#i pray they just leave it in a parcel locker

[crumb]

prepped stuff last night for several gifsets and only 2 of the 5 movies have kyle in them are you proud of me? 😇

[fandomscombine]

Baseless Jealousy

Oliver Wood Cousin!Reader x Jealous!Fred Weasley

WC:2307

BG: Fred and y/n’s relationship is currently 3 years long strong. After a summer apart, it seems to be a 3rd party had become closer to y/n. Is it something that Fred has to worry about or is it just baseless jealousy?

a/n: The pairing the won for this fic is Oliver Wood Cousin!Reader x Jealous! Fred Weasley, Thanks so much for voting!

>>>MASTERLIST<<<

>>JOIN MY WRITING CHALLENGE!<<

--

You and Fred started dating 3 years ago. Fred would like to believe that the relationship is strong, other people believes it so too. However ever since the start of 5th year, something started to get on his nerves, or should he say someone.

See, Fred had noticed you getting closer to his Quidditch captain, Oliver wood. He didn’t want to blame it on the summer you two spent apart but he could quite help himself. You had spent the entire apart, no letters whatsoever. At first, he tried to be understanding, it was after all a summer you and your family spent in Italy while attending your aunt’s wedding, you had told him that this was the first time in 8 years that the whole side of your mother’s family was present as they were all scattered into various parts of the world. He understood the importance of family so he had let it slide that you and he hadn’t communicated in the past 2 months- besides, it must be really exhausting to overwork the owls to post cross country.

Which was why he was so excited to finally see you in person at Platform 9 ¾ on the first of September, to his dismay, you had arrived with Oliver Wood. Back then he had pushed his jealousy aside and concluded as a coincidence that you had turned up together at the barrier. You and Oliver are just friends, he told himself, and that was completely fine.

Fred had sneaked a hug behind you and whispered into your ear. ‘Had a great summer?’

You had jumped at the touch but once you realised who is was from you relaxed. ‘Ohh Freddie!’ You turned and hit his chest. ‘Don’t scare me like that!’ Earning a laugh from him. ‘I did, I had such great times catching up with my cousins! You wouldn’t believe how much trouble we almost got into. But of course.’ Your fingers played with the back of his head. ‘I missed having my love around.’

~

‘Hey love I’m off to Quidditch practice now.’ Fred informed, kissing your cheek. ‘Will you be there?’ Ever since you and Fred got together 3 years ago, you would go cheer him on during Quidditch practices whenever you can.

This year however, more are at stake.

During the semi-finals, Quidditch matches are dotted with professional quidditch team mangers in hopes to scout for potential recruits to join their team upon graduation.

It is rumoured that the manager for Puddlemere United would be attending the next match, Hufflepuff vs Gryffindor. Puddlemere United being Oliver’s favourite and dream team, he had been pushing the team with more frequent trainings then ever, hoping to perform the best game they would ever play, to further increase his chances to chosen to be part of the team.

You looked up from the letter you were writing. ‘Yep, just gotta make a quick stop to the owlery. I’ll soon you soon okay?’

~

Arriving at the owlery, a large parcel instantly caught your eye. ‘Oh mum..’ Examining for any potential damage, which thankfully weren’t any.

The barn owl nearest it hooted. ‘Alright! Alright! I was looking if there were damages.’ The owl flapped its wings in annoyance. ‘Here,’ offering your owl some treats. ‘You’ll need to store up some energy on the way back.’ Another hoot sounded, this time from a grey owl, that you recognised belonged too your mother. ‘There’s some for you too.’ After the 2 owls finished their food, you attached your letter your owl’s leg. ‘This is for mother, a thank you note on behalf of Ollie. I’ll write another when we see his reaction to this-I can’t wait.’ You bid the 2 birds goodbye, watching until they disappear unto the horizon.

Now you turn to face your major problem. You had thought that your mother would have had it placed in a box, rather what you got was a large parcel that is clearly wrapped with parchment, with no subtlety in hiding what it truly is.

~

You had finally manged to sneak the parcel into the Gryffindor boys’ locker room, though it had taken a lot more effort than you thought.

You were just leaving when you had bumped into someone.

‘oopf! Sorr-‘

‘y/n love! What are you doing here?’  Fred wondered, looking over your shoulder, trying to figure out what you were up to. ‘You missed the whole practice.’

