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samlicker81 · 4 years ago

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Lucky | Part 5

Sam X Reader

Summary: You’re unlucky in love when you find a lost wallet outside a bar and are smitten with the photo on the ID inside. Could your luck have turned, or have you found yourself in the middle of something unfortunate?

Warnings: nightmares, bed sharing, cuddling, angst, dumb flirting

Word Count: 2.9K

Series Masterlist

You finally got the timeline nailed down with Sam filling in the holes. You were abducted from your home somewhere between four and five in the morning on Sunday, after your shift. Kept in pitch blackness, and in and out of consciousness due to a significant concussion and blood loss, there was no way of knowing that the entire day passed. Sam and Dean were able to locate and make it to the nest by nightfall. Monday morning found you here at the motel, after driving through the night to put a significant distance between you and what was left of your captors.

You called Emily, the only person who’d really worry about you, on a burner phone Dean let you use. But since then, the only people you’ve had contact with are these mysterious brothers. If you can call it contact. The past two days have been spent with Sam clicking away at a laptop in the corner of the room and making whispered phone calls in the bathroom, Dean leaving the place as much as possible and coming back smelling of booze or bacon to watch TV too loudly, and you sleeping off your concussion or listening to an audiobook on Sam’s IPod, because reading with your eyes still made you nauseous.

Evening is falling again as you lay on your bed pretending to sleep. Sam has his eyes on you almost every time you look up. It’s already been suffocating enough sharing the space with these two men without the constant puppy eyes.

Besides pain, anger is all you feel. You’re aware that it makes no sense to direct it at your rescuers, but you don’t care. Right now, they’re your new captors and it feels good to meet Sam’s overbearing glances with glares and his questions with silence or sarcasm. You’d snap at Dean too, but he left you alone. Sam keeps trying.

“Sammy. Outside.” Dean pokes his head in the room. You hit the pause button on the book you’re not listening to and strain your ears against the highway noise to catch the conversation drifting through the thin walls.

“I don’t like you going alone,” Sam’s voice rumbles.

“I won’t be alone. Two extra hunters are enough. We gotta get back there before they recoup too much. Or worse, move again.”

“You know what I mean. We don’t know these guys that well. They won’t have your back like I would.”

“I’m a big boy, Sammy. You’re still hurt, anyway. And you have to stay here with her. She trusts you more.”

You scoff at the same time Sam does. “She hates me, dude.” He mumbles something else too quiet for you to hear.

“You gotta stop doing this to yourself. None of this is your fault.”

“If I’d left her alone, they never would have come after her. They grabbed her the very next night after I staked out her place. Sebastian made it clear that it wasn’t a coincidence.” The guilt is heavy in his voice. You feel some of your own tighten in your chest. You might be being too hard on him.

“You can’t live like that, shutting everyone out. People get hurt whether you’re around or not. It’s not a crime to like someone every once in a while.”

“Dean…”

“Whatever, man. I’m meeting up with the guys now to game plan. I’ll be back late and then we leave bright and early.” Dean shuffles a bag and then his footsteps begin moving away from the door. “Don’t let her push you around too much while I’m gone!” he yells and then the car door slams.

You snap your eyes shut as the door clicks open. He doesn’t even try to be discreet when he comes around the bed and leans over you. He steps away and sighs, heading to the bathroom where you can hear him quietly place an order for Chinese food. He remembers to ask for no mushrooms in your stir fry.

He flicks off the lights and tiptoes back to his corner, so he doesn’t disturb your fake slumber. He clicks at his computer, unaware of your turmoil.

A swirl of contrition, doubt, and frustration makes your head hurt. This time all of it is pretty much directed at yourself. Every spiteful action you’ve taken towards Sam comes back and pummels you in the gut. Somewhere in the back of your mind you knew he never really deserved it. He’d only ever been nice. So annoyingly nice. Because he liked you? You press a thumb between your eyebrows, pushing away, not for the first time, the feelings you had when you met him. You feel like a silly teenager, denying your feelings, wanting to cry into a pillow, avoiding Sam as much as possible.

You’re a grown up. You can apologize. Just not right now.

You’re asleep before Dean gets back. The new unease in the presence of Sam, knowing you should talk to him, is making your head throb with a vengeance.

It isn’t the first time your dreams have taken a dark turn. You’re always back in that dark room. At least that’s where it feels like. You never saw the room where you were tied up, and your dream displays that same darkness. Every sense but sight is heightened. You hear every movement and hiss echo around you. You’re not tied up, but you can’t move. Hands grab at you, pulling hard at different limbs. Voices laugh at your cries as you lay helpless, only feeling the damage they leave to your lifeless form.

Sam wakes with a start when you cry out. The too small cot creaks as he extricates his aching body from it. Dean snorts loudly and groans, pulling a pillow over his head. Sam comes to your side and hesitates. Your face is scrunched up in obvious discomfort. His fingers twitch, wanting to smooth the lines between your brows. He wills himself to step away instead.

He’s almost back in bed when you start panting fast. This time he gives in to instinct, wrapping a hand around your ankle through the bedspread.

“Shh…It’s just a dream.”

The clawing hands turn to gentle caresses. Stroking your leg from knee to ankle, pushing hair from your forehead.

You blink and find moonlight streaming through cracks between thick green curtains. You shift in the sheets, grateful that you have control of your body again.

“You okay?” You jump hard at the gentle whisper. Sam’s hands move away from you and into his lap, but he stays seated on the edge of the bed by your feet. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. You were having a nightmare again.”

You blink a couple of times at his shadowed face and then burst into tears.

The mattress rocks as he settles his large frame next to you, and you let him pull you into his arms. The gesture wrenches a quiet sob out of you. “I know, I get them too. It’s awful,” he whispers into your hair, a warm hand moving in soothing circles on your back.

“I--I’m so scared…all the time.” The admission chokes out of you and into his soaked shirtfront.

He pulls up your chin, forcing you to meet his eyes. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Your breath hitches. Somehow the affectionate statement both warms your bones and twists like a sharp knife in your chest at the same time.

“Sam, I…I’m really sorry.”

“What?” He laughs in genuine shock. You pull back a little.

“You’ve gone out of your way to be nice to me and I’ve gone out of my way to make you miserable. You don’t deserve it,” you sniff. “I’m afraid. And I’m angry. But not at you.”

“You’ve gone through a lot.”

You roll your still teary eyes and let out a sad laugh, “Ugh, like that.” You sigh and pull your good arm out of his grasp to wipe at your nose. “Thank you for saving me. And thank you for keeping me safe. Even from my own dreams.” You try to laugh again, but it doesn’t come out right. You shudder and his arms flex automatically, pulling you into him again. You breathe in his warmth and clean linen scent. You’re suddenly very aware of how intimate the embrace is, being in your bed, and your stomach flutters. His heart beats too fast beneath your ear and you smile a little. He feels it too, but he doesn’t let go. You can’t deny it feels right.

“You get nightmares too?” You break the silence; it feels so good to talk.

“Yeah, it comes with the territory. Everything is different when you know what’s really out there. When you look evil in the face.”

“But this is what you do? You and your brother? You…hunt things?”

He chuckles dryly, “The family business. We never knew anything different, me and Dean. Our dad was a hunter. When we woke up afraid there was a monster in the closet, he came in with a shotgun.”

“Oh…I can’t imagine.”

“It’s not so bad. We save people, do what the cops can’t.” You nod against his chest, sniffling quietly. “You think you can sleep again?”

“Yeah, maybe. I feel like I haven’t slept in days. I know it looks like I just lay here and sleep all the time, but every time I close my eyes I’m back there. I feel like a kid afraid of the dark.”

“A very rational fear, really.” His long hair flops over his smiling face as he relinquishes you to your pillow and pulls the covers up. Your fingers still grip his hand. “Do you want me to stay?”

“Would you?”

“Let’s see…tiny cot, or pretty girl?” he quips, sliding under the covers.

You settle into his warmth, anxiety melting away. Your cheeks are still hot with the blush his flirty remark brought on when you fall back asleep.

Dean trips over the cot, just a few steps shy of slipping out. He squints in the still mostly dark room, finding the cot empty. His stomach flips for a second, head whipping around. He breathes a relieved chuckle, finding his brother deep in sleep with you barely visible in his arms. “Sammy, you dog…” He hikes his bag back up onto his shoulder and shuts the door quietly behind him.

You’re alone when you wake up from the best sleep you’ve had in days. Your head feels markedly clearer as you sit up.

The shower shuts off and your heart flutters. How quickly your body’s involuntary response has changed at the thought of Sam. He strolls out, lower half wrapped in a towel, top half bare and still beaded with water droplets. Your blush heats all the way down to your shoulders. He’s perfectly muscled, and you glimpse a tattoo brandishing his upper left chest before you look pointedly up at his face. His smile is just as disarming as his nakedness.

“You’re up. How’d you sleep?”

“Like a baby,” you rub your eyes, still a little puffy from your cry. “I didn’t bother you?”

“Just one night on this thing is one too many; I’ll take a bed hog any day.” He folds the rickety cot in half easily with one hand, ignoring your indignant scoff. He grabs some clothes out of a duffel on the floor and heads back to the bathroom. “Get dressed,” he throws over his shoulder, “We’re going out.”

You don’t have a lot of options, but Dean did all right on his shopping trip. You move as quickly as one good arm will let you, excited to leave the much-resented motel room for the first time. Soon you’re dressed in some comfortable leggings and a T-Shirt, teeth brushed, and knots picked out of your hair with Sam’s tiny comb.

“Ready.” You beam. Sam, fully dressed now and stretched out on the tidy bed where he slept beside you, looks up from his laptop. He smiles back, pulling glasses off of his nose. You like the change: smiling when he looks at you instead of stares full of concern. He probably appreciates the lack of glares himself.

“A movie?” He asks, eyebrows raised.

“What, too regular for you?”

He laughs, “No, it sounds perfect actually.” He pulls out a familiar leather wallet and throws some cash on the table between your empty dishes. “I just can’t remember the last time I went to the movies.”

