#i only got through page 9 of 18 of my bookmarks

[rayningnight]

Star Wars - Ray’s Fic Recs List - Feb 2023

AU, Time Travel, Dimension Travel, Crossovers, etc. Fic Recs List. Mostly Obi-Wan centric! Mostly GEN and Mandalorian-friendly. Relationships specified in the turn-offs too. Please mind the trigger warnings in the turn-offs/TOs. 💫 are my current favourites!

For Want of a Nail

Pre-Episode I

How one (1) mission changed mission reports for all by jemtessaremuslupin Review: Obi-Wan isn’t taken back by Master Qui-Gon Jinn, and becomes a Floater Padawan. His reports are... interesting. Part 2 is where this fic series shines! Work in progress, as of 12 Aug 2022. Words: 31,473. Works: 3

Be that monster you've been wanting by otherpeoplescoats Review: Imagine if Dooku took Obi-Wan as his padawan when he was 10 years old. Work in progress, as of 12 May 2022.  Words: 29,164. Chapters: 12/?

Episode I

Tatooine Gusha by Natural_Logarhythm Review: Master Qui-Gon lost Obi-Wan on Bandomeer. Ben ends up in Tatooine, raising Anakin. This is an interesting storytelling method, where we see Ben’s voice at the beginning when he’s already back at the Order, explaining Episode I in his POV. Work in progress, as of 03 Feb 2023.  Words: 51,592. Chapters: 11/15

A Novel Alignment by quomores Review: Imagine in Darth Plagueis took in Obi-Wan. (This is not a happy fic.) “Sith Family Comedy,” indeed. I have mixed feelings overall after finishing,  but I still think it’s a fic worth reading, this bleak world is- hm). Complete, as of 20 Jun 2020.  Words: 62,291. Chapters: 21/21

Cin Vhetin, Ogir'Olar (New Beginnings, One way or Another) by pureimagination Review: Okay, so the premise is that Obi-Wan gets separated from Satine and ends up losing his memories under torture from Death Watch, and this fic starts off 6 years after this, when Ben aliit Mereel ends up preventing Galidraan, and walks the path only Tarre Vizla has ever walked before. SUPER fast updates! Author write 4 chapters ahead and keeps a speedy schedule, and has already posted a sequel! Complete, as of 30 Jan 2023. Words: 28,260. Chapters: 17/17 TO: Character Death

Post-Episode I

Just Go Kill Palpatine by nevertheless_turtle Review: Yes. Obi-Wan is given the sus truth from Quinlan and responds not as a Jedi but as the caretaker for Anakin, thus exposing Palpatine’s hand early. I dearly hope this updates! The memes in the end too, are just *chef’s kiss*. Work in progress, as of 24 May 2021. Words: 6,832. Chapters: 4/5

Men of Power by AlabasterInk Review: So, so many father-son feels between Obi-Wan and Anakin here! The what-if where people DO second guess why Old Sheeve Palpatine wants access to tiny padawan Anakin here? Work in progress, as of 04 Jan 2021. Words: 86,177. Chapters: 11/?  TO: Gaslighting.

💫 Sith Killer by Livsy Review: This takes canon a bit sideways, because a Sith is not just a title here. Work in progress, as of 20 Dec 2022. Words: 107,559. Chapters: 27/40

Where We’re Going by Thousand_elf Review: Can we just keep giving Anakin some hobbies? This is great. The glassblowing fic! Work in progress, as of 26 Dec 2021. Words: 8,436. Chapters: 2/?

dead and the gold by Icarus_is_flying Review: This is not a fix-it. This is a what-if: Orders 66, during Episode I. Obi-Wan runs to his ex-grandmaster, because at least he’s not a hunted Jedi, right? Work in progress, as of 25 Dec 2020. Words: 115,123. Chapters: 27/? TO: Gaslighting.

Stand By Me (What's in a Padawan?) by ShawnArms Review: Give Obi-Wan a padawan, so give him therapy too! Master Nu really is the best. Throw in some positivity and Tatooine Slave Culture realizations and... tada! Work in progress, as of 25 Dec 2022. Words: 40,138. Chapters: 10/?

The Making of Mand'alor Kryze by phoenixyfriend Review: If Satine died and it turns out Korkie Kryze was Obi-Wan’s son with her? Love the justification that Obi-Wan has to call Anakin his son... Work in progress, as of 18 Oct 2022. Words: 3,916. Chapters: 3/?

💫  Obi-Wan Declares Himself Dad Shaped by phoenixyfriend Review: There seems to be a trend here... but nevertheless, this is such fantastic voicing, for the POV Outsider. Complete, as of 19 Sep 2021. Words: 2,403. Chapters: 2/2

💫  General Kenobi and the Twins by phoenixyfriend Review: Obi-Wan is trying to train Anakin here, and then comes his future-self straight out of a war with two babies in tow. Lovely. Wish there was more in this ‘verse! Complete, as of 11 Nov 2021. Words: 13,174. Chapters: 2/2

Episode II

💫 Shifting the Blame Around by Machina_Fun_T Review: Anakin places the blame on the Senate instead of the Jedi. This skews his views on a lot of different people. Complete, as of 14 Jan 2023.  Words: 17,680. Works: 3

The Ground Beneath Us by stolen_pen_name23 Review: Basically if Obi-Wan put the walker in Skywalker. If only one simple change could have happened for real... Complete, as of 27 Nov 2021. Words: 7,566. Chapters: 4/4

General Jocasta by BairnSidhe Review: Give the librarian the leadership to organize an army and well... Complete, as of 03 May 2022. Words: 18,474. Chapters: 8/8

there is no death (there is a wedding) by virdant Review: Crack. Pure, but hilarious. Excerpt: “Married?” Obi-Wan squeaked. He was unfortunately going through puberty. “What do you mean, I’m married now? I’m a Jedi! I can’t get married.” Or: Obi-Wan accidentally marries a ghost. Only... Jango isn’t dead. Complete, as of 11 Jan 2021.  Words: 8,759. Works: 5. TO: ...Technically Jangobi? I mean. Just see for yourself. (Or just read P1 and P2.)

Episode III:

The Vagabond Crew by StephanieStephanie Review: What if Anakin didn’t Fall and ran away with the younglings? It’s not actually that long, and it paints a bleak picture still, but this some-what-of-a-fix-it isn’t a new hope, but many hopes still burning. My heart... WIP as of 16 March, 2021. Words: 19,185. Chapters: 31/?

Sacrifice by Artikka Review: Obi-Wan watches the video of Order 66 with Yoda. There’s a different hurt, here. Even as my heart shrivels up and twists more tears out.... this is still a better 'verse than canon. WIP as of 5 Sept 2020. Words: 6,976. Works: 2. TO: Character Death.

Post-Episode III

💫  Knightrise by deviantaccumulation Review: I think I’ve reread this like four times. There’s so much going on in this ‘verse where we get into the heads of the survivors of a genocide, of Vader, and the bonds between all. The nail here though, is Obi-Wan convincing Yoda away from a fight, from fighting Vader at all, and saving the cinders of the Order. Work in progress, as of 03 Dec 2021. Words: 89,475. Chapters: 27/?

Unmasked by Mallow_of_the_Marsh Review: There isn’t a central character to this one, but it delves into the consequences of the whole Galaxy seeing the Jedi Temple getting gunned down. Complete, as of 12 Dec 2022. Words: 16,673. Chapters: 6/6

sun of my right hand by loosingletters Review: I need more fics like this one, where Obi-Wan raises Luke himself. Work in progress, as of 01 Mar 2021. Words: 4,307. Chapters: 6/?

inheritance by jesuisdeux Review: Grandpa Dooku gifts his life savings to Obi-Wan. Some officer shows up at Ben’s doorstep on Tatooine. Yes. Now we await for part 2 in this series... Complete, as of 14 Mar 2021. Words: 4,737. Chapters: 1/1

Time Travel

Pre-Episode I 

Hope Like a Blade, Intolerable by berrymascarpone Review: Would you like your heart shattered, just a little bit? Obi-Wan is born crying, remembering his death. Complete, as of 22 Apr 2020. Words: 2,716 Chapters: 1/1

Whispers of the Future by cywsaphyre Review: Oldie and goodie from ffnet. Author’s stopped writing, so read knowing that Obi-Wan may see the future, but we may never see the future of this fic. WIP as of 28 Jul 2012. Words: 37,640. Chapters: 5/?

💫 One Hundred Hours To Rearrange The Stars by soft_but_gremlin Review: PLEASE READ THIS. Part 1 is completed and Part 2 is a WIP and it’s just glorious seeing Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka in teeny-tiny bodies being cared for by Mandalorians and Jedi on Galidraan. Work in progress, as of  03 Feb 2023. Words: 41,319. Works: 2

💫 Change in the air by Ancathepurple Review: Obi-Wan travelling back after his death in canon to his 13-year-old-body fic on the ride back to the Temple after Melida-Daan. The trauma of a General is much worse in everyone’s eyes, and the ‘genius’ he shows by accident... yes, all of this, YES. Peggy Sue-ish, but I’m living for the family lineage feels. I’ve reread this twice already... Work in progress, 18 Nov 2021. Words: 34,521 Chapters: 14/?

Who you are today (is not who you have to be tomorrow) by wildimaginingsofhalfbakedideas Review: Another Obi-Wan travelling back in time to his 13-year-old-body fic, but this time, he hails the True Mandalorians for help since he knows their views on children. There’s quite a bit of mando’a throughout the fic, as Obi-Wan leaves with the True Mandalorians. Work in progress, as of 29 Jan 2023. Words: 69,612 Chapters: 20/?

Time and Time Again by seriouslythoughwhat Review: This has a lot of potential and I hope it’ll continue one day! Basically, if Ben was sent back to his 14(?) yo body, before Xanatos is found, but after Melida-Daan. Work in progress, as of 13 June 2020. Words: 12,168, Chapters: 3/?

💫 a comedy in four acts by jesuisdeux Review: There isn’t another fic out there that captures this kind of prose, at least not one that I’ve found. It’s funny and definitely written by some English major out there who was like: what if we had not-gonna-take-your-shit Master Obi-Wan and living-to-spite-the-world Grandpa Dooku deciding to change the plot.  Words: 17,263. Chapters: 4/4

undeserving fall (this kind of sunlit love) by loosingletters Review: I’m putting this FIRST - Turn-Off: Luke/Palpatine. Yes, you read this crack right. This is crack treated seriously. I gave this fic a chance and so maybe everyone should? Redeeming Palpatine is never something most fics do. Complete, as of 19 Mar 2021. Words: 9,662. Chapters: 1/1

💫 General Kenobi and the Twins by phoenixyfriend Review: Snapshot of post-Episode III Obi-Wan, twins in each arm, walking into Knight Obi-Wan’s meditation session with bb!Anakin. I literally want SO MUCH MORE of this. Complete, as of 11 November 2021. Words: 13,174 Chapters: 2/2

Episode II  

💫 Ashes To Ashes, Dust To Dust by Livsy Review: OMG OMGOMG THIS IS JUST. PERFECTION. The POV Outsider from Anakin’s view on a changed Obi-Wan and how THIS Obi-Wan treats him. ;-; I have no words how much I love the hurt/comfort vibes. Work in progress, as of 29 Jan 2023.  Words: 24,477 Chapters: 9/10

Looking Glass by Livsy Review: Another Obi-Wan time travelling to the past; but he carries a Sith lightsaber. Misunderstanding ensue. Work in progress, as of 08 Aug 2022.  Words: 18,451. Chapters: 7/?

💫 Living Memory, My Fate to Follow by elsa3beth Review: Ben here really doesn't know his self worth and I hope that this journey not only saves the galaxy, but saves himself. Props also on handling the mental issues, the moral issues, the politics and the military! Definitely a favourite! WIP, as of 13 November 2021. Words: 353,548. Chapters: 30/40

Visions in Red by likethesoda Review: So, imagine if jedi and clones recall the canon future-that-would-be. I wasn’t sure to put categorize this as time travel but the memories time travelled? I digress. It’s amazing to see how people react to Anakin, how Anakin reacts, and though horrifying, this is also comforting? That they are all alive, and can maybe, possibly, do something. Work in progress, as of 06 June 2022.  Words: 16,546. Chapters: 6/? 

💫 Birds Fly in Different Directions by Triscribe Review: One by one, jedi recall their deaths in the future. Yes. YES. Complete, as of 15 Dec 2022. Words: 14,666 Chapters: 3/3

desecrate my lungs by loosingletters Review: Let’s have Vaderkin wake up in the body of General Skywalker, and he forgets to breathe, because he’s been in a suit for two decades. Work in progress, as of 12 Dec 2020. Words: 16,050 Chapters: 8/?

a distant fire is burning by e_va Review: Cal Kestis travels back in time and ends up in his 10-year-old body, sent off to be Obi-Wan Kenobi’s padawan, and everyone deals with the consequences. I love the perspective and I want to see more of the changes in dynamics with this new addition to the dysfunctional Jedi lineage! Work in progress, as of 23 Jan 2023. Words: 40,214 Chapters: 7/?

They Don't Care About Us by ironhoshi Review: Here is another Cal-centric fic! With an added time traveller: Boba Fett! Imagine if these two interrupting Obi-Wan’s meeting with Jango at Kamino, and ends up causing much confusion and interesting changes to the world. Work in progress, as of 27 Feb 2022. Words: 62,215. Chapters: 33/? TO: Obi-Wan/Jango

(I Promise) This Time Will be Different by Nation_Ustria Review: Yes, here’s a third one with Cal. I love the conversations and the interactions with the clones in this one! Seriously... There’s something about these fics... Work in progress, as of 05 Nov 2022.  Words: 21,975 Chapters: 7/?

To Fix the Shattered Past by Forever_A_Thief Review: Throw Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka from the Clone Wars into child bodies during Melida-Daan, and stir. I love the Grandpa Dooku vibes here. Sometimes it’s nice to have fics without the dark side showing in Anakin and Dooku, y’know? Work in progress, as of 22 Jan 2023.  Words: 35,976 Chapters: 10/?

Stop All The Clocks by Panda_2703 Review: This fic has Obi-Wan thrown into the body of his General body, and he attempts, through his trauma of dying four years into his exile on Tatooine, to save whoever he can 8 months before the end of the Republic. Ahsoka’s trial goes differently! Work in progress, as of 14 Nov 2022.  Words: 37,866 Chapters: 7/?

how to disappear completely by jaigeye Review: Have you ever read a fic with Jango Fett as the time looper? Not just a single travel back but he dies, so many times, and gets back to square one- at least, until we have a hopeful ending for everyone. Complete, as of 25 Feb 2022.  Words: 11,595. Chapters: 1/1

Touch Starved by CourtesyTrefflin for uncorrectgrammar Review: This is THE hurt/comfort fic starring Obi-Wan and Vaderkin. There is so much to unpack with these two... Complete, as of 15 Dec 2022. Words: 71,012 Chapters: 22/22

Fate Gives Second Chances by The_subtle_briar Review: Ben is not of sound mind when he wakes up in the past, and it’s understandable that years of trauma and in exile would make him think this all a sham at the beginning. Longfic. Work in progress, as of 16 Sept 2022. Words: 111,199. Chapters: 30/35. TO: Cody/Obi-Wan

there but for the grace of god by wanderlove Review: Let’s have Luke travel back in time from an alternate universe where he’s being raised by Ben! Miscommunication and misunderstandings ensue. Complete, as of 24 Apr 2021. Words: 49,217. Chapters: 12/12

The Kenobi Scandal by AppoApples Review: Both Luke and Ben travel back, and they explain Luke’s existence as Luke Kenobi. Shenanigans ensure for a grand fix-it fic! Complete, as of 23 Dec 2020.  Words: 97,426. Chapters: 19/19

Alternate Universe / Crossovers

💫 still much that is fair by RaineyDay Review: Padawan Obi-Wan dimension travels/time travels into a war-torn universe where his padawan saves him? He’s a Master? He’s on the Council?!? Complete as of 4 May 2021. Words: 21,173. Chapters: 8/8. TO: Suicide Attempt/Thoughts. 

Aliit ori'shya tal'din by SilverRayan Review: This universe has the Sith Empire, the Mandalorian Empire and the Galactic Republic. The excuse to have Obi-Wan and Jango Fett fight for their sons is great. Mind the Jangobi, hinted. Work in progress, as of 25 Jul 2022.  Words: 18,847. Chapters: 6/?

Manda'kara by Virodeil Review: BB!Obi-Wan delves deep into the archives as he nearly ages out for Knighthood. The worldbuilding in this one is amazing! The idea of the culture of the Mandalorians still being preserved here... the POTENTIAL of this series! Completed, as of 22 Dec 2022. Words: 10,569. Chapters: 10/10

24 Seconds by c_m_li Review: Imagine Obi-Wan and Quinlan, teenagers sent off to a mission go MIA until they are found by the True Mandolorians. I like the respect in cultures/traditions in this. Complete, as of 26 Sep 2022.  Words: 11,314 Chapters: 1/1 TO: Obi-Wan/Quinlan

devoted by loosingletters Review: If Anakin was more eldrich, god-like and this has consequences, in a world, “where the Force splits into aspects of itself, deities for all sentients of the galaxy to worship, people cling to their silent gods, wishing they could be just as powerful.” Complete, as of 06 Mar 2022. Words: 34,308. Chapters: 8/8. TO: slightly Anakin/Obi-Wan.

falling up by obiwanobi, shatou Review: This series is based on if Obi-Wan never got to take in Anakin as his padawan, and Anakin is raised by Palpatine. Vader shows up at Obi-Wan’s doorsteps, and this is Vader’s journey back to the light. Work in progress, as of 18 Nov 2021. Words: 24,060. Works: 9. TO: pre-Obi-Wan/Anakin hinted?

With no root in the land --(To keep my branches green) by llamallamaduck Review: This NARUTO crossover is something I never imagined to like, but wowza. Imagine Anakin, an eldrich being instead of our canon humanoid, dimension travels to the Five Great Shinobi Countries, specifically, Whirlpool. Uzushiogakure will never fall, but the other nations? Hm. Work in progress, as of 28 Nov 2022. Words: 25,490. Chapters: 7/?

A Star to Steer By by dogmatix, norcumi Review: I’ve never even read Stargate Atlantis before, and you don’t really need to after either. Summary: “ Not so long ago, in a galaxy not very far away at all, there's a Republic with an order of Jedi - a symbiotic species and their clone hosts.” This about sums it up, and now Obi-Wan and the 212th Company arrive in an alternate dimension. Work in progress, as of 21 Dec 2022.  Words: 115,437. Works: 2.

Bare Your Teeth, Soldier by phoenixyfriend Review: OKAY AS A HEADS UP THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE. IT IS NOT SMUT. Now, imagine our regular, canon duo, The Team, ending up in the omegaverse. Yes. This is that fic. I highly recommend, please suspend all disbelief, for the worldbuilding. Work in progress, as of 19 July 2022. Words: 13,306 Chapters: 2/?

On the other side by esama Review: What-if Obi-Wan never became a Jedi Knight? AgriCorps = academics and plants. Much love. Complete, as of 20 Dec 2020.  Words: 53,143. Chapters: 14/14

Canon Universe

💫 Reputations. by outpastthemoat Review: There’s something to be said about a fic that captures a badass Gary Stu from POV Outsider, and then POV Obi-Wan is like: ??? Me??? Perfect??? What is a consummate jedi because it ain’t him, fumbling along. Read when you want a feel-good. Complete as of 18 March 2021. Words: 36,738. Chapters: 12/12

not the place that I was born in (doesn't mean it's not the place where I belong) by ghostwriterofthemachine Review: Worldbuilding on Jedi Traditions, in Anakin’s POV. Could be AU and lead to a hopeful future, but too short (and sweet) to know for sure. Complete, as of 06 Aug 2020. Words: 5,030. Chapters: 1/1

Acknowledged by EclipseMidnight (EternalEclipse) Review: What-if there was more initiations to be done to become a Knight of the Jedi Order? 25 Sept 2017. Words: 14,328. Chapters: 1/1

The Folly of Foresight by Blue_Sunshine Review: The author of Desert Storm made a side-story about canon Obi-Wan knowing his fate with Infinite Sadness, and I live for this. Complete, as of 18 July 2022. Words: 2,431. Works: 2

twin suns by too_obsessed_with_everything Review: There’s something special about fics that verge off the script but still end up back into canon. Leia from Obi-Wan Kenobi (TV Series) is precious and precocious and this really captures a dangerous, coming-of-age adventure. Complete, as of 18 Dec 2022. Words: 37,610. Chapters: 15/15

everything I have ever learned by Fialleril Review: I’m sure everyone and their mother in the SW fandom has heard of the author of Double Agent Vader and the originator of the Tatooine Slave Culture tag. It’s again, amazing worldbuilding, focusing on Luke, and can coincide mostly with canon! I missed this years later, so here’s a flag you missed it too! Complete, as of 04 June 2019. Words: 12,717. Chapters: 2/2

Remedial Jedi Theology by MarbleGlove Review: This one is old, and I was going to leave the big-name, many-kudosed fics out of this list, but I felt like this one may be harder to find. The fic that made me first click the Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker tag. Complete, as of 15 Aug 2018.  Words: 51,336. Chapters: 7/7

[killerandhealerqueen]

BUCKLE UP BABE!! 2, 3, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 25, 27, 32, 38, 39, 40

Let's fucking go

2. If you had to give up your keyboard and write your stories exclusively by hand, could you do it? If you already write everything by hand, a) are you a wizard and b) pen or pencil?

Oh fuck no. With the lengths of my stories, absolutely the fuck not

3. What is your writing ritual and why is it cursed?

Don't have any. I just sit down and write...does that count as cursed?

9. Do you believe in ghosts? This isn’t about writing I just wanna know

Yeah

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

I don't know if a piece of writing has ever haunted me...mine or someone else's

14. Do you lend your books to people? Are people scared to borrow books from you? Do you know exactly where all your “lost” books are and which specific friend from school you haven’t seen in twelve years still possesses them? Will you ever get them back?

I do lend my books to people, knowing damn well that I'm probably never gonna get them back. I mainly lend them to my grandmother who then lends them to my uncle. Once it gets to my uncle, I'll probably never see it again. But that's fine

15. Do you write in the margins of your books? Dog-ear your pages? Read in the bath? Why or why not? Do you judge people who do these things? Can we still be friends?

I don't judge people who do them, but I don't. I'm a bit of purest when it comes to my books

16. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever used as a bookmark?

I don't use bookmarks a whole lot. I just memorize the page number that I was on

17. Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text.

Currently working on a Killer and Healer Spirealm Au...there's not a whole lot of lore behind it, other than the main characters of the Spirealm are very similar to the main characters of my all time favorite drama Killer and Healer which is why I think this au is going to work (I mean, a lot of my aus work and I say this about every au but it's gonna be good)

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end. Spicy addition: Questioner provides the passage.

When he arrived, he was surprised to find that his little sister, Chen Keying, wasn’t sitting and waiting for him on the stoop like she normally did, causing him to frown.          “That’s odd…she should be home from school by now” he murmured before he hummed.          “Maybe she got tired and went to take a nap” he mused before he stepped through the gate and made his way through the courtyard before he stepped into the house, first stopping to place his kit down on the table before he made his way to Keying’s bedroom.          “Keying!  I’m home” he called out, but there was no answer, causing him to frown as he pushed open the door and poked his head in, only to see that the bedroom was empty.          “Keying?” he called out, but there was again, no answer, making him frown before he turned and headed towards his bedroom, as she also sometimes liked to nap there, stepping inside to find it also empty.

This scene is very similar to a scene in my Killer and Healer rewrite but that's kinda how it works with my fics...you'll find a lot of similar scenes or lines of dialogue and what not between them

19. Tell me a story about your writing journey. When did you start? Why did you start? Were there bumps along the way? Where are you now and where are you going?

So my writing journey started when I was in kindergarten and we were just having free time so I wrote a little story. My principle (who's an author herself) saw it/read it and said I was very creative and I had a gift for writing. Writing kind of just...continued from there. I'm always constantly telling stories in my head and I only really started putting them down onto paper/posting them online when i was like in middle school. As for where I am now...we're still trotting along and coming up with a new fic idea at every turn. And as for where I'm going...I have no idea. But I hope these characters are along for the ride

23. Describe the physical environment in which you write. Be as detailed as possible. Tell me what’s around you as you work. Paint me a picture.

I'm terrible at descriptive shit...uh...okay. I'm in bed, with a mint green blanket covering my crossed legs. A white bat plushie, a sloth plushie with a removable bean bag that can be warmed in the microwave, and a purple bat plushie are to my right while four different baby blankets are strewn out over the bed. Leaning against the wall is a pillow with a book on top of it, as I like to read in bed. Towards the bottom right hand side of the bed/footboards leans a giant grogu squishmallow, an Eeyore plushie next to it. To my left diagonally is a laundry basket full of clothes that need to be folded and against the right hand of the room parallel to a floor length mirror leaning on the left hand side of the room and a four-door dresser is a messy desk covered with makeup. In front of and across from the bed is a storage bench covered in random crap...my room really needs to be cleaned

25. What is a weird, hyper-specific detail you know about one of your characters that is completely irrelevant to the story?

There's no hyper-specific detail for this particular story

27. Who is the most stressful character you’ve ever written? Why?

Oh god, okay, the most stressful character(s) I've ever written is all of the ones where I never watched the source material. Was literally going off of gifsets and amvs to get the personalities and characteristics. I was always worried that I got them wrong...but according to my readers/commenters I haven't so... *hair flips*

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

I'm sorry, my brain is a little...out of it today, so I can't think of one rn, I'm so sorry

38. What is something about your writing process YOU think is Really Weird? If you are comfortable, please share. If you’re not comfortable, what do you think cats say about us?

I think the fact that I can just sit down and write is pretty weird, not gonna lie

39. What keeps you writing when you feel like giving up?

My friends who hype me the fuck up. @ahhhnorealnamesallowed @kpopfantasywriter @seonghwacore @mishathewtf @hyperbolicgrinch @nineninepetals @evil-moonlight and @clawbehavior are really great people who make me feel better about my writing when I'm just...not having it. And I love them for it

40. Please share a poem with me, I need it.

I always loved this poem by Dr. Seuss and I think it's really great (it's not profound or anything but it's applicable, me thinks)

"And I've learned there are troubles

Of more than one kind.

Some come from ahead

And some come from behind.

But I've bought a big bat.

I'm all ready, you see.

Now my troubles are going

To have troubles with me!"

Weird Questions for Writers | send me asks

[bravetemptation]

Annual Writing Self-Evaluation 2022

It’s December 31st, and here we are. What a YEAR. Let’s take a look:

1. Number of stories posted to AO3: 7

2. Word Count posted for the year: 247,189 words (holy shit 😅)

3. Fandoms I wrote for: One Direction

4. Pairings: Harry/Louis; Liam Payne/Oli Wright; Zayn Malik/Louis Tomlinson

5. Story with the most:

6. Kudos: 491 - From This Moment On

7. Bookmarks: 149 - From This Moment On

8. Comments: 58 - From This Moment On

9. Work I’m most proud of and why: A Little Twist of Fate - this fic is so long, probably one of the longest I’ve ever written, and it’s fantasy, which is my favorite genre. Even though it has the least interaction, I don’t think I wrote a better one than that this year.

10. Work I’m least proud of and why: I don’t really have one - I think everything I wrote this year was pretty good 😂

11. Share or describe a favorite review you received: every comment I get is a blessing - I don’t usually get a lot of them, so when someone takes the time out to even say three words about how the fic impacted them, I feel very pleased.

12. A time when writing was really really hard: I would have to say in June and July, when I had four WIPs going at the same time, which my beta will tell you I NEVER DO. I’m a one fic at a time type of person. I couldn’t figure out which one to write or where to take any of them. Thankfully they all got done and published 😂 that and right after my first Harry residency show when I got Covid and it knocked me out for two weeks 😂

13. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you: All of the Zouis content I did in A Little Twist of Fate, because it came off so realistic that @daggerandrose thought it sounded like a zouis fic and I was completely unaware that I could even write any pairing other than Larry.

14. A favorite excerpt of your writing: The first time Harry and Louis touch properly in Your Gift Is Wasted On Me:

“Come on, come on,” he heard Harry mutter, and he completely agreed. But finally, they were doing it.

“And the winner …”

Louis held his breath.

“Of this season of the Great British Bake Off is …”

Louis grabbed Harry’s hand, squeezing it tightly as he waited the agonizing three seconds.

“Marge!”

“Fucking yes!” Louis yelled, jumping off the sofa and dancing around. Niall was on his feet too, but as Louis turned to Harry, he found him sitting there, his mouth open slightly, staring at the screen as though he wasn’t even seeing it.

“Harry, what …”

“You held my hand.”

15. How did you grow as a writer this year? I allowed myself to just write. In years past, I kind of did maybe two stories a year just because I wanted them to be different, I wanted the perfect prompt, or I was just lazy as hell. But this year I was pushing out fics every few months and it felt GREAT.

16. How do you hope to grow next year? I hope to possibly enter a fest or two so that I can get a little more traffic on my fics (as well as querying in real life for my finished book and finish writing the new one I’m working on - that’s going to be super exciting)

17. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer? (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc) Every person who helped me work through plot holes and major mistakes and read my work before it was even out - especially @sunflowersometimes @daggerandrose @chloehl10 . They’re my main source of motivation ❤️

18. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year? Not specifically, though I like to think I put a piece of myself into every fic and every character, and if you know me really well, you’ll be able to catch it. But I wrote a fantasy fic which is literally what I want my real life to be so I THINK I’ll go with that 😂

19. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers? Write. Write every day, even if it’s only three pages or three sentences or three words. Write from your heart. Don’t let the interaction - or lack thereof - of others dictate how you feel about your work. Ask other writers to beta for you - it’s more fun when you work with someone else.

20. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year? I have several projects in the works: The Dear Devoted Delicate Series (one mini fic for every year they’ve been together); If There’s No You (an amnesia fic); If We Can’t Stop The Bleeding (a vampire fic); and Place In Me (a 1D reunion fic). I’m sure there will be more but that’s all I really have planned at the moment. Hopefully you’ll get to see them ALL 😘

21. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read. Anyone who wants to do this can - I’m sure most of you have already been tagged 💞

[jotarosbelt]

Colorful Camboys, 2.

a/n: hi!! i'm back! i finished up school and got a bit of my writing inspo back, so, i thought i'd write another Colorful Camboy's chapter for you guys <3

hope you're all staying safe! enjoy~

p.s. i haven’t written smut in a HOT minute and lowkey forgot how to write for josuke, but i tried! i’m sorry 😭

p.p.s. i didn’t proof read :) we die like men, fuck it

————

Summary: A Modern AU where your favorite boys are just trying to get off and make money.

You're one of their viewers and happen to catch their attention.

————

18+ content ahead!

Josuke - Pink

You’d come to the point where porn was honestly just boring.

It didn’t hurt to want to try something new! Maybe a new genre, a different site? But, all of it was the same old same old. And the disgustingly cheesy, clickbaity titles didn’t do much to turn you on or catch your interest either. You pursed your lips as you scrolled, coming across a camboy website.

You blinked. ‘A camboy website?’

Curiosity had ultimately gotten the best of you as you clicked the link. Almost immediately, tons of live-streams came up, thousands of boys right at your disposal.

‘This is gonna be fun.’

You scrolled through the plethora of streams in search of a boy that appealed to you. For the most part, a good chunk of them were your type. In shape, good looking— there weren’t many bad apples on the tree you were picking from.

Your eyes landed on a certain pompadoured boy by the name ‘ShiningDiamond1999.’ The username definitely raised an eyebrow or two, and the boy sure was good looking, so you simply clicked the stream to see what was up.

He wasn’t popular for no reason. He was cute! It was the oddly ‘adorable, yet super hot’ combo, and girls (and guys alike) were eating that shit up.

You sat back as you watched the boy palm himself through pink boxers.

“Oh? We gotta new person, huh?”

He leaned forward, hand still on his cock as he narrowed his eyes at his monitor. Part of you was embarrassed that he caught you so quickly— he had so many patrons there already! He must’ve been an attentive host.

You liked that.

“A guest, eh? How about you give me a name to call you by, cupcake? You don’t have to make an account for me to take notice of you, yanno.”

You couldn’t help but smile. He seemed sweet; he gave off the aura of someone who’d take care of his partner no matter what, and you had to admit that it was comforting. Not only was he easy on the eyes, he was someone who gave off the impression that he wouldn’t break your heart despite the fact that everything he said was meant for both you and the thousands of other viewers he had right now.

He really must’ve been good.

You splayed your fingers out across the keys, typing out a response. ‘Just call me [username].’

You could see him raise an arched eyebrow. He smiled brightly and leaned back into his chair. “[Username]? I can do that for you, babe.”

Teasingly, he ran his fingers down his torso to the waistband of his boxers. He simply smiled mischievously at the camera and popped the band against his hipbone. “Enough with the chit chat, yeah? I don’t wanna bore our new guest, so let’s get this show on the road, babies!”