‘ohh it’s nothing really----Ayyeee! Not so fast!’ You grabbed Harry’s shoulder, preventing him in enter any further. In all honestly, you hadn’t hidden Oliver’s surprise well, there aren’t a lot of hiding places in the changing room. Determined to not ruin the surprise, you need, you must get Oliver to see it first. ‘Had any of you seen Oli-‘

Right then you heard his unmistakably Scottish accent. ‘I’m just saying George, with this new and improve game plan, we are for sure going win the House Cup!’

‘Oliver!’ You shouted, pushing your boyfriend and Harry aside to reach him. ���Come quick, I’ve got something to show you!’ With all your strength you hauled him to move faster.

‘What is it now y/n? Can’t you see I’m……..’ Oliver had come to a stop. Based on his sudden lack of complaining, you knew he spotted it.

‘It’s a gift from mum and dad. We thought it would future help your chances to be in the professional league.’ You noted. ‘I wasn’t sure which one of these was your locker, so I decided to just hide it behind the benches.’

Oliver hurriedly torn away the wrappings. ‘Oh my…. y/n! A FIREBOLT!’ He turned towards his teammates with eyes watery. ‘A FIREBOLT, A 1993 EBONY WOOD WITH BIRCH TWIGS FIREBOLT!’ He declared with glee.

Too caught up in your cousin’s precious reaction to your gift, you however had failed to noticed Fred displeasure.

‘I think I’m gonna be sick. So much for a girlfriend.’ He grumbled to George. ‘Excuse me.’ Shoving his broom to Harry, Fred walked out of the locker room.

The next thing you knew, you were spinning through the air. Oliver had lifted you in celebration, ‘Thank you y/n thank you so much!’ He mumbled into your hair. ‘Pass on my gratitude to Aunty and Uncle.’  

‘Wait? Did you just say Aunty and Uncle?’ voiced a very confused Harry.

‘Yea.’ Confirmed Oliver. ‘Y/n is my cousin.’

George’s bafflement turned into a startle. ‘You’re joking right?’

‘No, why would be joking George?’ You frowned. ‘Didn’t you know?’

‘Nope’ He replied, popping the “p”. ‘Now it clears everything up. Freddie is going to be--.’

‘Speaking of, where is Freddie?’ You scanned around, wondering where he might have gone to. Which was when you spotted Harry holding up not one but two brooms. ‘Harry…’

‘y/n listen…..Freddie is uhh ’ George was trying to come up how to break it to you gently.

When Harry blurted out. ‘He left.’

‘He whot?’ demanded Oliver.

‘He left, said something about being sick of his girlfriend.’ Commented Harry frankly. ‘owhh!’

Even though it would have been too late to stop Harry from spitting out more wrongfully worded sentences- the damaged has been done- It still made George happy to put some sense into him. Praying that a smack on the head would have made Harry shut up, George took control of the situation, hoping it could still salvage the weakening remain of his twin’s and y/n relationship.

‘Listen y/n. Regarding my idiot brother, you got to know that he, like everyone else in the room, had thought that you and Oliver were flirting with each other.’

‘eww!’ You couldn’t control your reflex.

‘yeah, his emotions got to the best of him when he witnessed everything that got down here and stormed out because of jealousy.’

‘Oh gosh.’ You head towards the door, you could see a red figure walking towards the castle, kicking at fallen leaves every now and then. ‘I’ve got to get to him.’

You felt someone grab your arm ‘No let me handle this y/n.’ voiced Oliver. ‘I’m part of this… complication after all, besides I bet Fred’s fuming right now and as your older cousin, I am willing to take the heat and make him see reason until he has finally calmed down to talk to you with a clear head.’ He explained reassuringly.

‘But---

‘No buts.’ Oliver kissed your forehead. ‘Stay here and send for him back so all this misunderstanding could be sorted out. Now…’ he addressed Harry to get his new firebolt. ‘I’ve got a relationship to fix.’ Oliver hopped on the broom and sped away.

~

‘Fred! Fred!’ Screamed Oliver.

Fred choose to ignore him, picking up his pace.

Leaving Oliver with no choice but to cut him off.

