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yellowkitkieran · 2 years ago

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To Have and To Heal (Part 4)

Masterlist

Read part 1 here

Word Count: 2.9k

Summary: Single working dad Martin Odegaard is navigating the ups and downs of parenthood all on his own, and he’s struggling. That’s not to mention football, life and... love?

The flowers on your desk distract you during your prep hour. The unexpected gift caught you off guard and as such, an old mug serves as a temporary vase until you can get them into a proper one. Since the moment they were handed to you, you've barely stopped smiling.

You can't stop thinking about the man that handed you the dozen blossoms with a wary smile. You can't erase his relieved sigh when you accepted them, like in doing so you lifted a weight off his shoulders. Martin Ødegaard's murmured 'happy teacher appreciation week' replays on an endless loop in your head.

You stare at the red petals while you should be getting ready for a math lesson. Your kids will be back from lunch in twenty minutes and you haven't moved from your chair, your sandwich half eaten. Despite your rumbling stomach, you can't force yourself to eat, instead allowing your mind to be consumed by thoughts of Martin.

How often does he smile? Probably not enough unless he's around his daughter. When was the last time he had a home cooked meal? You'd bet not since he'd visited his home country and spent time with his family. Does he have someone to look after him the way he looks after everyone else in his life? Doubtful, and that realization hurts your heart.

Standing abruptly, you decide you cannot dwell on this by yourself any longer. You need someone to vent to. Your feet carry you out of your room and down the hall, past decorative banners advertising the upcoming choir concert and past the science posters to your favorite room in the building aside from your own.

You don't bother knocking, instead opting to pop open the door rather unceremoniously to proclaim, "I've committed a teaching sin."

"Shh, not so loud!" Your closest teacher friend, Jen, motions for you to come into her classroom and shut the door. "You know better than to burst out with something like that- come in, sit down, have a chocolate and then we can talk."

Your hand shakes as you reach across her desk to the bowl of candies and grab your favorite. Sinking into a yellow beanbag, you rip into it and pop the bite size piece into your mouth, sighing as bursts of flavor coat your tongue and somehow calm your fraying nerves. Chocolate solves all problems, no matter how pressing. Jen waits patiently whilst your initial panic subsides, allowing you space to wind down.

"Okay, I think I can breathe now."

Jen smiles, pushing her square frame glasses up her nose. Your best friend is a classically styled teacher, often opting to tie her long blonde hair back in a ponytail or bun so it doesn't get in her way. Nine times out of ten, she wears a smart, matching pantsuit that gives you style envy. Today's fit is a deep blue with a white blouse, completed with a long golden necklace thrifted from her favorite secondhand store.

"Alright then," Jen says and folds her hand atop the papers she had been grading, "what's the sin? It can't be too terrible or you wouldn't be sitting here talking to me, you'd be packing your things in a cardboard box. Come on then, out with it!" She slaps a poster on the edge of her desk, one with a bright, bubbly font that proudly labels her room as a judgment free zone. "You know I won't tell a soul."

You take a deep breath to center your thoughts. It's taken you what feels like ages to come to terms with how you feel, but you're at the point where you can't deny it any longer. And if there is one person you can count on to talk sense into you, it's Jen.

"I think I've fallen for a parent- I know!" You splay your hands flat on her desk when her jaw drops. "I know it's bad! God I'm gonna get terminated- I can't believe myself! But it's to the point that I find myself waiting for him to show up at drop offs and pick ups, and when he sends someone else it wrecks my whole day. I've tried ignoring him too, but that only makes him become more charming!"

Jen relaxes into her chair with a smirk. "It's Atla's dad, isn't it? Ødegaard, the footie player?" You nod, half relieved you don't have to say his name yourself. If you did, you fear you'll fall even harder. Thankfully, Jen has a knack for reading your mind. "Mmhhm, thought so. But honestly it's not a big deal, everyone has their parent crushes. Hell, I've had my fair share- Jeremy's mum? Oh my god!" She shakes her head, "that's for another time though. Just don't act on it and you'll be fine."

"See… that's where the issue lies."

"Oh?"

Now you've piqued her interest. Jen adjusts her glasses, inching her chair forward. Your stomach churns. Thinking these things about Martin and actually telling someone are two different things. Voicing your thoughts makes your attraction real and concrete. Once you've put it into the universe, there's no taking it back. But it's time; if you hold it in any longer, you may well burst.

"So you know those tulips on my desk? The red ones you asked about." The same adorable, pinkish shade of red Martin had turned when he'd handed them to you this morning.

Stop it, you tell yourself, don't think about that. Definitely don't think about how he was so nervous and fidgety and it was all perfectly endearing… well, fuck.

"Mhm, I do recall flowers…" Jen flourishes a hand to encourage you to continue, not letting you off the hook with such a simple explanation. She wants details and she expects to get them. You swallow the lump in your throat and push back the unease bubbling in your gut.

"Those were from Martin. He handed them to me and his cheeks were bright red, almost like he was sunburnt- god, it was adorable Jen, you should've seen him!" You cover your face with a hand, trying and failing to hide your growing smile. "I'm in trouble, quit smirking at me!"

"Smirking? Me? Never!"

You glare at your friend and sigh, "He kept touching his hair and he spoke so softly… yes I know I'm in too bloody deep!"

Biting at your nails is a bad habit you haven't kicked. You do so now, at least until Jen yanks your hand away from your mouth. You smile and tuck your hands under your thighs. Why does Martin have to be so damn charming? If he was a touch less perfect, maybe you wouldn't have such a terrible crush on him.

"I'd say you need a stern talking to," Jen starts, patting your arm, "but I think you're doing that to yourself. Look, don't get too hung up on it, okay? As long as you keep it to yourself, you'll be fine."

Question is… how long can you keep this entire thing to yourself?

**********

For once, the end of your day cannot come fast enough. When the final bell rings and your students disperse to head home for the day, you gather up your things and head to the gymnasium. Once there you pull out the bin of balls designated for after school use and scatter your coloring pages and books on the two picnic tables in the corner. Laughter echoes through the entry as the children start to arrive, most of them shouting greetings your way as they fall into their usual groups to await their parents to pick them up.

You pretend you aren't waiting for your favorite student, even though you smile when you hear her little voice. Atla comes running over, golden pigtails bouncing behind her. She wraps her arms around your legs and squeezes with all her might, "Hello Miss. Sunshine! I learned about animals today!"

"Oh did you really? Tell me all about it Attie." You stoop to return her hug with equal fervor, then take her backpack and coat to hang them up.

"Well elephants are the biggest animals on land- did you know that? And there's so many kinds of frogs in the Amazon rainforest, but they're dying because mean people keep cutting down their habi- habib-"

Atla frowns, struggling to say the word correctly. You tip your head, giving her one more shot to get it right before you gently correct, "habitat, yeah? Where they live?" When Atla nods, you smile, glad to have helped her. "That's right, mean people are cutting down lots of habitats of different animals, which is why it's so important that we learn about them, so we can grow up and help the little guys defend their homes!"

"Do you have any animal coloring books? I want to color animals today!" Without waiting for your reply, Atla runs over to the picnic table and surveys the selection before digging through the sheets you have printed. She pulls out one of some sort of big cat and gets right to work, her tongue poking out in concentration as she does her best to stay in the lines.

They say time flies when you're having fun, and today certainly proves that. One minute you're kicking a ball about with some of the older kids and the next, parents are arriving and scooping up their children. Atla is the last one left, which isn't a rare occurrence in itself, but when the clock strikes five thirty you begin to worry. Atla doesn't realize her father's absence, as absorbed as she is in her coloring, which has resulted in a small stack of finished sheets that you carefully tuck in a folder to send home.

"Attie, did your dad say anything about him being late today?" You crouch next to her, keeping your voice soft. "Normally he's here by now to pick you up."

"He said he had training," Atla says, totally nonplussed. "He's always late when he has training."

You frown to yourself, glancing at the clock again. It's true, he's normally later when he has training, but not this late. You decide to give him ten minutes before you call him to check in.

Keeping one eye on Atla, you start cleaning up the gym. You find yourself glancing at the double doors leading to the hallway every few seconds, waiting for a handsome blonde Norwegian to walk through with an apology on his lips. It isn't like Martin to be so late, especially without sending a note…

What if something happened to him? London roads can be quite treacherous, especially if someone is in a rush. He could've gotten into an accident, or been mobbed by fans. Who knows? Why is your heart pounding so hard at the thought of him being hurt?

"I'm here!" The gym door bangs open so loud that Atla squeaks, dropping her pencil. "I'm sorry- I'm here! Hey søta, I'm sorry I'm late."

The words are clearly meant for Atla, though Martin looks directly at you when he speaks. You've never bothered to Google what 'søta' means but now you may have to thanks to the way he seemingly addresses you as such makes butterflies erupt in your stomach.

"Hi papa! Look what I did!"

Martin's eyes linger on you for a moment before he leans over to observe her work. He murmurs compliments and offers small, meaningful critiques which Atla seems to take to heart, eating up his words with wide, trusting eyes. You can almost see her compartmentalize his advice to use later, the innocence in her gaze bringing a smile to your face.

When Martin turns to you, he offers an apologetic wince. "Sorry for making you stay so late. The market was hectic."

You wave him off, "Oh no worries. Though in the future I'd recommend doing a food shop during the day if you can. It's much less busy than after work! Everyone is trying to rush and grab ingredients for dinner and it quickly becomes chaos…" You trail off when you realize you're rambling, cheeks hot with embarrassment. "Sorry, I suppose you already know all of that. I guess that's the teacher in me coming out, trying to solve every little issue I see."

"No it's alright, I don't mind. I usually shop during the day, when it's less crowded, but I had to stop and pick something up for you." Martin smiles, his head tilted slightly.

You blink thrice, not sure you heard him right. Buy when he holds out a small hamper filled with different types of chocolates your mouth falls open. "This- this is for me?"

Martin nods, his face flushed. "Yes, I figured a lousy bouquet of tulips wasn't enough to show my appreciation for everything you do for Atla and all of your students." Martin shifts on his feet, reminiscent of a child caught in an awkward situation. You clamp down on your instinct to reach out and put your hands on his shoulders to hold him still. "You only see Attie for a few hours each day, but she always has the most things to say about you versus her other teachers."

"All good things I hope." You laugh to try and diffuse the situation, though your palms are sweaty from the compliment. The hamper is heavy, so you set it on the ground at your feet. Before you offer Martin your hand to shake, you subtly wipe it on your jeans. You'd rather a hug, but considering the thoughts swirling in your head, that's definitely not a good option. "Thank you for the treats, Mr. Ødegaard. I really appreciate it."

"Please call me Martin," he murmurs, nearly begging. His eyes soften before he finally releases your hand, tucking his own back into the pocket of his track pants. "I thought we were friends."

Martin drags a hand through his hair when you don't say anything. Atla hums while she colors, her little feet swinging in the air. She reminds you of your nephew. He also loves anything creative, preferring things that get his hands dirty, but he'd settle for drawing too. In a different world, the two children could probably be good friends.

"You haven't come back to the park," Martin murmurs, a touch of mourning in his voice. Martin's offer from a few days prior springs to mind and you mentally kick yourself. You're meant to be an adult! You should be able to put your feelings aside for the sake of the kids.

"Erm, yeah, I haven't. I've had things planned for my nights, like museums and such. And his parents will be home tomorrow so…"

Martin's head bobs. "Right, of course. Look, if I overstepped please let me know, but I would prefer you to not be so formal and stiff with me."

"Well I- I mean it's not appropriate for me to call parents by their first names. Or to see them outside of school, for that matter." It's a lame excuse and you both know it. Martin ducks his head, trying to hide his smile. God damn him and that stupid, gorgeous smile. You lock your knees to keep them from wobbling when his eyes eventually find yours again, a smile still on his lips.

"Please, just call me Martin. You've done it before, and I preferred it that way… I'm making an exception for you, couldn't you make one for me?"

You're so confused by his admission that you nod. Martin's smile morphs into something that lights up the entire room and you're well and truly fucked then. You feel yourself tipping off the deep end, immediately longing to see that smile as often as you possibly can. You'll do or say anything to see Martin beam like that.

"Okay Martin, I'll use your first name."

"Perfect, thank you! Okay Attie, time to go home, what do you say to Miss. Sunshine?" Martin crouches to Atla's level, but his eyes remain trained on you. They dance with a mysterious light, something you can't quite put your finger on… but you'd like to find out.

"Thank you for staying late to keep me company, Miss. Sunshine! I can't wait to have more fun tomorrow morning!"

You wave as the duo head for the exit, Martin's large hand nearly dwarfing Atla's toddler sized one. For a split second you imagine yourself at Martin's other side, sliding your soft hand into his calloused one. You bring a hand up to your mouth to conceal your smile, not wanting him to notice if he turns around.

Martin does, pausing at the threshold to wave. The fluorescent lights dance in his baby blues, nearly stopping your heart with their beauty. His hair sticks up like chicken feathers in the front, but somehow it fits him. If you weren't fixated on him, you'd miss the way he murmurs 'see you tomorrow Miss. Sunshine'. Suddenly you can't wait to wake up to the shrill ring of your morning alarm at the crack of dawn. For once, you have something to truly look forward to.

#martin odegaard #martin odegaard fic #martin odegaard fanfic #martin odegaard imagine #martin odegaard fantasy #arsenal fc #footballer fic #footballer fanfiction #footballer fluff #footballer imagine #jac writes #alt timeline lover

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hughiecampbelle · 4 months ago

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hii!! i'd like to be shipped with someone from The Boys specifically, here's some info about me for you to go on:

i'm a pansexual girl, 5'2 (aka pretty short), i have blonde hair but i dyed the ends black, i have blue eyes and freckles on my cheeks, i love going to thrift shops/second hand stores, my clothing style varies from baggy jeans and lacy tops to sundresses to shorts with fishnets and converse. i enjoy reading a lot but most of the time don't actually get the time/ take the time to read, unless its for like 2 hours straight. i used to be in a choir in school, and i enjoy singing a lot (though usually i end up being too shy to actually sing for someone). a random fact about me is that i often remember and see smaller details, for example, i'll hangout with a friend and they'll mention how they're really enjoying specific pens for writing, but they're in need of a new one, but can't find it anywhere, and i'll remember it for a birthday gift a month later, stuff like that. im also usually pretty good at finding details, such as if someone is looking for a specific book in a bookstore, i'd find it pretty fast, in 5-10 minutes. i love plushies but dislike dolls. i love animals and i don't actually mind spiders as long as they aren't physically on me. my personality is sorta like sunshine-y, though i do have bad days and when its a bad day i tend to shut down, i tend to be pretty straight forward, and i prefer it when people are honest and blunt rather than trying to sugarcoat something. my love language is physical touch, and i'd love to receive it back as receiving words of affirmation. im usually quiet untill i have friends around me, and if im close enough friends with someone i love just yapping on and on, making conversations that go from topic to topic!

is this enough info? thank you so much!! <3 and if its not too much to ask, could you also mention a character that'd be bestfriends with me? ty!!

Hi my love! I ship you with: M.M.!!! He loves your height. Marvin makes so many short jokes, you think he's run out. You think he Googles them just to have more. And he's the only one who finds them funny, laughing hysterically, finally calming down only after his stomach hurts and tears are running down his face. He also loves your dyed hair. When you need to refresh the color, he's the first to offer his skills. He knows what he's doing to a degree. He helped Janine with her hair growing up. Hair dye doesn't seem all that intimidating. He watches tutorials and is actually very neat about not getting the dye anywhere else but on your head. You use that time to talk, really talk, and it's just another way to get closer to one another. You love his dedication to his family, both The Boys and to his ex-wife and daughter. When he cares about someone, regardless of how many times they mess up and hurt him, he will still be there for them. He can't help but care about them. He has an incredibly big heart. It's one of the first things you noticed about him and you continue to fall in love with it over and over again. Your relationship is protective. Marvin makes sure you're protected at all times. He doesn't play around with your safety. Sometimes it can lead to disagreements and he knows he can go a little overboard, but he can't help it. He couldn't forgive himself if anything happened to you. You understand, of course. You have a dangerous job, a dangerous life. You're both protective of one another. You don't like the changes he goes through when he's put in charge of The Boys. He isn't eating or sleeping, he's having panic attacks. You try to tell him that you're scared for him, that this isn't healthy or safe, but he doesn't want to let anyone down. The team needs someone and he's that guy. Your first date is kinda a non-date at first, but quickly turns into a date. You and Marvin are alone together doing surveillance. You prepared for these long hours with music and your favorite snacks. You don't really think that much of it, but he's touched that you remembered his favorites, too. He loves The Boys, but, for the most part, they're not detail oriented people. The fact that you remembered this small thing about him, this niche little snack, and went out of your way to get it for him strikes a chord in him. You spend hours together talking and listening to music. This night just reinforces the feelings he's had for you and gives him the confidence to ask you out on a real, official date. Relationship Headcanon: You're the one in the relationship who disposes of the spiders. Marvin will run into the room, color drained from his face. The first time it happened you feared the worst. It wasn't until he talked about a huge spider in the bathroom do you calm down, laughing instead of crying. This "monster" he describes is actually pretty small and very harmless. You grab a piece of paper and a container, letting it go outside. He can't help but freak out. Something about it having so many legs and eyes, the way it scurries out of nowhere. He's a lot better about containing his fears, but every so often he'll panic.

Hope you like it my love!!! Xoxoxo💜💜💜

#hughiecampbelle-ships #mm #marvin milk

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winterbrrrd · 10 months ago

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Thrift store angel

Thrift store angel in the aisle

Catches my wide eyes and smiles

Golden sweater, see-through dress

Reveals her breasts and navy thong.

I tell her that I’m lost and weary,

Never seeing myself clearly.

And she says that I will find me,

Just so long as I keep looking.

I will find where I belong

Among these words sung to myself,

A song I sing so loud and proudly,

But my audience

Is gone.

My thrift store angel floats away

I hear her say

She’s fine alone

Because she knows her fullest power,

Knows the glory of a poem,

Knows the magic

Of pulling up in a school bus

All barefooted,

Free, and braless,

Pit hair sprouting like alfalfa in someone’s wallpapered kitchen.

She is solid in herself,

Among her friends down in the valley

While I sit here shooting shame

In some corrupt, blackened back alley.

How I wish that she would take me in her school bus to the creek

So I could wash my feet beside her,

Eat the foraged foods she eats

But I am running from myself,

Driving five hours almost daily

To escape the pain of knowing

That my worth is for the taking,

For the taking as I’ve given it away

Like it was nothing,

A religious pamphlet stranded in a bathroom stall for bumping

Lines of coke

Three in a row,

Get this circus on the road,

The chimps are screaming in the train

Because my brain is overgrown.

She says she lives off-grid,

Outside of town,

No running water,

Homemade shower,

Chewing sap,

Forgetting time,

Forgetting power -

All the people who could hurt her

Never find her in the valley

By the creek in which she bathes

And by the trees she likely prays to,

Prays for solace from the men who mark the two of us like tallies

In a thrift store by the river

In the valley ‘neath the mountains

Where I hold her words

like newborns

On the day of

Nan’s finale.

We have fled domestic violence

And we’re talking about men

Who scream and cuss and hit

When they feel challenged or threatened.

We are sifting through discarded

Vintage sweaters and tossed junk

And we are holding big white pillars

With our hands

While you rise up

And take our places in the stars

And with the angel

That I gaze at

As she walks out the front door,

My eyes shiver with amazement.

And I’ll never see this angel

Once again in this short lifetime

But I’ll see her in the stars

Or at least among the lightning

Where we’ll cast down cold, cruel demons,

Like we’re Zeus pursuing heathens

And we’ll dance among the clouds,

Big greyscale beings giving me reasons

For this angel to live with me

Even though she lives in Marshall,

I will carry pieces with me

Like the bricks and concrete morsels

That I gather from the piles

Where old houses once stood proudly,

Bulldozed finally by a town

Prioritizing wealthy families.

I will keep her in my pocket,

Like the pocket of her sweater

Where she keeps her precious secrets,

Secrets that hold her together

Proud and stately like a statue,

Hanuman atop a mountain,

Warrior and sweet protector

Of the souls burst from the fountain

Fed by rivers of sweet time

That gets more sour by the hour

As the bodies start to writhe

Under the weight of what they’ve carried

Up the mountain

Only for the weight to fall.

I am jealous of this angel,

But trying not to be jealous.

Trying to respect her refuge

How she hid me in her trellis

With her purple morning glories

And her vivid, creeping stories

Of a town that once was wild

And is now so goddamn boring.

