#gotta commemorate my soft bois!!!

[dustykanvas]

hbd shuu-kun!!!

[dreamerstreamer]

Greater Than Gold

Pairing: Dream / Clay x f!baker!reader

Summary: [Robin Hood-inspired!AU] Dream steals from the rich and gives to the poor, but it seems he’s stolen your heart, too.

Warnings: minimal cursing + one scene with slight violence

Word Count: 11.7k

A/N: this idea came to me in a fever dream at two in the morning a few days back, and i just knew i had to write it. can you tell i like fantasy au’s? posted in commemoration of reaching 200 followers so quickly (love you all!) and for dream’s recently uploaded 4v1 finale :) i hope you enjoy!

You woke to the sound of chirping birds and the sun’s warm rays splashing onto your face.

With a soft groan, you rolled over, a hand reaching up to muss at your hair and rub the sleep from your eyes. Slowly, you brought yourself forward into a sitting position, blinking as you cast your gaze out the window. The sun was just beginning to rise over the rolling hills in the distance, washing the kingdom’s capital in a golden sheen. You swung your feet off your bed with a smile, breathing in deeply.

Another sunrise, another morning.

Your morning routine was almost always the same. You would stretch as you stood up, straightening out your back and letting out a sigh of relief as you did so. Then, you would fling open your bedroom door and slip own the stairs, skipping the last two and landing on the floor with a small thud. You quickly rushed over to the kitchen to grab the dough you had made the night before, slipping it into the stone oven with your trusty paddle.

Rushing back upstairs, you took a mental note of the time before walking over to your closet to get dressed for the day. You slipped on a simple dress that you wouldn’t mind getting a little messy and pulled on a pair of boots. Next, it was onto your hair. You spun over to your vanity, picking up a hairbrush and running it through your hair a few times.

Just then, a knock sounded at your balcony window. You froze, your fingers twitching around your hairbrush as you listened carefully.

Four short knocks. One long knock. Two short ones.

A giddy smile spread across your face. How could you ever forget your favourite part of your morning routine?

You set your hairbrush back on the vanity and crossed your bedroom to your balcony, opening the lock and flinging the door open. There on the railing sat a man wearing a viridian hooded cloak, his back facing you. The moment he heard you step outside, he turned, revealing the white, smiling mask covering his face.

“Clay,” you breathed, “you’re here.”

He quickly raised a finger and held it to his lips, hushing you. “Shh!”

You slapped a hand over your mouth. “Oops. I forgot. Sorry, Cl—I mean, Dream.” You couldn’t see his face, but you just knew that if you could, he would be frowning.

“Alright,” you huffed, grabbing him by the arm and tugging him onto his feet. “Let’s get you inside, already.”

Clay stumbled forward, looming over you as he followed you inside. You were quick to lock the balcony door behind you, double checking to make sure it was closed all the way. When you turned around again, Clay had his arms crossed over his chest, his foot tapping incessantly against your floorboards.

Oh boy.

“[Y/N],” he sighed, “you know you can’t call me that when I’m outside! Someone might hear and who knows what could happen after that.”

You winced at his tone. “I know. I’m really sorry, Clay. It’s just force of habit.”

He let out yet another sigh, but this one wasn’t full of frustration. Uncrossing his arms, he reached over and ruffled your hair. “I know you didn’t mean anything bad by it. Please just remember for next time, okay?”

You swatted his hand away from your hair, giggling. “Alright, alright, I promise.” You looked up at him, frowning at the sight of his mask, his hood half covering the top. “And let me take that off, would you? I miss your face.”

He nodded and straightened up, extending his full height. “Okay. I’m waiting.”

For a few moments, the two of you stared at each other. When he still hadn’t moved after another a bit, you groaned. “Come here,” you muttered under your breath.

You could almost hear him grin when he spoke. “What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”

“I said,” you repeated, a little louder this time, “come here.”

“Sorry, could you say that agai—”

You were running out of patience. “Come. Here.”

“Just one more ti—”

“Oh, just get down here already!” you shouted, stomping your foot.

He cackled as you whined at him, clutching at his stomach. “Haha! You’re so shooort,” he mocked. “You’re tiny.”

You glared at him. “It’s not my fault you’re built like a beanpole, my god.”

He held a hand up to his ear. “You called?”

Your eyes narrowed. “Clay.”

“Okay, okay,” he chuckled, relenting and bending over. You rolled your eyes but smiled, reaching up. You first pulled back his hood, revealing his dirty blond hair. You ran a hand teasingly through his golden locks before letting it drop to the back of his mask, unbuckling the clasp holding the straps together. With a gentle, careful touch, you pulled the white mask away from his face, revealing his emerald green eyes and the splatter of freckles across his cheeks.

“Hey,” he said softly, his voice slightly rasping.

“Hi,” you whispered back, entranced by his gaze.

He reached down and pulled the mask from your hand, letting it drop to the floor with a clatter before he wrapped his arms around you. He pulled you into an warm embrace, squeezing you tight and securely to his chest. You snuggled into his green cloak, inhaling the scent of fresh pine. A comfortable silence fell over the two of you as you simply took in each other’s presences. It was rare for the two of you to share a quiet moment, and you were going to relish in every second of it.

“I missed you,” you sighed into his chest, your voice coming out muffled.

“I missed you, too,” he murmured back, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. There was a slight pause. Then, he pulled back a bit, placing his hands on your shoulders as he spoke again. “Why do you always act so surprised when you see me in the mornings? You know I always come by to say hello.”

You stiffened, averting your gaze from his. “It’s—it’s nothing, really.”

Clay frowned, pressing a hand to your cheek. “Hey,” he said gently, “look at me.”

You shook your head, subconsciously leaning into the warmth of his palm. He let out a quiet sigh. “Please, love? Will you please look at me?”

Your breath hitched at the pet name, and you finally relented, turning your head slightly so that your eyes met his. You pretended not to see the small smirk on his face at the sight of your fidgety gaze. He always knew how to make you flustered.

“I...” You took a breath, feeling something sting behind your eyes. “I get scared. That one day you won’t come by.” Your eyes began to water. “That one day something will happen to you and I’ll be all alone.”

As quick as it had come, Clay’s smile vanished. The look in his eyes softened and he leaned down to be eye-level with you. “I didn’t know you felt that way.” He brushed his thumb over your cheek, just where a tiny, single tear had escaped. “I’m sorry that I make you feel this way.”

You placed your hand on top of where his lay still pressed against your cheek, your gaze falling to the wooden floorboards. “No, it’s—it’s not your fault. I’m just scared that I’d be a wreck without you.”

Clay leaned forward, resting his forehead against yours. “Hey,” he said once more, so quietly you almost missed it. “Look at me, love.”

You raised your watery gaze to his emerald one once more, just in time for him to surge forward and press his lips to yours. Almost instantaneously, you melted like chocolate, your eyelids fluttering shut as you sank into his touch. Kissing Clay sent shivers running down your spine, yet it also felt like home. You didn’t think you could ever get tired of kissing him.

A moment later he pulled back, a soft smile gracing his lips. “I’m not going anywhere,” he murmured, his words reserved just for you to hear. “Not without you. Never without you, love.”

You nodded your head, wiping away any stray tears you may have had. “Thanks, Clay.” Suddenly, you were reminded of your bread in the oven downstairs. You took a quick glance at the clock, and nearly collapsed in relief. You were just in time.

“C’mon,” you said, tugging at his arm insistently, “the bread’s almost ready, and I have to open up shop soon. People will want their morning loaves.”

Clay hummed, his hand falling away from your face as he let you pull him downstairs and into your kitchen. “Open up shop, you say? Do you think you could spare me any scraps for my breakfast?”

“Oh, so that’s why you’re really here,” you said, feigning annoyance as you grabbed your baking paddle once more, this time using it to slide the now freshly baked bread from the oven.

“Of course!” he chimed, hoisting himself up to sit on the counter. “A man’s gotta eat to be able to stay on the run from the palace guards, y’know.”

You sighed as you slid the loaf of bread onto a platter. “I know, I know.” Setting down your paddle, you opened up one of your cabinets and pulled out a few slices of bread on a plate. “That’s why I have this for you.”

Clay’s eyes lit up as he graciously snatched the bread from you, immediately stuffing one of the slices into his mouth. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” he said in between bites. “I love you so much.”

You jumped a little at his words, nearly dropping the loaf platter in your hands. Even after all this time, you still got embarrassed when he said it out of nowhere like that. “I love you too, Clay.”

You spent the next few minutes placing some bread in your shop’s display case and sliding some more dough into the oven while chatting with Clay. You lived for these quiet, domestic moments with him—these moments where you could pretend that you were just a humble baker in love with a normal, ordinary man.

But of course, Clay could never just be ordinary. Oh no, he had dreams far greater than that.

And you loved him for that, too.

“It’s time,” he said abruptly, startling you slightly. “I have to go.”

You nodded resolutely, slipping your hand into his. “I’ll see you off.”

In the past, he would have insisted that you stay downstairs, but he’s learned over time that you were far too stubborn for that. The two of you strode up the stairs to your bedroom once more, walking toward your bed with a slight sadness in your gait.

“You’ll come by in the morning again, won’t I?” you asked, looking up at him as he picked up his white mask from where it lay on the floor.

“For sure,” he said, sending you a reassuring smile. “And I’ll be here the morning after that, and the one after that, and the one after that, an—”

You snorted, swatting at his arm. “I get it, you doofus.” Your grin softened. “Thanks for saying that.”

He turned to lean down, pressing his lips to yours in a quick peck. “Anything for you, love,” he said, sliding his mask onto his face.

You smiled at him, walking him over to your balcony window. He slipped open the lock, pulling the door open to reveal the newly blue sky. People were beginning to head outside now, making way for the new day. He took a step outside, glancing over his shoulder at you. “I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

It was never goodbye with Clay—he refused to say goodbye, because goodbye always meant there was a chance you wouldn’t see him again, and he refused to believe in a future without you.

You waved. “See you tomorrow, Dream.”

He let out a small wheeze as he leapt from your balcony, laughing as he landed on a nearby roof and sprinting to the next. Down below on the bustling streets, you heard someone yell.

“Oh my god, it’s Dream!”

“Someone call the guards!”

“He’s here, again!”

You grinned to yourself as you snapped your window shut. 

Yup, it was just a another morning.

“Have a nice day, Mr. Richardson!” you called out, waving goodbye to the man crossing the street. “Please tell your husband I hope he gets better soon!”

Mr. Richardson turned, a wide grin on his face as he clutched the brown bag in hands a little closer to his chest. “I will!” he shouted back. “I’ll be sure to bring him with me when he feels up to it!”

You watched as he turned the corner down the street, disappearing from view. You lowered your arm, smiling to yourself. I can’t wait.

You glanced up at the sky, shielding your gaze from the searing midday sun. It was about noon now. You supposed you could take your lunch break. Turning on your heel, you strode back inside your beloved bakery. You took a look around your bakery, eyeing the loaves in the display case. There were a few pies sitting up front, but those were strictly for customers.

“Do I really want to eat bread again, today?” you muttered to yourself. You quirked your lips. It wouldn’t hurt to go out and grab something to eat for once, right?

Before you could change your mind, you hastily rushed up the stairs to grab your woven basket from the shelf and a few gold coins from the locked chest in your bedroom. You stepped outside, sticking a note on the ‘open’ sign that said “Out for lunch—back in 30!” before locking the door shut.

It was a beautiful day, you realized as you made your way down the busy street. The merchants must have arrived the other day, since you could see numerous people rushing this way and that, scrolls of inventory lists clutched between their fingers and negotiations echoing all around you. You ducked your head under someone’s arm, dodging a rolling stray cart as you strode toward the city square.

What should I have for lunch? Your eyes darted this way and that. There’s soup, sausages, and... Your eyes lit up, and you began to weave your way between the crowds, humming softly to yourself as you made your way over to your favourite market stall.

“Hello, Rose!” you greeted, waving at the woman standing at the stall front, her back turned to you.

At the sound of your voice, she turned, her face lighting up with a wide grin. “[Y/N]!” she cried warmly. “It feels like it’s been ages since I last saw you!”

You chucked, flustered by her enthusiasm. “It hasn’t been that long. Only three weeks.”

“‘Only three weeks’?” she parroted. “Are you hearing yourself? Three weeks is practically forever!” She leaned over the stall counter. “Let me tell you, dearie, if I went three weeks without seeing my fiancé, I’d damn near lose my mind.”

You laughed at her and her theatrics. “I’m sure you’d survive just fine.”

She rolled her eyes. “That’s not the point, [Y/N]. Surviving and living are two very different things. You would understand if you were in love.” She squinted at you. “Speaking of which, when will you find yourself a man? You’re a lovely, beautiful girl with more than enough charm and spunk.”

Your cheeks burned. “I-I, um. That’s—” You coughed. “Um.”

She cocked her brow. “Yes? Spit it out!”

You buried your face in your hands. You didn’t want to lie to Rose of all people, but what in the world were you supposed to tell her? You couldn’t just...

“I, uh,” you blurted without thinking, “I’m seeing someone.”

Oh no.

Rose’s eyes grew wide and she nearly sent you flying to the ground with how hard she shook you. “You’re seeing someone?!” she yelled. “And you didn’t think to tell me?” She released your shoulders with one last shake, leaving you stumbling to regain your balance. “Tell me all about him.”

You twiddled with your fingers. “He’s... he’s kind,” you began, “and funny. Really funny. We’ve been friends for a long time before, too. He’s got a bit of an arrogant streak, but he’s actually really humble. He always makes me smile, and he loves to tease me.” You giggled. “Sometimes it’s just not fair how smooth he is.”

She looked at you smugly. “Sounds like you know him quite well.” She leaned across the counter. “What’s he look like? And his name? What’s his name?”

Panic shot through you. You didn’t want to reveal too much about Clay—what if you put him in danger? “We, uh, we’re not that serious yet,” you fibbed, “so I don’t want you to get your hopes up or anything. Seriously.”

Rose frowned, sinking down in disappointment. “Aw, phooey. That’s a shame. Well, if you don’t wanna talk about him, then we won’t.” Before you could open your mouth to respond, she waved her hand. “Moving past that, what are you here for, today?”

You held up your small pouch of coins. “I was hoping to have some of your famous rabbit stew for lunch today.”

Rose laughed, turning to grab you a wooden bowl from her stall shelf. “I’d hardly call it famous, but I appreciate your love, dearie.”

You gaped at her, shaking your head in disbelief. “Your rabbit stew is the best thing in the whole marketplace, I swear! It’s legendary. Even the king must know about its existence by now.”

She pointed to herself. “Me? Legendary? You flatter me far too much, [Y/N].” Scooping some stew into your bowl, she sent you an inquisitive smile. “But you know who is legendary?” 

You raised an eyebrow at her, pulling out a coin from your pouch and slipping it across the stall table. “Who?”

Rose handed you the bowl of rabbit stew with a spoon, tilting her head towards a poster on the wall next to her and speaking lowly. “Dream.”

You stiffened, your eyes darting to the poster. Sure as day, there was a picture of Dream’s smiling mask lying smack dab in the center of the page. Printed across the top in bold, black letters was the word “WANTED”. And just underneath his portrait...

“Dead or alive. $20,000 reward.”

You resisted the urge to shiver. “Y-Yeah,” you said slowly, sticking your spoon into the stew. “He sure is legendary, huh?”

Rose nodded. “Seriously. Since when else have you ever heard of a vigilante thief who steals from the rich and gives to the poor? It’s like... like...”

“Like?” you offered.

She gestured vaguely. “Like... morally questionable charity!”

You snorted. “That’s one way to put it, I guess.”

She leaned toward you, her voice dropping to a whisper. “But between you and me, I think he’s doing something pretty good for those struggling folks out there. Someone’s gotta help them, and it certainly isn’t going to be the king.”

You smiled at her words, nodding subtly in agreement. Despite having been branded a criminal by the kingdom’s nobility and royalty, a good majority of the general population loved Dream. His methods were most definitely questionable, but he had never hurt anyone for real, despite more than looking and acting the part. He held the torch of hope that no one else seemed to be willing to take on themselves, and they adored him for that. You did, too.

“Anyway,” Rose continued, speaking normally now, “did you hear him this morning? He caused quite the ruckus.”

Your lips twitched, but you quickly forced your face back into an expression of indifference, hiding your amusement with another spoonful of rabbit stew. “Did he now?” 

“Oh, you should have seen the chaos!” She spun around dramatically, her arms flying out. “He must have taken at least two chests’ worth of gold with him! He was gone before anyone knew what was happening. It was insane. George couldn’t even get close to him.”

You furrowed your brows. You didn’t recognize that name. “George?” 

Rose blinked at you. “You haven’t heard? The king got four new guards recently—special ones, apparently.” She snorted. “They don’t seem like much so far though, not with this morning’s performance.”

You felt a tinge of anxiety fill you. It wasn’t that you didn’t trust that Dream could handle it, but you were still worried. Hell, you had every right to be worried. “Tell me about them. It feels like I’ve missed everything.”

“So,” she began, “there’s—”

All of a sudden, the endless wave of chatter surrounding you seemed to die down. Rose stopped, and you turned to face the rest of the square. Everyone seemed to have grown quiet, keeping to the sides of the market square and warily eyeing the main entrance. You followed their gaze, your eyes widening.

At the front entrance was a large carriage, manned by four chestnut horses. There was a large wagon cart carrying large cloth sacks attached to the carriage’s behind. Flanking the cart stood four men, each wearing a different colour. They looked to be armed to the teeth, bows and arrow quivers strapped to their backs with swords sheathed at their sides.

Something clicked in your head, and you turned back to Rose. “Let me guess—those are the new guards.”

Rose nodded. “Yep,” she confirmed, popping the last letter. She pointed to the man in blue, a brunet with a pair of white goggles resting on his forehead. “That one there is George,” she explained, “the cautious. He’s always careful when hunting Dream down, trying to minimize property damage and all that.” You hummed, following along.

“Unfortunately, all that caution is for nothing because of Sapnap—” She pointed to the one wearing white, a bandana tied around his forehead to keep his dark hair from hanging in his eyes. “—the wild. He’s kind of just this chaotic mess. He crashes into things a lot, and some stall owners aren’t all too pleased with that. He almost knocked into my stall this morning, and I nearly gave him a good telling off!” You laughed at the thought, imagining Rose yelling at the poor guard.

“He’s not dumb though, don’t get me wrong. But he’s not as smart as Bad, the strategic.” She gestured to the brunet in red. “He’s kind of the leader of the group, and he’s probably gotten the closest to actually touching Dream before.” Your froze at that, your fingers freezing where they were wrapped around the spoon handle. Dream had almost been touched before. The thought didn’t sit well with you.

“Last up,” she said, pointing to the one wearing a cream sweater, “there’s Antfrost, the well-rounded. He’s cautious, but isn’t afraid to get his hands a little dirty, and he’s intelligent in his own right, but not as much as Bad. A lot of the time, he sort of acts like support, shooting from the distance with his bow.” You didn’t like the idea of Dream getting shot at, but you stifled your noise of concern with another mouthful of stew.

“Huh,” you said between chewing. “Why are they following that carriage? Is there someone important inside?”

Rose frowned. “Yeah, it’s the Duke of Sherwood. He’s a merchant who’s notorious for scamming the people he trades with for enormous amounts of wealth. That’s how he got so rich.” She narrowed her eyes. “I think he just got back from another one of his deals. Bet he’s got some crazy valuable stuff in that cart of his. I heard that he’s pretty close with the king, so he probably hired the new guards to protect it.” 

Something in you filled with disgust. Scammers were just the worst. They gained their wealth unjustly, and they were easily one of the top reasons why Dream did what he did. You opened your mouth to retort when someone let out a scream.

“Is that Dream?”

Your eyes widened.

You nearly spoke too soon.

Before the guards could properly process what was going on around them, a green-clad figure came flying down from one of the roofs above. Murmurs from the crowd rose up, whispers of his name filling the air. Dream picked up a rock from the ground, tossing it in his hands once before chucking it at Bad. With a satisfying thunk, the stone knocked against Bad’s forehead, and the man let out a yelp.

“Ow!” he cried, rubbing at his forehead. He whirled, glaring at his teammates. “What are you muffins doing? Get him!”

The three other guards suddenly snapped to attention, marked by Sapnap rushing forward with his sword unsheathed. “Dream!” he yelled, his teeth bared menacingly.

Dream didn’t flinch as he dodged Sapnap’s charge, simply stepping to the side with grace before spinning around and raising his foot. Without even an ounce of hesitation, he kicked Sapnap squarely in the back, sending him flying into the alleyway behind him. Sapnap tumbled forward, landing squarely facedown inside a barrel, his sword lying on the ground a few feet behind him. Dream leaned forward and knocked the sword into the air, watching it flip around once before catching it by the handle.

The sound of a bow firing suddenly filled the air, and Dream quickly ducked. An arrow whizzed just above his head, embedding itself in the wall where he was standing just milliseconds prior. He turned, the eyes of his mask making contact with those of Antfrost, who had climbed to the top of the carriage with his bow in hand.

“You can’t run now, Dream!”

Dream’s gaze darted to his sides. To his left stood George, and to his right was Bad. Behind him, he could hear Sapnap stringing his bow, and Antfrost was still perched on top of the carriage, bow drawn. They had him cornered.

You felt like you were about to faint.

Biting your lip nervously, you could practically see the gears in Dream’s head whirring as he stood there, surrounded on every side. Without warning, he abruptly darted forward, sword in his hands. You watched in a panic as Bad and George darted after him, Antfrost letting another arrow fly. 

All of a sudden, Dream changed directions, flying toward George. The panic in George’s eyes was practically tangible as Dream knocked the sword out of his hands and stepped behind him. With one hand, he easily grabbed the shorter man’s arms and pinned them to his back. With the other, he tossed Sapnap’s sword behind him. In the blink of an eye, he was pulling out a dagger from his boot and holding it up to George’s throat.

It all happened in less than a handful of seconds, and everyone held their breath, thinking the exact same thing.

Holy shit.

“No one move,” Dream said, loud and clear. “If you do, then you know what happens.”

Deep down, you knew that Dream wouldn’t do it. But you also knew very well that he was more than capable of it, and then some.

You watched with bated breath as Antfrost and Bad lowered their weapons, but Sapnap still had his bow aimed at Dream. George opened his mouth and closed it like a fish out of water, clearly struggling for words.

“Dream,” he managed after a few seconds, “you don’t have to do this.”

“Oh, I don’t?” he hummed, holding the dagger a little closer to George’s throat. “It’s totally not like you guys are trying to kill me. Not at all.”

“Dream,” Sapnap shouted from the alleyway, “let him go.” He closed one eye, aiming steadily. “I’ll shoot, I swear.”

Dream chuckled, clearly amused. “You sure you wanna do that, Snapmap? Think carefully, now.”

Fury filled Sapnap’s gaze, and he snarled. “Call me that one more time and we’re gonna have issues.”

“What, Snapmap?”

The arrow went flying. You held back a scream.

Dream expertly stepped to the left, edging slightly closer to the carriage wagon. Holding George in front of him, a hush fell over the crowd as the arrow just barely grazed George’s arm. Sapnap drew another arrow.

“Shoot at me one more time,” Dream said lowly, the amusement vanishing from his voice, “and next time I won’t dodge. Why would I?” He nudged George. “After all, I have my own personal human shield right here.”

Sapnap lowered his bow. Relief welled up in your chest.

Slowly and carefully, Dream made his way over to the carriage, making direct eye contact with each member of the guard every few steps to confirm that their weapons were still lowered. Rather than entering the carriage, where you were almost certain the Duke of Sherwood was cowered in terror, he strode over to the wagon, hopping onto the ledge with his dagger still held against George’s neck.

There was a beat of silence as Dream stood over his grand treasure, five sacks of what was most definitely shining gold coins and gems. 

Then Antfrost drew his bow, aiming it directly at Dream’s head. 

No—!

But before he could even fire it, Dream hoisted George in his arms and chucked him over at the archer. George and Antfrost let out simultaneous screams as the former smacked into the latter, knocking them both off the carriage and onto the cobblestone ground. 

Without pause and still protected by the looming form of the carriage, Dream quickly hauled two of the sacks of wealth into his arms, slinging them over his back. Working quickly, he climbed on top of the carriage, eyes scanning the perimeter for the nearest exit path. While Antfrost and George still lay on the ground, struggling to regain their composure, Bad was already scrambling towards the carriage from the other side of the market square and Sapnap was preparing to fire another arrow.

“Oh my god, get him!” Bad screeched, stumbling over the bodies of his two friends. “Get off the ground, will you?”

“I’m trying!” George cried, knocking Antfrost’s bow from off his head. “You do realize that I was just held hostage, right? Cut me some slack!”

“Doesn’t matter, just get him!” Sapnap screamed, finally shooting.

Dream dodged the arrow with ease, and like a bolt of lightning, he was propelling himself through the air. He landed on a nearby stall roof, pausing for a split second before leaping forward onto the closest roof. Now far out of reach from Bad, he dodged another one of Sapnap’s arrows before sprinting away, the bounty in his hands buckling as he ran, quickly disappearing from view.

You could hardly believe your eyes. This was hardly the first time you had ever seen Dream fight, but this was definitely the most nerve-wracking encounter you had ever had the chance of seeing.

“Bad,” Antfrost heaved, tossing George’s sword over to him, “he went that way!” He pointed east, his face contorted in irritation. “We gotta go! Now!” In a flurry of movement, the four guards began their mad after Dream. It was only a few moments before they too were out of sight.

A heartbeat passed.

Then the silence that had befallen the market square was shattered as everyone began to chatter about the events that had just conspired.

“That was insane! How much do you think he stole?”

“Dream’s never taken an active hostage before, has he?”

“He had to! What else was he going to do? Fight four to one?”

“He probably could.”

“I can’t believe he actually got away!”

You turned to look at Rose, whose jaw was dropped wide open. “Oh. My god,” she breathed in complete and utter disbelief. “That—he’s so cool.”

You laughed. Oh, he was. He really was.

It was then that the carriage door finally moved, opening to reveal the Duke of Sherwood. He was an old, cranky-looking man, his salt and pepper hair marred with a bald patch in front and thin wiry glasses perched on his crooked nose.

“I—” he sputtered, his knees buckling in horror as he gasped at his nearly half-ransacked wagon. “The absolute nerve of that thief! He stole from me, of all people! How dare he? He scammed me!”

Not like you do the same for a living, you thought to yourself in disgust. You have no right to say such a thing. 

Shaking your head, you turned away from the duke and let out a sigh of relief. You were just glad that Dream made it out alive and with his treasure in tow. You smiled to yourself. Knowing him, he was going to give it to that orphanage on the south side of town. You had recently heard they were running out of funds to pay for bedding for the children. 

