#hallmark AU

[dreamyelectronicmusic]

🎄Hallmark Christmas Movie AU Part 2🎄

(part 1 here)

(I made a new post because it got too long)

They stroll through the Christmas market, talking and drinking hot chocolate. Wille keeps his gloveless hands wrapped tightly around his cup to soak up the warmth, and Simon finds himself thinking he’d like to take Wille’s hands and his and blow warm air on them, which is an insane thought to have about someone he’s literally only just met. But in his defence, Wille has very nice hands, large but elegant, with long fingers. Simon can imagine they’d feel lovely in his, or in his hair, or wrapped around – well. That was definitely not a Hallmark-appropriate thought. Besides, Simon has standards. He can’t go all moon-eyed over some guy just because he complimented his singing.

It’s just hard to remember that when the guy in question is really cute. A bit awkward and prone to staring for slightly too long, but Simon is used to that from his sister, so he doesn’t mind. Besides, his eyes are lovely. Simon wishes he could see them in the daylight. And Wille seems sweet and funny and takes an earnest interest in everything Simon says, though he’s less forthcoming about himself.

“So, Wille, you’re not from around here,” Simon prompts, which he thinks is enough of an invitation for Wille to talk about himself. But Wille just snorts and says, “You could say that.”

Which is a bit of an odd reaction. Sure, you don’t have to want to spill your life story to a stranger, but Simon has just told Wille about his lifelong interest in music and his teaching job. He thinks it’s fair to expect something in return.

“Are you visiting friends?” he tries again. That could explain why Wille’s face seems familiar – he might have visited here before.

At least that gets Wille talking. He’s staying with Boris and Göran, an elderly couple that moved here a couple of years back. Simon knows that they don’t have any children or grandchildren of their own, but they often have young people visiting – former students from the school where they both used to work. Some sort of posh place, Simon vaguely remembers that even members of the royal family attended –

Oh.

[leashybebes]

can i be greedy ? 🔨🏳️‍🌈

you absolutely can! 💛💛

🔨

The taller of the two guys turns first and Tommy has just enough time to think wow, those are some blue blue blue eyes before the guy smiles broadly.

"Hey! How can we help?"

Why the fuck does everyone in this podunk town look like a model?

🏳️‍🌈

"Yeah, that's good - pull your waistband down a little on one side. Not all the way, just like - enough for a tease."

"Evan."

"Tommy. C'mon. You're the hottest guy I know and your Grindr profile is like…offensively bad. Pull your pants down and let me get a picture of your happy trail."

[whatsamatteratsu]

Part 2 of my very self indulgent belpholo hallmark au finale!

Stay tuned for a little more!

[mjrtaurus]

Hallmark dragodile..

Crocodile is a business mogul, he has everything he could ever want. Living in LA, racing his high end car and sipping scotch overlooking the city from his high rise.

Then his father has a heart attack and he has to pack his things and head to rural Iowa? Idk us states.

Anyway he has to help run his adoptive dad’s farm for the next 6 months. No problem, he can’t totally do that.

Oh dear god it’s hell, no it’s literal hell. Everyone knows that he’s one Edward newgates sons and everyone has opinions on everything he does.

He has never been so glad to be stealth than in this situation.

The first run in with Dragon is at the hardware store (because of course he had to go to a hardware store because the porch is falling apart)

Croc is so busy counting to ten while smiling politely at the owner ringing up his purchase of new lumber and nail gun, he doesn’t notice the ringing of the bell as someone enters.

What he does notice is how the owner immediately stiffens up.

“Let me give you some free advice dear.�� As if she hadn’t been doing that for the past hour.

“Stay away from that man.”

Crocodile gives a glance, but all he gets is a mane of dark hair and a jean jacket disappearing into the shelves. He raises an eyebrow

The owner grimaces “he’s Garps boy, his father is a good man but Dragon?” She clicks her tongue. “He’s trouble.”