She is everything I wish for,

Every gift I’ve ever asked for,

Every quality I crave,

Every whisper from the mountains.

She is freedom at the cost

That freedom takes when it is taken.

She is working off the land,

Oh vicious USA forsaken.

She is tired but she’s settled

In her mind and in her spirit

And she knows that she is worthy

Of a man who always sees it

And who holds it like a bluebird

Not in clasped hands,

No they’re open,

So the little bird can breathe and

When she needs to,

Can leap forward,

And she’ll fly from up the mountain

Down into the lonely valley

And she’ll fly where she so pleases,

No apologies, just proudly.

She will fly back to his hands

When she is ready

And not sooner.

She will rest in his warm palms,

Embracing comfort that won’t call her

Just to laugh at spirit stories

Of the creek and of the mountains,

No he’ll see the beauty in her,

All the souls within her fountain.

And if he doesn’t see her,

She will leave him like this world

She left behind.

#epic poetry #confessional poetry

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empress-of-snark · 2 years ago

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Tag game!

What book are you currently reading?

I recently found a book called Harry Potter and Philosophy at a thrift store a week or so back and though I’m only a few pages in, I’m interested to read more. It’s from a series where different writers examine philosophical questions and theories through the lens of pop culture. I’m no philosopher, but I am and always have been an HP fan, so I think this’ll be an informative read! Also on the docket is the second book in the Shadow and Bone series and A Discovery of Witches (another thrift store find).

What’s your favorite movie you saw in theaters this year?

It’s a very close tie between Spiderman: No Way Home and See How They Run. Spiderman was fun for a lot of nostalgic reasons (having grown up with Tobey Maguire’s version, it was very emotional seeing him wear the suit again), and I loved See How They Run as a fan of zany murder mysteries and Agatha Christie.

What do you usually wear?

I am a big believer in rompers (are they still in style??), sweaters, leggings, flannel shirts, and denim jackets. Not all at once, of course.

How tall are you?

5’ 5”

What’s your star sign?

Sagittarius

Do you go by your name or your nickname?

Usually my name, but certain people have their own nicknames for me

Did you grow up to become what you wanted to be when you were a child?

Tough question.

Job-wise? No (but there’s always time)

Otherwise… I think I’m getting closer to the kind of person I wanted to be. I have a few good friends who love me, I dedicate a lot of time to different creative outlets that I enjoy, and I’m more comfortable with myself than I used to be.

Are you in a relationship? If not, who is your crush if you have one?

I am single and honestly, I don’t really have a crush right now. Excluding celebrity crushes, of course.

Dogs or cats?

I like both, but my family’s always had dogs, so I’m more familiar with them.

If you draw/write, or create in any way, what’s your favorite picture/line/etc. from something you created this year?

I think my favorite line I wrote this year is from have you seen her dressed in blue? (chapter six): “He can feel the want filling his lungs, and he unconsciously licks his lips. Her eyes shift down at the movement, and her purple eyeshadow matches her dress, her headband, her shoes, and the bruises on his heart.”

When I wrote it, I thought it was extremely cheesy but I also loved it too much to cut it.

What’s something you would like to create content for?

I’m obviously planning on writing more Stranger Things fanfiction (excited to get to the Friends AU), but I’d also like to try my hand at a different show, maybe Only Murders in the Building. It’s one of my favorites, and I’d love to explore the characters a bit.

What’s something you’re currently obsessed with?

One of my Christmas gifts this year was a book of Halloween-themed cross stitch projects (never done cross stitch before). I started on one the other day and I’m having so much fun working on it. I’ll try to remember to post pictures when I’m done!

What’s something you were excited about that turned out to be disappointing this year?

Season three of The Umbrella Academy was such a flop. I still can’t pinpoint exactly what it was (the lack of dynamic fight scenes/music definitely had something to do with it) but making myself finish it felt like a chore. Dunno if I’ll tune in for the final season or not.

What’s a hidden talent of yours?

I can list all the states in alphabetical order, say supercalifragalisticexpealidocius backwards, and there are several musical theater songs that I know by heart (including almost all of Into the Woods, thanks to my hyperfixation in middle school)

Are you religious?

Yes and no. I was raised Southern Baptist and, since I live with my parents, I still attend church on a fairly regular basis. But I also recognize the harm that’s been done (and is still being done) by Christianity. I think it’s more the fault of religious extremists rather than the religion itself, but I fully respect people who have been hurt and left the church as a result.

I do believe in God. But I try to let it show through my actions rather than my words.

What’s something you wish to have at this moment?

Honestly? Right now, I’m pretty content. I slept in this morning, I’m full from a big breakfast, and I’ve got two days off from work to relax. I’m good!

Thanks for the tag @virevoltantes ! I tag the usual suspects: @simplyshelbs16xoxo @televinita @finnskeeper @kateschechterxthorwasmyfirstotp and @loubuttons

#personal #tag game #happy new year everybody!

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masterjedilenawrites · 8 months ago

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Sticking with Beth again, I really want to get back into writing for the Batch Family so hope this helps...

🎵 What’s a song that represents their vibe?

This is an odd one, but Tezeta by Mulatu Astatke. It has this old-fashioned/sentimental montage vibe to it. A little upbeat and cheerful. But also calm, and even romantic. All vibes that Beth embodies, even when her life feels chaotic or tiresome, she never shows it as much as she thinks.

🥀 If they could change one thing about themselves, what would it be?

Beth wishes she could be as charismatic and fearless as her friend Padme. She often feels inadequate when she's around other parents or women her age, and Padme especially seems to just have things together (no matter how much Padme insists she doesn't). Beth believes her friend makes up for any flaws with confidence, and she wishes she could be like that, too.

🛍 Which store would they shop at for their clothing in a modern day AU?

Well, Beth's already in a modern AU lol... She's always thrifted her clothes. Even growing up, she'd take hand-me-downs from her childhood friend Arla, and even from Jango and Boba if they fit. In college, she developed an eye for thrifting good finds herself. Now as an adult/mom, she doesn't have the time or money to get new clothes, unless they're gifted to her.

Welcome to OC Sundays! 💙 Each week, I'll post three random questions for you to answer for one or more of your OCs. Feel free to link the work(s) they appear in, too! We'll have a little showcase where you might discover someone that piques your interest and voila! Something new to read! 😁 As for the image? Random dude I found on Canva, with so much sass and so much cake that I had to include him. 🤣🙈 And apparently all of this is going to have a 70's vibe, LOL.

What’s a song that represents their vibe?

If they could change one thing about themselves, what would it be?

Which store would they shop at for their clothing in a modern day AU?

#star wars #ocs #oc sunday #bethany batch #the batch family #freesia...tysm for continuing this every week #it really does help think about my characters in new/fun ways #and i can tell the fandom really enjoys having a platform to share their characters #so much joy on your blog #love it

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soyforramen · 3 years ago

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28. i’ve been crushing on you for so long and when i get your name in secret santa i decide to write you a love note except there’s a last minute shuffle with people trading and my gift is given to someone else (bonus: ot3! ot3!)

I know this was a prompt sent in by @arsenicpanda, but lord help me if I can find the ask.

“So, who’d you pull for Secret Santa?” Fangs asked.

Betty picked at her sandwich. The reminder of Cheryl’s forced Christmas cheer drove away what little appetite she had. Nervously, she glanced over at Jughead who seemed oblivious to her internal struggle. When he glanced at her, she smiled and shoved her sandwich towards him.

“Veronica,” he mumbled through bites. He shot Betty a glance, a concerned warning that he’d be making sure she ate later.

“Cheryl,” Betty said miserably. “I don’t even know what she’d want.”

While she and her cousin had been on better terms now that the babies were older, it was still rocky. Alice Cooper and Penelope still hadn’t learned how to co-grandparent, forcing Cheryl and Betty to work together to avoid a Hatfield and McCoy situation for every holiday."

“Something red,” Fangs said with a laugh.

“Or stupidly expensive,” Jughead added.

Betty sighed and stared out at nothing in particular. Between finals, editing the school paper, and Christmas shopping for her own family, not to mention the long list of things she hadn’t managed to get to this month, it looked more and more like she wouldn’t be getting much sleep until the New Year.

“If you wanted to stare at me, all you had to do was ask. I'll send you as many pictures as you want.”

Betty’s eyes refocused to find Toni sitting across from her. Her knowing smirk made Betty flush. Suddenly, Toni was all she could see, bright eyes twinkling with mirth and her lips temptingly full and pink. Before Betty could stammer out a response, Jughead laughed and slung his arm across her shoulders.

“Toni, are you flirting with my girlfriend?”

At the reminder of his presence, Betty squirmed and stared onto the old picnic table. Guilt crawled across her skin; after all, Toni hadn’t been the only one flirting lately.

“Have been for a while Jones,” Toni shot back with a wicked grin. “You gonna do something about it?”

Betty held her breath, waiting for an irritated response or jealous sulking, but instead Jughead threw his head back and laughed. The sound shook out the tension that had suddenly risen within in her, and she couldn’t help but join in with him. When she glanced across the table, Toni shot her a wink. This time Betty’s skin crawled with something far different than guilt.

It was the last day of finals, and Cheryl had finally rounded everyone up. A vast array of presents, the wrapping of each a reflection of the giver, was piled in the center of the common room. Betty’s was meticulously wrapped, a hand made bow sitting on top. Archie’s was wrapped with more tape than paper, and Jughead’s had been thrown into a plastic shopping bag. Veronica’s was wrapped in expensive, holographic paper, no doubt wrapped at a chic New York boutique, while Kevin’s sat in a reusable tote that proudly thanked him for his donation.

“Can we get this over with Cheryl,” Veronica said over a latte, “I have an economics test in fifteen minutes.”

“So much for holiday cheer,” Kevin said in a soto voice.

“She’s even wearing Grinch green,” Fangs added.

“Do any of you humbugs have any holiday cheer?” Cheryl asked. She set her hands on her hips as she surveyed them. “No? Then how about we make things extra interesting. We’re all redrawing names.”

A collective groan rang out. Not to be discouraged, Cheryl picked up the first gift, a small package topped off with tinsel.

“Archie, pour vous.”

Before he could take the package, Toni leapt forward and grabbed the package.

“Sorry Red, you'll have to take a rain check,” she apologized, ignoring Cheryl’s harsh look. When Cheryl started to object, Toni said, “You’re the one who changed the rules on us.”

Cheryl huffed. “Fine, I’ll allow it just this once. But anyone else who tries it -“

She let the threat hang in the air before reaching for the next present.

“And this one will be for …”

Betty watched Jughead pack from the comfort of her bed. Outside the snow fell, it’s soft plinking noise lulling her back to sleep.

“Are you sure you have to be in Ohio the whole time?”

He turned, smiling, and kissed her on the forehead. “Jellybean’s been threatening me since August that if I didn’t come up there she’d drag me there herself.”

Betty reached out and grabbed his flannel shirt, pulling him back for another kiss. “I’m sure I can fend her off.”

“I’ll miss you too," he said.

His eyes were so soft when he looked at her like that. It was almost enough for her to volunteer to drive him to his mother’s. Almost. Knowing that they had holidays to spend together years from now made it easy enough to let him leave today. That, and the fact that if she did go she’d miss the twins’ first visit Santa. (And, worse than that, she'd have to hear about it all second hand from Cheryl).

“Why don’t you ask Toni to hangout? She wants to go see that weird alien movie you've been gushing about,” Jughead said, turning back to his luggage.

All of the warm, gooeyness that she’d felt evaporated immediately. Desperate to relieve her discomfort, Betty pulled the blankets tighter around her. There wasn’t really a reason she could give as to why she could say no; after all, they were part of the same friend group and they did get along splendidly. Not to mention the inappropriateness of admitting to one’s long term boyfriend that you had a maddeningly, infuriatingly, deep crush on someone else.

“Maybe," Betty said while she picked at a loose thread.

Then again, maybe spending more time with Toni would cure her of this crush; after all, it had happened with Veronica and they’d settled into a close friendship, one Betty wouldn’t give up for anything.

“Don’t have too much fun while I’m gone,” Jughead said, picking up his bag and helmet.

He kissed her cheek and Betty mumbled out an ‘I love you’ that felt just as real, just as strong as it ever had. A few minutes later Betty’s phone chimed and she saw a text from Toni. Betty groaned and burrowed deeper into her bed.

“It’s fine, really. I can walk. It’s only a few blocks,” Toni repeated as she pulled on her jacket.

Betty glanced out the diner window. Outside, drifts of snow were quickly growing.

“Just because you can doesn’t mean you should,” Betty replied.

Despite the tension that had been building up within her, despite the fear (exhilaration? increasing desire?) of being alone in such a close space with Toni, Betty couldn’t let her walk home in this kind of weather. Even if their friendship hadn’t grown deeper over the past week and a half she still would have made the offer.

“Are you worried about me, Cooper?” Toni teased.

“Yes.”

The smile fell from Toni’s face. She searched Betty’s face, and finding what she was looking for, smiled softly at her. It was so similar to the one Jughead had given her before she left that Betty had to look away.

“Alright. Lead the way,” Toni said.

Pop’s bid them a good night on their way out, and they braced themselves for the cold. Impulsively, Betty slipped an arm through Toni’s. After all, they were friends now, closer than they had been. She did this sort of thing with Veronica all the time, though unlike with Veronica, Betty only found her crush on Toni growing deeper.

“So, what are you doing tomorrow?”

Toni shrugged and stepped closer to Betty. “Same thing we always do. Watch reruns of It’s a Wonderful Life with Grandpa and eat too much. You?”

“The Blossoms invited us over for Christmas dinner.”

“Yikes,” Toni said with a slow whistle.

Betty pulled out her keys and opened up the passenger side door. Toni nodded her thanks and sat down. A minute later they were pulling out of Pop’s parking lot.

“I take it you and Cheryl are running interference?” Betty nodded and turned on her blinker. Despite there being no one on the street, it was a ingrained habit that made Toni smile at her.

“Something like that. Mom’s convinced they’re going to cancel last minute to make us host it, so she’s been on a cleaning and decorating rampage this past week. But the kids love that Cheryl’s been staying with us.”

“That’s good. I'm down there. ” Toni pointed to the right side of the Sunnyside Trailer Park. “The most drama we get is when some idiot decides to shoot off firecrackers at 4 am.”

Betty laughed and pulled in next to the trailer surrounded by half rebuild cars. She sat on her hands to keep from rushing out of her car and checking the models of each.

“Well, this is me,” Toni said.

Betty nodded, unsure of what else to say. In her peripheral vision she saw Toni pull something out of her bag.

“You were supposed to get this at Cheryl’s Christmas exchange,” Toni said.

She held out a package with crushed tinsel wrapped around it. When Betty looked closer she realized there were different kinds of vintage cars driving along a highway, each with a pine tree strapped to the top. Glancing at Toni, she gently pulled the paper apart. She almost fainted when she realized what it was.

“Toni, this is too much, I can’t -“

Toni held up a hand. “It’s really nothing. I just got lucky at the thrift store and thought of you.”

Betty stared at the first edition copy of The Secret of the Old Clock, scared to open it least it fall to pieces in her hands. A paper peeked out of the pages, and she gently tugged it out.

‘Merry Christmas Betty!

Thought you might like this (and don’t forget to check the inside cover before you put it under glass).

From,

Your Secret Admirer.’

Upon reading those words, Betty couldn’t help but keep the smile from her face. Something like this was so heartfelt, so personal, she couldn’t help but want to take Toni into her arms and thank her profusely. Opening the book ever so gently, Betty gasped at the author's faded signature.

“Toni -“

Her voice had taken on a tone of anguish. Torn between her loyalty and the sudden tenderness she felt, Betty was at a crossroads without a map.

“Is this about Jughead?” Toni asked. Betty whipped around to look at her. With a gentle smile, Toni wrapped her hands around Betty’s.

“Call your boyfriend.”

Betty squinted at Toni, unsure. Was Toni asking her to choose between them? As if reading her mind, Toni laughed. She slipped the book out of Betty’s hands and set it on the dash.

“Call your boyfriend, Coop.”

Frowning, Betty pulled out her phone and dialed Jughead. With every ring, her heart beat more painfully against her chest.

“Hey, happy Christmas Eve eve,” came Jughead’s sleepy voice.

“Hey, I didn’t wake you did I?”

She could her him shifting in the background. “No, we were just watching the worst movie of all time.”

Jellybean yelled out in the background and there was a scuffling as the phone exchanged hands.

“Break up with him, Betty, he has no taste.”

“Santa’s Slay should never had been made,” came his tinny voice. A second later and his voice was as clear as if he were sitting next to her. “What’s up?”

“Toni’s with me, and -“

“Oh, she finally gave you her Secret Santa gift?”

Betty’s eyes drew together and she glanced over at Toni. “You knew she drew my name?”

“Actually, I drew it, but -“

“You?”

Jughead’s chuckle was throaty and deep. The sound of it sent shivers down her spin in much the same way that Toni’s look did right now. “She wanted to trade, and neither of you have been subtle.”

“But -“ There was a silence that hung in the air as Betty processed what was happening. “Do you mean -“

“I’m secure in our relationship Bets. If you want to, then you have my blessing.”

“Oh.”

He laughed again. “Merry Christmas Betts. I love you.”

“I love you too,” she said, her voice sounding far off.

The line went dead and she sat there, watching the falling snow. It felt as if her chest were going to explode. The world had expanded three times since she’d first picked up the phone and suddenly it felt as if there was a wealth of new possibilities open to her.

“Well?” Toni asked, breaking Betty out of her reverie.

Betty turned to her slowly, taking her all in. Setting her hand on the console between them, Betty slowly leaned in, hesitantly touching her lips to Toni’s.

“Thank you,” she said softly. “I really like my Christmas gift.”

Toni wrapped her hand around Betty’s and tugged her closer. “Than you’re going to have to do a better job of showing it than that.”

#toni/betty/jughead dynamic #ot3 #listen this took far too long to get done #but here's christmas in june

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teethhunter · 4 years ago

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Better than a Dream

Rosegarden Secret Santa Gift for @jealouscartoonist based of their Cinderella AU

The kingdom was absolutely bustling with news of the Grand Ball.

Rumor had it that this event was to find a proper suitor for the Crown Prince, Oscar.

It was to be the largest event of the decade, more open to the public than many events but also with many important and influential people planning to come. There was much talk of the preparations happening at the palace in the weeks leading up to the event as even those with no plans or no means to attend enjoyed participating in the excitement.

Many were sent into a tizzy of daydreams of meeting the love of their life at the ball. With all that talk about the prince those daydreams tended to prominently feature him. For some the daydreams morphed into full on scheming and for others they remained fun fantasies that filled the streets with quiet whispers and giggles of just how romantic it would be to get a moment alone with such a charming and handsome prince.

The rumors, however fun, were patently false.

Yes this was to be an event of massive proportions and King Ozpin certainly hoped that a few people might find a spark of romance for themselves that night but he wasn’t doing this to marry off his adoptive son to the first or most enthusiastic party-goer who made a move.

“Just because that wasn’t what you meant to do, doesn’t mean they won’t try.” Oscar pointed out, voicing his anxieties as the day of the ball grew closer.

“Ah but that’s just part of the fun!” Ozpin replied, a far too pleased look on his face.

“Fun for you maybe…”

“And fun for everyone else too. They are making their own fairytales that prominently feature themselves. The human imagination is a wonderful thing.”

Oscar sighed, he should have known that a chat with Ozpin wouldn’t exactly quell his fears in a normal way but it did sort of help even so, just a little bit. “You’re sure I have to go?”

“You’ve never had a miserable time at a party thus far. You can see your friends, maybe meet someone new… Just try to celebrate with everyone.”

In this kingdom still bustling about a ball lived a beautiful girl named Ruby Rose.

Ruby had never been to a ball. In fact Ruby couldn’t at all recall attending a party where she didn’t have to do all the prep work and clean up, only getting scraps of the food that was served.

She lived in a lovely house with her stepmother Salem, and her two stepsisters, Cinder and Neo. Despite the high status of the family and the fact that they could more than afford to hire servants, Salem treated Ruby as nothing but a scullery maid herself. She made Ruby do all the work around the house while Cinder and Neo did seemingly everything they could to make it more difficult. Cinder was more direct in her ways of showing disdain, she would make huge messes right when Ruby had something important to do,or she would burn Ruby’s possessions for fun. Neo was more subtle, waiting until no one was looking to set up situations that would frame Ruby as having messed up. Putting bleach into the wash with the dark clothing Ruby was cleaning, or slipping an ingredient someone in the family was mildly allergic to into a meal Ruby was preparing.

