#hes met Alma on a few occasions

[thelaughingmerman]

One thing Franklin does a lot in his spare time is go around and pick up trash. Got to keep the seas clean. Fishing lines stuck in the waters, bits of papers left on the shore. Most of it gets stored and forgotten about, accidentally, in Pocket-Space but he recycles a lot of it too.

For example, bits of shiny broken glass he's tied together with discarded fishing line. There's a small opening near the ceiling of his little cave he's hung them up, like a little wind chime. When the sun hits it just right, it sends colorful sparkles across the floor.

Driftwood in an awkward half-A shape is leaned against the wall for holding some books, and a mostly whole flag (it's partly ripped, but that's ok) is a blanket. He still uses it but he has a cozier knitted blanket given to him by Henrik's wife, Alma. He loves his knitted blanket.

[vampire-matcha]

Part 4 of cheating!Soap. Simon's POV. Angst. Potentially ooc Simon.

---

Simon Riley is a bad man. He wasn't given much of a choice really. He was dealt a bad hand that kept getting worse and worse. He tried to live a good life, despite his childhood, but it was all taken away from him in fire and blood. So he threw himself into it headfirst. He dove into it and found comfort in the fire and blood. He knew fire and blood. He's good at fire and blood.

Simon Riley is a lonely man. All his life, he's never had anyone. He keeps everyone he meets at arms-length at a minimum. He doesn't do love. He doesn't believe in it. The last time he tasted it was from his mother, and that taste has long since been replaced by the tinny taste of blood. He's comfortable being alone. He fills his time with work, and on the rare occasion he's sent back home to his barren flat in Manchester, the most he does is find a quick fuck at a pub.

He doesn't care about their names, he doesn't particularly care if they're a man or woman or something in between. He doesn't care what they look like, he hardly looks at them at all. They're just a means to an end for him. Just a warm hole to stuff himself into to feel good for a bit, to make his head quiet for a bit. He leaves once he's done. He never stays the night, never even stays much longer than to tie off his condom and pull his trousers back up.

It all changed when he met that damned spitfire of a man John MacTavish. Goes by the name 'Soap'. A ridiculous nickname in Simon's opinion, but then again, he goes by Ghost, so he doesn't have much room to talk.

Soap is loud and brash, but he can be careful and focused, too. He's intensely loyal and has a deep sense of justice. He fights for what's right, Ghost has seen it. He makes the icy shell around Ghost's heart melt, ever so slightly.

It's a slow progression, the way Soap draws Ghost into his orbit. Ghost doesn't even fully realize its happened until Las Almas. There was a moment when he thought he lost Johnny- when did Soap become Johnny? They had gotten separated and Ghost waited for him. Ghost never waited. But he couldn't, in that moment, hiding out in a church with a whole militia after him, even fathom leaving Johnny behind.

By the time Simon realized he loved Johnny it was too late. Johnny was married. Simon hadn't noticed that when he read Soap's dossier years ago. It must have happened in the time they had known each other. Simon had never pinned Johnny as someone to keep his cards so close to his chest like that, but he was proved wrong.

Johnny didn't wear his ring in the field. It was a liability, not just to have jewelry on in life-or-death situations, but also for anyone to see he was married, be it friend or foe. He didn't find out until after Chicago. It seemed that Soap's near-death experience at the top of a skyscraper had shaken him more than he'd let on. He'd snuck off at the bar to use the payphone and Ghost had followed.

"Hey, its me... Just needed to hear your voice, bonnie... No, no, I'm alright, just a wee bit banged up... Yeah, I miss you too, lovie... No I promise I'm alright. Just got a bit worried the whole 'til death do us part' thing was comin' sooner than expected... Sorry, bonnie... No, no, you're right, it's not funny. I'm sorry... I'll be home in a few days... Yeah... I'll see you then. I love you."

Simon hated you. He hated you and he didn't even know you. He didn't even know you existed and he hated you. Who were you? Some civilian? Some random woman who decided to shack up with Johnny? Probably just chasing valor or benefits or something. What could you possibly have to offer someone like Johnny? You could never understand him the way Simon does. Their bond is forged in fire and blood. You could never hope to understand it. They'd been through hell together. And yet you've wormed your way in between them. You, a woman he doesn't even know, have ruined everything. But Simon, ever the stoic sentinel, keeps it all under wraps with practiced patience. He didn't survive this long by letting his emotions control him. He'll figure out a way to fix this.

Then several months later, Simon meets you. It's after another mission, and you're picking up Soap from base, who had gotten a mild concussion and couldn't drive himself. You're there, waiting for him with a lovesick smile on your face. Simon watches as you embrace Johnny, wrapping him in your arms and holding him for a long time. Too long, in Simon's opinion. And then you pull back and hold Soap's head in your hands, turning his face side to side to get a better look at him. You laugh at something he says. Simon sneers. Oh, aren't you just perfect? A sweet little doting wife?

And then Johnny brings you over to introduce you two. You shake Simon's hand with both of yours, gratitude broadcast to the world as you thank him for getting your Johnny home safe. Your Johnny. Simon hates it. He hates how sincere you are. He wishes you were something worse, something worth hating. But Ghost reads people. He's great at it. But he can't read anything but genuine in you. And it makes him hate you more.

It isn't fair, Simon thinks. You don't deserve someone like Johnny. You haven't earned him. You haven't fought for him like Simon has. You haven't fought alongside him like Simon has. Simon has suffered. His whole life has been nothing but blood and fire. Doesn't he deserve something good for once? Hasn't he earned it? Even the devil himself got to taste heaven before he fell to earth.

That's what he tells himself on that night. The night they were stuck in that frozen safe house in the middle of Bumfuck, Russia. They'd narrowly escaped the enemy, and they didn't dare poke their heads out for risk of being spotted. Soap's radio had broken in the escape. Ghost was the only one with a means to communicate with Watcher. She tells him exfil will be there in the morning. He unplugs his radio. He tells Soap he can't get through. He tells himself that he's justified. He's a devil seeking a taste of heaven.

And what is Johnny if not heaven? Simon needs him. He needs to taste him. Johnny is worried. Simon can feel it rolling off him in waves. Simon can make it all better for him. Just for tonight.

"Who knows when exfil's gonna get here?" He asks. "What do we have to lose? It's just for tonight. Just let me take care of you, Johnny."

Simon can feel the hesitation in Johnny's body when he kisses him. But Johnny let's Simon lay him down. Simon whispers words into Johnny's ear. Not quite words of reassurance. But Simon Riley is a bad man, and a lonely man, and those two things make a nasty combination.

Simon tastes every part of Johnny's body he can get his mouth on. Neither man has bathed in days, and a lesser man would be disgusted, but Simon has experienced far worse. Besides, nothing about Johnny could ever disgust him.

And when Johnny let's him inside, Simon, that devil, finally tastes his slice of heaven. A whole life of suffering was worth is just to feel Johnny beneath him. It's perfect, he thinks. Even if only for the night. Simon looks Johnny in the eye. Simon stays with him afterward. Simon sleeps beside him.

Then morning comes. Exfil comes. Regret comes for Johnny, but not for Simon. Maybe he shouldn't had lied about his radio, but it was worth it, wasn't it? But now Johnny won't look at him. He won't speak to him. He practically runs from him when they land.

No, no, no. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. This was supposed to fix things! It was supposed to fix what you had ruined! You, Soap's perfect wife with your perfect life, perfectly ruining Simon's. Johnny was supposed to see that he needed Simon more. Johnny was supposed to see that he needed Simon as much as Simon needed him. What happened? What went wrong? Simon blames you. He always blames you.

Simon calls Johnny late that night, after he's sure you must be in bed. He pleads with Johnny to come to his senses. It wasn't a mistake! How could he say that? How could he say that it was wrong when Simon had never felt so right in his whole life? It's your fault. You've got Johnny trapped under some kind of spell. You can't love him like Simon could, like Simon does. Simon changes tactics.

"You have to tell her," Simon tells him. Maybe if you know, you'll leave. Then Simon can have Johnny all to himself, without you getting in the way again. "The guilt will eat you up, it's better if you just tell her. Its the right thing to do." Johnny reluctantly agrees.

Simon waits for Johnny to call him the next night, to tell him you've kicked him out. He waits for the call so he can swoop in and be Johnny's rescuer. Maybe then Johnny will see how much he loves him. But Johnny never calls. Simon would be tearing his hair out with anxiety if it wasn't so close-cropped to his head. What's happened to him? He hasn't lost control of his emotions like this in years. What have you done to him?

Simon drives to Johnny's house. He watches from the curb through your window. Johnny's alone. Good. He has half a mind to walk up to the door when he sees you come around the corner. He watches you two talk. He watches you cry. Crocodile tears, they must be! Poor you, having your perfect life be derailed. Simon was justified. It's only fair that you suffer even a fraction that he has so he can take some of your perfect life for his own.

But then Johnny is holding you. Johnny is kissing you. No, no this isn't right! You should be screaming at him to leave! You should be beating Soap to a pulp so Simon can put him back together! Why won't you let him have this?

He watches Johnny carry you away. He forces himself to drive away before he does something he'll regret. He speeds the whole way home. He turns his apartment upside-down. In the back of his mind he's thankful he lives in a shit part of town where no one calls the cops unless someone is actually dead. No noise complaints as he shatters every mirror.

It's your fault he's losing control. You you would just let him have Johnny, it would all be fine. But you, you selfish bitch, want to keep Johnny all to yourself. Why? Because you've got a ring? Because you made a vow? Well, Simon makes a vow to himself. No matter how long it takes, he will make Johnny his.

[writingonleaves]

and all at once, you’re all i want (i’ll never let you go) - jack hughes

pairing: jack hughes x original female character

warnings: literally nothing. fluff! some minor worship of nina hischier (the goat), a little love letter to my alma mater

title: "king of my heart" by taylor swift

word count: 10.3k

author's note: first fic in the new year is for @wyattjohnston 's winter fic exchange 2k24!! i had the absolute pleasure of writing for @wildrangers <3 taylor, i hope you enjoy this as much as i enjoyed putting it together and demi, thank you for your endless hard work for putting this on!!

four times where jack hughes and ashley grassie showed up for each other and one time where everyone showed up for them

*****

one - two months

“Jack, are you sure about this?” Ashley asks, fiddling with the silver rings on her fingers. 

“Why wouldn’t I be?” He responds confidently, sparing a look at her from the drivers seat before turning his eyes back on the road. “Everyone’s expecting you.”

“You told them?”

“That my girlfriend was coming with me to a New Year’s party? Of course.” He squeezes her thigh lightly. “They’re excited to meet you. And not while we’re working.”

“I’m excited to meet them too.”

“You sure?” He teases lightly. “You’ve been quiet all afternoon.”

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about.” They stop at a red light, and he leans over to kiss her cheek. “Ash, baby, they’re gonna love you.”

“But you don’t know that,” she protests softly. 

“I do, actually. Because everyone loves you.”

She rolls her eyes. “You can’t promise me that everyone’s gonna even like me.”

He shrugs. “I’ll prove you wrong. You’ll see.” He tugs at her gold sweater. “Is this new?”

“Yeah. Seems fitting for the occasion. Sparkles equals New Years, right?”

“I like it a lot.”

“I know what you’re doing,” she deadpans. 

He smirks. “And what might that be?”

“Distracting me.”

“Maybe so. You’re so smart, Miss Columbia Grad.”

“Jack,” she whines, making him laugh. 

He picks up her hand and kisses the back of it. “Trust me, okay? It’ll be great. And I’ll be with you all night.”

Ashley swallows, before forcing herself to nod. 

The thing is, after two months of dating officially (she’s not counting the month beforehand when there wasn’t a label on things even though there should’ve been), there are still important parts of each other’s lives they have yet to experience together. She’s gone to a few of his games, but has never met any of his teammates (except for Luke, but he doesn’t count), choosing to meet Jack back at his place after instead of waiting for him at the rink. She also doesn’t count that one Devils game she had to fill in for, which is how she met Jack in the first place. The few times he’s invited her along when he does go out with them, she’s been busy with other things. 

New Year’s is kinda a big time to be meeting new people. People that mean a lot to Jack. But that could just also be all in Ashley’s head. She’s never really done this before. The last serious boyfriend she had was in high school where everyone knew each other. There was no need for introductions. 

Jack squeezes her hand. “Thank you.” 

“For?” 

“Coming with me to this. Taking off work early. I appreciate it a lot.” 

She shrugs casually. “It’s about time, right?” She pointedly ignores the look he shoots her, because she doesn’t want him to know how nervous she really is.

Before they know it, Jack’s pulled into the driveway of the Toffolis and her hands start sweating again. She gathers the flowers on her lap and the wine bag as Jack rounds the car and opens the door for her. He grabs the bag, presses a kiss atop her head and hand in hand, they walk to the front door. She lets Jack take the lead as he just walks in. They walk into the kitchen area, as Cat pulls her into a hug and thanks them graciously for the flowers and wine.

It turns out that Ashley really does have nothing to worry about. Getting thrown into a whirlwind of introductions and new names is a lot, but she doesn’t mind. A wave of comfort crashes over her as Luke practically hauls her into a hug. 

She finds herself besides Nico after he hands her a glass of wine. “You’re a journalist, right?” He asks.

“I am.”

“Do you ever watch Jack’s media interviews?”

Ashley giggles. “I do once in awhile. Trust me, I have my thoughts. I also met him for the first time from that. And you, technically.”

“Right, right. Will we ever see you in the locker room again?”

“Probably not. I was just filling in for Danny. On the rare chance I do sports, it’s usually for the Jets. Besides, better to watch and support you all without any stake professionally.”

“What do you usually report on?” Nico asks with genuine curiosity. 

She perks up, like anytime she gets to talk about her job. As she talks, using her hands animatedly despite one of them holding a drink, Jack looks on from a distance with a lovesick look in his eyes.

“She is way too cool for you,” Dawson says, fixing his cap.

Jack rolls his eyes. “Shut up.” But Jack knows his teammate’s right.

Jack’s not clingy, perse, but it’s hard for him to watch Ashley just…be and not be touching a part of her. Even if it’s just sliding up against her so her body is pressed alongside his, he just wants to be near her all the time. 

(Quinn once sent some random thing he found on Instagram about love languages a few years back and Jack had remembered absolutely roasting him. But maybe he had a point)

“So,” Nicole starts, refilling both their glasses up with champagne a bit later in the evening. “Why Jack?”

Ashley snorts. “Your guess is as good as mine.” From beside his girlfriend, Jesper barks out a laugh and from next to Ashley, Jack pouts. Ashley laughs, leaning into Jack’s side. “I’m kidding. Mostly. I was hesitant at first though.”

“Oh, yeah. He told me about this,” Jesper says. “Said he chased you down the hall after post-game media and asked you out?”

“Sounds about right.”

