out now,” you heard Fred calling.

“Should we?” you asked George.

“Nah. It’s more fun this way.”

By this point all of the kids were looking for you both, and maybe even the adults. It was hard to tell for sure, considering you were curled up in a cabinet, but you could hear lots of footsteps and your names being called repeatedly.

“Kids, come for dinner!” Mrs. Weasley called.

“What about now?” you asked George, thinking that the seekers would stop looking for you the minute their eyes caught sight of the meal.

George shook his head no and you trusted he knew what he was doing. “Just wait for it…” he whispered.

As if on cue, both the cabinet doors suddenly flew open. You had been caught. You then realized, it was Mrs. Weasley who had caught you and she had yet to notice two children were in place of her kitchen supplies. She was turned and was calling for the older boys to come and set the table.

Slowly, very slowly, she turned around and bent down to tend to the cabinet. George’s face broke into a warm smile, knowing what was coming next.

“AAAH!” she shrieked upon seeing your childish figures cramped into such a small space. You and George erupted into laughter at her reaction as everyone else scurried in to see what had happened. Mrs. Weasley was leaning against the counter, clutching her heart before she essentially beat you with a dishtowel to get you to come out.

“George! Y/N! What on earth were you thinking? You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Weasley! We didn’t mean to. We were just playing hide and seek,” you spoke, innocently enough. Her mood completely changed and it was as if nothing was wrong.

“Well…alright. Go wash up for dinner,” she said.

Fred approached the two of us, “That was brilliant. Couldn’t have done it better myself,” he said, giving you both high fives.

Dinner was full of laughs and merriment as the two families conversed over a lovely meal. George sat across from you at the table and every now and then he would kick your shins and give you that evil grin of his. This was your relationship. You were essentially the second Weasley girl, and according to the twins you were more fun to torment because you could dish it back.

Dinner drew to a close, which meant you could continue playing again. The adults stayed and talked more over tea as you all made up imaginary games, pretending to be people you weren’t. Then, soon, your parents would call you and give you the twenty-minute warning, which always meant you were leaving in an hour. You would say your goodbyes like it was no big deal, but once you started heading home you grew infinitely sadder knowing you’d be playing alone until your next trip to the Burrow.

A lot of time had passed since the hide and seek days. Now, hide and seek was used when you were playing hard to get, which happened quite often now that you were a 5th year. You also didn’t see as much of the Weasleys as you used to. When you were younger, you would go over to the Burrow all the time. But now you only really saw them in passing at Hogwarts. You were still friendly, of course, but you had found yourself in a different friend group.

Recently, you’d been spending a lot more time with the Ravenclaw’s largely because you were dating Roger Davies. You had started dating towards the end of your fourth year and things had been going great. You were particularly excited for the upcoming school year because they had announced the Triwizard Tournament.

The champions had just been announced and you were in Room of Requirement, sipping a butterbeer and celebrating with a majority of the Hogwarts population.

“Here ye, here ye!” someone called out. Your attention shifted to the center of the room where the Weasley twins were making an announcement.

“As you all know, we are here for two reasons. One: to celebrate the success of our fellow Hogwartsians,” one of them spoke. The crowd cheered. Cedric’s friends clapped him on the back while Harry stood awkwardly in the corner with a handful of Gryffindors from his year.

“And two is to have a bloody good time!” the other twin shouted. That statement was followed by even more applause. People clinked their butterbeer bottles together as the twins made a few more remarks to the group.

You mingled around the party for a bit, keeping your eye out for Roger who hadn’t seemed to arrive yet. After a few butterbeers, you stopped worrying so much about your boyfriend’s whereabouts.

“Who wants to play spin the bottle?” you heard someone call. That certainly caught your attention. All the participants sat in a circle on the floor.

“What rules are we playing tonight?” Cho asked.

Fred spoke next, “Spinner gets one spin. Whoever the bottle lands on can decide if they want one kiss in front of everyone or five minutes in the closet. You only get a re-spin if the bottle lands on yourself. And all wands in the middle of the circle. We don’t need any interference. Sound good?” Everyone nodded in agreement and the festivities ensued.

Since Cedric was the champion, everyone agreed to let him spin first. His bottle landed on Lavender Brown and she chose to enter the closet with Cedric. Cho looked pissed, as she had her eye on Cedric this year. The two emerged from the closet minutes later, Cedric looking sheepish and surprised and Lavender trying to hide the grin creeping up her face.

You waited and waited for your turn, and you found yourself getting bored. You were about to leave the game and head to bed but then you heard your name.

“You’re up.”

The bottle slid over to you and you decided you would leave after your turn was up. You held the glass bottle for a moment before placing it in the middle of the circle and giving it a good spin. The bottle was almost mesmerizing as it completed rotation after rotation before finally slowing down to land on someone. You slowly looked up to see who was at the receiving end of your spin and you internally cringed to see that familiar smile.

“Alright Y/L/N, I will see you in the closet,” he said. Everyone ‘oohed’ like you were preteens as he stood up and made his way to the closet. You reluctantly followed, knowing this was your ticket out of here.

“Well if it isn’t my first girlfriend,” he smiled as you made your way through the door.

“You wish, George. We were six…it didn’t count.”

“That’s what you think.” You rolled your eyes at his comment.

“Just so you know, nothing is happening in here. I have a boyfriend.”

“Ah of course. Well how are things?”

“Things are going great between us. We’ve been dating almost-“

He cut you off, “I wasn’t asking about Roger. I was asking about you. We haven’t talked in a while.”

“We run in different circles, George. We aren’t kids anymore. We’re barely even friends.”

He clenched his heart, “Ouch. That hurts.”

“Well it’s true!”

“Just because we don’t hang out or talk doesn’t mean we’re not friends.”

“Yeah, whatever,” you mumbled.

“I bet I know more about you than your so-called friends, Cho and Marietta. In fact, I think I know more about you than Roger.”

You raised an eyebrow at him, “Is that so? Prove it.”

“Well, I know that your favorite color is purple, your best subject is Charms, and you hate the cold but you love Christmas.”

“That is not that impressive. Roger knows all of that.”

George took a step closer to you, “Does he know that you secretly love watching Muggle movies, you’re ticklish on your left knee and that there’s a little star shaped mole just behind your ear.” He gently tucked your hair behind your ear and ran his finger right over the hidden mole. You looked up into his eyes and felt an unusual feeling that you weren’t sure how to define. For a moment, you thought you saw him leaning in towards you. He was going to kiss you and for some odd reason, you were going to let him. Just as your lips were about to touch he turned away as there was a series of knocks on the door.

“I think our time is up,” you spoke softly. You slid from under his gaze and opened the closet door. “They all bolted…” you stated. The room was full of discarded cups and empty bottles, but no familiar faces to be seen.

“Filch or someone must’ve come by,” he said, “The knock was a warning.” You shrugged and without talking you made your way out of the room. “Heading back to Gryffindor tower?” he asked you. You had briefly thought about going to Ravenclaw tower to check in on Roger, but you decided against it.

The journey was silent, for the most part. Neither of you felt the need to talk. Just as you were about to turn a corner, George grabbed your wrist and pulled you back. You turned back at him confused and he said, “Not that way, we’ll get caught. Filch is usually patrolling that corridor.” You gave him an unamused look, thinking he was just trying to make things difficult when he added, “Trust me.”

You weren’t sure why, but you did trust him. You followed him down a dark hall that you’d never been down before. You hoped he knew where he was going. It was dark and you couldn’t see very well but you didn’t want to give away your position by using Lumos. Out of nowhere, George took your hand and helped guide you down the hallway. You didn’t really understand why he was being so nice to you. You had barely talked over the years, aside from the occasional family gathering.

Your thoughts were interrupted by a sudden pop of light. You looked up and the two of you were face to face with Professor McGonagall.

“Professor,” he spoke.

“Mr. Weasley…Ms. Y/L/N. Is there a reason you two are out of bed past curfew?” she asked you sternly.

“Yes, but it’s not a very good one,” you said. You were toast. If it had been Flitwick or Moody you could’ve talked your way out of it, but McGonagall was too strict. You only hoped your punishment wasn’t too severe.

“Ten points will be taken from Gryffindor. Each. And you will report for detention later this week.”

“Yes ma’am,” George spoke.

“Now back to bed, both of you!” You scurried past her as you realized how close you were to the common room.

“So much for not getting caught,” you muttered.

“Hey, lay off it. I was trying to help,” he snapped. “Sometimes you can be such a bitch,” he added under his breath. You weren’t expecting that, but you admittedly deserved it.

You reached the common room and you went in and immediately went up to your room. You curled up in bed and tried to sleep as best I could.

#george weasley #george weasley x reader #george weasley x you #weasley twins #fred weasley #fred and george wealey #george weasley fanfic #george weasley x fem!reader #george weasley x gryffindor!reader #hp fanfic #george weasley one shot #drive me crazy #weasley twins fanfic

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digitalworldbound · 4 years ago

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one step forward

Pairing: Ken x Miyako

Summary: “I can’t talk to cute people, okay? I don’t know how to flirt!” (#30 on the prompt list) Requested by @digichijouji02

Author’s Note: I’ve never written a “song-fic”, but I love Olivia Rodrigo’s album AND Kenyako, so this?? was the result. (this is unedited and kind of abrupt)

Called you on the phone today

Just to ask you how you were

All I did was speak normally

Somehow I still struck a nerve

Daisuke had given her Ken’s number as a preemptive measure. “Even if he isn’t apart of our team right now, I’m sure the others will come around soon.”

His oppressive optimism was almost worse than Takeru’s. Iori had made his stance clear on the situation, and Miyako could feel the guilt bubble up in her stomach as she punched the digits into her house phone. Nerves settled into her hands, her fingers desperately rearranging her hair in an effort to feel in control.

Three short rings later, the line picked up. His breath ghosted over the receiver. Miyako’s carefully planned greeting died on her lips. “Ah, is this Ken?” It was a stupid question – how else would she have his number if she didn’t know who he was? She pushed the phone closer to her ear, straining to discover any sound through the cloud of white static. Nothing.

Her heart pounded in her chest. In all of the reactions she prepared herself for, Miyako hadn’t expected silence. She wanted him to be angry; he had every right to be. She wanted him to yell at her or cry or scream. Screaming would be more bearable than the static he was giving her now.

“How have you been? You know, since…everything?” The sharp intake of breath short-circuited her brain. Ken had just watched his partner dissolve in front of his eyes, and she had the audacity to ask how he was holding up? A flush of shame crawled up her neck. She prayed for the ground to open up and swallow her.

The receiver clicked. Miyako hated the way the dial tone mocked her.

You got me messed up in the head, boy Never doubted myself so much Like, am I pretty? Am I fun, boy? I hate that I give you power over that kind of stuff

Winter air nipped at her exposed cheeks. It had taken her a while to find his apartment; her toes felt like ice in her boots. He hadn’t really spoken to her since the phone call, only acknowledging her when the situation called for it. Nevertheless, he had invited them all over for a Christmas party, and who was Miyako to say no?

His mother opened the door, the smell of freshly baked gingersnaps escaping into the night. “Come in, dear. You must be Miyako! My Ken has told me a lot about you.” The woman ushered Miyako towards a bedroom door before her shock could register. What is there to tell? The only time I’ve talked to him was to slap him in the face.

Ken’s mother knocked lightly on the door, announcing Miyako’s arrival. For some reason, she could feel her cheeks burn when Ken gestured her further into his bedroom. “You look nice, Miyako.” His voice was barely a whisper, the boisterous arguing of Takeru and Daisuke nearly drowning him out.

Self-consciously, she caught her reflection in the glass of a clock on the wall. It had been a harsh winter, the snow getting the best of any potential customers to her family’s convenience store. Her sister’s skirt was too short for Miyako’s long legs, so she layered her old ballet tights underneath. They did little to fend off the cold, but it preserved what little dignity she had around her friends. The attempts at curling her hair were futile. Snowflakes clung to the curls, the strands now hanging limply around her face. She grumbled a bit under her breath, racking her brain for the reasoning behind Ken’s blatant lie.

A card game was in full swing by the time Miyako wedged herself between Iori and Takeru. They both smiled at her before turning back to the issue at hand: Daisuke was cheating.

“Just because I have natural talent doesn’t mean that you can be jealous, Takeru.”

“I don’t think it takes natural talent to look at Hikari’s cards.” The blond deadpanned. Iori sighed and exchanged a look with Ken. They, unlike Takeru and Daisuke, seemed to have formed a companiable silence in the midst of the chaos.

Daisuke’s bickering rattled her brain. With Ken’s unsolicited compliment and the constant arguing, Miyako was already at her wit’s end. “Can you both just shut up and stop trying to mark your territory like untrained puppies?”

Her voice echoed off of Ken’s bare walls. Their Digimon temporarily stopped their feast to look at her curiously. Poromon bounced into her lap, snuggling into her chest. Five pairs of wide yes regarded her with surprise, and Miyako could feel herself grow uncomfortably warm. A giggle burst from Ken’s lips, his cheeks rosy. She had never heard him laugh before.

Soon, they were all laughing. Cards were strewn about as they rolled on the floor, laughing harder when they realized they couldn’t stop.

As the party wrapped up, Miyako was the last to leave. Poromon and Minomon snuggled together underneath a blanket while Ken talked. Her cheeks warmed under the attention, but Ken either didn’t notice or was too kind to mention it. The hands on the clock ticked forwards until his mother startled them with a knock. “Miyako, it’s getting late. I wouldn’t want your parents to worry.” Her eyes were soft and full of kindness; Ken had inherited her smile.

“Of course! I apologize for staying so late. Thank you for allowing me to come over.” She stood and bowed clumsily. Her family valued no such formalities, but if anyone deserved them, it was Ken’s mother.

Ken walked her to his threshold, a hand nervously resting on her back. Despite being underdressed, he stepped out into the chilly night air behind her. A smile played on his lips, causing a swarm of butterflies to erupt in Miyako’s stomach.

“I wasn’t joking, you know?” His eyes looked out onto the horizon. Miyako raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?” The cold had already wormed its way through her tights; she was ready to get home.

His dark blue eyes met hers. “You do look nice tonight.” For someone so shy, so quiet, Ken said it with a conviction that made Miyako’s cheeks color.

Her hands were sweaty, her heart was so loud. Maybe I’m getting sick.

Ken’s eyes were so earnest, so full, waiting her response. The ball was in her court, and she was fumbling. “Ah, um, Ken, I don’t know what to say.” His shoulders drooped, eyes tearing away from hers before fixating on some imaginary point in the distance.

“You don’t have to say anything. Goodnight, Miyako.”

He didn’t have a chance to turn the doorknob before the older girl began to panic. She grabbed his wrist, pulling his backwards.

“No! Ken, that’s not what I meant! I mean, at first I had no idea, and then Daisuke was being all, well, Daisuke. But then the cards were all a mess and this isn’t even my skirt, and I had no-“

Ken’s lips twitched upwards, his eyes empty. “Miyako, you don’t have to make me feel better.” He glances at his watch, “It’s getting late, you should be on your way home.”

“No.” Her hand tightened around his wrist. Ken looked so small and confused that Miyako’s heart gave a painful lurch. Ken couldn’t leave until she said her piece.

The air burned her throat; she was sure that he could feel her fingers tremble against his skin. “I’m trying to say thank you. It’s just that I can’t talk to cute people, okay? I’ve never been in this situation before, and I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.”

Silence, then “You think I’m cute?”

'Cause it's always one step forward and three steps back I'm the love of your life until I make you mad It's always one step forward and three steps back Do you love me, want me, hate me? Boy, I don't understand No, I don't understand

It must have been something in the eggnog, she thought. That’s the only explanation. It was the fourth of January. Her D-Terminal had remained silent since the defeat MaloMyotismon, Ken ignoring her messages with a practiced ease. It was hard to not take it personal. She knew that they all needed the space and time to grieve, but Ken hated to be alone. Miyako had been so sure that they were finally getting somewhere, finally becoming friends. Her inbox was empty.

The shrine was also uncharacteristically empty, her family making up the majority of the crowd. Her family had also remained silent. Ultimately, they were glad she was safe. Her siblings were miffed that their little sister had been trapezing between worlds while they focused on their math homework but were incredibly proud of the way she handled herself. Her parents hadn’t looked in her eyes since.

She had tried to message her friends about it, but not even Iori would respond. Lost in thought, her brother shoved her forward when it was her turn to pray. Muscle memory was the only reason she was capable of tossing in her coins and clapping.

Prayer seemed superficial in the face of the battle they had fought. Prayer hadn’t saved the children from their Dark Seeds or made the fight any easier to win. Still, her head bowed in thanks. At least her friends had been spared.

She prayed for strength, to face whatever came next. She prayed for the wellbeing of her family, and her partner. She prayed for her friends; she prayed for Ken.

Her D-Terminal beeped.

#kenyako #ken ichijouji #miyako inoue

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writersofdestiel · 4 years ago

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Recently, we did a little reboot of our Weekly Words. You will find the details on our Discord Server. Meanwhile, we rounded up all the amazing fics that were created for Weekly Words in the year and a half since the challenge was created.

Time Flies by @deansrightfulangerissue, prompt: time flies

It's been ten years since Cas went to fight Heaven's war. Today, he's coming back. (Rated T, 0.5k)

Ash by @deansrightfulangerissue, prompt: rise from the ashes

Dean's shoulders tremble as they watch the flames devour everything he and Cas have built together. (Rated T, 1.1k)

Fate by @galaxystiel, prompt: rise from the ashes

“C’mon, it’ll be fun,” Dean tugged Castiel towards the storefront. “Don’t you want to find out who your soulmate is? Who you’re fated to be with?” (Rated T, 1.3k)

Equals by @galaxystiel, prompt: white wings

Castiel has one shot, and if it involves punching Crowley in the face? All the better. (Rated T, 1.3k)

Naps for Dogs and Men by @envydean, prompt: white wings

The golden retriever has been coming to Castiel's house for several weeks, taking a nap and then going back on his way and Castiel finally sends a note to his owner. (Rated T, 1.5k)

Runs in the Family by @deansrightfulangerissue, prompt: white wings

Dean's new boyfriend, Cas, has been wary about him meeting his child, Claire. Dean gets it, they've only been seeing each other for a few weeks. What Dean doesn't know is that Cas might have more reasons for worry than just a premature attachment. (Rated G, 1.4k)

The End and the Beginning by @deansrightfulangerissue, prompt: shooting star

There is only one way for Cas to escape The Empty's reach. (Rated T, 1.0k)

What Do You Wish For? by @envydean, prompt: shooting star

Dean, Cas, and their senior high school friends are on their annual camping trip. The sun has set and Cas wants some space to reset himself after a lot of socialising and Dean joins him. (Rated E, 1.5k)

Fearful by @deansrightfulangerissue, prompt: maze

It comes for children, it feeds on their fears. Dean and Cas arrive to end its reign of terror. (Rated T, 1.4k)

All Those Summer Nights by @deansrightfulangerissue, prompt: tell me more

It was the best summer of Dean's life - spent on relaxing, parties and fun. And most importantly, spent with a blue-eyed boy he met one day on a beach. But the summer's over now, the school year begins, and Dean's left with the memories of his first summer love. (Rated T, 1.4k)

Tell Me More by @thunderthighsmish, prompt: tell me more

“Good night, Dean. I’ll see you in 2 days. Be a good boy for me?” “I will,” Dean promised. “I love you.” (Rated E, 0.8k)

For Better Or Worse by @deansrightfulangerissue, prompt: through the fire

When they first meet, Cas saves Dean from school bullies. Over the years, their friendship only grows stronger. (Rated T, 1.4k)

Missing Piece by @fangirlingtodeath513, prompt: missing piece

Castiel and his garrison are given the assignment to rescue the Righteous Man from Hell. (Rated T, 0.8k)

Look What The Cas Dragged In by @deansrightfulangerissue, prompt: flowing teardrops

There’s a guest in the bunker. Dean’s nose is not a fan. (Rated G, 1.0k)

Teardrops For You by @envydean, prompt: flowing teardrops

The accident killed her and left Dean alive and emotionally broken. He's a disgrace. His best friend is dead and he can't even cry for her. (Rated T, 1.5k)

Christmas Sweaters In June by @envydean, prompt: ugly sweater

“Love,” Cas says suddenly in his ear. It makes Dean’s heart jump and his lungs constrict. “Wha-what?” Dean stutters, head turning to Cas whose eyes are still fixated on the screen. “L-O-V-E. Love, it’s the one you’re missing from this round.” Dean looks back down at his screen and sees Cas’ finger linking the letters together. “Oh,” Dean breathes. (Rated T, 1.5k)

Will You Bee my Valentine? by @gii-heylittleangel, prompt: ugly sweater

Dean's tradition on Valentine's Day was always to go out and look for someone to spend the night, but this year he decided to stay home, which was his best decision. (Rated G, 1.1k)

I've Never Wished for Anything more than You by @gii-heylittleangel, prompt: i wish

Dean has lost many people before—it’s practically a normal thing in his line of work—but none of them hurt as much as Castiel’s death. Especially because Dean is sure there’s no possible way for the angel to come back again. Or so he thought. (Rated G, 3.0k)

A Drive Under the Moonlight by @gii-heylittleangel, prompt: moonlight

Dean has had a lot of fights with Sam—growing up so close together can do that—but sometimes he just can’t stand being near his brother, so he just takes Baby for a drive until his head gets clear. (Rated G, 2.5k)

Cas Loves Emoticons, Burgers, and Dean by @gii-heylittleangel, prompt: emoji

Cas has always known that his husband can be a real pain most of the times, but he brings burgers so Cas always forgives him. (Rated G, 1.1k)

Dean + Alcohol = Loose Lips by @gii-heylittleangel, prompt: too many beers

Dean has done some pretty stupid things while being drunk—there are some he would even rather not think about. But when he wakes up that morning, he’s pretty sure that what he did last night will be on his Top 3: after almost a decade of hiding his feelings from Cas, he just practically wrote them on a brick and threw it on his best friend’s face—or maybe that would’ve been a little more subtle than what he did. (Rated T, 4.3k)

Intoxicated by @envydean, prompt: too many beers

Cas finds Dean drunk in the fourth bar he searches after Dean sends some worrying texts to him. Dean has surpassed his flirty, chatty self and fallen headfirst into feeling utter desolation. It leaves Castiel to pick up the pieces. (Rated T, 1.4k)

The Case of the Missing Paper by @gii-heylittleangel, prompt: origami

Dean has always been sure the bunker is haunted, even when everything pointed to the fact that it’s not. But when all of the paper in the bunker starts to go missing, Dean starts to think that maybe he’s right or there’s someone messing with him. (Rated G, 3.6k)

A Lost Teddy Bear and a New Found Love by @gii-heylittleangel, prompt: stuffed animal

Dean has always been very responsible, especially when he needs to take care of his niece, Mary. But when they can't find her stuffed animal (a Stitch that's a few years younger than Sam), Dean starts to panic, not knowing what to do. Good thing the hot neighbor comes to save the day. (Rated G, 4.7k)

Meeting Emma by @deansrightfulangerissue, prompt: stuffed animal

Dean’s pacing the hospital corridor like some nervous expecting father. After all, that’s who he is right now. And the daughter he didn’t know he had will be here any moment. (Rated G, 1.9k)

Ambiguitatis Error Est by @fangirlingtodeath513, prompt: i miss how you were here

Dean's pulling away from his close-knit friend group and Castiel is determined to find out why. If he finds some other things out along the way, he won't complain. (Rated G, 1.6k)

Up On The Rooftop Greenhouse by @envydean, prompt: fighting destiny

Michael Shurley is Dean Winchester's true mate. Except, Dean has been in love and dating the Winchester house gardener, Castiel Novak, for nearly three years and Dean doesn't want that to stop. He needs to find a way out of the impending wedding before it's too late, especially when Michael shows his true colours. (Rated T, 5.0k)

With Eyes Wide Open by @gii-heylittleangel, prompt: insomnia

Insomnia wasn’t one of Castiel’s favourite parts about humanity, but he loved what he could do in that free time—which, most of the time, involved Dean. (Rated G, 0.9k)

Cheer-Up Food by @gii-heylittleangel, prompt: baking

Cas and Sam decide to make a pie for a grumpy Dean. (Rated G, 1.4k)

If Castiel Was A Cake by @envydean, prompt: baking

Castiel comes home to a stressed Dean baking a lot of cakes. So, he decides that a gathering of friends is the best way to keep Dean's mind off everything and it comes with a bonus extra Castiel has been waiting on for years. (Rated T, 2.0k)

As Many Kisses As You Want by @gii-heylittleangel, prompt: kiss me

Dean gets really hurt in a hunt and Castiel has no idea what he's supposed to do. He really doesn't. (Rated T, 4.4k)

Kiss Me by @peanutbutterjelly-pie (Aleakim), prompt: kiss me

Dean’s spur-of-the-moment ideas aren’t always the best, as lots of people are able to attest. And his last one really took the cake. Because now he’s unable to forget the taste of Castiel’s lips and he’s got no freaking clue how to deal with this. (Rated T, 4.2k)

The Dare On Your Lips by @envydean, prompt: kiss me

Dean Winchester has had the biggest crush on Castiel, but believes that Castiel isn't interested. Then on one drunken night, Dean is dared to kiss Castiel. (Rated T, 1.5k)

Not According To Plan by @peanutbutterjelly-pie (Aleakim), prompt: proposal gone wrong

A fire truck, a smoky kitchen and an unexpected surprise are awaiting Dean after coming back home from work. (Rated G, 1.7k)

Proposal Gone... Right? by @fangirlingtodeath513, prompt: proposal gone wrong

Dean's been planning this proposal for a long time, but on the day he's actually supposed to propose, nothing seems to go his way. Will he actually manage to propose without everything falling apart? (Rated G, 1.1k)

#fic collection #writersofdestiel #destiel fanfic #destiel #event: weekly words

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sassyduckqueen · 4 years ago

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Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 55

And at last that is Frozer. I finally did it! XD I thought I'd combine it will Luka's birthday since we haven't seen that yet. Anyway, the next chapter is an original akuma called Mob Boss so that should be interesting to write. Also quick trigger warning. There is a scene of kidnap in this It's not over the top or too detailed but it is there so just be aware of that. Anyway, hope you guys like this chapter :D

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Chapter Fifty-Five: Frozer

"Once again, Anatis and Lady Noir are here to save the day!" Alya gasped as Anatis and Lady Noir swung by, chasing a man trying to fly on a deltaplane. He was trying to create a new type of delivery service but it hadn't gone well and he had lost control of his deltaplane. He was heading towards the Seine and had dropped the flower bouquet he was holding. Lady Noir caught it as Anatis swung towards him, grabbing him around his waist. He pulled him to safety as the deltaplane fell onto a building instead of the Seine. Anatis dropped him onto the building as Lady Noir landed on there.

