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aquaticalay · 5 years

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F.R.I.D.A.Y. I'm in Love (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Summary: While singing 'Friday, I'm in love' by The Cure in the kitchen to yourself, a certain AI thinks you're talking to her. She tells you something you didn't know, and decides to play matchmaker on Christmas morning, because why not?

Genre: christmas fluff :)

Word count: 2.5k

Song: Friday, I'm in Love by The Cure

Note: Merry Xmas! This is my last fic before vacation! This is also my first one shot in a while. Hope you like it!!

You were the first one awake at the compound, but that wasn't anything out of the usual. You always wake up at least half an hour earlier than anybody else in the compound without fail, every single day. It was simply an old habit you can't seem to get rid of, no matter how tired you were or how late you slept the night before.

The only thing that made a difference was that it's the day before christmas. Since you and Bucky were the only people with no family to celebrate it with, the two of you stayed behind to keep an eye on the compound. You had somehow convinced Bucky to agree on helping you set up decorations today. Besides, you also need help setting up the realistic-looking artificial pine tree at the corner of the common room. You already had a vision: green, white, and red ribbons filling up the ceiling and fairy lights as far as the eye can see.

But that was your plan for later in the afternoon. Right now, the sun had just barely began to rise.

You made your way to the kitchen, thinking of making pancakes for breakfast. You hummed a tune as you opened the cupboards for a pan and ingredients. You eyeballed the flour and sugar, sifted them in a bowl and went to the fridge to get the rest of the contents needed.

Lost in your own world, the tunes you hummed turned into cohesive words, an actual song that you had been listening to lately and can't seem to get out of your head.

"I don't care if Monday's blue," you sang, cracking the eggs, making sure the shell stayed out of the batter, "Tuesday's gray and Wednesday too."

You poured the milk and butter, "Thursday, I don't care about you," you grabbed a whisk and pretended it was a microphone, "It's Friday, I'm in love."

"May I guess with who?" FRIDAY quipped suddenly.

You yelped in shock and dropped the whisk into the batter, some of it splattering to your shirt and face. Just a little, but enough to piss you off.

"What?" You asked, slightly annoyed.

"You told me you were in love," you heard the AI say through the built in speakers of the room, "may I guess with who?".

You let out a lighthearted laugh, "First of all, it's just a song," you rolled your eyes with a smile, amused by the misunderstanding of the supposedly smart AI. "Secondly," you continued, "I am not in love with anybody at the moment."

FRIDAY then said, in a matter-of-factly manner, "But you are."

Furrowing your eyebrows, annoyed, you stubbornly told her, "No, I'm not."

"You are," the AI insisted, and before you can deny it once again, she told you, "You show all physical and hormonal signs of being in love— increased levels of dopamine, adrenaline, and norepinephrine, increased heart rate, and dilated pupils— in the presence of Sergeant James Barnes."

Your mind stopped just enough to catch up with what FRIDAY. was telling you.

"What?" You asked, flustered, as blood rushed to your cheeks, "No!"

"It's true," said the AI calmly, then displayed a panel of hologram on the island kitchen, usually used for mission briefings— your vitals, including your hormone levels. "These are your average body scans whenever you are in the same room as Sergeant Barnes," she said.

"That's enough, Friday!" you exclaimed, almost squeaking, embarrassed. She then took down the hologram, to your relief.

You admit, you have always been fond of Bucky, and dare you say, quite attached to him, but it never occurred to you that you loved him, mostly because everytime you even thought of the four-letter terrifying word, you pushed it to the deepest, darkest corner of your mind, lock it in a glass box and throw away the key, never to be seen again. The subject of love terrifies you, though the thought of being romantically involved with Bucky did give you a certain feeling of satisfaction and comfort, and maybe, just maybe, hope of it being able to work out.

Oops, there's the thought again.

Time to bury it six feet underground.

"In case you're curious, Sergeant Barnes also—" the AI started, but you shushed her furiously, "Fri, I don't want to hear it."

"But—" she began, but you cut her off again, "Please don't."

Sensing your discomfort, she stopped saying whatever she was about to say.

You continued to make your pancakes in peace, if there was ever any.

You hummed the tune of the same song, careful not to say the actual words to it. You turned on the stove an put a frying pan on it measuring your batter out for an even and fluffy pancake.

The automatic door opened, and Bucky entered the room, yawning. He was wearing a grey shirt and shorts. As he smelled the sweet aroma of the batter cooking, his gaze turned to you.

"Mornin' doll," he smiled lazily, greeting you. He seemed to be in an especially good mood today. Ever since you joined almost a year ago, he had given you the nickname, and you adapted to it quickly.

"Morning, Buck," you hummed, flipping the pancakes. Bucky walked towards you and took in the smell exaggeratingly. "Hope you made some for me."

You chuckled, "Of course."

You stacked the first three pancakes on an empty plate and handed it to Bucky, who gave you a chaste kiss on the side of your head.

This type of casual affection has been going on for a while now, a little over five months. He'd kiss you on the cheeks or forehead whenever he said thank you, hello, or goodbye. You'd also cuddle against him on movie nights and lean on his shoulder while sitting on the dinner table, but neither of you ever spoke about it. You never wanted to think much about these flirtatious exchanges. You assumed this was just who he was, and you were just playing his game. He was a ladies' man in the 40s, after all, and you were just all-all round playful person.

You stacked your own pancakes and turned off the stove.

You sat next to Bucky on the couch, who was currently pouring a shit ton of maple syrup on his pancakes, squeezing the bottle with his metal arm.

You chuckled at his behaviour, and he raised his eyebrows at you.

"What are you laughing at?" He tried to pretend to be serious, but he can't help but show a hint of a grin on his adorable face.

"Nothing," you shook your head playfully and started eating the sugar-filled breakfast.

Deciding it was too quiet, Bucky decided to ask FRIDAY a favor. "Friday," Bucky called, "play some music, please."

FRIDAY complied almost immediately, and the tune of the song she played was too familiar.

Your cheeks turned bright red in a matter of seconds. Why would she play that?

"I don't care if Monday's blue

Tuesday's grey and Wednesday, too

Thursday I don't care about you

It's Friday, I'm in love"

Bucky stuffed pancakes in his mouth as he listened to the song, "I've never heard this song before," he mentioned, his head moving subtly to the tempo of the song, "It's nice."

"Uh, yeah," you managed to nervously blurt out.

Bucky turned his head to you, "You cold, doll?" He asked, concern in his voice.

"No, why?"

"You're red," he pointed out worriedly, "Are you sure you're not sick?"

"No, I'm just—" you started, trying to find an excuse, but nothing comes to mind. You couldn't tell him you're embarrassed, and you already told him you weren't cold, "—I don't know."

As the song continued playing, Bucky placed the back of his hand on your forehead to check for a fever, but he was met with a normal, cool skin. He tried not to think too much about it. He shrugged and told you, "Just let me know if you feel unwell, okay? I know where Scott keeps his emergency cold medicine."

You managed a nod, and tried to distract yourself by eating your pancakes.

You started to feel relief wash over you as the song came to an end, but when it did end, it started to play again, as if FRIDAY had it on loop.

"Weird," Bucky quipped.

"Yeah, weird," you said, a little quieter than usual, "Friday, please play another song," you said, but Bucky cut you off, "No, I want to listen to it again," he said, "One more time? I really like it."

You sunk into your seat, having forced to suffer through this song again.

That afternoon, Bucky helped you set up the ribbons and lights, and now he was helping you with the tree ornaments.

The time you spent together were spent in laughter and joy, playfully teasing each other. He told you a lot about his old family traditions, how his little sister Rebecca and him would use their spare money to get their mother a gift every year. In return, you made him hot chocolate, made from your grandma's special recipe.

"Bucky," you called, "give me a boost so I can get the star on top of the tree."

You showed him the star. It was brilliant red. He chuckled to himself, wondering if you intentionally got it to match his old logo.

Without warning, he grabbed your waist, and spun you around playfully. You yelped in shock, steadying yourself by putting a hand on his shoulder. You laughed a little, "The tree, Buck," you reminded him, and he chuckled, rolling his eyes. "okay, okay."

You placed the star on top, and he set you down gently. You were facing him, and for a split second, you nose touched his and you were looking straight into his icy orbs.

You looked away, pretending it didn't happen.

"Help me with the ribbons," you quipped. Bucky grabbed the box full of colorful decorations. "Okay," he replied. You weren't sure, but you could've sworn he sounded a little bit disappointed.

The rest of the afternoon was spent decorating the tree, and it was all fun and games until Bucky started humming 'Friday, I'm in love,' under his breath, a song that seems to be stuck in his head.

You and Bucky fell asleep on the couch after a Christmas movie marathon. You woke up in the same position you fell asleep: cuddled up against Bucky, you head on his shoulder and his human arm wrapped contently around your waist. You adjusted your eyes to the light coming in from the big glass windows, and tugged on Bucky's side, "wake up."

He groaned a little, his eyes blinking to life.

"Merry Christmas," you smiled, still leaning your head on his shoulder, too lazy to get up.

"Merry Christmas, doll," he replied, a sleepy but sincere smile on his face.

You mustered enough energy to look at the Christmas tree, and was shocked to see one small red box under the tree, decorated with a fittingly small green bow. It was empty the last time you saw it.

"Did you–" you turned to Bucky, who nodded right away, "How?" You asked curiously.

"I slipped it there before we started the movie," he admitted, a slightly rosy color on his cheeks.

"Is that for me?" You asked, and he nodded.

"I- I've got a present for you in my room," you told him, half-way panicked that you've forgotten his present in your quarters.

Rushing out of the common room, Bucky watched you as a sigh left his lips.

He found himself humming the song he heard yesterday again. He took the present from under the tree to give it to you first hand, then walked to the island kitchen to get some water. He doesn't remember all the words, except the ones at the very end of the chorus.

He mumbled a string of noises, but lightly sang the last part in his best singing voice, "Friday, I'm in love."

"I know," Friday said through the speakers. It surprised Bucky, but he didn't show it. Sitting down on the bar stool of the island, Bucky asked, "What?"

"I know you're in love, Sergeant Barnes," the AI said.

Bucky let a heavy breath out. Friday was right. He was in love. With you. "How did you know?"

"Your physical and hormonal body scans when you're around Miss (Y/n)."

Bucky only chuckled dryly. It was nothing he didn't already know, "Too bad she doesn't feel the same, huh?"

"Actually—" the AI started, but suddenly stopped when you rushed back in the room, a heavy box decorated with a patterned white wrapper in your arms. It was huge compared to the gift he got you. You put on the marble countertop and climbed on the stool next to his.

"Here," you said excitedly, "open it!"

Your excitement was contagious. He gave you a hearty laugh and ripped the wrapping paper. When he was finished, he realized what it was. A record player.

"Wow, (Y/n)," he said, twinkle in his eyes. He raised it so he could see it better, "I- thank you."

"You've been telling me about how you used to listen to music," you told him, "So I got you a more modern one."

"Your turn," Bucky said, giving you your present.

It wasn't wrapped, it was just a red box with a bow. You opened it and you looked to him for explanation.

It was a necklace with a dark silver star pendant.

"It's beautiful," you sighed, admiring the jewelry, "Thank you."

He gently took the necklace in his fingers, and looped it behind your neck, hooking it so now you were wearing it.

"I asked Shuri to make it from the scrap vibranium used to make my metal arm," he told you, a warm and loving smile on his mouth, "So you can have a piece of me with you."

Suddenly, you wondered if FRIDAY was right about you being in love with him.

"Ahem," said a human-like voice from the ceiling. It was FRIDAY, calling so you would look up.

The two of you saw a holographic mistletoe from the projector above you.

Damn, FRIDAY.

You smiled. It was a good excuse to kiss him, right? Wasn't that the rules of the mistletoe?

You reached up a little to press a short but sweet kiss on his lips, catching him off-guard.

"I-" Bucky turned beet red, "can you do that again please?"

Pleasantly surprised, you nod as you let him caress your cheeks, and pull you in for a longer kiss, his lips moving against yours in sync, like you were pieces of a puzzle. You melted into his arms and laid a hand on his thigh for support.

"I love you," Bucky said as he pulled away. Wait, he thought to himself, I love you?!

He meant to say merry christmas!

In his mind, you only kissed him because of his mistletoe. He was seconds away from apologizing, but then a content sigh left your lips, "I love you, too," you admitted shyly

He looked at you with a loving look that has always been there, yet you've only noticed it now. His thumb stroke your cheek softly, the contrast of metal and flesh strangely comforting.

"What is it?" You asked.

He cracked a smile. "My dad used to spend christmas morning with my ma," he said, "She told me one day I'd find someone to spend it, too."

"Would she have approved of me?" You asked, curiosity laced im you silky voice.

"I swear to god she'd love you," he cupped both your cheek and pressed a kiss on the tip of your nose, "Merry Christmas, doll."

"Merry Christmas, James."

You made an internal note to self to thank FRIDAY later.

-end.

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randomoranges · 4 years

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have some very soft xmas fic

O Come, All Ye Faithful [I Just Want You and Me Warming our Frozen Feet]

Early Morning December 25th 2020

Edward pads towards his kitchen in search for two things. He’d woken up thirsty and had gotten up to get a glass of water, only to notice that Étienne was not in bed. He’d decided to give a quick search while fetching his water and thus, had found himself in the kitchen. He notices the Christmas lights on the tree are still on and it’s odd, considering the fact that they’re on a timer and should have gone off ages ago. He decides to investigate and continues his journey, after he finishes his water.

By the time he reaches the tree, he finds Étienne standing by it, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. Edward pauses, a few feet away and takes in the sight of his boyfriend’s body illuminated by the multi coloured lights and there’s something tranquil and otherworldly about the spectacle. It’s in the quiet of the moment and the gentle sway of his body that’s nearly impossible to see.

“Hey, you okay?” Edward chooses to break the silence and Étienne turns, slightly startled by the interruption in his pondering and is quick to nod.

“Couldn’t sleep,” He offers as an answer, before Edward steps in beside him. Étienne leans against him and Edward reaches out to wrap his arm around his waist. This, unfortunately, is nothing new. “Figured I’d come and contemplate life here instead of tossing and turning in bed and waking the both of you up.”

“Well, as the saying goes, misery loves company, so, penny for your thoughts?” He hopes it’s nothing too bad. Étienne’s had a rough time of it and he’d hate for his boyfriend to have another setback – especially on Christmas.

“Penny’s gone, Edward,” Étienne tells him, but there’s a grin on his face that goes from blue to green and Edward can’t help but chuckle. He takes the joke as a sign that Étienne isn’t off in the deep end and it reassures him a little. It’s the holidays after all and Étienne deserves a break.

“Humour me; nickel for your thoughts?”

Étienne snuggles up to him and lets out a content little sigh. Edward rubs his side and finds himself thinking that despite everything, it hasn’t been a bad Christmas Eve. Different, sure, but for the first time ever, he’d gotten to spend it with both Calvin and Étienne and it had been more than nice. The smaller crowd had allowed them to enjoy each other’s company and even though it hadn’t been like the other times, it had also been very nice. Perhaps, he reflects, it had been the Christmas Eve they had needed. In any event, he’d found himself hoping that in the future, regardless of location and crowd, he’d still get to be with Calvin and Étienne.

“Just reflecting. On Christmas and such.” Étienne shrugs, trying to dismiss the importance of his thoughts, but Edward won’t let him. “It’s – It was different,” Étienne offers after a moment, “but it wasn’t bad.” He says and Edward’s glad and relieved to hear it. Deep down, he’d known that Étienne hadn’t hated it, but he also knew that this wasn’t what his boyfriend normally did.

Étienne liked the busy aspect of Christmas Eve with the big crowd. He liked to drink in the boisterous atmosphere and thrived in the chaos of a large gathering. “I’m glad I was here – thanks for having me – for everything,” He murmurs, soft and quiet.

Edward had even gone so far as to make some of his favourites for supper, knowing how much he looked forward to some of these meals and – he’d been touched and surprised by the gesture. Edward had assured him that it was nothing – that he knew this entire year had been terrible and that this was the least he could do, if it meant it would make him just a little bit less homesick. Étienne had hugged him, wordlessly, and Edward had held him close for a moment longer.

Edward can’t help but hold him tighter still this time around as well. He still wishes he could chase away the dark clouds that linger in Étienne’s mind, but he’ll have to settle with what he can do, and so he holds his boyfriend close.

“Of course; any time,” He reiterates again, over and over, but he wants Étienne to know that he’s an integral part of his life now; he doesn’t need to wonder if he’s wanted anymore. He is. Always. Always has been, but, he is. Edward spares him a glance and finds a soft smile splayed on Étienne’s face. He’s beautiful, he thinks, shifting lights dancing on his face and Edward still tries to grasp how it is that they both got here, somehow.

“It was nice,” He says and looks up to the tree, his smile growing a fraction and Edward’s breath hitches for a moment, but he doesn’t say anything, not wanting to interrupt Étienne’s train of thought, “Despite everything, it was nice. I think this was my first Christmas in a long time that I did things differently and – I’m glad you were part of it.” Étienne turns and looks at him, before leaning his head back on his chest, most likely hearing the erratic beating of his heart, but he doesn’t comment if he notices it and for that Edward is thankful.

“It would have been nice – to be with Élyse, and I think overall, that was the hardest part – not being with her. She’s been my one constant, always and it still feels a bit off not having her around...” He trails off with a small sigh and Edward places a tender kiss to the top of his head, unsure what else to do or say. “Other than that, however, I didn’t hate this – I’m glad we got to spend the holidays together again. I had forgotten how much I missed having you around for them.” Étienne reaches for his other hand and twines their fingers together.

“It made me hope that – I don’t know – we can do this again, next year, or in the future, or something. Spend the holidays together again. We can figure out the logistics of where and with whom, but it’d be nice. I’d like that.” He pauses and Edward lets the quiet of the late night envelop them both in its embrace. “Obviously, with Calvin,” He adds, wanting to reassure Edward that he’s not being a callous egoist – that he’s aware that Calvin means a lot to him and Edward appreciates Étienne more for the comment. Appreciates the effort both Étienne and Calvin keep putting towards each other, for his sake.

He’s seen it in their interactions; the slow and tentative progress they’ve made. How Calvin had introduced Étienne to his Christmas Village – how they’d set it up together under Calvin’s careful guidance and how Étienne had volunteered to fix up some of the buildings that had needed a fresh coat of paint (and the work he’d put into making some of the pieces even better.) It’s also in Étienne’s offer to have Calvin join him on his walks with Mercury more often than not and in Calvin’s attempt to teach Étienne to knit.