“We passed a theater a few blocks down.” You shrug, not ready to call it a day and hole back up in the motel.

“Lead the way.” He gestures, standing. It felt like the day at the library again. Being with him was easy. If you didn’t both look like you’d been in a car accident, you could almost imagine nothing crazy had ever happened.

The comforting, buttery smell of movie theater plasters a grin on your face. “I almost wish we hadn’t just eaten. Popcorn is my favorite.”

“Candy guy.” He smiles down at you.

“Oh yeah?”

“Ooohhh yeah. Anything sour.”

You walked into the very next movie they had showing, some sci-fi thing that you never would have picked in a million years. It was mediocre. Most of the day’s events had been mediocre, running errands for restocking the first aid kit, snack bag, plus some extra stuff for you to get by. And then an okay lunch followed by a passable movie.

It was the best day you’d had in a long time.

Your head hurts and your fingers are like sausages sticking out from your sling, but you can’t wipe a smile off your face as you walk back to the motel. You want to lace your fingers into the large hand swinging next to you. Besides some light flirting, everything has been above bar. You’re trying to work out a reason why he’d sleep next to you again instead of a perfectly good unused bed when his phone rings. He stops in his tracks.

“Dean, finally.” You can’t hear the other end, but his face darkens. “Okay. Yeah, we have more. Be careful.” He hangs up.

It’s him that reaches for your hand, but not in the way you pictured it. His long legs move quickly, pulling you behind him.

“The nest moved. They could be anywhere.” His words shoot ice-cold fear down your spine.

You struggle to keep up with his pace the whole way until he finally stops in the parking lot of the motel. He drops quickly to a knee. Is he tying his shoe? You’re about to question him, antsy to get inside and out of the darkening night, when he pulls up his pant leg and unstraps a long knife.

Shielded behind his back, you watch him thrust open the motel door in one quick movement. You stand in the corner while he checks the rest of the room. He grabs a bag and quickly heads for the door again.

“Stay here,” he directs firmly.

“Sam—” You hear the fear constricting your voice. His hand stops on the doorknob; the concerned eyes are back.

“I know. I’ll only be a minute, I promise.” And then he’s gone.

He’s true to his word, returning for you soon after he left. After being assured it’s safe, you reluctantly follow him back outside and around to the back of the building. He directs you to a strange smelling fire burning in a metal trashcan.

“It’s not perfect, but it can help throw them off. The smell.” With that, you move closer, reaching out a shaking hand to try and let the warmth draw the fear from you. His arm wraps around you and you lean into his side.

You stand quietly this way until the fire is down to smoking embers. “Come on,” he whispers, gently bringing you back to reality. He pulls the trashcan with him to the door. You sit on the end of the bed while he disables the smoke alarm, staring at the sliver of exposed skin above his belt as he reaches up with long arms.

The trashcan is left in the room to smoke it up while you both sit on the curb just outside. The smell is still heavy around you as smoke leaks from the open window. You’re grateful for his arm around you; the night is cold without the fire.

“I’m sorry. I want this to be over too.”

“Don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault.” You only rest your aching head on his shoulder for a second before you snap it back up at his scoff. “Sam, I don’t blame you for any of this. I’d be dead without you.”

“You’d be at home still believing monsters aren’t real without me.”

You continue to stare at him, trying to catch his eye. “Well, I’m glad I met you.” It comes out angrier than you wanted it to. He finally meets your eyes. There is sadness there, but something else too.

In a second his lips are on yours. A shocked sigh leaves your mouth and enters his as his lips part. Your surprise and remaining dregs of fear melt away with the insistent heat of his mouth on yours. Too soon, he pulls away.

You’ve only just blinked open your heavy lids and he’s already pulled the metal can from the room and slammed a lid over it. He peers into the haze and looks back at you, eyes dark.

“It’s not too bad in there.” He jerks his head towards the open door and reaches out a hand for you.

#Sam Winchester #SPN #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural #bed sharing #cuddling #angst #sam x reader #series

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malecftw · 5 years ago

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When the Angel meets the Warlock (part 2)

Part 1 Part 3

And so time went on. The Angel being too intrigued to go back to Heaven, the Warlock too infatuated to go back to his coven.

Instead, they met somewhere in the middle. The Greendale forest to be more precise.

It didn’t take much for the Angel to let a treehouse sprout from the branches of one of the oldest trees rooted there, she’d never let the warlock know but being surrounded by the trees and nature had other advantages than being able to stay hidden from both of their worlds.

While the warlock meant good, his energy wasn’t. At least not for a Heavenly Creature like her. She thanked the Lord every day for the trees, they made it bearable to spend as much time together as they possibly could seeing as the Earthly energy somewhat canceled out his bad energy.

“I know I may not be human, but being friends with a half-witch has its perks.” He exclaimed, grinning as he took her hand and led her into the starry sky. After about an hour of tripping over roots sticking out of the damp soil, leafs whistling in the soft summer wind and a whole lot of giggles they arrived at the edge of the forest. Nicholas let go of the hand he was previously holding as he guided her through the forest.

She looked at him, piercing blue like hard aquamarine glistening in the dark of night, her eyes almost seemed to emit a radioactive glow. Enchanting nonetheless. Her eyebrows were raised and she looked at him inquisitively. The soft glow her skin carried, was lowered to a minimum. Then again, a figure resembling a human glowstick just appearing out of nowhere on a regular Friday night would seem rather odd.

“Stay here.” He whispered, kissing her forehead with a gentleness she hadn’t experienced before. Heaven was good. Obviously. But it also had no room for human emotion. As Angels, their one and true duty was to fulfill the work of the Holy Lord. Nothing more, nothing less. A sacred task only few were gifted.

Nicholas turned his back and started stepping away from her. A sudden panic in her chest rose, she hadn’t been left alone since she arrived on Earth. Nicholas heard the sudden rustling of the leaves beneath her feet and turned around. The panicked look on her face seemed so out of character. She was an almighty being. What could possibly have her panicked?

“You’ll come back? Right?” The uncertainty in her voice was apparent and it made his heart nearly jump out of his chest. This girl, she wanted him. She wanted him to stay by her side and he couldn’t help but be surprised. In all his life, the only person who’d truly needed him was himself. He was used to not being wanted. At least not on a deeper level than a one night stand or an orgie with the Weird Sisters. But this girl, she wanted him. All of him. They were taking baby steps, neither of them having any sort of experience with this kind of situation. You know the whole forbidden love between Angels and well basically anyone let alone a Warlock of the Dark Lord.

He looked into that piercing blue once again. “Of course. Where else would I go?” He said softly, almost too soft for her to hear. But she did. She straightened her back and gave him a small nod. Signaling to him that she was going to wait there for him. He made work of his plan and stepped away again, looking back every couple of steps, ensuring that she was okay. Just to be safe.

His hand grasped the cold door handle, neon lights illuminating his skin. The diner was oddly empty apart from a couple of teenagers here and there but that didn’t faze him. The only person he wanted to focus his attention on tonight was waiting for him a few feet away outside of that door. His idea was cute. At least he thought so. A poor attempt at slowly starting to try and make her realize what she was missing in Heaven. He knew how silly it was of him to have hope. Hope that for some unknown reason, she’d stay. He knew it was selfish, but he couldn’t help himself. Since the moment he laid his eyes upon her, he was a goner. He’d give up everything, but he also wasn’t a fool. He knew there was no place for him in her world. He’d never ask her to stay, he’d never ask her to give up everything she’d ever known but he couldn’t help but try and plant a little seed of doubt in her mind.

“Hey kid, you alright? You’ve been staring at that menu for an awfully long time.” Nick was pulled from his thoughts and thrown back into the real world in a matter of seconds when the owner of the diner interrupted the never-ending wheel of possibilities in his brain. The man seemed worn down, his long shift probably taking a toll but he didn’t seem to lose the kind sparkle in his chocolate brown eyes. He looked at Nicholas, almost as though he was prepared for a mental breakdown to happen, the teenage boy in front of him looking rather lost. Nick shook his head, clearing his thoughts and remembering what he was doing there. “Uh yeah sorry, could I have a regular cheeseburger and fries to go times two. Oh and a Vanilla and Chocolate milkshake please.” The elderly man nodded and got to work, leaving Nick behind at the bar.

Nicholas spun in his chair, trying to look outside the window. He couldn’t see her, but he knew she was there. She’d never just leave. One of the few things in his life he could count on. His gaze shifted when a couple of teenagers started laughing in a booth a couple of steps away from him. They seemed careless, young and free. All three of those things, he would never be. One of them caught his gaze and stuck his hand in the air. “Sorry dude, we thought we were the only ones in here!” He was wearing a blue and yellow jacket, his red hair sticking out in various places on his scalp. “No problem dude, I’ll only be a second.” He said loudly so the guy could hear. They exchanged a nod and the boy went back to the conversation with his friends.

Nick looked back at the door of the kitchen which was swung open right at that moment. The man appeared with two brown paper bags and set them on the counter in front of the warlock. “That’ll be 15 in total.” The man looked as he got out his wallet, his lips turning upwards as Nick realized the mistake. “Did you add the milkshakes?” The older man sighed smiling. “I know a troubled mind when I see one. I also know milkshakes make everything better. These are on the house kid.” “Are you sure?” The man nodded. Nick laid out 20 on the counter, giving the man a 5 dollar tip. “Thank you, sir.” He said while bowing his head slightly in gratitude. “Don’t worry about it kid.” He yelled as Nick was walking towards the exit. “Oh, and call me Pop.” Nick turned around and saluted him. “You got it, Pop.” He smiled as he opened the door and stepped out into the night again.

He smiled as he saw her hesitant figure, she was hesitating to come out of the safety of the forest she’d called home for the past couple of weeks. So being the good (almost) boyfriend that he is, Nick halted his steps leaving her with no choice but to face her anxiety and come out into the unknown world for the first time.