"You should take the elevator next time," She grinned as she held out her hand to Anatis. He bumped his against hers before help the pilot to his feet. Lady Noir held out his flower bouquet. "Don't forget your bouquet,"

"Thank you but I guess my deltaplane delivery service wasn't the best idea," He sighed as he took the flowers from her. She gave him a soft smile as he walked over to the deltaplane and sighed before he grabbed it and headed to the fire escape. Lady Noir waved to him as he did before she turned to Anatis. She frowned as she noticed he was zoning out a little. She walked over to him and gently poked his cheek, making him blink and look at her.

"You ok?" She asked, making him nod.

"Yeah... just thinking," He replied, giving her a small smile before she have him a cheeky smile.

"Thinking of getting some flowers for a certain baker's daughter?" She grinned, making him lightly shove her on the arm.

"You know I can't do that, Lady Noir," He replied, rolling his eyes. "Besides, that's not what I was thinking about,"

"Penny for your thought then?" She asked, making him shake his head. She pouted a little, causing him to pat her head a little.

"It's nothing to worry about it," He smiled before taking out his yoyo. "I'll see you later kay?"

"Ok," She nodded, taking out her baton before giving him a smile. "But you know you can talk to me if you need it right?"

"I know, Kitten," He smiled before swinging away. Lady Noir sighed softly before jumping down and heading to an alleyway before detransforming. She caught Plagg and gave him some cheese. He took it and flew into her purse before she ran out of the alleyway and headed to Rose's house. She was having a girly night with her, Juleka, Alya, Mylene and Alix. Or at least that's what their cover story was. The truth was the girls' were planning a birthday surprise for Luka since it was his birthday in the next few days. The only reason why Marinette knew was because Juleka had told her. Apparently, Luka had a similar attitude to birthdays as he did to christmas but not as badly. However, Juleka wanted this year to be different so she called the girls in and they were going to plan some nice surprises for Luka. They were also getting the boys involved. They were gonna give Luka the best birthday he had ever had. Marinette rushed over to the front door and knocked on it, causing a woman who resembled Rose but older to open it.

"Hi, Mrs Lavillant," She signed, causing the woman to give her a smile as she signed back, telling her Rose was upstairs before moving and letting her in. She signed thank you to her before heading upstairs and into Rose's room. Juleka was sat on her bed with Rose laid with her head on her lap. Mylene was sat in a bean bag as was Alya. Alix was sat on the computer chair. On Rose's computer was the boys and the girls that couldn't make it to the sleepover. Kagami waved as Marinette took a seat on the bed, making Marinette wave back. Adrien was sat next to her. Marc was sat in his room, Felix was sat in an office looking room and Aurora was sat in her room. Nino was on calling but didn't have his camera on and Chloe was sat with Sabrina in her room. "Am I late?"

"Nope!" Rose grinned, jumping up. "We're just waiting for Ivan but while we are waiting, anyone have any ideas?"

"Well, we set up a surprise party," Nino suggested, grinning as everyone nods. "We can set up cake and presents!"

"Ok. What we need to do is work out jobs for everyone," Alya stated, making everyone nod. "We're gonna need food, decorations, music and of course, we need to make sure Luka isn't home when while we do all of this,"

"Well, my parents can help with the food and the cake," Marinette stated, making everyone nod.

"We can do the decorations," Juleka mumbled as Rose and Mylene nodded. "But the hardest thing is going to be getting him out of the liberty,"

"He could hang out with me and Adrien for a bit," Kagami suggested, causing Adrien to nod.

"Maybe we could invite him out to orange juice or the ice rink?" Adrien suggested, grinning. "If I recall correctly, he's pretty good at skating,"

"Hmm but Luka might say no," Marc muttered, making everyone frown. "I mean... maybe..."

"Anciel is correct," Felix replied, looking at his nails in a bored manner. Adrien and Kagami frowned a little. "He might feel like a third wheel on your 'date' and wonder back to the liberty before the correct time. You'll need a fourth person. Someone who can keep his attention and ensure that he will stay at the ice rink with you,"

His eyes drifted up to Marinette, making her blink and gasp as she went red.

"M-me?!" She asked, pointing to herself as the girls grinned. "B-But why would I be the best choice?!"

"Are you kidding?!" Alix grinned. "Luka would do anything you asked! You would be the perfect distraction!!"

"Plus this is your chance to redo the ice rink date," Alya grinned, making Marinette go a brighter shade of red. "Since last time was a mess. No offense, Adrien or Kagami,"

"None taken, Alya," Adrien grinned, making Marinette look at him. He looked excited. "I think it is a wonderful idea. Me and Kagami can come along to make sure that Luka doesn't decide to leave early but Marinette can be the main distraction,"

"Noo! Adrien, you traitor!!" Marinette gasped, blushing brighter as she hid her face in her hands. "I ca-can't!! What if he gets bored of me too quickly?! Or I fall over in front of him?!"

"Luka will more then likely catch you," Kagami pointed out, making her look at her. "Besides, it's too late. While you were freaking out, I have just texted him to ask him if he wants to hang out with me and Adrien. He wants to know when,"

"Saturday is his birthday," Juleka informed, making them nod as Marinette covered her face. Kagami nodded and texted back, causing her to smile.

"He said he's cool with that," She replied, making Marinette look through her fingers as she texted back. "I told him he should invite Marinette,"

"What?!" Marinette gasped, hiding her face again. She gasped and went to grab her phone as it vibrated, almost dropping it as she did. She quickly answered it and held it to her ear. "H-Hey, Luka!"

Alya and the other girls tried not to snigger at her reaction, covering their mouths as she shot daggers at them before turning her attention back to the phonecall as Luka asked her if she was free on Saturday.

"Y-Yeah, I am," She squeaked. "W-Why do you ask?"

"Well, Kagami invited me to join her and Adrien at the ice rink on Saturday and then suggested that I should invite you so I don't feel like a third wheel," He stated, making Marinette nod. "And it has been a while since I've got to go to the ice rink and I was hoping to ask you to join us, even if Kagami hadn't suggested it... if you want to that is..."

"Y-Yeah, that would be great!" Marinette gasped. "It's a date... I mean it's not a date.. I mean it is but not a date date. Like we're going as friends!"

"Yeah," Luka agreed, though he sounded a little sad. "It will be fun... plus I won't have to steal Adrien off Kagami this way,"

He chuckled a little, making Marinette giggle.

"Ok, so Saturday at 11?" Luka stated.

"S-Sure," She replied, smiling a little. "I better get going. See you soon, Luka,"

"Bye, Melody," He replied before they hung up. Marinette sat down and glared at Kagami, making her smile.

"Alright so we will be meeting Luka at the ice rink at 11 and we can keep him there for a while," Kagami stated, making them nod. "When everything is set up, you can drop us a text and we'll get Luka back to the liberty where we will surprise him with a birthday party,"

"Perfect!" Rose grinned, pumping her fist into the air. "Luka will be so happy!!"

~Saturday Morning~

"Good morning, Luka!" Tikki grinned, making him raise an eyebrow at her as Kaalki yawned. Tikki was more hyper then usual, making Luka look at her with concern. "It's your birthday today!!"

"Oh," He replied, making Tikki frown. "It's just another day, Tikki,"

"Oh but it's not!!" She gasped, making him look at her. "Birthdays are special! And besides, I got you a gift!"

"You did?" Luka asked, looking at her. Tikki flew up in the air and started humming before spinning around very fast. She suddenly spat towards his hand, making him blink as he looked at it.

"Miraculous birthday, Luka!" She declared as he stared at it. Gradually, the glowing spit disappeared and a small red jewel that was shaped like one half of a yin yang symbol was revealed. Luka carefully picked it up and held it up before a smile came onto his face. "It's a kwagatama. We kwamis create them for people we consider our friends,"

"Tikki, this is awesome," He smiled, getting up and fixing it onto a necklace before he walked over to her and held her in his hands. He gently placed a light kiss on her head, making her smile. "Thank you,"

"I'm glad you like it, Luka!" Tikki grinned, hugging his cheek. "Are you excited to see Marinette today?"

"Well, Kagami and Adrien will be there," He admitted, making her and Kaalki frown a little. "But I think that's because of the "Surprise" party they're throwing for me. I think Marinette, Adrien and Kagami are suppose to keep me busy,"

"How do you know they're planning a party?" Kaalki asked, making Luka chuckle.

"Because everyone's been acting weird," He replied, making the two kwamis look at him. "Well, weirder then usual. Marinette asked me what my favorite cakes were and if I had any allergic reactions she needed to know about, Juleka and Rose were discussing banners or balloons, Felix was acting nicer then usual and of course, Nino asked me what my favorite songs were. Not to mention Kagami asked me if I wanted anything in particular, Adrien wanted to know if I wanted a new guitar and Marc can barely look at me with how freaking out. And then there's Ma and Jagged,"

"So you're certain?" Tikki asked as Luka nodded. "What if you're wrong?"

"Then I'm wrong," He replied, shrugging. "It's not a big deal. They know I'm not fond of my birthday but I think Juleka just wants to make it special. Either way, I'm just happy to spend some time with my friends. That's the best gift anyone can get me. Besides, we should get ready to meet Marinette, Adrien and Kagami,"

Tikki nodded as Luka took out some clothes and got dressed. He decided to switch out his normal hoodie for the jacket Marinette made him before packing his ice skates. He opened his jacket, allowing Tikki and Kaalki to fly into his jacket. He left his room and walked into the living area, causing Juleka and Rose to stop whispering with the Captain and Jagged. Penny was also stood near them, sipping a water. He rose an eyebrow as he walked over to them.

"I'm going out..." He stated, making everyone nod before he glanced around at them. "Don't burn down the ship while I'm gone,"

"We won't!" Rose gasped as the others nodded. Luka gave them an amused look before kissing the captain on the cheek and ruffling Juleka's hair, making her gasp before he headed upstairs and out onto the plank. As soon as he did, Tikki and Kaalki poked their heads out as he noticed the badly hidden banners that read 'happy birthday, Luka'. He chuckled and shook his head.

"See? They're planning a surprise party for me," He stated as he walked across the gangplank. He hummed to himself as he took out his phone and texted Marinette to let her know he was on his way. She texted back quickly, saying she'll meet him outside the park instead of at her home. He suspected it was because her parents were providing the food but he agreed and headed there, sitting on the bench as he watched Mr Ramiers feeding his pigeons. A few minutes later, Marinette came into the park and walked over to him. She was wearing a cute jumper with a cat on it, blue jeans and boots. She had a rucksack on her back that had her skates attached to it and had a light jacket on. Her hair was in her usual style and she was also playing with her hands. "Hey,"

"Hey," She smiled back as he stood up. "Sorry for not been able to meet you at the bakery. Ma and Pa have a really big order so it's super busy there at the moment and-"

"It's ok, Marinette," He smiled, offering her his arm. She smiled and took it before they walked out of the park and to the metro. "Are you looking forward to skating?"

"Yeah," She smiled, moving a stand of her hair. "Are you?"

"Yeah," He smiled back. "I like ice skating... plus I get to spend sometime with you, Adrien and Kagami... which is great since those two don't get out often,"

"Yeah, I'm surprised they were able to pull this off," She admitted, glancing to the side. "Hopefully this time I won't fall over either,"

"I'll catch you before you do," He smiled, making her smile back. "Just stick with me and I'll make sure you're ok,"

"My hero," She giggled, making him smile a little as the train came to a stop. If only she knew. The two of them got off the train and headed up the stairs to the street. They crossed the road and walked over to the ice rink. Kagami and Adrien were already stood outside and waved as soon as they saw Luka and Marinette. Luka waved back and smiled as they walked over. "Hey,"

"Hey, you two," Adrien grinned as Kagami smiled. "Ready to skate?"

"Yeah," Luka smiled as they headed inside. They paid the receptionist and got the rest of the equipment they needed before heading to the chairs. Luka frowned a little as he noticed Chloe's father talking to a man he recognized as the owner of the rink. The four of them took seats and began to put on the equipment. Luka put his stuff on quickly so he moved over to the edge as Marinette began to put her shoes on. He was close enough to hear the conversation but not close enough to draw attention to himself.

"I can't believe it, Mr Mayor!" The skater gasped, moving dramatically. "You want to shut my ice rink down?!"

"The ice rink doesn't belong to just you, Philippe. It belongs to Parisians," Andre scolded, frowning. "Besides, I'm not shutting it down. I'm converting it into an indoor gym for my wife- I mean my city. Nobody comes to your ice rink for lessons anyway,"

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think?" Kagami asked as she leaned next to Luka, who frowned and nodded.

"You haven't had a single student sign up for lessons this year!" The mayor declared before eying up the group. "But if you can get one signature, I'll put the work on hold,"

"Really?" Philippe gasped, causing the mayor to nod so he took the papers and smiled. "Consider it done,"

With Luka distracted, Adrien moved over to Marinette.

"Rose texted me," He whispered, making her look at him. "They had to move the party to the grand paris hotel,"

"What?!" She gasped, causing Luka and Kagami to look at her. "I mean what a wonderful idea!! We should definitely got to Andre's after this... ha... ha..."

Luka gave her an amused smile before looking back at the ice rink so she moved closer to Adrien.

"What do you mean they've moved it?!" She gasped in a quiet voice as Adrien shrugged. His phone vibrated, causing Marinette to look over at the message. Her eyes widen as she read the message. Somehow, Jagged had found out about Luka's birthday party and had teamed up with the captain to make it the best day yet, which was why it got moved to the Grand Paris hotel. Apparently, he decided the Liberty was too small for his son. This would be one birthday Luka would definitely not forget. "Well, at least, Jagged is trying..."

"Yeah," Adrien nodded as he put his phone away. "Rose will text me when they're ready for us,"

"Ok," Marinette nodded, getting up and went to step forward but she misplaced her feet and fell but before she could hit the floor, Luka caught her and helped her up, placing his hands on her hips as she did before he helped her sit down. He glanced down and noticed her shoelaces were tied together so he knelt down and untied before retying them separately as Marinette blushed. "S-Sorry,"

"It's fine," He smiled, straightening up and offering her his hand. She blinked before taking it, causing him to pull her to her feet before the two of them headed onto the ice. Luka smiled reassuringly at Marinette before spinning around her. She giggled as he lifted his leg up and held his arms out, pulling a face at her as he did. He grinned back before putting his leg down and taking her hands in his, spinning her around as she tried to skate. Kagami and Adrien staked by, giving her a thumbs up. She smiled but stumbled, almost falling again. Luka caught her hands and helped her straight up. "You ok?"

"Y-Yeah," She smiled, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm just rusty. I haven't been ice-skating since... you know..."

"Don't feel guilty about that, Marinette," He stated, making her look at him before she smiled softly. "I had fun then and I'm having fun now so just relax and follow my lead. Remember I'll catch you before you can fall,"

"Thanks, Luka," She smiled as he pulled her across the ice, relaxing a little but before they could do anything, Philippe skated over.

"Hey, young man!" He gasped, flashing the papers in front of him. "Have you thought about signing up for ice-skating lessons? The judges would not be able to to resist that sparkling smile of yours,"

"That's nice of you, sir but my life is already filled with commitments and music," Luka replied, thinking about the akuma attacks and been Anatis before he glanced at Marinette. "And I might have a brand new song to write so..."

"Music is an important part of skating you know," He replied as Kagami and Adrien skated by. "Think about it!"

He skated off as Adrien and Kagami moved with each other. Kagami spun around, causing Luka and Marinette to look as she moved and danced gracefully. Once she was done, Adrien smiled and clapped but once again, Philippe interrupted. He ordered to teach Kagami but she shot him down, explaining that her mother wouldn't approve. She apologized but it didn't stop Philippe from looking sad or Andre to glare at him.

"Kagami is really good at ice skating," Marinette whispered before giggling as Luka spun her around. He placed his hands on her hips and sped up a little before the two of them glided across the ice, causing Marinette to smile. He took her hand and spun her again before he lifted his spare hand and leg. Marinette smiled and minicked his movements as they glided across the ice before he spun her around again, placing his hands on her shoulders to stop her before he moved them to her hips. He gave her a sly but kind smile before suddenly lifting her up in the air and holding her above his head. One of his hands rested on her hip while the other rested on her thigh. Marinette gasped in surprise as he did before she relaxed, knowing Luka would not drop her. She held out her arms as they spun a little before he lowered her down, leaning over her before he took her hand and pulled her to her feet. She connected her other hand with his as they moved before letting go and moved it above her head as he did the same. They grabbed onto each other's upper arm and slid their hands down their arms, connecting them again and linking fingers. Marinette smiled and moved in front of him, causing Luka to place his hand on her hip before dipping her down. She held out her spare arm as they glided before he pulled her up. She jumped up a little and rested against his hip as he held her there before lowering her down and skating around with her. Kagami and Adrien actually stopped moving to watch the two of them as Marinette skated backwards and Luka held her hips as she leaned back and held her arms out, making sure she didn't fall. Neither had seen her so relaxed in any situation. Luka brought her back, causing her to jump up again but this time, she rested her knees against his thigh as he held her back, making Phillip look over and gasp before she landed back on the ice as Luka spun her, causing the two of them end up extremely close to each other's face. Marinette blushed as Luka looked at her but anything else could happen, Philippe skated over, spitting them up.

"I'll give you a week's worth of lessons for free!" He gasped, looking at Marinette. "Just a few hours a day and you'll be a star!"

"Thanks but I'm already very busy as it is," She replied, taking Luka's hand and skating off before looking at him. "Are you having fun?"

"Definitely," He smiled but it turned to a frown as Philippe attempted to get Adrien to sign up for lessons. Like Kagami, Adrien rejected the lessons, explaining that he was too busy. Luka frowned and unintentionally let go of Marinette's hand as he saw Phillip frown and his song turn to a sad melody. He wished he could help him out but there was only so much he could do. However, he was knocked out of his thoughts as he literally crashed into the wall of the ice rink and fell to the floor. Marinette gasped and rushed over, helping him to his feet.

"Luka, are you ok?" She gasped, worry moving across his face.

"I'm fine," He replied, rubbing his back. "I just lost concentration. Sorry..."

"It's ok," She smiled, moving his fringe. "We can take a break if you want,"

"Yeah, if you don't mind," He replied, causing her to nod and the two of them to walk over to the edge of the rink. "I'm just going to use the rest room. I won't be long,"

"Ok," Marinette nodded. "I'll get us some drinks from the vending machine,"

Luka nodded and headed to the restroom, walking inside and over to the sink. He ran the water and splashed his face as Tikki and Kaalki flew out of his pocket.

"Are you ok?" Tikki asked, making him sigh as he nodded but before he could answer, he heard someone knock on the door.

"Luka, I got the drinks," Marinette gasped from outside, making him smile a little but before he could answer, he heard Marinette gasp. "Luka! Hide!"

"Marinette?!" He gasped, rushing over to the door but he stepped back as soon as it turned to ice. "Is that... ice?!"

"It sure looks like it," Kaalki replied, making him frown as he stepped towards the sink and climbed on top of it. "Must of been that disgruntled ice skater,"

"Poor man," Luka muttered as his breathe showed. He shivered a little before reaching into his hoodie and taking out a small box. He opened it and picked out a blue macaron. "We better try out Master Fu's magicaroon. Tikki, power up!"

He threw it in the air, causing her to fly over to it and eating it. She spun around, glowing as she did. She gained a crystal tail and the spot on her head turned into a hexagon but over then that, she didn't look much different.

"Stalactikki!" She declared as Luka swiped his earrings.

"Stalactikki! Spots on!" He declared, causing her to get sucked into them. He swiped his hands over his eyes, creating his mask before the energy of the miraculous travelled down his body, creating his outfit. Ice crystals and a circle that had resembled a ladybug appear around his hips as a sort of belt as he spun around before his yoyo appeared, completing his transformation. He jumped down from the sink counter and glanced over his outfit. His boots had blades on the bottom, making them ice skates and had a white fur trim. He had black gloves on that had ice blue diamonds on them with a trim in the same shadow. His boots also had ice blue diamonds on them. He had large white diamonds on his sides where his black panels were and his suit was more of a frosted red then a bright red. The spots had changed to hexagons and he had a triangular pattern across the part of his outfit that was ice blue in color. His mask matched his suit and his hair was black with ice blue highlights. Even his eyes were an icy blue. He also had a white fur trim around his collar. The outfit itself was comfortable warm. Kaalki flew over to him, causing him to look at her. "Do you want to stay out or would prefer to go back in your miraculous for a bit?"

"I'll go in my miraculous for a bit," She replied, making him nod as he reached into his yoyo and took out the glasses. She turned into a ball of light and flew into them, charging them up. Anatis placed them back in his yoyo before skating over to the door. He tried to open it but it was stuck, causing him to take out his yoyo and break it down. He skated out of the room and around the building, feeling a bit of relief that Marinette was in there. She must have gotten away. However, he learnt that Adrien and Kagami weren't as lucky when he skated into the rink area. The two of them were trapped in a block of ice, as was the mayor. He frowned before skating out of the rink and using his yoyo to pulling himself up onto the roofs. The best thing he could do for them was find the akuma and defeat him. He took out his phone and called Lady Noir but she didn't answer. He frowned and skated off, hoping she hadn't been captured by the akuma.

~Meanwhile~

Marinette let out a sigh of relief as she had managed to get away from the ice but she needed to transform and find Anatis. Plagg flew out of her purse and shivered as he looked around. She reached into her purse and took out a small little box, making him groan.

"Do I have to transform?" He asked, causing her to give him a look. He sighed and rolled his eyes as she held up the cheese. "Alright, let's get this over and done with,"

"Plagg, power up!" She declared, throwing the cheese in the air. He jumped over and swallowed it whole before spinning around and glowing, transforming himself. The only difference between his normal form and this form was the crystal crown on his head.

"Plagglacier!" He declared as Marinette held out her hand.

"Plagglacier, Claws Out!" She shouted, causing him to be sucked into the ring before she spun around and held up her hand. She swiped her hand across her face, creating her mask before pushing it across her hair, creating her ears and a crystal tiara on her head. She threw out her arm as the energy moved across her body, creating her suit. She spun around as ice blue crystals appeared around her hips, along with a circle that had a ice green paw print in it. With her transformation complete, she glanced towards the ice, noticing her new look in it's reflection. Her base suit was the same but it had ice blue crystals on her legs that resembled snowflakes. She had white diamonds on her forearms, gloves and her boots that were identical to each other. The normal green detail on her gloves, suit and ears were ice blue and her eyes were frosted green with ice blue scleras. Luckily, her outfit was nice and warm, protecting her from the icy air. Her baton vibrated, making her take it and open it. She pouted a little as she saw Anatis had phoned her but hadn't left a message. She pulled up his number and called him back. He answered on the third ring. "Hey,"

"Hey, Kitten," He replied, making her smile a little. "We've got a bit of cold situation,"

"I noticed," She replied, skating out of the ice rink. "Where are you?"

"Currently just looking for the akuma. I was planning to set a trap for him," He replied but he sounded annoyed. "However, all I've come across is ice and frozen victims,"

"Well, why don't I see if I can track down the akuma and bring him to your trap?" She suggested as he hummed in agreement.

"Good thinking, Kitten," He praised, making her smile. "I'll set up a trap on the bridge near the Eiffel tower. You track the akuma and lure him to me,"

"Consider it down, Bug-a-boo," She purred, making him chuckle.

