#i was today years old when I heard Carnival Park (hope I got that right) the first time and I LOVE how creepy they made it | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

cali-holland · 5 years ago

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Dandelion- Harrison Osterfield One Shot

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield X Reader

Prompt: You’re the only girl that makes Harrison nervous, the only girl that’s unknowingly owned his heart for years- and the only girl he’s ever stood up on a date. Now, four years later, is he too late to try for a second chance?

Featured Songs: Dandelion by Kacey Musgraves and It Had to Be You from When Harry Met Sally

Based On: This scene from Psych

Word Count: 12k (longest fic right hereeee)

Warnings: swearing, secondhand embarrassment to the MAX, Harrison being a simp

Masterlist Harrison Osterfield Masterlist

*Gif is not mine*

~~~

“Why are we even shopping today? Your party’s not for another week.” Harrison let out a groan as he walked into the grocery store with Tom and Harry, the former had been very insistent on getting food for his birthday party a week in advance.

“I procrastinate on everything else, let me do something reasonably on time for once.” Tom stated, pushing the cart and heading straight for the alcohol aisle. “What should we get?”

“It’s your party.” The blond replied with a shrug. He grabbed a large case of beer, claiming, “As long as there’s beer, I’m fine.” “Didn’t you say Shelby likes Whiteclaws?” Harry asked.

“Oh, yeah, she does!” Tom perked up, grabbing a large box full of the hard seltzers.

“You’re catering to Shelby’s needs now? Tom, it’s your party.” Harrison reminded him again. Shelby being the girl who was Tom’s unofficial girlfriend.

“I want to impress her.”

“Haz, calm down. Maybe she’ll bring some of her hot friends for us.” Harry joked, nudging his friend, who looked unimpressed.

“I’m just saying, you should just be official with her already. You’re practically dating her.” Harrison insisted.

“You’re one to talk.” Tom laughed, before mimicking his friend, “‘Just ask her out already. It’s not that hard.’ Wanna remind us how you haven’t asked a girl out in four years?”

“Shove off. I’ll get the chasers.” He walked away without another word, trying to ignore the snickering from the two Holland boys behind them.

Harrison knew it was hypocritical of him to encourage Tom to officially date Shelby when he couldn’t even ask a girl out. It wasn’t like he had trouble talking to girls; no, Harrison was good-looking and he knew it, so he naturally had no problem turning on his charm whenever a pretty girl was around. It was just that when the time came to actually ask a girl out, he couldn’t. He’d freeze and have horrendous flashbacks to his last date four years ago, flashbacks that crept into his mind now as he searched for some good chasers.

“Harrison! You’re going to be late!” His mom called to him from downstairs.

“No, I’m not!” He halted his nervous pacing as he looked at himself in the mirror. He wasn’t wearing anything too special, just a nice blue button-up that brought out his eyes and his best pair of jeans. He kicked himself for letting Tom borrow his nicest pair of casual shoes because the ones he currently wore were just not fitting right. They went well enough with his look, but they squeezed his toes uncomfortably and there were little dirt stains on the side that he just hoped no one could see, especially you. He ran his fingers through his hair, and then again, trying to fix it and make sure it didn’t look too gelled up or too casual. He thought to himself ‘This is a casual thing, calm down’, but his brain was so scattered, he could barely focus on that.

“Mum says you need to leave.” His sister said, opening his door and making him jump.

“How do I look?” He asked with a hopeful smile.

“Wonderful. Now go, you’ve got a date!” She pushed him out of the room. Harrison grabbed his keys and his wallet from the table near his front door, trying to rush out of the house before his mum came into the room, but she was too fast.

“Let me see.” She smiled teasingly at him, and he sighed before turning around so that she could approve of his outfit. Pinching his cheeks, she gushed, “You look so handsome.”

“Thanks. I need to go.” He kissed his mother goodbye quickly.

As Harrison left his house, he heard his mum’s passing comment to his sister, “I’ve never seen him so nervous for a date. I hope she’s the one.”

Since you were getting off work and had your car there already, you’d told Harrison that you could meet him at the fairgrounds, the spot he had chosen for your date. The whole drive over there, he was thinking of different ways to greet you- should he do the cute romantic thing and cover your eyes for a moment, or was that too creepy? His mind rushed over to the wonder about how the night would go- would you two share a cotton candy, would you hold his hand as you two go on a thrill ride, would you need a jacket because it’s cold? Harrison’s heart surged with nervousness; he didn’t even think of bringing a jacket for you and he didn’t even have one for himself. Stopped at a red light, he blindly stretched a hand to the back of the car, in search of one of his spare jackets back there. Feeling a soft cotton material, he quickly pulled on the jacket and brought it up to his lap. He didn’t know how long it’d been his car, but judging by its smell it had definitely been in there a while. So maybe he wouldn’t give you his jacket in hopes that you take it home at the end of the night as an excuse to see him again.

The light turned green and he started to drive again. The thought of the end of the night hadn’t even crossed his mind. Did you expect him to kiss you or was it supposed to be one of those intimate hugs to end the date? His mum was right, he’d never been so nervous for a date, but he couldn’t help it. This was you.

He met you at school years ago. You two didn’t have many classes together, which made Harrison a bit sad because he wanted any opportunity to see you (but he was kind of grateful too because he definitely didn’t do well in the classes that you shared with him). He was completely enraptured by you; it took him months to finally talk to you in class. Then it took a couple more months before he managed to actually say anything more than a simple ‘hi’ to you. Poor Tom had to hear him go on for almost a year about how pretty you were or about something you said during class. Eventually, just in time for graduation when you’d all split ways, he worked up the courage to just get your number. After infrequently texting you for a while (he didn’t want to come off as a creep and text you too often), he finally asked you out a couple days ago. He was still in disbelief that you said yes. You were the girl he’d been fawning over for the past several years, and you had said yes to just going on a date with him. You had almost every guy at the school falling at your feet, you could have accompanied anyone to the carnival and yet you chose him. You made him feel like a giddy school boy, not a nearly 20-year old man.

He had hoped his nerves would’ve calmed down by the time he got to the fairgrounds, but they didn’t; if anything, his heart was beating inhumanly fast and his hands were the clammiest they’d ever been. He managed to get a parking spot near the front gate, right near where the two of you were supposed to meet. He was two minutes early; he had two minutes to calm down and go out there.

“Just be cool.” He mumbled to himself. He looked at himself in his rearview mirror and smiled, “‘Hi, Y/N’. No, that sounds creepy. ‘Hey’- God, no.” He groaned, still unable to settle on the best way to greet you. Seeing something move near the gate, he quickly looked over to see you walking to the gate.

You stood nervously in the shade, trying to hide from the evening sun. You wore a light blue babydoll dress with a dandelion print that made Harrison’s heart soar- you two had inadvertently matched color schemes. On your shoulders rested a dark blue denim jacket, which told Harrison all his worrying about the jacket dilemma was for nothing. He already knew your jacket definitely smelt better than his, and that was reassuring to him. You just looked so beautiful standing there; if you hadn’t told him you were coming from work, he wouldn’t have been able to tell. He watched as you nervously fiddled with the black bag hanging from your shoulder. You got out your phone, and Harrison watched your fingers dance across the screen before his own phone vibrated.

‘Hey, I’m here x’ You had texted him, and his heart seemed to start beating even faster- he didn’t know how he wasn’t having a heart attack. You held your phone with your left hand and put your right hand in your jacket pocket, fidgeting with it anxious. It was a nervous tick of yours that Harrison had picked up on years ago; whenever you were nervous, you’d play with your right pocket and that’s why your right jacket pockets were always disproportionately more damaged than your left.

Any confidence that he had before was gone. He couldn’t bring himself to respond to your text, and he felt frozen in his car. After a few more minutes had gone by, you texted him again and began to walk in small circles. Instead of reading your text, he pulled up Tom’s contact. He hated it, but he needed his best friend, he needed to be talked into going out there. Tom was the only person who saw firsthand how much Harrison admired you over the years, seeing as he was the one to continuously push his friend to talk to you.

“Hey, aren’t you supposed to be on a date?” Tom asked as soon as he picked up the phone. When Harrison didn’t immediately respond, he got concerned, “Mate, tell me Y/N didn’t stand you up.”

“No, no. I just- Tom, I can’t.” Harrison said, his voice breaking.

“What do you mean you can’t? The girl of your dreams agreed to go on a date with you, give her the best date ever.”

“No, I can’t. She’s here, but I- I can’t even get out of my car.”

“Do you not like her anymore?” He asked, unsure of his friend’s predicament. Harrison had been so nervously excited about your date for days, and Tom had to hear all about how much his best friend liked you for years. This was a perfect situation for Harrison, was it not?

“I do. It’s just too real. There’s no way she’d actually date me. She’s too good for me.”

“Harrison! Listen to yourself! You’re incredible, mate, and Y/N knows that. That’s why she agreed to go out with you. Don’t leave her there. Go get her.” Tom insisted.

“O-okay, I will.” He replied before saying goodbye and hanging up his phone. He was about to leave his car when he got a call from you. He wanted to pick it up, he wanted to hear your voice, but he just felt like he was disappointing you. It had been half an hour already. Once the phone call went through and you left a voicemail, he looked up to see you sitting against the trunk of a tree, defeated, and turned away from his car that you still had yet to spot. He felt defeated himself, he was looking forward to this so much and now he was just being cowardly. He hated this feeling. A sudden surge of confidence overcame him and he hopped out of his car, thinking it’s now or never.

You hadn’t seen him yet, and he was mere steps from you. He stopped when he heard you on the phone.

“I don’t think he’s coming.” You sighed. There was a pause as you listened to the other end of the call, still unaware of his presence. “I’m just going to go. It’s been almost a hour, and I haven’t even heard from him. It just feels like a waste of time, he really let me down.”

Harrison felt himself grow heavy at your words. As much as he wanted to take the final few steps to you and to tell you he was there, his body betrayed him and he stood there, motionless and speechless.

“I even wore that blue dress I just bought. I thought he’d like it because it matches his eyes.” You laughed lightly and he felt his heart drop at your words. You were trying to impress him. “I feel so stupid. It’s probably stained now.” You stood up and dusted off your dress. You sniffled a bit and he felt his heart break- he’d made you cry and it was the worst feeling in the world for him. As you took one last look around for him, Harrison ducked behind the large tree trunk to stay out of view. With a final sigh, you left. Harrison threw his head back against the tree. He was so angry with himself, you were all he wanted for years and he finally had him, but now you were gone, probably for good. You were there, and he was there; why couldn’t he just actually be there for you?

“Chasers, chasers, chasers,” He mumbled to himself, walking through the store trying to find where they had hidden the drink section (why it wasn’t right beside the alcohol section, he didn’t know). He paused his search, hearing an all too familiar singing voice come over the store’s radio.

As if the memory of him leaving you like that wasn’t haunting enough for him, you went on to become a successful artist and sometimes he felt like there was no escaping your popular songs. He couldn’t bring himself to listen to them though. Tom said that they were good- after all, he still kind of kept up in contact with you, but Harrison knew it’d only make him feel even more guilty about his actions all those years ago. He hadn’t reached out to you at all since before that fateful and horrendous night. You were special and he always knew that, he just didn’t appreciate you enough when you were there.

Trying his best to ignore the melodic sound of your voice, he continued his journey to finding chasers. He finally found the aisle labeled “beverages” and figured they had to be there. When he turned the corner, his eyes quickly darted to the drink selection in front of him. It was only then that he realized this was a stupid idea; why did Tom put him in charge of chasers? It was still Tom’s party. Just as Harrison was about to say “fuck it” and grab a box of Coke, he realized there was one other person in the aisle to his left. The stranger hadn’t noticed him though and she pushed a loose hair back under her hood before pulling the hood down some more, so her face was a bit more obstructed. Her right hand was shoved into her jacket pocket, fiddling with the cotton material.

Harrison immediately felt a wave of nausea overcome him as his brain processed the stranger as you. It had been four years since he’d stood you up and watched you walk away at the fairgrounds, four whole years since he let his dream girl just walk away, four years since he broke his own heart. He realized he’d been staring too long when you started to look over at him, and before he knew it, he was running out of the aisle and crashing into Harry around the corner.

“Did you get chasers?” Harry asked, confused by his friend’s terrified appearance.

“I- uh, no. I can’t- can’t go down there.” Harrison coughed, scratching his neck nervously.

“Why not?” He looked between Tom and Harrison. Tom’s eyes were just about as wide as Harrison’s; he knew exactly who could be down the aisle to have that sort of effect on his best friend.

“Y/N’s down there?” The older Holland clarified, and the blond nodded, biting his lip.

“Wait, the Y/N?” Harry questioned. He’d heard about the girl that Harrison stood up four years ago, but he’d never actually met her; he’d seen pictures of you, but you were kind of famous now so who hadn’t? Your name had been like a taboo in the Osterfield and Holland households for years now- no one dared to bring you up in front of Harrison, no one except for Tom. Tom was the only person who really knew what happened when it happened. He ended up telling Harry and Sam a few months afterwards, seeing as they were both close with Harrison, but Harrison never told his family. He had told his family that the date went poorly and it was never mentioned again.

“I can’t- I’m- nope.” Harrison was a stuttering mess.

“Look,” Tom started, but his words were cut short as you came around the corner. Harrison quickly dove behind one of the tall bread stands, hoping you hadn’t seen him, but you had and they all knew his hiding spot wasn’t a good one. He mentally cursed at his feet that stood planted in the ground; they wouldn’t let him run away out of this hell of a grocery store.

“Oh, hi, Tom.” You smiled, politely. You had no problem with Tom; after all, he wasn’t the one that stood you up.

“Hey, Y/N.” He leaned over a little, trying to block Harrison from your view. “How have you been?”

“Never better. And you?” You asked, your smile strained as your eyes flickered over to Harrison’s “hidden” figure for a moment. His blue eyes that once captivated you were trained to the ground.

“Been good.” Tom replied, not really sure how long he could keep up the small talk in front of his painstakingly awkward friend.

Harry, on the other hand, wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh at the abnormally pale Harrison or try to console his poor friend. He’d never seen Harrison be so nervous before; sure, he’d seen the blond be nervous before about something, but never this nervous because of a girl. Now he knew what Tom was talking about when he said Harrison was always a mess when it came to you. To Harry, it almost justified Harrison being so nervous that he stood you up, almost (both Hollands still think it was stupid of Harrison to not just get out of the car and go to you).

“Are you having a party or something?” You asked, looking down at the contents of Tom’s cart that included excessive amounts of alcohol and snacks, both savory and sweet.

“Yeah,” He paused for a moment, glancing over at Harrison before a wide smile broke out on his face, “You should come.”

He held back his grimace as Harrison obviously kicked him, silently questioning what the actual fuck he was thinking. You looked at Tom confused because in all your years of knowing him, you two had been more acquaintances than friends, and also it was a party with Harrison there. You weren’t sure if you wanted to even go, but you couldn’t help yourself from saying, “Yeah, sure.”

“Great, I’ll text you the details.” Tom smiled and you nodded.

“Well I should be going, but it was nice seeing you.” You stepped around him, needing to get to an aisle behind him. Harrison did the best thing he could to hide from you, holding up a loaf of bread and keeping his eyes closed, praying the ‘I can’t see you, you can’t see me’ concept would pay off. “Bye, Harrison.”

With that, you walked away from the three boys and Harrison let out a small sigh, putting the bread back on the shelf. Tom laughed as his friend punched him in the arm.

“What the hell was that for?” Harrison questioned, all nervousness going away, but he still looked around the store in paranoia in case you came back.

“It’s perfect, mate. Y/N will come to the party, you can apologize and talk to her, and hopefully she takes you back.” Tom smiled hopefully. He thought his plan was ingenious, but the stern look on his friend’s face said otherwise.

“That’s a shit plan.” He crossed his arms, “Look at me! I still can’t even look at her. She just- ugh, I’m not going.”

“You’d miss my birthday party because of Y/N?”

“Well,” Harrison sighed, knowing Tom would hate him if he actually didn’t go. Plus, it’s at his house so he would have to have a pretty big excuse not to show up. “Fine, but I’m not talking to her.”

“I didn’t believe Tom about Y/N until now. You’re so whipped.” Harry laughed, earning a smack from the frustrated Harrison.

“It’s been four years, and she still has a hold over you. I wonder if she knows.” Tom teased him.

“Shut up.” Harrison grumbled, “Let’s just get the chasers and leave.”

Harrison had one week, a whole seven days to prepare his apology speech. He paced around his room daily, trying to come up with the right words to say, even though you’d leave him too speechless and stunned anyway. He felt like he was attempting at writing a Shakespearean monologue, he felt desperate. But how do you apologize to someone who wasn’t even yours to begin with? How does he tell you that he’s sorry he left you? And that it was all because you made him too nervous to actually do anything? And it ended up breaking his heart and stalling his love life up until this point because no one can compare to you, the girl he’s basically loved since he was 14? He never really admitted it before then, but he did love you and that’s why it hurt even more to reflect on that regretful night.

He often wondered how different his life would be if he had just gotten out of the car. Or even if he had remembered a clean jacket. He would’ve greeted you with a bright smile at the gate, and you’d be overjoyed to see him; you two would have shared food all night long; he would have loved to see the crinkles by your eyes as you smiled and laughed from the thrill of the rides; he would have wanted to kiss you on the top of the ferris wheel because you would already be holding his hand since you were afraid of heights; but he would’ve saved your first kiss for the end of the night, for when he was walking you to your car, his hand in yours, his jacket around your shoulders- he would’ve kissed you under the moonlight. But then, maybe you wouldn’t have had your big break, maybe you wouldn’t have written your first big hit because he was in your life, because he was a distraction from your career- and then neither of you would have really known if you could make it in the music business. Yet again, maybe you two would have moved in together by now, living happily in a small apartment, or even a small house where you could have a dog to run around the yard.

For four years, he’s been dreaming of all the different events that could have occurred if he had just gotten out of the car, if he had just stopped you before you walked away. For four years, you’d owned his heart, and he didn’t know what he was going to do when he saw you tonight at the party.

“I’m sorry.” Harrison mumbled to himself, pulling on a nice button-up. He looked at himself in the mirror, fixing his hair a little. He just kept repeating the two words he so desperately wanted to tell you tonight. Maybe if he said it enough times now before the party, it’d be the only words he could squeak out when you were there. The anxious part of him was hoping you wouldn’t show, that you’d be sick or something and just couldn’t go; but then the realistic part of him remembered that you literally texted Tom this morning, asking why he didn’t tell you it was a birthday party because now you had to get him a last minute gift- apparently you’d seen the news on Twitter.

“Harrison, dear God, please shut the fuck up.” Tom said as he and Harrison were setting up the makeshift bar. The blond hadn’t even realized he was still mindlessly repeating those words.

“Oh, I’m-”

“Sorry. I get it.” He cut him off. “It’s going to be fine. She’s going to come in, and you’ll apologize.”

“That requires me to speak to her.” Harrison stated, his nerves already hitting him as his palms began to grow clammy.

“I had to listen to you go on about this girl for almost a year before you managed to actually say anything but ‘hi’ to her. You are going to talk to her tonight. That’s what the alcohol’s for.” He laughed lightheartedly, before threateningly adding, “And you’re not going to walk away from her!”

“At this point, I’ll be surprised if my feet actually work around her.” He sighed, putting his hands on the counter and leaning into them. He was beyond stressed about the party, which was just an hour away, “I don’t know what it is about her, but I just- I freeze. She’s beautiful and sweet and funny, and she’s got such an incredible singing voice. She’s perfect and breathtaking, and I can’t handle it. She’s absolutely the girl of my dreams but god, these butterflies are the worst thing in the world. Every time she’s near me, I just can’t speak and my heart feels like it’s going to jump out of my chest and my hands get all sweaty and- and I just love her, but I fucked it all up.”

“Calm down, Haz.” Tom spoke softly. “You never know, she might give you another shot. On the bright side, there’s no way you can fuck it up more as long as you don’t freeze.”

“What if-” Harrison paused, standing up straight, “What if I just kept my eyes closed all night, so if I run into her, I won’t freeze because I won’t be able to see her?”

“She’s not fucking Medusa.” His friend smacked him on the back of the head. “Pull yourself together!”

Once the bar was set up, Harrison went back to his room to try to memorize his speech, the perfect words that will hopefully win you over. He read over the small piece of paper, crinkling it under his fingers lightly. He heard Tom start the music and suddenly people began to arrive. He had to go out there now or else he’d never go.

“I can do this.” He told himself as he looked in the mirror, and he suddenly felt like a 19 year old all over again, anxiously hyping himself up for the biggest date of his life. This time it was different. This time he was going to talk to you (well, at least say ‘hi’ before running away).

“You good?” Harry asked as he handed Harrison a drink when the blond finally made it to the kitchen while the party was picking up pace.

“Yeah,” He replied, but it did nothing to convince either of them that he was, in fact, good. Harrison quickly drank the beer, knowing he’d need a bit more if he was going to actually confront you tonight.

“Don’t go too hard. You’ve got to be somewhat coherent when you talk to Y/N.” His friend warned, but Harrison shook him off, downing another. With two drinks suddenly in his system, he stopped to nurse the third one properly. Harry sighed, but he even had to admit that it was a decently good sign that Harrison wasn’t completely planning on being wasted when seeing you (he’d save the shots for after your rejection). Before leaving Harrison alone, Harry stated, “Don’t finish that drink until you talk to her.”

Harrison did as he was told, slowly savoring the one drink while eating some snacks and socializing with old friends. Tom made the rounds throughout the party, and it didn’t take long for Shelby to be latched on his arm. After half an hour of waiting for you, Harrison was about to give up hope and just chug the rest of his drink to get another because he could feel the alcohol slowly fade away. He couldn’t grab another though, because while Harry wasn’t in the kitchen with him anymore, the curly haired Holland still kept a watchful eye on him.

“Haz, look who just showed up.” Tom said, coming over to his friend and nudging him towards the front door, where you just stepped in. Just like that, the nervousness was overflowing in Harrison.

“Go talk to her.” Harry encouraged him, appearing by his side with Sam.

“I don’t-”

“Go!” All three Hollands shouted while Tom physically shoved his friend in your direction. Harrison’s feet took him to you, but they refused to move once your eyes landed on him.

“H-hey, Y/N.” He said, swallowing the anxious lump in his throat.

“Hi, Harrison.” You replied stiffly. In all honesty, you weren’t at all expecting him to actually come over to you and talk to you, not after the grocery store incident.

“Do you- do you want a beer? Or a Whiteclaw? We might have shots too.” Harrison offered. His cheeks heated up with a blush as he stuttered. If he thought he wasn’t good enough for you back then, he definitely felt inadequate now. The past four years had been good to you; you were even more beautiful in his eyes. And it definitely didn’t help that he knew you were a famous singer with probably numerous guys kissing at your feet.

“Could I have a Whiteclaw please?”

“Uhuh, yeah,” He nodded, but his feet wouldn’t move. They’d fallen under your captivating spell. God, maybe Tom was wrong, maybe you were Medusa.

“Everything alright?” You asked, pausing as you were going to follow him to the kitchen, yet he made no noticeable effort to move.

“Yeah, yeah.” His feet finally let him move. So far, so good; he had said all of ten words to you and he hadn’t completely frozen yet- and he hadn’t even walked away from you. As you followed Harrison into the kitchen, the other three Holland boys huddled in the crowd to sneakily watch.

“Wait, wait, that’s Harrison’s Y/N?” Sam asked quietly, just as surprised as Harry had been last week. Harrison was an actual mess as he tried to open your Whiteclaw for you, just to have it bubble over into his hands. The three other boys felt a wave of secondhand embarrassment hit them.

“This is painful to watch, but I can’t look away.” Harry laughed, taking a drink of his beer.

“You think this is painful? I had to sit through his schoolboy crush on her for years, I had to hear his every thought about her. And that includes his dilemma of asking her to formal.” Tom shook his head.

“Did he?” Sam asked.

“We were at a party and I think he got out the ‘will you’ part before running off to the bathroom. That’s the only time I’ve ever witnessed him vomiting from alcohol.” He shuddered, remembering having to console his incredibly drunk friend in the bathroom. Now, he was happy that Harrison was finally talking to you like you were a normal person or he was trying to. As if he was trying to will his friend some confidence, he murmured, “Just don’t choke, don’t walk away.”

“Here,” Harrison handed you a cup that he had transferred the Whiteclaw into, not wanting to give you back a sticky can. He washed his hands, acknowledging the sad Whiteclaw mark on his shirt.

“Thanks.” You replied, taking a sip of the drink.

“I’m sorry.” Harrison whispered, but with his back to you, the music blasting, and the sink still on, he knew you didn’t hear it. And he also knew that if he didn’t have the sound to drown out his words and if he turned to face you, he wouldn’t be able to recite his perfect speech. Sighing, he shut off the sink and turned to face you. As he started to speak, you looked at him and that was enough for him to not even make it past the “I”. Instead, he ended standing there and just moving his mouth, trying to get the words to come out.

“Yes?” You questioned. You remembered back at school that he was always nervous around you and you found it really cute and sweet. That was the main reason you were so interested in going on a date with him four years ago, and that was the main reason why you were so disappointed when he never showed up. Out of all the guys you’d ever met, Harrison was the one that you never believed would stand you up like that. It’d been four years, and you didn’t quite know if you still held a grudge over it. It hurt at the time because you really liked him and you thought he really liked you too, but years had passed so surely you should’ve moved on by now, right? And Harrison- he should have moved on too?

“I- um- ya know,” Harrison felt his tongue getting trapped in his throat. He wanted to scream out how sorry he was about everything and how much he actually cared about you, but the thought of actually talking anymore was making him want to vomit and he hadn’t even had that much to drink. Maybe alcohol with extreme nervousness wasn’t a good mixture for his body.

“Hey,” Tom approached you and Harrison, sweeping in to save his bumbling best friend.

“Hey, happy birthday.” You smiled at him. Harrison hung his head low in shame, he’d manage to mess it up again. He was more than thankful for Tom’s arrival.

“Thank you.” The birthday boy replied with a smile. He turned to Harrison and nudged him a little. “Harrison, what were you going to say?”

“Just, um-“ Harrison lifted his head to look at you, and suddenly wished he hadn’t. With your eyes resting on his intently and his heart beating fast, he could barely think. He thought back to his speech, back to those apologetic words he needed to say, back to his conversation with Tom just moments before the party. He quickly realized his mistake of thinking back to that recent memory because, before he could process his words, he helplessly blurted out, “You’re like Medusa.”

“Yeah- what?” Tom stopped himself, horrified at his friend’s words. He was fully prepared to back Harrison up, expecting him to say ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘I love you’- just anything besides ‘you’re like Medusa’. You just stood there with your eyes wide and jaw dropped. You didn’t even know what you were expecting him to say, but it definitely was not that.

“You know, like- you just-“ The blond tripped on his words, looking to Tom for help.

“What he means to say,” He sent his friend a glare before turning to you, “He’s sorry about your date years ago, and he finds you mesmerizing.”

“You know what? I don’t want to hear it.” You spoke angrily, feeling hurt by Harrison’s words. So much for the sweet and cute teenager you remembered. “Go fuck yourself, Harrison.” Before you even processed your own actions, you threw the rest of your drink on him and stormed out.

“I’m,” Harrison sighed in defeat as his body started to function without you there, “Sorry.”

“Medusa? Are you fucking serious?” Tom asked, infuriated at his friend’s idiotic words. He was grateful that the party was too loud for anyone to register your actions, except for Sam and Harry who were quick by Harrison’s side.

“What the hell happened?” Harry questioned.

“I fucked it up even more.” Harrison groaned, grabbing some napkins to try to wipe off his face and shirt.

“He said she was like Medusa.” Tom explained.

“Since when is your game with girls shit?” Sam stated.

“She is like Medusa though. I freeze whenever she’s there.” The poor blond kept trying to wipe himself off.

“Well you don’t tell her that!”

“I need to go change.” Harrison sighed, leaving for his bedroom without another word.

“We either need to help him get over her or help him get her back.” Harry said as he watched his friend’s retreating form.

“Tonight was supposed to be getting her back.” Tom huffed in defeat. “This is going to be harder than I thought.”

Back in his room, Harrison discarded his wet shirt and went to his closet to grab a fresh shirt. That’s when he spotted it- the blue button up he’d worn for his date with you. It was his favorite shirt in his teen years, everyone always complimented it and his eyes whenever he wore it; but it had negative memories surrounding it, the negative thoughts of what could have been. It was mocking him. Grabbing a different shirt, he slipped it on comfortably.

He didn’t want to go back to the party downstairs. He just wanted to stay within the comforts of his room, where he could hide from socializing and act like you didn’t just humiliate him, like he had humiliated you years ago. He had to admit, he deserved a Whiteclaw to the face; in fact, he’d absolutely let you pour an entire keg on him if it made you feel better. God, he was so whipped for you, and you didn’t even know it, and worst of all, you weren’t even his.

Sighing, he laid down on his bed, wanting to savor a few minutes alone. It took him a moment before he registered the soft crinkling of paper and realized he’d been laying on his prepared speech for you.

‘I’m sorry, Y/N. I know you’re probably still mad, but just hear me out. I’m four years too late, and that’s four years I should’ve shown you just how amazing you are. I remember the first day I saw you at school. You were the prettiest girl in our school by far; I’d never seen anything as magnificent as you. You were funny, sweet, confident, beautiful inside and out- you were my dream girl. It took me months to work up the courage to talk to you, and I was so pleased when you’d reply to my small greetings with a simple smile. And then it took me even longer to have a full conversation with you. Do you remember it? It was about When Harry Met Sally because you said it was your favorite movie. I told you that I had seen it, but I lied and you knew it too. You were too nice to call me out on that though. Honestly, I still haven’t seen it. I know we didn’t talk much in school, it was more of a ‘we’re friends because we share classes’ friendship, but I still cherished every single time I got to hear your voice.

I know you’re wondering why I stood you up back then, but I didn’t intentionally do it. I was there, at the fairgrounds, two minutes early, and I was stressing over everything- over how I didn’t have a clean jacket to offer you in case you got cold, how I should greet you at the gate, whether or not I should kiss you at the end of the night. You meant so much to me back then- you still do now, but I was too nervous. I couldn’t get out of my car once I saw you there in that blue dress with the dandelions. You were breathtaking, and I couldn’t comprehend how someone as incredible as you would want to go on a date with me. You had almost every single guy at the school in love with you, it just didn’t seem possible that I could win your heart. It took me an hour, but I finally got out of the car and I was going over to you. I was so anxious and I still didn’t know what to say to you. You didn’t realize I was there, but I heard you on the phone. You said you wore that blue dress because you thought it matched my eyes, because you thought I’d like it more, you thought it’d make me like you more.

But you didn’t need a baby blue dress to make me like you. I was so head over heels in love with you back then. You didn’t know it then, and I didn’t know it quite yet either, but you owned my heart. I know this is a lot, and I know this is cheesy, but I do love you. I regret what I did four years ago and I often contemplate how different our lives would be if I had actually shown up like I was supposed to. I don’t regret giving you my heart though; it’s been yours for years and it’ll probably always be yours. So please, will you give me another chance? Will you go on a date with me? And I promise to show up and make it worth your while. You own my heart, please give me a chance at yours.’

Harrison laughed lightly to himself. The note was a pathetic attempt at some grand declaration of love and an apology. As sad as the speech was, he hated himself for not saying it to you. Instead he called you Medusa, of all things to say that was the worst. He didn’t mean it as a put-down or as a derogatory statement; he meant that you were just so captivating to him that he froze whenever he saw you. Everything about you was so beautiful, and he really needed to tell you that, even though he was sure you already knew it. He knew what he meant, but it didn’t come across at all how he intended it to.

He set the paper on his desk and left his room, knowing Tom would be expecting him to return to the party. Freshly changed, he went back downstairs and spotted the other three boys still in the kitchen conversing- he bet it had something to do with him, seeing as they all immediately quieted down when they saw him coming towards them.

“You alright?” Tom asked, genuinely concerned about his friend, even though he was currently trying to plot getting you and Harrison at least in the same room together again.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Harrison replied. He gave his friend a reassuring smile, but he wasn’t fooling anyone really. He grabbed himself a new drink and went to get lost in the crowd. Tom sighed; maybe he shouldn’t have tried to push Harrison tonight, seeing his friend so upset just put a downer on Tom’s mood.

The night went on for Harrison though. Harry had been right last week- Shelby did bring some pretty attractive friends with her that she introduced to the blond (he thought mainly because Tom asked her to after the earlier events). One of them latched onto Harrison, and he didn’t mind the distraction, turning on his charm easily for her. Sam and Harry eyed their friend from afar as he flirted with the new girl; there was no denying Harrison could easily get a girl, which made it even more unbelievable that he was so tongue tied over you.

A few days passed and Harrison was still trying to recover from the party. His thoughts were still stuck on you. He couldn’t believe he had a second chance to talk to you and didn’t. Well, he did, but comparing you to Medusa wasn’t a good talk.

Unbeknownst to him, Tom had created an “ingenious” plan of getting Harrison to see you again, another shot for their friend to say something more than just a sad simile.

“We’re leaving now.” Tom said to Harrison as he and Harry started to walk out the door.

“Okay?” Harrison questioned. It was odd for any of them to announce that they were leaving the house. He had a strange feeling that his friends were up to something, but he couldn’t be bothered to actually care. What he didn’t realize was that Tom left with an envelope, encasing a familiar speech written by Harrison himself.

Hearing the front door close, he turned back to his phone in his hand. He took a sip of his tea as he continued to scroll through your Wikipedia page. Was it weird that he was looking you up? As long as no one knew, he felt like it was fine. He read over your brief background, which just said you were from Kingston.

He choked on his drink a little as he read over how you were discovered. You were singing one of your own songs in a cafe when an agent spotted you and eventually offered you a record deal. The song became your first official single and it was featured on your album of the same name. The song and album name? Dandelion. He could see it then, your blue dress with the delicate dandelion print on it with a denim jacket on top and a slightly damaged left pocket. He turned on the song on Spotify, listening to the lyrics, curious to see if it was about him. As the soft song began, he started to feel foolish; why would you have written a song about him? Maybe you just liked dandelions? Maybe you wore that dress on many dates? It looked incredible on you, so why wouldn’t you wear it often?

