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lovelyrots · 3 years ago

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Ghosts of the Past

Part 2

Part 1

Warnings - angst, yandere, NONCON, swearing, not sure if it counts as cucking or ntr but reader gets railed while Katsuki is forced to watch (forced voyeur?), blood and branding, blindfold use, threats, forced oral (male giving to male), daddy kink/daddy mention, kidnapping, implied noncon filming, forced cheating I guess

A/N - this is quite possibly my longest warning list for smut I’ve written (so far, since this blog still has that new car smell) so uh reader beware, you’re in for an affair

Hours after Katsuki had revealed his past actions to you, the two of you sat in front of the fire sharing a blanket to keep the chill of the night at bay. “Babe, can you grab me a drink?” Katsuki asks you and you groan and snuggle into his side more, refusing to leave the cozy warmth before he asks again. “Fine, but I demand more cuddles from you.” You pout and walk over to the cooler, shifting food this way and that way to find one of his favorite drinks that he personally packed. “Why does your stuff have to be all the way at the…bottom.” You trail off as you turn around to see Katsuki before you on one knee and a gorgeous engagement ring extended towards you.

“I don’t deserve to have someone as amazing as you in my life, but I’ll spend every day of our lives showing you just how much I love you. So, will you marry me?” He asks and you choke up, just barely able to nod and practically fall into his embrace as he takes your face into his hands and kisses you then slips the ring onto your finger.

“Thank you, tha-“ “Just shut up and kiss me Katsuki.” You interrupt him and bring his lips back to yours, your fingers intertwining and you pull him into the tent.

You let out an excited gasp as you land on the piled up sleeping bags and start tugging at each other’s clothes. Katsuki pauses just as he gets your shirt off though, looking off and to the side. “Baby? What’s wro-“ “Sh, I thought I heard something.” He whispers, slowly crawling off you and heading towards the entrance to the tent. “Stay here, it’s probably just an animal but I’ll make sure.” You nod and watch him disappear from your sight, the waning firelight only casting his shadow before that too is gone.

Now that you’re alone every sound seems so much louder; the crackling of the fire, the wind in the trees, the erratic beating of your heart. “Hey babe, I twisted my ankle! Can you come out here and help me?” You sigh in relief and leave the tent, not bothering to throw your shirt back on since it’s just you two out here.

“Geez, you really scared me Katsu…” You stop when you spot Katsuki tied up and with some contraption over his mouth at the edge of the camp. His eyes widen and he starts moving around, you start to run to him but a harsh tug on your hair stops you in your tracks.

“Aww, you almost gave me away Kacchan~! I wanted to surprise her!” A near perfect imitation of Katsuki’s voice calls out from behind you and you notice something poking the small of your back. “P-please just let us leave. We didn’t know anyone else was here.” You try to beg with the stranger behind you, your frightened eyes locked on Katsuki.

“That’s because I followed you, well not you specifically but more I followed your fiancé over there.” The pitch of the voice starts changing; getting a little higher, but not by much. “But after seeing how much Kacchan loves you, I just had to fucking break you.” Then your arms are forced behind you while you thrash around, your hands and arms tied together before you’re able to tear your head back and slam it into the man behind you.

You start to take off running but you’re yanked to the ground before you even make it ten steps away. “Sorry, usually I like a game of cat and mouse but tonight I just want to get to the fun.” The man says as he easily lifts you and places you down right in front of Katsuki and a blindfold is wrapped around your eyes. “There we go, don’t worry it won’t stay on forever. You always picked such pretty girls, Kacchan, but what made you stick with this one for so long? You never seemed to care about someone’s personality so maybe I’ll see for myself what it is.” You try to wriggle away as you hear the clinking of a belt but with your arms tied behind you, you don’t get far.

“Just leave us alone! What did we do to you?!” You yell and try to kick the man. “You did nothing. Bakugo, though, knows what he did. In fact, he told you earlier what he did.” The man chuckles, bitter and cold. “Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Well, he can’t be with you for your brains apparently. The name’s Izuku Midoriya, though Kacchan always called me Deku. It used to be fitting since I was just like you, useless and quirkless.” You hear leaves crunch under his feet then the hiss of metal before your fiancé is cursing out the man.

“Fucking psycho! We all thought you were fucking dead!” The man, Izuku, tuts and you hear a slap. “And you were all just fooled. It’s pretty easy to do when your father is-“ whatever Izuku says is apparently meant only for Katsuki to hear, because you aren’t able to make out anything. “Y-you’re lying, I met your old man. There’s no way…” “Well you wouldn’t look the same after taking one of All Might’s punches to the face, would you? How is that old man doing by the way? Last I heard, he was on his deathbed. Sure would be a shame if somehow villains raided and destroyed the hospital he’s currently in. And while the current top ranked hero is unreachable too!”

“You bastard…you want fucking revenge for what I said to you back then? Do whatever you want, just leave her out of this!” You yelp as you’re suddenly maneuvered onto your knees. “No can do, you see, I want to destroy everything that’s precious to you. First your pretty wife-to-be, then your career, and then your reputation.” You freeze up as something cold trails up your stomach and stops just under your bra.

“Better not move, sunshine.” Izuku whispers before your breasts are bared before his eyes. You whimper and struggle not to move as his knife trails over your hardened nips. “Such pretty skin, makes sense for such a pretty girl. Makes me want to just,” you wince as his breath hits your bare shoulder, “taste it.”

“Don’t you fucking touch her!” Katsuki roars and you hear the sound of metal breaking before a grunt fills the silence. “Hm, I knew I should’ve brought the stronger cuffs for you. Luckily I had this handy quirk ready to go, now just sit there and watch. Try anything again and I’ll take her with me, so think before you do or say something, okay Kacchan?” Izuku tugs you closer into his chest with each emphasized word.

“Now that our guest has been seated and gagged, you and I are going to put on an amazing show for him so just relax.” He whispers into your ear as one hand toys with your breast, pinching and pulling randomly. You suppress a whimper as his other hand suddenly latches onto the crotch of your jeans and you can feel the heel of his palm grind against your clothed slit.

“Hm, sensitive, aren’t you? I can feel your heart rate pick up, so there’s no point in lying to me.” You let out a yelp as you’re tossed face down and your jeans are pulled down to your knees. “I know a place that’s even more honest than your heart though.” You bite back a groan as a thick finger prods and pokes you through your panties, the thin cotton barely keeping him from entering your warmth.

“St-stop that!” You cry out as he grinds a finger blindly against your clit. “Hm? Did I hit something? It’s so hard to tell with your clothes in the way…how about we fix that?” You stiffen as your panties are torn off your body and your jeans are swiftly yanked off.

“There we go, now I can see everything.” Then you’re left alone as you hear footsteps move towards Katsuki again. “Be a good boy, Kacchan, and suck it.” Izuku coos and shivers run up your spine from the growl that you just know came from Katsuki. “Go fuck yourself.” It’s silent once again before Izuku begins to laugh, a hauntingly empty laugh more becoming of a horror movie villain.

“I guess you don’t care about her, I guess I can just fuck her dry until she starts bleeding. A friend of mine says blood makes for a great lube, she uses it on her own little fuck toys all the time.” You whimper and try to scramble away from where you think Izuku is after he says that. “Wait! Fine…just don’t hurt her.” Katsuki calls out and you hear a grunt before the choking sounds begin, you curl up against the ground as best you can and imagine this is all some messed up nightmare you’re having. “If I hadn’t watched your journey to the top, I’d have guessed this is how you got your ranking. Think it’s wet enough for your girl?”

The sounds stop and all that answers Izuku is the heavy breathing from Katsuki and the wind. “Seems fine, now just sit back. Not like you have a choice at the moment.” The psycho giggles and you hear the crunch of leaves under his shoes as he circles your nude defenseless body.

“I can’t begin to tell you how much I’d love to paint a portrait of you like this, doll. I can only hope Kacchan will do something stupid so I can take you away with me.” You gasp as he steps up against you, his wet erection pressing up against your bare cunt. “Everything about you is so…tempting.” Hands grab your hips and pulls and tugs you as he pleases while he speaks above you. “If I didn’t do my research, I’d say it had to do with your quirk but it seems Kacchan picked a lucky little quirkless girl and I just can’t help but smile at the irony.” You shriek and strain against your bonds as the head of his cock pushes against your lower lips.

“That’s it, cry as loud as you can! Cry as I fuck this pretty cunt!” He forces his way into you in one, two rough thrusts of his hips, driving all your breath out of your lungs and nearly throwing you into shock at the intrusion. “Aww, is it more than you’re used to? Don’t tell me, Kacchan’s small, isn’t he?” Izuku coos into your ear while you struggle to adjust to his girth, your unprepared pussy painfully stretching to fit around him.

“No answer? Maybe you need some ‘help’ relaxing, just let Daddy take care of you.” You silently gasp, both at the fact that he knows what you call Katsuki and the thumb suddenly playing with your clit.

You cry out and involuntarily arch your back as pleasure zips through your body; the thick cock slowly ploughing away at your walls and the stimulation from your abused clit beginning to override your mind. “S-stop, please! I-I don’t want-“ you slam your mouth closed before a moan tries to claw its way out as he slaps your poor clit.

“I don’t care what you want, doll. Your body is telling me that it wants my cock and this wet cunt keeps coating my cock so just shut up and take what I give you.” Izuku snarls and takes his hand off your hip to rip your blindfold off. You blink several times before your eyes adjust to the orange hued surroundings and your fiancé in front of you, covered in some black tar sludge, his body below his nose was covered in it and tightly plastered to the tree behind him.

“There we go, now Kacchan can see your pretty eyes. You missed seeing them, right?” Izuku leans forward, practically covering your body, and stares straight at the blond. You groan and try to turn your face away from Katsuki as Izuku slams into your core again, but you’re stopped as your hair is gripped tightly and your face is forced back towards your love.

“Don’t you dare look away. You’re going to keep looking at your ‘hero’ until you cum your little brain out, he’s going to watch you get fucked by some quirkless loser while he can’t do a damn thing about it.” Izuku pants above you, his grip on your hair like iron while his fiery thumb bullies and abuses your clit as you climb higher to your peak.

Tears gather in the corners of your eyes, your lips permanently open as you struggle to breathe, and your thighs wet with your slick and his pre-cum. “Please, please…” you trail off your mumbling as you screw your eyes shut as Izuku’s cock seems to hit your cervix. “Please what, doll? Are you begging me to let you cum? Or do you not want to? I can slow down then, I don’t mind being the only one to cum.” You whine as his hips slow their formerly frantic pace to a crawling pace, his cock dragging along your walls before almost popping out and trudging back in.

“Use your words, doll, how else will I know what you want? Tell Daddy what you want.” Shame burns through your veins as you war with your head and your body, the need for sweet release becoming a mounting priority but your mind keeps reminding you of the vermilion eyes you love watching you.

You sob and your hips twitch just the slightest as he fully sheathes himself in your heat and stops moving altogether. “Well, what does the little doll want?” You wince as you feel his breath hit your cheek, the scent of mint and red wine hitting your nose.

“Please let me cum.” You whisper, your own voice lost beneath the fire crackling just behind you. “Hm? Oh, you want me to make you cum? Of course, doll! It would be my pleasure.” You crack an eye open when he tugs on your hair and stare straight at Katsuki, his face a perfect depiction of rage.

You aren’t able to look at Katsuki long before your eyes are rolling to the back of your head when Izuku finally moves again, slipping out for a second before continuously entering and battering your cervix.

Your chest is scratched up from the dirt floor and your legs are shaking while you can feel your release bearing you, moans and tearful pleas leaving your lips.

You scream as your orgasm rips through your body, your toes curling while your body twitches as it’s used like a flesh light by Izuku. “Oh, doll, keep squeezing me just like that. Fuck, there’s only one thing that could make this more perfect.” He giggles and you’re flipped onto your back, his cock still hammering away while you’re trying to come back down to earth.

Your eyes widen when you spot the knife in his hand shakily hovering over your abdomen and try to move away from him before the same tar like substance encasing Katsuki appears and holds you still. “I just can’t help myself, I just have to claim such a perfect pussy and what better way than by literally placing my name in the most intimate of areas.” You tremble and sob as he brings the knife down and stills his hips each time the blade carves into your skin.

You choke and gasp once he’s finally done, black spots dancing in the corners of your vision while your heart drums in your ears. “It’s so, fuck, pretty. Oh, fuck I just-“ Izuku gasps and stills completely within you as he fills you, a quiet whimper leaving your shaking lips.

“I’m taking you with me, that was the best fuck I’ve ever had. Sorry, Kacchan, but don’t worry! You’ll see her again, you and anyone else with access to the internet.” You weakly protest as he pulls out from your warmth, his seed trickling out after him, and throws you over his shoulder. “Who knows, maybe you’ll see more than just my name on her next time?” You attempt to look to see Katsuki and call out his name as everything around you fades into blackness and then transforms into a barren concrete room.

“Welcome to your new home, doll. You better get some rest, the night is just getting started.”

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katyamorrigan · 3 years ago

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‘Hope is the thing with Feathers’ by KatyaMorrigan

For the Grishaverse Reverse Mini-Bang 2021, run by @grishaversebigbang, and with stunning art created by @wqemzz-blog - click here for her incredible illustration of Kaz and Inej!

Captain Inej Ghafa has returned to Ketterdam for the first time in three years. In all that time, The Wraith never docked at Berth 22 for more than an afternoon, and the crew never strayed further than the harbour front.

Could she have stopped by sooner? Absolutely. Did she choose not to for entirely business-related reasons? Absolutely not. She has no idea what her friends will make of seeing her again after so long, least of all Kaz. But there is hope - hope that in that time, he will have grown as much as she has. That he will be the kind of person that she can share a pot of tea with without a thought of how he might feel about her.

Because Inej isn't done with being a pirate yet. But it doesn't mean she wants to be at sea forever.

I had the best time getting to write this fic based on the idea proposed by Emma. So much of a good time, in fact, that I overwrote it by around 4k words in the end... This is the much more civilised 2k word version - the full iteration of the story is on my AO3 ), but this significantly neater version will remain on my Tumblr for good. I really hope that you like it, and check out @wqemzz-blog for all your beautiful art needs!

Link to the fic on AO3: ‘Hope is the thing with Feathers’

And available to read below the cut here:

‘Hope is the thing with Feathers’

It occurred to Inej as she entered Kaz’s office for the first time in three years, that in the past she might have second-guessed the meaning of his offer to have tea together. They had just spent a few hours talking during dinner – mostly talking over Jesper and Wylan, who had hosted the meal and were either polite or forgiving enough to allow them to dominate the conversation with reflections on Inej’s time beyond Ketterdam. Three years was a long time when you had last been teenagers breaking into the Ice Court together, when you were now the owner of a galleon that hunted slaver ships from Fjerda to the Wandering Isle. There was plenty to discuss between them, and it seemed that Kaz had changed enough to ask her to stay with no apprehension, so that they could be in each other’s company a little while longer.

The attic room was identical to her memories of it but her gaze was drawn to Kaz, with ungloved hands, stooping to open the cupboard and bring out two tins. With a tentative look at her, he placed them on the desk and opened them. Inej couldn’t help laughing.

“When did Dirtyhands start keeping cookies in his office?” she teased. “Two kinds, as well.”

He gave a permissive smile. “Nina may have had more influence over me than I would like to admit. She sends them to me from Ravka.”

Feeling a bittersweet rush of longing for her friend, Inej reached over and helped herself to an iced biscuit with a red star on the top as Kaz took the other tin and started to make them tea. The room filled with the smell, quiet clinking noises coming from the cupboard again as Kaz fetched cups and saucers, and Inej watched him from the corner of her eye as she nibbled. He had taken off his jacket, and Inej could see the strong line of his shoulders as he prepared their drinks. Yes, a younger version of herself would have been much more flustered than Captain Ghafa, as she was now. She might have told herself stories about how invested Kaz was, about his tactics and techniques for making her trust him – for making her want to stay. Now she had no such worries. She was in the bedroom of an old friend – an old partner, in many ways – and they were sharing a pot of tea.

Inej smiled as she turned away from sneaking glances at Kaz and looked out of the window instead, at the uncharacteristically beautiful light that was shining in. The fog of the early afternoon had lifted, and Ketterdam seemed to concentrate every scrap of colour on painting the evening sky in crimson and gold. It felt like a personal display from the city, like it was finally welcoming her in. She couldn’t believe that she had been away for so long.

“Can I open the window?” she asked. Kaz chuckled.

“You have never once asked my permission to open a window.” Kaz brought over their cups and placed them on the sill, where Inej was now sitting, and obligingly opened it for her.

A gentle breeze entered the room, tickling Inej’s cheek. She closed her eyes for a second and forgot that she had ever been away. The sensation of being here – in Kaz’s office, on the windowsill, letting the fading sunlight warm her skin – made her feel so young and so old at the same time. It was like slipping into an outfit she hadn’t worn in years, feeling the ways it had always fit her, and the ways that she had grown since. Inej was nothing like the girl that Kaz had once known, but she didn’t feel so different when she was back here, just a little taller and a little more forgiving.

Kaz brought over a plate with more cookies, taking a large one heavily studded with chocolate, and leaned against the wall. It had been three years, but still they were so comfortable existing in a space like this together, breathing in the warm air. She took a sip of her tea, and tasted honey. Just the way she had always liked it.

“You look well,” he said, not breaking the silence but disrupting it, like ripples on a pond. “The sea suits you.”

“Thank you. I rather like it too. Ketterdam has continued to suit you – is that a new scar on your jaw, or have I just never noticed it?”

“It’s new. About a year ago I was very nearly shot in the face by a Razorgull. Fortunately Jesper manipulated the bullet at the last second and I was only burnt.”

She inhaled sharply in sympathy, and Kaz shrugged. “It healed quickly, and that’s all I ask for.”

“Do you ever think you’ll end up more scar than skin?” she said, half in jest and half with sincerity. As the words left her mouth, she thought of how closely her question came to the kind of Suli proverb that she had goaded him with previously. That she had tested him with.

“Not anymore.”

His reply was unexpectedly thoughtful. Inej turned to him, and he gave a soft smile.

“The Dregs don’t get caught up in the same trouble that they used to. There’s less chance for me to get hurt.”

“I’m glad.”

She took a cookie, a chocolate one like Kaz’s, and bit into it. It crumbled instantly, scattering crumbs all down her chin and the front of her waistcoat. Kaz saw; there was a beat of silence and then laughter, Inej’s giggles muffled by the cookie.

“You pirates make our manners look sophisticated,” he commented. She swatted the air in front of him.

“My manners haven’t suffered at all, I’ll have you know!”

“My poor windowsill. I’ll have to clean it now.”

“It could probably do with a clean if you’re anything like you used to be,” she replied, and Kaz raised an eyebrow at her.

“I always cleaned the windows frequently.”

“Specifically the windows.”

He tilted his shoulder and looked out across the city. The gilded roofs stretched from the harbour all the way to the Barrel. Inej watched him as he absorbed it all, taking a sip of tea, adjusting the cup in his bare hands. He looked exactly the way she had hoped to find him – a little stronger, a little harsher, that new scar dimpling the line of his jaw like a tally on a gun barrel, but unmistakeably the same Kaz that she had left behind. He looked every bit the young man that he was – handsome, clever, mean.

“You loved to sit here and look out. I always made sure you’d be able to.”

“Oh.”

She was glad he kept looking at the view. To lock eyes with him then might have done something to her – made her feel another way. A way she had felt for a long time, that she had stifled. Inej focused her gaze on the broken pieces of cookie in her hand, crumbling it more. Everything felt quietly loud; gentle, but unrelenting.

The familiar click of claws on tiles came from a little further along the roof.

Kaz leaned towards the sound. “They must have recognised you,” he smiled, “The crows have come back.”

Inej made an elated noise and turned herself to look. There they were – a little murder of crows, with sharp eyes and sharp beaks, cawing as politely as crows could.

“I can’t believe it,” she murmured.

“They stopped visiting when you left. They knew you were here.”

“No,” she said, delighted but disbelieving. He nodded.

Inej watched them move, alert and intelligent, talking to her. She remembered Kaz’s decrial of them as mannerless and untrustworthy, but when she scooped up some cookie crumbs and held them out, they arranged themselves neatly to feed from her hand. Her hands were rough now from the years of sailor’s work, but she could still feel the smoothness of their beaks as they pecked and the trace of their feathers on her fingers.

“I missed them too.”

Kaz took another sip. “Were seagulls not friendly enough?”

She laughed. “They were friendly in their own way – they certainly ate up scraps quite well. But I couldn’t feed them like this. They didn’t wait for me like the crows always did.”

“They were always looking for you to come back.” His voice was as gravelly as ever, but Inej felt a hint of longing as he spoke. With the last of the crumbs gone, she brushed off her hands and turned back towards the room, to look at him. The expression he wore was the one that she remembered most vividly, and with the least joy; that inscrutable intensity that made her feel transparent. He was looking inside of her, and she struggled to translate what he had seen from the look he was giving her.

“Do you ever wish you had stayed here instead?” Kaz asked.

Ah. The question that she had expected to be met with – it had been avoided all evening while they were with Jesper and Wylan, but now it emerged while they were alone. It was a question that she knew the answer for. Whether it was the one he wanted or not, it was the one he would get.

“No. I love being on the sea. I love having a purpose that I can enact so clearly. Everything I told you over dinner was true – it has its challenges, but I wouldn’t have done anything differently.”

Kaz nodded, and she saw pride lock into his eyes.

“You’ve become somewhat of a legend to the sailors who come to Ketterdam now,” he said, a grin building. “Men who arrive shaken by what they saw at a distance – of a pirate queen in blue and gold invading slaver ships and leaving them to die. It has certainly damaged West Stave.”

She touched her earring. “It has?”

“Of course. The bulk of working girls in any of the brothels are stolen, and with so few slaver boats succeeding in bringing any ashore…”

Inej grinned back. Her only hope when she finally decided to leave Ketterdam had been to bring justice to those children like her, but to know that her efforts were ruining trafficking from the ground up… It was almost too much. Her face hurt from smiling, and Kaz turned away from her to look out of the window again.

“How long are you staying here for?” he asked.

Another question. So much easier.

“Two weeks. My crew have been given leave in that time, but I’m hoping that they will all want to sign on for the next stint.”

“And you?”

“I have given myself leave, yes, Kaz,” she chuckled. Kaz huffed self-consciously. “I’ll be around, is what I mean. If you wanted to have tea again some time.”

“Yes.”

Their eyes met, and she was a teenager again. Inej hadn’t thought about Kaz in that way for a long time. Hadn’t allowed herself to. She knew that the moment in which she let the thought of anything tender and vulnerable growing between them take root in her mind again was the moment in which she would have to rethink her answer to that tricky question. But Saints, it had always been hard not to.

“I can tell stories about Captain Ghafa while you’re gone, if you’d like.” Kaz’s smile was sharp. “Make sure that everyone in Ketterdam knows the name and fears it.”

Her heart betrayed her so, so quietly.

“You don’t need to,” she said.

“Why’s that, Inej?”

Three years of never letting herself near him, just in case the possibility of a dual life came back into play. Three years in which she only regretted one thing.

“I’ll be back again before too long.”

#gvbb21 #gvbbminibang21 #grishaverse mini bang #six of crows #six of crows fanfic #kanej #kaz x inej #grishaverse #kanej fanfic #kaz brekker #inej ghafa

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angryschnauzer · 4 years ago

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Superior Specimen - Chapter 1

Summary: One night when you are following the Archaeology tag on instagram you stumbled across a fun looking dig... and an even more interesting Paleontologist who soon follows you back. Over the following weeks you start chatting and a friendship soon grows.

Relationship: AU Henry Cavill x Female Reader (No race or body shape mentioned)

Warnings: Slow Burn, NSFW, 18+, Mutual Masturbation, Phone Sex

I do not operate a tag list, but please follow @angryschnauzerwrites and put that blog onto notifications, as you will then be notified whenever i post something new.

I don’t have a masterlist, but all my works are on AO3, link here. Usually i post oneshots to Tumblr and AO3, and multichapters exclusively to AO3, but as this is my first henry story and its going to be a short series, i’ll post to both places.

Superior Specimen – Chapter 1

It had all started innocently; you’d been cruising the paleontology and archaeology tags on Instagram, checking out the progress of the summer digs you were unable to go on, one in particular catching your interest. The dig in the Siberian summer desert was posting some fascinating photos and clips, and you were following them avidly from that point on.

A week later when you got the job at the Natural History Museum and you proudly posted a selfie in your uniform, you saw some familiar accounts like and comment, one in particular leaving a chain of hearts, and when you clicked on the profile you saw it was one of the palaeontologists from the Siberian dig. Hitting that ‘follow back’ button you didn’t think much more about the account.

It was your first day and you couldn’t have been prouder of your own achievements. You knew that jobs within the archaeology and palaeontology fields were few and far between, and unless you were blessed with some very rich parents or managed to snag some sort of sponsor or bursary, actually following the dream and getting in at the upper levels was almost impossible. You’d worked your socks off, volunteering on domestic digs during breaks from university, taking jobs after your degree to advance your language skills, and now it had paid off; the front desk at the most renowned museum in the country, perhaps even the world. Now as you stood beneath the skeleton of the Blue Whale in the giant atrium of the gothic building, you adjusted your name badge, polishing the three flags that were adorned on the bottom of the badge to show the languages you spoke, and watched as the security guard unlocked the doors for the days visitors to excitedly rush in.

