#girls' trip fairy tale ending

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

Girls' Trip Fairy Tale Ending--Chapter 5 of 5

Summary:  This is my combined birthday gift for Joni (  @jrob64​  ), Marta ( @snowbellewells ) and Krystal ( @kmomof4 ).  Happy birthday ladies! Four fandom friends are nearing the end of their annual girls’ trip when they’re suddenly visited by Isaac, the author before Henry.  He gives them an each a gift–an opportunity to jump into any scene in the storybook they want and fix it.  Large focus on CS, although other characters and relationships will be explored.  A big shoutout to @hollyethecurious​ and @winterbaby89 for betaing!

Word Count: 1090

Tagging a few people who may be interested (Let me know if you want to be added or taken off the list): @sailormew @annaamell @flslp877 @emmateo26 @bethacaciakay

@ultraluckycatnd @effulgent-mind @ilovemesomekillianjones @kat2609 @brooke-to-broch

@missgymgirl @galadriel26 @the-lady-of-misthaven @charmingturkeysandwich @jennjenn615

@laschatzi @kimmy46 @snowbellewells @iamanneenigma @daxx04

@nickillian  @gillie  @britishguyslover @ginnyjinxedandhanshotritafirst @kmomof4  

@linda8084 @golfgirld @captain-swan-coffee @searchingwardrobes @hollyethecurious

@laughswaytoomuch  @allyourdarlingswans  @winterbaby89 @facesiousbutton82 @therooksshiningknight,

@lfh1226-linda @tiganasummertree  @jrob64  @anmylica   @booksteaandtoomuchtv​ @elfiola

Other chapters:  (1) (2) (3) (5)

Can also be found on: (ao3) (ff.net)

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Note: I know it's been forever since I posted (and you've probably forgotten what this fic is all about by now), but in the spirit of the thing, I decided to post on the last birthday of our group--which happens to be mine! I hope you enjoyed our adventures!

Epilogue

And with Jen’s return to the cabin, the fairytale adventure came to a close.

“I don’t know about the rest of you,” Jen said, “but for me, that is by far the best way to watch Once Upon a Time.  You get to meet the characters, fix plot holes, and experience the Happily Ever After.”

There were unanimous choruses of agreement all around.

“Well, I’m glad you enjoyed yourselves,” Isaac said with a roll of his eyes, “but I hope you also learned something.  I hope you all learned that my job is harder than you thought it was–that when you change one thing, there is an entire cascade of unforeseen effects.”

“Is that really a bad thing?” Jen mused. “When the original trajectory was stupid, changes are a good thing.”

“Speaking of,” Krystal said, “can we finally talk about our experiences?”

Isaac sighed. Loudly. “Fine, but no cheating!  You have to disclose all of it, not just the things you liked, but the ways it changed the story, the ripple effects it had, the boring moments, the epic romantic moments that no longer happened.”

“Can you wrap this up?” Joni asked, “or is this lecture going to go on for a while, because if it is, I’m going to bed.”

Isaac sighed again.  “Just get on with it.”

“Gladly,” Joni said. “I went back to the beanstalk.”

There was a chorus of excited voices at that revelation, being, after all, a very significant moment in the Captain Swan journey.

“So what did you do?” Jen asked. “How did you change it?”

“I convinced Emma to go back and free Killian,” Joni answered. “How about the rest of you?”

“I saved Graham’s life,” Marta said with a sound that was half-way between a sigh and a giggle.

“There’s a shock,” Krystal said.

“How did you make that work with the story?” Jen asked.

“I really didn’t have to do much,” Marta said.  “I got Henry to distract Regina, and then I took back Graham’s heart. I got to put it back!  Then he kissed my hand and used a Killian line on me.”

“And you’re still alive to tell the tale?” Joni asked.

“Barely,” Marta said, clapping her hands and giggling again, “but it was touch and go for a little while.  Anyway, Emma decided she liked Graham, but she wasn’t sure she was in love with him. Then Regina got mad and banished Graham to the mental asylum. Then Ruby and Graham fell in love and lived happily ever after.”

There was a universal chorus of oos and ahs at that.  The consensus was that that would have, indeed, made for a better story.

“I went back to season six,” Jen said, when the discussion died down.  

“How could you possibly pick one scene from that hot mess to fix?” Krystal asked?

“Wasn’t easy,” Jen answered.  “Hot mess indeed.  Ultimately, I would have liked to change the entire arc with Killian killing David’s dad and all that came after that.  After all, that made no sense at all.  Since when would Killian kill someone to keep them from telling people he killed the king’s soldiers?  Wouldn’t that enhance his pirate street cred?”

“I needed one more conflict between them before their happily ever after!” Isaac said defensively.

“One, why?” Jen asked, “and two, if you needed one, you could have actually made it necessary to the plot and not just angst for angst’s sake.”

“Well…well…” Isaac spluttered, “that’s not even the scene you picked, so why are we even talking about this?”

“Because you need to hear it,” Jen answered.  “Anyway, I decided what bugged me the most about that whole arc was that Emma immediately believed he’d left her, and everyone else in her life just….went with it.  I talked some sense into all of them.  Oh, and I made it Christmastime–which let them bring Killian home with a little Christmas magic.”

“Well, of course, you can make things work out when you just randomly introduce a magical item!” Isaac exploded.

“You’re complaining about magical MacGuffins?” Joni asked. “May I introduce you to…any of your writing?”

Isaac grumbled under his breath, and then turned to Krystal.  “All right.  Let’s get this over with.  Time for you to tell us about your adventure.”

Krystal shrugged and gave him an evil grin.  “I killed off Neal.”

“Naturally,” Jen said.  “I assume there was pain?”

“Do you know me at all?” Krystal tossed back. “Of course there was pain.  Lots of it.  And screaming.”

“So Rumple didn’t absorb him?” Marta asked.

“Nope, and almost nothing ended up changing,” Krystal said.  “Except Snowing’s baby’s name, of course.”

Jen, Joni and Marta gave her blank stares.

“What does Neal’s death have to do with the baby’s name?” Marta asked.

“Without Neal around to be a ‘hero’,” she explained, “they ended up naming him Graham.

The blank stares continued.

“Oh come on ladies,” Krystal said, “I thought that would be your favorite part.  No one, and I mean no one liked that they named their son Neal.”

“What?” Joni asked.  “Why would they name their son Neal?  Who would name their son after their daughter’s ex-boyfriend who sent her to jail and broke her heart?”

“Exactly!” Krystal agreed.  Looking around, she noticed the other ladies were still giving her odd looks.  “Wait….you mean that’s NOT how you remember it?”

“No!” Marta said emphatically.  “There was a lot I loved about the CS movie, but the thing that always brought tears to my eyes was the naming ceremony when they named their baby after Graham and talked about how much of a hero he was.  It was just…”  There was the giggle sigh again.

Krystal looked over at Isaac, and he shrugged. “Far be it from me to deny it when I’m wrong.  Neal was a stupid naming choice.”

“You’ve got that right,” Jen said.

With a dramatic sigh, Isaac shook his head and threw up his hands.  “I give up.  Clearly there’s no reasoning with fanfiction writers.  Enjoy the rest of your trip, I guess.  And next year?  Lay off of the head trauma.  By my count you knocked Will upside the head seven times in your story. Gave me a headache just reading it.”

And with that, he was engulfed in a puff of smoke, and a moment later, there was no sign that he’d ever been there.  No sign, that is, but the excited chattering of the four ladies in the cabin who discussed their adventures long into the night.

[betweenstorms]

Part Two of Where We Part (previous chapter) (next chapter) (masterlist) Childhood Friend!Simon x fem!Reader

Time has a funny way of slipping through your fingers, doesn’t it?

The years passed as they do, quietly, relentlessly and somehow, unintentionally you followed Simon Riley’s advice, no matter how much it stung during that particular summer night.

You grew older, wiser, or at least you hoped you did. 

At the end of that warm, suburban summer, you left Manchester behind, moved to London for university, found yourself caught up in the complexity of adulthood, chasing dreams, making mistakes, falling in love, losing it. You lived your life, embraced its peaks and valleys, and let it sweep you along. Some days were golden, like those late summer days in your twenties when laughter was easy, love felt endless, and the world seemed filled with promise. You travelled with your new friends from university, gelato dripping down your wrist as you laughed under the bright Sicilian sun, the loud conversation with your girls echoing across the cobblestone streets. You invited your parents to London several times, playing tourist with them, showing them your new apartment, savouring moments of connection between the gaps of your new life and their old one. And then there was the day your boyfriend knelt before you, a ring glinting in the rose gold streetlights of Paris, asking you to be his fiancée.

Oh, it was the kind of moment you had always dreamed of, the fairy tale that every little girl secretly hopes will come true.

But life isn’t all dreams, is it?

You wept like a child, your heart shattered when you found out about the affair. Your fiancé, with your college roommate of all people. It felt like betrayal layered upon betrayal, and the sadness you carried then weighed more than all the joy of your past put together, manifested in the hollow echoes of your aching sobs in the shared flat you once called home. You moved out shortly after that incident.

Unfortunately, there were other disappointments, too. Failed job interviews, missed opportunities, the loneliness that seeped into your bones in those years after university, when friends began to drift away and the beauty of childhood transforms into a fading memory. But you picked yourself up. You always did. Because that’s what you did. That’s what you knew best. You kept moving, because the alternative, sinking, was unthinkable.

But through it all, you lived.

And you wouldn’t change a thing even if you had the chance.

You threw yourself into your work, into the messy and beautiful chaos of life. There were still some moments where you felt like you had the world at your feet, laughing with your high school mates over beers in dingy pubs, watching the sun set over London’s skyline, those spontaneous trips to the coast where you tasted freedom in every salty breeze. And you moved forward, not necessarily because you wanted to, but because time forced you to. But that was fine by you.

And in the quiet corners of your mind, Simon Riley became a distant thought—like the chorus of a song you used to know like the back of your hand. You thought of him less and less as the years went by, as your life became more complicated, more full.

You took his words to heart, didn’t you?

You left him behind.

But still, he lingered.

There were those times, in the early years, when your parents would call, giving you updates on Manchester, on the neighbours, on the old street you grew up on. You’d ask about the Rileys, casually, as if it didn’t really matter. You weren’t prying, not really, just curious. What had become of Simon? Of Tommy? Your parents mentioned Simon had joined the military at some point, which didn’t surprise you. He always carried a soldier’s weight, even as a boy.

They told you about Tommy too, how his life had spiralled out of control with drugs and the wreckage of his past trauma. Your mother sighed when she mentioned Mrs. Riley and how she had hit rock bottom. But Simon, when he returned from deployment, finally helped them rid themselves of Mr. Riley for good, breaking the cycle of abuse that had poisoned their lives for years.

Your parents even got a bit more involved in the Riley’s lives after that—dropping in with food, attending Tommy’s wedding with a kind soul named Beth, helping with little Joseph, their gorgeous newborn, who your mum absolutely adored. She’d tell you about him during your weekend catch-ups.

However, as time went on, the Rileys faded from your thoughts, a chapter you had quietly closed.

Your own life was blooming in London, despite the mistakes you made along the way. You loved fiercely, lost greatly, and found your way back to yourself time and again. The more you lived, the less you thought about the boy who once lived next door.

Until that cold November afternoon.

The air was ice cold, but not just from the weather. It was the kind of chill that settled deep in your bones, the kind that gnawed at you long after the sun had set during winter.

The day had been unremarkable at first—work was its usual rhythm of meetings and emails, the sound of your co-workers chattering as a familiar background noise. But then your phone rang, your mother’s weak voice trembling on the other end like the fragile crackle of dry leaves in the wind during autumn.

You had heard your mother cry before.

The grief at a relative’s passing, the heartache of a goodbye too long drawn out—but this was different. Her sobs were frantic, her rushed words spilling over each other in terrified, broken fragments, so hurried you could hardly catch the meaning.

“The Rileys… oh God, love, the Rileys are gone…”

It took you a moment to grasp what she was saying.

Gone? How? You sat frozen, the world around you blurring as your mum’s words came in and out like waves crashing against the shore.

“Dear Lord, some maniac... a psychopath… some madman…” she choked. “He killed them. Killed them all. Tommy, Beth, even little Joseph, an innocent baby, Oh God…”

You could hear your mother’s quiet anguish, but it was as though you were outside yourself, hearing everything from a great distance.

The Rileys. Dead. It didn’t make sense. Mrs. Riley, Tommy, Beth, the child—how could they be gone? The thought was too large and too grotesque to fully comprehend. It was like a nightmare, one you couldn’t wake up from.

“And… Simon?”

A name you hadn’t uttered in years.

A name that had always lingered on the edges of your memory, like a shadow cast by fading light.

Your mother’s breath caught. “I don’t know. Oh, love. He wasn’t there… I think he’s still in the military, but… we don’t know, we were asleep, didn’t hear a thing.”

She was crying again, her sobs muffled by the phone. Her sobs broke through, and she confessed, through gasps of guilt, that she and your father had been sound asleep when it happened, oblivious to the horror just next door. The sanctuary of your childhood, the quiet safety of the neighbourhood, shattered in a mere second.

Your mind raced, your heart thundering in your chest.

Oh, all those years, all those moments where you hadn’t thought about Simon Riley, and now, now the past was clawing its way back, forcing you to confront something you had thought you’d left behind.

Your coworkers looked up, sensing something was wrong. One of them asked if you were okay, if you needed anything, but you barely heard them. You wanted to scream, to cry, to do anything, but all you could do was tremble. Your hands squeezed as you gripped your phone, trying to keep your voice steady as you told your mother you’d drive up to Manchester right away, that you’d be there soon. When the call ended, and you were out the door before you had time to gather your thoughts. The moments after that were a blur, your body on autopilot as you stumbled to your car. The urgency to get there, to understand what had happened, burned through you, like liquid fire in your veins.

But fate, it seemed, had other plans.

Pain hit you suddenly, sharp and overwhelming, something you’ve never felt before. It started as a dull ache in your lower stomach, but it intensified rapidly until you were doubled over, gasping for breath. You couldn’t drive, you couldn’t think. By the time you finally made it to your flat, the pain had become unbearable. Something was wrong, you knew. Terribly wrong.

You had to call for an ambulance, your hands shaking as you dialled the number.

However, you weren’t thinking about yourself as they wheeled you into the hospital, weren’t listening to the doctor’s voice as he explained the situation—appendicitis, nothing lethal, a routine surgery, and you’d be fine but you had to stay still.

Throughout your surgery, all you could think about was Simon. The boy who had grown into a man who you barely knew anymore, the man who had lived through hell and had come back to face it once again. Was he back in Manchester? Was he grieving? Or had he been claimed by the same nightmare that had taken the rest of his family?

After the surgery, you lay in the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, tears streaming down your face. It wasn’t the pain of your own body that made you cry—it was the helplessness, the not knowing, the fear that somewhere out there, Simon, your childhood friend, was lost, alone, and there was nothing you could do to help him.

You spent the first few hours after the surgery drifting between sleep and wakefulness, your mind clouded with both painkillers and the overwhelming ache of uncertainty. Every time you closed your eyes, you saw flashes of the past—memories of Manchester, the Rileys, Simon. The years blurred, and for a moment, you could almost feel the gentle summer sun on your skin again, hear the distant murmur of a time that seemed too far gone.

But the present was relentless.

Your parents arrived in London as quickly as they could, your mother staying by your side, fussing over you as she had when you were a child. Her hands were warm, but her eyes betrayed her fear. Fear for you, fear for what had happened back in Manchester. She stayed while your father left for the funeral—the collective service for the Rileys, held only a week after their brutal end.

You couldn’t go, of course. Fucking appendicitis.

The thought of missing that final goodbye gnawed at you. You couldn’t let it go. Therefore, you wrote. A letter. A really long letter. In the small hours of the night, with the hospital lights dimmed and the distant hum of machinery as your only company, you penned a letter.

The words didn’t come easily.

What could you possibly say to Simon Riley, after all these years? What could you write that would bring him any semblance of comfort, any understanding in the face of such senseless tragedy? How could you explain to him how sorry you were? Sorry for what had happened to his family, sorry that you weren’t there when he needed someone most, sorry for all the years you’d spent avoiding the memories of your childhood, of him. But you had to try.

You wrote with a trembling hand, pouring everything you couldn’t say aloud into that letter, every apology that had been lodged in your throat for years. You tied it to your father’s soul, knowing he would deliver it to Simon, wherever he might be. And your father, with his quiet strength, promised he would.

When the day of the funeral came, you lay in your bed, imagining the cold November air, the way the ground must have looked under the grey Manchester sky. You pictured the small crowd, neighbours, and friends from the community, all standing in sombre silence as the Rileys were laid to rest. But what haunted you most was the image of Simon—if he was even there at all. You wondered if he stood apart from the others, his broad shoulders hunched, his face unreadable as ever. Or maybe he hadn’t come at all, disappearing into the shadows once again, as he always had.