She smiled knowing what he was doing. And she loved him for it. Ever since they had met, he showed her small gestures of support. Not only offering her comfort but also pushing her limits in the most affectionate ways. Always ensuring her that she was safe and he was never gonna let anything or anyone hurt her. Before she could fully realize it, her feet were moving slowly towards the boy she’d grown so fond of. And he smiled. Boy, did he smile alot. She felt like a child, taking her first steps into the world and in a way she was. And was she lucky to have someone like him guiding her and supporting her.

As he took her hand, he immediately pulled her closer. Every chance he got to be close to her, he’d be a fool not to grasp. She looked down at the paper bags in his hand. “What are those?” She asked, voice almost giving out from not speaking for a while. He squeezed her sides teasingly and she squealed. “You’ll see little miss impatient. Come on, I know just the spot.”

They walked back into the forest for a couple of minutes, the trickling of water becoming more and more apparent as they neared a small stream. At least she thought it was a small stream. Now, she was actually looking out over a river. The sound of the water cascading over the rocks wasn’t disturbingly loud. It was actually surprisingly gentle.

Nicholas went ahead and took a seat on one of the bigger rocks, patting the spot beside him. She quickly obliged, sighing in enjoyment as her bare feet came into contact with the sweet water, washing away the dirt on the soles of her feet, accumulated by walking through the forest. She returned her attention to the dark-haired boy as he started taking out the contents of the brown paper bags.

“This, Milady will change your life.” He said as he gently put the thin cardboard box with the burger and fries in her hands. She eyed the food suspiciously. “This is supposed to be,... Good?” Nick laughed at her distrust. “Not just good darling, I’d even call it... Heavenly.” She rolled her eyes at the incredibly cheesy pun as he cracked himself up over it. Chewing on a fry as he nudged her side. “Ha Ha... Making fun of the uncultured angel. How dare you Mr. Scratch” He grinned and took a fry, holding it up to her. “Just try it, if you don’t like it we can throw it away but I’ll be damned if I don’t introduce you to this exquisite delight the mortal world has to offer.”

She raised an eyebrow and took the fry from his hands, biting into it slowly as he eyed her reaction. A pensive, judging expression made its way onto her facial features keeping him anticipating her final judgment. “I kinda like it.” At that, he threw his hands up in the air, a clear signal of his pride. And then, he really got excited. “Do you know what’s even better?” He asked as he took the plastic lid off of the milkshake cup. She waited, assuming that was a rhetorical question.

He dipped one of his fries into the chocolate milkshake and once again held it up in front of her. “This is actually the best. The combination of sweet and salty. Unf, it hits me every single time.” She laughed as she watched him basically fangirl over a chocolate milkshake covered fry but took his offer anyways.

He was right. It was even better than the normal fry. Her eyes widened and she excitedly nodded her head. “This is so good! Why do we not have this back home wow.” As the girl raved on about the food, he took a moment to observe her. The light freckles starting to show as she was being exposed longer and longer to the natural light of the sun during her time on Earth. The dimples that appeared out of nowhere, he one day noticed and couldn’t get out of his head since. The way she crinkled her nose when he complimented her. He wants all of it. All of her. For all of time.

“Hey, you got a little something there.” He says softly as his thumb touches the corner of her mouth, wiping away a little bit of chocolate as a result of her trying another milkshake covered fry. She snaps out of her raving, entranced by his stare. She hadn’t noticed how close they had gotten until their noses were almost touching. His hand resting on her cheek, his thumb ghosting over her bottom lip.

“You take my breath away.” He whispers as he leans in, his soft lips carefully touching hers, giving her time to back out if she wants to. But that’s the peculiar thing...

She doesn’t want to.

A/N: I really had to work for this one cause the pond of inspiration was dry as hell this weekend (pun intended hehe). I hate sundays. So I figured why not attempt to make it a little better.

Hope you like it!

Let me know if you want me to make a part 3

Tags: @ohmypreciousgavinyeet @carostar2020 @i-love-you-green @kaepm981

Masterlist.

#nicholas scratch x reader #nicholas scratch imagine #nick scratch #caos imagine #caos fic #fluff #mystery #dunno where im going w this story in the slightest

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the-magic-lava-lamp · 6 years ago

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Warm Months - ‘Heart Of Gold’

Summary: (I decided to re-write an old story of mine called ‘Warm Months’! It’s a little bit different but the concept is pretty much the same! ) *And for the sake of this story, Anakin was 19 when the twins were born & Padme was 23. Plus, I’ve made Padme & Obi-Wan the same age*

[ 1976 ] Han Solo is stuck in an uneventful time in his life that he likes to call the 'working at the car wash blues’ era. But starting from a pit-stop on on road-trip where he meets the mysterious Leia and oh so interesting Luke, his life takes a turn. And he wonders if he’ll see them again.

Unbeknownst to Han, Luke and Leia have decided to go out on a quest to find & meet their birth parents or what’s left of them, which amounts to missed buses and long walks. That is until they run back into Han Solo and his pal Chewie. And the greatest road-trip officially begins

Chapter: 2 - Heart Of Gold

Song to go with today’s chapter

Word Count: 3,364

Ships: Eventual Skysolo + Obikin

Leia pushed some of the hair that wasn’t slicked down to her moist skin with sweat behind her ear and sighed. The hotel carpet beneath her cradled her aching feet and she had to admit, it was the most physical pleasure she’d had in a few days. It had been non-stop walking and running to catch buses just a ways out of reach. They’d begun this trip on Saturday and it was now Wednesday night and she was dead tired. Cracking her neck gently, in a way her father Bail had advised her against many times, she sat down on her bed.

Carrying through the room was the clean smell from the bathroom that Luke had called dibs on upon entry. It brought a fresh spring meadow to her senses that made her instantly envious. She thought of the many times Luke had come over to her home and hogged that bathroom all the same.

It had been explained to them the same since early childhood days of understanding. Their parents were young and afraid. And tragically, their mother passed away in childbirth. That was something Leia tried not to dwell on. Bail and Breha never hesitated to tell her everything she wanted to know. Padme. That was her birth mother, their birth mother. Beautiful, headstrong, wise beyond her years and so much more.

The situation they’d ended up with was to be given to relatives and close friends instead of strangers. Her birth father, Anakin, had decided he could not raise them alone. So he did what was best for them. Allowing them to grow up in the best environment possible. He was but nineteen and just lost the love of his life and was without a stable job. As Bail had explained. So Leia went to a close friend of Padme’s and Luke was set with Anakin’s stepbrother Owen & his wife Beru. Each family had wanted children and gladly helped the man when he needed it most.

As she grew, Leia tried hard not to be bitter. But she realized more and more that it would be unfair for her to hold a part of herself back for the feelings of a man who was not in her life anymore. It was hard. she understood why he did what he did, truly. But because she was a daughter, it hurt. She loved their families dearly but the separation between her and Luke growing up, though minimal, was difficult.

That’s not to say their families didn’t tell them all they needed to know because they did. They were always aware they were siblings and were told stories of their parents. Most children wait to meet their birth parents just as they did. When they were eighteen the curiosity hit. But life got in the way. Jobs, dating, school plans, etc. Nineteen ended up being the chosen age to seek their birth father out.

And not for the first time did she wonder if it was the right thing to do. Not only was it a leap of faith to meet their father. But this would also be their first taste of true freedom outside of Tatooine. The town they grew up in. Where they worked meaningless jobs. Where they fought the fights of children and teenagers. Where they experienced first kisses and missed school buses. A town they loved was in the rear-view mirror for the first time in their lives. There was no guarantee they’d ever live there the same again after this. After all, they were nineteen now.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Luke burst from the bathroom and hopped onto his own bed. That dopey smile on his face that made Leia scoff yet she returned the grin always. She strolled over to the small bathroom and closed the door.

Her hair was flowing elegantly down against her skin. She grabbed at it, readying herself to do one of those braids her mother taught her. But as she went to go into the action without a second thought, the first steps seemed to fade from her mind.

So she pictured the moments Breha had managed to wrangle her to stand still and shown her just how to pull her hair into fun styles. Though only away from home for a few days now, seeing the picture of herself and her mother put her at ease.

As the hair slipped through her fingers, she thought about just how devastating it was that her birth mother never got to experience those little moments with her. Something dreadfully painful ached in her chest. Her feet moved before she registered an idea.

Throwing open the bathroom door, she sped over to the hotel room telephone and dialed without even sparing Luke an explanation.

“Hey mom.” She spoke softly into the phone. “No, nothing’s wrong. Just wanted to um, check in.”

Luke crawled over to the edge of his bed to mouth a question.

“Yeah, no. Luke is not causing any trouble.” She giggled and ruffled the boys hair. “Just wanted to say that I love you guys, ok?” She almost sighed at the way she’d brought it up without grace but she truly wanted to express it as soon as she could. Luke sunk back on his legs and smiled before opening his mouth like he’d remembered something.

Leia nodded, understanding without words. “Luke sends his love...let Owen and Beru know.” She grinned.

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

Breakfast consisted of a paper tray of warm french fries that Leia and Luke consistently passed between them as they walked down the sidewalk. The salt coated their lips and made it increasingly hard not to crave water but they had left their drinks at the store like idiots. And they weren’t about to walk all the way back there.

Leia would have much preferred their trip to be in a more stable company of a constant car. But they were forced to cycle from bus to walking because her own car had gotten stolen just a few weeks before. Neither of them even had the option of taking their parents cars considering they required them to get to work. It had put a real damper on Leia’s mood. She'd worked long and hard to earn the money for that El Camino. The old man had sold it to her heavily cheap, it was a steal really. Now it really had been stolen. She chuckled miserably at the dumb joke, if she could even call it that. She came up from behind where Luke was standing just ahead of her. He too had stopped. His chin tilted to the sky.

“There a reason you’ve stopped?” She raised her brow and Luke gave her a side-eye as he continued to look up at the morning sky.

“There a reason you stopped?” He retorted. Leia hummed and crossed her arms. The sky was a touch of blushed pink special to the early morning. She cradled the fry tray that she’d been so lucky to be stuck with do to Luke’s sudden wonderment.