The following weeks rushed by, you thoroughly enjoyed your role and settled into it quickly. You were called upon to help translate for confused visitors from overseas, held a level head when people got out of hand, had met all the staff - it surprised you how small of a number of staff there actually were - and above all you felt completely settled.

At the end of a long day you finished up your shift and clocked off, grabbing your bag from the staffroom lockers before stepping out into the warm summer evening. Checking your notifications you saw a DM, and smiled when you saw who it was from; the guy from the Siberian dig that over the last few weeks you had started chatting to casually.

@Kinghenry; “Looking beautiful as always. How was work?”

You smiled where you could see he’d replied to an on-the-way-to-work selfie you’d posted that morning;

“Good. Tiring. And thank you <3”

You saw the little notification that your message had been seen, and paused as you saw that he was writing, meaning he was online right at that moment;

“What are your plans for the rest of the night?”

“A scented bath, then I’m ordering takeout and bingeing Netflix”

“So, no-one to take you to dinner?”

You smiled at his sly way of asking if you’re single;

“Nope. Why; are you asking?”

“Absolutely. Plus, I brought you a gift back from the dig”

“Oh yes? What’s that, a bunch of bones?”

“Just one. A big one. Wanna see?”

You laugh-groaned at his innuendo, before another message came through with the icon that the user had attached a photo. Your thumb hovered over the icon, hesitating. Had this casual flirting advanced to dick pics? And more to the point; did you actually want to see what he was packing? Hell, you’d seen the crew shots of the dig and had seen him tagged, the guy was built like Hercules. Taking a deep breath you looked up and noticed you were almost at the entrance to the tube station. If you didn’t tap it now you wouldn’t have enough signal in the underground train tunnels to download it, and you knew he would have had the notification that you’d gotten the message. You tapped on the photo… and waited…

The laugh you let out once the photo loaded bubbled from your throat; there he was, stood in the Siberian desert, chest bare, and holding what must have been a femur from an enormous bi-ped as it was well over 4ft long. You knew that fossils were incredibly heavy, so for him to be holding one of that size you felt a tingle in your stomach at the thought of how strong he was. Screenshotting it your phone buzzed where he sent another message;

“So, what do you think? *wink*”

“That’s an impressive bone”

“Heavy too”

You felt a bead of sweat slowly make its way down your back, the heat of the summer evening still intense in the city, and you knew if you stood outside the tube station much longer you’d melt;

“I’ve got to get on the tube, talk later xxx”

Later was quite a few hours later, and as you sank into the scented bath, you’d indulged yourself with oils, petals, candles; the whole nine yards. The obligatory candle-lit shot of your legs peeking out of the water headed to your grid, before you settled back and relaxed.

Your phone propped up in the wooden bath shelf playing your music, and a glass of wine half-drunk as you let the feeling of the waters soothe you. After a couple of songs you heard the chime of a notification, peering out of one eye to see that he’d sent you a message. Wiping your hands on a towel you opened it and smiled;

“Sorry if the tease was too much earlier”

“Not at all. I opened it, didn’t I? *wink*”

“That you did… you curious little thing. How’s the bath?”

“Warm, wet, and relaxing”

You knew you were being a tease, but you’d had a glass of wine before you’d even gotten into the bath so you were a little emboldened by the alcohol. Your phone chimed and you saw another photo notification, tapping on it and letting out a ‘ouff’. He was standing in front of a full length mirror, wearing just a pair of running shorts that clung to his sweat drenched body and left absolutely nothing to the imagination, the clear outline of a heavy cock resting against his thigh to the point you were surprised it didn’t peek out from the leg hole.

“I could do with something warm wet and relaxing right now… got all worked up at the gym”

Your jaw literally dropped; you couldn’t tear your eyes away from the screen as your entire body shuddered with lust. Turning onto your side you flipped the camera to selfie mode, and snapped a shot of your body; doe eyes, the swell of your breasts glistening in the candlelight, down to the curve of your hip as it emerged from the cloudy blue and green water. Not a single thing was showing - nipples and pussy just hidden by the water - but it was obvious you were completely naked. You hit send and settled back into a more comfortable position, watching the screen as it changed from sent to seen then the little notification to tell you he was typing;

“Look at what you’ve done to me”

The photo that loaded was taken from chest height, and he caught his stomach and Adonis belt, and his shorts were obscenely tented. He was typing again, and much to your surprise it was a phone number;

“Here’s mine, or you can show me yours… number that is…”

Taking a deep breath you hit the number and raised the phone to your ear, hearing it ring before a deep voice answered;

“Henry?”

“Yes, is that you Princess?”

“It’s me” you found your free hand had slid down your body to the juncture of your thighs, just his voice was turning you on.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m touching myself… your voice… fuck…”

“So, if my voice is turning you on so much you must touch yourself, taking you out for dinner will be an interesting experience. Will I need to slide my hand under the table and pet that little pussy of yours?”

“I guess I’ll have to skip wearing underwear then…”

The groan that you heard down the line sent sparks to your clit as you rubbed figure eights over the sensitive nub, and you longed to hear it in person, whispered against your ear, his hot breath fanning your skin.

From that point the conversation entered the gutter, Henry had the dirtiest mind and the deepest voice, his words wrapped around your brain like it was enrobed in salted caramel, and when you came you called out his name so loud your neighbours probably heard. As you came down from your orgasmic high you heard a quiet chuckle;

“Feel better now Princess?”

“Hmmm yes, thank you”

“I need a shower now… somehow I’m even more worked up than before the gym… Hmmn I wonder why?” he mused down the line

“Shame I can’t lend a hand to help out” you countered, and the sharp inhale of breath told you he’d liked what you’d said.

“That can be arranged… anyway, I have an issue I now need to take care of, and as you’re not here I need to take the matter into my own hands”

“Both hands?” you asked coyly

“Jesus woman… you’re gonna be the death of me, I’m so fucking hard I could burst right now”

“Well I’ll let you go, but I’ll say what I said before, shame I can’t lend a hand. Speak soon Henry”

“Absolutely, take care Princess”

Chapter 2 >>>

#henry cavill #henry cavill x reader #henry cavill smut #henry cavill x you #henry cavill x female reader

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aquariusshadow · 4 years ago

Text

Live!Blogging HSMTMTS s2x6

okay fiiiiiiiiinally ive been waiting all day to watch this.

so from what i've seen...i'm tentatively predicting that my new main ships will be portwell and ricky/therapy

lesssss goooooo

not if you liked them back kourt *wink wink* then its hard for you to see if they like you

oh north high again

i keep forgetting about this storyline

'village idiot'

idk why that made me laugh im sorry

omg imagine a legit group chat with seb and ej tho

someone write a chatfic about this please

portwell sitting next to eachother hehehe

'friendship' *gina looks at ricky* oh boy

asdlfjalhsdfjasdf

"im waiting for a sign" *camera pans to the exit sign*

so everyone that predicted the rose getting a song yall deserve your money's worth

ricky you fought for her to get in the show yet you cant let nini focus on her song for the show

wtf

i need to back this up

ive never done this before actually backing up an episode during a liveblog

"i can't believe you're finally back in the show yet you're spending saturday without me"

RICKY

SIR

MR SIR

WHAT DID YOU EXPECT

she needs to focus

you need to focus

so miss jenn and ricky's dad are finally going on a date

aight

big red and nini convooooooo yesss

i do like kourt and howie's banter

JHLDJAFHLDSJFSDVBXMNSLDHLA

ricky: hey G

gina: *ignores*

ej: *smooth* may i have this exercise

see ricky you cant expect gina to always be there when you treat her the way you have been

poor carlos

hah remember what i said at the beginning of this? thats all i gotta say hehe with kourt and howie

............did

did ricky

spam her literal paragraphs of text

when she has told him she needs to focus

and ricky's freaking out over nini not liking hawaiian pizza

........

this is the type of clinginess that really does turn me off

especially back in highschool

ricky honey you really need some help

man poor ashlynn

ashlynn is going to kill it as belle because she's gonna be sooooooo genuine whereas im sure lily's gonna come off as very superficial in the part

look at ej's concerned expression when gina's struggling in the exercise

the one thing i do like about miss jenn's date so far is i think this is a nice way of getting to know both of the characters more

awwwww the date went well

RICKY

WHAT

SIR

i mean that was kinda funny ngl

BUT

oooooooooooo thats a great answer ej

"i'd ask him if he'd ever love anyone after belle"

but...did gaston ever truly love belle tho

ricky :(

he really doesnt like change does he

im glad the show is trying to address this

awwwww the gina and ashlynn heart to heart

i do love their friendship

omg she confessed her feelings for ricky

she actually did it

this entire time

he knew

and he still

this entireeeeeee tiiiiiiiime

the only excuse he has is that somehow he got it in his mind that he either thought gina moved on from him or ricky interpreted gina's confession as a friendship thing

but still

good lord ricky you need to calm it with the clingy

even nini isnt feelin it

.............

meanwhile lily is still spying

interesting i thought kourt was a gryffindor--although i can see her being a gryffindor/hufflepuff combo hehe

but ravenclaw works too!!!

yessssss ashlynn sing your heart out

and this is why she's going to be an amazing belle

i hate seeing gina in this much pain

yea kourt you be honest!!!

i love herrrrrr

howie drumrolled before her confession

thats really cute

hahaha

i love straightforward stuff like this

the harry potter geekiness <3

i really hope ricky's dad realizes somethings off now since he and miss jenn ended things because of ricky

aight nini lets hear the rose song

so........basically everything i said and thought about rini as a relationship

nini's song confirms it

confirm what a lot of people have been saying about rini

also this song is amazing <3

WE LOVE NINI DECIDING TO LIVE FOR HERSELF

olivia's soprano range <3

yea rip rini next episode

Alright, so. I ship Ricky with Therapy (Rickerapy) and Gina with Happiness (Hapina). That’s my final stance for a while. I’m very curious on where they take Portwell. If Rina’s gonna happen then...I’m honestly not sure how I feel about it? Like I still enjoy the idea of Rina, and it’ll be a lot better than Rini (I think) but...no guy is worth that much pain and heartache Gina’s dealing with.

I guess if Ricky ends up working through his fear of change, learns better communication skills, and accepts/confronts his own feelings a lot better and treats Gina like the amazing person she is and makes it up to her then maaaaaaaaaaybe I’ll be on board with Rina in the end.

But yea, I’m definitely vibing more with Portwell rn.

Also, Nini deciding to live for herself. It’s such a good peak for her arc this semester I’m pretty happy.

Finally, while I’m giving Ricky a lot of shit, as I said in my previous live!blog--I still like his character and everything is very consistent with what we’ve seen from season 1. If anything, I’m really excited to see his arc come to a head and what comes after!

(someone plz write a seb and ej friendship chat!fic)

#hsmtmts #liveblogging!hsmtmts #hsmtmts s2x6 #portwell #i think i might start using anti tags for rina from this point on #dont wanna accidentally spread more negatively unintentionally when i'm just giving my thoughts #rickerapy tm #hapina tm #ricky bowen #gina porter #nini salazar roberts #ej caswell #kourtney greene #ashlynn caswell #ill think more on the tags later on #gina deserves happiness #ricky needs therapy

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sopeyb23-blog · 4 years ago

Text

Love Language

*not my Gif

*I do not own any CM characters

Summary: reader thinks about how their relationship with Spencer has evolved through touch!

Warnings: talk of past drug use, crying, angst i guess, but mostly fluff

word count: 2.2 K

A/N: this was pretty fun to write, it is mostly little flashback scenes and I love doing those. I did this after seeing @veraiconcos‘s writers challenge and thought that was super cool, all of her things are amazing so definitely check out her blog!