Thumbs slipped under the elastic and pushed his underwear down his muscular thighs. His cock sprung out, slapping against his toned stomach and you couldn’t help the groan that escaped your mouth. No wonder he was so loved— he was sculpted by the gods themselves.

His bottom lip wrung itself between his teeth as he gripped his member with a large hand. Up, down, up, down— the motion was hypnotizing as it was erotic, and you could’ve sworn the way he looked at the camera while he did it brought you to the brink of an orgasm alone.

“I hope you’re touching yourself, too, baby girl. I don’t wanna be the only one getting off.”

His hand left his cock to push his boxers the rest of the way down. Without the restrictions the garment brought, he spread his legs wider. You could see everything from the way his balls tensed whenever he teased his head, and the way his asshole clenched around the pink buttplug on the downstroke.

Your eyes widened. ‘Buttplug? He's into that?’

Your eyebrows relaxed and a sly grin took form on your face.

The things you’d give to ruin this boy.

“God, fucking—“, he keened desperately, “I wish you were here right now.”

You subconsciously rubbed your thighs together. You were here to get off, but his performance was so goddamn captivating that you didn’t want to take your eyes off of him for even a second. So, you did what you could to strip yourself of your shorts and panties while still watching, reaching over to grab your vibrator.

“You’d be taking care of me right? Stroking my cock till the head turns red— shit—“

The soft buzz of the toy filled your room and you gingerly placed it on your clit. You jolted at the sensation. It had been a while since you had a nice session for yourself; you didn’t have much time to draw it out and really make yourself see stars. This was nice. Being able to sit back and watch somebody get off to help you get off wasn’t something you had seen yourself doing, but you really might have to make it a more common occurrence.

“[Username].”

Your eyes snapped open and met his, despite the fact that he couldn’t see you. You switched the vibrator over to your non-dominant hand and let the other reach out to the keyboard to type out a quick “yes?”

“Since it’s your first time here, I’ll let you choose.”

Well, this was interesting.

The man on the other side of the screen reached out of frame for a moment to grab something. When his hand entered view again, he had a hot pink dildo in hand.

“So, love, buttplug or dildo? What’cha in the mood for?”

You narrowed your eyes at the screen best you could in the midst of your pleasure-filled haze and typed out your answer.

‘Dildo.’

You didn’t miss the inkling of a grin that lied on his lips. The ravenette leaned back in the chair and pulled out the plug, replacing it with the pink toy.

“Hah~, fuck. Good choice, babe—!”

His eyes rolled backwards into his skull as he sank the silicon toy further into himself. You whimpered and leaned back further into your seat, bumping up the intensity of the toy. This was gonna be a good session, if you said so yourself. You’d have to bookmark this page for later.

“Fuck, I bet you look so good right now. All flushed and panting and wanting to cum, right?”

Your breathing sped up, chest heaving as your hips canted into your hand. “God, yes please—“

Almost as if he heard your pleas, he continued right after you finished speaking. “Then lets cum together. S-Shit, cum with me baby, I’ll count.”

As if on instinct, you grown the vibrator into you, putting it on its highest setting. It was enough to make you jump out of your skin. You had goosebumps everywhere, cold sweat was running down your forehead, and your thighs were shaking like mad. How could a stranger have so much power over you?

“Five.”

You forced your eyes open to look at your screen, eyes locked on the streamer and his hand furiously jerking himself off. You watched as his adam’s apple bobbed in his throat.

“Four.”

Your vision began to blur. You were so close yet so far from your orgasm, and in all honesty, you could’ve came right now. But, finishing with this stranger seemed a lot more appealing than doing it on your own.

“Ah, fuck— three—“

The veins in his arms bulged and he reached around to grip the base of the dildo. He threw his head back as he fucked himself it, his jaw falling slack and hanging open.

“Two—!”

At this point, both of you were chasing your releases like animals. There was something so primal about this— backs arched and hips spasming as you both selfishly chased euphoria. You gripped the side of your desk chair bruisingly, waiting for him to finish counting and—

“One— fuck, one, I’m cumming—!”

Your moan mixed with his as it came out of your laptop speaker. He whined, you yelled, and you both were riding your orgasms like a wave. You hadn’t cum that hard in a while. It was the kind of finish that makes you see stars and make your scalp tingle, and when you came down, you saw the camboy covered in his own release and strands of his hair out of place.

He looked so out of it. He was panting heavily with red airbrushed over his chest and cheeks, and pieces of his once perfect hairstyle stuck to his forehead. He was definitely not present in that moment in time, still on Cloud 9, but you didn’t mind watching as his vision came back into focus and his breathing slowed.

Slowly, he reached down to pull the toy out of his ass and place it some place out of frame. He laughed airily, his large hand running down the expanse of his throat momentarily before speaking.

“Alright, that was really fun. I gotta go clean up now, but I’ll be back to tomorrow, same time!”

You followed his hand as it moved to his mouse to end the stream.

”Oh, and I hope to see you again tomorrow, too, [Username]. I hope you had fun, love.”

This user is now offline.

[shesclearlya3]

Summer of ‘84

Xavier Plympton x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 3,426

Warnings: smut, language, sex in a public place, au!, all characters are 18+, i’m sorry if this is bad lmao

**using my current tag-list so feel free to ignore**

It was June of 1984 when you and your close friends returned to your jobs at the local drive-in theatre the last Summer before you started college.

It was your second year working here, and you were sad that it would be the last. It was an easy job. You'd work nights only five days a week. It was nice being able to make your own money and have fun with your friends while doing it. 

You were working the concession stand tonight with Xavier Plympton. You had been friends with him the longest out of the bunch. He was one of the best co-workers you could ever ask for. Despite his constant complaining about dealing with customers, he was always armed with perfect comebacks when you were stuck dealing with a Karen. Plus, he did work hard, which was a relief. Some of the other teenagers you worked with were only there for the paycheck, clearly. 

You were particularly excited because you were able to see the screen playing Gremlins and Ghostbusters. You rarely got to enjoy the movies. You were either working the ticket booth or continuously walking around, making sure nobody tried to sneak under the rotting wooden gates surrounding the lot. 

It was just after 9:30 when Gremlins started, and you and Xavier had just finished up the line.

"Let's hope the crowd stays away so we can clean up." he sighed, stretching his arms above his head. The ugly yellow shirts you had to wear rode up a little, and you caught yourself staring before a pair of hands covered your eyes.

"Gah!" you said, and you heard the loud laugh of Montana Duke behind you. 

"Sheesh, you're such a scaredy-cat!"

"I was distracted!" you said, your cheeks burning as you started to wipe down the counter, which was covered in popcorn kernels. "Shouldn't you be with Brooke right now?"

Montana slid over the countertops, going to the pop machine where she started filling up two cups. "We're parched, it's just now starting to cool down a bit. Larry is making us patrol for the next forty-five minutes before the others take over."

You nodded, scrubbing a particularly stubborn spot of butter that was probably from the night before. 

Xavier had laughed at what Montana said, and you immediately knew why. They had been caught in quite the compromising position the first night the theatre was opened this season. You were surprised they hadn't been fired, and Brooke had given two shifts away after the fact to avoid being questioned about it. 

"He's a fucking pervert anyway," Montana said, putting lids on both cups. "I gotta go. Be good!" she called sweetly before she bounced out of the rickety building. 

"I wish these fucking fans would work!" Xavier grumbled, fumbling with the switch of the nearest overhead fan. It made a creaking noise, the metal blades moving an inch before it stopped. 

"They're ancient," you laughed, finally getting the spot cleaned. "Candace told me they've been here since this place opened."

"These are like forty years old then, how fucking convenient," he grumbled, before giving up. "You'd think they could afford to replace them."

"Watch your language," you scolded. "We don't need another complaint."

Xavier smirked at you, starting to restock the popcorn buckets. "y/n, you should really stop being so uptight, babe." he teased you.

"I am not uptight!" you gasped, your mouth falling open as you dropped the rag into the sanitizer bucket. 

"Exactly what someone uptight would say!" he retorted, laughing at you, his hands methodically stacking the buckets handful by handful. 

"You won't think it's amusing when you're fired, you ass!" you said, causing Xavier to throw his head back and laugh rambunctiously. 

"That's the least of my worries, babe," he grinned at you, and you felt your heart swell. "What would you do without me?" he said.

"I'd probably actually get some work done..." you mumbled, starting to refill the popcorn machine with fresh kernels. "But I'd have to deal with the bitchy Karens all on my own."

"Watch your language!" Xavier mocked you, balling up the plastic and tossing it in the nearest trash-can. "Hey y/n- oh, someone is coming."

You told Xavier you would take care of the customer as he started restocking the cups, watching as you showed the young boy all of the ice creams you had. He was cute, probably no older than eleven with thick-framed glasses and a toothy smile. 

"Thank you, Miss," he said, before hurrying out.

"I think he liked you," Xavier said as you closed the register. "That's cute."

You rolled your eyes, seeing Larry sitting in the projection room, already asleep. "Shut up, he's young."

The next half-an-hour you only helped two other customers. Many people came to use the bathrooms, but other than that, you were alone with Xavier. You had cleaned up everything there was to clean, and you decided to dig out the book you brought to pass the time. 

Xavier watched the screen through the large window next to the entrance, the portable stereo tuned into the theatre's station. He was very amused by Gizmo, even gushing at the little creature.

"That's cute," you mumbled to yourself, chewing on your lip to keep from giggling.

"I heard that," he said crossly, his eyes on you now.

"I didn't say anything," you shrugged, bookmarking your page. "I'm hungry, I want a pretzel."

"Lucky for you, I popped one in for you," Xavier said, gesturing towards the pretzel heater right next to him. "It should be done now."

"Thank you, Xavier!" you said happily, coming over and taking it out. Xavier watched you, and he reached next to him for a bucket of popcorn he had gotten for himself. He put a handful in his mouth as you started pouring nacho cheese into a plastic container. 

"Hey, y/n?" he asked again, looking at you.

"Yes?" you asked, watching the hot cheese, feeling your stomach growl with hunger.

"Do you remember my friend Chet? He graduated last year?"

You nodded, moving to sit next to him on the counter. "The cute dark-haired kid who is really athletic?" 

"That's him," Xavier said, stuffing more popcorn into his mouth. "I ran into him the other day, and I told him I was working here again. He said he worked here for a season before we met."

You encouraged him to keep going, wondering where this was going. You knew Chet Clancy, mainly because he was a popular jock who dated multiple girls throughout the years. You have only spoken a few words with him in your entire life, but he was sweet enough. 

"Uhm..." he said, looking a little nervous now. You thought it was odd, he rarely became this way around you. "He asked about you."

You perked up, tearing your pretzel in half as you watched him see if he were joking. He wasn't, looking you dead in the eyes, and you could see he was honest.

"He asked about me?" you asked, shocked.

"Yeah, he kind of... Hinted, that he was interested in you."

You found yourself smiling. "Really? I never really talked to him..."

Xavier nodded, "I know. I was a little shocked myself."

You ate some of your food, now thinking about dating Chet Clancy. You never would have imagined it, and not even because you rarely knew him. He just seemed so out of reach. You weren't the "normal" crowd he hung out with.

"Wow... That's insane," you said simply.

"Yeah... But I kind of choked up and said we were dating."

You spit out your tiny bite of food, covering your mouth as Xavier looked at you with wide eyes. "WE'RE NOT DATING!"

"Shh!" Xavier said, almost dropping his popcorn in an attempt to cover your mouth. "I know, y/n, I don't even know what happened," he growled, tossing the bucket aside. "I panicked."

"Why would you panic?" you asked, wrinkling your nose as you picked up your un-chewed food with a napkin and tossed it in the bin. "We're friends."

"I got... Jealous," he replied lamely.

You glanced up at him, and he was looking at his lap, his face wrinkled in embarrassment. You were thrown for a loop. As long as you had known each other, not once did there seem to be any romantic inclination. Of course, you've crushed on him a bit, I mean, who wouldn't? He was funny, charismatic, gorgeous, and saw something in you that he wanted to be your friend.

"Why?" was all you managed, your voice hushed and confused.

"It made me realize that I like you. And we're not little kids anymore. If I didn't tell you how I felt, then I might lose the opportunity to tell you." he said, before laughing dryly, "I guess it took another guy being interested in you for me to wise up and stop being an idiot."

You started to grin at him, and Xavier looked relieved. "Does this mean you're not mad?" 

"I'm not mad," you assured him, putting your food to the side. "I'm just surprised. I never would have thought..."

"Babe, I'm clearly head over heels for you, I tease you relentlessly because I like to make you laugh. And I like when you get snappy with me." he grinned at you, his eyes sparkling as you heard a group of teenagers pile into the bathroom, giggling. 

You scooted closer to Xavier, and you could smell his body wash. "I just thought it meant you liked to pick on me." 

He threw his arm over your shoulder, pulling you into his side. "I do, with love."

After that, you had spent the rest of Gremlins talking, sitting close to each other, and giggling madly. You had to go back to work once intermission started, and you felt your heart-beating wildly every time you heard Xavier's voice. You listened as girls giggled and whispered about him, cashing them out with a broad smile. At one point, you heard him go, "Sorry, ladies, I'm taken."

When the last movie started, you turned off all the machines, cleaning everything down quickly. The one thing you liked about this theatre is that intermission was the final call. You'd have time to clean up and be on your way home before the second movie was even half-way through.

You had set aside some food for the others while you finished up. Brooke Thompson and Montana came in, taking some leftovers and asking if you wanted to watch Ghostbusters. 

"We'll be out in a bit," Xavier said, gesturing to the broom he was holding. "Whoever worked in here last time did a shit job."

"Cool, we'll be in my car!" Montana said, before scurrying out with Brooke, their arms full of popcorn, soda, and nachos.

"I'm so ready to skip this joint!" Xavier said after he finished swimming, and you switched off the first set of lights. 

"Me too. Are there any nachos left?" you asked, locking up the safe.

"Just enough for the both of us," he replied. You stood up, walking over to him, and you ended up tripping over your shoes, colliding with his chest.

"Oh shit, you alright?" he asked, grabbing you tightly.

"I'm fine!" you laughed, looking up at his figure towering over you. "I think I tripped over the crack in the floor..."

Xavier stared down at you, and you felt his hand come up and brush against your cheek. You felt your skin tingle underneath his touch. "We're gonna get caught."

"I don't care," Xavier whispered before he leaned down and pressed his lips to yours.

You held your breath as you melted into his touch. You've been in a few relationships before in your time, but nothing ever compared to what you were currently feeling. Xavier held your head in his hands, your kiss becoming more heated until you felt him pulling you towards the back, where the storage was kept.

"We're gonna get-."

Xavier cupped a hand over your mouth, pulling you into the closet before shutting the door. There was a single light hanging above you that he flicked on, and you could barely see the movie screen from the rectangular window sitting high above your heads.

"Trust me, Babe. If you're quiet, we'll be fine."

You nodded, holding onto him as Xavier pushed an empty box onto the floor, lifting you up and setting you on top of a sturdy table. There wasn't a whole lot of room. He reached over to lock the door.

"What are you doing?" You asked, kicking off your shoes. You were wearing denim shorts, and the air around you was much colder than you expected. You got goosebumps as Xavier played with the button of your shorts.

"Could I take these off?" He asked.

You nodded shyly, biting your lip as he slowly unbuttoned them, the only sound being your shared breathing and the zipper being lowered down.

"Have you done this before, y/n?" He asked, his hands gripping the waistband of your shorts.

"I've done a few things..." you said, your cheeks becoming hot.

"I'll be gentle, I promise." He said, before starting to tug your undergarments off. You lifted your hips, and he quickly let them drop to the floor. Outside you could hear the audience collectively laughing at something.

Xavier shed out of his shirt, throwing it on the nearest shelf. He wasn't overly muscular but was nicely toned. You've seen him shirtless many times over the years, but this time was different. He was beautiful.

"Are you enjoying the view?" He asked arrogantly, flashing you a smile as you instinctively crossed your legs. "Ah, spread them for me, babe." He kindly scolded.

"Of course, I am!" You respond, "You're hot, and you know it, babe."

"Cute," he winked at you, before looping his arms underneath your legs. Your breath caught in your throat as he pulled you closer, spreading your legs out for him. You could feel how wet you were against the crisp air, and you wanted to die from embarrassment at how easily you became aroused.

"Remember to stay quiet." He said, grinning at you mischievously. "You don't want to get caught."

You squeezed your eyes shut at his arrogance. "Fuck you."

The words had barely left your mouth when you felt his tongue lick a quick swipe along your thigh. You shuddered at the feeling; your stomach trembling as Xavier purposely teased you. You weren't lying when you said you have a little experience. But, you never received oral before. You gave it once, and that was it.

You let out a quiet gasp as he finally licked along your folds, your hands itching to grab onto his hair already. You refrained, lifting them above your head to keep from messing anything up.

Xavier was skilled as he ran his tongue gingerly along your folds, before pushing his tongue inside. The feeling caused hundreds of butterflies to fly over your stomach. Your thighs clenched as he adjusted his hold on you, kneeling down to push his head deeper between your legs.

"Oh, fuck!" You said a little too loudly before you felt his hand covering your mouth. You mewled and sighed against him as Xavier slowly ate you out. You always heard from Montana that it was one of the best feelings in the world, but you never imagined it being quite like this.

Nor did you ever expect to be here with Xavier, but life was crazy.

You grabbed onto Xavier's arm as he started sucking on your clit. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head when he teased your entrance with a single finger, barely testing the waters.

You were lost in the feeling when suddenly the door handle rattled. You jumped out of your skin, nearly trapping Xavier between your thighs when you heard the security guards' high-pitched voice. "Fuck! Larry must have locked it before he left."

Xavier freed himself, prepared to cover you with his body when the voice of Mason, a co-worker say, "It's fine, we'll just have to look in there tomorrow. I can't find the key anywhere."

You heard their footsteps fade away, and you and Xavier both glanced at each other, before giggling madly.

"I'm sorry, y/n," he whispered in your ear.

"It's not your fault?" You said, running your hand along his face now.

"I'm gonna go back down here now," he said, kissing your hand before slinking down your body again. You let him go, now covering your own mouth as he grabbed your legs, his mouth instantly closing over your clit.

"That's it, baby," he encouraged, his fingers once again teasing your entrance. "I'm gonna make you cum in my mouth."

Xavier continued until you were shaking so severely that he had to hold you down by the hips, almost forcing you to keep your legs open. Xavier pumped a finger inside of you, his thumb meeting your clit while his tongue teased it simultaneously.

You came in minutes, sighing loudly against your hand as Xavier cleaned you up, before placing kisses along your thighs. You breathed heavily as you sat up, quickly taking off your shirt, revealing your bra.

"Fuck, y/n," he said, allowing you to unbutton his pants, your hands fumbling to get them off as soon as possible. "You're hot."

"And horny, so please take off your pants." You begged, reaching behind you to unclasp your bra. When you were completely naked, you stared at Xavier's dick, wondering how in the hell it was supposed to fit.

"Don't look so scared, babe," Xavier said, cupping your cheeks in his hands. "Have you?..."

You shook your head, "I never got this far."

Xavier nuzzled your neck, and you wrapped your legs around him as he kissed along your skin, trailing along your collarbone before placing kisses on your jawline.

"Do you have a condom?" You asked, suddenly having an epiphany on the importance of safe sex.

"There's a box behind the pack of lightbulbs," he said, and you pulled back to look at him. "Chet told me about them, I swear."

Xavier wasted no time grabbing a condom from said hiding place, and you watched as he slid it on with ease. You wrapped a leg around his hips again, and he hugged you while he pressed kisses to your face.

"Let me know if I'm hurting you, baby girl," he whispered, and you nodded, holding him tightly.

You focused on the sound of more laughter from the audience, keeping your breathing under control as Xavier slowly pushed inside of you. He felt you tense up, holding you tightly and not moving until you encouraged him to do so.

After a few moments, you told him to move, figuring it would worsen before it got better. Xavier nodded, still holding you tight as he rocked his hips into yours, both of you panting as you grew more comfortable having his dick inside of you.

When you felt a lot better, you laid flat against the table, keeping a leg wrapped around him while he increased his pace. Xavier's face was screwed up as the pleasure coursed throughout your body. His large hand reached forward, grabbing at your breasts while you attempted to keep your moans at bay.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck," you said, trying to keep your leg from slipping off his hip.

"You're so fucking hot, babe," he said, leaning over you until you were almost nose to nose. "I want you to come for me, y/n,"

You shook your head, not wanting this to stop.

Xavier hid his laugh, increasing his face slightly. "You're going to fucking come for me, y/n."

"Make. Me." You said through clenched teeth.

Xavier laughed now, adjusting your free leg enough to easily slip his hand over your clit. He rubbed you out with his thumb, focusing on you, wanting you to come before he did.

"That's it," Xavier cooed as you finally clinched around him, crying out behind your hand as he slowed down, watching as you coated his length. "Fuck..."

You dug your heel into his skin as Xavier came, his hips stilling as he kneeled over you, kissing you deeply. You were breathless as he kissed you fiercely, hardly allowing you a break until he climbed off you.

You sat up, feeling light. "That was amazing."

Xavier grinned at you, pulling on his boxers after taking off the condom. "It's all you babe, not me."

taglist: 

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[evabellasworld]

Storm of the Republic

Chapter 20

AO3 Link | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20

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Summary:  When Tup murdered General Tiplar during a battle, Anakin Skywalker and Captain Rex dispatched Ahsoka, Fives, and Yara to solve the mystery that was plaguing the Clone Army. Meanwhile, Senator Padme Amidala contacted Commander Fox, Commander Tori, Riyo Chuchi, and Dipper to help her continue investigating the death of Palpatine, suspecting that Dooku was behind the evil plot. But when Dooku send an ISB agent to stop them, the team had to race against time to search for the truth, which could alter the course of the galaxy.

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Walking out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist, Fox saw Riyo sitting on their queen-sized bed, her eyes fixated on her book. He knows how much of an avid reader his partner was, and seeing her reconnect with her old hobby made him joyful. “Enjoying your book, dear?” he asked as he closed the bathroom door behind him. “What is it about?”

“It’s about a little girl who was lost in the woods,” Riyo answered him, her eyes shifted towards him. “I never read this before, and so far, I’m enjoying the storyline and the protagonist’s journey.”

“That sounds like a delightful story to read,” he replied as he wiped himself with the towel and put on his pants that Riyo packed for him, before taking a peek of their curtains to view the city from a bird's-eye view. “You know, it’s just surreal coming back here. I never thought I would visit Coruscant again, after what happened months ago.”

She hummed in agreement as she bookmarked the page and closed her book. “Yeah, everything changed. I could barely recognise this place anymore.”

“I understand the feeling, but we have to manage somehow. Not everything in life is rainbows and sunshines. If there’s a blackout, we should always light up the candles.”

“I’m aware of that, but I feel guilty. I swore to the Chairman of Pantora to represent on behalf of my people in the Senate and instead, I ran off like a coward.”

“Hey now, Ri,” he leaned beside her, squeezing her thighs. “You had little a choice back then. It’s not your fault. Besides, you were doing you best for your people.”

“I know, Fox,” she cleared her throat with a heavy heart. “I appreciate your consoles, and I’m grateful that you stood beside me, but it feels wrong that I’m doing better while my people are suffering. From what I heard about Pantora, food is scarce and people are dying from cholera and starvation. I wish I could help them with their troubles.”

Fox placed his hands on her back and gave her a soothing massage, much to her pleasure. “Sometimes, we can’t always help everyone, no matter how much you want to. We will feel powerless in something that is beyond our control and there’s nothing we can’t do, except pray to the moon goddess Loona.”

Riyo laughed to herself. “Since when do you pray? You don’t seem to be the religious kind, no offence though.”

“None taken, Ri,” he laughed along. “I don’t believe in Loona, but it doesn’t hurt to ask for good luck from the Universe. Like what Tori and Dipper said, speak of the devil, and he will come for you.”

“If I could recall from my school days, that proverb means you mention someone’s name in a joking manner, and that someone appears out of nowhere.”

“Well, Lira and Eva told me that the devil represents bad luck, so they think the proverb has a double meaning.”

Riyo lifted her shoulders and tilted her head upwards before nodding at his statement. “You make a fair point, actually. I wonder how smart Lira and Eva were to come up with a meaning like that?”

“Maybe they were born smart. I mean, there’s no way that the Republic would assign two children to lead the entire battalion, unless they had a valid reason to do so.”

“Yeah,” she leaned her head against her pillow. “I hope our kids won’t have to go through that in the future. I could barely tie my shoes at ten, let alone lead an entire army to war. I would die within two seconds.”

Fox smiled as she brought up about having kids in the future, something he had been thinking for a while. He laid next to her and put his arms around her torso, giving a kiss on her bare neck, making her giggle. “Speaking of kids, when do you want to have one?”

“Are you serious?” Riyo turned to face him, caressing his face. “We’re fighting a war right now. There is no way I’m raising our daughter in this kind of world.”

“I don’t mean now. I meant like in the future, when everything is done and the galaxy is finally at peace.”

“Well then, I would very much like to have children after we celebrate our victory. We could even have three kids, and we’re raising them on Pantora. My parents could watch over them whenever we’re busy.”

“Three children is good enough, Ri, though I want my first child to be a girl, like Frieda.”

“Let me guess, you want to pamper her all you want?” she crossed her hands, to which Fox replied by bobbing his head. “So what if it’s a boy instead? Then what?”

“Then I would also treat him the same as well,” he answered. “I’ll also pamper him with all my love for him as well.”

“That’s sweet of you,” Riyo said as she closed the gap between them and brushed her lips against his.

Fox could only murmur and close his eyes as he savoured the taste of her honey lips and embraced her with passion in his veins. His fingers tangled in her violet hair as his body touched against her warm bathrobe and her hands tracing on his back.

As Riyo buckled her legs around his waist, they continued to lock lips with each other. After having some privacy for themselves, Fox could finally let out his repressed passion towards his partner. He could finally show off their relationship with each other after hiding it for two years.

Even if the galaxy is crashing down into the void, their love for each other will never change. Riyo enjoyed her every intimate moment with Fox all night long, but her eyelids feel heavy. “Hey Fox,” Riyo pulled herself from Fox, staring into his deep brown eyes. “I feel tired. Should we hit the sack instead?”

“Of course, dear,” he nodded, giving her a peck on her forehead and wrapped himself in their thick blanket. “Goodnight, my Violeta.”

Riyo blew out the candles by their bedside as she cozies up next to him, glancing at the window. Without the city lights, she could never enjoy the view from the window like she used to. A city without lights is like a planet without the sun. It’s only a matter of time before it becomes lifeless for people to thrive like before.

“I miss the old Coruscant,” she expressed her sullenness. “Back then, we didn’t have to live in complete darkness. Now, we had to rely on candles for our source of light.”

“I miss Thorn,” Fox replied, his eyes still closed. “He was the only one who knew me better than anyone else. Now, it feels odd to not hear his cringey jokes whenever I’m enjoying my coffee.”

“Thorn is a great man, and I’m sorry that you never got to say goodbye to him. It’s hard losing someone you’re close with.”

“Right, we should go to sleep, Ri. We have an important mission tomorrow.”

[brianc521]

For the Love of Books

13k+ words of CEO/Bookworm

It’s been a rough week. A long, dark, rough week. With not being able to afford the electric bill, all that was left for you to do was shut down for the week. If you can’t read in the dark, then how were you supposed to buy books in the dark?

While it wasn’t making you money you also weren’t losing any either, that was the double edged sword you were fighting with. You hated it, as the owner of the families bookstore, being closed for a week was not what you wanted. Especially since you were the first family member who has had to do so.

Your Pa left the store to you when he passed away four years ago. It was his Mama’s before him, she left it to him much the same as he left it to you. It was a shock to the family when The Will read out that it was yours, and yours solely until the day you decided to bring in someone else.

It created a pretty big rift in the family, your Mom and Aunt believing that it should have been theirs, but to be honest, you weren’t shocked. It had been a discussion your Pa had with you before he made the decision. He wanted to make sure that you actually wanted the store, and that you could handle the backlash of you receiving it.

Cornered Pages was only your entire childhood. While you’re Mom claimed she loved the store, you would live there if you could. With a single Mom, working at a diner during the day and the local bar at night, left you to growing up with your Pa since he watched you while your Mom worked. He raised you off chapters and new arrivals. Your weekends were book signings and cutting bookmarks.

So having to close for a week was not only disappointing to yourself and your Pa’s legend, it also automatically made you the families disappointment because you couldn’t keep the doors open.

“I want to seriously talk about it,” Shawn shrugs as he sits across from you at the dining room table.

Shawn Mendes, 21 year old multimillionaire of his very own Mendes Printing. Also sort of known as your boyfriend of 2 years.

**flashback**

You were freaking out, literally pacing the bathroom as you whispered yelled at Lauren.

Lauren had been dating Connor since high school, but since he started his new job he had started hanging out with some new people. One of his closest friends was Shawn, and when Lauren met Shawn she set you two up almost immediately.

But now, here you are, dressed in your khaki work shorts, a cute purple tank top and your tan sandals. His schedule was so tight for making a date that you literally had to leave straight from work to the restaurant. You felt about 1000 times under dressed when Shawn picked you up in slacks and a light blue button up shirt.

“Lauren you could have warned a gal that you were setting her up with a fucking multimillionaire.” You hissed, neck vein popping in your frustration.

“I didn’t know! I swear to you, when I met him he was in a Harry Potter shirt and was bragging to Connor about how he’d been able to watch the whole series in a weekend. He was speaking in Potter quotes and all I could see was you and him getting married. I didn’t fucking know!”

“I literally look so stupid right now. He’s in fucking slacks and has cuff links? While I’m in khakis and my hairs in a cute but messy bun. The valet alone was more than I would ever be able to afford for dinner.”

“Oh god.” She groaned.

“I fucking said ‘Literally Pizza Hut would’ve impressed me,’ and he snorted.”

“Snorted?”

“Laughed at me, found me amusing, literally a lowlife compared to him.”

“What did he do to become a multimillionaire?”

“He started his own printing company when he was 18 years old. Graduated high school and started working the next day. He’s the big office building on the corner of Main and Baseline.”

“Oh shit,” She gasps. “So he’s rich rich. Homegirl lock him up.”

“Um no, it’s time to run.”

“Don’t overthink it, he’s a sweetheart I swear. He was really interested when I talked to him.”

“I have to go, he’s gonna think I died or something.”

“You’re so dramat-” You hang up on her and start to rush out the door so you can escape this nightmare you’re living.

This man was literally so far out of your league that you thought these leagues were only in the movies. He will want nothing to do with you, ever.

You whip the door open, taking a deep breath and look up to rush out but stop short when Shawn stands up from his relaxed position against the wall.

“Um,” You gape.

“Okay,” He clears his throat. “I did this wrong,” He cringes. “I was really trying to impress you. I haven’t been on a date since I was in high school. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I was just really trying to impress you and I realize I went a little too far. How bad would it be if I asked if we could start over? My place? We can order pizza and talk and be well, normal?”

You giggled, because he couldn’t stop fidgeting his hands, and glancing at you and then back at his shoes. He was so nervous, and you could see it in his features that he was scared he scared you off.

“Shawn? Just because Lauren set us up doesn’t mean we have to do this. If you don’t want to go out with me you don’t have to. It’s okay, I understand.”

“No! Are you kidding?” He asks appalled. “I’ve been so excited and nervous, and my life motto is nerves mean you care. I guess I’m just, I’m not the best at dating because I’ve never really dated. But I do, I do want to go out with you, I just want you to be comfortable.”

“I want you to be comfortable too.” You grin. “I hear you like Harry Potter?”

His eyes go wide and he nods dumbly.

“I have the series on DVD,”

“Blu Ray,” He points to himself. “And a flat screen.”

“Your place it is.”

**

“I don’t know Shawn,” You sigh, slumping back in your seat at the kitchen table, check book on the table in front of you.

“Baby, if I bought the store you’d never have to have a month like you just had. You’d never have to close for the week just to save, that’s not how a business runs.”

You were trying to be calm, and hear him out. But you really didn’t want Shawn buying the company.

“And with the money I can put into it, we can really look into more marketing. Maybe revamp the place, add a little coffee shop, demo the whole place and start over. We can start doing online sales, and boosting revenue that way. Baby I think we can do so much with it-”

“No,” You stop him, “No.”

Shawn’s stopped, shocked at your firm answer. “Why?”

“I just don’t want you buying my company,”

“Baby, but think about how much we could do-”

“No!”

All you can see in your head is that note you have stashed in your file cabinet from your Pa. The one that explicitly says that it was yours until you were ready to share with someone. You could share with Shawn, but you didn’t want to have to. You felt like you just got the place and you don’t want to give it up yet.

“I don’t understand why you don’-”

“Because it’s mine!” You snap. “It’s mine!”

Shawn’s pulling back, but letting you snap.