People had asked and asked loads of times during school if they had that lame psychic twin connection. They went from laughing it off to messing around with their classmates to fool them into thinking they not only had it but it was a superpower. You’d think they’d have grown out of that but they’d just performed one of their practice stunts on an unsuspecting bowler at the alley a few days ago. She laughed as she thought about it.

But they actually did have it...to a rational degree of course. Luke’s thoughts were going a mile a minute, she could feel it just the same as if they’d been flowing through her.

She let it ride for a few seconds, watching the cars zooming past them down the street just ahead. The sun bounced it’s rays down on them, glittering the pavement.

“Do you think he’ll wanna see us?” Luke piped up, a small murmur in his tone that made Leia looked at him with wide, open eyes. She nodded.

“I’m sure he’ll be shocked but...” She trailed off, nodding more so to herself. “We are his kids, Luke.” She smiled kindly. Keeping her answer vague on purpose, merely reminding Luke where they stood in this situation. She didn’t want to offer a hope or promise that might just be left unfulfilled. It was important to her that Luke remain level-headed and not blindly hopeful.

He nodded, recognizing her tone. He hiked the bag on his back further up before he started to slowly stroll again. Leia took to his side and held out the fries which he gladly took from her.

Luke wasn’t the wide-eyed innocent kid that he used to be...far from it. But Leia sometimes caught herself treating him as such. It was just instinct. Though neither of them was sure who the older twin was. As neither Bail & Breha nor Owen & Beru had thought to ask such a trivial question to Anakin during the emotional period of giving up his children.

It had been a silly thing she and Luke would pretend to fight about. A fair amount of people assumed it to be her. It bothered her brother a lot more when they were little. He’d always huff and puff and insist that it could just as well be him. Leia would snort and say there is a 50/50 chance without much confidence in her voice.

Though sometimes Leia got the feeling people could be wrong. And maybe that was just because Luke had always had somewhat of an old soul. His childhood wardrobe had really been that of a small old man it seemed. And his eyes, though wide, were also filled with a wonder she could barely understand.

“Would you unfurl your brow for like five seconds and have some fun?” Luke whined, reaching out and rubbing the creases on her forehead. She attempted to bat him away as she laughed. And there was his childlike side. Which appeared most often.

“Since when is walking around in this boiling weather only to catch a dirty bus fun, Luke?” She shook her head and bumped his arm. He shrugged.

“It’s adventure.” He smiled, sheepishly.

“I’ll give it that. It is an adventure.” She chuckled. In all honesty, it was not that bad. But she had never been one for hot weather. She preferred the cool and chilly winds of autumn. However Luke thrived during the summer. He could spend forever outside and remain content with the sweltering heat. Leia was sometimes convinced that he just couldn’t feel it.

They slowed to shocked a stop just then as their bus whizzed by as if pulling from the curb with extra force. Leia almost felt steam coming from her ears as she tried to suck in her breath to stay calm. Luke sighed from beside her.

“That sucks.” He pouted momentarily. “Are you sure we had the right-?”

Leia was already fussing around for the bus schedule in her bag. Once she pulled it out, she darted her eyes around. “It left like ten minutes early.” She glared out into the empty black-top road.

After about five minutes, Luke spoke again. “You know...” He gave her a cheeky grin. “They say a watched street never boils.”

His lame joke momentarily distracted her at least enough to roll her eyes away from the dreaded stare.

“So we’ll find another way. No big deal.” Luke grinned, the picture of naivety sometimes...he was a walking contradiction in the way. Leia frowned and rolled her shoulders back.

“This sets us back by at least another day.” She sighed, rubbing her face like she was ages older. Sometimes it seemed like all of her mistakes were something that still weighed her down. Which Luke thought was ridiculous. She barely made any anyway. And maybe he was biased, being her brother and all but he doubted it. Leia had wisdom that he could barely understand.

“So, another day in the town of Corellia ...not bad, huh?” Luke gestured out with his arms and Leia reluctantly just shrugged. She’d tried her best to avoid the obstacles that inevitably showed up on this trip yet here they were.

Part of her just wanted this trip to be over and done with. It was proving to be a major source of stress. And maybe she felt a little bad for feeling as such. But she pushed her thoughts away to glance over the scenery of the town.

It was hot but a nice shade of sunny orange. It was buzzing with rushed company and she could hear the sudden harsh sounds of the mechanic’s building just in her view.

The town was a lot to drink in at once and the flavor was for sure that of a fresh Whiskey Sour. She kept the secret of why she knew what those tasted like to herself. She puckered her lips and allowed for Luke to take a semi-lead. He strolled down the sidewalk and took long glances as if he was an admiring tourist on a vacation.

They were going to have to find another hotel or check into the same one for just one more night. And she debated that choice in her mind while blowing a strand of brown hair from her eyes.

“Wanna just mess around for a bit?” Luke asked, sticking his thumb behind him as he turned to face her. He gestured to the down-town area with a curious expression.

“We don’t have very many options, so.” Leia shrugged and finally came to stand at his side.

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

The sun’s curious children trailed the streets of Corellia, collecting prime and interesting gadgets from store to store. Leia would have liked to say she was considerably less guilty of this than Luke but she too had gathered a tiny collection of tinker toys.

Both twin fussed with their own mechanical puzzle as they attempted to find something else to do. It was unspoken between them but it was surely a test to see which of them was quicker.

And in record time, Luke managed to beat Leia by just two or three seconds. He intended to gloat as he might’ve done when they were kids. But he was easily distracted when the sun rays caught beautifully on the metal of his puzzle and reflected a warm orange glow on his tender cheeks. It tingled slightly and he was sure he was edging close to the beginnings of sunburn. Which was odd. He spent so much of his time out in the sun and managed to avoid that nine times out of ten.

Leia tilted her chin up and hiked her bag further up her back as they passed the front of some small home-y looking diner. She caught Luke’s admiring expression and made a note to come back round to the place around dinner time. However her mental note was interrupted when she slowly passed a lonesome looking bench and got a good kick around her hip. “Ow! Shit.” She whipped her head around and saw the outstretched shoe of some man who was asleep.

She came closer to take a look only to have a dog jump up from what seemed like nowhere and bark, scaring the absolute shit out of her. She jumped back right into a oblivious Luke and both twins tumbled straight for the concrete underneath them.

That was until the man shot up and used his shockingly amazing and convenient reflex skills to grab for Leia’s arm.

And it worked. Mostly...

Leia popped right back up so Luke took the fall for the both of them. Leia grinded her teeth together in horror as her brother hit the ground. And the man tightened his grip around her forearm on reflex.

“Hey Kid!...You ok?” Han’s voice was familiar and Leia only just noticed it was him as she turned to look at him. His voice went from excited to concerned in seconds flat. Leia shook from his grip and pulled her brother up who was pretty bouncy for someone who just fell right onto the sidewalk.

“I’m good, thanks.” Luke shrugged and grinned at his sister to let her know she didn’t need to worry, not that that would stop her. He then sharply took in all that was Han once again.

“You two are still in town, huh?” Han played down the excitement that had been found earlier in his tone, Leia noticed. Luke strolled closer to pet the head of the dog that Leia figured was the one he’d excitedly left the bowling alley to meet just some days ago.

Chewie’s was comfortably warm from the sunny day and Luke slowly threaded his fingers in his long fur. “Your sister seems pretty...prompt. I thought you’d be off early this morning.” Han spoke casually.

“His sister has a name. It’s Leia. And I’m right here. Thanks.” Leia scoffed and bumped his elbow so it would fall from it’s perched position and send him for a tiny free-fall from lack of balance. It made Luke giggle.

“That’s a hell of a way to say thanks for saving you from tasting concrete.” Han halfheartedly scowled as he fiddled with his arm.

“Yeah, my hero. It was just my brother who got a taste of the concrete, huh? You also caused the accident if you remember correctly.” Leia said smartly, tilting her head and smirking. Teasing came easy to her. She’d always used that to advantage over Luke while they were growing up.

“We missed our bus.” Luke interrupted the mini stand-off, only having paid half-attention to it. He had that simple and carefree grin on his face. It was no wonder all of Han’s attention was right back onto the young man. “Leaving us here for another day.” Luke dipped his chin down like he was being shy before running his tongue across his lips. It almost played off as if it were a move. His moistened lips parted just slightly and the summer afternoon breeze ricocheted throughout his body which just had to make him tilt his chin to the sky. The smooth skin of his neck now exposed to the suggestive heat-

“Anyway, take care of yourself Han.” Luke pulled back sharply and quickly from that slow moment with a refreshing amount of pleasure. It nearly gave the other man whiplash as he was sent reeling. Now...that had never happened to him before. Han coughed out of sheer fear that he’d had his confusion plainly written all over his face. From his side, Chewie barked once more.

A small gray spider climbed it’s way up the side of the bench as the sun lit up the intricate web. It made Han realize he had two options.

Continue his time lazily sitting on the bench with Chewie until he found the energy to go back home. Only to keep slipping into an easy sleep until he inevitably took it far too long and woke up with his shoes stolen like last time.

Or, make the rest of his day interesting by offering to pay for his & these twin travelers lunch.

He decided to make a gamble of his day and shot up, making sure Chewie was right at his side which he always was. “Long road-trips can really do a number on the wallet. If I treat you two to lunch would you mind watching Chewie here for say ten minutes while I go collect a paycheck?” Han spun it to make it seem like they’d be doing him a favor.

Leia pursed her lips. She was tempted to take the offer considering they should probably eat something but might want to start saving their money. The twins shared a conflicted look before both nodding.

“Sure.” Leia held out he hand for the leash but Luke swiped it as Han held it out. It made the other man chuckle before he turned off towards the street and walked off.

As Luke kneeled to Chewies level and began cooing at the beautiful dog, Leia made a wish on a passing car that they’d be able to make it through this whole trip without anymore obstacles.