enjoy!!

~~~~~~~~~~~

Spencer Reid's love language was never touch. I suppose the burden of all his knowledge is knowing exactly the amount of germs passed by a single touch, and which of those germs are alive, and which could get him sick, and which sickness could take root, and, well you get the point. When I first started at the BAU Spencer still seemed to me like a shy little kid. We were the same age, I like to tell him at least once a day, I'm actually a full month older than him. I think that's one of the many reasons that him and I became friends so fast. My first friend was of course, JJ. After all she is very close in age to me and Spencer, and is one of the first contacts I had with the BAU. She told me before I had met any of the team, that Spencer was, well, different. She made sure to warn me that he doesn't mean anything by his little actions of avoidness. It's just his way of keeping himself safe. This I understood.

The first time I was formally introduced to the team was much before I joined. The interview process is understandably long, they need to know a person before just throwing them in. After all, these people spend more time together working cases then they do in their own homes. -

“Hi, i’m Y/N , the new agent here” I shook the hands of everyone on the team but Spencers, remembering what JJ had told me. To him I smiled and gave a little wave.

“The number of pathogens that can be passed from a-” Spencer after seeing me wave to him began to do just what I suspected. When confronted with an uncomfortable situation, he began to hide behind his wall of facts.

“It's actually much safer to kiss” I continued for him and the look on his face was priceless.

“Yeah, yes, exactly.” A rose colored blush crept up onto his cheeks as he smiled at me.

“Oh great, now there's two of them” Morgan laughed at us before JJ pulled them away for another case.

The first time I saw someone actually touch Reid was when they returned home from the Tobias Hankle case. It hurt me to see Spencer (now my friend of almost four months) so absolutely traumatized. He would never say this to me or anyone else for that matter, but even at the time he came home, he was still feeling the effects of the drugs he was given.-

“Here they come, here they come” Anderson walked over to me as the team approached the glass doors of the BAU. I was surprised to see that Spencer was with them. I had assumed they would have taken him straight home, or maybe to the hospital.

“Welcome back, I'm glad you're alive, Reid,” he barely opened his eyes and nodded at me before sitting down in his desk chair. I waved JJ over to me.

“How bad?” she sighed and gave me the classic worried mom look we always tease her for.

“Very. I didn't think I would ever see him like this”

“Im so sorry JJ. do you think he’ll be okay?”

“Honestly, I don't know, but i'm going to drive him home, maybe if i'm lucky I can convince him to let me take him to the hospital. I'll call you, okay?”

It worried me even more to know that JJ too, was aware of how badly he was hurt. She turned her back to me and grabbed her coat from her office before going to Spencer's desk. From where I was standing I could just barely make out what she was saying.

“Spence, come on, let's get you out of here”

“JJ I have paperwork to do” he sounded dazed, like he wasn't really sure where he was.

“Its okay Spence, I’m sure Morgan wouldn't mind a few extra”

She gingerly took the files from his hand and helped him sling his satchel over his shoulder. Then, it happened. As they walked out of the room he stumbled. Just a little. Barely enough for anyone else to notice, but I was watching the two of them so carefully as they left I couldn't help but take an involuntary step towards them. JJ took a firm hold of his arm, and put her other free hand on his back. I could see him flinch for just a second, and then, his body relaxed into her and he let her guide him from the room.

After that night I became a full member of the team. Spencer didn't take any time off. He never went to the hospital, although Penn, JJ, and I tried countless times to get him to. After that night when he let JJ help him, when he let her touch him, he never seemed to be overly bothered by a handshake every once and awhile. The first time I touched him was still a while after that, I think my 15th case in the field. -

“Spencer it wasn't your fault.” He looked at me through his black rimmed glasses with a sad and blank expression.

“Then why would he address it to me?” this whole case I knew something was wrong. After Gideon had not shown the first time, JJ told me that he had resigned, but at that point Spence still hadn't told anyone about the letter.

“Because he knew that you needed to hear the news from him. Not from JJ, or me, or Hotch, or anyone else. There's nothing you could have done to convince him to stay Spence, he's even more stubborn than you are”

I paused to observe him in the dark silence of the jet. I brought my hand to his arm tentatively but when he relaxed and seemed comfortable with the touch, I gave it a little squeeze and smiled at him. -

Now, after Gideon had left I knew it. I had a crush on Spencer Reid. This came as no surprise at all to JJ or Penelope, but to me, it was quite the shock. He had now become comfortable with the little touches of assurance that I gave him often. More comfortable even than with JJ or Morgan. Sometimes I noticed he would even reciprocate the gesture. When he noticed I was tired or stressed or just having a bad day, he would put a hand on the crook of my elbow and give it a little squeeze. Just like I did that night on the jet. To other people this seems like nothing. But to me, and to him as well, this was everything.

When Spencer stayed in Vegas to investigate his father, JJ left. JJ as Spence and I’s best friend, is always a source of comfort and a safe haven in the stormy darkness that is our lives. When she left she pulled me aside away from Spencer and put a hand on her swollen belly. -

“ Y/N , I need to take care of Spence for me, okay?” I chuckled.

“JJ, of course, what do you think I’m here to do?” she looked at me with a deadpan stare.

“That's not what I mean. You know what was happening with him after Tobias right?” I nodded, the memories of his mood flashes, and anger, and sadness all coming to the forefront of my mind.

“he‘s going to need you to make sure that he doesn’t do anything stupid. Not Morgan, not Rossi, not Hotch, you. You are the only person on this team- in this world-. That he trusts right now. And you are the only person that could talk him off of that ledge.”

“I promise, JJ. I’ll keep him safe” She nodded at me but the worried expression on her face remained. -

JJ was worried for good reason as it turned out. I kept a close eye on Spencer as we looked into his past. The boys were all there to focus on the case. To solve what was in front of them. I was there more to focus on Spencer. There was one night. The night after we found his father, something in my brain just told me it was not going to be a good night for him. There was something in the coloring of his face, the way his posture was collapsed and the circles around his eyes were so dark, it told me all that I needed to know. -

I walked out into the hallway of our hotel and stopped in front of Spencer's door. The others were all asleep, and it was nearing one in the morning. But something told me that he needed my help right now. JJ’s voice in the back of my head reminded me that I needed to help him, I was the only one who could help him. I knocked three times on his door softly. I waited a minute before knocking again, with a little more force, and I heard some shuffling in the room before the door opened.

“ Y/N? What are you doing?” I walked inside the room without an invitation and sat down on the foot of his bed. The sheets were undisturbed and he was still in his work clothes though the tie was draped over a chair in the corner and his shoes were by the door.

“Talk to me” I looked up from my hands and continued.

“I don't mean, about the case, or your dad. I mean about you. I need you to convince me that you are okay”

“Who says I'm not?” I rolled my eyes at him and gestured to the chair across from me.

“I do. And as one of your best friends, your closest colleague, and someone who likes you, a lot. I think that should mean something to you” the last part slipped out a little fast and completely without me thinking of the repercussions.

“You like me?” he gave a faint smile that I could only partially see in the dimly lit hotel room.

“Yes, but that's not the point right now, we’re talking about you not me '' I brushed off his comment but I couldn't help the smile and blush that came across on my face.

“Im struggling” his voice broke a little when he said it and it broke my heart to see him in such pain.

I walked over to the chair he was sitting in and pulled him up by the hand.

“I'm going to hug you now. Is that okay?”

His partial nod was good enough for me. -

I got him through that night. I talked him off the ledge that JJ had warned me of. And she was right. I was the only one who could have done that. When we came back from Las Vegas, although neither of us had said a word, something changed between us. We were more than just friends now, we both knew that, but beyond that, we weren't really sure what we were. He would call me when he needed someone to talk him down, I would call him when I needed someone to talk me down. I would show up at his apartment any hour of the day to help him, and I knew that he would do the same. One of those nights when it just so happened that the both of us needed a little talking down after a hard case, I drove myself over to his apartment to find him on the couch crying.

To see him crying was something that my tired, and broken heart couldn't take. I threw myself next to him on the couch and pulled him into a hug, no questions asked.

“I needed that.” I said as soon as I lifted my head from his shoulder.

“Me too” we were both still crying, but there was something about the atmosphere that had changed. We weren’t alone anymore. We spent hours like that, sitting there, my head on his shoulder, his arm around my back, not saying a word, just collecting ourselves as best we could. At some point in the night I looked over at the clock: 2:45 am

He looked to the clock as well and then over to me, and with a single tear streaming down his face he looked at me and said,

“If I asked you to stay, would you?” I wiped the tear from his cheek.

“You don't even need to ask” he brought both of his hands to my cheek and pulled me into what I think is the most passionate kiss I have ever received.

That night told us both what we had become. It was no longer little arm touches or calls in the middle of the night. It was waking up to him beside me, seeing his hair ruffled from sleep and his eyes clouded by exhaustion. It was the little worried kisses he gave me in the field and the little squeal of happiness that Penelope made when I told her we were moving in together.

When I first met Spencer I wondered to myself if he would ever be comfortable with touch. But now as his sleeping body lays next to me and instinctually pulls me in closer, I know that there was never any reason to worry. Because even before, when the most contact I would get was arm touches in the midst of a panic, it was enough. It helped me learn that although not everyone wants or shows grand gestures. There are other ways, sometimes even better ways to say, I love you.

#vicficwriterchallenge #Criminal Minds #criminalminds #reader #reader insert #spencer reid #Spencerreid #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid angst #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid x reader #penelope #penelope garcia #jj #Jennifer Jareau #derek morgan #promt #challenge

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highladyluck · 4 years ago

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I feel like anyone reading this blog on the regular is probably at least neutral if not actually positively inclined towards Mat and Tuon's relationship (or you would have unfollowed or blocked me or my Mat/Tuon tag after the past month), but nonetheless I still feel the need to set the record straight about their last canonical interaction. On the surface, it does not look like these two crazy kids are going to make it! But I have hope, and here's why. (Essay with entire series spoilers under the cut).

Tuon frowned. The explosions reflected in her dark eyes. "I'm with child," she said. "The Doomseer has confirmed it." Mat felt a jolt, as sure as if a firework had gone off inside of his stomach. An heir. A son, no doubt! what odds that it was a boy? Mat forced a grin. "Well, I guess I'm off the hook, now. You have an heir." "I have an heir," Tuon said, “but I am the one off that hook. Now I can kill you, if I want." Mat felt his grin widen. "Well, we'll have to see what we can work out. Tell me, do you ever play dice?"

It is with deep embarrassment that I must tell you that this is how these two dumbasses flirt with each other. I'm sorry! It hurts me too.

Things that look like baldfaced threats from Tuon are not a new interaction, so we have a pattern to study. Tuon has basically been threatening to demote Mat for insubordination (with asides on his appearance) since kidnapping Day 1. She does it when she thinks he's being rude or acting inappropriately; she never strikes first, but if she thinks he's been rude to her she'll be rude right back. I think the first time she threatens to make him her cupbearer is when she's pissed off that her cover story is that she's a thieving servant. Then it's when he's a little late for their shopping trip. Interestingly, she's like 'you look good in lace', which is actually a compliment, so she covers it up with 'maybe I'll dress you in lace when you're my cupbearer'.

The other times she does it is when he has bad table manners (and doesn't apologize for it or change behavior to her satisfaction.) The time she does it in the thakan’bar ‘hell’ she changes it from 'cupbearer' to 'running groom' because 'he's good with horses'. She's increasingly sure that he's the one in the prophecy so I think these become increasingly less serious threats- they also become increasingly mixed with compliments of a sort. She's taking him down a peg, but also complimenting him half the time, which makes it somewhat of a playful insult, which is a flirting strategy used by people who don't know their own feelings or who want plausible deniability about them.

Once they're officially married, and he does something insubordinate or that puts her status in court at risk, she switches to "Please don't make me execute you" with similar additions of "I'm growing fond of you"/"It would be a shame to kill you before you gave me an heir" and so on. She's telling him to behave, but the threats are pretty much entirely empty. Mat knows by this point that while she probably would kill someone who was loyal to her if she thought she absolutely had to, she will go out of her way to avoid doing it and would absolutely not do it on a whim and without considerable soul-searching, and he also knows that she has looked out for his welfare multiple times and is possessive of 'her' people.

There's a lot of examples of Tuon protecting Mat, from her attempt to salve his infected wounds- after she takes him down a peg for being smug about the kiss by telling him he has a fever and his wounds must be infected- and the way she and Selucia pull him back from spooky doom in Shiota, and her saving him outside the Hell, and the fact that she goes to rescue him when he's beset by Grey Men in the command tent, etc. And he knows that she trusts him implicitly because she looked to see what he was aiming at when he threw a knife at the assassin behind her. Trust is extremely important to Tuon and she trusts Mat with her life. There is no way she actually wants to kill him and they both know it.

Also, her prophecy specifically said "It is him you will marry and no other" and she plans to have a bunch of children so they can all fight for the throne and the fittest will win. She *knows* she's stuck with Mat. Honestly, Mat heard her version of the prophecy and should also have done the math and figured out that she isn't going to get legitimate heirs with anyone else, and that if she says she's with him to get an heir for the Empire, that means she's stuck with him for the rest of her childbearing years at the very least, because she's got to name the heir apparent for the succession to really be finalized. But in fairness Mat was distracted at the time and I also think he doesn't want to think about the fact that his kids are going to be encouraged to murder each other, which is, you know, fair. (There are actual, major problems in store for their relationship! Obviously! But sincere death threats for spouses is, I argue, not actually one of them.)

But I think, based on how she acts more than what she says, Mat knows that she's not serious about killing him. I think he knows this is just her weird way of flirting, because he's the one starting the joke, albeit tentatively, since he’s forcing the grin- it's her joke, it's not his, he's testing the waters and trying to mimic her terms (the way she often does with his, to comedic effect- remember how she put the same swear into the wedding vows he did!) He's taking a risk, he's saying "Well I guess I've done what you said is my job, I'll go if you don't want me around...?" And her response is "Actually *I* did *my* job!" (Subtext: I am specifically not saying your job is over- just like I specifically made you not under my protection at the circus so you had to stick with me and see the whole thing through- so by extension, you are not free to go, this is not over.) "Now I can kill you if I want." (Subtext: "And if I actually wanted you to leave I'd just kill you instead. ;)" The ;) is a stand-in for even more subtext, which is "And we both know I am not actually going to kill you, dumbass.") That's why Mat reacts with an actual grin- he correctly parses that she wants him to stick around- and a reply that boils down to "Wanna bet? ;)" which is both an acknowledgment of "I'm calling your bluff about the killing me thing" and an overture of friendship, because Mat likes to play games with his friends. (He said the same thing to the Seanchan soldier he won over earlier in AMOL.)

At this point they know each other well enough to hear the stuff that's underneath the bravado and posturing, and they have figured out how to communicate well enough to a) fake a convincing split for battle strategy purposes and b) mostly be sure that it is just a fake split. They know their relationship is weird and vulnerable in a lot of ways, but they also have a deep practical awareness that the other person values them and will keep their promises, that the other person can be trusted to protect them, and that they need things from one another. They're both people who have a lot going on under the surface, who aren't super introspective and also deliberately hide their feelings and lie about them for advantage or survival. But their actions tell the true story, and they know it.

#mat/tuon #in this essay I will #a memory of light #a memory of light spoilers #matrim cauthon #tuon paendrag #problematic fave tuon #mat the adrenaline junkie enjoys flirting with danger #wheel of time

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ot3tropetober · 4 years ago

Photo

Eliot and Hardison are travel journalists for rival publications who keep showing up in the same places

Fic for this (~3500 words) is below the read more! Some notes:

[backstory on why Hardison is writing these comes from this post]

[Eliot, Parker, and Hardison are all commenting on this document, think of it like the chat in Google drive? In-document comments from Eliot are italicized, from Hardison are in bold, and from Parker are plain text]

By the time Will Coffey stepped off the plane in Dallas, all he wanted was a nice long shower and to sleep in his own bed for once. Being a travel journalist for a leading travel magazine had its perks– a month-long trip across Mexico, for example, all expenses paid or at least reimbursed – but after a month on the road he was dead tired and ready to be home.

Is this supposed to be me? Why am I living in Dallas?

Yes, and also, you don’t actually live in Dallas, Eliot, you live here, in Portland, with us.

I know that, I just– you know what, never mind.

Well, Will Coffey likes Dallas.

I am Will Coffey!!

That’s the spirit.

The other thing about being on the road for a living was that sometimes it felt kinda lonely, and as relieved as he was to be home, the first couple of minutes after he walked in, turned on the lights, and looked around at an empty place, that was always a little bittersweet. But the only other person he’d really seen in any kind of serious capacity the whole time he’d had this gig was a fellow traveler who spent just as much time on the road as he did, so it just kinda was what it was. He set his keys and his bag down and headed to the kitchen for a beer, but he hadn’t even opened his fridge when his phone buzzed a couple times. It was a text from Sarah, his editor. He’d known her forever– they shared a couple classes in college. Now they shared the stress of managing a print publication in an increasingly digital world.

“Did you see this?” she had written. There was a link in the next message. “How does this guy get this stuff up so fast?“

Will already knew what he was gonna find before he clicked the link, and sure enough, it directed him to a popular travel blog called The Travel Geek, which was a ridiculous name for a travel blog but people absolutely went wild for it. Will liked it too, not that he would ever really admit it, but that probably had more to do with the guy who ran it than anything else. They had…not a thing, exactly? It was hard to explain whatever was going on with Jeremy Edwards, who by rights Will should probably hate for stealing his stories and his audience. But the problem with that was mainly that the guy was so goddamn likeable.

I’m guessing that’s you.

You would be correct.

You think I think you’re likeable?

No, I know it.

he is pretty likeable

Yeah, yeah.

Will had met Jeremy a couple of years ago, right when he was just starting out with his blog. Jeremy said he’d been reading Will’s stuff for a while and would love some advice from a pro. It wasn’t like Will didn’t know it was a little bit of flattery, and it wasn’t like he didn’t know it was a little bit of flirting, either. It also wasn’t like Jeremy was bad to look at. So Will said sure, he’d be glad to, and they were in Belgium, so they shared some beers, ate fries from a baraque at one in the morning on a park bench, shoulders pressed together, while Will tipsily rhapsodized about gaufre de Liège while Jeremy laughed and laughed.

I have never *rhapsodized* about anything in my damn life.

Have you heard you talk about food? This is not a criticism. I could listen to that all day.

Nothing really happened, in the end, just a good conversation and the promise to keep in touch. That turned out to be easier than it should have been, because they started covering the same damn things, all the time. One big world, and somehow they were always sharing part of it: Will was in India on a camel safari through the Thar Desert, and Jeremy was there, keeping Will up at night tappity tapping on his keyboard. Or Will was in Oatman, Arizona, for a piece on Route 66, and there was Jeremy, taking selfies with the wild burros roaming the streets of the town. Or Will was traveling around Japan, doing a feature on onsens, and Jeremy was there, too, acting like he wasn’t looking in Will’s direction while they sat, very naked, in the soothing hot water. It went on like that for a while until finally one night in Barcelona, in front of Sagrada Familia, he looked at Jeremy, tall and handsome in this absurd brightly patterned scarf, and said, “This is ridiculous, man,” and pulled him in for a long, lingering kiss.

Do you honestly think it would have taken me that long?

I don’t know, baby, it took your cowboy ass five years in real time, so Will’s doing a lot better than you.

OoooooooOooo

We had a lot goin on!!! And what is that supposed to be, parker? are you some kind of ghost?

it made more sense in person

I’ll take your word for it.

It wasn’t a relationship, exactly. It was just something they did, sometimes, if they happened to run into each other on the road. It wasn’t like he was getting invited home for the holidays, or anything, and he was fine with that, really. The long and short of it was, they’d basically been circling each other for years now, professionally, personally, whatever, but the professional stuff was definitely getting in the way of anything else. Because Will would sit down and write out his long, detailed articles with carefully selected photographs that would look just right on the page, while Jeremy had already turned out quick blog entry after quick blog entry, listing off places people should visit with witty little one sentence summaries, and people just ate it right up with a spoon while Adventure., Will’s magazine, slowly saw its sales circling the drain. It stung a little. Maybe more than a little. It wasn’t like he could say the guy wasn’t working hard, but damn. Hell, the best selling issue they’d had in a couple years was the one where Sarah had masterminded a collaboration between Will and Jeremy. Blogging was definitely here to stay.

That night in Belgium was five years ago, and at the time it seemed impossible that the internet would ever really fully overtake print. But bloggers and phones had both gotten smarter over the last five years, and now everyone wanted their news in little chunks that they could read on a screen during their commute, so travel blogs were the hot new thing. Will grimaced as he looked at the blog entries Jeremy already had up from Mexico, where they’d run into each other at least half a dozen times.

Five Reasons You Need to Visit Mexico City Right Now; What You’re Missing Because You’re Not in Monterrey; Everything You Wanted to Know About Agave But Were Too Afraid to Ask

“You gotta be kidding me with this,” he muttered, staring at his phone and thinking about the half-written article he had saved on his laptop detailing the history of agave and how to experience Jalisco as more than just the birthplace of tequila.

He pulled up Sarah’s number and dialed.

“I don’t know how we can compete with this,” he sighed, when she picked up.

“We’re going to have to adapt,” she said. “You know that. I can hear you making a face."

"I don’t want to blog,” he complained. “I like print."

"I know,” she sighed. “I’m working on it. Anyway, I’m glad you called, I was going to call you. I need you to go to Italy. Flight leaves tomorrow."

"No way. Not interested,” he told her. “I just got back to my apartment, Sarah, I’ve been in Mexico for a month. I’m beat."

"It’s not my fault that you spend half your time on extracurricular activities,” she teased.

“You can just say sex,” he said. “I won’t be offended. And it’s not half my time. Like, maybe twenty-five percent. Anyway, I get the job done."

"Yeah, and you’re very good at it, which is why I need you to go to Italy,” she said.

“I’m not saying yes,” he told her, “and I’m not interested. But what’s in Italy that’s so important for me to get to?"

"You’ll love this one,” Sarah promised. “It’s a food festival."

Okay, maybe he was a little interested. "Oh?”

“Yeah,” she said. His phone buzzed in his ear. “I just emailed you the details. Including your flight info."

"Dammit, Sarah–"

"Oops, emergency, the printer’s on fire, gotta go!” she chirped, and the line disconnected.

Yeah okay that’s Parker huh

Yep!

I do know y'all a little bit.

“Dammit,” Will said again, and opened Sarah’s email to read up on his next destination.

The food festival turned out to be a week long international celebration of local food from around the world. It only happened once every few years in October, when a world of people descended on the city of Torino, and more specifically the park by the River Po, where they set up tents and stands and served pretty much every kind of food you could imagine, and Will loved food and could imagine a lot, so that was saying something. It was pretty cool, seeing all these people from all over the planet showing off food that was important to them, sharing it with strangers. It really was the whole planet, too, the way the park was set up you could walk through a continent at a time, with all the countries on it represented at their own space. He figured he’d pay his respects to the hosts first and start with Italy, which was definitely the largest section. Halfway through the displays he found a stall with some folks from Campania selling fresh mozzarella di bufala the size of his fist for a Euro. It was speared on a stick like a candy apple so he could walk around with it, nibbling on the sweet cheese as he checked out the festival’s other offerings. Aged cheeses covered in mud and straw from a little town in France. A swanky tent with wood plank floors where the Filipino agriculture offices had a set up with big displays dedicated to traditional food and heirloom crops. Six different kinds of wild rice were layered in a glass display bottle in the booth dedicated to Indigenous agriculture in North America. There were folks from the Yucatan peninsula displaying cured meats and wild honey. There was a whole series of displays about preserving, protecting, and raising Maasai red sheep, from Kenya. The whole event was really impressive, actually, and even though his body had no idea what time zone he was in, he didn’t feel too tired– although that might have been more because he’d been downing every cup of coffee from anyone selling it.

Okay, this actually sounds pretty cool. But now you gotta fake a whole food festival like this if we ever use these aliases.

I don’t have to. That’s a real thing. Happens every couple of years. I was gonna ask if you wanted to go to the next one. Parker can probably find us a job after, anyway.

I’d love– like that.

Hardison. HARDISON.

Why isn’t this deleting the things I tell it to delete???

Ooh, forgot to tell y'all, this chat records your keystrokes? You know. Just in case you happen to type something sappy about how much you love me, and then delete it before you send it in the chat. Pretty much exactly what just happened.

Dammit Hardison I’m gonna delete YOU

Baby, that doesn’t even make any sense.

im w hardison on this 1. it’s ok if u love things eliot. especially food . or us

Just let me finish reading Hardison’s make believe story so I can get back to dinner prep, ok?

(he loves us)

I know :)

Will strolled around the park, snapping photos here and there, jotting down notes. He talked to folks from all over who came here to run their country’s booths, locals who had come out to enjoy the day, and people who had traveled long distances to be there. After a couple of hours and a really good lunch, he found an unoccupied bench near the river and posted up there for a while, notebook open next to him as he flipped through photos on his phone, the story he could tell about this event already starting to take shape in his head, and he had to admit, at least to himself, that Sarah had been right about this one. Nobody else on their staff knew food enough to get this right. But even though he had a good idea where to start, he couldn’t help feeling a little overwhelmed, too. You could spend two weeks here and still not talk to everybody, and it seemed important to try, somehow.

“Well, well, well,” said a voice, and Will looked up from his phone and his notes to see the tall form of none other than Jeremy Edwards.

“Dammit, Edwards,” Will swore. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. Again?"

Yeah it’s pretty much EXACTLY like that every time

Mmmhmm. You talk a big game, man, but no one here believes you.

What he said ur like that stuff u put on the dessert u made 4 us last wk

Stuff on dessert– the Italian meringue? You really comparing me to Italian meringue?!

Is that the stuff that was kinda hard and crunchy on the outside but actually really soft and sweet inside?

Yep that’s the stuff

This is the worst conversation we’ve ever had.

It’s weird how I can hear you smiling right now, though.

Shut up, Hardison, I’m reading.

Got him! XD