Rose’s voice pulled you from your thoughts. “I wonder what Dream looks like,” she mused, still gazing at the whining duke. “He’s just so mysterious.”

You looked down at your hands, thinking about how just morning, they had been holding his—big, warm, and perfectly wrapped around yours.

Green eyes. A dazzling smile. A galaxy of freckles.

“He must be handsome,” you said, your lips curling. “I’m sure.”

You yawned, slipping your nightgown over your figure in a sleepy daze. It had most certainly been a long day. You had sold more bread than you had expected and ate some delicious rabbit stew.

Oh, and you also witnessed Dream fight against four people at once.

Yeah. Definitely a long day.

You sat in front of your vanity, picking up your hairbrush from its holder. Running it through your hair, you began to brush out the knots as you thought about the day’s events, staring at the single candle you had sitting next to the mirror. You had been terrified out of your mind when you saw Dream get cornered by the guards. Your heart had leapt into your throat and it almost felt like you couldn’t breathe.

To everyone else, he was either Dream the thief or Dream the vigilante hero, but to you, he was just Clay—

A knock came from your balcony window.

—the love of your life.

You stiffened, your hand freezing halfway through brushing your hair. Clay never came by at night. Holding your breath, you listened.

Four short knocks. One long knock. Two short ones.

Your hairbrush clattered to the ground as you scrambled to your feet.

It looked like your day wasn’t over quite yet.

You were quick to flip open the lock, only fumbling once before you managed to successfully swing the door open. There he sat on your balcony railing, just like he always did. Except this time, instead of the sun framing his head, it was the moon.

“C—” You caught yourself. “Dream?”

He tilted his head at you. “Hi.”

You didn’t hesitate to grab him by the arm and pull him inside, pushing the widow door shut with your leg. “Wh-What are you doing here?” you stammered, your mind was still reeling from the fact that he was standing in front of you at all.

“What?” he said nonchalantly while leaning over you, like this was normal. “I can’t come see my favourite girl?”

You smiled at that, something light and airy bubbling in your chest, but shook your head. “No, it’s not that,” you said, reaching up to unmask him, “it’s just that you only come by in the morning. Before everyone is awake.” You unclasped his mask, pulling it away from his face and tossing it onto your vanity. His green eyes were fond when they met yours, and you felt yourself melt a little.

“Well,” he drawled, grinning slyly, “I got a little present for you, and it just couldn’t wait until morning, so I waited until everyone went to sleep.” His eyes flashed. “Everyone but you.”

You blinked at him, confusion gracing your features. A gift?

He straightened, spinning his finger. “Turn around and close your eyes, okay?” When you just stared at him, he added pleadingly, “It’s a surprise.”

Your lips quirked as you did as he asked, turning around and letting your eyes fall shut. I wonder what it is. It wasn’t often that Clay brought you gifts. Not that he didn’t want to—oh, no. If he could, you had a feeling that Dream wouldn’t hesitate to shower you in literal piles of presents. He just thought that it wouldn’t be right for him to spend the money he stole on himself and his own desires when there were people out here who had far, far less.

You felt him brush your hair away from your neck, something cold falling onto your collarbone. The cogs in your head turned, and then it suddenly clicked.

Is that...?

“Okay,” he said. You could hear the smile in his voice. “You can open your eyes, now.”

You blinked, your vision readjusting to the brightness of the room before you looked down. You were right. Around your neck delicately lay a necklace. The chain was a stunning sterling silver, and in the center hung a small emerald pendant—the same shade as Clay’s eyes.

“So, do you like it?”

You turned, the widest grin plastered across your face.

“I love you.”

Now, it was his turn to be dumbfounded, blinking at you in a stunned silence, his lips parted in surprise. With a giggle, you threw yourself in his arms, pressing your face to his chest.

“W-What?” he murmured, wrapping his arms around you.

You tilted your head up to look at his face. His freckles really did look like stars. “Didn’t you hear me? I said I love you, Clay.”

He blinked again. “No, I—” He stopped, then smiled. “I love you too, [Y/N].”

Holding onto his arms for support, you leaned up on your toes, pecking him sweetly. He followed after your lips when you pulled away, still smiling when you stood flat on the ground once more.

“So, what spurred this on?” you asked, your eyes shining in the darkness. “Did you decide to finally do something for yourself, for once?”

He chuckled. “Let’s just say that the orphanage governess saw me eyeing this one emerald and told me to keep it.” You felt him shake his head above you. “Wouldn’t take no for an answer. She reminded me of you.”

You laughed. “I’m glad to hear that you still think of me even when talking to other women.”

He smirked. “That’s ‘cause I’m always thinking about you.”

Somehow, he could still see the way your cheeks burned in the dimness of your room, your lips curling into a dizzy grin. He let out a wheeze at your expression, hugging you close again. “I’m not lying, you know.”

You smiled despite your embarrassment. “Yeah, I do.”

It seemed that every quiet moment the two of you got, you spent hugging. Not that you were complaining, really. It felt good to feel him in your arms and to feel his arms around you. You felt safe. Warm. Protected. Loved. This was everything you could have ever wanted.

A few more moments passed in silence before he said, “I should go.”

Your fingers tightened around his cloak. Of course he had to. He always had to, you knew this.

So why did it still hurt so much?

He pulled away from you, brushing a hand over your cheek. “I promise I’ll still come by tomorrow, so don’t miss me too much.”

Pecking your forehead affectionately once more, he took a step back, reaching for his mask. You frowned. “I miss you already,” you said, “and you haven’t even left yet.”

He stiffened at that, his hand stopping before it could reach his mask as he turned to look at you. You were gazing at him sadly, something yearning eating away at the inside of your chest.

“Hey,” you said softly. “Why don’t you stay the night? My bed has enough room for the both of us, if you don’t mind squeezing a little, since you’re so tall.”

Clay returned your sad gaze. “I shouldn’t.”

“You know,” you murmured, “you’re allowed to be a little selfish, Clay.” You looked down and fiddled with the necklace around your neck. “This is proof of that.” You glanced back up at him. “I’m proof of that.”

He didn’t move.

“Please, love?” you whispered.

He swallowed.

You were beautiful while standing in the moonlight and the waning candlelight. You were beautiful while wearing your nightgown. You were beautiful inside out, and he loved you.

And he gave in.

“Okay,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair. “But only because you look so pretty in that necklace, just like I knew you would.”

Yeah, you were beautiful while blushing with a wide smile, too.

That night, you fell asleep with your head on Clay’s chest and his arms encasing you. 

Safe. Warm. Protected. Loved. 

Now, this was everything you could have ever wanted.

You don’t think you had ever slept as well as you did last night in your entire life. Waking up with Clay’s face next to yours was a blessing you could only hope you would get to experience at least once more in your life. You spent your morning in a love-filled daze, full of giggles and soft kisses pressed to lips, cheeks, and hands.

Oh, what you wouldn’t give to spend everyday like this.

Your “see you tomorrow” this morning was more somber than most, but you still managed to smile through it. After all, you had been graced with the most wonderful of mornings—that was more than enough to make up for the pain of separation.

Not wanting to ruin the good mood you had been put in, you went out for lunch once more. You stopped by the florist’s on your way out, purchasing a few lilies as a little treat for yourself before continuing on your way. It wasn’t long before you were walking up to Rose’s stall with an extra spring in your step, your flower-filled basket swinging by your side.

“Hello, Rose!” you said in a sing-song voice, setting your basket on the stall counter with a grin.

Rose turned with a grin. “Why, is that you, [Y/N]? Two days in a row? Today must be my lucky day.” She looked at you quizzically. “You seem rather chipper today.” 

You hummed. “Do I?”

Her glittering eyes bore into yours, flickering with recognition. “Oh, I see, now. It must be that boy of yours that’s got you so bright.”

Your hand instinctively went to the necklace around your neck, playing with the emerald pendant. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” you said.

She pointed at your necklace, her eyes practically bulging out of her head. “Well, would you look at that! He must have given that to you! That’s the only reasonable explanation.” She crossed her arms over her chest, nodding triumphantly. “Yes, that must be it, I’m sure of it.”

You didn’t even bother trying to deny it. She was right, and you were in too good of a mood to stop her. “You’re sure?”

“Oh, absolutely,” she confirmed. “I know what a lovestruck girl looks like when I see one, and you’re the very definition of one right now.”

You sputtered at her words. “Wha—that’s—”

She cackled at you. “Exactly, my dear. Exactly.” She turned and grabbed a wooden bowl for you, already reaching for her pot. “Tell me more about him, will you? I’m so curious to hear what you have to say.”

You smiled, slapping another coin onto the table. A little chit chat wouldn’t hurt. And so, you spoke while you ate, sharing every small insignificantly significant detail you knew about Clay with Rose.

He has a laugh like a tea kettle. He loves cats. He’s a good singer, but sings horribly on purpose to make me laugh. His heart is too big for his own good. He’s smarter than anyone I know, and cleverer than most. He’s amazing. I love him.

By the time you finished your rabbit stew, you were quite certain you were even more in love with Clay, if that was even possible.

“He’s a keeper,” Rose said resolutely, her gaze fond as she listened to you ramble. “I’m telling you, he is. If he doesn’t marry you, he’ll be making a big mistake.”

Your face heat up at the idea, but you didn’t say anything. Perhaps that wouldn’t be such a bad idea, getting marrie—

The whinny of a horse interrupted your thoughts, and you turned to look behind you.

Four horses had just trotted into the market square, each one manned by a man wearing a specific colour. Your stomach knotted with nervousness.

The four new palace guards—what were they doing here?

You and Rose watched in confusion as the four men leapt off their horses, sharing a brief look with one another before parting ways. Each man walked off in a different direction to a different part of the square, immediately starting up a conversation with the nearest available people. 

And to your surprise, it seemed that George was walking straight toward the two of you.

The knot in your stomach tightened. This wasn’t good.

“Good afternoon, ladies,” he greeted when he arrived, smiling at the two of you kindly. “My name is George. You may recognize me as one the four new palace guards.” 

Rose bowed, lowering her gaze politely. “Welcome to my simple stall, Sir George. I am Rose Dubois, at your service.”

George bowed back. “As am I, miss. And please, call me George.”

When he rose, he turned to come t his gaze directly with yours, and your palms began to sweat where they gripped onto your basket. However, you did your best to behave benevolently. You wouldn’t give him any reason to suspect you. Giving him a curtsy, you introduced yourself. “It’s an honour to meet you, Sir George. My name is [Y/N].”

He smiled warmly at you. “I assure you, the formalities are not necessary, miss. You may simply call me by my name.”

You smiled back, clenching your first behind your back. “I insist.”

“Where do you work, miss [Y/N]?” he inquired. “You don’t seem to own a stall in the marketplace.”

You shook your head, plastering the smile to your face the best you can. “Oh, I own the bakery a few blocks away. I simply venture out to treat myself for lunch every once in a while.”

Rose laughed. “‘Every once in a while’ is an overstatement, believe me, sir. She hardly ever comes out, let alone for lunch!”

George’s lips twitched upward. “I’m sure it must be busy running a bakery by yourself.”

You chuckled, trying not to sound awkward. “It is, but the customers are more than kind enough to me, and I love my work. It’s nothing that I can’t handle.”

He bobbed his head. “That’s good.” The smile suddenly fell from his face, and you felt the anxiety rise in you. “I hate to change the tone of this conversation so abruptly, but I actually wanted to ask the two of you a question.”

You gulped. Keep your cool, [Y/N], you reminded yourself. Just keep it together and you’ll be okay. It’ll be easy!

“Do you two happen to know anything about Dream? Anything at all. My men and I are doing some investigating.”

Okay, maybe not so easy.

“I know some things,” Rose explained, “but not a whole lot.” She told him what she knew of Dream’s actions, but couldn’t elaborate beyond his a mere handful of examples before she ran dry. In the meantime, you were doing your best to calm your breathing, fiddling with the lilies in your basket.

“Thank you, miss Rose,” George said when she finished. He then turned to you. “As for you, miss [Y/N]? Do you happen to have any information you could share with me?”

Rose answered him before you could. “Oh, I swear,” she laughed, “the girl’s about as clueless as a toddler. It’s because she never goes out, the young thing. She didn’t know of your existence until I told her about you. You won’t get anything out of her, I can assure you that, sir.”

George frowned. “I see.” His gaze fell down to your collarbone. “That’s quite the necklace you’ve got there.”

Your blood ran cold.

“Might I ask where you got it from?”

Once again, you didn’t get the chance to respond.

“It’s a gift from her lover!” Rose supplied cheerfully. “Isn’t it just beautiful? He really is a wonderful man.”

You pretended to be embarrassed and that you didn’t want to hide and scream in a hole. “Rose!” you hissed, feigning a flustered expression. “I’m sure Sir George here doesn’t want to hear all about my love life!”

The guard laughed, the tiniest wave of relief washing over you. “Oh, it’s alright. Everyone loves love.” His mouth closed into a smile, but it was slightly off. “Say hello to your lover, then. From me to him.” His eyes glinted with something you couldn’t quite name. “Tell him he’s got good taste.”

You were almost positive that your blood had turned into ice in your veins by now, but you simply nodded and smiled. “I will! I’m sure he’ll be honoured to have been thought of by you, sir.”

He chuckled. “Oh, it’s nothing, I assure you.” He glanced down at the watch on his wrist. “Well, I’m afraid my time is up here, ladies, and I must go.” He bowed down once more. “It was a pleasure speaking to you both.”

The two of you sank into curtsies in farewell, waving him goodbye and watching as he rejoined the rest of his teammates, chatting amicably with one another. Rose let out a sigh where she stood behind her stall, completely unaware of the terror that was gripping your heart.

“He was so polite! And quite handsome, as well. If I wasn’t so very much in love with my fiancé, perhaps I would have liked him, too.” She spared a glance at you, blinking at you inquisitively. “You aren’t getting any second thoughts about your boy, are you?”

You laughed, shaking your head. “Of course not! I was just thinking that I should head back. My lunch break is over, anyway.”

Rose smiled at you wistfully. “Do come back soon, will you?”

You sent her a bright smile. “Sure thing.”

Gripping your basket tightly, you waved her goodbye as you strode out of the marketplace back towards the bakery. Your heartbeat rang wildly in your ears, sounding like a siren you couldn’t shut off. 

You had to get home. You wanted nothing more than to see Clay. There was no way this was happening—no way. This had to be some sick dream. Yeah, you were actually just at home, still lying warm and safe in bed with Clay. Totally. For sure.

Oh, who were you kidding? This was real life, and you were absolutely terrified.

You went home that day with a lump in your throat and an uneasy, sinking feeling in your gut.

I’m sorry, Rose, you thought. 

You weren’t going to go back to the marketplace for a while.

The next morning couldn’t have come by any slower. You had tossed and turned all night, anxiety clawing at the back of your mind like some wicked beast that would just not leave you alone. When you finally awoke to sunrise, you practically leapt out of bed, your hand immediately flying up to the necklace around your neck. You had yet to take it off, and you highly doubted that you ever would at this point.

You practically flew through your morning routine, rushing through every step before slowly picking up your hairbrush. Clay always interrupted you while you brushed your hair. You felt your lips curl in anticipation. You couldn’t wait to see him, again.

So you waited.

And waited

And waited.

You didn’t know how long had passed. The sun had long risen by now, and Clay still hadn’t knocked.

You sat on your bed, your hairbrush lying abandoned in your lap. You felt the back of your eyes sting with unshed tears. You knew you had to open up shop. Hell, the bread was probably burnt in the oven by now. You still had some dough leftover though, so you weren’t all that concerned. 

About the bread, that was.

He wasn’t gone, you just knew it. He was just... busy, this morning. Yes, that was it! He was just busy. He had to be.

You wiped your dry eyes with the back of your hand, taking a deep breath before standing up. A new sense of resolve filled you, and you were not about to abandon hope so easily.

Perhaps he would appear at your balcony when night came.

You could wait until nightfall.

You had to.

The day had dragged like a wheel stuck in mud. Everything passed in a haze, like nothing mattered at all without Clay. You still managed to do everything successfully, smiling at customers and asking regulars about their day without slipping up even once. You even had a whole, functional conversation with Mr. Richardson and his husband! And yet you felt as though something was terribly off, like there was this gaping hole in your being.

You were right—you were a wreck without him. A complete and total wreck.

That night, you trudged upstairs with a heavy heart, slipping off you clothes in favour of your nightgown. You had just lit a candle and picked up your hairbrush when you stopped. Your ears perked up, listening for any sounds, any at all.

You were met with silence. No knocks. No tea kettle laughter. Nothing.

You wanted to cry.

Setting down your hairbrush, you took in a shaky breath, walking over to your balcony window. A part of you desperately hopes to catch even just a glimpse of his green cloak, the one you had lovingly stitched by hand for him. But deep down, you knew the reality of things.

You flipped open the lock and watched as the door swung open, gazing out at your empty balcony and the quiet night sky. Just as you expected, he wasn’t here. Why wasn’t he here? 

You missed him so, so much.

Just as you were about to go back inside, something caught your attention from the corner of your eye. You stopped, turning. 

There, tied to your balcony railing with a green ribbon, was a folded piece of parchment.

You heartbeat sped up.

Could it be...?

You scrambled forward, making quick work of the ribbon and grabbing the paper, rushing back inside before the biting, night wind could nip at your skin. You locked the window behind you before you settled down onto your bed. Your fingers shakily unfolded the page you held, the handwritten words unveiling themselves to you.

[Y/N],

Hi, love. I hope I haven’t worried you too much. I saw George talking to you in the marketplace yesterday, and I was terrified he would do something to you if he knew that you were involved with me, let alone my lover. I won’t be dropping by in the mornings anymore. I’m sorry, love. I can only hope that you’ll understand. I’ll do my best to leave you a note every night, though. Rest assured that I’m safe and sound. Please wait for me.

I love you, [Y/N]. More than you know.

Yours truly,

Dream

You traced the crease lines with your finger, your eyes reading over every word he wrote once, twice, thrice, absolutely committing them to memory. You leaned back on your bed, the tiniest of smiles coming to your face. Of course he wouldn’t write his real name—hell, at this point, you were starting to believe you were the only one who even knew his real name. But that didn’t matter. There were more important matters at hand, now.

He hadn’t left you. You weren’t alone.

Without a doubt, you would wait for him.

You would gladly wait for an eternity and then some if you had to.

Three weeks passed without any sight of Clay.

Knowing you couldn’t keep hiding forever, it took you a while to muster the courage to return to marketplace once more. Rose nearly threw a fit when you did, crying about how you had broken your promise to return more often.

“I never promised, though,” you reminded her.

She sniffled dramatically. “That doesn’t mean you didn’t break my heart.”

It was difficult going through all the motions of your everyday life without seeing Clay, but you trudged onward with each new day. However, there came nights that you spent simply staring blankly at your ceiling. How much longer could you go on without your favourite part of your day?

Rose wasn’t kidding when she said that three weeks could feel like forever.

While it was impossible for you to even catch a glimpse of Clay, you don’t think you had ever seen Dream as much as you did now.

From whispers of his name in your bakery to wanted posters of him on the wall, Dream appeared all around you. You even saw him dart through the square, sacks of gold coins bouncing against his side and chests filled to the brim treasure hoisted in his arms as he ran from the guards. it was almost as if he was suddenly everywhere around you, and yet nowhere at all. Each time you caught sight of your green-clad lover, something squeezed deep in your chest. You wanted Clay, not Dream, but you could wait. You promised you would wait, and you had no intention of breaking that promise.

With due time, your favourite part of your day slowly transformed into your favourite part of the night. As closing hours ticked closer and closer by, your body would grow giddy with excitement. Your feet would tap and you would hum to yourself more often. Even some of the customers began to notice.

“You always look so excited at the end of the day,” Mr. Richardson had once joked. “Are you really that happy to leave me?”

You had simply smiled at him, your expression earnest and wistful. “No, I’m just excited to see someone important to me.”

Every night after closing up shop and wiping down all the counters, you would scramble to your bedroom, slipping in your nightgown before rushing to your balcony window. And every night without fail, a smile would light up your face when you saw the folded parchment tied to your railing. Reading Clay’s letters next to the fading candlelight of your bedroom left you feeling a little less lonely than the hours just before. You kept his letters in a small box hidden deep within your floorboard and would slip them in before you went to bed, but some morning you would find that you fell asleep re-reading his words over and over again. 

You couldn’t wait until the moment you could see him again.

What you didn’t know was that that moment was coming much sooner than you expected.

You woke to the sound of a creaking railing and knocking on wood.

With a deep groan, you rolled over, blinking the sleep away from your eyes from where you lay. Oh so slowly, you sat up, letting out a quiet yawn as you glanced out the window.

It was pitch black outside.

Confusion muddled your foggy brain, your head still half-asleep in the bed on which you sat. You cast your gaze toward the clock beside your bed, squinting at the time through the dark.

It was half past two in the morning.

There was another creak, then came more knocking. Your head turned towards the sound, your mind slowly whirring to life as it tried to decipher the sounds it was hearing.

Just what was that noise?

For a brief moment, there was silence. Then you heard it, again.

Four short knocks. One long one. Two short ones.

You fell out of your bed, dragging the covers down with you.

No way.

You waited again, listening carefully.

Once again: four short knocks. One long one. Two short ones.

Tears sprung to your eyes.

It was him.

You practically sprinted across your bedroom, nearly tripping over your own blankets as you scrambled to reach the balcony window. You flipped open the lock in record time, practically slamming the door open.

There he sat on the railing, his green cloak wrapped around him and his white smiling mask hiding his face from view. Behind him, the stars twinkled in the murky night sky, blinking like tiny beacons of hope. 

“Clay,” you said breathlessly, not bothering to correct yourself. “You’re here.”

He pulled his mask away from his face, his emerald eyes flashing like gems in the starlight as he stood. “I’m here.”

You stumbled forward, your hands desperately reaching for him in the darkness. Without missing a beat, he met you halfway, his hands wrapping around yours. For a second, the two of you simply stared at one another, soaking in the other’s presence.

Then your lips were mashed against his, his hands in your hair and his tongue prodding at yours and god, you loved him, you loved him, you loved him. 

You love him.

The two of you separated with a gasp, your eyes gazing into one another’s. For a second, all was still. The rest of the world fell away, and all you could focus on was the sound of his breaths and his face so close to yours.

“Hey,” he said softly, mirth dancing in his eyes.

“Hi,” you whispered back, a lovestruck smile creeping onto your face.

He opened up his arms and pulled you in,, squeezing you in a tight embrace. You took a deep breath, your eyelids fluttering closed as you savoured his scent of fresh pine. “Sorry, did I wake you up?” he quietly asked, his voice raspy and low next to your ear.

You nodded into his chest. “Yeah, but I don’t mind.” I never mind when it’s you.

Reaching a hand up to stroke your hair, he softly admitted, “I missed you. I missed you so much.”

You smiled, hidden from his view. “I promise you I missed you more.” He chuckled at your words, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. A comfortable silence fell over the two of you. Then, you spoke.

“I thought that I would never see you, again,” you whispered, your voice shaking like an autumn leaf. “I was so scared.”

He wiped away your tears, holding your face delicately between his hands, like you were made of glass. “I told you, didn’t I? I’m not going anywhere. Not without you. Never without you, love.”

You nodded, laughing through your tears, “You did tell me, you did.” You leaned into his touch, nuzzling your face into his hand. “I don’t know why I ever doubted you.”

His lips quirked at that, but expression suddenly grew serious. “[Y/N], there’s something that I have to tell you, and it’s serious.” 

You looked back at him, blinking away your tears to focus on his expression. He sighed before beginning to explain. “I’m—I’m not just here because I wanted to see you. You know the guards?”

Your throat tightened, but you nodded, still listening patiently. “I’m pretty sure George finally connected the dots between us. I think he asked Duke Sherwood about your necklace and, well—” He grimaced. “You probably know how the rest goes.”

Panic crashed over you like a wave as your brain began processing a million thoughts all at once. What was going to happen to you? Were you going to be thrown in jail? Or killed? Would you never see Clay, again? Clay—oh god, Clay. What would they do to him?

“I don’t know how much longer you can continue living safely here,” he murmured, his expression sad. “I also came by to ask if...” He sucked in a breath. “...if you wanted to run away with me.”

Your eyes widened. Run away?

“I’ve secured a route out of the capital set for dawn. We’d be gone before anyone even knew it.” He ran a hand through his murky golden locks, frowning. “I know that it’s a lot to ask of you, to leave the life you know just to be with me.” His voice lowered to a whisper. “Especially when I’ve been so neglectful of you.”

Your whirled at that, your lips moving before you could stop yourself. “Don’t say that about yourself.” He stared at you in surprise, and you continued before he could interrupt. “You’re wonderful, Clay, really. You’re easily the most wonderful thing to have ever happened to me.”

You picked up his hand, pressing it to your chest. “Can you feel that?” you whispered. “Do you feel how fast you make my heart beat?” 

His eyes widened, and he nodded. 

Your leaned forward to place your forehead on his. “I don’t know how many times I’ve said it, but I’ll say it for the rest of my life if I have to.” You sent him a warm smile. “I choose you, Clay. I’d choose you every time, in every life. It’s always been you.”

You only saw his watery smile for a split second before he was crushing you in a hug to his chest. You didn’t hesitate to hug him back, squeezing him as tight as you possibly could.

Your heart was set on him. You loved your life at the bakery and your lunches with Rose, but these past few weeks taught you that a life without Clay was not a life spent living.

“Surviving and living are two very different things,” Rose had told you.

She was right.

“I’ll get properly dressed,” you said, pulling yourself away from his warm hold, “and then we can go.” Your spun on your heel, looking back at him over your shoulder. “Okay?”

His lips were parted while staring at you, almost looking like he had been struck with some great revelation. You turned, about to go back inside when a hand around your wrist stopped you. You looked back over your shoulder to see Clay looking down at his feet, something like anxiety etched into his features.

“Clay? What’s wrong?”

He let out a quiet chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. “There’s actually... one more thing I need to ask you before you go.”

You raised an eyebrow at him. Another thing? What could he possibly talking about?

Letting go of your wrist and shoving his hand into his pocket, he sent you a crooked smile. “I spent so long preparing for this, but I’m still so nervous.” 

He sucked in a deep breath, then sank to one knee.

Your breath hitched in your throat.

“[Y/N],” he began, his emerald gaze boring into yours, “I have stolen countless treasure chest troves’ worth of gold and jewels. I can’t even begin to name how much I’ve taken from and given to others. But do you remember—” He swallowed. “When I told you all those years ago that I wanted to bring change to this world by any means necessary, do you remember what you told me?”

You shook your head, still far too star-struck to speak.

His lips twitched into a grin. “You told me that you’d be waiting for me. And also that I had to promise I wouldn’t die and leave you all alone.” You stifled a laugh as he sucked in a deep breath, reaching a hand into his pocket. “I like to believe that I’ve done a pretty good job keeping that promise, but I think it’s time to make sure I never break it.”