#idk why i just wanted that to be her car #idk send me asks if you like it #it'd make me a very happy camper #skysolo #han solo #luke skywalker #star wars #star wars original trilogy #star wars fanfic #my fanfiction #leia organa #skysolo fic #hanluke #eventual #obikin

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andromeda---galaxy · 7 years ago

Text

a little surprise

Lukas sits in the diner down the street from his Computer Studies class and eats his burger, drumming his fingers on the table. He hates Tuesdays now because his and Philip’s schedules are exactly opposite, and they don’t get to see each other until late because Philip’s History of Photography class runs until seven.

He texts Philip. Thinking about me in class?

Always Philip replies, a moment later. You eating dinner?

Lukas picks at his fries, dipping one into the ketchup. He types out a response with one finger. Sadly. Lonely. We only get three hours together tonight before we have to go to sleep.

Lukas sighs, wishing it was Friday already. On Friday they both only have two classes early in the morning, and then they have the whole weekend off.

We’ve got date night Thursday. Then Friday and the weekend are all ours :)

Lukas smiles down at the screen. Sneak a pic of yourself, I wanna see your cute face.

A few minutes pass and Lukas smiles to himself, eating another fry. Then Philip’s next message comes through and it’s even cuter than Lukas had been expecting. It looks like he’s holding his phone low and he’s leaning on his fist, staring straight ahead. Lukas barely saw him this morning when Philip kissed him goodbye, and he sees that Philip is wearing that red t-shirt that Lukas likes.

Mmm, you look good. Can’t wait to kiss you.

Philip replies almost immediately. Gonna cuddle you so hard tonight, babe.

Lukas snorts, and then he gets another message that isn’t from Philip. It’s Angela. Lukas takes a sip of water and opens the message, straightening up a little bit.

Lukas I did something that might be a little silly! A little crazy! Can you call me?

Lukas’s heart rattles in his chest and he can’t imagine what the hell it might be, worries about the puppies for a moment before he makes himself think rationally. He dials her number, bringing the phone to his ear.

“Hey, I was worried you’d be in class!” Angela says.

“Nah, I don’t have anything too late this semester, I’m eating dinner,” Lukas rattles off. “You okay? I gotta beat somebody up?”

“Awww, that’s sweet, honey, but no, the only person you should probably beat up is me,” she says.

Lukas snorts. “Yeah right. What’s going on?”

“Well, I was doing God’s good work surfing the internet and sharing posts about animals in need, when I came across this little puppy princess—Lukas. She looks just like my children, it’s insane. She’s red merle, so she looks the most like Pumpkin.”

“You saw her online?” Lukas asks. “In a shelter?”

“In a high kill shelter, Lukas. She had two days to live.”

Lukas’s heart takes a dive. “Had?” he says. “Past tense? What horrible story are you calling me with?”

“Had because I saved that little nugget,” Angela says. “But I, uh—wanted to ask you something. Wanted to, uh—see something.”

Lukas looks off to the side. “Yes?”

“Well, you know I’m already overrun with these three lunatics as it is. I don’t necessarily need a fourth. And I know how partial your little Philip is to pups, especially to my Pumpkin. And like I said, this girl—”

“—looks like Pumpkin,” Lukas says, putting the pieces together. He’s been meaning to get Philip a puppy for a while now, and he knew he wanted to adopt from a shelter when he did. It feels too perfect. But Philip is too perfect, so it’s just cosmic destiny that a perfect situation would be handed to him to hand right over to Philip. “Can I come over now?” Lukas asks.

He hears Angela squealing. “Yes, boy, get over here!”

He waves the waiter down so he can get the check, and he feels excitement rising in his throat.

It always takes what feels like forever to get to Angela’s apartment in Long Island, but it’s worth it as soon as he steps inside. The puppies swarm him and the new little one is right in the middle of the pack. Pumpkin, Cheddar and Taffy are little teenage terrors now, and he can tell how young the new one is compared to the other three by her size. But she’s jumping up and down with them, seemingly unaware or unafraid of any attempts the others make to trample her.

“Go on!” Angela says, laughing and stepping back. “Pluck her right out from under those crazies.”

Taffy barks in response and Lukas giggles, reaching down and taking the puppy in his arms. She immediately starts wiggling but it’s only because her tail is wagging so hard. She licks at his chin and Lukas grins, trying to get a good look at her.

“Why was she in the shelter?” he asks.

“Owner surrender,” Angela says, with disdain. “Seems like they just didn’t like the poor little thing, the shelter said they didn’t give any real reason. I think they were breeders and she didn’t come out the way they wanted. She’s potty trained which is half a miracle, so I guess they did one thing right. Seven months old.”

Lukas looks into her eyes when he catches her in a calm moment. They’re very light blue, different than he’s ever seen on a dog. Most of her is a light grey except for a few patches, like the puppies. All four of her feet are white, and there are red swatches near her eyes, around her muzzle, and on her back legs. She’s goddamn adorable.

“Is that a look of love on your face?” Angela asks, grinning.

“Maybe.” Lukas shrugs a little bit, holding the puppy closer so she’s draped over his shoulder. “When did you get her?”

“Yesterday,” she says. “I’ve been trying to keep them separated so these guys don’t get too attached to her just…just in case someone…was interested.” She whistles, looking up at the ceiling.

“Did you adopt her with us in mind?” Lukas asks, petting down the puppy’s back.

“Well, I had my mini panic attack and went in there with no real thoughts in my head. But once I had her home I got the idea. But there’s no pressure, none whatsoever. I could manage four. Might take a couple years off my life, but I could do it.”

Lukas tries to picture the puppy in their apartment and it’s way too easy. He can already imagine where they’ll put her bed. Where they’ll walk her, what kind of food they’ll get. Whether or not Philip will feed her table scraps (he absolutely will). “I don’t think I can say no to this,” Lukas says. “It’s too perfect. She’s precious.”

“Really?” Angela exclaims.

“Yeah,” Lukas says, nodding.

Angela jumps up and down and the puppies all start barking. She rushes Lukas and wraps him up in a hug, which makes the puppy start licking him again. “You wanna take her tonight?” Angela asks, pulling back.

“Yeah,” Lukas says. “It’s gonna be a really sweet surprise.”

“Alright sweetheart, oh my God,” Angela says, looking around. “I’ve got all the supplies for you, carrier, food, collar, the works…we can change the adoption papers sometime this week so she’ll be officially yours…”

“Is that easy?” Lukas asks, scratching the puppy behind her ear and feeling her foot kick.

“Simple as pie,” Angela says. “Now you’re sure, right? I’m not forcing you?”

Lukas reels back a little bit and the puppy immediately starts licking his face again. “No way. Honestly, I’ve been meaning to get Philip a dog. You know how he is. He’s gonna flip out. I was actually just gonna ask you if they could put both his and my name on the papers.”

“Course they can,” Angela says. “You got any idea what you want to name her? I didn’t want to tell you what they were calling her so you didn’t have anything clouding your head. It was stupid, anyhow, she wasn’t responding to it.”

Lukas laughs. “I think Philip and I will figure it out together.”

He gets all kinds of looks on the subway and so many girls are smiling at him. He keeps talking to the puppy through her carrier door and she, surprisingly, doesn’t seem afraid to be out of Angela’s apartment.

“You excited to meet your new daddy?” Lukas whispers, grinning when she starts licking his fingers through the door. “Yeah? We’re gonna make you a surprise. When Philip comes home from class he’s gonna freak out, yes.” He rolls his eyes at himself when he realizes that he’s already using baby talk.

Lukas sits on the couch, drumming his fingers on his knees. He’s been lucky so far that the puppy hasn’t barked yet from where he’s stowed her away, but he’s terrified she’s gonna start up as soon as she hears Philip’s voice. He draws his pendant back and forth on its chain, listening to the sound it makes around his neck. He isn’t doubting himself at all, he knows that Philip is gonna love this, but Lukas is already way too committed to the surprise aspect that he wants it to all go down perfectly. He cracks his wrist and sighs, staring a hole through the door.

About five minutes later it opens. He leaps from his seat and sees Philip pushing his way inside, already yawning. He kicks the door shut and locks it, smiling sleepily at Lukas when he approaches.

“Hey baby,” Philip says, looking him up and down.

“Hey,” Lukas says, his breath getting caught in his throat. He cups Philip’s face in his hands and presses their lips together. “Mmm, ice cream for dinner again?” Lukas asks.

Philip narrows his eyes but he’s smiling, hanging his bag on the hook on the wall. “I ate a hot dog first,” he says.

“Ah, sure,” Lukas says, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Hot dog flavored ice cream.”

Philip makes a gagging noise. “Gross, Lukas,” he says, walking towards their bedroom. “That’s almost as bad as when you tried to make me eat that bacon ice cream.”

Lukas’s heart is raging in his chest as he follows him, and he tries to figure out how to keep talking about bacon ice cream when Philip is so close to where the puppy is.

“That shit was good,” Lukas blurts out, way too loud.

Philip scoffs. “You’re crazy.” He opens the bathroom door and almost as soon as he flips the light on the puppy starts dancing on the spot, standing by the tub. Philip gasps and looks like he’s frozen in time, his eyes wider than Lukas has ever seen them. The puppy whines and pants, her little nails making tap noises on the tile.

“Lukas,” Philip breathes, one hand pressing over his heart.

“Yes?” Lukas asks, smiling so hard his cheeks hurt.

“Lukas,” Philip says again.

Lukas pushes the bathroom door open a little farther. “So she’s—lemme see if I can say this right and seem really cool like Angela does.” He clears his throat. “She’s a seven month old red merle Australian shepherd puppy. She was an owner surrender, her adoption fees are paid, we just have to go and take Angela’s name off the papers and put ours on. She’s, uh—she’s potty trained. She’s really cute, she loves giving kisses—”

“Lukas,” Philip says for a third time, still staring down at the puppy and sounding a lot more desperate. “Oh my God. Oh my God.”

Lukas chuckles and he’s so fucking excited he’s close to dancing just like the puppy is. He bends down and picks her up, holding her close to Philip. She immediately starts licking Philip’s face and Philip laughs incredulously, his eyes meeting Lukas’s.