"Looks like it,” Jeremy said. He took a seat next to Will on the bench, despite the fact that Will had absolutely not fucking offered it to him. He grinned. Will looked back at his notes before he smiled back. “We’ve really gotta stop meeting like this."

"Yeah, well, trust me, I’m working on it,” Will grumbled, and risked a look at Jeremy again. Still handsome, and still smiling, unfortunately. He thought about the blog a little and made himself frown. “So, you’re here to blog about this, huh? How many blog posts have you done already?"

"None so far,” Jeremy said, scratching his chin, “but I am working on one right now. Tentative title, How to Tell The Guy You’re Casually Seeing And Have Been Chasing All Over the Globe That His Boss Sent Me Here To Work With Him."

Well, there was a lot of information there, but Will decided maybe sticking with the professional stuff was better for now. "I’m sorry, you’re here for what?"

Jeremy shrugged. "Sarah really liked that collaboration thing she got us to do last year, I guess, wanted to try it again for this. I said yes. It’s good for your magazine and it gives my blog some credibility with all you snooty print folks."

"We’re not snooty,” Will said, although that wasn’t exactly true. Maybe they were, a little. He unlocked his phone and saw the email from Sarah, the subject line of which read: “DON’T ARGUE IT WILL BE GOOD FOR YOU/US/THE MAGAZINE.” He sighed and looked back at Jeremy. “I can’t believe she sent you to a food thing."

"I’m offended,” Jeremy said, although it didn’t much sound like it. “I know food."

"Oh really? So last year when we were in Beijing and you were looking for a McDonald’s that was just you knowing food, huh,” Will drawled.

“Sometimes you just really want a Happy Meal,” Jeremy joked, and Will just shook his head.

“I guess we should figure out what we’re doing, then,” he said, and Jeremy raised his eyebrows.

“About the story,” he said, “right?"

"Yeah, about the story,” Will grumbled.

“Whatever you say,” Jeremy said affably, just like always.

It was actually pretty easy to figure out how to cover the festival now that he had a partner in crime. They worked out a plan that afternoon, sketched out a couple of pieces, a collab for Adventure., a short guest piece for Will on The Travel Geek, and a short story in the magazine for Jeremy. Sarah signed off on everything from afar– “What time is it where she is? Does that woman ever sleep?” Jeremy asked, as they both got email after email. “I don’t think she does, man,” Will laughed– and they got to work pretty quick. There was plenty to do and they were both here for a few days, so they wandered through the park as they worked, stopping occasionally to sample food or take photos. Eventually they walked all the way out of the park and into the city, up to a big plaza, Piazza Castello, in the center of the historic part of town. They got gelato from one of the many carts set up nearby for the festival, and sat outside, eating and talking as the sun set.

It was nice. It was always nice, when they ran into each other. That wasn’t the problem. But they’d been stuck in the same routine for years now: they’d find themselves in the same place, Jeremy would laugh, Will would pretend he was annoyed, and then they’d spend a good chunk of their time together enjoying each other’s company in as many ways as they could find, and then they’d head to the airport and go their separate ways. And that was that. This shouldn’t be any different, but somehow it was. Maybe it was the sunset lighting up Jeremy’s skin, or maybe he’d just been lonely too long, but maybe they needed to figure out what they were doing with more than just the stories they were here to tell.

“You wanna get dinner?” Will said, before he could talk himself out of it.

“Yeah,” Jeremy said, smiling again, and this time Will let himself smile back. Just a little.

They asked around for recommendations and ended up at a little restaurant in the city, a few blocks from the Piazza. They split a bottle of wine, a margherita pizza, and some perfectly fried fish, and they didn’t really talk about work at all.

“You know,” Jeremy said, about halfway through the wine, “not for nothing, but I’ve gotta say, this looks and feels a lot like a date."

"I wasn’t under the impression that you’d be opposed to that,” Will said.

“Oh, I’m not opposed,” Jeremy told him, “I’m just a little surprised you’re asking. I figured at this point it was gonna have to be me who said something."

Will eyed him carefully, thought back to a lot of nights on a lot of trips. "How long exactly have you been waiting around?"

"I mean, don’t get the wrong idea, here, I haven’t been pining away for you like some Victorian in a bad novel,” Jeremy said, and Will snorted. “But yeah. I played a long game, man. I gotta say, though, after that fishing boat incident in Guyana I really thought you figured out we had a thing."

"Yeah, well, I didn’t have time to notice, I was too busy taking pictures of you hiding behind that skinny British guy when that big old fish jumped out of the water,” Will snickered.

“Big old– that thing was two-hundred and thirty-four pounds of ichthyological torpedo headed straight for yours truly,” Jeremy said, and Will chuckled. “Big doesn’t really describe it.”

“Hmm. It was kinda wild he thought we were gonna get in the water with it,” Will mused. He winked. “Glad you finally remembered you owed me dinner for keeping him from pushing us into the river."

"Ha. You know Sarah wants us to work with that guy again, right?"

"Aw, hell,” Will said. “Really?"

"Yeah,” Jeremy confirmed. “She said she was gonna talk to you about it when we got back from this. Canada this time, so when Mister Fisherman tries to throw me in the water at least the hypothermia will probably get me before the monster fish does."

"Nah,” Will said. “Don’t worry about that. Nobody throws you off a fishing boat. Except maybe me. No. Well. Maybe. No,” he concluded.

Hah. I mean, okay, that does sound like me.

Oh, I am aware, trust me.

“Sarah maybe also mentioned we might do a few more of these little…collaborative things,” Jeremy said, drawing invisible circles on the table. “Maybe even in a more formal capacity."

Will raised his eyebrows. "No way she talked you into giving up the blog."

"Oh, definitely not,” Jeremy said. “But funnily enough, people keep sending me emails about wanting a print version of some of my photographs? But I don’t really have the publishing connections. A magazine, though…” he shrugged. “Me and Sarah figured we might come to some kind of mutually beneficial arrangement, somehow. Might be seeing more of you, is what I’m trying to say."

"Can’t say I mind that,” Will said, and reached out across the table to cover Jeremy’s hand with his.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Jeremy answered, and this time Will didn’t try to hide his smile.

/end

Okay?

Okay, what?

Well where the hell is the rest of it?

What rest of it? It’s clearly implied that they’re dating now. They’re dating, they’re happy, they’re gonna work together for real, happily ever after, et cetera.

they should have at least kissed. i would be into that

This is what I’m saying. Where’s the resolution, here?

Baby, anytime you want a kiss, you know where to find me.

What I want is for you to take this seriously since you’re making us read all of it.

Wow, okay. Here:

They walked around the city for a long time after dinner, still holding hands, and the kiss they shared later under the moonlight felt like a promise. The Actual End.

Y'all happy?

too sappy 4 me but idk what eliot thinks

Not your best work but it’ll do, I guess.

Are you still in the kitchen?

Yeah, why?

I’m gonna come give you a demonstration of my best work, that’s why.

Bring it on, man.

do i get a demo too

You know it.

#author: coffeesuperhero #leverage ot3 #parker x hardison x eliot #hardison x eliot #leverage #ot3tropetober #submission

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theonetheycallhannah · 4 years ago

Text

The Treatment of Captain Syverson-Chapter 13: SNAFU

Characters: Captain Syverson, various original minor/supporting characters.

Summary: Sy has some time to think about his past, present, and future while roughing it in the Virginia wilderness which leads him to a revelation about what he really wants…but is it too late?

Need to start from the beginning? Miss an update because Tumblr? Click me!

Word Count: 4.7k

Warnings: Mild language, mature themes, military and weapon terminology, discussion, and use. (For those who don’t know, SNAFU is a term coined in the military. It’s an acronym for “Situation Normal, All Fucked Up.” And since this is from Sy’s perspective, I thought a military term, as opposed to a therapy term would be appropriate.)

Author’s Note: Despite this being the longest chapter, clocking in at almost 5k, it was one of the easiest to write, and came the quickest. I love writing from Sy’s perspective, and the pure love he has for Shane. I’m hoping to be able to write a bit more of his POV before the story is complete. We’ll see. I apologize if it seems like one long rant about Sy’s feelings…I guess that’s what it is, with various activities peppered in. He can be a sensitive guy, and I wanted to show that.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, Henry is not mine, le sigh, and all mention of him, his characters, any characters from his films, or his precious doggy, Kal, are strictly for transformative and recreational use. I neither ask for, nor accept payment for the work I post on Tumblr or AO3. Unbeta’d because this is for fun and escapism.

Tags:

@onlyhenrys

@cavillryarchive

@summersong69

@titty-teetee

@bloodyinspiredfuck

@agniavateira

@oddsnendsfanfics

@omgkatinka

@thisismysecretthirstblog

@misslaland (apparently deactivated, idk what’s up with that)

@speakerforthedead0

@tumblnewby

@suavechops

@radkesgirl83

@wheretheriversrunintothesea

@heartfelt-pen

@auds24

@geekycanuck (Better late than never, huh?!)

@lunarstarknight

Hope I’m not forgetting anyone! If you want to be notified when I post a new chapter or work, I’ll be happy to add you to my tag list! Stricken blogs are getting personal messages from me when a new chapter is uploaded because Tumblr’s faulty tagging system will not stand in the way of me delivering what the people want!(?) lol! (Although…their lackadaisical notification system might…sorry for that. I have no control. lol!)

X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@

Sy was no whimp. That much was certain. Missouri winters had toughened him up more than most men in his battalion and most of the participants in the training he was currently undertaking.

But it was more than that. Sy was uniquely prepared for the elements. He remembered a particularly harsh December night during Christmas break, before he joined the service when he was home alone and had to let the dog out. Fool that he was, he wore no shoes. Greater fool, he'd allowed the door to the back yard to close…and unfortunately, it had a tendency to lock. Which it did. He tried fruitlessly for a while to break back in, but being without a cell phone, he knew he'd have to walk a good distance for help with the lock.

He slipped out the gate and started up to the road, to follow it to his grandparents a few miles away. The county road wasn't the best kind for walking, particularly barefoot in the late fall, but his feet were soon too numb to feel the gravel and whatever else was lacerating the soles of his feet. After about an hour, he made it there, shivering, knocking frantically and waking his frail old grandparents up to rescue him from his own negligence. He'd regret that until the day he died. Not that they were angry about it. They shrugged it off. His grandma cleaned the blood and dirt from his feet and bandaged the shallowed abrasions. They didn't look too bad, considering the area they lived in and the trash that could have been waiting to carve him up. Then she set about cleaning up Sy's messy footprints from her normally immaculate floor. Grandpa looked all over for their spare keys to Sy's and his mom's house, and finally found them. He lent him a pair of shoes, drove him back home, and let him in the house. After that, Sy found himself eager to spend time outdoors during colder weather. As if determined to build up a tolerance to it in case he ever found himself in such a situation again.

Now, despite the time of year being only late August, it was unseasonably cool, especially at night, as if Christmas was right around the corner, and Sy was wishing more and more that he had someone to cuddle with during the nights he'd be doing cross country training here at the beautiful Shenandoah National Park. He had packed only the essentials for the expedition, a mess kit, bed roll, canteen, modest rations, first aid supplies, et cetera, plus a rope and a tarp for building a shelter. On his person, he had a compass, a topographical map of the park with checkpoints indicated, waterproof, strike-anywhere matches, a hunting knife, a tactical knife, an M17 pistol, and three .9mm clips. He was also given a flare gun to use in case he got stuck for any reason and needed extraction.

On his first night in the wilderness, he'd taken a lot of time falling asleep. Thinking.

He thought about his last week at home. He wondered how Mr. and Mrs. Stevens were doing with Aika. Shane had offered to watch her, and he considered it. He had appreciated her eagerness to help after her…less than enthusiastic response to hearing about this trip. But he decided since Aika had a close relationship already with Fred and Caroline, and she was still getting to know Shane, they'd better be the ones to take her. She understood, and had offered the second reason that since she worked so much, she wouldn't be able to give her the kind of attention she was used to. That had made a lot of sense. He felt like kind of a bad dog parent for not thinking of it, himself.

He thought about the week he'd been here already at the compound. His first day filling out paperwork, he was asked for an emergency contact. He was used to putting his mom…but she wasn't in the best of health, herself. He had nobody. Nobody but Shane. He put her down, instead of his mom. He thought about the seminars on company approved methods of subduing and detaining targets and combatants. He should have taught Shane some self-defense moves before he left. She could handle herself, and she'd proven so, but still. A refresher, or an advancement on one's skills was always a good idea. But he was sure she'd be fine. He thought about her the most in the torturous policy and procedure lecture. What he wouldn't'a given to have her here with him. She would have made everything fun. And she would have been a way better study partner than Keith. Keith, a Navy vet from Little Rock was a good guy…he just…didn't get Sy's jokes. He was a very literal kind of thinker, and it took extra effort for Sy to communicate with folks like that.

Shane, though…he and Shane wouldn't have gotten too much done, study-wise. They would have been…distracted.

As he hiked along the trails to his first checkpoint, he breathed in the clean, crisp air and stopped at the odd overlook here and there. The park was nestled on the outer edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and they were too gorgeous not to appreciate while he was here. He found himself…uniquely emotional. He didn't feel lonely often, but since he'd met Shane, he'd hardly gone two days without seeing her, even if it was for just an hour. She'd love all of this. She'd probably want a tent, and coffee in the mornings, so they wouldn't be able to travel quite as light, but they'd make it work. Maybe one day they'd take a trip like this. Just for fun. No checkpoints. No deadlines. No semi-automatic weapons…well, honestly, he'd probably still bring a gun, anyway. You never did know about people these days, he thought. Of course, that's probably what people think of me carrying a pistol, he also thought…anyway, he was almost to the checkpoint.

Said checkpoint was a big tent, like the ones they sold fireworks out of leading up to Fourth of July. Inside there was a single lane shooting range set up down one half of the tent. On the other half, there were stations set up with dismantled weapons that you had to assemble in a certain amount of time. Someone had beaten him to the range, so he started with the guns. No problems whatsoever. He was familiar more or less with all of the models, or some version of them. When the previous participant, a small blonde woman, had finished on the range, Sy stepped up to the counter.

The attendant reset the target for Sy so he could do a close range shot, then again for mid and long range ones. He shot well, although he still wasn't used to the lighter weight of the SIG Sauer M17s the armed forces switched to back in 2017. They'd offered him an M18 at the compound, but he favored the heaver pistol, instead. Maybe the M18 was more packable, but Sy just didn't feel right firing a weapon that felt like a feather in his hand. If it was up to him, he'd take a Colt Python .357 Magnum Revolver. That, however, was more than just a question of how the firearm felt in his hand. Being out in the wilderness like this made him think back to how it must have been before these lands became civilized and gentrified. Back to the days of the cowboy, Wyatt Earp and the OK Corral. Back when it was just the wild and free land he could pretend it was now. He thanked the attendant, who was writing his name on his targets to take back to the compound along with his graded weapon assembly timesheets, and then was back on his way.

There was an eerie beauty about this unsullied land, he thought, as the dusk fell the second night of the excursion and he began setting up his camp about halfway between the first and second checkpoints, by his estimation. With his fire built and his shelter up, Sy took out some of his rations, cured meat, hard cheese, and some walnuts, and had a light supper before cleaning his gun and turning in while the ground still held some heat from the waning sun, wishing again as the cold set in that his woman was there to warm him.

His sleep was fitful. And he awoke before dawn, from dreams he couldn't remember but which still left him feeling empty. They must have been about her. He was starting to feel regret. The last time he'd seen Shane, he'd said some things that he meant to be selfless. But he didn't mean them. He meant the parts about loving her, of course. But the last thing he wanted was to come home and find her moved on with someone else. He couldn't stand to think about it. As he walked into the next checkpoint area, the range was already set up for close range firing. He riddled the target with .9mm holes and could barely wait until the attendant got the fresh sheet set to mid range before he began firing.

"How about you let me fully clear the lane before you start on the long range target, okay, Syverson?"

"Sorry, man. I'm a little…on edge today. Won't happen again."

The short, sandy-haired buck trotted out to replace the riddled sheet with one more for the long range leg, pulled it down and lacked it in to long range position, then hoofed it back up to safety, sensing the captain's impatience. Sy shot cleanly, but with cold anger, as if the silhouette on the page out there was trying to take Shane away from him. He put two square in the chest, and two in the head without hesitating.

"Man, I've never seen a long range shoot like that! What's the deal, you pissed at an ex, or something?" Sy checked the man's lapel for a name tag.

"Not exactly, Mister…Daniels."

"Call me Jack." they shook hands, and Sy chuckled, questioning.

"I'm Sy. You're name is Jack…Daniels?"

"Yes sir. No relation to the Lynchburg Daniels, unfortunately. Momma wanted to name me after her granddad, and my old man, well, he had no problem with it given his affinity for the spirit."

"A wise man, your dad. Some of my best nights have included Tennessee Number 7." He didn't elaborate, but he was getting very specific flashbacks of drinking games in his kitchen with Shane. And he was gonna have to shake it off before the weapons assembly drill, or else he'd end up putting together an assault rifle backward.

He made it through without any trouble, thank the good Lord. But that didn't mean that his mind wasn't still reeling. He was thinking of Shane and the possibility that she was being courted by Chris Evans look-alikes and young Harrison Ford doppelgangers, and it was making him furious. He was pretty sure that she was about as interested in taking a break as he was, but he couldn't help himself from making the offer under the circumstances. He kicked himself as he made his camp for the evening, not very far away from the third checkpoint, but too far away to get there by dusk when the daily deadline was. He was a shoe in to get there first in the morning, though, if he was reading his map correctly, and he was damn good at maps, if he did say so, himself. And who would bitch at him for bragging out here, anyway. The odd cricket or squirrel? He didn't think so.

It was colder tonight, and he was thankful that he thought to boil some water for his canteen and put it at his feet. He curled his surly, burly body up under the layers of blanket and thermal sheeting. He was almost warm enough…but he still needed something.

His sleep was plagued by strange dreams that he unfortunately remembered tonight. The scene began with Shane in a bright pink dress and matching gloves, dripping with diamonds, like Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She looked so glamourous and beautiful, but she was getting passed from man to man to the tune of Madonna's Material Girl, which was not the correct song, and he knew it in that moment, but couldn't correct anyone, because it was all playing out on the big screen TV in his basement. When he realized this he turned it off and noticed a familiar head of hair on his lap and stroked it, about to say "Hey, sunshine." until the figure sat up and looked at him, and it was Jordan, the PTA, batting his eyelashes at him, and asking, "You ready for bed, babe?" The therapist leaned in for a kiss, but Sy leaned back, tumbled off the couch and landed on those crutches again, standing right in front of Shane in the lobby of the therapy clinic.

"Hey sunshine." he said warmly. She looked confused.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Well…I should hope so…it's me. Sy."

"Sorry, not ringing any bells. I'll look you us and see who you're with, though. Usually Heather tells the new patients which therapists they get their first day. What's your last name?"

He felt like he was getting kicked in the gut with a soccer cleat worn by the Incredible Hulk. He answered with defeat.

"Sy's a nickname. Last name Syverson, first name Logan."

"Oh, there you are. Looks like Cory gets to take care of you today. I'll let him know you're ready. As long as you're all done with the secretaries?"

Sy nodded and collapsed to the floor blacking out. When he woke up, his neighbor, Mr. Stevens was standing over him, insisting it was time for him to get ready. He kept handing him things to put on. Pants, a nice shirt, a vest, a light blue tie, a jacket, nice shoes. The whole enchilada. They got out of Fred's car at a little white chapel outside which, his neighbor pinned a small boutonniere of powder blue hydrangeas to his lapel and walked in with him.

"Come on, boy. She'll be here any minute."

Sy was nervous, but excited. He was obviously marrying Shane. But he couldn't remember proposing, or planning the wedding, or an engagement party, or bachelor party, or rehearsal dinner, nothing…but none of that mattered. He heard the first notes of "Here Comes the Bride" and everything faded away, anyway. He began to cry as she got closer. She was moving slowly, he presumed out of nerves. Or perhaps she'd chosen the wrong shoes. It didn't matter. They'd dance the night away barefoot, and make love until dawn. He wished her veil wasn't so thick. He couldn't even see her bouquet. Let alone her stunning face, no doubt smiling as she cried with him. When she stood in front of him, he broke protocol and removed the veil to find Aika in a white dress on her hind legs panting, tongue lolling happily to one side.

"You may now kiss the bride." said the wizened old minister, causing Aika to knock Sy to the ground licking his face until he blacked out again.

This time, he woke to the chirping birds of a mountain morning in Virginia. His campfire long snuffed, his canteen now chilled as his blood. Those dreams…those were traumatic. He didn't want Shane to see anyone else. The thought of seeing anyone else himself repulsed him. Thinking about what his life would have been like if they'd never gotten to work together made him physically ill, and he was terrified that if he didn't act on these feelings, he'd end up with no one but his dog. Why did it take a trip out of state and all these nights of solitude to figure this out? She was all that mattered. He could dig ditches, flip burgers, get a teaching certificate and coach, or teach gym. Whatever. He also liked history. He could think of something if the people at Secure Source couldn't keep him in consistent work. It would be fine. He understood his purpose now. And it wasn't just to do his duty to his country. He'd served proudly for years. He had a new purpose now. And it was her.

He packed up camp in what he was sure was record time and hauled ass to the last checkpoint where the brass should be waiting for finishers. He was the first one there this morning, but he wasn't sure if anyone had made it yesterday. He didn't try to make small talk with the attendant today. He was on a legit mission to get back to his locker at the compound, turn his phone on and call Shane. He fired four shots, but only made two holes on the long range target. One in the chest, one in the head. The attendant was impressed, giving the highest possible grade.

"Man, Syverson. I pray I never do anything to piss you off."

Sy nodded in acknowledgement and went on to the weapons drill booths. Today, there were distracting sound effects playing on a speaker in each booth, and each one was different. Sy ignored the cacophony, pretending it was white noise, and focused on the puzzles at hand, breezing through the new weapons in better time than ever.

As his cards were being scored and turned in for review to Jane Freitag, the administrator over acquisitions and training, he got himself a cup of coffee and a doughnut, and just observed her, tactically, and objectively. She was a redhead with sharp features, freckles, and light eyes. She was slender, but dressed simply, and modestly. The consummate professional. Sy had honestly barely registered her gender, and it wasn't because she wasn't beautiful. She was. Full red lips, lashes for days, and although her clothes didn't exactly accentuate her shape, he could tell he had a decent figure. He just wasn't interested. And would never be interested in anyone but Shane again. Miss Freitag startled him out of his thoughts.

"Mr. Syverson." She beckoned him to the entrance to the tent near her vehicle.

He picked up his gear and coffee and trotted over to her.

"Ma'am?"

"Jane, please."

"Sy, then, for me. What's next on the agenda?"

"Well, you're the first participant across the finish line. I'm very impressed. It seems as though you almost could have finished last night."

"Yes, ma'am, if I hadn't taken a little extra time for sightseeing, I might have made it here by dusk last night. I just haven't had the hustle I had today."

"Well, that's nothing to sneer at. Normally, the deprivation of food, regular water supply, and proper sleeping conditions make participants sloppy. The opposite seems to be true for you, as you've done better at each checkpoint than the one before. Now, let's get back to the compound and get you a proper meal, and a shower, and talk about what's next for you here at Secure Source."

"Yeah, about that. Before we go much further with this, I need to know one thing."

"What's that?"

"I need to know if you'll be able to find me work near enough to St. Robert and the base there so that I don't have to relocate and travel all the time. I've got a life there, and…it's not something I can just pick up and move on a whim, and I don't want to be away for weeks and months at a time. I know I made this trip work, but I'm praying it didn't already ruin everything." He wasn't going to waste time mincing words. He needed to know right away or else this wouldn't work.

"Sy, with your talent…they're gonna want to put you on the high profile cases. Celebrity security. Concerts, movie premiers, things like that. You'll be wasted as a small town rent-a-cop." there was true concern in her face and her voice as she drove them out of the park and onto the main road to Secure Source's compound.

"If there's a need I can fill, how is that a waste? There's lots of talent in this program. Just 'cause I finished first don't mean I did it the best. And I'm sure most of these folks have the people skills to take them farther'n me. And if you wanna gimme first crack at those, I'll hear ya out. Just…let me reserve the right to turn down the out of town jobs. Especially if they're short notice. And if it takes me away from another security job, I want you to send me a replacement a few days in advance so I can meet 'em, train 'em, and introduce 'em around."

"Seems reasonable." Jane said.

"Well, alright, then. I think we got ourselves a deal. I'll shower up in the locker room real quick, then meet ya in the commissary for a sandwich so we can handle the particulars?"

"Sure, Sy." she agreed as they pulled into the parking structure.

They went their separate ways, Jane to her office, and Sy to the quartermaster to return his supplies and get the key to his locker. He practically danced there, he was so giddy to get to call Shane. He did need a quick shower first, though. Which he took, grabbing some shampoo and soap out of his travel bag. When he got back to his locker, towel around his waist, he replaced the products and grabbed his phone. He sat on the bench between the rows of lockers as it booted up.

When it did, it began alerting him as if it's life depended on it. Three text messages, three voicemails, … and twenty four missed calls. That was odd. Maybe a telemarketer had gotten his number.

He checked the texts first. One was a picture of Aika from Fred, his neighbor, the other two were from Shane…two days ago. The day he went into the park.

Hey, hope you have a great first day of Survivor: Virginia! Lol! Be safe! I love you!

OMG, nutty day today! I'm gonna be doing notes for hours! I'll text you in the morning! <3

And then nothing…he chuckled at Survivor: Virginia, but was a bit concerned. Maybe she'd decided not to waste time texting him if he wasn't going to respond? He didn't know. Maybe some of the calls or voicemails were from her. He'd check before calling.

One from his mom, one from the Stephen's house phone, and the rest were from Fort Wood Therapy. That was weird. He was discharged and didn't have any appointments…surely he wasn't missing any…Shane would have said something. He listened to the voicemails. The first one was from Heather.

"Hey, Sy, it's Heather, Shane's friend here at therapy. Hey, give me a call when you get this. Thanks."

Weird…the next one was from Susan, Shane's boss. In the same tone.

"Captain Syverson, it's Susan DeForrest here at Fort Wood Therapy Clinic. Please give us a call when you get this. Thank you."

Again, weird. The last one was Susan again and far less friendly and measured.

"Mr. Syverson. I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but you need to bring Shane back to work and stop screwing around. One or both of you is in serious trouble. Either you're being hot-lined for abduction or she's fired for not showing up for work. The choice will be hers." and the line went dead.

Sy felt his stomach twist into nauseated knots at Susan's words. Shane hadn't been to work. For how long? He had to call them. He didn't want to think about the horror that might have befallen Shane while he'd been away.

"Fort Wood Therapy Clinic, this is Heather, how may I help you?" Heather said, trying to hide the obvious worry beneath the cordial demeanor.

"Heather, it's Sy, what the hell's going on with Shane? What do you mean, she hasn't been to work, I don't…"

"Let me give you to Susan, Sy. I'm sorry." She added the last two words in a whisper. After a brief moment on hold, Susan picked up.

"So, Mr. Syverson. Finally decided to call us back?"