From his pocket he pulled a small velvet box—a ring box. You were shaking now, a gasp escaping your lips as he flipped the top open.

It was a beautiful ring, consisting of a single silver band encrusted with diamonds and a glittering cut emerald lying in its center. It matched the necklace you wore perfectly, and you already knew what he was going to ask.

“[Y/N], love,” he breathed, holding one hand out toward you and the ring box in the other, “will you marry me?”

You didn’t even have to think twice.

“Yes,” you breathed, slipping your hand in his. “Yes, yes, yes, a million times yes. I never want to be without you, again.”

You don’t think you had ever seen Clay smile so wide before as he swept you into his arms, swinging you around with a gleeful laugh. You giggled along with him, so overwhelmed with love and joy that you couldn’t help but join him. After a few seconds, he slowed to a stop, dipping his head to kiss you once more.

“You are my greatest treasure,” he whispered when he pulled away.

His emerald eyes shone like a tiny galaxy of his own. You stroked his cheek with your hand. “And you are mine.”

You knew that the future was anything but clear. You were leaving behind the life you had built in the city you had always lived in, running off with nothing more than the clothes on your back and a ring on your finger. 

But you knew that with Clay by your side, that didn’t matter.

It was a dream come true.

At dawn, Rose Dubois awoke to find a rolled up piece of parchment tied with green ribbon on her stall counter.

Hello, Rose!

I’m sorry I didn’t visit you as often as you’d have liked. I’m afraid I won’t get the chance to now, but I do have wonderful news for you. We are getting married, just like you hoped! If I ever return, I will be sure to tell you every detail. Save me a bowl of rabbit stew, will you?

All my love,

[Y/N] & Dream

She looked out at the rising sun in the distance, watching two birds soar across the gold-tinted sky, flapping in harmony with one another. A part of her always felt like she knew, and now she was left to wonder. She wondered where they went, where they were going. 

She ran her thumb along the edge of the page, a content smile gracing her lips as she murmured three words.

“I’ll be waiting.”

[waitimcomingtoo]

In Case You Don’t Live Forever

~chapter eight rewritten~

Pairing: Peter Parker x Venom!Reader

Synopsis: you are Peters greatest love and Spider-Man’s greatest enemy

Series Masterlist

“He’s such a dick!” Peter exclaimed, flopping on his bed with a huff. You laid down next to him and ran your fingers through his soft hair, feeling him relax immediately under your touch.

“What did Flash do today?” You sighed. This was a pretty common point of conversation between you and Peter. Flash always found a way under Peters skin and you were always the one to dig him out.

“He said I photoshopped our pictures together on Instagram. And he said you’d never even look at me, even if I was, and I quote, “waiting your table on your date with him”. He’s such a dick! You do look at me.” Peter protested. You sighed let out another sigh as you thought of an answer. You and Peter had been together for three glorious weeks and each of those weeks, Peter had Flash on his back about your relationship.

“Yes I do. And I love what I see.” You assured him. Peter smiled slightly, too angry to fully appreciate the compliment.

“He tells everyone I’m lying about us being together. I didn’t even tell people, Ned did. And when I said I was gonna take the day off of school to spend our one month anniversary together, he said it was probably just gonna be me alone in my room reading your articles and crying because you’d never give me the time of day.” Peter scoffed. “I wish he would believe me. I hate constantly having to defend our relationship.”

Not knowing what to tell him, you kissed his cheeks and rolled onto his chest. Your one month anniversary was just a week away and two planned on spending every second together to commemorate the event.

“Take my mind off of him, please.” He pouted as he dragged his pinkie down your nose. “What’s new in my beautiful girlfriends life?”

You two absentmindedly compared hand sizes before locking your fingers together.

“I have my final interview with Cletus next week. Then I really gotta finish my story.” You told him.

“You’ll get it done.” He said confidently. “You’re so efficient. When’s it due?”

“Three weeks.” You answered.

“You know what that means.” Peter said. You nodded.

“Balls to the walls.” You said at the same time he said “Pedal to the metal.”

You giggled and he laughed loudly.

“I like how I made a crude reference and you made one about flowers. It really highlights our personalities.” You pointed out. Peter cocked his head.

“Flowers?” He questioned.

“Yea. Petals. Petal to the medal.” You said. Peter burst out laughing, making the whole bed shake. He flipped you over so you were in your back now with him on top.

“Aw baby no.” He laughed. “It’s pedal to the metal, not petal to the metal. Why would you push petals against metal?”

“I don’t know. Why would you put your balls to the wall?” You shot back.

“I personally wouldn’t put my balls against any wall.” Peter said matter of factly. Him saying something so out of character made you snort with laughter. You immediately covered your mouth and burned red.

“That was the grossest sound. I’m so sorry.” You said with hands still covering your face.

“Don’t be sorry. I love all your sounds.” Peter said as he moved your hands to plant kisses on your face. He started with kisses on your cheeks and slowly moved down to your neck. This was new territory for the both of you so let out a soft giggle to show it was okay.

“I like that sound too.” Peter said as he perked his head up. You smiled fondly and it gave him the confidence to keep going. He placed more hot kisses down your neck and you let out another soft sound.

“I like that sound as well.” He laughed into your neck. His lips found their way under your ear in just the right place.

“Peter.” You breathed. He stopped and looked at you. His eyes were full of something you’d never seen before. Pure love and adoration for you. But it wasn’t the puppy love you were used to seeing with him. It was adult love. Committed love. You looked him deep in the eyes and nodded. Without saying a word, you both agreed to take the next step and solidify your love for each other.

That night, you and Peter laid awake and just stared each other. Neither of you said a word. Everything had already been said that night in his bed. You absentmindedly ran your fingers over his lips as he twirled your hair around his finger. You loved him. You wanted so badly to tell him. But Peter was a teenage boy. He just experienced his first time and you don’t want to overwhelm him with his first “I love you” as well. But from the way Peter was looking at you, you knew he knew how you felt.

“I want you to meet my boss.” Peter spoke suddenly with a dreamy smile on his face. “He’s my mentor and basically my father. He’s very important to me and so are you. I want us all to have dinner together. Let’s do it tomorrow night. He’s gonna love you.”

“I’d love to meet him.” You smiled. And you meant it. Peter barely gave any details about his internship. You didn’t even know his bosses name. You cuddled in closer to Peter and felt absolute happiness all throughout your body. He felt it too. Peter Parker was over the moon with joy. He had never been happier.

The next day after school, Peter practically ran down the steps to greet you. He was still on a high from the night before. You were running slightly late and Peter stood in your usually spot and waited for you.

“Whats wrong, Penis Parker? Did Iron Man forget to pick you up today?” Flash teased. Peter turned his back to him.

“No. If you must know, Y/n is picking me up. She’s just a little late.” Peter grumbled. Flash laughed tauntingly.

“Right, Y/n. Is she gonna pick you up on her unicorn and take you on a date at Avengers Tower?” Flash mocked. Peter just ignored him.

“I can’t blame you for pretending to date her though. She’s so hot. I’d like to take her out and show her a good time. Better than you ever could, Penis Parker.” He continued.

“She’s not hot Flash, she’s beautiful. She’s a girl, not a cup of tea.” Peter retorted. Flash’s cheeks heated up at Peters comeback.

“Whatever. I’d still bang her. Even if she was a cup of tea.” Flash scoffed Peters blood began to boil. He wanted to kill Flash for even thinking about you.

“Me too. That girl is straight up glorious. I’d let her do anything she wanted to me, I swear.” One on Flash’s idiot friends chimed in. Peter shot him the death glare. It was getting increasingly harder to stand there and listen to those idiots degrade you.

“You’re disgusting. Show some respect.” Peter said lowly. It wasn’t a suggestion, it was an order. Little did Peter know, your super hearing allowed you to hear the whole conversation as you approached his school. An idea formed in your head.

A nice size crowd had gathered around Peter and Flash’s goons. Peter tapped his foot and waited for your arrival.

“Aw. Penis Parker wants us to show his imaginary girlfriend some respect.” Flash laughed. At that moment, you pulled up on your bike and swiftly took off your helmet. Shocked murmurs swept throughout the crowd. Most stunned of all was Flash, who looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his head. All eyes were on you. Peter noticed Flash’s reaction and smirked.

“Hi baby. I’m sorry I’m late. I’m having trouble getting around after last night.” You said apologetically and shot Peter a wink. You had practiced it in your head. Peters face broke out in an embarrassed smile as boys began to pat him on the back. A few even applauded.

“It’s alright, darling.” Peter said, stepping towards you. You smirked and gave him a big sloppy kiss. It was way more PDA than you were used to but you knew it’d give Peter enough street credit for the rest of college.

“Let’s go babe. Bye Flush.” You called and gave Flash a flirty little wave. If he was gonna call your boyfriend Penis, he was gonna get called Flush. Peter climbed on the back of your bike and you two sped away.

~

“Thanks for what you did back there. I hate how disgusting those guys are. I’m sorry they were objectifying you.” Peter apologized once you were back in his room.

“It’s alright. It happens.” You shrugged.

“But it shouldn’t. And did you see how they all acted when you kissed me? Like all the sudden I was cool because you were my girlfriend? Don’t get me wrong, you’re incredibly hot and I’m incredibly lucky to have you. But what they don’t understand is, there’s a million reasons why I’m lucky to have you.” Peter sighed angrily. “Your beauty doesn’t even crack the top ten. There’s so much to you. So much grandeur and depth and they just reduced you to a pretty face. It pisses me off.”

You smiled at his kind words and walked over to him, wrapping your arms around his neck

“Peter, I don’t care what a single one of those bonehead boys had to say.” You shrugged. “I only care about you. Those boys at your school are just jealous that you actually have a brain in your head and a heart in your chest when they don’t. Don’t let them get to you. And thank you for all that you said. I really care about you, Peter.”

You wanted to tell him you loved him, but you chickened out. You had only ever said it to Andy.

“I really care about you too.” Peter smiled before kissing you. “Now come on, let’s work on your story.”

That night, you prepared to eat dinner at Peters bosses house. You wore a casual dress and did your hair in loose curls. You wanted to make a good impression on Peters mentor but you didn’t want to look like you were trying too hard. You took a cab, not wanting to ride your motorcycle and risk the helmet messing up either of your hair, to a wooden cabin near a lake. Peter knocked on the door and rubbed his hands together in excitement.

“Here we go.” He beamed at you.

The door opened and your body froze as your eyes landed on Tony Stark. The very Tony Stark who made you your suit. The very Tony Stark who knew you were Venom.

And apparently, the very Tony Stark who was your boyfriends boss.

Tony’s face fell when he looked at you and you felt sick to your stomach. Tony felt it to. He glanced from you, to Peter, to your interlocked hands, then back at you. Your eyes whispered an apology and looked equally as apologetic. He was sorry for how badly this would end when all the secrets were out.

“Come on in, kids. Dinners almost ready.” Tony said suddenly. Peter grinned at you and lead you inside. You faked a smile before giving Tony one last look.

Dinner went as awkwardly as you could imagine. You and Tony couldn’t keep your eyes off of each other. Peter was too excited about his two favorite people meeting to notice the tension in the air.

“Y/n is an investigative reporter.” Peter gushed in between bites.

“Is she?” Tony said, never looking away from you. You felt terrified by his stare.

“She took down Carlton Drake and soon she’s gonna take down Cletus Kasady.” Peter continued with a proud smile. He put his hand on your knee under the table and squeezed.

“Oh really?” Tony’s expression was unreadable. “How did you do it?”

You gulped. He knew exactly how you did it. You had told him the story the day you met.

“I just followed my instincts and didn’t let up until the truth was out.” You stammered. Tony nodded stiffly.

“Right. Y/n, will you join me in the lab? I got something that might help your story.” Tony announced. You felt fear run through your body, all the way to your scalp. You nodded and got up. Your legs were shaking and you prayed Peter didn’t notice.

“I’ll come.” Peter said, moving to stand up. Tony immediately turned around and held up a hand.

“You stay here, kid.” He kept a calm tone. “I just want a quick word with your girlfriend.” Peter sat back down with a smile on his face at the sound of someone referring to you as his girlfriend.

Once in the safety of the lab, you let out the breath you had been holding in all night. You looked anxiously at Tony, waiting for him to speak. He had his back to you, and was still deciding what to say.

“Does he know?” Tony asked suddenly. You shook your head even though Tony couldn’t see you.

“No, sir.” Your voice shook. “I haven’t told him.”

“Do you know about him?” Tony asked, turning to face you. Your face contorted in confusion.

“Do I know what about him?” You questioned. That’s when Tony’s face fell. He realized the extent of the situation. You and Peter were in love and Spider-Man and Venom were enemies. And neither of you knew the other’s secret identity. Tony’s heart broke for the young couple. He knew how much Peter loved you. He also knew how fragile Peter was. Tony wondered if the shock would hurt less if he made the teenagers confront each other sooner rather than later.

“Nothing.” He said quickly. “Here’s what I need from you, tell him the truth.”

You opened your mouth to protest but he held up his hand.

“I don’t want to hear it, Hannah Montana. You need to tell Peter about Venom, or I will. End of discussion.” Tony said sternly.

“But-“

“What did I say? End of discussion.” He repeated.

“But he’ll hate me.” You said sadly. Tony looked at you empathically, knowing you didn’t even know how bad it was.

“He’ll hate you more if you wait to tell him. You have to rip the bandaid off. And who knows, maybe he has secrets of his own.” Tony tried to hint to you. You stared at the floor, not wanting to go back to the dinning room to Peter. You wanted to avoid him, and the conversation, as long as you could.

“You don’t understand, Mr. Stark.” Your voice wavered. “The second I tell him, he’ll leave me. I’m not ready to lose him, I just got him.”

You didn’t want to cry in front of a man you idealized but your heart was breaking.

“You don’t know for sure that you’ll lose him. You need to tell him. Now. You know where he is.” Tony ordered. You could feel yourself beginning to cry no matter how hard you tried to fight it. It was that terrible feeling of needing to cry but feeling too embarrassed to.

“Don’t do that. I don’t want a crying teenage girl on my hands.” Tony said in response to your watering eyes.

“But I love him.” You whimpered. “I love him and I don’t want to lose him.”

Tony’s attention snapped to you. You had never seen Tony Stark at a loss for words before.

“You love him?” He asked. You nodded.

“With all my heart.” You said weakly.

“Have you ever told him that?” Tony asked.

“No.” You said shyly. It was an awkward thing to talk about with a man you barely knew.

Tony looked angry for a moment, then disheartened.

“This is going to crush him.” He muttered.

“I never wanted to hurt him, Mr. Stark. Please believe that. But no matter how much I wish for things to be different, they can’t be. This is who I am. I am…we are Venom. That won’t change.”

“You’ve already hurt him and you don’t even know it.” Tony sighed. You didn’t really understand what he meant.

“I know lying to him is bad.” You admitted. “But would it really be better if he knew? He’d just be afraid of me. I can’t have that.”

“You can’t have a relationship with someone who doesn’t really know you, either.” Tony reasoned

“I know. And I’ll tell him.” You promised. “Just, not yet. I can’t lose him just yet.”

Tony looked at you for a long time and sighed.

“Fine. I’ll give you one week. If you don’t tell him by then, I will.” Tony said firmly. You nodded sadly.

“Okay.” You wiped a tear that had managed to fall. “I’ll tell him.”

“You better. Now let’s go back in there and give him the best night of his life. He deserves that much.” Tony said and you agreed.

You two went back out and ate dessert with Peter. You did your best to enjoy and decide of it, knowing your time with Peter was almost up.

Peter enjoyed his evening to the fullest extent and never suspected a thing. You’d sneak glances at Tony every now and then and he was always staring back.

“I had the best time. Thank you Mr. Stark.” Peter said as you two got ready to leave.

“Yes, thank you Mr. Stark. It was a pleasure to meet you.” You shook Tony’s hand. He shook yours back firmly, both of you knowing you had already met.

“Anytime. And Y/n, good luck. I’m rooting for you.” Tony said honestly. You gave him a thankful nod.

“Good luck with what?” Peter asked.

“My story.” You answered quickly. “On Cleatus.”

You ushered Peter out the door and gave Tony one last look. He nodded at you and held up one finger. You gulped.

This was going to be the worst week of your life.

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

sdra2 boys reactions to a first kiss from their s/o-

Here you go! These turned out a bit longer than expected haha (plus I almost forgot Hajime aaaaaa)

.........

Teruya

The former merchant was grieving over his friends again, but as much as he tried hiding it--he knew he couldn’t keep it bottled up around you. So he just let himself curl into your arms, clutching the goggles of a certain pilot.

He felt childish for crying like this, though you didn’t judge him, nor the tears that soaked your shirt. Instead you held him close, running a hand through his hair. 

Teruya found that talking about the good memories--as good as any memories of being trapped in the academy could be--with the pilot helped ease his troubled mind. Plus you were curious about his friendship with him.

“He seemed like a comedic guy,” you smiled softly. “A guy with a good heart.”

“Yeah, th-that was Haru alright..” He sniffled, sighing as he felt himself calming down. “Okay..I think I’m alright now. Th-Thank you for listening.”

"Of course, but hmm..I know what’ll cheer you up, Ruya.”

As he raised his head to look at you, what he didn’t expect was to feel you lips against his. But for a first kiss...it was so soft and sweet, just like you’ve always been to him.

You could see a blush on his face as you broke the kiss. He tried to speak, but could only babble random nonsense, to which you just chuckled. “You feel a little better?”

“Y-Yeah..I’m f-feelin’ tons better...”

.........

Yuki

“Are you..serious?” Yuki gawked, expecting you to laugh at his confession. “Y-You really like me that way, too?”

“Of course! And I’ll say it again if I need to.” Grinning, you took his hands and swung them side-to-side a bit. “I truly do like you, Yuki Maeda. So what if you’re “average”? There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Despite how much he wanted to believe your words, he was convinced that he wasn’t anyone special. His talent didn’t make him famous or rich or smart--who would wanna be with someone who was lacking in all three departments?

You could see his eyes starting to cloud over with doubt, but you weren’t gonna have any of that. Fortunately you had an idea that was either smart...or stupid. 

You didn’t care and just decided to kiss him right on the lips. He squeaked in surprise, immediately stiffening up, though it was just a peck and you quickly backed off.

Your face burned with embarrassment, but it got your message across..or so you hoped. “Now do you believe me?”

“I-I....I do..” Yuki stammered, his gaze travelling to your entwined hands. Though he shyly glanced back up at you. “C-Could you..uh..maybe do that again?”

........

Nikei

As you typed away on the computer, you could feel a lingering presence over your shoulder. But you didn’t mind it, knowing there was only one person who was allowed to barge into your office.

“Hey Nik-Nak.”

“Y-You’re seriously giving me a nickname now?” The journalist stammered, though he just sighed and looked at your computer screen. “Anyways..how’s the editing going?”

“So far so good. your dear Ultimate Editor is hard at work.” You kept tapping the keys. “But I noticed a lot more run-on sentences in this one. Looks like somebody’s had a little too much coffee today.”

“Oh please,” he huffed. “We both have very different definitions of “too much coffee”. And I think I know who stole the rest..”

“Sue me.” You joked, reaching up to pat his cheek, before you brought his head down slightly to kiss his other one. “Make some more if your heart desires.”

“..........”

“...Nikei?”

“...s-sure...imma go..uh....yeah. Bye.”

By the time you turned away from the computer, Nikei was already rushing out the door, clutching his hat to hide his face from view. But even in the dark you could tell he was blushing like mad.

How adorable.

........

Shinji

“COME ON, YUKI!! YOU GOTTA HAVE MORE FIYAAAAH THAN THAT!!!”

“He seems tired, Shinji. Cut him some slack.” You chuckled as you watched the two men train together. Poor Yuki was practically wheezing after the run, while Shinji just huffed and kept jogging around the park.

But eventually he made his way over to you and stopped short. “You should join us! Get your blood pumping!!”

“Do I have to?”

“Why not?” He grinned.

You really didn’t wanna run in hot weather like this, and the two seemed like they needed a break. 

So you came up with an idea--a sure-fire way to get him to listen to you. “Hey, Shin? I..gotta tell you something important.” You motioned for him to lean in closer, and he did so in worry, wondering what you had to say.

Though all he got was peck on the lips. It was the first kiss you’ve given him since you two starting going out, so it was quick but sweet. When you moved back you could see him staring at you, face growing beet-red.

“Now will you take a break...please?” You held his hands. 

For a while he seemed speechless--as though his brain short-circuited--before he finally found his voice. “W-W-Well jeez..why d-didn’t ya say so before?”

......

Yuri

“Oh, [y/n]~! I’ve figured out the perfect way to commemorate our first kiss!”

“You have? And what would that be?” You turned around to face the spaceman, noticing he had a box of Pocky. “O-Oh...the Pocky game?”

“What else could it be?” He laughed as he held out a stick between you two. “Since we’re both already familiar with it, why not get started right away~”

Seeing that there was no way out of this, you sighed and decided to agree to the game. You bit down one end of the stick while Yuri bit the other. 

Then you started munching away. Though at the last second, right before your noses could touch, you suddenly moved back, letting him have victory.

“Awh..there’s no need to be shy, my dearest.” He pouted, clearly disappointed. “I understand if you’re not ready yet but-”

However he was cut short when you pulled him by the tie, bringing his lips to yours. His eyes widened to the size of UFOS, though before he could properly react you broke the kiss, smiling as you munched the remaining Pocky you stole from him.

“I win~”

.......

Shobai

“You’re kidding right?”

“It’s like I said--nothing in life comes for free, sweetheart. If ya don’t already know that then..why are we even going out?"

“...we’ve been dating for-”

“You want a kiss? Better pay up.” As ridiculous as it seemed, Shobai looked dead serious about this “deal” you wanted to make with him. 

You didn’t think you’d have to actually pay to get a first kiss. But then again..this man made a living making bizarre deals, so you shouldn’t have been too surprised.

“Alright, if that’s what it takes.” You begrudgingly took out your wallet and opened it. “What do you want for-?”

However, you fell silent when you heard a snicker, and you looked to see his smug grin. But before you could question him, he suddenly leaned down to give you a quick peck on the lips, stunning you, though you tried to seize the moment and kiss him back.

He tasted like smoke, of course. It wasn’t the most pleasant, though your heart still fluttered even after you two broke the kiss. Only then did he notice your dumbfounded expression, and chuckled.

“You know, you can be real gullible sometimes...but that makes you kinda cute.”

.......

Mikado

“Hey um..Mik? Can I ask you something?”

“Oh anything, my dear moon~ Well...erm...there are some things I cannot disclose if you’re curious about Void-”

“A-Ah, nothing like that. I’m just wondering if...I were to kiss you....which side would you prefer?” You gestured to both sides of your face, looking at the wizard with an inquiring expression.

He hummed in thought. “You know..I’ve never had my first kiss before, so I’m not so sure myself. How about I let you surprise me?” The red eye on his mask winked, before he closed his real eye and sat still.

With a sigh, you decided to entertain him, approaching him. But when he opened his eye, you stopped short and huffed. “Hey, what happened to me “surprising” you?”

“Sorry, I was getting..impatient. Carry on.” Once more he closed it, soon feeling you cup the cheek of his maskless side. And he tensed up upon feeling you kiss the corner of his mouth. 

Redness dusted his entire face as he opened his eyes, seeing your smile.

“O-Oh...so that’s how it feels..”

.......

Hajime

“Hajime, it’ll only be for a second. I’ll be right back with medicine-”

“N-No..at least let me go with you..please..”

“You collapsed during training and you’ve been running a high fever ever since. You’re in no condition to walk right now.”

Despite your best efforts, Hajime continued to resist staying in bed. You didn’t think it would be this difficult to get him to stay put, but you knew why he was so upset.

He wasn’t scared of getting sick--he was scared of being abandoned while he was sick. It was a fear instilled into him thanks to his parents and doctors who just..gave up and left him to die, all alone.

That fear showed itself in full-force as he gripped your hand. “D-Don’t abandon me..” He sobbed weakly. “I can’t go through that again..I-I just can’t...”

Your heart ached when you heard those pleas. But as you wondered how you could calm him down...the first brilliant idea to pop in your mind was:

Kiss him.

And so you did, right on the lips, which you knew you’ll regret later. Though Hajime fell silent and looked at you with surprise. “...did you...?”

“Th-That’s..not how I meant our first kiss to go. But I promise you, Hajime..I’m not gonna abandon you.” You ran your fingers through his hair. “Not now, not ever, okay? I will always come back for you.”

His cheeks were more flushed, but he nodded meekly and relaxed back on the bed as you quickly left to retrieve the medicine.

And you kept your promise.

[babbushka]

I NEED PASSOVER PROMPT ONE

(we know I love Paterson and am a sucker for anything written for him but you can decide who you’d like to write it for 🥺)

A/N: Thank you so much for asking!! Pat is such a mensch, I couldn’t resist jumping on this prompt :) I hope you enjoy it! 

1.4k, no warnings just fluff and humor :) Jewish!Paterson x Jewish!Reader

He listens to the rhythmic sound of the wipers, as they steadily swish away a light rain that pitter-patters on the windshield. Paterson drives through the winding upstate New Jersey roads, you in the passenger seat next to him, and his friend Doc the bartender, in the backseat. Paterson had celebrated Pesach with you for many years now, even before you were married and he could only call you his girlfriend, but the addition of his friend is a new one.

Doc had mentioned off-handedly a couple days ago that he knew the Jewish holiday was coming up, but had never experienced it for himself. Paterson brought it up on one of his nightly visits for his single beer, and Doc had been interested enough to agree to join you and him for Seder. 

Now though, as they’re all on their way to Paterson’s mom’s house, Doc realizes that he has no idea what he’s getting himself into, especially as Paterson is explaining it to him, prompting him to ask,

“What do you mean there’s fifteen steps?”

You chuckle just a little at the surprise in his voice, and even Paterson’s dimples make an appearance.

“I think last year it was three hours before we even got to eat.” He says, his eyes flicking up to Doc’s in the rearview to give him a friendly smile, “But that was because my cousin kept interrupting.”

“Three hours?” Doc groans,  “Pat tell me you’re joking. I haven’t eaten all day!”

To prove his point, a loud stomach growl sounds from the backseat, and Paterson’s smile turns into a full on chuckle of his own, as you’re doing your best to not encourage him too much over in your seat. In your lap is a big Tupperware of matzah toffee, a coveted recipe that you’re tempted to let Doc try now to hold the poor man over.

“No one told you to fast.” Paterson says, his voice soft and only a little teasing, “Only the first-born in every family fasts the night before Passover.”

“Wish I had known that now, I’m starving.” Doc grumbles, his normal steady mood shifting into something a little exasperated when he wonders aloud, “What even are these fifteen steps?”

