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ijustwant2write · 4 years ago

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Stalkers-Aziraphale x Reader x Crowley

(GIF credit to @fuckyeahgoodomens)

Requested by anonymous: ‘Would you do a platonic Good Omens imagine where Aziraphale & Crowley become close to human graduate student and they follow her on a date (and she notices them) because their protective (you can decide if the date goes good or bad)?’

Characters: Aziraphale x Reader (platonic), Crowley x Reader (platonic)

Meanings: (Y/N)=Your name

Warnings: Mentions of break ups and cheating, FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

(Y/N) strolled around the corner of a book shelf, arms swinging with a book in one hand as she approached the till, where Aziraphale was waiting with a customer. She held out the book to him, a big smile on her face.

“(Y/N), that’s the wrong book dear.” Aziraphale awkwardly said.

“Oh!” the young woman gasped, looking at the cover. She was meant to find a novel about a dystopian future, with conflict and struggles of hierarchy. Looking at the cover, she realised she had picked up a romantic tale.“I am so sorry, I will go and find the other one-”

“No!” Aziraphale blurted out.“N-no, don’t worry. I’ll go find it.”

“OK, sorry again.”

Once he had finished with the customer, Aziraphale went to find (Y/N), who was stacking books on the shelves. She smiled at him as he approached her, and he copied, but it was clear to see that he was uneasy.

“I just want to talk about what happened earlier.” he started.

“I’m really sorry about that again. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

“It’s not that, I’m not concerned about embarrassment. I’m more worried about you.”

“Me?”

“You know this bookshop back to back. You’ve worked here since you started university. It was just a shock that you picked up the wrong book, and took so long to get it.”

“I wasn’t that long was I?”

“You took fifteen minutes.”

“I mean, people make mistakes.”

“Of course they do, nobody is perfect. But it’s so out of character for you. Are you feeling well?”

She nodded, returning back to her job.“Absolutely fine.”

“Because you know you can tell me.”

“I know.”

“If anything is wrong, I am always here-”

“I’ve got a date tonight.”

He hadn’t expected that answer.“A-a date?”

She nodded.“Yeah, uh, it’s with this guy from one of my lectures. We’ve been friends...well, sort of friends for the last year, but he asked me out the other day and obviously I’ve said yes. So I’m freaking out a little bit.”

Aziraphale was shocked by her quick rambling, stumbling over his own words as he processed everything.“O-oh, well, that is very exciting! Why are you worried?”

“Because I haven’t been on a date since...well you know.”

“Oh, of course. You are going though, aren’t you?”

She sighed.“I was-”

“You should! This is great news!”

“But what if I’m awkward? If I’ve forgotten what it’s like to date?”

“Tell you what,” he started to take the books out her her hands,“you take the rest of the day off. Go relax, get ready for tonight, and enjoy yourself!”

“Aziraphale, I really shouldn’t-”

“I won’t take no for an answer. You need to relax and calm down before tonight. I think you’re going to be surprised with how much fun you’ll have.”

“If you’re sure...I mean, I am a bit excited.”

Aziraphale grinned at the sight of his friend blushing.“Good! Keep in high spirits and you shall have a great evening.”

(Y/N) put on her coat, saying her goodbyes to Aziraphale as she slung her handbag over her shoulder before putting her earphones in. The angel kept the smile on his face until the door shut, then his true feelings were unleashed. Panic struck him, mumbling to himself as he stressed over his friend. He knew he needed help on this, instantly calling Crowley to the bookshop.

Crowley had been bored out of his mind that day, so when the phone rang, he answered far too quickly, having to put on a reserved attitude as he spoke. Hearing Aziraphale’s tone made him agree to come straight away, even though he didn’t know what the problem was. Bursting into the bookshop (thinking another Armageddon was approaching), he called out for the angel, who popped out from nowhere, his eyes wide.

“Oh thank God you’re here.” Aziraphale sighed in relief.

“Well, I wouldn’t be thanking him-”

“It’s (Y/N).”

Crowley didn’t care about his smooth persona anymore, not when it came to (Y/N).“What? What’s happened?”

“She’s got a date.”

Crowley stared at him, mouth open. After a few seconds, he spoke,“That’s what you called me here for?”

“Yes! How are you not worried?”

“Because it’s a normal thing for young adults to do?”

“But this is (Y/N)! You remember the last relationship?”

Crowley softened at that.“Oh, you have a point.”

(Y/N) had not been attending university for long when she first applied for the bookshop. She was just eighteen when she started, much quieter and shy back then, but Aziraphale decided to take her under his wing (no pun intended). He and Crowley had become friends with her, watching her grow as she studied hard, not without stressing herself out at times of course. However, they had also been there when the first boyfriend came onto the scene. (Y/N) had been so excited, infatuated with this boy. They had dated for a year and a half, it had been so lovely at the beginning. Even the angel and demon liked him; until he made the fatal mistake of breaking her heart.

That boyfriend had all but ripped her heart out of her chest, torn it to pieces in front of her face before stamping on it. After all the dates, the presents, the studying together, supporting each other through their studies, the cute pictures and talks about their future, he randomly decided to sleep with someone else. The man (Y/N) thought she could see a future with had never showed any signs of leaving her, or no longer having an interest. He flat out admitted it when she confronted him, suddenly expressing how he didn’t find her attractive anymore and that she had been a waste of time. It broke (Y/N), and although she wanted to believe that someone would come along and cherish her just as he did in the beginning, it was extremely hard to imagine such a thing after those harsh words.

“I know I shouldn’t judge others, especially since I don’t know the man...” Aziraphale said.

Crowley removed his glasses.“Well, how did she look when she told you?”

“Happy, she was nervous but giddy. She’s worried that she’ll embarrass herself, though I could see the excitement in her eyes.”

“Well that settles it then.”

“What?”

“We have to follow them.”

“How did that make you think of following them?”

“(Y/N) has mixed emotions, she may not think straight because she’s overwhelmed.”

“She’s a smart young lady, she’ll be able to tell if she likes him or not.”

“Still, we don’t know this guy. I think to be on the safe side, we should tag along.”

“A-a double date?”

“What? No! We need disguises, we need to follow after them.”

“So, stalk them?”

“Stop making it weird. Come on, let’s figure out what we’re wearing.”

(Y/N) couldn’t stop staring at her reflection. She had spent more time than needed on her hair and makeup, picking out her jewellery before putting on the outfit she decided on (which also took a while to pick out). Although she always presented herself well everyday, she hadn’t dressed up in a long time. It was almost refreshing to see herself like this, she felt beautiful. Smiling at herself, she was broken out of her trance as her phone buzzed. Quickly grabbing it, she saw her dates name pop up, stating they were on their way to the restaurant they chose to go to. It was now or never.

Crowley and Aziraphale waited down the road from (Y/N)′s student house, seeing her leave and head in the opposite direction. Crowley was more confident sneaking around, purposefully walking quickly so Aziraphale would keep up with him and not think about backing out of this. For disguises, they decided they needed to dress young, blend into the crowd; Aziraphale wore an oversized jumper with an equally long striped scarf, his usual bow tie still on, as well as jeans and converse. Crowley had on a black denim jacket with a black and white patterned silk shirt, black jeans with boots definitely meant for hiking, as well as blacked out circular glasses and a beanie. Aziraphale felt ridiculous, hating how people stared, but Crowley was too focused on the mission to notice.

They followed her to the restaurant, casually leaning against a building across the road as they watched the man and woman embrace. He kindly held the door open for her, gesturing for her to go ahead.

“He seems gentlemanly.” Aziraphale pointed out.

“No, this is their game you see. He wants her to think he’s a gentleman, when he’s the total opposite! I’ve seen it happen many times before. They’re all ‘Mr Nice Guy’ just so she’ll go home with him.”

“That’s a little extreme, don’t you think-”

“Come on!” Crowley grabbed Aziraphale’s wrist, dragging him across the street.

(Y/N) thanked her date as he tucked in her chair for her. It wasn’t a high end restaurant, and it was only late afternoon, but this is how they wanted it to be. They were already friends, it would be awkward if they were properly dressed up in a posh place. He had already complimented her, making her blush, and they were able to slide into a conversation. It was like any other time they had been hanging out, except there was a romantic element to it all.

“There they are.” Aziraphale whispered to Crowley as they entered the building.

Not waiting to be seated, Crowley guided the pair towards the couple, finding a table close enough that they could watch their every move without being spotted. Sitting down, Crowley shoved a menu into his friend’s hands, holding it in front of his head with his eyes peering over the edge.

“He tucked in her chair for her, that’s sweet of him.” Aziraphale smiled.

“Remember what I said.” Crowley frowned.

“Perhaps we’re being a tad dramatic. I was paranoid this morning, but seeing them together has calmed me.”

“I’m not sure. He could be pretending.”

The squabble was disturbed when (Y/N)’s laugh rang out, along with her date’s. Her friends turned to see her covering her mouth as she continued giggling, her eyes still on the man across from her.

“That doesn’t count.” Crowley quickly protested.

A waitress came over to their table, surprised by how quickly the men ordered their food and the lack of eye contact. What shocked her the most was when she tried to take the menus away, but they gripped onto them with their lives. It was the only way they could hide from (Y/N). She backed away, not too phased because when you work in this sort of service, you do get your weirdos.

“Maybe we should just leave...” Aziraphale felt less stressed, he had a good feeling about this man. She looked much more calm, more natural with him than she did with her ex, and this was only the first date.

“But we’ve ordered.” Crowley moaned.

“I feel like we’re imposing. I know we wanted to check on her, but (Y/N)’s an adult, she knows how to handle herself.”

“Let’s at least wait for our food-”

“But what if they spot us! We can take it to go.”

“It’ll be cold by the time we get back, and we’ve ordered drinks!”

(Y/N) tried to concentrate on her date’s words, she had been invested in his story until a couple on another table started bickering. It was just human nature to pry, and she had glanced a few times over at them. They were an extravagant pair, wearing clothes that made them stand out. It wasn’t a bad thing, people were allowed to express themselves.But there was something about them that made her keep staring.

“Hey, I’m just going to quickly pop to the loo.” (Y/N) said, smiling at her date just as he did, before she stood up, heading towards the odd couple.

Aziraphale and Crowley were too caught up in their argument to notice that (Y/N) had left the table, and was headed right towards them. She suddenly appeared at the table, crouching down on the other side so her date couldn’t see her.

“What are you two doing?!” she harshly whispered.

They were shocked by her, flinching in their seats. Aziraphale sighed.“I knew this would happen!”

“Are you two following me?”

“It was Crowley’s idea!”

“You were the one who called me!”

“Enough you two!” (Y/N) quietly exclaimed.“Do you know how much you’re invading my privacy right now?”

Aziraphale had a calm tone to his voice.“We just wanted to make sure you’re alright. And how did you know it was us?”

“Have you seen your outfits? You stick out like a sore thumb.”

“I thought these were very on trend?” Crowley said.

“In 2013 maybe.”

“We’re sorry. We were only thinking of you, your safety, your happiness. And we were going to leave, but Crowley is complaining about the food-”

“It’s good food here!”

“As long as you two don’t interfere with my date, you can stay. Just don’t stare, or watch.”

“Are you enjoying yourself?” Aziraphale smiled.“He seems like a lovely gentleman.”

Crowley groaned.“Stop calling him that.”

(Y/N) relaxed a little.“He’s...he’s a sweetheart. I feel comfortable with him, happy too. I’m having a great time...was having a great time.”

Aziraphale placed a hand on her shoulder.“We promise we won’t do anything. Honestly, I’m quite hungry and parched now that I’m thinking of our order.”

(Y/N) pondered for a moment.“Fine. You’re right, the food here is pretty good, I can’t take that away from you. But next time you do a stake out, try to blend in, yeah?”

268 notes · View notes

zedpercyfan · 4 years ago

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The Hard Frost

Description: On their way to the next gym in Johto, Ash and his friends encounter a steep climb with bad weather on the way...

Rated: K+

OoOoO

Ash Ketchum looked up to the sky with a grim look. Dark clouds were forming high above and he seemed visibly uncomfortable at the sight. “Ugh…” he muttered to himself.

“Aha!” cried Brock as he pointed to the horizon, “there it is – Greenwood Town!” In the distance was a village made of mostly log cabins. Misty sighed with relief as she clutched Togepi closer.

“Thank goodness…it’s cold and I could do with a warm Pokémon Center!”

“Yeah…” agreed Brock, “it’s only eleven but because we woke up at six it already feels like it’s evening. It’s all thanks to that frosty wind waking us up early. We could do with a rest.”

“After that night in the forest – definitely!”

Because they were walking in front of Ash, neither of the friends noticed his frown deepen.

When they got to the town it wasn’t the sight they expected. People were in their homes and those that were on the outside were rushing about with wood and petrol tanks in their arms. “What’s with the rush?” wondered Brock before being nearly knocked over by someone passing. They eventually got their answer when they arrived at the Pokémon Center.

“It’s the incoming Hard Frost that they’re preparing for,” said Nurse Joy.

“Hard Frost?” repeated Brock and Misty. “What’s that?”

“It happens every few years. The locals know the signs immediately…”

“Yes. But what is it?” they asked again. They didn’t notice Ash staring.

“A severe snowstorm. It starts with a fierce wind before tons of snow falls, burying the ground at least six feet and brings the temperature to below zero. The last time it happened it took two weeks before the snowplows and help could arrive.”

“When is it coming?” said Ash almost too hurriedly.

“Tonight.” Ash’s hands fell from the counter to his side, not that his friends noticed.

“Two weeks’ worth of snow. Well then, I suppose that puts a stop to us for now,” said Brock. “We’ll stay here for the night; have a room?”

“Oh, I’m so, so sorry, but all the rooms have already been taken by Trainers who don’t have the resources to make it to the next town.”

The Trainers grimaced and tried at a nearby inn. But it was the same story. “Your best chance to wait out the frost is to get to the ski resort at the top of the mountain,” said the receptionist apologetically. “I’m sorry. We’d offer the lobby, but…” The Trainers knew she didn’t need to explain, they also noticed at the Pokémon Center, but even the inn’s lobby had travelers setting their sleeping bags all around.

“It’s all right,” said Ash quietly. “We all have to do what we have to do. How do we get to the ski resort?”

“It’s up the hill. It’s been a hard winter, so I bet there’ll be room. They’re a big hotel anyways. Oh, but I’m not sure about recommending them at this point,” she went on. “See, our side of the mountain is steep, and the bushes and trees thick. It normally takes a whole day to get up there, but the cold is setting in…” She huffed a sigh. “I’m so, so sorry…”

OoOoO

The friends hurried to the local clothing store to suit up. Up until that point they had primarily worn the clothes they had with them from the start – none suited for harsh cold. Ash and Brock bought sweaters to wear over their usual shirts, thick, long socks and pants, gloves, boots, and large fur coats.

Misty however, only got the gloves and jacket. Ash glared at her from across the store. “Is that all you’re getting?” he said.

“Well, yeah,” said Misty. “All I need is the fur jacket.”

“Absolutely not! I mean, just look at you,” said Ash, exasperated. He gestured wildly at her clothing. “Short shorts and a tank top. What good will those be in the cold!?”

“I also have a jacket,” replied Misty crisply. “Ash, we’ve been in cold situations before. Goodness, we’ve been rained at on a remote island during a storm and had that experience back in Kanto where we were snowed at with only light blankets for cover. I’m sure I can manage with just these.”

“But it’s the Hard Frost,” went on the raven-haired trainer. “That goes below freezing – freezing! For crying out loud the snow lasts for weeks on end after the storm passes.”

“Oh, what would you know?” snorted Misty. Ash stared, dumbfounded, before getting angry and just threw up his hands.

“Fine. Fine, have it your way if you think you can handle it.” And he walked away.

“I’ve swam in ice cold water before, Ash! A little bit of snow will be no problem for me!”

Or at least that was what Misty thought. As the trio walked steadily up the hiking trail, the cold wind danced around them. No Pokémon were in sight, the few Sentrets and Rattatas, among several others, that were out were scurrying up trees and to their burrows. Misty shivered, she was slowing down and felt miserable as her legs ached from the climb.

They set up a small camp to rest for a bit. Brock began cooking up some stew to warm them up despite the harsh conditions. “S-so c-c-cold…” whimpered Misty. She tightened her grip on her jacket and squeezed her legs together as she sat near the fire, but it was clear that wasn’t enough.

Ash let out a cruel laugh. “I told you to wear something thicker, but you didn’t listen to me. Now look at what your decision has brought you.”

“That’s enough, Ash,” cut in Brock. “Though I will admit, considering everything we’ve heard of this Hard Frost, I’m surprised you didn’t dress up like you should’ve.”

“I think she said she could manage it,” replied Ash. “I am surprised, Misty, mist and ice have water in common. I would’ve thought was a perfect fit for you, but I guess this just proves that humans aren’t suited to the cold, even for those who like water.”

“Shut up!” she snapped.

“Hey, you chose to go like that. Not my fault you chose to brave bad weather with that amount of skin showing.”

Misty seethed in anger. Ash had a point, which was a rare thing. But she didn’t want to admit it.

“A shame,” began Brock as he brought out some spices for the stew, “we didn’t think to get her anything, and we’ve still got five miles to go…we haven’t gone far; maybe our best action is to go back to the village and get Misty some warmer clothes.”

“Yeah, I agree. There’s no reason to tough it out further,” said Ash as he threw some branches into the fire.

“Right, we let the Pokémon stay here with the fire, one of us will escort Misty down the mountain, her condition just by sight is terrible. But one of us needs to stay to look after my stew and keep the fire going.”

“I’ll go,” said Ash.

“Are you sure, Ash? I can easily figure out what could fit Misty. It’d be no problem if—”

“No, Brocko, I’ll take Misty,” said Ash firmly. He gave a small smile. “No reason to leave me in charge of food, you and I both know I’d mess it up. Besides, you’re good with Pokémon, I’m not sure I could handle both responsibilities on my own.”

Brock nodded his head. “Fair enough, fair enough…” He reached into his backpack. “Here’s some hot water I prepared before we went out. You can use it if things start turning for the worst.”

“Thanks. We’ll be quick, get to the village, waste little time and come right back.”

“Yeah, by my calculations we’ve only been walking for nearly three hours. If you double your speed you should be able to get back here before we run out of time.”

“We better be able to…” said Ash ominously. “Otherwise it’ll be the end for us all. Brock, it’s already noon, the human average speed is three miles per hour but we’re going slower than that but only because of the slope. If you don’t see us by four or five, please, go on.”

Brock was going to object, but he saw how serious Ash was and nodded. “Very well, Ash, very well…”

Carefully Ash and Misty set off back down the hill, but it wasn’t easy. Snow had fallen and the ground was icy.

“So slippery,” Misty complained.

“Well don’t complain, I can’t help that!” called Ash from upfront. “I could’ve brought Cyndaquil, but it’s too cold for him to manage. Besides,” he added as he tapped the dirt, “the ground is too hard, and we’ve got a ways to go. Onix could’ve managed storming down the mountain, but…” He motioned to their surroundings.

“T-t-oo ro…rocky, and th-th-the trees a-are…too thick f-for him,” stuttered Misty. “Darn i-it, I w-wish i-i-it’d be as s-simple as when Onix f-found that hot s-spring l-like b-back then…”

“Yeah, I’m sure you enjoyed that,” replied Ash. “Meanwhile, me, Pikachu and the others had to bunker down and used ourselves to plug an open hole in a snow cove. Freezing as the wind continued to blow with our only hope being to see the sun again.”

“Oh, d-don’t ba-bang on…about that. You su-survived.”

“Only because I’m young,” said Ash quietly, “some…some don’t.” Misty barely heard. Ash continued. “Youth is a great thing, Mist. Keeps you going. You should consider yourself lucky, especially since you have friends who’ll look out for you.”

“R-right…’f-friends’, like t-th sort who m-make fun o-of me…”

Ash turned around dramatically and stretched his arms out to the side. “Making fun of you? Merely in fun. With all due respect your name and obsession with water-types kinda is fun to tease you about.”

“Y-yeah!” yelled Misty in anger. “J-just l-l-like your own…! Every…everything y-you leave e-ends with ashes. Y-you r-run i-i-into danger l-like you seek t-trouble! Y-you could g-get charred, you know.”

“Oh, and like you would do that yourself. Running into danger, I mean. I get it, haha my name’s funny. Well guess what? I don’t care if you make fun of me for that. But what I do care about is helping people, and if I’ve got to go into the unknown for that, then so be it.”

“T-t-take this situation…f-for example. I-I brought it o-on…myself. Why h-help me?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do, Misty! Darn it, just…come on. We stopped walking and we have to keep moving.” With that, he set off and didn’t hear what Misty said next.

“But I-I still don’t get w-why you do it. It just d-doesn’t make s-sense. ‘Look out for yourself’, t-that’s what I say…”

They walked on for a while in silence. Then, as they had to traverse some boulders, Misty slipped on a wet spot. She screamed and Ash practically twisted himself to catch her and landed on the ground.

“Are…you…all right?”

“Yeah, th-thanks,” stammered Misty. Ash stood up carefully as he walked down, he had a slight limp to his movements. “Ash,” she called, “y-you’re injured.”

Ash paused and considered, before he shivered and pulled up his neck collar. “Yeah, I know, but I’ll walk it off. I have to get you back to Greenwood first.”

“But w-why? Why all the t-trouble for m-me? I c-c-could’ve go-gone, o-on my own.”

“No, you couldn’t have,” explained Ash, his tone devoid of any sarcasm, “not in that condition. I’m glad I came considering that happened.”

“Why though? Why do all of this…?” asked Misty as she stepped forward, shivering as she went.

“Why…” echoed Ash. His eyes went dull. He turned his head to the snow and seemed to be staring distantly at it. “Tell me something, Misty. Do you know what it’s like to freeze in your home, like this?”

“Well, I mean, when I-I get o-out of the pool…”

“No, not like that. I mean, the whole house freezes, frozen over.”

“Well, n-no…”

“No? Of course not. As you lived in the city, I suppose it’s quite common to see heat lamps around the place?”

“Well, y-yeah…I suppose s-so…”

“We don’t have such luxuries back home at Pallet Town. Only the wealthy can afford such stupid things.” Ash glared in her general direction, but not at her. “All we’d have are these power consuming heaters and the gas ones…winters next to sea are tough. It’s cold, the wind blows, and the town’s a mess, our crops freeze up and all we’d have were the fire-types Professor Oak housed at his Corral. Then, as we’re close to Johto, we faced the Hard Frost…”

“W-wait…” said Misty breathlessly. She couldn’t tell if it was Ash’s harsh tone, the cold, or both that was making her lightheaded. “You f-faced the Hard Frost?”

“Yes! And it was bloody miserable.” He quiet and turned towards the bottom of the hill. “It came without warning, dark clouds like the ones forming here came. Then the wind picked up and we got blanketed in snow. The electric lines were pulled down so we lost heat…”

“I th-thought you had g-gas.”

“Wasn’t of any help. The lines got frozen underneath the temperature drop before bursting from buildup. The whole town was frozen over, the snow was so thick no one could leave their homes…” Ash trailed off and balled his gloves hands into a fist tightly. “Want to know what made it worse…?” He continued before Misty could reply. “It was back when the maps of the region weren’t accurate. GPS wasn’t very good either, especially not in stormy weather. Gary had been out shopping in Celadon as it was the week before Christmas. He was on his way home when the storm came through. Viridian City wanted to send helicopters, but the weather was too bad, so they sent their snowplows with medical supplies to help.

“They got lost, though. Under all the snow each direction looked the same. Gary could have helped them, but the selfish brat didn’t! He stayed with those maids of his, cozy and warm in a hotel room in the city; while we froze with no warmth, the Pokémon were too cold to venture out, couldn’t do a thing and he just enjoyed himself. He could’ve helped guide them there, but he didn’t! He left us to suffer!” Ash felt rage building up and stamped the ground. He paused and his eyes welled up from the memories. “No light for hours that night, even during the day it was hard to see as there were just clouds. Any emergency batteries we had were worn out after a while.

“Worst of all were the losses. My Grandmother lived in the old family home on the other side of town. My Mother’s mom. I loved her – she took care of me if Mom was super busy with the family diner. But without power that week, she…she…” Ash was shaken, he couldn’t help it. Tears fell to the snow. “Without any warmth and nothing to cook, she p-p…passed away from hypothermia before the week was over. Frozen in her sleep…they said had the medical team gotten there sooner, let alone power, she would’ve been fine, but she didn’t make it. Damn that Gary!” roared Ash, as years of pain came out.

Misty was almost speechless. “What h-happened next?”

The boy steeled himself and stared distantly. “From the time the snow fell and we realized the trouble we were in, it took two weeks before the plows got to Pallet Town. Nearly twenty-five percent of everyone there were in critical medical condition. The freeze didn’t quite reach Viridian, but it was enough to cause problem,” replied Ash. Then he grunted scornfully. “The direct knowledge of how much trouble the citizens were over there, instead of my home where the lines were actually down, meant Viridian got priority help whilst we were on the side. Funny, no, considering Kanto’s Professor Oak is stationed there. But then I met people like your sisters – gym leaders at that, too – who have no idea about us…well, guess that shows how important one town isn’t.

“So, there you have it, Misty. The reason I know about the Hard Frost, and apparently the reason I care about helping others because you just don’t seem to understand heroics yourself.”

“Well, I’m s-sorry y-you experienced that, Ash,” replied Misty. “I-is that w-why you hate Gary s-so much?”

“No, of course not,” snapped Ash. “He’s always been a braggart and a pain. I hate him for that, but not for what happened with the frost. Even if he deserves it…”

“L-listen,” went on Misty, “I k-know you felt pain f-from that, but you s-sh…should take care of y-yourself too…”

“Well, guess what then, Misty?” said Ash as he turned to her. “It’s not that I want to be in danger, I love life and after what happened that winter, I don’t want to leave this world, not least for Mom but for all those I’ve met, Brock, Pikachu, Tracey, Professor Oak…everyone! But I really care about everyone, okay? I care about people and Pokémon who suffer unfairly, who find themselves in bad luck and no one reaches out a hand to help. So, if I have to put myself in danger to help someone in need, then so be it! Because I want to. I don’t want people or Pokémon to think that there’s no one out there who doesn’t give a damn when they need help.