Ruby had grown rather numb to all their antics after dealing with them for so long.

The step family was of course planning on going to the ball and all the talk of the prince looking to find a suitor had certainly gotten back to them. For the last month Salem had been coaching Cinder in this elaborate scheme to catch the prince’s attention, ensuring that they had planned down to the last little detail.

Ruby thought it all a little silly because no matter how much they planned there was always a change that Cinder wouldn’t run into the prince at all, or he wouldn’t like her if he did meet her, maybe even see through that thin veneer of faked kindness to how cruel Cinder could actually be.

None of that was Ruby’s problem though and she had the sense to not voice any of these opinions. She had other things on her mind.

For the first time in her life she was going to go to a ball. Salem had given permission (however offhandedly, it was still a yes!).

For years, during her limited free time she would work at Pietro’s mechanic shop in town to earn money. She had a certain talent for weapon repairs which were nearly always a necessity for anyone traveling outside the city limits where beasts and bandits lurked.

Most of the money she earned at this job was tucked away to someday move far away from her stepfamily but for the last few months she had saved up the money and bought herself a lovely dress. The style of it might have been a bit unconventional- particularly when in combination with the boots she was planning to wear with it- but the fabric was silky to the touch and a deep red color and trimmed with an intricate lace at the hem. She was incredibly proud to have this tangible proof of the work she had put in to get to this point.

The morning before the ball, Ruby woke up early to go to the market to do the grocery shopping. She knew if she wanted time to get ready she would have to get all of her chores done as quickly as possible because here was always a chance Salem would add new tasks to the list.

The excitement in the air was palpable everywhere she went. It was the only thing anyone around was talking about it seemed. Normally Ruby was happy to talk idly with the owners of the various food stalls but today she just nodded along politely as she filled her basket, not lingering for the chit-chat.

Ruby arrived home, basket heavy with produce heavy on her arm, with plenty of time to complete the rest of her chores. She put away all the food and went immediately to cleaning. She took extra care to avoid her step family as Salem was already getting the girls dressed up and ready meaning they would all probably be looking to take their anxiety out on her.

By early afternoon Ruby has finished up and finally can retire to her room to rest and get ready. Her room was in the cellar, not much larger than a closet. It could get cold and damp in there during the winter and after downpours of rain though right now it was pleasantly cool compared to the hot summer weather.

She had done a lot to make it cozy and comfortable. Every inch of wall was decorated, her bed piled up with blankets, and her shelf lined with books she bought over the years from a thrift store in town.

When Ruby opened the door to her room she saw something that made her blood run cold. Cinder, perfectly dressed up and ready for the ball, perching on the end of her bed, holding Ruby’s dress.

Cinder smirked with an awful twist to her lips when she saw Ruby, like she was laying in wait for this moment, a lit candle held in one hand.

The dress had been hidden at the back of her closet so there was no way Cinder just tumbled on it.

“I thought you were joking about going to the ball. You can’t be serious.” Cinder said with a mock laugh.

“No… I wasn’t joking.” Ruby’s voice already held a hint of defeat, already knowing where this was going to go.

“Do you seriously think anyone there would be interested in /you/?” Disgust radiated from Cinder in those words.

“That’s not why I-” Ruby was cut off before she could finish her sentence.

“And this dress. You’ll be turned away at the door for wearing something so low class.” Cinder held the dress up as if appraising it for it’s every flaw, as if it was too hideous to look at for too long.

“I…” That hurt more than it should for how many insulting things Cinder had said to her over the years. She had grown a rather thick skin about it but this dress was really important to her.

“Really, dear sister, I should save you from the embarrassment. You could tarnish our family name.” Cinder brought the candle up until the flame of it licked the lace trim, making it curl, then crisp, then catch fire.

“Please stop.” Ruby whispers, knowing it was useless, she knew what was about to happen the moment she saw Cinder in here.

It didn’t completely catch fire, put a few flames eat at the edges and creep up the bottom of the skirt, leaving it a mess of holes and ash. Cinder says nothing else to her, simply unceremoniously dropping the dress in a pile on the ground, stepping on it as if to put out a still burning ember on her way out.

~~~~~

Ruby waited until the last of the burning embers died down before picking the dress up and bundling it in her lap as she sat on her bed. She sat frozen like that in silence, her ears ringing as she tried to bite back tears. There was no way she could mend this in time for the ball. She couldn’t afford to get new fabric even if she had the time.

All she had wanted was to share this one special night with everyone who was so excited about it but that was ruined.

“I wish I didn’t live with these awful people.” She muttered to herself. “I wish they would just disappear.” She took a breath and all at once any anger she held just deflated into grief as tears finally spilled. “No… I just wish I could go to this ball.”

In her mind she had held this event as a moment of defiant freedom, that if she could never escape Salem and she lived the rest of her life like this then at least she got this one wonderful moment.

“You called?” A voice broke the silence, startling Ruby so badly she nearly fell off the bed.

In front of her was a familiar man- er Fairy, technically. He stood in proper Fairy Godmother attire, a clearly enchanted black dress with translucent red fairy wings fluttering behind him. In contrast with the traditional look was his much less conventional scythe-style magic wand at his side and the full martini glass held precariously in his hand.

“Oh! …. You.” Ruby sighed in relief as she got her bearings after being so startled.

“Well don’t go sounding too thrilled about seeing your Fairy Godmother kiddo. You summoned me, remember?” He put on the airs of being dramatically offended though his smile told a different story.

Ruby wiped the lingering tears from her eyes before she spoke. “No it’s… sorry, it’s good to see you actually Qrow.”

In all honesty she had almost forgotten that wishing for things summoned him. She didn’t exactly even know why that happened. When she asked before all she got was a shrug from Qrow and some half-excuses about the ‘mysterious ways of magic’.

It had been a long time since she’d wished for anything actually. Her memories of her childhood were blurry at best but she could vaguely recall how she’d make all sorts of silly wishes just to have him come visit. He was odd and always a little tipsy but he was also so much nicer than her step-family that it made her earlier years with them much more tolerable.

“I didn’t actually mean to call you, it was sort of an accident.” She admitted after a moment.

“Hmm, well even if it was an accident, I’m here now so why don’t you tell an ‘ol Qrow your woes. Looks like you’ve had a rough time of it.” He walked with a strut in his step over the small distance to her bed, sitting down next to her. He took a long drink from his seemingly never emptying glass as he waited for her to talk.

Ruby started and stopped her attempts to explain several times before she got all the words out, still stumbling over herself. She gave more detail than could possibly ever be needed but this was the first time in a long time she ever let all these emotions out. She had friends in town but she never ever let any of them know the cruelty of her ‘family’. Her Fairy Godmother already knew of these things so for once it was safe.

She began to cry again as her words flowed. Qrow was content to listen in his somewhat drunkenly glazed over state.

“-and now I can’t go because my dress is ruined and it’s not like I have anything else I could wear and the ball is in just a few hours and I’m never going to get a chance like this again.”

Ruby finally took a pause and Qrow chuckled.

“Well if it’s only an outfit you need then I can fix you up fine.”

“Wait, really?” It hadn’t actually crossed her mind that he could help with that..

“Yeah that’s what I’m here for. Mmm, but there’s limits to it, I think you remember that.” Qrow said, fiddling with is scythe-wand as he got ready to do some magic.

Yes Ruby remembered there were limits, there were always strange caveats to any wish she made but right now she could barely bother to care. “Okay! That’s fine, I don’t mind as long as I get to go. Wait um what are the limits?” “It’ll wear off at the stroke of midnight. Indefinite magic gives the worst sort of headache to do.”

“Are you sure that’s not just a hangover?” Ruby mumbed, being immediately met with a shove and grumble from Qrow.

“Shush you. No sassing your godmother. Magic works in mysterious ways.

Speaking of which, magicking you up might make you a little harder to recognize. Not that you’ll look different, just a side effect of illusionary magic.”

Ruby nodded along, none of those terms sounded awful and now she was just in a rush to make it happen. “Okay goes away at midnight and I’m sorta in disguise, I can handle that.”

“Great, go put that dress on then and I’ll get you all set. Best to work from a base product to build onto y’know.”

“Get out of my room then please?” Ruby started ushering him out of her room so she could have space to change.

“M’kay, I’ll wait outside.” He swayed as he walked out of the room, leaning against the wall in the hall as she got ready.

Ruby carefully slipped the dress on, as if trying to prevent it from crumbling more than it already had. Dark ash smeared her skin as the burnt bits brushed against her. She put her boots and accessories on to finish the look. One glance at her small, cracked mirror had her frowning. She looked absolutely ridiculous. It took her longer than it should have to build back up the confidence to call Qrow back in but eventually she did.

“Oh good, you’re all ready.” Qrow came to stand beside her. “Time for the magic words, you know the drill.” He lazily waved his scythe-wand over her head while in a dramatic and slurred fashion exclaiming “Bippity boppity boo!”

Ruby could feel the hum of magic before she could see it. The dress seemingly mended itself all at once, fitting even better than before. She was so captivated by how well it worked that she did notice the other alterations until she took a step and immediately lost her balance, sticking her arms out to keep herself from falling. Her nice practical knee high boots were now sparkling ruby red heeled shoes.

“Why did you give me stilts to walk on?” She asked, still trying to keep herself upright.

“Isn’t that just what people wear to these things?” Qrow shrugged, completely unbothered.

“I’m going to trip and die before I get there.” Ruby commented half to herself, but she didn’t want to be ungrateful and he had done something wonderful for her.

“Thank you for this.” She eventually added.

“Yeah yeah, any time. I’d love to stick around but I do have things to do, places to be. So go enjoy that ball, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He said, seemingly uncomfortable with the appreciation and in a rush to escape it, he disappeared in a blink.

Ruby walks the length of her room several times, trying to get a hang of walking in these shoes.

She didn’t dare leave her room until she was certain her step family had already left for the ball because she dreadd what Cinder might do if she saw Ruby all dressed up- or worse what Salem might do.

~~~~

When finally she is sure it is safe to leave, she heads out immediately to the palace.

The ball was in full motion when she arrived. It’s the most beautiful thing she has ever seen with people laughing, drinking, and dancing the night away to beautiful music performed by a live orchestra. There were tables filled with the most luxurious snacks and servants going around to cater to guests as well. There were of course guards posted around but even they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Ruby was a bit out of sort, unsure what to do with herself but more than content to just take it all in.

She has been seated in a quieter corner, enjoying some snacks when a man sidles up next to her to start a conversation which leads into asking her to dance. She politely declined but this repeated itself once again with an entirety different and more persistent lad who was determined to dance with her. She wouldn’t be able to dance in these silly shoes even if she knew how to or wanted to so she less than politely bid him farewell and walked away, trying to find somewhere she won’t be pestered.

She weaved through the crowds, paying little attention to who was there. It was during this escape that she stumbled terribly, instinctually grabbing at something to keep herself from falling on her face. The tearing sound of fabric was audible as she realized she grabbed the sleeve of some woman’s dress. The horrified screech from that woman was what made her realize the person she had grabbed was none other than Cinder.

Ruby stole a glance at the scene, Cinder having clearly been mid-conversation, now with a torn sleeve and wine covering her whole front from a glass that had been jostled.

Ruby quickly ducked her head, hiding her face, planning how to escape, praying that Cinder hadn’t noticed who she was. As it turned out, an escape plan was unnecessary as Cinder stormed off and away from all the prying eyes watching this scene play out.

Ruby stayed knelt there, stewing in her own mortification, wishing in her head to just disappear.

“Hey, are you okay?” Someone asked, bending down and offering her a hand up.

“I’m… fi- fine?” Her voice cracked mid word as she took his offered hand and finally got a proper look at him. Her gaze sliding from his face to the circlet on his head. Without that, she would have no clue who he was, she had never seen the prince before after all.

She had made no move to stand yet but Prince Oscar had also made no move to help her up either. They were frozen like this, hand held, staring at each other.

For Ruby it was the shock of meeting the prince and him kindly trying to help her (and he was as pleasant looking as everyone said).

For Oscar it was because when his eyes met her he was utterly and inexplicably captivated. His heart skipped a long beat and he couldn’t seem to look away.

In the same instant they both snapped out of it. Oscar helped her up in one swift motion, completely red in the face as he processed just how long he’d been staring at her.

“I’m-” Ruby was instantly interrupted.

“No I’m-” Oscar tried to say.

“Sorry” “Sorry.”

They said in the same moment, looking down and away from each other.

They fumbled over each other’s apologies for another moment and finally got the courage to look at each other again. Another pause, just for a breath and they both laugh.

“It’s not a big deal. If I’m being honest you sort of saved me there? I had been trying to get out of that conversation for a while and that definitely took care of it.” Oscar explained, rubbing the back of his neck as he confessed that.

Ruby held in another laugh, it would be very difficult to explain just how funny this situation was to her personally. “Well I’m happy to be a help?”

She shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot as she was quickly becoming acutely aware of just how many people were still watching them. “I should probably go do- do something else, something ball related, you know.”

She turned away and tried to disappear into the crowd, headed outside to get some fresh air. “Wait!” Oscar called but she didn’t seem to hear him. There wasn’t a thought in his head as he followed right after her out to one of the balconies. It was quiet out there and a major relief for him to have a break from people constantly wanting something from him.

When she noticed him approaching he flustered again, he had no reasonable explanation for why he followed her other than this undercurrent need to get to know her.

“Are you enjoying the ball?” He asked, internally cursing himself for such a bland introduction.

Ruby was more at ease without so many people around. Even if it was a little nerve racking to be speaking to someone so important, she was somehow less on edge than when anyone else at the ball had approached her. “I don’t really have anything to compare it with but it’s sort of amazing?” It was true, it was all so grand and amazing, even if she did have to dodge a couple of people it was still one the most incredible things she’d ever been a part of.

“Oh, so it’s your first time attending a ball then? I’m glad it’s been good.”

“Yeah I mean, all the books I loved when I was little had castles and grand balls in them and I never thought it would actually be like those stories. Turns out yeah it really is.” Ruby took a seat on the bench to finally get off her feet.

“I loved those sorts of stories growing up too. I guess it’s weird now to think about how people dream of becoming royalty, being a prince or princess. I went from living on a farm to being adopted into this and then those stories were less fun to read.” He hadn’t really read any books like that since he moved into the palace, now that he thought about it. They all lost their charm.

“I always wanted to be a knight in those stories actually.” Ruby admitted.

“Oh really?” Somehow that didn’t seem surprising at all, he had known her for no more than a few minutes but there was a certain spark to her that made that so believable.

“Yeah I just loved the idea of protecting people that can’t protect themselves, y’know?”

“Remind me to introduce you to the castle guards sometime, I really think you’d like them.” Oscar noted. “But that’s a really nice dream you have though. I think sometimes imagining things is more fun than the reality of it? I’m very lucky to be in this position but living it made dreams of it more dull...I’m sorry I’m rambling!”

Ruby covered her mouth to conceal a grin. “No, it’s fine. I know what you mean but I want to believe that sometimes reality can be even better than dreams if it’s the right reality for you.”

“That’s- hm I think I’d like to believe that too.” Oscar mumbled, leaving them sitting in comfortable silence side by side for a long moment.

“Would you like to go back inside and dance?” He eventually asked, worried she might grow bored with him otherwise.

Ruby shook her head immediately “Oh please no! I mean I’d love to but… erm you saw me trip back there, I don’t really want to have a repeat performance.”

“Okay then do you want to go on a walk?” Oscar just didn’t want to leave her side, not yet.

“That would be nice actually.” Ruby didn’t particularly want to end their conversation either.

Like a proper gentleman, Oscar offered her his arm to link together which abated any of her lingering anxiety about tripping again.

Oscar led her through a quieter path out of the castle and out along a cobble pathway that snaked around the rear courtyards and into the gardens. Lit only by the moonlight it was gorgeous, overflowing with different flowers and vines covering every surface other than the path itself. Their evening was filled with conversation, once past the initial awkwardness they slipped into comfortably chatting about all sorts of meaningless things.

Time had melted away for the both of them.

That was, until the gonging sound of the clock tower atop the castle interrupted Ruby mid sentence.

She went pale.

“I have to go.” She said, pulling away from him. She could already feel the magic beginning to fade as she hurried away.

“Wait come back!” Oscar held a hand out like he wanted to stop her, like he hoped she would listen and turn around for even a moment.

Just before she was out of Oscar’s view she stumbled once more, the heel of one of the slippers getting caught between two stones in the path.

Oscar flinched, taking one step forward. “Oh, are you okay?”

She didn’t have time to waste and she hated these stupid shoes anyways so she just slid her foot out of it and kept on running.

Ruby was well on her way out when Oscar stooped down to pick up her shoe. The clock had struck midnight and that slipper had reverted back to its old form as a boot. “You left your...boot?” He muttered to himself in complete confusion as he stared at it.

Ruby’s dress was back to it’s charred state by the time she had left the palace property. She hobbled her way home with one boot and one foot with nothing more than a sock on it.

Sneaking back inside her home went better than she was expecting. She was able to get to her room and change out of the ruined dress without anyone seeing her. None of that stopped Cinder from being in a foul mood and barging demanding Ruby draw her a bath. This time Ruby couldn’t even claim that Cinder’s mood wasn’t her fault, even if Cinder wasn’t aware that it was Ruby who had interrupted her plans.

~~~

The morning after the ball Oscar sulked through breakfast. He just couldn’t get his mind off the girl he had spoken with at the ball.

Four of his guards who were more just friends of his than anything else often joined him for meals when there was no formal gathering in place. Today was no different but there was a certain tension in the air.

“Soooo, how was the ball?” One of his guards, Nora asked, breaking the silence with a smile that told him she was already perfectly aware of how it went. “It was fine. It was a ball.” Oscar answered blandly, still staring at his food that he pushed around on his plate.

“Just fine? Hmm well I heard you disappeared with some pretty girl and didn’t show back up all night.” Nora pressed more, leaning in with an intense expression like she was rearing for a full interrogation. Ren put a hand on her shoulder to try and rein her in.

“Oh you met someone?” Jaune asked and Oscar genuinely couldn’t tell if he was teasing or if he was completely out of the loop. “What’s her name?”

Oscar shrunk in on himself with a quiet sigh.“I don’t know, I didn’t ask.”

“Wait wait wait, you spend all night with this girl and you don’t even ask her name? How are you going to find her again?” Pure horror present in Nora’s voice as she asked that.

“I guess I probably won’t.” Oscar said like he was trying to come to terms with that himself.

“If you are meant to meet again, I think your paths will cross.” Pyrrha chimed in right as Oscar was getting ready to leave the table.

The entire day following Oscar felt like he was in a daze. He couldn’t concentrate for any of his lessons, which got him scolded by one of his etiquette teacher, Glynda, and told to leave early since he clearly ‘had his head in the clouds’.

Even King Ozpin commenced on it in passing with that odd smile on his face that always irked Oscar just a little bit.

When he finally had enough of all the ‘knowing’ comments and teasing he dug out his commoner clothes from his closet and slipped them on. He used to sneak out much more often because sometimes he missed being looked at like a normal person. He hadn’t done this in a while and the clothes didn’t quite fit anymore but he really needed some space.

Oscar wandered aimlessly through the maze of streets in the city surrounding the palace. For the first time all day he felt relaxed as he blended into the crowd with on stares or comments. There was always the slightest bit of tension he held from always having to perform in a princely manner, but here no one expected anything of him.

He was window shopping at an antique store when someone passing by catches his eye.

Maybe Pyrrha’s comment about paths crossing if they were meant to wasn’t so silly because he sees this girl and his brain goes completely fuzzy like it was trying to piece things together while his heart skips in a way that’s becoming very familiar to him.

“Hey wait!” He called out, jogging to catch up with her, not paying mind to how odd this might seem to bystanders.

Ruby doesn’t immediately realize it’s her that’s being called out to. Not until he catches up to her. She started, stopping mid-stride to look at him. Despite his change of clothes she recognized him immediately. She was nervous and happy and confused all at the same time. She never thought she’d see him again and didn’t think he would care to talk to her again either.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to scare you. I guess that was pretty weird to do.” Oscar said apologetically, realizing this was the second time in a row they had an awkward greeting.

“No, no it’s okay I just wasn’t expecting to see you again!” Ruby explained, unsure what to say or do now. “Do you come around here often?” She asked, just to fill the silence.

“Sometimes it’s just nice to be able to take a walk without people staring, you know?” Oscar answered, genuinely thrilled to talk to her about literally anything right now.

“Won’t people recognize you?” Ruby thought he was fairly recognizable, but then again she also had a whole night to take in the details about him.

“Well no one has so far, I think when people aren’t expecting to see me I sort of blend into the background.” The only person to recognize him thus far was her, but that was because he came running up to her so obviously.

“You weren’t expecting to see me but I didn’t blend into the background for you.”

“Oh it’s your eyes…” Oscar tapered off quickly, not wanting to admit that he’d been subconsciously scanning the crowd every moment he was out, hoping to run into her again.

“Hey, have you eaten lunch yet?” He changed the subject abruptly.

“I haven’t but-”

“Well, would you care to join me? There’s this little bakery I love around here.”

Ruby was anxious both because the longer the less chores she was getting done but also because she didn’t have the money on her to pay for lunch. But he looked so bright eyed and hopeful and that smile was killing her.

“I can’t be out for too long, but okay.” She answered finally.

“Really? Great!” Oscar was nearly bouncing on his feet as he offered her his arm reflexively, an overly formal gesture but sweet nonetheless.

Ruby laughed quietly but took his arm, ignoring the couple odd glances they earned.

Oscar led the way to this small corner shop filled to the brim with various baked goods. The sweet scent made her mouth water. She looked at all the different offerings as Oscar chatted with the old lady running the place, listing off the pastries he wanted to get.

He turned to Ruby after a moment and asked “What would you like?”

It hadn’t occurred to her that he was offering to pay for her until then, she didn’t have the money on her to actually buy anything so she was planning on just quietly not ordering anything.

She paused, internally scrambling to make a decision. “One of these?” She pointed to a flaky chocolate croissant that had caught her eye earlier. He picked up on her hesitance quickly and ordered both that and a couple of his personal favorites for her to try.

Once they gather up all their pastries they sit at the one small round table next to the window, settling down.

“ Okay, weird question but it’s been killing me ever since I last saw you.” Oscar asked.

Ruby nodded, giving permission for him to go ahead and ask.

“How do I phrase this,,,,When you left, you dropped your boot? But you definitely weren’t wearing a boot before that?”

Ruby blinked at him then laughed. “Yeah I get why you’d be thinking about htat for so long. It’s well, it was magic? And no I’m not joking! I really mean it.”

At first Oscar gave a slightly doubtful look but she seemed so genuine and there was no other good explanation either. “You know someone that can use magic then? Wow that’s pretty rare nowadays.”

There were traces of magic, some people were born with minor magical abilities and there were healers that cultivated that particular skill but it was rare to have someone perform magic for something like this.

“Yeah I’ve known him for my whole life I guess. Kinda an odd guy but also he’s always been there or me so I guess I can’t complain.”

With that they fell into easy conversation once again and once again time slipped away.

Until she was abruptly brought back to reality from a comment by the old lady running the shop.

“Are you two planning to just honeymoon it here or what? We’re losing daylight!” She asked, halfway between amused and annoyed at the two lovebirds.

Ruby froze, glancing out the window to note that indeed the sun was going down.

“Oh no, I have to go.” She should’ve already been working on dinner and none of her other chores were done yet, scrubbing the floors always was so time consuming.

She was out the door before he could even call out to her, almost impossibly quickly.

“I didn’t even ask you your name. Oscar grumbles as he buries his face against the cafe table.