‘WEASLEY!’ Oliver jumped off his broom.

‘Get Out of My Way Wood!’ Fred raised his hand to shove the other boy away but met with resistance. ‘I SAID GET OUT!’ Fred tried to free his fist from Oliver’s grasp, but the older boy was much stronger.

‘Not until you calm down and listen to what I have to say.’

‘Fine.’ Oliver let go of him, he raised his arms high in surrender. ‘y/n sent you, didn’t she?’

‘No. I came here on my own will. I told her to stay behind to protect her.’ Oliver confessed.

‘To protect her?’ scoffed Fred. ‘From what? From me?’

‘Yes, as a matter of fact.’

‘Oh of course, it’s HER who needs protecting and not me. Not me, after I see you both shamelessly act so close to one another, closer, might I tell you then her own boyfriend! If was as if I wasn’t there’

‘Fred,’

Fred brushed his hand away, ignoring Oliver’s interruption. ‘When did you two get so close anyway? You know at first, I tried to pass it off as friendship but as time when on, I could help but think-‘

‘Y/N IS MY COUSIN!’ blurted Oliver, unable to hear another person thinking that they were other than family. ‘THERE’S NOTHING GOING ON BETWEEN US!’

‘what?’  

‘Apparently for some reason most of you lot don’t know. George and Harry were just as surprised too. But yes, y/n is my cousin, on my father’s side. My father and her mother are brothers and sisters. I thought with all these years we’ve known each other that you’d know we’re related. Guess I was wrong.’

‘I….I didn’t know.. I’m sorry.’

‘Apology accepted but we both know there is someone more deserving of hearing that apology.’ Oliver nodded towards the locker room. ‘She’s there waiting.’

‘Thank you, Oliver.’ He held out his hand. ‘Friends?’

‘Friends’ Oliver shook his hand, the stared straight into his eyes. ‘BUT…’

‘but?’

‘But if you hurt her again Weasley, you have me to answer for, that is of course after she’s done her share.’ Without another word, Oliver flew off, testing out his new gift.

~

Fred ran full speed ahead, praying that he didn’t completely ruin a wondering 3-year relationship with the girl of his dreams. Before entering the room, he conjured up a bouquet of your favourite flowers, hoping that could help out his image.

Testing the waters, he called. ‘y/n? are you in here love?’

‘In here’ you sighed. He hated hearing you so sad. He hated it more that it was him causing you to feel that way.

Cautiously he made his way to you with arms outstretched. You accepted the flowers, to that he let himself relax a bit, bringing them up to you nose, you noted. ‘They smell nice, thank you.’

Fred was grateful that you hadn’t scolded him off on his baseless jealousy, still he knew he had to apologize and win his girl back. Kneeling in front where you sat, Fred took your hands and poured out his heart.

‘Y/n, I am sorry. I made a huge mistake, I… I got jealous of how you had gotten close to Oliver this year.’ He confessed.’ Ever since the start of this year, I thought that Oliver was stealing you away from me. I thought that perhaps you two had something going on behind my back.’

Chuckling to himself he continued. ‘I didn’t even realise that you were cousins until he told me just now. I feel so stupid. 3 years together, 5 years of knowing you. It was so obvious.’ Fred closed his eyes.

‘Still, with my worries, I should have asked, asked what you and Oliver were.’ He stressed. ‘I should have come and talked to you, to sort this out like what a, healthy, trusting and understanding relationship would. But instead I keep all my doubts and insecurities brew, I went deep into my own conclusions that were without evidence, I let my jealousy get the best of me.’

Fred brought your knuckles to his lips. ‘y/n love, I’m sorry. I love you and if you want a space, I understand. But there is no a day in this world where I would not rather be back in your loving arms. I hope that you could forgive me.’

‘Freddie, I forgive you.’ You cup his tear stained cheek. ‘It was just a stupid misunderstanding.’

Gesturing for him to sit beside you ‘I thought it was common knowledge that Oliver and I are cousins. Apparently not. Yes, we weren’t that close before.’ You admitted.  ‘But we really did get to know each other in the summer. 5 weeks either being sounded by adult relatives or small children, we hung out often, being the only 2 cousins similar in age.’