“I’ll jump to the rescue, no matter how minuscule the issue; I’ll help! And even if after all that you now know about me, if you can’t understand that then…” Ash grew frustrated and flung his hands towards the sky. “Even then I wouldn’t care, I’d help you too because it’s right, and because…b-because…” he faltered. “I…never mind.”

Ash went back to hiking and Misty chased after him. But there was trouble. Misty ran too quickly and slipped and fell. Ash heard her scream and ran to her, caught her, and tumbled with her for a bit before regaining control and stopping. With his teeth gritting he pulled Misty up. “Come on, Misty, come on,” he said desperately. “You can make it…here.” He brought the flask out and gave Misty a sip of hot water. He followed this with giving her a whiff of a stick of cinnamon, hoping the spice would warm her further. “Come on…come on…”

With quivering legs Misty began to walk again with Ash acting as her crutch despite his own tiny limp. The next few minutes were painful as the two tried to tread the last two miles in the freezing cold. But Misty was tiring out, the pain of the freezing weather was proving too much. Only a mile was left to go when she collapsed again.

“Come on, Misty! Come on…!” begged Ash. He bit his lip nervously as he processed the situation. The weather too was getting worst, the wind was picking up and a few more flakes were falling. “Misty, please…”

Misty slowly tried to rise. Her exposed skin was turning blue and her breathes heavy. “I-I’m…quite the problem r-right now, a-aren’t, I…?” she said.

“Don’t say that,” whispered Ash. He gave her more hot water and watched grimly as Misty rose up once again. “Good, we’re almost there. Come along.” He took a step before he paused and turned back to Misty and approached her. “Listen, I know things are bleak. So…” he gave a sigh, “I want to say something in case you don’t make it, so that there are no regrets. I love you.”

Misty’s eyes widened and her breath stopped for a moment. “Ash…” But the boy who just confessed looked to the weather once more and grabbed her hand.

“No time, we’re almost there. Come on!” And he pulled her the rest of the way.

Ash looked at the highest public clock he could see that it was only just past of 2:30 PM. “Thank goodness,” said Ash quietly. They had made it.

Misty drank down the rest of the hot flask and was hurried by Ash into the same store they had visited just hours ago. There she suited herself more appropriately for the cold. She bought a yellow long sleeve shirt, dark jeans, pink gloves, boots, and thicker socks.

“Thank goodness you bought all these,” the clerk said. “Saw you and your friends earlier and couldn’t help thinking that you’re crazy for only getting a jacket considering the incoming weather.”

“Yeah, some good that did me,” muttered Misty as she handed her cash over. “Mind if I use the fitting rooms to get these on?”

OoOoO

Ash tapped his foot as he waited. It was just a bit past 3 o’ clock and he was eager to get going despite the bad weather. He had a cup of hot black tea that he was finishing when a voice called out.

“All finished!” Misty jogged up to him in her much warmer looking clothes.

“That’s better,” said Ash plainly as he looked her over. “Oh, here.” He held out a cup of hot tea. “Got it from the nearby café, I already finished mine and I put Brock’s into the empty flask. Now then, if we set off now, we’ll—”

“Wait,” interrupted Misty, “before you say any of that, I’ve got a question.” Ash blinked and began to feel nervous. “Before we got here, you – er – told me you’re in love with me. Is that true?” Misty’s face was now a shade of red after she said that.

“Yeah, i-it’s…true,” muttered Ash. “I wasn’t planning on saying it, but y’know, considering the circumstances we were under I only thought it was right.” He noticed her almost expectant look. “I don’t have a reason why I just…I just did. Falling, in love, I mean…”

Misty averted her eyes and fumbled with her scarf. “You know, Ash…” she said as she shifted on the spot. “I’m not exactly saying ‘no’ to your confession.”

“U-um, d-do we even have time for this?” said Ash as he looked the other way. “I-I mean, we can’t just leave Brock up there…”

“Wait! It won’t take more than a few minutes,” said Misty. She began to unravel her scarf a bit. “I just want to try something.”

“What are you…?” Ash trailed off as Misty wrapped the ends of her scarf around Ash’s neck and moved even closer. Ash fumbled a step back but was unable to commit to a full escape. “What is this for?” he asked, trying to be scornful, but it fell flat.

“Well, you said you love me. I thought I’d try something romantic.”

“Well stop it, this scarf thing is corny,” grumbled Ash as he averted his eyes, face burning.

“Indulge me. Please…?”

“F-fine. But only for a second.”

“I know, I just want to try something.”

Ash turned his head to her. “Wait, I thought this was already it- Wha…?” He noticed Misty closed her eyes and was taking a long sip of her tea. He raised an eyebrow, only to then choke on his breath when he saw her look at him, smirk and pucker her lips. “Hey, w-wait…”

“What?” she asked innocently as her hands cupped his cheeks. “I think that it’s only right a couple does this.”

“W-well, um…”

“You’re not saying ‘no’…”

“Th-that, um, i-is true…”

“Hey,” said Misty suddenly, “I know now how things have been tough for you…and certainly all this doesn’t help, the snow I mean. But…I hope now, with me by your side, that things start to get better.”

“Thanks, Mist…but I d-don’t know how you feel yet! Therefore, this isn’t right!”

Misty paused. “Okay then,” she said, her hands still in the same position, “I’ll say it outright: I love you too.” And before Ash could object, Misty Waterflower pushed her lips quickly against Ash’s. The warmth – was it the tea or natural body heat; Ash couldn’t tell – spread throughout his body, and he remained frozen on the spot.

“Okay,” said Ash very quietly as his face went redder, “that’s enough.”

“Sorry, couldn’t help it,” said Misty with a shy grin as she untangled her scarf from his neck. She proceeded to glug the rest of the tea town and the two began to head quickly for the mountain. As they went, Misty made a point to loop her arms through Ash’s left arm as they walked.

“Hey!” sneered Ash.

“Aw,” said Misty. “Still a bit frosty in that heart of yours?”

“Ha,” he said flatly, “very funny.” He went quiet before continuing. “Hey, are you going to be all right now?”

“Yes, yes, I’m going to be all right. I’ve got you, don’t I?”

“You know what I mean…”

“Well, yes! But…” She looked at Ash deeply. “…you’d still come to my rescue, right?”

Ash looked down into the snow. “Yeah…yes, I would. Every time.”

“Thank you,” she said softly. “I’ll do the same for you one day.” Ash just gave her a soft smile, there was no need for words. A gentle hug satisfied them.

The light was fading by the time the two got back to Brock. Ash looked at his watch, just half past four.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re back!” cried Brock with relief. It was to their relief that the fire was still going.

“It’s…good to be back, Brocko…” panted Ash from the final sprint up the snowy hill.

“It’s good to see you feeling better, Misty” went on Brock.

“Thanks!”

“Here, Brock,” said Ash, giving him the flask filled with tea. “Brought it up here for you…come on, let’s eat and get up before things really become bad.”

The trio swallowed their meal and hurried the rest of the way up. The storm was picking up by the time they were within a few yards of the front entrance, and they burst in with the snow biting at their heels. They were panting, out of breath, and physically exhausted.

Luckily, despite the howling blizzard outside, the inside of the inn was toasty. The trio went to bed that night comfy and grateful. When Brock was asleep, Ash and Misty shared a quick goodnight kiss with each other – they would give the news of their relationship later.

The next morning the storm passed, and all that remained were a few clouds in the sky. From the windows, Ash, Brock, and Misty could see Greenwood Town nearly up to its roofs with snow.

The three looked to the side to see the trail they had just maneuvered the night before, and that too, was buried in snow, with the inn’s windows barely frosted over, only just.

“Well,” murmured Ash somberly, “that the Hard Frost for you. It’s a good thing we made it when we did.”

Brock and Misty agreed, and all three had to be content.

#pokemon #pokeshipping #pokeani #zedpercyfan #Ash Ketchum #Misty #AAML #fanfic

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brookee-bee · 4 years ago

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Karasuno High as Aesthetics and Playlists

3rd Year, Wing Spiker, Captain : Daichi Sawamura # 1

Earth tones, Dark Academia, Leather bound notebooks, wicker furniture, beige and dark green t-shirts, dark colored sweaters and hoodies, fitted brown pants and leather belts, black details, a few dark leafy house plants, simple meals of rice, avocado, clean sneakers, gym bag in the back of his car, protein powder on the counter, coffee mugs and matcha tea, encouragement and validation one-on-one, probably posts gym thirst traps on his story

Harder Than You Think - Public Enemy

Winner’s Circle - Anderson.Paak

Fell in Love With a Girl - The White Stripes

No Church in the Wild - Jay Z

Chelsea Dagger - The Fratellis

3rd Year, Setter : Koshi Sugawara # 2

Sky tones, light blue and bright white clouds, organized stationary and notepads, laying in the sun on a hammock, underneath a seashell, a warm cup of tea, making video compilations of memories, thrift stores, would do the dishes/laundry for you if you’re feeling stressed

Shampoo Bottles - Peach Pit

Close to You- Day Glow

Loving You is a Mountain - Isaia Huron

Honey - Kehlani

At My Worst - Pink Sweat$

3rd Year, Ace : Asahi Azumane # 3

Beige and white, oat milk lattes, long flowing wheat grass, a hike through the mountains, weekend camping trips, ambitious baking, large bulky hands and calloused fingers, doodling through class, wants to be the little spoon sometimes, enjoys when you do face masks together at night

Fire Escape - Foster the People

The Bakery - Arctic Monkeys

Ain’t No Rest For the Wicked - Cage the Elephant

She Moves In Her Own Way - the Kooks

Ivy - Taylor Swift

2nd Year, Libero : Yu Nishinoya # 4

E-boy, short sleeve printed shirts and acid washed jeans, striped long sleeve shirts, hot orange flames, throws shit off bridges, likes to piss people off, loves spicy ramen, tattoos, embraces rejection, chipped painted finger nails, would record both of you doing internet challenges, his email notifications are in the thousands, sporadic texting

Evil Fantasy - Freddie Dredd

Wet Dreamz - J. Cole

Power Tools - Jack Harlow

REEL IT IN - Amine

Best Friend - Saweetie, Doja Cat

2nd Year, Wing Spiker : Ryunosuke Tanaka # 5

Skater, collection of worn beanies, silver chains and rings, tattoos scattered up the arm, overcast skies, dirty puddles in the city, thick well made army jacket, in class even though others are talking the teacher yells at him, accidentally punches the wall, sends horny memes from Twitter, really good listener, somebody you’d like to get drunk or high with

Beverly Hills - Weezer

Panic Station - Muse

Somebody Told Me - The Killers

Nice Guys Finish Last - Green Day

acting like that - Yungblud, Machine Gun Kelly

1st Year, Setter : Tobio Kageyama # 9

Alternative, midnight drives through a city, modern art museums, clean white collared shirts, black trench coats, quiet meditation in the morning, worn down combat boots, hates being pranked, tangled headphones, has a lot of pet peeves he complains about, likes to be away from technology to be in the moment, takes note of what song is playing so he can send it to you later

Yeah Right - Joji

Die Alone - FINNEAS

Show Me How - Men I Trust

Places We Won’t Walk - Bruno Major

Sharing Beds - The Japanese House

1st Year, Middle Blocker, Decoy : Shoyo Hinata

Soft Boy, loves wildflowers, picnic dates, walks through a nature reserve, collects seashells and rocks for his windowsill, tried to make bread but failed, sends you goodnight/morning texts everyday, bike riding dates, plays with your hair because why else is it there

Feel Special - TWICE

Daydreamer - MYLK

Only a Fool - Galantis

Kill vs Main - Grimes

Treat People with Kindness - Harry Styles

1st Year, Middle Blocker : Kei Tsukishima

Grunge, white collared shirts, simple healthy meals, messy notes with scribbled and poorly drawn diagrams, books with lots of tagged places he wants to remember, existentialism, organized bookshelves with smart decor, CD collection organized by genre, probably a Frank Ocean stan, listens to podcasts about space and quantum physics, is probably a huge star wars fan, planetarium and natural history museum dates, surprises you with overpriced coffee

Love It if We Made It - the 1975

Bonfire - Childish Gambino

Godspeed - Frank Ocean

Kelso - Matty Wood$

STFU! -Rina

1st Year, Pinch Server : Tadashi Yamaguchi

Light academia, cozy socks, big blankets, lots of plants and a cat around the house, stacks of books on the floor, experiments with makeup and fashion, on weekends will work on a DIY project, needs constant reassurance but hates attention, drinks tea with honey and cream, wants to spend time with you whenever but doesn’t want to be a bother

A Phone Call in Amsterdam - Valley

Moon Song - Phoebe Bridgers

Tired - bebadoobee

Brazil - Declan McKenna

Tonight (I Wish I was Your Boy) - The 1975

3rd Year, Manager : Kiyoko Shimuzi

Minimalism, oversized hoodies with tights, white sneakers, ripped light wash jeans, probably works at a retail store in the mall, likes to buy name brand clothing, big fan of the olympics, detail oriented, really good at budgeting, fan of stationary, fresh haircuts, would write you notes and surprise you with your favorite meal every now and then

Tomboy - Princess Nokia

Check- Queen Herby

Who’s Gonna Save U Now? - Rina Sawayama

Fuck Me in Shibuya - Ashnikko

Baby Girl - Chloe x Halle

1st Year, Manager : Hitoka Yachi

Pastel, pink clouds, runs a secret stan account, wears lots of trendy and stylish clothing, doodles on napkins, dewy makeup, lots of pink blush, fake lashes, cat eyed liner, makes her lunch aesthetically pleasing, cool edits for her pictures, sends the best memes in the group chat, if it reminds her of you she’ll buy it and surprise you the next day, loves to be matching with you, makes you learn kpop dances with her, has a fuzzy keychain

NASA - Ariana Grande

Ice Cream Cake - Red Velvet

Do Me - Kim Petras

The Boys - Girl’s Generation

FANCY- TWICE

Coach Ukai

Does not know what it means to have an aesthetic, messy hair, cigarettes, canned coffee, white t shirts, baggy sweatpants, cheap meals, likes newspapers but won’t pay for it, probably borrows cash from you a lot but never pays you back, constantly watching sports clips on twitter, likes old cars and guitars, probably used to draw dicks in bathroom stalls, hates the government, has lots of stories from his twenties, makes a great breakfast when he has the time, wants you to get a matching tattoo with him,

Habit - Still Woozy

Cool With You - Her’s

Lover’s Rock - TV Girl

Outta My Mind - Monsune

You’re Gonna Live Forever In Me - John Mayer

Coach Takeda

Minimalism, sweaters over collared shirts, clean sneakers, morning meditation and workouts, fresh laundry, loves warm sheets after a wash, bonsai tree, great at making drinks, goes out of his way to make sure you’re heard and respected, knows how to knit and sew, believes in karma, annoyed if you are one your phone when with them

Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl) - Looking Glass

Come and Get Your Love- Redbone

She’s So High- Tal Bachman

Wonderwall- Oasis

Vienna- Billy Joel

@brookemasterson on spotify if you’d like the playlist ♡

#haikyuu #karasuno high #karasuno #daichi sawamura #haikyuu canons #haikyuu aesthetic #hinata #kageyama #tsukishima #yamaguchi #coach ukai #coach ukai gives me nick miller vibes #kiyoko's playlist is my favorite

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vannahfanfics · 4 years ago

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Unexpected Guest

Category: Mild Romantic Fluff

Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Characters: Chrome Dokuro, Ken Joshima

Ken’s eyes were lidded as he gazed disinterestedly out of the cracked window in the Kokuyo Land administrative building. He’d flipped a wooden chair around to sit on, leaning against the wicker back to stare out into the abandoned amusement park. Though it was only the beginning of December, the snow fell heavily, smothering the collapsed attractions and dilapidated building in a thick blanket of white. The winter chill seeped in through the small crevice to spread a numbing cold over his nose. He wrinkled it to stave off the deadening sensation creeping into his face, then groaned and pressed his cheek into his forearm. He bounced his legs incessantly, but the repetitive motions failed to channel the nervous energy sparking inside him like a roaring fire.

“Boooooored-byon!” he whined loudly. His voice bounced in the empty room to echo hollowly in his ears. He half expected Chikusa to come scold him for his troublesome loudness, but the bespectacled boy failed to take Ken’s bait. Ken whined and licked at his fanged teeth, watching the snow continue to fall outside. He traced the fluttering paths of the snowflakes with dull brown-orange eyes.

Ken managed to occupy himself with that for about ten seconds until the agonizing boredom crept back in. Yowling angrily, he jumped up from the wooden chair and kicked it. The chair rattled a few inches to the left before becoming unbalanced and crashing onto its side. Ken grimaced as portions of the old, worn wicker fragmented onto the concrete floor. Old piece of garbage, he thought and shoved his hands into the pockets of his deep green uniform pants.

A certain pineapple-haired girl suddenly sprung into his mind.

“I wonder what Chrome’s doing,” he pondered aloud, rubbing his chin. Though she’d transferred to Namimori Middle School and spent a significant amount of time with the two girls who hung around the Vongola Family, Chrome still lived in the abandoned amusement part with Mukuro and the rest of his subordinates.

Her unconditional support for their boss was endearing but bordering on annoying, at least to Ken. She follows him around like a lost puppy-byon, he thought with a small growl. Sometimes it felt like she wanted nothing to do with Ken and Chikusa… Humph. Not that I care-byon! I don’t need her, just Mukuro-sama and Kakipi! he thought haughtily. Ken told himself that, but it never erased the dull ache that bloomed inside him whenever he thought about the timid girl.

With another wolfish growl, he kicked the overturned chair again.

Ken whirled on his heel and stomped out of the room. He certainly wasn’t going to find anything entertaining in there. Slouching with irritation, he trotted down to the lower level to see if he could find anyone to satiate his boredom for a little while.

He happened upon Chikusa after about five minutes of wandering the complex, stretched out on a ripped sofa while lazily flinging his yo-yo around. A wide window stretched across the wall’s expanse, showing the snow-laden area surrounding the administrative building. “Kakipi!” Ken called as he trotted in. Chikusa leisurely rolled his head to blink lazily at Ken.

“Oh. Hey,” Chikusa responded calmly. He continued to slowly swing his yo-yo in circles as he regarded the blond boy. Ken realized immediately that Chikusa would be useless in satiating his boredom, so he looked around interestedly.

“Where is she-byon?” Chikusa knew exactly who Ken was referring to. The boy exhaled as he pulled himself into a sitting position, finally stowing his yo-yo and looking at Ken with a slightly raised eyebrow.

“She went to Vongola’s. She said that the girls- Haru and Kyoko- were throwing her a birthday party.” Ken blinked blankly at Chikusa. A birthday party? “Chrome’s birthday is today.” Chikusa continued to throw the reeling Ken over the precipice of realization. When he finally fell over the edge, Ken’s cheeks brightened with embarrassment, and he flailed his arms a little.

“B-birthday-byon? She never told me!” Ken complained angrily. Chikusa shrugged indifferently and rose to his feet.

“I’m pretty sure you were present when she mentioned it in conversation, but it’s also likely that you weren’t listening.”

Ken scowled and pointed vexedly at Chikusa.

“That’s mean-byon!” He refrained from agreeing that it was also probably true. With a huff, Ken slammed his hands back down into his pockets. That silly girl… Ken wasn’t frustrated that she wandered off to hang out with the Vongola family; she did it frequently. For some reason, he was frustrated with himself for forgetting her birthday. Why should I care-byon? Loathe as he was to admit it, care he did. Snorting, he whirled on his heel. “I’m going out!” he announced to Chikusa before promptly making his exit.

When he pushed the glass doors of the administrative building open, the wind jumped forth, blasting snow flurries into the lobby. The skin of Ken’s face prickled as little barbs of ice slammed into his flesh, so he hurriedly turned up the collar of his army-green uniform to shield at least the bottom half of his face from the gale. Absently, he hoped Chrome had decided to wear leggings. She always pranced around in that skirt, after all; if she stepped out like that in such inclement weather, her legs would be icicles before she even left the complex. Who gives a damn? Let her freeze if she’s gonna be that stupid-byon! He thought gruffly to try and distract himself from the little beast of worry gnawing on his insides.

Ken trotted through the well-worn and disheveled concrete pathways meandering through the forgotten amusement park. The snow crunched loudly under the repeated plops of his boots into the calf-high snowdrifts, complimenting the wailing wind and rattling bare tree branches in a strange, ghostly harmony. He cursed as the hems of his pants legs grew sodden with ice-cold water and clung to his ankles and lower calves, siphoning his body heat away with frightening efficiency. “Soon it’ll be my legs that’re icicles,” he grumped to himself.

As he came to the base of the inclined path and onto the road proper, which was thankfully plowed, he shook his legs vigorously to dislodge the clumps of snow and water droplets as much as he could. With a small sigh, he looked off into the distance, bitterly observing the cloud-choked, bleary gray sky and the snow piled on the horizon. Was he really about to hike to Namimori for that spacey, dopey girl?

Of course he was. Eyes lidded as he resolved himself to follow his incessantly nagging shred of human decency, he began tramping down the fringe of the road.

“Fuck, it’s cold,” Ken cursed through chattering teeth as he kicked the gate to Tsunayoshi Sawada’s front yard open. As the black metal clanged harshly against the concrete wall outlining the quaint little home, clumps of snow slipped off the gate to plop into the drifts below. Ken was grateful that the stone pathway leading to the small porch had been cleaned because his socks and shoes were so soggy that he’d scream if they absorbed any more water.

Hands buried as deep into his pockets as they could go and collar snug against his face, he stiffly stomped up to the front door and rang the doorbell by hiking up his leg and planting his shoe against it. A chorus of surprised voices echoed in the small two-story homes as the pleasant chime rang through the rooms.

“Oh? Chrome, dear, were you expecting any more guests?” came an older woman’s voice that Ken assumed belonged to the young Vongola Tenth’s mother. Ken hunched a little further into his damp jacket when the woman opened the door, revealing a pleasant smile and a friendly face framed by orangey-brown hair. “Hello there! You must be one of the boys I’ve heard so much about. Ooooh, let me guess-” she interrupted before he could introduce himself, placing the pad of her index finger on his lips as she studied him with bright eyes. He jumped a little when she clapped her hands together. “Are you Ken?”

A faint blush deepened the already pink, wind-raw skin of his cheeks. He just nodded in affirmation, making the young mother trill and do a little dance of joy. “Ahaha, I guessed right! <3” By this time, Chrome had meandered out of whatever room she was hanging out with the Vongolas to peer curiously around the woman’s form at the snow-sodden blond.

“Ken? What are you doing here?” she questioned innocently. Anger brought a blush to his cheeks this time, and as he stamped his foot hotly against the porch, a few blobs of wet snow shifted off the awning to join the white layer coating the yard.

“Why do ya think I’m here-byon?” he mocked arrogantly. Chrome’s big purple eye blinked slowly and uncomprehendingly. Tsunayoshi’s mother hummed puzzledly as she looked back and forth between the clueless Chrome and the irritated blond dripping water on her porch. Finally, she laughed good-naturedly and grabbed Ken by the shoulders to all but yank him over the threshold of the door.

“Now, now, no need to stand outside! Oh, look at you; you’re covered head-to-toe in snow! How far did you walk to end up like this?” she tutted as she bundled him inside, unzipping and removing his windbreaker jacket before he could even comprehend what was happening. The rest of the Vongolas, attracted by the commotion, came traipsing out of the kitchen to behold the shivering, cold, blushing Ken with mixtures of surprise, amusement, and indifference (in Kyoya Hibari’s case).

The strange turn of events fried Ken’s brain, so all he could focus on is why the hell Kyoya was even there because he was an insufferable asshole with a stick constantly up his ass and didn’t seem the type to attend parties. Meanwhile, Tsunayoshi’s mother wandered off with his windbreaker in tow, humming a pleasant tune.

“Nn,” Kyoya tutted and shoved a piece of hamburger steak in his mouth. “It’s one of the Kokuyo brats. Did you come so I could bite you to death?” he asked in that aggravating flat tone of his and drew his tonfa out of his uniform jacket. Why the hell does he have that-byon?!

“Now, now, don’t act like that, Hibari!” Takeshi laughed pleasantly. “He’s Chrome’s friend; I’m sure he came to wish her happy birthday.”

“Yeah? Why didn’t he just do it before she left?” Hayato grumped, slouching with his hands in his cargo pants pockets as he regarded Ken distrustfully. Ken’s face took on a bright pink hue from forehead to chin, and he swallowed the shameful admission that he’d not had any clue it was Chrome’s birthday at all. Thankfully, the girl refrained from outing him, continuing to stare inquisitively.

“Humph. Why the interrogation-byon?” he snapped, turning up his nose disdainfully at the collection of young mafioso. “I just happened to be nearby! Do you really think I’d march all the way here for some lame birthday party?” The group collectively looked at the darkened fabric of his uniform pants, making him bristle. “Oi! The snow’s just deep! Stop staring-byon!”

“Ken-kuuuuun~” Ken stiffened as the older woman’s voice floated down the stairs, ears reddening further as she so casually trilled his first name. “Here! I brought some of Tsuna’s clothes for you,” she announced brightly as she hopped down the steps carrying a few light garments.

“Mom! Why?” Tsunayoshi protested loudly. She just tutted scoldingly and flashed him a disapproving look as she dropped the clothes into Ken’s arms.

“Now, Tsuna! He is a guest just as much as anyone else. He trekked all the way here in the snow to come see Chrome! Why, it’s almost romantic~” she sighed and pressed her hand to her cheek with a girlish giggle. Ken choked on his breath and squeezed the garments to his chest, face turning an ugly purple-red color. Romantic-byon?! What’s with this lady? There’s nothing romantic about it! Nothing! I just-! I just wanted-!

Ken’s gaze slid to Chrome, watching her purple eye sparkle, and her cheeks flush with a carnation-pink hue. Huffing, he buried his face into the white shirt the woman had loaned him, sensitive nose flooding with the aroma of floral laundry detergent. “Ahaha! Anyway, Ken, dear, you should go upstairs and take a bath, hmm?” Tsunayoshi’s mother hummed as she pushed his upper back to propel him towards the stairs. “Tsuna, be a dear and show him where it is.”

