#i miss screaming my head off and having to explain to my mum what was happening when florence welch came on stage (it was rare i was there)

[louiisaa]

i miss the eras tour

[flamboyantly-incompetent]

HPB, Chapter 1 - A Vague Warning

Draco Malfoy x Hufflepuff!Reader

Warnings: mentions of murder

Masterlist

Word Count: ~3,200

Note: Welcome to the second part of my Draco x reader fic, taking place during the events of Half Blood Prince!

Since the full, public reveal of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named’s return at the end of your last school year, he and his Death Eaters had come out of hiding more and more to wreak havoc and violence across the wizarding and muggle worlds alike.

Donna and Yvette had both carefully explained to their muggle parents the dangers of them accompanying them to places such as Diagon Alley, where not even the witch and wizard locals were safe. Most shops either had boarded up a few front-facing windows, or, if you squinted from the right angle, you could make out the glimmer of a magical ward. Your mum and Julien insisted on accompanying you and your friends through the shops, and afterwards Donna and Yvette both came back to stay with you until it was time to head to King’s Cross.

Even with the world as it was crumbling around you, the book list for your O.W.L. year was as long as it had ever been. The three of you sat around your living room, flipping through textbooks with growing trepidation while your mum and Julien worked in the garden outside. Buttercup, your King Charles Spaniel, had her head across Donna’s lap, and Wilbur, your white cat, bathed in the warm glow of the open window. Hagrid hadn’t even assigned a textbook for Care of Magical Creatures, so at this point, you were just trying to kill time before leaving for King’s Cross.

Yvette sighed dramatically and closed her book with a clap. “This sucks. Are we even going to be allowed to go to Hogsmeade now?”

“That’s what you’re worried about?” Donna asked incredulously. “Not the rising kill count of Dark Wizards abroad?”

Yvette huffed. “Well obviously, I thought that went without saying. But I’m sure that between the Order, Ministry Aurors and Dumbledore someone will put a stop to that. I just don’t want the world to stop spinning until they have. Is that so wrong?”

Donna raised her eyebrows but said nothing, electing instead to scratch behind Buttercup’s floppy ear.

You chimed in, “Some normalcy would be nice. And I doubt the only all-wizard village in Britain is at the top of You-Know-Who’s hit list. Aurors frequent The Three Broomsticks. Fudge used to frequent The Three Broomsticks. As for the new Minister, we’ll see.”

Just then your mum poked her head through the door, brandishing a trowel as she spoke, “You should be perfectly safe in Hogsmeade, but you must keep your wits about you! And stick together, no wandering off to look for Puffskein burrows this year, Y/N. Now, get your trunks together, we’re almost done out here.”

After a long, heartfelt goodbye to Buttercup and coaxing Wilbur into his carrier with a tuna flavored treat, you piled your trunks into the magically expanded trunk of Julien’s station wagon. Your parent’s accompanied you all the way to your first steps onto the train, hands hovering above their wands, where you found Herbert waiting for you in an empty compartment.

He grinned and lent a hand as you and your friends shoved your trunks into the overhead compartments. “Ernie and Hannah may join us later,” he said, “once they do their rounds.”

Donna laughed. “Hey Y/N, remember when I thought you might be dating Ernie?”

“What?” Yvette asked sharply. “Have I missed something?”

“No,” you said firmly, “it was just because of the DA meetings. Before you guys knew about it.”

Donna continued to tease, “The two of you strolled into the common room pretty late. He even opened the door for you.”

The train’s whistle screamed out and the car lurched.

Yvette’s eyebrows creased. “Well, to be fair, you could certainly do worse.”

Herbert was shocked. “Do you like Ernie?”

“No, no. Nothing like that. But he’s nice, though. And he made a good dueling partner.” She shrugged. “I wouldn’t judge if you did like him, Y/N.”

“Well that’s very nice but-” you stopped short as Wilbur’s paw began reaching out of his carrier and swiping at your shirt. “D’you think Ernie and Hannah’d mind if I let him out?”

The compartment door slid open.

“Surely not, go ahead,” Hannah said, entering the compartment with Ernie close behind. Wilbur gave the air a sniff before climbing out, stretching dramatically, and curling up on your lap. He allowed Hannah to pat his head.

“You seem in good spirits today, Hannah,” Donna remarked.

She laughed, and explained, “Prefect duty was just unusually pleasant this time round.”

Ernie scoffed. “Yeah, since Malfoy’s taking the day off, apparently.” A jolt plunged through your gut - you’d somehow forgotten another year at Hogwarts meant another year hearing about him. You still felt conflicted - no, conflicted wasn’t the right word. Angry, yes, at him for being exactly who everyone else had told you he was, since he was the kind of person who could use the terms blood traitor and mudblood in the same sentence. His father even had been arrested at the Ministry last year, undeniably in league with You-Know-Who. There was an entire article in the Daily Prophet about it, explaining that the Malfoy’s (apparently very old and very large) family mansion had been raided shortly after. Oddly enough, learning that had sparked some level of sympathy, for Draco at least. It had to have been difficult for him, even if his father deserved it. And you were also disappointed in yourself, that who you were beginning to think he was happened to be so far off the mark.

With any luck, your Herbology 6 would be with Gryffindor and Hufflepuff and you could avoid him altogether.

The train ride to Hogwarts was pleasant - the sun came out halfway through to cast a warm glow on the countryside, and Ernie and Herbert swapped stories about Peeves. When the snack trolley rolled by, everyone pooled together some Galleons to split a box of twenty chocolate frogs, then you opened all of them to trade cards.

Once settled in the Great Hall for the feast, you turned to Yvette to speculate about the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He was a short man, with a round face and a mustache, and a snappy dresser. No one seemed to have any idea who he was. Then, once the pudding was unveiled, Professor Dumbledore arose and took his place by the great owl podium.

You half-listened to his welcome speech, really only interested in the new professor, and whether he had anything to say about You-Know-Who, and you didn’t have to wait long. Professor Slughorn, an old colleague of Dumbledore’s, had returned to resume his old positions as potions master. Potions? You looked around confused at your housemates, then over to the Ravenclaw table where a similar bout of confusion had struck.

Dumbledore continued to explain, “Professor Snape, meanwhile, will be taking over the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.” Another uproar followed and you sank into your pudding. There went the hope of an O.W.L. for that subject.

It was a relief to learn that your Herbology 6 period was, in fact, with Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, and it pleased Hannah and Ernie too, to know they could whisper questions in your ear whenever it suited them. Most of the Gryffindor sixth years you had already met through the DA meetings, and some of them even remembered you enough to ask what you were doing in the class.

The potions classroom had undergone a subtle change for the better. Under Professor Snape’s reign, the lighting had always seemed cast in that same cold-green glow you’d encountered in the Slytherin common room, but here it was almost cheerful. Almost. Though it was accompanied by Professor Slughorn grinning at the door and shaking hands enthusiastically with every student as they filtered in. Luna seemed particularly comfortable, launching off immediately about her father’s publication, The Quibbler, when asked. It was, easily, the best Potions class you’d ever sat through.

Professor Snape, in Defense Against the Dark Arts, had given a lengthy speech on the nebulous nature of the Dark Arts and had hinted more than once at the inferiority of Harry Potter’s instruction through Dumbledore’s Army. Thankfully, you saw a few others barely hiding their own eye rolls.

Zacharias Smith wouldn’t take no for an answer when he asked you to try out for Quidditch Keeper again this year. Apparently, since Ezra Miller had left Hogwarts, Wanda Clemm wanted to try for his spot as Beater. In the end, you relented, and thus found yourself on the Quidditch pitch with Yvette and the rest of them at the crack of dawn Saturday morning.

Herbert and Donna settled into the stands with a few others including Professor Sprout to cheer you on, and the tryouts commenced. As it turned out, Wanda Clemm made a fair beater, and beamed triumphantly when Zacharias offered her the spot. Yvette retained her position as Chaser, as did Cadwallader. Devon Summerby barely came out on top; Zacharias was not pleased, but offered him the spot anyway.

Then, Keepers were up. There were only two others vying for the spot: a fourth year you’d only met in passing, and Ernie Macmillan. You quirked an eyebrow at him, he responded with a shrug. You elected to go last, wanting to see how they did, and secretly hoping that one of them would be good enough so you wouldn’t even need to try out. Unfortunately, though, Ernie struggled greatly to turn quickly in the air, and the fourth year kept doing loop-the-loops in between the goal posts.

It was unavoidable, then, when your turn rolled around and you were able to actually block the quaffle, Zacharias offered you the spot confidently and you didn’t have the heart to say no after seeing the other options.

Yvette was characteristically excited, and her enthusiasm managed to rub off on you enough to make you grin by the time you got back to the common room.

During the week that followed, a growing foreboding grew in the air. There was a tension, a pregnant pause. You thought that maybe it was your luck avoiding Draco Malfoy wearing thin.

Then, during Herbology, Professor McGonagal had interrupted to pull Hannah out of class. She never returned. You learned later that her mum had been found, dead, earlier in the day. It was enough to remind you of the real dangers that existed just outside Hogwarts, and you had to scold yourself for forgetting. Draco Malfoy was the least of your worries.

The common room atmosphere took yet another hit. If even the Abbotts, an old pureblood family, weren’t safe, was anyone?

Zacharias, ever sensitive to the feelings of others, had reminded you brusquely of quidditch practice to take place in an hour. As anyone but Zacharias could have predicted, that practice did not go well. Everyone had one eye on the quaffle and the other on the castle in the distance, hoping that one of the people coming and going would have news about Hannah. But not one did.

You followed Yvette back to the common room after, thoroughly exhausted and hopeless, intending to flop onto bed and sleep through breakfast in the morning. When you thrust back the bed curtains, though, Wilbur sat, tail curled around him, purring happily.

“What’s that, bud?” you asked, spotting the corner of some kind of parchment under his bottom. You lured him off of it with a treat and read, “Come to the owlery at midnight, alone. It’s important. -SB.”

“SB?” you asked yourself. “Do I know anybody… maybe Silas Babbage? No, he left last year. Who in the world?”

“Talking to yourself again?” Donna asked, strolling into the room.

Yvette answered before you could, “Looks like Y/N’s got a secret admirer.”

“I do not!”

She shrugged. “Not sure who else would leave a note on your bed asking you to meet them at midnight.”

“What?” Donna exclaimed as she snatched the note out of your hands. She turned it over and over, incredulous. “SB?”

“That’s what I was just wondering.”

“Well are you going to go?”

You thought for a moment. The note gave no real indication of who you were meant to be meeting, and given the state of things, that could be dangerous. But, then again, it said to meet at the owlery so whoever sent it must be from someone already on Hogwarts grounds.

Finally, you nodded. “At worst it’s a prank, and I’ll complain about it to you both when I get back.”

You waited until the last Hufflepuff had gone to bed, Donna and Ywette Made you promise a full report before bidding you goodnight, and then you slipped out the huge round door. Wilbur had abandoned you hours ago when he realized you weren’t on your way to bed, and both Donna and Yvette had gone to sleep.

“Sipellum,” you whispered, casting the Disillusionment charm on yourself to obscure your form. It wouldn’t make you invisible, but it would be easier to hide from prefects in the dark corners of the castle. Your mum had insisted upon teaching you the incantation over the summer, and this technically was the first time you’d tried it. Surprisingly enough, it worked.

Carefully, you stepped lightly on the balls of your feet out of the castle. The outer doors were all closed except for the small courtyard between the great hall and the library’s wing, so you waited a few beats for whoever was on curfew patrol to pass, and climbed through an arch onto the grounds.

The lingering summer air made the night breeze warm, but you still shivered through your jumper. It was a clear night, too, the waxing gibbous moon illuminating the highlands sufficiently enough you never bothered to cast lumos. The owlery loomed on a hill above you.

So, you climbed.

Halfway up, you heard a muffled curse. Then another, and when you were inches from the door, “Get away, you mangy thing,” hoarsely whispered.

You tossed open the door and dismissed the spell; it was Draco Malfoy, sitting on a bench previously covered in owl droppings. Your eyes narrowed. He was shooing away a fluffy white cat, who was purring aggressively trying to head butt his leg, and yelped slightly at the sight of you.

“Wilbur!” you chided, ignoring Malfoy. “What are you doing here? Don’t touch that, you don’t know where it’s been.”

He ignored that last bit, asking, “This thing belongs to you?”

Finally, you leveled your gaze at him. The absolute gall it must’ve taken for him to summon you here tonight, after last year, astounded you. “This is my cat. Who is apparently a terrible judge of character. What in Merlin’s Beard is ‘SB’?”

He said coldly, “Study buddy.” You snorted. “It was the best I could come up with.”

“Well, I’m here. What do you want?”

He took a steadying breath. The summer hadn’t treated him well; his normally cold features were especially worn, harried even. Dark circles had appeared under his sharp eyes. He replied, “The Hufflepuff common room, is there a password?”

��Huh?”

“To get in - is there a password?”

There were barrels outside the door you had to properly knock on, and if you got the rhythm wrong you got sprayed with pumpkin juice, but you weren’t sure that really counted. “Uhh… Why’d you want to know?” He crossed his arms. “Okay, fine, not really. But it’s just outside the-“

“No, don’t tell me. Just,” he paused, hands folded in front of his mouth. “In the event there was someone attempting to enter to cause mischief, it would be advantageous for there to be some line of defense. In the Hufflepuff common room.”

You took a moment, blinking rapidly, to unravel what he could mean. “That’s… vague.” The thought of his father, a Death Eater, imprisoned in Azkaban flickered across your mind. “Do you… know something? What are you implying?”

A wall of ice descended behind his eyes once more. That was all you were going to get out of him, it would seem.

“I’ve said all I can. Goodbye, Y/N.” He turned and stalked out of the owlery, not even bothering to sneak or cast the Disillusionment charm. Still depending on his prefect status to keep him out of trouble, no doubt.

You waited a beat, fuming, wondering what the point of this meeting had been. Was it a prank? What had been the punchline? Was it possible he was actually trying to warn you of something important? Maybe he’d overheard something over summer. Or, maybe he just wanted you out of bed after hours for an excuse to dock house points.

After a heavy sigh, a groan, and a feeble kick to the bench, you recast the Disillusionment charm and went out as you came in.

“Donna,” you whispered, standing over her bed, “get up.”

“Huh? What? Ah!” She started awake, then rubbed her eyes. “Y/N, do you know what time it is?”

“Yes and this is important, get Herbert to the common room.” You moved over to Yvette’s bed and woke her next.

Your three friends assembled themselves on a plush leather sofa by the fireplace, still warm with embers, as you recounted the events of the evening, including just who was waiting for you in the owlery.

“Total transparency, I have no idea what it was all about. There wasn’t some trap waiting for me, no one jumped out to laugh. I don’t know what to make of it, “ you finished, hands folded in your lap.

Herbert frowned. “And he didn’t mention who would be trying to get into our common room?”

“No. Only that if someone were to try, for the purpose of causing mischief, it’d be better if there was a password. Or some other thing, I guess.”

Donna pondered. “And it didn’t seem like he was trying to trick you? He never asked where the common room was, though, right? So it’s probably not him playing some long-gamed prank.”

You shook your head. “At first I thought that must be it, right? Why on earth else would he go to these lengths to get me alone at midnight. It’s possible he was just testing how far I would go for a mystery. Or for some weird misdirection. But if I had to put words to it, he seemed… almost… afraid.”

“If you thought he looked afraid, he was probably terrified. That git’s facade could fool a boggart.”

Yvette shrugged. “After everything that happened last year, do you trust him?”

You let out a bark of laughter. “No. I don’t trust him. But I’m inclined to believe him. About the possibility of a threat, I mean.” They were quiet as you pondered. Beyond the grounds of Hogwarts, darkness was spreading fast. You knew they lived in fear of receiving similar news as Hannah had, and though you were loathe to admit it, so did you. It seemed unwise to ignore such a warning from someone who might have inside information. Thinking of just who that information could have come from, you shuddered.

Finally, Donna nodded. “I don’t think this is the sort of thing we ignore.”

