#i do not think i shared my latest one here because i got nervous but i still like it a few days later so i just might post it eventually.

[mayordeas-clone]

i think i’ve mourned before about how i can’t have any audio distractions when im writing or ill never be productive, but at least there i can pop on like. my video game osts and chill beats. whenever im trying to adapt a little tune and do music i absolutely cannot have other music playing because the activity in question requires me to listen to it 😭😭😭😭😭

[deconstructivesurgery]

We back out the trenches with this one folks: Someone sent me the "fallout companions' alcohol tolerances" post and I immediately decided I had to make one about the Think Tank in turn. So, here we bloody go:

Dr. Mobius: 9/10. Mobius could tank a solid 3/4ths of a bottle of vodka, perch himself in front of a chalkboard for a few hours straight swaying back and forth slowly and still wind up inventing a new formula for rocket fuel. He is unbothered. Unphased. In his element. Years of horkin' down Mentats like they were going out have style have numbed his entire nervous system to the influence of lesser chems like booze. He's got the Logan's Loophole perk equipped somehow.

Dr. Klein: 8/10 Listen he's got wine bottles and a full bar in his home I bet this man is a frequent flier- but that doesn't spare him from getting like miserably drunk off a bottle of wine and lying in his bathtub scrubs and all contemplating his seething hatred for his many neurotic coworkers. Not only is Klein a mean drunk, but he's a miserable one, too. He'll crab and bitch at anyone that dares to encroach upon him whilst smashed, and all at top fucking volume too. Thankfully, I feel like he stays cloistered in his office or in his Higgs home on the days he spends day-drinking.

Dr. Dala: 4/10 Listen, she's decent- mildly less so than 8, but not bad either- not like 0. I feel like she gets incredibly talkative when she drinks and enjoys telling stories or recounting her latest research- you just get hit with like a laser-beam of oddly loving recountments of the latest liver she's pried out of a war criminal or other some such information. Don't put her and Klein in the same room if both are drunk, she's such a generally personable drunk that his attitude alone would sour her night.

Dr. 0: 2/10 I CANNOT see him having any decent tolerance towards booze at all I'm gonna be so real with you I think he'd down a few espresso martinis in an attempt to combine the coffee he likely chugs 24/7 with alcohol and then spend the rest of the night vaguely weepy, incoherent, fumbling around and generally white girl wasted. He'd somehow end up IN Dr. Borous' backyard in Higgs in an attempt to weep openly into Gabe's fur and wind up with like 3 dog bites because of it.

Dr. Borous: -1/10 Listen how much alcohol he's CAPABLE of tolerating is irrelevant, if you offer this man a drink not only will he turn you down but he'll go on a verbal tirade about how he never tolerates the evils of alcohol because one time in American High RICHIE MARCUS dared to invite nearly EVERYONE in his class to an ALCOHOL party except for him and now he refuses it out of sheer PRINCIPLE. Bonus points if he somehow, some way brings Communism into it.

Dr. 8: 5/10 I feel like he just has the most normal man alcohol threshold known to man. I also hate to say it but I FEEL like he'd be a horny drunk. I'm sorry. I don't like that fact any more than you do but my brain contemplated it and so I must share.

[kuromitos]

May the best hero win!

[Dick Grayson x GN!Reader x Jason Todd]

Plot: what happens when two batboys have a crush on the same person? Chaos. Petty Chaos.

Note: more storyline based on my OC that I'm too nervous to share with. The reader has a hero name called 'incognito'

It was supposed to be a regular night. A typical run down of the latest mission in Gotham. But we are talking about the Wayne Family here, or should I say the batfamily, there is nothing 'normal' or 'typical' about them.

Instead of going to collect the Intel from their reliable source, like they are supposed to do, Nightwing(Dick) and Red Hood(Jason) are fighting each other on top of a rooftop. With Red Robin(Tim), the signal(Duke), Spoiler(Steph), and Robin(Damian) watching them from another rooftop and taking bets on who will win the fight. While the black bat(Cass) goes off and completes the mission.

How did we get to these events? Well, things first started earlier in the night. Batman contacted the members of his family to gather inside the Batcave for their briefing before patrol, "we have received Intel earlier in the month that shipment of a new drug is coming to Gotham in the coming week." Batman stated while pulling up the required information on the back computer.

"A new drug?" Nightwing asked, "I ain't heard anything about no new drug." Red hood said with a mad tone, his regular tone. "That's because it's technically not new." Red Robin pulled up articles and reports from his wrist computer to the bat computer for everyone to see. "It's originally a chemical used in medicine but somebody decided to use it as a base for a new drug. There have been huge reports of it in Chicago, Detroit, and Baltimore. Recently, there's been rumors of it spreading to Gotham and now it's have been confirmed."

"The problem now is we don't know where the shipments is being dropped off." Batman said, changing the info on the screen to a photo of three men. "That has only been shared privately with these men only. But we have a double agent that was able to get the location for us and going to give it to us at the usual location on top of the Lincoln bank building. " He concluded his small speech with his back to the group because he doesn't want to see their faces of annoyance from them.

"The agent is . . . . Incognito. " "UUGGGGHHHH!"

Now hearing those groans you would think that they hate or can't stand the person called 'incognito'. Quite the contrary, they love them and consider them as an extended family member. What actually causes those groans were the two guys that like incognito some much more than everyone else. So much they turned it into a petty competition.

"I'll go" "I'll go"

They both turned toward each other when hearing each other voices and glare at each other. Those glares were signs to everyone around them that this was going to all night. Especially when Duke uttered the words "not this again."

"Don't you have to be bludhaven right now? Dick. " "Don't worry about that, Jay. I settled things before coming over. What about you, huh? Shouldn't you be covering crime alley or hanging out with the outlaws?" Dick smirks at his brother's poor attempt at jabs. "Just got done with a mission, dick head. " "Then you must be tired. I'll do this little info collecting-" Jason interrupted dick with a finger shoved in his face. " Don't give me that crap. You talked to them last time. Im going this time!" " Come on Jason. I'm just looking out for you. You don't think straight when you're around them." "Better than you. At least I think with my brain here" He points at his head, "and not the one down here." Jason grabbed his private part in a vulgar manner, which got a reaction out of dick. Pissed off. He was about to retort back but he was stopped by hearing Bruce scream at them both, "Enough! " which grabbed their attention. Jason still grabbing his. . . Little hood.

"Both of you going to the meeting point, then. Whoever gets there first can collect the information. I don't care who does it, just go!" Bruce yelled at them. They both stood there for awhile before Jason run towards his motorcycle screaming 'I'm getting there first!' With Dick on his tail also screaming, 'No you won't. '

~~☆~~

That's how we got to where we started. They raced thru the city using their personal own shortcuts until they bump into each other on top of an apartment building. Both felt they won't get their private moment they wanted with the double agent of their dreams, they decided to fight the other. First one down on their back, wins.

At first simple sparring quickly turns into a full-on brawl. Going at each other for at least an hour. Neither holding back on the other. While throw petty insults at each other too.

"Dickhead"

"Blowhard"

"Man slut"

"Zombie"

They took so long on this fight the other kids stop their patrol to watch and place bets. Jason was getting the winning votes.

It looks like the fight could go on forever since neither one looks like stopping anytime soon but a certain stop them in their tracks.

"Got it." They both turns towards the voice to see black bat with a piece of paper in her hand. "Got what exactly? " Dick asked with his hand on Jason's jacket, tight in his fist. "The location. It's the docks." She jump away from the two and probably back to the big bat. Everyone else follows her, forgetting the other two men.

Hearing they lose their chance, they let each other go and awkwardly stand beside each other. Their stupid fight got in the way. They missed the person who stole their affection. All because of their petty fighting. Hopefully this would be a lesson for them both to stop this -

"First one back, can meet them on the next meet up"

"You're on. Don't blame me when you lose. "

*sigh* nevermind. They're hopeless

Sorry if they are ooc here. I hope to improve my skills soon.

I'm also might do a part two if you guys like it enough.

That's all I got. Bye for now ( ≧∀≦)ノ

[jungle-angel]

An Unexpected Visitor (Calvin Evans x Reader)

Summary: Calvin decides to pop into one of your classes and brings an unexpected guest with him.

Tagging: @floydsmuse

"Alright guys, now remember, this experiment needs to be done carefully," Calvin explained. "Do not, I repeat.....DO NOT.....turn the burners on high. This experiment can and will get dangerous."

It always made Calvin a little nervous whenever his students did the color flame test experiments in the lab. Granted it was a fun little experiment, however, there was always that chance that somebody could burn their eyebrows off. He was lucky that everybody had been able to perform their experiments safely and effectively, each one watching with awe as the flames lit up on their test strips.

The lunch bell rang and with perfect timing. The snow was coming down harder than ever outside and Calvin wondered if you and him would be able to get out before the campus closed at two o'clock. Thankfully, the college president allowed you both an early start.

"Somebody's here for a visit," Dr. Powers announced, sticking his head in the door.

Calvin laughed as a huge grin crawled across his face, removing his protective glasses before making his way over to scoop up Ellen. "There's my pretty little princess," he cooed, gently taking her, blankie and all from Anthony. Ellen giggled, her gummy little mouth nomming on her father's jaw.

"Thought your mom was watching her today?" Calvin said, littering Ellen's cheeks with a million little kisses.

"Mother had to go and get Finnegan from the vet," Dr. Powers explained. "I think she forgot she couldn't take the baby with her and Doris is in with your wife."

Calvin smiled and shook his head. He had always felt bad for Dorothy Powers, Anthony's mother, and a member of "the chain", the neighborhood eyes and ears of Miss Patricia Evans, who always stayed up to date on the latest neighborhood gossip. She had always been a bit of an absent minded lady and her son had been the same, earning him the apt nickname of "the absent minded professor."

"Alright princess," Calvin said. "Lets go see Momma."

Calvin made his way down the hall alongside Dr. Powers, with Ellen in his arms and the staff unable to hold back their remarks on how adorable she was. At every turn it seemed that someone was stopping to tickle her little cheeks or to boop her little nose.

Dr. Powers carefully opened the door to your classroom where you were still giving your lecture. Calvin waited patiently at the top of the steps, listening to your lecture intently, his whispers keeping Ellen quiet so they could surprise you.

"Now ladies," you said to your girls. "Remind me again, what are some of the dos and do nots of a full abdominal exam? Ruth?"

"It's always best to listen with the stethoscope before you probe?" Ruth answered a little hesitantly.

""You would be correct," you answered. "Anybody know the reason?"

"Because the probing can increase peristalsis," Alessia Martinez answered.

"Exactly!" you answered. "So next week we will be having a demonstration for this, however, I will need to ask our guinea pig if he'd be up to it."

"Not unless he surprises you first!" Calvin called from the top of the stairs.

You looked up and tried not to laugh as your girls got excited at the sight of your husband carrying your baby in his arms down the steps to the lecture pit.

"What the hell are you doing here?" you chuckled.

"I could ask you the same thing but unfortunately our little princess dropped by unexpectedly," Calvin answered.

You took a wriggling Ellen from Calvin, pulling her loose pink blanket a little tighter around her to keep her warm. "Should we grab lunch or get out of here while the roads are clear?" you asked him.

"Might wanna get out of here while it's clear," Calvin said. "Dad said the roads might get nasty later."

You gathered up your things for the day and so didn't Calvin, the both of you heading out to your shared car to head home and hoping that Six-Thirty would be the first to greet you when you got in the door.

[moosekateer13]

Chapter 1: The Prophecy

Y/N’s Three-Story Bold Red Trim House

Romantic love is nothing but a myth. I was a product of high school sweethearts. My dad swore he’d never leave her but after the stick turned positive. He ran and never looked back. I had my mom for a wonderful 10 years but a drunk driver took her away from me at the tender age of 10.  Mom left money for me in a trust I could access once I turned 18. She also left me another thing, my dad's name and an address. One of the police officers who showed up the day of the crash drove me to his house.

Royden Lubic slammed his mansion door in my face and went about his merry way. 

I've been on my own ever since. I grew up in the foster system where I was never adopted.  People took me in for a short time but never kept me.  They claimed I was too traumatized to handle. What do you expect? I'm always going to have issues.  Who wouldn't after losing a parent at that age?

Life has never been good to me. I've only had two good things in my life, one that I only had for 3 years. I bounce my 3-year-old son on my knee thinking for a moment about his father and my late fiance Arthur Digby. He was killed in a targeted shooting while he was on his way to his job. It turns out his business was sinking, and he was past due on the payments. Arthur never was one to check things over carefully before getting into things. I had everything all ready to tell him the big news about him becoming a father but I never got the chance to.

Jude Frost Digby the son he never got to meet. He was born in the winter and shared his father’s ice-blue eyes. That's why his middle name is Frost.

Humming Hey Jude always seems to calm him down so fitting. Oh, looks like someone is getting sleepy I should put him in his bed.

Once he's all tucked in, I get back to working on my latest podcast episode for Torn Veil.

It's a podcast about divorces or almost weddings that ended/didn't happen because of strange uncovered secrets. On rare occasions, it's about people losing their loved ones in accidents.

A phone call interrupts my thoughts. It's Rosedale Ravishing Catering the cater my friend Holy hired for her wedding. We met through my podcast. Her wedding didn't happen because she caught him fooling around with her mother during her engagement party.

I have yet to meet the person she will marry now. Holy won't tell me. Even with my misgivings for love, she wanted me to help plan her wedding.  

I answer

“Yeah, I can come look at the menu. I'll be there soon. I've got to get someone to come watch my son first.” I replied. Not wanting to stay on the line for longer than I have to.

I quickly text Arthur’s mom after ending the call. So she and his dad can come to look after Jude.

Once they arrive, I quickly drive over to the catering company.

It is a gorgeous old blue ranch house that was converted into a catering company. 

I see what I presume is the owner and when he turns around. I feel like my heart just stopped. It's Jared Padalecki, my favourite. I heard rumours he had started his own catering company after Supernatural and Walker finished but I thought it wasn't true. I presumed it was just rumours.

 “Excuse me, can I help you?” Jared asked.

“Yeah, I am here to look over the menu for Holy’s wedding. I received a call earlier.” I choked out. I barely got the words out. His multi-spectrum hazel eyes scan over me. Now I'm wishing I had time to dress better. I just threw on a white tee shirt and my old brown hoodie with worn-out jeans.

He comes over close to my ear.

“Am I making you nervous darlin’. Jared murmured.

I feel a thrill down my spine and my heart skips a beat.

He steps back a bit and motions for me to follow him.

Jared is such a tease. How am I going to get through with planning this wedding?

Chapter 2:

[epelletea]

Listen To My Voice

A/N: Hi! I’m a little nervous to post this but this is a fanfic that I started to make for simply my friends because I love to Disney-ify TWST as much as possible. So I like to give some info about this story before you continue!

In this story, things will be different from the canon story. There will be a few small changes and big changes such as certain Disney characters actually being canon and having interaction in the Story such as The Great 7 and etc, I won’t spoil the rest. The character “Yuu” is an actual character in the story. They are their own being but you are free to make up any look or gender for them. Heads up my own little Ocs are in here. When they are introduced I will give info on them. This is heavily inspired by the movie BELLE, Jem And The Holograms and Disney Descendants!!  I will give more info the more we go through each chapter.

Abbreviation Meanings - Y/N = Your Name S/N = Stage Name H/C = Hair Color. The Y/N is uses neutral pronouns but if I missed a pronoun please tell me! I apologize I had The Y/n originally as my oc earlier and I had to scramble this, changing their names to Y/N or S/N. I probably miss some, again I apologize. 

this is not proofread all the way... This is all in First POV not all chapters will be like this. chapter two.

About:

A simple popstar that just wanted to share music suddenly finds themself in a strange world once they find a weird pen. A world related to Disney characters and people related or based of them. A Twisted Wonderland... They find out this world is in trouble and they might be the only who might be able to give it a happily ever after. ♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡

♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡

Chapter One

"S/N! You're on at 10!"

