#hope you had a great st Patrick’s day and I hope your friend had a great birthday!!!!

[thealternativebanana]

Omgg you're also my favorite Irish mutual!! Happy Saint paddy's!!! ☘️🍀

Too late you said what you said and I’ll never forgive you 😔

[twistedtummies2]

The Wearing of the Green - Chapter 2

This is the continuation of my (belated) Event Story Special for St. Patrick’s Day of 2023. It’s inspired by the Disney movie “Darby O’Gill and the Little People,” but also features references and homages to numerous other things related to the leprechauns. Some are more obvious or more obscure than others; let’s see how many you guys pick up on. ;) As a reminder, while kinks are involved in this story, they don’t really become the main focus until the fourth and final chapter. With that said, if you don’t like belching, stuffing, vore, macro/micro type stuff, and so on, probably best to just steer clear. Here’s hoping you all enjoy!

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“Well, don’t just stand there with yer face wide open!” laughed the Prince of the Leprechauns. “Come in, both of you!” You and Grim could hardly decline the invitation. The pair of you stepped out of the hall, and into the throne room. The leprechauns swarming around you both parted like the Red Sea; they looked up, chattering to each other in Gaelic. They seemed just as impressed with the two of you as you were at the sight of so many little people standing all around you. “Shut the door!” bellowed Bannor O’Brien from his throne. A moment later, you heard a scraping sound and looked back to see a huge stone roll into place, as if by magic, sealing the entranceway. You might have felt some perturbation at this, were you not so thoroughly spellbound. Carefully, yourself and Grim waded through the room and up to Bannor’s mighty throne; Grim’s nose twitched as he eyed the leprechauns with great curiosity, while you took care not to step on any of the little people’s twinkle-toes. Soon, both yourself and Grim were standing before Bannor’s throne. Patrick and O’Reilly moved aside, each standing by one of the suits of armor that flanked the golden chair. “Welcome, my friends!” Bannor greeted warmly, holding out his hand casually. “Welcome to my home!” A bit taken aback by the casual display - aside from Kalim, you had never known anyone with such status who behaved so informally - you held out one of your fingers, which Bannor shook warmly. He then did the same to Grim’s outstretched paw, the feline monster purring happily. “Thank you…ah…Y-Your Highness,” you stammered uncertainly. “Ha! No need for such formalities,” barked Bannor, waving a hand about carelessly. “Just call me Bannor, mates!” “Nya! Thanks for havin’ us here!” meowed Grim. “This place is AMAZING!” Bannor cast a rather dull look around the gilded hall and shrugged nonchalantly. “Eh. It’s a decent enough home,” he said, then waved one hand flippantly. “Sit down, both o’ ye!” You and Grim looked about, but you saw no chairs, aside from O’Brien’s throne. “Over there!” giggled Bannor, pointing to a spot behind you both. You both turned…and gasped in wonder. A massive wooden sea chest - almost as long as you were tall - sat there, its lid thrown open. Inside was a collection of sparkling white diamonds. “Whoa,” you whispered, while Grim eyed the gems with stars practically in his eyes. “Oh, just shut the lid,” chuckled Bannor, seemingly completely numb to the priceless trove. “It’s only an old chest full o’ jewels, after all.” “It’s…more of them than I’ve ever seen before,” you chuckled breathlessly, even as you obediently dropped the lid and latched the chest shut. “I don’t think even Kalim has that many in storage!” exclaimed Grim. “Well, let’s not exaggerate,” you mumbled.

Bannor smiled almost bashfully. “Me people took that off a pirate ship that wrecked on the shores o’ this island, many years ago,” O’Brien said, then gestured to another corner of the room. “Ship’s gun, too.” Yourself and Grim looked, and whistled, impressed at the sight of a large, brass-lined cannon, covered in ornamental inscriptions. “Wow,” you said, in much the same tone you’d used upon seeing the chest of diamonds. “That’s pretty cool!” Grim remarked. “It is, isn’t it?” chuckled Prince Bannor. “And the throne?” you wondered, gesturing to the golden seat. “Why, goats an’ monkeys! Do ye think I’d dare sit on a pirate’s throne?” huffed Bannor, then puffed out his chest with pride, patting the back of the seat. “This seat has been passed down through me family for generations! It once belonged to a mighty king, who lived here on Sage’s Island centuries ago!” “You don’t say!” Grim exclaimed. “I do!” grinned Bannor, and began to point to other treasures in the room. “The same goes with that sword, the one with the ruby-studded handle! Oh! An’ over there, ye’ll see the golden cup he used at his own feasts, to give toasts to his knights!” “Fascinating,” you couldn’t help but say, sincerely. “Nya!” cheered Grim. “And look! LOOK THERE! THERE IT IS!” You looked in the direction of Grim’s pointing paw…and not even you could stop your heart from going still. Close to one of the suits of armor, you saw it: the Leprechauns’ Crock of Gold. A huge, black cauldron, filled almost overflowing with golden coins. It was not the Crock itself, nor even the amount of gold inside of it, that made it so breathtaking to see: it was something about the gold itself that was so enthralling. It seemed to shine with an unearthly, otherworldly glisten, unlike that of any other form of gold you’d seen in your life. There was no doubt about it: this was fairy gold, not the sort of thing you could find almost anywhere else. “It’s…beautiful,” you whispered, and a dazed, dreamy sort of smile came over your face as you looked around. “All of it…it…it’s more splendid than I ever could have imagined!” Bannor chortled, seemingly amused by your use of the word “splendid.” Patrick, O’Reilly, and at least thirteen of the other leprechauns who filled the underground palace all giggled alongside him in their silly, sneaky way. “Wait till Ace, Deuce, and all the rest hear about this place!” grinned Grim. “Ha Ha! They’re gonna be SO jealous!” Bannor’s smile became a wry smirk, and he shook his head, wagging a finger at yourself and Grim. “Oh, I’m afraid ye won’t be doin’ that,” he said, slyly. “Once yer here, there’s no going back.” For a few moments, both yourself and Grim just stared at Bannor. “...What?” “Faith, did I stutter?” Bannor snickered. “But…why can’t we go back?” “Tis a rule among my people,” shrugged Bannor. “Ye see, mortals aren’t supposed to enter the fairy mound to begin with. Not unless it’s under…certain circumstances. And once they come here…well, fer lack of a better way o’ puttin’ it, ye become part o’ the kingdom. Same way those diamonds ye be sittin’ on are.” The moment Bannor said those words, you and Grim hopped to your feet, expressions stern. “We are NOT staying,” you said, firmly. Bannor giggled. “Ye don’t have a choice,” he almost teased. “We’ve got to go back, we can’t stick around.” “What part of ‘ye don’t have a choice’ is so hard to understand?” “But we have to see our friends!” you insisted. “Aww, don’t worry about any of ‘em, you two,” drawled Bannor, swiping a hand through the air and leaning back against the back of his throne. “They’ll give ye a grand wake an’ forget all about it!” “NYA! TAKE THAT BACK!” snapped Grim, angrily. “Calm yourselves, now, calm yourselves!” soothed Bannor, seemingly confused by the show of fury. You glared, and clenched your fists. The studying you’d done the afternoon before with Ace and Deuce returned to your recollection. Grim growled, seemingly thinking the same thing you were. The trance-like state he had been in…the way time seemed to flash by…the strange urge to keep going…suddenly, it was all making sense… “Let me ask you a few questions,” you began, coldly. “What did we ever do to you?” “Nothing,” replied Prince Bannor. “Who saved your life when Ruggie threatened you?” “You two did.” “And who decided not to ask for anything in return, when that happened?” “You two did!” “And where do you think you’d be if we hadn’t been there?” “In that hyena lout’s stomach, most likely,” chuckled Bannor, and gave a warm smile and a friendly nod. “You’ve both done me a great service, truly, ye have.” “And so you put the Come Hither on us,” Grim concluded for you both. “That’s some way to pay us back!” In an instant, the leprechauns around you all began to call out angrily, booing and cursing crossly at the insults being hurled at their ruler. You and Grim jumped at the chaotic shouts and snarls. You recovered first, meeting their glares with a defiant look of your own. “Your people better watch what they say,” you warned, and rounded back on Bannor. “I speak Gaelic, too, you know. Now you listen to me-!” “NO, YOU LISTEN TO ME!” Grim yelped and jumped back. You jolted back as well, startled, as Bannor suddenly leapt onto the arm of the great throne, his face filled with irate fire. He looked not only upset, but rather hurt. He took a few breaths before explaining the situation… “Patrick was there, near Octavinelle, when he heard the bad news.” “Bad news?” both yourself and Grim repeated. “Aye,” nodded Bannor, his fury giving way to sadness. “‘Our home is gone, Grim. What else are we supposed to do? Camp out in the woods?’” Your expression shifted as the pieces clicked and realization dawned on you. “Our dorm got flooded,” you murmured. “That’s…that’s why you’re here. You heard about our dorm being ruined, and-” “-And the minute I heard you were both in trouble, I swore I’d take ye out of it,” huffed Bannor, and crossed his arms over his chest, sticking his nose up in a haughty sort of way. “An’ if ye be the fine, upstandin’ pair I think you are, ye’ll be showin’ me a little gratitude, instead o’ flyin’ off the handle!” Both yourself and Grim shared a look, then looked back at Bannor. It was clear that the leprechaun prince hadn’t heard the part about the damages being repaired. Obviously, this was all a giant misunderstanding…now, the issue was making that point apparent. “Nya…I…think you’ve made a mistake,” Grim started. “No mistake,” smiled Bannor, seemingly shifting his mood quite quickly. Perhaps, like pixies, leprechauns were so small there was only room for one emotion at a time? “I saw what happened to yer house; I couldn’t leave ye both worryin’ about havin’ a roof over yer heads.” He then grinned and extended his arms once more. “Besides, life here is far better!” he declared. “Ye can say farewell to the troubles o’ the world outside! There’s nothin’ but fun an’ diversion in me palace!” “Well, as nice as that sounds,” you started to say, “We really don’t-” “I’ll take real good care o’ both o’ ye! Fear not!” declared Bannor, clearly not listening at all. “I’ll see to it ye have the best bed, the finest food, the-” “Food?” meowed Grim. You groaned internally. “Oh, boy,” you muttered. “Is there fancy tuna?” Grim asked, hopefully. Bannor smirked, and in response, he snapped his fingers. A can of gourmet tuna immediately popped into existence in Grim’s paws. With a squeal of joy, Grim tore open the can and began to slurp up the fishy stuff inside. “Nya!” he cheered, happily. “This place is the BEST!” The Prince and many of the leprechauns chortled. You could only facepalm. “Well, this is gonna make things harder,” you grumbled into your fingers. Nobody seemed to notice. “Patrick!” called the Prince. “You and O’Reilly, please, show our new guests to their room. Make certain they be comfortable!” “Right away, Your Highness!” Patrick saluted, and he O’Reilly called for you and Grim to follow them both. Grim happily waddled after the leprechaun duo, still slurping up his tuna. You sighed and followed tiredly, as Bannor struck up the bagpipes, and the other leprechauns once again began to dance behind you as you wandered deeper into the fairy mound’s depths. It seemed clearing up this whole mess wouldn’t be as easy as you hoped. You just hoped Malleus, Ace, Deuce, and all the rest wouldn’t be TOO worried in the meantime…

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“IT’S INCREDIBLE!” Silver and Sebek each flinched slightly as Malleus Draconia’s bright green eyes flashed in their direction. Clouds outside the dorm cracked with lightning, the billowing hues of stormy gray indicating Malleus Draconia’s protective fury as he paced fretfully around the lounge of Diasomnia. The whole dorm seemed to thunder with the dark fairy’s wrath and frustration. “Six whole hours, and not a trace of them?!” Malleus hissed, gripping his spinning wheel staff tightly in one black-clad fist. His fangs were bared and gritted. “They couldn’t have vanished into thin air!” “M-My liege, we just don’t know how it happened!” Sebek pleaded. “Please, it is my failure, Prince Malleus! I should have been more attentive to my duties as a guard! To think I’d lose track of that simple human-!” At the last two words, the dragon’s eyes seemed to blaze with sudden anger. Malleus silenced Sebek with an authoritative SLAM from his spinning-wheel-topped staff. The large, brawny crocodile-fairy-man winced and let out a puppyish sound. “Don’t be hard on Sebek, Malleus,” Silver spoke up, and took a step forward, catching the half-dragon’s attention. “It’s all my fault. It was my shift when they disappeared.” Malleus looked each of them up and down…then sighed. He seemed more relaxed, but he really wasn’t. A thin wisp of smoke left his mouth, indicating the level of stress he was undergoing, even as he turned away thoughtfully. Though his green eyes swam with emotions, his voice, posture, and all the rest of his demeanor remained composed and calculating, disguising the level of anxiety in his heart. “It is neither of your faults,” he said, at last. “My apologies, both of you. It’s just that I am…deeply distressed by this turn of events.” “You aren’t the only one, Great Malleus!” Sebek said. “And you should not apologize! I should be the one begging your forgiveness for my ignorance!” “I can’t understand it,” Silver muttered, crossing his arms and turning his head downwards in thought. “They were both in their beds last night when I checked them last…I was even able to stay awake all evening, with Sebek and Lilia’s help! One of the three of us should have known something!” “If not the three of you, I certainly should have,” Malleus intoned, narrowing his eyes and looking back at the pair. “Are you SURE you searched everywhere?” “Yes, yes!” insisted Sebek, nodding his head emphatically, and began to count off spots on his fingers. “I personally searched every room in this dorm, went out into the forest of thorns, peeked into the cellars…” “And what about the rest of the campus?” Malleus demanded to know. “The courtyards, the other dorms?” “I checked the main castle of Night Raven,” Silver said. “Lilia said he’d check the other dorms, ask all of their housewardens and their aids for help. He hasn’t come back yet.” “Lilia, I am sure, will be quite alright,” Malleus muttered, and ran his free hand along the curve of his wheel-shaped staff topper. “But where has the Prefect gone? And where is that rascal, Grim? It’s not as if they could return to their own dorm…it was my duty to ensure their safety, as they trusted me to provide them sanctuary. The idea that anybody, or anything, could somehow plunder a treasure I was guarding is deeply perturbing.” Silver and Sebek shared a look. The two had their differences, but each was absolute in their devotion to Malleus. To Sebek, he was an idol, and to Silver, he was an older brother. In both cases, they could tell his simmering anger was more than a dragon’s feelings about its hoard. Malleus was worried sick; he was, perhaps, even a little afraid. “Cheer up, Malleus,” offer Silver, with one of his usual, eternally-tired-looking smiles. “Maybe Father will have something for us when he gets here.” “Indeed!” agreed Sebek. “After all, if the Vice-Housewarden has not returned, it means he might have stumbled across a clue!” “Indeed I have!” “YAGH!” Sebek might have been taken aback, jolting back with comical startlement, but both the dragon prince and his gray-haired guardsman seemed unconcerned. Malleus and Silver turned around, totally unfazed, to find Lilia floating upside-down in the center of the room. “Father, you really should be more careful with your entrances,” said Silver. “You’ll give Sebek a heart attack.” “If Sebek’s heart were to attack him, I’d consider that an entertaining scene,” teased Lilia with a boyish wink. “I am glad to see you have returned, Lilia,” Malleus greeted, still holding firmly to his composure, now that he’d calmed down. “I take it you’ve brought good news?” “I’ve brought news,” responded Lilia, with an upside-down shrug. “Whether it’s good or not, I’m not so sure.” He paused, looking at a watch he wore on his wrist, and added, “They should be arriving any moment now, on that note.” “They?” Malleus returned, arching one eyebrow. Just then, footsteps could be heard racing down the hall. Lilia dropped down to the floor as all four of the Diasomnia students turned to see who had arrived. Malleus’ green eyes widened ever so slightly as he saw Ace and Deuce trot into the room. “Lilia!” gasped out Ace. “Come on, you…you could have waited…!” “You’re strong young men,” Lilia smirked back. “I figured you’d be used to exercise.” “We’re not used to getting it in Diasomnia,” huffed Deuce, as he and Ace came to a halt, pausing to catch their breath. “We were w-worried we might get lost.” “Yeah!” panted Ace. “And then who’d be here to tell you about-?” “Trappola. Spade.” Both Heartslabyul students stopped…and each gulped nervously as Malleus Draconia approached them. The prince of the fae never simply walked; he strode across the room, his horned shadow falling across the shorter students, his expression filled with an icy sense of contemplation. Despite all that had gone on at Night Raven in recent times, one had to be a strong spirit indeed to NOT feel a slight quiver when in the presence of the black dragon. “H-Hello, Malleus,” said Deuce, politely. “You look good,” Ace added, with a worried sort of smile. “Uh…n-new horn polish?” Malleus blinked. “You’re very perceptive, Trappola. And I appreciate the compliment.” Ace’s smile fell. “Uh…wa-wait, I…really?” Deuce growled and nudged his side to shut Ace up. Malleus smirked slightly, but his sign of humor faded fast. “Lilia indicated that you two are the source of news,” he said. “Do you two know where the Prefect and Grim have disappeared to?” “Not exactly,” Deuce said with a shake of his head. “But we DO think we can help.” “How?” asked Sebek, with a slight huff. “What use are you two puny humans to our-?” “Sebek,” hissed Malleus, warningly. “Trappola and Spade are exceptionally close to the Prefect. That, alone makes them more useful than ‘puny humans.’” Sebek subsided. “Glad somebody’s noticed,” chuckled Ace, then went on more seriously. “Honestly, that’s not the reason we think we can help. It’s because we saw the Prefect last night, after they’d gone to your dorm.” Malleus eyes widened and his mouth parted slightly. “You did?” “Yeah,” Deuce nodded, with a somber look of his own. “We saw Grim running into the forest off campus. The Prefect was following close behind.” “Why didn’t you stop them?” Malleus frowned. “Well, we didn’t really know what they were up to,” Ace shrugged, and gave a weak smile. “Besides, they were in YOUR dorm, and we figured if anyone could help them out, it would be you. So we didn’t think to get involved.” “Especially considering we were nearly late for curfew as it is,” mumbled Deuce. Malleus narrowed his eyes and then looked over at Lilia Vanrouge. “Why did you not simply tell me this yourself?” “They insisted on informing you personally,” Lilia shrugged. “Is that so?” murmured Malleus, then looked back at the Heartslabyul duo. “Might I inquire as to why?” “Because if the Prefect is in danger, we want to be there to help get them out of it,” Deuce said, and smirked, pumping one fist into another. “Besides, you guys may be tough, but we aren’t exactly pipsqueaks!” “Not to mention helping a prince who’s also a dragon has some definite perks,” muttered Ace, only to yelp as Deuce gave him another, much more aggressive nudge. “Well, at the very least,” murmured Silver, turning his head down thoughtfully, “We can guess they are off campus.” “But what could have possessed them to go out into the woods in the first place?” wondered Sebek. “And why have they not returned?” Lilia added, his usual chipper smile fading. A look of concern filled his eyes as he looked back at Malleus. “There are several dangers in those forests. We’ve found that out many times. There’s all kinds of things that could go wrong for those who wander into them unwisely.” “They didn’t simply ‘wander’ in,” insisted Deuce. “Grim looked like he was HUNTING something; like he had a purpose in going into those woods.” “Yeah, and the Prefect’s waaaay smarter than that,” agreed Ace. “There had to be a reason they went out there, especially when they were in this dorm to begin with.” Malleus hummed and nodded thoughtfully. He turned away from the group, strolling up to a nearby window and glaring out at the storm outside. “Troubling,” he said, after a few silent moments. “Very troubling…” “You think you know what happened?” Lilia guessed, knowing that tone in the dragon’s voice. “I have something of an idea,” Malleus replied, then looked back at Ace and Deuce. “I presume you two have learned by now of the fairy ability known as ‘The Come Hither’?” A certain chill seemed to fall over all present. Naturally, Silver and the fairies knew of the concept, and as Ace and Deuce had, indeed, recently learned about it… “Who would put the Come Hither on the Prefect?” Silver asked, aloud. Malleus turned away again, narrowing his eyes, as if looking to someplace beyond the horizon. “I have a rather sneaking suspicion I know,” he said, ominously. Equally ominous was the soft, duplicitous chuckle that seemed to echo through the room, followed by a familiar voice, reciting an old verse… “‘Up the airy mountain, down the rushy glen, we dare not go a-hunting, for fear of little men.’” A second voice joined in: “‘Wee folk, good folk, trooping all together; green jacket, red cap, and white owl’s feather!’ Shishishishi…ah, gotta love the classics…” “Ashengrotto. Bucchi,” greeted Malleus, crisply, noticing their reflections in the window as they entered the room behind the group. “I take it the two of you have come to the same conclusion I have.” All eyes turned towards Azul and Ruggie. The pair were leaning on opposite sides of the main entrance to the lounge, their faces set in matching, sneaky smiles. “Well, it wasn’t exactly a hard answer to come to,” shrugged Bucchi. “What are you two even doing here?” Deuce demanded. “Why, when Lilia was checking the dorms, naturally we heard the news!” Azul chortled airily. “And I bet you both realized it was a good opportunity, huh?” Ace guessed. “You betcha!” grinned Ruggie with a wink, swishing his spotted tail. “Opportunity?” Silver asked, seeming confused. “What opportunity?” “Indeed. What exactly is going on, Prince Malleus?” Sebek asked Draconia. “I believe the Prefect and Grim have been summoned to a fairy mound by the Little People,” Malleus responded, rather matter-of-factly. “The Leprechauns?” Lilia inquired, eyes widening. “But why?” “The Prefect saved one of them from Ruggie the other day,” replied Ace. “I prefer to say they swiped my lunch, thank you,” pouted Ruggie. “I can think of a few reasons, under those circumstances, why the Little People would put the Come Hither on the Prefect and Grim,” Malleus said, pacing before the window. “Whatever the motivation, one thing is certain: they won’t be coming back. Not by their own volition, at any rate. Mortals who enter the fairy mound are not allowed to leave.” “Well then!” chirruped Azul, smirking and adjusting his spectacles, “I say the only thing to do is form a rescue party to BRING them home.” All present raised their eyebrows at Azul. “You? Rallying guys on a rescue mission?” droned Ace. “Did the Underworld just freeze over?” “I see no other means to fix the problem,” Azul shrugged. “After all, it is doubtful that the Leprechauns will release the pair on their own accord, and I doubt anyone here wants to see them lost forever. As representative of the Sea Witch’s benevolence, isn’t it right and proper that I assist in getting them back?” “You know, you aren’t fooling anybody,” Deuce said, blandly. “If you want the gold, you can just say so.” “You wound me,” Azul said, clapping a hand to his chest. “I assure you, any treasure that I might receive is simply incidental. I’m not COMPLETELY heartless, you know!” “Neither am I, but I’m not gonna pretend!” Ruggie cheerily declared, lifting one hand. “I’m mostly in it for the money, and I have no problem admitting that this time!” “Well, that explains why you’re here,” smirked Lilia, crossing his arms, a twinkle in his eyes. “Perhaps you’re hoping to get a chance at another snack, too?” “I won’t complain if I do,” Ruggie replied with a toothy grin. “Make no mistake, I DO care about those Herbivores. I don’t want to see them hurt…buuuut it’s a chance to get some gold that primarily has me interested.” “You both seem to be under the impression you’ll be allowed on some expedition,” Malleus said, darkly. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of this business on my own.” “Now hold on!” Ace said, suddenly stepping forward. “I’m not sure you going alone is such a good idea.” Malleus narrowed his eyes as a slithering sort of smirk slid across his lips. He seemed amused as he moved closer to Ace, peering down at him with lime-toned eyes. “Are you doubting my abilities, Trappola?” he purred like a hungry cat. Ace gulped and backed up, holding up his hands placatingly. “No, no, n-nothing like that. Easy there,” he chuckled nervously, and gathered his voice to explain: “All I’m trying to say is that there is strength in numbers.” “Ace is right,” Ruggie nodded, and moved closer as well. “I’m not super strategic or anything, but if you go alone, you have to deal with all and any problems the leprechauns have to throw at you by yourself. And I’m guessing that if you’re here and not already just going there, there’s gotta be a reason. You should have some guys with you to draw fire, so to speak.” “Not to mention, you ARE a prince of the fae,” Azul added, and stalked forward to join the pair. “I have no doubt you could decimate the entire fairy mound, if you wished…but I imagine that would have some sort of repercussions for fairy-kind, wouldn’t it?” “Let us help you,” Deuce finished, earnestly. “The Prefect is our friend, too. If there’s anything we can do, we want to do it.” Malleus scanned the faces of the four. He paused, humming thoughtfully at the back of his throat. “On the one hand, two of you have transparently ulterior motives. The other two are hardly the most powerful mages of this school, and there are few obstacles I cannot conquer.” He smiled slowly. “On the other hand…you raise excellent points. Simple, but excellent. And I imagine if I refuse, at any rate, at least a couple of you will follow regardless. Very well. You four, at least, shall accompany me.” “Allow us to accompany you, too, My Liege!” came Sebek’s predictable bellow. “No,” Malleus responded, with a firm shake of his head. “I have a plan for how to make this happen. These four will be all I require for said plan to work.” He then looked at Lilia. “I need you, Silver, and Sebek to watch over the dorm in my absence. You three will be in charge till I return.” “You can count on me,” Lilia promised. “I never doubted that,” Malleus said, with a mild sort of smile. “The rest of us will need to go back to our own dorms to square things with our housewardens,” Deuce pointed out. “Or, in my case, my Vice-Housewarden,” agreed Azul. “So!” Ruggie chirped, clapping and rubbing his hands together. “After we do that, what do you want us to do, boss?” Malleus blinked blandly. “Boss?” he repeated, as if the word were somehow unfamiliar to his tongue. “Uh…well…yeah, like…oh, never mind, you’ll just question it more,” muttered Ruggie. “When do we leave?” Ace asked. “Tonight,” Malleus said, and a slippery smile crossed his face as he flourished his cape and turned on his heel, beginning to march off. “Meet me back here in the lounge before sunset. Do whatever you need to do before then…” He paused, turned back, and narrowed his eyes at Azul and Ruggie. “...And bring NOTHING with you but yourselves and whatever devices you wish to use for spellcasting. I shall take care of the rest.” “You got it!” Ruggie grinned with a salute. Azul simply gave a mysterious smile and bowed his head respectfully. “Good,” Malleus sniffed, and turned away once more to continue on his way. “And one more thing, gentlemen: I hope none of you have a problem with wearing green.” All four of the fellow rescuers blinked, clearly completely befuddled by that parting remark. “Green?” Ace and Deuce mumbled to each other. Lilia giggled and grinned, flashing his tiny, sharp, needle-like fangs. “You’ll see,” he sang, and shooed the quartet out of Diasomnia. Then, Vanrouge waved for Silver and Sebek Zigvolt to follow him. They had preparations of their own to make…