“Thanks for the advice.” Clips out Croc cause he doesn’t care about townie gossip. He has to get back to deal with the horses.

It’s another two weeks before he actually meets Dragon. A knock on the door around 7 pm, crocodile answers while Edward looks on with interest.

Crocodile opens the door to a whole lotta man. Cradling Stefan like a baby.

The first thing that catches crocs eye is the tattoo bright, stark lines cross crossing over a dark eye.

The second thing is that Dragon is hot.

A hoarse rumble emanates from the man in question. “Found stef in the chicken coop again.”

“Oh he must have been catching up with Mitski.” Edward crows “you know their good friends”

Dragon nods, drops a “sleep well Newgate.” And leaves sans dog within a manner of seconds.

Crocodile closes the door “that’s Dragon?” He asks a little in disbelief.

His dad nods, Stefan firmly planted at his feet. “Aye, and don’t you go making any trouble for him. Lord knows the boys already had enough for two lifetimes.”

“Pretty sure patty at the hardware said, He was the trouble.” Crocodile says padding over to sit by his father.

“Patty is a gossiping cunt who don’t know her head from her ass.” Edward snaps.

“You like him.” Crocodile stares at his father “the town hates him, but you like him, you want to protect him.”

“Ain’t like his daddy was doing any protecting” Edward grumbles.

“Explain.”

His father sighed “don’t go repeating this alright? When dragon was still a lad in high school him and a friend of his got lynched by some neo nazi shitheads who thought that their belief in god have them the right to beat the shit out of anyone that didn’t fit their narrative.”

Edward swallowed “his friend died from internal injuries two days later. And the shitheads? They weren’t even charged, couldn’t risk their future is what the police decided.”

“So when Dragon got out of the hospital, he went after them. It was 6 to 1 and no one was there to witness it. Police rolled up found Dragon surrounded by the unconscious shitheads, they cuffed him and threw him to juvie without a thought. I hear after juvie he went for special forces, can’t imagine what he went through there. But all the townies see is the freaky kid who destroyed 6 football players careers in one night.”

His dad looked at crocodile, “he’s a good man, sad but good.”

And this of course, piques Crocodile’s interest even further.

But he doesn’t go digging for anything. He’s sure theres stuff about the incident if he looks into it, but he doesn’t really care to see the sanitized tale that let a half dozen skinheads get away with murder. He doesn’t want to see how a grief-stricken kid avenging his friend got watered down to “troubled teen severely injures six in vicious attack”.

If he wants the whole story, he’ll just have to hear it from Dragon. Like that’s ever gonna happen.

So he keeps helping around the farm, cursing any god that would listen because this is work he was not meant for.

Until one morning, there’s a horse in the yard. Not one of Pops’ either. It’s a strange looking one, too. A short mane that stood straight up like a shoe brush, with stripes fading in and out of its ochre coat. That’s… a zorse, right? They’re called zorses?

And just past the fence is another horse- also not one of Pops’- reddish brown at the front that paled into a nice silvery color towards the hindquarters, with a gorgeous black mane. This one was saddled.

And in that saddle…

“Nika, I take my eyes off of you for three damn seconds… ” Dragon, half-awake, half-dressed, and very exasperated, called from the back of the roan.

And as if all of this wasn’t surreal enough, Dragon was holding a freckle-faced boy on his hip that couldn’t have been older than three.

Who the fuck was this enigma of a man?

[indienby]

Look at this amazing art drawn by @toxenius for Chapter 3 of my ridiculous Hallmark AU Bloodweave fic (found here, in case you missed it) 😍😍😍

I just adore the look of sheer gay panic on Astarion's face 💕

[lemon-tart-221]

Too Close to Home

New Chapters 9 and 10, Rated M

We have so many tropes packed into this sweet Hallmark movie-inspired romance! The latest chapters feature that timeless classic, “There was only one bed.”