My head begins to spin hearing those words. No matter how many times I hear them I don't think I'll ever be used to them. I've been in this popstar game for 3 years now, none of this is new to me but why do I still feel so nervous when it's time to go on for a show. Sighing, I picked up the brush from my desk and silently brushed out my hair. I was wearing a very long and fluffy pink wig. Looking into the mirror, all I saw was a neon pink mess. It looks like I just came straight out of the 80s pop era. My face is covered from head to toe with makeup and glitter. A bright pink star shaped mark on my eye while my cheek had glitter spread out everywhere. I made a small grunt when I realized the brush wouldn't go through a simple curl. "Oh come on you stupid brush!" I groaned, pulling on the brush to go through. After a few harsh pulls, I finally got it through causing me to drop the brush onto the floor.

"Great..." I rolled my eyes heavily annoyed. I pushed out my chair and bent down under my desk to grab my brush. "Jeez , how many things did I drop under here?" I ask myself to see many small items like small bows and the occasional makeup brushes. Something twinkles in the corner of my eye ,catching my attention. "Huh? What is that?" The twinkling was coming underneath some dust and other items; it looked like a pink gem. I blew away the dust moving the items from it. "Is this some kind of pen?" I grabbed the sparkly item and rose back out of the desk. "Huh? I don't remember buying this?" I said holding it up to the light.  It looked like a pen but on the end of the pen was a rose quartz gem with a golden crest on it. "Hm. One of my fans must've gifted it to me." I grabbed some random paper on the side and clicked the top of the pen. "Let's see if it still has ink because I could use this for autograph signing." I brought the pain to paper and began to write.

But no ink came out?

I shook the pen and tried to again. Still no ink.

"Oh great it's out of ink. But it's still pretty." I shrugged and placed it down as it rolled towards the mirror. I went back to brushing my hair again humming a tune of one of my latest songs. I spun around in my chair rising up from it doing a big stretch. Unknowingly, knowing the events that were happening behind me. The pen that rolled towards the mirror began to glow bright. The mirror itself began to take an effect due to the glowing. It was making a warped effect as the reflection in the mirror began to change. In the reflection, the walls seemed to have turned into the dark abyss as everything disappeared. Small neon green flames began to light up in the background. A white face similar to a phantom opera mask comes into existence.

I turned around from a small little jam session to myself dropping my brush in shock of what I was seeing in my mirror. I covered my mouth, eyes widening as my body began to tremble as if I was standing in the middle of frozen tundra. My legs began to feel like jelly making it hard to even stand up. What was I looking at right now? This couldn't be real... What I am looking at is not real. The white face stares back at me with its soulless eyes. 

"When the moon rises and the clock chimes at midnight. You will be met with a choice. Choose your choice carefully because it will end up being your fate."

Its voice was ominous and low as its words echoed throughout the room. Once it finished its sentence it vanished along with the fire behind it going off one by one. The mirror begins to warp again, returning the reflection to its original. I was too scared to even speak or move. Its words kept ringing through my head beginning to give me a migraine. I quickly ran towards the mirror placing my hand onto the cold glass. I looked at intently and tried to look around in it to see if anything had looked different in the reflection. "What in the world was that...'' I sputtered out finally regaining the ability to speak again. "S/N! You are on in 5 mins! We need you to get out of there and get ready for your performance!" My manager yells out from behind my door. "O-Okay! I'm coming!" I yell back slowly backing away from the mirror not keeping my eyes off it. "Okay S/N. Let's not let it get to you. You have a performance to get too." I whisper to myself shaking my head to put my focus back on the real priority : The performance. I nod in agreement with myself quickly grabbing my jacket from off my chair hurriedly putting it on while walking out of my dressing room. I was immediately bombarded with staff workers and makeup artists running to my side. They began to bombard me with questions asking if I was okay or if I was missing anything. While the makeup artist tended to my face making sure I didn't mess up any of the makeup. At this moment now, they all began to sound muffled to me. The only words I kept hearing was the Face from the mirror. What did he mean by those words? Was I just hallucinating? "S/N, it's time to go on! Get ready!" My manager says take me out of my daze. I nod my head at her and quickly run onto the stage getting into position.

The performance.

Bright neon lights were on me. The crowd roared in happiness. The stage was engulfed in smoke. The time was now. It was time to be their star!

______________________________________________________________

I sang my last note with a heavy breath as I watched the lights turn off from the stage. The crowd screaming out my name sounded like true music to my ears. "Thank you everyone and goodnight!" I shouted out into the mic waving at the crowd of fans. I quickly ran off the stage taking off the mic, unhooking it making sure it was turned off. The staff bombarded me again to my aid. "Guys please, it's too hot. I just want to take this off and get back home. My break starts now." I gently shoved everyone that was in my face away and quickly walked to my dressing room. I push my back to the door and take a deep breath. Then releasing it with a big sigh of relief. God being surrounded 24/7 by these people can get so exhausting sometimes. I wish I could go back to being a regular person sometimes but I did choose this life myself. Music was my passion and I wanted to pursue it as a career with the help of my parents who made this all happen for me. I lift myself up from my door and take off my jacket, throwing it onto the chair as. Plopping myself onto the couch, as the soft cushion seeks in taking in my weight. Leaning my head against the cushion I close my eyes letting the darkness consume me. “Alright, that's one show done… 5 more to go.” I groaned out in aggravation. Throwing my legs in the air having a mini tantrum. 

Why did I agree to do this mini tour.” I ask myself. Non Stop performing for the next few days and the worst part of it is that they are all repeats. I haven’t been able to write any new songs lately and everyone has been telling me ‘Hey when’s the next album?’ or ‘Uh? Album? Where is it?’ and it's starting to kill me. I have been so unmotivated lately. Every time I sit down to get started on the piece my brain fizzles out. I shook my head shaking out all of the negative thoughts out of my head. Finally there was nothing but peaceful relaxing silence. But that was easily broken with my phone alarm going off. I did one last loud groan, springing up from my seat and taking out my phone out of my coat pocket. “Breaks over. Let’s get this fan signing done already.” I click the alarm off and grab my jacket back, throwing it over my shoulder. I look over at the mirror. Remembering the events that happened before the performance flooded back into my mind. I cautiously walked up to the mirror placing my hand on the cold reflective surface. “Maybe I’m just overworking myself too much…” I mutter to myself shrugging the thought off. I look down to the desk, putting my attention onto the pen I found. “Eh, I’ll take it with me. Maybe a miracle will happen and it’ll suddenly have ink.” I grab the pen and head out the door.

______________________________________________________________

After some excruciating hours of talking to fans and signing albums. It was finally time to head home for the night. “Bye everyone! Thank you for being here! Bye bye!~” I bid adieu to the fans that still lingered around getting into the car ripping off the pink wig I had on. Plopping down onto the car seat laying my head back on the chair. “Long day?” The driver asks looking into the mirror. “I desire to be in my bed.” I slightly move my head back up to meet his eye contact. He chuckles and starts the car. “Next station: Home.” He smiles and steps on the gas. I lay my head back down and close my eyes slowly falling asleep.

I was surrounded by darkness. I couldn’t even see my own hands. The darkness was soon illuminated with the same familiar green flames. It illuminated in a circle around me until it finally stopped at a mirror. It wasn’t the same mirror from the dressing room. It was a full body mirror that seemed to be floating from off the ground. “Uh? Hello? Anyone here?” I called out. I cautiously walked up to the mirror looking at my reflection. I still looked the same or was what I thought. Random green and blue sparkles begin to fly around in the background of the mirror. I quickly look behind me to see none of them there. I look back to the mirror still seeing the sparkles fly around. They go around my reflection and as it slowly goes down my appearance seems to change. My h/c originally had turned to pink like cotton candy. My eyes changed to a shade of pure white. My attire had turned into what seemed to be a school uniform? There was a small gemstone clipped onto the jacket. It was the same gemstone that was on the pen. “I don’t get it? This is just my popstar persona with a school uniform on?” I said to the mirror. The sparkles float around again floating towards my hand in the reflection. I looked down to see I was holding the pen. I put the pen up to the mirror tilting my head in confusion. “It's just a pen?” I say clicking the top of the pen. Instead of the pen clicking down to show the tip of it the gemstone on top only begins to glow. “Okay. That’s new..” I say in shock. The pen suddenly succumbs to light and transforms into a microphone but the top part of the microphone stays as the gem.

“Does it work like one?” I ask, raising the pen to my mouth and singing a small note. My voice sounds loud and echoes out of the pen. My eyes widened in shock. I sing another note into it hearing the same result. I started to get a little excited, beginning to sing a random line from one of my songs. “This is so cool!” I yell into it. I look back at the mirror, almost dropping my pen due to the sudden change of appearance in my reflection. My hair was glowing along with my eyes and some white marks on my body. It quickly goes away once I stop singing. “What was that?!?” I ask getting close to the mirror looking closely at my appearance.

“That’s what happens when you use your magic my dear.” A feminine voice calls out, answering my question. I look around me searching for the source of the voice. To no avail, it was only the flames around me that I could find. I look back in the mirror to be met with a familiar white face. “Eh!? Was that you?” I asked a little confused. The face remains silent for a moment only staring deeply at me. “Stare deeply into the mirror and watch closely.” It finally speaks out, the mirror warping into a different scenario.

 It looked like a cellar but in the middle of the room was a cauldron. It seemed to be filled to the brim with some substance? A woman in a black hood is leaning over it. She seemed to be whispering something into it. The cauldrons began to bubble and some purple smoke rose out of it floating out towards an open window. The woman begins to laugh like an evil witch. “Is there a reason I am looking at this?” I asked confused. “Silence. Keep watching.” The voice from the mirror booms out from somewhere. The mirror pans over to the smoke following it through the sky as it finally flies over what looked like a castle? But it was separated into different areas. The smoke begins to dispatch into these different areas. The mirror warps out and returns the white face. I only look at the face with a even more puzzled look.

My eyes flutter open immediately to see that I’m back in the car which has come to a halt. I looked up to see the driver that was in front of me. “Sorry to wake you up. But we are home.” He says moving back from me and holding the car door open. “No. You’re fine. I was having a weird dream anyway.” I say stepping out of the car stretching my back. “Thank you! Have a nice night!” I wave goodbye towards my driver as he drives away into the night. I sluggishly walk up to the front of my house. Grabbing the door knob and opening the door. “Dad! I’m home!” I yell out walking into the house taking my shoes off. I step onto the carpet floor making my way deeper into the home. I stop at a painting in the hallway. I place a kiss on my finger and place it onto the painting. “Day 3 of the tour went well.. But there were a few weird things that happened today.” I say to the painting. “Dad. It's not normal for mirrors to talk, right?” I joke giving a small sheepish grin. “I know you would probably say yes. You also like to make up weird stories.” I laughed, reminiscing the memories. “I miss you dad. Good night.” I give the painting a light kiss before heading off into my room. “Ugh… I’m too tired to change out of my outfit.” I groaned, throwing myself onto the bed. Was I going to regret this choice earlier, yes. But my body was too tired by the time I hit the bed. The fatigue had washed over me causing me to immediately fall asleep. The last thing I heard was the chiming of the clock before my consciousness had faded.

______________________________________________________________

I was met in the same familiar dark room again surrounded by the same flames. “Here? Again?” I muttered looking around. The mirror was back in the middle of the room again. I walk up to it gently knocking on the glass. “Uh hello? Weird mask face? Are you there?” I called out. No answer. The only thing staring back at me was my reflection but in the different appearance as before. Rumbling and muttering noises were heard behind me causing me to jump in fright. I scurried behind the mirror hiding and peeking to see where the noise came from. There were 7 dark silhouettes behind me. They all seemed to be frozen in a certain pose. I couldn’t tell what they were. “Um? Could you please shine a light on those things??” I asked out. The flames go around the 7 silhouettes revealing their true identity. They were statues of people. “Wait, are these?” I step out from behind the mirror and walk up to the statues. “These are Disney Villains? Since when did they get statues?” I ask walking around them. As I walk around I begin to remember who was who.

The Tyrannical Queen of Hearts, the Nefarious Sorcerer Jafar, the Mischievous fae Maleficent, the Manipulative Sea Witch Ursula, the Prideful Lion Scar, the deadly beautiful Evil Queen and one the most feared gods Hades.

“I thought only the good guys get statues like Simba or Hercules?” I pondered out loud. I was completely taken back to a loud groan. “Oh please don’t mention that drastic name around me.” I look behind me to see the Hades statue moving. “Oh heroes my ass.” The Ursula statue speaks, crossing her arms. “What in the?? What??” I move back from the talking statues only to bump into something hard. I look up to see Maleficent's statue staring down at me with an intimidating look. I practically fall to the ground in fear putting a hand over my mouth.. “This thing? Is it supposed to help save Twisted?” The Evil Queen statue questions with a scowl on her face and a hint of disgust. “I don’t think I want to put the fate of this world in some weird singer hands.” The Jafar statue chimes in with the same amount of disgust. “Especially not after that comment she made about us.” The Scar statue adds in laying down onto his pedestal no longer interested in the conversation. “I say, off with her head!!!” The Red Queen shouts from behind me in anger. The statues all begin to chatter amongst themselves about how I’m unfit or was unexpecting for them. I covered my ears to try and block them out. What was going on and why are the statues of these Disney villains talking to me. Where am I even in the first place? The thought of questioning where I was finally slipped into my head. The chatter had soon come to a halt. Making me look up at the statues to see them have their attention towards the mirror.

“They are the descendant. So they wield the power to do so.” The mask face speaks. The Maleficent looks back down towards that sends a chill down my spine. She bends down, extending her staff towards me. I stare at her and then back at her confused in fear what she will do next. She shakes her staff and scoffs. “I’m trying to help you up?” She says shaking her staff again more aggressive. “O-oh! Uh, thank you!” I stuttered out grabbing onto the staff. She easily lifts me up and puts me back onto my feet. “Ugh, how I wish I wasn’t stone. I could’ve easily taken this ruffian down.” Hades says with disdain biting onto his nails. The statues began to talk amongst themselves again. Except for Scar who yawns. “By that dumb look on your face. I can see you don’t even have a clue of what’s going on.” Scar assumes, placing his lazy gaze onto me. “N-no. I don't, isn't this just a weird dream?” I ask. A deep low chuckle erodes from Scar. Stretching his paws sitting up now. “You think this is a dream? My dear I wish it was.” He rolls his eyes as the other statues still continue to bicker. “Well. It isn’t my place to tell you what’s happening. Why don’t you go up to the mirror to choose your fate already.” He points his claw towards the mirror. “It’s getting boring listening to those fools talk. So please hurry up will ya?” He ushered. With quick pace, I walk up to the mirror filled to the brim with questions.

“Are you ready to choose which path you will go down?”

The chatter behind me stops again. I could feel their eyes were all on me. “What path? What is even going on? Why is there talking statues not only that they’re Disney villains? And what fate??!?” I exploded with many questions holding onto the mirror scared and confused. What is going on? This is a dream right? This has to be a dream. Statues can’t come to life. Disney villains aren’t real! The mirror stays silent for a moment and slowly fades away. “Wait! Where are you going!?” I yell out, shaking the mirror.

“Which path will you take?”

The mirror asks again. Its voice echoed throughout the room. The mirror warps and shows two items in front of it. The one on the left looked like a simple stick but it was white and shiny. The item on the right was a crow mask. The item floats out towards them and floats out of the mirror now officially sitting there waiting for me to choose one of them. I look at both of them, filled with even more confusion. “What even are these??” I ask looking back at the mirror. “Could you hurry up and choose already!” Ursula yells from behind me. I take in a big gulp looking back at the items in front of me. The sound of what sounds like wind chimes fills my ears. I look around and it's the colorful little sparkles again. The green and blue sparkles fly over to the white stick beckoning me for me to take it while the red sparkle was behind me trying to push me. “Oh bug off would ya.” Maleficent waves her staff, green lightning comes out of her staff shooting towards the sparkles. The blue and green one fly out of the way immediately while the red flies away to aid the other sparkles. Out of curiosity, I begin to raise my hand towards the white stick.

