#have them talk about the weather! about the mess hall food! about the fact that their family was just brutally massacred by the bad guys!

[mikkeneko]

Please have your side characters talk to your main characters about literally any other topic than the main characters' romance. Please.

[falconcoast]

traveling home | dainsleif x reader

day two. traveling home ft. dainsleif

event masterlist

you go home with dainsleif. or, well, you're supposed to. when your flight is delayed until tomorrow morning, dainsleif books a hotel room for you. years of pining come to light.

a/n: LATE AGAIN I AM AWARE had piano today why am i involved in so many extracurriculars. tbh i took a lot of creative privilege because i <3 this trope but anyways take a lil dainy he's so baby to me <3

tags: the best slowburn trope ever. you know what it is. no warnings apply! :D

as your childhood friend and roommate in your apartment, it was only natural for you to travel home together. you’d call it a blessing in disguise that he was willing to accompany you; he’d managed to drive through liyuean traffic all the way to the airport, carried all of your bags, and gotten to your gate with an hour and a half to spare. so when you had heard that your flight was delayed until tomorrow morning, dainsleif was quick to find a solution.

“oh, archons, how are we supposed to find a hotel room? it looks like everyone’s stuck here until tomorrow,” you lamented, looking at the bright red “delayed” notifications on the arrival and departure screen.

“i already booked a room for us,” dainsleif answered, showing you his phone. “shall we head out now? we can check in in thirty minutes.”

taking his hands in yours and squeezing them tightly, you grinned at him. “you’re a miracle worker, you know?!” you exclaimed, hugging him tightly around the waist.

a little over an hour later, you were in the hallway with dainsleif. the stormy weather outside batted at the windows of the hotel airport, violently wiping leaves across the panes. it echoed down the hall, where the two of you were the only occupants.

opening the door, you let dainsleif in first. “i’m so excited,” you chirped. “yeah, it sucks that we can’t be on the plane home right now, but at least we can, like, fully lay down now! and also not eat shitty airplane food. man, when i was going home for fall break, i--”

“there’s only one bed,” dainsleif interrupted your spiel.

“hey, i was talking about my--wait, what?!”

“there’s only one bed,” dainsleif repeated plainly, while you stuck your head through the door.

looking inside, he was making an astute observation. there was, in fact, only one bed with crisp white sheets and fluffy pillows. “oh,” you breathed out. you supposed that even a paragon like dainsleif could mess up every once in a while.

“there are no other rooms in the hotel. the rest have already been occupied,” your best friend declared, ushering you in and shutting the door. “it was a mistake on my part, y/n. i solemnly apologize. i will be sleeping on the floor to pay for my actions.”

“hey, what?! i don’t want you sleeping on the floor!” you pouted, placing your hands on your hips. “it’s really not a big deal, dain. you’ve been working overtime to make sure we get home safely. i’ll be the one sleeping on the floor.”

“absolutely not.”

“well, you’re not going on the floor whether you like it or not! not on my watch!”

…and that was how you and your best friend ended up sitting on the edge of the bed together in your pajamas together. it had been a long, long time since you and dainsleif had had a sleepover together. “reminds me of when we were kids,” you smiled, as he plugged his phone into the nightstand plug. “we used to watch scary movies in a pillow fort on nights when we had math tests in the morning.”

“yes. but we’re all grown up now, aren’t we?” he said, running a hand through his blond hair.

you stared at him after he said that. surely, if you were to tell your hometown friend that you slept in the same bed with him tomorrow, there would be a romantic implication to it.

you thought about it like you hadn’t had a crush on him since you were teenagers. dainsleif had always been there for you. hell, even today, he stood as your voice of reason in the chaos of getting home. he was like that when you were back at your apartment too. he always brought you a sweet treat when he came home from work, he offered a clean sleeve when you cried, and remembered the smallest things. it was impossible to not fall in love with dainsleif.

“y/n, you have been spacing out for a while. are you alright?” he asked, cradling your cheek. there he went again, being ever the gentleman. cheeks flaring with heat, you turned away and pressed your palms to your cheeks.

“it’s nothing!” you all but exclaimed, crawling to the headboard and diving under the sheets. a soft rumble of laughter erupted his chest as you hid under the comforter.

“good night, y/n,” he whispered, patting your covered figure on the head.

with a click of the nightstand light, the room disappeared into darkness. you still hid under the sheets, clutching onto the cold cloth for dear life. you were in proximity with the man you had had a crush on for years now and yet you still felt the need to hide, as if he could read your thoughts. the thought of him knowing tore your brain apart, and you knew it would only end with you losing your best friend.

you laid there for what felt like an eternity until you heard dainsleif shift. turning over, you shyly peeked from your position. surprisingly, he was already looking at you, and he was pouting. “did you need something, dain?” you asked softly.

the moonlight caught his eye, glowing an ethereal blue. “it’s nothing,” he replied, a bit too easily to be chalked up to nothing. you deadpanned. sighing, he turned away in shame. “i…i’m a bit cold.”

“aw, dain, that’s nothing to be ashamed of!” you grinned, shifting closer to him. “i dunno if i can provide any comfort, but i can come closer to you, if you’d like.”

you neared him, putting your hands together and placing them slightly in front of your chest. he copied your motion, drawing your bodies closer. “may i…?” he asked, fingers reaching out for your drawn hands. although you were slightly nervous, you nodded. his hand covered yours and it was both gentle and cold. staring at him again, you smiled before shutting your eyes.

you moved a little closer, so close you swear you could feel his heartbeat. after a small gulp, you decided that it was now or never. shifting your head, you laid it on his chest. opening your eyes to see his reaction, you looked away bashfully. “i’m a little cold, too,” you whispered.

dainsleif let a little note of contentment, he wrapped an arm around your neck, rubbing small circles into your back. your hand came to his chest, finally settled in a comfortable position.

his heartbeat steadily increased, thrumming in your ear. innocently, he kissed your forehead. “good night, y/n,” he said as you tethered onto the last bits of your sleepy consciousness. “i love you, ardently so.”

his words followed you into your dreams.

me when dain: (/▽＼*)｡o○♡

[to-the-stars8]

Love and Neighbors

Pairings; Clark Kent x Reader 1-Small Talk In Elevators 2-Thin Walls 3-Humming In Elevators 4-Coffee Breaks 5- Cherry Pies 6-Dead Vibrators 7-Entitled Old Ladies 8-Friendly Neighborhood Reporter 9-The Five Stages of Grief

10-Nervous First Meetings

It wasn’t like you were trying to avoid your super cute, but also totally hot new neighbor was you moved in. You were nervous, to say the least. It was a new city with a whole new way of the world. Your mother had nagged you to go out and meet people since you were so shut in at home, so you promised yourself you would try. 

He seemed nice when he said hello in the elevator or when he offered to carry one of your many boxes. You would decline before shutting yourself in your apartment, so worried what he would think of the mess. Sometimes, the two of you could manage small talk about the weather or the recent series of news, but nothing more than that. Hell, you didn’t even know his name. Unfortunately, you made the mistake of telling your mom about the interactions and she urged you to say yes to his offer of help--to at least try to make a new friend. 

So, when you stepped into the elevator again, holding some bags of groceries, with the neighbor, you greeted him this time. 

“Hello,” His smile was just so kind and, for a large man, he was soft-spoken, too. “How are things going with moving in?”

“You never know how much you have until you gotta unpack it all,” You said, trying not to look at him in the eyes. 

He laughed, looking down at his shoes before looking at you again, this time holding out his hand. “I’m Clark, by the way.” You shook his hand, telling him your name. “Not from the city, huh?”

“That obvious?” You could practically feel a blush rise on your cheeks. 

Clark shrugged. “No, I overheard you talking on the phone in the hall the other day…I’m not from here, either, if it makes you feel better. I’m originally from Kansas.”

“Wow, long way to move.”

He laughed a little, nodding his head before meeting your eyes in the reflection of the elevator doors. “It’s a good place. I’ve been here for a few years now.”

You could only nod since you didn’t know what else to say, falling back into the silence. When the two of you arrived at your floor, Clark finally spoke again. “If you need anything, let me know. If you like, I can show you around the city.”

“I…I would like that, Clark. Thank you,” You finally felt yourself warming up to him, especially since his offer sent butterflies to your stomach. Looking down at the groceries in your hand, you realized that there would be enough food for two people and it would please your mom to hear you making nice with him. Clark was halfway through his door when you stopped him. “Hey, uh, I know this kind of weird-- but you’re the only person who’s been nice to me in the city--so would you like to come over for dinner? If you don’t mind the mess.”

Clark seemed surprised that you asked, but not displeased. Immediately, he shut his door. “I would love to! I can tell you all about the other neighbors.”

You stepped aside to let him in, explaining why there were boxes everywhere still, but he cut you short by plainly saying he didn’t mind at all. In fact, and this really drove you wild, he offered to help you unpack the rest of the boxes. You didn’t know that a man offering to unpack the boxes for you would make you swoon.

“Do you like chicken parmesan?” You asked, setting the bags onto the kitchen counter. 

Clark was unpacking the pans for you, putting them in the places you had told him to. “I have a very versatile taste palette.”

“That did little to answer my question, but I think I get your meaning,” You giggled, setting out everything to cook. 

Not that you would ever know, but Clark felt his heart flutter when he talked to you. Shit, he felt like he was in a Disney movie and you were the damsel who managed to get everyone to fall in love with you at first glance. Granted, he wouldn’t go as far as calling it love, yet. He liked you, that much he could say. 

“What do you think of Superman?” Clark asked, still putting away things for you. 

That was an odd question, but you shrugged it off as a common thing for people in Metropolis to ask. “Don’t know much about him, to be totally honest. He seems nice from the articles I read.”

He only agreed with a hum, a bit too focused on perfectly placing your bowls in the cupboard to impress you and how he felt about your answer. You watched him for a second, a bit weirded out by the preciseness of his bowl placement but shrugged it off as him being extra nice. 

You cleared your throat, “Uh, what do you do for work, Clark?”

“I’m a reporter at the Daily Planet, you?” He slid you the plate you requested from him, accidentally brushing against your arm. The touch sent goosebumps across his skin. 

“Oh, I love that newspaper! But, right now, I work as a secretary at a local law firm.”

Clark snickered. “You got any juicy court cases I could write about?”

You shook your head, purposefully not looking at him so you wouldn’t have to look at those pretty blue eyes which would make you spill everything. There were a lot of crazy stories, especially since the law office you worked for was a divorce lawyer. The two of you continued to go back and forth with your questioning between the tales of the other neighbors, all the while working around each other as he continued to put everything away. 

At one point, while you were layering on the tomato sauce, Clark came up behind you to put up a dish in the cabinet above the stove. He wasn’t pressed against your back, but he was close. You could feel his breath on your neck. When he went back to the box on the counter opposite of you, you tried to calm down every part of your mind that was wandering away from the cooking. 

When the table was set, you and Clark quietly ate. It wasn’t awkward like was to be expected, but rather comforting, which surprised you. After the two of you finished, Clark insisted on drying the dishes after you washed them. 

“What are you doing tomorrow?” He asked as you handed him a plate. 

You thought for a second before answering, “I need to unpack.”

Realization hit Clark like a freight train. Of course, you were still moving in and needed time to officially put your stuff in its place. You couldn’t be finished in less than five minutes like him. 

“Do you need help?”

“I would like the help, but, please, don’t spend your day off. Do something to relax,” You hurriedly said. 

“Please, I wouldn’t mind at all. I think my Ma would be disappointed if I left my new neighbor to unpack all this by themselves,” Clark pointed a finger over his shoulder at the empty kitchen boxes as he continued. “And look! I’m already done with the kitchen.”

Thinning your lips, you tried to think of what motive he would have behind being this nice, and none came to mind right away. He was kind and kept his distance--for the most part-- and respectful. You started to say yes, but he cut you off quickly. 

“I’m not being pushy, am I?”

“No!” You said, laughing lightly at his blushing cheeks. “No, I was just thinking about it. I would really like your help tomorrow.”

Clark seemed pleased with your answer, smiling a bit more than before as he put away the dishes. “I’ll be by around lunchtime, does that sound okay?”

“It’s perfect,” You said as you put everything else away. 

Later that night, when you had called your mom to tell her about making a new friend in the city, she gushed about how proud of you she was. Oddly enough, the conversation with your mother echoed the one with Clark’s, who did all the same with her son. 

You went to bed that night pleased with your little progress of venturing out into the new city, and Clark flew around glad to know he was finally able to get to know his cute new neighbor.

[galpalaven]

a blessed holiday

one of the gifts i made for @kirkwallgremlin in our server's end of year gift exchange~

Also on AO3!

***

The first Satinalia they spend in Amaranthine without a bunch of darkspawn to worry about, and without one of them being out of the country is… a bit pathetic. 

Vigil’s Keep is still a mess, especially after that last onslaught by the darkspawn. Rebuilding is slow going, with the money from the Crown all but spent on the first round of rebuilding. Some of the walls are still missing, holes punched in them from ogres and genlocks, so though there is a considerable effort at decorating for the festive season, it doesn’t quite hit the same as it might in the years to come.

That being said, it’s not like Frankie has a lot of experience with the way humans celebrate and decorate to begin with, so she’s not sure she’s noticing the same absence of things that the others are. The Blight had been in full swing her first Satinalia on the surface, and then the second had been pushed aside for their missions involving the Architect and the talking darkspawn. 

That’s why she found herself feeling a little excited, despite the lackluster decorations, to see a real celebration without the looming threat of death to ruin it.

Seneschal Bran hires a band for the great hall, to entertain the nobility who have an open invitation to the feast. When Frankie finally manages to drag herself away from her quarters (she doesn’t often get days off), she finds that there are already a number of guests wandering about in the Keep. Servants duck between them with glasses of brandy and wine, little finger foods that she’s more than happy to sample when one passes by her on their way to the next cluster of people. The room is warm, glittering with decorations curling up the columns and firelight from the many torches set around the room. The nobility laugh amongst themselves, mingling with a few of the newer recruits and enjoying the food and drink and pleasant atmosphere.

It’s all very—normal, in a way that she feels like she hasn’t ever really felt.

“Regretting the choice to emerge from our quarters yet?”

The question startles a laugh out of her, Alistair’s familiar voice appearing from the hallway behind her. She turns to look at him over her shoulder, grinning as he smiles down at her.

He’s out of his armor for once, as is she. The white shirt he’s wearing under his dark blue jacket looks soft and loose, and not at all warm enough for the chill of the weather outside. In here, though, it’s warm enough, and the pleasant flush on his cheeks suggests that he’s been sampling the alcohol as well.

“I was just taking in the decorations, actually,” she says after a moment, laughing at the way he waggles his eyebrows at the once-over she’d given him. 

“Mm. They’re not bad, all things considered.”

“Not at all. It’s kind of cozy.”

He snorts. “That’s one word for it, I suppose.”

She smiles, bumping him lightly with her shoulder. “I take it you’ve seen better.”

“Yes, but this sort of thing just isn’t really my style.”

“No?”

“Nah. In fact, I came over to ask if you wanted to sneak away with me for a bit,” he says lightly. Though he eyes the room as he speaks, she can tell all his attention is on her.

With a grin, she shrugs and says, “Did you have something in mind?”

“You know, I did.” His hand smooths over the center of her back, large and warm through her shirt as he leans down to lower his voice to a murmur. “I have a bit of a surprise for you up on the battlements.”

He doesn’t need to ask her twice. Frankie has never enjoyed interacting with the human nobility, and any excuse to be alone with him is an excuse she will take in a heartbeat.

With an excited nod, she watches his face light up as he takes her hand and tugs her back the way she’d come, avoiding prying eyes as they sneak off into the night, laughing under their breath with each noble they dodge like children playing hide-and-seek. He leads her past the entrance hall and out into the chilly winter night, hand holding hers tight as he leads her up a set of stairs and onto the top of the battlements. Up here, the decorations haven’t been set up quite as nicely, place a little haphazardly as they pick their way around extra stones and stray crates. 

Eventually, they round a corner and Frankie gasps at the sight that greets her.

There, on a little platform raised for a lookout, is a picnic. A blanket sits on the platform itself, piles of furs on the side for them to cuddle up in to help fend off the cold. There’s a basket with what she can only assume is food inside, a bottle of wine and a few glasses. Propped up on a crate behind the display is a great bundle of winter flowers set up in a vase.

Her eyes are stinging a little as Alistair clears his throat bashfully. She looks up to find him rubbing nervously at the back of his neck with his free hand, cheeks dark enough that she can see the flush even in the dim light of night.

“I thought… well, it’s our first Satinalia together, isn’t it? I’ve had to be gone elsewhere so much over the last year, I thought maybe it would be nice for us to spend some time together, away from everyone else.” 

He sighs softly, leading her over to the platform. As they step up onto it, she looks down and finds herself gasping again. 

Below, spread out along the coast, she can see the lights of the city of Amaranthine. The glow of the city most certainly celebrating the holiday is warm and golden in the dark, lighting up the pitch black of the coastline beautifully. 

Sometimes she gets so caught up in her duties as a Warden that she forgets that sights like this are still new and still fresh. She hasn’t had time to slow down and just appreciate the world around her yet, and now…

“Thank you,” she rasps, leaning into his side while keeping her eyes fixed on the city below. “This is…”

“I thought you might like it,” he says, hugging her close. “Slowing down and enjoying things, I mean.”

“I do,” she says, giggling as she presses up on her tiptoes towards him. He leans down to meet her halfway, grinning into her lips as they share a soft, lingering kiss in dark. “I love you.”

His answering smile is brilliant as he pulls back, reaching up to cup her cheek. She doesn’t think she’ll ever get tired of the way he touches her when they’re alone like this—fingers gentle against her cheek like he’s touching something precious, brown eyes warm and full of affection. 

Though the winter wind nearly carries his voice away into the night, she hears his answer in the rising sensation beneath her ribcage, in the lightness that prickles over her skin as she watches his lips form those wonderful little words.

“I love you, too. More than you’ll ever know.”

Satinalia, she thinks as they settle on the blanket, pulling the furs around their shoulders and cracking open the bottle of wine, might just be her new favorite holiday.

[17caratssi]

Wonwoo! Will you stay

Jeon Wonwoo! A short series pt one | two | three | four

Lub-dub lub-dub lub-dub! It was so close AHHH! That was a bold move! I can't believe he didn't throw me off!!

You're over the moon for the rest of the day. You have been under the weather for some days, and your parents are worried about it. Seeing you like this, they feel at ease.

You begin to anticipate tomorrow. Will your relationship with Wonwoo turn for the better? This is what makes school exciting!

However, Wonwoo feigns ignorance whenever you try to have a conversation with him. It goes on for another two days, and he still has nothing to say to you.

Not to mention, Somi and Umji also avoid talking about him during the break. They never answer your questions regarding Wonwoo, and it put you into a dispiriting mood again.

In the aftermath, you lose concentration during the computer class. In fact, your head is full of him. Your two best friends give you hints about Wonwoo's matter, but they're just superficial.

My mind is a mess.

After the class, you block Wonwoo's seatmate's path and begin questioning- more like interrogating.

"Tell me, is there any problem Wonwoo is having these days?"

Kihyun averts from your scrutiny. He refuses to talk.

"Come on, tell me," you persuade him into confessing. As a seatmate, he must know a tiny bit about Wonwoo. "I won't tell him that it's you who said to me. Sounds good?"

"He's not stupid,"

That's very true. Hmm...

"I will bear the responsibility. Just spill it," you convince him. This time, you're sure you'll get to the matter.

Kihyun sighs.

"A few third-year students have been picking up fights with him. I think Wonwoo was triggered by something they said. By the way, I remind you of a thing,"

"You shouldn't be near to him. You know that he's a scholarship boy, right? There's an unspoken rule here in Sejong High..."

That's your wake-up call. No wonder Wonwoo calls you 'stuck-up rich kid', and now you realize that you might've looked down on him, unintentionally.

He was right. I'm a stuck-up rich kid with no shame.

Although Kihyun tells you all that, you're still on the surface. What has possibly put him off at that time? You want to know more.

As you walk to the cafeteria, Somi and Umji are busy talking about the former's boyfriend.

"My boyfriend's birthday is coming but I don't know what to give him," Somi sounds helpless as she snakes her arms around yours and Umji's.

You don't put your focus on her, so you don't reply.

Umji thinks for a while before sharing her idea. "Your boyfriend is rich enough to buy everything so what if you bake him something? That'd be rather special- at least for me,"

They never stop afterwards. It amuses you that the two has yet to have their topics exhausted. They keep going on!

After getting the snack, the three of you is about to return to class but is stopped by the crowd. They run toward the field.

"The new kid is fighting with a senior!"

"Damn, he's got gut!"

Somi and Umji simultaneously peek at your expression. "Wonwoo? Hey Y/N! Oh my god, don't tell me-"

"Wait for us, Y/N!"

Half of the first-year students watch the fray. Some are cheering for the guy senior, and you panic.

Your imagination runs wild. As much as you hate seeing a fight erupts, you hope Wonwoo isn't the one receiving the senior's blow!

Your small frame slips easily through the throng, and the situation shocks you.

Umji manages to catch you while Somi's being pulled away by her boyfriend. "We better go now!" she gives you a quick pull but you're not moving an inch. She frantically observes the situation and heaves a sigh at the sight of the security.

"WHAT ALL OF YOU DOING HERE?" The security runs faster to the crowd and breaks off the fight. Wonwoo huffs and puffs; showing his dissatisfaction toward the guy he had punched.