“Dandelion, a million little wishes float across the sky, but it’s a waste of breath and it’s a waste of time, I know,” You sounded almost sad as you sang, and Harrison assumed that’s what made you such a good singer, your emotion bled through into your songs, “‘Cause just like him, you always leave me crying, dandelion,”

Crying. Harrison made you cry when he stood you up. Maybe the song wasn’t completely about him, but something told him you may have been inspired after that night. He looked further into the song, wondering if maybe you had publicly said anything. Under the song’s Wikipedia page, it had a quote from you, saying “It was one of the worst nights of my life, getting stood up absolutely sucks and it’s embarrassing, but this song changed my life for the better, so I can’t help but feel a little grateful for that awful date”. As if the song didn’t already make him feel worse about it, you had confirmed it was about him, except no one knew that besides the two of you and anyone else who knew about that date specifically. Further looking into the seemingly endless page of information, he spotted the awards section. He couldn’t hide his pained smile as he read that not only was the song and album nominated for a Grammy, but you had actually won a Grammy for the song. So maybe there was a bright side to him not showing up that night because his actions made you write an incredible song.

As the song faded out, he jumped, hearing a sharp knock at the door. He quickly paused your music and closed out of his tab, not wanting anyone to have caught him basically stalking you online. He shoved his phone into the pocket of his sweatpants and walked to the door, wondering who would be arriving unannounced. He opened the door and froze, just like a few days ago, as you stood on his doorstep. The small smile on your face faltered as you saw him.

“Y/N, what- what are you doing here?” He asked, trying to wrap his head around the fact that you were there and it wasn’t just a hallucination.

“Tom invited me. Something about using my music in a film?” You explained, and Harrison raised his eyebrows at you questioningly. You sighed lightly, “Can I just come in and see Tom?”

“He, uh, he isn’t here.” He replied. A light bulb went off in his head, realizing why Tom was literally announcing his departure; he wanted you to be alone with Harrison.

“He said he was here. I just talked to him on the phone.” You stated, not fully believing him.

“No, he isn’t here.” He shook his head.

“Well, um, then I’m going to go.” You said, turning around. Harrison’s mind was racing, you were about to leave him again. Tom had already tried once to get you two together; he couldn’t let his best friend down again, he couldn’t let himself down again.

“”Dandelion”.” Harrison blurted out, stepping out of his to catch you before you got into your car.

“What?” You questioned.

“”Dandelion”. It’s a really good song.” He grimaced, suddenly feeling lame for saying it out loud. He didn’t mean to bring it up, but he needed to say something to you, and dear God it needed to be better than the Medusa comment.

“Thanks, I won a Grammy for it, so,” You answered proudly, pursing your lips together.

“I- I know.” His flickered down to your hand that rested almost threateningly on your car door handle. You were just about to pull it and leave when he spoke up again, “That dress looked amazing on you.”

This time, it was you who froze. You weren’t wearing a dress now, you weren’t wearing one at the party, and you definitely weren’t wearing one at the grocery store. Your mind had already made up its decision of what he meant, but your heart wouldn’t accept that pain all over again. “It’s been four years, Harrison. You don’t get to say anything now. I thought you were better than standing up a girl on a date that she was genuinely looking forward to.”

Harrison couldn’t react fast enough to your seething words before you got in your car and slammed the door shut, driving off quickly without sparing him another glance. Once your car was out of sight, Harrison screamed out in agonizing frustration. He had you right there, you were right in front of him, he was actually talking to you, and he still managed to mess it all up. It seemed like no matter what he said or did, you weren’t ready to forgive him, but he wasn’t even sure he deserved your forgiveness.

“You let her go again?” Tom questioned, coming around the far corner of the house with Harry.

“I thought you two left.” Harrison looked at the pair suspiciously.

“We had to make sure you didn’t fuck it up again, but seems like you did.” He sighed, shaking his head, “Why did you tell her you were there? That’ll make her feel worse!”

“At least you didn’t call her Medusa.” Harry added, earning a pointed look from Harrison.

“Just stop trying to set me up with Y/N. She’s clearly still mad at me over it, and I can’t keep going through this humiliating cycle of rejection.” With that, Harrison wordlessly stormed back into the house and up to his room, angry at his friends for trying so hard to make this right, angry at you for rejecting him yet again, angry at himself for letting you go again and again. Could he get another chance with you after messing it up four years ago and at the grocery store and at the party and now? He so desperately wanted the answer to be yes, but he feared his chances with you were up.

Harry turned skeptically to his older brother as the two walked inside the house. “Are you sure that was a good idea?”

“He talked to her at least. He said a full sentence and it was a compliment.” He said proudly, walking into the kitchen with his brother following him.

“No, I’m not talking about that. I’m meaning your other plan.”

“The letter? There’s two ways it can go: Y/N never talks to him again or she’s touched and reaches out to him.” He stopped, thinking for a moment, “Or she writes another Grammy-winning song about him being a dick. We’ll see in a few days what she does.”

“He’s going to hate you for this, you know that.”

“He won’t hate me when they’re on a date.”

“No, I’m pretty sure he’ll hate you for invading his privacy.”

“Whatever. Our plan is genius.” Tom smiled, extremely hopeful about his plan.

“Our? This was all your idea.”

“You’re an accomplice.”

“I’m a victim caught in the crossfire.” Harry held up his hands defensively.

Upstairs, Harrison was starting to grow worried. Where was his paper? He’d been running through it almost every day, hoping to grow the courage to tell you exactly how he felt. He was shit at words in person when it came to you, and he felt like he was even worse on paper. The speech was gone, and he had no clue where it was. He hoped no one had stumbled upon it- after all, he definitely hadn’t told his housemates about it.

Two days later, Tom started to get anxious, waiting for you to receive the letter and contact his friend. He thought perhaps it got put with fanmail, and you just wouldn’t see it for a while. He knew it was soon, but he was really, really impatient and he just wanted to do one thing right for his best friend, even if Harrison’s one request was for Tom to stop trying to be his wingman (in Tom’s defense, he told him to stop after the letter was sent and Harrison still didn’t know about it).

Trying to distract himself, Tom played Warzone with Harry. Neither of them had really talked about the whole letter situation, wanting the letter to take its own course. Just before they started another round, they heard a thud from Harrison’s room.

“What was that?” The older boy mumbled in confusion.

“Maybe he fell off the bed.” Harry laughed. His joke was short lived as Harrison came bolting down the stairs, phone in hand.

“Tom, give me your phone.” He insisted.

“Why?” Tom asked, handing over his phone anyway. After scrolling through it for a moment, Harrison’s eyes went wide.

“Holy shit!” He exclaimed, looking between the two phone screens.

“What is it?” The two others questioned.

“Y/N- she texted me.” Harrison smiled in disbelief, handing his friend his phone back. He sat down in the empty armchair and looked at his phone in awe.

“What’d she say?” Tom spoke up, ignoring his brother’s questioning look.

“She just said ‘You get one date. Don’t mess this up’.” He read off his phone, and Tom turned to his brother, nudging him a little. You’d gotten Harrison’s letter (that Tom sent) and you’d given him another chance.

“What’d you respond with?” Harry asked.

“I haven’t responded yet. She just texted me.” He said, nervously moving his thumbs as his phone rested in his hands. “Do I just ask about this Friday?”

“You mean tomorrow?” Tom clarified and he nodded.

“Too soon?”

“No, go for it.” He encouraged his friend. He smiled proudly as Harrison typed out the text and sent it to you.

“I wonder what changed her mind. I mean she was really mad last time. What if she’s leading me on? What if she’s going to stand me up?” He rambled anxiously. God, you hadn’t even planned a date yet, and he was a nervous mess.

“She wouldn’t do that.” Tom reassured him. Harrison hurried out of the room, murmuring something about needing to plan the perfect date (round 2). Tom turned to his younger brother, “She wouldn’t stand him up as revenge, right?”

Harry shrugged with a small sigh. Well, the boys could hope your intentions were good.

As Harrison tried to reel in his head and racing heart in the quiet reserve of his room, he felt his phone vibrate with another text from you. ‘They’re showing When Harry Met Sally tomorrow night at the park. Pick me up at 7?’

That’s not at all what he expected to receive back from you. Well, he definitely didn’t expect a text from you in the first place, which is why he had to check that it was actually your number on Tom’s phone. He didn’t expect your response to his sorta lame ‘are you free tomorrow night’ to be you planning the date itself. And not only that, but you wanted to see When Harry Met Sally- the first thing he ever truly talked to you about.

He could still remember that conversation clear as day. You were sitting beside him in study hall and pulled out your iPod to listen to music, since your 2010 phone didn’t have any music on it. You didn’t realize your headphones weren’t completely in, and your music started to play quietly. Harrison heard the soft jazz song play and decided to ask you about it before you got too caught up in your work. You smiled, telling him how “It Had to Be You” was from the greatest movie of all-time (in your opinion) When Harry Met Sally. He told you he’d seen it before and thoroughly enjoyed it as well, but the blank stare on his face when you brought up Meg Ryan was a dead giveaway to you that he hadn’t actually seen it. And yet, you didn’t make a comment about it; instead you asked him about his favorite movie. Before he could respond, your teacher called for silence, making you focus back on your work with your headphones plugged all the way into your iPod. Harrison thought that perhaps he saw you blush as you turned away from him, but he was too preoccupied with his mind still trying to process that you two had a conversation, a tiny one but it was enough for him.

He couldn’t argue with you about seeing the movie at the park tomorrow. You were giving him another chance, and if you wanted to see a movie in the park then Harrison would make damn sure that you’d get to see a movie in the park, even if he had to set up the projector and screen all by himself. This was his fifth chance with you, he couldn’t mess this up again.

“Ok, now remember, Y/N’s a human being so talk to her like one.” Tom stated as he stood by the front door with Harry and Sam beside him. Harrison sat at the step at the bottom of the stairs, tugging on his shoes. His big date was finally here, and his friends were grilling him on making it perfect. It kind of helped, but it also stressed him out a bit more.

“And compliment her, but not in a weird way.” Sam added.

“Don’t even think about Medusa.” Harry piped in.

“You got a clean jacket?” The oldest Holland asked. Harrison ducked back into his room to grab a fresh jacket, one that was perfect for you to wear tonight if you got cold.

“And you have the flowers, right?” At Harry’s words, the nervous boy rushed into the kitchen to grab the small, modest bouquet of fresh roses he had gotten earlier.

“How do I look?” Harrison asked, seeking approval as he held the bouquet in one hand and his jacket and keys in another. In jeans and a casual yet dressy blue shirt, he hoped he looked good enough for you. He thought about wearing that blue shirt he wore last time, but decided against it- maybe that shirt has bad voodoo on it, he didn’t know and he didn’t want to test it.

“You look great, now go get her.” Tom ushered him out of the door.

With a confident yet nervous spring in his step, Harrison stepped inside his car. He delicately placed the flowers and jacket on the passenger seat, sure to not damage or dirty either of them. He made his way over to your place, his fingers drumming nervously on the steering wheel. ‘Don’t choke’ he reminded himself. He needed to just make sure he didn’t freeze when he saw you; that was the most important thing, especially since he’d be driving the two of you tonight.

He pulled up to your house just two minutes before he was meant to be there. Two minutes for him to get up and greet you at the door. Just as he was about to open his door and step outside, your front door opened. He sat there awestruck as he watched you lock your door and head over to his car. You were sporting jeans and a simple navy blue blouse, and he swore you looked absolutely gorgeous. He unlocked his car and you opened the door, not even giving him any time to actually greet you outside.

“I got you flowers.” Harrison said, grabbing the jacket and the flowers off the seat to make room for you to sit.

“Thank you. You didn’t have to.” You smiled softly, but still graciously accepted the flowers when he handed them to you. You smelled them and eyed the various pink and red roses that made up the bouquet, “They’re beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful.” He replied, making you stifle a small laugh, even though you both knew how much he meant it.

“You look pretty handsome, too.” You stated and he started his car back up. “Sorry for rushing out here. My roommate was driving me crazy.”

“I get it.” He laughed, thinking about just how crazy Tom had been acting the past couple weeks. Well, maybe his craziness rubbed off because it led to this moment right here- Harrison taking you on a proper date and hopefully, not freezing.

As Harrison drove over to the park, you two talked about basically everything, about how eager you were to show him this movie, about how his acting had been doing, about how his dog was (he was surprised you remembered Monty). All of it just made him feel more comfortable. Once he got past the wall of nerves from your presence, he was able to flick on his charm for you. You may have been his dream girl, but you were also just a regular person, a person he could hold a steady conversation with. When the two of you arrived at the park, he quickly rushed to the back of his car instead of walking towards the movie itself.

“I brought us a blanket and some snacks.” He explained when he saw your confusion. You smiled at him as he got out a large blanket and a bag of sweets and drinks from his trunk. You may have been the one to decide on the date itself, but he did his own part of the planning, ensuring you had a clean spot to sit and something to eat and drink while the movie played. “I didn’t know what snacks you liked so I kinda got some of everything.”

He opened the bag out to show you its contents and you peered inside. He had sweet candy, chocolate candy, salty snacks, just everything. You looked back up at him and a bright blush made its way onto his cheeks. In your eyes, he was back to being the sweet 19 year old you had agreed to go on a date with four years ago.

“It’s perfect.” You reassured him, but you weren’t even sure if you meant the snacks or the date or just him.

“Well, we better hurry if we want a good spot before the movie starts.” Harrison laughed lightly, closing the bag and shutting his trunk. You walked beside him to where the movie would be showing and found a nice spot near a tree. He laid out the blanket for you and the two of you sat down next to each other, but not enough to actually be touching.

“I’m genuinely excited for you to see this.” You told him as the ads finished, signaling the start of the movie.

“I am, too.” He smiled over at you one last time before the movie truly began. It was only a few minutes into the film when you shifted to lean in Harrison’s side. After the initial shock of your movement, Harrison wrapped an arm around your waist so that you could fall easily into his side while you watched the movie play out. Halfway through the film, he felt you shiver a little and quickly handed you his jacket. He smiled to himself, happy that he definitely did at least one thing right, as you thanked him for the warm jacket.

Sharing snacks with you throughout the movie, he found himself truly enjoying it. He could see how it was your favorite film, how you loved the featured song so much that it was your favorite song. He couldn’t help but acknowledge how it was a film all about second chances, or really just multiple chances with the same person over and over again until they both finally got it right. His history with you may not have been exactly like the film, but he felt like it still resonated; he wondered if you chose the movie completely on accident or if you had remembered about that first conversation, if you had thought of it as similar to your current situation.

His overthinking wasn’t done there though. As he drove you back to your place after the movie concluded, you two discussed the movie (this time with actually understanding who Meg Ryan is). He was a little dazed as he talked, trying to think of how to end the night. Would it be too forward if he kissed you? Because truth be told, he’d wanted to kiss you since the moment he saw you all those years ago. When he pulled up to your house, he was happy to see you still casually wearing his jacket. He didn’t want the night to end, especially considering he still hadn’t really apologized for four years ago, still hadn’t explained himself for what happened at the party, still hadn’t explicitly told you about the mesmerizing effect you had over him.

“Well, thank you for tonight. It was nice.” You spoke up with a smile.

“Yeah, it was.” He nodded, feeling himself start to choke up. He’d made it almost two hours without becoming speechless in front of you, and now at the end of the night, perhaps when it mattered most, he couldn’t speak. You waited a moment before getting out of his car, almost like you were expecting him to say something more. He watched your retreating figure, your right hand shoved deep into his jacket’s pockets. It hit him all at once; you were nervous, you were wearing his jacket, you were walking away from him again. He wasn’t going to let that happen.

“Wait!” Harrison rushed out of his car and hurried up the driveway to you on the porch. As you stood there in front of him, looking at him intently, his nerves came racing back to him, but he had to say the words. ‘It’s now or never’, he told himself.

“Okay, this is four years overdue, but here it goes.” He started with a small sigh, “I know you think I didn’t show the night I was supposed to meet you at the carnival, but I did. You were standing at the front gate. You were wearing a light blue babydoll dress with dandelions on it and a jean jacket, but the right pocket was ripped because you always used to shove your first in there when you got nervous.” You slowly looked down at your right hand, nervously in the jacket’s pocket. Speechless, you listened to him continuing on.

“You were pacing back and forth that night and waited around for almost an hour before you walked away. And you were on the phone to someone when you walked away, telling them that you wore that dress so that it would match my eyes.” Harrison paused, swallowing down his nerves, “I was so nervous, I choked. And you know what, that hardly ever happens to me, but the truth is, Y/N, I think I liked you too much, and somewhere in the back of my head, I knew what that night would mean, and even how my life could be different now if I hadn’t let you walk away, but this a different moment, and- and it’s a chance to make a different choice.” He felt himself starting to choke up again, “And you’re really amazing, and I know we can’t go back in time, but I wish that there was some way-”

Harrison’s words were cut short as you grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. Though he was incredibly stunned by the fact that you kissed him, his arms went to your waist, pulling you into him as he kissed you back passionately. The kiss ended all too quickly for him when you stopped it for air.

“Definitely four years overdue.” You smiled at him. If he wasn’t breathless already from the passionate kiss, your smile just his breath away even more.

“Thank you for giving me another chance. I really didn’t want to mess any of this up.” He admitted.

“Well, the letter was so sweet, I couldn’t say no.” You leaned in to kiss him again. He pulled back from the kiss though with wide eyes.

“What letter?” He asked.

“The one that you wrote? About me being the prettiest girl in school and how you were there when I thought you stood me up?” You explained, and his cheeks grew red in embarrassment.

“You weren’t supposed to see that.” He groaned, “I wrote that just so I could apologize to you at the party and to tell you how much you mean to me. I didn’t mean to say you’re like Medusa- I just meant that you’re-” You cut him off with another kiss.

“You talk too much sometimes.” You laughed.

“I can get used to getting cut off like that.” Harrison smiled at you, kissing you again.

He may be mad at Tom for sending that private speech, but Harrison got the girl in the end so maybe his friend wasn’t the worst wingman ever.

#harrison osterfield #harrison osterfield x you #harrison osterfield one shot #harrison osterfield imagine #harrison osterfield x reader #haz osterfield #harrison osterfield fic #harrison osterfield fanfic

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thatshiscigar · 5 years ago

Text

The Boys Of Summer — JJ Maybank

Request: Hi there I wasn’t sure if requests were open or not, but I was wondering if I could get a JJ x female reader based on the song The Boys Of Summer by Don Henley. I feel likes it’s a good end of summer song and I was thinking it could be something where the reader is getting ready to leave for college and her and JJ have to come to terms with her leaving and while she drives away the both of them reminisce on their times together. Sorry if it’s too much! I love your writing! :)

Warnings: swearing, underaged drinking

Word Count: 2.7k+

A/N: I kind of veered from the request a bit- I just got a different vibe from the lyrics

Masterlist

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[GIF CREDS TO OWNER]

The sun was beaming into JJ’s eyes as he flew down the streets on his motorbike, leaves kicking up in the wind. He hoped it was the harsh wind that caused tears to prick in his eyes, rather than the emotional turmoil in his head. You were leaving for college today, and JJ didn’t want you to leave without letting you know how he felt. He knew he had fucked up, and he scolding himself for waiting until the last minute to do anything about it.

The ride to your house was eerie. The streets, usually filled with kid’s trying to find their fun, were empty. The beaches were deserted, litter left from tourists the only thing keeping the sand company. Summer was ending, and the Outer Banks, Paradise on Earth, felt like a ghost town. It was bare. The contrast of its current state, and from what it looked like just a couple of weeks ago was astounding.

The speaker that Sarah had brought was playing lowly, relaxing you both as you tanned. It was one of the first few days of summer, and you needed to get that glow that would carry you for the rest of the season. You were enjoying the warmth of the sun on your skin, until you felt something, or someone, block its rays. You picked off your sunglasses, and saw the culprit, JJ, your boyfriend, standing in front of you. His hair was sopping wet, little droplets falling onto your feet as he towered over you.

“What,” you groaned, throwing your forearm over your eyes.

“C’mon Y/N! The waters fine,” he whined, trying to get you to comply. You look at him for a moment before making up your mind.

“Five more minutes,” you said as you put your sunglasses back on, getting back to tanning.

“Fine,” JJ accepted, drawing out the vowel. You heard him stomp away, in a childish manner, which made you smile. You closed your eyes, unwinding again. It didn’t last for very long though, as you were ripped from you relaxation when you heard rapid footfalls coming your direction. You didn’t have much time to process what was happening as JJ picked you up from the sand, and threw you over his shoulder. You screamed as you pounding his back, begging for him to put you down. Your cries for help were abruptly cut off when JJ threw you off his shoulder, and into the salty water. When you emerged from the water, the sound of JJ’s laughter filled your ears, which was impossible to get mad at.

“What the hell was that, Maybank!” You playfully scorned, to which he only laughed harder. You moved to slap his chest, but he grabbed you by the wrist and pulled you in, wrapping his arms around your torso.

“The waves were calling your name, Y/N,” he alleged, making you giggle against his skin. He placed his hands on your cheeks, guiding you up to kiss him. It was a small kiss, but it was filled with so much, you didn’t want the moment to end. You pulled away, and leaned your forehead against his.

The love you saw in his eyes was innocent. It was child-like, and pure. Like nothing could ever get in your way.

JJ didn’t realize the memory was playing out in his head. There were tears pouring down his cheeks, and being blown into the wind. He kept his gaze steady on the road in front of him, with a hard face. He was mad. Mad at himself for letting you go. He could’ve had a future with you, but he let it all go to shit.

The Fourth of July carnival has been a summer staple for the Outer Banks since anyone could remember, and you went every year. It was one of your favorite summer traditions, and this year, you went with JJ. The night was full of rides, greasy fair food, and booth games, where JJ had won you a large teddy bear.

The night was winding down, people were going home and rides were shutting down, and you were getting pretty tired. You and JJ were holding hands as you were walking towards the exit, along with everyone else. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed a little boy trip and fall, getting separated from his family in the large crowd. He couldn’t have been older than five years old. You quickly ran towards him, ducking through the mass of people, shouting ‘excuse me’ and ‘sorry’ til you reached him.

“Hey there,” you said as you crouched down, JJ right beside you. The little boy looked up at you with teary eyes.

“What’s your name?” You asked in a sweet voice, trying to calm him down.

“Ryder,” the little boy said through sniffles, his little cheeks red and puffy.

“Ryder? Okay Ryder, is it okay if I pick you up?” You asked in your best baby voice. He didn’t answer, as he made grabby hands, letting out a sob.

“Okay, c’mere bubba,” you cooed as you picked him up. You gave him the teddy bear JJ gave you to calm him down. It worked, as his tears stilled and he was now occupied with the fluffy toy.

JJ was still just standing behind you, not sure of what to do. He looked like a he had just seen a ghost.

“Look out for parents,” you muttered to him, giving him a job. JJ nodded and looked out to the crowd, and quickly spotted a young couple, scrambling around with terrified looks on their faces. JJ tapped your shoulder, and pointed them out to you.

“Is that your mommy and daddy?” You asked Ryder, his eyes following where JJ was pointing. Ryders face lit up when he saw them. He started nodding excitedly.

“Yeah?” You egged, happy that he wasn’t crying anymore.

“Mhmm!” Ryder hummed. He grabbed onto your shirt with excitement.

You and JJ hurriedly maneuvered through the crowd, trying to reach Ryders parents. You guys eventually did, and they were more than grateful. They gave you and JJ many thanks and you parted your ways.

“You’re gonna get real good at that, y’know,” JJ said, smiling down at you.

“What do you mean?” You furrowed your eyebrows at him.

“The whole... taking care of kids thing.” He looked down at his shoes, suddenly getting shy at his own words.

“You mean like, a mom,” you challenged, a bright smile on your face. JJ regained some of his confidence when he saw how you were taking it. You weren’t freaked out at the idea, you were elated. You wanted a future with him, where you could have his kids, and raise a big and happy family.

“Yeah,” he started, swinging his arm over your shoulder.

“Like a mom.” He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to your lips, enveloping you in everything that was good in the world. You loved JJ, and he made you feel safe and secure. You wanted the longevity and safety with him, and you were excited for your future with him.

He was furious at himself now. You loved him so much, and JJ took you for granted. He would never forgive himself for what he put you through.

The teens of the Outer Banks all knew one thing for sure, and that was that summer was coming to a close. Everyone wanted to get one last party in before you all went back to your normal and boring routine of wakeup, school, go to sleep, so, that exactly what you all did. Everyone was there, Kooks, Pogues, Tourons, and even a couple mainlanders. It was the biggest party of the summer.

You and Kie were in the middle of the crowd, dancing, drinking, and having a good time. You knew when the summer ended Kie would have to go back to the Kook Academy, and you would have to go away to college, so you wanted to get every last moment that you could with her.

After a while of partying and many, many refills, Kie started to greatly feel the effects of what she was putting in her body. She grabbed onto your forearm to steady herself.

“Woah! Kie! You okay?” You yelled, trying to get her to hear you over the music. When she shook her head no, you started to shove past the mass of people to get her out of the crowd. You flung her arm over your shoulder and held onto it to keep her up and balanced.

“Hey, I’m gonna take her back to the Chateau, she’s not feeling too well,” you said to John B, who was standing guard at the keg.

“Alright, drive safe,” he replied, pity in his voice for Kie.

“Hey, have you seen JJ?” You asked him, realizing you hadn’t seen your boyfriend around.

“Um, no, not for a while.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets, thinking about his answer.

“Alright, well I’ll see you later.” You said your goodbyes once more and made your way to your car, an almost-passed-out Kiara hanging off your shoulder.

When you pulled up to the Chateau, you parked the car and went to the passenger side. You helped Kiara get out of her seat, but she could handle herself a little better now, not needing much help walking anymore.

When you approached the front door, you could faintly hear the bed creaking, and moaning. It couldn’t have been John B, you had just seen him, and Pope wasn’t really the type to bring a girl home.

“What the fuck,” you muttered to yourself, roughly opening the old door. You sprinted to the spare bedroom and yanked the door open, the sight of JJ on top of another girl, a girl that had beautiful blonde hair and a small waist, coming into view.

“Y/N,” JJ began when he saw you. Before he could say anything else, you turned and ran out of the house.

“It’s not what you think,” he yelled after you coming out of the house, only wearing a pair of shorts he could quickly throw on.

“Then what the fuck is it, JJ!” You turned and screamed at him with tears in your eyes. You started to walk back towards him, getting ready to unleash all your anger.

“Because I saw you,” you pointed at him, the tip of your finger coming into contact with his bare chest.

“In bed, fucking another girl.” You pushed him away with your finger. You were seething with anger, your face and ears red, tears free falling down your cheeks.

“We’re done, JJ, we’re done,” you shot as you turned to walk away.

“Babe, please, we can talk about this!” He grabbed your wrist just before you were out of reach.

“Don’t fucking call me that.” You yanked your hand away and left him. Left him to clean up the mess he made.

You got in your car and drove away. You could barely see through the tears in your eyes, but you wanted to put as much distance between you and him as possible. You would never forgive him for this. All of those ‘I love you’s, and ‘You’re everything to me’s meant nothing now, and you weren’t going to fall for them again. You were done with JJ Maybank.

JJ rounded the corner to your street, your house coming into view. He didn’t really think through what he was doing, or what he was going to say, he just wanted to see you one last time.

You were putting the last of the boxes into the trunk of your car, getting ready to hit the road and start a new life out of the Outer Banks. You would miss it, though, the beach life. You would miss the sand and the sun, the drinks and the food, and everything in between. You did miss JJ, on some days. You would miss the way his arms curled around your waist, or the random kisses he would place on your neck, but you couldn’t go back to him. He cheated on you, and you weren’t going to forgive him so easily. You’d cut him off that night, never wanting to let him back into your life. If you were going to ever talk to him again, he would be the one to come crawling to you.

You heard the roar of JJ’s bike sounding from the end of the roads, and before you knew it, he was parked on the other side of the street, and getting off his bike to come and talk to you. You hurried your actions, packing up faster so you could leave as soon as possible.

“Hey, Y/N,” he mumbled, afraid to meet your gaze.

“What do you want, JJ,” you asked frankly, not wanting to play any games. You leaned against your car, crossing your arms over your chest.

“I wanted to apologize.” He kicked a pebble, and took in a sharp breath.

“I’m sorry, Y/N.” His voice faltered. You could see the tears in his eyes, but they didn’t faze you. You felt nothing for the boy in front of you.

“Are you sorry you did it, or are you sorry you got caught?” You quizzed. The question made JJ look up at you, but he didn’t have a response.

“Why did you do it?” He looked back to the ground, debating if he should tell you the truth, or just say he was drunk and couldn’t think straight.

“I don’t know, but I do know that I fucked up, and I’m sorry.” His voice broke, and he sounded desperate. He didn’t wipe the tears from his face, he didn’t care if you saw him like this.

“Whatever, JJ,” you sighed, not wanting to entertain this conversation anymore. You walked towards your house.

“So that’s it? You’re just gonna leave?” JJ called across the yard. You felt all the anger from that night bubble inside you again.

“You cheated on me, JJ! What else do you want me to say!” You marched back to him. He had a lost look in his eyes, he wasn’t expecting you to yell like that.

“I loved you! I wanted a future with you! Then you turned around and slept with another girl!” You pointed your finger at his chest again, just like you had before.

“And I will never, ever, forgive you, JJ Maybank.” Your words were venomous, making JJ’s knees falter, and his breath quicken.

“I’m gonna ask you one more time,” you began, the same malicious tone coating your voice.

“Why did you do it?”

He knew he had to tell the truth now, he wouldn’t ever get the chance again. He looked you hard in the eyes, getting ready to let it all out.

“I was scared,” he started, his words quiet.

“You loved me too much, and I got scared.” JJ’s voice was cracking, more tears spilling out.

“No one’s ever loved me like that,” he whispered. You could feel your own tears building up at his words. You didn’t know what to say, or how to feel. All the frustration and anger and sadness he caused you, was because you loved him too much?

“Please, say something,” he pleaded, his eyes searching your face for a reaction.

“You hurt me JJ, and no matter the reason, I can’t take you back,” you began.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered as you moved away from him. You briskly walked around your car to the drivers seat, wanting to escape as soon as possible. You started the car and drove away, watching JJ get smaller and smaller in your rear view window. You were leaving, and starting a new life. You weren’t going to bring baggage from the past into the future. It hurt, though. You did love JJ, but he broke your heart, and you weren’t going to take someone back who had broken your trust.

JJ didn’t go after you. He knew he had lost you for good. He fucked up the one thing he loved with his whole heart, all because he was scared. He wouldn’t forgive himself either. Watching you disappear around the corner of the street shattered what was left of his heart. You were gone for good, and there was nothing he could do.

Taglist: @supremestarkey @lovelymaybankk @blueeyedbesson @whormotional @classywaves @sexytholland @danaerekat @em753 @babyhoneystvles @angelic-boca @milked-down-coffee @dolanfivsosxox @sunwardsss @leekah @http-cherries

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chispas-and-broken-bindings · 4 years ago

Text

A Preview...

Someone requested a fix for their birthday...I don’t have the next chapter for I Just Think I’ll Scream quite ready for prime time, but here’s a sneak peak:

Ch 20 Sansa

Robb and Ned were up and away before Sansa emerged from her shower in the morning. The house is chaos as Catelyn tries to wrangle the remaining Starks out the door. "Sansa, stop feeding Shaggydog scraps from the table and get dressed! Bran, there are two boxes of gourds by the back door that need to be brought to the store for the window display. Be a dear and put them in the car. And where are Arya and Rickon?"

Sansa skips up the stairs before she's pulled into the hunt, almost knocking into her younger sister as she slides down the bannister. "One of these days that's going to break."

"Whatever, killjoy."

"Mom is looking for you, but you better change. We are supposed to wear floral for the Women's Club Bake Sale. It's themed and Cersei Lannister is going to be there, so we have to be on our best behavior." Her little sister is wearing their dad's old Falcon's sweatshirt and ripped up jeans, looking for all the world like she's about to spend the day painting a house or cleaning out a garage, and not hobnobbing with their mother's friends and clients.

"I'm not working the bake sale. I'm selling tickets to the haunted fun house with Mycah."

"Says who?"

Before Arya can respond, Catelyn is at the bottom of the stairs. "Me. You know that it'll be better for everyone if Arya isn't cooped up all day in a tent with the Women's Club ladies. Help me get through the midday rush, Sansa, and you can slip away and spend the afternoon with Harry if you'd like."

"Gods, Mom! They broke up weeks ago! Catch up!" Arya yells as the back door slams behind her and Sansa is alone, staring down the steps at her mother whose face has fallen into a look of concern.

"Oh, Sansa, dear. Why didn't you tell me?"

She sighs, "It's fine, Mom. Like Arya said, it happened weeks ago, and it was just a high school fling. They aren't meant to last." She turns back up the stairs, not waiting to see if her brush off was convincing. She dresses in the dark maxi dress waiting on her hook, with its long flowy sleeves and pattern of intricate woodland flowers. Usually, she feels like Florence Welch in it. Today though, as she inspects herself before the mirror, it's coming off less stylishly bohemian and more dowdy Victorian with the small ruffles along the high collar and shoulders. Ygritte would never wear something like this, a small ugly voice whispers.

Just as she's about to dive back into her closet, Bran yells up the stairs, "We're going to leave without you, Sansa," and it makes her choice for her. It's fine. She'll just hide in a corner of the tent with Old Nan and sneak lemon cakes all day. No one has to see her. So what if the band is playing this afternoon? It's not like any of them care if she watches their show, and she's basically heard the whole set already in rehearsals. It's not like Robb told everybody at school about it. It's not like she promised to get there early and save a spot up front with Marge and Jeyne.

Ygritte will probably be there to watch Jon. Best to skip...at least until she gets over her absurd crush.

"Sansa! Mom is literally starting the engine!" Bran yells again.