~~~~

Quite predictably Ruby was immediately scolded when she arrived home. She hadn’t washed Neo’s clothes in time and all her other chores were left to do too. She had to work far into the night without dinner to get it all done, though she wasn’t too bothered after having a lovely lunch with Oscar. She figured that would be the last time she saw him, that fate decided to give her that nice little bit of closure with him, one nice happy moment she could think about as her knees ached from crawling on them scrubbing floors.

~~~~

Oscar however wasn’t at all satisfied in that being the last time they met. In fact had been skipping out on his lessons and duties, sneaking out in commoner’s clothes constantly. It was not like him at all, normally he was highly responsible and took his role seriously.

After several days of this, King Ozpin interrupted one of his escape attempts. “If you needed a break, you could always just ask for one.”

Oscar, very much having not expected Ozpin to be lurking by the exit he always snuck through to get to town, startled. “I’m- it’s not that- it’s-”

Ozpin just nodded, a ghost of a smile on his lips. “You met someone.” He answered for Oscar.

Oscar just sighed and nodded.

“Well, a little birdy was telling me about this girl who works at a mechanic’s shop. Pietro’s I believe? Interesting thing about her is she’s got bright silver eyes, a pretty rare trait.” Ozpin explained casually.

“I… didn’t tell you she has silver eyes?” As odd as it was, Oscar had grown somewhat accustomed to Ozpin’s odd ability to know things he really shouldn’t be able to and knew that the half shrug and smirk he was given at that comment was all he would receive.

Ozpin stepped aside, clearing the way to the exit and gesturing for Oscar to go on.

Oscar began lingering around that shop whenever he could. He didn’t see the girl that day, or the day after that. In fact it took almost a whole week and he was beginning to feel rather creepy for doing this.

He just wanted to know her name. If it turned out that she wanted nothing to do with him after that, then so be it.

But finally his determination paid off and she was there that day. He didn’t approach her while she worked, not wanting to interrupt and be incredibly rude.

Instead he waited until she was off shift and out of the store, making himself very visible as he approached her. He had a whole thing to say planned out but it all left his brain the moment she saw him and looked happy to see him.

“Sorry to ah- ambush you here but I- someone told me where to find you and-” He just couldn’t string a sentence together. “What’s your name?” He finally blurted out.

Ruby was surprised to see him but already grinning at his awkward entrance. “Ruby, it’s Ruby.”

“Ruby.” He repeated back to her with a look of wonder on his face that made her stomach flip. He said it like it was the most beautiful word he had ever heard.

“So Ruby, you work at a mechanic shop?” Oscar asked, as if he was looking for an excuse to say her name again.

“Yeah, I work on weapons mostly, it’s fun.”

“Weapons huh? How come?” He wanted to know everything about her, he realized.

“Well… same reason I dreamed of being a knight as a kid I think? It helps protect people, in any way I can manage. That and the way weapons are put together is sort of like a puzzle? I find it calming I think and- oh, I do have to get going soon though.” She interrupted her self, knowing full well that they could talk for hours again.

“Come visit sometime!” Oscar said in a rush, not wanting to lose the chance to see her again.

“I can show you around, show you what it looks like when it’s not crowded with people for a big party.”

“If you’re sure that’s okay…” Ruby wanted to see him again too and seeing the rest of the palace sounded really interesting too.

“Absolutely! It won’t be a problem, no one around will mind.There’s always a guard up at the front gate, just tell them who you are and they’ll let you in.”

Ruby felt warm at the implication he'd mentioned her to enough people that the guards would know who she was. She nodded. “I’ll stop by as soon as I can, I promise.”

She left for home feeling light and with every intention of visiting him.

~~~~~

Bogged down by chores, it’s nearly two weeks later when she first gets a chance to visit. At the entrance to the castle stood a tall red haired woman in armor standing guard.

Ruby opens her mouth to introduce herself but doesn’t even have to as the guard is already opening the door. “It is very good to meet you.” she says. Ruby guessed Oscar really wasn’t exaggerating about the guards knowing who she was.

“Wait here and the Prince will be right down.” The guard assured.

Ruby stood in the main hall, looking at all the tapestries and portraits lining the walls as she waited.

Oscar showed up only minutes later, looking ecstatic and slightly out of breath as if he’d been running to get to her.

He reached out to her then hesitated. Like he wants to hug her or some show of affection but his etiquette training kicked in.

He held his hand out, palm up.

Ruby wasn’t entirely sure what to do but took a guess and put her hand very lightly on top of it.

His fingers curled around hers as he lifted her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles.

This was by noble standards a very appropriate greeting for a woman he highly respected- if not a little strange because of their status difference. Yet it felt more intimate than just about anything else he could have done. She stood there,red faced and dizzy as he lowered their hands but still held hers in his. “I’m glad you actually came.”

“I promised I would, didn’t I?”

“Well I’m very glad you keep your promises then… I missed you.” He mumbled the last part before clearing his throat.”May I give you a tour?”

“Of course, lead the way your majesty.”

Oscar walked with her hand-in-hand through all the major parts of the castle. Quickly his tour got off track to them discussing other things with him briefly stating what room they were in but otherwise not bothering to give details about it, much more interested in the conversation at hand.

The sun is setting once again when they part ways, Oscar inviting her back any time she wants.

~~~~

Rumor has it that the Prince is seriously courting a girl. She is over many times a week and several servants whisper of the fact they have seen the two snuggled up together when they thought no one was looking. Even without that damning evidence, the bright mood the Prince was constantly in told the story plainly enough.

Ruby had taken to visiting the palace rather than working at the shop. She knew Pietro would welcome her back no matter how long it had been since she last worked. Still, it made her a bit anxious to not be working on her savings currently but for once in her life she was so very happy.

~~~~

Oscar had been serious about properly introducing Ruby to his guard friends. She got along with them easily, so easily in fact that they had begun teaching her the basics of fighting out in the training yard.

Whenever Oscar knew that was going to happen, he tried to get out of his duties early to go watch, it was always worth it to see.

This time around he got there just in time to watch Nora flip Ruby, pinning her to the ground.

“Nora… please try not to kill her, I think Oscar might actually get mad at us then.” Jaune pointed out as Ruby stood up and brushed herself off. “Oh come on, I’m not that breakable.” Ruby laughed. “You next then.” She grabbed one of the wooden training swords and stood at the ready for him.

A few parries from either side before Ruby went on the offensive, half accidentally Jaune over the head with it.

“Ow okay please don’t kill me either.” Jaune whined cradling his head.

Ruby snorted in an attempt to hide a laugh, completely unable to feign concern. “Hm but if I kill you do I get to take your place and be a guard?”

“What! No! Now I’m afraid you’re actually going to kill me.”

“You don’t need to kill Jaune to have a place here. You are more than welcome to stay” Pyrrha said while sympathetically rubbing Jaune’s shoulder, the only one willing to comfort him in his dramatics.

“I think there’s another role you’d prefer over being a guard though.” Ren noted, backed by Nora wagging her eyebrow to punctuate it with implication.

Ruby was less embarrassed now by this than she used to be. This teasing was commonplace now. There was no way it wasn’t glaringly obvious to everyone that the prince was courting her. Honestly she hadn’t put a whole lot of thought into it, it sort of just had been washing over her. Shows of affection are basically constant and they weren’t exactly secret about it even if they weren’t exactly clear about what they were to each other either.

~~~

It became a regular thing for Ruby to join Oscar for lunch or dinner on days when she visited. It was during one of these meals that she first met the King who apparently had the time to join them that particular day. King Ozpin was quite kind and welcoming to her, that dinner actually wasn’t nearly as awkward as she was expecting it to be. The only thing was that he kept saying things that made it sound like he’d met her before. It was odd but also hard to put her finger on exactly. When the meal was over and they parted ways Oscar assured that he was just like that but that the King really did seem to approve of her.

~~~

Some days she and Oscar would go spend their time in the palace library together. Usually they would just quietly enjoy having the other around, leaning gently against each other as they read. Sometimes they would talk about the books they were reading and get completely sidetracked. On this particular day they were going through the shelves of storybooks, quick and simple to read but filled with nostalgia. One particular set of books caught Ruby’s eye, pages faded to yellow with age and a gold trim around the edges. She grabbed for them before she noticed what she was doing, thumbing through the pages looking at the print and little illustrations. She hadn’t noticed how long she had been standing there when Oscar snuck up behind her and wrapped his hands around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.

“What’d you have there?” He whispered.

“These books, I just, I remember them from when I was little but I think you’re missing one?” There were three books she found on the shelf from this series but there should be a fourth one, the one she remembered best. “My mom- my birth mom used to read these too but my favorite was this one that had these warriors who could turn all the beasts in the forest to stone with their eyes? And well, they had silver eyes which I thought was so cool because both me and her had them too.” Ruby explained, she couldn’t even recall how the stories went, just like she couldn’t really recall her mother. Sometimes she’s sure she just dreamed it all up.

~~~

Oscar wasn’t too keen on giving gifts. It felt odd to do when he had so much wealth, like he was trying to buy affection. Today though was different. It was Ruby’s birthday and he’d been looking for this particular perfect gift all month long. Once she arrived he could hardly wait to give it to her.

“You’ve had that silly grin on since I’ve gotten here, it’s making me nervous..” Ruby said, eyeing him carefully.

“Okay, okay, I was going to wait until later but, well- hold on.” He turned tail, running up to his room and back to go grab the unwrapped present, returning soon after. “Here you go.”

In her hands he placed a book with those yellowed pages and gold trim. She stared at the title ‘The Warriors of the Woods ’, her fingers tracing the letters in awe. Her cheeks ached from the grin stuck on her face as dragged Oscar into a tight hug.

“Thank you so much!”

“Happy birthday.” Oscar said as he hugged her in return.

~~~

Ruby’s step-family was growing ever more suspicious as she kept returning home happy and grinning, humming songs to herself. Nothing seemed to manage to sour her mood whatsoever and every happy moment she showed only earned her more disdain and chores from Salem. Ruby did them all without complaint.

~~~

With Ruby around so often, Oscar began constantly skipping his lessons. All of his tutors eventually came up with a way to circumvent this by simply pulling Ruby into his lessons as well. Oobleck more or less ambushed them in the garden and gave them no room to politely escape as he handed them textbooks, paper, and pencils, diving right into a history lesson of the internal politics of the Kingdom of Vale.

One thing Oscar had learned about Ruby early on was that she hated being forced to sit still if it wasn’t her choice. She began to fidget, then doodle, then as all this information droned on made her head buzz she began to drift off into a nap.

Oscar nudged her awake a couple times before taking his paper and writing her a little note.

‘Think you’ll survive?’ He slid that over to her just before she began to doze again.

‘I don’t know! Is he always like this?’ Her writing was scrawls that took Oscar a moment to decipher but once he did he quietly laughed.

‘Pretty much, why do you think I skip out on this and spend time with you instead?’ He replied.

‘Saying I’m better than this isn’t a compliment :( ‘

This was the first, but definitely not the last time Ruby was brought into his lessons. Any time they could get away with it they passed notes and laughed like little school kids to pass the time.

~~~

When Oscar was having a bad day, he liked to go climb up into the rafters of the stables. The palace had a large stable where they kept the horses and a few chickens roamed freely. It felt familiar and safe to him. It wasn’t often that he had a truly bad day but today he was feeling very off. Ruby had come to visit that day and while it cheered him up in the way it always did, it didn’t exactly fix everything. That day Oscar decided to show Ruby his hiding spot in the rafters. He led her to the stable and showed her how he climbed up there, sitting comfortably on one of the beams.

“You don’t have to tell me but, is something wrong?” She asked, he had been so quiet today and they had never gone to spend time out here like this before.

“It’s nothing… nothing in particular, just a bad day, I guess.” Oscar admitted. “It’s silly, I mean it’s hard not to feel guilty about having a bad day when I have so much going or me.”

Ruby scooted closer to him, wrapping an arm around his waist. “I don’t really think it’s silly, if you want to talk about it, I’m right here.” She rests her head against his.

Oscar took a moment to try to put it into words. “I’m thankful, for everything Ozpin has done for me. I’m a prince now, and he doesn’t even push all these outdated royal rules on me or anything. But… I didn’t exactly grow up this way? I grew up on a farm, and sometimes I just miss how simple everything was there and I miss my aunt and everything else.”

Ruby understood then why he would want to go hide out here and in a way she could imagine how overwhelming this must be for him since what she’s experienced of palace life was awfully overwhelming to her too.

She didn’t think about it for even a moment before she turned her head to press her lips to his in a sweet reassuring kiss.

Now, affection was shown quite freely between them in private, nearly constantly touching. Kisses, on the cheek, forehead, back of the hand, those were all commonplace for them nowadays. Yet this right here was their first proper kiss.

They were both a bit red in the face at the realization but it felt like it hardly needed addressing, like it was inevitable.

“Hey when you said Ozpin doesn’t push outdated rules on you? I mean he’s not going to have a problem with…” Ruby gestured between the two of them.

Oscar laughed, kissing her in return finally before answering. “I think he’s all for this. He approves of you and he wants me to be happy, and well, you make me happy.”

~~~

Ruby shouldn’t have been surprised when one night she came home to find that book Oscar had gifted her a charred pile of illegible paper in the middle of her room. Cinder had always had a knack for knowing just which of Ruby’s possessions would hurt the most to lose. That, and the whole family had been completely furious with Ruby being so upbeat lately that of course Cinder would do something like that.

Somehow it is so much worse than the dress being burnt. She re-read this book every night before she went to bed to remember what she could of the family she once had and to remember that someone cared enough about her to go through all the effort to find it for her.

She cleaned up the pile, feeling cold and empty and like she was entirely trapped here. Maybe it was just because she’d summoned him last time Cinder burnt something of hers, or maybe she just desperately needed someone to talk to in general but once she is calm she whispers “I wish I could see my Fairy Godmother.”

Once again Qrow appears in front of her in a blink. “Y’know, you can call me when you aren’t crying.” He sighs. “What’s it about this time? I thought the last gig went well. Heard you even snagged yourself a prince.”

“Where did you hear that?! I- never mind, it doesn’t matter.”

“Am I wrong?” Qrow raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms.

“That’s not the point. But even if I did you shouldn’t pat yourself on the back about it. You nearly killed me with those heels.” Ruby was trying to sound serious but having something meaningless to argue over was such a relief it was difficult to keep that tone of voice.

“Oh I’m definitely patting myself on the back. When you two get hitched that makes me royalty by extension.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works.” Ruby mumbled, hiding a smile by ducking her head.

“Well, enough of that. You never answered my question, what’d you need?”

“I don’t know. Nothing, I guess. I think I’m just tired of this place.”

It was nothing he could fix anyways, not permanently at least probably. “Could you stay for a while? We could play games like when I was little?” She asked, of all things she thinks that might cheer her up right now.

Qrow seemed a bit confused and maybe even a touch startled at that statement but hid it quickly. “Didn’t think you remembered any of that.”

“You were always around, it’d be a little hard to forget!”

“Hmm…” For a moment he looked to be deep in thought before he shook his head. “I guess I can spare a little time.”

~~~

It was a few days before Ruby visited the palace again, longer than she had gone without visiting in quite a while.

When finally she does come by, Oscar is visibly worried.

He greets her with a kiss but lingers close. “Did something happen?”

“No, no I was just really busy.” Ruby said blandly.

Oscar had an expression that said he knew that wasn’t the whole story but he wouldn’t press her on it either.

“Just some family trouble, talk about it later okay?” Ruby added to try to quell his concerns.

Before they could continue their conversation they were interrupted.

“Ah, you’re here, excellent!” Said Ozpin as he approached the couple who took a respectful step away from each other. “See, I wanted to formally invite you to our next upcoming ball.” He handed Ruby a sturdy envelope embossed with her name in silver print on the front.

“We’re having another ball?” Oscar asked.

“Yes, it’s been a few months since the last one so I thought it’s time for another celebration.” Didn’t I tell you?”

“It must have slipped your mind.” Oscar muttered, half sure that Ozpin came up with this on a whim just today.

“This one is by invitation only. Hence why I wanted to personally ensure that Miss Rose received hers.” Ozpin shot a meaningful look Oscar’s way as he said that before turning to direct his next statement to Ruby “Mm, anyways, don’t worry about attire, we can have you fitted for a dress, one properly suited for a night of dancing.”

He left no time for either of them to respond before heading off elsewhere. They both are left standing there, confused about what just happened.

“Hey Oscar?”

“Mhm?”

“So, I don’t actually know how to dance?” She was embarrassed to admit it, since it seemed like something everyone around knew how to do but her.

“Oh, well there’s some excellent tutors around here, you don’t have to worry about that!” Oscar reassured.

“Okay but what if I’m afraid of embarrassing myself in front of the tutors?”

“Are you afraid of embarrassing yourself in front of me?” He asked and she considered the question.

“Somehow a lot less afraid.” Ruby answered, there was a level of comfort she’d reached in being that vulnerable around him.