“It’s mine, and I know I’m not the best owner, we aren’t making much money and I can barely keep the doors open, but it’s mine. And if you buy it then it’s yours, and not mine, and I can’t-” You shake your head. “I know I’m the disappointment of the family right now, because yes, I might have to close the shop soon-”

“Baby,” He stops you, taking your hands and kissing them. “I’m trying to give you a way where you won’t have to close.” He whispers. “You’re not a disappointment by the way, the markets shit, no one’s really making money.” He shrugs. “And I know it’s yours, and if I bought the bookstore, it’d still be yours, 100%”

“No it wouldn’t because you would own it.”

“Okay, so let's compromise, let’s make a deal, let’s talk it out.” He grabs his notepad and a fountain pen. “What if we partnered, you’d have half and I’d have half? That way it's still yours but I can help,”

“I don’t-”

“Let me finish.” He writes some things down. “I’ve been looking into it, and this is what I think you could make if you at least, did the online thing,” He passes you a note with an absurd amount. The bookstore has never made money like that. “And this,” He pulls the paper back, “Is what you could make by adding the cafe.”

“Shawn.” You gasp at the amount he’s scribbled.

“It’d be a study place, in this college town. It’d be a writing place, just down the street from a publishing house. And there are so many opportunities we could have with the publishing house alone. We could work out a contract to say that we’d sponsor their new authors for a certain amount, we’d be helping them and ourselves.”

“You’ve really thought this through.”

“Yes I have, because I love you, and the bookstore, and I don’t ever want to see you have to close the doors. I want to help, and finally, I know how.”

You smile, looking down at the other ideas he has listed on his notepad.

“Can you just think about it. Let’s have a meeting, I want this to be serious. I’ll do some more homework, and you do some too. I want you to think up and draw up everything you’ve ever wanted to do at the store. Everything okay?” He waits for a nod from you, “We’ll have a meeting and discuss what we’ve both thought up and then come to a conclusion.”

“Okay.” You whisper, nodding at him.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” You look up at him as he stands and walks around the table to you.

“Okay, I’ll have my people call your people about the details.”

“You mean having Jackie call me in the morning at the store so she can tell me that you’re free Friday at 9:30 to 10:45?” You smirk up at him.

He rolls his eyes, “Yes, Jackie will be in touch. Better?”

You giggle, nodding as he leans down for a kiss. “Where are you going?”

“Home? I’ve got a meeting real early.” He grabs his jacket, slipping it around his shoulders.

You pout at him, giving him your puppy dog eyes. “Stay?”

He chuckles, “Don’t give me those eyes, I can’t say no to those eyes.”

“Then don’t?”

“I have to, seriously I have to be up at like 4, and I don’t want to disrupt you. It’s your first day back at the shop and you need to be rested. I love you, and I’ll stay over tomorrow okay? Maybe I’ll stop by the shop at lunch if I have enough time?”

“Okay.” You sigh, deflating back in your seat.

“I love you.” He steps back closer, leaning down for a kiss.

“Mhm.” You hum, turning your face to the side so he kisses your cheek.

“Miss,” He grabs your chin softly, turning it back towards him, “You got something to say to me?”

“I love you too I guess.”

“You guess?”

“I think I’d know if you were staying the night.”

He laughs, kissing your lips softly sucking your bottom lip, pulling a moan from the back of your throat.

“Now you really can’t leave.”

“See you tomorrow.” He grins, grabbing his phone and keys, blowing you a kiss as he walks out your door.

**

You laughed to yourself when you saw Jackie’s line number run across your cell.

“Hello Jackie.” You answered.

“Morning,” She cheerfully responded. “Okay, so, care to explain why I’m scheduling a meeting for you and Shawn? And not like a date or something, like an actual meeting? Here? At the office?”

“Has he said anything?”

“No he never talks about his meetings. I’m lucky if I get a ‘Mornin’.” She imitates Shawn.

“Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Yeah,” She laughs. “Well except for the meetings part. He really doesn’t talk about them, which is fine. It’s his business, I just schedule the meetings.”

“Well if he hasn’t said anything then I don’t think I should, but I’ll talk to him about it. He knows we’re friends, so if it’s not like confidential then I’ll let you know.”

“Alright fine,” She sighs. “He’s open, um you know, actually. When are you free?”

“Well, I just opened again this week.” You look around the store. “And I really don’t want to have to close just to go to the office for a meeting, but if I have too I will.”

“Tell me when you want the meeting, I’ll work it in his schedule. He can work around you this time around.”

You grin, mentally making a note to send her some flowers soon. “Well I usually close at 6 week nights, but I know he tries to be out of the office at 5.”

“Wednesday night at 6:30 good for you?” She asks, you can hear her typing away at her keyboard.

“Um, yeah, we’ll have to push our date back,” You giggle. “But I think this is an acceptable situation.

“Alrighty then, it’s been inputted into his calendar. Would you like me to input anything else in while I have you?”

“Yeah can you check that major birthdays and anniversaries are in there.”

“I know for a fact they are, he personally has input those. May 3rd is labeled with your name and a heart, just so you know.”

You blush, looking down at your counter, picking at the edge.

“It’s gonna be three years right?”

“Yeah.”

“He better go all out.”

“He could literally just come home with no work, and actually stay and I would be over the moon.”

“Oop, here he comes, wanna speak to him?”

“Um if he isn’t busy I guess.” You murmur.

“Alright, you’re gonna be on line 1, he’ll be with you in a moment.” Jackie says, “Meeting at Wednesday at 6:30, have a nice day!”

Before you can even respond the line clicks and you hear a husky, “Hello Beautiful.”

“Hi Handsome.”

“How’s your morning?”

You look around the store, books stocked full but empty of customers. “Slow.” You sigh, pulling your stool closer to the counter and taking a seat.

“It’s still early, got the whole day ahead of you.”

You love his ability to pick you up whenever you need it. He brought the positive to your life and always had you looking at the glass half full.

“Are you gonna be able to stop by for lunch?”

You hear him sigh, and clicking onto his computer. “No, I don’t think so Baby. Jackie penciled in this new intern? I guess it’s time for an eval, and it was my only open slot this…” He trails off, the clicking becoming louder. “Wednesday? But we have a date.” He speaks up.

“I know, but-”

“I made the reservations for 6:30.”

“Can you push them back? Or we can always have a dinner meeting I guess. Or you know what, tell Jackie to just put me in where it’s convenient for you, she tried to go by what was for me but I knew we should have gone off your sche-”

“I’ll push the reservations.” He hums.

You shut up quick, waiting a beat before suggesting, “Or we could just cancel them and go home with take out and watch The Act?”

Shawn hums again, and you can just imagine him scratching his chin as he swivels in his chair. “Or we could do that. I like that, let’s do that.”

You smile, “Okay! Since you aren’t coming to see me today can you at least come over tonight?”

“Told you last night I’d stay over.”

“I just didn’t know if that changed.”

He sighs, “I know I had to cancel the last time, and the time before, but that’s not gonna happen. I promise okay?”

“Okay.”

“I have a meeting Honey, I’ll see you tonight.”

“Okay.”

“I love you, sell some books!”

“I love you!”

The line goes dead and you sag in your stool. This was going to be a long day.

Maybe if you had more appeal to the store, like if you could see it better, or like if the sales that you had going on were noticeable from the window.

You slide your notebook over, grabbing your pen, titling the new page; ‘Meeting Ideas’.

**

You were rushing around the store trying to clean up the last bit that needed to be done before you rushed out the door. You got a little lost in building a new display for the Divergent section you had. You made some faction signs and little displays for them and before you knew it, it was time to close and your art project was all over.

You are just locking the door when your phone rings in your purse. Hands full, and keys dangling from your fingers you answer, slipping your phone between your shoulder and ear.

“Hello?”

“Hey Gorgeous,” Shawn’s voice flows through.

You sigh, knowing what this call was gonna be, cursing yourself for believing his promise this morning.

“Hey,” You sigh, unlocking your car but leaning against it for the bad news. “Not coming over?”

You hear a gasp from his end, and then him clearing his throat. “Um, I was calling to see if you wanted to make dinner or go out?”

“Oh!”

“Did you really think I was calling to cancel?” He whispers.

“Studies go to show-”

“Okay Bookworm, well let me show the studies that I am coming over, without any work, and I’ll be staying the whole night.”

You giggle at his defense game. “Okay, okay I’m sorry.”

“Dinner? Am I picking something up? Am I making you something? Are we meeting somewhere?”

“Can you just pick something up? I literally had the longest day, and I just wanna snuggle.”

“Okay, so a plate; orange chicken, teriyaki chicken, and fried rice with cream cheese ran goons?”

“I fucking love you.”

He chuckles, “I love you too Honey, I’ll see you at home with your food and a medium Coke.”

“You literally are perfect.”

“Goodbye,” He calls, laughing as you sigh.

**

The TV played softly as background noise to your cuddle session. It wasn’t often that you felt like you had time with Shawn like this. He rarely promised time without work, and you took advantage when he did.

The last few times he’s promised that he’d be yours for the night he’s gotten called in, or never even made it out of the office long enough to feed himself. You’re slowly started to become accustomed to being stood up, half the time you barely even get ready knowing that the dreaded text is bound to come through.

You shift a little against his chest, cuddling closer and humming as you look up. But you pull back a bit when you notice that his face is illuminated by his phone, and his free hand is typing away at his email, letters flying across the screen at a rapid pace going to prove how much he is on his phone.

You sigh, and roll your eyes discreetly as you pull away from him. He notices you leaving quickly, the arm that’s wrapped around you curling tighter so you can’t get away.

“What are you doing?” He mumbles dropping a kiss to the top of your head, eyes never once leaving his phone.

“You said no work.”

“I know, but I have to read this.” He answers, pointing with his chin to the device in his hand.

“It can’t wait till morning? It’s the first night we’ve had together in almost two weeks.” You sit up, turning to look at him.

He glances at you and then back at his phone as it buzzes with four new emails. You slump, blinking at him tiredly.

“Babe it’s just a few emails, and we’re watching a movie we’ve already seen. I’m not missing anything.”

You shake your head at his reasoning, as if spending time with you wasn’t even on his radar at all, he’s not missing anything new so what’s the harm?

“Fine.” You sigh, sitting back against the couch.

He clicks his phone off with a huff, “Don’t be like that.”

“I’m gonna get ready for bed.” You say as he starts to turn towards you. You stand from the couch quickly, walking off to your bedroom to start your routine before he can suck you in with his puppy eyes.

He joins you in the bathroom a few minutes later, after he’s locked up your place and turned the lights off.

“You’re so beautiful.” He murmurs into your shoulder as he hugs you from behind, watching you take your makeup off. You give him a glare in return to his comment, letting him know that trying to sweet talk you isn’t gonna help. “Don’t be mad, it was just one email.”

You scoff, “It’s not just one email, we both know that you’ll stay up to answer the rest and draft up even more.”

“I wait until you’re asleep though.” He points out.

“That’s not my point.” You whisper, tired of having the same conversation every night.

“You say that every time and then never elaborate what your actual point is, so can we get to that part already?”

“My point or question I guess is if I’ll ever come first?” You shrug, looking up at him.

His heart just about breaks when he sees your bottom lip quiver. He never ever wanted to make you feel like the work comes before you, it’s just so much is weighing on his shoulders right now, and it’s become easy for him to just know that you’re there even when he’s not and he’s taken that for granted.

“You do come first.”

“I don’t,” You shake your head, “We can’t even watch a movie with you checking work.”

He watches you turn and walk out of the bathroom, crawling into bed. You let out a deep shuddering breath as you relax with your back facing the side he usually lays on.

Biting his lip he flips the light off, following you to bed.

“Might as well go get yourself set up at the dining room table, or just go ahead and sneak out to go back to your place now. No point in staying.”

His eyes snap to you, his chest tightening, guilt panging as he realizes just how much you know what he does while you’re in bed. He didn’t think you knew about the night that he needed to be in his office to get something done, so he made your place look like he had left early in the morning and not at 11:47 pm.

He curses himself at what he’s done to make you feel this way.

“No Baby,” He slips under the covers, arms wrapping around you and pulling you flush against his chest. “I’m right here.”

He lets the sound of your deep breathing and scent of your mint and rosemary shampoo soothe him into the most peaceful sleep he’s had in a long time. He finally allows his overactive brain to slow for a minute, and for his body to relax against yours.

That night, he dreams of his forever with you.

**

Shawn was already in the conference room when you arrived at the office, Jackie meeting you at the door offering to take your jacket and a beverage of your liking.

You decline, to both, pointing to where you thought Shawn was, smiling at the confirmation nod she gives you in return.

You walk down the hall, holding your notebook of homework and ideas. You knock, slowly entering the room and smiling at Shawn, who’s head whips up from his papers.

“Hey!” He greets, standing up to welcome you in. He leans in for a quick hug, pecking your lips as he pulls away. “I’m professional I promise, but you’re my girl and deserve a hug and a kiss hello.”

You giggle, shaking your head at his antics. He pulls your chair out, the one next to his, and helps scoot you in after you’ve taken your seat.

“Okay, well let’s jump right into business.” He starts, flipping through his pages of notes as you do the same. “What to do you have there?” He points to your notebook.

“My notes?”

He chuckles, “I know they’re your notes, but what are the notes?”

“Oh,” You clear your throat, “Um well, these would be my terms and conditions.” You slide your notebook over, letting him read through it.

It’s impressive, how much thought you’ve put into every single detail.

In the end it’s decided that Shawn will invest with a 15% stake, and with his connections and his company itself now partnering with yours it’s well more of a deal for you than for him.

Next steps are to get the balls rolling with what your plans are. A website that allows your customers to order online, a cafe, and a whole store remodel. It was scary, especially because you really don’t want a whole lot to change, but it’s what needs to happen to be successful.

“Pizza or pasta?” Shawn asks as he starts to pack his briefcase up.

You stare at your notes, and the copy of the contract you both just signed. It’s like your frozen. This amazing guy was investing in your company, out of the love from his heart. This literally does nothing for him but give you the room to grow.

“Hey?” He sits back down, hand landing on your thigh. “Are you having second thoughts?”

You look at him with watery eyes.

“Baby if you’re having second thoughts then rip up the contract, we’ll-”

You quickly press your lips to his, shutting him and his anxious mind up for a moment.

“Not having second thoughts, just needing to take a moment to let this all settle in.”

“Okay,” He nods, pulling on your hand to have you stand up so he can hold you.

“I’m not gonna disappoint him anymore.” You whisper into his chest.

“Who?”

“Pa.”

Shawn sighs, kissing the top of your head, “You never disappointed him. I promise you that.”

**

“Hey Babe!” Shawn’s voice floats through the phone.

“Hey Honey.” You answer, clicking him to speaker as you box up some more books to prepare for demo day.

“So I’ve been looking into the perspective of revenue, and it might be time to start looking into some help.”

“Help?”

“Like some other workers.” He clarifies.

“Oh! I am, I have plans to meet with Lauren about the cafe this week.”

“That’s great Baby, but I’m meaning with you at the shop, not in the cafe.”

“Oh um, I don’t kn-”

“I emailed you the spreadsheet of the projected sales, take a look at it and let me know what you think okay? Just think about it? I have a meeting I needed to be in like 5 minutes ago,” He chuckles, “CEO duties. But I wanted to bring this to your attention. Anyway, I love you, I’ll see you for dinner.” He makes a dramatic kissing sound into the speaker and then hangs up before you can even think of responding.

**

The sledgehammer was a lot heavier than you were expecting now that you’re standing in front of a bare wall with a bunch of workers and your boyfriend staring at you.

You take a deep breath, take a step back, and let your years of softball takeover and swing for the fences. The wall splinters under the pressure and breaks, leaving a big hole in it’s trace.

“You did it!” Shawn cheers, running over to take the dangerous object away from you before you or anyone else got hurt.

“Holy shit, it’s real now.” You laugh as the rest of the crew then starts knocking the wall down. “That was so fun, holy shit!”

“It was really hot too.” Shawn smirks, wiggling his eyebrows at you.

“Oh my god, go away.” You push at his chest lightly.

“Hold up!” One of the workers calls, stopping everyone from there work and pulling something from the wall.

“Is something wrong?” Shawn asks, tucking you behind him.

“I found this,” He hands Shawn the note.

Shawn opens the note, coughing when the dust and debris flies around him.

“Oh Babe.” He sighs, turning to show you.

You gasp at the handwriting alone, yanking the note from Shawn’s hands and holding it close to your chest. The watery tears in your eyes as you look up at Shawn have him almost melting to the ground and vowing to protect you from everything.

“I’m gonna go-” You jerk your thumb over your shoulder to the door, indicating that you wanted privacy while reading this note.

Shawn nodded in understanding, turning to have everyone get back to work and talk some more with the contractor about the plumbing.

He really wanted to give you some time, really wanted to respect that you needed it. But damn it you were almost crying when you walked out the door, and staring at you from the window he can tell that you are crying now.

“Fuck it,” He mutters, stepping outside.

He slides up behind you, arms wrapping around your waist, chin resting on your shoulder.

“Are you okay?” He whispers into your ear.

“Yeah.” You nod, wiping your cheek. “Yeah, I needed this.” You unfold the letter so he can see.

It’s about time, this place needs the updates! I knew you had dreams for this place Pumpkin! Love Pa.

“Wait, he wrote that for you!” Shawn gasps softly. “How old were you when he redid the place?”

“I was three when he broke down the barrier wall and put in the new one,” You whimper.

“He knew all along this would be your legacy.” Shawn squeezes you closer.

“I was really struggling today with this decision, because I didn’t know if he would approve or not. But this was exactly what I needed to know I made the right choice.”

“Yeah?” Shawn asks.

“Yeah, you were the right choice. Pa would have loved you.” You turn and kiss his shoulder.

“You think?”

“I know he would have. Pa was particularly protective. You seem to have that same nature.” You grin. “I can just hear what he would say about you, and to you.”

“What would he say?”

“Well he’d sit me down and go, ‘that’s a good boy you got there, he treats you right and respects you. But if you got any troubles or doubts you let your Pa know, he’ll take care of it.’ Even though your friendship would be so tight he would side with you instead of me.” You giggle.

Shawn smiles, kissing your neck before sighing. “I wish I could have met him.”

“Can I ask you something?” You turn to face him now.

“Anything.”

“Would you like to?”

“Like to what?” Shawn’s brows furrow.

“Like to meet him?” You ask again. “Would you like to go to his grave with me?”

Shawn’s smile literally touches, ear to ear, and he squeals a little as he picks you up and spins you around.

“I’d love to.”

**

Lauren has been your best friend since you both started working at the local girls clothing store in high school. She’s a few years older than you and really was the person who showed you the love of running a store. She got you into the management aspect of the job and taught you everything you know.

She’s a big reason as to why you were so comfortable and willing to take over the bookstore for Pa when he passed away.

When you both left the clothing store she went off to become an assistant manager at Lou’s Coffee House just outside of town. She then went on to meet Connor there, and the story goes on to how she set you up with Shawn.

“So I have some news!” You squeal as Lauren sets her coffee mug down in front of her.

You’re out to breakfast for your weekly meetup at your usual diner.

“Are you pregnant?” She asks.

“No!”

“Engaged?” 

“Oh my god, no.”

“Okay then…?”

“So I’m remodeling the store.” You grin as her eyes go wide. “And I bought the toy shop next door.”

“Whoa!” She shares your excitement but then comes back to reality. “Wait, weren’t you like just closed for a week because you couldn’t afford the electric bill?”

“So about that, I, I um, I might have gone through with Shawn’s investment plan.”

“Finally.” She sighs.

“We worked through the details, sat down and had a meeting and everything.”

“Sounds very Fifty Shades here.”

“Oh my god shut up,” You blush and shake your head, no realizing that it kind of did.

“Okay,” She laughs. “So why buy the toy shop?”

“How much do you like your job?”

“Working as an assistant manager? Where I can’t make my own decisions? Where I have to get them okay’d first? It sucks, but it’s a job.”

“Wanna manage your own cafe?” You ask with a big smile.

“Excuse me?”

“I bought the toy shop to knock the dividing wall down and add a cafe.”

You’ve never seen her eyes so wide. “You’re joking?”

“And I bought it so you could run it.”

“You’re joking?!?” Her voice is starting to rise.

“Is that a yes?”

“Why me?”

“Because you’re you? You’re the best Lo, let’s be honest with ourselves.”

“I’d be in charge? Can do my own ideas?”

“Well Shawn and I have drawn up some ground rules since it’s mainly his name on it, but yeah there’s no one we’d want or trust more.”

**

Days got tough, times get hard, and people grow tired. It’s life, it’s what happens. Today was one of those days for you.

While finding Pa’s note helped, and the excitement of starting a new was distracting, you still struggled with the result that has come of you owning the shop.

It was hard to admit you needed help, and it was harder to receive it from Shawn. It was terrifying to give up some of the reign to him as well. So with his newest idea, comes your patience lost.

“You don’t get to do this.” You shake your head, putting the plates away in the cabinet and slamming the cabinet door shut in your frustration.

“You’re gonna need the help.”

“I don’t need help!”

“I’m not saying you can’t do it. I’m not saying that. I’m saying that at least one other person is going to make it easier for you. You’re gonna run yourself into the ground doing it by yourself.”

“We’ve agreed on cafe staff.” You cross your arms.

“Yes we have, but we’re not talking about the cafe. We’re talking about the shop. One other person, that’s all I’m saying. One more set of hands with you behind the counter. You’re gonna want it, gonna need it.”

“It’s my store Shawn, I can do it! This part of it is all I have left!”

“I’m not taking that away!” He raises his voice to your level. “I’m trying to give you some help here!”

“This!” You turn back to the sink. “This is why I didn’t want to do this! I knew this is how it’d turn out. You’d be Mr. Mendes, Mr. Know-it-All, and tell me how to run the store. My store!” You toss the dish towel on the counter, turning back to him. “Guess what Shawn, you’re not there. You never have been, you never will be. You don’t care enough to be there, and because of that you’re not allowed to care about who is.”

His condo is silent as your words settle. He blinks at you, face blank of an expression and your heavy breaths slow as you watch him turn and walk away from you.

“Shawn?”

He doesn’t answer, he just picks up his keys from the corner counter and walks right out the front door, leaving the slam of it to echo in your head.

**

He didn’t come home, he knew he should have and that he’d given you both enough time to cool down. But he didn’t come home.

Instead he hid away in the safezone that has become his office, his second home. He was too wired to go back and go to bed, but he was too drained to keep driving around all night, so he ended up here, checking emails and stewing over your words.

You were right, he never did spend any time with you at the store. And it wasn’t in his schedule to start doing so after the remodel. The store was so important to you, and it was so minimalistic to him that he couldn’t see how much it would mean to actually stop and enjoy the space with you.

He’s been fighting his own battle all night with how guilty and shitty he feels for walking through the doors of Cornered Pages and changing everything, flipping your whole world on its side, without actually thinking about how this truly is affecting you deep inside.

It was close to 5:30 am when he dozed off. Chin in his hand, elbow propped up on his desk. The sun had just started to rise, and he could hear Jackie out at her desk.

But it was 8:45 am when you stormed in. The banging of his office door against the wall startling him awake. His jump knocking over the framed photograph of you and him from your last anniversary.

He looks around quickly, looking for what woke him in such a way, but everything stops when his eyes land on you. Your hair was unkempt, you wore his old Harvard hoodie and some grey sweats. Eyes rimmed red with tears.

“Baby?” He cleared his throat, blinking a few times to wake himself up. “What’s wrong?”

“I need you, to come home.” Your voice shakes as you speak.

“What happened? What’s wrong?” He keeps asking, afraid something bad happened.

“Come home.” Your bottom lip quivers as he stands to come to you.

“What’s wrong? Baby what happened?”

“You didn’t come home!”

He wraps you up in his arms, kissing the top of your messy hair and breathing you in.

“You don’t just get to not come home Shawn.”

“Okay, okay.” He nods, feeling you start to relax. “Let’s go home.”

“You don’t get to not come home.” You repeat, some panic still coursing through you.

“You’re okay, I’m right here. Let’s go home.”

“I thought you were leaving, you can’t not come home.”

Your words are like a knife through his heart, he can’t handle the thought of you sitting in his home thinking he wasn’t ever gonna come back to you.

“Never, I’m never leaving you. I won’t do it again, I promise. Take me home.”

Jackie watches with concerned eyes as you both stagger out of his office, Shawn mumbling to cancel his meetings, that he needed a personal day. She didn’t ask questions, she just nodded and bidded you both safe travels back home.

Once seated in the car to go home the only thing you say is “You don’t just get to not come home.”

**

This is it, months of work, weeks of stress, days of insecurities, hours of arguing, and minutes of excitement has lead to this.

The shop was finally complete, and today was the reopening. You were nervous, the new keys sit in your hand as Shawn, Aaliyah who’s been hired to work in the shop with you, and Lauren your best friend who’s gonna manage the Cafe stand beside you as you unlock the door.

Shawn grins, pulling the new outdoor easel sign out from the entrance of the store and positioning it right out front showing that it was a ‘Grand Re-Opening!’.

“Li, can you count the register? Do you remember how I showed you?”

“Can you just watch to make sure I do it right? I think I remember, but I don’t want to mess it up.” She nervously giggles, walking with you to the counter to count the register to properly open the store.

Shawn and Lauren open up the cafe entrance, and you can see Shawn bouncing on his toes as he watches you and Aaliyah through the glass walls that divide the store from the cafe.

“Got it?” You turn to her with a smile, she nods proudly closing the register and slipping the receipt into the little accordion file you keep in a compartment under the drawer.

“Yep!”

“Perfect, now I think your brother wants to be the first dollar we earn from the cafe, so let’s go join him before we get to work.” You giggle leading her to the cafe.

“There you are! Get it taken care of?” He asks looking at Aaliyah, eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Yep! I did it all by myself and everything.” Her sarcasm drips heavily as she answers.

“Okay, what can I buy you for a celebratory drink?”

“Okay, so I have a medium black coffee for Shawn, a medium white chocolate mocha blended for Liyah, and a iced peppermint mocha, large, for the lovely owner.” Lauren sets three cups down, knowing everyone’s order before any of you have to tell her.

“And a iced vanilla cold brew, medium, added to his tab.” You give her a look eyeing her drink behind her on the counter.

“I was gonna-”

“Nope add it to his tab, I think he can handle it.” You pat Shawn’s shoulder, grinning when he nods, swipes his card and leaves a hefty tip.

“We just had our first sale!” Lauren cheers when his charge goes through.

You laugh at her excitement and lean into Shawn’s side, sighing as you let the day sink it. He leans down to kiss the top of your head and thread his fingers through yours.

It’s so weird to see him on a Monday, jeans and white t shirt instead of his slacks and a button down. He’s taken the day off to be here for the store launch, and work with you guys on the floor.

“Okay!” He claps his hands together. “Let’s get to work! What’s first?”

**

This is the slowest it’s been all day, there’s been a line practically out the door, and you’re thanking your lucky stars that Shawn wanted to be here today to help. He’s been helping people find books, or the right aisles for certain genres, he’s greeted every person that walks in the door, and talks up the cafe for those who don’t have a drink already.

You and Aaliyah are practically trapped behind the counter, not having a chance to even look to the other, that’s how many people are in line.

You’re ringing up Mrs. Cooper, gift wrapping a few books for her grand kids birthdays. “Caleb is just going to love that Harry Potter box set you had. His mother said he’s been looking for that since Christmas, and Katie has been non stop talking about that new Julie Cross book.”

“We just got that book in this morning, it came with my new shipment.” You nod, tying a ribbon around the box set. “I can’t wait to read it, the Juniper Falls series is one of my favorites.”

“Katie will be so excited.” Mrs. Cooper smiles, handing you the bills to pay for the books. You smile as you ring her up.

“Mrs. Cooper would you like to sign up for a our new rewards program? All you have to do is put in an email or phone number and we’ll track your points that way, with every dollar you earn a point. Every 100 points you get a free book or drink on us.”

“I’d love to, I’m gonna be in enough to make it worth my while.”

“Perfect!” You smile, clicking over to the page to sign her up. “While I get you signed up I’ll have Shawn take your things to your car.”

“Oh thank you Honey.” She smiles, watching you wave Shawn over.

“Hey Gorgeous,” He grins, kissing the side of your head and looking at the screen. “Need help with something?”

“Yeah can you carry Mrs. Coopers books to her car? I’m gonna get her signed up for the rewards program real quick.”

You watch Shawn’s eyes drift from you to the counter where two bags of books sit in front of Mrs. Cooper and her walker.

“Of course, where are you parked?” He asks taking the bags with a big smile.

“Right up front in the handicap parking Son, my husbands in the car waiting.”

“Perfect, I’ll be right back.” Shawn nods, winking at you before he walks away.

You get Mrs. Cooper signed up, ring up a few more people to finish off the line, and then look around at the mostly empty store to see how it looks after that rush.

It’s not too bad, but you notice it needs serious recovery and some filling of shelves. When you turn to start talking to Aaliyah to notice that she’s not standing at her spot behind the counter, but coming out of the back storage room with a cart of books, asking a few people if they’re finding everything okay.

You smile, knowing that Aaliyah was a perfect fit for your store, and everyone was loving her.

You take this quick chance to run over to the cafe and check in with Lauren, and see how she’s doing. The cafe is bustling with people, every table is full and all the chairs in the little nook are occupied with reading teens.

“Hey!” You cheer as you walk behind the counter to talk with Lauren.

She pats Becca, her extra set of hands, on the shoulder to let her know that she’s coming to talk to you.

“Hey Bigshot.”

You roll your eyes at the name, Lauren’s been calling you that since you told her about the remodel and asked her to be the cafe’s lead manager.

“How’s it going over here?” You ask, leaning against the wall, getting a glimpse of Shawn over her shoulder.

He’s talking to a group of men in suits, and you assume they must be his work colleagues.

“It’s going really good, Becca and I are working really well around each other. She’s so sweet and amazing that I’ve practically had her at register all day because she’s selling treats and the cafe card like crazy.”

“Oh yay! I’m so glad!” You nod, smiling at Lauren and then letting your eyes travel back to Shawn. “Do you know those guys?” You ask her, nodding to the guys who just made Shawn’s smile drop to a frown in less than a second.

“Oh I don’t know, they ordered a few minutes ago, kept whispering to each other and laughing as they looked around.” She shrugs, “Seems like Shawn knows them.”

“Yeah will you give me a second?” You ask, walking past her and over to Shawn. “Hey,” You lay a hand on his back, standing beside him as all three of the guys look down to you.

“Hey,” Shawn mumbles, letting his arm uncross from in front of his chest and wrap around you. “This is Tate, Blake and Zach.” He points to each of the guys.

“You must be the famous girlfriend?” Blake says with a teasing smile.

You squint at him as you try to figure out their game here, “Yeah, and you are?”

The boys look to Shawn in shock, “Um, we work at Mendes Printing.” Zach answers.

“They’re in charge of the orders and deliveries.” Shawn says looking to you.

“So, this place is, is something huh?” Tate acknowledges. “You must be so happy to have someone like Shawn who can just dump some change to those in need.”

Shawn stands up straight, jaw clamped shut. You watch as Blake and Zach snicker, looking at each other like they’re the funniest guys in the world.

“I’m lucky to have a supportive boyfriend who believes in my dreams and will help me accomplish them.” You fire back. “And you’re lucky to have such a wonderful man as a boss, who lets you take a break at what?” You pick up Shawn’s wrist to read his watch, “At 2:37 pm.”

All three boys deadpan as you give them a small smile. “We’re on our way to a meeting.” They stammer out.

“Well I’m so glad you are willing to be late to a meeting just to see our new cafe, did you sign up for the new cafe card? With every 10 purchases you get the 11th free. You can sign up while you wait for the drinks you’ve ordered.”

Shawn squeezes your hip, grinning as he kisses the top of your head.

“We’ve got to be headed back to the store, but it was nice to meet you, can’t wait to hear your stellar reviews of the drinks. Lauren’s the best barista in town.”

Shawn steers you away from the boys, smirking into your hair as he holds you close. “They didn’t mean any harm.”

“They practically said that you’re my sugar daddy and bought me my own store.”

“And we both know that isn’t true, you barely let me buy you dinner.”

“You deserved to be spoiled too, so no I’m not about to let you pay for everything just because you can. I can too.”

“I love you, you know that right?”

“I love you too.” You look up at him with a pout. His smile and blushing cheeks has you biting your lip, trying to stay professional in your business. “I really wanna kiss you.” You mumble as you turn away to help Aaliyah fill shelves.

“Oof the things I wanna do to you to celebrate the success of your store? Just wait until we get home Miss. CEO.” Shawn pinches your ass before walking away, tossing a wink your way as your jaw drops.

**

A week into the relaunch and things finally seem to settle back into the normal you’re used too. Wednesdays are always your slowest days, and while it’s not always good for business you take advantage of the free time to get some remerching done.

That’s what you’re up to this morning. You had a dream last night about what the store would look like if you redesigned the front wall and added some of the new signs Shawn’s company just dropped off the other day.

That’s why books are stacked in piles around the front of the store and shelves and knife brackets are scattered in empty spaces as you try plan out how you want it to look like. You’ve counted up 17 notches and slide a knife bracket in place, repeating on the next section. You use your right foot to help hoist the shelf up high enough to set on top of the brackets, but right as you go to lift the door opens, bell startling you and you drop the shelf.