“And you said yes to that?” Jesper asks. Jack whacks his teammate in the stomach. 

“Not right away,” Ashley admits. “He gave me his number and told me to text him if I was interested. And I ended up being interested.”

“Lucky for him,” Nicole chuckles. 

Jack squeezes Ashley’s waist fondly. “Lucky for me.”

She listens on in interest as Nicole talks about how she and Jesper got together. Somewhere throughout the conversation, she can’t help but let her mind drift. They’ve been together for years now, been living together for a bit and are looking to move into a house. She literally moved away from Sweden full-time for him. 

Ashley swallows as Jack asks about how their house search is going. There’s a very little chance that Jack will be leaving Jersey anytime within the next half decade. But her mother warned her that his career could take him places in the future unexpectedly. 

And in a way, so could Ashley’s. But it’s not as easy. 

She scolds herself for even thinking this far. They’ve been dating for literally two months. That’s nothing in the grand scheme of things. They’re celebrating entering the new year today, but she has no idea if they’ll even be together for all of it.

She’s hoping they are. God, she really fucking hopes so. But she could hope until the end of the world and have it fall short. She smoothes her sweater out with her suddenly-clammy hands, chugging the whole glass of champagne before putting the flute down on a nearby table. She excuses herself politely to use the bathroom, which she does, before getting some air. 

She definitely looks a bit crazy outside on the Toffoli’s porch in the dead of winter, but she doesn’t mind the biting edge of cold. It’s grounding her, actually. 

“Was looking for you.”

Ashley doesn’t even look at Jack, humming as she hears him walking out to stand next to her. “Did my sparkle sweater give me away?”

“No, Neeks did, actually. Said he saw you walking out.” She finally looks at him with his eyebrows furrowed. “You’re not cold?”

“Don’t even think about offering me your jacket,” she warns. “I know you’re only wearing a t-shirt underneath.”

“Then come back inside so we both don’t die.”

“In a minute,” she promises. 

He huffs, rubbing his hands up and down her arms to try and generate some heat. “Everything good?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Just, you know, minorly freaking out at her boyfriend’s teammate’s place about the fact that she might be falling in love with him even though it hasn’t been that long and what a future could look like for them and how that future could fall apart in an instant.

So regular New Year’s Eve thoughts.

“Unlike you, I don’t have a college degree, much less two,” Jack grins. “I can’t read minds.”

“And you think I can?” She jokes back weakly. He just chuckles. She continues. “Your friends are nice. I like them a lot.”

He lights up anytime someone he loves gets brought up in conversation. “Yeah, they’re cool. They like you too.”

“That’s good,” she says softly. 

He taps her forehead with his pointer finger. “Countdown’s soon. Come back inside?” He laces their fingers together. 

“You gonna kiss me at midnight?”

“Think so.”

“You only think so?”

Jack smirks, kissing her deeply. “Shut up.”

Ashley is absolutely floored.

two - one year and one month

Cam’s wedding crept up on her. 

Of course, Ashley knew it was coming, but still. Though she was surprised when Jack told her that he was free of games on that particular early November weekend somehow, only having to miss an optional practice and that he would notify the coaching staff far in advance. 

It’s not the act of bringing Jack that she’s nervous about. Cam and Amanda, his fiance, came into the city a few months ago and they all grabbed lunch before heading to a game at The Rock that night. She’ll never forget how ultimately “traitor-like to the Bruins” Cam felt, Ashley and Amanda finding it hilarious. They both had a good time though, and that’s all that matters, and Cam, who has always looked out for her even before she had ever asked, subtly gave his approval. 

(“I’ll admit my assumptions about him were wrong,” Cam had said. “He’s awesome, and he really cares about you. If he’s the one, I won’t be mad about it. He’s very lucky.”)

It’s more of a particular person that’s going to be at the wedding. 

Weirdly, when she and Alex broke up way back when, one of the thoughts that circled her mind months after was exactly this. If and when the day of Cam’s wedding came, and they were both still close to him, they’d both be there. And here they are. 

She’s over him — obviously, considering she’s in a happy, long-term relationship and it’s been four years — but how do you prepare to see your ex-boyfriend when the last time you saw him you had just broken up and you were in tears?

She and Jack drive up to Cape Cod early the day of the wedding and she feels a bit bad that he’s driving after he had a game last night and has one in just two days but he doesn’t mind, happy to be driving as long as she’s in the passenger seat next to him. They’re switching off anyways, and she had driven the first half. Cam and Amanda rented out a bunch of rooms at a few inns for their guests so her and Jack will get ready there before heading to the venue. 

From a quick rundown Cam gave her a month ago when they caught up over the phone, she’ll at least be familiar with a good amount of people at the wedding. She’s excited to see them all again and catch up, those memories that were bittersweet at some point, all water under the bridge so many years later. 

It’s what you get for dating within a friend group. Ultimately, at some point, sides are chosen.

At the end of the day, it’s Cam, someone who has always been there for her since they were 16, even when she didn’t necessarily do the same. He’s given his friendship selflessly to her for over a decade. The least she can do is come to his wedding to celebrate. 

And she has Jack with her. Nothing can go wrong with Jack by her side. 

“You okay?” Jack’s voice breaks her out of her thoughts as he squeezes her thigh, sneaking a look before focusing back on the road. “You’re quiet. You’re rarely quiet in the car.”

“It’s a 5 hour drive, Jack.”

“I’ve been playing country nonstop for the last half an hour and you haven’t chirped me once.” She starts playing with his fingers and his eyebrows furrow. “Alright. What’s going on, baby? What are you thinking about?”

“You know what I’m thinking about.” She shoots back with no malice. 

He sighs, linking their hands together and bringing them up to his lips to kiss her knuckles. “Yeah. I got you though. I’ll be with you the whole day.”

“It’s dumb, really. Four years. And I haven’t thought about him in a long time.”

He shrugs. “He was your first heartbreak, and you haven’t seen him since. This is gonna be some sort of closure, even if it’s four years later.”

“You seem awfully cool about this, considering, you know, your current girlfriend is lowkey freaking out about seeing her ex again.”

“I’m not worried,” he replies easily. “You need this closure. I wasn’t smart like you back then and actually saw my exes probably way sooner than I should’ve. Besides, I’m the one on your arm now. Not him. I’m not pressed.”

She scoffs at yet another country song playing and skips it, snorting when ‘Suburban Legends’ by Taylor Swift comes on. How fitting. “I’m definitely hyping it up in my head. It’s nothing. And Cam told me that he purposefully put us at separate tables, in case Alex says some questionable shit while drunk.”

“No worries about you saying anything questionable?”

“Compared to Alex? No way.” He snorts, amused. But he knows enough about his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend to not push it. “I wonder if he’s bringing someone. God, I hope he is.”

“Why? Don’t want to rub it in his face that you’re happy and in love?”

“That’s mean,” she says airily. “No. I hope he’s bringing someone because I want to know what kind of girl can tolerate his ass. I did, but I was 20 and stupid. I wanna see what kind of girl can tolerate him at 26.”

“Does he know I’m coming?”

“Cam?”

He snorts. “No. Alex.”

“Who knows? Even if he does, he probably doesn’t care and isn’t overthinking it like I am.”

“I think you’d be surprised,” she looks at him, confused and he bites his lip. “Even if they play it off, guys are affected by that stuff more than you’d think.”

“What is there to be affected by?”

“You,” Jack says simply. “Not that I’m biased or anything, but you leave quite an impact on everyone you meet. And that lucky ass got to date you. As someone who also has had that privilege, I can relate a bit.”

Ashley chuckles before squeezing his hand. “Thanks for coming with me. I know your schedule is really busy with the season and everything-”

“You don’t need to thank me. Isn’t half of having a significant other just bringing them as plus ones to weddings?”

“Fair.” She leans her head on his shoulder momentarily as he pushes the sunglasses on top of his head to his face. “Thank you, though. I feel bad that you’re missing practice.”

He snorts. “Don’t.”

“They didn’t give you a hard time?”

“Not really. It’s an optional, anyways. Nico just told us to have fun and I think Lindy has a soft spot for you somehow. I’m excited. I like Cam. And I’m happy to be here with you.” He smirks, adding. “Come on, baby. Did you think I was gonna leave you to dry when your ex is gonna be there?”

“You don’t know anybody at the wedding. And Cam grew up in a hockey-loving family from Boston. There’s bound to be people who recognize you.”

“So I’m the arm candy for the night. That works perfectly for me.” 

They arrive at the inn just past 1, and decide to stop by a nearby cafe to grab a quick bite. Jack decides to take a short nap before they have to start getting ready and head out while she scrolls on her phone and plays with his hair since his head is on her lap. Occasionally she finds herself staring outside the window at the water with a smile. Even if not in the summer, the Cape is beautiful.

Once it hits 4:15, she figures that she should start getting ready, but she can’t move without disturbing Jack since he’s still sleeping soundly on her lap. She gently whispers his name and presses a few kisses on his forehead as his breathing changes, groaning a bit as he stretches and opens his eyes. 

“Time to go?”

“In like, an hour. I need to start getting ready.”

He hums, puckering his lips and she takes the hint, kissing him soundly twice before ushering him off her lap. She lays out the few makeup products she has, moisturizing her face before putting light foundation and concealer on. As always, she focuses more attention on her eyeshadow, deciding to add a bit of gold glitter to compliment her pink dress. She clips a matching pink bow in, liking the way it blends with the natural brown of her hair. She decides to save the lipstick for right before they leave and turns to Jack, who’s buttoning his shirt. 

“What do you think?” He looks up as he’s buttoning his cuffs. “Too much glitter?” She asks.

“Never too much glitter. You look beautiful.”

She looks at his blazer and tie that he’s laid out on the bed, looking at him with minor confusion. “Since when do you own that tie?”

“Since last week when I bought it.”

She looks at where her dress is hanging. “It matches my dress.”

“Yes it does.”

She looks towards him as he tucks his shirt in, a sudden wave of love rushing through her heart. “I love you.”

He looks up and immediately walks over to her, placing a hand on her waist and kissing her. “I love you too.”

She puts on her dress quickly, smiling when she doesn’t even have to ask Jack as he comes over to help her zip it up, pressing a chaste kiss on her shoulder. His phone ringing interrupts and she brushes her hair before she puts on her accessories. 

“Sup Quinny?”

Quinn’s voice crackles through Jack’s phone. “Where the fuck are you going all dressed up on a Saturday? I know for a fact you don’t have a game today, considering Luke just sent a snap of him playing Chel with Dawson 10 minutes ago.”

“I’m in the Cape, asshole. One of Ash’s friends is getting married.”

She peeks into the view of the camera and waves after putting in one earring. “Hi Quinn!”

“Oh! Hey Ash. You look beautiful.”

She beams. “Thank you!”

Jack scoffs. “I’m here too.”

Ashley leaves the brothers to catch up as she starts gathering her things and puts on her lip tint before sitting at the edge of the bed since they still have 15 minutes left before they have to head out and she’s mostly all ready to go. She chimes in once in awhile, always happy to talk to Quinn as Jack shrugs on his suit jacket, ties his matching pink tie and clasps on his watch.

“Looking good, you two.” Quinn says as they both stand in front of the phone. “Matching tie, eh? Good move, Jacky.”

“We look good enough to make an ex jealous?”

She just rolls her eyes as Quinn’s eyes lights up, immediately catching on. “Absolutely.”

“Don’t encourage him, Quinn.”

Quinn just laughs and bids them farewell as Jack smooths down his tie. She puts on her jacket and grabs her boots and slips them on. As she’s about to bend down and tie them, Jack ushers her to sit on the bed and kneels down. He does it too quickly for her to dwell too much on how much she loves him, but he probably knows, if him gently rubbing his thumb over her ankle and the kiss on the inside of her knee tell her anything. 

It’s only been a little over a year, but she really does think she could spend the rest of her life with him.

They end up running into Nick in the lobby and even though it’s been…four years since she’s seen him, she corrals him into a tight hug. She introduces Jack and Nick introduces Melanie, his fiancee. The only indication from Nick that he knows who Jack is is a subtle comment that’s delivered in a way that’s so Nick it makes her heart ache — “Jack Hughes. Only Ash would show up after almost five years in the flesh with a professional athlete at a wedding where her ex is gonna be at. Always gotta do some out of pocket shit.” — and makes Jack laugh as she slaps him.

The four of them walk the short seven minute walk to the venue together, with Ashley and Nick mostly leading the conversation. She can’t remember where they left their tentative friendship in their late teens and early twenties when the world was shut down and the future looked the most uncertain it had been. Even though they don’t immediately pick up where they left off, years of rust littered in their interactions and memories, she’s extremely happy to see that he’s doing well. 

(Jack’s just happy to be there, holding his girlfriend’s hand as she leads the conversation. It’s nice not having to lead for once. There’s not many situations where he’s the one tagging along) 

As they enter the ceremony space, Ashley immediately sees plenty of other people she recognizes. She chuckles to herself as she realizes many of the guys are from the soccer team. It’s touching to know they still keep in touch. Logan, one of said guys, greets Nick goodheartedly, before wrangling her into a hug. As pleasantries are exchanged and people are introduced, she does feel a bit out of place. But that’s natural, reconnecting with people after so long that clearly still hang out with each other and only hear about her through sporadic updates through Cam when they ask. 

Sides were chosen, even if not intentionally. Ashley’s learned to be okay with that. Even if she thinks it’s unfair that Alex got to keep a lot of their mutual friends and she didn’t.

As everyone settles down in their seats, she squeezes Jack’s hand, opening her mouth to apologize for…something. Not preparing him in giving the whole lore of how she knows all these people? How the only reason she knows the sport of soccer is so well is because of Alex? Not explaining clearly the mixed feelings of her coming to the Cape this weekend? 

But Jack’s enraptured in a conversation with Logan, and she smiles. Of course. Logan played hockey back in high school as well. 

(Out of instinct, Jack does squeeze her hand back though, even placing them in his lap even though he’s not looking in her direction at all)

When Alex comes into view, a pretty redhead’s hand around the crook of his elbow, Ashley starts sweating. Thank goodness she has deodorant in her bag. Jack, who’s still talking to Logan, notices, and she’s about to apologize for her clammy hands as he sends her a confused look but the nearby exclamations of Alex’s name answers his question. He just presses two kisses to her temple.

Logan, to his credit, grimaces. “You gonna be good, Ash?”

She waves his kindness away. “Of course. It’s been so long. And it’s Cam’s day.”

And it is Cam’s day, as everyone falls silent watching both sets of parents and the groomsmen and bridesmaids walk down — she chuckles when she sees Sean walking down, forgetting that he and Cam got closer in college even after going to the same high school — before grinning as Amanda walks down in her beautiful A-line, ball gown of a wedding dress. Ashley wipes a tear away watching Cam do the same and she thinks if only 16 year old them could see themselves now. 