The week crawled by, each day dragging longer than the last. Your mother stayed by your side, but the quiet weight of what had happened in Manchester pressed down on both of you. Your father returned, but there was no news of Simon. Your dad told you that they didn’t talk much. No sight of him after the funeral. No trace of him in the days after. He had vanished, leaving behind an empty house and a tragedy too vast to comprehend. And when you finally recovered enough to leave the hospital, you made the trip back to Manchester with your mother.

The familiar streets felt like a ghost of themselves—places once filled with memories now overshadowed by the grim reality of what had happened. The Riley house stood empty, its windows dark, the air around it thick with loss. You stood at the gate for a long time, staring at the house that had once been so full of life, of pain, of everything in between. But now, it was nothing. Just a shell. Just another haunted corner of your past.

There were no answers. No signs of Simon.

And in the end, after a week of trying to help your parents, after a week of grieving and remembering, you left. You packed your things and drove back to London, promising yourself you’d never return. The city you had once called home felt cursed now, and the memories it held were too heavy to bear.

You couldn’t escape the past, though. Not really. 

The promise you made to yourself all those years ago, to never return to that godforsaken city, was one you kept for a long time. It wasn’t out of spite or bitterness, but rather out of a quiet resignation. You had moved on, created a life in London that was full of both the mundane and the extraordinary. And after your parents moved to Wimbledon, following your father’s cancer diagnosis, the ties to Manchester became even more frayed.

It wasn’t until your thirty-fourth birthday that you found yourself heading back to the place you swore you’d never return to.

Not for family, not for closure, but for something as trivial and absurd as a fucking high school reunion. It had started with a sudden phone call from one of your old mates, the same group you used to run around with in your youth.

You hadn’t heard from them in years. Well, apart from the occasional likes on Instagram posts or an awkwardly short birthday text.

“Fifteen bloody years,” your friend had said, her voice bright and insistent. “You’ve been stuck in London with your fancy life, and we’ve barely seen you. Time to get your arse back here and have a pint with the group, eh? It’s been too long, girl.”

You laughed it off at first, citing your tight work schedule and your responsibilities. But the more she talked, the more you realised how long it had been since you’d even thought about that part of your life. A simpler time, before the complexities of adulthood and all its responsibilities weighed on you.

So you agreed. You didn’t really know why, maybe out of a sense of pure nostalgia or maybe out of some lingering guilt.

The drive up to Manchester was long, and your nerves sat uneasily in your chest. What would it be like to see those familiar faces again, to walk the streets that had once been the backdrop of your childhood? Would it feel like home? Or would it feel like you didn’t belong anymore, a ghost walking through memories?

However, by the time you saw the familiar landmarks, something in you began to settle. The nervousness faded, replaced by a strange calmness, as if the city itself recognised you and offered some kind of unspoken truce. You arrived at the pub where your reunion was being held—the same one you used to frequent during your teenage years. It was a dive, the kind of place that hadn’t aged well, but that’s exactly what made it feel like time had stood still.

Inside, the air was warm, thick with the smell of beer and the hum of conversation. And then there they were, your dear friends, sitting in a corner, laughing just like they always did. The moment you walked in, it was as if no time had passed at all. They greeted you with familiar smiles, pulling you into tight hugs and offering you a pint almost immediately.

The conversation flowed easily, old jokes resurfacing, stories being retold with exaggerated details and you found yourself chuckling. No, truly laughing, in a way you hadn’t done in what felt like ages. The weight of the years melted away, and for those brief hours, you felt like you were a teenager again, full of life and possibility, untouched by the heaviness that had since followed you. Oh, you hadn’t even realised how much you missed it, missed them. The simplicity of it all. The foolishness of youth.

As the night wore on, you found yourself drinking more than you should have. The beers went down easy, their familiar taste blending with the warm laughter and nostalgia. You hadn’t had a drink in a while, not properly, and it didn’t take long for the alcohol to loosen your limbs and soften the edges of reality. You felt light-headed, slightly detached from your surroundings but in that comfortable way that comes with the perfect level of drunkenness. Your words were slurring a bit, your laughter louder, but you didn’t mind.

Not tonight.

Eventually, the haze became a bit too much, and you excused yourself from the table. You needed fresh air, a moment for yourself to step away from the heat of the pub and the noise of the reunion. You fumbled with your jacket as you headed for the back of the building, where the designated smoking area was. It was behind the pub, near the dimly lit, empty parking lot, and as you made your way there, you nearly tripped over a discarded bottle on the ground.

“Bloody hell,” you muttered under your breath, the curse falling easily from your lips. Even small inconveniences seemed dramatic when you were tipsy. Some habits never died.

When you reached the smoking area, you were grateful to see it wasn’t crowded. Just one man, standing off to the side, leaning against the wall of the building, a cigarette dangling from his lips as he took a long drag. The tip of the cig glowed bright orange in the darkness. His silhouette seemed larger than life, almost unreal in the way he stood. He was massive, the kind of bloke you’d notice even in a crowded room, let alone in the quiet of the night.

Tall as a statue but built like a brick wall—shoulders broad and thick with muscle, his frame nearly filling the space between the wall and the edge of the lot.

At first, you stopped, startled by his size.

He was the sort of man you’d expect to see guarding the door, maybe a bouncer or a security guard. That made sense, considering how much physical strength he had. You nodded at him out of politeness, the way you do when you make eye contact with a stranger and want to acknowledge their presence without committing to a conversation. His gaze lingered on you, sharp and calculating.

Why was he looking at you like that?

You quickly turned away, feeling oddly self-conscious, and pulled out your cig, attempting to light it. But of course, as your luck would have it, your lighter chose that moment to give up on you. No matter how many times you flicked the damn thing, it refused to spark.

“Seriously?” you muttered, cursing your luck again. The bravado of the alcohol in your system pushed you to turn towards your only companion, flashing him an awkward smile. “Hi. Hello. Any chance you’ve got a lighter, mate?”

The man didn’t speak at first.

He just watched you, observed you, his expression unreadable, his eyes dark and reflective under the dim light of the parking lot. There was something oddly familiar about the way he held himself, something in the way he stared at you that sent a ripple of recognition through you, but you couldn’t quite place it.

Without a word, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a black, well-worn lighter, and flicked it open. The flame sparked to life, small but steady, and he leaned forward, offering it to you. You stepped closer, holding your cigarette to the flame.

As you did, you couldn’t help but take a better look at him.

His face was mostly obscured by the dim lighting, but his features were hard and chiselled. His nose was crooked, as if it had been broken more than once, with a small scar running through his upper lip. His lips were thin, pressed into a line that gave nothing away, and the faint lines around his eyes hinted at a man who had lived through more than most. However, it was his gaze, those beautiful hazel eyes, that stopped you cold. They were sharp, almost piercing, and there was something else behind them—an intensity that made your stomach tighten.

For a moment, you thought it might just be the alcohol playing tricks on you, but the longer you looked, the more certain you became. There was no mistaking it.

Those eyes, guarded and haunted, belonged to Simon Riley.

“Thanks,” you muttered, taking a quick drag from your cig, stepping back, trying to act casual even though your heart was racing.

There was something about his presence, something that felt both familiar and distant at the same time. It had been years, after all. You’d moved on, or so you thought. But standing here now, the weight of the past pressed down on you, the memories flooding back like a tide you couldn’t hold back. This random bloke before you… yes, the resemblance was mad uncanny. You stole glances at the giant man, unsure, your mind buzzing with uncertainty and the effects of the alcohol. Was it really him? Could it be?

You hesitated, your hand trembling slightly as you took another drag from your cigarette. You wanted to ask, but the words stuck in your throat, too afraid to sound foolish. Too afraid that if you asked, you’d break whatever fragile moment this was. But before you could find the courage to speak, the man sighed.

That sigh.

It was unmistakable—quiet, irritated, as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders and he was tired of carrying it. It was the same sigh you’d heard all those years ago, on that warm summer night beneath the street lamps.

“Fuckin' hell,” he muttered under his breath, the deep, rough rumble of his voice sending a shiver down your spine. “S’me. Stop gawkin'.”

[scoonsalicious]

Like A Fairy Tale

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Summary: Dating Bucky Barnes had been like living a fairy tale, but as he distances himself from you and your relationship, you come to the realization that maybe fairy tales aren't meant to come true.

Warnings: Language to make Steve blush, mentions of alcohol use, implied sex, angst with a happy ending.

Word Count: 3.4k This is my very first posted fic, and I am very nervous but I hope you like it! If I've missed any warnings, please tell me so I can add them. Much love and thanks to my bestie @jmeelee for indulging my obsession and dropping everything to read this when I sent it to her <3 Please pardon any spelling/grammar errors.

If you ever feel so inclined to support my work, hop on over to buy me a coffee; it's much appreciated! <3 I write for 18+, so minors DNI. _____________________________________________________________

Once upon a time, being Bucky Barnes’ girl had felt like living in a fairy tale. He was everything your younger self had ever dared to dream of in a Prince Charming– attentive, affectionate, kind, and oh, how he made you laugh! You were the envy of all of your friends, the very definition of #couplegoals, and you thanked your lucky stars every night that the two of you had found one another, despite all the odds.

But fairy tales aren’t real. 

You weren’t sure exactly when it started, but somewhere in the third year of your relationship, after you’d moved into a handsome brownstone in Brooklyn together, after you’d adopted a fluffy white kitten, Bucky started pulling away from you. The steps that took him from you were small at first– he was taking on more and more missions, opting to stay gone for longer periods of time. Days would go by, and they’d turn into weeks, then a month or two at a time would go by where you wouldn’t see him. 

At first, it hadn’t been terrible– Bucky had always made sure to contact you each and every day. A video call whenever he could, a phone call or text when he couldn’t, but slowly, so slowly you barely noticed, the calls stopped coming all together. Sure, he’d answer when you called him… when he could, which wasn’t always possible on a mission, and you hated acting needy and taking him away from his work, so eventually, you stopped reaching out, too. 

When he was home, you were like ships passing in the night. You always offered to take time off of work so you could spend some time with him before he was set to head out again, but he never wanted you to jeopardize your career on his account. Your reunions would always be passionate, but short-lived, a few hot and heavy nights before he took off once more to save the world. 

You tried not to let it bother you. You really, really did. His job was so important. People’s lives relied on him. Where did you get off getting upset over that? So, you kept it to yourself. Until you couldn’t. Not any more.

“Y/N,” your best friend, Lainy, cornered you at her annual New Year’s Eve party, “where’s Barnes? He’s been leaving you to go solo for months now. I don’t think I’ve seen you with him since Mark’s St. Patrick’s Day Party.”

Ouch. “He’s working, Lainy,” you told her, not wanting to admit that March had been the last time the two of you had gone out together, let alone spent more than three days in a row in each other’s company. 

“Yeah, he was ‘working’ over the Memorial Day trip, and the 4th of July BBQ, and Jack and Alice’s wedding, and your aunt’s funeral.” You cringed internally as she applied air quotes to ‘working.’ “And he was ‘working’ on your birthday, and Christmas. Babe, he’s been leaving you alone for almost an entire year. What’s going on? Are you sure there isn’t someone else?”

The worst part was, you knew there wasn’t, or at least, no one individual. When he’d first started distancing himself, of course another woman was the first thing that came to your mind, and you weren’t proud of yourself, but you’d gone through his phone to search for evidence of an affair… multiple times, and repeatedly came up with nothing. And bless Bucky’s heart, but he didn’t have the technological know-how to hide an infidelity from you. Granted, that didn’t negate the possibility that he was randomly hooking up with people while he was away. You’d have to be stupid to not consider the possibility.

You could have asked Steve. You didn’t think Captain America had it in him to lie to you about something like that, but you didn’t want him reporting on your suspicions back to Bucky, nor did you think you could stand to see the look of pity in his eye if he had to tell you that yes, Bucky was cheating on you while you anxiously awaited his return every night. So, you kept the suspicions to yourself. 

Your conversation with Lainy had left you deflated. Here it was New Year’s Eve, and you were alone, the man you loved god knew where– just not with you. How many more holidays and milestones and everyday nights were you going to spend by yourself, waiting for a man who never seemed to want to be home with you anymore? This wasn’t the kind of life you wanted, the kind of life you deserved. 

You made your way to the kitchen to refill your glass of wine. You’d probably already had too many, but you needed to drown the despair that was slowly filling you up. As you poured an exceptionally generous glass, a man entered the kitchen. You recognized him– Harris, a cousin of Lainy’s who had flirted with you relentlessly for years before you had started seeing Bucky. 

“Y/N!” he exclaimed, his eyes lighting up upon seeing you, “it’s been awhile.” He enveloped you in a friendly hug. “How’ve you been?”

You smiled and exchanged pleasantries, catching up on the overall brushstrokes of your life. 

“I’m sorry about your breakup,” he offered gently, after you’d exhausted the usual small talk.

“My breakup?” you asked, brow piqued.

“Last few events I’ve seen you at, you’ve been alone. I assumed you and Barnes…” he left the thought floating, the implication hanging in the air: Barnes has left you alone, I assumed you broke up.

You huffed out a laugh. God. Was your relationship actually over and you were the only one dumb enough to not see it? 

“If you aren’t seeing anyone,” Harris continued, “I would really love to take you out. You’ve gotta know I’ve been into you for ages, and I figure if I don’t shoot my shot now, who knows when I’ll have another chance.”

You cocked your head and looked at him, taking in his earnest demeanor. Here was a man who genuinely wanted to spend time with you. Why were you waiting on someone who no longer wanted to be around?

“Um, I might have to get back to you on that, Harris,” you told him before excusing yourself. You needed air. 

You found yourself on Lainy’s balcony, the air deceptively mild for the end of December in Manhattan. Alone with your thoughts, you pulled out your phone and dialed Bucky’s number. It went straight to voicemail.

“Someone asked me out on a date tonight,” you said into the recording, your voice choked with tears you didn’t want to shed. “And I think I might say yes, because, honestly Buck, what are we even doing anymore? You’re never here, and I’m always alone. I tried. I tried so fucking hard to not let it get to me, because your work’s important. I know that. I do, and I’m not begrudging you for your job. But… but I can’t keep on like this. I can’t even remember the last time we spent more than three days together. Isn’t that crazy? Three days. Everyone thinks you’re cheating on me. Did you know that? You’re away so much that everyone I know is convinced you’re fucking someone else. Maybe you are, or maybe you already left me, but I’ve been too stupid to notice; if that’s the case, you could have just told me.” 

You kept your composure as you left the message. You weren’t angry at him; you never could be. You were just tired. So tired, and so lonely. 

“All I know is that it’s another night where I’m all by myself, wishing you were here, wanting to talk to you, to feel you, and you’re just… not. You’re off doing something, or someone, more important than me, and I used to be okay with that, but I can’t be anymore. I deserve more than waiting on you, Buck. I deserve to be someone’s priority. I really wish I could have been yours, the way you were mine. 

“So, let’s just call it, okay? Your heart’s obviously not in it anymore, and mine is too tired of being hurt and alone. We’ll have to figure out what to do about the house. I’m keeping Alpine, though. You haven’t been here for her, either, and it wouldn’t be fair of you to take her if you’re never going to be around.”

Inside, you could hear the rest of the party as they counted down to midnight. When they reached zero, the night erupted in fireworks, and you could hear cheers and cars honking their horns throughout the city below you.

“Huh,” you said into your phone, “it’s midnight. Happy New Year, Buck. I hope it ends up being a good one for you, and I’m sorry for whatever I did that made you decide you didn’t want to spend this last one with me.”

You hung up the phone and the tears finally fell as you slid down the balcony railing until you were crouched on the floor. You weren’t sure how long you sat there crying, but eventually Lainy found you, wrapping a blanket around your shoulders and ushering you into her spare room. She helped you change out of your cocktail dress and into a spare pair of pajamas, and helped you wash your face before tucking you into bed. She left you with a glass of water and a kiss on the forehead, promising that tomorrow would be better, that the next best chapter of your life was about to begin, but as you drifted into a fitful sleep, you couldn’t find the will to believe her.

You woke the next morning with a throbbing headache, the alcohol and the tears doing nothing but dehydrating you into agony. You grabbed your phone to check the time, but the battery had died in the night. From the slant of the sun coming in from the guest room window, it looked to be late morning or early afternoon. 

You changed back into your dress, thanking Lainy for her help and making a small joke about doing the walk of shame in your clothes from the night before. You avoided her questions about what had happened, promising to go over it at length at the weekend after you’d had some time to process. You weren’t in the best headspace to get into at the moment.

Fortunately, your best friend knew you well enough not to pry, and you said your goodbyes, plans for brunch on Sunday having been made. You weren’t eager to get back home, to be surrounded by reminders of Bucky, when all you wanted was the man, himself. But he was your ex-boyfriend now, you supposed. You were going to have to come to terms with that sooner than later. Besides, Alpine needed to be fed, and you weren’t going to abandon her.