“What? Now he’s using our bath, too?!” the small-statured boy complained. Ken peered sourly at him, orange-brown eyes flashing just above the cloth of the shorts smooshed against his face, and Tsunayoshi squealed. “Okay, okay, okay! Fine, follow me,” he sighed in defeat and began tromping up the steps. Ken followed stiffly after him, ignoring Hayato’s comment that he should bathe because he smelled like a wet dog. Ken smiled slightly when the loud girl, Haru, slapped him upside the side of the head and called him rude.

“Here we are,” Tsunayoshi said unenthusiastically as he stopped in front of the door to the bathroom. Ken continued to sulk at the unintended turn of events as he stared blankly at the door, waiting for the spiky-haired boy to retreat before entering. Tsunayoshi went to return down the stairs, then paused and looked up at Ken uncomfortably. “I, um… I know we aren’t exactly friends or anything, but…” he trailed off with a blush, twiddling his thumbs together as he fumbled over his words. “B-but I know aren’t a bad guy or anything, so you’re free to, you know, hang out as much as you want.”

Tsunayoshi released a small “eep!” as Ken’s orange-brown eyes critically examined him for any distrust. I don’t think he’s even capable of tricking someone, Ken then thought with a small snort.

Tsunayoshi hurriedly scampered to the stairs, so Ken huffed and opened the bathroom door. He paused when Tsunayoshi came bounding up the steps again to breathlessly add, “B-by the way, Chrome is really happy you came to wish her a happy birthday!” Ken’s face flushed red, and he gawked at Tsunayoshi with wide eyes before looking down at his snow-soaked shoes.

“Get lost-byon. I wanna shower.” Tsunayoshi blinked at him, but then smiled pleasantly. Ken’s blush darkened as the boy chimed something about seeing him downstairs before hurrying down to the first floor.

Ken purposely avoided looking at his reflection as he shambled into the bathroom and set the clothes on the counter. He shrugged out of his shirt, grimacing at the way the cold fabric clung to his skin, and threw it into the corner. It landed against the tile with a wet slap. Before he shimmied out of his cargo pants, he carefully retrieved a small wrapped package from one of the deep pockets. He set it on the counter beside his change of clothes.

He’d hate for her present to get crushed, after all.

“Jeez, you guys are impatient-byon,” Ken whined loudly as someone knocked timidly on the door. He jumped up to tug the waistband of the pants around his hips before yanking up the zipper and clasping the button. Tsunayoshi was slightly shorter than him, so the pants’ hem rose above his ankles, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. It wasn’t until Ken had sunk into the steaming warm bath water that he’d realized just how cold he was, and he had no care to slip back into his ice-cold clothes.

Ken refrained from putting on a shirt to unlock the door instead. Tendrils of steam tickled his bare chest and droplets of water vapor exploded over his slightly heat-flushed skin as he did so. “What?” he asked bluntly as he swung the door open.

He blushed as red as a tomato as Chrome unabashedly looked him up and down. Her big purple eye blinked once before she looked up at his bright red face.

“A blizzard,” she said simply. It took a few seconds for Ken to articulate the word, simple as it was.

“A blizzard?” he echoed dumbly. Chrome nodded lightly and pointed a slim, dainty finger at the hallway window for good measure. Ken’s wide, orange-gold eyes followed the invisible line to the frosted glass pane. He then gasped and barreled past Chrome to adhere himself to the cold surface, too shocked to register the chill seeping into his exposed skin. “What the hell-byon?!”

The wind shrieked voraciously beyond the thin clear panel. Snow flurries billowed in wild swirls through the neighborhood, darkened by the thick layer of stormy gray clouds choking the sky and blotting out the light. The snow piled up in giant plumes, burying cars and lawn ornaments deep beneath its thick white sheets and spilling over the fences to encroach upon the doorsteps.

Ken felt his stomach plummet to his feet. There was no way that Tsunayoshi’s mother would let him leave the house with such inclement weather. To be quite honest, Ken absolutely did not want to trek back to the abandoned amusement park in the raging blizzard anyway.

Ken peeled himself away from the window with a frustrated sigh while running his hand through his dampened blond hair. Great, he thought bitterly. When he turned around, he believed that Chrome would have descended back to the party; instead, she remained in the hallway, staring at him. Ken jumped.

“Damn it-byon! Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“I’ve been here the whole time.”

Ken growled under his breath and scratched at the back of his neck. His gaze slid to the bathroom, and then beyond to his wet pants still draped over the bathroom counter dripping icy water onto the floor- and then to the small white wrapped in simple blue yarn. A flush blazed across his cheeks. Chrome finally seemed to think that Ken did not want to hold a conversation; out of the corners of his eyes, he saw her twirl on her toes to head for the stairs.

“W-wait!” he called before he could stop himself. Chrome turned around with her head cocked inquisitively. She regarded him with that big owlish eye that he thought so unnerving but so damn cute too. Grumbling and alternating his arm positions to try and nonchalantly cover parts of his chest when he realized he was still shirtless, he gestured lamely at the little box she’d failed to notice. “P-present,” he offered sheepishly.

Chrome continued to turn on the cloth pads of her socks until her gaze settled on the unassuming little package situated on the counter. With a small gasp of wonder, she padded into the small space to gingerly retrieve it. She tossed him a slight glance, almost as if asking permission to open it. “J-just don’t look at it, dumbass! Open it up-byon!”

Perhaps it was the wisps of hot steam still curling throughout the room, but Ken noticed her cheeks turn slightly pink as she looked back to the small gift box and slowly pulled the string.

Ken held his breath as she opened it with so much care that it was painful. Damn, did she want to kill him with anticipation? Why the hell did he care, anyway? His fingers twiddled anxiously by his thighs as he watched her flip the lid off. He couldn’t help but smirk satisfactorily as a delighted little gasp slipped past her lips.

“Malt chocolate candy…” Chrome whispered. Once more, she turned that intense yet innocent gaze upon him, and a strange, warm sensation bubbled up inside of him. Happiness sparkled inside those amethyst depths. It spread the warmth from the tips of his toes up to the crown of his head.

“It’s your favorite. I remembered-byon,” Ken shrugged dispassionately, trying to belie the giddy lilt attempting to seep into his voice. “... Happy birthday,” he added after a few moments of silence. Heat began to creep into his face, and he rubbed compulsively at the wispy hairs hugging the back of his neck. Chrome hugged the package of chocolate to her chest and flashed him a rare, elated smile.

“Thank you, Ken.”

Normally, Ken would snap something snarky and shut her down, push her away before she could come too close. But not this time. Basking in the honey-glow of that serene smile pervaded down to his soul, Ken allowed her in, enabled her to see just a glimmer of the feelings he tried so desperately to suppress.

“You’re welcome, Chrome.”

The softness in his voice surprised them both. Their eyes simultaneously blew wide, and their gazes snapped away at the same time. Chrome covered his mouth as his entire face burned pink. Why did I say it like that-byon? I can’t believe myself; dumbass…! As Ken reeled in his stupidity, he paid no attention to Chrome. That is until he was forced to- when she scampered up to him with the open package of malt chocolate candy.

“Here. Have some.”

Ken jerked at her soft voice suddenly sounding at his shoulder. He glanced wildly from her face down to the candy, struggling to process the turn of events.

“That’s yours,” Ken finally sputtered. Chrome’s purple eyebrows twitched, the only flicker of emotion on her once-again blank slate of a face.

“I want to share it. It’s my present; I can decide what I want to do with it, and I have decided to share.” Her infallible logic obliterated any chance Ken had of refusing. Frowning, he dropped his hand from his still-burning face to break a piece of the chocolate away and pop it into his mouth. It was okay; Ken didn’t know why the girl adored the stuff so much.

But, when she slipped her piece of chocolate past her lips, and her face immediately softened into bliss, Ken felt the hot rush of pride flush through his system. He put that expression on her face.

“See?” Ken blinked when she interrupted his silent gloating. “Isn’t it good?”

“Yeah.” Not really a lie, but not really a truth; Ken just wanted to keep that smile on her face. Chrome giggled, and the sound almost made Ken faint.

Ken never could understand how Rokudo could rope such an angelic, pure girl into his devious little network of pawns. Chrome was so pure that it almost burned Ken’s eyes to ash every time he looked at her. Angelic, sweet, innocent… Everything Ken definitely did not deserve.

As he was reminded of that fact, the bitterness seeped into his features, poisoning whatever happy expression that had appeared on his face.

“I have to put finish getting dressed,” he grunted as a lame way to excuse himself from the discussion. Chrome blinked curiously at him as he shouldered past her to walk back to the bathroom. He was fully intent on closing the door behind him, but limber Chrome had planted herself in the threshold sooner than he could even grab the wooden door. He scowled but decided it was not worth arguing. He instead grabbed the graphic tee patterned with some dorky anime character and slipped it over his head.

“Ken?”

“What?” he sighed, popping his head through the hole in the shirt to glare exasperatedly at her. Chrome’s dark lashes fluttered before she continued.

“Thank you for coming all the way here.”

Ken thought she would leave it at that, and so opened his mouth to gripe some abrasive response. Whatever he had intended to say died an ember in his throat when she leaned forward to place a feather-light kiss on his cheek. The flesh instantly flooded with blood, spreading fire through the tissue and making his nerves spark into overdrive. He gawked stupidly at her as she retreated with a coquettish smile.

“I do hope you’ll come join us downstairs. Maman made dinner. She’s an excellent cook.” Without waiting for an answer, she whirled on her feet and descended rapidly down the stairs. He could hear her munching on the chocolate as she plonked down the steps. She paused halfway down and looked up at him blankly. “You should come with me more often. Maman’s favorite guests are the unexpected ones.” He watched her go with a mixture of feelings swirling around inside of him, robotically slipping his arms through the sleeves of the tee-shirt.

A smile spread wide across his face. His heart fluttered in his chest like a baby bird fumbling into its first flight. As he walked out of the bathroom, he glanced back at the window and the blizzard raging beyond.

“Unexpected guests,” he scoffed with a dopey smile. “Yeah, okay…”

Ken followed after Chrome, tromping down the steps two at a time. Who was he, an acknowledged guest, to say no to a free dinner? Besides… He wanted to make sure those yahoos of the Vongola family didn’t ruin Chrome’s special day, too.

After all, he’d come here to make sure it was the best one possible… Regardless of whether he was ready to admit that to Chrome yet or not.

The blizzard yowled faintly at him as he passed the front door, but Ken didn’t mind it. The storm whirling inside him had dimmed considerably, and the winds all but died as Chrome smiled prettily at him from her seat at the kitchen table. He stopped just out of sight for one brief second to savor the expression that was just for him.

Unexpected guest, huh? Sure beats hanging out at that old dump all the time. Next time, at least I won’t have to hike the whole way alone.

Smiling, Ken strolled into the room and was instantly greeted with many loud voices and Chrome’s sweet, quiet one.

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

#ken x chrome #chrome x ken #ken joshima #joshima ken #chrome dokuro #dokuro chrome #katekyo hitman reborn #katekyo hitman reborn!

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benaffleckofcrowdsurfing · 4 years ago

Text

Lazerquest - part 4

Alex Turner x Reader

Chapter 4/?

Description: you are an impulsive bartender who recently moved to London after traveling across the United States and living on the road for a few years. You befriend Alex, a musician who recently got out of a long term relationship, and you show him the ways of your free-spirited lifestyle in an attempt to help him move on from his ex. However, you become more of a muse than a friend for Alex and all is revealed when he releases his band’s fourth studio album, “Suck it and See”.

Word count: 2.5k

Warnings: none

Tag list (msg me if you would like to be added):

@lolurnotmileskane @imagine-that-100

Updates whenever the heck I please (at least once a week)

Author’s note: hi friends. This is a sucky chapter because im brain dead from work, but i promise things will pick up soon. Ive got big plans for this bad boy, i just need to figure out how to get there.

**************

“Here she is,” Alex burst, and stopped in front of a beautiful vintage Porsche. Your jaw dropped as he leaned up against the car. It was a beautiful deep green color with tan leather interior, and although it was obviously an old car, it was in pristine condition.

“Oh my god, Alex, this is yours? Is this a 1969 convertible 911?” You inquired, but you knew the answer. You were a bit of a car geek, and Porsches were some of your favorites. You ran your fingers lightly across the hood in awe, you couldn’t believe you were actually touching such a classic car. Alex had a proud grin on his face.

“Yes ma’am. One of my larger purchases after Favourite Worst Nightmare went platinum. She’s my baby,” Alex beamed, and opened the passenger door for you. “Your chariot awaits, Milady.”

“Why, thank you Sir,” you imitated Alex’s accent, before stepping into the car. He shut the door behind you and went over to the drivers side.

“I got a brand new sound system put in, it has an auxiliary cord and everything. You can go ahead and hook your phone up to it if you’d like, it’s your adventure so you can pick the music,” Alex said, and handed you a cord. He then turned on the car and shot you a huge grin. You pulled out your brand new IPhone 4 - a going away gift from your best friend back home - and scrolled through Itunes. You settled on another album that reminded you of home: Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Californiacation. As the opening track, Around the World, began playing through the car’s speakers, Alex drove off and out of his apartment complex’s garage.

“So, where to?” Alex had to yell over the music.

“You know the vintage shop by the place I work?”

“Yeah, the one with all the leather and costumes and shit right?”

“That’s the one!” You chortled. Alex and you exchanged knowing glances before he stepped on the gas and you turned up the music.

The two of you were speeding through the city, and you thought you looked quite good. Your hair was flowing in the spring breeze, and your leopard fur coat matched the interior of the car perfectly. Alex looked cool as all hell in his oversized aviator sunglasses, and his toned arms resting on the steering wheel of the car made your insides weak. When you’d stop at a traffic light, the people in cars around you would stare and smile at you, and to be honest you liked the attention. You liked being the mysterious girl in a Porsche with Alex Turner. As the 911 pulled up to the vintage shop, you clapped your hands in excitement.

“I hope you brought your wallet, Turner. We’ve got shopping to do,” you winked at Alex as he opened your door and put a hand out for you to hold onto as you exited the car. What a gentleman.

When you entered the shop, you grabbed Alex’s hand and dragged him towards the huge section of racks containing leather jackets.

“Alright, Al. Remember when I said I knew how to make your outfit perfect? Well here we are. You need a good vintage jacket to match that vintage shirt and vintage car of yours,” you smirked. Alex gave you a massive grin before practically diving into the massive collection of jackets.

“You go look around, Y/N, and I’ll show you the one I choose once I’ve found it. Like some sort of big reveal,” Alex instructed. You ruffled his hair and squeezed his arm before skipping away.

You found yourself in the dress section, like usual, and began digging. Most of them were rather cheesy numbers from the 80’s, but just as you were about to give up and move on, you found a stunning 60’s Mod style dress. It looked like a checkerboard, it was 4 huge grids alternating between black and white. It was a rather stretchy material and was a bit short, which you thought was unusual for the time period, but you knew that it’d just make the dress far more flattering. A huge grin appeared on your face, and you darted to the dressing rooms to try it on.

Just as you had slipped the dress on, you heard Alex calling your name. You were so eager to see the jacket he had picked out that you didn’t bother to look to see how the dress looked, you opened the curtain to go find Alex. You were surprised to see him waiting for you right outside of your dressing room. Both of your jaws dropped at the sight of each other. Alex looked amazing in his jacket, he had picked a rather worn one in a biker style that looked to be around the 1950’s era.

“You look like a greaser, Al. Like a modern Danny Zuko or something. It’s fantastic,” you gushed. Alex hadn’t said anything yet, he just looked at you with wide eyes and a little smirk.

“And you look like a modern Twiggy. Absolutely brilliant,” he breathed, before taking a step towards you. He traced the outline of the dress with his large hands, before reaching for the price tag. He was so close you could smell him, this time the sandalwood and cigarette was accompanied by the smell of worn leather. “I’m buying this for you.”

“Oh no you aren’t, you can buy your own jacket and I’ll buy my own dress. Oh and those SHOES!” you gasped and practically ran to the wall of shoes. You pulled down a pair of chunky soled white go-go boots and squealed when you discovered they were in your size. You put them on right there in the middle of the shop and gave Alex a huge smile. “Thoughts?”

“I don’t think you want to know what I’m thinkin, Love.” Alex’s eyes were glued to you, the corners of his lips curled up into a devious smile.

You rolled your eyes and gave him a little nudge. “Stop playing, Alex. I’ve got to go take this beauty off, then I want to go look at costume jewelry. Then our day can really start.”

“Brilliant.”

“Be back in a jiffy.”

When you had come out of the dressing room, you found Alex at the front of the shop looking at jewelry. The man behind the counter was showing him a gorgeous yellow diamond choker with a black diamond in the center.

“It’s a 30’s era piece, one of my personal favorites. I think it’d look absolutely lovely on your bird, there,” the man said and nodded towards you and then back at Alex.

“I think so too, Sir. I’ll take it,” Alex beamed. You blushed when he looked down at you and bit his bottom lip. “And don’t let her pay for those shoes and that dress either, I’ll take care of it.”

You frowned. “Alex, seriously. I can buy my own things.”

“I don’t care, I want to buy them for you.”

“You don’t need to do that for me.”

“Y/N.”

“Alex.”

“Y/N/N.”

“Al. I’m being so serious.”

“Do I need to show you my bank statements? Trust me, it’s nothing. Think of it as a little thank you for staying up with me last night.”

“Alexander….”

“Y/N…..”

“Cut it out and move so I can pay for my shit.”

“Nope. I’m buying them for you.”

“You’re impossible, Al.”

“You love me, Y/N/N.”

**********

Once Alex and you had returned to the car, he took the necklace out of the bag and instructed you to turn around. He wrapped it around your neck and gently moved your hair out of his way so he could fasten it. Once it was on, he turned you back around, and fixed your hair. He was still wearing his new jacket, and you took the moment to admire how good he looked. Neither of you spoke, he just stood there with his hand on your shoulders, smiling down at you. You could feel your cheeks turning pink as the two of you locked gazes. After what felt like an eternity of blissful silence, he chuckled and shook his head.

“You’re an interesting one, you.” He muttered as he opened the door of his car for you. “So, where to next?”

“Not sure. Just travel East till you reach the water. I want to go for a swim,” You hummed.

Alex looked at you, rather amused, before starting the car. “I know just the place.”

************

By afternoon time, both you and Alex had shed your coats and were driving down a windy, narrow, road, soaking in the sunshine. You had taken off your shoes and your seat belt so you could lounge your legs up on the dash and look up at the sky above you. Alex had put on Room on Fire by The Strokes, and the two of you sang along as you sped towards the beach. He had one arm draped over the steering wheel, the other alternating between playing chords on the air guitar and messing with your hair.

When the two of you made it to the beach, it was nearly sundown. Alex had taken you to a small village perched on a cliff above a large and sandy seashore, and the two of you parked on a small bluff before hiking down towards the water.

“You know, you said you wanted to swim, but neither of us have swimwear,” Alex called after as you ran down the bluff and onto the beach. You didn’t answer him, though, you just turned to face him and took off your top. Alex was extremely taken-back by what you had just done at first, but when you continued to slip off your shorts and skip down the beach, he caught on and took off his own shirt and jeans. You were quite a bit closer to the water than him when he had done so, but just before you were about to stick your toes in the cold water, a pair of muscular arms wrapped around your waist and lifted you off the ground.

You let out a little shriek as Alex threw you over his shoulders. He adjusted his arm around your thigh, and began walking deeper into the water.

While helpless in the arms of the musician, you couldn’t help but notice his boxers. “Nice dino undies, Al. Very badass of you.” You gave him a playful slap on the bum and he slightly tightened his grip on your legs.

“Well I’m sorry that I didn’t expect to be getting naked in public today, Y/N. Not all of us can wear an Agent Provacateur set on some random Tuesday.”

You knew Alex was referring to the undergarments you had chosen this morning, and you laughed. Sure, it was a black and lacy number and looked a bit fancy, but it definitely wasn’t Agent Provacateur. “For your information, Al, I got this at Target. And watch your mouth, Buddy, I’m not some slut that just expects to end the night in her bra and undies. I just like to feel put-together.”

“Oh, trust me Y/N, I’m not complaining,” Alex smirked. He was now waist deep in the waves, and still had you on his shoulders. He shifted you down so he was carrying you bridal style, and grinned at you before biting his lip. “Now are you ready to get wet?”

You smirked to yourself a bit. If you had held my thighs like that any longer, Turner, you wouldn’t have had to put me in the water for that to happen.

“Ready as I’ll ever be, Alex,” you laughed. When he told you to hold your breath you did, and at that he tossed you into the water. The cold of the ocean bit you the moment you hit the wave’s surface, and you gasped in shock.

“Jesus it’s cold,” you shrilled. Alex laughed hysterically as you tried to climb on him and out of the water, still shaking due to its temperature. He pushed you off of him, and when an exceptionally large wave came your way he completely submersed himself under it.

“Bloody hell, you’re right. Fucking freezing.” He yelled as his head popped out from the white caps surrounding the two of you. “Why’d you want to do this, Y/N?”

“Well, you’re having fun, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am!”

“Well then there you go, my plan worked out perfectly,” you beamed. The late afternoon sun gave Alex a golden tint, and with the combination of his wet curls and the waves surrounding him, you thought he looked something like a Greek god. The thought made you let out a breathy laugh, which caused Alex to scrunch his nose at you.

“Making fun of my Dinosaur boxers again, Y/N?”

You faked a gasp and put a hand over your chest dramatically. “I would never!”

“Then why are you staring, Love?”

Shit.

“Just trying to figure out how I can get you back under the water,” you sniggered. Alex began swimming away from you, so you chased after him and when you were close enough you put your arms around his neck. “Gotcha!”

“Oh, do you know?” Alex chuckled, and hooked his hands under your armpits. He lifted you all the way up and out of the water, causing you to giggle like a schoolgirl. When he put you back into the water, you wrapped your legs around his torso and placed your hands on either side of his face. Alex pressed his forehead to yours, and you looked into each other’s eyes.

The two of you were so close you felt like you could feel the atoms between you, and a massive smile painted itself across your face.

“You’ve got gorgeous eyes, Y/N,” Alex whispered, just barely loud enough for you to hear over the roaring of the ocean. His comment caused your cheeks to turn as pink as the sunset behind you.

“As do you, Alex.” The two of you were still wrapped in each other’s arms, forehead to forehead and nose to nose. “Now, take me back to shore before it gets too dark. We’ve still got items left on our agenda.”

Alex furrowed his brows before turning around and allowing you to climb on his back. “What more could you possibly have in store for us, Y/N.”

“You’ll see.”

“You know, being with you is like constantly getting left on a cliffhanger.”

“I like that, Al.”

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goodlucktai · 5 years ago

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hello my old heart

natsume yuujinchou word count: 2798 written for @natsume-ss !! my giftee this year was @frootysparkycakes. two of your prompts were ‘everyone gets a nap’ and ‘parental fujiwaras’ and i thought a little of both would be good :) i hope you enjoy !!

read on ao3

Takashi’s face is wind-bitten and his feet are freezing in their damp canvas sneakers, but the cold air around him is clouded with laughter, and all the noise his friends are making rings up and down the empty streets.

“I hate snow!” Nishimura says brightly, clustered against Takashi’s left shoulder like a barnacle. He’s a bundle of scarf and coat and oversized beanie with a ridiculous pom-pom on the end. “God, who’s idea was it, anyway? Snow.”

Taki is on Takashi’s opposite side, her arm threaded through his as much for warmth as for support. She giggles every time they slip on a patch of ice, and Takashi’s smile grows every time she does.

“This is your fault, Shibata,” Kitamoto says darkly, a hand hooked under Tanuma’s elbow to keep him upright. It looks a little bit like he’s wrangling a lanky scarecrow. Every ten seconds Tanuma punctuates another near-fall with a flustered ‘sorry!’ and Nishimura counts each one under his breath. “You just had to have chicken nuggets.”

Right on cue, an affronted noise of protest: “Excuse me,” Shibata says from somewhere behind Takashi, “I’m not the only one who wanted snacks! Besides, it wasn’t supposed to start snowing until later tonight.”

“Stop whining,” Ogata demands. “You’re making this walk take even longer.”

She’s been out of breath since they hiked back down the mountain from Tanuma’s house, not used to the altitude and the terrain that Takashi and his classmates know so well, and the sudden snow doesn’t seem to be helping. Takashi glances over his shoulder to make sure Shibata still has an arm around her and they both make faces at him when they notice.

Nyanko-sensei bumps the underside of Takashi’s chin with his head curtly. If they were alone, he’d probably be squawking something like ‘watch where you’re going, clumsy brat!’ but as it is he has to settle for a very telling glare. Takashi mutters, “Yeah, yeah,” but he makes sure the cat is buttoned up all snug inside his coat anyway.

“We’re nearly there,” Taki says cheerfully. And then, “Oh, look!”

Takashi’s heart does something complicated and acrobatic in his chest when he spots a familiar figure through the snow. Touko is standing in front of the house, wrapped in Shigeru’s coat and glancing around anxiously. She lights up when she spots their group making its ungainly way down the road, clasping her hands together under her chin and smiling in that beaming way she has.

“There you are! Oh, I’d hoped you wouldn’t try going back up to the temple in this dreadful weather. Come in, come in! Let’s get you all warm.”

They make a commotion in the genkan, because Takashi’s friends can’t go anywhere together without making at least a little one. They lean on each other to help get out of boots and undo shoelaces and wrestle off various winter wear. Nishimura is shaking his damp scarf at Kitamoto just to be annoying. They’re all exhausted and sort of giddy with it. Shigeru is laughing behind his newspaper as they all pile into the sitting room.

“Snowed off the mountain, were you?” he says warmly. His smile is as much a welcome as Touko waiting outside for them was. “You’ll probably be stuck here for the night, I’m afraid.”

“There’s no probably about it,” Touko insists. She touches Takashi’s hair, the barest pressure that smooths the fringe out of his eyes. She is somehow both soft and stern as she looks around at all of his friends, a contradiction made easy by her caring. “And I want each of you to call your parents and let them know, alright?”