"Cut it out, Susan." He let her blatant ignorance of his rank slide in favor of getting to the point. "Tell me what's going on."

"Shane left work Monday and hasn't been back since. No one has seen her. Apart from you, I presume. I knew letting her date a patient would come back to bite me. I should never have--"

"Shut up! This isn't about you, and it isn't because of you. And you had no right to tell Shane who she could and couldn't date, anyway. I haven't seen her in about a week and a half. I'm training out of state for a job. I've been away from my phone since Monday, and I just got back to it now."

"She isn't…with you? I assumed…"

"Well, you know what they say, Susan. I'm coming back early if I can manage it. See if I can do something to help find her. Thanks for calling me. I know your intentions weren't the best when you did, but ultimately, it worked out. I may not have found out otherwise, at least until… much later."

He hung up before she could respond. He had to talk to Jane about cutting his training short. This was all his fault. If he had just come to the realization of just how important, how vital Shane really was to him before he left…well he never would have gone in the first place. She was his life now. His world. His future, and his whole heart. Tears stung his eyes as he dressed to meet Jane in the commissary. She'd have to be okay with this. She'd have to understand.

As he got closer to the smell of fry oil, seasonings, and sizzling meat on a griddle, aromas that usually made his stomach grumble with hunger, he had to swallow back the bile that crept up his throat. He found her seated at a small round four-top, already eating a salad. He sat across from her, startling her from whatever she was reading on her phone, and again when she looked at his expression and complexion.

"Sy, what's wrong? You look downright green!"

"Listen, Jane, I'm going to have to leave training early." She scowled at him, but he was more concerned with the putrid smells of boiled egg and onion coming off her chef salad. He had to get this over with quick before he wretched in the middle of the mess hall.

"That's a big ask, Sy. Gonna have to have a reason."

"I just got a call that my girlfriend is missing. I need to go home and help find her."

"Oh…yeah, that's…that's some reason. I'm really sorry to hear that. Any leads so far?"

"No, I just got off the phone with her useless boss and all she told me was that she hasn't been to work since Monday and can't be reached on her phone. I have my suspicions, but I wanna talk to the authorities."

"Okay, well. Maybe when things calm down at home, we can set you up with some online courses like we do for our assets who need refreshers, but are on assignment. I'll approve that for you."

"Thanks," he said, gratefully, "I'm also wondering if the company has any…transportation solutions for me…of an immediate nature?"

"Man, what were your letters to Santa like as a child?"

"Oh, you know, a little red wagon, end of poverty, world peace…that kind of stuff." he grinned his most charming grin.

"Why am I not surprised? Okay, but you have to return the favor somehow, Sy."

"How about, one assignments of your choosing, no questions asked?"

"Hmmm, what about five assignments?"

"Three?" he countered.

"Done." they shook hands across the table. "I would have settled at two." she smirked.

"I would have done ten." he winked at her as he turned to retrieve his belongings from his bunk and locker. He had a plane…or perhaps a chopper to catch.

Up Next: Chapter 14: No Call No Show

#Sand Castle #netflix sand castle #captain syverson #captain syverson fanfic #henry cavill #henry cavill fanfic #sigh for sy

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dessarious · 5 years ago

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Misconceptions, Miscommunication, and Misinformation Pt70

Inspired by @ozmav Maribat AU

AO3 Beginning Previous Next

Marinette woke slowly, smiling at the steady heartbeat under her ear. She couldn’t explain the feeling, but waking up warm and safe with her girlfriend just made it seem like everything was right in the world. That feeling only lasted until she tried to stretch and couldn’t.

Her memory of the days events came back in a rush and she felt tears at the back of her eyes. She pushed them down, refusing to feel sorry for herself. Today was a good day. All of Paris was likely celebrating and she should be as well. Turning over was a bit of a challenge since she had to reach down and untangle her legs from Chloe’s. Even sitting up was different. You don’t think about how different muscles work to complete an action but as she struggled up to lean against the headboard she couldn’t help but wonder exactly how much she’d have to get used to.

It wasn’t like she’d never be able to walk again though. When she was Ladybug it would be like this never happened. Granted she wasn’t certain if that was good or bad. It would help to keep her legs from atrophying but she had to wonder if it would just make it harder to adjust overall.

Chloe began to get restless in her sleep, probably a nightmare, so Marinette began combing her fingers through the other girls hair to help them both calm down. There were so many things that would change. Everything in her civilian life was going to turn upside down and she knew that she couldn’t even guess half of the things that would change.

Her home was now completely inaccessible to her as Marinette. Even if her parents had the money to renovate, and they didn’t, there was no room. Chloe, she was sure, would insist she stay at the hotel until things were sorted out. But at the same time the only real solution would be to rent or buy somewhere else for her to live. She had enough money from her business to manage that at least, but she wasn’t sure how her parents would react to her having to use it. She was already forming arguments in her head for when they suggested they sell the bakery to cover her expenses. She was pulled out of her head by a light knock on the door. Definitely not Damian at least.

“Come in.” Tim poked his head in and she saw concern on his face but not the pity she’d expected which was a nice surprise.

“How are you feeling?” She frowned at the question, knowing she was going to get sick of hearing it quickly, but also because she wasn’t sure how to answer. She didn’t really feel any different yet.

“Fine, how’s the city handling the news?” Tim blinked at her, obviously surprised at the subject change but he shrugged.

“It seems to be a city wide holiday. Businesses and schools shut down so people could celebrate, or something. A lot of people seem to be using the time to grieve loved ones that happened to die while Hawkmoth was active since they couldn’t before, or just having nervous breakdowns. They’ve set up quiet spaces and tents where people can go talk to counselors and such for free. I realize now that I really didn’t understand the type of terror Hawkmoth was really imposing on this city.” Marinette could only hum in agreement. It was going to be a long adjustment period as people slowly let themselves feel properly again. She hoped people would continue to take other people's feelings into consideration before they acted though. It was one of the few good things that had come from this situation.

“It still doesn’t feel real. I don’t think I’ll stop waiting for the next Akuma attack for quite awhile. After being under constant threat for so long it’ll take my brain a while to really grasp the new reality.” The way Tim was looking at her she thought he knew she meant more than just the reality of Gabriel being imprisoned.

“I don’t know how much detail Damian’s gone into about our team but Oracle was paralyzed after an incident with the joker so if you need someone to talk to or ask questions we’ve got you covered. Honestly I think it would do her some good to have someone to talk to that understands as well.” Marinette smiled sadly, and a little guiltily at him.

“This must bring up some painful memories for you then, I’m sorry you had to be here for this.” Tim was looking at her like she was insane but she couldn’t figure out why. That concern was replaced by a more pressing one. “I hate to ask but I really don’t want to wake Chloe before she’s ready and Tikki still hasn’t eaten either…” She felt her face heat up and couldn’t look him in the eye.

“Do you need me to get something for you?” She had to take a few deep breaths and still could only make her voice barely audible.

“I need to go to the bathroom. Would you mind carrying me over there?” She hated the thought of being dependant on people for something so personal, not to mention something she’d been doing since she was two. She’d have to start a list of basic things she needed to find new ways to handle to avoid situations like this. Tim however just took it in stride.

“Of course. Here, put your arm around my neck.”

------------------------------------------------

As Chloe woke she could feel Plagg and Tikki still sleeping on her chest. Poor Tikki had been so distraught about what happened she hadn’t been able to eat to recharge. Mari had tried so hard to cheer the little god up but then Master Fu said there was nothing to be done and the Kwami broke down completely. She blindly reached over to where Marinette should be and hit nothing but air and mattress.

She shot up, earning an annoyed hiss from Plagg while Tikki blinked at her in confusion. Marinette was gone. How could she be gone? Even know that Hawkmoth wasn’t a threat Chloe’s mind jumped to the worst possible conclusions.

“Calm down kit, breathe and listen.” Plagg was suddenly hovering in front of her face and she tried to do what he said. At first she could only hear her own heartbeat but soon that gave way to the sound of voices in the living room, specifically Mari’s distinctive giggle. It took her another few minutes to completely even out her breathing but at least she knew everything was alright. Well as alright as it could be. Once she was certain she wouldn’t worry Marinette with a panic attack she crossed to the door to see her and Tim sitting on the couch with his computer.

“See? They make wheelchairs so you can basically be standing if you need to Might even give you a few extra inches or more in height since you’re so small. That way you can reach cupboards and medicine cabinets and such. I’m sure we can make any necessary changes to whatever you order to make it as useful for you as possible. Hell we added a mini missile launcher to Babs’ once before she made us take it off.” Chloe was tempted to run over and hug Tim for the consideration he was showing. He acted like all this was perfectly normal, and in a way she supposed it was. At least it was Marinette’s new normal. It worried her that Mari hadn’t really reacted to the change yet though. Eventually there would be a breakdown of some sort and Chloe silently promised them both that she’d be there for it.

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#maribat #marinette dupen chang #Damian Wayne #bffmaridami

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searchingwardrobes · 4 years ago

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The Convenient Groom: 10/14

Well, here it is everyone! One of the chapters I have been really looking forward to! There’s no kissing, but I give you platonic bed sharing plus emotional hurt/comfort with a side of jealousy. Enjoy!

Summary: Killian Jones just happens to be there when Emma Swan gets the phone call that changes everything: her fiance is leaving her at the altar. The thing is, it could also mean the end of her career. Convenient that Killian has nothing better to do that day. Convenient that he’s secretly in love with her. Not that Emma has to know that. Written for @spartanguard .

Rating: M

Words: about 5k in this chapter

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Emma sighed as she polished off another piece of toast. She brushed the crumbs from her lap and relaxed into the comfortable chair on the back porch. She enjoyed the view of the ocean and the soothing sound of surf. It felt wonderful to be out in the fresh air after days cooped up inside sick. She contemplated going back to the kitchen for something more substantial, but she had given Killian her word. Besides, she’d already pushed her luck by spreading an extremely thin layer of butter on her toast.

Her cell phone started ringing on the patio table, and she jumped as if Killian had some sort of sixth sense about the butter. It was Ruby calling, however, not Killian.

“Hey, Rubes.”

“Hey, Ems,” Ruby’s simple reply was laced with meaning, “sooo, how’s it going being married to Mr. Hottie? Please tell me he leaves crumbs in the bed or smells really bad when he first wakes up in the morning. Otherwise I’ll be depressed over the state of my love life.”

Emma laughed as she flicked a few more errant crumbs off her pajama pants. “Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but he’s annoyingly neat. As for what he smells like when he wakes up, I wouldn’t know.”

There was a fumbling sound on the other end and a muttered curse from Ruby. “I’m sorry, I almost dropped my phone. How the hell do you not know? Please tell me you’re not -”

“Making him sleep on the couch? Well, yes. This isn’t the fifteenth century where I sold my body for a goat or something.”

“So the poor man has to sleep on the couch indefinitely?”

“Well, technically, I’ve slept on the couch the past couple of days. I had some sort of stomach bug.”

“That sucks, Ems, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Killian took good care of me.

“Did he?” Once again, Ruby’s voice was laced with unspoken meaning.

“Don’t start, Ruby, he was just being nice.”

“If he took care of you when you were sick, I personally think you should let him back in the bed.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “I can’t let him back in bed if he was never in it to begin with.”

“Girl, I would change that arrangement ASAP.”

Emma just laughed and shook her head. “Ruby -”

“Emma,” her friend countered, “if you’re going to be married to that for a year, you might as well enjoy it.”

“And the purpose of this call is exactly . . . “

“Fine, fine,” Ruby muttered, “straight to business, if that’s what you want.”

“Yes. Please.”

“Okay, well Regina asked me to call and go over your itinerary for the book promotion.”

Emma rose from her chair to go back inside and find her laptop so she could pull up her calendar. “That’s good. I feel so out of the loop. I mean, I’m back to normal at my practice, but the new book has honestly been the last thing on my mind.”

“I don’t blame you with that fine piece of -”

“Ruby,” Emma cut her off, “focus.”

“Right, right, okay . . . so, we’ve got that interview set up on The Tiana Show. And Regina did tell you that will also have a Q&A segment with the audience, right?”

“Mhm,” Emma said as she scrolled through her calendar, “yeah, I made a note of that.”

“They also requested that Killian be there, and Regina okayed it.”

“Wait - what?”

Ruby’s voice was reassuring. “They just want him in the audience. You know, so they can pan to his reactions and stuff.”

Emma slouched back on the couch and wearily rubbed her forehead. “Ruby, how could the two of you not check with me first? Killian has a business to run. He might not be able to take off to New York in the middle of the week.”

“I don’t know, the man seems pretty willing to come running when you call.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, never mind,” Ruby said hurriedly. She changed the subject to the next item on Emma’s itinerary, and Emma didn’t press it. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what her friend meant by the comment.

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

When Killian came home from work, he had a huge pot of chicken noodle soup that Elsa had made. It made Emma wonder if the woman cooked anything but soup. She was also grateful for something to eat that wasn’t toast. Personally, she could go for a cheeseburger, but she doubted Killian would agree.

He did, however, agree to eating outside on the back porch. He also said nothing when Emma slathered a hunk of French bread with butter. The bit she had at lunch hadn’t bothered her stomach, not that she would tell Killian that.

“Why do you look so nervous?” Killian asked her after blowing on a spoonful of soup.

Emma jabbed at a chunk of chicken with her spoon rather than looking at him. “I just have to ask you something, and I’m a little nervous you’ll be pissed.”

His forehead creased. “Why would I be? Emma, seriously, you can ask me anything.”

Emma gave him a tentative smile. “That’s sweet, but it’s just . . . well, my agent kind of agreed to something for you.”

Killian rested his elbows on the table. “Okay, I guess that was inconsiderate of her, but I’m not going to blow up about it or anything. Especially not at you.”

Emma let out a breath of air. “Good, and I told Ruby that they need to ask first from here on out.”

Killian tore a piece of bread from the loaf and dipped it into his soup. “So, what is it? I may have to tell them no, depending on what it is, but . . . “

He trailed off and shrugged as if to say he would have an open mind about it.

“They want you to go with me to do a talk show in New York City in a couple of weeks. Not to be interviewed or anything,” Emma rushed to add, “just to be in the audience. The show wants you there for like, reactions or whatever while they’re interviewing me.”

Killian nodded, completely calm, and it honestly threw her more than if he’d gotten pissed. “That’s fine with me. When is it?”

“A week from this coming Wednesday?”

He shook his head at her as a smile lifted the corner of his mouth. “You don’t have to phrase it as a question. I don’t bite, love. Unless you ask me to, that is.”

He punctuated the innuendo with a wink, and she rolled her eyes as she laughed. “You think you’re cute, don’t you?”

“I try.”

“So can you do it?”

“I don’t see why not. I don’t have any plans.”

“But isn’t this your busy time of year? I mean, with all the tourists around.”

He reached out and took her hand. “Not so much that I can’t take one day to support your career.”

Emma felt her jaw drop slightly, and her gaze flicked to where his thumb was caressing her knuckles. When he saw her expression, he quickly pulled his hand away and cleared his throat.

“I mean, that’s the whole reason for this arrangement, aye?”

“Right,” Emma said with a nod, “to save my career.”

Silence fell between them as they continued eating their soup. Emma drained her bowl with a sigh, almost embarrassed at how ravenously she had eaten.

“Did that hit the spot?”

“Definitely,” she replied, patting her stomach, “I just hope I don’t regret it later.”

“I’m sure if your appetite has returned that you’ll be fine. Besides, it was soup.”

She nodded, regarding him thoughtfully as he continued to leisurely eat his own dinner. “So,” she finally worked up the courage to ask, leaning her elbows on the table, “your half of the bargain was that I would casually help your brother out with his marriage. But from what I see, they’re fine.”

Now it was Killian’s jaw dropping as he paused his eating, spoon held in midair. Emma arched one brow at him.

“Well,” he finally said, resting his spoon on the table, “they do love each other tremendously, and Elsa’s good for Liam -”

“But?”

“But, there’s been some tension lately.”

Emma searched his face intently as she rested her chin on her clasped hands. She didn’t know why in the world he would lie about his brother needing her help, but it felt like he was grasping for words. “Tension?”

“Aye, tension. Elsa’s ready to start a family, you see, and Liam -”

“Doesn’t want kids?”

“No, no, it’s not that. He does. It’s just . . . he wants to be sure they’re ready. Financially speaking.”

“That’s wise. Having children isn’t something you do lightly.”

“And Elsa understands that, but she -”

Emma lifted a hand. “If you say anything about her biological clock, I might dump the rest of that soup over your head.”

His eyes widened at that. “Okay, I sense a touchiness -”

She gave him a withering glare. “I just don’t like women being treated like they have a shelf life, that’s all.”

Killian leaned back in his seat, his arms crossed, his brow furrowed. Uh-oh. “So you’re going to deny basic biology?”

“What basic biology?”

“That there are a certain number of years -”

“Choose your words very carefully, buddy.”

His hands dropped to the table, and she noticed that his hands were now clenched in fists. “All I’m saying is that Elsa’s waited the first five years of their marriage for something she wants deeply, and my brother is being way too practical. As usual.”

“You have to be practical - it’s a lifetime commitment!”

“But no one can ever be one hundred percent prepared!”

This had quickly gotten out of hand, both their voices rising slightly, and Emma wasn’t even sure where the conversation had gone off the rails. She took a deep breath and when she spoke again, she used her professional therapist voice.

“It’s a big decision that you shouldn’t rush into.”

Killian leaned across the table, his eyes flashing. “Or it’s something that scares you to death, scares the hell out of you actually because you never had a good example of what a father should be. So even though you want it more than you ever wanted anything, that fear holds you back. So you wait, then wait some more, until one day you’ve waited too long!”

He rose from the table then, so forcefully that the chair behind him flew backwards and wobbled, almost toppling over. Then Killian turned and left, the screen porch door slamming behind him as he headed down the beach.

Emma just sat there for a moment, processing what the hell just happened, and suddenly understanding dawned. She didn’t have a phD in psychology for nothing.

This had nothing at all to do with Elsa and Liam.

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

Killian came to a dead stop halfway down the beach when he realized what he was doing. He leaned over his knees, taking big gulps of air. It wasn’t from the exertion of his run - he was in better shape than that - it was the sudden fear washing over him. How could he be this stupid twice? And Emma was just getting over being sick. What if she tried to follow him, got dizzy, and . . . and . . .

He couldn’t finish the thought. Instead, after one more deep breath, he raced back the way he had come. The fear was even worse when he saw how far he’d run. The house seemed so far away . . .

Finally, he slowed down right at the back of the house. In the distance, he saw Emma by the fire pit talking to Anna. Relief flooded through him, and he suddenly felt like he’d run a 10k in less than a minute. Once again, he was leaning over, bracing his hands on his knees. Emma turned towards him, but he couldn’t tell from here if she was angry or not. Then she turned back to Anna, gesturing in his direction. Anna nodded, then turned around and went back into the house.

Killian straightened as Emma drew closer. Her arms were crossed, holding a sweater around her frame, and the ocean breeze tugged at her hair. Even when she got close, her expression was unreadable.

“I’m sorry.”

Seemed as good a place as any to start.

She tilted her head at him. “I’m sorry too. I didn’t know.”

Killian blinked, then looked back over Emma’s shoulder at his brother’s house. He sighed, “Anna told you?”

Emma nodded, then her expression changed, and her eyes widened. “Wait - did you race back here because you were worried about me?”

Killian ran a hand wearily over his face. “It was just so eerily the same. A fight, me running off -”

Emma stopped his words with a gentle hand to his arm. “Her death wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. It was just a senseless accident.”

“You don’t understand, Emma. We fought about . . . “ he swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. “We were renovating our house, on the other side of Storybrooke. We added on a new master suite, giving us three bedrooms instead of two, and then Milah suddenly starts referring to one of them as a nursery.” He turned to look out at the water, his hand raking through his hair. Emma said nothing.

“I always brushed her off with a joke or something. Finally, we talked about it, and I told her I wasn’t sure we were in a good place financially. The truth was, I was scared.”

“Of what?”

He turned to look into her green eyes. “Of failing. As a father. My dad left us when we were kids, you see, and . . . well, how was I supposed to know what a good father looked like?”

Emma just nodded. “I understand that fear.” She settled down in the sand and motioned for him to join her. He did, knowing she might still be weak from being sick.

Killian shook his head and sighed before continuing. “But it meant so much to her. Her first husband never wanted kids either, was really volatile about the issue, and it got to be a touchy subject between us.”

Emma said nothing, just looked at him with an expression that made him feel it was safe to go on. No wonder she was so good at her job.

“One day, we were in the middle of working on the house, and she confronted me about it, wouldn’t let me deflect. We ended up getting into a huge fight, and I took off in anger. Just like I did tonight.” He struggled to go on, lowering his head so she couldn’t see the tears starting to form.

“You don’t need to explain the rest if you don’t want to. Anna told me.”

“If I had been there, she might not have fallen off that ladder.”

“You don’t know that.”

“She might have lived.”

“Killian,” she said in a soft voice, “Anna told me what the coroner said. She broke her neck. Even if you had been there, you wouldn’t have been able to save her.”

He shook his head, clenching his jaw. “But she might not even have been on that ladder if I hadn’t taken off. She might have been more careful. She was probably so distracted . . . “

“Killian look at me,” Emma knelt down in front of him in the sand and took his face in her hands. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“I was only gone for ten minutes. No one expects their life to change that much in ten minutes.”

Emma gave him an encouraging smile. She had also started to stroke his face, and he wondered if she even realized she was doing it.

“Exactly. Ten minutes. How could you have possibly known what would happen? You left for a few minutes to calm down. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“I . . . I didn’t . . . it wasn’t my fault.”

Emma nodded. Liam had told him the same thing a thousand times. So had Elsa. And David. Yet for some reason, here on the beach with Emma’s soothing voice and gentle hands, the truth of it finally washed over him like the waves crashing against the shore. Something broke inside of him, and his head fell forward onto Emma’s shoulder. She wrapped one arm around him while she stroked his hair with her other hand. He waited for tears to come, for sobs to shake his body, but instead he felt lighter somehow. He supposed he’d shed an ocean of tears for Milah over the years, and nothing but a shaky sigh was left.

“She wouldn’t want you to blame yourself,” Emma told him.

He pulled back and took Emma’s hands in his. “You’re right. She wouldn’t.” He stared down at Emma’s hands for a minute, rubbing his thumbs over her knuckles. The sound of the ocean surrounded them, and he slowly breathed in the salty smell of it, then exhaled.

“Better?” Emma asked.

He nodded, feeling slightly sheepish all of a sudden. He rose to his feet and offered Emma a hand, which she took. Once she was up, he turned towards the house, but she didn’t relinquish his hand.

“You know,” he told her, “I never scheduled a session.”

She laughed. “Lucky for you I had an opening.”

“How much do I owe you?” he teased, bumping her hip.

“This one’s on the house, Jones.”

Despite their fight and the intense conversation on the beach, they spent the rest of the evening the way they normally did - on the couch with Netflix. Around eleven, Emma stretched and yawned.

“You’ve got me falling into the sleeping habits of an old man,” she told him, poking his leg with her toe.

“Hey, I may have a few years on you, but I’ve retained my youthful glow.”

She laughed and rolled her eyes as she rose from the couch, wrapping an afghan around her. “What about you?”

A yawn cracked his own jaw as he rubbed at his tired eyes. “I think I’m ready to turn this couch into my bed for the night.”

Emma chewed on her lower lip as she regarded him carefully. “Why don’t we just share the bed?”

He arched a brow at her. “Seriously?”

She shrugged. “Yeah, why not? I mean, we’re both adults.”

Killian rubbed at his jaw as he thought it over. He wouldn’t lie, he was sick of the couch. And as long she was comfortable with it . . .

“Come on,” Emma said, giving him a playful kick, “don’t make a big deal out of it. You know you miss sleeping in a real bed.”

“Well, if you’re sure -”

“One hundred percent.”

“Okay then.” He tossed aside the remote, got up, and followed Emma down the hall. She had already changed into her pajamas, so she brushed her teeth while Killian changed in the bedroom. He went ahead and slipped under the sheets and flipped off the light before Emma came in. Why was his heart pounding like a fifteen year old?

He heard Emma shut off the faucet and flip off the bathroom light. “Whoah, it’s dark!” Emma cried as she stepped into the room. “Why are you hiding? Do you sleep in the nude?”

“No,” Killian protested, “well, not totally. I mean, I’m wearing boxers.” Shut up, he reprimanded himself, you sound like a nervous idiot.

Emma swore under her breath as she tripped over something on her way to the bed. Knowing her, it was a pair of shoes. He felt the bed dip as she got in and wrapped herself up in the covers. He tried to make her out in the dark, but all he could see was her hair.

“Good night,” Emma whispered.

“Good night,” he whispered back.

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

Killian was awakened the next morning because something was tickling his nose. It was Emma’s hair - spread all over her pillow and his. He brushed it out of his face as he rolled over. Emma was curled up on her side, her back to him. He took the opportunity to admire her creamy shoulders on display. One strap of her tank top had slipped, and the sight had him getting hard. He was just about to slip out of bed before she noticed how - er - excited he was to see her, when she suddenly rolled over to face him.

“Hey,” she said groggily.

“Hey,” he answered, his voice strained. He tried to inch farther away from her without making it obvious.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed.”

He blinked. “Uh, why would I be embarrassed? Like you said last night, we’re adults.”

“Exactly,” Emma replied through a yawn. She arched her back and stretched both arms over her head, which definitely didn’t help his erection. “And I’m also an adult who counsels couples and has extensive knowledge of sexual physiology and psychology.”

“Are you bragging, Swan?”

“No. I’m just trying to explain why I understand your situation. After all, it’s extremely normal for a healthy man to wake up with an erection.”

She smirked at him as he coughed. He wished he had control over the red creeping up his cheeks. He quickly recovered, however, and winked at her.

“That confident that I’m happy to see you?”

She shrugged, that damn strap still teasing him. “Guess it’s good I’m not a cuddler, or there would be no doubt.”

“Oh trust me, love,” he told her, dropping his voice an octave, “when I jab you with my sword, you’ll feel it.”

Now she was the one blinking rapidly as a blush stained her cheeks. He laughed as he flung the sheets aside.

“Now look away, darling, unless you want an eyeful. My boxers have never been able to contain my prodigious manhood.”

She didn’t respond at first, and he chuckled again. But when he reached the door of the bathroom, his pillow hit him in the back of the head.

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

Sharing a bed was changing Emma’s sleeping habits. She was getting up earlier for two reasons: one, she had lied to Killian. She apparently was a cuddler. Every morning her eyes flew open before the sun was up when her body sensed something warm, solid, and hairy beneath her cheek. She always extricated herself from his embrace before he woke up. Second, Killian had convinced her to ditch her treadmill and join him on his jogs. She had to admit, she looked forward to her morning workout more with the combination of the gorgeous setting, Smee’s encouragement, and Killian’s company.