The senior has a gang; they help him up. Wonwoo is the one left unattended since he's alone. You watch him from the side and is on the horns of a dilemma.

You know it's no good if you go help Wonwoo now with all the attention directed to him.

Out of the blue, one of the seniors speaks up. "Apologize to Juwon and we'll act nothing happened just now," It's obvious he's intended to embarrass Wonwoo in front of many students.

He smirks when his words hit the target. Mutterings are loud in the air as the audiences express their opinions.

"Wonwoo, don't apologize!" you yell. Your voice was loud enough for the circle to pay heed to you. You cower as a response and Umji slaps your arm.

The senior snickers and voices out again."Boy, you better give in to him. His father is a person you couldn't afford to offend,"

Juwon slouches against his friend and finally says something at his friends. "If he doesn't want to admit defeat, we can take this matter to the teachers. Let's see if this parasite can win against me," he sneers.

The involved parties are eventually called to the office. You insist to accompany Wonwoo and he has nothing to say about it.

"I'm on your side, Wonwoo! Don't be scared of them. If anything happens, I'll protect you!" your fingers clench and you look up to Wonwoo who's quiet since the row had ended. Little did you know, he takes a quick glance right after you turn your head.

'Just what this meek creature can do...'

-

The time in the office feels tedious. Wonwoo hates the rich kids that are only good at blabbering and settle everything with their parent's standings.

"I won't call my parents just for this trivial matter but I have one condition,"

The teachers think the senior makes a great deal with Wonwoo, and since they don't want to be visited by the superior parents they push him to seize the offer.

You and Wonwoo leave the place as soon as they agreed with the deal. Wonwoo remains silent.

"They're so childish! That's more like punishment," you huff with your arms crossed. You can't believe the senior wants Wonwoo to be the ball boy for the basketball club.

"Why do you like to intervene?"

"Huh?" you stutter. This is the first time you get to hear his voice today.

"To be honest, I don't know,' you shrug. Your body and mind seem to be unallied when it comes to him. Even the latter warns you to not get entangled with other's business, the former just ignores and go with it.

"By the way, don't you think the senior is more stuck-up than me?" You ask excitedly as you lean to him and wait for his response. You want to change the impression he has about you.

Wonwoo takes in the view in front of him as he faces your question. Surprisingly, he feels less irritated by it.

He slows down his walking pace as he takes notice of yours. Wonwoo holds his hands at his back and fakes a thought.

After enjoying the hopefulness in your eyes, he gives the answer. "It seems like it," he says.

Due to the revelation from Wonwoo himself, you cover your mouth in excitement. Wonwoo watches as you turn tomato from his word and walks ahead.

In a hurry, you ask. "So you'll naturally sign up with the basketball club?" He raises his shoulder slightly and then nods.

Your heart soars louder and unintentionally, it echoes across the hallway. "Got it! I'm coming too!"

Since then, your life has revolved around Wonwoo. Occasionally, he would ask for personal spaces, and even though his changes are almost negligible, you don't mind.

Being around him the whole day is fun. You get to know his habits, his favourite food and drink, or basically all about him. Not, you do seem like an ordinary girl chasing after a guy.

Wonwoo, on the other hand, feels like he has a friend. He ghosts you daily, but your presence fills a spot next to him.

The two of you get accepted into the basketball club. Every Tuesday, Wonwoo will stay at school for two hours to be the ball boy. Not that everyone tries to be silent about it, but there's this girl who keeps waiting for the guy.

She's pretty, and her hair compliments her exquisite, doll-like features.

She never pays attention to other guys as if her eyes are glued to the ball boy. The green-eyed seniors want to embarrass Wonwoo even more because of that.

"Hey ball boy, the bottles are empty. Refill them!" the senior who took Wonwo's punches shouts. You quickly get up and help Wonwoo. "Let me help!"

Wonwoo lets you take 2 bottles as he carries the other 6. "Go home after we go back,"

"Why? I want to stay with you,"

Wonwoo has no idea whether you intended to flirt with him or casually announced that, but surely, he is flustered.

He regains composure and gives a response.

"What a dimwit," the seniors are gawking at you, and you overlook that?

He wishes he could deliver that very sentence, but he may sound jealous. Well, I'm not.

"I'm here to protect you, didn't I say that before? So, stop pushing me away cuz I won't leave you."

You don't realize that your attendance by Wonwoo's side just creates another problem for him. His workload increases by tenfold due to the green-eyed seniors.

Once the game is over, Wonwoo fulfils his duty and cleans the court. In the meantime, you listen to songs on the bench.

Wonwoo has done a lot of work and this is one nothing to him. He finishes just when everyone exits the place. He thinks that you might have returned home. You aren't there when he checks out the place you've been sitting at.

Only when he walks out the hall that he accidentally eavesdrops on the conversation between you and the seniors.

He could guess the topic and he looks at the corner. If he steps just a bit forward, they will see him. And he does that.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he then presents himself.

"Just say no if you don't want to be his girlfriend. Don't waste your time,"

Enlightened, you turn the senior down and run to Wonwoo. You complain at how bad his proposal was and Wonwoo chuckles.

"What do you do at the weekend?" as you wait for your chauffeur, you build a conversation with him.

Wonwoo isn't a person to be so friendly with someone. He thinks for a while as he contemplates to answer the question.

"Study in the library,"

Wonwoo is a smart student, and his answer doesn't come off as a surprise to you. "I've never been to a library before. I meant in this area but which one do you frequent?"

There are only two libraries in the area, and Wonwoo has only been to the small one since it's closer.

"Ooh, OK then." swiftly, you take a note of it. Just right after that, you see your family car drifts into the parking lot. "Oh! My car's here. I have to go now." you wave at him in a distance and shout. "Don't stay too long under the sunlight! Bye-bye!" then you disappear into the car.

When you arrive at the library on Saturday, you quickly scan the area for him. Lucky you the place is just up to your energy to find him.

You stride from one isle to another. It's probably the physics section when you find a familiar back.

"Hey," you whisper from the back. Wonwoo is so immersed in his reading and you bet he wouldn't have noticed you if you hadn't appeared before him after that call.

With a cheeky smile, you say. "Let's go out,"

He examines the surroundings and realizes that you come alone. "What are you doing here?" his volume is practically below scolding to avoid making a fuss in the quiet place.

"You ask too much! Come on," You jog to his side and help him pack his stuff.

"I only ask once, and I did not agree to you,"

Not bringing too many necessities, you wind up less than a minute. "Shh... Just come with me, will you?"

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

If you like this story, you might as well check out the others here !

[jeagerism]

on the tuesday that george begins to admit to himself that he feels differently about you, it's freezing.

the ac in your shared apartment has been off for weeks at that point, leaving the both of you to shuffle towards the living room earlier on in the day; wrapped in fluffy blankets normally kept on the middle shelf in the hall, torsos bundled up in hoodies—his some old one dream had sent him ages ago, yours one he'd let you borrow after seeing the way you'd shivered in the thin sweater you often inhabited.

george had decided to move out of his mom's house earlier that fall, after he'd endured just as much teasing from sapnap and dream as he could handle. he'd found an apartment easy—mostly thanks to the help of his two friends—but affording one on his own was the issue.

he'd eyed the bright red price marking on his monitor with disdain, and had immediately shut down any attempts dream had at paying for him. his teasing had always been annoying, but george also knew he'd done more than he could thank him for already; he'd traced his finger over the tiny ceramic elephant he kept on his desk.

george had nearly been at his wit's end when sapnap had suggested looking for a roommate. and it had seemed like a good idea; he'd be allowed to pick and choose who it was, analyze what type of person they'd be, if he wanted to share his space for the next year with that person.

which was how he'd met you.

of the few applications george had gotten—from an ad he'd spent hours pouring over, writing and rewriting until it was just right—he'd come back to yours the most. nothing much had stood out about the others, and even less about your own; you'd said you didn't make much mess, that you were still in college, so most nights were spent inside of your room studying.

the next day, he'd watched his phone ring against the counter of the painfully empty apartment, biting at the corner of his nails in nervousness. the thought of hanging up had crossed his mind just before you'd answered, a strange sort of crackle echoing throughout his spot in the kitchen as you let out a short, "hello?"

which was how you'd gotten here. three months later, the fall weather having tumbled it's way into cold, frigid nights and frustratingly windy days. george had spent so much time curled up on the corner of the couch—a couch you'd dragged him to buy on your fourth day here, something about the emptiness being saddening—that he's sure there's a permanent imprint of his form in the cushions. the heat in his room had stopped working the first week of winter; in some way, he thinks it had been a warning.

he'd been facing the television, back against the soft material of the cushions, when his shoulders had gotten strangely cold. a short walk over towards the air conditioning had confirmed his suspicions—the heater had broken, and even after waiting another hour to try again, it had remained a blank, glowing blue screen.

and now, he's here, pressed into the corner of the couch, material sinking under the weight of him trying his best to snuggle into any warmth the cushions may be hiding. you've been sat across from him since earlier that morning, feet tucked underneath you for any sort of heat, hands shoved into the hoodie he'd given you—whenever you move, which isn't very often due to conserving as much body heat as you can, he sees the stitched red logo of his channel against the grey fabric.

minutes into another rerun of some reality show that plays on the television, you speak. "it's cold." it's muffled, george notices, probably due to the way your nose is dug into the bunched material of the hoodie. he hums out an agreement, glancing sadly at his laptop resting atop the coffee table, mere inches away. he thinks of risking it, but as soon as he feels the biting cold against parts of his skin, all thoughts of this go out the window. editing could wait, even if he had to suffer through another shitty fight between two annoyingly loud cast members.

"like, unbearably cold." george likes you. you're a good friend, and you'd been willing to put up with his strange schedule from the moment you'd moved in. he'd never had to ask you to clean up any of your mess, and there were even times when you'd offered to take his turn at dishes when he'd had a lot on his plate. there was nothing to complain about when it came to you, so much so that he'd practically sung praises of you on late night calls with sapnap and dream.

george had even mentioned you on stream once, albeit accidentally, on an occasion where he'd been smiling from ear to ear at the fact that you'd brought him some sort of baked treat—"you look like you needed food, and i doubt you'd look away from your computer too much to eat a full meal"—but nonetheless.

it was with burning cheeks that he'd realised he'd never asked you if that was okay. to admit your presence to hundreds of thousands of people, people you didn't know and that didn't know you, but would obsess over any deal of information about you if it came from george's lips. but, you'd brushed it off with ease when he'd mentioned it, laughing with a soft, "it's perfectly fine, george. you tell them about a lot of your friends, don't you? i'm not any different." and after a beat, you'd stood from your chair, wood scuffing against tile, and had winked at him. "plus, georgenotfound talking about me? i should be flattered, huh?"

george is pretty sure he'd spent the rest of the night thinking about that; quackity had made fun of the way he'd kept zoning out, the way his jackbox answers had been considerably less funny that night.

so he did like you, even if he wasn't so sure what that meant. he knew he liked the way you played songs he liked on cleaning days. that he liked when you'd join him on the couch while he edited videos. bought the kind of soda he liked, even if you didn't. he thinks your spectacular, in the kind of way that makes him feel wide awake, like he's been shocked full of energy from knowing you. he thinks you look pretty in the morning time, stepping out the door for class; at night when you've been stressed over coursework.

the episode ends and another starts in the time it takes george to finally open his mouth to speak. "we could move closer." it's the first thing he's said since he'd asked if you'd wanted coffee earlier, voice as hoarse now from hours of being unused as it had been from the hands of sleep still holding onto him. his arms feel sore as he moved them out—he ignores the stinging cold that nips at his knuckles. a few seconds skip by of silence, his neck swarming with an uncomfortable sort of prickling.

"or no-"

"no! uh, no i mean, that's", george watches the couch dip with your knee dug into it, shuffling your body closer to his until you're fit against his side, pressing his arm against the back of the pillows, "that's good."

"yeah?" you're warm. the heat coming from your body spreads over him like a wildfire—he doesn't mind being burned. for the first time since he'd sent that angry email to your landlord, fueled with the desperate shivering that had taken on his body, he's glad that the heater had broken. he supposes this—george feels your arms wrap a little higher around him, head lean back against his shoulder—was worth the last week of freezing his ass off.

some building sense of courage towers in his chest, gathers in his throat, "hey, i want—"

and george watches as you look at him. what does he want? if he thinks about it, he wants to tell you that he thinks you're wonderful. that he likes that you let him use your shampoo when he runs out. that he remembered the night you'd watched all the austin powers movies with him because he'd been sad, even when you'd had school the next day. he wants to do just as much as you'd done for him in the three months he's known you, more than he could ever repay you for.

another part of him, a part that's selfish and wanting and probably a little too high off of the warmth he's been missing since he'd woken up—wants to kiss you.

he wants to.

so he does.

prompt taken from here : "the landlord still hasn’t repaired the heater in our apartment and we’re already wearing several layers of clothes, we need to find other ways to keep warm"

[pillow-anime-talk]

older girlfriend. {pt.2}

synopsis: You as older Karasuno’s boys girlfriend.

# tags: headcanons; current relationships; older!y/n; romance; lil bit of comedy; fluff; some kisses and hugs; sometimes reader is smol or has a babyface and because of this she doesn’t seems to be on 3rd year or studies; sfw

includes: female reader ft. hisashi kinoshita, kazuhito narita, tobio kageyama, shouyou hinata, kei tsukishima & tadashi yamaguchi {hq!!}

part one {click}

— HISASHI

↘ The year of difference wasn’t a something big for you and Kinoshita. It isn’t disturb two of you.

↘ But it doesn’t change the fact that sometimes you acted more like his mother than his girlfriend...

↘ I mean, whenever you went out with him you corrected his school uniform, scarf, hat or hair. You often brought him a bento or a bottle of mineral water, and you even reminded him about his tests or matches in the messages.

↘ You haven’t had a chance to meet the rest of the volleyball group yet, but if it ever did, you’d like to prepare yourself better.

↘ For example, you will make some cookies or lemons in honey to make the Karasuno team remember you well and for a long time.

↘ In sum, Hisashi was a really good boy for you and as a thank you he would always buy you your favorite flowers, chocolates, bubble tea or carry your bag/backpack from school to your house.

— KAZUHITO

↘ The relationship with Narita and being his older girlfriend is (like with Ennoshita) really tender, soft and respectful. You two aren’t rush and don’t want to rush with anything.

↘ You’re Kazu’s first girlfriend so he’s a little bit awkward... He’s like a walking, big mess who often stutters and blushes.

↘ He’s cute. The cutest.

↘ Study dates!! Lots of study dates!!!! With some snacks, fizzy drinks and then with movies or anime. 

↘ You are in the third grade plus you’re a amazing and supportive girlfriend, so you help him with many school things; you give him your old notes and notebooks and help him with upcoming tests. It’s a good time for both of you because you write your final exams!

↘ For each good answer, you give him a kiss or stroke his shaved lovely head.

↘ Bonus: You’ve already met the Karasuno volleyball squad, but you’re not close with them yet. You just spend too much time with Kazuhito, so you don’t look at the other boys...

— TOBIO

↘ Kageyama is so clumsy. MY GOD. The most clumsy person in the whole world. Poor baby.

↘ But you love him anyway. Especially when you have the opportunity to tease him. And as you’re two years older than him and in your last grade of high school, your boyfriend knows that he can’t stand up to you. A respectful kid™.

↘ That’s why you come to his training very often and cheer him on, which he makes MANY mistakes.

↘ Headcanon in headcanon: Imagine he’s giving a quick-strike to Hinata and suddenly you yell at him, ‘Come onnnn, honey! If you try hard and win, you will get as many kisses after training as your team will get points! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!’. And... the ball literally hits Sho in his face (sorry Hinata, ily).

↘ You and the rest of the Karasuno team are laughing and Tobio hides his face in his hands so that no one sees his blushes. Poor baby vol.2.

↘ But he loves you so so so so much too.

↘ Anyway. You keep your promise after training. But sometimes you double the number of kisses because you have a soft spot for this volleyball maniac.

— SHOUYOU

↘ We all knows it’s a canon that this kid would fall in love with someone older. And he would probably be the first to confess his feelings, after a very long observation and a few conversations with you about random things like food, animals, movies, school, sports and weather.

↘ At first he would be surprised that you are older than him. I mean, you’re pretty small, smaller than Hinata... So he thought you were the same age as him.

↘ Surprise, you are a year older!

↘ When you start dating, Shouyou will definitely be the one who plan most of your dates. He will also introduce you to his lovely volleyball team, coach, whole family and total stranger people, boasting that you are his beautiful, smart, tiny girlfriend. Another big #SIMP.

↘ Hinata is a really, REALLY hyped person so you will have to take care of him by bringing him healthy food and water, for example. You will also come to his matches and training, asking him to take care of himself and not hurt himself. You always worry about him...

↘ I must to say it: Thanks to you, this boy has brighted even more. He loves you very much, I can’t describe it by words.

— KEI

↘ This sarcastic, tauntsy and mean asshole was just laughing at Hinata, his height and the fact that he didn’t make a good serve. Then he also started accosting Kageyama by calling him ‘The King’. What a mf... I have NO words.

↘ You heard his voice just outside the gym entrance because the door was open. You were shocked that this cutie had such... nasty tongue. He was completely unlike that nice, sweet and respectful boy you’ve always seen on your dates. You had to do something and save the orange head and his black-haired friend from more rude words.

↘ “Tsukishima Kei.” You entered the big hall, folding your hands on your hips. “What’s that supposed to mean. How do you talk to your teammates. Well, I’m shocked.”

↘ The team thought you were his sister or cousin. What was their surprise when you walked towards the tall blonde boy, then grabbed his ear and pulled down.

↘ “Y-Y/N...”

↘ “Did Tsukki stutter...?” Hinata’s whisper echoed between the players.

↘ “I wanted to support you in today’s training, because I finished my classes earlier at the university, but you are doing something like that... I’m really disappointed, Kei. You are such a bad boy.” You said what the four-eyed blushed at. “Apologize to them.”

↘ “B-But baby...”

↘ “What the fuck.” Shaved head choked.

↘ “Tanaka watch your tongue.” Sugawara said, patting him on the back.

↘ “Kei...” You muttered impatiently, at which the boy took a deep breath.

↘ “Fine...” You literally knocked out him so he just gave up. He turned to the two first years and apologized to them as you ordered.

↘ Then you smiled gently and patted his head because he was still crouching.

↘ The unforgettable first meeting with the volleyball team is already done!

— TADASHI

↘ Literally no volleyball club member will forget the day when you for first time came for Yamaguchi.

↘ Third years been so shocked. Second years  had nosebleeds. The first years fainted and fell on the floor. Coach Ukai stopped in time and Mr. Takeda thought it was a american movie or korean drama. Two girly managers flushed so hard. What a beautiful memory.

↘ That day you were wearing black and heavy combat boots, black pants, a leather jacket and sunglasses on your nose. You were also chewing gum and you had a phone and car keys in your one free hand. All the students that you passed have stopped to look at your figure. The teachers wanted to call the police, by the way. Comedy and drama rolled into one.

↘ You entered the gym as if you were at your own apartment and quickly looked around. When everyone noticed you, only then you smile as your eyes met Tadashi. He was so sweet, so flushed. You wanted to kiss his whole, freckled face.

↘ ... And you did it after a few seconds, shocking everyone (even Tsukishima, who didn’t know that his bestie had a girlfriend four years older than him).

↘ Tanaka and Noya were literally crying against the wall while you were still kissing your sweet boy, telling him that today you’re taking him for a drive date and movie night to your apartment.

[sasa-gay-yo]

Just Us (Chapter Seven: Calculating)

← Chapter Six 

845

“So… um, it’s the Spring Equinox and all. We usually do something. You know, you, me, some friends; like we always do. Are you… are you going to come this year?” I turned to Jonas who was leaning on a box of flour. How could he so easily forget moments like that? He confessed to me and then the next day seemed to completely forget. Months later when it seemed he had an in, he didn’t even go for it. Talk about being uncompetitive. 

“Will there be as much drinking as there was last year?” It was monotone and I glanced over to the corner spot. Garrison. Last year, the girl Jonas was interested in and I had to drag back him and his three friends from outside Wall Sina and they slept on the floor of the bakery while I offered her my couch. During the process of wrestling them inside, Jonas had somehow stripped naked and his friends were trying to follow suit. I try to keep that memory suppressed.

“Probably yeah. You know the spring wine is the best… but you’re still kinda sic-” I nodded and help up my hand to stop his excuses.

“You’ll probably have to drag me home this year. I’m in.” He smiled, but it was bittersweet, knowing I wasn’t going to hang out with everyone and socialize. I’d probably just sit under a tree and drink my sorrows away.

“Eva, you-” The sounds of horses outside broke him from his sentence. Some people went out and others just turned back to their food. The Scouts were slowly dwindling in number as they were waiting for the new recruits to come in from training. No one was enthused that they were coming in and out and those who would go and watch them come back were sadists. I turned my back and went to busy myself with some invisible work at the back table.

“You know, if he did something to you to-” I grasped the table. He says this almost every time they march outside of my café. 

“If who did something, Jonas?” He felt the venom in my tone and decided not to push forward. I coughed for what felt like the hundredth time and it broke the tension.

“So, uh, next week. I’ll come to get you when we leave. Should be after five. We’ll all get dinner and take it out.” He took the money off the counter and went out of the store, probably to go glare at the Scouts who were walking by. 

