#i just got some very pretty pink and purple rolling papers for my birthday

[125storejuice]

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[miekasa]

any spare levi headcanons tonight????? 😁😁😁😁

Sure, why not, he is the love of my life after all. These are pretty random, and fit in some sort of generalized modern boyfriend au. Hopelessly domestic, as that is the nature of nearly everything I write for Levi, anyway. Also still terribly obsessed with the idea of him with a motorcycle, so there’s that.

He owns at least six black blazers. They’re nearly identical; slight differences in texture and cut, one with lapels, one that’s boldly all leather that you swear you’ve never seen him wear. They’re kind of his go-to staple, other than a sweater.

That being said, he doesn’t exclusively wear all black. His closet leans towards more neutrals, sure, but he’s not allergic to color. You might not catch him wearing neon orange on the average day, but he’s not averse to a nice shade of green, any shade of purple that suits his mood, even a softer pink.

He has towels and rags he sets aside especially for you when he comes over. He always washes them and put them back in place when you leave so that they’re ready to go for next time.

Claims to not have any attachment to the shows/dramas you watch, but he’s totally backseat watching. Halfway into every single series, he starts sitting down when you turn it on, and scoffs at dumb decisions the characters make.

He splurged on one of those frame TVs that look like a painting when they’re idle. It was a good investment in his opinion.

He doesn’t hate Starbucks drinks—there’s worse things out there in terms of quality of tea. What he despises about the establishment is the way they call out names for you to pick up your order. He’s learned that mobile order ahead is the way to go.

Has slippers for around the house, so consequently, you have slippers for walking around his house. He keeps both pairs (and a few extra for friends and guests) tucked neatly beside the door for easy access; yours always go next to his.

Does not understand the purpose of a robe. Buy him one tho and he will suddenly find an excuse to wear it: making breakfast, lounging around watching TV, doing some light cleaning and dusting. It’s comfy, alright, he can admit that much.

The little puppy you got him that he swore he was not going to warm up to now gets the royal treatment. The best doggie goods and treats, top rated shampoos, cutest drying towels, even a miniature couch he constructed just for the pup. They’re best friends, there’s no breaking that bond now.

Speaking of the puppy, affectionately named Captain, Levi can be found walking him every day shortly after work. They have a few different routes, but they always pass by the local vendors/market, who enthusiastically anticipate their appearance every day. Some of the older ladies running stands have even taken to bringing a few treats with them for Captain—after bundling up some goods for Levi, too, of course.

Captain also has a special doggy backpack Levi uses for when he’s on his motorcycle. If you follow anybody on TikTok in his area, you’re bound to see at least one video of the pup while Levi’s out riding. He’s become viral on social media without even knowing it.

(When you show him a video someone posted of him and Captain with well over 100k likes, and a million views, he only rolled his eyes. But remembers that particularly day; remembers the folks had a kid who politely asked to pet the dog, so he let him. He also maybe asks you to send the link to him).

On the subject of the motorcycle, there was a good few weeks he wouldn’t let you on it. Always found an excuse, a smart reply that was punctuated with gentle push on your forehead and calling you too clumsy for it. Later, you found out it’s because he’d ordered you a helmet; didn’t want to risk you riding without one.

He always keeps it in the storage compartment should he make a stop to pick you up while he’s riding; and he usually wears at least two layers to have a spare to wrap you in before you get on.

When he cooks, he always makes sure there’s enough for leftovers and/or to give you some later. He also bakes frequently, and at least once a week, he stops by with some kind of treat for you—“Trying out a new recipe, let me know if you think it’s missing anything.”

On the subject of food, he won’t police what you eat to annoying extent; he knows that not everybody has the time or will to make pasta from scratch like he does. But, he will smack your wrist if you consider ordering fast food when you’re over at this place. Give him 30 minutes and a single pan, he’ll make something much better than whatever you can find on Uber Eats.

Really, though, he doesn’t mean to obnoxious about the homemade food thing, it’s more habit for him. Growing up, he had to learn to be resourceful, so buying fast-food isn’t ever at the forefront of his mind. Cooking for you also turns out to be something somewhat intimate that he enjoys, so just let him.

Once bought an Apple Watch because he liked the look of them, it wasn’t insanely expensive like other high end watches, and it could connect to his other devices, so why not? A week later he returned it, the ping of his notifications were in one too many places for his liking.

You tried to convince him to keep it—“At least for when you’re jogging! It can track your activity and calories!”—but he clicks his teeth. He’ll survive without keeping track of them.

He learned the hard way that jogging with Captain is no good. His legs are too tiny and Levi ended up carrying the puppy the entire time. Captain is more of a walk dog… or ride on the back of his bike dog.

If you changed anything in his phone settings—like the ringtone for you contact, or the sound his keyboard makes—he wouldn’t go back in and try to figure out how to reset it. Unless it was something obnoxious, like adding an autocorrect shortcut to say something lewd.

He doesn’t really listen to music when he’s just walking. When he’s on a run, that’s fine, but he somewhat prefers to just… hear the environment around him when he’s on a stroll or a break from work. The only reason he’d have headphones on in public is to take a phone call, but even then, he’d prefer to wait until he’s somewhere more private.

He likes having you over at his apartment and has contemplated asking you to move in. He doesn’t want to rush anything, though, so he’s content with your sleepovers for now. (Though he really cannot fathom that you call them “sleepovers” like you’re 14. Please).

He speaks to his mother at least once a week, and she always asks about you. Levi tells her that you’re fine, gives her small updates about you, but Kuchel really just wants to know when the wedding is. He pretends to be busy whenever she starts asking and conveniently ends the call.

Occasionally, he’ll stop by and take you out for lunch. Depends on how much time he has during the day for himself, but he always enjoys sharing a meal with you.

Whenever you’re out with your friends drinking, Levi will pick you up. Even if you already told him that you’d Uber home; as soon as you text him that you’re going to leave soon, he’s already on his way.

He makes pretty good cocktails himself. Teases you for running his alcohol supply dry when the truth is he has more of your favorites in his cabinet than his own. He secretly likes the way you flirt with him when you’re tipsy.

You don’t always cuddle on top of each other when you sleep together. You can just lay by each other and that’s enough; but sometimes, you catch Levi turning towards you in his sleep, reaching for your hand. His body seems to search for yours subconsciously, and you swear there’s a hint of a smile on his sleeping face when you put your hand within reach.

Do not try to pay for dinner when you’re out with him. He’ll pull the “I’m going to use the restroom” move and pay the bill behind your back if he needs to. Open your own doors, maybe; pull out your own chairs, sure if you want; but not this.

He flosses very diligently every night. Mostly because he fucking hates the dentist, so if he takes the extra steps and is extra careful with his teeth, he doesn’t have to go as often, right?—Wrong, it’s the one time the roles are reversed, and you and Hange have to wrestle him into the doctor’s office.

On the flip side, if there are any doctors you routinely avoid and/or forget to schedule check ups for, fear not, because Levi will do it for you. He’ll drive you there, too—the only caveat being, that he usually doesn’t tell you where you’re going until you’re almost there. You think he’s doing the mysterious man surprise date thing and then boom, he’s pulling up to the ophthalmologist. Good luck.

He’s purchased a physical, paper copy of the news on every one of your anniversaries, birthdays, and other special occasions. He keeps them all neatly tucked away in a drawer. Sometimes, he looks back on them—sees what was happening in the world around you on that day. Maybe someday he’ll cut them up and bind them together in a book for you.

He doesn’t like having headphones in when you’re home with him, and preferred if you didn’t either—unless it was for work or school. He welcomes you to use his speakers and play your music aloud; he likes listening to what you listen to. If you look closely, you can catch him humming along or tapping his foot when he really likes a song.

Saves pictures you send him in an album in his camera roll. Occasionally can be found scrolling through them—particularly if you’ve been away on a trip, or he hasn’t gotten the chance to see you because of conflicting schedules.

He takes relatively short showers and doesn’t have a strong preference for the water temperature, so he lets you shower first. Unless you want him to join you, of course.

It’s not hard to tell when Levi wants you. He becomes noticeably more touchy, even if that margin isn’t too wide by anyone else’s standards; and he rarely tries to hide it. It only happens in the privacy of your apartments; but he’ll come on to you—leaning a bit further into conversations, a hand on your knee, a kind of cloudy look in his eyes.

Sometimes he forgoes the attempts at being subtle, just kisses you out the blue, carefully backs you up against the wall, puts his hands on your hips. He can be awfully direct when given the opportunity.

[parchmentedpetrichor]

➳april’s fool ♡

in which fred weasley is in love with y/n l/n, the girl he happens to tease and insult profusely for her attention. 

fred weasley x gryffindor!fem!reader 

word count: ±4.3k 

tw: food, fireworks, pranking, fred being a bully, tad bits of swearing

drop a follow if you wanna see more of this content!!

my masterlist:D

ft. minnie, dumbledore and severus

yeah, your grandmama probably know me 

get more bottles, these bottles are lonely

it's a moment when I show up, got 'em sayin', "wow"

april’s fool 

“tomorrow is april fools,” dumbledore sighs. 

“you know what that means...?” mcgonagall asks, her voice on edge.

“the twins,” snape replies quickly, not even bothered one bit as he sips his dark coffee.

“and their pranks,” dumbledore dramatically rolls over in his armchair.

“okay and?” 

“they’re a hazard, severus!” mcgonagall replies.

“that doesn’t stop them.”

“what will stop them?” dumbledore ponders, eyes faint with interest. 

“you still have those weird buzzy fireworks right?” snape asks. 

“of course.”

“and minnie, you have the cake mix your grandmother gave you?”

“still in my cupboard next to the biscuits.”

“excellent.”

y/n l/n listens from the other side of the door, grinning. she’s been called to mcgonagall’s lavish office for some business she hopes isn’t trouble, but the conversation the three are deeply invested in piques her interest. 

she likes fun. the type of continuous laughter and uncontrollable fits of giggles at noon. that’s why she enjoys the pranks the twins play. they’re bold, sharp and reckless and have the undoubtable trademark of fred and george on them.

one too a many times she’s been on the receiving end of them. one time the twins had charmed the library so that she and other studious students could not find any books that they wanted or needed for a whole week. 

another time, her hair had been dyed bright pink. she wasn’t a fan of it, but tried her best to rock it. it worked. y/n had received many compliments on her bubblegum pink locks. 

she laughed it off a lot. whenever something quite embarrassing happened, it was usually funny. 

even the snide remarks the older twin always cast her way.

including the time he called her a blackhead. well, multiple times. 

“oi, l/n, looking like a blackhead.”

george had rolled his eyes at his brother before adding kindly, “at least you have nice hair. your tie’s always shiny too.”

she had just laughed, “at least i’ve got the blackhead looks to pull pink hair off, weasley, you can’t even pull off ginger hair, and thanks, georgie. love ya.”

fred had looked taken aback, but y/n still scowls at the memory. she gets she isn’t pretty, but there is a line you don’t cross when trying to insult someone.

he always calls her the most awful nicknames too; body parts that align with her name and random pieces of rubbish she isn’t bothered to remember.

she shakes herself of her thoughts and draws herself up, knocking thrice on the door lightly.

“come in,” mcgonagall’s calm tone beckons.

“good afternoon professors!” she chirps, smiling at all three.

they smile back. even snape. they’re big fans of the girl, who’s studious but mischievous. albus dumbledore has always thought that y/n’s eyes always look like all she’s seen is a beautiful sunset. 

“now you must wonder why i called you here,” mcgonagall starts.

“you see, how have you punished the weasley twins when they play all those pranks on you?” dumbledore eagerly asks. 

y/n gives a light laugh, “i just prank them back. i won’t get detention for this, right?” she jokes.

they laugh, “of course you will,” snape jokes back and for a second y/n is surprised that severus snape, the ever so cold potions professor, is cracking jokes. especially to her. 

“well then, i guess i can’t tell you how i prank them back then,” she drawls dramatically.

“no, no, do tell, we’re, what do you young people say?” mcgonagall pauses, “ahh yes! we’re all ears!”

y/n bursts out laughing, “okay, i usually do something that’s subtle enough but still very noticeable. they need to be anonymous too, or that’ll start prank wars and i’m only looking for short term pleasure really. one time, i dumped a whole bunch of polyjuice potion in both their little goblets. fred became george and george became fred. they were so confused.”

mcgonagall is impressed. 

“can you bake?” dumbledore asks and y/n shakes her head for a long time. 

“can’t bake for my sanity.”

“awesome. that is what i thought too,” dumbledore answers and y/n smiles. 

a single knock sounds. it’s proper and formal. 

“come in!” mcgonagall yells.

draco malfoy in all his glory steps into the room, eyes alight with concern, ever so indifferent. 

y/n knows him from quidditch. they’ve become relatively good friends, though she thinks he is very busy with his home life. she also knows that there’s more to him than the facade he has.

“afternoon,” he nods and gives a charming smile. 

“now, draco, i understand your mother had enrolled you in baking classes,” snape says. 

draco nods. 

“you must bake a cake,” mcgonagall hands him the cake mix.

she hands y/n the box of fireworks and winks. 

“good day professors! make sure to be at breakfast tomorrow!” y/n shouts, dragging draco with her to the kitchens. 

soon draco is laughing with y/n, at her atrocious puns and lightly placed jokes, finding himself very much happy. he’s not interested in her romantically, he simply enjoys her company. he’s even sharing some funny stories of his own too.

“...and i told him, to precisely fuck off.”

“so that’s how you deal with him!”

“oh no, he didn’t stop. he kept bugging me.”

“what did you do then?”

“i cast a muffliato charm on him.”

y/n bursts into laughter as they pass the gryffindor common room, quickly hiding the box of fireworks in her cloak as she spots two red heads quietly snickering by the fat lady. 

they notice the unlikely pair scurrying down the stairs. 

“hey, google eyes!” fred shouts. 

y/n doesn’t know fred well enough to decide if that greeting is dedicated to herself, so she continues upon her way. 

“weasley,” draco states. 

“huh?” y/n fakes oblivion. 

draco jerks his head in the way of the twins, where fred is smirking handsomely, leaning against the wall in a model-like fashion. 

george is shaking his head in dismay. 

“i said googly eyes!” fred shouts again.

y/n won’t lie, she thinks fred has undoubtedly good looks and his ginger hair is cute. he’s just a terrible person. to her, at least. she knows she’s biased, she’s often seen fred comforting ginny after a bad fight with a boyfriend, and from what she’s heard from alicia and angelina and katie, he’s funny too. 

she whips out her glasses and stares deadpan at him, before rolling her eyes and running with draco down the stairs, laughing like madmen.

they finish baking late at night, and waving her wand smartly over the cake, y/n produces a charm that will make the fireworks activate as soon as the cake is cut open. 

draco smiles as he pipes purple and orange roses, writing a ‘happy bday fred and george’ in chocolate letters. 

they add lots of sprinkles, hoping to seem like avid admirers of the twins. 

“does miss l/n and misters malfoy need any assistance?” a house elf asks.

draco just about opens his mouth to snap a ‘no’ when y/n gives him a silencing look.

“thank you rosemarie, but that is not needed, you are welcome to watch and talk with us though,” y/n politely answers, giving her a grin. 

the house elf sniffles, “miss l/n is too nice! rosemarie will make some hot chocolate for her! pretty hair!”

y/n laughs, “thank you very much, rosemarie. i think mister malfoy would also like some hot chocolate, with a tiny bit of firewhiskey, if that’s alright with you,” she winks at draco who just scoffs in reply. 

when they’re finished with the cake and the hot chocolate, y/n enters the gryffindor common room. angelina takes the cake and wraps it up in a box and nice wrapping paper. she sends it flying to the twins’ usual spot on the gryffindor table. 

“thanks angie!” y/n smiles, getting up from the cozy spot near the fire in the common room. 

“why are you going? we’re staying up till midnight for the twins’ birthday; wanna join?” angelina asks. 

y/n shakes her head, “i’m not too close with them, it seems like a rather intimate ceremony,” she keeps her words fluffy and light. really, she would join any birthday celebration, but she didn’t think she could handle the constant insults and annoying comments fred always made about her. and this would have been completely acceptable if she had done something to any one of the weasleys, but she hadn’t. she even regards ginny weasley as a little sister and was invited to one of ginny’s infamous slumber parties. okay, she might have a little crush on him for his joke-ish nature, but it’s nothing she can’t get over. he’s out of her league, for sure, she thinks. and terribly rude. she doesn’t understand why she still harbours those feelings for him. maybe because that time adrian pucey was mocking her for her ‘blood purity’ he stood up for her. or that time she hurt herself at quidditch and fred stayed up with her bandaging her wound. he cared when it mattered, she guesses. 

“i’m sure they would love you there.”

“fat chance,” she scoffs, “have a good night!”

she goes to her own dormitory up the stairs. she’s well known in gryffindor house, but for different reasons than the twins may be. although she’s close with angie and alicia, she’s not close with the twins. mainly because she’s always studying, playing quidditch, and doing prefect things. 

being on a quidditch team with fred weasley is bearable. mainly because she’s the captain. 

she’s stopped by a large hand on her shoulder. the owner of the hand swivels and suddenly a grinning fred is revealed. 

“where’re you going?” fred weasley’s annoying voice pronounces. 

“the sahara desert,” she snaps back dryly, “you’re in the way of my world exploration.”

“am i, really?”

“‘course,” she reigns her attitude in, “nice night, isn’t it?”

“for you? never.”

she scowls. fred watches in utter amusement as she takes a deep breath and charmingly smiles. 

“dearest freddie, will you please allow me to get to my dorm so i can have some sleep?”

fred’s heart skips a little at the nickname but shakes his head. 

“what’s the password?”

y/n sighs. “i don’t know. y/n is a blackhead. googly eyes. whatevers.”

fred lets out a loud laugh. y/n finds herself trying hard not to laugh with him. 

she turns around, ready to find her hufflepuff friend that has a spare bed in their dormitory, knowing fred is really stubborn.

“that’s not the password.”

“well, good night.” she walks off, before intensely diving in a style harry potter himself would be proud of, onto the stairs and running up the dorms laughing. 

fred stands at the bottom of the stairs, dumbfounded, his jaw hanging open. 

“close your mouth, flies will be caught,” he heard the giggling voice of y/n.

“close yours and you’ll look better,” he insults back. 

“oh shut up. we know i’m the prettier one. and that’s saying something.”

the next morning, fred and george wake up to presents, a rowdy common room, and a nice cake sitting waiting for them on the gryffindor table. 

for the first time, y/n takes a seat opposite them, her eyes alight with the familiar mischief they always held. she steals glances at the professors, who were beaming down with interest, as if they shared an inside joke. draco malfoy has an odd smirk on his pale face. 

all eyes are on them as they cut open the cake. with a bang, fireworks come flying out of the cake in all directions, sending crumbs and icing flying in the air and leaving soot on the twin’s faces. their ginger hair is covered neatly with white icing and the fireworks continue for a calamitous five minutes. everyone’s too busy laughing and trying to dodge the flying cake to see that y/n l/n and draco malfoy are laughing quietly in a corner together, both with spells like umbrellas. 

fred’s eyes, however, are trained on y/n, who’s rolling over in laughter. he quickly casts a scourgify on himself and george, and strides casually over to her and malfoy, the usual lazy smirk on his face as he hears ‘draco ohmygosh that was the best. your cake decos are on point! d’ya think he’ll ever bully me again?’. that confirms his suspicions. she did play this prank on him. and it makes him feel fuzzy inside.

his face then contorts into a frown. she thinks he bullies her? 

“i wouldn’t say he bullies you, y/n.”

he smiles. never mind.

“but it isss! i can assure you, there is absolutely nothing nice ‘bout being called a frame!”

fred snorts at the time y/n had been gushing adorably over a picture frame that was embellished with gold and bronze flowers to angelina. he had went over and in an attempt to catch her attention, said ‘you’re a frame’.

sure, he was good at flirting, but not to the girls he really really liked. 

“that’s fucking funny,” malfoy laughs. 

“oh shut it draco, your face is funny. but yeah, i should probably ask him to start fresh.”

he decides to interrupt their conversation. 

“ask who to start fresh?” he butts in. 

y/n doesn’t even look surprised, “in fact, you, fred, because i’m not really sure if i’ve done anything wrong to you or anything, and by my memory i don’t think i have and you keep being rude and stuff. if i have, i’m really sorry for it and i’m sorry that i hurt you and all. if we can y’know, start over, and maybe be friends?” she catches the unreadable look in fred’s eyes and hesitates, “or maybe not, that’s okay, we don’t need to!” she gives a small laugh, “er, sorry for ever bringing it up?”

the earnestness of her tone and the wistful look in her eyes makes fred fall a little harder. ever since he saw her nervously fiddling with her robes in first year, he’s been smitten. 

there’s a silence. malfoy has slipped off, the sneaky bastard. 

fred simply takes y/n’s hand, giving her a look as if to ask for permission. 

she swallows and nods. 

they’re in the courtyard, which is sunny and light. flowers are blooming everywhere. 

“can i kiss you?” fred asks.

y/n’s eyebrows go up. “what?”

“can i kiss you?” fred repeats patiently. 

“as in kiss? k-i-s-s?” y/n asks, eyes wide with suspicion and curiosity.

“yep,” he chuckles, “crazy, aren’t i?”

“yeah, you’re crazy.”

“really? can i kiss you?”

“i’ve never really kissed anyone.”

“i guessed that.”

her eyebrows furrowed in hurt, “what’s that supposed to mean?”

“i’ll tell you if you let me kiss you.”

“there better be a good reason because i was saving it for someone special.”

“i need a yes, love.”

she huffs, “yes.” she won’t tell him that she has a crush on him, because to be honest, she still isn’t sure if this is a prank or not.

she surprised when fred tilts her head up ever so gently, a smile on his face.

this kiss is short and sweet. he tastes like cinnamon.

when they’ve let go, fred notices the light pink dusted over her cheeks. he smirks. 

“you have to tell me why you thought i’ve never kissed anyone,” she said, eyes flashing in deep thought.

“such a beautiful person as you does not deserve kisses from anyone.”

“...” 

fred took this as a sign to go on. “the reason i’ve always teased you endlessly is because i want your attention. i didn’t think you’d give it to me any other way. if you haven’t noticed, i’m in love with you. i think you’re absolutely beautiful, both ways. i love it when you frown and get annoyed, even if you rarely do, i love it when you study so hard your face makes this really concentrated look. i love it especially when you laugh and smile and joke and play pranks. even if they’re on me.”

“...” she was studying his movements. inside her brain, a frenzy was going on. part of her brain- the ever so optimistic part, was screaming happily, and the logical part was using body language to analyse whether he was lying or not.

eyes? their honey brown colour was glistening with affection and truth, an expression so dainty on his face. 

a quaint little smile was on his lips, a small one, a genuine one. it was different to all the other smiles she’d seen him smile. 

he wasn’t acting, she decided. if he was, he should take up a job in broadway. 

“y/n?”

her brows were furrowed. she’d never been confessed to as genuinely as this before. 

if they started this type of relationship would he still be mean and insult her all the time?

“i-i need time. to figure this out.”

he doesn’t look disappointed, she thinks. instead he looks down at her with... adoration?

“of course, sweetness, anything, i’ll wait for you.”

she smiles, “thank you, freddie.” 

☆

it’s been a few days since fred’s confessed to her. she’s still unsure if he was joking or not. why?

at this moment, she’s watching him giggle with angelina johnson. it seems like he’s forgotten everything and anything. he’s gotten closer to her. maybe he’s lost feelings for y/n? she can’t blame angie, she’s a wonderful girl. if he likes her, that’s fine too. suddenly her feelings for him become very clear. she like-likes him. and it’s a bit too late.

but maybe he doesn’t like angie in that way? maybe he’s still into her? 

y/n knows molly weasley raises her children with patience. she should trust that fred’s waiting for her. 

but then again, she’s never gonna be as special as angie johnson. she’s just a ever so polite and outgoing nerd. someone who’s foolish enough to prank. angie’s smart, confident and funny and terribly patient. and effortlessly beautiful. she’s got the true gryffindor touch. and angie’s been one of fred’s best friends since day one. she’s always gonna be number 1. 

that’s ok. she’ll accept it. she likes angie anyway. it was probably a joke anyway. 

she couldn’t be jealous, just a bit dismayed that it wasn’t genuine. whatever, she thinks. we can just go back to how we were before. or not. 

and it’s relatively easy. they never really saw much of each other anyway. she’ll get over this tiny little liking. 

it’ll just be like normal. none of this happened. none of it. she grimaces bitterly, damning fred for his stupid games. should’ve known this was another of his pranks. but his acting though, certainly very good. 

she smiles to herself.

“knock it off, y/n, you’re here to learn, not to love.”

and that answer, is satisfactory. 

she gets up from her spot on the gryffindor table rather abruptly, saying goodbye to her friends, and makes her way to the kitchens. she knows she won’t be alone, she’ll talk to hansel and gretel, the twins that cook with the house elves every dinner.

they’re cleaning up as she walks in, book in hand. 