He wasn’t chatty on the morning runs, for which she was grateful. She preferred getting in the zone when she exercised. However, they were talking over breakfast and coffee each day. Now that she was up earlier, she had time for more than a bagel as she dashed out the door. She could honestly say that they were friends now, and she enjoyed his company. She had hopes that things wouldn’t be weird after all this was over, and they could still hang out. Especially since they worked in the same building.

Emma was far more aware of the sounds coming from below her than she used to be (heavy metal music aside). She now knew the difference between the sound of the table saw versus the sander, for example, though both were faint by the time they reached her ears. Her clients probably didn’t even notice.

She also knew when he was meeting with a client. The sounds in his workshop ceased and the pleasant timbre of his voice drifted up through the vents. Not enough for her to eavesdrop, but enough to bring a smile to her face. He was talented at what he did, and she wanted him to succeed.

Right now, she could hear the buzz of his table saw as she listened to her current client talk about finally setting boundaries without apologies with the man she had just started dating. Emma was encouraged by her progress, and honestly proud of the young woman. When she first started seeing Emma, she was broken and filled with social anxiety after going through a very public breakup. It had taken a year for the woman to even accept a date from a man who had already proven himself as a good friend. Now, here she was speaking up for herself without apology.

“You know, Jasmine,” Emma told her, “I think you are at a very healthy place. How about we try meeting every six weeks instead of monthly?”

“Really?” the woman asked, beaming. “I think that would work. Does that mean I don’t need the citalopram anymore?”

“No, I think you should still take it. Talk it over with your doctor, but it’s a really safe medication, and ten milligrams a day is a very small dose. Besides, remember what I always say?”

“Medication is just another of my tools to help me cope and nothing to be ashamed of.”

Emma grinned. “Exactly.”

They both rose, and Emma showed Jasmine to the door at the top of the stairs. Over the brunette's shoulder, she saw Killian welcome in a smiling redhead. The woman flipped her hair over one shoulder as she laughed, then she laid a hand on Killian’s bicep. Killian smiled back, then - Emma’s breath caught - he reached up and scratched behind his ear! Emma’s lips pressed together in a thin line. That was his tell when he was nervous - usually sexually nervous. Emma barely heard Jasmine’s goodbye as her head spun. She leaned over to try and see the pair, but Killian led the redhead further into his shop and out of sight.

Emma went back into her office and started pacing in the small waiting area. Ariel! That was the woman’s name. Killian had made an arbor for her wedding to Eric, similar to the one he had made for her. Well, this Eric might want to know that his wife was flirting with other people’s husbands.

As soon as the thought entered her brain, Emma tried to put on her therapist hat and remind her subconscious that the woman’s red hair had triggered memories of Walsh’s infidelity with Zelena.

Her subconscious was hearing none of it.

Emma stilled her movements and cocked her head as she tried to make out the low voices from the first floor. Were they laughing again? The woman sure was smiling a hell of a lot.

Maybe she always smiles a lot. Therapist Emma tried to say.

Her subconscious ignored Therapist Emma.

Emma marched over to the floor vent near the door so she could hear better. All she could make out was Killian’s accent and Ariel’s more bubbly voice, but not what they were saying. She rolled her eyes and let out a huff of breath before getting down on her hands and knees. Wait, was that more laughter? She leaned closer, turning her ear to the vent and concentrating. She thought she heard Ariel say Killian’s name. In her mind’s eye, she saw her smiling brightly at him, flicking that unfairly beautiful shade of red hair over one shoulder, and gushing, “Oh Killian, you are just so funny.”

Emma snapped back to reality and realized that it had gone quiet. Why were they quiet all of a sudden? What were they doing? Emma’s ear was practically pressed to the vent at this point, and -

“What the bloody hell are you doing?”

Emma let out a strangled yelp as she jumped up from the floor. Killian was standing there in her doorway, looking at her with confusion etched on his brow and barely contained humor teasing the corners of his lips. She blinked and suddenly wanted the floor to open up and swallow her. She had been acting like a complete fool!

“Umm . . . I was . . . looking for something. What are you doing up here?”

He arched a brow at her and struggled to keep a smile at bay. “It’s lunch time. We were going to go over to Granny’s - remember? What did you lose?”

“Lose?”

“You said you lost something,” he said, gesturing to where she’d been on all fours like a dog.

“My earring,” she lied quickly, “I thought maybe it rolled into the vent.”

“Oh,” he said, “well let me help you -”

“No that’s okay!” she told him hurriedly. “I found it, see?” She held up an empty hand with the fingertips pinched together as if she were holding something, then she pretended to fiddle with her earring. Thank God she wore studs!

Killian arched a brow at her, then sauntered close. So close, his chest almost brushed hers. She had to tilt her head to look up at him. He leaned down, his lips almost brushing her ear.

“You mean this earring, love?” he purred. He reached up and caressed the ruby stud with his calloused fingers. “The one you were already wearing when you first stood up?”

He pulled back just enough so he could look her in the eye, and the sinful smile upon his face should have made her furious.

But it didn’t. Damn him, it almost made her melt into a puddle of goo on the floor.

HIs eyes scanned her face, and for one thrilling moment she thought he would kiss her. Kiss her with absolutely no one watching. But then he pulled back and walked backwards towards the door.

“You coming, love? Grilled cheese at Granny’s?”

“Uh . . . yeah,” she muttered.

Emma wanted a way to wipe that shit eating grin off his face, but she couldn’t figure out how to do it.

“Oh and Emma,” Killian said before she could head down the stairs, “Ariel was smiling and laughing because she and Eric need me to make them a cradle. For their new baby.”

His satisfied smile as he sauntered past her down the stairs made her want to kick him in the ass as hard as she could. Mostly. But another part of her was too busy being relieved about Ariel’s order.

#cs ff #cs modern au #cs marriage of convenience #slow burn #humor #and some angst #for spartanguard

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larryssunflower · 4 years ago

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The Non-Royal Romance, season two, part two

last part of season one teaser trailer season two, part one masterlist

tagging- @ravenpuff02 @simplyaiden-blog @msjr0119 @butindeed @mfackenthal @choices-lurker @american-duchess @drakelover78 @monosodiumglutamateme @crookedslimecreatorpasta @mrsdrakewalkerblog @traeumerinwitzhelden @gardeningourmet @speedyoperarascalparty @agent-zephyrkah @liam-rhys-x-mc-x-constantine @snyggflicka @texaskitten30 @annekebbphotography @irishwhiskys-blog @nomadics-stuff @catlady0911 @twinkle-320 @i-bloody-love-drake-walker @drakewalker04 @bigmemesplz @jovialyouthmusic @sleepwalkingelite @pintobom @moneyfordiamonds @mskaneko @lauzales @princessleac1 @kingliam2019 @queen-arabella-of-cordonia @drake-colt-lover-99

- Thank you all for your support and I really do apologize for taking so long with this! You would think having all the time in the world because of Quarantine would make me write more… guess not lol. But in all seriousness, I have been going through serious writer’s block right now but I hope you guys like this part! I made it a little longer than usual for you guys ;) I can’t wait to continue this story further! love you all <3 -

warning- there may or may not be some smut at the end hehe ;)

Blinking away sleep from my eyes, I sit up, stopping when I see Drake, sitting in a chair beside me, watching me with a soft look in his eyes. I blush slightly, feeling insecure having just woke up, knowing I look like a hot mess. “Ah, good morning Princess,” Drake murmurs amusedly as I stretch my arms above my head before looking at him with a tired smile. “You know I’m Queen now, right?” I retort, my voice slightly hoarse, making him smirk. “Touché,” He comments with a slight nod. I chuckle and start to remember last night, how I asked him to stay when something hits me. “How long have you been awake?” I ask, curiosity getting the better of me. He couldn’t have stayed awake the whole night, right?

He seems surprised at the question and takes a moment to think. “About 36 hours, why?” He asks nonchalantly, turning his head to the side. I choke. “36 hours? How are you alive??” I demand incredulously, my eyes wide, half in shock, half impressed. Drake chuckles, looking down. “For a time when I serving the navy, I was trained to stay awake for 72 hours,” He explains, and I’m taken aback yet again. “How?” I ask, making him smile slightly, looking down. “It’s a sniper’s tactic traditionally, which helped them stay awake while watching or following a target for a long period of time,” He says, somewhat tentatively, “It works by creating a fantasy or imagining a scenario which includes the target, to keep them attentive and focused at the task at hand.” Drake concludes. I nod along, thinking for a moment.

I glance up at him, my stomach suddenly fluttering. “So you created a scenario about… me?” I ask softly, and his cheeks redden slightly. “Y-yeah,” He admits. A grin spreads over my face. “Drake…” I start slowly, “what’s the fantasy?” I ask, my eyes flicking up to meet his. He brings his hand to scratch behind his neck, and his eyes shifting to the side. “Well-“ Drake’s cut off by aggressive pounding on my door, making me flinch, my heart stopping.

Drake is instantly on his feet. My eyes widen as I recognize the voice shouting through the door. “Hey! Alana!! I know you’re in there! Open up!”. I laugh in shock, making Drake look at me, surprised. I clamber off my bed, rushing over to the door. “Alana you can’t just-“ Drake starts, coming after me, but I fling the door open to reveal someone who has been at university for the past four years, my sister. “Kai!” I exclaim, throwing my arms around her, making her giggle, hugging me back. “Alana! god, it’s been too long!” She gushes, squeezing me tightly. I pull away to take a good look at her. I feel emotional as she smiles at me, looking so grown up. “Wow, Kai, you look older than me! How is that possible?” I laugh, making her shrug playfully.

“It’s all the studying! I swear I’ve aged about thirty years just to get a damn Bachelor’s,” Kai chuckles, her eyes drifting over my shoulder. “Oh! Kai, this is my bodyguard, Drake,” I say, turning so she can see him. She nods at him, and he does the same back.

I grab Kai’s hand, dragging her inside. “Come in! We need to catch up.” I demand, marching her to my couch in the corner of the room. Drake walks to the door, motioning that he will be out in the hallway, and I nod with a smile.

“Gah! I’m so excited for you! I used to dream about this time when we were younger, thinking about you being Queen and engaged! It’s so exciting!” She exclaims, her face bright. I force the best smile I can. If only she knew how complicated all of this is. “Well it’s not all perfect,” I start, but she cuts me off. “Well of course. You still have that Assassination situation, and I’m sure the wedding planning is going to be crazy, but no matter what you need, I’ll be right here.” She implores, holding my hand.

A huge wave of gratitude washes over me and I smile with a sigh of relief. “Thank you Kai, I really appreciate it. It also helps that you are way more educated than I am,” I say with a chuckle, and she just grins. “I’ve always been the smarter one, I think you should learn to accept that,” She retorts cheekily, making me roll my eyes. “Whatever,” I chuckle.

The door opens after a gentle knock, Drake sticking his head in. “Hey, Maxwell’s here-“ and before he can finish his sentence, Max barges in, squealing with excitement when he sees Kai. Drake just rolls his eyes in annoyance, making me grin. I know he secretly loves it, although he will never admit that. “Little K!” Maxwell exclaims, running over. Kai gets up excitedly, wrapping him in a hug.

We all catch up for a moment before Maxwell turns to me. “Oh yeah! We have that barn-raising today, so you guys should probably get dressed.” Maxwell says, and I groan at my forgetfulness. “Oh, I came just in time then!” Kai says excitedly.

“Let’s go catch up somewhere else and let my dear sister change in peace,” Kai says, grabbing Max’s arm, and guiding him out. I wave after them with a chuckle as Max starts to fill her in on the past four years.

—-

Our car finally arrives at the small patch of farm where the building of the barn has already started. A crowd of nobles are helping construction workers lay down the foundation, clearly sweating on the warm summer day. The paparazzi are snapping photos here and there, while others wait in the shade for new nobles to arrive, ready to assault them with questions for their magazines and gossip columns.

Drake turns around in his seat, facing Kai and I. “Are you two ready?” He asks, and I nod. “Yeah, I guess so,” Kai mumbles, seeming nervous. It’s her first time being introduced to the press. Like me, she was hidden her whole childhood from Cordonia. It actually ended up helping her when she went to university in France, because no one knew who she was. Her intellectual success depended on her work, not her title. I’m not surprised she is nervous, not too long ago it was my first time being in front of the press at the derby. God, that feels like a century ago.

Drake opens my door, holding his hand out. For a moment I’m back to that day, and Drake is still here, holding his hand for me. If only things had changed. In the beginning, I had dreaded the inevitability having to be engaged and married to someone I didn’t love, but after meeting Drake and slowly falling in love with him, the thought of being with someone else became painful to even consider. If only I was on the engagement tour with him as my fiancé, not as my bodyguard. I take his hand and step down, making eye contact with his beautiful deep eyes for a moment, before I look away, feeling loss as soon as my eyes leave his. He helps Kai down, and the three of us start down the dirt path to the barn, the hot summer wind already wrapping itself around me like a thick blanket. The paparazzi spot us, and the vultures descend. In seconds they are crowded around us, shouting and snapping pictures, blinding us with their flash.

“Who is this woman with you?” “Alana! How are things with Liam?” “Have you found the Assassins yet?” “Who are you wearing?”

“Okay folks, back up!” Drake shouts, him and Kai’s bodyguard creating a barrier between us and pushing them away. “Come on! Just one comment!” One reporter begs, and Drake looks over at me. I nod reluctantly in approval. “The Queen will give a statement, so shut up and let her speak,” Drake says in a commanding voice and within seconds the paparazzi quiet down, eagerly holding out tape recorders towards us and positioning their cameras. I clear my throat nervously. “Thank you all for uh, coming out today, I appreciate it. This is my younger sister, Princess Kai, she just graduated from University and will be accompanying me during the engagement tour,” I begin, my palms already starting to sweat. I am hopeless at public speaking. “We, unfortunately, haven’t found anything on the assassination yet, but we are working tirelessly to find out who orchestrated that horrible event. And Liam and I are doing well. Thank you,” I finish the statement to my incredible relief, already cringing at my choppy, awkward speech. The paparazzi only respond with more questions and I’m about to leave when Kai stops me, her hand in my arm. “wait,” she whispers to me before turning to the paparazzi.

“Hello, I wanted to make sure to personally introduce myself to you all. As my amazing sister said, I just graduated from University and I am so pleased to finally be home in Cordonia. It breaks my heart to be home at such a scary time, where the people and nobles alike are scared for their lives. But I assure you, as my sister said, we will work tirelessly until we find who is responsible. In the meantime, all we can do is help unite Cordonia, and remind people of love, kindness, and hope in this troubling time. Because that is what Liam and Alana’s union stands for, the perseverance of our incredible country and the unity of our nation. Now, if you lovely people don’t mind, we have a barn to build.” Kai finishes effortlessly with a firm nod, before looping her arm through mine and leading me toward the barn.

I stumble after her in shock. I open and close my mouth wordlessly. “Wow. You are incredible at speaking- words-” I stutter, further proving my point of being helpless at speaking, making her laugh. “Yeah well I learned a lot about diplomacy and public speaking at school, but to be honest its a second nature at this point,” She says simply. We are quiet for a moment, the only sound being the crunch of our shoes on the dirt.

After a moment, I break the comfortable silence. “You reminded me of dad,” I say suddenly, making her stop, her eyes soft. “Really?” She asks, a hopeful smile on her face. I nod. “He was always incredible at speaking, you know that,, I always admired him for it,” I mumble, a sadness falling over me. He died when I was eight, Kai was only five, but she still misses him just as much. I was always a daddy’s girl which made life after his death so much harder with my distant mother who only got worse as the years went by.

“Hey, just because you aren’t the best at public speaking doesn’t mean you won’t be a great leader,” Kai reassures me, but I just snort. “Let’s hope so,” I say, making her laugh.

“Ah, You must be the famous little sister!” A voice says, and we look over to see Liam and Leo walking up to us. Kai nods with a polite laugh. “That’s me! You must be the fiancé!” She enthuses, and he nods with a grin. He kisses her hand respectfully, before turning to me. “Hey babe,” He says sweetly, planting a kiss on my cheek. “Hey,” I mumble, and instinctively my eyes immediately snap up to look at Drake, who is watching Liam closely, his eyes narrowed. I try to hide my smile as I look away and notice Leo approaching Kai.

“Hello gorgeous,” Leo says with a bow, kissing Kai’s outstretched knuckles. She squints her eyes at him for a moment, clearly looking him over with distaste. “I believe the term you were looking for is ‘Your Highness’,” Kai responds flatly, only making a smirk spread across Leo’s face. He nods. “Of course, Your Highness,” He says slyly, amusement in his eyes. Kai just rolls her eyes before turning to me.

“Ready to raise a barn?” She asks. I chuckle and nod. All four of us, the bodyguards following, head over to the construction site and start hammering, lifting support beams, and painting wood strips.

—

Kai and I paint the newly applied wooden slats of the barn side by side. We chat as we do so, filling each other in on all the gossip of the past four years. “Max finally asked Allie out? I’m so happy for them!” Kai gushes, and I smile at the bittersweetness of the situation. It’s great to have Kai back again, but it’s sad because we have missed out on so much of each other’s lives.

“So, I saw what happened between you and Leo,” I whisper tentatively, glancing over my shoulder to look at Leo, who was helping Liam hammer the support beams. Kai groans with a roll of her eyes. “Ugh, do not get me started. I know all about his ‘bachelor lifestyle’ and how he treats women like disposable tissues. All the women at uni knew about him, and when I told them where I was from, all they could do was gush about him constantly. I don’t get it. He flirts with anything that has two breasts and a vagina,” She scoffs, shaking her head, painting with a new sense of anger. I snicker at my usually composed sister. “So you don’t like him then?” I ask cheekily, making her look over at me with a dead-pan expression. “No.” She says flatly, making me snicker more. At least we can agree on that.

A hand comes up suddenly, touching my shoulder gently. I jump, turning to see Liam. “Hey babe, I think it would be a good idea to be doing some things together, you know, for publicity?” He says, glancing over at the paparazzi hanging around, snapping pictures here and there but looking quite restless. “Oh, that’s a good idea! Yeah, you guys should do that!” Kai nods, and I reluctantly smile. “Yeah, let’s do it then,” I say with fake enthusiasm, before following him.

Liam and I start to do little things together like painting window panes, securing them to the walls, helping hoist materials to the roof, all the while, getting top-notch ‘candid’ pictures for the paps. Eventually, a good amount of the press leaves, clearly getting all the photos needed. “Well, that was fun,” Liam comments, and I nod. We stand in an awkward silence before I speak. “Yeah, I should probably get back to Kai, we have a lot to catch up on,” I say quickly, and Liam nods. I turn around, heading over to Kai before I look up and stop in my tracks.

My jaw drops as I spot Drake, shirtless, pulling on a rope to help maneuver a pretty big beam. My mouth feels dry as I observe the way the sun shines over him through the unfinished roof. Blinking dumbly, I watch his muscles shift in the midday sun, seemingly in slow motion, a sheen of sweat gleaming on his lean figure. “Damn. That’s your bodyguard?” Kai says beside me, snapping me out of my daze. I clear my throat, forcing myself to tear my eyes from his fit form. “Uh- yeah. He’s great.” I mumble, suddenly feeling really hot. “Hey, do you reckon you guys got some good shots with Liam?” Kai asks, and I nod. “Yeah- um, they should turn out great,” I say absentmindedly, grabbing a spare paintbrush and joining Kai at the wooden panels.“Are you alright?” Kai asks, looking at me with concern. I chuckle. “Yes! I’m just a bit hot after all this work! It doesn’t help that it feels like 900 degrees outside,” I laugh, making Kai nod in agreement.

“I have a solution for that problem m’ lady’s,” Maxwell says from behind us, slinging both of his arms over our shoulders. “And that is?” Kai asks with amusement, glancing over at Max’s enthusiastic face. “Well, there is a certain spa not so far from here. If you ask me, it’s the perfect thing after all this hard labor,” Max says with a pair of pleading puppy dog eyes. I snort. “Okay Max, we can go,” I smile, making Max let out a cheer, before going to inform Liam and Leo. “I missed you guys,” Kai says with a sweet smile. “Trust me K, we missed you too,” I grin, my heart happy. It’s nice to have family together like this again.

I sneak a peek back over my shoulder at Drake to see him shaking hands with one of the other construction workers, buttoning his shirt, his suit jacket resting on his shoulders.

In another world, I would be standing in front of him, finishing his buttons for him, straightening out his jacket, and planting a kiss on his lips to finish it off. Like an actual couple. I sigh, before going back to painting the barn.

—

After a quick celebration for the now completed barn, Liam, Leo, Maxwell, Kai, and I head over to the spa, the sun starting to set and the world beginning to cool down, satisfied with the work we put in all afternoon. “Its actually way more satisfying than I thought, seeing our hard work being translated to an actual finished building!” Max enthuses. “And what ‘hard work’ did you do exactly? It almost seemed like every time I saw you, I think you were taking a ‘break’” Liam grins with feigned confusion. Maxwell mocks offense with a dramatic scoff and a delicate hand on his chest. “Dear Liam, never have I been so offended! You just happened to see me between my bursts of intense labor,” Max dismisses, making the rest of us laugh.

“I’m pretty sure the person who did the hardest labor was Mr. Walker,” Kai starts, turning to a now surprised Drake, who was following us with the other bodyguard. “You were helping pull a huge beam, most people would need two others to help with something that size,” Kai says, impressed. The rest of us turn to look at Drake for his answer. Clearly uncomfortable with all the eyes on him, he clears his throat. “Oh, well I know a couple of the construction workers and they needed an extra pair of um- hands, so I helped out,” He says, averting eye contact. I smile at his stubborn humbleness. It’s adorable.

“Well good job man, good to know the man working to protect my fiancé is a hard worker,” Liam says, clapping his shoulder. Drake just nods, his jaw clenching. As we continue our walk, I wonder if Liam is purposefully condescending towards Drake. It really seems like it.

Kai decides to join Max in his car to the spa, and Leo quickly follows. They encourage Liam and me to get some ’alone time’ by driving separately. Liam, Drake, and I reach my car, both men reaching to open the door for me at the same time, making them stop. They look at each other for a moment. “No need to worry about that Drake, I can open the door for my fiancé,” Liam says, an edge to his voice. Drake glances over at me. I just nod, so Drake backs away. “Of course,” Drake says unenthusiastically, allowing Liam to open my door. I get in, and Liam follows, closing the door. Drake gets in the front with the driver, and we follow Maxwell’s car to the spa.

Liam’s hand feels foreign as it rests on my knee protectively. “You look beautiful today Alana,” Liam says in my ear. I smile. “Thank you, you look handsome, as usual,” I respond. His hand drifts from my knee to find my left hand, his thumb running over the surface of my decadent ring. I watch as he does so, the familiar feeling of guilt creeping up my throat. “I can’t wait to marry you,” Liam mumbles softly. I glance over at him. He looks up at me with a smile. “M-me too,” I stutter, the guilt overpowering my heart manifesting into sadness. I hate doing this to him. Being engaged, making him think I love him when I fear that I never will. My eyes flick up to the rearview mirror to see Drake watching us. I quickly look away to the scenery outside the window, forcing myself to not let the tear that’s threatening to fall show how broken my heart is.

In about ten minutes of silence, we arrive at the spa to my relief. Liam quickly opens our car door, getting out first, before Drake can even go to open it. Liam seems proud of himself as he holds the door open to me, his hand held out like Drake’s usually is. Drake stands behind Liam, looking frustrated. I take Liam’s hand getting out of the car before brushing softly past Drake and meeting up with the rest of the group inside.

—

We unwind in a private room, equipped with a hot tub, a cold plunge, and lounge chairs. Some of us go off at different times to get massages and facials, before coming back so we can all enjoy the room together. At some point, Maxwell shows off his baby hippo tattoo that I encouraged him to get one night when we were pretty drunk. Kai nearly falls off the lounge chair with laughter. I even catch Drake shaking his head slightly, a grin pulling at the corners of his mouth.

“Good idea on coming here buddy,” Liam comments, making Max smile with cocky satisfaction. He leans back, folding his hands behind his head cooly and stretching out fully on the lounge chair. “Don’t worry about it, I just require that you continue to talk about how awesome and incredible this idea was for the rest of our lives, and how much you admire me,” Max shrugs confidently, making us roll our eyes.

“Yeah, you get to be thrown into the plunge for that,” Leo concludes, making Liam nod in agreement.

“W-wait what?” Max asks, sitting up, his eyes wide. Leo and Liam suddenly grab him, making him squeal as they head over to the cold plunge. They throw him into the freezing water after a dramatic count to three, his high pitched scream cutting out as he is submerged underwater. Kai and I laugh as Leo and Liam nod, looking pleased with themselves until Max grabs their ankles, dragging them into the water, their expressions changing pretty quickly. Kai and I laugh even harder, clutching at our stomachs as the men surface, their hair stuck to the forehead with sour expressions on their faces.

“That’s what you guys get for being jerks!” Kai shouts playfully. “Oh sorry, would you like to join us?” Leo asks, turning his head to the side. “I think she does,” Maxwell confirms, as they get out, heading over to us. Kai gasps, getting up quickly. “No! I hate the cold!” She exclaims with a grin, backing up. The boys suddenly start after her, making her shriek with laughter as she gets chased around the room. I grin, watching them. After they successfully get her in the plunge, Leo and Maxwell turn to me. “Unless you want to have the wrath of the Queen against you, I would suggest you back away,” I warn, making them glance at each other, before deciding its not worth it and backing away, starting a splashing war against Kai.

Liam gets out, heading over and sitting next to me. “How are you feeling?” I ask cheekily as he wraps himself in his towel. “Cold.” He says with a laugh, making me chuckle. “I can see that,” I say with amusement. “Hey, want to join me in the sauna? The hot steam sounds very appealing right now,” Liam chuckles. “Yeah, sure,” I say, getting up. We head down a hallway, the sauna just behind a marked door on the left.

Liam turns around, and he sighs. “Walker, it’s not necessary for you to follow us everywhere we go,” He says, making me turn to see Drake standing behind us, his eyes narrowed at Liam. “It is my job to protect her,” Drake says sternly, holding his ground. “Not for long. Last time I checked, that’s a husband’s job,” Liam snarls, inching towards Drake. “I’m sorry, last time I checked, you two are only engaged,” Drake responds, inching towards Liam as well, his fists balled. I widen my eyes, stepping between them. “First of all, I don’t need anyone to protect me okay? And I especially don’t need you two fighting over protecting me like I’m a child. Drake, thank you for your concern, but we will be okay. Liam, Drake is just trying to do his job, and I need you to respect that,” I lecture them. Drake nods, looking down. Liam backs up, looking embarrassed. “God,” I swear under my breath, shaking my head and walking into the sauna.

Liam and I sit on the wooden seats, enjoying the hot steam enveloping us. I lean back, closing my eyes. I feel my muscles finally relaxing, the stress and soreness from building the barn starting to dissipate.

I open my eyes to Drake kissing my neck, his stubble scratching over my sensitive skin, making me gasp slightly. “Shh, it’s alright, I’m going to make you feel good princess,” He whispers hoarsely in my ear, making me moan breathily, goosebumps rising all over my arms. His hands are running slowly up and down my bare back, his mouth moving down my body. I run my hands through his soft hair, tugging slightly, earning a throaty groan from him. I watch him as his mouth gets lower and lower-

“Alana! I think you fell asleep,” Liam says beside me, gently shaking my shoulder. I jump slightly, looking over to see Liam sitting next to me, watching me with a concerned look. I chuckle, bringing my hand to my forehead, feeling embarrassed. “Sorry! I had no idea I fell asleep,” I say sheepishly, my cheeks burning as I sit up straight. My face feels really hot, I just can’t tell if it’s from the steam or the dream. Liam chuckles. “You seemed like you were having an interesting dream,” He says, making me nod with a gulp. “Yeah, I uh, don’t remember it, you know how dreams can be,” I stutter. He just nods in agreement. “Hey, lets head out, I’m feeling a little light-headed,” I say quickly, getting up.

As we open the door, the cool refreshing air washes over us. Drake turns around to face us, making butterflies flutter in my stomach as we make eye contact. All I can think about is the dream, the way he was feeling me. “Yo Liam! come over here!” Leo shouts from the main room. Liam shoots me a smile before walking over the group. I stay behind, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, glancing over at Drake, suddenly feeling nervous around him.