If he didn’t come this Saturday that marks three months. It also marks the point where I get the message and I’ll forget about him all together. I had forgiven him the first month. He didn’t know how to deal with emotions so he needed some time and maybe needed to kill some titans. The second month came, and an extended break for weather conditions, but yet he didn’t come anywhere near Trost. I even went through one cold and caught another one just waiting for his ass. I wanted him to reject me already so I wasn’t getting let down on the daily.

Here comes my surprise when Saturday one rolls around, I’m still coughing and sneezing, and he’s nowhere to be seen. Even the old ladies stopped coming. I guess they were more wiser on when to give up. 

Damn. That was something I never thought I’d hear myself say. Giving up hope. Even he said that he’s afraid I’d give up hope because of him. Well, here we seem to be. 

I shouldn’t let a shorty who doesn’t know how to process emotion take away my hope.

The bells rang above the door and two nightshift Garrison members walked in. My least favorite people, always coming 30 minutes before closing asking me to serve them fresh coffee to keep them awake. They never failed to make my mood worse and this oncoming headache wasn’t going to go away with their shouts. Last month, I had to kick out a few of them because they were talking so nastily about the Scouts. I couldn't bear it and neither could my head. I still had hope in the Scouts as a whole, especially hearing they were getting new recruits, and one person wasn’t going to ruin that. Hopefully, the fresh meat would propel them like it did last year. Hm, maybe fresh meat was not a good way to describe the cadets.

The bell above the door rang again and I looked up to be face to face with the Wings of Freedom. At least one Scout was using their day off, a tall one at that. A contrast to shorty. She had rectangular glasses strapped to her face and auburn hair in a ponytail. She came in smiling crazily too. A big contrast. 

“Are you Eva with the peppermint tea?” I had to do a double take and even blinked a few times before answering her. I sneezed again before answering.

“Um, yes. I think that would be me. Who’s asking?” She sharply reached out her hand and I shook it. Ouch, she had a hard grip.

“I’m Hange Zoë, a squad leader for the Scouts Regiment. I’m here to escort you to the Scout HQ. Do you have the peppermint tea?” I blinked again, not moving. She wanted to take me where? The last place I wanted to go, that’s where. 

“Am… Am I in trouble?” She laughed out loud, not caring if anyone looked at her. Yeah, she really wasn’t at all like the Scouts I meet on a daily basis. 

“No, no. Not at all. In fact, I almost have no idea why I’m taking you there. Well, a little bit more of an idea than you have. Personally,” she leaned in and whispered behind her hand, “I’ve been wanting to talk to you since I saw you at the festival, but shorty wouldn’t crack.” It wasn’t a whisper and I’m sure if anyone was at the first few tables, they would have heard it. 

“A-and if I don’t come with you?” She shrugged and crossed her arms.

“I’ll drug you and drag you myself.” I stepped back from the counter and she roared with laughter, “I’m kidding! I’m kidding! Do I look like someone who would do that? Well, maybe... but If you don’t come, I’ll have to deal with an even more upset Captain and I don’t want to do that!” Captain? He ordered her here? 

“Did the Captain send you to get me?” She pushed her glasses up and leaned one arm on the counter. 

“I guess I should’ve led with that. Levi said, ‘Eva with the peppermint tea,’” she imitated his voice and facial expression, “I had to go to three coffee shops in Trost to find an Eva. Two streets down is a Freud and about a half mile behind you in a cute old couple. I didn’t think the Captain would want them that badly. So when I walked in and remembered seeing Captain talk to you at the festival, I knew I hit the jackpot.” She snapped at the end making a point to her adventure to find me. The Garrison members were now staring at her, too. They probably knew about her better than I did.

“Why does he want me to come to HQ?” She shrugged again, but this time without a death threat after. 

“I don’t know, but shorty is very adamant about it. I told him I was busy for a whole month, thinking it was a fever dream, but that made him even madder. Anyways, I was hoping you’d come and bring the tea and a...” she looked down at ink on her hand, “ a tea set. Captain Levi broke his on the first day of the year. How unlucky is that?” He was adamant that I come? That’s stupid. How adamant can he be when he’s had three months to do it. He probably just wanted to make it easy for someone to drag me away from him when he rejected me. Either way, I was intrigued. 

The Garrison members groaned when I shoved them out the door to lock up a few minutes early. 

I shouldn’t have gone really, but I had no excuse. Maybe I just wanted him to reject me like I said and then have a sad ride back to the café. However, Hange coming in and saying all those things made me much more concerned about his mental wellbeing than what he was going to say to crush me. And if he was making me come all the way there, was he going to give me bad news? I don’t think he’d be that mean, but I have never faced the real Captain Levi before.

Hange had given me another cape, and some tissues for my nose, saying that it would be easy to have me come in unnoticed because the new cadets had just showed up. She just hoped I didn’t get caught sneaking around by Erwin and thrown into combat training. This woman was saying stuff that was making me scared the whole ride there. I was on a horse too, so that made my anxiety worse. 

The Scout HQ was a huge ass castle and I didn’t think it would look at all like this. The barracks in the capital were just a big square building with some pillars. This place was gigantic. Hange made it a point to name every section of the castle so I somehow knew right away where I was going. I was going to the Officer’s Wings.

“It’s a shame though. We’re leaving this place soon for a new one the government issued. It’s not as nice, but it’s smaller because they don’t think we need such a big place… Well, it’s true, but… they didn’t have to say it like that, you know! I’ll have to move my whole lab!”

The hallways were also tall on the inside. It was an actual abandoned castle. I wondered who had lived in here before the government got ahold of it. She even stopped by to show me the throne room that they had converted into the mess hall. It’s like I was on a field trip, but at the end of it was the school leader’s office. Why was I being summoned by him? Was he not good enough to come to the civilian’s café anymore? Annoying prick. 

“Here is Captain Levi’s quarters. We just transferred him back today, but he’s still a bit sore from not moving around much. I hope that once he gets his peppermint tea that he’s moaning about, he won’t be so rude to everyone anymore.” I balanced the tea set and bag of tea in my hands as she opened the door for me. 

“Transferred?” She waved her hand like it was nothing as shut the door on me. It was like she threw me into the wolves. She didn’t even want to be. I didn’t know she was just going to leave me like that because my nerves just skyrocketed. 

His office was like he described. Half the size of the capital, but still with big windows in the back. This time, they were turned to the way of the sun. There was a single, full bookshelf against the wall on the left with another chair in front. This time the chair didn’t seem as uncomfortable as the ones in the capital. He wasn’t sitting at his desk where I thought he’d be. As soon as I saw the crack in the door and dim light peaking through, I knew he was in his bedroom. Why? 

We just transferred him back today. Well where had he been? 

I decided to sneak up to the little cut out in the wall which held a singular hot plate. If I could make tea, I could prolong the time I didn’t have to talk to him. Why did I even come here in the first place? It’s not like I like this guy anymore or would bend over at his will. Just a rejection, yeah, that’s what I came for. 

Taking a single, short step, I tested the floors, hoping they didn’t squeak. Once I was in the clear, I slowly started to tiptoe towards the opening. If I went fast near his door, he wouldn’t even see it. 

Achoo! 

I held the tea set, but it rattled mercilessly in the box. Oh fu-

“Hange?!” Oh, yeah, he was definitely in the bedroom. Now, I’d just stand here with my eyes closed and hope I didn’t look too bad when he opened the door.

Who am I kidding, I literally hopped on a horse to get here on a whim. I’m bending so far over for this man it’s ridiculous. 

“Hange, I told you it was the sixth café down off of the turn we make on the main drag. It’s hard to,” there was a wheeze, “h-hard to miss.” I stood there for a while, but he didn’t come out or open the door. In fact, there was no movement coming from his room at all. 

“Hello?!” It was harsh and was followed by another sharp intake of air. It dawned on me then. Transferred. Was he injured?! 

“Um, hello?” I finally answered and looked again to see if he would open the door now. Still no movement and now no answer. Maybe Hange messed up and he didn’t want me he-

“Did you bring the tea?” I was not expecting that. His voice was instantly softer than before and after months of not hearing it, it made me melt.

“Oh, um, uh, yes, yes I did. And the set, and the set.” I coughed into my arm, masking my cold. If he knew I was sick, he might send me back just because of germs. 

“C-come in. M-My room. I already have hot water...” Come in? To his room? His bedroom? Where he’s laying? He hasn’t even come into my bedroom before.

“Um, are you sure you want me in there?” There was a loud groan, probably so I could hear his annoyance too.

“Just get in here, brat.” There was something about him calling me that that made me annoyed and walk slowly into his room. Was it the urge to bicker again?

 I opened the door and peaked in, instantly locking eyes with him. I screamed at my heart because just like the first day, it started beating fast again. Shut up. He’s going to reject you then you’re going to go back home and put the tarts in the oven to prebake. 

He looked pitiful. There were bandages wrapped all the way around his torso and he was shirtless, but it didn’t look like it. His head had one bandage around it too, but that one seemed pretty useless. More of a headband if anything. It had also been a while since he’s bathed, marked by the incomplete stubble scattered around his mouth and chin. He just laid there, blanket up to his waistband, staring at me. What had happened and for how long was he like this? 

My anger and inhibition to come inside subsided and I set the tea set down on the floor. There was no chair for me to sit on, so I just stood. We stared at each other for what seemed like eternity, my heart still beating out of my chest. He was the first one to break the silence.

“C-Can you make me tea?” It almost came out like a whine coupled with his lack of breath. I crouched down and took the tea set out, looking at the makeshift water kettle he had on his nightside table. This bedroom was so small; there was no room for a desk. His bed was up against the wall only leaving a few feet towards the door and enough room for a dresser and walking space at his feet. No windows. 

“You can,” he caught his breath and was silence for a few moments before continuing, “You can sit here, Eva.” He tapped the space next to him on his bed. I was hesitant at first, but the way he said Eva made me almost forget all his wrong doings. How badly did I want to see him again that I was acting like this? So weak for a single man. I sat down on the bed, back to him, trying to ignore his heated stare.

It was the same feeling the night I kissed him. I made him tea, he stared at me from behind, but I couldn’t get close to him this time. That was going to be the difference. I wouldn’t let myself have such a weak will like last time. Go in, make the tea, get out. 

“What did you do?” Goddamnit Eva. You weren’t supposed to make conversation like this. 

“A newer cadet ran into me while I was trying to finish off an abnormal titan. The titan got a hold of me and squeezed pretty hard before I cut it’s fingers off. The cadet gave me the concussion, and the titan fractured most of my ribs. This was the beginning of February.” Of course he gave me a date. If I went back to that time, I said I was going to let it slide, too. I had given him January off and if he got hurt in February that means even if he wanted to come to the café, maybe he couldn’t… No, Eva, if he wanted to he’d send Hange earlier. 

I told him I was busy for a whole month, thinking it was a fever dream.

“Oh,” I went back to work, taking out the set he left when he stormed out of the café and the new peppermint tea he has yet to drink. No one but him comes in to drink mint tea. Usually it’s just green or black, so the stock I buy is just for him. Imagine me staring at the tea leaves sitting under the counter for hours next to the tea set box willing him to walk into the café. If he wasn’t going to come back, maybe I should just give it to him so he doesn’t force me here again. 

“I’m almost healed completely. There’s just one rib that’s bothering me enough to not be able to go back in the field.” It was interesting to hear him talk so much, even when injured. Our roles had reversed. Maybe he felt pressured to talk more than usual. I hope guilt was pushing him.

“That’s good.” I just sat there, watching the tea leaves swirl in the water, and hoping I’d had enough strength to turn back away from him when I gave him his cup. 

“What have you been d-doing?”

“The usual.” I picked at my skirt, noticing it was the one I’d worn the last time I’d seen him. When only owning about five, there were heavy odds that would happen. Sadly, this meant the odds were stacked against me. I only won a few bits of luck back when I was, in fact, able to turn back around when I gave him his tea. I didn’t even look in his eyes either.

“Can you help me into the bathroom?” He set the empty tea cup down next to me, making it so I didn’t have to turn around to put it on his nightstand. If I helped him, I’d have to look at him though. This was apart of some plan.

“I could get Hang-” He grabbed my wrist with a bit of force and used his strength to turn me. I also fell on top of him with how hard he whipped me around. This was the first time he had put his hands on me like that. 

“Why can’t you even look at me?!” I was breathing hard, but still looking at the blankets on the bed. His hand was bandaged too. We’d traded places in that aspect. I wasn’t going to tell him, but the balm he gave me helped. HE didn’t deserve that information when he was acting like this. 

I stood up, taking my knees off the bed, and pulled the blanket off of him. I made sure to fold this so he had nothing to yell at me about again. He got himself parallel to me and needed help to sit up. The was probably going to be the most painful part. You were helping someone who was in pain, there was nothing else to it. I was being a nurse to him since no one else was around to do so.

Reaching for his back, I carefully helped lift him up to a seated position. The amount of curse words that came out of his mouth made my heart squeeze at the pain I was putting him through. It was just pity; you were sad for the man who was hurt. That’s it. I shifted my position to sitting next to him and silently gasped when he put his arm around me and grabbed my opposite shoulder. Minus the time I had kissed him, this was the closest we’d ever been. My mind couldn’t help but take a delight in that. 

When we stood, there were a lot less curse words, but they were still there. My gaze was directed at the floor as we walked out and directly to the right into the small bathroom. They really paid no expense to give the Scouts nothing. This was an officer’s quarters too, which meant that he had one of the best lodgings. I bet it was bunk beds and communal showers outside of this wing. 

I let go of him and got behind him near the door. I had no idea what he was going to do here, but I knew I’d leave as soon as he started. Would I leave completely now that I’d given him tea? It seemed rude to someone who was in his state. What if he falls or hurts himself again? This wing was so far removed from the others. My weak will triumphs again. 

“Can you take off the bandages? There’s scissors on the sink.” How much was he going to torture me before I leave? He’s hurt, just do it, Eva.

I picked up the scissors and walked over to his back, trying to be gentle so I didn’t cut the skin off of him. I put one hand on his upper back and worked from the bottom-up, cutting away at the thick, white bandages holding his ribs in place. 

The speed of our breathing matched when I touched his bare skin. Was he breathing hard because of the decreased pressure? I raised one eyebrow, maybe taking that as a selfish clue, and took away the last bandage. They fell on the floor and allowed me to take in his shirtless back. There were bruises that were healing and a few minor cuts, but most importantly it seemed to be all lean, muscle. He wouldn’t care or notice if I was staring, so I took it as payback. Sweet, muscular, gorgeous pay back. If he turned he would have seen my blush. 

Yeah, good luck Eva, the feelings aren’t gone. 

“I’m going to shower. You can, um, there’s books? I think Hange left something to eat a few hours ago, too. Eat that...if you want.” That was his way of telling me he didn’t want me to leave. 

“Okay,” I finished shortly and turned back around, closing the bathroom door. When the water went on, I took a long breath and sunk down against the door. I put a hand to my face and lightly slapped it to wake me up. My face had to be at least five shades redder after that encounter. Was he going to make me put bandages back on him? Would I get to see his front on full display? I slapped my face again and frowned at myself. He wasn’t the only shirtless man you’ve seen, quit acting like this. 

I stood up and looked around at his office. There were papers scattered all over his desk, nothing seemed to be in it’s right place, and I could see a layer of dust collecting on the shelves to the right of his desk. It’s not because me cleaning would make him happy, but it’s because I had taken an interest in looking around his office. It would be a disservice to the place if I didn’t look at it in the way he intended. 

Starting with the desk, I just pushed papers together and stacked them in neat piles on his desk. It was easy to find a spot because there was absolutely nothing on his desk besides a name plaque, a cup to hold pens, and a stamp that seemed to be his official marking for papers. His office was as bare as the one in the capital. I found a cloth by the burner and used that to wipe down the shelves that were equally as empty. A rusted knife, a small stack of Wings of Freedom cloth emblems, and a cracked, white teacup. I wonder what these things meant to him if he put them over here on display. 

I wiped off his desk too and opened the curtains that blocked the sunlight from the windows. His office viewed the training ground as I saw cadets practicing hand-to-hand combat in full uniform. When I finished dusting everything, I sat down in his chair, taking in the full view of his office. If I had a room like this, I’d fill it with something and not leave it so empty. I bet it even echoed. 

“Echo… echo,” I confirmed my suspicion. When we talked about remodeling the Scouts HQ, his office had never come into the conversation when it severely needed to. 

The water shut off and my gaze snapped to the door of the bathroom. He takes quick showers for someone who was slightly incapacitated. I wonder how long they took him when he was back to normal. Showers should be savored, not rushed; that was my opinion. 

The door opened and I just turned the random book of his desk open to pretend I was reading. It was something about the history of Scout maneuvers but I couldn’t understand a thing. He had to know I was lying to him. 

“You cleaned?” I glanced quickly up at him and looked back down at the book. Oh gods. He was smiling. Not a smirk or a smile after he insulted me; a heartwarming, genuine smile. Another one worth ten points at least. I wanted to look back up at him. If he smiled like that again, this whole emotionless façade of mine was going to break easily. 

He walked over to the small foot rest that was in front of his desk and sat down slowly to face me. I just kept staring at the pictures in the book finally discovering that the Os were Scouts and the Xs were titans. 

“Interesting book?” I turned the page and nodded, lying to him. This page didn’t have a picture so I’d have to pretend to be interested in the words. 

“Can you even understand what that’s saying?” I’d been caught. I acted like I had finished the page before closing the book and setting it aside. This time, I felt like I was at an appropriate distance to look at him. That was a mistake because he was still smiling at me and I felt my insides melt. He was doing it on purpose. The defensive strategy that I made while he was shower disappeared too. 

“No,” I answered truthfully and took in his form. He had put the bandages on himself, thank gods, and was sitting completely straight so as to not hurt his ribs. His face was smooth again, but his hair had grown almost past the tip of his nose. Even like this, he looked so handsome. I leaned back in the chair and started twiddling my thumbs, looking down at them. 

“You cut your hair?” He was observant. I coughed before answering.

“I do at the beginning of every year.”

“Are you sick?” His voice was filled with concern and not the tone of ‘If you say yes, I’ll kick you out’. 

“A cold.” 

“So you haven’t been taking care of yourself.” There was no tea to sip in place of answering his statement. Those words brought back a bit of anger though. The effects of his smile didn’t last long. 

“If you cared, why didn’t you come back then?” He sighed and rested one leg over the other like he always does. 

“I was sca-” 

“Don’t say you were scared. You’ve used that excuse before. Find something original.” It was a lot easier to yell at him when I wasn’t looking at him. 

“I didn’t know how to respond.” I clenched my fists. I knew that when I kissed him, but it still made me mad. He was a grown man.

“Usually when someone kisses you, you have two options. Respond back or tell them you don’t want that. You don’t run away from them.” He groaned which made my anger even worse. He didn’t know how to respond to anything I was saying and that made him frustrated too. 

“C-Can you come sit next to me?” I looked up at him for the first time, my eyes hardening with emotion.

“No, I won’t.” I didn’t dare get close to him again. 

“Eva,” he pleaded and I shook my head again. 

“I’m not playing this game anymore, Levi. I’m not going to play pretend with you and ignore the reality of things.” He stood up again slowly. 

“Look at this. At me. This is reality. I almost died out on the field because I was thinking about you and not the titans! I called you here to show you that because I don’t think you know how bad things can get.” I raised an eyebrow at him and crossed my arms.

“Are you saying I’m a distraction?” He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration again. No, sir, I was the one who could be frustrated. 

“No, I’m not saying that. I’m saying that I almost died because of one small slip up. Who knows what could happen on the next expedition? You don’t know what it’s like to be outside of the walls or to see people die to the left and right of you! I’m always next.” I glared at him. 

“Maybe if we didn’t spend so much time in our pretend little world, you could’ve told me so I understand. Maybe you’d know about my life in the Underground and how you’re completely wrong about me not knowing how bad things can get. You’re the one who did this to yourself!” I hit his desk with my fist and stood up to match him. I wasn’t going to back down. His face went blank again, back into the calculating Captain Levi, not the one who seemed to blurt out things when the emotion came too much for him to know how to deal with it. 

“I don’t… ” 

“You’re afraid of yourself. If you let yourself really do what you want, it’ll break the little pretend world you’ve made. The one where you’re emotionless and in control of every part of yourself and the people below you. You can’t push away reality and keep playing pretend with me.” He gripped his fist. 

“I’m not playing pretend.”

“Then who are you when you’re sitting on my couch?” 

“Levi.” 

“Levi or Captain Levi?” He shook his head like it didn’t matter the difference. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” 

“They’re two different people. Right now, you’re being Captain Levi. You’re calculating down to your next syllable and not letting yourself say what you want. When you’re Levi, you talk freely and smile and laugh. That’s why we never talk about your life or the Scouts, because you feel you can never talk freely around me about those things. You don’t need to protect me.” He looked down at the floor again, calculating what to say next. It was so frustrating that he couldn’t just speak like he was previously. He always had to be in control. 

“Scouts die everyday. There’s no guarantee that I’ll come back. And when I’m back, there’s no guarantee that I can come and see you. I have paperwork and training and duties I have to humanity first. I will always be Captain Levi before I am Levi… since you see a difference in the two.” That changed the pace I was going at. I was going to continue to yell at him, but those last works… 

“I’m not going to hold myself back because I’m afraid of what could happen. I recognize there are things I can and can’t control and I live with it. No one can live like that. You would never be a Scout if you lived like that. You would never be a Captain if you hesitated on every move or order you made. Right now, you’re eating yourself up inside because you want to control everything and can’t admit it to yourself that you can’t!” I squeezed my eyes shut, not caring if my words hurt him in any way. It was the truth. 