Herbert agreed, “So how do we fortify an enchanted room, in an enchanted castle, under our teachers’ and everyone else’s noses?”

~~~ Taglist ~~~

@jemomgershippingco

@snickersmee

@lafrone

@cillshot

@reb0rned

[v3nusxsky]

Right I need a good hurt/comfort fic cause my parental issues are kicking my ass atm. If you don't mind could you please write a Larissa weems x non-binary reader where r is a student (of legal age of course) where r and Larissa are in an established relationship but haven't taken the next step in their relationship yet. During parents weekend both of r's parents end up coming despite them being separated since r was a little kid so typically they take turns. This is the first time Larissa has properly gotten to meet them both and together so when r's dad shows up drunk and their mum's deadnaming them, larissa is concerned to say the least. Throughout the weekend it gets worse and they are both constantly and very loudly fighting about anything and everything while using r as their mediator. Larissa notices how different r is from their parents since r is very reserved and logical to the point of coming off as cold to people who don't know them well but before Larissa can think too hard about that r comes bursting into her office and immediately starts to kiss and undress her. Larissa is happy r wants to finally take the next step but is very confused at why now and why r is letting their emotions get the best of them so forces r to stop and talk to her. This leads to r breakdown in Larissa's arms (something she's never seen before) and explains that they can't handle their parents anymore and they just need Larissa to make r forget about them. Feel free to end it however you like, thank you!

Make me forget| h&c slight 18+

*Authors note~this fic has been haunting my brain bc I want to do it justice and I hope I have now that it's really ready to post.*

Trigger warnings~ non binary r family issues sexualising one's self, sex as a coping mechanism meltdowns drunk dad separated parents dead naming

Prompt~see ask^^^^

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Parent's weekend was something you'd been anxious for now for the past week, your parents would attend for your youngest sibling Dahlia while having no idea that you taught here. Not only that but that you go by your chosen name not your dead name. They also weren't privy to the knowledge that you happened to be dating the principal. Larissa Weems loved you for what you are on the inside, not the name you were born with or what gender you resonate with. You are you, and that's why she loved you. Together you both knew what it felt like to be misunderstood for what you are and that's why you would always try to prevent these things occurring in Nevermore Academy.

Larissa knew of your sister, but your sister had yet to stumble across you, you'd actively been dodging her since her arrival. So we one safe kiss of reassurance you both headed down to begin parents weekend. Your mother was first to arrive, as emotionless as she always was until she laid eyes on Dahlia, only when she caught sight of you did her eyes darken in anger and she muttered, "Lia? Who's that thing over there?" Ouch, but before she could even turn to see you, your dad came stumbling through the gates, three sheets to the wind. Truly nothing had changed here.

As a child you spent every week bouncing from house to house and parent to parent but neither provided you with the love and care you deserved. Your dad was always drunk or hungover, there's no middle here. Your mother took things hard when you came out, refusing your new name, "I named you for a reason, that's your name! Not whatever monstrosity you came up with" her words stung, you spent ages souring the internet for the perfect name. And she didn't even hear what you choose, just dismissed you straight away.

Right away your parents are way to busy arguing to notice you approaching them until your sister screams you're new name and runs into your arms. "I missed you Lia bug" you murmured into her ear before whispering, "I work here now bug" which caused your sister to beam back at you. "What are you doing here?" Your mother almost snarled at you. Of course she dead named you. Your dad chirped in about how a creature like you shouldn't be working in schools where you influence children. After all he blamed your mother and she blamed him. You and Lia were always caught in the crossfire, just how it always has been.

By the end of the evening you'd had enough so you set off in search for your girlfriend. Barging in through her the mahogany doors and immediately stormed over to your unsuspecting love. You immediately gabbed the lapels of her blazer and smashed your lips to hers in a hurry, hands tugging at her clothing and your own in a desperate blind need to feel something, anything.

At first Larissa reciprocated the desire until she realised this felt wrong, you'd both spoke about how the first time together would go and this wasn't it so the fact you were trying to rip her dress from her body, you'd removed your own shirt before Larissa managed to brace her hands on your shoulders, "hey hey hey love, slow down darling slow down. Talk to me" she murmured as you attempted to avoid her gaze. Those words was all it took for you to start sobbing, "I'm sorry I'm sorry so so sorry I'm god sorry" over and over again as you collapsed.

As Larissa came to hold you after wrapping her blazer around you she began to realise just how much you were the opposite of your parents. You had never broken down like this before so whatever they did was clearly bothering you and it hurt her heart to see. "Can't do this they just Ris help make me feel. Please need to feel good please Ris make their words go away make it all better please." You mumbled over and over as you sobbed into her shoulder. A soothing hand rubbing circles on your back as you cried it out. Larissa promised herself here and now that she would never let your parents hurt you ever again. For the rest of the evening Larissa doted on, drew you a bath and got a some snacks, just held you and showered you in love and comforting words.

Word count~ 1085

[roseofithaca]

A Strange God (Part 8)

Final Part. Silver and the ghosts face their uncertain future.

"Thanks for agreeing to meet me."

Silver said nothing as Alison approached her bed, carrying Mia in a papoose at her front.

"Sorry we couldn't talk inside. Had to hand over my key. Not really supposed to be on the land now that construction has started."

She didn't know what to say to that. Risking a side glance at Mia, she could see how much she'd already grown, those brown eyes so much wider and interested in the world around her.

Alison shifted, guiding Mia's chubby hand to point to Silver.

"That's your auntie. Can you see her?" She cooed the baby. Silver looked away before Mia could meet her eyes; "...Don't you wanna say hello now she's stopped screaming?"

Silver shrugged, folding her arms; "Best not. Might be better neither of us gets attached if she's not going to remember us."

"What do you mean?"

"That's why you're leaving, right? So she can grow up in a 'normal' family? Mum, Dad, that heteronormative crap. No difficult aunts and uncles around. Nothing to make her life 'weird', right?"

Alison's face fell; "No, that's not..."

"It's how Pat and the others made it sound. That it was never about Mike's mum getting in the way. It was us. We were the problem, right? The ones you had to get away from?"

"If that's what they said then they're way off. Yes, you can all be a pain at times but I didn't leave to run away from you all." Alison explained, "Don't you think that if you guys were the problem then I'd have left when I found out Julian tried to kill me?"

"Why didn't you then? Why were you still talking like you had no intention of going anywhere the last time we spoke?"

"Because I didn't want to leave! Honest. If it hadn't been down to them telling me I should go, I'd probably still be here. Sure, there's been a little voice in my head for months, even before the golf people made their offer, that it would be easier to take the money and leave. And five years ago, I'd have done just that! But then everything changed and I got to know you all....You became my family."

Silver scoffed, getting up off her bed; "You mean the substitute before the 'real' one came along? Flesh and blood, normal nuclear husband, wife and baby etcetera?"

"That's not fair. I thought, out of everyone, you'd be the one to understand. You've always spoken up about me making poor financial decisions and now I'm finally doing something I'd rather not for the sake of giving Mia a future."

"By future you mean money? So you can live off a payout you didn't earn yourself and hand over a house you once used to feed the poor at Christmas over to rich twats like Barclay and Julian to enjoy? That's a great lesson for Mia, that is, just throw the towel in when things don't work. Never mind you told me that house was your dream, your passion. Never mind that it was our home, all of us! And now they're all miserable because they're back to just watching the world go by after you gave us all a taste of feeling part of it again!"

"And would the alternative have made you happy? Watching Mike and I struggle to make ends meet, barely able to clothe our daughter in a draughty house, just to keep us all together?"

Silver's chest burned with the sting of being beaten. She looked at Mia, already dressed in what looked to be warm, new clothes rather than hand-me-downs. Alison also looked far less tired, though just as sad as before.

She shook her head.

"...We'd have been there for you though. And Mike and Mia."

"I know. And I wish that could be enough. Trust me. You can't hate me for deciding to leave more than I hate myself for giving you false hope."

Alison sat down on the mound and Silver moved to join her, an awkward gap between them.

"I don't hate you. I'm just pissed off. There's a difference."

Alison smiled and nodded; "Fair enough."

"You know how much it meant for me to get to watch Mia grow up after missing out on my own niece. If you had even the slightest thoughts of leaving, I just wish you'd been honest with us about it. Because it's so much worse to get your hopes up about something."

"Tell me about it."

Mia cooed as she raised one of her hands and tried to reach to bat Silver's feather earring.

"...I'm gonna miss you, noisy. I wish we'd had more time..." Silver sighed, her heart aching.

"I didn't think we'd have to leave so soon but they wanted to start construction pretty much right away. We're currently at Mike's parents but we've already got our eyes on a house just a couple miles from here. No ghosts, have done a full sweep. Bit boring but nice big garden for this one. Mike wants us to get a dog but I reckon Robin would get as jealous as Kitty."

Silver snorted at that; "Get a dog. They're the best thing and I'll handle Robin."

"Most important thing wasn't even no ghosts. It was being as close as I could to this place. I know it's gonna be a couple years until the hotel opens but I'm gonna be here as much as possible, always around the full moon, I promise. You'll be the lucky one because you'll barely be aware when I'm not here."

She hadn't thought about it like that. To be honest, her upset had come more from being protective of the others and how it had devastated them. But Silver was already as much a visiting relative as Alison would soon be.

"I've already promised Kitty that there will be a room just for us lot. The hotel will have to make sure it's always free for any impromptu visits I choose to make. It won't be anything huge but it'll be somewhere all of you can relax in together when you wanna escape the livings."

"Sounds nice." Not the same, but it was better than losing Alison completely. Two years seemed like such a long time away, even though she knew it would pass for her much quicker.

Alison patted the zodiac sheet.

"And I told them about this place too. About the young woman who died here and how important it was. They're gonna leave it barred from the rest of the course. I might have played up how upset your family would be if they discovered their daughter's memorial spot was disturbed."

"Clever." Silver felt a swell of gratitude. "Thanks. I'm glad I don't have to worry about some Tory prick swinging a ball into my face while I sleep."

Her family had never come here though, as far as she was aware. Alison had apparently sent her mother an email years back just to send her condolences but received no reply. They probably had a grave or stone for her in the local cemetery they paid their respects.

The two of them sat in silence for a while, listening to the birds and the late Winter breeze through the trees. Mia was still reaching her hand out and Silver indulged her niece, wiggling her own ethereal digits before her.

"You better still grow up to be weird, kid. Sight or not. Don't you become some boring mean girl. Stay a freak like me and your mum."

"I'll make sure she does." Alison smiled. "Will you do something for me? I know I shouldn't ask, but...."

"What is it?" What could she do for her? She was dead.

"Look after Kitty for me. I know I broke her heart the most. She needs a sister around her, especially stuck in a house of boys...and Fanny. I've said I'll call her once I can find a way to leave a phone here. But I need to know she'll be okay...That you'll all be okay."

Silver nodded. Of course she would. However, the being okay part was a whole other topic. That she'd learned there was no way to guarantee.

Progress on the house did seem to go shockingly quick, even from Silver's limited perspective. The others soon learned to get back into their old routine from B.A (Before Alison, as Cap had termed it). They grieved the loss of a TV and internet and got back to more frequent discussion groups; food club and music club and bird watching, in between watching the builders and the hotel managers mill around, which wasn't all that exciting.

"Eight more sleeps till opening day!" She cheered one evening. When they all frowned at her, she clarified; "For me, I mean. Sucks for the rest of you." They'd all jeered, eight more months of boredom and intrusion for them.

None of them can deny the buzz that comes in the build up to the hotel being complete. Even Fanny can't deny how they've managed to revitalise the old house with the decorations. Tasteful, nothing too modern. Alison had been quite persuasive in her discussions with the managers to respect the history of the building, hence the portraits of Humphrey, Kitty and Fanny all up on the walls in the staircase.

Silver thanks the gods for getting to be awake for the doors opening, as well as Alison's first visit.

Mia is two and a half now, full of beans and running around like a wild little beast. She dreads the day she realises that the child no longer sees them, but it's hard to tell when one moment she runs when Silver calls her and other times glances around, trying to find the source of the voice calling her name, despite being next to her.

"It no happen instant." Robin explained to the rest of them. "We fade with time, with growing up. Depend on how good child can 'magine. It why Kitty still sometimes see me and Mary when she almost seven."

"Gosh, I'd thought those were dreams." The Georgian had said, wistfully, before beckoning Mia over to her with a cheerful grin, all that animosity she felt for the baby before now forgotten.

Silver prayed that Mia would have such gifts, just a little while longer. Not that just having Alison come visit wasn't exciting enough on its own.

Another cycle passes. By the time she next wakes, her friends have all adapted to their new life. She's surprised at how...content they all seem to be.

They all sit up till the small hours in Higham Suite, listening to Humphrey spill all the juicy gossip he picked up from being put on the front desk. There's a chess board set up in the room for Julian and Robin, the former of which of course in his element surrounded by golf and adulterous couples, the latter thrilled to have regular zumba classes and story time in the library for the kids dragged along with their folks. Kitty adores karaoke night while Fanny looks forward to bingo and the quizzes on Thursday. Cap has new joggers to exercise with each morning, while Pat loves the movie nights, despite Alison letting them have access to Netflix on the TV in the hotel, as well as an iPad. Julian still loves to use her Nokia, claiming it feels more classic and nostalgic than these flashy games.

Exploring the hotel and the grounds for two days left Silver feeling doubtful there would be much in this new, yet same, house for her. She hated golf and could never see herself getting over such gorgeous land being paved over and manufactured to serve the needs of rich twats. She was happy to join Kitty for karaoke and even Fanny for bingo. Nothing else really piqued her interest except for a few spicy details Humphrey would share with her.

The best moments for her would be them all sat together in the room, doing their usual clubs or watching a movie or just chatting. She was happy they were happy, enough so they didn't ask her to change their dreams anymore. Sometimes Robin would shyly ask in attempt to see his kids again, but was reluctant to spend her valuable time.

In the end, the hotel probably had turned out to be something for the better for all of them. But it didn't stop the pain for Silver when she thought of those years in between Heather and the hotel. The Alison years. She was still a part of their afterlives, sure, but it wasn't the same. There was a loss, a hole that had been sawed out to maybe never be refilled.

Eventually she found a hobby she did enjoy; following pricks around the golf course and swearing at them in hopes they'd get put off their game. One time Fanny caught her and after her usual show of being appalled, preceeded to follow Silver and watch with giddy amusement at what expletives she'd come up with next.

"You've got more chance of getting that boyfriend of yours preggers before getting a hole in one!" She sneers at one balding guy in a pink polo.

"Oh I say! Which one is the boyfriend?" Fanny enquired.

"His caddy there. But I also saw him making googly eyes with the bellboy."

"Good heavens!" She looked like a kid on her first trip to Disney land.

"Silvy! Quick, you need to come with me." Kitty ran over and tugged at her arm. "Alison needs you at your bed."

She's confused yet intrigued as she follows the Georgian. Why would she need to be near her bed in the middle of the day? Why not talk in the room?

The answer is obvious once she enters the wood and looks at her spot.

Alison turns to smile at her before turning back to converse with the group of people standing before the mound of flowers. An elderly woman, a man and woman, along with two youths, a young woman and a teenage boy.

Silver held her breath as she walked, slowly, to get a proper look at them. It didn't seem real at first. She hadn't even allowed herself to dream of this moment.

"Mum?" She spoke before a woman in an orange cardigan. Hair now completely grey, looking smaller than she remembered. Tired.

Her brother was as she had recalled, only with less hair now and a few lines around his face. His wife, her sister in law, still stunning in her early forties.

"And look at you guys. All grown up." She said in awe as she stared at the girl in her early twenties. The last time she'd laid eyes on her niece, she'd been a baby. Not even old enough to talk.

They all seemed to be taking a moment of silence as they looked at the memorial site. Silver's mum made a comment about the sketch hanging in the frame from the tree.

"That is lovely. You must have been so close to Louise to catch her likeness so well." Her mum said, the name feeling so alien to her that Silver nearly mistook the comment for being about someone else.

"We only knew each other briefly, in school...Well, she and my friend's brother. But she was always lovely to me. You don't forget anyone like that." Alison gave Silver a quick wink.

Her mum then opened her purse and placed two little statues at the head of the bed. Silver gasped as she recognised them.

"Artemis and Pan...She kept them. All these years."

Robin had told her all her altar set up that she left here when she died had been taken by the police, presumably sent back to her family.

Her mum sighed, reaching to caress the drawing.

"I never understood her interest in this witchcraft stuff. Maybe if I had then...Oh I dunno if anything would have changed. But I wish I'd tried harder to get to know her when I had the chance." She admitted, sounding so old that it cracked Silver's heart in two; "I just hope that, if these gods of hers are real at all...They're taking care of her."

She sniffed, smiling and wishing she could touch her mum's shoulder.

"I didn't quite meet the gods, Mum. But I've got some people far better taking care of me. Don't you worry." Silver whispered, looking over her shoulder to see her new family all stood together, watching her with the warmest of eyes.

As she watches her family walk back to the car park, Cap comes to stand at her side.

"It must be wonderful to know your family still think of you after all this time. You must have been close." He says, rather matter of fact.

"We barely knew each other. That's how it felt for me." She confessed, folding her arms; "But yeah....it did feel pretty good."

"...I don't see any smile. Though I can never tell if I should with you."

She smirked at that, briefly; "It's just seeing how much they've changed. My mum's an old lady. My niece and nephew are grown. Don't even know what the rest of my siblings are up to. Everything changes...and for me it feels so fast...It's terrifying."

"How so?" He sounded genuinely curious to understand.

"One night I can go to sleep and then wake up to find one of you has moved on or Alison is no longer part of our lives...or some other big change that the rest of you dealt with weeks back. I haven't even really felt like I've aged in all this time. I'm..." She took a breath, loathed to admit it, especially to him. "I'm scared. Scared of what I might wake up to next...or rather what won't be there..."

"We all deal with that, soldier. We all take the risk, every time we sleep, of waking up to a different world to the one we knew before. We take a risk of changing everything for the worst in whatever action we take. Had I known my actions on V.E day would result in my death, would I have still done the same?...Yes."

Another little revelation that she'd found out after he'd told it to everyone else. She had been proud of him a little for finally, FINALLY coming out the damn closet.

"I hate it when you say wise things. So much easier when you're a bossy prat." She grinned, nudging him with her elbow.

"Hmm, yes. There is still plenty of that to come, in this eternity we're stuck together." He tapped her arm with his stick; "At ease, young lady. Its good to relax, don't you know."

Silver sniggered as he went off to talk to Pat near the golf carts. She looked to the sky, to Gaia all around, and took a deep breath.

"It's all right, Poppet. She's not going to bite your head off."

Humphrey's voice was the first she recognised upon awaking, her eyes still closed.

"Me no be so sure. Have seen her snap at Julian like big crocodile. He squeal like scared little girl."

Robin next. Who were they talking about her to?

"I just...It's a bit creepy. She just lies there all month? Nothing can wake her up?" Came a new voice. Young. Female, she presumed. But definitely new.

"We try shouting, we try scream, we try poking her with Captain stick, we try Kitty singing. Zilch!"

"She should be coming to any time now though." Said Humphrey.

True, she'd been prolonging it to keep overhearing more of what they were saying while thinking she was fast asleep. She couldn't keep that up forever, not without causing a panic.

Silver stirred, then stretched before sitting up.

"Here she come! Hey. Hey, wakey wakey!" A rough hand started shaking her shoulder. She batted it off in irritation.

"Robin, piss off! Gimmie a second to..."

She opened her eyes, seeing the figure stood at the foot of her bed. The young woman, probably around her age give or take, was holding Humphrey's head in both hands in front of her stomach. She blinked as she met Silver's eyes, looking partly in awe and partly wanting to turtle inside her black hoodie.

Robin was bouncing on his furry boots like a child at Christmas, pointing to the stranger.

"Look! New girl! Ha!" It was good to see him so thrilled. "Silver! Meet Stompy! Stompy, this Silver!"

"...Stompy?" Silver frowned.

"Amy." The girl corrected; "I'm...Amy. Hi..."

Silver looked at the girl's heavy boots that made her own feel incredibly dated. She beamed, a tiny ball of hope arising within her. A new ghost? One her own age instead of some cheating bastard having a heart attack on the green?

Maybe the gods were still looking out for her after all.

[abbygrabska]

Army of Ghosts

I walk out of the Tardis, a bag on my shoulder and the Doctor’s hand in mine. We walk to the Powell Estate with a spring in our step.

I call out as we approach the front door of the Tyler’s flat, “Rose, mom! We’re back!”

I open the door to the flat, and the two are rushing toward us.

“Oh, you’re here!” Jackie squeals.

I let go of the Doctor’s hand and embrace the two women.

“I missed you girls so much!”

We part and Jackie notices the Doctor trying to slide past.

“Oh no, you don’t. Come here!” Jackie pulls him toward her and plants one on him, despite his protests, “Oh, you lovely big fella! Oh, you’re all mine!” She hugs him tightly, “Yes, you are!” She kisses him again and walks off, leaving the Doctor to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand.