Summary:

Aziraphale and Crowley were each other’s first loves. Decades later, Aziraphale discovers Crowley has published a novel that’s clearly based on their love story, one he thought was buried in the past.

Returning to his hometown to attend a friend’s Christmas wedding, Aziraphale runs into Crowley and (unresolved) sparks fly. To complicate matters further, a relentless suitor causes Aziraphale to invent a fake boyfriend — who happens to be Crowley. Will their old love be rekindled as they pretend to be the perfect couple?

A collaboration from: @theonewiththeshippinggoogles; @lemon-tart-221; @she-makes-things; @fishey-me; @ireallyneedmoretea, and crowleyscardigan

Art by @rainyr

Jump to chapter 9

Or start from the beginning

Written for the @goodomensafterdark Pillow Fight of fluffy fics!

[itsaash]

[podfic] Frosted Windowpanes, by heyitssmiller

My final podfic of the year! (squeaking under the wire last night before going to a friend's NYE party). Listen here

Miller not only is Leo, but writes the most glorious cubs stories. So it was very fun to get to make this wintery podfic! A Hallmark style au, where Finn comes to town and finds lumberjack Logan and chef Leo. Featuring my favourites @arrowofcarnations, @heyitssmiller, @peggyrose19 and the art is by the amazing @marmarifer and characters by @lumosinlove.

Sending out all of the best new years wishes to everyone 💖

[an-au-blog]

Hallmark au where Buggy is a stressed out Businessman going home for the holidays only because his favorite uncles Ray and Roger insisted on it so much. He didn't expect his old flame to be there: small town Shanks with the warm smile and two kids for some reason...

And it starts off as the classic, return back to small town love, but there's a twist! Buggy has not one, but two!! stone-faced, cold business boyfriend - Mihawk and Crocodile.

It starts off with Shanks thinking

Shanks: "omg you need to be with me instead of them! They make you miserable!

but Buggy's like: ... No?

Shanks: But they're mean and care only about money

Buggy: Yeah, just like me

Shanks: They didn't even come here to celebrate the holidays with you!

Buggy: I wouldn't have come here either???

And the whole story culminates in both Crocodile and Mihawk coming to celebrate with Buggy, but Shanks has already bagged him and it's that awkward moment of "you're with my ex, and I'm also with you who is my ex and what fo I do now?" But they don't really care because Buggy's allowed to have a boyfriend outside of them (not to mention Crocodile has... whatever the hell that is with Doflamingo...), plus it's just Shanks... so it'll be fine. Maybe Mihawk is a bit huffy that Shanks came back for Buggy but not him but then Shanks starts donating on him as well and he remembers how annoyed he used to get. (careful what you wish for lol)

[unchartedcloud]

Chapter 1: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Lexa Woods - divorcée, parent, and owner and proprietor of the Polaris Inn - has her hands full trying to manage her small, ski-side inn as the winter holidays descend on her equally small town. Amidst the craziness, she certainly doesn't anticipate finding an unconscious blond out on the back trails, who later wakes with no memory of who she is. Unwilling to condemn her to a hospital bed for the holidays, Lexa offers the mystery woman a room at her inn until she recovers her memory - and recovers her sense of romance along the way. In other words: a Clexa AU loosely based on the Lindsay Lohan Netflix movie. Also known as the Hallmark AU.

Read on Ao3.

[shirohige-pirates]

A Truly Mythological Christmas

Cisfem!Reader x Marco the Phoenix

You've seen the Hallmark movies where the successful business lady comes home to her small town hometown for the holidays and falls in love with the local stud, right? She gives up all that success and city living, and often dumps an otherwise decent city-business man in order to cozy up to the simple life in Simple Life City, USA.

This ain't that fucking story.

But it is a Hallmark AU - big city reader goes back home to the small town for the holidays and falls in love, but if that's all there was to this book, it wouldn't be very Mythological.

18+ - this story is going to get steamy in ways not allowed for your holiday Lifetime specials. Swearing, cheating, assassins, intrigue - you know, all that simple small town stuff.