Then, there’s the presents they’ve gotten each other that had warmed Edward’s heart. Calvin had knit Étienne some thick socks, saying that he’d heard Étienne complain about being cold so often, that he figured this would help – hopefully. Étienne had genuinely liked the socks and Edward now notices that his boyfriend is already wearing them.

Or the throw Étienne had found with tiny horses and cowboy hats that came with an accompanying horse pillow that also served as an adorable plushie. Étienne had hesitated when he’d found the items, but Edward had assured him that Calvin would love them. (And he had. His entire face had lit up and he’d nearly knocked Étienne over in his excitement to hug him tightly for the gift.)

“That sounds lovely – I’d like that too,” He says and it’s true. It would be nice. To spend it with Étienne (again) and with Calvin. He’d missed spending the holidays with him as well, and now that they don’t have to step on eggshells – that he doesn’t have to worry and second guess himself, he knows that it would be even lovelier. “We’ll figure it out.” Étienne nods to that and they fall silent once more.

“I must say though,” Étienne starts again, a lifetime later, the lights still merrily twinkling away, creating a mosaic of colours, “I did not miss going to midnight mass or having to freeze my ass off waiting to get into church.”

Edward laughs and they chuckle over the comment. “Remember that time Samuel made a big stink over getting to the church too late so we couldn’t sit in the usual pew or whatever?”

Étienne groans, but doesn’t stop grinning, “God; that was the worst. The insufferable melodramatic asshole.” Anyone else would have thought that Étienne meant it, but Edward knows that despite it all, even though they haven’t always gotten along and haven’t always seen eye to eye, Étienne does care for his older brother and he might even dare to say that he’s missed him. Not that he’s about to mention that last bit to his boyfriend. Étienne would be affronted Edward would even deign to think that.

Instead, they observe the effect of the lights on the ornaments Edward has collected over the many years. Étienne had been surprised to find some familiar ones – some Edward had gotten for himself when they’d travelled off to warm places together, a memento of the place they’d visited. Then, Étienne had found one he himself had given Edward one Christmas over thirty years ago and he’d been shocked to see that Edward still had it. Edward had shrugged, saying that it was a good ornament and he’d always been fond of it, but Étienne had still been surprised – still thought that Edward had gotten rid of absolutely everything that had to do with him after their fall out.

The last ornament that had surprised him had been a simple snowman of which he had a similar one at home. It had been a gift from Suzette, one year, and she had placed one on everyone’s dishes as a table decoration. Étienne had noticed that his and Edward’s matched – had the same coloured scarf and hat and he’d wondered if it had been intentional. He hadn’t mentioned anything and had never known if Edward had noticed, but he’d kept his snowman, put it up on his own smaller tree every year and had been greatly surprised to find Edward’s on his own.

There had obviously been a slew of ornaments that Étienne had never seen, from tacky-cute-silly ones, to the more traditional, and even some that Étienne had been surprised to see (notably; one rainbow coloured snowflake and another simple rainbow) and Étienne had gorged himself on the stories Edward had shared of how some of the ornaments had come to be.

“It was nice putting up the decorations with you and Cal,” Étienne says and he smiles to himself as he recalls the excitement he had felt when Edward had announced, late November, that it was time to start decorating. He and Calvin had helped Edward bring down the boxes and slowly, the house had turned into a real holiday wonderland. He’d wished he had asked Suzette to ship him his Christmas stocking, realising that he wouldn’t have one to put with Edward’s and Calvin’s, but then the other two had surprised him with one of his very own that they had made together. He’d been – touched, by the gesture and had never expected something of the sorts, but Calvin had been quick to tell him that he needed a stocking, or else how would Santa give him anything – even if it was only coal and Étienne had laughed at the comment.

“Wouldn’t mind doing it again,” He says and looks at Edward again.

Edward pulls him in for a proper hug and seeks his lips for a long overdue kiss, the words failing him to say how all of this makes him feel – how relieved and glad he is. He wants this as well, no doubt about it and he really hopes that next year, and the one after that, he’ll be able to spend the holidays with both Calvin and Étienne by his side, again. And again and again. Étienne cups his face with his hands and responds back to his kiss as the lights keep dancing about for a moment longer.

“Merry Christmas, sweetheart,” Edward murmurs, when they pull away, before Étienne settles back against him. They stay there by the tree for a little longer, before Edward suggests they get some rest, and once the lights have been turned off, they return to the bedroom and Étienne snuggles back by his side. Edward falls back asleep, content and at peace.

FIN

#pc: montreal #pc: edmonton #edward murphy #étienne maisonneuve #fic #projocanondoko

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dontgotothenetherworld · 5 years

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white elephant

ok so i know it’s pretty much canon that like all beetlejuice characters are canon (and i therefore apologize for my previous xmas fic) but i had this really cute idea, and it doesn’t have to be xmas in particular, it can be a general gift giving thing.

(you should google the rules if you really want to know how it’s played, bc i’m not very good at explaining it.)

1393 words

delia was the one who suggested the family do white elephant in the first place. she partly did it because with all the new people added to her family, she didn’t think she could find a meaningful gift for everyone. also, it’d be fun!

once delia explained the rules, an evil grin spread across beetlejuice’s face.

lydia quickly jumped in, “nothing gross, beej!”

the smile fell. “what do you mean by gross?” he asked slowly.

“if you can imagine those two,” she pointed at the maitlands, “being grossed out, it’s gross.”

“hey!” the maitlands, said, in unison, both equally offended.

“what? you’re the ones who are the most easily grossed out, so it’s a safe guideline to go by. i’m doing you a favor!”

the maitlands grumbled, but lydia was right.

“oo! and to make it more fun, we should guess who bought what!” charles suggested.

“that is a brilliant idea sweetie, but i don’t think lydia and beetlejuice can wrap presents, so it’d be kinda obvious.” delia replied.

“to be fair, i don’t know how to wrap presents either.” said charles.

“i think we should try it a normal way this year, and maybe next year we can try your idea.”

“fair enough.”

as soon as beetlejuice confirmed the conversation was over, he popped out of the house. honestly, who knows where he went. honestly, i’m picturing one of those montages from cartoons where the character goes across a bunch of contrasting landscapes.

lydia went straight to depths of amazon and etsy. she was looking for the weirdest thing the internet had to offer. ok maybe not the depths, she was kinda lazy, but it wasn’t the first page at least.

adam literally just googled “gag gifts” and clicked on the first few links he found.

delia decided to, uh, diy a gift. she was planning on making a really shitty diy, and pretend that she was really proud of it. yes it was a bit emotionally manipulating, but it was the spirit of the game.

charles went to target. he thought his gift was hilarious, but i’m not sure if everyone else has his sense of humor.

barbara debated what she should do. should she make something? should she get like a silly board game or something? what was it that lydia liked...? memes! barbara was going to get a meme gift!

when the white elephant exchange finally arrived, everyone had their gift to present, and were excited to begin.

as delia passed around the hat with the numbers in it, lydia attempted to figure out which gift she wanted to open.

there were three really small gifts, including hers, and one huge, poorly wrapped one. what the hell had beetlejuice gotten?

“i got number one!” charles exclaimed when he opened his slip of paper. he grabbed lydia’s gift, which was put in a little green bag.

“i see you didn’t try to wrap this.” everyone glanced at beetlejuice’s gift, including beetlejuice.

he threw the tissue paper onto the floor, and carefully lifted the item inside. it was a little crochet baby yoda. made even smaller in charles’ hands.

“i’m stealing that.” said barbara at the same time beetlejuice said, “give me the babey, charles.”

“what number do you have?” beetlejuice asked barbara.

“two.”

“ha! i have three!”

charles handed over the baby yoda to barbara and considered his options again. he picked up both adam and barbara’s and shook them lightly, trying to figure out which one he should pick.

“just pick one already!” lydia yelled impatiently.

“alright, alright.” he picked up adam’s gift. he took the little ribbon that was on the box, and placed it on delia’s forehead. it fell off immediately.

charles let out one of those dad chuckles when he saw what was inside. light saber chopsticks. “i might need to figure out how to use chopsticks now.”

“might.” said lydia, contemplatively.

charles hugged his chopsticks to his chest.

beetlejuice faced barbara and wordlessly held out his hand. she sighed and dropped the baby yoda into his open palm.

she picked up delia’s gift, “this should be a safe one to choose, right?”

“yup!” delia replied, a liar’s smile on her face.

barbara smiled and ripped the wrapping paper off. “omg! it’s a box!” she joked. cut to small laughs from adam, delia, and charles. she ripped the tape off, and lifted the gift out of the box. it was a shit delia had made, made of strips of other shirts. there were strips of graphic tees, sweaters, cheetah print, and neon. it was absolutely hideous, exactly as delia had planned.

“i hope you like it! i put a lot of time into making it!” delia tried her best not to laugh.

barbara’s smile faltered, “i love it!” she lied, not wanting to make delia feel bad.

everyone else looked awkwardly at each other, was this a joke...?

delia couldn’t help herself anymore, she burst out in laughter, “don’t worry honey, i meant for it to look bad.”

barbara let out a sigh of relief. “good, because this is horrible.”

“or high fashion.” beetlejuice commented. lydia nodded.

“okay, my turn!” delia jumped up and walked over to beetlejuice’s gift. she tried to pick it up to bring it back to where she was sitting, but it was far heavier than she was expecting. and far heavier than she could lift.

she glanced at beetlejuice with a concerned look on her face.

“go ahead, open it!” beeteljuice enthused.

she ripped the wrapping paper. “what the hell?” she gazed upon a window. a stained glass window, depicting a sunset, or sunrise, over a lake.

“beetlejuice... where did you get this?”

“nevermind that, do you like it?”

“uh... yes?” delia said.

“i love it!” screamed lydia. she looked at her number, “and i think i’m ‘bout to steal it!” she waddled over to the window.

“lydia, it’s my turn.” adam said.

lydia stopped for a second, as if she was loading. “oops. but if you steal this, i’m gonna steal it from you, so... choose wisely.” she waddled back to her seat.

“since it’s my turn,” he looked pointedly at lydia, “i would like that baby yoda, please.”

“adam, i mean this sincerely,” he handed adam the doll, “fuck you.”

adam blew him a kiss.

beetlejuice sighed and considered his remaining options. there was barbara’s gift, or charles’ gift. barbara’s was a really really tiny box, charles put his in a small bag.

“this better be good.” he picked up charles’ bag.

he greedily pulled the tissue paper out of the bag, and grabbed his gift. “socks?” beetlejuice asked, “plain white socks?”

charles began laughing a contagious laughter. although they weren’t quite sure why it was funny, everyone else began to laugh as well.

lydia finally stopped laughing first, and she stood up. “attention, everyone, it’s my turn. attention, it’s my turn.” she strode over to the stained glass window.

“you don’t want to open mine?” barbara attempted to guilt lydia into opening it.

it worked.

lydia sat, cross legged, in the middle of everyone as she ripped the wrapping paper off. and she ripped the wrapping paper off. and she ripped the wrapping paper off. and she ripped the wrapping paper off. “how small is this thing?” asked lydia as she took the fourth layer off.

“small.” said barbara, helpfully.

lydia finally peeled off the fifth, and final layer to reveal a little box. she took the top of the box open to reveal a pepe pin.

“omg barbara, i love it.” she pinned the frog onto the collar of her all black outfit.

adam stood up, with his baby yoda clutched in his fist, “well i guess this game is over! it was loads of fun, i’ll see y’all later!” he began to walk off.

“hold on, there, adam. the first person gets to go again.” charles explained.

adam turned to find charles’ outstretched palm. “give me the child.” charles whispered.

“goddammit.” he dropped the doll. “wait, i can’t have my own gift.”

“fair enough, i guess you can steal from someone else.” said delia.

adam looked at all the gifts. he didn’t particularly want any of it.

“adam, i’m begging you, take these socks. i want the light sabers, please.” said beetlejuice.

“twist my arm.” adam said. he handed beetlejuice the chopsticks, and took the socks.

@meangirlsx @meangirlmurphy

this was so fun to write omfg i’m sorry if it’s hard to follow

#beetllejuice #beetlejuice musical #beetlejuice broadway #beetlejuice fanfiction #lawrence beetlejuice shoggoth #adam maitland #barbara maitland #charles deetz #delia deetz #lydia #lydia deetz #fic

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minuete-blog · 6 years

Text

Philes’ Xmas Advent Calendar Prompt Day 25: Christmas Day

🎄 Merry Christmas!!!🎄

The very last advent prompt story is finally here. It is the first and only multichapter I’ve drafted for a series on AO3. Thank you to all who traveled through this journey of various degrees of angst (there were only 5 stories?) to the early msr fluff. Special thanks to @only-txf-fanart for the Advent Calendar Prompts. My writing muse came back in time to participate.

🎁 For those of you who haven't read the series, it can be found here. 🎁

❤️For those who just want to read the subtle romance that blossomed from this advent calendar series, read in this order: I’m Offering You The World, Last Minute, The RomCom Gift, and Christmas Offering. ❤️

Tagging @today-in-fic @txf-prompt-box

Christmas Offering

Chapter 1. Movie Missed

Scully feels warm and cozy as she sinks deeper into the couch. She hears Mulder calling her from a distance, strands of hair being swept away from her face with a gossamer touch. She hums in defiance, wraps the afghan blanket more securely around her.

“That won’t do.” She hears Mulder chuckle. She furrows her eyebrows and manages to crack open her eyes making out a blurry image of Mulder kneeling on the ground, his chin resting on the crook of his right elbow upon the couch, facing her at eye-level. He smiles softly.

“Hey there, Scully. The movie just ended.”

“What?” She asks confused, disoriented as she sits up, her hair plastered on the left side of her face. Pouting a little, still groggy from sleep, she remembers what happened. “I missed the movie?” Mulder nods and gets up off the ground to run his fingers along her left cheek and loosen the strands of hair stuck to her face. She thinks she felt a featherlight kiss on her left temple.

“Come on. Go freshen up. I’ll have coffee ready for you before you head out.”

“Mmkay,” she mumbles and untangles herself from the blanket. A few minutes later, she re-emerges from the bathroom looking somewhat awake and decent, her hair looking more windswept than bedhead. She can smell the pot of coffee brewing in the kitchen as she sits down on the couch to put on her boots. Mulder reappears in the living room, and hands Scully the travel mug he just gifted her a couple hours ago filled with coffee. She offers her thanks as he walks her to the door. She turns around.

“Mulder, are you sure you don’t want to come to my mom’s? You’re always welcomed.” He shakes his head.

“Nah, I’m good, Scully. I won’t be the best company considering how tired I feel.”

“Well, what are you going to do the rest of the day?”

“Once you leave, I intend to fully pass out since I hadn’t slept yet. I’ll be okay, Scully.” She frowns a little, looking up at him from behind her shoulder as she opens the door. Mulder leans against the door frame as she exits. “I kept you long enough away from your family. I need to be nice and share.” Scully gives him a small smile.

“Merry Christmas, Mulder.”

“Merry Christmas, Scully.”

Chapter 2. Scully Christmas Gathering

Scully arrives at her mom’s home on time with 15 minutes to spare despite the fresh snowfall. She gulps down the last of the coffee in her travel mug before stepping out into the cold, and retrieves the large shopping bags containing the presents in the trunk and backseat of her car. Just when she reaches the front door, it suddenly opens revealing a man standing nearly six feet with ruddy brown hair and dark green eyes clad in a burgundy plaid shirt and jeans.

“Charlie?!” Scully exclaimed surprised and excited to see her little brother. She drops the bags and gives him a huge hug. He laughs.

“Hey, Sis.”

“That’s it?! A ‘hey, sis’ after years of not hearing from you, and you decide to show up on Christmas Day?!” She playfully punches him in the arm.

“Hey, now! You get photos of my whereabouts. They’re a small fortune, you know.” Scully rolls her eyes at him, though she’s not the least bit irritated by his remark. Her free-spirited brother found his true calling as a freelance photographer right after college, landing assignments every so often from travel guide magazine publishers.

“Those don’t count. You’re not even in them.”

“Yeah, but I took them.”

“I still can’t believe you’re here.”

“I know. Mom’s pissed at me right now for not telling her I’m in town. She’s upset that I won’t have any presents to unwrap. Come on, let me help you out.” Charlie reaches for the bags and brings them inside as Scully follows him to the tree. The house smells like holiday spices from the mulled spiced cider their mom prepared in the kitchen the night before. The living room looked picturesque with a roaring fireplace, complete with hung stockings and a fully decorated tree with all the ornaments handmade and collected over the years. She notices Melissa’s stocking with her favorite horse sleigh ornament hanging on the mantle. Scully smiles a small bittersweet smile as she heads over to the tree to place the gifts underneath. She sees a light flash from the corner of her eye.

“Charlie, really?” She turns to him only to be greeted with another flash of light.

“I’m creating memories, Dana. Just go about doing what you’re doing and pretend I’m not here.” She scoffs.

“Don’t worry, Dana. I’ll be turning off the flash once daylight breaks.” Scully hears footsteps coming down the stairs and sees their mom in cozy, festive flannel pajamas and a fluffy robe. Their mom smiles at the two of them beside the tree.

“I see you two are catching up. I’ll make some coffee. I already woke up Bill and Tara. They’re getting Matthew ready. The King’s Mass is held at 9 this morning. That should give us more than enough time to unwrap presents and get ready.” Their mom looked at them amused by their dubious expressions. Both Scully siblings seemed to have forgotten about the Christmas Day mass they hated attending as children. Bill hosted Christmas last year, and Scully’s previous holiday seasons had been overshadowed with life-altering events. Their mom shakes her head smiling as she heads to the kitchen.

“Shit! Crap! Sorry for cussing on Baby Jesus’ birthday. I totally forgot all about The King’s Mass. This is probably why I subconsciously avoided visiting during Christmas season,” Charlie murmured to Scully, “I guess I’ll have to don on some khakis.” He glances over at Scully, “and you look like you’re a government agent. Shouldn’t you dress in something more festive?” Scully shrugs.

“I packed an overnight bag, but I didn’t account for Mass this morning. I’ll be fine. I’m sure Tara or Mom bought me a nice scarf or something this year for me to throw on.”

Within the next couple of hours, the Scully family festivities went underway filled with chatter, coffee, spiced cider, cinnamon buns, and Christmas music playing in the background. Matthew is the main star as he wobbly walks to his Nana, allows Auntie Dana to hold him, and pats the shiny boxes that keep coming his way. Charlie stays in the background taking photographs. The adults exchange presents, with mostly Tara and their mom oohing and ahhing over presents they unwrap. Scully merely grins and offers her thanks until she opens a box from Tara that housed a royal blue blouse tunic with a scoop neckline. She gasps in amazement; she hears a click and shutter from Charlie’s camera.