The loud clang and yelp from you is enough to catch Mrs. Cooper’s attention as she walks into the store, eyes wide as she notices you hunched over in pain.

“Oh, Honey are you okay?” She tries to get to you as fast as she can, but with the piles you’ve set down for the time being her walker can’t get to you.

“I’m okay,” You wave her off, trying to play it cool as your foot throbs. “How are you this morning?” You clench your jaw, fisting your jeans to help hold off your scream of pain.

“Dear are you sure you’re okay? You dropped that shelf right on your foot. Where’s that boy who was here the last time I was in, he should be helping. Lord knows he’s got those muscles for a reason.”

“He’s actually just an investor, and well my boyfriend, but he’s got his own company to work for. That was just a one time thing, him working here.” You correct her.

“Is there anyone else here?”

“Not yet, but I’m okay I promise.” You stand up straight, hiding your pain behind a fake smile, to prove you’re alright and don’t need help.

“If you say so, I’m just in to get another one of those Juny Pond books or whatever that series was.”

“Juniper Falls?” You smile, trying to hide your limp as you make your way to your Young Adult sports section. “Which one are you looking for?”

Mrs. Cooper starts to tell you all about how Katie, her granddaughter fell in love with the new book she got her at the re opening, and how she wants more. You soon figure out that Katie has read all three books from the series so you go on to suggest the baseball book that Julie Cross has published that is just as good, and if not your favorite.

But as you talk with Mrs. Cooper Lauren comes in a little early, quickly notices that bare wall and everything a little disorganized up front. When she finds you two she immediately can tell something is wrong with you, and that you’re very uncomfortable.

Usually you’ll talk all day with Mrs. Cooper, but you seem to hurry her a little today and you’re limping in just the slightest bit. The second Mrs. Cooper is out the door to her husband you drop to the floor, letting out a long “owww”

“What happened Doll?” She asks, crouching beside you.

“I was rebuilding the front wall, all in my head and in my zone. The second I lifted the shelf to put it up Mrs. Cooper walked and the bell went off scaring the bejesus out of me and I dropped the damn thing on my foot.”

“Well you’re walking on it so it’s not broken.”

You slip your shoe and sock off, cringing at the deep purple and blue bruise that’s starting to form across your foot, the swelling already starting.

“Just severely bruised.” Lauren sighs.

“Will you help me finish the wall before you open the cafe? I promise to stay off it as much as I can but I can’t leave the front of the store like that.”

She agrees to help but makes you sit on the step stool while you tell her what to do and where to put things. In the end the wall looks really cool and the customers you have coming in after it’s built have nothing but compliments for it.

“Hey!” Aaliyah calls as she clocks in from the back.

“Hey Hon!” You smile as she comes out with a cheery smile, stopping when she spies you on the stool, you rarely sit.

“What’s up?”

“So, don’t tell your brother, but I got hurt today.”

“What? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine but, I might have dropped a shelf on my foot.”

“Oh my god,”

“She’s gonna sugar coat it but she can barely put pressure on her foot, so while I’m in the cafe make sure she’s being good and staying off it and icing it. Also because she’s limited to her chair she’s finally finished up the online order website and gotten all the merchandise in the website so that can launch soon!” Lauren interrupts you.

“Hey! I was gonna tell her that!” You glare at Lauren.

���Sorry, I got excited.”

“Why can’t I tell Shawn, he should know.” Aaliyah looks at you.

“He will.” You nod. “But I want to tell him later, he’ll freak out and blah blah blah.”

Aaliyah nods slowly, and you can see in her eyes, just like her brother, that she’s gonna do the exact thing you asked her not to do. So you mentally make a note that Shawn will be here in the next 15 minutes.

** 10 Minutes Later **

“Jackie, cancel it.” You hear Shawn say as the bell goes off indicating he’s just walked in the door.

“Sorry,” Aaliyah sighs when you look up at her. “He’d kill me if he knew I knew and didn’t say something.”

“It’s okay,” You smile at her. “I know I said I wanted to tell him later, but I’m glad he’s here. So thank you.”

“Emergency.” He hums as he looks around frantically for you, stopping when he sees you seated behind the counter. “Okay I will, thanks Jackie.” With that he hangs up the phone, walking right behind the counter and taking your face into his hands, eyes inspecting yours. “Which foot?”

“Right.”

“Level?”

“8.” You answer softly.

“Reason why you didn’t call?” He raises an eyebrow.

“I wanted to push through?”

“Try again.” He hums, crouching down to take your shoe off so he can see.

“I didn’t want to bother you,” You slump, telling the truth. “I promise I’m okay.”

“And what were you doing?” He asks as he softly caresses your foot, being careful not to touch too rough.

“I was building the front wall.”

He looks up at you, blinks, then turns his head to look at the wall noticing that what you’ve done is actually much cooler and seems to be attracting a lot of attention from bystanders outside.

“How’d you drop it?”

“The bell scared me when Mrs. Cooper walked in and I dropped it.” Your bottom lip pushes out at how lame your story is.

He shakes his head, letting a breath out as he tries not to laugh a little. “You kill me, you know that? How hard would it have been to wait to do that with Liyah here, or Lauren, or me?”

“You?” Your eyebrows scrunch.

“If you would have called I would have come to help.”

“But-”

“We talked about this,” He shakes his head, “We’re in this together right? You chose me to be apart of this with you? Then let me be apart of it. I know I can’t be here everyday, but I can be here to help if you need me to be. Building walls, or new displays that involve heavy lifting is something I can be here for. You just have to tell me.”

You nod, letting his fingers twine with yours on your thighs.

“Okay, next time I’ll call.”

“Thank you, that’s all I’m asking for.” He looks back down at your foot and bites his lip. “Level 8?”

You nod, showing off that you can wiggle your toes a bit but that’s about it.

“Can I take you home?” He whispers, hands sliding to the back of your calves, rubbing little circles with his thumbs.

“Can we stay till close? It’s just a two more hours? You can help me with inventory for the website launch.”

“Of course,” He smiles, jumping up to pull the other stool closer to sit with you and work on the website.

**

Shawn sets you down on the bed, convinced that you shouldn’t be putting any weight on your foot. He happily took on the roll of your right hand man, carrying your everywhere, bringing you things, spoiling you in many kisses.

“So,” He says, digging through his drawer to find you a shirt to wear. “I had a phone meeting with Horan Publishing today.” He smiles as he pulls out his Eddie Vedder, his favorite to see you in.

“Oh?” You hum as you take the shirt from his hands.

“Yeah, he wanted to discuss maybe partnering with us.” Shawn grunts as he starts to change his own clothes.

“With us?” You deadpan, looking up at him.

Shawn looks over his shoulder at the sound of your question, stopping his actions to turn and look at you.

“Yeah.”

“Us? I’m-”

“He publishes books,” Shawn grins, “We sell books.”

You nod dumbly, still confused that someone wants to partner.

“He was wondering if we might be interested in sponsoring a few of his new authors, maybe give them a shelf or two, the room to do a signing.”

“He wants to do that with us?”

“Yes,” Shawn laughs at your skepticism, “He’s an old friend but said he’s noticing the rapid success of your store and thought that maybe if he partnered with us the younger audience that your store draws might help kickstart a fanbase.”

You just blink at him.

“I’ll go over all the paperwork he sent over, but I think it’s a good deal, he’d be sponsoring us much the same we’d do for him.”

“If you think it’s a good deal then fucking do it, I trust you more than my own opinions here.”

Shawn grins, shaking his head, crawling towards you on the bed to plant a steamy kiss to your lips. “You’re so fucking cute,” He murmurs against your lips.

**

A month later your store is filled with a line out the door and wrapped around the building for the first book signing you’ll sponsor.

Niall is here, planted firmly in the cafe corner, laptop open, charger plugged into the wall to make sure he’s not gonna crash as he works through the signing.

Shawn’s here to support, ready to help in anyway he can. But the more you watch from a distance behind the counter the more you’re wishing he wasn’t here.

He’s getting quite close to the author.

She’s gorgeous, long brown hair, brown sparkly eyes, perfect eyebrows and cheekbones. She is an incredible author, and honestly you’ve become a big fan after reading the first copies of a few of her books that Niall sent over last week. But the more she’s making eyes at Shawn, touching his arm, and laughing at everything he has to say has her leaving a sour taste in your mouth.

But slowly your becoming hurt with the way he’s not pushing her off, and how he keeps stepping just a little closer.

You take a deep breath, turning to look at Aaliyah and seeing that she’s struggling a little with keeping up with the line of book hungry teens.

You decide that you don’t have time to stand and watch your perfect boyfriend flirt with the perfect girl in front of him, you’ve got work to do. So, you roll up your sleeves slip behind Aaliyah to get to the other register and start ringing up the next customer.

The store is crazy destroyed by the time you closed. Aaliyah was feeling stressed and little under the weather when you locked the doors to start the closing process, so you sent her home promising that you could handle it on your own.

Shawn had tried to kiss you goodbye, after walking Hailee, the author, to her car and giving her a big hug before she got in. You turned your head so he had to kiss your cheek, and then stalked off to start cleaning before he had the chance to ask what was up.

He leaves hesitantly, guiding Aaliyah through the door to take her home, but watches you from the windows, noticing the deep frown on your face and the way your shoulders are slumped as you start to count the registers.

“Was she like that all day?” He asks his sister, pointing at you once they’re both seated in the car.

“What?” Aaliyah looks up, and the sees what he’s pointing at. “Oh, um, she was fine this morning, really excited. But like as the day went on it was like something was constantly bugging her and bringing her mood down. I tried to talk to her about it but she just kept saying ‘I’ve got work to do, no time to waste on dumb things’.”

Shawn’s brows furrow and he watches you for a minute before driving away to drop Aaliyah off.

By the time he makes it back to help and pick you up his poor thumb nail is practically non existent, he wants to know what’s wrong and got you feeling down.

He knocks at the door, peaking through the window so you can see him to let him in. You turn and look over your shoulder with wide eyes and then they soften a bit when you recognize him.

You scramble for your keys and unlock the door, “What are you doing here?”

His eyes narrow on you in confusion, “I’m here to help, and take you back home?”

“Oh,” You look back at the cafe where Lauren was cleaning up. You had told her about Shawn and Hailee and how they had acted all day, and she offered to give you a ride home since you rode in with Shawn. “Lauren was gonna drive me.”

Shawn looks over your shoulder to Lauren, catching her glare, his heart beat picking up a bit.

“But I thought you were staying over?”

“I think I’m just gonna go back to mine, I’m really tired and just wanna sleep.”

“And what did you think you’d being doing at mine? Going to Vegas and staying up all night. I’m tired too, I just wanna go to bed with you.” He lowers his voice and reaching for your hand, but gasping a bit when you don’t let him hold it. “What’s wrong?”

You sigh, shaking your head as your turn to fix the front table display.

“Hey.” He grabs your wrist, turning to you back to him. “Talk to me, what’s wrong?”

“It’s stupid.”

He eyes you, knowing that you need some time before you really start to talk to him about what’s going on in your head. So he nods, “Well I’m here when you’re ready okay? I saw you got a few shipments in the back? Can I help move and unbox them for you?”

“Sure.” You shrug, going back to your work and trying to not let his cute little puppy look break you down.

So for the next hour, after Lauren leaves once you tell her that you can handle Shawn, it’s just the two of you. Shawn’s back and forth from the back to the front bringing out more books. But every time you go to start cleaning something else there’s a random book sitting in front of you.

The first time it’s ‘Beautiful Boss’ by Christina Lauren, and you look around confused why a romance novel would be in the Syfy section.

The second time it’s ‘P.S. I Still Love You.’ by Jenny Han, and you roll your eyes since it’s a Young Adult in the Cooking shelf.

The third time is after you’ve corrected Shawn on how he set something up, and you were a little harsh with how you told him. You giggle a little when you see ‘Disarm’ with a sticky note under the title that says ‘Please, I’m still learning.’

You look at him while he’s focusing on getting the sign just right, small pout on your lips at how hard he’s trying for you.

The final time you notice a book it’s ‘Lucky in Love’ with another sticky note that says ‘with you!!’.

You sigh, smiling as you look up at him. He’s watching you over a bookshelf, his height allowing him to spy.

“Stop being cute when I’m mad at you.” You whine, making him grin and rush around the shelf to you.

“Why are you mad?” He asks softly, setting the books he was holding down.

“I don’t know, why don’t you go ask Hailee.”

His eyes go wide and he sighs, “Oh Honey.”

“Don’t ‘Honey’ me, you seemed more interested in what she had to say than me.”

“That’s not true.”

“You know what,” You sigh, knowing that you sound ridiculous, “I think I’m just gonna go over to Lauren’s.”

“No, you’re not.” Shawn blocks your path to the counter.

“I’m not in the mood to fight.”

His eyes bug a little, “I didn’t realize we were fighting.”

“Shawn,” You sigh, looking up at him with hurt eyes.

“Baby,” He whines, wrapping his arms around you. “What’s really the matter?”

You take a deep breathe, “The real matter is that I’m scared.”

“Of what?”

“I’m scared that one of these days you’re gonna meet someone like Hailee, who’s got her life figured out and is perfect and looks perfect, and you’re gonna realize that you need to be with someone like that and not someone like me. That you want someone who can challenge you, and be up to the standards that you live. Someone who isn’t prone to failing and needing you to bail her out of her life.”

Shawn’s heart drops when he hears you speak this way. He was absolutely in love with you, and he couldn’t stand the fact that you felt like he was bailing you out.

“Hey,” He tilts your chin up since your looking at his chest to avoid eye contact. “Listen to me okay?”

“Sure,” You sigh.

“No hey,” He dips his chin so you have to look him in the eye. “I’m in love with you. I’m in love with your passion, and opinions. I’m in love with the way your brain works, and the way you fight for what you want. I’m in love with the way that you don’t know what you want your life to be, because we’re fucking 21 years old, we shouldn’t have to know what our lives are. You think you don’t challenge me? You piss me off and frustrate me all the time because you make me think of things in a different way, you have different ideas to everything. And while I think one way you think another, and you’re always right. Always, so I love that side of you too, because it challenges me. Also, I really don’t care what you say, but you are perfect. You are my definition of perfect.”

“Shawn,” You whimper, looking up at him with tearful eyes.

“So no, you won’t be staying at Lauren’s because I’ve planned a late dinner and a romantic bubble bath to celebrate the first signing.”

You gape at him as he pulls you closer. Nuzzling into your neck, nosing right behind your ear.

“And we’re not allowed to just not come home, remember?”

**

Shawn wonders out of his room and down the hall to find you standing at his kitchen counter making coffee with a book in your hand. He can’t help himself but to stare for a moment. There you stand with your hair in messy bun, and his favorite nighty of yours hugging you tightly.

The tattoo on your hip teases him as you reach up onto your toes for your mug, but your eyes never leave your book, too entranced in the story to look away.

The fresh hickey on your neck flashes at him when he starts to move closer, taunting him to add more. He presses himself right behind you, reaching up for you to get your mug down.

“I love how you wear this when we fight,” He hums into your neck, planting a little wet kiss to your new purple temporary tattoo.

“It’s your favorite.” You whisper back. “And I’m sorry for insinuating the things I did.”

“Stop,” He hushes you, turning you so you’re facing him. “We did the apologies already.” He lifts you up onto the counter. “Had the make up sex.” He grins. “We’re good to go.”

“So you’re not in the mood for more make up sex?” You ask with a sly grin.

“How about some ‘you’re in my favorite negligee and I’m really in love with you’ sex?” He hoists you up, biting his lip as you wrap your legs around his waist, hands digging into his curls.

“That sounds so fucking perfect.” You moan as he sucks another bruise to your neck.

**

This time when he wakes up alone in bed he finds you in the little makeshift nook he made for you. The chair in the corner of his office big and comfy and you sink right into it.

“I’m gonna get you a house with a room line with shelves and a comfy spot for you to read in.” He sighs, flopping next to you on your chair, well it’s more of a loveseat, hand rested on your bare thigh, riding up his Sting t shirt you’re now wearing.

“Can your desk still be in the room with me? So you’re not too far away?”

“You can literally have anything you want.” He hums, taking your book from your hand, folding the corner on your page and setting it on the ground so he can lean you back and lay on you.

“Just you,” You whisper, leaning forward to kiss his nose. “Just want you.”

“Mmm, you have me.” He nods. “So let me spoil you.”

“You do.”

“So you’ll let me buy us a home? With a library ready to be filled with your favorite stories?”

“Are you asking me to move in with you?”

“We practically already live together Babe, it’s just a juggle between your place and mine.”

“So why can’t we just move into here, the condo?”

He sighs, dropping his head to your chest and groaning, “Because the house I bought has a room lined with shelves, enough room for your chair or a couch, or both, whatever you want.”

“Shawn?” “So can I give you the key now?”

“Does it have room for your desk?” You ask softly.

“Babe my office is conjoined to your library by french doors. You really think I can be away from you?”

“Really?” You let a small smile light up your features.

“And it’s got a kitchen island like you always talk about, and a room that can be made into a nursery at some point. The backyard is huge, plenty of room to build a treehouse.”

“You bought us a home?”

“I bought you a home.” He nods.

“Baby!” You sob, throwing your arms around his neck and pulling him into you. “You bought us a home!”

**

It’s early this Sunday morning, you and Shawn are walking around like the sleep deprived zombies you are.

This week has consisted of packing up your place, packing his place, moving to the new house in the neighborhood that’s exactly halfway from the store and the office, and unpacking.

Shawn through a little fit when you asked him to come with you this morning to the store to be there for the bookfair delivery, and to help you set it up for tomorrow. After you explained that you were a little nervous about how early the delivery was, and how the guy treated you the last time no one was convincing Shawn that he wasn’t going.

The back storage room is jam packed with boxes upon boxes, and displays for days.

The store was sponsoring the local elementary schools Book Fair, which is bringing in money for you and the attention from all the parents and teachers in tow.

You were standing in your new Young Adult section for the time being, replacing the John Green and making sure to have tons in backstock as well when Shawn came running by.

“Babe!”

“Yeah Honey,” You look up at his excited features.

“Check out the new printing.” He eyes the book he’s outstretched to you, ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’.

You’re a little confused because this copy looks pretty worn, the spine bent, pages creases, corners folded. “Okay?” You cautiously take the book, noticing it feels a little lighter than you were expecting. You flip open the cover and gasp at what you see.

There in the middle of all the pages, Shawn’s gone out and cut a square out of the middle of the book and placed a ring box inside.

“Oh wait,” He snaps, getting you to look up at him. “That’s my copy that I made after the night I met you and you told me that if someone ever proposed to you like this that you’d say yes times a million.” He grins as he sees the tears in your eyes.

He reaches inside and plucks the box from the book, dropping to his knee in front of you and popping the box open, revealing your dream ring. It’s a simple silver ring, cut to look like rope that meets in the middle to look like a knot.

“Shawn,” You gasp.

“Let me give you your happily ever after, the next part to your everlasting series, and the greatest epilogue to the best story ever. Baby will you marry me?”

**

It was finally the day, with the store and life changing between you and Shawn, you lost track of time since you’d asked him.

But today marks five years without Pa, and it was your tradition to have a picnic with him.

You sit between Shawn’s legs, back against his chest, head rested back on his shoulder as you trace the quote you had engraved on Pa’s tombstone.

‘Create your own happily ever after’.

Shawn kisses your neck as his hand sneaks around to rest on your small baby bump, hand just about as big as the bump itself.

“I did it Pa,” You whisper, smiling as you cuddle closer to Shawn, fiddling with your ring he’s wearing. “I made my own happily ever after.”

[atelier-dayz]

20-ish Questions: Book Edition

Tagged by the lovely @crispyjenkins <3

I’ve only just started getting back into the groove of reading again because med school sucked. ANYWAYS.

1. hardcover or paperback

I prefer paperback, mostly because they’re easier for me to hold when reading, lighter for transport, and they’re (usually) cheaper LOL 

I’ll buy hardcover if I know I’ll love the book a lot since they’re more durable or I’m too impatient to wait for the paperback to release.

2. rent or buy

Always buy. I...didn’t realize you could rent books other than textbooks? LOL

3. reads in silence or reads with music

I’m like 80% of the time listening to music so that includes when reading!

4. standalone or series

Either! It’s been a while since I’ve read books outside of medschool though. Most of the ones I’ve read recently are standalones.

5. annotations or pristine pages

I’m like incapable of writing inside books. LOL I’ll add transparent sticky notes and tabs if I do want to make notes. Or I’ll make notes on my Kindle for e-books.

6. ebook or physical copy

I prefer physical copy. 

However, considering I’ve been moving across the world and the US every 1-2 years for the past like...6-10? years and traveling a bunch, e-books are so much easier to transport, so I’ve been reading them more. And they’re often times cheaper and I had zero income with max debt.  (Also this way, I can store my favorite fics onto my Kindle along with my favorite books ehehe) 

All my physical copy books are currently at my parents’ house. :’(

7. dog ears or bookmarks

Bookmarks! Or whatever scrap of paper I have on hand LOL I don’t like folding my book pages... 

8. mismatched series or complete set

A mismatched set would bother the HECK out of me....

9. cover matters or you don’t judge

Oh I totally judge a book by its cover LOL Presentation is important! But it’s not like a deal-breaker or anything. The summary/blurb and author’s writing style is always important too. But I have totally bought another copy of a book I already had just for a nicer cover.

10. lend books or keep them to yourself

I used to lend/exchange books with a friend in high school. Now most of my friends are docs/med students so no one has time to read ;~; 

11. enjoys lit classes or despises them

Major mixed feelings. I loved reading (most) of the books we were assigned. I loved the creative assignments we got. What I didn’t like were writing essays. I got good grades and all and didn’t do poorly on them, but there was always something missing in my essays keeping them from like great vs good, according to my teachers. Turns out it was a cultural difference in presenting arguments, and so the Western structure of essay writing never jived with me even though all my formative schooling was in the US???? (NTS: I need to find that article explaining the difference between presenting arguments in the West vs the East. It had to do with like inductive vs deductive reasoning.) 

So yeah, mixed feelings on lit class. I did avoid taking one of the AP English classes specifically because of the damn essays.

12. browses shops or orders online

I love browsing stores, but haven’t had any time for that in years, so mostly ordering online. Also COVID is rampant here so no exploring the nice-looking indie bookstores for a while. ;D;

13. reads reviews or goes in blind

Usually go in blind. Exceptions for recommendations from friends or what people might be saying about the books in my spheres of social media. 

14. unreturned books or clean library record

Well, since I moved here, I’ve gotten a new library card! So far, a clean record. But considering COVID is rampant here, I’m sticking with ebook borrows right now so no unreturned books!

15. rereads or once was enough

Definitely rereads!!! Rereading JA now. I re-read Pride & Prejudice every 2-3 years btw. LOL

16. fanfic enthusiast or a stickler for canon

Considering I write fanfic? Fanfic enthusiast for sure! XD Sticking only to canon would be boring and so limiting!! And sometimes you just need that fix-it to glue your heart back together LOL  Canon informs my writing, but I don’t 100% adhere to it!

17. deep reader or easily distracted

If I’m enjoying the book, I’m a deep reader and will literally sit there and finish the book. No breaks. No sleep. Which is also why I haven’t read much in the past few years LOL

18. must read the book before seeing the movie or order doesn’t matter

Order doesn’t particularly matter to me. I’m not a big stickler on movies staying 100% faithful to the book. But yeah also not a fan of movies changing details that didn’t need to be changed. What I don’t like is when movies change or don’t include what I find an important scene in the book. (Like the execution of [insert scene here] means so much to me and you just -- LEAVE IT OUT???)

19. neat bookshelves or messy bookshelves

My books are all over the place, but uuuh usually starts out neat and then gets messy as I accumulate more books LOL

20. skips ahead or resists temptation

I usually just read straight through. I have been burned by the endings of several fics and books though, so depending on how the story is going, I might peek at the last paragraph. Just to be safe.

21. reads aloud or in your head

I can’t even listen to audiobooks or podcasts most of the time unless I’m like building furniture or something alkdfjas so definitely only reading in my head.

22. guesses plot twists or never sees them coming

I don’t go out of my way to guess the twists? Like if the clues are there and I pick up on them, great. I just sit back and enjoy the story? 

Tagging @kitsunekage88 @rinrinp42 @amillionstarsandyouchoosethisone and @turtletotem <3

No obligation to answer these of course! This one is also kind of long LOL

Originally posted by thesunshineatsunset

[crispyjenkins]

20-ish Questions

Book Edition

Tagged by my darling @dbakeiro, haven’t been reading much recently, but this was fun!

1. hardcover or paperback

both! i love tiny hardbacks and big paperbacks the most tho

2. rent or buy

buy. i’ve been a used book reader since i could read at all, i love buying from little used bookstores on the coast. i’m from portland and i’m DEVASTATED that powell’s turned more into a retail bookstore.

3. reads in silence or reads with music

same as dicky, i’m always listening to music. altho when i was doing the most reading, i wasn’t listening to music yet much so maybe both!

4. standalone or series

i have a few series that i super super love, but find i fall in love with single stories more, so i’ll go with standalone

5. annotations or pristine pages

two answers: i fucking LOVE buying a used copy of something full of annotations because i love annotations and essays and love seeing how someone else experienced a story, BUT i also never find myself annotating my own copies of stuff :/ don’t actually know why

6. ebook or physical copy

never had cause to read an ebook, actually. like i said, i don’t read much outside of fanfiction these days

7. dog ears or bookmarks

i have so many bookmarks and always plan to use them and then absolutely never do. dogears til i die

8. mismatched series or complete set

depends! my shakespeare collection is every play is from a different edition/run, and i often don’t actually finish a series all the way through so i don’t end up with every book in the first place.

on the OTHER HAND my song of the lioness quartet has three different runs and ONLY the second book has a good cover and it drives me BONKERS

9. cover matters or you don’t judge

cover matters, ‘cause adhd, but super isn’t the only thing i look at! altho if it doesn’t have a synopsis and only has blurbs, i 99% of the time put it back, i dunno i just don’t have the patience? 

10. lend books or keep them to yourself

not to be all sob sob lonely, but i really don’t interact with people i can share books with! my family have always been big readers, and there’s some contention who gets to move out with which books lol but i moved out first so i’ve got all the ones i wanted 🙃

11. enjoys lit classes or despises them

oh boy, big question. liked eighth grade lit the most, my teacher pushed me in a lot a lot a lot of good ways and is sort of the reason i write at all, but i’m not super into trying to discuss a book with people who didn’t want to read it. otherwise, i loved english classes, specifically my ap course in my last year of high school, which was about syntax, both fiction and non fiction essays, and rhetoric. never vibed so hard with a class before.

12. browses shops or orders online

browse shops! i rarely NEED to get a book right away for any reason, so i don’t tend to order online, unless waitlist at the library counts?

13. reads reviews or goes in blind

i’ll check the blurbs on the covers to see if i know anyone (like if i see neil geiman, i trust this book) but otherwise, i never read reviews. never think to?

14. unreturned books or clean library record

yes.

15. rereads or once was enough

reread for sure! some stuff i never go back to (or never finish......) but anything i like i’ve ready upwards of five times. there was this novella i stayed up all night reading and it’s the only book i’ve ever cried over and i immediately flipped back to the start and read it again. 

16. fanfic enthusiast or a stickler for canon

fanfic. largely because that’s where i tend to find the stories i want to read at all, but also where’s the fun in only doing things by canon? (also the term canon comes from biblical literature and the bible has never been one thing either ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ canon is fake)

17. deep reader or easily distracted

both, depending. i have adhd so i’m often distracted while reading, but with the perfect conditions, i’ve easily lost nine to ten hours and have no idea where they went.

18. must read the book before seeing the movie or order doesn’t matter

depends! i usually try to seperate them as different interpretations of the same story, but i do like having the knowledge from both. what gets me is when movies change unnecessary things? like making that dress pink when it was blue, or i dunno, blowing up the fucking burrow in half blood prince???

19. neat bookshelves or messy bookshelves

i tend to be both, but i don’t actually have bookshelves right now. haven’t in five years. they’re all in boxes and i’m suffering.

20. skips ahead or resists temptation

i skip ahead in paragraphs ‘cause my attention jumps, or maybe onto the next facing page, but i never look further than that!

21. reads aloud or in your head

fucking HATE being read to, it was such a family bonding thing that i just super did not like so i do feel i missed out on some stuff, but some of my happiest memories with my baby sib and a family friend we don’t talk to anymore were when i was reading murther fic to them as we fell asleep (ノ*´◡`)

22. guesses plot twists or never sees them coming

i tend to guess small details that lead to the plot twists, but often miss where it’s going as a whole! i’m rarely like, fucked up by a plot twist, but i do get excited when it wasn’t something i saw coming.

as dicky said, you can tell a lot about people by what they read! soooo i’m tagging @atelier-dayz, @theclonewarsbrokeme, and @drjackal-and-mrsnide! this one is super long, so you’re more than free to pass this one up~

Originally posted by thesunshineatsunset

[ladyseidenlocke]

Reading tag meme

I was tagged by @big-draco-energy thank you!

1. hardcover or paperback - hard to choose but in the end paperback wins i have more paperback then hardcover cause its cheaper ,yeah i have to watch the price if i want to contnue to collect books!

2. rent or buy - buy online.-amazon.de

3. reads in silence or reads with music - in silence

4. standalone or series - series, but at the meantime i dont start another series after shadowhunter chronicles.

5. annotations or pristine pages : neither ,i dont do that.

6. ebook or physical copy : books only ,i hate ebooks.

7. dog ears or bookmarks : bookmarks i buy them on roadtrips from diffrent citys or countrys, or just flowers,leaves.

8. mismatched series or complete set . mismatched cause i preorder my books i really want , and in the end ,they dont match in height ,cover ect.

9. cover matters or you don’t judge - Covers MATTER! just this week when the cover from the 5th book from ACORAT was revealed i was sooo fucking dissapointed it really doesnt match, never in a million years and its grey, ugh

10. lend books or keep them to yourself -hmm i would lend them to a bookworm like me, that loves books too much they could never harm them, but i live far far away from my friends in africa and here i dont know anyone that even reads!

11. reads reviews or goes in blind - read reviews first, aint got time for stuff iam not intrested or would trigger certain topics.

12. unreturned books or clean library record : i dont do library anymore but i always return my borrowed books

13. rereads or once was enough - definitely reread but only my favorites .

14. fanfic enthusiast or a stickler for canon - fanfic enthusiast-------> DRARRY

15. deep reader or easily distracted - deep reader i hate to get interupted thats why i read at night only.

16. must read the book before seeing the movie or order doesn’t matter : i would love to read the book first but if its a series like The Walking Dead with the comic i realy would love to collect it but gosh its not in my price class and tooooooo many books,

17. has neat bookshelves or messy bookshelves : a very very big bookshelf and i want to buy more! often messy😬

18. skips ahead or resists temptation - hmm with fanfic i skip sometimes when some parts are too long the renting goes on about his hair ,lips ohh and the appartment looks like blablabla his former boyfriend was this and so on and on okayyyyy mostly the mood is i skip i feel sorry for the writer but yeah needs first babes! in books it really depends if its a short book i muddle through if its a longass book ,see above!

19. reads aloud or in your head - read in my head.

20. guesses plot twists or never sees them coming - both

That was fun .the perfect tag game for me.

Tagging: @andithiel @keepcalmandexpectopatronum934 @bumpingbees

[lilyharvord]

Some new bookish asks for you all

Hi I didn’t get tagged to do this, but I’m bored and I’ve got some hot takes. I’m going to start the chain. Imma tag some peeps too. Do the whole thing if you want or not at all. @scxrletguardsdawn @evangelineartemiasamos @cptdanvxrs

1. Which book would you consider the best book you’ve ever read and why? 

Honeslty a hard tie between The Red Queen Series and Elsewhere. Okay, so while RQ does have it’s flaws, it was a book series I started my sophomore year of high school when I was starting to reach the bottom of the barrel mentally and was realizing that maybe I wasn’t as happy as I thought I was. That book got me through high school, along with Glass Sword. When I say I weeped reading Mare Barrow’s internal dialogue in GS I was actually sitting under my covers junior/senior year WEEPING with a flashlight because on one hand I had never felt closer to a character, and on the other had never felt so understood in a book before. As for Elsewhere... that book (while being a young readers book) profoundly affected how I view life, death, and everything in between. I highly recommend it. You have to have a little patience with it as an older reader, because it is probably meant for middle school readers, but some of the things said in that book are definitely meant for older readers to ponder.

2. Are you an Austen person or a Bronte person?

Haut take. Both. (P&P holds a very special place in my heart)

3. Are there any genres you will not read?

Contemporary romance and Contemporary/non-fiction books (i’ve tried. I really have to read these and I just cant do it.) 

4. Are you a fast or slow reader?

Depends on your definition of slow/fast. I’d say I’m fast, I can read 500-600 page books in a day, but that’s going morning until almost 2 the next morning. 