“Oops!~”

I was suddenly shoved harshly, making me fall towards the crow mask. I quickly catch myself from falling and grab onto the mask. I look behind me to see Ursula retract her tentacle back to herself.

“The path has been chosen! I bid you luck on your journey.”

I look at the crow mask in confusion exploring the item. “What a great choice.” Maleficent compliments slowly fade away into the darkness. Each of the statues begin to fade away right after her one by one.

“Please walk through the mirror.”

The mask says as its last words. The mirror warps again and it reveals the castle I had seen that the smoke had traveled into. I take one big gulp and walk into the mirror, not knowing what I had just gotten myself into…

♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡

[bluestar22x]

Welcome To The Good Times

The Writing Contest - Chapter 8: Welcome To The Good Times

Summary: Nora and Javi celebrate his birthday

Pairing: Javi Gutierrez x Female!OC (Nora Delaine)

Rating: 18+ Series

Word Count: 2,000(ish)

Warnings: Fluff, romance, a tiny bit of spice

Author’s Note: This is one of two chapters I hope to get done this month so look out for chapter 9 in the next week or so. If all goes as planned, it should be done by then. No promises.

xxx

Any news from Walter? you texted Javi.

It has only been a day cariño, he texted back and you huffed to yourself before you tapped the letters on your phone screen once more.

I know, I know, I'm just excited.

You and Javi had just finished another script together, this one lightly based off of how you and Javi had met. So lightly that all that they had in common was that the male love interest was a writer that made a writing contest and the main character won it. Everything else was different. The guy was an author of books; not scripts, and the main characters fell in love while writing a novel together.

The latter was also sort of true, you guessed. You hadn't voiced it yet, but you were pretty sure you were in love with Javi, and you were fairly confident he was in love with you, but maybe nervous about saying it so early into your romantic relationship. After all, that was why you hadn't said it yet.

Me too, though I am more excited to see you, Javi wrote back.

You grinned. Charmer.

How soon until you get here? he asked.

You climbed the steps to his front porch and knocked on the door instead of texting back.

It took him a few moments, but as soon as he saw it was you on the other side of his mansion's front door he quickly opened it and pulled you into a crushing hug. You secretly loved it.

"You were already here!" he exclaimed, keeping a hand on your jaw as he stepped back. "Sneaky, querida."

"I wanted to surprise you," you told him. "Everyone should have at least one surprise on their birthday."

"Best one I've gotten in ages," he declared.

"Only in ages?" You were curious what you were competing with.

"I got many big surprises for my childhood birthdays," Javi told you. "None matched the theater room my father made for me when I turned thirteen."

"Oh, I cannot compete with that," you said jokingly, but he tipped your chin up so your eyes met.

"You cannot compete because you are above it," he murmured.

You blushed even as a broad smile spread across your face and he beamed back at you before leaning in to capture your mouth in a sweet kiss.

You kissed him back equally sweetly until he released you after a long heated moment.

"So what do you wanna do tonight?" you inquired.

"I was thinking we go see a movie at the theater in town," he answered. "And afterwards we could walk around. I don't believe you've seen the town at night."

"I didn't think there was a night life."

"It's nothing wild," he told you, "But it is charming. I would like to share it with you."

"Anything for the birthday boy," you said, your lips pulling into a crooked smile.

x

Javi surprised you by picking one of the latest box office hits to watch in the local cinema, a romantic action flick about two assassins from enemy countries who fall in love.

It was pretty good, but you both were distracted by each other during the film. You honestly felt like a teenager all over again, sharing glances with him and trying to ignore the arm he'd flung over the back of your seat for a time.

You had split a big bowl of popcorn and passed it back and forth between you more times than you'd bothered to count and it went well until Javi knocked his elbow into it. You gasped as the remaining popcorn in the bowl went airborne, and you clamped your hands over your mouth to muffle a giggle.

Javi flushed. "Seems I am a clumsy celebrant."

He plucked one of the wayward pieces of popcorn off your head and tossed it into his mouth, making you giggle harder.

His embarrassed expression shifted into one of adoration at the sound. "I would make a fool of myself a million times over to hear you laugh," he admitted and you locked eyes with him, a disbelief on your face until you were sure he meant it.

Of course he did, but he was not the reason you had a difficult time believing it, nor why you felt so unworthy of it.

You slipped your hand into his without a word and you both turned back to the movie, just in time to watch its final spectacular action sequence.

x

After the movie you and Javi wandered the town in the early night, your hands still interlocked.

He pointed out his favorite locations to get a steak, ice cream, his writing supplies. He also warned you about a bar with patrons who were rowdy and sometimes even dangerous. He clearly spent a lot of time there when he wasn't busy with a script or visiting you in LA.

You paid attention to every word he said, knowing he did the same for you, but it wasn't until you got to the very center of town that you got excited about your exploration.

"Is that a carousel?" you asked, eyes lighting up as it clearly came into view.

Covered in gold paint and highlighted with golden lights in the early dark, the carousel spun at a good pace, not too fast or slow, as its beautifully sculpted horses rose up and down on the platform underneath them. There were mostly blacks and grays, but some bays and paints and a palomino had been included as well.

The speakers were playing mystical sounding music, like one you'd imagine a magical forest to have if it had instrumental music, and several children were shouting in glee as they clung to their mounts.

It took you back to your youth. To simpler times. It made you smile.

"I used to love riding carousels when I was little," you told Javi wistfully. "I loved a good thrill ride depending on how scary it actually was - I didn't like them too scary - but carousels were what I loved most. It was a calm thrill, the sweeping movements of the horses felt like I was riding waves. Haven't been able to ride one in two decades. The fair that used to come near my hometown was declared unsafe by the locals so they stopped coming. All because one kid's hair got pulled on a ride they specifically warned shouldn't be ridden without tying up long hair first."

"You should ride then," Javi said, "Take the opportunity."

You shook your head. "Carousels are for kids."

"No es cierto," he argued. "Adults can be young at heart. We should not have to lose something we love just because we grow old. They have been included in many romance movies, including one actually named Carousel, for a reason."

You glanced over at him and back to the ride, but remained in place. It had been instilled in you so long ago that it was strange for adults to hop on without kids of their own in tow. Small town minds and all. It was difficult to get it out of your head.

Javi released your hand as the ride came to a halt and handed the ride operator enough money to cover a turn for both you and him. He waved you over as he jumped onto the circular platform all the while you just watched.

"Come, cariño!" he shouted over the music encouragingly. "Do it for me if you must."

You glanced around and headed towards him. It was his birthday. How could you refuse?

Once your feet were on the platform you studied the horses around you, a wonderfully detailed red fawn and white marked pinto with a tucked head and open mouth catching your eye.

You grinned and went to it like it was calling you, climbing on top of its back and letting your hands run over its wild mane before grasping the brass pole between its shoulders.

Javi stepped up next to it as you got comfortable, placing one of his hands on your jean clad thigh as the ride started back up with its fresh batch of passengers on board.

None of them were near you and Javi, so you could easily imagine you were the only ones on the ride. It made it easier to focus on how intimately close his impressive hand was to a frontier it had not yet explored and you had a difficult time paying attention to the ride's movements as the breezy night air turned hot.

You avoided his gaze and tried to redirect your attention to the ride, knowing you wouldn't be able to bail for another couple minutes. Might as well enjoy what you can in the moment and think about other stuff later.

Soon the joy the ride had always brought you in your childhood returned to you like a long time friend. It was freeing. Enough for you to want to shut your eyes and feel the wind in your hair, and so you did.

When the ride began slowing down again you opened them again and realized you hadn't heard Javi speak in that time. It was unusual for him, quiet. He rarely went long without speaking unless he was focused on something or asleep.

Your eyes found him again, and he was still beside you, smiling as widely as you had been. "You look like a goddess on this beast," he declared as he put his free hand on the horse's arched neck. "Divine."

Your face heated again. "Now you're overselling it."

Javi helped you down and cupped your face. "I promised I would never lie to you again, hermosa. I mean every word I say."

You kissed him then, eagerly, his sincerity crumbing the last of the walls surrounding your heart. It felt as freeing as the carousel. Maybe...

"Let's go back to your place early," you murmured into his ear.

He hummed seemingly in agreement and followed you when you led him away from the ride, but he stopped you halfway to his car. "As much as I would like nothing more than for you to stay the night for a romantic evening, I want our first time to be special for you. The way you talk I do not think you've had that before, no?"

"It will be special," you said surely, but still he hesitated.

"What is it?" you questioned. "Did you have something in mind?"

The thought of him having planned out your first time together made your stomach flip in a good way.

He looked unsure of how to answer you, probably worried that you might think of him differently if he said yes.

"I've thought about it too, Javi," you assured him and his eyes shot up to yours. "It's okay. More than okay."

"It's two weeks away, but I thought we could wait until our boat trip at the start of August." He frowned. "Is that too long?"

You slung your arms around his neck and shook your head. "Of course not. If that's what you want, that's what I want."

You were curious what he had in mind.

He tipped his head to press his lips to yours again and for a moment you really wished you hadn't agreed to wait. What were you going to do with yourself for two weeks? All you'd be able to think about was that Saturday approaching. What it would entail.

"Thank you, mi amor," Javi whispered as he parted from you.

"That's a new one," you mused. "What does it mean?"

He ran a thumb along the edge of your cheekbone and studied your face as he spoke. "It means my love."

You beamed at him, your delight impossible to deny. "Je t'aime aussi."

It was Javi's turn to be confused. He raised a brow, expression curious. "And what does that mean?"

"It's French for I love you too," you replied, leaning in for a third kiss.

Javi met you in the middle, and you could feel a smile tugging on his lips before your mouths clashed.

July did not pass fast enough.

xxx

Tagged: @harriedandharassed

xxx

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

xxx

[leonakingscholarship]

Hey y'all it's me Serenity. I don't know if y'all noticed but I deleted all of my OC art. It's frustrating to see my work gets an average of 50 notes and no, I don't blame my audience. Rather, I blame myself for not putting as much effort for it to be pleasing for my audience. It hurts when I think this piece or that piece will at least get lots of viewers but in result, it only has little. It's also quite embarrassing how envious I get when I think about how others have followers and half of their followers or even a quarter of them interacts with their post while I have 600+ followers yet my art rarely gets 100+. Just with my latest Fein post, if it wasn't shared by a big blog then it would've only gotten 20+ notes. I know I shouldn't be comparing myself to others but I can't help it. I sometimes even pray and hope it'll at least reach 50 notes but I have to learn things the hard way maybe. Probably the lack of support and the internal disappointment discouraged me?

I'm so so sorry for sounding so ungrateful, I really really am sorry but I promise you all that every support I get is treasured within my heart so so so much and I will forever be grateful for those support. I don't blame most of y'all for not liking my art when I know myself I don't put much effort in them. The anatomy isn't right, I can't do lightings, my coloring isn't that good, my poses aren't dynamic, my poses are stiff, and my drawings in general are boring. I'm sorry I disappointed y'all and those who followed me who expected good posts but got what I give instead.

I don't know if this is just part of my mental breakdown or because I'm just nervous and stressed for my research defense but I've actually been wanting to do so. I'm writing this with tears in my eyes, just thinking about how my 2 year old posts will be deleted but all of those kept a big memory in my heart as Tumblr is the only place I'm so comfortable sharing those posts. I may sound dramatic but when I deleted Dior's profile, I cried hard because he was my first ever (official) twst oc I made a profile for 2 years ago

Please know that I'm not begging for y'all to give me likes, I want to earn them but I don't think my work is worthy enough, I'm just disappointed with myself and my art. Again, I'm sorry y'all

If ever you're wondering why I have to delete them, it's so that if ever I draw my babies again then my blog will have a fresh start, a clean and fresh one.

Once again, I'm very sorry for this sad dump post I did, please continue to have a great night/day! Very well then, Serenity here is taking a little break from drawing her OCs probably? Love you all 💛

[buriedself]

"  we're  going  to  be  taking  a  lie  detector  test  today.  you  will  be  hooked  up  to  the  machine,  and  we  will  ask  you  a  series  of  questions  -  whether  you  tell  the  truth  or  lie  is  up  to  you,  but  the  test  wil  be  able  to  snitch  out  any  lies."

a wide smile, the type that leaves their eyes glittering.     "     right, yup, i've seen like so many of these.  i just can't believe i'm here on this side of it.  wow are the studio lights always this hot  ?     "

"  to  start,  what  is  your  first  name  and  what  city  are  we  in  ?  "

"     my dad named me abeke, but my mom gave me the name james.  they're both my first names.  most people call me james.  oh shoot, that's a lie.  most people actually call me jem, short for james, which is kinda silly because why shorten a name that's five letters long in the first place  ?  i digress.  we're in new york.     "

"  thank  you.  how  are  you  feeling  today  ?  "

"     nervous, oh god i'm so nervous.  i think i'm getting a stomach ache.  can i get some water  ?  you know what, it's fine, i can wait until we're done here.     "     clears their throat, squares off shoulders.  on top of the table, their fingers tap out a meaningless beat.     "     nervous.  final answer.     "

"  understandable.  how  about  an  easier  one  -  what's  your  favourite  colour  ?  "

"     how is this any easier  ?  i'm not good at making choices.  it took me more time to settle on the title for my latest release than it was to actually write the book.  um.  uh.     "     the interviewer is wearing floral.  that doesn't really help.  they  can't see past the interviewer anyway — are the lights always this blinding  ?     "     i don't... really have one.  rainbow  ?  is that a cop out  ?     "

"  and  your  favourite  film  genre ?  "

"     not a genre, but my favorite type of movies are adaptions of books.  doesn't matter what kind, i just love to see what made it in and what didn't.     "     cue nervous giggle.  they're not supposed to share the news they got about their book possibly getting an adaption for the big screen, and god is it hard to keep their mouth shut.

"  let's  see  -  what  is  one  thing  you  wouldn't  be  found  without ?  "

"     oh  !  that's a really easy one.     "     they dig into the pockets of their jacket and pull out a small notebook and a pen.     "     i feel like this is super obvious.  i'm a writer, i write, i always have something running through my mind.  actually, do you mind a second  ?  no one zoom into what i'm writing.     "     jem ducks their head and shields their journal with one arm as they scrawl onto a blank page for a minute.     "     okay, sorry, done  !  let's keep going.     "

"  keeping  it  light,  what's  your  drink  of  choice  ?  "

"     water  ?  i don't drink, honest.     "

"  that's  a lie.  "

"     redbull.  i'msorrymompleasedon'tkillme.     "

"  which  of  the  following  have  you  attended,  and  would  you  attend ?  "

bold  what's  been  attended,  italicize  what  would  attend  /  attend  again.

the  ballet.  the  met  gala.  the  horse  track.  the  race  track.  a  yacht  party.  the  opera.  the  orchestra.  a  broadway  show.  a  shakespeare  production.  a  concert.  a  comedian.  an  (  american  )  football  game.  a  soccer  /  football  game.  a  documentary  film.  a  film  premiere.  a  polo  game.  art  museum.  wine  tastings.  nyc  sightseeing  tour.  celebrity  sightseeing  tours.  haunted  tours.  charity  galas.  fashion  shows.  fashion  week.  disneyworld  /  disneyland.  a  basketball  game.  a  hockey  game.  a  baseball  game.  a  boxing  match.  a  cricket  match.  the  golf  course.  the  olympics.  