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“UUUURRRRP! Nyaaaah…breakfast was sooo good! I still feel stuffed!” “You said that about dinner last night earlier.” “Well, it was true. Hey, what do you think is gonna be for lunch?” You sighed through your nostrils, not giving Grim an answer. You were laying down upon the large, magnificent bed the leprechaun prince and his servants had set up. Apparently the bed had come from the same pirate’s galleon as the cannon and chest of diamonds Bannor had shown off before. The frame was gilded, and the green-shaded sheets, blankets, and pillowcases were all made of the softest and finest materials. The texture and warmth was amazing…yet your expression showed little care for the fancy perfection beneath your back. Grim sat up beside you, one forepaw on his little fuzzy paunch, the other helping to prop himself up. He blinked his huge turquoise eyes as his fiery ears and forked tail twitched curiously. “Minion?” he meowed. “What’s the matter?” “Maybe the fact we’re trapped here against our will, Grim?” you drawled back. “Hey, it’s really not that bad!” Grim grinned. “The food has been awesome, the bed is nice, there’s all this cool stuff down here…I mean, I was kinda upset at first, too, but-” “Human beings - and you, too - need bitter with the sweet,” you said, and rolled your head about to look at Grim. “When I was very young, back in my own world, my grandpa told me he knew of only one person, in all the universe, who was happy altogether: the town fool.” Grim blinked. He seemed confused. You sighed through your mouth this time, then sat up and smiled wearily down at him. “Let me put it this way, Grim: if you suddenly had the ability to eat only the best tuna, and nothing else, day in and day out, how long would it be till you got bored of it?” Grim opened his mouth, looking like he was about to insist that would be never…but then he paused and cocked his head, closing his jaws again, pondering the question. “Well…I love tuna…but I guess I wanna eat other things too, even other non-super-fancy things.” “Exactly,” you nodded, then smirked. “Besides, if you stay stuck here forever, how are you gonna show off your skills as the Greatest Mage in the Universe, huh?” Grim gaped at you, as if you’d just suggested murdering someone with a spork, and then glared seriously. “Minion,” he declared firmly, in a deeply solemn voice, “We need to get outta here.” You rolled your eyes and let out an ironic sort of chuckle. “Agreed,” you nodded, and your own expression turned serious as you looked away thoughtfully. “I just don’t know how we’ll do that, yet. I’ve been trying to come up with a plan, but nothing in my head works.” “You’ll figure out something,” Grim smiled encouragingly. “You have to! The Great Grim cannot be denied his place in the Mage’s Hall of Fame!” Before you could respond to that, the sound of tiny footsteps marching towards the room you and your cat-like friend occupied inside the underground palace entered your ears. In a hushed voice, you leaned close to Grim and went on. “For now,” you decided, “The two of us should just play along. Act like nothing is the matter, and we’ll see what we can come up with. Got it?” “Not a problem,” Grim promised. You hoped Grim would be as good as his word. Then, you turned to look towards the door, plastering the most cheery, innocent smile on your face as you could. The door opened and Bannor entered, flanked by Patrick and O’Reilly. “Top o’ the mornin’ to ye both!” cheered Bannor. “You only saw us a little while ago, Bannor,” you chuckled, and the laugh was sincere. “True, but I’m the prince. If I want to say good mornin’ to ye twice, I’m goin’ to,” Bannor said, puffing out his chest with pride. You somehow felt that couldn’t easily be denied, so you did not respond to the statement. “What’s up, Bannor?” mewed Grim, and his eyes brightened as his ears perked up and his tongue swept across his fuzzy little lips. “Is lunch ready already?” “Do you EVER think of anything else, besides your stomach?” O’Reilly frowned. “Is there something more important to think about?” Grim asked, tilting his head. O’Reilly facepalmed. Patrick rolled his eyes while Bannor chuckled. “Faith, lunch won’t be fer another hour,” the Prince answered. “I came because I wanted t’ know if the two o’ ye would be joinin’ us fer the celebration this evenin’?” “Celebration?” both yourself and Grim asked aloud. “Aye!” grinned Patrick. “The Celebration o’ the Wearin’ o’ the Green!” “The Wearing of the Green?” you repeated, blankly. “Ah, bein’ mortals, I suppose ye wouldn’t know,” chuckled Bannor, and cleared his throat before explaining. “Ahem…according to leprechaun legend, many many moons ago, the first King o’ the Leprechauns had to face a deadly foe: a rogue Banshee, who was threatenin’ our people.” “Nya? What’s a banshee?” asked Grim. “A dangerous ol’ fairy hag,” said Patrick, gravely. “Banshees are harbingers o’ doom; whenever death is comin’ for a person, they howl an’ cry to signal the end. Wherever a Banshee goes, a storm follows close behind.” “Normally, they’re menacin’, but harmless on their own,” added O’Reilly. “But THIS ol’ crone was a terror: stealin’ every leprechaun colony’s crock o’ gold, and summonin’ death an’ terrible storms against any who opposed her.” “So,” Bannor elaborated, stepping forward to bring attention back to himself, “The First King o’ the Leprechauns arranged a palaver with the wicked hag. Banshees, ye see, are created from tears: all the tears o’ mortal sufferin’. Tears they were, tears they are, and tears they will be in the end.” “An’ they can turn back to tears at any time they wish!” piped up O’Reilly. “Helps ‘em to hide,” added Patrick. “Oi, now! Who’s tellin’ the story?” huffed Prince Bannor O’Brien. His lieutenants mumbled apologies and ducked their heads. “Anyway,” Bannor sighed, and smiled with pride as he retold the victory of his ancestor. “The King met with the witch in a private spot in the woods. He offered a bargain to the Rogue Banshee: if she would show him how she turned to tears, he would give her all the treasure in his palace. The Banshee fell for it! She changed right then an’ there into a pool o’ tears, …and while she was naught but water, the King summoned one o’ his guards, who had been hidin’ in the undergrowth. The leprechaun guard dropped an enchanted pinecone into the pool, then hastily covered it all up with mud an’ dirt. The power o’ the pinecone ensured the Banshee would never escape! Over the years, that wee pinecone - watered by the magical tears o’ the Rogue Banshee - grew into a magnificent tree.” Bannor paused, as if to let all that sink in, before giving his conclusion: “The Wearin’ o’ the Green is a special holiday for us leprechauns! We wear our best and greenest garments - the color o’ the magic pine tree - as we celebrate the triumph o’ life an’ wit over death an’ treachery.” “That’s a fun story!” Grim remarked. “Glad ye think so,” Bannor nodded, nearly knocking his own crown off his head with his exuberance. “And I guess tonight is the night you all have this celebration?” you presumed. “Aye!” Patrick called out. “Every year, we gather to dance an’ feast under the stars, dressed in our finest!” “Don’t you dance and feast all the time?” Grim meowed. “More or less. But not in our finest,” winked Patrick. “Will all three of you be attending?” you asked. “Well, naturally, as Prince, my job is to oversee the festivities,” said Bannor. “However, me lieutenants sadly won’t be joinin’ the fun.” “Alas, no,” sighed Patrick. “I’ve been assigned to watch the stone door to the Palace, to make sure an’ test any possible intruders.” “Test?” you repeated, softly. “An’ I,” O’Reilly went on, the leprechauns seemingly not noticing your questioning tone, “Am to lead the guard in fendin’ off any who trespass on the fairy mound, to make sure none of ‘em ever even get inside.” “We’re also to make sure you two can’t leave. So don’t get any foolish ideas o’ tryin’ to get away while the party’s underway!” scolded Patrick. “Ye can’t go a certain distance from the fairy mound as long as His Highness’ Come Hither is in play.” “Besides, where would ye go home to?” Bannor added, in a soothing, slightly sad sort of way. “We tried to tell you before!” Grim exclaimed. “Our home isn’t-” “-Anything, compared to this, I’m sure!” laughed Bannor, lifting his hands up in a calming way. “I know, I know, I’m far too generous!” “You have no idea,” you muttered to yourself. “So!” Bannor grinned, clapping and rubbing his hands together, eyes bright and freckled dimples merry. “Will ye be joinin’ us?” “Well, the way I see it, we might as well,” you said. “I mean, if we’re going to be here for a while, why not?” “That’s the spirit!” Bannor boomed, and whirled about, swirling his cape theatrically as he looked at Patrick and O’Reilly. “See what we’ve got in stock from that ol’ wardrobe we pinched from the Captain’s Cabin! If ye can’t find anythin’, instruct the tailors to get to work with outfits for both o’ me mortal mates!” “Yes, Your Highness!” the pair saluted, and scampered off to obey Bannor’s wishes. The leprechaun prince smiled after his lieutenants, then turned to face yourself and Grim once more. “I hope you have both been enjoying yourselves?” he checked. “Well, I can’t say we haven’t been,” you admitted, and chuckled. “I can safely say I never imagined I would be sitting on diamonds.” “Nya! And I’ve never had tuna that good in my whole life!” Grim agreed. Bannor grinned wider. He looked pleased to hear your praise. “I’m glad to hear it!” he said, then his smile turned slightly timid. “Ye know…I-I don’t think I’ve actually ever had…friends in here before.” You blinked. “Friends?” you repeated. “You…consider us friends?” “What else would I consider you?” Bannor replied. “Ye saved me life, an’ ye seem like decent folk. Now, I’ve had servants since I was a wee lad, an’ I’ve had me family, o’ course…but I’ve never had mortals who behaved the way you did around me, an’ who would have done what ye did fer me. I’d say I wish I could do more, but…heh…well, considerin’ it’s practically impossible to be sad down here, I’d say I’ve done enough, actually.” “Well, modesty isn’t a trait you have much of,” you commented. “I’ve never counted it among the virtues,” chuckled Bannor. “Your Palace is beautiful,” you agreed with a nod. “And we are grateful you were willing to go so far for us…but I think you really need to-” “Ah! Yes! I need to go and make preparations!” exclaimed Bannor, nearly jumping half a foot in the air in alarm. “I’ll be back to chat with ye later, mates! If nothin’ else, I’ll see ye tonight! There’s so much to do before the party tonight!” Muttering to himself in flustered Gaelic, Bannor O’Brien scurried out of the room he’d prepared for his giant-in-comparison friends, the door shutting behind him by magic. You heard it lock itself, and sighed. “Well,” mumbled Grim, pouting beside you. “At least he’s nice…” “Yeah, but the old adage of the gilded cage comes to mind,” you replied, blandly. “On the bright side, this Wearing of the Green thingy sounds like it could be fun,” Grim said, and smiled afresh. “Maybe so,” you responded, and glanced up towards the ceiling. “I’m just anxious about the others back at Night Raven. I’m sure by now they’ve realized we’re missing…” “Pffft. You give them too much credit sometimes,” scoffed Grim. “I bet they haven’t noticed a thing!” You paused before looking down at Grim. “Grim. On a scale of one to ten, how often do we have to be the ones cleaning up all their messes?” Grim paused before simply saying, “Oh. Good point.” You sighed and shook your head. Despite your snark, you were getting rather nervous. Surely Malleus and the rest had figured out what had happened by now…and for all your planning, all your thinking, you couldn’t figure out a way to get out of this mess, for once. You needed your friends…so where were they?

—------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Is everybody ready?” “Well, we’ve all used that stuff Sam gave us to disguise our mortality, like at the Fairy Gala,” said Ace, crossing his arms as he sat down on a chair in the Diasomnia Lounge. “I don’t know if that counts as ‘ready,’ though.” “Right,” nodded Deuce, who stood beside Ace’s chair to his left. “After all, Malleus said something about us wearing green. Any idea what he was talking about Azul?” Azul shook his head, leaning back on the sofa where he sat, hands steepled and one leg crossed over the other. “I must admit, I’m not sure,” he confessed. “I don’t know enough about the Little People to make a proper guess.” “Maybe he means green camouflage?” suggested Ruggie, who was seated beside Azul. “I mean, we ARE going into the forest. Although I’ve gotta admit, I kinda doubt that…” “Your doubts are warranted, Bucchi,” came Malleus Draconia’s powerful voice, resounding through the hall and into the lounge. “However, you are not entirely incorrect.” Ace, Azul, and Ruggie stood up, all eyes turning towards Malleus. Deuce’s eyes widened, and the expression was soon matched by the other three, as they saw what the mighty Draconia was wearing. Malleus was standing in the entrance to the Diasomnia lounge. He had changed out of his dorm uniform, and was garbed in a most elegant, almost Victorian-looking costume. He wore a long, emerald green frock coat, and dark green fingerless gloves. The colors matched the diamond-patterned vest he wore beneath, underneath which was a plain black dress shirt. A green ascot was wound about his neck, with a fastener or pin that bore the shape of a golden dragon. He wore green pinstriped pants, and dandy-looking black dress shoes, which were fastened with gold buckles. Along the edge of his frock coat were gold buttons; they were shaped like shamrocks. Atop his horned head was a black silk top hat, with a green ribbon hatband. Malleus adjusted his gloves, then smiled at the group. “When entering enemy territory,” he said, calmly, “One must dress for the occasion.” Ruggie whistled, impressed. “Wow, you’re cutting a slick figure,” he remarked. “Thank you, Bucchi,” Malleus purred, bowing his head in a respectful gesture. “What is the special suit for?” asked Azul, adjusting his glasses and looking the half-dragon up and down. “Tonight is the annual Wearing of the Green Celebration,” said Malleus. He hastily elaborated on what that was to all present, then explained: “All of the Little People across the world will be celebrating, and the ones here on Sage’s Island are no exception. Along with the substance Sam provided to help mask your mortal natures, we’ll need to be dressed according to their customs, so we can approach in an unassuming manner.” “Unassuming?” Ace frowned. “We’re, like, three or four times the size of any of them!” Malleus gave Ace a patient but penetrating sort of stare. He waited till Ace squirmed uncomfortably at his gaze before he spoke again. “I am the Prince of the Fae. It would not be wholly out of the question for me to at least appear to bid good tidings to the Prince of the Leprechauns, who dwells on this very isle.” “Oh, I see!” grinned Ruggie, wagging his spotted tail. “So, lemme guess: we’re gonna go there acting like your super-brave attendants or something, with this special stuff helping to make us seem like we’re fairies, too…” “...Thus allowing us to enter the palace and find a way to ferret the Prefect out from under the Prince’s very small nose,” smirked Azul, and nodded in approval. “I must admit, it’s a simple but possibly effective strategy.” “Thank you, Ashengrotto,” smiled Malleus. “Of course, in order for the plan to work…” Malleus grinned, showing a hint of his fangs, a slightly mischievous look in his acid-colored eyes. “...Everyone must be dressed appropriately.” SNAP! The half-dragon snapped his fingers. There was a flash of vibrant green light, which filled the room, blinding everyone present for a moment. As the light faded, the group looked at themselves…and quickly realized that each and every one of them was wearing a costume nearly identical to that of Malleus Draconia. The one exception that could be seen were their ascot pins: each seemed to be customized to the person in the suit. Azul’s resembled an octopus, Ruggie’s was a hyena’s head, Ace Trappola’s was in the shape of a heart, and Deuce Spade - as in name and the tattoo upon his face implied - had one in the shape of a spade symbol. “Well!” Azul remarked, looking himself over appraisingly. “I never expected green to suit me, but I think this looks quite nice.” Deuce pinched at the fabric of his sleeves, as if stunned by the incredible material. A small smile came across his face as he checked the gold buttons and moved his limbs around, testing the fit of the costume. “Heh…if only Mom could see me now,” he murmured. “Why, so she can laugh at you in that monkey suit?” sniggered Ace. “Speak for yourself,” frowned Deuce. “Ha! I don’t have to!” smirked Ace, cocking his top hat at a jaunty angle atop his head. “I make this getup look good.” “Hey!” snapped Ruggie, who squirmed uncomfortably in his outfit and removed his top hat. He shook out his ears in a floppy way and pouted in Malleus’ direction; they had been squeezed into his topper, unlike Malleus’ horns, which were allowed to move freely. “Can I wear somethin’ else, please?” “Why? You look rather dashing to me,” Azul pointed out in a teasing tone. “I feel like I’m being strangled in my own skin with these constricting duds,” snarled Ruggie in response, then looked imploringly at Draconia. “How come my ears and tail have to be crammed into this stuff?” “Need I remind you part of the reason we’re in this mess is you tried to DEVOUR one of the leprechauns?” Malleus glared, placing his hands on his hips sternly. “If you insist on coming along, then we must take pains to ensure your identity is kept secret. Hiding your beastman traits is a start to that.” “Taking pains is right,” grumbled Ruggie, grimacing as he felt the way his tail was squeezed into the back of his trousers. Malleus smirked in a passively sadistic sort of way and stepped closer to Ruggie Bucchi, leaning down to look the much smaller demi dead in the eyes. “If you would prefer,” he whispered, in a dangerously slithery sort of way, “I could simply make your ears and tail disappear. Not to mention your teeth. Of course, I can’t guarantee how soon you’ll get them back, if I do…” Ruggie gulped nervously, shrinking back from the dark prince with a nervous smile. “Uh…n-no, I’ll…I’ll be good,” he nearly keened, then gave a hopeful, pleading sort of look. “Actually, um…can I keep the costume, once all this is done? It looks really expensive…I-I mean to say, you really put a LOT of work into making something this nice-!” “Oh, I hardly put any effort; it’s a simple enough spell,” said Malleus, with a casual shrug. He then turned away. “And I’m afraid there’s no such luck, Bucchi. All of your costumes will vanish at the same time Sam’s devices wear off.” Ruggie’s ears drooped and gave a look like a hurt puppy. He’d been hoping to sell the gold-studded clothing in the Savannah marketplace. “I never get to have any fun,” he muttered, sourly. “Well now!” grinned Azul, clapping his hands together and striding to the head of the group. “Now that we are dressed to impress, as it were, how soon will we be leaving?” “Immediately,” Malleus announced. He flourished his wrist…and out of thin air, he summoned a long, elegant-looking black cane, with a gold ferrule, and a topper in the shape of a golden shamrock. “I know the way to the fairy mound; all the rest of you must do is follow my lead.” “Alright,” sighed Ruggie, and sneered slightly as he replaced the top hat on his head, covering up his ears once more. “But I don’t think I’m gonna like a second of this…” “Relax, Ruggie,” said Azul smoothly, giving him a pat on the shoulder and a wink. “Just think about all the treasures I’ll - I mean, WE’LL be able to get ahold of, hmmm?” Ruggie tilted his head…then snickered and ginned back. “You know what? That actually helps,” he said. “And hey, we’re going to a feast, right?” He licked his teeth. “I’ve always wanted to find out what fairy cooking tastes like.” “You and me both,” Azul commented. “Perhaps I’ll be able to find some excellent delicacies for my restaurant’s menu to attempt…” “Ahem!” coughed Malleus, impatiently, a strict sort of expression on his face. “If the pair of you are quite finished scheming?” “Scheming?” gasped Ruggie, as if offended. “I think we were just conversing, for the moment, thank you very much!” “With you two, it’s the same thing,” drawled Ace. “Let’s get moving!” Deuce urged, cracking the knuckles of his fingerless-gloved hands. “The Prefect is waiting!” “I’m well-aware,” murmured Malleus, his voice carrying the mildest of shakes. It hardened immediately after; his cane cracked against the floor and his green coat furled about him as he rounded his heel and began to stalk towards the exit. “Come along. Time is of the essence.” The quartet all nodded, and hastened to follow Malleus. All of them marched down the hall towards the mirror chamber, ready to make their way into the forest and off towards the fairy mound, and Prince Bannor’s palace. Malleus, at the head of the pack, adjusted the top hat on his head. The brim shadowed his eyes, which glowed with a dangerous sort of glare. “I will not allow another to take you from me, Child of Man,” he whispered to himself, in a solemn vow. “I promise you, no matter what it takes, I will get you back…” He growled, fangs bared lethally as the grip on his cane tightened fiercely. “...And those who dared to pull you away from me will sorely regret it. No matter who they are.”

To Be Continued in Part 3…

[survey--s]

501.

What does the shirt you are wearing look like?   It’s just a plain pale grey knitted jumper. What was the last thing that stressed you out or upset you?   I was really worried about walking two dogs together last Wednesday as the first time I did it, they didn’t get along - but they were perfect and there were no issues lol.

How do you stay positive with all that life throws at you?   Medication and therapy when I was younger, and now I use the techniques I learnt in therapy to help me manage the worst of it. What is the highest level of physical pain you have ever been in? rate 1-10  I can never answer questions like this - for me, expected pain (like for piercings and tattoos) is much more tolerable than unexpected pain, even if the unexpected pain is much more manageable lol. ...same question, but with emotional pain?   I honestly couldn’t tell you. What is your most prized possession?   My car. Which youtuber do you feel like you could be friends with easily?   I don’t watch any YouTubers. Do you like your natural hair color?   More now that I’m older - when I was younger I always wanted to be blonde. Do you think you will dye your hair when you start going gray?   Yes, most likely, but both sides of my family don’t seem to go grey until their late forties, so I’m hoping I don’t need to worry about it for a while yet.   Are you pale right now, or do you have a tan?   I’ve actually got a bit of a tan as the weather was surprisingly sunny this week. Do you think you look best with a tan?   Yes. I feel like I look healthier and happier. What is your favorite app on your phone?   Instagram or Reddit. How old were you when you got your first smartphone?   They weren’t really a thing until I was in my late teens - I think I was probably seventeen or so when I got one.  Do you ever meditate on Scripture?   No. Are you living a life you want to escape from? or do you love your life?   For the most part, I love my life. There are bits I would change if I could, but unless I win the lottery, that’s not gonna happen. When was the last time you felt that life was good?   Yesterday when I was out walking Oakley - the weather was gorgeous and he was just being perfectly behaved and having a great time lol. Do you have one big mistake that you've made that you want to fix?   No. Do you wish people would forgive you for your past so you could move on? I don’t need anyone to forgive me for anything. Do you wear green on St. Patrick's day?   No. St. Patrick’s Day isn’t a “thing” here at all. Are you Irish at all?   No. Do you pray to God every day?   No. I’m not even a little bit religious. What are three things you are currently looking forward to doing soon?   Having a full day off tomorrow, my last riding lesson Monday (bittersweet but it will save me a fortune, lol) and...Bank Holiday in a week or so. Do you ever dance in the rain?   I have done in the past. Have you ever sat on a rooftop?   Yeah, but only on like, a proper rooftop terrace. Who is that last good musician or band you discovered?   Morgan Wallen. Do you like to watch talent shows like America's Got Talent and X Factor? Nope, they’ve never appealed to me. Have you ever tried avocado toast?   I love it but it doesn’t seem to be that popular anymore - I guess because avocados are ridiculousdly expensive now lol. Are you more talented musically or artistically or neither?   Neither lol. Are you better at English or math?   English.  What were your best subjects in school?   French, English and History. What was your favorite subject in school?   History.   Have you ever visited a teacher at their home?   Yeah, our primary school was really small and our head-teacher used to have an annual BBQ at her house. We even slept over once lol. I can’t imagine that ever being allowed now. I remember she had terrapins and we all though they were really cool. How many windows are in your bedroom?   One. Who was your first roommate?   A girl named Kirsty. Who was your first best friend (besides a sibling)?   Lucy. Do you have a sibling who looks like you?   I don’t have any siblings. I look a LOT like my dad’s half-sister, though. Name three women you know who have lost a child.   Talk about an insensitive question, lol. Whose was the last funeral you attended or watched?   I’ve never attended or watched a funeral. What types of cancer are in your family, if any?   Prostate and bowel cancer. Do you have big dreams for your future?   Not really. I’m content living a pretty small life. Do you feel alone?   No. What is this month's calendar picture?   I don’t have a physical calendar, I just use my phone. What is the theme of your wall calendar for this year?   -- Have you ever seen a double rainbow?   Sure, loads of times.

[greensparty]

Concert Review: Sleater-Kinney

Sun. March 17, 2024 @ The Paradise (Boston, MA)

Paradise marquee

The last time I saw Sleater-Kinney live was in Summer 2002 was when they headlined the Siren Music Festival in Coney Island in 2002 and they blew me away. The indie rockers burst out of the mid-90s riot grrrl movement in Olympia, WA and their brand of feminism amassed quite a following on college radio. They have been on my radar since 1997’s Dig Me Out (got my copy on vinyl). After the band took an indefinite hiatus in 2006, they reunited in 2014. It’s ironic that the masses now know Carrie Brownstein for Portlandia (as well as scene-stealing performances in Carol, Transparent and best of all as Larry's assistant on Curb Your Enthusiasm) and didn’t even know her as the singer/guitarist for Sleater-Kinney. Singer/guitarist Corin Tucker has also had multiple side projects outside of S-K including Eddie Vedder's soundtrack to Into the Wild (S-K opened for Pearl Jam in the 00s) and she's also a part of the supergroup Filthy Friends. But things changed for the band after drummer Janet Weiss left in 2019 after recording the album The Center Won't Hold. I dug that album and I even named “The Future is Here” my #1 Song of 2019. Their first post-Janet Weiss album was Path of Wellness, which I named my #6 Album of 2021. There are purists who feel it’s not the same band without Weiss. I very much disagree as Brownstein and Tucker are still musical forces to be reckoned with. After the release in January of the Little Rope, the band is currently on tour and stopped in Boston on St. Patrick's Day.

Sleater-Kinney onstage at the Paradise

I am by no means an expert on S-K, i.e. someone who has traveled to the Pacific Northwest to see the band. But I do own a great deal of their albums and have immense respect for them. I say this because there were a number of songs I didn't know as well as others, but that's cool - you learn from the live experience. The show was heavy on the new album Little Rope. They did 9 of the 10 album tracks in their set, highlights being "Say It Like You Mean It" and "Untidy Creatures". They only did two songs off of Dig Me Out, notably the title track for the final encore. I would've loved to have heard more off that album (my personal favorite), but beggars can't be choosers. It was great to hear some songs off of No Cities to Love and The Center Won't Hold played along with songs from The Hot Rock and The Woods. I was kind of surprised they didn't do any songs off of Path of Wellness, especially since that was their last album.

Brownstein and Tucker front stage!

In my album review of Little Rope I noted that "with Path of Wellness, as much as I liked the album - it is a band trying to figure out how to go from being a three-headed monster to a two-headed monster. But with this one, Brownstein and Tucker are clearly past that transition and diving back into the indie rock sound they perfected over the course of the last 30 years." That is also true of their live tours. Both Brownstein and Tucker are clearly the stars putting their supreme voices on full display, but credit needs to be given to their backing band: drummer Angie Boylan (big shoes to fill, but she rocked!), keyboardist Toko Yasuda, and multi-instrumentalist Teeny Lieberson. This lineup was outstanding! Seeing the band in The Paradise was special too (this was the most packed I've ever seen The Paradise and that's saying something) and on St. Patrick's Day no less. Now let's hope I don't end up waiting another 22 years to see them again!

For info on Sleater-Kinney

[whereareroo]

LUCK OF THE IRISH







WF THOUGHTS (3/18/24).

I hope that everyone enjoyed a fun Saint Patrick’s Day Weekend. Wasn’t it great to have a whole weekend to celebrate? To facilitate your recuperation, I gave you Monday off too.

Instead of getting drunk to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day, I decided to do something different. Getting drunk might have been a better option.