Tanuma’s father is away for work, Taki’s whole family is overseas, Shibata’s parents only know that he’s staying in Hitoyoshi, and as far as Ogata’s mother is aware, Ogata is still in her hometown having a sleepover with her friend Junko. The only one who takes out his cellphone is ever-agreeable Kitamoto, and he shares the call with Nishimura; the two of them pressed ear to ear as Kitamoto’s mother tells them to ‘behave, and thank Touko-san for her hospitality,’ and then tells them both goodnight.

Nyanko-sensei picks his way out Takashi’s lap and over to Tanuma’s. Tanuma looks a little pleased to have been chosen and then tries not to at Taki’s broken-hearted expression. Everyone starts to slump where they’re sitting, fighting yawns. Shigeru and Touko trade knowing glances, and Shigeru gathers up his newspaper and beer.

Takashi is watching them, because it’s been three years and he can’t help but watch them sometimes. Studying their expressions, the barest twitch of their mouth or eye that might mean they’re— upset, or that he’s done something wrong. It’s hard to break those habits that kept him safe in those other places.

If they’ve ever noticed the watching, they don’t seem to mind. Presently, Touko glances over and meets Takashi’s eyes as Shigeru steps out of the room, and she only smiles when she meets them.

“You’re all so tuckered out,” she says. There’s a kind laugh lurking in the back of her voice somewhere. “Why don’t you rest until it’s time for dinner?”

Shigeru comes back with all of the blankets from the linen closet, and Takashi’s friends make mindless noises of appreciation as he hands them out. His lined face is fond as Tanuma tries to juggle a fat lucky cat to the crook of his arm to take the blanket Shigeru holds out to him. Nishimura’s already half-dead to the world, face buried in Takashi’s stomach and a leg thrown over Shibata’s knee.

“How did this happen?” Takashi whispers as his foster father makes his way around to him. “They were wide awake ten seconds ago.”

Touko’s laugh finally makes its escape, a light and pleasant sound that doesn’t disturb a single drowsing body.

“You’re the same way,” she murmurs. “Ever since you first came to live with us, there were times when you’d drop off so suddenly, and sleep as though nothing short of a hurricane would wake you.”

Takashi gazes up at her, picking at the blanket Shigeru gave him, and thinks about how strange it is, that’s he’s been in this place for so long that Touko has little stories like that to share. That he came here, and he stayed here, and the Fujiwaras never asked him to move on or tried to send him away. They like him, and they notice and remember things about him that no one else ever bothered to notice or remember, and they would rather let all of his friends take over their sitting room than let them be cold for a moment longer than they needed to.

It’s a complicated train of thoughts, and it ends up a knotted, jumbled thing that he can’t put into words at all, and so he says, “Thank you,” because that’s what it usually circles back to in the end.

Thank you for the blanket, and thank you for thinking of me, and thank you for taking a chance on that strange orphaned boy you heard nothing but bad things about.

“Of course,” Touko says, reaching for the light switch on the wall. “We’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything.”

Takashi manages to lay down without disrupting Nishimura’s complicated-looking sprawl. The sitting room is warm enough that he doesn’t need the blanket, but the weight of it, and its worn-out softness, and the familiar smell of their laundry detergent, is a strange amalgamation of slow, syrupy comfort that Takashi kind of wants to bury his face in.

The wind outside is a dull roar, leaning up against the porch doors like an uninvited stranger testing the locks. It must be snowing harder, the promised overnight storm sneaking out ahead of schedule to make mischief, the way all winter spirits like to do. Comparatively, snug inside and surrounded by his closest friends, Takashi feels warmer than he thinks he ever has before.

“It’s strange that we’re graduating next year,” he murmurs into the dim room.

“About time,” Ogata replies sleepily.

It sends a pang through him, but he smiles anyway. “Yeah. I’ll just miss days like this is all.”

There’s a bit of a rustle, and someone grunts in protest when someone else digs an accidental elbow someplace soft, and then Taki’s tousled head pops up over Kitamoto’s shoulder.

“Natsume,” she says in her most sensible tone of voice. “If you want to cuddle at our new house, all you have to do is ask.”

“Not really,” Shibata yawns from some other corner of the room. “Even if he didn’t ask, you’d have to pry Satchan off him with a crowbar.”

“Green’s not your color, Sumi,” Nishimura replies without even bothering to open his eyes.

Shibata makes a sputtering noise at the new nickname, like a car engine trying to turn over. Tanuma snorts with laughter and then immediately tries to pretend like he didn’t think it was funny when Shibata whirls on him.

Takashi blinks up at the ceiling, turning Taki’s words over in his head. He says, “What new house?”

“Natsume,” Kitamoto groans. “Come on, buddy. We’ve been talking about it for months. Since last summer.”

Takashi starts to sit up, remembers that he’s acting as a pillow, and manages to hold himself still while his brain starts spinning around in confused circles.

“But that was,” he says, and stops. Another false start: “You were— “ He bites the inside of his cheek, wrestles the right words out, and says, “I thought it was a joke.”

Nishimura turns his head, hair still a mess from the weather and his stupid hat. His eyes are round and incredulous but not judgmental, and not mocking, and not mean. He says, “Why the hell would we joke about that? We’re sticking together. We have a whole plan.”

The plan is to get into the same university and rent a big house together in the city. Gotta be one that’s cat-friendly, his friends have laughed, bringing it up over dozens of lunch periods and two-day weekends, one with room enough for all of us, but he hadn’t taken them seriously.

“You said you wanted to,” Tanuma says. He sounds upset now. Takashi hates it.

“I do,” he replies quickly, because of course he does. He’s always wanted impossible things, what he knew he couldn’t have. When his friends talked about a future together, he smiled along and thought wouldn’t it be nice, and that was as far as he dared let those thoughts go. “I just thought it was… hypothetical.”

“Our parents are already looking at properties,” Kitamoto says dryly. “Touko and my mom were discussing it on the phone like three days ago. It hasn’t been anywhere in the realm of hypothetical.”

Takashi feels the familiar weight of his cat coming back to him, the split-second glint of sensei’s green eyes the brightest thing in the room as he settles into the crook of Takashi’s arm. Silent, necessarily so, but present, just in case Takashi needs to borrow strength from him.

“Are you serious?” Takashi asks, of no one in particular.

“Why do you think I started going to cram school?” Nishimura says, sounding offended, of all things, like this is a sacrifice he’s made that should have been respected. “Of course we’re serious.”

“We would miss this, too, Natsume,” Taki says. She sounds much more awake now, and he can only imagine the look in her eyes. After looking through a window into the face of a monster all those years ago, Taki can see through people with an ease that Takashi thinks even Natori is probably jealous of. “That’s why we’re going to make it so that we don’t have to.”

But it’s not that easy. It can’t be, it never is. Takashi doesn’t say anything else, but Tanuma asks, “Why not?” as if he heard anyway.

Takashi thinks of the half-empty book upstairs, guarded by a ward strong enough to make the chuukyuu’s eyes water from the backyard. The secret that only half the people in the room are aware of. The wall between himself and everyone else that he built stone by stone by stone, to keep them— and himself— safe from inevitable hurt.

“You don’t even know me,” Takashi blurts.

Nishimura sits up. Kitamoto makes a grumbly noise and starts extracting himself from blankets. Shibata says “No no I finally got comfortable, Tanuma, come on,” but Tanuma is moving, too.

Ogata says, in a kind, careful voice, “Natsume, of course we know you.”

“Not everything,” Takashi insists, feeling his heart start to move a little faster. “You don’t— you don’t know everything.”

Tanuma, Taki and Shibata are watching him with understanding and grim determination. Nishimura, Kitamoto and Ogata’s expressions are surprisingly similar.

“I just found out last week that Satchan is still afraid of dogs because one chased him when we were four,” Kitamoto says plainly. “I’ve known him since kindergarten and I found out last week.”

“I don’t make a habit of going near dogs,” Nishimura retorts in a conversational tone that also manages to sound like he’s picking a fight. “So it never came up until my stupid neighbor adopted an evil Corgi. That’s not my fault.”

Ogata whispers, “Evil Corgi.”

Going on as though he wasn’t interrupted, Kitamoto adds, “You can’t say I don’t really know him, can you? Even though I didn’t know he was still afraid of dogs?”

“I feel like that’s different,” Takashi says slowly, though he can’t think of a reason why.

“It isn’t,” Shibata says. His expensive shirt is all wrinkled, and there’s a pink crease on his cheek from where it was pressed against Tanuma’s sleeve. “Are we on the same page now? Can we go to sleep?”

There’s a gentle clamor of shifting and resettling, everyone sinking back into cushions and soft blankets. Nishimura lays down next to Takashi instead of perpendicular to him, tipping over to use his shoulder as a pillow instead.

“There’s no getting rid of us, Bakashi,” he says in a voice as low as it can go before it becomes a whisper. “You don’t have to be scared.”

And the thing is…

The thing is, he isn’t.

The storm is picking up outside, wind and snow battering against the porch doors with a vengeance; but the sitting room is snug, and Nishimura’s eyes are deep and dark in the low light, and Takashi marvels at how safe and warm he feels.

He brings a hand to his chest, as if to feel for the wall he built there, and finds it much smaller than he remembers. As though it shrank with time, or maybe Takashi outgrew it.

It’s either bravery or the lack of any real need for bravery that pushes Takashi to open his mouth without killing himself over what-ifs and say, “It’s just that any house I live in is going to be haunted. Really, actually haunted.”

Taki giggles, and Shibata makes that sputtering noise again, and Takashi can almost hear the pleased way Tanuma is smiling. Ogata hums a half-surprised little “oh” that sort of makes it sound like her best guess was just proven right, and Kitamoto sighs.

“Ghosts. That explains so much.”

Nishimura squeezes Takashi’s hand until Takashi looks at him. He’s grinning, the sight of him sleep-ruffled and safe and familiar.

“Shibata’s grouchy morning self is way scarier than any ghoul you manage to bring home, Natsume,” he says happily. “Nice try, though.”

In an hour, Takashi will wake up to the sound of poorly stifled laughter and a handful of ineffective ‘shhh’s. He’ll roll his head to follow the sound, and he’ll see his friends grouped around his cat, listening to him tell a widely embellished story about the kind dragon Takashi hatched once.

“It flew away?” Kitamoto will ask, sadness in his voice. “He never saw it again?”

And Nyanko-sensei will flick an ear at him, derisive. “It didn’t have any business staying as long as it did in the first place. But things have an unfortunate way of sticking to that Natsume, always leaving without asking and coming back just the same. Knowing my luck, he’ll probably see that Tama again someday.”

“I hope we’ll be there,” Taki will whisper.

And Takashi will look at them and realize Of course. Of course you will.

But for now, the room is dark and warm, and his friends are finally quieting down. Nyanko-sensei’s eyes are closed but Takashi has the sense that he’s keeping watch. If he listens very hard, he can hear his parents in the kitchen. He falls asleep still holding Nishimura’s hand.

The storm passes eventually. It leaves behind a blanket of fresh snow and a bright, starry night sky.

#natsumess2019 #natsume yuujinchou #natsuyuu #natsume takashi #nishimura satoru #taki tooru #kitamoto atsushi #tanuma kaname #shibata katsumi #ogata yuriko #nyanko sensei #fujiwara touko #fujiwara shigeru #my writing #natsuyuu fic #natsumess #frootysparkycakes #wanna find a home (wanna share it with you)

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dopescotlandwarrior · 5 years ago

Text

The Dancer-Chapter Three

A special thanks to @statell for all the help

Previous chapters on AO3

Chapter Three

The day after Hogmanay, the world looked completely new and different to Jamie. It always did because of his mother telling him about the new year, fresh beginnings and a casting off of mistakes and baggage from the year before. Gather yer blessins to take into the new year and forget the rest, she would say.

Jamie spent time hiking the hills where ever the snow would allow. He needed to be alone in the uncomplicated outdoors so his twisted mind could unravel, set goals for the new year, and dream about a lovely future. His mother’s voice was heard again telling him to have a picture in his mind of where he wanted to be in a year. “Make a braw picture in your in mind so yer feet will know which way to go, Jamie boy.”

By this time next year… Hmm Reunite with his childhood friends and celebrate Hogmanay together. He would see the finished barn he promised Jenny he would build for her, three years ago. Hiking and climbing once a week to build his strength and overall health. He would pay it forward in Edinburgh, he and Claire, with reading programs, book clubs and free classes for computers and creative writing.

He would have to open another store this year but this time he would find a way to pull any local bookseller into his project rather than leave them to mourn.

He would keep his workweek to forty hours, well fifty at most, when the new project was underway.

Jamie was smiling as he saw Lallybroch in the distance. He felt better and he had a plan. Throughout his hike and planning the coming year, the veiled girl beckoned him. Get outa my head temptress, ye mean nothin to me, he thought.

Claire had danced at many celebrations during the holidays and it was time to treat herself with some new clothes. She would not feel buyer’s remorse because the bank account would hardly notice the loss of Benjamins. Still, she called in reinforcement to prevent her from bolting at the first price tag.

“Geillis, I am walking into Epitome right now and if you don’t hurry, I promise to buy every beige garment I see.”

“Impossible Claire because I’m already here with a full dressin room waiitin for ye. Look up for Christ’s sake before ye crash into the makeup counter.”

When Claire looked up, there was Geillis pointing to a dressing room. Claire was surprised by all the color in the garments and she balked saying she wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing any of it.

Geillis held a beautiful royal blue sweater out for her. “Ye wear leggings underneath and boots that fit yer calf or ankle boots with a heel for date night. Jesus Claire, dinna roll eyes at me, ye need to consider going out with a man when one of them asks ye.”

“They only ask when I dance, and the shock of seeing the real me will have them running for the hills I’m afraid.”

“So we lessen the chasm between ye and the other ye and it starts with color and beautiful clothes. Dinna forget I’m with ye enough to know ye made a small fortune over the holiday. I think Omar is jealous, God knows I am. What about this one?”

For the rest of the afternoon, the girls ran from one shop to another as Claire’s back seat filled with her brave purchases. Sweaters, leggings, scarfs, boots, tops, jeans, a tailored coat and soft comfortable dresses for curling up on a couch or chair for a book club meeting. Claire was feeling braver and laughing more, until Geillis put the fear of God into her heart by stopping at a salon. It was the best in Edinburgh, so she marched inside to make Claire an appointment.

The man behind the counter was model gorgeous with jet black hair and crystal blue eyes. His wide mouth was adorned with a trimmed mustache that made his white teeth sparkle. Geillis started at the top of his perfect head and devoured bite-size pieces hoping he was tall and hung like a horse.

Claire raced in after Geillis to stop her and witnessed her friend morph into a purring, circling, huntress. His name was Joseph and he had a cancellation and could take Claire right now. Claire rapidly shook her head no, but Geillis forgot how to hear as she pulled her reluctant friend to follow Joseph. He led the ladies into his own private room and barely heard a word from Claire before he started cutting. Claire looked from Geillis to the stylist and figured neither one would be communicating with her now, so she closed her mouth and her eyes. She could hear some lady in the main salon complaining bitterly that she had been on Joseph’s waiting list for a year and this was just not fair!

Claire hated her hair since she was old enough to have an opinion. It was frizzy-curly that she tamed with loads of hairpins and detangler. It was like a curse on her feminity because she never could style it, wear it down or in a ponytail. On her rare trips to the bedroom for sex she would emerge looking quite like Einstein with a red face. He could shave it off for all she cared. It was why she loved wearing wigs so much.

Joseph was wrapping Claire’s hair in large plastic rods, allowing Geillis to flirt and toss her hair like some crazy person. Claire peaked up at the two of them and noticed Joseph was caught in her web, like a hooked fish that Claire hoped knew how to cut hair. The eyes closed and her mind practiced her new routines until she felt Joseph take her hand.

The amount of hair on the floor was staggering and Claire’s hand instantly reached for her head but only touched the plastic rods. She was seated and then laid back with her neck locked into a U shaped cut out in the ceramic sink. It was like a torture device sculpted for maximum pain that was quickly getting worse. She looked up and saw both faces above her, but they were talking to each other and didn’t seem to notice her. It can’t get any worse she thought until freezing water gushed out of a hand-held sprayer that soaked her face dripping into her sweater.

The big rods were removed, one more soaking and a towel dropped on her face as Geillis pulled Joseph into a corner to play with his hair. Claire held the towel to her dripping hair and sat down in the stylist’s chair that was unfortunately turned away from the mirror. Claire twisted her head trying to see what had become of her hair until she was jolted back by Joseph man-handling the towel and squeezing the water out of her hair. Claire glared at Geillis.

Next, a loud blow dryer was following chunks of her hair wound around a brush as Joseph’s expert hands pulled and twisted sections of hair while staring at Geillis. It wasn’t intolerable. The warm air was chasing away the cold from her wet sweater. A rather large razor edge was pulled down taught sections of hair around her face and her large eyes watched it twist and turn an inch from her skin. The blow dryer once again and then the cape was pulled off her with flourish. Claire felt the chair drop slowly as Joseph turned her toward the mirror.

Claire stared at her reflection with wide eyes that looked bigger and her lips looked more prominent. She pulled herself out of the chair and leaned toward the mirror where she looked at her features an inch from the glass. Her eyes gorged on her amazing hair for five minutes. Where did all this bouncy, straight hair come from, she wondered. Her bangs were cut very long and angled to sweep across her face covering one eye. Holy fucking Christmas, she thought, this was a mad miracle and she was desperate to find out how to style it like this.

“Joseph! I lov…” They were kissing and Joseph held her coat out to her. Guess that’s my cue to leave, she thought. Good thing Geillis had her own car. Claire tossed a folded hundred-dollar bill on the front desk and told the person it was for Joseph. Paid in full or just the first installment, Claire didn’t give a rip. For now, anyway, the cursed hair looked as good as the bouncing bobs that shined on the magazine covers. She raced home to stare at herself and try everything on, twice.

Toppled boxes and bags were strewn across Claire’s studio floor. She had pulled her makeup organizer out and was sitting on the floor in full light an inch from the mirror. Every ten minutes or so she ran to the bathroom to wash her face and start over. The laptop glowed next to her and she typed Eva Mendes into Google and looked closely at her favorite eyes in Hollywood. She was determined to learn, and scrubbed her face three more times, blinking back stinging tears to answer her ringing cell phone.

“Claire, my dahling, a pipe ruptured in the kitchen and the restaurant is closed until next week. Three days they tell me so go visit relatives and rest, aibnatu.” Claire smiled at the Arabic daughter reference and jumped back in front of the mirror. She carefully plucked at her eyebrows using Eva Mendes as a reference again. She went painstakingly slow to avoid a catastrophic patch pulled out by accident. An hour later she moved her eyeballs from one brow to the other, happy with the arc.

Claire was nervous about wearing her new clothes and hair in public. She still felt like she was playing dress-up and did not want to embarrass herself. Geillis was still not answering her cell and Claire was getting bored. She pulled her new coat on and looked at all sides in the mirror. What’s the worse that can happen? Somebody points at my ridiculous clothes behind my back? No biggie. She reached for her purse and left.

Jamie would be long gone at this hour, so she decided to check out the bookstore in his absence and take a look at the side rooms used for kid stories and adult book club meetings. It was a perfect place to find her confidence. Brightly lit, she would know if people were laughing at her. She parked and exhaled a billowing cloud of steam in the twenty-degree interior of her car.

There were two large carousel doors in the front of the store and stepping into one she looked up at a man on the other side of the glass pushing his way outside and staring at her. Claire looked at the floor convinced the man had dropped something. Looking up she realized she missed her opportunity to exit into the store and had to go around again. I am sure no one saw that she decided.

The store was gigantic, and Claire felt her heart race as she read the section names placed high on the shelves to lead people to what they sought. Claire knew where Jamie’s office was from the one time she was here and made sure it was dark before venturing in. She was free to explore the store unnoticed and felt a rush of excitement to see as much as possible.

Jamie pretended to eat as he pushed the peas and carrots around his plate making small talk with Jenny and his best friend Ian. He was lost in his daydreams of spinning veils and exotic eyes, hoping Jenny would not ask him about it. Strangely, Jenny and Ian were getting on like two peas in a pod and hardly noticed him. Once supper was cleaned up, he slipped away and headed for the restaurant and the dancer who would not leave his head.

The closer he got the faster he drove until he looked up at a dark building and empty parking lot. He circled around and read the note about the closure due to plumbing. Christ, he would surely implode waiting until next week to see her. He rolled out of the parking lot heading for the bookstore. Dropping in on the night manager and his staff could pay dividends in future months. Maybe the night wasn’t a total bomb after all.

Once inside the store Jamie kept close to the shelves where he could observe the staff, happy and helpful, going from music to video games and back to books, assisting customers. It made him content to see such productive employees looking for people to help. He continued to stroll through the store, watching for problems, or lazy staff running out the clock. He watched his newest hire helping a petite brunette in the classics section. She moved away and Jamie continued his lazy spying as he walked through the store. He smiled thinking he should get back to Ian before Jenny chewed his ears off with her continuous conversation. He walked along the row of rooms and offices noticing the brunette sitting inside a room with comfortable couches and chairs. The walls were glass so he could watch her as he walked. He felt something vaguely familiar about her but realized her glorious ass and legs would have been cataloged in his head, like every other pretty girl in Edinburgh.

Jamie leaned against the door to open it enough to speak to her.

“Excuse me, lass. This room is dedicated to the book clubs. There are couches scattered throughout the store if ye like to read a bit.”

“Book clubs, that sounds interesting. Who leads the club if I might ask?”

“Claire Beauchamp is in charge of our community programs.”

“Is she any good?”

“Oh yea, quite good.”

Jamie was trying to back out of a conversation he never wanted in the first place. When long legs were uncurled from under the woman, he was momentarily halted so he could watch skin tight jeans and boots. He could be running down the street with his hair on fire, but he would stop to watch gorgeous legs swing out of a car. Being temporarily diverted by the anatomy of the opposite sex was part of being a man he always thought.

“I am very close to Claire Beauchamp actually.”

The woman passed through the door under Jamie’s arm and then turned to look at him in the light of the store. Jamie stared at her momentarily confused.

“It’s me, Mister Fraser, Claire Beauchamp,” she said smiling. “I didn’t have to work tonight and got bored, so I came by to see the rest of the store. I hope you don’t mind.”

“What have ye done to yerself?”

“Oh, I…I…” Claire’s hand reached up and touched her shoulder-length hair and looked nervously for an escape.”

Oh my God lass, he thought, I meant that in a good way. Ye have eyes, he thought, surely ye can see what’s right in front of your face.

He slowed himself down and looked at her like he was appraising a beautiful work of art for sale.

“Ye know Sassenach, I’ve seen my share of makeovers, but none like this. He circled around her showing his appreciation. Claire’s cheeks blushed at his scrutiny, her confidence soared and she giggled at his exaggerated gawking.”

“It was nice to see you, Mister Fraser, I have to get home, goodnight.”

“Ah, two things Sassenach, how do I contact ye? For the community programs, I mean.”

Claire pulled the phone from his hand and punched in her number hearing the muffled ring in her purse. She looked up at him, “and the other thing?”

Jamie was still staring at her trying to see all the changes. “Wednesday.”

“Wednesday?”

“Aye, C’mon, I’ll walk ye to yer car.”

They walked together to the other side of the store. Jamie waved at a few people but otherwise looked at Claire. There was something unsettling about the changes in her. It was making him feel weird, happy, confused and sad all at the same time. Aside from her momentary anxiety when he said something stupid, she was like a new woman and reminded him of someone, but who?

Jamie failed to rally his senses before she dropped into her car. He turned to walk back to the store and looked when she called his name.

“What is happening on Wednesday?”

“Ye, here, and a bunch of wee ones, aye?”

“I will see you then Mister Fraser.”

A fortuitous meeting he thought, looking at her number on his phone. I’ll get the reading programs up and running before I leave for Glasgow.

Jamie did not spend much time at a new store. Once it was opened and running smoothly, he was off to build another one.

A new store was a complex project that easily lost money from delays, inept contractors, expensive labor, and a million other factors. Jamie had commercial construction experience and hired on, nine years ago, as an assistant project manager. The job took him to cities all over Europe and America. He was home for holidays and vacations, otherwise, he was gone.

Halfway through his first year as assistant project manager, he received a formal invitation to a meeting of the full board the following month. The next day he received a phone call from the secretary of one of the members and later a large envelope was hand-delivered to him with plane tickets and a cashier’s check for one thousand dollars.

Jamie walked off the plane after landing in Germany and felt a small hand attached to an arm that linked through his. A pretty woman in business attire pulled him into a limo and handed him an apple martini while giving instructions to the driver in German. The woman sat close beside him and peeled off her jacket as Jamie gorged himself on her jutting chest and fat red lips. She dragged him through men’s clothing stores where a lucky few could afford to shop until his interview suit was complete.

The woman watched him get in and out of his clothes at least a dozen times during the afternoon and when it was clear they were done she looked at her watch and then pushed him into a seat in the dressing room while pulling her blouse off. She was completely naked bouncing on Jamie’s lap and all he could do is hang on. His twenty years on earth had not prepared him for this thrilling experience, nor had the many dropped panties delivered him to the promised land quite like she did.

One month later, haircut and manicured hands, wearing a tailored suit and shiny shoes, Jamie met the members of the board for the first time. They had vetted Jamie so thoroughly they knew his test results in Chemistry from his sophomore year in high school. Millions of dollars would be gambled on his ability in the next ten years and the board gave him no quarter as they questioned his course of action in one impossible scenario after another.

After three hours they all broke for lunch and vaporized except for one man. Clearly the youngest of the board members, he poured the world’s best whisky into a cut crystal glass and handed it to Jamie.

“You are doing remarkably well Mister Fraser. You can relax because you’re already hired. Now comes the negotiation for salary and benefits. I cannot be seen coaching you so listen carefully, “tell them you want ten years as project manager followed by first right of refusal for every position that opens in the next grade up, forever. It will guarantee a life of promotions until you get dizzy from a fear of heights.” He poured Jamie another shot of the whisky he would remember for the rest of his life.