“hi hans, g!” she calls, as she rolls up the sleeves of her sweater to help them with the dishes. 

“y/n!” gretel gives her a hug with soapy arms and y/n giggles.

“how are both of you?” y/n asks. 

“good, good, potions though...” hansel trails off and they all laugh.

“potions is always like that,” y/n agrees, “it’s supposed to be really hard for newts, so you can’t really blame the subject.”

“i’m thinking of dropping divination,” gretel says.

“yeah, that’s wise, gretel buns,” hansel teases and gretel scowls. 

“divination is an easy subject, gretel, you just need to make random stuff up. i saw this weird bear thing in polly’s tea leaves, it wasn’t in the textbook. i told trelawney it was a symbol that a stranger would come and whip polly off her feet, with a whip the colour of the rarest german emeralds, leaving her absolutely smitten. i got full marks,” y/n laughs. 

they laugh too, and soon a light flowing conversation is shared over cups of hot chocolate. 

this is repeated for quite a few days and y/n even invites polly, marla and lenox, her best friends, to join. it’s a delicate, nice kind of week, one that suits her current struggles. 

when the weekends roll around, hansel and gretel suggest that they all sit at the hufflepuff table. they share jokes and quips over the food, y/n reading a book as she bites happily into apple pie.

“pfft,” her lips upturn ever so slightly at the quote that the character makes. 

fred watches her from the gryffindor table, utterly confused. y/n’s been avoiding him. he sees the flashes of hurt that run through her eyes whenever she sees him, and the quick grin that’s far too fake that follows. she’s been reading a lot more and he never sees her anymore. 

he wonders what he’s doing wrong. so as he sees her walking with her friends to hogsmeade, he calls for her. 

“y/n!”

her friends giggle as they see him, but she gives him a fleeting glance and raises her eyebrows at them, shaking her head, before profusely apologising to each one of them.

she approaches him warily, with all practicality in mind. she leads with her heart, but her head protects her. 

fool me once, shame on you.

fool me twice, shame on me.

“you’ve been avoiding me,” he states.

“what would you expect?” she snaps, “isn’t this all a good laugh for you anyway?”

“what’s that supposed to mean?”

“you know what i mean, this was all a joke, wasn’t it? fooling my poor little heart which you know has a crush on you. my head simply won’t allow it. admit it, and we can both move on with our lives,” her tone is sharp and cold, her eyes burning with fury and hurt, “i may seem gullible, and i am,” she gave a short laugh, “but when i notice, don’t even try to lie.”

“this wasn’t a joke, love.”

“don’t call me that, and you and i both know it is. your acting though, absolutely superb!” 

“what makes you think this was a prank, y/n? you were the one who asked for time.”

“yes, and the time made me realise that i had feelings for you despite all the teasing AND the fact you couldn’t possibly be genuine!” y/n says exasperatedly, her fury dissolving quickly, “you looked so in place with angie and everyone that it’s so obviously some sort of fun thing you did to try to get back at me!”

“angie?”

“a-and everyone else.”

“angie?” fred’s eyes were amused.

“you know, angelina, as in johnson.”

“angie?”

y/n shrugs, “you did bring her to the yule ball last year.”

“angie??!!!” fred was full on smirking now, as if trying to receive a real response. 

“i think you like her, okay?! are we done here? i’d very much like a good book from f&b,” y/n sighs. 

“i’ll accompany you to flourish and botts. why would you think i like her? didn’t i just confess to you?”

“yeah but it seemed kinda...” y/n trails off, not wanting her insecurities to come off as compliment fishing, “kinda far-fetched.”

“meaning?” fred knows exactly what she means.

“you know!” 

“oh but i don’t,” he smiles innocently.

“well, you’re you!” 

“is that supposed to be an insult?” he asks, faking a look of hurt rather well as y/n looks alarmed. 

“no, no, as in, you’re nice to look at, and you’ve always insulted me and been so nice and cool to everyone. are you for real?”

“nice to look at?” a cocky grin is on his face now, much more noticeable than the slight blush that was creeping up his face.

“is that the only thing you could pick up?” 

“nice to look at? what’s up with me repeating myself today?”

y/n lets out an agitated sigh. he doesn’t know, he’s blunt and straightforward. she likes cushioning her words.

“y’know, handsome? good looking?”

“my middle names.” another smirk to conceal the blushing. 

y/n smiles. “of course, everyone knows it.”

it makes fred uncomfortable. her light tone is a bit menacing too. 

“only joking.”

“i’m sure everyone does know it, darling.”

y/n is too busy looking at the dog that passes by to hear him, rambling quietly to herself over the cute scottish terrier.

“sorry, what was that?”

“aren’t i cuter than the dog?”

“nup.”

“really?” fred casually slings an arm over y/n’s shoulders, having to stoop a little lower to reach her.

“i think so.”

“well i’ll tell you something love, i think you’re absolutely stunning.”

“some love potion you’re on.”

“uh huh, the love potion is called love, sweetness.”

“so you’re for real?”

“as real as you and me.”

“you’re cheesy. this isn’t a prank right?”

“not at all, i love you.”

“i-i don’t think i love you just yet, but i think it’s possible,” y/n bites her lip, anxiously awaiting his response.

she tilts her head to look at him. 

he’s beaming. he looks more handsome than ever, a sweet smile etched on his face as he looks down at her in utter adoration.

“you have a crush on me!” he pulls her into a hug and giggles like a little girl, kissing the top of her head.

she’s engulfed by the smell of burning wood and cinnamon and immediately feels safe in his strong arms. 

“how’d you say we go on a date? so i can show how sorry i am for all the times i called you googly eyes and played pranks on you.”

“i’ll check to see if the girls are okay with it,” y/n replies, turning her head to see her friends. they’re gone. 

“they are. i asked them to shoo off before i approached you. is that a yes?”

y/n nods, “of course, freddie.”

“i love you.”

she laughs, “you really are april’s fool.”

“i’m your april’s fool.” 

he buries his nose in the crook of her neck to stop her from seeing his blushing red face. 

[cloud-9ine]

Roses are pretty cliché, don't you think? (pt 1)

⤷ pairing - bakugo katsuki x (fem) reader

⤷ fandom - bnha

⤷ warnings - swearing, very slight angst

⤷ summary - bakugo was already out of his element when he went to buy flowers; so he didn’t take kindly to you criticising his preference for roses

⤷ word count - 2.2k+

⤷ notes - i have never written bakugo before and GOD is this hard. i imagine older him would be a lot calmer and a lot less quick to blowing something up but he still feels ooc. tell me what you think!

⤷ pt 1, pt 2

The card Bakugo held was slightly crumpled within his clenched fist. The pretty pastels evidently not enough to calm his fired nerves. It was Mina’s idea, he reasoned, she was the one that knew what girls liked. If anything went wrong, then it was her fault.

Although, if it was up to him, he probably would never apologise. 

Bakugo knew he was an asshole. He knew he fucked up. He also knew he would sooner die than admit it. It was a fatal flaw that he never fully grew out of, much to the chagrin of both himself and his friends. The self-loathing was hard to ignore in the dark veil of the night, nor the quiet light of the morning, when the tension lay as thick as the pillows that separated them.

“Pfft, you look like you’re about to shit yourself.”

He huffed at the words from the man next to him, the snicker that left his lips only serving to spike his emotions further. 

“Shut it, sparky.” Denki only regarded his insult with a small laugh, shaking his head lightly. 

“Come on, you don’t have to look so scared. (Y/N)’s super nice, not to mention cute as a button too!” he grinned, clapping a couple times out of excitement. Bakugo sighed, cramming the business card in his front pocket without care. 

“I don’t think Kyoka would be too happy to hear that.” Denki sniggered, waving a hand around dismissively.

“If I didn’t know my wife any better, I would say the same, but you and me both know that she’d agree with me.” The impish grin on his lips was enough to make Bakugo roll his eyes.

“Where is this place?” Denki didn’t fail to notice the way he changed the subject, but for concern of his own safety, he didn’t draw attention to it.

“It’s literally right there,” vermillion eyes landed on the building in front of him, a quaint shop tucked in between two office buildings. The outside was a remarkable shade of lavender, with a small chalk-board sign outside painted with bluebells woven between opening times. 

“Oh.” A light tinkle of a bell rang out from the door as Denki pushed inside the shop, a quirk that wasn’t commonly seen with more modern establishments. Immediately upon entering the threshold into the store, Bakugo was pummelled with the overwhelmingly cloying scent of pollen. 

Resisting the urge to cough out of a begrudging politeness, he looked around. It was a small place, with bouquets of all different colours and types jumping from the tables in a dazzling a bounty of delight. In the centre of the back wall protruded the front desk, attached to the left of which was a small glass case filled with sweet-looking pastries and cakes. There was a small table in front of it, lined with a chequered table cloth, and two beautifully crafted wooden chairs tucked underneath the table with care.

“Long time no see, Denki,” Bakugo’s attention snapped to the presence behind the counter, where you leaned on your elbows with an easy smile on your face. Muted pink blouse tucked into a high-waist black skirt partnered with a cute little bow wrapped underneath your collar of a similar colour and you were already beginning to remind Bakugo of someone he knew quite well. It looked like a uniform, but it was informal enough to appear flattering.

“(Y/N)! How have you been?” Denki cried, sauntering over to the counter with his arms thrown wide in the expectance of a hug. You laughed, accepting the gesture with little hesitation.

“You here to pick up your little birthday gift for Kyoka?” you questioned once pulling away, eyes darting over to Bakugo and narrowing for a second before quickly returning to the other costumer. He nodded exuberantly, bright beam on his face.

“Of course! I’m excited to see what you thought up,” you grinned with a small nod of acknowledgement. 

“Great, I’ll be right back.” With that, you shuffled to a door behind the counter, swiftly stealing away to the small room at the back of the store. 

“She has more flowers in there?” Bakugo muttered, brows furrowing. Denki hummed, leaning on the counter whilst idly tapping his cheek.

“Yep. Flowers everywhere here.” He only nodded, eyes returning back to his surroundings. In less than a minute you had returned, clasped in your hands a beautiful bouquet with the stalks wrapped in brown paper. All Bakugo could see was a mess of purple and white with an air of coordination that tied it together, but it was enough to make Denki squeal.

“Oh, that’s stunning! What flowers are they?” you smiled, placing down the bouquet on the counter in front of him.

“Well, Kyoka’s a simple lady, so I used purple irises as the centre piece-” 

“That’s her favourite flower!” you snickered, rolling your eyes at the blonde’s words..

“Well, duh? Are you really surprised that I remembered?” you shook your head before continuing, “It’s hard to find colours that go well with purple without it looking too unconventional, so I complimented them with baby breaths and white jasmines, and magnolias in the middle to bring out a contrast in the yellow.” Denki was already pulling out his wallet before you had even finished.

“This is perfect, thank you so much! She’s gonna love them!” your smile turned smug.

“Of course she is, there’s no way I could disappoint a costumer,” Bakugo didn’t fail to notice the teasing coo in your voice, a proud glow on your face that he recognised was often replicated on his own expression, “will that be all?” Denki shook his head, handing you an indiscernible amount of money which you accepted before pushing half back. It seemed not even years on Denki was able to do simple math.

“Not all! I want some cake and my friend Katsuki here needs his own flowers!” Bakugo lurched forward from the rough shove from Denki, sending him a venomous glare with a small growl. Your eyes were amused as they landed on him, a smirk pulling on your lips.

“Hey, nice to meet you, Mr. Bakugo.” Bakugo wasn’t surprised you knew of him (being an incredibly successful pro hero and all) but the lilt to your voice as you drawled his name didn’t sit right, as if you were goading him in to ridicule. 

“Likewise.” You delicately pushed aside Denki’s bouquet to fully face Bakugo, the former having already been distracted by the sweet treats in the case.

“What can I do for you?” He straightened his back, shoulders tensing. He didn’t exactly know what he needed, having only bought flowers once or twice before for his mum. It was an underlying itch of feeling out of place that brought his next words forth, an urge to leave as soon as he could. 

“Roses, I guess. Red.” You snickered, and Bakugo’s eyes narrowed, “What?” You shrugged, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Roses are pretty cliché, don’t you think?” 

What.

Bakugo could feel the snarl that worked it’s way onto his face, a familiar tick of irritation welling up in his chest, only exacerbated by the mocking expression painted on your face.

“She’s right.” Denki called from his position crouched on the floor, gaze not even on him as he eagerly eyed a strawberry shortcake. 

“Didn’t need your input, dumbass!” He snapped, face heating at the bemused look on your face. It wasn’t often he felt embarrassed, and it was even less common that Denki would have a part to play in it.

“I’m just saying it’s better just to let her have free reign, that’s what I do.” Bakugo considered the words of his friend for a moment, before letting out a begrudging sigh, eyebrow twitching as he turned back to you. 

“Fine.” You tilted your head, leaning forward, similar to how his friend had stood earlier.

“So, why are you buying flowers?” Bakugo grunted, rubbing the back of his neck and averting his gaze.

“An apology gift. For my girlfriend.” You whistled, the noise pounding at the front of his skull.

“Damn, okay, how long have you guys been together?” Denki pulled out a chair, allowing Bakugo to sit down in front of the table as you pulled out a small notebook. 

“Since just after high school,” he muttered, resting his chin on his palm as he fiddled with the end of the table cloth, “it was great at the start but now we seem to be arguing more and more.” 

He shut his mouth. He wasn’t quite sure why he started to talk- it wasn’t like him to indulge a stranger in his life story. He bristled, resolve hardening.

“Why does it matter, anyway?” you hummed, looking around thoughtfully.

“Just trust the process. Describe this girl.”

“She would love this place.” Bakugo responded earnestly, a hollow laugh pushing past his lips as you nodded. It didn’t seem like much, but you got to work.

“Denki, pass me that bundle of tulips, please,” Denki nodded, obediently standing and pulling the tulips from one of the stands at the side of the room and pushing it towards you. You nodded your thanks, gaze returning back to Bakugo, who was watching you with a gaze eerily akin to suspicion.

“Look, this is gonna be a lot more awkward if you keep staring at me,” you grinned as he tutted, looking away. 

“I want that strawberry shortcake,” Denki exclaimed once you had settled again. Bakugo resisted the urge to roll his eyes while you just smiled. 

“Sure, let me get that for you,” you crouched down behind the glass case, “anything for you, Bakugo?” 

“No.” he responded, eyes narrowing at the cheeky smirk Denki shot at him. You pulled out the cake, rested delicately on a china plate with raspberry patterns coiled around the edge.

“Let me give you a drink, at least,” you offered, moving to the back room without giving him a moment to respond, and quickly reappearing with a teacup and saucer, “I had some lavender tea brewing. It soothes anxiety,” you passed the tea alongside the cake to Denki, who brought it back to their table with a grateful nod. 

Bakugo sighed as Denki placed the saucer down in front of him, a look of disdain on his face.

“Sugar’s on the table,” you called, snickering as you saw the small look of surprise on his face as he tasted the drink. Returning back to your work station, you fiddled with the tulips, taking some out and placing them in a glass vase. You moved out from behind the counter, flitting around the room and mulling over each flower.

Bakugo watched you with subtle interest, eyes narrowing when you shook your head or made a small noise of disdain. It was a fitting distraction from the loud mouthed Denki across from him, who was relentlessly chatting in between bites.

Seemingly having settled on several flowers, you moved back over to the tulips, weaving them together with pink and white bows in a way that Bakugo couldn’t begin to understand. 

The explosive blonde tended to pride himself on his achievements- his ability to become skilled in anything and everything carrying him through his life. But apparently flower arranging was where he fell short, and the annoyance of this fact making his nerves tick.

It wasn’t clear how much time had passed until you were done, hands never relenting even for a second as you worked, but it was evident that your project was finished when you took a step back to admire the bouquet. Your eyes flashed to him for a second, scouring his face for approval. 

Again, Bakugo didn’t really understand the big deal about flowers, but the passion in which you conducted yourself when producing them was something that he could respect. He stood, moving to get a closer look at what you had made.

“What’s in it?” you grinned, seemingly pleased at his fairly lackadaisical reaction. 

“Well, I used pink tulips as the base, and then I complimented them with white carnations and freesia. I didn’t want to add a contrast because if this is an apology, I wanted it to be fairly low-key, but still pretty. Do you like it?” He nodded, listening to the way you huffed in pride.

“Cool! Since it’s your first time, and because I like you, it’s free of charge, but just this once,” you gave him a pointed look, as if you were expecting to see him again.

“Thank you, I’m sure she’ll love them.” You nodded in acknowledgement, wrapping both bouquets in a protective layer before handing them out. Denki appeared beside you, accepting the flowers with a large grin. 

“I’ll see you later, (Y/N)! You’re coming, right?” 

“Yep, I’ll see you then,” you turned to Bakugo, eyes flashing with something he couldn’t discern, “I’ll see you later, too.” He huffed out something similar to an agreement, still unsure of his standing within your views. 

“Sure. Thanks again for the flowers.” Another grin.

“You’re welcome. Hope she likes them.” 

“Me too.” 

[zimms]

an olliewicks flower shop au to soothe the soul! this is somewhat based on mine and @tingo-tango’s tags on this post. 

fields of flowers, soft beneath my heels

Ollie’s wrist-deep in a pot of soil, sweat rolling down his cheeks and sunlight streaming through the windows of Faber’s Flowers, when the shop’s bell rings and a new customer stumbles through the door. Ollie frowns slightly and hastily wipes the beads of sweat off his chin with the corner of his shirt, before plastering on his best customer service smile to greet whoever needs flowers at 7:30 am on a Tuesday morning. He mentally catalogues the possibilities; maybe they’ve forgotten their spouse’s birthday? Or maybe it’s a gift for someone at work? Maybe it’s an apology present because they accidentally cycled into a fruit stall and ruined a fresh batch of melons? 

(Okay, maybe not, but it would be a refreshing change in the cycle of constant businessmen grovelling for their partner’s forgiveness)

Ollie shakes himself from his thoughts and grins across the counter at the customer, who’s sporting a baseball cap and a t-shirt that sits just right across his broad shoulders. Ollie’s eyes track down the guy’s biceps which are a tad too big for the sleeves. Ollie consciously shut his mouth to stop himself from gaping; this guy was hot. As Ollie’s gaze roams across the customer’s face to meet his eyes, he realises three things. Number one is that he definitely shouldn’t be ogling a customer like he’s a piece of meat. Number two is that he hasn’t said anything to this guy yet. Number three is that at least a minute of awkward silence and staring has passed since the customer entered the shop. 

Ollie rips his eyes away from the customer’s face to stare at a spot slightly behind his left shoulder. “Hi! What can I help you with today?”

The guy shifts on the balls of his feet, scanning the shelves of bouquets and individual flowers. “Erm, I’m looking for a bouquet of flowers for my mom?” His voice raises at the end of his sentence, which is kind of cute, if Ollie does say so. He rubs the back of his neck and his checks flush pink. “I kinda need to apologise to her.”

Ah, a classic apology scenario. Got it. 

“What’s the apology for?” Ollie asks as he turns to the sink behind the counter to wash his hands. “Not that you have to tell me that is; it just might help as we make the bouquet.” He unravels the roll of tissue paper and cuts off a square to package the flowers in. 

Hot Guy winces. “Ah,” he says, “I kinda got into a fight in front of her the other night. She was not happy to say the least, so I figured I might as well get her some flowers to apologise for it.” 

“Cool, cool.” Ollie grins at him. “What kinda flowers do you want for her?” He gestured to the whole shop, where various buckets of flowers lined the walls, each displaying a different species. “We can get her just a plain old bunch that’s all just the same type of flower, or we could mix and match, create a nice piece of artwork that she’ll admire rather than a bunch that’s boring and all the same.”

Hot Guy’s eyes flick up from the counter and meet Ollie’s own, moving slowly up his body. If Ollie was feeling particularly optimistic, he’d say the guy was checking him out, but he pushes that thought to the corner of his mind because he’s made way too many faux-pas in the past by asking out guys that have come into the shop just for all of them to be straight. Hot Guy clears his throat. “Yeah, a mixture sounds good. I know her favourite flowers are hyacinths if that helps?”

“That’s perfect.” Ollie shoots him the most reassuring smile he can think of, eyes softening. He grabs the bucket of blue hyacinths that sit behind him. “These alright?” 

“Yeah, those are great,” Hot Guy says a little hoarsely, squinting at Ollie’s name tag, “Ollie.” Something settles in Hot Guy’s voice and he seems a bit more comfortable. 

“So, why'd you get into a fight in front of your mom?” Ollie reaches for the bucket of Narcissus behind him and waves a bunch at Hot Guy for affirmation. He nods in return. “Doesn’t seem like the best idea to me-” Ollie trails off, hoping that Hot Guy might get the hint and finally introduce himself. 

“Oh, uh, Pacer.” He coughs and the remaining tension leaks out of his posture. “Nah, a guy said something about Ma, and you know, I had to rush to defend her like the rash idiot I am.” 

Ollie laughs. “At least, it’s one of the more noble reasons to get into a fight. There’s a bit more chance of forgiveness, then.”

Pacer nods and his gaze wanders away from where Ollie is deftly making the bouquet to settle on the purple Clematis. 

“You like them?” Ollie makes a ‘gimme’ motion with his hands and Pacer passes the bucket over to him. Their hands briefly brush each other during the exchange and Ollie does everything in his power to ignore the jolt that goes through him at that brief skin to skin contact. “You’ve got a good eye; I was just about to grab them myself.”

“Yeah, my mom loves blue and yello-” Pacer cuts himself off with a sneeze. “Also, aren’t they the colours of the local hockey team around here? The Falcons?” Although he has a completely clueless tone to his voice, Pacer is studying Ollie’s reaction as if it might reveal the secrets of the universe. 

“Yeah, the Falcs! I only get to see them every so often, but they’re great,” Ollie says, doing his level best to ignore Pacer’s sudden intensity. “I was actually on the same team as Jack Zimmermann in college, which was pretty cool.”

“Really?” Pacer’s enigmatic expression becomes even more indecipherable. “That is pretty cool.” He looks slightly over his shoulder towards the street before meeting Ollie’s eyes and flashing a genuine smile at him. “I actually played a bit of hockey myself, you know.”

Ollie tries to convince himself that the bubble of excitement that rushes through him is because Pacer is such a good conversationalist and not for any other reason, like the fact that they have a couple of things in common, or that Pacer is one of the hottest guys he’s ever seen. 

(He fails.)

_X_

Pacer leaves about forty minutes later, with a bouquet and handwritten note in hand and a smile fixed firmly on his face. When Ollie goes to scrub down the counter and start repotting the plant he’d abandoned when Pacer had arrived, he spots a scrap of paper that definitely hadn’t been there before. The note is pretty cute; it’s a string of numbers and a smiley face, accompanied by a couple of lines from Pacer.

Would you like to go I would have asked you out earlier, but my tea friend always says it’s bad form to hit on workers whilst they’re on shift. Anyway, here’s my number if you want to go out some time? Call m Don’t worry if you don’t though!

- Pacer 

Ollie grins as he opens up his phone to add the number to his contacts, but pauses as he sees a Google Alert come through that he’s set up for the Falcs. The text reads, Providence Falconers acquire forward Pacer Wicks from Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a second round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, and immediately underneath the caption, Pacer’s smiling face stares out at him. 

Pacer’s voice echoes in his mind. “I actually played a bit of hockey myself.”

Played a bit of hockey himself? Ollie cannot believe this guy. He plays in the fucking NHL and all he says is “I actually played a bit of hockey myself.” 

However, Ollie thinks as he opens up the article to see a picture of a bruised Pacer from his last game with the Avs, it would explain why he needed to apologise for fighting in front of his mom. 

_X_

Now that Ollie is aware of Pacer Wicks’ existence, he seems to follow him everywhere. Well, not Pacer exactly, but his name. 

It begins, like many things, at the grocery store. 

“Excuse me?” the cashier asks, as she’s scanning his groceries two days after Pacer first came into the florist’s. “Are you that hockey player? Pacer Wicks?” 

Ollie furrows his eyebrows. He doesn’t think that him and Pacer look that similar, but then again, Pacer’s only been in Providence a couple of days, so people don’t exactly know what he looks like yet. “No, sorry.”

The cashier purses her lips, taking a moment to study him again before ringing him up. “Huh, sorry! You guys just look really alike is all.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Ollie gathers up his groceries. “These things happen sometimes.”

(He almost texts Pacer to tell him about it, but, as Ollie looks at the clock on his phone, he realises that Pacer probably isn’t going to want to receive a message about how someone thought they looked similar mid-way through his game against the Pens.

Also, he’d have to wish him luck and honestly, as much as Ollie loves the Falcs, he wouldn’t wish them too much luck against his hometown team.)