“Looks like you have your festive outfit,” he says. Scully admits to her family that she plans to wear the tunic for mass as her family breaks out in laughter. She excuses herself to quickly change.

As Bill, Tara, and their mom get ready for mass, Scully tidies up the living room while Charlie entertains Matthew. “So what’s up with Fox? Why doesn’t he join us?” Scully looks at Charlie in surprise.

“He goes by Mulder and he doesn’t celebrate Christmas.” Charlie hums.

“I’ve been taking photos this whole morning, Dana. You’re here, but you’re not here. It shows.”

“I just have a lot on my mind.” Charlie shakes his head as he lets Matthew study his camera.

“No, you have this far-off look in your eyes. A restlessness about you. I recognize that look anywhere.”

“What are you trying to say, Charlie?” He purses his lips and shrugs, their conversation ending as they hear the rest of the family returning downstairs.

Bill rented an SUV that could transport all of them to the church, but Charlie insists that they take two cars.

“I wanna catch up with Dana!” Charlie announces as he runs to the passenger side door.

“Really, Charlie? I’m tired of driving,” Scully whines, but she walks to the driver’s side and unlocks her car.

Chapter 3. The King’s Mass

The Kings’ Mass at St. Mary’s Church was full of generational families much like the Scully clan. Their mom waved at many of the churchgoing ladies, offering well wishes and season’s greetings as she led them to her usual pew. Tara, Matthew, and Bill sat in the row first, followed by their mom, Scully, then Charlie. The service started with the usual procession of the pew boys, then the priest, Father Bennett, and the deacons. They had a larger than usual choir having some of the Sunday School children participating in today’s service. Just when the priest welcomed everyone to the church and encouraged all to greet their fellow brothers and sisters, Charlie turns to Scully and says, “I think you should head back home after service.”

“What?” she hissed through a fake grin as she waves at a family two pews ahead.

“You heard me, Sis. Just go.” Scully gives him a look as she sits down waiting to listen to the choir sing before the liturgy. Charlie pesters her again when they stand up to recite the hymns from the church bulletin. He causes enough commotion for their mom to give them a pointed look. Scully glances at her apologetically.

“You two are worse than Matthew,” she whispers leaning back for the two to see Matthew passed out in Bill’s arms. They sit back down again for the sermon after a deacon recited Isaiah 9:6 where Father Bennett spoke in detail of the miraculous birth of their Lord and Savior, symbolizing hope and love to mankind, but not without the struggles and sacrifice that Joseph and Mary had to endure to travel to Bethlehem.

“...so let us be reminded of His enduring love for us as we celebrate his arrival with loved ones. To not forget the road traveled for all of us to be here in this room. Let us honor his arrival with a giving spirit, full of compassion and empathy towards our fellow man,” Father Bennett concluded, “Now, as we begin communion, let us feel His loving spirit surround us.”

“Now’s your chance, Dana,” Charlie says as the pew rows were systematically dispersing to line up for communion, “Just make a break for it. You heard what Father Bennett said ‘celebrate with loved ones.’”

“I am celebrating with loved ones!” she responds a little too loudly as they stand at the ready for the church volunteer to beckon them to get in line.

“Mom, can you talk some sense into Dana, please?” Charlie says turning around giving their mom a knowing look, “I know you saw what I saw this morning. You can’t deny it.” She sighs in resignation, lips pressed together.

“Dana, I’m glad we got to spend time with you this morning, but Charlie’s right-- a part of you isn’t with us, it’s someplace else.” She gives Scully a fierce hug. “We’ll see you later this week. Charlie is staying for a couple more days before he flies out to the Netherlands. Now, go. You have some matters to attend to.” Scully’s eyes turn glassy as she manages not to cry. She smiles against her mom’s shoulder and gives her a quick peck on the cheek. She mouths and waves goodbye to Bill and Tara who each had a curious expression on their faces. Charlie gives her a quick hug and waves goodbye to her as he stands aside to let her out of the pew. She can hear Bill asking their mom where she’s going, and her mom answering that she has to attend to matters of love. Scully walks out of the church with one destination in mind.

Chapter 4. Give vs. Offer

It seems that no one left Hegal Place as Scully had to park a block away nearby a liquor store. She quickly runs into the store and purchases some items for the day. The afternoon weather is nippy, but tolerable with a heavy coat she had placed in the back of her car as she briskly walks on the sidewalk, being careful not to slip. She doesn’t know whether Mulder is at his place or not; it didn’t occur to her to give him a call during her trip. The early snowfall that morning had covered all the parked cars, making it difficult to identify which car is his. She finally arrives at his building, promptly taking off the heavy coat from the extreme temperature change. She knows her hair looks unkempt again from the weather as she takes the elevator up to the fourth floor. She can’t decide whether her heart was rapidly beating from the brisk walk or the notion that Mulder might not be home. Scully raps on the door sharply, causing the “2” in “42” to be slightly askew. To her relief, she hears muffled footsteps behind the door. The door cracks open revealing a disheveled Mulder dressed in sweatpants and a white t-shirt. He braces himself against the door frame with his right forearm as he rubs his eyes. His left hand still on the doorknob.

“Scully? What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with your family?” he asks in a gravelly voice, eyes squinting from the hallway light. She realizes she must have woken him up from his sleep. His eyes come into focus, and she can see him take in her appearance. “Is this how you usually dress at family gatherings? Maybe I should accompany you next time you go.” She feels a blush forming on her cheeks.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about the movie this entire morning,” she says, averting her gaze away from Mulder’s form, staring down at her boots. “It’s been bothering me, how Sandra Bullock’s character is in love with what looks like a huge asshole.” She looks up at him slightly flustered, “And Mulder! Even if I had watched ‘While You Were Sleeping’, I wouldn’t have caught on with the line you misquoted. The character’s mom gave her dad the world, which by the way is not a snow globe but a regular globe. So, I can only deduce that the actual line is ‘I give you the world’ not ‘I offer you the world.’” Mulder looks amused.

“To be fair, Scully, I only watched the movie once on cable. I thought I got the gist of the phrase, especially when paired with the snow globe I grabbed at Grand Rapids to show you. It appears much later in the movie by the way.”

“But ‘give,’ and ‘offer’ are two very different words, Mulder,” she continues, “Their meaning is completely different in context. ‘I give’ means that there are no strings attached to this phrase, no conditions set in place, while ‘I offer’ allows the other party a chance to accept or decline the option.” Scully knows she’s rambling, but she can’t stop herself. She holds up the plastic bag in her hands.

“For instance, I’m offering you this bag full of items I purchased at the corner liquor store. It contains components to make delicious hot chocolate—you still owe me hot chocolate, Mulder--”

“Of all the things to begrudge me for, it’s hot chocolate?”

“Hot chocolate, milk, whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles, marshmallows, and peppermint sticks. And since it’s around lunch time, I even purchased some gourmet frozen dinners because I know the state of your fridge and pantry, Mulder. A man can’t suffice on sunflower seeds alone.” Mulder’s grinning at this point. He unbraces himself from the door frame and reaches for the bag, but Scully holds it away from him.

“Mulder, this is an offer. Offers usually come with conditions from the party presenting it.”

“State your conditions then, Scully.” He drawls as he leans against the door frame crossing his arms.

“I want you to be the one to prepare hot chocolate for the both of us. I also want to finish watching the movie. I want to see how Sandra Bullock’s character goes from thinking she’s in love with an asshole to falling in love with Bill Pullman’s character.”

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Mulder’s eyes shone brightly as he stared at her intently. Her eyes slightly widened at his question. He straightens himself up and fully opens the door. He motions with his head as he says, “Get in here, Scully.”

She exhales a breath as she crosses the threshold. Mulder murmurs, “I was thinking about you all morning too” as he closes the door behind her.

#my fic #hooray #it’s finished #advent calendar prompt #day 25 #Christmas Day #romcom trope #msr #kinda

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rhodesmystery · 5 years

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what is the rough timeline of natasha and charlie relationship? i love your fics and how its like little peeks into the development of it all and how it doesnt rely on them being together ll the time its lovely

HM HM HM okay let’s see... like i guess the thing is that ultimately is written for charlie and what i’ve done for natasha is being their own person is rly integral to them? like charlie grew up in a house where at any period of time, nine ppl were living under the same roof? like he didn’t have much time to himself that he literally upped and moved to romania lmfao. and natasha like, one day i’ll remember to post her family tree, but she’s in the same boat in a way, especially when her family moves from america full time. then she’s suddenly thrown into a household with all her extended family. they need to be their own people first, and i mean that independence does hurt communication and the needs of not just themselves but others as well and i guess that’s why i wrote the long walk for their relationship to finally find that point where they were like. yes. where their lines finally crossed over and stayed crossed over, instead of simply running parallel and sometimes moving in but barely touching?

this got long so under the cut

they do meet in first yr bc the game is LYING that such a SMALL CLASS POST-VOLDY wouldnt exist like a literal baby boom happens post voldy dying but the current kids around would honestly be rly small groups? hogwarts would be so EMPTY REAL TALK everyone also afraid to let their kids go to school

natasha asks for slytherin, should've been ravenclaw. much distress, and first yr in between running around with the vault of ice kind of finds her spending a lot of time in the towers and stuff. she likes high places.

this gonna sound bad but i dont rly remember much of the 1st yr of hphm apart from not sealing the vault properly, but anyway natasha and charlie were friends anyway that mattered and natasha wasn't a very good slytherin for befriending a gryffindor AND a weasley

second yr is kind of the time where she meets bill and like on the one hand is a little infatuated with him but they are rly good friends at the end of the day. she pulls away from charlie a bit bc of it but then again i figure around this stage charlie has started his crusade of entering the forest in some respects so like. he’s not even on the grounds half the time lbr. also, i dont remember much of this yr either a lot happened. but the ice knight was there.

third yr aka vault of fear! again, with the bs, i think natasha knew of everyone PRIOR to their intros and stuff so they’re all kind of good friends but ig this is also just my thing of like. small classes post war. even with the attempt at animosity between houses, especially post war, kids probably aren't going to do. that. and i know slytherin is all death eater kids basically but most of them are probably orphaned too by the end of the war. theyre all scared ANYWAY social circle expanding... idk this yr was a ride too i remember it a little bit more than the others ig. idk what happened here rly

OKAY SO FOURTH YEAR RIGHT that’s when it’s literally a year of dating charlie in game but whatever. so going from literally spending only classes together and maybe like the one christmas if bill and charlie stayed in the castle at the same time, natasha and charlie did talk and were friends but it was on the down low towards the end of third yr. until it wasn’t bc literally all the scheming to get into the forest and mr charlie ‘i asked my brother a million questions about you over the summer’ weasley just rolling up. and theyre in each others spaces A Lot which is kind of wild for the both of them considering they’re both from large families and personal space is A Thing™ they both really need but their friendship really deepens this year. they’re very honest with each other, and whilst bill is natasha’s best friend just because of how they click, her and charlie have this understanding between them that it’s hard to get between.

except fifth yr comes along and smacks everyone in the face. natasha finds out what puberty is over the summer, along with a prefect badge. charlie also has a bit of a growth spurt around this time, so they’re awkward and lanky around each other early on. natasha also dates myron wagtail during her fifth yr, as well as esther szohr and a couple of other ppl here and there. she’s all giggly and twirling hair and I'm so sorry charlie she just hasn’t noticed you at this stage. but it’s not rly a good year for her, mentally all around, so don’t feel too bad ig.

sixth yr she’s getting tired(er) and lightly dates other people as well. broke up with myron over the summer, and like. has started to see charlie in another light, kind of? but at the risk of ruining her friendship, madly writes to bill most of the time about ‘how do i get your brother to notice me????’ because communication is key and natasha doesn’t actually know what it is. she’s also named captain of slytherin quidditch team this yr, and well. ends up spending a ridiculous amount of time closer to charlie’s second great love. sees another side of him. swoons in the stands a lot. they kind of reignite their friendship as well, as it just politely simmered in the back. teach other spells. lots of touching with hands like no no wave like this... it’s very romantic and high strung and they’re dumb teenagers not sure what to do.

they mess it up over the summer between sixth and seventh yr tho. lots of kissing. some other stuff. natasha spends a bit of time with the weaselys before returning to hogwarts. hormones everywhere.

seventh year starts with them kind of tiptoeing around not knowing where they stand relationship wise, and they’re not!! good!! at talking!! so it’s like a big drawn out game of whispers to figure out who said what but it breaks off bad and natasha cries a lot and charlie feels awful too and they’re mopey and shit for a while. like they can’t be in each other’s spaces for a while that they kind of completely withdraw to their own houses sort of thing. eventually, with a few helpful nudges and stuff, they at least talk to each other but don’t know if the friendship is there. 99% sure penny was ready to amortentia the both of them to ‘fix things’ and also just to prove she could do it. also probably didnt help that barnaby and a few other slytherins jumped charlie and quidditch team as 1) for natasha but also 2) for quidditch and that also really prompts natasha and charlie to talk because they rly cant let ppl do it for them lol

same year still, but as things start to improve and they can somewhat pick up their old banter without getting sad, bill invites natasha over for xmas because he’s actually given it off. never mind that in between all this, natasha took to writing to myron again, which just. not nice natasha jfc. natasha and charlie enjoy an incredibly awkward trip back with some UST, kiss again in the spot where they pretty much shared their first kiss, refuse to talk about the kiss, natasha buys charlie a new wand, they try to talk about it but its mostly natasha apologising for being a brat.

theyre still not back ‘on’ though, and have some make outs in locker rooms anyway, to the both of their confusion. are they ever going to talk? no. UNTIL ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and natasha’s not good at words but she’s good at actions and yknow what? fk it. slytherin might’ve won the quidditch cup, but when she landed in the middle of the pitch, and charlie reached out to shake her hand, she grabbed the front of his uniform and pulled him in for a big damn kiss in front of literally everyone, cup in her other hand. she keeps a photo of it on her at all times after that.

i also have a fic I'm writing that was kind of before the celestial ball was announced where they organised kind of 7th yr graduation dance thing and it was going to be quiet and intimate kind of and natasha and charlie end up finishing the night together, falling asleep on a balcony and waking up with each other sort of thing lol

and that’s only ‘91. late ‘91 is when they separate for job opportunities. natasha goes to work at gringotts for a bit with bill, and charlie goes off to romania. they get a few weeks in of summer loving before, though, also post graduation celebration. but they write constantly and stuff. pursuing their own lives kind of starts to become a thing.

in ‘92, early they kind of make a vow to each other when they get a bit of time off and go to greece. its very romantic and a big step forward in commitment for them, as they don’t really see each other for the rest of the year. also, late 92 natasha starts working at durmstrang, which removes her even further from the stream of things.

early ‘93 is not a good time for charlie because of what happens to ginny and ron, so he’s not exactly in the best mindset as theres some self doubt at removing himself so much from his family, he cant be there so easily when they need him most. midway through ‘93, natasha gets attacked at durmstrang, and it takes ppl a while to actually find her. charlie spends a long ass time in st mungos beside her until she wakes up, and they reaffirm their feelings for each other when she does. natasha admits that she had called for charlie, being the last thought she had, and she creates the little runic stones for the both of them as a way of contacting each other, or just reminding them the other is there.

natasha returns to working in late ‘93, and in ‘94 they see each other again at the world cup. i know i said they took a break and ig they did but its easy for them to flirt dumbly until things go to shit with death eaters. until they punch one! and later on natasha is brought in as hired help to tutor the students brought to hogwarts, but because her ‘inside knowledge’ of the school is valuable. her and charlie hook meet up quite a bit when he’s present for the first task. also because she’s hanging around for the entire year, she is there for the yule ball and stuff. lots of writing to charlie like do you remember when we danced? so romantic.

idk what happens in ‘95. i haven't planned anything. same for ‘96. short of natasha going to romania to visit charlie a few times, and how her work ends up bringing her into the ministry a bit. its not the same kind of cooling off as hogwarts where they question the relationship, but apart from letters they dont really see each other.

in 97 however!!!!! bill and fleur’s wedding and like. they spent a bit of time apart again, so natasha puts on her best to impress her boy. and charlie wants to propose but also because he’s totally smitten by the idea of making it real between them as a proposal via ribbon only does so much lmfao. and they get interrupted! and separated for quite some time actually. natasha ultimately returns to her family, for the larger part of 97 she's working with them as they deal with the fact her grandfather made a deal with death eaters, and that her ancient family history is coming back to bite them in the ass. like i know in the books they say charlie went around recruiting foreign wizards but thats so HANDWAVEY of jkr yknow? granted she never rly sounded like she knew what to do with charlie apart from shipping him off to romania. I'm sure he went to romania like YO we cant let this happen come with me when it mattered, but you’ll have to fight me to convince me he wasn't with his family for a large part of the story, and that he wasn't doing underground work and stuff in the mean time (you can’t change my mind)

in 98 though everything goes to hell for natasha’s family and she, in a moment of panic, calls for charlie. and he literally runs to her, and they both nearly die for it, but like he finally sucks up the courage to ask her, for realsies, if she would marry him. its been like 10yrs of will they wont they for them and only so many bets can be placed.

they get married late 98, and i know i never quite decided on smth big or intimate, but i think i’m happy with a ‘they had a big damn wedding and it was ridiculously opulent and flowery for autumn where you would’ve thought it was spring sort of thing. or maybe even something blissfully wintery. they’ve moved out of their summer romance phase, where it only came around for a few weeks at a time. relationship development.

DO THEY HAVE KIDS I CANT DECIDE i guess the eldest would be born some time in 99? and then from there a general progression lmfao but YEAH

also in regards to like the celestial ball i understand why the canon characters weren’t involved, but i’m just smad. barnaby was rly cute though so... THERE YOU HAVE IT ANYWAY

#*replies #*natasha #hphm #charlie weasley #LONG POST #SORRY #Anonymous

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argotmagazine-blog · 6 years

Text

The Art Of Being A Unicorn

“Look, all I’m saying is that I don’t believe for a minute she really wants to fuck women.”

Our first round of drinks arrived five minutes ago and already the conversation is on Candace and her recent induction into the Sapphic Sisterhood. I take a deep gulp of my Riesling. And another. Empty glass in forty-five seconds. Self-preservation in the form of wasted wine.