“Good luck friend.” In seconds, Jamie was alone feeling his bravery assert itself. What the hell, he thought, friend or foe, he had a good feeling about the man. Jamie drained his glass and when the board reconvened, he gambled his career on the advice of a total stranger.

Steal gray eyes regarded Jamie under thick white eyebrows. Thin lips pressed together in a straight line across his deeply lined face. You could hear a pin drop in that room and Jamie wondered if the members could hear his ramming heart. He remembered his boss working seventy or more hours per week, missing the birth and growth of his kids, saying he had to make money while the opportunity lasted. Complaining his six-figure income would end after ten years and he would settle into managing whatever store they gave him, at a lower salary, for the rest of his career.

When they offered the same package to Jamie, he stood at the end of the conference table with all eyes waiting for him to pledge his extraordinary life to corporate slave labor. He dropped his head for a minute of quiet before he threw the dice.

“My mother taught me to always know where I want to be, so my feet know which way to go.” He looked up at the man on the other end of the table. “I have a braw picture of my life before my dyin day,” he gave them a half-smile, “and I willna get there with yer offer. I’m sorry gentlemen, I respectfully decline.”

Jamie sat down, shaking from his feet to the crown of his head, silently invoking the love of his parents and the power of Lallybroch to carry him through the rest of the meeting.

The white eyebrows asked Jamie to step out just as the door opened and the sexy secretary found his eyes, smiling her intent. She led him to a hallway and pushed him into a couch, then turned her attention to a flask and a shot glass pulled out of her briefcase. Jamie was so tired. He stared at the shot glass anticipating the lovely feeling it would bring. The woman handed it to him and told him to toss it back. He did.

The phone in the woman’s purse vibrated and she stood, bending over to press her tongue into Jamie’s mouth as she kissed him.

“Good luck” she whispered into his ear and disappeared around the corner seconds before the conference room door opened.

Eight board members filed past Jamie, smiling and shaking his hand. White eyebrows was the last in line and told Jamie to expect an offer in the next two days. It would be hand-delivered and it would rock his world.

He was feeling better, almost like superman as he walked to the exit of the building. Hearing his name, he turned around as the young board member caught up to him.

“Last bit of advice Jamie. In eleven years you will wonder what gift to send me as thanks for how I helped you today.” He pressed the bottle of whiskey into his hand. “I want a case of this.” He smiled with his perfect teeth, “It’s my favorite.”

Jamie watched Claire drive out of the parking lot and returned to the store. Jumping stairs two at a time to his office he left the lights off and drifted to sleep on his couch. Sometime in the dead of night, when unanswered questions are brought to the light, Jamie dreamed.

The dancer was twirling across the room straight toward him. He watched her like a statue, made of concrete and powerless to move. She stopped spinning six inches from him. She spoke rapid Arabic and he could only watch her mouth until she said “Jamie.”

His eyes snapped to her eyes. She spoke to him! Finally! She was pointing to something and his eyes followed the line she pointed to. He saw, in the distance, the room in his store where he found Claire. She sat on the floor with wee ones sitting all around her as she read to them.

The dancer was pointing furiously at Claire, ”love her,” said in her broken English.

Jamie looked back to the dancer. There was love in his eyes, he could feel it. “I love you, I must be with you.”

The dancer took Jamie’s hand and led him across the floor approaching the dressing room. Before she entered the room, she turned around and Jamie saw she was sobbing and then she looked at Claire.

“Please.” Said through her tears. Jamie felt his mind snap having her so close to him. He looked around at the empty restaurant. They were alone and he would have his way with her.

“Jesus!” Jamie yelled in his sleep and his eyes flew open. “Ah diah!” His office was pitch black and the store was empty. He felt the huge erection that pulsed between his legs, his balls were pulled up tight to his body and stung like they were being poked by a live wire. He was literally seconds from ejaculation. All he had to do is close his eyes and see her kneel in front of him and his pain would turn to pleasure. Jamie was panting and conflicted, crazy angry at letting himself go back to her, even in his head.

“Leave me alone ye cunt!” He was seething mad just wanting a way out of this nightmare. “I dinna bide with rape but if it would rid yer presence in my head, I would break yer bones with my brutality.”

Jamie grabbed his coat and ran for his car feeling completely out of control. The speedometer pushed into the criminal zone as he sped through Edinburgh. Where is a cop when ye need one, he wondered? He had to be punished for thinking he could harm another person, especially a woman. A night in jail would be helpful, jar him back to reality before his well-constructed life crumbled around him. He raked a hand through his hair then gripped the steering wheel, hating the shaking that vibrated his fingers like he was as weak as a bairn.

Jenny couldn’t see him this way, just in case she was awake, so he drove the back roads until his tank was almost empty.

Being unsuccessful at getting arrested and nearly running his gas tank dry, Jamie turned into the Lallybroch driveway and sat in the quiet of his truck. Dawn was breaking across the fields and he saw himself running through the corn stalks as a lad with a single concern to get home before he was late for supper. He desperately wished he could go back in time, before his mistakes, and try again to be the man his parents raised.

He took a deep breath and walked to the front door noticing Ian’s car was still where he left it. Jamie wondered if he was sacked out on the couch and felt the sting of guilt for leaving like he did. Setting the alarm for two hours he dropped into bed. Sleep came quickly as she wrapped her cadaverous long fingers around his defenseless brain.

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reindeersweaters · 5 years ago

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A Hand for Mrs. Claus

Rating : T? I think...? Rude humor, some harsh language, and lots of implied sexual content... but I don’t think it actually warrants M? Idk... just be careful?

Words : 2492

Pairing: Anna/Kristoff

Continuation of the ‘Santa Baby’ series.

I will have you all know that I was bullied into writing this... okay not really. I wrote it because I wanted to. But a proposal was mentioned and I love writing my favorite cuties be happy together. This continues along the outrageous ‘Santa’ theme that I started. Merry Christmas to all and all that jazz. Enjoy~

He had the girl. He had the ring.

Those were, apparently, not the two most important things when planning a proposal, Kristoff had found. The most important thing was to, in the words of his loving father who was still getting over his (vicious) cold; “grow a pair and just fucking ask her.” His mother had been absolutely horrified by the language but had agreed with the sentiment.

Alas, there lay the problem, though. He was having some trouble getting up his courage.

It wasn’t that he was worried that she might say no. In fact, he was quite certain she would say ‘yes’. He just couldn’t find the right moment.

He’d been carrying the ring around in his pocket for a full week, just waiting for the opportunity to get down on one knee to present itself… it had not.

And Elsa had been absolutely no help. He’d asked her weeks ago if Anna had ever mentioned a particular way she would like to be proposed to.

“Nope.” Elsa had said, flipping the page of a book and not even looking up at him.

“No, hot air balloons?”

“Nope.”

“No special hikes out to romantic waterfalls or anything?”

“Nope.”

“No butterflies and confetti?”

“Kristoff you are over thinking this.”

He probably was. But how was he supposed to ask the most extraordinary girl in the entire world to marry him. I mean, he was no slouch, he didn’t have any horrible deep dark secrets, and he knew he wasn’t ugly (though he’d never thought he was particularly handsome, his nose always felt too big), but those felt like remarkably small factors when he put them in comparison to everything Anna was.

Gorgeous, funny, brave, absolutely brilliant, and so kind. And feisty. And so, so beautiful.

All he had going for him was that he really loved her.

How was he supposed to do this??

And he needed to do it soon, because he had already shown his mother the ring he’d bought (terrible mistake, really), and if he didn’t ask her by Christmas Eve (in two days), he had no doubt his mother would spoil everything. She might actually just go ahead and ask her for him. And that would be a disaster.

“Oh, Kristoff look!” Anna exclaimed, yanking his hand.

The Christmas light display he and Anna were currently admiring was apparently one of the biggest in the state, and it was immaculate.

Anna was practically vibrating as she pulled him along, ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ at every new display and fixture.

This is what had made the asking so difficult.

It was a romantic, albeit very crowded, place. But Anna was very easily distracted.

“Anna,” he cleared his throat, not for the first time that evening, preparing himself.

“Huh?” She only glanced at him for a second, so as not to miss the synchronized light display to the song ‘Joy to the World’.

“Um…” Kristoff rubbed the back of his neck quickly. “I was just thinking-“

No, that was a horrible way to begin this. ‘I was just thinking’? Who starts a proposal that way?

“You were thinking what?”

“Just that… you look beautiful tonight.”

“Awww.” She said peeling her eyes away from the twinkling lights to look at him. “Well that’s sweet. Thank you.”

“Well it’s true.” He laughed. “You look beautiful every night. Every day, too. All the time, actually. And I’m always going to think that, even when we’re old and gray, and you know, dying.”

“What?” Anna blinked and then laughed.

“I-oh nevermind.” He sighed, tucking her hand around his arm and walking abruptly to the next display.

“Oh, Kristoff, I wasn’t done looking at that- oh my gosh! Look at this!” She bounded forward, pulling him along again.

He waited for his cringeworthy words to wear off, as Anna looked at different displays. Anna was remarkably unbothered, but Kristoff felt shaken to his core. He’d talked about dying… what the hell was wrong with him??

When they came to a bridge that had a lighted archway overtop that blinked, twinkled, and shimmered in all different colors he realized the setting wasn’t going to get much prettier than this.

He took a deep breath.

“Anna.” He said firmly.

He began to lower down on one knee and fish the ring from his pocket.

A few people around them gasped in delight.

And Anna did not notice.

“Kristoff! Look, look, look! Just across the bridge.” Without even turning around she grasped ahold of his hand and jerked him forward.

He stumbled, due to the fact that he had been getting down on one knee, and Anna glanced back at him briefly, but she didn’t see the ring in his hand and continued to pull him along.

He’d blown it.

He spent the rest of their excursion being a bit of a grump (he knew it), because how could he have possibly missed such a golden opportunity? It had been so ideal! In fact, he saw another two people getting proposed to in the same spot as they’d walked around the park again, and he hadn’t been able to use that spot again. He hated those other two couples for some reason.

“Are you okay?” Anna asked as they pulled up in front of their apartment. “You’ve been really quiet.”

“Hm? I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Her hand rested on his arm.

“Yep. Just fine.”

She didn’t believe him, he could tell. But he pulled the keys out of the ignition and hopped out of his truck without any further prying. He jogged around to Anna’s door and opened it for her, helping her on the slick sidewalk.

As they approached the door, he saw a package resting there.

“What’s that?” Anna asked.

“I don’t know.” Kristoff was surprised that it wasn’t something Anna had ordered for Christmas (her cyber Monday shopping had been intense). “Is it not something you bought?”

“No, all my packages came in already.”

“Huh. It must have been misdelivered or something because I didn’t-“ He started to say then realization hit him. “Oh no!”

He hurried to the door and swiped up the package before Anna could get a good look at it and tucked it behind his back.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing!” He insisted.

“Kristoff,” Anna raised an eyebrow. “Is it something for me?”

“Um… kinda. I forgot I bought it… late the other night when Elsa and Olaf were over, and we had maybe one too many glasses of eggnog.”

“Well what is it?” Anna giggled, skipping up to put her hands on his chest. “Or can’t you tell me?”

“Uh,” his voice cracked, “it’s um. It’s nothing. I’m going to return it.”

“What!?” Anna pouted. “You can’t return it! Not now that I’ve seen you got me something! Is it a Christmas gift?”

“Well, not exactly-“

“Then why can’t I see it now?”

“I think I bought the wrong size so-“

“The wrong size? So, it’s clothing?” She looked excited. “It’s too small to be a shoe box.”

“Erm… let’s go inside, please. Where the neighbors can’t hear this conversation.”

As Kristoff unlocked the door, and was bombarded by Sven, Anna snuck behind him and swiped the package from his hands.

“Anna!” He scrambled to get the door shut, and untangle himself from Sven’s slobbery dog kisses. “Please don’t!”

It was too late. She’s already ripped the tape off the box and pulled out a very (very) skimpy red lingerie set that had white fur trim and came with a Santa styled hat, and a pair of long red gloves. The plastic packaging that it came in very clearly read “Sexy Mrs. Claus Costume” over the top.

“Oh my god.” Anna said.

“It was meant to be a gag gift,” Kristoff stammered quickly, trying to talk his way out of what a perverted weirdo he must look like. “You know because the other day I was dressed as Santa, it’s just a joke though!”

But when Anna turned, she was giggling, and smiling.

“I can’t believe you bought this!” She squealed with a huge grin. “I’m going to go put this on right now!”

“Anna, you don’t have to!” Kristoff insisted.

“’Santa’ is about to get a real treat!” She arched an eyebrow seductively, then scampered down the hall to their bedroom.

Kristoff looked at Sven, who seemed to be eyeing him saying ‘you didn’t ask her yet did you?’

“Don’t patronize me.” He sighed.

“Kristoff!” Anna called down the hall, sounding far to giddy for her own good. “Put on the Santa hat that’s on the entertainment center.”

“That’s just for decoration, I thought?”

“Just do it!”

Kristoff sighed, taking off his coat and putting it away in the closet. He obediently retrieved the hat as instructed. He jammed it on his head as he sat on the couch and crossed his arms.

This was absolutely ridiculous, and it was his own damn fault.

“Hey google!” Anna’s voice came from the kitchen. “Play ‘A Hand for Mrs. Claus’.”

“’A Hand for Mrs. Claus’ by Idina Menzel, sure. Playing on Spotify.” The disembodied voice echoed through their apartment.

Then Anna came skipping into view.

“I wish I had some thigh-high boots to go with this.” She told him. “But I think it fits pretty well.”

Kristoff’s jaw had gone slack and he was having trouble forming words.

“What do you think, ‘Santa’?” She cocked a thinly veiled hip and raised a gloved arm above her head, striking a pose for him.

“Uh, erm, yeah.” He stuttered, unable to take his eyes off her. “You look… wow you look- you look-”

“Proud of your costume choice, huh?” She giggled, bouncing (so much was bouncing) up to him.

She straddled his hips and draped her arms over his shoulders.

“Mhmm.” Was all he could mumble.

“Has Santa been working so hard this year?” She gave him a little pout.

She had put on red lipstick for this.

“Are you really going to keep up with this ‘Santa’ thing?” He chuckled, his hands going to her hips automatically.

“Well if the hat fits, wear it.” She adjusted the hat on his head to a cocky angle.

“I think that phrase is ‘if the shoe fits, wear it’”

“Semantics.” She waved it off, her lips coming dangerously close to his. “Though I think your feet would be too big for Santa’s boots, honestly.”

“I did actually have to wear my own work boots the other day.”

“See.”

“So, is this something we’re going to do every year now?” He could feel that he had a dopey grin on his face.

“Maybe,” Anna giggled, “I’m honestly having a lot of fun with it.”

“I can tell.” His nose brushed hers. “Thanks for the warning though. It will take a bit of mental preparation to be called ‘Santa’ every year for the rest of my life.”

Anna pulled back slightly.

“What?” Her eyes were wide.

Kristoff realized what he’d done.

When he and Anna talked about the future, it had always been full of promise. There had never been an ‘end’ in sight, so to speak. They had talked about their dreams (Kristoff wanted to own just a little bit of land, and Anna desperately wanted tiny farm animals at some point), they had talked about homes (Kristoff wanted to build one someday, and Anna insisted a secret passageway was necessary), they had talked about kids (They both agreed that lots of kids would be good).

They had taken each day, each week, each month, and each year with hope for the future together, but never had Kristoff so explicitly stated the words ‘for the rest of my life’.

Now he had to do it.

He wasn’t going to get a better opportunity.

“Anna.” He said standing suddenly, taking Anna with him and setting her on her feet in front of him. “You… are the most extraordinary person I have ever met.”

He got down on one knee.

“Kristoff!” She gasped covering her mouth.

“I may not have much.” He took her other free hand. “But Anna, I promise you, for as long as I’m living, I will give you everything I have. I will do everything in my power to be the man that you want.”

“You already are.” She whispered, tears leaking from her eyes.

He smiled.

“Anna, I love you with all that I am.” He fished the ring out of his pocket and held it out to her. “Will you marry me?”

He barely got the words out of his mouth before Anna was attacking him with kisses.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!” She laughed, and cried, and covered his face with red lipstick marks.

He stood to his feet and spun her around. He couldn’t help it. He was too excited to stay kneeling.

She quickly peeled off the long glove on her left hand and let him slip the ring onto her finger.

“We’re engaged!” She shrieked, and he was sure the neighbors would be able to hear her. “We’re going to get married! I have to call everybody! I need to facetime Elsa to show her this ring!”

“Maybe you should change?”

“She already knows we’ve got a weird Santa kink going on.” Anna said leaping out of his arms to find her phone.

“Excuse me, what?”

“OH, and I gotta call your mom!”

“Please…” Kristoff begged. “Whatever you do when you tell this story, do not use the words “Santa kink”.”

“Of course not! I’ll just say you proposed at home in the sweetest way possible.” She came over and planted a giddy kiss on his lips again. “Wait! You had the ring in your pocket already?”

“Yes, I’ve been trying to ask you all week.”

“Really?”

“I was actually nearly down on one knee on that bridge earlier.”

“Oh my gosh!” Anna covered her mouth, her eyes wide with both amusement and pity. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Kristoff insisted, giving her nose a kiss. “This was better.”

Then she kissed him. And again. And then her kiss lingered. He grasped ahold of her waist tightly and pulled her closer. She swiped her tongue against his bottom lip.

“You know, I can wait to call everyone.” She whispered, her voice low.

“Good idea.”

“Gotta make good use of this outfit first.” Her eyes were dark with desire. “I’m gonna be Mrs. Claus, after all.”

“God, I love you so much.” He chuckled moving his kisses to her neck.

He could have proposed in a fancy, flashy way. He could have had it written out in the sky. He could have proclaimed it loudly in front of crowds of people. He could have tried to make it ‘not him’.

But truly, nothing beat asking Anna to marry him when she was wearing nothing but a skimpy bit of see-through fabric and a Santa hat while they were at home. There were some immediate perks that he certainly enjoyed.

#santa baby #I guess i'm kinda doing a kristanna advent thing this year #this setting is so ridiculous but i'm so happy I wrote it #kristanna fanfiction #frozen fanfiction

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timjohn5 · 5 years ago

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Freezing Moon - cap 3 Finally Finland FLASHBACK DEAD ON The day after my dream with Øystein I got up early from bed, I had my breakfast and I put on a simple clothes to stay in the same house. I figured I'd fix my bookcase. I walk into the living room and downstairs in front of the bookcase and there I stare at it for minutes before finally sitting on the floor and picking up a book that Øystein had given me days before that happened. The clock above my head was ticking, ticking and it kind of irritated me more than I'd ignore. I take some money bills from my pocket, from my sweatpants, and put them into the book and then return it to its place on the shelf. I'm taken from my daydreams when I see an envelope being placed under the door. I hurry up and pick up the envelope I had known so well these past few months. I open the envelope that in its verse contained my name, my address and a postage stamp from Norway. When I open the letter and smooth the white sheet I see written: "In 1990 a captain is brutally abandoned on an island. He stayed there for awful 3 years. He would rip his deer's neck and drink his blood thirsty until there was nothing more vital in the animal. The captain after these years was saved by chance by fishermen who went to the island behind treasures. Some are lucky. When brought back to his hometown, he was arrested and without conditions of freedom. " That was all there was in the note. I automatically close the letter and place it with envelope inside my bedside table along with the more than 200 letters with these messages. FLASHBACK DEAD OFF Euronymous packed his suitcase while I was lying on his sofa studying for an important test. He throws himself at my side putting the suitcase on the floor and hugs me as he can because of my position. He was properly changed and ready to leave the house, but before he wanted to say goodbye to me. "I'll miss you by the time I'm out." - He says holding me tight. "It's just one night and you'll be back soon." I answer without looking at him. "What will you do until I get back?" "I do not know, maybe I'll be right here." Maybe I'll go for a walk in the woods, see the moon. I like the moon you know it. Or I can do a review of my stories. - I can quit if you want. I can say that I am terribly ill and could not travel. Øystein says giving a kiss to my back. - For Euronymous drama is just one night. Just go before I kick you out! - I'll call you tonight. - OK Alright. - I answer and he makes a warm affection in my ear before getting up and picking up his suitcase. "Have a lot of fun over there." - It's a meeting about things found at sea ... I'm anxious. ... The morning after your trip I go to the library early to find out what is so interesting about the excavations in Finland. I was distracted reading a book about the country that did not notice the arrival of a boy right in front of me who sat down putting his backpack on his side and staring at me. - Finland? - the kid asks smiling at me as I notice the book I was holding. "Yes Finland," I say, smiling, and he seems to know the country. - That's awesome. "Then he gets up and leaves without another word. I thought it strange, but I do not say anything. A day later in Øystein's apartment, he had returned and I was now in his shower while he packed his bags for the trip to Finland. I lathered as he paced back and forth taking things to pack. "I brought things for the trip to Finland. Repellent against the insects that have too much there ... cold clothes because it's very cold there like here. Some food because I do not know what's in the restaurants there. "Euronymous walks into the bathroom and sneezes at the stinking repellent on me and walks back into the living room. - And your meeting like it was love. I say taking the foam out of my eyes. "It was wonderful and everyone was thrilled with me there. He said happy. - Look, look at these things and see if you like something you have here. We can venture out there and do wonders in those two weeks. Do you have hiking boots on the mountain? Øystein looked like a grown child running around with things in his hands. I finish my bath and dry myself by wrapping the towel around my waist and moving to the living room. He was wearing a long black fur coat in his hands. Hiking boots on the mountain? I say and he smoothes his coat. "This is important for us to walk through. It is full of mountains and does not walk to dead tennis. Wear this, my love! I put on the jacket and it was really very warm and soft. He finishes helping me with his coat and looks at me satisfied. As I turn to look in the mirror Øystein grabs me from behind smiling at my ear causing me to shiver with pleasure. - That's for when you're wet. - He says by running his tongue over the earlobe. "He would thank me, I swear." Did you bring dollars and Norwegian money with you? "Yes, everything is stored in my bag." I say kissing his mouth. My tongue asking for passage he granted very willingly. "Did you work hard while I was gone?" - Euronymous asks as he returns to his duties and I use to dry my wet hair. - Yes a little, not much ... I met someone very enthusiastic about Finland, but he disappeared. - Ah !? It is and who would it be? Øystein asks, and then I sense a moment of risk. His, jealous knocked on the door and he could barely disguise. - Someone in the second year. I say, leaning on the kitchen table after I finish drying my hair with the towel. Lauri approached me in the library. That does not bother you, does it? - No way. - He speaks the most I see that bothered him. - It matters ... - Toothpaste, brushes, socks ... -Ah! Opportunity appeared then ... I think we should be honest and sincere with each other. "I'm closer to him than he's bent, still packing the suitcase." I try to kiss his neck and then I'm hit with a punch that hits my mouth. Tombo to the side the sooner I recover, placing the hand on the face with the impact. Øystein might be soft, but he was too strong for his size. I go to him and we fall to the ground rolling on all sides. Soon he can hold me by holding my neck. Euronymous rolls around reversing our positions and realizes the mistake he made. He comes off me, rolling to the side and lying on the cold floor of the house. We spent a few minutes recovering our breath ... "Should I have left you uncertain?" Øystein is breathing deeply, and even as he lies down, he looks at me from the corner of his eye. "I do not think I should have told you my feelings." Sorry he sits down beside me putting his hands on his face and I realize that I had provoked him and resulted in that punch. I try to fondle her on the back, but he pulls my hands away and then gets up from the floor. A day later and I do my last tests in the college, leaving that day of the aggression aside. I struggled to continue to love Øystein Aarseth, but the things between us were cooling down gradually ... What I most wanted to do was to go to Finland with Øystein. I could not, hurt him. ... Finally the big day arrived and after a few hours by plane, we arrived in Finland. We got off the plane and soon a car was waiting for us with a super redhead woman driving and talking some instructions to us. - 2000 km of pure ice on all sides ... Water in the rooms of the ship. The only entrance and exit is by air or sea. This road starts from this side and ends where I'm going to leave them to catch the ship. - The woman said without stopping looking at us in the rearview mirror of the car. "Look how magnificent, a road that leads nowhere, great, Øystein! Euronymous does not answer me I turn to the other side watching the mountains in front of us in the distance covered with ice and the moon wanting to appear in the middle of the mountains. When we get to the hotel the car is parked and we get off getting our bags and entering the luxurious five star hotel. - Good morning gentlemen. - Says the guy who carries the bags displaying that smile that to me was more false than it appeared. - Welcome to Sweet Dreems! - Hello, gentlemen, I hope you enjoy your stay in our hotel. Can I see your reservation? The receptionist says. "Ah yes, I have reservations in the name of Øystein Aarseth. - Euronymous says handing in his hotel card and his credit card. I watched as the attendant looked at the computer monitor. The hotel was beautiful and seemed to be the most luxurious in the area. The walls were white, hospital-colored, with turquoise details and a few other decorations like vases and paintings on the central wall of the hall. I leave my reveries after Øystein registers and his reservation is accepted. We went to the room and soon the baggage handler came behind us. We entered the most beautiful and expensive room I have ever had the pleasure to put my eyes on. As at the entrance the walls were white with turquoise accents and an E-N-O-R-M-E double bed in the center of the room, next to a minifrigobar. I make a point of opening and there I find two bottles of rosé wine Wongraven Senza compromesso. After opening a bottle of those I picked up a cup that was above my head in a type of cup holder. I fill two cups delivering one, to Øystein after he finishes taking off his black fur coat as well. I hold the cup to him who grabs it and gives it a generous sip. I get excited and take a long drink too, savoring that delicious wine. - Here's a nice view. - I say excited for Øystein. - Yes, you do. There was a change in plans. Øystein says, picking up his small personal hygiene bag and taking it to the bathroom. I sit on the bed and pull out my suitcase, too. - How do you change the plans? Why this now. "I'm just packing my things in the hotel wardrobes. - A speaker decided not to appear and this will make things a bit difficult. - He gave up what? - Of the whole trip, he just had not seen. Øystein says, returning to his room. - And the next cruise is tomorrow so I'll have to repay it. "How many days had she been gone?" I ask him already irritated. I think about five days. Øystein speaks softly. He did not want me to get angry, but it was too late. - Fuck who gave five fucking days? Why did not you tell me this before? I ask, picking up the bottle and drinking almost the whole of it in one swallow. "I'm sorry I only knew it now. I got a message and I can not say no. You are an important customer. They were desperate, I could not say do not forgive me. "I can not believe this, Øystein. You bring me here and I come from all the goodwill of the world and it was to spend these weeks together and now you do FUCK. "I'm already out of bed, getting out of bed." "You can not leave me here alone in this end of the world that I do not even know. I already know! I'm going with you on this cruise. - Can not. It has no place because it is already complete. You can have fun if you stay here. Go take a walk, look at the shops in this town and I'll be back soon. Euronymous approaches me and gives me a kiss on the mouth. I try to push him away sooner to the sweet taste of the wine that is on his lips. After the moment of anger passed, I stared at Øystein and without blinking, he ran his hand over my ass and said I was drooling. He told me to turn around, and I saw him lying on the bed, naked and with his cock as hard as an iron rod. I was excited and shaken. - Come here! - He said. - Not! I said yes. Ah! Yeah, are you going to make it sweet now? I know you do. Let's enjoy it while I'm here and after I come back yes we'll enjoy the city together my love. Come on, give a suck here! - He said smiling with ease and debauchery. Trembling, red with rage, and dying with excitement, I still tried to resist saying that it was wrong for him to lie to me. Øystein stood up, took my hand, without my denying it, and set it firmly on his huge limb. I tried to pull it off, however, and he held it tightly over his hard throbbing cock. Then he let go, and I kept holding on and massaging slowly. He told me to kneel down and put his cock in my mouth. I sucked with a huge hunger, swallowing everything, despite the size and thickness I always took care of the message and he enjoyed happy. He told me to lie face down on the two pillows that were luxuriously placed on the bed so that my butt would be in position for him to penetrate me. Then he opened the drawer of the bedside table, took out a lube, had me put it on his cock, passed my entrance, and walked in very slowly. We took a lot of time in that mete, it gets hot, even because I cried, moaned and screamed horny. Minutes after he started penetrating, I already had spasms through my body. For a full time sex of variations of positions and places without leaving the suite. It was a wonderful and unforgettable evening. Even in bed, in the whirlpool, in the carpet of the small room and in the shower. In the end, it was past 11 pm. I confess that the excitement I felt was unimaginable. I entered so hard in an orgasm that I enjoyed without touching my limb. Øystein gave me a pleasure that no other woman could give me. And while I enjoyed, moaned, and shouted calling for him with every thrust, he thrust harder and moaned with pleasure as well. After minutes he enjoys in my interior and enjoy dirtying the bed of red sheet. We ended up sleeping in a hug. The next morning I found myself standing in front of the wharf where the ship of the Øystein cruise ship would leave. I was leaning against a railing when he appeared smiling and leaning there beside me. "How do you feel today, my love?" He asks, smiling at me. "Well, I'm fine, even though I'm still mad at you, but I'm fine. I say kissing his nose. "Here, take this while I'm gone. It had served you more now than it did me. - Euronymous extends his black leather jacket. This jacket was the one he never took from his body. It looked like he had been born stuck in it. Finally he would give that jacket to me. I take it from his hands and he gives me one more passionate kiss before turning his back and heading towards the ship and hop on board.