_X_

ollie

hey! i’ve finished off that other apology bouquet for your ma!

let me know when you want to swing by and pick it up!

also i was watching the game tonight; do you need me to make up another identical one for your ma, or do you wanna come into the shop to choose this one?

pacer

thanks ol! i’ll probably swing by to pick it up tomorrow and then help make the next one at the same time?

ollie

sounds like a plan!!

_X_

When he said these things happen sometimes to that cashier in the grocery store, he didn’t expect them to happen all the goddamn time. Be it at his favourite café, on the street, or on the commuter rail, someone always, always, asks if he’s Pacer Wicks. 

_X_

ollie

oof that hit from eriksen looks like it’s gonna leave a mark

pacer

yeah, half my face is swollen

ollie

yikes

pacer

i assume we’re still on for dinner in a couple of days right?

even if my stunning visage has been marred by the fists of a schooner

ollie

that was a very weird way of putting it

but yeah, i still wanna go out with you even if your face looks like a dodgeball

_X_

A girl taps him on the shoulder at Bitty’s Bites downtown. “Excuse me, are you Pacer Wicks?”

Ollie smiles sheepishly at her, brandishing his coffee cup with a scrawled Oily on it as if it might keep the Pacer Wicks fans away. “Sorry, you’ve got the wrong dude.”

He hurries out of there as quickly as his legs can take him after that, hands fumbling for his phone so that he can text Pacer about it.

ollie

jdshjkdsjh a girl just asked if i was you

pacer

oh?

ollie

yeah, i don’t really know why so many people ask if i’m you

especially as they usually ask when you’re on a roadie??

so i don’t get why they know who you are without knowing the falcs’ schedules

pacer

maybe they’re a fan of my dashing good looks rather than my hockey?

isn’t that why you agreed to go out with me after all?

Ollie grins to himself before sending back three words.

don’t push it

_X_

He’s less generous to the guy on the commuter rail, but in fairness that’s mainly because he stole the last seat just before Ollie could get there and it’s 6:30 in the morning. 

“Hey, aren’t you that hockey pl-?”

Ollie barely looks up from his phone before cutting him off with a sharp “No.”

_X_

Today, someone even asks him at the flower shop.

“No,” he says, heaving the deepest sigh he can whilst still remaining in customer service mode, “I think Pacer Wicks might have other things to do on a Saturday afternoon than work the till at a flower shop.” He shuts the cash drawer on the register with a bang and hands the customer their change and bouquet as quickly as he can. “Thank you for shopping with us! Enjoy your day!” 

He collapses back onto the wooden stool that he keeps behind the counter, taking a breather for approximately five seconds before a laugh echoes through the shop. Ollie jumps half a foot in the air before locating Pacer, who’s stood in the corner of the shop inspecting a piece of sea holly. 

He’s dressed up pretty nicely considering hockey players’ notoriously bad fashion sense, wearing a button-up, a nice pair of jeans that do all the right things for his hockey butt, and his ever-present baseball cap, but this time, unlike his first visit to the shop, it’s sat backwards on his head. He spins around to face the back of the shop, grinning his face off. “I’m impressed by the fact that she asked you that whilst I was standing in the shop and she still didn’t notice me.” He laughs, smirking across at Ollie. “Does that happen often?”

“Yeah, some people are surprisingly oblivious sometimes,” he says, “but also, I don’t look that much like you?” He pauses, trying to work out what Pacer’s face means. He places his hands on his hips and jokingly rounds on Pacer. “Do I?” 

Pacer chuckles, taking a few steps closer so that he’s leaning against the counter. “Not that much, but would it be so bad if you looked like me?” A mock-wounded expression plays across his features as he presses his hand to his chest. 

Ollie takes off his apron and hangs it up behind the counter. “Nope, because you are extremely hot.” He threads his fingers through the hockey player’s belt loops to pull him closer, feeling emboldened by Pacer’s flirting. “And if that means that people are inadvertently calling me hot whilst asking if I’m you?” He shrugs. “I can live with it.”

Pacer has to lower his gaze to meet Ollie’s eyes, the two inch height difference between them clearly obvious, even if Ollie is six foot, thank you very much. “You were right about something though,” Pacer murmurs, “I do have better things to do than stand in a flower shop on a Saturday afternoon.”

“Like what?” Ollie raises an eyebrow.

Pacer smiles softly down at him, taking his hand and interlacing his fingers with Ollie’s. “Like taking the cute florist that works there on a date for starters.” Pacer starts to move them towards the shop’s entrance. “There’s this lit-” He sneezes abruptly.

Ollie tilts Pacer’s head downwards. “That’s like the fourth time you’ve sneezed in the shop.” He rubs his thumb over his cheek, frowning when he sees that Pacer’s eyes are slightly red. “Are you okay?”

Pacer waves him off. “Yeah, it’s fine; my antihistamines just wore off.”

His-? Ollie furrows his eyebrows before leading his date out of the shop. “Pacer, are you allergic to flowers?” 

“No?” Pacer’s sheepish and slightly bunged up reply says everything that Ollie needs to know.

“Fuck, Pace, why have you been coming to the shop so much if you’re allergic? Surely you don’t like the aesthetics of flowers that much that you need to torture your sinuses every spare minute of the day.” Ollie pinches the bridge of his nose, voice full of exasperation.

Pacer holds his hands up in surrender. “In my defence, the first few times were because I did need to buy Ma flowers, but I didn’t keep coming back because the flowers were pretty.” He pulls Ollie close and frames his face with his hands. “I came back because the florist was.”

_X_

The final time Ollie is mistaken for Pacer is five years later as he’s heading towards the arena for Pacer’s final game of the season. In fairness, dressed in a Wicks jersey and a Falcs snapback, he probably looks more like Pacer now than he has at any time since he first got mistaken for him in the grocery store. 

“Excuse me?” A teenager taps him on the shoulder, their arm slung around a friend. “Are you Pacer Wicks?”

Ollie grins at the kid. “Nope,” he says, trying not to take too much joy in the hope fading from the fan’s eyes before he drops the bombshell, “I am his husband though.”

“Really?” The teenager’s eyes light up. “You’re not kidding, right?”

“Nope.” Ollie holds up his phone screen to show the kid a photo of Pacer kissing his cheek, just so that they know he’s not lying. “D’you wanna meet him after the game?” He smirks at them. “After all, I do know a guy.”

[artificialqueens]

You Light a Fire in My Heart (Rosénali) - Moonshot

A/N: I wasn’t expecting to write a follow-up to the first diner au this fast but I’ve genuinely fallen in love with the little au verse I’ve created. For context, this is set about a year after the events of ‘On The Ground’, and it spans across three months (March, April, and May). Flashbacks are in italics, and I hope you enjoy it x

Summary: The time(s) Rosé tried to be the best girlfriend to her Nali

Also on Ao3

-

If you had told Rosé a year ago that she would be dating one of the most amazing girls she’d ever met in her life, she would have believed you. Who wouldn’t want to date a fine bonnie lass like her?

What she wouldn’t have believed would have been that she was admittedly a tiny bit jealous of her girlfriend’s crush for a K-pop singer that shared her name.

Rosé was working on her laptop, busy mixing a track she had recorded with Jan and Lagoona when Denali had walked into the living room.

“OH MY GOD! I just finished watching Blackpink’s interview with James Corden and Rosé’s got the CUTEST accent! Her Aussie accent is so sexy too…” she remembered her girlfriend saying as she walked into her living room, her eyes glued to the phone in her hand.

“Hey!”, the pink-haired girl puffed out, “my Scottish accent is sexy too!”

Denali looked up, her left brow raised, “Says who?”, she asked teasingly.

“…My grandma”, Rosé replied unconvincingly, causing her girlfriend to laugh out loud.

“My Rosie is so cute when she’s jealous!”, she sing-sang, stamping a sloppy kiss on the older girl’s cheek.

“I’m not!”, she huffed as the black-haired girl sat next to her on the couch.

“You know she’s not my favorite in the group. Wanna know why?” Denali asked, draping her arms around Rosé’s neck.

“Why?”.

“Because you’ll always be my favorite Rosie”, she whispered in her girlfriend’s ear.

Rosé was sure her cheeks were matching colors with the shade of pink of her hair.

“Cheesy bitch”, she muttered as Denali hid her face in the crook of her neck.

“Yours truly”.

She remembered letting her girlfriend rest on her chest, the sweet strawberry scent of Denali’s shampoo filling her nose as she tried to focus on the track she was working on. 

However, another thought was buzzing in her head. 

The brunette’s birthday - the first one since they had started dating - was coming up soon and Rosé had absolutely no idea what to get her. 

Dedicating her a song, while definitely in her range, was too obvious of a gift. She really wanted to surprise her, to give her something she would remember for years to come.

With less than a month to the date, Rosé decided to go to the very familiar diner to pick up something quick to eat before going to grab the equipment she needed for her weekly set across the street. 

As she walked up to the register to pay up after having grabbed some pastries, she couldn’t help but notice the absence of a familiar face. She was sure Denali was set to be on shift at that hour.

Her attention was drawn back to the guy behind the counter.

“Hey, gorge! Looking for me?”, Mik asked as he took the pastry bag from the pink-haired girl.

Rosé rolled her eyes playfully, “Hey to you too, Mik,” she replied as she took out some cash, “Sorry to burst your bubble, short king, I was just wondering where my lovely girlfriend is”.

The shorter guy shrugged, “Your loss. I’m always open for a tall glamazon like you, gorge”, he winked before presenting her the receipt, “it will be 4,99$ for that, and also Nali was allowed to go home early by Miss Iman because she was trying to get tickets for some concert, I think?”

Rosé gave a little nod of acknowledgment and was handing over the cash when a voice caught her attention.

“Oh, no!”, both Mik and Rosé turned their head to another of the diner staff, Olivia, who was looking down at her phone pouting, “Nali just texted me saying that the Blackpink show in Chicago she wanted to go to sold out before she was able to get a standing ticket and the VIP ones are too expensive for her! Oh, poor baby Nali”.

“What other tour dates are they doing?” the singer asked, an idea forming in her head.

The other girl furrowed her brows, trying to remember, “Well, Nali wanted to go to the Chicago one with some of her friends there, that one was in mid-May. If I’m not mistaken, they are doing one in Newark at the end of May, and then the other ones are down south and on the west coast as well? Pretty big tour from what she has told me”.

“Wow, that’s an impressive gig,” Rosé commented, genuinely surprised.

She grabbed the paper bag from the counter, waving goodbye to the two employees, “Well, divas, I’ll leave you to do your jobs. Thanks for the info, I guess my set has to be delayed a bit to deliver these to my girl, and hope to cheer her up a bit, wish me luck!” 

The other two waved her off as she exited the diner. 

The pink-haired girl grabbed her phone from her purse and quickly texted Jan and Lagoona to meet her at her place after her set. 

Maybe she had just found the perfect birthday present for her Nali.

Rosé and Lagoona were sitting at the kitchen table, the Scottish girl’s computer between them open on the ticketing site while Jan was busy gushing with her girlfriend over the phone in the living room.

The blue-haired girl stared at the laptop, clicking her tongue, “Is that the VIP price for both…?”

“Nope, just one. I could afford to get only one VIP ticket for her so she’ll get to enjoy it all by herself”, Rosé replied.

“Holy shit, I fucking wish you were this in love with me to spend that much money for my birthday!” Lagoona commented jokingly before noticing a small detail, “Wait, did you see the date of the concert?”

The pink-haired girl nodded, “Yes, I am aware that the concert happens to be on my birthday. However, this is an opportunity I can’t let Nali give up on,” she reasoned, “Also, I plan on spending many more birthdays with her, so her spending mine doing something she loves makes me happy as well”.

Lagoona shot up and started reaching for kitchen drawers, seemingly looking for something.

“Can I know what the fuck are you doing?”, Rosé asked, arching her manicured brow.

“Looking for a whip because you’re fucking whipped for the girl! I can’t believe it!”, her best friend cackled, actively avoiding the kitchen towel thrown at her.

“Oh, fuck you, bitch!”, the pink-haired girl said in return, unable to hide her own grin at the situation.

At that moment, their purple-haired friend entered the room, saying her goodbyes over the phone before she sat down on the opposite side of Rosé.

“Oh look, who decided to join us!” Lagoona teased as she sat back next to the Scottish girl, “how was the call with the sugar mommy?”

Jan blushed furiously, “Shush, you two! Jackie’s not my sugar mommy! She just… happens to be richer and older than me. Also, she called me because she’s stressed from organizing this big event in May and needed some advice!”, she blurted out, only causing the other two to laugh even harder.

“Yeah, sure whatever you say, Stuntalina the sugar baby. C’mon, I’ve got a new piece I wrote for us to show you!”, Rosé said as she closed the ticket receipt.

She opened her music editing program, pressed play on the last recorded file.

While her best friends were busy enjoying the new song she produced, Rosé checked her phone to find a new text from Denali.

10:52 PM:

thank u so much for the pastries, I really needed them today. You always know how to cheer me up. Goodnight my Rosie <3

The singer smiled. 

She couldn’t wait to show Denali her birthday present.

Denali was lying down on the couch, her eyes on her best friend - and soon-to-be ex-roommate - as she packed the last few things she needed to move out.

“I still can’t believe you’re moving out,” the brunette pouted, “You’re leaving me allllll aloooooooneeeee”, she said dramatically.

“Nali, you’re acting as if I’m moving across the country”, Olivia chuckled, “I’m literally moving in with Utica and Symone, and they live across the street”.

The Alaskan skater threw her head back, “So close, yet so far”.

The younger girl rolled her eyes, reaching for a silver sharpie before throwing it to Denali, “Okay, miss Dramanali. Will you get your ass up and help me finish labeling these boxes?”

It took them a little over an hour to have most of Olivia’s things labeled and boxed, ready to be taken to their new home.

A bottle of soju later, they sat together on the couch in front of the TV as they ate some take-out for dinner, reminiscing of their time as roommates.

“It’s going to be weird to live alone,” Denali confessed as she took a piece of kimbap with her steel chopsticks, “We’ve been roommates ever since I literally moved in from Chicago. But I know it’s the right thing for you, you know”.

Olivia nodded, “I didn’t expect it to take this turn, I mean, I started it out a year ago single and now I’m dating not just one but two of the most awesome people I know?”

“I remember you being bummed when Utica started dating Symone. I sneaked out way too much ice cream from the diner to cheer you up, but look at you now, dating both Utica and Symone, moving in with them? You won the jackpot, Liv!”, the older girl replied, smacking her free hand against the other girl’s thigh.

“Girl, I could say the same about you and miss Rosie. All lovey-dovey, sweet kisses and I love you’s”, Olivia winked as she saw Denali’s cheeks take a pink tint.

“Actually…”, the skater confessed, “she technically hasn’t said the big L word out loud, not like that at least”.

Denali was sure Olivia’s eyes were about to pop out of their sockets, “WHAT?”

The brunette smiled shyly.

“It’s just… this past year everything has been so perfect with her and what if forcing her to say it will ruin that?”

“Nali, baby, the girl basically lives here. Do I have to remind you just how many times I’ve walked in on you two doing the whole devil’s tango while she looks at you like a lovesick puppy and you are worried about her not saying I love you back?”

The Alaskan girl tried to lighten the mood, “To our defense, you did say that you were spending the night out and that movie was very intense-”

“Nali…”

“I love her, Liv. Like really really love her. And I do see a future with her, but she is such a free spirit, someone who says and does things her own way and I’m worried that I’m going to scare her away,” Denali bit her lower lip, trying her best to not let the emotions get the best of her.

The younger girl took her hand, “Do you remember what I told you that day at the rink when you were scared to ask her out?”

“That you would unleash Kandy on her?”

They both chuckled.

“That’s still on the table if she breaks your heart,” Olivia replied honestly, holding Denali’s hand, “I told you to give it a chance. Tell her about how you feel your relationship is heading, and I got a feeling that she feels the same as you do”.

The two friends savored the moment, only the sound coming from outside the window to fill the void.

Denali was the first one to speak up after a couple of minutes of silence, “See? Who am I supposed to have those heart-to-heart conversations with if I’m alone? The wall?”

Olivia laughed out loud, “The cat lady that lives on the first floor sure seems like a good replacement for me!”

“Donut would run away before I could even let her in, girl”.

“True that,” she took another bite of her rice bowl before setting it down and getting up from the couch, “maybe, after you have your talk with your pink highlighter girlfriend in time for your birthday next week, she can babysit your pillow princess ass!” 

Denali’s mouth was wide open in shock but unable to restrain the laughter. 

“Liv! How dare you!” she said as the younger girl bolted into her room, prompting a not-so-sober chase.

They would totally be getting an angry noise complaint the next day.

Denali felt like her birthday went faster than she would have liked.

It had started with a call from her mom while her friends were trying to make her breakfast in bed - emphasis on trying - only to end up ordering delivery from the bakery two blocks down the street. 

Since she would have still had to work that day, they had opted to hang out at her place the night before, waiting up to midnight to wish her a happy birthday. 

What Denali was really looking forward to was the cute night-in her girlfriend had promised along with her mysterious birthday gift that was seemingly months in the making.

Having barely made it home from the diner, the brunette had just taken off her jacket and scarf when she heard a familiar knock pattern on her door.

She smiled as she was greeted by a small bouquet of forget-me-nots, a bag seemingly full of takeaway boxes, and a bottle of Rosé.

“Isn’t it cannibalism if you drink Rosé?” she teased, letting her girlfriend in the apartment and closing the door behind her.

“I’m letting that slide because it’s your birthday, baby,” the pink-haired girl replied as she set everything down on the kitchen counter.

Denali took a moment to take in how her Rosie looked.

The signature pink leather jacket was open to reveal a very deep low cut top that left close to nothing to the imagination. The black high-waisted jeans hugged her curves in a way that drove Denali crazy just to think about. 

“Liking the view, mama?”, Rosé’s smirk was one of the few things able to make her weak to her knees like that.

“You’re a tease-y bitch”

“Thank you for noticing”, she winked as she walked over to Denali and sneaked her arms around her girlfriend’s waist, towering over her thanks to the pumps she was wearing.

The brunette couldn’t help but smile as she wrapped her arms around Rosé’s neck, getting on her tippy toes to kiss her.

“Happy birthday, my angel”, she whispered against her lips before her strong arms picked Denali up with a small yelp from the younger girl.

“What about dinner?”, she chuckled.

“I’m in a mood to eat something else right now…”, Rosé simply said as she reconnected their lips and started taking her girlfriend to the familiar bedroom.

Denali lied with her head on Rosé’s chest like she always did after they slept together. She could fall asleep just with how the older girl was gently combing her hair with her fingers.

“Don’t fall asleep on me, mama. You still got my birthday gift to open up”, she whispered, making Denali chuckle.

“What? Wasn’t the mind-blowing sex your birthday present?” she teased.

She could feel Rosé smile against her hair, “Thanks for the ego boost, diva, but I think you’ll like the real present more”

She went to reach for the pink jacket on the floor, taking out an envelope and giving it to Denali.

“What is this?”

“Open it up and find out for yourself”

The brunette straightened herself, not caring about the sheets pooling at her waist, and opened the present.

She couldn’t believe her eyes.

“You’re kidding me?!”

“Well, it’s not my fault your birthday happens to be on April Fool’s day but it’s all real, angel”, Rosé smiled at her.

“Ahhh! VIP Tickets for Blackpink’s concert?! I love you!”, Denali blurted out and went on to hug her girlfriend.

When she felt the older girl get slightly stiff, she realized just what she had blurted out and did what she did best: she panicked.

“Oh gosh, sorry I didn’t-”

Rosé didn’t reply, just went on cupping her face to calm her down.

“Baby, it’s okay. Don’t ever feel sorry for how you feel”, she reassured, kissing her forehead, “I just… don’t have the best track record when it comes to being told those three little words. I know how strongly I feel about you. I just want to mean it 100% when I say it, okay?”

Denali nodded, not trusting her words as she knew how hard it was for her girlfriend to talk about her feelings.

Rosé tilted her head, “Now, let me snuggle my…”, she looked over Denali’s shoulder, the clock read 11:05 PM, “birthday girl for another hour”.

She went on to press her girlfriend’s body against hers. She let a couple of minutes pass, making sure that the shorter girl had calmed down.

“Sing me to sleep, Rosie?”, she heard the faintest voice coming from the younger girl, whose arms held her sides tightly.

“Anything for you, angel”.

Almost two months later, Denali couldn’t believe she was actually there, waiting under the smaller stage for the concert to begin.

The soundcheck had been overwhelming, she definitely had almost cried when the girls waved at her section of the crowd. She was sure Lisa was waving at her.

She had even managed to become friends with some of the other fans in the VIP section, having gone to the concert alone - she still was a bit sad that she was missing Rosé’s birthday but understood the argument that this was one in a lifetime opportunity that she couldn’t pass on. 

“I can’t believe how close we are to the stage!” one of the girls to Denali’s right, Sakura, commented, “Based on the videos from the other dates, this is definitely the best side to be on, especially during Lisa’s dance solo!”

“Girl, I know! I’m ready to see her shake that ass!” Denali replied, making both of them chuckle.

“Oh, is that how it is, mama?”

Denali froze.

Was that…

“Rosie?”

There was her girlfriend, sporting the VIP tag around her neck and around her wrist.

“How did you get in? I thought you didn’t manage to get another ticket?”, while she was beyond ecstatic to see her girlfriend there with her at the concert, she was also very confused.

“Up until a couple of hours ago, I didn’t have it, so that was as much of a surprise to you as it is to you,” she smiled, “Remember I told you about how Jan’s girlfriend was busy organizing a big event?” she asked as she recollected what had just happened hours prior.

Both Rosé and Lagoona were sitting on the former girl’s couch, watching reruns of America’s Got Talent and commenting how there would totally be no competition if they decided to audition.

Jan walked in, sipping on her frappuccino, “I know you love us but why aren’t you spending your birthday with your girlfriend?”

“I told you she’s at that Blackpink’s concert today” Rosé reminded her, lowering the TV volume.

“Blackpink? Oh! That’s the project Jackie was helping with organizing. She even offered me a full VIP ticket. Do you want it? It’s barely 3 PM, you just missed the soundcheck”.

The two friends sitting on the couch looked at each other, then at Jan, then back at each other before bolting up from the couch.

“COULDN’T HAVE YOU SAID SOMETHING EARLIER, JANICE?”

“I can’t believe it, Jan is really something else,” Denali smiled, now feeling that everything was complete.

“Me neither, baby. That girl is a mystery,” Rosé replied as she positioned herself behind her shorter girlfriend to hug her from behind, kissing Denali’s cheek “Now, I can check out my competition with the other Rosie in your life”, she joked.

“I promise you’ll be a Blink by the end of the night,” Denali said confidently, melting against the embrace.

“We’ll see about that, little diva”.

When people said time flies by when you’re having fun, Denali just realized how fast.

The concert was a rollercoaster of emotions, from the powerful beginning to the member’s solos - she definitely didn’t miss her girlfriend’s ‘mom dancing’ behind her. 

And now, the soft guitar notes of Hope Not filled the stadium. The ballad had always been one of Denali’s favorites, those raw emotions she had felt so many times were being so beautifully sang out loud and it made her teary-eyed.

Rosé kept her arms secured around her waist, rocking her from side to side. The brunette closed her eyes, fully letting the song guide her.

That’s when she heard Rosé’s voice in her ear, so quiet yet overpowering everything else.

“I love you”.

Denali’s eyes shot open and quickly turned around to be met with the most beautiful smile Rosé had ever given to her, she could only see pure love in her eyes staring back at her. 

She hadn’t even realized the tears spilled down her cheeks as she went in to connect their lips.

Nothing else mattered to her at that moment.

It was just her and her Rosie.

The warm autumn air filled Denali’s living room as they cuddled on the couch, watching a movie.

It was almost midnight when the end credits started rolling, the younger girl was already half-asleep, clinging to her girlfriend like a koala bear.

Rosé turned off the TV and turned her attention to her girlfriend, “C’mon, little diva, let go of me, I have to catch the bus home”.

Denali grunted, “Noooo, don’t leave meee,” she protested, her cheek firmly against Rosé’s chest.

“I gotta get home, baby”, the pink-haired girl tried to reason.

“This is your home too. You should just move in already,” Denali replied, slugging her words.

Her heart skipped a beat. 

Rosé stopped for a moment to think about it. She smiled looking down at her girlfriend’s serene face. 

She definitely could see herself wanting to wake up to that every day for a long time.

Denali woke up in her bed the following day, not remembering how she had gotten there. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep on the couch with-

She shot up and went to the kitchen. She found a still-warm cup of coffee and a note.

She almost choked on the drink as she read the small piece of paper.

I thought you’d never ask

to move in together

Get those papers ready, angel

Your Rosie

PS: we’ve some remodeling to do, mama

Denali couldn’t help the pink tint from erupting across her face. She definitely blamed her sleepy self for being so open with her girlfriend.

On the other side, she had to call her landlord.

Her search for a roommate was over for good.

[rohad93]

Moonlit Masquerade: Jokers Wild Pt 1

This is rated T for Violence and Blood

Luz is sitting at her desk, working on her homework from her plant track class.