A few months ago, a friend suggested that we do a 100 mile bike ride on March 16th. The friend, let’s call him Mr Bikingbuddy, rides with a group called the “Gravel Grinders.” The group was hosting the ride. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity. I’ve never biked 100 miles. It seemed like the perfect adventure for Saint Patrick’s Day Weekend. Don’t you agree?

The group is called the “Gravel Grinders” because they don’t ride on roads or bike paths. They ride on old dirt roads that are full of stuff like gravel, rocks, sand, and mud. Just outside of Charleston, there’s a huge place called the Francis Marion National Forest. It’s 650 square miles. It’s full of rugged dirt roads. That’s where the “Gravel Grinders” do their thing.

I have almost zero experience on gravel paths. I’ve done two short gravel rides with Mr. Bikingbuddy. Also, my bike is designed for roads and paths. The “Gravel Grinders” ride bikes designed for dirt. I’m Irish. I wasn’t going to be stopped by inexperience or improper equipment. After all, we were just going on a bike ride. I do that all the time. What could go wrong?

The route was a big loop through the Francis Marion National Forest. There were about 60 participants in the 100 mile ride. The rules were simple. You start at 8:00 a.m. and you must be done by 4:00 p.m. There are check-in stations (with snacks) at Mile 25 and Mile 70. Otherwise, you’re on your own. The gravels paths are a maze. The route is marked by pink spikes in the ground. It’s also possible to follow the route by a GPS map on your phone. That’s way above my technical capabilities. Besides, I was riding with Mr. Bikingbuddy and he’s a GPS guy.

At the risk of alienating the Irish folks, I’m going to summarize the day with a quote from an English novelist. In “The Tale Of Two Cities,” Charles Dickens wrote: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” That was my day.

Let me start by saying that it was a wonderful day. The weather was perfect. The forest is beautiful. It was a great adventure. If you’re up for a challenge, this is a great ride. I’m always up for a challenge.

The course consisted of a wide variety of surfaces. The toughest section was from Mile 35 to Mile 70. The surfaces on the first part, and the last part, were easier by comparison. Remember, everything is relative. There were no “easy” sections.

The first 35 miles were pretty manageable. The trail was mostly packed dirt with areas of gravel, small rocks and mud. The bouncing was constant. You get used to it, and you just keep pounding away.

The section from Mile 35 to Mile 70, the tough section, was a real challenge. Most people would say that it was unrideable. It was a real test. It wasn’t fun. At the start of the section, there were 3 or 4 miles of deep, wet sand. Riding through that muck isn’t easy. That was followed by a very long section where the path was full of loose rocks the size of golf balls, baseballs, and softballs. Hitting big rocks, for mile after mile, isn’t comfortable. Then comes the worst part. From Mile 60 to Mile 65 there was an endless series of big mud pits. Most of them were at least 10 feet long and the width of the whole trail. Many of them were filled with deep water. It was hard to find dry land to ride on. Many times riding was impossible, and I’d have to drag my bike through the mud.

After Mile 70, the surface became similar to the first section. The trail was rough, but it was manageable.

When we started, we agreed to take a short break every hour. One of those breaks was at Mile 48. Until that point, Mr. Bikingbuddy and I had stayed together the whole time. When we took our stop at Mile 48, we were slightly behind schedule. If we wanted to make the 4:00 p.m. cut-off , we were going to have to bike faster. I told Mr. Bikingbuddy that he should go ahead of me and that I’d follow at a distance. There was a real possibility that he could finish on time. For me, the possibility of finishing on time was growing remote. Mr. Bikingbuddy took my suggestion, and that was the last time I saw him.

The next 10 miles, from Mile 48 to Mile 58, were very tough. The path was full of loose rocks that were big. It was difficult for me to bike at a decent pace. I kept pushing anyway.

At around Mile 58, there was a flat grassy spot alongside the trail. It was the first good “lunch spot” that I had seen. Also, I was ready for a break. I stopped for about 15 minutes. I enjoyed the cream cheese sandwich, on flatbread, that was stored in my bike bag. I was also looking forward to the big Snickers bar that was stowed in the outside pocket of my bag. I was heartbroken when I saw that the zipper on that pocket was slightly open and that the Snickers bar had fallen out. Damn! Instead, I ate a pumpkin Pop Tart. It was good, but not as good as a Snickers.

After my lunch, I was feeling pretty good. I was ready to roll. I was behind schedule, but I was going to finish the course no matter what. Of course, I didn’t know that I was about to hit 5 miles of mud pits.

The mud pits started at about Mile 60. I kept pushing ahead. Around Mile 61, there was a huge mud pit that blocked the whole trail. It was wet and deep. Along the far right edge of the mud pit, there was a strip of dryish land that was about a foot wide. It looked like a safe place to ride. I was wrong. As I was riding the narrow strip, I hit a rock that pushed my bike to the right. The bad news was that there was no flat land to my right. There was only a gully that sat about two feet below the trail. The gully was filled with about a foot of water. By the time I realized what was happening, my head was under water and my bike was on top of me. It was really weird. I was trying to figure out why I was suddenly under water. Thankfully, I came to my senses quickly. I got up and pushed my bike to the end of that mud pit. I was a mess. My head was covered in mud. I was soaking wet. I sat down to evaluate the situation. There wasn’t really much to think about. I hadn’t seen anybody for a very long time. I was out in the middle of nowhere. I decided to push ahead. I had to waste a whole bottle of water to wash the mud off my head, and to rinse the gully water from my mouth. When I was clean, I got back on the bike. I reminded myself to be very careful around the mud pits.

I kept fighting my way through the series of mud pits. My next problem was around Mile 63. Once again, there was a mud pit that covered most of the trail. This time, the dry land was through the center of the pit. The dry strip was about two feet wide. From the tire tracks, I could see that many bikers had used that strip as a bridge to cross the mud pit. It looked safe to me. Once again, I was wrong. When I was in the middle of the “bridge” it collapsed. I fell into the mud pit, and the bike fell on top of me. This time, I managed to keep my head out of the water. Once again, I decided that I had no choice but to keep biking. Knowing that there was a check-in station at Mile 70, and that I could refill my water bottles there, I used the rest of my water to clean my face, arms, and legs. I pushed ahead.

At long last, I made it to the check-in station at Mile 70. It was staffed by three older gentlemen. They were nice, and they were funny. They told me that I was the last guy on the course, and that I was probably not going to meet the “official” cut-off time of 4:00 p.m. They urged me to finish anyway. They said that the finish line was usually staffed for an hour after the official deadline. They also gave me some snacks and a bunch of water. Once again, I was ready to roll.

I left the check-in station in good spirits. As I had done ever since I parted ways with Mr. Bikingbuddy and his GPS, I stayed focused on the pink spikes that marked the multiple turns along the trail. At Mile 73, after several turns, I suddenly hit a dead end. The trail intersected a road and stopped. There weren’t any pink spikes anywhere. I had obviously taken a wrong turn at some point after the check-in station. Oops!

As I was thinking about what to do, I remembered that Mrs. Lifepartner had loaded some type of trail map on my phone. I hit the button that I was supposed to push. No trail map. I tried again. Still no trail map. Ugh!

As long as I had my phone in my hands, I took a peek at Google Maps. If I took a route along the local roads, I was only 10 miles from the finish line. If I retraced my steps back to the official course, I faced at least 25 miles. If I did the 25 miles, I’d finish at least 90 minutes after the cutoff time. I’d be forcing a bunch of folks to sit around and wait for me. It didn’t make sense to go back to find the course. Besides, I was a bit battered. So, I had a pleasant 10 mile ride to the finish line. I got there at 3:40 p.m. My odometer indicated that I had biked 83.5 miles. I went straight to the race director to declare that I should be disqualified because I did not complete the full course. He’s a funny guy. He invited me to try again next year.

Mr. Bikingbuddy crossed the finish line exactly at the cut-off time. He’s a beast! We sat for a while to hydrate, eat, and laugh about the day.

So, it was the best of times and it was the worst of times. Maybe Dickens was a member of the Gravel Grinders.

All in all, I’m extremely glad that I did the ride. At the risk of quoting a Scotsman (Robert Burns) so close to Saint Patrick’s Day, “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Life is full of bumps in the road. Sometimes the bumps bounce you into a gully or a mud pit. Setbacks are part of life. The key is to push ahead. It’s OK to modify your plans if that makes sense. My day didn’t go as planned, but it was wonderful anyway. I survived a challenge. I had a blast.

Carl Wittke, a historian who studied various ethnic groups, once wrote that the “Irish Temperament” is a “mixture of flaming ego, hot temper, stubbornness, great personal charm and warmth, and a wit that shines through adversity.” On the ride, I was well served by my stubbornness and by my wit that shines through adversity. It was a great day to be Irish. Saint Patrick had his troubles too. He pushed ahead anyway. He’d be a good Patron Saint for the Gravel Grinders. I hope that you had a fun day too.

[larrysland]

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day coming up here in a few days I decided to add this  post. Recently I have been learning about and working with colored pencils.  This is a drawing of a photograph from the book “This Beautiful Land - Ireland” by John Freeman and Sue Sharpe published in 1986.  This is White Park Bay which is in Antrim County, one of the 6 counties of Northern Ireland.

I also have included a short story I wrote a few years back about Leprechauns and Unicorns.  Hope you enjoy the read.

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

The Luck of the Leprechaun.

“Oh, me name is McNamara and I’m the leader of the band…”

“No, no! Sean McNamara you are a drunken, green-gilled sop!  That’s not the way we sing it after tonight!  Now we sing it ‘Oh, me name is Pat O’Reilly I’m the Lord of the Dance…’ ”

And on that note the two leprechauns giggled and laughed as they staggered along the back wooded trail in the wee hours of the morning headed to O’Reilly’s secret plot.  The St. Patrick’s Day celebrations had been wild and wonderful all the day and evening long.  But the best time of the celebration day was the closing hours at McCarthy’s Tavern in Ennis.

“Yeah, yeah, you won the jig dance contest Pat.  I saw it.  We all saw it.  You were pretty good tonight.  Good thing you had been drinking the green beer all day long or you counld’na done it.”

“Hee, hee, hee, ya right about that.”

“Aye, but Patsy my friend, ya pushed the rules of leprechaun behavior when ya planted a kiss on the cheek of the sweet colleen as she was a-handing you the gold trophy.  Leprechauns don’t go a-kissing human lasses.  We only kiss our girly leprechauns, them’s the rules.”

“Hee, hee, hee, ya right about that too, Sean!  But I did it and it was fun.  I don’t think it did no harm.  Here, hold my gold trophy and pass me the keg, I want another drink o’ beer.  This’ll be the last dregs of all the kegs we’ve had this St. Patty’s Day!  

“Dawn will be coming soon and with it comes the light morning rain, and then comes the early morning rainbow, and then I can bury me gold trophy at the end of it with my other gold.  Now I gotta fortify myself for all the work I done and the work I still must do!  Hee, hee, hee,” Pat laughed at his own joke that was funny only to him.

But before he could uncork the small wooden keg there was a bright flash, a loud crack and a BOOM!  Pat and Sean were sitting on their hineys with the keg off to their side and looking up at two very angry unicorns.  The white one right above Pat was moving its head around so that its horn seemed to be a sword ready to stab him.  The black unicorn was a foot or two away but in a very threatening posture.  

“Patrick O’Reilly,” the white unicorn shouted, “I charge you with violation of the Ethical Codes of the Council of Magical Creatures, Title 42, Section, 10, Kissing of Non-magical Creatures.”

“Wha-!  Whoa!  Stop!!   Who are you?” cried Pat trembling as the pointed horn got closer and closer to his chest.  

“I am Fiddet.  I am the guardian of the colleen you kissed at McCarthy’s Tavern.  Since you violated the Magical Creatures’ Codes  I am here to punish you!”

“No, no! Please don’t kill me! It was just a peck on the cheek.  Yes, it was wrong of me but there was no real harm done.” cried Pat who had quickly sobered up.

“Kill you?” laughed the black unicorn.   “No, we are here to punish you by taking all of your gold!  Personally though it wouldn't bother me to see Fiddet put a few scars on your ugly face.  We unicorns take our role as protectors of women very seriously.”    

“But that would be a violation of the Code,” shouted Sean.

Turning to look first at Sean, Fiddet then turned to the black unicorn and said, “Keep that one quiet.”

“No, no, no, you can’t to that.” spoke up Sean.  “The code, specifically Title 5, Section 101, paragraph A, allows a magical creature the right to a duel if his worldly possessions are under threat of being taken from him.”

“A duel?”  Pat and both of the unicorns called out.  “This will be great,” chuckled Fiddet.  “I’ll just step over here and sharpen my horn.”

“Stop, stop!  No!!  Not that kind of duel.  According to the code the aggrieved gets to chose the type of duel.  And as his second I say that Pat challenges you to a duel of wits.”

“What!!!!” yelled Fiddet.

“Stop Fiddet!  The leprechaun is right,” said the black unicorn. “But you get to chose the subject matter for the duel of wits.  And we both know what your favorite subject is Fiddet.  Challenge him to that.”    

“Ah yes.  I can do this.  Okay leprechaun.  A duel of wits it is.  I will chose the subject matter and you will ask first.  If I can answer your question then I will ask you mine.  If you win you get to keep your gold.  If I win you lose all your gold and I give it to the colleen.  We keep playing till someone misses. Understood?”

Pat nodded his head at the unicorn and then looked over at Sean and muttered “A duel of wits!  Inconceivable!  What did you get me in to?”  

“It beats getting cut up and scarred.  Besides, you’re a leprechaun.  You’re lucky!  You’ll find a way to get more gold if you lose this.  Here take the keg, it’ll help you think.  There’s about four or five mugs left in it.”

“Okay, what is the subject matter for this duel?” asked Sean.

“Fiddet confidently announced, “The subject matter is punch lines.  Punch lines for one specific type of joke - the knock-knock joke.”

Sitting down opposite each other the duel began.  For twenty minutes they went back and forth, back and forth.   Each one guessing the punch line of the other’s joke.

Henrietta who?  Henry et a worm that was in his apple.  

Dwayne who?  Dwayne the bathtub it’s over flowing.

Boo who?  Gosh, don’t cry it’s just a knock-knock joke. 

Justin who?  Justin time for dinner.   

Watching Pat drain the last of the green beer from the keg Fiddet then asked, “With all you have had to drink do you think you’ll still be able to remember me and this duel for the next 2 minutes?”

“Yeah, of course I will.  Your turn, ask away.”

But Fiddet was out of knock-knock jokes.  What he did not know was that Pat was also out of them.  Each of them was nervous.  Seeing that Pat was also quite a bit fuzzy in the head from all the green beer Fiddet decided to take a chance and use the confusion to his advantage.  He decide to flip the table to his advantage, in a manner of speaking.   

Even though it was his turn Fiddet said, “Go ahead and ask me.”

Fuzzily and groggily Pat said, “Knock, Knock.”

“Who’s there?” replied Fiddet.

And Pat’s mind went blank, his mouth dropped open and his eyes glazed emptily at the unicorn. 

Fiddet chuckled while saying, “You don’t know the answer leprechaun.  You lose!”

The unicorns roared in laughter.  His mind snapping back Pat roared in anger, “No Fair!  No Fair!” he shouted.  Sean hung his head to hide his chuckling.  The unicorn was smart and had won fair and square. 

The light morning rain was just ending as they walked out of the woods and saw the rainbow.  Pat dug up his gold and gave it to the unicorns along with the gold cup and they disappeared with it all to give to the colleen that Pat had kissed.

“Now what am I gonna do?” Pat asked looking at Sean.  “I’ve got nothing left here in Ireland.”

“Well, I been a-feeling like I want do some traveling.  I hear that over in America there is place in Kentucky that has more gold buried it that you or I have ever seen.  I think it’s called Fort Knox.  Shall we give it a try?”

“Sounds good to me,” said Pat and off they set for a new adventure in a new land.  

[andreafmn]

Running In Circles - Chapter 1

Word Count: 3,196

Characters: Female Reader Rossi Character, Aaron Hotchner, David Rossi, Derek Morgan, Spencer Reid, Jennifer “JJ”Jareau, Emily Prentiss, Penelope Garcia, George Foyet, Multiple Unsubs and Victims

Story Description: (Y/N) Rossi is following in her father’s footsteps by joining the BAU team as a profiler. The girl genius knew almost everything but she could have never predicted falling for Aaron Hotchner, her boss and her father’s friend. in their world mutual feelings are not enough to push them together. Will all the adversities and obstacles they face pull them together or push them apart forever?

*DISCLAIMER* I do not own in any way Criminal Minds, all credits of the pre-established characters, script, and storyline belong to Jeff Davis and CBS Network. The only thing I own is Arden Rossi, any upcoming characters, and her storyline, as well as her effects in the others' story line.

Chapter: 1/?

Chapter Description: (Y/N) remebers her first day in the job and recounts all the cases and events that led to the downfall of George Foyet. 

A/N: I decided to say fuck the anxiety of posting and put up my Aaron fanfiction. It’s been gathering dust in my documents folder and I love writing too much to keep it to myself. I’m not sure how many chapters this will have but there’s already 8 chapters all finished up. Soon I’ll be posting ff of all the fanfictions I enjoy also! If you enjoy my writing I’ll also be posting them in AO3 and Wattpad along with other stories (I also hope to start taking requests if ya’ll want) Hope you enjoy and all constructive criticism is encouraged.

Next->

Chapter 1

“Good morning, BAU!” I said as I walked through the doors of the elevator and entered the bullpen. I could still remember how it felt the first time I got here.

I walked out of the elevator and made my way to the first office on the left. I was to meet

SSA Aaron Hotchner for an interview to join the BAU. My hands were shaking, and my body was getting warmer by the second. But I remembered my father’s encouraging words. “You’re gonna do great, mia bella.”

Not only was I extremely young, but I also had a lot to live up to. Being the daughter of SSA David Stephen Rossi was no easy task. He was an amazing agent, mentor, and father. He always pushed me to be the best at everything I did. When I started high school, I decided to get a head start on my college studies and applied to dual enrollment. When I graduated I did so with a Bachelor’s in Computer Science. Then, I worked my way to a Master’s in Psychology and Social Work, and a Doctorate in Criminal Justice. At the same time, my father trained me as a profiler. All my life I knew I wanted to be in the FBI, just like him. I was always impressed at all he did and wanted to be just like my hero. The day I told him I had been recruited by the FBI and was set to work in the BAU he said it had been the greatest day of his life.

Now my shaking hand raised to softly knock on the door before me.

“Come in,” someone said from inside. The door softly creaked as I opened and was met by a tall man with dark hair and a shorter blonde woman. “Agent Rossi, welcome.”

“Thank you, it’s an honor to be here.” I smiled and shook Aaron Hotchner’s and Erin Strauss’ hands.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Agent Rossi,” Erin smiled. “Have to say, you have a very impressive curriculum and your disinvolvement in our past interviews and tests have been outstanding.”

I smiled and turned the bracelet on my wrist for comfort.

“I must concur with Chief Strauss,” said Hotch. “I believe you will be a great addition to the BAU team.”

After sharing a few pleasantries and being handed my badge and gun, I was following Hotch to the briefing room to meet the rest of the team. Formally, at least. I had heard everything about them when I spoke with my father. He left no detail out.

“Morning, everyone,” Hotchner started. “I called you all in early today so you could meet the newest addition to the team. This is Agent (y/n) Rossi.”

To the sound of my name most of the mouths in the room dropped.

“Rossi, as in David Rossi?” The slender, messy haired agent said. I could only assume that was Spencer Reid. As my father had described him, a curly mess dressed in vests.

I nodded.

“Rossi, you didn’t tell us you had such a beautiful daughter.” That would be Derek Morgan. The hottie Casanova with a silver tongue.

“I hadn’t?” My father questioned and smirked, knowing full well the answer.

“Well, he’s talked a lot about all of you,” I smiled.

“All good things I hope,” Emily smiled.

“Great things,” I returned the smile. “I could probably make out who is who by the things he’s told me.”

“Go ahead,” Aaron challenged.

“Alright,” I cleared my throat and started going around the table. “Curly hair, vests, analyzing everything I’ve done and said since I walked in… you’re Spencer Reid.”

He smiled brightly.

“Tall, dark, handsome, and a silver tongue. Plus, you checked me out as soon as the doors of the elevator opened… Derek Morgan.”

He smirked.

“Calm, cool, and collected. Quiet but present, inspecting my presence here… you’re Emily Prentiss.”

“She’s good,” Emily muttered to Morgan beside her. I continued.

“And last but not least, bright colors, fun accessories,” I said looking at Garcia. “Even though you’re smiling, you’re not sure about me yet because you don’t like change and are probably going to dig up everything you can on me as soon as you can… Penelope Garcia.”

She stiffened and Derek chuckled.

“Don’t worry, I get it. I do not like change that much either. And here,” I reached my hand into my bag to pull out a rather thick folder. “I’ll save you the work. Background check, complete internet history, social medias, and all the whatnots you would need to build a very extensive profile.”

“Oh, thank you,” she reached out her hand and grabbed the folder, smiling at the floor.

“And well, I already know Agent Hotchner and my father, so they don’t need much of an introduction.”

“No, but you do,” my father said joining my side. “Tell them a bit about yourself.”

“Well, I have a bachelor, two masters, and a doctorate degree: I’m 23, I’m Rossi’s daughter…” In the middle of my thought process dad cut in.

“She’s beautiful, she’s intelligent, and she’s the one I call when I’m stuck on a case.” I smiled.

“She also passed every test with flying colors,” Aaron added. “And her profiling skills are exceptional.”

“Thank you,” I blushed. “I think it runs in my blood.”

“Well, welcome to the team,” Aaron continued. “Let’s get to work.”

That was almost three years ago. A couple of days after, I met JJ who had visited with her newborn son Henry.

In very little time I had grown attached to this family. I was most of the time partnered with Spence and we developed an amazing bond. It did help that I loved playing chess and we could have highly erudite talks. Also, I very much enjoyed his over sharing of facts. But really, I was close to them all. On my spare time I was found watching movies with Derek and Penny, perusing book shops with Reid, having girl nights with JJ, Penny, and Emily, or sipping on top grade scotch while finishing paperwork with Hotch.

Spending time with Hotch was my favorite pastime of all.

I realized I had developed feelings for him the day he was captured by Foyet and left at the hospital. Receiving the call from Emily that she had found blood at his apartment literally knocked the air out of my lungs. Reid could tell that my reaction would not have been the same where it had been any of the other members. For some time, he had deduced my attraction to our unit chief. Once we had captured Patrick Meyers and Reid had been sent off to a hospital, we sped off to St. Sebastian Hospital. I could feel my heartbeat going faster and faster as I felt time slipping by. More than once I had asked Morgan to go faster and with sorry eyes, he told me he was going as fast as he could.

Seeing Hotch on a hospital bed, greatly hurt, broke me. I knew everyone on the team, just like Reid, had figured it out. I was the first one in when the doctor announced he was waking up. His eyes fluttered open as JJ, the last one to enter, made it in.

“Where am I?” He groggily asked.

“In the hospital,” dad answered.

My eyes could not leave his face, even as all I wanted was to imagine him in a different state. Derek told him how he made it to the hospital and Emily asked Hotch what had happened. Closing his eyes, Hotch explained step by step how everything had gone down. Upon more investigation, we quickly figured what Foyet had taken and, a page from his planner that held his ex-wife’s and son’s current address and a picture of them, respectively.

Once we had that information, the team knew exactly what to do. Emily and I volunteered to stay behind and update the team if anything changed. As soon as he went to sleep, we let out a locked breath. But the relief was short lived as his pulse started to get exceedingly fast.

“What happened?” The doctor asked.

“I don’t know,” I croakily muttered out. Emily put a hand on my back as I softly touched his arm.

“Agent Hotchner. Can you hear me?” The doctor called out. “Agent Hotchner?”

He finally opened his eyes and responded. “I’m okay.”  

The doctor asked us out of the room as she checked on him and Emily helped stabilize my walk as we made it out. I saw the doctor and a nurse check him as I picked the skin of the thumb of my right hand. Emily noticed and grabbed it, knowing well of my nervous ticks. The other being closing my fist hard enough to dig my nails in it.

“He’ll be okay,” she smiled. “You know he’s a fighter.”

I softly smiled at her, not knowing if she said it for me or for her to believe it too.

Once we knew Haley and Jack were safe the three of us let out a relieved sigh. Hotch squeezed the hand I had been holding as he slept, needing the reassurance of a trusted presence next to him. He asked Emily about the scene at his apartment, but she could not give him definite answers. In a moment of silence, she excused herself to go buy coffee and I took this chance to ask him what had been going through my head.

“Do you wanna talk about what happened?” I asked worry evident in my eyes.

Sighing, he responded. “I don’t know. After he stabbed me the first time, it all goes blank.”

He looked straight into my eyes and I could tell he knew more than he let on, but now was not the time to push him. He had been drained: physically, emotionally, and mentally. In that moment, Haley walked in and I let go of his hand to leave them to talk. From outside of the room, I could hear the heartbreaking moment and knowing he was in pain shattered my heart. That day had absolutely devastated us as a team, but it only made us more determined to find Foyet and end him.

But life and work went on. The whole month he was off, I spent most of my free time helping in his recovery and his healing, using the little training I had in wound treatment. The other part of my time I spent with Reid, who was also in recovery. A far less pressing injury, but an injury, nonetheless. And he was my best friend, so I could not completely abandon him.  

We were all worried about him coming back to the team with Foyet still out there, but dad reassured us he would only be more motivated. Yet the first case back, he was different. He was usually professional and understanding, now it seemed that no matter how well we worked, we would make a mistake. And when we finally tracked down the unsub and he made his way inside the house, no vest, and no gun, I knew there was something different in him. I tried to follow him inside, but dad stopped me.

“We have to trust him,” he told me. Even with those words we were all unsure of the outcome. My head was working 1,000 miles a minute coming up with different ways this could all end up in, and when I heard the gunshots, my mind only went to the darkest end. Quickly we stormed in the house and saw Hotch putting handcuffs on Darrin, and a very dead Jarvis on a recliner.  

My father spent most of his time with me reassuring me that Hotch was still the same man he had been a month before. And I spent most of my time with Hotch reassuring him that he was not alone.

At the end of most cases Emily, dad, and I sat with Hotch in his office to drink a cup of scotch and unwind after a stressful day. I stayed nights overtime often and was there on the night that Strauss had landed a surprise visit to his office. The next day he became hyper focused on Derek’s work, which later he revealed to me the reason why. The bureau was questioning his leadership and he meant to step down as unit chief at the end of that week. This ended with Derek becoming active unit chief whilst Hotch was being investigated.

The days that followed were quite strange. We were used to taking orders from Hotch and now taking orders from Morgan was completely different. But business went on as usual. We worked on cases just as hard and solved them just as efficiently. With one case always hanging on us like a dark cloud. George Foyet. With every case we finished we knew he was still out there, which meant that Hotch was still hurting and hunting.  