“Do you really want to know or are you just asking to ask?” You ask, finally breaking your silence. You love telling people all about Seder, love talking about the holiday. It’s one of Paterson’s favorites too, and his eyes practically light up at the thought of getting to teach his friend.

“No I want to know.” Doc scratches the back of his neck, “I did some reading but…”

“Well, it starts with the Kadesh.” You let Paterson take the lead, loving the way the deep rumble of his voice soothes your ears. He explains, “It’s a blessing over the first cup of wine, and to commemorate and sanctify the holiday. Then there’s the Urchatz, a ritual hand-washing to cleanse ourselves before we begin.”

Paterson drives steadily, carefully through the trees, remembering how he had always dreaded the next step. You pinch at his nose playfully when it crinkles up, his expression endearing.

“Next comes the Karpas, the first food that we get to eat although it isn’t really…food food. It’s a piece of green vegetable, I think we’re using parsley this year?” Paterson asks, looking at you. Sometimes you used celery, but Paterson’s mom liked to switch it up every other year. You nod, and he continues, “We dip it in salt water to represent the tears our people shed while enslaved in Egypt.”

“Damn, you guys don’t mess around huh?” Doc lets out a laugh at that, and you’re inclined to agree.  

“Trust me, it gets way more dramatic.” You say, while Paterson tries to figure out how to find the detour for some road work ahead of him, “Then there’s the Yachatz, where the first piece of matzah is broken in half. The larger piece of matzah is called the afikomen, and is hidden somewhere in the house for the kids to find at the end.”

“Aw that’s pretty cute actually.” Doc smiles, and Paterson beams. He can’t wait until he has children of his own to go running through the house, wreaking havoc.

“Some families do it where the kids have to steal it off the Seder leader’s lap without them noticing, which is also really funny.” You nod, because you also agree, “But it usually distracts the kids during the Maggid, so we personally don’t do it.”

“The Maggid?”

“It’s the longest part of the Seder, this is when we read the long and drawn out story of our Exodus.” Paterson explains, “All the plagues, the slaughter of the first born – ”

“They get slaughtered and they have to fast?” Doc interrupts with raised eyebrows, “That sucks for firstborns.”

“Then we wash our hands again with the Rachtzah,” Paterson only continues with a smirk, glad that his older brother Paul has to wear the brunt of that responsibility. Nevermind that they’re twins, he’s older by two minutes, “And we’re not allowed to talk, it’s a silent hand-washing.”

“Oh do we get to eat now?” Doc’s eyes light up, as his stomach growls again.

Successfully navigating away from the road-block, you and Paterson exchange an apologetic glance.

“No,” He shakes his head, “Then we break the second matzah while saying the Motzi.”

“And then we eat the Maror, the bitter herb.” You add on, “This signifies the bitterness of slavery. Again. But after that we get to eat the Hillel sandwich.”

“Oh thank god – ”

“It’s bitter herb sandwiched between two pieces of matzah.” Paterson squashed Doc’s hopes before he even has a chance to get them too high.

“Dammit!” Doc laughs, feeling like this is the dinner that never ends. He isn’t entirely wrong, but there is relief on his face when Paterson pulls up to the drive-way, and you unbuckle your seat belt, turning over your shoulder to smile at him.

“After that you get to eat though.” You wink.

“For real this time?” Doc asks cautiously, making Paterson nod with a grin.

“For real.” He clips a yarmulke to his hair like the good boy he is, “And I promise it’s worth it.”

The three of you get out of the car, and you make sure that you have everything that you need before going in. Doc looks a little hesitant, eyeing the house that already has music and happy chatter sounding from the slightly open window.

“What do we do after we eat?” Doc asks, his hands in his pocket.

“The kids hunt for that piece of matzah, we do a final blessing after we eat called the Barech, invite a ghost in to come hang out with us and protect us, and then we sing songs.” You offer him a hand for him to hold, knowing that he must feel a little intimidated by it all.

Seder was intimidating for a lot of people, even those who had celebrated it for years. But then again, rituals are meant to be shared with family and friends, and you’re just glad Doc wanted to see for himself what it was all about.

“Did you say ghost?” Doc immediately blinks, making you laugh – it really was a silly part of the tradition, but an important one nonetheless.

“His name is Elijah, he’s really nice.” Paterson locks the car door and “When Elijah leaves though, we drink another glass of wine and dance. But by that point usually everyone is trashed enough that we all black out on the couch. It all depends.”

Approaching the front step, Doc takes in a deep breath. You slip him a piece of matzah toffee that he happily accepts, eagerly eating the dessert. His face lights up when he tastes how delicious it is, and he can’t help but smile.

“This sounds like one helluva dinner Pat, I gotta say.” Doc sounds almost impressed, that something so elaborate continues to be observed year after year after year.

“Are you ready to find out for yourself?” Paterson asks, gently nudging Doc with his elbow in a friendly gesture.

“If there’s more of this,” Doc points to the matzah toffee, “Then I’m more than ready.”

The three of you grin and Paterson steps through the threshold with your hand securely held in his, as the family welcomes you all and gives a most warm welcome to Doc, who finds that by the end of Seder after four full glasses of wine on an empty stomach, it is one helluva dinner indeed.

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

Taggin’ some Paterson lovin’ friends! @sacklerscumrag @artsymaddie @direnightshade @reyloaddict55 @sunflowersinthesnow @steeevienicks @the-unmanaged-mischief @chapterhappygirl 

[luv4fandoms]

Earth Angel (GabrielXOFC) Part 2.2

Second part of chapter 2 because it was too big for Tumblrs limit.

And just in case you are coming across this before the first part...as I say in all the chapters...This doesn't fully follow the Supernatural timeline, somethings have been changed (like Gabriel's death in the au world cause it was stupid and I refuse to accept it lol) so just a heads up. This is also inspired by @askpsychocas 's Angel Courting Ritual post (which I use in my story. Askpsychocas if you want me to take those parts out let me know and I will). This story also has a Scott Pilgram vibe lol.

The link to the first part can be found below.

If you would like to be added to the taglist for this story let me know

Gif by @beneathgabrielswings , I couldn't find it on the Gif search but you can find the gifset here

Part 1...Part 2.1...Masterlist

Pairings: Gabriel x Original female character

Warnings: killing, talk of adultery, Gabriel being a charming/fluffy lil sh*t

Word count: (total) 8,725(this part)4,599

https://ko-fi.com/luv4fandoms

"A date?" I asked, quickly covering up my shock with a smirk of my own.

"Yeah, she only goes after couples right? So let's act like a couple" he explained. And for some reason his explanation slightly hurt.

'All for the case' my mind stated. 

"Yeah...Yeah sure that might help end this faster" I nodded, quickly stepping out of the car before Gabriel could read my expression. My emotions needed to get in check, quick, this whole week they had been in an uproar because of him and I still wasn't sure why.

"Well you could have at least let me open the door for you" Gabriel joked, I forced a smile and shook my head. 

"You gotta be quicker if you wanna do that" 

We headed towards the ticket booth and into the slightly long line, there were already a bunch of couples here, all either holding hands or cuddling into each other. Again I felt a sting of sadness, must be nice to have someone like that-but was it really real? Or was at least one of them simply playing a part? I must have been focused on my own thoughts for too long because I soon felt a hand in mine before a voice spoke up.

"Two please" I looked over at Gabriel as he handed the woman at the booth the money in exchange for our tickets. He thanked her and guided me through the gates, my eyes rested on our hands, how many years had it been since I simply held hands with someone? In this life simple things like that don't come often, and his hands were warm, far warmer than a humans, even if he didn't have giant wings, the heat alone would give him away. I watched his hand move, fingers turning to intertwine with mine before I heard him chuckle.

"Is this ok?"

"Huh?" I asked, looking up to meet his gaze, he gave me a soft smile, hand gently moving mine as if to gesture to what he was talking about. 

"O-oh yeah, yeah it's fine" I smiled before turning to look out at all the people.

"So a red head" I stated.

"Redhead" Gabriel confirmed before pulling me along. 

"I mean, while we're here" he said while gesturing to all of the game stalls.

"Would be a shame to not have a little fun"

"You know almost all of these things are rigged" I stated while looking at all the games, watching as so many people tested their skills in order to win prizes for their dates.

"Well I'm sure I can even out any cheating" he replied with a wink as he led me to a game, this one was the one where you knock down the cans, the one where usually the cans are weighted and the ball is far too light to do anything.

"Hello sir!" The overly eager carnie smiled at Gabriel.

"Hey kiddo, so how does this work?" Gabriel asked, playing dumb.

"Five dollars gets three tries, knock the top row off and get a small prize, the middle row gets a medium price and the bottom row gets a large prize." He explained as he took the money Gabriel handed him.

"See anything you like sugarplum?" He asked, looking back at me. 

"Surprise me sweetheart" I smiled, earning a smile before he turned back to the game and threw the first two balls, acting like the game was kinda difficult, only knocking a few off the top row, before he knocked the entire stack down with the last ball. 

"Saved by the last one" The teenager smiled

"What will it be sir?"

"Hmmm, how about...that" Gabriel told him, pointing to one of the large stuffed animals, the teen got it down and handed it to him.

"Thank you for playing!" 

Gabriel turned and handed me the prize...A giant stuffed wolf.

"Why thank you sir" I smiled and took it from him before he reached down and took my hand again.

"Why a wolf?" I asked, curious but having a feeling.

"Well we did first meet on that Werewalker case" he told me, confirming my thoughts.

"To commemorate our first meeting" I smiled down at the plush.

"And when I first started falling for you" he added with a grin making me roll my eyes.

"Whatever you say there Casanova" I smirked, forcing down the blush and feelings his words brought forth.

"Come one let's play another game"

"Oh but I thought they were all rigged" he smirked.

"They are...But they're still fun" I said with a small smile as we walked towards the balloon dart game, this one was run by a not so happy middle aged man.

"Five dollars gets you three darts, 1 dart wins a small prize, 2 darts a medium prize, and 3 a large prize" he droned on as I gave him the money.

"See anything you like sweetheart?" I asked Gabriel, mimicking his earlier words with a smile, earning a chuckle from him as he leaned against the small counter beside me, he looked through all the prizes before his eyes landed back on mine.

"Surprise me Sugar" I pulled my arm back and aimed, throwing the dart before a "pop" was heard once, twice, three times. 

"Remind me never to challenge you to a game of darts" he laughed.

"How do you think I make my money at bars?" I laughed.

"I figured men just threw money at you as a gift for being able to just lay their eyes on you" he spoke, stepping behind me and placing his hands on my hips, boy was he laying it on thick.

'Just for the case' I had to remind myself as I felt my heart speed up.

"So what will it be?" The man asked, clearly annoyed with us.

"Oh, right, sorry" I laughed, looking up.

"That one" I stated, watching as he pulled it down and handed it to me, Gabriel let go of me so I could turn and trade him the wolf plush for his plush, a yellow candy heart plush that simply read "sweetie". 

"Aw Sugarplum" he smiled.

"Figured it fit since I called you that when we first met...And you eat candy like it's going out of style" I told him as he once again took my hand in his,laughing along with him.

"I love it" he smiled, eyes meeting mine with such a softness that made me stop walking, he had never looked at me like that, not in all the times he almost insisted on eye contact. My gaze didn't break from his, even as my brain took notice of his wings stretching out, seemingly avoiding everyone who walked around us while he brought them closer, the extremely soft looking feathers almost grazing my arms before a voice broke our trance. 

"Hello my children, would you like to play a round?" I looked behind me to see a nun, my eyes widening a bit at the sight, a nun at a carnival? Running a stand? My expression must have portrayed my thoughts because the nun let out a soft laugh before explaining.

"We are taking donations for the church, you can play for free and still win a prize though if you'd like" she explained.

"Oh!"

"Just toss a ball into a cup and win a prize," she added.

"Let's give it a shot" Gabriel nodded, the nun smiled and handed us both five balls, and we both found out that the game was a bit more difficult, and I realized that Gabriel wasn't using any of his abilities, it seems he kept things honest when it came to nuns. Soon I ran out of shots, and Gabriel was on his last one, I watched as he threw it and it bounced off of the edge of one cup before coming to rest inside another.

"Congratulations!" The nun applauded, smiling at Gabriel before adding.

"What would you like?" 

"I'll let this lovely lady pick something," he replied, smiling at me and earning a smile from the nun.

"How about that?" I asked, pointing towards a small golden chain necklace that held a pair of gold wings, I would be lying if I said the winged being beside wasn't the reason for wanting the necklace, but I just wouldn't let him know that. Though I noticed his expression turn slightly shocked. The nun smiled and turned to grab the necklace, while I grabbed some money from my wallet. When she went to hand me the necklace she stopped upon noticing the money.

"Oh my dear I couldn't" she stated, looking from the hundred dollar bill to me.

"Please, I insist" I told her, but when she still didn't reach to take it.

"I didn't go to church, but I was raised in the faith, bible teachings, rosary, watching Mother Angelica every night" I laughed.

"We need people who fight against all the darkness" added with a smile, her face softened and a smile graced her lips.

"Bless you my dear child, the church thanks you more than words can say"

"Thank you sister, just doing my part" I told her, taking the necklace as she handed it to me. We walked away from the booth before Gabriel stopped.

"Allow me?" He asked, motioning towards the necklace.

"Oh, thank you" I smiled, taking the plushes and handing him the necklace, he walked behind me and gently placed it around my neck before clasping it. 

"So, what made you choose that?" He asked, and I had to quickly think of something. No one had yet mentioned his wings so I still figured it was forbidden to talk about. 

"I've always loved angel wing images, and I like gold so" I shrugged with a chuckle. He simply nodded, his expression almost…Disappointed, sad? Whatever it was I didn't like seeing it. 

"Here ya go, Sweetie" I smiled, handing him the heart, earning a small smile as he looked at it.

"Come on" he stated, reaching for my hand and smiling more when my hand met him halfway. We made our way to the cotton candy vender, still looking around for a woman that fit our description. 

"So do we see anyone she would most likely go after?" He asked.

"Almost everyone here" I noted, looking at all the couples.

"We just have to look for couples with a man who has wandering eyes" I added.

"Why do you think she goes after unfaithful men, easy targets?" He asked

"That or she herself was screwed over by a guy" 

"So she's taking it out on any guy she can?"

"Maybe she sees it as saving these women from suffering the same way she did" 

"A little extreme" 

"Says the man who made a frat kid believe he was abducted by aliens"

"Dean-o told you about that? That was funny"

"Funny, but extreme" I laughed

"To each their own" he replied, sticking his tongue out before walking up to the vendor and buying the biggest bag of cotton candy.

"So...Can I ask why this case almost seems personal to you?" Gabriel asked hesitantly while he held the now opened bag out to me. Sighing I reached in and grabbed some.

"Like I said, it's a long boring stor-"

"We hope you two are having better luck" Sam's voice rang out behind me, spinning around. I noticed Sam still looking around but Dean eating his own bag of cotton candy.

"Want some?" He asked, holding the bag out. Opening my mouth to answer I heard a high pitched rumble come from beside me, one that was almost at a tone people wouldn't be able to hear, and after a moment I realized it was almost a sort of growl coming from...Gabriel?

"Na I'm good, Gabriel got us some, thanks though" I smiled before reaching into the bag Gabriel was holding and grabbing some of the candy. Another high pitched noise met my ears, this one more of a pleased hum. Dean simply shrugged and kept eating.

"No luck here, I haven't even seen a red head in this crowd" I told Sam.

"Looks like you've had some luck" a female voice stated, looking over I noticed Claire and Jody. Claire looked down at the giant wolf before looking at me with a raised brow.

"Gabe won it for me" I shrugged.

"So you two just have a date in the middle of a case?" She asked with a smirk.

"We are hoping it will draw her out" I told her, she nodded but the look on her face screamed "you sure about that?".

"Well there are plenty of victims to choose from" Jody stated while we all looked around at the couples.

"If only we knew who was willing to cheat" Sam sighed.

"Tell me about it" I sighed as well, reaching over to grab more cotton candy...Only to grab nothing. I looked over and noticed Gabriel was no longer beside me, quickly looking around I noticed him walking behind the wall and stage that were set up for a magic show that was held earlier in the day. 

"Gabriel?" I spoke, loud enough to catch everyone's attention.

"Where the hell is he going?" Dean asked before we all started walking towards where he went. We rounded the corner to see...Gabriel and a red headed woman kissing, his hands resting on her hips and hers on his shoulders. A flood of emotions washed over me, many that I never wanted to experience again.

"Well it's about time you showed up" I stated, not even trying to hide the anger in my voice, I didn't know why I was feeling it so strongly, but I was, and it was annoying. I quickly tossed the wolf onto a nearby bench that I had noticed Gabriel left the heart and pulled out my gun, which luckily, held witch killing bullets. We watched as they slowly broke apart, before she turned to look at me.

"You really have gone downhill with your tastes Gabriel, you had me, and now you're with some human hunter trash? Pity" 

"Wait...you two?" Sam asked

"Were together, once upon a time yes, though Gabriel has always been the wild one of his family, never staying in place for too long, took me awhile to track him down" 

"Great, two exes in two weeks" I stated with an eye roll.

"Which one was it?" She asked, turning in his arms so her back was against his chest, his arms still around her.

"He had so many, I got rid of quite a few myself" she added

"If he has such a long list why do you want to be with him?" I asked.

"I could ask you the same thing" she snapped before looking over her shoulder at him.

"He made me feel wanted" I didn't like the feeling that was burning in my chest, seemingly wanting to claw its way out as I watched them look at each other, I wanted her away, far away, and that feeling was very new to me.

"But like I said, I've gotten rid of many of his exs already, a little human won't be so hard" she stated, throwing her hand up just as I felt my body being lifted and thrown backwards. I could hear the others yell beside me as they too were thrown, the wind rushed past as I felt a warmth wrap around my back, my body slamming into a steel pole but not feeling any of the impact, almost as if I had an airbag around me. I fell to the ground with a thud, my vision going blurry for a moment, I watched her drag Gabriel along as I tried to regain breath.

"Should have expected that" Dean groaned before I felt someone help me up.

"You ok?" Jody asked

"Yeah I think so" I told her, taking a deep breath and looking around.

"Where did they go?" 

"I saw them go that way" Claire pointed towards all the fun houses that sat at the very end of the fairgrounds.

"Let's go," Dean called, already running forward, we all set off, stopping once we got to the funhouses, all three of them.

"Sam you go with Jody and Claire, I'll take this one, Liz you take that one" Dean instructed, being met with no objections we all took off. I slowly stepped into the mirror maze, my gun at the ready. 

"I always hated these things" I sighed, using one hand to feel around for where I was supposed to go.

"Poor little hunter" her voice rang out, echoing off of the mirrors.

"You know what one of my powers are? I can see your past, what traumas have cut you and left scars"

"That's nice, do you want a cookie?" I snapped.

"Aww she acts brave, but is she really? Or does she just put up that front to cover the real truth?" I found myself in a large room that was completely encompassed in mirrors, and as I looked around I noticed her reflection in one, I quickly fired and watched as the glass broke to reveal nothing.

"The real truth that she's just a prude" another mirror, another shot.

"Ugly" another mirror, another shot.

"Dimwitted" another mirror, another shot.

"Pathetic excuse for a woman who will eventually die alone" another mirror, another shot, this time though, when it shattered it revealed an open door that led out into the woods that stood behind the fair. Bolting forward I quickly entered the woods, stopping once I got a little ways in, I listened for any sign of movement, my gun at the ready, I only had one bullet left. Just as I heard footsteps behind me I felt arms wrap around mine, pulling them back and restraining me. I tried to move but it felt like I was fighting against a boulder, looking back I was met with those honey eyes, now darker, like any trace of Gabriel was gone.

"Gabe" I spoke, but he didn't respond.

"Neat little trick huh? Something I have been perfecting, makes him do whatever I want"

"Let him go" I spoke through gritted teeth.

"Oh no can do little girl, see this one is the one that I'm not going to let away again. Now that I finally perfected the spell, he's mine forever" 

"The other men, they-"

"Were they just test subjects? Yes, though they were highly useful test subjects. Had to start out with hex bags first, then the better I got, well.."

"You ruined lives!"

"Oh boo hoo, you of all people should know how fickle human men can be, don't give them what they want and they'll find it someplace else. Why do you think I like my men to be a bit more...Supernatural" she smiled, stopping her circling and halting beside me. She leaned over and started kissing Gabriel again, my anger beginning to bubble over once more, but it quickly turned into that familiar hurt when I realized-he was kissing her back. I turned my head, my eyes landing on my gun which lay at my feet.

"Now Gabriel, be a good boy...Kill her" she stated, backing away, and I stumbled forward, landing on my hands and knees when Gabriel pushed me away. I turned around, gazing up at him as he slowly made his way forward, towering over me. His eyes never left mine, even as he kicked my gun, causing it to skid to a halt beside me. I could still hear her talking behind him, telling him to get it over with already, and I watched as he stopped at my feet.

"Gabe...I don't wanna hurt you" I told him, slowly reaching for my gun, if nothing else I would shoot him in the shoulder, maybe that would break the spell, even if it would take my last bullet.

"Get on with it!" She shouted.

"Sweetie" I spoke, watching as a blue light took over his eyes for a moment before I noticed his wings stretch out when he stood taller, rolling his shoulders back.

"Gabe?" I whispered, his eyes snapped back to mine, the honey color back to being golden instead of dark. He mouthed a word, and it took me a moment to realize what he was saying.

One

Two

Three! He dove down as I lifted my gun and shot, watching as it hit the witch right between the eyes, she stumbled back, before slowly falling to the ground. I sighed, looking over at Gabriel who had landed on the ground next to me.

"Nice shot," he said with a small smile.

"Please tell me you weren't just playing along that whole time" I told him

"No Sugarplum, I really wasn't in control of myself-I didn't hurt you did I?" He asked, sitting up and looking me over.

"Na I'm fine, I was just wondering, because if you were, I was gonna shoot you in the foot" wide eyes met mine as I gave him an unimpressed look.

"You wouldn't"

"I would"

"...do you have bullets?"

"Be glad I don't" I replied, causing him to sigh and put his head on my shoulder.

"So how many crazy exs am I gonna have to fight?" I asked while looking at the limp body.

"You gonna fight my exs off me?" He asked, peeking up at me before letting out a slight laugh.

"Hopefully no more"

"Hopefully" I nodded just as I noticed the group running towards us. 

"What the hell happened?" Dean asked, looking between us and the body.

"Gabriel was under the spell, I chased them out here, he broke free and I shot her" I shrugged, Gabriel lifting his head from my shoulder.

"So what do we do now?" Claire asked, looking at the body.

"We'll get rid of...this" Sam said motioning towards the body.

"Claire, why don't you and Jody make sure no one heard any gunshots?" Dean said, the girls nodded and turned to leave, but not before Jody turned to me.

"Thank you"

"All in a day's work" I smiled back, taking Gabriel's hand as he helped me up.

"Need help?" I asked the boys, gesturing towards the body.

"We got it," Sam smiled.

"You go enjoy the rest of the fair, we'll meet you back at the motel" Dean thumbed back towards the festivities.

"You sure?" 

"Yeah, go on"

"Ok, I'll see y'all back at the motel" I smiled, taking Gabriel's hand and walking back towards the fair.

"Wait" he stopped before we got into the eyesight of the crowds, I watched as he disappeared and reappeared with the sound of his wings. He smiled as he handed me the wolf plush, holding onto the stuffed heart. I thanked him as I took it before he took my free hand and walked us into the crowd that seemed unknowing of what just happened not too far away.

"So, what else do you want to do?" He asked, looking over at me. I thought for a moment, looking around at everything before my eyes landed on a certain ride.

"The ferris wheel" I stated, watching as a smile graced his lips.

"Your wish is my command" he replied, leading me towards the ride.

"Let's not" I laughed, earning a raised brow from him.

"You shouldn't be under anyone's command, you're your own person, you should do what you want to do" I told him while we waited in line.

"Very well" he nodded

"But I want to take you on to the ferris wheel" he added with a laugh, earning a laugh from me as well. We climbed into our cart and waited for the ride to start, looking over at the night sky while we waited. 

"So...can I ask you something?" He asked after a moment.

"Bout what?" I asked, meeting his gaze.

"The things Cassandra said, in the mirror room, and in the woods-about fickle men"

"...Only if you tell me how come you and her split" I replied while we started to ascend.

"She was right when she said I used to be the type that never stuck around long, we had a thing, for a while, but she got possessive"

"Thought you liked possessive?" I smirked, referring to his reaction in the car earlier when I said I wouldn't share what was mine.

"There are two types, the get off my man only I can touch him like that...can be hot...But she was the controlling type...like remember how you said you would never tell a guy what he could or couldn't do...she was that type"

"Oh, the toxic kind" 

"Yeah, so I bolted"

"I don't blame you for that"

"So what about those things she said," he said after a moment. 

"A while back, about six years ago, three years after I started hunting, I met a guy. I had only slightly dated a few guys in my teens years, but here I was, twenty-one, and this guy came along...and at first seemed great. Remember how I said I wasn't "that kind of girl", that's because I'm waiting til I'm married to have sex...he didn't like that. What started out a good relationship turned into him getting angry when I wouldn't have sex with him...those things Cassandra said...Were things he would call me-Our relationship ended when I found out he cheated on me." 

"Between him, and my dad leaving my mom for a younger girl after twenty five years of marriage...I don't trust many guys" I told him, hugging the wolf tighter as I remembered everything, but that warm feeling I had felt for a second when I almost hit the pole earlier washed over me again, and I found myself turning to look at Gabriel before I even realized it. 

"No offence, but it sounds like you dated boys, not men" he smirked, referencing what I told him in the morgue on our first case. 

"I suppose your right" I laughed

"If it means anything, your ex is a complete idiot, and if you want I can totally make him think he got abducted by aliens" he smirked

"With slow dancing?" I asked, a smirk of my own.

"Hells yeah! Maybe even to My heart will go on" he replied causing us both to laugh.

"Can I ask you one more thing?" I asked.

"Shoot sweetcheeks" 

"When she threw us, I didn't hit the pole as hard as I should have...You were fighting the spell even then weren't you?"

"Yeah, when I saw her in the crowd I realized she was the witch we were looking for so I went to confront her, that's when she kissed me, and that's when the spell took hold, but I was fighting it the whole time"

"Well thank you, for fighting"I told him, leaning against his shoulder.

"Always Sugar" he stated, wrapping his arm around my shoulder as we both enjoyed the rest of the ride.

And there is part 2! I hope everyone enjoyed it! Let me know what you think and stay tuned for chapter 3!