(She has a moment when she looks at Jack where her stomach flips, thinking of the day they could be the ones at the altar. She quickly focuses her attention back to the front)

Cam and Amanda are pronounced husband and wife and she cheers as he dips her and kisses her, beaming and tearing up and laughing as she hears Nick wolf-whistle. People start dispersing, the large heated patio hosting a cocktail hour before the doors to the reception hall open back up again.

While she’s sipping on a glass of wine, she hears a familiar voice calling her name and she beams, carefully making sure she doesn’t spill any wine on Sean’s tuxedo as he towers over her and hugs her tightly. He introduces himself to Jack and she watches in slight amusement as they talk. 

Sean and her never really were friends, more friends by association. He was more in the popular crowd in the school that Ashley herself was never inclined to push her way through. Her and Sean shared plenty of classes together though, and always got along when forced to work together. And in another life, sometimes Ashley thinks that she would’ve had a crush on the blonde boy. 

Instead, she dated one of his teammates. And, well, that turned out the way it did.

(Ashley rolls her eyes when Sean makes a comment about how it “makes complete sense that you’re the one who ended up dating a professional athlete” because sure, Sean. Sure.)

Jack may be among many Massachusetts natives who live and die for the Bruins and are not hesitant in chirping him within 5 minutes of meeting him, but he smiles genuinely as his hand instinctively finds a way on her lower back. After dating Ashley for over a year, he’s used to the good-intentioned bluntness of New Englanders. She only starts rolling her eyes when high school gets brought up and stories about her start piling up. In contrast, Jack loves this and just eggs them on, eager to hear the stories. 

With a quick glance at the seating chart when they’re all starting to filter back into the reception hall, she finds that the high school crowd is split between two tables, and that Cam kept to his word and put her and Alex at different ones. The tables next to each other, but still. She won’t have to worry about making accidental awkward eye contact with him across her chicken. She’s the slightest bit surprised she hasn’t crossed direct paths with him yet. But there’s enough people that they wouldn’t ever be forced to interact. And maybe that’s for the best. 

Dinner passes by without incident, Ashley squeezing both Cam and Amanda tight as they come around to toast every table as Jack gives Cam a tight bro-hug and Amanda a polite kiss on the cheek. The dance floor starts to open up, and as usual, Ashley’s one of the first ones on, dragging Jack and practically their whole table out. She feels light on her feet and happy as she leans into Jack with a big smile. He ditches his suit jacket at the table and his pink tie is loosened and she thinks he looks so handsome. She’s happily tipsy enough where the curious glances and whispers from probably the entire fucking reception hall about why an NHL player is here don’t bother her. She knows he’s used to it. She doesn’t know how.

(Jack may not know everything of the lore and context behind Ashley’s relationship with the people she knows here, but he knows her and how deeply she feels and nostalgic she can get and how that can change her perception of her own memories and how that in turn, can make her extremely self critical. 

So this whole evening, he’s tried to make it as easy as possible, talking with her old friends and classmates — which isn’t much of an ask, they’re nice enough — and just squeezing her hand or waist or kissing her temple or cheek when he feels her focus trailing off. If she talks to Alex and wants him there, he’ll be right next to her. If not, he’ll make himself scarce. Whatever she wants)

Ashley’s resting at her chair while Jack’s in a casual conversation with Cam as Alex comes up behind Cam, tapping him on the shoulder. She swallows and sits up straight and Jack automatically places a gentle hand on her back. Cam and Alex exchange a few words she can’t hear before Cam turns his attention back to her and Jack feels a surge of gratitude towards Cam, who looks extremely apologetic. 

Jack watches as she stands up and steps towards Alex with a small smile. “Hey.”

Alex blinks. “Hi.” She gives him a quick hug before stepping back next to Jack as he stands up. “Alex, this is Jack, my boyfriend. Jack, Alex.”

“Nice to meet you, man.” Jack says with a firm, polite handshake and he doesn’t really see (or care about) Alex’s reaction before turning back to Ashley again, trying to read her. She gives him an almost imperceptible nod. Jack’s eyes flicker to Cam, who also nods behind Alex and he clears his throat. “I’m gonna get a refill. You two want anything?”

“All good, man.”

“Rum and coke, heavier on the coke?”

“You got it,” Jack presses a quick kiss to her hair before he and Cam walk to the bar. 

Jack waves to the bartender for a whiskey sour for himself as Cam gets a gin and tonic. They both lean against the counter and Jack sighs, watching Alex take Jack’s previous seat. “Was that a good idea? Leaving them alone?” Because he knows her, of course, but Cam’s known her longer. And he had a front row seat to her and Alex’s friendship before they got together, their relationship when they got together, and the fallout of their breakup. 

“Honestly? I don’t know. But they’re both 26 year old mature adults.” Cam’s eyes flit over to a redhead woman a couple seats away from the bar and waves her over. Jack’s trying to remember if he’s met her tonight

“Hi Cam,” she says lightly. 

“Hey yourself,” he nods over in the direction of her and Alex. “You initiate that?”

She snorts, “Of course I did.” She perches herself on a stool and sticks her hand out to Jack. “I don’t think we’ve met yet. I’m Francesca, but please call me Fran. I’m Alex’s girlfriend.”

Jack gives her a small smile. This is something. “Jack. Ashley’s boyfriend.”

“I’m aware,” she teases. “I grew up in Jersey and my brother’s a huge hockey fan. I’ve been to a couple of your games throughout the years.”

“Always nice to meet a fan,” He responds smoothly and genuinely. “Especially in a room filled with Bruins fans that could honestly poison my drink at any moment and I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re lucky there are no Rangers fans here.” Cam waves him off as Jack and Fran laugh. 

“What a way to meet someone for the first time,” Fran says.

“While our exes are talking for the first time in over four years?” Jack says and Fran and Cam both snort. “You could say that.”

She turns to Cam, “Cam, you can go off and mingle, you know? It’s your wedding. Jack and I will be fine here.”

Jack opens his mouth to agree but Cam just shakes his head. “It’s fine. I need a second to breathe anyways. And also make sure this doesn’t go downhill.”

“Ashley seems like a smart girl and Alex isn’t that stupid,” Fran says. “They wouldn’t make a fuss at your wedding.”

Cam sighs and Jack thinks about how thankful he is that Cam has been there for his girlfriend way before Jack even knew her. Jack then turns to Fran and asks how she and Alex met and the conversation starts there, all three of them turning to the two exes from time to time to make sure there’s no flames or glasses being thrown. 

Fran talks about how she and Alex met at work and laughs in amusement when Jack explains that it was the same with him and Ashley, talking about how Ashley had been filling in for a colleague for an interview and Jack practically fell in love with her the second he saw her and had to tell himself to not sound stupid in front of the pretty girl. 

And honestly, as Jack talks to Fran, he laughs to himself a bit ironically. She reminds him a bit of Ashley. A bit too much for him personally and harsh in a different way than his girlfriend, but decent company nonetheless. So maybe he and Alex are more alike than they think. 

Meanwhile, the conversation happening merely 20 feet away between two exes is not as casual. Not as comfortable. 

“Been a long time, huh?” Alex remarks. 

Ashley tries not to scoff. “Four years.”

Alex curses under his breath. “Yeah. How are you?”

What a loaded question. She goes along with it. “I’m good.”

“Cam mentioned you’re in New York?”

“I am. Moved out there about a year after college for work. Then went to grad school there.”

“Journalist?”

She shrugs. “More or less. The title’s changed a couple times throughout the years but all in that field.”

“That’s awesome.” He runs a hand through his hair and it looks so familiar yet unfamiliar. “I still remember when you told me you got into BU. Seems like the path was always laid out for you, huh?”

She’ll have to unpack that one later. “Guess so. How about you? I heard you were in Portland. Real estate, right?”

He nods, “Yeah.”

“That’s great. I’m really glad you’re doing well.”

“Thanks.” A moment of silence there. “For what it’s worth, it is really good to see you again.”

Ashley lets out a genuine smile. Small, but genuine. “Same.” 

The sound of his laughter kinda aches a bit, but not in a way that has her sad. Just nostalgic. There is some easy banter, and somewhere in the back of her mind, Ashley’s remembering a bit of why she loved him in the first place. 

There’s a pause in the conversation, before she continues, “I haven’t gotten a chance to meet whoever you’re here with yet, but-”

“Fran.”

“Fran, right.” she says. “But I’ve heard a bit. How long have you two been together?”

“Are we really going to do this?”

She swallows the urge to fire back, shrugging instead. “Why not? And don’t pretend like you’re not curious about Jack either. I figured I might as well just go first.”

Alex laughs. “Around three years for Fran and I.”

“You love her?”

“I do. A lot.”

She smiles. Genuinely this time. “Good. I’m glad to hear it.”

“How about you and Mr. NHL Superstar?”

Again, she swallows down her instinct to fire back. “A little over a year now.”

“You happy?”

“Very.”

Alex nods once and doesn’t quite smile but has a pleasant expression on his face. “Cam said that he likes him. Which is a lot, considering I’m pretty sure he used to think that he was a cocky asshole.”

Ashley knows it’s not meant in that way because she knows that her boyfriend has somewhat of a reputation, but she gets defensive. “People aren’t always what they seem. Even if he’s a pest on the ice sometimes, he’s a wonderful guy.” You should know, she wants to say. You were the exact same way in high school.

They’re trickling into dangerous territory. She wonders if he’ll take the bait. If he does, she wonders if she’ll be strong enough not to fall for it. She wonders if he’ll apologize, not because she needs it, but because she knows she deserved one all those years ago. 

Alex leans back casually, putting his arm over the empty chair next to him. “From me to Jack fucking Hughes. I don’t know if I should be flattered or offended.”

Ashley doesn’t know at all how she’s supposed to take that. Like everything he’s always done, he says it casually, taking a drink of water as she’s figuring out how to respond. She doesn’t. For the first time, she feels like she doesn’t have control of this conversation.

He notices she has no response and keeps going. “Hey, he’s a decent player and the money can’t hurt. I’m glad you’re happy.”

She swallows. A gold digger? Is that really what he’s hinting at?

Ashley almost sighs in relief when she catches sight of Jack, Cam and a woman who she presumes is Fran walking back towards them. Immediately she plasters on a smile and introduces herself to Fran, because it’s not her fault that her boyfriend still has the ability to get under her skin even so many years after their break-up. Jack presses a rum and coke in her hand silently and she thanks him quietly before making small talk with Fran. Just having Jack next to her has her blood pressure lowering. Soon enough, they all but shove Cam back into his own wedding and bid farewell as Fran excuses her and Alex and heads over to chat with someone she doesn’t recognize. 

Jack leads her outside of the main reception hall into one of the hallways, where there are people sporadically chatting and also getting away from the music for a second. 

Jack grabs her drink and faces her with a concerned look. “Ash? You okay? It seemed to get a little…tense at times.”

Ashley shrugs and chuckles. It’s bitter though, and he knows it, immediately placing a grounding hand on her waist. “I was how I always am to everyone.”

“Sure,” he responds skeptically. 

She sighs. “It was fine. I’m fine. It didn’t go badly. I don’t know if it was good. It just…was.” She squeezes her eyes shut. “It was fine. It’s not a big deal. It’s been four fucking years and it’s not like I love him anymore. I shouldn’t-”

“Hey. Stop. None of that,” Jack says softly but firmly, leaning in closer and kissing her forehead as she bites her bottom lip harshly. He holds her hand gently and presses it against his chest. “Open your eyes, baby. Take some breaths with me.”

She obeys, looking into blue eyes that have become another home for her and taking deep breaths. “Thanks.”

“Always. Wanna talk about it?”

She debates in her mind. “No. It’s a wedding. Let’s go back and have fun and dance.”

“You sure?”

She nods, before placing a peck on his lips. “I’ll probably be more in my feelings tomorrow about it. Or the next week. But for now, come dance with me.”

“Lead the way.”

Ashley doesn’t even look at Alex’s direction for the rest of the night, instead looking at Jack when she feels like the floor beneath her is gonna get pulled away. The stupidly romantic thing is, she knows he’ll catch her everytime.

three - one year and nine months

“What do you think?”

Jack looks up from where he’s sitting on her bed and his eyes pop open, jaw dropping with it. He tosses his phone to the side. “Ash. Holy shit.”

Ashley twirls around in the yellow ruffle dress. “I like this one the most, but I don’t think it’s fancy enough.”

She looks up to see him biting his lip, eyes scanning her body. She blushes as he beckons her to stand inbetween his legs. “Don’t care. You have to wear this one, please. It fits you perfectly.”

She smoothes down the ruffles. “Are you sure it’s fancy enough?”

“Honey, most of the guys probably won’t even be wearing ties,” she settles her hands in his hair. “Wear this one. I know you love it and you look beautiful in it.”

She lets out a breath. “Okay, yeah. I can pair it with those flower earrings and matching bracelet and I think Scarlett has white heels I could borrow and-”

“Woah there,” he chuckles, rubbing his thumbs on the fabric at her hips. “Did you have too much coffee today? You’re talking a million miles a minute.”

“No,” she drawls out. “I’m just…nervous? This is the first thing we’re going to that’s so…”

“Public?” He finishes for her. She nods. He pushes her gently so that she’s sitting next to him. “I get that. I’m a bit nervous too. But I’ll be there the whole time. And you’ll have my parents and Quinn. And Nico will be there too. Besides, you’re great with people. I’ve seen you in action.”

She shrugs modestly. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”

“Then what is it you’re worried about?”

She swallows at his tone, because she doesn’t think he gets it. Why would he? He’s not the one that’s going to be scrutinized by his fans. At least not to the degree she would be. “Everyone else’s thoughts.”

Jack nods slowly in realization. He leans in to kiss her lips twice. She has to admit it makes her feel a bit better. His kisses usually do. “You know no one else’s opinions mean anything. Besides, it’s very clear to anyone that I’m happily taken.”

And he has a point. She’s made an appearance on his Instagram with two photos in his annual summer dump — one was just of her in the city and the other was of the two of them by the lake in Michigan — and he hadn’t tagged her, but it was clearly a message to the world that he wasn’t a single man. Social media doesn’t matter and it never will, but it had been a decision they both had come to, Jack approaching her gently and asking if he could post them. 

But having it through a screen and having it in real life is different. 

“I know it’s stupid,” she says. “But you know me. I don’t particularly enjoy being out of my element.”

“I know, I know,” he bumps her knee with his. “It’ll be fun though. We’ll get drunk the night before and maybe I’ll be hungover the next morning and you get to tell Luke if I do anything embarrassing.”

Ashley laughs. “That does sound fun.”

“Exactly.” He cups her face in his hands. “I gotcha, baby. Always.”