"Coming!" The best she can do is throw on sunglasses and a wide-brimmed fedora and hope no one recognizes her. Outside, Arya is still arguing with Rickon about buckling his car seat and Cat is on her phone, pacing up the driveway while Bran sits on the back step, whistling the march from Bridge Over the River Kwai. "Liar," Sansa flicks off his baseball cap. "We're nowhere near about to leave."

"She was starting the engine before her phone rang."

When they finally find a parking spot, it's apparent to everyone that they would have been better off leaving the car at home and walking. Though the festival hasn't officially started yet, the main street is closed off, and the big parking lot has been covered in carnival rides overnight. Arya peels off from their group when Mycah gives her a holler from on top of the Ferris wheel, leaving Bran and Sansa to lug the several boxes filled with decorative gourds to the hardware store, while their mom takes Rickon and their contributions to the bake sale in the opposite direction.

Outside the store entrance, Benjen is struggling with his pop-up tent, which keeps leaning to one side in the wind, while Meera watches him from the front step. "This is your fault, Sansa! Making me set up a stand, like I'm some lady selling doilies at a craft fair," He curses when the whole thing folds up on top of him.

"Good morning to you too, Uncle Ben," she rolls her eyes. "Where is Robb? He can get you bags of sand to anchor the tent. And don't knock doilies. There are entire rooms at the Met devoted to Myrish Lace alone. You can poke fun at craft fairs once even one of your pieces is on display at a similarly storied institution. Until then, you better get comfortable setting up this tent because I have three holiday craft markets lined up for you this season."

"You're just supposed to be sprucing up my website, not taking over the business! And don't get me started on your brother. I haven't had my morning caffeine fix yet because he disappeared on a coffee run ages ago. How long does it take to pour a bloody cup of coffee? If Jon Snow is holding up my joe with some pumpkin spice, whipped cream nonsense-"

On cue, Mr. paparazzo himself, appears in the doorway and before Sansa can land on an emotion, he's lifting the box from her arms with a gruff "G'morning Sansa," and then he's back in the shop, leaving her empty-handed and a bit empty-headed.

"He looks like he needs caffeine more than you," she remarks at last, meeting eyes with her uncle.

Meera sniggers. "You think? He looks like he spent the night sleeping under a car." Sansa wouldn't go that far, but it was hard to miss the circles under his eyes or how pale and papery his skin looked in the cold morning light.

"Give the kid a break. They played their first show last night, didn't they? If he's a bit wrung out this morning, that just means he's doing it right." Benjen jumps to Jon's defense.

"Well then, he's been doing it right every weekend. He's looked like this every morning since he started at the store," Meera says, heading back inside to supervise since Robb is still M.I.A. Sansa thinks about Ygritte's Instagram feed with its late night cigarettes and coffee at the diner and regular parties in what looks like someone's grungy basement. So, Jon works hard and plays hard. It's not entirely shocking. It niggles at her though; how tired he looks and how he doesn't talk about partying when he's at Winterfell. Her other friends are always eager to share their weekend escapades, but when Sansa asked how his party went when his Mom was out of town, Jon just gave her a noncommittal shrug and told her it was fine.

That's because you aren't really friends. She turns, more than ready to join her mom at the bake sale, when Robb comes skipping across the street with a drink carrier in hand. "Sansa! Just the girl I'm looking for." Her brother is as chipper as ever, seemingly inured to whatever effects from last night's show have taken the wind from Jon Snow's sails. "Can you help with the window display? Mom told me to spiff it up for the festival, but you've got a better eye for that kind of thing."

"Oh, sure. Skip out of work for an hour to flirt with some barista and then come back at the last minute to coerce your sister into doing your job?" Benjen barks and Robb's face turns scarlet.

"I… uh, what? No… I wasn't flirting…"

"Aren't you doing the same thing to me, Uncle Ben?" Sansa retorts, saving her brother from his bumbling. She makes a note to stop by the coffee shop and find out who this barista is. Uncle Benjen may be onto something. "Come on Robb, give Uncle Benji his coffee and I'll spare a few minutes for a consultation."

Inside, Bran and Meera are balancing tiny pumpkins on their heads as they wind through the aisles, trying to trip each other up. Jon Snow is leaning against the paint counter, looking ragged. She fights the urge to ask him if he's okay, opting instead to tip over Bran's pumpkin and herd him over to the window display. "Here, help me before Mom walks by and turns Robb into the headless horseman." They distribute the gourds in artfully artless piles throughout the window, as Jon and Robb hang a paint chip mobile over their heads; the autumnal pièce de résistance that Sansa spent hours making last year.

"Sans, I wish you could have been there last night. It was amazing," Robb excitedly recounts the band's show, "Jon was on fire, and apparently some promoters from White Harbor were there and Satin thinks he can book us some shows at North State! Isn't that great?"

"Yeah, though, won't that be hard with swimming?" She doesn't want to rain on Robb's parade, but maybe Arya is right. She is a killjoy.

"I have a meet in White Harbor next month. Maybe we can book a few gigs around it. What do you think, Jon? You up for a weekend road trip?"

"Uh.." Jon scratches at his neck, blearily. "I mean, that's a long drive to do late at night."

"Don't worry, we'll get a hotel for the weekend!"

"I don't know-"

The bell jingles at the door, and before Meera can scramble off the counter where she's been reading a comic, Catelyn is inside, gazing around the space, looking deeply unimpressed.

"Mom, uh, we were just finishing up with the decorations." Robb wobbles on the ladder in terror, unable to hook the last end of the mobile in place, and Bran ducks behind a pile of pumpkins, trying to hide his glee.

"Robb, you should have opened the store fifteen minutes ago. How are you just now finishing the decorations?"

“Well, the gourds only just arrived-” Robb starts, lamely.

“Never mind,” their mom sweeps through the space, picking up the boxes still out from stocking, tidying the candy by the register, before turning one last critical eye on her teenage employees. Jon cups his neck as he holds the ladder with his other hand. Robb scrambles down, having finally managed to hang the mobile correctly, rushing forward to grab the empty boxes from his mother. “Cersei Lannister is going to be here any minute. Get this garbage to the back. Meera, flip the sign and Jon, take the ladder back and...splash some water on your face or something. You look like death, warmed over. Jory is coming around ten, if you need to take the afternoon off.”

Jon’s ears turn pink as he folds up the ladder beside Sansa, and she looks out the window, mortified. “Sorry Mrs. Stark, but that’s not necessary” he begins, but Catelyn is already walking back to the office with a tired wave.

“I said it was a lot of hours you were taking on between school, the lumberyard and this. Just make sure you are fitting sleep in or you’ll make yourself sick, dear.”

#i just think i'll scream #jonsa fic #jon x sansa au #for k #happy birthday #wip excerpt

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toeil · 5 years ago

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summer is over, and so are we. [2] ↠ jung jaehyun

[pt.1] [pt.3]

➹ jaehyun x reader x doyoung ➹ genre: angst, fluff ➹ word count: 3,343

➹ summary: He introduced you to a warm summer you thought you would never have to leave. Yet, here you are, in the middle of a ruthless winter which’s ending seems to be nowhere in sight.

a/n; totally forgot to ever post the part 2 for this...i was going through my google docs and i found this and the part 3 so im just gonna post it now LOL it’s old so my writing is kind of funky but i tried to fix as much as i could without rewriting the whole thing smh

“Are you going to go on another date with Doyoung?” You could feel Johnny shift his gaze from his phone screen over to you.

“You already know the answer to that.” You sounded disinterested as you continued to scroll down the current page you had opened on your laptop.

“Let me rephrase. Go on another date with Doyoung.” You sighed and turned your body towards him on the couch, “Johnny, sometimes just understand things, alright?”

“You make me really sad, y/n. It’s been a year, when will you allow yourself to move the fuck on?... Jaehyun has.” He mumbled the last part to himself, hoping it would fall on deaf ears. But of course it didn’t.

Your shoulders stiffened up, “Jaehyun’s dating someone?”

Johnny offered you a sympathetic look, “yeah. She’s the daughter of one of his mom’s friends. You don’t know her.” You looked away from him and nodded, returning back to your laptop screen.

Johnny tried again after a few minutes, “Doyoung said he had a lot of fun at the bubble tea place you guys went to. He really likes you, you know? I really think you should consider going out with him again. Maybe you guys could go to the carnival.”

The mention of the carnival piqued your interest, “the carnival?”

“Yeah! You know the one that comes every year and sets up at the river?” You knew it well. That carnival was one of Jaehyun’s favorite things and he went every year. You knew because he used to tell you stories about it all the time, you never knew such crazy things could go down at a carnival. You were supposed to go with him last year, but because of work you had to cancel and promised to go with him the next year. Oh, how foolish you were then.

“Never heard of it.”

“Really? It’s a lot of fun. You’d enjoy it, especially if you went with Doyoung!”

If you went would you see Jaehyun? “Alright...I’ll go.”

“With Doyoung?”

“With Doyoung.”

Next week rolled around and although you admit you weren’t extremely excited for today, as soon as you stepped out of Doyoung’s car you felt yourself start to feel a little bubbly at the sight of the carnival in the distance. It was dark enough for the owls to nestle into their homes up in the trees, but the stalls and booths and the rides that were still set up all vibrated with brightly colored neon lights that the moonless night was soon forgotten by everyone. Since it was so late, not a single child was running rampant with parents chasing them around, and that definitely was a plus. You looked around and watched people's excitement seemingly increase with each step they took towards the entrance, laughing and shouting next to their friends about what the night ahead them was going to hold.

As soon as you got in, you noticed the carnival was a lot bigger than you had pictured. There were two roller coasters, big ones with loops, a drop tower, a ferris wheel, and even bumper cars. They had also set up, what looked like to you, a thousand booths. Ones where you could play games and win prizes of various sizes and values and ones where you could get palm readings and such. You wondered how difficult it must be to move this stuff around from place to place.

Your eyes found their way back to the rollercoasters and you felt that tiny ounce of excitement start to fizzle out with nervousness and regret. But as soon as you looked up towards Doyoung you felt your fizzled out excitement being replaced with something else you couldn’t decipher. It wasted no time in spreading through your chest. His eyes were shining brighter than the lights ahead of you, and you swore you had never seen someone smile so big; he was practically glowing from the inside out.

“Where do you want to go first?” He asked, practically bouncing.

You couldn’t help but smile back at him, “wherever you want to!”

“Should we ride the rollercoaster first?” He watched your face drop and he miserably failed at trying to stifle his laugh.

“Oh haha, yes very funny,” you rolled your eyes, “you know what? Let’s go ride both of the rollercoasters right now! I’m not scared! And I refuse to ride them after we eat funnel cake.”

“I was just joking, we really don’t have to ride them! Like at all, if you don’t want to.” You straightened yourself out, “I want to. C’mon! Let’s go.” You two paid for the red wristbands which would allow you to ride any of the rides, and made your way over to the first roller coaster. The line wasn’t long so in no time you two found yourselves getting buckled into the ride. Your arms were heavy, your knees were weak, and your palms were sweaty. You could practically feel your soul leave your body and the ride hadn’t even started moving yet. Doyoung, on the other hand, already had his adrenaline pumping. He looked over and noticed your stiff body language and asked if you were okay.

“I’m fin- oh god, it’s moving.” Your body jerked up as soon as you felt the roller coaster car start to slowly inch forward. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Doyoung move his arm over to you, “you can hold onto me if you’re scared, y/n. It’s okay.” At this point, the roller coaster car was at the peak of the ride, and as soon as the chains released the cars you wasted no time in grabbing his arm and stuffing your face into his side, screaming.

Doyoung has his free arm lifted up in the air and he’s happily screaming. His heart’s thumping loudly against his chest and he can very clearly hear it in his ear, and maybe it’s because of the ride or maybe it’s because you’re wrapped around his arm. Probably both. Either way, he was enjoying it.

Once the ride was over you finally let go of him and let out a sigh of relief. You slowly ask him, “should we go on the other one now?”

“Maybe we can save that for next time?” Next time?

“Yeah, next time, that works for me.”

“Look at that flamingo!” Your eyes followed Doyoung’s finger towards a ring toss game. There was a giant fluffy pink flamingo hanging at the top attracting everyone's attention. “Let’s go try to win it!”

Doyoung paid the staff member and got a bucket of rings for five dollars and within seconds he had used up all the rings. He huffed, “what the heck?...Excuse me,” he pulled another five dollar bill out of his wallet, “can I try again?” The staff member collected the rings he had just thrown and handed them back to him, “good luck!” Doyoung tried again and got only one ring which earned him one of the smaller prizes on the bottom shelf. He clicked his tongue out of annoyance, “keep it. I want to try again for the flamingo.” You silently chuckled to yourself watching him get frustrated over a ring toss game. He tried again and failed...again. He turned to you in disbelief, “oh my god??? y/n this game is rigged! Let me tr-”

“No! Doyoung, let’s go walk somewhere else and then we can come back okay?” You could tell he wanted to protest but he bit down on his tongue and decided to follow you away from the ring toss game. “Oh, look. The balloon dart game looks a lot easier.”

“But the prizes suck.”

You hummed, “yeah, they aren’t as cute at the flamingo. Let’s go get funnel cake and then let’s go on the drop tower and then we can go back to the ring toss and I’ll give it a shot this.”

“The drop tower?? Are you sure?” He eyed you suspiciously.

“Yes! I actually really like the tower drop! And it’s not even that high here.”

He looked back at the tower drop peeking up over all the booths, “I don’t know...that looks pretty high to me.”

“Are you scared of it?”

“No! I’m just curious as to how you’d want to ride that but be scared of roller coasters that don’t even go up as high as that.” He retorted.

“The world works in many mysterious ways, Kim Doyoung. Now come on, let’s get in line for the funnel cake.”

While you two shared a plate of funnel cake at the seating area under a tent, without noticing, Doyoung had gotten quite a bit of powdered sugar all over his jeans. When he stood up you couldn’t help but double over in laughter, “how’d you get all that on your pants!?” You tried to say between breaths. His face turned a light crimson color as he turned his back towards you and tried to wipe it off around the crotch area of his jeans. “It’s not my fault they put so much of that stupid sugar!”

After you had calmed down from your laughing fit and Doyoung had calmed down his racing heart, you two made your way to get on the drop tower. When you got off, you complained about how it wasn’t as climactic as the one at the amusement park.

Soon enough, you guys had come back around to the ring toss game, just like you had promised. This time, you gave up five dollars for the bucket of rings but just as you were about to toss the first one, Doyoung stopped you. “Wait, let me try one more time.” You gladly handed it over to him and felt your heart warm up at the sight of him closing his eyes to try and prepare himself.

A few seconds later your ears caught on to a boyish laughter coming from behind. You knew exactly who it belonged to. That was a sound you could never forget. Every nerve and cell in your body told you not to, but you turned around anyway. And there he was, laughing with some unfamiliar girl next to him. She gave him a little flirtatious shove, which only egged on his honey-like laughter even more. He looked down at his feet as he stumbled a few steps away from her. As he brought his gaze back up, his eyes fell on you standing a short distance away from him. His smile began to falter as he froze in his spot, watching you with a sort of surprised and confused look. This was the first time you had seen each other since the break up and it felt weird. You felt like your lungs were being compressed and there was no room for you to breathe.

He looked different. The clothes he was wearing were different from what he’d usually feel comfortable in. His natural silky black hair was dyed a soft brunette color. The earring you had gotten him a while ago was replaced with another silver one that dangled from his ear. This wasn’t the Jaehyun you were used to seeing everyday. You had him memorized, but staring back at him now, it was like you knew nothing. He just felt different.

The longer you stared at him the more you felt your brain wanting to reminisce about what you two had shared. And as soon as you felt your eyes start to sting, you swung back around. Doyoung felt your arm brush against his and he looked away from the ring toss game down at you with a grin, “y/n! Did you see how clos-...y/n?” He quickly set the bucket of rings down and his hands instinctively flew up to either side of your cheeks. His eyes had gotten wide with worry, “are you crying? y/n? Why are you crying? Wh- what happened?” His voice didn’t do well to hide his panic.

You shook your head and sniffled, allowing your lips to form a weak smile, “I’m not crying! I had a sneeze coming, and it was so close so my eyes started to water. But now it’s gone.” Doyoung’s face instantly flushed a bright red and he removed his palms from your cheeks so fast, as if he had just touched a burning pot or something, “O-oh! Sorry! I didn’t- I just- I thought you were crying s-so I got worried.”

You grabbed the bucket he had set down and pulled out a ring. You cleared your throat and allowed yourself to let out a soft chuckle, “It’s fine....Can I try?” He enthusiastically nodded and moved to the side to give you some room before grabbing a ring for himself, “I think if we both throw some at the same time then we might get a few in and finally win.”

He was right. You two had won the game and watching Doyoung become so ecstatic for a stuffed toy had you quickly forgetting about that small encounter with Jaehyun. Doyoung had wanted to give you the flamingo, claiming he wanted to win it for you, but you insisted he kept it because he was the one who got in the last ring that won you guys the game. And after a short amount of back and forth bickering, he had accepted it. Now you two were seated on the ferris wheel, looking up at the sky and taking in the beauty of the stars that were scattered perfectly across the night.

“Hey, can I give you something?”

“Sure.” “Hold out your hand.” You obliged and held your hand out, palm facing up. Doyoung reached in his pocket and brought it back out, closed in a fist. He hovered his fisted hand over your open one, and when he opened it, nothing fell out. Before you could allow yourself to feel confused, he had grabbed your hand and intertwined his fingers with yours. Your breath got caught in your throat at the feeling of his warmth spreading to your hand, slowly traveling up to the rest of your body. He let your now enclosed hands fall down to his side and leaned over the ferris wheel car to look below to try and act unbothered, but you didn’t miss the embarrassment creeping up his neck. Your eyes traveled back down to your hands and you felt a shy smile begin to form on your mouth.

That night you laid in bed having trouble falling asleep because of this new feeling that was forming in the pit of your stomach. Because of this weird burning feeling that you felt on the same hand Doyoung had held. Because of the uncontrollable beating of your heart. Because of your thoughts running wild with Doyoung’s name. Because you couldn’t think of Jaehyun even if you wanted to.

Maybe you were finally ready to move on.

5 years later

Today was the day you had always dreamed of for yourself ever since the first time you had led the wedding ceremony for your barbie doll and her other half, Ken. Today you were marrying your other half too, Kim Doyoung.

You dated him four years, and was engaged to him for one. When Doyoung first asked you to be his girlfriend, you had yes because you realized you deserved to be able to find a loving person just like everyone else. And Doyoung was exactly that. At first you were afraid you’d be wasting his time, but when you realized that you never once compared Doyoung to Jaehyun, or even thought about Jaehyun when you were with him, you knew you weren’t using him or anything like that. And after that was when you realized you were in love with him and his bratty attitude.

You were currently waiting in your bridal suite, completely ready since half an hour ago. The crowd of your friends and family that were helping you had finally left to give you some space, so now you were seated in front of your mirror in an empty room, trying to calm your racing heart and shaky hands. This was a huge step in your life and you couldn’t help but feel extremely nervous.

You heard two soft knocks at your door and exhaled, “come in.” The door hesitantly creaked open.

“J-Jaehyun? What’re you-”

“Hey.”

“...Hey?” It’s not like this was your first time seeing him after that day at the carnival. You had seen Jaehyun at gatherings and parties you went to plenty of times. But you two didn’t talk often, and weren’t really friends or anything, so you’re surprised to see him here. He was invited to the wedding but why is he here alone with you right now?

“You’re getting married today.”

“I am.”

“How do you feel?” His face was extremely hard to read.

“Jaehyun...do you need something?”

“I just wanted to talk...about what happened.”

“What happened?” You scoffed, what the hell is he thinking? You had imagined this scenario in your head many times before, when you would finally be able to talk to him about your past. But you didn’t ever picture it being on your wedding day. Quite frankly, you didn’t want to talk about it now, or ever for that matter, anymore.

He sighed and sat down on the chair a few feet away from you, “Just hear me out, okay?” He took your silence as an okay for him to continue.

“I broke up with you because I thought it was for the best. We were getting really serious, and I knew if we stayed together for any longer it would be harder for me to break it off. From the very beginning of our relationship we had an expiration date. I knew we couldn’t be together for a long time, but I was selfish and didn’t consider your feelings.”

“What do you mean?”

Jaehyun’s eyes were starting to water under the room lights, “I’ve mentioned to you before how much my mom has done for me, right?” You nodded, your face softening at the mention of his mother who had sacrificed so much for him. “Well, I promised myself I’d do anything and everything in my control to make her happy and have her never worry about me. She liked Jisoo a lot and always mentioned her to me. She never said it to me directly, but I knew she wanted us to be together. So I was going to do just that, I’ll admit I did harbor feelings for her, but I knew once we started dating, she would be the one I would have to settle down with. Because of that, I dated a lot of girls for short periods of time that I liked. And you were supposed to be the same. But as our relationship progressed I would find excuses to just date you for a little while longer.”

“Jaehyun, stop, please? I don’t- I don’t need this right now, okay? I’m about to get married in less than an hour.”

“I know...I’ll stop...I just- I need you to answer one thing for me. And you have to be honest.”

“What is it?”

“Do you love me?”

“...What kind of game are you trying to play with me?”

“I’m not trying to play any game with you, y/n. I just need to know.”

You didn’t reply for a while, and just stared at him. Trying to figure him out. When you finally decided to reply, you released a heavy sigh “I think I’ll always love you, Jaehyun.”

He gave you a sad smile. “...The day we broke up, I told you it was because I didn’t think I could always love you, right?...I wasn’t lying. Because y/n, I don’t think I’ll always love you,” the tears he was holding back began to trickle down his face, “I know I will.”

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stardancerluv · 4 years ago

Text

Being a Good Friend

Part 14

Summary: Alex knows what he has to do...

Warning: none

Alex, had been eyeing the time. Twelve fifteen, the time blinked at him from his laptop. He idly chewed on his pen.

He began typing again. To whom it may concern, I wish to let it be known that I am writing this with a clear mind, a clear conscious.

He stretched in his seat, he shifted. He took out his phone. He dialed your number, his heart sank when it went to voicemail, so he hung up.

He looked over what he wrote, he shook his head. Popping his pen back into his mouth he bit down.

To who ever finds this, I want it known that I am writing this with a clear mind, a clear conscious.

Better, he mused. He glanced at the time, twelve twenty-three. Not soon, enough. He sighed.

His phone, vibrated to life. He looked down, it was you. He answered it.

“Hi baby.” He smiled.

“Hi.” Your soft voice, lightened his mood. He saved what he wrote and closed the file. “Why didn’t you leave a message?”

“I got distracted by a story.”

“Oh! A good one?”

“We’ll see.”

“So why did you call?”

“I need a reason?”

As you giggled, he smiled. “No.” You giggled again. “I am done by five.”

“Not soon enough. Alright, see you then baby.”

“Bye.”

A bigger smile spread across his face when he saw that he could finally leave for lunch.

*****

Alex, looked over the posted wall. It was covered with dream destinations.

“Warmer or colder?” The man in the blue jacket shrugged.

Alex, rolled his eyes. “Warmer.” He looked up. “How about Rio?” Alex, remembered laying in bed with you one night, your arm around his middle, you’d squeeze gently when you reached exciting bits about how you found it so exotic and different!

You really would love to go to carnival, but with their budgets they’d never get to go. Maybe if they were luckily they could when they were both in their retirement years. That was a joke, Alex mused bitterly. Old and stodgy, great time to go anywhere. He wanted the money so he could have freedom. And taking you there would be.

“Let’s see. From here, British Airways Heathrow direct London to Rio Janeiro is seven hundred and sixty-five pounds.”

“Yeah, that’s sounds fine.” He took the envelop from his back pocket.

“Aw, from here to Portugal then onto Rio Janeiro is about five and forty-five pounds, with no catering. Do you need catering?” He looked at him as if he didn’t hear him about the other flight.

“What?.”

“We could also do from here to New York and a straight shot down but since that has a New York, lay over its Nine hundred and twelve pounds.”

“The first one was fine.” His exasperation was reaching its peak.

“Fine. How will you be paying?”

*****

Parking, he got out and wait leaned against it as he took out a cigarette. He lit it and took a deep pull on it. He glanced around, in a few short weeks you and him would be elsewhere.

It felt kind of bittersweet, but it was needed. You two needed to disappear for awhile. They could always come back one day.

He still had to tell you about the dinner with the others. He wasn’t exactly thrilled by the idea but David was still pretty shaken.

Taking a final pull on his cigarette he flicked it away. Tilting, his head back he exhaled towards the sky.

“Alex!” You squealed.

A smirked played on his lips as he spread out his arms. Moments, later he loved how you leapt into his arms. He held you close, burying his face into your throat. You were so soft and you smelled so good. He sighing, inhaling you deeply. “It is so good so see you.”

“You saw me this morning.”

He pulled back, “I know but it felt like ages ago.”

You cupped his cheek. “What’s the matter?”

“I did something today.” He pulled your hand to his lips and kissed your palm. “Let’s drive to the park and I’ll tell you.”

*****

The sun was setting making the forest look mysterious. Alex, undid his seat belt. Stretching, he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Lovely isn’t it?”

“It’s not too shabby.” Unbuckling your seat belt, you turned to him. “Alex, what’s going on?” You laid a hand on his arm.

He reached into his leather jacket and took out the tickets. “Here you go.” He handed them to you.

You looked down, you smiled. “Alex, what??” He could hear the excitement filling your voice. “That’s where we’re going?” You peaked at the date.

“In a few short weeks we’ll be free, baby.” He whispered.

You, put the tickets on the dashboard and with a sound of pure excitement you wrapped your arms tightly around him. His heart calmed as he felt your arms wrap around him.

Looked down into your warm eyes, he tucked some hair behind your ear. “Now we can both go to carnival together.”

“Oh, Alex you are so wonderful.”

“I promise to put a flower in your hair.”

“You better.” You smiled brightly as you nestled close to him. “You will be the hot new reporter on the block down there!” You smiled up at him.

“I can only hope.”

“It will be so much fun.” You moved and kissed his chin. “You will be! And I will save all your news clippings.

“It will be great.” He whispered as he felt you nestling closing and he rested his chin on the top of your head. “Though until then, there is somethings we have to do.” He pulled back. “Like tonight.” He said flatly.

“Oh, what?” You raised an eyebrow.

“We have to dinner with them tonight.”

Your brow wrinkled. “At least we can suffer through it together.”

He laughed, he really laughed and it from his stomach. He pulled you close, the best he could. “There’s an upside.”

“I get to poison, Juliet.”

He tapped your nose. “We’re not that lucky, but I will be doing some of the cooking.”

“Well, then that is a definitely a win.”

****

“Where do you want me?” You asked Alex, sweetly once you both were in the kitchen. You enjoyed the sight of watching him slipping on the apron, it didn’t look half bad on him. He came over, easily picking you up he set you on the counter. “Right here.” He smiled.

Soon, you saw him chopping things up for the sauce. Eventually, Juliet came out of her room with Rose in tow. You both shared a quick smile as she went and sat at the table.

Juliet, actually helped Alex, you noticed there was no hostility. David arrived home like a sudden rainstorm. Though tonight, he did not slam any doors. He went and sat down with the paper beside Rose, and the two of them began looking at the business then the entertainment section together. He seemed pleasant enough to her, why not me, you thought feeling a little miffed. Alex and Juliet, continued cooking. You loved how focused he looked as he did.

At one point, you heard her whisper to Alex about David not eating that much. You always had thought he ate much like how he looked, an angry bird.

“Excited for dinner, baby?” Alex, asked when he came over to grab some plates. You nodded. He put a hand on either side of you. “Want me to prepare a plate for you?” He leaned in.

“I would love you too.” You gave him a quick kiss.

“You two.” Juliet, rolled her eyes as she grabbed three plates.

Rose got up, and came over grabbing a plate from Juliet. “I can make my own plate.”

You and Alex shared a look, smiled and rolled your eyes. It actually felt like a good night. Days like this had not happened since the arrival and departure of Hugo.

*******

Once at the table you, squeezed Alex’s thigh under the table. “This all looks so good.” You smiled at him and then Juliet.”

“We’ve always worked good in the kitchen.” She gave Alex a smile.

@rentskenobi @mac-n-cheesie @dance-like-russia-isnt-watching @rosionis @theblackmaskclub @brookisbi @johallzy @darling-i-read-it @professionalclown @chogisss @obiwankenobiness @i-love-scott-mccall

#ewan mcgregor #alex law fanfiction #alex law imagine #alex law x you #alex law x reader #alex law #shallow grave fanfiction #shallow grave #part 14

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arthurflecksgirl · 4 years ago

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Could I have reader x Arthur. Reader's the only one who has a car, and luckily she gets off from work before Arthur does so she drops him off n picks him up each day Both are always exhausted but one day reader is supper exhausted. Reader pulls into a parking lot and Arthur asks them whats wrong. They tell Arthur they think they're abt to pass out right before they slump over, out cold. Arthur notices that reader's burning up and he drives them to the house. He cools them off n stuff. THANKSILY

Hi :) Here it is and I really, really hope you like it :) <3

The lights of Gotham seemed to rush by like you were on some kid`s carousell, even though you drove as slow as it was possible on these dirty streets. This city never slept. It was late in th afternoon and this avenue would still look the same ,hours from now. Just a little more dangerous as soon as the sun set. You have moved here half a year ago to finally live with Arthur in his apartment. Gotham was still a stranger to you. Knowing that Arthur spent his whole life here, without ever seeing something different, something beautiful made your heart cry from pain. He deserved better than that. Better than concrete, dirt and the absence of kindness. There was danger on every corner. When you first moved here Arthur warned you about certain alleys and places. Places you shouldnt visit, even on a bright summers day in the noon. You still tried to get used to this. But he was all worth it. Some day you would get him out of here and move somewhere nice. You dreamed of owning a little house with a garden to plant your own food and flowers. But up to this point it was just dreams. Both of you were short of money. Sometimes it was a struggle to even pay rent and keep the car. But despite all the crazyness out o the streets, apartment 8J felt like home. More than that, it felt like it was your destination. As much as you wanted to get Arthur out of this place where he had to spent his whole life, to you it felt like it had to be. Like every desicion you have ever made lead you here. To finally be with him. And you would never let him go again. No matter where you will end up living. It will be the two of you. That was all that mattered. You stopped at the traffic light, taking a deep breath. Your headache got worse again. Work was getting more and more exhausting with every day. But you desperately needed the money. Arthur was working a lot of hours per week,too. He loved his job as a party clown but he also came home just as exhausted as you did. Mostly from people who hated on him. For being a cown, for being nice, for being different. Sometimes it brought tears to your eyes to see how many hate a loving and warm hearted person like he got. You asked yourself if it was just Gotham or people in gerneral. Maybe you should move into a cabin in the woods and start a new life in the nature. You felt like Arthur would appriciate being one with the nature. He always got really excited when he saw something simple like a beautiful flower. He was in love with the colors and the smell of the blossoms. His heart was pure. You looked at the necklace hanging from the rearview mirror. Arthur gave it to you when you had your third date together. He knew, he just knew that this is going to be a great love. It was a liitle heart that can be opened. He put a photo in it you took on your first date when you were at the donut shop. Arhur looked happy on that picture. Real happiness. The kind that he wasnt even able to feel before you met. The traffic light turned green .Somehow you didnt felt very well. Your sign started to get blurry. Just for a second but it somehow concerned you a lot. You suffered from burn out before and knew the signs. But there was no time to waste. You got to pick up Arthur from work. Luckily you came back from work a little bit earlier than he did. Otherwise he must have taken the subway, which was always filled with violent people who gave him dirty looks for being in his clown costume. It just didnt felt right to let him take the subway when there was any chance to pick him up by yourself. You coudlnt wait to get home, to the comfort of your bed and just relax. You felt drained, achy muscles and tired bones. A tired mind. But full of love when you thought about Arthur sitting in the passanger seat in a couple of minues. You missed him a lot when you were working. It was like missing a body part. He should be there all the time. Soon you arrived at HaHa`s. Arthur was already standing in front of the building. All alone, with his hands in his pockets, looking down, smoking a cig. His big hoodie was hiding his beautiful hair and half of his expressive face. All his clothes looked kinda big on him. Your heart broke for a second as you once again realized how lost and tiney he looked out there on the streets. Like he shouldnt be here. An angel of light caught in the cold. He deserved better. You noticed that Artie was still holding an baloon animal in his left hand. Always waiting to get the chance to make a kid smile. Right before you pulled over a mother with his three year old passed him by. Arhur immediately flipped away his cigarette and kneed down to the little girl. You couldnt hear what he said but he usually asked them if they like baloon animals. His face lighted up as the kid reached for the baloon cat, but just a heartbeat later her mother yelled at him and pulled her daughter away from him. The way she grabbed the little girls arm was alarming. Arthur seemed shocked but not surprised. Just another day as a party cown. You let down the window "Hey Artie, c´mon , get in the car!" the traffic was too loud for him to hear you. He still looked after the little girl. She cried from disappointment. Arthur pulled his hoodie deeper into his face. You knew him well enough to know that sadness took over him. Seeing that little girl crying her eyes out hurt his heart. "Artie?" now he heard you. Arthur looked up and nodded before he walked across the streets, the hand in his pockets again, sad eyed. He almost stumbled. "Hey sweetheart" he got in the pessenger sea and gave you a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "I missed you" he mumbled. "Missed you more, Artie. What was that?" His big puppy eyey were focused on you. "That little girl. I saw it. Such a rude lady." "Yeah....I dont know why people act like that. Do you think it was because I wasnt in my make up? Could be....but on the other hand. I got beaten down before because I was wearing make up, so I am not sure what people want." "Arthur. They dont even know what they want for themselfs. They should wnat someone who makes them laugh, right? And they still act like freaking bullies. " "I felt so sorry for that little girl...I just wanted.....just wanted to make her smile..." "I know..." you said as you re started the car. Arthur seemed just as exhausted as you. And you knew why. It was the kinda exhaustion that was caused by mental pain. His work mates kept calling him names and gave him a hard tme. Espacially this guy called Randall. "Did Randall bully you again?" Arthur watched out the window "Oh well...it wasn`t that bad today". He didnt wanted to concern you. "Everytime they make fun of me I just think of you and I feel better." he smiled. It was a sad but honest smile that hit you right in the heart. The dizzyness was coming back. You just hoped it wouldnt get any worse before you made it home. Arthur leaned back on the seat and closed his eyes. His forehead was glimmering with sweat "I`m so tired. I cant wait to fall right into bed as soon as we get home. You dont mind me closing my eyes for a second?" You rubbed your dimples with one free finger "Of course I dont. Go ahead. I know you`re working hard, darling." "Mmhh...yeah. You know, I still love my job. Especially when I`m at the hospital, helping to brighten up their day with a little dance." You smiled. Arthur was the most adorable dancer in the world. And his performance as Carnival was the cutest. "So you were at the hospital today?" "Yeah" his eyelids fluttered under the lights that fell through the window "Y/N?" "What Arthur?" "I still feel bad for not having my own car. Or a driver license even." You looked over on him "Oh, don`t feel bad abot this. We both know you are not allowed to drive because of your medication. " He agreed. You started to feel worse and decited to drive into a parking lot. Anderson ave wasn`t far but you just felt that you wouldnt manage to drive home. Arthur looked surprised, realzing you stopped the car. "Baby, whats wrong?" You grabbed the handlebar with both hands "I`m not sure....I....think I´m going to pass out..." your voice cracked right before you slumped over. Arthur reacted as fast as he could and supported you. He checked your forehead. "Oh my god! Y/N? Can you hear me? You`re burning up!" You heard his voice but your reaction was so minimal, he didnt noticed it. You felt his hand touching your face, brushing your hair out of your eyes. Arthur kept calling your name. It sounded like he was about to panic. "Artie?" you were finally able to talk "I dont feel so good". Arthur supported your head "Can you get in the passenger seat? I`ll drive you home. We have to cool you off. You`re burning up. I´m kinda worried about you. Arthur helped you to get in the pessenger seat and placed a kiss on your cheek. "You`re comfortable?" You nodded while your body felt weaker within every minute. "Arthur" you muttered "Are you sure you can drive?" "Yeah, I was driving a car before. I will make it come savely, I promise." You felt kida worried about knowing Arhur had to drive hom by himself. You didnt even knew he was familiar with how to drive. But your mind kept drifting away into a feverish state. You didnt even noticed you were already home. Arhur helped you to get out of the car. Thank god he managed to drive home. He lifted you up in his arms and carried you all the way into the elevator. You blinked at him "Artie?" "Yeah sweetheart, I am here. I am right here with you. It´s okay, we`re already home. Just a second and you will lie savely on the couch." Artie managed to unlock the door while still having you in his arms and carried you over the doorstep right on his couch. You were only half awake but to feel the familar fabric of his furniure awake you, at least for a bit. "We`re home" you whispered. Your bones felt even heavier than before. "We are. Juts relax, sweety. I think you are suffering from exhaustion. Arthur got into the kitchen and came back with a hot chocolate. "Here" he handed it to you in the most caring way possible. You couldtell from his face that he hated to see you like that. Even though he was exhausted,too, he still cared about your own health more. He touched your skin "You`re still burning up. I will get you some cool towels too cool your skin off a bit". Arthur went to the bathroom and held the towels under the cold water while you waited for him , drinking the cocoa. It was heartwarming to see him being worried about you. So heartwarming it alreadymade you feel better. You just knew that he would be there for you no matter what. He came back, sat down on the couch with you and slowly took your shirt off to let the cool towels slide down your arms. The wet fabric felt so good on your burning skin, you could feel the dizzyness fading like smoke. "This feels so good Arthur". "Yeah? I´m glad to hear that. You`ll feel better soon." The way his hands let the towels stroke up and down your arms was soothing. Just to watch him doing it calmed you down a lot. You stll felt weak but more in a way of wanting to crawl in his arms to fall in a peaceful sleep. You closed your eyes and focused on his touch. The way you could feel his fingers through the fabric of the towels. Each one of them. He let it wander over your collarbones and chest as you too a deep breath in. "Better, sweetheart?" "A lot" you smiled. "Thank you for taking care of me. For driving home. I know that you`re exhausted from work,too." "Thats what I´m here for" he whispered in his sweetest vouce "To take care of you, remember?" "And so am I, Arthur" "I know" he replied, not without placing the softest kiss upon the tip of yoir nose. He put his forehead on yours and pressed his smile on your lips. It was little gestures like that, which filled your heart with a warmth only Arthur was able to create. He lay down beside you "`Come here, sweetheart. Use me as a pillow" he giggled as you placed your head in his lap. Arthur started to stroke your hair. There was no music playing, no tv. The only sound that filled the apartment was the two of you breathing in and out. His breath becoming one with yours. Two hearts beating for one another. The only dizzyness left was the one caused by the undeniable certainty of being in love.