If you would like to be added to the taglist let me know

Taglist

@sydknee624 @studentdoctorstark @ilearnedthatfromethepizzaman @ambivertedcroissant @sunny-shine44

[cali-holland]

The reader is dating one of the boys (you choose) and is on a Disney vacation with the Holland family and the s/o proposes in front of Cinderella's castle and Nikki is taking photos while the other boys are recording. Love you boo! 💜💜

🎉 + idea for a blurb request

Hitting me right in my dream proposal feels 😩

Also went with Tom for this one xx

~~~

“I’ve never seen you this excited about seeing the castle.” You laughed, adjusting your Minnie Mouse ears with one hand as Tom practically dragged you over to Cinderella’s castle, sporting his own Mickey Mouse ears to match yours. “This is like the Dole whip all over again.”

“Baby, you know I can’t say no to soft serve.” Tom laughed, the two of you coming to a stop by the pond. He looked behind you, seeing his family trailing along behind the two of you.

“You can, you just refuse to.” Harry corrected him.

“Are we taking pictures or what?” You asked with a laugh. Tom had told you that he wanted to get family pictures in front of the iconic castle, wanting to commemorate your shared trip to the Happiest Place on Earth.

“Yeah, I just gotta do something first.” Tom said, turning to face you. He slipped his free hand into his pocket and knelt down.

“Oh my god,” You whispered breathlessly as he pulled out a ring, holding it out to you. You rushed out, “Yes, of course!”

“You haven’t let me ask yet.” He smiled up at you, “The past three years I’ve spent with you have been the best three years of my life, and I want to share all of my years with you. I love you, Y/N Y/L/N. Will you marry me?”

“Yes.” You nodded and he slipped the ring onto your finger, before rising up to kiss you. It wasn’t until you registered the rest of the Hollands’ cheering that you realized Nikki had been photographing the whole scene while Harry filmed it.

“We’re getting married!” Tom exclaimed to the camera happily. Disneyland really was the Happiest Place on Earth.

[camillemontespan]

ten years from now  [AU. drake walker x camille montespan] [part nineteen: the king of 4th of july]

@ibldw-main​  @pug-bitch​​  @jovialyouthmusic​​ @katedrakeohd​​ @rainbowsinthestorm​​ @emichelle​​ @dcbbw​​ @sirbeepsalot​​ @notoriouscs​​ @burnsoslow​​ @marshmallowsaremyfavorite​​ @gardeningourmet​​ @pedudley​​ @marshmallowsandfire​​ @princessleac1​​  @kingliam2019​ @drakeandkatherine​

Master List

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

'Alright, so we have everything for the sangria, hot dogs, burgers, all of the carbs, pain au chocolate for Gisele as she doesn't eat much at the moment, whiskey.. Am I forgetting anything?' Bianca asked Drake and Savannah as she studied their newly bought groceries for the 4th of July celebrations. 

'You've got everything, mom,' Savannah assured her. 

Bianca smiled. 'All we need now are fireworks but Drake is going into town to buy some today, my helpful little boy!' 

'Mom..' Drake groaned. 'I'm not a little boy..' 

'But you're so helpful!' Bianca cooed, gently patting his cheek. 

Drake rolled his eyes. He was indeed picking up fireworks today and he had enlisted Camille to be his shopping buddy. 

'I'm gonna go pick up Camille,' Drake said, eager to get away. He gave Bianca a quick hug and turned to leave the kitchen, ignoring Savannah who was making kissing noises at his retreating back. 

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

Drake collected Camille in his pick up truck. He smiled as he watched her leave her house and make her way towards him. She looked beautiful today, even though she was only wearing a simple white t-shirt and denim shorts with Converse. Drake always thought she looked beautiful. 

They chatted easily as Drake drove them into town. They had become closer since Camille had been back in Texas. Their baby steps mantra was working. Forcing themselves to take it slow had deepened their connection but Drake was still fully aware that Camille had only just come out of an engagement. The ball was entirely in her court. 

'Here's our list,' Drake said, handing her a sheet of paper as he drove. 'We need to get all of these fireworks.' 

'Jesus, Drake, are you buying up all the firework supply in Texas?!' Camille cried, staring in bewilderment at the list that detailed 15 types of firework Drake desperately wanted. 

Drake rolled his eyes. 'It's the 4th of July, Camille! We gotta go hard!' 

Camille let out a throaty laugh, which made Drake's heart flip. 'Jackson would be so proud of you,' she told him. 

Drake smiled. 'I'm just trying to carry on his legacy, you know? He was the king of 4th of July. I'm not letting that slide.' 

They drove on in comfortable silence until Camille broke it. 

'You could be the new king of 4th of July, you know..' she suggested in a soft voice. 'I'm sure Jackson would be happy to pass the mantel to you.' 

Drake chuckled. 'One day,' he replied simply. 'It all hinges on tonight.' 

'I'm sure it will be perfect,' Camille assured him. 

Drake tried to stop himself from turning pink but he couldn't. Camille smiled at his embarrassment and reached out to squeeze his hand. 

'I'll help you,' she said. 'We can be a team!' 

Drake grinned, his cheeks turning back to a regular colour. He stole a glance at Camille. 

'We always are,' he said softly. 

It was now Camille's turn to turn pink. 

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

Camille had been horrified when she saw that Drake was intending to purchase M-80s which were used by the military. 

‘Isn’t this a little.. Over the top?’

Drake had stared at her, unamused. ‘No such thing as over the top for 4th of July, Montespan,’ he told her seriously. So, Camille tried her best to keep her mouth shut and helped Drake purchase a vast selection of fireworks, some legal, some… not. 

‘I am a terrible, terrible person,’ she muttered as she waited for Drake to finish purchasing an illegal firework. ‘A fucking accomplice.’

‘I can hear you,’ Drake said dryly, giving her serious side eye as he waited for the cashier to bag up his fireworks. Camille bit her tongue, making Drake smirk.

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

They arrived back at the ranch to find it decked out in American flag bunting. Bianca had set up the barbeque while Savannah was decorating the long wooden table for their guests, covering the surface with red, white and blue streamers. 

‘You’re back!’ Bianca cried, clapping her hands excitedly. ‘How was firework shopping?’

‘We came, we saw, we conquered,’ Drake replied breezily, setting the bags of fireworks down. Savannah ripped opened the bags, eager to see what he had bought and her face lit up with a wide smile as she spotted the M-80s. The Walkers adored 4th of July and it was all down to Jackson.

‘I’m going to pick up my grandma,’ Camille told them. ‘We’ll be back soon, ready to party!’

‘That’s the spirit!’ Bianca cheered. 

Drake followed Camille out to the front door. She turned to face him and gave him a sly smile. ‘I’ve seen a different side to you today,’ she told him. ‘Kinda scary.’

Drake chuckled. ‘Sorry. I get all excited for the fireworks. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.’

‘I know I was a little funny about it,’ Camille admitted. ‘But this is your day. If you want to go crazy with fireworks, then you go crazy with fireworks. It’s what your dad would have wanted.’

Drake smiled bashfully. ‘I just want to remember him in the best way,’ he said quietly, shuffling on his feet. ‘This is how I remember him. I get carried away, sure, but it’s worth it.’

There was a pause. Drake wondered if he had been too sentimental.

Before he could react, Camille leaned up and kissed him.

She tasted of watermelon lip balm and lemonade. 

As quickly as she had kissed him, she pulled away. Drake was staring at her with wide eyes. ‘What was that for?’ he asked, his voice hitching..

Camille blushed. ‘I just wanted to kiss you.’

Drake couldn’t argue with that. Smiling, she said goodbye and left the porch, leaving Drake staring after her with a dopey grin on his face.

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

Camille and Gisele came back an hour later armed with champagne. Gisele had insisted on bringing the fizz and she also insisted on dressing as elegantly as possible; she was wearing a blue linen trouser suit and her silver hair was coiffed to perfection. She had tied red, white and blue bows around her crutches as a way to commemorate the day.

‘You will have to come over for Bastille Day!’ Gisele said as she hugged Drake. ‘We don’t make quite as much effort but we do watch the fireworks light up the Eiffel Tower on our computer and we drink champagne! Would you like to come over for that?’

Drake cast a glance at Camille who gave him a shrug, trying to appear casual although really, she quite liked the idea. Drake smiled warmly. ‘That sounds perfect.’

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

The day passed in a flurry of laughter, eating and drinking. While Savannah played with Bartie on the grass, Gisele and Bianca drank champagne and talked about everything without pausing for breath. 

Drake and Camille had changed into swimwear and jumped into the lake, screaming as they did so. When they broke the water’s surface, they swam towards  the edge of the lake near the jetty, their fingers brushing each other’s skin. 

Drake gently pushed Camille up against the jetty, his eyes roaming her face. Her dark hair was slicked back and water dripped from her eyelashes. The sunshine cast a golden glow over her skin; she looked like a mermaid from the deep. 

‘You’re staring at me,’ Camille said, interrupting his thoughts.

Drake smirked. ‘Can’t help it.’

He reached out to graze her jawline with his finger. Camille’s cheeks turned pink but she didn’t push him away. Drake floated closer so their chests were flush against each other. Camille ran her hands down his muscled arms, tracing his veins with her finger. 

‘I’m so happy you’re here today,’ Drake murmured, not taking his eyes off hers. 

‘Thank you for the invite,’ she replied quietly. ‘It’s been so fun.’ 

Drake’s eyes softened. Feeling brave, he leaned towards her, his lips opening slightly. Camille’s mouth parted and their lips met softly, tentatively. 

They were hidden from view. Nobody could see them kissing; with that knowledge, Drake increased the pressure, turning the kiss from one of softness and light into an urgent, intoxicating embrace.

Camille pulled away first.

‘Baby steps,’ she gasped. ‘I know I kissed you earlier but that was different. Nothing could happen-’

‘I get it,’ Drake interrupted, breathing heavily. ‘Baby steps.’

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

That night, when the twilight sky turned a deep navy, Drake set up the fireworks, animatedly explaining which ones were which to the party. Savannah looked like she wanted to step in and let some off herself; Bianca was filling up her glass, tipsy from sangria; and Gisele was nodding with a smile on her face, trying to look interested when really, she had no idea what he was talking about.

‘This one makes a KABOOM noise that you can hear from three miles away!’ he said, his voice coming out in a quick flurry, ‘and this one takes its time before it suddenly explodes into gold dust! Oh my God, okay, look at this one, this one is the shit!’

Camille watched him as he showed off the fireworks, unable to stop herself from smiling. She loved seeing Drake in his element; here, he was confident and self assured. He was determined to make this a spectacle - and it would be- but the way he talked so passionately about the fireworks made her want to listen to him forever.

She realised that she always wanted to listen to him when he talked about fireworks. She wanted to be here, every 4th of July, listening as he showed them off. She wanted to watch him, giddy and childlike, completely at odds with his rough exterior. She wanted to see him be happy. 

Camille sipped her whiskey, trying to push down the realisation. But she couldn’t take her eyes off Drake now and she didn’t tear her gaze away when his eyes met hers. For that moment, he was stripped back, laid bare to her. He was the Drake Walker she had grown up with and fell in love with. He was lit up like the fireworks he adored; shining brightly for all to see. 

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

The fireworks had lit up the sky in a colourful display of gold, pink, blue and red. Drake worked hard, making sure each one went off at the right time, while everyone else oohed and ahhed. 

‘Fuck, that one was incredible!’ he hollered. 

When the display finished up, he topped up his glass with whiskey and sat beside Camille. 

‘You want a blanket?’ he asked her, seeing that her knees were pulled up to her chest and her arms were wrapped around her body.  Not waiting for her to answer, Drake found a blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders. ‘Can’t have you getting cold,’ he told her gently. ‘Not on my watch.’

Camille rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes as she savoured this moment. The whole day had been incredible. Everything she had loved about Texas had been pulled to the forefront of her mind and she felt more content and happy than she had in months. Now, she felt her worries slide off her shoulders and all she could think about was where to go from here. 

‘Ahem, attention..’ Bianca announced, standing up. She turned to Savannah. ‘Let’s do it, baby girl.’

Savannah giggled and rushed indoors, peaking everyone’s curiosity.  Bianca turned to look at Drake and gave him a wink. 

‘Mom? What’s happening?’

Bianca ignored his question. ‘Following a simply spectacular 4th of July celebration, I am pleased to announce..’

The doors opened and Savannah came back outside, holding something shiny in her hands. As she got closer, Drake realised what it was. 

A plastic gold crown set on top of a cushion.

Bianca smiled at her son. ‘I am pleased to announce that my son, my baby boy, Drake Walker, is now the new King of the 4th of July!’

Gisele and Camille burst into applause. Drake stared at his mother, unable to form words. Seeing this, Bianca made her way towards him and crouched down to look up into his face. She placed her hand on his cheek and smiled a wobbly smile.

‘Your dad would be so proud of your efforts today,’ she said, her voice cracking. ‘You went above and beyond to make this party one that we’ll never forget. He always wanted you to love 4th of July and here you are. He would want you to be the new king.’

Savannah held out the cushion to Camille. ‘Will you do the honours?’ she asked. 

Camille stood up and adopted a regal pose, throwing her shoulders back. ‘I would love to,’ she said grandly, making Drake laugh. She took the crown and stood in front of Drake.

‘Drake Walker,’ she said, trying not to laugh. ‘Do you accept the responsibility of being the king of 4th of July?’

Drake chuckled. ‘I do.’

‘And do you swear to uphold the values of 4th of July and to make all other 4th of July celebrations pale into insignificance?’

‘I swear.’

‘And do you swear to wear this crown every 4th of July because you will look adorable wearing it and I need to take a picture of you?’

Drake rolled his eyes. ‘I swear.’

Satisfied, Camille placed the crown on top of his head. Everyone erupted into cheers and applause, chanting Drake’s name. 

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

Savannah, Bianca and Gisele soon started to yawn. ‘I should get going,’ Gisele said. ‘I need my beauty sleep.’

Camille stopped playing cards with Drake to look at her grandmother. ‘I’ll come with you-’

‘No, mon petit chou, you stay here and play cards,’ Gisele interrupted. ‘You’re having fun.’

Bianca stood up. ‘I’ll take you down the road.’

Savannah eyed Drake and Camille, who were cosied up together with a whiskey bottle between them, decks of cards in their hands. Drake was currently winning.

‘I’ll come with you too,’ Savannah said. 

They left Drake and Camille in the garden; the two of them didn’t mind. They were enjoying each other’s company. 

‘And that,’ Drake said, banging his cards on the table, ‘is how you win at cards!’

‘You’re such a smug bastard!’ Camille protested. ‘A king would never rub his fortunes in his subject’s faces!’

Drake smirked. ‘This one does.’

Camille swatted his hand playfully, jumping when his fingers trapped hers in his. Their hands remained clasped.

‘Wanna go down to the jetty?’ Drake asked her softly. ‘It’s our spot. Thought we could have some peace and quiet.’

Camille smiled. ‘That sounds nice.’

They abandoned their cards and wandered down towards the jetty, still holding hands. The moonlight bounced off Drake’s crown, making him look quite fabulous. 

They reached the jetty and settled down. Drake leaned back on his hands, breathing in the warm Texas air. Camille looked down at her hands, now no longer in Drake’s, and she bit her lip. Sensing a change in her, Drake looked at her steadily. 

‘What’s up?’

Camille smiled. She forced herself to meet his eyes. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she was in danger of word vomiting; this was not the time to word vomit. She needed to be clear. She needed to take a breath and tell him that in no uncertain terms-

‘I love you,’ she whispered. 

Drake’s eyes widened. He stared at Camille, unable to form an appropriate response. What happened to the baby steps? Or had the baby steps worked? Had she made her choice now and he was it for her? She had chosen him? 

Camille couldn’t work out what he was thinking. And so, the word vomit burst out of her.

‘I love you,’ she said quickly. ‘I guess I always have. But ever since I saw you again, I felt a pull towards you and I kept trying to push it down until I couldn’t do it anymore. I made some bad decisions along the way, I hurt Liam, I hurt you.. But I feel clearer now. I have clarity. I’m home. You are my home, Drake. I know we were trying to do baby steps and I’m so happy we managed to because it’s only made us closer and I’ve learned so much more about you now. But I don’t want baby steps anymore. I want to dive in and just be with you, all of you. I watched you tonight and you were so bright and happy.. I felt so much love for you right there. I want to see you be the 4th of July King every year. I want to help you buy fireworks. I want to host 4th July parties and go crazy and drink whiskey and sing bad songs and lose at cards. I want to celebrate it with you every year. I want it all. I want you-’

Drake’s mouth crashed against hers with such a force that his crown fell off. Camille made a startled sound until she realised what was happening; he was kissing her. He was kissing her desperately, urgently, with all the pent up frustration and love that he had kept cooped up in his heart for so long. His hands raked through her hair, bunching it into clumps, and he held her close, as if he was trying to keep her together. 

‘I love you too,’ he murmured against her lips. ‘Always have, always will.’

[bunnibai]

Bonus Round 2: it’s about cooking I promise

WHOO BOY I ACTUALLY loved writing this ngl. 

Characters Included by order of appearance: Tokachi Ameko, Gakusa Oh, Ogura Svetlana, Tokachi Shokucho (Ameko’s brother!), Kottoba Kiru

When people thought of Tokachi Ameko and her ideal first day in a new school where she was met with mostly open arms and smiles, they might have ended the day with a big celebration. They might have seen her gathering classes for a community dinner commemorating friendship, where even the most standoffish classmates begrudgingly join the party. 

But, oftentimes, reality is not as idealistic. People are complex, even the ones who seemed to be made of only sugar and bunnies and smiles. 

The rooftop was not made for kids to hang out, but the rail was enough to keep one Tokachi Ameko from falling. Her cooking attempt for the night sat in her lap, still warm, wafting the sweet scent of a honey-glazed meal. Simple, but satisfying to the bunny girl.

The door to the roof swung open, and out sauntered a very familiar boy. Ameko turned around, smirking behind her chopsticks and regarding him with an amused look. 

"Amenee!" Gakutori-nii plopped down beside Ameko, carelessly dangling his feet over the edge and flopping back to lay on the ground. "You really were planning on calling Nishokusan — without your dearest brother. I'm wounded. Scarred. Broken." 

Ameko snorted, shoving a bento of premade food towards him. "I knew you were gonna come, Dummy." 

He let out a soft hum in satisfaction, popping a bite in his mouth. "Where's Lanka?" 

"Behind you." 

Gakutori-nii shrieked, sitting up straight and gripping the railing. Ameko laughed, loud and carefree, enough to fill up the entire island. Lana-chan snorted softly, and her mouth tugged up into a smile. It was much more subtle, but brightened up the trio in the same way. 

"Lana-chan!" Ameko beamed, handing her the final bento box. Lana nodded in appreciation, and took her seat besides her friends — her family. 

Ameko's laptop was a convenient size, a soft robin's egg blue and very up to date. The screen flickered to life, and the camera feed was a dark, comforting room lit by a variety of computer screens and lava lamps. 

"Amecchan. Gakoh-kun. Ogura-chan." Shokucho nodded, leaning his head into his hand and giving the three a small nod. 

"Shoku-nii, guess what!" Ameko clapped her hands together, her eyes sparkling. 

"Hmm?" 

"There was a — an exercise, today, against classes! And — I won!" Ameko did little jazz hands. 

"Oh? Did you two win, too?" 

Gakutori-nii snorted, splitting into a smug grin. "'Course I did." 

"Chicken Boy lost. Miserably." Lana-chan deadpanned. "Tokachi tackled him out of the ring." 

"Lanka, that's so — you made it sound so lame!" Gakutori-nii squwaked. 

"Kyokkou-sensei was proud we lasted so long," Ameko piped up. “And, besides, now my dear lovely Onii-chan is my slave for next week.” Ameko winked at Gakutori-nii, and stuck her tongue out when he rolled his eyes. “Y’know that — we only have five minutes to get all the way across campus? Well, I won’t be walking, not when Onii-chan can carry me~!”

Shoku raised an eyebrow, taking a bite of his own dinner, made miles and miles away in Ameko’s home. “Is Gakoh-kun strong enough to carry you?” 

Gakutori-nii looked indignant as he snapped, “Of course I am!” 

“Sure you are, Gakusa.” 

All three of them turned around to see one Kottoba Kiru, opening the door to the roof and flashing an amused smile at the trio. On the other side, Ameko’s brother was quiet. 

“Kotto-chan! What’s up?” Ameko asked, scooting over. Kotto-chan plopped down in between her and Gakutori-nii, smirking. 

“I saw James Bond over here makin’ his way up. I didn’t know you were the type to break the rules like this, Tokachi.” 

Ameko hid a smile. “Huh? We aren’t supposed to be up here, Kotto-chan? I had no idea. But — I guess I won’t learn that rule if I’m never caught, huh?” Ameko crossed her legs and took another bite. Kotto-chan, without asking, took a bit and popped it in her mouth. 

“So, Bunny Girl’s got a little bite, eh?” Kotto-chan teased. 

“Oi! Please, you haven’t met Amenee yet.” Gakutori-nii waved his hand dismissively. “She’s evil. A terror, even, tormenting me until my final days.” 

“I think it’s the other way around.” Lana-chan deadpanned, her tail reaching over and smacking him on the back of the head. With the third whine of, “Lanka!” Gakutori-nii brushed her tail aside. 

“So, who’s this?” Kotto-chan nodded to the computer screen, where Shoku-nii was waiting patiently with a muted, interested expression. 

“Ah — this is — well—” Ameko’s face flushed as she tried to find the right words. 

“I’m Amecchan’s brother.” Shoku-nii said softly, nodding. Kotto-chan paused for a second before nodding. “Cool.” 

Cool.

It was barely a reaction; most people wouldn’t have caught it. And maybe that was what warmed Ameko’s heart, and made her breath catch in her throat for a second. 

“Amenee’s brother? Nishokusan, I’m in tears. You don’t even care about me anymore? I see how it is — being thrown to the dogs! Forgotten!” Gakutori-nii put his hand over his head dramatically. “Nothing but a street rat, starved for both food and affection from my dear big brother. Plan my funeral, girls.” 

“I’ll make sure no one comes.” Lana-chan snarked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Oh — I’m sorry, I’m Amecchan’s brother and Gakoh-kun is the bane of my existence.” Shoku-nii corrected. 

“It’s nice to meet you — Tokachi? Tokachi Two.” 

Shoku-nii choked on his drink, coughing a little and giving Kotto-chan an incredulous look. “Tokachi — Two?”

Kotto-chan nodded, as if it was obvious. 

“...oh Gods, you’re just like Gakoh-kun, aren’t you?” 

Lana-chan nodded, shooting Kotto-chan a look. “Yes, she is.” 

“Well — I’m gonna have to call you Gakoh-kun Two, I hope you know that.” 

There was a quick pause, followed by loud laughter from all parties — minus Lana-chan, of course, who instead watched on with a smirk as she took a sip from the tea she had taken with her. 

“Ouch, maybe I should be learning insults from you.” Kotto-chan threw a thumb towards Gakutori-nii and added, “Being compared to Taiyuu’s official eboy hurts. Am I gonna have to start wearing black now, too?” 

“I don’t wear black!” Gakutori-nii shot back. 

“Not anymore—” Shoku-nii hummed, “—but I remember that grunge phase of yours when you were, what, 13?” 

“Grunge phase?” Kotto-chan leaned forward, eyes sparkling. “You gotta — no fucking way.” 

“Oh, yeah, all three of them.” Shoku-nii shot a glance to Ameko and Lana-chan. “They had a band and everything. Practiced in the garage, Mom had to tell them to keep it down a couple a’ times.” 

“You have to tell me more.” Kotto-chan insisted. 

The little computer meeting lasted for hours — until Kuzu-sensei found the four of them and demanded they be in their rooms in the next five minutes, lest they all get detention for breaking curfew. Ameko’s first meal in the dorms — those bentos she had cooked, meant for three but feeding four in the end — wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t a school wide meal, it hadn’t taken hours to cook. 

But it was maybe the most memorable meal Ameko was going to have at Taiyuu.

[seeds-of-the-garden]

Lance gets a holiday job as a mall Santa. Pidge decides she's not too old to sit on Santa's knees and tell him what she wants for Christmas.

Oh, Pidge tells him EXACTLY what she wants.

Tell Santa What You Want:

A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.

At least that’s what Lance kept telling himself as he once again donned the red polyester suit and scratchy beard. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the padding had at least been a bit breathable, but as it was, it felt like he spent the majority of the day in a sauna. Getting paid for it helped a little (even though having money to help out his family was totally why he was here in the first place), having all the little kids coming and sharing their wishes with him helped a lot (could kids get any cuter than when they were telling Santa their wishes?), Getting to flirt with all the ladies who were working as his elves helped the most.

There was one elf in particular that caught his fancy. Mostly because she wouldn’t flirt back with him, but she sure as heck could lay him out with a single sentence.

Pidge, that was her elf name, had fluffy reddish hair and striking amber colored eyes and was so small that Lance mistook her for a young boy when they first met. Needless to say, their Santa/ Helper relationship did not get off to a good start.

He had tried everything in his playbook too: pretending to be way into the other girls so she could see how committed he would be, asking the other girls on dates so she could see how good he was at planning dates, showing off his exceptional flirting skills when it was a babysitter that brought the kids to see him, but nothing worked. She would usher the kids up to him, give him their name, and help them sit on his lap. He’d try to flirt with her in those moments occasionally, but she would roll her eyes and turn around to get the next kid ready.

And he knows it’s not because she doesn’t like him. They’ve been hanging out here and there ever since Lance discovered they have a mutual friend in Hunk. He supposed that’s where his little crush started, that first time they all hung out at the mall arcade after work. It also happened to be the moment he realized she was a girl. When she showed up wearing slim jeans and a cropped t-shirt,  Lance’s heart did a little flip over how cute she was out of her elf costume. But then he realized how cute she was in her elf costume. And how interesting she was. And how she could beat him at most video games, though there were a couple fighters that he would always win and she would try again and again to conquer them. And his newly formed interest in her must have been noticeable enough that Hunk started to tease him about “how it’s never going to happen” and how he “should just give up on his crush right now”. So Lance would be dramatic and then text Pidge to see what she was up to, and she would never just reply with a “Nothing much”, but would always go into detail on whatever project she was working on at the time.

Lance adored her.

And she tolerated him.

It was only two days before Christmas and Lance was getting desperate. He was no closer to getting Pidge to fall for him than he was that first day and he was out of ideas. There was no surety they’d continue hanging out after their Holiday careers were over for the year. Of course, there was always the Easter Bunny, or maybe some St Patrick’s Day leprechaun, though maybe Pidge would be a better choice for that? He quickly set that thought aside, knowing she would kill him for even going there.

And it was excessively busy. Before Lance even sat down, a line had formed that extended beyond the rope barriers in place around the chair he sat in. He’d been at this almost 10 hour, with a couple of breaks between for lunch and a rest. He was blinded by the endless stream of flashes going off all day as each child sat on his lap and had their commemorative picture taken.

Finally, the line had dwindled and the last child was brought forth. This one seemed a little shy, they had their back turned toward him. Nothing Lance couldn’t handle though. He reached out and picked the (heavier than he expected) child up and sat them on his lap.

On autopilot, he didn’t even bother to focus on the child’s face, instead opting to start right in on his spiel.

“HoHoHo! Who do we have here?”

No response.

Lance looked to his left, waiting for Pidge to give him some details like she would sometimes. She wasn’t there.

He turned back to the child finally focusing on their face. Lance almost jumped up in shock as a pair of amber eyes stared back at him.

“P-pidge!? Where’s the kid?” He realized as he looked around that the Santa booth was closed for the day and there weren’t any more kids.

No response again. She stared at him, a look of shock on her face and a bright red flush across her cheeks. She started to slide off his lap.

“NO!” Lance grabbed her around the waist and held her on her perch. “D-don’t go. You-you haven’t told Santa what you want yet.” Oh he was in for it, he was sure. Holding Pidge against her will, picking her up and sitting her on his lap in the first place. What was he thinking?