"Alright, I'll leave you to your tracking then, Kitten," He replied as she nodded. "Be careful,"

"You too, Annie," She replied before hanging up. She jumped up onto the roof and skated across the roofs before jumping down when she saw a clump of ice. When she got closer, she saw it was a bunch of people. She frowned and looked around before noticing something on the ground. She skated over and knelt down, examining the tracks. She glanced up and followed them, leaning towards the Seine. She saw the tracks when across a bridge, causing her to follow them. She turned towards the Eiffel tower, frowning as she followed them. They lead her right up to the tower. She moved behind a truck and looked up, seeing the akuma standing onto of the tower. She frowned as she noticed he was distracted by something. She had an awful feeling that it was Anatis he was distracted by so she looked over and saw she was right. Anatis was setting up his trap on the bridge but he had failed to notice the akuma up in the tower. She frowned deeply and took out her baton. It wasn't like her partner to not be aware of his surrounding. Seeing the akuma jump from the tower and aim towards Anatis, she jumped into action and pushed him out of the way before the akuma could turn him to ice. They roll to the side with her ending up on top of him before they both jumped up and jumped down onto the Seine, skating off as they held hands. They jumped over a truck and kept going. Anatis turned to Lady Noir and gave her a small smile.

"Thanks, Kitten," He stated as they moved in sync with each other across the ice. She gave him a wink but the akuma caught up with them, throwing icicles with his feet towards them. Anatis let go of her hand as they dodged the icicles. The akuma chased after them, going more for Anatis then Lady Noir. However, Anatis manage to dodge the icicles while keeping a good and steady pace on the ice. He spun around and used his yoyo to block the attacks as Lady Noir skated near by. "Who pissed off you, Jack Frost?!"

"My name is Frozer!" The akuma growled as they passed the Liberty. He slided across it before speeding up and jumping over a bridge as Lady Noir declared he was too fast. He spun his body around in the air, causing the two heroes to stare before he showered them with icicles again. Lady Noir and Anatis did their best to dodge them as they skated across the ice.

"I think the akuma is in his skates!" Anatis declared as he grabbed Lady Noir's hand and jumped out of the way of Frozer again, causing him to stumble slightly on the ice but it was just the chance they need. Anatis quickly grabbed Lady Noir around the waist and threw his yoyo, pulling them off the ice. They landed on a building and ducked down behind a wall, peeking behind it to make sure Frozer didn't follow them. Frozer skated down the Seine and came to a stop as he looked around, confused as to where they had gone. He jumped off in the opposite direction of where they were hiding and skated off. Anatis and Lady Noir jumped down and skated off in the other direction, stopping behind a camper van at the arc de triomphe. "You ok?"

"Yeah," She replied, glancing from behind the van but she couldn't see Frozer nearby. She turned to Anatis as he took out his yoyo and checked the usual channels. "Looks like he's frozen everything,"

"Yeah," He replied, frowning as he closed it. "Right, we need a plan,"

"Well, my power could destroy his skates but he'd have to be up in the air," She mumbled, making Anatis nod. "Your idea for a trap would work nicely for that,"

"Yeah but I should have observed first," He muttered, frowning before smiling. "But thanks to you, we observed and now we know enough,"

"Then all we need now is a little bit of luck," Lady Noir grinned, making Anatis shoot back a smile before he threw up his yoyo.

"Lucky charm!" He declared, causing a sack to manifest out of nothing. It dropped down and he caught it, blinking as he realized it was salt. "A bag of salt?"

"Salt makes ice melt," Lady Noir stated as she pointed to the ice that was melting.

"Of course," Anatis grinned before looking around. "But we need the right area. Follow me,"

The two of them skated off as Anatis looked around in his luck vision. He came to a stop at a wall and pointed downwards. On the lower path was a frozen over fireman's truck.

"There," He pointed to it, causing Lady Noir to look at it. "Alright, I have a plan. While I distract Frozer, you melt that ice on that truck and move it into position,"

"Alright!" She declared, taking the bag of salt off him. "Be careful though,"

"You too," He replied before skating off until he came to a bridge. He climbed on top of the edge and whistled loudly when he saw Frozer skating across the Seine. Frozer stopped and looked up as Anatis pointed at him. "Frozer, I challenge you to a race! If I win, you give up your akuma!"

"And if I win, Anatis?"

"I will give my miraculous!" Anatis declared, making Frozer smirk. "What do you say? Deal? Or are you getting cold feet?"

"Don't play with fire, Bug boy!" Frozer declared, jumping up. Anatis jumped down and skated off, gaining speed as he did. Frozer, however, followed closely behind.

"Let's see if you can do this!" Anatis declared before sliding under a bench.

"Don't make me laugh!" Frozer replied, mimicking his movement. Anatis gained speed and skated up a piece of ice, flipping and spinning in midair before landing. He skated off as Frozer did the same thing. Anatis jumped through an open car as Frozer caught up. "I'm closing in, Anatis!"

Anatis continued going, leading him to where Lady Noir was waiting as he jumped through the car. He grabbed onto a lamp post to help him change directions towards the fireman's truck.

"The next one is tricky!" He declared, jumping up and spinning midair before flipping and landing on the ladder, sliding down it as Frozer jumped up in the air. Anatis turned around and threw out his yoyo, wrapping it around one of the steps as he slid down it. Frozer spun in the air and landed on the ladder, sliding down it too. Anatis jumped off it and wrapped his yoyo around a block of ice, pulling on it. The ladder lifted, sending Frozer flying into the air, along with Lady Noir.

"Cataclysm!" She shouted, reaching out and scratching his skates, causing them to break as he fell onto the floor. Anatis jumped down and caught Lady Noir in his arms, causing her to throw out her arms in the air as she grinned before he put her down. The akuma escaped from the skates, causing Anatis to open his yoyo and capture the akuma as Lady Noir grabbed the lucky charm. He released the purified butterfly as she moved back over to him before taking the sack of her as she held it out to him.

"Thank you," He smiled before throwing it into the air. "Miraculous Ladybugs!!"

The sack burst into the magic swarm and swept around the affected areas, cleaning up the ice and restoring those who had been frozen to life again. Frozer turned back to Philippe as the skates on their boots disappeared, causing Anatis to look at them.

"Oh so they're only skates when we actually need them," He grinned, making Lady Noir laugh. "What?"

"You're a dork," She grinned before lightly kissing his cheek as their miraculous beeped. "See you soon, ice bug,"

"Ice bug?" He asked as she saulted him before jumping off. He shook his head and turned to Phillip. "Are you ok, sir?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Phillip sighed. "Sorry if I caused trouble,"

"It's ok," Anatis smiled, helping him up as his earrings beeped. "Sorry, I have to go. Will you be ok getting back?"

"Oh, yes," He nodded, causing Anatis to nod and run off, jumping up to the roof and dropping his winter outfit, leaving him in his normal outfit. He swung towards the ice rink, dropping down in an alleyway and detransforming. He caught Tikki and took out a cookie for her before taking out the glasses and tapping them. Kaalki appeared in a ball of light as he put them back in his pocket before opening his jacket for them. They hid back inside before he headed back inside. He walked over to Marinette, who hugged him as Adrien and Kagami took off their skates. Luka sat down and took his off as Marinette did the same. Once they put their skates away, they headed out of the rink, running into Philippe as he walked over to the door, still looking sad. Luka frowned a little before walking over to Philippe. "Are you ok, sir?"

"Not really," Philippe admitted, causing Adrien and Kagami to join him as Marinette stood next to him. "I'm sorry that I bothered you four on your trip here. I was just so desperate to get new students. If I don't get any then the mayor will shut down the rink and convert it into an indoor gym,"

"That's not right," Adrien declared as the mayor walked over before he took out his phone and wrapped his arm around Phillip's shoulder, taking a picture with him. He pulled away and typed on his phone before showing them. Philippe blinked as he saw that Adrien had uploaded the photo to his social media with the captation 'This is Phillip at the Paris ice rink. He's makes skating so much fun'. "Hopefully that will give you some students,"

"Oh thank you, Adrien!" He gasped, smiling. "I hope you four come back and if you ever change your mind about ice skating lessons, just let me know!!"

"We will," Marinette smiled as Adrien's phone buzzed. He looked at it before giving a secret smile towards Marinette and Kagami. Luka rose an eyebrow before the three of them pushed him towards the metro. He guessed that the surprise party was ready. The four of them got on a train but headed away from the Seine, making him blink in surprise. Wasn't it supposed to be on the Liberty? He didn't have much time to think about though. As soon as they were off the train, they dragged over to the Grand Paris Hotel, surprising him even more. Adrien and Kagami went ahead as Marinette took out a silk cloth. "I have to blindfold you,"

"Um... ok?" He answered, confused but he trusted her. She tied it around his eyes and took his hand, leading him over to the lift.

"No peeking!" She declared as they got in. She led him out of the lift when it stopped, causing him to blink as he felt wind on his face before she made him stop and gently removed the blindfold, revealing the entire pool area had been transformed into a party area.

"Happy birthday, Luka!" Everyone declared as they jumped out, making him smile as he looked around. Everyone he considered family or friends were there. The Captain, Jagged, Penny, Fang, Juleka and Rose were stood in one part. Alya, Nino, Adrien, Kagami, Marc, Nathaniel, Ivan and Mylene were stood near by. Aurora, Mirelle and Jean were stood with the rest of his friends from school by the pool. Tom and Sabine were stood by the food table with Chloe, Sabrina. Even Felix had come out for it. Marinette smiled as he looked around.

"Y-you guys did this for me?" He asked, surprised. He knew there would be a surprise party but he thought it would just be his family and Marinette. Everyone nodded, making him smile a bit more. "Thank you,"

"You haven't even had your presents yet," Adrien grinned as everyone stepped aside, revealing a table filled with gifts. Luka couldn't help but stare in shock at the amount on the table. The captain walked over and wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

"Happy birthday, Lad,"

~Later that Evening~

"You know you didn't have to walk me home, Luka," Marinette stated as they walked through the streets towards the bakery. Luka gave her a small smile as they walked.

"I don't mind," He replied, making her look at him. "It was getting too loud there anyway,"

"Was it too much?" She asked, worried but he shook his head.

"No, it was great," He smiled as they saw the bakery ahead of them. The light were on as Tom and Sabine had to leave the party early. They had wished Luka a happy birthday and given him a batch of fresh cookies as a birthday treat before leaving. However, Marinette had stayed and the party had been great. Of course, the Captain and Jagged were still partying but Chloe had provided rooms for anyone who couldn't get home. Adrien and Kagami had to leave early too but he understood. Besides, he got to spend time with them at the ice rink. "I really enjoyed myself,"

"I'm glad," Marinette stated as they came to a stop outside the side door of her home. She stood on her tiptoes and gently kissed his cheek, making him smile softly. "Happy birthday, Luka,"

"Thank you, Melody," He smiled as she yawned. He chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Go get some rest,"

"Text me when you get back to the hotel or the liberty," She demanded, making him nod before he gently kissed her cheek, making her blush and rush inside. He chuckled to himself before he turned on his heel and began to walk back towards the metro. He headed down into the station and got on the tram to the Seine. The Captain knew that he was going back to the Liberty as he had told her already. The tram took about fifteen minutes to get to that station. He got off and walked up the stairs, humming to himself as he headed to the stairs that led down to the lower path. He stopped as he felt someone watching him and glanced around but he didn't see anything. He walked down the stairs and headed towards where the Liberty was. However, the sound of footsteps alerted him, causing him to stop and look behind him again. He saw nothing but turned back round, speeding up as he headed towards the Liberty. Relief filled his mind as he saw it ahead of him but before he could even reach the gangplank, someone grabbed him from behind and covered his mouth with a cloth. Luka struggled and thought as they held it over his mouth, causing him to inhale the chemical on it. He tried to break free but his vision began to blur and he slumped unconscious in the stranger's grip. The man removed his hand and pocketed the cloth before lifting Luka over his shoulder and walking back up the stairs as a black car pulled over. The back door opened and the kidnapper placed Luka inside before closing the door and getting in. Once he was in, the car drove off, disappearing into the night.

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Next Chapter: Here

21 notes · View notes

lisinfleur · 4 years ago

Text

Buble Gum, Time is fun!

The request:

Author’s Notes | Two of my favorite things reunited: Sigurd and time travel plots! I love it! I decided to post it like this, because you said you liked it how it is, love. But I’ll probably use this request later for a bigger work! It really has potential! Universe | Vikings Pairing | Sigurd x Reader Info | Time Travel plot, Viking Age AU, Modern AU, prepared for the Patron’s Holiday Event Words | 3706 ⁑ Warnings: Cursing a lot.

Damn foggy night.

Damn stupid idea of accepting your co-worker's invitation into his house for a Christmas celebration!

Of course, you should've noticed his intentions! Of course, he was luring you into a trap!

What were you thinking? Ivan had tried to lure you into going out with him through the whole year! How could you think he was serious about a party with his family?

In the end, it was just a lie to "finally get some time alone with you, pretty..." Oh, GOD! You hated so much his stupid way to make that word sound doughy in his voice!

And there you were, walking away from his house, all alone on Christmas' Eve - because OF COURSE, he refused to drive you home since you wouldn't give him a chance... Asshole.

The problem is: it was easy to reach his cottage exactly because he was driving the 4x4 through the woods to take you there. On foot, the trail would surely allow you to see Santa Claus' reindeer flying through the sky, going away and coming back home before you were able to finish that God damn way!

"Wonderful!" you cursed when your eyes found a bifurcation and the plaque that should indicate the way was broken, leaving you without a choice but betting which way would take you down, back to the town, which would take you deeper inside those woods into some wolf lair or something like this.

With your luck?

You would end up frozen in the middle of that stupid fog!

Walking into that fog, you caught yourself thinking. Sadness taking your heart... If you weren't all alone... If your family wasn't a bunch of assholes like Ivan... Perhaps you wouldn't have accepted his invitation. Maybe you would be celebrating with her instead of all alone, lost in those woods.

Where was the trail?

"Oh, crap!" you cursed, looking around, trying to find yourself again, anything but trees that could serve for you to locate yourself.

Your heart clenching inside your chest.

If you were to disappear that night... Who would miss you?

Damn Ivan! It would be perfect to know he would probably be arrested since you were last seen entering his car but you didn't want to disappear!

Even less into those woods!

"Shit... Shit shit shit!" You cursed.

Your feet, lost, stumbled on some roots and you fell straight to the ground, rolling down a small hill and hitting your head against a tree.

You weren't sure, but you saw a silhouette right before everything blanked out.

You remember you thought it was better to freeze in those woods than being found by Ivan in that place.

You couldn't precise how long did you blank out. But it was warm when you woke up. There was some strange cloak over your body, with a marine perfume that resembled the sea right after the dawn, or the dew evaporating on the first hours of the mourning.

"You woke up," a strange voice, kinda hoarse, with a heavy accent spoke to you.

And you turned yourself to see a blonde man sitting near a fire, noticing you were somehow into a cabin. A pretty rustic one! He was shoving the pieces of wood into the fire, making it warmer. But his clothes were so strange!

You could bet they were handmade!

He was dressed beautifully, like those medieval peasants from old Scandinavia. His hair had braids with leather straps decorating it and beautiful curls you couldn't stop yourself from admiring.

You sat, observing the beautiful handmade embroidery of the cloak over your body. That man wasn't a peasant. Such beautiful work wouldn't be made for someone that wasn't noble.

But why the fuck was he dressed like that?

"My head is aching..." you mumbled.

"You must've hit it against the tree I found you near. Your clothes are strange... Too thin for the cold. What is your name?" he asked with that strange accent, coming closer to sit beside the fur you were laid upon.

Too thin for the cold?? Those were your best warm trousers!

"I'm Y/N," you answered, confused. "Excuse me, but where am I?"

Everything around was so realistically rustic! You felt like waking up into a movie!

"This cabin is mine," he answered, "A small secret place I use as a refuge when I don't want my brothers to find me. I'm Sigurd, son of Ragnar Loðbrók. You must've known about my father." he sighed.

Sounding so genuíne for someone who was speaking, for sure, a scripted line for any stupid theatrical spectacle that was - for some reason - including your dizzy self. Right?

Cause there was no living way for you to be speaking to a son of THE Ragnar Loðbrók he was talking about. No-living-way!

You chuckled, looking at him.

"Fine... You're pretty good, for real. But I'm seriously lost here and... Can we leave the characters behind for a moment and give me some real information?" you said, looking at him "I'm lost for real, you know? I got lost in the woods while fleeing from a night into the house of the biggest asshole I've ever known in my whole life, so... Could you be gentle to me and tell me how I can reach the town so I can take a bus and go back home?"

The more you spoke, the stranger was the frown in that man's face.

"What is a bus?" he asked, looking at you as if that wasn't the most absurd nonsense someone could ask you at all!

"O-k... A persistent actor uh? So... Let us do it your way, ok? I need to go back to the town, uh? Where can I find a... a chariot?" you tried.

"You must've hit your head too hard... Come. I have a horse outside, I'll take you back to the village, but I suggest you visit a healer," he said.

Genuinely looking as confused as you were.

You got up, looking around. It was really a small cabin, seeming to be handmade as well, for a single person. Maybe you just invaded some kind of fantasy for him or anything, you thought. But the horse outside his door was pretty real.

"Fuck," you mumbled.

He really had a horse. And you would really go back home... In-a-freaking-horse. How the heck could that night become stranger?

Never doubt life.

It can ALWAYS overwhelm your expectations.

"What in the actual fuck?" your mouth mumbled when his horse reached the streets of what was an entire Scandinavian village. "Is this a joke? What kind of... Look, Sigurd uh?" you said, looking back at him from upon your shoulder as he guided the horse forward into that village.

A lot of other people like him were finishing putting things inside, the houses were decorated. It was Christmas night in that place as well... But how the heck?

"I need to go to the real town. Like, the real one! Not this scenographic thing for whatever you guys are filming ok? I need to go back to Kattegat!" you insisted.

Just to see his frown becoming even bigger.

"Woman, what is your problem? We ARE in Kattegat!" he said, convict.

"Then take me to the bay!" you demanded, almost as a touché.

They would never be able to reproduce the bay perfectly! It was a beautiful natural arch of mountains where the sea would make a pool, almost a beautiful natural circle of water you saw yourself stunned looking at a few moments after your ask.

"You see? We are in Kattegat, woman. I'm Sigurd, son of Ragnar, fourth among the princes of this place. And I demand you to visit a healer right now!" he said, full of himself.

But you'd barely heard his voice.

Your heart was pounding, your ears were throbbing along with your whole head. How the fuck was you standing in Kattegat's bay?

How in the actual fuck was that place a Scandinavian village again?

How hard did you hit your head?

"Be patient, son of Ragnar," a hoarse voice came out of nowhere and you turned yourself too quick, falling at the sand, afraid of that black-cloaked figure that looked at the two of you - and seemed not to scare Sigurd at all! "A strange thing happened and sometimes it happens, indeed..."

"Who are you? Where am I?" you asked, fully scared.

But that burned man looked at you calmly. You could feel he was looking at me although he had no eyes.

"The correct question would be when are you, Y/N, future’s child. You are where you think you are. You are in Kattegat such as he was. Time is not what you think it is."

Your heart started racing.

If what he was saying was real then you were far away from home now!

"But if you were to disappear tonight, who would miss you?"

That sentence in his hoarse voice seemed to shock both of you, you and Sigurd, cause you could see the same surprised expression in Sigurd's eyes as well.

"Time is a spiral... It swirls and swirls and sometimes its rounds touch each other. Two thought like one, two desired like one. One was heard by the night and its mysteries," that burnt man continued. "You shall be back to your time, back to your life, when the night is over and the magic with it. Unless your desire to come back is not strong enough to take you out of here," he said, starting to walk away.

Leaving you at that beach, sitting on the sand, almost panicking.

"So... You came because of my desire?" Sigurd mumbled, breaking the silence first.

And you looked at him.

"He said... Two thought like one. What were you thinking, Sigurd?" you asked, trying to rationalize.

To avoid freaking out.

"I didn't want to be home with Ivar being the usual spoiled brat he always is. But I didn't want to be alone... After all, it's Yule."

After all, it was Christmas...

"It makes sense..." you mumbled. "I didn't want to be with Ivan... But did not want to be alone either."

Sigurd crossed his arms, sighing. And you looked at him with your heart clenching. Maybe he was as lonely as you were. And if it was strong enough to throw you into that situation then... Then why not?

It would be over in the morning.

"We could keep each other company..." You suggested.

"Then none of us would be alone." Sigurd completed. "Come. It's cold here... I have some food in my cabin we could share and you can tell me about this future you come from." he said, extending his hand for you to get up.

Sigurd didn't seem to be a bad guy at all. And what choice did you have, anyway?

He walked you back to that cabin, pulling the horse by its reins but walking beside you at a slow pace. It wasn't such a short path, so you had some time to know each other properly. The craziest it was sounding; Sigurd was indeed a Viking prince who definitely sounded like everything but a Viking. Whether your time's acknowledgment of his kind was awfully wrong or he was something different from the barbarian raiders his mutuals were described to be.

Instead, Sigurd was gentle, helping a total stranger he found wounded in the forest, taking you inside his cabin, ensuring you would be warm and cared for. He lighted a campfire in front of the cabin where he placed a piece of meat to roast intending to divide what was supposed to be enough for himself with you, and you noticed he just didn't ask for his cloak back - somehow he was really apprehensive about how cold it was for your "thin clothes".

Sigurd's presence was completely different from Ivan's and despite being a total stranger for you, soon it became more comfortable than having your co-worker you worked with for a whole year beside you.

To be honest? It was better. Way better.

Sigurd's curiosity about your shoes was funny, his surprise seeing your elastic hair tie was the most innocent and sweet thing you've ever seen and you could laugh for hours at his funny face when the thing escaped his hand being shot against his nose.

When you started talking about your time's music, he entered the cabin and brought back some kind of guitar he called an oud and played for you some amazing songs you wish you didn't have lost your cell phone so you could record to hear again later.

When he wouldn't be there to play...

For a moment, that sensation made you think about your loneliness and how it had just vanished with Sigurd's presence there. His gentleness was able to make you forget completely you weren't in your time and even more, that you were alone.

The two of you shared the food he made and when the night became colder he made the fire higher to warm the two of you as you sat at the door of his cabin, looking up to the sky.

So much more stars!

"The sky is not this beautiful where I come from," you said.

"Did the stars fall from the sky?" he asked, looking at you.

Making you smile with that sweet innocence he seemed to have.

"No. There are too many artificial lights. The night is not dark enough for us to see them all..." you explained.

"Your time seems to be amazing, but at the same time, it seems colder," Sigurd said, looking up once again.

Silence landing between the two of you like a solid wall his voice broke once again.

"I'll miss you, Y/N. When you go home, I'll miss having you here."

You thought about your lonely life. It would be so good to have the chance to stay... But at the same time, you were so far away from your time! And you couldn't just be impulsive and stay in a place and time you barely knew just out of your need for company... You would come back at the end of that night, you knew that. But your heart would be broken.

"I'll miss you too..." you mumbled.

Feeling when something touched your hand, looking to see Sigurd was messing with a leather strip around your wrist.

"What is this?" you asked when he finished, showing you the wooden beads with runes he had tied to your arm.

Lifting your eyes, you could see one of his braids was undone: he had turned the leather strip from his hair along with his beads into a bracelet for you.

"A gift, so you can remind me," he said, "A Yule gift."

You smiled with tenderness looking at that loving gift. Nothing was ever so sweet in your life.

You would miss him so hard...

You weren't as good as he was with the crafting, but you took off your necklace - a golden chain with a small butterfly pendant - And you placed it on his neck, watching as he touched the delicate piece.

"A Yule gift," you repeated, smiling at him.

Feeling his fingers touching and caressing your face.

Silence was made as you laid your head on his shoulder. There was nothing to be said anymore. You wanted his embrace around you. He wanted you to stay forever.

Both of you woke up alone the next morning...

The magic of that strange night was gone when you woke up sitting against the tree you had fallen near the previous night. You lifted your hand to touch your head searching for any kind of wound, thinking that the whole night could've been a dream.

But something was weighing on your hand and your eyes filled with tears when you saw the leather strap with his beads there. You touched your neck, your necklace was gone.

It was real.

He was real!

And now it was gone...

You found out you had fallen out of the way and into the woods some few meters before reaching the road. You went back home with that knot on your throat.

You searched for anything about his story just to find out Sigurd had died one thousand years ago, murdered by his own brother's ax.

The following days made no sense for you. Everything was missing color. You wanted to cry every time your eyes would look at the beads on your wrist. You never took that bracelet off.

When the third night came, you decided: You had to change that! You had to go back, to find a way to make his fate different.

To be with him once again.

But how?

The following days you passed searching for any information, finding anything that could help you, getting yourself more and more despaired with the hopelessness of that journey. When New Year's Eve came, you made your last try...

You came back to those woods, you went away from the trail, you tried to find the ruins of his cabin or that location. But all you could find were some stones placed in a specific way that could resemble that house.

You sat in the middle of it and you felt the tears pouring down your face. Your fingers caressing the leather strip on your wrist.

"You were such a gentle man... Such a sweet company. You killed my loneliness and... And you found such a terrible fate," you cried, thinking about him, the sweet smiles you exchanged, his laughs from that night.