I giggle at his reaction, moving past him to go into the sitting room.

I pull out gift boxes from the bag on my shoulder and hand them to my best friend and surrogate mother.

“Ooh!” Jackie opens it and finds a Chanel purse in her favorite color.

“No way!” Rose has a Chanel dress in pale pink.

“You got us Chanel?” They ask.

“Yeah, you two are my family, you deserve something nice for yourselves.” I smile.

Jackie smiles, a little dimly.

“What’s wrong?” “Your mum is staying at the hotel down the street.”

My heart drops into my stomach, “What?”

“Your mum sent a letter without a name, and since you set this as your most recent address, I thought it was for me. She said she was coming to visit you and your gran and expected you to be doing something productive with your life. Only thing is, she showed up here and I had to explain that you were out traveling. Then she told me that she’d be staying until her visa runs out, and gave me the number of the hotel room, insisting I call the moment you come back.” She explains sheepishly.

“You haven’t called yet have you?” I ask.

“No, I haven’t got a chance to yet.” “Good.” I relax.

“Oh, guess who’s coming to visit? You’re just in time, he’ll be here at ten past! Who do you think it is?”

“No clue.”

“It’s Rose’s grandad. Grandad Prentice. He’s on his way. Any minute!” I stare at her.

“Right, cup of tea!” Jackie disappears into the kitchen.

I look at Rose, “What the hell is she talking about?”

She motions for me to go to the kitchen.

“Mom, I thought Grandad Prentice died?”

“He did.” “Then how is he visiting?”

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” She checks her watch, “Ten past. Here he comes.” Right before my eyes, a figure steps out of nowhere into the middle of the kitchen. It’s featureless, like a shadow, but humanoid. It stands beside Jackie.

“Here we are, then!”

I stare, dumbstruck.

“Dad… say hello to Abby. Ain’t she pretty?”

The Doctor and I share a look before exiting the flat.

We burst out of a side door of the estate at a run.

I come to a halt, looking around.

“They’re everywhere!”

The ghosts are indeed everywhere, standing around just like ordinary people. No one seems remotely alarmed by their presence. A group of boys carry on with their ball game, just as normal.

I turn, “Doctor, look out!”

A ghost walks right through the Doctor.

Jackie and Rose join us, “They haven’t got long. Midday shift only lasts a couple of minutes. They’re about to fade.”

“What do you mean, shift? Since when did ghosts have shifts? Since when did shifts have ghosts? What’s going on?”

“Oh, he’s not happy when I know more than him, is he?” I look at her, “But no one’s running or screaming or freaking out…” “Why should we?” Jackie checks her watch, “Here we go. Twelve minutes passed” She smiles at me, biting her lip with anticipation.

The ghosts disappear. The Doctor glances around, looking even more confused than before.

The four of us head back to the flat.

The Doctor is sitting on the floor in front of Jackie’s television. Jackie and Rose are sitting on the sofa and I am perched on the arm. We’re all watching a program called Ghostwatch.

“On today’s Ghostwatch, claims that some of the ghosts are starting to talk, and there seems to be a regular formation gathering around Westminster Bridge.” Cut to footage of the ghosts milling around Westminster Bridge, “It’s almost like a military display…”

“What the hell’s going on?” He changes the channel to what would appear to be a weather report, but instead of weather symbols, there are little pictures of ghosts on the map of the UK.

“And tonight we’re expecting very strong ghosts. From London, through the North and up into Scotland.”

Turn over to the Trisha Goddard chat show. The caption at the bottom of the screen proclaims, ‘I married a dead man!’

“So basically, Eileen, what you’re telling me is that you are in love with a ghost.” Eileen is sitting in front of the studio audience with a ghost hovering around by the other chair.

“He’s my ghost and I love him, 24/7!”

Change channel. This time, it’s a cheesy advert, a housewife in a flowery apron addresses the camera in her kitchen while a sad–looking animated ghost hovers around the worktop.

“My ghost was pale and gray until I discovered… ectoshine!”

With an expression of bewilderment, the Doctor changes the channel again.

Now we’re on a French new channel. There's footage of ghosts wandering around the Eiffel Tower. Change channel, an Indian news report. Ghosts are milling around the Taj Mahal. Change channel to an enthusiastic Japanese Newsreader. The Doctor puts his head in his hands. Cut to footage of three excited Japanese girls, all screeching wildly and showing off their ghost tee shirts.

“It’s all over the world.”

An episode of Eastenders. Peggy Mitchell is behind the bar of the Vic, having a go at a ghost.

The Doctor’s had enough. He switches the TV off and turns to Jackie, “When did it start?”

I stop her before she can speak, “He means worldwide.”

“Oh! That was about two months ago. Just happened. Woke up one morning, and there they all were, ghosts, everywhere. We all ran around screaming and that, whole planet was panicking… no sign of you, thank you very much… then it sort of sank in. Took us time to realize that… we’re lucky.”

“What makes you think it’s your dad?” “Just feels like him. There’s that smell, those old cigarettes. Can’t you smell it?”

I shake my head.

“You’ve got to make an effort. You’ve gotta want it, sweetheart.”

“The more you want it, the stronger it gets?” The Doctor asks.

“Sort of, yeah.” “Like a psychic link. Course you want your old dad to be alive, but you’re wishing him into existence. The ghosts are using that to pull themselves in.” “You're spoiling it.” “I’m sorry, Jackie, but there’s no smell, there are no cigarettes. Just a memory.” “But if they’re not ghosts, what are they then?” Rose asks.

“Yeah, but they’re human! You can see them, they look human!”

“They’ve got a point. I mean, they’re all sort of blurred, but they’re definitely people.” I admit. “Maybe not. They’re pressing themselves into the surface of the world. But a footprint doesn’t look like a boot.” He stands.

Holding a newspaper I stride into the Tardis, where the Doctor is wedged under the console, “According to the paper, they’ve elected a ghost as MP for Leeds.” I peer down at him, “Now don’t tell me you’re gonna sit back and do nothing.” The Doctor suddenly pops up from underneath the grilling, bopping insanely accompanied by the tune of Ghostbusters. He’s holding an odd-looking device in one hand and wearing a backpack.

“Who’re you gonna call?” “Ghostbusters!!” “I ain’t afraid of no ghosts.” He struts out of the Tardis.

I follow after him, giggling.

He arranges three cone devices in a triangle shape, “When’s the next shift?” Jackie checks her watch, “Quarter to. But don’t go causing trouble. What’s that lot do?”

“Triangulates their point of origin.”

“I don’t suppose it's the Gelth?” “Nah.” The Doctor says, “They were just coming through one little rift. This lot is transposing themselves over the whole planet. Like tracing paper.” Jackie talks to him, crossly, “You’re always doing this. Reducing it to science. Why can’t it be real?” He ignores her, “Just think of it, though… all the people we’ve lost, our families coming back home. Don’t you think it’s beautiful?”

The Doctor pauses in his work, meeting her eyes for the first time, “I think it’s horrific. Abby, give us a hand.” He starts unwinding a cable, leading it into the Tardis.

I go to follow him.

He plugs it into the console. Jackie and Rose step inside.

I go over to the Doctor.

“As soon as it becomes activated, if that line goes into the red, press that button there. If it doesn’t stop…” He brandishes the sonic screwdriver under my nose, “Setting 15B, hold it against the port, for eight seconds, and stop.” “15B, eight seconds.”

“If it goes into the blue, activate the deep scan on the left.”

“Hang on a minute…” I lean over the console, pointing at a button, “That one?”

“Mm, close.”

I point to another one, “That?” “Now you’ve just killed us.”

I giggle, “Is it this one?”

“Yeah! Now, what’ve we got? Two minutes to go?” He looks over at Jackie, who checks her watch.

I plunge the sonic screwdriver into a port on the console.

“What’s the line doing?”

“It’s all right, it’s holding!”

“You’ve changed so much.” Jackie says.

“For the better.” I tell her.

“I suppose.”

I turn to look at Jackie, “Mom, I used to work in a shop.” “What’s wrong with working in a shop?” Rose asks.

“Nothing’s wrong with it. I was just surviving, not living. That’s all.”

“What happens when we’re gone?”

I look at her in shock, “Don’t talk like that.” “No, but really, what happens when Rose and I are dead and buried? You won’t have any reason to come back home. What happens then?”

“I’m not sure.” I frown.

“Do you think you’ll ever settle down?” Rose interjects.

“I don’t know. I can’t travel with him forever. I’m human, he’ll probably get bored of me eventually, doesn’t matter how much we care about each other, I'll get old someday and he won’t want me anymore.” There’s a tense silence.

“How ‘bout the scanner?”

“It says ‘delta one six’!”

We all watch on the monitor. A ghost materializes in the triangle. As it does, the cones are connected with blue electricity, which in turn connects over the top of the ghost, encompassing it in an electric blue pyramid.

The Doctor puts on a pair of 3D glasses and watches the ghost. He then bends down and adjusts a setting on his equipment and a green light blips. He continues to adjust the knob. The ghost shudders and groans.

He seems to receive an electric shock and stumbles backward. The ghost continues to shudder and jerk within the Doctor’s triangle.

The ghost disappears. The Doctor immediately darts forward and begins gathering up his equipment.

He dashes into the Tardis, throwing his coat over the railing.

“I said so! Those ghosts have been forced into existence for one specific point! And I can track down the source. Allons-y!” He pulls down a lever. 

The Tardis shudders and he and I fall backward onto the chair. The rotor rises and falls.

The Doctor twiddles knobs on the console, nattering away to himself, “I like that. ‘Allons-y.’ I should say ‘allons-y’ more often. ‘allons-y’. Watch out, Abby Grabska! Allons-y! And then it would be brilliant if I met someone called Allonzo. Because then I could say, ‘Allons-y Allonzo!’ Every time! You’re staring at me.”

I’m staring at him with a strange smile, “My mom’s still on board.”

Jackie’s sitting up in the gantries, legs dangling, “If we end up on Mars, I’m gonna kill you.” She folds her arms. 

The Doctor stares at her, horrified. Rose and I smirk.

We look at the monitor, soldiers are surrounding the Tardis, aiming guns.

“Oh, well there goes the advantage of surprise. Still! Cuts to the chase. Stay here, look after Jackie.” The Doctor heads to the door.

I trail after him, “First of all, she’s old enough to take care of herself, second of all, why am I not going with you?” I cross my arms.

“First of all, my Tardis, my rules. Second of all, I do not want you getting hurt.”

I narrow my eyes, “Fine.”

The Doctor opens the door and steps out.

He raises his hands. The soldiers release the safety catches on their guns, every single one is pointed at the Doctor.

We all watch through a crack in the door, unseen.

A blonde woman runs into the room, toward the Doctor, “Oh…! Oh, how marvelous.” She claps, “Oh, very good. Superb. Happy day!”

The soldiers follow suit, applauding him.

“Um. thanks. Nice to meet you. I’m the Doctor.”

And that sets them all off clapping again.

“Oh, I should say! Hurray!”

“You… you’ve heard of me, then?”

“Well, of course, we have. And I have to say, if it wasn’t for you, none of us would be here. The Doctor and the Tardis…!”

Overcome, she starts the applause again. The Doctor, clearly enjoying it, gestures for silence, “And… and you are?”

“Oh, plenty of time for that. But according to the records, you’re not one for traveling alone. The Doctor and his companion. That’s a pattern isn’t it, right?”

The Doctor stares at her.

Her voice adopts a slightly sinister lilt, “There’s no point hiding anything. Not from us.” She smiles, “So where are they?”

“...Yes! Sorry. Good point. She’s just a bit shy is all.” He opens the Tardis door just a tiny bit more, feeling around for Jackie. 

He pulls her out, “But here she is Abby Grabska.”

Rose and I share a look.

“Hmm. she’s not the best I’ve ever had. Bit too blonde. Not too steady on her pins. A lot of that.” He mimes chatting.

Jackie glares at him.

“And just last week, she stared into the heart of the Time Vortex and aged fifty-seven years. But she’ll do.”

“I’m forty!” She protests.

“Deluded. Bless. I’ll have to trade her in. Do you need anyone? She’s very good at tea. Well, I say very good, I mean not bad. Well. I say not bad… anyway! Lead on. But not too fast. Her ankle’s going.”

The blonde woman turns to lead the way, and the Doctor and Jackie follow them.

Rose and I make our way to the console to watch on the monitor.

The Tardis is lifted and driven towards the group on the back of a truck.

I open the door crack and peek through. The Doctor nods encouragingly and looks away.

I close the door and go over to the Doctor’s coat, which is slung over one of the supports. I dig through the pockets, finding the psychic paper.

“What’re you gonna do with that?” Rose asks.

“Something Doctorish.” I shrug my jacket off and sling it over the railing, “Don’t come out until I text you.”

I tentatively exit the Tardis, finding the ship has been tucked away in a corner of the factory floor. I dodge out of sight of two men talking, I try to go the other way but two soldiers approach. 

Once they pass I grab a stray lab coat and put it on. I walk out into the open, no one gives me a second glance.

I spot someone striding purposefully through a door and follow after him.

I walk down a corridor, following the man from a distance. I round the corner after him quickly at the sound of a door opening and closing. I approach the door, there’s a scanner next to the lock for a keycard. I press the psychic paper against it.

The door slides open.

I walk into the chamber and glance at the sphere, something feels off about it, dark and familiar.

“Gabby? What are you doing here?” At the sound of my alternate universe counterpart's name, I turn.

My eyes widen at the sight behind the man addressing me, Mickey is here.

The man speaks again, “I thought you went to get coffee?”

He spots me and mouths a name, ‘Rajesh.’

“Yeah, I did. Just forgot something. Sorry, Rajesh.” I pull my phone out and start typing a text to Rose

“It’s alright.” He nods, “What’d you forget?”

I open my mouth to answer then the door opens and the real Gabby walks in holding a drink carrier with coffee in it.

She stops in her tracks and stares at me, Rajesh does as well.

“If that’s Gabby then who the hell are you?”

I press send quickly and Rajesh grabs my arm and pulls me over to a computer.

“Yvonne? I think you should see this. We’ve got a situation.”

Yvonne's face appears on the screen, “Has something happened with the sphere?”

“No, but–”

“And why am I seeing two Gabbys?”

“That’s what I was trying to tell you, ma’am. One of them isn’t the real Gabby.”

Yvonne stares at whoever is off-screen, moving the camera to face the person.

It’s the Doctor.

“Care to explain Doctor?”

He stares at the screen in shock, obviously not expecting both Mickey and Gabby to be staring back at him with me, “No clue.” He runs his hand over his mouth, “I’m as gobsmacked as you are for once.”

“Whichever one fails the security questions will be shot.”

He sits up, “Okay, it was worth a shot, the one without the bangs is Abby Grabska.”

A soldier joins the call with Rose next to him, “Ma’am we’ve got an intruder with no identification.”

Her eyebrow raises, “I suppose you have something to do with that as well Doctor?”

He winces, “Yeah, that’d be Rose Tyler.”

“So if that girl is Abby Grabska then who is the woman sitting next to you?”

“I’m Rose’s and Abby’s mother.”

“Oh, you travel with their mother?” “He kidnapped me!” “Please, when Torchwood comes to write my complete history, don’t tell people I traveled through time and space with her mother…” The sound of an engine starting up is heard. Yvonne stands and addresses the staff.

“Excuse me? Everyone? I thought I said stop the Ghost Shift.” Everyone in the room disappears from view of the camera and I get a very bad feeling in my gut.

“Yvonne, I thought you said the next Ghost Shift was canceled? What’s going on?” There’s no reply, “Yvonne?” The whole chamber suddenly shudders; the disturbance has come from the sphere.

“It can’t be.” We all hurry over to it. There’s another crash from within.

“It’s active!”

“We’ve got a problem down here! Yvonne, can you hear me?” The sphere is vibrating.

“Yvonne, for god’s sake, the sphere is active! The readings are going wild! It’s got weight, it’s got mass, an electromagnetic field, it exists!” He jumps and turns around to a crash behind him, the door closing, “The door’s sealed. Automatic quarantine, we can’t get out!” Rajesh rushes off.

Mickey, Gabby, and I are left looking up at the sphere.

“It’s okay, Abby. We beat them before, we can beat them again. That’s why we’re here. The fight goes on.” The sphere continues to vibrate.

“The fight against what?”

“What’d you think?”

We stumble as two violent crashes emit from the sphere, shaking the chamber.

“We had them beaten, but then they escaped. The Cybermen just vanished.” There’s another crash, “They found a way through to this world, but so did we.” I stare at them, “The Doctor said that was impossible.” “Yeah, well it’s not the first time he’s been wrong.” Mickey shrugs.

“What’s inside that sphere?” “No one knows. Cyber Leader, Cyber King, Emperor of the Cybermen… whatever it is..” He grins, “He’s dead meat.” I smile and hug him, “It’s good to see you.” “It’s good to see you too.”

“Can anyone hear me? Come on, I need help down here!” The entire chamber is shaking accompanied by booms from the sphere.

“I need…” The sphere stops vibrating. Rajesh joins us. Mickey and Gabby remove their lab coats and pull off their earpieces. 

“Here we go.” Rajesh puts his glasses on. As we watch, smooth cracks appear in the sphere as it opens. Light spills from the gaps.

The light continues to spill from the sphere. “I know what’s in there. And I’m ready for them. I’ve got just the thing.” Mickey retrieves a weapon that he had been hiding under a counter, and then positions himself in front of the sphere, “This is gonna blast them to hell.” “Samuel, What are you doing?!” “The name’s Mickey. Mickey Smith. Defending the Earth.” Mickey cocks his gun as the sphere parts further.

The top part of a familiar-looking alien emerges from the sphere.

“That’s not Cybermen…” Four Daleks glide smoothly from the sphere.

“Oh, my god.” “Location: Earth. Life forms detected. Exterminate!”

Mickey aims his gun at them. I stare at them in wide-eyed fear.

“Exterminate! Exterminate! EXTERMINATE!”

[sunnyie-eve]

7 | My Number One

Series: Little Things

Paring: Mattheo Riddle x OFC Potter!

Word Count: 2.4k

A/N: Might be a few mistakes

| MASTERLIST |

When we get to the grounds the car starts to loss control and we crash into a tree. "My wand." I see Ron's broken. 

"Be thankful it's not your neck." I tell him before something hits the car. 

"What's happening?" Ron whines. 

The tree start to attack the car growling making us yell till we fall out of the tree. Ron drives fast getting us away from the tree then the car throws us out with all of our stuff before driving off into the dark forest. 

"Dad's going to kill me." Ron shakes his head. 

"I feel like your mum is going to be more mad though." I turn my head to look at him. 

"Shut it." He covers my mouth with his hand. 

We go back and get all of our stuff going into the school putting our stuff with everyone else's. Harry explains everything wrong that had happened to us then we run into Flitch, who takes us to Snape. He goes on about how we were seen by seven Muggles and we damage the tree we crashed into. 

"Honestly, Professor Snape, I think it did more damage to us." Ron tells him and I agree. 

"Ron's right." I get quite as he tells us to be quite. 

He tells the boys that if they were in Slytherin he would have it to were they would be on the train back home. Dumbledore comes in saying they're not though and McGonagall tells the boys that she will be writing to their families and they both get detention. 

"I guess, I'll go get my things." I look down at the ground sighing. 

"Miss Potter, I won't expel today... You will detention with me tomorrow." Snape lets me know and I smile.

 "Thank you, Professor." We all leave going to our dorms. "Ron." I stop him and Harry. "Next time when I say we wait by the car... we wait by the car." I glare at him. 

"Got it." He nods his head fast leaving with Harry.

As I get to the common room, because we missed dinner, I'm pulled into an unexpected hug. "I was nervous you weren't coming this year. You weren't on the train." Mattheo hugs me and I hug him back. 

"We couldn't get through the barrier so we missed the train." I explain to him stepping back out of the hug. 

"How did you get here?" He asks. 

"Ron drove his dad's flying car. We crashed into the tree, got in trouble so I have detention with Snape tomorrow." I roll my eyes. 

"I'm glad you made it. I can't imagine a year without you." We both smile. 

"HAZEL!" Theo screams walking to the room making the grisly come running in and over to me. 

"You did make it!" They tackle me. 

"She just missed the train." Mattheo tells them. 

"I'm actually really tired from all that has happened today so I just wanna go to bed." I yawn. 

"See you in the morning." Enzo hugs me then Theo as I walk past them going to my dorm with the girls following behind.

-

"You didn't write back all summer, what happened?" Willow asks as we walk to class. 

"A house elf stole Harry and I letters. Also tried to stop us from coming this year. Said to keep us safe." I explain to her. 

"So something bad is going to happen?" She get nervous. 

"I don't know what but apparently."

"Hey, Draco said you and Weasley like each other?" Theo jogs up to me. 

"We're friends. What is he... Is he talking about us at the bookshop?! Oh, my god. I can't put my arm around a friend? We both dislike Lockhart so we were celebrating." I roll my eyes getting everything. 

"How could you with a blood tr-," 

I slap my hand over his mouth, "What we talked about with the Hermione goes the same for Ron." I glare at him. 

"Fine, I got it." He groans.

"Best friend!" Mattheo runs up beside me grabbing my arm to link it with his. "Will you be a nerd this year too? Because I need you to be a nerd in Greenhouse, I don't remember that stuff." He says as we all walk to that class. 

"She's our nerd in every subject." Enzo joins us with Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle. 

"You know you are pretty brave to talk back to my father." Draco speaks up bumping into as he passes me. 

"Well he called a murderer who killed my parents a legend. Did you think I wouldn't say anything? I don't care if it was your father. I see where you get your disgusting personally from." I roll my eyes. 

"What did you say?" He turns around getting in my face. 

"You heard me, Malfoy." I stare into his eyes. 

"You-," 

Mattheo cuts him off, "Drop it, Malfoy. You mess with her, you mess with me." He glares at him then pulls me away continuing our way to class, "He's not worth it."

As we walk in and get the proper attire on for class, Ron looks over at me and I point my finger at him. "I'll listen next time, I promise." He puts his hands up in defense. "Wanna say that in a better way?" I walk up to him. 

"I promise to listen to you all the time..." He blinks at me. 

"That's better, Weasley". I smile patting the top of his head. 

Professor Sprout come in and gets the class started, "Who here can tell me the properties of the Mandrake root?" She asks and Hermione raises her hand before to answer. 

"Might I add... It's also quite dangerous. The Mandrake's cry is fatal to anyone who hears it." I add to what Hermione said. 

"Excellent. 10 points to Gryffindor. And 10 points to Slytherin." Professor Sprout tells us. 

We all out on our earmuffs to protect our ears from the crying but it still hurt. You think one crying was terrible but a whole class pulling up one and multiple crying.

"I never want to do that again." Pansy complains as we leave class. 

"Did you see Longbottom fainted before we all pulled them out." Theo laughs. 

"Here we go." I sigh as he's an ass with Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle. 

"Riddle, how do you consider Potter your best friend?" Draco starts again. 

"She's a lot better than you." Mattheo eyes him. 

"Really? Why am I surprised... You're just a half blood, who's real parents didn't want. Now your adoptive pureblood parents are just blood traitors." Draco chuckles pissing Mattheo off. 

"I didn't have a choice not being with my real parents and I'm glad I'm not. Because I know I would be a whole lot worse than you because who they are." Mattheo gets in Draco's face. 

"You said you don't know who they are... Why are you keeping it a secret?" Draco stands up taller. 

"Because they don't deserve to be talked about. But me knowing who my parents were... I would watch it because I could be just like them if I get mad."

I finally step in grabbing Mattheo's hand, "It's not worth it." I squeeze his hand tugging him away. 