Your keys clicked in the lock as you opened your front door. “Al, baby,” you called, kicking off your heels and closing the door behind you, “Mommy’s home. You hungry, sweetie?”

You began making your way back toward the kitchen when a loud crash from upstairs got your attention. You rolled your eyes; what had the cat knocked over now? 

But then there was the roar of a body barreling down the upstairs hall and toward the stairs, leaving you frozen where you stood. You cast a glance to where you’d left your phone in your purse by the door. Too far away to reach in time to call for help as the intruder came pounding down the stairs. 

A massive figure rounded the corner, nearly knocking you over.

“Bucky?” You blinked, sure your eyes were playing tricks on you, but no– there he stood, and he looked like shit. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days, and his eyes were swollen and red-rimmed. He’d obviously been wearing the same clothing for at least a day, if not more.

“Y/N,” he breathed, throwing his arms around you and wrapping you in an almost bone-crushing embrace. “Sweetheart, I was so worried.”

“What are you doing here, Buck?” you asked him, pulling away from him. God, you wanted to let him hold you, but you just couldn’t. Not anymore.

Bucky cupped your face in his hands, blue eyes desperately searching yours. “I got your message. Doll, it fucking broke my heart. I came straight home, but you weren’t here, and I was terrified that you were gone; that you’d left me for good.”

You scoffed. “I’m not the one who leaves, Bucky.”

He flinched at your words. “I know, Baby. I know, and ’m so sorry. I had no idea. I shoulda known what leavin’ you so much was doin’ to you, ‘cause it was doin’ it to me, too. When I heard you say that people– that you– thought I was cheating on you, that I had neglected you so much you thought I found someone else, that I could ever love anyone else, ever want anyone else– I’ve never hated myself more, doll. I can’t stand that you even had those thoughts in your head for one second, because it’s always been you. There’s never been anyone else. You’re it.”

“Then why have you been gone?” you asked him in a whisper. “If there’s no one else, and I’m it, why don’t you ever want to be with me? Why do you keep leaving?” 

Bucky ran both his hands along his face. “God, it feels so stupid now,” he said with a sigh. “But I was trying to save–”

“Trying to save the world, yeah, I know,” you interrupted him, annoyed. “Trust me, I’m well aware that I can’t compete with that. But I needed to know you thought we were worth saving, too, and you never did.”

Bucky started laughing then, and you scoffed. “Wow, you don’t have to rub it in, Bucky.”

“No, no– Sweetheart, no!” he shook his head. “That’s not it, at all. Hold on.” He went to the foyer and grabbed his go-bag; you had missed it when you walked in. Coming back to the kitchen, he put it on the table, opening it up and extracting a folded piece of paper and handing it to you.

It was a real estate listing for a farmhouse Upstate, with acreage on the Hudson. You and Bucky had talked about what kind of house you would buy if the situation had ever presented itself, and it was almost as if you’d dreamed it up.

You looked from the paper back to Bucky. “I don’t understand,” you told him.

“It needs pretty extensive renovations,” he told you. “I wanted to take on enough overtime to have the money for them and make a good dent on the mortgage, but it needed more work than I originally thought. And, I have to come clean– I haven’t been one hundred percent honest with you about where I’ve been spending all my time.” He looked up at you through his lashes, head bent down in shame.

“But… but, you said there wasn’t anyone else,” you stammered, heart ready to beat out of your chest. 

“Oh god! No, and I mean that! There isn’t, I swear! God, I’ve fucked this up so bad!” Bucky tugged at his hair in frustration. “I’ve been going on extra missions, but sometimes, Sam, Steve, and I go Upstate to do some work on the house, to cut down the costs so I could still make my timeline.”

“You already bought it?” you asked, your voice flat. You were in shock. “You want to move out? Away from me?”

Bucky moaned in distress and drew you to him again. “No! God, I’m doing this all wrong. I want us to move there, together. To make it the perfect house. The perfect home for me, my wife and our stupid fur baby.”

You stilled at his words. “I’m sorry, your what?”

Bucky smiled at you sheepishly as he reached back into his go-bag. “I’ll have you know that I had an entire plan. Was gonna have the house ready by Valentine’s Day. Take you up there as a surprise, ask you properly, but I fucked that up, so…” He brought his hand back out, holding a small burgundy velvet box. He opened it to reveal a vintage engagement ring, a sapphire instead of a diamond. Your favorite stone.

Bucky got down on one knee. “Y/N,” he began as his voice choked up a bit with emotion, “I know I fucked up for the last eight months. I would completely understand if you can’t forgive me, but I need you to know that I love you. I have only ever loved you, and if you let me, I will spend the rest of my life making up for the fact that, even for a moment, I let you think that you weren’t the most important thing in my life, my number one priority. Will you marry me?”

“Buck…” you began, not sure how to phrase what you were about to say. “What about your job? I can’t keep coming in second to the rest of the world, and I get that it’s selfish of me, but–”

“I quit,” he said simply.

“What?” Your eyes were wide with shock at his statement. 

“The second I heard your voicemail, where you said you wanted to call it because I was never there, I told Steve I was done, that I needed to start putting you first. It wasn’t even a question. I’m officially retired.”

Your mouth hung open. You had hoped he would cut down on his missions, but for him to have quit completely… You gently tugged him to his feet, taking the ring box and running a finger across it.

“It’s lovely,” you told him softly. “Absolutely perfect; exactly what I would have picked for myself.” Bucky beamed at you, pleased. “But I can’t accept it.” His face fell as you gently placed the ring back in his hands. 

“Oh,” he whispered, eyes growing glassy. “I… um, I understand. I fucked up, hurt you. I understand if you don’t want to be with me anymore.”

“I still want to be with you, you idiot,” you admonished him. “But you did hurt me, and we’ve been apart for a long time. We need time to find our way back to each other again, okay? Ask me again on Valentine’s Day, just like you originally planned. Don’t do it now just because you fucked up.” You leaned up on your tip toes and kissed him. “And if it helps make you feel better, I’m probably going to say ‘yes,’ anyway.”

Bucky grinned at you. “Really?” he asked. When you nodded, he picked you up and spun you in  a circle before pressing his lips to yours as if he hadn’t touched you in months. “I promise you, Sweetheart, I’ll do anything I can to make this up to you, I swear it.”

“Anything?” you asked with a smile. “I think I know where you can start.”

“Oh yeah?” he asked you. “And where’s that?”

“Take me to bed, Bucky Barnes,” you said, kissing him again.

Without a word, Bucky swung you over his shoulder and ran with you up the stairs, your squeals and giggles echoing behind him.

Much, much later, when you lay sated together tangled in limbs and sheets with Alpine snuggled next to your heads, Bucky played with your fingers as you rested your head on his bare chest.

“So, Doll,” he said, kissing the pads of each of your fingers, “you gonna tell me who had the nerve to ask my girl out on a date?” 

You laughed. “Lainy’s cousin, Harris. I suppose I’ll have to text him now and tell him I’m not interested.”

“Hell no, you’re not interested,” Bucky chuffed. “Gonna have to remind that punk you’ve already got a boyfriend. The position has been filled.”

“That’s the thing, though,” you said, planting a kiss on his nose. “I don’t have a boyfriend anymore, do I?”

Bucky’s face fell. “But I thought you said–”

“I’ve got myself a fiance.”

Bucky tightened his grip around you, drawing you even closer to his warmth. “Yeah, okay. I gotta admit I like the sound of that a lot better.”

Your entire relationship with Bucky Barnes might not have played out like a fairy tale, but in that moment, you were more sure than ever that you two would get your happily ever after.

[impala-dreamer]

Wonderstruck

A Magical Short Story

~ Attending a wedding alone is rarely fun. Add to it a bunch of people you don't know all hidden behind masks, things can get a little shaky. But sometimes, if you're lucky, magic can happen...~

Henry Cavill x F!Reader

3,160 Words

Warnings: Nothing but romance and magic and fluff and mystery!

A/N: Yes, it's me. No, I have not been kidnapped. This was written in part for my personal goal of branching out a bit, but moreover as a Valentine's gift for @mariekoukie6661 and @kittenofdoomage <3

Impala-Dreamer’s Masterlist  ~  Patreon  ~ Published Works

Her dress was sleek and as dark as midnight; her heels were high and deadly. Her lips dripped with crimson; a silver mask hid beautifully sad and strikingly painted eyes.

She kept to the edges of the ballroom, ducking behind round tables clad in expensive linens and gold inlaid china, skirting billowing gowns as they spun on the dancefloor. She slipped in and out of the shadows with a slowly emptying champagne glass pinched delicately between two fingers.

Despite her annoyance in being there, she could not deny the beauty of the night. The massive room was decorated in glamorous gold and pearl accents. Heavy velvet curtains hung over the windows on each wall, letting in a glimpse of the moonlit garden outside. The floors were marble that had been polished to perfection, and a warm candlelight glow illuminated the room.

It felt as if she’d stepped into a fairy tale.

A fairy tale about a sad girl watching the party from afar, alone but for the bubbles in her glass.

Which, sadly, were now gone.

Y/N sighed heavily and looked across the dancefloor at the long bar that stretched across the back wall of the ballroom. A hundred guests in suits and gowns, feathers and masks, twirled in front of her, blocking the path. Silently, she weighed the pain of entering the waltzing throng over going another moment without a healthy buzz in her head. She took a breath. She took a step.

Her heels clicked rhythmically as she laid her course for the bar. She kept her eyes on the goal, carefully maneuvering through the dancing couples, wondering if they’d all been to some class she hadn’t been invited to. All their steps seemed identical; all the women spun with the same flourish. She shook her head. Life should never be so choreographed.

After nearly tripping over a dragging tail of taffeta, Y/N finally made it to the bar and braced herself on the top. As she caught her breath, a deep but soft laugh hit her ear.

She turned toward the sound and spied a large man leaning on the bar a few feet away. He turned as she did, leaning one elbow on the bartop and kicking a long leg over the other. His tuxedo was immaculate and perfectly tailored; his shoes shined like the stones below. He wore a mask of black with silver adornment, and two crisp blue eyes scanned her form from beneath. She could feel them sneak down her body, lingering a bit in the deep curve of her waist and at the globe of her ass.

She cleared her throat, drawing his eyes up to hers.

“Something funny, Slick?” she asked, lips pursed in clear annoyance.

The man grinned. His lips were full and pink beneath a thin scruff of a beard.

“I liked your dance,” he said in reply.

She was startled by his accent - elegant and somehow too perfectly English, as if he were pretending to be from across the Atlantic. She bit her lip and narrowed her eyes at him, trying to figure him out.

It was nearly impossible. The masks were a problem.

Y/N rolled her eyes. She didn’t know why, but she felt that he needed to work a little harder to get her attention. Maybe she was bored, maybe the shock of his voice had her aflutter. Whatever it was, she turned up the sass.

“Yeah, well, I was a ballerina in a past life.”

Again, he laughed. A little louder, a little more enticing.

“I can see that. Prima ballerinas often trip over themselves and end up slamming into tables.”

She bit back a laugh and turned back to meet his gaze. “We take a special class for that.”

The man cocked his head towards her champagne flute. “And with an empty glass, no less.”

“What can I say, I’m very good at my job.”

Slowly, he pushed himself up from the bar and took a step closer. “May I buy you another?”

Her eyes slid up from his shoes to the loose, curly mop of black hair atop his head. He was tall and broad, and looked as solid as a statue. Her pulse quickened.

“I’m pretty sure it’s free,” she teased.

He stopped a foot from her side. “Still…” With a quick snap of his fingers, he called for the bartender and ordered them both another round.

“A dirty martini, Mr. Bond?” She smiled at his order.

“Shaken, not stirred,” he replied, lifting his glass.

His smile was as intoxicating as the golden liquid in her glass and butterflies swirled in her stomach.

Each took a sip, swallowing slowly with their eyes locked. The blue crashed over her and Y/N lost herself in the sparkle of his smiling gaze.

Worried that she was staring too hard, she tore herself away and let out a hard breath.

“So… how do you know the bride?” she asked, trying to pry his identity free.

He licked a drop of vodka from his lip. “I don’t.”

She laughed gently. “Wedding crasher, huh?” She leaned closer, dropped her voice to a whisper. “Don’t worry, I won’t turn you in.”

He moved in even closer. A warm scent pulsed off of him, flooding her senses with leather and vanilla and something she couldn’t place. Something spicy that made her mouth water so much she forgot that she was supposed to be playing hard to get.

“That’s kind of you,” he whispered. “I don’t think Charlie will press charges though.”

She smiled. “Ah, you’re on the groom’s side.”

“And you?”

His eyes fell to her lips and Y/N’s cheeks burned.

“I, uh… I work with Chloe, the- the bride.”

He nodded and took a sip of his drink. “Charlie and Chloe,” he said with a light laugh. “So many Cs.”

He was too cool, too confident yet sweet. She almost hated him.

“Who are you?” she asked, confused and irked. She had not come to the wedding to meet anyone, let alone a gorgeous, blue-eyed Brit, who may or may not actually be British.

Another slow sip guided her eyes back to his lips and she wondered if he tasted as good as he smelled.

“Henry,” he said softly.

She laughed. “Of course you are.”

“Why’s that funny?”

“Because of course your name is Henry. With your perfect accent and your sexy tuxedo…”

He stood up, suddenly towering over her, and tipped his head, eyes swiping over her again.

“And what about you? You’ve got to be called Celeste or Audrey or something classic and elegant.”

Y/N drained the rest of the champagne at the bottom of her glass and stood to face him properly. “Well, Prince Charming, why don’t you just call me Cinderella.”

Henry reached for her hand and she gave it jokingly.

His kiss was no joke, landing softly on her skin and making the rest of her shiver. She held her breath and nearly fainted when he looked up.

“Pleased to meet you, Cinderella.”

Her head swam a bit and she wondered if that was what swooning was.

“Charmed,” she said with a dreamy smile.

He held her gaze, swept a warm thumb over her knuckles. His touch was like fire and she wanted to run. Away from him or into his arms - she couldn’t decide. All she knew was that there was magic in the air and she could not seem to tear herself away from the mystery of his face. His eyes were tragically beautiful, as if she was lost at sea on a broken raft, thirsting and alone, but she had the comfort of the blue waves to keep her safe. She thought herself insane. He was just a man in a mask at a fancy wedding. Just a tall, impossibly fit, perfectly dressed man at a masquerade ball. A deliciously gorgeous man who smelled like drinking in front of a roaring fire in a cozy library filled with old books in some ancient castle in Scotland. A man who was still holding her hand and her gaze, stealing too many moments and breaths from her day.

Y/N shook herself and pulled her hand from his.

“I should… go…” She turned toward the room. She had to get away, had to free herself from the captivating stranger and return to ignoring her coworkers and the bride’s overly friendly family. “It was nice to meet you, Henry.”

His frown nearly cracked the earth beneath her feet.

“Don’t leave just yet,” he pleaded. “I… Well, I don’t really know anyone here and you’re…”

She looked back over her shoulder as he hesitated. “Yes?”

He blushed and sought comfort in his shoes. Such a beautiful sight: a strong, confident man instantly melting into shyness.

Blue eyes looked up. “Beautiful and enchanting and… I was hoping that we could dance.”

She nearly fell over, knocked out by his voice and charm. A quick breath steeled her nerves. “Sadly, I cannot.”

He stood up fully but somehow still seemed small. “Dance with me?”

“Dance at all,” she corrected.

He laughed. “Well, how about another drink and some conversation?”

With a sigh, Y/N looked back at the crowd, into the sea of indistinguishable masks and unfamiliar forms. Giving in, she nodded politely and spun around to the bar.

They ordered another round and took up residence at the end of the counter, half hidden in shadow, invisible to the other party-goers. Music soared above their heads but they could barely hear it, so engrossed in each other’s stories.

They spoke of simple things- movies they’d loved as children and that well-worn paperbacks were still tucked into their bookcases. She asked him about home and he talked about the London traffic and how he preferred to stay around the house on rainy days playing games on his PC. He poked her about work and she glossed over her job, insisting that they keep the conversation light and free from day-to-day struggles. They drank and laughed and fell even deeper into each other’s gaze.

It was strange to have a conversation with a stranger in a mask. She knew that he was handsome- his eyes were brilliant, his lips perfectly plump. His jaw was tight and his neck was thick. He was big and sturdy, yet gentle and bashful. Though most of his face was hidden, she knew he was perfect.

Perhaps a little too perfect.

But as the alcohol flowed and the night wore on, Y/N couldn’t find a reason anymore to run. The night had cast a spell around them and there was no escape. There was magic in the gilded accents around the room, in the symphony of violins that danced above their heads, in their true smiles and tentative touches.

Even if he wasn’t perfect, she thought, the moment was.

And the moment was suddenly broken.