“What will you do when I die?” My eyes shot open and locked with his. That emotion was there again. The sliver of something I could never put my finger on. The soft tone of his voice matched it. When? 

“I believe in you enough to know that day will never come.” Apparently, that was the wrong answer and it made him lean forward, grasping the edge of the desk hard enough to make his fingers white. He was only a few inches away from me, but my anger clouded over the want to lean in and taste him again. Did he taste like tea?

“I’ll ask you one more time. What will you do when I die?” I shook my head at him, denying his death, and this time he hit the desk with his injured fist, “Why do you have so much blind faith in people? In me?” 

“I was given a second chance at life because an old man had faith in a little Underground girl with burned hands. I believe everyone should be given the same. You haven’t done anything for me to lose faith in you. I don’t go out to see you off on expeditions because I know I’ll see you when you get back.” He seemed to almost collapse down in one big breath, his head between his straight arms, hands still gripping the edge of the desk. 

The air in his office was tense. No one had probably ever talked to him like I had just did and my words probably matched the internal dialogue he’s had with himself. He knows that I’m right and that he’ll break down on the inside if he keeps trying to strive for total control.

I stood there looking at the back of his head, waiting for him to speak up. His hands kept clenching and unclenching the edge of the desk like he was thinking everything over again. The fact that he couldn’t control the his emotions in this situation, no matter how hard he tried, was probably beating him to death on the inside. Was he sad because once he rejected me, he’d lose the pretend world where he can relax and there isn’t a need to strive for control? Was he angry at me for speaking to him like that? 

“I think I have feelings for you. I’m just apprehensive.” My eyes widened and I looked down at him, still crouched over at the other end of the desk. That wasn’t the emotion I thought he was experiencing. My heart was beating so hard he could probably hear it too. He just… I didn’t expect this to be the outcome of the night. 

“What will you do when I die? Just answer the question.” This was his apprehension. He’s had to move on constantly from people who’ve died, outside the wall or under it. He’s strong, but he didn’t know how strong I could be. I’ve watched people die too. I’ve had to say goodbye countless times. I had to make sure he knew I could deal with pain and hurt as well, and not just my own. 

“I’ll give you a nice funeral, wait a year, then move on to Commander Erwin.” The tension broke and he let out a huff of air in laughter before standing up. His eyes were back to normal, but this time a lot softer than when he was walking down the street. It wasn’t indifference, it was just from being relaxed.

“I can’t abandon my duty as a Captain. If I have work to do, that comes first.” 

“Understandable.” 

“It might be months on end where you won’t be able to see me.” 

“I guess I’ll just have to get a mistress.” He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. The orange light from the sun setting behind us made it so I couldn’t stop staring at him now.

“I’m being serious here, Eva.” I sat back down in his chair, crisscrossed, still struck with his face.

“So am I, Levi.” 

“I require monogamy.” I think that was him trying to make a joke so I indulged. 

“I guess I can live with that. The bakery keeps me busy enough. If I have orders to fill out, that comes first.” I mimicked him and a small smirk crept up onto his face. That’s how I knew he was completely back. 

“Understandable, but slightly saddening you put baked goods above me.” There was a knock at the door. He rolled his eyes and went over to answer it. I made sure I was out of sight of the door. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing disturbing my sleep, cadet? Can’t you see my state? I should make you clean the stables for waking me up.” I could hear the nervousness in the cadet’s voice when he answered.

“I-I-I’m so… sorry, Captain! I didn’t know you were sleeping! Squad leader Zoë told me to bring you this!” There seemed to be an exchange of plates and the cadet was still shaking as Levi turned back into the room/

“Dismissed. Don’t come knocking this late again.” He kicked the door closed in front of the cadet saluting him and walked to the desk with two plates of food. 

“I see now where the mean rumors come from. He was just delivering food.” He set the place down in front of me, ignoring my comment. 

“Not Erwin.” He pulled the ottoman over so he could eat at his desk too. I smiled spooning some curry.

“Why not? I’m trying to climb the ranks.” He shook his head again. 

“If you think I’m too calculated, then you’d hate him. That book you were pretending to read, he’s probably gone through that six or seven times. He stays up till dawn thinking about where a single person should ride in our formation to maximize titan spotting. He’ll have no time for you.” I pulled a face and he lightly laughed. Actually laughed. 

“I guess I’m just stuck with you, Captain.”

Chapter Eight →

Chapter Masterlist

xx Now, we’ll start getting into actually AOT plot. Did you all watch the new ep today? Only got to see a part of our King’s face :( 

[riorsonxaden]

19 for the prompts :)

A treat this time

Prompt: 19 “You want to go trick or treating?” "Seriously?”

Pairing: Nessian

a/n: Sorry it took a while! my writer’s block has been really bad lately. Enjoy!

Today was Halloween. Her favorite holiday. Not only for the fact she loved the costumes, dressing up, the weather and films, but because it was the night she had met Cassian. If it wasn't for a party six years ago she might not have met him.

However, this year, Nesta Bellator nee Archeron found she wasn't particularly in the spirit of spooky. Not when she looked like an overgrown pumpkin, with her bump jutting out of the shirt. From Braxton-hicks, aches in her lower back, not to mention the swelling in her feet, she was over this pregnancy. At this stage, Nesta's fairly certain her feet were to be permanently stuck that way.

This time around she and her husband of almost three years decided to stay in. Opting for appropriately themed films and eating take-out from her favorite Italian restaurant. The one that made the breadsticks so perfect, the bread seemed to melt in your mouth. A mere thought of them made her mouth dry. She would savor every bite while Cassian rubbed her pudgy toes. Tell her she's beautiful, though in this state, she felt far from it. Half of her clothes didn't fit. Even her maternity clothing seemed to be a struggle. Hell, everything was nowadays. Being ten long days past your due date would do the trick. 

Nesta heard the sound of jostling keys in the door. Prompting her to slide the bowl of half-eaten candy under the Cherrywood coffee table. Candy that was supposed to be for the neighborhood kids. She should feel guilty for eating most of it. In her state, Nesta found she could care less. They weren't miserable and exhausted beyond measure like her. Besides, the kids in their neighborhood didn't need all the sugar. Not like she did.

Hearing the creak from the front door and the click as it shut. A faint sound of heavy footfall from her husband's boots echoed from the hall. The sound becoming louder with each step inching towards her. Nesta stood with a groan from the grey sofa. Settling a hand on the swell of her back. Walking, no waddling, like a godsdamned penguin to greet her husband and the food she was dying to devour. Tonight her pain seemed to worsen.

Most likely from lazily hanging on the couch most of the day. She moved as quickly as her nesting body would carry her to the dining table. The square mahogany table adorned with orange, red, and brown on the runner, matching the leaves littering their yard outside. Nesta winced as she smiled at her hero, walking towards her. With bags of food from Nuala and Cerridwen's restaurant, La Bellezza di Cibo. He dropped the bags and rushed to her side. Nesta hitched a breath as the bags hit the floor with a thud. If her food were a mess, he'd deal with her, her... Nesta clutched the back of a ebony chair. 

"Nes?" he questioned with worry displayed on his ruggedly handsome features, a hand placed gingerly over her shoulder before resting on the swell of her belly, "Sweetheart, are you okay?"

Her knuckles bloomed white from her tightened grip on the rounded back of a dining chair, "fine." Nesta gritted out, glancing between concerned hazel eyes and her food abandoned on the floor.

 Once the tremor subsided, Nesta stood upright. Hands resting over Cassian's warm ones, "Fine," she replied again. Feeling the light kicks and punches from within. By the awe touched grin on her husband's lips, he felt it too, "Just Braxton hicks. As you can tell, he's content in there.

"Nes…" Cassian's thumbs rubbed along her belly, "I think you should call the doctor."

"I think," she huffed out, " you should pick up the food, feed your hungry, very pregnant wife, and rub her grapefruit-sized feet." Nesta realized a moment too late that the words were coming out harsher than intended.

By the way his posture tightened, and his jaw clenched, she knew he was fighting against what he truly wanted to say. That she wasn't in this alone, he should have a say too, and if he's concerned to humor him and call the damned doctor. They had called a few times, and tonight she wasn't doing it. She wasn't going into the hospital yet again only to hear they are Braxton-hicks and have those nurses look at her with slight annoyance—the kind she gave her customers daily. Cassian offered a tight smile, kissing her brow in a silent expression of okay. 

She watched his shoulders slump as he picked up the bags walking to the sofa. Her heart constricted as her gaze continued to follow him setting up dinner on the coffee table. He was trying in the only way he could. 

Cassian didn't know the inside of her body as she did. His only tells of possible labor were her movements and time. He sighed, pulling out her favorite drink, iced green tea, no sugar. Silently she moved towards the couch. Her husband now putting on Practical Magic, one of her favorites. He preferred the gory films. lately Nesta couldn't stomach watching those.

If she weren't pregnant and past due, Cassian being upset for a few minutes would be nothing. Nesta would have rolled her wines and left him be for thirty minutes, an hour, sometimes all night before talking. Now, she couldn't stand it. Bracing herself on the back of the charcoal sofa, Nesta shook away the dull pain in her spine. 

"Hang on," Cassian grabbed the couch pillows settling them against the back of her seat, "okay, now sit."

She did leaning into the pillows as best as she could. Laying a hand on her belly, the other on his thigh. "I'm sorry, Cas. I'm just.. I'm so tired all the time, I'm gigantic and in pain. Calling the doctor and going to the hospital just to be turned away, I can't do it. It's annoying and disheartening. If one of those nurses look at me like that again I will stab them in the eye with a syringe." Those last words she promised as a threat. A sigh escaped Nesta, laying her head against his shoulder, "and I just want to meet him."

 Cassian squeezed her hand, reaching for a breadstick with the opposite. Nesta took it, biting into the bread, still soft and warm. She could feel the sting of tears behind her eyes while she chewed. Cauldron this gods damned pregnancy has ruined her non-crying streak a hundred times over.

"I know. Trust me; I'm ready too. It seems like he has both of our stubbornness," he took her in his arms, running fingers through her hair. Nesta wiped her tears with the back of a hand, "You don't have to apologize, Nes. Yeah, I got annoyed for a minute. I don't know what's happening. I walked in, and you're bent over in pain. I had no idea if this had been going on all day or not. He pulled away, taking her feet in his lap. Gingerly rubbing the expanse from toes to ankles with the hardened padding of his thumbs. Nesta hummed her approval.

"I know."

"And you're not gigantic. I mean you-"

"Don't finish that sentence!" she snapped, cutting him a dry look.

He laughed, grinning like an idiot in the way it made her heart flutter, "You're carrying our child, and you look gorgeous doing it. Better?"

"Yes. But you're at morning foot rubs now and speaking of mornings. Tomorrow you're making me crepes."

"deal."

They fell into a blissful rhythm of silence watching the movie. At some point, Cassian handed her the tea. She didn't eat the chicken parm or touch the Tiramisu Nesta claimed to have been craving for weeks. However, he wasn't sure about that. Cassian, the dutiful husband he is, knew every craving and memorized everything she wants and needs. Learning the lesson from Rhys, who was kicked out for a night for getting the wrong the sauce. Feyre's wrath was nothing compared to Nesta's. Paying careful attention to all her tells he knew she's hurting tonight more than usual, which gave him an idea. It was stupid he knew, but if it worked...

"Nes, wanna go trick or treating?"

Turning, she looked at him incredulously. He chuckled at her mouth fully agape, a bit of breadstick tumbling down her black shirt.

"Cassian, you're thirty-one years old, and you want to go trick or treating?" a nod, "seriously?" a second nod, Nesta sat a little straighter, "Let me get this straight, you want to take your nine and then some months pregnant wife trick or treating?"

"Yes, sweetheart. That's exactly what I'm suggesting. We can paint your stomach like a pumpkin with body paint. The doctor said walking helps a chance of labor, free candy, and I'll throw in a rub as soon we get back. I'll even hold your breadsticks and tea."

Before she had a chance to consider, Nesta felt a rush of liquid flow from her. Like someone, some little one popped a balloon filled with water. Nesta stilled for a moment. Time slowed as her stormy grey eyes moved down to her belly. She could feel her cotton leggings thoroughly soaked. Her jaw fell, and her heart pounded loudly. To the point that Nesta knew Cassian was speaking, yet couldn't hear his words. There were only dull noises and a wet feeling underneath her. This was happening. There was no trickery tonight—no falsified contractions. 

Cassian knelt in front of her. Face twisted in worry, he quickly transferred to a half-smile, realizing Nesta was smiling from ear to ear.

"Sweetheart?" 

Meeting his gaze of amber and green flecked eyes, Nesta finally broke, "We can't trick or treat. Cassian, my water broke."

Tag list: @slightlyrebelliouswriter23 @hizqueen4life @clockworkgraystairs @b00kworm @negativenesta @sjm-things @whataboutmyfries @justgiu12 @illyrian-bookworm @thesirenwashere @ireallyshouldsleeprn @forbiddencorvidae @vanessa172003 @thewickedkings @sleeping-and-books @thefolkofthefic @yafandomsdotnet @aknymph @alittledribbledrabble @iminsanenotobsessed @figuredihadanodustollensofalife @df3ndyr @awkward-avocado-s @maastrash @knifewifejude @st00pid231 @elide-lochan-salvaterre @gisellefigue08 @se-ono-waise-ilia @strangeenemy @The-girl-who-reads-to-much @piratejudedemdji @junipersuns @ladywitchling @superspiritfestival @kendarbahr @shadowhuntersshadow-world @pcarnatio @wanderingjpg @whimsyrhys @bookishwitchling @sayosdreams @theoceanfaewriter @acourtofbookworms

[fanficsandthings]

Through the Years, Ch. 3

A George Weasley Fanfiction

A George Weasley x Slytherin reader story. Each chapter shares events in one year of George and reader’s life together.

Word Count: 3k

Year 1, Year 2

Year 3: Redheads 

The snow fell heavily as you looked out the shop window, and it occurred to you that they would be rounding up all the students soon. They would want you to get back to the castle before the weather got too out of hand. Looking around Zonko’s one more time, you left the shop with the items you had bought and started to look for the twins.  Honestly, you were surprised that they hadn’t immediately beelined it to the joke shop, but maybe they were off thinking about their own little inventions. Fred had started to dabble in making potions he shouldn’t be messing with, and George was happy to learn right along with him, no matter how disastrous things could turn out. A couple weeks ago at breakfast you were sitting at the Slytherin table, having an idle conversation with Adrian Pucey about the latest quidditch match, when Lee Jordan walked in, the whole of Gryffindor turning their heads to look at him.

Adrian leaned across the table to whisper to you. “I heard the entire Gryffindor tower woke up in the middle of the night last night because there was an explosion in the third year boys’ dorm.” Your head went into your hands, and you let out a small grumble. “It was the Weasleys, wasn’t it?” “From what I heard, yes,” Adrien said to you, your forehead now resting on the table as you stared down at your lap. “They’ve been getting in a lot of trouble recently.” You slowly raised your head to look over to where Lee was now sitting at the Gryffindor table, the twins nowhere in sight. “They’ve been on a prank kick lately. Excuse me; I may need to make sure they aren't dead.” You got up from your seat and made your way over to Lee, who you noticed had lost a few inches of his hair overnight. “Hey, Jordan!” He turned to look at you. “Have a rough night?” He let out a laugh and said “No, I just woke up with my hair on fire is all. You can thank your boyfriends for that.” Ignoring his comment, you pressed him further. “What’d they do this time?” “I’m not sure exactly, but it involved standing over my bed in a very creepy fashion. And a loud explosion. And then fire. And then going to the infirmary,” Lee explained. “They’re still there?” you asked him. He nodded. “And I’m assuming it’s not too bad since no one seems to be in a huge panic.” “Just a couple burns that’ll take a day to heal fully,” he said. “Thanks, Lee,” you said, starting out of the great hall towards the infirmary. You entered the infirmary, your eyes finding Fred and George. They seemed to be the only ones in the room, sitting upright in parallel beds as they enjoyed a meal that must have been brought to them. They looked relatively normal besides the fact that Fred was missing half of his right eyebrow, a faint red burn mark making its way from just beside his right eye up into his hairline. George looked perfectly fine. and You thought maybe he had made it out of this incident unscathed, and he was just giving Fred company in the hospital wing. He must have caught a glimpse of you out of the corner of his eye, because he suddenly stopped his conversation with Fred and waved his hand at you, telling you to come join them. That’s when you saw the bandage on his left hand, wrapped around his palm and halfway up his arm. “I saw Lee Jordan a few minutes ago. What antics did you two get up to last night?” you asked the both of them, sitting on the edge of George’s bed. You reached over to his plate and attempted to sneak some food off it, but he smacked your hand away before you could. “Hey!” George gave you a glare, pulling his plate farther from you. “We’re the injured ones here. Get your own breakfast.” “You wouldn’t be injured if you didn’t try ridiculous stunts at two in the morning,” you informed them, looking between George’s hand and Fred’s face. “Now seriously, what were you trying to do to poor Lee?” “We were only testing out a potion,” Fred started to explain. “We thought we had it correct.” “Well, unless it’s a potion that causes explosions, I would say you’re very far from perfecting it,” you said, laughing at them. “It was meant to change the color of his hair,” George told you, now offering some of the food on his plate. You gladly accepted it. Fred continued on explaining. “We wanna make something that has a permanent effect, unless magically reversed.” “We know Zonko’s has a product that’ll change your hair color, but it’s only for a matter of minutes,” George told you. “We’d like to go for a more dramatic effect than that.” While the twins were talking, you absentmindedly studied the bandages around George’s palm and wrist. They were fresh, having been changed recently. You wondered what his injury looked like underneath. You feared it was worse than Fred’s, seeing as his warranted no bandages. You knew that by now, Madam Pomfrey had healed them as best she could, and they would be perfectly fine by this time tomorrow, but you still worried. “Try boxed hair dye next time.” you stated absentmindedly, your hand moving closer to George's on it's own accord. “What?” they both asked at the same time, looking at you in confusion. You snapped out of your thoughts, moving your hand back to your side. “You’ll have to be sneakier about it, and it’ll take longer and be 100% harder than using magical means, but it works,” you said, continuing your speech without really giving them an explanation. “You could put it in someone’s shampoo. Now, that’d be funny. Imagine Malfoy coming out of the shower with bright pink hair.” You let out a loud laugh, mostly to yourself, as Fred and George still had no clue what you were going on about. “Would you like to explain ‘boxed hair dye’ a little further?” Fred asked you. You looked between them, confused. A circuit in your brain connected after a few seconds. “Right, right, right. Muggle stuff. It’s literally just a dye that you put in your hair to change the color. Comes in a little box with instructions. Some of it stains your hair, and some of it washes out after a couple showers, so you’ll definitely want one that’s known to stain.” “Could you get us some?” they both asked. “I could ask my parents to mail me some, maybe.” You pondered this thought for a moment. “I think I have a better idea though. I’ll get back to you on that thought in a few weeks. I should get going, classes start soon.” You got up to leave, but turned around quickly. Glancing between their injuries real quick, you settled your eyes on George’s hand. “Please no more injuries. You worry me.” You turned back and hurried out the door, hoping not to be late to your morning class. “She was looking at you when she said that, George,” Fred teased his brother with a wink. George half heartedly threw a pillow at his brother. “She was talking to both of us.” “But she was looking at you,” Fred said, picking up the pillow and throwing it back. —————— Now, stepping outside Zonko’s, the wind was harsh, so you wrapped your scarf tighter around your face. You wanted to make a quick stop at Honeydukes before heading back to the castle. From down the street, you spotted Fred and George leaving the sweets shop. They started to walk in your direction, and you were about to scoot past them when they grabbed onto both of your arms and pulled you to the side.   “What’re you two doing?!” you scolded them as they dragged you into an alley. “I wanna go to Honeydukes real quick.” “No need for that,” Fred said as he let go of your arm. George pulled a small brown bag out of his coat pocket. He held it out towards you. “We bought you your favorites.” You took the bag apprehensively and looked inside. Everything seemed to be fine with the sweets inside. You looked between the two of them. “Why?” The twins spoke at the same time, but completely different sentences this time. “Because we’re such good friends,” is what George said. “Think of it as a sort of bribe,” is what Fred said. You narrowed your eyes at George, staring at him as you asked, “What sort of bribe?” You turned your head towards Fred for an answer. “It’s been weeks since you said you had an idea for our hair color predicament, and we haven’t heard a thing about it,” Fred explained to you. You rolled your eyes at them. “Be patient, boys.” You pulled the bag from Zonko’s out of your pocket and took a small vile out of it. Opening the vile, you drank it and watched the twins as your hair slowly turned to a bright ruby red color. “Now we’re all red heads, huh.” They both let out a small laugh, and Fred said, “We told you we already know about Zonkos, but we want something more permanent.” “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time,” You said, handing the rest of the bag over to George. “There’s five more bottles in there. Use them to deconstruct the formula. You don’t always have to start from scratch, you know. You’re both smart enough to find a way to make that permanent.” As soon as the last word was out of your mouth, Fred scooped you up into a tight hug, lifting your feet off the ground. “You’re smarter than the both of us combined. I can’t believe that we didn’t think about that. Why work harder when you can use other peoples’ successes to further your own?” “If that’s what you want to take from that, then sure.” You laughed as Fred sat you back on the ground. You looked around Fred’s shoulder at George, who was examining one of the viles. “Think you can figure it out, Georgie?” He looked up at you smiling, partly because he liked it when you called him that, and partly because this idea was absolutely brilliant. “Definitely.” “Good. Now we should get going before we get caught in a blizzard,” you said, looking up at the sky. The snow fell heavily, easy to see against the dark backdrop of the buildings you were standing between. You reached and grabbed Fred’s hand, ready to pull him with you through the crowd. You stepped close to George to grab his hand too, but you stopped short when you remembered that hand was the one that had been burned. It had been weeks ago, and you knew it was completely healed by now. There wasn’t even a scar; it was like it had never even happened. Still, you were worried that you might hurt him if you grabbed it too hard. It was an irrational fear, but you couldn’t help it. You quickly grabbed his other hand, hoping he hadn’t noticed your hesitation. You pulled them both behind you, and you were just about to step out of the alley when you stopped suddenly, the twins almost running into you. You could see little footprints in the snow. Pawprints, leading to a small crate at the edge of the alleyway. Following the small prints, you could see the tip of an orange tail sticking out of the crate. You let go of the twins hands, and slowly walked over to the crate, careful not to startle the creature. The twins looked between each other, confused, but they quietly walked up behind you anyway. Making little clicking sounds with your tongue, you urged the creature to look at you. It’s tail disappeared fully into the crate, and you were disappointed for a moment before you saw two orange ears pop up, and then you could see the creature's whole face. It seemed to be just a common house cat. You bent down to be eye-level with the cat, pulling the twins down with you, hoping not to scare it away. You slowly raised your hand up, leveling it a few inches from it’s face. “Come here, sweetie,” you urged it. “What’re you doing out in the cold all by yourself.” It stretched it’s neck out to sniff your hand carefully. After a moment, you felt comfortable enough to try to scratch behind it’s ear. It let you, and you slowly let out the breath you were holding. Fred and George hadn’t moved at all behind you, and you were thankful for their stillness. The cat hopped out of the crate and made it’s way to rub against your leg. “Aren’t you the sweetest thing,” you said down to it. The cat moved from you and rubbed it’s head on the top of George’s shoe. You smiled softly at the two of them. “I think it likes you, George.” He just smiled back at you as he scratched the stop of the cat’s head. “I think we should take it back to the castle,” you said suddenly. “What?” Fred asked you. “This could be somebody in town’s pet.” “Look at it,” you said, gesturing vaguely to the animal. “It’s very skinny, it doesn’t have a collar. I say it’s a stray. What do you think, George?” “Hmmm?” George looked up at you from the cat. “Why does my opinion matter?” “You’re the tiebreaker,” you told him. He thought about it for a minute. “Mum doesn’t really like cats.” You frowned at him. “Well, it wouldn’t be your cat. It’d be our cat. And I’d be more than willing to bring it home with me on holidays.” George was still bent down, and the cat now had both of it’s front legs on top of one of his knees. “Then I say go for it. It is pretty cute.” You let out a laugh of pure happiness. You bent down fast, careful not to scare the cat away. Hugging George from the side, you squeezed him as tight as you could, almost losing your balance. George felt you both falling and put one hand on the ground fast enough to catch you. “I could kiss you right now, George Weasley. I’m so happy.” You looked from him to the cat in front of the two of you. You watched it as it scratched it’s ear with it’s back leg. You didn’t even notice George freeze completely solid underneath your arms as you said those words. You did kiss him. Quickly on his cheek. He barely even noticed it, but afterwards his entire face lit up almost as bright as your current hair color. As you let go of the hug, George did fully lose his balance, falling completely into the snow. You unwrapped your green and grey scarf from around your neck and slowly approached the cat with it. You were careful when you picked it up, examining it quickly before you brought it close to your chest. You wrapped it loosely in your scarf, hoping to keep it warm. You knew that as soon as you left this alley, the wind would be much worse “It’s a girl,” you told Fred and George as you turned back to them. Fred was currently in the process of helping his brother off the ground. “I think we should name her Minnie.” “Minnie?” George asked as he wiped some snow off his legs. “After McGonagall,” you explained to them. They both laughed at that and agreed. Minnie it was. You quickly handed her to Fred and brought a disposable camera out of your coat pocket. “I wanna remember this moment exactly.” The twins huddled together as you stood in front of them, and Fred held Minnie to the side of you. You took a quick picture, hoping it would look good when you got it developed over the holiday. You slipped the camera back in your pocket and grabbed Minnie back from Fred. “She looks good in Slytherin colors, don’t you think?” you asked, admiring her wrapped in your scarf. You looked at the scarves the twins were wearing. “Much better than that ugly red.” You laughed and dodged out of the way as Fred tried to hit you on the arm. You stepped out of the alley and suddenly felt the wind harshly on your face. Your hair whipped around; you could see that the red had already faded from it. You shivered and pulled Minnie as close to you as you could, pushing your face down into your jacket. Suddenly, there was a flash of red in front of your eyes, and you turned to see George wrapping his scarf around your neck as you walked. You wanted to object, but you felt warm and fuzzy, and you didn’t want that feeling to leave you. “You look pretty cute in that ugly red,” George whispered as he pulled away from you. Knowing your cheeks were now burning the same color as the scarf, you buried your face into it, hoping to conceal the blush. You chose to ignore him, instead looking down at Minnie, who was basically asleep in your arms. You took in a deep breath, taking in the scent of the Gryffindor scarf you now wore. This was honestly the happiest you had ever felt in your life. George fell behind you to walk in step with his brother. “I told you I could flirt back.” Fred grinned at his twin. “Well done, George. Well done.”