“She’s ours?” Philip asks, his voice small. “Mine and yours?”

“Yeah, she’s ours, if that’s okay,” Lukas says, a tinge of worry shooting through him.

“If that’s…” Philip trails off, shaking his head, and immediately takes the puppy out of Lukas’s arms and into his own. He hugs her close and Lukas can see the tears shining in his eyes. “Oh my God, Lukas, I can’t believe it. I cannot. I can’t.”

Lukas leans in, pressing a kiss to Philip’s forehead. “I knew you wanted a dog.”

“Of course you did, I say it all the time,” Philip says, petting the puppy’s head. “I literally always try to steal Angela’s puppies.”

Lukas snorts, scratching the puppy behind her ear again. “That’s true. Maybe that’s why she adopted this one and gave it to us. And all the supplies we could need. We’re good with food for like a month.”

“We’re forever in her debt,” Philip says. He pets the puppy’s head and beams at her, his eyes still wet. Lukas reaches out and wipes away the tears, and Philip smiles fondly at him. “Baby, for real? Am I dreaming? Do we have a dog right now? Am I holding our dog?”

“You’re holding our dog,” Lukas says, feeling incredibly proud of himself and incredibly grateful to Angela. “Our new child.”

Philip giggles high and happy at that, kissing the puppy’s neck. “This is my favorite Tuesday.”

“We need to think of a name for her,” Lukas says. “Right now.”

“Right now?”

“Right now.”

Philip chews on his bottom lip for all but two seconds before he looks at Lukas again. “Izzy,” he says.

“Izzy?” Lukas asks. “Short for Elizabeth?”

“No, just Izzy.”

“You came up with that really fast. Have you been thinking about this?” Lukas asks, narrowing his eyes.

“Of course I have,” Philip says, holding the puppy possessively. “If we had gotten a boy dog its name would have been Oreo.”

“Even if he wasn’t black and white?” Lukas asks, laughing.

Philip nods. “Do you like Izzy?”

“The name?” Lukas asks. “Yes. It’s adorable.”

“You’re adorable,” Philip says, shoving forward and pressing a hard kiss to Lukas’s mouth. Izzy seems to enjoy it because she shifts around in Philip’s arms, trying to lick both of them at the same time. “I love her,” Philip says. “I love you. I love everything. I’m so happy.”

Lukas nuzzles their noses together, scratching up Izzy’s back. “We’re parents, Philip,” he says. “I didn’t think it’d happen when we were this young.”

“We’re gonna be the best dog dads ever,” Philip says, and Izzy barks in agreement.

“She seems to think so,” Lukas says.

“Come on,” Philip says. “Let’s dog-proof our entire apartment.”

Lukas grins, eager to show him everything Angela gave them. He follows him out into the living room, and his heart swells when he sees Philip rocking Izzy back and forth in his arms, whispering to her.

Best. Tuesday. Ever.

#philkas #eyewitness #philip shea #lukas waldenbeck #my writing

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rockthistowninsideout · 7 years ago

Text

16.08. Fantasy AU - Twilight AU

Digimon OTP Week part 3

Rating: General Audiences Pairing: Taichi/Sora Words: 2284

In which Sora is a witch and makes a trip to Seattle with Taichi.

Evelyn Hewett was on her way to the airport to pick up her sisters. Well, directly related to her by blood was only one of them, but who cared about that? The others were her witch sisters; if you wanted to strain a relation, then it was that created by magic, spanning the continents and connecting them in a distant yet also close way. It was rather hard to explain, actually. But she didn’t need explanations, to her it all made sense and that was all that mattered.

She reached the airport just on time, fecking traffic keeping her up. Eve cursed under her breath; she always preferred to be earlier. Pushing people a little rudely out of her way, she reached the arrival gate where a cluster of tourists clogged the gates. Another curse escaped her lips. Slow humans were not the group of people she liked to surround herself with, to put it mildly. She shoved a few more folks to the side, when she suddenly collided with someone in her hurry. Before she could utter yet another swear word, she was embraced in a strong hug. You wouldn’t assume that the red-haired girl who held Eve so tightly bore so much strength. Eve gasped a little, then wriggled out of the enfold and smiled widely.

“Sora! I finally found you! Or well, you found me. Anyway, welcome to Washington! You know that I’m not thinking too highly of national states, so I leave it at that.”

Eve looked Sora up and down, then something behind her guest caught her attention. A rather towering boy stood there, his most prominent feature was a mane of brown hair that looked as if he had just reached for the socket. His gleaming smile was almost blinding her, but she was immune against such approaches. She eyed him suspiciously.

“Do you want to introduce me to your companion?” she asked Sora, glancing between her and the boy.

“Yes, of course! Sorry that I forgot. This is Taichi.” She didn’t give any more explanations but Eve had been around enough couples by now that she could tell that both of them were hopelessly in love with each other. Finally, she gave up her defensive behaviour and extended her hand. She didn’t flinch when Taichi shook it with ferocity.

“It is very nice to meet you, Taichi. But one question is bothering me. Can you speak?” The question seemed legitimate as he hadn’t said a single word up to now. It nearly appeared as if he was solely communicating by his broad smile and the mass of his hair. Eve even suspected, grabbed by one of her silly moods, that it might also lead a life of its own.

He burst into a boisterous laugh as if he had read her ridiculous thoughts. “I like you, Eve. Yeah, I can talk but I didn’t want to interrupt you.”

“Ha!” Sora exclaimed and pointed at him. “You and not interrupting people! You’re the first to do and once you started talking you can hardly stop.”

He made a fake-frown, then smiled his 1000-Watt-smile again and said “Should we get going? I’m pretty hungry to be honest.”

Sora’s lips curled into a smile again and she leaned into Eve. “It’s not like he hadn’t something to eat only an hour ago. But bear with him, that’s just his nature.”

Eve smiled in return. “Never mind, I know this one. Embry’s just the same.” She stood upright and looked apologetically to Taichi. “I’m sorry, but we have to wait for another sister of ours and one of myself. They’re both on a plane from Boston that is supposed to land-“ she glanced over to the arrival table “-in twenty minutes and it looks as if they’re even making it earlier than planned. So if you can keep your hunger at bay just a little longer, I will take you all for lunch. You okay with that?”

He nodded. “That sounds like a plan. But what I can’t keep at bay is my bladder.”

Sora giggled and Eve rolled her eyes. “The toilets are this way” she said and indicated the direction. He bowed and rushed off. Sora couldn’t stop giggling.

“He seems like a good-natured lad to me. I’d say you made an agreeable choice.” Eve remarked.

Sora nodded. “Oh, yeah, I’m really lucky to have him. He’s sometimes hell-bent on getting his way but usually the plans he makes work out in his favour.”

Eve nodded solemnly, but before she could respond, an announcement resounded through the hall, pronouncing the arrival of the flight from Boston.

“Oh! Here we go! I can’t wait for you to meet Brittany. She’s just as weird as I am, but in a totally different way.”

Sora raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t sure if she could deal with two Evelyns at the same time. But thankfully there was also Constanze to help her out if things went really frantic.

They both turned expectantly towards the gates, where slowly new travellers trickled in, many of them looking confused and disorientated around. Only two people seemed to be perfectly familiar with the surroundings at the Seattle airport; they walked briskly through the crowd, both having a cheery smile on their faces.

“ConCon!” Eve cried out and fell around the neck of a dark-haired, average-heighted curvy girl. She winced when she was addressed like that, and Sora made a sympathetic face. This was truly a cringy nickname. As soon as Eve had unstuck herself from her German witch sister, she approached the young woman behind Constanze with a little more calm, but was delighted nonetheless.

“I’m very thankful that you don’t try to strangle me like you did with Constanze” Brittany remarked, her hair a jolly bubble-gum pink and her clothing a wild mix of every possible style.

“You’re just my sister-in-blood, not in magic, you know. I’m still very happy to see you, though.”

Eve turned to Constanze. “Please excuse my outburst. I can never fully restrain myself when I see you.”

She chuckled, then looked around their little club. “We appear to be complete. Why don’t we go and get some lunch? I’m starving, there was just a light ‘snack’ on this flight, consisting of two crackers and some crumbly cheese.” She furrowed her brows when Eve and Sora shook their heads in unison.

“We’re not complete yet” Sora explained. “We’re still missing my boyfriend. He just wanted to go to the toilet but he seems to be lost. He went there like twenty minutes ago.”

Just then a familiar energetic laughter rang over to them.

“Well, I think we found him” Eve said with an unmoved face whereas Sora dissolved into hearty laughter. The two newcomers were nearly startled to death as they were pushed to the sides when someone shoved between them and laid his arms around them.

“You’re the two laggards, I suppose? Nice to meet you, I’m Taichi.” They craned their necks up to his lofty height and were not really sure what to make of him.

Brittany was the first to regain her composure. As the oldest of the group, she wouldn’t be intimidated by someone who was still a teenager. She ducked out from under his arm and extended a hand instead. “The pleasure is all mine, I’m Brittany, Eve’s ‘real’ sister.”

“And I’m Constanze, another witch sister. Just one thing: don’t you dare call me ConCon! If you keep that in mind, we can become good friends.”

Taichi nodded, the smile still glued on his face. “Now, I’d say: Off for lunch!”

Eve raised her arm pretending to hold a flag used to lead tourist groups around, and marched off to the exit.

Eve drove on and on, first leaving the inner city and then its suburbs behind. Taichi’s glare grew gloomier and gloomier, his stomach rattled impatiently. Sora took his hand and stroked it, trying to calm him. Constanze radiated unease and irritation as well. Brittany sensed the general tense atmosphere. She turned to her sister.

“Hermione, where are you going? People are hungry, you know.”

Eve’s face stayed unmoved. “Just a few more minutes.”

Taichi groaned in response and was about to say something agitated, but a tiny nod from Sora stopped him. But she really hoped that they would reach their destination soon, wherever this was going to be. Just then, Eve took a sudden right turn at the next junction and plunged into the woods. Constanze jumped at the sudden change of surroundings. Eve just smiled. After another mile, she stopped at a gate that forbade the entrance but for pedestrians. She cut the engine and got out of the car, walking to the back. Confused, her guests followed her to the now open trunk.