He slightly furrows his brow. “Are you okay?” He questions, glancing over me. I gulp, with a nervous nod. “Y-yeah, I’m fine, I just fell asleep in there and feel a little light-headed,” I mutter, shifting on my feet. Drake watches me for a minute.

“You’re acting strange,” He states, making me scoff. “Me? I- am not acting strange,” I say, trying to sound casual. Drake leans in, his eyes roaming my face as I stare back at him, my heart pounding. “Did- Did you have a hot dream about me?” He asks a grin pulling at the corner of his mouth.

My mind goes blank on defenses, making Drake’s grin grow wider. “You did didn’t you?” He asks a look of astonishment on his face. My face gets even hotter, only being able to stutter in response.

Drake glances down the hallway, then back at me, before grabbing the back of my neck, pulling my lips to his. I gasp against him, kissing him back. He suddenly breaks off the kiss, making me sigh in defeat. not again. I glance back up at him, waiting for the usual excuses he tells like ‘this isn’t right’ or ‘you’re engaged’, but he doesn’t say anything, just stares down at me.

He grabs my hand and swiftly drags me into the bathroom on the other side of the hall, locking the door behind me. I blink up at him with wide eyes, waiting for him to say something. He just pushes me up against the closed door, kissing me again, rougher this time. Oh. I kiss him back hungrily, basking in this feeling with him, the way his large hands are tugging me closer against his frame, how his lips move in sync with mine. He breaks the kiss, his mouth right beside my ear, his warm breath fanning across my cheeks. “I hate seeing you with him,” He murmurs lowly, making me gulp at his deep voice, arousal shooting up my body. “mhmm, why is that?” I ask coyly. “because you’re mine,” Drake snarls with a protective squeeze, making goosebumps rise on my arms. I lean back so we are face to face. He stares at me for a moment, his pupils blown. “prove it,” I whisper slowly. His gaze becomes determined and he deftly moves his hands to roughly grab just below my ass, hoisting me up. My legs wrap around him instinctively, biting my lip at the feeling of his hands digging into my thighs and the cool wall against my back.

His lips find mine once again, quickly and with purpose. I start kissing him back, a sound of surprise erupting from the back of my throat as I feel one of his hands move to the inside of my thigh, making my stomach flip. “Is this okay?” He breathes slowly and I gulp before nodding rapidly, my heart suddenly hammering with anticipation. He smirks and his fingers reach my core, making me gasp, heat flickering up my abdomen. I feel a rush of adrenaline shooting through my veins as I realize what’s happening. I groan as his fingers move expertly between my legs, making my toes curl in pleasure, the knot in my stomach growing. I squeeze my thighs around his waist to garner more friction, moaning at the feeling of his touch. “you like that princess?” He growls, his voice deep. I nod with a soft moan as I throw my head back, making Drake take the opportunity to kiss the sensitive skin under my jaw, the various sensations overwhelming my senses. His fingers start to move in tantalizing circles around my clit, making me whimper in pleasure, grinding down on his hand. I can barely keep still, overcome with the intoxicating feeling of being with Drake.

The knot builds and builds until my chest is heaving as Drake continues to touch me, and in a second, the knot comes undone and I chew my lip to stop myself from crying out as I finish, seeing stars. Drake gently helps me on my feet as I try to catch my breath, my knees weak. “I- wow,” I pant, earning a slight chuckle from Drake. For some reason, I feel embarrassed, but when I look up to see the way he is looking at me, all of the apprehension vanishes.

He gently raises my chin, gazing softly down at me. “I cherish you, more than he ever can” He murmurs, making me fall for him even more, something I didn’t imagine was possible. I smile back up at him, looking into his sincere eyes.

“I only have eyes for you Walker, you know that”

—-

end of part 2 :)

I hope you guys liked It! I’m sorry if the smut is bad, I haven’t written in so long and I’m still not very good at writing it haha! sorry again for how long this took

#The Non-Royal Romance #the non royal romance #tnrr #trr #the royal romance #choices #choices fanfiction #playchoices #playchoices fics #choices stories you play #choicesfanfiction #drake walker #mc x drake #trr drake #alana rhys #liam rhys #fanficiton #smut

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our-time-is-now · 3 years ago

Text

July 15, 2019: Cheers of joy and tears of happiness

(previous play)

You can find more information about the authors, translators, content warning and additional information about the plays in the pinned post on our blog.

Monday, 11:07 am:

WhatsApp Laura/Matteo:

Laura: Hey, everything okay with you guys? Could you maybe call me when my brother isn’t around? Love, Laura

Matteo: *he and David are sitting on the porch outside of the cabin because the others left to go shopping half an hour ago* *Alex and Mia are cleaning the kitchen after breakfast and Kiki and Carlos went for a swim* *looks over at David and sees that his eyes are closed* *wonders if he’s asleep when he feels his phone vibrate* *picks it up from the table and is a little surprised when he reads Laura’s message* *gets up and sees David open his eyes* Hey… I… I’ll just go to the tent real quick, I’m back in a minute. *sees David simply nod and close his eyes again* *quickly walks away from the cabin toward the tent and calls Laura once he’s sure that he can no longer be seen* *isn’t surprised when she picks up immediately* Hey… what’s up? Everything okay?

Laura: *is sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee when her phone starts ringing* *is a little surprised that Matteo could get away this quickly and immediately picks up the call* *smiles when she hears his voice* Hey, it’s good to hear your voice. Yes, everything’s okay here in Berlin. And what about you? How are you guys? *plays with the letter addressed to David and is almost bursting with anticipation because she really wants to tell Matteo about it, but she also wants to know how they are doing*

Matteo: *has reached the tent and sits down on the grass in front of it* Likewise… everything’s good here, we’re fine… umm… but I didn’t have to get away from David just so you could ask me that, right?

Laura: *nods satisfied when she hears that everything’s okay* *then laughs at his suspicion and shakes her head* No, that’s not why you had to get away… *takes a deep breath and then says with a smile* A letter has arrived for David. From the hospital. My guess is that it’s maybe the date for his surgery. If that’s the case, then you’re probably going to want to celebrate tonight… and I thought that you might want to get some champagne or beer or something before I tell David about the letter… or do you think the idea is stupid?

Matteo: *hears her take a deep breath* *then hears her words but it takes a minute for him to really understand it* The date for the surgery? *notices a lump forming in his throat and gets up so that he can pace* That’s… wow… already? We thought that it would take months… whoa… that’s… *swallows* *then answers her question* And of course… there are some people out grocery shopping right now… I’ll text them… is it okay if I text you when they are back again and then you can call David?

Laura: *smiles when she realizes that Matteo is just as astonished as she felt when she took the letter out of the mailbox* Yes, I also assumed that it would take longer. But it might also be that the appointment isn’t until December or January, no idea. But the envelope is quite thick, so I guess that it includes all the forms that he has to send back again… *then smiles again when he likes her idea and nods* Okay, let’s do it like that. *would love to be there in person when she tells David the news, but can also imagine that he wants to know about it right now and not only when they get back from Heidesee* *quietly and still smiling says* I’m so happy for him! Once you’re back again the three of us definitely have to celebrate again!

Matteo: *swallows again and clears his throat* No matter when, it’s a date and then it’s a fixed thing and certain and… yeah… *nods to himself* We’ll do it like this… and of course, we’ll celebrate just the tree of us. Then we’ll make him lasagna! *has been pacing and is now coming to a halt in front of the tent* Okay, I’ll text you then… later! *waits for Laura to also say her goodbyes and then ends the call* *immediately opens his chat with Jonas*

WhatsApp Jonas/Matteo:

Matteo: Hey, Brudi? Are you still in the store? Could you maybe bring a bottle of champagne? Something nice, no idea, ask Hanna, I don’t really know much about that stuff…

Jonas: Of course. What for?

Matteo: Can’t tell you yet, and I can’t tell you when you come back, either, okay?

Jonas: Alright.

*impatiently waits for his answer and briefly considers also texting Hanna when he gets the answer* *puts the phone in his pocket and was just about to go back when he remembers that he needs something to explain why he went to the tent* *crawls inside and randomly picks the first thing that he reaches, which happens to be his slippers* *shrugs and then puts on the other shoes* *crawls outside again, closes the tent and goes back to the cabin*

David: *has spent the morning relaxing and has been sitting in front of the cabin with Matteo* *when the others came back from shopping, he had helped with unloading the stuff and carrying it to the cabin and putting everything away* *is sitting in front of the cabin with Hanna, Mia, Alex and Matteo and is listening to Hanna’s story about the cashiers at the store looking confused due to the amounts of things they bought when suddenly his phone vibrates in his pocket announcing an incoming call* *pulls it out and sees that it’s Laura* *is a little surprised that she’s calling at such an hour until he remembers that she has this week off work* *excuses himself from the others with a murmur* My sister, sorry… *accepts the call* Hey, na?

Laura: *tries her best to not sound excited when he answers* Hey, little brother, everything good with you guys? Can you talk right now or is it a bad moment right now?

David: *nods at Laura’s question* Yep, everything alright with us… *is a little surprised for a moment when she asks so specifically if he can talk and looks at the others* Umm… hang on… *gets up and moves a few steps toward the fireplace* *while he’s still walking says* Okay… now… what’s going on?

Laura: *waits while he moves a few steps away* *is twisting the letter in her hands in the meantime* Ummm, I’ve got a letter for you here… from the Helios clinic… I wanted to ask you if you want me to open it?

David: *has just reached the fireplace when Laura tells him that a letter has arrived for him* *then hears who it’s from and feels his heartbeat pick up* *takes a deep breath when he realizes that this could already be the date for the mastectomy and realizes how he’s getting a little dizzy* *sits down on one of the logs at the fireplace and takes another deep breath* *clears his throat and says a little vaguely* Ummm… yes? I think so… yes! Open it! *audibly exhales and closes his eyes* *somehow feels a little surreal right now* *tells himself not to get his hopes up too much – after all, it could just be some advertising or some other information*

Laura: *hears him take a deep breath and wishes again that she could be with him right now to give him a hug* *waits until he’s certain that he really wants it* *then opens the letter and pulls out several pages* *but only concentrates on the cover letter* Dear Mister Schreibner… bla bla… September 13th, David! September 13th this year! You still have to fill out a ton of forms and go to another examination before the surgery, but September 13th! *stops and waits for a moment* Are you still there? Everything okay?

David: *hears the rustle when Laura opens the letter and digs his fingernails into the log* *feels his heartbeat pick up even more when Laura starts reading him the letter* *listens to her but at first doesn’t really understand a word she’s saying and when she repeats September 13th three times, it still takes him a moment to really understand that he has a date* *just then feels a big lump in his throat and is flooded by relief, excitement, fear but most of all, happiness* *realizes only slowly that he now has a date for the day he’s been waiting for for years, that it’s only two months away, that he’ll never have to wear a binder again afterwards, that he won’t have to be ashamed of his chest anymore, and somehow still thinks this is really surreal* *realizes that he’s shaking only when he hears Laura’s voice again and nods in answer to her question* *then clears his throat but feels that the lump in his throat is only getting bigger* *says with a croaky voice* Yes… I… September 13th… *then laughs quietly and realizes that tears are welling up in his eyes, after all* *wipes them away and takes a deep breath* That’s only two months away… of course everything’s alright!

Laura: *listens to him and realizes that tears are welling up in her eyes, as well* Yes… in two months… *swallows hard* David… I’m so happy for you… I wish I was there right now to hug you… celebrate a little, ok? *hesitates briefly* If the whole group is too much for you, then just take Matteo and get away from them… but this is… just enjoy it, okay?

David: *feels a few more tears welling up when Laura says that she’s happy for him, wipes them away and nods at her suggestions* *with a shaky and husky voice says* Yes, I will… *then laughs quietly* You can hug me when I’m back home… thanks for calling. *hears her tell him that she’ll certainly do that and then says his goodbyes from her* *stares at his phone for a moment, and now that the conversation with Laura is over feels like he has only imagined all of that – that it couldn’t be true that he got an appointment this quickly and that he doesn’t have to wait for six but only two months for a date* *as if Laura knew about his doubts, he receives a photo of the letter via WhatsApp just at that moment* *zooms in with shaky hands and reads the letter again himself – and then again* *keeps thinking “finally” but can’t really believe it, yet* *then closes his eyes and laughs quietly* *but feels the tears welling up again while he laughs* *somehow can’t really calm his heart down, takes a few deep breaths and wipes the tears off* *then looks to the cabin, puts his phone back in his pocket and gets up* *wants to share this with Matteo now so that he can keep reminding him that it’s really true if he doesn’t really believe it himself* *feels his legs shaking when he makes his way back toward the cabin*

Matteo: *has been nervous since David went away with his phone* *was hoping that he’d stay in his line of vision, but also thinks that it might be a good thing that no one can see him yet* *isn’t listening to the others and has no clue what they are talking about* *checks the time and wonders if he maybe should go check on David* *but then sees him walking around the corner and jumps up so suddenly that it startles Alex, who’s sitting next to him* *doesn’t care about that right now* *goes towards David as quickly as he can* *tries to see in his face what mood he is in, if it really was the date and if it was, how he feels about it* *but isn’t really sure* *then spreads his arms a little as an offer when he arrives*

David: *sees Matteo walking toward him when he’s rounding the corner and isn’t even really surprised when he spreads his arms for a hug* *just quickens his steps while his heart is beating out of his chest and wraps his arms around Matteo once he reaches him* *buries his face in Matteo’s shoulder and wants to tell him about the news straight away, when suddenly new feelings are added to the ones he’s just been through, like the fact that Matteo is there, that he’ll go this journey with him and that he already went this journey with him up to this point, that he isn’t alone and that after the surgery it will be a little easier and more normal for them* *feels all of that together with the relief and happiness and can’t say a word* *instead feels the lump in his throat grow bigger again and feels a sob escape him and feels tears welling up once more* *squeezes Matteo close and hopes that his hands will stop shaking and that his heart will calm down somehow* *eventually murmurs against his shoulder, barely audible and with a fragile voice* I have a date for the surgery… *thinks that it sounds so incredibly surreal now that he says it for the first time and has to laugh and sob simultaneously* *tries to somehow calm himself down and to take a deep breath*

Matteo: *immediately wraps both of his arms tightly around David when he hugs him* *just keeps holding him* *then feels that he’s shaking and startles when he hears a sob* *runs his hand up and down his back* *then hears the words and automatically squeezes him a little closer* *swallows hard when he realizes that he’s also really emotional and quietly says* Congratulations… *but still feels like this was a stupid comment and couldn’t come even close to what he feels right now* *slightly pulls away from him so that he can look at him and so that David can see how happy he is for him* *puts one hand to his face and wipes a tear away with his thumb* We’re going to celebrate this now, okay? However you want to, with everyone, or only the two of us, we can get away… I made them get a bottle of champagne… whatever you want, ok?

David: *somehow hears Matteo congratulate him through his high and takes another deep breath when he feels Matteo pulling away from him a little* *has to smile when he sees that Matteo’s happy and swallows to finally make that lump in his throat disappear* *feels Matteo wiping his tears away and runs his own hand over his face again to make them disappear* *then nods when Matteo says that they are going to celebrate and is so excited that he doesn’t even wonder why Matteo has made them get a bottle of champagne* *can’t really think or make any decisions right now and therefore only nods at both his suggestion about celebrating with everyone and to his suggestion about celebrating alone and to get away* *laughs quietly once he realizes that and takes another deep breath* *clears his throat and says with a still shaky voice* I can’t really think right now… but celebrating sounds good. *then hears Hanna worriedly calling from the porch: “Hey, is everything okay with you guys? David?”* *wipes his eyes again and then looks over Matteo’s shoulder to the porch* *nods at Hanna and says* Yes, everything’s alright! *then looks back at Matteo, smiles and repeats again* I have a date for the surgery! September 13th! *is still shaking his head in disbelief and then kisses him briefly* *quietly says* I can’t believe it! You have to keep telling me that it’s really true, okay?

Matteo: *laughs slightly when David simply nods to every suggestion* Celebrating sounds very good! *then also hears Hanna calling behind him, but doesn’t turn around because he doesn’t want to let go of David* *beams at him when he tells him the date* Wow, this soon? God, that’s in two months! *kisses him back* *nods immediately* Of course, I’ll remind you gladly and constantly. September 13th! *kisses him again and then again* *then looks at him again* *tilts his head a little and smiles* Are you able to think again and decide if you want to tell it to the lot, or if you’d rather not?

David: *nods when Matteo asks him again about September 13th and says a little breathless* In two months! *returns Matteo’s kisses and wraps his arms around him again* *then also looks at him and smiles quietly when he mentions the lot* *briefly looks over to the cabin but then thinks that they will soon find out anyways and that they would otherwise ask themselves all day why Matteo and he have disappeared yet again* *takes Matteo’s hands and then decides* We’ll tell the lot… and tonight we’ll celebrate again just the two of us, okay? *then runs his hand over his face and through his hair again and hopes that it isn’t obvious that he had been crying* *holds onto Matteo’s hand a little tighter and then turns toward the cabin where Carlos and Abdi have now also joined Hanna, Mia and Alex* *while they walk he realizes that he’s still a little shaky and still has this feeling of incredulity in his head and stomach* *reaches the porch and can feel questioning looks on him* *first reaches for his half-full mug of coffee and takes a sip of cold coffee* *somehow needs this right now* *then hears Carlos: “Brudi, something’s wrong. You look upset…”* *looks at the others at first, but then looks down at the ground, after all, because it’s somehow weird to say it out loud in front of so many people* *takes another deep breath, and without letting go of Matteo’s hand says: “I have a date for my mastectomy…”*

Matteo: *holds his hand tightly and then nods* Tonight we’ll celebrate again, just the two of us. *then runs his free hand through his hair and says with a smile* You look good… *then goes to the cabin with him* *has to laugh when David first takes a sip of coffee while everyone is looking at him more or less questioningly* *then hears Carlos and looks at David* *wonders if he’ll really say it when he already does* *then it’s silent for a second before everyone starts cheering* *grins really wide* *then sees Jonas, Carlos and Abdi jump up to pull David into a group hug* *unfortunately has to let go of his hand* *hears Carlos yell the loudest: “Awesome! Finally, Brudi! That’s great!”* *sees Hanna smile at him, probably because he’s been sidelined a little* *but doesn’t mind, on the contrary, he thinks that David deserves all the cheers and hugs*

David: *carefully looks up when the others don’t say anything at first, but then already hears their cheers and has to laugh quietly when he finds himself in the middle of a group hug a moment later* *feels Abdi jumping up and down and hears Jonas say: “I’m happy for you, really awesome!” and feels him pat his shoulder while he says that* *eventually hears Mia: “Hello?!? There are other people who want to congratulate him, as well!” and feels the guys slowly letting go of him* *then gets a hug from Hanna first, who also congratulates him, and then from Mia, who first pats his shoulder but then hugs him, after all, and hears her say: “I didn’t know that you were planning this, but I’m still really happy for you!”* *smiles slightly and murmurs* Thanks! *then Alex is in front of him and he grins slightly when he holds his hand out for him and hears him say: “Congratulations!”* *reaches for the hand, but then gets pulled into a hug by Alex, as well* *doesn’t even get the chance to be surprised about it when he already lets go of him* *then looks around for Matteo, who has been sidelined a little by the others, and immediately pulls him closer again* *somehow needs him close right now* *then hears Abdi: “And how do you know that all of a sudden? Did the hospital call you or what?”* *shakes his head and tells them about the letter that Laura had read to him* *then hears Mia: “And when is the date?”* *grins slightly because he still can’t really believe it himself* September 13th! *then hears everyone cheer again because the date is so soon and pulls Matteo to their seats with a smirk* *is a little shaky and excited once again, or maybe still is, and reaches for his mug again* *then hears Jonas: “Yeah, I’d say we have to really celebrate this now, right!?”*

Matteo: *watches with a smile as everyone congratulates him* *but immediately goes back to David’s side when he pulls him closer* *loosely wraps his arm around his waist* *then they sit down again* *immediately nods at Jonas’ words* Definitely… did you put the champagne in the fridge? *sees Hanna jump up: “Yes, we did, I’ll go get it… and some glasses…”* *then hears Carlos again: “Woah, man, Brudi, September 13th is really soon… maybe we can even still go swimming afterwards.”* *slightly shakes his head* No, no, afterwards he first has to rest for 4-6 weeks… *sees Carlos grin: “Are you his guard-dog, then?”* *nods and only says* Yep.

David: *somehow realizes only now that Matteo had already mentioned champagne earlier and that he mentions it again now and is a little surprised about it* *was just about to ask him when Calos interrupts his thoughts* *then nods at Matteo’s words and laughs quietly when Matteo also confirms that he’s his guard-dog* *adds* Well, 4 to 6 weeks are recommended. I’m not allowed to lift anything heavy and not exert myself too much and stuff like that* *then hears Mia: “And how long will you have to stay in the hospital?”* *shrugs* If everything goes well then five to seven days… *sees her nod: “And after that bedrest? If you’ll recover at the flatshare, then I can already imagine that you won’t only have Matteo as your nurse but also Hans and Linn who won’t leave your side…”* *laughs quietly and shrugs* Then I really have to think about what I prefer: My sister and Matteo or Linn and Hans and Matteo… *then sees Hanna coming back with the champagne, followed by Amira, Sam and Kiki, who are carrying the glasses* *hears Kiki complain: “Hanna wouldn’t tell us what we’re celebrating!”*

Matteo: *listens to the conversation* *laughs when David says that then he has to think about where he’ll stay* As if Hans wouldn’t come visit… *then also sees Hanna coming back followed by the rest of the girls* *looks at David when he hears Kiki’s question, who nods briefly* David has his date for the surgery, for the mastectomy… *sees Kiki beam: “Oh, great, congratulations!”* *then hears Sam: “For his what?”* For his chest surgery… *then also hears Amira: “Yes, excellent. Congratulations from me, as well.”* *sees as everyone sits down and Hanna hand out the glasses* *lifts his glass together with the others* Well then… to David! *hears everyone join in happily “To David!”*

David: *laughs when Matteo says that Hans would come visit him* Ture… so basically it doesn’t matter… *thanks Kiki and Amira when they congratulate him and then accepts one of the glasses* *gets a little flustered when everyone’s toasting to him and quietly murmurs “thanks”* *then takes a sip and is quite glad when the friends start their own conversations, which are to some extent about his mastectomy, but it still means that he’s no longer in the spotlight* *uses this moment to turn towards Matteo and quietly ask* Champagne? *smiles slightly* Did you sense something or did my sister text you?

Matteo: *is quite glad when the others are talking amongst themselves and all of their attention isn’t on David* *looks at him when he turns toward him* *then grins slightly* Yeah, I’m clairvoyant, didn’t you know that? *then shakes his head* No, she texted me when the others were shopping, told me to call her when you’re not around. When I went to the tent earlier, you know? She only said that there was a letter for you from the hospital and that she thinks it could be the date, so I texted Jonas… *tilts his head a little* That was okay, right?

David: *gives Matteo the secretary’s-office-look when he says that he’s clairvoyant* *then listens to him when he talks and grins slightly because he somehow finds it cute that Laura and Matteo had already planned in advance that they would probably celebrate* *nods at Matteo’s question* Yes, that was okay… *leans forward and presses a tender kiss to his mouth* *murmurs* Thanks… *then hears Abdi through the murmuring of the others “Hey, Brudis, we’re having a little argument right now… so what is it? Aren’t you allowed to have sex for six weeks, either?”* *is still looking at Matteo instead of Abdi, raises his eyebrows a little and grins* *then quietly murmurs to Matteo* Your question!

Matteo: *grins slightly when he gets the secretary’s-office-look* *is a little relieved when he says that it was okay* Well that’s good then… *kisses him back with a smile* You’re welcome… *then looks at Abdi when he interrupts them* *slightly draws up his eyebrows* *looks back at David and shakes his head when he says that it’s his question* *murmurs* You can’t be serious… *then turns back to Abdi* He isn’t allowed to exert himself, so yes… no physical exertion for 6 weeks… *sees Jonas smirk a little and hears him say: “Hey, Luigi, don’t take it personal if I stop contacting you after 2-3 weeks…”* *is a little confused and even more so when Carlos laughs and nods* Huh? Why that? *hears Carlos laugh even more: “Oh, boy, you’ve never had sex withdrawal, huh? Once you’ve reached the second week you’ll know what we mean.”*

David: *only keeps grinning when Matteo doesn’t want to answer Abdi’s question, either, and pats his shoulder in encouragement* *then reaches for his champagne glass and takes another sip* *follows the guys’ conversation slightly amused and wonders when he’ll get frustrated about the fact that they can’t have sex or if he’ll really be in pain for so long that he doesn’t even want to have sex* *then shakes his head and says quite optimistically* We can do this… *then hears Mia: “You’re really acting like horny teenagers. I guess they both know what they are foregoing sex for and that it’s worth it if David feels more comfortable in his body afterwards!”* *throws her a grateful look and nods* *then hears Sam laugh: “Hey, guys, you usually show so much solidarity with them… how about you also try to go without sex for six weeks?!”* *sees Jonas and Carlos looking at each other in shock, then sees them laugh and shake their heads* *hears Carlos: “Never!” and Hanna: “Well, if you guys won’t show solidarity, then maybe we’ll do that this time. What do you think, Kiki?”* *sees Kiki laugh and shrug, as well: “Would be an idea…”* *laughs and shakes his head* We would never ask that of you!

Matteo: *looks at Carlos a little reproachfully* *thinks that David’s health definitely has to come first* Of course we’ll manage that! *then listens to Mia and nods enthusiastically* Exactly… the main thing is that David recuperates quickly. *has to grin when he hears Sam’s suggestion and even more so at Carlos’ reaction* *but then hears Hanna and Kiki, who are serious about it* Don’t do that, please… they would never forgive us for that… *hears Hanna laugh: “Okay, okay…” and Kiki add: “Could also get quite exhausting, 4 guys on sex withdrawal.”* *only laughs and shakes his head* But it’s not always just about sex, right? *sees Mia grin and nod at him*

David: *smiles when Matteo confirms that they can do it and laughs when Kiki says that it could get exhausting with four guys on sex withdrawal* *but somehow likes the thought that the others sympathize with them and that Kiki wouldn’t only find Carlos exhausting but all of them* *nods at Matteo’s words and thinks that it’s about something much more important than sex right now* *at that moment feels this unreal feeling again and can’t really believe again that he really has a date, that they are sitting here talking about what it will be like afterwards – and that “afterwards” is now a fixed date and not something in an intangible future* *briefly feels a lump in his throat again and takes Matteo’s hand* *then hears Hanna: “Where will the surgery take place? Can we come visit you afterwards?”* *clears his throat to make the lump disappear and then nods* At the Helios Clinic in Zehlendorf and yes you can… once I can move again… *grins slightly*

Matteo: *grins slightly when Carlos whispers thanks to him when Kiki is takes the sex withdrawal she threatened them with back, after all* *then feels David’s hand in his and squeezes it slightly* *looks over at him and smiles slightly* *was just about to lean over to whisper to him that it really is true when he already hears Hanna’s question* *then hears Kiki ask: “And before that you don’t want to see anyone? We’ll also come visit you if you can’t move.”* *only sees David shake his head a little* Maybe you’ll just wait a few days and then we’ll see how he feels, ok? *sees Kiki nod: “Okay. But you’ll be there, or what?”* *looks at her as if she had just asked him if the sky was blue and hears Hanna laugh: “I want to see the person who could manage to keep Matteo away from the hospital.”*