Chapter 1: Values

Looking out over the city that was far below you right now, as the thrum of jet engines kept you in the air and vaulted you toward home, you took a moment for yourself.

Your parents had passed away when you were so young that the only parent you can remember is your adoptive mother. She was a big, take no prisoners kind of woman, stocky and full of piss and vinegar, with hair as fiery as the attitude she was willing to give.

Dadan had been a life saver for you, and you would be forever grateful to her.

Through her you made the most of what you had left to you, and now here you were. Graduated, and a financial officer in Candy Land, Inc. Six years with the company and you had gone from a nameless financial auditor into a person whose decisions could make or break the success of the company. Only your boss, Katakuri, and his mother, Linlin, had more weight in making financial decisions, but since Katakuri oversaw finance, quality assurance, and security, he often deferred to you without further input.

The freedom had given you the ability to steady profits in a positive trend, while also seeing that the company’s workers were properly compensated. Not that Candy Land had a reputation for undercutting, but Linlin herself had praised your efficiencies.

Which came with its pros and cons.

Linlin had a large family, and while a good number of them were tied up in the family business, a larger portion of them had been utilized, to either completely take over, or mostly integrate other businesses into her control. It was often phrased as a matter of protection, especially in the financial sense, and thus Candy Land had under its umbrella nearly thirty businesses that had initially stood well on their own.

All those lives thrived, and keeping it that way was effectively your job.

In doing that work, and working so closely with Linlin, you were introduced to her eldest son, Perospero. He was six years your senior, thirty-five to your twenty-nine, and he was currently in charge of the distribution centers for the company.

Dorky, but smart and more easy going than you had expected, it wasn’t surprising when he asked you out officially. You were both busy, but you were both in the same business, so you were still able to spend time, and meals together, and slowly get to know one another. A few months later he proposed, just the two of you, in the late hours of the night, after a particularly long and exhausting day at work.

It was sweet. Simple. Everything you had requested that it be, because despite the love for theatrics within his family - mostly from his mother, granted - you preferred things to be more intimate. The idea of him getting down on one knee during a charity event was enough for you to consider saying no, and you had warned him.

Pero had even apologized, once you accepted, that there would indeed be a public moment for this, at his mother’s insistence, but this way you wouldn’t be surprised. The two of you could play your parts to placate his mother, and leave her none the wiser on how it really went down. It would be your secret.

Something to hold you both together just a little closer.

Somewhere in the back of your head it had felt wrong. A dream, maybe. All of it seemed like a dream. The job, the success, the speed at which things had progressed. You worked hard at what you did, and Katakuri was neither empty with his praise, nor overly flowery about it. It might have felt like a dream, but your work, your worth, was valid.

Opportunities were likely to open up once you were officially married into the family, but you had not been incorrectly praised up to this point. There was nothing for Linlin to gain by offering one of her sons, save maybe assurances of your loyalty, but you had no business holdings or savings of your own. No innovative ideals, nothing that would balance the “loss” of one of her treasured assets. It was a statement of the value she placed in you, that she would be so accepting of your relationship.

Linlin’s value of you.

The thought gnawed at you. Clawed at any sense of peace you were trying to feel. The way that you’d always felt bad for Linlin’s children, that they always seemed to know, and accept, that they were going to be utilized by their mother. The gains of the company were the gains of the family, and everyone loyal to them, so they seemed to be mostly okay with that.

“Most everyone finds happiness.” Praline had told you during one of the family tea parties. “Angel and her husband live separately, but have stayed married. Angel’s kind of ruthless, if she was really unhappy I almost think her husband would have had an,” she made air quotes with her fingers, “unfortunate accident.” She laughed. “I just can’t see her suffering, but Mama’s also not unreasonable. She let Broye and Cracker get divorces when things didn’t work out, and even let Smoothie call off her wedding.