Still, there was no noticeable struggle on her end. She made no effort to move off his lap a second time but the flush on her face grew beyond just highlighting her cheeks and blossomed down her neck. Lance was frozen in place. The air between them stilled. He was freaking out internally, no idea what to next. Suddenly, Pidge wiggled in his lap, causing all thoughts to rush out of his head.

She leaned forward, pushing his hat up a little and uncovering his ear. Then she spoke, soft and low, her warm breath sending shivers down his neck and warming more than his ear. “I want…”

Lance held his breath. He was going to hear it. Pidge’s greatest wish. She moved on his lap again, making it harder and harder to concentrate.

“Pidge?” Lance squeaked out when she didn’t continue her request.

“I want you….” Her hand slid up the front of his suit, sliding along his shoulder. She had gone from cold and aloof to fire and temptation all in a moment.

“...to get off this chair and clock out so I can go home. You’re the last one here and I can’t close up until that suit is back on its hanger.”

She jumped off of his lap, reaching out her hands to help him up from the chair, her laughter echoing off the walls of the nearly empty mall.

Lance brushed down his suit. “Not fair Pidge.” He wasn’t sure what wasn’t but he felt extremely let down.

“What’s not fair?” She turned back around and faced him a genuine question in her look.

In a moment of insanity, Lance grabbed her and sat her down on the chair then sat directly on her lap, engulfing her frame with his long, lanky one.

“It’s not fair that I never get to share my wish.” Going against Santa regulation, he whipped his beard and hat off so he could fully look at Pidge.

The blush came back redder than ever. She stayed silent.

Lance rolled his eyes, he wasn’t sure if she was against playing this new game, or if he called her bluff a little too well. He pressed on.

“Santa wants to date Pidge. And only Pidge. Whaddya say? Do I get my Christmas wish?”

Pidge shifted below him, a smile spreading across her face. She beckoned him to lean down so she could whisper in his ear. He happily obliged.

“Katie wants to date Lance, and only Lance too.”

Lance shot back up. “I don’t want to date Katie! I only want to date you, Pidge. It’s you I like, not any of those other girls.”

Pidge laughed long and loud before she punched him in the arm.

“Okay.”

Lance’s heart soared.

“Good.”

[beanzybrandon]

First Argument with Edwin

• As much as he might hate to admit it, Edwin is an exceptionally soft-hearted person • ‎If we're being completely honest, so are you • ‎So when the rift that had forced itself between the two of you began to grow you couldn't help but be hurt • ‎Edwin's friends were your friends and you had grown to love them dearly over the course of the past few years but things had been...different as of late • ‎The boys had been hanging out a lot, as was to be expected given they lived together, but you felt shunned. The lightheartedness and the easy flow of conversation seemed to die out when you entered the room • ‎And maybe it was just you but it seemed like they had begun to look at you differently as well • ‎You tried to bring this up to Edwin, of course, but he brushed your concerns aside and tried to assure you that nothing was going on and that all was well between the six of you • ‎In an attempt to set your mind at ease and restore some of the positivity that resided within you, you began to hang out with your own friends more • ‎This, of course, only seemed to worsen the situation • ‎As time passed Edwin began to forget about little things and would often turn up late when you made plans • ‎The straw that broke the camel's back? • ‎Him forgetting your anniversary dinner • ‎It was scheduled for a Friday evening and you had spent months working out all the kinks and perfecting your plans for the date • ‎We're talking decorations, a homemade meal, you getting dolled up just for him, the whole shebang • ‎You had even got him a gift to commemorate the moment and remind him of just how much you loved him • ‎You sat there at the table waiting for what seemed like hours • ‎In fact, it was. Nearly three, if we're counting • ‎But who's doing that? Certainly not you • ‎Of course, it's you • ‎When he finally burst through the door he was short of breath and flushed, small beads of sweat collecting on his brow. It looked like he had run to get there • ‎The damage was done, though, and you merely shook your head in response to the sorrowful look he gave you, eyes filling with warm tears • ‎You stood and move to walk away and he reached out for you • ‎The feeling of fingers curling around your wrist would immediately have you whirling, unbridled anger taking up residence beside the pain in your eyes

• "Don't touch me," you'd hiss and almost immediately the concern that adorned his features would fall away in favor of mild irritation • ‎Him?? Being mad about you being upset with him?? Oh no • ‎The floodgates have opened • ‎He really shouldn't open his mouth right now • ‎But if course he does. He wears his heart on his sleeve and has gotta get those emotions out, man • ‎"What's your deal?" • ‎What's my deal? You mean besides the fact that you bailed out on our three-year anniversary dinner?" • ‎"I didn't bail, I just got sidetracked. Me and the boys-" • ‎"Oh, yeah 'me and the boys' as if you forgetting about me makes this situation any better!" • ‎"I really don't see the issue here. Better late than never, right? At least I'm here now!" • ‎"YOU NEVER SEE AN ISSUE WITH ANY OF THIS. YOU'VE GOT YOUR HEAD SHOVED SO FAR UP THE GUYS' REAR YOU CAN'T EVEN TELL WHERE THEY END AND YOU START!" • ‎"WHY DO I HAVE TO PICK BETWEEN YOU AND MY FRIENDS. ARE YOU REALLY SO SELF IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE TO BE ATTACHED AT THE HIP FOR YOU TO FEEL SECURE?" • ‎Your hands balled into tight fists, jaw clenching so tightly that it began to hurt. "Don't you dare try to turn this around on me, Edwin. You know I don't care about you hanging out with the boys." • ‎"Really?" He'd scoff. "Because everything you've said so far like the complete opposite." • ‎"You need to realize that you can't always put your relationship on the back burner. When will there be time for me, Edwin?" • ‎Upon hearing this he'd pause, lips pursing as raised hands fell to his side. He'd been waving them around rather wildly as he spoke • ‎His gaze would soften and he'd step closer • ‎You'd take several steps back, shaking your head once more as your gaze fell toward your feet • ‎The tears that accumulated would fall, then, the drops that hit the linoleum glistening under the dim light of the room • ‎"I'm tired of doing this. If you can't see that sometimes I need you, that there are things more important than turning up with your boys, maybe we out to end things here." • ‎A deep frown. Furrowed brows. A clenching of his heart and an audible noise of disbelief and hurt • ‎"Y/N, please." • ‎"I think it's time for you to go, Edwin. You shouldn't stay here tonight." • ‎Before he could respond you were turning and making your way out of the room, moving to dispose of the food on the table and clean up whatever mess remained. He, too, turned, the front door slamming behind him as he left your apartment. • ‎After his parting you broke, soft sob leaving you as you leaned against the wall. Your knees felt weak and the extra support was needed to keep you upright • ‎You were only able to hold yourself there for a few moments before you slid to the ground, knees drawing themselves up to your chest. You'd wrap your arms around them, shoulders shaking violently as you released all of that pent up hurt

[ahoforminho]

Dating Seungmin (Stray Kids)

In commemoration of hitting 100 followers !!(¿) thank you!!

Let me know who I should do next ^-^

i actually think y'all would be the chillest couple

not because seungmin is shy

i just don't think he's a loud person if yanno what i mean

like just imagine you and the boys' other girlfriends bringing them food during their practice

and instead of joining in with the others, fooling around and listening to jisung and minho scream tell their stories

you and seungmin would pick a corner, sit in front of each other cross-legged, and eat in silence

enjoying each other's presence

then seungmin would tap your knee and you'd look at him like "yes?"

and he'd point to the corner of his mouth signaling that you had a piece of food on you

and you'd try to wipe it off but your dumbass cant seem to get

so then he'd smile, grab a napkin and wipe it off himself

then you two would just giggle and laugh softly and aHH i gotta get me a seungmin

sTudY dATeS

he is 100% the kind of person who is perfectly fine with silence

as long as he's with you everything is gucci

like you'd ask him to come with you to the library to accompany you bc you need to study

he'd agree and come with you and read a book or something

then after about two hours or so of complete silence, with small talk here and there when you needed his help on an equation

you'd be like "seungmin if youre bored here with me, you can go you don't have to stay"

he'd put his book down and smile the cutest smile ever and grab your hands

"nah as long as youre near me, i'm okay"

can you hear my heart bursting into flames

yeah he a soft boy

with that being said, sOfT flUFFy pda !!!

like obviously when it comes to pda, he ain't bold

he'd be the type of person you'd link pinkies with

and if you two are at a gathering but you guys are talking to different people

you'd glance over at where he is

and at the same time he'd look at you

and then he'd wInK then continue to socialize with whomever he's socializing with as if he didnt leave you flustered at all

but yanno seungmin can be outgoing and bold too if he really wanted

granted it wont be as much as others but

for example, if he was feeling extra playful

he'd poke your sides knowing just how ticklish you are

and he'd make this little -boop- sound

like you'd be talking to one of the members and he'd come up behind you and poke your sides

"...boop"

"seUnGMiN"

and he'd run away like "teehee"

or you'd wait for him outside the company building

and he'd walk out after a frustrating day

and once he sees you

he won't say anything and just go straight up to hug you

"hey seungmin! how was pract-"

-seungmin hugs you and mumbles into your hair-

"i mished you s'mcuch"

"what's that? i can't understand you"

then he'd pull away, grab your face and softly kisses you right in front of the boys

"i missed you"

you wont even say anything because you understand that his day must've been so exhausting

in summary, dating seungmin would be cozy and soft af

[readbythestarlight]

c2e24 reactions

Sam’s rejected ads

“All over my Emmet Smith commemorative snuggle!”

“IT’S A TROY AIKMEN SNUGGIE!!!”

SAM THAT SONG ROUGH DRAFT WASN’T FUNNY omg

I like how Sam’s ads are clearly 90% to make his friends die of laughter and 10% to actually promote D&D Beyond

Not immediately knowing that Jester was drawing a dick with her sparkler smh

Fjord seems really not sure about this town and I love it

Marisha/Beau meanwhile is really into it

I like how Fjord, the shiftiest fuck in the group, is concerned about other people being shifty fucks

I MISS YOU ASHLEY SOMEONE BUY YASHA A FLOWER NECKLACE

Beau just bought so many explosives

BEAU BUY FLOWERS FOR YASHA

the flower vendor’s voice I’m crying omg

omg they’re gonna explode the firecrackers with firebolts in the street these nerds

They are all so giggly tonight I love them

Oooo here we go Jester on the piano

“I’m going to sit down and try to play Chopsticks” I knew it xD

“blamblamblamblamblAMBLAMBLAMBLAM”

Beau and Molly with their charisma flops

“I like you, you’re colorful.” Molly flirting with the innkeeper is giving me life

Oh god drinking contest later

Fjord is regretting sharing rooms with Molly now lol

They are being SO GOOFY tonight I’m living

Aww they ended up with a sad babby outcast gnome

Molly stepping in like a total dad

MOLLY HAS THE WORST CHARISMA AND INTIMIDATION

oh fuck this gnome punk flicked him off

omg Molly blood maledict?? ….actually since it won’t hurt him he probably deserved it.

GUYS OMG

So is tiny gnome chick’s name Reesa?

Beau continues to prove that she is the ultimate disaster lesbian

Nott and Jester choreographing a dance oh boy

TEAM DRINKING COMPETITION OMG

DONT. FUCKING. LEAVE. KIRI.

sure Nott let’s pay a working woman to babysit your baby bird

YA’LL. DON’T.

Oh right just have Yasha babysit Kiri that’s using your noggin there Molly

The innkeeper flirting with both Molly and Fjord

IM

CRYING

Fjord is so awkward

“She’s small, I can hold her down” Matt that was perfect and the most in-character way you could have played Yasha

Please stay safe Kiri my baby bird daughter child light of my life

OH DAMN JESTER

Jester being jealous trying to be catty with the innkeeper

B: “Did you just put a hooker on layaway?”

F: “Did you just say I’d had sex with your mom??”

J: “Yeah as soon as I said it I realized it sounded really creepy.”

Insight checking to find out if Fjord is a virgin omg

Caleb back to looking for bookstores that’s my boy

Molly please tell me you’re getting flowers for Yasha

Ah frick Nott you should be more careful please

Aw Nott don’t be sad :(((((

I’m glad Beau is trying to reassure her about not feeling bad about herself

Ooooo some Beau backstory

lol Beau was a bootlegger juvenile delinquent I love her even more

Holy shit her dad paid the monks to abduct her no wonder she has issues with authority

Jester is basically offering Fjord free sex at this point she wants him real bad

Meanwhile Travis is dying

Yoooo my boy found his bookstore

They’re closed, of course. But he can go back in the morning.

SOMEBODY BUY YASHA A PRETTY SILK FLOWER THING DAMMIT PLEASE

Matt’s little girl voices are the fucking cutest things help me

Jester setting up a playdate for Kiri I’m not crying you are

Tara is the cutest baby gnome child ever

Save a flower for Yasha please I’m literally begging

Caleb encouraging Nott to dance my heart

The Wand of Smiles thing kills me every time they use it

Matt is having WAY too much fun playing this innkeeper dwarf

30 gold just to get blackout drunk my god

Caleb needs to blackout he’s probably a lightweight

Oh damn wait Jester should probably

If anyone wins this for them it will be Nott she’s practically always drunk already

Aw poor Jester

Matt stop with all these adorable bird and gnome children I want to adopt them all

NOTT’S GONNA USE THE DAILY LUCK smart girl

SCOREBOARD TIME Molly’s round: Molly: loses, wins, wins, wins Duncan: wins, loses, loses, loses MOLLY WINS and he’s drunk as fuck Beau’s round: Beau: TIE, wins, loses, wins, loses, loses Ruth: TIE, loses, wins, loses, wins, wins Beau loses… and pukes. Ew. Caleb’s round (oh boy…): Caleb: WINS, loses, loses, wins!, WINS!!! Valkin: loses, wins, wins, loses, loses (Nott and Jester distraction dance) CALEB WINS WITH A NAT20 HEEEELLL YEAH THAT’S MY SON THAT’S MY BOY Fjord’s round: Fjord: wins, loses, WINS!, WINS! Tanya: loses, wins, loses (loooool fjord flirting with his competitor) (Jester plz stop you’re gonna make Caleb puke) FJORD WINS WITH DOUBLE NAT20s OMG!! oh no don’t do it double or nothing please oh god they’re gonna do it here we go Nott’s round (please kick his ass Nott plz): Nott “Otto The Bottomless Pit”: wins, wins!, loses, WINS!!!!!!!!!! Blemy “The Whale”:  loses, loses, wins, loses (making herself look gross lol. And using mage hand to pour. Jester trying to bless him.) NOTT WINS HEEEELLLL YEAH

I really thought they were all gonna lose omg

oh no

oh thank god he passed out before he could out her as a goblin

WOOOO FREE DRINKS

Please go to bed everyone

“The mighty nein, the mighty nein, the mightiest nein to ever neeeiiiinnn”

There’s a lot of love between this group right now. They just need to be wasted to show how much they like each other lol

Awww Jester and Caleb waltzing that’s cute

Molly and Nott join in and suddenly its a dance party

OH SHIT CALEB SAID SHIT HE SHOULDN’T HAVE SAID I’m crying he was into Astrid and now he’s sad

And Jester gets him into bed I CRY

I didn’t need Caleb feelings WHY

Wait what is Molly doing?

Ah blood magic stuff

I’m beginning to expect that Taliesin is drunk irl

MOLLY OMG THAT’S DISGUSTING

Matt’s just like “no, no, we’re not doing that no” he’s a total dad

BEAU GOT PICKPOCKETED

she lost 300 gold wtf

who was close to her I can’t even think of who it might have been

THEY HAVE ALL BEEN PICKPOCKETED

OH MY GOD

NOTT, MOLLY, FJORD, CALEB, AND BEAU HAVE ALL BEEN ROBBED

that’s bad

The only inconspicuous figure I can think of is the little girl but I mean…

Are they gonna accuse the little gnome girl omg you guys I wasn’t serious

Whatever happened to Reesa/Risa?

Oh there she is

JESTER DO NOT

Hnnn they gotta learn not to cast the spells so casually on people it’s gonna come back to bite them in the ass

Awww buying Kiri a cute little music box

Repeating crossbow aw damn Nott’s gonna want it real badly

ENCHANTED repeating crossbow

“The Tinkertop Bolt Blaster 1000”

two thousand gold i choked

REESA BE NICE TO YOUR ADORABLE DAD

Reesa and her dad are adorable I like them

Casting suggest sure let’s just cast more spells on random people smh

You made Fitz cry you guys and you’re probably gonna get them fires it’s not their fault you were dumb enough to get robbed this is a dick move I’m with Jester y’all are taking it too far

Okay good at least now they won’t get fired

OH OH OH THEY GOT A BLIP CHASE IT

god please protect kiri she only has 6hp guys please

IT WAS THE KID OMG

Molly’s about to give him all his gold look at his face

Or Beau will give them gold and Molly will give them advice on how to steal and not get caught stealing xD

…Fjord are you seriously planning a jailbreak right now

Do you even know anything about the prison

Nott is like “the solution is obvious we just adopt them like we adopted Kiri it’ll be great it’ll be fine”

…Fjord that’s soft and sweet I hate you because I can’t decided whether I love you or not

Nott playing on Beau’s backstory to try and prompt her to help find the kid’s parents

“leaving them as cold heartless resting bitches” xD

FJORD KEEPS BEING NICE AND IM. JUST. I WANNA JUST KEEP PICTURING YOU AS A SHIFTY FUCK STOP BEING SO NICE

Also yeah listen Fjord grew up in an orphanage

aw Fjord…

Caleb’s a little salty about this but Caleb come on they’re kids

I can’t believe they’re gonna try to pull off a jailbreak

Leave Kiri with these kids yes and now Matt I beg you do NOT, do NOT let her get dragged away please I beg you

Matt’s ability to perfectly mimic Fjord/Travis is amazing

MAN THIS WAS POSSIBLY THE BEST EPISODE? I loved it. I was laughing so hard for all the first half. Fantastic job @the cast

[waitimcomingtoo]

In Case You Don’t Live Forever- Chapter 8

Pairing: Peter Parker x Venom!reader

Warnings: none

Masterlist

“He’s such a dick!” Peter exclaimed, flopping on his bed. You laid down next to him and ran your fingers through his soft hair. You felt him relax immediately under your touch.

“What did Flash do today?” you asked. This was a pretty common point of conversation between you and Peter. Flash always found a way under Peters skin and you were always the one to dig him out.

“He said I photoshopped our pictures together on Instagram. And he said you’d never even look at me, even if I was, and I quote, ‘waiting your table on your date with him’. He’s such a dick! You do look at me.” Peter protested. You sighed. You and Peter had been together for three glorious weeks. And each of those weeks, Peter had Flash on his back about your relationship.

“Yes I do. And I love what I see.” You assured him. Peter smiled slightly. He was too angry to fully appreciate the compliment.

“He tells everyone I’m lying about us being together. I didn’t even tell people, Ned did. And when I said I was gonna take the day off of school to spend our one month anniversary together, he said it was probably just gonna be me alone in my room reading your articles and crying because you’d never give me the time of day. I wish he would believe me. I hate constantly having to defend our relationship.” Peter mumbled. You kissed his cheeks and rolled onto his chest. Your one month anniversary was just a week away. You two planned on spending every second together to commemorate the event.

“Take my mind off of him, please. What’s new in my beautiful girlfriends life?” Peter asked. You two absentmindedly compared hand sizes before locking your fingers together.

“I have my final interview with Cletus next week. Then I really gotta finish my story.” You told him.

“You’ll get it done. You’re so efficient. When’s it due?”

“Three weeks.” You answered.

“You know what that means.” Peter said. You nodded.

“Balls to the walls.” You said at the same time he said “Pedal to the metal.”

You giggled and he laughed loudly.

“I like how I made a crude reference and you made one about flowers. It really highlights our personalities.” You pointed out. Peter cocked his head.

“Flowers?” He questioned.

“Yea. Petals. Petal to the medal.” You said. Peter burst out laughing. The whole bed shook.

“Aw baby no. It’s pedal to the metal not petal to the metal. Why would you push petals against metal?” He asked.

“I don’t know. Why would you put your balls to the wall?” You shot back.

“I personally wouldn’t put my balls against any wall.” Peter said matter of factly. Him saying something so out of character made you snort with laughter. You immediately covered your mouth and burned red.

“That was the grossest sound. I’m so sorry.” You said with hands still covering your face.

“Don’t be sorry. I love all your sounds.” Peter said as he moved your hands to plant kisses on your face. He started with kisses on your cheeks and slowly moved down to your neck. This was new territory for the both of you. You let out a soft giggle.

“I like that sound too.” Peter said as he perked his head up. You smiled fondly and it gave him the confidence to keep going. He placed more hot kisses down your neck and you let out another soft sound.

“I like that sound as well.” He laughed into your neck. His lips found their way under your ear in just the right place.

“Peter.” You breathed. He stopped and looked at you. His eyes were full of something you’d never seen before. Pure love and adoration for you. But it wasn’t the puppy love you were used to seeing with him. It was adult love. Committed love. You looked him deep in the eyes and nodded. Without saying a word, you both agreed to take the next step and solidify your love for each other.

That night, you and Peter laid awake and just stared each other. Neither of you said a word. Everything had already been said that night in his bed. You absentmindedly ran your fingers over his lips as he twirled your hair around his finger. You loved him. You wanted so badly to tell him. But Peter was a teenage boy. He just experienced his first time and you don’t want to overwhelm him with his first “I love you” as well. But from the way Peter was looking at you, you knew he knew how you felt.

“I want you to meet my boss.” Peter spoke. He had a dreamy smile on his face. “He’s my mentor and basically my father. He’s very important to me and so are you. I want us all to have dinner together. Let’s do it tomorrow night. He’s gonna love you.”

You craned your neck and smiled brightly at Peter.

“I’d love to meet him.” You said. And you meant it. Peter barely gave any details about his internship. You didn’t even know his bosses name. You cuddled in closer to Peter and felt absolute happiness all throughout your body. He felt it too. Peter Parker was over the moon with joy. He had never been happier.

The next day after school, Peter practically ran down the steps to greet you. He was still on a high from the night before. You were running slightly late and Peter stood in your usually spot and waited for you.

“Whats wrong, Penis Parker? Did Iron Man forget to pick you up today?” Flash teased. Peter turned his back to him.

“No. If you must know, Y/n is picking me up. She’s just a little late.” Peter grumbled. Flash laughed tauntingly.

“Right, Y/n. Is she gonna pick you up on her unicorn and take you on a date at Avengers Tower?” Flash mocked. Peter just ignored him.

“I can’t blame you for pretending to date her though. She’s so hot. I’d like to take her out and show her a good time. Better than you ever could, Penis Parker.” He continued. Peter rolled his eyes.

“She’s not hot Flash, she’s beautiful. She’s a girl, not a cup of tea.” Peter retorted. Flash’s cheeks heated up at Peters comeback.

“Whatever. I’d still bang her. Even if she was a cup of tea.” Flash said. Peters blood began to boil. How dare he speak about his girl that way? Peter wanted to kill Flash for even thinking about you.

“Me too. That girl is straight up glorious. I’d let her do anything she wanted to me, I swear.” One on Flash’s idiot friends chimed in. Peter shot him the death glare. It was getting increasingly harder to stand there and listen to those idiots degrade you.

“You’re disgusting. Show some respect.” Peter said lowly. It wasn’t a suggestion, it was an order. Little did Peter know, your super hearing allowed you to hear the whole conversation as you approached his school. An idea formed in your head.

A nice size crowd had gathered around Peter and Flash’s goons. Peter tapped his foot and waited for your arrival.

“Aw. Penis wants us to show his imaginary girlfriend some respect.” Flash laughed. At that moment, you pulled up on your bike and swiftly took off your helmet. Shocked murmurs swept throughout the crowd. Most stunned of all was Flash, who looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his head. All eyes were on you. Peter noticed Flash’s reaction and smirked.

“Hi baby. I’m sorry I’m late. I’m having trouble getting around after last night.” You said apologetically and shot Peter a wink. You had practiced it in your head. Peters face broke out in an embarrassed smile as boys began to pat him on the back. A few applauded.

“It’s alright, darling.” Peter said, stepping towards you. You smirked and gave him a big sloppy kiss. It was way more PDA than you were used to but you knew it’d give Peter enough street credit for the rest of high school.

“Let’s go babe. Bye Flush.” You called and gave Flash a flirty little wave. If he was gonna call your boyfriend Penis, he was gonna get called Flush. Peter climbed on the back of your bike and you two sped away.

“Thanks for what you did back there. I hate how disgusting those guys are. I’m sorry they were objectifying you.” Peter apologized once you were back in his room.

“It’s alright. It happens.” You shrugged.

“But it shouldn’t. And did you see how they all acted when you kissed me? Like all the sudden I was cool because you were my girlfriend? They acted like you’re some prize that I won. Don’t get me wrong, you’re incredibly hot and I’m incredibly lucky to have you. But what they don’t understand is, there’s a million reasons why I’m lucky to have you. Your beauty isn’t even one of them. There’s so much to you. So much grandeur and depth. They reduced you to a pretty face. They don’t care how smart you are, or how funny you are, or how kind. They don’t care that you’re the most talented investigative reporter in the world. They only care about what they see on the outside. And it makes me sick to think about.” Peter grumbled. You walked over to him and wrapped your arms around his neck.

“Peter, I don’t care what a single one of those bonehead boys had to say. I only care about you. You are the sweetest, most attentive and most caring boy in the world. You’re a prince among men. Those boys at your school are just jealous that you actually have a brain in your head and a heart in your chest when they don’t. Don’t let them get to you. And thank you for all that you said. I really care about you, Peter.” You said while you looked deeply into his eyes. You wanted to tell him you loved him, but you chickened out. You had only ever said it to Andy. Peter kissed you sweetly.

“I really care about you too. Now come on, let’s work on your story.”

That night, you prepared to eat dinner at Peters bosses house. You wore a casual dress and did your hair in loose curls. You wanted to make a good impression on Peters mentor. You took a cab, not wanting to ride your motorcycle and risk the helmet messing up either of your hair, to a wooden cabin near a lake. Peter knocked on the door and rubbed his hands together in excitement.

“Here we go.” He beamed.

The door opened and your body froze as your eyes landed on Tony Stark. The very Tony Stark who made you your suit. The very Tony Stark who knew you were Venom. The very Tony Stark who was your boyfriends boss.

You felt sick to your stomach. Tony felt it to. He glanced from you, to Peter, to your interlocked hands, then back at you. Your eyes whispered an apology. He looked equally as apologetic. He was sorry for how badly this would end when all the secrets were out.

“Come on in, kids. Dinners almost ready.” Tony said suddenly. Peter grinned at you and lead you inside. You faked a smile before giving Tony one last look.

Dinner went as awkwardly as you could imagine. You and Tony couldn’t keep your eyes off of each other. Peter was too excited about his two favorite people meeting to notice the tension in the air.

“Y/n is an investigative reporter.” Peter gushed.

“Is she?” Tony said, never looking away from you. You felt terrified by his stare.

“She took down Carlton Drake and soon she’s gonna take down Cletus Kasady.” Peter continued with a proud smile. He put his hand on your knee under the table and squeezed.

“Oh really? How did you do it?” Tony asked. You gulped. He knew exactly how you did it.

“I just followed my instincts and didn’t let up until the truth was out.” You stammered. Tony nodded vaguely.

After an awkward dinner of Tony and you staring each other down, he asked you to follow him into another room.

“Y/n, will you join me in the lab? I got something that might help your story.” Tony announced. You felt fear run through your body, all the way to your scalp. You nodded and got up. Your legs were shaking and you prayed Peter didn’t notice. He got up as well.

“I’ll come.” He said. Tony immediately turned around.

“You stay here, kid. I just want a quick word with your girlfriend.” Tony said. Peter sat back down with a smile on his face at the sound of someone referring to you as his girlfriend.

Once in the safety of the lab, you let out the breath you had been holding in all night. You looked anxiously at Tony. He had his back to you, and was still deciding what to say.

“Does he know?” Tony asked suddenly. You shook your head even though Tony couldn’t see you.

“No, sir. I haven’t told him.” You said.

“Do you know about him?” Tony asked, turning to face you. Your face contorted in confusion.

“Do I know what about him?” You questioned. Tony’s face fell. He realized the extent of the situation. You and Peter were in love and Spider-Man and Venom were enemies. And neither of you knew the other’s secret identity. Tony’s heart broke for the young couple. He knew how much Peter loved Y/n. He also knew how fragile Peter was. Tony wondered if the shock would hurt less if he made the teenagers confront each other sooner rather than later.

“Nothing. Here’s what I need from you, tell him the truth.” Tony stated. You opened your mouth to protest but he held up his hand.

“I don’t want to hear it, Hannah Montana. You need to tell Peter about Venom, or I will. End of discussion.” Tony said sternly.

“But-“

“What did I say? End of discussion.” He repeated.

“But he’ll hate me.” You said sadly. Tony looked at you empathically. She doesn’t even know how bad this is he thought.