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vintageneptune92 · 5 years ago

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Flicker, Fade Part 1

Here it finally is! So this is definitely going to be a multi-part story. I’m not sure if it’ll be 2 or 3 parts yet. We all know how wordy I like to get. I’m having fun with this one. I hope you enjoy it! I love writing OC characters because I like being able to describe their appearance. This story gives me the opportunity to do that, but still use it as a reader insert.

The word count obscene 15,000 even. I’m so sorry!

This is a combo of two requests. @justkending requested a Steve Rogers x Reader with prompts: “I warned you about him, yet again you didn’t listen.” and “It’s 6am- you’re not having vodka. @asgardiangurll requested a Steve Rogers x Reader with with prompts:”I’m never going to stop protecting you.”“You are seriously like a man child”

As always likes, comments and reblogs are SO APPRECIATED. Requests are open (Avengers, Supernatural, TVD/The Originals. I do dabble in some Green Arrow and The Flash (DC TV Only please). Prompt list can be found here.

Please let me know if you would like to be added to this tag list or one of my others.

Avengers Tag List: @shreddedparchment @fanfictionjunkie1112 @this-is-mycrisis @geeksareunique @mikariell95

Avengers Masterlist

Fate is a funny thing. Your mother always used to tell you that everything happened for a reason. The idea that going through difficult times to prepare you for what was to come or to lead you to something better kept you going, even in your darkest of times.

You grew up in New England with your mother, father and baby sister Ella. She had been the best surprise of your lives. You were 13 when your mother got pregnant. Everything happens for a reason and you were thrilled to have a sibling.

You were sassy and sarcastic just like your mother. You got your intelligence from your father and while things typically came easy to you; Your parents had made sure you were sufficiently challenged and worked incredibly hard. You had been granted the honor of Valedictorian your senior year in High School.

As a graduation gift and an 18th birthday present, You, your parents and your sister took a trip to tour Europe. You had never been happier.l, you were one of those kids that would rather hang out with your parents than a bunch of friends. Spending time with Ella was the highlight of your day, every day. The day of your 18th birthday had been one of your happiest. You spent an incredible day at Brighton Beach building sand castles with Ella and enjoying the amusement park rides in the seaside resort town. Her laugh as you whipped around the tilt-a-whirl would be embedded in your soul for the rest of your days. Your dad had ridden with you on all of the roller coasters and rides deemed too scary by Ella. Your mom wasn’t much of a ride person, but damn did she love her carnival games. Once you were back in London, your life would be changed forever. One moment your father was driving the three of you down the street laughing about how strange it was to drive on the opposite side of the street and the next you were being T-Boned by another vehicle.

Your parents and sister had been killed on impact. You had barely survived. Someone had pulled you from the wreckage. You were rushed to the hospital and woke up 2 days later. Before you even opened your eyes you knew something was different. You were completely healed. No lasting injuries, no deficits except the gaping hole in your heart. The doctor there tried to calm your anxieties, telling you everything was fine and you were just lucky. Somehow you knew the doctor was lying to you about how you had been treated. That night you had gone into the bathroom to examine yourself and were shocked by what you saw. Your natural hair color had been transformed into a liquid black that cascaded down your body. The most startling change was your eyes. Your once very normal eye color had been transformed into a shade of violet.

You had been frantically studying your altered appearance when the little girl sharing your hospital room bad woken up crying after a nightmare. You had sat down on her bed to comfort her. That was when you knew someone in that hospital had done something to you. By simply placing your hand over her arm, the bruises she had from falling out of a tree healed. You had heard about enhanced humans, you had seen them on your TV. Someone had turned you into one. The doctors that healed you had no idea what they had created, they couldn’t have. They never would have let you leave. The fear of becoming a lab rat caused you to keep it to yourself and when they finally discharged you, you got back to the US as fast as you could.

You had tried to dye your hair back to its normal state, but nothing would change the jet black that framed you. You took to wearing blue contacts to make your eyes appear a more normal color. You found out the doctor that treated, turned you into what you had become was looking for you. Once your family was returned home and buried you disappeared from everything you had known and loved about your home. You effectively erased Y/N Y/L/N from existence by faking your own death. People were led to believe you took your own life. After loosing everything you loved it wasn’t hard for people to believe. You had to leave everything about who you were behind.

Three years later, with a new identity, you were living in New York City working as a freelance journalist. You had changed your name to Camille Ballard and were trying to live a semblance of a normal life pretending you didn’t have any special abilities when a man opened fire on a huge crowd. You had grabbed a nearby child, held them close to you to protect them. Without evening trying, you formed a purple force field around the two of you, saving both of your lives. As soon as you realized what happened, you rushed home and packed as much of your belongings as fast as you could and planned on making a break for it. If that doctor saw footage of what you just did, he might figure out you were alive and come looking again.

Luckily for you, Iron Man had been there to help with the situation and saw what you had done. Before you had the chance to catch a bus, he found you and was set on recruiting you for The Avengers.

“Mr. Stark...you’re mistaken. That wasn’t me. I’m nobody. I’m like a ghost.” You were desperate to convince him you weren’t who he thought you was. But he knew.

“Then why are you trying to bolt with almost everything you own? C’mon kid...you don’t have to live a life on the run. I can help you. You don’t HAVE to be a ghost.” He wouldn’t relent and he wouldn’t let you leave.

Even though everything in your brain told you to run, your lonely heart was begging you to trust him, to let him in. He had saved the world more than once and here he was offering to save you. Your heart won and you broke down and told him your story. Tony Stark, with all of his bravado held you as you sobbed for your lost family, your identity and assuaged your fears of not knowing what had been done to you.

“Cam...I can call you Cam right?” His kind smile put you at ease. He made quite a few promises to you. He offered you a home and a family of sorts. He promised that he would find out what had been done to you. He promised to give you a purpose. Just like you knew that doctor was lying to you the day your parents died, you knew you could trust Tony Stark. Your mother’s voice telling you everything happened for a reason echoed in your brain. You had been given a gift, it was your responsibility to use it to do something good in this world. It was the best way to honor your parents and sister.

Tony eased you into life at The Avengers compound. He insisted you see a trauma counselor to really deal with the loss of your family. You had protested at first, you didn’t want to open up those wounds. He brought you to meet Pepper. She was the one that convinced you to get the emotional help you needed. She told you about Tony’s PTSD and how it had affected both of them. She promised that she and Tony would be there for you as you dealt with all of the pain you had buried for years. You finally agreed.

Once you were settled, Tony and Bruce began running tests to see if they could figure out what had happened to you. Best they could tell, someone had injected you with a serum, they just couldn’t figure out exactly what it was. Clearly it had been experimental because neither of them had seen anything like your blood work before. Bruce had been fascinated by your blood test results. Tony had been able to get his hands on old blood work from a well child visit when you were a kid to compare it to your blood today.

“Whatever they gave you changed your DNA entirely.” Bruce had been entirely fascinated until he saw the look on your face. “I’m sorry Camille. I know you feel like a science project.” Bruce knew all too well what it was like to be changed to your core. You realized that day you had made the right decision by coming to the compound. For the first time in years, you didn’t feel alone.

6 months after you had gotten there Tony had taken to calling you The Protector. You could heal yourself and others. Your fight or flight response produced the protective force field that would encompass you and anyone close to you. After a few months of work you could create them on demand. Your enhancements also made you as close to a human lie detector as someone could get. It took intense concentration to be able to tell if someone was trying to deceive you. Your new abilities made it so you couldn’t be hurt by anything physically or emotionally by anyone’s lies.

Once you had handle on what you could do, you needed to be able to fight, protective force fields weren’t enough. Offense was just as important as defense. Tony had paired you up with Bucky Barnes for your training. He and Bucky had gotten past their differences and Tony was in a mission to help put the Sergeant back together again. Tony was good at fixing people. You were Bucky’s first real assignment. Tony had a feeling that you would help James Barnes as much as he would help you.

Tony had been right. You kept a wall around yourself built with bricks of sarcasm, sass and witty comebacks. Bucky recognized this immediately and sought to dismantle your carefully constructed barrier to block anyone from getting too close to you. One night he had pushed you past your limits and you had broken down. Once the floodgates opened you couldn’t shut them. Bucky was the only other person you confided your full story in. Like Tony, you knew your secrets were safe with him.

Bucky had experienced his fair share of loss. He had been experimented on without his permission. He understood, he could empathize. He used your training to help you work through your anger and grief. You excelled under his instruction. You were a hell of a hand to hand fighter and other than Bucky you had the best shot in the compound. Your aim and speed with a firearm was impeccable. Slowly, Bucky became your best friend.

After almost two years of hard work and training you had been officially made an Avenger and had been working mission after mission for almost 8 months straight. It felt great to be able to help so many people, including your teammates. But you needed a little break to recharge. You requested some time off and decided to let loose a little bit. You had spent the evening out with some of the SHEILD agents. You had become friends with a couple of the girls that were in the cadet training program.

“Cami, I warned you about him, yet again you didn’t listen. You never listen when it comes to guys.” Bucky was giving you the once over. 6AM and you had stumbled back into the compound. You had stayed with one of the girls to sober up a little bit and were hoping to sneak back in unnoticed but Bucky was up early to train with Steve.

“I know...I know. But he was so cute, I was hoping he’d try to be a gentleman.” You pulled a bottle of Tony’s expensive Vodka out of the cabinet Bucky raises his eyebrows. “Just trying to ease into the hangover.” He grinned and shook his head. As you poured a shot, the bane of your existence stormed into the kitchen. Steve Rogers looked your tight jeans, heels and fitted black T-Shirt and scoffed in judgment.

“There you are Camille, I’ve been trying to find you since last night. Are you just getting home?” You gave him a deadpanned look. “Is there a reason why Agent Harrington is out of field work for two weeks with a broken nose and two black eyes and a concussion?” He had his hand on his hip and he was glowering at you.

“Well Agent Handsy was given fair warning” Bucky leaned against the counter. Watching you and Steve verbally spar was his favorite show. You said you hated Steve and his self righteous attitude. Steve said you got under his skin and didn’t appreciate your mouth and sarcasm. It was really a poor way to veil your mutual attraction. He saw how your eyes would linger on Steve while training. He watched Steve’s eyes soften on you anytime he thought no one was looking.

“What do you mean?” Steve’s voice dropped lower. First he was ready to rip you a new one, but he didn’t like the idea of anyone putting unwelcome hands on you. He rolled his jaw wanting to give the agent a few injuries himself.

“He thought that buying me two drinks gave him permission to put his hands on my ass. I told him otherwise. He did it again and I told him if he didn’t keep his hands to himself I was going to break his face. He thought that was an invitation to try and dip his hand down the back of my pants. I saw that as an invitation to bash his face into the bar. Maybe he’ll listen to the next girl and keep his hands to himself. Maybe if he apologizes, and means it, I’ll heal his pretty boy face.” It was out of character for you to lay hands on someone like that, but you couldn’t help but think of him doing this to some other poor girl who couldn’t stop him. He needed to be taught a lesson.

“That’s my girl!” Bucky laughed. The douchebag had it coming in his opinion. He was proud of you for sticking up for yourself.

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t reprimand your for defending yourself . “I’ll have a talk with him.” You raised both of your eyebrows at Bucky in surprise. It didn’t matter what you did or the reasoning, Steve was usually pissed at you. He took the shot from in front of you and dumped it down the sink. Your jaw dropped and you glared at him.

“Hey!” You protested. It was Steve’s turn to roll his eyes.

“It’s 6am- you’re not having vodka.” You threw your hands up.

“What are you my dad? I’m on vacation.” You tried to reason, tone laced with sass, arms crossed in front of you. It was sometimes hard for Steve to believe you weren’t somehow related to Tony Stark.

“About that. I have a mission in South America and you need to come with me.” As much as your attitude pissed Steve off, you were a good teammate and excellent at what you did. You deserved some time to yourself, but he needed your skill set.

“What? No! C’mon! you promised me 7 full days off Freeze Pop.” Steve rolled his jaw at the nickname silently cursing Tony. His frustration with you was building up again. Why couldn’t you just do as you were asked, just once, without arguing.

“You speak Spanish fluently and I need a female agent with me.”

“So does Natasha. Last I checked she was also a female. Take her. I’m not really interested in pretending to be your significant other.” You knew the mission that he was referring to. The target was in vacation with his wife at some resort. The plan has been for a pair to pose as a couple on their honey moon to gain access to the resort and get closer and obtain as much intel as possible.

“It’s a recon mission. We only have one working appearance enhancer so I won’t be recognized. Nat is too recognizable. Plus you also have an uncanny ability to sense when someone is lying.”

“Natasha is an ex super spy. She would figure it out!” You knew you were fighting a loosing battle. Steve didn’t know why you really had asked for the time off, and you weren’t about to share your deepest secrets with him.

“Look, Nat is with Clint and his family for the weekend. I’m not asking her to come back.” Steve was fighting the urge to yell at you. He just wanted you to be compliant, just this one time. The idea of being close to you and alone with you had him unnerved.

“Of course. We wouldn’t want to ruin HER time off. This is bullshit!” Your voice dripped with sarcasm. You knew you were acting like a brat. You wouldn’t ask Natasha to come back. You were hoping to get him to push the mission back. Bucky’s head bounced back and forth between the two of you. He watched as Steve’s jaw clenched one more time and the little vein in his forehead pop. You were one of the few that brought this side of him out. He had infinite patience for anyone but you.

“ENOUGH!l He finally snapped. “Agent Romanoff has more than paid her dues! She’s been at it for years! I’m not going to drag her back from time with what she considers her family so you can go on a bender.” You took a few steps back and recoiled. Steve immediately regretted it. “Camille...”

“No it’s fine Captain. I get it. My need for a break is less important because what? I’ve been fighting with you for less time? I haven’t paid enough dues for you yet? Got it. Let me go get some sleep so I’ll be refreshed enough to serve you. Send me the itinerary so I’m ready when wheels go up. I’m a B-Team Avenger. No one knows who I am so for once in your eyes it makes me an asset.” You turned quicker not wanting him to see how upset you were. He wouldn’t understand why you were so upset. You thought it better he see you as a selfish brat than a broken woman.

“Cam...” Bucky’s voice trailed and you avoided his grasp.

“It’s fine Buck.” You quickly retreated. You’d be damned if you let Steve have the satisfaction of making you cry. If he knew the real reason you were brought to tears he wouldn’t revel in it. To Steve Rogers you were young, bratty and had a problem with authority. You’d like to keep it that way. It protected you.

Bucky gave Steve a dirty look and threw his hands up. “I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.” Steve deflated. “She’s just so infuriating. Every time she rolls her eyes at me I want to throttle her. It’s not like she can’t have her time off after we get back.” Your reaction didn’t sit right with Steve. You gave him a hard time, all the time, that was true. But you never argued about a mission.

“You know...if you dealt with your feelings, you might be able to keep it together with her." Bucky shook his head and started retreating from the kitchen. Steve cared about you, anyone that knew you could see you were funny, smart, caring and willing to put yourself on the line for anyone else. But you were afraid of letting too many people get close to you. Bucky knew you were afraid to really care about someone and lose them like you did your family. He knew you felt something for Steve Rogers too. So you kept him at arms length with attitude that drove Steve up the wall.

"Feelings? I have no feelings." Steve's face clouded with confusion. Bucky dramatically rolled his eyes. Apparently everyone was spending too much time with Tony. He turned and headed to follow you. “I thought we were training?” Steve called after Bucky.

"I'm going to check on Cami and make sure she's alright.” Bucky pauses for a moment. “There’s a reason why she gets under your skin. Ponder that.” Steve groaned as he watched Bucky retreating down the hallway.

***

"Hey! Knock much?!” You yelled out covering your shirtless torso with your blanket as Bucky barged in. He wiggled his eyebrows at you.

"That’s what you get for giving me the code to your room. Nothing I haven't seen before."

"Um...you haven't seen mine." He grinned at you and shut your door.

"Eh...you see one set, you've seen them all." you shook your head and rolled your eyes.

“You are seriously like a man child. Stop ogling me or I’m telling Nat.” You grabbed your shirt and turned around to throw it over your body. Bucky and Nat had been dating for about 6 months. You had watched him pine after her while he had been training you. It had been a relief when she finally made a move because he clearly never would. They were an excellent couple.

“Umm, hate to break it to you but Nat and I ogle you together behind your back. You’re hot and you have a killer ass. Plus she knows we’re BFFs and nothing is ever going to happen between us.” You felt your face heat up and laughed out loud at the thought of Bucky and Nat checking you out together.

“What do you want Bucky?" you asked while laughing.

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright. He didn't mean it like that."

"I know. I'm just oversensitive and cranky because I only slept like 3 hours. I'll be fine after a nap." You climbed into your bed and rolled onto your side, your back facing Bucky. You were oversensitive, but you weren't fine. You felt a melt down bubbling under the surface. You just wanted Bucky to leave so you could do so in peace. Not that he hadn't ever seen you cry before, you just hated an audience. Instead of hearing him leave, you felt the bed sink as he sat down next to you.

“He doesn’t know why you wanted this week in particular off. If you would open up to him or to anyone else a little bit more they would all be there for you, support you. C’mon Cam, look at me.” When you didn’t respond, Bucky sighed, brushed the hair off the side of your face. “I wish you would talk to him. I think if you guys put your egos in check and opened up to each other you’d be really close. You should tell him it’s the anniversary of the accident. He’d want to be there for you. Steve is a good guy. The best guy I’ve ever known. You just needle each other. You’re the first person to really challenge him other than Tony. He doesn’t know how to handle it.” You scoffed. Steve Rogers was a first class asshole to you ever since your first mission with him. You sensed the mission was a set up, your insides had felt like they were on fire. You tried to tell him but he pushed forward with the mission. Sam has gotten pretty hurt. After you healed him you had lost your shit on Steve. It had been downhill from there. It was messed up, but you got a rush out of giving him a hard time.

You hated to admit it, but Steve Rogers was the most attractive asshole you’d ever laid eyes on. You often found yourself daydreaming about his hands. You had a thing for his hands. You got goosebumps anytime he touched you. He had gripped your hips one day trying to adjust your stance and it took all of your self-control not to throw yourself at him. And then there were his lips. His perfect pink lips that you wanted to devour just to shut him up.

You were jolted from your thoughts as Bucky leaned over and kissed your cheek. “I’ll come back in a couple of hours to wake you up with coffee and some food. Then I’ll help you pack for your ‘couples retreat’. By the way, I expect hilarious text updates since I won’t be there to witness the shit show of this mission.” You didn’t need to turn to picture the stupid smirk on his face. You and Steve would be investigating a crime ring. Some rich white guy hiding in Buenos Aires. Illegal arms deals, drugs, and pretty much anything else nefarious was in this guys wheelhouse. That was why Steve needed a female agent that wasn’t well known yet. He would be expecting the Avengers. This guy would see Natasha coming from 29 miles away.

“Thanks Bucky. In all seriousness you have saved me in so many ways.” you mumbled as he stood up to leave.

“Anytime kid, anytime.” He slowly retreated as you settled into your bed to go to sleep.

True to his word, Bucky came back with food and coffee a few hours later expecting to have to drag you from your bed. Instead he found you standing in front of the mirror on your closet door studying yourself. Freshly showered, your long black hair was fastened into a braid that served as your crown. It had taken one guy to grab you by the ponytail during a mission for you to change your hairstyle. That braided crown was now your signature look.

Instead of your black body suit you wore on missions you were clad in denim shorts and a tank top with tropical flowers and a pair of flip flops. ucky had a feeling the short shorts were to get under the skin of a certain Super Soldier.t. The blase look on your face told him you didn’t even realize you were dressed to drive Steve Rogers mad. You would have a certain gleam in your eye any time you did something to torture the poor Captain. He had seen Steve staring at your ass many times. Bucky took pleasure in the deep blush on Steve’s face any time he called him out. Those shorts were going to drive him insane.

“No suit?” You looked up when he questioned you.

“Not needed. It’s packed but we’re going to the safe house first and then we’ll take a cab to the hotel to make it look like we came from the airport.”

“You look cute.” He grinned. You threw a sneaker at him that he easily dodged.

“South America in the summer is stifling.” Your voice was flat, missing the normal spark.

“Doll, did you even sleep?” You looked over at him with a sad smile. It was jarring to see you so vulnerable. Bucky knew it had to feel good to let your guard down and just feel your feelings. You didn’t do it often. It was reserved for himself and Tony. He just hated that empty look in your eyes.

“That shot of Vodka would have helped.” You took a long sip of the coffee he brought you. “I’ll be fine Sergeant. Actually maybe working is better than not working.” Bucky pulled you into a tight hug.

“I’m sorry Cam. I really am. I wish I could go back and change everything for you.” You pulled back and looked at him.

“No. Everything happens for a reason. I have to believe that my parents and sister were saved from something much worse. I can’t live in regret or in the past. I’ve always given myself these few days to wallow. Maybe it’s time I move on from that too.”

“You’re so wise.” He grinned trying to lighten to mood. You groaned and pushed him away. He sat with you in a comfortable silence as you ate.

“When does Nat come back?” You finally spoke.

“Couple of days. She wanted me to tell you how sorry she was that she’s not here so you didn’t have to go.” You shook your head.

“You tell her there is nothing to be sorry for. She deserves her time with those kids. I know how much she loves them. I’m not mad at her and you know I really wouldn’t have let Steve call her back. He just caught me off guard.” Bucky picked up your bags and nodded to the door.

“C’mon, I’ll walk you to the jet.” You followed Bucky out of your room, part of you dreading this mission with Steve and part of you excited at the idea of really being alone with him.

***

“Agent Harrington- I expect that you’ve learned your lesson and will be keeping your hands to yourself from now on.” Steve glowered over the young agent. He had been ripping into him for the past half an hour.

“Seriously? Look what she did to me?!” He finally erupted.

“You put your hand in her pants. And before you try to deny it, someone already corroborated.”

“Of course they did.” Steve was appalled that he was showing no remorse what so ever.

“Something like this happens again and you will be discharged from this program, do you understand me?” He finally relented.

“Yes Sir.” He dropped his attitude. As he turned to leave you stood there with Bucky wide eyed. You thought Steve’s ire was reserved just for you. You hadn’t expected him to defend your honor. Steve’s deep blue eyes met yours for a moment and the fire behind them made your heart clench. Agent Harrington gave you an icy stare as he walked past you, but you were too busy staring at Steve to notice.

“I’m just gonna put your bags in the jet.” Bucky rushed past Steve to give the two of you a moment.

“He touches you again...he even glances in your direction in an unsavory way and you tell me.” Steve’s voice was low. You could only nod as your mouth had gone completely dry.” You blinked back shock a few times.

“Th-Thanks.” you finally managed to stutter. You couldn’t get over the way he was looking at you.

“There she is!” Steve watched your face light up at the sound of Tony’s voice, disappointed that he wasn't the one that caused the excitement in your eyes.

“I’ll meet you on the Jet. Take off in 5.” You nodded and turned to Tony.

“What are you doing here?” You didn’t think Tony was even on site today.

“Well...Cap told me about the impromptu mission so I just wanted to check on you. I know this is a hard few days for you.” He had his hand on your cheek and was smiling down at you. Tony Stark was looking at you like his own daughter. It choked you up a little bit.

“I’ll be fine. It’s probably better I’m going to be busy.”

“You sure? I can put the kibosh on this whole thing. Rogers thinks he’s in charge but we all know it’s me.” You laughed and he hugged you. "Did you get a chance to read the case file?"

"Yes Tony. Martin Cobb. Top one percenter, runs a BioTech firm Cobb International and owns multiple properties. We've got tips that he may be smuggling street drugs and illegals arms through the southern border. We're going down to whatever the hell that resort in Argentina is called. We received intel that he and his wife will be there this week. We're going in just looking for information from any of his associates and to get eyes on Cobb and watch him interact."

"Okay, just wanted to make sure you had everything. Don't do anything stupid. If you can interact with him safely, great. If not, stay away from him. We just want info, we don't want to tip our hand just yet." You nodded at Tony and he hugged you again. "When you get back, we're celebrating your birthday." He held his finger up before you could argue. "Yes. It's been 5 years. You should be celebrated." As much as you wanted to argue with him, you knew it was pointless. You simply hugged him again, thankful that he came into your life when he did.

Across the hangar, Steve was watching you and Tony with intrigue. He looked over at Bucky.

“What’s going on with her? Why is Tony here.” Steve rolled his eyes as Bucky shrugged. Frustrated that he knew there was something deeper here, but that no one would tell him. “Look I know there are things about her that I don’t know. I know she’s confided in you. Tony found her, I don’t even know where, and he kept her hidden for months and then he’d only let you train her. Is there something I should be worried about? Is there something I should know?” Bucky put your bags down.

“I can’t share her story. That’s for her to decide to share. She’s fine. You know Tony loves her like she’s his own kid. She’s never gone on a mission that he hasn’t seen her off on if he wasn’t going. She’s been through some shit. Tony knew that she and I would be a good fit. And he was right. Just try and not to let her get to you. Try keeping your temper in check and maybe she’ll open up to you.“ Steve did have a short fuse when it came to you.

“Rogers! Take care of my girl!” Tony yelled as you stepped towards the jet.

“Bye Bucky.” You gave him a quick side hug. “Ready Captain?” The mischief was back in your eye. He watched you walk onto the jet and groaned a little. You were going to kill him over these next few days if you were wearing outfits like that. Bucky clapped him on the shoulder but kept his comments to himself and headed back inside of the compound.

***

You were following Steve into the safe house from the jet. He was carrying 99% of everything. He’d only relented to let you carry your own bags. It must have been a 40s thing. He and Bucky would rather walk on hot coals than let you open your own door or carry more than them. You laughed when you entered the little cabin. While it didn’t look like much in the outside, it was very clearly a Tony Stark property.

“What’s funny?” He turned to you. It was a genuine question, you were used to his voice being laced with irritation

“I think safe house...I don’t think California King, high tech computers and what I’m assuming is a stocked fridge.” The one room cabin had a kitchen that led to a huge room with the large bed, a decent size couch against the wall and a computer station with dual monitors.

“That’s Tony for you.” You hummed in response. “So I just have to check a few things before we go to the hotel. You could uh, take a nap if you want. You look tired.” Your brow furrowed. Normally he would have lectured you about not getting more rest and being out all night. This must have been written across your face because he followed it up. "I know this mission wasn't planned."

“Can’t sleep.” You simply stated. You saw concern lacing his features. “I could use some fresh air. I’m going to check out our private beach if you’re sure you don’t need me?” The idea of a private beach for a "safe house" was hilarious to you.

“I’ll come get you when we’re ready to go. You nodded and headed to the back door. You paused before opening it and looked back to find Steve still staring at you. You gave him a small smile, still unnerved and slipped out the back door.

The warm briny air assaulted your senses, bringing you back to the last day with your family so many years ago. You sat down in the sand far enough back so were you were seated was dry, but just close enough to the water to where the waves washed over your feet and ankles as you extended them out. The tide was strong, you assumed that storms would be headed this way within a few days. Hopefully you and Steve were back home before that happened.

"Y/N! Y/N! Look at my sand castle!" Ella's excited voice flooded your memories. Her vibrant face and brilliant eyes laced with happiness as she pulled you to the little mound of sand she had created.

"Wow Ella, that's beautiful. What do you say we make a mansion for all of the little sea creatures here?" You sat down in the wet sand and grabbed her shovel and pales and began building your masterpiece.

Ella's giggles rang through the air as the tilt-a-whirl spun you around and slammed her little body into yours. "Again! Again!" She yelled as she dragged you off of the ride and back into the line.

You watched from a distance as your mother and Ella pointed the water guns at their targets, trying to get Ella a bigger, better prize as your father stood with his arm around you in line for the roller coaster. He pulled you close to him for a side hug. "I'm so proud of you Y/N. You worked so hard. You're an amazing sister. We're all going to miss you so much when you're at college in the fall. I can't wait to see the amazing things you do with your life. Happy Birthday sweetheart."

Metal crunching. Screams. The smell of copper assaulting your senses as you felt someone grip you by the waist and pull you out of the back seat. Flashing lights and sirens.

Your brain was assaulted with memories you often pushed down, but when you felt the foamy water hit your toes....you couldn't stop it. You didn't notice anyone approaching, not realizing you had been outside for almost an hour. After sitting for a while, you had stood and slowly strolled along the shore trying to push out the horrific memories of the accident and replace them with the happy ones of that day. You defensively smacked a hand away that gripped your shoulder your brought your foot down in a sweep to knock them down and spun, ready for a fight. The man sitting in front of you had Auburn hair and hazel eyes. You had no idea who he was, but then you gave yourself a second to notice his other features. That jaw line was unmistakable and you would recognize his hands anywhere. It took you a moment to realize who you were looking at and what you had done.

"Oh my god, Steve I'm so sorry. You scared the hell out of me. I’m- I’m not wearing the contacts so I couldn’t see through the appearance changing thing. I didn’t realize." You felt your face heat up in embarrassment. You put your hand out and helped pull him to his feet.

"It's okay. I didn't mean to scare you. I called your name but you didn't hear me. I forgot I looked different. Great reflexes by the way. Wait...are you crying? Why are you crying?" You quickly wiped the tears from your face, looking away.

"I'm not...it's, it's nothing. I'm fine." you stammered, cursing yourself for not being more self aware. Steve took a tentative step towards you, when you didn't flinch back, he put his hand on your cheek and turned your face back to him.