“It’s just some kind of phase. Maybe she skipped the ‘experimentation’ stage in college and wants a round two. Either way, no way she’s suddenly a dyke.” Kate takes a deep swig from her bottle of Magic Hat, confident she’s made her point. The alcoholic equivalent of dropping the mic.

“It’s just so weird.” Lisa tries to fish the cherry out of her Cosmo with the swizzle stick. She slowly pulls it up the side of the glass, and then loses it, the candy red sphere tumbling back to the little well in the bottom of the martini glass. She purses her lips as she stabs it and then pops it into her mouth. “She’s only dated guys, before. Though, I mean, it’s not like Dana is much of a chick. She’s so...” She trails off, twirling her hand in the air in front of her as she tries to find the word.

“She’s ‘so’ what?” I press, knowing the answer, my tone sounding more frustrated than I planned. The others at the table don’t seem to notice, but out of the corner of my eye I can see Kevin lean his head on his hand, so his face is ‘casually’ pointed my direction. He raises his eyebrows, his eyes reminding me of my promise to be nice to his friends. I give him my best ‘I know, honey, but I kind of want to stab them in the face right now’ smile in response, my lips almost painfully pressed into a thin, curved line, my eyebrows raised to mock his.

“Oh! Butch! That’s the word I was looking for!” Lisa looks satisfied. She turns toward her husband. “Right?”

Mark shrugs, dipping the complimentary pumpernickel directly into the included ramekin of butter. He scoops the off-white cream onto a corner of the bread, takes a bite, and double dips.

“Maybe she’s bi? Or pan?” I bring out the smile I usually reserve for annoying customers, hoping it will keep my voice even and friendly.

Kate scoffs. “People only say that as an excuse to be sluts.”

“I dunno, Kate. She was cheating on David with Dana before they broke up.” Mark points at Kate with his second piece of bread, his mouth full.

“Bisexual doesn’t mean slutty. And even if it did--“ My voice comes out an octave higher than I’d have liked. The customer service smile is not so much put back in its neat little compartment in my mind, as violently ripped away. Kevin takes in a sharp breath which evolves into a heavy sigh as he leans back in his seat, finding something interesting about the ceiling.

Kate speaks over me. “Yeah but David hadn’t had sex with her in, like, a year. So, that’s kind of his own fault.”

Mark helps himself to another scoop of butter. “You think Dana tricked her, somehow? I mean, like, Candace is lonely, vulnerable, and then this person swoops in and makes her feel desired. Yeah, the parts are different but if you close your eyes, it all feels the same.” He looks up at the rest of us, noticing the sudden silence. “What? It’s only gay if you give.” He pops the last bit of bread into his mouth. “Well, I guess except for butt stuff.”

I eye Kevin’s Captain and ginger ale. The server could come back any time, now. I really should have ordered something stronger than wine.

“Lesbians don’t do ‘butt stuff’, Mark.” Lisa rolls her eyes at her husband. “They use, I dunno, dildos and shit.”

“Cos all ladies really want the D.” Mark’s voice is smooth as he purses his lips in a cocky mockery of seduction, motioning with both hands to his crotch in the universal, ‘suck it’ sign. “Right, Kev?”

Kevin looks away from the lights on the ceiling. “Hmm? I, uh--“

“Oh yeah,” Mark interrupts, giving a slow, knowing nod, “Kevin knows.”

“Look, why--“ I clear my throat and lower my voice as Kevin gives me a light kick under the table. “Why do you care so much about Amanda’s love life? She’s dating a woman, now. So what? I mean I’m--“

“Wow, the salmon looks awesome!” Kevin interjects. He points at an expertly crafted photo of perfectly air brushed pink fish in the menu.

“Dude, you can’t order fish at Outback, that’s just weird.”

“I’m having the chicken.”

“Oh come on, why would you go to a steak place and not get steak?”

“I like chicken.”

“Blasphemers, all of you.”

I leave them to their bickering, reaching across Kevin to snag his drink. I stare at the side of his face as I down it in two chugs. Fuck it.

Later, walking to the car after goodbyes and promising to get together again soons are exchanged, I let out the hot, writhing put of snakes that have been in my stomach most of the evening.

“Dude, what the fuck was that?”

Kevin doesn’t even look at me as he pulls out his keys, pressing the button to unlock the car. His green Camry beeps, the interior lights automatically illuminating the cabin. “What the fuck was what?”

“Cutting me off like that when they were talking about Candace! I know they’re your friends, but they were being fucking assholes.”

He opens the passenger side door, stepping back and waiting patiently for me to sit down and reach for my seatbelt. “Because I knew you were going to play the bi card.” He pushes my door closed and walks to the driver’s side. His door dings when it opened.

“Excuse me? ‘Bi card’? Are you actually serous right now.”

The overhead light dims into darkness. He shrugs, inserting his key into the ignition. “I just don’t see why my friends need to know that about you.” He turns the key, reaching for the radio volume knob as the CD player come to life. Death Cab for Cutie pours from the speakers. “It’s not like it even counts, right now. You’re with me.” He turns up the volume and puts the car into reverse.

“Care to explain this?” Meredith throws the pink and blue notebook onto the black marble coffee table. It slides across the smooth, polished surface, before coming to rest in front of me. Half of it hangs into void between the table and the couch. The 3D yellow flower on the front bounces slightly on its small spring. Meredith glares down at me, the angry lines around her mouth betraying the age her perfect make up tries to hide.

“My journal? You bought it for me for Xmas.”

“Don’t be a smartass.” My dad’s voice holds barely controlled anger. I know that he will end up yelling by the end of this confrontation--he always does. And I will end up matching his volume as my words devolve into rage filled sobs. It’s a very specific script. But for now, he’s holding onto at least a shred of civility.

“I really don’t understand what’s going on right now.”

“What’s going on,” Meredith’s voice drips with patronizing contempt, “Is that you got ‘hot and heavy’ with Hope. What are you, some kind of dyke now?”

Pressure starts to rise in my sinuses. “You read my journal? What right do you have--“

“What right does she have?!” Dad jerks forward in his chair, his face red. “What right do you have?! You don’t own that journal, little girl. It’s under our roof, it is our property.”

“Why is this such a big deal to you?” My throat is tight and my words come out in a strange croak. I am determined not to cry this time. I won’t give her the satisfaction.

“The big deal,” Meredith’s lips purse in disgust, her coral lipstick fluorescent against her overly tanned skin, “is that it is wrong. And we will not have it under this roof.”

“Technically, I wasn’t under this roof. We were in Derek’s car.” I want to delete the words from existence as soon as they’re out of their mouth.

My dad sighs. I’m impressed with his composure thus far. I expected my inability to keep my mouth under control to spark the shouting portion of tonight’s entertainment. “You’re not even old enough to have sex with men, how could you possibly know if you want to have sex with women?” It’s the same line he’s given any time I mention my various gay friends.

“I’m sixteen.”

“Exactly.”

“The fact I exist proves that teenagers have sex, Dad.”

“I called her mother.” Meredith interrupts the debate on teenage sexuality to bring us this important breaking news. She crosses her arms over her off-white sweater, smirking.

Panic rises in my throat, followed by the acidic taste of bile. This panic is not for myself. “Are you serious? How could you do that?! Her parents held a freaking laying on of hands at her birthday party! They wouldn’t allow her to attend sex ed! What do you think they’re going to do with her when they find out she likes girls?”

“That is not my problem, but she assured me that this will never be an issue again. And you two are forbidden to see each other.”

There is a low buzzing in my head as my mind fills with a white, blank space. I don’t realize I’ve left the couch until I find myself sitting at my desk in my room. I’m surprised they let me leave without further judgment. I don’t even know if I’m grounded.

Later that night, long after my dad and stepmom go to bed, I sneak the cordless phone out of the living room, and dial Hope’s cell. It goes directly to voicemail.

The next day an overly polite computer voice informs me that the number has been disconnected.

Hope isn’t in school that Monday. Or Tuesday. Or Wednesday. Then, through the Humphrey High rumor mill, I hear the news.

“Her parents Baker Acted her!” I shout as I walk through the door leading into the kitchen from the garage. Meredith is at the island putting the finishing touches on a sandwich. She doesn’t bother to look up.

“Who are you talking about?”

“Hope! They lied and said that she’s a danger to herself! She’s in an institution because you told her mother about us! This is your fault!”

Her eyes meet mine, steel wrapped in brown silk. “I will not be spoken to that way by a dyke.” She takes a bite of her sandwich and places it onto a dark green plate. She carries it out of the kitchen, through the living room, out the sliding glass door, and onto the patio. She sits on the painted white concrete and dips her legs into the clear water of our pool.

“So you’re a lesbian?” My mother’s voice is calm and conversational. I hear her typing through the other end of the phone, multi -tasking between talking to me and participating in an ‘alternate-lifestyle’ chat room. She recently acquired a computer, launching herself into the late 20th century a year past Y2K. Her internet provider is AOL.

“No, mom, I still like guys, too. I guess I’m bi. I actually kind of like this dude in my Chemistry class. He looks like Ethan Embry.”

“I have no idea who that is.”

I sigh, exasperated in that way only teenagers feel when confronted by their parents’ ignorance of the really important things in life. “He’s an actor, mom. He was in Empire Records? Can’t Hardly Wait?”

“You know I’ve never seen these movies.”

“That Thing You Do?”

“Oh! I liked that one! Who was he?”

“The bass player.”

“Oh, okay. Yeah, he’s cute.” She pauses. “But you like girls, though.” Back on topic.

I slouch further into the fuzzy blue overstuffed chair in the corner of the den. It’s the ugliest chair that ever uglied but I love every comfy inch of it. It was the only piece of furniture left over from when my parents were married. I have no idea why my dad lugged around for over a decade. I am equally confused as to why Meredith allowed it in the house, as it clashes with everything, even if it is banished to the den, the room company is least likely to see. All I know is that I call dibs when I move out after graduation in a few months.

“How did your dad and Meredith take it?”

I sigh, my breath causing static into the phone. “Not good.”

“Hmm.” She makes a noncommittal noise and I can tell she is trying to decide to play nice or let me know for the eight thousandth time how she feels about my father and his bride. “You know, I’ve experimented with women.”

My mouth could catch flies. “Wha--really?”

“Mmmhmm.” The keyboard continues to clack in the background. “That one convention I went to, I played with a couple female subs. It was okay. Boobs I could play with all day but anything below that, eh. Not really into vaginas. Dicks are much more fun. Oh, and Allen and I did have a threesome with that Mille girl who used to live next door to us. Remember her? She used to keep an eye on you when you were in middle school?”

I shut my eyes tightly, a sharp pain in my temple. My brain tries to process this outflow of information. The play dates with ladysubs weren’t really a big deal--I’d known about my mom’s kinky lifestyle for a while--but Millie? Beautifully damaged, dramatic, soft haired Millie?

“Y-You had sex with Millie?” I stammer when my mouth decides it can once again form words.

“Yeah. Kind of. Allen was there, too--“

“I had a crush on Millie, mom.” Actually, crush was a loose term. I was infatuated my Millie. I dreamed of Millie. She was the first real life girl I was ever interested in. My confused desires previously focused on beautiful actresses like Lucy Liu and Portia De Rossi, what with Ally McBeal being my queer gateway drug.

But Millie. There was something special about her. Something wild in the way her life was full of emotional turmoil and passion. She was a walking soap opera and it fascinated me. She was also the first person I ever smoked weed with, so there was something to be said about my mother’s choice of baby sitters.

My mother laughs. The typing sounds stop. “Really? You liked Millie?” Another laugh cuts off whatever I wasn’t going to say. “Looks like we have the same taste in women.”

“Oh god.”

The typing begins anew.

“I’ve seen her play five times.” The woman in front of me has dark hair and is beautiful. The dim lighting of the bar shadows her skin a darker brown and she wears her hair naturally, kinky curls springing from her head in every direction.

“And I thought I was bad!” I give a little self-deprecating snort. “I’ve seen her three times, I think? I try to make sure to get tickets whenever she’s in town. She really must love this venue.”

Arms reach around and above me as women crowd the bar to grab a drink before the end of intermission. Melissa Ferrick is already back on stage on the other side of the club, tuning her guitar and laughing at something her drummer said. The stage lights make her short brown hair look blue.

The woman takes a sip of her martini, her maroon lipstick staining the glass. I didn’t know anyone actually drank martinis. Everyone I know makes due with the cheapest beer they can dig up, and wine either in a magnum or a box. One day my friends will realize that being twenty-one means we are allowed to be choosy. I’m tired of pretending I like the taste of PBR.

“What are you thinking about?” Her lips are a smirk. I didn’t even realize I zoned out, staring at the dark green olive at the bottom of her glass.

“I want to eat your olive.” My answer is honest, but I wish I could take back the words. She raises her eyebrows for a silent second before bursting into laughter. It comes from deep inside of her.

“Is that what you kids are calling it nowadays?”

I’m glad for the bar’s terrible lighting as I feel my face get hot. I take a long swig of my Newcastle. Oh god, new subject. “I saw Doria Roberts open for her a few years ago. She was just fucking amazing. I just oh man so good.”

She gives me that smirk again and my insides feel squiggly. “I was at that show. Too bad I didn’t see you there, we could have met sooner.”

I can no longer meet her eyes. It’s just too much. “I was with my ex then, anyhow. He was reviewing the show for UCF’s newspaper. Trying to get a music column up and running. “

When I look back up, her eyebrows are furrowed. She pulls her head slightly away from me, looking at me out of almost the corner of her eye. “He?”

I shrug, not sure why she’s asking. “Yeah. Didn’t work out. Still friends, though.”

She shakes her head, sighing as she stands. “Sorry, chica, I learned a loooong time ago not to get involved with straight girls. To0 much drama.”

I spin fully towards her on my bar stool. “But I’m not—dude, I’m bi.”

She scans the crowd closer to the stage, making eye contact with someone and raising her hand in the ‘one minute’ sign. “Oh honey,” she says as she picks up her drink. She continues smiling at the woman in the crowd, not bothering to look back at me. “If you’re still calling yourself bi at your age, you’re straight. Sorry to let you know.”

She walks away, weaving through the crowd of bodies towards the front of the stage. Melissa Ferrick readjusts her mic, her black guitar reflecting the shadows of her fans. There’s a squeal of feedback. Everyone laughs.

“I’ve liked you since high school, I just needed to see what it was like.” Jane’s fair cheeks are red as she confesses, looking from me, to her hands, to the TV showing the DVD menu for Moulin Rouge. My lips are still tingling from the kiss she surprised me with a few seconds before.

“I--“ Ugh, I’ve never had to do this, before. “Look, Jane, I’m flattered and you know I love you, but not really like that. I just don’t—“

“It’s ‘cause you’re still in love with Ray, isn’t it?” She rolls her eyes, flinging herself against the back cushions of the couch with more force than I thought her tiny frame could muster. She blows an errant lock of blond hair out of her eyes.

“No, that’s not—“

“I liked you better when you were a lesbian.” She reaches for the remote.

“What is with you, today?” Kevin hurries to catch up with me as I hurry to keep myself a few steps ahead of him. I should have known better than to come to Pride. This was a stupid idea.

“What are you talking about? I’m fine.” I maneuver around a pretty girl with a pink crew-cut. Her t-shirt informs me that linguists do it with tongues.

I feel a tug on my arm and stop as Kevin uses it to hold me in place while he closes the last few feet between us. “No. I know what okay looks like and this is not okay. This is acting weird. What is going on?”

I gently pull my arm from his grasp and run my hand through my pixie cut. “I just--“ I pause to find the words. “I feel weird. Here.” I look down at the sidewalk. A fried and shriveled earth worm is stuck to the concrete. “With you.”

“What?” He sounds more hurt than angry. Damn it.

“It’s not really about you, I just feel like--” I shrug, looking up to scan the tops of the surrounding buildings. I never noticed that there was molding up there. Lion heads. Clichéd. “I feel like I’m an imposter. That I don’t belong here because I’m with a guy. Okay?”

He scrunches his nose and scoffs. “That’s stupid.”

“What?”

“No one cares that you’re here with a guy. No one is judging you for not being gay enough, okay? Everyone’s been enjoying the parade and the free candy. No one has even noticed. You’re being paranoid.”

I take a deep breath to keep myself from screaming. He doesn’t understand. He didn’t see the raised eyebrow the dreadlocked woman next to us gave when he caught one of the handfuls of condoms that were thrown into the crowd by muscled men in silver shorts. When he gave me a nudge with his elbow, saying “This’ll come in handy tonight!” with a wink. He didn’t see the man in front of us turn to look, pursing his purple stained lips, as Kevin stated with surprise that he didn’t realize the Polar Bear Club supported gay rights. The man rolled his eyes as I explained in a hurried whisper what the term ‘Bear’ referred to, and no, it didn’t mean they liked to jump into freezing cold rivers. He stood out in his black t-shirt amid the sea of rainbows. And it made me stand out beside him.

I slowly let out the breath I’ve been holding and take his hand. There’s no use in arguing. “You may be right. I’m just being insecure.”

We walk a few blocks, taking in the colorful crowd that surrounds us.

“Kev?” A voice from across the street stops our stroll. Candace waves, making her way through the crowd, Dana holding onto her hand protectively.

Kevin waves back and we meet in the middle of the sea of people. Hugs and "oh man how’s it been, haven’t seen you in forever"'s are exchanged.

“Wow, you’re the last people I thought I’d run into here.” Candace states, laughing.

Kevin returns the laughter, surprised. “What do you mean?”

“You don’t usually see a lot of straight couples at Pride.”

Jenna Swisher's work has appeared in Chatham University's literary magazine, Minor Bird, as well as Daikaijuzine, The Battered Suitcase, and Beyond Imagination. She lives in Pittsburgh with her boyfriend and their five cats.

#bisexuality #biphobia #relationships #emotional labor #pride #lgbtq #culture

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orangeyouglad8 · 7 years

Note

While waiting for the Clexa xmas manips to appear, do you have headcanons how your thirsty lawyers spend their holiday together? Do they get a tree? Does one of them go overboard with the decorating? What gifts do they get each other? - Secret Citrus

Well, well, well, it’s your lucky day my dear Secret Citrus Santa! As a present to you, and all of my lovely followers (including my assigned SS), I’ve worked out a few words for you. Guess I’m feeling the holiday spirit! Enjoy.

Another Christmas arrives the same way it always does. Her old bed creaks with her movements and the room is frigid around her because the window is drafty. Her parents are already up and chatting downstairs, the smell of coffee and breakfast making its way up to her bedroom.

And it's the same as it always is. There's nothing particularly special about it. Not even the stellar bloody marys her father makes every year. The ones she always gets a little drunk on before crashing onto the couch. Not here. At home. Alone. There's nothing special about being back home. It's routine and familiar and the same.