"  oooh,  we're  jumping  into  something  a  bit  heavier  now.  what  is  the  one  thing  you  want  to  achieve  in  life  ?  "

"     i'm already on the best sellers list, which is nuts on it's own, but if i'm allowed to dream a little... i'd love adaptions for my books.  and this one's definitely a stretch, but god, imagine me with a pulitzer.     "

"  who  knows  what  the  fates  have  in  store.  ​​​​​​​how  do  you  feel  about  reputation.com ?  it's  ​​​​​​​all  ​​​​​​​anyone  ​​​​​​​seems  ​​​​​​​to  be  ​​​​​​​talking  about  lately.  "

jem blinks.  tilts their head.     "     i've been on a little bit of a social media hiatus.     "

"  ...  "

"     fine.  sorry to my publisher.  i have definitely been on my phone.  but i still don't really know what reputation.com is  ?  i don't think i'm relevant enough to be on a gossip site...     "

"  everyone  is  entitled  to  their  own  opinion,  i  guess.  what's  the  weirdest  /  craziest  headline  you've  read  about  yourself  there  ?  "

"     booktok's giving me ulcers, okay  ?  saw something online about how i'm apparently writing a romance book last year  ?  i don't write romance.  any romantic vibes in any of my novels are completely unintentional but i support anyone who thinks lukas, zora, and jingyi should be a throuple.     "

"  what's  something  you  are  currently  working  on  ?  "

"     i think my publisher will have my head if i say anything specific.  i'm writing  !  i'm always writing.  right now i'm obviously working on the f&s sequel, but i also have two secret projects on the back burner that i'm really excited to share.     "

"  i'll  look  forward  to  it.  one  last  official  question  -  and  it's  an  easier  one.  cats  or  dogs ?  "

"     cats  !   i have one.  her name is cat the second.  i had a cat named cat when i was a kid.     "

"  personally,  i'm  a  dog  fan  anyday.  anything  else  you'd  like  to  add ?  "

"     yes  !  i'm still really nervous.  i don't know how actors and muscians do this all day.  seriously, good for you guys.  i'm not built for this, but i had a really good time, thank you for having me  !     "

"  well,  thank  you  so  much  for  joining  us  today  ​​​​​​​-  can't  ​​​​​​​wait  ​​​​​​​to  ​​​​​​​have  ​​​​​​​you  ​​​​​​​back  ​​​​​​​with  ​​​​​​​us  soon."

[sunderedazem]

“whenever you get stressed, you do this thing with your hands. what is it?”

For Corr plz

(Odessen, following the assault on Voss, and Arcann's early defection to the Alliance)

It's...very strange, having a brother again. Especially after losing Thexan to his own blind rage and jealousy. Especially when that new brother is, by right of birth order and raw strength in the Force, the rightful heir to the throne of Zakuul, even if he had been dismissive of his claim to the throne the one time Arcann had brought it up. Especially when that new brother is a half-brother, older made younger through the preservation of Carbonite, and the parent they share brought horror and pain to both of them in such different ways.

He didn't think Corrain would find it in his heart to forgive him, after he'd nearly killed the now-younger man on Asylum, impaling him clean through on a furious lightsaber. Not after he'd ravaged the galaxy Corrain so loved, glassed planets and terrorized billions simply because he could, because he was angry at the world and couldn't take it out on Valkorion. But then Corrain had found him on Voss, had quietly confirmed their shared father - and had stretched out a hand and said "...I cannot forgive you for anyone but myself, but if you want atonement...I can help you start somewhere, Arcann."

And now here he is, standing at Corrain's side as the tiny man paces around the holotable with the Alliance's latest reports, his long white hair tied back in a neat plait. He's rubbing at the base of his neck again, a habit Arcann has slowly noticed that occurs whenever he's particularly anxious about something. But before he can say anything, can ask any questions- Lana catches the offending hand in hers, pulling the slight Jedi to a halt, and plants a soft kiss on the nape of Corrain's neck.

"Relax, my sweet Jedi," she murmurs softly. Arcann turns away, feeling like he's intruded on something precious in spite of how they're standing in the command suite, in plain view of everyone. He's not the only one to do so either - he can see Eiri rolling his eyes pointedly, and the Togruta smuggler who's been such an impressively disruptive force for his supply lines, Kessin, also makes a face and looks away. It's not unusual for Lana or Theron to need to drag Corrain into a moment of calm, he's come to learn. Nor is it unusual for them to clearly display their affection for each other, with the odd side-effect of often quieting his brother's more passionate moments - as if he can only find peace within their presence.

But as Theron wanders over to help Lana corral their agitated Commander out of his nervous pacing, he can't help but wonder about the odd tic here - one that warrants simultaneous attention from both of his brother's partners. He bites his lip on the question, trying not to allow it to cross his tongue. The answer can come in due time, he's sure. When the memory of Valkorion's bitter ache on their pasts rings less clear.

And then Kessin clears their throat, absently flipping one of their lekku around their throat like a violet scarf.

"Oi, ex-tyrant, c'mere for a second," they call.

It stings - but he sighs heavily, turns away from where his brother is leaning into Lana's shoulder, a cold distance in those thunderstorm eyes, and follows them. He's led only a short distance away, just out of earshot of everyone clustered around the holotable - and then Kessin growls at him a little. Belatedly, he remembers that Togruta are carnivores.

"Okay, listen," they snap, but there's an unusual gravity to their voice and he can't help but straighten up somewhat at the tone. "You're about to ask about the reason why Cor's got both the Sith lady and spyboy on him right now, yeah? I can see you watching him when he paces like that."

Arcann doesn't have the heart to lie, so he nods once and then tucks his hands behind his back.

"Well...more precisely, I wanted to ask about the thing he's doing with his hands - where he rubs at the back of his neck," he confesses. "He...does it often, it seems, when he's anxious or stressed, and it's unusual. I wasn't about to ask NOW though, I'm not quite that foolish. Lana has already threatened my life at least four times."

Kessin appears only slightly appeased by that, and they lean back against the stone wall with an eye roll. They're taller than him, Arcann notices idly, though that's mostly due to their arcing montrals.

"Tactful choice," they comment lightly. Then they're quiet for a minute before their expression softens marginally. "Look. You're one of the few people in the galaxy I hate as much as Sith, but Cor's decided you're worth the effort somehow, and he's right about ninety percent of the time. So lemme give you some advice. If you ask about the neck tic - have a few bottles of alcohol with you, and put Lana or Theron on standby. I was there for part of uh...his particular incident. It's a hell of a story, and he's still shattered by it, in a lot of ways."

Arcann stares, a little flabbergasted.

"You- aren't trying to warn me away?" He asks, stunned. Kessin's expression hardens again.

"...no. Not when...well. This involves your father. His father. Ugh. The karking piece of shit Sith Emperor. You already know the little Commander hates your dad. This is related to why."

Arcann can feel his blood boil at the mention of Valkorion's other incarnation - and suddenly the way Lana and Theron are tag-teaming his younger- older?- brother into a semblance of calm makes far more sense.

"Then thank you for your guidance, Captain Meyka," he says, tone low. "I'm grateful."

They snort, but there's no bite in it.

"It's not for you, jackass."

-

He manages to catch Corrain alone later that evening, after carefully approaching Lana - suicidal, probably, but she'd just raised an eyebrow at him and nodded curtly, then shot off to find Theron - and the location is ideal. Arcann almost wonders if either the Sith lord or former Republic spy that his brother loves so much had suggested the young commander come out here.

The Odessen wilds are beautiful, after all. Calming but cold, steady but melancholic- a strange, delicate tightrope between pain and peace. And Corrain sits calmly in the grass, meditating. Arcann can feel him in the Force, like the warmth of a summer thunderstorm, clean ozone and soft rain and muggy heat, and dangerous potential. Storms can build, he knows - and Corrain feels like he's been waiting for the sky to break for years.

"You, uh...noticed my little habit, did you?" Corrain asks as he approaches. Arcann reaches for him without speaking, brushing the edge of his awareness against his brother's as carefully as he can, hesitantly projecting both worry and curiosity and the ache that wishes he knew this new sibling better- and Corrain turns to look at him and smiles wryly.

"I'm not going to break anytime soon, Arcann, you don't have to just tap me like that," he says- and then he sees the bag in Arcann's hand, a bottle of Alderaanian wine and a couple cups peeking out- and he laughs. There's a rueful twist to it.

"I was...warned this may help make the conversation smoother," Arcann explains with a sheepish frown, and pauses next to a patch of grass next to the Jedi. "Ah, may I-"

"Sit your ass down," Corrain laughs again, and there's no bitterness in the sound anymore. Arcann does as invited. "And alright, I might crack a bit. Who told you to bring wine?"

Arcann hesitates, then shrugs.

"Captain Meyka."

Corrain groans, a little exasperated, but fond.

"Classic Kess," he sighs. "Alright then. Ask."

Arcann pauses, regarding Corrain for a long moment. This close, his relation to Valkorion is distinct, but not obvious - there's a similarity in their faces that eludes definition- and then of course, there are those stormy grey-blue eyes. Valkorion had that eye color, once.

Corrain just watches him, white eyebrows hiding behind his bangs.

"My original question was going to be to ask why you rubbed at your neck when you were anxious...but I was informed it was related to our father, so-"

He doesn't miss the way Corrain's entire expression curls into a snarl at the mention of Valkorion, nor the way his thunderstorm aura crackles into static electricity and howling anger, a cyclone of hatred forming in the blink of an eye- and Arcann can almost taste the satisfaction of his own answering fury on his tongue. After all - it was this hate, it's intensity and passion which had convinced him to join his younger brother.

"...Darth Vitiate held me captive for almost two years," Corrain says finally, and reaches for the collar of his shirt, tugging it open and pushing the fabric down to bare the upper part of his back and neck. And Arcann freezes at the sight of raised, ropy scars striping over pale skin, at the jagged lines of stark white cut into the nape of the Jedi's neck. There's so many, he realizes. And some are layered over each other, as if to rip open old injuries for added pain.

When he lifts his head to meet his brother's gaze again, he can swear those grey eyes flash acid gold.

"He implanted a shock collar." The quiet voice is like ice. "Wired it directly into my spinal column while I was awake to feel the agony. Used it to punish me when I wouldn't kill for him, then forced me to kill anyway."

Ah. Arcann's expression sours, like a flame forced to smolder, and Corrain grins in answer. It's not a nice smile- there's a feral bloodlust in it, and the promise of vengeance. Arcann knows from his knowledge of the Jedi that it's not something they'd encourage. But it's what convinced him to follow - the genuine pain, the rage, the kinship it creates between them. The sure knowledge that this young storm - his brother, his younger sibling, found in the worst of ways - is his best chance at truly seeing Valkorion fall.

And yet- he can't shake the guilt, the sorrow for what he's done. For the suffering that must be having their father's spirit rattling around inside Corrain's subconscious. There's too much of Thexan's strength of heart in Corrain to see it lost to Tyth's fire and Izax's desolation.

So he reaches out, steadier this time, and lets his youngest sibling feel the weight of his promise.

"I will see his hold on you broken, little brother," Arcann swears, and it tastes a little like hope. "I will see you free again."

And Corrain softens back into kindness and summer rain and the smell of the earth after a nourishing rainstorm, and his smile turns true.

"And I, you, Arcann. And I, you."

[chai-hat-tea]

2022 Evaluation of my Fics

I was tagged by the nicest people @beardyboyzx and @thinlinez to answer a bunch of fic questions. Here goes nothing:

1. Number of stories posted to AO3 this year: 9

2. Word count posted for the year: 55,469

3. Fandoms I wrote for: One Direction

4. Pairings: Larry and Ziam

5. Story with the most:

Kudos: Stranger Coffees

Bookmarks: Stranger Coffees

Comments: Up until now it was Stranger Coffees, but @thinlinez swooped in and changed it to I'm Weaker Without You

6. Work I’m most proud of (and why): 

I like to think it's the latest fic I wrote (I'm Weaker Without You), but I genuinely can't choose. Maybe each story of mine has different reasons attached for my being proud of them. But yeah, even if they suck, I'm proud of all of my fics <3 but I admit I have a very soft spot for My Light and Fix You. They were the most thought-provoking or had the most character development of sorts and I love that.

7. Work I’m least proud of (and why):

Hahaha on a normal day, I can't bring myself to read any of my works because I hate what I've written and can see it could've been so much better than what I've done, so again, I can't choose (yes I'm a terrible decision maker).

8. Share or describe a favourite review you received:

@thinlinez literally made my year by commenting on every chapter of I'm Weaker Without You and letting me know what they think! I was so nervous about this fic because I wrote just over 30k words in a little over 3 weeks and my brain was so fried, I was worried people would find my story pretentious or "trying too hard". Each comment from them was a godsend. :')

And I received comments from @beardyboyzx and @cigsandchampagnethat helped me get better and have faith in my writing, especially when I was at my lowest.

9. A time when writing was really, really hard:

I think writing in general has been really hard for me, especially fanfiction writing because 1) I've never done any story writing before this, and 2) I didn't think I could write any romance. But this month has been the hardest for me. To write 2 stories at the same time with life happening was just wild. I feel so drained out physically and mentally.

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

I think it would be the first smut scene I ever wrote. I didn't think I had it in me, but I managed to, even if it was really lame.

11. A favourite excerpt of your writing:

It's not a favourite per se, but I love the tenderness of it:

“Where are you lost,  jaan?” Hands wrap around Liam’s frame as he’s gently brought back to the present. He feels a soft kiss on his temple as he takes a deep breath in.

He turns back around to see Zayn smiling at him. He smilingly lifts his head up, Zayn leaning down to kiss him on the mouth.

“Nowhere, mon amour. Was thinking back to the times when I should’ve realised I’m not into girls.” Liam laughs.

Zayn makes a sound. “It’s okay, you were so young. You couldn’t have known, especially because you were around such homophobic people.”

Liam sighs. “I know it was bad, but honestly? I wouldn’t change anything about it. Because all of that led me to you, my dear husband. I would go through all of that and more, if it means I’m with you.” Zayn just kisses him.

Every first with Zayn has been one blissful moment after another. They’ve been through so much together, and he knows it only made them stronger, and more certain in their love for each other.

Zayn opened his studio and handed Liam his heart when he showed Liam his art for the first time. Liam hasn’t dropped it since.

12. How did you grow as a writer this year:

I just grew haha!! I began writing, and that for me is the biggest growth. I know I have soooo much to learn in the world of writing, but I got over my fear to begin, and that in itself is a major growth for me :)

13. How do you hope to grow next year:

I just want to keep writing and have faith that I'm doing well. I just want to improve and get better in any way I can, because writing has been my best outlet and escape.

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

Comments from @thinlinez, and my friends @beardyboyzxand @cigsandchampagne. Every author in this fandom is a godsend, and I aspire to be half as amazing as all of you.

15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year:

A bunch actually. The Mane Man was based on me going to a salon (minus all the romance of it) and Fix You is very very very personal.

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

I'm a baby writer, I'm the last person to be able to give any advice!! But one thing I would say is - WRITE. Write everything you can think of, and read even more than that. Read every genre, every book that you can get your hands on, and talk to fellow writers. You'll learn SO MUCH.

17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: 

I have a few ideas in mind, but nothing really concrete. I am considering taking part in more fic fests, so that it motivates me to write plot driven fics instead of just one-shots.

18. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read.

I would tag...@twopoppies, @indiaalphawhiskey, @greenfeelings...gosh so many authors I can think of (God these people know I exist now...yikes!! I'm a big big big fan by the way <3)

EDIT - I’m going to be courageous because today seems to be a good day, and tag EVERY author I can remember. @taggiecb @lululawrence @justalarryblog @wabadabadaba @allwaswell16 @jaerie @sadaveniren @beelou @fallinglikethis @panye @phd-mama @hearyouhowling @neondiamond @kingsofeverything @cherrystreet @disgruntledkittenface @crinkle-eyed-boo @marchessa @jacaranda-bloom @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed @jishlerfics @tommokat @zanniscaramouche @thedevilinmybrain @isthatyoularry @mizzwilde @londonfoginacup @mercurial-madhouse @wicked-archer @alivingfire @mediawhorefics and members of @writerscornercafe that I’m clearly forgetting and I’m forgetting many or I don’t know their tumblr urls so yeah

[mushroomsie224]

Oh, okay! Good luck with figuring that out. But it's not obvious he's flirting anyways so yeah (in fact, I don't think one could tell at all? especially since Cedric is pissed off—they're not in a relationship here)

Also about the notifications! Yeah so this one didn't send a notification since I didn't reblog this from you, so that's expected. But as for my sideblog...yeah I don't know what's up with that either, my reblogs on that blog never show up in people's notifications or notes. Tumblr hates me :) (or maybe it does think my reblogs are too tasty?)