“She wasn’t happy, but who is with stuff like that?” The young girl had shrugged, and you had to concede the point. If you grew up that way, maybe it wasn’t such a big deal.

Still, it chewed at you. The idea of it rankled. You cared about Perospero, even loved him, but there was something about it that felt transactional. He was always so attentive, and kind. He wasn’t too much with his gestures of affection, and he wasn’t too little with them either. Soft caresses and chaste kisses when others were around, passion when the doors were closed.

Privacy, like you liked.

But you knew. Even before that moment you knew. Standing there you were caught between surprise and vindication. Terrible, nauseating vindication, but vindication nonetheless.

You knew when he’d gotten down on one knee and proposed. You knew when you’d almost turned him down, the cold ball in the pit of your stomach dismissed as nerves. Dismissed as nothing more than maybe it was all progressing a little too fast.

You knew, and now it wasn’t just a feeling in your gut, it was a truth before your eyes.

What you hadn’t expected was to find him in your bed with two other people. The one you recognized as his secretary, Nokotti. It was such a cliche that you hadn’t even considered the possibility, but they never acted inappropriately at work. The other woman was called Tori, you think, but you’d only met her a couple times and had been mostly sure her and Nokotti were lovers.

Sitting on the plane, you look out the window and let the damnable scene play out in your mind again. The stupefied look on his face, the shock that changed to relief on her face, and the apathy on Tori’s face. You weren’t sure what expression was on yours, but it was enough to keep everyone quiet.

No one even flinched when you took a picture of the event with your phone. The soft sound of the shutter made by the phone was the only sound in the eerily silent room.

“I’m going to go home for the holidays.” You managed to say it evenly, as far as you could tell. The plans for you to return home had long since been set. You and Perospero were going to visit Dadan, stay for the autumn feast, and probably leave before Christmas.

There was a lot you both had to do for your work, it had been the most time the two of you could take at the same time.

“You and your things will be elsewhere when I return.” You’d tucked the phone back in your pocket, standing in silence for a long few moments as the other two took the hint and left the comforts of your bed. You barely even looked at them as they gathered their things, dressed enough to be legal, and left you and Pero alone.

To his credit he at least had the decency to look ashamed. Pulling off the ring and letting it drop to the floor had been both painful and relieving. You had cared for, and even more than that, trusted him. Maybe you should’ve asked if he was doing all of it for his mother’s sake, maybe you needed to let yourself realize you didn’t want to know.

Maybe it was for the best this way. Months before any wedding plans had been set in stone, instead of years after vows had been exchanged and children were involved.

The phone call with Dadan had been helpful, and the conversation with your boss had been awkward. She promised that your old room would be cleared out and ready for you. Warned you that her house was full again, but you’d already known that. Your boss had been very understanding, especially considering he was brother to your fiancé, and both were sons to the CEO.

He agreed to extend your time off, effective immediately, until after the first of the year. No additional paperwork on your end, and he’d make sure everything was covered. He couldn’t promise longer during that first phone conversation, but you’d spoken a time or two since then, and all the details were set.

Katakuri, at least, had sense enough to agree that was the bare minimum you were owed, considering Pero had done such a thing. He promised to do his best for you when you returned, and that had been effectively that.

And so you were off from Thanksgiving to New Years. Any longer and it would have to be a sabbatical, which was a valid option, but not what you wanted to consider at this point.

Ah, if only you had foregone your own morals and pursued your boss, you muse on the airplane, coming back to yourself and ending your walk through the last few days’ frustrations.

You wave your hand in front of your face and shake away the useless thoughts. Kata was a good soul, a rarity among his siblings in your current mindset, but he was also already madly in love. You might not be his personal assistant, but as a direct report you caught him looking wistfully at his phone enough times to know what was up. You were pretty sure you knew who he was looking at so lovingly.