"I wish so bad I could change it... I wish so bad I could come back one more time..." you closed your eyes, lowering your head.

"It's a one-way trip this time. And you know you can't change the cycle of life. He will die. You will die. Each must die someday," the hoarse voice of that burnt man you knew now was the Seer from his time invaded your ears, startling you up.

If he could be there, then...

You could come back.

"But I can make it different!" you said, looking up to see the black-cloaked figure standing where it was supposed to be the door of that cabin.

"What if you can't?" he asked, looking at you.

"I can!" you yelled, getting up.

"What if you can't, woman?" he repeated.

Remembering you maybe Sigurd's fate wasn't changeable...

Maybe you would go back just to lose him that awful way.

"Then I can make his life different," you mumbled, looking at the Seer. "Then I can send his loneliness away. And kill mine. And make it better as long as he lives."

"Cross the line... And find your fate. Time won't touch itself once again. Don't look back, future's child. Everything forward is lost for you now."

With his scepter, he traced a perfect line on the ground from one stone to another at the entrance of the cabin's ruins, turning his back to you and vanishing in the middle of the trees.

You swallowed dry.

You could just jump the stones and go back to your life.

But time wouldn't touch itself again, he said.

You could cross that line and everything you knew would be lost.

But who would miss you anyway?

You touched the leather bracelet on your arm and took a deep breath, walking forward and crossing the line without thinking any longer. And then... His voice filled your ears...

"... and I don't know where or when you are now. But I wish you were here. It would be good if time could swirl that strange way one more time."

Your eyes caught Sigurd's figure sitting beside a campfire. Almost the same scene from the Yule night you spent together. Except, you weren't there, and his hands were messing with the necklace you gave to him, tenderly caressing the pendant. He missed you. He wanted you back.

And it filled your heart with love to think someone would care.

He cared.

"Maybe two thought like one once again," you mumbled from the door, startling him, watching as he jumped up, standing to look at you, first scared, then, with the most beautiful smile you've ever seen on someone's face.

"Y/N!"

Sigurd came closer, without a warning pulling you into his embrace. Such a tight embrace, so full of that feeling only he was able to make you feel!

You embraced him back, maybe as tight as he was embracing you. And Sigurd cupped your face, touching your foreheads.

"You came back... I wanted so hard to see you again!"

You went on your tiptoes, following the will of your heart, and touched his lips with yours, surprising Sigurd with a gentle and loving kiss, full of that need you had inside your heart to change his life. To make his fate different.

"Y/N?" he mumbled your name when the kiss was over.

Looking at you full of doubt in his eyes.

But you caressed his face gently, smiling at him.

"I came back for you, Sigurd. For you..."

His tone changed as you felt his hands gently pulling you closer. His forehead touched yours and you saw as he sighed, almost in relief, nuzzling his nose to yours.

"You took my heart with you when you left..."

He felt the same. That need, that sensation you were everything he needed and he had lost it. Sigurd fell in love with you as well. And it was good for him to notice he wasn’t alone.

"Tell me you'll stay this time." He asked.

"I'll stay," you answered, nestling your face against his neck, hiding into his embrace. "I'll stay, my prince."

"That's good..." he mumbled, kissing your hair, embracing you tighter. "That's good, my love."

You knew everything you ever knew was lost for you now and you would've to learn everything about life in his way. You knew you could lose him not far from that day. But you would fight to change his fate and if you had to lose him then, at least, you could say you loved him till the end.

And Sigurd loved you back. Like anyone else before.

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#history vikings #imagine vikings #sigurd #sigurd snake in the eye #sigurd x reader #sigurd ragnarsson #sigurd’s fairy muses #sister wives #shot #patron’s holiday event

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itsmelaurel · 4 years ago

Text

Begin Again

Summary: When your best friends move away for college, you think life is officially over. However, you find yourself making new friends including the blonde surfer from the other side of the island.

one

—————————————————

two.

The last three weeks of summer went by way too fast and it was finally your last first day of high school. You were currently out on the front steps of your home with a sign that said Senior. It was a tradition your mom went all out for every single school year.

“Looking like a snack before 8 am should be illegal.” Sarah shouted from behind your mom which caused you to roll your eyes.

“Oh, perfect shot. Probably going to use that for the Christmas card.” Your dad clapped sarcastically at your attitude being caught on camera.

“Alright, now all the kids on the steps.” Your mom directed. You and Sarah sat down first. Wheezie sat next to you and Katie, Kelce’s sister, sat on the other side of Sarah. Knowing it was only four of you this year had your heart sinking a little. These steps typically held seven Kildare Prep students. Now it was down to four and next year there would only be two left.

“I’ve got to send this to the boys. I tried to get them to take pictures on their first day of classes, but I was told they were too grown for that.” Kelce’s mom said while huddling next to Rose.

You had been successful in keeping busy these past few weeks in order to keep your mind off your best friend's physical absence in your life. All of you still texted every day in the group chat, but the promised daily FaceTime calls were slowly fading.

While you were busy with cheerleading and hanging out with the pogues, the boys had joined a frat and started classes two weeks ago. On top of that, they started partying several nights during the week and getting blackout on the weekends.

They still had no idea you were hanging out with the pogues. When they asked what you were up to, you would always tell them just hanging out with friends. Surprisingly, they never asked who. Just assuming you would never willingly hang out with the pogues.

You weren’t technically lying to them, but you constantly felt guilty about it. Then Sarah would remind you that they were living their best life at college, so why couldn’t you?

“Okay my sweet little babes, it’s time to head to school.” Your mom finally stops the photo shoot and pulls you from your thoughts. Her and your dad kiss your cheek goodbye, both of them tearing up when you get in your Jeep. They were so dramatic and you freaking loved them for it.

“I’ll see you at school after I drop these two off. Wait for me?” Sarah asked while leaning in your window. You promised to wait for her before leaving the driveway.

Arriving at school early was new for you. Last year you, Sarah and Kelce typically rode together in the mornings when Rafe had football and Topper had lacrosse. Kelce and Sarah were never on time which resulted in you running to first period with minutes to spare.

The song changed in the car, a soft country melody flowing through the speakers. The only person who listens to country is Topper and you roll your eyes at the fact he snuck this onto your playlist. Thinking of him made you realize that they really won’t be walking the halls with you today. It made your throat tighten with emotion at how different this year is going to be. The anxiety that you’ve done such a good job of hiding these past few years comes bubbling up unexpectedly.

Before you can stop yourself, you dial his number hoping it will calm your nerves. It rings a fourth, fifth and sixth time before it goes to voicemail and you hang up before you even hear the greeting. A dark, little voice in the back of your head says that he’s in college now and wouldn’t want to be bothered before 8 am about you're pathetic feelings.

The phone ringing through the speaker startles you and you immediately answer it without looking at the caller id thinking it’s Topper.

“Morning sunshine” JJs sleepy voice rasps through the car speakers.

“Morning punkin” a smile graces your face at the sickly sweet nicknames. It’s become a little joke between the two of you, mostly making fun of John B and Sarah’s overly sappy relationship.

“What’s wrong?” He asks, his voice sounding more alert than just a few seconds ago.

“Nothing, why?” your teeth capture your bottom lip and bite down.

“Somethings up”

“Nothings up-”

“Nu uh, don’t do that. Don’t lie to me. What’s wrong?” He prods hoping you let him in.

“I’m just really nervous about the first day, that’s all.”

“You’re going to have a great day, y/n. And if you don’t there’s nothing ice cream can’t fix.” His words are simple, but it causes you to giggle and your anxiety to melt away.

“How’d you know something was wrong?” You question.

While hanging out with the pogues these last few weeks, you and the blonde surfer had gotten close. When the couples would break off from the group, the two of you would hang out alone.

“I could just sense it and your voice cracked a little when you answered.” You imagine him giving you a shrug as if it wasn’t that big of a deal. But it was.

“Thank you, J.”

“Anytime buttercup. Do you have cheer practice today?” Now he’s the one who sounds nervous.

“I don’t. Why?”

“I don’t have work today either. Do you wanna hang out?” He all but rushes out the last sentence.

“Yeah, i'd like that.” You work out the details and he promises to bring ice cream just in case.

“Hey, you gonna sit out here all day?” Sarah knocks on your window causing you to jump. She gives you a weird look, but doesn’t question it. You climb out of the car and grab your backpack.

“How do I look?” You ask your tall blonde best friend as you head inside, motioning to your makeup and hair.

“I can’t believe you would wear that.” Her eyes scan your body and she grimaces playfully.

“We are wearing the exact same thing.”

“Shit, do you think they will notice?” She looks around at the sea of bodies all wearing a similar version of our private school uniforms.

“You’re so stupid.”

“But you love it.” She sticks her tongue out and you playfully return the gesture, all anxiety from this morning completely gone as you enter first period.

——

When you get home from school, a beautiful floral arrangement of your favorite flowers are sitting on the kitchen counter. A card is folded neatly next to them.

We hope you had a great first day. Wish you were here with us already.

xoxo,

Rafe, Kelce & Topper

Your hand dances over the petals softly as you lean in to smell them. The flowers are beautiful and you snap a picture to send the boys.

Y/n: thank you for the beautiful flowers. kildare prep wasn’t the same without y’all today.

Not even a few seconds after you hit send, your phone is lighting up with a FaceTime call from Rafe.

“There’s my little senior.” His voice is teasing as he comes into view. He looks the same as the last time you physically saw him. Hair gelled back and blue eyes bright as the sky.

“Thank you for the flowers.” You know it was him who specifically ordered them from the cheesy xoxo. It was something he started using after he watched a couple of episodes of Gossip Girl with you.

“I’m glad you like them. How was your first day?” He questions and you give him a quick rundown, laughing when you tell him about Sarah falling asleep in 2nd period with drool coming out of her mouth.

“Did you miss me?” He asks playfully, but there's a twinge of something else there too.

“Of course I did, Rafe.” You tilt your head as you watch him lay back on his bed.

“I miss you so much.” He admits softly and it catches you off guard. Rafe isn’t one to share his feelings or be vulnerable in any way.

“I miss-” you begin to tell him how much you miss him, possibly even admit how your heart aches when you think of all of them, but you're cut off quickly by someone busting through his bedroom door.

“Cameron! Are you ready to get lit?” His new roommate Parker comes into view when Rafe sits up in bed.

“Dude, I’m on the phone.” Rafe gestures to the obvious FaceTime call.

“Oh shit, I’m sorry.” Parker leans down and waves at you. “Hey y/n! How was the first day of kindergarten?” He laughs obnoxiously at his own joke and you wrinkle your nose in return. Parker wasn’t the worst person they could be roommates with, but he was pretty annoying most of the time. He lived for the frat life and everything college stood for. If you weren’t in college, he only referred to you as a child.

“Knock it off.” Rafe gives him a look, but Parker just flips him off.

“It’s okay Rafe, I have to go anyway.” You glance at the clock knowing JJ would be there any minute.

“No, don’t go. I’ll go down the hall.” Rafe says in a panic clearly not ready for your call to be over.

“I really do have to go, maybe we can talk another night this week?”

“Why can’t we talk later tonight before bed?” He questions.

“Because apparently you are about to get lit.” You let an impassive mask slip over your face.

“Oh, right.” He says as if he forgot he already has plans. “I could cancel and we could have a FaceTime movie night?”

“Dude, you aren’t cancelling. The four of us have had this planned since Sunday.” Parker chimes in with a look of mock disgust at his roommate. Thankfully the doorbell rings providing you with the perfect excuse to get off the phone.

“Rafe, I have to go. Text me later.” You blow him a kiss and hang up before he can say anything else.

However, your dad beats you to the door and let’s JJ in while you're still in the kitchen.

“My man. I didn’t know you were coming over today.” You hear your dad's voice followed by JJ saying something you can’t quite hear. They share one of those bro hugs making your eyes roll.

JJ and the rest of the pogues have been over to your house a lot the past three weeks. While your parents loved each of your new friends, they were especially fond of the blue eyed boy that would come over by himself sometimes.

“I promised the princess some ice cream.” He winked at you when he walked into the kitchen.

“Why does that not surprise me?” Your dad smirked with a shake of his head. “Wanna stay for dinner? We’re having steaks.”

“Uh, if that’s okay?” JJs eyes look to you to make sure you are okay with this and you nod.

“Perfect, I’m going to get the grill ready.” Your dad walks out leaving the two of you standing alone in the kitchen. JJs eyes roam over your body and he lets out a low whistle.

“Wow, this uniform is something else.” His words cause you to blush.

“I know you're jealous that you don’t get to wear it every day.”

“Caught me.” He laughs and you join him. Your phone starts ringing and you check to see who it is.

Rafe

You let it ring out only for it to start ringing again with Kelce’s name.

“The powerpuff girls seem eager to talk today.” JJ comments as he takes in the flowers and your phone ringing off the hook.

“Hey, don’t call them that.” You squint your eyes at the nickname.

JJ scoffs “Like they don’t call me worse names when you tell them we’re hanging out. Do you correct them?” He questions as he steps closer to you. You bite your lip and watch as his eyes darken.

“You do correct them, right?” He asks again when you hesitate to answer.

“Well, they would have to know we hang out in order for me to do that.” You admit sheepishly.

“We’ve been hanging out for three weeks. How do they not know?” His eyebrows scrunch together in confusion. You can see his train of thought even though he hasn’t said it out loud.

Surely she’s told them about me.

“When I tell them I’m hanging out with friends they don’t ask who. They just assume it’s not the pogues and I don’t correct them.” You watch as he deflates a little at your words.

“That- Uh, I-” He stumbles over his words, hurt dancing across his eyes.

“I’m going to tell them. I was trying to avoid all the kook versus pogue bullshit they are going to spout off.” and you're not sure why you do it but you let your hand slip into his, offering a gentle squeeze hoping it comforts him.

His eyes look down to your hands, his signature smirk back on his face and all the tension in the air slowly disappears with it.

“If you wanted me to be your little secret all you had to do was ask.” His cockiness is back in full swing and you let go of his hand to shove him playfully.

“So, what type of ice cream did you bring?” You ask effectively changing the subject.

The both of you head up to your room to watch Ozark. He asked if you wanted to watch it the last time he was here. You’d never seen it before so it wasn’t a problem to put it on. A little more gore than what you were used to watching, but it was a pretty good show overall.

Next thing you know, you hear your mom hollering that dinner is ready. Your eyes flutter as they try to adjust to the setting sun shining through your window. A hand lightly caresses your arm and you snuggle a little deeper into the bed.

Your eyes pop open when you realize you're actually cuddled into someone and not the bed. The thought causes you to jerk straight up and look over at the boy laying in your bed. His blue eyes are staring back sleepily and a soft smile graces his face.

“I- I don’t know what happened. I’m sorry.” You rush out feeling that predictable blush rising on your cheeks. He reaches over and grabs your hand. His fingers linking with yours much like earlier.

“I didn’t mind it.” He admits honestly.

“Me either.” Your words are barely a whisper but he hears you. Sitting up, his eyes flick down to look at your lips then back up to you making his intentions clear. You nod, giving full permission for him to lean in. His breath hovers over your lips as he gets closer, causing your eyes to flutter shut.

“Y/n! JJ! Let’s go!” It’s your dad's voice that bellows from downstairs this time and both of you jump apart feeling like you’ve been caught doing something you weren’t supposed to.

He stares at you for a moment longer before getting up “Come on, I don’t want to upset your parents.”

You follow closely behind him heading downstairs, head still spinning over what almost just happened.

Never in a million years did you think you and JJ Maybank would be cuddled up napping together or about to share a kiss. It was a lot for you to grasp. So, you push all thoughts of what just happened out of your mind for later and try to play it cool in front of your parents.

Too bad your mom sees right through it.

taglist: @dreamsndior @rafej-cambanks @prejudic3 @katiaw2

#jj maybank #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank x you #jj obx fic #jj x y/n #sarah cameron #topper thornton #rafe cameron #kelce obx #pogues x reader #obx fic #obx x reader #soft!kooks #soft!pogues

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mythicalsecretsanta · 4 years ago

Text

12 Days of Christmas... Almost (E)

This gift is for: Cal (AKA @mythicalamity) Surprise! Keeping this secret from you for the last month wasn’t easy! Thank you for being the kindest, most loving friend I’ve ever had in this fandom and for being a pretty spectacular person in the real world as well. Merry Christmas, Cal! From your Secret Santa, @fanbabble

Link to AO3, or read below:

The Holiday season was in full swing at Mythical, as much as it could be at least. The virus had put quite a damper on festive activities across the world and Myth Ent was no exception. There were lights strung up and a Christmas tree, but there would be no company Christmas party this year, no cookie exchange, no getting together at each other’s homes for dinner parties or gift swaps. The mood in the office was a little low and Link found himself looking for ways to encourage positivity and the good feelings of the season. That’s why when Stevie suggested a secret santa gift exchange, Link took the idea and ran with it. Employees would play secret santa leaving their secret giftee presents for the 12 days leading up to Christmas. Not only would this game bring a bit of fun into the office, but it could also be done safely as social distancing was a literal part of the rules. You couldn’t reveal your identity to your giftee until the final day of the exchange. It was perfect!

Rhett was less than excited about the prospect. He complained to Link about not wanting to participate. He was nervous he wouldn’t know what to get the person he chose or how to keep the secret. Rhett’s enneagram three-ness was getting in the way of him enjoying himself again. He was worrying too much about impressing the person he got, rather than letting himself relax and have fun with the idea. Link finally convinced his friend to participate.

“How would it look if one of the owners of the company didn’t play along?”

“Fine. But if my gifts turn out to be duds and ruin someone’s Christmas it’s your fault!” Rhett said as he stood to join Link and walk down the hall to the Mythical kitchen for the name exchange.

Chase mixed the names of everyone in a Santa hat. The in-office folks would be in one drawing and the staff who were working virtually would draw amongst themselves. In all there were about 15 names in the hat that Chase held shut in his grasp. The group took turns reaching their hands in to pick a slip of paper with their giftees name written on it. The PAs went first, followed by the camera men, then the directors, followed by Chase, Stevie, and finally Rhett and Link.

Rhett stuck his hand into the Santa hat. His gaze was trained on the little opening.

“No peekin’!!” Link smacked his arm and scolded him.

“I’m not! Besides There’s literally only one name left in the hat, Link.”

The kitchen filled with the crew’s laughter.

“Can’t exactly pick and choose who I want, man.”

Rhett glanced at his friend and then looked at the little slip of paper. The apples of his cheeks became more obvious as a small smile spread across his face. He grasped the paper close to his chest and then tucked it into the pocket of his jeans.

Everyone in the kitchen celebrated the exchange with a cupcake whipped up by the Mythical Kitchen and then retreated back to their personal space to finish up the day’s work.

Before the office door was even fully shut Link was in Rhett’s space.

“Who’d ya get?”

“What?! I’m not telling you. It’s not fair.” Rhett sat down in his office chair and opened his laptop.

“Come on, Bo. Tell me. I got…”

“STOP” Rhett put his hands up to his ears as if to block out what Link was about to reveal. “I don’t wanna hear it. Let’s do this right. Keep it a secret.”

“Since when do you care about keeping this kinda stuff secret? You usually can’t wait to tell me everything and anything,” Link was teetering on the fine edge between annoyed and amused.

“Well this year is different. If this is one of the only ways the company gets to celebrate then I wanna do it right.”

“Fine,” Link huffed. He flopped down on the leather couch and draped his arm over his eyes. “You don’t want to tell me, that’s your business, but don’t come begging for gift ideas when you come up dry.” And with that healthy dose of snark the smaller man settled in for an afternoon nap.

The next day Link walked into their office and threw his jacket over the back of the gray chair that sat by the door. He put his backpack on the floor by his desk and was just about to head to the office kitchen for a cup of coffee when he noticed a box sitting by his desk lamp. He picked it up and examined it.

“Dang, my santa must get here early.”

It was only 7 AM and Link had just arrived to an empty building. The box was wrapped in shiny green paper and tied with an elegant red bow. He turned it over in his hands looking for some kind of tag or label. When he found nothing, Link slipped the ribbon from the package and pulled off the lid. Inside was a perfect golden pear tucked into a pillow of soft fabric. Link wasn’t sure what to do with the gift so he sniffed it to confirm it was a real piece of fruit. He lifted the pear out of the box and saw that a small note was hidden underneath. He held the pear in one hand and opened the slip of paper with the other.

“On the first day of Christmas,

My true love gave to me,

A partridge in a pear tree”

-You may be a “sweet peach” but I think we’d make a great “pear” Love, Your secret admirer

Link read over the note three times before he could totally comprehend what it said. He turned it over to look for any kind of identifying mark or signature. There was nothing to be found. He blushed hard and tucked the note into his pocket. It had been a long time since he had had anyone in his life, much less a Love, but he knew no one at Mythical felt that way about him and even if they did it would be totally unethical to pursue anything. Link was sure it was just some kind of joke by one of the writers and tucked the green box into his backpack before heading off to get his coffee.

When Rhett came in half an hour later, he was all nervous energy and talking 90 miles a minute. He said it was because he had almost gotten into a car accident on the way in. He had found his Secret Santa gift sitting on the back of the toilet in the bathroom and showed it to Link.

“It’s gotta be Jordan, man,” Rhett said as he held out the bag for Link to inspect, “Who else would give me a bag of cotton candy?”

Link peeked inside the gift bag and said, “Seems kinda obvious, but it’s possible.” He couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander back to the little green box he had received and the love note that it contained.

“Earth to Link,” Rhett took the bag back and set it on his desk. “You alright man?”

Link shook his head to clear his mind and refocus on the man before him. “Oh yeah, sorry. Must need more coffee.” He held up his empty mug and headed toward the office door.

As he reached for the doorknob, Rhett asked quietly, “Did you get your first gift yet?”

Link paused and laughed without looking back, “Yeah, pair of socks. Womp womp,” then he headed out the door.

Over the course of the next few days, Link continued to receive themed gifts from his Secret Santa that left him giddy and baffled at the same time. The first two were silly, Turtle and Dove chocolates for Day 2 and three fried chicken legs for Day 3. They were both accompanied by notes that talked about how much the gifter liked Link and they were both signed “Love, Your secret admirer.” Link still wasn’t sure what to make of the declarations, but he played along and let himself feel special for the moment. Even if he was still convinced it was all a joke. Until Day 4 that is.

On Day 4 Link walked into the office late to find a small book tied up with a ribbon. “Native birds of the National Parks” The gift was incredibly thoughtful and one that he would definitely use on future adventures. A folded piece of paper was tucked inside the chapter about Denali National Park. It read,

“On the fourth day of Christmas,

My true love gave to me,

Four calling birds”

- Bird calls are beautiful, but the idea of calling you mine is even better. Love, Your secret admirer

Link opened the book again to the page about the birds of Denali. There was only one person he had ever told about wanting to visit the park covered in glaciers and snow. Rhett. Could his secret admirer be Rhett? Link’s head swam with the possibility.

He had been in love with his best friend for most of his life, but he had kept it hidden away out of fear of losing the one person in the world who was most important to him. Surely, Rhett was not the person who was his Secret Santa. Link felt a burst of warmth spread across his chest as he let himself entertain the idea for a moment. What would it be like to finally feel those arms around his body? To finally kiss Rhett’s lips? To own his heart as well as his friendship?

As he stood there lost in his own thoughts, the man in question came barreling into the office. Link stuffed the book into his desk drawer and turned quickly to face his friend.

“Hey, Rhett, how’s it going?”

Link did his best to maintain his cool. He watched his friend as he moved about the office getting settled for the day. He assessed his behavior for any clues or signs that he might be the “Secret Santa Secret Admirer.”

“Pretty good. I added some new reps to my workout and now my abs are killing me.” Rhett rubbed his hand across his stomach. His t-shirt pulled taught and drew Link’s eye to the spot. Link felt his breath catch from the promise of what was underneath. His eyes roamed over the broad chest and thick arms. The way the shirt sleeves hugged Rhett’s biceps was criminal. Link knew he would have to control his thirst better if he hoped to get any hints about what role Rhett actually played in all of this. He cleared his throat and got a hold of himself.

“What time did you get here this morning?” Link asked as casually as he could. He fiddled with the monitor on his computer to appear slightly uninterested in Rhett’s response.

“What? Just now. You saw me walk in.”

“I thought maybe you came in and left again.”

Rhett turned and opened his laptop. He busied himself with things on his desk while it booted up.

“Nope. Just rolled in.”

“Oh cool,” Link paused before adding, “How’s your secret santa going?”

Rhett reached for a pen and knocked his coffee mug off balance spilling yesterday’s brown stuff over his desk and onto his lap.

“Shit!”

Link jumped up and grabbed the roll of paper towels he kept by his desk. He pulled off a handful and held them out to Rhett.

“Can you clean this up for me, Buddyroll? I have to go over to wardrobe and find some different pants to wear or I’ll smell like an old coffee pot all day.” Rhett grabbed the towels and dabbed at the wet spot that stretched across his thighs.

“Yeah, go ahead. I got this.” Link began to mop up the spilled coffee as Rhett headed out the door. His interrogation would have to wait for another day.