She has a pretty easy time in plants, it’s a lot like gardening most of the time, though the plants have a lot more eyes… or teeth...but she digresses. She has Willow too, who is at the top of the track and is always willing to repeat spells for her so she can try to glean glyphs from them. She’s managed a couple, she’s still working on perfecting them so it always does what she wants, the part that makes plant magic so hard is plants are living things, and the ones on the Isles sometimes have wills of their own if you don’t exert the right kind of control. She’s had a few go haywire and nearly strangled herself with vines last week trying to get them to form a net.

That one still needed work…

All part of living in the Isles though. With every week that goes by in the Boiling Isles, she finds herself more and more acclimated to it, sometimes it feels like she's lived here all her life.

Her bedroom, which once was just a spare room where she slept on the floor in a sleeping bag, now looks like she's been there for years.

All of Eda's junk is gone, replaced with a bed and a desk, covered in framed photos of Gus, Willow, King, and Eda; even Lilith. Her photo of her and her mom sits on the bedside table, close by, along with the photo of her and Amity she took on their first date and a new one of all of them on the beach at Amity’s birthday a couple of weeks ago.

A dresser sits in the corner, filled with new clothes because she could only keep wearing the same ones she brought for 'summer camp' for so long, especially now that fall is here. She's pretty sure she's having a growth spurt too. She realized last week she now has no problem reaching the cabinets in the kitchen, unlike almost five months ago when she first arrived.

For the foreseeable future, she is a permanent denizen of the Isles, so it only makes sense to pick up on her home's history too.

She’s started taking extra lessons with Lilith about the general history and culture of the Isles while they all learn glyph magic together. Lilith will lecture about the history of things and Luz is enthralled by it, which is probably the only reason Eda only rolls her eyes and lets her go on. Though she does throw in her own brand of commentary often. Usually saying why something Lilith is saying is dumb or outdated, much to the older’s annoyance, but they very rarely get into anything truly heated so it's become a kind of Sunday night routine at the owl house. King usually joins them too. Adding in his own two snails whenever he sees fit.

Much to her delight, when she can, Amity has started to join them. She's started practicing some of Luz's glyphs; the portals are especially useful.

Things are still very tense between her and Lilith, who keeps trying, and Amity mildly accepts the efforts, she's still very terse and short with the older witch much of the time, which makes Luz frown, but she keeps it to herself.

She and Amity have had this talk. Amity will try, but by no means has forgiveness been given, which Lilith seems to understand and accept.

They had a private talk after Amity's birthday weekend, she doesn't ask Amity about it, much as she wants to, and Amity doesn't offer an explanation.

Sometimes she wants to talk, and sometimes she doesn't, that's fine. She and Amity have come to that understanding well over the last two and a half months they've been dating.

They know the other is there and will come if they need them.

It's weird to Luz sometimes, having someone she knows is always in her corner, that she can come to without question.

Before she came to the Isles, she had her mom, even though she never really understood her and was gone a lot, and now she has Eda, but that's different. She knows Eda will always back her up, protect her, but it's different from Amity. She looks up to Eda, and while it's not that she doesn't admire Amity, she does, it’s just in a different way.

She would try to protect Eda just as much as she does for her, but it's just a different dynamic, she's not sure how to put it into words other then Eda is like her mom, while she and Amity are equals, they depend on each other, Eda, as much as she loves her, doesn't depend on Luz.

She has Gus and Willow too, and that’s a lot closer but still different. She can’t really explain why. Eda says it’s because she doesn’t make out with her other friends, which makes her make a face. While that’s true, she’s pretty sure that’s not it either. As much as she trusts Gus and Willow, which is a lot, sometimes she just doesn’t feel comfortable sharing some things with them, or anyone, except her girlfriend.

Something she’ll have to puzzle out another day.

“Hey Luz, Amity’s here!” Eda yells up the stairs and Luz grins, jumping up.

“Coming!” she yells back as she pulls on her shoes and grabs her new Hexside hoodie off the hanger on the back of the door before she runs out. Her jeans make loud scratching noises as she runs down the stairs, not that her loud thumping wasn’t going to alert everyone in the house she was coming already.

She hops over the last few steps to land on the floor and smiles at Amity who is standing in the living room with her arms crossed but smiling at her in black pants and a matching black hoodie with a bright purple pentagram on the front surrounded by runes.

“Hey, cutie.” She grins, trotting over to kiss Amity hello before she pulls her hoodie on.

“Ready to go?” she asks, her blush at the complement tempered by watching Luz struggle to put her head through the right hole. She rolled her eyes and grabbed the hem, helping right the blue hoodie till Luz’s head popped out with a grin.

“Yup!”

“You two have fun, don’t do anything I would do, and if ya do, don’t get caught!” Eda smirked and the two grin.

“Bye, Mom.” she only pauses slightly when the word comes out of her mouth but Eda just smiles and gives them a little two-finger wave from the couch.

“See ya later, Kids.”

They leave the owl house, walking away quickly before Hooty can really get going about the squirrel he ate that morning.

Luz takes hold of one of Amity’s hands and shoves the other in her hoodie pocket, it’s chilly today and the leaves are falling from the trees more and more every day.

“So…, do you want to talk about that?” Amity asks after a few seconds, that’s the first time she’s seen Luz make that slip in person, though she knows it's happened several other times. Luz just shrugs. She still feels selfish for it, thinking of Eda as a parent, for never wanting to go back to the world of her birth, regardless of whether or not it's actually possible at the moment, but she's working more and more every day to come to terms with her feelings about never wanting to leave the Isles; about considering this her real home.

“I mean, I still feel a little bad when I do it, but it’s been happening more and more lately… and I dunno, I guess I’m just starting to get used to it? Seeing Eda like an adopted mom. She is a lot like my mom… I mean, you know, kinda,” she laughs.

“Your personality would make more sense if Eda was your mom.” Amity smirks.

“And what does that mean?” Luz grins, nudging her playfully.

“Your general disregard for rules and danger are very ‘Eda’," she says matter of factly with a grin.

"I don't know what you're referring to," she says with mock haughtiness, sticking her nose in the air.

"Oh? I have a list prepared then." Amity clears her throat dramatically and holds up her free hand and begins counting off on her fingers.

"You broke into the conformatorium to steal a paper crown when we first met you snuck into Hexside pretending to be an abomination…"

"You're the one who almost got me dissected that day, otherwise it would have been fine." Luz cocked a brow at her. Amity pursed her lips.

"Okay, I'll give you a by on that one, but then you animated the entire owl house and took it on a joyride, you tried to fight Odabin as 'Luzura'." She smirked, glancing at her out of the side of her eye, and Luz pinked. "You tried to steal from the Emperor, then fought him and Lilith, challenged Boscha to a grudgby match when you didn't even know how to play the game, you stole…"

"Borrowed!" Luz corrected.

"...my training wand and shot a Slitherbeast with a fire spell…," Amity continued as though she hadn't been interrupted. "Speaking of Slitherbeasts, you almost got yourself eaten picking thornberries for my birthday cake!"

Luz chuckled, guess she was still mad about that one.

"Then you deliberately put yourself in danger by taking my place as grom queen…"

"You let me!" Luz accused.

"I didn't want everyone to see my worst fear was getting rejected by you and know I had a crush on you!" she argued while Luz just grinned at her.

"Aw, you had a crush on me."

"We are literally dating…" Amity gives her a deadpan look and holds up their intertwined hands.

"Yeah, but still…!" she laughed as Amity rolled her eyes, but she's smiling too.

"So, yes, you have a tendency to ignore danger and rules, just like Eda."

"Well, I guess I picked the right teacher and adoptive mom then." She grins. Amity just shakes her head as they walk through the woods toward town.

"Where’s Ed and Em?" She asks as they get closer to town.

"They said they'd meet us there." She shrugs. She tries not to worry about all the trouble her siblings have a tendency to get into when left to their own devices.

When they're just outside of town Amity reluctantly pulls her hand out of Luz's and misses the warmth immediately. Luz pouts and shoves her hand into her pocket with the other.

They meet Ed and Em just outside town on the main road.

"Hey, Luz," the twins call in unison as they approach and Luz grins sticking up a hand to high five both of them.

The twins view Luz like another little sister, she’s good to Amity and means a lot to her, which means she means a lot to them.

They also like to privately tease Amity that they may as well start now since she's gonna be their sister-in-law someday. They delight at how impossibly red she turns when they say it, but say nothing about how happy the idea seems to make her simultaneously even as she yells at them that they haven’t even been dating a year yet.

It's a chilly Saturday as they follow along behind the twins through the market. It's not their first choice, their first choice would be of course, to be able to go anywhere they want and be an obvious couple, impossible as that is right now, but they wanted to go to the market, and they'd been to town alone together several times this week already and the twins needed some stuff anyway, so it makes a good cover.

They decide to stop and eat lunch at the Redstone bakery, which also sells a variety of sandwiches. Luz still doesn't know what's in it exactly, but she's had it several times and knows she can eat it, and it's tasty; so it really doesn't matter to her. Amity still stands by, watching her carefully anytime she tries something new in case she has some kind of reaction, which really, has only happened three times but it is a possibility, and Amity is nothing if not prepared, and one has to be extra prepared when it comes to Luz.

Both Clawthorne sisters think she might grow more tolerant the longer she lives here and her body grows accustomed to it.

She hopes so, for all the weird foods, there are just as many tasty looking ones she wants to try. It's not like she didn't have allergies in the human world, being lactose intolerant.

They eat and talk, Ed and Em talking animatedly about a prank they played on two other upperclassmen earlier in the week.

Apparently they embarrassed them in front of the entire illusion track during a presentation that had them running from the room to the entire classes laughter.

Amity rolls her eyes at that and Luz nods along, half-listening, distracted by her food and her girlfriend, who's holding her hand under the table, slowly running her thumb back and forth across her knuckles.

Luz is stuffed by the time her sandwich is gone, as well as the second half of Amity's, she'd slid to her when she was done. Where Luz ate like a horse, Amity did not, but she still has the thornberry muffin sitting in front of her, and as much as she wants to eat it, she might pop if she does. It won't go to waste though.

She slides it across the table to Amity, who looks at it before smiling at her and takes it. They must be looking at each other in what Eda calls 'that gross gooey way' because Emira pipes up.

"You two need more couple friends," she says, rolling her eyes at them.

Amity frowns at her.

"Ignoring the fact that we literally can't tell people we're a couple, why do we need more couple friends?" she looks at her sister skeptically. Before she can say anything Edric jumps in with a witty remark, or at least what he thinks is witty.

"Because you're on a double date with us," he teased.

Amity scowls at that and Luz smirks. Normally, she stays clear of these back and forths between the Blight siblings, she's not as quick-witted as the twins or Amity, but today she can't help herself.

"Well, if this is a double date, you're the only one here on a date with their sister," she shoots back.

Edric's face drops, while Amity and Emira burst into peals of laughter.

They laugh at him for a solid minute before they can even speak.

"Oh, that was a good one. You walked right into that," Emira cackled, wiping at a tear. Edric crossed his arms and pouts.

Amity is still snickering when she glances back at Luz, who winks and Amity's hand squeezes hers under the table.

"Anyway, I was going to say, so Ed and I don't have to watch you two be so sickeningly romantic, but now I think I just need to meet someone so I don't have to be Ed's date," she snickers and Ed scowls at her.

When lunch is finished they wander back out into the market. It's crowded the way it usually is on Saturday.

Just as they cross a street Edric stops and smirks, looking at something across the street.

“See those guys over there?” He points across the market at two guys standing at a stall looking at something. One is tall and blonde, the other a little shorter but he has a bright green mohawk that Luz doesn’t know how she missed, but then again, this is the Boiling Isles. Just ten minutes ago she saw a guy with wings and a briefcase shopping for pet demons, so…

“What about them?” Amity asks.

“Those are the guys we embarrassed Friday,” Emira laughs.

“Oh boys!” Edric yells waving and the two look up and see them. The twins just grin and wave as the other two scowl darkly at them and walk off into the crowded market. The twins snicker and Amity shakes her head. Someday her brother and sister are going to give themselves problems with their tricks and mean pranks.

They continue browsing for a while, looking over the different wares offered at the stalls, there are a lot of regular merchants in the same spots every day but there are always a bunch of new ones too, selling all manner of weird and exotic things that some days Luz can’t even guess at. It's become a game for her and Amity to wander around and Luz to guess at the uses for things and Amity to affirm or correct her. Just something fun they like to do together at the market.

Some large guy with horns and two mouths is shouting across the market, advertising his wares for something that makes light with no magic.

“Pfft, I have glyphs for that.”

“That’s still magic, Luz.” Amity glances at her.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t take energy like when you cast spells. I can make glyphs all day long so long as I have paper.” She goes to emphasize this by pulling out her pad, but as she pats her pockets, she realizes she doesn’t have it.

“What’s wrong?

“I guess I left my glyphs and pad at home, didn’t think I’d need them for our date,” she says with a shrug and then grins. “I know you’d protect me.” She nudges Amity who rolls her eyes even as she smiles and nudges back as the four walk along the street.

There are few people in this section of the market, so they don’t have to whisper to each other.

“I thought you were MY fearless champion?” she teases, and then snorts as Luz stops suddenly to pose, one fist on her chest and the other on her hip, chest puffed out.

“Amity Blight, I will always be your fearless champion!” she declares and Amity giggles at her even as her heart flutters in her chest.

“I guess we’ll just have to protect each other.” She smiles adoringly at her and Luz grins back.

“Congratulations,” Edric says suddenly, crossing his arms. “You two are officially, that couple.”

“What couple?” Luz looks at Ed over her shoulder.

“That nauseatingly, romantic couple who are always doing cute things,” Emira explained, hand on her hip.

“At least I have a girlfriend…,” Amity huffed at them, arms crossed and nose in the air. Luz stuck her tongue out at them.

The twins frowned before smirking and simultaneously twirled their fingers.

Both their hoods suddenly pulled down over their heads, drawstrings pulling tightly closed, making Luz yelp and Amity snarl as the twins laughed.

Amity yanked the hood off and glared at the two as Luz’s head popped out of her hood.

“We’re going to the bookstore…," she growled, grabbing Luz’s arm and turning them in the right direction before having to drop it again.

“We’ll meet you there in a little bit!” Edric called after them, still grinning.

Amity grumbled to herself, fixing her hair before looking at Luz, whose dark brown locks had been mussed as well.

They were nearly alone now, and she reached up and carefully smoothed it out, making Luz grin as Amity fussed over her. She was fine if it was a little messy, but it was easier to just let Amity do her thing. Besides, she very much liked the feeling of her fingers running through her hair, and the warm affection it made tingle across her skin when Amity fretted over her.

She wanted so badly to take her hand but held back.

“I heard the bookstore got the newest Azura book in just yesterday,” Amity says after a minute and Luz brightens.

“I’ll race you there!” Luz suddenly shouts, taking off down the sidewalk, laughing. Amity grins, taking off after her. Luz turned the corner up ahead and Amity pushed herself to go faster but when she turned the corner her girlfriend was nowhere in sight. She stops, looking around.

Luz is fast, she knows, but not that fast.

“Luz?” She walks a few more feet, passing an alley as she looks around.

Suddenly a hand on her shoulder drags her roughly into the alley and she yelps.

Amity grimaces as she falls to the ground on her backside. She looks up and finds herself staring back at the snarling face of the upperclassmen with the green mohawk her brother had pointed out earlier.

“Amity!”

She turns toward the call and her face pales.

Luz is pressed back against the alley's stone wall, while the other student, the blonde, holds her there, a hand fisted into the front of her hoodie, but Luz is looking at her.

She looks like she starts to move over toward her but the blonde, draws a spell circle with his free hand and flames erupts from it, which he shoves next to her face, making Luz flinch back against the stone.

“Don’t even try,” he snaps, and Luz glares defiantly at him.

“Luz!” She jumps up but stops short of dashing over when Mohawk steps right in front of her, blocking her view of Luz and the blonde witch.

“If it isn’t the twin's precious baby sister and her little human friend, what a coincidence," he hissed, quite literally as a serpentine tongue flicked out between his lips.

Amity glared right back. Her arm starts to shoot up, index finger extended but stops short as she catches sight of Luz, back up against the wall, helpless against the other student without her glyphs as he teasingly shoves the fire closer to her face. Slowly, she lowered her arm and swallowed; If she fought back Luz would pay for it. She clenched her fists.

“What do you two want?” she growled.

“To get back at your rotten shit siblings!” he snarled, stalking closer to Amity, who takes a step back for each of his, till they've stalked past Luz and the blonde toward the back of the alley until she had no place left to go.

"It's not enough they're top of the class, they have to harp on the rest of us all the damn time too with their stupid jokes and pranks!"

His arm shot out and he grabbed Amity's wrist, tight, and she cried out in pain as he yanked her forward and she slammed to the hard ground, it bit into her palms as she tried to cushion the fall. Her knees still knocked hard against it and Amity glared up at him.

"They think they're so funny and clever?" he spat, standing over her. He spins a finger and a dark blue spell circle appears before fire crackles in his palm. "We'll see how clever they are when we send their little sister home fried!" He kicks her for good measure making her yelp.

"Amity!" Luz jerks forward but the fire crackling near her face is shoved closer and she can feel the heat licking at her cheeks and swallows thickly.

"Don't even try human, or I'll cook you!" The guy barks. She stiffens, but she’s focussed on Amity, lying on the ground. They've both turned to look back at her and blondie, and Amity's pained expression turns scared as she stares back at her, and it's like ice water running down Luz’s spine when she realizes that Amity isn't scared for herself, she's scared for her. Scared to fight back because Luz might get hurt; she knows Luz doesn’t have her glyphs.

Her fists clench, white knuckled.

Maybe she doesn't have her magic right now, but if they think she's going to stand by and let them beat up her girlfriend, she's going to introduce them to the good 'ol human version of a ‘witch’s duel’. She takes a deep breath and too fast for blondie to react, her fist flies upward and she connects, fist cracking against the underside of his jaw.

Blondie reels backward, stunned, the fire in his hand dissipating but Luz doesn’t wait for an invitation, and jolts forward, swinging again, ignoring the pain in her hand and nails him in the nose.

“Argghh!” She must have gotten Mohawks attention again because despite her heart pounding in her ears she hears Amity’s voice somewhere behind her,

“Abomination rise!”

She wants to go to her, but Luz knows damn well that so long as she has her magic, Amity can defend herself; and she has her own hands full already.

The guy looks up at her, eyes filled with rage and suddenly Luz’s world is awash in pain as his fist connects with her face and she stumbles backward. She rights herself quick enough to see him coming, but not to stop the next punch that topples her to the ground, and then he's on top of her, a hand fisted into the front of her shirt.

Adrenaline is coursing through her veins and Luz kicks him in the gut.

He doubles over and she kicks him again, sending him sprawling to the ground before she turns toward Amity, who has an abomination shielding her from the fire spells the other upperclassman is firing at her while she rapidly draws spell circles, flinging back spikes of ice.

She runs forward but only gets two steps before she's yanked back roughly by her hood.

Blondie swings her by the hood into the alley's stone wall. Her face and hands scrape against the stone, but she manages to cushion most of the blow with her arms. His hand grabs the back of her head and grinds her face into the wall and Luz winces under the pressure, crying out.

“Get away from her!”

A spear of ice fires down the alley out toward the street, and Blondie lets her go, jumping out of the way before he's impaled. Luz has to capitalize on the opening.

She turns and flings herself at him, toppling them to the ground, and she just starts swinging, he raises his arms to fend off the wild, rapid punches. She knows she needs to keep his hands busy because she isn't going to be any match for his spells without her glyphs, though in a fistfight she can, apparently, hold her own.

A few of her hits connect, but then he hits back, getting in another punch that sends Luz reeling and her head spinning as he throws her off and she thumps to the ground.

She only just managed to scramble to her feet, still a little dazed, her face is throbbing and she can taste blood. He grabs the front of her shirt in both hands and lifts her off the ground, feet dangling.

“You shoulda just kept quiet you stupid, little bit-”

Anything he was going to say is cut off as Luz flings one of her legs up, hard as she can, nailing him where the sun doesn't shine and he groans, dropping her instantly and falling to his knees. He’s curled up in the fetal position, cursing.

She spins around, looking down the alley where Amity is still fending off the upperclassman, but he’s backed her into a corner. The sleeve of her hoodie is burned away and she’s favoring her left arm; she’s hurt.

With a strangled scream of rage and fueled by adrenaline, Luz sprints down the alley and throws herself onto his back.

“Leave her alone!” She wraps her arms around his neck and he chokes staggering backward.

“Luz!” Amity yells as he thrashes around, clawing at her, trying to get a hold of the human as she squeezed her arms tightly around his windpipe. He finally gets hold of her hood and hauls her over his shoulder, back smacking the ground with a sickening smack. She groans, rolling into her side.

Blondie is back, his face is covered in bruises and blood is dripping from a bloody nose and a gash over his eyebrow as he runs toward them, but before he can get there a blast of magic shoots him in the back sending him to the ground, followed by several more as Edric and Emira appear in the alley’s entrance, scowling and drawing spell circles furiously.

The twins heard Amity’s yell as they were passing by on their way to meet them at the bookstore. The twins move down the alley against the wall, firing spells so as to maneuver themselves between the two younger teens and their classmates. The two battered witches turn tail and run, outnumbered. The twins give chase.

Amity lets her abomination fall as the twins continue to fire off spells at their attackers retreating backs as they race toward the alley's exit, and quickly turns, looking wildly at her girlfriend.

"Luz!" She shouts the second her eyes land on her.

Luz groaned, blood is coming from somewhere, she's not sure where, but she's watching it drop to the ground, in blotches on the dirt, staining it crimson beneath her as she tries to right herself, stumbling to her shaky feet. The adrenaline has begun to fade and the pain in her entire body makes itself known in throbs, in sync with the quick beat of her heart, but especially her face.

Amity races over to her, eyes wide with fear, hands raised in the air but she's still lost in an adrenaline-filled haze that makes it hard to think straight, and she doesn't even know where to start with Luz's injuries as she looks at her.

Her left eye and the skin around it is starting to turn a deep, ugly purple as it starts to swell shut. Her bottom lip is split open and blood is running freely from her nose.

Luz's legs begin to tremble as the fight induced adrenaline leaves her and she lets them give, dropping back to her knees in a heap. Amity's hands shoot out to grab her arms, trying to slow the fall as she kneels next to her. She shakily digs through her pocket and pulls out a handkerchief and starts gently wiping at the blood still coming out of Luz's nose, but it just keeps coming and soon the thin white material is stained crimson.

The twins run over once they're sure the other witches are gone.

"What happened?!" Emira shouts.

"Why were they attacking you?!" Edric looks wildly between the two.

Anger flares up in Amity like demon fire as she turns to glare at her siblings, lips pulled back in a snarl.

"They were attacking us for what you two did to them at school!" Amity practically screams at them. "They were after me and they were trying to use Luz so I couldn't fight back!" She spits and the twins' recoil, complete surprise, and horror are painted across their faces. Amity wants to yell at them more but she has more important things to do. 'Take care of Luz.' is her prevailing thought.

She turns back to Luz who seems to finally be responsive after hearing Amity scream at the twins.

She reaches up to grab the hand dabbing at her face, her one still open eye on her. Amity glimpses the bloody knuckles as she does.

"I'm okay…," she says, squeezing it.

"You are not okay, Luz, you're hurt!" She chokes as the rest of her emotions start catching up to her, drowning out her anger with a sea of fear and Pain.

Fear for herself and for Luz, and pain, in her arm and in her chest as she looks at her beaten bloody girlfriend.

"I know… but I'll be okay. Are you okay?" Her one open eye roams over Amity and lands on the burn on her arm. The skin is red and looks raw with dried blood and soot around the edges from where the left sleeve of her hoodie had been burned away to create the injury when a fire spell had struck home.

"Forget about, me! You're bleeding everywhere!" She holds the crimson handkerchief to Luz's nose and pinches it shut. Luz winces.

"We need to get her home…," Edric says quietly as he walks up and kneels down to help pick up Luz but Amity snarls and shoves him away. He falls back, looking at her with wide, surprised eyes.

"Don't touch her! This is your fault, both of you!" Tears are dripping down her angry face.

"Amity…" she hears Emira's pained voice.

Luz grabs her hands, forcing her attention back to her.

"Shhh, mi amor…," she soothes, which only makes Amity cry harder as Luz tries to comfort her with blood still running down her lips and angry purple bruises blooming across her face.

"Please, Amity, we need to get Luz home, and you're hurt too." Emira's voice is tight, sounding on the verge of tears as she kneels next to her sister.

Edric bites his lip turning over onto his knees.

"Please, Amity…," he begs.

The hands wrapped around hers squeeze and Amity looks at Luz who nods tiredly.

"Let them help."

Amity jerks a nod and Luz let's go as Edric wraps an arm around her back and holds her arm over his shoulder to help her stand.