“Then how about I teach you?”

~~~

That started what would become the weeks of dance lessons leading up to this next ball.

“It’s easier than it looks. I was nervous the first time around too.” Oscar said, standing in the large empty ballroom with Ruby as he started the record player on some basic waltz music.

He demonstrated the base steps alone, explaining them as he went.

“Okay, want to give it a try?” He asked.

“I guess, sorry if I step on your toes.” Ruby was still pretty apprehensive even after watching him demonstrate.

Oscar chuckled, putting one hand on her waist. “I’ve seen you practicing sparring with the guards, you’re actually really graceful.”

“When I’m sparring I’m supposed to be aiming to hurt people, and here not so much.” She retorted.

That was only met with a fond kiss and Oscar’s other hand finding hers. “Come on, giving it a try?”

She began to follow his steps but it was clear how uneasy she felt no matter how long they tried it for.

“Here, let’s try something different. You lead.” Oscar offered.

“Won’t that make it worse?” Ruby thought that would just give her more opportunity to step on his feet.

“No, I think it’s pretty awkward to learn to do these all backwards, it’s easier to learn if you’re in the lead role.”

“Okay…” Ruby reversed their position, putting her hand on his waist to mirror the way he had been holding her before. They were nearly the same height so it worked perfectly in that sense.

It’s awkward at first still but Ruby was much less nervous, actually it was Oscar that was stumbling more now because he wasn’t used to this role.

By the time they had made their way around the room once, she was grinning.

When the music ended she hugged him.

“Thank you, that was way less awful than I was expecting.” She mumbled against his shoulder.

“Ha, glad it was better than awful?” His arms wrap around her in turn.

“But you aren’t done quite yet. That’s just the very basics, and you still need to practice this more too.”

Ruby feigned a pout with a grin hidden behind it. “What? There’s more?”

Until the day of the ball they continued to practice. Oscar had been made to take dance classes since he’d been adopted so he was more than happy to show off some of the more intricate steps and dances. Ruby’s personal favorite was dips mainly for that cute dazed expression Oscar got on his face when she could easily dip him and pull him back up for a kiss.

Rumor had it that the Prince will be engaged to miss Ruby Rose by the time this exclusive ball is over with.

This rumor may or may not have been started singlehandedly by one royal guard by the name of Nora Valkyrie. Regardless of how it started, word spread far and wide.

Word spread so far and wide in fact that it reached Salem. She was fuming, oh how could that wretched girl catch the prince’s attention so easily?

As much as she wanted to lock Ruby away and have done with her, Salem knew that if the prince truly cared for the girl then he might very well go looking for her. So she bided her time and came up with a plan, forging an invitation for Cinder to go to this new ball.

Ruby didn’t know any of this. Maybe Salem was a bit more cold and cruel than usual, but Ruby had already grown to expect the worst so she couldn’t even tell the difference.

~~~

The night of the ball arrived rapidly and Ruby had snuck out without finishing her impossibly long list of chores knowing full well she would pay for it tomorrow.

She wore a lovely floor length dress in a similar red color as her previous one, this time with her comfy boots underneath rather than those awful stilts.

Ruby was happy with how she looked, and so much more relaxed without the constant fear that her step mother or sisters would somehow ruin this for her.

Her confidence only grew when she met Oscar at the entrance and he offered her his arm. “You look beautiful.” He said, sounding so genuinely awestruck.

She really had to hold herself back from kissing him or even hugging him since there still was etiquette to follow for an event like this.

“Thank you, you don’t look bad yourself.” She replied as she took his arm.

Oscar didn’t leave her side all night. As he was Prince, they did have to make the rounds of talking with anyone particularly important but everyone was quite polite and seemingly excited to meet her too.

Once all the niceties were out of the way, they joined everyone else on the dance floor.

Ruby wasn’t nervous anymore, though she put her hand on Oscar’s waist to immediately take the leading role in this dance. Oscar just laughed and tried to stealthily kiss her on the cheek, an action many caught sight of regardless, because of course people were keeping their eyes on the prince and his girl.

For the whole night they only dance with each other which no one seemed to take issue with.

Well, no one took issue with until one particular unwelcome guest mader appearance. A song had just ended when Ruby felt a harsh tap on her shoulder, a fingernail basically gouging into her arm. When she looked up at who was trying to get her attention, she tensed, staring wide eyed. Cinder stood here, a fake overly polite smile plastered on her face as if she didn’t know exactly who Ruby was. “May I have this next dance with him?” She asked, putting Ruby in a position to look very rude and possessive if she were to say no.

Ruby couldn’t find her words at all, even if there was little Cinder could directly do to her here she still couldn’t help but be afraid.

Oscar picked up on something being wrong immediately, he’d never seen Ruby look so vacant and afraid, and this woman who had approached looked vaguely familiar. He frowned slightly before looking at the guest. “Would you excuse us for a moment?”

Cinder, seeing how this wasn’t going her way and so incredibly angry with Ruby getting her way, did not in fact excuse them for a minute. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think you heard me, I said may I have this dance?” Her grip on Ruby’s shoulder now bruising as she tried to rip her away from the Prince.

Oscar immediately got in between the two of them, and the guards were there almost immediately. Cinder did not go easily or quietly, in fact it made for a rather impressive wrestling match to watch in the middle of the dance floor before she was actually dragged off.

Everyone was quiet, shocked, and confused but slowly the party came back to life with people chancing quiet conversation and then returning to their dance.

“I’m sorry- about that.” Ruby mumbled, voice trembling slightly.

“That wasn’t your fault… at all. But, you seemed to know her?” Oscar spoke carefully, not wanting her to feel obligated to answer.

“She’s my stepsister.” She answered shortly

Suddenly something clicked for Oscar about the ‘family issues’ Ruby had alluded to before and it left a bitter feeling in his stomach. “Hey, you’re safe now.” He said, pulling her close.

“Yeah, for now.” Ruby sighed, she would still have to go home to.. To whatever was going to happen now.

“No, for always. You could stay here, stay with me.” Oscar blurted out, more than anything just wanting to make sure she was safe and happy. It took him longer than it should have to realize just how that sounded. “Okay, uh to be clear that was not a proposal. I promise that will be much better thought out and not asked when you’re dealing with a lot of stress-” His explanation was interrupted with a kiss.

“You do realize you just implied you’re going to propose, right?” Ruby asked once she pulled away.

Oscar laughed, giving her one more peck on the lips. “I thought that was obvious.”

#rosegarden #rosepine #ruby rose #Oscar Pine #secret santa #my fic #rwby

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smallestchances · 4 years ago

Text

Almost Royal (2)

Long overdue?? Absolutely. Please forgive me? <3 Hope this was worth it!

Summary: (Y/N) is struggling more than she’d like to admit, and with the eve of her daughter’s birthday looming, she decided to give her daughter an unusual gift.

Pairing: Royal!Dean Winchester x Reader

Word Count: 2.4k

Warnings: Douchebag boss, small amount of angst, mention of death, etc.

Masterlist

Taglist: @that-one-gay-girl @fanfictionjunkie1112 @flamencodiva @hoboal87 @cutestdolans @anaissomnia @kbl1313 @fuzzycloudsz @hollymac79 @vicmc624 @roxytheimmortal @lunaticgurly @coffeebooksandfandom @A-dorky-book-keeper @nihilismworld

“Order up for table sixteen!”

The constant murmur of the diner around you only gets louder, and you skirt around the tables and patrons as fast as you could. Sweat collects on your top lip and your brow, the too small uniform chafing in almost every crease.

“(Y/N)! I told you, order up for table sixteen!” Sal yells from the kitchen, his baritone voice causing you to grit your teeth. You drop off the most recent order you had in your hands, giving them a quick smile before rushing to pick up the food.

You try to avoid the greasy cook, but Sal gives you a cunning smile that only makes your skin crawl as you pick up the four plates, balancing them perfectly. As you reach for the last one, Sal pushes it too far off the counter with his spatula, and it falls helplessly to the floor with a crash.

“What the fuck!” Is all that passes through your mouth, and before you know it the whole diner has gone silent. Your fellow coworkers only look on with sympathy in your eyes, and it doesn’t take long before the usual white noise falls back into place.

“That’s quite an unprofessional mouth you’ve got there,” Sal reprimands, and you have to clench your jaw to prevent yourself from spitting in his direction. “I think I’m going to need you to open up tomorrow in order to amend that.”

“Sal--” you choke out. “You, you can’t do that. I’ve requested tomorrow off for the past three years--I’m already closing, I can’t do an fourteen hour shift tomorrow--”

“Then I can just take it out of your next paycheck,” he shrugs, starting to redo the food he destroyed.

All you can do is swallow. “No, I...I’ll come in at 6.”

“And?”

“And I’ll close at 8,” you mumble.

“Good girl.”

It takes everything in you to go to table sixteen with the food in your hand, apologizing furiously on the delay for the last patron’s food. They seem understanding enough, and it almost makes the tears you were holding back fall from your eyes.

You thank God that you get to leave after the lunch rush, and you try to avoid as many people as you could. Driving quickly to the store and then home, you allow yourself to let out all frustrations as you blast your music.

When you finally get home, you’re about ready to collapse onto your couch and sleep when a piece of paper taped onto the grate in front of your door stops you. All you have to read is the big bold words Eviction Notice before you rip it off and storm into your apartment.

As you descend into your basement apartment, it’s just as cold and dark as you remember. A candle flickers on the center table in your makeshift living room, slightly illuminating the backpack and shoes that were thrown haphazardly. It’s the sight of these that make you smile, and as you put down the bags, you sprint into an adjoining room.

“Happy birthday eve!!” You scream at the top of your lungs, jumping excitedly onto the bed covered in purple comforters, avoiding the body of your daughter as you smile brightly. She only groans, beneath you, shaking herself awake from her after school nap. You strategically flop onto her, still in your Sal’s uniform.

You lock eyes with a shade of green you know too well, and you snuggle into her. “How does it feel Opal? Have you grown three inches? Have you grown a shoe size?” You gasp. “A BOOB size??”

“Mom!” She laughs, pulling away from you to bring a pillow over her head. “I’m not even sixteen yet. I feel the exact same way I did yesterday.”

“You’re going to be sixteen,” you mumble to yourself, staring up at your ceiling. Opal uncovers her head to plop it onto your shoulder. “My baby is going to be sixteen! It feels like just yesterday I was making you mac & cheese while we watched cartoons on the sofa.”

“That was yesterday Mom.”

“Oh how the time flies!”

You both laugh together, and silence falls over you briefly. You watch the sun go down from the limited rays of light from the “windows”. Your heart tightens. “I’m sorry baby bear,” you mumble rushing on before she could interrupt. “You deserve more than this, more than I’ve given you--”

“This is more than enough Mama--”

“No, it’s not. And I know that.” You sigh. “The moment you were born, I promised to always provide you things to the best of my ability. I promised to protect you--and through it’s come in the form of a wild basement with 90% thrifted clothes--”

“I love my wild basement and thrifted clothes--”

“My point is,” you pause. “I am going to try so much more. Harder than I ever thought was possible, starting today.” You reach into your pocket book on the floor for a bulky parchment held together by brown paper and twine.

“How much money did you fit into there?”

You roll your eyes, nudging her softly. “Don’t be a little shithead”--she smiles brightly--”I can’t celebrate your actual birthday with you tomorrow. I have the opening shift at Sal’s before going over to Rick’s to clean up. So, I have three presents for you.”

You and Opal shift into a sitting position. “Present number one: I have ice cream cake waiting for you in the freezer.”

“Friendlys?!”

“You know it. Present number two: I got Rick to let us use his place to bake some apple pies. We’d have to make him some, but as soon as you feel ready--”

“Let’s go now.”

“Geez Opal,” you giggle. “As soon as you’re ready, not tonight, we can go. Present number three,” you breathe in deeply. “You know your father is a sore subject for me.”

Opal immediately sits up more, her eyes searching yours. “Mom?”

You nod in confirmation, tracing your fingers lightly over the parchment. “In here...are memories of what we had.” You swallow hard. “Now, I’ll give this to you, and you will have fourteen questions you can ask me with full disclosure.”

“Full honesty?”

“Full honesty. After that, I will fulfill two requests of yours that are in my jurisdiction. All to get you to your sweet sixteen.”

Opal doesn’t say anything for a few moments. Then, she surges forward to embrace you tightly. “Mama,” she says through tears.

“Baby bear,” you respond, your voice thick as well When you pull back, you wipe away her fallen tears while you both smile. You place the package in her lap and she excitedly tears through it.

What she finds is photos. Piles of photos and letters and more letters and photos that illustrate the three years you had with the love of your life. There’s even hints of Sam in there, and you watch carefully as she picks up a photo of Dean where he’s smiling brightly at the camera while on a boat--a smile that mirrors the one your daughter frequently wears.

“Mama,” she breathes. “This...this is a photo of King Dean. Why do you have a photo of King Dean?”

“Is that one of your questions?”

“No!” She amends, rewinding. “My father...is King Dean.”

“That’s wild.”

She flicks your arm. “Mom! I mean this is--I’m a--how?!”

“Excuse me,” you scoff. “Your mother’s a catch. And for that, you have 13 questions left.”

“Ah!” She exclaims, searching for words. “How did you two meet?”

“I worked all over the palace. I was a floater, I went where I was needed and coincidentally he was always there. He kept talking to me, we became friends, and eventually...one thing led to another.”

“Did you love each other?”

You swallow thickly. “With everything in us. Or at least for me. I’d always look for ways to see him, and he’s forgo royal duties just for me. We even got married, but I think it’s some sort of treason so I don’t bring it up.”

Opal’s jaw drops briefly. “What was he like?”

“Your father…” You pause. “Your father was one of the most selfless, bravest, stubbornest assholes I’d ever met. He was fiercely protective of his family, and he would sell his whole being if it meant the people he cared about were safe.”

“So when you say all men…”

“I only partially include Dean. 10 questions.”

“Who’s this?” She points to a group photo of you, Dean, Sam & Jess.

“That is your Uncle Sam.” You shift slightly. “He was my best friend. We were as thick as thieves within the palace, always getting into trouble. You wouldn’t believe the situations we got into.”

“And her?” She points to Jess.

“That’s Jess. His ex-fiancee.” Your heart lurches into your throat. “She was also my best friend, but things...Things went wrong when she went on a charity visit to a Rehabilitation Center. A patient got ahold of a gun, and she was shot.” A tear escapes your eye. “By the time anyone got to her, it was too late. She died instantly.”

Opal reaches for your hand, intertwining your fingers before squeezing tightly. You give her a close lipped smile. “Did Sam or Jess know about me?”

“Sam yes--we found out together actually. Jess passed away a year before it all happened.”

“Does my father know?”

Your heart beats incessantly against your ribcage, drowning in your ears. You’d prepared for this question, you could answer it. But even as you did, each word felt like liquid tar in your mouth. “The day I left, no. I was too hurt to even seek him out…But when I had you, I thought he had a right to know just how much of a true gem had stemmed from our love. Every year, a week after your birthday, I sent him memories of us from the past year. Photos of you mostly. I never got a reply.”

Opal deflates, and your chest clenches. “Do you...do you see any of him in me?”

A smile flits to your mouth, “So much it hurts,” you let out a chuckle. “From your smile to your eyes to your goddamn apple pie, there’s no way I could forget him when he lives so much in you.”

“So why’d you leave?”

You can only stare at her, mouth paused in shock. You debate whether you should tell her the truth.

“You said full honesty Mama.”

You close your eyes tightly, trying to catch even your faintest breath. “He um,” you clear your throat to dislodge the block forming. “He was too invested in running the country, and getting married to someone who wasn’t me--”

Opal leans into you, trying to offer some comfort. “Aww, Mama.

“The worst part is...is he didn’t tell me. I’d heard it from his m--from someone who was more than pleased to see us separated. I hadn’t heard from him for days, I’d just found out about you, and now here they were, threatening our lives if we didn’t get on our first plane out of there.”

“So you left without another word.”

You don’t answer.

“But--but maybe if you’d stayed, if he’d known about me we’d be together right now! You should’ve fought for him--”

“Fought for him?” You interrupted. “Opal, I had done nothing but fight for him. I would never leave his side and then--then he wasn’t the only person I had to fight for.”

“So who was it?”

“What?”

“Who made you leave? Who threatened us?”

“Opal--”

“Mom--”

“Don’t make me answer this.”

“You said full. Honesty.”

It takes everything in you to answer. “Your Grandmother.”

Opal lets out a breath and sits back heavily. “Well fuck.”

“I know,” you chuckle.

You both don’t speak for a while.

“Do you miss him?” She asks.

“Everyday. Every time I think I’m over it, it comes back tenfold.”

“Does that mean you’d go back if you could?”

You but your lip. “I...I don’t know. That’s something I’d have to reevaluate if it ever came down to it.”

She nods thoughtfully.

“One more question baby bear.”

“...Which palace do they spend their most time in?”

You tilt your head, surprised at her last question. “That’s what you’re going to ask.”

“What can I say? I’m curious and a little bit of a daydreamer.”

Her last words break you a little more, so you tell her. She nods gratefully, and you lean forward to give her forehead a kiss. “Alright, do you want a slice of cake before we clonk out?”

Once again, to your surprise she shakes her head. “I’ll have some with you tomorrow, I think I might hit the bed now.”

“Okay.” You surrender, lifting yourself from the bed. “Good choice. Goodnight baby bear.”

“Goodnight Mama.”

You walk out of the room, and immediately Opal pulls out her phone to look up the palace. After some extensive digging and some slight dead ends, she finds a Redditt thread that swears by a palace address that’ll get her immediately to the inner circle. She quickly writes it down, and she finds a piece of paper and a few pencils.

With a deep breath, she starts to write.

It’s been about a week since your conversation with Opal, and work has been shitty. Nothing new, really, is all you can think as you wait patiently for Opal to meet you outside her school in your beat up car. Your vows to make things better seem to have fallen flat. Bills have started to drown you more than before, and you’ve recently been fired from Sal’s--you honestly don’t know how much longer you can keep your head above water.

Opal bounds to the car, humming and you give her an incredulous look. “Someone’s awfully chipper.”

“Well someone’s awfully a grouch,” she retorts.

“Well, we do live in a trash can,” you mumble, pulling away from the curb. “Baby bear, I gotta tell you something--”

“You got laid off.”

“I got--wait, how’d you know?”

“I heard you grumbling Wednesday night about Sal being a sleazeball who couldn’t keep his hands to himself.”

“Well--”

“And I found our eviction notice Mom.”

Blood rushes to your ears and you groan. “Look, I know this sounds bad, but we’ll be back on our feet before we know it, and this’ll all be behind us.”

“I know.”

You smile. “Thank you for your optimism baby bear.”

“Next time, I’ll charge you $25 for each optimistic phrase.”

You laugh heartily. “I’ll let you know when I can afford that.”

Pulling onto the side of your street, things are awfully quiet, though neither you nor Opal notice. Unlocking your apartment, you go down the steps only to freeze at the sight of apple green eyes you never thought you’d see again.

“Dean?”

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

Look out for Part Three coming soon!

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aggresivelyfriendly · 4 years ago

Text

Tis the Damn Season

Chapter Five- Santa Baby

Hello, I took a couple weeks, because life can be busy, and mine is changing, but here is a little 🎁!

Thanks to @dirtystyles, she’s the real gift!

"What are you wearing?"

"I'm sorry, but what?"

It was all she could think to say. Emma hadn't heard from Harry in months. In August he had sent her a random picture of him in a collar with long hair. She knew he had chopped his hair months ago, it had caused an internet flurry and was one of the few times he'd emerged from hibernation. She might be miffed that his year-off apparently didn't include visiting her. Not that she had asked him to.

She'd never ask.

Emma might also be incredibly miffed that he had cut off his glorious hair. She'd rocked herself to sleep many a night thinking of the way it felt trailing ver her chest, then stomach, in the crevice of her thigh. The crunch and silk of it between her fingers when she got it between her fingers at the end of that path or when he was rocking her to sleep.

Thinking about his hair usually made her hot for him, and thinking of it gone made her nostalgic, and a little mad. And that was when the memory was fresh and jot months old.

In any case, she wasn't feeling very soft for him, and that was a sexy question. She definitely wasn't feeling wet for him.

She had just walked out of class on a freezing cold day before she was ready for it to be this chilly, and she had to ride her bike. Her class was on individual contribution to global crises. Emma was the first to point out that individuals were not the true climate change culprits, but every bit helped. She just wished she'd ridden one of the clean energy buses today. Today sucked.

"Your teeth are chattering Emma, you outside?" she made an affirmative sound and he wisely knew better than to wait for an answer after that. He'd set up this mood, after all. "Sorry, came out wrong, it was meant to be funny." Harry had an apology in his voice. It was like the first knead of a dough, but he had a long way to go. "Anyway, what I meant is, I'm Christmas shopping, and I was thinking about what you might like, was gonna get you a jumper, and I think I have an idea of your style, but wanted a little guidance, I'd hate to buy you something and have you hate it—"

"Harry, take a breath!" She could feel that smile he had a way of bringing to her lips, despite herself. She really wanted to be upset with him, but seemed he'd proved himself, or distracted her at least.