[slytherinbarnes]

Sub Rosa [78]

vii. nevermind  

Pairing: Bellamy Blake x reader

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: language, blood, anxiety, fighting, violence, injuries.

Summary: Reeling from the loss of Clarke and your agreement to not exact revenge, you receive some welcome news.

a/n: HOW ARE WE HALFWAY DONE WITH S6 ALREADY!? the taglist for this series is open! I hope you enjoy, please let me know what you think!!!

previous chapter // season masterlist // series masterlist

You toss and turn all night, plagued by dreams and memories of Clarke. 

It’s not enough to be heartbroken while awake, you’re also heartbroken while asleep, unable to escape the loss of your twin. Most of the dreams are weird, a strange collection of memories gathered together and played in your mind. You dream of EMPing Raven and accidentally killing Maya in Mount Weather. You dream of Clarke leaving you and Bellamy in the fighting pits, watching Clarke mercy kill Finn, and landing on the ground for the first time, all of you watching Octavia be the first person back on Earth. You also dream of Monty and your father, and by the early dawn hours, it’s enough to drive you crazy.

You eventually give up on sleep and climb out of bed, leaving Bellamy’s sleeping form behind. As you get dressed for the day, you see Delilah’s dress draped over a chair, along with the bracelet she let you borrow, and you grab both of them and slip out of your room. As expected, both of her parents are downstairs in the tavern, preparing for the day, and only one other patron is in the room, a hooded figure tucked away in a corner, despite the early hour. Blythe Ann and Jae smile as they see you, motioning for you to come sit at the bar. “Can’t sleep?”

You shake your head and slide into the seat they motion towards, draping the dress across the seat beside it. “No, too busy being haunted by memories.”

Blythe Ann freezes, giving you a look of understanding, as Jae squeezes her shoulder in comfort. “I understand the feeling.”

“Speaking of,” you lift the dress onto the bar and set the bracelet on top of it. “These belong to Delilah, and I haven’t had the opportunity to give them back yet. I’m sorry.”

Blythe Ann shakes her head, pushing the dress back towards you. “You should keep it, Delilah would want you to.”

“I couldn't.”

“Please, we insist.”

You start to protest again, but Jae grabs the bracelet and reaches out for your hand. You give it to him, and he attaches the bracelet around your wrist, smiling as he does. You admire it, remembering the thought you had when you first put it on, a star for Clarke and one for Bellamy, and you fight back your rising tears as you look up at him. “Thank you.”

He just nods and grabs a basket of pastries, placing one on a plate in front of you while Blythe Ann pours you something to drink. You sit at the bar and eat your breakfast, enjoying the silence of the tavern as Delilah’s parents flit about, getting ready for the influx of customers. When you reach for your glass of juice, you accidentally knock it off the bar, sending it crashing to the ground below. You jump down and pick up the pieces, gathering them together as you frantically apologize to Jae, who is coming around the bar with a rag, ready to clean up your mess. “I’m so sorry, I didn't mean to.”

“No need to apologize, accidents happen.”

He smiles at you and you smile back, standing with the broken pieces of your glass in your hand. “What do you want me to do with this?”

“Here, I’ll take it.” Blythe Ann walks over, extending her hand out to you, and you drop the pieces into her hand. As one of them slides out of your palm, the jagged edge turns just enough to cut your palm, and you wince and mutter, “Shit.”

You peer down at the cut, watching as black blood starts to rise to the surface, and you feel a rush of panic as you remember the danger of anyone knowing the color of your blood. Even with your mom back in space, preparing to make Nightblood for the Primes, you’re not sure it's safe to have just anyone knowing your secret. You squeeze your hand closed, hiding the cut from view, just as Jae asks, “Did it cut you?”

“Just a little nick, nothing major.”

He reaches out for your hand, looking concerned. “Let me take a look.”

You shake your head, pulling your hand away, forcing out a casual laugh. “Really, I’m fine. Nothing to worry about.”

He shrugs, accepting your answer, handing you the rag instead. “In case you need it.”

“Thanks.”

He nods and walks off again, back to preparing for the day, and you rip off a strip of the rag and tie it around the cut. You look around, checking to see if anyone saw, but Blythe Ann and Jae are both still working, and the customer in the corner has their head bowed, seemingly unaware of any of their surroundings. You sigh and plop back in your seat, turning back to your breakfast again. It’s not long before you hear someone else coming down the stairs, and when you turn to look, your eyes land on your boyfriend, giving you a small smile as he approaches. He plops down beside you, in the chair unused by your new dress, thanking Jae as he brings Bellamy something to eat too. Once the couple turns back around and starts to work again, Bellamy reaches out and takes your hand, eyeing the torn strip of rag with concern. You look around, eyes a warning, shaking your head to let him know that you’re fine, but this is not the place to talk about it. He nods, before settling on a different topic instead. “Did you get any sleep?”

You nod, not wanting him to worry about you. “Yeah.”

You can tell that he doesn't believe you, but still he lets it go. “I saw Gaia in the hall. She said something is wrong with Madi.”

“What? What is it?” You turn to look at him in alarm, already preparing to stand up and go check on her, but he grabs you and stops you. 

“She’s okay, it’s nothing Gaia can’t handle. It’s Commander stuff. Apparently there’s a dark Commander, Sheidheda, and he’s vying for control. Madi banished Gaia last night, but she told me she’s going to stick around out of sight, in case we need her.”

“Great. Just what we need, a Dark Commander trying to take over my niece's head.”

Bellamy squeezes your hand, “She’s going to be okay, we’ll keep an eye on her. Gaia will too.”

You nod but say nothing else, picking at the last little bit of food on your plate. Bellamy watches you closely, his eyes never leaving you, and he whispers, “The first time I ever heard Clarke’s name, we were still on the Ark.”

You turned to him, intrigued, and he continues, “I had just heard about you actually, The Invisible Twin.” You cringe at the nickname, and he gives you an apologetic look before continuing, “But it worried me. One of the most Privileged families on the Ark discovered to have a second, illegal child, and still you were locked up. It made me worry about Octavia and what they’d do to her. Not enough to keep me from taking her to that stupid party, but still.”

You squeeze his hand, wishing you could carry his guilt for him. He squeezes back before he adds, “Anyways, I was a cadet in my first few days of training, and they used to send us to all the things they didn't want to do. We got a call that there was a fight near the Privileged section that needed to be broken up, so we rushed over there to break the scuffle up. Imagine our surprise when we pull a girl off of a boy, the boy’s nose gushing blood, a black eye already forming. When we question the girl on who she is, she tells us her name is Clarke Griffin. Of course, the second we heard her last name we knew who she was. Then we asked her what happened, and she said that the boy made a comment about her twin, and how she deserved to be floated for being born. So Clarke punched him and told him to apologize, and when he made another comment about how her whole family needed to be floated, she punched him again. It was the only incident report on her record, up until she got arrested with your father.”

You give Bellamy a sad smile, simultaneously happy that he shared this story with you, but sad that your sister is still gone. “You’ve never told me that before.”

“I didn’t really remember it until a few days ago.”

“Clarke has always been fiercely protective, it’s something I love about her.”

“Funny, I love the same thing about you.”

You smile a little. “Must be a twin thing.”

“Must be.”

But as the story sinks deeper, your brain processing it even further, you whisper, “It feels like I’ve given up on her.”

“You haven’t.”

“Bellamy, we’re just letting them walk free. We’re letting Josephine walk around in my twin's body, and we’re doing nothing about it.”

He shakes his head. “No, we are doing something about it. We’re honoring Clarke’s legacy and we’re surviving. We’re doing better, keeping the peace, and building a compound of our own so we can live, truly live, once and for all. Everything she did, she did for her people. For you. For Madi. Building this compound and ending the cycle of violence means that all of us don't just survive, we thrive.”

You catch the reference he makes to Clarke’s speech to Arkadia before Praimfaya, and you think of how desperately Clarke wanted everyone to live, not just survive. How she always encouraged love and friendship and the happy moments in between all the war and fighting and chaos. You look at Bellamy, knowing that he’s right. This is what Clarke would want, this is how you honor her. You nod, relenting with a sigh, “Okay, so when do we meet with Russell?”

-

You and Bellamy head to the palace to meet with Russell, Miller in tow. Everyone insists that you bring a third party, someone who wasn't locked up for figuring out the secret of Clarke’s death, so the two of you decide on Miller, despite the fact that he’s just as much of a hothead as you and Bellamy. 

Bellamy takes the lead at the meeting, knowing you can barely stand to look at Russell, let alone talk to him, and you stand by your boyfriend’s side, jotting down notes as you listen to Russell’s plans. As the meeting is nearing its end, Bellamy looks at Russell, summing everything up in one succinct sentence, “In exchange for ignoring that you murdered Clarke…”

He trails off when he hears the door open, and you all look towards it, watching as Josephine steps inside, her hair pulled back, Clarke’s clothes gone from her body. It's a shock to you to see her dressed the way she is, and you freeze as she comes to a stop behind Russell, eyeing all of you with curiosity. You hear Bellamy finish his earlier sentence, “You build us a compound.”

You feel Russell’s eyes shift to you, but your gaze never leaves your twin’s body, trying to convince your brain that it’s not hers anymore, someone else is inside at the controls. “What about the sister, mother, and child? Will they agree?”

Your brain registers his words and you flit your gaze over to him, annoyed by the words he used. “The sister will take care of our people.” 

Bellamy reaches out and squeezes your hand before he redirects the conversation, “How long will it take to build?”

Before Russell can answer, Josephine clears her throat, waiting for his attention. He holds up his finger, “Just a moment, sweetheart.”

Your gaze moves back to Josephine, watching her tap impatiently on her arm, waiting for your meeting to finish. But the longer you watch her, the quicker you realize that the tapping on her arm is rhythmic, repeating a small pattern. You flip a page in your small notebook, waiting for the pattern to start again, and then you furiously start to write.

●— 

●—●● 

●● 

●●●— 

● 

You almost laugh in shock when you realize it’s Morse Code, and you rack your brain trying to remember the translations from the brief moment in time that Clarke learned Morse Code in school, but you struggle to remember. You get pulled from your thoughts by Bellamy putting his hand on your shoulder, and you tug the notebook close to you, hiding it from everyone as you turn to look at him. “What?”

“Russell asked if we agree.”

You barely glance at the man as you answer, “Yeah, we’re agreed.”

“I'll order construction to begin.”

You turn and look between Bellamy and Miller, nodding towards the door, trying to hide your excitement. “Let's go.”

They nod and follow you out, the guards at the door closing them behind you, and you jog down the hall, putting distance between you and any spying eyes. Bellamy pulls you to a stop, sensing the shift in your energy, looking at you in confusion. “What’s going on?”

“Didn't Pike teach you Morse Code?”

Bellamy nods and Miller shrugs, “I slept through most of Earth skills.”

You shake your head at him, and focus your attention on your boyfriend. “I remember Clarke learning it too, but I can’t remember what each symbol means.”

Bellamy shakes his head, still not understanding, and you push the notebook towards him, getting excited. “Josephine was tapping out Morse code on her arm.”

He takes your pen and quickly translates, you and Miller looking over his shoulder as he does.

●— A

●—●● L

●● I

●●●— V

● E

You nearly cry with relief when you read the word, looking up at Bellamy with tears in your eyes. You can see the emotion written across his face, a mix of shock and happiness as he stares back at you, both of you overcome with emotion. Miller looks between the two of you, still not sure he understands. “What does it mean?”

You turn to him, your grin growing even wider. “It means Clarke's alive, and we're gonna get her back.”

-

next chapter

[awanderingdeal]

Summer camp AU - Chapter 2 - Sirius

Hello, hello, welcome back to Gryffindor. This chapter finds us with Sirius. This one is a bit angsty again, but there’s also lots of happy points. I promise we will have some fun camp type stuff next chapter!

CW: Sirius does misgender Reg for most of this chapter in his internal monologue as he does not know that Regulus has changed his pronouns. It is not intentional and Sirius does switch pronouns both verbally and mentally as soon as he is aware. Just in case that makes anybody uncomfy. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you to my wonderful betas for catching all my 3am mistakes (and also, just my complete inability to grammar).

And finally, thank you to @lumosinlove for the creation of the sweater weather universe. It honestly is a light in my life. 

Fic Rating: T

For previous and future chapters see masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sirius was pulled from the depth of his thoughts by two short vibrations pulsing through his hands. He glanced down at his phone and felt the corner of his mouth pull up at the name, Mon Loup. Remus was always checking up on him. 

Are you okay? Is he there?

Sirius didn’t know how to answer the first question. He didn’t know how he was feeling. The last thing he had expected when they had gotten in the car that morning was to be seeing his brother's name next to his on the room allocations. His mind had spun through a rollercoaster of emotions: anger, guilt, joy, anger, confusion. Luckily, Remus had been there to notice the impending meltdown and had wrapped his arms around him and told him that it was going to be fine. And somehow Sirius had believed him. 

He took a minute to compose his reply, knowing that trying to lie to Remus about his mental state was futile.

I’m...coping. No, he’s not. No bags either. 

Sirius wished that Remus could be here with him. However, his boyfriend had just graduated with his BSN and was now a paid member of staff on the nursing team. Along with the extra responsibility came his own cabin. Sirius had insisted he went and settled in there. His phone buzzed again.

I told you, he’s probably just as worried about seeing you. He’s here, isn’t he? He’s more than just a product of your parents. 

Sirius hated when Remus was logical like that. He was right though, something must have changed. There was no way that his biological parents would approve of Regulus’ coming here. “Merde!” Sirius groaned, flopping backwards onto the bed. He’d been through this a thousand times with his therapist. He’d tried to take Regulus with him. Regulus hadn’t wanted to come. Besides, he was still a minor and there was no way he could have gotten the evidence to get Regulus out of there legally. It wasn’t his fault. It wasn't his fault. 

It’s not your fault, baby. You know that.

How did Remus always know? Sirius glanced at the time on his phone, 12.05. He worried about where Regulus was and if he wasn’t staying in this cabin, then had he found somewhere else to sleep? The big brother in him would never completely go. The backpack on the floor caught his eye. I might as well start unpacking, Sirius thought. 

The time passed quickly and soon the alarm that he'd set for 12.50 was sounding. He had managed to get all of his clothes into the drawers under the bed and pinned the photo of him and Remus to the wall. He’d tucked his drawing pad under the pillow. There was only one thing missing. 

Sirius took a deep breath, grabbing his smaller daypack and headed back to the main stage where they had been gathered before Dumo had dismissed them all. He was scanning the slowly forming crowd for the familiar features of his brother when a body barrelled into his back.

“Dude! I just saw your twin, I swear.” 

The voice belonged to James Potter. They had only met last year - at this very camp - but Sirius already felt like he had known him a lifetime. 

“Jeez, Potter. My ears,” Sirius moaned, shoving his friend lightly. “Attends...What did you just say?”

“Jeez,” James mocked Sirius’ acquisition of his boyfriend’s mannerisms. “There’s somebody here who looks exactly like you.” 

“Regulus.” Sirius gasped, his eyes darting over the crowd again.

“Who’s Reg-” James started and then his hand was hitting Sirius’ arm as realisation dawned on him. “Your brother.”

Sirius could only give a slow nod. 

“Do you need...I can tell him to stay away from you if you want?” James’ eyebrows knitted into a frown. 

This time Sirus shook his head quickly, “Non. No, I want to see him. I need to see him.” Sirius hadn’t even realised himself that was what he wanted until that moment. 

“Oh,” James said and turned abruptly to face the ever growing group of people. “He was just there, I swear. We can go find him.”

Sirius opened his mouth to reply when Dumo’s voice cut through the noise of the crowd, “Hello everyone, thank you for being back on time.” 

James gave a distressed noise and Sirius squeezed his arm reassuringly. He loved that his friend hadn’t even questioned his desire to find Regulus.  Sirius had wanted something and James was ready to make it happen. 