But the dreaded day had caught up to us. With the last case we had been on in Hampton we knew Foyet had found Hotch. He was taunting Hotch, dangling his life in front of him. Once he had sent us that calling card, we pressed harder on our investigation, pulling at whatever string we could find.

Thankfully, JJ pulled our medication string harder when she found out about the ability to substitute prescriptions with over-the-counter meds. We worked tirelessly and strongly to shorten the investigation part of this case. We needed to catch him, fast.

“Wait a minute, guys. Foyet likes things that have meaning to him,” I said looking at the map presented in front of us. I could see that Reid knew where I was going.

“The eye of providence, the addresses in blood he wrote on the bus that led back to him,” Spence added, and I nodded.

“Maybe he’s doing the same with his name,” I said as Reid wrote down George Foyet on the board.

“Like an anagram or something,” Emily chimed. Quickly, Reid got to work on the theory crossing out and circling letters. Adding ‘The Reaper’ onto the board and utilizing it, once Hotch had pointed out Foyet gave himself that name. He kept up this process until the name Peter Rhea came to existence.

Garcia tracked down the name and quickly found an address in Arlington. We had found him, but it was just too easy.

We were waiting outside of the apartment building for too long, waiting for something, anything. Once Morgan had given his orders, the plan was set in motion. Still, something in the back of my mind kept telling me it was too easy. We stormed the empty apartment and searched for anything that would help us find his actual location. His computer was quickly deleting files, but Garcia was better. Haley’s protection unit was in trouble.

As soon as it clicked, we were on our way to the stash house. Inside the house Marshal Sam Kassmeyer was hurt, losing blood quickly. With the little he was able to tell us we knew that Haley and Jack were in danger. Sam had not told Foyet anything, but George was smart, unfortunately. He had disguised himself as a Marshal and lied to Haley to get her where he needed her. Only him had communication with her. Everyone was on edge wanting nothing more than to find this man.

In the office we heard Hotch’s conversation with Foyet. He was working hard to buy some time for us to find him but knowing George he already had a plan set in motion. He had eyes on the pair, he was with them. I could only imagine what Hotch was going through.

“Alright, Foyet has to be in control,” Derek said, breaking me out of my thoughts. “He had Haley come to him.”

“Yeah, but where would he take her?” Spencer asked. We all started thinking and speculating. There was something in the call that told Hotch where to go. That was the key.

“Reid, what did he say, exactly?” I emphasized on the last word.

“Haley’s hair looks good dark. She’s lost some weight. It must be because of all the stress you caused her. Where’s the little man? Oh, there he is now. Do you think he likes Captain America because of you? That’s your wife on the other line. Hold, please. Hi. Open the gate and I’ll drive in.” Spencer recited in a monotone voice.

“Open the gate?” My father questioned.

“It would be someplace with the biggest emotional impact for Hotch,” I said looking down to organize my thoughts.

“And Haley has access to the gate,” Derek added, and it clicked.

“Their house,” I said. “Where they lived together.”

“Of course,” Emily said. “Foyet planned this all the way to the end. It’s everything to him.”

“He wants to take over Hotch’s house, to be in control, to prove his dominance,” I finished. We knew where he was going, and I was sure Hotch knew too and was already on his way.

On the way, Hotch got a call from Foyet’s phone. It was Hayley. I heard the emotion grabbing him by the throat. We could hear the whole conversation and my heart broke when he asked Hayley the magic words.

“Tell Jack that I need him working on the case,” Hotch breathed out. One drunken night he had told me about how he had found Jack inside a storage bench in his office after he had knocked on it. The smiling kid had told his father that he was working the case with Hotch. Hotch knew what was going to happen and so did I. This was the best chance Jack had at survival.

When Hotch told Jack to hug his mom and he said I love you, I let out a loud sob and Emily grabbed my hand tightly for support. But I was not the one that need the care. Hotch did. Haley’s words would forever be engraved in my head, and in the heads of our friends.

Three gunshots rang through the line right before it cut. Then I could not hold back the tears. I knew. I just knew.

Hotch was the first one on the scene and all I thought of was that he did not have a vest or any backup, so god knows what could have happened. For the second time in a matter of months all I could ask for was that Morgan drove faster.

At the house, Morgan was the first one in and the scene that unfolded in front of us was heartbreaking. Hotch was hitting Foyet over and over, and Derek had to hold him back. He was dead. I surveyed the scene and instinctively went to Hotch’s office, Hotch following close behind. Jack had to be there. I let Hotch walk past me and watched as relief overtook him when he lifted the lid.

“I work the case, daddy,” Jack said. Unbeknownst to everything that had happened. “Just like you said.”

“You did a great job buddy,” Hotch lifted his son out of the bench.

“What happened to you, daddy?”

“I’m okay. I want you to go outside with Ms. Jareau. Ok?” The child walked to JJ and she took him out in her arms.

And Hotch let go. He silently cried and I helped him make his way to where Haley laid. I stood by the door and turned away a police officer. Morgan stood up and squeezed my shoulder as he left the room behind the officer. I stayed outside of the doorframe, listening to the sobs of a strong man.

Next->

[quietmyfearswith]

would've been you ; steve rogers x fem!reader

status — completed oneshot

word count — 4,477 words

summary — in which steve rogers pretends to be in a relationship in order to get his ex to stop pestering about his life.

warnings —swear words, fluff?? mentions of blood and bruising, angst?? insecurities, implied smut

pairing — steve rogers x fem!reader

a/n — italics are the flashbacks,,, and would you believe it's been a fat minute since i've written about steve rogers??? so i hope i bring his character justice lmao,, also this is my take on the fake dating au so i would really appreciate some feedback and asks/messages are open! if you follow me, please state your age/age range in your bio. i will block you if you follow me and don’t have your age/age range in your bio!!!

tagging —​ @la-cey​ @pedropcl​ @isysen​ @slutforcevans @iloveshawnieboi

masterlist | series masterlist | join my taglist (please follow the rules)

“There you are, doll!” Steve cheerily yelled, pausing his current conversation with Sharon. Walking over to Y/N, he kissed her cheek and took advantage of the fact that his back was facing Sharon and whispered in her ear, “Play along with it, please.”

Sensing the desperation in his tone, she nodded in her head and plastered a smile on her face, “Where have you been, doll?” The way he called her doll had her biting the inside of her cheek as she had to remind herself that this was all just a ruse and so she went along, “I’m sorry ‘bout that, honey,” She raised the folders that contained important mission intel, “Had to run these over by Fury first.”

Draping an arm over Y/N’s shoulder, he then turned to Sharon and smiled at her, “Oh Sharon, I don’t think I’ve told you yet but me and Y/N have been dating for quite a while now.” The girl being addressed to tilted her head a bit  — she was silently analyzing the pair’s compatibility and after a few silent seconds she somewhat came to the conclusion that they were somewhat a good couple — before smiling, “Well good for you both! Thought that our breakup was too harsh on you, Steve.”

Y/N had to hold back a chuckle at Sharon’s seemingly innocent remark; but Steve could only scoff, “Well it was harsh, until I was with my beautiful doll.” She felt his lips place a gentle kiss on the top of her head and she didn’t know the reason behind her snuggling herself to Steve’s side — was it because she was playing along? Or was it due to the warmth his body was radiating made her relax and seek more of that comfort.

“Since you have a girl,” It creeped Y/N out when Sharon wiggled her eyebrows as she said the word girl, “You wouldn’t mind going to my Valentine’s party then?” The Avenger took the invite she held out. “A Valentine’s party? Wouldn’t that be a bit condescending?”

Chuckling at her question, Sharon just waved them off, “Oh no! I don’t think it will be. Plus, me and Mark just love celebrating every holiday or festival!” She checked her phone and realized she had somewhere else to be, she waved off as she bid adieu, “I’ll see you both okay? Bye!”

“Be sure to invite us for your St. Patrick's Day party, okay?” Y/N sarcastically reminded her as Steve genuinely laughed out loud. Once Sharon was out of their sight, he grabbed her hand and led her into his office so they could discuss privately.

“What the fuck was that, Steve?” Y/N yelled at him once they both were inside his soundproof office. “I’m sorry! I had to do so,” Steve explained, his blue eyes evidently expressed stress, “Sharon suddenly had me cornered and was asking about how I was after we broke up.”

“So you decided to tell her that we were dating?!”

“No!” His answer had her confused as she tilted her head back to stare at him in disbelief, “Well, not necessarily that we were dating.”

“I feel like I’m owed more than that; so explain yourself clearly, Rogers.” Y/N crossed her arms and looked at him dead serious in the eye; sighing to calm himself down, Steve then closed his eyes before slowly opening them as he explained to her, “She asked me how I was doing post-breakup and I said I was doing well. Her nosey self wasn’t satisfied with that answer and inquired further if I was dating anyone.”

“Then you told her you were seeing me?” Y/N predicted and was surprised when Steve shook his head, “I vaguely told her that I was dating someone already.”

“But she kept on pestering you for a name and face?” She giggled as Steve rolled his eyes but nodded to answer her question, “You were the first dame to pass by and thought that maybe she’d piss off once she saw that I indeed have someone.”

Snatching the invite that he held, she read through the details of the party they were invited to as she chuckled, “Then it looks like we have a party to attend to on the 14th, hm?”

“What?” Now it was the super soldier’s turn to be stunned; he thought that it was only a one time thing where they had to pose in front of Sharon as a couple. “We’re going to the Valentine’s party?”

Pursing her lips together as she looked at him as if he lacked common sense, Y/N answered, “Well, duh. Wouldn’t it be odd if you attended the party alone when she clearly invited us both?”

He understood her point, but what he failed to recognize is why she was willing to pose as his partner when they weren’t together, in any way. “You’re on board with this whole fake dating thing?”

“Okay for one, don’t flatter yourself,” She defended as she caught herself thinking that maybe he thought that this was her way of living some fantasy where they were a real couple, “Two, you said it yourself — Sharon’s not gonna stop bothering you. Why not just ride along with whatever she’s playing, yeah?”

Her reasons made sense to Steve and he jabbed at her too, “Plus, you did seem interested with what her Valentine’s party looked like.” As he mentioned the ridiculously themed party she burst out in a fit of giggles as she raised the invitation to their eye level and said, “Well it does state that we both have to wear either red or pink.”

“I knew you were dumb, but I didn’t know you were this dumb,” Bucky stated as he placed the weights Steve lifted against the parallel bar dips of the gym bench. Lifting himself off the inclined seat, the blonde Captain glared at his best friend, “You and I both know I’m not dumb! Who was it that pieced together quickly that he wasn’t in the 40’s the moment he woke up?”

Rolling his eyes, the brunette flicked Steve’s ear as he drank some of his energy drink, “Well you’re dumb enough to engage in a fake relationship with the woman you’ve been in love with for a few years now.”

The captain was quick to swat his friend’s thigh to silence him; his blonde locks moved left and right as he looked sideways — making sure no one heard his deepest secret exposed supposed best friend. “Keep it down, will you?”

The former Winter Soldier could only chuckle as he watched Steve prepare his things as they both had reached the end of their workout, “But still, are you sure this plan won’t backfire and blow up all over your face?”

Truthfully, Steve hadn’t considered that yet, “Honestly? I don’t know.” After a few silent seconds, Bucky knew the look that his friend was sporting so he fished for more answers, “But?”

“But I’m hoping something good will come out after this whole ordeal,” Steve quietly admitted with a sigh as he rested his back against the cold, metal walls of the elevator. Bucky took the time to study his friend’s facial features; it was amazing how at the mere thought of being with Y/N instantly relaxed him. “I hope the same for you, pal.”

Midway through the elevator’s journey to their floor, it rang softly as it halted, and the doors opened to reveal Y/N, “Hey you two!” When she entered the small box, Steve stood up straight as he smiled at her, “Hi doll, how are you?”

With the metallic palm pressing against his lips, Bucky stifled his amused laughter with how dumbfounded his friend was; he could see the miniscule beads of sweat and nervousness appear behind Steve’s facade as he faced the girl of his dreams and he couldn’t wait to tell this tale to Sam. Unaware of what was previously going on, the only girl in the space smiled warmly, “Drop the act Steve, Sharon’s not here,” She turned to Bucky and greeted him too, “How was the workout, Sarge?”

“It was great! Also got to help out some of the other recruits who were struggling,” Steve’s mind was foggy as the two conversed as he silently reflected on what she said to him. Drop the act? Did she think that him being nice to her was just part of their stunt? She must not have any idea of how much she really means to me then, he concluded.

Upon hearing her say, “Well I did know you were a better combat fighter than Steve,” To his best friend snapped him out of his deep thought. “Excuse me? Did you say I wasn’t better than Buck?”

“Uh oh,” Bucky warningly mocked as Y/N laughed at Steve’s pout; she brushed his cheek with her palm to comfort him, “Don’t worry honey, I still know that you’re skilled enough to sweep me off my feet.”

The elevator chimed softly, serving as a cue for Y/N that she was already on the floor where she needed to be. Before stepping off the box, she winked at Steve, “Bye boyfriend, see you later.” Steve was grateful for the elevator’s timing as he watched her exit for his cheeks got all red as he replayed the earlier events in his mind.

The brunette, of course, noticed the dreamy state his friend was in and didn’t hesitate to poke fun at him, “Two sentences and she got you all flustered and blushing? Man, can’t wait to tell this to Sam.” Bucky huffed out as Steve hit his chest with the back of his palm before exiting the elevator once they were on the floor of their living quarters, “Shut the hell up, jerk.”

“Yeah? Well you’re one coward punk!”

“What’s the emergency?” Steve wondered as he entered Y/N’s office after receiving a text from her that demanded his presence immediately; though it was a vague text which read;

My office, ASAP. We have an emergency.

He quickly concluded his meeting, worried at the thought  that something might have happened to her. However, as she walked from her couch and greeted him, “We haven’t talked about what we’re going to wear for the party!”

“Seriously?” Steve deadpanned as he chuckled lightly, Y/N mocked his amusement as she nodded, “I am!” She held the invitation between her fingers, “The invite said we have to wear either red or pink. But couples were encouraged to wear something that matched.”

After his amusement died down, he then placed the weight of his chin on his palm, “And what are you proposing we wear to the party?” With that she gleefully skipped to the coffee table, where she carried the hangers and showed to him the outfits she bought — she bought him a pink, strawberry-themed long sleeve; while she bought herself a dress of the same design and color.

“This one?” He held the cloth of the top he was supposed to wear, “We’re wearing this to the party?” Sheepishly, she nodded as she swayed a little bit, “Okay, they were a bit self-indulgent,” Steve snorted and she glared at him as she continued, “But hey! This fits the dress code; it’s pink and we’ll be matching too!”

Scratching the back of his neck, he thought about it and was extremely on the fence on whether he should wear it; apparently he took too long to respond as Y/N huffed out as she sat on the couch with a pout as she crossed her arms, “And here I was willing to help you in your dilemma and yet you can’t do this small thing for me.

Sitting beside her, he poked her sides and to no avail, “Hey, come on now. Don’t be like that,” He wrapped his arms around her figure and he felt her still in his arms but ultimately relaxed as she leaned back to his chest and looked at him with a pout, “What?”

“I always wanted to wear this dress,” She confessed as she played with his fingers that were tapping on the skin of her stomach, “And you know, the party seemed like the perfect occasion to do so.” She peered up at Steve, his chin almost resting on the top of her head, “Don’t worry, I can change what we’re gonna wear. Would matching sweaters work for you?”

With a serious expression, he shook his head, “We’re not going to the party wearing sweaters.” She gasped out but it was short-lived as he smiled and kissed her forehead, “We’re gonna be wearing these pretty heart outfits.”

Her whole face lit up and she smiled brightly as she enclosed his neck with his arms, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” It surprised them both when she planted a soft kiss on his clean-shaven cheek, “I’m really thankful that you want to dress up in those hideous outfits.”

Stroking her back, he shook his head, “They’re not hideous; I know for a fact that you will look even more lovely once you wear that dress,” Images of what she would look like as she wore the dress filled his mind, and she looked jaw-dropping.

After relishing in the contented silence they shared before Steve tapped her forearms, “Okay, doll. Need to go now,” He thought of how he needed to call back some of the officials he dismissed at the meeting he was earlier in, “I’ll pick you up at 6pm tomorrow, okay?”

Nodding her head, she too stood up and handed the garment to him, “Don’t forget this.” Snatching the fabric from her, he winked at her before leaving her to her company, “See you then, doll.” And that mention of the nickname, she felt himself melting like ice cream.

“So this is what a Valentine’s-themed look like,” Steve noted as he took a sip of the red, sugary drink being offered at one of the tables as Y/N snickered after taking a bite of the chocolate-strawberry, “Still a bit condescending, and damn is it too pink and red!”

Around them, there were a litter of red, pink, and gold balloons taped to the wall; while there  were pink streamers attached to the back of the chairs and heart-shaped stickers littered the room — as if to mock those who weren’t in any way experiencing an overwhelming amount of love. Steve laughed at her comment and was about to sip more of his drink when he noticed that Sharon was approaching them; he draped an arm around Y/N’s lower back, pulling her in closer to him until their bodies touched, as he continued to drink his beverage.

“Hey guys, how are you enjoying the party?” When she stood tall and proud in front them, it nearly blinded the two as she was donning a sparkly, sequined pink dress that screamed “Valentine disco ball.”

“We’re enjoying it,” Y/N managed to get out without squinting her eyes too much and with a convincing fake smile, “I do have to say you have great tastes in sweets,” She raised the half-eaten strawberry she was munching on. The blonde girl laughed as she nodded her head, “Well Mark has a sweet tooth so of course I have to indulge him.”

Steve was about to remark about how Mark was on their brief exchange upon their arrival but was quickly cut off by his ex’s questioning, “So tell me, how did you two become an official couple?” The fake couple looked at each other as they stammered out a coherent response as they stared at each other, getting lost in each other’s beautiful eyes.

“I mean, I knew about how Steve had this miniscule crush on you,” Sharon stating that casually made them snap out of their haze and focus on the blonde, “He might have confessed that early on in our relationship.”

“I’m sorry?” Y/N wasn’t sure why that was what she said but Sharon quickly waved it off, “It’s fine, really. I too had a crush on someone when we were together — who can resist Keanu Reeves, am I right?”

The two girls chuckled — Y/N genuinely laughed this time as she too draped her arm around Steve’s lower back, somewhat to ground herself — and once they both calmed down, Sharon returned to her questioning, “So really, what’s your story?”

“Well it started after a rough mission, after our breakup,” Steve recalled which caught the attention of both women. Anticipating his recollection, they watched him with eager eyes and silent mouths, encouraging the Avenger to carry on, “I was punching some bags in the gym until I was bleeding. Then Y/N showed up and from there we were inseparable,” He paused for a while before looking on his the mentioned girl and smiling softly at her, “You might not remember it, doll.”

“I do, actually,” She retorted softly, before turning to Sharon as she recounted what happened from her point of view;

“Don’t think punching that bag will change the mission’s outcome,” Y/N’s voice echoed through the empty room of the gym; it also caused Steve to halt his assault on the object and smirking to her, “It won’t, but it might change how I currently feel.”

Walking over to him, she sat on the nearest bench from where he was standing as she stated out loud her observation, “Come over here and let me treat your bleeding.” He gave her a firm look which was his tell that he was about to pull the “I’m a super soldier” card; but he hasn’t even got out a syllable out before she shut him up, “Super soldier or not, you can die of loss of blood, you know?”

Sighing and rolling his eyes, he walked over while removing the punching gloves before moving to sit beside her. Her fingers peeled off the tape he covered his knuckles in that were now sticky with both sweat and blood, “Jesus, Steve, how dumb can you be?”

“Is that a challenge?” He snickered but it quickly died down to a hiss as she applied a liquid ointment on his knuckles before dabbing it with cotton, “Sorry,” She apologized with a meek smile, “But no, I have mission reports dating back to the 40’s to prove how impulsive you can be.”

They sat there in silence for a few minutes as she was treating his hands before Y/N spoke up, “Do you need someone to listen to and comfort you? Or someone who can give you solutions?” Steve lifted his gaze from his bruised knuckles to her gentle eyes, “What?”

She smiled softly at him before resuming in bandaging his knuckles, “I know for a fact that the mission isn’t the only thing that got you all worked up.” She didn’t have to say it, but it was evident that she knew about his and Sharon’s break up.

“So you’ve heard about it then?” His inference had her smirking at him as she placed her hands on her thighs after finishing up on his hands, looking at him incredulously, “The proper question is who hasn’t? I bet only Scott and Hope don't because they’re on that mission in New Zealand.”

A chuckle erupted from his chest with the manner she was being honest with him, “I guess I just like having someone not looking sorry for me or offering sympathy with the whole ordeal,” Every time someone mentioned the breakup they were all sympathetic to him and it was refreshing to be with someone who somehow found humor in his rather sad situation, “So I like how you feel nor display neither.”

He didn’t have to say it as well, but she got the faint hint that he needed a good laugh just to forget about everything and she was more than glad to do so, “Since we’re being honest, why don’t you go for a quick shower? You’re starting to smell from the 40’s already.”

Her remark had him gasping as he placed a hand on his chest, slightly offended but was still in a playful mood, “Oh? And what do I get once I smell like more of this century?”

She stood up and smirked at him as she was strutting away to leave him shower, “Gonna show you a good time, cap. Just text me once you’re done, yeah?”

“You naughty minx! You too did it right away?” Sharon excitedly concluded, invested with the blossoming relationship of her ex-boyfriend — Y/N thought it was unusual how a person would genuinely be interested in their former partner’s well-being, but this was better than her treating her with spite.

Steve laughed loudly as he shook his head, “Sharon! No! We didn’t do what you’re thinking.” His statement had her confused as she pouted and whined for answers, “Well she said she would show you a good time? What else am I supposed to think?”

“I drove him out to this amusement park and on the way home took him to this karaoke dive bar thing,” Y/N clarified and nuzzled the side of her face to Steve’s arm upon remembering how hard and loud Steve laughed throughout the day.

Upon the mention of the bar they went to, Steve placed his now empty glass on one of the tables as he fished his wallet out and got one of the many photo strips they took on the bar’s photo booth, “I even made sure to keep these, as a reminder of our first unofficial date.”

Sharon cooed as she looked at their adorable poses; but Steve and Y/N were both staring into each other with longing and love in their eyes, and yet neither of them could bring themselves into saying it to each other.

“Oh shit, Mark’s calling me,” Sharon said as she hastily said goodbye to them as she was approaching her boyfriend, “Enjoy yourselves okay?” They both nodded to her and told her to go to beau as they would be fine by themselves.

“Wanna get out of here?”

“Yes, please,” Steve chuckled at her immediate response; tucking the strip containing their pictures in his pocket, he grabbed her hand, holding onto it tightly as he sneakily led to exit the party.

For a while, they were just walking down the street with their tangled hands swaying as they both silently took in earlier events. “So, you kept all those strips of photos we took?” Seeing as he nodded bashfully, she scoffed, “We must have inserted over a dozen quarters that night! Do you know how many photo strips that could be?”

Truthfully, she didn’t want to look at those photos — let alone have a copy — since it served as a painful relic of a night filled with fun and spontaneity. And she feared that it was all a dream and that it wouldn’t be once again replicated.

“And I kept every single one of them,” Unlike his bashful demeanor earlier, his tone was now firm and confident. They both paused their walking as they were by the park, that was thankfully not crowded at this time of the day.

“Why?” Y/N hated how she sounded so weak, which was far from how confident her tone was whenever she held meetings for SHIELD or the Avengers. Steve smiled at her with the fondness that he never thought he had, “Because if I were to choose my soulmate, it would’ve been you.”

In a state of disbelief, Y/N rapidly shook her head while she shakily protested, “But you were with Sharon,” She was struggling to unclasp her hand with Steve’s; but he wasn;t letting her do so as he held onto hers firmly, “You wanted her, possibly loved her. There’s no way you could want me.”

He understood her point, but he had his own and wanted to make it clear; he grabbed both her hands firmly and placed a kiss on her knuckles before speaking, “If there’s one thing I learned from this generation, is that sometimes we date and put ourselves out there to learn more about one’s self.”

She was unsure with where he was going, so she decided to let him talk, “And in my short stint of being with Sharon, I came to the conclusion that I’ll always want you.” His hand let go of hers as he brushed his hand from her temple to the crown of her head, “I know that you will always have the most beautiful hair that I have ever seen.”

The hand traveled to the front of her face, brushing gently the side of her eyelids, “One with the most expressive and wonderful eyes,” His thumb and pointer finger then playfully and gently squeezed the bridge of her nose, “The cutest nose.”

With a deep breath, he planted his hand  at the nape of her neck, pulling her into a soft, passionate kiss. His lips formed a smile when he felt that she relaxed into the kiss enough that she too reciprocated the vigour he had. Steve could feel the hairs on his back raise as he felt her warm hands on them; she suddenly felt the need to feel more of him as their lips and tongues passionately danced together.

“If this is your definition of a joke, I will have you removed from being an Avenger,” He thought of it as an empty threat but she was dead serious; he chuckled from where their lips were touching as they rested from kissing.

His hands were on her chin, getting her to look up at him, “This isn’t a joke, doll, I promise. This is me, putting myself out there for the woman I have grown to love and admire. Hoping that she will allow me to be her boyfriend.”

She loved seeing the boyish, hopeful smile he sported; she laid a quick peck on his lips before answering, “I’d love for you to be my boyfriend, Steve.”

In the spur of the moment happiness, Steve yelled out loud as he twirled Y/N around and dipped her, as if they were dancing. “Steve! Put me back up!” She squealed when he kissed her as he put her back to stand back up on her feet. “Sorry doll, ‘m just extremely happy.”

Bopping his nose, she teased him, “Just said yes to us being a couple, I don’t recall telling you I love you yet,” She then mockingly wondered out loud, “What more would your reaction be if I do say those three little words, hm?”

Sensing that she was challenging him, he smirked as he draped his arm around her shoulder, resuming their walk back to the compound as Steve said, “Well I too know how to show you a good time; and I bet after that you’re gonna be telling me how much you love me.”

[the-witty-pen-name]

Can’t Help Falling in Love

Loki x Reader (Gender Neutral)

Summary: When Loki learns the traditions of Valentine’s Day, he asks you to be his Valentine- and reluctantly takes advice from Steve Rogers. 

Warnings: none; just fluff

Word Count: 2.9k

A/N: Thank you to @squadleaderchase​ for the suggestion! This was so fun to write!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

I recommend listening to Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley towards the end of this imagine!  

There is also a female reader version of this fic, available here!

“Can’t Midgardians have a holiday that doesn’t involve such a grotesque display of… red?” Loki asks walking into the living room of the Avengers compound. Loki arrived at the compound a few weeks before Christmas and so far, he’s experienced two Earth holidays: Christmas and New Year’s. Of course, Tony had picked the theme for both parties to be elaborately red and gold- he claimed the fact that it matched his suit was merely a coincidence.

“Just wait until next month,” you reply casually, your eyes not leaving the brief you were reading while you sat cozied up in one of the large armchairs. “I think you’ll like St. Patrick’s Day much more… color scheme wise at least.”