5. What was your relationship with books like as a child?

They were my escape. I was heavily bullied in elementary/middle school so I would read 2-3 in a week to just escape. I think this is why I can’t read contemporary stuff, I need the fantasy. 

6. Are you the type of person who will read a book to the end whether you like it or not, or will you put it down straight away if you’re not feeling into it?

Honestly, normally I’ll push through. I think the only one I physically put down because I couldn’t take it was ACOWAR. My friend made me finish it two years or so ago so that she could complain without having to explain everything before she did. 

7. Have you ever despised something you have read?

*side eyes the entirety of Throne of Glass and A Court of Wings and Ruin* 

8. Do you prefer to read first person or third person?

Nope. But I do prefer to write in 1st person (it’s cheating, I know.)

9. Are you for or against multiple narrators in the same book?

Give me all the POVs please. 

10. Bookmarks, dog ears or leaving the novel open and face down to keep your spot?

All the above. I’ll use my dog if I have to mark my place if I have nothing nearby XD

11. Do you prefer to read at a certain time of day?

Nope. If I’ve got a book that I’m reading, I’ll read at anytime.

12. Do you need to finish a book before you can move on to the next one, or will you have multiple books going at once?

I feel called out, because right now I have like three books that I’m trying to read at the same time, but I normally like to finish a book before starting another

13. How do you chose which book to read next?

The wand chooses the wizard. Lol normally I find a book that has a good premise that I like and normally I’ll read that. Although I do take suggestions from people.

14. What is your favourite children’s book?

This is very hard but The Tale of Despereaux, or The Wrinkle In Time series. Does the Book Thief count? Cause if so that books on this list too. If we’re talking really really young: The Original Velveteen Rabbit or Goodnight Moon (my mom used to read both to me when I was little and i have vivid memories of that). 

15. Do you agree that Jane Eyre should be considered a feminist novel?

Young high school me vehemently says yes. But older wiser me squints and says: hmmmmnnnnnnnn maybe. 

16. What’s your favourite of Shakespeare’s plays?

Hamlet, Othello, Much Ado About Nothing, and Macbeth

17. Do you know any poetry by heart?

Sadly no. 

18. Did you enjoy the Hunger Games?

I’m unashamed to say I still do. 

19. E-reader or traditional book?

I like traditional books, but the older I get the more I like E-readers because it makes it so much easier to transport all my babies. 

20. Do you read in the bathroom?

not really. 

21. Ideal reading position?

Curled up somewhere with a drink. 

22. Hardcover or paperback?

Which ever has the prettier cover XD

23. Nicest edition or cheapest edition?

Which ever has the prettier cover XD

24. Do you prefer happy endings or sad endings?

OOOOOOOo haut take, I prefer the ending that the book calls for. Whether it be happy or sad. 

25. Do you enjoy concepts in books to be concrete or abstract?

Depends on what I’m reading. Sometimes, I like a book that calls me to think about the world around me and question things. Other times I like to have a book I can just dive into and tear through without having to think too much. But I think all books call for us to think about abstract concepts of the universe on some level. 

26. A book you studied in school and ended up loving?

Jane Eyre, and Brave New World, Tuck Everlasting 

27. Classics or modern literature?

Is it not enough to love both equally? XD

28. Thoughts on adults reading YA?

I am an adult reading YA. I dont know if I will ever stop either. 

29. Have you ever read a book in another language?

I’ve read some easy books in spanish back when I was in high school. 

30. Have you ever written your own book?

Tee hee hee, she’s been sent to an editor and Im await his first thoughts. ((((: 

[magic-is-something-we-create]

Get to know me tag!

I was tagged by @hannahs-creations in the original post!!! Thank you, Hannah! sorry im a bit late with it haha

Rules: Answer the questions and tag a few people!

I got a bit long-winded on these answers, so I’ll put them behind a readmore!

1. What made you decide to start writing or arting (assuming you write or do art)?

I can’t say I ever consciously decided to start writing - I’ve just always loved reading, and when I first got a school assignment for a creative story, I decided I never wanted to stop!

In terms of art, though, it was sparked by a similar thing: the Dragonology book. My first story was about a dragon in there, and part of that assignment was to make illustrations to accompany it, and I decided I needed to learn how to draw dragons. From there, I just fell in love with making a blank page into something I could look at and enjoy, and I’ve been drawing ever since!

2. What do you like to do more: photo editing or video editing?

Oh, this is a hard one... Video editing is fun for me, especially because, when I make videos, I tend to do speedpaints with commentary, and cutting my ramblings down to a manageable size is so satisfying. On the other hand, I like taking fairly mundane pictures and making them magical...

I’d say, for satisfaction levels, video editing wins. For the actual process, I think photo editing is my favorite!

3. Which do you prefer: YouTube or TikTok?

YouTube, 100%. The only TikToks I’ve ever seen have been sent to me by friends, and I don’t particularly like short videos like that? If it were Vine, though, Vine would win ;aslkdjf

4. How many books have you read in the last 5 years?

A lot, LOL

My favorite have been Six of Crows, The Stormlight Archive, Red rising, and The Fallen Empire!

5. Do you tend to post more cheery/cutesy things, silly things or more serious things to your blog?

I think silly things are the most common? I like to meme with my WIPs, since I just. love meme culture. And I like making jokes about things - it’s a quick and easy way to get myself to smile!

6. How long have you been on Tumblr? Just ramble for a minute about some changes you’ve noticed about the site.

I made my first Tumblr blog in 2013, and I kept that one up until about April of last year, I think, before I decided to remake. 

The biggest change I’ve seen is the shift from sharing things to consuming things, in terms of like, reblog to like ratios and whatnot. Also, the amount of discourse has stayed about the same, but it’s changed in subject for the most part. But fandom discourse is still pretty much the same, just with different shows, now.

Also, reaction gifs have faded out of use pretty heavily since I started. At least, in the areas I’ve been in.

7. If the staff of tumblr came up to you, genuinely wanting advice on how to improve the site, what advice/request(s) would you give them?

I would tell them to rename likes into bookmarks. Also, lift the nsfw ban, and make it so that in order for 18+ blogs to be viewed, the user has to be 18+. Yes, people lie about their age, but so many sex workers lost their audiences and sources of income because of it, and it legitimately threw away a third of the userbase in one hit. 

Also, no matter the pressures from other social sites, don’t make this site less anonymous. It’s one of the beauties of Tumblr - I’m never going to have a boss find my blog and know for sure that it’s me.

8. What was the most challenging thing about starting your favorite hobby? How did you get past it, if you ever did?

Well, at the time I started drawing, the biggest obstacle was finding a way to learn. The art classes in school were never trying to teach us how to draw something, just showing us that we could. I ended up getting “How to draw manga” books and looking up stuff on YouTube.

9. What do you think other people think of when they think of you? For instance, with me, most people think about either tomatoes, chinchillas or black cats, depending on the person and how long they’ve known me.

Well, I hope they think of my jokes, first of all a;lskdjf;aslkdfj

But in terms of like, objects or animals? Sketchbooks, pride flags, and dinosaurs.

10. If every animal except one specific species went extinct but you got to pick which one didn’t go extinct, which species would you pick?

Hmmmmmmm... probably Komodo Dragons. I really like big lizards :)

11. What do YOU feel makes the world go round?

Laughter! Or, really, anything that makes people smile!

12. What would you say to a person if you heard them talking shit about your best friend?

This has actually happened before, and they were saying it to my face without knowing we were best friends. I sat there, nodded along, and when they were done, just said “You know they’ve been my best friend for like, 7 years, right?”

They went so pale it was kind of funny.

13. What is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to you that has stuck with you?

This was more something they did, but when I was going through a nasty friend break up, I texted them, and within 5 minutes they were at my house, texting that person furiously, and letting me cry on them, even though they’re not a very emotional person themself ;-; I felt so loved in that moment, you have no idea.

14. What was the greatest piece of life advice you’ve ever gotten?

You have the rest of your life to wake up and decide who you’re going to be that day, and you should never feel bad about changing who that is from one day to the next.

It was said in the context of me realizing that I wasn’t genderfluid, I was transmasc, and my ongoing crisis over whether I’m fully a guy, or if I’m a bit more fluid than that. It’s helped me a lot with accepting that I might not have all the answers right now, and I don’t need all the answers all the time.

15. What one or two aspects of your childhood personality would you bring back to your current personality if you could?

Honestly? My willingness to just make things, and not care about how they turned out. I made so much art that I cringe at now, but I was learning, and that’s all that matters, really.

--

Okay, this was long, but I’m going to tag: @nothingisliteral, @violetcancerian, and @morgan-s-writes! Apologies if you’ve been tagged before, and as always, no pressure, and if you want to hop in, feel free to say I tagged you!!

[let-it-raines]

Betting on the Bullseye (26/30)

Summary: Emma Swan loses a drunken bet that means she has to ask her celebrity crush - if you can call him that - to be her date to her office’s annual fundraising gala for Boston’s Children Shelter. Killian Jones is that celebrity. She expects all kinds of humiliation and for her dignity to be completely lost all because of the ridiculousness of the situation. 

What she doesn’t expect is for him to say yes.What she truly doesn’t expect is to actually like the man.

Rating: Mature

A/N: This has turned into one of my favorite stories, so if you guys have to force me to give you the new chapters, don’t be surprised. They’re all just chilling in my documents ❤️

AO3: Beginning | Current

Tumblr: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26

Tag list: @idristardis @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke @wellhellotragic @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615 @mayquita @captainsjedi @teamhook @skyewardolicitycloisdelena91 @artistic-writer @branlovesouat @dreadpirateemma @kmomof4 @ekr032-blog-blog @galaxyzxstark @lifeinahole27 @andiirivera @ultimiflos @hollyethecurious @thejollyroger-writer @superchocovian @cs-forlife @qualitycoffeethings @jonirobinson64 @notoriouscs

“Have you seen my nude heels?”

“Have I seen you nude?”

“My nude heels.”

“Swan, I have seen you nude. Are you okay? I feel like you should remember things like that.”

He doesn’t hear back from her until suddenly she’s walking out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom with her arms crossed over her chest, already dressed in a red skirt and tucked in white blouse with sleeves that flow from her elbows. He’s not really looking at her elbows.

“Well you’re certainly not nude,” he sighs, thumbing a page of his novel and flipping it over. “That’s only a little disappointing.”

She clicks her tongue before she starts tapping her foot on the ground, her lips continuously parting and closing like she can’t decide just which way she wants to tell him off.

Living with her is the joy of his life.

“I asked if you had seen my nude heels, not if you had seen me nude.”

“Well that makes a hell of a lot more sense.”

“You need to get your hearing checked.”

“My hearing is fine, love. The walls are thick, and you’ve got your music playing. Plus, I was concentrating on this novel. I think the murderer is about to be revealed.”

“Killian, I promise I will listen to you talk about whatever you want when I get home from work, but I’m running late and need these shoes so I don’t look like a bum for my presentation.”

“Alright, alright,” he mumbles, sticking his bookmark on the page and throwing the covers on the bed back so that he can climb out and help her look for her shoes. He probably needs to get ready for today as well, but it’s usually easier to wait for Emma to be mostly ready before he starts moving around in the bathroom. “So the nude ones, then? Your black ones would look nice with your skirt.”

“Ruby borrowed them.”

“Ah,” he sighs, walking into the closet and over to her shelf of shoes to try to look for them. They have to be here. He cleaned the living room yesterday when he was finishing up some of their final touches of unpacking so that they could start decorating for Christmas, and they weren’t in there. It’s a never-ending cycle, but he’s enjoying it. “They’re up at the top with your boots, Swan.”

“What? They are not.”

“They are,” he points out, reaching up to grab them out between two of her riding boots. “You probably just looked over them in your haste.”

“You had to have put them there. I wouldn’t have. It’s up too high.”

“I promise you it wasn’t me.”

“It had to have been you.”

“Fine, we can say it was me if you put the shoes on and stop freaking out about them.”

“Sorry,” she huffs, taking them out of his hands and sliding them onto her feet, using his shoulder to prop herself up. “I’m nervous over this final presentation for the gala next week. It’s so far and above what I do on a daily basis, and I’ll never understand why we didn’t hire an event planner after how well it went last year.”

“Because you cost less.”

“True, but I don’t like that answer.”

“You’re going to do wonderful,” he promises, placing his hands on her hips and pulling her closer so that he can brush his lips against her cheek, letting his nose inhale the flowery scent of her perfume that she’s spritzed on her collarbone. It’s new, and he’s rather fond of it. “You’ll kick arse like you do every time, and then instead of stressing out about it, we can go and enjoy the night.”

“I don’t remember asking you to be my date.”

“I figured it was assumed,” he murmurs against her neck, teasing her with the way she cranes her head to the side to give him more access, the smallest of moans escaping past her red-painted lips. “Though if you want to ask me out again over a video, I’d be okay with that. You can even wear your sweater.”

“I’d only do that if I lost a bet, and I’m smarter than to do that now.”

“How quickly they grow up.”

“You’re – ah – ridiculous.”

“I know,” he whispers before gently biting her neck, pulling back only after he’s gotten a firm squeeze of her arse. “You look beautiful, and you’re going to have a good day today at work. I’m sure of it.”

She reaches up to mess with his hair, pushing it back off of his forehead while her lips are pressed together in a kind smile. “How?”

“I can feel it in my bones.”

“I think that’s the cold weather.”

“Go to work, Swan. I need you to financially support me while I lounge around at home all day.”

“What are you doing today?” she asks as she steps back from him and over to the case where she keeps all of her jewelry, picking up her pearl necklace and clasping it over her neck. “Do you have any plans?”

He does, but he’s not about to tell her all of them.

“I’m going to go to the gym to work out for awhile before running a few errands and coming back here to clean up and to get some more decorations put up. I’ll save the tree for us to do tonight. I might go meet David for lunch.”

“That would be nice. I’m sure you love sitting at his messy desk at the precinct.”

“We go out, thank you very much.”

“I’m sure you do,” she hums, putting an earring in. “Well, have fun. Give him all of my love and invite them and the kids over to lunch one night soon. Like, next Sunday or something.”

“Won’t we be exhausted from the gala?”

She shrugs. “So we invite them over for late lunch or early dinner. This month is super busy with work and the holidays, and I don’t want to let anything slip.”

“You’re not going to.”

“Thanks, KJ. Alright,” she sighs, slapping her hands against her skirt, “how do I look?”

“Beautiful. Go kick some arse.”

The moment Emma leaves the apartment, he quickly gets dressed in some of his gym clothes, pulling on sweatpants and a jacket over his shorts and t-shirt to combat the cold. Emma says it’s not too bad, but he’s not used to this weather yet, not at all, and he knows it’s only going to get worse. He remembers when he came in for the gala last year, in the few times that they were outside, he was freezing. It wasn’t even that cold, the winter chill not nipping at his nose quite yet.

He’s been listening to a few too many Christmas carols.

It’s also been a long time since he lived somewhere with weather like this. England was a bit similar, but it’s been…sixteen years. He’s practically been gone for longer than he lived there.

That’s an odd thing to think about.

It’s a quick drive to the gym now that he has his car here, having had it shipped to Boston instead of driving it across the country, and he spends the next hour running, letting his legs burn and his lungs gasp for air while his entire body drips in sweat. He needs to find a trainer here in town, but it can mostly likely wait until he has to start prepping for Life After, which is so close to what Emma had suggested for the movie title and yet so far. She’d been damn frustrated when he told her the title they were officially going with, but there’s always time for them to change it. They might not require him to train much for it, especially since he’s playing a father who is likely going to spend most of his time indoors grieving, but he never knows.

Plus the script is being written for the next Superman movie, and, well, his suit is indecently tight. It’s not so much about looks for him but for comfort. How he managed to score that roll, he’s got no clue, but damn it if it’s not fun to do it.

That’s his mindset with everything he does if he’s honest with himself, though he does think he’s becoming rather adept at historical and fantasy pieces. He’d like to do something like Highland Waters again.

So he runs and runs and runs until he knows that he has to stop. He doesn’t want his legs to be like jello tomorrow, even when he’ll likely only work on his upper body, so he does eventually stop and head to the showers, letting the cool water rinse him off before he gets dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, lacing up his boots and pulling a beanie over his head before he pays for a few more hours for parking and walks the seven blocks to David’s precinct, pushing through the double doors and waiting in the lobby as he pulls his phone out.

Killian: I’m in the lobby.

David: Give me ten minutes to finish up this paperwork, and I’ll be right with you.

So he finds a seat in the corner of the lobby, tugging his beanie off and shaking his hair out, letting it dry a bit more as he thumbs through his phone, reviewing the list of jewelry places he’s found and the pictures he’s saved to his phone. It’s been a bit of a covert operation managing to find a ring. He’s only told David and Liam. He thought about telling Mary Margaret, Ruby, and Elsa a million times so that they could help him, but honestly, between the three of them, one of them would definitely let it slip to Emma. They all talk to her so often that he knows it would slip. He and David talk to her as well, but he had to tell someone who lived here. Plus, David already knew from Emma’s birthday dinner.

Lying to Emma is difficult, but there’s no way he could lie to her about reasons for flying back to California to get Elsa or Liam to help him look at rings.

She’d spot the lie in a second with her superpower and uncanny ability to know just when he’s telling the truth and when he’s not.

And she definitely knows him far too well that she’d realize something was up with him. So he doesn’t lie. He simply…leaves things out.

It’s a fine line, especially when Emma has put her trust in him after having others betray that trust, so he doesn’t want to do that, even if this is a good thing. He’s not cheating on her or hiding a family. He’s not doing something to hurt her, and he doesn’t want her to think that he is.

There’s the element of surprise as well. They’ve talked about the future, how they want one, so this won’t be out of the blue, especially with what Anna told him after Thanksgiving. He simply wants to be able to do something romantic for Emma…not that he knows how he’s going to propose yet.

He wants to have this ring in his possession and not need to sneak around Emma. The tenseness in his shoulders will go away, and absolutely everything will be fine. He’s got no bloody clue how people do this. That’s another reason he’s told both Dave and Liam. They’ve both been through the exact same thing, and it seemed to work well for them.

Support in numbers and experience, he guesses.

“You look familiar,” a woman starts, and he startles a bit as he looks up at the older woman sitting across from in, her legs crossed at the ankles as she taps her fingers on the chair’s arm. “Do I know you? Do you work with Lance?”

“I don’t think so, love,” he says, flashing her a smile, “but I do get that a lot. I believe I’ve just got one of those faces. Is Lance your son? Does he work here?”

“My grandson. He’s a forensic analyst. Just started. He’s supposed to take me out to lunch today.”

“That’s sweet of him.”

“He’s a sweet boy. Are you meeting someone for lunch or are you here to file papers or something? Have you gotten yourself in trouble?”

“No,” he laughs, amused by this woman’s concern for him and if he’s gotten on the wrong side of the law, “I haven’t. I’m meeting a friend.”

“For lunch?”

“Aye. I’m taking him to lunch since he’s doing a bit of a favor and helping me with something for my girlfriend.”

He doesn’t know why he’s sharing this, but he figures it can’t hurt to talk to an elderly woman who has absolutely no idea who he is, even if she does recognize him on a certain level. She seems kind, and he realizes that he didn’t ask her what her name is when they started talking. He should have, but he might be able to coast by without it now.

“I should have known a handsome young man like you would have a girlfriend.” He winks at her, making sure to really exaggerate his movements. “Oh, lass, you flatter me, but don’t try to hide your disappointment that I can’t take you out on a date. I can see it written all over your face.”

She throws her head back in laughter, all of the lines on her face scrunching up. “I don’t think my husband would be very happy, but then again, he’s not as handsome as you are.”

“Well, I promise I won’t tell your husband that you said that if you don’t tell my girlfriend that I practically asked another beautiful woman out on a date.” “Oh I don’t know. I think it might be good for George to hear that he needs to be sweeter to me. Is your girlfriend good to you?”

“She’s wonderful,” he gushes, totally amused by the situation he’s found himself in. “I’m actually taking one of her best friends to go with me so that I can find her an engagement ring.”

“Truly?”

“Truly, love,” he promises, reaching over and holding out his hand so that so he can shake hers, figuring now is as good of a time as any to introduce himself since this woman is one of three people in the world who knows that he’s getting engaged (hopefully). “My name is Killian. It’s been a pleasure to meet you.”

“Sarah,” she smiles, squeezing his hand before letting go. “It’s been lovely talking to you. I’ll have to tell Lance to be as kind as you. I hope your bride says yes.”

“Ah now, Sarah, she has to say yes to the question before she’s my bride.”

“With a face like yours, how could she say no?”

“If you keep charming me like that, I’ll be asking you to marry me instead of Emma.”

He smiles at her one last time while she continues to laugh before getting up and walking to the other side of the lobby, waiting by the door that David should be coming out of any second now. He could have stayed talking to Sarah, but he’s a bit anxious to start looking at rings. He does have other things he needs to get done today, decorating included, and he only gets David for an hour and a half. He’ll have to do everything else alone.

The doors swing open three minutes later, David coming out as he shrugs on his jacket, and he flashes him a smile before David pulls him in for a brief hug.

“You ready to do this?”

“I’m ready.”

He almost says “I’m ready, Freddie”, and that’s when he knows that he’s past the point of no return on picking up on Emma’s speech patterns. It’ll only truly be bad when Emma starts calling people lass and love.

Sometimes she calls him “my love.” That makes his heart swell three sizes.

Maybe he is a bit of a sentimental fool.

He doesn’t mind.

When he asks, David fills him in on Mary Margaret and their kids, telling him all about how excited Leo is for the upcoming holidays and sharing far too much information about Brody’s growth and bodily functions, but the man is taking time out of his day to help him find a ring. He can listen to him talk about his kids, even the things that are a little too much information. Dave is simply a proud husband and father, and Killian can only bemoan him a little bit for it all. As long as he doesn’t keep talking about bathroom habits, of course.

There’s only so much he can handle.

Something very obviously gets twisted in one’s mind when they have kids to think that other people want to hear about how often they use the toilet…diaper.

This is not the thought process he should be having right now.

It only takes a few minutes for them to hop on the train and get to Bond and Green. Parking has been hellish lately, so even if they could have taken either of their cars, it takes up too much time to walk to their lots, work their way through traffic, and then find new spots. This is the place he’s most wanted to go to look at rings, and he’s in a hurry to look over it all. There’s one he found online that’s an oval cut with a halo surrounding it (he’s now pretty much an expert in rings now), and he wants to see it.

“Why do I feel like they’re watching us?” David asks him as they peruse the cases, thick glass covering every type of sparkling jewelry that he can think of. There’s an entire case of broaches, and he wonders if people still wear those.

He wonders if they ever.

“Because they are,” he answers simply, his eyes glancing up at the sales assistants watching them before he looks back at a few sapphire rings. “They want to make sure we don’t steal anything.” “I’m a detective.” “They don’t know that.”

“I have on my badge.” “It’s underneath your shirt, Dave,” he laughs, pointing out a diamond ring in the case and ignoring David’s offense that anyone could ever possibly think that he could be a thief. “Do you like this one?”

“It’s nice.”

Nice isn’t what he’s looking for.

He’s known that he was stressed about this whole thing, known it for the weeks that he’s been thinking about that, but he didn’t honestly feel it until right about now with all of these options in front of him and none of them seeming right.

Emma deserves right.

“I don’t think it’s very Emma, though,” he sighs, eyes glancing up again at the saleswoman who’s been following them behind the cases. “Excuse me,” he glances down at her name tag, “Mallory, do you have any like this, with the oval cut, but with a gold band?”

“We have a few that I can bring out from the back if you’d like.”

He curls his lips up into a smile, some of anxieties calming. “I’d like that.”

Mallory nods her head and walks away, disappearing behind a door that he assumes is where they keep the nicer jewels. He imagines that the security in this place is wonderful, but it’s likely smart to keep some things in the back. He really doesn’t know. He’s never bought an engagement ring before. It’s always been earrings or a necklace, and those seem to be a little different than this.

No, those are different than this.

For one, there’s far less security.

For another, there’s far more meaning in an engagement ring.

“You’re vibrating out of your skin, Jones.”

He rolls his eyes at David. How the man romanced Mary Margaret he’ll never know. “I’m excited. I want to find a ring, get it sized and, and then have it with me. Do you think if we don’t find anything today I should think about customization?”

“I think you should look at all of the stores beforehand and then maybe. Do you know when you want to ask Emma? If you keep it a secret for too much longer, she’ll figure it out. She would have been the best detective in the city had she gone that route.”

“Aye, she’d be a hell of a lot better than you,” he agrees, tracing his finger over the glass case at some sapphire earrings he might get Elsa for Christmas. He’s got to get his gifts together as well. It’s difficult when no one says what they want. Maybe he’s bad at gift shopping. “And if I can, sometime before Christmas. I don’t know. It just feels…right. We met this time of year, and I think that’d be nice. Not on Christmas, though. I think it should be a separate day, and I was kind of thinking before my family flew in. I have a feeling Anna would somehow find the ring even though she wasn’t looking, and she’d definitely tell Emma.”

“There’s less than a month until Christmas,” David points out, tapping his fingers before checking his watch. They’ve only been to one place, and they’re nearly out of time.

“I know. I should have started looking back in October, but life was so busy with the move and with all that comes with it. I’m probably crazy for doing all of this.”

“Being crazy and in love are kind of synonymous, but it’s in a good way.”

And there’s a bit of the romantic Dave that likely helped him court Mary Margaret.

“Look at you acting a bit like your wife,” he laughs, his fingers tracing the case a bit more while Mallory continues to take too much time in the back. “That happens more and more every time I see you.”

“I’ve been with Mary Margaret for eight years. It was bound to happen sooner or later. It won’t be weird until she starts being realistic like me.”

He briefly wonders if he and Emma have picked up on each other’s tendencies and speech patterns too quickly, but he brushes it away. It’s not an important thought, and he’s rather fond of Emma telling him “it’s a plan, Stan.” It means she’s happy and willing to play around.

“The world will be ending if there were to ever happen.”

“Alright,” Mallory sighs, walking out the door with a black case of what he assumes are the rings, “so these are all of the ones with the similar oval and pear shapes that you’ve been looking at but with the gold and rose gold bands. I put a few different ones that you might like too.”

“Thank you.” His eyes scan over the box quickly, each ring getting a little of his attention. He definitely likes the gold better, thinks Emma will too, and when his eyes scan over a singular oval cut diamond with a gold band, he knows that’s the one he wants. It’s stunning but it’s simple, and that’s what Emma likes. And somehow he knows just like every cliché that’s ever been written. “Do you think she’ll like this one?” he asks David, pointing to the ring.

“Yeah, I think she will.”

It takes longer than he expects to fill out the paperwork for the ring, and while for a brief moment he considers going to other shops, he’s sure on this one. He’s done enough research to know, and he’s got this gut feeling that he’s planning on trusting. So he fills out the insurance, pays for Emma’s ring (bloody hell is that insane to think about) and the earrings for Elsa, and then makes his appointment to pick it up once they’ve sized it for Emma. It’s all a bit of a blur, which likely shouldn’t happen when he’s in the middle of one of the most important decisions of his life, but David assures him that it’s normal as they leave the store and grab lunch to go since they’ve run out of time. It’s the least that he can do for David coming to help him when he should be working.

After he and David part ways at the precinct, David going back to work and Killian walking to his car still in the garage at the gym, he pulls his phone out to text his brother, knowing that Liam won’t answer a call while at work.

Killian: I’ve bought a ring and will pick it up after it’s sized in a few days. Hope you’re having a good morning!

He stuffs his phone in his pocket and hurries the rest of the way to his car, excitement bubbling over him so that he walks a bit more quickly than usual. Maybe it’s relief, maybe it’s nerves. He really doesn’t know. But as the day goes on, as he goes grocery shopping and picks up dry cleaning (one of his favorite things about living in Boston is the fact that he has more anonymity than California and can do things like picking up his dry cleaning without too much trouble), everything starts to settle. The nervous beating of his heart becomes steady, the erratic tapping of his fingers becomes measured, and he’s able to simply focus on what is ahead of him to do for the day.

And maybe a bit for his entire future.

He’s got to stop watching soap operas during the day.

The rest of his afternoon is spent hanging wreaths on their exterior doors, adding baubles and accents to them to brighten up the plain green. He notices that none of their neighbors have done anything outside, and he wonders if they’ll be the only ones to do it. Then again, they’ve lived in this building for over a month now and despite many efforts, he still hasn’t met anyone who lives on his floor. Maybe they’re not interested in decorating for the holidays. Maybe they don’t celebrate them. It doesn’t matter to him. He’s going to leave the wreath up.

His phone starts ringing in his back pocket, and he quickly pulls it out, sliding his finger across the screen and hitting the speaker button as Liam’s voice booms through. “So you bought a ring? Are you feeling like Gollum?”

“That may very well be the nerdiest joke you’ve ever made.”

“You and I both know that’s not true,” Liam laughs, the gentle thud of a door closing clicking behind him. “All jokes aside, you’ve bought it?”

“I have, so I guess that makes it all pretty official.”

“My baby brother is all grown up.”

He scoffs at Liam’s condescending tone, and even though Liam can’t see him, he rolls his eyes while he shuffles through a box of string lights to find some to put out on the balcony and in the bedroom.

“Is this what finally makes me a man in your outdated ways?”

“Possibly. So how long am I going to have to keep this from my wife? I already deleted your text because somehow she’ll see it from across town.”

“She has superpowers, that woman.”

“And figuring out my lies is the main one.”

“Maybe if you didn’t lie to your wife so much.”

“Oi,” Liam laughs, the sound of a can popping open mixing in with the laughter, “you know what I mean.”

“Aye, I do.” He turns the phone off speaker and presses it between his shoulder and ear before he grabs three boxes of white lights and pushes out onto the balcony door, gooseflesh rising across his arms almost immediately, all of the warmth of inside fading away. “I’ll hopefully have asked before you all come in for Christmas. I’m not…I have no idea how to ask her. I know what I want to say, but I haven’t figured out all of the logistics of it.”

“I’ll let you in on a secret. It’s never going to go like you plan. And your speech, whichever one you have in your head, you’ll remember to say about one sentence out of it.”

“That’s how it went with you and Els, right?”

“Elsa didn’t even let me ask the question.”

“She does like to take charge.”

“You have no idea.”

“Oh God no,” he groans, his eyes scanning the balcony to try to figure out just how he wants to set up the lights. He thinks stringing them around the top of the trellis and down the sides will work since he can’t really hang them on the glass railing. “I love you, but that is not something I’m going to talk about with you.”

“Your mind is dirty, brother.”

“The tone of your voice was absolutely salacious.”

“It was perfectly innocent.”

“I don’t believe you’ve ever been innocent.”

“I am as pure as the driven snow.”

“That’s a lie if I’ve ever heard one.”

“Well, according to you I lie to my wife all the time.”

“Because you do, and you’ll continue to until I ask Emma.”

He’s eternally grateful for a lot of things, but in this moment, there’s nothing he’s more grateful for than the fact that he stopped speaking when he did. He didn’t see Emma come into the apartment through his view from outside, and he definitely didn’t see her make her way outside. She’s already changed into her pajamas, warm flannel and thick socks covering her from head to toe. He has no idea how long she’s been home, but he could have ruined absolutely everything there.

Every cent that he’s worth comes from acting, and he can’t manage to act in his personal life when he really needs to.

“Who’s that?” she mouths, crossing her arms over her chest and walking further toward him.

“Liam,” he says aloud, opening his right arm and letting her come to stand beside him, tugging her close and kissing her temple in greeting. She’s warm, so much warmer than he is. He hasn’t even put the lights up yet.

“Why are you saying my name?” Liam asks, his voice raising in pitch.

“I was telling Emma who I’m on the phone with,” he explains, rubbing his hand up and down her waist. He’s not sure if it’s to warm him or her up.

“Tell him I said hi.”

“Tell her I said hello.”

He chuckles at that, their timing of their demands almost identical. Emma and Liam are two peas in a pod for two people who had a bit of a rocky start. It was all Liam’s doing, but everything seems to be fine now.

“Emma said hello,” he tells Liam, knowing that Emma can likely hear the conversation now. “I’m going to let you go, okay? Text me later. You still haven’t told me what I need to get Aiden for Christmas.”

“Preferably a new aunt.”

He practically drops his phone at that, the glass screen only saved because he does manage to get his bearings. Man does he hope that Emma did not hear that.

She probably couldn’t over all of the hysterical coughing that he’s doing.

Has he officially turned into a madman.

“Bye,” he coughs, not able to get anything else out even with the way that Emma is patting his back.

“Are you okay, KJ?”

“Y-yeah,” he sputters, trying to take a few deep breaths before he looks down at Emma, dipping his head to quickly slide his lips over hers. He can briefly taste chocolate, which means that she stopped for a milkshake on the way home. He’s not sure if that’s a good sign for her day or a bad sign. “Hello, darling,” he mumbles, greeting her properly. “How was your day? How did the presentation go?”