Emma can't quite get a full grasp on why she's irritated with the phone call with him. She's not sure what she expected. They never had a conversation about it, about how they are just a little holiday fling. She's never even had a summer fling, so she doesn't know the rules but she assumes that they are not supposed to repeat year on year. Least not without some progress or a defining conversation where they decided on not a relationship. He was confusing. He'd been so happy to have a bit of extra time with her, she'd thought he might be in touch more, with his seemingly abundant free time. She's wanted him to be in touch more. But he hadn't.

She'd heard from him less than ever.

And now he was buying her gifts and making her smile. Damn him.

"I'm breathing, promise." He sighed. "I just could tell I'd pissed you off, and I don't want to. I've been thinking about Christmas, and well, I'm excited."

"I'm excited too. Holidays are exciting." Emma is not going to read into that. He's excited to be with his family. He's Christmas shopping for everyone. This is not about her, them.

There is no them.

There is no them, except between Christmas Eve and New Years. And that is purely physical.

These are the things she repeated to herself when she was sad, waiting for him to call or text. Sad from how he dragged himself from their pub bed saying he'd miss her and be in touch and then wasn't. His sweet nothings were like when people signed your yearbook K.I.T. She knew you weren't supposed to take those yearbook signings seriously, but he'd said it, not written it below some picture of him. That counted more, right? Than a picture? Those were cheap, especially of him; there were pictures of him everywhere, Emma was also upset that none of them looked like the real life him. Just a shade of his actual beauty.

She wanted to see him now. She missed him though she shouldn't.

Just over a month now until Christmas. And a busy one at that. She had so much data to sift through from the summer and a presentation she was basing on it was her culminating project. It would also make an early start on her field work come summer. Those things, academic, important things were her focused her life's work. Not delicious Harry Styles and his sweet holiday nothings.

"Yes, especially when I get my favorite for Christmas." Harry said bringing her back to the call they were on.

The meaning behind those words were a bit harder to ignore. All she could get out was "Oh?" Then she rolled her eyes at herself and cleared her throat and said, "Your mum's Christmas cake?"

He chuckled. "I am fond of that cake, I think I put on two stone last year from how much I ate. And she sent me home with one!"

Emma almost called bullshit on that. He'd expended all those calories, she'd been the apparatus.

She took a breath to speak, and he cut her off. "I don't mean the cake, anyway, I mean you: you're my favorite thing to have at Christmas. The best gift."

What was she supposed to say to that? Another eloquent oh? Instead she said, "Your favorite thing?" Playful offense on the word thing.

"Oh hush." He laughed. "You're my favorite, Emma. In case you want to be obtuse and miss my point. I'm very excited to see you."

She breathed in. All she could manage to reply with was "Me too."

She meant it, but as they got off the phone after setting up their usual tryst and a special meeting before the party to exchange gifts, she couldn't help but wonder if he did. If what he said was true, why the radio silence?

The gift on her lap on the train was large and ostentatious. She didn't have a ton of money for the it, student life, but her recipient was a millionaire, so she'd gone all out on the wrapping paper.

It was a frog in a Christmas hat, the motif on the paper. Emma remembered when she and Gemma had called Harry "frog boy" and he'd been mortified. But it had also found its way into their private rooms. Not when he was inside her, that would be weird, but when he looked up at her and grinned, all dimples and no teeth from where he likes to make her stomach a pillow.

How "Froggy" had become a term of endearment, she didn't know. The moment she'd seen the cute froggy in his holiday rig on the overpriced paper, she had stopped what she was doing, parked her bike with no lock, and popped in the shop.

She then had to find something to put in the paper. He'd been shopping for her this year, in October, and he'd said he was at the shop and she'd seen pictures of him hauling bags out of Gucci. That was not intimidating at all.

They had exchanged small things in years past. Harry had started it, he'd given a cookbook a friend recommended the year she went vegan. Then the next year he'd donated in her name to a clean air initiative. She'd just picked up odds and ends she thought he'd like, like a 100% recycled journal one year and a glass bottle set for his gym runs the next.

This year, she'd racked her brain, but she'd eventually found the perfect gift to fill her frog paper. She was getting better at this. He was entirely too good at it, and he was a quick learner. She'd been underwhelmed with the flowers he sent the first year and had explained that cut flowers made her sad. It seemed a waste to kill something for its fleeting beauty. Harry had nodded thoughtfully.

The next flower he sent was a gorgeous orchid, it arrived once she was back in Amsterdam and came with instructions. That first orchid had started a trend and between his gifts and her own new interest, her flat was looking very jungle esque.

Emma was always very excited to see him, but this year, after his call, there was more anticipation and preparation. If he was going to be ready for her, she would be ready for him.

She got a fresh haircut and trimmed her bush. The thrift store was kind to her, and her new Christmas jumper was perhaps less ugly than flattering, but that was ok with her. She particularly liked the way it lay over the skirt she'd planned to wear to the Twist's annual todo.

Her flights had been uneventful and her mother was elated and doting. Emma found it much more tolerable this year. Maybe she was just in the spirit, or maybe she'd been away from the village and her family long enough to actually miss them.

She definitely missed Harry.

He, predictably, had texted that his flight was delayed and he was trying to make arrangements, but he might not even make it in time for the party.

"I'm doing everything in my power to get there tonight. If I can't make my mother's party, but arrive tonight, can we meet? I'll call the inn."

"Yes." Was all she texted back. She found she was mourning their kiss beneath the mistletoe, and that he might miss her outfit. But Harry's power was considerable, and she had no doubt he would be at the Boar's Head in time to see what she planned to wear under the sweater.

Those pieces, she felt a twinge guilty about. They were pricey and definitely not second hand. Used pants were where she drew the line.

People, not Emma, bemoaned Harry's absence when those who still lived local or were able to travel home gathered for toast. Emma knew she wasn't the only one who came home partially to see Harry. It was why she was able to fly under Gem's radar, hopefully.

Gemma's only comment was, "He'll be here when he can." When Eloise asked where Harry was. She asked every year, it annoyed Gem, and took some of the heat off Emma. Eloise was so obvious, Gemma could direct some of her protective big sister vibes that way.

The night was winding down and Emma's third glass of champagne could use topping up. She'd just sidled into the kitchen to pop another bottle when a pair of arms came around her from behind.

She'd have dropped the bottle too if Harry had not pulled the most uncharacteristicly smooth and agile catch he'd ever made, whilst dipping her for a swoon worthy kiss.

"Harry!" Emma gasped, "What are you doing?" Her Hand went to find his hair, and she was sad to find it until she found his sharp, bare jaw instead. It cut through her nostalgia and she was able to appreciate his face on a new way. His lips.

"Getting my midnight kiss!"

"It's not New Year's." It was better, like new year's and her birthday combined, that kiss.

"Not yet!" He righted her but stayed wrapped around her while she popped the bottle. She poured him a glass too and had to refrain from holding his hand when she pulled him into the living room after they toasted.

He stole a kiss before they went to join the others.

It looked like his arrival was going to renew the party spirit, but he begged off as tired, and disappeared to his room by 1:30.

Emma wasn't sure what to do, or where to go, so she just slipped out the back at 2:00 when a car nearly gave her heart palpitations by pulling up right in front of her. The door popped open and Harry stuck his head out. "Cmon, it's our getaway car!"

She couldn't help but shake her head. "You disappeared and I didn't know what you wanted to do."

"Well, you obviously!" He giggled, high off the champagne and his conniving. "C'mon! We don't have that long. I wanna do Christmas morning with you!"

"It's still nighttime." Emma pointed out.

"Don't worry, we'll find something to do until the sun comes up." He looked up at her through his lashes and she couldn't help but bite her lips.

"What's the rush, Styles?" Emma asked as she climbed into the car. The driver seemed unconcerned and headed down the familiar lanes of a familiar place.

"No rush, I'm just excited and have to be back so I can sneak in for Christmas brunch."

"Oh." She knew that, it wasn't the first time.

"Not 'oh,' I want to give you your gifts on actual Christmas."

"Are you Santa Claus?" She teased as he pulled her into his chest.

"If that's what you're into? I'll be whoever you want me to be."

"Then just be you." She said with painful earnestness before she could stop herself.

Harry looked down at her in the cradle of his armpit and put his forehead to hers and gave her an Eskimo kiss. "As long as you're you."

Emma melted and if she hadn't been so tired and a little too drunk on bubbly she wouldn't have fallen asleep on the way to the Boar's Head.

"Baby," Harry whispered into her hair. "Wake up, we're here."

"I can't believe I fell asleep that fast."

"It's my voice, I've been told it has a sedative power."

"Sleepy is not usually how your voice makes me feel." What truth serum had she taken tonight?

"Well, I'll have to talk a lot to keep you up then. Hope you're refreshed after your little nap."

She was, and he kept her up but by 5:00, even his deep voice and other powers of persuasion couldn't keep her leaden lids open.

"Baby! Emma." Harry was kissing her awake and holding out a shirt for her slip on while slipping socks up her calves. "Present time."

"Ok, Santa baby." She yawned and let him drag her into the room where she had completely missed the tiny Charlie Brown tree in the corner. "Oh! You went all out." She looked at him in awe when she noticed the multicolored packages under the tree. "I only got you one thing," she was rubbing sleep out of her eyes and too tired to bullshit. "I'm feeling inadequate."

"Nah, I've heard it's better to give than receive."

"That's not what you said a couple hours ago."

"I'll give gifts if you give head." They both scrunched their brows. "Scratch the part where I made it sound like you were my sugar baby."

"Or a prostitute."She raised an arch brow.

"Nah, I couldn't afford you." He didn't even smirk.

So she responded, "I think you think that's a compliment."

He snort laughed and she couldn't help but smile with him. "I mean, you do it well enough to be paid for it, but by the face you're making I better quit talking and get to the spoiling to get myself out of trouble. Go on, open a present."

"Any order you envisioned."

"Um? No, the one where order matters I have a plan for."

"This isn't all?"

"This is most." He nodded and she felt a warm place under her breast that only ignited when he was being domestic.

Back in her old room in her childhood home, or in her flat in Amsterdam, she'd occasionally puzzle over these moments. They felt nothing short of boyfriendy, and she loved it. When she thought back on them, especially in the cold January days, they kept her warm and made her feel special. She hadn't ever felt that warm flush in her chest with anybody but Harry. She'd kind of avoided the feeling, usually.

By July, after long periods of silence where he was running around the world while she endeavored to save it, the glow of those days paled in the midnight sun. When he acted like a boyfriend, like they were more than a hookup and then ignored her, it hurt. When she was well into her yearly drought, and all she had were those shooting stars to wish upon, the sweeter he was, the more rich the ache, the aftertaste saccharine.

Emma could tell, his gifts and the joy he seemed to take in giving them would warm her to the backbone through January, and make her teeth hurt by July.

And still she couldn't convince herself to stop, to ask, to protect herself. She couldn't even detach a little, she was so excited about the little stuffed animal she had for him in return.

"Harry, this is beautiful!" She unfolded a gorgeous sweater dress of a fine wool knit that screamed warm.

"Yeah?" He smiled, pleaded with the praise and himself. "I was at Gucci, and I was gonna get you some stuff there, but they just didn't feel like you, so I started doing some research on sustainable brands and I found this one, and another. This one is good for day to day, it's called Ever Lane, and the next, Bode, it's great for retro pieces. Open the next one."

She'd been staring at him. He was going to buy her Gucci? This was better, but that seemed like a pretty penny to spend on your holiday hook up. She knew money wasn't really an object for him. He always paid for the hotel on their rendezvous and she never brought it up. It was always just taken care of. She wasn't a starving student, but she also wasn't an international pop star. These gifts felt big, bigger than what they were.

He liked to be generous. But, it felt like these gifts, the 5 packages and one coming later were a statement in a language she didn't understand.

"Harry, this is too much." Was all she could say. He didn't respond with words, just gave her a look and shrugged his shoulders like, 'what else am I supposed to do with it'.

Emma knew from Gemma that Harry took care of them, their vehicles and his mum's house and whatever they mentioned they wanted or he thought they'd like.

Gemma had said last year, when she was thrilling over her Christmas gifts, "It's the one time of year I let him get away with it. The rest of the time I've gotten to where I don't mention things I like or want, because they show up on my doorstep, you know?"

Emma had nodded even though she didn't know, but she did now. He was so thoughtful it hurt, but the implications troubled her.

"Open the next one. I'm really excited for it."

It was a beautiful jacket, mustard, her favorite color, and matching mittens.

"For when you want to ride your bike, but it's chilly. They're very warm." He remembered she was cold on her bike that day.

Emma knew he remembered her text after the 'what are you wearing' conversation about being grumpy because she had chosen to ride her bike but it was too cold. His big beating heart could melt snow.

She swallowed down the sentiments clogging her throat along with her worries. Should she ask? She'd have too, eventually. This was feeling more serious than it should be, like he wanted to call her babe for more than a weekend, like he wanted her to stay, with him.

It's what she wanted, in some part of her, but was completely out of the question. He had a big international life, and she had her own global ambition.

The rest was wrapped donation cards to causes she'd worked for or even mentioned. The last gift was a small box, and when she opened it, she cried, then laughed and handed him his box.

"What?" He said, "I can't tell if you're happy or sad about that gift?" He worries his bottom lip.

It was another frog, just like the one she'd picked as the tangible gift when she'd made the donation in his name.

Emma just shrugged and wiped her eyes. "Open it."

His bursting balloon laugh inflated her merry heart. "Did we really do the exact same thing?" His face had an odd look she could only call tender.

"Same wavelength, me and you." He was misty like she had been a moment ago. He leaned forward and kissed her. Then picked up their stuffed frogs and made them kiss like he was a small child playing dolls. "I almost don't want to separate them."

"Are we still talking about the frogs?" She laughed, because she had a feeling they weren't.

He shrugged and his phone began to buzz. "Can I take a rain check on answering that question? If I don't leave right now, they will know I stayed out all night on Christmas Eve, and there will be questions. I don't think we are quite ready to explain what we are." He chose that moment to yawn like a lion in the late afternoon after a long day of lounging and got up to leave.

Emma still had questions.He'd said not quite ready to explain what they were doing. Emma wasn't even sure what they were doing. Were they going to tell people, tell Gemma? Tell them what? That they were together? Wanted to be together? Belonged together. The frogs too, did the frogs belong together?

He was dressed by the time she was done freaking out. He looked tired, but exhilarated, like he'd spent a night getting everything he wanted and a few things he didn't know he needed. "Bye doll," he kissed her, right on the mouth, affectionately and with only a trace of the heat the December air lacked. "I'll see you tomorrow night. Merry Christmas! I wanna see you in the sweater," he was walking through the door. "Oh, and the other thing?"

"Other thing?" She looked at him confused.

He pointed underneath the tree. "Have another look."

Emma blushed when she opened the lingerie. She wondered if he'd had to check her pants and bras for sizes or if he just knew the shape of her well enough that he'd guessed accurately.

They looked really good.

She needed to be getting home as well. There would be no getting out of it, she needed an excuse for rolling in just in time for Christmas brunch, her parents were notorious early risers, as was she. Her plan was to tell them she'd just made too merry the night before and slept on the couch at the Twist's. It was truth adjacent. It was the best she could come up with, her head was full of Harry and she couldn't think.

Her Christmas passed in a blur of food and wine and wrapping paper. Harry had sent her a picture of him with a bow on his head and asked her if she felt spoiled enough or needed him to wear the bow the next day.

She'd told him to wear it. And only it.

She'd not expected him to follow directions both precisely and with some creative license.

"Do you really think your cock is a gift?" She tried to mock him, while he stood proudly, hips first in their room at the Boat's Head.

"Well, I intend to give it to you!" He raised his eyebrows and stalked toward her. "I like the sweater. Looks amazing, but? Probably better here." He swept it over her head and deposited it on the floor.

"That was atrocious!" She giggled, but felt no anxiety unlike the last day or so.

"Yeah, maybe, but I needed to see if you'd worn my other gift."

"I thought it was my gift."

"For both of us, I'd argue." He winked.

"You wink like a drunk pirate." She couldn't help but smile at him. His silly banter had completely removed the nerves she should be feeling, standing in front of him in a Santa red bra, panties, garter belt, and stockings. She'd sourced the Santa hat herself and the black heels were hers.

"I'm feeling drunk seeing you in this." His hands were running over the satin on her hips and the lace at her waist, then the bare flesh of her ass. "I think I even lied to myself. This was definitely my present." The last word was said against her lips and his big hands slid down the globes of her backside to between her thighs, hoisting her onto his hips. The trail his thumbs left had her shivering.

The bed rose up to meet her. Harry hovered over her before standing and staring.

"Are we on pause?" She was panting and really hoping they were not stopping let alone slowing.

He opened his hands like a director, "I'm just trying to remember this to keep me warm all year." He ran his hands from her toes to her curled hair, she'd gone all out, then back down. His face was full of anticipation and a hesitation she'd never seen when she was this bare, not even the first time when he was flush on bravado and international acclaim.

"What is it?" She started to sit up.

He groaned. "Wow, that move did great things for your chest."

Emma could only laugh. He was acting like he'd never seen a naked woman, when he'd probably seen more than his fair share, and had definitely seen her before.

"You're acting like you've never seen me before."

"It's always like the first time. You're overwhelming."

"I'm overwhelming?" She wanted to laugh, she saw him as Harry, at first her friend's brother, then the cute boy with the big career she'd hooked up with, then her favorite holiday surprise, and now she couldn't define exactly what he was to her, mostly Harry? Who she missed all year and cherished for a week at a time in person, a deeply in her heart the rest of the time. She remained aware, however, of who he was, at large.

"Absolutely, I can barely take you. Can't believe I get to have you." What did she say to that? She only nodded, it was mutual. "Listen," he continued, "Can I take a picture of you. I'll keep your face out of it."

She thought for a moment, thrilled that he wanted to save this memory, to relive this moment until they met again. She didn't have any pictures of him, and thought there were so many online, none of them were really of him. "Yeah, go on Harry."

Maybe she should take one back. Save the neck down one place and the neck up as her wallpaper, she could get away with it. She saw classmates with him as their Home Screen. Her plans kept the nerves at bay while he got his set up ready.

He posed a leg, had her lay back, and then sit up. He took about 5 pictures on his phone, then three Polaroids, and by then she was getting into it. She was moving in ways that made her feel sexy and he was getting antsy.

"I'll show you, so you can approve, after." He discarded the phone and pulled his jumper over his head before crawling up the bed and over her.

"I trust you Harry. It's fine."

She wasn't sure what it was about those words, but he grew, thicker between her thighs and larger in her presence before he was kissing her bra off and asking if he could leave the stockings and shoes on.

"'Mmmhmmm." Emma moaned from her perch on the pillows looking down watching him pull her panties free and reattaching her stockings. "Damn." He kissed both places and flipped her over to skate his lips up her thighs and ass and back. Her hair was over her face while he kissed her neck and rutted into her with his jeans still on. She grabbed a handful of his glorious hair and kissed him over her shoulder. "Like this?" She asked.

"Mmhmmm." He echoed and she felt him kicking his jeggings free and sliding on the condom. She was flat on the mattress and unsure if he wanted her to push back on her knees. She didn't need to think about it long, he hoisted her up, and pressed a gentle hand between her shoulder blades so her body arched like a slide. His fingers climbed up to cascade down her backbone in an echo of the ride he was about to take down. He was right there, hovering, and Emma pushed back, but the whine in her voice was the more obvious tell.

"Baby, I need you."

"I need you, so much. Miss you when I'm gone."

She missed him when she was gone too. He slid his head in and waited. Emma wasn't really in control of the clenching this caused and it made Harry lose his grip on his. The smack of his hips against her thighs reverberated off the borrowed walls they considered their own.

He stroked her inside out and commented on the grip of her onto his dick. "It's like you don't want to let me go," he whispered into her ear.

Emma turned her head and breathed, "I don't want to." The kiss broke his rhythm and lingered until her clenching started over, again. How was she so close so soon?

"No, no, no." She whined when he pulled out.

"Shhhh, I've got you." He knew she was onto something, they'd become practiced hands at each other's pleasure.

He flipped her over and smoothed her hair back, bracketing her face between his hands like an aside he needed to voice right at that moment. "I just want to see you."