Loki looked up curiously at the hearts of all shades of red and pink Natasha had hung up to decorate the Avengers’ living quarters. She had gone to visit Clint’s family and his kids spent hours making Valentines and decorations out of construction paper and glitter. Loki looked almost puzzled at the lopsided hearts that hung from the ceiling on transparent line so they looked like they floated mid-air.

“Perhaps I might,” he mumbled to himself, the lovesick aura of his surroundings making him slightly disgusted. “Though I suppose I find your rituals as bizarre as you’d find on Asgard.”

“Mhmm,” you mumbled in response to his thinking out loud. It was rare that the compound would be this quiet. It was a Friday evening and in the middle of a team meeting earlier today, Tony declared exhaustedly that everyone needs to start the weekend early and dismissed everyone despite Steve’s protests. You weren’t sure where everyone else went and you didn’t particularly care- enjoying the rare peace and quiet.

You didn’t mind Loki’s company. He was a little aloof but overall, you found him more to be misunderstood than anything else. He wasn’t like Thor and sure, he had a very trouble ridden past to downplay it- but he’s confided in you all it wasn’t entirely his doing. Out of everyone living at the compound, he probably had grown the closest to you, or as close as Loki would allow himself to be to someone.

“What even is this holiday?” Loki asked, pulling his attention from the decorations to where you sat, binder in your lap. You looked up and closed the brief, tossing it onto the coffee table in front of where you sat.

“Sunday is Valentine’s Day,” you say looking back over to him, meeting his eyes. “I mean overtime the traditions and how we celebrate have changed but it’s originally the day meant to honor St. Valentine and commemorate his death. There’s a lot more to it than that and there’s all different of different origins, but now it’s more like a day where you celebrate love, because he was the patron Saint of Love.”

Loki nods, liking the idea of this holiday much more than New Years already. He didn’t mind Christmas, but the elaborate parties made everything not very appealing to him. You can’t blame the god for not having a good time at parties where every guest fears him or hates him. He walks over and takes a seat on the couch and crosses his legs. He was intrigued enough to continue the conversation and ask you more questions. “What are the traditions?” He asks curiously.

“Traditionally, you would ask someone to be your Valentine, and that’s the person you want to spend the day with,” you answer with a small shrug, trying to explain a holiday you’ve never had to explain before. “Some people have it easy and they ask their significant other, and if you don’t have one, you ask someone you’re romantically interested in to be your Valentine. Then you give each other gifts, like chocolates or flowers, anything really that’s romantic and you go out on a date, like a nice dinner but it doesn’t have to be. That’s the basic gist.”

“Thank you, (y/n),” Loki said, mulling over your explanation. “You’ve been helpful, as always. Tell me, who’s your Valentine?”

“I don’t have one,” you answered honestly. The only time you really celebrated was when you had been with someone. You’d never really participated otherwise. You planned to just spend the night alone or with Nat if she also didn’t have plans and probably watch a movie- most definitely Pride and Prejudice.

“Shame,” Loki said with a tsk. “Perhaps, if you would be interested, you could be my Valentine?”

“Really?” you ask, honestly surprised.

“I actually like the idea of the day,” Loki shrugged. “And I don’t know many people, people seem to hate me on this planet- no idea as to why. You’ve always been kind to me, and you are the most tolerable person I’ve encountered on this planet.”

“That’s oddly very kind of you,” you say with a chuckle. “I appreciate the sentiments. Um, yes. I’d be happy to be your Valentine.”

“Excellent,” he grinned. He clapped his hands together and stood up. “Splendid. I’ll ask Thor to help me plan something.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” you smile, picking up your paperwork again as Loki heads off to find his brother.

***

“Brother,” Thor’s voice echoed in the training room. “Spar with me?”

“As much as I would love to,” Loki said sarcastically, “I need your help with something I need to plan.” Loki walked over to the side of the mat where Thor had been training with Captain Rogers.

“Plan what?” Captain Rogers asked curiously. It was an innocent enough question but Loki took it as Rogers insinuating his distrust in him. Of course, Loki can’t blame the man but it did rub him the wrong way.

“If you must know Captain Rogers, I’m making plans for this upcoming Valentine’s Day,” Loki said matter-of-factly. “I’m sure since you have quite the active love life recently, your words of wisdom are probably of infinite value.”

“You can learn a thing or two from me,” Steve retorted as he put the punching bag beck into place. “But I don’t like your attitude.”

“I don’t know how I’ll ever manage without you,” Loki scoffed. He turned his attention back to his brother. “I need help to determine where I should take (y/n) and what I should get for a present.”

“(y/n) agreed to this?” Thor asks, his eyebrows raised in confusion. Rogers kept his mouth shut, deciding to see where this conversation will go before

“Yes, brother. I asked (y/n) to be my Valentine as stated by tradition and they said yes.”

“Ah! Good for you, brother!” Thor exclaimed, happily. “I’m glad you’re immersing yourself in the Midgard culture.”

“Yes, yes,” Loki waved him off, “Now, please, tell me what I should do.”

“I’ve never celebrated Valentine’s Day,” Thor says with a shrug and a sympathetic look. “I haven’t had much opportunity to explore the culture. Every time I’m on this planet I’m a little busy preventing its destruction. Perhaps Rogers can help you?”

Loki let out an exasperated sigh. He avoided Rogers as he knew the man had such a smug look on his face. Loki refused to give him the satisfaction. However, he realized that wouldn’t be fair to you. Rogers not only knew what to do, but he was also close friends with you. He quickly realized if he wanted to celebrate with you properly, he’d need to rely on the infamous super soldier.

“Captain Rogers,” Loki said with a charismatic smile, turning back to the man. “I wholeheartedly apologize for my lack of… social niceties. If you’d be willing to help me, to ensure your dear friend enjoys the holiday, I would be sincerely grateful.”

“Only because of (y/n),” Rogers says skeptically, waving a finger at Loki. “They deserve to enjoy their time and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I let you screw up their evening.”

“What a loyal friend.”

Years later, the Avengers would still talk about the fact Loki cared about you so much, he sought out advice from Captain America and Thor. And as Captain America said, he helped Loki with every last detail and Steve never let Loki forget it.

***

Loki had told you that he’d come to your room to get you at 6 o’clock Sunday evening. He wore clothes he had picked out, black dress pants, a white button-down shirt and shiny, black dress shoes. He had kept the last button of the shirt unbuttoned and he had rolled the sleeves up, a styling tip he had gotten from Thor. He had his long hair gelled back and tamed, ignoring Captain Roger’s horrible suggestion for a haircut. He felt very weird not wearing any green, but he took the advice he was given on his ensemble.

You were just putting on your shoes when he knocked at your door Sunday promptly at 6pm. Of course, Loki would be very punctual. You gave yourself one more quick once more in the mirror in your room before heading to answer the door.

You kept your appearance simple, sticking to how you usually styled your hair. Not wanting to keep him waiting, you quickly opened the door, your jacket in hand.

“Wow,” you say with a grin, when you take in Loki’s appearance. “You look very nice.”

“You look stunning,” Loki said, his eyes widening, taking in your appearance. The compliment made you have butterflies.

“Thank you,” you said with false confidence. Underneath, you were a nervous wreck as you took the arm that he extended to you.

“So,” Loki began to walk down the hallway with you. “Apparently, this planet has something called reservations, and anyone who tries to get one a few days before Valentine’s Day is a “moron,” according to a very rude young man I had the pleasure of speaking with- the first time using a phone too on top of that. So, I hope you don’t mind if the evening is a little… makeshift.”

“I’m sure it’ll be great,” you reassure him. You feel him relax slightly. You found how hard he was trying so endearing.

Where else did he bring you but just down the hall to the living room. At night with the lights dimmed, combined with Natasha’s homemade decorations, it actually looked quite beautiful. He had decorated with an eclectic array of candles as well that covered most surfaces of the room. It also looked like he had swiped every throw pillow in the whole compound and had them arranged the coffee table in the center of the room.

“Did you do all of this?” You ask in awe.

“Yes,” he replied, just watching you. “Do you like it?”

“It’s perfect.”

“I had to make my own version of advice I received,” he disclosed to you. You sat opposite each other on either side of the coffee table, you kicked off your heels and he did the same with his shoes. “Captain Rogers said- and I’m trying my best to quote verbatim, ‘You need to show a special someone a good time if you care about ‘em . You gotta take ‘em to dinner and dancing.’” He even mimicked Steve’s voice perfectly. It made you laugh.

“I can’t believe you subjected yourself to Steve for me, I’m touched,” you smiled. “I mean I love Steve,” you continue, “But I can’t imagine you too being best friends anytime soon.”

“No, I suppose we probably won’t be,” Loki chuckles.

“I hate to point it out,” you continue, “but I think you missed both the dinner part and the dancing part of that plan.” Loki smirked and when you blinked, he transformed the whole room.

“Did I?” he asks, with an eyebrow raised. You gasp, looking around the room you were now in. You knew it was an illusion, but it felt very real. The atmosphere, the breeze coming in from the large bay windows that weren’t there before. The coffee table now a table now one of many dining tables in an incredibly high-end restaurant. The table had food, and a bottle of wine. You were stunned. There was a live band and other couples in other tables and out on the dancefloor.

“Loki?” You exclaimed, looking around at your new surroundings. It was amazing. You couldn’t believe the magic right before your eyes. Of course, you knew it was just one of his tricks, but it felt so incredibly real. You picked up your fork and took a bite of the food in front of you. It was incredible, you questioned if you were even eating.

“It’s real,” Loki said, like he could read your mind. Honestly, he had only just anticipated your next question. “I made it. Well, I made it with Friday’s supervision.”

“It’s fantastic! I can’t believe you went through all this trouble just for me.”

“Sweetheart, you are very much worth it- worth much more than this,” he responded casually, throwing in the term of endearment to see how you’d react. He caught the way it made you smile.

You continued to talk for a little while, and shared stories. You were worried that compared to his life on Asgard, he’d find your stories incredibly boring and mundane. It seemed to be the opposite. His attention was only on you and he held on to every word you said. He created this elaborate setting just to keep you the center of his attention.

“Should we dance?” He asks suddenly, a glimmer in his eye. You looked down apprehensively.

“I’m not really a dancer,” you tried to insist.

“Do you actually not want to dance, darling? Because if so, I will not bring it up again,” he says earnestly, “But, if you’re saying no because you’re afraid I’m going to judge you, I honestly can promise you I would never dream of doing so.”

You give it another moment to ponder over his words. You were taken aback at how well he seemed to know how you were thinking. You let out a sigh of defeat, and smile. “I’d love to,” you reply.

He stands up and offers you his hand. His smile is enough to make you weak at the knees. You take his hand and he leads you over to the dancefloor as the band starts playing its next song. “Does that singer sound like Elvis?” You ask, the small glitch in the illusion throwing you off for only a moment.

“I don’t know who that is,” Loki says with a laugh. He pulls you in close and rests one hand on the small of your back and the other grasps your hand close. You wrap your other arm around his shoulder. You are both pressed up incredibly close to one another. You rest your head on his chest comfortably, and you can’t see how much the action makes his whole face go red. Guiding your movements together, it mostly just swaying in place. The steps were small, and with the music playing for the two of you.

“This place is incredible,” you sigh happily looking up at him. “But I think I liked the first place a little better.”

He nodded in agreement and you got to watch a green hue encompass the walls of the restaurant as they almost melted away, and everything around the two of you just fade away. The sconces on the walls, revealed themselves to be the candles that cluttered the living room and the couples evaporated with the green mist. The table you had both sat at, turned back to the coffee table but the empty plates remained. The elaborate statues that surrounded the room turned into the furniture you knew well, and then the live band faded away to reveal Steve’s record player indeed playing a 45 of Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley.

When the room finished revealing its true appearance to you, you laid your head back on Loki’s chest and mumbled that now it was perfect. He smiled to himself, thinking about how without a doubt in his mind, Valentine’s Day is his absolute favorite holiday on Midgard. He now couldn’t believe this reality was real. If he wasn’t holding you, he’d pinch himself. You were here, with him, in his arms, dancing in the middle of the living room on this godforsaken planet.

“(y/n)?” he whispered softly as the song was coming to an end.

“Mhmm?” You responded, your eyes closed, really just basking in the feeling of being so close to him and the smell of his cologne.

“Will be mine?” He asks carefully, remembering the phrase from Captain Roger’s advice. That phrase apparently being very important if today went well and he wanted to ask you to “go steady.” You chuckled softly, hearing Steve’s influence in the phrase.

“I would love to,” you say with a shy smile looking back up to him. He beams, incredibly happy you said yes. Swept up in his emotions, he swiftly leans down and presses his lips to yours capturing them in a passionate first kiss.

“Oh gross!” You hear someone exclaim, making you both pull away. It’s Tony- who was currently holding his side in pain as Pepper elbowed him in the side.

“You really had to do that?” she chastised him, rolling her eyes and giving an apologetic look to you and Loki before pushing Tony down the hallway to give you both your moment back, as sullied as it had become thanks to Tony.

“I never gave Rock of Ages permission to be… lovey dovey in my building! (y/n) you can do so much better than that greaseball!”

“I’m so sorry,” she said embarrassed by his outburst, ushering him out as quickly as possible.

Loki turns his head back to you, immediately after they are out of view. “Where were we, darling?” He smirks, pulling you in for another kiss.

[ruzek-halstead]

I’m pretty sure the only fic I know nothing about on your WIP list is the St Paddy’s Day one so... TELL ME MORE MY FRIEND!!! 🧡

okay so this was a little something i decided to write last minute on st. patrick’s day but then i didn’t have time to finish!! i added it to the list bc i had a chunk written so i figured i could give y’all what i have since i’m probably never going to officially post it

storyline: luke is wearing a ‘kiss me, i’m irish’ shirt

"Dude! Where did you get that shirt?"

Upon hearing Reggie's exclamation, Luke looked down with a smirk.

"I found it in some bin on the street," he told his best friends proudly. "Can you believe someone was going to throw out this perfectly good shirt?"

Alex's noise wrinkled in disgust, and if he were close enough, he would slap Luke on the back of the head. "You're wearing a garbage shirt?"

"It's not garbage," Luke retaliated hotly, "Well, not anymore."

"I think it's cool," Reggie nodded.

"Please tell me you at least washed it," Alex interrupted, shooting Luke a disgusted glance.

Luke rolled his eyes. “I’m feeling a lot of hate in this room, so I’m leaving.”

“Right,” Reggie replied, with a wolfish grin. He waggled his eyebrows at Alex in amusement

“Yeah, I’m sure there’s no particular reason why you’d want Julie to see that shirt.”

Luke didn’t even bother acting clueless.

“Even though, she specifically demanded we stay out of her room for the rest of the day,” Alex reminded him with a raised eyebrow.

“Not even Julie can withstand my charming advances,” he told them, saluting goodbye before he poofed out of the garage.

Reggie looked over at Alex with a pensive expression. “You think this is finally it?”

“I hope so,” Alex moaned. “I’m tired of the obvious flirting. Honestly, I stop myself from throwing up at least twice a day.”

“Maybe she’ll like the shirt.”

-

When Luke poofed into Julie’s bedroom, he was immediately met with a pen to the eyeball.

“What the hell, Jules?”

Julie had her arm cocked, another pen at the ready with a murderous expression. “I told you not to come in here! I have a test first thing tomorrow morning!”

“That doesn’t mean you need to blind me,” he muttered dejectedly, covering his eye with his hand. “How else will I get to look at your beautiful face?”

Julie rolled her eyes, but her attention was captured by the black and green t-shirt he was wearing. It was a long ways away from his usual sleeveless band shirts.

"Wait — what the hell are you wearing?"

An immediate cheery smile found its way to his lips as he proudly showed off his shirt. "Isn't it great?"

"It's —" Julie giggled, pausing to figure out the right word, "It's definitely something."

"Anyway," he continued, looking at her with soft eyes. "Sorry to interrupt. Just wanted to show off the shirt, but I'll let you study now."

He had his back turned, fully set on poofing back into the garage (and getting teased like hell from the boys), when Julie stopped him by calling out his name. He turned back around, eyebrows raised in question.

"Well, I mean —" Julie starting stuttering and it only fuelled Luke's amusement even further. "You wore the shirt for a reason. The least we could do is honour the t-shirt."

Luke's eyes widened and his eyebrows receded far under his hairline. In the back of his mind, this was lowkey what he was hoping for, but he didn't actually expect it to be this easy.

and that was all i got 😂 pls don’t hate me for cutting it off at the good part lmao

[artificialqueens]

Pretty in Pearls, Chapter 3 (Jankie) - Plastiquedoll

read on ao3 💄| previous chapters

A/N: hi! I was going to update earlie but things happened...... so here's a new chapter. I hope you enjoy it and thanks for reading it <3

-3-

It was late when they went back to their room, Jan had only two classes in the afternoon but Rosé had one in the morning, yet, they talked for what it felt like hours and Jan only stopped speaking to read Jackie’s message. She was very happy. During that day she had made several friends –something she couldn’t have imagined a week before- she had met some of her professors and attended a couple of classes so she wouldn’t feel as nervous the following day.

In the morning she heard cursing in whispers when Rosé’s alarm went off announcing she had to get ready to go to class. After the girl left, Jan had the room for herself. She laid in bed watching videos on Instagram for a while and then decided it was a good moment to take a shower and get a cup of coffee.

Tuesdays were her lightest days and she could get used to it. She felt fresh out of the shower, braided her hair, and put on some clean clothes before walking out of the dorms.

On her way out she crossed paths with Nicky and who seemed to be her roommate. The girl had orange long hair and a great amount of makeup on but that worked perfectly on her. She also wore high waist pants with a turquoise loose blouse and dangling earrings. Nicky looked as great as the day before with a mauve off-the-shoulder mini dress and a high ponytail.

“Jan!” She waved at her.

“Hi, Nicky! How are you?”

“I’m doing good, thank you.” She smiled at her. “This is Crystal, my roommate. Crystal, this is Jan, the friend I talked you about.”

“Hi!” Crystal greeted Jan with a lot of energy. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Crystal. Well, I kind of feel like I know you through your room.”

“Oh, God…” She blushed. “I’m not taking the One Direction poster off, I already told Nicky.”

“I swear Niall’s eyes follow me whenever I’m in the room.” Nicky shivered.

Jan giggled.

“I have to go, I’m already running late.” Crystal said while checking the time on her phone. “See you guys later.”

“Don’t forget your keys…” Nicky reminded her.

Crystal pulled a key set with tons of colorful keychains. “Never again. Bye, Jan.”

“Bye!”

After the girl left, Nicky looked at Jan. “You missed a great dinner yesterday.”

“Oh, I imagine but I needed to spend some quality time with my roommate. But I’m still craving Thai food since it was mentioned.”

“There’s no choice, we’ll have to go back soon.”

“Please.”

“Are you heading to class?”

“No, I have my Tuesday mornings free. I was getting some coffee, actually.”

“Ugh, lucky you. I have a class in thirty minutes. Do you mind if I get coffee with you?”

“Sure, that’s great because I was going to google where the café is, I have no idea.”

Nicky just smiled. “I’ll show you the way.”

They walked for a couple of minutes; Nicky pointed to the café’s exterior when they got closer. As soon as they got in the smell of freshly brewed coffee embraced them. Autumn was around the corner and college students demanding pumpkin spice lattes prematurely were flooding the place.

Luckily for them, the line moved fast and the barista quickly took their orders. Jan ordered decaffeinated –because she wasn’t technically allowed to drink coffee after that one incident on St. Patrick’s day- but she compensated it with a lot of sugar and whipped cream. Nicky, on the other hand, asked for an iced Americano.

While they were waiting sitting at a little table, Jan recognized the familiar figure of the one person from her hometown she so badly wanted to see.

“Oh my God…” She suddenly felt coy when he started walking in their direction.

“Janie!” He greeted the girl but his eyes went directly to Nicky who was unimpressed while on her phone.

“Hi, Nathan.”

The name rang a bell for the blonde girl who looked up.

“How are you doing?” He rested half of his arm on almost all the table’s surface.

“Oh you know… just chilling before classes. I have Tuesday mornings free.” She tried to sound chill, smooth even.

“Cool…” He kept staring at the other girl a little too much. “Who’s your friend?”

“Ah, yes… this is Nicky, she’s in the same dorm as I am… Nicky, this is Nathan, he’s…”

“A friend from New Jersey.” He extended his hand to shake Nicky’s but the girl glared at him.

At that moment, their names were called by the barista.

“I’ll get the coffee.” Nicky rushed to leave the table. “Salaud…” She murmured before going.

Jan was thankful because now she had some time to speak with Nathan alone.

“So how’s the-”

“Janie, your friend is smoking and she’s French or something, right? That’s hot. Do you think you could set us up?”

Jan’s spirit sank. She should’ve guessed.

“Uh… I don’t think she’d be interested. She’s already dating someone.”

“What a shame because she’s one hundred percent eye candy.”  His gaze followed Nicky’s curves.

“Besides, I thought you liked that girl you met yesterday,” Jan mentioned shyly.

“Abby? She’s alright I guess but this is week one, I have to keep my options open, you know?” He shrugged. “Can’t wait to hit the baseball field next week again, huh?”

“Yes! I’m so excited about it, actually-”

He threw his backpack over his shoulder. “I gotta run, Janie.”

“Oh, okay… see you.”

“Tell your friend that if she ever needs a rebound…” He left, still looking in Nicky’s direction.

Jan tried to smile but she ended up with a weird grimace.

The blonde returned to the table when he was away.

“Here’s your drink…” She tried to put a real smile on the girl’s face but she failed. “Jan, what is it? Did he tell you something?”

“Oh, no… it’s nothing.” She took a sip of her sweet beverage but didn’t enjoy it as she intended. “It’s just Nathan being Nathan…”

Nicky bit her tongue to avoid telling her he seemed like an asshole.

Jan looked at Nicky, of course he’d be interested in her. She was beyond gorgeous and she was stylish as hell with her pretty dress and makeup while Jan had barely washed her face and put on the first pair of joggings and a graphic t-shirt she found in her drawers.

“I bought you a cookie.” She slid the little chocolate treat in front of her.

“Aw, Nicky… thank you.”

Nicky squeezed her shoulder.

“I have to go to class but I don’t want to leave if you’re feeling down.”

Jan shook her head. “No, I’m fine, really…”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep, I’ll go to the library or drop by the copy room to annoy Jackie a little.”

“She’s in class during the mornings, someone else is running the copy room in the mornings.”

Jan sighed. “The library is then.”

“Always exciting.” Nicky checked the time on her watch. “Now I really have to go. See you later, dear.” She blew a kiss in the air.

“For sure.” She smiled to show Nicky everything was alright even when it wasn’t.

But enough of being pitiful, she had a cup of coffee, a cookie, and the sun was shining outside. She had this.

The library turned out to be a great place to spend some spare time between classes. Jan met the librarian –Mrs. West- who was probably one of the sweetest people she had ever seen and she was kind enough to explain Jan the rules –besides keeping it low in the study and reading area- Jan walked directly to a free desk and pulled out her computer. She needed to check if she was registered correctly on her classes once again just to be sure and she had to revise if her teachers from the previous day had left some new reading –they did.

She read the two papers and prepared a little draft for the next class before she noticed, it was almost noon. Nicky had said Jackie had classes in the morning but maybe she was free already, so Jan pulled out her phone and typed a quick text.

To Jackie C.: Hi Jackie! Nicky told me you were in class I was wondering if you’re out already, I can drop by the copy room :D

The reply arrived a minute later.

From Jackie C.: I’m already out and heading to the copy room, I’ll be there in no time.

And with that, the girl picked up her things and walked following the map that was scribbled over. She rushed toward the copy room in a way that her former high school teacher would’ve scolded her for« running in the hallways». Finally, she opened the door of the room carefully.

“Hello…?” She walked in.

“I’m over here.” Jackie had a little closet in the corner open. “I’m picking some toner for the machine. I swear, every morning it’s the same, Yvie forgets to change it every time and I have to-”

Jackie smiled as soon as she saw Jan waving in front of her.

“Hi, there.”

“Hi! Thank goodness you’re out of class I was so bored… Well, I was being «productive» or something like that –I’m guessing it’s something college students aspire to be- but then the internet of the library started malfunctioning and I got distracted with the little T-Rex game –do you know which one? With his little jumps and tiny arms, it was so cute- and then I wasn’t being productive anymore so…”

“It’s so good to see you again.” Jackie shook her head.

“How was your morning?” She moved closer to the counter.

Jackie pointed at the chair next to her and Jan sat there.

“All of my classes are during the mornings; that’s how I get to work here after I’m done with them.” She explained while changing the copy machine’s toner. “On Tuesdays, I have this one class with a professor that absolutely despises everything I say because –and listen to this- «I try to push a gender agenda» on his classes.” She scoffed. “Only because they don’t mention women in art centuries ago it doesn’t mean that they weren’t there… it’s ridiculous.”

Jan listened to Jackie ranting for ten minutes about the class, the girl was fuming but there was something entertaining about seeing her mad and the way she gestured as if it was a Ted talk… not to mention she did it all while doing the maintenance work of the printers.

“I’m sorry, I really went off with it…”

“No! It’s okay. I don’t know much about art and listening to you is like actually taking a class… but more engaging because you’re pissed and it shows.”

“Yeah… I have to tone it down in class or that… professor… is going to fail me.” Jackie let a big sigh out of her chest. “Anyway, I’m sure Nicky told you about last night’s dinner…”

“Yes! I wanna eat Thai food so badly now… Nicky is great by the way, she’s very nice and helped me a lot with the dorm things. Thank you so much for introducing me to her and Jaida.”

“No worries. They all liked you the moment they met you anyway.”

Jan beamed and blushed a little.

“So, you met your roommate…”

“Oh, right! My roommate, Rosé, is great… we got along like, instantly and she’s a theatre major so now I’m sharing the dorm with a Broadway fangirl. It’s going to be fun.”

“Wait, isn’t that the girl with the pink hair? I’ve seen her a couple of times I think.”

“Yeah, she thought you were very serious.”

“Don’t tell anyone I’m nice, I have a reputation to keep.”

Jan giggled. “But you are nice! I can’t believe people think otherwise.” She snapped her fingers. “You know what, I’m having lunch with her right now. I have a class at one so I was going to head to the cafeteria, why don’t you come with me?”

“I’d love to but I have to stay a little longer before taking my lunch break. If you have a class at one you better hurry before it gets too crowded there.”

“Oh, that’s too bad… I’ll get going there but… text me later?”

“Sure.” Jackie smiled at her.

“Okay, have a nice day! See you later!” The younger waved on her way out.

“Bye, Jan.”

At lunch, Jackie sat with her friends and while she tried to finish reading a museum review of a new exhibition, she got a text message from Jan telling her how boring the class was. Jackie shook her head and replied back to her shortly after.

Widow was next to her chatting with Heidi, Jaida was sitting across the table typing on her phone until Nicky arrived so the quick smile that appeared on her face went unnoticed –thank goodness.

“Bonjour, mon rayon de soleil.” Nicky kissed her on the cheek.

“I’ll pretend I understood every word… hi, baby.” She kissed her back.