"Listen to your little girlfriend, Riddle. You both would be perfect for each other with no real parents." Draco spits at him. 

"Okay, that's enough." Theo steps in pushing Draco away from us. 

"Don't tell me... You have a crush on Potter. Doesn't fit your standards you know being non pureblood, a blood traitor, love for muggles, even mudbloods." Theo shoves Draco harder. 

"Watch it, daddy's boy. You think you're so tough with theses meat heads by your side. You're all talk and no bite. I know you Malfoy. So shut it." Theo backs away walking over to Mattheo and I. 

"Whatever, let's go. You coming Enzo?" Draco waits but Enzo joins us too. "You four are pathetic." Draco leaves.

Pansy looks at us then at Draco going after him. "She's in love with him but he doesn't care." Theo rolls his eyes. 

"Well hall that drama has made me hungry." Sienna speaks up linking her arm with Willow. 

"I say, let's eat." Willow skips off with Sienna and the group follows. 

"Hey, thank you again for having my back." I stop holding Mattheo back. 

"You're my girl, my best friend, my number one. Forever so get used to it." He shakes my arm making me laugh. 

"Why am I so special?" I ask him actually curious. 

"I know the saying is usually cliché but it's true... You're different from all the other Slytherin's. When you introduced yourself to me, you tried to get me to talk back. You started a conversation while they just said their name waited for a response didn't get one so left saying I was weird." He explains to me. 

"They did say that." I nod my head. 

"That's why you are special." He smiles using his left hand to pinch my cheek.

"Ron, have you fixed your wand yet?" I ask as we pass him and Harry. 

"Does it look like it?" He shows me this wand and a roll of tape. 

"You're doomed." I pat him back walking over to my table. 

"How did that happen?" Mattheo asks as we sit down with the group. 

"When we crashed into the tree, Ron was banging his wand against the steering wheel then it broke." I tell him. 

"Oh, yeah... Don't you have detention with Professor Snape today?" He asks. 

"Yeah, I don't think it will be that bad." I shrug my shoulders. 

Ron's owl comes flying in before crashing down in their table. "Look, everyone. Weasley's got himself a Howler." Seamus says making people laugh. 

"What's a Howler?" I ask. 

"You'll see." Theo laughs more.

"Ronald Weasley! How dare you steal that car! I am absolutely disgusted! Your father's now facing an inquiry at work, and it's entirely your fault! If you put another toe out of line, we'll bring you straight home! Oh, and Ginny, dear, congratulations on making Gryffindor. Your father and I are so proud." The Howler from Molly shouts at Ron. 

"That's embarrassing." I feel second hand embarrassment. 

"Now you understand what a Howler is?" Theo laughs. 

"100% understand." I nod my head.

///

As Hazel chats with the girls at the table Mattheo just let watches her trying not to smile. "Riddle, you're staring." Theo whispers to him. 

"Huh?" Mattheo looks away from Hazel. 

"You got a crush on your best friend?" Theo laugh. 

"You're jealous Nott." Mattheo laughs. 

"What makes you say that?" He chuckles. 

"Your eyes tell me you don't like the thought of me liking her." Mattheo explains to him so he just chuckles. 

"I know someone who does have a crush on her." Theo glances to his right making Mattheo look to the left. 

"No, way." He groans looking away from Draco. 

"Yep, he slipped a little over the summer." Mattheo makes a face as Hazel looks at him. 

"What's that face for?" She laughs. 

"Something gross Theo told me." He says making Theo laugh.

In Defense Against The Dark Arts, Hazel couldn't stand Lockhart as he talked to them. "He's so full of himself." She says under her breath as he talks about what's under the cover in a cage. 

"I say he's a fake." Enzo whispers to her as Lockhart reveals Cornish pixies. 

"Let's see what you make of them." Lockhart opens the cage making them fly out. 

They mess with the students and make a mess. Willow, Sienna, Theo, Enzo, Draco, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle run out of the class room while Hazel smacks pixies away with her book with Mattheo. One gets ahold of her hair pulling it, "Hazie, stop moving for a second." Mattheo tells her so she does and knocks the pixie away. 

"Thanks, Matty." She says as the duck under a table tell Hermione freezes the pixies.

"Why is it always me?" Neville asks hanging from the chandelier. 

"How do we get him down?" Mattheo looks at the trio.

 "Umm." Harry keeps his eyes on Neville. 

The five end up figuring a way to get Neville down then clean up the classroom just because they felt like Lockhart wasn't going to do it. As Hazel and Mattheo leave the classroom Hermione and Ron jog to catch up with them while Harry goes get ready for Quidditch practice. 

"Hey, Ron... I thought you said I was the only Slytherin you like." Hazel laughs as they get outside and sit down. 

"You are." He says confused. 

"No, because you talk to Mattheo too." She puts an arm around Mattheo's shoulder. 

"At times but I guess you do have a point." Ron rolls his eyes.

As the four were sitting they see the Slytherin team and the Gryffindor team walk up to each other. "This isn't good." Hazel gets up and Ron agrees so all four go over to see what's going on. 

"You've got a new Seeker? Who?" Wood asks Flint so Draco steps up. 

"You?" Hazel chuckles. 

She knew he was a good flyer because of last year but she didn't hear no talk of him wanting to tryout for the team. "That's right. Ans that's not all that's new this year." Draco shows off the brooms. 

"Those are Nimbus 2001s. How did you get those?" Ron asks. 

"A gift from Draco's father." Flint looks at him. 

"You see, Weasley, unlike some, my father can afford the best." Draco tells him. 

"At least no one in the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in. They got in on pure talent." Hermione spits at him which pisses him off.

"No one asked your opinion. You filthy little Mudblood." Draco steps up to her and Hazel steps in front of Hermione glaring at him. 

"You'll pay for that one, Malfoy. Eat slugs!" Ron points his wand at Draco but it backfires hitting him. 

"Ron, you okay!" Hazel runs over to him with the Gryffindor's.

 Ron looks like he was going to throw up and he does but it was slugs that come out. Harry and Hermione take Ron to Hagrid while Hazel walks up to a laughing Draco. 

"What you going to do, Potter?" He raises an eyebrow. 

Hazel raises her arm pulling it back but Mattheo pulls her back. "Let me do it." She struggles in his arms. 

"You already have detention. You can't get in more trouble. Snape will send you home." He tries to calm her down and it does make her stop. "He's not worth it."

[abominationvault]

Session 37: Sat 1 Jun, 2024

Where were we? Ah yes, our tank and healer couldn’t be arsed so it’s the rest of us versus a will o wisp, and Skabb (full of leeches) has gone down. She hands control of Hartvig back to his usual pilot, explaining that he is ‘level 1 dusty’. He is annoyed to find all his spells left open. “I have to scroll so far now!”

The will o wisp is invisible. Jorg’ath roll initiative and joins in, rushing in to the outer room and standing briefly on Sprocket. He can get all the way in to the room and jam a potion into Skabb’s mouth - or does he have enough actions? He does! Minor Healing Potion, 1d8, 4hp back. She is now Wounded 1, and it’s her turn.

“Um…?” If it’s immune to most magic, will Detect Magic do much to find it? It will only ping if it’s nearby. She joins her friend the Scaredy Cat Luna behind her chair. (Luna apologises for not being heroic, it’s just she has no idea what’s going on.) Skabb uses her remaining actions to prepare her Magic Missile wand, if she can either see or otherwise sense where it is.

It’s Luna’s turn. She searches her pockets for talcum powder but comes up empty. Would Holy Water do anything? Yeah, nah. It’s an aberration, not undead. She gives Skabb a potion with her last action.

Nadia runs into the room and presses against a wall, ready for next round as there’s not much else she can do, there being nothing to attack.

Sprocket wants to know about the screaming dwarf. (The what? Oh yeah… There is a dwarf strapped to a table in this room, he appears to be being tortured somehow I think?) He tries to help him, but there is some kind of barrier preventing him from getting close. When he encounters this forcefield, he thinks it is linked to the will o wisp. Destroy the wisp, and remove the barrier.

Hartvig comes in to see what’s going on, and heals Skabb at second level with his one remaining action. 2d8 - 9. She’ll take that. “You’ve just doubled my hit points.” Hartvig coughs and some ash comes out; Skabb pockets it.

Jorg’ath is about to go, but there is a thing that happens first. The wisp appears and shoots lightning at Nadia but misses, because her AC is 23 now that she is pressed against the wall. Hah! Skabb’s Magic Missile wand goes off for 4 damage, yeah. Luna shoots her arrow as well, for 8 piercing damage. Nice!

It turns to Jorg’ath to shock him as well, the 27 hits but the 10 doesn’t. 19 damage, ouch. Jorg’ath does a little Rage and crits with his greatsword, then crits the damage as well! And it takes some acid damage, Jorg’ath gets the Howdy Doodis and a Hero Point! He was spinning around with his sword in his hands and cleft it in twain.

Sprocket sees a sickly light that comes through and hits the ceiling - it and the dwarf are both bubbling. Because of the way in which the dwarf is chained to the table, he deduces that the light is destroying and healing him at the same time, leaving him in a perfect balance of agony.

... Yikes.

Would Dispel Magic end his situation, at least for a time? Whatever the source of this magic, he thinks, it’s far more powerful than us. If we cut his binds, we can free him. Sprocket does that. Jorg’ath prepares to remove the dwarf’s head if necessary.

Lasda Venkervale thanks us for freeing him; we ask him how he got into that. About a year ago he was a bartender in Otari. He used to walk to the graveyard every day, but was kidnapped by a mass of writhing leeches…

He asks if we’ve found the torture chamber.

… Could he be more specific? Lasda says he was chosen to be an anchor of something…

Skabb has a question. Since she’s eaten most of the leeches, does this mean the dwarf belongs to her now? What is her intention with the dwarf, the DM wants to know. “Just to keep him.”

Sprocket asks the dwarf how long he’s been here; months, he is told. He has family in town. His mum runs the Rowdy Rockfish; there will be a reward if we get him back to town safely. Okay!

What was he an anchor for, Nadia asks him. The sickly light. It is linked the lighthouse. Does he have any idea what it does? Other than hurt like hell, no. He thinks it wanted his agony. He is not undead like Augie now, but still a living dwarf.

There is a torture chamber nearby, with something scary in it? I think? Wait that was Hartvig’s nearly-girlfriend, right?

(Jorg’ath asks the dwarf if he sings; the dwarf nods. Jorg’ath puts a finger to the dwarf’s lips and says, “Don’t.”)

The creature made of leeches and the fiend are what did this to him. Vaulgrist, that was her. We’ve seen the torture room, we tell him. “I don’t wanna talk about it,” Hartvig puts in.

We take the dwarf back to town. As we leave, Sprocket starts singing Blame it on the Boogie.

Being as he is, un-fond of dwarves, Jorg’ath splits off from us and goes to the Crows Cask.

Skabb and Sprocket go to the temple, where Skabb is healed. “I’m all good, I just can’t seem to shake this cough,” Sprocket announces. Skabb gets that weird feeling in her tummy again.

We find the tavern’s owner, Brelda Venkervale, who has been running the place since the last owner, her son, disappeared over a year ago.

(Jorg’ath wants to buy some potions from his crow-wife-to-be.)

Brelda is stunned for a second when we arrive, then there is hugging and crying and all that good shit. After greeting us, and thanking us, she fetches the shield Lasda promised us:

This shield is hardier, and lasts longer, than a regular shield. We give it to Hartvig. (He is briefly overencumbered, but gives his other shield to Augustus.)

We buy potions while we’re in town, and Skabb scuttles off to see if Flashbang has any more tasks for her. We take a rest at Wrin’s while we’re here as well; Skabb crashes with Flashbang and Biscuits.

Jorg’ath wants to have a bar fight, specifically in the Rowdy Rockfish because they’ve never had one there. Nadia and Hartvig are well up for that. We can definitely do one but not this week, the DM tells us. It’ll keep.

Skabb plays a game with Belches; she casts Jump on herself to try and scratch Belches’ belly. She rolls a 27 to Belches’ crit fail 11! (Chariots of Fire, slow mo shot.) She can snatch her out of the sky and land with her in her little hands; she does, and scratches her tummy. “It’s so fluffy I could die,” she announces. This is her best day ever.

“Nasty grabby Skabbins!” Belches shrieks in Sylvan.

Flashbang doesn’t have anything for Skabb yet, she is told.

Nadia wants to start work on Skabb’s frog hat, before it gets any worse. 15 Crafting check, and she has preserved it from further damage and patched up some of the holes. (She hangs on to it, until she can find someone to make some glass eyes to replace the real ones.)

Hartvig sings a traditional Fetchling doom song. (It’s just My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend.)

How benevolent is he feeling today, the DM asks us? There was talk of cloacas earlier which hasn’t helped our case. In spite of this, he tells us that we don’t need to go back in the torture room if we don’t want to. As open-minded as Hartvig is about that sort of thing, he isn’t keen to go back. Last time a lot of his blood fell out.

We go back to where the werewolf sassed us, and sneak as we go. We defeated the barrow wights (Jorg’ath: “The Barry Whites?” DM: “You leave the Walrus of Love out of this.”) so we don’t need to worry about those. We all copy Luna’s homework and Follow the Leader as she sneaks.

Are we bringing long suffering, thrice-dead Grabbins? Yes, and Skabb wants her to sit on her shoulder. We move to the north toward the eerie blue lights. This is the one that flickers. We sneak closer, dodging in and out of the alcoves for cover.

The walls in the octagonal room are carved into a relief of a graveyard. A circular platform sits in the middle, with a large stone on it. The stone is uneven, as if gripped by a giant hand. There are severed hands on the altar as well.

Hartvig, thinking there are fell magicks afoot, does an Occultism check. Skabb sees the objects on the altar are severed hands. There are four of them. Hartvig isn’t sure who the altar is to. Nadia thinks the hands came from four different people, rather than two. They are real severed hands, not carved from stone. (Luna rolls a 6. DM: “Luna, not only do you not know, you couldn’t care less.”)

(Sprocket remembers the Goblin Pox, out of character. The diseased ones roll Con saves; Luna crits. She never even knew she had it. Sprocket rolls a 19, and the DM has to ask Skabb what her Spell Save DC is; she has to look it up. It’s a 20, so Sprocket is still sick but it remains at level 1.)

Nadia is asked to roll a Religion check; she gets a 10. Never mind! Grabby Cat crits her Religion check; she whispers in Skabb’s ear that she thinks it’s dedicated to Nimboloth, the god of Despair, Ghosts and Swamps. She also says those shrines are usually empty of furniture, to symbolise the emptiness of death. Sacrifices kneel at the altar as they are… sacrificed. Hartvig starts writing poetry.

Can we sneak closer? We do, and are told to stop where we are. Uh oh. Everyone but Nadia and Jorg’ath must make Will saves - Skabb and Luna are unaffected, but the others are Frightened 1 - Grabby is Frightened 2. Now that we’re closer, we can sense the entire shrine is infused with a sensation of despair and hopelessness. The four hands start to twitch. (Hartvig: “I think I’ve seen this film.”)

Some stuff appears on the map. The hands start scuttling around, and four creatures slither out from the indentations in the rock. Hartvig checks the ceiling to make sure Jessica Alba isn’t tied up there.

These are Flickerwisps and Elite Crawling Hands… We roll Initiative, but the monsters don’t get a surprise round because we were sneaking, yay!

Hartvig rolls to see if he knows if these things are undead. He’s pretty sure the hands are. They are Aberrations - they’re related to the will o wisp. He also knows they’re immune to the same magic as the will o wisp, but these have a flicker in addition to the shock attack. This flicker is capable of confusing a creature.

He does Needle Darts at the closest hand. He’d hoped to raise his shield but has run out of actions. “There will be no shield-raising for me.” A wisp wafts up to him; he screams. It flickers and forces a Will save. He fails, and it Consumes his Confusion:

Augustus is also Confused, and his Wisp Shocks him, just to add injury to insult. Sprocket: “Oh, wait! Electricity damage?” Augustus is somewhat resistant, but the attack was a crit. It does 29 total damage, which Augustus can ignore 2 of.

The next attacks Skabb, and she fails her save and is Confused, then gets shocked, accompanied by suitable sound effects from the DM. The attack misses!

Another comes for Luna, who also fails her save. It Shocks her and crits, but crit fails the damage. Her tail goes all puffy.

Skabb’s turn, but she is Confused and cannot choose what she does. If she wants to use her Grill of Aberration Bane, she might target Grabby Cat in her confusion. She rolls for it - and hits Grabby. “This has gone from the best day to the worst,” she laments. 4 damage to Grabby, in spite of Skabb saying she has special armour on. Her second attack, she manages to target the wisp but misses. Her third attack is against Grabby again, but misses. Skabb collapses to the floor in ‘some kind of existential crisis’.

Wait… Grabby is Frightened 2, so the attack does hit her. She takes 7 damage.

A hand wafts up to Hartvig and grabs him by the throat. He now struggles to speak, so any spells with a verbal component will take an extra action to cast.

Jorg’ath Does some Damage to a hand. Howdy Doodis! He stabs it and pins it to the ground. He flings a javelin - wait, no, he moved. He gets a Hero Point!

Luna stabs at the wisp in front of her with her rapier, but misses. 22 hits though!

Nadia fires a Tanglefoot bag at a wisp and hits, then retreats to one of the alcoves for cover.

Sprocket is next. He shoots a Phase Bolt at a hand. The DM is delighted to realise that they are both Tiny and Sprocket is, for the first time, fighting something his actual size.

Hartvig is confused but manages to hit the hand, and then the wisp, with his staff - the latter is a crit! 11 damage, nice.

His Wisp Shocks him and crits for 18 damage. “I’m not overburdened with hit points now.” It hits him again, and he’s down to his lucky one. It goes again - and misses. Phew.

The next one goes for Augustus but crit fails, but the next scrapes through.

Another hits Skabb and crits, and she goes down. “Er - bye bye!”

A wisp wafts over to shock Sprocket. 22 hits and he goes down. Another hits Luna, and she goes down as well. This is not looking good, you guys...

Skabb makes a death save - 19, nice. Grabby gets a go, and wants to pour a potion down Skabb’s neck. That’s technically 2 actions, but this has been a shitshow so far so the DM allows it.

He tells us there is something we can do to make this fight easier, and lets us stew on that for a week, and we leave it there. Usually we thank the DM for putting together another game for us for the week, but he tells us that since he’s killed half of us already, we don’t have to. Sprocket: “See you in hell, have a good week!”

[mj-skyair-star]

█🕹️👾🎮Prologue: Party Time!░▒▓█

March 28th, 2036, Friday night, 8:05 p.m.

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

"Do I really want to go?" I thought to myself after I put on a teal casual jacket.

Tonight is the night that I was invited to my best friend's party at her place.

Knock, knock, knock.

I glanced at my bedroom door to see it opening 'itself' while someone peeked their head behind the white wooden door. It was my mum.

"We're leaving in five minutes, and your dad will pick you up at 9:30. Also your brother is coming with us so I can take him to the hospital,"

"Uh… Okay, mum," I gave her a fake smile.

My mum is a bit clueless that my smile is fake, which is a dandy thing, I guess...

After she left (with the door closed), I walked over to my bed, sat down, and let out a huge sigh.

"Is it even a wise idea for me to show up? I'm not even a fan of parties..." Shaking it off, I decided to think of something to entertain myself for the rest of five minutes... hm... Oh!

I sat up and rushed my way excitedly to my game collection to find my favourite game (which I still need to complete). That game I'm talking about is called 'War of Time.' It's about futuristic robot heroes called 'The Cosmic Five' who set out on a quest to stop Artron from controlling all timelines. However, Artron only needs a very special crystal in order to activate the machine, which was made by Dr Brainstorm, the evil robotic genius.

I don't think it was a bother to explain more in detail.

When I finally found it, something was off... I may have overreacted...

"MY GAME!" I screamed.

My eyes widened at the front cover. Despite the background, the characters' pictures are completely blank. I don't know how or what happened, but what I do know is that I was upset about it.

Thud, thud, thud!

"Airis!? Are you ok!?" Arrow burst into the room looking all panicked. It looks like I may have interrupted his game. How? He was wearing Wireless Gaming Headphones (W.G.H for short) with a mini microphone so he could talk to his friends online. "Sorry guys, give me a sec..." he whispered through his mic before he pulled down his black and green headphones till they were hanging around his neck.

Still overreacting, I swiftly shoved the game cover in his face, not too close.

"The characters are not there! Look!"

"My God! You don't need to shove things in my face!" Annoyed, he snatched it off me to have a look at it. Arrow didn't seem bothered, although I could tell he was confused at the same time. On the other hand, his response to that would be something like 'this situation was nothing' and just as I thought, his mood changed and he shrugged his shoulders. "Dad might have pranked you," he said.

"Seriously!? That's your response!?!?"

"Dad doesn't even do pranks!"

"Well, I'm gonna be honest, I don't know what to think of it. Maybe you got an unfinished front cover and you didn't notice it," he shrugged again.

"Dude! I have this game and have played it for a year! It didn't look like that when I first got it!" I raised my voice a tad louder.

I didn't even notice it.

"Will you relax, Miss Overreacting?" He asked sarcastically.

"I'm not Miss Overreacting!" Yes, I am.

It doesn't make any sense...

"What's going on here? Please don't tell me you guys are fighting?" Both me and Arrow turned our heads to the door to see Ava appearing in my room, like the clever little ninja she is. Ava looked pretty worried. "I heard Airis yelling from my room..." Oh boy, let's hope mum or dad doesn't come up here next-

"It's a false alarm, Ava. It's just Iris overreacting to something that's nothing to be very concerned about, and there were no fights between us," Arrow told her calmly.

He gave me back my game and then gently pushed the ten-year-old out of my room, so he could head back to his room and continue on with his game, and chatting with his friends.

"Oh... if you say so..." That was the last thing I heard from Ava.

I was so mad. Very mad that Arrow-... Or... I don't know if he's right or not, but it seems that way to me... I don't believe he is. I mean... it's just the front cover... totally.

Moving on, I opened up the game cover to get the disc. Inserting the disc in the PS5 console and then turning on my TV, I picked up my controller so I could get the game started.

I soon noticed something was very wrong, again.

"Where are the characters?" I said out loud in a puzzled manner.

Yeah, not only does the front cover disappear randomly, but so do the characters on the screen.

"Bugged?" That's the only thing I can think of.

I turned the PS5 off and on like I normally do whenever there is an easy fix... Nothing has changed. The characters are still not there... Even when I checked my savings, they were not there... This is just getting too weird. I stared at the screen like I knew something was suspicious... How?

Just checking (for a theory), I went to pick out a random game from the shelf. 'Hovercraft Surf'.

The characters on the front cover are there.

I switched the discs to see if anything changed.

… So far the characters are there in that specific game... So it has nothing to do with the PS5, it has something to do with a video game, huh? I see...

Oh, don't tell me I need to buy a replacement! Video games are extremely expensive nowadays!

"Airis! Arrow! It's time to go!" ...

Ugh! I'll have to deal with this tomorrow, then.

I turn off the TV and PS5 while placing my controller next to the white and black console, then exit my room to head downstairs to meet mum at the front.

***

"You got your phone, Airis?"

"Yep," I pulled out my Samsung phone from my pocket and showed it to mum who was looking through the rearview mirror.