Days 5 and 6 were once again oddly funny gifts. If Rhett was the secret admirer it would make sense because he was the funniest person Link knew. A lifetime of laughter with Rhett had been the tradeoff for hiding the fact that he loved the man immensely. The idea that his love might be returned was more than Link had ever let himself hope for.

The notes included with the gifts were just as tender as the previous ones. Day 5’s onion rings were accompanied by a slip that described Link as “more valuable than a golden ring” and day 6’s half dozen eggs had a note that read “You are a good egg, who makes my heart happy.”

Link enjoyed the sentiment, but nothing struck him as particularly suspicious. Day 7 was, however, a game changer.

That morning as Link walked past the dark studio a glimmer caught his eye. He set his backpack and Jade down and walked onto the GMM set where he found a string of origami paper birds strung together on a piece of gold silk ribbon. The swans were hanging across the back of the set from wall to wall. There must have been at least 50. Each bird’s wings was dipped in silver glitter and twinkled in the low light giving the set a magical air. Link stood back and took in the beauty.

When he looked closer he saw each swan was made of sheet music. Link held one small bird in his fingers gently and examined it. He would recognize those chords anywhere. It was Merle. These paper swans were made with sheet music of Merle Haggard’s song, “Always Wanting You.”

“This has to be a gift,” Link whispered to himself.

Link held his breath, afraid if he moved he would scare away the one idea he wanted to be true most in the world. That his secret santa was not only Rhett, but that the man was in love with him as well.

A larger piece of paper flapped at the end of the string of birds. Link grabbed it and saw that his name was indeed on the front of the folded slip. He opened it and read:

“On the seventh day of Christmas

My true love gave to me

Seven swams a swimming”

- Like Merle said, “Always wanting you, but never having you makes it hard to face tomorrow.” Love, Your Secret Admirer

Link couldn’t believe what he was reading. This had to be confirmation that Rhett was his secret admirer and secret santa. Jade sniffed at his shoes as if she were looking for the answer to a question he didn’t know. Link gently took the chain of birds down, gathered his things, and headed back to his office.

When he opened the door, he was surprised to see the big man sitting at his desk already. He was speaking loudly on the phone about a new project they were working on.

“No, damn it. I don’t want to cut that part! I purposely included it to help the flow of the story.”

Rhett’s voice bounced off the brick walls. His tone was harsh. Link thought better of questioning him right now and tucked the birds into his backpack. He sat back on the couch and opened his laptop for the day. Jade snuggled into Link’s side and he petted her head mindlessly. His thoughts were only of Rhett. As he waited for his computer to boot up, Link watched Rhett.

“It has to be him. Who else would use Merle?” Link thought to himself, “Oh you’re being an idiot. Everyone knows you love Merle Haggard, dummy. It could be anybody.”

Link sunk down into the leather cushions and sulked. Not knowing for certain was exhausting. Only 5 more days to figure out this mystery. He glanced down at the paper swans one more time and smiled softly.

Day 8 brought a bottle of chocolate milk and a note that read, “You’re the milk to my cookie”

Link drank it in front of Rhett at lunch to see if he would get a reaction. Nothing. Well, with the exception of the way those green eyes sparkled when he belly laughed at a joke or the way Rhett put his hand on Link’s back as they left the office to head to record an episode of Ear Biscuits. Link noticed those things, but he couldn’t be sure if they were a reaction to the milk or to being close to Link in general.

Link had caught Rhett in a lingering gaze more than once since the Seven Swans gift. And when they were alone together it felt like a spark was fizzing between the two of them. Something was going on, Link was sure of it. He just needed a little more proof before he could confront Rhett. His friendship was entirely too valuable to risk on an assumption.

On day 9, Link climbed into the driver’s seat of his car. He reached down to grab his sunglasses and was surprised to find something extra resting on the console. It was an old school cassette tape. Just like the kind he and Rhett used to exchange in high school. They would spend hours making the tapes and then driving down the back roads listening to their creations and singing at the top of their lungs. If he was honest, those times were when he first fell in love with Rhett.

Link flipped the cassette over in his palm. On the outside of the case where the album art would usually be, was his name. Link immediately recognized it as Rhett’s handwriting. He opened the case and found a piece of paper folded in fourths tucked inside. It read:

“On the ninth day of Christmas

My true love gave to me

Nine ladies dancing.”

- I kept trying to find a funny pun for this day, but all I could focus on was singing these songs with you as we drove down the highway in North Carolina. I’ve tried to hold out to the end of the 12 days, but this secret is an old one and I don’t want to keep quiet anymore. If you feel the same, find me in the office at work and tell me. If not just toss this cassette in the trash and pretend it never happened. Love, Your Secret Admirer

Link was quiet for a moment and then, “Rhett! It’s Rhett! He loves me!” Link yelled at nobody in particular. Just saying the words out loud made him feel less like it was all a dream and more like it was real life. He threw his things into the passenger’s seat. In his flustered state he tried to check the time on his sunglasses and put his phone on his nose. He shifted into reverse and sped down the block.

Link’s heart was pounding in his chest. He was breaking every speed limit on the way into Burbank, but he did not care. Let a cop try and stop him now, nothing could keep him from getting to Rhett. Link pulled into the parking lot in record time and he bolted out of his car and through the studio doors. He was running at full speed back to the office he shared with Rhett. His Rhett. Link took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

The office was empty. Where was he? Link knew he didn’t pass him on the way through the building. He stood still for a moment and wrung his hands trying to think of what to do next. Just when he was starting to worry that Rhett had panicked and ran, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs of their loft.

Link watched as Rhett appeared slowly, first feet, then legs, torso, and finally that glorious head of hair.

“Link…”

Rhett barely got the word out before the smaller man was launching himself across the office and into his arms. He melted into the embrace and pulled Link tighter against him. They took just a moment to look into each other’s eyes before their lips met. The kiss was strong and full of promise. Link opened his mouth to deepen the kiss and the passion kicked in. Rhett lifted Link up with his hands under the smaller man’s thighs and carried him to the couch.

They pressed heated kisses into skin and hair. Marking their love on the other’s body wherever they could find purchase. Hands roamed pulling hair and grabbing biceps. And when Rhett laid Link down on their couch and pressed his body to the cradle of Link’s hips there was no denying that both men were hard with desire already.

Link gasped with the sensation of being so close to Rhett. The feeling of his hard cock pressed against Rhett’s made his head swim and he pulled back to catch a breath. Rhett took the opportunity to say something he’d been holding in for decades.

“I love you. I love you. I love you.”

Each declaration was punctuated with a kiss. Link’s collar bones, his neck, his temple.

Link pulled Rhett close and whispered into his ear, “I’ve loved you my whole life.”

It was all the permission Rhett needed. He worshiped Link’s body and rocked against him until they were both finishing in their jeans like teenagers. Sticky and satisfied the pair laid together on the couch exchanging lazy kisses and gentle touches. Trying to make up for all the lost time they denied themselves.

Link was half asleep and half in awe of the way Rhett looked. He laid silently and listened to Rhett as he said, “I can’t believe it worked. I thought for sure you’d throw the cassette away.”

Link ran his fingers through Rhett’s curls gently.

“You doubted me? Haven’t you figured it out yet, Bo? All you have to do is be the brave one and I’ll follow your lead.” He placed a kiss on Rhett’s tshirt right about his heart. “Thanks for being the brave one.” Rhett kissed the top of Link’s head and grunted in affirmation.

Link snuggled into Rhett’s chest and closed his eyes. Just as he was about to doze off the smaller man popped up and looked Rhett in the eye.

“Don’t think just because you love me, you’re getting out of giving me gifts. I have three days left and I want my secret presents.” Link flashed his crooked grin and poked at Rhett’s side.

Rhett let out a booming ho-ho-ho laugh before pulling Link back down against his chest.

“You can have anything you want, Link. Diamonds, rubies. I don’t need any presents though because I’ve already got the most valuable gift of the season… you.”

#mythical secret santa 2020 #type: fic #rating: E #gift swap #rhink #submission

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strongsassysexysloane · 4 years ago

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Fifth Day of Twelve - A Perfectly Captured Memory

Well well well this is the most commitment I've had to something in a while. You're welcome LOL.

Click below to read previous days drabbles

. . . .

The snow had really come down over night but you didn't mind. You had gloves now to keep your hands nice and toasty. Even though it was now the weekend in most people's lives, to you, it was just another work day which meant no sleep in whatsoever.

The office was empty when you arrived, typical for a weekend and it was only 0630. You had been up far too early thinking about anything but what gift you would receive today. At least trying to think about anything else. Failing miserably. That was at 0500 and when you saw the snow piled up on the rim of your bedroom window you decided to go in early just in case there was traffic. Had nothing to do with possibly catching the gift giver in the act.

Alas when your eyes found your desk it had something extra sitting beside your phone that definitely wasn't there when you left last night. Unfortunately the potted plant had to go yesterday because it started to smell not so nice.

Once you dropped your backpack underneath, you picked up the photo frame and smiled at the cute family photo inside. It was of the team at Jimmy's birthday party this year. A half decent one before half of you got absolutely sloshed. You were part of that half and so was the woman with her arm curled around your waist, holding you close, her head resting against yours. You of course, had a stupid overly tipsy grin spread across your face. The more.you looked at the photo the more the memory flooded your mind, the taste of bourbon, the warm touch and tight hold of Jack Sloane.

Most days you could keep your emotions under control but that night, the alcohol let them free, just a little. There was dancing, one slow song but you were both too drunk for it to mean anything. You ran your finger over the frame with a smile. His party was so long ago.

That night made it difficult to hold those emotions in check after, you'd tried so hard for the past year putting those feelings for her aside. Someone had pointed out that maybe the failed dates were because no one matched up and that was partly true. No one could but you didn't know how they could match up when you weren't ever a thing to begin with. Oh, how you prayed this was all from her.

You knew Jack was attracted to females, Izzy was easy to get information out of once she was tipsy. Izzy stopped by a few months back to share information on a case much to Jack's dismay but this time she charmed you into drinks. Only for her to get more information on Jack's dating life but in return you got some back story on Jack as well. She, of course, wasn't around to be angry at either of you until the following morning because Izzy had sent her a drunken voicemail.

She was more mad at Izzy for blabbing and curious towards you about why you were so inquisitive. You deflected like you usually did and for once Jack let up.

That was you and Jack. A friendship with questions attached. You knew Jack had asked questions about you a while back. You knew because you'd overhead her talking to Ellie in the ladies room a couple months after you'd joined. It wasn't anything about the job, it was all personal. Ellie had asked you out for Saturday night drinks with her and Nick, everyone else had plans but that didn't stop Jack from getting all the information she wanted. After that you avoided going out with Ellie for a while, it wasn't until she figured it out and promised things would stay between the two of you, that you decided to go drinking with them again. You didn't mind sharing, you just preferred when the person wanting to know asked you face to face which you knew was entirely hypocrital on your part.

Why she didn't ask you or why you couldn't ask her was frustrating. They weren't overly intrusive questions, just getting to know a person's life a bit more. She just made you nervous for some reason.

You almost dropped the photo frame when the elevator doors dinged. It was Gibbs arriving for the day with a cup of coffee in his hand. He frowned at your shocked face and you gave him a one shoulder shrug in response. "Morning."

" 'morning. Another present?"

His question caught you off guard. "Umm..yeah."

"Only gets annoyin' when they harp on about it." He offered a reason to your questioning look. "Got a photo?" He stopped at your desk and looked down at the frame.

You picked it up and faced it towards him. It was a simple light wooden frame with a meaningful picture. "Even has you smiling."

"Might 'ave somethin' to do with the good bourbon Palmer had on tab." He smirked, placing it back down on your desk.

You chuckled. "Was good bourbon." So good that Jimmy didn't realise how many people drank it until he got the bill.

Gibbs nodded and took a swig of his coffee. "Any ideas yet?"

You raised a brow at his follow up but his dead stare just made you chuckle more. "No. I dont-" You didn't want to sound stupid. It seemed like a silly reason.

"Want to ruin the surprise." He nodded and walked over to his desk. It sounded ok when he said it.

"Yeah."

There was silence between you after that. You followed up with the call directory of the victims brother you were working on last night. Praying to find something to go with the no alibi he had for the time of the murder. They were estranged however only lived twenty minutes apart and something in his answers seemed off. Off according to Gibbs and Jack which was something. He just seemed unpleasant when you and Gibbs picked him up yesterday.

The team started to arrive just after and to no one's surprise Ellie was the only one to notice or comment about the frame on your desk. She soon dropped the subject when Jack came whizzing in.

"Guess where I'm jetting off to in a few hours?!" She beamed, bouncing on the balls of her feet with your added enthusiasm.

"Where Jack?" All three of you said in deadpan unison and Gibbs smirked as Jack rolled her eyes. "I don't care if you aren't interested. I'm going to New Orleans." She raised her arms in victory. "It's been so long."

You could tell by her slightly open mouth and glowing eyes that she was thinking about food. "What's first on the menu?"

She laughed and looked down at you. "Depends. I'm going to help Dwayne on a case. He asked for me specifically and Vance actually agreed. So it may be his gumbo or a restaurant between the airport and the office." She shrugged really not caring which option it would be, just that she knew it would be good food.

"Mmmm I can smell it all, already." Ellie hums. She visited the NOLA office earlier in the year, side trip when she went home for a week to Oklahoma. Tammy and Sebastian had finally convinced her to come down for a weekend with the promise of Dwayne's signature dish. She didn't care what it was, she was sold.

"You might need to bring her back something." Nick smirked at Ellie's poked tongue.

"I might just do that."

"Thank you Jack." They both grinned at each other. Ellie was known for her love of food but Jack was a close second in your book.

"Have fun, remember there's a case to solve inbetween food." You smiled wider when she rolled her eyes.

That's when the thought clicked, if Jack wasn't here then you'd finally know if it was her or not. She couldn't surprise you with gifts if she wasn't here and she wouldn't dare tell anyone else it's her.

"Thank you, Y/n. Gibbs, I've got those profiles you asked for yesterday. Follow me." She motioned with her gloved hand for him to join her to her office and he obliged.

She left the office not long after and left Gibbs with another possible lead for the case.

"Grab your gear."

. . . .

Tonight consisted of drinking eggnog, watching Christmas movies while making Gingerbread houses with my roommate. Twas fun. Feeling very festive. Hop everyone has a good weekend!

#ncis reader insert #ncis #ncis fanfic #ellie bishop #tim mcgee #nick torres #jack sloane #jack sloane x reader #ncis 12 days of christmas

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gilmores-glorious-blog · 4 years ago

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think of all the fun i´ve missed (think of all the fellas that i haven’t kissed)

merry (early) christmas @leifdonnellies! i was your secret santa and i had a lot of fun writing this fic for you :D i hope you enjoy it and have a great holiday season! (the title is from santa baby and really doesn’t fit with the fic all that well but i thought it was funny...)

Tobin Batra knew every word in the English dictionary, and yet he still didn’t know the right words to describe the chaos that was SPRQ Point holiday parties.

After going to one for this first time, Tobin immediately knew why STEM kids and queer kids were never the people throwing parties in high school. When you combined those groups into the group that was the fourth floor of SPRQ Point, the result was a drunken mess of a gathering.

The floor was cleared off as it would be for any business-related gala, but instead of tasteful lighting and tech speeches, there were tacky Christmas lights strung up and shitty music blasting from every speaker.

And yet, Tobin loved them. He loved his oddball group of friends and colleagues, and it was fun to hang out with them without any pressure of deadlines and CEO visits, and instead just a week-long break to look forward to. At recent parties, Zoey’s DJ friend Mo provided the music, and he did have objectively better music taste than anyone else there. Tobin liked Mo, and liked getting to chat with him at parties, mostly about music and queer stuff. Another plus of parties was seeing who gave the most outrageous white elephant gifts- Tobin was currently winning that competition ever since he gifted Max a live chinchilla a year ago. (Max still had the chinchilla. He named it Joan after their former boss, and it was beloved by everyone.) Yet another great thing about it was that it was the one night that they finally could replace the bread bar or oatmeal bar or whatever bar with an open bar, because apparently it was legal if it was for a party. But Tobin’s favorite thing about the holiday parties was the fact that it was the one night a year that his boyfriend let Tobin kiss him in front of their colleagues.

Leif was surprisingly shy about PDA, and had been as long as Tobin had known him. His parents weren’t exactly the most touchy-feely people, with each other or with their children, and it had clearly rubbed off on Leif. Tobin was fine with this, of course, he’d never want to make his boyfriend uncomfortable. Plus the two lived together, and Leif was incredibly touch starved at home, so it wasn’t really a big deal that they never did more than very occasionally hold hands at work. That being said, Tobin discovered recently that Leif found it “morally wrong”- Leif’s words, not Tobin’s- to disobey the laws of mistletoe, and he planned to fully exploit that fact at the party.

Mistletoe was a big thing at these parties- because obviously it was, what chaotic Christmas party was complete without a tiny, slightly-poisonous plant that required you to kiss whoever’s nearest to you if you found yourself under it? When they arrived at the party, Tobin snatched a cluster of mistletoe that was hanging right outside the elevators. He figured that was a fair place to steal it from, because as much as he loved the tradition, it was a bit of a cruel place to hang it, catching people off guard like that. Leif glanced over and saw him grab it, but just rolled his eyes as Tobin winked at him and smirked.

“Hey guys!” Zoey greeted as they joined the group. “You can put your gifts over there…” She pointed to a small pile before glancing at the package in Tobin’s arms with concern. “I do not want to know what’s in there this year.”

Tobin smiled wide. “Well, I tried hard to top Joan the chinchilla, but I think it was my peak.”

Leif and Zoey rolled their eyes in unison as Leif gave Tobin a shove towards the stack of gifts.

Tobin soon joined the rest of the party, dragging Leif with him and forcing him to dance to the loud music with him. As per usual, Mo had created a killer playlist, albeit a bit of a weird conglomeration of songs. Any playlist that went from a stunning, slow cover of Someday At Christmas (that seemed to have been sung by the DJ himself) immediately into the original version of Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer had to be made by someone at least a little bit high.

About an hour into the party, Tobin could tell that Leif was getting overwhelmed by all the people and the sounds, so he silently took his hand and pulled him into the nest.

“Thanks,” Leif said once they were out of earshot of others. He rubbed his neck awkwardly as he sat down on the conference table. “Sorry, I don’t know what was happening back there, I’ve been better with social stuff for a while, I guess it just… I dunno… it’s still hard sometimes.”

“Bro, it’s okay, I get it. You never need to apologize about anxiety stuff. And it’s not going to be all better, all the time, and that’s okay. You’ve been doing so good lately, Leif, and you deserve to celebrate that.” Tobin sat next to Leif and put his hand over Leif’s.

Leif turned to him and smiled softly. “Thank you, babe.”

Tobin lay his head on Leif’s shoulder and began rubbing gentle circles on Leif’s hand with his thumb. “You’re welcome.”

Neither man spoke for a few minutes, and Tobin could hear Leif doing some deep breathing, something he often did as a way to calm his anxiety.

Eventually, when Leif seemed to have fully relaxed, he turned towards Tobin and smiled at him again. “Have I mentioned that you look really nice tonight?”

Tobin laughed. “A few times. But you can tell me again.”

“Well you do. Really nice.”

Leif leaned forward and kissed Tobin, and Tobin counted it a win that his boyfriend kissed him at work with no mistletoe involved.

Tobin pulled away much sooner than he wanted to, because they were still at a party after all. “Hey, you ready to go back?”

Leif squeezed his hand before standing up. “Yeah. I think so.”

The two of them left the conference room, and only got a few strange looks from the other party-goers as they made their way back to the group.

“There you are!” Zoey said as she and Simon made their way over. “We were waiting for you to start gifts.”

The next half-hour was spent in a flurry of white elephant chaos, filled with plenty of cursing and sighing and coming close to tears begging someone to please steal their gift because they don’t even play an instrument, why do they need sheet music for the wii theme?! Although none of the gifts came close to the glory of Tobin’s chinchilla, it was unanimously decided that Leif won this year’s most outrageous gift with the collection of small cowboy hats that Simon ended up with (something Simon was weirdly pleased with receiving.) Tobin had pouted about this decision, seeing as the hats had originally been his idea, but his boyfriend looked so pleased about winning such a stupid contest that Tobin let him take the win without too much complaining.

It was getting late, and the party would likely be wearing to a close soon. People were still dancing, however- Leif being one of them. He and Zoey and Simon were in the middle of the floor, moving in a way that they must have considered “dancing” (but was really just a weird movement of limbs all over the place).

The red and green lights were reflecting in Leif’s hair, making the blond curls glow in a way that could only be described as magical. His suit jacket had been abandoned at some point in the evening, so he was wearing only a deep red short sleeve dress shirt with a green vest over it. Despite the cliche color scheme, the outfit looked great on Leif. Tobin watched as Leif threw his head back in laughter at something Simon said, and felt a weird flutter in his heart at the sight. Even after nearly two years of dating Leif, and nearly twelve years of being in love with him, the other man never failed to make Tobin feel like he was fifteen again, looking over at the boy playing video games on the couch next to him, and being hit with a rush of feelings so sudden and so strong that Tobin thought he was dying.

Tobin moved suddenly from where he’d been standing next to George, asking his friend to hold his drink for a moment. He joined Leif on the dance floor right as Santa Baby faded out (the dance moves done for that song did not bear repeating, to say the least), and faintly processed Mo announcing that their final song of the night was White Christmas because it had just started snowing in San Francisco, so of course it was.

“Hey.” Tobin announced his presence as he sidled up next to Leif, swaying slightly to the melody.

“Hi!” Leif turned around so quickly that he needed to steady himself by grabbing on to Tobin’s waist (nothing Tobin was complaining about), his face flushed from dancing.

“Care to dance?” Tobin put his arms up and around Leif’s shoulders, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Zoey and Simon had begun to slow dance away from them, seemingly lost in each other.

Leif just smiled in response and began leading Tobin slowly around the floor. Neither one of them were particularly great at dancing, but it didn’t matter. As Tobin heard the song drawing to a close, he fumbled in his jacket pocket for the mistletoe he had grabbed earlier. Upon finding it, he raised his arm above both him and Leif’s heads so that the mistletoe hung above them.

“Hey L.” Tobin said to get his boyfriend’s attention, because he’d somehow not noticed the commotion.

“Yeah?”

“Look up.” Tobin smirked.

Leif did so and immediately rolled his eyes and blushed.

“Well?” Tobin knew he was being obnoxious but didn’t care. “I seem to recall someone here saying that it was wrong to not follow the rules of mistletoe. Are you really gonna go back on your word now-”

Leif shut Tobin up by kissing him.

Tobin smiled into the kiss, moving his non-mistletoe hand to cradle Leif’s face. People were probably staring at them, but he didn’t care. It’s not like no one knew they were together.

Leif pulled back after a minute, slapping the mistletoe with indignance until Tobin lowered his arm. Their faces were still close, foreheads resting together.

“Merry Christmas Tobes.”

Tobin gave Leif another quick kiss and smiled at him. “Merry Christmas Leif.”