Except there is something so very special about this year. And this day. And the warmth that ignites Lexa from inside and oozes from her. Everything softer and merrier than ever. Even here, even miles away from the source of that warmth. There's a smile that seems permanent. There's a giddiness that sits on her skin. A wonder and a pleasantness she hasn't felt in years. Even if she pouts just a little bit at being away from Clarke on a holiday that is meant to be shared with loved ones. It doesn't take away from the happiness that lives within at just the thought of her and that one certain smile she always has for Lexa.

Lexa stifles a yawn and debates a nap. She hasn't been sleeping well alone in her old bed. In a different city. In a different life. It just doesn't feel right.

Her father is droning on about something or other when the phone on the table in front of her flashes with a name that makes her own heart thud wildly in her chest.

Griffin

She stands and grabs it off the table, disappearing back into her old bedroom. Ghosts of her youth still littered everywhere.

It's always odd being here. Especially now.

She shuts the door and slides the call open with a smile. "Hey."

"Hi." Clarke's voice is quiet and soft and sounds so achingly warm.

"Merry Christmas." Lexa doesn't let herself say anything else. Bursting with the need to say this. She knows it's still early, knows that they've only just gotten on the same page with each other, but she hates being away.

Hates being here.

Doesn't feel whole.

"Merry Christmas," Clarke answers and Lexa can hear the smile that plays on her lips through the phone connection. "You've already said that at least once on text."

"Yeah, but, now you're on the phone."

"How many drinks have you had, Woods?"

"Oh… um…" She blushes, entirely caught.

"Hmm, that's what I thought. Too bad you're not here right now. Tipsy you is so very fun."

She groans. "Don't remind me."

Clarke just laughs. A cackle that's loud and lively and warms Lexa from the inside out. "My mom just left for the airport…" Lexa can practically hear the way her eyes darken as she teases.

"Clarke," she warns.

"So, tomorrow then?"

"Tomorrow. Late morning."

"Yes, I remember."

They both lapse into silence for a moment, enjoying the quiet.

"Why did your mom leave so early?" Lexa flops back on the bed, hand resting on her stomach and staring at the tiny, almost barely there patch of her ceiling that they forgot to paint over when they did this room. It hides away normally, but she knows just where to find it.

"Surgery early tomorrow. She's probably elbow deep in her files on the plane. I actually can't believe she flew out for the holiday."

"Hmm."

"Plus, she didn't even stay with me. You really missed out, Woods."

"You have such a one-track mind, Griff."

"Usually that works out for you."

The teasing is nice, welcome even. But, but.

"How was your visit?" Lexa hedges. Pokes.

Clarke hesitates. There it is.

"It was like it always is now."

Her voice is so small, so full of nostalgia and grief. It feels heavy even from thousands of miles away. Lexa can't bear it. Not when she is too far away to do anything about it.

"What will you do for the rest of the day?"

"I'm going to Raven's in a little bit. Her family is here and they do a whole thing… poker, food, coquito."

"Sounds festive."

"Festive is one word for it. And you?"

"Well, my dad is glued to the basketball and my mom is fluttering around the kitchen. Aden is supposed to be calling soon. I'll probably go across the street at some point to visit the neighbors."

Clarke hums, yawns. Lexa wants to kiss her. She loves Clarke like this. Open and soft. Vulnerable with her. For her. "Oh, I'm glad he can call."

"We are, too."

She remembers when she first told Clarke about her brother. Overseas. Following the family footsteps so well. Unlike her.

They hadn't been sleeping together long when it popped out. A missed call and a frown led to the questioning. She'd never been able to hide anything from Clarke, for as much as the other woman could be blind to it all.

Clarke was soft and gentle.

Flipping Lexa inside and out with her quiet questions and her steady smile.

She yawns again now through the phone.

"Are you in bed?"

"You don't think I'd be calling with all these suggestions if I wasn't, do you?" Clarke tries to purr but she's too mumbly.

"Well, yeah, you're you."

"Touche, counselor."

"What did you do with her today before she left?"

"She stayed at the hotel but came over early. We did a whole thing. Breakfast and presents."

"Good thing we got you that tree then, huh?" Lexa smiles. It had been a point of contention that she'd won with a wiggle of her eyebrows and a few deep kisses. Clarke folded without much fight after that.

"Mhm." It's content. "She pestered me with questions about you, was mad I didn't let her meet you."

Again, Lexa flutters. "Oh?"

"Yeah…" Clarke's voice trails off, almost gone.

"Take your nap, Clarke. We'll talk later." She wants nothing more than to get the story out of Clarke, but she knows it's a lost cause right now.

"Okay…" It's barely a word. Lexa finds herself more amused than anything. Completely endeared to Clarke and her see-through motives. "Love you."

It still makes her heart stop beating in her chest for a full breath before it kick starts and runs away with her.

Those words.

From that girl.

"Love you, now sleep." She barely gets it out, her smile so wide.

Lexa is antsy.

Has been since the night before when she packed up her bag.

Since a quick shower and breakfast with her parents and a short ride to the airport.

Since sitting down on the plane and buckling her seat belt.

She is antsy and she is beyond caring at this point. All she can think about is Clarke.

And how the holiday apart was weirder than it had any right to be, but she's not willing to talk herself out of it anymore. There's a tiny wrapped gift in her bag. Small and not even a thing, but something.

Because, really, what do you get the girl you've been in love with for ages, sleeping with for months and only just now finally starting a relationship with?

There was hemming and hawing over it for weeks. Internal debate. A quick pass by Anya that was regretted as soon as it was said.

In the end, it felt right.

Because it's Clarke.

And she is in love.

And now she sits in a car on the way to Clarke's loft, antsy and bouncing her knees. Checking her phone and firing off texts. Flirting her way through traffic and ready to walk in and scoop up her girl.

She arrives at Clarke's building still a mess of excitement and a slight bit of anxiety.

Nervous excitement.

Like she feels before a big case.

Her hands tingle and her smile is already embedded in her cheeks. She waves to the doorman and gets on the groaning elevator and tries to breathe.

She gets two soft raps on the door before it's opening. Clarke is there with bright, shining eyes and a ridiculous Christmas sweater on her frame. Her smile, though. Lexa can't look away from her smile.

Even more astounding than usual.

Lexa will claim that smile. It's hers. It belongs to them in this moment more than anything else. She burns it into her memory.

"Hi," she breathes out. Breathless just from Clarke opening her door.

"Hey, stranger." Clarke reaches out and grabs her wrist, tugging her inside. "I'm glad you're back."

The door shuts behind them and Lexa's bag goes on the floor, where her work bag usually rests. Her boots slide off and her coat works its way off her shoulders with Clarke's help. Lexa stands and watches it happen.

Watches Clarke move around her. Get her comfortable again.

Hang the coat over the back of the couch and run her hands up Lexa's arms.

The seeing and the feeling overwhelms her.

They've spent longer time apart. Busy schedules and the ambiguity of their relationship had led to stretches apart at times.

But it's different now.

Now that they're… them.

Clarke runs her hands up Lexa's arms and wraps around her shoulders, pulling their bodies closer. Her eyes are dark and her smile is wicked and Lexa wants nothing more than to lean down and take it from her. Swallow it whole.

But she can't move. Not yet.

Frozen with the way Clarke studies her. Feels her.

Her own hands rest on Clarke's hips, slide around to the small of her back and lessen the space even more.

"Miss me?" She means it to sound teasing and light. And it does, but there's an undercurrent. It draws Clarke's eyes to hers.

"As much as I don't want to deal with your monster of an ego, I will admit that I did."

A buzzing starts then. In her heart and works out from her insides. Reaches out for Clarke.

"I missed you, too."

Clarke perks up at that and Lexa can't wait any longer. Finally kissing her. Claiming those lips again in a kiss that's so gentle it almost kills her.

It's all she's wanted for the barely three, more like two and change, days that they were apart.

This moment.

She is not too big to admit it.

She finally has all of Clarke now. Leaving when it's still delicate, still new and not quite balanced, was harder than she ever thought it could be.

Clarke is the one who pulls away. Who leans her forehead against Lexa and breathes her in. Who scratches the back of her neck in that way she always does when she's feeling too much to vocalize.

They stay there for a moment. Readjusting. Getting their bearings. Sharing quiet intimacy.

"I brought you something," Lexa breaks the comfortable silence. Remembering the small gift that sits wrapped in her bag. "It's… not a lot, but, I saw it and…"

"Lex-" Clarke stops her flustered speech with a soft kiss. A barely there brush of lips that sends a jolt throughout her body.

"Okay, it's in my bag." She doesn't move to grab it though. Pulls Clarke back in instead for another kiss. Deeper and fuller than their last. Her hands slide up under Clarke's sweater in search of skin. She's rewarded with a light nip. "I like this, by the way."

"My horrendous sweater?"

"Mhm," she hums, leaning back in for yet another kiss. Not wholly satisfied in her reacquaintance with Clarke's mouth. "It suits you."

"It suits me?" Clarke moves her head and ducks Lexa's next attempt.

Lexa laughs, "What?"

"You're just… weird sometimes."

"You like it."

"I do," she purrs and closes the gap, running her nose up Lexa's neck and dropping a few pecks there. "Mom got me this, it's a thing she has- she used to get them for my dad and now she gives them to me. One a year. Plus I have a few of his old ones."

"You mean to tell me you've been holding out on me, Griff? A secret Christmas sweater collection has been here this whole time?"

"Oh? I've been holding out on you?" She raises an eyebrow and cocks her head and heat pools in Lexa's belly.

"You're gonna have to show me the rest now," she says. Low and close to Clarke's ear. Enjoying this little game they've stumbled into. "This one might be my favorite though, just because it was the first."

"Yeah? It's also itchy as fuck."

"Well, I might be able to help you out with that…"

"Hope so, Woods." Her eyes are dark but there's a cheeky look on her face. Her hands move and shove Lexa away. "I want my present first though."

Lexa rolls her eyes and steps out of Clarke's hold. "Why am I not surprised?" She leans down and rummages through the bag, pulling the small box out, suddenly nervous again.

"Don't get all weird, Lex. I got you something, too." Clarke kisses her cheek and accepts her gift. Scratching at the plaid wrapping paper carefully and pulling the box out. She opens it and her eyes widen and soften and Lexa releases a breath.

It's a small sliver business card holder. Lexa spotted it when she was at the mall with her dad trying to help him find something to give her mother. Last minute and frantic as always.

Clarke tilts it in her hands and the etching catches on the light that filters into the large windows from the sunny winter day outside.

Clarke Griffin, Esq.

"Lexa…"

Lexa shrugs. "I figured you're starting your new position soon and you'll have some new cards now. You've gotta make all these new contacts."

"It's perfect." She looks up and the smile lives in her eyes and on her cheeks. "I love it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Clarke kisses her, quick but full of meaning. "This is great! Plus I didn't have one before."

"I know, I've seen you dig around in your bag to hand out cards and... really, Clarke? Come on."

Clarke giggles and Lexa feels that burst of pride she has grown accustomed to.

"I just never got around to it, okay?" She whines but pulls Lexa in for a hug. Drops another kiss on her cheek.

"Mhm, sure, Griff."

"Do you want your present or not, Woods? Because teasing me is not the way to get it."

"Oh? You think that's true? I have a few tricks up my sleeve…" She grabs Clarke and pulls them close, growling playfully into her neck and enjoying the squeal she earns. Clarke just laughs louder and Lexa's heart swells and swells.

"Alright, alright…" Clarke is breathless and shining. She steps back out of Lexa's grasp, but tangles their fingers together and tugs towards the bed. "Come on, then."

"To bed? Is my present dirty?" Lexa smirks, Clarke rolls her eyes.

"Three days away has you thirsty."

"Absolutely parched."

Clarke pulls them to the closet and opens the door wider, gesturing inside. It takes Lexa a moment to catch up. To see the message that is now there, clear as day.

Space.

Clarke made her some space.

"Griff," she whispers, too scared to look at the skittish creature she has attached herself to.

"You also have two official drawers in the dresser, a shelf in the shower and some more space in the bathroom for your stuff."

"Yeah?" She does look then. When Clarke's fingers tighten around her own and she inches closer to Lexa. Needing the steadiness.

"It took a while, but I finally figured you should have some actual room…" She looks down for a second before back up, eyes searching Lexa's face.

"I'm happy to have it." Lexa's free hand finds Clarke's face. Fingertips dusting along her cheek, tucking hair behind her ear. The kiss is sweet. Sweeter than anything yet. Stretching inside and pulling Lexa apart seam by seam only to be remade on Clarke's lips.

"There's one more thing, though." Clarke's breath is warm on her lips. They're still so close. She reaches back behind her to the dresser and grabs the tiny box that rests on top. It's glittery, with a little white bow. She blushes madly as she holds it out for Lexa.

And Lexa's hearing fades out, heartbeat thrumming wildly. Her hands feel shaky as she opens it, unsure of what could possibly be inside.

Clarke doesn't look away, and Lexa's breath catches when she finds a key nestled inside the box.

"I wanted you to have one, so you don't always have to knock or wait for me to get home. I know you've charmed the doormen downstairs but… you should have a key."

Lexa's mouth goes dry.

"Clarke," she starts, then stops. Clarke's hand tilts her chin up from where her eyes are still locked on the key to her own.

"I'm serious about this, about us. I wanted to show you that I mean it."

"I know-" she stops and swallows, tries to wet her tongue. "I know you are, that you do."

"Good. But that doesn't mean I won't stop showing you."

Lexa nods. Overwhelmed by Clarke and the strength with which she loves.

The key goes back on the dresser and Lexa's hands wrap around Clarke, pulling her in for a greedy, needy, kiss. And Clarke meets her beat for beat, hands twisting in her hair, gripping and possessive. It's always been the easiest way for them to speak. Like this. With mouths and hands and bodies.

They break apart, breathless. Eyes wild and lips red and bruised.

"Can I take you to bed now?" Lexa gets it out, miraculously.

Clarke nods. Bites her lip and smirks deviously. "You better." Her voice is tinged with lust, vowels huskier than normal. It sends a shock straight to Lexa's core.

A hand moves to her chest, followed by gentle pressure. She lets Clarke push her back against the bed. Falls against it as Clarke leans over her, moves against her with unbridled hunger. It's deep and real and courses through Lexa's veins, sinking in through skin as they touch.

The wool sweater lands on the floor with a soft thud and Clarke's bra follows quickly and Lexa's mouth works over every inch of skin that it can. Soon she's being stripped of her own clothes and flung up higher on the bed.

And she follows Clarke.

Her lead. Her tone. Her mouth, her hands.

Comes quick and hard around Clarke's fingers and doesn't bother trying to catch her breath before she's working her hand between them and dipping inside Clarke. Clarke undulates against her, moves with ease, with need. Dips down and hides her face in Lexa's neck, her hips never slowing. Never stopping.

She only lifts her head up when she's on the edge of it. Lexa can feel it begin, can feel the end getting closer and closer. Clarke looks up and finds her waiting. It's a look that levels Lexa. Completely shakes her off balance. And then Clarke is breaking, Lexa's name said in a rush of heat.

Lexa dozes. Sweaty and almost too hot, but not willing to move an inch with Clarke on top of her. Tucked into her. Hand softly grazing her ribs. She sighs and Clarke's lips drop a soft kiss against her collarbone. Another on her jaw. She hums happily and Clarke props herself up with a smile.

"Have I mentioned that I'm glad you're back?"

"And you're the one who called me thirsty. Imagine that."

Clarke laughs and drops down to kiss Lexa. Her laughter tastes bright and real.

"So you liked the present, then?"

Lexa studies her girlfriend, trying to determine if this is merely Clarke posturing. And she is. Mostly. But there's a genuine curiosity to her features.

"I loved it." She squeezes Clarke's hip and holds her eyes, waiting for Clarke to hear it.

"Good, yeah." She nods and readjusts herself, pulling her body more directly over Lexa's. Not even bothering to try to hide her intent.

"What's good is that your ego matches mine." She rolls her eyes and accepts the playful nip that Clarke leaves on the hinge of her jaw.

"Yeah, yeah, Woods." She works her mouth along Lexa's neck. A knee slides between her legs and hips start a slow grind.

"Did you just yeah yeah me?" Lexa gasps, opening her legs wider for Clarke.

"I did."

"Wow. Very romantic, Griff."

"I gave you a key. And closet space. And some drawers. I'm very romantic." Her mouth moves slowly to Lexa's collarbones.

"You did, you are."

"And a few orgasms." Lips brush up against a nipple.

"Probably some more soon, too."

"If you play your cards right." The other one gets attention now. Pulled between teeth.

"I can play nice," she husks out. Hands twisting in Clarke's already messy hair.

"Oh, I know you can, Lex" She moves further down and purrs. Lexa's stomach flips and plummets with that purr. Clarke moves lower and lower. Looking up one last time from between Lexa's legs. "Merry Christmas," she says with a smirk.

And it's the last coherent thing that's said for a while.

It's not until later, much later, that Lexa feels it. That feeling she was chasing all day yesterday.

It finally feels like Christmas.

Sitting on the couch in one of Clarke's itchy Christmas sweaters, long legs settled over Clarke's lap as they sip spiked cocoa and watch lame, cheesy movies. The lights on the tree in the corner twinkle in the evening light. Clarke's little laughs and whispered asides sink inside. Her soft, small, absent-minded touches have Lexa practically purring with contentment.

She wants to live in this moment for as long as she can. Stretch it as far as it will go and then some.

And she never wants to have another Christmas without Clarke by her side.

Everything is so much better with her.

"What?" Clarke notices she's being studied. Her eyebrow quirks up and her eyes sparkle even more with the Christmas lights. She smiles, knowing the answer.

"Nothing," Lexa shrugs. Blushes fiercely. "Just… I like this Christmas."

"Who knew the holidays got you so sentimental?"

Lexa scoffs and playfully kicks at Clarke's stomach. Clarke rolls her eyes but leans across their bodies anyway. Dropping a soft kiss on Lexa's lips.

"I love you, you absolute goon."

#TIHIH #TIHIH drabble #soak it up guys #this lovely little bit of fluff #these two smitten kittens around each other #everyone loves a good first holiday together yeah #Anonymous

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lexosaurus · 6 years

Text

Xmas Truce 2017

This one’s for @phantomfighter724. Happy holidays!

Danny hunched over the toilet, his body cleansing itself of everything it didn't like. His breakfast, bile—it all pooled in the murky water below.