"Good," she nodded. We arrived at my friend's house. Looking out through the window, I saw coloured lights changing different colours through the house window. "Have fun in there," my mum told me with a happy smile just as I placed my phone back in my pocket and left the car from the back, and then closed the back door behind me.

"Thanks, see ya," I waved.

"Bye sweetie,"

"See ya, Iris," with the final goodbye from them, I watched until the silver car disappeared... I always wondered why mum needed to take Arrow to the hospital.

I suppose I have witnessed Arrow acting strange for the past few weeks, maybe that's why.

I turned to the front of the house, took a deep breath and walked up to the brown front door nervously. The music is pretty loud but not loud enough to draw complaints from neighbours.

Using my fist I knocked on the wooden door.

The door opened to reveal a light brown-haired (a bit chubby) girl in her lovely white shirt that said 'Party Time!' Featuring party hats, streamers, and colourful writing. Her shirt is also tucked underneath her light pink overalls skirt. That's my best friend Sophia.

"Oh hey, Airis! Come in," she happily giggled lightly as she unlocked the door and stepped aside to allow me in.

Just as I entered my eyes widened. There are a lot of people here, some from my school and some... I don't even recognise most of them... They looked about three years older than Sophia and me.

Surprisingly, Clifton isn't here... Okay, maybe not surprised. He told me himself that he doesn't like parties. Not only that, he is well known to be the scariest guy in the whole primary school, so I see why no one would invite him. A bit off-topic. I couldn't help but think of this party, particularly of its unrecognised guests who may be strangers.

"Are they even from our school? If they are just a bunch of strangers... What was Soph thinking?" That's one of the reasons why I'm not a fan of parties.

Mum and dad will tell me about the possible dangers when it comes to parties once you hit teen/adulthood. Those enjoyable memories of your past parties as a child will eventually fade away into something far different. I'm not saying that parties aren't fun, no! I won't deny that I enjoyed them when I was younger... Well, the only difference is, it was a birthday party, not an entertainment party. However, they can be fun... What won't be fun is if someone decides to put pills in your drink, kidnap you, murder you or even assault you.

You would be a goner to go through that.

I get anxious when it comes to strangers... to make matters worse, this is Sophia's first time hosting a party... at her place. I truly hope that her little sister Bella isn't here. She's way too young to be here at all unless she's with her parents, and I know Amethyst can't be here since she moved out for her studies not so long ago (a big bummer that the eldest sister can't keep an eye on things or even teach Sophia the safety of these types of parties).

We're in year six for God's sake! How could her parents allow this many people?! Are they even here??? What I would be questioning most is- is she aware that there are some random people showing up too? Probably mistaken it for some other type of party?

***

A few hours later.

I was sitting next to Sophia, watching her and my two other friends, Jessica and Quinn, talking about a topic that I couldn't even relate to. It was about a boy band that I'm not into. At least they are having fun. On the other hand, I am not. When I tried speaking at some conversations (to blend in or at least feel included), Jessica would stare at me in some way that made me feel uneasy (it happens every time). It was like judgement telling me to stop talking.

What did I do?

Quite often I move on by pulling a random drama that's currently happening (from Tiktok) out of my sleeves to change the subject. It worked, luckily, and I could've talked more about any drama topic if I got a sense of ease from Jessica to allow me to... This is also another reason why I don't like parties; awkward conversations.

As I felt alone in the absence of my friends making me feel left out, a sudden thought came to me about the time... I didn't know what time it was, so I got up and told my friends that 'I need to go to the bathroom'. (They hardly paid any attention) I left for a bit.

I squished past some wild crowds to find the clock on the wall (not thinking I had a phone).

Once I did.

"9:39!? CRAP! My dad must be waiting at the front!" I ran past the wild crowds again, hurriedly getting back to Sophia, Jessica and Quinn.

As I got there, I tapped Sophia's shoulder to get her attention. Jessica's conversation with the girls was interrupted. It's her house, after all, and I'm her best friend. Therefore, I have to let her know rather than leaving her to wonder where I am or think I ditched her, Quinn, and Jessica or just ditched the party.

"Hey, uh, I got to run now..."

"Oh... ok," Sophia sighs, almost disappointed that I have to leave now.

"Oh, you're leaving already? Ok- whatever, bye, Erica," Jessica waved while focusing on her manicure.

"Uh, my name is Airis, Jes-"

"Are you deaf!? She said bye!" Quinn yelled angrily, startling me, Sophia and some of the guests- they also quickly moved away from our area.

That was unexpectedly random of Quinn.

"What was that about!?"

"Yeah, I said bye so why are you still here?" Jessica asked harshly.

The way she said that hurt me. Not too much. As calm as a clam, I respond.

"I heard what you said. I was only correcting a mistak-"

"A mistake that you exist," she rotten out...

I glanced over at Sophia who had her head away from me... Now I honestly feel like crying at this moment.

"... I think you should leave..."

"... Soph too..?" Taking a few steps back, I turned my full body away from the girls and rushed my way out of the house.

I use my eyes to look for dad's blue car.

I found it.

Upon reaching it, I opened the front seat door and jumped inside before closing it. I cannot understand why they are so cruel to me... they didn't really mean it- they just- they're my friends. I'm sure Jess didn't mean it. She must be tired as well as Quinn... Right? Am I right? RIGHT!?

"There you are! I've been messaging and waiting for you for ten minutes! I was about to get you myself," he told me with a hint of relief that left him slightly upset.

He has the right to feel that way. I understand parents' fears about their children set off on their own when they reach their teenage years.

I've been a tad guilty about it, though I'm in the thought of irritation about how the girls treated me...

"Sorry, dad. I didn't hear my phone and I lost track of time..." I told him after putting my seat belt on.

Dad sighed calmly while he turned on the blue car's engine.

"It's alright. Next time, unmute your phone or check the time more frequently rather than every time you feel like checking," he said before starting to drive, taking us home.

Good thing he didn't suspect anything about how I'm feeling right now, and good thing I didn't start crying for a sensitive girl like me.

I never dared to look back at Sophia's house...

While driving back home, my thoughts had me convinced it was an accident.

"They didn't mean it and they were only tired because of the party... I hope..."

***

We arrived home safe and sound.

Just as we got inside our home, I realised that I didn't have my phone on me once I felt my pocket...

"I left my phone at Sophia's house... Crap! That explains why I didn't hear a message come through!" Freaking out about it, my dad took notice that something was up.

"Is something wrong, Iris?" I became more freaked out by his question and the possible reaction as to why I didn't receive his text... Dad is well known for not leaving anyone alone until they confess what was wrong or hiding.

… So I gathered some courage to answer.

"I... er... Left my phone at Sophia's house..."

"What!? Are you sure?!"

"Y-Yeah..." I stuttered with a nod.

Luckily I have the most chill-pill dad, unlike my mum who will murder me for losing an expensive phone that she gave to me, at the start of this year... It was a gift from her, only in case I was in danger, and was also a reward for my grades last year.

"Then we'll have to go back and-"

"Wait!" Dad was about to get ready to leave again, though I stopped him on time, only because I know he'll report the party to Sophia's parents about strangers in her house who don't seem like primary school kids. I didn't want Sophia to get in trouble. "Can't I just walk to her place to get it?" It's funny that I asked him that.

I had never walked at night alone before, admittedly I wanted to try that out. Next year I'll be in high school. Surely I'm old enough to do that.

Dad frowned at me as if I was crazy.

"Airis, it's too dangerous to be out at night-"

"I know, but we just got here, and you already have your shoes off. Besides, her house is only ten minutes awa-"

"No Airis, you are not going out in the middle of the night. I'm sure Sophia might have noticed your phone was left behind as soon as she recognised it. Let's hope no one steals it. You know how angry your mum gets..." Oh trust me, I am tremendously aware of how angry mum will get. I remember Arrow getting in trouble for losing a special watch that had been passed down for generations... Wait, that was dad. "You'll have to pick it up tomorrow, then. Good thing it's Saturday the next day,"

"Tomorrow?! I can't live without it! I got to get it now!" For the love of God! In what way can he be sure that Sophia can keep it safe from theft? What if she doesn't know and someone has already taken it?! I don't want someone trying to hack through my phone to look through my privacy! I am NOT allowing that to happen!

That was when an idea popped into my head… God, it’s such a bad idea as well…

Letting out a fake yawn, I told my dad I was tired and that I 'agreed' with what he said. He said ok and good night before disappearing into the lounge room (to watch TV).

I headed upstairs to my bedroom and waited for my dad to sleep. Alright, this is very unlike me but I have to do it! I have anxiety about what will happen to my phone and getting in trouble with mum! And praying to God that my phone is still at Sophia's.

My plan is to sneak out: Once the time is right, I'll stuff some pillows under my cosy blanket so it makes it look like 'I' was 'sleeping' (in case mum gets back with Arrow to check on me. She always checks on me and siblings before heading off to bed unless she's way too tired to do that once she and Arrow are back), then sneakily leaves the house through the front by using my house keys and then heads to Sophia's place to get my phone- hopeful.

Piece of cake!

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Chapter 1 |>

[fluffysmutsmaketheworld]

Touch Starved

Ronald Weasley x Reader

Y/N and Ron just got into a relationship. They haven't shared any physical contact such as hugs or cuddling. Y/N is nervous because she never got much affection as a child. She doesn't know what she's missing until one day.

Alll fluff

"Y/N! I MADE GRYFFINDOR KEEPER!!" Ron screams as he runs up to me. I smile seeing his huge grin. His flaming red hair and his sparkling blue eyes make my heart skip a beat. When he reaches me, he grabs me and pulls me into a hug.

I tense up and slowly put my arms around him. He doesn't seem to notice as he pulls away, still beaming.

"I'll see you later in the common room," He says, walking off. "I need to go write to Mum." I smile at his retreating form.

A weird craving feeling grows in me. His embrace was warm and cozy. His scent had filled my nostrils and made my heart flutter. I had felt safe in his short embrace and I wanted more.

That night in the common room, Ron sat near me on the couch, not quite touching me. His nearness made me yearn to be closer but I'm not sure if it would make him uncomfortable. I study his face as he tells me about the tryouts.

"I wish you could have been there, Y/N, it was amazing." He smiles down at me and I smile softly.

"It sounds amazing, Ronnie." I say. I look around the common room and see that its empty besides him and I. "Hey, uh, Ronnie?" I ask quietly, wringing my hands.

"Yes, Y/N/N?" He cocks his head curiously at me.

"When we hugged earlier-"

"I'm sorry, if it made you uncomfortable. I was just so excited." He apologizes as his smile drops.

"No, no, it didn't. I wasn't expecting it for sure but uh, I wanted to know," I take a deep breathe as my face starts to burn red. "Do you think we could, uhm, hug again? I-if you want to that is." I bow my head, not wanting to see his rejection. I feel his hand lift my face to look into my eyes. His cheeks were as red as his hair.

"Darling, you don't have to ask. I'm your boyfriend and you are my adorable girlfriend. You can have all the hugs you want." He pulls me into another hug, gently. I sigh in content as I wrap my arms around him.

"I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable." I whisper. He chuckles into my neck.

"Hugging won't make me uncomfortable. I love being hugged and I grew up in a home where hugging is a love language. Have you met my Mum?" He asks, pulling away and pulling me into his lap to cuddle. I rest my head on his shoulder.

"She's a lovely woman, you're lucky to have a Mum like her." I play with his fingers. "My aunt and uncle never hug me and well, you know how Harry is. He's a great brother but not too keen on affection." I explain.

"I never thought about how touch starved you must be, darling." He brushes his lips against my forehead. "I guess that I'll just have to give you a bunch of hugs, cuddles and affection. Maybe, I just won't let go of you ever again." He kisses my nose and I giggle.

"You have quidditch and we have classes. I don't think that's possible, love." I shake my head at his silly notion.

"Well, I guess the teachers will have to deal with it and as for quidditch, you can be on the broom with me." He says, wrapping his arma around my waist, tightly.

"You know I'm scared of heights, Ronnie so that won't work." I snort as a thought crosses my mind. "Can you imagine Snape's reaction if we were cuddling in his class?" Ron thinks about it for a minute and laughs.

"He already hates us so I imagine we would get detention but he would definitely yell at us. 'So, Mr. Weasley, does my class look like a cafe?'" He says the last part slowly and imitates Snape. I giggle and kiss his cheek. His cheeks grow red again and I grin. We sit in silence and rest our heads together. My eyes began to feel heavy and I stiffle a yawn, not wanting to leave his arms.

"Darling, we need to go to sleep." He hums in my ear. I whine and snuggle closer. He chuckles. "I told you that I wasn't letting you go. I'll take you to my dorm and we can cuddle all night. How does that sound?"

"It sounds like a wonderful idea, love." I smile sleepily up at him. Without any warning, he picks me up bridal style and carries me to his dorm. I giggle and put my hands around his neck. When we reach his dorm, he dumps onto his bed and rummages around his trunk. He finally pulls out a long sweater and throws it at me.

"Go change in the bathroom. I'll change here." He says. I grab the sweater and quietly make my way to the bathroom, trying to not wake the other boys. I change quickly and scurry back to his bed. Ron's already changed and in his bed, waiting for me. I slip in beside him and instantly curl up in his side.

"Ron, your Mum would kill you if she knew." Harry whispers from his bed, making us jump.

"Bloody hell, mate. I thought you were sleeping." Ron says.

"No, too much on my mind. I'll tell you tomorrow. Good night, Ron and Y/N. Love you, sis."

"Love you too, Harry." I whisper back. Harry turns over without another word. Ron rolls his eyes. I snuggle into his arms, now addicted to his touch. I feel myself slowly falling asleep.

"Good night, Y/N." Ron says, his arms around my waist and holding me against him.

"Good night, Ronnie." I whisper. I feel him kiss my cheek before I fall asleep in his arms.

I am accepting requests. Please fill up my inbox with ideas.

[femininefutbol]

el clásico

transferred/modified from my wattpad

prompt: you and aitana bonmatí were childhood best friends but haven't seen each other since you were younger due to you moving away without any warning

word count: 3.4k 

a/n: i’m thinking of transferring some of my wattpad imagines over to here. if you have read it before sorry there will be new stuff soon, if you haven’t i hope you enjoy it :)

-

"Madrid are playing their new striker today" Patri mentions casually as herself the rest of the Barcelona squad are on the team bus to make their way to Santiago Bernabéu Stadium for the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals.

"What's her name? She only signed a few weeks ago right? She was a free agent? Never played professionally before?" Claudia asks a range of questions curiously, seemingly already knowing a lot about the new Real Madrid player.

"(Y/N)?" Patri states in a hesitant tone, not sure she actually knows the player's name.

"Did you say (Y/N)? What's her surname?" Aitana asks curiously, suddenly rather interested in the conversation.

"Ummmm" Patri drags out scrolling to the top of the article she is reading to find the name of this new player, "(Y/N) (Y/L/N)"

"Oh it's not her" Aitana whispers to herself.

"You know her?" Patri questions, having noticed the odd reaction Aitana had to the name.

"No, I had a childhood friend with the same first name but she had a different surname," Aitana explains, a small smile tugging at her lips as she remembers her childhood best friend.

-

"Tana pass here" You call out to your best friend Aitana, the two of you are young thirteen year olds playing together for the CF Cubelles mixed youth team.

Aitana does as you ask sending a beautiful pass up which allows you to score the teams first goal of the game, sending the team up in the 89th minute, "(Y/N/N) goooaaaal" Aitana screams at you as you cup your ears, your signature celebration, before you run directly into Aitana's arms.

Play continues for a few minutes before the final whistle is blown, CF Cubelles winning 1-0 due to the link up from the only two girls on the team.

"Beautiful shot (Y/N/N)" Aitana smiles widely at you.

"Beautiful assist tana" You smile back at Aitana, hugging her tightly, the two of you extremely excited at how the final minutes of the game played out.

The two of you seperate, Aitana making her way over to her mum who was at the game to watch her play, “you played so well nena" Aitana's mother kisses the top of her head. The little girl smiles brightly, super happy with the praise from her mum and the wonderful game she played.

-

"Hello, Aitana, are you listening?" Patri waves her hands wildly in front of Aitana in an attempt to make her pay attention.

"Hmm, yeah what?" Aitana responds, snapping out her thoughts about her childhood best friend that she so dearly misses.

"We're at the stadium" Patri points out the window, emphasising the fact that they have come to a stop and are at the Real Madrid stadium.

"That we are, let's go" she smiles, getting up quickly and making her way off the bus before anyone has time to ask what she was busy thinking about.

-

"Hey (Y/N), you are Catalan right?" your closest friend at Real Madrid, Misa asks as the two of you make your way into the stadium.

"Born and raised" you put on a fake smile, not wanting any of your new teammates to catch on to the fact that your childhood wasn't the greatest.

"Do you know any of the Barça players?" Misa asks curiously, assuming that if you grew up playing football while living close to Barcelona there is a chance you would know at least one of the younger players on the team.

"I grew up playing with Aitana Bonmatí" you shrug casually, hoping your response is enough for Misa and that you can swiftly move on from the current conversation. "How about you? You play with them on the national team right? I've heard the rumours about you and Leila" you wiggle your eyebrows.

"Those rumours are just rumours and obviously I know a lot of the Barça players but that isn't interesting, everyone knows that. Now tell me more about you and Aitana" Misa responds, doing just what you hoped she wouldn't and focusing on what you had said instead of just moving on.

"There's not much to it, we played together until I moved to Madrid when I was thirteen, we weren't very close or anything, just teammates" you lie.

"You think she will remember you when she sees you today?" Misa questions.

"Probably not, like I said we weren't that close and I've changed a lot" you answer honestly.

You don’t expect Aitana to remember you seeing as you just randomly left one day with no explanation. In your heart you hope Aitana remembers you, everyday since you left you have missed the small Barcelona native but in your head you remain sure that Aitana just moved on with her life and completely forgot that the two of you were ever even friends.

Your last ever day in Barcelona was spent at your local team's football match, the very same match the Aitana remembers fondly to this day, the one where you were able to score in the final minute gaining the win for your team. The only difference is that you have never been able to look back on that day fondly seeing as it was the day that ruined your entire life.

-

You walk back to the clubhouse after the game rather than making your way over to the sidelines like the other kids do. You know very well that your parents would never choose to watch their daughter play football seeing as they don't support women playing a 'men's' sport, so there is never anyone at your games to support you.

"Tortillera” (D*ke) one of the boys from the other team calls out to you, laughing with his friends as he walks past, you pause for a brief second, you had heard your parents use that word to refer to you when they assumed you were asleep for the night but you don't know what it means. You decide that you will ask your parents what it means once you get home.

You make quick work of changing back into your dress and putting your football gear into the coaches office seeing as you would get in trouble if your parents found out that you were playing football instead of studying at the library like you said you were going to do.

"(Y/N/N) do you want to come to lunch with me and my mamá?" Aitana asks sweetly, grinning at you in hopes it will convince you to spend more time with her.

"Sorry Tana I have to get home" you apologise.

"Oh okay. Well bye (Y/N/N), I love you, see you at school tomorrow!" Aitana makes quick work of hugging you before making her way back over to her mum. 

"Bye Tana, I love you too" you respond, giggling quietly to yourself as your best friend wildly waves goodbye while she runs back over to her mum.

You make your way home, greeting your parents in the living room as you come through.

"Hola, mamá, papi, I have a question" you proclaim sweetly, the action not being out of the ordinary for you as you have always been quite inquisitive.

"What is it (Y/N)?" your mother asks, not even taking a second to look in your direction.

"What does tortillera mean?" you ask innocently, both your parents immediately look in your direction. 

"Where did you hear that?" your father asks sternly.

"I saw it in a book I was reading?" you're not the best liar so you immediately turn red, easily giving you up. 

"Why do you have dirt on your knees?" your mother asks in horror, coming to the realisation that you were not at the library but instead you spent your day playing football.

"I fell over when I was walking home" you lie again, your face even more red as you feel the pressure of lying to your parents.

"You were playing football weren't you? Did someone call you a tortillera?" your mum disguises her voice, the anger being taken over by a false concern.

"Um yes" you answer in a hushed whisper.

"That's it, you are going to live with your Tia in Madrid" your father states, the decision seeming like one they have been considering for awhile.

"What no?! I will stop, I promise, I don't want to leave" you cry, having your whole world ripped from around you with no idea why it is happening.

-

You are brought back to your current surroundings as Misa wipes a stray tear from your cheek.

"Are you okay (Y/N/N)?" Misa asks, not quite understanding why you are suddenly crying.

"Yeah yeah, I just got something in my eye" you rub your eyes harshly, attempting to prove to Misa that you aren’t lying.

"Alright, if you say so" Misa responds skeptically.

That is where your conversation ends, as you reach the locker room and go your seperate ways to prepare for the game.

-

The two teams line up on the field, listening to the Champions League anthem. You look around the stadium in awe, it is your first ever professional game of football and it seems like a dream that you are even going to play. You gave up on being a professional footballer years ago so it is all very exciting yet overwhelming for you.

Once the anthem is over the two teams are required to shake hands, it is all going smoothly until you are stood in front of Aitana.

"(Y/N)?" Aitana asks. from her earlier conversation genuinely didn't believe that the new real madrid player could be the (Y/N) she knew when she was younger so seeing you standing right here in front of her has her in complete shock.

"Goodluck" you state, quickly moving on to the next player in the lineup, you can't bring herself to even look back at Aitana, knowing that it would likely throw you off your game.

Things heat up when only eight minutes into the game as Real Madrid player Esther dribbles between three Barcelona players. She manages to lay off the ball to you, taking one swift touch to the ball you drill it into the right corner of the goal putting the El Clásico favourites behind, one goal to nil.