The blonde sat next to her and they shared a lovey-dovey look.

“I want what they have,” Heidi whispered while looking at their friends. “What does take to get a girlfriend here? I’m in the art department, it should be easier.”

Widow cackled.

“I thought you had retired from the dating world when Janelle Monáe blocked you on Instagram.”

“Okay, listen… I was nothing but respectful to Miss Monáe, I still don’t understand the reason behind that blocking but yeah…”

“Heidi you don’t want to date, you’re just horny.”

The girl gasped. “How dare you?”

“Because… you can’t keep your interest on one person for more than a week.” Jackie pointed.

“I think you’re better off single.” Widow agreed.

“Excuse me… I came here to have lunch and a lovely chat not to be attacked like this.” Heidi crossed her arms on her chest. “Unbelievable.”

They didn’t say a word.

“You may be right though…” She finally admitted.

“Oh! You know who should get a girlfriend…” Jaida glanced at the brunette in front of her.

Jackie sighed. “We’ve been through this yesterday… I already told you she’s out of the conversation.”

“I didn’t give any names though,” Jaida smirked. “You did that to yourself.”

Jackie blushed. “Whatever… I’m too busy to date anyway.”

“But you’d make an exception for a special someone, wouldn’t you?” Nicky pushed.

“She’s straight.”

“So it’s pasta until it gets hot and wet.” Heidi pointed.

“Heidi!”

The table burst into laughter.

“Enough with that, I’m serious. The last thing I want is Jan to feel awkward, she already has a lot on her plate.”

“Right, all jokes aside… I met the guy she pines after this morning…” Nicky started gossiping. “and my goodness he’s even worse than what I pictured… a jerk with capital letters. I think he was trying to get my number through Jan.”

They all made a disgusted sound in response.

“No fucking way…” Heidi’s mouth dropped.

“She deserves better and I don’t even know her personally.” Widow stated.

They agreed, especially Jackie who had seen the guy the day before breaking Jan’s heart in just a matter of seconds.

“Maybe meeting new people will help her seeing beyond his… spell?” Jaida raised an eyebrow.

“He’s not that charming, trust me.” Her girlfriend assured, basing her opinion on the –hopefully- only encounter they had. “But anyway… Crystal has classes until four…” She looked at Jaida with bedroom eyes. “would you like to take a nap with me?”

Jaida caught the hint instantly. “See y’all later, bitches.” She stuck out her tongue and both left the table.

“Maybe I am just horny.” Heidi reflected before sipping her apple juice.

“Be honest with me, do you hang out with us because you like us, or is it part of your sociology thesis investigation?” Jackie asked Widow.

“Bitch, you’ll never know.” She chuckled.

A week had passed and with that, Jan had established a little routine: in the mornings she would go to the library –sometimes on her own, sometimes with her roommate or one of her classmates-, she had lunch at the cafeteria in rotating schedules –as if she was the loving child of a divorced couple- during the afternoons she was at the copy room whenever she had some spare time and when Jackie was there and afterward she’d have dinner with her and her friends or with Rosé. They all ended up having dinner together on Friday night so Jan was secretly hoping the group would merge into one big supergroup.

She had also become close with Jackie’s friends including Widow of whom she had heard a lot but was formally introduced to a few days later and with Crystal, Nicky’s roommate who shared the struggles of being a freshman like her. Plus, she met one of Rosé’s friends from her musical comedy class as well, a girl called Lagoona that adopted Jan immediately and kept teaching her Spanish words.

On the weekend she watched cartoons wearing pajamas with the girls from her dorm in the lounge room and then completed some assignments for her classes with Crystal at the same place.

On Monday, however, she was extra excited –more than usual- because it was the day she was going to play baseball again. She could almost smell the grass of the field, the rubber of her sneakers, and the leather material of the ball… She could picture herself running around scoring like no other.

And because she was so thrilled, time seemed to pass slower than ever.

“Jackie…” She cried while sitting on her –now- regular reserved spot behind the countertop. “I still have to wait another two hours…”

“Two hours are almost nothing, c’mon.” The brunette was in the middle of copying a Shakespeare play for a group of students from the Literature department. “Besides, it’s not like it’s been years since the last time you played.”

“It’s been like two months.” She pouted. “Two long never-ending months.” She dragged the words to make emphasis on her sadness.

“But you survived.” Jackie pointed out before reaching for the staple on the shelf.

That day, Jackie was wearing a pleated plaid skirt with a knitted long sweater and mid-heel loafers. She moved smoothly in the limited space; Jan had memorized her moves by the time; she knew exactly when she had to lean back for the brunette to pass through while she mumbled something about Yvie not taking proper care of the machines or when she was fighting with the printer that didn’t mind for the students’ urgencies at all. She had also discovered that Jackie always hummed to California Dreamin’ no matter how often it played on the radio, that she liked gourmet jelly beans and that she had a stock of candy hidden somewhere -only she hadn’t found her secret spot yet.

“Hi, Jackie.” A girl hummed with a melodic voice as she rested her elbows on the countertop while batting her lashes overly.

Jackie, who was on her back stapling a final set of copies, took a deep breath as she recognized the owner of the voice right away.

“Hello, Vanessa.” She spun on her heels and faced the girl. “What can I do for you?” Her tone was deadpan.

Vanessa, the girl in question, was gorgeous with her long black hair perfectly curled, flawless makeup, and clothing; she was wearing a cropped pullover with the word «Angel» stamped on it a and pair of high-waisted jeans. She was tiny but she wasn’t scared of wearing high high-heels.

She flashed a dazzling smile as soon as Jackie turned around.

“Are you finally going to accept going on a date with me?” She blurted out.

Jan’s eyes got wide. Her type of courage was worth admiring, she was certainly fearless.

“No,” Jackie replied, coldly. “I’ve told you before; I’m not going to date you.”

Jan gasped but Vanessa didn’t even flinch. She just waved her hair and readjusted her pose.

Oh, she was about to say something, wasn’t she? Jan looked, expectant.

“Please…” She pouted. “Pretty please? You can’t say no to a pretty please.”

Jackie rolled her eyes. “There we go.” She shook her head and sighed. “Look, I’m not going to repeat the whole speech but if you have something for me to print or copy, I’m all ears.”

This time, Jan couldn’t keep it to herself. “Jackie!” She shouted and jumped off the chair.

The brunette turned toward her. “What? It’s Vanessa.” She said as if that was a fair justification.

Vanessa waved. “And who are you?” She looked at Jackie, then at Jan, and then at Jackie again. “Is she your girlfriend?”

“No.” Jackie blushed a little. “This is my friend, Jan. Jan, this is Vanessa she’s a sophomore that testes my patience since she was a freshman.”

“I worked very hard for that title.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Jan!” She shook her hand.

“Vanessa has an on and off long-distance relationship and she likes to flirt when she’s on the «off» side,” Jackie explained.

The girl shrugged. “Can you blame a girl for asking? I gotta try once in a while at least.”

Jan chuckled.

“Anyway, can you copy the marked pages of this textbook? I need it for class, you’ll be glad to know I didn’t come here exclusively to ask you out. Although…”

“Give me the book.” The brunette extended her hand to grab the object, Vanessa held it tightly for an instant but Jackie pulled it. “I’ll be done in a couple of minutes.”

“Thank you!” She smiled showing all her teeth. Then she turned back to Jan. “So Jan, is it…?”

“Don’t even try it!” Jackie yelled from the distance.

Once her shift was over, Jackie closed the copy room and walked around for a little before deciding to take a look at Jan’s baseball practice. She told herself it was okay to drop by, after all, she had been hearing about it all afternoon, she was curious now. But being honest, she had to ask around to find where the baseball field was –she didn’t even know their university had a women’s team before she met Jan- so she wandered through the corridors before finding the door that led to where they were playing.

The lights were on since their practice was after sunset and most students had classes during the day. The perimeter was surrounded by a chain-link fence so she guessed that was how close she could get to the field; she finally found a bleachers section -and she was one-hundred percent sure people smoked weed behind them.

She sat holding her purse against her chest. It seemed she made it just in time; it was Jan’s turn to bat. Even in the distance, Jackie had never seen the younger so focused on something as she was at that moment, it was like watching a completely different person. She moved into position and prepared.

She had the number eleven on the left sleeve of her striped uniform, purple socks on and a pair of shoes –already- covered in dirt. She adjusted her high ponytail under her cap before grabbing the wood bat with determination. Jan’s eyes were sharp as she tried to read into the pitcher’s moves.

Jackie had a shiver.

The pitcher threw the ball and she missed it, it went directly to the catcher’s glove. The brunette mouthed some curse. She had never been this invested in some sport.

Second attempt, she would get it this time. Jackie crossed her fingers, her heart was beating faster.

The pitcher threw the ball again and this time, it impacted against Jan’s bat making a thunderous noise that echoed everywhere. Jackie gasped, her eyes followed the girl’s figure as she ran as fast as she could before one of the players grabbed the ball from the ground. Now she knew her heart was about to break her ribcage, she couldn’t get herself to calm down. Jan was running and running like a roadrunner cartoon and she was about to make it when the players started passing the ball, maybe someone was going to catch her before she made it. But she was so close, just one more base to go. She ran, encouraged by her teammates, and drifted creating a cloud of dirt around the base.

She made it.

Home run.

“Yes! Yes!” Jackie cheered and raised her hands in the air.

Apparently, loud enough for the whole team to hear it.

Jan, who was bent over her knees, still out of breath due to her incredible race, grinned and waved as soon as she recognized Jackie. The brunette smiled back and clapped discreetly, even when she had just displayed such enthusiastic behavior.

The team -mainly the batter- had gained a new fan and the season hadn’t even started.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #474

“nothing flashed before my eyes  /  no pretty angels, no bright lights  /  all i saw was the devil’s soul, & it looked a hell a lot like my own”

Who are you most nervous about introducing potential significant others to? My dad. He can be a challenge. He says whatever comes to his mind the moment he thinks it, and it's not always nice. What is the most exciting thing about your life right now? My relationship, honestly. It feels like the one thing that's going right, but I'm concerned if I don't take care of the things that aren't going so well, that they will creep into my relationship and start breaking it down, ex. not having a job. What was the most important non-academic thing you learned in high school? To just keep pushing and not give up on life, and that it is full of phases, be them good, bad, or bland. Have you ever had a job that deeply affected your personal life? How so and do you still work there? No. Do you have a “one who got away”? I don't feel like that anymore. If you were in a supoerhero movie, would you be the hero or the villain? Because I like to help people, I'd like to be the hero, BUT villains are waaaay cooler. If you found a mouse in your house, would you be frightened? Frightened, no. I LOVE mice. I'd of course be startled and concerned about it getting into food, but I'd just calmly find a way to get it outside. Have you ever tried to perform magic tricks? I used to LOVE getting those little magic kits when the Scholastic fair came around! I had I want to say three and was pretty good at a lot of tricks in them. Can you do more with a yo-yo than just "go up and down"? No. What is one form of technology that you wouldn't be able to live without? The Internet for sure. Did you get an allowance, growing up? Why or why not? No. An allowance for three daughters was something my parents couldn't afford. Would you rather go to a water park or an amusement park? Why? An amusement park. They're more exciting to me, and somehow water parks seem dirtier with all the little kids and just alksdjlfa;wjke What is one instrument you wouldn't mind learning how to play? The violin. What's the longest amount of time you've had to wait in line for something? Probably something at Disney World as a kid, idr. What is something that you would like to learn more about? I ALWAYS want to learn more and more about meerkats. What is something that one of your family member collects? Mom collects owl stuff. Have you ever moved to a new school before? If so, how did it feel? No, except obviously when transferring from certain age ranges, like elementary to middle school. Have you ever legitimately forgotten to do homework? Yes, at least once in middle school. I felt SO awful and had to go outside of the classroom to do it while they were reviewing the work. Do you enjoy autumn leaves or spring flowers more? Why? I really, really like both. Each are just very pretty in their own right. Depending on where you live, why might a day of school get canceled? Hurricanes or like the mere chance of a centimeter of snow. At least once, we've even had such a severe heat advisory that school was called off. If you could meet any fictional character from a book, who would it be? Can dragons be real? 'Cuz then I wanna meet Clay from Wings of Fire if we could talk, lol. He's so wise and I'm sure would have great knowledge to share about looking at my life from new perspectives. What are some common places that people tour when they come to your city? Um, people do NOT tour this city. It's trash. What's one food that you did not enjoy as a child, but do as an adult? I'm not sure. How would having no electricity affect your daily routine? Everything would change, given I'm always on the computer. Would you rather have a mermaid tail, a fairy's wings or a unicorn's horn? Fairy wings, for sure. What is an animal that you'd like to have as a pet but it's not allowed? I wish SO badly that opossums were domesticated animals, alsdkjfkaljwe. I say enough that I do want to rescue/foster one, though, but I would obviously need a license for that. I would absolutely never just snag one from the wild. What are some things that you do to make the world a better place? We recycle here, don't dare to litter, and I always try to be a decent person that spreads love and hope to other people. Has the last person you had sex with ever had sex with someone besides you? Yes. What’s your favorite store at your mall? rue21, I suppose. We have a small mall. Have you ever done a workout DVD? Oh my actual god, this is a THROWBACK. When we were really little, my sister had a BARBIE workout DVD that we watched sometimes. Who usually takes out the trash in your family? Usually Mom, but sometimes me. What song are you currently obsessed with? Absolutely "Bath Salts" by Highly Suspect, ahhhhh- When you go fishing, do you make someone else get the fish off the hook? When I used to go fishing, my dad would always unhook the fish. Do you take any prescription meds? A lot. What happens if you don’t take them? I very rarely forget to take my medicine, but when I do, I experience anxiety and my tremors get worse. Who was the last person you dreamt about? I don't remember. Do you prefer your tea sweetened or unsweetened? I hate tea in any way. How often do you honk your horn? I don't really drive, so. I'd be very hesitant to though because I wouldn't wanna piss someone off. Do you have any children? If so, names and ages? That's a hard pass from me, bro. Have your parents ever witnessed you doing something inappropriate? What? No. Did you get babysat a lot as a kid? I don't remember how frequently, but we did have a babysitter. Both my parents had jobs. If you were the principal of a school, what would you do differently? Actually pay fucking attention to bullying and do shit about it. Are you doing anything fun tomorrow? "Fun?" Don't know her. What is something you'd like to receive as a housewarming gift? I dunno. How old were you when you first experienced the effects of puberty? I don't remember. What is your least favorite holiday, and why? St. Patrick's Day because I worry about getting pinched, lol. Pinching even very lightly is surprisingly painful for me. What were some outdoor games you played as a child? Hide-and-seek was my favorite, then my sisters and I made games for on the trampoline and in the pool, etc. Did you accompany your parents on "Take Your Child to Work" Day? I never remember doing that, no. Are cemeteries peaceful to you, or do they freak you out? They're humbling, more than anything. A reminder of how equal we are and that we all end up the same. It's a nudge to cherish life while you have it. Which ancient civilization would you be interested in learning more about? My favorite is Ancient Egyptian. Do you have better long-term memory or short-term memory? Long-term. My short-term memory is absolutely frighteningly horrid. What was the last situation that made you cry? Describe. I was very frustrated with just life in general and how horribly I'm failing at it. Which forest animal would you be most afraid to encounter? A bear, probably. Do you believe in anything supernatural? (ie: spirits, etc) Yeah, like said spirits. Has anyone close to you ever gone to war? No. Have you ever experienced altitude sickness? No. Is there anything, any event, you wish you could remember more clearly? I don't know right now. Have you ever rubbed anyone’s feet? EW you couldn't pay me to. If you had to get advice from someone of the opposite sex, who would you go to? My boyfriend. What was the last new food/drink that you tried? I recently tried jalapeno-stuffed grilled chicken, and a couple days ago I tried this orange/strawberry V8 my mom bought. It was noooot good, which I figured it wouldn't be. That's not a good mix. Have you had a good day today or was yesterday better? Today was fucking awful, and yesterday wasn't exactly peachy either. Have you ever played Sudoku? Yeah, I enjoy it well enough. Do you ever take surveys for money? No; I once signed up for a site like that though because my mom used to do that, but I literally qualified for no surveys with how inexperienced I was and still am with grown-up stuff. Do you like Barbie or Bratz better? I don't have an opinion, and I didn't really as a kid, either. Do you prefer purple or green grapes? I go back and forth, but either way, it has to be a crisp grape or it's just gross. Who was the last person that made you laugh? I was watching a John Wolfe video. Where does your best friend live? Illinois. Who did you last confide in? Girt. Does your car have an alarm? Mom's doesn't. Where was your mom born? New York. What can always make you feel better no matter what? If I'm being completely realistic, nothing. Not every single tactic is fail-proof, especially these days. What is something you’ll never eat again? Why? Crab legs came to mind first. They are SO mushy and just gross. What is currently happening that is scaring you? My life, bro. Have you ever found a stranger’s note somewhere? If so, what did it say? I mean maybe at some point accidentally? I don't remember a specific occurrence.

[idkthisisjustforfanfic]

two years too late, chapter t w e l v e

If there was anything in this moment that you hated more than Harry, it was the fact that you’d navigated all the way out to JFK in the rain to accompany your friends back into the city. 

Getting there was no easy feat in sunshine--but when the weather picked up and you made the trek on public transit, it seemed a bit too friendly for your current state of mind. Sure--they’d never been here before and maybe the subway system was a bit different from the tube or anything else they’d ridden overseas (rats eating pizza wasn’t unheard of, after all), but it still felt like a lot of effort to bring them all the way back over the bridge and part ways to avoid Harry altogether. 

You knew you’d have to see him at some point, but a Friday night after a full week of work left you too tired to deal--especially when you spent the day before (the 14h day of February) using all of your power to not sucker punch any single person who even mentioned love or relationships or any type of positivity whatsoever. 

Alyssa and Owen were the only exception--partially. She’d claimed it was too soon to do anything with him, but her tune changed when he happened to have tickets to a comedy show. She flew out the door with a scarf around her neck, promising to bring you any leftovers from dinner before she kissed you on the head. 

Everyone else was excited for the wonderful week ahead. Jessie had texted a selfie of the four of them--cheeks pressed together in first class before take off--you responded before you realized Harry was in the chat. Alyssa was begging to see them tonight instead of tomorrow morning, seeing as she’d had many FaceTime encounters but never the real thing! But when Jake informed you only thirty minutes ago that they’d landed, you knew it’d be a while before they got through customs and made their way to you. 

So you sighed, shoved your hands in your pockets and tried to ignore the echoing overhead voice of an airport worker. American Airlines Flight 1290 from Madrid: now at baggage claim 7. 

But then there was a voice, a tap on your shoulder and you swiveled quickly, a pair of blue eyes and a five o’clock shadow smiled down at you. “Hi--sorry to bother you--are you Y/N L/N?”

A nod--you tried to find words, but confusion took over your tongue. You were used to being stopped by girls your own age--people who read your work or followed you on twitter. Every once in a while it happened to be a guy, but it had yet to be one as attractive as the blond head  of hair in front of you. Adidas sweatpants, a backwards baseball hat on his head. 

“Yeah, hi--” you pulled a hand from your pocket and offered it towards him. “Nice to meet you!”

“I’m Patrick Martin, I work for Digitize--we’re a social media firm over in Long Island City--I thought I recognized you from your picture on The Scoop.”

“Oh god,” you scrunched your nose, an immediate flood of embarrassment through your bones. “I did not know it was staff picture day and I never wear my hair like that--”

“It’s a beautiful picture,” he laughed, “really.” An awkward beat. “But I just wanted to say hi. We’ve done some stuff with Whitney Hall--d’you know her?”

“Oh yeah, she’s my editor! She’s fantastic.”

“Yeah!” He adjusted the shoulder strap of a duffle bag he carried. “She’s great--I didn’t mean to bother you but I’ll give you this,” he fiddled with his wallet, produced a small black card that had his name, email, and phone number. “If you’re ever interested in growing your online presence independently of a media outlet, we’re here for that.”

You took it in your hands and flipped it over. “Thank you--yeah, I’ll uh, I’ll be in touch.”

“I’d love to take you for coffee or something sometime.”

“Incoming!” A crash to your side, arms wrapped around you before a gap tooth smile was in front of your face, freckled cheeks red from the running she’d done to leave the others behind.

“We’ll get in touch online,” Patrick smiled, his eyes scanning over Jessie as she adjusted the jacket she wore.  

“Sorry,” she laughed. “Didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“All good,” he said, his accent American and stark in contrast to Jessie’s. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” you offered a hand again, another smile when he turned and waved goodbye, a nod to your friends who’d undoubtedly cut him short. 

When you turned to see them, a grin stretching towards your ears, Jake opened his arms. “Smalls in the flesh--in America--how cool is this?”

“Pretty fucking cool,” Adam answered, shoving past Jessie to wrap his arms around you. “Happy almost birthday!”

“Another two days of being twenty-three!” Bryn took her turn enveloping, she reached a hand up to smooth your hair from Jessie’s crash landing. “Gettin’ old, yeah?”

You rolled your eyes. “Feels that way! You all got through customs that easily?”

“For fuck’s sake, Smalls, don’t say it like they should search us again,” Jake looked over his shoulder, hoping no one would decide to give them a harder time than they’d apparently gotten. 

“M’not! M’not, I was just prepared to wait a lot longer.”

“Well we’ve got to get our bags and then we’re all yours!” Jessie offered another grin, taking a few steps towards the carousel that would soon spit out their belongings. 

“All Harry’s tonight, actually.”

“Oh god,” she let out a groan, her arms crossed over her chest quickly. “Is this some type of split custody thing? Mom and dad fighting again?”

“Very funny,” you made a face at her, “you’re staying at his cause I don’t have the room--and I’m tired. Worked a whole week, you know. Big story on my hands.”

They didn’t ask, luckily. A shrill noise came from the carousel, it started moving and soon delivered all seven items they’d been waiting for. Four suitcases, two duffle bags. Jake and Adam lugged them off one by one, dropping them by their feet until Bryn pointed to each one. “That’s all of them!”

“Alright,” you said, pulling out your phone. You figured that it’d be easiest to just take the AirTrain over towards the A Train--right up through Brooklyn and home by 9pm. “We’ll take the shuttle thing over here,” you pointed in the direction of the doors, leading them out to a concourse where cars had already lined up for their arriving passengers. 

When you crossed the threshold, Adam pointed towards a man with a sign. “Think that’s for us?”

Jessie, Jake, Bryn, Adam, Y/N--a big white board in Roger’s hands. 

“Oh thank god!” Jessie immediately moved towards the big SUV--windows so dark you couldn’t see inside. 

“What are you doing here?” You tried to hide the disappointment--and anger--in your voice.

Roger offered a smile, clearly unaware of the recent developments. “He said it might be a tough trip back with all of these,” a gesture to the bags by your feet as he started to push them into the open trunk.

“No--we’re taking the subway!” Your feet were planted on the gum-stained cement, hands back in your pockets to protect from the unforgiving wind. 

“Not if we have this option we’re not,” Bryn smiled over her shoulder, a look in her eyes pleaded with you to just roll with it. You stood, still, watching as they climbed one by one into the waiting vehicle. 

“S’fine--he’s just being nice,” Jake came and tugged at your arm, his voice low enough so the  others wouldn’t hear. 

“Headed to yours or to Harry’s?” Roger asked, the last of the bag fitting perfectly against the others--Roger had apparently played airport Tetris before. 

“Harry’s please!” Jake answered quickly, giving you a gentle shove towards the back row of seats. You did it begrudgingly. You settled in between he and Bryn--too stubborn to admit that the subway would have sucked. 

So you listened to them laugh about the fancy toilets in first class--Bryn had tried to eat her weight in peanuts and Adam was asleep before they even taxied the runway. Jessie listed off the things she wanted to do and Jake begged for dinner as soon as you crossed over the Manhattan bridge. 

When Roger pulled up to the big glass doors on Greenwich St, you climbed out alongside them, arms crossed as you watched them all try to pull their suitcases from the mountain Roger had built. 

“Good?” Jake reached up to shut the trunk after taking one last look. Jessie moved towards the entrance, the doors parting to reveal a hooded Harry, he didn’t even look at you. 

“Hi lovie!” Jessie wrapped her arms around his neck, Roger offered a wave before climbing back into the car, promising to see you soon while Harry offered hugs. 

“Coming inside?” Adam turned to watch you over his shoulder, a gust of wind blew hair in front of your face. 

“M’exhausted--breakfast in the morning?”

“Y/N are you serious? We just flew ourselves all the way over the ocean to see you and you’re going to sleep?”

“What? I just--I worked, I dunno.”

“Come up for tea, at least,” his voice was smaller than the others, a shrug of his shoulders, his hands hidden in the middle pocket of his jumper. Fleeting eye contact, another gust of wind that seemed to kickstart Adam into motion.

“Yeah, tea, Smallsy, come on,” he was the first to make a move, he picked up his luggage and headed for the door, Harry’s eyes still on you.

If Roger hadn’t already driven away--his assumption that you’d also be staying the night only spoke to how out of the loop he was--you wouldn’t have followed them in past Mark, offering a wave before Harry swiped into the elevator. 

“This is so fucking fancy,” Jessie giggled, her face only a few inches from yours. 

You reached for your phone in your pocket, composing a desperate plea to Alyssa as the lift rose up to Harry’s floor. 

Come to Harry’s--stuck here for a while. Pls!!!!

They did the same oohing and aahing that you had done--wide eyes tracing circles around the room. The high ceilings, the hardwood floor, the art on the walls and the rug on the floor. 

Harry headed for the stove to put on a kettle, he told you to show them the two extra bedrooms. 

“This one has a king so--if Jake and Adam are going to be weird about being in one bed and wanting to build a pillow wall between them, this should be theirs.”

“We already decided to alternate each night between the bed and the couch,” Jake laughed, earning an eye roll from Bryn. 

“You’re both fucking wankers--you’re not going to accidentally touch willies in the middle of the night.”

“Girls down here,” you ignored their bickering, flipping on the lights in the farthest bedroom, navy walls and a white duvet. 

“M’gonna change really quick!” Jessie dropped a duffle onto the bed, unzipping it when Jake spoke from the doorway behind you. 

“Yeah I’ve gotta wee!”

They all seemed to disappear into their rooms, changing, using the loo, inconveniently leaving you to walk back to the living room alone, a message on your phone informed that Alyssa was on her way. 

“Milk?”

“Hmm?” You looked up from your phone, swallowed down the anxiety when you realized it was just the two of you.

“In your tea--milk?”

“Yeah.”

He already had six cups out--each with a tea bag resting inside. He rested his hands on the counter, lips parted as if he was about to speak, when the kettle whistled. 

“Much better!” Jessie appeared in sweatpants, her hair up on top of her head. “I smell like airplane, but I'll live.”

Harry pushed a teacup towards you on the counter, lips in a thin line when you picked it up and locked eyes with him. 

“You alright?” Jessie watched him closely, he cleared his throat when he realized she was referring to the way he was looking at you. 

“Yeah--just, uh, tired. Had a bunch of meetings today.”