#Euronymous Dead DeadMous ♥

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kootenaygoon · 6 years ago

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So,

Cold tears lingered on my cheeks as we hiked downhill through ankle-deep snow, icy wind gusting up from Kootenay Lake and flowing full in our faces. We trudged from one streetlight to the next, squinting into the swirling darkness, lurching unsteadily. There were four or five of us migrating from a house party further up the hill, and none of us were dressed for this sudden blizzard. Paisley had me around my hips as she took careful steps down the sidewalk, and I pulled my coat tighter around my face. I’ve always been a wuss when it comes to winter, having grown up on the west coast, and I was contemplating a U-turn towards home—it was almost midnight and I knew Muppet and Buster were waiting to be cuddled.

Since the beginning of our relationship neither Paisley or I had done much partying, as we’d settled into an increasingly cozy home life, but over Christmas we found ourselves navigating increasingly bombastic social scenarios that left us feeling like clueless ancients. Before we’d been feeling bored and under-stimulated, staying home all the time to order takeout and re-watch the Harry Potter series, but now we had the opposite problem—we were scrambling to keep up. As we crossed through the final intersection and rounded down to Front Street I wondered if there was anything at this upcoming party that could compare to luxuriating in a hot bath.

“I’m starting to ponder the nature of suffering here,” I said. “I’m like one minute away from dying in a snowbank.”

“We’re almost there,” yelled back our friend Caelynn. “It’s right up in that building, the Hall Street Emporium. Like only two blocks further.”

“The party’s in that building? The one with the new pot dispensary?” I asked.

“Yeah, he’s the one that’s putting it on.”

“Who?”

“The main grower, Niles. Apparently he’s handing out a bunch of free weed.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“That’s what my friend texted. She said there’s like 50 people there.”

I’d been keeping a close eye on the cannabis scene since the municipal election, but hadn’t actually pulled the trigger on any Star stories after the pushback I received from management over the Sensible BC thing. I didn’t want to come off to the community as overzealous, too pot-friendly, but marijuana seemed like the main Nelson story that wasn’t being told. There was a long-standing culture of silence around the controversial plant, of secrecy, but with legalization coming I felt like it wasn’t necessary for everyone to hide anymore. Paisley and I had checked out the new place a few weeks earlier, when gossip reached us, and we’d been surprised by how amateur the operation was. It was being run by a 24-year-old former forest fire fighter named Marv, and he’d essentially dragged a glass countertop into an empty room devoid of decorations and proceeded to sell weed and a variety of edibles to whoever walked through the door—he didn’t even check for ID.

I figured it was only a matter of time before the police intervened.

“That guy Marv is such a heat score,” I said. “It’s like he’s daring the police to raid him.”

“What are they gonna do?” Caelynn asked, defiant. “It’s gonna be legal in like a year anyways, right? Fuck those pigs.”

“They may not be able to do anything right now, but he’s still going about this the wrong way.”

“What’s the right way, then?”

“People appreciate some professionalism. I mean, once legalization comes everything’s going to be so different, above board, and there’s not going to be room for people like him.”

“You wanna put money on that?”

I thought about it for a second. “I bet you 50 bucks he’s shut down within three months.”

Caelynn smiled. “Three months from today? 50 bucks? I’ll shake on that.”

A few minutes later we reached the party, and noisily banged the snow off our boots as we entered the building. The first thing I saw was a baby, unattended, crawling across the floor. Mounted speakers blared Shambhala-style EDM, there was a table crowded with ravaged grocery store appetizers, and a whole variety of bongs and smoking apparatuses surrounding a trio of leather couches. In the corner was a pile of air filtration tubing, attached to a heavy-looking appliance the size of a dishwasher, but none of it was turned on. Marv was drunkenly circling the party, taking pictures, and wasn’t wearing a shirt. He was scrawny to the point of looking emaciated, and his thin moustache was dusted with white powder. He careened across the room to embrace Caelynn, then fished a joint out from his toque and held it out in my direction.

We lit it.

“Newspaper dude,” he said, taking a toke. “You’ve got a pretty fucking cool job.”

“It’s Will, and this is my partner Paisley.”

“Your partner?”

“I always hated the term ‘girlfriend’, and we’re not married, so…”

“You are fucking beautiful,” Marv said, as he shook her hand. “Don’t mind me, I’m really fucking high right now. I’m actually totally harmless.”

Paisley laughed uncomfortably. “It’s all good. Thanks for having us.”

“It’s not me, man. It’s all Niles. Have you guys met Niles yet?” he asked, his eyes darting. “He organized this whole shindig, he’s the guy. Hey Niles, Niles! Come here, man.”

Niles shook his head apologetically to the people he was standing with, then sauntered over. He was in his early fifties, with a Swayze-esque mane of golden hair, wearing a baby blue suit. His walnut brown tan made his eyes seem supernaturally white, his golden bowtie was comically oversized, and he even kept a chained watch in his side pocket. It almost looked like he was in costume, like he could be tea partying with the Mad Hatter himself.

“The Kootenay Goon,” Niles said. “It’s an honour. I’ve been reading your stuff for months now, wondering when I would get the chance to meet the new shit disturber in town.”

I shook his hand, half-standing from the couch. “Yeah, shit disturber’s about right.”

“And here we have your lady love—Paisley, right?” he said, turning to her. “That was one of the first articles I read by you, Goon, the column you wrote about her. I remember thinking: ‘people should write about love in the newspaper more often’! I thought ‘when was the last time you saw someone fill two pages of a community newspaper with an ode to his girlfriend?’ I find kids think it’s cool to be nonchalant these days, to never emotionally commit to anybody or anything, and I ask you: what ever happened to true romance?”

Niles sunk down on the couch beside us, crossed his legs and began bouncing his foot in the air. Paisley and I shared a quick glance, acknowledging his Shakespearean flamboyance with secret smirks. He took a few tokes from the joint and passed it to Paisley, then draped his elbow on my shoulder. There was an instant familiarity there, a comfort level I wouldn’t typically have with a stranger, and pretty soon our conversation had veered into philosophical territory. He asked me if I believe in pure, unadulterated love. Did it really exist?

I sat forward, tugging at my beard thoughtfully. “For me, there’s just so many things I’ve lost faith in — like I used to be a hyper-Christian teenager and then I ditched on the whole God thing — and love, like human love, is one of the last things I actually believe in, you know?”

“You were a Christian kid?”

“Totally. Worked at a Bible camp in the summers, did missionary trips, the whole deal.”

“And what ended things for you?”

“My youth pastor was arrested for molesting a teenage boy down in Mexico, summer of 2005, during a missions trip. He was a father figure to me, so I started questioning: if I can’t trust him, and he taught me about God, then how can I trust what I know about God?”

“What a funny word, God.”

“I thought you guys would get along,” said Marv, stumbling off. Niles whipped over to a nearby fridge and returned with three beers. We clinked them together and took long pulls as a handful of party-goers began to dance around us. I felt a pleasant heat in my eyeballs. It was starting to get crowded, and loud.

“The vision I have for this place, Goon,” Niles said. “This wouldn’t just be a dispensary. It would be a smoking lounge, a social club … I was thinking maybe massages too, like a spa. Maybe a counsellor, mental health coach, that sort of thing.”

“I’ve heard that there are multiple new ones getting ready to open. The Green Rush, they’re calling it.”

“Yeah, but everyone’s too chickenshit to pull the trigger because they don’t know which way city hall will swing. They let Phil run his club because he keeps things below the radar, but nobody’s really tried strutting out into the light with their balls out yet.”

“Well, except for you.”

He smiled humbly.

“Well, Deb Kozak’s supposed to be more pot-friendly than Dooley,” I said. “That could make a difference in how things go down.”

He sighed. “They’re all the same. All three of them. There was no real choice there. It’s not about their opinions on cannabis, or their public stances or whatever. At the end of the day it’s about the money, and when the time comes they’re going to want their cut. Doesn’t matter who’s sitting in the big seat. They’re all so full of shit.”

He paused for a moment to take a thoughtful pull from his beer, then continued.

“I mean I’ve lived here since 1976, and there’s never been an honest politician in this town. Not once. They’re all lizard-fucking slime bags, all of them dirty in one way or another. You can’t trust a single word they say, remember that. It’s all the same pablum bullshit they’re force-feeding everybody. They say they’re going to act, they have all kinds of pretty words, but what do they actually do? What do they actually accomplish?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

After chatting intensely for twenty minutes, Niles circulated off to the rest of the party and Paisley and I found ourselves awkwardly clutching our half-finished beers. Caelynn pulled up a chair, sat down on it backwards, and we re-started an earlier debate on the moral standing of Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer. I engaged hard. Paisley put her head on my shoulder and we accepted another joint that was being passed around, sitting comfortable in the rolling fog of bong smoke. My consciousness began to fuzz.

“Oh, I love him,” I heard Paisley say. “What’s his name?”

I tried to locate my partner, distinct amidst the chaos of bodies around me. There were lots of colours. She was down on one knee, laughing, as a German shepherd took happy tongue swipes at her face. Brutus. I looked beyond her to where Snapper stood, leash in hand, wearing a sleeveless jersey that nearly reached his knees. He said something to Paisley, and she said something back, while I tried to maneuver into a standing position. I tried to take a swig of my beer but found it empty. When did that happen?

“Oh, that was tragic,” said Blayne, appearing beside me. She was wearing a bright red jumper, and had her hair braided into pigtails. “You should’ve seen the look of disappointment on your face.”

I smiled. “All these beers keep ending up empty.”

“Funny how that works.”

“I was just heading over to rescue my partner from Snapper before you showed up.”

“Oh, come on. He’s not that bad.”

“Not that bad?” I laughed, and then I doubled over and laughed some more. “Not that bad! Not that bad!” I knew my reaction was disproportionate, maybe nonsensical, but it was just one of those evenings. Blayne had her hand on my shoulder, trying to pull me back under control, and she was laughing now too — but she was laughing at me, laughing.

“You can be kind of an asshole, huh?” she said.

“I’ve made peace with that, yeah.”

“What’s Snapper ever done to you?”

I looked over to where he was chatting with Paisley. I didn’t like how close he was standing to her. She glanced over and made eye contact with me, then looked away again. I’ve never been a particularly possessive boyfriend, but something told me I needed to keep her away from him specifically. I turned to find Blayne blinking up into my face, because I’d failed to answer her.

“He hasn’t done anything to me, I just don’t like his energy.”

“He’s actually a really generous person. You guys could be friends, if you gave him a chance. You’d just have to stop being such a fucking snob.”

“I’m not a snob.”

“No? What are you then?”

Blayne and I sat back down on the couch, still bickering. Dru and Cy were sitting on the couch opposite from us, hand-rolling cigarettes on the coffee table. The music had a pulse, like a heartbeat, and I felt time melt. What was this sensation? I lifted my hands and marvelled at how the blood pulsed into my fingertips. My gaze settled on a dude wearing a psychedelic hoodie, on the sunburst erupting from his armpit. Wow. A woman walked by with a toddler on her hip, her billowing brown hair interlaced with red highlights, beads and little scraps of leather. I wondered what was going on in the minds of these strangers, if they were experiencing a fraction of what I was. This was one more moment, in this interminable line of moments, and who could say if it was any more special than any other? I wondered if anyone else were to tell a story about this moment, would it be different? What were they feeling, what did they see?

The Kootenay Goon

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harrieatthemet · 6 years ago

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Holiday: Chapter 5

A/N: you ask, you shall receive. I’m for sure posting 6 soon, because at first I combined them but then I separated it bc it was hella long BUT 6 YOU GUYS. ITS INSANE. Enjoy, dm me if you wanna chat about the storyyy xx

Waking up the next morning, with an all too familiar headache, I realized that I didn’t wake up to my routine alarm. Propping myself up on my elbows, whilst blowing a few stray blonde hairs that hung loosely out of my bun and in my face, my eyes groggily raided the room to see if any little people in particular were hiding behind the furniture. But there was no one, which made me a little nervous. Glancing at the clock that sat on my bedside table, I was alarmed to see that it was almost 10 am. The kids never let me sleep past 8, which made me wonder where they were and what they were doing if they weren’t in here shaking me awake.

Slipping on whatever pair of pajama shorts my hands grabbed out of my luggage, I buttoned up my oversized button down I had slept in before lunging towards my bedroom door. As I walked out in the hallway, peeking in to each of the kids rooms, I had noticed that their beds were unmade and their toys were strewn across the room. Harboring a great deal of anticipation to find them, my bare feet pitter pattered against the cold wood of the floor before hitting the staircase. That’s when the faint noise of cartoons was in earshot, and a small sense of relief became me. My pace eased as I approached the bottom of the steps, and I could hear the oddly comforting noise of Penelope whining as Brayden changed the channel in the middle of her ‘favorite show’. Every show was her favorite show, especially when Brayden would change the channel.

I peeked into the sitting room, where my laptop was still open but the wine bottle had disappeared. Figured Harry had taken care of that, if he was even awake yet. Sauntering into the room where the kids were fully tuned into the TV, I noticed that they had even been fed already. Plates with half eaten pancakes, some scrambled eggs, and even toast (I could never get them to eat toast, for some weird reason) had been gnawed at. In that moment, I had to give it to Harry. I was impressed at how efficient and quietly he had gotten everything done, especially since he didn’t have someone else do it for him.

“Morning.” I hummed, leaning over to press a kiss atop Brayden’s head.

“Mornin mama.” Quinn gleamed, throwing his head all the way back to lock eyes with me.

I scrunched my face together in endearment, tapping his cute little nose before exiting the room. I could smell the alluring scent of coffee from down the hall, which was followed by the sound of a pan tumbling to the floor and an incoherent ‘fuck’ or two slip from Harry’s mouth.

To say I was nervous to talk to Harry would be an utter understatement. I was still feeling a little culpable for our spiff last night, and I didn’t want to have the awkward ‘I’m sorry’ conversation. Typically, the I’m sorries ended up resulting in another fight about who started the fight and so on.

His back was to me as I walked in, and he was wearing that snug white v neck I loved on him. It complimented every crease and every bicep so well, that it was hard not to stop and gawk for a little while. Those jaw string sweatpants that he always slept in hung dangerously low around his waist, and I watched intently as he hiked them up every time he moved side to side. I’d been telling him since we first spent the night together that they were too big, but he was too stubborn to listen. His hair, though it was cut short again, had fallen since last night and was hanging in his face just enough to get in the way. Every few minutes he’d lift a hand up to it and push a few strands out of the way so he could see better.

Clearing my throat to get his attention, I stretched my hand over my chest and awkwardly wrapped it just above my elbow as I shifted all my weight on my hip. He hesitated, mumbling something under his breath in that thick accent of his as he grew frustrated with the pan on the stovetop. He turned around, eyes bright and skin glowing. He’d always been a morning person.

“You’re up.” His voice was monotone, and he wouldn’t look directly at me which insinuated he was still annoyed.

“Yeah.” I nodded my head awkwardly as I fidgeted in my position, “Harry can we talk about-“

As if it were timed, his phone started buzzing on the countertop. I exhaled loudly, annoyed but not completely surprised because this happened nearly every time I tried to talk to him about something. Shuffling from one end of the kitchen to the other, he reached over and picked his phone off the table with two of his fingers. He still had those rings on, and he probably slept with them on too. I use to love feeling those cold metal rings on my skin in the morning.

“I, er, I gotta take this.” He excused himself, accepting the call before formally greeting whoever was on the other end.

I watched solemnly as he scurried off into the next room, before moving to the front door. He swept his coat up off the hanger before opening the door, strolling outside while jamming his sneakers on and shutting the door behind him. From the corner of the kitchen, I could get a semi clear view of him slowly pacing while he chatted on the phone. Running a hand through his hair a few times, it was obvious to me that he was overwhelmed.

“Mooooooooom” Penelope whined, her voice ringing in my ears even from the next room over.

I went wandering down the hall, listening to the whining that flooded the first level of the house as Penelope and Brayden bickered over the TV. Once I reached the TV room, I rolled my eyes in frustration as I got a glimpse of the shit show playing out in front of me. Brayden towered over Penelope’s small frame, holding the TV remote high above her head as she wailed and begged for it back. Brayden loved to push her buttons, maybe because it was so easy to get her worked up and he simply enjoyed reminding her that he was the oldest and could get his way if he wanted to. He wasn’t always like that, an instigator and fight starter. Once Harry moved out, he would do little things like this every so often as a way to act out. He hadn’t quit doing it, which was my fault because I struggled with reprimanding him.

“Mommy tell him to stop.” Penelope sobbed, throwing herself to the floor in hysterics.

“Oh my god, quit the drama.” I grumbled, picking her up by her arms and peeling her off the floor.

Brayden looked up at me, green eyes wide as he tried to play it innocent. I shot him a stern look, and we had a bit of a stare off before he caved and placed the TV remote down on the table. Stressed out from Harry and I’s fight, and everything else, I wasn’t in the mood to play peacemaker or try and tiptoe around Brayden’s feelings. Just as I was about to raise my voice and finally scold Brayden for shamelessly taunting his sister, Harry strode in and saved his ass.

“I’d say it’s time we make a snowman or two, yeah?” He yelled jokingly, earning a chorus of cheers from the kids.

“Go,” I hissed at Brayden, “apologize to Penelope, and get your snow stuff on.”

With a quick nod of his head, taken back by my unfamiliar tone of voice, he scampered out of the room and went barreling up the steps. Penelope wasn’t far behind, and Harry even gave her a soft and playful smack on the bum as she went running past him. Only for a moment did he stand in the archway, giving me a soft and apologetic look before he turned on his heel to head upstairs. It was just me and Quinn now, who had thrown a blanket over his head and pretended to be a ghost.

Harry got the easy job of helping Penelope and Brayden get prepped for the bitterness of the snow, while I was stuck fighting tooth and nail to get Quinn to just stand still so I could finish getting him ready.

“Quinn, can you just-“ I grunted out of irritation, “stop moving around!”

The baby giggled as he swayed side to side, purposely trying to make it difficult for me to secure his snow gear onto his chubby little body. I couldn’t help but give up for a minute, letting a few laughs slip out. Quinn was the silliest out of all three kids. He would do just about anything to get a laugh out of anyone, and loved the attention he’d get from being goofy. Even though he was the baby, he took direction from no one and marched to the beat of his own drum. However, it made it difficult for me to get him to listen, but in a comical way.

“Quinnie,” I started, a serious expression flickering over my face, “if you don’t let me zip you up, you can’t go play in the snow.”

He pouted, in an insincere and playful manner, as I glided the zipper up so his jacket covered a portion of his neck. As soon as my fingers left the zipper, he went heading off towards the double glass doors that led to the yard. Since he was still small, and I had him wearing Brayden’s old snow boots, he went staggering off and almost did a nose dive in the snow after his attempt to take too big of a step off the deck stair. I couldn’t help but start to laugh, because even though he fell, he went teetering on in order to catch up to Penelope and Brayden.

As I prepared myself for the bitter cold that awaited me just outside the warmth of the living room, slipping my boots on and wrapping a scarf around my neck, I peered out the window to make sure the kids hadn’t buried each other head first in the snow. Instead, I saw something else. Harry was prancing around in the snow, Brayden on his back as the two chased P and Quinn. Brayden had two snowballs waiting in his hand, and the squeals of the children made me feel happy that I agreed to this. It also made me feel guilty, mainly because of what I had angrily spat at Harry last night. Fighting, especially around this time of year, was the last thing I wanted to do with Harry. And I figured that, though I was reluctant at first, apologizing to him would be the appropriate thing to do.

As I stepped out into the yard, fidgeting with my hat to cover my ears, a wintery breeze slapped me in the face and left my nose icy. I hadn’t even taken a step off the deck before a snowball came catapulting at me, hitting me right in my chest. Once I brushed off the snow, I caught a glimpse of Penelope, who was peeking behind one of the trees as she waited for me to spot her. I teasingly squinted my eyes at her, making her aware that I was gonna get payback.

“Mom’s here, can we sled now?” Brayden cheered, picking up the orange sled that laid in the snow.

“Let’s sled!” Harry chanted, marching towards Brayden and the kids as I trailed behind them.

The kids went sprinting off, Quinn tripping and falling occasionally while Brayden led the way. Penelope followed closely behind, her hands holding onto her furry white ear muffs to keep them from falling. Harry and I began to walk in sync, trudging through the snow as the kids sauntered towards the sledding hill up ahead.

We walked in silence for a little while, neither of us knowing what to say. It was obvious that he felt bad for raising his voice so belligerently, and I felt even worse about accusing him of caring about his career more than his kids.

“Harry,” I spoke, voice a little quiet and shy as I worked up my courage.

“Hm?”

“I’m sorry.” I sighed, breaking the silence.

“Fo’ what?” He breathed out in one word, small smile on his face.

I was extremely hardheaded, and Harry knew that all too well. He found a little bit of joy in getting me to admit I was wrong, the few times that I have. For a second, seeing that he would get some satisfaction and the upper hand if I apologized, I thought about not saying anything anymore. But, being the bigger person this time seemed more idealistic.

“You know, for what I said. It was.. it was mean and out of line.” I laughed lightly, looking down as we kept walking.

“Very.”

He was never one to really hold grudges, and right now I was especially thankful for that. He chuckled, glancing at me over his shoulder. I nudged him, placing my hand to his shoulder and giving him a playful shove. His arm was hard, reminding me how fit he used to be and probably still was. Sometimes, like right now, I would start to miss him. I’d miss him holding me when I couldn’t fall asleep, and how he’d lull me to sleep with a song or two. His hugs were so warm and comforting, and I’d find myself needing one at the end of a work day or when Quinn would throw one of his infamous tantrums. It was the little things, those small voids that no bottle of wine could fill, that I often found myself craving.

“M’sorry too.” He confessed, hands stuffed in his pockets as his eyes squinted from the cold wind, “Hate yelling like that, especially at you. Didn’t mean t’call you a drunk mess, was rude of me.”

I felt my chest flutter a little as the words rolled off his tongue. A lot of the time, after the year that we had been apart, I wondered if I even crossed his mind at any given point. I’d seen him, all over social media, with a different girl every time he stepped out. He had gone through 3 or 4 temporary relationships, probably just to keep him entertained on tour when he got bored or needed something to do. Nobody had ever met the kids, which was reassuring to me. It let me know that he hadn’t engaged in anything serious since me, which made me feel a little special in a weird kind of way.

“But y’always get so nasty when you’re drunk.” He snickered.

“I wasn’t drunk!” I laughed, “Buzzed, I was buzzed.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled, “ a drunk buzzed.”

“Got a bottle of champagne, stuffed away in one o’my bags. Figured if, well if y’won’t be mean t’me, we’d open it up later on. Just to destress from this.” He laughed, nodding his head towards the kids up a little ways ahead.