You immediately celebrate with what has always been known as your signature goal celebration, the cupping of your ears. When you were younger it signified that while all the boys playing around you spoke down on you playing because you were a girl you were still the one putting away goals. Today in the quarterfinals of the Champions League the celebration signifies many different things. The fact that you scored the first goal against all odds for Real Madrid. The fact that you scored your first ever professional goal. The fact that you scored while the boys you scored against are likely nowhere near as successful. Most importantly the fact that you are living your dream despite everything your parents did to stop you.

This goal celebration means the entire world to you and even though your childhood best friend has just had to watch her team go a goal down in the quarterfinals the smile on her face doesn't wavier as she proudly remembers you constantly talking about how you were going to make it pro one day and now here you are.

The next piece of memorable action is in the thirty-first minute, Aitana taps the ball a touch too heavily leaving it open for you to play forward, this doesn't last though as Aitana quickly swoops in, side-tackling you and clipping your shin. This action causes you to fall to the ground in pain and sees Aitana earn a yellow card for her action.

You receive some medical treatment while Aitana clearly worries about you from a relatively far distance, not wanting her presence to throw off the game of either of you.

The game continues and Barcelona are able to make up for the goal scored by you within the first ten minutes of the second half and add another two with no other major moments for you or Aitana.

-

After the game Aitana shakes the hands of her teammates and Real Madrid players, but it is all just formalities until she reaches the girl she has had her eye on since she was substituted off.

"(Y/N)" Aitana states simply, it's rather obvious by this point that she is fully aware that the girl she just played against is her childhood best friend.

"Hi Tana" you reply with a small smile.

"Dont 'hi Tana' me! You have some explaining to do" Aitana responds in a harsher tone than even she expected. without missing a beat she pulls you into a bone-crushing hug, not particularly willing to let go.

"I know Tana, I know but not now okay? I've missed you so much you know" you respond, holding Aitana's face in your hands momentarily to make sure the moment is actually real before pulling the shorter catalan girl back into another hug.

"I have missed you a lot too (Y/N/N), please can we see each other again soon to catch up properly?" Aitana basically begs her childhood friend.

"We will see each other again soon enough, Camp Nou ring any bells?" you joke.

"You seriously haven't changed a bit. Of course I will see you at Camp Nou but after that, how about I take you out to dinner?" Aitana asks hopefully.

"Okay dinner sounds good, I guess it will make up for not getting lunch with you the day before I left Barcelona" you state hoping that the joke will land, it would be rather awkward if Aitana just didn't remember the last day that you two had seen each other before you left.

"I think it will take more than one dinner to make up for you not getting that lunch with me, especially since this is the first time I've seen you since then" aitana shamelessly flirts with you.

"I guess seeing you more often wouldn't be so horrible" you smile brightly, secretly extremely excited that Aitana wants to spend more time with you again.

"So that means you are already agreeing to a second date?" Aitana smiles back.

"Woah dates? Tana get to know a girl first" you dramatically state, drawing the attention of some of your teammates who may have been secretly attempting to overhear your conversation in order to find out what is going on.

"I knew I liked you back when we were thirteen (Y/N/N), I’m pretty confident now that I'd like to go on dates with you" Aitana admits with a small blush, she hopes that the feelings are reciprocated and that she isn't just embarrassing herself in front of her crush that she hasn't seen in over ten years.

"Yeah I liked you too, it was part of the reason I got sent away to Madrid" you reply casually, a look of horror crossing Aitana's face, "It's okay Tana, everything worked out and as it happens I am also pretty confident that I'd like to go on dates with you"

"Ahh okay, so dinner next week after the camp nou game?" Aitana asks.

"Lock it in, don't be surprised if I'm super grumpy if we lose though" you respond.

"You were always a bad sport when we lost" Aitana laughs, remembering how hard you would be on yourself and the team anytime you lost.

"Hey! I've matured, I wouldn't be a bad sport but I would be kind of upset, the Champions League is sort of a big deal you know" you pout jokingly.

"I am aware, anyway, I think someone is looking for you" Aitana points in the direction of Misa who is standing near the tunnel with a small smirk on her face.

"It does seem that way, see you next week Tana" you kiss Aitana's cheek, a moment that doesn't go unnoticed by anyone. You then hug the small Barcelona player tightly.

"See you then (Y/N/N), you better not disappear on me like last time" Aitana hugs you back, probably for a little too long but she doesn't want to let go, knowing that the last time she did she lost her best friend.

"I promise you will be seeing a lot more of me" you wink before jogging off to catch up with Misa, who you already know will be teasing you about the situation for weeks to come.

-

"You lied to me earlier" Misa informs you as you reach the tunnel.

"No I didn't" you argue, knowing that you most definitely did.

"Really? because that didn't look like you catching up with someone who was 'just a teammate' from over ten years ago" Misa explains, having seen and heard parts of your conversation she is well aware that the connection you and Aitana had was likely pretty significant.

"Okay maybe we were a little closer than that" you explain, still not informing her just how close the two of you were in your youth.

"Yeah, like how close? Honest answer this time" Misa glares at you slightly to ensure that you will tell the truth.

"We had been best friends since we were three" you explain defeatedly as you hadn't exactly wanted to let many people in Madrid know things about her childhood in Barcelona.

"That makes sense, when she first saw you she literally looked like she had found buried treasure. She was very upset when she realised her mistimed tackle was on you. ooo and-" Misa goes on to continue talking about more ways that Aitana had interacted with you during that game as being a goalkeeper gives her a good perspective of the game.

"Okay I get it, yes we were best friends and it was nice to see her again but that's all that happened so please leave all your 'she looked at you like you were the brightest star in the night sky' stuff for the fanfictions" you sigh.

"You know people are actually probably going to write that about you two now, you weren't very subtle with the tight hugs, blushes and the kiss on the cheek" Misa wiggles her eyebrows this time, making it clear that she wouldn't believe that the two of you are going to stay just friends.

"Nothing was happening" you proclaim.

"You are going on a date with her" Misa states confidently.

"How did you know that?" you ask defensively.

Misa cracks up laughing, almost falling over in the process, "I didn't, I just guessed but now you can't hide anything from me, I know too much"

"I hate you, you know" you sigh, pushing Misa's shoulder lightly before walking back into the tunnel to go to the locker room, an excited Misa just follows you back, smiling as if she had just won the lottery.

Aitana is across the field, too caught up in staring at you to realise that the rest of her teammates are making their way back to the tunnel as well.

"Stop drooling" Patri laughs as she walks past, the sudden voice snaps Aitana out of her thoughts.

"I wasn't drooling" Aitana whines, catching up with Patri so the two of them can walk back together.

"So, she is the girl you knew when you were younger?" Patri asks, knowing fairly well that you indeed are, as she had no issues overhearing the conversation between the two.

"Yeah she is, she just changed her surname" Aitana explains.

"And you have a crush on her" Patri states.

Aitana stops in her tracks causing Patri to turn around and stare at her, "Why do you say that?" Aitana asks.

"Because you literally told her that you do" Patri responds matter of factually.

"You were listening to our conversation?" Aitana asks in horror, having assumed that everyone else was too busy with what they were doing to pay attention to the two of you.

"Obviously, most of us were, how else would we get the hot gossip?" Patri giggles slightly.

"Great" Aitana sighs, "Well you can help me plan the date then" she decides that if everyone is going to know about her and you they may as well help make it happen.

[dreamescapeswriting]

Stray Kids Reaction || Didn’t Know That You Were Pregnant [Request]

CHAN:

It was supposed to be a relaxing day out with the rest of the boys, going for a walk around the Han River and taking photographs with Hyunjin but your stomach was beginning to cramp and you were having back pains. 

"Maybe you should sit down," Minho said as he noticed how slow you were walking behind them, panting out of breath you walked over to some of the benches beside a fence and sat down. 

"Here," Felix called out as he rushed to your side and gave you a bottle of water, Chan glanced over at you smiling weakly as he noticed how sick you looked. The fact that you'd been sick for most of the week was starting to worry him but you pushed it aside as nothing more than a sickness bug that would pass sooner or later.

"Maybe we should call it a day, you look worse than you did yesterday," Jisung said in a worried tone he didn't mean for it to sound mean but he was worried about you, as were the other boys. Jisung's eyes kept looking between you and Chan as he walked over to your side but you let out a yelp in pain, at first, you thought you'd dropped the bottle of water that Felix had handed to you but then you felt pain radiate up your back and around your abdomen,

"Gross, Y/n needs to control her bladder." Minho laughed as he saw the pool of fluid by your feet and assumed you had wet yourself but that was when Chan's face ran pale and he began to calculate in his head. 

"I-I think my water broke," You mumbled as you looked over at Chan, he was piecing everything together over the last nine months, you'd gained weight, you'd been suck more often not to mention the weird cravings you'd been getting. 

"Holy shit." You yelled out as you struggled to get up from the bench, holding onto your stomach where there was barely even a bump. 

"I'm going to be an uncle?!" Jeongin screamed out loudly enough that the lady that was working the hot chocolate stand looked up to see what the fuss was about. Chan took your hand in his, walking with you towards the car so they could get you to a hospital but all of the boys were freaking out more than the two of you, yelling about how they weren't prepared and nothing was ready since you had no idea you were pregnant. 

MINHO:

You always thought those who claimed not to know that they were pregnant were being dramatic but now you knew first hand that they weren't. Sitting on the maternity ward with your sleeping daughter in your arms while Minho sat beside you on the bed just watching her sleeping. You had been home when you felt a bad pain spreading over your body, you figured it was nothing until it got to the point you couldn't focus on anything but the pain and headed to the doctor. 

"I can't believe you created another human." Changbin muttered as he walked into the room with a look of surprise on his face,

"Neither can we," You laughed as you laid your head on Minho's shoulder still remembering the look of shock on his face he had when you told him that you were going to have a baby. It was as if someone had drained all the colour out of him and for a few moments you thought he was going to pass out but he took it well and spent hours shopping for everything you were going to need online and having it delivered to your apartment that you shared together.

CHANGBIN:

"Where have you been I've been calling all day?!" You yelled out as you stood in the doorway of one of the studios, Changbin was chilling with Jisung and Chan while he claimed he was working. 

"What's wrong? Is something wrong?" You groaned at his nagging questioning and looked down at your stomach, the bump was starting to bother you but you put that down to weight loss until about an hour ago when you felt something move inside of you followed by a gushing of water to your feet. 

"I'm in labour, so if you answered your phone I wouldn't have had to drive all the way here instead of a hospital," All three of the boys started to laugh with one another thinking it was some kind of prank but as soon as Changbin saw the seriousness on your face his smile fell to the floor. 

"You're really-"

"Yes."

"And I'm going to be dad-"

"Not if you don't get me to a fucking doctor!" You yelled out as another contraction hit you, bending over in pain as you tried not to fall to the floor in a puddle of tears from the pain that you were experiencing. 

HYUNJIN:

"Besides a little weight gain, there had been no other indication that you could have been pregnant?" A nurse asked as she looked at you at Hyunjin, the two of you had been surprised by home birth. You'd gotten up in the middle of the night to use the toilet only to realise you weren't in need of the toilet but a doctor. The two of you ended up delivering your daughter on the bathroom floor over the phone to nurses and an ambulance team that had been stuck on the roads. 

"No, I didn't even know I could. I was on the pill and we were using condoms." You mumbled as you glanced down at your sleeping daughter who was strong considering you hadn't been taking prenatal care or going for regular checkups, it was a miracle she was delivered as well as she was and as healthy as she was. 

"Well, the hospital will provide you with a crib and some emergency supplies but you will need to do some shopping soon." She began writing everything up that you would need, Hyunjin was already so taken with your daughter he could hardly take his eyes off her.

JISUNG:

As soon as the water hit the ground you knew you hadn't accidentally wet yourself and Chan knew from the look of it that it wasn't piss that had come out of you. 

"Y/n!?" Jisung yelled out as panic washed over his face, he was sweating as he rushed over to you, sitting you down on the sofa in the dorms as he began yelling out for someone to call an ambulance. 

"Relax, she's in labour," Chan said calmly as he watched the two of you but that did nothing to settle you, both you and Jisung turned to him with wide eyes, 

"I'M PREGNANT?!"

"SHE'S PREGNANT!?" You screamed out together as the boys around you began to laugh, Chan shook his head at you before looking around. 

"Felix call an ambulance, Seungmin get a blanket and Minho pack up some clothes for Y/n." The whole time Chan barked out orders Jisung was doing his best to coach you through the pain, giving you breathing techniques he'd seen in all of the movies and TV shows where people were giving birth.

"We're going to be parents." He whispered over and over again as if he was trying to convince himself that it was true and it wasn't some kind of dream that he seemed to be having. 

FELIX:

Felix brought you to the hospital as soon as you said that you were in so much pain you couldn't get out of bed, doctors were running tests on you while you sat in a hospital bed crying into a pillow. 

"Mr Lee, Miss Y/l/n?" You glanced over at the door to see a set of doctors all rushing around outside the door, getting something ready while another came to speak to you. 

"It appears that you're pregnant, in fact, you're currently in labour." You started laughing at the male doctor thinking it was some kind of joke but when you noticed he wasn't laughing you stopped and sat up in the bed. 

"I'm what?" Felix's hand wrapped around yours as he tightly squeezed your hand, come to think of it there was a high possibility that you were pregnant but the two of you had been careful and used protection all of the time. 

"I would assume this is a shock but we need to check to see how far along you are in your contractions," A female doctor came into the room and began introducing herself while you and Felix stared at one another dumbfounded about how this could have happened and when. 

"Would you like to stay in the room?" The mid-wife asked Felix who turned to leave but you gripped onto his shirt pulling him closer to the bed, 

"We're in this together, don't even think about walking out of that door." You warned him as the doctor began to see if you were ready to push or not, 

"Almost there, I would say another hour or two at the most," She smiled looking up at you both as you worriedly looked at one another how you were going to break the news to everyone since you had no idea you had been pregnant in the first place.

"I need to call my mum," Felix stuttered as he looked at you, you nodded your head looking around for your phone. 

"I need to tell my family." You bit down on your lip not knowing if you were excited, worried or scared or if it was a mixture of all of those emotions at once. 

"I would make some arrangements quickly," The doctor teased before leaving the room, you turned to Felix wondering where to start with the conversation.

SEUNGMIN:

"I'm telling you that there is nothing wrong with me, I just feel sick." You grumbled to Seungmin who was pacing around the room a nurse had placed you in, he'd insisting on taking you to see someone as soon as you started to feel sick and dizzy that morning and now you had been waiting around for hours. 

"The tests have all finally came back, we wanted to make sure it was 100% positive before we came in here," The same nurse that had admitted you explained as she held a clipboard to her chest with a worried expression on her face, 

"When you came in we asked if there was a chance of pregnancy and you said no-"

"Because there isn't, I'm on the pill and we use protection," You told her as she continued to give you a worried look, that was when she began showing you all of the tests that they had done to prove to you that you were eight months pregnant and in early labour which was why you were sick and in so much pain. 

"I-I'm pregnant?" You stuttered out staring from the charts to her face as Seungmin sat down on the chair beside your bed, 

"But we were careful," He mumbled as he looked at you, 

"Not all contraceptives are 100% effective, some are just 99.9% you're the lucky, 00.01% That gets pregnant," You knew she was trying to make you feel better but it only made it worse as you thought about how the baby had nothing waiting at home for them when you eventually got home. 

"I'll get the boys, they'll become builders for the day." Seungmin mumbled as he began to call Chan on his phone frantically. 

JEONGIN:

Jeongin laughed down the phone when you told him you were sitting on the maternity ward of a hospital delivering his baby but as soon as he didn't hear you laughing a chill ran through him.

"You're joking right?" You groaned at him through the phone, rolling your head back against the bed as another contraction hit you making you scream out louder than the rest before it.

"Why would I joke about pushing a watermelon out of something the size of a pea!?" You yelled out down the phone to him while the midwife flinched from beside you wondering how you had been clueless about the pregnancy in the first place. It wasn't as though you were trying to get pregnant you were only together for two years, he was still young and how was JYP going to react to him getting a son or a daughter. 

"Please come to the hospital innie, I'm scared," Your voice cracked as you began to cry but Jeongin was already on the way, getting Minho to drive him as fast as he could so he could be by your side by the time his son or daughter came into the world.

Tagline: @taestannie​ @acciocriativity​ @mwitsmejk​ @minholuvs​ @sw33tnight​ @kneel-begyourpardon​

[princehrry-writings]

Legal Guardian

ugh this took way too long lol, but here it is!!! i forget exactly that sparked this but i thought it was a cute idea.

warnings: injuries (nothing major), hospitals, cursing, harry being a protective dad 🥺, talks about adoption and legal guardians, crying

wordcount: 2481

harry styles x reader, stepdad!harry x reader, stepdadharry x oc!stella

masterlist

Stella gets hurt and Harry is the only one there- but he has no legal jurisdiction…

.

.

.

It all happened really fast. Harry can’t even recall how it started, but he knew very well how it ended. A sobbing Stella strapped into her car seat as he raced to the emergency room, frantically calling Y/n who was in a different state on a work trip.

The 5 year old didn’t understand what was going on, she just knew she was hurting… really bad. And that she wanted her mommy and daddy.

The traffic seemed to be working against him, getting in his way at the most inconvenient times, all the while he was trying to console his weeping daughter, crying out “Daddy it hurts so bad!” effectively shattering his heart into a million little pieces.

Stella had been playing happily in the backyard at home, showing off her wonderful dance moves to Harry who watched with an adoring smile on his face, taking little videos to send to his fiance, when suddenly she was laying on the ground, clutching her ankle, and crying for him to come get her. He rushed into action, not having seen her take the fateful step into what must have been a hole in the ground or something.

Screeching into the hospital car park, he stops somewhere he obviously wasn’t supposed to but he couldn't care less. His mind was racing. What if she broke her ankle? Or tore a ligament? What if she has to get surgery? All of this is what he worries about as he flings the back door of his car open, trying his best to appear calm for his daughter (but it’s not really working), and scoops her carefully into his hold, bringing her inside and shouting for someone to please help him.

A few nurses rush to his side, asking him different questions and asking for someone to “Page Dr. Robbins, tell her we need a peds consult.”

Stella is whisked away from him and before he can start to follow after her, a hand is placed on his chest, stopping him in his place.

“Sir, we can’t have you in the room with her. You’re not on her file as a legal guardian!” A doctor tells him. In that moment, he sees nothing but red, steam pouring out of his ears.

“The hell I can’t, I’m her father! I’m not going to let her sit in there all alone while strangers poke and prod at her!” He all but yells at the man. Harry is not violent. He really isn't. But he’s not afraid to lay somebody on their ass when it comes to his girls. With kindness or course. And maybe a black eye.

From the room she was taken into he can hear her crying for him.

“Wan’ my daddy! Daddy!” Harry didn’t think his heart could break any further than it already had but he was proven wrong by the ache in his chest that only grew stronger the longer he was kept away from his lovebug.

“Doctor, respectfully- if you don’t move the hell out of my way, I will move you myself. That is my daughter, and my fiance is in a different state right now on a business trip so I am the only parent she has right now. If you try to keep me from my child I will take legal action against the hospital and sue for everything you’re worth. Now if you’ll excuse me.” Harry is seething, trying to move past the man in the white lab coat and light blue scrubs. Again, he is stopped.

“I will call security, sir!”

“DADDY!” Stella is now screeching, her little voice hoarse from all the yelling and crying.

“Don’t you fucking hear that? She needs me, and you’re telling me I can’t go be with her! What the hell kind of doctor are you?” Harry is in the man's face, pointing at him vehemently. He doesn’t care that people are starting to watch the scene. Doesn’t care that some people have recognized him and are recording the ordeal. Let the people see him fighting for his family. He doesn’t give a rat's ass if his “image” takes a hit. His daughter is on the line and he won’t back down.

“She’ll be fine-”

“No she won’t! Go ahead and call security. My daughter needs me and you’re not going to stop me from being in that room with her.” With that he pushes past the doctor (who must be an intern or something with how he’s handling this situation) and rushes into the room where his baby is screaming for him. He’s at her side in a matter of seconds, wiping the tears from her face, peppering kisses onto her head, petting her wild hair back from her face, just consoling her in any way that he can.

How fucking dare they try to keep him from her, especially when she’s in a state like this.

“It’s ok baby girl, daddy’s here now. I’ve got you. You’re ok, you’re ok!” He mumbles into her hair, doing his best to stay out of the way of the people examining her but still close enough so she knows he’s right there with her.

Little tears still streamed down her face but she was much calmer now, her breathing more even and body less tense.

“Mr. Styles we’re bringing in the portable x-ray to take a look at her ankle, so you’re going to need to wear this.” He nods and takes the vest given to him, putting it over his shoulders like he sees the others do. A similar article is placed over Stella, who is clinging to Harry’s hand, fearing that she’s going to have to be without him again. But he promises he isn’t going anywhere.