Anyways.

Part 3 of me yapping because I'm committed. THIS WASN'T EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE A TWO-PARTER YOU KNOW, TUMBLR JUST HAS A STUPID TEN-PICTURE LIMIT!

Sigh...this could have been a tag thing.

"No particular reason" you sure about that bro?

Anyways uh that's just Random Person I Made Up. Thought it would be fun for Cedric to have a crush on a girl in Hexley Hall and Greylock is just a jealous mess. Why not.

(She rejects him by the way.)

He's crying because he is a loser (/affectionate). Actually yeah it's cuz of the test. And her, somewhat.

Glasses Greylock is mainly because it's cute, yeah. I think he might just have bad vision in his right eye, the other one not really warranting correction. As for why he has a monocle now: because he thinks it's cool. Probably.

(I have a sketch in my sketchbook of him getting a monocle and showing Cedric, and Cedric being like idgaf bro)

He totally got bullied and buried the memories for the most part. School sucks man.

I feel like he was just fine in school when it came to studying? Just bad at the parts where he's asked to perform spells because he gets nervous and messes up, and that got him bad grades.

I'm glad you like the hair in this one :3 this is him after he got banished (I have several different ideas for what happened to him after Day of the Sorcerers, including banishment, execution, also the latest getting-frozen-and-displayed one that I mentioned). There isn't a specific reason for why he's sad here, it could be him regretting his life choices, it could be Cedric rejecting him again. On Slickwell, though, I do like to think he does have a nice long catch-up with Slickwell whenever they meet after Slickwell got fired, however.

Projecting onto Greylock—relatable. What's the point of having a blorbo you can't project on.

Also, 4am? Dude?

WAIT. THAT'S SUCH A COOL AU IDEA ACTUALLY??? CEDRIC TRAPPING HIS SISTER (or anyone really—like maybe Sofia?) IN THE AMULET BUT THEN TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO UNLOCK IT!

Also I do wonder why the white on his bangs increased as he got older. Maybe it's just because of stress, yeah. Maybe the potion's effects just get worse with time.

Anyways yeah you're welcome for the sad shit at the end. Now imagine Cedric finally returning Greylock's feelings but then he dies before they can share a kiss.

Sofia the First WIPs and Sketches. Some of these are kinda old.

[storiesforallfandoms]

and the winner is... ~ eminem

word count: 1784

request?: yes!

“hey, love your writing sm ❤️ I really like the concept where the reader is a young actress with Eminem, so can I request one where they go to Marshall’s award show for the first time publicly, they try to keep it low key but the reader presents an award and when Em wins they share a warm moment on stage and the media loses it? thanks in advance”

description: in which they say they’re going to be lowkey for their first public appearance as a couple, and then he wins the award she’s presenting

pairing: eminem x female!reader

warnings: swearing

masterlist (one, two)

It was hard to keep my hands off of Marshall as we walked down the red carpet. It was our first public outing as a couple, but Marshall wasn’t very into PDA so we had decided to keep it somewhat lowkey. It seemed like a good idea in theory, until Marshall did the unthinkable and showed up dressed in a suit. How am I supposed to not jump his bones when he looks damn fine in a suit?

Every time I so much as glanced at him the paparazzi would go crazy. So many flashing lights that eventually I was seeing spots. It was hard to keep smiling when I couldn’t even see ahead of me.

Marshall put an arm around my waist - which of course led to more flashing lights - and walked me off the red carpet into the venue. The minute I walked through the doors into the dimly lit room, it really was like I couldn’t see. I had to take a minute to let my eyes adjust to the sudden light change.

“Weird how quickly I go from basically a nobody on a red carpet to a hot commodity just because I have attractive arm candy,” I joked.

A half smile tugged at Marshall’s lips. “You were never a nobody. Not to me anyways.”

“Awe, that’s so sweet it’s kind of gross,” I teased.

This earned me an actual laugh as Marshall pulled me in for a kiss. Without any prying eyes around, we felt free to actually be a couple.

We engaged with some others in the industry, including those Marshall considered to be close friends of his. I felt out of place at this music award show as an actress who was still trying to become more than just a side character in the movies she starred in. I was grateful to have Marshall there to help me through it.

When we took our seats as the show was starting, Marshall reached over to take my hand. “Are you okay?”

I shrugged. “Nervous I think. Which I shouldn’t be because it’s just me announcing an award, but it’s my first time on an award show stage for any reason, and it’s a pretty big award.”

“And it’s one I’m nominated for.”

I looked over at Marshall with wide eyes. “What?!”

“You didn’t know?”

I shook my head. Now I felt so much more nervous. What if I pulled a Steve Harvey and said the wrong name because I wanted Marshall to win? Or what if he actually did win but everyone thought I said he did because we were dating? I tried to focus on the stage ahead of me but my heart was beating so fast that my vision was starting to get blurry. I felt warm, like I was sweating, which made me worry that my makeup was starting to run. I was going to look disgusting with my makeup running on live television.

Sensing my new found nervousness, Marshall gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.

“Hey, look at me.” I glanced over to meet his gaze. “It’s going to be okay. You’ve rehearsed this speech so much that you can say it without the teleprompter. It’s not going to be any different just because I’m nominated. If I win, you give me the award and I do a speech. If I don’t win, you give the award to whoever does and they make a speech. It’s not a big deal, (Y/N), don’t worry too much about it.”

I wished I could’ve just let my fear rush from my body, but it was still there. Before I could say anything else, the lights went down and the show officially started.

I tried to just sit and enjoy the show but it was hard when I had my upcoming presenter role looming over me. Of course, it was one of the last awards of the show, so I had to sit there and let my nerves build as the suspense for the winner of the award grew as well.

Every now and then Marshall would give my hand another squeeze and I would calm down for that split second. Having him by my side helped a lot, but every time I remembered that he might be the recipient of the award I became nervous again.

Finally, it was my time to take the stage. They passed me the envelope with the name of the winner and motioned for me to take the stage. I plastered a smile on my face as my name was called and I walked onto the stage. I hoped the cameras couldn’t pick up my shaking, and I really hoped my shaking wouldn’t make my voice sound as bad as I feared it would.

“This award can only go to the best of the best,” I started, glancing at the prompter in front of me to make sure I was saying the words correctly. “The person who worked the hardest and had the best payoff with their release. The competition this year is fierce, and it was hard to narrow it down to just these five artists, as there have been so many amazing works of art released this past year. It has been an even harder choice to pick who of them all is the best, although I might be bias in saying I’ve already chosen my favorite.”

The audience chuckled at my improved addition to the speech.

“Ladies and gentlemen, here are your nominees.”

I watched the video that played of the nominated artists. My heart skipped a beat when Marshall came up, a few clips from the music videos he had filmed playing in a short montage. He had worked so hard on his latest album, every part of me hoped that he would be the winner I was announcing.

As the video came to an end, I turned back to face the audience (and the cameras) to announce the winner.

“And the award goes to...”

I tried not to let my slight fear show as I fumbled with the envelope for a moment. I started to worry that I wouldn’t even be able to open it and completely embarrass myself on live TV. I tried not to sigh with relief when the seal perfectly popped open and I was able to pull the card out. The smile on my face had to have given away the winner before the words were even out of my mouth.

“Eminem!”

The crowd cheered and stood from their seats. A camera found Marshall, who was standing from his seat and hugging Paul and Denaun before making his way to the stage. I couldn’t help but smile proudly at him as I extended the award I was holding - his award - to him.

I was taken by surprise when he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me in for a kiss. It was brief since he had an award to accept, but it was enough to make my head spin, the way his kisses usually did.

When he pulled away I was still so stunned that I almost forgot to give him his award. I could see him trying to hold back a laugh as he took it from my hands and turned to the microphone.

“Thank you,” he said to the still cheering audience. For a minute I forgot there was anyone else in the room, and realizing so many people had watched that kiss made my cheeks heat up. “I’d like to thank my manager, Paul, who for some reason still backs me with everything I do and produce even when it pushes the boundaries a little too much. I also want to thank the good Doctor, who has been supporting me since day one and who has always believed in me and gave me this platform to make music and to push the boundaries that Paul has to deal with. My daughters, my biggest inspirations. And of course, I’d like to thank the beautiful lady who presented this award to me tonight. I may not show it publicly but I am my happiest when I’m with you and I cannot thank you enough for that.”

I blinked away the tears forming in my eyes as I clapped along with the audience. The music started playing as Marshall offered me his arm to walk me off the stage. I felt like I was floating on cloud nine as we walked down the stairs and backstage, away from the cameras and the thousands of people watching us, both in person and on TV.

We were greeted backstage by other presenters and winners who were still mingling and celebrating their wins. Marshall was congratulated and a few of the other presenters told me how well I did with my presentation. I was proud of myself for getting through it, but I was more proud that I didn’t go completely airheaded after Marshall kissed me.

When we finally got away from the large amount of people, Marshall pulled me in for another kiss.

“So much for keeping it lowkey, huh?” I teased when I pulled away.

“I was caught up in the moment,” he said with a shrug, but I wasn’t completely convinced.

“That speech was uncharacteristically sweet,” I said. “For your public persona anyways. I figured you’d keep it short and sweet and maybe get the show into a little bit of trouble with an unplanned curse word.”

He chuckled. “Well normally that would be how things go. But I meant what I said during my speech: you make me the happiest I’ve ever been. When you said my name I just couldn’t help but feel this unfamiliar surge of happiness and excitement at winning. You know I don’t care about these types of award shows, but the fact that you presented this award to me made me care for just a second. I know I’ll be the talking point for the next few days because of this, but right now I don’t care all that much.”

Tears were welling in my eyes again as I pulled him back to me. “Shut up, you’re gonna ruin my makeup.”

His laugh filled my ears as he pulled me for another kiss. The happiness he said he felt coursed through my veins too. I couldn’t imagine being with anyone else in a moment like this.

When he pulled away he put his arm around me again and started to walk towards the door. “Let’s get out of here. I think I wanna celebrate my win with the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met.”

I smiled brightly at him. “I like the sound of that.”

[blessyourhondahurley]

Sparks Fly

The conclusion of yesterday's story. Dean performs at open mic night while Castiel swoons behind the counter.

Suptober prompt: Crossover Flufftober prompt: "You kept this?" Fictober prompt: "You’re making my head hurt." Inktober prompt: Forget

(Read on AO3)

The door closes behind the handsome man's departing back. Castiel tries desperately to look uninterested, busying himself with the dials on the front of the espresso machine. But he can't hide it: he's flustered, and he feels flushed heat creeping up his cheeks and across the back of his neck.

At the counter, Inias leans over the sign up sheet, then straightens again to crow, “Your future husband has a name! Dean Winchester, or whatever!” His normal, laconic tone has sharpened into something sarcastic, something with bite.

“Inias, please,” Castiel mutters, but his fellow clerk is relentless.

“Castiel Winchester. Mr. and Mr. Dean Winchester. The Messrs Winchester-Novak,” he singsongs, his mouth twisted into a nasty smirk.

“You're making my head hurt.” It's a feeble protest, which Inias gleefully ignores.

“Yours will be a June wedding, I think..”

Castiel groans, “What do I need to do to get you to forget about my... interest in that man?”

“Cover my next five clopens, and I'll never mention your pathetic crush again.”

“Done.”

~~~~~

That Tuesday is a particularly slow day at the store, which gives poor Castiel plenty of time to overthink. Inias had referred to his “pathetic crush,” an unfortunately apt turn of phrase. The man, Dean, is a regular customer at Eagle Eye, and Castiel is absolutely, pitifully besotted with him, and has been for months.

At first it was simple physical attraction. He's gorgeous, with a strong jaw, sparkling green eyes, and full, kissable lips. But it's Dean's literary taste that's got his head so completely turned around. He's in the store at least once a week, buying a book or two at every visit. His preferences run in particular to Vonnegut, Brautigan, and the Beat poets, but he's also taken home some Tolstoy, some Faulkner, a bit of LeGuin and VanderMeer... A few times, he's asked Castiel for a recommendation. He's bought every title Castiel has suggested, on the spot, and come back later to rave about each one.

There's a particularly lovely smile that comes across his face when he's talking about a good book. It's intoxicating to see. Castiel has wasted far too many of his idle hours lost in fantasies of what else he could do to bring that beautiful smile to light.

And now, this evening, Dean will be performing, right here in front of him, in this store. Castiel wonders what talent the man will display. Music? Dance? Poetry? Whatever he does tonight, surely it will be perfection.

~~~~~

Dean's performance is... Not perfection.

He's the fourth act of the night, right after Marv's weekly recitation of his latest mediocre poems. He stumbles and almost trips as he steps up to the microphone, both hands wrapped awkwardly around his guitar.

“Hi, my name's Dean,” he says. He's too loud, too close to the mic. He winces, then tries again, keeping his voice softer. “Sorry, um, hi. So... Wow, there's a lot of cameras in here.” He looks down and fusses with his guitar strap for a moment, takes a couple of deep breaths. “Look, I mean, I don't... I don't do... this? So, if I horribly mess up, and get really nervous, it's uh... Because I don't do this.”

The crowd is stocked with Tuesday-night regulars who have seen their share of nervous newbies. They clap and whistle in encouragement. Dean blanches at the sound.

“Here's the problem,” he says, wrapping a visibly trembling hand around the microphone stand. “I don't play, in front of people..? So, pretend you're not here.”

The crowd chuckles. Dean gives them a weak smile, then he chides, “Alright, shh, you're not supposed to be here.”

Another deep breath. He looks down at the neck of the guitar and carefully positions his fingers for his opening chord.

“Okay, here goes...”

The song he's chosen was a big enough crossover hit in its day that even Castiel, unfamiliar as he is with a lot of modern music, kind of recognizes it. It's a song about wanting someone, a plea to the object of an unrequited desire. Dean plays it stripped down, and slow. This is probably out of necessity; it's clear that he's a just a beginner on the guitar. His hands fumble at every chord change, and he struggles to keep the beat steady as he sings.

His voice, though... It's warm and honey-rich, and he packs the lyrics with all the longing a heart can hold. When he calls, “Meet me in the pouring rain, kiss me on the sidewalk,” Castiel's toes curl in his sneakers with the strength of his longing to do exactly that.

As the song goes on, Dean relaxes a bit. He even manages to stop staring down at his hands and look  out at the audience a little. Across the crowded room, somehow, his gaze finds Castiel's and locks on, and there's that smile, the one he dreams about far too often.