He leaned his head down against the porcelain seat. He gave a halfhearted attempt at shifting his arms to support his sweaty face before giving up. His entire body felt like lead. His brain was clouded. He was a mess.

His stomach growled and he let out a whine of frustration. "What the hell," he muttered under his breath. What the hell was happening to him?

Out of the corner of his eye his phone lit up, and for a second he wondered why it was thrown haphazardly against the corner of the wall before he recalled tossing it out of his hand in his blind panic to reach the toilet on time. He winced, and braced himself for the worst. Fortunately, after a brief inspection, he found no additional cracks in his screen other than the small one in the corner he got from one of Skulker's brilliantly-failed attempts at kidnapping him.

A new message from Valerie popped up on the screen, and despite his situation he could help but grin a little. Befriending Valerie after she discovered his secret—connecting Dani's halfa status to his a little too easily—was a long, strenuous process. At first, it even seemed impossible, if their blatant disregard for the other's existence in school was anything to go by. But pent-up teenage emotion coupled with the constant necessity of teamwork during field-work eventually lead to an explosive argument. Valerie's hurt, Danny's insecurities, both of their mistrust in each other, everything came to light. It was violent, even if no blood was shed, and they walked away having said too many things they couldn't take back. Danny thought they were through.

They were, for a time. The silence didn't let up, but something shifted. Instead of angry silence, the air around them was uncomfortable. It was awkward, weird. Danny had never felt so unsure of how to act since his first day walking into Casper High two years ago. He was fourteen, and he had no idea what the hell he was supposed to do.

It was Valerie who broke the silence first, sending him a text reading, “I can’t do this anymore. Let’s meet up for coffee after my shift ends today.”

That conversation was different. They actually listened rather than spewing out the first thing they could think of through their red-tinted eyesight. And while the duo spoke with blunt honesty, they were delicate with their words. Respectful of the situation.

At some point after that, Valerie joined him on his nightly patrols. Danny wasn't sure why, but he chose not to question it. At first they wouldn't talk other than the obligatory, "Ghost of there," or "Watch out," but it was a step. A tiny step, but a step nonetheless.

After about a week of this, however, Danny thought he was going to lose his mind over the stupid tension. So he choked out the first thing he could think of, "So...the weather."

It was by far the worst conversation starter in the book, and he could have sworn he saw Valerie nearly lose her balance on her hoverboard. His own face burned green, and he ducked down a few feet under her in a brilliant attempt to hide his embarrassment. Valerie definitely noticed, but for some reason she chose to go along with it.

So they talked. Their first conversation was nothing but superficial, the kind of small-talk one would have when dragged along to a dinner-party with their parents, but it marked the beginning of a budding friendship between the duo. Eventually, those nightly patrols turned into after-school homework sessions and then just Friday night hangouts. While all of their problems didn't disappear overnight, they worked through them. As friends. And then, eventually...

Received: 11:24am

Val: Hey, how you feeling?<3

Danny shook his head, as if attempting to clear the fog, and typed back a response.

Danny: not sure...i think it's getting worse

Val: Want me to come over?

Danny: don't bother i can handle it

Val: Ok I'm coming over.

Danny: seriously it's prob nothing bad

Val: Do you like tomato soup or chicken noodle better?

Danny: val it's a ghost thing u don't have to worry it'll probably pass soon

Val: Ok I'm bring both I'll be there in 10

Danny: ...ok

As stubborn as Danny could be, Valerie was worse. Danny wasn’t even sure why he still resisted her kindness, even if they were dating. Maybe it was his pride? Maybe he didn’t want to get her sick? Maybe he was still insecure about himself and felt less-than and unworthy of any amount of affection? Who knew, really.

Another pang of hunger swept through his body and he sighed, leaning against the wall for support. He closed his eyes and let the dizziness sweep over him. It was probably just a ghost flu, right? It had to pass soon, didn't it?

Ever since a particularly bad fight against Vortex, he's felt off. At first, he was just a little lightheaded. Ok, no big deal, he just had to drink water. Powerade. And for a time, that worked okay. Not great, but it put a band-aid over the issue for a bit.

That was, until the hunger-pains started. He woke up one day hungry. His body clenched up as if he hadn't eaten in days, despite having a large dinner the night before. He wolfed down his morning cereal, ignoring his mom's comments about his appetite, and took off for school. Instead of feeling ready to start the school day, he felt awful. His stomach still was cramped, and waves of nausea washed over him. A few days into this cycle later, his body finally gave up and he found himself hunched over a toilet halfway through first period.

Sam all but dragged him to the nurses office that day, forcing him to get a note to go home. He slept for the rest of that day—or tried his best—but whatever was wrong with him, it didn't pass. The next day he woke up, his hunger even stronger than the day before. He tried to force himself to eat something, but he couldn't. Even though his body screamed at him for anything goddamnit, his morning cereal looked...unappetizing. Gross.

Of course, Danny hadn't gotten so much as a cold since gaining his ghostly half. Sam had a theory that the ectoplasm coursing through his blood burned off any unwanted bacteria or viruses in his body. That theory, as uneducated of a guess as it was, was more likely true than not. It would also explain the lack of infections Danny's gotten, even though his blood has been exposed to the air too many times to be healthy for a normal human.

Ah well, just another thing to add to the never ending list of everything that separated him from other humans.

That didn't mean he hasn't gotten sick, though. As rare as they were, ghostly viruses did exist in the Ghost Zone. Danny managed to contract the ghostly flu last year, which made his powers glitch as bad as the first month after the portal accident. Tucker being Tucker found it absolutely hysterical, and made sure to stock up on as much blackmail material as he could over the duration of his illness. Although that wasn't Danny's first time being an internet meme, the gif of him inexplicably falling from the sky and crashing into a tree was possibly his most embarrassing publicly documented moment to date.

A knock on the door broke Danny out of his thoughts.

“Come in,” he said weakly.

"Hey Danny," Val pushed her way in the door, a plastic shopping bag hanging off of one of her arms.

Danny struggled up in a feeble attempt to sit a bit straighter. He was vaguely aware of the distinct odor coming from the toilet beside him. He was lucky Valerie has seen him in worse conditions before.

She sat down next to him. "How you feeling?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, all false bravado flying out the window.

She quietly surveyed the scene before her. Danny's pale, sickly face beaded with sweat. Purple circles laid under his sunken-in eyes. He clutched the hem of his shirt and averted his gaze to the side.

She pursed her lips, "Danny, you look like shit."

Danny snorted. "I feel like shit."

"I can see why Jazz forced you to stay home from patrol this week."

At the mention of patrol, Danny’s eyes lit up. “How are the ghosts this week? Have you been okay on your own? Has the Box Ghost been bothering you too much? Do you need any help tonight?”

A light smile touched Valerie’s lips. Even though it was an unspoken rule not to mention Danny’s obsession outright, she still found other ways to poke fun at him for it. “Danny, you can barely stand. Chill.”

A blush crept on Danny’s cheeks, and he rolled his eyes as another wave of nausea hit him at once. Before Valerie could so much as blink, Danny had lunged at the toilet bowl, dry heaving up any molecules still left in his stomach.

A pang of worry shot through Valerie. She frowned and reached over to gently rub his back, “This is getting worse.”

“I...know...” Danny ground out between coughs.

“I know you don’t want to...but I think we should call Vlad.”

He froze.

“He might know what’s going on,” Valerie said.

“Val, no. We can’t trust him,” Danny said, his voice cold.

Valerie crossed her arms and huffed. "Come on, don’t be thick. You’re a halfa, Vlad’s a halfa. Whatever you think about him—fine. But this has been going on for over a month now and it’s only getting worse. You need help, Fenton. You need someone’s help who actually understands halfa biology. Vlad’s the man for that, whether you like it or not.”

Danny slumped his shoulders. “Okay, you have a point.”

“Thank you,” Valerie said under her breath as she took out her phone. She scrolled through her contacts till she got to Vlad’s name, and hesitated. She hadn’t contacted him in months. After the whole debacle with Dani, she kept her contact with him at a minimum. When Vlad realized she knew Danny’s secret and by default, his, he stopped contacting her altogether. Interestingly enough, packages of replacement/upgraded weapons occasionally appear at her doorstep. She knew Danny noticed when broken equipment was suddenly replaced or she got a new gun, but he was kind enough to leave it alone.

Another retch from her boyfriend beside her was all she needed to finally push down on the button. She put the phone on speaker. After only two rings, the voice of an older man appeared on the other end of the line.

“Valerie, dear. To what do I owe the pleasure? Is your equipment working fine?”

Danny tensed at Vlad’s silky tone. He opened his mouth to respond with a biting comment, but his stomach had another idea.

Worry creased Vlad’s next words. “Valerie? What’s happening? Is everything alright?”

“Fine—I’m fine, Mr. Masters,” Valerie said, her eyes not leaving Danny’s figure. “Uh, it’s Danny.”

“Daniel? What’s wrong with him?”

“We’re, um, not sure. He can’t stop throwing up. He doesn’t...Halfas can’t get human illnesses, right?”

“Right...” Vlad muttered. “Valerie, I’m presuming I’m on speaker phone?”

“Yeah,” Valerie said.

“Alright then. Daniel?” Vlad called out.

“What.” Danny said flatly.

“Can you describe your symptoms to me please?” Vlad asked.

Danny closed his eyes and said, “Uh, I can’t...I can’t hold anything down. Every time I try to eat something it comes back up. I’m really dizzy and...I guess...I mean, I’ve had these stomach pains for a few weeks now. And headaches too. I’m sure it’s nothing but Valerie—”

“This has been going on for a month and it’s not getting any better, Vlad. We’re not sure what to do.”

“I’m glad you called me,” Vlad said, his tone much more serious than a minute ago.

“What is it?” Danny asked at the same time Valerie demanded, “Is everything going to be okay?”

There was a pause.

“Valerie, do you mind stepping out of the room for a second?”

Danny, despite his weak state, managed to push himself away from the toilet and grab the phone out of Valerie’s hands with inhuman speed. “What is it, fruitloop? Just spit it out.”

“Daniel, I know this may come as a shock to you but I do care about you,” Vlad said. “You know, this may not be a good conversation to have over the phone. Give me a minute. Daniel, I presume you’re in the bathroom upstairs?”

“...Yes.”

“Perfect.”

The phone line went dead and Danny slumped against the wall. He glanced over to the toilet and wrinkled his nose at the smell of his own stomach acid. With an abnormal amount of effort, he managed to flush the toilet.

“Sorry,” he glanced over to Valerie. “Sorry to drag you into this mess.”

“Danny, stop,” Valerie clipped, kissing his forehead lightly. “You’re my boyfriend and you’re ill. I’m not going to leave you to deal with this by yourself. I know you won’t let Sam or Tucker over but I’m not a pushover, okay?”

Danny rolled his eyes to counter the blush that tinted his cheeks. “Yeah, okay. I still...I know this ghost stuff can make you uncomfortable and I don’t want to ever put you in a position where you—”

“Oh my god, Fenton,” Valerie groaned. “Keep that up and this stupid bug isn’t going to be the only thing that’s gonna kill you.”

The room temperature dropped a few degrees. Danny and Valerie’s heads whipped over to the door where Vlad Masters walked through, dropping his invisibility.

"Mr. Masters!”

“Vlad.”

“Is everything alright with Danny?”

“Everything’s going to be fine,” Vlad said.

Valerie would have breathed a sigh of relief if not for the grave look on his face as he surveyed the scene. “My my, you’ve let this get worse than I thought. I’m not sure if I have enough here for you...”

“Enough of what?” Danny asked.

Vlad sighed. “Daniel, are you sure you don’t want Valerie to leave?”

Danny glared up at him. “We’re a team, Vlad.”

"I can handle whatever you throw at us,” Valerie confirmed, letting her chest swell out in pride at Danny’s affirmation. Regardless of any of her past prejudices, she loved Danny. She didn’t care whatever ghostly-illness he had, she was going to get through this with him.

“Okay, it’s...not for the faint of heart though, Little Badger,” Vlad said, closing his eyes.

Something in Danny clicked, and he felt his eyes soften. Whatever this was...it was really bothering Vlad. “It’s okay, Vlad,” he said softly. “I can handle this.”

“Alright then,” Vlad nodded. “Daniel, you know you have a ghost core. It’s responsible for regulating and replenishing ectoplasm in your body.”

“I know this,” Danny said, looking quizzically up at Vlad. “I have an ice core.”

“Right,” Vlad said. “In normal ghosts, this is enough and they can live an eternity with their cores working fine. This isn’t quite the case with halfas though.”

“What do you mean?”

“As you know, Daniel, you’re more powerful than most ghosts. But you’re not a full-ghost. Scientifically speaking, we’re anomalies. Scientific paradoxes. We shouldn’t exist, and our cores know this.”

Alarms blared through Valerie’s brain. “You mean his core is trying to kill him?”

“Not quite,” Vlad said steadily. “But his core cannot keep up with his body’s demands. Halfa cores have to regulate not just ectoplasm, but how the ectoplasm interacts with the living aspects of the human in such a way that it won’t kill you. On top of that, you frequently expelling ectoplasm in forms like powerful ghost-rays puts more pressure on your already overworked core. Your core simply doesn’t have enough energy to do what you demand of it.”

“Hence the hunger,” Danny said, his blue eyes looking down.

“Exactly.”

Valerie ran a hand through her hair. “What’s the solution?”

Vlad reached into his pockets and pulled out a few vials filled with a familiar looking green substance. “Listen to your body, Little Badger. Your body is craving ectoplasm. You need to drink it.”

Realization hit Danny like a ton of bricks. “But isn’t that...that’s...”

“Low-level ecto-puses I took from Skulker’s care last week,” Vlad confirmed. “Purified ecto-plasm. You start developing a need for this once your halfa body solidifies its core. Think of it like a ghostly-puberty, if you will.”

“No...”

“Danny,” Valerie reached out and took Danny’s hand gently. “You’re starving yourself.”

“No, Val, you don’t understand—”

“I do,” Valerie looked at him, her gaze strong. “You said earlier that you didn’t want me to be uncomfortable around the ghostly-aspects of your life. Well, I’m not. There’s no other option, Danny. You’re going to die if you don’t drink the vials. You need to do this.”

Danny shook his head. “I—I can’t.”

Valerie wrapped her hands around Danny’s shoulders and leaned in, kissing him. It was gentle, reassuring, and comforting. Danny relished her touch.

“You can do this,” Valerie said, breaking it off. “You’re strong, Danny. You can do this.”

“Okay,” Danny took the vials.

“Little Badger,” Vlad said, meeting Danny’s eyes. “I’ve been doing this for a while now, you know. I...I can give you the vials if you want. Your moral compass is, well it’s different than mine. I know this is hard for you. It will get easier but, if you would like, you can just let me know when you need vials and I’ll give them to you.”

Danny breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Vlad. It means a lot.”

Vlad nodded, a rare kind smile dotting his lips.

Danny’s glanced one more time at his girlfriend before slowly opening the first vial. The metallic smell of ectoplasm tickled his nose and he found himself raising the vial to his lips.

#christmas truce #xmas truce #danny phantom #dp #fanfic

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whatadaze · 6 years

Note

Moon lovers xmas prompt modern AU? What if Hae Soo's apartment is next door to So's and they've co-existed just as neighbors passing in the hall, but he's noticed how her cheating ex has moved out (because So notices everything about Soo who are we kidding) and she notices that he's spending xmas alone so she ends up inviting him over for dinner. :)

She was losing it.

She could feel her fingers becoming slick against the cardboard box, and it didn’t help that it obstructed her view of the hallway.

Just a few more steps.

Just a few more and-

The sweat on her palms were beginning to win and she felt the box give way against her fingers, but as she closed her eyes to brace herself for the impending crash, Soo was surprised to be met with…silence.

She cracked an eye open, and gasped when she saw the person standing in front of her. He had his arms wrapped under the box and grabbed it from her before nodding his head.

“I’m guessing you’re the new neighbor?” he asked, already walking over to the door.

Soo rushed in front of him, and quickly entered her passcode in before pushing the door open. “Yeah,” she said, kicking the other boxes to the side. “You can just place the box here….Thank you.”

The man shrugged his shoulders and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“I-I’m Soo, by the way! Hae Soo.” She stuck a hand out towards him, but the man responded with a flick of his brow. His eyes scanned the apartment, lingering at all the boxes scattering around the floor.

“I have to wake up early in the mornings, so if you can be courteous after midnight, that would be much appreciated,” he said, his eyes finally falling on her. “The previous neighbors didn’t seem to believe in silence.”

Soo retracted her hands and awkwardly crossed them in front of her chest. Although this man—her neighbor—irritated her, she didn’t want this move to start off on a bad note. So instead, she sent him her brightest smile and nodded her head. “Of course! You won’t even know we’re here.”

He raised a brow at the mention of we, but didn’t question her further when he saw another man enter the apartment, a large plastic box in his hands. Soo’s eyes widened as she rushed to his side.

“Be careful!” she cried out. “That’s my make up! Place it down, gently.”

“I know I know!” the man gritted, placing the box, gently, down onto the floor. He brushed his hands and let out a sigh. “We only have a few boxes left and then we’ll be done. The heat is killing me-”

His eyes fell on the mysterious man standing in the middle of the living room and he turned to his girlfriend.

Soo straightened up and clasped her hands. “Oh, this is our new neighbor! Mister…”

“So. Wang So,” the man said, making his way to the door. He turned to Soo before stepping out of the apartment. “So we’re in agreement, right?” he asked, eyeing the man beside her. “I’m not picky about a lot of things, but that’s definitely one of them.”

“Of course! Not a peep.”

(Five months later)

“How long?”

“Soo…”

“I said,” her voice gritted out. “How. Long?”

“A-A month,” he uttered. “But it didn’t mean anything! I was…I was under a lot of stress and she was there and…it was a stupid mistake! You have to believe me.”

“It was a mistake? That you made over and over again for a month?” she asked. “And you expect me to believe that? I…I can’t be with someone who will constantly make mistakes like this.”

“Soo, please…”

“You should leave,” she said, her voice growing quiet. “I’ll have your stuff packed by tomorrow morning so just…just go.”

So heard the door slam shut and he stacked the papers scattered around his desk. He tried to forget what he had just overheard. Not that he did it on purpose, but they were yelling. There walls were connected—it was pretty much unavoidable.

So the bastard cheated, huh.

He knew her boyfriend seemed a little…off, but never knew he was the type to cheat on his own girlfriend. So knew it was none of his business, but he had to admit, he felt a bit bad for the girl.

Yes, she was too peppy at times, but she didn’t deserve that.