Sirius tuned back into Dumo’s instructions, “ - lunch until 14.00 and then we will begin with some icebreakers. Finally, this evening we will have an in depth tour of the camp followed by a game of capture the flag. Only so that you know how to play for when the campers come, of course. We won’t have a campfire tonight, I know many of you have travelled from afar and will want to get to bed early. But be prepared because I want all of you ready with your singing voices, tomorrow.”

James had apparently forgotten about his troubles because he was excitedly bouncing on the balls of his feet. 

“Come on,” Sirius said, “Let’s go and eat. It’s not as if Regulus is going anywhere.”

The lunch hall was a chaos of noise and Sirius allowed himself to be swept up in it. The empty table that they found was soon filled. Lily arrived first pressing a kiss first to James' forehead and then Sirius'.

"Lily! I missed you so much. How did you find us?" James grinned.

Lily rolled her eyes, "darling, it has only been two hours since I last saw you. And how many other people have tie dyed their t-shirts?" 

James looked down at the purple, black and white swirls on his t-shirt proudly, causing Sirius to smile fondly. 

“Who are you sharing your cabin with?” Sirius asked, using his hands to compress the monstrosity of a sandwich that he had created before dipping it into his chicken soup. 

“That is so gross,” Lily grimaced at the action. “Now your lettuce is all soggy. And to answer your question, it’s Natalie. You know, Darcy. Tall, blonde, formidable. She’ll be over in a minute. Think she was just waiting for her boyfriend.”

As if on cue, Natalie appeared, placing her tray down next to Lily before rounding the table and wrapping her arms around Sirius and kissing his earlobe. He would have been startled had it been anybody else but he regularly received semi-threatening texts from her telling him to have Remus check his voicemails. “That is from your boyfriend. He said he misses you. Which is gross but I was bribed with cake.” Natalie said, gesturing to the two slices of cake on her tray. 

“Who’s the rookie?” James asked through a mouthful of food, looking at the red headed boy who had just sat down next to Kasey, Natalie’s boyfriend. 

The boy waved casually at the table, seeming very relaxed for a new counsellor, “I’m Alex. And technically, I’m not a rookie. Done a few camps down in Tampa, but I thought I’d join my brother, Finn, here at Queer camp this summer.” 

“Oh, I think I sa-" James began, but was interrupted by Lily’s squeal of excitement. 

"Marl! Dory!" Lily called across the hall attracting the attention of two girls. They made their way over seeing Lily’s wave, followed closely by two other counsellors. 

"Everybody, this is Marlene and her girlfriend, Dorcas. Marl was my little sister at college." Lily introduced them to the table. 

They both flashed a smile and Marlene titled her head towards the two timid looking boys behind them, "We said Ollie and Timmy here could sit with us. It’s their first year too." 

They all found a seat and the usual round of questions began. Despite Sirius' attempts to listen to where everybody was working in the camp, his mind was drifting to thoughts of his brother. 

He felt James' hand gently touch his wrist and when Sirius turned to look at him, James mouthed, " You okay?" 

Sirius nodded, "I'm fine." He realised that he had reached the end of his soup and the fact he was now trying to spoon air into his mouth was probably what had attracted James' concern. "Oh. In my own world, I guess," he said quietly. 

Sirius pulled himself upright, "I'm just going to get a fork," he added more loudly and climbed off the bench. He could have eaten the cake with a spoon, but he wanted a minute to text Remus without being chirped by his friends. Crossing the busy hall with his head down was always going to be a mistake and he found himself colliding with another body as he approached the cutlery trays. 

“I’m so sorry!” Sirius apologised, cringing at the sensation of warm soup seeping through his t-shirt. “I was just -” he started, but as he lifted his head he was met with hauntingly familiar grey eyes.

“Reggie,” Sirius breathed, the nickname slipping out of his mouth. 

He received no reply.

“Regulus? Are you okay?” a tall blond boy that Sirius didn’t recognise asked.

Regulus didn’t get to answer this time even if he had wanted to as an older man, maybe in his 40’s appeared and said gruffly, “Is all alright here?” 

“Yes, yes, we are fine thank you,” Sirius answered. “It was my fault, I wasn’t looking.” 

“Be more careful, Black,” the man said. Sirius managed to pull his eyes away from his brother to look at the name tag. Sergei. 

“Be nice to the kids please, Sergei,” Dumo spoke lightly, a small smile resting on his lips. Sirius swore that the man had appeared out of nowhere.

“You always play favourites, Dumasha,” Sergei grumbled. “He is making a mess of my -”

“Could I just talk to my brother, please!” Sirius snapped. 

“Not your brother,” Regulus said, the sound barely audible.

“Reggie, please. Just let me...” Sirius began. He just wanted a chance to explain how he tried to take Regulus with him, but it hadn’t been possible. To explain that Sirius had needed to get free himself before he could help Regulus and then by the time he was set up, Regulus had been the one to reject him.

“I don’t think they are objecting to talking to you,” the blond boy interrupted. “I think they mean that they are your sibling. Not your brother. Is that correct, Reg?” 

Regulus nodded slowly, fingers clenched tightly around the empty tray in his hands.

“Not my bro-” Sirius’s eyes caught the nametag clipped to Regulus’ t-shirt. He hadn’t looked at it before. They/Them. “Oh. Ohh. I’m sorry, Reggie. I didn’t mean to…”

Regulus cut him off. “It’s okay, you didn’t know,” they said. 

“Still, I’m sorry,” Sirius sighed. “Look, Regulus. Could we talk? Preferably without all these other people?” he asked, his voice hopeful. Sirius turned his gaze to the boy that he didn't recognize, “Who are you anyway?” 

“Leo Knut. Regulus’ roommate. I’ll leave you two to talk if that is what Regulus wants?”

Sirius wasn’t sure if he wanted to punch the guy or hug him for protecting his sibling. 

Regulus gave another nod, more sure than the one they gave earlier. “Go and eat, Leo. Sirius and I should talk. It was always going to have to happen at some point if I stay, eh?”

Sirius took the opportunity to look at Regulus properly. They looked almost identical to when Sirius had last seen them. Only taller. And they held themselves differently. Somehow it was meekier and yet more sure of themselves. Just as Sirius was about to spiral into a mess of thoughts about what he’d left Regulus to face by themself, Dumo cleared his throat. 

“Okay, me and Sergei will clean up this mess. Sirius, I think you should get a clean t-shirt. Regulus, go and make yourself another sandwich. Then we’ll find you somewhere quiet to talk.”

Regulus smiled, “Yeah, I’d like that.”

Sirius let out a breath that he hadn’t realised he was holding, “Yeah, me too.”

[suchalonelysunflower]

“I know”

(Ashton Irwin X Fem!Reader || Angst/Fluff)

Summary: FINAL PART OF THE KNOW YOU SERIES. When everything feels lost, there’s nothing like the rain

Warnings: Strong Language, mentions of: alcohol, abuse, anxiety, depression, toxic relationships. Ansgty and Fluffy. Bad English (not my first language, sorry)

Word Count: 5.2 K

A/N: ITS HERE the last part of my first Ashton series 🥺 I had fun writing this, it helped me a lot. I hope you like it just as much! Reblogs are always appreciate it as well as feedback, I would love to hear your opinions 💙 You can check my other works HERE. Thank you so much 🦋

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Sierra hasn’t heard from you in almost a week. You’re not answering any of her text or attempts to FaceTime and she’s getting really worried. She knows you’re deeply hurting if you went completely MIA. 

Last time she saw you, you were running down the stairs at Ashton’s house, trying to pass the sea of people between you and the door. She remembers calling out your name, and she knows you’ve heard her, since you stopped for a second to look in her direction before turning your face away and walking out the door without saying anything. 

But she already saw the tears on your face. 

Sierra turned to her boyfriend, to confirm that he saw it too, but Luke’s confused gaze was already on her, asking the silent question: ’What the hell happened?’

Luke’s eyes followed the trail you had just walked, but Sierra’s hand was already in his, pulling him so he followed her upstairs. 

“Maybe she was just overwhelmed and needed some space” suggested Luke when they reached the top of the stairs and started walking the hall. 

“Probably, but Luke, I know her. She wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye and she looked really upset” Sierra’s voice was filled with concern“Something happened and…” 

Suddenly, they came to a stop when they heard a light sob. It was almost inaudible due to the poundering thunders that came from the sky, but it was there. Luke and Sierra hurried down to the balcony, not knowing what to expect but at the same time not expecting the sight in front of them. 

Ashton was sitting on the floor with his back pressed to the same wall that had you pressed to him just a few minutes ago, when everything just felt right.

 His hair was a mess and his ringed hand covered his eyes as he cried, his shoulders shaking with every sob that came out of his lips. For the first time in a long, long time, the boy who smiled like sunshine was falling apart like the rain. 

Sierra’s first instinct was to go over the broken man and kneel down next to him, putting her delicate hand in his shoulder. Her heart breaking as he lifted his gaze, just enough for her to see how much he’s hurting. 

“Ash?” 

“I fucked up” He said in a broken voice “Sierra, I fucked up so bad” 

That was on Saturday. Today’s Thursday and you still haven’t picked up your phone. Ignoring, not just her, but everyone. Crystal has tried to reach you countless of times, Michael has been hitting your DM’s from every social media (including in the games you played together) Calum and Luke have been spamming you with texts and even tried to lure you in with pictures of Duke and Petunia. And Ashton… well. Ashton was a complete mess, his smile was none existing since that night and, if it weren’t for the fact that they were already working on a new album, he wouldn’t even be seen. “He barely talks to anyone” Luke said to her “He’s just… numb. I haven’t seen him like this in years, he looks just like me before I met you, maybe even worse” 

Sierra tried to call you one more time before hearing the familiar voicemail tone. You were shutting down, and she was scared that the silence meant something else.

Determined, she picked up her phone one more time, but she dialed a different number “Hey” she said, as soon as the other person picked up “Y/N needs our help and I’m not going to wait any longer” 

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

You opened your eyes as the sun warmed your face. You groaned as you got up to close the curtains, ready to submerge yourself under the covers again. But the sound of your growling stomach kinda forced your way into the kitchen. 

Taking in the sight of your apartment, you let out a sad sigh. It was just as messy as you felt. Take out containers (most of them still full) and dirty dishes decorated your kitchen island, your once neat living room had scattered papers all over it, many of them being plain trash that you couldn’t care to throw properly in the bin. You saw the bottle of vodka sitting in the middle of the table and it made you nauseous. This isn’t right. After everything that has happened you thought you finally got a break, that everything was going to be fine. But life has never been easy on you. 

As you poured yourself a cup of coffee, you couldn’t help but stare at the bay window. You couldn’t help but think of him, the way he smiled and the sound of his thousand laughs. How he always cheered you up with a good morning text and how he could spend hours telling you stories about his childhood, in an attempt to distract you from reality. How he was always up for anything you needed, weather it be just listening to you or just needing his company, always making sure you were alright, and you were, with him everything was alright. Then your thoughts wandered over that night. The way he held you, the way he kissed you.. the way he rejected you. 

You didn’t realize you were crying until a tear dropped in the middle of your coffee cup. You haven’t stopped crying since that night. Feeling useless and scared, but most of all, hopeless you would ever find that sense of security and happiness you felt next to him.

It’s impossible to deny how deeply in love you were with Ashton. You tried to hide it, but you were only lying to yourself. You love him and he probably hates you, again. Once again, you felt like you’ve ruined everything. When your lips touched his you felt like you were in cloud 9, everything was coming together, but seeing his face full of regret after that… 

Maybe he was just too drunk, maybe you weren’t what he expected, maybe you should’ve stopped him, maybe he wanted to stop. It was wrong, a ‘mistake’ as he called it. But it felt so right at the moment that you didn’t want it to stop, and maybe that was selfish, but you could’ve died in that kiss and you would’ve died happy, instead of living the pain and the hurt of his disgust and rejection when he pulled away. 

He probably told everyone how you fucked up. Everyone must hate you. In one night you lost everything you ever dreamed to have, and it was your fault. You turned off your phone that night, emailed your boss the morning after, claiming to be sick, but in reality you were just too scared to face the daylight of a world where you had nothing again. Maybe your mother was right and you didn’t deserve happiness after all. 

Finishing your coffee, you tossed the mug in the filthy sink and headed to bed. That’s when you heard the knocking at your door and your breathing stopped. 

You tried to ignore it, but whoever was at the other side was persistent. Against your better judgement, and hoping it was just a neighbor, you opened the door. 

Outside the door you saw Sierra, Crystal and KayKay…oh shit. Your thoughts were running a thousand miles per hour, thinking that they were there to give you shit for what you did. 

Sierra’s eyes winded when she took a sight of you and, without wasting any second, she launched herself towards you and held you in a tight hug. 

“You weren’t answering your phone” she said “we were all so worried about you! We were so scared that you would just disappear and…” 

An overwhelming feeling came over you as the tears spilled down your cheeks. It was all too much. Sierra kept talking, but you couldn’t listen. The others made their way into the apartment, careful to not overstep your boundaries, you noticed they had some bags filled with groceries and your heart shrunked. They weren’t there to hate you, they… they came for you, because they care about you. And you were standing there, numb in the same pajamas from five days ago, with countless bags under your eyes and a messy knotted hair. You didn’t deserve this. 

“Oh, baby” Sierra cooed as she felt you breaking down in tears in her arms “We are here for you, we will always be here for you, Y/N. We love you, it’s okay”

“No, it’s not okay” you said between sobs “I fucked up. I fucked up, it’s not okay. I’m so sorry” 

You kept apologizing, it seemed like you were unable to form another sentence that wasn’t ‘I’m sorry’ but the girls were having none of it “Y/N, listen to me. You did nothing wrong. You hear me? Nothing. Stop apologizing, you don’t have to, you don’t need to. Look at me” Sierra pulled away from you and grabbed you by the shoulders, forcing you to look at her and the others “You. Did. Nothing. Wrong” 

Her stare was honest, stern and serious. You felt like breaking down again, but KayKay stepped in

“Why don’t we go talk in the living room? Crys and I will put the groceries in the kitchen, I’m assuming you didn’t go shopping this week, Y/N?” you shook your head, she nodded and gave you a sympathetic smile “It’s okay, dear. We got you covered” 

“Y/N, have you been eating enough?” Crystal asked from the kitchen, looking through your take out containers with enough food to feed an army. 

You wiped your tears “I - I don’t know. I don’t remember. I couldn’t…”

“Shh, baby. It’s okay” Sierra said, sliding her hands up and down your arms to calm you down “Don’t worry. Why don’t we go sit, yeah?” You walked into the living room together. Sierra’s eyes were immediately fixed into the bottle of vodka in the middle of the coffee table. You felt ashamed “Y/N, did you..?”

“No” you said quickly “No, I couldn’t. I tried to, yes. But the smell… it reminded me too much of her and I just… I couldn’t” 

The girls were sitting around you. They knew it was bad, but they didn’t image it to the point where you would even consider drinking as an escape. They hated to see you like that. You were the girl with the endless smile, the one who would happily put others before herself, the one that would be there at any time, at any moment. Being the life of every party, or at least in their tight group of friends, the one who has been through hell but came back as strong as ever. You didn’t even seem like yourself, you were broken. And they were determined to try to fix that. 

“Why don’t you tell us everything? It will make you feel better, I promise”

So you took a deep breath and started. You told them how close you and Ashton got during quarantine. How you, even without knowing it at the time, hoped to talk to him everyday, how he made you feel special, the way his smile brightened your day. How you could always tell if he was in a bad mood just by looking at his eyes and not finding their gleam, how he made you feel like you could trust him almost instantly and how glad you were to be friends with him. You told them about the night of the party, how he seemed so happy to see you but acted strange around you and the others, almost like his old self. You told them about the balcony, what you talked about and how you kissed. How happy you were until he said those words. 

“And I know he meant it” you said softly through your tears, like a little kid “it was a mistake, we should’ve never done it, he was right. I fucked up, I should’ve told him to stop, but I…” your voice broke and you were unable to continue, but KayKay stepped in. 

“You didn’t want to” 

You look at her, trying to find a hint of hate inside her eyes “Kay, I’m so sorry.”

“Stop apologizing, Y/N. It’s fine” 

The sincerity in her voice confused you. 

“But.. but he’s your ex and you’re my friend. I could never..”

“Y/N, stop it” She said, placing her hand on your knee “It’s okay. Our relationship ended eons ago and we were never right for each other” she gave you a small smile “I love him, as a friend, just that. We were never meant to be. You want to know how I know that? Because I could never talk about him in the way that you just did, the way you described him and everything he did… you really love him do you?”

Your eyes winded. You didn’t tell them that, hell you weren’t able to tell yourself that until a few days ago. However, you couldn’t stop yourself from nodding. 

“That’s alright. We can all tell how much you love that stupid boy. And I’m okay with that, honey. Really. Our friendship is stronger than that. And besides…” her smile grew “I know he feels the same”

“What?” You asked in disbelief. 

“I talked to him a few times during lockdown, just to check on him. Everytime we talked he mentioned you in some way, weather it was a message you sent him or something funny you said or did, or even just out of nowhere you were always on his mind and, girl, the way his smile lighted up and his eyes shined… I’ve never seen him like that, not even with me, so I knew he was head over heels before he even knew it himself” 

Saying that you were confused was an understatement “But he…”

“Y/N, remember what I told you about him? He never lies about his feelings but…”

“He avoids them” you finished. 

“Sounds like someone we know…” Commented Crystal. 

“And it sounds like you should definitely talk to him!” Sierra chimed in. 

You started to protest but she cut you off. 

“No, I don’t want to hear it. Y/N, I don’t know what that voice in your head tells you, but it’s lying. We are not going to stand here and let you drown, we will not allow it. You deserve your happy ending, you deserve all the love in the world and we love you so so much. How can we get it pass your head? You are not alone, you are loved. We are your family and we will not go anywhere, no matter how much you try to push us away” she raised her thumb to wipe the tears off your face “We will not force you, though. You will talk to him when you’re ready, but you have to talk to him. He’s just as broken as you are, maybe all you need is each other” 

You nodded silently, thanking the universe for putting these amazing people in your life. But fearing the moment you will see Ashton again, not feeling completely confident for that. 

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

Ashton, on his part, was a complete wreck.

He can’t eat, he can’t sleep, he can’t concentrate hard enough on the fact that he has a mini concert in two hours and he didn’t rehearse as much as he should’ve. He can only think of you and the sound of your heels walking away from him. 

It’s been a week since last Saturday and he’s looking at his screen, hoping selfishly that your name would pop out at any second, but knowing damn well it won’t. He tried to message you a couple times, saying how sorry he was, but he could never find the words or the courage to send it, even though he knows he should. Feeling the tears burning in the back of his eyes, he tried hard to contain them. He’s been crying all week, but  knows that now it’s not the best time to let it out. 

He looks around the small room the venue gave them to prepare themselves. He can hear Michael warming up and he spots Luke talking to Sierra in a corner of the room, she’s smiling and he looks so happy. Ashton never wanted to hit that pretty boy’s face till now. 

“You alright, mate?” Asked Calum, pulling him out of his jealous thoughts as he took a seat next to him on the couch “You look like shit” 

“I feel like shit” Ashton averted his gaze back to his phone. 

Calum nodded, choosing to ignore how harsh his comment sounded, knowing how hard this must be for his friend “Still haven’t talked to her?” Ashton looked at him shocked, he didn’t mention to Calum what was happening, only to Luke and Sierra because they caught him crying over Y/N “Luke told me, but to be honest I would’ve figured it out sooner or later” 

Ashton’s voice was soft and filled with guilt and hurt, breaking Calum’s heart as he spoke “Has she told you how incredibly stupid I am?” 

“I don’t need her to tell me that” The bassist gave his friend a small smile that he didn’t return “Besides, she’s not talking to me. She’s not talking to anyone, actually” 

“What?” 

“She’s been ignoring us, turning off her phone and shit. She didn’t talk to anyone after that night.You thought she was only ignoring you?” 

Ashton’s world fell apart right there. Not only did he pushed her away from him, but he pushed her away from the only people he knows she loves the most. He royally fucked up this time and he will never forgive himself for this. Why can’t he stop hurting her? 

“Why do you think she will talk to me, though?” Calum asked after a while. 

“You were always so close” said Ashton in a monotone voice, trying to hide the hint of jealousy he felt towards his best friend “Always with each other and always talking about things none of us understod, so I thought…”

“Woah, you think there’s something between me and Y/N? Dude, no. Never” Calum said in disbelief “She’s amazing, don’t get me wrong and very pretty but she’s also like a sister to me, she reminds me a lot of Mali. And I could never do that knowing that my best friend is in love with her” 

“What!? I..”

“Mate.. c’mon. Isn’t it useless to deny it any longer? We know you love her, it’s clear as the day. You do love her, don’t you?”

Ashton let out a sigh “Why does it matter? She will never feel the same” 

“Now, why do you say that?” 

“Because it’s the fucking truth, Cal” he said, his voice breaking at the end “I hurt her, every time. And she doesn’t deserve that, she.. she wouldn’t want me. She doesn’t want me and I made the stupid mistake of being selfish and kissing her, knowing damn well I shouldn’t have” 

“Then why did you kiss her?”