A firm hand on her wrist dragged Y/N from her place at the bar and onto the dancefloor. The bride would not be ignored and refused to take no for an answer. Pained by the intrusion and the demand, Y/N reluctantly took Chloe’s hands and twirled her around. The skirt of the massive wedding dress billowed like a cloud around Chloe’s small frame and Y/N laughed as she was nearly caught up in the fabric.

Heart racing and smile wide, she turned back to Henry but was shocked to find his place empty. Their glasses sat abandoned on the bar and Prince Charming was nowhere to be found. She felt a tug in her chest and a dampness behind her eyes.

Before she could shrug it off as just a random encounter and push his blue eyes from her mind, a tap on the shoulder made her gasp.

She spun on the spot and found him there with a sweet smile and open arms.

“May I have this dance?” he asked, dipping into half a bow.

Excitement rushed through her and Y/N bit her lip. “I told you, I’m not a good dancer.”

Unwilling to let her back away, Henry scooped her up and held her close, one hand capturing hers and the other pressing gently into the small of her back. He leaned in and teased his lips at her ear.

“Then let me lead…”

His fingers pulsed against her back, guiding her to move against him. They turned a few times until she was dizzy in his arms, laughing as he whispered into her ear:

“Left… right… back… you’ve got it…”

His breath on her skin was like a gust of summer air, warm and delicious, flooding her body with calm.

“See? You’re not too bad at this.”

Y/N looked up into his eyes and felt the world fade away. They rose up together off of the dancefloor, floating gently above the other guests, impossibly alone in the crowd. She knew she was drunk, knew she’d pay for it in the morning, but she didn’t really care. She didn’t care that her friends were watching, probably whispering about the mysterious man she was dancing with. She didn’t care that she’d twice stepped on his toes or that there was no way she could hide the fact that being so close to him wasn’t turning her into a melted, lustful shell of what she usually was.

The music crescendoed and Y/N held her breath. Henry dipped his chin, blue eyes locked on her hers. The world slowed down, the seconds stretched on forever. She closed her eyes, savored his exhale against her lips. His hand slid gently up her back, fingers wove through her hair. She felt her legs grow weak, her stomach tensed, her heart skipped. He took a breath.

The band stopped short and Y/N startled as the crowd shited. The moment was gone, ripped away once more by the party swelling around them.

A rush of silk; the click of hundreds of heels. Cheers rose throughout the room as a giant cake was rolled out onto the dancefloor. It towered up to the ceiling with beautiful rows of white creme roses and pearls strategically placed to make the fondant glow in the warm light trickling down from the chandelier above.

As the guests closed in, Y/N was pulled out of Henry’s arms and her heart ached as he once again was out of her sight.

Black suits swarmed around her, heavy gowns brushed against her legs. Voices rang loud. Bodies closed in on all sides.

Breathless, she spun, searching for an exit, for a way to push through the throng.

A hand appeared and reached for her. She clasped his fingers and Henry raced toward the big doors to their left, pulling her free of the mob.

They tumbled out into the cool air and found relief as the doors closed behind them, blocking the music and the excitement, leaving them alone in the night.

The garden was dark but magically aglow with warm, golden light. Fairy lights twinkled around them, strung from bushes and topiaries, highlighting a stone path. Beyond, a labyrinth of tall evergreen waited for curious souls to venture inside, daring the branches to keep them from reaching the end.

Wonderstruck by the evening- the dramatic escape, the music, the champagne and Henry’s crystalline eyes- she stumbled. One single step turned her ankle and the deadly heels she never wore took her down.

Her gasp tore through the garden, but Henry was there to catch her fall. She swung in his strong arms and her fear turned to laughter.

“This is just absurd!” she said, steadying herself with a palm over his chest.

Henry was calm and stable, easily holding her upright. “What’s that?”

“I mean… You literally just swept me off of my feet.” She shook her head and with a blushing smile, pushed away. “This is getting silly.”

Away from his grasp, she teetered again and Henry took her hand before disaster could strike.

“Why don’t you sit down for a moment,” he suggested, nodding towards a stone bench not far away. “Those shoes are dangerous.”

“You have no idea.”

She let him help her to the bench and watched in awe as he fell to one knee. Like an actual Prince Charming, he took Cinderella’s ankle in his hands and gently ran his fingers over the thin strap holding the shoe in place.

“You’re not swollen,” he reported. “That’s good.”

When he looked up, concern fading from his eyes, she gave up trying to suppress the enchantment of the night and took a deep breath.

Hands cupped around his face, she leaned in and finally met his lips.

Startled but delighted, Henry pushed up to meet her, taking her once more in his strong arms and kissing her properly.

Tiny lights flickered in the breeze, soft music seeped out into the garden, and Prince Charming and Cinderella found each other in the dark. Lips hungry and hands wild; heat mixing between them like a budding fire.

When the clock struck twelve, it chimed loudly and they broke apart, laughing.

“Seems about right,” she joked, looking towards the wedding. “Party ends at midnight.”

Henry dragged a thick finger over her collarbone. “Does that mean you’ll turn into a pumpkin and disappear?”

She laughed softly. “I don’t know when the last time you read Cinderella was, but… no.”

He licked her taste from his lip. “So you don’t need to go then?”

Her smile fell. “I do…”

“You could stay…” He dipped his chin and looked up through the mask, blue eyes dark in the light. “We could… find a spot-”

Y/N shook her head and reached for his hand. “I can’t, I’m sorry. I have to be back in the city tomorrow for work.” She lifted his fingers to her lips and left him with a final kiss.

Henry sighed. “Pity.”

She nodded and gathered her strength to stand and do what she should have done hours ago- run. Except this time, she was certain she meant it to be into his arms. Only this time, she couldn’t.

“I’m sorry…”

Quickly, she turned, carefully stepping back onto the stone path and away from the mystery man with his intoxicating voice and perfectly engrossing kiss.

He stood and called to her, desperate for one more look at his Cinderella.

“Wait-”

She paused, hand on the big glass door, heart in her throat. “Yes?”

“Don’t I even get to know your real name?”

She looked over her shoulder and smiled. “It’s Y/N.”

Henry bowed his head in thanks and when he came up, the mask came off, slowly revealing a face she’d only imagined in her dreams.

He blushed at her shocked stare and laughed gently.

“It was nice to meet you, Y/N.”

She sighed, blissful and lost in a dream that she prayed would last the rest of her life.

“You too…”

2024 Forever Tags (Always Open! Send an Ask!)

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[queenofthekings]

𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘦

Summary: Stuck at Steve Harrington’s Christmas party; you and Eddie both escape and end up in the same quiet room.

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Reader

Author’s note: Another one of my Edancy fics made into an Eddie and Reader fic, I hope you enjoy!

CW: None, just fluff

Word count: 602

Tagging: @lunatictardis @reidsbtch @melodymunson @battymunson

Any hate will not be tolerated, constructive criticism is welcomed.

Steve Harrington’s Christmas party was the highlight of every year – they were legendary, it almost seemed like everyone would base their social calendar for the year around his party. Anyone who was anyone in Hawkins would be invited and then they would bring a plus one or two, making the invite list and endless array of names that everyone was sure Steve barely knew.

Eddie always thought the parties were massively overrated. If he wanted to watch people get too drunk they couldn’t stand and then start fighting, he would’ve gone to The Hideout on a Friday night. He’d tried to relax by drinking a couple of beers, but it didn’t seem to have worked, way too many people.

He’d escaped to an upstairs bedroom, sitting against the bed, and staring out at the large balcony doors, wondering how the hell he’d ended up even getting invited in the first place.

You were always drawn to parties – there was something about the way people could just lose themselves in the music and alcohol that always seemed to intrigue you. Even if your own party days were long over, you still loved to go to parties and just talk to people, even if they were completely wasted and made no sense. During the course of the evening, you’d been given a makeshift flower crown, although instead of flowers, it had cranberries and mistletoe braided into it.

After making a quick trip to the bathroom, you saw the back of Eddie slip into one of the bedrooms, the door closing quickly behind him. You looked around to see nobody else was watching or following, and then followed in after him. You tried to be as quiet as possible but clearly not quiet enough as he turned and looked at you.

“Sorry for interrupting, I just wanted to see if you were okay.”

Eddie relaxed at your words of concern, relaxing back on the floor before moving aside so you could sit next to him. “I’m okay. I just… I don’t even know why I’m here; someone invited me as a plus one. Parties aren’t really my forte.”

You rested your chin on your knees, licking your lips. “I invited you.”

“Why?”

“Because I wanted an excuse to talk to you.”

Eddie smiled at your words, instinctively moving closer to you. “Oh, really? What did you wanna talk about?”

You shrugged, shaking your head a little as you blushed. “Anything. I like hearing you talk; you always just seem so compelling when you do.”

“Well, well, well, I never thought the Princess of Hawkins would want to talk to me, Eddie Munson, the lowly peasant.”

“I don’t think of you like that, nor do I think of myself like that.”

“I think of myself like that,” Eddie shrugged, taking the last sip of his beer before putting it to one side. “I like the headdress, by the way. It’s very… fairy tale.”

You smiled, remembering you still had the crown on. “Thanks, there was a girl downstairs giving them out, saying we should’ve all gotten more into the Christmas spirit.”

He gently poked it, pulling off a mistletoe berry. “Is that mistletoe?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Well, there’s one thing I have to do now,” he whispered before kissing your cheek before you could question or protest.

You frowned a little, confused as he pulled away. “What was that for?”

“The tradition is you kiss a girl under mistletoe so that next year, she isn’t single and for every kiss, you remove one berry until there’s none left,” he smiled softly, pulling off another berry.

[francesderwent]

my brain is fried i'm so overtired I've cried spontaneously at least once a day for the past three days will you please help a girl out with a soft cozy wholesome movie recc please and thank you

I’m so sorry my dear!! I dug to the depths of a bunch of old tag games and my film tag and this is what I came up with!

when I’m strung out I tend to gravitate to movies that will make me happy-cry so this list will at moments tend in that direction. I tried to sort by what was available to stream now, and the sub-lists are in no particular order

if you have amazon prime (the basic package):

Penelope (2006). highly recommend, a funny little modern fairy tale about a lonely young girl searching for a way to break her curse. this one heals something in my heart

Stardust. also highly recommend! a chaotic fairy tale about true love and what a person would do for it.

Street Gang. the Sesame Street documentary. sometimes people are good and they’re trying to make the world a better place and they’re doing it with their friends.

How To Train Your Dragon. it’s a perfectly executed film and the score and animation is gorgeous. (also available on netflix)

if you have netflix:

Feel the Beat. a dance flick about a seemingly cold-hearted ambitious young woman becoming a dance teacher in her hometown

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. so so so rewatchable.

She’s the Man. the funniest movie on this list and possibly of all time. I have never shown this movie to a person who didn’t end up loving it. it’s Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night at boarding school as a soccer movie

if you have tubi?? you might not need a membership I don’t know how tubi works??

The Music Man. some of the best costumes and choreography my favorite age of movie musicals had to offer. a con man comes to a small Iowa town and starts to want to believe in the beautiful lie he’s selling.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. this movie was written by Roald Dahl and it is buck wild. widowed inventor and his two children buy a broken down racing car and?? hijinks and musical numbers ensue

if you have disney plus:

Princess Diaries (1&2). we know them, we love them.

Sky High. if you haven’t seen this, I highly recommend it because it is silly fun but it understands the genre it’s playing with.

Newsies (1992). scrappy newsboys form a union, sing songs, punch each other, ???, profit

Holes. the single best adapted book to film ever? the cast commentary is also hilarious

Rodgers and Hammerstein Cinderella (1997). absolutely delightful. Whitney Houston as the godmother! Jason Alexander as the butler! Brandy as Cinderella! Bernadette Peters as the stepmother!

if you feel up for a trip to the library, things to look for:

The Hundred Foot Journey. I only saw this one once but it’s about a family who opens up an Indian restaurant across from a Michelin-starred French restaurant and it’s gorgeous

A League of Their Own (1992). sisters! best friends! married women and their disreputable drunk coach friends!

The Secret Garden (1993). highly recommend! this one fixes me down to my bones.

This Beautiful Fantastic. also highly recommend! a woman who’s afraid of the world falls in love with it.

Secondhand Lions. also highly recommend!! a boy gets dropped off with his great-uncles for the summer, hears possibly made-up stories of their wild and adventurous youth

August Rush. a young musical prodigy searches for his parents.

Sense and Sensibility (1995). if you need Austen energy, this is the one.

Cinderella (2015). this movie is so gentle and so lovely.

Little Women (1994). life is gonna be hard and sad but it’s gonna be beautiful and the love will endure!!!

I hope this helps and I hope you feel better! ❤️❤️

[fairytale-poll]

ROUND 2! MATCH 1 OUT OF 8

Propaganda Under the Cut:

Bugs:

So the story is that the Three Little Pigs sell Bugs their straw and wood houses, the Big Bad Wolf blows them down, and Bugs decides to get revenge - by dressing himself up as Little Red Riding Hood, getting the Wolf to play his part in that story, and then messing with him as only Bugs can. Here's the video if you've never seen it: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6vk41x

Bugs Bunny is an icon and he was so good for his role in this short. When he and the wolf realized they could work together against the pigs... oh my God. Come on Tumblr, you have to admit they had a little gay tension between them. Besides, at the end, when the brick house comes down and the wolf, so surprised and proud of himself exclaims "I did it!" and then it pans over to Bugs with the bomb and he slyly adds "We did it!" communist Bugs canon.

Red:

I'm pretty sure she uses her hood as a parachute at some point. (A note from tournament Mod: She does.)

sillie

she is so iconic. to me at least (watched hoodwinked appx 500000000 times during family road trips)

This delivery girl knows karate! Watch Hoodwinked

my first exposure to a real adaption of a classic story in video. Girl twists the whole story up compared to the original. Love how it's like an old fashioned PI show but still so 2005 in vibes.

A classic fairy-tale-with-a-twist-movie that if anyone hasn't seen they should. This story takes various elements not just from Red Riding Hood's story but other fairy tales to retell the story with Red as the true center and hero of the story and reframes it as a mystery. It's also one of the few good retellings that makes the wolf good while not framing him as a love interest, which allows the plot to remain focused on Red.

best movie ever

Listen. I don't necessarily think she should win this movie is fucking insane and not all of that insanity is necessarily good. HOWEVER. I have a pitch for you. Wouldn't it be so fucking funny to put Red Puckett on this poll as a wild card? Like how many people would be like "fucking HOODWINKED?". Also what other tellings of red riding hood go the crime mystery route? Like cmon

She's the protagonist of what I believe is one of the funniest and best written films of all time. She's so smart and talented

The entire Hoodwinked series is just really funny to me. I also think she's an absolute badass as she knows kung-fu and takes no shit from the wolf. Also her granny appears above her when they are both flying and somehow she sees her as a big cloud head despite it just being her granny doing a ski jump. She had to be high because she met a weed loving Billy goat literally right before that.

the creators said 'what if red riding hood did karate and was voiced by Anne Hathaway' and simply did not wait for an answer.

because she's the funniest answer

Okay as a child I watched this movie and liked it a lot, but by coincidence, I happened to watch it on Eid twice in a row (I'm Muslim). So for a few years in a row I made it a tradition to watch this movie on Eid while drinking orange juice (very important piece of the puzzle). This movie is so dumb and goofy, I really enjoy it, and also she's voiced by Princess Mia Thermopolis herself.

[toussainttwins]

“You are implying that all beautiful things may shatter.” Eyes of hazel gilded in flecked crimson sharpen, the previous glimmer of welcoming mirth ripped away with the slight lower of a brow. Feigned or not. And yet, a smile remained curled within gentle features, and it is so that it broadens ever so slightly. A witch made to show her teeth, unafraid to bloody them with the red of the flayed man if she so pleased. She was a witch, the next thing to a God, and she was not fragile, and she would never break. And so she gives her a smile, with the fold of hands at her torso. “And yet- I have heard that beauty often hide claws.” And mine are as long and sharp as yours.

As she would chuckle for the moment. “Yet I am glad you are here.” As she leaned forward and would look right at her for the moment, hand raising to her face and cupping her cheek for the time being, before one hand moved to her skirt and would pull upon it, pulling up the crimson silks, to show her, the hazel fur, the softest brown fur there ever was, along with the hooves that where on the ground. “How do you walk like this.” As her tail flickered back and forth, as she was beautiful in every single way. But her curse, of all those years ago, with turning lovers into horses, had bitten her back, and this was the result, she was like the little lamb, hiding right in plain sight.