As they’re taking the x-ray his phone starts ringing in his pocket and he checks to see that it’s Y/n calling him back.

“H, what’s wrong, is she ok?” Her panicked voice rushes out as soon as the call connects.

“We’re in the ER right now and she’s getting an x-ray to see what’s going on with her ankle-”

“You’re in the room with her right? She’s not alone?”

The little shards of his heart keep breaking into smaller and smaller pieces as her voice breaks.

“Yeah, I’m right next to her. Don’t worry m’love, she’s not alone!” He glared at the doctor that tried to keep him out as he said that, letting him know he hadn’t forgotten.

“I’m gonna facetime you so I can see her.” She said and he nodded, waiting for it to come through. When it did he quickly accepted it, seeing the love of his life’s face on the screen, with her puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks as she wiped away the remaining tears so she didn’t freak out her baby.

“Stell, mumma’s on the phone, she wants to talk to you.”

“Hi baby girl!” Y/n said as soon as Harry held the phone so Stella could see her mom. The little girl's tear stained cheeks looked exactly like her moms, and her heart broke for her baby.

“Hi mumma,” Stella pouted into the camera, clutching onto her daddy as tight as her little hand could. Harry was a little uncomfortable but he would take this over not being in here at all.

“How do you feel, baby? You ok?” She asked.

“My foot hurts and they wouldn’t let daddy in here and I was scared, but he’s here now so I’m ok.” The little girl rambled off. Y/n almost missed how she said they wouldn’t let Harry in the room but when it finally registered, she was fuming. Absolutely, royally pissed.

“What do you mean they wouldn’t daddy in there?” Stella shrugged and looked up at Harry for an answer. He brought the phone back so he could see her after looking around at the doctors in the room, all doing their job and pretending they weren’t listening to this conversation, but a few of them winced when Y/n asked her question.

“Some bloke tried to keep me out of the room while Stella was being examined but she was on the verge of a whole breakdown. It was like Disneyland in Paris all over again.” He said, referencing the time Harry took his girls to Disneyland while they were in Paris and Stella got separated from her mom and dad. She had never not been able to see at least 1 of her parents before. Needless to say… she didn’t handle it very well. Screaming, crying, and hyperventilating (which freaked her out even more- causing her to scream louder and cry harder) ensued very shortly, disturbing every person around her. But it made it easy for them to find her and she spent a very very long time clutching her tiny arms around her daddy’s neck, not letting him set her down for anything. That was an interesting trip to the bathroom …

“Why would they try to keep you out of the room? You’re her father!” Y/n was on the verge of popping a blood vessel. Of course the one time her baby really needs her, she’s hours away.

“Uh, Mr. Styles, I’m so sorry to interrupt! But the x-ray is complete. There’s no break, it looks like a sprain at worst. Also, about why my intern was saying you weren’t allowed in the room, not that I was listening to your conversation, with ped’s cases we typically only allow legal parents or guardians in the room and your name isn’t anywhere on her file or on her records so he was just trying to follow safety protocols. He didn’t go about the situation as well as he should have because we always want to make sure our patient has what they need and that was obviously you- but that is the reason why you initially weren’t let into the room. You’re not a legal parent or guardian. Based on your situation- you’re legally considered a step-parent and that title doesn’t come along with any legal jurisdiction.” Dr. Robins explained, in quite a few words Harry thinks, but he doesn’t say anything about it. Just sits and realizes that while for the better part of a year and a half, he’s been calling himself Stella’s dad but the whole he’s not been anything… not legally anyway.

Y/n realizes this too and makes a mental note to call their lawyers to do something about that.

“That makes sense… Thank you, Dr. Robbins! I have her mum on the phone, but you knew that, so if there’s anything else I legally can’t do, she’ll have to take care of it like thi-”

“Mr. Styles, we won’t tell if you don’t! Anything else that needs to be signed, we’ll just go ahead and have you do it. Save the hassle for everyone.” Dr. Robbins interrupts him and he smiles, silently thanking her.

“Daddy, what's a legal guardian?” Stella asks after a quiet moment.

“A legal guardian is someone who takes care of you because the law says they can. So because I didn’t help mumma make you and I came into your life a little later, I’m not a legal guardian of you. Not yet anyway.” He mumbles the last part but Y/n catches it.

“Does everyone have a legal guardian?” She hiccuped, rubbing at her eyes with the hand that wasn’t clutching Harry’s.

“At one point yeah, but once you get older you don’t need one anymore because you can take care of yourself.”

The girl pauses, thinking about her daddy’s words before muttering “Don’t wanna take care of myself. Wanna stay with you and mumma forever.”

All the little shards of his heart slowly start to piece back together.

“I want you to stay with me and mumma forever too lovebug.” He cooes. Y/n’s eyes light up, her gaze filled with adoration for her little family.

. * .

*

“The documents are all drawn up Mrs. Styles, everything is ready for your husband to sign.”

“Thank you so much Ben!”

. * .

*

“Baby, c’mere. Wanna talk to you about something.”

“Yeah mommy?”

Y/n took a deep breath, trying to quell the tears she could already feel threatening to fall. Her newly wed husband sat beside her on the couch, running his hand along her back and squeezing her shoulder and letting her know he was there if she needed him.

“Do you remember when you and Daddy had that conversation about legal guardians?” The woman asked, pulling her baby into her lap, brushing her hand over the girl's hair affectionately.

“Uhhh, kinda.” She murmured, curling into her mom.

“Do you remember what a legal guardian is?” Y/n rephrased, hoping to jog the girl's memory. Stella nodded and when prompted by her mother explained that “It’s someone who takes care of you until you're old enough to take care of yourself.”

“That’s right baby, very good!”

“And do you remember when we were at the hospital and that doctor was being mean, not letting Daddy into the room with you?” Harry chimes in, scooting closer to his girls. She nodded with a roll of her eyes and a huff of breath, causing a little giggle to erupt from her parents. She really is her mothers daughter.

“Didn’t like him.” She mumbles.

“Do you remember why they didn’t let him into the room?” Y/n asks, knowing she should probably get to the point before her little one checks out and gets bored.

“Cause daddy’s not my legal guardian.” Stella huffs again, rubbing her eyes and nuzzling further into her mom.

“Do you want him to be?”

Stella’s quiet for a moment, tapping her little finger on her chin like she’s thinking hard. “Yeah.”

“Yeah? You want that baby?” Harry asks, pulling her into his lap. The girl wraps her arms around his neck and lays her head on his shoulder, nodding.

“Yeah, Daddy. Want you to be able to come to the doctors with me.” She mumbles sleepily.

The tears Y/n had been fighting off finally broke through, despite her efforts. It’s official. Harry is going to adopt Stella and they would be a family in every sense of the word. No one would be able to take Harry's little girl away from him. All he had to do was sign the paper. Harry felt tears spring to his eyes as well, smoothing his hand along his baby’s back.

“You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that…” He says, squeezing her a little tighter. Y/n snaps a quick picture before she snuggles into them.

“Love you Mommy, love you Daddy.” She murmurs before falling asleep in Harry's arms. Something that isn’t new, but feels different now for some reason. Things felt a little more official and he hadn’t even signed the papers yet.

[finniestoncrane]

Random ask to cheer you up as per requested of course UvU

What is one thing that happened to you that just just cannot explain? Weird event that looking back you just sit and go "yeah man that's paranormal/supernatural"?

ok ok ok omg ok it's happening and i swear if this doesn't trigger an influx of you all telling me your most creepy stories then i will RIOT because i love people telling me their spooky things ;-; anyway i'm about to rant so i'll make a read more THIS IS A WONDERFUL DISTRACTION and has cheered me up no end thank you friendo ily ;-; 💚

ok so i don't know how strong a believer i am like sometimes i'll be like "ghosts are real" and other times i'll be like "hmmmm...maybe not though" but my whole family experience a shit tonne of spooky things which i will happily rant to you about because there's are better than mine BUT THIS IS ABOUT ME >:)

so first off when i was younger like teenager i used to stick my guitar under my bedroom door because my family DID NOT KNOCK and i had these like paranoid worries about stuff, so at night especially i would put it under there like a lock so no one could get in while i was asleep and one morning i woke up and couldn't move and panicked before i realised that i had been tucked in completely, like arms under the duvet, sheets tucked tight all around me so that was weird :)

also for context until i was like 2 (?) me and my mum (and my dad god) lived with my gran (mum's mum) and while my dad was (scene missing, god only knows what he was doing my gran hated him so i can understand why he might not want to stay in that house but he was probably out with friends instead of helping look after me) gone, my mum had me in her old bedroom with her where we were sleeping. so i think my great gran had just died and she had given me this bear not long before she had passed for my birthday or something i don't know dates escape me. anyway my mum woke up in the middle of the night to me speaking just havering away to myself and the conversation went something like this

me: uh huh *long pause while i listen intently to someone speaking that my mum couldn't hear who wasn't in the room* me: uh huh *pause* me: yeah i got it *i got pick up my bear and display it to the empty room* me: yes my mum: *rolls over, hides her head under the covers, stifles a scream and just pretends she didn't hear me speaking to a ghost and tries to ignore it*

AND FINALLY

because we were roving children who's mother relied heavily on the kindness (desperation to have us because we were cute) family members for free childcare, i spent a lot of weekends at various other houses, mostly my dad's parents house, my other gran and papa, and the room me and my sister slept in when we were there always gave me weird vibes, their whole house did. but in that room there was this particular corner i couldn't go near i don't know why, logically it's because it was the least visited corner because it was just a tv there and then a sliding door to a scary dark cupboard BUT it still gave me the heebie jeebies and i only recently like last few years told my sister that because i didn't want her to be scared and so she told me that the house and that room always gave her weird vibes too, and she would hurry past the wall mounted mirror that faced that corner because she was convinced that she would catch a glimpse of someone standing in it in the reflection so like ?? we both did not vibe with that space

[mrpenguinpants]

Genshin: When you’re cold [V1]

Whenever I write these it’s always when I have a pile of requests on my desk that I said I was going to get to but never do. I even missed a day yesterday because I crashed and burned and slept the entire day haha. Might miss today too since I’m going out to see my mum. 

This is like 90% crack and 10% actual content. I’m gonna post this and proceed to have shock therapy and wipe it from my memory.

I just want to be happy and it’s cold af where I live. I’ve also learned from maagdalen that Russia is insane with snow.  

---

Today’s appreciation post goes to asoundofdrop. Ty for the love on the Childe HCs hehe. Honestly, just the fact you tag everything blows my mind because I hate tagging so just seeing you do it with my mess of tags (back when I screamed my feelings before tumblr dropped the ban hammer on me) is like wow. That’s some next level effort, wish I had that haha;; I’m just gonna say this in advance, I am so sorry for the mess of tags I’m about to drop on this. 

---

Genshin: Holding Hands [V1]

Genshin: University AU [V1]

Genshin: Roommate [V1]

Genshin: Royalty AU [V1]

[Masterlist]

---

[taglist]  <- if you want to be added, please read this first.

@hanniejji  @mikeysbike @unionwitch @musekala @twistedsunnshiii @stanzastic @akaasea @xoneaboveallx @adoring-ghost @asheseiler @childelover @dilucsz​

@youaskedfurret @snowy224 @mayumintsu​ @tigerpriestess

---

Xiao

Excuse me? What is this cold you speak of? He’s an adepti he doesn’t know what cold is. Is it a demon he’s not aware of? Should he go beat it into submission if that’ll make you feel better? He’s already gone with his spear and out to go slay this cold demon before you can explain what the hell temperature is. 

By the time he’s back, he seems so proud of himself for killing a dragonspine yeti that you don’t have the heart to tell him that was literally not what you wanted or expected him to do. Your fingers are about to break their finger kneecaps. pLEASE sir just hold my hand. 

Bad idea, he’s been outside in the cold and he’s not exactly wearing mittens so your fingers end up colder. But you’re finally holding his hand that you suck it up and cry when he does actually break your fingers because he doesn’t know what muscle control is. 

Keqing

Ruthless business woman one second and then you show up, tell her you’re cold, and she’s reduced to flustered mother hen. All she has on her are these long sleeves that all Qixing wear. Would you like some warm milk? She knows you like your milk heated to a simmer right at 187.7975 degrees Fahrenheit.

Okay, first off, who measures in fahrenheit anymore this is China Liyue. Second off, how the hell does she know that and why is it so precise? She’s already throwing whatever Liyue duties she had back at the poor worker that has no idea what possessed the normally confident and admirable Keqing into this...creature. Making new plans for a heating system in Liyue while also coddling you. 

Catch her outside at 3am pounding the snow ground, crying, as she curses Rex Lapis for making it so cold in Liyue when he’s not even the Cyro archon. Zhongli sneezed while looking over papers burning the 3am oil. Maybe he needs to go home before it gets too cold, he might be getting sick. 

Diluc

God you’re such an idiot. Didn’t you see how hard the snow was falling? I can’t believe I married someone with 2 braincells. Are you trying to give me a heart attack? What would father in the sky think if my partner died because of frost bite when I’m a goddamn pyro vision user? I can commit arson to make a make-shift fire place, I have the money for the damages. 

Dilu- NO I DON’T NEED YOUR SHIRT. IT’S -20 DEGRESS. IT’S OKAY. YOUR COAT IS ENOUGH. PUT YOUR CLAYMORE AWAY WE CANNOT SET THE KNIGHTS OF FAVONIUS HQ ON FIRE WE AREN’T EVEN NEAR THERE. KAEYA IS INSIDE- DILUC - NO COME BACK. 

Your make shift fireplace is Kaeya’s “ugly” scarf. That’s it. That’s the post. 

Amber

Oh you’re cold? It’s okay, here take her baron bunny to cuddle with while she lights a fire. She thinks she saw some boar’s in the forest, she can make her specialty and that should warm you right up! So sweet, so wholesome. Don’t worry this baron bunny won’t explode in your face, she tripled checked she wasn’t giving you a dancing bomb.

While you’re huddled around a summoning circle of baron bunny’s, nice and warm, is when she relaxes and joins you. She grins to herself and pats herself on the shoulder. See that haters, she can make her partner nice and happy without your #buffamberwhen. 

Kaeya

You’re cold? Maybe you’ve just fallen so hard for him that whenever you think of him you get cold. He never knew you cared so much it’s so cut- okok you can stop hitting him now. He’ll offer his scarf if he had one but Diluc might have burned it but he does have his tit window. 

Basically impenetrable, you could bounce bullets off it so naturally the cold bounces off. You have to tell him up front that he sound borderline crazy and the fbi are already at his door. The fbi is Diluc. So instead he offers his overcoat and asks you if you would like to join him in some cozy tavern that hopefully has heating. 

It’s a nice and comforting experience until he drags you to Angel share and you know it’s just to 1v1 Diluc in the parking lot. 

Scaramouche

lol perish 

So naturally, you grab his ridiculous hat that he wears to compensate for his gremlin height and throw it like a frisbee. 

Go fetch 

---

God, why is there no official content of you scaramouche you bitch, you’re ruining the aesthetic. This is why I only give you one point of dialogue. This isn’t even funny. It’s a therapy session. This entire post was just for me to say tit window because I didn’t get to say it in my last Kaeya fic. 

Wow, I wonder which characters I like in genshin. Could it be “wow I hate everything and everyone don’t fucking touch me” male characters??? Could it be “Head strong but are secretly adorable” female characters?? Kaeya is only there because Diluc is there. 

I had to redo all my headers because everyone was taking up so much space in their 240p quality. Keqing is the only one that actually stepped forward when it was picture day. I don’t have enough energy to care about sizing I’m sorry. 

[misscarolineshelby]

Roommates – Part Sixteen

Pairing: Cillian Murphy x Reader

Words:1,876

Warning: Fluff, Smut

Note: This plays in 2020. It’s all fiction and not based on Cillian’s real life and family.

A week had passed since you told Cillian that you loved him and, whilst you were strongly under the influence of pain medication, you remembered it.

You had, in fact, developed strong feelings for him and whilst the words left your lips accidentally when you were drowsy and half asleep, you were somewhat disappointed by the fact that he didn’t say anything.

Of course, he didn’t share the same feelings for you, you knew that much. You’ve been friends for so many years that you could hardly be surprised that he liked you as a friend and for sex, but nothing else. But, what you had expected was that he would say something, anything at all, even if it was simply confirming what you already knew.

***

You did tell your sister about it and, whilst you were surprised by the feelings you had so suddenly developed for your long-time friend, she wasn’t surprised at all.

She saw it coming as soon as she found out that you were sleeping with each other and she believed that you always had some sort of feelings for him.

In the same vein, she was sure that he felt the same about you and was probably reluctant to tell you and, with that in mind, you continued on as usual and acted as if nothing had happened.

You weren’t willing to give up your friendship and the amazing sex you have for maybes and thought that, if your sister was right, he would come around eventually, at least so you hoped.

***

Then, another week had passed and nothing had changed. At least so you thought.

Cillian asked you whether you wanted to travel to Cork with him to see his parents now that Ireland, once again, came out of lockdown and visits to family were permitted provided that you had a permit.

‘I don’t think I can Cillian. Only spouses’ you said, pointing to the pamphlet he had printed out from the Irish Covid Information website.

‘Well, we are living together, you can pretend to be my girlfriend if the police pulls us over’ he chuckled, before pleading with you.

‘You just want me to drive, don’t you’ you then said and he nodded. He hated driving long distances and it didn’t help that he had only gotten his drivers licence five years ago and failed his driving test three times when he moved back to Dublin.

‘I suppose it’s safer if I drive…so yes, I am coming’ you said somewhat amused.

‘Should I ask Ma to prepare two or one room for us?’ Cillian then asked and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes.

‘Your mother is strictly catholic and I suppose that the answer to your question depends on what you are willing to reveal to her about our little arrangement’ you joked and, of course, Cillian hadn’t even thought that far.

‘Two bedrooms’ he then confirmed before picking up the phone to let his mother know that you would be coming with him.

***

Three days later, you hit the road for the three-and-a-half-hour drive to Cork after you both had received a negative COVID test result which you took as a precaution.

As usual, Cillian’s mother was excited about the visit and you were excited too. You hadn’t seen her for about 18 months and the last time you saw her she had cooked you and your fiancé a lovely a meal.

Things were different then and you talked about your wedding and all the plans you were having in the future.

There was no pandemic to worry about and you weren’t aware of your fiancé’s indiscretions at the time while Cillian was still happily dating your somewhat crazy friend.

Now, your engagement had ended but your friendship with Cillian had evolved into something else entirely.

***

After a smooth three-and-a-half-hour drive, you pulled up in front of Cillian’s parents’ house.

They both greeted you with excitement and told you to come in quickly as it was raining.

Cillian’s father quickly carried your small suitcase to one of the guestrooms while Cillian placed his into the other. There wasn’t much space in the house and, whilst the house had four bedrooms, the corridors were rather narrow and the living area was small.

‘It’s so good to see you Y/N’ Cillian’s mum said before offering you a cup of tea which you gladly accepted.

‘The last time you visited Cork was under better circumstances, but I hope you will enjoy it nonetheless’ she then said and you thanked her for her hospitality.

You had always gotten along well with Cillian’s mother and Cillian was simply happy to see his parents again after such a long time, even if it meant that his siblings couldn’t visit them at the same time as him due to the visitation limits imposed.

As you were sitting on the sofa with Cillian’s mother you soon noticed that Cillian was gone and so did his mother.

‘He better not be stealing food’ she then huffed out sternly and, sure enough, Cillian had found the freshly baked scones in the kitchen and couldn’t resist.

‘But they are so good Ma’ you heard him argue as his mum told him to get out of the kitchen and leave the scones alone, which made you laugh.

‘He will never change’ you chuckled and his mother nodded in agreement.

‘No, he won’t’ she then said before informing you that she had made a roast for dinner.

***

After dinner and a few glasses of wine with Cillian’s parents, they headed to bed at around 8.30pm as usual, leaving you and Cillian to watch TV in the living room.

You were quick to spread your legs out over Cillian’s laps, getting yourself more comfortable but being vary that his parents might walk in on you.

But, Cillian seemed to think that, once they went to bed, they would pretty much go to sleep right away and proceeded to pull you onto his lap.

‘I missed this today’ he said before he caressed your face and kissed you gently.

‘Me too’ you then giggled before returning the kiss rather quickly.

‘Do you want to go to my bedroom or yours?’ he then winked and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes.

‘Your parents are in the house Cillian’ you then said and, just as you did, you heard some footsteps in the hallway behind you.

You quickly jumped off Cillian’s lap and sat on the lounge like a well-behaved schoolgirl as his mother walked by to get a glass of water while Cillian covered up his erection, poking against the denim of his jeans, with a cushion.

‘Night Ma’ he then said and she couldn’t help but laugh before saying ‘good night’ again.

‘I am not going to have sex at your parents house’ you then huffed out quietly when his mother had left.

‘Alright, let’s go for drive then’ he suggested.

‘A drive? And how will you explain this to your mother tomorrow?’ you laughed and Cillian suggested to tell her that you forgot some toiletries and he drove to the shop to get them.

‘Supermarket closes in 30 minutes, let’s go’ he said and you couldn’t really say no to him.

***

Ten minutes later you arrived at a secluded area near the beach and you could just tell that Cillian had been there before.

‘Is this where you used to take your girlfriends when you were at high school and snatched your parents’ combi even though you didn’t have a driver’s licence?’ you asked, having heard about these stories from his brother before.

‘Yeah, it’s a good spot, nice and quiet’ Cillian winked as he reclined his seat and you quickly stripped down to your bra and panties.

‘Oh my god Cillian I feel like an 18-year-old again, sneaking out of the house to make out’ you laughed and, just before you could protest, Cillian reached inside your panties and slowly stroked your mound.