No one did.

So let out a tired sigh, and shut his laptop. It had been a long night, and as he glanced at the clock, the time confirmed that he should definitely be headed to bed.

When So left his apartment the next morning, he noticed the stack of boxes outside of her apartment and a large suitcase. When he returned that night, the belongings were gone.

That was two weeks ago.

So had found his mind sometimes drifting over to his neighbor. The girl was too peppy and too cheery for her own good. He didn’t know why he cared, but one night when he was taking his trash out to the dumpster, he saw her. She was standing in front of the dumpster, a small box in her hand.

He had never seen her like this before.

Her hair was tied up and she was clad in sweats and a t-shirt, much different from her usual attire. Her eyes seemed to be lost in thought and So made an attempt to make his footsteps a bit louder as he approached her, not wanting to startle her.

When that didn’t seem to get her attention, he let out a light cough.

Soo jumped up and turned around, her body relaxing when she saw who it was.

“Oh…hello,” she muttered.

So raised the bag in his hand. “I’m just…taking out the trash.”

She nodded and a small smile appeared for just a moment.

“Me too,” she whispered, glancing down at the box.

She didn’t make an attempt to move and So walked around her before throwing his bag into the dumpster.

“Well are you going to do it today?” he asked, glancing at the box. “Or are you just going to stand there?”

“I don’t-”

So doesn’t know why he did it, but something about seeing her like this irritated him. He knew she was better than this. She wasn’t some girl who sulks around some cheating bastard, and the box obviously contained some remnants of him. He had to admit, the look on her face when he grabbed the box from her and threw it into the trash was priceless. It was a flicker of her usual self.

“You’re welcome,” he said. “That’s the second time I’ve helped you with a box.”

“I can’t believe you…I was going to do it!”

So rolled his eyes and began to walk back to the building. He heard her footsteps behind him as she quickened her own steps to catch up to him.

“If I didn’t throw it away for you, you wouldn’t have done it,” he said, stopping in his steps. “And you needed to do it.”

“I’m sorry, but how do you know what I need to do? We barely know each other!” She cried out. “We’re just-”

“Neighbors?” he finished. “I know. But I was sick of hearing you crying at night, so now that the last traces of him are gone, you can move on now. Right?”

Her eyes widened in surprise but he resumed his steps, ignoring her as she called out to him.

Soo plugged in the cord and watched her small Christmas tree come to life.

The colorful lights flickered and she tapped a finger on the small bulbs. Christmas was her favorite holiday of the year, but today was different.

Lonely.

Soo slowly stood up and scanned the empty living room. She wasn’t planning on putting out the tree, but the box was just taunting her. It had for weeks. She had it stored in the coat closet months ago, and when she saw it collecting dust, she had decided to make use of it.

Ding dong. Ding dong.

“That was fast,” she mumbled.

As she dug into her purse for her wallet, she quickly made her way to the door.

“How much was it again?” she asked, pulling out some bills. “It must be tough working on Christmas and-”

“Yes, it must be very tough,” the voice replied. “So tough that he seemed to have dropped it off at the wrong apartment.”

Soo looked up from her wallet and saw her neighbor standing at her doorway, the bag of chicken in one hand. He lifted it up to her face and waved it in the air.

“So I was right,” he said. “This was yours.”

She nodded her head, dumbfounded by her neighbor.

“Don’t worry about the money,” he continued. “Think of it as a Christmas gift.”

He waited for her to take the bag, but seeing that she remained motionless, So carefully grabbed her hand and handed her the plastic bag.

“Merry Christmas,” he said, sending her a quick wave before shoving his hands into his pocket. He turned and began walking away from her door, and Soo finally found her voice.

“W-Wait!”

He stopped in his steps and turned around. He raised a brow in question and his eyes flickered down to her neck as she swallowed a mouthful of air.

“You should eat with me,” she said, raising the bag. “I ordered way too much, and you paid and…and it’s Christmas! Come eat with me.”

She motioned for him to come in, and stepped aside from the doorway.

“Please,” she muttered, her eyes falling to the floor. “No one should be alone on Christmas.”

So crossed his arms and leaned against her doorframe. Normally, he would’ve rejected her offer and inform her that he actually enjoyed spending the holidays alone. The holidays were one of the few times in the year that he was able to rest his mind and be at peace.

Was he willing to sacrifice one of those precious days for the girl next door?

Just then, the girl in question turned around and was already making her way into her kitchen. “Lucky for you, I ordered the set menu that came with two jjajangmyuns. It was cheaper that way. I was wondering how I’d finish it all but now you can have the other one.”

He watched as she began to set the table and before he knew it, he found himself slowly stepping inside before hesitantly shutting the front door. He scanned the area and noticed that the layout of her apartment was exactly like his but the similarity stopped. Unlike his barren walls, her walls were full of pictures, paintings, and other decor. There were funky throw pillows on her sofa and a large white fuzzy rug spread out on the living room floor.

Yup, they couldn’t be any different.

And normally, So avoided anything that was different from him. It messed up his groove and quite frankly, made him feel a bit uncomfortable.

But when the girl who had been living next door to him all these months motioned him to sit down, he found himself abiding to her. And despite the fact that she spent most of her time rambling on and on about who knows what rather than actually eating, So found himself listening to her.

And normally, So never made any attempt to get to know any of his neighbors and they never seemed to bother him either.

A silent mutual agreement.

But of course, Soo was different.

And he didn’t know if it was the whimsical air of Christmas that seemed to change his mind tonight but slowly but surely this girl next door who had been pretty much a stranger to him was beginning to become more than just the girl next door.

#It literally #took me 2 years #to finish this #from my drafts #lol #omg #i suck #looool #sosoo #moon lovers

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luvroffictionalcharacters · 7 years

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Tammy and Donnie Christmas Gift

Little Christmas 🎁 for you and Donnie, Tammy! hope you enjoy :)

A young woman with deep violet hair lays 💤 soundly on her living room 🛋️, she was 👀 📺 waiting for someone to arrive at her apartment but she knew it would be a while for them. The person she was waiting on was rather different from normal people so he could only come out at night. An hour later, her living room window slowly opens up and a large 🐢 with a purple mask, glasses,a scarf and, large jacket climbs inside. He smiles softly when he sees the young woman 💤 soundly, he walks over and gently brushes her hair out of her face then kisses her cheek “Wake up, my 💛.” The young woman wakes up hearing the voice, she rubs her eyes a little before picking up a pair of thick black glasses up off her coffee table then puts them on. She grins before hugging the large 🐢 “Hello, Dagasi.” “How are you, Wō-ya?” Donnie asked as he removed his jacket and scarf. “I am doing just great, now that you are here.” She said with a soft 😁 “I’m glad to hear that, Tammy.” Donnie said as he walked over to the window and closed it over before he pulled the curtains shut. Tammy walks over to a nearby switch and adjusts the heating wanting to let her 🐢 boyfriend heat up “How are you doing, 💛?” she asked as she made sure the heating was just right for them. “I’m doing well, another busy day of inventing.” Donnie chuckled as he walked over to his girlfriend and 😘 her cheek “So what was it you had planned for us?” “Well I was thinking that we could decorate my apartment together. The only things I have done were put fake snow on my windows, thought that it would be a bit easier to do that because of how bad it smells. And I the 🎄 up, left it undecorated so we could do that too.” Tammy replied Donnie nods a little “That sounds wonderful. And since it’s still early we can listen to some Christmas 🎶.” he said as he walked over to the cupboard “This where your decorations are being kept?” he asked. Tammy nods as he turned up her 📺 and put on a 🎶 channel that was playing Xmas tunes. Donnie opens the cupboard and brings out various boxes that had Christmas decorations inside it. He places the box on the coffee table as Tammy walked over “Would you care for a drink, Dagasi?” she asked looking at the 💛 of her life. “Ooh some Hot 🍫 would be nice.” Donnie replied before pulling out some 🎄 lights “Oh my…they’re all tangled up. Well I’ll get to work undoing these.” he said before sitting on the 🛋️, he begins slowly untangling them one by one. Tammy smiles as she walks into the kitchen, she grabs two mugs and what she needed to make the hot 🍫. Within a few minutes the hot 🍫 was ready, she smiles before looking over to Donnie whom was still untangling the lights “Would you like some marshmallows, 💛?” “Yes, three please and thank you.” Donnie said as he got another light untangled. Tammy puts three into Donnie’s mug then two into her own before walking into the living room, she places Donnie’s mug onto the table “How’s it coming?” “Pretty good, I’m on the last one now.” Donnie smiled “Thankfully these are pretty easy to untangle unlike the ones back at the lair.” “Let me guess, Mikey tangled them up badly?” Tammy asked, chuckling softly. Donnie nods beofre letting out a small chuckle himself “Yes he did. Somehow he got himself wrapped up in the lights too.” Tammy was in the middle of taking a sip of her hot 🍫 when Donnie said that sentence, causing her to nearly spit out her drink from 😅 “I’m sorry but how did that happen?” “I don’t know, it’s Mikey anything he does is a mystery.” Donnie shrugged before pulling out his 📱 then hands it to Tammy. Tammy takes the 📱 then looks at the image before her, it was a picture of Mikey wrapped up in the Christmas lights Raph was in the background 😅 his head off whilst Leo did his best to try and take the lights off of Mikey. Tammy covers her 👄 as she tries to contain her laughter but ultimately fails, she begins 😅 loudly “I’m sorry but this is too funny.” Donnie nods in agreement as he untangles the last light “It took an hour to get him free then an extra two hours to get them untangled, that’s why I was late coming here.” he explained before he picked up his mug and takes a sip of it “Mmm that’s perfection.” “I am just glad that you are here now, Dagasi.” Tammy said before she holds out her mug. Donnie smiles before lightly tapping his against her mug then proceeds to drink his hot 🍫. Soon the pair wrap the 🎄 in the lights, Donnie plugs in the lights whilst Tammy brings the box of decorations over. The duo begin placing ornaments on the 🌴, then tinsel followed by Tammy placing the ⭐ at the top of the 🌴. They take a step back and admire their handywork “It looks lovely.” Tammy said with a 😁 as the lights on the 🌴 flickered lightly “Not as lovely as you, Wō-ya.” Donnie said with a grin “Aww thank you, Dagasi.” Tammy said before wrapping her arms around Donnie. Donnie smiles as he holds up some mistletoe, Tammy smiles a little before she and Donnie share a long and passionate 😘 “Merry Christmas, Wō-ya.” “Merry Christmas, Dagasi.” Tammy said before they walked over to the 🛋️. Tammy grabs a blanket from her bedroom then brings it out to the 🛋️, Donnie takes a seat on the 🛋️ after washing the mugs for his girlfriend. Tammy smiles softly as she places the blanket over herself and Donnie, the large 🐢 wraps his arms around her and begins gently stroking her head before kissing her on the cheek. Soon the pair drift off into a peaceful 💤, dreaming of each other as they slept leaving both of them 😁.

The End

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mulliganisms · 7 years

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I saw 3 sips then I had a bells

Nothing beats the old fashioned pub especially an Irish one but they are now virtually extinct. We should share pictures of property developers jangling their keys outside of closed boozers on Facebook to shame them. Liverpool Rd N1 mid 70s, one such pub open on a Christmas night -the key to a great holiday for Himself. Himself has to get out Christmas night- his sire, Aulfella was always rearing up, undoing the hard work of Mam. Aulfella was capable of loving or hating anything at any given, depending on his temper. He hid his good moods in the same place as his money - under the carpet in the front room, reaching for them both when he was on his way to Da pub or da club.

Your best guess as to the name of a pub where the Provisional IRA paper An Phoblacht was sold openly, tricolours decorated the wall and the jukebox featured anti -internment hit The Men Behind The Wire? The Crown of course ( I always add upside down as a nod to the Celtic FC halftime favourite Irish Soldier Laddie) For Himself the test of a decent Irish bar is the Guinness - you can tell a decent pint when you can see mark of each sip on the side of the glass. I offer three swallows for you this season - let’s start with a huge, thirsty gulp.

Liverpool Rd N1 mid 70s, a proper Irish pub The Crown. Himself is there with his first proper girlfriend - Dixie. They are deep into their relationship having met across a crowded home and wear department in Tesco Chapel Market. I’m Not In Love played, his hands on her waist and...breathe (exhale loudly. A glance down at the gap left between the skin of her back and the waistband of the Wranglers reveals a possible future of bliss - the white bra strap shining in the UV light. ..a reverie...were these the hips that turned a thousand faces and burnt red these cheeks of Islington? A small cry escapes her lips - Sorry love - those plastic sandals are harder to manoeuvre than the Green Flash I normally wear for dancing.

Mam was of a somewhat sunnier frame of mind - where she hid when depression struck we never did find out though Himself and Dabrudders found most of her hiding places. In earlier years, Accomodation was an old store of some kind affectionately known as the shop. Upstairs one bedroom,with two bunk beds and a cot a sitting room with a pull down bed and a stereogram. Downstairs a shop floor with building gear covered in dust sheets, a kitchen with coal fired stove leading out to a yard. The toilet was reached by a run through a coal cellar sometimes fast, sometimes slow ,,, record time on return from a camping trip in Youghal which included The Return of Dracula one night (rather lax enforcement of X certificate in Ireland) and waking next morning to discover the tent had been pitched beside a slaughterhouse - sheep skulls stretched out in greater numbers as the tide retreated from the stony atlantic shore.

In the cupboard in this dungeon was where the Christmas presents were hid - and played with/ sometimes ruined long before the day. Mam commented on the odd angle of the crossbar on the subbuteo goals - a few years later we could’ve blamed the Tartan army saying it was a souvenir set of Wembley 77. Himself just used a Swan vesta and Mam’s hairnet to repair it (the onion bag not being to scale).

The shop went as part of slum clearance, as did most of the other condemned buildings. Himself and his moved into the renovated Victorian terrace - into the nineteen seventies - bathrooms and central heating , into the peak of Equality in the UK. The new neighbours’ eldest worked part time at Tesco Chapel Market and through this network Himself impressed enough at interview to collar a role packing cheese and butter then progressing to staffing the Deli counter in a double act with younger brother Seamus. Union membership guaranteed good wages which rose in line with inflation of which there was plenty .

Time honoured courting process was in place from the first time he saw the poppers on the nylon housecoat struggling to contain the developing curves. His cotton overall hid his embarrassment but not his intention - all boys schools did not prepare you well for this. Even the Drama teacher the fifth form swooned over paled in comparison. And then their story started - a word in his shell like -not a letter in the Hardy/ Shakespeare/ Tolstoy mould but a hand gesture to approach a friend - not like today. Sexting was Chelsea’s cup winning manager, Mobiles were Airfix planes on string and pawn featured in a passage from Christy Brown’s Down All My Days which Aulfella could recite by heart - the good suit went in Monday and was redeemed for Sunday mass. Himself was onto a sure thing - if he asked her to dance at the Xmas social she’d say yes.

Consider the obstacles there: asking - the potential for rejection greater than the selection of the Park football sides where every choice was carefully considered to produce a finely calibrated balance. Fourth best defender gone would you select the second best header without the guarantee you’d land a crosser from the top five? Dancing here did not mean a hustle a bump or even the ska shuffle all of which he could handle. No The Smiley’s People double agent meant a slow dance. So he watched the couples, the elder siblings the pairings of someone’s mate and someone’s sister. Some still together celebrating their second grandchild…

It worked, Nature took over they “got off”, “pulled” and then they were “going out”. This did not mean going out that much as funds were somewhat limited, opportunities even moreso. There was a date culminating in a faint prompted by a Sissy Spacek bloodbath scene. The Odeon Holloway Rd witnessed many a coitus interruptus in its years and this apology laden nursing scene in the foyer echoed many of the experiences Himself and Herself played out. Himself caught the climax of the film a few years later at college ; ditto the coitus although that was more to do with a Malt Liquor (Breaker, Colt 45 ) for 10p promotion - and Carrie herself could not have levitated his head off the pillow the next morning.

No, going out meant staying in with the occasional foray for a coke float at Wimpy with unattached girlfriends (never my mates) including Margaret. Sitting indoors then in a council maisonette. The sitting room was long with the auditorium seats pointed at the shrine - the rented colour set delivering nightly delights. On the sofas, the Elder sister and Geezer fiancee (saving for wedding so not going out) on the armchairs Graham and Ivy the parents, Between them our would be lovers. Telly and smoking that was the evening - Whan the Bert Comes In, Carry On something and Rich Man Poor Man. .When the folks went dahn ve Legion the vinyl came out - Atlantic Crossing with its slow side and fast side and David Essex’s concept album All the Fun of the Fair. Himself had just begun to achieve some minor plateaued competence on the Hofner Guitar Aulfella had bought from a Showband mate (typically flamboyant gesture and much loved) so this obviously was the equivalent of a masters in Musicology allowing him to pontificate and evaluate all music ever created or about to be - for Heads like him and his best mate Pat most music was judged and unless suitably complex, the black cap came out. Himself kept these opinions to hisself or there would be no goodbye fumble in the porch, no warm lips, no ambition destroyed by parental knock, no warmth enough to see him the ten minute walk home.

But in the Crown buoyed by a half pint the opinions flowed as freely as the song. Xmas evening found them with unattached friend Margaret and her extended family of Lydons as in John. The patrons rotated the singing some better than others but all applauded/ gently ribbed then it came to John himself. He starts doing white Christmas, HImself joins in forcing JL to go faster,make more of a mess of the melody, savour the lyric, thrash it - invent punk This bit might be somewhat exaggerated in memory, especially as JL was not even there.

That’s the first sip now the second and the third, happy ending.

That Pub, When the comedian Himself returned to The Crown years later it had become Waxys Dargle - a theme Irish bar, Shane Mcgowan’s local, etc. Singing would get you barred. There were no old men in suits and ties. Now it is a block of flats. Himself remembered the Goldsmiths Tavern in New Cross - put up a sign no hats / no guinness - code for No Blacks no Dogs no Irish I guess. That sign always conjured up an image of Phil Lynott trudging from door to door whispering to the Jack Russell nestling beneath his Afghan coat - dont worry me darling their women go mad for me. One year, Himself and da family minus one acted in chorus and decamped to The George in Essex Rd where with the families of Dabrudder’s Sunday football side they created a kind of mad talent show where audience and performers became one - a communion as Boal would call it. Twas grand - it’s now a gastropub where three organic cherries on the slot machine means a village in Cambodia gets a new goat. the pub quiz includes questions based on the budapest metro map of 1959 and it offers 65 different ales in flavours like panetonne and panfried liver but only one mode of atmosphere - tedious. Gentrification as effective a migration prompt as Potato blight.