Who could blame a maiden that sought the help of a witch? It was as common in fairy-tales, as it was in daily life, only in the latter girls had a much more meagre desires and the payment was, as a result, less demanding. But for Natanis her cause seemed as dire as all the woes of princesses of earth and parchment combined. The petite succubus would trade anything for the happy ending of her tale, and thusly one day she put all the wisdom aside, donned a fancy travelling cape in a shade of a dryad's embrace for a good luck, locked the doors of the shop as tightly as she locked the fear out of her own heart and went to seek the Daughter of Kaedwenian Wilderness. Luckily, the infamous sorceress resided not as far as her moniker suggested, and it took the horned beauty but a short trip to the border. Yet her pretty hoofs burned with hurry, as if she was dancing thought a garden of knives, like that unhappy little siren... "Oh, I am glad too, sangbonbon!" Sabrina's smile left a hollow taste down her throat. It yearned and it burned, but not for her kisses, not for her flesh. It seemed like a tainted mirror of the crimson flower that burned inside her own chest. But was such a terrible miracle even possible? Regardless, a sorceress you know was better than a sorceress who would like to gobble you up alive... Natanis gulped, but did not let her own relieved smile flicker.

"Beautiful things may shutter...if they are left alone in this world, if there is no one to cradle their heart in their arms. For what would beauty mean, if it shone only for itself? Claws can't fight solitude." the petite succubus hurried the words out of her mouth, terrible and ugly, for all the fear they were laced with underneath. Natanis was afraid, but not of Sabrina Glevissig - not that she didn't recognize teeth and claws even if they were but lovely names for grisly weapons - of her own thoughts. Of her...loss she was afraid to put into speech. "Oh..." a plump hand flew towards the horned beauty's mouth. She looked up and down the flame-haired sorceress figure, up and down again and..broke into a genuine, sugar-sweet smile and a squeal of delight. "What a beauty you are, mistress Sabrina! Why, a fur of such a shade, like golden-chestnut-of-3-wishes... the softness of a dream, and to the eyes alone! Hoofs strong and shiny! almost as pretty as mine! And a tail..." Natanis, the weight of her iron-heavy woe lifted from the dainty shoulders for a moment, circled the newly-cursed - blessed! - sorceress-succubus, like a clockwork toy - rapid and loud with many gasping praises, sharp to the details with the eyes of a seamstress.

"Ah, do your new, charming hoofs give you any pain? It must be the cobblestones! They are a torture once you change the soft earth of the forest for the joys of the cities!" the vivacious twin shook her golden curls in sympathy, gasped again as if remembrance of something vital shoot her through the very heart and snatched a tiny, silver-clasped notebook, seemingly out of thin-air. The movement was so nimble, one could call it magic, whence it was a sleight of hand and a silver chain of a chatelain, hidden amidst the fold of the dress to blame. "I shall make a special skirt for you, with a long train, as long as a cloud on an autumn day, so it would hide your hoofsteps from the prying eyes when you walk in all your beauty!" @fallesto

[peachyfuck18]

Favorite Horror Icons as Fairy Tales

For my sake I’ll be doing the original fairytales not the Disney versions. Enjoy

Billy Loomis-Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault

-When Billy was first born the King and Queen treated him as their own pride and joy so much that they forgot to hold a festival for a legendary demon as the king put it that his son was more important than some stupid dream demon

-Of course the demon Frederick was not happy to hear this and so in the middle of the night secretly cursed the young prince to die by a spindle of a spinning wheel when he is sixteen

-But Nancy, a good fairy loved throughout the land gets wind of this and on the same night alters the curse by having his death be a long sleep for a hundred days before a prince comes to save him

-Sixteen years go by and Billy is now a beautiful young prince that all the men in the kingdom want for his beauty but he always turns them down cause he dreams of a better man despite his lady in waiting Sidney’s insistence on finding a husband

-When his parents and the guards aren’t looking he manages to get away from the palace walls and comes across a beautiful cabin and while exploring sees a spinning wheel and has fun with it trying it out before he pricks his finger and a needle is now stuck in his finger and he’s soon passed out on the floor

-It doesn’t take long before Sidney finds him and his parents soon after and in grief turn the cabin into his resting place and Nancy, hoping to never see this day decides to help Billy by making enchanted roses sprout all over the cabin so those with an evil heart will never take advantage of the young prince

-A hundred days go by and Stu, a prince from a neighboring kingdom, is out on a hunting trip with his friends when he gets separated from them and it’s about to storm that night til he finds the cabin. The roses, not seeing a threat, unravel to let him in and while looking for somewhere to sleep spots Billy on the bed

-At first he’s confused cause how could someone be sleeping so soundly as if they were dead when they don’t look dead and thinks maybe it’s a fae or a witch playing tricks but he tries to get him to wake up til he ends up seeing the needle on his finger and thinking that the beautiful boy fainted from having it in takes it out awakening Billy

-Billy is awake but is still tired and sleeping and bye the way he’s gripping onto Stu’s hand he decides to let himself in the bed and the two spend the night cuddling away safe from the storm outside

-The next day Billy is fully awake and is confused on why he’s in a bed and especially who the handsome boy besides him is

-When Stu wakes up he’s surprised that the boy from the night before is awake and is looking at him with a strange fondness

-After introducing each other Billy and Stu get to know each other for the rest of the day and it’s there Stu tells Billy about how his kingdom thinks he has died and at first Billy is distraught before Stu comforts him in his arms

-When Stu’s friends find him they see the beautiful young prince of the neighboring kingdom in his arms and Sidney reveals that she had taken a job as a handmaiden at Stu’s palace to deal with the grief but is glad that he is alive and well and Stu proposes to Billy to let him take him back to the kingdom and marry him and Billy immediately says yes

-When they get back to the kingdom Stu and Billy have a grand wedding and Billy is soon reunited with his parents after Stu invite them over for a grand dinner

Jennifer Check-Snow White by The Grimm Brothers

-When a young queen is pregnant and sewing near an open window during a winter snowfall when she pricks her finger with her needle causing a drop of blood to drip onto the freshly fallen white snow on the black windowsill. She then wishes for a daughter with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood and hair as black as ebony

-Sometime later the queen gives birth to a beautiful baby girl who she names Jennifer before dying a day later. A year later the king soon immediately marries a woman, Elaine Parks, who is very beautiful but very vain and is a dark witch who owns a magic mirror who she asks everyday who is the fairest of them all and the mirror always replies with her who is the fairest

-When Jennifer is seven years old the king soon dies and Elaine immediately begins to disregard her stepdaughter by removing her status as a princess and making her a servant in the castle

-When Jennifer is seventeen years olds she has grown into a very beautiful girl and one day Elaine goes to her mirror again to ask who is the fairest when to her shock and horror the mirror answers Jennifer. But the queen gets an idea to get her huntsman to take her daughter to the woods and kill her by lying that she is a succubus killing men and to kill her and bring her back her heart as proof

-The Huntsman tries to kill her but can’t bring himself to do it and tells Jennifer the truth about her stepmother and Jennifer soon runs away coming across an empty cabin where she takes a nap on one of the three beds

-The owners of the house, three brothers, Bo, a blacksmith , Vincent, a coffin builder and Lester, a miner get back from work when they see a girl sleeping in one of their beds and she wakes up and explains everything to them and the brothers take pity on her and decide to let her stay as long as she cleans and cooks for them

-Several weeks go by and Elaine thinks that the huntsman has killed her stepdaughter when in reality he actually killed a wild boar in place of Jennifer and after asking her mirror who’s the fairest of them all it answers with Jennifer again and of course Elaine decides to end this and disguises herself as a poor little girl selling apples and puts on a convicting act to trick Jennifer into eating the poisoned one she had for her and as soon as Jennifer goes down Elaine knows she had won

-Bo, Vincent and Lester soon find her and try everything to wake her up but of course nothing works and they build a coffin out of gold and glass and keep her deep in the woods where she’ll hopefully rest in piece while visiting every chance they can to mourn

-What they don’t know is a young peasant girl, Anita "Needy" Lesnicki, finds her body and after realizing she isn’t dead she decides to spend every day with her when she can chatting and being with her for a year before realizing something in her throat and immediately squeezes her to get it out and when Jennifer wakes up she’s greeted by a very pleasant sight of a pretty young peasant girl and after getting to know each other Jennifer asks Needy to marry her to which she gladly accepts and the two soon are making their back to the kingdom with the Bo, Vincent and Lester celebrating as well

-When Elaine is again asking her mirror who is the fairest of them all to her shock the mirror answers Jennifer and she dies of shock not only seconds later

-When Jennifer gets back to the palace she’s immediately given back her royal status and is soon crowned queen with Needy as her queen’s consort and the two live happily ever after with Bo, Vincent and Lester being given great riches as an award for taking care of her

Patrick Bateman-The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen

-Patrick is a son of the king of the ocean and loves hearing the stories from his grandmother and watching the daily lives of humans and on the day of his birthday he watches humans from a rock afar with his grandmother when he asks about the afterlife. His grandmother explains that a merperson can live up to three hundred years old and when they die they turn into sea foam and cease to exist forever and that a humans lifespan, while shorter, have an eternal soul that lives on in Heaven

-Thinking about an eternal soul he decides to see a boat party to get his mind off it and sees a girl Jean, a writer hired by aristocrats to provide singers with lyrics they hire at their parties. He soon falls in love with her and when the ship gets caught up in a storm and when Jean gets thrown overboard Patrick immediately swoops in to save her and delivers her unconscious to the shore to a group of sailors before going back to the ocean

-Now realizing that a mortal soul and having a human love him is now on the top of his priority he visits the sea sorceress, Amanda Young, who tells him that if the woman he loves does not marry him and give a part of her soul to him he will turn into seafoam and die and that she will make Patrick a potion to turn him human in exchange for his voice. He is soon made to cut his throat and remove his vocal cords and as soon he feels the painful transformation from merman to human soon passes out and washes up on shore where he’s found by Jean

-Patrick soon wakes up with Jean tending to his neck wound and is now ecstatic to find himself not only human but near the woman of his dreams. It’s not long before Jean and Patrick are now hanging out with Patrick helping Jean with her poems usually about mermaids and life under the sea even if he’s mute

-But only problem Patrick doesn’t realize that while Jean cares for him she doesn’t love him like a lover would but more like how one would love a brother or cousin

-It’s one day that while Jean and Patrick are walking through the streets of town that Jean bumps into the wealthiest man in town Paul Allen and they both start to fall in love pretty much ignoring Patrick and him fearing the end of his life

-It’s not long that Paul finally proposes to Jean and they soon have a boat wedding with Patrick smiling through his broken heart knowing his time has come and that not only will Jean not love him but he will never experience a mortal soul

-As Patrick’s enjoying his last night as a human he sees his brother, Sean, down below and he explains that he visited the sea sorceress and in exchange for a knife that will return Patrick to his normal mermaid form he cut off his thumb and explains that when he kills Jean he’ll be saved

-As Patrick is about to kill Jean in her sleep he realizes he can’t kill the woman he still loves and cares for and throws himself into the ocean slowly becoming sea foam

-Only instead of ceasing to exist he feels the warm sun and discovers that he has turned into an ethereal earthbound spirit known as the son of the air and as he ascends to the air he is greeted by other sons and daughters of the air who tell him because of his selflessness he has become a son of the air and he is given a year to obtain a soul and join the other souls in Heaven but for that year he decides to watch over Jean and be happy to see her happy

Ginger Fitzgerald-Little Red Riding Hood by The Grimm Brothers

-On a sunny day Ginger and her sister Bridgette are told to bring their sick grandma wine and some cupcakes by their mom and told to stay on the path

-Of course being sixteen they decide to go off the path and have goof off instead staying out really late but things go from good to bad when Ginger is attacked by and bit by a wolf

-When Bridgette eventually gets help from a local huntsman Sam, he offers to let them stay til Gingers bite is healed

-The next day Ginger starts to get really moody and irritable but Bridgette and Sam thinks it’s just cause of the wolf bite

-It isn’t til midnight at a full moon that Bridgette hears a strange noise and goes to see Ginger twist and turn in her sleep and eventually Bridgette sees the transformation from human to wolf

-Ginger nearly attacks Bridgette but is soon stopped by Sam with his shotgun and with that Ginger escapes into the night and Bridgette and Sam give chase

-They run after the wolf only to find themselves at Ginger and Bridgette’s grandmother’s house that Bridgette knows she has to stop Ginger before she does something

-Taking the shotgun from Sam she puts a bullet in between Gingers eye killing her instantly and waking up their grandma in the process and seeing what has become of Ginger

-Bridgette decides to live with Sam and together they bury Gingers corpse and eventually two years later get married and as Bridgette is pregnant she looks up at the full moon and wonders if the name Ginger would be a good baby name

Brahms Heelshire-Rapunzel by The Grimm Brothers

-While the Heelshires are a very wealthy family that doesn’t mean that life gets difficult especially when Mrs Heelshire, while pregnant, starts craving a very distinct cabbage that the only way to get is by the witch’s garden

-Mr Heelshire doesn’t want to do it but after seeing his wife in the state she’s in now decides to steal the cabbage and is successful at getting some without the witch noticing but after a week his wife craves it again but this time he gets caught by the witch Pearl and she makes a bargain with him. His first born child for the cabbage and he makes a deal with her

-Of course he doesn’t tell his wife until the day comes for Pearl to take the baby away and after seeing a son decides to name the boy Brahms and keeps him in a tower far from civilization and gets in with Brahms long hair that she forbids him to cut

-One ray Billy Lenz, local village idiot happens to stumble upon the tower after hearing a beautiful voice and wants to get in but can’t so stakes out for a day before Pearl comes back and tells Brahm to let his hair down that he has ticket in

-When Pearl is away again Billy manages to sneak his way in mimicking Pearls voice and sees Brahms and immediately falls in love with him

-Brahms is confused and scared at the strange man that managed to break in but after an hour Billy coaxes him out and they soon get to know each other where it’s everyday their seeing one another and Brahms soon falls in love with Billy

-The two plan to escape with one another but Pearl finds out after hearing Brahms sing about Billy and after interrogating Brahms finds out and cuts his hair off and casts him out the tower and into the woods

-Not surprisingly Billy was outside the tower waiting to runaway with Brahms but after finding out that Brahms hair was cut by the witch herself he decides to go on a quest to find Brahms

-It’s a brutal week until he sees a small cabin and there he finds Brahms and after the two embrace Brahms and Billy decide to get married and live happily ever after

Carrie White-Cinderella by Charles Perrault

-Carrie White is a beautiful girl living with her mother Margaret White far from town and civilization

-When Margaret was horribly assaulted by her lover she became pregnant with Carrie which resulted in the town and the church shunning them and for that reason Margaret takes out her frustration on her daughter who in her eyes “something so full of sin shouldn’t even be considered so beautiful”

-But Carrie has her mice friends she managed to befriend and gives them names

Bill, Stan, Richie, Eddie, Ben, Beverly and Mike and some bird friends

-The day of the royal ball happens and each maiden in the land is ordered to attend

-Hopeful for a night out Carrie secretly makes herself a dress but on the night of the ball Margaret catches Carrie and locks her in the closet and tears the dress up and all Carrie can do is cry before the door is opened and she sees a glowing woman with butterfly wings

-The woman introduces herself as Wendy and decides to let her have a night at the ball and turns a pumpkin into a carriage, the birds into horses and the mice into her servants but also helps make Carrie a dress and shoes made of glass but tells Carrie that at midnight she must return as the magic will wear off soon

-At the ball Carrie is having a great time when Sue, a princess from another kingdom and friend of Prince Tommy sees Carrie and asks her to dance and to her delight both girls end up dancing the night away before the clock strikes midnight and Carrie immediately has to go home but Sue tries to catch her not knowing her name and the only thing remaining of the girl is just a shoe

-The next day while Carrie is doing house chores Margaret ends up finding out about the ball and goes to attack her but before she even lays a hand on her there’s a knock on the door and Sue is standing there not believing she found the girl from the ball and after asking her to try the glass shoe on and it fits Sue immediately proposes and Carrie says yes and Carrie is soon take to Sue’s kingdom where the two spend their days in happiness and live happily ever after

Ash Williams-Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

-Ash Williams is the son of the town blacksmith who likes the simplicity in his life with his father Brock and his sister Cheryl

-One day he decides to walk through the forest and as he’s getting a drink from the fresh lake and it’s there he ends up face to face with the most feared creature in the land, The Deadite King

-At first Ash is terrified of the dreaded creature before the Deadite takes his hand and kisses it while the king goes on about how he had seen his beauty from afar and out of nowhere asks Ash to be his bride of all things

-Ash says no hopefully naive that the king will get the hint but instead The Deadite King decides if he can’t have Ash then no one can and kidnapped him and cursed him to be a swan by day so no one will fall in love with him and human by night to have him for himself

-A year goes bye and the young king Herbert West is doing some writing before he wants to settle down and when he sees a swan with a crown he gets curious and follows the swan only for the sun to set and to the swan turn from a bird to beautiful man dressed in all white

-Of course Ash is freaked out before he realizes Herbert is not gonna hurt him the two get to know each other through the night and Ash tells Herbert everything from the curse to the Deadite King

-Herbert immediately now recognizes him as the blacksmith’s son who went missing a year ago and tells Ash how his family has been searching for him. Ash tells Herbert that the only way to break the curse is for someone to make a vow of everlasting love to him and prove it to the world and Herbert decides at his ball to invite Ash and help him break his curse

-What they didn’t know is that The Deadite Kings daughter, Ruby heard everything and tells her father and when the Deadite King tells Ash to forget Herbert and marry him instead but Ash just says no and that Herbert is the one he loves

-Now even more angry The Deadite King locks Ash up before morning so that he can’t ever leave and that Herbert can’t break the curse

-When Herbert throws his ball he invites Cheryl after coming to her with news Ash is still alive and of course “Ash” shows up strangely with a strange man and wearing all black instead of white but he doesn’t care and dances with and makes a vow of love to “Ash”

-But when midnight strikes “Ash” reveals himself to be Ruby in disguise and the man to be the Deadite King its then Herbert realizes he made a mistake and with Cheryl rushes back to the lake only to find Ash in human form slowly dying from a broken heart

-In a fit of rage Cheryl and Herbert begin to fight the Deadite King and while their clearly outmatched Herbert picks up a large stick and drives it through the Deadite Kings heart and it’s there that the curse is broken and Ash is now fully human again

-Cheryl and Ash have their sibling reunion and Herbert takes them back to their father who’s just so happy to see his son again and of course Herbert proposes to the real Ash and have a grand wedding the following week’s living happily ever after

[kmomof4]

12 (Actually 13) Days of Captain Swan Fic Recs !!!