‘Just that, this time, it will actually be worth your while’ Cillian smirked as he ran his forefinger between the crease of your pussy and noticed the moistness which had already built there.

‘Hmm yes, it will be Cillian’ you moaned as he was rubbing your clit with his left hand and with his right hand was caressing your breasts.

You were quick to release his hard cock from his jeans as well and began jerking him in time with his clitoral stimulation and the heat inside the car was palpable.

‘So naughty…what if we get caught?’ you huffed out, knowing that Cillian had a kink for semi-public sex.

‘It’s worth the risk’ he groaned and, before long, you were gazing up from the seat with that wanton look in your eyes, pulling Cillian closer and uttering cues while he fingered your pussy and mouthed your firm nipples with his welcoming mouth.

‘I need you inside me Cillian’ you moaned as you were welcoming two fingers into your waiting slit and could not be distracted, even by the crackling sounds outside and the sound of the radio.

‘Come on then’ Cillian groaned as you continued to stroke him and, just as he invited you to take what you needed so badly, you let go off his cock and climbed on top of him.

He pressed the head of his cock against your awaiting pussy and you slowly sank down on him.

‘Oh god yes fuck’ you moaned as his cock disappeared into your tight vagina, expanding your love tunnel while he met your lips with his. Your mouths parted and your tongues communicated the instant of union as Cillian��s cock drove slowly into your warm pussy. You were lost in their unity while your reality transformed around them.

‘You feel so fucking good’ Cillian groaned as you were moving in perfect motion with Cillian’s penetration and your thighs were even perforated with the moisture that was coming out of your pussy.

Your rocking continued and you were now joining orally with diatribes as Cillian’s cock bottomed out again and again inside you. ‘Fuck’ you uttered as his big balls pressed against your bottom.

Your warm tunnel was wide for his cock and your eyes were fixed on the mechanistic ramming of Cillian’s body in its hedonistic role.

‘I am cumming…fuck’ you moaned with the ever fastening in and out rhythms that Cillian was delivering to your womanhood. Cillian too was groaning and you put a hand underneath his balls while he pounded you and the car shook.

With your screams and loss of control inside erotic orgasm, Cillian too lost control and filled your cavity with his warm seed.

‘Fuck, Y/N, I love…’ Cillian began to say but, just as he did, there was a nock on the window of the car on the driver’s side next to Cillian, interrupting what he was about to say.

‘Please lower your window…’ a man said from outside and you could see some flashing lights behind where the car was parked.

 Tag List:

@lilymurphy03 @deefigs @theflamecrystal @desperate-and-broken @weepingstudentfishhorse @livinginfantaxy @rosey1981 @atomicsoulcollecto @peakyboyslover @nerdy4itall@elenavampire21 @hanster1998@mariapaiva13 @fairypitou @harry-is-your-sunflower @zozeebo @lauren-raines-x @kasaikawa @littlewierdalien @sad-huffle-nerd @theflamecrystal @peakymalfoyscullymulder @themissthang@0ghostwriter0 @stylescanbeatmyback @1-800-peakyblinders @datewithgianni @momoneymolife @ntmynouis @lilymurphy03 @mcntsee@cloudofdisney@missymurphy1985@peakymalfoyscullymulder @otterly-fey @janelongxox @uchihacumdump @basiclassy @being-worthy @chaotic-bean-of-smolness @margoo0 @chocolatehalo @vhscillian @ysmmsy @littlewierdalien @crazymar15 @stickyknightflowerbailiff @im-constantly-fangirling @goldensunflowe-r @tellingyouastory @captivatedbycillianmurphy​ @namelesslosers​ @littlewhiterose​ @ttzamara​ @ttzamara @cilleveryone ​

@peaky-cillian @queenyshelby ​

@severewobblerlightdragon​ @ysmmsy​ @midnightmystic

[angsty-twihardxx]

Heartbreak Led me Back to You | E.M

Chapter 6 | It’s Always Been You

|Prologue |Chapter 1| Chapter 2| Chapter 3| Chapter 4| Chapter 5| Chapter 6|

Pairing: Eddie Munson x fem!reader

Summary | You and Eddie were childhood friends, best friends even. When your life changes drastically you run away from Hawkins, leaving Eddie and Wayne without a goodbye. But when things go wrong she has no choice but to go back, a second chance for the two to finally admit their feelings.

Warnings | (18+ MINORS GO AWAY) Adult Themes that some may find upsetting, mentions of abuse, alcohol/drug abuse,  swearing, angst, sexual references and smut, which i grazed over because it’s my first time writing it like ever. Pls let me know if I missed anything x

A/N | Sorry it’s definitely been a while, the past month have been rough. But yall lovely comments made me want to finish this single chapter that has taken me far too long to finish and is probably a hot mess x

Taglist | @haylaansmi​​, @aedicn​​, @kimmi-kat​​, @lil-quinnie​​ @thirddeadlysin​​ (if you would like to be added to the series taglist lemme know x)

White lace curtains splayed the rosy sunlight over the soft white bed sheets, as it crept up towards your face as the sun moved in the sky. Your cheeks grow a warm shade of pink, reacting to the sudden heat. 

A soft padder crept towards the closed bedroom door, its creaking echoed through the empty home. Your eyes squinted awake at the sound invading your quiet morning, a gentle giggle coming from behind you. Smiling, you stifled your own laugh so as to not stop your son from whatever scheme he was planning. 

There was a dip on the opposite side of where you laid on the bed, a grunt from Chris trying to get up onto the bed on his own. If you weren’t pretending to sleep right now you would roll over and lift him up into your arms, like the two of you would most mornings. 

Eventually he made it onto the mattress beside you and pounced onto your frame, feigning surprise you let out a shriek. “You scared me!” Menacing laughter filled the room as your son seemed extremely satisfied with himself, his smile was enough to make you happy no matter what time he would wake you. “Do you remember what today is?” You sang into Christopher's cheek, wrapping your arms around his middle, giving you perfect access to pepper kisses along his cheek. 

Happy squeals filled your ears, a small happy moment that you could look back on when he grew too big to let you do this anymore. “Yes Mummy! It’s Grandpa Wayne’s birthday.” He laughed, dropping his head on your chest. “Y’know what it means don’t you?” 

“Pancakes!” Christopher screamed happily, making you chuckle. It was what you always did for birthdays, in Pittsburgh it was sacred to have pancakes for breakfast. Something the Munsons introduced to you, a very long time ago. Because even when there was no money for a present, little things like making your favorite pancakes was how they showed each other that they cared– and you wanted to return the favour. 

“Mum, is Uncle Wayne going to put chocolate in my pancakes?” 

“Well I guess you're going to have to ask him.” He was, matter of fact, he bought a whole bag of them just because you mentioned Chris liked them, and even on his birthday he still wanted to spoil Christopher.

Opening the door, Chris handed you the present the two of you had carefully picked before running up behind Wayne and wrapping his arms around his legs. “Happy birthday!” His voice muffled  against Wayne's shirt, who couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.

Letting out a grunt he picked up the boy, the two of them having their own conversation. You watched as the older man strenuously starred as your son excitedly explained how you helped him pick out the ‘perfect present.’ 

“Mummy, the present!” Chris attempted to whisper, which was futile but you handed the unwrapped ‘best grandpa’ mug into his small hands, letting him give it to Wayne. You tried your hardest to ignore the guilt for the fact that you kept this from Wayne for years. He definetly deserved more than a novelty mug.

“Thank you darling, this is the best gift an old man could ask for.” Wayne had put Chris down and made his way to engulf you in a tight embrace. “Sorry it took so long.”

“No matter, you're here now. I can rest easy.” He placed a gentle peck on your forehead before moving his hand up to rustle your hair. Not being a stickler for sharing emotions, typical man. 

Letting them two be, you decided to make your way down the hallway to a familiar bedroom. Before you even managed to walk through the doorframe you managed to trip over a dirty shirt that found its way to the floor, some things just never change. 

“Jesus Eddie, your cleaner take the day off or something?” Picking up a pile of dirty clothes you lugged them into your arms and dropped them all on top of the lump on the bed that was Eddie. He grumbled with annoyance, pushing the clothes off of him. “Nah she’s right here.” He mumbled into his pillow, clearly still tired and grumpy. 

“Oh come on you big baby, don’t make me call Chris to wake you up.” You whispered into his ear, his frizzy morning curls tickling your face as you do so. He turned around, mortified. Remembering the loud child squeal and pain in his back from being jumped on. “You wouldn’t dare.” 

“Don’t tempt me.” You sang, no mercy in your voice. That was until his calloused hand wrapped around your wrist and pulled you into the bed. Landing on top of Eddie with a soft ‘ooft’, his arms wrapped around your middle tightly, no room for escape. “Alright, let me go, you menace.” 

“And let you leave? No way, who knows what evil is lurking out those doors.” 

“I reckon we're safe, don’t think anything else is getting through that mountain of mess.” You joked, but being sincere, this boy sure was a pig at times. But you guess that was just a part of Eddie that made him Eddie. 

“Mummy! Mummy!” Chris screamed as he ran into Eddie's room, startling him in the process. Eddie then released you from his grip, letting you fall beside him on the bed. “Chris what is it?” You returned his excitement, ignoring the grumbles coming from the man beside you. Eddie’s wild mane was fuzzy from his deep sleep, sticking out all over the place. The sight of it made Chris laugh. “Mummy, Daddy’s here!” 

You froze at the mention of your son's father, and by the lack of movement coming from behind you, you figured Eddie felt the same. Turning over your shoulder, he matched your concerned eyes, not before giving your hand a tight reassuring squeeze. 

Looking out the kitchen window you saw his car parked out by your trailer, he was actually here? 

You couldn’t quite pinpoint the ache in your chest, was it anger? Fear? Or were you glad he was here? Mm, very reluctant on the latter. 

“Y’alright?” Wayne’s eyes softened, placing a reassuring hand on your shoulder. You nodded, knowing that if you spoke, your words would fail you. The sound of the door shutting behind you startled Michael where he stood by his car, turning around to face you, amusement on his face. “Should’ve known you’d be over there.”

“What are you doing Michael?” You sighed, shrugging your shoulders as you walked towards him. He scoffed at you, “I’m doing what you told me to remember?” God he was so condescending. “You couldn’t wait to do this any other day?”

“Oh I’m sorry, does today not work for you?” He mocked, slamming a flat hand on the top of his car.

‘Your not the only person who is busy Michael!’ A previous argument, a long time ago, first of many between the two of you. Because heaven forbid he has to work around someone else’s schedule. “Jesus Christ– we’re celebrating a birthday, and no- it’s not your sons in case you forgot.”

“Just– Can I just get what I came for? Then I’ll piss off and you never have to deal with me.” He seethed, trying not to react, that would be a first, doesn’t want to perform in front of an audience. “Fine.” You sighed, turns out he wasn’t even here to see Chris, this was going to break his heart. 

Michael followed behind you as you walked towards your trailer, walking in and shutting the door behind the both of you. Eddie did not like this one bit, he could feel the rage boiling over as he stood by the door and watched you disappear into your home. “Just leave it boy.” Wayne sighed, knowing exactly what Eddie was thinking- because he was thinking it too. But instead chose to turn his attention to Chris, who sat at the table waiting to be handed his pancakes, his attention span shortening and forgetting all about his Dad’s arrival. 

But Eddie couldn’t just leave it, not after knowing all the horrible things he did to you- no way.

Back at your trailer, you leaned against the kitchen counter and picked up the pile of paperwork that Michael so desperately wanted. As you held them in your hand your eyes wandered to a particular photo of you and Christopher, one of you holding him not long after he was born. You remembered the tears that fell from your husband's face as you took a photo of you and your newborn son. Tears tried to form but you pushed them back down, you didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of letting him see you cry. “I don’t know how you can do this Michael, divorcing me? Sure I get that, but Chris I– he’s just a boy Michael, he’s your son.” You looked up at him, for the first time in a long while, there was no malice in your voice, no venomous eyes leering at him. Simply asking, how he could leave him behind. 

“Jesus Y/N, I’m not doing this with you alright?” Michael bit back, snatching the paper right out of your hand. You gasped softly, hiding the fact that his sudden harsh movements made you jump. 

“Well when Michael? When he’s twenty one and he's an adult that you can get drunk in a bar with?” 

“Y/N.” He seethed, his eyes sending you a warning glare. Almost challenging you, but today you had enough. He had no power over you anymore. “And just so you know, this was probably for the best. I mean Eddie’s done more for Chris in a few months than you have his entire life.” This made Michael's head snap back at you, “You're letting that freak near him?” He growled, his large frame sauntered towards you, making you step back till your back hit the counter. “Yeah I am, you kicked us out remember?”

‘Fuck!’ Eddie yelled and whispered to himself as he walked in circles in his room. His hands vibrated with anger, knuckles white while trying to rake through his knotty hair. He felt so angry. 

At Michael, for coming along after the two of you had really started getting close again. Then he decides to show up and ruin everything. And god– he was angry at you too, for stopping him. 

 All the shit that asshole put you through and you defended him. It didn’t make any sense to him. He grimaced from the pain on his face, his now split lip stung reminding him of the fight with Michael that left it there. 

‘What do you mean what is wrong with me, I help you and I get yelled at.’ Eddie was too busy grumbling and remembering your argument to notice you leaning in the doorway. “You done?” Your eyebrow raised inquisitively at him, but there was no amusement in your voice. More of a ‘I’m too tired for this shit’ tone, one that Eddie didn’t like to be on the receiving end of.

Your sudden presence made Eddie straighten up to look at you, you looked exhausted. Spending the last few hours trying to reassure your son that everything was okay had really taken it out of you. Though he was asleep now so you could spend the afternoon trying to figure out what to tell him.

“Well whenever you're done with whatever it is you're doing, I have a first aid kit at home.”

And with that, you were gone, leaving Eddie to stand in the middle of his room like an idiot. “Boy, you better get going over there and fix this.” Wayne called out from the kitchen, making Eddie let out a frustrated groan. He knew that he needed to fix this, he never liked it when things were tense between the two of you. You could be really nasty when you were angry. 

There was a heavy silence, the slammed cupboard doors almost made Eddie jump. He knows you're mad at him, hell he’s mad at himself. But he also knew that if the situation called for it, he would do it again. Your heavy footsteps ascended down the hallway, back to the small round dining table where Eddie sat with an ice pack on his cheek. You eventually let out a huff before standing in between in his now open lap, assessing the wounds.

Your home was devoid of all the warmth you had spent months creating. Everything you had built crumbled down the second Michael waltzed his way into the trailer park. Crushing his newly polished boots into the dirt as he did the same with what little strength you had left. Eddie could see the emptiness in your eyes, the resemblance in them to someone who has no more fight left in them. It simply broke his heart, never in his life had he seen you look so defeated. Considering everything that life had thrown at you, you kept going. 

“Let me see.” Your voice was flat, bringing your attention to Eddie’s face, waiting for him to move his hand holding the ice pack out the way.  The cut just above his eyebrow was still bleeding, you simply couldn’t hold back the sigh that left your mouth. 

Eddie’s eyes bored into you, watching you as your own eyes ghosted his– too busy attending to the cuts on his face. His hand snaked up to brush against the outer edge of your thigh, simply just needing to touch you. “Y/N?” Eddie’s voice was a soft whisper, if you weren’t inches away from him you may not have heard him. 

“This is going to sting” You warned, ignoring him before gently dabbing the rubbing alcohol on his skin. Eddie grimaced at the sting near his eye, or maybe it was the fact that you continued to work on his face rather than talking to him. Like he could give a shit, a cool scar would be pretty metal. “C’mon Y/N, talk to me please.” He pleaded, moving out of your grasp so he could focus on you, your face was unreadable. For the first time, he didn’t know how to approach you. 

“What do you want me to say Eddie.” You scoffed ridiculously at the boy in front of you. “Do you want me to lie and say that I’m not really pissed off.” Your cheeks reddened in anger as your voice got louder. “No, god I expect you to be mad at me. I just want to know how to fix this.” 

“Well you stop doing stupid shit like this for one! I can’t have Chris growing up thinking this is normal Eddie.” 

“I know, I do. it’s just, when I saw him standing over you like that I just got– so angry.” You watched him carefully, his knuckles turning white just at the memory of this morning's events. Then suddenly it all made sense, it wasn’t a boost in ego to kick Michaels ass. No, it was all for you. Your face softened at the thought, you took the seat beside you and moved to sit before him. Letting your hand snake up to his tense ones, softening at the contact. “I’m okay Eddie, he can’t hurt me anymore.” 

“That’s not the point Y/N, this all could have been avoided if I just told you how I felt.” Eddie whispered, mainly talking to himself but you definitely caught it. 

“Tell me what Eddie?”

“How I wanted to kick Michaels ass that night when you two were at the lake. I wanted to tell you that I loved you, that you didn’t have to leave me. That I would take care of you. And I regretted it every single day, because I missed out.” 

“Eddie.” You let out a shuddered breath, no words could fall out of your mouth. He felt the same way, this whole time. Suddenly you became self aware how close the two of you were, lips ghosting one another.

“C’mon princess, I gotta know if you feel the same.” Eddie pleaded, moving forward as he cupped your cheeks in his hand. It felt like your heart was going to stop, you never thought you would hear the day where Eddie told you he loved you. Sure you had dreamed of the day, but actually hearing him say it made your knees weak. “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to hear you say that.” 

That was all Eddie needed to hear, before he latched his lips on yours. This time the kiss was exceptionally different, hungry lips were glued to yours. Unlike the time you shared in your room, 

Your arms wrapped around his neck, letting his brown curls tickle your skin. 

Eddie’s hand latched onto the back of your head, tugging your hair as he pulled your mouth harder onto his. “Should’ve done this when I had the chance.” Eddie breathed against your mouth, taking short breaths. 'Y'know I would’ve let you too.” You moaned at the sensation pooling down to your core as his mouth began trailing down to your neck. His teeth, nicking the sensitive skin and then peppering kisses on the bruising skin. 

A quiet squeal erupts from you as two large hands grip onto the back of your legs and pull you into Eddie's lap. His erection poked through his jeans against your entrace as he wrapped his arms tightly around your waist. You thanked yourself for wearing your loose sundress in accordance with the warm weather, only your thin material separating you from Eddie's growing member. 

“How about you get rid of these pants, pretty boy?” You breathed out in between wet kisses.   Eddie swore he was about to explode, in his pants literally. He complies quickly, his hands clumsily unzip his jeans and shimmies them down past his thighs, your eyes widened at the sight in front of you. Your mouth agape as you take in his size, ignoring the ache in between your legs.

“This alright?” Eddie whispered, pulling you even further onto his lap till your chests were flushed against each other, Eddie’s erection throbbing against your soaked underwear. “Can feel how wet you are sweetheart.” 

“Eddie, please.” You groaned out into his mouth, your entire body was begging for him. 

Your body silently begging for his

“What do you need sweetheart?” His large fingers trailed down your thighs to where they met in between your legs, pulling the thin material to the side as he grazed your folds. A small gasp erupts from you, your hands tightening as they dig into his shoulders. 

“N-need you Eddie.” Whining into him, your chest heaved in anticipation as he wasted no time lifting you up to line you up with his bright red tip. “Oh fuck babe, you feel so good.” Eddie’s head fell back as he pushed your hips flush onto his, burying himself deep inside you.

As soon as you sat flush on his thighs you felt him twitch inside you, instinctively you rolled your hips teasingly on him, his fingertips bruising your skin as he helped guide you. “Holy shit Eddie.” You gasped as the tip of his cock hit all the right places, a tight knot forming in the bottom of your stomach. “Yeah you getting close?” Eddie let out a shuddered breath as he felt your walls clench around him, feeling his own orgasm roll in. 

Your breathing resorts to shallow pants as you near your high, your fingers digging into his skin as you gripped onto his shoulders for dear life, you doubted your ex-husband had ever made you feel this good. 

Your eyes shot open at the brief mention of Michael, but he wasn’t here, he wasn’t the one behind the poetic moans in your ear. It was Eddie. He was the one making you feel this good, the glistening body from the sheer layer of sweat was his. Eddie had always been the one to make you feel better, you were okay with him. 

“Fuck, you're tightening up.” He moans, eyes infatuated with how your pussy dripped with his cock plunging in and out of you, “you close, baby?” All you could do was nod in response, too busy focusing on the sound of skin slapping as Eddie guided your hips in the air so he could push you back down, allowing his cock to go even deeper. 

Your legs quivered, your pussy clenching on Eddie’s cock as he continued to push you on to him relentlessly. “Shit sweetheart, you close?” 

“Please Eddie, keep going right there- please.” His curly locks tangled in your fingers as you gripped onto them tightly, a quiet moan escaping from the both of you. “Y-yeah alright, I’ll take care of you.” His hot breath in your ears sent shivers down your spine. 

Eventually, the pressure got too much, the knot in your stomach suddenly unravelling. Turning you into a whimpering, blubbering mess that quivered on Eddie’s lap. Your pussy clenching on him mercilessly.  Eddie gave in then too, barely able to keep himself together, harder than ever as his cock sat deep inside you, throbbing for release. Your own orgasm sending him over the edge. You pressed your face to the crook of his neck as your hips twitched, your entire body became rigid against his as Eddie continued to fuck his hips up into you. Gasping at how tight you got around him, his arms wrapped themselves around your waist to hold you to him as he came. 

The two of you laid limp on one another, moments passed before either of you spoke, simply regaining your breath. You let out a content sigh, Eddie’s hands softened from your waist as he curled his fingers along your spine. His free hand reaches up to cup your chin to tilt your face up towards his, bringing your mouth to his for a soft open mouth kiss. "You're so pretty," he blurted out, moaning into your mouth. 

It was at this moment your eyes shot open when you realised the situation you were in, did you actually do this? You had thought about this moment for so long, you were worried that you were going to wake up and it was all going to be a dream. 

"What on your lap?" You smirked, cocking a teasing eyebrow at him. "N-no, well yes," he dragged as a devilish smirk appeared on his mouth. “But I mean it though, you really are beautiful.” You returned him with a chaste kiss on his plump red lips, grinning from ear to ear. 

You hadn’t felt this happy with him in such a long time, it felt like this was how it was meant to be. The two of you tangled in each other, sweaty limbs clung to each other as both of your chests heaved. Eddie’s eyes softened as he combed his long fingers through your hair, tucking the strands behind your ear. 

“I meant everything that I said by the way.” 

“So did I.”