#also i'm pretty sure every fic i've seen so far as had a theme of mistletoe and mine is no different so uh.. i hope you enjoy that trope #zepsanta2020 #zep #zoey's extraordinary playlist #zep secret santa #zep fic #zep fanfiction #zoey's extraordinary playlist fic #coder boyfriends #coder bfs #coder boyfriends fic #leif donnelly #tobin batra #leif x tobin #leif donnelly x tobin batra #eli.writes

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averylilyevans · 4 years ago

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it’s your life

i found this old post of mine recently and decided to give it a little update! i was so young when i wrote it, so i had some new ideas to freshen it up. naturally i did this instead of doing my organic post-lab. here it is!

first year is full of frustration and unfamiliarity and a twinge of homesickness. it’s being sorted into a different house than sev, being top of your year, being the one person potter seems to seek out most. it’s befriending marlene and dorcas and mary, staying up late at night while they tell you about all the wizarding world has to offer. it’s discovering quidditch (which you hate) and celestina warbeck (whom you love). it’s trying every candy that marlene’s older brother brings back from honeydukes and accidentally walking through the bloody baron.

second year is sending a tickling charm potter’s way after he calls sev “snevillus.” it’s your first detention directly after, too, and definitely worth it. it’s figuring out remus’ secret and not telling a soul - not even him for the longest - but you don’t care (how could you?) because it’s Remus we’re talking about. it’s helping mary with charms and dorcas with girls and marlene with waking up in the morning. it’s learning (and being awful at) wizards’ chess and turning your beetle into a button first try. it’s sev staring at you from the slytherin’s table and still being in awe of the great hall’s twinkling sky and always taking two helpings of treacle tart.

third year is hogsmeade and arithmancy and divination and potter asking you out for the first time (you not-so-politely decline). it’s spending the majority of october with your legs dangling in the great lake, your friends giggling next to you. it’s studying with sev in the library and trying not to notice the guilty look in his eye. it’s petunia writing to you even less than before because of some normal whale of a man named vernon. it’s sharing a butterbeer with sirius black in hogsmeade because you’ve lost your friends and really, they’ll be right back, but he insists and is actually quite funny and you think you’ve rather misjudged him. it’s going to the kitchens one night with remus, because it’s been a long day and the house elves always have hot chocolate.

fourth year is slug club parties and sneaking off with benji fawcett because parties aren’t your thing and sirius couldn’t make this one. it’s waking up the next morning to marlene telling you she’d run into potter and he was looking rather dejected (you ignore the guilt in your stomach; it’s only there a moment). it’s sitting with dorcas and mary at quidditch matches, watching potter soar through the air like a bird. it’s finally having the nerve to quit divination because crystal balls and prophecies are complete rubbish anyway. it’s thinking sev has been hanging out too much with mulciber and avery and malfoy but getting excuse after excuse in response. it’s trying your first sip of alcohol with dorcas and marlene at christmas, the burn in your throat masking your worry for sev.

fifth year is when all hell really breaks loose. it’s sev asking too many questions about remus and potter being more arrogant than ever before (that sodding snitch) and being so stressed because o.w.l.s are coming up and you have to show your worth. it’s threatening potter for threatening sev by the lake and that word - the one that haunts your brain and creeps into your nightmares. it’s knowing potter didn’t deserve what you said, because your sev is too far gone and in his place is a boy who doesn’t understand what he’s doing (you hope, you pray; the alternative is too much to bear). it’s not taking points away from the marauders even though you’re a prefect, and maybe you’re abusing your power but you can’t bring yourself to care. it’s drinking firewhiskey with marlene in empty classrooms and passing your exams with flying colors. it’s more “i hate you, potter”s and “back at you, evans”s than ever before, but the bite just isn’t there. it’s partnering with peter in potions because he’s absolutely dreadful and you get the sense he feels a little less than compared to his talented friends. it’s your dad getting sick and your world falling apart and sirius and that prank and why why why?

sixth year is regaining control and desperately trying to cling onto normalcy. it’s spending more time with mary and dorcas and marlene. it’s ignoring sev every time he comes around the corner trying to get your attention because you just can’t make excuses for him anymore. it’s going to potter’s house over break after sirius says he’s run away, and the three of you drinking and laughing until the sun comes up. it’s deciding maybe there’s worse things in life than arrogant boys with good intentions. it’s hours and hours of homework and studying because you’re taking more n.e.w.t.-level subjects than anyone knew existed. it’s knowing petunia won’t write you back but sending chocolates on her birthday just in case. it’s discovering the marauders’ secret - why they’re moony, wormtail, padfoot, and prongs - and laughing uncontrollably because they’re just so bloody brilliant. it’s brewing potions for fun and enjoying life instead of just existing. it’s eating breakfast with your friends and the marauders and ignoring the feeling in your stomach when james passes you the juice you like without asking. it’s learning to apparate and mary splinching herself and spending the rest of the evening with marlene and dorcas in the hospital wing. it’s a war brewing outside the castle walls; and when mcgonagall asks if you know what you’d like to do after hogwarts, she sees the fire in your emerald eyes and knows.

seventh year is being head girl and wishing severus hadn’t gone down that road and getting upset when your friends ask you if you like james (why does he have to look so bloody perfect all the time). it’s parties that last until midnight and tutoring scared first years and sneaking into honeydukes with james to get remus chocolates after a full moon. it’s singing at the top of your lungs with marlene and swimming in the great lake with mary. it’s thinking your chance with james is gone because he’s moved on and sirius giving you a look that says are you a bloody idiot? it’s dorcas holding you as you cry because another muggle family has been killed and you don’t know how much more you can take. it’s running out onto the pitch after gryffindor wins the cup and kissing james full on the mouth in front of the whole school because his lips look soft and he’s beautiful and courageous and kind and he feels like home and why have you fought this for so long? it’s ignoring the hurt look in severus’ eye as you make your way back to the castle, james’ strong arm wrapped around your shoulders. it’s flinching when petunia says she’d never make a freak like you her bridesmaid but bringing james to the wedding just to drive her mad. it’s being scared to leave hogwarts because after all these years it’s home, and you can’t imagine a day when your nights won’t end with your friends’ laughter by the fire.

graduating isn’t like coming up for fresh air. it isn’t a week before dumbledore is owling, asking if you lot would like to join the order of the phoenix. you train for only two weeks, learning curses you shouldn’t need to know even exist. now life is missions and green light whizzing by your head. it’s the three days when sirius went missing and james couldn’t sleep or eat and you finally found him inside an abandoned building chained to the wall. it’s dorcas being murdered by voldemort himself and remus going to live with the werewolves and marlene’s entire family being gone before you have time to mourn the others and everyone around you is dying. it’s seeing severus on the battlefield for the first time and not hesitating for a moment before sending a curse his way. it’s james looking over at you as he shields you both from a bright red light and says “marry me, evans.” it’s responding “are you mad? of course i will” like you aren’t literally in the middle of a bloody war. it’s going home and kissing him like your life depends on it, and you think to yourself that maybe it does. it’s the empty spots beside mary where dorcas and marlene should be and sirius’ best man speech moving you to tears. it’s coming face to face with voldemort twice and surviving. it’s finding out you’re pregnant and telling sirius first because you’re not even twenty yet and james is out on a mission and what are we supposed to do now? it’s remus and sirius never leaving your perfect little house in godric’s hallow, insisting on being together as much as possible. it’s secretly wondering what’s going on with peter, because he hasn’t come ‘round much and you’re worried but the boys dismiss your fears. it’s wanting to make a difference - for yourself and your husband and your friends - because this world isn’t one worth living in.

going into hiding is like giving up on everything you’ve fought for. it’s harry being born and wishing your mum was there, but james has never been so proud and the look on sirius’ face when you ask him to be the godfather makes everything worth it. it’s sitting on the couch, stroking the cat that wandered into your backyard. it’s listening to james talk to harry, telling him about all the mischief the marauders got into at school. it’s wishing you could go back to those days for a while. it’s feeling like the walls are caving in on you and wondering how this happened and sobbing into james’ chest. it’s him eyeing his cloak, and you knowing he wants to take it out more than anything. it’s wishing you had kept taking divination, because it’s not rubbish - it’s ruining your family. it’s switching your secret keeper to peter at the last minute, because sirius is too obvious and he means too much and if he got hurt for you, you don’t really know what you’d do (and you know james would never forgive himself). it’s regretting not listening to your gut when the front door bursts open. it’s knowing exactly what is going to happen when james yells at you to take harry and run. it’s not having enough time to tell him how much you love him, but you look into his hazel eyes and he knows, he knows; he’s always known. it’s hearing the love of your life hit the floor and trying to protect the baby that looks so much like him behind you. it’s standing tall and strong like you always have as you place harry in his crib, the footsteps closing in. it’s being confused as to why he’s asking you to stand aside but refusing anyway. it’s thinking of sirius and remus and mary and peter as the green light reaches you.

#harry potter #jily #marauders #marauders era #lily evans #sirius black #james potter #remus lupin #peter pettigrew #marlene mckinnon #dorcas meadowes #mary macdonald

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snapeaddict · 4 years ago

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Hi, I have been reading you're posts. And I love them. Could you do one like, during a Christmas Party and Snape despises it.. he is forced to join or something like that. I would really love to read them. Tq.

"It's been four years. Do you know how many steps there are from Albus' quarters to yours? And he comes here every year anyway."

"I really do not feel guilty over this, Minerva. May I remind you the headmaster pays me a visit at least twice a week? I don't see how this changes from the usual."

Minerva leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms.

"Well, everytime he joins us back with a sad expression on his face. That is not usual."

Severus put the parchment he had been writing on back in one of his desk' drawers, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you really trying to guilt trip me?" he asked, half smiling.

"Well, I figured out Albus had no tried this tactic already", Minerva sighed.

"That is correct. But despite all of your efforts, I'm still not coming at the staff party, thank you." He watched as she sat in front of him, pouring herself a cup of tea that wasn't supposed to be have been there for her. She challenged him with a look, wanting to see if he would say anything, but Severus, at 25 years old, respected her too much for that. It would take him another five years to friendly insult her without any kind of remorse.

He just sighed and got up to fetch another cup.

"You don't think you are spending the evening here, do you, Minerva? Because I have things to do and you have Christmas Eve to celebrate, as you have all been so eager to remind me these past two weeks."

But the look of seriousness on Minerva's thin face did not change, on the contrary.

"Would you tell me why you dislike Christmas so much?" she asked him, her voice softer than it had been. "Or does it have something to do with us?"

"Of course it has nothing to do with you", he replied, rolling his eyes, sitting back in front of her. He hesitated. "It's just not... an event I mentally associate with positive feelings."

"I understand." She was thoughtful for a few seconds, before speaking again. "I remember quite distinctly Christmas day when I was three years old - it was a few days after my father learnt my mother was a witch. It took me time to think about something else when the time comes."

She looked at him encouragingly. He seemed to hesitate, frowning a little, his eyes locked on his half drank tea.

"My father... He wasn't exactly a pleasant man. We did not have money for a Christmas tree, or for any sort of gifts, but he always found enough money to get drunk on this day. I actually thought it was a very sad day compared to what the other children talked about at school afterwards."

Minerva was about to ask him if his school years had been any different, as she remembered most times he stayed at the school, but he anticipated.

"Of course Hogwarts was better. Potter and his friends weren't here, no Slytherin remained during the Christmas holidays. I liked this sudden loneliness. But there were still... Things I missed, or disliked."

The laughters of his house mates as there was no one to welcome him home during the holidays. Lily's wonderful stories about her own celebrations. Wondering if his mum would think about him and send him something. She always did in the end, but he would hide it as it was nothing comparable to what the others had received, especially in a house where wealth was so important.

Feeling left out, and poor, and unwanted. Early memories.

Minerva understood. She understood well.

"So brewing down here must seem like a much better alternative", she concluded, something sounding like guilt in her voice.

"Indeed."

He seemed to think the conversation was over. She did not.

"But Severus, now there are people who do want to celebrate with you. With gifts. Like me."

Severus looked surprised. He had got her a bottle, quite expensive actually and he hoped she would like it, but he had not considered the fact she could get him something as well. Yes, it was true his fourth year of teaching was easier than the previous ones, and Minerva was one of the main reasons why.

"It would be a pity to miss this opportunity you weren't offered before. I promise it's exactly as Christmas should be. Warm, cozy, a game of chess, alcohol, pudding. And Pomona wanted to see you as well..."

Minerva knew it wasn't only Albus who had been a bad negociator. This year things had really changed between Severus and the staff, between him and her, and she knew he rather enjoyed their company now, even if always a little awkward. And she knew Severus needed to feel like he belonged somewhere, more than he needed to know about the importance of socialising or all the things there were to eat or how he would beneficiate from it. She looked at him.

"You know things are different this year. Don't you think it's time to link Christmas to positive memories? Finally something we can actually improve, if not make up for."

He hesitated. Actually, he was more afraid to disturb than to speak with his colleagues, and he felt Minerva was telling the truth; it was, after all, the first time she had come to see him, while he knew the headmaster had done it out of duty, at least the first year. What he saw in his colleague's eyes... Was it... hope? Some kind of stammering... friendship?

But Severus always pushed people away. He always did.

"Honestly, Severus, don't trust your instincts here. Trust me instead, just tonight", Minerva said softly, very aware of his doubts. Severus sighed internally. Was he so easy to read?

"Very well," he replied quietly.

Minerva looked overjoyed, getting up excitingly.

"That is wonderful news! The others won't believe it... I promise it will be worth your time", she added, smiling to him.

So this was how Severus got up to follow her as they left his quarters to go up to the staffroom, already late as it was eight thirty. He was careful to hide his present behind his back, as well as the usual socks he had gotten for Albus. He would have given them to his colleagues at breakfast otherwise...

"Don't tell me this was a bet between you and the headmaster", Severus said casually, as they opened the door.

"Unfortunately, it wasn't. Because the headmaster is not fun and dislikes bets. But... Do you like bets, Severus? For I do like them a lot..." Minerva grinned.

"Severus, my boy you came!" Albus happily interrupted them, as Pomona knowingly took the gifts off his hands and put them under the Christmas tree.

"I had hoped you would", she then told him, offering him a glass of wine. "There's much I'd like to discuss with you!"

Two hours later, Minerva watched as Albus and Severus interrupted a game of chess to let everyone exchange their gifts, the young Potions Master blushing as Pomona gifted him a plant she had secretly grown for him. His black eyes turned to look at her and she smiled to him in response.

Carefully, making sure no one was looking, he mouthed the words "thank you", before turning back to his game, frowning in concentration. Albus nodded knowingly at Minerva, his eyes sparkling, before returning to the game as well.

Ah, this would become another tradition. She knew it.

And it seemed she had finally found a betting partner...

(Thank you for four you kind words and this prompt, dear ! ❤️)

#Yeah it's not Christmas but #Some fluff is always needed #It goes along with my headcanon of suicide attempt somewhere in his first out second year of teaching and Minerva being aware #Hope you like it!#Severus snape #Pro Snape #Snapedom #severus snape headcanons #severus snape headcanon #hogwarts headcanons #hogwarts headcanon #with minerva #severus and minerva #minerva mcgonagall #Albus Dumbledore #Pomona Sprout

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2sunchild2 · 5 years ago

Text

Daminette au: Slow burn

I’m writing this instead of my fic because I just got hit by a little bitch, named inspiration.

Au by the great and powerful wizard of Oz @ozmav

Tags owo: @mindfulmagics @realrandomposts @chloe-bourgeois-is-big-gay @slytherinsheashire @kelelamentia @justatempo-writes @jaynintodd @maribat-archive @starry-bi-sky @ayuchan07 @kaitlinmarley @miraculous-mangoes

ՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁՁ

15 year old, the meeting

Damian Wayne was never the social type. He mostly kept to himself and tended to stray away from any social interaction. There was plenty of that at home. He repeats to himself every time he gets upset over not having a friend.

He walked up the steps of Gotham Academy so he could escape whatever embarrassment Jason was planning on putting him to. The kid around him began whispering, and although immune to it (they talked about him a lot), he couldn’t help but eavesdrop at th conversation going on two feet away. He didn’t want to be obvious so he didn’t lean in too much, but he heard snippets.

...new girl...

...Paris...

...just moved...

A new girl? Interesting. He would look into that when he gets the chance. He made his way to the science classroom, bumping into an unfamiliar body. The people around them quieted down, staring curiously. The body ended up being a girl, who unfortunately dropped her books. She blushed in embarrassment and started speaking in a language he knew, but never really spoke.

She was rambling in French.

She was unfamiliar to him.

Oh... she was the new student.

She stopped when she noticed the silence and looked down, probably more embarrassed than before, if that was even possible.

“Damian Wayne.”

He had no reaction to the voice of Olive Silverlock (a real character I swear I looked it up) who marched up to him with a steely gaze.

“Are you trying to scare our new student on her first day?” The silver haired class president didn’t give him a chance to answer since she turned to face the flustered French girl, “You’re Marinette, right?”

The girl managed to nod. Olive grinned and locked their arms together, “Let’s get you settled in your dorm, ‘kay? And then I’ll give you a tour.”

The girl smiled at that, her blue eyes shone brightly. She let out a soft ‘merci’ to Olive and she turned to Damian before being dragged away.

“Je m’excuse.”

16 years old, the first step; starting out

Damian Wayne was not one to go out with a girl. That was Dick’s job. And yet, he looked at his best friend, whose head rested on his shoulder as she thought of a new design.

They were at the park today. Marinette mumbles something about the need to be inspired. They were in the manor at the time and Titus, with his amazing timing, wanted to go outside. It was a win win for everybody.

Damian watched as she focused on the blank page she seemed to be at war with. It was actually funny to see her this frustrated. He tried to hide his chuckle and failed. It was rewarded with a bone-chilling Marinette Dupain-Cheng glare. He put his hands up in surrender and smiled sheepishly. She went back to her glaring match with the paper.

Damian sighed and leaned back against the bench, “Don’t stress too much about it Angel, inspiration will surly make its way to your lap in no time,” he gestured towards the book set on her thighs.

It seemed like someone was in fact listening to him. A pretty pink petal had landed in the middle of the sketchbook. Marinette picked it up curiously before letting out a gasp. She turned to Damian with the biggest smile he’d seen today, “My best friend Damian,” she started, “I was hit, by a little bitch called inspiration.”

Damian let out a laugh. Only Mari.

17 years old, the second step; accepting

Damian Wayne didn’t like a lot of people. And Chloe Bourgeois was far from being one of the few. She arrived in Gotham, claiming to be a friend of Marinette’s. He was doubtful but the girl kept insisting and frankly, he wanted her to shut up.

Turns out the blonde girl was right because the next think he knew she was being tackled by his best friend. They were both on the floor, laughing in the lobby of the student dorms.

They sat in the cafe and he couldn’t help but notice how much lighter Marinette seemed to feel with this girl. She looked happy.

Damian decided that Chloe Bourgeois wasn’t so bad. As long as he got to see his Angel smile, he was content.

18 years old, the third step; falling

Damian Wayne was not an emotional person. He didn’t cry when he failed that one exam. He didn’t cry when he got badly hurt in a fight (though he tried to reassure Mari he was okay but she was not having it and he kept flinching every time he moved). Hell, he didn’t even cry during graduation.

So you can imagine the shock he was feeling when he felt a tear rolling down his cheek as Marinette stepped out of her dorm room in her prom dress. He could see Olive smirking at him from the corner of his eye but he paid no attention to her, he was to busy gawking at the beauty in front of him.

He never left her side during the party. And if she ever walked off to talk to some friends, he would always be watching her. Some guys kept telling him how ‘whipped’ he was. He did was he did best and ignored them.

The last dance of the night was surely something he’d remember for the rest of the night. They held each other closely while the music was playing in the background. He stared at her bluebell eyes as though nothing else mattered. It was just them.

It was safe to say he wasn’t expecting a slow kiss. But it happened. He enjoyed it. And he kissed back.

19 years old, the fourth step; realizing

She left.

Well, not entirely. She just wasn’t in Gotham at the moment. And she wouldn’t be back until Christmas.

Marinette had gone off to college abroad, in Paris, specifically, to pursue her fashion career.

And even tough they video chatted every weekend, it wouldn’t fill the gaping hole in his chest. He wanted her there, with him. He wanted to snuggle up to her while they watched one of those cheesy rom-coms she enjoyed so much. He wanted to sit in the kitchens and watch her hum a Disney tune while she baked. He wanted to hold her whenever she cane running to him with good news. He wanted to be with her while she sat down and sketched. He thought it was adorable the way she scrunched her brows in concentration, or how she stuck her tongue out when she was sketching, or, whenever she had artist’s block, when she’d doodle little things on his hand. He wanted to hold her dammit. He wanted to take her out, court her. He wanted to be with her, and for her to be with him. He wanted to hug her so tightly and tell her how much he loved her.

Huh. Love.

That’s something he hadn’t thought about before. Did he love Marinette? Or was this just admiration?

No. Fuck that. Fuck admiration.

He loved her. He fucking loved her.

He was in love with Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

20 years old, the final step; confessing

Damian Wayne was not nervous. Of course he wasn’t! He was Damian Wayne! He was Robin for fuck’s sake. Surely that would be harder than a little confession.

Right?

That was what he had initially thought.

And he was wrong. Oh so very wrong.

Damian Wayne was a fucking wreck.

Marinette had been rambling about one of her design projects. One she, obviously, passed with flying colours. That wasn’t what he had been paying attention to though. Maybe it was how the July breeze seemed to brush her hair, making it fly. Maybe it was the way she used her hands so animatedly whenever she told him a story. Maybe it was the way her eyes sparkled when she got exited over something.

“I love you.”

That made her stop. And it made him regret opening his mouth.

She stared at him, mouth agape, face as red as the strawberries in the bowl she was holding.

“I...you...what?”

Well, he couldn’t take it back now. And he did mean it. God this was noth how he had imagined confessing.

“I love you,” he took a sharp breath, “I’ve loved you for quite some time now actually. I only realized it last year.”

He raked his had through this hair and let out a shaky breath, “I honestly don’t know how it happened, but it did. And I’m glad it it.”

He looked back at her to see how she’d react. Her eyes were still wide and it didn’t seem like she’d be saying anything so he decided to continue.

“You don’t have to answer immediately! I was uhh... wondering if... you would let me court you... you don’t have to accept I mean you already have so much going on but if you’re willing—”

He was cut off. It took him a second to process what was happening.

She was kissing him.

Holy shit! She was kissing him!

But before he could kiss back, she pulled away, much to his disappointment.

“I love you too, silly,”she gave him a big toothy grin, he swallowed the lump in his throat. He could practically hear his hear beating in his chest.

She intertwined their hands and leaned in, “And I would love for you to court me.”

They were about to kiss again, but, this time, someone else decided to interrupt.

A faint ‘yes!’ was heard near the bushes, the voice sounded scarily familiar to Dick’s, which followed by a slap and an offended ‘ow’.

“Should we tell them we know they’re spying on us?”

His Angel laughed and shook her head, “Let them have their fun.”

¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥

Last post before I start school!

#maridami #daminette #maribat fic #marinette x damian #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous ladybug au #made me emotional

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copias-thrall · 4 years ago

Text

But Can You Hang?

⬅️Previous

Another milestone—will Suey pass or fail?

“It’s just some beers with my crew. Kinda a pre-New Year’s thing, but smaller. I still gotta work and shit later.”

You hadn’t even been home 24hrs before Mary was banging through your door. You’d all but collapsed the night before, shooting off a text to Mary warning him against disturbing you upon pain of death. He’d kept to the letter of the law, if not the spirit.

Christmas had been fun but full—complete with a Christmas Eve ice storm that had knocked out the power and left the lot of you to drink all the supplies by candlelight before huddling into a pile of sleeping bags and blankets for warmth. Christmas Day had been a mess of transferring food from the fridge into the snow and sledding down the frozen street hill on cardboard boxes, trying not to sustain any life-threatening injuries. Power had come on just before dusk, and it had been someone’s bright idea to turn the oven up to max to cook the partially defrosted turkey faster. That had ended with a kitchen full of smoke and a bird that was blackened on the outside and still frozen on the inside. In the end, you’d all chipped in for a traditional spread of Chinese takeout. All-in-all, it was three days of shenanigans and drinking (and subtle digs at you for “settling down”), and the morning of the fourth was filled with painkillers and regret.

The drive back was quiet while you all contemplated your poor life decisions and passed around the pickle juice. When you got back to your place, you’d dumped your stuff by the couch and crawled immediately into bed.

“Ok,” you say as you try to sort through your pile of mail. Mary had finally taken a firm stand(“If this mountain falls on me one more time, I’m burning it, Suey.” “Don’t touch my things!” “Then deal with them!”). He’d come over the other week with a metal mail organizer that has seen better days (“Did you pick this out of the trash?” “Naw. I got it from my buddy Big Stevie. He might have got it from the trash.”), so you’ve been making an effort to deal with your inbox.

Since the couch has been commandeered by piles of envelopes, Mary leans against the wall. “It’ll only be for a couple of hours.”

“Ok,” you say again, absently—you’re trying to discern if this one particular item is junk or one of those clandestine correspondences from your bank.

“So ….”

“So have fun.” You rip the envelope open with your nail file and—ta da! Junk mail. At the lack of response from Mary, you look up. He’s giving you an unreadable look. “What? Sorry. Didn’t mean to sound so short. I really don’t mind if you want to go drink with your friends. I hope you don’t think you need to ask my permission …”

Mary presses his fingers into his eyes.

“I’m not asking permission, you daft cow—I’m asking you to come with me.”

“Oh.”

When you don’t continue, he tries again. “So: do you want to come with me? Meet my friends before the party and all?”

You look down at your lap covered in tattered paper.

Your brain catches up to what he’s saying, and you feel the blood drain from your face. You hear the paper crumple in your hands when you say, “This is a meet your friends thing?”

“Uh, yeah?” He squints at you.

You make an agitated noise in your throat, and you begin to stack your letters back together. Mary throws out his hands.

“What are you doing?!”

“Jesus, Mary—I look like death warmed over and I feel like a mealy potato. A little fucking warning would have been nice. Now I have to perform magic.”

"You were so close!” he whines as you drop the pile back in the place mail goes to die.

You stomp to your room and slam the door shut so that you can rifle through the clothes on the hook. It’s a surprise when the door opens and you’re beaned in the face.

“Ow, FUCK.”

“Oh shit, sorry!”

“Why didn’t you knock?!” you say as you rub your nose.

“I—because … why were you just standing behind the door?!”

Glaring at him, you gesture at the clothes. His eyes follow your hand.

“Oh.” He looks back and you and suddenly starts laughing.

“It’s not funny, asshole.”

He’s still chuckling when he leans over, grabbing your chin to tilt up your face.

“Hmm.” He pretends to examine your face, eyes darting around to assess the damage.

“Well, will I live, doctor?”

“Yeah, I think you’ll be all right. Might need to amputate the nose, though.”

“That bad?”

“Yes. It’s terrible.”

“A lot of bruising, then?”

“It’s definitely an eyesore.”

You lean forward and stick your tongue into his nostril. Mary sputters out an Ack as he stumbles backwards away from you. He’s pulling at his nose and scrunching his face at you.

“Don’t be fucking weird.”