She trusts in that when she lands in Boston a few days later. She trusts in that as she gets swept in a world she’s not quite comfortable in, but finds there are a lot more similarities than differences compared to environments she’s been in. She’s a journalist after all. It’s her job in a way to blend into different lives in order to get the best and most impactful stories. She trusts in that as she’s rolling her eyes fondly at Jack, who’s chatting with practically everyone at the bar. She doesn’t think she’s ever seen this many hockey players in one room. She trusts in that as Jack then always drags whoever he’s talking to so that he can introduce her. 

For someone who has always valued their privacy, Jack is making it pretty obvious that the “stunning girl in the floral shirt” is his. Ashley can’t say she hates it, even if it’s a little bold for her particular taste. 

“He looks happy, doesn’t he?” Ellen asks as they both watch Jack across the room with Auston Matthews. Ashley’s cousins in Toronto would be freaking out right now. 

Ashley snickers. “Drunk or happy?”

“Both?” Ellen raises her glass up to knock it against Ashley’s in a toast.

“I’ll drink to that.” 

“Thank you for coming. I know it means a lot to Jack that you’re here.”

“Thank you all for having me,” Ashley responds, suddenly a bit shy. “It’s, been, uh, a bit overwhelming, to be honest.”

“I can imagine,” Ellen smiles sympathetically. “All this hockey stuff, business wise, is more Jimmy’s scene than mine.”

“Really?” Ashley thinks to all that Jack’s told her about his mother and all the warmth Ellen has emitted since they’ve met, not to mention how everyone they’ve talked to — player, coach, agent — has gravitated towards Ellen.

To her credit, Ellen chuckles. “That’s fair. Jack tells me that you know how to work a room, which is something that Jimmy’s always said about me.”

Ashley traces the rim of her glass. “I think Jack gives me too much credit.”

“I’m not sure about that,” Ellen says with a knowing smile. “I read your article the other day. The one about the family who’s had to travel across the country to get care for their child. Quinn sent it to me, actually.” Quinn read it? She doesn’t remember sending it to him. Did Jack send it to him? “It’s an incredible piece of work. How long did that take you?”

“From start to finish? Around two months.”

Ellen grins, placing a motherly hand on her shoulder. “You’re so talented, honey. I try to keep up with everything you write, but you do so much that sometimes I lose track.”

"You really don’t have to do that. But thank you, Ellen. T-that means a lot to me.” 

“What does Mom not have to do?” Jack asks, squeezing himself next to his girlfriend.

“Read my articles.”

Jack grins. “Why not? They’re so good. Our family group chat is filled with them. Dad always loves your profiles.”

Ashley swallows. She’s pretty confident that the Hughes family likes her, but the fact that they all keep track of her published articles is a bit too much for her to handle right now. She downs the rest of her beer and waves Jack away when he opens his mouth to ask if she wants his. Instead, he asks the bartender for a ginger ale. Ashley’s grateful. 

The next day, Ashley smiles as Jack’s walking the carpet. He’s up for the Hart trophy this year and as he squats down to greet a little boy and sign his jersey, Ashley can’t help but let her love and pride for him soar. She’s as out of the way as she can be, trying not to get overwhelmed with all the voices and flashes around her. It helps that Ellen and Jim seem to always be nearby and she makes fast friends with Nina and Luca, who are watching Nico do similar things. 

She gets pulled out of her own world with a familiar hand on her waist. “Hey,” Jack murmurs into her ear. 

“Hi.”

“Do you wanna jump into a few pictures with me?” Jack asks softly. “It’ll only take a few minutes. No pressure if not.”

“Uh, yeah. Sure.”

He beams, offering an arm as he leads them over to where the photographers are. She tries not to blink too much as the flashes hurt her eyes and hopes she and Jack are looking in the same direction. 

“You look beautiful,” he pairs his sincere compliment with a squeeze of her waist. 

She smiles at the cameras for a few seconds before turning to him slightly. “You already said that.”

“I know. It’s worth repeating.”

Thankfully, it’s only about 30 seconds before everyone else — Quinn, Jack’s parents and Nico’s family — are being ushered in for a group photo. She finds herself inbetween Jack and Nico and giggles as Nico tries to blow his hair out of his face. She takes pity on him after a few tries and she reaches up to fix it for him quickly, Nina laughing on the other side of her brother. 

“Stop messing with it,” Ashley scolds lightly through clenched teeth, smiling for the pictures. “You’re gonna make it worse.” She giggles when Nico pokes her side a few seconds later. 

When Jack wins the Hart, Ashley leaps out of her seat in excitement. To her, he’s always going to be the best player she knows because she sees firsthand how hard he works, but it’s nice that his peers are recognizing it too. He places a quick kiss on her lips before going up on stage and Ashley’s clapping and laughing to herself. He was dreading having to make any sort of speech. 

After the ceremony, she just follows everyone to whatever swanky rooftop seemingly the entire NHL is gathering at. She finds herself flocking towards Nina for a lot of the evening as they both exchange fun stories and memories of their own lives over drinks. Ashley thinks she could keep talking to Nina for the rest of her life. She’s just so damn cool. 

The next day, she drags Jack around the BU campus and is happy pointing out buildings that she had classes in, cried in, cheered in and lived her life in. They walk from one end of Com Ave to the other, Ashley dutifully pointing out Agganis Arena (“I’m sure Trevor has some good memories in this building”), their starting point.

She stands in front of the College of Communication building and stops. Jack dutifully stops next to her. “This building kinda looks like shit.”

Ashley snorts. “Yeah, I know. Especially compared to all the science buildings.” She bites her lip. “It all started here.”

“What did?”

“The dream.”

And yeah, maybe that’s a bit dramatic. But Jack said similar things when he brought her to Toronto earlier this year, so she knows he understands. 

Almost two years together now, she’s convinced that no one will really ever understand her like Jack does. 

He nudges her hip with his, the breeze blowing comfortably through her hair and rustling the plants around them. They watch as a student walks through the front doors. “Wanna go in?” 

She shakes her head. “Nah, I’m good.” She tugs at his hand while sipping the lavender lemonade from Pavement in the other. “Come on. I’ll show you Bay State. I lived there my junior year after I came back from studying abroad in Dublin.”

Bay State Road is beautiful as always in the Boston summer, Ashley’s hand in Jack’s. She drags him out into the middle of the road and only squeals once when a car is coming and he pulls her to the sidewalk. 

Campus isn’t the same when classes aren’t in session, but she hopes Jack can still feel some of the magic in the air through her stories. 

“It suits you.”

She turns to Jack. “Hm?”

“This city. It suits you.”

“Oh,” she blushes for some reason. “Thanks.”

“Do you miss it here?”

“All the time,” Ashley admits. “New York is great, but Boston will always be home.”

“Would you think of working here? If given the option?” Jack asks. 

“Maybe,” Ashley squeezes Jack’s hand, “But I also have reasons to stay in New York.”

He smirks, but it quickly transitions into something gentler. “Yeah?”

She could throw something snarky back at him, but she looks around the brownstones and lets out a deep breath. This is home, but flashes of Hoboken and East Village flicker in her mind and that’s also home. 

She looks at Jack and feels overwhelmed. Oh. It’s Boston. It’s Hoboken. It’s East Village. It’s him. Jack is home.

four - two years

“Big day, huh?” 

Ashley just smiles at Carissa, nudging her side. “We’ve come a long way since that phone call at 2 a.m.”

Carissa just snorts. “That phone call got us here.”

“True,” Ashley squeezes her arm as they make their way to their assigned table. “Love you, girly.”

“Love you more. I’m proud of us.”

Ashley grins, looking around as everyone is mingling amongst each other. There are past award winners here and Ashley’s already done some of her internal fangirling, especially when Lynsey Addario came up to her and wanted to talk to her. 

She’s still decently new in this industry and knows she has so much to learn, but it’s comforting to see that all of her hard work has paid off. 

People are starting to take their seats and Ashley looks around at her colleagues. Everyone’s dressed up and looks so lovely and Ashley smiles, looking down at her midnight blue dress. When Jack had seen her walk out of the changing room in it a few weeks ago, his eyes had popped out. 

(“Fuck,” he had said. “Now I’m even more pissed I can’t make it to the dinner.”)

And yeah, it would be nice if he was here. But the Devils are playing the Islanders tonight. It sucks that he’s so close but so far away, but after two years now, it’s just part of the gig. And they make it work. So Ashley isn’t too upset about it, even if Jack is. 

She’s a bit confused when there is an empty seat next to her, as it seems like the ballroom is filled. There’s no nametag there either, but her attention soon drifts off to the front. She has to bite her lip to stop herself from smiling too hard. 

The Pulitzer Prize Awards Ceremony at Columbia University, also her alma mater in a way. Her 18-year-old-self who was sitting in the front row of Introduction to Journalism in Boston could’ve only dreamed about this day. 

Opening remarks start and Ashley really does try to listen, but her eyes glaze over as her mind drifts off. She claps as the first few awards are being presented. She thinks about all the hours that it took to get this piece down, but also all the hours before — in her classes, at her college paper, in her internships, during her job search. The times she wanted to throw in the towel and just do something else. Anything else.  

“I didn’t miss too much, did I?” She blinks, turning to the voice next to her. She freezes. 

“Jack?” She breathes out. She hasn’t been sleeping much this week, so this could very well be a hallucination. 

He beams and she reaches to place her hand on his cheek and she realizes as she scans her eyes up and down.  Oh. He’s in her favorite suit of his. And he’s here. 

“Oh my god,” she wraps her arms around his neck as her whole table cheers. Thankfully, there’s a lull in the ceremony where the whole room is blanketed in a low buzz. “What the f-don’t you have a game?”

“Technically,” Jack says, nodding at her coworkers with a charming smile. “Took a personal day.”

“What? You can do that?”

“Yeah,” he shrugs, like he didn’t just skip a game to be here. He rubs his thumb on her shoulder as he kisses her temple. “This is a huge deal, baby. I wasn’t gonna miss it. I’m so proud of you.”

“Lindy’s not mad? Nico’s not mad?”

Jack snorts. “The second you won, I told Lindy to count me out for the game so he can do what he wants with that. Nico’s lowkey pissed he also can’t be here.” He turns to Carissa on the other side and beams. “Hey Care. Congrats.”

“Thanks, Jack,” Carissa beams. “Surprised you pulled this off.”

“Surprised we pulled this off.”

Ashley looks at Carissa. “You knew about this?”

“Of course. Who do you think made sure he would have a seat?”

She looks between her colleague and her boyfriend. Something creeps up her throat that feels a lot like love. 

When her and Carissa are recognized and they have to go up to accept the award and give a short speech, it’s kinda a blur. All she remembers is Jack’s kiss on her cheek and receiving a standing ovation as she and Carissa walk up together. So many hours with her eyes glazed over glaring at the laptop. So many hours interviewing with people and reconfirming facts. So many hours dedicated to this one piece. 

She wouldn’t have it any other way. 

As Carissa is speaking, she locks eyes with Jack. He’s beaming and his eyes are actually sparkling. His hair tousled and he’s so handsome and he’s hers. 

(She almost trips walking back to him) 

He chuckles, pulling her into another tight hug. “You’re amazing, baby. Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” she chokes out. “Thank you for calming me down all the times I was freaking out.”

“Of course. I’m sure all those glasses of cold water helped,” he jokes. She always said the ice cold water he would place next to her laptop would wake up her brain. 

She laughs into his shoulder. “They did.”

He pulls away and just stares at her, smile still on his face. Their attention is taken away by someone who wants to congratulate Ashley and has no recognition on their face when looking at Jack. 

(Jack looks on with pride)

plus one - three years and four months

Stanley Cups are interesting. Even some of the best athletes of all time have never gotten one. And some that are only slightly above average perhaps were just placed on the right team in the right season. 

But this Stanley Cup, in Ashley’s completely unbiased opinion, this one was fully deserved. By every single person on the team. 

She doesn’t think she’ll ever forget the absolute joy in Nico’s eyes as he lifted the cup in the air to a roaring crowd at The Rock, or how long the hug between Jack and Luke was when the final whistle sounded, or seeing Ellen cry as her two sons beckoned her in for a picture with the cup, her other son and husband standing close by with pride in their eyes. 

The picture of her and Jack by the cup as he’s kissing her cheek as she smiles so widely her eyes are shut might be her favorite picture of them of all time. 

Ashley had wondered if Jack was going to bring the cup to Toronto or Michigan. He ended up bringing it to Toronto while Luke brought it to Michigan. It ended up being all the same, since they were both present at both. 

Jack winning the Cup is obviously a huge celebration. But he’s not the only one with something to celebrate.

Yesterday, when they were out to lunch with some of his extended family, Ashley had found out by phone that she was just promoted to be a director of her team. After her phone call, she had just covered her mouth in shock as she sat down on a nearby bench. It wasn’t until a few minutes later when a concerned Jack came up to her and asked what was wrong, before she told him and he smothered her face in kisses. 

The parade around his pseudo-hometown is absolutely insane. Ashley doesn’t even know how she has a voice by mid-afternoon, much less how Jack has one considering that he’s been yelling all day. At some point, she forces him to sit down and chug a giant water bottle. 

But she can’t overthink too hard. Her phone’s filled with pictures of Jack with his loved ones and she just feels proud. 

Some of Jack’s extended family who still live in the area offered their home to host a party that night with just friends and family. Ashley did all she could to help prepare, which included coming over to decorate the night before and parking herself in the kitchen the second they got there to offer a helping hand. Well, she tried, before every single person pushed her away and insisted she go join the celebrations. 

She finds herself in a long, in-depth conversation with one of Jack’s younger cousins who’s thinking about working in media when she notices it suddenly becomes quiet. Suddenly, the light flickers off and Ashley is confused.

Jack then walks in with a circular cake with candles lit paired with his beautiful smile. Ashley blinks in confusion as everyone’s eyes fall on her and before she can ask what the hell is going on, Luke bounds over to her and swings an arm around her shoulder, shaking her. 

“Congrats on your promotion, Ash!” Luke exclaims. 

Her mouth drops open and she looks around as everyone in the room cheers and shouts out their congratulations. She chuckles in shock as Jack walks closer. And then suddenly, all she can focus on is him. 

“What are you doing?” She whispers, suddenly wanting to cry. 

“Come on,” he says with the softest smile. “You didn’t think I’d just keep the news to myself, did you?”

“But this is your day,” she chokes out. 

“My day. Your day. It’s all the same, eh?” Jack nods at the candles. “Hurry up. My arms are getting tired.”

A watery laugh from her before she blows out the candles at everyone’s cheers. Jack places the cake on a nearby table before smothering her in a tight hug. Ashley’s heart could burst right now at the love she feels from the people in the room and the person in her arms. She gets a chance to really look at the cake, which is white and sage with “Congratulations Jack and Ashley!” in beautiful script at the center. The lights turn back on and Quinn’s the first one who comes up to hug her. As Ellen is giving Ashley a kiss on the cheek, she sees Jack over Ellen’s shoulder, smiling at her. 