You return back into a more serious tone. ‘Of course, I did wish you had voiced it out, we could have avoided this conflict altogether. So, promise me this. Whatever problems may arise, before we delved into our own assumptions, we would always talk it out. Alright?’

‘I promise.’

~

Taglist [All/General]: @gruffle1​

Tagging also all those who voted for the~Oliver Wood Cousin!Reader x Jealous!Fred Weasley~ Thank you! @jenniweaslee​ @ najiler @ im-the-nerdiest-of-them-a11 @ gweaslvy and the lovely anons!

[deathsteel]

30 day fanfic challenge

Prompt #14 - Bitterness

“Okay,”  Charlie said, handing over another demitasse cup to her coworker. “Try that one and tell me what you taste.”

Dean took the delicate cup from his coworker, feeling like a monstrous giant holding the tiny cup. He stuck his pinky out as he took a slurping sip, just to be obnoxious. They’d been doing the whole ‘coffee tasting’ thing for like an hour already. 

“Hmmmmm,” Dean mused, rolling the sip of coffee around his mouth as he pulled a considering face. “I taste….coffee.” 

“Ugh!” Charlie exclaimed, bating at Dean’s arm. “You’re the worst. They don’t all taste the same!”

“They do!” Dean argued, slugging back the remainder of the coffee with a grimace. Yuck! “All coffee tastes the same and I will never believe any differently.”

“People like you are the reason why Starbucks is taking over,” Charlie groused, abandoning Dean as a hopeless cause as she moved to wipe down the shop’s expensive espresso machine. 

It was a slow evening, as they all were. Honestly, that was why Dean preferred to work the closing shifts. He didn’t have to wake up early, didn’t have to deal with grumpy people, and didn’t have to worry about Grindin’s  owner breathing down his neck as he worked. Not that Billie wasn’t great, she was just scary af and didn’t appreciate Dean’s jokes as much as the rest of the weirdos on the night crew did. She also didn’t understand the innuendo behind the shop’s name or was being deliberately obtuse, Dean honestly couldn’t figure out which one it was. 

“When’s Garth getting here?” Dean asked as he moved around the long pastry display case next to the register to go and collect some empty mugs that a study group had just abandoned at their table when they left for the day. 

Charlie shrugged noncommittally, as she cleaned. “I dunno, he texted and said he was running late; that Billie knew and he’d be here to at least lock the door.” 

Dean nodded, humming along to the local music that Billie liked to feature quietly over the coffee shop’s speakers. They played the same stuff often enough that he knew all the words, even if it wasn’t something he would have voluntarily listened to on a normal day. 

The bell over the door of the shop chimed as Dean was carrying a precarious stack of half-filled coffee mugs back to the sink in the back room of the shop. 

“Oh hey!” he heard Charlie exclaim as he rid the cups of their contents, rinsed them, and stuck them in the soapy water in one of the sinks. He’d wash everything later. 

When he came back out, he saw Charlie chatting amicably with a slender dark haired man who was tying one of the shop’s maroon aprons over skinny jeans and a black t-shirt. Dean noted wide shoulders and a pretty perky butt before Charlie realized that Dean was coming and pointed out his presence to her companion. 

“Yea, it's me and Dean closing tonight, so you can just let us handle all the cleaning stuff and you can do the important things,” Charlie finished as Dean sidled up next to the duo. 

“Right,” The other man said with a decisive nod before he stuck his hand out to Dean. “Castiel, I usually open. I don’t think we’ve ever crossed paths. Dean, right?”

Dean nodded, shaking the other man’s hand registering absently how soft Castiel’s hands were and how strong his grip was. “Yea, you’re the one who likes to put smiley faces on the bottoms of all the cups.” 

Castiel grinned, his tanned skin flushing just a bit across his cheekbones and the bridge of his nose. “Only when customers are being extra grumpy.”

“You must deal with a lot of dicks then,” Charlie chimed in helpfully, causing the other man’s blush to deep as he let out a disbelieving chuckle. 

“Yea, we don’t get a lot of cheerful people first thing in the morning,” he admitted, looking around the mostly empty cafe. “So, what’s left to do?”

“Oh, we’ve got it handled,” Dean said, waving a dismissive hand. “Charlie usually handles the lobby and pastry case and I tackle the dishes and the mopping. We usually just find some way to kill time until it's time to close.”