It hadn’t been overt, but there’d been shifts in his demeanor whenever Smoothie’s fiance had been in the same room. It had been, you’d felt, a sentiment that was returned, but you couldn’t dare ask, or even hint at offering support. Katakuri wouldn’t have let the words escape you, he was too good at reading people and often either cut them short, or agreed with their resolutions before they had a chance to voice them. Sometimes it felt like he could see the future, but it was more likely that he was just more observant than most.

Idly, you hoped his mother wouldn’t destroy that love, whoever it was. Unlike some of his other siblings, you had the distinct impression that Katakuri would tear himself to pieces trying to obey his mother, so great was his loyalty.

The soft chime of an incoming announcement catches your attention, and you look out the airplane window as they speak. “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking, we’re approaching Orthrus City, and will begin our descent into SPX airport. The temperatures are a brisk 42 degrees Fahrenheit, 5.5 degrees Celsius. Thank you for flying Wanotori airlines, we hope you had a pleasant flight, and we look forward to helping you navigate the Grand Lines again.”

Shoving the thoughts of the big city out of your head, you try to focus on your stay in your hometown. A small farming town, Sphinx had 100 acres to every one resident, but the rolling hills and wide open spaces had their own charms. The city was nice, and you loved your job, but there wasn’t much that could beat the comforts of home.

Especially when you were in need of comfort.

[dreamyelectronicmusic]

🎄 Hallmark Christmas Movie AU Part 3 🎄

(part 1) ❄️(part 2)

At this point in the script, we need Simon/his family/the town to face some kind of problem that Wille can help solve in a way that doesn’t rely on his royal status, lets him spend more time with Simon and helps him understand what he’s really passionate about. So what I’m thinking is that Simon’s school or maybe the town community centre is putting on a Christmas play. Actually it’s probably a musical so Simon is very involved. It’s an annual thing that the town is completely obsessed with. It’s not Christmas without it, basically. But now there’s a problem: the beautiful hand-painted scenery flats they always use got damaged somehow (Hallmark Force Majeure) and they’re unusable. Everyone is devastated; the flats are a classic and everybody loves them. They can do the play without them but it just won’t be the same. Nobody is available to paint new ones at such short notice. Except a certain prince who is there on holiday so he has nothing to do besides make eyes at his crush and who took up painting some years ago as a way to calm his anxiety.

So Wille offers to repaint the flats. Mostly he wants to impress Simon and spend more time with him, but he also really likes the thought of being actually useful. I don’t know how long it would take in real life but in fantasy world it takes exactly the amount of time they have. Simon keeps him company whenever he can and enjoys watching him paint and the cute little frown he has on his face when he’s concentrating. They talk and joke and flirt and get to know each other better. Wille thinks that he should probably be trying to protect his heart because he knows that this can never be anything more than a little holiday romance – someone as wonderful as Simon doesn’t belong in his dreary life. But he knows that it’s a lost cause. He’s falling hard and fast and there’s no stopping it, so he decides to just enjoy it while he can.

As Wille paints, at first he’s trying to copy the old flats based on photos, but then he gets ideas for changes and improvements. He doesn’t think he should do that, though; it’s a tradition and he shouldn’t break it. But Simon encourages him to be creative and just do what he feels is right, and Wille finds that he’s really enjoying the process. (See, it’s a metaphor! We are not in a subtle genre.)

And you can guess what happens. At some point Wille gets some paint on his face and Simon tries to wipe it off. They were laughing about something just a second ago but suddenly they’re not. Simon’s thumb brushes over Wille’s cheekbone, smearing the paint. Wille’s nose nudges Simon’s, and their lips finally meet in a kiss that’s been days in the making. It’s soft and brief. They break apart to check in with each other, grin, and the next thing Wille knows is he’s dropping the paint brush and pulling Simon closer, closer, closer.

Simon ends up with paint on the back of his shirt and in his hair, but he doesn’t mind.