She swallows as she pulls away, before glancing at the ring on her left finger. Ashley’s never let herself want much in her life. But if someone asked her what she wants with her life, she would just place them in this room. Right here. Right now. 

(They cut the cake together. Ashley feels a buzzing joy throughout her bones)

[foreveranevilregal]

Encantober Day 24: Memory

Alma sat at a table, watching serenely as the party unfolded. It was a balmy June night, and everyone was celebrating. A young couple had gotten engaged, and naturally the town took that as a reason to throw a party. After how unfortunately the town was founded, they came to an unspoken agreement to celebrate everything they could, because life was fleeting and needed to be appreciated.

Lively music filled the air, the musicians really showing off their skills now with a series of fast riffs and trills. People danced, mostly in groups, but the married couples would also dance alone. All around Alma, there was a flurry of activity, of flouncing skirts and handkerchiefs being waved about. Children ran in between the crowds of dancing people, weaving through the ever-shifting landscape of the dancefloor, and laughing gleefully.

Alma herself had danced for a while earlier in the evening but had decided to take a break and get some food. As always, the food was delicious. She hummed contentedly as she took another bite and watched the dancers.

Suddenly, the music shifted. The musicians had wrapped up the piece they were playing and began playing another song, one she hadn’t heard in ages. It was the same song that had been playing when…

She had first met him at the festival, on Día de las Velitas. Candles lined the streets, forming a flickering pathway of warmth in the December night. She had always loved how beautifully the bright flames shone in the night. Wanting to see more, she had climbed up on a pole to see the celebration better. To her surprise, she wasn’t the only one with this idea. Across the way, a young man had done the same, clinging to his own pole. Their eyes met and he smiled at her, his warm brown eyes reflecting the golden candlelight.

Alma felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Immediately, she had abandoned her post to go find this young man. She could sense there was something special about him. He seemed so full of life. She had to meet him.

So she tracked him down and they sat together. And they talked. She had been right. There was a spark in him that was so unlike the other young men in town. It was refreshing to see someone unafraid to be so open and honest with others, not as overly concerned with being prim and proper. Alma had laughed until she cried. When his fingers reached out instinctively to catch her tears, she knew she was done for.

They snuck around after that, seeing each other whenever they could chance it. Neither of them had risked telling their parents yet, wanting to enjoy the newness of it alone. A few months later, that all changed.

There had been another celebration. Alma honestly couldn’t remember what at this point, it had been so long ago. Maybe a birthday, maybe a wedding. Either way, as most celebrations turned out, it was an excuse for good food and lots of dancing. Musicians played tirelessly to whip the crowd into a frenzy, dancing and spinning and shouting and singing and-

Alma peeled away from the crowd to catch her breath. She had been dancing for hours now, grateful that she had worn comfortable shoes for the occasion. Though she considered herself a good dancer, she had gotten a bit winded and needed a small break. She figured she could sit one song out. She didn’t really care for this one anyway.

Then suddenly, the musicians stopped playing, cutting off abruptly in the middle of a verse. They switched to a faster piece; a song Alma hadn’t heard before. It must have been new.

The effect was immediate. All the young people congregated in the middle of the dancefloor, beginning an elaborate group dance. Everyone had rotated throughout at first, yet after a verse or two they settled in with their preferred dance partners.

She didn’t even realize she had stood until she found herself at the edge of the crowd. With a whoop, she was pulled into the group, spinning and stepping and waving her handkerchief around joyfully. Just as she was about to switch partners again, a hand reached out to her and she took it, feeling its familiar roughness against her palm.

“Would you care to dance?” Pedro had shouted over the din, twirling her around.

Alma grinned. She couldn’t make out what he was saying, but she had a pretty good idea. She stepped towards him, performing an intricate bit of footwork, and held onto his hand tightly as they danced.

Oh, it was exhilarating! The song flew by in a blur of spins and twirls and sidesteps as they danced their hearts out. She was glad people had given up on switching partners. There was no way she wanted to dance with anyone but him. It was a good thing he seemed to love dancing as much as she did.

Finally the song ended. She felt his strong arm around her back, bracing her as he leaned her in for a dip and brought her up just as fast. Surely that was the reason she was feeling so lightheaded. She had erupted into a fit of giggles, trying to calm herself as he kissed the back of her hand and thanked her for a lovely dance. She assured him the pleasure had been all hers. In her heart, she knew it would be the first of many dances shared together.

A hand materialized in front of her as she heard those fateful words again: “Would you care to dance?” But something was off. The hand, the voice…they were different. It wasn’t what she was expecting. Looking up, she realized it was Félix asking her to join in. The whole family was on the dancefloor and she was the only one sitting. She figured he wanted her to be included.

She let herself linger in the memory for another minute, remembering the way it had felt to dance with her husband for the first time, then took Félix’s hand and joined the rest of the family.

[dujour13]

Owlcatober 6. Family

Kenabres, 19 Arodus 4715

Dear Mom & Dad, Zarin, Fati & Layla,

While I’m afraid this missive bears bad tidings, know first that I’m safe among the brave defenders of Kenabres and in the hands of able healers. I won’t pretend to be well & happy; mostly it’s my morale that has suffered a blow, as you’ll soon understand.

This will surely be the first news that reaches you of Mendev’s recent misfortunes. You know already it has weathered constant siege by the forces of the Abyss for over a century, but sadly the arrival of our delegation coincided with a rare, concerted assault by rather more high-ranking demons than usual.

Of what befell us I’ll spare you the details, as much because I recall little myself: on the road outside Kenabres our delegation was attacked by marauding demons and none survived but myself.

By this same post I’ve written to the families of my friends and colleagues. At the very moment you read this they should be receiving the terrible blow I have had the misfortune to deliver. I don’t need to tell you how heavy a burden this duty has been. The pain of my wound is no rival for that in my heart. On the reverse I’ve listed their names and addresses; most are in Almas and perhaps would appreciate a visit, but especially Romi, who will be devastated and need help sorting her and Gilford’s affairs. Please give her all my love.

I don’t understand why I of all of them was spared, gravely wounded but left alive to be collected by passing samaritans, who kindly carried me into the city for healing. The folk here have, for the most part at least, been most obliging and helpful. (One passing gentleman suggested I be tossed in a ditch, and the Inquisitors here are excessively and insistently paranoid. However the silver dragon protector of the city, Terendelev herself, came to my aid right there in the city square as I was brought in, and the kind prior of the temple of Desna has been to see me since.) (Yes, you may tell Kyrash I met an actual dragon.)

My wound is coming along; please don’t fret. Besides grief, what I’m mostly feeling now is overwhelming shame, as if had I any decency whatsoever I should have perished alongside them, yet irrational as the thought seems I can’t shake it off. By now many times over I should have died and somehow Pharasma has turned her face from me at the last moment on each occasion.

Not to worry you! I believe the worst has passed and the city defenders, the ranks of which I’ve joined, have things well in hand. When our forces are gathered we will make one final foray to rescue the Wardstone and its protective aura will make Kenabres safe once again, and all will be well.

Though I won’t set out for home quite so soon. I wrote to the Council and plan to stay on in Mendev while awaiting the appointment of a new ambassador. There may still be a few tasks I can carry out to mitigate the total disaster of this mission.

In the meantime, I’ve taken up with a handful of brave souls among the city defenders and we’ve formed ourselves a merry little band of misfits, striking out into the city to rescue all the orphans & cats & stray Desnans we happen across. They are truly my only ray of sunshine in this miserable place. Let me tell you a little about them.

First, because she was first to leap to my aid when I was brought bleeding through the gates of Kenabres: Seelah, a fearless paladin of Iomedae from Solku, a bulwark against the pointed bits of demons and already a fast friend. I know what you’re thinking: thank all the good gods he has a paladin around to keep him from doing something crazy. Well, have I got news for you.

Next: have you heard legends of savage, mutant cave-dwellers beneath Mendev, light-fearing descendants of cursed crusaders? So they’re real. One of them has taken up with us—half-half-elf, half-a number of other things, and entirely an impressive hunter. This is the guy who tries to keep me from doing something crazy, but all he does is sigh and crack dark jokes so that’s not likely to stop me. I’m already fond of him. He still needs to come up into the sunlight if you see what I mean, but I’m confident we’ll get him there.

I also have some hope for Camellia, a kindred half-elf we took up with in the caves. I thought at first she and I might connect, but it seems she’s a typical highborn snob with too delicate a nose for the likes of us plebian Andorens, half-elvenness notwithstanding. Still she’s a fine fighter and does seem keen to slay demons at least. One thing that intrigues me: she’s in touch with the restless spirits of old Sarkoris, and I think that could play to our advantage.

In the streets of Kenabres we also stumbled across an encyclopedist, and for some reason she decided we were smart enough to merit her company, or perhaps peculiar enough to merit her curiosity at least. Mom, you’d love Nenio: she knows all the most useless trivia, and a few useful spells as well. She’s an accident waiting to happen but she’s hilarious. (Dad's thinking "not unlike someone else we know" right now, I can hear you.) Just need to keep her pointed at the enemy.

This one I think you’ll enjoy. Yesterday we were summoned in extremis to rescue a certified degenerate aristocrat—a Count from the bluest of Mendevian blood—because, I’m not kidding, he was partying so hard he didn’t notice the demon invasion. He’s just as bad as you’re thinking and a lot worse. On the other hand he’s an aasimar with some talent for divine healing and he really does seem to detest demons, so we’re keeping him on hand for now. I have to admit, he’s democratic about dishing it out. (And actually kind of funny sometimes but if the occasion arises don’t ever, ever let him know I said that.)

I should also mention the elf orphan, Ember. By my best estimate she’s three times my age but a child by elf standards of course, and has suffered so cruelly at the hands of the Inquisitors I’m afraid her mind has come a little loose. But if it’s flapping in the wind, the wind is blowing the right direction. Her apparently boundless forgiveness may at first seem symptomatic, but I see in it the inspiration of genius. And I suspect I’m not the only one. She is blessed with divine protection and while mindless of her own scars is keen to heal those of others.

I’m not sure why I saved the tiefling, Woljif, for last. Perhaps because I have more to say, and more yet to puzzle out on his account. He is the face of what Mendev has become: part human, part demon, and those parts at constant war. (I can hear you Zarin: “But is that not true of all of us?” - Fair enough.) I had to pull some strings to get him out of jail. He’s proved to be very handy to have around since then but I keep catching him looking antsy as if he’s going to ditch us at the first chance. I don’t think crusading is exactly what he had planned in life, and I don’t blame him. You would be shocked at how they treat tieflings here. There's a whole lexicon of terms for them.

Indeed he seems to have taken the abuse to heart. All his life he’s been told he’s demonic vermin, and he seems determined to live up to it. Not that he’s actually a bad person—no, I’m hesitating as I write this because that’s what I’m still puzzling out. He is a bad person, and though he’ll have you believe it’s Society that made him this way it is also out of a heart made black by greed and spite. But if my first instinct was to tell you he’s not a bad person, it’s because there’s something underneath the cunning, something he thinks he’s hiding but that’s obvious to me—a heart that's fighting back against the blackness. He has the hopeful look you get from a stray cat before it bites you. Like if he’s just given a chance, and a little food, maybe he’ll let his guard down. Ok, I know what you’re thinking—yes, I have a project. I just hope he sticks around long enough.

There’s a good deal more to tell, but I should rest while the ta fortress we’ve taken refuge in is relatively quiet. By the time this letter reaches you I’m certain peace will have been restored, indeed because this letter will not have reached you if not—so take heart that if you’re reading it, we’re already celebrating our victory!

All my love & hugs to you and the jerboas. With luck I’ll be home to play our Crystalhue duet, Dad, and yes I have been practicing.

Sia 🦋

[ratgingi]

Do you have any fun facts or headcannons about your ocs? You have really cool characters :DDD

THANK U ...... im grabbing you forcefully and sitting u down amongst my plushies to ramble at you

misc facts under cut :-]

- i dont really have specific ethnicities for most of the jack dlc cast, but exie + her sibling, cora's little brother jr, and margo are all mixed

- nobody knows why charlie never takes off his gloves. even lillith hasnt ever seen his actual hands. if you met him past a certain point in his life you just missed the chance i guess. its entirely possible that its just because he likes being mysterious about it

- murr and his brother atticus (who ive yet to. design and show off. dont worry about that) are twins and complete opposites personality wise, atticus is a very pretentious rich guy and lives in a different state. in murrs route there would be a scene somewhere where youd be able to videocall atticus, during which you and murr just get bullied for being poor like 30 minute straight

- outis' friend, stop, has been hit by cars on multiple occasions, and it absolutely will happen again. theres a margo end im working on in which you get to hit them with a car actually

- juniper is friends with ashton, kipper, and alma. they have a band together but its only for fun :-]

- cinder lives in a little house somewhat out of the way of town that she built herself and she has a massive garden that a lot of the flowers in her shop comes from. oopsie and kipper work for her and often get to visit her place to help gather flowers for the shop

- roe collects things he considers 'timeless', such as books, trinkets, and photos. his house has a lot of these things. also he likes birds. he has a friend who owns an aviary that he visits occasionally when he gets stressed

- when roe flips his head around in the morning to keep the sand flowing, it feels similar to how popping your neck does. however, much like popping your neck, if he is not careful about how he does it he can injure himself. and it also make a horrible popping noise when he does it

- margo did have a typewriter head for a short period of time but got bored of it and had her head changed to the bell. when she gets stressed and needs grounding she shakes her head around and it makes a loud bonging noise. it was already cracked like that when she got it

- continuing head talk, the part of outis' head that is damaged is not the main part but the reciever. the part of the reciever that allows it to hook onto the main phone is broken and doesnt allow it to stay in place for more than a few seconds. he often has to hold the reciever in order to keep it from dragging on the ground and getting further damaged on things, and he has a slight bit of hearing trouble

- michy likes to experiement with all kinds of fasion, which does include more masc styles sometimes. she absolutely rocks suits and likes ones that have silly patterns on them

- juniper befriends stray cats and brings them into the apartment building often to feed them and stuff. jackson lets his friends have spare keys to his place, so theres been multiple times hes come home to her having brought 3 random strays into his place to feed them leftovers from his fridge

- charlie is very strong, however lillith is the one who does all the heavy lifting around the morgue, usually because they volunteer to do so. they dislike showing off their strength in front of others but are genuinely stronger than pretty much everyone in jack dlc. jackson is a bit stronger than they are but they could easily kick his ass because everyone could

- three townies i havent talked much about are military, gym, and dancer. theyre a polyam couple that would appear across a few different routes, mili is a security guard with military style training, gym is a personal trainer at well. the gym. but theyre named gym because they also used to be a professional gymnist, and dancer is a professional ballet dancer. mili is a butch lesbian nd is very smart and scary but shes also pretty kind and mostly keeps to herself, gym is genderfluid, pansexual, and a bit of a snarky asshat who is big on gossip, and dancer is a transwoman whos very sweet but has a short temper much to her own dismay. dancer and gym are the other two townies who appear during kara's scene at the funfair