“Because!” He said a little exasperated “Because she started talking about the stars, because she looked absolutely beautiful under the night sky. Because she was kind and she smiled at me in a way that I felt like the world was ending because there’s no way something as pure and beautiful as her could be smiling at me that way after everything I put her through” he sighed “Because when I kissed her I felt like I was were I meant to be and I never wanted to let go. Because I’m a selfish asshole, because I’m in love with her. And because of that I ended up hurting her, again” 

Calum placed his hand on Ashton’s shoulder, patting it a little bit before saying “Then it’s your job to fix it, mate. She’s hurting, but I don’t think it’s because the same reason you think”

“Wh- what do you mean?”

“Talk to her” 

Ashton felt like there was more to say, but they were interrupted by the stage manager asking them to follow them because the show was about to start. 

He definitely wasn’t in the right headspace to play. Too many thoughts and emotions running through his head, to many questions without answers. Maybe when he sits on the stool and starts playing it might help him forget a little bit, but it was useless. 

 He could still feel your lips against his, and could still hear your little moan in between. He had you tattooed in his memory, the sound of your voice as his favorite melody. He loves you, but knows he shouldn’t. As he was playing he thought of you with so much passion, in every way and form, that he could almost swear he saw you at the side of the stage. But it wasn’t until Sarah gave you a hug that Ashton realized that you were actually there. 

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

You made eye contact with Ashton as he was playing one of their new songs on stage. His eyes winded when he spotted you and immediatly started to look around to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. You were there, and you were starting to regret it. Maybe this wasn’t the right place, maybe he didn’t want to see you, maybe…

But then he looked at you again, and you felt like the rest of the world faded away, in that moment it was only you and him. Asking, wondering, loving, hoping without saying a word. That was the moment that seemed to last eternally. 

You held his gaze until he had to look away, breaking the spell that caught you both. You tried to concentrate in the concert and the other boys, but your attention drifted to Ashton and, every time he could, he would look at you, almost afraid that you would disappear. 

The concert ended and Ashton was the first one offstage. He came to you rather quickly and still filled with adrenally “We need to talk. Can we talk?” He asked with pleading eyes. 

You nodded and let him guide you, people were trying to talk to him, but he ignored them all and didn’t even attempt to stop until you reached the rooftop of the venue. 

It was a very windy night, so you wrapped your arms around yourself, though you weren’t sure if you were shivering from the cold or from the nerves. Ashton closed the door and turned to look at you, properly this time. He was sweating and panting due to the energy he displayed on stage, but he couldn’t feel a thing, not now because you were right there in front of him, looking like a dream he would never want to wake up from. 

“Ash..” “Y/N” you said at the same time.

“Me first?” You said, he closed his mouth and nodded. Not sure if he wanted to hear what you got to say. You took a deep breath and started talking before you chicken out. 

“I should hate you” you spatted “I should hate you, but I can’t” Ashton’s features visibly relaxed for a bit, scared of what might come next “I can’t because I miss you so damn much. I miss talking to you everyday. I find myself waiting for your name to pop up on my screen randomly, knowing it will make me smile. I didn’t mean to get so attached to you in so little time given than last year you were practically a stranger to me, you wouldn’t talk to me or even acknowledge me for years and I let it pass. I let it pass, not only because I didn’t understand it, but because I hoped one day you would notice me. When you said those things, I should’ve hated you back then, but I couldn’t and I didn’t. When you came to apologize I said I couldn’t do it yet, I was wrong. I forgave you that day without even realizing it because I can’t hate you, Ashton.” 

You took a breath, trying to hold the tears that were threatening to escape “Then we became friends, and against my better judgement I let you in in my life and you let me in in yours because you made it so easy to trust you. I knew that one day that would’ve happen eventually, us becoming friends, and I wanted nothing more than that. What I didn’t know is that I would end up falling in love with you” 

Ashton’s eyes winded at your confession his expression going from confused to shock to sad in less than one second, it seemed like he wanted to say something, but he held it in, knowing you weren’t done. So you continued.

“I love you, Ash. I know it might seem rushed, but I never lie about my feelings, I avoid them. And that’s exactly what I was doing before that night. Ashton when you kissed me…” you closed your eyes for a second, trying to find the words “I felt home. I felt safe around your arms like I’ve never felt before. I wanted it to be endless, I didn’t want to let go but then.. you did” you looked him in the eyes “I knew there was a possibility you didn’t feel the same, I won’t hold that against you. You are free to feel whatever you want and I know that I’m not perfect in any single way and I can’t even attempt to compete for your affection. I was always scared this would be something temporary and as I told you before, I’m used to mess it all up and to people walking out of my life, every one of them giving me a reason why. So I’m here to ask you: Why?” 

Ashton looked at you, confused “Why?” He asked 

“Why did you kiss me? Why did you pull away?” You said “Ashton, I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, I can barely function as a human being. So please, answer me so we can be at peace with each other. Maybe it won’t hurt that much this way” 

Ashton couldn’t believe it, you really didn’t know? You think he would leave? Did you want him to? 

“I kissed you because I wanted to do that for the longest time” he started, taking a step closer to you without breaking eye contact “I pulled away because I felt like it was for the best” 

“For the best?”

“I don’t deserve you, Y/N” 

Now it was your turn to be shocked. “Excuse me?”

“Y/N, since the day we met I’ve done nothing but hurt you. I refused the idea of getting to know you like everyone else did and for what? It’s still one of the biggest regrets of my life. I know I hurt you when I said those things, I still beat myself up everyday because of that. I don’t know why I did it, what was the intention besides hurting you. I didn’t know you and you made that very clear that day” You could see he was starting to get frustrated, but not with you “You said you forgive me, I’m saying I don’t deserve that” his voice was clear, but the hint of pain betrayed him “Getting to know you was and still is one of the greatest experiences of my life, you let me in when I should’ve stayed in the streets, I could never thank you enough for that. Your calls were the best part of my day, hearing your voice or seeing a text from you made me feel like the luckiest man on earth, I felt like heaven because I had you in my life and you made it worth living. Y/n, I fell for you so hard that I don’t think I’ve known love until I met you” Your breathing stopped as he said those words, your heart beating up so strongly you were afraid it might explode on your chest.

“But then I saw how you were with the others, how they were always so close and I felt like I was always ten steps behind. Y/N, I was jealous of everything we didn’t have and what we will never have and I know that sounds horrible because it was my fault to begin with. But seeing you with them made me realize just how undeserving I am of you” 

“Ashton…”

“I’m not good for you” he said sternly. His eyes were glossy with the tears he was holding, but they never left yours “I’ve known that from the start and still I selfishly hoped that one day I will be, but we both know that’s not the case. You should be with someone that doesn’t hurt you, someone that will bring smiles instead of tears, someone like Cal or Luke or Michael. I can’t… I will never be good enough for you. I knew all of that when I kissed you that night, and I would be lying if I said that I didn’t know what I was doing or that I didn’t want it, because I did, I still do. But I can’t do that to you, even though it kills me, I don’t deserve you” 

“Stop saying that” you said.

“Y/N..”

“Stop saying that! It’s not true!” You yelled at him “Who are you to tell me what’s good for me or not?! Who gave you the right to decide that?” He tried to talk but you shushed him raising your hand “ You’re telling me that you love me that you can’t be with me?! Like I’m a price or a toy? They are my emotions too, Ashton! I should have a say on it, don’t you think? I can’t believe you” 

“What do you want me to say?!” He raised his voice as well “Do you know how much it hurts seeing you in pain and knowing that I was the once who caused it?”

“You’re being selfish”

“So what if I am!” He raised his arms in exasperation “I’m scared Y/N! I’m scared I will ruin everything again and break your heart!” 

“Then don’t!” You yelled, louder “don’t break my heart, Ashton” your voice was softer now “I want to be with you, I love you! Is it that hard to love me?” 

Ashton looked at you. Your eyes were filled with tears and fear, and even though you were shivering from the cold, he swore you couldn't look more beautiful. His eyes softened as he came closer to you “Loving you was the easiest thing I’ve ever done” 

In a brave move, you wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him closer to you, pressing your lips together once again. 

Scared at first, Ashton closed his eyes into the kiss, relaxing when he felt your hands play with the back of his head, twirling your fingers in his hair. He wrapped his arms around your waist, lifting you up in tight hug. Taking advantage of your little gasp to push his tongue into your mouth, making himself home. 

You melted into the kiss once again, swearing you could see every color and every star, you felt infinite as you pressed against him. Taking everything you can form each other, memorizing the way you tasted and how good you felt. You threw away every meaningless fear you had, now it wasn’t the time to overthink. You loved him, and he loved you, that was all that mattered at this moment. 

You hummed into the kiss when you felt a drop of water hit your cheek. At first you thought it was one of yours or Ashton’s tears, but when one drop became a thousand you realized that it was actually raining. 

Ashton broke the kiss but rested his forehead against yours. He held a smile so wide that made you feel like the luckiest person on earth just for being a witness of that. 

“This is so cliché” he laughed. 

You giggled “I always liked the rain. It means new beginnings, a fresh start. It helps you grow as you go. It reminds me of a home I never had until I fell right into your arms” 

“Well” Ashton said, kissing your forehead “Let this be the statement of our new beginning, because I am completely in love with you, Y/N. I know I am selfish for saying that, knowing that I will never fully deserve you. But I can’t help it, love. And I will do everything in my power to prove it to you, every single day of my life. Y/N, you make me want to be a better man. I want to know you for the rest of my life” 

You kissed him one more time, happiness taking over you as your heart fluttered with his words, smiling into the kiss “I love you” 

The rain kept falling, sealing your promise into solid ground. And as you walked back in hand in hand, you thought that, finally, your life came together. Finally allowing you to be completely and overwhelmingly happy. 

[finnsgrin]

Jasper Jordan Preference - You’re Deaf

Jasper Jordan x reader

From my Wattpad: inanoncriminalwayy

GIF: xaspenn

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Word count: 1,452

Published on: July 26, 2020

TW: Deafness, a bit of demeaning

Spoilers: S2

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

♡Masterlist♡

Jasper Jordan

(In this, Jasper is just friends with Maya)

The girl with curly hair who had introduced herself as Maya sat at the shiny black grand piano, her fingers dancing effortlessly across the keys. Those who were gathered around her smiled and swayed to the music that you couldn't hear.

Jasper had told you about music. He tried his best to explain the sounds, but what was he to compare it to? You'd never heard anything. All you could do was feel the vibrations and watch those around you enjoy themselves.

Once Maya had finished her tune, the audience clapped, and you joined them even though you were unable to hear what was played.

Your boyfriend of three months, Jasper Jordan, nudged your side to get your attention.

Man, I wish you could hear this. He signed.

Jasper had learned sign language before you started dating, when you were just friends up on the Ark. He wanted to get to know you, and what better way to talk with you than learning your language?

Although his comment was harmless, you still felt bitter about the whole situation.

Yeah, me too. You signed, looking away.

His face fell, and he took your hands into his.

"I'm sorry, babe. I didn't mean it like that. I just-."

You silenced him with a kiss.

Where words were unavailable, kissing had always been an appropriate option for the both of you. When either of you were upset, or angry, or scared, and you couldn't sign the words of comfort out fast enough, you pressed your lips together, and they said everything.

The dinner bell rang, and Jaspers head turned to where people were already beginning to plate up with food.

Jasper smiled and took your hand into his.

The people of Mount Weather had been more than generous to the people of the sky. You were sheltered, clothed, fed...

Jasper nudged your shoulder, and you looked up from your chicken pot pie.

Maya was sitting across from you, smiling patiently.

Oh, was she talking to me? You signed to Jasper.

He nodded while taking gulps of his milk.

You turned back to her.

"How do you like your dinner?" She asked a little too slowly for your liking.

You smiled, and turned to Jasper where you signed out your answer.

"She says she loves it. And, thank you for being considerate, but you don't have to speak that slowly. She's been reading lips her entire life."

Maya smiled sheepishly, and spoke again in a normal manner.

Your grew to like the girl, and spent at least twenty minutes talking to her, with Jasper being your translator.

Jasper set down his fork a little too aggressively, and turned to Monty who was on the other side of you.

"You know, sometimes I wish she could speak for herself. My hands are getting tired. Her disability isn't just an inconvenience for her." He complained.

Your cheeks burned with embarrassment and rage, and you stood abruptly.

I can see your lips, asshole. You signed angrily.

His face fell once he realized the severity of his words.

Babe, wait- His hands moved almost as quickly as yours.

You signed one thing that anyone could understand, and flipped him off.

You wove through the crowd of people who were enjoying their meal, and tears threatened to escape from your (Y/C/E) eyes.

"(Y/N), wait!" Jasper called, standing up to go after you.

"She can't hear you you idiot." Monty grumbled.

You ran back to the bunk room and collapsed onto your bottom bunk which was right next to Jaspers. You wondered if you could switch with someone for tonight. Being near Jasper wasn't something you wanted right now.

You sobbed into your pillow, the noise echoing throughout the room.

A hand on your shoulder startled you, and you gasped in surprise.

Jaspers expression was full of remorse, and his face fell when his brown eyes met your puffy red ones.

"Babe-." He started.

Save it. You signed, turning away from him.

He went to the other side of you, and brought his lips close to yours.

You shoved him off harshly.

A kiss isn't going to fix this, Jasper. Your eyes were full of annoyance.

He sighed, kneeling down, and you turned away once more.

His feeble attempts at trying to get your attention failed, and he eventually just ended up going back to the mess hall.

Good. You didn't want to be be around him anyway.

-

You spent hours just laying down, tears trailing into your ears. You thought of your relationship with Jasper, and began to question it.

Were you a burden to him? Did he even love you? Why would he say something like that?

The lights had been switched off long ago, but you were too upset to sleep with these unanswered questions jumping around your head.

Someone tapped you on your shoulder, and you turned to squint and make another angry sign at Jasper.

But it wasn't him. It was Monty.

He was saying something, you could tell, but the room was too dark to see his lips.

Monty offered his hand to you, and you reluctantly accepted it.

He led you out of the room and into the hallway where the fluorescent lights were blinding.

Monty kept taking you around corners and doors you didn't even know existed.

What was he doing?

You stopped him, and gave him a puzzled look.

He smiled softly.

"Just trust me." He said.

You huffed, wanting nothing more than to go back to bed and just sleep away your sadness.

Monty lead you to a door at the end of the hallway, and opened it.

You gasped at the sight.

Christmas lights twinkled from the ceiling, along with pink and white ribbons and lace. Rose petals were sprinkled across the floor, and a round table was set up with a linen tablecloth, candles alight, a vase full of red roses, and two delicious plates of what looked like decedent chocolate cake.

You turned to ask Monty what this was all about, but the boy had disappeared. In his place, was Jasper.

You rolled your eyes, ready to head back to the bunk room.

Jasper softly grabbed your wrist, and his eyes were full of regret.

(Y/N)... please wait. I want to try and make things right. He signed.

You stood there, your arms folded across your chest, waiting for the apology to continue.

Once he realized you weren't leaving, relief flooded across his face.

What I said was inconsiderate, and rude, and just... it was awful, and I'm so so sorry. I... I understand if you want to break up with me, but that would really suck, because you're the best thing that has ever happened to me. You've been there for me through everything, even when I've been an asshole. You're so kind, and smart, and beautiful, and funny, and forgiving, and I love you so much and-

You took his hands, and pressed them down to his sides. Then, you took his face in your hands, and kissed him.

His hands immediately rested on your hips, and he pulled you close to him until there was no space in between you.

It wasn't his apology, or the grand gesture of the room which you were standing in that moved you.

It was the fact that Jasper had told you he loved you for the first time.

You pulled away, tears trailing down your face.

His face fell, and this time he spoke.

"Oh... that was a goodbye kiss, wasn't it? You're breaking up with me... It's okay. I- I understand." He struggled to remain composed.

You shook your head quickly, a laugh escaping from your lips.

No, no, I'm not breaking up with you. Jasper, did... did you mean it? Your hands shook slightly as they signed.

He frowned in confusion.

"Mean what? That I'm sorry? Of course I did. I-."

No, no. That you love me.

Jasper blushed, and looked at his feet, shuffling them about.

He look up back to you.

Yeah... I did. I do. I love you, (Y/N). He signed.

I love you too, Jasper. You signed back, a single tear trailing down your cheek. But it was a happy tear. Jasper smiled gently, and used the pad of his thumb to wipe it away.

Do you wanna sit? His head nodded in the direction of where the beautiful looking cakes sat untouched on the porcelain plates.

You nodded, and took his arm where he led you over and pulled out a padded chair for you to sit on.

Once you were situated, and took a few bites of your cake, you looked up to ask him a question.

How did you even do this? You asked after setting your fork down.

He grinned widely.

Maya knows a party planner. I also taught her some basic ASL. Hello, goodbye, thank you... oh, and I taught her how to say Jasper is awesome. But she doesn't know that. She thinks it's a compliment saying she likes your hair.

You laughed loudly, closing your eyes and tiling your head back.

Jasper gazed at you, smiling.

Yes, he was in love. And he was in love with the most incredible girl in the world.

♡Masterlist♡

[siriusly-addicted-to-writing]

It’s beautiful, isn’t it?

Pairing: Draco x reader

Summary: You and Draco spend the day together when neither of you go to Hogsmade, and it ends up differently then you expect.

Warnings: swearing I suppose

Masterlist

——————

“You know, you’re not as bad as people say you are,” you say. Draco just looks at you and smiles.

Draco and you spent the whole day together since both of you didn’t want to go to Hogsmade. At first you were skeptical about it, due to the fact Harry Potter just so happens to be in your year and in your house, and you’ve heard all about Draco. ‘Draco did this’ and ‘Draco did that’. Honestly, if you didn’t know any better, Harry might have a crush on Draco. But, you don’t know any better, so that could very well be true.

Although, you couldn’t help but like Draco. Not head over heels or anything like that, but the occasional butterflies. You didn’t even know what you liked about Draco. Maybe it was that edgy vibe he gave off, or that he is insanely attractive. Well, you suppose you didn’t like Draco, you just had an innocent crush on him. You’ve never actually had a full on conversation with him. Well, okay, maybe the occasional ‘hello’, ‘goodbye’, ‘how’s your day going?’ and ‘good, you?’ but not a long conversation.

So when Draco came up behind you in the library this morning it was quite the suprise.

——————

“Y/N?” You turned around quickly to see Draco standing behind you.

“Oh, hello Draco,” you said, closing your book.

“How are you doing?” he asked, tentatively sitting next in the chair to you.

“I’m fine, thank you. How are you?” You already knew this was going to be a different conversation then the normal. He actually sat down next to you and is talking. I was peculiar considering he could’ve gone to Hogsmade today, instead of sitting in the almost empty library with you (1st, 2nd, and some 5th, and 7th years were here, grabbing a book or two to read or to study).

“I’m good,” he said, running a hand through his hair.

“So, why aren’t you in Hogsmade today? The weather is spectacular, if you didn’t notice.” The weather was spectacular. The sun was high in the sky, and it was a great temperature. High 70s, your type of weather.

“I could be asking you the same question,” he said, smirking at you. You could’ve swooned at the look he gave you. Holy hotness.

“I, well, um, didn’t want to go, actually,” you said, twiddling your thumbs. It wasn’t exactly a lie, you didn’t want to go, but that was the half truth.

You and your friends were taking a break from eachother. Nothing happened, well maybe there was a few harsh words thrown around after Lavender made you mad. You shuddered thinking about it. But, you were just taking a harmless break. You’ll be back to normal by tonight. You always are.

“I see,” Draco said.

“You still didn’t answer my question.” You looked at Draco and you saw his smile waver for a split second, before regaining its usual brightness.

“Well, there wasn’t anything I wanted to see there.” He shrugged and you felt those butterflies resurface. You had no idea why, but it was strange.

“Yeah, well, what are your plans for the day then?” you asked, only to keep the conversation going. Why not, it’s not like you had anything better to do.

“Well, maybe I’ll spend the day with you,” he said, leaning towards you. You blushed a little but thankfully Draco didn’t seem to notice.

“Yeah, you do that Draco.” You rolled your eyes and went back to the book you were reading. You were going to play hard to get.

This seemed to work as you pretended to read. Draco raised an eyebrow, damnit you’ve always wanted to be able to do that, and peered over your book at you. You lowered your book so just your eyes were showing. You looked up at him and saw his confused face, before putting the book back in front of your face. Draco at this point, was getting a little irritated at your messing with him. So finally, after a second of deciding, he took the book away from you and closed it.

“What the hell Draco? How am I supposed to know what page I’m on?” you angrily demanded. You crossed your arms and sat there scowling at him.

“Psh, you’ll know,” he said, rolling his eyes at you. You weren’t going to give him the satisfaction of a victory because both of you knew you could remember the page number.

You have a photographic memory. It’s true, and only you and Draco knew. He found out when you were partnered in potions and you listed all the instructions without looking at the board. Well, you looked at the board once, but that was it. That was one of the only times you had an actual conversation.

“It was still rude,” you said leaning towards him. To your suprise, he leaned towards you too.

“Well let me make it up to you then.” He stood up and extended his hand out to you. You stared at it for a second before reaching for it. Draco puled you out of the chair you were sitting in. He lead you out of the library and that’s when the fun started.

It was roughly 11:00 when Draco found you in the library. Right away you both walked outside and sat by the lake. There was barely anyone outside. You guys sat there and chatted for the longest time. You had no idea that Draco’s favorite class was potions, like yours. It was crazy that you had similar likes and dislikes. The only topic you didn’t discuss was the war that was coming. You both knew you’d be fighting on different sides. You didn’t want to ruin the awesome day you were having so far.