He went back in with ease, and with anybody else she might be ashamed for how embarrassingly wet she was, for the squelch. "God! Harry!" Her thighs came up to his hips and he hitched one over his elbow and open, then lay a good portion of his weight onto her. It was just the right side of too much. Just like all of him.

"Let me find it again, that high you were chasing?"

She was nodding, babbling. He picked up the rhythm from before and added a tiny rut at the end to the swelling of her clit. She was back on the trail to the summit quickly. It had been good, if fumbling, from night one. By this gift season, it was like he had installed all of her buttons personally and could push her to the edge at will. Her eyes were closed and she was concentrating hard on the oasis just beyond her horizon.

"Baby," he whispered, his breath soft and scented like her lip balm. "Open your eyes." He was just over her and he wrapped her open thigh back and around his knee. "Watch me," he made a c with his body so she could watch the goings on and feel them too.

"Oh, fuck."

"I love your filthy mouth. When you get going. Demure driven Emma on the brink has a dirty dirty mouth."

She'd narrow her eyes at him if she could bear to look away from his cock.

"Baby!" She gasped.

"Hold it, stay, just a little longer." He kissed her and then compelled her eyes to his. "I'll come with you."

His nose touched hers at just the tip and he rocked her and watched as she trembled and held off and pleaded. "Now, now, come now." He grit his teeth in preparation, but he needn't have worried, the minute he commanded it, she obeyed and the body roll of sensation ran from the roots of her hair to the bends of her knees.

He seized and his head fell back, but as soon as he was in command of himself again, his eyes were back on hers. "I love...," he gasped and her mind raced over what the hell he might say. What she wanted to gasp back. It was a bit of a comedown as opposed to a denouement when he filled in, "...having you for Christmas."

He buried his face in her neck and breathed into the nooks and crannies she thought she had kept safe from him.

Which was why it hurt so much when she had to tell him no.

His final gift, complete with an aching grin, had been an open ended ticket. "So you can come to me, with me, on tour."

She knew her brow knotted up like a bundle of discarded yarn. That wasn't the agreement. And she couldn't, couldn't even allow herself to want it. She had her PhD program looming. There was no time to go anywhere this fall.

"Harry, you know I can't."

He looked crestfallen, like this was new information and not why they only got these stolen snowbound days once a year. "Can't or won't?" He was verging on angry and it would piss her off if her heart wasn't so close to fissuring.

Honesty was her only policy, "Both." She handed the ticket back to him.

It ruined their night, the movie they tried to distract themselves with, the goodbye sex they didn't have.

He wasn't even there when she woke up the next morning.

But the tickets were on his pillow with a small note, "Change your mind, please. I'll be seeing you. H."

#harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfic #ttds #chapter 5 #Santa baby #tis the damn season #song fic

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chaotictommy · 3 years ago

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Okay sooooooo I don’t know if this is good, lol, I have no clue about any of my own writing. But anyway, I finished my small Jimmy and Tommy oneshot, which, now reading through could be taken as them just being friends or if you want to dive down that rabbit hole, could be taken as more...

I don’t know... I have doubts about my own writing, so if it’s bad, I apologize XD

but here it is.....

fanfic warning: major character death... :(

A Little Piece of Home

The first time he finds Tommy wearing one of his sweaters, a blue grey one that was Jimmy’s dad’s, his friend is sitting back and eating a sandwich while crumbs hit the wool, Jimmy nearly gets annoyed at his friend, settling for a mix of confusion and hesitation, because his best friend has no care of other people’s possessions, is anything but gentle, and doesn’t think before he takes something that doesn’t belong to him, maybe it’s because they’re close, but Jimmy doesn’t notice him taking things from others like that. Maybe it’s because they are like brothers. It used to annoy the hell out of him. Now it leaves Jimmy smiling, a bittersweet smile tinged with a little melancholy, at the memory.

“You’ll ruin it,” “Says who?” It’s a teasing smirk, the one Tommy knows gets him every time, annoys him to no end, that one that makes him smile despite himself, the one that disconcerts him, because he doesn’t know if Tommy is serious or teasing, and Jimmy wants to dwell in certainties, it’s problematic without them, but his best friend lives on uncertainty and adrenaline alone, and pulls Jimmy into it too.

He fixes his glasses, squinting over them at Tommy before replacing them and giving a shrug “Just... just take it off before you ruin it... it’s cashmere...” he sees the look on his friend’s face and shrugs “No idea, some type of wool I think, anyway, it’s expensive and you’ll stretch it out,” he gets a remark, half sarcastic and half teasing him for liking sweaters that much, for not trusting him enough, he knows Tommy’s joking and he can’t help but smile and reply, even though he’s trying not to “Oh, I’m sorry but tell me again how I wasn’t the one guy who tried to flirt with a gal and got a milkshake in the face when her football player boyfriend walked back over? It stained your shirt Tommy, Let’s just face it man, you should come with a warning sign, a label of some sort, you’re a disaster zone, and I am definitely not letting you steal my clothes...” but it happens again because Tommy never gives up and it’d be a strange day if he ever stopped fighting about — basically everything.

The second time he just gives up. Obviously Tommy isn’t going to listen, or had forgot, Jimmy really hopes it is the latter, but he knows this is a battle he’s not going to win, and not sure he wants to fight, so he compromises, feeling somehow as if it’s a custody battle in a divorce, since they’re sharing time with the sweater, Jimmy getting it half the time with Tommy taking the rest. It should annoy him, and on the outside he pretends it does, but inside, it really doesn’t bother him at all, honestly, he’s happy that Tommy’s happy.

The third time he finds Tommy hoarding one of his sweaters, a tan one with light colors in the classic pattern, and he just laughs with annoyance, running a fry through mayonnaise as they sit down at their current meeting place (and honestly this is going to be a recurring thing for them, meeting at the Diner, the milkshakes are to die for, the meatloaf could be better, the burgers are great, and the service is lacking at times, but the booths have high walls, which is a added win for Jimmy, so Tommy can be a bit too loud, like he always is, because let’s face it, Tommy has no idea what an ‘inside voice’ is, Jimmy’s had to face that fact more times than he’d like to admit). Jimmy fixes his eyes on his friend and looks at him questioningly “I’ve been trying to find that sweater for months.” He frowns and shakes his head, sighing long and trying to make Tommy get that he is — not okay with this “Don’t you have your own? Don’t you have any clothes of your own?” His friend turns with a look, as if he’s been caught, usually looking like that even if he’s done nothing wrong at all, barely thinking before he answers “Yes, no, maybe, I like yours better,” Jimmy raises an eyebrow in confusion “What’s that even supposed to mean? You’re being too cryptic, I’m not up for riddles,” he laughs and cringes when his friend grabs for the ketchup, nearly spilling over the table and the sweater, his sweater, the sweater he’s been looking for for about a month now, just popping up right in front of him when he’s not thinking about it, now being worn by his best friend, one disaster away from being ruined. He’s seriously worried for the safety of that sweater. “You’re messy,” he says, hand instinctively tugging Tommy’s wrist away from over the mustard, pretending to be disgruntled “Honestly Tommy, you’re a complete mess of a person,” “But you still love me?” They both laugh till it hurts, and Tommy pays the bill. He tells Jimmy it’s because they’re brothers, because it feels like home wearing something that makes him think of family. Jimmy doesn’t get it. Later, he will.

He remembers giving him one of his favorite sweaters, wrapped up in leftover green wrapping paper (green was Tommy’s favorite color), a Grey sweater with a greenish blue argyle pattern, folded into it. It became a sweater Tommy couldn’t stop wearing and a present that Jimmy was proud to give, he values their friendship and everything that entails. Yeah, Tommy’s loud and kinda — crazy, crazy in the good sense of the word, and Jimmy’s quieter, locked in on his thoughts, calmer, like the sides of Ying and Yang, and it’s those complementing opposites that Jimmy wouldn’t change. They’re friends and sharing things is just what happens right? It earns Jimmy the comment that he ‘looks like a nerd now’ as Tommy pulls the sweater on, but they both know that it’s a great present that Tommy values.

Jimmy gets a couple of books, loving how thoughtful that gift was as well. He still has them, now his kids are reading from those same copies. It’s nice to remember that. Now that...

The time wore on and one after the other, he lost touch with Dutch, with Bobby, and with Johnny, but he somehow managed to keep Tommy, to stay friends even though miles separated them, college, family. He was there from the start and to the very end. Tommy was his best man at his wedding, when he was so nervous that Tommy had to talk him back from complete panic, his ever present fears of being inadequate, not enough. Tommy had been there, and Jimmy had been there throughout Tommy’s struggle, he’d been the second to know when fighting wasn’t an option anymore... they’d tried to make peace with it, but nobody ever tells you how hard it would be...

When Tommy died, everything felt disjointed, disconnected, everything stopped then and there as the paramedics rushed by, knowing it was over even though his brain was screaming it wasn’t true. THAT IT COULDN’T BE TRUE. But it was. But nothing seemed to make any sense anymore. Nothing fit.

The breaths he took then seemed foreign as if Tommy had taken everything, even the breath in his lungs, with him, the breaths were strangled and meek, mixed with pain, he had been ready for it, yes, but nobody was ever prepared, not even when they said they were. Jimmy knew that now.

Now, going through Tommy’s things, in his empty home, his hand brushed against something in the bottom of the box. It was soft, even though years had passed, worn at the edges and the elbows, from Tommy always leaning on them, into his friend’s personal space, talking way too close in excited tones, appreciative, teasing. Jimmy knew what it was before he saw it, and the fresh wave of tears hit him, mixed emotions in them now, the lingering sadness and joy, relief somehow there as well. He hadn’t cried that much in front of Johnny, neither had he cried much in front of Bobby, they had felt like strangers somehow... now he felt himself breaking down. The tears were long overdue.

So he sat there, with a sweater and a lot of memories.

Other people would see a worn sweater that has seen better days, just like the brunette man now holding it, but to Jimmy, this sweater is much more than a bunch of knotted yarn, a castoff to some thrift store because of the wear and tear

It’s the sweater his best friend wore when he needed to keep warm during the colder months, or when they went camping, the one he’d hardly take off because Jimmy had gifted it to him, and he said that it meant everything, the one that wrapped Jimmy in tight hugs he’d pretend to struggle out from, pretending to dislike them, but secretly loving them. It was something that would always remind him of Tommy.

It was a little piece of home. Something now missing from his life, having gone suddenly with his friend.

He’d always have Tommy with him even though he wasn’t there anymore

They’ll always be best friends. Nothing will ever change it.

It’s only a sweater, but to him, it’s a part of home, as much so as the the family he’s made, the house he lives in now, and Tommy, who left a heart shaped hole when he — left.

It’s something that reminds him of every moment with his best friend. That’s all he has now, those moments. He knows someday he’ll forget the playful smirk, the annoying laugh that was both and infectious.

But for now he has those moments and something, however insignificant it is to others, to remind him of the better times.

And that’s everything.

Author’s note: Okay, so the sweater that Jimmy gifted to Tommy is the one you can see him wearing in the first scene of TKK2

It’s grey and has a greenish blue argyle pattern.

the books Tommy gave Jimmy were:

The Outsiders (I always connect the Cobras to the book lol)

Fahrenheit 451

1984

and

A collection of Sci-fi stories by Ray Bradbury

Because I think Jimmy would love Sci-fi

I truly hoped you liked the story and if it was terrible lol, again my apologies

#TKK #The Karate Kid #Cobra Kai #Cobra Kai Never Dies #Jimmy and Tommy #Friendship #Og Cobras #Lol I get nervous posting my writing

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bard-of-worlds · 4 years ago

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Ladybug the Law is the Law CH9

Sorry this is so late guys, i needed to get past a writer’s block and then i needed to deal with some other stuff, in RL. and here it is finally and i hope to have a good gift for all of you this Christmas

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Adrien looked at the black pants and a black jacket/vest with dark blue pockets he was wearing before looked at how he looked in the mirror with the rig and smirked. “You know I look normal with black hair.”

“You’re just lucky that it’s a cold enough for some people to wear a jacket.” Marinette said as she looked at him holding the arms of the jacket and sighed. “But it isn’t cold enough for the full piece so……”

“Yeah, good call with the zipper arms.” Adrien said and Marinette shrugged.

“It was like that when I found it; it did give me a few ideas and it taught me a few ideas about some tricks to try out.” Marinette said with a laugh that caused Adrien to stare at her and blush and he heard Plagg snicker in the jacket vests pocket.

“Well this is pretty good. Why’d whoever give it to a thrift store?” Adrien asked and Marinette chuckled and smirked.

“I had to replace a zipper on one side, there was a stain on the pockets that caused me to cut them away and put in some new ones, that’s why they’re a different color.” Marinette said and Adrien ahhed.

“Thanks for this Marinette, I better go before Nadja gets here, see you after where ever we’re supposed to meet up.” Adrien asked and Tikki spoke up before Marinette could.

“The movie theater in the 17th near the Arc.” Tikki said from Marinette’s purse.

“Thanks Sugarclub, come on lover boy the sooner we’re done, the sooner we can talk to Fu and the others.” Plagg said from a pocket in the jacket and Marinette looked away with a blush as Tikki giggled.

“I’ll meet you and the others there, this way we won’t press our luck more then we have to.” Adrien said as he looked at Marinette and took a deep breath. “And we will have to have a talk before Monday.”

“About…..” Marinette asked and Adrien looked at her.

“Us.” Adrien said and Marinette blushed and looked away. Adrien bent over and kissed Marinette’s forehead and she blushed harder and he smiled at her as he rubbed her right cheek. “I’ll see you at Fu’s.”

“Wait, don’t forget this.” Marinette said as she handed him a slice of cheese breed wrapped up and Adrien smiled at her and hugged her.

“Thanks Marinette, thank you for being you.” Adrien said before he quickly left through the door and moved along the streets towards a location he could transform and blushed a little bit for what he had done.

“Nice going lover boy, and what do you want to name your kittens?” Plagg teased and Adrien looked down as Plagg snickered.

“Plagg, will you keep it down?!” Adrien said as he looked around, hoping that no one was nearby enough to see or curious enough to investigate.

“Relax, nobodies close enough to hear us.” Plagg said and Adrien looked around and force himself to relax a tiny bit but kept walking, his eyes looking around for any trace that someone had heard Plagg. “And if anyone does hear they’ll probably think your phone is on speaker.”

Adrien kept quiet as he walked through Paris and away from the area of both the school and the bakery, he had to find a place to transform that he wouldn’t be seen. “We have to be careful Plagg, especially now. Once mistake and this will be like the time Marinette and I tried to see that movie!”

“You’re paranoid, but in your case that’s a good point.” Plagg admitted as Adrien walked down a blind alley a few moments later.

“Plagg, claws out!” Adrien said and within a moment he had transformed into Chat Noir and jumped upwards and began dashing over the Paris skyline. You know I’m right kid

Marinette stayed still for minutes after Adrien had left until Tikki moved up and got in her face, grinning at her. “I told you he would still like you Marinette!”

Marinette snapped out of her daze and still blushing moved upstairs and got the area ready for when Manon would get here, leaving Tikki to follow behind and giggle as she flew after her chosen. Five minutes later Marinette was finished putting the last finishing touches on the living room when she heard the doorbell and gestured for Tikki to hide and hurried down stairs and opened the door and smiled when she saw who was there.

“Some one’s been dying to see you again Marinette.” Nadja said with smiled at Marinette as Manon hugged the designer.

“Marinette!” Manon called happily as Marinette laughed a little, glad that Manon was still the same given the chaos of the last few days.

“Hi Manon, my friend Alya is coming over later so let’s hope unlike the first time there isn’t an Akuma attack.” Marinette said and Manon giggled. “Now I left out a juice box and cookies upstairs, who can I trust to be a good girl and go drink it and eat the vegetable cookies?”

“ME!” Manon called out and Marinette let her run to the stairs and walked up them carefully.

“Thanks again Marinette, I’m sorry for bothering you like this all last minute but I was originally going to have the day off but then my boss called me and I had to go in for a surprise interview. So everything is good then I’ll be back before noon.” Nadja said as she handed over a small bag and Marinette nodded.

“Don’t worry; this is fine. And I might be on hand to watch her during the mornings on weekdays in the future if you need me to.” Marinette said with a smirk as Nadja looked shocked. “I’m going to be homeschool for the rest of the year at least, so I’ll get back to you about what days I might be able to handle her.”

“Did something happen at school?” Nadja asked and Marinette sighed.

“That is a long story that I can’t legally talk about until my expulsion hearing.” Marinette said and held up a hand as Nadja opened her mouth. “LEGALLY I can’t talk about it, but once I can I’ll tell you the whole story okay.”

“I’ll be back in a few hours Marinette, thanks again.” Nadja said and walked off, a frown on her face. Why, in the name of everything on this planet would Marinette, Marinette of all the students in that school be expelled, this makes enough sense as….. nothing at all! I think I have a new subject for my next investigation, the current state of the Paris Education department and schools! She thought as she looked at the school across the street and she hoped that it wasn’t as bad as she feared it was.

As Marinette moved upstairs she saw Manon as she drank her juice and smiled at her. “Okay I’ve got a game, there’s a good movie you like or you could play one of the video games your mom brought.”

“Movie!” Manon said and Marinette turned the TV on and she laughed as it started.

Marinette got out a drawing pad and started to work on a dress design as she sighed, happy that this would be easy for once.

“Hey Marinette, your parents said I could come up and help…… okay TV and movie, good.” Alya said softly as she came up from below.

Chat Noir dropped down into a back ally and dropped his transformation and Plagg flew into his pocket that Adrien put the cheese slice and Adrien could hear the kwami eat the food. He moved out the alley and saw Louise waiting by his car and moved towards him. “Hey Louise!”

Louise looked up and blinked a few times before he realized who he was seeing. “That you kid, I wouldn’t have known it was you if I hadn’t heard you!”

“Thanks, she does good work doesn’t she?” Adrien asked as he smirked as he got into the backseet and Louise got into the driver’s seat and started the car. As they drove along Adrien looked at the windows and whistled.

“What’s with the tainted widows?” He asked as he felt Plagg move against him and waited

“Security feature that I got when my car needed to be replaced.” Louise said and smirked at Adrien through the review mirror. “Let me tell you, that modification really help me get my clients around safely. And at least this way your fans won’t see you in the windows!”

Adrien laughed lightly as they drove through Paris, letting the radio takeover the small talk. As they passed by a Limo Adrien went white as he saw the Gorilla in driver’s seat. As the car passed by and he looked back and saw the limo drive away he breathed easily.

“Yeah kid I know, we passed your family’s car. Don’t react, we’re almost there. All we have to do is make it a few more blocks and we’re home free.” Louise said and Adrien sighed as he leaned back. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this car after your mom disappeared and he doesn’t know what my license plate is so we’re golden.”

Adrien kept silent and Louise looked at him and frowned, not liking how Adrien was behaving. Come on kid, I know that Gab did a number on you, but I really want to believe that there’s still a way for the both of you to heal. He thought as he went over everything that he could do to get a rise out of him. “Hey kid, your dad ever tell him the first time he met your mother she threw up on him?”

“No, really?” Adrien asked and Louise laughed a little.

“Okay, let me tell you all about how those two met. It was college, Gabriel was putting together this fashion show and your mom was between shows at the theater so she decided to give it a try, IE her sis talked her into it. Of course acting and modeling is kinda different so she was nervous as heck.” Louise said as he drove the car through Paris. “Unfortunately her sister gave her a cure but it was actually meant to purge her system and well you can guess what happened when Gabriel walked up.”

“No way!” Adrien said and started to laugh.

“Yeah, man o man he had this expression as what the fuck happened and then Emilie was apologizing and then Gabe went and changed into his spare clothing, it was his suit and then he started the show, and since it was high class clothing his complimented it and he got a great review!” Louise said and laughed. “Emilie worked in a few more of his shows and then they started to date after they graduated and then well you know.”

“You know they never told me that story. Any other stories like that?” Adrien asked and Louise laughed and shook his head as he looked into his past.

“Plenty kid, plenty!” Louise said as he looked into his past and snickered. “I’ll tell you all about then once we’re inside there.”

“There? Oh.” Adrien said as he saw they were just in front of a blocky building with a garage door next to a black glass door with a card reader and a keypad next to both doors and he whistled. “You know, I never noticed that before.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Louise said with a sigh. “Strange isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Adrien said as they drove up to the garage door and Louise opened his window and inserted a card into the card reader next to the garage door and put in a code before it started to open.