And we are back with Day 5 of my 12 (Actually 13) Days of CS Fic Recs with another writer that I found in my very early days of fan fiction reading, @whimsicallyenchantedrose!! Jen is the absolute QUEEN of fluff and her fics are my go to when I need my spirits lifted.

She is also the final co-writer of our Girls Vacay Fics, so once again, those fics are at the top of my list of favorites of her fics!! And included in that series, is the fic she wrote last year for her travel companions bdays - mine, @jrob64, and @snowbellewells, then ending with her bday last April - The Girls' Trip Fairy Tale Ending - Rated T - Four fandom friends are nearing the end of their annual girls’ trip when they’re suddenly visited by Isaac, the author before Henry. He gives them an each a gift--an opportunity to jump into any scene in the storybook they want and fix it.

And boy did we ever fix those scenes!!! A&E REALLY should have hired us as writers for the show...

But now to the rest of Jen's fics that I've read multiple times over the years.

A Pirate's Christmas Carol - Rated G - CS Christmas Future Fic. With only a month to go before the birth of his and Emma Swan’s first baby, Killian begins to fear he doesn’t have what it takes to be a good father. Three ghosts—from Killian’s past, present and future help him see that he is ready for the adventure that is fatherhood.

The Girl That I Adore - Rated T - Emma wakes from a nightmare one night and finds her husband, Killian Jones, missing from their bed. Emma has a pretty good idea where to find him. Another beautiful blonde has captured his heart-and Emma couldn't be happier.

Until the Stars Are All Alight - Rated T - Written for CSSNS19. CS LOTR au: When Emma Swan steals a yellow Volkswagen Beetle, she has no idea it will lead her toward an adventure filled with danger and intrigue, sacrifice and a love stronger than anything she could imagine. Tasked with bringing the Savior home, the elf, Killian Jones of Misthaven travels to the Land Without Magic. Can he convince Emma to fulfill her destiny before the Dark One regains power and takes over all of the Enchanted Forest?

Under the Apple Tree - Rated T - An Outlaw Queen fic, Jen wrote this one during the summer between s6&7. This fic gave me my OQ happy ending, so it had to be included in the list.

After being hit by the Olympian Crystal, Robin is transported to Seattle, unable to return to any magical realm. When it becomes clear he has no way to return to his family, Robin finally decides to bury his broken heart in work–founding a landscaping business, Sherwood Forestry. Fifteen years later, Robin receives an order from the last person he ever thought he’d see again.

Taking Back Neverland - Rated T - Originally written as a part of Jen's Fluffy Fridays Collection, this fic takes the Neverland arc from the show and puts a FABULOUS twist on it!!

After actress Emma Swan's lead role in a popular TV show is at an end, she is offered the leading role in the Regina Mills film, Taking Back Neverland, a fresh retelling of the Peter Pan story. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. Only problem? She'll be starring opposite Killian Jones, who she positively can't stand.

By Land or Sea Series - Rated T - A canon divergent series after 3x11.

A new villain has invaded the Enchanted Forest-the wicked witch of the west, but she is nothing but the lackey of a far greater evil. When Captain Hook hears of an ancient prophecy that details the defeat of the new villain, he knows the prophecy refers to him and Emma. Can he find Emma? Can he restore her memories and make her fall in love with him before it's too late?

And finally, as an Honorable Mention, I can't call Jen the Queen of Fluff and not mention her Fluffy Friday collection. Started as a way to combat the angst left by the s4 finale, the collection now stands at 176 chapters of the fluffiest fluff to ever fluff. I hope you enjoy all these! See you tomorrow for Day 6!!!

[tojiscumdumpster]

CHAPTER TWO - READER

⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀✧ summary page

 Last night felt… good. Well, with the exceptions of that loser creep that keeps bothering me, it was good. Refreshing, to be exact. Thanks to a certain someone, I won’t have to worry about that perv anymore. And now, my mind will be onto other things when I go to the bar.

 Toji Fushiguro. 

 I almost didn’t go out since it was Sunday. Usually, I keep that day reserved to relax and prepare lessons for my students. However, I decided to take a break. I’m thirty years old, and although I love my career, I dedicate a little bit too much time to it. For once, I wanted to live a little. 

 And I haven’t felt that rush through my veins in a while until those two hours I spent with Toji. 

 There’s something about his demeanor that immediately made me attracted to him. His presence screams confidence in a humble yet arrogant way. How he talks with charm unintentionally is calming. 

 I just admire how our conversation flowed well. Never a moment of silence. I listened to him, and he listened to me. The touch of vulnerability he showed me was unexpected, but it showed his comfort. 

 It didn’t feel like that was our first conversation either. It sounds silly, and I can’t put my finger on it, however, Toji feels… familiar. 

 The chemistry. The flow of us talking… Why didn’t he feel like a stranger? 

 And when he kissed me? I never thought I had that much strength. 

 I wanted Toji to fuck me so badly, and I know he would take care of me good. Those calloused hands that gripped my ass while kissing me, made me wet beyond measure. 

 Fuck it being a school night, or even if we didn’t leave so late, I would’ve been jumping on his cock last night. Maybe I should’ve allowed him to have his way with me in the bathroom at the bar. 

 It didn’t take long to realize we were sexually attracted to each other. It’s just the kiss solidified it. 

 Toji gives me rough yet passionate lover vibes. He would pull me by my coils, fuck me from behind and call me his good girl…

  Y/N, why are you so damn responsible?

 I honestly don’t know. The unhinged thing to do would be to let Toji come over to have sex. But I’m still trying to open up my shell a bit, especially after my recent engagement. 

 Well, ex-engagement. 

 Part of me feeling alive again was to do something that would help get my mind off my ex-fiancé that’s currently in front of me presenting a budget plan to me and the rest of the teachers. 

 “So, for this academic year, we’re looking to…” I fade out the voice of Nanami Kento. 

 Actually, Principal Nanami. 

 My relationship with my ex-fiancé, who’s also my boss, is… complicated, to say the least. We didn’t end on bad terms, but we didn’t end on good terms either. 

 We were together for five years, engaged for a year until I broke things off four months ago. Our arguing increased, which is normal in a relationship. However, it’s what we were going back and forth about that I was getting tired of. 

 Nanami (because I refuse to call him something as familiar as Ken) makes me look like an idler compared to his workaholic personality. And it wasn’t always like that. 

 Our relationship was perfect in the beginning. Fairy tale like. We would go on vacation, dates, road trips, and so much more. But as years passed, I truly believe he got comfortable. 

 It’s like he was burnt out from all the fun we had, and I blame that because of work. 

 I’m a teacher. He’s a principal. I have my fair share of demands being a teacher, but I know Nanami being a principal is far worse. Having to look over students, teachers, other staff members, constantly attend conventions on the behalf of the school—it took up a lot of his time.

 A lot of his personal time. 

 It meddled into our relationship. I was tired of doing things alone. Tired of not feeling loved and appreciated. Tired of fucking not getting any sexual pleasure from him. 

 And don’t get me wrong, sex with Nanami was amazing. It’s just we only had it once every blue moon. There’s certain things a vibrator can’t do that he’s an expert at. 

 So a few days before our fourth anniversary (I know that’s shitty), I decided to break up with him. Let’s just say Nanami wasn’t having it.

 Again, we argued. Some tears were shed, but the night ended with a proposal and a promise to change. 

 Too bad that promise was made with emptiness. We lasted about two months before he went right back to his workaholic ways. I was over it at that point. 

 Now here we are, months later where I try to avoid him as much as possible like he’s a plague. 

 It’s kind of hard to do that when these meetings are held at the beginning and end of every month. 

 “Any questions before we conclude the meeting?” he asks. 

 Nanami looks around for a response, eyes stopping at me. He tries to give me a small smile, but I look away. 

 He continues, “Okay. That’ll be all. Don’t hesitate to follow up with me if you all have any questions, concerns, or suggestions. I’ll be sure to take them down to pass along to the superintendents.”

 After Nanami dismisses us, I quickly gather my belongings to head to my classroom, but he stops me the minute I’m at the tip of the door. 

 “Miss L /N. May I have a few minutes of your time?” 

 “I have to prepare for homeroom, Principal Nanami. Can this wait until later?” Later, meaning never. 

 “It won't be long… I promise,” he says, earnestly.

 Like I don’t know the result of his promises. 

 I deeply sigh to myself and return to the meeting room. Nanami passes me to close the door and the smell of his cologne invades my senses. 

 Clean, minty with a touch of lemon and vanilla. 

  That’s the cologne you brought him . 

 Great. 

 “Everything’s okay, Principal Nanami?”

 “Y/N…” Every time he says my name it’s filled with such tenderness. Like that’s the only thing he knows how to say. 

 “You said you wanted some of my time. Is everything okay, Principal Nanami?” I repeat. 

 Nanami leans against the desk, hands in his pockets while looking at me. I take notice of the three piece suit he’s wearing and think how handsome he looks. It fills out his body perfectly. 

 “You haven’t been answering my calls.”

 “Because you call me outside of work hours,” I argue. 

 He hums. “So if I call during work hours, you’d answer?”

 “Ken, what do you want?”

 “Can I take you out for dinner this weekend?”

 I knit my brows. “Why?”

 “To talk, Y/N… To see how you’re doing.”

 Why are my cheeks suddenly getting warm? 

 I would be lying if I said I didn’t still have feelings for Nanami. They aren’t as strong as before, but something is still there. At one point in my life, I was madly in love with him. Despite us not working out, I genuinely wish him nothing but the best. 

 And maybe we can get to being friends again. 

 I just don’t know if now’s the time. 

 “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

 “Can you at least think about it?” His voice is still soft. “Please?”

 Before I can answer, the late bell rings. 

 “I have to go.” I’m already halfway through the door.

 “Would you let me know?”

 I look at him over my shoulder. “I… I’ll let you know.” 

 Class on Mondays is always the hardest for me. The day feels sluggish, and it moves like a snail. Again, yes, I love teaching, but I seriously cannot hang. Midnight was far too long for me to be out. 

 Actually, I have no reason to come since I had the company of a handsome fella. 

 How am I able to teach class while thinking about Toji? I don’t know, but I manage. My mind is split between today's lesson and the distinctive features of him. 

 Those rich emerald eyes. His dark locks. Pale yet a pretty shade of rose for his lips that’s accompanied by a scar that left me with questions. 

 Toji wore a baggy black outfit that had me guessing how his physique looked, however, from the looks of his hands and how they felt on my ass—I know it’s probably mouthwatering. 

 I’m honestly disappointed that I didn’t give him my number. I’m not a hundred percent ready for a new relationship, but also not opposed to one because I was checked out of my last for a while. But I do want to see Toji. 

 What’s the likelihood of me running into him at the bar again? Slim to none. 

 I guess we’ll see. 

 Anyways. 

 One of my students was reading a page of this week's book, a young adult psychological thriller, when the classroom door opened. 

 A boy stands there. Spiky hair, about five-foot-nine and green eyes. He looks at me, then around at the classroom before walking toward my desk. 

 “Hello,” I say with a smile. “Did you need help?” 

 He nods. “I’m a new student. Sorry for being late.”

 “No, it’s okay. I didn’t realize I would be getting a new student today” I told him. “It must’ve slipped my mind.”

 He stays silent. 

 “What’s your name? Do you feel comfortable introducing yourself to the class? You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

 “Megumi.”

  No… this could be mere coincidence. I’m sure Megumi is a popular Japanese name. 

 “Nice to meet you, Megumi. I’m Miss L /N. Glad to have you here.” I’m left with no reaction. No expression. Just a blank face. “So, we’re reading right now. I only had a set amount of books. For now, you can share with one of the students, then I’ll be sure to get you a copy. Sounds good?”

 “Okay.”

 “Why don’t you go sit next to Yuji? He’s sitting in the back with pink hair and a red hoodie,” I said. “Yuji, raise your hand for me.”

 “Megumi, here-” I called him to retrieve his schedule that he left on my desk. But before I give it to him, his full name catches my attention. 

  Fushiguro, Megumi. 

 This is no longer a mere coincidence, and now that I’m looking at Megumi, he resembles Toji— a lot. The features are uncanny. I can almost guarantee that’s how Toji looked when he was Megumi’s age. 

 Who knew the new student in my class would be the son of the man I’ve been thinking all morning? 

 Will I use this to my advantage? Most definitely. 

 It’s that time of year for me to schedule parent-teacher conferences, anyways. 

 “Miss L /N. Did you call me?” 

 “Ah, yes. Here. You left your schedule.”

 Megumi takes the paper from me and returns to the direction where I told him to sit. Yuji tries to whisper, but his whispering is on the verge of an outside voice. I can hear the excitement in his voice when he finally has a student that’s open to sitting next to him. 

 Yuji is a sweet kid, but I know he had a rough time growing up based on the little information he shared with me. It’s just him and his older brother. 

 Teenagers are definitely more judgmental than elementary schoolers, so I notice students avoid him as much as possible yet he still gives them the kindest smile. Megumi seems quiet so I think him sitting next to Yuji will help out a bit.

 “Yuji, you want to read the next page?”

 He stands up eagerly. “Yes, Miss L /N!” Giggles and whispers around the classroom, causing me to shoot a glare. 

 “Okay, sweetheart. And remember if you come across a word you don’t know, take your time or ask for my help.” He nods and begins reading. 

 I pay attention for the most part, but I can’t help but think about another chance at seeing Toji Fushiguro. 

 It thrills me, even. 

 I hope he feels the same. I would like to think he does. 

PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

Christmas Reruns 2023 Day 25: Girls' Trip Fairytale Ending--Jen's Tale

Merry Christmas if you celebrate it and happy holidays if you don’t!  One of the things I love about Christmas is watching reruns of all the old classic Christmas movies–Christmas is a big time for nostalgia.  A few years ago, I decided to incorporate that tradition into my fandom life and post my CS holiday reruns.  So here you go!  Enough holiday (mostly) fluff to get you to New Year’s Day. (With a new story posting on Christmas Day.)

Rating: G

Word Count: 3199

Other chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 24 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

Notes:  This story is the 4th of an eventual 5 chapters of a story I wrote for the birthdays of @jrob64, @snowbellewells, and @kmomof4.

CS Genre: Season 6 fix it fic

Jen didn’t know what she expected transportation via storybook to be like, but she was delighted to discover it was something like entering a snowglobe.  Snowflakes swirled around her, and she watched with delight as they landed on her arms, her shoulders, the ends of her hair.  Each one was different, but each was thoroughly exquisite in its own way.  She knew that most people didn’t get her love of winter and snow but it was beautiful and fascinating, and she would go on loving it despite what anyone else might say.

So engrossed was Jen in the snow swirling around her, that she barely noticed moving from her place in the cabin until the air cleared and she found herself just inside the Charming’s flat.  Her eyes fell first on the tremendous, festively decorated Christmas tree in the sitting area and then the simpler evergreen wreath hanging on the inside of the door.

So it was Christmastime in her version of events?  Well, why not?  Wasn’t Christmas the time for magic?  And she would need some heavy duty, industrial strength magic to fix the mess Isaac had made of the latter part of season 6.

“So Hook….he killed my father?  Okay, that’s a little tough to process.” she heard David say from the kitchen area, and suddenly she knew just exactly where they were in the story. 

She hung back for a moment, trying to figure out just the right time and the right way to intervene.

“I was hoping I didn’t have to tell you,” Emma said, sounding defeated from her perch on the breakfast bar.

“Where the hell is Hook anyway?” David asked, aggressively pacing the kitchen. “He didn’t have the guts to come tell me himself?”