Emira moves to help Amity but she flinches away from the touch and stands on her own. That stabs at Emira's chest.

Luz winces with every step. It's a long thirty-minute walk to the owl house, made all the worse by the intense stifling quiet, as no one says anything.

Amity's burnt arm hurts, badly, but it's overshadowed by her intense worry, watching Luz wince. It looks like her nose has stopped bleeding but her face is a bloody, black, and blue mess and though she makes no sound, tears are still dripping down her face. Emira trails behind her, watching her carefully but says nothing.

When they finally arrive Hooty sees them coming and stretches quickly around the house, sticking his head in one of the windows for a minute before pulling back and a few seconds later the door slams open and Eda and Lilith come running out.

"What happened!?" Lilith yells first.

Eda meets them in the yard, but other than the panicked expression on her face, says nothing as she takes Luz from Edric, gathering the beaten girl in her arms and hurrying back into the house. Lillith takes one look and Amity and ushers her toward the house as well.

The twins move to follow but Amity stops.

"Go home," she sniffles, barely looking at them over her shoulder.

Ed and Em just stand there, they say nothing, just looking at their sister sadly as Lilith looks between Amity and the twins, before turning to them.

"I will tend to her injuries," she says, before continuing to lead Amity into the house. The door shuts on the twins still standing in the yard.

Luz is sitting on the couch when they walk in just as Eda hurries up the stairs, still not saying anything. Lilith leads Amity to sit next to her and looks over her burnt arm and the bruise forming around her wrist in a distinct hand-print shape before she also hurries to the kitchen, leaving the two teenagers alone in the living room.

The front of Luz's new hoodie is spattered with blood, the hood is ripped and theirs some small tears in other places, as well as on her jeans, while Amity's is singed, the whole left arm burned away to reveal her burnt arm. Ash and soot cling to the skin around it and the front left side is blackened.

They don't say anything, and soon enough both sisters return and Eda, face tight with anger and worry, begins gently cleaning Luz's face.

Lilith helps Amity gently pull off the ruined hoodie and starts cleaning her arm, making her tears start anew as she wipes at the tender and raw, burnt skin.

Luz's hand finds hers on the couch and holds it. Amity sniffles and runs her thumb over bruised knuckles.

When they're finally cleaned up and bandaged Eda leans back and lets out a long, tense sigh.

"Someone tell us what happened, now." She finally speaks, looking between the two teens.

They spend the next fifteen minutes explaining the events of the afternoon to the sisters. Eda looking, angrier and angrier with every word as Lilith's frown deepens and her brows pull together between her eyes.

"Those stupid little…!" Eda growls

"Edalyn" Lilith stops her with a word, drawing her sister's angry gaze but she's looking at Luz and Amity. "Why don't you two go upstairs and we'll call you when dinner is ready?" They nod and head for the stairs, the sisters watching them go.

Luz plops on her bed tiredly, back against the headboard. Her whole body hurts, but not nearly as much as her head, she's got a headache.

Amity sits next to her, leaning her head on her shoulder and they sit there quietly for a while.

Luz never could stand the quiet.

"Aren't you glad now I have that general disregard for danger?" Luz smiles weakly, trying to lighten the oppressively, heavy mood. Amity looks at her sadly, glassy eyes roaming over her face. Her left eye has finished swelling shut and it's an ugly black color. Her split lip has stopped bleeding but it's swollen too, closed with dark, dried blood. She has a rash of scrapes on the right side of her face from being slammed into the wall and several dark bruises dot her face, and Amity's lip trembles.

"I'm sorry…," she mumbles thickly, tucking her face into Luz's neck.

"Hey, it's okay. This wasn't your fault," she says, wrapping her arms around her and holding her tight.

At that Amity's anger returns stronger than ever, and she pulls away, scowling.

"No… it was my stupid brother and sisters fault!" she spat through fresh tears, looking away.

Luz wants to argue with that, she really does, but can't, because it's true. If the twins hadn't needlessly pranked and then provoked those two upperclassmen in the market, this wouldn't have happened.

"They didn't mean to," she tries weakly, but it sounds feeble even to her own ears.

"That doesn't make it any less their fault, them and their stupid pranks!" she rages. "They're always provoking someone, and now you're hurt because of it!"

"So are you," Luz reminds, her one eye flickering to the bandage wrapped around Amity's left arm from wrist to elbow.

"That doesn't matt-"

"It matters to me," Luz cuts her off sharply. "I'm supposed to be your fearless champion… and you still got hurt… you had to save me," she mumbled, looking down. She hears Amity sigh, and the bed shifts and Amity's head tucks back into her neck, arm around her tightening.

"You were my fearless champion," she mumbles, snuggling into her and Luz squeezes back, burying her nose in mint hair.

"And you were mine."

[cynicalrainbows]

The Next Best Thing Chapter 9

Anne tells her the big news over lunch. 

Cathy is eating lukewarm school pasta; Anne has a Mary lunch.

(Anne is the only person Cathy knows who has three sorts of school lunches- what they call Jane lunch, Mary lunch and Fancy lunch. 

Usually- when things are normal-ish, when she’s just at home like normal and it’s Mary’s job to take her to school, she gets a Mary lunch, which means whatever sandwich Mary has made in a rush, in between feeding Baby Catherine and getting herself ready and checking Anne is wearing school uniform and not her Ninja turtles tshirt (although sometimes Mary forgets to check the last one). 

Mary lunches are mostly ok, except that they’re usually a bit squashed....although once Mary was SO tired from being up with Baby Catherine she forgot to put in a filling and Anne had to pretend to the other children on the lunch table that she’d just asked for bread and butter that day.

(They didn’t look like they believed her.)

The other end of the scale is a Fancy lunch, and there’s only two times Anne gets one of those: either after the Mary lunch has been especially bad (or when she gets secret lunch option number four- which is actually no lunch at all because Mary forgot to pick up bread, or picked up the bread but forgot the making-the-sandwich part or remembered the bread and the sandwich making part but forgot to put it in Anne’s bag) and their teacher has called Anne over to ask, in hushed tones, Is Everything Alright At Home?

The other time is after something else has slipped a bit (once when Mary was sick, Anne didn’t come to school for two days) and the ‘chat’ has turned into a phone call. 

And that’s when Anne gets a Fancy lunch.

Fancy lunches are never the same but always ten times nicer than whatever anyone else has for lunch that day, because no one actually makes them, Anne’s mum orders them from a special company who spend all their time just making fancy lunches that can fit into a lunchbox- tiny wraps with fancy fillings skewered on cocktail sticks and rolls of rice and seaweed in pretty patterns and little individual quiches. 

The only bad thing about them is that they never last for more than a few days and then lunch making becomes Mary’s job again and it can be a bit disappointing to suddenly get a squashed marmite sandwich instead of the fancy lunch-in-a-box you were expecting.

Jane lunches are sort of in the middle of the two, Cathy supposes. 

They’re never as fancy as the Fancy lunches (Jane doesn’t seem to shop at the places that sell quinoa and lemongrass) and they’re not exciting really, just sandwiches and fruit.

 Then again, they always always have things that Anne definitely likes in them, whereas there’s nearly always a bit of the Fancy lunch that she has to pick off and set aside because she doesn’t like it, like the truffles that didn’t look or taste at all like chocolate.

They’re never as pretty as the Fancy lunches either but Jane does things like cutting off the crusts and peeling the apple and cutting it into slices that Anne’s mum never seems to want to do when it’s her actually fixing the food.

(It makes the food taste nice.)

The best thing about Jane’s lunches is that she never gets cross if a bit of it doesn’t get eaten, apart from to ask if Anne wants something else next time. She never gets ‘I don’t know why I even bother paying for nice things for you’ angry like Anne’s dad did when he found out about the uneaten truffles-that-were-really-mushrooms.

And if she’s done any baking- and Jane bakes a LOT- there’s always a biscuit or a little piece of cake or a pastry twist wrapped up carefully in greaseproof paper, ready for Anne to split in half and share with Cathy in return for all the times that Cathy shared her own food on no-lunch days.

Cathy doesn’t have packed lunches now that she’s with Catalina but she has sometimes wondered what they’d be like and she figures they’d probably be closer to the Jane lunches than the Fancy lunches. 

Oddly enough, the thought does not make her feel all that disappointed.

Anne tells her the Big News right away, because she can’t keep secrets, and the big news is that Anne’s getting to have a sleepover for her birthday. 

Cathy asks when and Anne says that it’ll be on the Saturday coming because that’s when her birthday is going to be.

Cathy knows when Anne’s birthday is- she has it written down in the furry purple My Secret Diary that she got for Christmas, because there’s a section to write down things about your friends, and she has Anne written down first because she’s her best friend- and she feels a bit guilty, like maybe she should have remembered.

 Anne doesn’t seem to mind though.

 Anne says that when she asked her mum the night before what she was doing for her birthday this year, and could they go to Splash Zone again like last year, her mum had nodded and said YesMaybeAskDaddy (which is how she answers lots of things).....and then she’d sat up, and she’d put down her glossy magazine and checked something on her phone and her eyes had gone very wide.

So instead of SplashZone- because now there isn’t time to book it before the weekend, Anne’s getting a sleepover party. 

Part of the treat is the sleepover, according to Anne, and part of the treat is meant to be that she doesn’t have to share the sleepover with Kitty, even though Kitty lives at Anne’s house most of the time.

Anne says she doesn’t mind sharing her bedroom but she IS glad Kitty isn’t going to be at the sleepover. 

According to Anne, Kitty hasn’t been much fun at all since Uncle Edmund dropped her off and she won’t play anything that Anne wants to play anymore, even when Anne offers her usual chocolate button bribe, and it turns out it’s VERY hard to play even easy games like chase when it’s only you.

Actually, Anne isn’t sure if she should be cross about this or not because it’s not just that Kitty won’t play Anne’s games, she doesn’t seem to want to play anything at all: she just clings to Jane’s skirt, waiting for her to finish whatever she’s doing and sit down so that she can she can fold herself up small in Jane’s lap. 

She clings to a handful of Jane’s shirt with one hand and only raggedly old Pink Kitty with the other, like she’s afraid someone is going to take one or both of them away if she lets go, sucking her thumb and not saying a word.

And when she isn’t silent- which is honestly most of the time, according to Anne- she’s having huge screaming tantrums over stupid things like cleaning her teeth or putting on her pajamas. Cathy finds it hard to imagine Kitty- who was quiet as a mouse nearly all the time, even before Edmund- even raising her voice once let alone screaming but Anne assures her that it’s true. 

She says that it’s giving her a headache. 

Her mum and dad and Mary are officially Losing Patience, which is why Kitty is going to be with Jane for a bit.

Officially, it’s as part of Anne’s birthday treat, but Anne thinks they were planning it anyway because she heard Mary complaining to her mum, and then she heard her Mum talking on the phone to someone about being At The End of Her Tether, and she kept shaking her head and looking over at where Kitty was curled up in a little ball on the edge of the sofa, not even watching the tv (although Anne had specially foregone Rugrats for the boring baby program about the baggy pink cat because Kitty liked it). 

Or, Kitty used to like it. 

Now she doesn’t seem to like very much at all anymore.

Mary and Anne’s Mum and Dad don’t seem to mind Kitty being extra quiet but they do mind the tantrums- and the way Kitty has started waking up in the night crying and disturbing everybody when Some People Have To Work In The Morning Fergodsake, and the way the Reception teacher has started to call home because she’s ‘concerned’.

Jane calls round too when she hears that Anne’s dad has taken away the Barbie Kitty got for promising not to suck her thumb anymore, and says they all need to make allowances right now, whatever that means. 

She and Anne’s mum drink cappuccinos- because Anne’s mum has a special expensive new machine that makes them- and Jane talks about reassurance and sense of security and unconditional love, while Anne’s mum talks about discipline and consequences and legal custody.

 Eventually Anne’s mum tells Jane that she’s not a social worker anymore so she needs to stop acting like one, and that Kitty isn’t a baby any more and they need to stop coddling her, that maybe Edmund was right about some things.

And then Jane goes home.

So Kitty won’t be at the sleepover, Anne says. It’ll be just her and Cathy- and Anna. 

Cathy tries to smile and look pleased that Anna’s invited too- it’s not that she doesn’t like her, exactly, it’s just that for Anne’s first sleepover, she’d rather it was just them.

It’s a bit easier to be properly happy when Anne tells Anna because Anna looks excited but also a bit surprised too- as if she’s not expecting to be asked. That makes Cathy feel better. It reminds her that Anna really isn’t out to steal her best friend, which is something Catalina reminds her of whenever she seems to need it.

‘Really?’

‘Yeah, my mum said I could have two friends.’ Anne nibbles the crust of her sandwich (peanut butter) delicately, trying to make the edges of the bread straight.

‘I’ll ask Mutti when I get home- she’ll say yes, she’ll be happy I’m making friends-’ Anna beams. ‘I used to have sleepovers back home- back in Germany. With my old friends.’

‘Cool!’

Cathy takes another bite of soggy school lasagne and wonders why Anna always has to bring her old home into everything.

 It’s sort of interesting to hear but it also makes her wonder if there’s anything that Anna hasn’t done or seen before everyone else. 

She wants to ask what German sleepovers are like but then she doesn’t.

(Whatever they’re like, they’re probably a hundred times cooler than whatever English sleepovers.)

[gemstoneconstellations]

Pretty Pretty Princess

Summary: Kaminari’s daughter wants to play dress up, so he becomes a princess for the evening.

Wordcount: 1808

“Mommy, can we play dress up?” You wave a tired hand at your daughter, who was following you around the room. You could feel her tugging onto your dress as you laid out paper plates and plastic silverware.

   Today was a special day; it was the baby shower for the unborn twins inside your belly. Lucky for you, they have been calm so you can get things done, but now your six year old is demanding your attention. “Miuko, I can’t. I’m setting up the party for your siblings. Today we get to find out if the babies are boys or girls.”

   Miuko puffed out her chubby cheeks, pulling on her dirty blonde pigtails. “But I wanna play princess tea party!” Her hair started to become staticy and her strands started to stand on end as she crossed her arms, pouting on the couch.

 “Heheh, now she looks like her dad when she does that. She’s so cute all the time, you forget her dad is Denki.” Kyouka came into the room, holding the cake for the party. Momo followed close behind her with balloons. Oh thank god, the other adults are here to help.

   You sigh happily as the girls came over to you and gave you side hugs. “Hey, Kyouka, that’s rude!” Speak of the devil, your husband pouted as he walked over to you. His arms wrapped around you tightly as he showered your face in loving kisses. “Hello my beautiful, darling, glowing, light-of-my-life wife. How are you feeling? How are the little lightning bugs?” His hands wandered down to your belly; the twins seemed to sense their father, as they shifted inside you...

   “We are good, don’t worry. Just worried about getting the party together in time for everyone to get here…” You looked back down at your daughter and then motioned your husband closer to whisper in his ear. “I think Miu is feeling a bit left out. She’s been begging to play princess all morning.”

   Denki looked down at his pouting little girl and then winked at you. “Oh man honey, I don’t think I can help with decorating. I’m really bad at it! I guess I have to keep myself out of the way. Hey Miu, do you know what daddy could do while we wait for the party?”

   Miuko gasped, jumping up and down on the couch. “Princess tea party!”

   Denki let out a dramatic gasp as he grabbed his daughter's hand. You giggled at his ‘excitement’ as you mindlessly rubbed your belly. “Princess tea party?! That sounds like sooooooo much fun! Let’s play in your room!” The two of them skipped down the hall; your daughter’s bubbly voice could be heard all the way to her room.

   “Man… that was cute.”

   “Makes you want a child of our own, Kyouka?”

   “M-M-Momo!”

   ~

   The party was still being set up when the guys showed up. Sero, Kirishima, and a Bakugo being dragged via headlock by Kirishima. Which meant they were sent to see where Denki was since they couldn’t be trusted to help or keep fingers away from snacks. “Holy shit! Pwahahahahahah! What the heck Kaminari?!” Both Sero and Kirishima fell to the floor, laughing at the sight before them.

   Denki had bows, clips, and glitter in his hair with random braids everywhere, as well as messy sparkly pink eyeshadow that didn’t stop at his eyelids and Barbie pink lipstick. Denki was sitting at his daughter’s play table, squeezing his large body onto one of the mini child chairs.e.

   “Is that an effing tutu, dunce face?” Bakugo, who was filtering his words in front of Miuko, pointed to the frill around Denki’s waist.

   “Yes, yes it is. And my name is Princess Dazzling Unicorn Sparkle.” Denki stated his new title proudly, taking a pretend sip from a very small plastic pink teacup, pinky out and everything. He is not ashamed that he plays with his daughter or that he lets her use him as a dress-up doll.

   Miu hopped to her feet, dressed in one of her princess costumes from Halloween. She ran over to the men that were more than triple her size. “Uncle Ei! Uncle Hanta! Uncle Suki! Are you here to play too?!” She grabbed Kirishima’s and Sero’s hands, pulling them and forcing them to sit at the table as well. It was amusing to see someone as big and bulky as Red Riot sitting in a chair that was smaller than one of his calves.

   “Uuuhhhhh…” The men looked at each other, unsure of what to do. Miu was looking at them with big puppy dog eyes; there was no way they could fight it. They both gave reluctant nods, but were rewarded with one of the brightest smiles they'd ever seen on Kaminari’s daughter’s face.

   “Eff that. I’d rather help with the dumb baby shower.” Bakugo tried to turn away, but small hands glued him to where he stood.

   “Pleeeaaasssse Uncle Suki? It won’t be as fun without you. I wanna play with you too.” Bakugo flinched at the tears starting to flow out of her eyes. Small sparks of electricity buzzed around her. If there is one thing Bakugo learned over the years from being around the small Kaminari child is to avoid any possible tantrum, at all costs. There is no way someone who didn’t have an electric quirk would survive. The moment he let go of the doorknob, she knew she’d won. “Yay, you are going to be Princess Butterfly Glitter Bomb!”

   ~

   You sighed from your spot on the couch; all the energy you’d had before had been sucked away when the twins decided to switch spots inside your stomach. “Alright, everything is set up. We just have to lay out the snacks and wait for everyone to show up. I’ll get the boys and the princess to come out and join us.”

   Walking down the hall, you could hear your daughter telling the story of how her prince in shining armor came to rescue her. “That’s stupid. Why would you wait for some dude to save you? You can do it yourself.” Ah, that was Bakugo talking.

   “But I want to be saved! My prince will give me a kiss!” Slowly, you opened the door; the first thing you see is your daughter being pampered by two pairs of hands. One was skillfully putting winged eyeliner on her, while the other was delicately placing flowers inside her French braided golden hair. Your eyes widened as you opened the door more; you immediately placed a hand over your mouth to hold back a snort.

   “You can fight some dragon on your own with your quirk, why wait for some dumb prince?” Bakugo, who was applying makeup to your daughter, had a butterfly clip holding back his bangs, a large amount of bright sparkly pink eyeshadow and neon pink lipstick. The makeup must of have been from her princess makeover kit that Denki had bought her for her birthday.

   “Katsuki, you are missing the point. She wants to be swept off her feet. To be romanced. You did that for me, bro.” Kirishima, the manliest and largest man of the Bakusquad, had many different assortments of colorful sparkly costume bracelets hooped around his spikes, flowers drawn in what you assume is the same red lipstick that was currently on his lips on his cheeks, and is that… your eyelashes from your Halloween costume last year?

   To the side of him was Sero, who was holding his hands out to Kirishima. “Shut up and focus on Soy Sauce’s nails. Anyways, you don’t need to be saved to be smooched, especially not from some random prince.” Sero was frowning down at his nails as Kiri continued to paint. The tape hero didn’t look much different to the redhead; his hair was in numerous ponytails that were being held up by beaded hair ties and bow; he had been given the purple lipstick.

   Your daughter held up the toy that she was clutching to herself right into Bakugo’s face, interrupting his work on her eyes. “It won’t be a random prince! Ingenium will save me!”

   “Glasses? Really?” Bakugo grabbed her face again, finishing the last bit of her eyeliner wings.

   Kaminari placed the final flower in his daughter’s hair. He was the most put together out of the rest; most likely he’d put his makeup on while your daughter did the rest of the guys. “She could do worse than our old class president. As long as she’s happy and he treats her right, I’m happy.”

   “All done.” Kirishima cheered as he closed the bottle of nail polish.

   Sero held up his hands to look at Kirishima’s work with an exasperated look; he was obviously not enjoying this as much as the others. “This is going to be hell to take off… why sparkles… I can’t imagine having a daughter who makes you dress up like this…”

   Kirishima leaned onto an open palm perched on his knees. “I don’t know bro, I feel kind of pretty.”

   With a straight face, Bakugo looked up at the redhead without any hesitation and said, “You are always pretty. Homo intended.”

   “Awww bro.”

   Now that no one was holding Miuko’s attention, she looked over to see you and excitedly stood up pointing to her face. “Mommy! Look! We princesses!”

   You giggle as she ran around the room, presenting each man and describing what she did to them with glee. “I see. Will your highnesses please join us in the living room; the party should be starting soon.”

   Sero sighed with relief as they all got to their feet. “After we get this makeup off…”

   That was the wrong thing to say. Miuko stomped her feet standing between Sero and Kirishima. “No! Princesses can’t be seen without their makeup! What if your prince comes? You have to look battle ready! Let’s go Princess Shiny Rainbow Bubbles and Princess Strawberry Sunshine Sugar.” She took Sero and Kiri’s hands and you watched as your six-year-old pulled the full-grown pro hero men out of the room.

   Kiri reached out and grabbed Bakugo’s hand, pulling him along as well with a cheeky smile. “Lucky me, I already found my prince…er, princess.”

   “Shut up, you sap.” Bakugo rolled his eyes as he let himself get dragged along.

   You were giggling to yourself as you could hear people gasping in surprise, soon followed by loud laughter. Denki came up beside you, offering his arm for you to take and escort you. You couldn’t help but chuckle and make a comment on his appearance. “You look beautiful, honey.”

   Denki flipped his hair dramatically with his free arm as the two of you walked. “I know, right?” You are sure the children in your stomach did somersaults due to your muscles flexing from how hard you laughed that day.

[votederpycausemufins]

Red: ch 3 Berries

This story is also posted on Ao3

Chloé visits Marinette’s home and designing happens.

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

    Chloé did her best not to look nervous as she approached the Dupain-Cheng bakery. She may have been invited, but going to her former rival’s home was different to say the least, not to mention she was on Sabine’s bad side as far as she knew, and Marinette mom was someone you did not want to be on the bad side of.

    Chloé took a breath before opening the door to the bakery. The bell chimed and Sabine looked over. “Hello welcome to- oh, hello Chloé.”

    The blonde was surprised at the unexpected warmth in Sabine’s voice. Her best guess was that Marinette had told her mother that Chloé would be visiting, but it was still surprising there wasn’t a hint of anger in Sabine’s voice.

    Marinette came down the steps, nearly falling. “Chloé you’re here! Come on up!”

    Sabine turned to look at her daughter. “Would you like me to bring any treats up? I’ve got a fresh batch of strawberry crumble.”

    “Oh that’s perfect Maman! I’m actually designing a line based on different berries!”

    “You will have to show me when it is finished.”

    “I will Maman.” Marinette replied with a smile before dragging Chloé upstairs all the way to her room, which was tricky on the ladder.

    Chloé looked around the bedroom. The place was very… pink. In the one episode of Fill my Shoes, Chloé had seen Marinette’s room appear, and it looked pretty much the same, but the area around her computer looked different. “It looks empty over there.”

    Marinette briefly looked upset. “I’m uh… redecorating that area.”

    That’s right, Chloé recalled, that’s where Adrien’s pictures had been. Another sign about how Marinette liked Adrien, but of course she didn’t anymore after what he had done. “Well maybe you should put your sketches there.”

    Marinette tilted her head as she looked at the area. “You’re probably right. Could you grab my sketchbook?” Chloé didn’t move and after a few seconds staring at the wall, Marinette turned to look and the blonde. “Oh right, you’re not Alya. It’s fine if you don’t want to help.”

    “No, I would grab it for you, but not only don’t know where it is, I also still remember last time I tried taking it.”

    Marinette covered her mouth. “Oh that’s right! I completely forgot!”

    “Here is it Marinette!” Tikki came flying over dragging the sketchbook along in the air.

    “That looks heavy” Chloé commented, grabbing it from the kwami to give to Marinette.

    “Just a little. I’m stronger than I look.”

    Chloé gave a nod as Marinette carefully took out some pages. “Those don’t look like some of your best work, why bother putting them up?”

    Marinette shrugged. “I guess I’m just paranoid with everything that’s been happening. It’s better if I put out the worse stuff in case someone tries stealing it.”

    “That’s pretty clever. Like with your signature that looks like a design.”

    “Yeah, I started designing them with that after Adrien’s birthday.”