They drove into a well-lit garage with rows of parking spaces and a door on the other side with a card reader next to it. Louise parked and then parked the car, Louise looked at Adrien and smiled. “Okay kid as we went into the door, it started to close and we just need to wait another minute then we’ll be able to leave. And don’t worry about anyone talking about you being here, everyone signs a contract of confidentiality and if anyone talks, everyone is punished until the person responsible is discovered.”

“Oh.” Adrien said and looked at the garage door and saw it closed and then he opened the car door and Louise got out as well.

“Another fun fact, the door to the waiting room outside turns twice, no way for anyone to get camera shots of inside.” Louise said as they walked towards the door to the building, it opened and a man in a suit with a face mask and thick glasses walked out and signed a few words to Louise who nodded at him. “And the doctor is great with people who have particular objections and personal requirements to their treatment, hey man how’s it been?”

The man signed a few more words and walked away towards a car and got in, not reacting and Adrien looked at Louise who grinned.

“Motion sensors, this way the doors out only open when nobody is out of the building.” Louise said and Adrien whistled.

“They really work to keep their clients identities safe don’t they?” Adrien asked and Louise nodded with a laugh.

“Yeah they do kid.” Louise said as he opened the door and then walked infront of him into a waiting room with a girl Adrien’s age with black glasses, pink hair and she was wearing a nurse’s uniform with a black hat on. Adrien noticed that she was wearing a grey choker around her neck. “Hello, wait are you Sarah’s daughter Lisa?”

“Yes I am, are you the three 10 o’clock appointment a MERZETH?” Lisa asked and Louise nodded and grinned at Adrien.

“And another thing, they give our appointments code names and password. Yes, I am Mr. Duty.” Louise said with a smirk. “Kid go with her, she’ll take you and I’ll be here when you get back.” Adrien nodded and walked after Lisa who led him to a room and gestured for him to enter. As Adrien sat down in one of the chairs Plagg pushed his head out and looked at Adrien.

“I’m going to poke around a bit; this is about an hour right?” Plagg said before he darted away, Adrien watching helplessly.

Plagg flew through the vents and smirked as he saw black cobwebs followed them until he reached a drop and moved down until he found a circle of the black webs on the side and phased through it into a small chamber with a black sphere of the webs that glowed, illuminating the space.

“I thought I felt you Webby!” Plagg said with a grin as he looked at who he had found.

“Don’t call me Webby stinky sock!” A high pitched voice said as a spider like Kwami with four ‘stick legs’ sticking out of it’s back and it had it’s arms crossed. “And what are you two doing here?! I thought you all went with those people to Tibet centuries ago!”

“The order fell before WW2 Zera.” Plagg said and Zera looked at him in shock and gasped.

“Then this Hawkmoth thing isn’t those guys trying to drag us out of hiding?!” Zera said, shocked. Plagg looked at her before wincing, remembering a few things the Order had done to get some of their holders to give the Miraculous over to their ‘care’.

“No, it really isn’t. So how about, want to talk your holder into fighting alongside us?” Plagg asked and Zera looked down, her mind elsewhere. “What is it; your’s is on the side of the good right?”

“Yeah, but she’s not one who likes to fight. I mean my powers are best with a team, my webs can hold foes down or help protect others, and she’s a medic!” Zera said and then looked at Plagg. “I’ll talk to her, I’ll say that I found you when I saw Chat Noir on the roof and you detransformed and you swung by while your holder was eating at a restaurant nearby.”

Nadia walked into the hotel and looked around, trying to find her crew when she spotted someone waving at her from the elevators.

“Hey Nadia, sorry about calling you in but we really didn’t have a choice.” The executive said and looked at her with an apologetic look on his face. “I mean nobody expect that to happen to him, really we didn’t. I’m sorry; I’ll give you a day off with half pay so please I’m sorry.”

“We were just lucky that I could get a babysitter, that’s all I will say about this. So who am I meeting with?” Nadia asked and he sighed at her answer and bowed to her.

“An executive from a movie theater that is looking to open a studio nearby, and by nearby I mean outside the range of him.” The executive said and Nadia looked shocked. “We need you to well, read off a few question for the preliminaries and hopeful if nothing happens then we’ll have an interview at the studio.”

“That’s something; I mean it would be the first new business that’s come into the city in, well since this thing started!” Nadia said and the executive nodded.

“Then you see how this could be big, right?” The executive said with a smile. “And the studio might make a superhero movie first!”

“That is amazing.” Nadia said and looked up at the clock and nodded. “But I have to be finished before noon, I promised the sitter that I’d get her before then and this was last minute.”

“Of course, I promise no more than an hour.” The executive said as they walked towards the elevators,

“Nice, and I might have a good story about one of the local school within the next few days.” Nadia said and the executive looked interested as the doors closed. Meanwhile outside the Agreste limo came to a stop in front of the hotel and pulled to a stop.

Nathalie got out and looked at the ‘Gorilla’ and nodded at him. “Go park nearby, hopefully I’ll have Adrien and we’ll be back at the mansion in a few hours.”

The Gorilla looked at her and grunted and scowled at her, and Nathalie winced and looked down. “I promise I won’t stop you if at the end of it all Gabriel and Adrien doesn’t make up and fix this, you can take Adrien to the police and testify okay?”

‘Gorilla’ nodded and Nathalie looked around at the hotel and walked inside, her eyes looking all over trying to find a clue that Adrien was there. After a few moments a hand fell onto her shoulder and she turned to see the mayor looking at her with a smile.

“Nathalie my dear, how are you? You usually talk to my people over the phone if you need the space, has something happened?” Chloe’s father, André Bourgeois the mayor of Paris asked as he stood there in his usual clothes. Nathalie looked at him and smiled.

“No, I just thought I’d hit the café here and grab a coffee. With everything that happened lately I thought it might be best that I grab one from here.” Nathalie said and Andre sighed and shook his head.

“I know just what you mean my dear. With all Hawkmoth and now this newcomer, what’s her name, Karula Zayura….. whatever. First it was how people just needed to feel strong emotions and now what she uses to make monsters, I just don’t know what Paris is coming too. Thankfully tourism hasn’t fallen too much.” He said with a laugh.

“I think her name was Mayura, and it’s never a good idea to taunt the crazy Mr. Mayor, I would have the name memorized before any speeches.” Nathalie said frostily and Andre nodded.

“Of course, but with the special guest I have……opps! Please forget I ever said anything my dear, and don’t mention it to Gabriel.” Andre said as he looked at her.

Nathalie kept silent and looked at him and barely kept a smile down. “So you don’t want Gabriel to know about it then?”

“Just until the announcement my dear, a day at most and then go right ahead.” Andre said and he shrugged. “I know it sounds convoluted but that’s what they wanted.”

“I understand completely, truly I do.” Nathalie said and smiled at in self-thought victory. “Just for the sack of wondering, is the guest in the ninth Suite, that has nothing to do with this one right?”

“Oh of course, we were obliged to give that room to them, a point of honor as you can guess.” Andre said and then looked at the clock and then nodded. “I’m so sorry, but I have to leave, I have a meeting about a concert and well I don’t want to be late.”

“Of course, I’m sorry that I took so much time from you.” Nathalie said and watched him leave before taking out her phone.

Nath; I have two pieces of evidence that he’s here, plan is a go

Gabe; Good, I’ll see you with him hopefully, good luck.

Nathalie walked towards the café and looked around the lobby, she was sure Adrien was here and once Gabriel found the right target, she would have her chance. Once it started she would go up to the top floor and then she would find Adrien and talk to him about everything as the Gorilla drove them away from the attack.

“When you have that court date, call me. I want to have a talk with your nutritionists, a talk involving my hands around his neck.” Doctor Albert Wayzong said with a glare as he looked at Adrien. When he had seen Adrien’s results it had taken some fast talking before he hurt Louise and then after hearing that Adrien was filling for emancipation and he calmed down a bit after that.

“Thanks doc, I really appraised it.” Adrien said as he shook Albert’s hand. Doctor Albert Wayzong was a middle aged man with a bald head and had blue eyes and a small beard. He was wearing a blue shirt under a white doctor’s coat and black pants. Adrien leaned against the wall and after a moment he felt Plagg press against him from within his coat and he kept a grin down. “And this place is great; I mean you’ve got great service and well you really take care of your clients privacy!”

“Don’t thank me my boy, this place was set up after one too many paparazzi broke down my old place. And helping you, well that was part of my weakly charity work. Keeps my optimism alive and I get to stay in practice.” Doctor Albert said with a laugh.

“Goodbye, come again!” Lisa waved as she sat behind the counter. As she looked down at her pocket she frowned and looked up at the doctor and cleared her throat. “Sorry doc, bathroom breaks be right back in a bit.”

Adrien and Louise walked out and got into Louise’s car and then they were on the road outside of the building.

“Okay, so where do I need to take you Adrien?” Louise asked and Adrien looked at him.

“Back to where you dropped me, that’s all I need to get back to my friends.” Adrien said as he felt Plagg push against him from his pocket. Louise smiled at them and shook his head. “Anyhow, I’m sure that with how the doc reacted to your physical that part of the case is won, just give me a few more days to look over everything my investigators have found and your own interview I think we’ll win, but I am sorry you had to do this kid.”

“I know Louise, I know.” Adrien said and looked thoughtful. This is going to be very hurtful no matter what happens, I guess in the end I have to hope that dad wasn’t this way on purpose. But I don’t understand how he could have done this otherwise. He thought as he looked out the car’s window, not paying attention to anything until he felt the car stop.

“We’re here kid, are you sure you’re okay?” Louise said and Adrien nodded and got out of the car and bashed towards the alley, slipping down it and after a few moments he found the dead end he had dropped his transformation before.

“Well kid that was hopeful.” Plagg said as he grinned at Adrien and smiled. “I can’t wait to talk to the others at Fu’s!”

“What is it Plagg?” Adrien asked and Plagg grinned wider.

“Let’s just say that I might have helped us win a victory today, and I really hope I did something right this time!” Plagg said with a grin. “But I’ll talk about it later, let’s go kid!”

“Right, Plagg, Claws out!” Adrien called out before transforming into Chat Noir and then he leapt upwards and moved towards the meeting point.

“Thank you so much for this Marinette, this was such a blessing.” Nadia said as she held Manon’s hand as she smiled at Marinette. Nadia looked between Alya and Marinette and then looked between them. “Are you sure I can’t get you to tell me what happened at your school?”

“No, I really don’t want to talk about it. But I will tell you when I can okay?” Marinette promised and Nadia nodded.

As Nadia walked away holding Manon’s hand Marinette waved as she watched them walk away and Alya looked at him and laughed a little.

“That wasn’t as bad I feared you know?” Alya said and Marinette nodded.

“Manon’s very sweat, either just right or is a complete monster that destroys everything.” Marinette said and then looked at her watch. “Come on, we’ve got to meet the boys!”

“Yeah, but you know that she won’t give up right?” Alya asked at they walked away from the bakery. Marinette sighed and nodded.

“Being you’re friend taught me that about reporters. And I hope we get paperwork back after that tells me at least what this will be.” Marinette said with a sigh that turned into a glare. “My parents and I talked about it; if we have to we will sue the school and or my former principle and trial by public works too.”

“Ladies, hey!” Nino’s voice kept Alya from reacting and turning towards his voice she smiled and kissed his check.

“Hey you ready for this?” Alya asked and Nino grinned and looked at them.

“Yeah, we’re just waiting on Maxie and his bot?” Nino asked and Alya nodded.

“Don’t wait for me everyone, I’m here!” Max said from behind them and Marinette jumped and looked at Max as he stood there and smiled at them.

“Learning to walk silently bot boy?” Alya asked and Max laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

“Well, all those times I ran and hide from Akuma’s had to have done something to me sooner or later.” Max said with a smirk.

“Let’s go, we have a nice walk until we get there.” Marinette said a she walked off, her eyes looking all over until Alya looked at her and cleared her throat.

“Uh girl, are you looking for someone?” Alya asked as Nino and Max looked at Marinette as

“I’m looking for Lila, she can’t follow us.” Marinette said and the others looked at each other and nodded, all of them agreeing that if Lila found out anything about this then it would be bad.

Sabrina smiled at Chloe as they walked through the streets, glad that they had spent the day listing to the bands and having lunch out. “So think we’ll have to do that after Marinette’s hearing?”

“Probably yeah. I mean I wasn’t a great student but they should have called me out on a lot of the stuff I did.” Chloe said with a scowl as she looked away.

“You really don’t like Miss. Bustier at all, do you?” Sabrina asked and Chloe got an ugly look on her face.

“If there are word that describe how I feel about that bi…..witch I don’t know them in French, English or Chinese!” Chloe said with a growl. And that’s why I really didn’t think that teacher bitch deserved Marinette’s work like that, sorry Mari but sometimes there is collateral damage. Chloe thought with a frown as she looked away from Sabrina and sighed.

“Hey what are they doing?” Sabrina asked suddenly and Chloe looked up and saw Marinette, Nino, Alya and Max walking on the other side of the road and Chloe looked closer when she saw Marinette was looking all around. “Are they going somewhere?”

“And they don’t want anyone to know.” Chloe whispered as she pulled Sabrina to a storefront. “Don’t look at them, look at their reflection, and keep your eyes focused on Marinette.”

“Chloe?” Sabrina asked before she could see Marinette look all around through the cars passing by the window. “What is this?”

“Marinette probably doesn’t want Lila to find them so let’s follow so we can intercept her.” Chloe said as she led Sabrina parallel to Marinette and friends. “Come on, let’s help her out since we couldn’t during the attack.”

Sabrina laughed a little and let herself be dragged along behind her

Chloe looked at them as they followed Marinette and the others, a frown on her face as they

As the four friends moved turned down the alley Chloe frowned and moved quickly and quietly towards it as Sabrina followed behind.

“What is it Chloe?” Sabrina asked and Chloe ignored her. “We saw where they were going, and Lila isn’t around here as far as we know.”

“This theater, it’s had the same owner for years, they always pay their taxes full even when they have terrible business, dad’s been……” Chloe trailed off as she saw Chat Noir drop down by them and a flash turned him into Adrien with a black cat kwami floating by his head. Sabrina’s mouth dropped open as Chloe looked from Marinette to Max, Alya and Nino and suddenly Chat Noir flashed and Adrien was standing there with a little creature hovering over his shoulder. “Oh my. god.”

“Adrien, how was the checkup?” Marinette asked and Adrien frowned a little.

“Not as bad as I feared but better then I hoped, I’m getting a bit underweight and well Plagg said that while the Miraculous help us use energy in a balance and heal us, it can’t make things from nothing.” Adrien said and rubbed the back of his neck.

A sound from the door caused them to look up and see Master Fu looking out at them and smiling with a look that had a hint of mischief in it.

“Ahh there you all, come in come in.” Fu said as he gestured for them to come into the door and then pointed towards a doorway farther down. “This way my young friends.”

“I can’t believe it, I mean it’s so obvious.” Chloe said dumbly as she watched them walk into the door and then she ran towards it after it closed and then calmly brought out two pieces of metal and got to work on the door

“Chloe what are you doing?!” Sabrina demanded as she watched Chloe work.

“I’m not giving up a chance to give that old man a piece of my mind for throwing Marinette and Adrien at Hawkmoth!” Chloe said as she unlocked the door and they saw a hallway, a door closing a few feet away.

Fu led the way into his apartment under the theater and opened the Miraculous Box and let the kwami out, but only those who had partners who went to their humans as they all sat down and Fu brought out a tea set and cups, filling them with tea and.

“Welcome, one and all.” Fu said as he bowed to them. “I had lost hope that I would ever sit with chosen of the Kwami again.”

“Is there a difference between us and Hawkmoth and his blue witch?” Alya asked and Fu nodded before looking at her with a glare and she swallowed.

“Yes, but I must insist that you keep it from your blog. If Hawkmoth or anyone else finds out about it!” Fu said and Alya nodded.

“Chill, I’ll keep quiet, I promise.” Alya said as Trixx giggled from her place on top of Alya’s head.

“I told you she was a true Fox! We know when to find and when to hide!” Trixx said and Alya looked at her. “And we choose you Alya, we choose all of you.”

“Indead.” Kaalki said and nodded. “Each of you have traits that we Kwami……. The closest word in the common tongue is resonate but it fails to catch a few things. This was so much easier when people spoke Altantian.”

“The problem with the wish, as Plagg has said is that it is balance in its purist form. To make a selfish wish, that causes the universe to deal the same damage to the wisher.” Fu said as he put down the teapot and looked at them. “To save a life of a loved one, a loved one is struck down. To cure of a terrible diseases, then they get another one just as bad.”

“Wait, Atlantis was real!? What happened to it?!” Max asked and Adrien only pointed at Plagg.

“He did.” Adrien said and every human aside from him, Fu and Marinette stared open mouthed.

“To be fair, I had no choice. There was this monstrosity that was part animal and plant, and Tikki’s powers can’t destroy life.” Plagg said and looked down. “Unfortunately it had it’s roots all under the island and well.”

“And this wish couldn’t be used then why?” Nino asked and Tikki nodded.

“My holder at the time, she died before and her body fell into the sea. I slept for hundreds of years until it made it to shore and I found someone I could see would use it right. I meet Plagg again about three hundred years later in the early days of Rome.” Tikki said and looked down at the floor.

“What happened to you Plagg?” Adrien asked and Plagg shrugged.

“Me and my holder had a fallen out with the survivors and fought our way free and with like-minded people escaped to what you all know as Africa and I spent the next few hundred years fighting against them, and then I found Tikki and a few hundred years later the Guardians found us.” Plagg said with a scowl. “The survivors really went mad after that.”

“So what was Atlantis like?” Max asked with stars in his eyes.

“It had a caste based society, only it wasn’t based on birth but potential and what they would like. They had an understanding of sociology that is still unmatched so their tests helped a lot of people find their passions.” Wayzz said with a laugh as the Kwami grinned. “One of our missing siblings was usually partnered with a member of the Healing Caste, and they passed on many things to the Guardians.”

“Amazing, but back up a bit okay. Then you think Hawkmoth is after the wish to save someone?” Alya asked and Marinette looked down before she nodded as a scowl grew on her face. “Why, what happened?”

“It was the last time we fought Mayura.” Adrien began and looked at Marinette who was just a s messed up as him.

“The day that I was expelled and that mass attack fizzled out, Mayura made an appearance. She tried to trick Adrien with a Ladybug Senti-Monster…… I gave the item that created her to her and Mayura, she just killed her by recalling the energy used to create her.” Marinette said as she hugged her arms and looked down, never noticing that Adrien had hugged her as well or the stormy expression on her face was mirrored on his. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget the look in her eyes as she died!”

“Oh Mari…..” Alya whispered as they all took in what she had said.

“Dude….. that’s evil on another level.” Nino siad and even Max with his limited social skills knew that this was beyond anything. Even Fu looked both mad and sad.

“In fact, all that I know that shouldn’t have been possible. Once the Imok has it’s item, you can’t just recall the energy used, and as someone who has created one I should know, you need the item to destroy banish it away, otherwise you can’t.” Fu said as he looked at the children before him. “But what happens next is why we think this.”

“She got sick, like she almost passed out.” Marinette said and looked at them with a haunted look in her eyes. “And then Hawkmoth appeared and saved her.”

“Hawkbutt came out of his lair?! Dude.” Nino breathed and Alya looked shocked as Max’s glass slipped off his head. A gasp caused them all to turn and see two figures at the stairs, Chloe and Sabrina.

“CHLOE?!?” Adrien gasped and Marinette face palmed as Pollen who had been hovering by the gamohpone shot towards her and hugged her cheek.

“The puns, how caring Marinette is, I should have seen it.” Chloe said and Sabrina looked out from behind her and waved.

“How the hell?” Alya asked as Fu looked on and stroked his beard and Chloe shrugged.

“Sabrina saw you four move along the streets and I saw Marinette looking around and then we saw Adrien transform back and then I picked the lock.” Chloe said with a shrug at the looks she was getting. “What, I had to do something to pass the time when I was younger and stuck in my apartment while dad was out, learning to break out was something to do, at least until he moved me to the roof.”

“Come in, the both of you, let us talk for a bit.” Fu said as he looked at Chloe and Sabrina, his eyes on them and with a curious glint in his eyes. “I have wanted to talk to you for a while Miss. Bourgeois. And this is as good a time as any.”

“Good. I wanted to talk to the person who chooses kids to fight Hawkbutt anyway.” Chloe said as she glared at Fu as he grinned as the others looked at her.

#Miraculous Ladybug AU/ The Law is The Law #ladybug fanfiction #miraculous tales of ladybug and cat noir #mlb fic #mlb fandom

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