“Can we go inside to talk about it? It’s nothing bad. I’m just really freaking cold and want to sit down on the couch. Besides, I don’t think you’re ever going to get these lights up tonight.”

“I could.”

“You’re not going to.”

He nods before they walk inside, Emma’s steps hurrying until she’s inside first, practically jogging down the hallway to the living room, grabbing a blanket out of the basket and curling up into her favorite corner of the sofa before he even manages to get into the living room. She’s either full of energy or really got that cold in such a short amount of time. Emma should most definitely be used to this weather, but she is cold natured.

“So,” he hums, plopping down on the opposite end of the couch and sticking his feet next to Emma’s legs, “how was your presentation? Did you crush it?”

“Like Fat Amy.”

“Yeah?” he laughs, his eyes crinkling at her reference. He’s so damn proud of her all of the time, but he’s mostly happy that she likely doesn’t feel as much stress as she has been, even if the gala is still a little over a week away. “You’re amazing, Emma.”

“I know.” She winks, but he still sees the blush rise on her cheeks. “But thank you. I’m so damn excited that it’s over. I mean, I’ve still got the actual gala, but I’m only in charge of a little of that. But John and Ella gave the stamp of approval on everything. I’m free, baby.”

“So celebrations are in order then?”

“If by celebration you mean some hot chocolate that you spike with your good rum, then yes.”

“You’re not interested in decorating the tree?”

“Maybe after I’ve had something to drink. And eat. And maybe after a nap. Ooh, and after catching up on Superstore.”

“So never?”

She reaches forward and grabs his toe, wiggling it a little bit. “Later. I promise we’ll decorate later. You know how I feel about Christmas now.”

He does, and they do.

It’s slow going. Emma takes awhile to get up and get her drink, her exhaustion from weeks of stress hitting her the slightest bit, but once she’s had her hot chocolate (rum included) and watched two and a half episodes of Superstore, she gets up off the couch and they start decorating the tree. With the two of them, it doesn’t take long. Really, it’s pretty quick, even if Emma keeps leaving giant spots in the tree without ornaments. But it does get done.

As do the lights out on the balcony, the white glow covering the trellis. It mixes in with all of the lights of their other apartments and some of the boats down below, but really, all he can think about is the fact that if he can manage to get Emma out into the cold again, this would be a nice spot to ask her to marry him.

Then again, if he truly thinks about it, it doesn’t really matter where or how. He thinks it’d be just fine to ask her like they are now, curled up on the couch with Emma’s head resting on a pillow in his lap while he threads his fingers through her hair, lulling them both to sleep with the comfort of it all.

[blankdblank]

Anaticula Pt 18

Pt 1 - Pt 2 - Pt 3 - Pt 4 - Pt 5 - Pt 6 - Pt 7 - Pt 8 - Pt 9 - Pt 10 - Pt 11 - Pt 12 - Pt 13 - Pt 14 - Pt 15 - Pt 16 - Pt 17 -

“Why do I have to go?” Harry again protested as you all shifted to the left on the Knight bus in its racing path towards Privet Drive.

“Harry, you know the rules, two weeks at the Dursley’s.”

“But they’ll only be worse now that I’ve gone to my ‘school of crackpot magic tricks’.”

You rolled your eyes, “They’ll get over it, and if they give you a hard time you let me know and I’ll send over some puking candies.” Making him chuckle and reluctantly stand and shift his mokeskin bag in his hand carrying his trunk and owl cage he had no clue how to fit in his room below the stairs. A problem solved by his entering the door to the home filled with the chatter of Dudley to his friends.

Petunia eyed him from her place fixing treats in the kitchen saying lowly in her approach to him making him freeze, “We needed the space for our new vacuum you no longer sleep under the stairs.” A hint of regret in her forcibly stoic expression making Harry nod wondering if Vernon had finally made good on his threat to move him into the garden shed. “Up the stairs second on the right. We moved Dudley into the larger spare to fit his things.” She turned to the kitchen again after adding, “Vernon is working late and Dudley is having friends over so keep quiet.”

Harry nodded, “Yes aunt Petunia.” He stole a glance back at her seeing her return to the counter peering over at what clearly was another of your letters beside a notepad covered in what appeared to be a drafted response. Anxiously he crept up the stairs eyeing the blue carpet with purple swirls on it and then followed the simple directions until he was in the ten by seven foot room complete with a simple bed, desk and cupboard for his clothes. A weak grin eased onto his face finding his knight toys lined up across the desk clearly dusted in his time away before he looked out over the window he drew Hedgwig out to set her cage in front of it and then turn to place his trunk on the floor by his cupboard.

Deeply he sighed and opened his trunk and found the bound gift from Hagrid he had been gifted as he left for the train. With care he undid the ribbon and eased back the brown paper revealing an album topped with a picture of him in his parents arms as they waved his arm at the camera. Grinning to himself he sat on his bed and opened the book finding first a picture of James and Lily dancing around a fountain, each page after with various pictures captured through their school years, more than a few including the Marauders and his aunt Jewelia, who stunned him completely at how much you looked like her.

Special awards and events, mainly circling Quidditch games, were included with descriptions Hagrid had included until the few scattered pictures of his year with his parents came to and end. From the image of him floating on a tiny broom between Lily and James and your shifting into a fox circling him as he first earned to crawl he felt his lip quivering as it jumped ahead to his first day. From a stolen picture of him under the Sorting hat to his first Quidditch practice the pages flooded with his newfound family around him up until a simple note “Family will always be here with us, just like Hogwarts, we never leave, not really.”

Closing the book he moved to set it on the desk turning again to his trunk he pulled a book on spells gone wrong you had gifted him in hopes of aiding in his studies while away. Flipping to his bookmark he eased the book open and scooted back against the wall smirking as he reread the last story softly chuckling to himself.

…

“America?” Your eyes rose from the copy of your wand permit you had been handed from Regulus upon returning from your swim in the lake with the twins and Opal at her saying the Platypus living there had laid eggs near hatching. Easing a wet strand of your hair behind your ear you locked your eyes with his asking, “Why are we heading to America?”

In the corner of your vision you caught Remus and Sirius tensing through their tea as he answered, “Apparently some traveling muggle circus found a Runespoor and Horned Serpents and sold them to a zoo only for them to break their cages and, well they didn’t bite anyone, just threw some people around. A few Aurors managed to secure them in an auditorium down at the Ministry until we can get there.”

“They can’t manage them?”

He chuckled saying, “Apparently their Auror system is congested and their Magical Creatures head is locked up in some scuffle with an Erumpent herd. Some sort of mischief in their secrecy got botched and now a creature dealer is headlining in a massive trial for selling to muggles. Plus, they heard I am something of a snake expert, so, yes you and I are headed to New York.” He looked to the twins, “I am sorry, I would have to fill out extra minor guardianship papers that would take weeks to authorize for cross oceanic trips.”

They nodded hugging you saying, “Lets get you changed and packed!”

With a giggle you joined them hurrying up to your room as your father said, “Best hop to it Pumpkin, plane leaves in an hour.”

Eyeing your closet after you had dried off and pulled on a long dark green velvet vest top hanging to your upper thighs over your grey jeans. Tapering off over the tops of your tall heeled boots Minerva had gifted you on your birthday you had started to break in on the final couple weeks in school after the final quidditch practice had ended. Slowly the twins kept creeping taller and until you could have the awaited growth spurt fated for you by your parents’ height jumps when they were your age. Lastly after your worn leather jacket you added your hat to help keep your eyes from being noticed that sat over your long braid hanging over your back in a deep maroon shade.

The trip to the muggle airport went easily enough and following Regulus you kept hold of his hand in walking through the crowded airport reminding yourself not to change your hair or eyes from your decided purple shade. Past the ticket counter you passed through the baggage check, for the simple expected two day trip you had the clothes chosen for the trip rolled up beside your toiletries pouch in your messenger bag along with a charmed book and set of journals to muggle proof them. A flashed grin and you were on your way towards your gate where you took your place in line to file into your seats towards the middle of the plane.

.

Eleven hours later and you were back in another airport claiming his hand once again on the path to the arrivals gate. Passing over your passport and travel papers you locked eyes with the brooding man behind the counter that looked between you and your picture, “Business or pleasure?”

After a pause you replied, “Short holiday, so, pleasure?”

Once again he inspected your face as you flashed another quick smile ignoring his stare at the scarred half of your face under your side swept bangs. Blankly he flipped the page and moved his arm from the ink pad to the page with his hand folded around a black plastic cylinder stamping the first page he closed the small book that he slid back to you. With a nod of his head he said, “Enjoy your time in New York.”

You grinned at him claiming the book you added to your bag and followed after Regulus to the side freeing up the counters where he claimed your hand and guided you out to the exiting gate where you eyed the tall teen with wide eyes looking you over in your approach in the early morning light through the glass walls. The sign with ‘Mr Black’ that he kept aimed towards the floor making Regulus smirk and mumble to you, “Bet that’s our ride.”

Giggling softly you leaned against his arm shifting your bag to avoid hitting the silver planter on your right joining him for the final few feet up to the teen where Regulus reached out tilting the sign up to read his name then said with a grin, “Hope you brought something sporty.”

The teen blinked then said, “Um, just have my Volkswagon Corrado. It’s got a racing stripe on it.”

Regulus chuckled saying, “Should do nicely.” Grinning at you as you followed the fumbling teen hurrying outside to unlock the car door and ease the seat forward for you to climb in the back.

Easing into the car you sat down resting your bag on your lap while Regulus climbed into the seat in front of you and closed the door resting his at his feet. The gangly teen rushed around and climbed inside to start the drive taking you through the city off towards the distant Ministry. Buildings whizzed by with oddly orange vans with men and women in matching striped bright red suits with matching hats, all of them more glum than the last as the trench coat clad group around them watching them intently turning your head as you passed.

“Hey, what’s with that van?”

The teen shook his head after a deep scoff, “Should just shove that lot out to sea.”

“Why?”

Shaking his head again he just turned up the music mumbling to himself stirring an eerie sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach as you dropped the subject. Through an odd patch of green you watched it grow in your view until it switched back to the city again you were parked and climbed out after Regulus did. Straight for the Woolworth building you walked adjusting the strap of your bag still wondering about that group in your step closer to Regulus’ side softly asking, “Did you see that van?”

Regulus sighed saying as he leaned in to whisper in latin, “When we turned 16 we flew out here and, well it’s a bit of a long story. I’ll explain in the hotel okay?” His eyes locked on yours and he added, “Technically I almost couldn’t come, got a ten year ban while Remus, James and your Dad got lifetime bans for the ruckus we pulled up over that lot in the van.”

“Why do I have a feeling this isn’t going to end well?”

Regulus eased his arm around your back leading you closer to the front entrance locked for the next few hours where another group of trench coat clad men and women waiting there staring you both down as if you had already been deemed a waste of time.

The closer you drew your eyes sank to the tallest man with sunglasses he was removing, his tie coated in snakes in bowties and wearing propeller hats. His brown eyes looking you over at Regulus’ side who he asked, “Mr Black, I was not aware you were bringing a date.”

Regulus scoffed, “This is my niece, Jaqi. Trust me, when I have a snake problem she is necessary.”

He looked you over again inching up his brow at your color changing eyes in looking over the brunette woman and blonde male around him who turned with a joined sigh as he said, “Come this way then and Miss, kindly remove your hat. I trust your niece has had the knowledge to fill out a wand permit application.” Reaching up you removed it and gave it a wave at your side activating your charm on it turning it to a string tied around your index finger. Anxiously your eyes raised and you ruffled your bangs and slicked your fingers along your braid resting over your shoulder in your usual self calming way noticing the danger wheel aimed at Level 4 Danger, Level 2 Moderate Danger which switched up to Level 3 High Alert as the two smaller hands moved to Exposures and Obliviations.

Regulus, “Oh I filled it out for her, by post. Just got out of school day before yesterday.”

That made the group glance back to look at you making you say, “I have it if you need to see it.” Turning around they quietly spoke amongst themselves as you glanced up at Regulus who leaned in to kiss your forehead.

Past a wand polishing House Elf you looked to the short redheaded woman who gasped and hurried over, her heels clicking at her eager steps as her slightly nasally voice rang out echoing in the halls, “Jewels! Regi!”

Leaning in Regulus whispered, “Bernadette Claude, she performed with your Mother.” His eyes inched back up to her with a grin on his face accepting her crashing hug into his side, “Bernadette.”

The group ahead of you paused to watch as she then hugged you widening your eyes in her quick tugging hug then release you forced a grin back onto your face for as she said, “Oh it’s been so long! I know you’re busy so I will catch you later.” Just as quickly as she had appeared she seemed to vanish down a hall freeing you to continue onwards behind the group.

Down a series of marble steps you eyed the varied professionally clad people passing by eyeing you both in return before you caught another flash of bright colored suits with thick black stripes as you were led to an opening elevator. Once inside you turned seeing a group of young teenagers staring up at you seemingly embarrassed to even catch your eye, the eldest girl bearing a strong dark brow matching that of her father’s, who was in a matching suit with a familiar claw mark across his cheek.

The doors of the large elevator closed and the House Elf turned the gear to the proper location as you glanced up at Regulus wondering why the trench coat clad group around the family had refused to let them inside the elevator with you. His eyes were already on you silently confirming your suspicion as to why they were being segregated. Looking forward again you drew in a steady breath struggling to fight your looming tears as you forced down the rising sea of insults and curses just biting and snarling to burst free.

A series of halls later and shouts could be heard of charms to renew the barriers around the auditorium behind oddly pale blue marble walls and doors coated in paisley tapestries. Approaching the doors those with wands raised stepped back eyeing the pair of you as you left your bags by the wall and Regulus rested his hand on the doorknob at your asking, “Why is it so cold?”

The dark eyed man that led you answered, “It is 85 degrees.”

You turned your head to look up at him, “No wonder they’re furious, they must be freezing.” Regulus opened the door and you eyed the Runespoor raised up to nearly ten feet with its body coiled up reaching what you assumed to be near thirty feet. Its eyes shifting colors in your first step into the room saying in Parseltongue as Regulus raised his hand casting a wandless heating spell, “No wonder you are so upset.” From behind a row of seats you saw the three Horned Serpents you guessed to be nearly twenty feet long each staring at you while you continued for the open mouthed Aurors behind you to watch in awe at the calming snakes. “It is so cold in here.”

The Runespoor’s heads tilted as the one on the right spoke, “The little one speaks to us.”

The far left replied, “Yes, it does. What little fangs it has.” Making you giggle and smile up at the middle head as it hummed out, “Whimsical dreams weighted with sorrow. What a painful creature.”

The middle Horned Serpent spoke out, “What could have called this little one so far from home?” Starting to slither over the seat to circle you with his brothers who all shifted closer to Regulus as they passed him at the spreading warmth from him.

Another said, “All these men and they send a child?”

Peering at the second you answered through the third sniffing you with a flick of his tongue, “They did not send for me. They asked for my Uncle.”

The third paused saying, “This smell on you.” The trio sniffed you as the Runespoor leaned closer to do the same only to pull back stunned eyeing you all muttering, “The King!”

Nodding your head you answered, “I do protect a Basilisk. These men, they will take you to a proper home far from where they found you.”

In conference they continued to circle you while Regulus continued to warm the room stealing smirking glances at the group watching from the hall as the conference ended and they all looked to you nodding their heads in unison, “We will trust you.” The middle Horned Serpent added, “But keep that one away from us.”

Your head turned to the dark eyed man again with the hideous tie before your eyes darted to a familiar voice coming through the halls, “Ah! Lovely, just in time!” Newt Scamander arrived fixing his collar as he grinned at you before looking to the dark eyed man with a twisting expression, “Why would you wear that tie?!”

His brow inched up and you added, “You need to change it.”

He looked to you, “That is what they said? They hate my tie?!”

“No. I hate your tie. Snakes with bow ties and propeller hats, just offensive.”

Dark eyed Auror, “Then what did they say to you?”

“They will agree to be transported. But not by you. They don’t like you.”

You looked to Newt and then grinned as he clapped his hands smoothing his palms together, “See now, just what I said. Snake experts. Perfect for the task.” His head turned and he peered up at the snakes still circling you eyeing him curiously, “Marvelous, twice the size of my own Runespoor. Curious how the Muggles managed it right my dear?”

You nodded saying to the snakes, “This is my friend, Newt.” They nodded and leaned in to sniff him.

Newt, “I’m off to the wild reserves after this, made a stop in South America when I heard. Right out mess they made with the Erumpents.

Extending his palm he measured the horns on one of the Horned Serpents circling you spreading his grin, “He is going to take you to your new homes.”

Behind the Wizard his suitcase floated closer and opened signaling you to step out of the coiling circle freezing the trio who eyed your approach to the open suitcase as Newt said, “Warmth and food,” motioning his hand in his step aside hoping they would follow you.

One tilted its head then dropped lower following you towards the suitcase it peered into curiously before slithering down the steps after you with another right behind him. The three eyed the set up habitats until their scales shimmered at the warm lake they hurried to you were tossing a buckets worth of food into. At the dip of the Runespoor into the suitcase you came into its sights and motioned her in towards another habitat next to the trio’s filled with trees where you grabbed the bucket of live prey you dumped out into the trees urging its rush past you to hunt and eat, thanking you along the way.

Up again you climbed out accepting Newt’s hand for the last step, after which the suitcase snapped shut and locked itself. Patting your hand he grinned saying, “Masterfully done.”

You giggled then eyed Regulus giving you an agreeing nod before you looked to the Aurors again, a new one had arrived saying coldly, “Since you seem to be so, adept, at snake charming perhaps you could aid us in collecting some venoms.”

Tilting your head you answered, “Why not.”

Newt chuckled guiding you both to the door where you shouldered your bags again, “I never get to see their collection.” With a hop to his step he folded his hand around his floating briefcase handle and you all followed the group through a series of empty halls until you were in another lifeless holding area with hovering paralyzed snakes floating in containment shields parting your lips. “What is wrong with you?”

Your question turned the group to you as Newt looked just as shocked as you, the dark eyed Auror turned saying, “Excuse me?”

Locking your eyes on his you pointed at the snakes, “What the hell?! How could you do this? They’re not tubs of ice cream!”

He rolled his eyes, “These are puppets, used to aid in capturing those who sell deadly snakes to Muggles, containing memories of the transactions for the trials. We are not this stupid to keep snakes like this.”

Turning again they led you on into another room with glass cages making you scoff lowly replying in latin, “Apparently you are.” He glanced back at you and each pitiful habitat you guided the teams through alongside Regulus and Newt to collect the samples with ease as well as sharing the snakes’ complaints.

..

Nearly to nightfall you finally were headed back to the front entrance after a sandwich break that Newt had brought in, halfway expecting to be detained as always since his first trip to New York. The number of colored suits in the main lobby had grown into dozens being urged ahead by air shields from the wands of the Aurors escorting them making you ask, “Why are they doing that?”

The dark eyed Auror curtly replied, “Butt out of it. It does not concern you.”

You scoffed making him stop through Newt’s sharp inhale seeing one of the Aurors urge another man ahead with a burst of air from his wand forcing the man into another group of already agitated men who had been already on edge from their antagonizing guards. A sudden tear of fabric had the women and children being ushered aside by the calmer males, with the exception of a young girl being shoved by another Auror waving his wand between two males mid transformation in a frantic pant. Rushing forward you reached into your pocket drawing out a trio of your enchanted bracelets you flung at the changing males.

The metal chains soared and latched around their wrists folding over their hands making their eyes gloss over and droop as the hibernation enchantment kicked in slowly lowering them to the ground. Around the now sleeping men the fellow bright suit clad men eyed them in their frenzy to remain calm before looking to you. The Aurors, all having missed the yellow wafting dust dripping down their bodies eyed the ones they were circling while you dropped to a knee in front of the girl.

Flinching from your touch she panted eyeing you carefully as you inched closer to her, softly saying, “It’s ok.” Her eyes darted to the Aurors Regulus and Newt were keeping at bay with a bubble charm. “Look at me.”

Her panting quickened through squeaking breaths as you said easing a beaded charm from your bracelet seeing a patch of fur spreading over her cheek, “This will help. Just breathe. I’m not going to hurt you.” Her eyes followed your hand as you stole a glimpse at her mother wringing her hands afraid to approach you watching with the others as you hooked the bracelet into place. The shift was almost instant making her sit up and start patting her face and shifting her sleeves inspecting her wrists. “See,” her eyes met yours and you asked, “I’m Jaqi, what’s your name?”

Wetting her lips she looked you over replying, “Lynn, from the Lycan housing district across the bay.”

“Lycan district…?” Raising your eyes you looked over the still agitated men then you helped Lynn to her feet as you heard more Aurors flooding into the hall. Wetting your lips you moved closer to the men waving your hand summoning more bracelets from your office approaching the men saying, “I have more, it will help calm you down.”

Timidly they accepted them, easing them around their wrists to instantly feel relief before their eyes rose to the tall man glaring at you harshly with full black attire under a long leather trench coat with a tall black headdress marking him as the President of MACUSA, Serano Picquery.

Inhaling deeply he eyed you three as you turned to him fully with a glare of your own in the shifting of your eyes and hair to a deep midnight blue. His voice booming through the hall in a deep tone, “Just what is the meaning of this?!”

Harshly you shouted back, “This is how you treat your citizens?!”

His eyes narrowed as he bellowed back, “We are protecting our citizens-!”

“From who?! Because the only people I see harming your citizens is you!”

Serano’s nostrils flared and he bellowed, “Break that shield now!”

The Aurors closest around you fired spell after spell only to lower their wands at the sea of feathers from the confused ducks they were summoning. “You do know it wasn’t too long ago segregation was abolished by the Muggles! Forcing specific wardrobes, housing and barriers,”

Your eyes locked on his as the ducks settled between the furious Aurors, “With all these red and black clothes around it sure hits a few blaring warning signs that should remind you of something that the Muggles you’re so afraid of might refer to as the fighting forces that triggered a friendly little tiff called WORLD WAR II! How thick could you possibly get?! You’re even worse than they are!”

Serano, “Now-!”

“Now nothing! You’ve said enough! It’s time for you to listen for once! You cowards,” his brow twitched up and his fists clenched as he inhaled again, “have done nothing but get to spout your propaganda for centuries against innocent people! Sure there are those maliciously attacking others but for the vast majority this disease is spread through innocents, men, women and children that had nothing to do with harming anyone!

And what have you done?! Locked them away forcing them to feel less than worthy enough to share an elevator with someone without the disease. I bet if you tested the people in these suits more than half would be symptom or disease free, and you treat them like some monster! Back in the twenties when Newt first came here he had to force you to see your fear does nothing but cause more damage than if you actually tried treating other people and beings with some dignity and respect!

You treat them like monsters! You lock them away! Well you wanted monsters and that’s just what you’re creating for yourself. Go ahead, keep jabbing at the beast, go ahead, make it easier for them to lash out. You think they want to change? You think they want to tear in half into some vicious creature detached from their control! Innocent people forced through that, confused and hurt and what do you do?!”

His shoulders started to droop seeing the teary eyed suited group watching someone finally speaking up for them. “You decide in your infinite wisdom that each and every one of them has to remain silent and obedient letting you control each and every aspect of their life! That they can have some semblance of a life if they just hand over every ounce of freedom and dignity they have! What were you thinking? Who gave you that right?! They get no rights while you get the freedom to walk around able to drop buildings on people, disintegrate people to dust with no one to keep watch over you, and just because they have a disease they have absolutely no control over they get limited to next to nothing!”

Exhaling lowly you replied a bit calmer, “If you do nothing to help them you are only drowning everyone with untamable fear. Last time that happened in New York an Obscurial almost tore your precious statute of secrecy to shreds. I believe your Grandmother could share a bit on that with you if you have any doubts on what damage fear can do.”

Inhaling deeply again he stated, “You will lower this shield!”

“Make me.�� His eyes narrowed, “No, your Aurors are so pepped up to harm innocent children, I’m only 14, come on, take your best shot. You want a monster I’ll give you one! Or you can sit down with all of these people here apologizing for how they have been marginalized by you and all the Aurors you command for probably their entire lives. And then when that’s done I can give you a better way to handle this head on.”

Serano, “And just what would a child have to offer us in means of protecting ourselves?! Hmm? You, tell me that!”

His cocky smirk dropped at Lynn walking to your side raising her arm exposing the bracelet to say, “I was starting to shift and Jaqi gave me this. It stopped my shift. It itches, but it reversed my shift and I’m calmer.” More of the men behind you stepped forward showing theirs as well while the Aurors looked to the men unconscious, slowly shifting back to their natural forms with charm bracelets fully exposed.

Serano snarked back, “So you would have us kill this disease with charm bracelets and kindness?”

Your eyes narrowed, “If you have seen one tenth the cruelty I have it would be no joke to be kind. Do not mistake my kindness for weakness. Trust me when I say it is taking everything in me not to return every ounce of, kindness, I have seen shown to your citizens back onto you.”

Stepping closer to the barrier he replied, “You come to my country, my Ministry headquarters and start shouting about how I keep my citizens safe, and all you offer is charm bracelets! How am I supposed to make my people feel safe from them?!”

Tilting your head mockingly you replied, “By making them feel safe from you for starters.” A growling breath left him and you added, “There are potions-!”

“YES! And to brew those potions and enforce them on all inflicted by the disease would cost billions! In just one year! We cannot afford to brew, let alone distribute the Wolfsbane potion!”

“The old one, yes.”

His brow inched up and his voice dropped calmer in confusion, “Old one?”

Waving your fingers you produced one of your cards for the Werewolf products, “There’s a new potion for barely a fourth of the price to produce. Way more affordable to the masses. Now if only people would stop running in fear from the slightest sign of lycanthropy we could actually get people the help they need!”

Serano, “You will give me this recipe.”

You shook your head, “Not gonna happen. Ever. I will distribute the cards, I will sell the bracelets, and you will apologize for how you have treated everyone in those lycan districts.”

Serano, “I doubt your Minister of Magic will enforce that decision.”

You smirked at him, “Go ahead. Ask him. See what he says.”

He huffed and said, “Then I will be needing your name, Miss-,”

“Jaqiearae Suzsieanne Anistasiea Pluto Black.” His lips parted as you brushed your bangs from your face exposing your signature scar, “Would you like me to spell it for you?”

Serano looked you over asking, “Black,” he cleared his throat glancing at Regulus, who held a beaming idiotic grin when he got looked at, then back to you, “Not any relation to, Sirius Black?”

You nodded, “My Father.”

Serano inhaled then replied, “You will drop this shield and will aid you in distributing your cards and you will share the financial aspects of these potions and bracelets of yours so they can be spread through the districts. I will run an investigation as to how the laws pertaining lycans can be shifted. Is your visit for long?”

You answered, “We have tickets for a flight back tomorrow night.”

Serano, “Good. Ensure you are on it.”

With a smirk you dropped the shield and the group inched closer to you, Regulus and Newt only to eye Serano in his approach to you offering Lynn his hand first beginning the line of apologies he ordered each of his Aurors to give as well until the last was given. Most half hearted at first until they started hearing stories of how they had been treated for their lives or since contracting the disease. With each of those already spoken to they grouped around you asking question after question about your new potion, and bracelets.

“In the onset of the shift, the enchanted silver burns them when it forces their change to stop, more than just on their skin. When out of the full moon week there’s no pain at all, during it, constant tingling, the day of, just searing pain unless you take the stronger potion exactly on schedule.” Your hair and eyes returned to their former shades.

Repeating your answer for the question of the differences between the potions you caught President Serano peering over the crowds at you listening, “The new one halts the shift completely, and is a fourth of the price-. But there is a taste metal all day and under direct moonlight the bodies ache everywhere and will experience numbness in the feet and lower legs. Though if you eat pineapple every morning the metal taste is tolerable and the aching lulls after five hours with the second dose. We are working on the side effects but past those the irritability paired with the week wanes over continued use.”

Wetting your lips you continued, “We still are adjusting the recipe and trying to find a way to strengthen it. Since they are forced into hiding back home it was not likely if advertised for sale in public would sell well, but we’ve placed a few ads since the second potion in a few anon group meetings for secret deliveries. Only had a few requests to try it so far.”

Lynn, “Secret deliveries?”

“When we get an order request and enchanted safe is sent to them, they slide the coins into the slot on it and it opens releasing their supply. They collect it and it zaps back to us, discrete and safe for them.” In a reach into your pocket you pulled out a set of cards you sent out to each of the lycans around you, “The summoning chant for the safe is on these. They will be distributed through the districts. We did have a supply for a few hundred before I left but I can cut the supply from five months for each person to one and we can have five times as many until will be back home and can focus on brewing more. Then we can offer the usual five month supply when our stocks have refilled.”

Serano, “How many of the bracelets do you have in stock?”

“Few dozen. I am certain we could get the ones that struggle with it the most first and craft more quite quickly. This isn’t going to be a new bright red suit. It is powerful magic, not a band aid, they have to be given to those who need them. Plus, they can help you blend into the Muggle world as well. Instead of the blaring matching outfits, they’re just popular beaded or charm bracelets. A fad to the mortals.”

A female in the lycan groups asked, “How much are these potions a month?”

“Ten galleons a month.” The amount dropping their jaws as the old potion that usually runs for hundreds of galleons for a full month supply.

The next few hours as the next wave of lycans arrived for their mandatory evaluations and ration booklet pick up for the month. All more than eager to hear from those leaving from theirs what you had said and offered to them while their President continued to speak to each arriving hearing about Aurors mistreating them and all of their complaints.

Groggily you made your way to the front entrance with Newt as he patted your hand that was resting in the crook of his arm giving you a comforting grin, “Marvelous, My Dear. I hate that  they took my idea for a registry and turned it into that, bastardized monstrosity of registering criminals, not their victims.”

Regulus chuckled only to fall silent as you spotted the same woman from earlier wading through the sea of reporters stealing pictures of you three to add to the story they had fully wrote up, complete with memories from a few willing Aurors to confirm each word and gesture. In a surprising rush she grinned at you saying, “Oh you just look so, what is your secret?” she leaned in, “Using that morphing skill of yours to hide the wrinkles isn’t fair you know.” She turned her head to look up to Regulus, “I mean, Regi, Merlin’s beard you’ve aged!”

Regulus chuckled patting his hand on your shoulder, “Why thank you, I’ve been busy raising this one.” Her lips parted looking you over as he continued, “We lost Jewels back in ’81, with the Potters. This is Jaqi.”

Bernadette gasped and stepped forward pulling you into a tight hug, “Oh, I am so sorry! I just-,” she pulled back with tears in her eyes, “I just saw you, and, hoped it hadn’t happened. I am so sorry, and you look, so much like her. Any time you want to talk about her,” she looked down patting her pockets then drew out a card she passed to you, “Here, my home address and seeing stone rune connection.” She shifted her eyes to a witch waving to her and she said, “I do have to head back in, but I am due in London in a few weeks. We can get together for a coffee and spill it all!” She nodded then hugged Regulus again before darting off.

Alone again you three walked through the door and out onto the street following Newt to a small crack in the wall diner nearby he loved and frequented with his wife Tina when his ban on travel to the states was up. After the meal his ride showed up and as you saw another sunrise you strolled under Regulus’ arm through the streets to your Wizard hotel where you spotted the Aurors tailing you in assurance you would make your flight to switch with a new pair to watch outside until you left again. One long nap and another late lunch later you were back in the streets again off to a simple set of shops before catching the same teen driver pulling up to drive you to the airport.

For a second time he anxiously eyed you both in the silent ride to the airport while your mind raced eyeing the bustling streets until the gateway home again appeared and you were both let out again. In the busy entrance you joined the lines of Muggles to wait on the ticket counter leaning against Regulus’ arm hearing him chuckle once again.

“It’s not funny.” You stated in latin, “I just got a lifetime ban from the states.”

Regulus chuckled again, “Chip off the old block.” You glanced up at him and he said, “When the guys were 16, I was just a year younger barely, summer break we tried to fly to the states, we got all the way there and then Remus’ name popped up in their system. Failed the pretest before the flights, back when they were first starting the districts.”

“No.”

He nodded, “He was being turned around when we tried to sign into our hotel, put back on a plane and sent home. Bunch of Aurors in trench coats just like today. We went ballistic. Course the guys said they pushed me into it since I was younger, so over their lifetime ban I got a ten year ban and we switched our plans to explore Europe. Just a hair past a decade now, hence my being able to bring you to help them out. Though they reluctantly allowed me back, but no doubt now I will be joining the family tradition.” Giggling to yourself you took the few steps forward closer to the ticket counter feeling your tears fighting back again.

“How can they be so casually cruel?”

Sighing again he replied, “I don’t know. But you spoke up, and shouted and silently slung charms disarming them and finally got someone to listen. We just blasted everything in sight. Your words made a difference. You made a difference.”

Pt 19

[snowdice]

Big Bang (Sort of) Editing Story [Day 44]

I started writing this fic while editing my Big Bang story, but am going to continue doing it for other things now that Kill Dear is out. I will write and publish 100 words of the story every time I finish doing whatever task I’m doing. If you’d like to block these proceedings, please feel free to block the tag proofread stories. I will reblog this post with the parts of the story I do today. Edited chapters are linked; everything else I’ve done so far is under the cut.