I let out a loud laugh as I watched the three of those knuckleheads go traipsing through the snow. Quinn was throwing himself on top of Penelope, who would shout and demand for him to stop. Brayden was trying to tug the sled along, and every time he’d fall he’d blame it on a different sibling. Penelope was trying her best to run the show, her bossy side coming out as she directed the trio in the direction she saw fit. Every time Quinn would stray away, she would grow agitated and call him a baby. Brayden tried to set everyone straight, and Quinn would interrupt him every time with a loud and incoherent noise. I gave them about another 20 minutes before someone had a meltdown and started to cry.

“I hope you brought two bottles.”

#harry #harry smut #harry is such a #harry imagine #harry fanfic #harry fic #harry fluff #harry blurb #harry x reader #harry one shot #dad!harry #harry live on tour #Harry Styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles live on tour #harry styles smut #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fic #harry styles imagines

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taeken-my-heart · 7 years ago

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Independent {f} - Chapter 9

Summary: Your mom calls you stubborn, your friends call you wild, and the boys you’ve left in your wake call you a frigid bitch. You’ve built a life of independence and you like it that way. Kim Taehyung, however; seems to be able to change your mind.

Pairing: Taehyung x Reader

Genre: Light fluff, mild angst

Word Count: 8282

It had been raining nearly all day today, which was strange for this time of year, and perhaps you should have been miffed but really it was nice to be able to sit at the living room window and look out into the mist covered evening.

It gave you a sense of clarity that you’d really needed. You’d been thinking about what Taehyung had said all week and agonizing over what felt right. At this point you had a massive headache but you’d also managed to make a decision.

Curling your legs further into your chest you wrapped your arms around them, dropping your chin onto your knee and sighing. It was time you started opening up and at least trying, and even though you honestly weren’t really sure how, you were willing to practice and you only hoped that Taehyung would be patient enough to move slow.

You’d really only needed one day to decide but then the last 6 days you’d just agonized on whether it was actually the right decision until you’d grown frustrated and basically screamed at yourself into the safety of your pillow. Your roommates already thought you were a little crazy, there was no need to confirm their suspicions.

You’d texted Taehyung telling him you’d made a decision and that you’d tell him tomorrow but in his excitement he’d insisted on coming over immediately and really, you couldn’t have stopped him if you wanted to. He was like an eager puppy, bouncing all over the place. You’d tried to convince him to wait until tomorrow when it wasn’t raining anymore but he’d insisted he didn’t mind and now you were watching out the rain drenched window into the misty sky.

His form suddenly came into view, dark hood bunched over his head and hands shoved into his pockets. His head was hung low to protect from the rain, but really, the dummy didn’t have an umbrella so he was completely soaked through.

You met him at the door, opening to look into his beaming face. His hair was dripping rivulets down onto his hoodie and into his eyes and he shivered lightly in the breeze but he looked so beautiful standing there, dripping on your doorstep that for a moment you forgot to invite him in.

“Hey.” He said softly.

His husky voice snapped you out of your daze and you quickly stepped back, waving him in. “Come in, geez, sorry. Do you not have an umbrella, you dummy?”

Taehyung grinned good naturedly as he stepped into the front foyer, pushing his hood from his head and messily tossing his fingers through his hair to release some of the water droplets.

“That would be practical.” Taehyung teased and you laughed, shaking your head.

“Here, take off your shoes and hoodie and I’ll get you a towel to at least dry off a little bit.”

You quickly grabbed a towel from the main closet before making your way back to where Taehyung was still standing in a simple grey t-shirt, his jacket and shoes dropped unceremoniously in the corner by the door.

“Thanks.” Taehyung said softly, taking the towel from you and ringing out the ends of his hair.

“Let’s go sit in the kitchen.” You said and Taehyung hummed in affirmation, following after you. “Did you want anything to drink? Hot chocolate, coffee, water?”

“To be honest, I’d love a hot chocolate.” He grinned and you smiled back, nodding and grabbing the milk and hot chocolate mix.

After making two steaming mugs you came to sit back at the table, folding your legs crisscross in your chair and staring down into the molten chocolate in your cup.

“So.” Taehyung mumbled, taking a sip of his own drink and you looked up at him carefully through your eyelashes.

“So.” So murmured.

“You made a decision?” He asked cautiously.

Biting your lip, you nodded, but you still couldn’t bring yourself to look at him. He waited patiently for you to speak and you were really grateful he didn’t push the matter because, honestly, this was hard enough as it is.

“So,” you started carefully, tapping your fingers against the rim of your mug, “I’ve been thinking about it all week, like really thinking because I suck at making decisions and I wanted to be fair to you.”

You could see Taehyung nodding from the corner or your eye and felt a slight pang in your chest at the look of dejection that flitted across his face before he managed to mask his emotions. He thought you were going to turn him down.

“I’m not very good at the whole dating thing. After my dad died,” you paused, clearing your throat uncomfortably, “well, after he was gone it kind of broke me and I decided to protect myself. If I didn’t let anyone close, I couldn’t get hurt. Stupid, I know, but it’s worked so far.” You shrugged and Taehyung biting his bottom lip at your admission made you blush. With his grandmother passing away you imagined he did know a little bit about what you were talking about. Grief is grief, no matter the form. “Anyway, Sarah told me a little while ago that when I shut myself off from pain I also shut out joy and I figured she’s right so I’m willing to, you know, to try…if you’re willing to be patient with me.”

Taehyung’s head snapped up and for a moment you worried he might have hurt his neck with how quickly he’d looked up from the table top. “What?” He breathed, “You’re saying you’re willing to date me?”

“I’m willing to try.” You repeated, “But I’m not very good at this sort of thing so I really need to move slowly.”

Taehyung was nodding his head so quickly you thought it might just snap right off his shoulders. “Yes, of course, we can go as slow as you’d like.” He laughed breathlessly, “I’m just so glad you’re willing to try.” He reached across the space between you, pulling you into his arms and hugging you tightly. “Thank you.” He whispered into your hair and your heart leaped into your throat, beating a million miles an hour at the intensity of his hug.

“Would it be too fast if we hung out tomorrow night? It’s supposed to snow again and I thought it would be fun to go sledding.” He asked, sitting back in his chair.

You smiled, chewing the inside of your cheek as jitters spread through your limbs and into your fingertips and toes. “I have to admit, I’m not a big fan of the snow. But that actually sounds really fun.”

“Great!” Taehyung beamed, standing from his seat, wet socks squelching on the linoleum floor. “Well, how about we go at 7? That way we can have dinner and get some homework done and whatever. I’ll drop by and we can head out together.”

“Ok.” You nodded.

“Well, I’ll go then, I should probably go take a hot shower, don’t want to catch a cold or anything.” He chuckled. You walked him to the front door where he grabbed his sweater, still soaked and dripping and shoved his feet back into his shoes, grimacing as they sloshed loudly. “I’d give you another hug, but I just realized my sweater is soaking and I’ve already done damage.” He tailed off, waving his hand at your damp shirt and you chuckled, nodding.

“It’s OK. I’ll see you tomorrow, Taehyung.”

“See you.” He beamed.

The next morning was bright and sunny and it lulled you into a false sense of warmth but as soon as you stepped outside you swore under your breath, bringing your coat further around your body and shivering into your scarf.

It was only half way through November but you were already aching for the spring again. While you liked wearing boots and cute coats as much as the next girl, you really hated being cold and wet and the winter was an unfortunate mix of the two.

Plus, it was Monday morning. So really, there were bound to be some vexations. You trudged through the browning snow, which was honestly more slush at this point, and wondered if it really would snow today like Taehyung said.

You couldn’t imagine sledding on the mush that was currently on the ground so in spite of your normal feelings towards it, you found yourself hoping that it would snow so that Taehyung and you could actually go sledding. Ever since agreeing last night you’d been surprisingly excited and you didn’t really like the idea of having to put off those plans for another time.

You had three classes today, with a nice long lunch break in between history and photojournalism and you were planning on meeting your roommates in the café to grab something to eat. You’d woken up late and hadn’t been able to eat breakfast so you were infinitely grateful that you only had one class in between you and a burger.

Your mouth watered at the thought of food, what you wouldn’t give to eat…anything, really. Your stomach grumbled uncomfortably and you frowned, marching up the steps to the social sciences building and through the doors into the beautifully heated building.

Pizza, pasta, burgers, sandwiches, honestly, even a heaping pile of tomatoes. Right now you were so hungry you’d eat just about anything. Just as you were hiking your bag higher on your shoulder and readying yourself to walk up the stairs to your second floor classroom you caught a shimmer of blonde hair out of the corner of your eyes and turned to find Beth flouncing up to your side.

“Hi!” She gushed and you resisted the urge to vomit. She was so fake you wondered if she ever grossed herself out. “Oh my gosh, imagine seeing you here! What a small world.”

“Well, the university isn’t that big, I guess it’s not that strange that at some point we’d bump into each other.” You were proud of keeping the bite out of your voice and Beth grinned, tucking a long strand of hair behind her hair.

“That’s true,” she giggled. Honestly, you should be given a medal for how long suffering you were. “Anyway. So, this may seem forward, but I figured woman to woman, you know?” She said, leaning forward and whispering and you wanted so badly to roll your eyes. “Has Taehyung ever, you know, mentioned me?”

“Not really.” You said, “We don’t tend to talk about other people, just projects and stuff.”

“Oh.” Beth pouted. “But you guys aren’t dating, right?”

What could you even say to this question? You weren’t dating, though you were going on a date. Was that supposed to count? Were you supposed to mention that? Having Beth around made you feel strangely territorial and you had to remind yourself that you had no good reason to be possessive; Taehyung wasn’t an object so you couldn’t honestly claim him.

“I really don’t know much about his dating life,” you answered truthfully. “You should ask him those questions.” If Beth thought she was going to get some juicy information from you she was sorely mistaken. It wasn’t in your personality to share other people’s information with friends, let alone near strangers. “Anyway, I’ve got class in five minutes so I’ve gotta go.”

Before she could say anything more you quickly made your way up the steps and around the corner. Talking to Beth made you feel like she was expecting you to auction him off and you hated that feeling. Sliding into your seat in the back of class was a welcome relief and you pulled out your books and a pen as the professor began to talk.

An hour and ten minutes later you were trudging into the café when you saw Sarah waving you over from a nearby table. Havana, at last. You couldn’t wait to stuff your face with the first thing you saw and you rushed forward, dropping your bag into the open chair beside your blonde haired roommate.

“I’m so hungry!” You wailed. Charlotte looked up at you through a curtain of dark hair, eyebrows wrinkling and motioned over her shoulder.

“Then go get something, you weirdo. Anna is in there now.”

You nodded, grabbing your wallet and making your way further into the café, examining your different options before remembering your quest for a burger and hurrying to the correct station. Anna waved at you from nearby, coming to stand with you after grabbing her own food and chatting aimlessly while you waited.

Once you’d paid the both of you made your way towards the table and sat down with the rest of your friends. Everyone began chatting but you were so immersed in eating that you’d downed half of your burger before realizing that Anna was asking you a question.

“What?” You mumbled around a mouthful of food and Charlotte grimaced.

“Swallow your food you animal.” She grumbled and you grinned, swallowing and shrugging.

“What did you ask me?” You repeated.

“I asked you about what’s going on with Taehyung. Sarah’s the only one that really knows anything and to be honest, I feel a little offended.” Anna pouted.

You blushed, taking another big bite of your burger to avoid the conversation and Anna scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Come on, it’s not a big deal if you don’t make it a big deal. I just wanna know what’s going on with you. You said you kind of liked him and I don’t remember you ever liking a guy before, aside from that one guy in high school that you were sort of into. I just want to gossip with you!”

You sighed, nodding your head and putting your burger back onto your plate before smoothing your hands down your legs and looking up at your friends. “Ok, we can talk about it. Ask me anything you want.”

Anna beamed, shifting eagerly in her seat and rubbing at her chin. “Man, where to start?” You rolled your eyes at her and she chuckled. “First of all, how in the world did you even meet duck boy?”

You sighed, sending a glare Sarah’s way and she grinned. “You told her to call him duck boy?”

“No,” Sarah laughed, “we all call him duck boy because we’ve all seen him pat the mailbox.”

“Fine, fine.” You grumbled. “I met him when I was out taking pictures. I took a picture of him because he was smiling and it was a nice image and he caught me. After that we ended up working together for the recital and now he’s the TA in one of my classes.”

“OK,” Charlotte nodded, “And you like him?”

“Yes.” You admitted softly, blush rising into your hair.

“Does he like you?” Charlotte continued and you blushed harder.

“Yes.” You mumbled.

“Did he confess?” Sarah gasped and you sunk deep into your chair. This conversation was mortifying. You weren’t used to being quizzed on this sort of thing; was this normal when you liked someone?

“Oh my gosh!” Anna and Sarah crowed and you buried your face in your hands.

“Wow, so much progress and you didn’t even tell me!” Sarah tutted, swatting at you.

“It only happened last night!” You insisted.

“So are you dating?” Charlotte asked and you quickly shook your head.

“No, no, no!” You rushed.

“Why do you say it like it’s a bad thing?” Anna frowned and you blushed again.

“Well, it’s not a bad thing, I’m just not used to this. You know I would never rush into something like that.”

“OK, fair enough.” Anna nodded. “But will you go on a date with him, at least?”

You nodded, picking at the bun on your burger. “Yeah, we’re actually gonna go sledding tonight.”

Anna and Sarah began squealing and you were even surprised to find Charlotte bouncing giddily in her chair. You raised an eyebrow at her and she smirked, shrugging.

“You have to tell us what happens! Especially if he kisses you.” Sarah gushed. Your heart shot into your throat and you shook your head violently.

“That won’t happen!” You insisted. “I told him I need to move slowly, this is all super new to me. He said he’s willing to do that.”

“Good man.” Anna smiled, “When Max and me started dating it was so exciting. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I was also really, really afraid. After Brad, well, you know, he messed me up for a while. I really liked Max, though, and I wanted to believe that not all guys are like my ex. I wasn’t sure I was ready when Max asked me on a date but he convinced me to just hang out and get to know him and that really helped me to get more comfortable with him. It just takes time to learn to trust after you get hurt, but if you’ve found a guy that really does work hard to wait for you then you’ve found a good egg.”

“How did you know with Max, though?” You asked quietly. “I’ve been alone for so long that I don’t even know where to start.”

“I take offence to that!” Sarah pouted, “You’ve had us!”

“Be quiet!” Anna scoffed, shushing her sister as you rolled your eyes. This seemed to be a theme with your friends. “Honestly, it took time. I had to get to know him and be his friend first. Comfort doesn’t come because you want it to, it comes because you took the time to practice it.”

You sighed, slouching in your seat and picking at your fries. “It just takes so much effort.”

Sarah laughed, rolling her eyes at you. “Anything worth doing takes time and energy, you loser.”

You smirked, flicking her arm. “OK, well for now let’s talk about something else. I feel exhausted thinking about all this stuff.”

“Fine, fine.” Anna pouted.

The four of you spent the rest of your break chatting about classes and any other mundane gossip you could think about before you had to head to your next class. The day was quickly turning to evening and as you finished your essay for English and looked up at the clock you realized you only had an hour to eat dinner and get ready for the date with Taehyung.

Butterflies erupted in your stomach at the thought of it and you rushed to grab some leftover spaghetti, sitting at the dining room table and scrolling through the social media on your phone. People were posting pictures on Facebook of the weather from that afternoon and you smiled. The weatherman had kept his promise when he said a fresh snow would blanket the campus.

A foot of snow had fallen while you were in your last two classes of the day and the sky was dark and grey, an indication that the billowy white wasn’t likely to stop falling anytime soon. After finishing dinner you rushed to the bathroom to brush your teeth and then into your room to decide on an outfit.

You grabbed a baggy white crochet turtleneck, slipping it over your chest and let it hang low over your dark blue skinny jeans as you searched in your closet for an appropriate pair of boots to wear in the snow. Grabbing a pair of grey and brown bean boots you slipped them over your fuzzy pink socks and went to grab your parka from the coat closet.

Just as you’d draped it over the living room chair and had grabbed a hat and gloves from the couch there was a knock on the door and your heart jumped into your throat. You could see the top of Taehyung’s head through the windows and took a few calming breaths before opening the door.

Taehyung smiled brightly, his coat zipped all the way to his nose and hat pulled down low over his ears. “Can you believe how lucky we got with this snow?” He beamed, stepping into the foyer and closing the door behind him.

You smiled, pulling your gloves and hat on before grabbing your coat and sliding it over your shoulders. "It is pretty amazing, I was a little worried we’d be stuck with yesterday’s slush.”

Taehyung stepped towards you, laughing and zipping your coat up to your chin. “It’s perfect for sledding!” He grinned and you smiled up at him. “Ready to go?”

You nodded and he opened the door again, leading you outside to where he’d left two wooden sleds. “Here, you take this one, it’s lighter so it’ll be easier to carry.”

You took the proffered sled and wrapped your arms around it as he grabbed the other one and motioned for you to follow him. “So how was your day?” He asked and if you didn’t know any better you would have thought he sounded a little shy.

“It was OK,” you said softly, “but I’m glad to be done with classes.”

“Hopefully by the end of today you’ll be saying today was fantastic! I’m taking you to my favorite sledding hill. I don’t know why, but no one seems to know about it even though I’m pretty sure it’s the best sledding hill in existence.”

“Those are some pretty big words, Taehyung, are you prepared to back them up?” You grinned and he smirked right back at you, slowing his pace down slightly as you crossed the main road and headed in the direction of a small wooded pathway.

“I always back it up.”

A few minutes later you stepped into the clearing of what you had to admit was a fairly substantial hill, covered in unblemished snow, not a soul in sight. “Dammit,” you mumbled and Taehyung turned to look down at you, “I was really looking forward to mocking you but now I can’t.”

Taehyung laughed loudly and ushered you forward towards the top of the hill. “OK, put the sled down and get ready to have your ass kicked.”

“My ass kicked in sledding?” you teased and Taehyung sat himself down on the edge of his sled, looking up at you and raising his eyebrow.

“What, are you afraid?”

You frowned, dropping your sled down beside him and quickly adjusting yourself in your seat. “You’re on!” You challenged.

“First one to the bottom gets gloating rights. On the count of three. One, two…GO!” Taehyung sped off quickly and you gasped. That little punk! Pushing off on your own sled you sped down the hill, hooting and screeching at the top of your lungs from the rush of cold air, the soft flakes of snow still drifting from the sky and onto your cheeks.

Once you’d reached the bottom you rolled off your sled into the powdery snow, laughing and looking over to where Taehyung had landed face first into a small snowbank. He pulled himself up, face and torso covered and he shivered, shaking the snow from his head.

“Serves you right for cheating, Cheater McCheater face.” You snickered.

Taehyung laughed, brushing the snow from his shoulders and off his chest. “First one to the top!” He shouted, grabbing his sled and racing towards the top of the slope.

You screeched in mock outrage, jumping up and grabbing your own sled, laughing when you noticed Taehyung’s feet getting stuck every few steps deep in the snows trenches.

You managed to make it to the top of the hill before he’d even got half way up and you sat back down on your sled, pushing off and laughing all down the hill past Taehyung’s grinning face as you were launched back into a snow drift and laughed, landing haphazardly in a pile of limbs and crystal.

“Hey!” Taehyung whined from the middle of the hill, feet still stuck deep and body twisted to look at you.

“Sore loser!” You called, grinning up at him.

“Come help me get unstuck and I’ll give you the winner’s title!”

“How gracious of you!” You called sarcastically, standing and placing your hands on your hips. “I think I won fair and square!”

“Oh, come on!” Taehyung pouted and you grinned, grabbing your sled and marching towards him.

“You’re not so tough now that your foot’s stuck, huh?” You chuckled, standing directly in front of him and he grinned, a puff of air leaving his mouth and warming your cheeks.

“Even the tough guys lose sometimes.” He replied and you nodded.

“Touché.” You looked down at his foot, buried deep in the snow and grinned, “all right, time to get you unstuck. You big baby.”

“I am an adorable, endearing big baby, I will have you know.”

“Is that so?” You smirked, wrapping your gloved fingers around his calf and tugging.

“Yes, my mother told me so.”

“Well, mother knows best,” you grunted, pulling as hard as you could. His foot finally popped loose and you both tumbled down the hill, giggling all the way and landing back at the bottom. Laying at the bottom of the hill, the both of you remained quiet for a moment, only the sounds of your gasps for air filling the space as you tried to regain your breath.

“We should catch snowflakes on our tongue!” Taehyung suddenly burst, jumping up to his feet and holding his hand out to you.

“Ew, that’s gross, Tae! Snowflakes catch everything that’s in the air; they’re super dirty.”

“Naw, come on. All the snow on the ground already caught what was in the air, now the new snowflakes will be clean!”

You remained frowning at him from your spot on the ground. “That’s not really how it works.” You said.

Taehyung laughed, flailing his outstretched hand in your face. “Come on, Y/N, live a little!”

You took a deep breath before grabbing his hand and allowing him to pull to up. Everything around you was so quiet, enveloped in silence in this little grove of trees. You nodded your head before tipping it back and opening your mouth, tongue out to catch the drifting flakes of ivory.

The first flake that landed on your tongue surprised you and you closed your eyes as it began to melt. You could hear Taehyung’s opened mouthed breathes as he stood in front of you and you peaked open one eye to look at him.

Though he stood taller than you, you could see his head tipped back, eyes closed and tongue out, arms flung wide. You smiled, closing your eye again and throwing your arms out to spin in circles, mouth still open wide and you began to laugh.

Spinning again and again you could hear Taehyung laughing and you opened your eyes to find him spinning in front of you before tumbling into the snow and rolling onto his back. In your state of disarray you found yourself tripping over his outstretched foot and falling face first into the powder beside him.

You rolled onto your back, laughing loudly as Taehyung looked at you in concern. “Are you ok?” He asked.

You turned to him, grinning and laying your head against his outstretched arm. “I’m really great.” You admitted.

Taehyung smiled, “would you say this day has been “fantastic”?”

You turned your body to stare up at the sky, head tucked in the crook of his elbow. “You know, I think I would.” You said softly.

You didn’t need to look at him to know he was smiling and honestly, so were you. This had genuinely been the best date you’d ever had and that made the butterflies dance in the pit of your stomach.

“I’m glad.” Taehyung whispered.

The next morning you woke to the sound of your roommates music blasting and you groaned into your pillow. Charlotte was many things and eclectic was one of them, her music tastes didn’t stray far from that and the bagpipe rock that was currently bouncing against the walls of your home further proved that.

After standing and pulling a hoodie over your head you made your way to the kitchen, narrowing your eyes at your friend as she bounced around by the stove, head banging along to the electric guitar. She looked at you over her shoulder and gave you a lopsided smile, waving her spatula in your face and then turning to scream the words of the song into the slotted pronged end.

You poured yourself a glass of orange juice, rolling your eyes in exasperation and watching as Charlotte turned a perfectly browned pancake onto her plate. She took the eggs from the other pan and plopped them on top and then proceeded to pour syrup across the top of them.

You made a gagging noise and she chuckled. “Don’t knock it until you try it.” She said, grabbing a fork and sitting at the table, flicking off her music as she went.

“Mm, no thanks.”

“Would you mind grabbing me a mug of coffee? It’s freshly brewed.”

You nodded, turning to the cabinets and pulling down a mug, pouring the scalding hot liquid into the center and joining Charlotte at the table.

“Thanks.” She murmured, taking a tentative sip and humming into the glass. “So you went on that date last night, right?”

You looked up at her, blush spreading across your cheeks despite your best efforts and slid your hands into the front pocket of your hoodie. “Uh, yeah, I did.”

“How was it?” Charlotte asked, shoveling a rather large bite of pancake, egg, syrup mixture into her mouth and you refrained from grimacing.

“Well,” you said softly, “actually it was really nice. Like, really, really nice. I haven’t had that much fun in a while.”

Charlotte looked at you, eyebrows rising in surprise. “Really? Wow, the girls are gonna die when they hear!”

As if on cue, the twins came into the room, already dressed and ready as though it weren’t 8 in the morning and Charlotte hadn’t been blasting bagpipes at an unholy volume just minutes before. “How did it go?” Sarah squealed, running over to you once she’d realized you were there.

Anna bounding up beside her, crowding your side of the table and you shoved them both away. “Three people can’t sit in one seat. Get your own spot!” You griped.

The twins laughed, taking the other two seats and imploring you to give them all the details. “Well, we went sledding as you know. He took me to this secret little hill in a clearing surrounded by trees. No one else was there, it was kind of amazing. We raced and he cheated a lot and we caught snowflakes on our tongues and after we kind of exhausted ourselves he pulled out these two thermoses from who knows where with hot chocolate in them and he walked me back home and said goodnight. If I’m being completely honest…” You paused, looking at the wide eyed fascination on your friends faces and sighed, “Man, it was so good. Like, so, so good. I felt so comfortable and happy and I’ve never felt like that before and that freaks me out a little bit but not enough that I would stop seeing him.”

All three girls screamed loudly and you were most surprised to find Charlotte the loudest of them all, wiggling excitedly in her chair, fork squeezed tight in one fist. “I cannot believe what is happening,” Anna gasped, “did you really just say you would be willing to go out with him again?!”

You rolled your eyes, smacking your friends arm and she grinned. “Ah, shut up, you’re making me feel self-conscious.”

She chuckled, grabbing your hand and linking your fingers together. “I’m excited for you, I really am.”

“Well, now we need to meet him. I mean, technically I have and I think Anna said she has as well, but whatever, technicalities.”

Charlotte nodded enthusiastically, “yeah, plus we can, you know, check out his roommates and whatever.”

You wanted to laugh at the idea. Charlotte couldn’t care less about dating and you all knew it but she was more careful of your discomforts than others. She knew that if she outright said she wanted to meet Taehyung and scope him out you’d feel uncomfortable so you were grateful at her efforts to be sly…even if she sucked at it.

“I know!” Sarah said, snapping her fingers together. “Why don’t you invite them all over for dinner tonight? We could make them something nice, chat, get to know them, you know, it can be chill. We need to make sure all the roommates come, though, that way it doesn’t feel forced or weird.”