You had no clue if that was true or not--it’d been a week since you’d last seen him, a week since  you knew what he was doing or where he was. A week since you’d stood in his living room with tears on your cheeks and anger in your veins. 

“Both of you, Jesus. Want us to fly home?”

“No,” you said. “We’re fine. So tell me about the meeting you had with the programme director. You like him?”

“I mean,” Jessie let out a laugh, reaching for her own cup before walking to join you on the couch. “He’s a total babe. Terribly smart, I think, too.”

“Most important part is that he’s single and his last wife died--” Bryn emerged from the loo, her face a mix of amusement and mockery. 

“Well if he was divorced that would be a red flag,” Jessie tried to reason. 

“But you’re excited to start?” Harry came around to the living room, he sat in a chair opposite you, his eyes on Jessie has if nothing happened. It almost felt like you were back at square one--back to a time where your feelings were a secret and like you’d never even dream of being honest with him. 

**

July 2014

“I can’t believe he made us come all the way down to London when they played in Manchester the other night,” Jessie looked at herself in her front camera, using the pad of her forefinger to wipe lipstick from her teeth. When she looked up at you, her eyebrows furrowed. “Can’t believe you’re not mad at him, honestly.”

“Oh relax,” you said, a strange energy seemed to spread through you, starting in your core and out towards your fingers when you reached down to pat her on the shoulder. 

She was seated on a couch--one in a green room somewhere inside the winding corridors of London’s O2 Area--Bryn was too busy trying to flirt with someone’s sister. Cool air blew through the overhead vents--a steady hum that did a good job of masking the buzzing in your veins.

You’d all done the math in the car on the trip down, a whole six months since you’d seen him in passing over Christmas. A quick hello at Annie’s--his last day in town before he was heading on vacation with his mum. 

Sure--maybe your friends expected you to be less than thrilled to see the boy you once dreamed about, but things felt different. Mature and grown up and far removed from the sad 15-year-old he’d left behind. 

And besides, there was Charlie. 

“We just found a signed picture of Jennifer Lopez in the hallway,” Jake’s voice was low and measured, as if he expected you to be just as excited as they were. Charlie and Adam nodded beside him, their eyes wide with excitement.

“She’s so hot,” the words fell out of Charlie’s mouth without much thought, clearly. 

“Right,” you said, a quick nod as if it didn’t sting--as if you didn’t practice calling Harry three times in Bryn’s bedroom to ask for another ticket for your boyfriend. 

Is it serious--like, you really like him? Harry’d asked on the phone like it was any of his business. 

Super serious, you’d said, as if alliteration had your back. He might be the one. 

So he tagged along, given a fair warning at your parents’ house that morning that he wasn’t allowed to take the piss or give Harry an ounce of shit--after all, Charlie wasn’t the biggest fan of boy bands. He’d made that clear the minute he found out that your heart held a special place for the five-piece group. 

There was commotion from the other side of the room--people stirring when a door opened, Jessie stood from the couch. 

His hair was long--longer than the last time you’d seen him, part of it pulled up on top in an elastic as he locked eyes with Jake. A black silk shirt, unbuttoned low enough to see a bit too much of his chest--especially if you were running with the whole no feelings whatsoever idea. 

“Hey man,” he pulled Adam in for a hug, both their hands patting the other on the back before releasing Harry to greet the rest of you. He made his rounds, finding you and Charlie last. One hand in his pocket before sticking out the right one for him to shake. “Nice to meet you,” he said. “M’Harry.”

“Charlie,” he nodded. “Thanks for having us.”

He brought his eyes to you, lips curled into a small smirk, dimpled cheeks. “Smalls,” he opened his arms, letting you get a good whiff of whatever cologne he now wore. 

“How was the drive down?”

“Terribly long,” Jessie complained, her shoulders slumping. “Why couldn’t we come to Manchester?”

“Because--I told you--this is the better show to come to. Everyone brings friends in London. Better after parties, too,” he let an arm snake around Jessie’s shoulders, smiling down at her with raised brows. 

“Like--with famous people?”

“If you’re lucky--heard Ed Sheeran might come say hello at some point. David Beckham, too.”

“Fine,” Jessie said quickly, not missing a beat. “That would be cool.”

“Always so composed, Jess,” Jake teased. 

Harry’s assistant--he had his own now, not just one he shared with the other boys--offered cocktails, something to hold in hand while you made smalltalk with the friends of the other boys. The kids who grew up next door to Niall, Louis’ siblings and Liam’s best friend from college. 

It was nice to be in a room with other people who knew what it felt like to be left behind. Maybe they didn’t all label it like that, but you knew that they understood what it was like to wonder about the next time you’d see your friend. 

You reached for another drink the second Harry got you alone, a question about how you met Charlie. 

“Lived on my floor during my first year. We were friends for a while--or, in the same friend group, I guess.”

He nodded, he elbow resting on top of a water cooler he made a face before letting words slip from between his lips slowly. “He seems...nice.”

“What?” You laughed, “what is it? How could you not like him when you’ve spoken like ten words to him all night?” 

“I never said that!” He smiled, raising a hand in the air in defense. “Just--dunno--hope he’s not a tosser.”

You let out a small laugh, a space filler while you tried to gather your thoughts, or rather, your emotions. The idea that Harry cared about who you dated sent a spark through your system, but the rationalizing that soon kicked in--it’s because you’re friends, he’s just being nice--seemed to put out whatever fire had been momentarily ignited. 

After a while he was pulled away by someone whose job it was to manage his time--warm ups in another room and maybe one last puff of hairspray. You were left with the others to consume more alcohol, eventually led to your seats by men in bright yellow shirts with flashlights.

Charlie was entertained enough--he laughed with Jake and Adam and clapped for the opening act. He made a face at the screams when the lights went down again, but even Jessie typically pulled something similar. 

Ten songs, three more drinks, and a small bladder eventually had you wandering the corridors alone, tracing your way back to the room with the oriental rug and comfy couches. When you found the peaceful quiet of bottled waters and granola bars on the counter, you found yourself taking your time--staring at yourself in the mirror when you washed your hands. 

“Hi,” Bryn’s voice sounded from behind you. “Y’alright?”

“Yeah,” you said, a solemn nod. “Just--kind of weird, you know, to have them in the same place.”

She hummed, coming to rest a head on your shoulders. “I figured.”

“I really like him, you know?”

“Harry?”

“Charlie!” You rolled your eyes, but a piece of you knew that Bryn’s words weren’t false. You turned around to lean against the counter. “He’s great--he’s funny. I just--I dunno. I hope at some point I stop wondering about the what ifs.”

There were tears in your eyes--a small enough amount that you could claim it was an eyelash or a yawn, but with Bryn, you didn’t feel the need to. “You will,” she reassured. 

“And besides--s’a pretty good way to make them both jealous. Bring your new boyfriend to the concert of your friend who’s a rockstar? If Harry has half a mind, it’ll make both of them pretty antsy.”

You laughed, unsure of if inspiring jealousy was what you were going for. If anything, at this point, you wanted peace. Maybe things with Harry would never happen--after four years, it was safe to say that he’d moved on from your small town. Maybe another four years and you’d never see him again, save for tabloid covers in Sainsbury’s. 

“What’s up?” Jessie asked, leaning against the door from the greenroom. The bass line thumped through the cement wall--you were sure your eyeliner was smudged. 

“Just realizing she’s still not over Harry,” Bryn said quickly, no emotion in her words--as if it was as simple as discussing the weather. 

“Bryn!”

“Y/N,” Jessie seemed to laugh a little, coming over to brush your hair with her fingers. “Charlie’s great--he’s funny and he’s handsome and he’s--”

“Not Harry,” Bryn said, a shrug of her shoulders when you looked up at her with narrowed eyes.

“He’s great though, she’s right,” you said, enough conviction to convince yourself that you actually believed it. “Who cares if he’s not the one--he can be fun for now, yeah?”

“Yeah,” they said.

Locked arms when you went back to your seats, wristbands granting you access to the floor with ease. When you found Charlie you let him wrap his arms around you, hoping that one day, he’d be enough to erase the memories of the boy on stage. 

**

“Thank god you’re here,” you greeted Alyssa right in front of the lift, voice low enough so the others couldn’t hear you. 

She shrugged off her jacket and made a face. “That bad?”

“Hi Lyss,” Harry’s voice echoed over Bryn’s laughter--they all turned their attention towards your roommate as she smoothed out her blouse. 

“Hi,” she said. “Nice to finally meet you all!”

“Welcome, welcome,” Jessie laughed. “Many a FaceTime call!”

Harry seemed to watch in silence as you took your place back on the couch--Alyssa settling onto the carpet before looking up at him, a closed lip smile was the only interaction between the two. 

It didn’t feel as bad as you thought it would--or maybe it was the glass of wine that Bryn poured you an hour later. That paired with the laughter that laced itself through conversation left your heartbeat steady, easily ignoring the fact that Harry’s eyes would linger a second too long every time you spoke. 

Jake went off to bed first--claiming dramatically that his body really thought the sun should be rising. Adam made him promise to construct a sturdy enough pillow wall--Bryn once again pointed out their subtle homophobia with a raise of her wine glass. Twats, she said, once Adam left the room. 

But she was next to fall, slumping down the hallway while Jessie sang along to whatever song Alyssa played from her phone. So once you’d decided it was time to head out, Jessie disappeared into a dark bedroom and Alyssa used the toilet--leaving you to trail behind Harry as you brought tea cups and wine glasses back to the sink. 

“I hope it’s okay that they’re here.”

“Them?” You threw a thumb over your shoulder--reality setting in when you realized you’d yet to actually communicate with him about the birthday surprise. Anger fought its way up your throat. “S’fine--they’re my best friends.”

“Yeah,” he said, the next words came lazily out of his mouth like an afterthought. “Mine too.”

Back to the living room to get your coat, pulling it over your shoulders as if he hadn’t followed behind you, watching quietly when you scooped your hair out from the jacket. 

“Maybe we can talk in a few days. I know they’re here, but, you didn’t even hear me out.”

“Hear you out? You were seeing two girls at once and you want me to hear you out?”

The door to the loo shut--Alyssa appeared in the hallway but faltered when both you and Harry took a step back from each other.

“Relax,” she said, her eyes wide for a second as she came to meet you near the door. “S’just me. I know you broke up.”

You rolled your eyes at that--Harry’s expression was calm. “I’ll see you in the morning?” His voice was hopeful--his eyes watched yours for any sign of emotion. 

“Maybe--Jessie wants to do Times Square so I doubt you can come. And besides, we still need to minimize the amount we’re seen together. If people see you with them and then me with them they’ll start to put things together before--you know.”

“Before what?”

“Before I can figure out the story and telling Whitney, alright? If we have to be sneaky about this so people don’t know that I’ve known you forever--I vote that you’re the one to hide.”

His head tilted to the side, as if you’d started speaking a foreign language. “Hide?” 

Alyssa slung her purse over her shoulder. 

“Yes, hide. You can hang out with us but you’re on your own for making sure you don’t draw attention to us. This is my birthday gift, yeah?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, a sigh from between his lips when he looked to Alyssa. “Thanks for coming.”

She offered an awkward smile--you wondered what she’d say to him if you weren’t there, how they’d interact just the two of them.

“See ya,” you tugged Alyssa by the coat sleeve into the lift. You pressed a button and shut the door between you, welcoming the bitter air on the sidewalk. Quiet on the walk home--you would have taken the subway or called a car, but Alyssa probably knew you needed the silence.

A direct message on twitter that night when you climbed into bed. You didn’t even know Pat--his name sounded familiar and you trusted that he had to be decent at his job if Whitney had worked with him, but when you agreed to meet him for coffee next week, you wondered what it would feel like to love someone that wasn’t Harry. 

You hoped one day you’d know. 

**

The neon glow of Times Square was much more impressive at night, so the five of you stood in the center of a cement island, taxis and buses honking beside you as Jessie and Adam stared up with open mouths. 

“S’brighter than I imagined,” Jake said, pulling the hood of his jacket up over his ears. “So much electricity.”

“S’beautiful,” Jessie cooed, the reflection of the lights bounced off her irises. When she turned to look at you, she wrapped an arm around yours. “Thanks for taking us.”

“My pleasure,” you laughed. “You come less and less to touristy things when you live here. S’like how we stopped doing the Eye or riding the double deckers.”

“Right,” Bryn laughed, a shopping bag in her right hand. “Or how we wouldn’t let Jake take any more pictures with the guards at Buckingham Palace.”

“They’re funny,” he defended, shooting Bryn a look of anger before resting an arm on her shoulders. 

Adam looked around the group of you, a smile on his face when his eyes landed on yours. “Glad we’re here, Smalls.”

“Yeah,” Jessie said. “I can see why you like it so much.”

“Can see why you don’t want to come home,” Bryn added, another sweeping gaze of the billboards above. She counted the colors, pinks, blues, greens, yellows, reds. A cup of coffee sitting on the red chairs scattered about, laughing at costumes and watching the people who’d pass by. 

After a good hour and a half you navigated over to Hell’s Kitchen, walking through side streets to find the restaurant that Harry had chosen. 

Don’t see why he gets to choose, s’my birthday dinner, you complained as your boots shuffled along the sidewalk. 

He’s paying, Bryn reminded. That’s why. 

You were sat in a back room, wine was poured before Harry appeared in the doorway, shrugging out of his jacket before placing it on the seat across from you. 

“Sorry,” he said, “had a meeting. Happy birthday.”

“S’not my birthday yet,” you sipped at the Cabernet that’d been offered, setting it on the table before giving him a challenging glare. 

“S’your birthday dinner, though. A day and a half early, if you can forgive me,” a hand to his heart before Bryn raised a glass. 

“Here’s to Y/N--kicking ass in New York City and carving out an amazing career for herself.”

“You’re probably the coolest person who lives in New York, Smalls,” Jake lifted his glass and let it hit yours, a scowl came across Harry’s face as he held his wine in the air. 

“Was I even up for consideration?” He asked, a playful frown on his face. 

Jake tilted his head. “Of coolest people who live in New York?” 

You rolled your eyes--now wasn’t the time for his sensitivity. “M’the one who actually lives here,  Harry.”

“Is the rent I pay not enough to convince you that I live here too?”

“Not when you jet set off to LA or London for a week just because you feel like it.”

“So business travel? That automatically disqualifies someone from considering themselves a resident just because they travel for business? Probably disqualifies half the population then.”

Adam tensed beside you, an awkward sip of his cocktail when he looked at Jessie to say something.

“What type of visa do you have?” You asked, leaning forward to rest your elbows on the table. 

“What? I don’t know--my manager handles that for me.”

“I have an H1B, extendable to six years,” you said matter-of-factly. Jessie’s eyes were wide as she sucked some sangria through a straw. 

“Alright,” Bryn tried to hold up a hand, unable to steer you down the right path. 

“Well I don’t think the American government is going to kick me out any time soon.”

“They will if you lie to them,” you narrowed your eyes, a bit too much emotion in your voice. 

“Do you need us to leave?” Bryn’s voice was quiet but snarky, Harry’s head snapped over to her and he picked up his wine, leaning back in his chair. 

“No,” you both said at the same time--but you pushed back from the table and cleared your throat. “I’m using the loo.”

You heard Jessie say something about going after you, Harry’s voice stopped her, I’ll go. 

You walked straight into the single bathroom in the back, shoes clicking on the shiny floor. A waterfall sink and polished copper faucet reminded you of the caliber of restaurant this was. Too fancy of a bathroom to cry in. 

There was a knock on the door. “Let me in, Y/N, let me talk to you.”

You opened the door quickly, pushing your head through the crack to see him waiting in the dimly lit hallway. “No--I’m not doing this here.”

“You don’t want to do it anywhere, apparently.”

“Exactly,” you went to shut the door, his hand reached up to stop you from shutting it, fingers gripped around the oak. 

“Two minutes,” he said. “Just give me two minutes to explain something to you.”

You let out a sigh, hoping to calm your pulse before you pulled open the door and let him take two steps inside. He shut it behind him. 

“Go.”

“I just--I was seeing her, casually, yes. But the only reason I saw her after we got back here was to say I couldn’t see her again. I told her it was done.” 

You pushed out your lips in thought, a head tilt to show him you meant business. “Did you sleep with her?”

“No.”

“Did you talk to her all the time?”

“No, Y/N. We had dinner and hung out with some friends and sure we kind of hooked up but we didn’t have sex.”

“Did she keep a deodorant in your bathroom?”

“What? No,” he laughed, a step towards you, hand on your arm. “I saw her maybe five times--I don’t know, it wasn’t--it wasn’t anything serious.” A pause, shifted weight on his feet. 

“We’re not--we can’t do this Harry,” you said, kicking a boot against the black marble floor. “This never should have happened.”

“How do you figure that?”

“Because it would have worked by now if it was supposed to! It would have happened a long time ago! I was in love with you. I waited for you to come home and I hoped that one day you’d love me back. But it’s too late. I was here living my life on my own and you don’t get to just pop in and out whenever you please.”

He watched you, almost as if you’d laugh and say you were only kidding. Like a simple smile or a joke could take all of it back, wash it clean, and restart. 

“So what, then?”

“So what? So nothing. I shouldn’t have slept with you--it was...unprofessional.”

His chest deflated, a huff of air through his lips when he scratched at the back of his neck, tired and confused. The door swung open and Jake stood, blond quiff of hair reflecting the overhead light, eyes glancing between the two of you. 

“You’re lucky I fought Jessie off to come back here because they’re all bloody suspicious. So if you’re still keen on keeping this a secret,” a finger waved in the air between you, “you should get back to the table.”

“You know?” Harry’s head swiveled around, eyes locking on Jake’s. 

“Of course I know--I’m surprised they’re all daft enough to not know, really.”

You rolled your eyes, giving Harry a shove out of your way before passing between them, wiping beneath your eyes to hide any evidence of emotion. Bryn’s posture straightened when you got back to the table, her voice a quiet whisper so Harry wouldn’t hear.

“Are you alright? What on earth is going on between you two?”

“Nothing,” you said, pulling your napkin back onto your lap. “He’s just a twat--you know how it is.”

Her eyes narrowed, Jessie listened--uncharacteristically quiet. Adam typed away on his phone, as if the entire scene hadn’t just come to close with Harry and Jake back at the table, slumping in their chairs when the server asked if another round was needed. 

“Yes,” all six of you said in unison.

come talk to me about tytl

read the other parts here

AN: again this is kind of short but I wanted to update for y’all!!!! 

tag list:  @clorenafila @ainsleesolareclipse @castawaycths @harryspirate @wanderlustiing @ursamajor603 @thurhomish @omgsharry  @stepping-into-the-light @rachkon @jdcharliewhiskey @sad-little-asshole  @shawnsblue  @gendryia @g0bl1nqueen  @laula843  @flooome  @a-woman-without-a-plan@awomanindeniall  @shaw-nm @staceystoleyourheart @ohprettylittlemind-deactivated2 @anssu-amry @my-fandomful-life2 @stylesfantasy @bookingbee  @mleestiles  @haute-romance-quotidienne  @craic-head-horan @talk-british-2-me-britbritharry @at-least-im-1 @paigemck00 @rawmeharry @pinkpolaroidgirl @blackxxmagicc @sksspotkitty @nearbyou @kalesouffle @sunnflowerchild @lmk12310​ @sing-me-a-song-harry @afterstylesmadeit @myhat @caritocp @liquor-and-intellect

[cilldaracailin]

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Hello my Tumblr Lovelys!

Yeah I haven’t posted twice in a row in a very long time, but I missed posting one of the days this week so I am making up for that.

Thank you as always for all the wonderful comments, love, likes and reads. They are all so very much appreciated!

Hope you all enjoy this one too.

Suze xx :)

5

“That's the problem with best friends. Sometimes they know you better than you know yourself.”

His nap was perfect and when he woke up, he was curled up against Robyn, his head on her lap as she sat on the corner of the couch, her legs stretched out in front of her. Her hand was curled around his waist and he could feel the tight grip with which she held him and he had no complaints about it at all. He could feel his cheeks tint a little when he felt his new sleeping position on her, realising he must have moved in his sleep and his left arm was now across her legs, his hand flat on her upper thigh under her skirt. It was just a little bit overly intimate for him and he moved his hand in what he was hoped was a not too obvious speed, using a long stretch and yawn as an excuse to move fully from her, a light groan coming from him as his body woke up.

“It will take more than a three-hour nap for you to look any less tired.” Robyn commented as he ran his hands over his face as he settled to sit beside her.

“Robyn this is a look you are going to have to get used to seeing over the next two months and I know you don’t like it but unfortunately it’s gonna be my face for a while.”

“I like your face I just don’t like these.” She reached over and traced the dark circles under his eyes.

“They come with my face and my face has to go on tour with me so it is just the way it has to be. Please be forewarned that at the premier, I am going to be tired. London is the last one and last part of the promotion so I will hit a wall quickly once the after party is done.” He smiled at her frown. “Just the…”

“Way it is, yeah I know.” She sighed. “Well at least you can sleep all day Saturday.”

“I am not going to lie, it is probably what I am going to do. The Monday after, I am straight into filming for the new movie.”

“You never stop do you.”

“Not really no.”

Robyn sighed again. “Do you know where you are filming yet?”

“Matthew has some people out scouting locations at the moment but right now I have no idea where we are going to end up.”

“It’s very selfish of me to say, but I hope it’s not too far away from Kilcreen.”

“So not America.”

She shook her head. “No not America. I still want to be able to come and see you.”

“Well I shall have a word with Matthew for you.”

“Thanks Taron and we are going to have to get you a new shamrock for your cheek.” She dragged a finger down the tear stained shamrock on his cheek.

“You too.”

“So shall we go and do that and get ready to go for dinner?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Once they had freshened up and tattoos had been replaced, they left Robyn’s home, Taron with his flag around his shoulders again, and walked towards the small gap in the hedge to get into Kilcreen GAA grounds. Robyn said hello to the people she knew as she walked by, Taron keeping close to her nodding to those Robyn greeted. Kilcreen GAA club house was almost heaving with excited punters, enjoying their national holiday. Thankfully though, even with the larger crowd, Robyn and Taron had no problems finding a table in the lounge, Taron quite relieved it was a table for two right at the back in a little corner and he sat in beside Robyn on the soft furnishings so he could watch everything going on around him. He still felt comfortable and not worried about being overly noticed and as always he felt safe with Robyn. He picked up the menu from the table and scanned over the options, feeling his stomach grumbling. It had been a long time since his breakfast of Irish pancakes and he was ready to for some food.

“So, what is good here.” He asked her.

“Everything.”

“That’s not helpful Robyn.”

“Well because it is St Patrick’s Day and as you want to have a thorough Irish experience, you should get the bacon and cabbage. Proper Irish food though the…”

“Sold. Bacon and cabbage it is.” Taron put his menu back down.

“That easy huh?”

“Yep. So what are you going to have?”

Robyn scanned the menu. “Think I am going to have the lasagne.”

“That is Italian food not Irish food.”

“Taron, I can have bacon and cabbage whenever I want. I just need to go home to my mam’s house and volá, Irish dinner.”

“Lasagne is not Irish food though.”

The server came over and once they had ordered, Taron making sure to get his drink of choice in too, they sat back against the seat, close together watching the customers in front of them enjoying the evening out.

“So I gave you some warning about my friends, do I need something similar?”

“Well you already met Claire.”

“Aww yes Claire. She liked to smell my hoodie.” He replied with a grin.

Robyn didn’t answer straight away as the server came back with Robyn’s glass of water and bottle of cider and Taron’s Guinness.

“All of the rules have been covered now chicken.” Taron took a drink from his glass. “I wore green, I didn’t say any stereotypical catchphrases and I got my Guinness.”

“And you had a duck in the race.”

“And won!”

“And won.” Robyn repeated as she took a drink from her own glass. Every time they saw each other, they went on a serious emotional roller coaster. One minute they were laughing with each other and the next one of them either cried or needed a serious hug and pep talk and Robyn was finding it hard to keep up with it all but she was so thankful for him. She couldn’t have asked for a better supportive reaction from him once he had learnt about her failed relationship and as he sat right beside her, his left leg was snug against her right and she didn’t know if it was because he felt a little nervous being so out in the open in a very busy pub or because he wanted to just keep her close to him and whichever reason it was, she was glad for the closeness. She had said it to herself so many times but the man sitting beside her was becoming a tidal wave in her life and every moment she spent with him, she was willing to have him wash over her and she was feeling still a little emotional charged so slipped her hand into his under the table, smiling at the squeeze he gave her.

“So I am already on my guard about Claire possibly smelling my shirt, anyone else I should be wary of?”

“You have already met Emma.”

“Briefly.”

“Well Emma will be there and her husband Tommy. I don’t think you need to be worried about her. She forgave me for going to see you in New York.” Robyn took a quick intake of breath when she realised what she had said and grimaced as she took in his face of surprise. “Ahh shit.”

“Ahh shit? What have you been keeping from me?” He felt her reach over and used her free hand to encase his hand that she was already holding and rubbed over his knuckles using her thumbs. “And hand massages are not going to distract me. Robyn, tell me because if Emma is going to look at me weird for the whole evening I should probably know why.”

“I told Emma I was sick and at home in bed when I was actually getting on a plane to go and see you in New York and obviously because she is Emma and my manager, she found out. Wasn’t super happy with me.”

“Is that why one of the terms and conditions on my voucher book was to make sure I gave you enough notice so you could take time off work if we did something together?”

“Pretty much.”

“Robyn…”

“You don’t have to say anything Taron. Emma said enough and she is not going to look at you weird. It was a lecture I was given the next day in the office and it wasn’t mentioned again. Emma knows all about you and me and what happened between us and she understood why I did what I did and was a supportive friend but as a manager, she had to have her say too. There is going to be no weirdness at the céilí, I promise and I have been the best employee since.”

Taron didn’t look too convinced but he nodded. “Ok so two more women I need to look out for.” Robyn frowned at him and he smiled at her. “So Claire, Emma and Tommy. Anyone else?”

“Shane and Darragh.” She heard him repeat the two names. “Shane is a childhood friend of mine and Claire’s and Darragh is his husband. Such a gorgeous couple. Good fun and always up for a laugh. I think you will get on well with them.”

“Ok Shane and Darragh.”

“And then there is Nick, who is Claire’s current crush.” A wonderful wicked smile filled Taron’s face. “And I am so glad you are on the same page as me with this one. She is disgusted at me that I asked him to come along but I know I am going to enjoy the evening a lot.”

“Oh me too Robyn and you know Nick how?”

“He’s in the gospel choir. He’s a good friend of mine.”

“Are you up to some match making this evening?” Grinned Taron.

“Maybe a little bit. Hoping you might help me.”

“With pleasure.”

“I am sure just like your friends, there is going to be that teasing element at the beginning and a few smart remarks thrown in for good measure too but they are a good group of friends and have been good to me over the last few years.”

“I have some comebacks in my back pocket for when I need them. Now we need to talk about the dancing.”

“The dancing.”

“I am not a great dancer.”

“Do I really need to go back to the Rocketman movie to prove you wrong? Or mention New Year’s?”