Draco, around noon, decided it would be fun to take a swim in the lake. You tried not watch him as he took off his shirt, but you couldn’t help but look over and see his perfect abs. Your heart fluttered, but you ignored it. Draco tried to coax you to come in, but you denied. It wasn’t until Draco went under water for a longer time then necessary, did you go and wade in up to your knees. Draco suprised you when he snuck up behind you, scooped you up and threw you into the lake. You were wearing a nice summery outfit, t-shirt and shorts, which was better to get wet then your robe.

You were so pissed at first, but the coldness was a good relief from the heat. You and Draco swam around until you both got hungry. Draco and you ran into the castle, hand in hand, leaving a trail of water. You both decided to go shower and change, then meet back in the basement. You showered and dressed as quickly as you could. You sprinted down into the basement and ran right into Draco.

“In a hurry?” he asked, smirking at your out of breath self. You just grinned at him, as he took your hand and lead you to the kitchen.

You’ve never been to the kitchen before, so it was suprise when you found out all you had to do was tickle the pear. The room was filled with bustling house-elves. One came up to you and eagerly asked what you wanted. You politely asked for sandwich or two. Draco asked for one too, more politely then you would’ve thought he would’ve. Draco also whispered something into the elf’s ear, and you hoped it was nice.

After a minute or two wait, the elf came back over with a basket full of food. He also had a blanket. You immediately knew what was about to happen. Since you’re a muggleborn, you’ve been on a picnic before. You did think purebloods went on picnics. That’s when it hit you. You recalled telling Draco how much you wanted to go on a picnic a few weeks ago. Of course, he didn’t know what it was, so you explained it all. It was really sweet of him to remember. You walked side by side all the way back to the lake.

You guys ate and talked more. It was actually very nice talking to Draco. Most of your stereotypes of him sort of went away in your head as you sat there with him. You were genuinely happy. It was around three, you guessed, when Draco pulled out the book you were reading, and insisted you read it to him. You protested a few times before giving in. You read one of you favorite muggle books to him, The Outsiders.

You restarted the book so Draco could understand it all. He asked so many questions about what the places were, that you were talking about in the muggle book. You answered them all patiently. You sat up against the tree by the lake reading, for who knows how long. You only took a break, when Draco came over and sat next to you, instead of laying down across from you. Well, you took short breaks when you would take a drink of water to avoid your voice dying out. Luckily, the elves packed a lot of extra food and water.

When you got to the part when Johnny died, you had to stop for a second. This part always got you, and you could tell Draco was sad too, because he pulled you closer to him. You didn’t even notice it was past dinner until you finally put the book down. You’re a fast reader so it only took you probably 5 hours to read the whole book out loud. The sun was setting and you knew you only had a short amount of time before cerfew. But, Draco took you hand and lead you back into the school.

The Great Hall was bustling with students finishing their dinner. You and Draco snuck past the room and ran up flights of stairs. It dawned on you that you were going up the astronomy tower.

Once you and Draco got up there, you set the blanket and basket down and walked over to the railing to watch the sunset.

——————

“I’m not?” Draco asks. Draco and you were still watching the sunset when you decided to tell him that he wasn’t as bad as everyone says he is.

“No, you’re not. You’re actually a very decent person.” You turn and wink at Draco as he rolls his eyes and throws his arm around you, pulling you closer to him.

“Well coming from you, it must be true,” he says, shaking his head and you laugh. You both sit there in silence for a minute, just watching the sunset.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” you ask Draco, turning to face him. He smirks at you and you tilt you head. “What?”

“Well, Y/N, it’s not as beautiful as you,” he says, staring at you to see your reaction. You blush a mad pink and look away. “And while I’m saying things with this confidence I somehow got, I might as well tell you that I didn’t want to go to Hogsmade when I found out you weren’t going. It was the perfect opportunity to spend the day with you,” he says shyly. You turn to face him.

“Well, if that’s a confession for liking me, it was pretty shitty. But also kinda cute. And lucky for you, I like you too.” Draco’s smile makes you smile as he bends down to kiss you on the forehead. It wasn’t the kiss you were wanting so you grab his shirt and pull him down until you could reach his lips with yours. You were kind of nervous to kiss him, full on like that, but when you realize he’s kissing you back, all your doubt goes away. When you finally break away, you both smile and grab each others hand and continue to watch the sunset. You would gladly skip cerfew any day to be up here, hand in hand, with Draco Malfoy.

++++++

sorry the ending kind of sucks, but it’s fine. i hope you liked it!

[artificialqueens]

Crying In My Prom Dress (Cracker x Jujubee) - Mumu

AN: Couldn’t get the Prom Queen Fantasy runway out of my head, so I wrote something for it! Read on AO3 here.

Summary: Jujubee knows she’s not winning prom queen. Brianna makes her night better.

Jujubee is bored out of her mind. Whoever said that prom is the highlight of your life must not have had very much of a life to begin with, because Jujubee has been to basement parties better than this. Then again, school dances are always boring, so maybe she should have known.

She’s been standing at the edge of the dance floor for what feels like hours, swirling a cup of punch in her left hand. Thank the heavens the stoners had the good sense to spike it a few hours before. If not for the alcohol, Jujubee probably would have ditched by now.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Shea, head thrown back in the middle of a laugh. She looks absolutely gorgeous tonight, with red petals clipped into her hair, her pink dress shimmering under the cheap neon lights. She looks like every little girl’s dream.

Jujubee can’t help feeling childish in her own gown, an 80’s inspired tulle number. She loved it when she first picked it out, but now, eyeing Shea’s form-fitting choice, she sort of feels like an over-decorated cupcake. Jujubee’s stomach twists watching Shea, and she chugs the rest of her punch to cover the jealousy. It’s not like Jujubee isn’t popular, or pretty, but every school has a hierarchy. For as long as she can remember, Shea’s been at the top, and Jujubee has been playing second fiddle to her. The worst part is that Shea is genuinely a good person, which makes her impossible to hate.

Jujubee checks her phone again. The screen lights up: 11:55. Five minutes until prom queen is announced, and then Jujubee can slip away and get some real food. She’s been through three cups of punch by now, and all she’s eaten all day is some popcorn because her dress has a built-in corset and she’s not about to test the universe by risking a popped zipper. Maybe her empty stomach has something to do with her sour mood. Regardless, she’s craving fried chicken really bad right now.

“Girl!” Raven stumbles over, grabbing her arm. “You look stunning!”

“Fuck, did you pregame, Rav?” It’s a rhetorical question, given the fact that the girl looks absolutely slammed. It’s a miracle the administration even let her in. “Back up a step, your breath smells like vodka and I’m not tryna get that all on me.”

“Sure did, and fuck you,” Raven giggles. “C’mon, come dance with us!”

That sounds like the last thing Jujubee wants to do, especially cause she can barely breathe in this dress, but she knows it’ll be impossible to convince Raven to let her mope around on her own. Jujubee lets herself be led into the huddle her friends have made in the middle of the dance floor, plastering on a friendly smile.

“Juju!” Shea immediately wraps her in a warm hug, talking at a mile a minute. “Where have you been? This song is such a bop! I love your dress, purple looks so good on you.”

Jujubee feels a flash of guilt, realizing suddenly that she’s kept herself isolated this whole night.

It’s not Shea’s fault, really, that she’s a shoo-in for the prom queen title. It just hurts that Shea doesn’t even care about popularity or crowns and yet she’s constantly winning those things. Jujubee doesn’t trust herself not to be a bitter bitch about the whole thing, so she’d figured it would be best to avoid Shea for the night. It would be completely on-brand for her to make some petty little jab as a way to bring attention back to herself and soothe the blows to her ego. Jujubee doesn’t want to risk ruining the moment for her best friend, no matter how rocky their relationship.

Lucky for her, Shea has the attention span of a goldfish, and the girl is already back to grooving along to whatever the DJ is currently playing without Jujubee having to answer her question. Small mercies.

“Ladies and gentlemen, can I please have your attention?” A voice booms from the DJ booth. Everyone turns to face it. “The time has finally come. It’s my pleasure to announce to you the nominees for this year’s Prom Queen!”

Jujubee feels the bile rise in her throat. Shea grabs her hand and she flinches at the unexpected contact.

Shea shoots a concerned look at her. “You good, girl?”

“Yeah,” Jujubee lies. “Just nervous.”

“Mhmm,” Shea murmurs. “Don’t be, yeah? We got this.”

Easy for you to say, Jujubee wants to snap. She doesn’t. Shea’s done nothing wrong. It’s not her fault that the girl is prettier and nicer and more charismatic than Jujubee can ever hope to be, and it’s certainly not her fault that Jujubee’s being a bitter Betty tonight.

“Farrah Moan!” The DJ bellows.

A light swings over to a pink-haired girl to Jujubee’s left. Jujubee thinks she remembers her from French class last year. All she really recalls about Farrah is the pounds of highlighter she came to school with every day. By the looks of it, nothing has really changed: Farrah is practically metallic under the spotlight.

Jujubee applauds politely and resists the urge to roll her eyes at the girl’s fake smile. Everybody knows Shea’s going to win. Why do they even bother announcing the nominees?

“Shea Coulee!”

Shea shifts, stepping away from Jujubee so the spotlight falls solely on her. She smiles brightly. She looks radiant, and Jujubee feels that pang of jealousy again. It’s not fair that Jujubee has had to try twice as hard to even come close to the level of popularity Shea attained during her first month here. Then again, nothing is ever fair with Shea. The girl is just god’s favourite.

The light swings away from Shea after a few seconds, falling onto Raven next, and Jujubee lets out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding.

“Juju,” Shea says, mistaking her envy for nervousness. “Chill. You’re an amazing person. This doesn’t define you, okay?”

Jujubee doesn’t trust herself to respond over the lump that’s in her throat and the jealousy clawing at her insides, so she just offers the other girl a soft smile and a nod.

“Jujubee Inthyrath!” The light settles on her, finally.

Jujubee tries not to squint against the brightness. She squares her shoulders, flashing her most dazzling smile and blowing a kiss into what she thinks is the general direction of the DJ booth. The direct light is blinding, and Jujubee sees green and red spots at the back of her eyelids when she blinks.

After a few counts, the light shifts back towards the DJ booth again. She tries to recenter herself, shaking her head lightly.

“Bright, right?” Shea laughs good-naturedly at her dazed expression.

“That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen,” Jujubee jokes in response, swallowing over the jealousy that seems to have made a home in her throat tonight.

“Ladies and gentlemen…” The DJ says, dragging out the last word.

God, hurry up, Jujubee wants to complain. She fixes her best ‘runner-up who’s happy for her best friend’ look on her face instead. She’s been practising her graceful loser smile in the mirror for two months, and she’ll be damned if she lets any of her pettiness show now. As much as Jujubee thrives off of attention, she knows she will never be able to forgive herself if she messes this moment up for Shea.

“Your St. Charles Prom Queen is…”

Jujubee digs her nails into her palm.

“Shea Coulee!”

Besides her, Shea gasps, face breaking into a wide smile. The awful part is that Jujubee is absolutely sure she’s genuinely surprised. Shea’s never been one to expect anything to be given to her.

She forces her fake smile even wider, hugging Shea fiercely. “Congrats!”

“Oh my god,” Shea lets out an incredulous laugh. “Oh my god!”

Jujubee feels like her heart is being ripped out of her chest. She wonders if it would be suspicious to start crying. Probably, she decides. She’ll save her tears for later. Her cheeks hurt from maintaining the face-splitting grin she’s glued to her face, but she keeps it there anyways.

Shea shuffles towards the DJ, who drapes the sash around her and places a crown on her head. She still looks absolutely shocked at the outcome, tearing up a bit. Their friends gather around her, squealing their congratulations and crushing Shea in hugs.

Jujubee watches the scene unfold in front of her and can’t suppress the bitter chuckle that passes her lips. Everything is happening in slow motion. The neon lights dance across Shea’s features. Her eyes shiny are shiny with tears, and she’s slightly shaking as her hands go up to touch the crown on her head.  

Jujubee gets the feeling that all her friends are having their glorious teenage coming-of-age moment and she’s just an audience member sitting in the theatre. They’re only a few feet away, but they seem to be in a whole different world.

There’s a soreness building at the back of her throat. She has to leave, now, before she ends up having to explain why she’s crying over Shea’s win. Jujubee’s eyes dart around the banquet hall. Everyone seems to be occupied with congratulating the newly crowned queen.

Now is a good time as any, she supposes, so she slips out of the back doors and into the night air.

Jujubee takes a seat on a nearby bench, flinching at the cold steel pressing into her thighs. She shivers as a breeze blows by, suddenly acutely aware of how unpractical her dress is for San Francisco’s late-night weather.

The tears have been building all night, and now that she’s finally out of Shea’s sight, Jujubee lets them fall. Once she starts, she can’t stop, and before long she’s fully sobbing. She grinds the heels of her palms into her eyelids with complete disregard for her eyeshadow. Her hands come away a mess of glitter, mascara and pink pigment.

“Um, are you alright?” A voice asks.

She whips her head around so fast she almost breaks her neck. A girl is standing there, in a hot pink gown. Her platinum blonde hair is piled on top of her head in a voluminous updo.  Fuck. This girl fully just witnessed Jujubee having a breakdown. She sniffles, wiping at her eyes and trying to maintain some shred of dignity.

“Yeah, uh-” Jujubee’s voice strains on the word, and, to her horror, she feels another wave of tears coming. She opens her mouth to reassure the girl that yes, she’s totally fine, thank you so much, but ends up bursting into tears again. Her dignity is officially gone. Every bit.

“Oh no, please don’t cry!” The girl slides onto the bench next to her.

She pats Jujubee awkwardly. After Jujubee shows no signs of stopping, she just sits quietly next to her, hand still on the small of Jujubee’s back, letting her cry it out. Jujubee has never hated someone as passionately as this girl right now. Can’t she just leave her alone? This is mortifying.

The girl pulls her hand back from Jujubee like she’s been burned. Fuck. Did she say that out loud?  A sidelong glance at the girl’s hurt expression confirms her suspicions.

For what feels like the millionth time tonight, Jujubee feels guilt pooling in her stomach. This time it crawls all the way up, burning as it builds in her throat.  Jujubee half-falls off of the bench in her haste, stumbling over to the bushes. She proceeds to hurl her guts out. Well—it’s more of a dry heave, really, since Jujubee hasn’t really eaten anything in the past few hours to throw up, but it’s embarrassing nonetheless.

“Holy shit, are you okay?” The girl rushes to her side, doing her best to hold Jujubee’s hair out of her face.

Despite her condition, Jujubee still manages a sarcastic, “Just peachy, thanks.”

She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, wincing as it comes away smeared with hot pink gloss. The girl helps her back to the bench, taking a seat next to her.

“I’m Brianna,” The girl offers.

“Juju,” Jujubee says.

“Wanna talk about it?” Brianna asks.

Jujubee almost snorts at her. In less than five minutes of meeting this girl, Jujubee’s managed to sob, throw up, and make a bitchy comment towards her. Brianna still wants to play therapist?

“Okay,” She says quietly, surprising herself. That was not what she meant to say, at all. But Brianna brightens considerably next to her, and suddenly Jujubee doesn’t have the heart to take it back. Besides, she sort of owes it to Brianna after being a bitch, Jujubee reasons. It’s not at all about the fact that Brianna’s kind of pretty and Jujubee needs to vent.

“Where do I even start? This night has been a mess.”

Brianna takes her hand gently. Jujubee tenses, but lets Brianna brush her fingers over her own. It’s strangely intimate. It’s also far more comfortable than it should be, given she and Brianna are complete strangers.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you aren’t comfortable,” Brianna whispers.

Jujubee feels something unfamiliar swell in her chest. She almost feels like crying again, but out of a different reason than before. She can’t really remember the last time someone was willing to listen to her feelings, nevermind being as gentle with her as Brianna is being right now.  Usually, Jujubee would scoff and call herself pathetic for even considering opening up to this girl, but something about the mess that tonight has been has made her stone-cold exterior crack a bit. She takes a shaky breath in and out.

“No, I want to,” Jujubee says. She feels the other girl’s gaze but doesn’t meet it, staring down at the crystals on her shoes instead. She worries a loose cobblestone with her left heel. “I didn’t win prom queen.”

Brianna makes some kind of shocked noise next to her. When Jujubee peeks up at her, the girl looks like she’s trying her hardest not to laugh and to stay supportive.

“You think it’s ridiculous,” She says, a touch of amusement behind her words. It’s an accusation, but there’s no bite behind it.

“No, I don’t!” Brianna shakes her head. Her updo wobbles dangerously at the movement. Jujubee quirks a brow at her, and Brianna flushes. “It’s just… you look absolutely beautiful. Why let some stupid popularity contest ruin your night?”

“Oh,” Jujubee says, slightly reeling from the compliment. “This old thing?”

Thank god for her quick wit, because otherwise Jujubee definitely would have been stammering some sort of awkward “thank you.” She’s suddenly hyper-aware of how Brianna is pressed close against her side and how their fingers are laced together in the blonde’s lap.

“It’s just, my best friend, Shea? She won, and I know it sounds terrible, but I can’t help but feel super jealous. She’s just perfect, you know? She doesn’t even have to try. And I’m just-”

She laughs self-deprecatingly, gesturing at herself, “Well. You see me.”

“Juju, don’t downplay yourself,” Brianna says. “You’re amazing.”

“How do you know?”

Brianna furrows her brow. “Oh. Oh! Uh, you don’t remember me, do you?”

“Remember you?” Jujubee racks her brain for any memory she might have of Brianna. Nothing. Surely she would have recognized this barbie look-alike if she ever ran into her in school?

“Jesus,” Brianna reddens. “I must have seemed so creepy then, just coming up to you out of nowhere?”

Jujubee must still look confused because Brianna explains further. “We’ve had classes together since seventh grade. I was in your homeroom this year.”

This time it’s Jujubee’s turn to feel embarrassed. God, she’s such a bitch.

“Oh my gosh,” She buries her face into her hands. “I’m so sorry, I-”

“Don’t sweat it,” Brianna laughs. “You know who I am now, so that’s what matters, yeah?”

“Yeah, guess so.”

They sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes. The music leaks out of the banquet hall and wraps around them, bass throbbing. Jujubee breaths in the night air deeply. It’s always the after-party silence that she’s liked the best. That feeling of shivering in the chilly breeze and walking home barefoot, heels in hand. The atmosphere always makes her slightly nostalgic for an experience she’s never had and can’t quite name.

“Do you want to dance?” Brianna asks.

“Hmm? I like it out here,” Jujubee says. “If you don’t mind.”

Brianna smiles at her. She looks pretty when she smiles, Jujubee decides. The corners of her eyes crinkle and her nose scrunches up.

“We don’t have to go back inside,” Brianna says. “We can just dance here.”

“Oh! In that case, uh, sure!” Jujubee stammers. She’s barely gotten through the sentence before she’s mentally kicking herself. Of all the times to be socially awkward, of course it happens to her while talking to a pretty girl.

Brianna stands, brushing down the feathers on her dress. She extends a hand that Jujubee takes. Brianna’s palm is warm, and the skin-to-skin contact makes fireworks go off in her chest. Jujubee meets Brianna’s eyes tentatively, snaking a hand around the blonde girl’s waist.

She hears the song change into something slower, and Brianna guides her into a gentle sway. She can feel her cheeks flushing, and her teeth tug on her bottom lip. It’s quiet, save for the leaves crunching beneath their heels and the faint music leaking from the hall, but Jujubee doesn’t mind. It feels peaceful.

She’s always been hopeless romantic, has dreamt of slow-dancing at prom since she was five. Her younger self watched those Disney channel movies that cumulated with a girl being swept off her feet by the football captain religiously.

This is different from all of the scenes she dreamed up when she was younger. There’s no parting of the crowd, no spotlight illuminating her. There’s no crown on her head. But somehow, Jujubee doesn’t really mind.

“This is so cheesy,” Brianna laughs softly.

“This is our rom-com moment, I guess,” Jujubee agrees, grinning. “I don’t mind though.”

“I’ve liked you since seventh grade,” Brianna admits. “You walked into class with a pink streak in your hair and immediately cracked a joke that made everyone laugh.”

“You remember that?” Jujubee’s impressed. She remembers that hair. It was such a pain to have to re-dye her roots every few weeks that she’d sworn to never touch a semi-permanent colour again.

She tells Brianna this, and the girl laughs, gesturing to her updo. “You’re lucky you don’t touch your hair! I’ve been dying mine this icy platinum forever.”

“What? I totally thought that was natural,” Jujubee marvels. “What’s your normal colour?”

“It’s more of a honey shade,” Brianna explains.

Jujubee cocks her head, trying to imagine Brianna with a warm-toned colour. She’d look nice with it. “That sounds pretty.”

The song playing from inside the hall finishes, and the two girls step away from each other. Jujubee shivers, already missing the warmth of Brianna’s hands around her waist.

“Cold?” Brianna asks sympathetically.

“Yeah, my dress is fluffy but it’s still really thin,” Jujubee answers. Her stomach growls, loudly, and she flushes. “Sorry. I haven’t eaten anything in a while.”

“We can go get Denny’s if you wanna leave?” Brianna offers hesitantly. “I drove.”

Jujubee pauses at the request, considering.

“I’d like that,” She says, finally. “I think we have a few years worth of stuff to catch up on.”

“Yeah, well, conversation always flows easiest over pancakes,” Brianna says with a wink.

The action gives Jujubee butterflies. Yes, she would very much like to get to know Brianna better. Something tells her they’ll be awfully close in the future.