- i havent talked abt them yet so margos gingling a chameleon for a head, coras is gonna be either a rat or some sort of reptile, and alex + bernies is a two headed jackalope

[lieutenantfloyd]

MW2 men + General headcanons

Includes: Ghost, Soap, Alejandro, Price, Gaz, and Rodolfo

Ghost

Keeps a hello Kitty keychain in his pocket at all times (and can’t sleep without it)

Insists on getting stuffed crust every time he/someone orders pizza

Spends a lot of time daydreaming

Is always listening to music (It keeps him alert and helps keep his anxiety away)

Has bad sensory issues + ticks and intrusive thoughts

Hates cilantro (but doesn’t think it tastes like soap)

Isn’t allowed to use sharp objects in the kitchen

Sometimes eats toothpaste *as a treat*

Has a library card and only uses it to check out joke books intended for 3rd grader’s 

Never returns the books and now has thousands of dollars in late fees

Soap

His favorite food is cherry pie

 Eats multiple bowls of cereal a day (Price is becoming concerned)

Isn’t a huge fan of his Mohawk, but he thinks it makes him look tougher

Reads romance books in his free time

Meticulously shapes his eyebrows every few weeks

Drinks orange juice after brushing his teeth every morning

Spends way too much money on Marzipan De La Rosa + cries every time it breaks

Alejandro

Smells like vanilla, leather, and sage with a hint of roses

Keeps hard candy in his pockets at all times

Rudy is the only person he trusts to cut his hair

Lives on his family’s ranch outside of Las Almas

Frequently invites Los Vaqueros to his ranch and always makes sure they have a warm meal and a safe place to sleep

Comes from a long line of Vaqueros, and named Los Vaqueros in their honor

Gives great, albeit unsolicited, advice

His favorite song is California Love by 2Pac

Makes sure both TF 141 and Los Vaqueros know they can come to him for anything, even the most small of problems

Price

Has three older sisters

Is a natural ginger

Spent most of his childhood in Australia

Watches early 2000’s romcoms in his bunk when he’s deployed (and always ends up sobbing into his pillow)

Has a wide knowledge of Middle age and Saxon history

Loves a good mocktail

Reads a lot of Historical fiction

Has accidentally eaten dog treats (thinking they were cookies) on more than one occasion

His hat was a gag Christmas gift from Laswell but he thought it was serious + is his favorite gift he’s ever received

Dresses up as Santa every year and forces everyone to sit on his lap and tell him what they want for Christmas

Gaz

Didn't join the army when he was 18, and instead worked on yachts and charter ships for a few seasons

Struggles with self confidence + often feels like he doesn't belong with 141

Has very strong opinions on the PlayStation vs Xbox debate

Really admired Ghost, but is too nervous to tell him

His favorite video game is DBH

Is in a secret Book/Movie club with Price and Soap

Develops a crush on almost everyone he meets

Rudy

Has family in South Texas and spent a lot of time there as a kid

Has always dreamed of being a singer/songwriter 

Was a very shy/socially anxious kid (and still struggles with social anxiety)

Is a a massive soccer fan + was captain of the neighborhood soccer team

Growing up he spoke Spanglish at home. Which is why he doesn’t really have an accent despite understanding a lot more English than he speaks 

When speaking English he often trips over his words + has to ask Alejandro for the right word/translation

Is a follower, not a leader

is 4-6 years younger than Alejandro

Has several older sisters who helped raise him

First met Alejandro when he was 10-12 years old because he briefly dated one of Rudy’s sisters

After they broke up, Alejandro still came around to visit Rudy, and the two quickly became like brothers

Wasn’t interested in joining the Army at first, but Alejandro convinced him

[starags]

I need Bruno protection squad. Or at the very least protective sisters Pepa and Julieta. Like someone who's had a grudge against Bruno tries to blame him and Pepa and Julieta step in. Pepa has a huge storm brewing and Julieta is holding a frying pan (channeling Rapunzel).

Ohh I can see that.

After family heard why Bruno left, their guilt only grow and without any words spoken, they all decided to prove Bruno that they care. At first it was a little overwhelming for him – even before he left nobody was that nice for him. I can see Julieta cooking a whole lot of food just for him and Pepa looking at him and hugging him without any special occasion to check if he’s still here. I can see how whole family want to show him that he is wanted and trying to spend time with him. But personally Bruno loves the most the moments when his family confronts people in his defence.

There’s a lot of people, who future’s Bruno predicted and could hold grudge against, but after few confrontation with his family they started to understand that they shouldn’t hold grudge against messenger. Actually people stopped talking about Bruno after that one particular confrontation.

And nobody was really surprised seeing angry Peppa or Alma, or even Felix or one of the kids. But seeing angry Julieta – the warmest, the calmest person they’ve ever met – was the scariest moment in their entire lives. Even before she has raised the pan, they started to apologised and implied that of course they don’t think it’s her brother fault. (The rest of the family was watching with amused smiles.)

After that nobody is brave or stupid enough to badmouth Bruno. (Even if none of Madrigals isn’t nearby. They know that Dolores is listening.) And in the end they still don't talk about Bruno.

[magicalmadrigals]

Dos Oruguitas

The idea for this came about because it is my hc that “Dos Oruguitas” was a song Pedro wrote for his babies while Alma was still pregnant with them and it gave me the idea to explore how it came to be! This is my first time writing for Pedro and Alma, so I really hope that you like it!

“Perfecto...”

Nodding to himself while sat at the piano, Pedro picked up his pencil and made a note of the chords he had just played before he forgot them. He had been working on this for a while now, a song for both his wife and their unborn babies, and he had crumpled up more sheets of paper than he cared to admit, but it seemed as though it was all coming together at long last and he was so excited.

Music was a passion of his, it had been since his seventh birthday when his pa surprised him with the most beautiful guitar he had ever seen, and there was no greater blessing than being able to share that with the love of his life. Alma had inspired all his songs since they met, there was so much to adore about her, and he always made sure to incorporate her into them in any way he possibly could.

It had been about six months since she told him their family would be expanding by three, a shock to say the least, and a good chunk of his time since then had been dedicated to working out which sort of song he wanted to compose to mark such a momentous occasion. He knew it needed to be something beautiful and memorable, something truly special, and he was confident he had achieved that.

So lost in thought, he failed to hear his wife making her way up behind him and almost leapt from the stool when she wrapped her arms around his neck. He felt more than heard her chuckle as she pressed her lips to the top of his head and he smirked, reaching up to take one of her hands in his own and kiss the back of it. “You know you’re meant to be resting.” He murmured gently against her skin.

“Ay, Pedro,” She tutted. “You’re one to talk, sitting here at three in the morning...”

“I know, but I couldn’t sleep. I wanted to get this finished.”

“Can I ask what it is? I think I deserve to know since this room has seen more of you than I have over the past few weeks. Remind me who you’re married to?”

Turning in place on the stool, he looked up at her for a moment before bringing a hand to her stomach and stroking his thumb against the proof of their babies. “I am married to Alma Madrigal, the worst reina del drama the world has ever seen and the most beautiful creature I have ever met,” He revealed. “How was that?”

“Truthful, if not a bit offensive,” She laughed. “So, are you going to tell me?”

He gave her an overexaggerated groan. “Why can nothing ever be a surprise?”

“Because, I think you and I have had enough surprises to last us a lifetime.” She patted her bump, smiling when one of the babies moved underneath her hand.

“Si, I think you make a good point,” He nodded before taking his hands from her waist and turning on the stool slightly, the two of them sharing a smile when he patted his knee before she walked around him and sat down on it, wrapping her arm around his shoulders to keep balanced. "You should know, it isn’t perfect.”

She shrugged in response. “Let me hear it and decide that for myself.”

He didn’t even try to resist the urge to kiss her, slipping his arms tight around her for a moment and leaning in to capture her lips with his, and he revelled in the gentle hum that came from the back of her throat as his lips clung to hers when he started to pull away. His love for her was unparalleled, he knew of no other word to describe it, and he was determined to remind her of that fact all his life.

He wasted no time in beginning to play the song he had composed once he was sure she was comfortable, allowing her to sink back against his chest while she listened to him play, and he rested his chin on his shoulder as his fingers danced up and down the keys. He risked a glance in her direction every now and again and the permanent smile that appeared to be etched into her face delighted him.

“I know this has been a work in progress for a while now, but that’s all I have for the time being,” He explained when he reached the end and leaned back a bit, letting his hands settle on the underside of her bump as her head dropped back against his shoulder and she looked up into his eyes. “It must be perfecto - you and our babies inspired me to write it - so I want to take my time with this, amor.”

Reaching up to rest a hand on the side of his neck, she traced the line of his jaw with her thumb before pulling him down into a chaste kiss and brushing the end of her nose against his when she peeled back. “I think it is muy hermosa as it is,” She told him in a voice no higher than a whisper. “It only needs some lyrics and then it will be as perfecto as all the others. You can do that another time though.”

“Should I take that as an order to come to bed?” He asked with a smile.

“Si,” She rose from his knee. “I would like to sleep beside my husband tonight.”

He reached for her hand then, kissing her knuckles. “Your wish is my command.”

Standing from the stool, he put an arm around her waist and started leading her across the room to the door before opening it and allowing her to step out ahead of him. He held back for a moment, looking at the piece of paper still sitting on the piano, and smiled before closing the door and following her to their bedroom.

This one, much like the people he had written it about, was going to be special.

There was no doubt in his mind about that. 

No doubt whatsoever. 

[virgil-is-a-cutie]

I should make an angsty oc who's the child of Bruno who's younger than Mirabel by a few days who lives in the village with their mom.

Like Bruno got married and such and had a kid, but his wife disliked how controlling Alma was so once Bruno "left" she and her child moved to the village and ONLY interact with her husband's family on rare occasions but she lets Maribel visit as much as she liked

Bruno believed his mother and sisters didn't like his wife because of her being 10 years his junior that he met from a different village where she was visiting an old family friend in the Encanto. He believed his family disliked his wife because they met when she was 20 and he 30 and married 2 years after meeting and had their child 3 years later.

Truthfully Alma didn't like his wife because it did have to do with the age a bit, that and the wife made them not look "perfect" with her mannerisms and introvert personality

The gift their child got was the ability to either see the age someone dies when they touch them or the ability to hear people's thoughts but only if they're 5 ft or less close to people. (The kinda opposite of Edward Cullen)

I'm genna work on the oc later today

[xanzusx]

Ahhh I'm feeling emotional. 2021 was a difficult year for most of us so having the opportunity to interact with wonderful people in the Moomin fandom truly made most of my days better. Thank you for all the laughs, all the support, the sweet comments and crazy ideas.

I always joke about how joining the fandom was a mistake because 1. I spend a lot of time in here and 2. It possessed like 90% of my brain. But genuinely? Joining it was the best thing that could have ever happened to me, and this is where I want to go with this post: The canon media isn't the reason why I'm so invested in this fandom (I haven't even read all the books!), it is the people I met here who have made my experience here the best thing that could have happened to me in 2021, and the reason why I would love to stay here for even longer.

I don't usually tag people in tagging games, so I want to use this special occasion to do a BIG post mentioning almost all the people I'm talking about.

This is LOONG so I'll use a Read more link. Please do tell me if you feel uncomfortable being mentioned so I can edit this

@krillbeans KRILL! One of the funniest persons I have ever met, multitalented and incredibly creative, it's like a party every time you are around. If I talk to you I take my tea with no sugar, the sweetness of your words and voice is more than enough

@floretfall Floret <3 <3 The sweetest person with a chaotic side that only a few fortunate get to know, the perfect combination! You have to know, your nice tags have made the day to a lot of us, you are truly wonderful!!

@regina-dei-fiori Reggieee, same braincell comadre. Embodiment of Wholesome and an incredible friend, I -need- to eat tacos with you at least once in my life. And your poetry! Las veces que lo he leído me llegan al alma, cañon (also, did you know you were one of my first followers? <3) 

@iemondropsss Eden! You must be the friendliest person I have ever met, I seriously admire you So Much. The fandom wouldn't be the same without you, your creations and your vibes bring happiness to anyone who gets to cross paths with you. 

@hanekdrawsmoomins Hanek dearest, I LOVE your sense of humor, you truly make me laugh like no other person, and I LOVE^2 your art. I'm so lucky to have such an outstanding artist and amazingly sweet person like you as a friend *sobs* ily

@laughinsohard1 Happy birthday Uncle!! I'm forever grateful to you for including me in the Church, I wouldn't be here without you. Great memes and amazing song recommendations are your specialty

@drmaroon Dez! You are so chill that, istg, I still can't believe that you were part of the most chaotic times in the church hahaha you are awesome! Also an incredible artist, your OC is so cuteee and you have a sharp eye for earthy color palettes

@phoena12 BaBean, my face when near you - >🥺 no joke, I couldn't stop smiling for a whole day after reading your fluff fics (coughcough andyoursmutworks cough) I'm a simp for you, you incredibly talented sweetheart /plat you deserve all my hugs

@laecandraw Shibumi!! Supportive like no other and incredibly talented artist. My longest fanfic exists thanks to you *hugs* I would have left Tumblr long ago if you hadn't been here, really, just seeing your username in my notifs is like a serotonin shot. TQMuchisimo!

@finsterniswastingtime Having you as a friend is scientifically proved to be good for your health. Positivity in bold and very wise human being, great conversations are always assured with you. Your analysis of the characters 10/10, your soothing voice 100/10, your vibes 100000/10

@hunsakura I just looove your energy Hunsa, your excitement is contagious in a positive way. You are also SO creative, I could go forever about how awesome your OCs are and how much I smile when I read your tags

@stormy-nights-are-best I feel like we have been friends even if we have never talked in dm hahaha, you are just that amazing! Your art is like a tender hug to my heart and I smile enormously when I read your fanfics because I can FEEL the emotional connection between the characters

@annzybwrites I joined Tumblr so I could follow you so that says a lot! I have thought of you as an AMAZING writer since ever, but when I heard your voice I, no lie, I felt the excruciating need to run to your country, hold you by the shoulders and scream. Goshhh, your talent truly has no limits

@mumrikpaws Mums! Amazing music taste and even more amazing art, I know we haven't talked a lot but I still wanted to include you because you are a HUGE inspiration as an artist. Knowing someone with similar opinions on fandom stuff is so liberating

@smokeys-house Smokey, QUEEN, you feed my Tumblr blog with the best quality posts. I'll keep repeating it, if there was a zombie apocalypse you would be the first I would ask to join my team, please teach me how to be as cool as you 🥺

@a-beautybeast Alex <3 I always have LOTS of fun when we talk in the LCL (lmfaoo, I'm using this name because it's harder to guess) it's odd how we haven't known each other for long yet I would kill to give you a hug/pos you are just so cute aaah

Mutuals who I haven't interacted a lot with, but always give me serotonin with their notifs and amazing art ❤️❤️❤️ whenever I log in and see your posts I feel so happy that I felt the need to include you so I could thank you for being awesome, you are so talented! @hamuletta @nintooner @chlo-le-mouton @gummydamie @littlemystolemypie

+a few friends who preferred not to be mentioned/ have a private account but who I appreciate a lot ❤️.