“That was scripted and taught dancing and New Year’s was just dancing. I am not a great dancer.”

“You don’t need to be.”

“Robyn you are bringing me to a céilí which is a very specific kind of dance.”

“It is so easy Taron. All the dances are based on a four four timing and it’s just a lot of spinning and crossing places and moving in circles and don’t look at me like that. I know you understand what four four timing is.”

“Yeah that’s the part I understood. The rest I am a bit unsure of.”

“Not every Irish person comes out of the womb with the ability to Irish dance. Most of the people going will never have been to a céilí before and there will be instructions for each dance too. You won’t be expected to stand up and know what to do. Even I don’t know what to do.”

“You are a bad liar.”

“There is one go to céilí dance that every Irish person has an idea of but honestly, I haven’t a clue otherwise. I just know it’s going to be a whole load of fun and very Irish and I intend to fully deliver on my promise of a thorough Irish day and experience for you.”

Taron was ready to respond and tell her she had most definitely so far fulfilled the brief of being Irish for the day but the server came over to their table with their meals and he was completely distracted as his food was placed in front of him.

“Need anything Robyn?”

“No thanks Sally. We are all good.”

“Well enjoy your meal.”

“Do you know everyone in this town?” Asked Taron as he unfolded his knife and fork.

“It’s a small town.”

“But yet everyone is so respectful.”

“What do you mean?” She asked him as she shook some salt over the chips that came with her meal, pushing them between herself and Taron knowing he was going to want some.

“I haven’t missed the looks I have been getting.”

“Looks?”

“A lot of people either know who I am or just find you with a man very interesting.”

“I am going to go with that second option. Like I said small town. Kinda hard to keep your private business that private but then again, I have already told you that the Irish are very civil towards celebrities. Wouldn’t normally go up to them.”

“I like it here.” Taron tried some of his dinner. “And oh my goodness this is delicious.”

“As I told you earlier Taron. Kilcreen is your little bubble.”

She only saw Taron nod from the corner of her eye and concentrated on tucking into her own dinner. She was so glad she came from a small town and that she could give Taron complete peace of mind when he came to see her, knowing that he was safe from prying eyes and those who did question it, kept it to themselves and if they did recognise him, didn’t take it any further than knowing who he was and leaving it at that. It was something she had always wanted for Taron and knew although he might not say it out loud, very much appreciated the freedom he had with her just to be himself and not worry about being approached.

Just before nine, Taron was happily finishing off his second glass of Guinness and waiting for Robyn to return from the bathroom. The lounge had emptied a little, a lot of the customers heading to the céilí but the tables were still pretty full, the chat loud and happy around him. Apart from being home in Aberystwyth or a private event, sitting comfortably in a pub was not something he got to experience so peacefully very often and he was very much taking in the easy-going atmosphere and mood. He saw Robyn heading back his way but she was stopped at a table three down from where they were sitting to talk to the people sitting at it. He watched her interaction with them, her face in a smile, then a grin and then a full laugh and it made him smile. He liked it when she was happy.

“What are you grinning at?” She asked him as she walked over to the table.

“You.” He answered honestly.

“Me?”

“Yep.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“Nope.”

Robyn raised an eyebrow at him and watched as he drained the last of his drink. “Ok well are you ready to get those dancing feet going?”

“As I will ever be.” Taron shuffled out of the seat bringing their jackets and his flag with him. “Just need to pay for dinner.”

“Already done.”

“Robyn.” She heard the warning tone in his voice.

“I used the money from the duck race.”

She took his hand on her left shoulder as she walked through the lounge as a sign of agreement and made her way to the double doors and out into the hallway before taking a right turn towards the gymnasium. Once out of the lounge, Taron had let go of her shoulder and walked beside her, both stopping at the table in the hallway.

“Hey Robyn.” Greeted the man at the table.

“Hey Ray.”

“Two?”

“Already have my tickets.” Robyn routed the green tickets from her bag and handed them over. “Here ya go.”

“Perfect.” He stamped the inside of their wrists with a little green shamrock stamp, Robyn watching from the corner of her eyes at how Taron’s face lit up at the stamp. “Just so you can come and go as you please. Sit where you want, though I am sure I have already seen Claire inside.”

“Thanks Ray.”

Taron opened the door for her, letting her into the gymnasium of the club house first. “Seriously Robyn. You know everyone in this town.”

She just smiled at him as she walked by and once they were inside the large gym, she could hear the chuckle come from him. The white awning that was used for parties and wedding receptions had been set up and green lights flooded the place, making the white glow bright green. Irish flags and bunting covered the uppermost edge of the awning and that traditional Irish music was playing through the speakers. The tables were arranged all around the walls so there was a large space in the middle of the floor for the céilí to take place and each table had a centre piece with an Irish flag and green, white and orange helium balloons.

“Well I have stepped into every stereotypical Irish movie ever!” He grinned. “So now I get to use all those phrases!”

“Absolutely not!” She replied. “Only the Irish can get away with this, otherwise we take full offense.”

“Well me and my flag fit right in!”

With a shake of her head, she took his hand and led him around and through tables and over towards where she had caught a glimpse of Claire. The table her friend had picked was at the back on the left hand-side, a snug little table set up for eight people, just as Robyn had asked her to do, wanting to make sure that if he needed, Taron could have a table away from the dance floor and crowds.

“Robyn!” Claire cried getting up with her arms out ready to hug her friend. It was a tight little hug and her friend kept her mouth close to her ear so she could whisper to her. “He actually came?”

“Of course he did.”

“How is he?”

“Tired.”

“And…”

“And he learnt about Keith this evening.” Claire let go of Robyn and stared at her, her mouth dropping open. “And that is a wonderful impression of a fish there Claire.” Robyn turned a little and reached for Taron’s hand and he came to stand beside her. “You already know Claire.”

“Well hello again.”

“Hello to you too. So, we have moved on from flour to an all green look?” Questioned Claire, dropping the sudden news Robyn had just given her, knowing she would have to wait until she was alone with her friend to talk to her about it.

“It’s St Patrick’s Day.” He answered simply.

“Do you have any control over him?” Claire asked her friend.

“None what so ever and moving on.”

Robyn walked Taron around Claire so they could stand at the table of people who were waiting their turn for an introduction. “And this is Emma who you have already met and her husband Tommy.”

“Hi Emma.” Taron moved over to her and leaning forward took her in for a quick hug and kiss on her cheek. “Sorry about New York.” He whispered into her ear. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“You too Taron.” Emma didn’t reply to his whisper but lingered with a return kiss to his cheek instead, glad when he was giving a smile as their hug ended.

“Tommy.”  Taron reached over to shake his hand.

“And then on the opposite side, Shane and Darragh.” Robyn had her male friends warned to keep their hands to themselves and as Taron walked around to greet them, she gave Shane a look that screamed behave and she frowned at the wink he gave back to her.

“Nice to meet you both too.” Taron wasn’t really surprised by the hugs and kiss on his cheek he got from them and was sure Shane’s hands were lower than was needed for an initial meet but he let it slide.

“And then there is Nick.”

It was a more manly handshake he got from the last person at the table. “I saw you in the crowd earlier when the choir was preforming.”

“Yeah I was there. You did a wonderful version of Tiny Dancer.”

“Thanks so much. Not too sure if it compares to yours though.”

“Thanks Nick but really not much of a comparison. Two different takes on the song.”

Robyn came to stand beside him. “And that is everyone.”

“Well this was a much more civil introduction compared to when you met my friends.” He said as he put their coats on the back of one of the chairs, folding the flag over them.

“Oh just give it time Taron.”

As Taron took a seat next to Nick, Claire decided it was the perfect time to drag Robyn away, using the excuse of needing to get a round of drinks in at the bar.

“Just let me make sure he is…”

“He is grand Robyn. Shane will look after him.”

“Jesus Claire, did you see how low his hand went on Taron’s back?” Robyn had no choice but to be pulled along by her friend, taking a glance back to Taron who smiled at her and nodded, turning his attention back to Nick who had sprung up a conversation with him.

“Oh I saw but what I need to know is, how low have your hands have gone.”

“Fuck’s sake Claire, are you really asking me that?” Robyn stopped on the middle of the dance floor so she could glare at her friend.

“Friends share.” Claire grabbed her hand once more and they made their way to the bar.

“And my hands have not touched that man.” Robyn and Claire stood stopped to stand in the line waiting to get to the bar. “Well actually that’s not entirely true.”

Claire turned so suddenly; Robyn had to grab her shoulders to stop her friend from falling over on her heels. “Robyn Quinn, you give me more details now or I go back there and grill him about everything.”

Robyn chuckled but also knew her friend was serious. “I gave him a shoulder massage in London last month. He had a bad fall on set a few days before and was a little tender.” Robyn had filled her friend in on most of the details with her weekend with Taron but had left some out.

“You gave him a massage!”

Robyn gave her friend a little push as the line for the bar moved. “He brought a voucher with him.”

Claire grinned. “Oh, so he is using that book to his full advantage. I need more details Robyn. What does his skin feel like?”

“Claire…” Robyn’s tone was playful but she knew where her friend was quickly going with her questions.

“Get a new blusher?” Claire asked her grinning. “Your cheeks a little pinker than normal.”

“Soft and warm.” Robyn said quickly and then she sighed. “And oh Claire… I could feel the tightness of his muscles under my hands, the strength in his shoulders and arms and every now and again he would make this sound when I rubbed a particularly tender spot.”

“Keep talking.”

“Then I pulled his body back to me so he could just lean against me and I got to his head again.”

“You and his bloody head and hair.”

“Not just his head. Forehead, eyebrows, nose and cheeks.”

“Jesus Robyn, I want one of those.”

Robyn smiled. “It’s his favourite thing in the whole world and I love giving them to him because I can just see him visibly relax under my hands.” Robyn bit her lip and looked to her friend. Claire had been her best friend since they were kids and they told each other everything, the brunette being a huge crutch for her over the last few years. She knew she could trust her with the most personal details of her time with Taron. “He just happened to be shirtless during that head massage and I might have run my hands down his chest too a few times.”

It took Claire a few seconds to answer her. “Did he say anything to you?”

“Nope. Let me do it.”

“You know he is absolutely crazy about you Robyn.”

“He let me do it because he knows it’s where my hands were last year when I gave him the CPR.”

“And?”

“And?”

“Details!” Claire said excitedly.

Robyn slightly rolled her eyes at her friend. “I just like feeling his heart beat under my hands.”

“Yeah and touching his body.”

Robyn could feel the heat in her cheeks. “Fine and touching his body. You know what his outfit on New Year’s Eve did to me. That boy knows how to dress but Claire, even the skin on his chest is soft and warm. The whole man is just like a soft and warm blanket.”

“And the chest hair?”

Robyn didn’t answer Claire and avoided her eyes for a few seconds, stepping around her as the line for the bar moved again.

“I will get an answer from you eventually about that chest hair Robyn. You know I will.” Claire came to stand beside her friend. “So, has he enjoyed his day?”

“Fucking won the duck race!” Robyn groaned, making Claire laugh. “And yeah I think so. He is just knackered.”

“He looks it and I heard about the duck race. I met Jane down the town. She was a little excited to have and I quote her ‘met that sex God that is utterly in love with Robyn’.”

“I am so glad I dragged Taron away from her.” Robyn said, ignoring the second half of Claire’s sentence.

“So, you told him about Keith then.” The two girls were three customers away from the bar and Claire couldn’t hold the topic in any more. She had to know.

“That was my mother, not me.”

“Called him a fucker?” Asked Claire.

“Yep.”

“How did he take it?”

“Pretty well actually but at the same time Claire it was horrible and not because Taron wasn’t disgusted at Keith. Believe me he was but because he felt so guilty for what happened with the media and me going to New York and was so worried that his actions had opened up healed feelings for me. He was so upset. He is still carrying so much guilt over it all but we talked it through again and I think at last we have put it behind us.”

“Not something he was expecting to hear. Keith the fucking gobshite.” Fumed Claire.

“No I think not and although I saw the flare of anger in his eyes, it honestly did not last long at all. That man is still traumatised by what happened in New York.

“Robyn you flew to his set and confronted him, yelling at him. Of course he is.”

Robyn cringed. “I don’t want him to feel like that anymore. I have told him so and we have done so much together since New York, I thought he had put it behind him. I pray he listened to me this time. I really don’t want to see those puppy dog eyes from him again or the tears in them.”

“Tears?”

“He’s wears his emotions on his sleeve with those he fully trusts and to be honest I think he is just so exhausted that he couldn’t help himself. I would say on another day, the anger would have come to the forefront but instead today it was him going over how much he had hurt me.”

“Have I told you yet that he loves you?”

“He does not.”

“Yes, he does. He put his anger for what that bastard did to the side and instead concentrated on how his reaction to the media hurt you and when he heard about Keith it just pushed him over the edge a little and he became concerned that he had further upset and hurt you.”

“A little concerned.”

“And he loves you.” Claire frowned as the blonde scoffed at her. “Robyn that man hasn’t taken his eyes off you since we joined this queue. I can see him from here looking at you. You pulled out the short skirt and cropped top for him?”

“It’s my St Patrick’s Day skirt. It’s green.”

“I have never seen you in this skirt before. I don’t even think I have seen this skirt before and you in a crop top? With a pair of high waisted jeans, sure but with some skin on show? You Robyn Quinn are as head over heels in love with that man as much as he is with you and don’t shake your head at me. Robyn, he came over to see you for two nights! You went to him for New Year’s Eve and you kissed him!”

“He kissed me.”

“No, you kissed him.”

“In Aber yeah but he kissed me this evening.”

Claire stood staring at her friend. “So, what is that four now?”

“Five.” Robyn whispered quietly.

“Please explain to me once again about his kisses. Let me live vicariously through you.”

Robyn automatically bit her bottom lip, her hands running through hair. “So soft, very quick and almost reluctant and even his lips are warm.”

Claire dramatically placed her arm on her forehead. “Oh, dear God you are killing me.” Claire took her arm away from her forehead and looked to her friend very seriously. “If you don’t go over there, sit on his on lap, grab him by his collar and kiss him hard, while dragging your hands through his hair, I am going to scream at you. That man needs to be kissed stupid and you need to be the one to do it.”

“Claire…”

“Oh, don’t Claire me! Blah blah blah, we are friend’s blah blah blah. Shut the fuck up Robyn. I know you and I know you are so guarded when it comes to the opposite sex but Taron, he is someone you can absolutely trust.”

“I do trust him.”

“Then fucking go and kiss him!” Claire’s voice was a little louder than she intended and Robyn groaned, praying her words didn’t carry to Taron. “Forget about the distance, forget about his job and media and think about him and what he deserves and needs and what you absolutely need. I just want you to be happy.” Claire threw her arm around Robyn, giving her a squeeze. “He would make you so happy Robyn.”

“He does.”

“And it could be so much more.” Robyn sighed against her friend. “He is going home tomorrow.”

“Yep.”

“When do you get to see him again?”

“He is coming to see me in RENT and then he invited me to go to his premier for Kingsman yesterday. That’s the end of April.”

Claire let her friend go and grinned. “Fucking hell that man is keen. Another fancy dress with a low neck line?” She winked laughing as Robyn rolled her eyes. “Hey you told me he was the one who picked that dress for you and you wore it.”

“And he has been warned. Stella, his stylist will be helping him.”

Claire shook her head but smiled at her. “Life of luxury now Robyn.”

“It is not about that.” Robyn replied a little sternly.

“I know that Robyn and I know you would never take advantage of him. You have done nothing but look after him and he had better be doing the same for you.”

“He does. It just so happens that his life is a little more extravagant than mine in some ways but Taron loves nothing more than a cuddle on the couch.”

Claire chuckled. “Had your cuddle yet today?” She asked as they reached the bar.

“In fact, I did. Taron had a little nap before we came out for dinner.”

“And where did his head end up?”

Robyn didn’t answer her friend but gave her order of drinks to the barman, ordering a bottle of corona for Taron, a cider for her and two pint glasses of water. Despite her teasing, Robyn knew Claire only wanted the best for her and always had her best interests at heart and as she spoke jokingly about Taron, she had the upmost respect for him and as she felt Claire hug her from behind, she knew it was just a bit of banter between them.

“You deserve a man who will love everything about you and Taron is that man. I can see it. I just want you to be ridiculously happy and if that sex God can do it, then I am routing for you both.”

Robyn took Claire’s hands away from her waist and turned to look at her. “I know Claire and thank you but please don’t call him a sex God to his face.”

“Even if you are thinking it.” She winked.

“And while we are on the topic of sex God’s, how’s Nick?”

“I am still pissed at your for inviting him but he is so gorgeous in his green shirt and jeans and he has his hair in that sideways part and…”

“And you need to go and sit on his lap and kiss him stupid.” Laughed Robyn. “You know I have the inside scoop Claire. Maybe he might be feeling the same.”

“Don’t you even tempt faith.”

“Only returning the advice.” Robyn said handing her money over to the barman as he brought back her drinks. “Hey Claire. Speaking of faith and ya know the good old tradition of Irish slagging, can you go easy on Taron please? Normally he would be up for a good laugh but he is so tired and running on empty let’s take it down a notch ok? I already have to be on my guard with Shane, I need you helping me. I actually want him to come back for a visit, not run for the hills.”

Seeing the slight begging in her eyes and knowing Robyn was prepared for some teasing over Taron, Claire nodded. “Sure. I’ll tone it down.”

“Right down Claire. I happily would have left him sleeping but neither him or you would have agreed to that.”

“I promise Robyn. I know how much he means to you and I can see it on his face that he is tired.”

“Thanks Claire.”

“But…”

“No buts. I have a Nick to threaten you with.”

Claire’s eyes opened wide. “Ok so I have your back with Taron then.”

“Thank you. Claire you do realise you and Nick are going to have to be partners for the dancing right? I mean Emma has Tommy, Shane has been giggly with excitement since we got the tickets to dance with Darragh and well Taron is with me, so that only leaves Nick for you.”

With a wink to her friend who only then realised the position she was in, Robyn picked up her four glasses and made her way back to the table, a small smile on her face as she walked thinking over Claire’s words, happy she was going to give the teasing and slagging a rest. It meant she really only had to keep a closer eye on Shane throughout the night, knowing he was going to come out with all guns blazing, having just the smallest crush on Taron, despite being married to the love of his life for the last three years.

[xmxisxforxmaybe]

Elliot x reader where the reader and Elliot work together and at one point are kinda forced to make small talk and at first it's really awkward and embarrassing and just ANXIETY but as they kinda keep the conversation going forcefully they sorta relate to each other (ok thanks I love your writing happy late St Patrick's day 💚☘️)

I LOVE THIS REQUEST. And I LOVE YOU, Anon 💚

“Alderson. Y/L/N. I want you to run penetration tests on Friday’s network patches. Shouldn’t take you more than a day or two, depending on what you find.”

The sterile-white meeting room suddenly felt about 10 degrees hotter than it had a moment ago, and when you moved your hands from the table to your lap, you noticed the remnants of a foggy imprint left behind on the cool surface. You swiped at it, hoping no one noticed, least of all your new partner.

No one wanted to get paired up or put on a team with Elliot Alderson.

He was quiet, sometimes twitchy, always unapproachable, and went out of his way to take up an indiscriminate amount of space in the office. Granted, you weren’t a social butterfly, but you did say your required good-mornings and good-nights, understanding that this was a social expectation and if you adhered to it, people accepted you. Acceptance was nice. It was normal.

So, you played the game, but only when you left the office behind did you really breathe. You knew that it generally took about 30 minutes, door to door, before you were home in your quiet, cozy apartment, wrapped up in what you called your “introvert’s paradise.”

You often wondered if Elliot was the same. Well, you knew he definitely was not the same considering the great lengths he went to avoid human interaction, which led you to believe there was a lot more going on behind those grey eyes than he’d care to let anyone know.

Ah! And there was the rub.

Elliot Alderson may have been strange, but he was attractive.

During these meetings, you always found yourself wishing for something that later made you feel guilty—you wanted him to talk. It was obvious he hated to speak in front of any gathering larger than, well, 0, but you couldn’t help yourself. You hoped your boss would need his input, which he often did. Another thing everyone knew was that Elliot Alderson was the smartest person in the room.

Yet another reason why your palms were now sweaty as you gathered up your laptop, notebook, and pen and chased after Elliot.

He was always the first one to leave a meeting.

By the time you crossed the office, Elliot was already settled at his computer, his fingers working to push in his earbuds. Before he could get the left-side in, you appeared in his line of vision.  

He stared at you, his lips parted, and had you known better, you would have thought he was a statue, perhaps a modern art piece, titled: “Startling Your Co-Worker in the Age of Digital Communication.”

You weren’t expecting him to be completely unaccepting of your presence, but maybe he wasn’t even listening during the meeting.

“Hi, Elliot.”

After several heartbeats passed and you were bordering into the territory of awkward, he lowered his left earbud and said, “Hi.”

Nothing. He wasn’t going to say anything else.

Alright, the conversation would have to be carried entirely by you.

“Uh, so … the penetration tests?”

Elliot looked at you like he had never seen you before—and maybe he hadn’t. Maybe he didn’t even know your name. You had never worked on a project together before, but you had talked during meetings. You passed each other in the elevator, around the office—an office of only about 25 people.

Again, nothing.

“Listen—do you, like, even know who I am?”

Elliot blinked, his large grey eyes disappearing for a moment, and in that moment, you felt a sense of relief. Making eye contact with Elliot was like being scanned by the TSA.

“Y/N,” Elliot answered, his voice low and flat. “You—”

And then he cut himself off, his mouth snapping shut as his eyes scanned your face before settling on the edge of his desk.

“Okaaay,” you said slowly. “First name basis, established. Were you paying attention during the meeting? I mean, I zone out sometimes, too, because Gary’s an asshole, but he assigned us to—”

“Run penetration tests on Friday’s patches,” Elliot said in a mumbled rush.

“Right. Yes. So, I guess you’re the master of penetration—oh my god,” you said as a blush of mortification crept up your neck.

As soon as the words, “master of penetration,” left your mouth, Elliot looked up and his eyes had doubled in size while his lips once again parted. He pulled his lower lip in, biting at it before he swallowed, watching you with what you could have sworn was amusement.

Amusement … or pity.

“I meant that everyone knows you are the best white hat here,” you said slowly so as not to put your gigantic foot back in your idiotic mouth. “It would be foolish for me to look for the vulnerabilities when you are the better hacker.”

“Okay,” came Elliot’s monotone answer.

Okay?!? your mind was screaming. Not a giggle, not a ha-ha-ha, Y/N, I understood what you meant, no big, break the ice, let’s be friends.

Nope.

Just … Okay.

It was clear that Elliot was going to do absolutely nothing to quell your anxiety, so fuck the attempts at small-talk.

With a determined raise of your chin, you sat down next to Elliot and opened your laptop. You could feel him shift a little away from you, and you tried not to take offense. There was already enough space to fit two people between you, but if he wanted more, okie-fucking-dokie.

“Go ahead and remotely access my laptop, I’ll split screen so I can watch you code while I document the data. Just tell me when you find a flaw so I’m sure not to miss anything.”

Before you had even finished speaking, your screen was mirroring Elliot’s. You quickly split the screen and got a doc ready to record the data.

You looked over at Elliot who had his fingers poised over the keyboard; he was peripherally watching you, so as soon as he saw you glance at him, he started working.

Time passed slowly, awkwardly as you sat side-by-side without saying a word. At first, there really was no need to talk, you figured, but normally, most people needed a break from their screen to at least stretch and blink.

Apparently, Elliot was more robot than man.

“Hey!” you said, making Elliot jump, his keystrokes faltering.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” you said, embarrassed again.

Elliot shrugged his shoulders and went back to typing, but you weren’t done.

“Well, wait a minute,” you said, his keystrokes faltering again.

“You found and fixed a flaw without telling me—that was the first one, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Well, the point of me documenting is that we, ya know, talk about it.”

“Why?”

You turned your body toward him and blinked a few times.

“Because … we have to put this in layman’s terms for the analyst? Didn’t you ever wonder what the next step was after the penetration and documentation?”

“No,” Elliot said, finally turning a quick glance in your direction.

“Give me a second,” you said, quickly typing in your document.

Elliot stayed perfectly still, his fingers hovering over his keyboard.

“Alright—read over this and make sure it’s correct.”

Elliot glanced at you again before scooting in his chair about an inch closer in your direction. You suppressed a laugh and turned your laptop toward him so he could more easily see.

Then, Elliot chuckled. The most ridiculous excuse for a laugh huffing out of his mouth for a nanosecond before he snapped it shut again.

“What?”

“You misspelled ‘penetration.’”

You furrowed your brows and slid your laptop closer and a small laugh bubbled up from your throat.

“Good god,” you said through your giggle. “I blame you for that.”

Elliot shrugged his shoulders, but you caught the faintest hint of an upturn of his lips. It couldn’t be called a smile, much like his laugh couldn’t be called a laugh, but it was something human.

You resumed your work, but this time Elliot did pause when he found a flaw. Communication became easier and you found that the workday was starting to fly by.

“Hey! Did you see that?” you interrupted, but this time you didn’t startle him.

“See what?”

You reversed the direction of the code and watched as the screen recreated the last few lines Elliot had run.

“There!”

“Shit … I mean. Shoot,” Elliot said, flustered. “I missed it.”

You chuckled, “See? I’m not as dumb as you think I am.”

Elliot stopped and turned his chair toward you, his intense gaze locking your eyes onto his.

“I don’t think you’re dumb.”

You rolled your eyes and said through a shy smile, “Of course you do. You’re Elliot Alderson. God of hacking.”

Elliot tilted his head, almost like a dog when it was listening to its owner.

“God of hacking?”

You turned your chair to face him, your expression serious.

“You’re the most intimidating person in this office, Elliot.”

“That’s a nice way to say people don’t like me.”

“People just don’t know you. You’re . . . ” you trailed off, unsure if this was a conversation Elliot wanted to have, but he was still looking at you, eyes focused and head slightly tilted.

“You don’t say good-morning … or good-night. You don’t speak unless spoken to. It’s like,” you paused for a moment to think, “it’s like you run a different daily program than everyone else.”

“Oh,” he said, his eyes falling and his hands smoothing over his thighs, rubbing back and forth in a repetitive, nervous motion.

You reached out to comfort him and just with the tip of your finger on the top of his hand, you pressed for no longer than a second.

Elliot looked up at you.

“Try it sometime. Say good-morning. I’ll even let you practice on me,” you said with a sweet smile.

And, to this day, you’ll never forget that Elliot smiled back. And when he smiled, you felt your heart flutter. He wasn’t just a good-looking guy—he was beautiful.

“Ready to run some more tests?” you asked, feeling shy all over again but for an entirely different reason.

“I am the god of penetration,” Elliot deadpanned, his lips quirking into a grin as you groaned, but suddenly turning to correct him.

“I said master of penetration.”

“I know,” said Elliot, his voice containing the smallest hint of coquettish laughter.

Your mouth popped open in surprise before you shut it, shaking your head and grinning to yourself.