David: *shakes his head at Kiki’s question* *knows that it will probably be hard enough to be weak and in need of help even in Laura and Matteo’s presence and doesn’t really want others to see him like that* *grins slightly at Kiki’s question and even more at Hanna’s words* *briefly squeezes Matteo’s hand and murmurs* That’s different… I think we’re both just doing better when he’s there… *then hears Mia sigh: “Oh, man, I would also love to visit you… but that’s probably going to be a little difficult from Madrid…” and hears Alex tell her: “We’ll just do a video chat when I visit David – then you can still be there live…”* *smiles and thinks that it’s somehow adorable that they are all already worrying about that* *but laughs quietly* I don’t think you’ll miss much, Mia… *then hears Abdi: “Hey, how does that even work? When are you allowed to take off the bandages and such? And will you show us the result or are we only going to find out next summer when we’re swimming?”* *briefly exhales and shrugs* No idea… I don’t think that the bandages will have to stay on for thaaat long – but afterwards I have to put bandaids on it, which have to stay there for a little longer… and it will take a few months until everything is completely healed… *sees Abdi gape at him: “Months?!?!”* *laughs and nods* *hears Abdi ask again: “Sick dude, but why does it take thaaat long?!”* *looks at the group with raised eyebrows* Do you really want to hear the details about the surgery? *sees some of them nod, some of them shrug and others shake their heads* *then hears Jonas: “I did some research on it. There are also different surgery methods for a mastectomy. Large and small incisions and even with those there can be differences. I’d suggest if someone is interested, then they should just google a little…”*

Matteo: *smiles when everyone is making plans to visit David and when Alex is even planning a video chat for Mia* *once again finds it really incredible how quickly David has managed to sneak into their friend’s hearts* *then hears Abdi’s questions and immediately looks at David a little worried, but he answers his question without a problem* *then hears him say “months” and suddenly gets worried* *had been aware of this, but he suddenly realizes that it’s getting real, that David will really have this surgery and that there really is a lot that could go wrong, or that the healing process could take forever, or that the scars could get infected or, or, or…* *hears David’s question and really hopes that they don’t want to hear it* *can’t listen to any details right now* *presses his lips together at Jonas’ answer and stares at the table* *hopes that this is the end to that matter* *but then hears Abdi: “And what things could go wrong?”* *feels his ears start to ring and that he really can’t do this right now* *says really constrained and brief* Enough! *sees Jonas looking at him and hears him immediately help him out: “By the way, who’s in charge of lunch today? I could really eat…”*

David: *nods at Jonas’ answer and is actually quite glad that he doesn’t have to go into detail* *then hears Abdi’s question and slightly shakes his head because he doesn’t really want to think about that now, and because the probability of something going wrong is really low* *then hears Matteo’s answer and his constrained tone of voice and looks over at him worriedly* *knows that he worries about this a lot and that he’s scared and that he wants to protect him but that he can’t do this in this case* *hears Jonas’ distraction and hears Abdi and Carlos groan because they and Amira are in charge of lunch and can hear the scraping of chairs and other conversations starting up in the background* *turns on his chair to face Matteo and puts his hand on his cheek* *looks at him worried and quietly but determinately says* But nothing will go wrong, you hear?

Matteo: *is aware of people getting up and starting to go to the kitchen* *isn’t aware of Alex looking over at them* *is still staring at the tabletop until David turns around to him* *then looks at him* *doesn’t want him to worry because of him just because he’s gone into panic mode again* *smiles slightly* I know that… *then sees his look and swallows slightly because he knows that he can’t really fool him* I’m just worried… you never know… right?

David: *shakes his head slightly when Matteo says that he knows it, because he knows that it won’t really make it better and because he can’t take Matteo’s worries off his chest* *is a little annoyed at himself that he said it so offhandedly and wonders what else he could have said and whether it might help Matteo to really talk about the risks in detail* *thinks amidst all the others isn’t the right place for that, but that they could really talk about it some other time* *nods when he says that he’s worried and quietly says* And that’s okay. You’re allowed to worry… *then nods again when he says that you never know and thinks about what he could say* *takes a deep breath and says* Okay, even if something did go wrong – and we’re not talking about the worst case right now – I’ll get back on my feet, you hear?! *smiles slightly* Then I’ll just stay in the hospital a little longer, or it takes a little more time to heal or something like that… but that’s okay. I’m not really knocked off my feet that easily. And you’re there for me, I know that, and that gives me strength. *leans forward and kisses him tenderly* *then looks at him again and quietly says* We’ll get through this together, okay? I’m there for you when you’re scared and you’re there for me when I’m in pain, okay?

Matteo: *nods slightly when he says that he’s allowed to worry* *thinks that he can’t turn it off, anyways* *then listens to him and presses his lips together when he mentions what would happen if something went wrong* *nods slowly when he realizes that he’s right* *still doesn’t want for David to not be okay and hates that this is beyond his power* *lightly kisses him back and puts his hand on his cheek* *quietly says* Okay… *looks at him* I want you to tell me, okay? If something’s wrong… if you’re in pain… don’t play the tough guy for me, ok? And if I can do something, now matter what, then I want you to tell me, okay?

David: *smiles when Matteo agrees and once again feels so much love for this person in front of him, and feels this incredible feeling that they’re really together and that Matteo belongs to him* *then listens to him and reaches for the hand on his cheek* *knows that it’s difficult for him to ask for help and to show weakness but thinks that at least showing his weakness in front of Matteo has already gotten easier* *smiles again slightly and nods* Okay… I’ll try! Really. You know that this is difficult for me, but I promise that I’ll try, okay? *then pulls him into a tight hug and grumbles in pleasure* *murmurs* 3 months from now all of this will be behind us…

Matteo: *smiles slightly at his answer and nods* I know… and you know that I will still be asking all the time… then you’ll have to tell me to shut up… *wraps his arms around him and buries his face in his neck* *murmurs back* Or in 4 months… *grins slightly against his neck and kisses him*

David: *shakes his head when he hears Matteo’s words but then nods and laughs quietly* We’ll see… *also nods about the 4 months and adds* Doesn’t matter… everything will be all right again by the time it’s Christmas at the latest! *slowly lets go of him again and reaches for his glass of champagne* *holds it out to Matteo* To the time after surgery? *grins slightly* *then hears a phone ringing and looks around* *sees Mia grab her phone, sees her grin and hold it out to them when she realizes he and Matteo are looking over at her* *sees Hans’ face on the display and grins as well* *then hears Mia: “He really seems to miss us – even a video call…”* *sees her accept it and hears her say: “Hey, Hans!”* *immediately hears Hans’ voice: “You guys don’t even miss me! You’re all traitorous tomatoes! Linn is at her parents’ and the three of you are hanging around some lakes and none of you is thinking about the fact that I exist, too, and that I’m sitting here alone in an empty apartment – oh – you’ve gotten some tan, Mia honey! Suits you!”*

Matteo: *nods again* Yes, byl Christmas everything will be okay again! *then leans back in his chair again, as well* *reaches for his glass and clinks it with David’s* To the time after the surgery… *takes a sip and puts the glass back down* Actually, I don’t really like champagne… *then looks over at Mia when Hans is calling* *has to laugh at his words and yells* Hans, we miss you every day! *sees Mia turn her phone around and he and David wave into the camera* *sees Alex get up and go inside* *sees Mia turn her phone back again and hears her talking to Hans: “Hans, you do know that we miss you… all the time… we’re back again, soon, all of us!”*

David: *laughs when Matteo says that he actually doesn’t like champagne* Me neither… Next time, we’ll get something else to toast with! *then has to grin when he hears Hans’ voice and realizes in that moment that he also misses him a little* *is also happy about the fact that Hans misses all three of them and that he says it so matter-of-factly as if David were one of his roommates* *also waves at the phone when Mia turns it around to them and hears Hans interrupt her when she turns the phone back toward her: “Was that Alex? Alex honey! I miss you, as well! Don’t go away!” and hears Mia answer: “Too late!” and Hans respond: “I hope he’s not offended that I forgot to mention him. He’s always so quiet and calm that you barely notice him.”* *then hears him sigh: “So, back to the topic: All of you miss me very much, that’s nice! When will you be back again?” and hears Mia answer: “Sunday! We won’t be gone for much longer, honey!” and Hans again: “Oh, hopefully I’ll survive until then. Luckily Linn will probably be back already on Friday. Oh, do you know what, my darlings?! I’ll cook something nice for us! And then we’ll celebrate your return! Alex can also come. And David is already half living here, anyways… and maybe I’ll also invite Michi – he also misses you guys!”* *sees Mia draw up her eyebrows: “Michi is a thing again!”* *looks at Matteo questioningly* Who’s Michi?

Matteo: *has to smile automatically when he listens to Hans’ and Mia’s conversation and realizes that he really misses Hans, as well* *laughs when he mentions Alex and interrupts* David and Alex are best friends now! *looks at Mia in surprise when Hans mentions Michi* *then turns to David when he asks* Michi and Hans had a thing, or they were a couple, but not really, I don’t really know the details, either, but that was half a year or so ago? *then hears Hans tell Mia: “Yes, I met Michi again… accidentally… or fate? Who even knows that for sure! Just imagine, he was standing in line behind me at the bakery and well, you know how that goes, Mia honey, then one word led to the next and since I have the apartment all to myself…”* *sees Mia smile: “I’m happy for you, Hans. That’s nice.”*

David: *nudges Matteo in his side when he yells that Alex and he are best friends now* We’re not! We’re just working on our deeper bond! *grins broadly because he actually thinks it’s really stupid to plan such things* *then listens to Matteo when he tells him about Michi and nods* *doesn’t know if he can really imagine Hans in a committed relationship but is a little curious to meet Michi* *then keeps listening to Hans when he tells Mia: “Don’t be happy just yet. He’s playing boomerang again, but I’m scared about the fact that I’m not as scared about this as I used to be… very scary, all of that… I’m actually way too young to commit… but let’s wait and see… back to you guys: What are you doing all day? How are my butterflies doing? Did you already… whoa… are you guys having champagne!? In the middle of the day!? Without me?”* *hears Mia laugh: “It’s an exception. We have something to celebrate… but hang on, I’ll hand you over to your butterflies – they can tell you all about it…”* *sees Mia get up and hand him her phone* *takes it and then leans his back against Matteo’s chest so that they can both be seen better* *grins at Hans* Hey… *sees Hans beam at them: “Oh, my butterflies! How good to see you! Do you miss your guru?!”* *laughs and nods* Yes, very much! *then hears Hans again: “I wasn’t expecting anything else! But now don’t keep me in suspense any longer! What are you celebrating? Should I also get some champagne to toast with you guys?!”* *sees that he’s already on his way to the kitchen and hears him open the fridge* *laughs again quietly and then says* Ummm… I don’t know, yes, maybe… *then takes a deep breath and says* I have the date for my mastectomy!

Matteo: *grins as he listens to Hans* *can’t really imagine Hans in a committed relationship, either, but thinks that a quiet guy like Michi might do him some good* *then grins into the phone when Mia hands it to David* Hello guru! *only grins and looks at David when he tells him what they’re celebrating* *then sees Hans cheer really loudly, really loudly: “Oh, how great! Oh, my butterfly-boyfriend, that is great news! Hang on, I’ll open the champagne!”* *sees that he puts them aside and can now only see the kitchen ceiling, then hears a pop and something being poured and then sees Hans again, holding a glass of champagne: “Cheers, cheers, my lovelies, to you, David! When is the date? Do you want me to take the day off? You’ll come here afterwards, right? I know, I know, your sister will probably want you with her, but she can also just come over here and then we’ll all make sure that you’re feeling good, okay?”*

David: *flinches slightly when Hans cheers so loudly and laughs when he puts the phone aside* *twists around for a moment to press a kiss to Matteo’s cheek while they wait* *then sees Hans with the glass of champagne and then picks up his own again, after all, to toast with Hans* *then takes a sip and almost chokes due to the flood of things Hans is saying* *grins really broadly and waits until he’s finished* Umm… the date’s September 13th. *gets interrupted: “In two months already?! Woooahhh! I’m so happy! So fast!”* *nods and quickly continues before Hans can* And no, you don’t have to take a day off. Matteo’s there… *then remembers that Matteo’s voluntary year will already have started by then and that he doesn’t really know if it will really be possible for Matteo to be there, but quickly suppresses that thought again and continues* And it’s really super nice that all of you want to take care of me, but I don’t really have a plan for afterwards. I just learned of the date. I still can’t really believe it. Somehow, I first have to realize it for myself that it’s really happening… and then I will start making plans about where I’ll spend the time after the hospital, okay? *sees Hans nod: “Yes, sure – you first have to really understand it… oh man… it’s probably still really unreal to you. I get it. You’re waiting for this day for so long and then it’s happening… Oh, David, can I tell Linn? I’m sure she’ll cry from happiness! Or do you want to tell her yourself?”* *shakes his head* No, tell her, no problem… *is usually a little out of his depths when Linn reacts emotional*

Matteo: *grins even more when Hans is so happy and when he immediately starts to make plans and is simply being awesome* *is once again really happy that it’s really a fact that David now has an entire group of people behind him who are happy for him and who worry about him* *then nods* Yes, exactly, Matteo’s there! *smiles when Hans asks if he can tell Linn and when David tells him that he can* Say hi to Linn from us, ok? And tell her we’re also looking forward to seeing her again on Sunday. *sees Hans nod: “Will do, she’ll be back on Friday, but I’ll call her right now… Have a nice one, my butterflies and keep celebrating!”* *waves into the phone and then sees David putting it aside because Mia has already gone inside* *grins at David* Oh yeah, our Hans…

David: *also says his goodbyes to Hans and then puts Mia’s phone down on the table* *then grins at Matteo, nods and repeats* Our Hans… you immediately look forward to coming back to the flatshare again a little more after that… *then gets more serious, briefly looks at the table and then at Matteo* *hesitates and then says* Your voluntary year will already have started on September 13th… I don’t think that you can already take a day off then. I’ll just have to see… maybe I’ll ask Laura if she’ll come with me… or if she’ll at least be there when I wake up. And you’ll just come by right after you’ve finished work or something like that…? *actually doesn’t really like that thought, because he had expected and been happy about the fact that Matteo would be with him, but thinks that they will probably just have to suck it up*

Matteo: *grins and nods* Yes, that’s somehow true… who would have thought? *looks worried when David gets more serious and then listens to him* *didn’t really think about that* *but still shakes his head* No way… I’ll definitely take the day off… and if they won’t let me, then I’ll just call in sick that day. *shakes his head when David opens his mouth* No objection. Besides, if it will work out at Lambda, then they’ll definitely understand the situation.

David: *smiles slightly when Matteo immediately shakes his head* *briefly thinks that he can’t do this and opens his mouth to object when Matteo already continues* *laughs quietly when Matteo knows exactly that he wanted to object, but then sighs and nods* Okay… let’s just wait and see. Maybe they’ll understand and you can have the day off. But if not… then I’ll somehow manage on my own, okay? I mean, it’s really important for me that you come along, but you and your voluntary year are also important! *thinks that they’re somehow back to the old issue and somehow won’t be able to agree and therefore quickly adds* But let’s just wait and see how your interview goes and then we’ll see, okay? *then hears Kiki yelling from the kitchen: “Can someone start setting the table?”*

Matteo: *listens to him and also has to grin when he realizes that that’s somehow that old argument again* *therefore nods* Okay, let’s wait and see… *leans forward and kisses him* *but then murmurs* I’m sure I’ll get the day off… *then hears Kiki and gets up* Guess that was our cue. *yells back* We’re coming!

David: *spends the rest of the day in the company of the others, where they all go swimming again in the afternoon and use the raft again and just rampage around* *remembers every once in a while that he now has a date for the surgery and gets flooded by this incredible feeling of happiness every time* *is really tired in the evening and after his eight hours are up, peels himself out of his binder some time before dinner* *has to grin a lot while doing so because he realizes that this will all be over in two months – that he’ll never have to worry about how long he’s wearing the binder, because he just won’t need it anymore* *feels like that prospect is giving him strength and feels a little less uncomfortable when he finally shows up for dinner in his hoodie* *they all spend the evening together at the campfire with marshmallows and campfire, bread-on-a-stick and Jonas’ guitar* *has a lot of fun singing with everyone which sometimes sounds really off but sometimes also really cool* *at some point he’s lying in the tent with Matteo, this time being the little spoon, and after they had talked a little and wished each other a good night, he thinks back on the day’s events* *is really overwhelmed by all his feelings at some point, with all the relief and this still really surreal feeling that he really has a date for his surgery in two months, with happiness and gratefulness and also a little fear and excitement, and suddenly this lump in his throat is back and tears are welling up in his eyes* *grips Matteo’s hand on his stomach a little tighter and pulls him a little closer* *is so glad and grateful and happy that he won’t have to go through all of this on his own, that Matteo is there and that he can share his happiness as well as his fears with him* *takes a few deep and shaky breaths and tries to somehow calm down so that he can fall asleep*

(next play)

#druck #og druck #matteo florenzi #david schreibner #davenzi #davenzi plays

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soundsaboutrighttumblr · 4 years ago

Text

ramking fic: gimme the Tee

Read on AO3

Summary:

Some dialogues that need to happen. Set after Cool Boy, won't probably make much sense without it. After a leisurely breakfast, probably.

Knock knock who's there?

Notes:

I am a tiny, tiny bit sorry about that terrible title. Not enough to not keep it though.

The knock on the door startles King out of his favorite routine. Three urgent raps of knuckles against wood, and some crumbs of soil spilled onto the floor.

He’s been deep into a contented buzz of mindless concentration, murmuring playful nothings and letting his hands and senses do the work, completing his round of checking up on his plants after breakfast. He tends to get a tiny bit lost in it, maybe. Especially when he feels as light as he does today.

When the knock is repeated, although with some hesitance, King brushes his hands off on his pants, and goes to answer.

Finding himself face to face with Tee's raised eyebrows.

“Hello and good morning, most esteemed project assistant!”

There’s a cupholder with two steaming hot drinks in his hand, and a laptop clutched under his other arm. King’s eyes barely have time to narrow.

“Soooo, about our talking over the school paper’s blog article? On our reforestation charity project? And you helping me choose pictures and edit some paragraphs, would now be a good time? I thought it would be quicker in person.”

King’s eyes definitely do narrow then: “Our what? I didn’t know there was an OUR-anything?”

“Oh, I… texted you? Did you not see? Is now not good? I was on my way to the shops, so I thought I’d take a chance.”

King opens his mouth to say something, but his attention is drawn to the click of a door, and then Ram appears out of the bedroom, one headphone already in ear:

“I’ll be back with the dogs around three, text me if I should pick up any- P’Tee.” He stops short. King’s heartbeat stumbles and quickens.

Because. Oh.

There is that comical moment of them all blinking at each other. In silence. The one that's more than just the absence of sounds.

Then something well-meaning inside King decides that this is rather ridiculous, and he brushes over it, as light in tone as he dares:

“Okay, Ai’Ning, see you later then.”

Ram turns big eyes on him, wide and a tad anxious: Will you be alright?

And it makes King want to laugh somehow, but also? His throat and chest feel kind of tight.

He manages a smile, possibly even a confident and soothing one.

Ram looks at Tee once again, who wiggles the fingers of the arm holding the laptop in an awkward wave.

Ram nods and slips out of the door next to Tee. Maybe King imagines it but his leaving steps do sound rather hurried.

King heaves a sigh, only partly for show:

“Well, dearest friend Tee, do come on in then.”

---

Tee sets the drinks on the counter and King waits. Ignores the slow waves of panic that want to take hold, berating himself because what is there to fear? This is Tee.

Tee, who sets up the tablet, turning it on and tapping on the display. But he is biting his lips continuously; so King just waits for it.

“So. You two live together? “

There. No denying it now, really. But why does it feel like he’s supposed to guard secrets that are not only his own?

“He needed a place to stay.” No going wrong with a part of the truth though, is there? Still. The knot at the base of his tongue feels thicker, letting through less air.

Because how official are they? And is Ram out? And why the heck didn’t they talk about this?

Tee’s voice cuts in casual but curious: “I thought he had his own room, over with…”

“It’s family stuff. He needed a place to stay.”

“Okay!” Tee raises hands in an apologetic way and King thinks the echo of his own tone in his ear does ring rather uncharacteristically clipped.

The article draft is pulled onto the sceen, and King starts skimming over the lines of text, not really absorbing much.

“So… you guys are okay?”

It takes King aback.

“Why wouldn’t we be?”

“Well, there have been some tensions the last night at camp after our drinking game, and I just wondered…” King feels Tee’s eyes on him from the side. Then Tee coughs.

“Also there have been some ‘incident reports’ about late night yelling from an undiscerned tent…”

Heat shoots up to King’s neck and Tee throws up his hands: “Without too many specifics, of course."

King takes a moment to soak in his shame.

“Yeah, we are okay. Sorry about that.”

“Okay then.”

“Okay.”

Tee’s eyes still stay on the profile of King’s face, so he taps onto the screen, directing Tee’s attention there:

“I wouldn’t use that picture here, have you seen the ones P’Thara sent? There are some among them that fit better, I am sure he’ll let you use them.”

“Oh. I see, I’ll ask him!” For the moment, Tee complies.

King takes a breath and forces his concentration on the text written, clicking the editor to remove some typos.

“So, Ram is bringing his dogs here? I thought you said some time that you didn’t like dogs?”

King deflates. His thoughts feel like they’re in knots: “It’s not like I don’t like them, they just make me feel uneasy.”

“But you let them stay in your apartment?”

“Once you get to know them it’s easier to get used to them…”

“Still…”

“What’s your point?” King’s tone might be a tiny bit overly nonchalant again. And Tee might be throwing up consoling hands once more:

“No point, really, no point at all.”

“Do you wanna do this or not?”

It annoys King that he still sounds so defensive.

“Yes! Okay, okay, no more questions.”

It annoys him even more how Tee’s voice sounds like he is suppressing laughter.

---

When Ram comes back, the dogs are a white grey whirl around his feet, still excited from their walk. They do look at King, tails wagging carefully, but Ram keeps them close to him on their leashes for now. They sniff around and sneeze at some plants, and they sure are the adorable sort, King thinks, all puffy and fluffy and… safely over there.

Ram looks at him. “You okay?”

King decides he might mean the Tee situation earlier, rather than the dogs now. Or maybe both.

He makes a gesture with his hand, from where he is sitting on the couch, tablet on his lap.

“Yes. It went fine, we sent out the finished article, he’ll link us once it’s published.”

Ram’ eyes linger for a moment, then he nods and goes to settle the dogs with food.

Once they are happily crunching and slobbering on dog dinner in their room, Ram washes his hands at the kitchen sink and comes over, and for a moment just stays, stands next to King. King looks up to him and smiles. Ram sits down.

King gets lost in his eyes, drawn in easy and so naturally, until Ram suddenly speaks:

“Duen was there. He asked… He’s planning another short get away trip over the break and he was asking if I… and you would want to join them?”

King can’t help his mind springing up questions in a million different directions at once.

“Why would he be asking that?” He realizes how it possibly sounds, but he is genuinely curious. “I mean, I get the you, but why the you and me?

Ram shrugs but there is a tiny something in his eyes: “I guess, Bohn… well, we have been spending time together. You and me, I mean ”

“Does Duen know?” It’s slipped over his lips before he can reign it in. He doesn’t want this to sound like an interrogation.

Ram looks directly at him. Though he might be squinting a bit: “About?”

King feels strangely flustered under that look: “About us, or about you…?“

“Me?”

“That you like…”

“That I am gay?”

Ram sounds settled in that. So much so that the fascination over it pulls King out of his own head for a moment.

Ram shrugs: “He might. I never explicitly told him. But then, I never told him I am not, you know.”

King nods. He’s not sure he does know though. There are already countless more questions on his mind, but he remembers earlier with Tee, and so he decides on this one:

“So, you and me… we just tell our friends?”

More narrowed eyes: “We don’t?”

“Don’t look at me like that, Ning, I am asking because I genuinely want to know! I am asking so that I know. You’re not some secret-“, some secret affair his mind supplies in an echo, and he realizes why it might rub Ram wrong, so he hurries on with all the sincerity he can muster:

“It’s just that I think I am rather private about that stuff?”

“I am, too.”

It feels like a strange impasse, and it’s not like they are arguing, but King is at a loss for words for a moment.

He’s usually really good at this, but here and now he’s finding once more that it is a wholly different thing, trying to embrace and dissolve a tension when you are a party involved and invested.

But Ram stays, in that way that he just does. And it feels like they take in and let out the same breath. King finds he can let himself lean his own shoulder against Ram’s without hesitation or inhibition.

He sighs: “I think most of them are already convinced we are a couple.”

Ram’s voice is softly matter-of-fact. “Well, we are.”

King plays along through a smile: “Well. When you put it like that.”

His fingers pick a piece of dried leaf from the cuff of Ram’s sweater; touching his wrist.

“So, when they ask… I can tell them that you are my boyfriend?”

Ram turns his head to King, and it’s a long, studying look.

“Yes. Can I?”

There’s a flutter in King’s stomach, and he’s not quite sure if it’s a flare of nerves or metaphorical butterflies; maybe both.

“Yes.”

Ram nods and smiles.

The corners of King’s lips tick up before he can stop it:

“Will I have to go through some trials like Bohn, too? You know, to be allowed to date you?”

Ram’s face is dead-pan. “No.”

Then one eyebrow arches: “That’s it? Were you honestly afraid of that?”

King sinks deeper into the backrest, flustered. “No. It’s not… no. I wasn’t afraid. It’s just new to me, is all.”

Ram scoots a little bit lower on the couch, too, until he’s at eye level with King, leaning his forehead against King’s, so that King can feel him nod.

“New to me, too.”

---

Later in bed, when they are lying face to face, King finds once more that looking at Ram until his lids grow heavy is the most potent source of peace, without the feeling of wonder and awe ever lessening.

“So who else knows? Your family? Ruj?”

Ram half-shrugs, half-yawns: “I think he might.”

He shifts and puts his arm up and King follows the invitation and presses his lips to Ram’s naked shoulder, before resting his head there.

“He asked me once if I liked any girl.”

King grins: “And you just stared at him?”

Ram nods, moves his head against the pillow.

“He then asked if I liked any boy.”

“And again, you just stared?”

Another nod.

“So, he probably knows.”

“Yep. He probably does.”

King smiles and watches his own fingers trace the tattoo on Ram’s chest.

“How long have you known?”

It takes a moment for Ram to think about it, and King waits.

“Early on. Around 10, 11? Took more time to understand it, though.”

“Huh.”

“You?”

King blinks. “I think… I am learning, that I take time with people… have to get to know them, before attraction takes hold? I mean, I’ve always understood as a concept that guys can be fascinating and beautiful to me, too, I just assumed that’s what every open-minded person’s brain operated like?”

He knows Ram has raised his brow before he looks up to confirm. It’s not really judging, but then again, it totally is.

King laughs: “But, that’s not attraction, I guess.” He puts his lips against the skin where Ram’s shoulder meets his chest once more: “So yeah, you… kind of hit me hard.”

It’s the same with Ram’s smile; King just knows it is there, doesn’t even have to look up to check. He feels it.

“God, I am kind of terrified to have Kamfah find out.”

Ram tenses beneath King, and he has to hold back a giggle.

He starts drawing soothing circles into Ram’s skin again, and amends:

“A bit excited though, too. But mostly terrified. We’ll be invited to lunch every weekend.”

The both stare up at the ceiling imagining for a moment.

King breaks first:

“You think we can keep it a secret in front of her for a bit longer?”

There’s a snort that might be a laugh, as Ram pulls King close:

“We can try.”

Notes:

always want to hear what you think! <3

sorry this took forever... I got distracted buying plants and making little plant terrariums, me, who never even really owned plants, now my apartment is a tiny jungle. Oh, who to blame? Does anyone come to mind? PS: I am loving it

#ramking fic #my engineer the series #ramking #kingram #some dialogues i had in my drafts because it needed adressing

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