I began writing this a few months ago so unfortunately I had to delete a few mentions because they already left the fandom or have inactive accounts :') Oh well, let's see what this new year brings us!

(gosh I really hope I haven't forgotten anyone. If I did I'm sorry ;;)

[ironmandeficiency]

soft? (1/2)

pairing: horacio carrillo / reader

word count: 922

summary: carrillo? soft? no one would have guessed, especially not steve and javier.

req: I can't take off my mind the image of the first time that Javi and Steve see Carrillo being soft with his wife in a ceremony or on another occasion, and I totally imagine these two being like ?????? *insert confused faces here* KkkkkkkkKKKK Anyway, have a good day :)

a/n: i only tweaked it a teensy smidge bc it’s been a while since i rewatched narcos and can’t recall ceremony etiquette atm. decided to make it two parts, one with steve seeing soft!carrillo and the other with javi

warnings: implied smut if you squint, one christian thing

when it came to finding escobar, most were resigned to not taking days off. whether someone was talking about the search bloc or american dea agents, they didn’t see a difference in the sentiment. it would get to the point where both organizations had to force their men to take days off to keep them from burning out.

on the chopping block today were steve and your horacio.

your husband came home upset about the forced day off the night before, hating the fact he felt sidelined and nearly discarded. but with a gentle smile and a loving kiss, you begin to remind him what sort of perks await him with an entire day off.

when you’re laying in your bed, horacio’s arms right around you, you continue giving him the logic behind his government-assigned day off. “even god took a day of rest after creating the world, mi alma. you are not above the needs of man. you need to be taken care of, too.”

horacio’s reply is cheeky, a grin making another rare appearance on his lips. they seem to happen a little more around you, when he’s safe at home. “is that not why i have you, amor?”

“you know exactly what i mean, horacio.” you can feel the heat in your cheeks at his words and with your face laying on his chest, you know he feels it too. even after being married for six years, he still has the power to make you flush like he did on your first date. “let’s go to lunch tomorrow. our pantry is almost bare, and we won’t be buying groceries on an empty stomach.”

he presses a firm kiss to your temple, arms pulling you even more on top of him. “anything you want, dulzura.”

horacio will only slightly regret this decision the next afternoon. see, he didn’t know that agent murphy was also designated this afternoon off when he agreed to go out in public with you. after a few hours of blissful peace, he was disrupted by a shout of his last name by a too familiar voice. he knew you heard it, your head snapping around to try and find a familiar face amid the sea of people yet coming up empty.

desperately he wanted to ignore it but when the blond american agent made his way in front of the two of you, he was screwed.

there was a woman that horacio didn’t recognize on murphy’s arm, but common sense told him she was the man’s wife. vague memories spring to mind of conversations about her and the baby they adopted and thanks god that he remembers names or else this would have been awkward for everyone involved.

after some pleasantries and small talk, horacio “reminds” you of the next thing on your day’s to-do list (you knew him well enough to know he just wanted to leave, list be damned) with a soft voice and a hand on the small of your back. steve looked all too thankful for the out and while you and connie made plans to hang out soon, your husbands just stood waiting on you both like kids whose moms started talking in the grocery store aisles.

“it was nice to meet you both, have a good evening!” you called to steve and connie as you and horacio walked away, your husband’s hand on your lower back slightly guiding you.

“the same to you!” connie’s reply was almost lost to the noise of the city streets but you caught it in time to throw a wave behind you.

when you turned back around, horacio leaned and pressed a kiss to your temple without a word, squeezing you closer into his side as you walked. his job taught him that the spoken word meant nothing if you didn’t back it up with your actions, and this bled over into his personal life. he wasn’t the type to often use his words to reassure you of his dedication; his love was shown through acts of service and, when alone, physical affection.

the fact you were so casually being affectionate with carrillo, one of the most feared and respected members of the search bloc, threw steve for every loop imaginable. connie noticed her husband’s perplexion and asked if he was okay, wondering why the seemingly normal encounter left her husband with a massive question mark above his head.

“that was colonel carrillo, the one i’ve told you about.”

the blonde woman was not impressed with his explanation in the slightest. “and? is he not allowed to show affection to his wife when off the clock?” steve would offhandedly mention some things that happened at work if they weren’t too graphic or a matter of security, and he had described the colonel’s unbendable determination to free his country from pablo escobar and others like him.

steve sighs and shakes his head at the subtle hint. “you wouldn’t get it, honey. the guy’s usually got a stick so far up his ass that he has to pull it out through his mouth to beat people with it!”

the turn of phrase took the conversation on a detour, connie now laughing at the absurd image of the man she just met beating people with his ass stick. steve lost his train of thought enjoying the moment of peace that came with her laugh.

he was so going to tell javi about this gentle carrillo shit. what happened to the stick up his ass? just wasn’t natural.

carrillo taglist: @pedropasscals @princess76179 @whovianwar @jedi-mando @torradoza @themarcusmoreno @obirain @likeshootingstarsinthenightsky

[tiffdawg]

Could you do a HC of Javi finding out that reader has been learning Spanish for him?

Oh god, now you’re speaking my love language 🥺

Rating: T | Warnings: a little sexually suggestive language at the end

Every March, Javier’s family gathered in Laredo in honor the matriarch of the family. That year, his great aunt was celebrating 95 years of life. But that wasn’t the only reason it was a special occasion. It was also the first time he was bringing a significant other since his failed engagement. You just happened to be the only person he deemed worthy of introducing to his family in years.

It was quite the relationship milestone for someone like Javier Peña. Much to his own surprise, he was nervous. He didn’t doubt that his family would love you as much as he did. You were clever and charming with a smile that could steal hearts. You certainly had his.

But it had taken him so long to open up to you and to commit to a real relationship with you. For over a year now, he’d kept you all to himself. He liked that. When it was just the two of you, there was no pressure and no expectations. And there certainly weren’t questions about marriage or kids or any of that shit. Chucho knew better. The rest of his family… well, they could be unpredictable. Especially after a few rounds.

The introductions went well, and everyone seemed quite taken with you from the moment they met you. It was like his family knew that if Javier had decided to bring you around, you were someone special.

What he didn’t expect, was to leave you for five minutes to grab a couple fresh bottles of beer and return only to find you chatting away with his aunts as if you were old friends. In Spanish.

Javier froze, mouth agape as he watched you converse easily. You stuttered over a few words and messed up one particularly tricky conjugation, but otherwise the language flowed easy from you. Like it came from your heart. 

When you tried to take your drink from him, he held on, catching your attention. “¿Hablas español, mi alma?” he asked with an accusing look.

You batted your eyes at him, feigning innocence even as you bit back a guilty smile. “Si.”

“Since when?”

You moved closer, turning your body away from the crowd so that it felt like it was just the two of you. “You know how I’ve been working extra late the last couple of months? Well, I lied. I’ve been taking a Spanish class at the community college.”

“Why?”

You looked at him like he should know the answer. “Because I love you,” you supplied after a minute. “And you and your family speak Spanish and I– I just thought that if I was ever going to be part of your family that I should too.”

At loss for words in any language, Javier cupped your face and brought your mouth to his, showing you the depth of his appreciation and affection for you.

A chorus of oohs from his aunts that left Javier blushing.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. I could’ve helped you practice for class,” he teased.

You leaned closer so that only he could hear your sultry whisper. “Maybe you could help me study tonight. I learned a few special phrases just for you.”

You whispered something in his ear even he wouldn’t dare repeat out loud before leaving a searing kiss on his pulse point that had his heart hammering against your lips.

“Vamonos,” Javier said excitedly as he pulled you away from the party, both laughing the idiots in love.

That night, Javier finally understood why te amo was such a sacred phrase.

[cyraclove]

“I hit you with my car and was the only one to visit you in the hospital” with modern BotW Zelink would be amazing :') (you can choose who gets hit and who visits! it works very well both ways)

Link stared into the windows of the flower display, his eyes traversing the plethora of multicolored blooms for the hundredth time. He’d been standing there for a solid ten or fifteen minutes, the tinny muzak of the hospital’s gift shop threatening to drive him out of his mind. The furled petals of a bouquet of yellow roses shook softly as the refrigerated case’s motor kicked on, looking almost as though they were laughing at him.

He decided against those.

Swallowing hard, he absentmindedly rubbed his palms together as he took stock of his ribbon-bound options yet again.

Sweaty. Why was he so sweaty?

Just pick some, you idiot, barked a voice in his head.

“Excuse me, sir,” said a foreign female voice that startled him from his thoughts, “Do you need some help?”

He turned to see an older, brunette woman with the roundest eyeglasses he had ever seen smiling pleasantly at him, her hands clasped behind her back. ‘Alma’, her nametag read.

He shook his head, scrambling for words. “Oh, uh…no, ma’am,” he stammered, attempting a sorry excuse for a smile, “I’m just…browsing.”

“Are you looking for something specific?” She asked, peering into the cooler. “We have flowers for just about any occasion. Flowers can say a lot just on their own, you know.”

How about some that say, ‘Sorry that I hit you with my car, complete stranger,’ he thought to himself. Link chuckled uncomfortably, knowing that he was definitely going to have to lie to this woman. “I’m here to visit my, er, friend. She was…in a car accident.”

Read on AO3

Alma nodded solemnly, clucking her tongue. “Oh, how terrible. I’m very sorry to hear that. People really can be such careless drivers these days, can’t they?”

“Yes,” he said through his teeth, “they certainly can be.” His eyes were drawn to a bunch of sickeningly pink ‘It’s A Girl!’ balloons, a nearby oscillating fan causing them to bob violently every minute or so. The screech of the colliding mylar made his stomach churn, and he silently wished for death.

“Well,” Alma began, a cool burst of air escaping the display when she opened the door, “I’m sure that we can pick something perfectly lovely that’ll have your friend feeling better in no time.”

The woman pursed her lips as she surveyed the case, humming thoughtfully. She eventually gathered up a bouquet of light blue lilies, their pointed petals tipped with white.

“What do you think of these?” she asked, “We just got them in from Necluda. This variety is called the ‘Silent Princess’, I believe.”

Before he could answer, Link’s phone began to ring, the shrill tone making him jump a bit. He grinned sheepishly at Alma as he fished it from his pocket, groaning inwardly as soon as he glimpsed the screen. Tapping his thumb on the red ‘ignore’ button, he tucked it away.

“Those are great,” he replied, “I’ll take them.”  

Alma smiled brightly, motioning for him to follow her the checkout counter. “Excellent,” she chimed, “Can I put them in a vase for you?”

His phone rang again. Link felt his eye twitch.

“Uh, sure. I mean, yes, please.”

“Would you like to add anything else? We have these precious sand seal plushies that would be just ador—”

“Just the flowers will be fine, thank you,” he said, more hurriedly than he’d intended. Snatching his phone from his pocket, he turned away from the counter and held the cell to his ear.

“What do you want?” He hissed.

A jovial cackle came from the other end of the line.

“Well, if it isn’t CHU’s resident asshole.”  

Link pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger as he inhaled deeply. This was, decidedly, the last thing he needed right now.

“You called me, Revali,” he snapped, “Do you actually need something, or did you just want to be a dick?”

“You wound me, Link,” the other young man drawled, “Oh, no—wait. I’m not the one who’s wounded, am I?”

Link clenched his jaw, the snip of Alma’s scissors on the flowers’ stems suddenly and inordinately loud. He glanced up at the woman only to have her swiftly look away, feigning focus on her task.

“You’re quite the hot topic on campus,” he heard Revali sigh, “I’m almost envious, what with the way everyone’s got your name in their mouths.”

“Who’s talking about it?”

“Who isn’t talking about it? Link, you hit a woman with your car. In the quad, for the love of Hylia. How’d you even manage that, anyway?”

“Okay, look,” he nearly seethed, “It was not in the quad, it was the intersection next to the quad. And it was an accident! I had the right of way, I didn’t see her, and the—the walk sign wasn’t even on!”

“Was she on the crosswalk?”

Link balked as he conjured up the memory from the other day. It had all happened so fast; one minute he was putting on his turn signal, and the next a young blonde woman was sprawled out on the road in front of his car. “I mean…well, yeah, she was on the crosswalk.”

“Then she had the right of way. Pedestrians always have the right of way, genius.”

“I’m hanging up now,” he muttered, disconnecting the call to the sound of Revali’s raucous laughter in the background. His near equal on the university archery team, Revali and Link were self-proclaimed rivals; well-known ‘frenemies’ to the rest of their teammates. While Link undeniably respected him for his skill, he could also be a real pain in the ass.

Releasing a weighty sigh, he faced the counter again, only to be met with a piercing glare of disapproval from the woman standing behind it. His blood ran cold as he and Alma locked eyes, hers narrowed in wordless acknowledgment of his sin. Approaching the register, Link flipped his wallet open and removed his credit card before sliding it toward her across the grey acrylic.

“Ring up the seal.”

-

The ride up the elevator was gruelingly slow, the jarring ding! of the door opening on what seemed like every damned floor made Link’s head throb. The air inside the garishly carpeted box was stuffy and stagnant, the scent of antiseptic stinging his lungs with each inhale. He looked down at the overpriced stuffed animal in his arms and frowned, its judgmental button eyes boring into him. The sluggish chug of the ancient machinery as it whined to a stop was nauseating, jostling him just enough to make him dizzy.

He finally stepped off and onto the tenth floor, referring to the clumsy, smeared numbers written on his palm in red pen. Link wandered down a white linoleum hallway, the idle hum of incandescent lights buzzing overhead as he peered at room numbers; the water in the vase sloshed softly as he went. With the plush tucked under one arm and the flowers cradled in the other, he raised his fist to knock tentatively on a door marked 1003.  

“Come in,” responded a quiet voice from the other side. Link instinctively held his breath as he pressed down on the door handle, inching it open.

The room was cold and clinical, painted and furnished in subtle greens and dull blues. Aside from several dim wall sconces, a large westward-facing window adorned with heavy curtains was the only source of light. Pushed up against the center of the back wall was a slim hospital bed, and in it sat a woman that Link had seen only once before—unconscious on the asphalt in front of his sedan. Her eyes flickered up toward him as he entered, darkening with realization mere seconds afterward.

“What are you doing here?”