If anything, Emma looked even more dejected. “There’s more.  Hook, he … he left town.”

“What?” David exclaimed, finally coming to a stop and staring at his daughter in disbelief. 

“We had a big fight about him hiding this, and I told him if he wasn’t ready to trust me that, that we shouldn’t talk for a while,” Emma said, “so I guess he wasn’t ready, because Leroy saw him on the docks, and he got on the Nautilus and just…sailed away.”

At this, Jen found herself shaking her head, hurrying forward to intervene.

“Emma,” she said gently, “are you sure?  Are you absolutely SURE that’s what happened?”

Emma looked up, anger and pain written all over her face.  She spread her hands wide.  “He’s not here, is he?  What am I supposed to think?”

“I know how hurt you are by all that happened,” Jen said, “but hasn’t he shown you yet that you don’t need to put up your walls to protect yourself from him?  Hasn’t he proven how much he loves you?”

“Not enough to keep from hiding things from me,” she muttered.

“Kind of like how you hid the truth about the shears and your destiny as savior from him?” Jen asked, being careful to keep any hint of accusation from her tone.

“That’s….that’s different!” Emma spluttered, jumping from the counter and striding purposely toward the coat rack.  “I’ve gotta get to the station. Look, whatever you or I or anyone else might think of him, the facts are the facts, and the fact is that Leroy saw him leave me.  End of discussion.”

As though to punctuate her sentence, she stepped out the door and slammed it behind her.  The Christmas wreath on the door fell to the floor with the violence of the action.  David moved forward to replace the decoration on its perch.

“You know I’m right, don’t you David?” Jen asked.  

He didn’t look at her, instead taking long moments to adjust the wreath just so on the door.  Finally he turned back to face her.  “She’s my daughter, Jen, and she’s hurting, and he’s the cause of it, whatever led to it.  My focus has to be on helping her heal”

“But if things aren’t exactly the way they look…if maybe this is the work of a villain or something,” Jen said, “wouldn’t the ideal way to help her be to figure out the truth?  And you know Killian.  You know how much he loves Emma.  Doesn’t he deserve the benefit of the doubt?”

David frowned, and Jen could tell her words struck a chord in him.  “I suppose you’re right.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

With another delightful swirl of snow, Jen found herself transported to the sheriff’s station where David and Emma were discussing digitizing files and the merits of busywork to help dull the pain. She decided to hang back in the shadows, watching to see how this scene played out.

“I’ve got just the thing to mend a broken heart,” Regina said happily, brushing snow off of her coat as she breezed into the station and held up a small piece of paper rolled into a scroll.

Emma eyed it warily. “Whatever spell that is, I don’t want it.  I’m seriously not in the mood for magic.”

“Who said anything about magic?” Regina said unfurling the scroll which was covered in so many images of the season, it looked like Christmas had thrown up all over it.  “It’s a two for one drink coupon for that new club, Aesop’s Tables.  Seems they’re having a big Christmas sale.  It’d be a shame to waste it!”

David stepped up, looking at the coupon and shaking his head. “Really?  You think half priced liquor is the way to go.”

“I certainly do,” Regina said.  “We need a ladies night out, me, Emma and Snow.  We go early enough, we can get back in time for Christmas eve with the family.”

Emma looked unimpressed at the suggestion.  “Remember she’s in a sleeping curse?  She’s at home. Asleep.”

“Well, she doesn’t have to be asleep,” Regina said with a meaningful look at David.

“Oh come on!  I just woke up!” he said.  Regina gave him a look, and he rolled his eyes.  “I guess she doesn’t have to be asleep.”

Emma got to her feet, clearly in no mood for any of this. “I can’t. I’m about to go on patrol, and shouldn’t you be trying to break that curse?”

Regina blew out an exasperated breath. “Well, I’m working on it, but I could use a break.  We all could.  I know you’re hurting, and I know you’re trying to hide it because, well, you’re Emma, but you can’t just run from this.”

Emma gave her a hard look.  “I didn’t run.  Hook ran, so, there’s nothing more to say.”  She placed the last file on the pile in front of her with rather more force than strictly necessary, and then headed toward the door.  It was abundantly clear that she was running from the conversation as much as she was heading out on rounds.

“You know,” David said speculatively as she walked out, “I’ve been thinking.”

Regina snorted, “a dangerous pastime.”

He glared at her and then went back to the topic at hand. “I’m not sure it’s true.  I’m not sure Hook really DID run,” he finished.

“Well he’s not here, is he?” she asked, gesturing around the office to make her point. “Seems your daughter has some reason to think he skipped town.”

“Leroy,” David said.

“I beg your pardon?” Regina said.

“Leroy’s her reason,” David said.  “He apparently saw Hook on the docks, told Emma something about Hook getting on the Nautilus and sailing away.”

Regina tutted derisively.  “Leroy?  Emma’s just going on the word of that gossip girl?”

David shrugged.  “You know how hard it is for Emma to trust, how closely she guards her heart.  She’s hurting, but you and I both know Hook.  That man isn’t capable of loving by half measures.  It doesn’t make sense that he’d decide he doesn’t trust her and just….cut his losses and skip town.”

Jen nodded in satisfaction.  That’s the David she knew, rather than the clueless one Isaac wrote, the one who was ready to believe the worst of Killian at the slightest provocation.

“I guess you have a point there,” Regina conceded, “and we do have a psychopath running around trying to separate Emma from all her sources of support.  I can’t believe I’m saying this, but maybe it’s time to give the pirate the benefit of the doubt.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

With another swirl of snow, Jen found herself in the sitting room of Emma’s house.  She smiled as she saw the tall Christmas tree in the corner, bedecked with lights and garland and all manner of  hook, swan, storybook and Disney character ornaments.

The smile slid from her face as she spied Emma and Henry sitting together at opposite ends of the sofa.  Henry played on his phone, earbuds in place while Emma slowly, gently placed Hook’s possessions in his chest. She hesitated as she reached Liam’s ring hanging from its chain.  She held it close, looking down at it, the tears coming to her eyes in spite of herself.

Beside her, Henry seemed to notice her distress.  He pulled the earbuds from his ears.  “Mom, you okay?”

Emma took a deep breath and decisively placed the ring in the trunk and closed the lid.  “Yeah, I’m fine,” she answered. “I have to be,” she added under her breath.  “Henry, can you take this out to the shed later?”

Henry nodded.  “Yeah, whatever you want.”

That was it?  That was all Henry had to say on the matter?  Clearly it was time for Jen to intervene again.

“Take a moment to think about this Emma, Henry,” Jen said.  “Look at what’s sitting before you.  Hook’s chest, filled with all his most prized possessions.  If he was going to leave you, why would he leave all of that behind?”

Jen saw a small glimmer of hope dawn in Emma’s eye, but just as quickly it disappeared.  “I don’t know, but I’ve already told you.  I have to face the facts.  Holding on to false hope only hurts worse.”

Beside her, Henry furled his brow.  “Jen’s got a point, mom,” he said, Jen nodded in satisfaction. Maybe the Truest Believer was ready to work his (metaphorical) magic once more.  “Killian spent two hundred years trying to avenge my grandma Milah.  Once he loves someone, he loves them forever.”

There was that tiny spark of hope in her eyes once more.  It lasted longer this time before it faded. “But sometimes love is not enough.  Seems that’s the case with Hook.”

“Mom, he literally went to hell for you,” Henry said.  “You two were proven True Love.  When Zeus wanted to send Killian to his ultimate reward–to the place he truly belonged–he sent him back to you.  You really think he gave all of that up over an argument?”

Emma took a moment to think this over and seemed to be on the verge of responding when there was a brisk knock on the door, and a moment later David and Regina strolled in.

“Regina…what the hell?” Emma asked, getting to her feet.

“Your Charming father and I have been talking,” Regina said, “and we’ve come to the conclusion that you’re being an idiot.”

“I’d like to point out for the record, that that is not  the conclusion I came to,” David said with an exasperated glare in the direction of his step-mother-in-law.  “I said that I thought your pain might be clouding your judgment.”

“Technicalities,” Regina said with a wave of the hand.

Emma rolled her eyes.  “As much as I’m enjoying the bickering at my expense,” she drawled, “is there a point to your visit?”

“We were thinking,” David said, stepping forward.  “How many times in this town has a villain screwed with things and made circumstances seem different than they are in order to despirit the heroes and further their plan?  How can we be sure Gideon didn’t, I don’t know, do something to make Killian leave?”

There was that hope in Emma’s eyes once more, and this time it stubbornly refused to fade.  “Do you really think that could be the case?” she asked.

“Of course!” Henry said, “and we know what Gideon’s trying to do!  He’s trying to separate Emma from all her sources of support before the final battle!  It would be just like him to get rid of Killian, her true love.”

“But…” Emma said, starting to protest once more, but far more weakly this time.

“Emma he’s your True Love, and that’s a special kind of magic,” David said, placing his hands on her arms.  “Don’t you at least owe him–and yourself–trying to figure out for sure?”

“I suppose you’re right,” Emma said, “but how?  Forget why he left.  We don’t even know where he went.”

Jen stepped up, looking at Regina.  “It’s Christmas time.  Surely there’s some sort of…I don’t know…enchanted Christmas ornament ro something that can help us out.”

“I don’t know about an ornament,” Regina said slowly, “but there is the legend of the Christmas wreath.”

“What legend is that, mom?” Henry asked.

“Well the evergreen wreath is a symbol of everlasting love, right?” Regina asked.  “You know, evergreens never shedding their green needles, the circle the symbol of that with no beginning or end, all of that?”

Emma shrugged.

“Well, apparently, at Christmastime, the wreath has a special, even greater magic,” Regina says.  “The magic of the season enhances its True Love properties, and, in short, if someone is True Love, it’s said they will be able to see their True Love in it, assuming they adorn it with something meaningful belonging to said True Love.”

“One problem,” Emma said.  “I don’t have a wreath.”

“But Grandma and Grandpa do!” Henry said excitedly.  “They made it together and it’s on their door!  That could work, couldn’t it?”

Regina groaned.  “Given how utterly sickening their True Love is, I’d say a wreath they lovingly made together might be the perfect option.”

“And as for something meaningful to Killian,” Emma said, reaching into the trunk and grasping Liam’s ring, “I’ve got the perfect thing.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” David asked with a broad smile.  “Let’s get back to the loft!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“I don’t see anything,” Emma said dejectedly several minutes later.

Regina had poofed them directly to the loft, and Emma had wasted no time in draping Liam’s ring over her parents’ wreath before staring into the center of it.

“You have to believe, Emma,” Regina said, “truly believe in the strength and everlasting nature of your love.  You need to put all doubts from your mind.”

Emma took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a moment, and then looked back through the center of the wreath.  She gasped, hearing him before she saw him.

“Emma? Emma are you there? I didn’t mean to leave. I was on my way back to you and Gideon, he sent me away.”

Slowly the picture began to emerge from within the wreath.  Killian seemed to be in some exotic place, a place in the desert.  If Emma wasn’t mistaken, he was standing beside…was that Ariel?...and he was speaking into what looked like a seashell.

“Seems he’s trying to communicate via ‘shell’ phone,” David grinned. Regina groaned and Emma shushed them both, concentrating on what she was hearing from the wreath…or shell…or whatever the hell was happening.

“I would never leave you. Emma. He wanted me out of the way, and I love you. I don’t know if you can hear me but I’m trying to get home to you, and I won’t ever stop until I do.”

Tears of relief filled Emma’s eyes and spilled down over her cheeks. “Killian?” she answered.  

Through the wreath, she saw him start and look down in wonder at the shell in his hand.  “Emma?  You’re there?”

“I’m here,” she said tearfully.  “I hear you.  I love you too!”

“I’m trying desperately to get home to you,” he said.  “Christmas is tomorrow, and I couldn’t bear to spend it without you.  Do you have any suggestions?”

Emma looked around at Regina.  “Anything more to that wreath legend?” she asked.  “Can it, like, transport someone?”

“Well,” Regina said slowly, “I suppose it’s possible, if he could find a wreath of his own and something of yours to tether them together.  Maybe the wreath could bring him home.”

“Are you there, love?” Killian asked.

“He can’t hear you?” Emma asked Regina.  

She shrugged.  “Well he’s not my True Love.”

Emma rolled her eyes before telling Killian what Regina had just conveyed to her.  It was a matter of just a moment to get everything arranged.  As luck would have it, Ariel had, among her tremendous collection of random things, a Christmas wreath, and Killian was able to tether it to Emma’s by adding her engagement ring to its boughs.

There was a flash of Christmas lights, and then he was there, back in the room with them.

Jen held her breath, knowing what was coming, thrilled at the prospect of being a witness to it.  She pulled back to give them a bit of privacy, even if she had no intention of withdrawing entirely from a scene of such great importance to her very favorite fictional couple.

“I’m sorry, Emma,” Killian said, taking her hand. “I should have told you what I did to your grandfather all those years ago, and I should never, never have even considered running away.

Jen noticed the tears in Emma’s eyes, her watery smile as she looked up at him. “It’s okay.  I didn’t exactly make it easy for you to tell me the truth.  Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

She turned away, trying to pull him with her, but he held his ground.  “No,” he said, “no, there’s something I have to do before I get pushed into another portal and this time, I’m gonna do it the right way.”

Killian reached into his jacket pocket, wincing with the pain the movement caused his bruised body.  He pulled out the engagement ring and Jen noticed how brilliantly it shown in the light of the Christmas tree behind them.

“Swan,” he continued "I know that you face an uncertain future, but there’s one thing I want you to be certain of–that I will always, always be by your side.”  He sunk to one knee gazing up at her with every ounce of the love and adoration he felt for her. “So, Emma Swan, what do you say?  Will you marry me?”

While normally not nearly as exuberant as Krystal, it was only with great difficulty that Jen restrained herself from squealing.  The scene had been beautiful and romantic when she’d watched it on her TV screen–multiple times–but being there, in person–there were no words.

And then when Emma got to her knees beside him, took his face in her hands, gave him her yes and then kissed him tenderly, there was no way Jen could have held back her ecstatic sigh.

Neither Emma nor Killian, who were thoroughly engrossed with each other and cocooned in their love nor anyone else in the room heard or noticed as the snow swirled one last time to transport Jen back to the cabin.

NEXT CHAPTER->

[rockybloo]

Your stories names are so fitting, simple and unique. So I have a few questions about your two current comics.

- How long did it take you to come up with the names?

- Why’d you go with those names?

- Did you have any other names that just didn’t stick?

- Are they full plotted out rn or are you more of a build the stories as you go kinda cryptid?

I really like dissecting comics especially love I love as much as Beanstalked and Glitter and Guilt.

Thank you! I'm gonna copy and past your questions with each response just to make sure I don't accidentally skip one because I really like answering questions about working on comics (for a hobby of course)

- How long did it take you to come up with the names?

Typically, a title comes after the plot for me, and I try to make it fit the general theme of the story itself. For Beanstalked, it was actually a placeholder title but it was a pretty fast one since it was just wordplay.

For Glitter and Guilt, it took a little longer just because I didn't want something cheesy since this story wasn't JUST about magical girls.

- Why’d you go with those names?

Beanstalked winded up being too catchy of a title, and fit too well, compared to all the other names I was trying to come up with. Fairy Tale forcused stories tend to suffer from similar name syndrome where many will feature or play on the phrases of "Happily Ever After", "Happy Ending", or "Grimm [insert anything]", etc. So I wanted something different that stuck out more.

Glitter and Guilt are two words that describe the story well. There's a lot of glitter, sparkles, and optimism but there's also underlying themes of guilt, tragedy, and secrecy.

- Did you have any other names that just didn’t stick?

I sadly cannot remember the original titles I was trying to come up with for either story as I never really wrote them down. Once I figure out a name, all others are deleted from my mind. I do know I prefer short and to the point titles. If I can nail a title in just one word, I feel so smart and victorious.

- Are they full plotted out rn or are you more of a build the stories as you go kinda cryptid?

When it comes to comics, I tend to take a "road trip" approach. I know where I want to begin, where I want to end, and some of the major points I want to reach in between, but I don't know yet what the road itself will contain specifically. I just follow the flow of it and typically ideas will slam into my windshield.

[fantasydreaamer]

Sugar Apple Fairy Tale crossover with Yona of the Dawn. The happy hungry bunch meets Anne, Challe, and Mithril.

Yona and friends are magically transported into Highland.

The HHB try to pass as normal people but accidentally reveal their powers and present themselves as dragon warriors to Anne, Challe, and Mithril.

The HHB first think that Challe is like a dragon warrior with wings but then Anne explains that they are fairies.

Challe is surprised to meet such people with powers and warns them that they could be enslaved and more likely hunted and killed for their powers.

Jae-Ha seeing through Challe immediately and knowing he's in love with Anne. He procceds to flirt with her and Challe almost kills him. Jae-Ha is delighted because his reaction confirms that he's in love with her and wants to push him to admit it.