“Must be nice,” Castiel said with a half grin.

“Yea, we were doing a coffee tasting, but Dean’s got the palate of a toddler so I gave up,” Charlie offered, gesturing to the small pour over array that they had set up to taste the different coffee blends that the shop offered. “I’m studying to get my Q grader certification.”

“Cool,” Castiel said, moving over to pick up the ground coffee that Charlie had set aside for another tasting. “I have a study guide for the written portion if you want to borrow it. It's a few years old, but I doubt much has changed since I took the test.”

“You have your Q?” Charlie asked, sounding starstruck. Dean rolled his eyes, deciding he’d leave the coffee nerds to talk while he went and knocked out the dishes early. 

~~~

He returned to the front of the store about half an hour later, wiping water off his forearms with a paper towel to find Charlie had moved on to sweeping and tidying the tables in the now empty cafe. It was about 45 minutes until close, but at this rate they’d be done hella early and Dean could go home and crash in front of The Bachelorette for a bit. 

Dean wandered over to Castiel who was fiddling with Charlie’s pour over, doling out three of the store's small mugs worth of coffee before he rinsed the whole apparatus and set it on the drainboard next to the espresso machine. 

“Hey,” Castiel said as Dean leaned up against the counter next to where the other man was working. “I thought you might want to try this new blend Billie is rolling out next week.”

Dean let out a noncommittal noise and shrugged. “Nah, all coffee tastes the same to me dude. I don’t have a ‘refined palate’.”

The last part was said with heavy sarcasm complete with air quotes, earning an amused snort from Castiel that made Dean’s stomach do a somersault. 

“Maybe you’re just not drinking it the right way,” Castiel replied, crossing his arms over his chest and tapping his chin in thought for a moment before he made a face that Dean could only describe as an ‘Ah-ha face’.

“I’ve got an idea,” he said, handing Dean the mug of coffee that he had just poured. “Hold this, I’ll be right back.”

Dean confusedly took the offered cup, smiling down at the liquid inside when Castiel made an endearing dash to the back room; his sneakers squeaking on the floor as he went. It took about a minute before the other man was back, holding a small brown wrapped package in his hand. As Dean watched, Castiel unwrapped the parcel to reveal a bar of chocolate.

“I’ve been saving this for something special,” Castiel explained as he broke off a piece, holding it up to Dean’s mouth. “Hold this in your mouth and take a sip.”

‘Oof,’ Dean thought to himself as he obediently opened his mouth and let the other man slip the shard of confectionary past his lips; Castiel’s soft fingertips brushing his bottom lip as he withdrew his hand. 

“Now take a sip,” Castiel urged as Dean stood there dumbfounded with a semi and a piece of chocolate sitting on his tongue. 

Dean stifled his whimper in his coffee cup as he brought it to his mouth, taking a slurp of coffee in to join the chocolate in his mouth. Immediately he was confronted with the sweetness of the chocolate as it melted almost instantaneously from the heat of coffee, cutting the bitter edge to the dark roast as he let the flavors play across his tongue. 

“You’re probably tasting how sweet the chocolate is right?” Castiel asked, earning a quick nod from Dean in reply. “Good, now what else?”

Dean’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he stared at the other man. He tasted coffee and chocolate, duh. 

But as he watched the other man’s excited blue eye dance in enjoyment, Dean started to taste the earthiness of the coffee, the tang of...citrus, maybe? It teased at this taste buds, just at the edges of his awareness and Dean kinda understood why people talked about coffee like it was some divine ambrosia. Dean had always thought it just tasted like sour, dirty water. But maybe he could see the appeal. 

“Citrus,” Dean offered cautiously, earning an encouraging nod from his fellow barista. “And...well it tastes kinda like a forest smells, y’know?”

“I do know!” Castiel exclaimed, breaking off a piece of chocolate and absently taking a sip of his coffee to go with it. “Maybe you should just be pairing your coffee with food to enjoy it.” 

“Maybe,” Dean mused, staring at the other man with barely concealed adoration. 

They lingered for a few more minutes, drinking the coffee and diminishing Castiel’s chocolate stash by half before Charlie loudly declared that it was ten minutes until close and she was done cleaning the lobby. 

That seemed to launch Castiel into action and he excused himself to start counting down the register and gathering the day's receipts. Dean meanwhile gathered up the last of their dishes and rushed them through the dishwasher. He was filling the mop bucket when Castiel poked his head into the backroom and waved him off the task. 