Link froze, his thoughts scrambling as both his legs and tongue refused to move. All he could do was stare at her, eyes trained on the clunky, neon-green cast that enveloped her left arm. A purply-green bruise around the size of golf ball sat just below one of her eyes, swallowing the tiny freckles that peppered her cheeks. Her bottom lip puffed out, an angry cut splitting it vertically down the middle.

She looked awful.

And she had somehow managed to be strikingly beautiful at the exact same time.

“Well, I came to, uh,” he started, his words leaving his mouth before he had time to appropriately process them, “I came to see…how you were feeling.”

The young woman scoffed, turning her head towards the window. It was then that Link noticed the sutures running along the underside of her collarbone. Guilt roiled in his stomach for the millionth time that day as she began to speak.

“Let’s see; I’ve got bruised ribs, a couple of chipped teeth, and a concussion. Oh—and my arm is broken,” she replied in a biting tone, “So, I’m not great. Thanks.”

After a moment, he took a few tentative steps nearer to her bedside. He watched her gaze gradually slide in his direction, meticulously studying his movement. Link sighed, looking down at his feet with a shake of his head. His chest felt suffocatingly tight, as though someone had his lungs trapped in an ever-tightening vise.

“Look, I know that nothing I say right now is going to make any of this less shitty,” he told her, “and I’m sure that I’m the last person that you wanted to see today. That being said, it would’ve been even shittier of me to not at least try and come apologize to you. Because I messed up, big time, and I’m really, really sorry.”

The young woman said nothing in response, absentmindedly picking at her fingernails as she considered his repentant declaration. Her brows knitted above her sea-like eyes, consternation marring her delicate features. Link’s resolve just about shattered when he saw the impending tears brimming at her waterline.

“And I brought you this seal,” he blurted out, placing the patchwork creature on the bed near her legs, “You just seemed like, uh…a seal person.”

To Link’s relieved surprise, the corner of her mouth quirked up as she looked at the stuffed animal. Picking it up and setting on her lap, a watery giggle burbled from her chest as tears slid down her cheeks. The chuckle soon morphed into a full-on laugh, a bright, contagious sound that filled the room. Unable to help himself, Link smiled, and was soon laughing with her despite not entirely knowing why.

“It’s cute,” she sniffled, wiping at her eyes.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, it’s really cute. Thank you.”

They smiled through the remnants of their laughter as it faded out, leaving the two in silence again. The setting sun bathed the room in rosy amber and cast fractured, pinkish shadows on the walls. Unsure of what else to do, Link set the bouquet on her curiously empty bedside table. It was then that he paused to take stock of the rest of the room, realizing that it did not resemble what he imagined the hospital room of someone who’d just been hit by a car to look like.

It was devoid of any other flowers save the ones that he had brought, and missing were cards and balloons from well-wishing friends. He furrowed his brow, and his heart sank when the most likely reason for the lack of gifts dawned on him. She must be in Central for school, he thought, and all of her friends and family were wherever home was. Or, even worse—they were around, but couldn’t be bothered to come and pay her a visit. Turning back to face her, he gestured to her plaster-clad arm.

“No one’s signed your cast,” he noted.

She gave him a queer look. “What do you mean?”

“Uh, that’s the thing to do isn’t it? Have your friends write their names on your cast? And put, uh, I don’t know…stickers on it.”

She shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never broken an arm before,” she replied, shooting him a sly look. “I haven’t got many friends, either, I guess,” she added under her breath, face falling.

“Do you have a Sharpie?”

“Oh, um, I think I have a few in my backpack. It’s just over there, on that chair. Should be in the little side pocket.”

Link made his way over to a grey pleather armchair and unzipped the pocket in question, reaching inside to pull out several permanent markers. Returning to the bedside, he held them out to the blonde, presenting her with her choice of color; black, red, or blue. She looked up at him from beneath delicate lashes, grinning as she selected the blue one. She extended her arm, and he sat on the edge on the bed as he gingerly braced it with his free hand. After popping the cap off with his teeth, he scrawled his name on the lime-colored cast as gently as possible.

“Link,” she murmured when he’d finished, “I just realized that I didn’t even know your name until now.”

It was true. He knew her name, simply because he’d had to ask for it at the front desk, but they had never been properly introduced. Not surprising, considering the circumstances under which they came to know one another in the first place. He’d never seen her around campus before the other day, leading him to assume that they must not run in the same circles. That had to be the case, because hers was not a face that he would’ve forgotten.

“My name is Zelda,” she said, “Even though you probably know that already.”

“I do,” he admitted, “but it’s nice to officially meet you. Zelda.”

Her eyes crinkled at their corners when he reached out to lightly shake her fingers that poked out of the cast. He stood up from the bed, shooting her a quick smile before crossing the room to return the markers to her bag.

“Thank you for the flowers,” he heard her say from behind him, “Oh, and for my seal.”

“It’s the least I could do, I think,” he responded, “I mean, considering.”

“Still,” Zelda went on, “It was kind of you to come. I just…I appreciate the company. It was getting a bit lonely here.”

Link stilled at that. So, she really was alone. He almost didn’t want to believe that not even her own parents had bothered to stop by, that not a single friend had sent a card. It had to be a mistake; there was no way that such an enchanting person had no one to call on.

“The, uh, food here must not be very good, huh?” He tried.

She cocked a brow at him. “What?”

“Hospital food. It’s notoriously bad,” he clarified, attempting to mentally signal to her that he was, in fact, going somewhere with this. “If you want, I could bring you something. Later, I mean, for dinner. I think I probably owe you that, don’t you?”

It could have been the sunset, but Link swore that a blush darkened her cheeks ever so slightly when she smiled at him, nodding. “That sounds great, actually.”

“Alright, it’s a date, then,” he announced without thinking, wincing immediately afterward, “I mean, uh, sounds like a plan.”

“Here, let me put my number in your phone,” she offered, holding out her good hand. He fished it from his pocket and handed it to her, watching as she tapped in her contact info with her only her index finger. After a short discussion about what kind of food she’d like to have, they said their goodbyes with the promise of seeing one another later that evening. Link closed to door carefully behind him, glancing back into the narrow window to see Zelda admiring her flowers.

He shuffled into the elevator, wedging himself in between a group of nurses and weary-looking man with a fussy toddler on his hip. It was humid and it was loud, and anyone else might have wanted nothing more than to go home and go to bed. Link stared at Zelda’s name in his phone as the elevator made its agonizingly long descent back down to the lobby, already counting the minutes until he’d get to ride back up again.

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I adored this prompt so much, I made it its own thing on AO3. Thank you for the ask! This was so much fun!

[rainy-rose]

Apple and moon for the ask game!

Hullo and thank you for the ask ^^

🍎 apple: let’s talk about friendship in your wip. do you have any favorite friend/platonic dynamics? any friendships gone sour?

I admit i struggled a bit with this one :(. Friendship is a theme in all three of my WIPs, but apparently I suuuuck at describing them lol :)))

I don't have a favorite one, but I am bit partial to Takeru and Vincent from Silver Serpent.

They are the heads of their respective departments, criminology for Takeru and weapons for Vincent. They met each other when they were somewhere in their twenties and got partnered up for a mission. They are both quite silent and brooding people and they felt comfortable with each other pretty quickly. The fact that Takeru has Akumu (a fear controlling youkai) with him all the time did not push Vincent away, as it did with other people.

Vincent is currently in a messy divorce (been at it for 10 years, only he knows how) and a recovering addict, so Takeru (and on occasion his cousin Rika) has seen it all.

Because Takeru is constantly worried about his friend they have a "secret handshake" for lack of a better term :)). When they meet, they grab each other's wrists so that Takeru can check Vincent's pulse. Takeru also can detect when somebody lies to him, so they both had to learn how to deal with that. Takeru will always push for the truth (especially if Vincent has been away for a while) and Vincent has specific words, phrases, glares he uses to get his friend to pause and wait.

Do their coworkers ship them? Yes! Would anyone dare tell that to their face, specifically to Takeru? Nope! Welll, maybe Alma would... if they catch either of them in the right mood.

I will also tackle a friendship that soured cause the idea popped into my brain on my way home from work :))

Rio and Mentris from The Kilveh's Inheritance.

*long sufferign sigh* Okay, so! These two are messy and I still don't know how they will end up.

They were friends before plot, quite close friends. Borderline friends with benefits territory - something - power imbalance be damned territory. Mentris is a royal, they are the ruler of Isled while Rio is a palace guard. Correction, Rio was Mentris' personal guard and one of the few Kilveh that did not treat Mentris either like a child or as if they were made of precios stone one should not even dare look at, let alone touch. So yeah, tehy were close.

It suddenly stops and starts souring 10 years before plot when Rio vanishes randomly. It sours further on, during plot, after they come back, changed, and refusing to give an explanation. Mentris is not innocent is this either, they hurt Rio, badly! Mentally not phisically... although they do scream loud enough for Alurac (Mentris' older sibling and captain of the royal guard) to come barging in with 10 to 15 soldier after them, so there is that :)).

The last thing I wrote with them (whIch I already dread editing, lucky me I still have a looong way until then) - a few months ago - ended with Mentris plagued by guild and an unconscious and mentally unstable Rio (not that they were very stable when they came back, but that is beside the point) being taken away to either his room or some sort of cell *glares at Alurac cause I am in need of specifics*.

So yeah... Messy.

🌙 moon: do any of your OCs have dark backstories or secrets they’re trying to keep?

Sort of... they are more like secrets that the immediate family knows, but not the rest of the cast.

Silver Serpent:

Elise - she had two blood siblings. The records now show only one blood brother and one adopted brother

she is part of the reason why one of said blood siblings died

Takeru - when he was six he accidentally killed one of his family's elderly servants

Akumu was more or less at fault and he knows that Takeru is still affected by it

Scales and Petals

Axel - not dark, but he doesn't like people knowing that he is in love with Bolin

October themed asks

[asknarashikari]

Fourze is Ten! One minific of the KRC having an anniversary party please?

Tenth anniversary kitaaaaaaaaaaaa! Happy tenth to our best boi Gentaro and his crew the KRC!

“Gen, are you ready? It’s almost time for us to meet the others.”

“Yeah, just a sec!” Gentaro called back. “Just fixing my hair!” Kengo chuckled as he watched Gentaro rub the pomade on his hands and brushing his fingers through his hair, molding it into that pompadour hairstyle that he was still so fond of. “Alright, I’m ready!” Gentaro said, rubbing off the excess pomade onto a towel he tossed into the hamper. “Let’s go meet up with everyone!”

Kengo and Gentaro left their apartment, walking hand in hand as they made the short trip up to their alma mater. They fortunately lived only a few minutes away- convenient when Gentaro would wake up late as often as he did- and soon, they came upon that bridge over the stream that lead up to campus. 

The place where they had first met... the place where they reunited when Kengo returned to life... the place where they had their first kiss...

“This spot is pretty important to us, isn’t it?” Gentaro asked, suddenly stopping before they could cross it. 

“...Yeah, it is.” Kengo admitted. “I don’t think any of us would be who we are today... if we hadn’t met here...”

Gentaro gave Kengo a bright smile before leaning forward to kiss him. Kengo grinned, happy that this time, no students were around to take photos of them smooching in broad daylight. 

They drew away after a moment, then continued their way, soon arriving at AHS. The campus was mostly empty and quiet, save for the distant sounds of some of the sports clubs having their weekend practices. They entered the main building, and Gentaro lead them to the wing with all the club rooms- including the one he now served as the faculty adviser for.

“You guys are late!” Yuuki exclaimed from the hallway, where everyone was already waiting for them. 

“No, we’re not, you guys are just early,” Kengo retorted back at him. 

“Just get the door open already, these things are heavy!” groaned Shun, his arms laden with bento boxes wrapped in elegant furoshiki. Ryusei and JK also had their arms full of them, as well- a total of eight between the three of them, one for each of them.

“Alright, alright!” Gentaro laughed, fishing out his key to the club room. 

The new KRC club room looked like an otaku’s dream, with Kamen Rider memorabilia lining the shelves, posters of Riders lining the walls. The KRC flag hung proudly in the front of the room, and under it was a large photo board tacked full of photographs, not only of the different incarnations of the KRC since its founding, but of them with the very heroes they celebrated- from the newest group in Touma and his friends, to Hongou Takeshi, Kamen Rider 1 himself. Traces of Gentaro’s students littered the room- a letterman jacket hanging off a chair, science books stacked on the table, sheet music buried under a pile of make-up. 

However, what they had made a beeline for was an old, beat-up locker in a shadowed corner of the room. Kengo dialled in the combination and opened it, revealing the gateway to the KRC’s actual club room- the new and improved Rabbit Hutch. 

Yuuki, ever excitable, ran ahead of her friends through the tunnel of light, reaching the door to the Rabbit Hutch before anyone. She let out a squeal of delight as she entered, leaving the door open for everyone else to follow after her.

“Wow... that never gets old, huh?” Tomoko gasped in awe as she entered, immediately catching sight of the window through which they could see their home planet. 

“Yeah, it never does,” agreed JK, solemn for once, even as he struggled to put down the bento boxes that he was made to carry. “What are in these things, senpai? Why are they so heavy?”

Miu grinned. “Our food, of course. It’s a special occasion, so I decided it was well worth it to spend on only the best for all of us.” 

“...Do we want to know how much one of these costs?” Ryusei asked, his eyes narrowed at his senpai.

“Yeah, don’t ask,” Shun laughed, shaking his head. “Just know that she had me drive all the way to Nikko just to get them.”

“And, of course... what’s a celebration without a little booze?” Miu added, somehow producing a bottle of champagne and glasses. She looked at Kengo. “Well, if it’s fine with Kengo, of course...”

Kengo rolled his eyes. “As if I could stop you even if I wanted to, Miu-senpai,” he replied. “Besides... I think we can let this one slide for today. It is a special occasion, after all.”

“Yup! Ten years! Me and Ryusei have been kicking butt for that long!” Gentaro exclaimed. “And it’s been so awesome to be friends with you guys for so long too!” 

“Hmm. I guess it hasn’t been so bad, these ten years.” Ryusei smirked, wrapping an arm around his wife, who smiled up at him as she rubbed absently at her round belly. 

“Let’s have a toast, shall we?” JK said, plucking the bottle out of Miu’s hands.

“Wait, wait!” Yuuki exclaimed, making everyone look at her in confusion. “We haven’t done it yet! We can’t start celebrating without doing it!” They continued to look at her in befuddlement, until Yuuki put her arms up over her head in a certain, familiar pose.

Everyone started laughing in realization. “...Oh, oops!” Miu exclaimed. “I can’t believe we forgot about it!” she laughed.

“Well... Gen, you know what to do.” Kengo smiled at his partner encouragingly. 

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Gentaro grinned, feeling his body do the pose automatically. “UCHUU....”

“UCHUU....” 

“KITAAAAAAAAAAAA!”