"It's not nothing. You wouldn't cry over nothing." He wiped a stray tear from your cheek. The way he was looking at you made you want to break down and tell him all of your secrets. Instead, you steeled yourself. Steve could literally see something change in your eyes as you pulled yourself together.

"You know I'm dramatic Steve." you adverted your eyes again. You felt his body deflate as he sighed.

"Camille...please don't do that. Please don't. Please don't cheapen your feelings and act like it's trivial." You felt your defenses building.

"Why do you care Steve? You hate me." You felt guilty as you saw a look of hurt pass his eyes.

"I...I don't hate you. I know I give you a hard time. But I don't hate you."

"Can we please just drop this? Please?" He dropped his hand.

"The cab will be here in a half an hour. It's about a 15 minute walk from the cabin through the woods where we're being picked up so no one is tipped off to the safe house. Meet me out front in 10." He turned to walk back to the house, not waiting for your response. Life was easier when you thought Steve Rogers hated you. You put your hand on your cheek, it still tingled from where he touched you.

***

You were going to die, you were certain of it. It was almost July in Argentina and it was a balmy 105 degrees. The air was thick with humidity. You had been walking for 10 minutes and were certain you were going to pass out.

"Steve...we have to stop for a second." You were so irritated with his Super Solider perfection. He had both of your bags thrown over his shoulders, heavy jeans and a t-shirt on ad was barely breaking a sweat while hiking through the woods to get to your destination. You, on the other hand were wearing barely any shorts and a tank top, your face was bright red and you could feel sweat dripping down your back.

"Cam...we're going to miss the cab. We're literally like 5 minutes from where we need to be." He was trying not to be irritated with you. When he saw you, leaning over with your hands on your knees he wanted to just pick you up and carry you too, but he knew you were to proud to ever allow that.

"How are you not dying in those pants?" You gestured at him.

"It's the serum. It regulates my temperature better than your body allows you to."

"I kind of hate you right now." You gave him a crack of a smile.

"I can carry you." He offered, knowing you'd say no.

"I'd rather die. Though I may die anyway." You were thankful that your hair was off of your shoulders.

"We're almost there. I promise." You nodded and stood up straight again after wiping your face on the inside of your shirt.

"I have dibs on the shower as soon as we walk into that room." Steve laughed and nodded in agreement. You managed the last few minutes of the trek. You had gotten there just at the right time for the cab to pull up. Steve piled all of your belongings into the trunk and you were on your way.

You were murderous when you pulled up to the resort. The cab that had picked the two of you up had been rickety and run down. The air conditioning in the car was broken and even with all of the windows open, all you could smell was the cab drivers BO. Steve could sense your mounting irritation and without thinking took your hand and squeezed it to try and calm you down. He felt you stiffen for a moment and then relax without making any eye contact with him. After a 45 minute drive you arrived at the front of a ridiculous resort. You hopped out of the car trying not to gasp for fresh air as Steve paid the driver and grabbed your things. He put his hand on the small of your back to lead you into the hotel. It was time to put your game faces on and play the happy couple.

Cold air blasted you in the face and Steve felt your whole body visibly relax from where his hand was rested. He led you over to the front desk as you looked around at the exorbitant display of wealth in front of your eyes.

"Mr. & Mrs. Buchanan checking in." Steve smiled kindly at the woman at the front desk. You had to hold back a snort. Clearly we were reaching the bottom of the barrel for cover names. Steve could see the twinkle in your eyes.

"Ah yes...I see right here Mr. and Mrs. Grant Buchanan." It took all you had not to roll your eyes at how your identity was lost at your supposed marriage. "Congratulations! I trust your wedding was wonderful." you stuffed your left hand in your pocket to dig out the faux engagement ring and wedding band and discretely slipped them on. Steve had already placed his on before you left. You were afraid the sweat dripping from your body would make them fall off.

"It was. We actually eloped. Rather spend the money on a great trip." You felt yourself lie. You really didn't want to have to come up with fake wedding details. As a little girl, you had dreamed about a wedding of your own, but that all changed. Now you couldn't even imagine letting someone close enough to your heart. The front desk girl seemed disappointed.You tuned her and Steve out as they finished chatting as she checked you in.

"Now I expect we'll see you both down here for dinner tonight. We have a wonderful band playing."

"Of course, we'll see you later tonight." You both declined having a bell hop escort you to the room.

“I thought this guy wasn’t supposed to be here until tomorrow? Why do we have to go to dinner tonight.” Steve gave you a pointed look.

“Because we need to blend in. Participating in their activities is necessary. I don’t want to stand out for showing up only when he’s around. Plus maybe we'll be lucky enough to get some intel from his associates.”

Steve opened the door for you to the room. You paused in the doorway. The rug what a deep red. The bed in the middle of the room was the largest bed you’d ever laid eyes on. It was on a massive gold head and foot board. The bedding was a rich cream. Mahogany night stands stood on each side. In front of the bed was a large cabinet with a huge flat screen TV. To the right was a matching desk with a brown leather chair. To the left led to a small living room area with a large brown plush couch and a table with two chairs against the wall. You could only imagine what the bathroom looked like. “This is...extra.” Steve shut the door behind you and carried your bags over to the couch. Your eyes flickered over to the closet at the garment bags hanging. You furrowed your brow. “What are those in the closet?”

“Tony apparently sent some items down, not trusting us to dress ourselves.” You laughed at the thought.

“Well he wasn’t wrong. I look like a hobo compared to the way some of those women were dressed.”

“You don’t look like a hobo.” You felt Steve’s gaze on you as you turned to look at him. “You just don’t need to try that hard.” You felt your breath hitch in your throat.

“Thanks.” What the hell was happening? Where was the Steve that cut you no slack and had something to say about everything you did? This was unexpected. You were prepared for the other Steve. “Hopefully Tony didn’t pack any dresses that make me look naked.” You turned as Steve scoffed.

“Tony would never send anything like that for you. He’d rather put you in a garbage bag that covered you neck to toe.” You pondered that and laughed.

“That is true. I’ve gotten the ‘you’re not going out like that’ lecture from him before.”

“Go take a shower. I’ll check in back home.” You grabbed your bag to bring into the bathroom with you. You paused before you closed the door.

“Thank you Steve.” You shut the door quickly before he could respond. You felt yourself blushing again. You had to get control of yourself.

You looked around and immediately fell in love with the bathroom. There was a huge whirlpool tub and large shower stall with multiple shower heads. Your planned on requesting a bathroom upgrade when you got home.

You studied yourself in the mirror. All of the makeup had essentially melted off of your face. Though still braided, your hair was frizzy from the heat and humidity. You looked hideous. But Steve had looked at you like...you couldn’t finish the thought. You looked at your eyes. Tony has made this pair of contacts especially for you. They changed your purple eyes to a bluish grey color.

You had wanted to open up to Steve on the beach. You wanted to tell him everything, mostly because you felt so damn lonely and you just wanted someone to hold you. No, you wanted him to hold you. You rolled your eyes at yourself and got yourself ready to shower. You couldn’t drag anyone into the mess that you were, especially not Steve Rogers.

A few hours later Steve was stepping out of the bathroom dressed in beige dress shorts and a cobalt blue linen shirt. Tony has sent loafers for him and these weird socks that only covered half of his feet so they couldn’t be seen. He looked around the room but didn’t see you. He didn’t think you would venture out on your own. He felt a little panicked, but then he saw you. You were standing out on the balcony looking out at the ocean. Your dark hair in waves down your back. You must have sensed him approaching because you turned and smiled at him. He wasn’t used to that. Normally you scowled at him. But that smile did something to him and he felt his heart rate speed up.

“You definitely don’t look homeless now.” He cracked. You tipped your head back and laughed. Tony could pick out clothes, he’d give him that. You were wearing a light teal silk dress that had white polka dots on it. It was a thin strapped v-neck wrap dress with a ruffled hem. You paired it with white strappy sandals.

“I don’t think I have ever seen your actual legs.” He felt a little self-conscious as you looked him up and down. “Are you wearing socks?” You scrunched you’re face up.

“Yes. You just can’t see them.” You roared with laughter.

“He packed you no show socks?!” You were stunning when you laughed. Steve only wished he could see your real eyes. They glowed magenta when you used your powers, but if you were laughing really hard they would show little sparks of the glowing color. The contacts covered that up. “That alone was worth the trip. You better watch it Captain. He’s going to make you high maintenance yet.” They way you called him Captain did things to him.

“You’re hilarious.” He deadpanned. You grabbed his hand and pulled him outside.

“Look at this view.” Your room faces the ocean. The sky danced with pinks, yellow and oranges as the sun set. “Do you see how harsh the waves are. There’s a storm coming. It’s a few days off, but it’s brewing.”

“How do you know?” When you looked over you expected him to be challenging you, hoping to prove you wrong. He looked genuinely interested. Not a hint of sarcasm in sight.

“I, um, I grew up near Cape Cod. I learned how to tell when a storm was coming.”

“No accent?” He was perceptive, but you knew that. He was trained to be.

“I worked hard at hiding the accent. Stops people from asking questions.” He nodded and took the hint. That was the first real piece of information you had ever told him about your past. He didn’t want to push his luck.

“Ready Mrs. Buchanan?” He offered you his arm. You rolled your eyes.

“Bucky made the reservations for you, didn’t he? Such a narcissist."

"Actually, it was supposed to be Bucky and Nat that did this mission, but she ended up having to leave." Steve chuckled as you linked your arm through his, leading you down to the dining room.

You and Steve were at the bar waiting to be seated. It reminded you of a wedding cocktail party the way they had everything set up. They had waiters walking around with appetizers. They would be opening the dining room in an hour for everyone to be seated for dinner service.

Playing Steve’s significant other wasn’t as hard as you thought it would be. You had to tell yourself that his comforting touches were an act. You forced herself to remember what he was really like. The “that’s not the way we do things agent” “you’re reckless, those force fields won’t be able to protect you from everything.” And so on and so on. You tried to march the criticism and the snarky comments through your brain, but with the way he was looking at you, the marching band refused to play.

He was sitting on a bar stool and you were standing in between his legs. Your insides were screaming for you to run away from the Captain, to say something hateful to annoy him you her heart wouldn’t allow you to form the words. You felt him put his hand on your lower back and pull you close so it looked like he was holding you in an embrace.

“These three men behind me are known associates of Martin Cobb, I recognize them from some of the intel. I've heard them mention Mr. Cobb a few times, but they're speaking to fast, I can’t understand what they’re saying.” You tried to concentrate on the words coming from their mouths but Steve was making it almost impossible. He had run the tip of his nose from your shoulder languidly up to your neck. You swallowed. You could sense the eyes of some of the resort employees on you and Steve. He was definitely putting on a show.

“They’re-“ You had to pause and clear your throat. “They’re discussing his arrival tomorrow. They are to proceed with caution as his wife will be here. He’s coming to see a shipment. They aren’t saying what it is though. The way they're talking, it has to be some sort of drug.” You felt Steve press a kiss to your shoulder, silently hating him for being so good at his job. He brought his lips up to your ear.

“Are you okay? Is this too much? I just, the people that work here seem to be rather interested in us. I'm starting to think they're on his payroll.” Steve Rogers, always the gentleman even when what he’s doing is part of the job. He pulled back to look you in the eyes. You nodded.

"I was thinking the same thing. I may not be as inconspicuous as we originally thought."

“Your table is ready Mr. and Mrs. Buchanan." Steve stood and took your hand to lead you as he followed the hostess to a table in the middle of the restaurant. You looked around hoping for something more private. You didn't want anyone overhearing your conversation. It was like the hostess could read your mind. “I’m sure no one will mind a little PDA. Mostly everyone here is newly married or celebrating their relationship.” Steve pulled out your chair and helped you sit down. Once the hostess left, Steve reached across the table and took your hand. You couldn’t discern what was real and what was him putting on a show, but the roughness of his hands was intoxicating. You found yourself not wanting him to let go. “You okay?” He broke your trance and you looked up and smiled.

“I am, I just feel a little on edge. But there are a lot of people here. You know, Bucky is going to be disappointed we haven’t almost killed each other. He wanted stories.” Steve threw his head back and laughed.

“Of course he does.”

“This, um, trip, was more suited for him and Nat I think.” You didn't want to call it a mission and have anyone overhear.

“I think we're doing okay." You couldn't look away from him. "Clint called and said Laura was having a hard time and they could use someone to distract the girls. The baby has colic." You shuddered, you remembered how helacious your sister's colic had been.

“You know I never would have let you call her back right? I shouldn’t have acted the way I did.” Steve, who was still holding your hand squeezed it.

“It’s forgotten. I shouldn’t have lost my temper. You have to know I don’t think of you as a secondary team member. You’ve saved so many people, including people on our own team.”

“Thanks Steve.” You were happy the lighting hid the blush on your cheeks. Your internally cringed at the amount of times you felt yourself blush. You felt like an idiot. The way Steve was looking at you, you felt like you couldn’t breath. He let go of your hand as the waiter approached. You took 3 long sips of your drink. You needed to shake Steve Rogers and his perfect eyes from your brain.

The rest of the evening had been uneventful in regards to Martin Cobb intel. Soon after you were done eating, the men left. You had suggested going back to the room to try and get a jump on the next day, but Steve shook his head.

“I need to show you something first." Steve led you outside onto the beach. You took your heels off and carried them so you could walk with him. He had his arm around you as he led you further down to the other side of the resort.

"Are you taking me somewhere to kill me? Where are we going?" He snickered lightly. He stopped when he got to a path that led to a wooded area.

"This is important. If you take this path right here, it cuts through the woods to the safe house. It's a short cut from. If we need to make a break for it...you go this way."

"You made me ride in that smelly cab for almost an hour when we could have cut through the woods? What is that building over there?" You saw a grey concrete building with a flat roof. It couldn’t have been more than two rooms on a single floor.

"I think someone would have noticed if we didn't arrive at the front entrance and were sneaking through the woods." You snorted when you laughed. You were about to make a smart ass comment when Steve grabbed you by your waist and pulled you to him. Your eyes went wide as he pressed his lips to yours. After a moment, you kissed him back, wrapping your arms around his neck, running your hand up the back of his hair. You were so focused on how his tongue was tracing the your bottom lip and how it felt to have his hands gripping your hips that you almost didn’t hear the man that was barreling towards the two of you.

"HEY! You two! You can't be over here!" one of the workers was running towards the two of you. Steve pulled back and you let out an involuntary whine.

"I'm so sorry sir. We just started walking down the beach and got a little carried away with each other, I didn't realize how far from the resort we had wandered." He saw the guy coming, that was why he kissed you. You felt disappointment creeping in.

"This area is closed off to guests. Please, head back towards the resort." Steve took your hand and started leading you back the other way.

"Right. We're so sorry." You were still stunned. Steve hadn't even warned you that someone was coming. You glanced back towards the little building you saw. There was a reason why they didn’t want you over there. You were sure that building was important. Steve pulled you along.

"It's alright...I know how young love is." The man chuckled as he followed you back. He didn't leave until the two of you were back in the hotel lobby. Your heart was pounding in your chest. Steve didn't say another word to you as he led you to the elevator or the entire ride up. Once you were back in your room and the door was shut behind you, he gave you a sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry. I just saw that guy almost running at us and I didn't want to blow our cover, I didn't have time to warn you."

"No...it's...it was fine. You just surprised me. I'm going to go change." You quickly grabbed some clothes out of your bag. You felt yourself get brave and you turned back to Steve who’s eyes hasn’t left you. “You know...for being a century old, you’re not a bad kisser.” You gave him a small smile and then shut the bathroom door behind you as his cheeks blazed red. You leaned your back against the door and put your fingers to your lips. Not ever before in your life did a kiss make you feel like that. You took a few moments to compose yourself after you changed into a pair of spandex shorts and an over-sized Stark Industries T-Shirt.

As you exited the bathroom, Steve was standing near your bag with a strange expression on his face. You looked down and saw the picture that you brought with you everywhere in his hands. You took a few strides over to him and yanked it from his hands.

“It- it fell out of your bag. Is- Is that you?” You looked down at the picture. It was at breakfast the day you lost your family. There was a birthday candle sticking out of your waffles. Ella was sitting on your lap as they sang to you, the waiter had taken the picture. You couldn’t remember the last time you looked that happy. Your face was exactly the same, but it had been a long time since you had seen your natural hair and eye color. It was almost jarring. You turned away from Steve and he could feel you bricking up the wall he started knocking down. “Camille...talk to me. Please. Who is that?” For all Steve knew, that could be your sister. You didn’t look like you anymore. You wiped a stray tear.

“I haven’t been that girl in a long time. She’s a ghost Steve. She’s no one.” He pulled you back to him.

“Don’t do that. Please don’t do that. You can trust me. Don’t shut me out.” You cleared your throat and pulled your arm away from Steve so you could hug yourself.

“That was me, 5 years ago. 5 years ago to this day. My parents and sister were killed in a car accident while we were in a vacation in Europe. I should have died too, I sometimes wish I had died too. They injected me with whatever made me like this. I think whoever made me was looking for lost causes, people near death so that if their formula backfired, no one would suspect anything. But here I am. They were a success. But the girl in this picture is dead and gone.” Before you could walk away from him, Steve pulled you to him in a bone crushing hug. He didn’t say anything, he just held you as you felt hot tears fall down your cheeks.

***

You didn’t remember falling asleep. You felt like there was a heavy iron curtain hanging over you. You slowly blinked your eyes open and you were in bed, laying on your side facing the huge glass doors that led out to the balcony. You felt Steve’s body pressed against your back as he snored lightly. His arm thrown over your body. You stayed there for a moment enjoying the heat of his body and the safeness of his embrace. You slowly slid out from his grasp and grabbed your phone as you slid your flip flops on. You needed some air and some coffee.

You scrolled through your phone and saw a handful of missed calls and messages from Bucky. Did you guys get there okay? Have you driven Steve crazy yet? Why aren’t you answering me? Did Steve kill you already? And then the final one- Steve called me after you fell asleep. Call me when you get up.”

You closed the door slowly behind you so it wouldn't wake Steve and headed downstairs. You slipped through the lobby and headed out towards the back patio where breakfast was set up, in desperate need of caffeine. After you poured yourself a generous cup, you found a secluded table in the corner of the deck. You moved your chair so it was facing the railing and looking out over the ocean. Once you were situated you pulled your knees close to your body and dialed Bucky's number. It rang a few times before his gruff and sleepy voice answered.

"It's 5am Doll." Was all he said.

"Well good morning to you too."

"It's 7am there. What the hell are you doing up already?" You listened as his voice slowly became more alert. "Are you okay? Steve told me about the picture, and you breaking down, and....I didn't think you'd ever tell him." You took a drink of your coffee.

"I"m fine. If he hadn't found that picture I probably wouldn't have, and I didn't tell him much. It was kind of cathartic. And Steve on this mission is much different than any other Steve I've worked with. And what was I supposed to do? Tell him it wasn't me? Believe me, I tried to not tell him. He just looks at you with those stupid blue eyes and you want to tell him all of your secrets." You had his full attention now.

"Stupid blue eyes huh? Exactly how well are you and Steve getting along?"

"Shut up Bucky."

"I KNEW IT! YOU LIKE HIM!!" He yelled into your ear.

"You're insufferable." You looked around to make sure no one was paying attention, and also to make sure Steve wasn't sneaking up on you to hear your confession. "I can't keep anything from you, even if I should and want to. I may have a little crush." You rolled your eyes in defeat. Bucky Barnes would never let this go now.

"Little crush huh?"

"Okay fine, a huge one. But it's this mission. Pretending to be newly weds...all the fake affection, the kissing. It's messing with my brain."

"Wait...hold up. You kissed him?"

"Technically he kissed me. I just kissed him back." Bucky was making some sort of celebration whooping sound when you followed it up. "It's because we were sneaking around the property and got caught. He was trying to blow it off as us getting carried away."

"Was there tongue?" She could see him wiggling his eyebrows in her mind.

"Shut up. I hate you." She clenched her jaw as he laughed at her expense.

"Well that's a yes. I mean...I always knew your hatred for him was just a veil of your feelings."

"There are no feelings. It's a crush. I'll get over it." You said the word feelings like it was a curse word.

"Sure you will. Listen...I'm going back to sleep now that I know you aren't going to jump off the deep end. And maybe explore the possibility of feelings for Steve." Her shook his head when you scoffed. "And Cam?"

"Yeah Buck?"

"Happy Birthday." And with that he hung up the phone. You shook your head as you set your phone down on the table and took another sip of your coffee. The wind was whipping through your hair and you saw the dark clouds slowly approaching. The rain would start soon. The idea of a heavy storm trapping you on the island made your anxiety kick up. Then you thought about being trapped on the island with Steve and you settled into your thoughts.

"Well you look lonely." About 15 minutes later a voice yanked you from your daydreaming thoughts of Steve Rogers. You slowly turned to see a beautiful middle aged woman standing in front of you. She had beautiful curly dark hair, deep dark eyes, full lips and a gorgeous smile. Age barely marked her face. "Where is your other half?

"I'm sorry....do I know you?"

"Oh I'm sorry dear! I'm Maria Alvarez Cobb." you heard the alarm bells going off in your head. This must be Martin Cobb's wife. "I'm just surprised to see a lovely young woman like yourself sitting alone outside at a couples resort."

"Oh! My husband is still sleeping. I woke up early and couldn't fall back to sleep, but I didn't want to wake him, so I came down for some coffee and to get some fresh air before it gets so warm later today."

"If you don't mind me saying, you look rather young to be someone's wife." She took an uninvited seat at your table.

"Newly weds. I look young for my age." She wasn't being dishonest. You would know if she was, you would sense it. But something about her was off, you were sure of it.

"I didn't catch your name." You frantically tried to remember the name that was on the reservation. No one had called you by your first name.

"Ainsley...Ainsley Buchanan." How you plucked that out of the back of your brain, you'd never know.

"Stark Industries? Do you work for Tony Stark" she motioned to your t-shirt. You silently cursed yourself. Rule number one was never, ever let anyone associate you with anything Avengers or Stark related when on an undercover mission."

"Oh no...my brother Peter has an internship with Mr. Stark. A perk is plenty of free T-Shirts." She smiled.

"It must be nice to be close to a sibling." It felt like everything she said was an accusation. You simply smiled at her.

"Well, I think I'll go and see if my husband has decided to wake up yet." You stood to walk quickly away and she grabbed your hand.

"Ms. Buchanan, my husband and I are inviting all of our guests to our anniversary party tonight at the resort. I do hope you'll be able to attend with your husband. I'd love to meet him. I try to meet all of our guests when we come down to stay here."

"Your guests?"

"Oh dear, my husband and I own this resort." You tried to keep your face as neutral as possible, on the inside you were screaming.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't even realize!" you feigned embarrassment.

"Oh don't apologize. I wouldn't expect you to know. Will we see you tonight?"

"We wouldn't miss it for the world

As soon as you were out of anyone's line of vision you moved quickly to the stair well and ran up the stairs, not trusting yourself to be on an elevator with anyone else. Your hands were shaking as you tried to unlock the door. You cursed as you dropped your phone and it hit the bottom of the door. Steve must have heard you because he opened it before you could even put the key card in the door.

"Camille, what in the hell?" He looked at your disheveled appearance, panic spread all over your face.

"Shhh...let me in and shut the door, NOW" You yelled at him in a whisper. He moved so you could rush in and shut the door. He turned around waiting for an explanation for your frantic behavior.

"Steve...I fucked up. I fucked up BIG time."

"It's 7:40 in the morning? How could you have possibly messed up?" You internally rolled your eyes at his refusal to use the same curse word you had. You took the ends of your shirt so he could read the logo. He squinted his eyes and shook his head to indicate he wasn't following your train of thought. "Okay I need you to say actual words."

"I woke up early and didn't want to wake you. I didn't even remember falling asleep last night to be honest. I felt foggy and I wanted some fresh air and coffee. I'm so sorry for breaking down like that. I'm such a fucking baby." Steve grabbed you by your shoulders.

"Camille...I need you to focus." You closed your eyes for a moment and when you opened them, he was looking at you with more concern that you had ever seen on his face before.

"Sorry. I went downstairs to call Bucky because he left me like 1800 messages. I didn't even think to change my shirt. When I got off the phone with him, this woman came up to me. Maria Alvarez Cobb."

"Shit..." Steve let you go.

"I know. She was asking why I was alone. I told her my "husband" was still asleep and I wanted to enjoy the weather with my coffee. She mentioned the shirt. She asked me if I worked for Mr. Stark. I told her my brother Peter interned for him."

"So you covered. It's not that bad."

"Steve. It's bad! When are you going to realize I can sense when something is off? It's more than just knowing when someone is lying. Lately...it's like I can sense the negative energy in the air. I felt off around her. She wasn't lying to me. But the warning bells were ringing in my head. She was definitely suspicious of me. She invited us to their anniversary party tonight. Actually, she said she was inviting all of their guests to the party. She and Martin Cobb own this place."

"What? That's not listed anywhere."

"I KNOW!" You threw your arms up. "I'm such a fuck up. I should know better than to even bring this shit with me on a mission."

"Cam...stop. It's okay."

"You're not going to yell at me?" You jolted back, looking at him in shock.

"No...it was an honest mistake." Your drew your eyebrows together.

"You're not so calm because of you feel sorry for me, this isn't pity Rogers, is it?"

"Oh my God will you stop?" You crossed your arms in front of you glaring him down. "It's not pity. But it's already done. So now we just have to tread lightly from here." You nodded, relaxing your posture.

"You put me to bed last night."

"I did."

"You held me."

"I did. You needed it." He waited for you to say more, but he could tell you couldn't find the words. "We all have baggage Camille. We all have scars. You don't have to bottle them up. We're all here for you. Not just Tony and Bucky. If you talked more, you might not feel broken. I'm here for you. You needed someone to be there for you last night. I'm here for you, any time you need someone." You nodded.

"Thank you. I'm not ready to talk more just yet. But thank you."

"You're welcome. Now let's order some room service and get to work researching this woman and try to figure out what shipment they're expecting."

***

Your nerves were shot. You and Steve found out next to nothing about the Cobb's. Maria was even more of an enigma than her husband Martin. As far as they could tell, Martin Cobb ran a BioTech company. There were none of the usual "drug front" businesses under Cobb International. Martin and Maria bought the resort 6 months ago. You were standing near the glass door staring out at the whipping wind and the heavy rain.

"I mean it makes sense why we didn't know they owned the place. I just can't figure out what it is that he's selling. We thought it was drugs and arms deals. Maybe we're wrong." Steve fixed the tie around his neck. You had been pacing all day. Pacing back and forth in front of the door. Pacing around the room. You couldn't sit still. "Camille, you're making me dizzy." You spun and looked at him and gave him a sheepish smile. You were wearing a black sweetheart neckline dress. It was chiffon with a small embellished belt and a high-low hemline; the shortest part of the dress just long enough to hide the thigh holster for your weapon. You paired it with flat gold gladiator sandals. You didn't want to have to fight, or run in heels. Your hair was in it's signature braid wrapped around your head.

"Steve...I just have a bad feeling about this. Maybe we should call this mission and re-group. This storm is going to get worse. If we get into trouble, we wont be able to fly out of here."

"No...we're here. It'll be okay. They aren't going to do anything in a room full of people. C'mon, let's go down there for a while, see what's up and if you still feel like this, we'll leave and go to the safe house. I already have Tony and Bucky on standby." You nodded. He put his hand on the small of your back to lead you out of the room, he’d been doing it for the past two days and you didn’t think you would ever get sick of it.

Waves of anxiety passed through you as the two of you made your way into the ballroom. . Gold and crystal chandeliers hanging throughout the ceiling. Everything else in black. Black chairs, black table cloths. Then the gold and black plates. You grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter.

“I don’t know if getting drunk is our best play.” Steve whispered into your ear. You rolled your eyes.

“Oh grow up. A glass of champagne isn’t going to get me drunk. It’s going to calm my nerves.” You watched Steve’s jaw tick as you rolled your eyes.

“I swear to God if you roll your eyes at me again I’m going to roll them back for you. That drives me insane.” He whispered harshly in your ear. So it was the eye rolling that got to him, you did it often, which explained why he was always so triggered by you. You narrowed your eyes at him.

“Now is not the time or the place to threaten me with a good time, Captain.” The snarky comment came out of your mouth before you could stop it. You both stood there awkwardly for a moment staring at each other until Steve cleared his throat.

“We should probably head that way.” Steve pointed you towards the back corner of the room. You nodded and let him lead you there. Here you were, probably walking into your deaths and you were flirting. You internally chastised yourself and thanked God no one else was on this mission. You’d never live it down.

The two of you tried to eavesdrop on whatever conversations you could but got no information. Whatever was happening was deep under wraps. Martin Cobb didn't want his dealings around his wife, the men you had listened to last night made that clear. You should have known you wouldn't have been able to pick up on anything. You could feel the electricity and anxiety coursing through your body. You felt Steve’s hand on your thigh to stop you from bouncing your leg. He had just gotten back from making another round of the room.

“I haven’t even seen the Cobbs.” You commented.

“I know. Let’s get out of here. We’ll pack our things and head to the safe house and see what to do next.” You were about to agree with him when you froze cold in your spot. “What? What is it?” You spotted a man across the room. You hadn't seen him in 5 years, but you would recognize him anywhere.

“That- that man over there. That’s Dr. Yablowsk, the doctor that treated me after the accident.” He was tall and slender. Balding with white hair. He actually reminded you of Mr. Burns from The Simpsons. Steve saw a variety of emotions pass through your eyes.

“You mean- he’s the one that made you the way you are?” You nodded.

“He has to be. He was the only doctor that I saw the day of the accident. This can’t be a coincidence. Screw going back to the room, we’re leaving now.” You grabbed Steve’s hand and were about to drag him out of the room when you saw Maria Alvarez Cobb approaching you.

“You must be Mr. Buchanan. I met your lovely wife Ainsley this morning.” She shoved her hand at Steve and he graciously accepted the hand shake.

“Yes ma’am. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Ainsley told me she met you this morning and you personally invited us. Happy Anniversary.” Steve watched as the color drained from your face.

“Such a gentleman too. Hold on to this one Ainsley, good men are hard to come by.” Her smile seemed genuine, but she kept saying your name like it was an accusation. She knew you weren't who you said you were. You could tell by the way she was looking at you.

“I need to use the restroom.” You quickly slipped from the two of them and rushed outside. You felt sick. Your head was pounding and you had to get away from that woman. Once you were out of their line of vision, you headed outside. The rain soaked you as you you slowly started to make your way to the edge of the woods. You were hoping Steve would meet you there when you weren't by the restroom. You were banking on his uncanny ESP to know exactly where to go and what to do at all times. You paused when you got close to that little concrete building. The lights were on and you heard two men arguing.

“I need to get to the party. My wife is there and she’s trying to keep her at that party.”

“Martin- this isn’t a good idea. Just let her go, we have more. We can make more.”

"NO! She's the first. She was our first successful case. She slipped from my grasp back then. I finally have the opportunity now!" You stumbled back.

They were talking about you. They had to be. You quickly slipped between two bushes and squatted down before you could be seen. You watched as Martin Cobb stormed out of the little building and headed towards the resort. You felt your hands shaking as you pulled your phone out of your small purse to text Steve. You warned him this was a trap and described where you were hiding.

The warm rain was making your dress stick to your body and the wind was almost knocking you over. You kept looking at your phone to see if Steve would answer you, but he hadn't said a single word back. You were squatting down trying not to hyperventilate and saying a silent prayer when you saw Steve coming about 20 minutes later.

“What the hell is going on?”

“We need to get out of here. I’ll explain at the safe house. We are NOT safe. They know who I am.” Steve gave you a questioning look but accepted that you would explain when you were out of danger. The two of you moved as silently as you could. You were about go into the woods when you saw someone step out of the building.

“Y/N YLN” Your head snapped over to him as he called your real name. Steve looked at you in confusion. No one knew what your real name was except Tony Stark, not even Bucky knew.

“Who the hell are you?” You couldn’t get a good look at him, but he was tall and muscular with a shaved head.

“My name is Nick Webster, I’m the man that pulled you from the wreckage 5 years ago. I’ve been helping Martin and Dr. Yablowski look for you. It was smart, faking your suicide. But then Tony Stark found you and I knew...I just knew it was you. We didn’t realize how much your appearance had changed. You became a completely different person from when I saw you to when the doctor saw you. You know what gave you away?”

“Meeting Maria this morning.” The man laughed.

“Well that certainly didn’t help. No, that made us suspect something was off with you and your husband, that and the report that you were wandering a little to close to the woods. But it’s how you wore your hair tonight. It’s your look. “The Protector” always wears her hair like that. Don’t you realize that Martin Cobb is the one that sent all of those tips in to The Avengers? He's not dealing illicit drugs or illegal weapons. He's too smart and sophisticated for that. He wanted you here. I don’t know how he got so lucky that you were the one that came. You were his first creation. What’s shocking to me is that Tony Stark would send his Little Orphan Annie all by herself. Don’t you normally have that Super Soldier by your side? The ex assassin that is excellent at murder? The Winter Solider is it? Instead they send you with some B-List agent?“

“Actually, they sent her with me.” You and Nick Webster turned to where Steve Rogers was standing. You watched as Steve reached behind his ear and turned off his appearance enhancer. While you couldn't see his transformation because of your contacts, Nick saw the auburn hair melt into his normal dirty blonde rocks and his hazel eyes transformed into his piercing blue that were narrowed on Nick Webster.

“Oooo Captain America! You must really be important to Stark.” Before you knew what was happening Steve took a few strides towards you and shoved your out of the way as Nick charged at him. You tried to get the comm that was in your bag into your ear as the two men fought. You knew Tony and Bucky were standing by waiting to hear from you and Steve. It was the quickest way to get a distress signal to them. You dropped your bag when you saw Nick pull out a blade and he was inches from stabbing Steve in the spine. You heard Tony’s words in your head. “C’mon kid, I bet if you concentrate hard enough you can throw a force field at someone to protect them if they aren’t next to you. Let’s try.” You had been working at it for months with Tony. You had come close a few times, but it never worked. "Maybe you just need the right motivation. It took a while for you to be able to create them on demand. We'll keep working at it. We'll get this."