“I’ll do whatever I damn well please, Mary Goore” you say, as you go back to rifling through your options, tossing choices onto your bed. Mary wanders over and reclines on your bed; he paws through your discards and occasionally holds one up to himself. You settle on a graphic tee that you altered into a halter and a denim miniskirt; you shimmy out of your loungewear and then into the mini.

Suddenly Mary presses himself into your back and pins you against your door. His hand slips down the curve of your ass and under your skirt, fingers pressing on your perineum. You gasp.

“Mmm, I like this skirt very much.” He massages you. “Can I fuck you in it?”

“But—oh fuck—but your friends …?” You press back into him and feel his erection on your ass.

“My friends know I live on Mary Standard Time—now: can I fuck you. In this skirt?”

He leans down to suck a bruise into your neck as his other hand wraps around to squeeze at a nipple. You groan, then turn around so you suck his lips into your mouth. He hums an Mmm into your kiss, and you make quick work of undoing his jeans and shoving them down his legs. The two of you fumble until you’ve got your legs and arms wrapped around him and he’s got his arms hooked under your thighs, pressing you against the door. He lets an arm go and quickly maneuvers his dick inside you.

“Oh fuck … oh fuck,” he chants when the tip enters you.

You cry out, “Oh shit—slowly, Mare.”

He looks up at you, face red and body trembling. “You ok?”

“Yeah,” you say, “just not so fast—I’m not … I wasn’t …”

“Yeah, ok—sorry.”

He rocks his pelvis slowly, easing himself deeper into you inch by inch with every thrust. His forehead is pressed to yours.

“You feel so good. So wet around my cock. Your fucking cunt—so tight.”

You moan at his words as he continues to ease his cock in and out of you.

“Fucking love how you give me your cock, Mary.”

Mary starts to speed up. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“You like my fucking cock inside you?”

“Fucking fills me up so good.”

His mouth finds yours, and he presses his tongue into you gracelessly. With every increasing thrust of his hips, you can hear the door jolt against its hinges. All you can really do is koala onto him tight as he struggles to fuck into you. Without warning, he turns and tosses you onto your bed. You bounce once as he’s shucking off his jeans and then crawling over you and guiding himself back inside.

“Wrap your legs around me.”

You do, and he straightens himself up onto his knees, his one hand reaching down to thumb at your pulsing clit. He starts pumping into you again, and you reach your arms behind you to brace yourself.

“Wanna see it,” he pants. “Wanna see your face when you cum around my cock. Wanna see you come undone because of me.” There’s a tinge of desperation in his voice.

“So eager to please me, Mary” you purr. “Such a good boy. Is my good boy going to make me cum?”

Mary whines low in his throat. He slows his thrusts, shifting around until you moan when he hits your G-spot. He concentrates on that spot as he uses your slick to slip slide his thumb on your ever-hardening clit. You’re breathing out oh my god oh my god oh my god.

“Fucking. Hand me your vibrator—I want you to squirt all over me.”

You loll your head around until you can see where your vibrator is poking out from under your pillow. You grapple behind you until you’ve got a hold of it. Mary all but tears it from your grasp as you offer it to him. You’re about to remind him what settings you like, when he just turns it on and places it directly on your clit.

“OH FUCKING SHIT,” you cry out as the stimulation is ramped up to 100—and then your pussy explodes in hot burts. You feel the telltale trickle as you do indeed squirt messily all over his cock before jerking away from the overstimulation.

You lose a little time as you wait for the pulsating throb between your legs to calm down, but tune back in easily enough when you feel the splatter of Mary’s cum on your nethers.

You lazily gaze up at him as he finishes squeezing every last drop from his cock—the pink of his cockhead disappearing and reappearing in his fist. When he’s satisfied, his whole body slumps, and then he’s flopping down beside you, practically trying to merge with you as he presses his face into the juncture of your neck and shoulder.

“Oh fuck, that was so hot.”

He’s grabbing at your curves and biting along your shoulder. You tolerate it for the moment, scritching at his scalp.

"Mmm … very good. Thank you.”

He sighs, and one of his hands brushes over your still-hard nipples. If he keeps that up, you guys will never leave, so you sit up, jostling his hand away.

“Shit,” you say, looking down at yourself and the bed.

“What?”

“Nothing, just—this skirt and basically everything on my bed are toast.”

Mary follows your gaze. “Oh,” he says, but he’s smiling wickedly at you.

You roll off the bed and begin to tug off your skirt.

“Ok, Mr. Way-Too-Pleased-With-Himself—since I have to shower, you can deal with shoving these in the washer.”

Mary pouts at you even as he’s making movements toward stripping your bed.

“A shower?! We’re running late, you know. Can’t you just—wipe off?”

You give him a mean lemon face.

He grins at you.

* * *

Because half your passable outside clothes got slimed in your and Mary’s amorous interlude, you had a limited wardrobe to pick from. You ended up in a shapeless, cream knit-tunic dress—which you had to dye brown with a tea wash due to the numerous stains (can’t take you anywhere)—paired with a wide belt, grey argyle tights, and your peeling docs.

You’re giving him Grump Face, but he’s just beaming at you.

“I’m not sorry. And you look hot. Stop fussing.”

He ushers you into his neighborhood dive bar, a light hand at the small of your back. You’ve definitely been here before—never in context with Mary—usually as a stop on a bar crawl. It’s an old man pub during the day and a punk go to after hours. Mary steers you toward a high-top where there are maybe 5 people congregating with various levels of beer consumption. They’re all on the punk scale—ranging from dirty gutter punk to clean & stylized.

When they see Mary, they all perk up. There are high-fives and back slaps and hugs. Mary steps back and introduces you to everyone—you’re so intent on smiling normally and not like The Joker that you immediately forget everyone’s name.

“So you do exist,” says the woman with perfect winged eyeliner and a mustard beanie.

“Unfortunately,” you quip, and they give you a polite chuckle.

There are a few more careful questions about you before the conversation turns to one of familiar friends rehashing old grounds. Mary is happy, at ease, content to give as good as he gets. You’re content to sip your beers and do a round of shots as they joke and gripe at each other. There’s not much you can do to contribute—it’s not like you were there the night they got pissed and decided to egg cop cars, or have any point of reference for what Ed looked like when he burned half his scalp and a chunk of his hair fell out after he ignored the at-home bleach kit instructions. But Mary’s arm drapes over your shoulders like a letterman jacket, and you’ve rooted your hand firmly in one of his back pockets—a firm statement of inclusion.

Kara (much less makeup and in a ratty tee and jeans) and Elsie (mustard beanie), have gone to get another round of shitty lite beer, when you beg off to visit the ladies' room.

“You ok?” Mary mummers in your ear.

“Other than having to pee like a racehorse, I’m peachy,” you retort.

He sends you off with a playful slap to your ass.

A dive bar bathroom is a dive bar bathroom is a dive bar bathroom—but this one doesn’t reek too bad. You slip into a stall, happy to relieve the pressure on your bladder. You suddenly become aware that Kara and Elsie are in the big stall; you wonder if you should say something, but you’re 100% sure the 3 of you aren’t at bathroom stalls-level of friendship yet. So you just do your business.

You’re rethinking your decision when it’s clear their discussion turns to you.

“So what do you think of her?”

“Mary’s so-called girlfriend?”

“Yeah.”

The toilet flushes.

“Mmm. She’s ok, I guess. Seems nice enough.”

“Yeah, she seems totally sweet.”

“But … ”

“Yeah.”

The stall’s door lock clicks, and it opens.

“Like, a nice girl—but what’s she doing with Mary?”

“Yeah, I don’t get … them.”

“I was expecting … I dunno. Apparently she’s supposed to be this big-ass bitch, and … I just don’t see it?”

The faucets turn on.

“Right?! Exactly! She’s kinda … ?”

“… mousey?”

“I mean—for Mary, anyway. He’s kinda a handful. I love him to death—you know I do—but he’s obsessed with keeping his dick wet. Can you really see her … ?”

The automatic driers turn on.

“I mean, whatever. If he’s happy. Maybe there are hidden depths.”

“Oh absolutely. As long as he’s happy. And if she can hang, whatever.”

The driers stop.

“Maybe we just gotta get her loosened up! More shots!”

The creak of the bathroom door as it opens.

“Yes! It’s always the quiet ones.”

You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. Mousey? Well, you’ll show them mousey.

Not wanting to come back immediately after them, you spend a little time primping in the corroded mirror. When you get back to the table, you note that Kara and Elsie are looking at you with wide eyes.

“Was gonna send a search party. Beginning to think you fell in!” says Mary as his arm comes back around you.

You smile widely at him. “You know how the lines are.”

“Pfft. Like you care about lines.” He turns to the group and grins. “That’s how we met, after all. Coming out of a stall in the men’s room”

“Whatever,” you sniff as you toss your hair. “You’d’ve been on my shit one way or another. Everyone knows you can’t resist a pair of big tits.”

Ed (green hair fins and a wardrobe like Mary’s—denim, patched and studded) does a spit take and Trevor (black beanie, striped shirt, and angel bite piercings) thumps him on the back a few times.

Mary mock gasps at you. “Suey! My delicate sensibilities!”

You grab your boobs and waggle them at him as you stick out your tongue.

“Hey! That’s my job!” Mary leers at you, and his hands lunge for your chest; you smack them away, hard. “Fuck, ow,” he yips as he shakes out his hand, but he’s smiling.

The group just looks on, bemused.

“Let’s get more shots,” you say to Mary. “I heard they can loosen you up.” You give the women across the table a wink.

Mary follows you without protest, raising his eyebrows when he realizes you’re tugging him toward the bathrooms.

“What’re you up to?”

You pull him in close and cup your hand around his junk.

“I want to give you a blow job.”

Mary’s chest rumbles. His hand clasps your wrist, but he doesn’t remove yours.

“Why?”

You bat your eyelashes at him. “You just got me thinking. Memory lane and all.”

He looks over his shoulder. “But my friends …”

You knead his balls, and his eyes close as he sways into you.

“Don’t you want me on my knees?” you murmur into his jawline. “Lips wrapped around your—”

“Fuck, Suey. You don’t play fair.”

“You know how much I love sucking your cock.”

“Shit. Yeah. Yeah.” He presses his semi into your hand. “Look what you’ve started. You fucking better suck me now.”

“Men’s room. Last stall. I’ll meet you in five minutes.”

He straightens up, and you watch him waddle stiffly to the restroom.

You hum the tune of a song you think is about 5min, and then you head to the men’s room. When you bang in, there’s a dude at the stalls who screams at you as he covers his dick.

“You can’t be in here!”

“Your dick’s not special!” you scream back.

When you open the door of the last stall, Mary’s standing there with his pants half down and his hard dick in his hand. You crowd into him, kissing him full and hard.

“Fuck. I’m gonna be in so much shit with my friends. Look at what you do to me.”

You bite his bottom lip and pull it into your mouth.

“They don’t think I can handle you. Think you’re gonna get your dick wet elsewhere. Are you gonna do that? Are you gonna do that when my mouth is pliant and ready?”

Mary’s hands come up to cup your face.

“Hey,” he says as he makes you meet his eyes. “I’m not gonna … I’m not gonna ‘wet my dick’ elsewhere. They don’t know everything.” He thumbs your lips, eyes hooded. “I love your sweet little mouth,” his eyes sweep back up to yours, “but I’m not here for that.”

You give his dick a squeeze and he grunts.

“Ok—you offered to suck me off, and I’m here for that … but in life, in general, that's not why I—not why you’re my baby doll.” His finger lightly taps the necklace pendant.

“I’m not boring,” you say as you mouth at him.

“Hey, hey hey—” he says as he clasps your roving hands. “Is this why we’re here?”

You lead one of his hands under your tunic and into your panties. You’re slick with excitement, and you want him to feel you; he lets out a soft Fuck.

“Maybe a little, but you also get me going when you’re all Mean Skeleton Mary,” you say as you drop to your knees.

Usually you play with Mary a little. Suckle and trace his tip in a tease before sucking him down whole. But now you’re in a time crunch, so you take him down as far as you can go in the first shot. He moans and grasps your hair. You deep throat him, and it’s a messy business—tears stream out your eyes as you gag and half choke on his dick—but you love the sounds he makes (short gasps and half-whispered swears) and the way his legs tremble. He lets you set the pace—his one hand resting on the back of your head and the other lightly petting your cheek—so you alternate between hollowing out your cheeks and swallowing around him, relishing whenever he lets out a Fuck.

Someone bangs on the door at some point, and Mary yells at them to fuck off, but otherwise the unofficial ettiquette seems to state that the other patrons let whomever the lucky bastard is get his.

When you can tell that he’s getting close, you maneuver his other hand onto your head to encourage him to fuck your face. “Fuck yeah,” he breathes as he grips tight into your hair and starts thrusting into your mouth—shallow at first, and then deeper as he gets his bearings. You relax your jaw, making glup glup glup noises as his cockhead hits the back of your throat. If you weren’t using your hands to brace yourself, you’d be working one between your legs to ease the growing throb there.

Mary’s panting hard now, and he lets out a grunt as he shoves your head down, holding you in place for a moment. You feel his dick throb, and then he’s yanking your head back up. You suck in some air and cough a little before he guides his dick back into your mouth. He slips his other hand down to hook his thumb in your mouth.

“Can I cum on your face?” he gasps as he continues to thrust into you. You hum around his cock, and he pulls out of your mouth, hand quickly jacking himself before his cum splatters hot and sticky on your face. Head back and eyes closed, he rubs his cockhead on your lips, and you suck him in again—relishing his groan as he cock gives another throb before softening in your mouth.

He pulls you up and kisses you (“Fuck, I’m covered in your jizz, Mare.” “I don’t give a shit.”) before using the bottom of his shirt to wipe off the both of you.

“What a gentleman.”

“Fuck you.”

His hand travels under your dress to press between your legs, and you sway into him with a breathy Ah.

“Shit—you’re practically soaked through.” His head dips to your neck. “Christ. I bet the whole bar could smell you.”

His hand is still pressing into you, and suddenly the thought of spending the rest of the night with this heaviness between your legs seems untenable. “Oh fuck! Touch me, Mare!”

His hand fumbles to work itself into your tights and panties as you find his mouth. You suck his tongue as the pad of his finger starts easily circling your clit, and you suck harder—fingers digging into his arms—as he flicks your nub then taps a morse code on it. As he does another round, you press into him, and he stumbles a bit until his back hits the grody tiles of the wall. You’re making little gasping noises that escape out the corner of your mouth as you rock not just into his hand, but the whole line of his body.

By the time you’re ready to pop, you’re butting your head into his chest and shaking with need. Mary’s got expert fingers, but you’re still standing up and in a busy bathroom. You mewl every time you reach the crest but not quite—hands now fisted into Mary’s shirt.

Suddenly Mary’s breath is hot on your ear.

“What a little whore you are. So fucking desperate to cum you’ll fuck anywhere. Is my dick not enough? Maybe I should unlock this door and have you open for business. Let any guy who comes in stick his dick in you somewhere, have you plugged up in—”

With a burst of adrenaline, you finally rise over the hill and crash down fast. “Ughn, Mare,” you cry out as you press into him, his finger busy still massaging your clit as you spasm with orgasm.

You’re still buried in Mary’s chest when he finally removes his hand and wipes his fingers on his jeans.

“Hey,” he says, shaking you a bit. “Can’t sleep here.”

You grunt, but pull away from him, albeit reluctantly.

“Christ, they’re gonna think we left.”

“Nah,” you say as you fumble with the industrial no-ply toilet paper roll that only seems to want to come off in bite-sized tears. “Our coats are still there. You’d never leave without your jacket.” You pry the dispenser open so you can maneuver the roll in bigger chunks.

“What’re you doing?”

“I don’t want to be sticky all night.”

Mary licks his lips.

“Nuh-uh, mister.” You surreptitiously begin to clean yourself.

“Whatever. As if you weren’t just trying to suck my tongue out of my mouth. I swear one day you’re gonna suck it right off.” He gives you a vulpine smile. “Save that hoover for my dick.”

“If I sucked your tongue out of your mouth, I’d just use it in tandem when I sucked your cock.”

Mary looks at you aghast as you dispose of the toilet paper in the toilet and flush with the toe of your boot.

“You’ve been spending way too much time around me.”

You just grin at him.

As you leave the stall, Mary glares at anyone who dares to even glance in the direction of the two of you. No one else yells at your presence.

After washing up the best you can without a mirror (and Mary flicking water at you), you tug him to the bar where the two of you order the round you promised to get a blow job ago. While the bartender is setting up the glasses, Mary leans in to whisper,

“Hey, do you want to play?”

You turn to look at him. “Play how?”

He pulls at your clothes. “We could do that thing I talked about.”

You perk up. “You want me to take charge of you?”

Mary’s dilated eyes suddenly focus on yours. “You know I love it when you tell me what to do”

Lightly, you grab his jaw. “In front of all your friends?”

“You and I want the same thing.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” He reaches up to thumb at an invisible smear of makeup on your chin. “To show them I can be handled.”

“That’s grossly romantic, Goore.”

“Mebbe,” he says, pulling you in close.

“Ugh,” you grunt at him as you tip your head away.

“Is that a no?”

You roll your head back around to face him.

“No, it’s definitely a ‘yes’.” You rub your thumb across his bottom lip, smearing what’s left of his matte red down his chin. “But not because I’m smushy.” You get right up in his face. “Because I like telling you what to do. From now until when you leave, I own your ass. You don’t do anything without my permission.”

“Fuck. What you do to me, woman.”

You jab a finger into his chest. “That includes talking, mister. You got that? Nod if you understand?”

Mary nods.

“Mmm,” you grin. “Such a good boy already.”

The bartender sets down the shots on a platter and shoots you both a sideways glance.

“Well,” you gesture at Mary, “those aren’t going to carry themselves.” You turn away, then look back over your shoulder. “Don’t spill a drop.”

Mary quickly, but carefully, takes up the tray. You make your way through the crowd, and you don’t look back at Mary, trusting him to safely transport the drinks.

When you join the table again, everyone seems to zero in on your smeared face. You try to give them a friendly smile.

“Mary’s just behind me with the shots.”

The table erupts with a cheer as Mary appears at your elbow, carefully setting down the platter.

“For fuck’s sake, Mary,” grunts Elsie. “Half your makeup is gone, and the other half is smeared on her!”

There’s some assorted snickering as Mary just shrugs and you preen.

“Classic Mary,” snorts Dee (metal shirt and black jeans).

“Christ, we were wondering what was taking so long,” says Kara.

“Dominance fuck,” you quip just as Ed’s taking another sip of beer. He sprays it everywhere again—Trevor just managing to jump out of the splash zone—and the whole table bursts out laughing.

“Jesus,” Ed says as he wipes his chin. Trevor hands him a used cocktail napkin. “Mary, tell your girl to quit doing that.

Smirking, Mary just holds his hands out, palm up.

As Ed pats himself dry, the others take up their shot glasses; you notice a wet spot on the tray. Catching Mary’s eyes, you point to the droplet.

“Mary.” Mary looks at you, eyes big at your tone. “Tell me what this is.”

“Someone bumped into me.”

“That’s an excuse. I told you not to spill any. What do we say?”

Mary speaks down into the table. “Um, well—”

“Don’t mumble” You lift his chin up so that he has to meet your eyes.

“I’m sorry I spilled the drinks.”

You pat his cheek. “It’s ok, Mare Bear. You did your best.”

His friends are staring at you, but they all look away as you turn back to the table. You pick up your own shot glass.

“What are we toasting to?

“To shenanigans both old a new!” says Dee.

Everyone holds up their shot glasses, except Mary. Mary looks plaintively over at you.

You nod, and Mary picks up his shot glass.

“To shenanigans both old a new,” he echoes as he raises the glass.

Everyone clinks and shoots. Trevor and Dee slam their glasses back on the table before chugging their lite beer. Ed’s dribbles out the corner of his mouth, and he lets out a wet Fuck. Elsie downs hers in one go, but Kara takes a couple of gulps—some of it dribbling down her chin like Ed. Elsie laughs at her and calls her a sloppy bitch. You manage to get yours down in two swallows before taking a swig of beer. A professional drinker, Mary downed his with ease, setting the shot glass down without slamming it. He looks at the beer.

“You want a chaser?”

Mary nods.

“All right, come here.”

He shuffles over, and you carefully tip the contents of the beer bottle into his mouth, his eyes never leaving yours. You smile at him. Out of the corner of your eye, you see looks shoot across the table at each other.

When he’s satisfied, you bring the bottle back down, and he crowds into you. His hand finds the small of your back, and he’s practically purring.

Someone clears their throat. “So, uh, Suey,” says Dee, “you’re an accountant or something?”

“Paralegal,” you correct.

“How does that even happen?” asks Elsie.

“Ah, well. It was the only thing I could think of to do with my pre-law degree.”

Mary looks at you sharply, and—oh oops. You hadn’t quite shared that with him yet.

“Long, boring story.” You wave it away. “What about you? You’re a … graphic artist?”

She beams. “Took a while, but I finally got my degree from SCAD, and now I’m a junior designer at some tech start up.”

The conversation blossoms from there, and it’s actually much easier with his friends after that. You find yourself heavily contributing to the conversation in between giving Mary permission to talk or feeding him a drink—which becomes the elephant in the room that no one seems brave enough to address. Kara & Elsie … well—they're unreadable, but aren’t actively being bitchy, so you consider that a win.

At one point you notice that Mary is squirming excessively.

“What’s the matter,” you ask softly.

“Have to piss,” he whispers in your ear.

“So ask if you can piss, Mary,” you whisper back.

He hesitates, then says quietly, “Can I go to the bathroom?”

You run a finger under his chin. “You may. But no side quests. There and back, got it?”

Mary nods emphatically then practically propels off his stool in his haste.

When you turn back to the table, Kara and Elsie are staring at you. You smile and waggle your empty glass.

“Excuse me,” you say, as you slide off your stool. You’re not 3 steps before Kara and Elsie flank you.

“Ok. What. The. Fuck,” says Kara, but she’s smiling.

You grin wolfishly at her.

“No, I echo that,” says Elsie.

You shrug. “Mary likes a firm hand.”

Elsie snorts. “Clearly.”

“Yeah,” says Kara, “I thought he was going to unhinge his jaw and eat you.”

You smile wider. “He does do that.”

“Fucking get it,” Kara hoots.

“Let’s do another round without those losers,” says Elsie when the 3 of you get to the bar.

“Yeah!” Kara perks at the suggestion. “I wanna hear all the fucking dirt on Mary.”

You give her a Mona Lisa smile. “I don’t kiss and tell.”

She awkwardly wraps an arm around your shoulder. “We’ll get you there, babe.”

Somehow a round of shots turns into two, and by the time you guys get back to the high top, Mary is already there and shooting you daggers.

“Fucking finally,” says Trevor. Then, “Jesus—you didn’t even bring back a round of suds?”

The 3 of you look at each other and burst into giggles.

Ed sighs. “I’ll go get—”

“No,” say Dee and Trevor in unison.

“Fuck, man,” says Dee. “With your track record tonight I wouldn’t trust you with an unopened bottle. I’ll go.” He turns to the group. “So that’s … 7?”

“Oh!” you interject. “Just water for Mary. I doubt Mickey will be thrilled if he shows up sloshed.”

Mary pouts at you, but you just raise an eyebrow at him; he knows he can end this at any time.

“I know.” You pat his arm. “I’m the meanest girl in the world.”

Mary sighs but rests his head atop yours.

After that, Mary really does start downing water, and you switch to lite beer (and you give him blanket permission to make his subsequent frequent bathroom trips because you’re not a monster). You vaguely recall when he kisses the top of your head and heads off to Mickey’s bar. It’s a bit fuzzy, but the 3 dudes either leave with Mary or soon after—leaving you, Kara, & Elsie to continue to pound shots that you chase with shitty beer.

“Sssooo … was he like?” slurs Elsie.

“Hmm … Mary?”

“Yeah.”

“Like wha?”

“Jus like. Assa boyfrien.”

“Yeah. We all know he gots that D. Was the tea? Hah! I rhymed.”

You try and sort through your alcohol-addled brain.

“Hessa dumbass,” you slur back.

Kara starts cackling.

“But … but a good bean. Does my dishers. My disheshes. Fuck.”

“Fuck. Keep ‘em,” slurs Kara.

You slam your hand on the table.

“I fhuckhen intend to!”

It devolves from there with the 3 of you swapping weird sex stories then trying to one-up each other. Finally, they put you in a cab—which you scramble to pay for in cash because your card is still at the bar—and you stumble drunkenly up to your apartment. You’re still trying to figure out how your keys work (wait—how did you get into your building?), when the door opens.

“Jesus fucking christ, Suey. Where the fuck have you been? It’s nearly 4am and your phone’s dead.”

You teeter forward and press your face into Mary’s chest. He smells like beer, the decal on his band tee, and sweaty boy.

“Shmells niss,” you murmur.

“Oh my god—you’re shitfaced,” you hear him say.

“Yer friens are niss.”

“Ok, drunkee. C’mere.”

Mary leads you to the couch and proceeds to make you drink lots of water (“No. FULL.” “Shut up and keep drinking.” “Hate you.” “I know.”), and then wrangles you out of your clothes and into bed.