Dean sings, “Get me with those blue eyes, baby, as the lights go down.” Castiel knows the lyrics well enough to recognize that Dean's made a change to the color, and to understand what that might mean. For the first time since the start of his “pathetic crush,” he feels a stirring of hope. He smiles back, and quietly sings along.

~~~~~

On their first anniversary, Cas shows Dean a video of the performance. At the sound of the first clunky chord, Dean's pawing at the screen, too embarrassed to look directly at it. Cas laughs and holds the phone out of his boyfriend's reach.

Dean groans and covers his eyes. “Ohhh my God, Cas! You kept this? Where did you even get it??”

“The store records all of the open mic nights. Sometimes we use clips on our social media, with permission. Sometimes the performers request copies for their own use.” He kisses Dean on the nose. “Sometimes they're treasured mementos of unforgettable nights.”

Dean leans in and kisses him back, full on the mouth. Then he pulls away and smiles. “That was an unforgettable night. The first of many. I'm hoping for many, many more. But please never make me watch that again. I can't believe how bad I used to be.”

“You were never bad, my love,” Cas corrects him. “You were just starting out. I enjoyed listening to you then, and I enjoy listening to you now that you're more skillful.”

“Yeah?” Dean asks, and his boyfriend nods. “Well, I think you're really gonna like the song I wrote for you last night. It's so much better than that t-swizzle cover.”

He grabs his guitar, and Cas settles back to listen.

[okaywa]

*Kiss Me Sweetly

Tendou x f!reader 

Angst with a happy ending, excessive fluff, friends to lovers, smut, dry humping 

4.4k words

The demon of Shiratorizawa had crimson hair and eyes to match. He was tall, composed of long limbs and sharp angles. His eyes were perpetually half-lidded and droopy with dark bags. He had a crooked smile made up of pointed teeth and a silver tongue that frequently got him in trouble with the school staff and students alike. 

He wasn’t actually a demon, a nickname branded to him by cruel children in elementary school. He wasn’t a monster either, despite popular belief. Although he had learned to embraced his title as the Guess Monster, even learned to love the respect that came with it from his opponents. In the end, however, Tendou Satori was just tired. Tired of the people at this school, tired of the nicknames that stalked him though the halls, and tired of you.

You, who never stooped to your peers level with half-brained insults and nicknames. You, who had smiled and said hello every time you saw him since elementary. You, who encouraged him to pursue volleyball, the only thing he felt powerful doing. You, who sat through his seemingly endless chatter with an interested smile. You, you, you and your kind smiles, soft words, and gentle curves. 

It wasn’t until high school that you started sitting with him at lunch. Eventually lunch transitioned into getting coffee every Monday after school. Then the coffee hangouts progressed to going to your house and reading the latest manga he was interested in every Friday. 

Each moment with you was a breath held in anticipation for the other shoe to finally drop. When were you just going to get it all over with and stop acting like you cared about him? Enough of the pity, please. No more shared lunches. Stop giving him your notes when he fell asleep in class. He was exhausted for you. 

Sometimes he let himself believe you. That you actually cared for him and enjoyed being around him. He convinced himself that your laughter was genuine when he teased you and made sardonic jokes about the world. He could go months relishing in your friendship before remembering it wasn’t real. 

Being around him certainly didn’t benefit you. He had heard plenty of the rumors and he know you did as well. 

I heard that he’s so controlling she’s too scared to actually leave him. 

We aren’t even together, he thought viciously.

Well, I heard that she only puts up with him because she feels bad. Seriously, who actually wants to hang around that freak . 

He wanted to scream that he knew. He knew you pitied him. He wanted you to leave but you never got the goddamn hint. You stuck by his side all through high school and now it was the last day and you were still here. Sitting next to him, sharing his earbuds. You could’ve walked home ages ago, but you were adamant about waiting at the train station until he got picked up.

“You can stop now,” he said, setting you free. 

“Hm?” You looked up from your phone. “Oh, do you want to play your music?”

“No, you can leave,” he snapped. “No one is looking at you anymore; no one cares. You don’t have to be here with me.”

“Tendu-chan, I don’t understand,” your pretty lips were turned down in a frown. 

“I don’t need you,” he lied. “You don’t have to be here to make me feel better. It’s over, we move on now and we forget about it.” 

“What are you talking about?” Your voice was soft, confused. 

“I don’t need your pity,” he said, finally getting the words off his chest after all these years. “I know you only stuck around because you felt bad for me. But I don’t need it anymore, high school is over. I don’t need you to hang out with me because you feel bad.”

His eyes were closed, and he relished in the peace of finally, finally spitting it out. 

“Is that what you think?” 

His eyes snapped open. You were angry? You should be happy. Happy you finally have an excuse to get away. A clear exit.

“Fuck you, Tendou,” you stood up, throwing his headphones at his chest. “That’s what you really think of me? That I just pity you? You think I’m so shallow that I hung around you to make myself feel better? Is that what you think?”

You stopped, sucking in a steadying breath while he stared up at you in shock. Yes, that’s exactly what he had thought. 

“I-” 

“No,” you cut him off swiftly. “You’ve said enough. I’m leaving. You can talk to me when you get your head out of your ass.” 

Tendou watched you walk away until you disappeared around a corner. He had been wrong? But he almost always guessed right… right?

Had he really been so consumed by his self-loathing that he had misread the intentions of the one person who cared the most for him? 

“Oh,” he let his head fall back against the bench and stared at the bright sky until his eyes watered. 

Not many had witnessed it, but the demon of Shiratorizawa was indeed just a person. A person with emotions, as disguised as they may be. He hid behind this personality he’d crafted. The carefree, loud, perpetually cheerful demeanor that protected him from his peers and their wicked words. It had never protected him from you though. You saw through it as if it were glass, just a window to his misery. 

“Oh,” he said again, standing up slowly. “I see now.” 

He boarded the train and rested his forehead against the window, watching dark storm clouds creep over the city with the silence of a cat stalking its prey. 

How fitting, for it to rain, he thought as the first drops splattered against the window. 

—-

After three sharp knocks on your door, Tendou stepped back and held his peace offering close to his chest. He knew you were home because your rust bucket of a Toyota was parked in the driveway. His fingers tapped the plastic bag impatiently and it was nearly impossible to ignore the way his heart jumped when the door cracked open slowly.

“Ah, I see you’ve managed to pull your head free. Was it difficult?” You asked flatly, leaning against the doorframe with your arms crossed.

“Immensely, took Wakatoshi three bottles of lube,” he said earnestly. 

You cracked a small smile, eyes flitting to the plastic bag in his arms. You raised an eyebrow as a silent question. 

“Can I come in?” He asked. “It’s awfully cold out here, you don’t want me to catch a cold now, eh Y/n-chan?”

“Maybe I do,” you said, stepping aside to let him in. 

“How cruel of you!” Tendou gasped, pressing a hand to his chest in feigned offense. 

He stepped into your entrance way and you were quickly reminded just how tall he was. His lankiness only made him look taller as he loomed over you, eyebrows drawn together in determination. You stared back, suddenly nervous in the presence of your friend.

“I’m sorry for misjudging you,” he said, intense red eyes still locked on yours. “It was wrong and unfair of me to make such harsh assumptions.” 

You weren’t used to him being this serious. He was always intense but the two combined were overwhelming. 

“Let’s sit down and eat whatever you’ve brought,” you said, stepping around him to walk to the kitchen. “Then we can talk, yeah?”

He followed so close he accidentally kicked your heels a few times and you could still feel the heat of his gaze on the back of your neck. He set the bag on the table and unpacked the to-go containers. 

“It’s from that place you really like,” he said. “By the school.”

“Oh, thank you, Tendou.” You accepted the chopsticks he held out. 

Tendou gasped dramatically. “Such formalities, Y/n-chan!”

“Tendu-chan, then,” you corrected yourself.

“Much better,” he said praisingly.

He sat down across from you, eating only a few pieces of chicken before setting his utensils aside. He didn’t say anything, even as you ate your fill. It was clear he was antsy, fingers tapping a staccato beat against the table. 

When you finally slid your plate to the side he scooted forward, resting his face in his palms expectantly. 

“I forgive you,” you said simply. 

Tendou’s signature manic grin took over his entire face and his long fingers tapped a rapid beat on the table in his excitement. Oh, how he had missed you during the two weeks he spent giving you space. He had never realized how much he enjoyed your presence until it abruptly disappeared. Tendou’d also had a few other revelations during the separation.

He said your name softly, so at odds with his typically loud demeanor. He was his most authentic self in your presence, he had come to realize. You looked up from packing up the remaining food and tilted your head. 

“We are still friends, right?” He asked with a tinge of nervousness. 

“Were we ever?” You countered, not angrily. 

“Yes,” Tendou answered quickly, reaching out to grab your hand. “Of course, it was my mistake to ever think otherwise.”

You looked down at his hand on yours and ran a finger over the wrappings he kept on his two fingers. He watched you keenly, fingers twitching at your delicate touch. 

“My, my,” he said with a sly grin. “What is little Y/n thinking about?”

You shot him a bland look, dropping his hand pointedly. “You’re disgusting.”

Just like that any tension between the two of you vanished with his boisterous laugh. He wiggled his wrapped fingers in your face enticingly until you smacked them away.

“I brought the latest chapter Shonen Jump,” he said animatedly, reaching into his bag. “I thought we could read it together.” 

It was a Friday, after all.

“Sure, let me put this food up,” you said. 

Tendou grinned eagerly, bouncing to his feet while you brought the food to the fridge; already talking a mile a minute about a different manga he had just finished. You couldn’t stop the smile that worked its way onto your face, you loved his aimless rambling. Where you more reserved, Tendou was outgoing and could fill any gaps in the conversation you left behind. It worked well for the two of you. 

While watching Tendou chatter away you wondered if you had been too harsh at the train station. Clearly there was an underlying insecurity that convinced him you didn’t care about him. Was it his history of bullying? Before you had really gotten to know Tendou, it was hard to imagine him as anything but carefree and untouchable. You knew he would tell you eventually. Perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow. Over the past few years you had found the best way to get Tendou to open up was to say nothing at all, his rambling always ended up on touchy topics anyways.

Tendou held out an earbud for you once you sat down on the couch beside him. You placed it in your ear and smiled when you recognized the playlist the two of you had put together. The only time Tendou could stay quiet longer than five minutes was when he was reading. You settled into the familiar routine, sitting close to him while he angled the pages towards you so you could both read. Tendou was such a fast reader you were forced to learn to speed read as well in order to keep up with him. Now, you were perfectly synchronized.

 Today, however, he couldn’t stop glancing over at you. Ugh, he suddenly so acutely aware of everything you did. Every time you shifted to see a panel or readjusted the earbud he felt his heart pickup and he was too aware of every movement he made. His limbs felt too long and awkward, his face felt too warm, and oh my god did he brush his teeth this morning? 

Tendou swallowed nervously, for once relieved for the chapter to finally end so he could put some space between your bodies. He stood up abruptly, wincing when the earbud was ripped out of his ear. 

“Ow,” you held your ear. “Is something wrong, Tendu-chan?”

“Of course not, dearest Y/N,” he put on his widest grin, bowing down and extending his hand. Fuck, your nickname for him was not helping his nerves. “I was just wondering if you would like to accompany me to the bathroom.”

“Ew, what is wrong with you?” You smacked his hand away. 

“Well, you did ask,” he chirped cheerfully before prancing down the hall. 

You sighed, replacing the earbud while settling into a more comfortable position. After several minutes you realized Tendou had yet to return. Frowning, you stood up and went to the bathroom to find the door still closed. 

“Tendu-chan?” You knocked softly. “Everything okay?”

“Oh, Y/N,” Tendou popped his head out from your bedroom. “I was looking at your photo wall.”

You raised your eyebrows, following him inside. “Yeah? I have quite a few.”

It had been a hobby of yours to have at least three pictures of each of yours friends on your wall since elementary school. Since you started hanging out with Tendou at the beginning of high school, his section had amassed a great deal of photos. 

“I forget you’ve never been in here,” you smiled, watching Tendou closely.

You had never seen such an open expression on his face before. His eyes flicked over the photos of him taped to your wall quickly, as if he couldn’t decide which to focus on. 

“I didn’t realize,” he said softly.

“Hm?”

He tilted his head back, sliding his eyes to look at you. “I didn’t realize I still had a safe place, a paradise.” 

“You’ll always be welcome here, Satori,” you reached out and squeezed his bicep. “I promise.” 

“I feel so blind, Y/N,” he closed his eyes, head still tipped back as he took in a slow, study breath. “I thought I had lost everything when volleyball ended. My friends, my passion…” 

Crimson eyes locked on your own, the intensity of them so startling you sucked in a sharp breath. 

“But I still have you,” Tendou said, slowly turning his body to face yours. “Right?”

“Of course,” you answered.

“Good,” he nodded. “Good.” 

His head turned back towards your wall of photos, fingers reaching out to snag at the bottom of one. You looked closer and saw it was a picture of the two of you at one of his games. You had jumped onto his back to hug him and your friend had barely managed to get the shot. The blurry grins on your faces were bright and excited.

“Can I?” He asked, tugging lightly on the corner. 

“Take it, I can print a new one.” You said. 

He peeled it off carefully and flashed a grin at you. 

“Thank you,” he reached out, placing his hand on the top of your head, ruffling your hair messily. 

You knocked his hand away and brushed your hair back into place with a huff. Tendou laughed loudly, sprawling backwards onto your bed with a thump. He looked at the picture once more before sliding it into his pocket. He folded his hands behind his head and looked up at you with his signature sleepy smirk. 

“Make yourself comfortable, I guess,” you said. 

“Aw, you’re so considerate,” Tendou crooned, stretching his arms out until his shirt road up to reveal his toned stomach. 

You glanced down at the exposed skin and blushed, looking away quickly. Tendou noticed, of course, and couldn’t stop the mischievous smirk on his face as he reached out and grabbed your hand. 

“Tendou-“

“Oh, hush,” he chastised lightly. “I’m just getting you to sit. This is your bed, after all.”

You sat down on the edge, watching as he pulled your hand to his chest. He examined your fingers faintly before weaving his fingers with yours. When your fingers spasmed nervously he gripped them tighter. 

“I had a lot of time to think,” he sighed, eyes still fixated on your joined hands, before elaborating. “While we were apart.”

You stayed quiet, waiting for him to continue with bated breath. 

“I like you, Y/N,” his eyes seemed to bore straight into your soul. 

“Tendu-chan-“ You started to pull your fingers away.

One second you were sitting at the edge of the bed and the next you were pinned beneath Tendou’s body. His breath tickled your lips and his hands kept your arms above your head by the wrists. 

“Please, let me say this,” he pleaded, eyes switching between yours and your lips. 

“You made high school bearable for me,” he said, pushing up until he was knelt between your legs instead of having you pinned. His hands rested on either side of your ribs. “I didn’t appreciate you enough at the time but-“

His fingers clenched in the sheets. “I do now, I appreciate you so much. Everyone else thought I was a monster, demon, whatever. It doesn’t matter anymore but when it did you were the only one who made it all easier. Does that make sense?”

“What about Ushijima? Your teammates?”

Tendou chuckled, letting his head droop between his shoulders. “Of course them, silly Y/N. They didn’t really have a choice, hm? I was on the team, you don’t really get to pick who’s there. You went out of your way to befriend me, to make sure I was okay before you even knew me.” 

You looked up at him, ignoring his little sniffle and the way he rubbed his nose against his sleeve subtly. You sat up slowly while Tendou watched you closely with his head tilted. 

“You’re my best friend, you know that right?” You asked softly. 

He nodded. 

“You will always be welcome in my home and I promise I will always want you around. You’re right, whatever those people used to say about you doesn’t matter. They were needlessly cruel and I wish I could’ve stopped them from hurting you,” you reached up, cupping his cheek gently. “You’re important, Tendu-chan. You’re caring, funny, and genuine. I love hearing about your favorite anime and your coolest blocks. I really do.” 