You felt power surging through your body as your hand shot out towards Steve. You watched with slight awe as a purple orb few from your hand and surround Steve Rogers. The force almost knocked you over and took a lot of your strength. You were leaning against a tree to support yourself when you felt Nick’s blade pierce through your abdomen. You cried out in pain and fell to your knees. You held your hand to your stomach and tried to heal the wound, but nothing was happening. You watched as he stalked towards Steve and you quickly pulled the gun from your holster.

“Hey Nick!” You called out and as soon as he turned you put a bullet between his eyes and you fell to the ground. You silently thanked Bucky Barnes for making you an excellent shot.

“Cami...why didn’t you heal yourself?” Steve had ran over to you and dropped to his knees. Tendrils of your jet black hair had slipped from your braid and were sticking to your face. The pelting rain washing off the wet sand stuck to your face. Steve was frantic and trying to see the wound. He watched as you put your hand over where the blade had sliced through your body. Your eyes glowed the shade of magenta he had been enthralled with since the day he met you and he watched as it quickly flickered out. When he looked down at the wound it was still bleeding.

“It’s not working. I don’t know why.” You mumbled, barely discernible.

“There must have been something on that blade that is affecting your healing ability. If Martin Cobb is the one that made the serum, he may have made something that can hinder hurt you.” Steve pulled his jacket and pressed it to your wound.

“I can still feel my powers below the surface. They’re just not strong enough to heal myself. He didn’t take them away.” Your voice cracked as you spoke.

“Dammit Camille, why did you throw that force field? Why didn’t you protect yourself?” Steve was pushing the wet hair off of your face and forehead. You gave him a weak smile.

“The team needs you more than they need me. You’re our leader. Besides, I’m always going to protect you.” You were starting to feel light-headed, and your vision was blurring.

“Cami…you don’t have to protect me. There isn’t anything that man could have done to me that I would survive. I’m a Super Solider. Getting beaten half to death and falling out of the sky didn’t kill me. You should have protected yourself instead.” Steve was saying more things to you, but you couldn't focus on everything that he was saying. Bits and pieces came through. He was yelling at you and begging you to stay with him when you felt a warm blanket of black fall over you.

41 notes · View notes

cauliflowercounty · 5 years ago

Text

Finally Home (Clyde Logan x Reader)

Warnings: None! Complete fluff with our favorite boy, Clyde Logan. :)

A/N: Post events of Logan Lucky. Originally posted on my Wattpad.

----

There is a massive lump in Clyde Logan's throat. Clyde isn't really the most talkative of people. Anyone who really knows Clyde Logan knows this, but in this moment, Clyde is positively speechless. He takes a moment and shakes his head, thinking he heard Jimmy wrong. The smell of burnt bacon wafts through the air as Jimmy uses a pair of tongs to flip the bacon behind the stove, letting the grease splash a bit as he looks over at his brother.

"What did you jus' say?" he mumbles.

"I said y/n's gonna be in town in a few days," Jimmy replies calmly, not knowing how Clyde is going to react. "I'm gonna be busy with work so I can't be around much to entertain her."

"Is this why you offered to come make me breakfast?" Clyde asks. "To come an’ tell me this?"

"Partially," Jimmy replies, coming over and setting a large plate of bacon next to Clyde's pancakes. "I thought you might be up for spendin' a little time with her. You two always were together."

"That was until seventh grade. We haven't seen her since her parents moved her away," Clyde mumbles. "How am I of all people supposed to entertain her when I barely know anything about her anymore?"

"Come on, Clyde. You can do this. You two were best friends. If you give it a chance, you both might hit it off again. I ain't never seen a friendship stronger than the one you had with y/n," Jimmy sighs, folding his arms in front of his chest. "You know what? Just give it a try. She might be a bit different, but the same y/n's still inside her. You might have some fun, too. You remember how she always made everything more fun for you?"

"Jimmy, I don't know about this. She ain’t seen me in years. She doesn't know about-"

"She won't judge you for your hand, Clyde. Y/n's not that type of gal."

Jimmy gets up and walks towards the couch to grab his coat. He looks at his brother who's sulking in his seat. Sighing, Jimmy goes to the door.

"I'll tell her to meet you at the carnival Tuesday afternoon. It shouldn't be too busy and you should be able to go on some rides and play a few games without havin' to be around too many people," Jimmy calls as he shuts the door. As he sits alone, Clyde feels his palm get sweaty. He knows that y/n wouldn't say anything bad about his hand, but he can't help but feel ashamed. It's been years and so much has happened; there's been him in the army, him losing his hand, and the motor speedway heist. He'd be barely recognizable to her. He was the lonely little boy on the playground living in his older, more popular brother's shadow now he's the bartender at a run-down little shack off a highway with a criminal record who served ninety days in order to commit a crime that could land him behind bars forever. How can he even face her after not even sending her a letter after all this time? They were best friends, after all, but maybe Clyde wanted a bit more than that.

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

Clyde swallows hard. His throat is dry. He's nervous and his stomach feels as if the acid is going to burn through his body. That morning, he got up early and ripped apart his entire closet trying to find something to wear to his date with y/n.

"Clyde, don't be stupid. This ain't a date. I ain’t seen her in years. There ain’t no reason this is a date," he mumbles to himself as he throws all the shirts he owns on his bed, trying to find one remotely suitable. He becomes frustrated with himself, unable to find something nice to wear in the midst of his Bob Serger t-shirts and his grubby bartending attire. "Now why didn't I let Mellie buy me new shirts those few weeks ago?"

He finally pulled out a navy blue button-up shirt that wasn't horribly wrinkled, put it on with a pair of pants to match, and left only after making sure his sleeves were carefully positioned to cover his prosthesis. Now he's standing under an awning at the Boone County fair waiting for y/n to show up. Part of Clyde wants to run away, go back to his trailer, have a beer, and hope y/n doesn't come to meet him at all. Tempted, Clyde turns and starts to take a step towards the place he parked his car, but he feels a small tap on his shoulder.

"Clyde?" a soft voice says. "Is that you?"

He turns around and looks down. It's you smiling up at him, and he can't help but smile back. As he looks at you, he notices all the ways you've changed. You've grown, of course. You're taller and look more like a woman.

Your hair is shorter and you've done it up nicely in a way that looks beautiful yet effortless. He looks down at your clothing; you're wearing a light, flowy top and a pair of nice skinny jeans with a pair of cute white shoes. He can't help but blush a little.

"Y/n...," he whispers, quickly hiding his left arm behind his back. You let out a laugh and it's absolutely melodious to Clyde. You rock back and forth in position or a second, your hands behind your back.

"I can't believe we're finally seeing each other again. It's been too long," you finally say. "You're so tall and your voice changed so much! I... missed you, Clyde."

"I-I missed you, too," Clyde stutters. "You lost your Boone County accent..."

"Oh! Yeah... I guess I did," you smile, Clyde's awkwardness spreading to you a little.

"It's good to see you again," Clyde smiles. There's a small pause in the conversation. You look up at Clyde. He's a grown man now, but you can definitely see how the boy you used to know became the man in front of you. You sigh a bit. You know why this is awkward and you want to fix it so bad so it can be like old times. You want it to be like when you and Clyde would go everywhere together and eat popsicles in the backyard of your house on the old wooden porch swing. You want Clyde to feel comfortable with you again so you can feel him give you one of his bear hugs again.

"I'm sorry I didn't write, Clyde... I thought you would be mad at me and didn't wanna hear from me," you sigh, a bit ashamed, trying to salvage the situation. "I left so suddenly after all. I didn't even say a real goodbye. After I didn't hear from you after a few months I assumed-"

"Don't worry about that, y/n. I could never be mad at you like that," Clyde interrupts. "I'm sorry I didn't write, too... I didn't think you wanted a guy like me weighing you down while you were out in the big city. I wanted you to be more than a little country girl because you're much more than that."

"Now why would you think that, Clyde Logan? I'm perfectly fine being a little country girl if that means we can be around each other more" you laugh and this makes him smile. He's missed your laugh so much. You take his right hand, pulling him over to some of the carnival games. "Come on, Clyde. Let's put those years behind us and go play some games and have some fun. It's been too long without my best friend in the world."

You and Clyde walk over to a dart and balloon game as a couple of kids are finishing up. Behind the counter, a man stands with gigantic oversized stuffed animals hanging around him. There's a dog, a dragon, a pony, and two lions but you lay your eyes on a gigantic zebra plushie with big eyes and a cute smile hanging way at the back.

"Do you see one that you like, y/n?" Clyde asks.

"The zebra," you respond, pointing to the back. "Right over there."

"Do ya think you can win it yourself?" he asks, smiling. You shake your head, a bit ashamed, but you know yourself and are positively sure you'd miss. Clyde walks up to the counter and greets the man. "How do I win that zebra?"

"Pop five balloons in a row. Seven dollars for five darts," the man replies and Clyde gets out his wallet from his pants pocket, taking out some dollar bills.

"Oh! Clyde, you really don't have to do that for me. I thought you were joking. Don't go wasting your money on me," you sigh, trying to come in between him and the man behind the counter.

“It's alright, Darlin'," Clyde smiles, not realizing what he's just said. "I won't miss."

Your heart flutters as Clyde picks up one of the darts on the table. He called you "darlin'" and didn't even notice. The hopeless romantic at heart hopes this continues on. Even though you were over a thousand miles away from him and hadn't seen the guy in years, your mind and heart always came back to him. He was your first crush, but you couldn't rise to jeopardize your friendship with him. It was too good.

The man steps out of the way and Clyde pops the first 4 balloons with incredible accuracy. He picks up the last dart and holds it carefully in front of his face, aiming carefully.

"You might wanna take down the zebra now," he tells the clerk.

"You haven't won yet," the guy replies with a smirk.

"I know, but I think once I hit this one, nothing's gonna keep her apart from that zebra a moment longer," Clyde warns as he swiftly pops the fifth and final balloon. Cheering for Clyde with a smile on your face, you wrap your arms around him, holding him tight. You hear a rumble in his chest as he laughs with you. You release Clyde from your grasp and collect the zebra, holding it tightly in your arms. It's half as tall as you.

"Thank you, Clyde," you smile.

"How ‘bout we go and get you some more stuffed animals?" he asks. You smile up at him and you take his hand and walk over together to another stand.

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

As the sun begins to set, you're both still at the carnival, walking off the Ferris wheel.

"I had so much fun today, Clyde," you smile, holding your zebra tight.

"Jeffery the zebra thanks you, too. This has been the most fun I've had in a long time."

"You named him already?" Clyde asks.

"Well, yeah. He's gotta have a name. He's not just gonna be 'zebra,' now," you respond. Clyde chuckles in response. As you both walk back to your parked cars, illuminated by the glow of the LEDs on the Ferris wheel and the carousel, you reach out to hold his hand again, but feel something hard and cold against your fingertips. Upon contact, Clyde lurches away from you. You drop Jeffrey and reach out to him, finding him to be hunched over, his back to you. "C-Clyde?"

"I-I'm sorry...," he says, his voice shaky. It's as if he's about to cry.

"What on earth are you sorry for?" you ask, taking a step closer, putting a soft hand on his shoulder. "What is it?"

"You shouldn't see this, y/n...," he whispers.

"Clyde... Please. It's okay," you say calmly.

"No...," he whimpers, taking a step further. You pause for a moment as your heartbreaks, seeing Clyde like this. You wanted things to be normal and perfect again, but the truth is you haven't seen each other in ages. Everything's changed. He's still similar, but so much has happened that you don't know about. He's changed. You've changed. It'll never be quite the same, but you can't just stand by while he seems to be hurting like this.

"Clyde... You can tell me anything if you want to... I don't want you to feel uncomfortable around me," you tell him softly. he turns ever so slightly and looks you in the eye.

"It's not... I... It'll be unsettlin' for you, y/n. It'll make you uncomfortable..."

"How could I ever be uncomfortable around you, Clyde?"

He sighs. "You were gonna fight out soon enough. Might as well be now..."

Clyde takes his right hand and begins to roll up his left sleeve. You see it. His prosthesis. It's pink and plastic.

"It's my old one," he says. "I got a new fancy metal one at home, but I didn't want it to be too obvious... I was ashamed of it. I am ashamed of it. I-"

As you look at him he freezes. You know that look. You know he wants to go on, but can't bear to. You rush forward, your zebra forgotten and tackle him, giving him the biggest hug ever. A tear drips down your face and his mouth is agape, not expecting this at all.

"Clyde... It's okay. I don't think any differently of you," you smile as he finally wraps both of his arms around you. "If it makes you feel any better, I didn't even notice until you showed me. I was having too much fun. Clyde... Look at me."

As he looks to you, you can see the heartbreak in his eyes. You put and hand on his cheek softly and look into his eyes.

"I will care about you until the day I die. I don't care if you have all your limbs or none of your limbs. You are Clyde Logan and I will always care for you," you explain, wanting nothing more than for him to feel comfortable. He opens his mouth to explain, but you can see how hurt he is still. "You don't have to tell me what happened. That can come when you're ready. I will never desert you again and your hand will never change that."

"You really mean that, y/n?" he asks, a look of hope spreading across his face.

"Of course, silly. I would never lie to you...," you smile. "Speaking of not lying... I know this is all sudden, me being back in town. I wanna tell you the truth. I'm back and I'm here to stay."

"Now, Darlin', you aren't jus' sayin' that are you?" he asks, trying to make sure it isn't a sick joke.

"No, Clyde. I'm being a hundred percent honest. After all my time living in big cities, I wanted to come back to what I know. I wanted to be home and I wanted to be around you. I missed you and I couldn't stop thinking of you, no matter where I went. I've bought a small place and I've got a job, too, so I'm not going anywhere... and I'd be honored if we could pick up where we left off in a sense?" you say hopefully. Clyde smiles, wider than he ever has and picks you up, squeezing you tight and close to his body.

"I know I already said this but I've missed you, y/n," he mumbles as he sets you down.

"I missed you, too, Clyde," you sigh.

"Why don't you come over to my place for a drink? It's not much since my trailer is a bit small, but I'd like to spend a little more time with you where we can really talk. We'll get you back to your car when the time comes," Clyde suggests. Taking his prosthetic hand in yours, you pull him towards the rows of parked cars. "I take that as a yes."

As you nod enthusiastically with the grin he's remembered all his life, Clyde feels as if his heart is about to burst from happiness. Everything is falling into place. You, y/n, his childhood best friend and crush, are back in Boone County and are here to stay, you are accepting of his missing a hand despite Clyde's own crippling insecurities about it, and are coming to his house for drinks after hours of hanging out at the carnival. Maybe this is Clyde's chance to act on that old, newly rekindled school boy's crush he's had on you buried in his heart all these years. Maybe this is when the Logan family curse is finally over and done with for good.

#logan lucky #clyde logan #clyde logan x reader #fanfiction #adam driver

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sugar-kisser · 6 years ago

Text

Kim HongJoong « Kissing Booth

The annual spring carnival has finally come around and being your senior year in high school, you want to go all out on your booth. You have been lucky enough to be given a booth to create and work this year. You were given a week to propose an idea to the student council and have it approved, and after you had just three weeks to put it together and be ready for it.

“Please won’t you be one of the girls? You should help me out,” you beg your best friend who stands in front of you, arms crossed.

“No!” She laughs, “I’m not really about kissing random people, especially from this school.” You huff in defeat knowing there’s no way you could convince your best friend to be a participant in your kissing booth. Yeah, kissing booth. You had thought the idea would be fun and girls could end up potentially kissing a boy she liked or just in general have fun. There’s suppose to be no harm and you did have plans if things decide to go south.

“Although I don’t want to do it,” you best friend starts, “how about I help you get girls who will? I can ask some girls around campus. Don’t be upset with who I can get but I can try.” You hug your best friend and cover her in a thousand thank you’s before hurrying off to your car. You pull out of your parking spot and make your way back to your small little town house and you’re quickly greeted by your four younger siblings.

“Y/N!” They all squeal and jump onto you.

“What are you guys doing?” You laugh and pick up the two youngest, one in each of your arms. “Why aren’t you two in school?” You ask the nine-year-old and seven-year-old standing on the floor.

“Dad said we didn’t have to go today!” the seven-year-old giggles before running off. You roll your eyes knowing your dad had forgotten to send them off to school before disappearing into his study this morning, that or he never left his study last night. You carry the twins into the kitchen just to find it a mess.

“Now what did you guys do in here?” You gasp and set the twins on the floor. The twins squeal and run away, leaving you with a giant mess to clean. You pull out your broom and sweep up all the dry food and put it into the trash before wiping down the counters. You look at the clock and hurry off to the garage, you open the garage door and light seeps into the dark empty area and you siblings hurry outside themselves and play in the driveway. You pull out the paint cans and brushes and continue you paint props to your kissing booth.

“Y/N? Can I help?” One of the twins comes up to you.

“Sure, sweetie. Come here,” You lift her up and sit her in your lap. You hand her a small brush with red paint on it and point at the part of the sign you want her to paint. She giggles as he gets paint on the wood and she paints sporadically and you laugh watching her enjoy herself. A loud engine roars as it pulls into the driveway you share with three other houses besides yours.

“Move out of the person’s way!” You call to your siblings as a motorbike pulls up to the house diagonal of yours. You watch the man get off the bike and you recognize the man as Kim HongJoong, one of the most popular guys in school, when he takes of his helmet. You siblings wave to him and he waves back showing a smile towards them. He stops waving and looks up at me, still lightly smiling. You smile back at him and give him a short wave before getting back to painting you sign. HongJoong walks up to his friends house and looked over his shoulder again at you as you were pointing at another part of your sign for her to paint. Your other siblings begin to make their way over to ask if they can paint to. HongJoong huffs and smiles before walking into his friends house.

——

The day of the carnival finally came around, your best friend had managed to group of a total of four girls. All four girls were extremely popular and basically were promised a kiss from a cute boy, and all of them hoped it would be HongJoong or one of his friends in his little group.

“Y/N!” One of the popular girls whine as she closes the tiny gap of the curtains to the stage of the kissing booth, “he’s not out there. I’m not kissing anyone unless it’s him or any of his friends.”

“He’s probably just running late. Give him a couple more minutes,” you lie through your teeth and hurry about the back of the stage. The four group of girls got together and whisper amongst themselves before one of them grabs a blindfold.

“Y/N!” One of the girl cheerfully calls for you. You walk up to her and suddenly all the girls appear. “Your friend came to tell us she has a surprise for you, but she wants you to be blindfolded.” You look at them funny for a moment before setting your clipboard down and standing in front of them. You’re really unsure why your best friend would bring you a surprise last minute especially right before you had to open your booth, but at the same time you know your best friend is known for surprises and she would always come first to you. But little did you know that the girls were lying and currently guiding you to the front of the stage. The cheers from everyone waiting outside make you freeze in fear.

“Don’t want to disappoint or make a fool of yourself Y/N,” one of the girls snicker in your ear and you swallow your saliva. You hear the four girls shuffle off the stage, leaving you alone. You reach your hands out and quickly find the table you have brought and you lean on it.

Kim HongJoong happened to pass by the booth to see you pushed out onto the stage by the girls and he watched as you uncomfortably stood there as the girls whispered something into your ear. He begins to make his way and walks up next to the line. The boy at the front of the line offered for him to go in front of him if he wanted and he shrugged and patted the boy on the back in thanks. He walked up on the stage and slowly approached you, his boots making quiet thuds with every step he took. The girls watch from behind the slightly open curtains, jealousy raging over them, as HongJoong approached you.

“Um… hi,” You state as you could hear someone approach you and he quietly laughs. “I’ve never kissed anyone before, so I’m sorry if I’m bad.” You whisper hoping he was the only one that heard it. You feel one of his hand cup your cheek and soft lips meet yours. You would complain that you didn’t know who you were kissing because it’s your first kiss but you felt like you were on cloud nine. When his lips pull away you’re left practically breathless. HongJoong then lightly pulls the blindfold off your head, some of you hair starting to stand up.

“Hi,” HongJoong smiles when you open your eyes to meet him.

“HongJoong,” you breathe. He lightly smirks and hands you your blindfold.

“I hope to see you soon,” he whispers into you ear before leaving you on the stage. People cheer and clap and you break into a smile and turn to walk of the stage, bitting your bottom lip.

The rest of the night went by successfully and your best friend came about half way through to take over the booth so you could take your siblings around the carnival to have fun.

“Sissy!” They all call running away from your best friend and too you. You crouch down and hug all four of them, kissing each of their heads. You wish your friend good luck and pick up one of the twins and hold the other twin’s hand, the other two walking in front of you.

“Don’t go too far ahead of me!” You call out to the seven and nine-year-old.

“Y/N!” A voice calls for you. You turn your head to see HongJoong jogging up to you.

“HongJoong, hi,” you greet, remembering what had happened between the two of you just a few hours earlier.

“Taking your siblings around the carnival?” He asks and you nod your head, “mind if I join you?” You smile and shake your head and HongJoong joins your side and you two hurry after the two kids who have run up to their first booth. You introduced HongJoong to your siblings and he helped them play games and eventually won a couple of candies and three stuffed toys.

“Are you wanting one too?” HongJoong asks your seven-year-old brother, and he shyly nods his head. HongJoong smiles and ruffles his hair before walking up to another booth to play. HongJoong easily got along with all your siblings which made you really happy and your siblings love him. HongJoong quickly wins a small little yellow duck for your brother which he gladly takes and thanks him before showing his older brother.

“Thank you,” you tell HongJoong as you both finally sat down, all four of your siblings on the small little ferris wheel.

“It’s no problem. Your siblings are very adorable,” HongJoong laughs looking at the ferris wheel then back at you, “they seem like a handful but they seem to love you very much.”

“Yeah. I’m practically raising them, after our mother left, my dad retreated to his study and has been writing ever since, leaving me with them to raise,” you explain.

“I’m sorry,” he sits up straight and takes your hand.

“It’s alright. I have fun and make it fun. I’m close with all four of them and I wouldn’t change it for the world,” you smile looking over at him.

“Y/N!” a high pitch squeal calls. You and HongJoong look up to see the two older boys of the younger siblings waving at you. You smile and wave back to them.

“See they absolutely love you,” HongJoong states.

“I feel otherwise when I find the kitchen a mess,” you joke causing him to laugh, “but yes I hope they do love me.” HongJoong stares and you and you turn to face him once more. He leans in, and so do you, closing all space between the two of you.

“Ew!” Four little voices squeal. You and HongJoong pull apart to se your siblings rushing up to you. You pick up both twins and sit them on your lap.

“What did you say,” you laugh and kiss both their cheeks, causing them to giggle loudly. HongJoong stares at you and your siblings in awe, how you have so much love from just four people, how easy it is for a fifth person to love you because damn was he falling quickly.

THE REWRITE

#ateez #ateez imagines #ateez imagine #kpop imagines #ateez x reader #ateez x atiny #ateez hongjoong #ateez kim hongjoong #kim hongjoong #hongjoong #high school au #ateez au #kissing booth #senior year au #carnival

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ragewerthers · 5 years ago

Text

Worth

Summary: Regis can't stand his father's new bodyguard Cor Leonis. He's too young, too inexperienced and too much of a stick in the mud for the young Prince.However, the worth of a person can't be measured in outward appearances alone.

A/n: This is for a prompt from my friend @bgn846 and a fantastic prompt she gave me for our F3S!!! Her prompt was: ”Random thought what if when Cor was working as Mors bodyguard Regis didn’t like him until he saved his life or something and then there were BFF’s forever.” This was intense to write and I hope I was able to convey all the feelings I had when I read the prompt! You can also read it on AO3 at: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19823827 Happy reading!!! :D

Word Count: 6607

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

Regis snorted himself awake as he sat beside his father in the Council room.

Gods, but this was the most boring meeting he’d been to in a long time. He couldn’t help but to let his mind wander now and again. What 21 year old wasn’t allowed to daydream while doing something they found tedious? Granted… most twenty somethings didn’t have quite the weight on their shoulders as he did or needed to stay focused quite as intently as he should’ve been… but that was for future Regis to worry about. The here and now Regis was debating if he could warp strike over Councilman Nevus’s head and out into the hallways without anyone noticing.

Half the members in attendance today were already nodding off, the other half doodling in lieu of taking actual notes pretending that they were honestly interested in the change in fertilizers being used in Duscae for the upcoming harvest seasons and what it meant for trade with Insomnia.

Regis actually found himself smiling a bit in amusement at the scene, letting his gaze move around the room and taking in everyone’s inattentive features until his eyes landed on him.

Cor Leonis. One of the youngest, if not the youngest, members to ever join and rise up the ranks of the Crownsguard. He was only sixteen, but had already accomplished more than half the men twice his age.

And Regis couldn’t stand him.

There was just something so… off about him. Regis had never once seen Cor crack a smile. Never seen him with his guard down or joking. Never seen him as anything other than a silent, brooding figure always stood to the right of his father, King Mors.

Mors had seen something in the kid, and granted he did have some qualifications behind him, but honestly! How could his father think that some… sixteen year old punk had the merit and strength to protect him and stand as one of the King’s bodyguards?

Regis could tell he was glaring, perhaps he even hoped that Cor would notice and react or do something, but he never so much as got a single twitch out of him.

Grumbling a bit to himself he was only drawn out of his stupor when he felt a nudge to his side. Glancing to his left he noted the subtle look Clarus was giving him and sighed, refocusing on listening to all of these fertilizer changes.

Surely one clean warp strike would get him out of the room… two if Councilman Nevus shifted to the left...

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

“I can’t feel my legs, Clarus,” Regis groaned as he and his Shield stood just outside of the councilroom. The meeting had only just adjourned and there was a slight chance that both of his legs and possibly one buttcheek were never going to get the feeling back in them ever again.

Clarus snorted at the dramatics, rolling his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Obviously you can or you wouldn’t have been able to walk out of there, your Highness,” he pointed out simply, making Regis scowl over at him as he leaned against the wall just beside the open doors.

“There is no length I wouldn’t go to get out of there, even if it meant hobbling out on legs that don’t work,” Regis shot back.

Clarus only hummed before quirking an eyebrow at him. “You were thinking of warping out of there again weren’t you?” he asked in a tone that said he could read Regis like a book.

“And what if I was? Don’t tell me you wouldn’t have joined me,” Regis said lightly, earning a little snort from his friend.

“I’m your Shield, Regis. Obviously I would’ve followed you. Nitwit that you are,” the man joked in return.

Regis opened his mouth to retort only to quiet himself as he watched his father exit the room to head toward his main office. His eyes instantly narrowed as he watched Cor Leonis follow, trailing just behind his father as they moved away.

“You’re doing it again,” Clarus remarked simply, startling the prince from what he was doing if for only a moment before a lighter scowl made its presence known.

“Doing what? I’m not doing anything,” he replied, waving a dismissive hand in the air before beginning to follow the same path his father had just taken down the hall so that they could head to the elevators.

“You know what I mean. You were giving Cor that ‘look’ again. The one you were giving him in the councilroom. The one you give him every time you two are within a ten foot radius of one another. What have you got against him? He’s just a kid?” Clarus asked, inadvertently hitting on the crux of the problem and making Regis bristle.

“That’s the exact reason! He’s a kid! A… a teen! And yet my father thinks he is completely capable of protecting him and willing to put his life in the hands of a child and what’s worse! What’s worse, Clarus, is that the kid thinks he can do it!”

“You’ve heard of what he’s done. The kids got heart and skill. Just because he’s young shouldn’t take away from what he’s accomplished, Regis,” Clarus tried to reason, but the Prince was having none of it.

Regis merely snorted and lifted his chin a bit higher, unable to take the words to heart after the impression he had already cemented in his mind of Cor.

“All I’m saying is that while he has indeed done a few things in his time in the Crownsguard there are people with far more experience and far more merit who would be better at protecting my Father. You have to admit that I’m right on this point, Clarus. There are bigger, stronger, tougher soldiers with more military background who would be far more adept at the job then… that kid.”

Sadly, Clarus really didn’t have a rebuke for this because it was true that there were more seasoned soldiers who could do the job that Mors had given to Cor.

Seeing that no comment was forthcoming, a cocky little smile appeared over Regis’s lips and he chuckled. “See? Even you have to admit I’m right sometimes,” he joked. Though after scoring a point in this little argument he couldn’t help but to speak his mind a little more.

“I’m surprised my Father’s kept him around for so long. I know that if it were me I’d have gone mad being followed around by someone with the emotional range of a stump. I mean… I’ve never so much as seen him crack a smile or say anything other than ‘Yes, Majesty’. Really, I can’t think of a larger bore than Cor Leoni-...”

Just as they were rounding the corner, Regis found himself almost face to face with the very person he’d been making comments on and glaring at for the better part of the afternoon.

Cor took a quick step to the side, allowing for the quick adjustment of them suddenly appearing and keeping them from colliding.

Regis had actually balked at the sudden appearance and had stopped mid sentence. Obviously it wasn’t princely behaviour to make such comments out and about where anyone could hear you, but surely the kid hadn’t heard him, right?

The problem was that Cor’s expression held the same seriousness that it always did. No mirth, no anger, no sadness, just that stony expression that looked foreign and odd on such a young face.

“Your Highness,” the young soldier greeted with a bow. “His Majesty wishes to speak with you about the upcoming Sylleblossom Festival to be held in Somnus Park this upcoming week. He requests your presence in his offices.”

“Oh… uh… yes. Of course. Thank you,” Regis got out after his moment of shock and slight embarrassment.

With another bow, Cor pardoned himself from their presence before making his way back down the hallway from which he’d come on the King’s errand leaving Clarus and Regis to stand staring at his retreating back.

Regis could feel the moment Clarus’s eyes were turned back on him and he growled slightly in his chest. “Don’t give me that look, Clarus. How was I supposed to know he was just around the corner?” he sniped, looking over to see his Shield practically glowering at him.

“What if he heard what you were saying?” Clarus asked after a moment, only getting a little huff from his Prince.

“I doubt it. Apart from having little to no personality I doubt he actually has feelings to hurt. If a bodyguard can’t stand up to a critique then he definitely can’t stand up for anything. Now, let’s get to my father’s study before he sends that kid to come looking for us again,” he said, trying to brush off the incident, though the sickly feeling of guilt was already easily settling in his stomach like a rock.

Perhaps his penance for saying such things out in the open for anyone to hear would be having to go and talk to his Father about the speeches they were to make at this upcoming festival.

Sadly as they continued to walk toward his Father’s office in silence he knew that he’d made an error, but he was far too proud to own up to it.

Besides… was he really so wrong in what he said?

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

The day of the Sylleblossom Festival was one that the majority of Insomnia loved to attend. It was always held in early summer, the streets lined with even more vendors selling everything from flower shaped hats, to stuffed animals, to foods that were far too unhealthy for any normal person to eat on a regular basis.

There was also a carnival set up in the center of Somnus park with rides, games and all sorts of attractions to draw the attention of Insomnian citizens. All in all it was a celebration for celebrations sake. A time to just have fun and enjoy the day without worry.

However, even with all of the frivolity of the day there were still certain royal duties that had to be held. One of which was a speech to be given by both the King and his son to their citizens, mostly thanking them for all that they had done for Insomnia and giving a days pardon to all to simply go out and have a little fun. It wasn’t that anyone needed an official pardon from their job to come and enjoy the festival, but there was a certain thrill from hearing a king tell you that you were allowed to miss work, for even one day, to enjoy yourself.

Currently, King Mors was in the middle of his speech, commenting on a few things that had the crowd chuckling and even bringing a little smile to Regis’s lips.

Glancing over the Prince caught sight of Cor, his face still as expressionless as ever as he stared out into the crowd.

Seeing such an expression Regis couldn’t help but to think that a day like today was utterly wasted on someone like him. He probably couldn’t wait for all of this to be over with so that he could go back to being a statue by his Father’s side.

However, the sound of something strange caught his attention and he turned his head back toward his Father.

It had sounded like those little firework poppers that children throw onto the street that snap and crackle, utterly harmless, but by the way things progressed, Regis soon found out that he was horribly mistaken.

In the blink of an eye, his Father’s Shield had instantly rushed to the front as screams rose up from the crowd below.

Regis watched as Mors was pushed down to the ground by his Shield as shouts began to rise up from the surrounding Crownsguard. The soldiers in attendance on the balcony around him were shouting, calling for backup or simply calling out to each other as chaos continued to build around them.

Lost for a second in the commotion, Regis instantly stood up from his seat, moving forward quickly to check on his Father. He didn’t notice the red dot lined up on his chest, he didn’t register the look of fear on his Father’s face as the man looked up to see him coming closer nor did he hear the shout from Clarus behind him to get down.

The only thing that registered was the fact that something had just slammed into his side like a freight train and he was unceremoniously tackled onto the ground, his head dizzy from the quick upheaval as he tried to figure out what the fuck had just happened?!

Looking around he could still see people running for cover and he could see his Father struggling to get out from the cover his Shield to get to them. He himself tried to move and found himself pinned and only then did he register that he was being covered by Cor and not just that, the kid was complete dead weight on him.

Regis’s eyes widened as he saw the blooming red starting to spread out from Cor’s shoulder, his head trying to register what was happening even as he found himself incapable of doing so much as shout for help or for someone to get a medic.

But just as quickly as this first bout of chaos happened, a second one was quick to follow.

Confirmations that the gunman had been taken down began to flood into the small balcony and soon a flurry of movement happened all at once. Guards moving forward to help lift Cor and carry him back into the building as the King’s Shield and Clarus began to try and get the royals up and into the building as well.

“Regis?! Regis are you alright? What he fuck were you thinking running toward the balcony like that?!” Clarus shouted at him, but Regis still felt dazed. Everything had happened so fast and now it all seemed to slowly be coagulating together. Looking down at himself and the red that had seeped into his clothing he felt sick. He looked between his closest friend and the door before shaking his head, opening his mouth to speak as no words came out.

Clarus shook his head and helped him up, covering him in case there was another threat and leading him down a back staircase toward vehicles ready to carry the royals back to the Citadel.