“You sure you’re not just doing this to see Jin again?” You teased. At Sarah’s blush you knew you’d hit gold but she shook her head aggressively.

“No, of course not. I’m doing this for you. We��ve got to be guardians for our sister and the best way to do that is to scope out the enemy.”

“The enemy?” Anna laughed and Sarah shrugged.

“Semantics.” She said.

“Fine,” you agreed, “I’ll invite them but I can’t guarantee that all of them will come. Just be prepared for that.”

“I mean, it’s not like I care, it’s whatever. I’m just saying, you know?” Sarah argued and you smiled.

After texting Taehyung and getting the green light from him and his roommates you finished your breakfast, took a shower, and got ready for your classes. Art History was first and you were sure Taehyung would sit with you again. The thought made you blush a little but you pulled your scarf and gloves on before sliding your feet into your boots and grabbing your backpack to head out the door.

If possible, it felt even colder than before. Half way through November you should have really expected it to be like this but you kept leaving the house hoping it would be warmer only to have your hopes dashed. Burying your face further in your scarf you pushed through the blistering cold up to the top of campus where your Art History class was.

The classroom felt warm and fuzzy when you entered and you smiled pleasantly to each person you passed, as though you could communicate with them how pleased you were to finally be warm. Taking your normal seat at the front of the class you began to pull your pens and notebooks from your backpack, setting them up on the pull out table top and sliding off your coat and gloves.

“Morning.”

You looked up to spot Taehyung, scarf wrapped warmly around his neck and over his nose, eyes scrunched and smiling at you over the top.

“Morning.” You smiled as he took the seat beside you, dropping his bag at his feet and searching through.

“My roommates are so excited about dinner, you have no idea.” Taehyung said as he unwound his scarf and dropped it into his lap.

You chuckled and nodded. “So are my roommates. I think Sarah is particularly excited to see Jin again.”

“That’s good news!” Taehyung smiled, “seeing as he asked me specifically if she was going to be there tonight.”

“Ah, well I’m glad we could oblige them.”

Taehyung laughed just as the professor started his lesson and you settled into your seat, pulling off your pen cap as he pointed to one of the slides about romanticism in renaissance art and began his monologue.

Every now and again Taehyung’s knee would bump against your own and you would smile at his grin from the corner of your eye. You couldn’t tell if he was doing it on purpose or not, but it made your heartbeat flutter excitedly in your chest. Halfway through the lesson Taehyung reached over, doodling in the corner of your paper and you chuckled, swatting at his hand.

He bit his lip to stop his laugh, turning his attention back to the class and you smiled down at his little drawing. It was like Taehyung had sketched his own spirit animal; an excitable little puppy with floppy ears and a bowtie.

After the class ended you packed your bags and waited for Taehyung as he spoke to the professor briefly before jogging over to you. “You’ve got another class, right?” He asked as the two of you made your way through the doors.

“Yeah, I’ve got Organic Chemistry next.” Taehyung grimaced and you grinned. “I thought it would be fun to try it out. I was wrong.” He laughed and you began walking to the science building together. “Do you have another class today?”

“No, I have a bunch of early morning classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but I’m gonna be helping a few people in the library with their projects and then after that I’ll grab my roommates and we’ll head over for dinner. What are we having, by the way? Jungkook will probably be all over me with questions when I get back.”

“Honestly, I kind of left it up to my roommates to decide but I think Anna was talking about a pot roast. She’s got this bomb recipe from her mom that she makes sometimes so I think that’s probably what they’ll go with.”

Taehyung licked his lips and rubbed his hands together. “That sounds so amazing.”

You made your way up the science buildings stairs before Taehyung grabbed your hand, tugging you back and you looked at him expectantly, trying to hide the rush of endorphins the moment his hand touched yours. “I’ve gotta head to the library now. I’ll see you at dinner, though.” You nodded and he pulled you into a hug, nearly bone crushing in its intensity before waving and walking back down the hill.

Once you got home later that afternoon you dropped your bag off on your bed and made your way to the kitchen. Your hunch about the pot roast had been correct, the entire house smelling so strongly you were already salivating. Anna was stood by the crock pot, staring into the lid and you smiled, watching her from the corner before clearing your throat. She jumped in surprise and you laughed.

“Don’t do that!” She gasped, clutching at her heart. “I thought my heart was about to fall right out of my butthole.”

“That would have been unfortunate.” You quipped, walking towards her. “Have you never heard the phrase, a watched kettle never brews?”

Anna frowned, “Haha. I know me staring at it won’t make it cook any faster. I was just enjoying the smell.”

“That was an intense enjoying session.” You remarked and she slapped your arm.

“So they’re all coming right? All of Taehyung’s roommates?”

“Yeah, they all said they could make it.”

“Even Jin?” Anna teased and you laughed.

“Yeah, actually, he asked about her specifically so it looks like there might be a romance blooming there.”

“A two for one!” Anna hooted.

“Stop it!” You blushed.

“Ah come on, don’t be so shy. You have both admitted to liking each other and you went on a date, it’s OK to be a little gooey.”

“Maybe, but you know I’m not a gooey person. Speaking of gooey, how’s Max?”

Anna grinned, biting her lip and wrapping her arms around herself. “He’s good. We’re going to meet his family this weekend actually.”

“Really? But you’re so young!” You said in surprise.

Anna smiled, rolling her eyes. “Calm down, we’re not getting married or anything. His parents are just coming into town and wanted to meet me.”

“Still, isn’t that kind of a big deal?”

“Yeah, but I think we’re ready for it. We might not want to get married right now but someday I do want to marry him.”

“Wow.” You sighed, sitting down at the kitchen table. “That’s heavy.”

“I mean, I guess, but it doesn’t have to be any heavier than anything else. I don’t know why you’re sweating this,” she chuckled, “you’re not the one meeting your boyfriend’s parents.”

“You’re right,” you nodded, laughing, “I’m just busy trying to worry for you. So are you nervous?”

Anna shrugged, “I guess a little, but Max says his parents are really chill and they’re excited to meet me. Honestly, I think if I’m just myself that things will be OK.”

“I agree, who wouldn’t love you?”

“Thanks girl. Well hey, now that we’re both done for the day would you be willing to help me get some things ready for dinner? The other two won’t be back for at least 40 minutes and I need help with the side dishes.”

“Sure.” You smiled, walking towards the fridge and grabbing the items she dictated. About an hour later Sarah and Charlotte were both home and they were following Anna’s orders (Charlotte very grudgingly) as she dictated them around the kitchen. There were only 15 more minutes before the guys were supposed to arrive and it didn’t feel like you had enough time to get everything together, but thankfully everything was ready shortly before the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it.” You called, Sarah and Anna oohing behind you and you rolled your eyes, flicking them off and walking to the entryway.

“Hey!” You smiled once you’d opened the door. Five rowdy guys were standing on the doorstep, Taehyung and Jin leading them and you were surprised to find that even Sam had come. He looked less than pleased to be moving around so much, but you supposed the incentive of a free home cooked meal was too much to pass up. “Come in, it’s freezing outside!”

The guys shuffled in, each giving you a quick hug and drooling over the smell wafting from the kitchen. “I’m so pumped, I can’t even tell you.” Jungkook said and you grinned.

“You better be, Anna worked hard and it’s a pretty amazing recipe. I think you’ll love it.” You motioned for the guys to follow you once all their jackets were hung up and led them quickly to the kitchen where the rest of your roommates were.

“Let me make some quick introductions and then we can dig in.” After going around naming each person to the group you noticed with interest that Charlotte and Sam were eyeing each other in curiosity. You were definitely expecting Sarah and Jin but you were not expecting those two.

After everyone had sat down and dinner started the girls began asking questions to each guy and every once in a while Anna would catch your eye, glance at Taehyung and then wiggle her eyebrows at you. You would roll your eyes and divert your attention in an effort to ignore your roommate because even though she was being such a brat, it was honestly kind of funny how hard she was trying to get you to laugh.

“So what kind of music do you do?” Charlotte asked, and you turned to look at Sam as he took a drink of his water.

“I like to dabble in a lot of different styles, but mainly rap.” He said after a moment of thought. “What about you? What are you studying?”

“I’m studying graphic design. Always been interested in the idea of filming and editing videos so I thought I’d give it a shot.”

Sam seemed impressed by the idea, nodding his head in thought. “Maybe you can film a music video for me someday.”

Sam’s roommates looked at each other in surprise and you looked at Taehyung, raising your eyebrow. All the time’s you’d ever met Sam he’d been nice but a little on the reserved side. From what Taehyung had said, he was very much Charlotte’s lazy counterpart so this was rather surprising. That either one of them would put any effort into entertaining the idea was a little shocking.

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Charlotte agreed. You couldn’t wait until the guys were gone so you could tease her mercilessly without embarrassing her in front of Sam.

“So,” Sarah said, throwing her long hair over her shoulder and smiling at Jin, “what happened with the recital for you. Y/N told me you got some pretty cool offers but hasn’t updated me on what you decided.

“That’s because I don’t know either.” You smiled and Jin blushed.

“Ah, yes, I’m sorry I didn’t say anything before, it’s all been pretty overwhelming. I decided to go with The Talent Investment Group, they were here recruiting a lot of people, including Taehyung. As soon as I graduate at the end of this year I’m going to be moving out to Los Angeles to start working on some projects. It’s all kind of crazy right now.”

“Wow,” Sarah breathed, “that’s incredible! You must be so excited!”

“I am!” Jin beamed, “it’s an incredible opportunity. It’s kind of scary to go and do it alone, but I won’t be alone forever since Tae’s gonna be joining me as well.”

That made your heart leap in discomfort and you turned to look at Taehyung. “What do you mean?” You asked softly and he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“I didn’t really get the opportunity to tell you, since this last week has been…well, you know, it was just kind of busy. I decided to accept their offer too.”

“Oh.” You murmured, looking back at your food and pushing a piece of broccoli across the plate. “Well, that’s great.” You felt like your heart had dropped into your stomach and you tried not to let that show. You should be happy for him, this is what he wanted…but you’d just barely begun to warm up to the idea of him being something more and now he was leaving?

You felt selfish in your desire for him to stay. He wasn’t your boyfriend so you didn’t have any claim on him and even if he were, he was free to do what he wanted to do. Frankly, you wanted him to do it too, if it made him happy…but you hated that you were left to feel unhappy in the process.

“They gave me a great deal, though,” Taehyung hurried to explain. “I told them I really wanted to finish my schooling and they agreed. They even said they would pay for the rest of my schooling, at least the acting centered classes. They said since I’m joining their label as an actor they see this as a worthy investment.”

“Wow!” You gasped, “…so then you’re staying?”

Taehyung beamed. “I’m staying…until I graduate in two years, of course.”

“That’s amazing!” Sarah gushed and you grinned. He was staying…and the deal he’d cut was so amazing. When Eleanor had initially been approached her company had told her they needed to strike while the iron was hot and it was either move forward or don’t. You’d expected that sort of treatment with Taehyung and Jin but this was beyond your wildest dreams.

“I can’t believe it.” You breathed. “I’m so happy for you! Are you happy?”

“So happy!” He grinned.

“Have you guys already celebrated?” You asked, turning to the rest of the guys and they shook their heads.

“We’ve been so busy this last week that we haven’t been able to. We thought we’d do something small this Sunday.” Jimin said.

“You should come!” Jin smiled, glancing at Sarah. “You guys should all come, it would be fun to have a little get together.”

Sarah blushed, “well I’m certainly up for it.” Everyone else nodded and Taehyung rubbed his hands together in excitement.

“Great. So this Sunday at 7, how’s that sound? We’ll have some drinks and snacks and whatever and just hang out.”

Dinner continued smoothly and you watched in amusement as Jin and Sarah flirted, blushed, and basically turned into piles of goo. Charlotte and Sam were discussing the songs he was currently working on and Jungkook, Jimin, Taehyung, Anna, and you were all talking about dancing and the choreography that Jimin was currently helping Jungkook come up with for one of his class finals.

The guys helped with cleanup and you all went into the living room to chat for a while. You sat on the floor, pulling a pillow into your lap and holding it close to your chest as Taehyung sat beside you, arguing good naturedly with Jimin about who makes the worst pasta with Jungkook as the highly biased judge.

You laughed, holding the pillow up to your face and Taehyung grinned down at you as Jimin and Jungkook began to argue with each other about whether or not Jungkook was sure his taste buds were acceptable judges.

“How are you feeling?” Taehyung asked softly as the rest of the group joined in on the brothers’ argument and you smiled.

“I’m OK, how’re you?”

He nodded, shrugging. “I’m pretty good.” He paused, looking down at his lap before continuing. “Were you surprised about my news?”

“A little.” You admitted carefully. “But I’m really happy for you, Tae. I know you didn’t say it but I could see how much you wanted it so I’m glad your dream is coming true.”

“It’s only one of many dreams,” Taehyung smiled softly, “I’d like to see a few of my other’s come true as well.”

“Oh? What other dreams do you have?”

Taehyung blushed, biting his bottom lip and looking away from you. “Just…things in my personal life, that kind of stuff, you know?”

You cleared your throat, shifting uncomfortably in your spot “Oh.” You murmured.

Just then Jungkook’s voice broke in begging Taehyung to help back him up on why he was better with scary things than Jimin and you spent the rest of the evening laughing and playing games with everyone before it was time to say goodbye and get ready for bed. Tomorrow’s classes would come too soon and you still had a stupid paper to finish.

I hope you love this chapter. I was swooning when they went on their date. Next chapter is gonna have some slightly angstier themes so prepare yourselves for that!

It might take me a little longer to post chapter 10. I’m moving back to Korea in two days and won’t have consistent internet for a little while (plus I’ll be starting a new job) so bear with me!

Chapter 8

Chapter 10

#sfwbangtan #kpoptrashtag #taehyung fic #taehyung fluff #bts fic #mild angst #kim taehyung #bts v

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jayankles · 7 years ago

Text

You Gonna Tell Him?

Pairing: Sam x Reader

Word Count: 2643

Warnings: Smut (not that graphic), language but y’all should know me by now. I think that’s it.

A/N – This is one of two of my submissions for Ang’s 2K GIF Challenge (@atc74 ) I’m really leaving these to the last minute and I apologise. Prompt was the Sam gif below, the Jensen gif was just a bonus for y’all and just to show you the expression I meant.

This was also a request by @feelmyroarrrr who said: Oh sam x reader, and she’s got a history of running that he doesn’t know about but dean does. He challenges her to a race after some banter and gets trounced!!!

‘God! I’m so hungry.’ You whined to Dean just as Sam walked in, drenched in sweat from his morning run. ‘Hey handsome.’

Shaking his head at you, he sauntered over to you, bending over so he could plant a kiss on your lips.

‘Hello beautiful.’ He whispered as he pulled away after Dean faked a gag. ‘But, baby, how can you be hungry? By the looks of it, you and Dean already ate.’

‘Oh no, I just got up, this is all Y/N.’ Dean defended himself, raising his palms up in surrender then pointing at his coffee, telling his brother that it was all he had so far and he was threatened by you if he even so much as looked at your plates of food.

‘Well, I need to keep up that stamina to keep up with you, don’t I?’

A cough from Dean.

‘TMI, Y/N.’

‘That’s not what I meant, get your mind out of the gutter.’ You rolled your eyes at Dean then turned to Sam. ‘I meant on hunts, I need to be able to keep up with you guys and I need to keep to a high calorie diet if I’m going to burn it off later.’ Nonchalantly, you shrugged at your boyfriend.

‘Well then, no more of this crappy junk food. Have a banana. Or a salad. Just don’t eat like Dean!’ He shouted over his shoulder as he left the kitchen, mentioning that he was off for a shower.

‘Hey! Don’t mock the warrior!’ The older Winchester huffed out, turning to you to catch you stealing the last mouthful of his coffee. ‘How dare you?!’

He checked the hallways to make sure that Sam was out of earshot. ‘You gonna tell him?’

You thought about it, thought about telling Sam about your previous profession but, ‘nah, gonna issue something to beat him and let him find out the hard way if he comments on my eating habits again. Can’t believe you knew about me before Sam did.’

‘I was channel surfin’ and you were on TV. You were hot so I thought fuck it and damn, it was a good day.’ A dreamy look on his face as he recalled that day.

Groaning, you tossed your head back and glanced at the ceiling, ‘You are such a perv. You know that?’

He shrugged.

‘You know for that, I’m gonna tell you that I’m going to get in the shower with your brother and it’s going to get pretty hot and steamy in there, not because of the water-’

‘Alright, alright. I got the picture.’ He shivered, the image you had described, now in his head.

Giving him a cheeky grin, you turned on the ball of your heel and exited the kitchen, keeping a light jog so you could catch up with Sam and join him in the shower.

Thankfully, when you twisted the door handle, you found it unlocked so you entered the room and stripped out of the pajamas you were still wearing and climbed into the shower with Sam.

You made good on your promise. You and Sam tangling your limbs together as your bodies became one. Low moans escaping you as Sam entered you, his strength amazing you as he effortlessly hoisted you up and wrapped your legs around his waist. His kisses against your lips were harsh and hungry, yours equally so.

The water that was cascading over the both of you was forgotten as the two of you got lost in each other.

Sweat beaded across your forehead but remained unseen as it mixed with the water and the steam of the shower. Sam pinned you against the porcelain white tiles, a contrast against your darker skin, the two of you rolling your hips to gain as much friction from each other as possible.

It caused him to find the sweetest spot inside of you, the one that caused you to quiver and come with no complaint, every single time.

Finally, after a few hours, you had convinced Sam to sit with you and endure a movie night, just the two of you; a night without Dean where the you didn’t have to hear Sam complaining and grumbling under his breath about another one of Dean’s cowboy movies.

You settled on something that both of you could enjoy.

Action packed and full of hilarious moments.

Central Intelligence was a wise decision, if you did say so yourself. You and Sam had laughed until your abs had contorted and your stomachs had hurt from laughing so much.

Halfway through the movie, you untangled yourself from his embrace, leaning forward and pausing it. When doing so, Sam had playfully whacked you on your behind, a squeal and a yelp bubbling over and spilling out of your lips at the sting.

‘Would you give me a second? I’m going to get food. I’ll be back, gigantor.’ Rolling your eyes and rubbing a palm over your now sore tush.

‘No chocolate coated popcorn, you’ll be worse than Dean.’ Sam said, not realising that he had commented on your eating habits once more.

‘I eat what I want, Samuel.’ You smirked as you chose your next word carefully. ‘Besides I’d beat you in a race any day.’

‘It’s Sam and you can’t.’ He replied, his lip curling up into a challenging smile, thinking he had the upper hand in your little battle of dominance on whether or not you could beat him in a race.

‘DEAN!’ You yelled at the top of your lungs, you fold your arms in front of your chest. The smile on your face as you heard the heavy clanking and thudding of his boots hitting the floor as he charged towards you.

Dean’s face was beet red, a gun raised in his hands and his finger on the trigger ready to shoot.

Once he had surveyed the area and calmed down, he realised that there were no real threats upon you or his brother.

‘Why the fuck did I just run half way across the bunker, ready to shoot anything that posed a threat for your freaking smug face?’ Dean breathed out, holding onto the door frame and placing the gun on the top of the drawers next to the door.

After Dean realised what expression your face held, ‘he said it didn’t he?’

When you gave him an affirmative nod, Dean turned to your boyfriend, he sucked in a breath and bared all his teeth an attempt to silently reveal to Sam that he had made a big mistake.

A huge one.

‘Oh yeah! Told him I could beat him in a race and issued a challenge so I took it.’ Unfolding your arms, you walked over to Sam, fear speckled in his kaleidoscopic eyes. Surprising him, you pressed up on your tip toes and slanted your lips together in a quick, feather light kiss. Pulling away, you whispered, ‘good luck, baby.’

‘You are going to need it, brother.’ Dean laughed. ‘When is this going down? I have to watch this.’

‘Whenever Sam’s ready.’

‘I guess I’m training.’ Sam huffed, ripping off his jacket and beginning to unbutton his grey flannel. ‘We’ll do this tomorrow, 8am.’

With the time and date set, you changed into your jogging gear and began some secret training of your own. 12 hours until the race. You had plenty of time to kick Sam’s ass, even if it was a perky one.

You joined him in bed, early in the morning, exhausted from working out, finishing the protein bar that was in your hand.

The next morning, you woke as usual, tangled with Sam, your hand over his chest and your fingers running through the smattering of his curly chest hair.

Hiking you leg up, you allowed it to rest on the long length of his torso and drape over his hip.

Fingers traveling to his face, they smoothed out the crease in his brow, before they moved on their own accord down his perfectly straight nose. When he lightly stirred, you knew you had roused him from his sleep.

His pink lips twitched into a smile; it disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. Not even a second but you caught it.

Your fingers once again made their descent, down to where you had memorised their exact position. From what you could tell, they liked it when you touched them, they came out of their home in Sam's cheeks and making an appearance through his growing beard.

A groan.

An arm tighter around you as the other wound around your back.

Oh yeah. He was awake.

Carefully pushing up, you pressed a kiss to his lips, your fingers threading through the longer strands of his hair at the nape of his neck.

His eyes remained closed but his lips did all the work, pressing harder onto yours and deepening the kiss.

Without breaking the connection between yours and Sam's lips, you rolled so that you were on top of him. Your chests, hips, and lips molding into one.

When you pulled away, you licked your lips and smirked. ‘You ready to lose, baby?’

He drug his teeth across his bottom lip, a slow smile appearing on his face as he remembered your little bet, challenge, whatever you want to call it.

He had no idea what he was in for. ‘I'm going to win so no, sweetheart, I’m not ready to lose because it's not going to happen.’

‘Okay, Mr So Sure Of Himself, you'll have to wait and see then won't you.’ You patted him on his chest before you rolled off of him and the bed. When you made it to your feet, you held out your hand so Sam could accept it. ‘Shower first?’

Needless to say, it was a shower that got you dirty rather than getting you clean.

Dean was up and raring to go. His alarm clock blasted through the walls of his bedroom but this time, instead of his usual groan, he was out of bed faster than the flash, ready to watch the race between you and his brother.

With a smile on his face, Dean left his bedroom after he got dressed in a hoodie and sweatpants.

Today was going to be a relaxing day after all.

When he walked into the kitchen, a huge grin mounted on his face. A breakfast burrito made for him, a note left just under it.

‘Dee,

Enjoy it because you'll be making me a victory breakfast, lunch and dinner of champions.

I would ask Sam but he's not that domestic and we will be celebrating.

Y/N :)’

Dean rolled his eyes and shivered in disgust as he read the words and what they insinuated.

‘You guys know where you're going right? The tree with the red tie, exactly half a mile out then back here.’ Dean points to the space he's marked out with tape. ‘My eyes will be on you both so there will be no cheating.’

‘Why do you look at me when you say that?’ Sam says and Dean shrugs. ‘Ready?’ Sam turns to you and asks with a teasing smirk.

Oh he was so going down.

‘Ready on your mark, baby.’ You got ready and into position wait for either of the brothers to call the start.

You're knees were bent, feet facing in the direction that you wanted to got and your fingertips just scraping against the concrete floor.

Sam just opting for knees bent and a little squat.

Amateur.

When he was in position he gave a nod to Dean, where he was adjusting his watch to set a timer - which he could have done on his phone but you didn't want to correct him at this point; not with the wager you had set.

‘Run around the tree then back here. 3...2...1...GO!’ Dean barked.

Sam rushed ahead of you, gaining the advantage he needed to beat you. He was in front of you by three quarters of a meter, not that far but far enough for him to be competition; you’ve dealt with worse.

The rumble of a motorcycle echoed behind you, you should not have got distracted but you couldn’t help it, it just sounded so beautiful.

Making the mistake, you twisted your head to see the beauty it belonged to, an old school Harley Davidson. Oh bloody hell, why did Dean have to be the one riding it?

Sam’s breath was becoming a little ragged but he saw your distraction and picked up the pace, trying to stay in the lead of your race.

Now two meters ahead, Sam began to slow his speed but that was a mistake on his part, your distraction of the motorcycle was no more, you wanted to kick Sam’s ass in the thing you were good at, and not it was not eating - although you were looking forward to the three courses that you hoped Dean would see through -it was running. You loved to run, it was thrilling, exhilarating, but you hadn’t let Sam in on your little secret. You were behind your boyfriend on purpose.

Six minutes later the two of you had the tree with the red tie in sight. Dean had spun the motorcycle from the bunker around but turned his body to face the direction of the tree where he would see the two of you following the rules and coming around the tree.

Instead of speeding back to the starting and finishing line, Dean leisurely enjoyed the motorcycle and her purr but nothing could compare to his precious Baby.

Another three minutes had passed and you thought enough was enough, you had to teach your man a lesson in instigating a secret challenge you had imposed with his brother.

Your calves were burning because you hadn’t done this in so long, hadn’t competed in so long but damn it still felt great.

From the corner of your eye, you saw Sam’s mouth drop as you overtook him, zooming passed him with a speed he had never seen from you before. Just because he hadn’t seen it, doesn’t mean it wasn’t there. It had always been there.

What should have taken six minutes in total to get back, only took you four.

Sam couldn’t even finish the race without shouting, ‘what the hell?!’

Grinning, you looked at Dean who gave you a nod, silently telling you to put his brother out of his misery.

‘I’m a professional runner, you ass.’ You giggled, sitting backward on the motorcycle so you could catch your breath.

Sam had collapsed to the floor realising his mistake, he thought he could beat a professional in their own field.

‘You little- you tricked me!’

Tilting your head to the side, you pursed your lips and waggled your finger at him. ‘I didn’i trick you. I just didn’t tell you because I liked that you didn’t know who I was and didn’t treat me any different. I liked that you liked me for me and not who I was and what I could do.’

Sam jumped from his spot on the concrete floor, a finger to your lips in efforts to stop you from continuing any further. ‘I don't just like you, okay. I love you and you being a professional athlete won't change anything especially my opinion of you.’

His finger skimmed across your cheek so he could cup it, the other joining his twin on the opposite side of your face. His lips press against yours but it's soft, much different from the others the two of you have shared. It was a promise, a promise to you that nothing would change between the two of you, other than the fact that he would love you more and more with every passing day.

Lemme know what you think...

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