* * *

When you wake up the next morning, everything is awful. You can’t focus on anything without feeling ill, and your stomach insists you ate a whole bag of gummy bears. You let out a sound that you’re sure only dying animals make. As if on cue, Mary bustles in—fresh as a fucking daisy—with a plate of greasy eggs & bacon and a sports drink on your tray.

“Goooood morning, little rosebud.”

You squint at him. “I will murder your face.”

“You’d have to catch me first!” he chirps as he arranges everything and himself on the bed. He helps you sit up, and you sip at the drink with some painkillers as he configures the breakfast onto some toast. You let him maneuver a few bites into your mouth, before you curl back into yourself.

“Ok, Suey. Good job,” he says as he rubs your back.

You burp at him.

“Yeah, ok. Go back to sleep.”

When you wake up again, it’s much later. Somehow you’re sideways across Mary’s lap; he’s reading a book. You squint up at him.

“The fuck,” you say.

Mary collapses the book on his finger and looks down at you.

“You must be feeling better.”

You roll around and bury your face into his abdomen. He pets at your hair.

“Feel like finishing those eggs?”

Bile rises, and you jump up to run into the bathroom. You then proceed to empty the contents of your stomach into the toilet. Gentle hands are there suddenly to hold back your hair.

When you finish and tumble back against the tub, he says, “You could have just said ‘no’ on the eggs.”

You burst into tears, and he pulls at you as you flail ineffectually against him. “No! I’m so gross and stupid.”

“Aww, baby doll, it’s just a hangover. I’ve spent most of my adult life hungover. You’ll live.”

He manages to get the tub going and coaxes you into it. Soon, the two of you are ensconced in a steaming bath.

“Baths are gross,” you grumble, even as you lean into the V of Mary’s support.

“Just shut up and enjoy it like a normal person.”

“Big into baths then?”

Mary hesitates, then says, “My mum. I know it sounds weird, but—with my dad gone? I’d run a bath for her—with these bath bombs?—to get into after she finished a double.”

“That’s really nice, Mare.” You hesitate, then continue, “You don’t really talk about what happened.”

A beat.

You take his pruning hand and kiss his knuckles to reassure him.

“Cancer. She had life insurance and shit, but … it mostly went to medical bills. Couldn’t keep the house.”

You wait, but he doesn’t go on.

“Sucks. I hate it for you.”

“Thanks.”

The two of you sit in the bath until it grows cold, you dozing against his chest while he gently splashes the water with the hand not hanging off the lip of the tub.

“More warm water, or … ?” he asks.

“Can we go back to bed?”

“Yeah,” he says. “I can stay for a bit. Gotta work again tonight, though. So I can be free for New Year’s.”

When you’re nested back in your bed—body leaden and eyelids heavy—you ask, “So, did I pass the test?”

He sighs. “It wasn’t a test.”

“Great. Did I pass the ‘not test’?”

He rolls his eyes.

“Well, half my friends are screaming at me to lock it down, and the other half think you’re batshit and I should run far away.”

You smile at him.

“Sounds about right.”

Mary snuggles in closer. “It’s not them you have to care about anyway.” He kisses the back of your neck.

You groan and weakly kick at him with your feet. “Don’t bring my bile back up, Goore.”

“Fucking shut up, Suey. Whose necklace are you still wearing, anyway?”

And yeah, ok.

Next ➡️

#mary goore #ofc #feral cats fic #gutter punk #gritty girls #my writing #original content

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dopescotlandwarrior · 5 years ago

Text

The Dancer-Chapter Eight

A special thanks to @statell for your wisdom and help

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Chapter Eight

Jamie crossed the yard in front of his little house in seconds, came through the door filled with excitement, and what he saw stopped him dead in his tracks. Pretty feet were crossed at the ankle on top of the kitchen table. As he got closer, the ankles appeared, connected to long legs and the hem of a black dress, or shirt, midway up the thigh. A large cookbook was held open in front of her face and she lowered it and smiled at him.

He held the flowers out to her, and she squealed with delight jumping out of her chair spinning around smelling the beautiful flowers.

“Jamie, I have never seen a bouquet so beautiful.”

Once the flowers were in water, she kicked a small booster toward him and stood on it. She was slightly above his eye level, arms around his neck, lips parted millimeters from his, she thanked him for the lovely flowers.

“Did it earn me a kiss from a beautiful girl then?”

She could feel his warm hands sliding up her legs and she pressed her lips to his and felt the magic like the fourth of July. Jamie’s hands continued upward, and he pressed his palms around her globes and then ran his finger under the elastic lace of her thong.

Claire forced herself to stop kissing and stood still before stepping down so she didn’t fall.

She lowered herself at the table and reached for silk stockings that she gently pulled up her legs while Jamie was immobile, watching her. Reaching behind her chair she set high heeled straps on the floor and put them on. Jamie was still standing in the middle of the kitchen, watching, not wanting to miss a single movement.

He noticed finally her hair was pulled up reminding him of a movie, but he couldn’t think of the name. Long pieces swooped down around her face.

“Breakfast at Tiffany’s”

“What?”

“Yer hair”

“Yes, that movie made this hairstyle famous. In truth, it is the easiest updo ever created. Even so, you can’t touch it if that’s what you had in mind.”

“Why canna I touch it?”

“We have reservations all over the city tonight Jamie. Do you want to shower and change? The limo is coming in twenty minutes.”

“Why Sassenach?”

“Jamie, did you know that your oven and stovetop do not work?”

Jamie was running his eyes down her silk-clad legs licking his lips, “Why would I know that?”

“First stop is 21 where we taste the best whisky in the world. Then to Bordon Castle for Filet Mignon. Anything you want to do in between or after, just say so.”

He looked at this wonderful spontaneous girl and felt her contagious excitement.

“May I ask the occasion lass?”

“My birthday, times eleven.”

Jamie looked horrified he forgot her birthday, but he looked into her eyes and grinned walking toward her as she backed up.

“Yer birthday is March 19th lass. Suppose ye try again.”

Claire was laughing and tried to run around him after he backed her into a corner. He caught her and pulled her to a chair and on to his lap. He ran a hand down her kicking leg and waited.

“I was orphaned at five years old, both parents died in a car crash. The only family I had was my Uncle Lamb who I never met. He took charge of me and we spent the next eleven years in jungles, deserts, remote islands, anywhere his work took him. He was an archeologist and I grew up among tribal people mostly. He brought me to Edinburgh when I was sixteen and enrolled me in school. He was very ill but never told me. One night he handed me a fat bag of gold and said happy birthday for the eleven years I never bought you a present.”

Jamie was shaking inside listening to Claire’s truth. She seemed at peace with what happened, but his heart broke for her.

“He told me to spend the money doing something I would remember forever.” She looked in Jamie’s eyes and smiled, “this is it.”

Jamie was speechless and honored she would choose him as the memory she would never forget.

“Lass, I…”

“It was a long time ago Jamie. Lamb lives in my heart now and he would be impressed with how I planned this night. As a party favor, I will grant you three wishes tonight. Whatever you want, whenever you want it.”

“Can I see mo chridhe? Lift yer dress, show your world to me, as the Americans say.”

Claire stood up and her legs seemed a mile long with her high heels and very short dress. She pinched the sides of the dress and raised it an inch at a time while Jamie watched with rapt attention. Once he had seen the lace tops of the stockings and the tiny thong, she dropped the dress and looked at her watch.

“Ten minutes.”

It was like Jamie finally understood the potential fun in the night ahead and he dashed for the shower. I want to play with you tonight Sassenach, he thought, scanning his clothes for the right everything. He pulled out a white shirt made by the best tailor in England. A Christmas gift from the Board one year. Twenty-five measurements and exquisite fabric created a form-fitting garment that accentuated his muscular frame and flat stomach. He had saved it for a special occasion like celebrating eleven birthdays with an incredible girl.

Claire looked at her date and almost fainted. He looked like he just stepped off a GQ magazine cover. His hair was combed back on the sides, Slacks that hugged his butt and that shirt was absolutely the best she had ever seen. Even his shoes were shiny. She took his sport coat and held it out for him breathing in his incredible smell.

The limo driver looked at the two of them smiling and laughing with each other as they approached. He held the door for them and drove to the first destination. They talked together on the first leg of the trip and the driver was happy to oblige their every wish after that.

Coming back to the limo Jamie handed the driver a flask and said it was fifty-year-old whisky and just a taste. The driver was thrilled.

Dinner was in a converted castle on the second floor. They had a dark table outside where the castle army once stood with bow and arrow ready to kill invaders as they approached. The candlelight along the walls and near the table was soft and made Claire’s skin glow. She looked at Jamie’s beautiful eyes and felt like the luckiest girl alive tonight.

They talked about every subject under the sun because conversation with the other was fun and stimulating. Claire dabbed her lips and exhaled with contentment. Jamie watched her Bambi eyes invite him to love her and his body answered yes, definitely. When her stocking foot pressed into his crotch he nearly shot straight out of his chair. Her eyes were telling him a story that he could not look away from until he had a raging erection he feared would alter his gate.

After dinner they walked the formal grounds of the castle, cuddling and giggling until Jamie could not stand it anymore. He had to kiss her. Pulling her behind a hedge he claimed her mouth and ran his hand up her leg to touch her thong.

“Yer beautiful Claire, so beautiful.”

“So are you, Jamie, it makes my heart hurt sometimes when I look at you.”

He kissed her deeply and then pulled her back to the limo handing a napkin full of goodies to the driver who asked for their next stop. Jamie noticed black glass now separated the front and back of the limo. He started a sentence that died midway through when he looked at Claire.

“Sassenach, I’d follow ye right off a cliff lookin at me that way.”

He pulled her mouth to his, kissing her deeply, hearing her moan. He reached for the phone and asked for a continuous ride until further notice.

When his lips touched Claire’s, he knew they would blaze trails for the rest of their lives, finding the highest peaks, seeing the broadest landscapes. Life with Claire would be extraordinary. When he pulled the long zipper down her back the dress seemed to just fall off her, and she laid back on the limo seat naked except for her lace thong, stockings, and heels.

“Take it off.”

“No.”

Jamie’s eyebrow shot up.

“Do you want to use one of your wishes?”

“Aye”

He burned the image in his mind of Claire naked with sexy stockings and stiletto heels. It was the sexiest thing he had ever seen, and they gave each other the most erotic ride of their lives.

With clothes back on and hair fixed again, Jamie called the driver and requested home. He tipped the driver fifty dollars and asked for his card. The driver watched Claire’s figure in the short tight dress, long legs, and high heels with Jamie’s hand caressing her globes as they walked away. It became his go-to image of success for many years.

Claire packed up her car and called Jamie on her way out of Glasgow the next day. She promised to be at Lallybroch for the weekend and closed her eyes listening to his voice. This was her magic month when someone would love her just as she was. It was like a dream come true so far. She warned herself that it would end in two weeks. Jamie will have had time to fall in love with her making him most receptive to her truth. He had not said he loved her, but she felt his love in every kiss, every touch, and gaze.

The closer she got to Edinburgh the more she felt like the dancer. Her mind filled with lessons with Madu, Omar’s health, costume changes needed, aerial moves added to her routines. When she opened the front door, she was the dancer.

Geillis joined Claire for dinner at their favorite Italian restaurant and they talked non-stop through drinks, main course, and dessert. Claire looked at her last bite of Italian ice and heard someone nearby laugh and call her the Greek dancer. She looked up in horror at the finger pointing directly at her and the sneering, ugly drunk it was attached to.

The blood drained out of Claire’s face as Geillis pulled her to her feet pushing her toward the door to the outside. Once Claire was in the car Geillis locked her in and ran back to pay. Geillis found the offensive man drinking with his friends and she shocked him by putting her face an inch from his.

“I am calling for emergency help because you just accosted my friend. I’ll give a perfect description of ye, fat, ugly and drunk. Good luck with that.”

The men were stunned for about thirty seconds before they almost knocked the table over trying to leave.

Claire sat in the dark car feeling very exposed and scared. She did not figure this into the equation of her life as a dancer and certainly not in her life with Jamie. What if it was Jamie she was with tonight? Geillis jumped in the car and looked at her white-faced friend.

“What if I had been with Jamie when that happened?”

Geillis looked sharply at Claire and studied her for a minute.

“What if it had Claire? It would move the timeline up by two weeks. Right? Dinna get too comfortable in your denial Claire, it willna change the fact that you are the belly dancer that made him crazy with lust and ye took thousands of dollars from him in the process.”

Claire turned her head away from Geillis and cried as quietly as possible. She expected Geillis to apologize but it never came, and Claire suddenly felt completely alone.

Claire sighed with relief when she did not see Madu on the couch or in the refrigerator. She sat on the couch looking at the ceiling, feeling hot tears roll down the side of her face. Why was there no joy anymore without Jamie, she wondered?

The vibration in her pocket meant she had to pull her phone out of her pocket and say hello. It was too much effort tonight. She would call Madu in the morning. It buzzed again; it must be Geillis finally realizing she was mean tonight. The third time it vibrated she grabbed it, irritated, and looked at the screen.

“Jamie.”

“Did I catch ye gettin out of the shower Sassenach?”

“No. How are you?”

“Lonely.”

“How can I help, you know I would do anything for you.”

“Come to Glasgow. Stay with me, Claire.”

She was quiet for a full minute waiting for him to laugh or make light of her living with him, but he didn’t.

“I would love to stay with you for a while Jamie.”

“Can ye get away tomorrow lass? I could use yer help with somethin I’m buildin. Say yes mo chridhe so I can fall asleep tonight.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll see ye tomorrow love, sleep tight.”

“Goodnight handsome.”

By noon, Claire had packed her clothes for an extended stay with Jamie which took all of twenty minutes. Madu came to bug her for the afternoon and hung his head like a neglected puppy until Claire told him to make himself at home.

Madu had been sleeping at his cousin's studio since coming to America and it must have been quite lonely for him. He packed her car and pulled her to the couch.

“Claire, this will make the breakup worse for you. Why fall so deep for a man who will cast you aside when he knows the truth?”

The hair on her neck stood up and she wanted to lash out at him, tell him to mind his own business, but she got control of that first impulse and looked at his concerned face.

“Maybe I keep him in Glasgow until he is promoted to London or Germany, so he never has to know I’m the dancer. It could happen Madu.”

“The truth wants to be told, it will come out. When it does, you call Madu, I come to get you, okay?”

“She kissed his cheek, “please don’t wreck the house.”

Claire dropped her groceries on the kitchen table and her eyes went wide at the new stove in the kitchen. It was brand new and just waiting for her to roast, bake, sauté, and fry to her heart's content. In the bedroom, there were new side tables with a lamp on each and a stack of hardbound best sellers. The top drawer of the sink vanity was pulled out with a bouquet of flowers set inside. A note with a down arrow pointing at the drawers below said, “all for you.” She wondered how he could do all this in two days.

She looked at her watch and grabbed her purse. There was plenty of time to get more groceries now that she had an oven.

Jamie could smell food cooking from his truck, and he smiled his excitement. The first hot meal in this place and it smelled like Italian heaven. The door opened to a dozen candles around the room all glowing with soft light and the beautiful voice of Enya filled the room.

Claire stood at the sink running carrots and green onions under cold water and humming along with the music. Jamie just looked for a minute. Her short cotton dress was inches from her core the peasant top hung off one shoulder. She could feel his heat behind her and turned her brilliant white smile on him as he lifted her to the counter, pressing her legs apart to move in for a hungry kiss that lasted five minutes.

Jamie carried her to the couch and found a comfortable position between her legs so they could kiss and whisper and build the heat. Claire fed her man with a happy heart, so thankful that he wanted her there and so anxious to fill his home with lovely touches just for him.

After dinner, Jamie led Claire outside and around to the back of the house where stairs were newly built leading to the roof. She bounced up stepping onto a flat roof that was hidden from the front of the house. Behind them were fields and wildland for miles. Claire touched a large box and looked at Jamie.

“What’s this?”

“That is what I need yer help with Sassenach. It’s plenty early we can start now if yer not too tired.”

Jamie pulled wood pieces of various sized out of the box, bags of bolts and screws, and a booklet of instructions that he handed to Claire. He flipped a light switch that flooded the workspace with light and for the next two hours, they worked together building a double lounge frame and pulling a weather tolerant, high-density mattress from the second large box.

Claire was over the moon with their secret spot under the stars. She stretched out on the lounge and held her hand out to Jamie who accepted her invitation to kiss. The night was so dark they couldn’t see each other, and the light was too bright above them.

“I need to take your clothes off and kiss you right here,” she said, “and here, suck a bit here, and run my tongue from here to here. Can we take this inside so I can do all those things?” She smiled at Jamie who clearly agreed, and they left their rooftop hideaway for another day.

A whisky and a hot shower left them breathless and they spent the next hour lavishing physical love on the other.

“Sassenach, I’m a trustworthy man and I have deep feelings for ye. I will be whatever ye need me to be for as long as ye let me. Goodnight angel.”

When he pulled her close and said that in the dark, Claire heard him say I love you and she snuggled into his chest and closed her eyes.

In the days that followed when Claire served a perfect roast beef, put a baggie of homemade cookies in his briefcase, and chased after him in the morning so she could kiss him one more time, Jamie heard I love you. As the third week came to a close, Claire was the happiest she had ever been in her life. She actually could not have anticipated or hoped for this much happiness because she never knew it existed. Each day of the fourth week was a roller coaster of blissful happiness and soul-killing sadness. The two moods would bounce back and forth as Claire could think of nothing else but telling Jamie the truth.

They had spent the previous weekend at Lallybroch with Jenny who had pulled Claire into a close friendship, reinforced by daily phone calls and giggling promises to get together for lunch or a movie. Her growing friendship with Jenny helped Claire overcome the gaping hole left by Geillis, not seen since the night at the Italian restaurant. It was traumatic for both of them, but she never thought Geillis was that thin-skinned.

To Jamie, Claire was everywhere, and he was intoxicated with happiness after nine years of living alone. He had a secret of his own, one that would join the volumes of classic love stories, if there had been a writer close by to hear it.

Claire cuddled into his arms sighing with pleasure from food, whisky, and gorgeous blue eyes. The Oasis, so named when Claire installed Kontiki torches, a small refrigerator, and a table that had Whisky and glasses. She made it beautiful and Jamie was always delighted to spend the evening up there, holding her, talking, or making love.

“Have ye considered living in another country mo chridhe? Like Germany perhaps? Would ye live with me in Germany, Sassenach?” He cupped her cheek and looked at her like she held the entire world in her eyes. “I love ye, like my da loved my mam. I canna measure the time ye’ve been in my life because ye’ve always been there. As a lad, daydreaming about my future, as a man so lonely for a soulmate, and every moment in between, ye were there. The first time ye gave me yer body I wanted to weep with relief and I almost asked ye where ye been all these years? I’ve been waitin for ye. It’s why I can love ye so deeply after a short time together and I have to ask ye, lass, do ye feel the same?”

He studied her face as her eyes filled with tears. He saw the heartbreak and loneliness of her life, her isolation, and fear from the years living alone. What made him laugh with joy was the unmistakable love she had for him. It pushed his heart into his throat and he kissed her soundly, hugging as tightly as he dared.

“Lass, dinna cry, dinna cry for love ye canna lose. I will love ye for the rest of yer life, come what may. So take a breath and tell me ye love me for all time. If I live in yer heart already, like ye do mine, I was meant to love ye and ye to love me.”

He kissed her breathless and whispered, “tell me ye love me lass.”

“I love you Jamie, more than I ever thought possible. I love you.”

Between each kiss, she said it again, or he did until the kisses did not stop and they could no longer speak.

Claire was unable to stop the bliss of the last few days with Jamie. He talked about their future and she pretended it was real until he left for work and she fell apart. On Sunday evening, after dinner and making love at the Oasis, she led him inside by the hand and asked him to sit with her at the table.

“I love you, Jamie, with every ounce of my soul. I must tell you about something I have kept from you. Her tears were flowing. I would trade ten years of my life not to tell you, but I can no longer keep this from you. John and Geillis are the only people that know. I want to start this story when my bookstore closed because you built a huge new store on my street and put me out of business.”

“I didn’t make much money but enough to pay rent and eat. Knowing I was losing the store made me so afraid. No parents, aunts, uncles, siblings, no one to help me. I searched for a job doing anything, but no one would hire me. I was desperate.”

“Stop Claire, yer breakin my heart, so stop, please. I dinna care to know, how is that? Let’s just move on from here. If ye robbed a bank, who cares? If ye…I, I canna think what could be so terrible right now because I just want ye to stop hurtin so bad. It doesna matter lass.” He was pleading with her because he never suspected she could deceive him the way she had. She continued.

“When we came to Edinburgh, my uncle taught at university and I went to public school. The girls were so mean to me and I just wanted to die. I saw some bullies coming down the street one day, so I slipped into the first door I found to hide from them. It was a dance studio and the owner was very nice. She offered me lessons if I helped her after school. She taught me for six years and gave me comfort when my uncle died. It was the only thing I knew how to do besides sell books.”

Claire completely broke down and Jamie pulled her from her seat and held her close, rocking her from side to side, speaking his low Gaelic voice. When she could breathe again, she sat down quickly desperate to finish the story and be done with this, whatever happened.

“I had no money, my rent was late, and I would be homeless soon. My instructor got me an interview to dance as an entertainer and the sweetest man in the world gave me a job …belly dancing at his restaurant. I am a belly dancer Jamie. I am the belly dancer you came to see so many times, the dancer you made love to in the dressing room.”

“I am so sorry for the deception.”

“I hated you at first and blamed you for my problems. I would dance for you and then ignore your request to speak with me. Until we had coffee, and I wasn’t mad at you anymore. We spent more time together after that and I fell in love with you. When you had to move, to build the new store, I thought you would be gone forever, that is when I let you into the dressing room. My heart was breaking, and I had to feel you touch me just once.”

“That’s it.”

Jamie’s face had lost all color and he shook his head side to side as if that would make all this vanish. He stood up and paced in the kitchen, looking closely at Claire, then back to the pacing.

“Why tell me now?”

“I have to go back to work tomorrow, my month of vacation is over.”

“Why tell me now?” He repeated.

“I love you Jamie and wanted to spend as much time with you as possible. To live my dream of someone loving me for me.”

“Why not tell me the first night I watched ye dance?”

“Because she isn’t me. That job was a means to survive, that's all.”

“I offered ye the manager job in Edinburgh, why didn’t you take it?”

“I didn’t trust you yet and couldn’t put my fate in your hands again.”

Her voice was so low he could hardly hear her. Jamie watched her body shake from head to toe and he felt no desire to comfort her. Now that he knew, he could clearly see the dancer was Claire.

“Did ye mean to make me love ye so completely before ye told me the truth?”

Claire was sobbing uncontrollably but nodded her head.

“Yer a cruel and selfish woman then. Months of lies, probably snickering behind my back and when I say I love ye, a bomb is dropped in my happiness. I dinna know ye at all Claire but for the heartache I will suffer for yer selfishness I can honestly say I dinna deserve it. I never meant to hurt ye with the bookstore and looked high and low for ye to make sure ye were alright. I would have found ye a decent job if ye let me know what was happening to ye.”

“Why belly dancing Claire. It doesna suit ye personality or was that a lie as well. Yes, I can see it was. No wonder ye changed so much with yer makeover. Ye were goin back to who ye were. It's a twisted game ye played on me.”

“Jamie walked to Claire and pulled her face up to look at him. Someday, when my heartbreak heals, I hope to forgive ye.”

With that, he walked to his bedroom and closed the door, closed her out, closed his heart, and closed any hope she had of forgiveness. Claire cried until she was exhausted. Never had alone in the world felt so catastrophically bad. At four o’clock in the morning, she stumbled to her car with the possessions she could find without going into his bedroom. She cried as she drove home pulling over twice when she was out of control with her sobbing.

Rain was coming down in Edinburgh when she parked her car and she stumbled into her house dripping wet. She sat in the dark and sobbed. Madu came out of the bedroom hearing her heartbreak and he held her and cried too.

Jamie laid awake all night, hearing her cry and hearing her leave. Every five minutes he would remember something else she lied about as the layers of deception grew. Several times he sat up holding his chest feeling like a heart attack was coming and forced himself to calm down and breathe slowly.

When the sun came up, he drove to work doing his best to get lost in the madness and problems with the building. When he couldn’t take it anymore, he left and drove to Edinburgh to see John. Jamie was sure he would drop his own bombs of truth, but he had to know.

Madu made Claire some tea and sat on the floor at her feet, ready to fetch whatever she needed. She finally dispatched him to retrieve her costumes just to have a little quiet time. She laid in her bed and closed her eyes but all she saw was Jamie, in love with her and then furious with her. She got up and turned the music on in her studio. Looking at her reflection in the mirrors she was disgusted at her slumped shoulders and puffy red face.

“Hold your retched head up you conniving, lying bitch. He sent you back to where you belong so deal with it. How could you ever think you could stay with him? You are a fucking dancer you pathetic fool, so dance for your supper! Dance for your rent! Dance for your sanity and your very life! Dance!” She screamed.

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