“What…. What just…,” Regis tried to speak, but all coherent thought seemed to be sapped from him as Clarus bustled him into a waiting vehicle before quickly sliding in next to him.

“Cor Leonis just saved your life is what happened,” Clarus growled out, slamming the door shut as the driver of the car instantly sped off toward safety. “That soldier you found lacking just took a bullet for you without a second thought. Do you dare want to tell me again why you find him so unfit for his position?!”

Regis flinched at the tone of his Shield. Clarus’s words were sharp, fueled by adrenaline, but Regis took no fault with them. The man was right. Cor Leonis… the kid he’d said had no place being by his Father’s side, the kid he’d mocked a few days ago… had just put his life on the line for him without a second thought.

The guilt and shame from days ago that had settled itself in his chest blossomed into complete shame at his past words.

How could he have been so crass? So rude? So shortsighted as to denounce someone like that?

Now all he could do was pray that he got the chance to make up for his past transgressions.

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

It was days after the attack before Regis was given permission to go to the medical ward.

After arriving back to the Citadel after the attack they’d only been able to get little tidbits of information here and there on Cor as the most pressing matter at hand had been trying to figure out the motive and if others may be involved.

Eventually they’d gotten word that Cor had been transferred from emergency surgery and was in the ICU to recover. The bullet had passed through his right shoulder, but blood loss had almost been his downfall.

Now, with Clarus following nearby, Regis made his way toward the young soldiers hospital room. He’d been moved from the ICU a day ago and the doctors had been keeping them updated as to his condition. It appeared he would make a full recovery though his right arm was probably going to be out of commission for awhile. Rest followed by physical therapy were on order for him, but the doctors all agreed that there was a promising outlook for his future.

Standing outside his room, Regis paused, unsure exactly what he was going to say when he entered or how it was going to be received.

Clarus’s temper had calmed since a few days ago as well and now as he stood beside his friend he offered a little smile.

“Go on. I’m sure he’ll appreciate the gesture,” Clarus offered kindly as Regis felt unease taking over his chest.

“Ah yes… what bedridden person doesn’t want to see someone who spoke ill of them while they’re recovering?” he said sarcastically, before feeling a hand lightly cuff the back of his head and making him look at the Shield with a narrowed expression.

“Quit sulking and get in there. I think this little meetings been a long time coming. I wish it was under different circumstances, but… this is where we’re at now. So get your royal butt in there and make things right or so help me our next few sparring lessons are going to be the things of nightmares,” Clarus warned, a smile on his face though his eyes warned that he meant every single word.

With a little gulp, Regis nodded before taking a deep breath and entering the room, only to be met by the sound of grumbling.

Brow furrowed he closed the door behind him and wondered if perhaps he was interrupting another persons visit in which case he would apologize and leave as soon as possible. But as he made his way closer he could see who… or rather what the young soldier was having an argument with.

Cor was sat on the edge of his hospital bed, back facing the door as he held a shirt with his good hand and berated it for apparently not bending to his will to get over his head and his shoulders. It was no wonder it couldn’t. Aside from only being able to work with only one hand the gauze and bandages wrapped around his shoulder and chest only immobilized him more. As Regis took in the sight he also saw that the young soldiers back was lined with scars that he never would’ve expected.

That’s when he remembered the stories of Cor going to the Tempering Grounds, facing down Gilgamesh, the first Shield to the Kings of Lucis. It was one thing to hear stories about such an endeavor… it was another to see firsthand what such an endeavor had cost.

Regis felt his stomach lurch and he must’ve made a noise of some kind, perhaps as he’d taken a step back to let Cor have his moment, because soon piercing blue eyes were trained on him and for the first time in his memory he saw something other than that stony, unwavering expression he’d grown to associate with Cor.

In that one moment he saw surprise, shame, pain and anger all wash over the young man’s before being replaced by that mask of nothing that he wore in his every day.

“Y-Your Highness. I apologize,” Cor said as he made to stand, Regis quicklys stepping forward and shaking his head.

“No, no! You have nothing to apologize for. Please, don’t… I mean… just take it easy,” he tried to placate. Gods he was bad at this.

Cor watched as the Prince moved forward, but something about his demeanor seemed even more guarded than Regis could remember. Clearing his throat, the Prince tried again.

“What… are you doing anyway? The doctors said that you were on bedrest for the next few days and that you should keep movement to a minimum,” he said as he went to stand next to a chair beside the hospital bed. Allowing himself to glance around the room he noticed the lack of any sort of visitors. No ‘Get Well!’ cards, no cheesy stuffed animals with casts, no sign that anyone aside from the doctors and nurses had been in to check on him.

Nothing about that sat right with the Prince, but he kept his mouth shut as he watched Cor shifting to look over at him.

“I need to get back to work. I can’t just sit around doing nothing,” Cor said simply, looking back down at the shirt that was thwarting him from achieving such a goal. “I’ve got a job to do and an oath to follow.”

Regis felt struck for anything to say to that, especially with the conviction with which Cor had spoken. This sixteen year old kid was trying to sneak out of his hospital room after sustaining such an injury to get back to a job that most grown men couldn’t handle. “Don’t you think rushing ahead like this is a bit rash?” he asked after a moment, trying to find the right words to get him to see that what he was doing only going to cause more harm than good, “You need to rest. I doubt you’d be able to pick up a pencil at this point let alone a sword. The last thing we need is for you to hurt yourself more when you should be focusing on trying to get better.”

Apparently even if his words had been meant to calm and reassure the young man, they had done the exact opposite. Those piercing blue eyes were trained back on him and the mask of indifference he wore was now cracking with a barely concealed look of determination.

“If I can’t use my right arm, I’ll use my left. If I can’t pick up a sword I can still be a pawn or diversion. I have a duty to uphold to the King and I refuse to let him down,” he spoke, his voice leaving no room for argument.

However, Regis were more than willing to try. Clarus could attest to his stubbornness and inability to just leave something be.

Stepping closer the Prince shook his head as he stood to his full height.

“You will be of no use if you don’t take the time to rest and recover. You’d be more of a hindrance than a help if you try to go back to stand by his side,” he shot back and the determination that had been in Cors eyes now turned to anger.

“Why do you care?!” Cor shouted back, finally standing to face the man head on, his shirt still clenched in his left hand as his arm trembled. “Aren’t I merely the ‘kid’ to you? The one who lacks merit and credentials? Why do you care if I rest and recover?! I need to get back to my job before I can be cast aside!” As soon as the last words left his mouth he blanched, gripping his shoulder and growling as a wave of pain moved through his arm, making his knees go weak threatening to drop him to the floor.

Regis instantly moved around the bed, wrapping his arm around Cors waist to help him sit back on the bed. Unsure of how much more his guilt ridden heart could take at this point.

He was the reason Cor was hurt.

He was the reason the young man was trying so hard to get back to his job.

Cor thought that Regis was going to take this moment of weakness to replace him. To remove him from a station that he’d earned through harsher means than Regis had ever even tried to imagine.

Once he’d gotten Cor settled back on the bed he took a seat next to him, neither man really all that familiar with talking so plainly and so openly about matters of this nature.

“I… owe you an apology, Cor,” Regis finally spoke, breaking the silence between them, his eyes still cast down to the floor. “I judged you before knowing you and I never made the attempt to get to know you better. I measured your worth based on only what I could see and that was incredibly shallow and unbecoming of myself.”

Cor glanced over at the Prince and shook his head. “You don’t have to apologize, your Highness,” he said quietly. “You’re not the first person to say those things and you won’t be the last. I know that I’m young… that there are others out there who have more experience than I do and that’s why I take everything I do so seriously. It’s why I work so hard. I will not falter. I will not let down my King.”

Regis nodded at that and turned to look at the young man beside him, offering him a little smile. “I still owe you an apology for my words. And I also owe you my thanks for saving my life. For a kid you have a mean tackle,” Regis offered lightly, watching as the barest hint of a smile appeared over Cor’s features before the younger man shook his head.

“For a Prince you have a poor sense of self preservation,” Cor said back, but the heat in his voice from earlier was replaced with something lighter that only made Regis smile more.

“I’d argue with you, but Clarus has already reminded me countless times that I’m an idiot for what I did so I’m afraid I don’t have it in me to try and counter your point,” he said, earning himself an honest to gods chuckle from Cor who winced as his shoulder jostled, making Regis frown instantly.

“It’s alright, your Highness. I’ll be fine,” he reassured and Regis nodded, relaxing only marginally.

“If you say so,” he offered though until he knew that Cor was out of here and back at the Citadel he probably wouldn’t be resting easy for some time. “I should probably leave you so you can rest and… I hope you can believe me when I say that I have absolutely no intention of trying to replace you in your absence.”

Cor paused a moment, looking over the Prince as if weighing and measuring him before giving a small nod. “I believe you, your Highness,” he promised, making Regis wrinkle his nose.

“You don’t always have to use my title, Cor. You can call me Regis..,”

“Or Prince Charmless. Whatever suits you at the time,” came a voice from the doorway making both men turn to see Clarus entering the room.

Regis thought he heard a little snort come from beside him, but he was too busy glaring at his Shield to enjoy the fact.

“First of all, I have more charm in my pinky then you have in your whole body. Second of all, aren’t you supposed to be my most loyal retainer? How could you betray me like this!” he asked, making Clarus roll his eyes.

“I betrayed nothing. I think Cor already knows more than enough about you, but we have to get back to the Citadel. We’re still under strict orders right now while the investigations continuing,” he said honestly to which Regis nodded.

“Alright,” he agreed, turning back to Cor and seeing that look of determination back on his face. Obviously hearing that there was still all of this going on, it must’ve relit the fire in him to get out.

“I’ll be taking this,” he said simply, reaching over and taking the shirt that Cor had been battling earlier and tucking it under his arm as he stood to move toward Clarus.

Cor watched him with wide eyes, surprised by the quick movement.

Regis turned back to him with a smile and quirk of his eyebrow. “We are fine while you recover, Cor. I trust you will stay here and look after yourself in the time being. I”m merely taking this as insurance,” he said, lifting the shirt back up and handing it to Clarus who took it with a confused look.

Cor could only shake his head, but a little smile did appear. “Understood, your Hig-.... Regis,” he said after a moment and Regis could only smile more at that.

“We’ll be back tomorrow. I’ll make Clarus sneak in some palatable food for you as well. I’ve seen what they serve here and I don’t think you it’s befitting of a bodyguard to the Crown,” he said simply as Clarus glared at the back of his head. “Until then, rest. We’ll speak later, Cor.”

With that Regis turned to leave, Clarus following behind them as Cor listened to the bickering down the hall.

“Why are you going to make me sneak in the food?!”

“What? Can you imagine how it would look if the Prince of Lucis was caught smuggling in contraband food to a patient? It would be unseemly.”

“You’re already unseemly.”

Cor couldn’t help chuckling a bit more as he listened to the sounds of the two moving down the hall and after a moment of thought he did move to settle himself back down in the bed, allowing himself a moment to focus on getting better.

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

By the time Cor was released from the hospital he had to get help from one of the nurses to carry out some of the get well trinkets that had slowly collected in his room. A couple of ‘Get Well’ cards, a ridiculous looking stuffed chocobo with a cast on its arm that said ‘I hope you’re O-kweh!’ as well as a few other odds and ends that he had received from the King, the Crown Prince and his Shield.

Today was his first day back at the Citadel and he had been surprised to find quite a number of people greeting and welcoming him back with a warmth he’d never really experienced before. It appeared that his heroism on the balcony had made the news and his bravery had been the talk of the Citadel for awhile.

Needless to say he didn’t allow it to get to his head as he fell right back into his duties. After reporting back to King Mors who welcomed him back to his post, he found himself stationed outside his offices as he met with an Ambassador from Altissia in regards to some Nif activities.

Standing watch he could hear the echoing footsteps of people bustling from place to place, small bits of conversation drifting past and easily ignored until he heard his name.

“Can you believe Cor’s back?” a nasally voice echoed from down the hallway to the left.

“Yeah, the little soldier that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’d have thought he’d have been replaced by now!” Another voice spoke up after the second, this one a bit deeper, but no more pleasant than the first.

“Well he should be, shouldn’t he? I mean, who is the King trying to fool? He’s what? Sixteen? It’s an embarrassment. After that whole debacle on the balcony you’d think he would’ve been pushed out!”

“Exactly! What kind of soldier gets hit that easily? He should’ve used a warp to cover the Prince, everyone knows that! It’s elementary stuff!”

“Well he’s a child so he’ll make childish mistakes. It’s just lucky that his lack of skills didn’t lead to someone getting killed. I mean, yeah the bullet grazed him, but really if it had been me...”

Cor felt a familiar ache in his chest that he refused to acknowledge. It was the same old thing regardless of what he did. Behind everyone’s smiling facades and fake words there was always this doubt about him. That he was nothing more than a child playing soldier.

“And what if it had been you?” a booming voice asked, even startling Cor out of his thoughts as he heard it.

It sounded like Regis.

And the Prince sounded pissed.

“Oh, u-uh… y-your Highness! I was only saying…,” the nasally voice began before the sound of crackling could be heard and a yelp soon to follow. Refusing to abandon his station outside the door, Cor could only wonder what was happening around the corner when he saw two figures come backing up around the corner, their hands raised placatingly as Regis followed, eyes glowing in a way that spoke of the Crystals magic.

Judging by the static making the two Crownsguards hair rise, they must’ve just bore witness to bit of elemental magic at the hands of the Prince and now were fleeing lest it be used on them.

“I heard what you were saying,” Regis spoke, his words low and dark, the wrath of Ramuh written all over his features.

Even Cor had to admit the look in his eyes was foreboding.

“If memory serves didn’t I see you, Inbellis, turning and running as soon as the commotion started? And Fugio, if I recall correctly it took the reassurance of two of our Glaives to get you to leave the safety of the womens’ bathrooms after this all transpired. So don’t you dare to critique the actions of another far more capable soldier when you failed so miserably in your own stations!”

The hall shook with the force of his words and was enough to send both Crownsguard running for their lives lest they literally meet their end here under the wrath of the Crown Prince.

Cor watched them race past, their footsteps soon disappearing down the opposite end of the hall, momentarily struck for what to think of what he’d just witnessed.

“Was it really necessary to singe the tapestry to make your point?”

The voice of the Crowned Princes Shield broke through and Cor turned his head to see Clarus making his way from around the corner looking more amused than anything.

Regis was still fuming in the center of the hall, closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths.

“It was. Let them dare to say something like that again in my presence,” he growled, though as he opened his eyes they no longer held the ethereal glow from the influx of magic. His eyes glanced over to see who had bore witness to his outburst and when he saw it was none other than Cor he instantly had the decency to look sheepish and his cheeks tinged pink.

Clarus noticed the change and turning his head he saw the young Crownsguard staring at them in a bit of shock and awe and couldn’t help chuckling, a beaming smile on his face at what had just happened.

“You got yourself a bit of a fan now, Cor!” he called over as Regis instantly turned around and shushed him before turning back around to face the young soldier.

“We were coming down to see how your first day back was going and… I overheard those two idiots. I’m afraid my temper got the best of me,” he explained simply.

Cor was still a bit shocked at having witnessed the Prince standing up for him. This was an entirely new realm that he had never been in before and so he wasn’t quite sure what to say.

“It’s alright. As I said before… I’m used to it. They won’t be the last,” Cor said, trying to brush it off, only to be met with a look from Regis that made him realize he might have said the wrong thing.

“If I have anything to do about it, it will be,” the Crown Prince promised. “You have more merit and more heart than most of the men who serve us. If they take issue with you then they take issue with me.”

Something in Cor’s chest warmed to hear such words. He’d worked hard to make it here and to do his job. He’d sacrificed a lot in his young life and to be recognized for his work and to be offered this… camaraderie… was unexpected, but something he realized he’d cherish and carry with him.

“Thank you, your Highness,” Cor said, bowing to the Prince, missing Regis’ embarrassed look and hearing Clarus chuckle.

“Hey… what did we discuss the other day?” the Shield asked with a quirked brow as Cor straightened and the young Crownsguard couldn’t help but to fight a smile.

“Oh! Right. Thank you, Prince Charmless,” he offered instead, watching as Regis’s embarrassed expression turned to one of shock as he turned to face Clarus.

“Look at what you’ve done! You’ve warped his innocent young mind! How am I supposed to be respected when I am surrounded by people like you?!” the Prince complained as Clarus continued to laugh at his expression.

Cor couldn’t help chuckling a bit more before shaking his head and standing back at his post.

“Okay. I think you two are trying to distract me from me from my job now. Beat it,” he said, his stone faced mask back on even as his eyes sparkled a bit in mirth.

Clarus and Regis both slowly turned to face him.

“Dear Clarus I think we’ve just been issued a challenge,” Regis said, quirking an eyebrow. “If young Cor here thinks we’re ‘trying’ to distract him I’m afraid we have no choice but to continue until we succeed. What do you think?”

Clarus hummed in thought, before nodding. “I’m afraid I don’t see another option. It wouldn’t do for a bodyguard of the King to be easily distracted. We’ll have to do our best from now on.”

Regis smiled smugly even as Cor quirked an eyebrow at the two of them.

“You have been warned, Leonis. You called down the thunder… now get ready for the boom,” Regis warned even as a spark of mischief still remained in his own eyes.

The two older man then bid him a good day, though Cor knew that he probably hadn’t seen the last of them.

Upon walking away, Clarus turned to Regis a little smile on his lips.

“What?” Regis asked as he caught sight of the Shield, the man merely shaking his head.

“Nothing,” Clarus assured, though the smile remained. “You’re starting to treat him like a little brother.”

Regis couldn’t help snorting a bit at that, though a smile appeared over his features as well. “And?” he prompted, looking back over to Clarus.

“And… I’m glad to see that you’ve managed to get off of your pedestal long enough to see the worth of someone lies past their looks and age,” he said simply, watching as Regis’s expression changed, his expression softening.

“I deserve that. But you’re right. I shouldn’t have acted as I did in the past, but that will never happen again,” he promised with a little nod before shaking his head, a look of determination on his face once more.

“Now… we need to work on operation distraction! I don’t think lightening will work this time, but I think something colder might suffice,” he said with a little grin that spoke of ill intent.

Thus the Great Snow War of Citadel Tower West began… and so did a lifelong friendship.

#FFXV #Cor Leonis #Regis Lucis Caelum #Clarus Amicitia #F3S #my fics #oh the angst!#but I did add some fluff to help!

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dir-khummel · 5 years ago

Text

They Call Them Crushes || PARA

Who: Kurt & Harlan ( @joieharlan )

Where: Valentine Carnival & Harlan’s Dorm Room

When: February 14th, 2020

Notes/Triggers: NSFW. Kurt and Harlan have hit it off. Maybe too well...

Kurt leaned against a park bench near the kissing booth, tallying the number of people attempting to tongue the one in the booth. He has at three, less than he believed he would see, but humorous nonetheless. We would sometimes wander to enjoy the food and splendor elsewhere, but he always wandered back to the booth. When it seemed Harlan's turn was done, Kurt lifted his fingers to his mouth and whistled. He waved to get Harlan's attention, leaving his hand out. "You said later, right? Is this later enough, or do you want to wait a bit longer?"

Harlan had enjoyed his time in the booth but Kurt's presence since they had kissed hadn't gone unnoticed. With a whistle, he smiled a crooked smile to him. "I did, yeah. I think it might be. So is there some one around here I gotta beat off if i wanna say take you to a couple booth for some fun and then maybe head back to my room for a movie?" His hands shoved into his pockets. "No one should be alone tonight."

Kurt laughed, shaking his head and placing his hands coyly behind his back. "So far, the only obligation I have as an anonymous candygram at nine. But we have a few hours to kill till then, and afterwords I'm free." Kurt pocketed his phone where he was taking his tongue notes, standing up straight. "Show me around to some of the booths. I have always been terrible at the games."

Harlan smiled. "Well I get you home by 9 then." Offering his hand to the other as they walked along. "So tell me more about you, I got the bare minimum before and I know how you kiss, now I want to know about you."

Kurt slid his hand into Harlan's. It was nice for someone to hold his hand like this again. The grip was firm, but not tight. "Well, I'm studying film. I'm the president of the film club, actually, it takes up most of my time. Tonight was one of the rare nights I let myself have a break. Stroke of luck you were here." Kurt leaned in a little closer to Harlan as they walked. "What about you? I don't know much about you, either."

"Film huh? So what do you want to do for them? Direct? Produce?" Harlan smiling as Kurt leaned into him more. It was rather enjoyable to walk around with someone like this. "I'm here for social work mostly. I plan to take over my uncle's farm. He runs a program for special needs kids where they get to ride horses and pet farm animals. I want to do that one day."

"Directing. My plan is to do so well, I get an Oscar before 2030. It is a 'reach for the moon, land among the stars' kind of goals, but aiming high doesn't hurt." Kurt smiled wide at Harlan's goals, shaking his head. "That is just- It's heartwarming, hearing someone going into that sort of work. It is so amazing how something so simple can mean the world to someone else. You must have a big heart."

"Well I can't wait for that to happen and I get to say, I know him and I kissed him." Harlan smiling to Kurt. "Thank you kindly, I mean, I like to think I do." Stopping then a booth. "Would you like a teddy bear?" Pointing to the milk bottle throw they were standing in front of

"Oh, I can see it now! Your face would be on tabloid magazines everywhere!" Kurt waved his free hand dramatically, showing off the gravitas of Hollywood gossip reels with the flick of a wrist. He came back to reality when Harlan pointed to one of the games. "I would love one, if you could get it! I never win at these, I swear they are rigged."

"Yeah, I'll be the man that almost was the famous director's lover." Harlan doing the same motion with his hand. "Oh they're rigged but living where I'm from, you learn tricks about these things." Paying the man, Harlan had three baseballs to use. He used the first to gage the bottle then with the last two, hit down the milk bottles. "Ta'da" Turning to Kurt and handing him the purple bear

"...Well, you don't have to say almost. The night is young, and so are we." Kurt had no idea where some of these quips came from Harlan emanated a foreign type of casual confidence, and it was slowly rubbing off on Kurt. Kurt watched from the sidelines, watching as Harlan, to Kurt's utter shock, knocked the bottles down. He took the bear with a face of confusion. "I-I honestly can't believe you did that- I've never seen anyone win those! Thank you!" Kurt leaned onto onto of his tip-toes, giving Harlan a quick, but meaningful, kiss on the cheek, holding his new prized possession close to his chest. "I'll name him Harlan Jr."

"that is very true." Harlan replied. Who knew how the night would end after all? Seeing him in shock, he smiled at how he was reacting once he had the bear in his arms. "Well alright." Taking his hand once more to stroll again. "So you gotta meet someone at 9 huh, do you know whom it is?"

Kurt kept his new prize close to his chest as they walked along, retaking Harlan's and continuing down the path. "I don't! That is the weird thing. I wasn't even aware someone here felt that way about me... Well, except Dante, but we knew each other years ago, and he isn't so gushy as to get me something like this..." Kurt glanced at Harlan. "Do you know who it is?"

Harlan shook his head to him. "I dont know, I havent really heard much. Sorry but I think it will probably be someone sweet and kind. Since you seem to be both those things." Taking the moment to kiss his cheek with a grin on his lips. "So you and Dante...mind if I ask whats goin on there?"

Kurt nodded, sighing sadly. "They must be... God, I really hope it doesn't go badly. I am not sure what I am going to do at this point... Should I even go?" Kurt asked, just as Harlan's lips pecked his cheek. He stopped their walking, biting his lip a moment. "He and I... I don't know. We talked a lot, and decided that not putting a label on it was best. We don't hate each other, that is for sure." Kurt chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Look at me, lamenting about my problems. What about you? Any issues in the love department?"

"I think you should, you never know, could be the one you're crushing on as well" Harlan giving him a soft wink as he did. Listening closely, Harlan nodded along to what Kurt was saying, though he could see how that could end bad and backfire on them both. "No, not really. Haven't done much beyond going to classes, so I don't mind listenin darlin."

"That is the strange thing, I am not crushing on... anyone, really. I was fully expecting to be alone today." Kurt's grip on Harlan's hand tightened. Kurt nodded, looking across the festival again before returning his gaze back to Harlan. "So, if you don't mind me asking, what piqued your interest in me? You're charming and patient and gentle, so why pick me? I'm all loud and bossy."

"I was too. I mean I was hoping I'd find someone to spend some time with." Stopping for a moment, Harlan grinned to him. This time, he closed the space as he kissed the other man. "Because you're loud and bossy but you're also kind and sweet and very fun to tease." Smirking as he stepped back and started to walk with him once more.

Kurt was about to retort, argue, maybe even been self-deprecating, but stopped short when Harlan's lips claimed his again. His cheeks turned a vibrant pink, hiding his face in the teddy bear when they started walking again. "Fun to tease- That's not fair, you know. I don't know how to tease you!"

"I think you do, just haven't seen it yet." Harlan being the gentleman he was, kissing the back of the other's hand. "I don't know much about you Kurt, but I do know that every one deserves to feel special and wanted. Thats all I'm trying to do." With that, he found another booth and stopped. "Ready to race?" stopping at the booth that had the you spray water into a hole to win.

Kurt smirked when the back of his hand was kissed. It felt like one of the cheesy romance novels he would read. "Well, you are doing an amazing job." Kurt looked to the booth they stopped at, his eyes lighting up a bit. "I remember this game! I would play it at the fair whenever it game around. Sure, of course I'll play!"

"Good to know. My ma will be happy to hear thar. " Harlan said. Seeing his excitement, he couldn't help but smile and be even a bit more excited then he had been. "Well then, let's go. I might even let you win" Teasing him a bit.

Kurt faked his offense. "Let me win? I'm going to smoke you!" Kurt teased, setting the teddy bear in a safe spot so it wouldn't be in the way. "I used to be good at this, I just need to remember the skills nine-year-old me had."

"We'll see, darlin" Harlan taking a seat by him. He wasn't really going to try too hard, just wanting to see how it went. Harlan wasn't one to be very competitive when it came down to it. He just liked having fun.

The two of them sat down to play the game, Kurt determined to win. His competitive nature was showing through in full force. the game commenced, Kurt's eyes on fire, focused on winning the silly carnival game.

Harlan tried but he was more focused on Kurt and seeing him have so much fun in what he did. Win or lose, this moment was on the top of all of his thoughts.

"Yes! See! HA!" The game had ended, and sure enough, Kurt was the victor. He brushed imaginary dust off his fingernails. "Still got it!" The man running the booth handed Kurt a new stuffed toy; a heart shaped plush with a smiling face on it. Kurt looked it over a moment and handed it to Harlan. "There. Now we both have special somethings." Kurt said, grabbing his teddy from it's safe space.

Harlan took the heart, making it beat against his chest. "I like it and I let you win." Standing, he winked and started to walk away, knowing and thinking that Kurt just might follow him. Harlan's hand hung free for this reason.

"No, no, you don't get to take this win from me!" Kurt followed behind, pointing a finger at him. "I won! All me!" Kurt said, hugging his teddy to his chest as he continued to follow Harlan, taking his hand again. "So, where can I find you, after my meeting at nine?"

Harlan chuckled, glad to have Kurt's hand in his once more. "My dorm room, room ### in the Beiste dorm. I'll be there and waiting for you." Kissing his hand once more. "I won't take your win from you, even if its the truth."

Kurt nodded. "Okay.. Well, I'll be there to tell you how everything goes, I guess." Another kiss to his hand had his cheeks and floundering embarrassment back in the forefront. "Whatever, I know in my heart that I truly won."

Harlan nodded, looking at the time. "I'll see you there if it doesnt go in the way I think it just might." With a swift kiss to his lips, Harlan wandered and went back to his room to wait for Kurt. Though his mind wandered to if he'd actually come.

Kurt tried to chase after the kiss as Harlan backed away, but it seemed like this was their goodbye for now...

-:-

It was near nine forty-five when Kurt wandered his way towards Harlan's dorm. He felt so bad for Nikkolai. Kurt thought he let him down gently enough, but that look of sad defeat was heartbreaking. Still, he couldn't aimlessly wander around campus for long. If anything, making himself scarce may be the wise choice, to avoid Nikkolai. When he found the dorm, he knocked softly on the door.

Harlan was sitting around his room in his sweatpants and a tank top as he heard the knock. Opening the door, he was happily surprised to see Kurt there. Letting him in, Harlan shut the door behind him. "I"m guessing it didnt go so well?" His face twisted in concern for the other man

Kurt walked in, hands in his pockets. "It went fine. Actually, for the most part, it was very romantic, but..." Kurt sighed, turning to face Harlan. "It was Nikkolai. He played me a song at the fountain, he said he gets tongue-tied around me, and his note was so nice, but... He's my friend, I just didn't feel the same."

Harlan sighed, at least now he knew who it was and whom Nikkolai had planned to sing to. His face still twisted a bit, he shook his head a bit. "I'm sorry you had to do that. I know he's probably hurting and it sucks. I hope you don't lose him as a friend from this.." Offering Kurt a hug.

Kurt accepted the hug, hiding his face in Harlan's shoudler. "I hope so too... He seemed so sad as he walked away, I really hope he bounces back fast."

Harlan rubbed his back softly. "It might take time but I think he will. Most people do after all" Pulling back enough to look at him. "You want to cuddle and watche something together?"

"He is such a sweet guy. He'll find someone one day." Kurt pulled back with Harlan, nodding at his offer. "I'd like that, a lot." Kurt walked further into the room. "Have you picked out a movie yet? I've been on a 80s high school comedy binge lately."

Harlan held his hand, pulling the other boy into his lap as he smiled to him. "I was going to watch a romcom but I think I can let you choose." Offering him the remote to look through all the streaming services to find something to watch. His arsm wrapping Kurt's waist, chin on his shoulder.

Kurt let himself be pulled into Harlan's lap, eyes going wide at the sudden intimacy. Normally, Kurt would back off at this much intimacy so quick, but his lovelife was such a whirlwind, being pulled in every direction, and Harlan was such an anchor in that very moment- He let it happen. And it felt good. "I can think of a romcom that is also an 80s high school comedy." Kurt turned his head to look at Harlan with a smirk. "Have you ever seen Sixteen Candles?"

Harlan held him but not too tight as he wanted to make sure that if Kurt wanted to move, he could. "I have seen it, not the biggest fan but I don't mind. I'm more into 'Cant buy me love' but I'll watch 16 candles for you. "

"Aww, I love Sixteen Candles..." Kurt sank deeper into Harlan's hold, the invasive thoughts melting away as he felt more of Harlan's body heat. "Maybe seeing it with me will change your mind," Kurt noted, as he found the movie, starting it up.

"Maybe it will" Harlan replied, kissing his cheek as they both turned to focus on the movie. It wasn't too bad but it still wasn't his thing. He spent more time just thinking about the boy in his lap and how he really enjoyed this. It had been so lonely since he came.

The more the movie went on, the more comfortable Kurt got. He leaned further into Harlan's hold, becoming more and more aware of the other man's touch. He placed a hand on Harlan's leg, the movie coming to it's climatic wedding scene. It was then Kurt turned to Harlan. "Has your opinion changed yet?"

Harlan shook his head. "Sorry darlin, it hasn't but it has made me want to kiss you again. " He whispered to him and kissed his cheek then over to his lips. It wasn't a long kiss, just enough to tease. "You are too much fun to kiss"

Kurt accepted the kiss, turning to he was no longer facing the television, now properly in Harlan's lap. "I have to admit, I'm having a good time." Kurt said, leaning in to initiate his own kiss, placing Harlan's hands on his hips.

Harlan smiled. "I'm glad." He kissed him back, holding his hips as they kissed. He pressed in a bit more, tightening his grip and asking for more in the kiss. Lips parting a bit, he smiled as he tugged Kurt's bottom lip.

Kurt gasped in surprise, placing his hands on Harlan's shoulders. Kurt hummed as the kiss continued, Kurt grinding down on Harlan's lap. he had never done anything like this before; he wouldn't get this heated with anyone so soon, but it felt so invigorating.

Harlan let out a soft noises as Kurt grind on him. It had been some time since he had had this much interaction but he didn't mind it. He had made out with his fair share of boys, small towns will do that to you. His hips pressing up to meet Kurt's as his hands moved to grip Kurt's ass.

"Ah!" Kurt exclaimed at the grabbing, breaking the kiss a moment. "Um...maybe not that far- Not that this isn't fun, but..." Kurt sighed, rolling his. Once again, he was running his mouth instead of enjoying the moment. "I-I have never done anything like, um... Today has been a day of firsts, if you get my meaning." His eyes went wide. "Not the virginity first, that happened, but... getting occupied on the first date type of first."

Harlan smiled, even laughed a bit. "I've never gone that far with a guy before, just kind of felt right in the moment." Nuzzling along his jaw some. "We can leave it here if you want, I'm not looking to pressure you."

Kurt cocked an eyebrow, nuzzling Harlan right back. "What, never? But you seemed so natural at it-" Kurt looked at him, sliding his hands down Harlan's chest. "You've never done anything with a guy before?"

"Made out, some handjobs but thats about it." Feeling his hands drift over his chest a bit. "We were both pan but didn't know about going to far and all. Just wanted to try some of the basics. I mean, I have done more with girls but thats about it with boys, darlin." Pressing a kiss to Kurt's jaw then.

The cogs in Kurt's head started turning. he had made it this far, and didn't implode, or even feel overly dirty. Just the normal, good kind of dirty. "Well... I'd hate to leave you without upping the ante, at least." His voice shook a bit as the words came out of his mouth, the the fire and determination in his eyes was unmistakable- He wanted to do this.

"What did you have in mind? And if I'm honest, I don't mind you staying tonight." Harlan thinking that maybe Kurt would take him up on the offer to stay the night. "Cuddles and all that, I'll even make us breakfast in the morning." Just offering more, though it seemed Kurt had another version of more in mind now.

Kurt sucked on his bottom lip a moment. He was so beyond nervous. "I was thinking more along the lines of..." Kurt's hand slowly slid down Harlan's chest, stopping at his beltline. "If I am not intruding, I was hoping to do better than your previous partners..."