[leashybebes]

Helloo again!! I would love more of 🏳️‍🌈 - whatever you’ve got to share - and also 🔨 please because I love a hallmark AU 😊❤️

🏳️‍🌈 - context: buck's just finished helping tommy take photos for his new and improved grindr profile. additional context: they are both so very stupid.

Evan flicks through the photos before he hands Tommy's phone back, feels heat rising in his cheeks with a little bit of envy. 

"Man, if it wouldn't be very evident catfishing the moment I took my shirt off, I'd ask for a couple of those for my profile."

Tommy fumbles his phone a little. "Uh. What?"

Evan shrugs. "You're so cut, dude. You have muscles I don't even know how to work out."

Tommy frowns a little like he's not quite sure what to make of that. "I could teach you," he offers. "You're in pretty good shape, but the academy's gonna be demanding."

🔨 - context: tommy and eddie: instant besties

"I gotta go pick up my kid," Eddie says. "You should come over for a beer, though," he offers.

"Oh, you don't have to do that."

Eddie shrugs. "Your call, man. But Chris and Buck'll be using their shared brain cell on video games all night. The company of an actual adult would be refreshing."

Tommy gets a brief flash of Evan's blue, blue eyes, and well… "Sure. Maybe."

"Alright." Eddie raps his knuckles against the coffee table in farewell. "I'll get Bobby to give you a call, text you my address. Let me know."

[atiredsnowcat]

it's still winter so how about another go at a Christmas day

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61618531/chapters/162100501

[possibilistfanfiction]

omg hallmark au?!? how abt christmas tree?

[uh. there's a tree at the end lol]

//

beatrice kisses you. it’s snowing outside and smells like pine and cinammon and her cologne and you’ve kissed her before, in an alley in the dark, but the light from the fireplace here is gentle and bathes her in warmth and she kisses you. it’s a revelation, you think, to be kissed like this, with your eyes closed and a tender hand combing through your hair and the whole world tucked away somewhere else, off this mountainside and hundreds of miles over valleys and rivers and roads away from you here, and now.

beatrice kisses you and you tug on the bottom of her fleece and pull it over her head, the t-shirt underneath coming with it, and a million thoughts run through your head — she’s ripped, first of all, a delight you will revisit soon; the scars that stretch across her flat chest aren’t overwhelmingly surprising, not old but not new either, gorgeous and healed and healing, so much of her unspoken that she wants you to understand; she has a few freckles on her strong shoulders — but she’s looking at you like this is a lot more than a fling while you’re running away from your real life.

you think it clearly, then: this is your real life, too. this is real. beatrice is real.

you trace one of her scars, just for a moment, and then let your fingers trail lightly down her stomach.

‘you’re so beautiful,’ you say and hope it’s right, hope it’s enough.

beatrice, stoic and kind and faithful, takes it in, her eyes meeting yours, gold in the light, and then she smiles softly. ‘you’re the most beautiful person i’ve ever seen.’

you feel the weight of her jaw in the palm of your hand when you bring it to her face; the lightness of it, sharp and soft. i love you runs through your head, unbidden, i’m in love with you, but it’s too much and too soon and you’ll leave anyway, and this isn’t home but it isn’t something else entirely either.

‘please,’ is all you can say, but she seems to understand because she kisses you deeply, like there’s something there she’s searching to tell you. you sink into it, let it wash over you with its warmth.

////

the sheets are still warm when you wake, even though the bed is empty. you don’t mind; the world is heavy sometimes, and you understand.

you take your time to stretch, to wiggle your toes, to flex your hands. it doesn’t escape you, even still, the miracle of touch and movement, the life you have that seems, despite the days that feel intolerable, bigger than you could’ve dreamed.

you put on one of her hoodies — soft and warm and smelling of laundry detergent and a little like her cologne, musk and clove and fresh pine, like this place, an unnamable magic — and pad out to the living room. she’s on the couch looking out over the mountains, snow covered, from her huge a-frame windows, theo asleep at her feet. beatrice seems larger than life sometimes, her seriousness and kindness and strength, her bright, quiet laugh — another magic entirely.

she smiles, small and shy, when you curl up next to her and take her coffee with a wink.