Jae-Ha admiring Challe's ethereal beauty and being engrossed with him. He asks him about his complete beauty treatment. Challe is deeply annoyed to say the least. Their meeting would be very similar to Hak's and Jae-Ha's. LOL. Challe: "He's a pervert, I've encountered some humans like that." Hak: "Oh yeah that's what I first thought. You should definitely punch him in the face." Challe punchs him and Jae-Ha says: "That hurt so good." LOL. Challe: "He's a weird one, some humans are like that." Jae-Ha: "I'm not a human, I'm a dragon."

Challe being done with the loud bunch and wanting to ditch them: "It's not my problem, bye."

Anne wanting to help them return to their world.

Yona and Anne bonding and forming a team. Yona could try to teach her archery and Anne says she's just a scarecrow that's only good at sugar crafing. Yona tells her how she was a weak girl but she got stronger and trained. Anne shows her about sugar crafting and how she helps people with it.

Yona and Anne having a sleepover and becoming besties. Anne: "Wow, so you have 4 dragons and Hak as your companions." Yona: "They're my friends, they agreed to join me in helping my kingdom." Then Jae-Ha butts in and says: "Anne chan, we could become your bodyguards if you want. You have a beautiful fairy warrior as your companion, and I approve, but the more the merrier, don't you think?" Anne is dumbfounded.

Jae-Ha also joins their sleepover, he fixes their nails and gives them facials. Anne is surprised: "I've never done this before." Challe is suspicious of him and watches him from afar. Hak reassures Challe: "Nah, he's harmless. But I also have the urge to punch him for his antics."

Mithril hanging out with the dragons and especially Jae-Ha, Challe has a migraine. Challe sighs and holds his head all the time at the HHB antics: "My head is going to explode. What a bunch of stupid idiots."

Jae-Ha taking Anne and Mithril on a flying trip. Challe is not happy. Making Challe jealous is Jae-Ha's new favorite pastime, after bothering Hak.

Jae-Ha tries to give some advice to Challe in the romantic department because he sucks. Jae-Ha is flabbergasted at his scarecrow jokes and intense lame trolling with Anne.

Hak and Challe end up bonding and are kind of similar tbh.

Jae-Ha flirts with Anne: "Do you want a kiss or a secret rendezvous, Anne-chan? Anne: "You're just like Challe!" Yona: "Hak is also like that."

Challe likes being around Shin-Ah because he doesn't talk. "Silence at last."

Zeno and Challe talking about long lifespans and immortality. Zeno is like: "Oh my sweet summer child, you don't know what suffering is yet." (Oops what have I done? Now I'm in pain. 😰)

They camp outside and Mithril bothers Kija by putting bugs on his bedding. Yoon scolds him and Mithril is afraid of him.

Jae-Ha is disgusted at slavery and says his famous phrase: "Taking away someone’s freedom is the ugliest thing one can do in this world. People like that ought to decay into dirt and come back as thorny roses." Challe agrees with it, although the poetic style is too much for him.

Challe calls them the Happy Hungry Idiots.

Challe likes sparring with them. "Finally people as strong as me."

Hak admiring Anne's bravery. "We have another princess."

Anne admiring that Yoon can control an unruly group like them. They cook together for everyone. Yoon: "Please forgive these wild bunch."

[tanith-rhea]

That I may be weak with you

"Do you love me enough that I may be weak with you? Everyone loves strength, but do you love me for my weakness? That is the real test." - Alain de Botton Dorothea Delilah Darcy is a woman in her mid to late twenties, struggling to find her place in the world. A recent job opportunity as a guidance counsellor at Nevermore Academy seems like a godsend, and she could not miss it for the life of her. Still, perhaps more problems will arise than she expected. Between bubbly, extroverted students and an uncharacteristically reactive principal, she'll be forced to overcome the limitations of her abilities or separate herself entirely from the place she'll grow to call home.

Author's note: this is... something that I'm willing to share at the moment. I hope you like it, it certainly is more of an indulgence on my part than anything else. This and Honey, You're a Keeper are what's keeping me sane lately (although more fantasizing about both the stories than writing them)

Chapter One

"There are times when I am convinced I am unfit for any human relationship" — Franz Kafka

You never thought you would someday get the chance to go to Nevermore. Being home-schooled was very common for kids in your community, and the boarding high school experience seemed to you like one of those unachievable dreams you only read about in the countless novels in your library.

You ended up not going, of course. At least not as a student. Now you approached the Nevermore gates in a car driven by a charming middle-aged man responsible for maintaining the campus surroundings nifty and, apparently, chauffeuring new professors.

A soft drizzle cast everything in a foggish autumnal setting. The term would begin in a week, so true autumn wasn't very far away, but the contrast with your parents' house was welcomed; it reminded you of Belfast, only warmer and sealess.

"What do you think, Ser Barnabas?" you petted the dark-grey tabby in your lap, "Will they be able to help us?"

"What was that, Miss?" the driver asked amicably.

"Oh! Nothing, Mr Duch, sorry to disturb you."

"Nonsense, girl, you've been nothing but nice the entire trip," he turned the car left and you saw the castle beyond the trees "We're here."

Nevermore Academy was a castle-like boarding school for teenage outcasts to learn how to control and develop their powers as well as a myriad of other subjects. You would do something along those lines, you would help them with their troubles. As it appears, their count had gone up considerably since last semester.

The building itself was a gorgeous piece of architecture. You remembered studying similar structures while going over the Gothic movement in college almost seven years ago but looking at pictures was never the same as visiting a cathedral. It certainly was not the same as stepping out of the car to a fairy-tale courtyard and mystical-looking archways. The grandiosity of the place brought you the nostalgia of reading The Secret Garden for the first time; childish curiosity meets fantastical hidden marvel.

"Everything was strange and silent and she seemed to be hundreds of miles away from anyone..."

"But somehow she did not feel lonely at all," someone interrupted your mumbling in a soft, amicable tone.

A tall blond approached you by the car, dressed in a long-sleeved, cream-coloured dress. She was easily a foot taller than you and quite intimidating, but contrary to her height, her warm blue eyes only invited you in. You felt a surge of emotion in your chest and slightly panicked at the thought of having an episode then and there, and out of nowhere too. You were certain no one was touching you, and you knew none of the people around you personally.

"Are you all right?" the beautiful woman asked, and a small crease appeared between her brows. She went to touch your arm, but you quickly composed yourself and stepped away to deposit Ser Barnabas on the ground.

"I'm quite all right, yes!" you tried to smile, "I was only surprised you knew Ms Hogson's words."

"Hardly an uncommon read," Ser Barnabas went to her and walked between her legs, rubbing on her quite uncharacteristically.

"But you knew them exactly, Pride and Prejudice is not an uncommon read and yet most people won't be able to quote it if asked."

"Quite the debater, I see, but you do have a point," she arched one perfectly designed eyebrow at you "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Darcy, I'm Larissa Weems, the principal of Nevermore Academy," she held her hand out to you and of course you were being unnecessarily prickly to the one person that could fire you and send you away at any time.

"Oh, my, I'm so sorry!" you hastily recovered from your previous scare, putting on a well-practised mask of serenity, "We only talked through e-mails so I'm afraid I didn't recognize you," you took her hand confidently "I didn't realise you would be meeting me quite so soon."

"I prefer to give the tour myself to any new staff member. I believe it to be a good bonding opportunity," she smiled easily. She was so effortlessly gracious, you had to admit leadership suited her like her obviously tailored dress.

You tugged on your glove ends to distract yourself from her overwhelming warmth and turned to look at the kind gentleman that brought you there, "Mr Duch, could you open the truck for me? I'd like to bring my things along to save time."

"Oh, don't worry, darling. I'll ask some of the staff to do that for you. You can go, Mr Duch, and have a rest before getting back to work, I believe Philomena made hot chocolate about half an hour ago and there still might have some."

"Thank you, principal, have a good day," the man left through a side pathway and quickly was out of view beyond the archways.

You were left with the imposing figure, and there wasn't much you could do aside from accompanying her. Somehow, she made you more nervous than you anticipated. Meeting new people was always a complicated ordeal, but with Principal Weems the hairs on your arms seemed more charged than usual as if her energy already knew you, which was impossible.

Ser Barnabas, the traitor, was nowhere to be seen. After nuzzling her ankles, he just skipped away to explore. You were relieved she didn't seem to realize or mind your cat's affections, after all, pets could not be prohibited but it didn't mean other co-workers or your boss had to like yours.

"I'll show you your private accommodations and we'll have a look around the school. Your office is near the astronomy tower, just before the Desdemona Hall communal area."

Your rooms consisted of a large bedroom and office area with an adjoining bathroom equipped with a bathtub and separate shower space. It was similar to what your last place of employment offered, but the stone walls and gothic feel were an entirely different level of appeal.

The principal showed you the dining area, the quad — which was a pentagon — the teacher's breakroom and your own classroom. The rest she said you'd be quickly acquainted with during the next few weeks. She explained some basic rules of the academy and advised you to be cautious of students trying to trick you into giving them a Jericho pass, especially Ophelia Hall girls. You found it all quite simple to understand, but that was only when you could actually concentrate on what the woman was telling you and not the movement of her lips forming words.

She had a very articulate way of expressing herself, something expected from someone in such a position of power, but it was understandably charming accompanied by her melodic accent, low voice and powerful stance. She commanded discipline by simply being.

"I hope to see you very soon, Miss Darcy," the woman concluded with a winning smile, "Dinner is served at seven-thirty, as I already told you. If you would like to dine out, please notify Mr Duch before five and transportation back is on you," she nodded one final time before turning on her heels and walking down the corridor.

You surveyed your office once more. Now that you were alone, a sense of calm finally made its way to your bones. Being near other people wasn't unpleasant most of the time, but the principal seemed to have a particularly powerful presence and keeping yourself in check all the time while paying attention to her was exhausting. Not that you paid all that much attention to her, instead just ogling like a creep.

Your files were already organized in the first drawer of your desk; all the documents you sent through e-mails to the school board were printed and put together in a leather cover binder. Very aesthetically pleasing and organized. You loved whoever did that for taking their time to sort through everything so carefully.

Leaving the office behind, you went back to your rooms for a shower and change of clothes. Ser Barnabas somehow was inside, sleeping atop a suitcase as if he was protecting your belongings.

"Someone had a busy hour," you scratched behind his ear and he stretched, meowing for being woken up.

You unpacked and put your things away in drawers and armoires, leaving Ser Barnabas' teacup by the enormous arched window overlooking the quad for him to hydrate whenever he deemed necessary — sometimes you were convinced he drank mentally because the water would disappear and he would be sleeping in the exact same position as the one before you left — before having a long-awaited shower.

You didn't go to dinner that day, deciding on a series of one-person games of draughts before bed.

[my-blind-album]

Lady Leonora Lesso x Female Reader - Killer Dean

{it is recommended that you listen to the song while reading it helps for a better understanding}

Requests; OPEN

Pairing; Lady Leonora Lesso x Female Never Teacher Reader

Category; I don't know

Warning(s); Mentions of blood, and possible killing, cursing

POV; Professor Clarissa Dovey finally asks Y/n about her secret girlfriend that no one knows about but the things Y/n says of her girlfriend are cruel-some and Dovey is left in shock and fear.

Friendships between Evers and Nevers weren't that possible or normal to be seen but since the unison of the schools of both good and evil, things have changed...for the good of course and everyone's more social and enthusiastic which hasn't been seen for over 200 years by both schools.

So there they laid on the ground in the Ever garden looking at clouds. Two close friends who never thought to have close in the first place. "Y/n?" A hum was sent to the golden dean or the previous dean of good. "You never told me about your secret girlfriend, yet" the dean looks over to the female beside her who just continued to look at the clouds with a wide smile forming on her mouth. "Yet" "Excuse me?" the dean asked looking back to the clouds. "You said I haven't told you them, yet, meaning I will someday not now" it was now the previous never teacher's turn to look at the woman beside with a cheeky grin knowing how her friend would react.

"Oh come on Y/n! You've been saying that for the past weeks!" "And I'm sure they're still more weeks to go by till you'll see her" "And why's that?" "She went away for a lil-trip and won't be coming back until supposedly next week or the week after" "Oh, when did she leave?" "Last night" the golden fairy squinted her eyebrows. "That's the same time Lesso left for a lil-trip as well, although I don't know where really" "Mhm" "Do I know your mysterious girlfriend?" "Quite so, yes you do" "Please Y/n just tell me who it is, or at-least describe them for me!" "Describe?" "Yeah what is she like? do? enjoy? her backstory? anything really!" "Anything?" Y/n says looking over to her best friend who was already looking at her with the biggest grin on her face. "Mhm!" "Alright then!" Y/n gets up and sits down, using her finger glow to magically appear a book filled with all the fairy-tales of heroes and villains. Flipping through the pages she stops once she reaches the one she has been looking for and smirk forms on her face and she glances at her golden friend who looked more than amused.

There is this girl, the most beautiful in the world

She has all the boys in town wrapped 'round her finger, oh

She would walk the halls and everyone would whisper and talk

'Cause all the girls in town wanna be her

Dovey looks eagerly at Y/n, her eyes filled with curiosity and excitement and Y/n smirked at this. Phase one of the plan was already in place and from looks of it, soon phase 7 shall be complete.

But behind those emerald eyes, she's a devil in disguise

The prom has blood on her hands

Every boy and girl she dates disappears without a trance

So be careful if she asks you to dance

She's a motherfucking killer queen, a psychopath at 17

A beauty in a blood stained dress

The look of curiosity in Dovey's eyes faded to be erupted by something else, fear.

She'll fill your heart with kerosene

And light you up till you can't breath

If you cross her path you just might end up dead

Y/n switches up the lyrics to not only show that her girlfriend is a victim but to also disclaim that her life was torture and killing people who wronged her and others was only her way of getting revenge.

There is this girl who was broken by the world

'Cause every day at school they'd push and shove her, oh

Getting up from the ground, Dovey and Y/n's surroundings change into darkness till a flashback imagery appears, showing a young and naïve redheaded girl getting mocked and abused by her agemates and her witnessing other people like her getting made of as joke as well and clear rage is seen in her eyes as her hands clench into a stone cold fist.

But she had a plan, one day she would get her revenge

And those cheerleaders and jocks would be six feet under

But behind those angel eyes, lies a devil in surprise

The prom queen has killed for her crown

Every boy and girl she seeks never comes back in one piece

So be careful when she tries to ask you out

The girl had given herself an entire makeover to turn what others saw as plain to stunning. Everyone boy in town loved her, for her looks of course and the girls all envied her. She would ask out all the boys who mocked her for being unattractive and murder them the next day without living any traces towards her.

She's a motherfucking killer queen, a psychopath at 17

A beauty in a blood stained dress

She'll fill you up with kerosene

And light you up till you can't breath

If you break her heart you just might lose your head.

She'd invited all the girls who bullied her to a sleepover and end their lives within their sleeps, one by one.

She's dancing by herself

She's crowned the queen of hell

Tears will sink into her skin

She's gonna get revenge

You're all gonna know her name

She's the one and only killer queen

The imagery changes to show an older looking version of the girl. Her red hair is no longer straight but instead a curly mess. A black cane within the palms of her hands and her rosy pink lips form a sinister smile. Her eyes, however, are merely covered by a shadow but with a blink of an eye you could see a sort of emerald spark shine through one of them.

She's a motherfucking killer dean, a psychopath at 17

A beautiful and broken mess

She'll fill your heart with kerosene

And light you up till you can't breath

If you break her heart you just might meet your end.

"So you're telling me that you're girlfriend is actually a serial killer on the loose?" Dovey asks with a bit of panic. "Yes but she would never kill me." "Really?" "I don't know, to be honest, it all depends on whether or not she'll love me till the end because I know I would never leave her." "But why? she's basically a Jeffery Dahmer with no control, expect the part of cannibalism!" "I love her because I know that under all of flaws and beauty, there's a broken girl who never got the chance to experience love cause everyone as always against her." Y/n finishes changing back their surroundings back to the garden. The book she held disappeared into thin air and she laid down on the ground once again, going back to watch the clouds.

"Okay but could I ask you something?" "Sure, go ahead." "What did you mean by 'killer dean'?" "Seriously? even after that whole song you still couldn't guess who I was talking about?" "No! Like- I have a hunch but I don't know if it's right" "Just say it." "Is it Lesso?" Y/n just merely sighs, turning her head to her friend and nodding her head. "Are you mad?" "What? No! Why would I be mad?" "I mean, I don't know whether or not you're cool with homosexuals or not so I assumed that-" "Well don't assume, I have no problem with you and your preferences, it's who you are, you have to embrace it, is that why you've been so secretive about her?" "Yeah, I mean if you hadn't found out that day, there's a high chance that I would have never told you, so I'm glad you found out." "I'm glad too."

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I was bored and this has been in my drafts since last year so I was like...sure why not?