“Ta-da!” She spread her arms wide and presented them several baskets and coolers full of food. “We’re going to have a picnic!”

Taichi let out a relieved laughter and Constanze sighed thankfully.

“Eve, don’t do this ever again. Food is serious business” she accused her semi-seriously while taking one of the baskets.

Eve smirked and grabbed the last cooler, then shut the trunk door. She led the way to a small clearing where wild flowers stood in full bloom.

It was one of those days when the sun had hidden behind big-bellied clouds that threatened rain, but it was never obvious when this was going to happen.

“Now, blankets are in your basket, Sora, and cups, cutlery and tableware in yours, ConCon. The sausages and pickled vegetables along with dips and sauces are in yours, Taichi, and-“ she frowned and gave Britanny’s cooler a thorough look, “-ah, yes, of course, the drinks are in yours. And I have the cake. Boy, therefore that vampires don’t eat human food, they are excellent bakers. Honestly, I could kill for one of Esme’s marble cakes” Eve explained.

Sora put down the blankets and knelt on them, helping Constanze laying out the dishes and cutlery. Taichi stood a little forlorn at the side, looking confused at the contents of his cooler.

“Erm, Eve?”

“Yes?”

“These are raw sausages.”

“I know. And?”

“Well, we need fire to fry them, don’t we?”

“Yes, I know. It’s not the first time I’m preparing a barbecue.”

“But...where is the brazier?”

Eve’s face lit up. “How long have you and Sora been together now? You don’t seem to be very familiar with witches. Sora, would you be so kind and gather some firewood?”

Instead of getting up and walking over to the edge of the clearing, as Taichi expected, Sora just fixed her gaze on a couple of trees. Low clattering could be heard, then a bundle of twigs rose out of the bushes and levitated lazily over to them. It landed right at Taichi’s feet who was too startled to say something. Sora, however, was not done yet. First she set some sticks aside, then added to his bewilderment when she conjured a small flame around her right hand and held it against the twigs, setting them ablaze instantaneously despite them being quite moist.

“See, no need for a brazier or some such rubbish. Saves us extra weight and waste. Now, Sora, have you never practised around him?” Eve wanted to know as this seemed rather odd to her.

“ I actually do, but only really small things. He’s probably just never noticed before.”

Eve shot Taichi an indecipherable look, then handed him a little bowl with a yoghurt dip and a baguette. “The sausages and vegetables will take a while over the fire. So here you have something to satisfy your hunger.” She turned to ConCon and gave her some, too. When she offered Sora and Brittany pieces of bread, they politely declined.

After a few bites, ConCon started skewering up sausages and vegetable pieces on the remaining twigs and stuck them around the fire.

A heavy drop of rain splattered right into one of the dip bowls, leaving a crater in the yoghurt. Soon more followed.

Taichi grunted. “And I have not even had my lunch yet.”

ConCon chuckled. “You are really not acquainted with magic, are you?” With a simple flip of her fingers, the rain immediately stopped.

Taichi’s eyes went as large as saucers. “You can even control the weather? Sora, why did you never tell me? That is so cool!”

Sora smiled. “Well, I’ll try to remember that for the future. But we’re not controlling the weather. Constanze has merely erected a shield dome above us.”

Taichi nodded appreciatively. Then he pulled Sora in his lap and nuzzled his face in the bend of her neck. She giggled but soon a breathy moan slipped from her lips. He kissed a line from her collarbone up to her earlobe. Her moans grew louder.

ConCon and Brittany exchanged amused glances, but Eve looked a little annoyed. She coughed. “Ehem, I’m sorry to interrupt your couple time but you’re going to have much more time, and privacy I may say, when we are back home. The Cullens were so kind to offer you accommodation. Brit and ConCon will stay in our house, but there is just not enough space for all of you.”

Taichi and Sora looked at each other, then it dawned to her.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot that you are asexual.”

Eve sighed. “That doesn’t mean I’m a killjoy to all things sexual. I just don’t understand it, so if you wouldn’t mind delaying your affection for each other, you’ll later have the opportunity to fool around as long as you like. The beds in the Cullens’s mansion are exquisite for such activities, or so people say.”

She winked, Sora blushed and Taichi chuckled.

@digiotpweek

#digiOTPweek #digimon #taichi yagami #sora takenouchi #taiora #my oc #evelyn hewett #constanze schumann #brittany hewett

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ricandhaiz · 5 years ago

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Blindsided, Chapter 1

Nic hurried into Joe’s Diner, a no frills burger and fries joint on the corner of Cyprus and Laverne Street, for some shelter from the rain and a bite to eat. He’d been told by a friend and fellow burn unit patient, Matt Royce, that this was the place to go in the small college town of Hilton City, California, for a cheap and hearty meal. He’d just come from an orientation for Wagner University’s incoming Master of Business Administration (MBA) students and was feeling irritable and shaky from lack of food.

He looked around. The place was packed and the line to the host stand was nearly out the door. He thought about leaving. He glanced through the window and saw that it was pouring outside. He sighed inwardly and decided to stay. He zipped his jacket all the way up to his throat and kept his eyes down as he pulled his baseball cap down further. He then raised his hands to his head to make sure the black mask that he wore to cover up the burned portions of his face was securely in place.

After waiting patiently behind a group of college students, an elderly couple, and a mother with a crying baby, he walked up to the counter and asked the red-haired and freckled-faced teenage hostess for a single seat.

The girl replied, “It’s going to be at least a 30-minute wait. The counter’s full and so are the booths.”

Just then, one of the waitresses, Ellie, a stocky woman with gray hair and a twinkle in her eyes, walked by. She glanced at Nic, then said, “You alone?” He nodded. She replied, “Give me a sec. I’ll be right back.”

As Ellie walked away, Nic turned to the girl, who shrugged her shoulders and motioned for the man standing behind him to come forward. Nic moved aside and looked to his left. He saw a little girl at a nearby table staring at him with a curious expression. His mouth suddenly went dry. He wondered how many other people in the room had also taken notice of him. His body stiffened as he pictured her screaming in terror at the sight of his unmasked face. He eyed the front door and was sorely tempted to bolt despite the rain when Ellie reappeared and said, “I’ve got just the spot for you in one of our corner booths. That is, if you don’t mind sharing it with one of our regulars.”

Ellie motioned for him to follow her lead. He stopped in his tracks the moment his eyes fell upon the pretty girl with wavy brown hair sitting in a red upholstered corner booth and the large yellow Labrador at her feet on the black and white tile floor. He thought about what the people around them might think and whisper among themselves when they saw him sitting across from her. What’s that freak doing with her? Who does he think he is? These were only some of the many negative things that came to mind. He flinched and was about to back away when Ellie turned to him and said, “That’s Allie Jacobs. She comes here every Wednesday, and that handsome brute at her feet is Charlie, her guide dog.”

Guide dog? Nic thought as he gazed at Allie, who was wearing a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt with the university’s mascot and name emblazoned across her chest in large bold letters. “That’s okay,” he stammered in a thick Spanish accent. “I wouldn’t want to impose…”

“Don’t be silly,” Ellie said cheerfully. “Allie’s a sweetheart. Come on, don’t be shy.”

After a moment’s hesitation, he relented and then watched with nervous anticipation as Ellie tapped Allie on the shoulder and said, “Hey girly, girl. I’ve got this nice young man standing behind me who needs a place to sit. Would you mind if he joined you and Charlie for lunch?”

Allie cocked her head to the side and said, “Sure. Why not? The more the merrier.”

Ellie pointed to the booth seat opposite Allie’s. As soon as he was seated, Ellie handed him a menu and said that she’d be back in a few minutes to take his order.

Nic promptly introduced himself to Allie and glanced down at Charlie, who was staring up at him with large, soulful eyes. The dog looked old and slightly overweight, with lots of gray and white hairs around his snout.

“May I pet him?”

“Go ahead,” Allie replied. “Charlie especially loves belly rubs but I’d wouldn’t recommend that you do that now. This place is packed, and I wouldn’t want anyone to trip or step on him on accident.”

He started to nod but checked himself and said yes instead before reaching down and patting Charlie’s head. The dog yawned, looking decidedly unimpressed. He chuckled as he looked at Allie and asked, “How long have the two of you been together?”

“Eight years next month,” Allie said with obvious pride. “I got him when I was fourteen years old. An elderly woman had him for about a year before he was assigned to me. A representative from the nonprofit organization that put us together, Guide Dogs of America, has been hinting lately that it might be time for me to retire him and get another one but it’s hard, you know. We’re a team.”

“I can see that,” he replied, then immediately regretted his choice of words. “I’m sorry…I meant to say—”

Allie smiled as she cut in and said, “No worries. So, tell me, where are you from? You don’t sound like you’re from here. Are you an exchange student?”

Just then, Ellie arrived with a pen and pad in hand. “What would you like to order?”

“I…umm…actually haven’t gotten the chance to look at the menu yet.”

Ellie arched her brow and snorted with amusement as she glanced from Nic to Allie and back again. “Take your time honey and be sure to ask Allie for suggestions. She knows the menu backwards and forwards. Isn’t that right?”

“She knows me too well.”

Ellie put the pad of paper in an apron pocket. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Just water, thank you.”

She nodded, then asked Allie, “Do you want a refill?”

Allie shook her head. “I’m good. I’ll spoil my appetite if I drink too much soda before I’ve even gotten halfway through eating my burger and fries.”

“Got ya.” She then turned to Nic and said, “Feel free to flag me down as soon as you’re ready to order.”

“I will,” Nic replied as he picked up the menu and began to peruse its contents.

“Are you planning to answer my question or are you going to keep me guessing?” Allie asked in a teasing tone.

He paused a moment as he tried to recall her question, then said, “Oh yeah, sure. I come from Spain. I’m enrolled in the MBA program.”