“He’ll hate you more if you wait to tell him. You have to rip the bandaid off. And who knows, maybe he has secrets of his own.” Tony said. You stared at the floor, not wanting to go back to the dinning room to Peter. You wanted to avoid him, and the conversation, as long as you could.

“You don’t understand, Mr. Stark. The second I tell him, I lose him. I can’t do that Mr. Stark. I’m not ready to lose him, I just got him.” You said in a horse voice. You didn’t want to cry in front of a man you idealized but your heart was breaking.

“You don’t know for sure that you’ll loose him. You need to tell him. Now. You know where he is.” Tony ordered. You could feel yourself beginning to cry no matter how hard you tried to fight it. It was that terrible feeling of needing to cry but feeling too embarrassed too. You could feel hot tears at your waterline.

“Don’t do that. I don’t want a crying teenage girl on my hands.” Tony said in response to your watering eyes.

“But I love him.” You cried. “I love him and I don’t want to lose him.”

Tony’s attention snapped to you. You had never seen Tony Stark at a loss for words before.

“You love him?” He asked. You nodded.

“With all my heart.”

“Have you ever told him that?” Tony asked.

“No.” You said shyly. It was an awkward thing to talk about with a man you barely knew.

Tony looked angry for a moment, then disheartened.

“This is going to crush him.” He muttered.

“I never wanted to hurt him, Mr. Stark. Please believe that. But no matter how much I wish for things to be different, they can’t be. This is who I am. I am…we are Venom. That won’t change.”

“You’ve already hurt him and you don’t even know it.” Tony said. You didn’t really understand what he meant.

“Are you familiar with Georgie O’Keefe?” You asked suddenly. “He had this quote that says ‘when you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else.’ That’s how I feel about Peter, Mr. Stark. I want to give him that world. My world.”

“Venom is a part of your world.” He reasoned.

“I know. And I’ll tell him. Just, not yet. I can’t lose him just yet.”

Tony looked at you for a long time and sighed.

“Fine. I’ll give you one week. If you don’t tell him by then, I will.” Tony said firmly. You nodded sadly.

“Okay.” You said. You wiped a tear that had managed to fall. “I’ll tell him.”

“You better. Now let’s go back in there and give him the best night of his life. He deserves that much.” Tony said and you agreed.

You two went back out and ate dessert with Peter. You did your best to enjoy and decide of it, knowing your time with Peter was almost up.

Peter enjoyed his evening to the fullest extent and never suspected a thing. You’d sneak glances at Tony every now and then. He was always staring back.

“I had the best time. Thank you Mr. Stark.” Peter said as you two got ready to leave.

“Yes, thank you Mr. Stark. It was a pleasure to meet you.” You shook Tony’s hand. He shook yours back firmly, both of you knowing you had already met.

“Anytime. And Y/n, good luck. I’m rooting for you.” Tony said honestly. You gave him a thankful nod.

“Good luck with what?” Peter asked.

“My story.” You answered quickly. You ushered Peter out the door and gave Tony one last look. He nodded at you and held up one finger. You gulped. This was going to be the worst week of your life.

Tag List 🏷

@monimiin @truthdaze @honeyccoated @constellationswithapurpose @condy-wants-a-cookie @zipp0flare @vxidnik @maddie-laufeyson @bubblegumholland @the-blindwatcher @pmvelez97 @ziggyspurplehaze @grippleback-galaxy @fangeekkk

[daughterof-chaos]

Promises Made

Author’s Note: Hello, and Welcome to the first imagine for Music Monday #2! This is a Herman Kozik imagine based on the song Widowmaker by Nonpoint as requested by the ever lovely (and one of my faves) @lokis-mayhem. I sincerely hope you like this, as I took it in a different direction. Rated M for language and violent themes.

**UPDATE** This is my work–originally posted to my old blog @callmemrskozik which is no longer in use. Just wanted to put it out there so people don’t fill up my inbox accusing me of plagiarism.

Promises Made

-XX-

Think this is easy for me? But I chose this life I chose it like I choose to breathe But I want this life for you and me So I’m risking everything that I believe And hope that it might Change things. Explain things

I gotta get this pain to leave me now

It will get better somehow

Don’t invest your heart too much Cus one day I’m going to break it See I have plans to die young I’m the widowmaker So don’t invest your heart too much Cus one day I’m going to take it And bring it to the only place that you can’t go yeah I’m the Widowmaker

-XX-

The love story of Herman and Mia Kozik is about as unconventional as it gets; the contrast of bad ass biker and small town librarian is enough to draw speculative glances from even the most open minded of individuals.

Kozik loved it. He relishes every dropped jaw and winging eyebrow that is shot their way when he picks Mia up from work, even after all this time. It’s been nearly seven years and while he thought that surely by now some of the shine would have worn off, he’s finding that he’s wrong.

The beginning of their relationship was anything but easy, and he still shoulders the blame, it was after all, his bike that went through the Library’s window nearly crushing the new librarian, on her second day of work.

But that wasn’t what she had even been pissed about.

Oh no.

She stood vibrating with anger, the nylons she word under her black pencil skirt running from knee to ankle, palms screaming from the force of her fall, and she was mad about the books ruined by his bike.

He would only admit it to a few people that it was while she screamed at him on the steps of Charming Library he started to fall for her, and after six months of apologizing she finally agreed to go on a date.

Two years in she got his crow.

Four years in they got married.

Year six they welcomed Amelia, a beautiful raven haired blue eyed angel who has effectively wrapped Herman, and all his fellow Sons around her tiny little finger.

And here he stands, seven years to the day that his bike crashed through the window of her library, and he can’t help the grin that breaks on his face when he sees her coming through the doors. She’s dressed casually today, but still his need stirs as she draws close, and pushing himself off of the bike he swoops her up, the kiss he plants on her long and scorching.

“Mmm, happy anniversary Mrs. Kozik,” he says and when she stares at him perplexed he laughs.

“Herman, we got married in October. It’s July,” Mia says and the silence that settles between them is short when she realizes what anniversary it is that he’s commemorating. “Well then Mr. Kozik, how do you want to celebrate?”

“Mmm, well Amelia’s with your folks for the night, I thought a nice ride,” he says pressing a kiss to her cheek, “then maybe we can recreate our first time…”

-XX-

See it’s hard for me to explain The game and the rules have changed And I don’t think you wanna play this game anymore The future for a person like me is always the same The rules haven’t changed for me It’s a game you can’t win you sure you wanna play? Only thing I know is you can’t win So why even begin? Don’t invest your heart too much Cus one day I’m going to break it See I have plans to die young I’m the widowmaker So don’t invest your heart too much Cus one day I’m going to take it And bring it to the only place that you can’t go yeah I’m the widowmaker

-XX-

Loving him was the easy part. It came as easy as breathing for Mia; it was the rest of it that was hard. Waiting for him to come home after long rung runs, holding her breath every time she saw flashing lights and heard the all too familiar wail of sirens. Herman had considered transferring back to Tacoma, but decided against it, because it wouldn’t be fair to take Amelia away from the only place that she has ever known to be home. Of course there was a part of Mia that thinks his reluctance to leave has more to do with the shit that’s been turning Charming and SAMCRO upside down, then it did with their eighteen-month old daughter.

He tells her everything, even when he doesn’t want to, and she knows it’s an imposition for him to be as open and honest with her as he is. Not because he wants to lie or hide anything, but because he knows what the worry does to her, and the implications it could have if ever someone decided to come for the women of the club, which seems to be happening more and more often.

Sure, there had been a few times she was tempted to pack up and leave; and as she lays beside him under their favorite tree she studies his face, fingers reaching out to trace his smooth skin and as she watches him sleep she remembers when he came home just last week, blood splattered all over him.

He confided in her that he managed, barely, to survive a literal mine field. Her heart dropped when he unzipped his black sweater revealing a white t-shirt sprayed with the blood of a fellow who wasn’t as lucky as Herman.

“I can’t keep doing this Herman…” Mia’s voice shook as she bit her lip, tears pooling and threatening to spill over as he bent at the waist to unlace his boots. He looks up slowly, pain flashing through his eyes.

“Mia what are you saying?” he asked and then she exploded.

“You were almost blown up! Blown up Herman! I would have gotten nothing back, there would have been nothing left of you to lay to rest…how much more, Herman, how much more is SAMCRO going to ask for?” she demanded brushing at the tears that raced down her face.

“You knew what you were getting into Mia, getting wrapped up in me,” he says evenly, despite how completely blindsided he is by the things she says. “I warned you.”

“You warned me…” her tone betrays her disbelief at his apparent nonchalance, “you never warned me about land mines Herman! You never warned me of all the shit that has happened. Children being kidnapped, women murdered….”

“Where is this coming from, really, Mia. We’ve dealt with a lot worse than this, I mean, I came home. I walked through a literal fucking mine field and came home to you…” he says anger seeping into his words.

“I’m pregnant Herman!” she screams quickly pressing her hands to her lips, “when we had Amelia, I thought, I hoped things would calm down, and they did, for a while, and well, here I am, pregnant again and things, things are just so much worse.”

He held her all through that night, pillowing her head against his chest as his large hand rested over the tiny life growing inside of her, and they made promises. Promises for the next days, weeks, months, even years to follow. Promises of love and protection, he’d always kept his promises.

-XX-

Fall I might not be there for you Yeah if you fall I might not be there for you Don’t invest your heart too much Cus one day I’m going to break it See I have plans to die young I’m the widowmaker

-XX-

The pain had been shocking, and standing on the steps of the library she pressed a hand to her stomach and pulling it away she stared in disbelief at the blood that slicks her fingers.

“Get down!” someone screams and lifting her face she sees people running and upon hearing the voices raising in panic, she drops onto the steps.

“Ma’am, ma’am can you hear me?” the voice is far away as a face swims into her line of sight, and then everything snaps back, becoming perfectly clear. “We’re here to help you.”

“I’m pregnant,” Mia says but she doesn’t recognize the voice that escapes her, and giving a violent cough, she realizes that all those promises made, will have to be broken.

::

He’s lays under the lifted car he’s working on, the shop music pumps loud and hot and he because his hands know what to do without even thinking about it, he lets his mind wander.

Mia’s pregnant. He’d be lying if he said there hadn’t been a jolt of panic that coursed through him when she told him. Not that he doesn’t want another kid; he does, and secretly he’s hoping for his boy, but even if he ended up with another little girl, if she’s anything like Amelia, well, he’d be more than content with that. The fear came from realizing just how close he came to not coming home to Mia and Amelia, and the little one still growing, and that fear has thoughts of transferring back to Tacoma running through his mind again.

It’s so much quieter there; and a hell of a lot safer that’s for sure.

He lets out a breath, deciding that it might be time to bring it up again, and then he’s snapped from his thoughts by the sudden silence.

“What the fuck? Who turned off my music? Happy, I swear man if it was you,” he rolls out from under the car and looking to his side he sees Jax and Wayne standing by the door. He pushes to his feet, and grabbing the rag from his back pocket he wipes his hands. “What’s going on?”

“Do you got a minute son?” Wayne’s voice is soft and flashing his eyes to Jax momentarily Kozik nods.

“Sure. What’s up?”

“You might want to sit down,” the tone gives away the severity of this impromptu visit.

“I think I’ll stand,” Kozik says his heart picking up speed in his chest. “What is it? You’re freaking me the fuck out…”

“There was an incident a little bit ago, at the library,” Wayne says and for Kozik everything else shuts down, every thought simply flitting away as his number one priority became getting to Mia.

“Mia! I have to get to Mia,” he moves to brush past the men, but Jax’s hand grabs him by the shoulder stopping him.

“Brother, I’m sorry…” the sadness in Jax’s eyes shines so brightly its almost blinding. “Mia’s gone.”

“Gone?” the word feels foreign in his mouth as his legs give out on him and he hits the ground. “We’re having a baby…she promised…she promised…”

-XX-

So don’t invest your heart too much Cus one day I’m going to take it And bring it to the only place that you can’t go yeah I’m the widowmaker

-XX-

[seriouslyhooked]

Some Call It Magic (A CS AU) Part 6/?

When Killian Jones moves to Storybrooke he instantly senses something strange about this little town in Maine but he’s willing to overlook all the bizarre signs for one reason: the single Mum living next door to him. There’s only one problem. Killian is nearly positive she’s a witch, a brewing potions and casting spells witch. But when true love is involved, does a little thing like magical powers really matter? Story rated M.

Part 1 Here, Part 2 Here, Part 3 Here, Part 4 Here, Part 5 Here. Also On FF Here.

A/N: Okay all, so I am back with the next chapter of ‘Some Call It Magic’ and I am very excited for it because it brings the first date. I know it’s been a while, but it’s a bit longer to make up for the gap in updates. It’s also the first chapter that is almost exclusively Emma and Killian alone with each other, and that in itself was such a treat to delve into. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy and let me know what you all think!

Fretting over what to wear had never been Emma Swan’s style. Since she was a kid she’d never felt that inclination to linger on her fashion choices, not just because she didn’t have much in the ways of a wardrobe when she was in the system, but because it didn’t seem very practical to her. At the end of the day, did it really matter if she chose a black dress over a red one or wedges over heels? She never thought so, and yet here she was, staring at her closet and desperately seeking some kind of inspiration for the night ahead.

“Come on, there’s gotta be something,” Emma muttered aloud, looking through the same slim pickings she’d had for so long and wishing that she’d had the foresight to go out and shop for something new and different.

It just didn’t feel right to wear something ordinary this evening even if she had no idea where Killian and her were going. From what Emma knew about Killian, she trusted that whatever he had planned would be intimate and romantic. He just seemed like the kind of guy who managed to pull off amazing first dates, and that was part of the reason Emma was stressing out so badly now, because her track record with dating was anything but pristine. In fact, she might just have one of the worst (and most limited) relationship histories of anyone she knew, and that was really saying something.

But just as defeat was about to wash over her and Emma was seconds away from throwing on any old thing, she noticed a garment in the back of her closet that eluded her before. It was a dress she didn’t recognize in a soft pink shade that was highly unusual for Emma’s typical wares. Honestly it was hard to imagine that she’d ever bought the dress, and she wracked her brain trying to think of a moment when she’d ever seen something so soft and elegant and thought she should buy it or had been gifted a dress by anyone she knew. The garment very clearly did not belong, but for whatever reason Emma’s instincts were telling her that this was the answer to those silent prayers she’d been sending up for the past hour.

With a speed she hadn’t utilized since coming upstairs to get ready for this evening, Emma put on the dress and found that not only did it fit perfectly, but it felt beautiful on her as well. There was comfort here even in its higher quality and Emma appreciated that. The last thing she wanted was something stiff and formal, and even though she took in her appearance after doing up her hair and makeup and almost felt like another person was staring back at her, Emma’s hope that she might just have found the perfect fit grew and filled her heart with a gorgeous sense of anticipation that had been lacking thanks to all of her ensemble worries.

Emma tried to think back on all of her past experiences when it came to dating, and she honestly couldn’t recall a moment when she’d ever felt like this, with butterflies beginning to get the best of her and filling her with this restless energy that had no clear outlet. She knew she certainly had never felt these kind of nerves or this excitement for a date before, and even when she’d been seeing Henry’s father (which was her one semi-solid and totally committed relationship), she had felt more excitement at not being alone than excitement about the man himself.

But things with Killian were different clearly. The past few weeks had shown that time and time again, and Emma had slowly come around to the fact that she couldn’t group him in with all the other men she’d known before him. It wasn’t fair to either of them for her to hold him to those past standards, and it was also very freeing to do away with those old conceptions. With Killian everything felt so new and possible, and for once in her romantic life Emma wanted to give into that and to trust that there wasn’t some other shoe that was going to drop or red flags she was missing. She only hoped that this date would prove that little bit of faith well worth it and help more appear so this wouldn’t just be a one-time thing.

Carrying this sense of resolution and all of that flurry of emotion that came with first date jitters with her, Emma moved down the stairs from her room to where Henry and Elsa were waiting, hoping beyond hope that they wouldn’t make this a huge deal of this. The last thing Emma wanted was too much attention because it would just compound her nerves about all of this, but at the same time who was she kidding? There would obviously be some response, and the best thing to do was toughen up and ready herself for whatever was about to come her way.

“Oh Emma, you look wonderful!” Elsa announced happily when Emma entered the living room, and though Emma knew her friend was holding back to the best of her ability, there was a clear level of glee on display in her expression.

If Elsa thought for even a second that she was hiding her delight at Emma’s date tonight, she was dead wrong, but Emma had to appreciate the effort on her friend’s part. In fact, Elsa was doing much better than Emma had anticipated since there was no jumping up and down, avid applause, or happy tears being demonstrated in this moment. As far as Emma was concerned, this could be considered a substantial victory on the part of her friend.

“You think so?” Emma asked, taking a look back down at the outfit she’d finally chosen and twirling slightly as she did. It was a moment of insecurity for her, but Elsa was fast to put those worries to rest.

“Definitely! Killian’s going to lose it when he sees you,” Elsa promised and Emma smiled at the thought, kind of enjoying the idea that Killian would be as worked up about all of this as she was feeling right now.

“Say cheese, Mom!” Henry said suddenly from where he popped up behind the couch, surprising Emma with the action, but before she could reply her son was clicking the button on the polaroid camera he’d gotten for his last birthday and taking her picture.

“I didn’t realize a simple date merited a photo shoot,” Emma said and Henry’s grin grew wider as he pulled the photo out to wave it around and make it develop faster.

“Who said it’s going to be simple? I bet Killian’s got lots of good stuff lined up.”

Emma looked her son up and down trying to size him up, but Henry had developed just as good of a poker face as she had. He was so hard to read when he wanted to be and Emma couldn’t tell if this was just his positive outlook on life or if he’d gleamed some information about her outing tonight from Killian already. Either way Emma didn’t really mind and she wanted to enjoy the easy back and forth with her son a little longer since it was a good distraction from all of her thoughts at the moment.

“But a photo for a first date? That seems kind of excessive…” Emma taunted and Henry shrugged.

“Who knows maybe it’ll be your last first date.”

Henry’s claim prompted Emma to face a slight moment of dueling emotion. On the one hand she really liked the sound of this date being that important, and on the other she was worried that Henry was building up his hopes to high. There was nothing set in stone about this relationship despite Emma’s ever growing feelings for their new neighbor, and this was just a reminder that she wasn’t the only one who could potentially get hurt. Henry’s feelings were at risk here too, and Emma’s first instinct would always be to protect her little boy.

“Besides you look pretty, Mom, and I thought you might want to remember that.”

It was hard to deny the heartwarming element of that compliment from her son, and Emma did not miss the tiny ‘aww’ that emanated from Elsa across the room, but there was more to all of this than simply commemorating the moment, and Emma noticed a slip in Henry’s façade that gave him away. Then she did the math about what else could possibly motivate her son to take a picture of her in this state, and she came up with a highly probable likelihood: someone had put him up to this.

“How much are you getting?” Emma asked and Henry had the good sense to look a little embarrassed at being caught in his slight bit of deception, but Emma took comfort in the fact that he immediately came clean to her, not even trying to hide the truth in any way.

“Ruby said she’d pay me twenty bucks if I got a picture before you left.”

Now that Emma could totally believe, and though Emma had denied her best friend’s offer to watch Henry tonight, opting instead to ask Elsa since she was the most laid back of the friends (which wasn’t saying very much), Emma knew that the second she left there would be a mass migration of her friends to this house. For whatever reason they all just couldn’t help themselves, and Emma wouldn’t be surprise if they were still here when she got home too, waiting up to see the end of a date that they were almost more excited for than she was.

“My son the paparazzi. How quickly your allegiance shifts,” Emma joked as she ran a hand through Henry’s hair and looked down at the picture he had taken. It actually wasn’t a bad shot all things considered, but Emma did have that moment that she’d had before when looking in the mirror in her room where she wondered if that woman could really be her. This person staring back at her seemed so hopeful and not jaded. It was a strange thing to come to terms with.

“Don’t worry, I already told Ruby I wouldn’t take any of you and Killian together. She offered big money for that shot, but I told her we should play it cool.”

Emma laughed at Henry’s very astute observations, and she sent thanks up to the universe that even her ten year old understood there were in fact some lines of normalcy in the world. It was just funny to Emma that a grown woman like Ruby was less interested in rules of decorum than a little boy was.

“Well thanks, kid. I appreciate that,” Emma said and Henry’s smile grew all the wider.

“Besides, if we give it a couple of dates it won’t be so weird. Then I can take all the pictures I want.”

And there it was again, the flare up of awareness that Emma always seemed to find when there were expectations placed on this budding relationship with Killian. Suddenly those butterflies from earlier began to sour some and the hope that was building all day in anticipation was undercut with the old naggings of her cynical mind that she had to be smart and listen to her head over her heart. Yet thankfully before Emma could wade too far back into the mire of those thoughts, the doorbell rang, alerting them all of someone’s presence at the house.

Oh shit he’s here! Emma thought to herself as she froze in the doorway. She was too hyped up to even think of moving at this point, but soon enough an external nudge came to push her into action.

“Go on Mom. It’ll be great, you’ll see.”

With Henry’s words to urge her on, Emma found herself smiling and pulling the door open to reveal Killian who somehow looked even better dressed up than he had in all the casual ways Emma had seen him up to now. Emma hadn’t thought that was even possible, but here she was gaping at him and failing rather miserably to keep her appreciative thoughts private. That sorry fact was clear enough when Killian threw a knowing smirk her way, but in the end Emma didn’t care about her momentary pause. She was so distracted by the man before her, that she simply didn’t give a damn.

“You look stunning, Swan.”

Damn it had his voice even gotten sexier in the past twenty-four hours? Emma felt like it must have because as it washed over her she felt a shiver of desire running through her.

“Thank you,” she mumbled back before waving her hand and trying to extend a similar compliment. “And you look…”

“I know,” he said teasing her and Emma had to love that slight sense of cockiness, not only because it was playful, but because Killian had purposefully used it to make her feel more comfortable. Emma wasn’t sure how she could be so certain of that, but she felt it to be true, and she appreciated it just as much as she did the bouquet of flowers he handed her in an utterly romantic gesture that Emma was far from used to.

“Oh, um, this is really nice but you didn’t need to get me anything,” Emma said, knowing she was lacking the cool she usually prided herself on and fighting hard not to go red in the process. It was just that no one had ever given her flowers before, aside from maybe Henry when he they made their trips to the meadows in the spring time or when they were gardening out back. This was different from Emma’s past experiences, and though it was one of those cheesy first date expectations, Emma found that she loved receiving them all the same.

“Need had nothing to do with it, love. I just wanted to get something worthy of you, but I should have known nothing ever could be.”

His words floated through the air holding a pitch and tone of total honesty that had Emma smiling again and finally giving into that kiss of crimson against her cheeks. Killian was really good at this whole flattery thing, and Emma was half a second from telling him he didn’t need to even try. She was already interested in him more than she ever had been in another man, and the more thoughtful things he did, the worse her infatuation was bound to become.

“Hi Killian!” Henry’s voice said from further inside the house, and the interruption had Killian’s eyes leaving Emma’s as he turned to greet her son with a genuine smile. Emma watched his honestly happy reaction to seeing Henry and her heart skipped again before she turned to look at her son too.

“Good evening, lad. Hope you don’t mind me stealing your Mum away for a few hours.”

“Are you kidding? This is great! Elsa and I are getting pizza and watching Indiana Jones.”

“Is that right?” Killian asked before nodding over to Elsa in greeting and offering his thanks for her watching Henry tonight. “Which one have you selected, might I ask?”

“Raiders of the Lost Ark, duh,” Henry said and everyone ended up laughing at his clear disdain for the thought that he’d watch any other in the series.

“Henry and I are also going into town to get a little ice cream after pizza,” Elsa filled in. “So we’re really living it up tonight.”

Emma could acknowledge that was true, and it made her feel better about going out at all. She knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that Henry would be well cared for and thoroughly entertained tonight and that lessened many of her reservations in and of itself.

“And I get to stay up an extra hour,” Henry added easily.

That last claim was a transparent ploy to get a postponed bedtime and Emma had to try hard not to openly laugh again at her son’s antics, especially when his eyes looked to her with a pleading earnestness she was used to from her kid. It was hard to say no to that face, especially when he gave her such a relatively easy time of being a parent, but lines had to be drawn, even if Emma was willing to negotiate a little bit.

“Half an hour, and only if you promise not to give Elsa a hard time when bed time does roll around,” Emma replied and Henry beamed up at her like he’d gotten exactly what he wanted.

“Deal! So… where are you guys going?” Henry asked and Emma looked back to Killian, intrigued to find that out herself but Killian only smirked and shook his head.

“Nice try mate, but I’m afraid that remains a secret, at least for now. I do promise to have your mother home at a reasonable hour though.”

Emma couldn’t tell if she was happy for that because of Henry’s clear sense of comfort from the comment, or a little disappointed. Of course it was a first date, and as such nothing could – or rather should – really happen, but Emma also didn’t like the idea of this night ending even though it hadn’t even gotten its chance to really begin yet.

“Drats,” Henry mumbled and this time it was Killian who laughed while Emma stood there slightly mortified until he filled in. “Sorry, but Ruby told me I’d get an extra ten bucks if I knew where you guys were going.”

“I expected as much,” Killian replied easily, which of course set Emma to worrying that her friends had been giving Killian a hard time this week, but before she could spiral into that kind of mentality, Killian surprised her by reaching out for her hand and intertwining their fingers like it was the most natural thing in the world to do despite their audience. “But not to worry lad, I’ll be sure to make it up to you somehow.”

That promise of course set everything to right with Henry, and the next thing she knew, Emma found herself leaving the house with one final farewell to Henry and Elsa before Killian led her to his car, opening her door like a proper gentleman would. It was incredibly foreign to Emma all of this politeness and good manners, but the rest of this felt familiar, especially the fact that she and Killian always seemed to have this kind of comfort together where words came easily and silences were never awkward.

“So Henry seemed okay with this from all appearances,” Killian said at one point, motioning to the two of them with his right hand as he did and Emma smiled.