“Don’t worry about mopping,” the other man explained. “I’ll get here at bit early in the morning and take care of it. Just get your stuff together, we’ll leave as soon as it hits closing time.”

“Just pray no one else comes in,” Charlie said breezily as she swanned past Castiel towards the employee lockers along the back wall.

Dean shrugged, putting the mop away and washing his hands one last time before grabbing his own jacket out of his locker and heading to wait in the front of the store for closing time. 

Luckily, no customers came in for coffee in the interceding 3 minutes until close and it wasn’t until the trio was locking up and walking towards the parking lot that Dean found the courage to speak. 

“Sucks that you’re clopening, man” Dean offered as Charlie peeled off with a wave to head towards her lime green Volkswagen Beetle. 

Castiel chuckled, shoving his hands in the pockets of his maroon hoodie as they walked toward Dean’s black Impala and the blue Hyundai parked next to it that Dean assumed belonged to the other man. “I’ve never heard it called that.” 

“Call it what you want, it's still the hell shift,” Dean joked. “Hope we didn’t scare you off the night shift for good.” 

“Nope,” Castiel replied, rocking up onto his toes as they stopped at their cars. “In fact, maybe next time I can just close and I can buy you a drink afterwards.”

“Oh,” Dean said, being caught out because he hadn’t expected the other man to beat him to the punch like that. “Well, as long as its not coffee I think I’d be really into that.”

“I can probably manage that,” the other barista said with a dopey smile. 

Oh second thought, maybe Dean could learn to like coffee. 

[fullmetalscullyy]

day 18 -  christmas time (don't let the bells end) - the darkness

the magic of christmas time - royai advent calender

24 days - 24 oneshots | with angst, fluff, and everything in between | both canon and au

a collection of christmas themed oneshots to celebrate royai | chapter prompts based on my favourite christmas songs

read on ao3

a gift for @lumberjackofthelumberwoods for his birthday <3

sam is truly one of the greatest friends i've ever had and i can't imagine my life without him in it

thank you for being my angst friend and just Getting Me in a way no one else does you're one in a billion and i'm so grateful we met. ilysm and always will <3 thank you my friend!!!!

you've got your career spent the best part of last year apart and it still hurts

so that's why i pray each and every christmas day that it won't end

Roy snuck into Riza’s apartment stealthily. The rucksack on his back was less discreet than he would have liked, however there was not much else he could do. He didn’t have many presents, but he was proud of what he’d got her for Christmas. The best one was in her locker at the firing range at work, and while he would have liked to have given it to her tomorrow morning when they awoke, it would raise suspicion for him to be walking around with a rifle case in this neighbourhood. Anyone purposefully watching him would know exactly where he was heading after clocking that case.

“You know, you could have just used the door,” a quiet, yet amused, voice greeted him. A yip from Hayate accompanied her greeting and Roy turned after softly closing her bedroom window, shutting out the cold and the wind whistling through the gaps of the fire escape he’d climbed up.

“It was safer,” he grinned. “Plus, if you’d really wanted me to use your front door, you wouldn’t have left the window open in the middle of winter.” Roy shivered at the reminder of the cold that had bit at his face moments ago. He was sure his cheeks were bright pink.

Riza offered him a small smile and approached him in the gloom of her bedroom. Her hands were placed gently on his chest and Roy held his breath, awaiting her next step, almost shivering in anticipation. Hands snaked up to his shoulders and around his neck, one tangling in his hair while the other curled around the collar of his shirt and jacket. She drew him close and it was like a spark that lit the flames. They met each other halfway. The kiss was feverish – the result of them being apart and having no real contact with one another for the last two weeks. It had been hell. Roy’s hands slid around her back and pulled Riza even tighter against him. Her back arched and she moaned breathlessly into his mouth, her hands now cupping his cheeks, anchoring him in place.

“Hello,” he grinned, unable to resist pecking her on the lips again after they broke apart.