“Ohhh, is little Y/N crying for me?” He cooed, using his sleeve to wipe away the tears gathering on your lashes. “Sweet thing.” 

“I’m serious,” you said, letting him wipe your cheeks. 

“I know,” he squinted at you. “Will you let me try something?”

From the way his crimson eyes kept flickering down to your lips, you could easily guess what he wanted to try. You nodded mutely, breath catching excitedly as his face drew closer. 

The first touch of his lips felt like a static shock. Your eyes fluttered close as he pushed a little closer, experimentally moving his lips against yours. He let out a low groan into your mouth, pushing forward until you were laying down again. The hands that had been by your sides now moved to tangle in your hair and cup your face while his hips settled comfortably between your thighs. 

The first brush of his tongue across your bottom lip sent fire licking up your spine which eventually settled as a fluttering warmth in your stomach. Your hands came up to grab his arms, nails leaving shallow crescents on the pale skin of his biceps through his shirt. Parting with a nip to your bottom lip, Tendou licked his lips as he looked down at you. 

The sight of your flushed cheeks and kiss-swollen lips sent a thrill of exhilaration through his chest. 

“Well?” He asked, a cocky grin smeared across his lips. 

It was like you were seeing Tendou in a brand new light. Before he was just your friend. You always knew he was good-looking but now, you were supremely aware of his shapely lips, cut jaw, and broad shoulders. His hips between yours was as intoxicating as the elated look on his face. 

“Stop looking so smug,” you huffed, pulling him down to your lips again. 

Laughing softly, Tendou happily obliged you in another sensuous kiss that left you dizzy and breathless. He swallowed your gasp when he experimentally rolled his hips into yours.

He pulled back, eyes lidded with a dazed smile, and tilted his head. “Is that okay?”

You nodded eagerly, leaning up to capture him in another kiss. With a sly smirk he pulled out of your reach, head tilted expectantly. 

“Yes, Tendou, now please get back to it,” you snapped, secretly appreciative of his need for clear consent. 

“There we go,” he murmured, stooping back down with a thorough roll of his hips. 

A groan was shared between both of your open mouths as his hips fell into a steady rhythm, slowly undulating against you. Sighing out his name, you let your head fall back while Tendou trailed kisses across your jaw and down to your throat. 

“Fuck, Y/N, you’re so perfect,” he murmured breathlessly, leaving wet, open-mouth kisses down the column of your throat. “Feel so good, hah-“

 His clothed erection lined up perfectly with your core, sending searing electricity flickering through your stomach. Your hands went from gripping his arms to tangling in his hair, tugging lightly at the crimson strands. 

“Haah-ah,” you moaned at a particularly accurate thrust that had his entire length dragging along your clit. “Satori, please.” 

“Oh, fuck,” Tendou sighed into your ear, pushing aside your hair so he could hide his face in the warmth of your neck. “You’re so hot, gonna make me cum in my pants. Keep making those pretty noises for me, sweet thing.”

You nodded along eagerly, pulling his head away from your neck so your could attach your lips again. Steady thrusts began to lose their rhythm as both of you got closer to completion. Tendou let out a throaty groan, wrapping his lean arms around you tightly so he could rub his hard-on against your core with more force. 

“Satori, ah!” You cried out at the stimulation. 

He clashed his mouth against yours messily, teeth clicking while he gasped against your lips. 

“M’ close,” he clenched his eyes shut. 

“Me too, me too,” you whined, hips writhing up against his desperately. “Satori!” Tendou practically growled at that, mouth claiming yours assertively. You shouted his name again while your orgasm wracked through your body, leaving you sensitive and tingly as Tendou chased his own release. He came with a low moan into your mouth, hips rolling gently through the aftershocks. 

When he finally slowed to a stop he went completely slack on top you. Tendou mouthed gently at your neck, fingers petting your hair as you both caught your breath. You released his hair and unclenched your stiff fingers a few times before wrapping your arms around his shoulders. 

Curious hands slowly pushed beneath your shirt, tenderly exploring your body while Tendou continued to leave lazy, open-mouthed kisses on your neck. His handsiness didn’t bother you since you were also busy tracing the muscles of his back. 

You whined when he landed another quick kiss before pushing off of you. 

“I gotta clean up,” he said, darting down to kiss you again. 

That reminded you of the uncomfortable dampness in your own pants so you got up as well. You found a pair of sweatpants that he could fit into from your brother and set them by the bathroom door for him. By the time you came back from changing he was already lounging in your bed again, your brother’s sweatpants an inch or two too short  above his ankles. 

Tendou’s expression brightened when you walked in, his eyes wide to match his grin as you climbed in to lay next to him. He was quick to wrap his arms around you again. 

“Well?” He asked. 

“Hmm?” You responded, face pressed against his shoulder. 

“What are we now?” He leaned back so he could see your face. 

You stretched languidly, tossing a leg over his hips and an arm over his chest before responding. 

“What do you want this to be?” 

“I want you to be mine,” he answered honestly. 

“Then I’m yours,” you said simply, kissing the hinge of his jaw. 

“My girlfriend,” he said adoringly, twisting to his side so you were facing each other.

You laughed softly, letting him cup your cheeks so he could pull you into an unhurried kiss. His tongue pressed past your lips to sweep along your teeth and slide hotly against yours. 

“I’m pretty great at apologies, huh?” He boasted. 

“Oh, shut up,” you groaned, pushing him away by his forehead. 

Tendou let you shove his face away with a quiet giggle before brushing your hand away so he could attack your neck with more kisses. 

“You better not be leaving marks,” you threatened halfheartedly, too caught up in the addicting sensation of his lips on your body to be serious. 

Tendou eyed a particularly red spot, pressing a light kiss to it. “Of course not, baby.” 

“That didn’t sound too convincing.”

“Well… it might fade,” Tendou circled the spot with his finger. “I kinda like it.”

“Satori!”

“Whaaat?” He crooned. “It lets everyone know you’re mine.” 

“Ugh, you creep,” you murmured, accepting a soft kiss. 

Tendou giggled cheerfully, squeezing you closer to him affectionately. He left a flurry of kisses across your cheeks and nose, sighing happily. 

“I love this,” his hands roved over your body. “Getting to touch and kiss you as much as I want.” 

“Mm, me too.”

Tendou’s lean body was beautiful, so was his blush when you informed him of this. He groaned and hid his face in the crook your neck. 

“I’m serious!” You insisted, pulling his face from your neck so you could look at him.

“I know you are, thank you,” he mumbled, avoiding your eyes. 

“Aww, are you embarrassed?”

Tendou scoffed. “Tch, of course not. I’m a catch, a total babe.”

Laughing, you let him bite playfully at the hinge of your jaw for a moment before shoving him away so he couldn’t leave another mark. Tendou settled down and was happy to let you brush your fingers through his hair until it lost it’s shape and started to fall over his forehead. 

“Mmm, sleepy,” he sighed, practically purring as you massaged his scalp. 

“Go to sleep then.” 

He hummed, twisting his body until he was on his stomach with half of his body draped over yours. You smiled warmly, of course Tendou was a clingy sleeper. 

[dreamwritesimagines]

Twisted 25 - The Family Dinner [Spencer Reid x Reader]

A.N.: Thank you so much for your wonderful support my loves! Here’s the next chapter, I hope you will like it as well, and please let me know what you think of it! ❤❤ Ily, kisses! ❤❤❤

Series Masterlist

Warnings: Murder, serial killers, violence, manipulation, mentions of sex, drinking, smoking.

Word Count: 5300

Summary: Family time can be chaotic.

Sharing secrets was difficult, but sharing secrets about one’s past was quite possibly one of the most difficult things that a person could do with who they loved. You knew how difficult it was for Spencer to talk about his past with you, but he stood by his word and told you absolutely everything, with nothing to hide. By the time you finished that conversation, it was almost dawn and yet you didn’t feel tired at all.

After that night, something changed but it wasn’t a bad change like Spencer feared.

You felt even closer to him, if such a thing was possible. In the following week, your relationship was better than ever-

Well.

Until now.

“I don’t believe this,” you shook your head, “I just… I refuse to believe this. After everything we’ve been through, I don’t even want to believe you’d put yourself in harm’s way and betray me like this. I get that you have no regard for your happiness, but doing this?” you ran a hand over your face, “This is too much, Spencer. You have no idea what you’re walking into, what kind of danger that’s going to be waiting there to ruin you!”

Spencer just raised his brows, then looked between the two ties he was holding up.

“So that’s a no to the blue one?”

“No to this whole thing!” you let out a groan, falling back to the bed, “No to this dinner with my family nonsense!”

He chuckled at your dramatics as you huffed out.

“Don’t you think maybe you’re worried about the wrong thing?” he asked, “You’re also meeting your father today.”

“But we know my father is a sadistic cruel demon sent to earth to make everyone’s life miserable,” you pointed out, keeping your eyes on the ceiling, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but my father isn’t the only dangerous person in my family.”

“It’s just a dinner.”

“No, that’s what they want you to think,” you insisted, sitting up in bed, “Before you know it, they invite you to our place by the lovely countryside, and you’ll walk in thinking it’s just like any other place, there are wolves howling outside and-“

“Why are you giving me the plot of Dracula right now?”

“Because that’s what they are!” you exclaimed, “They’re like vampires! Have you ever wondered why my sister was named Mina? Dracula’s Mina!”

“Your mother loves horror books?”

“Spencer you can’t ignore the signs!” you insisted as he started tying his tie, a small grin pulling at his lips, “They’ll- they’ll suck the life out of you! By the time the dinner is over, you will be begging to see the sunlight again, and you will never be able to. Figuratively speaking.”

“Sweetheart, I’ve already met all of them,” he said patiently and you felt your heart melt, “In case you forgot.”

“Yes, and do you remember how that went?” you asked, “Nolan threatened you, my mother treated you like she was going to hire you and questioned you about everything, and Mina… Mina is a warning by existence.”

“Kenzie was nice though.”

“Yeah, she’s the only good person in our family,” you muttered, then turned your head when you felt his glances on you. “What?”

“Nolan is a part of your family?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” you scrunched up your face and grabbed your lip liner and lipstick to walk to the mirror, uncapped it and started applying it, “I’m going to have a billionaire stepfather who looks like a puppy around my mother— that’s not the point.” You put the lipstick into your purse and went to sit down on the bed again while he ran his fingers through his curls as if trying to keep them under control, “I just don’t want you to change your mind because my family doesn’t know how to act normal.”

“Change my mind about what?”

“About this,” you motioned between you and that was more than enough to make him turn his head, his brows furrowed. “I love them, but they’re going to be overly prying, overly dramatic, overly….everything and the next thing we know—“

“That’s never going to happen,” he approached you to crouch down so that he could look at you better, then reached out to entwine his fingers with yours, “That’s why you were so nervous about this?”

You pursed your lips, heaving a sigh and shrugged silently.

“Do you remember what you said to me a couple of days ago, that night?” he asked, “How trust works both ways?”

“You already know almost everything about my past.”

“That’s not it,” he shook his head, “This is about our present, and future.”

“Or lack thereof,” you commented dryly, making him chuckle.

“Do you seriously believe that?”

“They can be a little intimidating.”

“I’ll be fine,” he assured you, “And no matter what happens tonight, or on dinners to come with-“

“Social vampires.”

“With your family,” he corrected you, “It won’t change anything. I promise.”

You cupped his cheek, running your fingertips over his slight stubble and he turned his head to place a kiss into your palm, nuzzling there.

“Fine,” you murmured, “Let’s go see my sadistic demon father then. Should be enough of a practice for tonight.”

                                              ***

When you and Spencer got to the prison your father was held in, Luke was already by the hallway, waiting for you.

“Hey,” he said, “He’s going to be ready in five.”

You nodded, “Okay.”

“And don’t worry, after you guys are done here, I’m taking him to bullpen and he will leave at 7 p.m. latest. Rossi promised, even if there’s a dead body he’s gonna attend the dinner tonight.”

You looked up at Spencer, “Wait, there was a possibility of you not attending if someone ends up dead?”

“I mean if there’s a case…”

“Please don’t kill someone so that you guys can avoid this dinner,” Luke pointed out and you made a face at him, “We took you off our suspects list way too soon.”

“Hilarious,” you deadpanned and one of the guards opened the door.

“He’s ready.”

“I’ll be behind the glass if you two need anything.” Luke said and Spencer squeezed your hand as if trying to assure you everything would be alright.

“Come on,” he coaxed and you nodded, then took a deep breath and entered the interrogation room, Spencer following you. Your father looked up, then raised his brows.

“Oh look at you two, together again,” he said and you rolled your eyes, trying your hardest not to show how nervous you were. You took your seat across from him beside Spencer, and crossed your arms.

“John.”

“Dr. Reid.”

“So that’s why you haven’t had the time to come and see me lately,” your father motioned between you, “I can hardly say I approve but…”

“Oh that’s good. I’d probably kill myself if I did something you’d approve of.”

“Honey, you’re surrounded by CEOs and businessmen, and you went for an FBI agent?”

“What the fuck does that have to do with-”

“How much do you make monthly?” he asked, turning to Spencer, “I mean, I need to make sure-“

“Oh shut up, will you?” you cut him off, “He’s going to be hearing all that nonsense and more tonight, I don’t need this from you too.”

“Tonight?”

You and Spencer exchanged glances and he shrugged slightly, as if telling you to continue. A small smile pulled at your lips and you turned to your father.

“We’re having a family dinner tonight,” you said, “Naturally it doesn’t include you, so there’s one good thing about this bullshit, I guess.”

“Well, if it doesn’t include me you could hardly call it a family dinner.”

Your smile widened and you clicked your tongue,

“Nah, Nolan is going to be there so we’ll be fine. The whole family is there.”

Your father frowned, “Nolan?”

“Yeah,” you said, “Yeah, mom’s boyfriend.”

A silence fell upon the room as he stared at you for a couple of seconds,

“Your mother has a boyfriend now?”

You hissed in a breath,

“You’re right, boyfriend doesn’t exactly cut it,” you said, “He’s going to propose, so I guess we could call him mom’s future husband-“

“You’re lying,” he cut you off and you tilted your head.

“Am I though?”

“She wouldn’t get married,” he shook his head, “No way.”

A laughter escaped from your lips, “Why not?” you asked, “Because she loves you?”

“Yes she does.”

“The last time I checked, she called you a monster and was hoping you would die as soon as possible,” you stated, “Barely a love story.”

“Of course you wouldn’t understand,” he said through his teeth, “Your mother and I were in love, Petal. We still are, regardless of divorce, or this.” He motioned around the room and you blinked a couple of times, trying to wrap your mind around it.

“Jesus, you really are delusional.”

Spencer muttered your name to remind you to be careful, but you shook your head, keeping your eyes on your father.

“I’m pretty sure Nolan could buy this whole prison,” you motioned around, “I should suggest that, as a wedding gift.”

“They won’t get- hold on,” your father said, “Did you say Nolan? Nolan Yates?”

“Mm hm.”

“Nolan fucking Yates is going after my wife?”

“Ex-wife who hates your guts,” you corrected him and he gritted his teeth.

“I knew it,” he spat, “The first time I saw him at that gala, I saw the way he looked at your mother. They’re not getting married.”

“Okay then you lunatic,” you scoffed “I guess you need something to have delusions about while we’re out there moving on—“

It happened in a flash. One second you were talking, the next you were cut off as your father jumped on his feet, Spencer pushing you out of your chair to behind him almost automatically.

Then, something in Spencer’s eyes shifted.

He grabbed him by the arm, twisted it and slammed him down to the table in front of you, making you cover your mouth, your heart beating in your throat as the door opened with a bang and Luke and two guards came in.  Luke was the first to pull Spencer off of your father, telling him to let go while one of the guards grabbed you and pushed you out of the room before he made his way to your father still trying to get out of the handcuffs and lunge at them as if he was a man possessed. They dragged him out of the interrogation room to what you assumed was the hall that led to his cell while you stood still by the wall, trying your hardest to snap out of it but your mind was almost foggy.

“Excuse me,” you managed to say as you made your way to the bathroom, your hands still shaking. Thankfully no one was there, so you rested your palms on the sink, taking a deep breath before you turned on the tap, holding your hands under the ice cold water.

“Okay,” you muttered to yourself, “It’s fine. You’re fine. It happens, you have a fucked up family.”