‘this is… disgusting,’ you say, surprised to taste at least three spoonfuls of sugar, and you wait a beat before you both laugh. ‘i would’ve thought you had black coffee, very solemn.’

‘i’m still not quite used to the taste, admittedly, but i thought you might like some instead of tea.’

it’s thoughtful in a way that makes you want to cry, but instead you clear your throat and lean into her side.

you stay like that for a while, her strong arm wrapped around your shoulders and theo snoring softly every now and then. it’s a bluebird day outside, bright and clear and beautiful.

‘even though you’re leaving,’ she says after a while, ‘i’m thankful i’ve known you.’

it aches in your chest, this desire to never move from this spot, to stop running once and for all, to rest in this warm house with its glass wall and the mountains — flowers in the spring, orange leaves in the fall — a home.

she continues, ‘i would’ve longed for you forever, i think, if we hadn’t met.’

and — what do you even say to that? when you imagined this little adventure, you had thought you’d spend quiet days in a silly little town, drink some hot chocolate, instagram the view of the mountains from your window; maybe — maybe — going home with the town hottie and leaving before they woke. you take a deep breath and look at the soft planes of beatrice’s face and then the big, full christmas tree in the corner of the room that camila told you she cut down herself, its carefully strung lights and a few unexpectedly silly ornaments. you can imagine all of it, her care and quiet humor; you had ached, for so long, to be treated with kindness, to be seen and found whole.

you hadn’t expected her — how could you?

‘well,’ you say, your voice rough in your throat, but she gives you the same grace as always, allowing you to clear it without comment, ‘i haven’t left yet.’

she braves a smile. ‘that’s true.’

‘take me back to bed?’

she stands, unfolds herself elegantly and offers her hand. you think you could hold it forever, but your plane leaves this evening and your life looms. still, you kiss her and, after she comes, trace words you can’t say into the soft skin on her back; you think about saying them aloud, but you don’t.

[yabba-dabba-gr63]

When Lewis Hamilton is in desperate need of a Christmas tree to festoon the dinner party he is planning to host, the little Christmas tree farm on the edge of his small-town home seems like the perfect place to buy one. Sebastian Vettel is the owner determined to help Lewis find the perfect tree, but when Sebastian's ex-fiancé from the city comes with an offer to buy the land for development right under his feet, everything falls in tumult. It's a Hallmark movie in the making, where the big city ex discovers love and Christmas again to settle in the town happily ever after - except, of course, for the fact that Lewis cannot help but stumble in the way of it all.

multi-chapter (10 chapters), 58,482 words, complete

[mellicindi]

I’m such a fan of your Hallmark Bingqiu. It’s so. It’s the most accurate depiction of them through all mediums and timelines <3 (ill prob spend a year if I ramble) I’ll love to know if there’s any scrapped scenes or ideas? If u want to share ofc!

Aww thanks so much! 🥺 I strive always to do justice to BingQiu 💪💪

I don't know if it counts as 'scrapped' since it never even made it into a rough draft, but at some point I was thinking that, when Binghe goes to the airport to try to run, he would actually succeed. There would be a sort of 'Where in the world is Luo Binghe?' arc, and maybe even a timeskip?? Hallmark Shippuden?? or more like the endless abyss.... the endless airport...

This idea was scrapped early on, but it's fun to think about what could've been 🤣 Plenty of angst and pining on Shen Yuan's part, of course. Being unable to forget his short time with Binghe even as years passed.... Would've had a happy ending, of course, but I never got around to thinking about exactly how Shen Yuan and Binghe would reunite.

A coupleeee smaller elements of this scrapped plotline might crop up in one of the extras I have planned. (Yes it has been years, yes I'm still working on extras, yessss I'm slowwww please forgive meeeeeee)