My Master Post Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16

Editing time! I forgot until now that I need to edit both the Little Kestrel and Folds in Paper update for this week until right now. XD

Chapter 17

Virgil’s suspicion was growing. Logan and Patton seemed to have something planned. Luckily, whatever it was didn’t seem to be malicious, at least, Virgil hoped it wasn’t. He truly didn’t think that Patton had it in him to be so clearly excited about anything cruel. He also didn’t think Logan had it in him to be cruel, he was just was better at masking his excitement.

“What?” Logan asked innocently when Virgil gave him a pointed look the second Patton left to do ‘something’. Virgil would almost believe he truly wasn’t planning anything if it wasn’t for the way his lips twitched just a bit at the corners. Virgil glared harder.

 Logan dared to laugh lightly at the expression on his face. “Come here,” he requested. “Patton wanted me to make you pick out a book for him to read to you tonight since, I quote ‘You’ve gotten to read him all sorts of stories the last few days.’ I attempted to explain that it was not purely for fun, but he insisted.”

Virgil grumbled, but wandered over to look over at the books laid out on Logan’s bed, settling his chin on Logan’s shoulder. “What do they say?” he asked.

Logan pointed to each in turn. “Five Dragons and a Flame. The End of May. A Stone in the Meadow. Or you can continue to read The Never-ending Garden.”

 “I want to finish The Never-Ending Garden,” Virgil decided.

“Good choice.”

“Now will you tell me what you’re doing?” Virgil asked.

Logan just chuckled. Honestly, it was like he didn’t know that he had an assassin right next to his carotid artery. “Why do you think something is happened?”

“Patton’s a shit liar.”

“Be careful,” Logan said. “I might just have to tell him you said that.”

“Then I’ll tell him what you said when you accidently dropped the lavender into that potion,” Virgil threatened back.

“Hmm,” Logan said. “Truce?”

“On that,” Virgil agreed, “but you still need to tell me what’s going on.”

 “It is a surprise. A nice surprise,” Logan informed him. He looked at Virgil’s face. “Don’t pout at me.”

Virgil had not been aware that what he was doing was pouting, but he did whatever it was harder.

“Patton would murder me,” Logan claimed, “but I suggest you try that on him the next time you have a chance. You will certainly get whatever you want.”

Virgil sighed and gave up, figuring he’d learn whatever the surprise was soon enough. He chose to flop down on top of the pile of pillows on the floor that had been laid out already. It was his fourth ever slumber party and the first had only been a week ago. He did not know much about slumber parties, but that felt like a lot.

 Goodness, it had already been two weeks. He looked up at the ceiling. He felt safe here. He felt like he didn’t need to watch Logan’s every move as he organized things in his room, but it wasn’t going to last, was it? The king was set to be back in a week. Virgil needed to actually attempt to escape soon. He hated that fact. He didn’t want to leave, and he certainly didn’t want to go back. Maybe he wouldn’t. Maybe he’d figure something else out, but no mater what, he did have to escape, and soon. He looked over at Logan who was slotting the books Virgil hadn’t picked back into place on the bookshelf. Not tonight.

 There was a knock on the door in a familiar pattern, and Logan walked over to open it for Patton. Virgil sat up to shoot a confused look at the giant thing that Patton rolled in.

“Ta da!” Patton said excitedly.

Virgil blinked at him.

“It’s food,” Logan explained.

Virgil perked up immediately. That must be a lot of food if he needed that to carry it.

“I know you haven’t gotten a chance to try a lot of different foods, so I asked Mama if I could use the kitchen earlier today and made a bunch of different type of food samples for you to try.”

 That sounded like literally the best idea in the universe. These people were very good at surprises and Virgil would not question them again ever for the rest of his life (or, well, the next couple of days he was around them before he tried to escape and either managed it or died a bloody and painful death).

Patton seemed to feed off of Virgil’s excitement, practically vibrating himself as he gestured to different parts of the cart. “We have a bunch of types of cheese and crackers, mini sandwiches, different smoked meats, six types of pasta, and every leftover I could find on this shelf. On this shelf, we have things with hot sauce, things with spicy dry rubs, curries, and things with a lot of peppers. I’ve ordered them by spiciness level so we can what you can handle, and we’ll only go as far as you want. Then this shelf is a bunch of types of cookies, mini cakes, pies, and ice cream!”

 “We are not starting with the sweets,” Logan said firmly.

“But Lo!” Patton whined.

“We do not want to make him sick, do we?” Logan asked.

Patton pouted. Virgil honestly had no preference. All food was good food in his experience.

“Fine,” Patton said. “We’ll start with the cheese.”

They had him sit back in the center of the blanket pile and handed him little portions of things. Some of the cheese tasted weird at first and Patton would giggle at the faces of surprise he made, but Virgil managed to if not like, then tolerate almost all of them.

 Then came the different sandwiches, some hot and some cold and all of the pasta and leftovers. Virgil eyed the plate of fettuccine alfredo long after they had moved on.

“You can have some more at the end if you still have room,” Logan promised with a fond smile. Virgil frowned at him. “You want to try all of the food, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Then you can’t eat an entire plate of fettucine alfredo.”

“Maybe you can’t,” Virgil said darkly.

Logan just rolled his eyes and passed him another plate.

Eventually they moved on to the next shelf full of what was deemed ‘spicy food.’

 “Part of this is figuring out what level of spiciness you can handle,” Patton said. “So, tell us when it gets to be a bit too much and we’ll move on two the deserts. Also, milk helps wash the spicy stuff that so drink some if you need to!”

Virgil nodded and accepted the first dish on that rack.

Virgil, it turned out, liked what they called “spicy” food even though some of it made his nose run a little bit. It was kind of fun to eat them, honestly. Some of them hurt a tiny bit, but they also tasted really good. It was strange.

“I am impressed and horrified,” Logan said when he finished that shelf. “Do you… have nerve endings in your mouth?”

 Virgil shrugged. “Well,” Patton said, sounding pleased. “Now it’s time for the best part! Assuming you still have room.” Virgil nodded immediately and Patton handed him a plate he’d covered with chunks of cookies he’d torn off. He ate every single one of those and then went through the rest of the deserts. Everything was fantastic and he’d like to investigate a few of the cakes once more, but…

He pointed insistently at the fettuccine alfredo.

Logan shook his head but handed it over. “How many stomachs do you have?”

Virgil did not care to respond, choosing instead to shove his mouth full of pasta.

 When he was done with that, he laid back to relax and digest the food, feeling very content. Logan and Patton had also eaten a bit of the different dishes and were finishing up themselves.

“You good there?” Patton asked after a moment of Virgil just laying with his eyes closed.

Virgil nodded.

“Did you like your surprise?”

“Uh huh.”

“It seems he will not be doing any of the other planned activities for a little while at least,” Logan said. “So now might be a good time for you two to read,” he suggested. “I’ll get the rest of the food stored in case we want something more later.”

 “Okay,” Patton agreed. Virgil didn’t open his eyes, but felt Patton settle next to him. Virgil rolled slightly, so his head rested against the side of Patton’s leg. A hand touched softly down on the top of Virgil’s head and Virgil heard a page flip. “So, let’s see. I’m not sure when exactly you fell asleep last time, but how about we start at the Troll Bridge?”

Virgil hummed his ascent.

“Okay,” Patton agreed as he started to read. “‘Melly stepped onto the bridge backwards while sticking her tongue out at Al, but Lydia’s eyes widened as a large looming figure stepped up behind her….’” Virgil listened happily to him read about the four children. He liked this book. He hoped they managed to finish reading it before Virgil had to go.

  Chapter 18

They made it all the way to the big blowout between Al and Melly where Melly got mad and left the group to their fate in the magical garden by the time Virgil awakened completely from his food coma (he’d never actually fallen asleep, or at least he always responded when Patton asked) and squirmed around for a bit before sitting up.

Logan hadn’t been particularly interested in the story he’d heard many times before and was reading a book of his own on Patton’s other side, but he put a bookmark in his book when Virgil sat.

“Want to take a break from reading?” Patton asked. “We can do a bit more later, but we have more than just food and books planned for tonight.

 “Okay,” Virgil agreed easily.

“Great!” Patton said clapping his hands. “We’re going to introduce you to the most fun sleepover party event ever!”

Virgil tilted his head.

“Dress up!” Patton said. “Also make-overs. We’ll do you first and then we’ll help you learn how to help pick out other people’s outfits and make-up. If you want to, of course.”

“Sure,” Virgil said with a shrug.

“Yay!” Patton hopped to his feet. “You stay here. Lo and I will get everything ready.”

He pulled Logan to his feet and over to the chair that was the perfect height for doing make-up.

 They set up what they’d need for make-up and then Patton instructed Logan to grab the clothes of his they usually used for this sort of thing out the closet that Virgil wasn’t set up in while he grabbed the pieces he himself had brought upstairs and strew them over the bed so they could see anything.

Smiling happily, Patton looked over at Virgil who had stood up in the giant pile of pillows and blankets to watch him with intense eyes. He looked like he was memorizing every action Patton took as though expecting a test at the end. He was so adorable. A rush of affection and a touch of mischief hit him suddenly.

 “Hey Virgil,” Patton said. Virgil looked over at him. “Can I tackle hug you into that pile of pillows?”

“Tackle hug?” he asked.

“I run over and hug you so hard that we fall into the blankets. I do it to Logan all the time without warning, but I didn’t want to confuse you.”

Virgil considered the offer for a couple of seconds. “Okay,” he finally decided.

“Great!” Patton did a little hop before launching himself across the room. He slammed into Virgil, who apparently had very good balanced because they didn’t immediately fall backwards, but then he seemed to remember that he was supposed to let Patton slam him into the pillows, and so he fell back on his own power.

 Patton giggled when they hit the ground and drew back to look at his face. “I got you!” He leant forward to kiss him on the nose. “Oh wait! I should let you fight back.” He propped himself up on one arm and held out the other hand. “Pinkie promise not to hurt anyone if I let you use the 3rd setting again?”

“Pinkie promise,” he agreed with a grin, linking their pinkies.

“Great!” Without hesitation, Patton did the hand motion to allow the restraints to be in the third setting.

Patton was on his back almost instantly, but he didn’t even have a chance to think about worrying before Virgil pressed a kiss to his nose in a mirror of what Patton had done a moment before. “I got you,” he said proudly.

 “So, you do,” Patton agreed with a laugh. He reached up on of his hands to card it through Virgil’s hair. Virgil leaned into the touch and then practically melted on top of him. “Virgil,” Patton laughed. “It isn’t nap time.”

He grumbled something unintelligible into Patton’s neck making Patton giggle more.

“Sweetie, please.”

Thankfully Logan saved him from the unrelenting cuddling by poking Virgil in the side. “I have finished preparing the stations for the makeover and dress up. You need to get up now.”

Virgil made a noise that sounded like a growl, but he did roll off of Patton.

 Patton hopped to his feet and helped Virgil up before pulling him over to the piles of clothes. “We pick the outfit first, but you don’t put it on. Then, we do your make-up and hair based on it. Then, we get you dressed and do touch ups. Okay? Pick anything you want.”

Virgil looked over the options, eyes going a bit wide. “It…” he said. “It all looks really fancy and expensive. Are you sure you want me to touch any of it?”

“We wouldn’t be offering anything we didn’t want you to touch,” Logan said gently. “In fact, I insist you touch all of it. Beyond just appearance, making sure the texture of the fabric is agreeable is a large part of this activity.”

 Patton picked up one of the pieces of fabric he knew was very soft and offered it to him. He touched it with careful fingers, his eyes lighting up at the feel of it. They had to continue nudging him into feeling the different fabrics, and he hesitated when they asked him to pick his favorite at the end, but eventually he shyly pointed at a dark purple dress.

Patton clapped. “Great! Ooo, I already have some ideas for make-up that will go with that.”

Virgil let Patton pull him over to the chair they’d set up and settled down on it.

29009

Patton hummed. “I think silver and purple make-up mostly?” he said.

Logan nodded and they grabbed a few things from the make-up kit. Logan let Patton do most of the make-up as he tended to be better at the more creative parts, but Logan was the one who gave him the fancy winged eye liner with purple sparkles because he was really good at them.

“You look fantastic!” Patton squealed when they were done. He held up a hand mirror for Virgil who studied himself in it for a long few moments. “Do you like it?”

“It’s really nice,” Virgil confirmed. Patton smiled and hugged him.

“Next hair. We have a lot of accessories. I’ll let you pick from the purple ones.”

 He and Logan sorted through the jewelry box full of different hair accessories for the royal family and ended up finding three purple ones. Patton hesitated a bit over one of them, but Logan picked it up and set it in front of Virgil for him.

“Your choice from these three,” he said.

One was a purple feather with little hooks to braid into hair, one was a smattering of purple and silver stars that would weave through the back of someone’s hair, and the last was a string of silver leaves with purple tips that would wrap up the back of a person’s head from a bun.

Virgil thought for a moment and then pointed to the one made of leaves.

 Patton glanced at Logan who took the hairpiece. “I’ll do your hair right for that one,” he said. “I know how it fits.”

He grabbed the brush and carefully ran it through Virgil’s hair. Virgil seemed to like the attention, leaning into the touch, and a smile flickered over Logan’s face. Logan started gathering the hair together to make the low bun that would be the base of hair arrangement. Patton honestly did not expect him to speak, but then he did as he started to secure the piece with pins.

“This was my Pa’s favorite hairpiece,” Logan said. “Not the father you came here for, but my other one. He died when I was six.”

Virgil went shock still. “I don’t have to...”

“I wouldn’t have let it be offered if I wasn’t okay with you using it,” Logan said.

 Virgil didn’t move as he finished securing the hairpiece. “There,” Logan said when he was done. He picked up the hand mirror and positioned it so Virgil could see. “It suits you.”

“I…” Virgil said. His eyes were wide, and he clearly didn’t know what to say.

“Now,” Logan said. “I believe there are some other pieces of jewelry that would match this very well in the other room. I…” he turned away. “If you will excuse me.”

He turned away and exited through his bedroom door into the hallway. Patton watched him go and then turned to Virgil. “I’m going to go make sure he’s okay, okay?” Patton asked. “You didn’t do anything wrong, there’s just a lot of emotions.”

“I can take it out…” Virgil said.

“No,” Patton said. “I think he likes that you’re wearing it.” Virgil bit his lip. “He never really moved on,” Patton felt inclined to say. “This is… a lot for him, but I think it’s good too.” He leaned forward to kiss the top of his head, being careful not to mess up his artfully done hair. “I’ll be right back.”

He turned to follow Logan out of the room.

  Chapter 19

Thomas sighed in relief as the door to the royal wing finally came into sight. He was exhausted from his journey to Lamir for many reasons. Beyond just the physically taxing journey, he’d also had to deal with the emotions of loosing someone he had thought of as a friend while also trying to help her young daughter who had just had the crown thrust upon her.

Now he just wanted to see his own child and curl up into bed. He smiled at Owen and Kalani as he approached. “Is Logan here?” he asked.

Owen nodded. “The prince and his royal advisor are having a slumber party.”

Thomas smiled. “Of course, they are,” he said.

 He said goodnight to the two guard as they’d be getting off duty soon even if he did manage to drag himself out of his room again tonight and walked past them into the hall.

He walked past the room where they kept the jewels, though was unsurprised to see that the room was unlatched as Patton loved playing around with the different jewelry and had probably left it open when he grabbed them. He was however surprised when his son’s room’s door was thrown open, as Logan usually couldn’t stand for the thing to be open with or without him in it.

 Thomas didn’t think much of it however, and simply walked over to look inside. He was surprised when he didn’t see his son or Patton and instead saw that the only person in the room was a young boy that Thomas did not recognize. He was seated in one of Logan’s chairs and had his head tilted looking at himself in the mirror. He seemed to be trying to get a look at the ornament on the back of his head, and Thomas felt his heart seize a little bit when he recognized the hairpin.

He hadn’t recovered from that gut punch when the boy’s eyes drifted and met his in the mirror. There were a couple of long seconds where the two of them stared at each other in silence.

“Hello?” Thomas finally managed to get out.

Panic. There was suddenly horribly intense panic in the child’s eyes, the likes of which Thomas had never seen before. Thomas could only blink dumbly as he hopped to his feet like his seat was suddenly made of hot coals and then threw himself across the room to the opposite side from Thomas.

He looked around himself, back to the wall and considered Thomas with wildly spooked eyes. Clearly, he realized that he was pinned in Logan’s room by Thomas being in the door.

The boy dropped suddenly and disappeared under Logan’s bed.

 “Uh,” Thomas said, confused and shocked and still a bit in pain from seeing that piece of jewelry in use. He crossed slowly over to the bed and bent down to look under it, moving the bed skirt slightly to the side. He saw a small shaking blob curled up into itself under the bed. “Um, hi,” he said softly.

The blob did not respond except to continue shaking.

Thomas frowned and settled himself onto the floor. “It’s okay,” he said softly. Had he been here stealing things? Thomas had to wonder as he wasn’t sure why someone here for legitimate reasons would be acting so terrified of being caught. Though, that posed the question of how he’d gotten past the guards, and why Logan hadn’t noticed him. “I’m not mad,” Thomas said. “You’re fine.”

The boy looked up briefly from his knees looking terrified. Thomas tried to smile at him gently, but that just made him hunch into himself more, his breathes coming faster. That wasn’t good.

“No, shh,” Thomas said softly. “It’s okay. I promise it’s okay.” He did not seem to believe him, and Thomas winced. What was he supposed to do? He couldn’t just leave him here but trying to talk him down himself didn’t seem to be working.

Luckily, a familiar voice spoke from behind him then. “Dad?” Logan asked.

Thomas looked back at him. Both Logan and Patton were standing at the door, a couple of pieces of jewelry in their hands. They seemed very surprised to see him.

“You… seem to have a guest,” Thomas informed them.

 “I…” Logan said, beginning to edge into the room like he was expecting something to blow up at any moment. “Yes.” He got to Thomas and squeezed himself between him and the bed, putting a physical barrier between Thomas and the boy. Confused, Thomas took a couple of steps away without challenge. “That,” Logan glanced behind him. Patton had moved to the opposite side of the bed from Logan and Thomas and had gotten to his knees to look under it. “That is Virgil.”

Thomas blinked at him. “Virgil?” he asked.

“He’s… new to the castle,” Logan explained. Patton started speaking softly the boy, but Thomas could not make anything he said out. “Patton and I… invited him to a sleepover.”

“The guards didn’t mention anything,” Thomas said, sure that they would have warned him if there was a stranger in the royal wing.

“Uh, well, Virgil is… shy and we didn’t think you’d be back for another week. So, we snuck him past them.”

“Shy?” Thomas asked doubtfully. That was a lot more than shy.

“Particularly of adults,” Logan said.

Thomas took a moment to let that sink in. “Oh.” He was… scared of adults. Thomas could imagine many reasons why that might be the case and none of them set well. “I see.”

“Hey, no, sweetie, stop that,” Patton said, sounding distressed. Patton had managed to draw Virgil out from underneath the bed, though they were both still mostly hidden behind it and Thomas had no question in his mind that if he went to step towards them, Virgil would be back underneath it in a moment. Currently the boy seemed to be clawing at his own head. “No, baby shh,” Patton said, trying to stop him from tearing the pinned in hairpiece out, Thomas realized. “I’ll get it out,” Patton promised him. “Just calm down and let me do it.” He sounded close to tears, and Thomas couldn’t particularly blame him with the way the boy was acting. “You’re hurting yourself, baby.”

He must know, Thomas realized. If Logan had known he was here, then he must have allowed him to use that hairpiece. He’d probably even told Virgil that it belonged to his dead father. Now he was probably terrified that Thomas would be mad at him for touching it, especially when he’d come in to find Virgil alone without Logan to explain.

Patton managed to get all the pins undone and placed the piece delicately on the bed before wrapping himself protectively around the boy and hushing him.

Logan was looking back at them as well. He looked between the puddle of upset on the floor and Thomas. “Could…” he said. “Could I maybe come and see you in a few minutes, Dad?”

“Of course,” Thomas said. “Of course, I’ll go wait in my room. Take as much time as you need.”

He was careful to move slowly as he stepped towards the door, so the poor thing didn’t notice him move and mistake it for him approaching. He closed Logan’s bedroom door softly behind him feeling even more drained than he’d been before as well as anxious and a bit sickened. He went to his own bedroom to wait for Logan.

  Chapter 20

Logan let out a slow breath as his father closed the door behind him. That could have been very, very bad. He turned his attention to Virgil and Patton. Patton had curled himself around Virgil as much as physically possible and had tucked the boy’s head under his chin.

Logan slowly rounded the bed and knelt in front of them. “It’s alright,” Logan said, cautiously moving to put a hand on his shoulder. Virgil didn’t pull away. “I asked him to leave. It’s alright.”

Virgil tilted his head slightly too look at him. Logan rubbed a circle into his back as he slowly got control of his breath.

 Logan smiled softly at him and reached out to touch his cheek with a gentle hand. “You… didn’t hurt him. You didn’t even try to hurt him.”

Virgil shook his head.

“Why not?” Logan asked curiously. “It was a perfect opportunity.”

“Promised Patton,” Virgil mumbled, and the idea that perhaps the thing that had saved his father’s life was a pinky promise just about gave Logan a migraine, but then Virgil ducked his head. “And it would make you sad.”

“I see,” Logan said, heart in his throat.

Virgil kept looking towards the floor, his eyes starting to fill with tears again. “Are you going to turn me in now?”

 He was shaking and barely holding back a fresh wave of tears. Logan knew of course that no one would hurt him here if he turned him in to his father and the guards, but he also knew that Virgil would be terrified if he did so. He was already terrified. Logan didn’t want to know what he thought the fate Logan would be condemning him to.

“No,” Logan said before he could even truly think it through. “No, I’m not.”

“You’re not?” Virgil asked.

“Well, there wouldn’t really be a point, would there?” Logan asked. “The reason we planned to turn you when father got back in is because you posed a danger to him, but you have just demonstrated that is no longer an issue.”

 “Really?” Virgil asked, sniffling a bit and Logan saw Patton’s arms tighten even more around him.

“We will have to figure out a better cover for you than just that you’re new to the castle, but I believe it will work fine. No one besides the two of us would ever guess your origin anyway.”

“S-so I can stay?” Virgil asked, “and you won’t throw me into prison or execute me?”

“I promise you were never going to be executed Virgil,” Logan said. “Even if we turned you in, but yes you can stay with us. We’ll figure out a backstory for you that doesn’t involve assassinations and you’ll have to keep up the lie, but I doubt anyone will question it.”

 “I’ll do whatever you want,” Virgil said, chocked up. “Thank you. I really didn’t want to go.”

“Well, you’re our friend now so there will be no going anywhere,” Patton said kissing him on the cheek. Virgil relaxed back into his hold, pleased with the affection.

Logan smiled at them both. “Can I see your wrists, Virgil?”

Virgil blinked but offered them and Logan tapped the restraints doing a quick incantation. They popped off after a moment.

“You’re letting me go?” Virgil asked, eyes wide.

“Of course,” Logan said. “We’re not just going to keep you prisoner for no reason.”

 “That’s…” Virgil said, eyes watering as he clearly was trying not to cry. “You’re the best people I’ve ever met.”

“I wish that was not so clearly the case,” Logan replied. He slowly reach up and set a hand on his shoulder. “I’m going to go speak with my father. Patton will stay with you.”

“Okay,” Virgil agreed, seeming a bit hesitant.

Logan smiled softly and leaned forward to gently touch their foreheads together. “I will be right back,” he assured. “We will finish our slumber party, though perhaps we will table the rest of the dress up activity for another night.”

 He stood then, leaving Virgil in Patton’s capable hands to exit his own bedroom and cross the hallway to his father’s. He took a brief moment to compose himself before knocking on the door.

“Come in,” his father called.

Logan opened the door to see his father sitting on one of the armchairs in his room. Despite the almost disaster that had taken place a few minutes ago, Logan found himself smiling at the man. It was nice to have him home.

“Sorry about that,” Father said.

“It was more my fault than yours. If I knew there was a risk of you coming home today, I wouldn’t have left him alone.”

 “Is he alright?”

“I believe so,” Logan answered. “Patton is with him and will certainly smooth out any lingering distress.”

“Good,” his dad said. “That’s good.” There was a pause and then he gestured at the seat beside his.

Logan settled himself down on it. “How was your trip?” he asked. “You’re back a week early.”

“Yes,” Father said. “The trip went better and worse than anticipated.

“How so?” asked Logan curiously.

“Well,” Dad said. “The purpose of the trip was to convince the new queen of Lamir, Cecil not to ally with Mocnejsi, but by the time I’d arrived there wasn’t really a risk of that.”

 “Why not?”

“After investigation, it turned out that Cecil’s mother had been poisoned by an assassin from Mocnejsi.”

“Oh,” Logan said, mind already racing.

“They figured out that one of the young women who had been hired on in the kitchen for the winter had done it, and had learned her origin when they questioned her,” Dad informed him. “Considering Cecil was immediately approached for an alliance with Mocnejsi, their aim was likely to manipulate her going forward because of how young she is. Luckily, Cecil is a smart girl and has the help of her mother’s advisor as well as her own. By the time I got there, my only real role was to extend my condolences and reaffirm out alliance. I would have stayed longer, but the possibility that Mocnejsi may think to attack us in a similar way hastened me home.”

 “That…” Logan said. “That is wise. I assume you are going to institute more security.”

“I am, yes,” Dad replied. “I would like your input on plans in the coming day.”

“Of course,” Logan agreed.

Dad smiled at him, “But for now,” he said, “I think it’s time you get back to your slumber party and I get to finally go to sleep.”

Logan nodded and got to his feet. He leaned over to hug his father perhaps a bit longer and harder than was strictly necessary, but Dad did not seem to mind at all. “Goodnight,” Logan said.

“Goodnight, son.”

  Chapter 21

Virgil woke with something soft but kind of stringy in his face. That was weird. He didn’t know what in the closet would feel like that. In fact, as he woke more he noticed more things that he couldn’t sus out the origin of, particularly the warmth curled up against his side. Curious, he blinked open his eyes. Oh, right. Patton.

The soft stuff in his face was Patton’s hair and the warmth next to Virgil was the rest of the boy’s body. Patton had all but refused to let Virgil go last night after Logan had taken off the restraints and Virgil hadn’t minded the attention. They must have fallen asleep together in the piles of pillows and blankets on the floor.

 Virgil brushed his hair gently away, internally (for fear of disturbing him) shaking his head at him. He’d fallen asleep hallway on top of an assassin. He had no self-preservation instincts. He looked at his wrists. It seemed no one had any self-preservation instincts. This of course, included himself as instead of running off when free in case they decided to turn him in after all, he had fallen asleep on the floor with Patton too.

He looked to the side and saw Logan was already awake, reading on one of his chairs. He seemed to sense Virgil’s eyes on him because he looked up after a moment.

 “You can get up if you like,” Logan said. “He is a heavy sleeper and won’t wake up if you squirm out of his grip.”

Virgil frowned, unsure if he wanted to risk it.

“I have breakfast ready for you.”

Okay, Virgil was going to risk it.

He carefully squirmed out of Patton’s grip, leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead in apology for leaving him before getting to his feet.

Logan handed him a plate of eggs and toast when he walked over and gestured to the chair next to him. Virgil sat there to eat while Logan continued to read.

 Virgil ate his food quickly, and then glanced over at Logan once he was done. Virgil was honestly at a bit of a loss. Usually, they came and got him out of the closet only once they were ready to do something, but Patton was still sound asleep on the floor and Logan looked engrossed in his book.

Virgil fidgeted slightly, unsure what he should be doing or even if he should be doing anything. Considering Logan hadn’t given him any instructions, he should probably not do anything. He didn’t want to screw up the first day of… whatever this was now.

 Logan glanced over at him after a few minutes. “Don’t forget about the potion,” he reminded.

Virgil nodded and stood, walking over to the closet since it would still be in there from the previous morning. It was about half gone now and it had gotten to the point where Virgil didn’t feel any immediate affects from it anymore other than some warmth. It basically just felt like drinking tea.

He said as much to Logan when he walked back over to him.

“That’s good,” Logan said, “it means it has been working. It has healed any damage it can from malnutrition. Any internal organs that were damaged should be mostly healed. You may even notice your eyesight getting slightly better. Your immune system should also be boosted. You will likely also find it is easier to gain muscle and while you likely will never be as tall as you could have been, you will likely still grow a few inches during your next growth spirt.”

 Virgil studied his hands where they were sitting on his thigh now as though he could see the changes that allegedly had already taken place in his body. “Thank you,” he said quietly.

“Of course,” Logan replied, eyes already back on his book like it was some normal thing and not a huge kindness he’d bestowed on Virgil before even really knowing him. As though Virgil didn’t just owe him more than just his life going forward.

They sat in silence then for a few more minutes, before the was a soft sigh from the floor and Patton started to wake. He sat up and looked around. His eyes landed on both Virgil and Logan sitting together and he seemed to light up.

 “Good morning!” he chirped.

“Good morning, Patton,” Logan said as Patton popped to his feet, “I have breakfast for you.”

“Thank you Lo,” Patton said, throwing his arms around Logan’s neck, and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Virgil presumed from the lack of surprise on Logan’s face that this was normal for morning Patton, not that the fact surprised him considering how night Patton acted.

He still managed to be somewhat surprised by the fact that Patton turned to hug Virgil a second later. Patton’s lips were pressed briefly to Virgil’s head and then he turned to grab the plate Logan had saved for him.

 “So, what are we doing today?” Patton asked.

“I was thinking Virgil and I could continue our reading lessons if he is not opposed,” Logan said. Virgil nodded, happy with that prospect. “Other than that, I have no plans. I have already spoken with my father before the two of you woke. He is going to spend most of his day catching up on things he missed and said I could take the rest of the day off royal duties.”

“A whole day to relax then!” Patton said, happily chewing on his toast. “Reading sounds fun, but we should do something more active too.”

 Logan hummed. “We can show Virgil the courtyard after the reading lessons,” he said.

It took a moment for it to register, but then Virgil froze. “Wait,” he said. “We’re going outside?”

Logan raised an eyebrow at him. “Yes.”

“So, we’re leaving your room?”

“Are you alright with that?” Logan asked cautiously.

Virgil nodded quickly.

“Oh,” Patton said at his enthusiasm. “I guess you have been cooped up a while, haven’t you?” He smiled sadly and turned to Logan. “Maybe we can do reading lessons in the garden.”

“That would be satisfactory.”

“Great!” Patton said. He looked over at Virgil. “If we’re going out, we should probably put your hair up and get you in some clean clothes.”

 Logan nodded. “You finish eating, and I will help Virgil find something to wear.”

Logan found him an outfit, though it was a bit baggy on Virgil and the hem of the shirt went halfway to his knees. When Patton finished breakfast, he sat Virgil down and carefully worked a brush through his hair.

“Can I braid it?” Patton asked.

Virgil hummed his consent. Having his hair brushed and done up by another person was a lot more enjoyable than he’d anticipated. He’d liked it when Logan did it the night before, though he had to very firmly push away thoughts of where that led.

 “Okay!” Patton said after a few moments. “You look good. Ready to go?”

Virgil nodded and they both led him out into the hall. He paused before they got to the door. “What about the guards?” he asked hesitantly.

“I’ve already given them the same story as I did Dad,” Logan replied. “They know you’re here.”

Virgil still hesitated.

“It’s okay,” Patton promised. “Here, hold my hand?”

Virgil took the offered hand immediately, and Logan stepped in front of them both. Virgil felt himself relax a bit knowing the prince was between him and the guards.

They led him to the door.

 Logan greeted both of the guards at the door, and they said good morning back. Both of them glanced at Virgil curiously for a moment making him shrink into himself, but they quickly averted their gazes.

Patton pulled him past them without incident and soon they were in the small dining hall Virgil had passed through his first night here. He remembered how he’d snuck around at the edges of the room in the shadows with the aim to kill the king, but now he was being pulled through the middle with the prince having just wandered past the royal guards in broad daylight like it was nothing.

 It was so strange, and Virgil still couldn’t totally believe this was happening. The retraced his exact steps back down the spiral stairs near the kitchen and out of the door he and the nice gardener had came through. He could even see the shed he’d been hiding in from here. With a blink, he remembered they were going to the garden, and he wondered if he’d see the man again.

For now, he just looked around them as Logan and Patton led him past the garden shed towards an area with many trees. Orange and yellow leaves were starting to fall from many of the trees.

 They made a satisfying crunching sound under his feet as he was led to a tree. He had seen the group of trees when he’d first arrived here and had even thought about hiding amongst them instead of in the shed, but they’d seemed scary in the dark. They were pretty in the daylight, however, and Virgil found himself tilting his head to watch the branches sway in the slight wind.

Logan sat down under it and pulled out a book and some writing materials from the bag he’d brought. Virgil settled down next to him so they could both look at the book at the same time and Patton flopped down on the other side, immediately setting to work tying fancy knots in the yarn he’d brought with him. Patton shuffled slightly to the side so they bumped shoulders as Logan opened the book and started Virgil’s reading lesson.