    Chloé’s eyes widened. “So that scarf was made by you! Of course his father wouldn’t wouldn’t give him a present like that. Ugh, he’s as bad as Hawkmoth sometimes.”

    Marinette gave a small laugh. “I actually thought he was Hawkmoth until he was akumatized.”

    “Right. So, you said you’ve been doing some designs?”

    “Oh, yes!” Marinette smiled and opened her sketchbook to near the back. “I’ve finished blueberry, strawberry and raspberry. I’m still working on cranberry.”

    Chloé looked at the designs. She had to admit, they did look nice. “These mainly seem more feminine. Anything a bit more masculine?”

    “Well, the berry theme seems more oriented to dresses and other ‘feminine’ styles.”

    Chloé studied the designs for a little bit more before handing the sketchbook back. “Maybe counterpart outfits, like bilberry and bramble berry.”

    “Oh! That’s a good idea! What about strawberry and cranberry?” Marinette asked, grabbing a pencil and quickly writing some notes.”

    Chloé pauses, thinking for a bit. “Well currant for cranberry, but strawberry is a bit harder. Maybe… lychee? Do you know what that is?”

    “Yes, my uncle has made some recipes with Lychee, though not too many. It’s mainly for deserts. But that’s a great idea for the counterpart to strawberry!”

    “Now if there were only something yellow.” Chloé said quietly, though loud enough Marinette heard.

    “Well, bananas are classified as berries actually.”

    “Look, yellow is okay, but actually picturing a banana is a line I will not cross!” Chloé states firmly, crossing her arms.

    “That makes sense. And I know it’s not yellow, but I may have made a design or two for you. I’ve done at least one for everyone in the class. Well except Lila.” Marinette gave a quick shrug and grabbed a different sketchbook. “It’s got some purple in it, but I could recolor it if I make it.”

    Chloé took the sketchbook that was handed to her. It looked… nice. The design had her with a long sleeved dress shirt with the cuffs slightly rolled up. Over it was a vest like shirt. It was a light lavender and in the middle there was a white and purple diamond design. The pants were a simple middle grey tone. The shoes were the same color or a little darker with lavender and white accents in the same diamond pattern.

    “This is… amazing. Can you make this for me actually?” Chloé looked up from the sketchbook. “But change the colors. The purples make yellows and the white in the designs can be lavender.”

    Marinette looked shocked. “Wait, really?”

    “Well various magazines say changing how you dress can help change how you act.”

    “Alright, I guess I’ll redraw it with those colors. I might change the design to better fit them, so if I do, I can send you a picture! But wait…” Marinette turned to look at Chloé after turning to her designing area. “I don’t have your phone number.”

    “Ugh, that’s right… fine, give me a piece of paper. Just make sure you get rid of it once it’s in your phone. I don’t want anyone else getting it. Adrien and Sabrina are already enough. I want to block Adrien, but it might be suspicious.”

    “You could just do it anyway.” Marinette suggested.

    “No, no. It could make him worse. Besides, who knows if it could be useful in the future. Now, let’s stop talking about him. So, you’re working on those berry designs?”

    “Right! Designing!” Marinette grabbed her sketchbook but fumbled with it, somehow managing to smack it, flinging it towards Chloé and hitting her in the face.

    “Dupain-Cheng!” Marinette flinched at the yell. “How are you so graceful as Ladybug and so clumsy as you?!”

    Marinette gave a small sigh of relief that Chloé wasn’t being mean then listening as the blonde continued. “Look, we’re friends now I guess, so I’m not going to be too mean outside of school. But at school I will be mean. I have appearances to upkeep.”

    “Is that why you acted mean when you invited me to your table?” Marinette raised an eyebrow.

    “Yes, exactly. I’m known as a bully, especially yours, and if I was suddenly just nice, it would be worse than half nice.”

    “I guess, though you don’t really have to pretend to completely like me.”

    “What’s that supposed to mean?!” Chloé glared at Marinette before her eyes softened. “Oh, you mean that. Look I’m still getting used to having a real friend. Which we have only been for a day.”

    “Maybe, but you’ve been nicer to me than anyone else in our class in the past week.”

    Suddenly Tikki flew away and hid as the trapdoor opened to Sabine. “Here are the treats girls.”

    “Thank you Mme. Dupain-Cheng.” Chloé thanked Sabine and took the platter from her.

    “I’m just glad Marinette has someone coming over again.”

    Chloé nodded and took the treats over to Marinette as Sabine went back down. As the designer picked up one piece, Chloé picked up another. “To new friendships I suppose.”

    “Right, to new friendships.” Marinette nodded, then pressed her piece against Chloé’s for a moment as if they were clinking glasses after a toast before she took a bite.

    Chloè took a bite of her own and was amazed at how it tasted. She barely ate anything from the bakery if she could help it, but she had to admit, everything they made was delicious. “This is amazing!”

    Marinette laughed. “It must be if you’re talking with your mouth full.”

    “Oh shut up!” Chloé said, failing to stifle a laugh, proceeding to playfully push Marinette a little. It took her back to their first year of school together. Well it wasn’t quite school. It was a day of daycare while their parents were working together on something. It was the first and last time they were together before Chloé really started to act like a bully. Just before her mother left for her nearly permanent move to America.

    “Thanks Marinette. For letting me have the chance to be your friend.”

    Marinette gave a small smile. “I’m glad you’re willing to change.”

    The two gave a quick hug before continuing their time together, eventually losing track of how late it was getting, leading to Chloé calling her father to say she was staying over, which was fine since tomorrow they didn’t have school.

    Chloé was surprised to find that Marinette had some Queen Bee pajamas, though she seemed to have a set for each of the heroes. Marinette dressed herself in what was likely her regular pajamas. The designer then set up a place on the floor with plenty of blankets and pillows. “There, I can sleep here and you can have the bed.”

    “Thanks Marinette.” Chloé smiled before getting into the bed. They were just getting situated and ready to sleep, when out of nowhere, there was a knock on the door. The door to the balcony.

[bandaids-not-groupies]

Get to know me uncomfortably well - tagged by @livewiredroger ❤️ sorry this took so long to post!! 

1. What is your middle name? 

Janie

2. How old are you? 

21, gonna be 22 in a couple months

3. When is your birthday?

December 4th! A day after Ozzy’s

4. What is your zodiac sign? 

Sagittarius

5. What is your favourite colour? 

Light purple and black

6. What’s your lucky number?

I don’t actually know

7. Do you have any pets?

No but I did have a dog!

8. Where are you from? 

Chicago!

9. How tall are you?

5’0 lmao

10. What shoe size are you? 

6

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own? 

Too many to count lol

12. What was your last dream about? 

I don’t remember 😅

13. What talents do you have?

None lol. I’m boring af

14. Are you psychic in any way? 

Nope lol

15. Favourite song? 

I’m a believer by the monkees (I’ve always loved that song)

16. Favourite movie? 

The Godfather

17. Who would be your ideal partner? 

Keanu Reeves. He has my heart and soul

18. Do you want children? 

Yeah but only like 2

19. Do you want a church wedding? 

Yeah but nothing too big

20. Are you religious? 

Kinda but not really. Like I acknowledge that there could be a God. But I don’t practice it that much. So basically I’M SINNING AND I’M WINNING

21. Have you ever been to the hospital? 

Yeah. Twice. Once cause I had a bad ear infection and then another time I had pneumonia

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law? 

Nope!

23. Have you ever met any celebrities? 

Yes I have! Back in my emo days I meet Christofer Drew from Never Shout Never, which was actually pure luck! NSN was in town for a concert, but I couldn’t go because it was a 18+ venue so I couldn’t get in (I was in 8th grade at the time). So my family and I decided to go out to eat at a restaurant which was coincidentally across from the venue. So we were walking down the street and I see this huge tour bus right outside the restaurant. My heart starts racing and i thought “how cool would it be if I bumped into someone from the group” well lo and behold as we are coming closer to the bus, Christofer Drew turns the corner and walks towards the bus. So I stop in my tracks and just say “Christofer Drew?” And he stops and he says hi! He asked if I was going to the show and I said no and he goes “well you gotta promise you’ll come to the next one!” Of course I made the promise and I didn’t break it! He came back that summer and I got to see him ❤️ I also met two groups called Breathe Carolina and Crown The Empire. I also met Evan Peters and Sebastian Stan at Comic Con a couple years ago. I also met Corey Crawford. The goaltender for the Chicago Blackhawks, my favorite hockey team.

24. Baths or showers?

Showers! I don’t like the idea of bathing in your own filth.

25. What color socks are you wearing? 

I’m not wearing any!

26. Have you ever been famous? 

Nope lmao and I probably never will be

28. What type of music do you like?

I like oldies. Mostly from the 50s-80s. Anything from Dean Martin to Motley Crue. I do like modern music too. I still listen to some of the bands I listened to in middle school lol (like the ones i mentioned before and others like All Time Low, Pierce The Veil, Sleeping With Sirens, Of Mice & Men, Asking Alexandria, and a couple more.) I also like Greta Van Fleet and 5 Seconds of Summer. I also like spanish music. Like Maluma, Bad Bunny, Becky G, etc. 

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping? 

Nope lol 

30. How many pillows do you sleep with? 

It depends. It could be one or none. Sometimes i don’t use a pillow

31. What position do you usually sleep in? 

On my tummy! 

32. How big is your house? 

It’s a two bedroom apartment. I’m not complaining tho, its very cozy. 

33. What do you typically have for breakfast? 

If I wake up early enough lol it’ll usually be eggs (over medium), some coffee, and some bread 

34. Have you ever fired a gun? 

Nope and i don’t plan on it! 

35. Have you ever tried archery? 

Yes! I tried it when I was in Girl Scouts in elementary school 

36. Favourite clean word? 

Groovy 

37. Favorite swear word? 

definitely FUCK

38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep? 

like a day? I got like four hours of sleep the night before. Got up at like 6am, went about my day. Then I stayed up until 7am working on a research paper for class (college is a BITCH). 

40. Have you ever had a secret admirer? 

Nah cause your girl is hella ugly lmao

41. Are you a good liar? 

Not at all. People can tell when I’m lying cause my voice gets high lmao 

42. Are you a good judge of character? 

Eh I do my best 

43. Can you do any other accents other than your own? 

I try to do a posh British accent and I try to do a Steve Irwin Aussie accent   

44. Do you have a strong accent? 

People say I have a strong chicagoan accent but i don’t hear it!

45. What is your favourite accent? 

I’m a sucker for aussie accents 

46. What is your personality type? 

just took the test..i got ISFP-T (adventurer) 

47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing? 

hmmmm all I can think of at the moment is my Doc Martens. They aren’t really clothing but it’s all I can think of lol

48. Can you curl your tongue? 

Nope!

49. Are you an innie or an outie? 

outie :(((( i hate it 

50. Left or right-handed?

Right handed! 

51. Are you scared of spiders? 

YES YES YES

52. Favourite food? 

Pasta! I could eat it all day, every day 

53. Favourite foreign food?

Tamales and Pozole. That’s my shitttt

54. Are you a clean or messy person? 

I try and be a clean person and stay organized but it only lasts for a bit then I go back to my messy ways lol 

55. Most used phrase? 

“that’s a mood” and “no mames guey” (Mexican slang)

56. Most used word? 

Dude and Darling

57. How long does it take for you to get ready? 

Depends. If I wear my hair natural, then an hour. But if I gotta style it, then like an hour and a half or two hours( I got a lot of fucking hair, dude). 

58. Do you have much of an ego? 

Hell no lmao. This bitch has a low self-esteem so 🤷🏻‍♀️

59. Do you suck or bite lollipops? 

Suck 🤪

60. Do you talk to yourself? 

All the time lmao 

61. Do you sing to yourself? 

Yeah sometimes 

62. Are you a good singer? 

Nope lmao but I still do it anyways 

63. Biggest Fear? 

A lot of shit. Spiders, Holes (trypophobia), tearing my achilles or getting them cut (ever since I saw Pet Sematary), dolls, bugs crawling under my skin, throwing up...and i can’t think of anymore on the spot 

64. Are you a gossip? 

you bet your ass I am. Soy una chismosa lmao

65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen? 

Titanic  

66. Do you like long or short hair? 

On girls, long but not too long. Maybe like mid-back. And guys, long, like ear length and longer 

67. Can you name all 50 states of America? 

Yeah but i couldn’t point them out on a map 

68. Favourite school subject? 

Biology/Human Anatomy. I’m a sucker for science 

69. Extrovert or Introvert?

Definitely an introvert. No doubt about that lol 

70. Have you ever been scuba diving? 

Nope!

71. What makes you nervous? 

Meeting new people, class discussions, and presentations

72. Are you scared of the dark? 

If i’ve just seen a scary movie then yes lol  

73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes? 

Sometimes. For instance, if one of my friends from ecuador uses a word wrong in a sentence, then I would tell them the right way to say it to help them learn more english. i never correct someone to seem like i’m smarter or to be rude. It’s simply to help them. 

74. Are you ticklish? 

Yeah! In some places like my feet, neck, and my back, 

75. Have you ever started a rumour? 

No way! That’s terrible 

76. Have you ever been in a position of authority? 

Only when babysitting my little cousins lol 

77. Have you ever drank underage? 

Yeah lmao. When I went away for college

78. Have you ever done drugs? 

Once, when I hungout with a guy at school we smoked some weed

79. Who was your first real crush?

One of my friends from college. I met him Freshman year and I still like him...I’ve liked him for four years but i’ve never had the guts to tell him 

80. How many piercings do you have? 

6! I have four on my left ear and two on my right ear. I have the standard lobe piercings, then the upper lobe on both sides. Then on my left I have one above the upper. And then I have my helix pierced on the left side. (i hope this all made sense lol) 

81. Can you roll your R’s?

Nope

82. How fast can you type? 

Eh I would say pretty average 

83. How fast can you run? 

Not at all. I hate running 

84. What colour is your hair?

Dark brown! 

85. What color is your eyes? 

Dark brown

86. What are you allergic to? 

Some ingredient in the Banana Boat sunscreen. And some type of plant. I don’t exactly know which one cause I went to the botantic garden one time on a field trip and I don’t know which plant caused my allergic reaction but when I got home I had hives all over me. 

87. Do you keep a journal? 

Nope, never did 

88. What do your parents do? 

My mom is an ortho technician and my dad is a delivery man

89. Do you like your age? 

Yeah I guess. I mean I can buy my own alcohol so that’s pretty neat 

90. What makes you angry? 

Everything 

91. Do you like your own name? 

Eh it’s alright. Pretty boring 

92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they?

I like the name Elena for a girl and Jonathan for a boy 

93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child?

Doesn’t matter to me

94. What are you strengths? 

I’m a ride or die bitch.

95. What are your weaknesses?

I don’t really share my emotions so I keep things bottled up 

96. How did you get your name? 

My cousin picked out my name 

97. Were your ancestors royalty? 

Not that I know of. But what I do know is I have family from Spain. 

98. Do you have any scars?

Yeah, one on my arm from when I burned myself with my straightener. And another at the place where my nose meets my forehead, between my brows. When I was in elementary school, I was running out on the playground and I tripped and I slide across the cement and scraped my nose and my whole forehead. THERE. WAS. BLOOD. EVERYWHERE. 

99. Colour of your bedspread? 

Light pink 

100. Colour of your room? 

White! 

I tag: @tommyleeownsme, @babe-mustaine, @waycooljunior, and @universal-scorpio ❤️

[fivenightsatfreddysfanfiction]

First Day On The Clock

A look ‘back’ at Herrera’s first day being hired at Circus Baby’s Pizza and Parties as a part-time day shift guard. It’s not easy working when he’s also gotta keep an eye on his mischievous younger brother!

"So this is where you got me a job?" A tall young man muttered as he squinted up at the pizzeria sign. Beside him a teen pulled out a printed email and read it over again, nodding his head.

"Yeah. Contact says she's been waiting for us to show up and got the position all ready for one of us to get. So there you be, bro," he replied and looked up at the sign himself. "It's better than nothing, at least." The older brother grimaced.

"Yeah, but why me?" he complained and grunted at the elbow jabbed into his ribs.

"You're the older one! That's why!"

They went inside and looked around warily, taking in the decorations and busy atmosphere of the pizzeria. An animatronic hippo stood on stage, regaling kids with long-winded stories. Another one, Circus Baby herself, walked the floor of the dining room, platters of pizza in her hands as she moved from table to table, serving out fresh slices to those who ordered them.

As the two of them moved through the pizzeria, a pair of guards passed by them, one yawning as the other smiled at them in greeting. The brothers blinked, watching them go by before their attention was pulled away by a more vocal greeting.

"Hi! Welcome to Circus Baby's Pizza and Parties!" a woman with long auburn hair exclaimed brightly. "How many in your party?"

"We're here for the job, prima," the teen piped up, holding out the email. The woman scanned it over critically before beaming at the both of them.

"Oh! You're the Herreras?! It's great to meet you at last!" she exclaimed happily, "I'm Meera! Come with me; I've got a lot to explain about the job before you get started, Mr. Herrera." She turned around to lead them off, then whipped around and smiled widely, gesturing towards a nearby clock. "It's day shift."

The brothers breathed out a sigh of relief in unison.

The office was cozy, with equipment that looked like it had been upgraded piece by piece. The elder Herrera alternated his attention between Meera explaining his duties for the day shift and reaching out to push his younger brother's hands down as little fingers crept over to try and get at the computer and printer.

"We're very accommodating to our employees, within reason of course. Is there anything I should be aware of to make sure you'll be happy working with us?" Meera asked him, her eyes glancing over at the teen fidgeting in his chair as if to check he wasn't going after her equipment again.

"Yeah, our mom's a bitch so is it okay if I bring the punk with me here?" Herrera asked, jerking a thumb over at him. "He can keep himself entertained with the games and I'll pay for his food." Meera's face scrunched up in a strange expression.

"He's not gonna take them apart, is he? They weren't exactly cheap with the budget I had when I bought them and they've been pretty good at bringing money back in," she said, one eye on the verge of twitching.

"Nah, he'll just wreck the curve on the scores," Herrera replied with a grin.

"Is that shirt pink?" the teen asked, swinging his legs back and forth as he watched Herrera straighten his new tie in the mirror. Meera provided a few sets of the day shift uniform for him and gave him a chance to change in the employee restroom before starting a training shift.

"It's like… a very light purple?" Herrera returned uncertainly, twisting around in front of the mirror to check how he looked. "Boss Lady was wearing the same color." His brother squinted at him, sleeves of his hoodie tugged over his hands so only his fingers peeked out and those picked at loose threads.

"Lilac? Lavender?" he suggested. Herrera shrugged. "Don't forget to clock in," the teen pointed out, hopping up from the sofa to walk beside him after the young man scanned his new ID card into the work clock. "So what kinda stuff are you gonna do?"

"Eh, walk around the rooms and make sure no one's trying to kill themselves on shit or abduct kids. Like a kiddie bouncer but the closest thing we got to strippers is them." Herrera jerked a thumb at the nearby stage where Circus Baby gestured to introduce an upgraded Ballora, the ballerina twirling elegantly over the sturdy wood flooring.

The boy shuddered, grimace on his face. "Dude, don't say that! Geez, barely started the job and already you're gunning to get fired," he whined. "We need the money!"

"Could've gone with my other idea on getting a job but nooooo~," Herrera returned in monotone, lifting his hands and waving them sarcastically. "'We can't do that, it's illegal~!' Beggars can't be choosers, punk."

"Just try!!"

"Fine. Go play some games and I'll have some pizza sent to you."

The job was pretty easy to do, which was both good and boring. Herrera sighed in faint exasperation as he walked out of a party room, brushing confetti off his shoulders as his earpiece crackled on.

"Dude, you're not gonna believe how many tickets it took to win the walkie-talkies and then fuck with the wiring!" his little brother's voice squealed gleefully over the airwaves.

"What the-?!" Herrera exclaimed incredulously, hand raising to his earpiece, "You better not get us in trouble for hacking the goddamn prizes!"

"Oh my god, it's just walkie-talkies and I earned them fair and square!" the other teen whined. "I got top scores on a couple of the arcade machines but I need Babtokens to play more of the ticket games."

Herrera rolled his eyes while making his way to the next party room to peek in. "So go ask Baby for some," he said, giving a little salute to the parents of the birthday kid before moving on. "Or are you too much of a wuss for that?"

"Uh, nooo? I'm not a baby!" He could hear the exasperated little huff. "I just don't wanna talk to him."

"She's not gonna bite your head off. ...I think." Herrera muttered, scratching at his chin. "And aren't you being a little hypocritical with the pronouns?" There was silence and he could feel the sharp glare being sent towards him from somewhere within the building. "Go ask Boss Lady then. Wuss."

He found his little brother some time later at the ball pit, tossing colorful plastic balls up at a small animatronic bear balanced on the monkey bars that crossed overhead in a playplace fashion. Herrera gave the bear a wary look, one eye squinting as he judged the size of the thing and the distance between them. It seemed more interested in waddling over the bars and bouncing in place in some strange dance, dodging the plastic balls being lobbed at it.

"I didn't see rules that said I couldn't mess with whatever this thing is," the teen commented before he could say anything.

"I think that's more a case of 'use your common sense'," Herrera pointed out and rolled his eyes at his brother's snort. "Yeah, ha ha. It's been six hours, punk."

"Yeah? And? That can't be your full shift yet. This is part-time, right?" His brother picked up another few balls, bouncing one in his hand to prepare to toss it.

"No, I mean it's been six hours," Herrera repeated and poked him in the back. "You need to take it off for a while." He was treated to a furious glare at that.

"We're in a public place, dumbass! I'm not taking it off!" the teen hissed, shoulders hunching defensively.

"Go to the office then. There's an employee bathroom; you can take it off there and just wait in the office for a while to rest." Herrera raised an eyebrow as his brother refused to move from where he crouched by the pit, tossing the balls back in with more force than necessary. "How about I go with you?"

The teen huffed but stood up and nodded curtly, reaching out to grab his sleeve as they walked through the dining room towards the back office. Once there, Herrera pushed open the door, blinking as Meera looked up from her paperwork with a surprised expression. Across from her, on the other side of the desk, Circus Baby sat in a chair in a lazy pose, lidded eyes scanning the both of them quickly before returning to watching the young woman.

"Is everything okay?" Meera asked in concern, "Do you need something?" Herrera pointed down at the teen beside him who looked away with a red face.

"He needs to borrow the bathroom here and wait in the office for a while, maybe an hour. Is that alright?" he asked.

"Um, yeah, it's fine," she replied with the same concerned tone. "Any reason why he can't use the public one?"

"Personal," the teen muttered, shifting as if to hide behind his brother. Meera nodded and gestured towards the nearby door, her attention going back to the documents on her desk. Herrera prodded and nudged him over, then idled near the door.

After a few minutes, the animatronic rose from her chair in a fluid motion, flicking her pigtails back with a quick shake of her head. "Showtime in a few minutes. Confirm my stage company?" she pointed out, tapping one of the sheets of paper. Meera switched attention to it.

"Funtime Freddy, Happy Frog, and El Chip," she read off and tilted her head. "Bilingual show?"

"Inclusivity. Happy is going to be signing because I'm not letting that bitch sing," Baby declared, hands on her hips and tossing her head in typical diva fashion.

"Can I stand guard in the games area until the show's done?" Herrera piped up, mentally gauging the distance between the stage and the games floor. That was far enough while still being in the building, right?

"Sure, sure," Meera agreed absently, already signing the document with one hand and reaching to type something out on her computer with the other while Baby went over to the row of lockers lining the far wall of the office. The animatronic opened one locker and pulled a jacket out. She tossed it towards Herrera, who caught it and gave it a puzzled look before turning the expression up to her.

"Have him wear it. It's big so it'll help hide whatever he doesn't want noticed," Baby said with a shrug as she sauntered out of the office. "Hasta luego!"

The bathroom door opened and the teen stepped out, bundle of fabric in his hands and uncomfortable expression on his face. Herrera held the jacket out to him. "Here. Wear this for now. See if it helps."

"Huh? Where'd you get this?" his brother asked in confusion, taking the jacket and slipping into it. It hung loosely on him, giving him a faintly box-like shape. He took in his appearance in the bathroom mirror and hummed in approval. "Not bad. I can ignore it for a while in this."

"It's a loaner. Mr. Herrera, games floor, please. Your break is after the show." Meera said suddenly, pen tapping her desk to get their attention.

"Oh, shit!" Herrera yelped and ran from the office, his brother's cackling laugh trailing after him.

"So, what'd you think?" his brother asked eagerly after he clocked out at the end of his shift. The two of them walked to their bus stop, Herrera carrying his regular clothes in a large paper bag and still dressed in his uniform. The outfit made it easier for the two of them to move about without much hassle; people in uniform were seen as Totally Responsible, Money-Making Adults. It made him pout and long for his old clothes. Got the same respect, didn't have to deal with neckties.