Gentrifiers

Chorus - Making your town cool - house price house price house price school - repeat ad nauseam

We think buy to let’s an absolute disgrace/ glad we bought 5 at the old stamp duty rate

Here’s to our genius - or was it / our parents stumping up the dough for the deposit

Agents call this place Shoreditich Lite/ I call it prosecco - bubbly bland and white

So pass the craft ale pass the tapenade / if someone mentions brexit pass the hand grenade

Otag kebab’s been skewered by souvlaki food carts/ I loathe graffiti but our kids study street art

Pie and mash, licquor, winkles and wallies are all rebooted as cuisine a la cockney

Fiver for a loaf of bread a petition vs. greggs / Costa flipping coffee costa flipping arm and leg

Can’t buy malt vinegar to put upon your plate just condiment fundamentalists of balsamic state

Riding Monday then flute, Latin Greek / by Tuesday we’re into the rhythm of the week

Lance flunked the grammar despite all the tutors So Granny pays the fees at st mediocres

Everywhere the skips and signs shout out: we’re cooling up your town - time to get out

Repeat chorus and fade

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zillowcondo · 7 years

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Four Seasons Nevis Reviewed

I’m fresh off a fabulous trip to the Four Seasons Nevis. Until recently not only did I not know how to pronounce Nevis (by the way it’s Nee-Vis) but I had no idea where it was even located. Geography was never my subject–guess they didn’t teach a class on luxe travel destinations at my high school. As soon as I learned about the exotic island of Nevis, where luxury abounds and monkeys nearly outnumber the residents, I knew I needed to visit.

I’m not ashamed to admit that when I find out that there is a Four Seasons in a city, I immediately assume that the destination is worthy of a visit. The Four Seasons chooses only the most amazing places to create FS outposts (with maybe a few exceptions that are big business cities–sorry Baltimore). Case and point? The Four Seasons Carmelo! I never would have found this charming town had it not been for my faith in the Four Seasons’ location scouting.

Nevis is really a stunning island and the islanders are so charming and warm I never wanted to leave… I truly enjoyed my stay at this classic Caribbean hotel.

Arrival

There are many ways to reach the Four Seasons Nevis. Most involve a flight into St. Kitts Airport (SKB) and then a boat ride over to Nevis. There are also some small flights to Nevis like the non-stop flight from Puerto Rico with Tradewind Aviation straight into Nevis’ Vance W. Armory International Airport. Saves you a boat ride and it’s a luxury plane! Next time I’ll have to try this. But for this trip, I was a little worried because sometimes small planes freak me out–St. Barth! So I opted for the non-stop flight from JFK to SKB (there are a couple a week).

Arriving via Boat to FS Nevis

Immediately after customs we were greeted by a Four Seasons employee who directs you to someone who will take your luggage and send you to a van. You then take about a 10-minute drive to the boat marina where you reach the Four Seasons’ private boat. The crew passes out (complimentary) rum punches, Carib beers, waters or fruit punch. We had to wait for about 20 minutes to leave for a few guests but no one was complaining (my guess is that the free drinks had something to do with that!) We then set sail for about 40 minutes to the Four Seasons Nevis. The boat ride itself is lovely, we happen to experience the sunset during ours–added bonus! Sunset cruise? Yes please! I loved this ride and found it very exciting to be headed to such a remote locale.

Check In

Upon arrival, you’re greeted at the the boat pier by friendly staffers who take you directly to your room. You don’t have to deal with your bags, they are taken directly to your room (ours took about 15 minutes—very quick!). On our way to our room we were given a mini-property tour, our guide just pointed out a few things as well as the general direction that the lobby, spa, fitness center and adults-only pool were in. We then signed a few forms in our room and he was on his way.

Welcome Amenity? I would say that they one-upped a welcome cocktail with the complimentary open bar on the boat ride over! Cheers to that!

The Grounds

The grounds are stunning and they are also sprawling. The property is comprised of a total of 350 acres. The property features West Indian plantation-style decor and classic Caribbean architecture. Its covered in lush tropical greenery and tropical flowers. And as of December 20, 2013, the property now has its own organic herb garden (hello house-made herb cocktails)! There are a total of 179 rooms and 17 suites. Rooms are just steps away from Pinney’s beach. There are also 40 private residence villas that are available for rental as well (if you’re part of the lucky one percenters!). Four Seasons Nevis is also home to 5 pools,10 tennis courts, and an 18-hole golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones II. There is also a 1500 sq. ft. fitness center and one of the most gorgeous spas I’ve ever been to–more on that later.

Fitness Center? If you want to be guilt-free you can work off some of the fabulous calories you ingest in the fitness center. There are plenty of machines and the equipment is all very modern. The room is light, airy and cool–no mildewy smells or anything unpleasant here.

Adults Only Pool? Yes. It was huge too with plenty of seating options, including large round couches for snuggling couples.

The Beach!

The Beach? The Four Seasons Nevis is located on Pinney’s beach, which is on the island’s sheltered west coast (the east coast’s beach is much choppier). There aren’t large waves and the water is pretty warm but it still takes a second to wade in if you’re like me who is always cold. There are plenty of chairs and several beach attendants who constantly walk around offering up cold towels, cold water and taking orders for food and drink. I highly recommend renting a private beach cabana. These cabanas are stocked with mini-fridges, four lounge chairs, a flat-screen TV, a couch and small dining table, board games and an iPod dock. The cabanas are surrounded by shrubs, which give you plenty of privacy from your neighbors. There was also highly attentive service–whenever you wanted to order something you just had to raise a flag and cocktails and a full menu of delicious options were brought to you quickly.

The Lobby

The open-air lobby is beautiful and sophisticated. Since I was here around the holidays I had the pleasure to experience a Caribbean-style Christmas tree. I absolutely love Christmas and this tree was so special, decorated with warm colors, crystals and starfish! Its high-ceiling and comfy furniture give it a plantation feel. My favorite seating was at the back, which overlooks the water, the terrace and lush gardens. One of my favorite experiences during my stay was checking out the live piano player and sipping champagne at sunset.

Reception

Lobby seating around the Xmas Tree!

More Lobby Seating with Property Views

The Rooms

Rooms are set in two-story buildings that feel like cottages. This allows the property to retain a laid-back and undeveloped feel, which is what you want at a resort in the Caribbean–no high rises obviously.

I was in room 228, which is a standard guest room with an ocean view. We had a lovely view of the water–especially around sunset! Rooms in the 200s have this benefit, however, are a bit further away from the adults-only reflection pool. Personally though, I didn’t mind the walk and you can always call for a golf-cart if you prefer.

I love nothing more than waking up, opening my window and being able to see and hear the water. To me this is the ultimate luxury! As much as I wanted to invite the Caribbean breeze in all the time, because rooms all have spacious balconies and sliding doors, there are not screens–so open at your own risk because there are mosquitos (and they happen to adore me). I should also add that I had a chance to check out the rooms with a view of Nevis Peak (these are the Mountain View class of rooms) and thought it was stunning as well. If you’re looking to save a little money, Mountain View rooms are slightly less money. Plus, it may provide a refreshing change if you’re spending your days on the beach to have a view of this unique volcano. Really, you can’t lose though. That said, I would opt for a second floor room since these have more unobstructed views of whatever it is you’re hoping to see. (And also the New Yorker in me is always a little freaked out by ground level rooms with balconies–but I am paranoid so there you go).

Room decor is understated, neutral and distinctly Caribbean (with a little Ralph Lauren flair). It’s definitely not overdone but there were still plenty of charming details. I loved the intricately carved four-poster wooden bed and pops of color like the yellow couch and the throw pillows on the bed. Speaking of the beds, even though this Four Seasons has not yet been updated with the new Four Seasons mattress it was insanely comfortable. No adjusting to a different bed here, the second I climbed in I was fast asleep.

I will say that although the room was beautiful I wasn’t a huge fan of its ivory tiled floor, which I felt dated the room a bit. I also would have enjoyed a more up to date coffee machine–but what can I say–even the best of us need some work done now and again, dahhhhling? That’s what botox is for (or so I hear)!

Closet/Dresser Details? There were actually two huge closets and a large dresser with plenty of storage. There were proper hangers in the closet–not the thief-proof ones. I suspect the clientele at the Four Seasons have better things to do than steal hangers.

Charging Situation? This day and age we all need easy access to charge up our electronics. I loved that by the couch there was a little charging station for easy access and extra plugs (even a USB port).

Turn-Down Service: Yes–maids come automatically and restocked anything you might need. They also made sure to lock the sliding door for your safety.

Bottled Water? Yes complimentary at turn down and you can always call and order more.

Coffee maker? Hamilton Beach. While it was a nice model, these days at a Four Seasons I think that I would expect an espresso machine of some sort or at the very least, a Keurig.

Reading Material in the Room? They had a copy of Four Seasons Magazine, Town and Country and one other I can’t quite remember. These were laid out nicely by the couch. I loved this and don’t think that hotels do this enough.

White Glove Inspection: The white linens were perfectly pristine–I even pulled back the duvet cover a little to see the state of what was going on beneath the surface. I am happy to report that even with close inspection I have nothing to report!

The Bathroom

The bathroom featured his and her sinks and was well-lit. To the left was a large soaking tub and a standalone shower. The shower had a standard head (not rain shower) and had strong pressure. I also did not experience any water temperature issues. The toilet was in a separte, small water-closet, which I appreciate for added privacy. Also helps move things along in the morning–if your man likes to take his time in there, you can be doing your makeup.

Famous Mirror Pic of TP!

Makeup Mirror? Yes! Mounted at eye-level and it lit up!

Hairdryer? Small, travel-sized hairdryer (not attached to the wall though). This was a little disappointing to me. I expected more from a Four Seasons.

Designer Toiletries? The bathroom featured L’Occitane products (as many Four Seasons do). These aren’t my favorites but that’s just because the shampoo never seems to do much for my long locks.

Towel quality? Amazing, really thick and absorbent. And plenty of ‘em.

Robes? Yes, they were thick terry with the Four Seasons logo. There were also fluffy white slippers! My favorite!

Amenities? Shower cap, individually wrapped Q-tips and cotton pads. There was also after-sun lotion, which I thought was a nice and much needed amenity!

View from Room 228

The Food & Drink

The restaurants at Four Seasons Nevis are definitely some of the finest on the island. They all use locally sourced ingredients like eggplant, papaya, lemongrass, coconut, mangos and coconut.

The resort’s fine dining restaurant is Coral Grill and it serves high quality cuisine with top notch ingredients from all over the world. While the steaks and seafoods here were phenomenal, the Macaroni and cheese here is not to be missed. You can customize your dish by choosing protein and cheese on the spot. The desserts here were also my favorite on the property. The souffles and the cheesecake lollipops were delectable.

Right around the corner is Neve, where the fabulous breakfast buffet is served. Fresh fruit, eggs, pastries, pancakes, waffles, you name it. The highlights here for me were the freshly made nut butters (cashew and almond) and the variety of locally-made hot sauces (my fave was the mango pepper!) that I generously poured all over everything. While it’s tempting to order breakfast in bed, you need to experience this buffet at least once during your stay.

Cabana is the resort’s outdoor and laid-back restaurant. The signature dish here is the spiny lobster risotto. While it was delicious, I must say it was outshined by Mango and Coral Grill.

And speaking of Mango–wow! I absolutely loved it here. Dinner here is exactly the experience you’re looking to have at a luxe Caribbean resort. The building itself is lovely and the food is incredible. Mango is famous for its BBQ ribs. I didn’t think I liked ribs actually until I ate here–turns out, I just hadn’t tried the perfect ribs. Absolutely delicious. A must-have while on the island! I will dream of these until I return!

Mango Bar features over 100 Rums!

Tableside Service at Mango

During the day you can order food from the pools or eat lunch at Cabana restaurant. The food here was spot on no matter what we tried. The chopped salad was delicious and plentiful. The tuna tacos were amazing. But probably our favorite thing was the Mediterranean pizza, which they fired up in their own brick-oven. Thin crust and just the right amount of cheese, sauce and veggies. We actually ate this twice during our stay.

Med Pizza!

Classy Hotel Bar? Few bars anywhere compare to how much I loved the Library bar here. They seamlessly integrated a rich environment with a Caribbean feel!

My Kind of Library!

Specialty Cocktails? The Ginger Angostura was one of my favorites and my husband loved the Mango mojito–and trust us we really tried many of the specialties. My other favorite though was the dirty martini with blue cheese stuffed olives at Coral Restaurant. Also a local favorite is the Ting with a Sting!

The Spa

The Spa at the Four Seasons Nevis is not only one of the best I’ve been to in the Caribbean, but probably even anywhere in the world. Its grounds are simply stunning and I’ll let the photos do the heavy lifting here since words just would never be enough to capture its beauty. The service is super. Not only are the staff extremely professional but they are friendly and very knowledgeable about the treatments and the spa’s philosophy. In addition to the usual treatments like massages, body treatments, salon services and facials, the spa offers Ayurvedic treatments. I also highly recommend getting a Rum and Tonic body treatment! It is absolutely heavenly–and unique to the resort!

Spa Hot Tub

View of Nevis Peak from Spa Reflection Pool

Ahhhh!

Cold Plunge Pool

Treatment Cabanas at the Spa

The Little Things

Did I feel truly welcome by the staff? Staff made a huge effort to learn guests names and remember them. If I had a server in a restaurant and saw them a few days later on the property they always knew exactly who I was and also remembered everything we told them and made sure to ask about it. I always find this incredible since I have the worst memory in the world.

Wi-Fi? Yes, throughout the property. However, it was a bit spotty in my room because they were having internet issues. Internet is not complimentary, which can be a pro or a con. On one hand you won’t use it the entire time, but if you need to, then it can be a little pricey. However, there are two computers in the main lobby–one in the Library bar and one in the center of the lobby, available for guests to print boarding passes.

Mini-Bar? It’s a Four Seasons so of course it’s stocked with fancy (and pricey) snacks and liquors. They had special tea bags you could purchase for your eyes to depuff. I never got the chance to try them but I thought they were super cool!

Cocktail Quality? I have nothing but positive things to say about every cocktail I experienced while at the property. Especially at Mango where they have 100 different kinds of rum! I recommend trying a Ting with a Sting, Angostura Ginger or the uber impressively muddled Mango Mojito.

Board Games at Sunset

Any other quirky things? There is free laundry available for guest use. Although I never had a chance to try it out it’s a great feature, especially for families (or New Yorkers who don’t have access to their own washing machines!). They also include laundry detergent free of charge.

Flowers: I loved the tropical flowers flourishing around the property.

Special Treats: I am sad to report that there were no special treats at turndown service. However, in the typical Four Seasons style, special treats were passed around at the pool and down by the beach, cold towels, Evian spritzes, frozen fruit kebabs and my personal favorite–lemongrass water!

Good For Families: Absolutely! The hotel is large enough for families and couples alike to enjoy. There is also a kids’ club, playground and even a small game room.

Where do Most Guests Hail From? Most guests are North Americans, many families but also lots of honeymooners. Like I said earlier, the property is so large that there is definitely room for everyone to enjoy the property as they wish. We never experienced any annoying children during our stay

Service Fee? Yes, check your bill it usually includes a charge for service–however, be sure to ask how much of that goes to the employee. I asked at the spa and only a small percentage of it went to the employee herself. So if you have stellar service you still may want to leave an additional amount.

Room for Improvement

Although non-motorized watersports are complimentary, other recreational activities will cost you a pretty penny (for example, you have to rent tennis courts if you’re not playing with a pro or having a lesson).

Rooms should stock bugspray.

The floors in the standard rooms need to be updated. What can I say, I know I’m nitpicking here but that’s what I’m here for.

The Wow Factor(s):

Dive and Dine!

My most memorable experience was the day we had a private beach cabana. This same day we participated in the hotel’s Dive and Dine program. You can actually scuba dive with the hotel’s specialist and chef and then enjoy a beachside BBQ with the lobsters that you caught yourself! If that’s not the catch of the day, I don’t know what is!

Chef Kai hard at Work. Not a bad office though.

View from our Beach Cabana

Our Spoils from Dive and Dine

Beach Cabana Day!

Interior of Beach Cabana

Also, while standard rooms are nice, the luxury suite is one of the most gorgeous hotel rooms I have ever laid eyes on! Seriously, I was snapping photos for a home I plan to one day decorate–and I plan to try and emulate this exact room–especially the closet! If you’ve got money to spend, this would be well worth it. Stunning!

Luxury Suite

I also think that an effort to connect with the local wildlife was very unique. We took a golf-cart one afternoon (you can also go in the early AM) and watched the monkeys playing out on the golf course. You can also take garden tours with the hotel’s botanists or take a moonlit walk to go check out the sea turtles.

The Bottom Line: Would I recommend it? Am I coming Back?

The Four Seasons Nevis laid-back, sleepy atmosphere suits its Caribbean locale perfectly. It’s entirely unstuffy and unpretentious so all guests feel comfortable at all times. I think that the Four Seasons Nevis’ ambience, decor and dining options do a nice job capturing the essence of the island. The staff at Four Seasons Nevis makes the guests feel extremely special and like they have had an authentic island experience.

It’s also worth noting that I had a chance to see rooms at both Golden Rock Plantation (though I did not see the honeymoon suite) and Montpelier, I will tell you that the rooms at the Four Seasons blew them out of the water. Although both of those properties are gorgeous and definitely worth visiting for a meal, the rooms at the Four Seasons are far, FAR more luxe and truly the only place I would have been happy resting my luxury-obsessed self.

I would definitely come back and many of their guests agree. There was more than one occasion when I saw guests arriving and staffers literally running towards them with excitement. The reunion was equally as joyful for the guests. The people and the West Indian hospitality at the Four Seasons Nevis are truly what makes it so memorable.

Basically, this is an amazing escape for luxe-loving couples (and even families) off the beaten path of the usual Caribbean destinations. I loved it! Travelingpanties approved!

Stunning Sunset

Four Seasons Nevis Information

Address: The Four Seasons Resort Nevis, West Indies, P.O. Box 565, Pinney’s Beach, Charlestown, Nevis

Phone:1-869-469-1111

Cost: Rooms start at $345 during off-season and about $1200 during high season.

*Disclaimer* As is common in the travel industry, writers are provided with complimentary services for review purposes. Although my visit was part of a press trip–meaning that I did not pay, all opinions herein are my own. You can’t buy the love here, people! Just ask my husband!

Daydreaming of Returning to Nevis Already

Photos Credit: Katie Goldstein

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