  Chapter 22

Patton bit his lip to keep from laughing or awing. “Do you like the flower, Virgil?” he asked.

Virgil glanced up at him briefly and then his eyes returned to the flower he’d found. “It’s nice,” he said.

They’d finished the reading lessons and let Virgil explore the garden a bit. He’d found a dark purple and yellow flower (a pansy, Patton thought) and seemed to be endlessly fascinated by it. He’d been staring at it for minutes now, almost as though he expected it to do something. Patton did not quite understand his interest, but he was still adorable.

 Logan sat next to him and the flower, smiling at him softly. “I imagine you’ll enjoy the garden in the spring,” Logan said. “There are many more flowers then. Of all types. We’ll have to show you all of the best spots. Mr. Deknis has a particularly good eye for colors, and it is always quite beautiful.”

“Who is Mr. Deknis?” Virgil asked.

“He’s the head gardener,” Logan said. “He’s a nice man, though a bit prickly when it comes to his garden. We may see him today if he’s in this part of the garden.”

“Would he have been the multrum I saw in the gardening shed when I hid there?”

 “Ah, yes, that would be him. I was unaware you interacted with anyone in the castle.”

“He caught me in his garden shed, but he wasn’t mean,” Virgil said, he tilted his head curiously at Logan. “Why…” he trailed off.

“Yes?” Logan asked.

“Why is he the gardener?”

Logan looked confused, “Well,” he said, “I guess because he wants to and is good at it.”

“No,” Virgil said with a frown. “I mean. Shouldn’t he… he’s…”

Logan seemed to think hard for a moment. “Right,” he said. “You’ve been under a blood compulsion. I’d guess you would have only worked with multrums in the military.”

 “I guess I didn’t realize that they could be other things…”

“Of course, they can,” Logan said. “Their abilities don’t make them any less of people. Mr. Deknis likes to garden so he gardens.”

Virgil blinked at him.

“…Of course, all things considered, that may not be a familiar concept to you.” Virgil turned back to look at the flower instead of answering. “Right,” said Logan.

There were a couple of awkward beats of silence. Patton bit his lip and happened to glance up. “Oh,” he said. “Speaking of Mr. Deknis.” He gestured to the gardener who was coming up the path between the trees.

 Logan sat up on his knees as Patton waved at him. He saw Patton and turned to walk towards them. “The two of you had better not be up to mischief in my garden,” Mr. Deknis called, his voice a bit gruff. He clearly did not see Virgil who had laid flat on his stomach to stare at the flower.

Logan rolled his eyes automatically. “We were just reading Mr. Deknis,” he said. “Your piles of dirt are safe.”

“No mud cakes?” Mr. Deknis asked skeptically still coming towards them.

“It has been a literal decade…”

Patton saw when Mr. Deknis was close enough to see Virgil.

 He stopped in his track and looked down at Virgil who was already watching him a bit warily. “Hello,” he said, his voice a lot softer than it’d been a few moments before. His expression completely flipped in a moment to something very gentle when he saw Virgil and the cautious look on his face. Virgil did seem to have that effect on people.

“Hi,” Virgil replied.

Mr. Deknis looked at Logan and then at Patton and then back at Virgil. “This is our new friend, Virgil,” Patton offered.

“Hello, Virgil,” Mr. Deknis said with a nod.

“Virgil, this is the gardener Mr. Deknis.”

 “He’s not nearly as grumpy as he sounds,” Patton assured.

“Well,” Logan said, “yes he is.”

Mr. Deknis shot him a look that only served to prove Logan’s point if Patton was being honest. Logan just smiled back. Mr. Deknis apparently decided to let it slide because he turned back to Virgil.

“It’s good to see you again,” Mr. Deknis said. “Are you feeling better?”

Virgil nodded. “I’m a lot better,” he said. Mr. Deknis considered him for a moment, clearly reading how true that statement was. Patton was glad he seemed satisfied with the answer.

“I see you’ve met these two.”

 “Yeah,” Virgil said.

Mr. Deknis smiled slightly. “Be careful with this one,” he said, pointing to Logan. “He’s a bad influence.”

Virgil frowned in confusion. “He’s the prince,” he pointed out.

“And a bad influence,” Mr. Deknis repeated. “He’s a beacon of irresponsibility and mischief and he corrupts that one,” he nodded to Patton.

“I am completely responsible,” Logan replied.

“Need I remind you of the cucumber incident.”

“I was 8,” Logan said.

“I know how old you were,” Mr. Deknis replied, “and you are hardly any older.”

“I resent that.”

Mr. Deknis just smiled and turned back to Virgil who was watching the interaction with pure curiosity.

 “I just picked a few more of those apples for Patton’s mom to make into apple sauce. Would you kids like some?”

Virgil glanced over at Logan and Patton.

“That would be nice, thank you,” Patton replied for them all, standing up. Seeing that, Virgil also climbed to his feet.

“It’s back this way,” Mr. Deknis said, inclining hid head back the way he’d came and then turning to lead them that way. Patton followed him. He glanced back to see Logan put his hand on Virgil’s shoulder and give him a gentle push to get him going. “So, what are you kids up to today?”

 “We wanted to show Virgil the garden and courtyard,” Patton said. “He’s been cooped up inside for a bit.”

“I see,” Mr. Deknis said. He glanced back at Virgil. “Feel free to come out in the garden anytime you like. As long as you don’t go about purposefully destroying stuff, I don’t mind you being out here.”

“I won’t destroy anything,” Virgil promised instantly.

“Well I hope you manage to keep that attitude even while befriending the large upright groundhog behind you.”

Virgil looked a little bit nervous. “He’s just teasing Virgil,” Patton assured. “He loves Logan.”

Mr. Deknis glanced back again and seemed to read the same thing Patton had read on Virgil’s face.

 “Yes, of course,” Mr. Deknis said. “I have simply known the prince for a long time and joke with him in that way often. Logan is aware of that.”

“Indeed,” Logan agreed, his hand squeezing a bit on Virgil’s shoulder. Virgil relaxed a touch.

Mr. Deknis stopped and reached down into a bucket next to a tree. “I wouldn’t offer my apples to people I don’t like,” he said, tossing an apple underhand to Logan. Instead of trying to catch it, his eyes widened and he dodged out of the way.

“You would however throw apples at them despite knowing they have never been able to catch things.”

 Mr. Deknis just rolled his eyes fondly, but Virgil frowned and turned to Logan. “You don’t know how to catch things?” he asked scandalized. “You should know how to catch things. What if someone throws a knife at you?”

Mr. Deknis looked… probably the right amount of concerned about that statement coming from a 14-year-old’s lips.

“Haha, yeah,” Patton said awkwardly. “Maybe you can teach Logan how to catch things Virgil, but later. Right now, why don’t we just get the apples and then show you the courtyard.”

Virgil was still frowning, but he did not argue with Patton’s suggestion.

 Thankfully, Mr. Deknis did not push, though Patton did have to dodge many a meaningful side eye. He might… need to make sure he did not get cornered by the gardener in the coming days… or brush up on his lying without lying skills.

For now, though, he just handed out the apples, not tossing them this time. Virgil thanked him softly and Patton could see the way the usually fairly gruff man went all melty at that. He even slipped an extra apple to Virgil for later which Virgil perked up at.

Patton and Logan pulled him away gently after that so Mr. Deknis could go back to work, but Virgil seemed happy with the apples and copied Patton at waving goodbye to him cheerfully.

Despite the fact that he liked Mr. Deknis and he’d been nice, Patton still took a calming breath when they were no longer at risk of lying about something and getting caught by the man’s powers. They went back into the castle towards the courtyard.

  Chapter 23

Logan was unsurprised that after showing Virgil the large courtyard, Patton almost immediately decided to instigate a game of tag. They were, after all, here with the goal of getting Virgil a bit active after having had him only in Logan’s room for weeks.

He was also unsurprised that Virgil seemed confused about the concept of tag, and Patton had to explain the game in detail to him.

It made him wince, but he still was unsurprised when Virgil went about inquiring after the consequences of losing the game.

He was, however, very surprised when, after getting all of the facts about tag settle, Patton was chasing after Virgil trying to tag him and suddenly the boy disappeared.

 Patton almost ran into a wall in his confusion. He stared at his hands stretched out and just a couple of inches from touching the wall for a moment, before slowly looking up.

“Virgil!” Patton exclaimed. “What?”

“What?” he asked.

“…What are you even hanging onto?”

“The wall,” Virgil replied.

Logan walked closer to the two of them and tilted his head up to look at him. Virgil had jumped up and somehow managed to find hand and foot holes on the seemingly smooth wall. He climbed about 5 meters above their heads and was peering down at them curiously.

 “Okay,” Logan said. “New rule. Virgil is not allowed to scale walls during tag.”

Virgil frowned down at him. “Why only me?”

“Because Patton and I cannot do that anyway,” Logan said. “We would not be able to actually play if you remain up there.”

Patton glanced over at him and reached over to touch Logan’s shoulder. “No tag backs,” he said. Logan glared at him. “Why don’t you come down sweetie?”

“But Logan will tag me,” he said.

“Well, honey, that’s part of the fun,” Patton reasoned. “Don’t you want to try being it?”

Virgil seemed to consider this for a long moment. “Okay,” he agreed.

 To Logan’s terror, he simply let go of the wall, falling straight down and landing crouched. He blinked at Logan. Right. With a start, Patton took off, so he’d have a head start. “No tag backs means a 10 second head start for me,” Logan reminded. Virgil nodded, and Logan reached out to poke him in the arm before immediately running off in the opposite direction as Patton.

Logan’s strategy worked out since, knowing he couldn’t go after Logan for a few seconds more, he chose to turn and go after Patton. After finding one of the statues to hide behind on the edge of the courtyard, Logan risked glancing back.

 Virgil was faster than Logan (and likely Patton) had accounted for. Patton had gotten a good head start on him, but Virgil closed it quickly. Patton shrieked as Virgil barreled into him, bringing them both to the ground.

“Virgil!” Logan heard Patton giggle. Logan figured he was more than okay despite the tackle. “This isn’t how you play tag!”

“I combined tag and tackle hugs,” Virgil declared, making Patton giggle more.

“That’s very innovative, honey,” Patton said. “Now are you going to let me up?...Virgil… I’m counting down your 10 second head start in my head, and if you don’t let me up I’m going to tag you again.”

 This did not seem to have the intended effect as Virgil did not remove himself from Patton’s person. Patton laugh when it became clear he was not going to move and began counting down “7, 6, 5, 4, you’d better let me go sweetie, or you’re going to get tagged again.” Virgil did not seem to care. “3, 2, 1.” Patton reached up and bopped him on the nose. “Tag!” he declared.

Logan was surprised when Virgil instantly jumped off Patton at that. He whipped around.

‘Oh,’ Logan thought as the boy’s eyes narrowed in on Logan immediately, ‘I see.’

 “Virgil was already halfway across the courtyard towards him before Logan could even think about running away. There was no way that he was fast enough to outrun him. Perhaps he could outthink him, he thought. His eyes scanned his environment in the seconds he had left and landed on a large square piece of stone that held flowers in the spring. It was just full of dirt now, but it was still about waist high. Perhaps if he kept that between them, he could outmaneuver him. He sprinted towards it and scrambled to the opposite side from where Virgil was heading.

 He really should not have been as surprised as he was that Virgil did not even slightly slow as he approached the planter box, instead grabbing ahold of the side of it and vaulting over it. Logan stumbled back, bracing for impact, but instead he just got a quick tap on the shoulder.

Logan blinked at him.

“I don’t know if you would be okay with tackle hugs,” he explained.

Logan considered him. “I would be okay with a nontackle hug.”

Virgil happily jumped forward to hug Logan, pressing his nose into Logan’s shoulder. Logan chuckled and patted the top of his head. “Six,” he said, “5, 4, 3…”

 Virgil bolted away suddenly, actually making Logan stumble a bit. He paused just out of reach of Logan, looking at him with anticipation. “2,1,” Logan finished with a raised eyebrow. He already knew he was being played with, but he indulged him by starting towards him. Virgil danced out of the way, eyes alight. Logan sighed. “Is this truly how it’s going to be?” he asked.

Virgil didn’t answer, but to watch him with wide, excited eyes.

“Fine,” Logan said. He dashed towards him again, only to have him continue to maneuver just out of Logan’s reach each time Logan went forward. He’d call it taunting if there was any sign of malice in it.

 They ran around the courtyard in spirts of Logan charging at him and Virgil expertly dodging. Eventually Patton came closer to them. Logan could tell that Virgil was aware of his presence, by how he glanced back at him briefly, but considering he was not ‘it,’ it seemed he chose to disregard him. However, he was not aware of the way Patton winked at Logan as he walked up behind Virgil.

Logan, on the other hand, knew exactly what was happening. He went to spring for Virgil again, and Virgil again moved to dodge, but this time Patton grabbed him around the waist, allowing Logan to actually tag him.

 He turned slowly to face Patton who started to giggle immediately at the perplexed look on his face. It cleared into something else as soon as he heard Patton laugh. “Traitor!” he claimed. “We were on the same team and you betrayed me.”

“I just thought we should probably have mercy on poor Logan,” Patton replied.

“Hmm,” Virgil said, eyes again full of that playful mischief Logan had not seen until today. “Plea for mercy not accepted.”

Patton once again half-shrieked half-laughed as he was pounced on. The two of them went rolling across the grass, Virgil clearly keeping the rolling going longer than it should have as they made it a good few meters.

Virgil sprung off of him a few moments later.

“Oh, is it my turn?” Patton inquired with a huge smile. He slowly got to his feet. “Hmm, I’m probably at about 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!” He took off after Virgil, but Patton had a bit more endurance than Logan, so instead of doing quickly calculated lunges at Virgil as Logan had done, he just ran at him full tilt without stopping.

Virgil ran from him, though Logan was pretty sure he was intentionally slowing himself down a bit so Patton had some amount of a chance. He kept turning to check behind him and make sure Patton was still somewhat close as he ran.

Which is why he didn’t see the imminent disaster in time.

  Chapter 24

Thomas should have been paying more attention, but his mind had been on the meeting he’d just had with the castle guards about increased security in the wake of the possible threat from Mocnejsi. He’d decided to take a brief walk around the courtyard to clear his head but was still distracted with mulling over the options that had just been presented to him. He stepped into the castle courtyard and did not have time to step out of the way of the much smaller body rocketing towards him. Virgil slammed into his front, but not before Thomas got a good look at his face.

 Virgil’s expression changed dramatically in the few seconds between him registering Thomas was there and running into him. For the briefest moment, Thomas could see that he must have been having a lot of fun. He’d caught the wide smile and sparkling eyes as Virgil turned his head back from looking at Patton who was chasing him across the greenery. He’d looked very happy which made it all the more painful to see that happiness die in and a few instants. When his head had turned back towards Thomas, there was a flicker of confusion at something being in his path.

 Then, clearly everything about the situation registered, because his eyes blew wide in horror as he tried to stop himself, but there was no way he’d be able to in time. Thomas saw that fact register on his face the moment before he hit. Gone was any trace of happiness or joy in that split second. All that was left was dread that had no place anywhere near a children’s game of tag. It was the expression Thomas would expect from someone who felt ice give way under their feet in the middle of a lake they had thought was frozen solid.

 He hit hard, but he wasn’t nearly big enough to actually harm Thomas. Thomas was thrown slightly off balance but managed to stay on his feet. He reached out a hand to his shoulder automatically to steady the child. There was a moment of pseudo calm where they both absorbed the impact and stilled.

Then, the boy’s shoulder slipped out of Thomas’s grip as he went crashing to the ground in a move that made Thomas wince for the state of his knees. Thomas couldn’t quite grasp what was happening for a moment as Virgil face planted onto the ground in front of him, but when he did, Thomas couldn’t help but flinch and take a step back from him.

 Thomas had been bowed to before, of course, seeing as he was a king, but this was not out of respect or courtesy or even just tradition. This was out of terror. He was begging for mercy and it made Thomas feel sick.

“I’m sorry,” he said, meek and shaky into the ground, and there was almost something worse about the fact that he did not beg for forgiveness with his words, but only his posture. The way his breathes came far too quick and shallow said he was likely on the verge of a panic attack, but he was not blubbering through apologies or even not speaking at all. He gave a clear, if shaky, apology, and waited for whatever he thought Thomas planned to do to him. There was no way that was not learned.

 “You don’t…” Thomas stuttered. “You don’t have to do that. It’s okay.”

“I’m sorry,” he said again, but he reacted in no other way. He did not even react when Patton made it to his side and knelt down next to him. Patton’s hand hovered over his back, clearly wanting to touch down, but he pulled back on that instinct.

“Virgil, honey,” he said softly. “It’s okay. No one is mad. It was an accident.”

Virgil did not react to this at all.

Thomas caught Logan’s eye as he hurried over to them himself. “Sorry,” Thomas mouthed. Logan just nodded and turned his attention to his friend.

 “There is no reason for any of that,” Logan said, his voice firm, almost clipped. “You are not in trouble. Now sit up.”

Virgil did respond to that, slowly shifting back on his knees. He kept his head down looking at the ground. “Sorry,” he said again.

“I…” Thomas said, surveying the three kids on the ground in front of him. Thomas slowly sunk to the ground to be at their level. Virgil was tracking his movements out of the corner of his eyes, his head still bowed and his shoulders tensed. “Hey,” Thomas said softly. “Were you three playing tag?”

 Virgil hesitated, eyes flickering as he debated whether he should respond or not.

“Yeah, we were,” Patton answered for him after a moment of stressful silence.

“Well that’s fun,” Thomas said. “I’m sorry for interrupting the three of you. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

Virgil glanced up at him for just a moment before looking away again. Patton apparently felt it was safe enough to touch Virgil, because he settled a hand on the boys shoulder.

“Yeah, we’ve just been having a fun day,” Patton said, carefully matching Thomas’s light tone. “We went to the garden and did some reading. Then, Mr. Deknis gave us some apples.”

 “That’s nice,” Thomas replied. “He’s been talking about the new apples he’s been growing. He’s been working on them for years and they’re just beginning to bare fruit this year. I haven’t gotten a chance to try any yet. Are they any good?”

“They’re very good,” Patton told him. His hand rubbed slowly on Virgil’s back. “Isn’t that right, Virge?”

Virgil nodded a bit, a little less tense now, but still nowhere near calm.

“Well, I’ll have to try them soon,” Thomas said with a smile. “Thank you for the information. Now, I’ve got to get back to what I’m doing, but I hope you three have a good day.”

 “I’ll see you later, Dad,” Logan said.

Thomas nodded and pushed himself to his feet. “Goodbye you three,” he said before turning away towards the door back into the castle. He paused to take a breath when the door closed behind him, cutting off the courtyard. There were a lot of thoughts to shirt through in regards to that conversation. He hated that Virgil was so obviously terrified of him. Both of their two interactions had ended with the poor thing panicking on the ground. He wished he had some idea of how to help him or at least someone to talk to about it.

Maybe he’d go visit Mr. Deknis himself and not just for the apples.

  Chapter 25

“Alright,” Patton said, pressing a kiss to Virgil’s forehead. “I’ve got to go back to my room for the night. Will you two be okay?”

“We’ll be fine,” Logan said. “It won’t be particularly different than the last two weeks.”

Patton nodded and leaned to the side to squeeze Virgil in another hug. He’d been clingy since the incident in the courtyard, and Virgil had been appreciative considering he was still pretty shaky from it. He was still surprised he’d touched the king of Prijaznia (let alone ran into him) and lived to tell the tale.

“Goodnight, Pat,” Virgil said because he was pretty sure he wouldn’t leave if Virgil didn’t.

 “Night Virge,” Patton said with a smile before standing up from where they’d been sitting on the ground. He reached over to hug Logan who was sitting on a chair. “Night Lo! Put the book down and go to bed.”

Logan looked up from his book with a frown.

“It’s almost midnight,” Patton scolded.

Logan sighed and set his book down. “Very well,” he agreed. “We will get ready for bed.”

“You better! I’m going to come and wake you up early in the morning.”

“Early in the morning for you is 9am,” Logan scoffed.

Patton stuck his tongue out at him as he walked backwards out of the door.

 Logan gave his book a mournful look once the door closed and Virgil almost giggled. “I won’t tell on you,” he said.

Logan thought about it for a few moments. “No,” he finally said. “We should probably get some sleep.”

Virgil nodded and pushed himself to his feet.

“We should probably both take a bath after sitting in the dirt today,” Logan said. “Do you want to go first or should I?”

“Don’t care,” Virgil answered.

“You can go first,” Logan offered.

Virgil felt himself smile. “You just want to finish the chapter in that book,” he accused.

“Perhaps,” Logan conceded.

 Virgil just grinned and walked over to his closet to grab one of the outfits he’d been given for pajamas. He chose a pair of baggy shorts that went past his knees and the huge soft black sweater Logan had found in the back of his closet. He headed into the bathroom, noting Logan had already picked up his book again.

Logan may have declared the both of them dirty enough for bathing a few minutes before, but Virgil was cleaner than he thought he’d ever been before coming to the castle. Logan had taught him how to use the tub and what soaps to use for what a couple of days after he’d arrived and had suggested he clean himself regularly.

 Virgil didn’t mind. The tub was enchanted to warm the water inside of it and Virgil loved it. Though, that had the negative affect of making it very difficult to leave.

He cleaned himself up quickly, so he’d have a few minutes to just sit in the water before he felt like he needed to get out and let Logan have a turn. He changed into his pajamas, pulling the crescent shaped protection charm out of his day clothes pocket and storing the warm to the touch stone in the short pocket. He used the clip Patton had made it to pin it to the cloth to make sure he wouldn’t lose it.

 Logan was engrossed in his reading by the time that Virgil exited the bathroom. He did not look up as Virgil approached.

“Your turn,” Virgil said to him.

Logan clearly just barely managed to tear his eyes away from the book. “Right,” he said. “Yes.”

“The book will be there in the morning,” Virgil reminded.

“I know,” said Logan sadly as he set the book aside.

Logan never took much time in the bath, so Virgil quickly went about getting ready for bed the rest of the way. He put his day clothes in the basket Logan had for that purpose and started to straighten out the blankets and pillows in the closet.

 He heard Logan come back into the room a few minutes later.

“Virgil,” Logan said. “What are you doing?”

Virgil looked over at him. “Getting ready for bed,” he answered, confused.

Logan frowned at him. “You don’t sleep in the closet anymore,” Logan said. “That’s only for when we were worried you might escape.”

“Oh,” Virgil said blinking over at him. “Right.” He felt a slight pulling at his chest. He liked the closet. It was warm and soft. Patton had taken a lot of care with how he’d arranged all of the pillows and blankets. It was the best place he could ever remember having to sleep in his life. Yet, he did not argue. He knew getting to sleep out in the open was supposed to be a reward and he wasn’t about to reject it.

 Virgil stood and closed the closet. He tugged on the bottom of his sweater, stretching the fabric between his hands as he watched Logan pull down the covers of his bed and settle down onto it. Cautiously he walked over towards the bed. He wasn’t sure where he should lay down exactly. He dithered for a moment before bending down to sit on the floor near the right side of Logan’s bed and then laying down.

There was shuffling on the bed above him and then Logan’s head popped over the side to squint down at him. “On the bed Virgil,” he said.

 Virgil looked up at him in shock. “But it… I’m…” He trailed off and there were a few seconds of silence.

“It is just a bed Virgil,” Logan said.

But it wasn’t ‘just’ anything. Virgil was pretty sure touching the bed of a royal family member without permission would be considered a capital offence. At least, it would in Mocnejsi. Yet, Logan was expecting him to just… crawl into it?

“Please just get up here,” Logan said. Virgil’s caution at touching something he was definitely sure he should not be allowed to be touching wared with his resolve to repay his literal life debt to Logan by doing whatever he wanted.

 Feeling honestly a bit sick to his stomach, Virgil slowly pushed himself back to his feet. Logan scooted back over to the left side of the bed, and Virgil cautiously sat down on the empty side of the bed. After a second of hesitation he slowly laid down, his head hitting a soft fluffy pillow. He jumped when Logan flopped the covers on top of both of them.

Virgil took a long moment to absorb the situation while Logan took off his glasses and reached over to turn off the light next to him. He’d never slept in a bed before, or if he had he’d been too young to remember. In the orphanage there was a lack of actual beds due to overcrowding and there had always been someone bigger and stronger that Virgil didn’t dare fight for the use of them. During training, none of the kids had a bed. Only a few of the higher ups had ones at the more permanent training sites. There were very few situations where any of the assassins, at least a Virgil’s level, would be allowed to touch a real bed.

 The light switched off, plunging them into darkness.

“Is this…?” Virgil said, eyes still pointed towards the ceiling even though his eyes had not adjusted to the darkness enough to be able to see it. “Do you want… things?”

“Things?” Logan asked.

Virgil did not move his head, but he did reach over and put his hand slightly above Logan’s knee. Logan didn’t move, so Virgil slid his hand up.

Virgil’s wrist was grabbed immediately and pulled firmly away from Logan’s inner thigh. He did not let go afterwards, his fingers squeezing hard, but not quite painfully. “Never,” Logan said, his voice harsher than it had ever been even on the day when Virgil was nothing more than an intruder with deadly intent. “Never offer anything like that to anyone ever again.”

 “I was just…”

“I know what you were doing,” Logan said, voice icy, “and it inadmissible. Never offer that again for anything. Do you understand me?”

“I... yes.”

“Promise me.”

Virgil took a short moment to think. “I promise,” he agreed.

“Good,” Logan said, releasing his hand. His voice got softer too. “Good.”

They were silent for a long time after that, though Virgil had no delusions that Logan had fallen asleep. He could almost feel the tension.

“Sorry,” Virgil finally said softly.

“It’s not something you should be apologizing for,” Logan replied. The bed moved as Logan shifted and a hand lightly touched the top of his head. “Just… never.”

 “Okay,” Virgil said. He shifted slightly after a moment until his head was in the crook of Logan’s arm. Logan brushed the hair out of his face with the hand that had been on his head.

“Goodnight Virgil,” Logan said.

“Goodnight,” Virgil responded. They were quiet after that, though Virgil was still awake for a while yet and Logan’s hand slowly stroked through his hair for a while. Eventually though, Virgil relaxed into mattress. He stuck his hand into his pocket and curled it around the charm in his pocket. The bed was nice, he thought. It was soft and warm… and safe. He finally fell asleep.

  Chapter 26

Patton did their new special knock on the door so Logan and Virgil would know it was just him and they didn’t need to hide the fact that Virgil was sleeping in the prince’s room. He didn’t wait for a response, however, and just shoved open the door. He was surprised to see that Logan was not already out of bed and wondered for a moment if he had broken his promise stayed up way too late reading like he was sometimes known to do. Yet, then, Logan spoke from the bed. “I’m awake,” he called.

Confused, Patton stepped into the room. Logan wasn’t one for lazing around in bed; usually he was out of bed the moment he woke.

 He stepped over to the bed and had to stifle a smile when he recognized the problem. Logan was awake, but Virgil was still sleeping, and he was half on top of Logan, his arms wrapped around him.

“Why don’t you just squirm out of his arms like you do me?” Patton asked, keeping his voice low.

“He isn’t like you,” Logan said. He did not bother to quiet himself at all.

“What do you mean?” Patton asked amused.

In answer, Logan started to move as though to squirm out of Virgil’s death grip on him. In response, Virgil made a pitiful mewling sound in his sleep that landed like a piercing blow straight to the heart. Logan stopped moving immediately and Virgil shifted to grip Logan tighter.

 “Aw!” Patton said.

“It’s not cute,” Logan insisted. “I’ve been stuck for hours and I have to pee.”

Patton chuckled. “Alright, alright, I’ll save you.” He rounded the bed to Virgil’s side and crawled up on it. “Virgil, honey,” he entreated softly. “I think it’s time for me to get cuddles so Lo can get up.” Patton softly touched Virgil’s shoulder and pulled at him gently. He reached forward to carefully pry Virgil’s arms off of Logan.

Virgil made a more confused than heartbreaking sound this time, turning towards Patton so Patton could wrap his arms around him. Logan managed to scoot towards the edge of the bed.

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Logan made it off the bed and dashed towards the bathroom as Virgil’s arms came around Patton and squeezed. Patton laughed and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. After a few moments, Virgil’s eyes started to flicker a bit.

“Good morning, honey,” Patton said softly. “Did you sleep good?”

He hummed sleepily. “Beds are nice,” he said. Patton felt a slight pang at that because it implied he didn’t get to sleep in beds very much, but he chose to shove that aside.

“They are,” Patton agreed. Virgil’s eyes started to close again. “Honey,” Patton laughed. “I think it’s time to wake up now.”

 Virgil made a sleepy whining sound, squeezing Patton tighter. “Don’t you want breakfast?” Patton asked. That question managed to make Virgil open his eyes again. “I was thinking we could go down to the kitchen to eat that way it’s nice and fresh and I can introduce you to Mama real quick.” He neglected to mention the fact that they really did not have a choice. Mr. Deknis had blabbed to Mama about Virgil, and worse, had apparently mentioned that Virgil was skinny. As soon as he’d gotten home yesterday, he’d been met with an already worked up Mama firmly insisting that she meet Virgil sometime today.

 He wasn’t going to tell Virgil that though, because he thought it might scare him away from both Mama and Mr. Deknis.

Virgil thought about the prospect of breakfast for a long moment. “Fine,” he agreed. “I’ll be awake.”

“Good,” Patton said. He reached up to bop him on the nose. Virgil narrowed his eyes and then bopped him back making Patton giggle. He sat up then, and Virgil let him. “Let’s get you something to wear and do your hair,” Patton suggested. Virgil nodded and reluctantly got out of bed, just as Logan returned to the room. “We’re going to go downstairs for breakfast,” Patton told Logan. “That way Virgil can meet my mom.” He gave Logan a significant look and Logan nodded once in understanding that this was not a choice.

 Logan and Virgil got dressed, and Patton did Virgil’s hair up nice, before Patton led them out of the royal wing. They went down the main staircase instead of the spiral staircase that went right to the kitchen, mostly because it would be very busy, and Patton thought they should probably eat in the main dining room anyway. He could feel Virgil getting more anxious as they entered the busier part of the castle, and he stuck close to either Patton or Logan from the time they hit the top of the steps all the way to the main dining room.

[mybuzrushcommunityworld]

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11. Magazine Adverts is an additional method to drive traffic to your web site. Contact your local area newspaper and place an ad.

12. Website Positioning can be a excellent approach to drive a car all natural targeted traffic. Make sure to enhance your web blog by benefiting from keywords and phrases and excellent posts.

13. Back links area good for search engine optimisation and driving a vehicle organically produced traffic. If the planning to ordering good quality back-links there are several enterprises where by they could be obtain. The following are a couple of corporations I had ordered backlinks to your site.

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Freelancer   Fiverr   Fastcinco

There are also businesses that enable ordering exclusive label legal rights. These organizations permit you to get the e-guide and allow you to affect thetitle and content, article author material, possibly even offer for sale them while every last penny.

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17. Clickbank allows advertise your product and increases your 30 Ways To Drive Traffic To Your Website site traffic. Majority of the website traffic will undoubtedly be from affiliate marketers. Affiliates enroll to push your products or services giving visitors to your 30 Ways To Drive Traffic To Your Website.

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19. Make a blogging site and drive traffic towards your 30 Ways To Drive Traffic To Your Website.

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Ehow.com   Typepad.com Yelp.com   Blog writer.com   Photobucket.com   Word press.com Craiglist.com   Wikipedia.com   Blogcode.com   Blinklist.com   Techcrunch.com

24. Mail Trademark. All of your messages should have your 30 Ways To Drive Traffic To Your Website deal with towards the bottom.

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Yahoo Google and bing   Bing   DMOZ   Alta Vista   Go   Hotbot   Galazy   Lycos   Alexa Online world

27. Place postings on Micro Web sites. By using mini 30 Ways To Drive Traffic To Your Websites they are driving hoards of targeted prospects to your 30 Ways To Drive Traffic To Your Website. The following are my favorite mini 30 Ways To Drive Traffic To Your Websites.

Fiverr   Yooker Fascinco   Tenbux   Zeerk   Gigbucks   Dealerr Gighour   Taskarmy   Zeerk   Mturk

28. Encourage on outsourced workers internet sites. Give your goods or products to various places. I actually have enlisted my personal favorite outsourcing work enterprises.

Freelancer   Odesk   Elance

29. Set up an enjoyable local community with your blog page. Introducing your blog provide feedback industry within your 30 Ways To Drive Traffic To Your Website permits for all to take part in the interaction. In turn be sure you respond to every person review The search engines really loves connection. An excellent plug-in I utilized for Wordpress platforms is Opinion Luv.

30. Register for 100 % free Gravator bill. Each and every time you depart a reply to websites the picture and 30 Ways To Drive Traffic To Your Website street address will effortlessly show up.

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