“’Okay’ is putting it mildly,” Emma said before deciding to divulge that whole photo incident to Killian who only smiled and laughed at her son’s ambush.

“He’s a smart lad. I’ll have to thank him for that later.”

“Oh?” Emma asked in a teasing way. “And why’s that?”

“Because even if he was a little mercenary in his motivations, he had the foresight to capture an image of you tonight and that’s something to be valued.”

“Sounds like you’re telling me you like the way I look,” Emma flirted, hoping she was doing it right. After so many years of not caring about interacting like this with anyone it was hard to be totally sure.

“I’m saying you’re nothing less than beautiful, Swan, and anyone who would deny that is either blind, a fool, or both.”

Well that was quite a statement, and though Emma had been overwhelmed by Killian saying she looked stunning earlier she hadn’t really had the chance to respond in any way. Now, however, she did, and she chose to couple her words with action too, taking Killian’s free hand in hers again and linking them once more as he had when they were back at the house.

“So this is a destination date then?” Emma asked as they passed the sign saying they were about to leave Storybrooke, and Killian shot a glance her way that lit something up inside her that was happy and warm and bright.

“Aye, love. We haven’t far to go, but I thought it might be best to try something away from too many nosey neighbors.”

Thank God, Emma thought to herself at his words and then she ended up smiling thinking about how much relief that little bit of distance would bring her.

It wasn’t that she wanted to be far from home, per se, but Emma did appreciate that they’d be out of the Storybrooke bubble in which all happenings were fair game for the gossip mill the next morning. Since Emma and Killian had been on the minds of people for weeks, she could only imagine how much more fodder the town would have if their first date was some kind of public spectacle.

“Has anyone ever told you you’re a genius?” Emma asked and Killian laughed at that, his thumb running over her knuckles lightly as he did and sending a zing of awareness through her.

“I wouldn’t go that far, Swan. I’d just say that as a man who has waited so long for this chance, I couldn’t bear the thought of interruption.”

Killian’s words made it seem like he had been waiting for the opportunity at a date with Emma longer than the few weeks that he’d lived here, and though it was kind of crazy, Emma could relate to that. Maybe it had to do with that sense of recognition that she always felt with him, but when she let her hope win out, her instincts were constantly telling Emma that Killian just might be him, the person she’d been waiting for to make the world she already loved so much truly complete.

When the car crawled to a stop just a few moments later, Emma was still fixated on Killian and trying to make heads or tales about whether a man like him could actually be real, but when she looked through the windshield and saw their destination all of her excited adrenaline returned. For there they were in front of a place she actually knew very well and already had a fair many fond memories of.

“You know about this place?” Emma asked as Killian stepped around the car to get her door and he chuckled, scratching just behind his ear in a slightly bashful way.

“I do now. I take it you’ve been here before,” Killian replied and Emma nodded, her gaze returning back to the structure before them.

Locksley Observatory was a relatively well known spot to visit in the area thanks to its being open to the public most weekends and its unique proximity to the sea, but perhaps the most enthralling part of the whole locale wasn’t the observatory itself, but the manor house, aka the ‘Castle By the Sea’ that also lay on the same property. The manor belonged to a very wealthy family who spent most of their time in bigger cities far from here, but this was their summer home, and every once in a while when Emma had been here with Henry there were notices that the family was at home so visiting hours might be slightly different. Emma had never been inside of there though, and when she realized that Killian wasn’t heading around back to the observatory but to the house itself she was shocked.

“Wait, we’re going in the castle?” Emma asked stunned and Killian nodded. “How did you possibly pull that off?”

“It’s amazing what a reporter can do when he calls in a half a dozen favors,” Killian joked and Emma just shook her head not fully understanding, but then when they reached the front walk way of the house Killian stopped, raising her hand up to his lips to kiss gently. The action was so intimate and set Emma’s heart fluttering in her chest, but that was only compounded by Killian’s continued words. “I was thinking we might explore the place together, Emma. Or if not we could always -,”

“This is good!” Emma responded almost too eagerly and when Killian’s wry grin appeared again Emma tried to regain some composure. “I mean you’ve gone to all the trouble…”

“There was nothing even close to trouble in planning any of this Emma, not when it was done in the service of an evening with you.”

What was a girl to say to something that sweet? The truth was that Emma didn’t know, so she followed her instincts, taking a step towards him and closing the space between them to press a gentle kiss upon his lips.

The kiss was reserved and restrained in a way, a bare brushing to be honest, but it still held all the magic Emma had been dreaming of since meeting Killian, and the best part was that when she stepped away Killian looked just as lost in all of this as she felt. Because in that moment Emma knew they were truly in this together, and she was filled with an unwavering faith that tonight was going to be everything she’d been hoping for and more.

………………..

If Killian had walked into this evening with a series of hopes for what a first date with Emma Swan might bring, they had all been exceeded the moment that the two of them arrived here at this estate for their night out together. Even all this time later, after the two of them had explored a bit of this vast and unusual manor house (that was apparently the stuff of legend in this area), and then sat down to a flawlessly crafted dinner made by a chef far more talented than he, Killian was still reeling from just how glorious this all had been.

It started in the moment when he first arrived at Emma’s doorstep, taking her in in all her splendor and finding her even more entrancing than she had been in all their previous interludes together. But then that kiss at the doorway to the castle, that tiny taste of what their connection might bring if given the chance, had upended everything in the most delicious of ways. It was impossible for Killian not to be on cloud nine in the sight of such a flawless moment, and he truly felt all through this first segment of their night together like he’d accomplished something amazing in having secured Emma’s good opinion.

For Killian though, he was just happy that all of this had worked out in his favor. In retrospect navigating through an old house might not have been the most romantic idea for a first date, but Killian’s fears about his potential missteps were quickly done away with when he saw Emma’s genuine curiosity flourish and grow. She saw this all the way he’d envisioned while planning, as an adventure for the two of them to go on together before settling down into the more expected candlelit dinner a proper date should have. In fact, Emma had been almost childlike in her wonder and excitement in the face of the secret passageways and the giant library this place had to offer.

In truth the whole evening so far had imparted upon Killian a chance to see Emma in a totally unguarded situation for the first time, and to say that she was lovely in such an honest and carefree state of mind was simple fact. There truly was not another creature in Killian’s whole acquaintance who could even begin to compare to Emma Swan, and though he’d been sure that he wanted more with Emma even before this date began, the seamless nature of their night together and their easy connection all evening long was the proof he needed to know that he was all in with this woman and with the future they might be able to find together.

“So you never did end up telling me how you stumbled upon this place,” Emma observed when they’d both finished their dessert and were moving hand in hand to the observatory across the estate.

Killian took the opportunity to look back at Emma when she said the words, loving the sight of her wearing his jacket though the night around them was amazingly mild for a September’s eve. She was a vision in that delicate dress of hers, but seeing her wrapped up in something of his fed that need inside of Killian to lay claim to Emma somehow. It was a primitive want, but he couldn’t seem to shake it, and though he’d never had that need to see another woman marked as his before, he wanted that chance with Emma now just like he wanted the chance to be seen as hers by anyone and everyone.

“There was limited stumbling involved, love. It simply took a little digging into what kind of treasures this part of the world had to offer.”

Killian went on to explain the train of people he’d been in contact with to get all of this together, but the main person in his arsenal of aid and assistance was his good friend Will Scarlet, a man he’d met back in New York who ran in the same circles of the Locksley family. Killian then laid out to Emma his and Will’s rather interesting history and the unique kind of bond that had sprouted between them despite the vastly different circumstances of their lives. Will was from money, essentially born to inherit an empire without really doing much of anything (though he kept himself busy with a literacy foundation he’d started in his family’s name years back), and Killian was a go-getter who’d had to earn everything he ever got.

“He sounds like quite the character,” Emma said with a laugh as Killian recounted the interesting ways that Will was a walking contradiction and a few more of their more interesting stories that had transpired over the years of their friendship.

“That’s one way of looking at it,” Killian replied with an easy smile. “But I gather you’ll eventually get to see for yourself.”

“Really?” Emma asked with a sense of surprise.

“Aye, love. I was told in no uncertain terms to expect a visit sometime soon so that Scarlet can see the woman all of this could be for.”

Even in the fading light of the day around them Killian could see that subtle flush that came to Emma’s complexion. It always fascinated him that she reacted this way to his compliments, because he assumed that she must be so used to receiving them, but somehow he knew that she wasn’t. Emma was a woman who didn’t give herself or the details of her thoughts and her life away easily, but for some reason she’d chosen to let him in a little bit, and just that small opening was enough to keep Killian trying for everything she was willing to give.

“Well I hope I don’t disappoint,” Emma said with a shaky laugh and Killian squeezed her hand a little tighter, drawing her eyes back up to his.

“You could never, Emma. It simply isn’t possible.”

A beat past between Emma and Killian and the air between them grew thick with all the building chemistry that had been building up since their first meeting. In this instant Killian felt compelled to lay the whole truth out there for her now. Emma should know the depth of his regard for her and about how he was already well past the feelings of a mere first date in his heart. He wanted every card out there on the table, and yet the words wouldn’t come. Instead all Killian could do was marvel at this woman and his good fortune to even be here with her at all.

“You’re a real charmer, you know that?” Emma asked then, clearly trying to rise above the more intimate moment with a jest and Killian laughed, allowing her to deflect a little if it made her more comfortable, all the while knowing that the current of need between them still remained.

“Is that a bad thing, Swan?” he asked and Emma pretended to consider before smiling again.

“I haven’t decided yet,” she joked, but Killian knew that she had decided and that her being here with him still was the testament to that. Emma wouldn’t draw this night out if she wasn’t interested him. She didn’t play games and Killian knew she hadn’t proposed the idea of this date lightly, so her being here meant that she’d seen something worthy in him, overly charming tendencies and all.

By now they’d reached the edge of the path from the house and there were two directions that the two of them could move towards. One was the beach, and the other the observatory. Since there was still enough light around them from the sinking sun, Killian wondered at the merits of going on the beach, but he decided to keep his same course that he’d laid forth all night. He would leave the power up to Emma and wherever she went he would eagerly follow.

“Where to next, love?”

Emma hesitated at the crossroads for a moment, clearly grappling with the choices before her before she silently bent lower to take off her shoes, signaling a walk on the sands was about to happen. That was all Killian needed as indication to do the same thing and the next thing he knew they were out there on the beach, feeling that subtle coastal breeze as the last of the day’s light began to fade.

“Henry and I have a tradition,” Emma said as they moved on the sands taking in the view. “Every time we come here we have to find a shell to bring back home.”

“Any particular kind we’re looking for?” Killian asked and Emma shook her head.

“Nope. Any shell works, but it has to be whole. That’s the only rule.”

“I take it you’ve been here a number of times then, love. How vast is this collection you two have amassed might I ask?” Killian inquired as he split his time between looking for a suitable shell for Henry and gazing upon Emma whose hair fluttered in the wind, sending her sweet scent of blossoms and vanilla his way.

“Oh we’ve got dozens of shells at the house,” Emma admitted. “We come here a lot. It’s always been a special place for Henry and I. That’s part of why I was so surprised when we got here. I thought for sure that someone must have told you about it.”

“Alas they did not,” Killian confessed. “But if you don’t mind me asking, what exactly is it that makes this place so important? I mean aside from the clearly superior coastline and the easy access to a world class telescope.”

Emma laughed at his summary of what the observatory offered before bending down to pick up a purple shell that while almost pristine had the tiniest chip on the upper rim. She tossed it back to the sand gently, keeping up the search before answering Killian’s question.

“This was one of the first places Henry and I ever came to when we moved here. It was a week after we got to Storybrooke, and let’s just say I was overwhelmed by the town and the neighbors and the general aura of happy, open, well-adjusted people.”

Killian could readily understand that. It had taken him aback when he first arrived in town, and as someone who’d never experienced anything like the feel of a tightly-knit small town community before, he could only imagine what it had been like for Emma to try and assimilate. Couple that with the fact that she would have felt a determination to protect her son above all else and it was the makings of a real migraine to say the least.

“I was still doubting whether it was right to come here at all. I didn’t really know what to do. I wanted to believe that Storybrooke could be the kind of place Henry and I needed after relocating from the life we’d had before, but I needed proof that if we did this then everything would really be as good as people said it would be.”

“You’re one of those seeing is believing people I take it,” Killian said.

“How could you tell?” Emma said with a bit of sarcasm that wasn’t biting but playful.

“Because I can recognize the signs. In my line of work you have to see the evidence before you jump to the conclusion. You can’t just craft the story to suit your tastes. You need every piece of the puzzle to be certain of anything.”

“Exactly,” Emma said clearly glad that he understood her. “And I wanted that back then so I was struggling.”

“What ended up changing your mind?” Killian asked.

“Henry of course,” Emma admitted, smiling at the thought of her son as she did. “We came here and he was so happy. Between the beach and the telescopes it was like Christmas for him, and I couldn’t understand it because what started as a sunny day turned into a total wash. There were clouds everywhere and you couldn’t even see the stars so what was the point? But he just looked at me and said that clouds don’t stay in the sky forever, and the stars would be back, we just had to be patient. I know he was just talking about the weather, but I figured if my four year old could have faith, then I could try too.”

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you’ve a brilliant boy on your hands with that one, love. I’ve never met a lad like him before. He doesn’t forget a thing and he’s always got another ten questions up his sleeve. It’s a real joy to see and to spend time with him… and with his mother.”

Killian didn’t know what he expected when he gave his honest assessment of Henry’s abilities to Emma. Perhaps he’d thought she’d smile or laugh or offer another funny tidbit about the voracity of her kid, but instead she looked almost stricken, as if Killian had inflicted some sort of wound on her when that was so far from his intention.

“Look, Killian, tonight’s been… well it’s been wonderful, way better than any first date has a right to be, but I have to be honest with you: this thing between us, it would never just be between us. You understand that, right?” Emma asked and though Killian was still a little lost from her sudden change of tone he nodded, giving Emma leave to keep speaking. “I have more than myself to think about here. I have to think of Henry and what getting into something serious would mean for him.”

A trickling of understanding began to seep through Killian’s consciousness and it sent a cold chill through his body. Emma was trying to push him back after this evening that they’d shared together and it was a terrible thing to consider. Tonight had been a hint at only the beginning of what he was starting to want with Emma, and if this was all they were every going to have because she couldn’t trust him… well it might just break Killian’s heart.

“What are you saying, Swan?” Killian asked, hating that he needed to hear her say it when her words would have the power to wreck him completely. Emma in response closed her eyes and took a deep breath before exhaling it and looking back at him.

“I’m saying that this scares me – you scare me. I don’t do this, Killian. I don’t get close to people like this because I know what it’s liked to be burned and to have nothing but scars and heartache to show for it. I know what it’s like to let someone in only for everything to go wrong and for people to get hurt, and as a mother I never want to put Henry through that. I don’t ever want him to know what that’s like.”

“I would never do anything to hurt you or Henry, Emma, you must know that,” Killian said reaching back for her and taking some comfort in the fact that Emma didn’t resist his advances. Instead her hand came up to rest against his chest, and her body leaned a tad closer to him, telling Killian that even if her mind was resisting, her body was succumbing to that same truth and need that he’d given way to almost from the first moment they met.

“I do,” Emma whispered, causing Killian’s heart to beat painfully in his chest. He felt hope stirring once more, but this was still too volatile a situation to make heads or tails of. “But…”

“But nothing,” Killian said, hating to interrupt her but needing her to see that he meant this and he wasn’t willing to give up their chance without a fight. “No one can tell the future Emma, and I can’t promise you exactly what will come, but I can swear to you that I’m not the kind of man who toys with people I care about, and I care about you and about Henry more than I can say. So whatever you think will change things, whether it’s just fate’s design, or circumstance, or something else that you’re not telling me, I’m letting you know right now that I am in this. No matter what comes I’ll be here.”

That was already quite the profession, and Killian could tell that it was a lot for Emma to take in. Her green eyes had widened considerably, and he could see the swirling of emotion within them giving away how overwhelmed she was, but the fear from before was quickly fading, and Killian believed that now was the time to lay it all out there. How else, after all, was this woman to trust him with whatever it was she was keeping tucked away from him if he wasn’t willing to trust her in return?

“I know you have doubts love, but I know who you are. I know you Emma, and nothing is going to dissuade me from the fact that this, scary and unknown as it might be, is worth giving a shot,” Killian said as his hand came to cup her cheek. “We can take this as slowly as you command. I’m not trying to push you into something you’re not ready for or that you don’t want, but I think the thing that scares you most is that you do want this, love, just as badly as I do. You just have to trust yourself and learn to trust me too.”

“I do trust you,” Emma said quietly, and though the truth of her statement shone through in her tone, she seemed almost as surprised at her reply as Killian was. “Or at least I’m trying. I want to trust you.”

“Then that’s all we need, love. The rest of it will come, but that’s the most important thing.”

Emma nodded at that and once again her smile returned, bringing Killian a sweet sense of relief that only Emma ever seemed able to give him and the next thing he knew they’d separated the lingering space between them and were yielding to a kiss that had been weeks in the making. Unlike the one that Emma had bestowed upon him at the start of the evening, this one was hardly reserved and gave way to all the passion and pleasure and chemistry Killian had been anticipating would live within Emma from the start. The sparks that the kiss ignited inside him set his whole body alight and he swore that feelings this strong couldn’t possibly exist, yet here they were.

Time passed strangely in that moment, and by the time the two of them broke apart Killian hardly knew which way was up. All he knew was that he would never have enough of Emma, and that he wanted to spend the foreseeable future claiming moments like this one as often as he could. From the smile on her face, Killian was also able to hope that was what Emma wanted too and he felt empowered to speak candidly to her about his thoughts on that kiss. The only problem was that there were no words to describe the euphoria he’d just found.

“That was…” Bloody hell, why couldn’t he think of anything to say? A dozen words went through his mind, all of them good but none of them perfect, but it didn’t matter in the end because Emma only smiled as if she could read his thoughts and agreed whole heartedly.

“Yeah, it sure was,” Emma responded before casting her gaze off for a beat and then seeing something that drew her attention. “Hold that thought.”

Killian watched then as Emma moved over a few feet and bent to grab something from the course ground beneath them and when she returned she had in her grasp a smooth, fully formed shell that was striking for one reason – it was a deep cerulean blue the likes of which Killian never would have thought would grace a shell in its natural climate. There were veins of white throughout the scalloped exterior, but it was so out of the common way that Killian was shocked, and then even more pleased to see that it was perfect, without a single chip or malformation in sight.

“Do you think it’s a sign, Swan, that a shell like this one should find us after a kiss like that?” he asked and Emma glanced back up at him curiously, almost as if she was searching for something that Killian couldn’t fully understand but then she bit her bottom lip and smiled.

“Yeah I think it might be,” she said, tucking the shell into the pocket of his jacket that he was still wearing before taking Killian’s hand again and heading for the observatory.

They tarried there inside the tower a while too, and it was a well founded activity because there wasn’t a cloud in sight and the stars were fully there’s to enjoy as the sun fully faded from the horizon. But even if Killian would have liked to stay there forever, it wasn’t an option. The end of their night would eventually come, and when he could see the hour was late enough for Emma to feel likes she should head home, he maneuvered them back to the car and drove them home to Storybrooke once more.

Walking back up to Emma’s front door, Killian felt the impending separation that had to come, bit he hoped to draw out this final moment they had together and postpone that lonely walk he’d have to make from Emma’s door to his own. As he did he soaked in this feeling that only a spectacular first date could bring, looking at Emma who was wearing her heart on her sleeve as she had been since their talk back on the beach and still allowing that openness of before to permeate between them.

“I had a really good time tonight, Killian,” Emma whispered finally, and the silkiness of her voice wrapped around him in a tantalizing way. She wasn’t trying to be flirtatious either, it was just a natural ability she had to draw him in and Killian was so far past trying to resist her.

“I’m glad to hear that, love, because it means that should I ask you’ll likely indulge me in another night like this one.”

“You mean you’re not sure if you want to ask?” Emma countered, her humor returning and that element of mischievousness infiltrating her persona. Killian chuckled as he stepped towards her, but it ebbed away when she mirrored his actions, filling the space around him with her all consuming presence once more.

“There’s nothing in the world I’m more certain of than my desire to do this again, Emma. I just want to make sure your feelings are the same,” Killian confessed and Emma beamed up at him before giving him a look that told him she had something to say that would likely brighten up his whole bloody universe.

“I might be on a somewhat similar page,” Emma said and her mirth and playfulness was the last push Killian needed to close the remaining gap between them. He muttered about how he’d get her on the same damn page in no time before kissing her and feeling all of that electricity and magic and hope all over again.

In this kiss as with their others, Killian gave all of himself to Emma, but he was also aware of their surroundings and the need to be somewhat more reserved than they had been before. Being so close to home meant that Henry could be watching, or more possibly that Emma’s friends could be spying on them, but Killian couldn’t resist the chance for this last interlude together, especially since it would have to tide him over at least until tomorrow.

Breaking away from her in the end was hard, but it had to be done, and when Emma turned around to shrug off his jacket Killian helped her with the action, letting his fingertips linger on her skin in the moment and cursing himself for doing it. He was already wound too tight, already wanting too much, and now he was just teasing himself and her into more of a frenzy. But it didn’t matter, because someday, even if it wasn’t today or tomorrow, Killian would get his chance at more with Emma. He just had to be patient.

With a quiet goodbye, Emma slipped back into her house then and Killian, deciding to preserve her privacy over lingering longer as he might have wanted, headed back home, entering the place that could feel nothing but empty after the night he’d had. Though there was one tiny form of consolation, and it came in the form of that loveable kitten that was always so eager to see him. Automatically Killian moved down to pay Luna some attention before tossing his keys on the side table and hanging up his jacket.

Only then did one last thing click for Killian – in giving back his jacket Emma had likely given back the shell that was meant to be a keepsake for Emma and Henry. Hoping to right that wrong and return the item before he forgot, Killian moved his hand into the pocket of his coat, finding that the shell was still there safe and sound. He let out a relieved breath upon the discovery, but when he pulled it from the confines of the leather jacket, he was surprised to see the colors weren’t those that he remembered, for instead of a crisp blue and white there was now a warmth that hadn’t been there with gold swirled around in the design as well.

“What the…?” Killian muttered aloud, wondering if his mind had been playing tricks on him back on the beach or if it was doing so now, but in his gut he knew what he’d seen, and he knew that somehow, someway, this tiny ornament had been changed along their jounrey back home.

There was no logical way to describe this transformation, no rational way to understand how it could have happened but it had, and though it was a shock to see, it also didn’t surprise Killian, not really anyway. Because underneath all of his reason and his rationale and his search for things that made sense, Killian’s heart was telling him there was nothing to be feared. This was just another little piece of a puzzle he’d been grappling with since arriving in Storybrooke, one that included gardens that grew too quickly, explosions in kitchens that left no trace of damage, and a woman next door and her exuberant son who pulled him in like nothing and no one ever had before.

In the face of his uncertainty, it was that last part that Killian clung to, because to him it was the only part that counted. No matter what was going on in this town and with the people who lived here, one thing was for sure: Killian had meant what he said tonight about not going anywhere, and he intended to stay and to fight for a chance to be a part of Emma and Henry’s lives come hell or high water.

So he wrote a note that said as much and left it on Emma’s back porch railing with the shell in a spot he knew Emma would see the next morning when she came to check her flowers.  And with that, Killian returned home once more and headed to bed hoping that this would be the proof Emma needed to know that he could be trusted with anything and that his feelings for her would remain through anything that she could possibly throw his way.

Post-Note: So first and foremost I want to thank you all for your patience in waiting for this update. I was planning to get it out earlier, but with everything that happened this week it just didn’t get done like I hoped. However getting to write this fluffy installment helped to brighten my mood considerably and I hope it’s granted even a little bit of that to you all. As you can probably guess from where I am ending this chapter, yes, Killian is well on his way to uncovering the truth and (surprise!) it’s not going to change how he feels or what he wants. What will be unfolding in the next few chapters is Emma’s personal character development. This will be one of the hardest things Emma has ever had to do (coming clean about her magic and hoping Killian won’t reject her) and it will take some time to all come together, but I promise the pay off will be worth it when it comes. Anyway, hope you are all doing well and thank you again for reading!!