“Hey,” Riza replied, smiling up at him with not only her lips. Her eyes danced even in the dim light, pouring out the love she felt for him into his own eyes, and Roy was lost in it for a moment. “Does this have presents in it?” Riza asked, a hint of a pleased smile in her voice. She slipped the backpack off his shoulders, relieving him of it while Roy recovered after what he’d seen in her eyes.

“Uh, yeah.”

“Wow, Roy Mustang, rendered speechless by a kiss?” Riza teased, glancing at him over her shoulder as she walked to enter her living room. “I never thought I’d see the day.”

Roy blinked after her, then chuckled. “If it’s a kiss from you, then it happens every time.”

“Really?” she asked doubtfully, raising an eyebrow. She’d turned to face him fully after depositing his bag on her couch. One hand was on her cocked hip, the other resting on the arm of the couch beside her.

Roy smiled as he approached, cupping her face in his hands. “Always,” he murmured against her lips. Riza initiated it again and drew him close by the lapels of his jacket.

“So…” Riza ventured, still holding him close to her lips.

“Yes?” he chuckled.

“What did you get me?”

Roy laughed and pecked her cheek, digging into his backpack. He handed her three small parcels – one was a scarf he’d overheard her talking to Rebecca about, another was a blouse he’d picked out for her himself, and the final one was a book she’d been discussing with Falman a few weeks ago in the office. The best one, though, wasn’t wrapped, and would be revealed as soon as he handed it over.

“Those three are for tomorrow, but I’m really excited about this one and wanted to give it to you today.”

“Okay then,” she smiled in amusement. “Go ahead.”

They found themselves sitting on the rug in front of her roaring fire, side by side with their backs leaning against the couch, before Roy handed it over. Hayate was curled in between their knees. It was the most domestic moment they’d ever had together in their adult lives. For a second, he forgot about all that went on in the outside world.

“Roy…” Riza whispered in wonder, staring down at the rifle’s user manual in her hands. It was a new rifle for her – the one that was currently in her locker at work.

“I couldn’t bring it here because it would be suspicious,” he explained, rubbing her shoulder. “It’s in your locker at work.” Riza turned to him, flabbergasted. She did nothing but blink at him, her mouth working to try and say something, but coming up with nothing.

However, the way she expressed her thanks came in a much better method, leaving them tangled in her sheets in the late hours of the day.

“I don’t want this to end,” Roy murmured in her ear. They were facing each other in her bed, Riza’s head tucked underneath his chin as he drew lazy patterns on her exposed back. Her hands returned the favour in kind, drawing similar patterns on his bare chest. Every so often his breathing would hitch, and Riza would smile to herself because she’d drawn that out of him.

Riza curled closer into him, burying her face in his chest and nodded in agreement. “Neither do I.”

Because when they returned to work after Christmas Day, she’d return to being Bradley’s hostage and they’d have to act with casual indifference when they passed each other in the hallways, as if the whole situation didn’t bother them both.

But it did. It really did, because nothing hurt more than pretending she was just offering a professional courtesy when saying hello to the man she loved when passing him in the hallway at HQ.

A distant clanging reached them from outside. It was almost muted by the whistling wind, but it managed to reach them both. The bells of the cathedral in Central were tolling, signalling the new day. It resonated within both their hearts, because it was one step closer to being apart again for god knows how long.

“Midnight,” Riza muttered.

“Merry Christmas, Riza,” Roy whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“Merry Christmas, Roy.”

“May those bells never end, and I get to live in this moment forever.”

Riza huffed a laugh, but a pain clutched at her chest. They’d made their bed and now they had to lie in it, but it didn’t mean it was easy. It was bearable when she could watch his back, but now they’d been torn apart there was a constant anxiety within her, because she wasn’t fulfilling her promise. Being unable to protect him caused her to lose her sole purpose in life for almost a decade – push him to the top so he could cause the change they both wanted to see in the world, and prevent the atrocities they lived through from happening again.

She didn’t know what she’d do if she failed by not being by his side.

One certainty was this, though. They couldn’t do this again until the enemy was beaten. It was too risky, too dangerous. They couldn’t be together anymore, not like this. And although it was Christmas, supposedly a time for happiness and joy, Riza felt nothing but sorrow in her heart because of that fact.

But it was what they deserved, she supposed, after all they’d done.