“Aren’t you a long way from home? What made you decide to come here to get an MBA?”

“A good friend of mine, Matt, said that Wagner University has one of the best MBA programs in the United States. I also needed a change of…scenery. What’s your story?”

“I’m a senior in the social work program. I just finished a summer internship with the local Regional Center. It’s an organization that helps disabled kids. I was lucky. I had a family who loved and cared for me. There are lots of kids who are mentally and/or physically disabled out there that don’t. I want to do what I can to help them.”

“That’s very selfless of you,” Nic replied as Ellie walked up and placed a glass of water in front of him.

“Ready yet?”

Nic felt abashed as he looked over at Allie and asked, “What do you think I should get?”

Tapping her finger on her chin, Allie replied, “Hmm…You really can’t go wrong with Joe’s double cheeseburger and fries. That’s what I always order. You should also try the double chocolate shake here. It’s to die for.”

Nic licked his lips and then looked up at Ellie as he said, “Sounds good. I guess that’s what I’ll have.”

“Great choice,” Ellie said and took his menu. “Told ya Allie wouldn’t steer you wrong.”

As soon as he thought that Ellie was out of earshot, Nic leaned forward and said in a low voice, “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Allie replied. “What else can you tell me about yourself? I’d like to know more.”

What should I tell her? The more he thought about it, the more anxious he became. He drummed his fingers on the table while considering his options, and then slowly replied, “Like what?”

Allie shrugged her shoulders. “I dunno. Do you play sports, an instrument or are you one of those artsy fartsy kind of people?”

Nic sat back in his seat and thought about what his padre, ex-Spanish football star Sergio Martínez, would say. Growing up, he had always been taught to be honest and forthright. And so he felt compelled to reply, “I used to play professional football. I think you call it soccer in this country. I was pretty good at it too until…” He stopped midsentence as memories of the car crash suddenly flashed through his mind. He shuddered and closed his eyes.

“What happened?” Allie asked and reached out her hand to him from across the table. He met her halfway and placed his hand in hers. “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Her hands felt warm and reassuring. He immediately thought about what it would be like to sleep with her. A rueful smile spread across his lips as he pictured what his old self would have said and done to lower her defenses and reel her in. Back then, he always managed to get whatever girl he wanted. It had all been so easy. But that was before the accident, when he was whole. Still, he felt himself becoming more and more aroused as he let his imagination run wild. He wanted to run his fingers through her hair and kiss her lips. If only…He bit his lip to rouse himself from his errant thoughts and let the reality of his current situation sink in. Not going to happen.

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “My former therapist would have heartily disagreed with you. He thinks that holding things in is unhealthy and only makes matters worse.”

She paused to eat a French fry or two, then said, “I don’t think there’s a person out there who hasn’t been scarred in some way by someone or something that’s happened to them. I just think that some people are better at moving on with their lives than others.”

Allie was right. As he looked over at her, he got the sneaking suspicion that she probably was in the former category while he, on the other hand, fell in the latter. “How did you get so wise?”

She smiled. “Tell you what, you show me your wounds, and I’ll show you mine. Whaddya say?”

Nic took a deep breath, then said, “I was in a car accident. My friend ran a red light. A van slammed into the sports car we’d rented for the night while we were in the intersection. It rolled over and was hit a second time by another car coming from the opposite direction. It burst into flames. My right knee got crushed and half my body got burned. I was in the hospital for weeks. That’s where I met Matt, the guy who recommended that I come here.”

An audible gasp escaped her lips as Allie covered her mouth with her hand. “When did it happen?”

“Almost two years ago,” he replied. “The doctors did what they could to repair the damage to my body. I underwent more skin grafts than I can count and underwent months of physical therapy. That was hard, but I think the psychological trauma of going home and coming to terms with the fact that I’d suffered life-altering and career-ending injuries was worse. I became depressed and shut everybody out. Nobody knew what to say to me. One by one, my friends stopped coming by and even my girlfriend left me.” The ease with which he’d just confessed his innermost feelings to this complete strange surprised him.

As he pondered this turn of events, Ellie arrived with his food. They paused their conversation while she placed his plate and a few extra napkins on the table. She asked him if he needed anything else. He said no.

The moment Ellie moved on the booth next to theirs, Allie leaned toward him and said in a low voice, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Eager to change the subject, Nic replied, “I kept in touch with Matt while I was back home. We talked about what I was going through and kicked around ideas about what I might do going forward. He suggested that I come here to get a graduate degree in business administration after I told him that my padre wants me to work with him and then take over the family business once he decides that it’s time for him to retire.”

“How do you like it here so far?”

“It’s fine, and the other students in the program have been friendly enough. I especially liked the fact that no one stared at me or asked me why I was wearing a mask at this morning’s orientation meeting.”

Allie was quiet for a moment, then said, “You shouldn’t feel like you have to hide behind a mask.”

“Too many people would stare. Others have actually cringed in my presence or shied away from me because of the way I look now.”

She shook her head. “It’s because they’re small-minded and ignorant people whose opinion shouldn’t matter to you anyway. You are who you are. Don’t let other people make you feel like you have to cover yourself up in order to make them feel more comfortable.”

“Maybe I will,” he said as he straightened up and rolled his shoulders back. “What’s your story?”

Allie slurped down what was left of her soda, then said, “I wore glasses for as long as I can remember but it wasn’t until I was 10 that I started noticing that I was having trouble seeing things at night. My ophthalmologist ran some tests and then told me that I had retinitis pigmentosa. My vision stabilized for a few years and then deteriorated again when I was 14. All the colors faded to black and white. I had to learn how to read braille and was taught how to get around with a cane. It took some adjusting but I my aunt and uncle did all they could to help me.” She bent down and patted the top of Charlie’s head, adding, “But it wasn’t until I got this big guy that things really started to pick up for me. Life’s been pretty good ever since. No complaints.”

Nic admired Allie’s positive outlook and fearless nature. He also liked the fact that she hadn’t let her disability get in the way of living her life to the fullest. Maybe someday, he thought, I’ll be able to do that too.

For a little while, they sat in companionable silence and focused on their meals.

“You know what, this burger is pretty good,” Nic exclaimed and dabbed his face with a napkin.

“Told ya so,” Allie replied, laughing. “You’ll never want to go to another burger joint in your life.”

Just then, Nic caught sight of a blond-haired college-aged guy in jeans and a gray polo shirt coming toward them. He walked up and patted Charlie’s head as he looked over at Allie and asked, “Who’s your friend?”

Allie frowned. “Oh hi, Conner. This is Nic.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Conner said with a nod. Nic, for his part, hated him on sight. He’d seen his like before. Sanctimonious and judgmental, he’d made a point of keeping his distance from such men. Was he Allie’s boyfriend? He hoped not, for her sake. Not that it was any of his business. “How’d the two of you meet?”

“The diner was full, so Ellie asked me if Nic could sit with me.”

“Always the good Samaritan,” Conner replied with a smile and placed his hand on Allie’s shoulder in a possessive way.

To Nic’s surprise and delight, Allie shirked away and said, “What are you doing here?”

Conner looked flustered as he quickly withdrew his hand and stuttered, “I ran into your aunt at the grocery store. She told me that she was going to pick you and Charlie up to go to the vet. She looked tired, so I volunteered to take you instead.”

Allie shook her head. “That really wasn’t necessary. Charlie and I could have taken the bus instead.”

“When you can hitch a ride with me? Why would you do that?”

Sensing Allie’s growing exasperation with Conner, Nic chimed in, “Maybe you should have asked her first.”

For a moment or two, Conner looked utterly aghast, but then replied, “Allie knows that I always have her best intentions at heart. Isn’t that right?”

“Yeah, sure,” Allie replied in a deadpan voice. Nic had to suppress the urge to laugh out loud. The guy was making a fool of himself and alienating Allie at every turn. He briefly considered telling him to just cut his losses and leave but concluded that it was probably best to just leave things well enough alone.

“We should probably get going now. Isn’t Charlie’s appointment at 2 p.m.?”

“Seriously, you don’t have to take us. The vet is just a couple of blocks away on foot and less than five minutes away by bus.”

“Come on, Allie,” Conner pled. “I promised your aunt that I’d get you there safely and take you home.”

Allie sighed in defeat and stood up. Conner immediately offered her his arm. She pushed it away as she turned to Nic and said, “It was nice to meet you. Maybe I’ll see you again sometime.”

Unable to resist the urge to pour more salt into the wound, Nic replied, “I’d like that a lot. Do you come here often?”

“Every Wednesday around this time for sure,” Allie quickly replied.

Nic smiled. “Then maybe I’ll see you again next week.”

“Really,” Allie said, sounding pleasantly surprised. “Cool beans.” She then urged her guide dog, Charlie, to get up. He yawned and sluggishly rose to his feet. Just as Conner was about to offer her his arm, she bent over and patted Charlie on the back and said, “You lead the way buddy.”

As Allie, Charlie and Conner walked away, Ellie came up to him and said, “Seriously, that boy needs to get a clue. Poor Allie.”

Nic chuckled as he watched them go. “I guess that means he’s not her boyfriend then.”

Ellie looked horrified. “Goodness, no. She’s free as a bird as far as I know but—”

“But what?” he cut in.

“I could be wrong. But if I’m right and you play your cards right, she might not be for much longer,” Ellie said with a wink. “You seem like a nice enough guy. I sensed that right off when I saw you walk in. And Allie’s a great girl.”

Nic sat back and eyed her curiously as he wiped his grease-stained hands with a napkin. “Do you do this often?”

Ellie arched her brow. “What do you mean?”

“Matchmake your customers,” Nic teased.

A knowing grin spread across her face. “All I did was make the introduction. The rest is up to you.” Nic nodded. “Can I get you anything else?”

“No, not right now.” But as Ellie turned to go, he added, “Thanks for finding me a seat. You won’t regret it. I promise.”

#hailee steinfeld #ricardo gomez #romance #love story #contemporary fiction #fan fiction #soulmates #blind #guide dog #burn victim #bffs

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