You rolled your shoulders back, that crazy light in your father’s eyes flashing in your mind before you shook your head, exhaling slowly.

“Y/N?” Spencer’s voice reached inside as he knocked on the door, “Can I come in?”

Your heart was still pacing in your chest but you cleared your throat.

“Yeah,” you called out and he stepped inside, his lips pulled into a thin line as he offered you a small smile.

“Hi,” he said gently, still keeping his distance, standing by the now closed door. “Are you okay?”

You nodded, crossing your arms, adrenaline still pulsing through you, “Yeah, of course.”

“I’m sorry,” he said and you pulled your brows together.

“Huh?”

“That you had to see that,” he said, “I know I shouldn’t have slammed him down like that, but when he lunged at you, I just…. I saw red. I understand that it was hard to watch and I apologize—“

“Hold on,” you cut him off, gawking at him “You’re apologizing because you stopped that psycho from lunging at me?”

Spencer frowned as if he was confused at your own confusion, and nodded.

“Yeah. Human mind is very complex, so even if you think you hate him, it could’ve been difficult for you to see him hurt, not to mention it was me who did that. Jung has a theory that states—“

“Spencer,” You interrupted him again, “Lock the door.”

His frown deepened but he did as you asked, but he didn’t get to ask why when you walked to him and pulled him into a kiss, wrapping your arms around his neck and standing on your tiptoes. His hand cradled your head, a sigh of content escaping him but he pulled back when you grabbed his tie to loosen it.

“Wait, here?” he asked, “Y/N, this is a bathroom.”

“Yeah, I’m aware?”

“Do you have any idea how unsanitary this place probably is?”

“Oh, very unsanitary,” you stated, “On the other hand, though…”

You shrugged your shoulders and pulled your silk blouse over your head, so that he could see you in your bra. He stared at you for a moment and he swallowed thickly, his eyes snapping up to yours when you giggled.

“You make a good point,” he muttered before he pulled you into a kiss and walked you back to the sink.

                                                ***

Unfortunately, the rest of the day wasn’t that fun, especially when it was time to get to your mother’s house for the family dinner. You had insisted on picking Spencer up from work after you were done at your work, so that you would at least try to change his mind on the road again, but when you actually arrived to your mother’s place, he still looked like he wanted to do this.

“Last warning,” you said as Spencer looked up at the house, then twirled the flower bouquet in his hand, “Not too late to change your mind professor.”

“I’ll be fine, come on,” he offered his free hand and you took it, then both of you climbed the stairs to the front door.

“I’m a little nervous, in case you couldn’t tell.”

“You hummed the Darth Vader theme for the whole road,” Spencer reminded you, “I had a feeling you were nervous, yeah.”

“Abandon hope all ye enter here,” you quoted Dante as you both reached the door and Spencer scoffed a laugh.

“Ah we went from the den of vampires into the gates of hell, then?”

“Yeah! As Dante would put it, to a place we come where nothing shines.”

“I doubt he envisioned this when he was talking about the circles of hell.” He rang the doorbell and you let out a small whine, looking up at the dark sky.

“There are worse people than me out there,” you said as the footsteps came closer, “Why am I being subjected to—“

“Spencer!” your mother greeted him as she opened the door and you frowned.

“Since when do you answer the door?” you asked and she shot you a look before smiling at Spencer.

“Hello Ms. Knight.”

“Welcome, both of you!” she gasped at the flowers, “For me?”

“Oh—yes, of course.”

“They’re lovely, thank you!” she said and took them from him, “Come in, come in!”

“No I’m serious, did something happen to Tina? You never answer the door.”

“It’s nice to see you too sweetie, I see we started our dramatics on the way.” she kissed your cheek and you smiled.

“Hi mom.”

“Let me put these in a vase.”

“Spencer!” a gleeful scream rang in the hallway as your mother went to the kitchen and Lily threw herself at Spencer who crouched down as soon as he saw her “Hi!”

“Hi there! Whoa, you’re very strong!”

“Just in time for bedtime,” Kenzie walked into the hallway with a wine glass in her hand, “Hi guys.”

“I told mommy you’re a magician! And grandma, and Nolan too!” Lily counted with her fingers, “And I told them- I told them you can make coins disappear, and that you can do magic with paper, and then—“

“Bug, breathe,” you said, “Also, where’s my hug?”

Lily hastily rushed to you to hug you, then turned to Spencer as if she wasn’t interrupted while he just watched her with a fond smile on her face, listening intently to everything she was saying, and that warm feeling spread through your stomach again.

“And then I told Bobby I know a superhero, then he told me superheroes can’t be magicians but he’s wrong! Do you use magic to catch bad guys? Because if you do, I can help you with your superhero name!”

“Alright, auntie time.” you lifted her up into your arms as Spencer straightened up, “Sorry about that.”

“No, don’t,” Spencer shook his head, still smiling, “Please, I… she’s amazing.”

“Lily,” Kenzie said, “Bed time, come on.”

“Can you show me a magic trick please and thank you?” Lily said breathlessly and Spencer let out a laugh before turning to Kenzie.

“Is that okay?”

“Sure thing.”  

Spencer took out a coin from his pocket and held it in her sight, “Alright Lily, this is just a coin, right?”

“Don’t let him trick you,” you whispered to Lily who giggled, then nodded fervently after checking the coin.

“Yes.”

“Okay, keep your eyes on it,” Spencer showed it to her one more time before he put it into his palm, closed his palm and when he opened it, the coin was nowhere to be seen. Lily gasped, her jaw dropping and you couldn’t help but smile at her expression, her eyes shining with awe. You pressed a kiss on her cheek as Kenzie took her from you, and she let out a whine.

“But you all will have fun here!” she murmured, pouting and you heaved a sigh.

“Lily I can assure you, no one will have fun here.”

“Don’t be like that,” Kenzie shot you a look and smiled at Spencer. “She didn’t intimidate you, did she?”

“She tried,” Spencer said as you wrapped your arms around his torso and he kissed the top of your head, “Didn’t exactly work though.”

“For some reason,” you grumbled and Lily waved at you.

“Night night!”

“Good night!”

“I’ll see you later bug!” you said and entwined your fingers with Spencer’s, then pulled him to the dining room where Kenzie and Nolan were talking. Before you could even greet them, the sight of the dinner table caught your eye and you gawked at all the food there, your mother was definitely out of control and this was the proof of it.

There was enough food for a small army.

“Oh God please don’t tell me we’re going to have live music too,” you muttered and Mina raised her brows.

“Yeah, you might want to lower your expectations,” she shot a fake smile at Spencer, “But then again, that seems to be the theme of tonight. Hi Dr. Reid.”

You gritted your teeth, glaring at her and of course the jab didn’t escape Spencer’s attention, but he chose not to respond with the same sarcasm.

“Hi again.”

“Welcome, Dr. Reid,” Nolan smiled, “Y/N.”

“Hi Mr. Yates.”

“Nolan.”

“So this is where you grew up?” Spencer asked you as you led him away from them towards the library, and you nodded.

“Yeah,” you said, “Right over there me and Mina got into a fight and she pushed me into a vase.”

“Ouch.”

“Spent the next ten minutes begging me not to tell mom. Over there,” you pointed at the corner, “Used to be this huge Christmas tree every year.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and we used to have another room next to this, dad’s study, but after he was arrested and we all figured out how evil he was, mom grabbed a sledgehammer and smashed the—“

“Dinner is ready!” your mother called out and you heaved a sigh.

“Just saying, we could just tell them there’s been a murder.”

“You don’t give up, do you?” he smiled at you fondly and you shook your head, Kenzie entering the living room again.

“I’ve been called stubborn before.”

“Can’t imagine why,” he joked as he kissed you on the forehead and you turned to your family who was slowly taking their seats around the table, then both of you approached the table to sit down as well.

“I’m so glad we decided to have this dinner,” your mother clasped her hands, “It was about time, wouldn’t you say?”

Spencer smiled at her after thanking the maid who was filling his glass, “Thank you for inviting me Ms Knight.”

“Y/N was trying to make him change his mind,” Kenzie sang and your mother tilted your head.

“Spencer, I promise you we’re not as bad as my daughter tries to make you believe.”

“I’m not saying you’re bad,” you defended yourself, “I’m just saying you might be a little too much.”

“Define too much.”

You gawked at her and motioned at the table, making Spencer chuckle silently beside you.

“I really appreciate the effort you put into this,” he added, making your mother smile.

“Why thank you, Spencer,” she said and turned to Nolan, “Honey, Spencer works for the BAU as you know, you should introduce him to your friend.”

“Your friend?” Kenzie asked.

“The head of FBI,” Nolan said, “That’s a great idea. He might also help you in any position you want in the bureau.”

Spencer blinked a couple of times, as if he was at loss for words, then cleared his throat.

“Thank you,” he said “I already- I already have the position that I want though.”

“Ah for the future,” Nolan waved a hand and your mother sipped her drink.

“Yeah, now that it came up,” she said, “What are your future plans?”

“Mom,” you said warningly and Mina leaned back, looking between you with a smirk on her face.

“It’s just a question, don’t be so nervous,” she commented and Kenzie arched a brow at her.

“Mina.”

“No it’s okay,” Spencer pushed his hair behind his ear, “I um… I think I’d like to focus more on teaching.”

You lowered your glass, “Hm? Really?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, “I mean I do love BAU, they’re my family but seeing murders every single day, seeing all those victims, it becomes too much sometimes. But I love teaching already, so I think I will do that. In the future, I mean.”

“Oh how lovely. How about something other than your career though? In your future, would you say you’re planning to have chi—“

“New topic,” you cut her off quickly, “I saw dad today, and he knows you two are dating now.”

Your mother frowned but Nolan reached out to squeeze her hand, “It’s okay, he would learn eventually.”

“He actually thinks he is in love with you,” you told your mom and she scoffed.

“Please don’t say that, we’re eating,” she said, “I don’t want to feel nauseous.”

“It’s actually understandable that he’s under that disillusion.” Spencer said, making all of you turn to him, “Especially people in his situation, they feel this need to hold onto some outside world that’s waiting for them to get out of their minds. In a way, he hopes that because if he feels cut off from here, he will probably crash down. It’s very common in people who are imprisoned.”

“Well he can hope all he wants, I never want to see him again.”

“I’m sure Y/N doesn’t want to see him again either, but she’s not that lucky, thanks to FBI. What do you think about that, Spencer?” Mina asked, and Spencer looked at her.

“I think that’s a decision left to her.”

“Is it though?”

You narrowed your eyes. “Mina I need you to remember what I was like when we had dinner with Kenzie, and return the favor.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means shut the fuck up.”

“Y/N!” your mom gasped and Mina tilted her head.

“Ah well, excuse me if not all of us are in a forgiving mood unlike you.”

“None of that!” your mother said, “Both of you, honestly…”

“Spencer, you strike me as a whiskey guy,” Nolan said, attracting his attention, “I purchased a bottle of limited series in an auction in London the other day, would you like to try it after dinner?”

“Sure,” he nodded fervently and you held up your hand.

“I want to try that too. And what about that rum you were talking about the other day? Is it here too?”

“Sure thing.” Nolan snapped his fingers, “In fact, I know a great distillery, why don’t we visit there after dinner?”

You lifted your head, “That could be fun. Where?”

“Costa Rica.”

Spencer looked between you, “You—um, you want to go to Costa Rica after dinner?”

“We could take the jet. We’d be back before the dawn, obviously.”

“People,” you cleared your throat, “Has no one read the normalcy manual I e-mailed you the other day?”

“Yes but the manual said we could talk about drinks.” Nolan said and Spencer turned to you, frowning.

“Normalcy manual?”

“I just thought it’d be useful for tonight.”

“Oh it was very useful,” Mina commented, “Especially the footnote about murders, even if it was unnecessary. No one will joke about murder Y/N, we don’t want your boyfriend to arrest you again after—“ she was cut off as Kenzie kicked her leg under the table, and Spencer pursed his lips, as if he still felt guilty about that.

“I wasn’t in the city,” he said calmly, looking her dead in the eye, “I came back as soon as I heard, I was trying to get her out when you got there.”

“You don’t have to explain anything,” you said, “Mina , stop it will you?”

She didn’t even look like she heard you, “Get her out? Ah so that’s why I walked into that interrogation room when she was being hounded by your team?”

“Okay!” Kenzie said loudly, throwing the napkin on the table, “I’m so sorry, I just remembered something about Lily’s school that we missed. Babe, can you come with me to the kitchen for a moment please?”

Mina huffed out and put her glass down, then pushed her chair back and followed Kenzie to the kitchen.

“Honestly….” you downed your drink and motioned for another one but then Spencer squeezed your hand under the table, as if trying to assure you.

“I bet you miss the serial killers right now huh?” you mumbled and he tilted your head, humoring you.

“Drinks are better here,” he admitted and you tried to smile before you grabbed your cigarette pack from your purse.

“I’m gonna go to the backyard for a moment to smoke,” you said and your mother shot you a look.

“It’s dinner time, Y/N.”

“It’ll take like five minutes, tops,” you said and pushed your chair back, “I need some fresh air anyway. Spencer?”

“Sure, I’ll come with you,” he said and followed you down the hall until you reached the door to the backyard, opened it and stepped outside.

It was a silent night, as silent as it could be in the middle of the city. You looked up at the stars as you lit your cigarette, then heaved a sigh and leaned back to Spencer’s chest when he wrapped his arms around you, resting his chin on top of your head.

“I apologize on her behalf,” you said and he shook his head.

“You don’t have to,” he muttered, “She has a point. I should’ve… I should’ve been there, in that interrogation room.”  

You looked up at him, then reached up to run your fingernails over his slight scruff while he lowered his head to press his nose into the crook of your neck, nuzzling there.

“Spencer, you need to stop blaming yourself,” you said slowly, “I mean it. I don’t blame you for that at all— and….you know Mina. She just turns into someone else when it comes to protecting the family. She doesn’t mean it, not really.”

He nodded silently and you combed back his hair with your fingers, making him heave a sigh.

“This is nice,” he muttered and you let out a small laugh.

“So are you ready to admit that I was right?”

“Hm?”

“I said you would regret it, do you regret it yet?”

“The dinner?”

“Yeah.”

He shook his head “No.”

“Why not?”

His arms around you tightened and he pressed a kiss to your neck, “Because you’re here.”

You closed your eyes for a moment, enjoying the warmth of his body against yours and you stubbed your cigarette before you turned to him. He smiled at you and you couldn’t help but stare at him under the dim lights of the backyard before you stood on your tiptoes and brushed your lips against his.

“God, I love you so much,” you said, making him smile, “Thank you for being here and… I don’t know, going through this absolute torture. I know it’s a lot.”

“Hey,” he cupped your cheek, running his thumb over your cheekbone, “I need you to listen to me, okay?”

You nodded, looking up at him.

“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you,” his voice was silent, almost hesitant, “To make you happy. You know that, right?”

You could feel the burning in your eyes and you sniffled, your heart skipping a beat before you wrapped your arms around his neck, burying your face into his chest. The rest of the world felt like it disappeared as you swayed from side to side, inhaling his scent and you pulled back.

“I know now,” you wiped at your nose, clearing your throat and he pushed your hair behind your ear.

“Good,” he grinned, “Glad we cleared that out.”

Someone knocked on the door and you turned your head to see Mina as she opened the glass door.

“So about earlier,” she leaned sideways to the doorframe, “Apologies and remorse, etc.”

“That means she’s sorry for what happened earlier,” you said helpfully and Spencer scoffed a laugh, shaking his head.

“You don’t need to apologize,” he said, “I get it. Trust me, I felt exactly the same when I saw the tape, but I was trying to get her out with minimum damage.”

Mina nibbled on her lip, eyeing him up and down.

“I guess,” she said, “But just so you both know, mom and Nolan are actually planning a weekend trip to Costa Rica. It’s like what happened with Kenzie all over again, only there’s two of them now.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” you muttered and Mina nodded at Spencer.

“Yeah so you might need to tell them you have murders to solve during the weekend Sherlock, because they’re not going to listen to us.” she said and Spencer looked down at you.

“I’ll be there in a second,” you said and he pressed a kiss into your hair before making his way inside. Mina lingered there for a moment, inspecting her fingernails in a complete nonchalant manner.

“I guess I could trust you to know what you’re doing,” she said, “Just make sure he doesn’t screw you over, okay?”

You raised your brows, then clicked your tongue.

“Kenzie said no sex unless you apologize huh?”

“She meant it too!” Mina whined as you walked past her, letting out a laugh.

“Unbelievable,” you shook your head with a smile, making your way to the dining room. “All of you.”

Chapter 26