"It's okay for a job. The bonus of them letting me have you hang around makes it worth it," he finally answered. "I can keep an eye on you when you're not at school. Which reminds me, we need to work out the route for you to take so you can join me at the pizza place after school so you're not trapped at home with the bitch." He scowled. "I don't like what she does to you when I'm not there to stop her."

His brother made a little sound of discomfort at the reminder. "Yeah… but we'll have enough soon to move, right?" he asked hopefully. "I've been looking at apartments during lunch at the computer lab, and there's a few nearby that are pretty cheap!" Herrera grinned widely down at him.

"Yeah? Show me when it's safe; I wanna see what you've been up to, kiddo."

His first day at Circus Baby's Pizza and Parties was not bad at all. Maybe there really was hope for them both to finally live their own lives and be themselves? He laughed to himself on it, soft chuckles in a tone that made the old lady waiting with them at the bus stop scoot away from them. Yeah, maybe they could really do this.

END

[harryandmolly]

wonder - (a LTBOMH deleted scene)

A/N: Y’all, it’s extra even by my standards. Big fat thank you to @smallerinfinities for holding my hand through this one. It’s hyper personal and had to be written. Sometimes those are the scariest ones to get on paper. Part one of two.

Summary: Shawn and Lilly embark on a months long journey inspired by one little word.

Warnings: Language, Molly being #excessive

Word count: 3.5k

August 18th, 2020

Lilly lifts onto her toes to fish the bottle of champagne out of the bottom of the Trader Joe’s bag sitting on the kitchen island. He smiles at her vertically challenged scenario and stands behind her with a hand on her lower back, lifting the bottle out easily with one hand, placing it beside her.

“Yep, I definitely missed you,” she giggles, reaching back for the hand grazing her to lock his arms around her middle. He hums in agreement and presses his lips to the back of her ear. He closes his eyes and revels in it, trying not to imagine the big red clock counting down in his head to when his little weekend off from tour ends and he has to be without her again for a few weeks. He squeezes his arms.

She turns in his grasp and runs her hands up and down his arms, rubbing her thumbs into his biceps where she knows he’s sore. His eyelids flutter. She pops up on her toes again to peck his lower lip.

“Maybe I’ll run by the farmer’s market later to grab some strawberries to have with the champagne,” she muses, “Like in Pretty Woman.”

Shawn smirks. He loves that she always wants to make things in her life reflect a movie. It makes her life pretty exciting.

“Whatever you want, princess,” he jokes.

Lilly’s amused expression drops. Her face goes blank as it fills with blood. Shawn’s never seen her blush so fiercely. Her breathing goes a little short in her chest. She looks away, flustered, biting down a goofy smile.

“What?” he laughs curiously, chasing her wandering gaze with his. When she finally settles enough to look at him, it’s a sheepish glance before her eyes are on her glinting toe ring.

“I… you’ve never called me that before.”

“No,” he agrees, still confused, “I’m sorry, I won’t do it again?” He leaves the inflection open at the end because he doesn’t understand her reaction.

She swallows and shakes her head. “No, I—I liked it.”

He lifts his eyebrows. He’s done plenty of things she likes. He knows every facial expression she has like the back of his hand. This one is new.

“Lill, you’re a weird shade of… purple right now,” he chuckles, lifting his hands from her hips to cup her face. Finally, her eyes lift to his. They’re fucking sparkling.

“Sorry, I just—I really liked it. I’ve never—fuck. I have a little bit of a thing about being called ‘princess.’ Not that anyone ever has called me that. I just… you know, I read it. In romance novels and fanfiction and shit.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” he whispers, sweeping his thumbs over her cheeks before lowering his hands to cup her neck gently.

“I… I’ve never told anyone. I’ve never admitted it out loud before. It’s… my thing, I guess. My kink.”

Kinks he gets. But he thought he knew all hers – the marking, the slightly dominant side to her sexuality. She’s been hiding this one, keeping it locked up in a tower (rather appropriately).

“So… can I start calling you princess now?” he murmurs, looking hopeful. He loves finding new ways to make her smile. And squirm a little.

She shrugs and looks away from him again. “I wish you wouldn’t. I mean—not all the time. It’s… special. Y’know?”

He understands and drops it. When they’re full of Dom Perignon and organic strawberries and making love on their bedroom rug that night, he has to bite his tongue to keep from stuttering the word at her. He thinks he likes it, too.

+

September 3rd, 2020

Lilly presses her stubby black-polished finger to the edge of her Nook to turn the page. Shawn’s nose itches. He rubs it against the back of her shoulder to scratch it. Her hair keeps tickling him but he’s not about to complain since she had to drop a few things to come be with him on tour this weekend. His anxiety has kicked up a fuss. He assured her she shouldn’t worry, just talking to her over FaceTime helps, but she booked a flight before he could protest too much.

They’re lying in a massive hotel bed in Tampa after his show. His skin is still a little sticky after his post-show, post-show-sex shower. She still smells like strawberries. It eases his mind.

She’s reading a regency-era bodice ripper about a headstrong daughter of a privateer who comes upon a quiet and brooding young prince somewhere on the coast of Italy. She’s in the middle of reading a particularly titillating love scene when Shawn pipes up from behind her. Even when he’s so keyed up he can’t sit in his own skin, spooning her crowds out the worry from his mind.

“How come these guys never go down on women in these books?”

Lilly quirks a grin at his very Shawn-like question. It’s curious and feminist-minded and she loves him that much more for it.

“Because they were written by women in the 80s when it wasn’t ok to give women head and write about it, even in erotica.”

“You should write one of these,” he quips, brushing his lips over the back of her neck, smiling when she stiffens and goosebumps appear.

“You think?” she hums. He can tell by her voice she’s not really entertaining the idea, but she wants to hear his thoughts on it.

“Well, you’ve read a million. You know good from bad. You could write a princess one to satisfy your thing.”

Lilly’s eyebrows lift. “My thing,” she parrots.

They haven’t really discussed her meltdown over his ‘princess’ comment when he was home from tour a few weeks ago. He hasn’t felt the time was right to use the pet name while they were having text or FaceTime sex. And this weekend, he’s so fried, he frankly doesn’t have the energy to put on a show for her.

Lilly rolls onto her back, bringing the Nook with her. Shawn props himself up on his side, legs still linked with hers. “I’ve gone 27 years without satisfying it, I don’t know that I need to write a novel to do it now.”

That puzzles Shawn. He hasn’t really admitted it, but it still smarts a little that she didn’t tell him about this. He’s laid himself bare for her in every way – she’s tied him to the headboard, for fucking out loud. And she wants to be called ‘princess’ in bed. Why is that so hard for her to let him do?

“Have you ever thought about roleplaying it?”

It wouldn’t be an entirely new arena for them. There was the one time after he finished The Windflower. And another time after that when she was imitating her friend’s southern accent and he popped a semi. She noticed and started calling him darlin’ and sugar and rode him like a horse.

But those were pretty minor flirtations with the concept of roleplay. This… would likely take a little more commitment.

Lilly sets the Nook aside. “I… have briefly thought about it, I guess. Fleeting notions.”

She’s got her professional, “I’m uncomfortable” voice on. He wants to roll his eyes but he doesn’t.

“Tell me about these fleeting notions,” he whispers, a small smile at his lips to encourage her. She must see something she trusts because she goes a little pink and looks up at the ceiling.

“I’ve always liked the whole ‘trapped in the highest room of the tallest tower’ concept. I hate myself for it because a bitch can rescue herself in 2018,” she pauses and smirks at his chuckling laughter, “but it’s nice. It’s the fairytale.”

Ok, he can work with that. But he wants more logistics.

“And so you’re in the highest room of the tallest tower. What am I? The charming stable boy?”

She chirps a laugh. He’s pleased to hear it – he wants her to open up. “God, no. C’mon, babe, you’re already a walking, talking Disney prince. You were born to roleplay royalty.”

He wiggles his eyebrows at her. She wrinkles her nose and pecks his cheek.

“And do princesses use sex toys or are we going old school?”

Another surprised laugh. She looks at him incredulously. “Are you seriously considering this?”

“Totally. It could be fun.” He looks so earnest. She could scream. Instead, she kisses him again.

“Well, to be honest, I haven’t put all that much thought into specific details. I… I think I like the element of surprise. The spontaneity.”

That makes sense. Lilly has a thing for surprises. When she was 18, her parents gifted her with a trip to Disney. They filmed her reaction to the surprise. She cried so ridiculously that her dad put it on YouTube. Shawn makes a mental note.

“Mmk. Well maybe this can be your birthday present. How much does it cost to rent a castle, do you think?”

Out of almost any other boyfriend’s mouth, this would surely be a joke. But not Shawn. Her eyes bug out as she can see him pondering.

“Oh my god,” she squeals, recoiling at the idea that he’d go to some effort for this, “Don’t do that, don’t rent a castle, oh my god.”

She’s usually eloquent so when the idea of a castle renders her dopey, he knows he’s on the right track. He’s taking mental notes all over the place.

“Ok, maybe not a castle. But, like, a tiara for sure, right?”

Lilly goes squirmy and quiet again. He’s overwhelming her. He wants to dive in to her head.

“Lill, what’s up? We talk about anything. We talk about the dumbest shit. And the realest shit. Why is this so weird for you?”

She feels bad looking up at his big, searching brown eyes as he pleads for her to open up to him.

“I’m just… it’s the basic concept of it. It feels… childish to me. One of the many things I should’ve grown out of long ago. And—and it’s inherently selfish.”

“What? Having a fantasy?”

“No… it’s the princess thing. It’s… it’s about wanting… to be worshipped.”

Shawn blinks. Oh.

“You think I don’t want to worship you?”

Lilly’s eyes bug again. “No! I don’t think you should. That’s not what love is. Love is about partnership and equality and communication and—”

“Yeah, but we’re not talking about love, Lill. We’re talking about a fantasy.”

She pouts. He wants to shake her. She doesn’t think she’s worth the effort. He resolves then and there to change her mind.

“It’s a special, sexy thing. Fantasies aren’t about what we want out of life, right? It’s just a fun little game. And I could think of bigger sacrifices I could make than to worship you for a night.”

Lilly pinks up again, smiling a little. He noses at her cheek, silently asking for a kiss. She grants his wish.

+

September 13th, 2020

Shawn hops right on the idea once he has it. He sends a text only a few days after she goes home and he continues out on the road:

Shawn: location secured. November 21st. Be there or be square.

He sends the peace sign emoji with it, because, of course he does.

He doesn’t let her in on a lot of details, which she completely loves, but of course, complains about constantly because he’s putting so much effort into this, for her, she should be helping. But he won’t hear of it.

There’s one thing he lets her do herself – costume.

His voice on the other end of the phone makes her smile like it always does.

“I found itttt,” she declares in a sing-songy voice.

It takes him a moment to catch up. “Oh shit, yeah? That’s great, babe. Did you order it?”

“Not yet. Sammi has to take my measurements first. She’ll be over in a couple hours.”

“Are you gonna tell me what it looks like?”

“Absolutely not, where’s the fun in that?”

He grumbles. “Just tell me what color it is?”

“It’s… several colors.”

“Lilly, did you buy a fucking rainbow corset?”

She snorts. “No. Relax.”

“Ok, whatever. As long as it’s what you want.”

She hums happily, spinning around their empty bedroom in a circle, barefoot. “It’s perfect. It might actually kill you. This roleplay might have casualties.”

He could think of worse ways to go.

+

September 30th, 2020

“I’m watching Sleeping Beauty for inspiration.”

“Oh god, Shawn.”

He sips at his beer without taking his eyes off the hotel TV. The bright, Disney-fied animation hurts his eyes a little. It’s trippier than he remembers. And Merriweather is still funny.

“D’you think I should slay a dragon or something? Like, what’s our motivation?”

Lilly grins and leans back against the brick wall outside her office.

“Like, what’s the story?” she offers.

“Yeah. Who are we playing? And what are they doing? Are they married?”

Lilly tries to cover the shiver that rips through her at his mentioning marriage so casually, like it’s an inevitable part of their future and not at all weird that they’d be roleplaying as married characters. She clears her throat to recover.

“Uhm, well, we could do a forbidden love sitch.”

“Hmmm, I like that,” he muses, narrowing his eyes to study Prince Philip’s horse. Then he remembers Lilly’s terrified of horses. No horses, then.

“I sort of pictured… like… two young royals from rival kingdoms. Both betrothed to other people. But they meet and fall in love and they’re discovered so the princess is locked away until the night before her wedding. And then he finds her and makes sweet love to her before they run away together.”

Shawn has stopped watching the movie altogether. “You’ve… put a lot of thought into this.”

“I have,” she admits, only blushing a little.

“Have you written the script yet?” he teases. She wrinkles her nose at him like he likes even though he can’t see her.

“I like preparation. And I like storytelling.”

“And you like fairytales.”

“And I love fairytales. So. There’s your story. That work for you?”

He smiles devilishly, thinking about her reaction when they actually get to fucking do this. “Works for me, baby.”

+

October 9th, 2020

Shawn: Hey. I know we agreed on Prince Eric and Princess Scarlett but… do you think you can be Princess Lilly instead? I just really love your name. And I want you to be you. Just, like, the princessy version. You can still call me Eric if you want.

Lilly: Omg <3 <3 <3 no. Let’s be Prince Shawn and Princess Lilly. That’s better. That’s perfect.

+

November 21st, 2020

Unsurprisingly, he planned it perfectly.

They’re spending Thanksgiving with her dad’s side in New England so he books the “secret location” in Maine for the weekend before.

They agree to become Prince Shawn and Princess Lilly at the cottage after they have a nice dinner and relax, rather than feeling like they’re waiting for the moment to snap into character.

She sleeps on the flight. He’s too keyed up. He just—it just has to go perfectly.

She feels a little like a princess when he wakes her up on the plane with a kiss on the nose. They’re both quiet waiting for the rental car but then he opens her door and cracks a joke about her “chariot awaiting” and they both giggle like idiots and fiddle with the radio so she can listen to the Bruins game.

The GPS takes them an hour and a half outside Portland to what can only be described as a storybook town. He’s made reservations at a little French bistro. They sit inside by the window, undisturbed by fans, whispering and stealing little innocent hand brushes and pecks on the lips between bites like they’re in the fresh, new months of an infant relationship.

They get in the car and fall quiet again. Her brain is sizzling with anticipation. He can’t stop finger drumming on the steering wheel as he follows the GPS. It takes them down dimly lit, tree-lined roads until the final turn. He reaches for her hand, giving it a squeeze to reassure them both.

“Oh,” she breathes when the trees break and she sees it. Her heart actually flutters in her chest.

It’s a cottage straight out of the Grimms’ fairytales. If she designed it herself, she couldn’t have made it better. It glows from the inside with light – he had the owners come out and get the heating going, leave them some firewood.

She turns to stare at him, flabbergasted. He’s delighted and in full agreement.

“I know, right?” he chirps at her silence, “But listen, it wasn’t easy. There’s a fine line between fairytale and horror movie.”

She coos and leans across the center console of the Land Rover to kiss him. He smiles against her lips, accepting her praise easily.

“It’s perfect, love.”

He shoos her inside when she tries to get the bags and if it wasn’t clear, he’s taking this prince thing very seriously.

The cottage is warm and homey. The furniture is soft, designed for comfort. The art on the walls is all very Thoreau. There’s a nook in the kitchen for breakfast. It’s fucking picturesque.

She eyes the staircase. It’s the only thing about the physical roleplay they’ve planned. Or, that they’ve planned together. It’s their starting point – he arrives to whisk her away the night before her doomed wedding. She’s upstairs in her bedroom and descends the staircase to greet him.

And from there… who knows.

Lilly’s stomach jumps anxiously. She focuses on replaying the corset self-lacing instructions she’s memorized in her head while he putters around. She’s standing in the center of the living room staring at nothing when he gets her attention.

“Do you want to go get changed?” he offers timidly, brushing a thumb over her cheek.

She smiles a little weakly and nods, looking toward her bag. Shawn makes to turn away but she takes his hand and pulls him in for a searing kiss.

When they separate, he blinks at her. She smiles. “I love you, Shawn Mendes.”

He feels warm all over. He knows what she means – that she doesn’t need all this from him to love him. That he alone is enough. But she appreciates it all anyway.

“I love you, Lillian Cutler Parker.”

“Ugh, you middle named me. And Lillian-ed me. At the same time,” she whines, breaking the tension. He laughs gratefully.

“Go,” he urges, swatting her backside as she reaches for her bag and heads upstairs.

This is the hard part. She warned him ahead of time that the corset is a task and a half to get on by herself, even with her practicing. He’s going to have to wait a while.

This place is old school – there’s no TV or WiFi. Not that he’d want to be distracting himself right now, it would be weird to go from watching Fresh Prince reruns to unlacing Lilly’s corset with his teeth in under ten minutes, but he’s twitchy.

He forces himself to sit. His wandering mind finds her.

The truth is, he’s been worshipping Lilly since the moment he saw her (rather appropriately, floating on a golden dragon) in his own way.

He waited for her patiently, got to know every intimate detail of her life until he was her best friend, and she his, and she made the big gesture. He always smiles like an idiot when he thinks about that first kiss, the one that he missed so it landed on his ear. He chuckles and runs hands through his hair.

He knows very well she’s worth worshipping. Admittedly, it boggles his mind to think she doesn’t. But he gets that, too. He still can’t believe it when he can sell out venues all around the world and walk on stage in front of thousands of shrieking fans who know the words to his songs better than he does. It’s hard to imagine you’re worth that much fuss. But it’s easy for the person you love.

He’s jarred out of his sappy adoration when he hears a door shut. His head snaps to look at the landing above the staircase where she’ll appear. It takes her a minute. She’s probably giving herself the same pep talk in her head that he’s attempting right now.

He stands, runs his hands down the front of his slacks to wick away the sweat on his palms. He thrusts his hands through his hair again and sniffs.

When he looks up again, she’s there.

It isn’t Lilly.

This shivering, wide-eyed doe of a woman is wearing Lilly’s body but she isn’t Lilly. She walks tall, shoulders straight and chest lifted, the posture of another time.

Her cheeks are deeply flushed, her lips wet and parted. His chest burns as he instinctively lowers to one knee before her. Her breasts rise high out of her corset as she inhales at the sight. There is no stopping the word once it tumbles out of his brain. It has to be said. It is inevitable.

“Princess,” he breathes.

Taglist: @the-claire-bitch-project @smallerinfinities @crapri @stillinskislydia @abigfatmess

[mysticsparklewings]

Arteza Woodless Watercolor Pencil Test

Well, I was doing pretty good there and then disappeared for a week.  (P.S. I hate school) Anyway; my triumphant-ish return comes with, to the surprise of no one, a supply test that I finished a couple days ago and just didn’t post for reasons.   I got these pencils for my birthday, after having decided I even wanted them by having seen both woodless and watercolor pencils before and turning them down for various reasons. These satisfied both oddities in one set, so when it came time to put together a wishlist, I very quickly called to mind the video I had seen these in. Aside from life obligations, the other reason it took me a little while to test these pencils was that I had to think about the best way to do so. How do you test watercolor pencils when you don’t usually work with watercolors at all, and you still want to see how they work as Just Pencils? Obviously, I ultimately decided there needed to be two test drawings; one "dry," just using the pencils as I would any others, and one "wet," using water to see what I could get them to do. I thought about doing my regular galaxy job, but not knowing what exactly the water would do made me decide against it. Instead, I scrolled through Pinterest until I stumbled upon this picture of someone holding up a flower stem to the moon. That really inspired me, so I ran with the concept. As pencils, the first thing I noticed (aside from the packaging, but I’ll address that later) was how heavy these are. I’ve heard people talk about the Faber Castell Polychromos being heavier than Prismacolor pencils, but I didn’t really notice that much, and even holding one of each I really have to think about it to notice a difference between the two. These, however, I noticed immediately after opening them, without any other pencils at hand to compare them to. Which I attribute them essentially being pencil cores with no wood casing. Speaking of which... Now, I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve seen quite a few instances of people using various brands of woodless colored pencils (particularly Koh-i-Noor) and always walking away with at least one broken before all is said and done. Likewise, I was very nervous about these doing the same, so at first, I was skittish about putting too much pressure behind them and I still baby them when I’m moving them around since they really do appear to be just varnished watercolor pigment sticks and have no casing to protect them. But in this regard I think the extra weight ends up being helpful; it ends up accounting for that little bit I’m always holding back in terms of pressure. I did figure out that these appear to be a bit stronger than the other brands that I had seen other artists unwittingly break, so I was able to relax a little, but not by much. The other thing here is that [I am not an art scientist, but] I think because they’re watercolor pigments when you layer them they appear to darken without as much extra pressure as normal pencils. It’s hard to explain, but I guess it’s like they layer onto themselves better or something? So my precaution wasn’t as much of a hindrance as I thought it might be. Which I might as well mention here that they feel really smooth when they go down. Not soft like Prismacolors, but they do feel like they just glide around on the paper in a good way. This can feel a little odd when you’re trying to get darker pigment payoff, but not in a way that makes it impossible to work with. It's also odd because it makes them feel about as hard/firm as oil-based pencils like the Polychromos, though they otherwise behave more like wax-based pencils for the most part. I did notice a couple of the colors felt a little...dry? at first. Chalky isn’t the right word, but it’s the only one that comes to mind. But that seemed to go away after I took water to them and they were left to dry again. I think it might’ve had something to do with just the nature of them being solid watercolors in the same vein as some watercolors drying and cracking after being left untouched for months or years at a time. [Again, I'm not an art scientist, this is just speculation.] Oddly enough, they kind of reminded me of the Crayola Signature pencils I just tested in that the first couple of layers looked kind of patchy/scratchy, and you can still see that a little in the pink of the background and the moon, since they were only a few layers with lighter colors, but after that and with the darker colors, in particular, they smoothed right out. Though part of this also comes from that smooth feeling I was talking about; it makes it difficult to tell by "feeling" what the pencils are actually doing if that makes any sense. With regular pencils, usually, you can gauge what they're going to do by the resistance/texture of the paper. These just don't do that the same way. But this is one of those things that the more you use the pencils you can get used to it and work with it better. This made the moon on the “dry” picture more of a challenge, and I steered away from using the black because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get it to blend out fully. Also, the white was better than I expected as just a colored pencil, but it just can’t touch Prismacolor in terms of pigmentation and it didn’t blend as happily as the Polychromos one, so I had to try and supplement with my white gel pen to get certain parts of the moon as bright as I wanted. Which, I will say, for whatever reason my gel pen really did not like these pencils, as just pencils or as dried watercolor. I spent a lot of time tapping and scribbling between long strokes to quite literally get the ball rolling again. As just colored pencils, they worked okay, but with 24 pencils at $13-$17 on Amazon (the highest and lowest prices I’ve seen for them), unfortunately I have to say if you want just colored pencils, I’d still have to insist on Prismacolor, as they’re 24 for $14-$18 on Amazon and just do the job better. They're not terrible; I think I'd recommend these over those Crayola Signature pencils, they just leave a little to be desired when you know there's something better out there. However, once I added water to the equation, that story changes a bit. I’m not experienced with watercolor at all, as I already mentioned, (or most kinds of paint for that matter) so this was probably more of a challenge for me than it would be for someone who knows the medium better. I did at least use watercolor paper this time though, after learning my lesson last time, so that was one less thing to worry about. (Which is why the "wet" one is so much brighter; the watercolor paper is white instead of tan, so it doesn't naturally mute the colors.) I started by just putting down a few layers of pencil as normal, but not too many, then washed over it with water. I suppose I could’ve stopped there, but the shading on the stem went muddy and I noticed that the water really lent itself to the texture of the moon (and made what little gray I had put down almost disappear). And despite my best efforts, the sky was pretty patchy after the first pass. And so began the battle of applying water, applying color, light and then dark and then light again. The stem gave me the biggest fit as it was really difficult to apply dark or light color and blend it out without the color spreading too far and overtaking to the point of just looking like green mud. This I suspect mostly has to do with how small of an area I was working with. (To be fair, in general, I think with paint bigger areas are easier to work overall.) And for some reason, the light green brings up a considerable amount of yellow when it’s hit with water, which I hadn’t anticipated. The sky was less trouble than I thought it would be, though I did toy with the area around the moon trying to both keep the glow but darken up the sky. Ultimately I stopped messing with it and decided I’d just live with the sky being a bit pale and the glow a bit uneven. On the other hand, I was much happier using the pink as a watercolor. Picking the pigment up directly from the pencil gave me a much better color payoff, enough that I actually did a wash of water to pale it back out a bit. Also, I think the watercolor sky looks a bit more realistic because of the texture, though the color pencil texture makes the stars look better on the other one. Naturally, the pencil that suffered the most from my efforts was white. It too worked better as a watercolor than as a pencil, but because I kept painting it on and then neutralizing it, I had to overextend how much I was loading on the brush. So it has become noticeably shorter than the other pencils. (This is also how I learned that the shiny varnish on the pencils apparently doesn’t dissolve in water, or at least not very easily, and seems to have to be sharpened off, as it was a noticeable edge developing as I picked up pigment from the pencil tip). Which, I did sharpen a couple of pencils. No major issues, though I did notice you have to grip them more attentively because they don’t have the wood grain for the sharpener to grasp to help hold it steady. Also, since the shavings are just bits of pigment, I am saving them and planning to figure out something to do with them so it doesn’t go to waste. I do like the watercolor moon much better though. I ended up taking a bit of black, light blue, and purple to it since the gray in the set was looking a bit warm, and luckily the water dissolved them pretty straight away, so they blended in to cool the color down and darken it up a bit without overpowering everything. Of the two moons, likewise, the watercolor one is my favorite. Other than that, as I already mentioned my gel pen did not like going over even the dried watercolor. It kind of makes sense since I’ve tried it over acrylic before and it aggressively didn’t like that either. I guess gel pens just don’t like paint?  (They don't tend to like wax-based pencils that much, but they liked the paint even less.) I definitely need more practice, but their performance with water is what convinced me these were a good investment. I’m not sure how often I’ll get to use them going forward, considering how much I like working on my gray and tan papers that aren’t watercolor friendly, but I will definitely have them on my mind just in case. Mixed media projects, anyone? Also, after using these I can’t say I understand why you would ever go for watercolor pencils with wood; it seems like it would just get in the way and slow you down. Though it does make me curious about the Derwent Inktense pencils, as they’re water-soluble and aren’t supposed to re-activate after they dry...or the Inktense blocks... No, bad Mystic, you don’t need any more pencils! Or art supplies, for that matter! There’s only one glaring issue with the Arteza pencils though that I can’t overlook though; The packaging. I try not to worry too much about the packaging on pencils. If it holds them nice and sorted just fine, then I usually write off my complaints as personal. But this is a special case. (Pun intended). The pencils come in a clear plastic blister pack, arranged in two clear plastic trays. Keyword: BLISTER. There is no neat way to cut into the thing, leaving a nasty jagged edge capable of scratching unless you sand it down, and there’s also no way to fully close it back up, so you either cut it all the way open and it’s severed forever, or you do like I did and try to only open it enough to get the pencils out, which makes getting them in and out an absolute chore. Fortunately, I had enough space in the zipper case I keep my 150 set of Prismacolors in (since I didn’t care for that packaging either) to put them in after realizing just how annoying that blister pack was, but not everyone is going to have a solution like that at the ready. It’s also kind of a shame because I actually liked the plastic trays, but it seems risky to keep them in those without a box to put the trays in. (I do have them in the back of my mind in case I come across a reasonable solution to that problem). My issue isn’t that the packaging is cheap, my issue is that it isn’t easily reusable and just feels kind of obnoxious to use, even though it does look really good as an unopened display. (But you have to open it to use the pencils, so...) This made it kind of obvious that even though on Amazon their price is comparable to Prismacolor, more of the money from Arteza went into the pencils themselves and not the packaging since the 24 set of Prismacolors comes in a nice tin that was probably more costly to manufacture. Again though, my issue isn’t that the packaging itself is cheap. Honestly, I wouldn’t have given it much of a second thought if they came in a paper/cardboard box like a ton of cheap colored pencils (classic Crayola, Rose Art, etc.) do. To be fair, I can understand if they didn’t do that because they are watercolor and were concerned about people using them with water and inadvertently getting the box wet and messing it up, but still (Crayola came out with a set of watercolor pencils and didn't worry about that, for example). Or they could’ve designed the plastic more like the way Tombow Dual Brush Pens come packaged in the 10 marker sets: it looks like a blister pack, but it has little nods at the top like a clasp, so it’s relatively easy to open and close and reuse. It is a little fiddly sometimes and the markers do jostle a bit when you open it because they aren’t fit super snuggly inside, but I’d still much prefer that to the blister pack. Heck, even the Prismacolor Scholar pencils, which are supposed to be a more budget-friendly option to the regular Prismacolors, come in a plastic pack that can double as a stand, and they're $17 on Amazon right now. And yet I have to concede that I would rather have good pencils with sucky packaging than sucky pencils with good packaging because there is always the option of just buying a better case. So while I do abhor the packaging, I will say it doesn’t mean the pencils aren’t worth buying. It just means I think you should already have another storage system in mind or ready for them before you do so. I mean, if you don’t care about keeping them sorted and would just as soon throw them all in a regular pencil zip bag, then this is very much a moot point. I’m talking to those of you like me that prefer to have them sorted so you don’t have to spend minutes pawing through them to find the one you’re looking for. My final verdict? If you’re looking for watercolor pencils, I say give them a try. I’m definitely curious to work with them more. Just make sure you’re prepared to deal with the packaging situation. Though if you’re looking for just regular pencils, sorry, but you’re better off with Prismacolor as far as I’m concerned. Next up will either be a personal piece doing a bit of experimenting or a commissioned piece; depends on which I have to motivation and time to finish first after doing my school work I may or may not have procrastinated on. Oh, and there’s a certain redesign I plan on making a journal about when I find the time...And I need to catch up on correspondence, as usual ____ Artwork (c) me, MysticSparkleWings Inspiration image found on Pinterest ____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble |   Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram

[catalinda04]

Carried Away Chapter 20: Back to School

Masterlist

Lucy was kept very busy in the following weeks, preparing for the new school year. She and Henry texted several times a day, but the six hour time difference made phone calls difficult to plan, especially with Henry’s demanding shooting schedule. But they made it work as best they could. Usually Henry was just waking up when Lucy was just getting ready to go to sleep.

The morning of the first day of school, Lucy awoke to a text from Henry. “Knock ‘em dead today. I love you” It brought a smile to her face. Once she was ready for the day, she sent him a picture of herself in her “teacher clothes”, a maxi skirt with a tank top and cardigan over it, with with the caption “Still think I’m sexy?” Knowing her long skirt and modest top were about as far from sexy as she could get.

The day passed like any other first day; the kids asking about her trip that summer, her asking them about their summers, greeting new students, and reviewing the syllabus with her classes. In her second year class one boy raised his hand “Hey, Ms. C. Are you still offering an A for the year if we can get Tom Hiddleston to come take you out to dinner?” The student asked, bringing up a joke she had made the previous year.

“Lo siento, Santiago, not this year. You’ll have to do the work if you want the A.” Lucy laughed, making a mental note to tell Henry about it.

“Que lastima.” He said while the other students laughed.

When lunch hour rolled around, Lucy went to the office to check her mailbox, and was stopped by one of the secretaries on her way through. “There’s a delivery for you. It’s in the lounge.”

“Thanks Gretchen.” Curious, Lucy went to the lounge to find a huge arrangement of close to three dozen tulips in a myriad of shades of pinks and purples in a vase, with pencils sticking out of the arrangement. She smiled at the whimsical bouquet. There was a card slipped into a holder toward the back of the vase. “Pumpkin, have a great first day of school. Love Darcy.” She laughed at his use of their nicknames; she had officially become Pumpkin Lucy today.

“That’s a beautiful bouquet. Who are they from?” Anne-Marie, Lucy’s former teacher and best friend in the school, asked.

“From the guy I met in London this summer.” Lucy gave a small half smile.

“You met a guy? In London? And this is the first I’m hearing about him? Tell me more!”

“I don’t have time to tell you the whole sordid tale right now, but meet me for coffee after last period, We’ll talk then.”

“He must be pretty special to put that look on your face. Those flowers are gorgeous, and that’s a fun little touch of adding the pencils.”

“I know.” Lucy replied dreamily, staring at the flowers. “I’ve got to go, but here’s a picture of us.” Lucy said pulling out her phone with the picture of herself and Henry in front of Big Ben.

“Wow, that’s a very good looking guy you’ve got there. What’s he do?”

“I’ll tell you all at coffee. I gotta go, they’re playing my song” Lucy responded when the bell rang signaling the end of lunch period. She carried her flowers to her classroom. How did he know her tulips were her favorite flower? She was almost certain she hadn’t mentioned it. She would find out though. Lucy took a picture of the arrangement and sent it to Henry with the message “Thank you! They’re beautiful! How did you know I love tulips?”

She was surprised to hear her phone buzz just a few moments later.

“I have my ways. And yes I think you’re sexy as hell.” Accompanied by a winky face emoji.

Once school released for the day, Lucy met with Anne-Marie at the cafe in town. They sat in a booth, each ordering a soft drink, as neither of them cared for coffee, and sharing a basket of french fries.

“So, you met a guy in London. Tell me about him. What do your parents think?” Anne-Marie asked. She had known Lucy since she was in the 3rd grade, when Lucy started teaching at her alma mater, they developed a close friendship.

“Well, his name is Henry. He’s the same age I am. He’s super sweet, and kind, and gorgeous. He surprised me by coming for my birthday, so mom and dad, and even Clint have already met him, and given their stamp of approval.”

“Well, that’s good. But tell me about him. He is very good looking. What does he do? Where is he from?”

“He originally grew up on the island of Jersey. He has four brothers, and he’s an actor.” Lucy explained, in as few details as possible.

“An actor, like West End?” Anne-Marie, the theatre buff asked.

“Like Superman.” Lucy said taking a drink of her pop, to hide her face.

“Wow. Well, that’s...different.” She replied, stymied by Lucy’s response.

“That’s all you have to say?”

“Your parents obviously already approve, and you look happier than I remember seeing you in quite some time. If you’re happy, I’m happy.”

“Thank you Anne-Marie, that means a lot to me.”

Once the big news was dealt with, Lucy and Anne-Marie finished their drinks and fries, and caught up about each other’s summers. Driving home Lucy felt at peace. She had a great guy, who her family and friends approved of, and her year was shaping up to be a good one. She was halfway home when her phone rang. It was Sarah’s mom, Sharon.

“Hi Sharon. How is the world of flowers treating you?” Lucy asked, after pressing the button to connect the call through her car’s phone system.

“Good, I’m calling to ask how you liked your arrangement.”

“My flowers! You did the arrangement‽ That’s how he knew about the tulips! Sneaky bugger.” Lucy exclaimed, a smile splitting her face.

“Well, he called the shop and asked if we delivered to the school. I said we did. He originally ordered roses, but when he told me they were for you, I told him about the tulips. It was my idea to add the pencils. He wanted me to put a mini pumpkin in the arrangement as well, but we don’t have any of those yet. Besides, a pumpkin with tulips, it wouldn't look right.” Lucy could almost hear the shudder in Sharon’s voice at the possibility of making such a tacky addition to a bouquet.

“It’s an inside joke.” Lucy explained “Thank you, they were beautiful.”

“I’m glad you liked them. So, who’s the guy. His accent was delicious.”

Lucy went through the whole story with Sharon including Sarah’s talk with Henry back in London. Sharon howled with laughter. They chatted for a few more minutes before disconnecting. When she got home, Lucy texted Henry. “I know your secret…” And signed it with a kiss.

Henry awoke the following morning to find Lucy’s message, and smiled. His day was light. He had a session with his trainer, getting himself back into Superman shape, before a meeting with his agent.

The trainer worked him hard, but he liked the training, it took his mind off of Lucy. After nearly 5 hours with his trainer, he took a cab into the heart of the city to meet with his agent. Dany was only in London for a few days, and requested a meeting with him. After covering a few general items Dany asked about Lucy.

“How are things going with the teacher?” Dany asked skeptically.

“Her name is Lucy. And things are great. She’s been busy the past few weeks, with school starting, so we don’t get a chance to phone every day, but we text several times a day.”

“So are you bringing her to the Britannias next month? If you are, I need to get her name on the list.” Dany asked, shuffling some papers around on her desk.

“I’m not sure, I haven’t asked her.” Henry shrugged.

Dany stared at Henry for a long moment. “You didn’t ask her? Why the hell not?”

“She’s a private person, and I don’t know if she’d enjoy it.” Henry defended.

“Well, why not let her decide if she wants to go or not. You should ask her soon though, because I’m guessing she doesn't have anything appropriate to wear, and we’d need to get on that ASAP.” Dany switched from business to personal, “Do you want her there?”

“Of course I do, but…”

Dany interrupted him. “Then ask her. When you ask her, if she says yes, give her my number and we’ll arrange a dress for her. Now go home, call your girl, and take a shower, you smell.”

“Always a pleasure Dany.” Henry grinned, leaving the office. The thought of seeing Lucy again putting a spring in his step. He just hoped she’d say yes.

Checking his watch, he calculated that Lucy would still be in class, so he texted her to call him when she had time. No matter how late it was.

Lucy heard her phone ping in the middle of giving a lesson on cognates to her level one students.

“Senorita, no phones in class.” One of her smart-alek students commented.

“It’s in my purse, not on my desk. I forgot to turn off the sound this morning. Now back to the lesson.” She checked her phone between classes to find Henry’s message. “What does he want?” Lucy thought out loud, but was interrupted by the next class filing in. Her lunch would be after this class. “Guess I’m eating lunch at my desk today.” She thought to herself. At once concerned and excited about the prospect of talking to Henry soon.

Lucy found it hard to concentrate on her lesson plan, her imagination was running wild with reasons why Henry would need to talk to her. Once the kids finally filed out of the room, she sat at her desk and pulled out her phone. After taking 3 deep breaths she opened FaceTime and connected to Henry. “If he’s going to give me bad news,” she thought, “he’s going to do it to my face.”

The look on his face calmed her fears that he had bad news. The look of pure joy almost made her cry.

“Hello! Are you done with school already?”

“No, I’m on my lunch break. Your text sounded important. I thought I should call right away.” Lucy replied, before eating a spoonful of the yogurt she had for lunch that day.

“No, it’s not important, really, but it is time sensitive.”He explained.

“I’m intrigued, go on.”

“Well, I’m presenting at the Britannia Awards next month with Chris, and I was wondering if you would like to accompany me. To the show.” Henry asked stiltedly.

“You want me to go to an awards show with you? Where is it, when is it?” Lucy’s brain was working overtime. She couldn't focus on one emotion. Seeing Henry would be amazing, but awards shows meant lots of people and TV cameras.

“It’s in LA, at the end of October.” He mentioned the date. “Would you be able to come? Maybe take a day off, fly to California, hob nob with some other British actors?”

Lucy consulted her big desk calendar, he face dropping, “I would love to accompany you, but I can’t that weekend. That’s the same time as my foreign language teacher’s conference. I’m already registered for it.” Lucy said disappointedly.

Henry’s face fell too.

“I’m sorry honey, this is the one weekend a year I can talk to other Spanish teachers. It’s really important to me.” Lucy explained.

“I understand, but I’m disappointed. Where is your conference?”

“It’s near Minneapolis on Friday and Saturday.”

Henry was silent for a moment, but the look on his face told Lucy his brain was working hard.

“What’s that look for?” Lucy laughed.

“You’ll already be in Minneapolis? The awards are Friday night, would you be available for dinner on Saturday?”

“With you?” she asked, her eyes bright.

“No, with Tom Hiddleston. Of course with me.” He laughed.

“Well, if Tom’s not available, you’ll do.” she laughed. “I can’t wait to see you! Where will you be staying?”

“I don’t know, I just made this plan a minute ago. I’ll arrange everything, and let you know.”

Just then the bell rang signaling the end of lunch period. “Well, when you know, let me know, but I have to go. The kids will be in here any minute.”

“I guess I’ll see you at the end of next month then. I love you.”

“I can’t wait, love you too.” Lucy said, blowing him a kiss before disconnecting the video call just as the first students came in.

“Who was that, Ms. C.? Was that your booooooyfriend” Patricia, one of Lucy’s favorite students asked, drawing out the word boyfriend.

“As a matter of fact, it was.” She said with a grin.

“Oooooooh. Can we see a picture?”

“Not right, now we’ve got a lesson to get to.”

Lucy thought later that it was good the principal hadn’t been visiting classes today, her lesson was a little disorganized. She had braced herself for not seeing Henry until Christmas, now she had a date scheduled in 6 weeks. She couldn’t keep the grin off her face.

Chapter 19           Chapter 21

[trixyazamatova]

Rapunzel - Craquaria

okay so obviously the moment i had this idea i had to write it so... here it is! (the gifs are the outfits i’ve based them off)

‘Mother must have forgotten something.’ She smiled to herself, wiping her hands on her apron and walking towards the window. ‘It’s a bit early for dinner!’ Brianna called out and laughed at her own joke as she threw her hair out of the window, holding tight the section around her scalp as the familiar weight of something climbing her hair soon followed.

It was only as the woman climbing her hair grabbed onto the ledge that Brianna knew it wasn’t her mother. For starters her skin was white as paper and her limbs scrambled awkwardly as she fell through the window.

Dappled light washed over the wooden floor of a room 100 feet in the air, the top of a tall, stone tower hidden away amongst huge trees. Any sounds from that room were washed away by the rushing noise of a glistening waterfall that separated the tower from the rest of the world, so when Brianna’s delicate singing echoed across the room and out of the window her mother would smile and let her sing; knowing no other soul on earth would hear her.

On a bright, spring day like today Brianna’s mother would journey to find her daughter something beautiful to entertain her, whether it was a bunch of flowers, or an interesting shell she would always find something to make Brianna smile. You might think that trapping a young woman in a tower for 30 years would mean that Bob hated her daughter but there was nothing she wouldn’t do to keep her safe from the horrors of the outside world, even if that did mean keeping her locked away from them. It was worth it to see the beautiful, gleeful smile she would give her mother every time she returned from her journeys, trading her gift for a wonderful meal she would spend hours cooking using the ingredients her mother brought back from the day before.

‘Okay mother, it’s time for dinner!’ Brianna would call down when she heard her mother returning, and as there were no stairs or ladders to reach the tall room Brianna lived in, she would throw her hair out of the window where the golden strands would unravel and skim across the grass below like a waterfall even more beautiful than the one she was hidden behind. Bob would tuck her basket under her arm and climb Brianna’s hair like a rope so they could spend the evening together.

Today, on a warm April morning, Bob told her daughter that she would be gone for longer than her usual few hours. ‘I want to get you something special, for your birthday.’

Brianna smiled that bright, beautiful smile that reached her honey brown eyes and tucked a portion of her lengthy hair behind her ear. ‘I’d like that.’

Kissing her daughter goodbye, Bob lowered herself out of the window using Brianna’s hair and set off on a journey to find her something beautiful for her birthday.

‘Now what?’ Brianna sighed and sat herself down on the window ledge, staring out across the forest through the trees and watching as the birds danced around her tower.

After what felt like hours she turned back to her space, looking around for something to keep her entertained until her mother returned. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted the baking ingredients Bob had brought her two days earlier that she was saving to make some sweet crackers for her birthday. Now was the perfect time! She giggled to herself and grabbed the pink apron she kept by the stove and tied it around her small waist to protect the long, purple dress she’d chosen that morning.

In a cheerier mood now she had a task, Brianna started to sing at the top of her lungs, the way she always did when she was baking, dancing around as she mixed ingredients together happily. It was only a few minutes after putting the crackers into the oven that she heard the familiar sound of footsteps coming towards her tower.

‘Mother must have forgotten something.’ She smiled to herself, wiping her hands on her apron and walking towards the window. ‘It’s a bit early for dinner!’ Brianna called out and laughed at her own joke as she threw her hair out of the window and holding tight the section around her scalp as the familiar weight of something climbing her hair soon followed.

It was only as the woman climbing her hair grabbed onto the ledge that Brianna knew it wasn’t her mother. For starters her skin was white as paper and her limbs scrambled awkwardly as she fell through the window.

Brianna just stood and stared as the noticeably young woman righted herself, fixing her dark hair and brushing down her crimson cloak that separated at her waist to show the longest legs Brianna had ever even imagined, and she’d imagined a lot.

‘Girl did I just climb your hair? That’s fucked up.’ The young woman instinctively reached up to touch the top of her head to check her tiara was still in place before giving Brianna a dazzling smile of white teeth between red, painted lips like Brianna had never seen.

Of course, Brianna hadn’t seen many people other than her mother and herself, but she could tell the woman in front of her was a unique specimen. There’s no way her mother could have kept her from a world full of people like this. ‘Was that you singing?’

Finding herself speechless, Brianna simply nodded.

‘Okay Miss… Whatever your name is… I’m Princess Aquaria and I guess I’m gonna save you from this horrible place.’ She looked over the walls that Brianna had spent weeks of her life painting with a disgusted look on her beautiful face. Brianna couldn’t help but feel a bit offended.

‘Thank you Princess Aquafina but I don’t need saving. I’m fine.’ She folded her arms across her chest and tried to not feel intimidated as smirk spread across the princess’s pretty face. Aquaria opened her red lips to retort when Brianna began to smell the tell-tale sign of burning and quickly ran to the oven with a shout of; ‘Crackers!’

Aquaria was laughing as she took her baking out of the oven. Luckily only a couple towards the edge had started to burn.

‘Oh Miss Cracker, that’s what I’m going to call you. That so cute you’re stuck up here in this tower making crackers.’ The princess picked up the worn recipe book from the counter next to where Brianna had dumped the crackers and flipped through it, still grinning. ‘So quaint.’

‘Why are you here?’ Brianna took a step towards Aquaria, regretting it slightly as the closer she got the more she realised how much taller the younger woman was than her. ‘What do you want?’

‘I heard your lovely singing.’ Brianna found her cheeks heating up for some reason. ‘You’re obviously a damsel in distress stuck in a hidden tower; I’m here to rescue you.’ Aquaria flashed Brianna a winning smile, ‘That’s what I do.’

‘You kidnap women from their homes for a living?’

‘Look, do you wanna come with me to my castle or not?’

By this point Aquaria was pouting and folded her arms over her flat chest, tapping her heeled foot impatiently. Brianna considered her options for a moment, looking around the room that had been her home all her life. It suddenly felt very small.

‘I guess mother wouldn’t mind if I left just for a few hours…’

At this, Aquaria’s face lit up again and she took hold of Brianna’s hand, causing the shorter woman to flush bright pink at the contact she had never felt from anyone but her mother. It was nice. ‘Come on then!’

It took a few minutes for them to fashion a rope out of Brianna’s hair that she could use to lower them both down to the ground, Aquaria jumping down a few feet before they reached the grass below.

Brianna found herself hanging from her hair above the ground, the excitement fizzing in her stomach at the thought of being out of her tower turning into panic and anxiety. Aquaria must have seen this on her face because the confident bravado from a few minutes ago seemed to have melted away and the younger woman lifted her arms up to where Brianna was holding herself.

‘I’ll help you, Miss Cracker, just trust me.’ This time when Aquaria smiled it was a warm smile that reached her pale eyes and Brianna found herself lowering into her arms without even thinking about it.

In moments her bare feet had sunk into the cool grass beneath her, the first time in her life she had stepped out of her tower, but she barely even noticed. Aquaria’s arms were still fixed tightly around her waist, her delicate hands gripped the back of Brianna’s dress beneath the sheet of golden hair holding the shorter woman close to her. Brianna found herself having to crane her neck up to make eye contact with the princess, still smiling warmly down to her. ‘How does it feel, Miss Cracker?’

Brianna broke out into an almost hysterical laugh that startled Aquaria, causing her to pull away as Brianna looked down at her feet then threw herself into an enthusiastic cartwheel, landing in a giggling heap on the floor.

‘Girl, if we’re doing gymnastics we’re doing them right!’ Aquaria shrugged off her cloak and followed Brianna’s cartwheel with a much more polished one of her own, ending in the splits. The sight caused a feeling low in Brianna’s stomach that felt similar to the excitement she felt leaving her tower.

Aquaria laughed and rolled out of the splits so she was lying side by side with Brianna, grinning up at the blue sky past the tops of the trees.

‘Is this what it’s always like when you meet someone new?’

Brianna rolled onto her side to watch Aquaria, wanting to keep the warm feeling in her stomach for as long as possible.

‘Like what?’

‘Like you’ve swallowed the sun.’

Aquaria turned to meet Brianna’s eye, half of her face hidden by the grass. ‘No. I think that’s quite a rare thing.’ She sat up and looked down at Brianna, her head blocking out the sun so the rays spilled down over her shoulders.

Brianna was pretty sure that this princess was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen and without thinking she reached out her hand to touch Aquaria’s face, tracing her cheek with her index finger.

‘What are you doing?’ The question was no more than a whisper over the sound of the nearby waterfall and Brianna smiled as the dark haired woman closed her eyes and leant into her touch.

‘My mother always brings home beautiful things for me, and I try and take in as much of their beauty as I can…’ She brushed her thumb across Aquaria’s lips and watched as the princess’s eyes flew open at her touch. ‘She’s never given me anything this beautiful before.’

The sincerity behind Brianna’s words must have meant something to Aquaria because before she knew it the dark haired woman had closed the distance between them and pressed her red lips against Brianna’s bare ones, putting one of her hands beside Brianna’s head to steady herself and using the other to grip a handful of golden hair.

Going purely off instinct and what her body was telling her to do, Brianna leant up into Aquaria’s kiss, parting her lips to deepen the kiss and get closer to the loveliest thing she’d ever seen.