Harlan licked his lips, lust lining his eyes. The idea of this angel doing more then those of the past, he couldnt help but like the idea. "Hmm sure, but you know, staying is still something that you can do after." Pulling him into a heated kiss as he moved Kurt's hand to let him feel how the boy had made his body react.

Kurt accepted the kiss, just as the credits from the movie started to play behind them. He gasped into the kiss when he felt just how aroused Harlan had become- All because of him. Kurt still had doubts about doing this, but he shoved them out, taking a bit of Hunter's advice from days before. This was natural, right?... Kurt slowly stroked up and down through his sweatpants, the thin material leaving nothing to the imagination. "W-well, you certainly aren't lacking."

Harlan moaned in the kiss, moving back as Kurt palmed him a bit more. He was taking his life in his hands and damn it did it feel good to be touched like this by such a beautiful man. "Hmm oh yeah?" he whispered to him. "Well thank you, babe." The nickname was easily falling from his lips.

Kurt took this moment to lean to Harlan's neck, placing a soft kiss there, softer than anything he gave the whole nights. "Just... lay back, relax." Kurt said softly into Harlan's ear. He slowly slid down Harlan's body, his knees touching the ground, and with the expertise of some whole who clearly has done this more than once, slid Harlan's sweatpants down with him. His eyes went wide at what he saw. "Oh wow..."

Harlan felt a shiver run down his back, his eyes closing as he found himself shifting on the bed. His hips lifting in a way to help Kurt remove his sweats and smirking as he heard his reaction to seeing him undressed now. "You still think you can handle it, babe?" his fingers sliding through Kurt's hair and leaning down to kiss him before he relaxed once more.

The confident fire in his eyes enraged at the challenge; of course he could! Kurt, with a gentle hand, took hold of Harlan's member, stoking up and down once, using the kiss as a distraction from his movement. "What, you think I can't? Have faith in me, I'm sure I can handle you just fine.”

Harlan groaned and moaned as Kurt touched him as he did. Kissing him back, Harlan smirked. "We'll see darlin. I don't know how much you can take. Why don't you show me now? " Licking his lips, eyes lust blown with the idea of seeing all this.

Kurt smirked, lowering himself further down, keeping his eyes locked on Harlan. He stroked up and down a few more time, trying to gain a little more courage by biding his time. He had done this before, so he had no reason to think he would be bad at it. Still, those few bought seconds earned him the needed willpower to finally lean in, sliding his tongue in a long stripe up the underside of Harlan's cock.

Harlan watched him move lower, his eyes closing to just take the feeling of Kurt's hand on him. With the lick to his cock, Harlan bit his lip, a loud and low moan leaving his lips. "Oh babe, you going to show me what else you can do with that?" Fingers sliding in Kurt's hair once more.

Kurt glowed under the praising and filthy talk, his eyes practically beaming with pride. To say Kurt had a thing for being praised was an understatement. He responded, not with words, but with his tongue swiping a lap around the head of Harlan's cock, slowly, three times. Without pulling away, Kurt closed his lips around Harlan, bobbing his head up and down once, before pulling off with a mischievous smirk.

Harlan was wrapped up in the feeling of Kurt doing what he could to make him moan. He moaned softly and bit his lip and pressed his hips up a bit. He stilled them again, smiling as his heart rate picked up. "Hmm you are good at this. So good babe." Tugging his hair softly.

Kurt took the moaning and raising of his hips as a sign that Kurt was doing just fine. The butterflies in his stomach were gone by now, and hearing all the warm words coming from Harlan had him feel so much more confident about all of this. Kurt brought his mouth back around Harlan's member, starting a slow pace of sliding his head up and down. Harlan's size was not something to laugh at, Kurt closing his eyes to focus on keeping his gag reflex in check as he slid further and further down with each downward slide.

Harlan just played with Kurt's hair as the boy moved deeper on him. He could feel the heat around his member, making him moan. Sure, he had had this done before but he wouldn't lie, a boy doing it was something new and very good feeling to him. Tugging his hair softly, Harlan panted.

Kurt, in normal circumstances, would he stopping anyone from touching his hair, but this felt good; Kurt was actually having fun. He wanted to coax moan after moan out of Harlan, his tongue taking laps around his shaft, the entirety of his member sliding into his throat with ease. Kurt prided himself on his skill, but this was something entirely different. This felt wild, untamed, like a part of Kurt he had been holding back was unleashed, and Harlan's cock was the victim.

Harlan was a goner already and knew that. It had been some time since someone had done this to him and he wasn't going to last. He did his best though, wanting to give Kurt all he seemed to be looking for as well. Tugging at his locks more, Harlan moaned a little louder. "Gonna make me come, babe."

Kurt took Harlan's admission as a prompt to take his mouth off for a moment, breathing in a bit before smirking. "T-That's the goal." Kurt teased, going back to his previous task. A bubble of nervousness boiled up in Kurt's brain, something he hadn't thought about till this point; spit or swallow? Kurt from ten years ago would have never thought of swallowing, but the last thing he wanted was to walk home with a stain on him. And he just got this shirt! With a resigned affirmative, Kurt resorted to keeping his mouth locked onto Harlan till he was finished... finishing.

Harlan laughed softly, though it was weak and breathy from all the pleasure that was building up in him. He bit his lip and his eyes rolled back into his head. He didnt think he could do much more and with one good long suck, he found himself coming. Harlan moaning the other boy's name and pressing him down to hopefully keep him there and have him take the load. Letting go as he got soft, Harlan slumped a bit and smirked. "Damn, thats what I was missing huh?"

Kurt had enough time to mentally prepare himself before Harlan came into his mouth. And with as much grace as he could muster, he swallowed it all. When he couldn't feel any more being released, Kurt popped his mouth off, slowly sliding his tongue up and down gently, to clean off anything left over. When he thought he did a good enough job, he smirked back at Harlan, swirling his finger over the head of his cock like he would the rim of a wine glass. "It's a little different, huh?"

Harlan pulled him up and into a kiss. He could taste himself on Kurt's lips. "Yeah, it was, very. But I think it has more to do with who was on their knees for me, darlin." Whispering against his lips, kissing him once more, his hand cradling the back of Kurt's head in the kiss.

Kurt accepted the kiss, arching himself into the touch as he slowly pulled Harlan's sweatpants back where they belong. "Mmm, and Lord knows how I love being on my knees," Kurt joked, rolling his eyes at the line and letting himself melt into the kiss again.

Harlan chuckled a bit. "Well I think I like you on my lap more or at least in a kiss. Now do you need help with anything? I can't promise I can do that, but i can help ya" Not feeling it was right to let Kurt suck him and not at least offer to help Kurt get off as well.

Kurt chuckled, leaning back from Harlan as the erotic air seemed to tone down. Kurt paused a moment, licking his lips and shaking his head. "No, I'm alright. We should um..." Kurt's cheeks turned a deep pink. He was aroused, this was the most action he's had in months. Yet, on his journey through many firsts, this was one he was not ready to jump over. "We should stop here, if that's okay?"

Harlan shrugged to him. "Alright, darlin. You know I said we'd do whatever you were comfortable with and so if this is it, then it is." Standing, he pulled him close. Harlan's hands on his ass. "So you going to stay over or do I need you let you go?"

“Thank you,” Kurt said, pecking Harlan’s lips again. He slid out of his lap, checking his outfit over and leaning back over Harlan. “I’ll go, this time. Just... keep me in mind. This was fun, and I don’t think I’d be against doing it again.”

Harlan nodded. "Look forward to seeing you again then." his hand in Kurt's he walked with him to the door. "Gentleman always see their guests out." Leaning against the door as he let Kurt walk past. A smirk on his lips. "See you soon." He called out as he shut the door.

#para; harlan #//IT HAPPENED #joievday

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leggigoesabroad · 5 years ago

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free rent living in my mind

Lyrical title, and all future lyrical blog titles from now until forever, will be from Taylor Swift’s LOVER which was released August 23rd and has already drastically improved my already great life. It’s 18 songs of perfection and we aren’t worthy. Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair have called it a career-capping masterpiece. God this bitch just continues to show us that she’s the only person who ever matters and good lord I’d kill a man for her if she asked me to.

In the meantime, weeeeeeeeeee’re back! Well, I am back, because I’m in Alaska and honestly that’s practically abroad. It’s so far from everything except Canada and Russia and other parts of Alaska and life here is wild and so different and thus, Leggi has gone abroad again. Currently sitting on my bed in my plush robe in my Veranda Suite, looking out into the seafoam green water of Endicott Arm and its little bits of glacier floating by. Which I learned today were called “bergy bits,” isn’t that the most made up “technical term” you’ve ever heard?! Someone was definitely sipping wine on a boat a while ago and saw some ice float by and said “lol look at those little iceberg pieces… those little…. ‘bergy bits!!!!!!!”

This journey begins a full week ago but I’ve literally been either gone all day, not had internet, or been too sleepy to even fathom blogging. And yet I have so much to say and so much that I want to remember that I just MUST document it all, especially considering I’ll be back in June 2021 on a member trip with my company and two years is a long time to remember minutia. I’m here on a site visit on the Seabourn Sojourn to experience the cruise firsthand, try out all of the shore excursions and visit tons of different vendors and partners, and make note of all details so I can answer all questions when we ultimately plan, sell, and execute this trip. Or as I like to say, “someone’s gotta make sure it’s good enough, right?!” One takeaway from this site visit is that it’s equal parts incredible and I’m pinching myself, and also at times I want to die and I’ve been close to full fledged panic attacks. Don’t worry, we’ll get into all of it!! Probably in several different entries to keep attention span up.

We started by flying to Vancouver early Monday morning, August 19th. After dropping bags at the hotel we immediately set off to do detailed site inspections of three hotels in the area (when we come back for the member trip we need a block of ~250 rooms so it’s no small feat) and then visited three different possible event venues for a welcome event the night our members arrive. The first was called Grouse Mountain Resorts which is about a 20-minute drive to a gondola that takes you up to Grouse Mountain, a beautiful resort area overlooking all of Vancouver. The area has so much to do once you’re up there – a ropes course, lumberjack show, bear sanctuary, massive chalet with dining options, etc. We look for things that I never would have thought of or noticed before, especially when paying attention to the demographic of our members and also the realistic logistics of moving a group of about 450 people around. Things like, “will members really want to come up the gondola after a long travel day and eat at the chalet, only to have to walk down a quarter mile path to do the lumberjack show? Which place will include tables and chairs so we don’t have to rent? What will keep their attention while also feeling special and unique to the area? How long is the walk from the bus to the gondola for people with mobility issues? What if someone wants to go back to the hotel early, how long will they have to wait? Will there be enough for kids to do?” On and on. It’s pretty interesting, especially because I’m traveling with three people who have done tons of member trips and know exactly what works and what doesn’t. Since I’ll be referencing them a lot, the three coworkers are Brooke (mostly in charge of the entire Once in a Lifetime Journeys team, travels over a third of the year doing site visits and member trips, not overly pleasant but I’m starting to wear her down), Ryan (other Journeys team member who will be Brooke’s co-manager on this cruise, we get along super well and he’s the one who encouraged me to apply for this Alaska trip, also fucking hilarious), and Nick (member services account manager like me who recently got promoted to be 50/50 for member services/journeys team and is my co-trip lead and also really great to be around.) Brooke and Nick have done a bunch of member cruises before but it’s a first for me and Ryan so it’s been a good balance. There’s also Yolanda, our Seabourn shore excursions expert/partner, who Nick and Brooke know well from previous cruises. She’s originally from South Africa but lives in Holland and is honestly a goddamn nut. Sometimes we love her deeply and sometimes we’re like YOLANDA WE CANNOT WITH YOU RIGHT NOW OH MY GODDDDDDDDDD. More on that later as well.

We spent Monday night in Vancouver doing the site inspections and then had a lovely, long dinner on the water with our Seabourn partners. Wine like, FLOWED. On Tuesday morning we went to the Capilano Suspension Bridge to do a site inspection for that as a possibility as a daytime activity for members before boarding the ship. I remembered being there a loooong time ago on our Vancouver trip as a kid (I want to say… 1999? Mom, keep me honest) and I thought “wow, the bridge looked so much bigger when I was a kid! This is nothing now!” Famous last words. Got about halfway across and started panicking and couldn’t look down and told myself to just put one foot in front of another until I made it across. That was all well and good, until you get across and realize the only way back IS ALSO THE BRIDGE. As Hilary said upon reflecting on it when I told the family this, “I remember thinking, ‘there’s no way that’s the only possible way back.” Sure is, sure is. Ultimately after visiting the Capilano area, Grouse Mountain, the Vancouver Aquarium, and Science World (my personal favorite but got hardcore nixed…) we think we’re going to try to rent out Capilano for the evening and include food and drink and guided tours all around the park as our welcome event, and then just give members the morning at leisure. We’ll see, all of that work comes AFTER the site visit, and I can’t think about After the Site Visit right now because I’ll cry because this ship is now my home and I refuse to leave.

On Tuesday morning, we went on the ship early while they were still turning it over from the departing guests and getting ready for all of us to board later. We did a full tour and got to see all the different categories of suites available, because it’ll be important for us to know all the details when advertising and selling the trip. Let me just tell you, this ship is fuggin dope. To me, it’s a perfect size – about 225 cabins (not including crew) so it’s big enough that it doesn’t feel like a small little boutique liner, but small enough that you don’t get any of the creepy mass Carnival cruise line heebie jeebies and feel trapped on a skyscraper at sea. It’s been a week and I already feel like I know everyone. I keep joking that I’m the mayor of the ship and honestly it’s not ALL in my head, I’m very popular around here. You’ll notice that theme running throughout these blogs, so consider yourselves warned. It also helps that we are among the youngest people on the ship, as you could have guessed – I’d say about 60% of the population is in their 60s or above, and the remainder are spready through 50s/40s/30s. There’s literally ONE child aboard, a little 3-year old boy that we are all obsessed with. He wears bowties and suits to the formal dinners and little nautical themed clothing all other times, and carries his slinkie around everywhere wanting to play. Nick said at lunch today “he’s 100% my favorite person on the ship.”

We finally officially boarded the ship around 4 pm on Tuesday and it was honestly so exciting. I felt like a celebrity, especially because the entire staff knows that we are here for a site visit and I think has probably been told to pay us special attention. The captain, his officers, the maitre’d, the sommelier, the hotel manager, the hospitality director, the executive chef, the Alaskan Ventures director, the cruise director (Jan who we despise, more on her later), all have specially introduced themselves to us and have greeted us by name since the first day. I know the crew and staff all have manifests before we board with our names and pictures, but I’m honestly still floored at how impressive their memories are. On the first night, I ordered a double vodka soda with extra lime and a splash of cranberry juice from the head bartender. Three nights later, I hadn’t seen him since, I walked in and he made that exact same drink for me and just put it in front of me. What the fuck?!?! The captain’s staff captain passes by me daily and says “Ms. Rice, hope you had a lovely evening!” I was like “sorry who are you?!” I always fancied myself good at names and faces and now I’ve learned that perhaps a decade of marijuana usage has turned me into a trash brained human who has no special skills anymore. TBD.

We spent the next day at sea, which I’ll pick up in the next bloggy bit (inspiration drawn from bergy bits.)

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the-captains-ayebrows · 6 years ago

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I am curious about the Fall for CS story.

Hi there, Nonny! Thanks for the ask!

It was/is a grocery store meet cute between single mom Emma and Children’s Book author Killian. I had the beginning going fairly well, but I couldn’t ever figure out where the plot should go from there.

Here’s the (unedited) part I actually wrote in case anyone is interested - with a cut so as not to clog dashboards:

“I’m hanging up now. I need both hands to park.” Not a complete lie, Emma thinks. Her ancient Volkswagen does require both hands, both feet and a little bit of Jesus-take-the-wheel to maneuver through the overcrowded parking lot. The real reason she wants to hang up on Ruby, however, is because she’s so tired of hearing--

“So whatcha buying at the grocery store today? More chocolate? You know it’s been scientifically proven that chocolate produces the same brain chemicals as an orgasm, so why not just--”

“Ruby, no.”

“You can’t argue with science, Emma.”

“I’m not arguing with science, I’m arguing with you. For the millionth time, I do not need to get laid. I’m fine. Not to mention I don’t have time for a guy, between work and Henry and--”

“You’re telling me you don’t have six minutes for scientific purposes?”

“No, I do not have--Wait, six minutes?”

Emma can actually hear the leer in Ruby’s voice. “If you’ve got a partner who knows what they’re doing.”

“I don’t know whether to be horrified or impressed right now.”

“Both. Definitely both.”

“Okay, but the thing is, I’m parked now. Gotta go. Bye.”

“Fine, fine. Go buy a mountain of chocolate. I hope it keeps you warm at night.”

“Hey, the chocolate is for Henry’s school carnival!”

“Sure, girl. Whatever you have to tell yourself. Bye!”

With a frustrated grunt and grinding of gears, Emma shifts her beloved yellow Beetle into park. Not that kind of frustrated. Ruby’s wrong. Very very wrong.

She continues to muse on how wrong Ruby is as she yanks a shopping cart free from the cart barn just inside the sliding glass doors. Emma Swan’s life is full, overflowing even. Especially this year when Henry finally has Mary Margaret for a teacher after years of wishing to be in “Aunt M&M’s” class, because of course, when one of your best friends is your son’s teacher you find yourself volunteering for all sorts of school activities. Almost as if your name appears on the parent sign-up sheet by magic. Kinda like how she’d found herself responsible for buying all the candy for the 5th grade class booth at Storybrooke Elementary’s Halloween Fest.

Emma swerves at the last second to avoid smashing her cart into a card table set up at the end of an aisle, and whose bright idea was it to put that thing there? She mutters an apology to the vaguely man-shaped individual sitting there, but doesn’t give him much more thought. Probably a poor schmuck getting paid minimum wage to annoy people into changing their cable provider or some such bullshit. She takes a hard left and continues on her way. The guy might have said something to her as she passed, but it didn’t register. All she wants to do is grab a gluttonous amount of candy--most of which is definitely for Henry’s school carnival--and go home. To a nice glass of wine. And to not thinking about Ruby’s commentary on her love life.

Emma dutifully loads bag after bag of “fun size” candy bars into her cart. Maybe she grabs a few extra of her favorites, but those aren’t for her. It’s for the kids. She’s a damn saint. Henry should be happy with her at least. Operation Sugar Coma or whatever catchy little name he’s come up with for his class booth ought to be a complete success.

As Emma strolls down to the end of the aisle before making her way back up the next toward the check out, she falls into that a special kind of supermarket trance that only a mom who’s finally getting to do the shopping without her kid along can understand. Eyes glazed over. Colorful packaging and fellow shoppers passing by all strangely out of focus. Actually able to hear her own thoughts. That is, until--

“I’m coming to your house, love.”

The voice snaps Emma back to alertness, her wide-eyed stare finally landing on the guy at the table she is now passing for the second time. Her instincts put her immediately on the defensive, ready to maul this creep who is… who is…

Who is mischievously grinning at her with perfect white teeth and a wry tilt to his full, sensuous lips. And if he were just a pretty mouth, it’d be bad enough, but the rest of his face is pretty damn pretty, too. He dips his chin, looking up at her through unfairly long eyelashes and raises his dark eyebrows encouragingly. Her reply, when she finally remembers to make one, is a profound and very badass-

“Huh?”

He leans back in his cheap, plastic folding chair and gestures lazily to her cart. “You’ve got the good candy. I’d surely enjoy a piece.”

Her pulse jumps. She isn’t even really sure why. He said it completely straight-faced, but there was just… Just a little quirk of his eyebrow or flicker of his tongue behind his teeth or… Nuh-uh. Nope. She’s in no mood for nosy best friends or flirty cable guys. She tightens her grip on her cart handle.

“Nice try, but these goodies aren’t for you.” She puts as much sneer into her voice as she can and stalks off, the sound of his laughter behind her eventually fading into the ambient noise.

She’s halfway to the register when she realizes there are a few more items she should probably pick up while she’s at the store. Bread, milk, toilet paper, Lunchables. You know, actual non-chocolate groceries. Still, she forces herself to walk all the way down to the produce section before turning her cart so the smart-mouthed stranger doesn’t get the idea she’s hiding from him or something.

Because she’s not hiding. Emma Swan does not hide. Avoid maybe, but not hide. Honestly she’s not even thinking about him anymore, not much anyway.

Maybe his stupid smirky face popped into her head while she internally debated whether Henry would notice if she bought generic mustard and funnelled it into the empty French’s bottle. And maybe while she grabbed a week’s worth of lunches from the frozen section, it occurred to her that he must be freezing sitting so close to the ice cream with the top buttons of his shirt undone like that. God, man-cleavage is so cheesy. That’s probably why the cable company put him there. Some flirty, enticing little treat to lure in all the female shoppers. Or hell, maybe the male ones, too. Who was she to judge?

Well, it wouldn’t work on her. Emma had a will of iron and a Netflix subscription, so she didn’t need anything this guy had to offer. And if he tried to chat her up again she’d tell him so. Again. Except that…

She realizes that what she thought were pamphlets on his table are the wrong size. They look more like… books? Kid books, probably, if the brightly colored cover art is anything to go by. The closer she gets to the table, the more apparent it becomes that the guy is a) attempting to sell said books and b) not doing a very good job of it. Most of the shoppers that pass don’t even look at him (like how?) and the few that do just wave him off and go on their way.

He seems really bored and kinda lonely and it tugs at something in Emma’s gut. She remembers feeling alone and invisible. Nowadays she has a son she loves to pieces and a handful (yeah, Ruby is definitely a handful) of well-intentioned if meddlesome friends, but she still remembers. So, she decides to go talk to the guy. Throw him a bone, or whatever. Not that kind of bone.

He doesn’t look up as she approaches, focused instead on the sharpie he’s fiddling with. Admittedly the rolling movement of his fingers as the pen twirls from knuckle to knuckle is distracting as hell, and it takes some effort for her to redirect her attention to the cover of a book.

“Killian Jones?”

He perks up instantly. “Ah, so you’ve heard of me?”

His smile is dazzling and his eyes are a little too blue. It does weird fluttery things to Emma’s stomach. She’s not about to stand for that. She glances pointedly at a stack of books.

“Just reading the cover.”

His smile dims and the hand holding the sharpie reaches up to scratch behind his ear. “Ah. I see. I’d honestly be surprised if you had. We self-published types rarely attain much in the way of name recognition. Otherwise I wouldn’t be hawking my wares in a grocery store.”

Well, shit. Now she feels even more awkward. She came over here to… Well, she’s not really sure why she came over here, but it wasn’t to be a buzzkill. She tries again, picking up the top book in the stack and turning it over in her hands without really looking at it.

“So, you’re the author then?”

He nods. “Indeed. Though, erm, you’re not exactly the target demographic of that particular work.”

It’s then that Emma notices the cutesy drawing of a puppy dressed as a pirate, complete with a little hook on one paw and a trick-or-treat bag clutched in the other. It’s actually pretty adorable and Emma finally lets a tiny hint of smile break through.

“Jolly Roger, huh? So the puppy decides to be a pirate for Halloween?”

“Aye. You see, it’s a bit sad at first because Roger doesn’t want to go to his friends’ Halloween party. They’re all dressing up as superheroes and he doesn’t think he can be a hero because he’s missing one paw. Fortunately he has a big brother puppy to set him straight and teach him that he doesn’t have to be like everyone else. It might even be more fun to be a little different. So they decide on Captain Hook for a costume, Roger goes to the party and wins the costume contest.”

Okay well that’s charming. She’s officially charmed. Dammit. She can hear Ruby’s voice cackling somewhere in the back of her mind. “You know, my son may be a little old for picture books, but I do have a best friend who’s an elementary school teacher. She might be interested in some of your books for the school library. Do you have a business card, or…?”

Now his original smirk is back in full force as he stands and withdraws a card from the pocket of his very, very well-fitted jeans. He leans closer holding the card between two fingers, and Emma eyes can’t to decide where to look. At the card, which is conveniently located right next to the open placket of his shirt, thus putting an enticing view of chest hair in her line of sight. Or into his eyes which seem to be twinkling at her. Or worst of all at his lips which seem to be saying something… Oh right, she should probably be listening right now.

“If you wanted my number love, you needn’t stand on ceremony.”

Emma snatches the card from his hand and rolls her eyes. “Does that routine work on all the moms?”

#captain swan #ask box games #captain swan fan fic #cs ff #WIP game #maybe I'll actually finish this one day #Anonymous

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thebrotherscupheadandmugman · 6 years ago

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Pyramid Peril! With Djimmi the Great!

Before you read: This is a rewriting of the main game Cuphead. Characters, certain dialogue, music, and locations obviously do not belong to me. This is best read with the OST playing over it. And before you start reading, remember that reblogs > likes! That being said, enjoy!

Blogs with Djimmi as a muse: @djimmi-the-great-and-powerful @karnivalkrew (that’s me!)

The brothers spread out all eight of the Soul Contracts they've collected so far onto the forest floor. “Moe Tato, Weepy, Psycarrot, Goopy le Grande, Cagney Carnation, Ribby, Croaks, Hilda Berg...That's it! That's all the contracts we need in Isle One!” Mugman cheered, crossing off Hilda's name. “Onto Isle Two then?” “Yup!” The older mug checked his watch. “And it's only 1:45! We're making great time!" “Fantastic! Let's go!” “Right.” Mug nodded. The boys gathered up the contracts and put them back into their pockets, making their way to the Die House of Isle Two.

As our heroes entered the square, orange building, they immediately spotted King Dice on the other side, blocking the way to the next isle. “Well, look what the cat dragged in. For your sake, I hope ya got all 'em contracts, Cupface.” The manager taunted, earning a scoff from the younger child. “As a matter of fact, we do! See fer yerself!” Cuphead pulled out the Soul Contracts again, showing them all to King Dice as Mugman pulled out the list with the names they crossed off. “Well. Ain't that a pip! Looks like you really put the kibosh on them debtors. You can head on over to the next isle.” King Dice smirked, adjusting his blazer. “Plenty more marks for you to lean on there!” “Let's hurry up and make tracks, Cuphead.” Mugman urged, putting emphasis on the later half of his brother's name. “We've got about 33 hours until the deadline.” “Uh, 33? Try again, genius.” “What?!” The brothers asked in unison.

“The Devil said we had until midnight tomorrow!” Mugman reminded. “Exactly. You have until twelve-o-clock, AM...September 30th.” “What?!” “But that's only...!!” Cuphead began to count on his fingers before Mugman finished for him. “That's only ten hours!! We're just two kids, we can't possibly travel all of Inkwell Isle in less than a day! Let alone doing so while having to get all these contracts!!” “You had no problems traveling all the way to Hell and back.” “He....he's gotchya there...” Cuphead had to admit. “Oh come on!!” “This isn't fair!” “Life ain't fair, wheats.” “You can't do this!!” “Oh can't I? That's where you're wrong, half portions! I think you both fail to realize just who I am.” The manager smirked, going silent as he let the bass play for a short while. The furniture around them began to bounce and sway to the music, dancing along to the rhythm.

“I'm Mr. King Dice! I'm the gamest in the land. I never play nice, I'm the Devil's right-hand man!

I can't let you pass, Cuz you ain't done everything! Bring me those contracts, come on, Bring them to the King!” He sang.

“If you haven't finished your task! Haven't worked assiduously... No I cannot let you pass! Don't you mess with me!

Don't mess with King Dice...” Suddenly all the furniture around them grew mouths and teeth, singing to King Dice's song. “Don't mess with King Dice!” “Don't mess with me...” “Don't mess with him!” “Don't mess with King Dice...” “Don't mess with King Dice!” “Don't mess with me!!” The brothers subconsciously took a step back, towards each other. Neither one of them liked the situation they were in, and the singing furniture surely didn't help.

“I'm Mr. King Dice! Heed just what I say... The Devil has his price. And I'll make sure you pay...

I don't have time to mess 'round, And I hope you will agree! Bring me those contracts, Pronto! Don't you mess with me.” The dice practically growled, yet he was still singing.

“Don't mess with King Dice!” “Don't mess with King Dice!” “Don't mess with me!” “Don't mess with him!” “Don't mess with King Dice!” “Don't mess with King Dice!” “Don't mess with me! Ah...” King Dice glanced down at the boys, with a sinister smirk as all the furniture stopped its movement. “Any how, I guess I should take a powder already. Enough bumpin' gums, ya dig?” With that, the die hopped up with a dramatic twist, and spiraled down into a hole that suddenly disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared.

The brothers just stood, clueless as to how to respond. “Well that just wasted like two minutes.” Cuphead cracked. “Ten hours?! Th-this is impossible!! There's no way we can convince everyone to give us their contracts in only ten hours!!” “Mugman, calm down! We ain't gettin' anywhere with you panickin' like this!” “Cuphead, what're we gonna do?! There's no time ta-” “Mug! Calm down!” Cuphead grabbed his older brother by the shoulders and gave him a harsh shake. “Look....I know you ain't gonna like this, but we've gotta stop reasoning with 'em!” Mugman paused. “W-w-what?” “If we waste time trying to convince people to hand over their souls to us, we'll run out of time for sure! We can't try to reason with 'em like that!” “B-but-” “No! It's not gonna work!!” “I...” Mugman sighed. “You're right...” “Course I am. Have I ever steered you wrong?” Cuphead tried to joke, but it only earned a soft glare from his older brother. “Don't even start.” “Oh right...Yeah, that was probably the worst time to say that.” The brothers exited the Die House and entered Isle Two.

As the boys took their first few steps out of the house, they had to stop to take in the land before them. Inkwell Isle's carnival. As run down as most of the rides were, the amusement park had been going on strong for the past 80 years or so. It was always fun to look around, but they hadn't been able to come as patrons in years. They only were able to pass through.

Since it was relatively late in the day, the line to get in was particularly short, so the brothers stepped forward to get in the line, before they suddenly heard an elderly, familiar voice. “Guys, hang on!” The cup kids turned around to see their grandfather, Elder Kettle, just outside the Die House. Cuphead gave a big smile. “Thank the stars I caught up with you. I believe I've found a way out of this mess you're in!” Elder Kettle beamed as he walked closer to his grandsons. “Hawt dog! You have?!” Mugman cheered with a wide, excited smile. Elder Kettle nodded. “Your strength is growing! You'll soon be a match for that no-good King Dice...” The brothers looked at each other. “And maybe even the Devil himself!” Mugman gasped at the thought. “Golly, do you really think?” Cuphead asked. “I do! But you'll never get close to the Devil unless you already have those Soul Contracts in hand!” Elder Kettle shifted his weight onto his cane, extending his pointer finger and his right hand. “Only then will you get a chance to turn the tables on that fiend! So, when that time comes, do the right thing!” “Golly...Turnin' the tables on the Devil himself?” Cuphead wasn't so sure...He was confident in his abilities, but what would happen if they failed? Mugman pondered a similar train of thought. Wouldn't it be better to play it safe and do what was asked? If they won, they'd give everyone their contracts back and life would return to normal. If they lost, the Devil would take their souls forever! But if they do what the Devil told them to, they'd be spared, yet they'd still be condemning so many people to an eternal life of Hell! “Well, I'd best leave you two to it.” “Yeah, yer right, Elder Kettle. We don't got much time, so we'd better shake a leg.” Elder Kettle started to walk away, but Mugs took a step closer to stop him. “Uh, wait!” “Hm? Yes, Mugman?” Elder Kettle hummed, turning around. “Well, I have a question. What would happen if I were to try to use an Ex Move without any magic built up in my Super Meter?” Elder Kettle's eyes widened at that, his mustache frowning into a grim expression. “Hmm...Well, it wouldn't be good, that's for certain.” Elder Kettle pointed to Mugman's torso with his cane. “Your Super Meter is a combined buildup of your natural magic and the weaponized magic I gave you from that potion. Trying to use an Ex Move without the proper magic will simply drain it from the magic in your soul. That would completely drain your energy. If you did that, it would take you weeks, or maybe even months to recover.” “Oh good golly! Ya couldn't have just left it at 'don't do it'?” “If I had there would be two certain young boys who would have tried it out anyway.” The Elder glared, prompting the cup to whistle innocently. “You two are indeed growing stronger. But you must remember your limits. You may have to push them, but please...be careful to not push them over the edge. Watch each other. Take care of each other.” “Of course. Will do, Elder Kettle...and thanks for telling me.” “Anytime, Mugman.” “Next!” “Wuh-oh! That's us! C'mon Mugs, let's get going.” Cuphead reminded, pulling his older brother along by his wrist.”

“Traveling or riding today, boys?” “Ri-” “Just passing through again.” Mugman answered. “Aw man...” “That's all you two do isn't it? Well I suppose you two aren't old enough to putz about unsupervised.” The ticket cashier joked, handing each of the brothers a red rope bracelet. “Remember to give these back to Cathy on the other side of Isle Two, you guys! Have a swell day!” “Thanks, Joe!” Mugman waved, walking past the gate of the carnival. “Is that guy's name really Joe?” Cuphead asked. Mugman simply shrugged, making an 'I dunno' sound. “Everyone's name is Joe these days.” “Hm. True I guess.” Cuphead agreed with a shrug. “Anyway, where do we start?” “I'm. Reading.” Mugman huffed, unraveling the list of debtors. “Let's see...We got...Baroness Von Bon Bon...that...was kind of fun to say...Uh, Baroness Von Bon Bon, Djimmi the Great...Actually...Djimmi...doesn't he run the Pyramid Peril maze?” “I dunno.” Cuphead mimicked with a shrug, “Ask Dih-Jimmi.” Mugman looked over at his brother. “Djimmi. It's pronounced Djimmi.” “There's a 'D' there, not an 'S-H'! 'Duh-Jimmi'.” Mugman sighed rolling his eyes and looking back down at the names. Cuphead then happened to notice an all too familiar pilot standing by a long, orange tent. “Is that Floyd?” Mugman looked up from the list again. “He's standing next to our planes.” “What's he doin' here?” “Let's go ask him.” Mugman rolled the list back up, then put it in his back pocket.

The brothers walked over to the canteen, Mugman giving Floyd a cheerful wave as he got closer. “Floyd, what are you doing out here?” “'N with our planes no less.” “Good timing fellas! I just added an upgrade on your Aeroplanes! On top of your repairs as well, of course. “Wow, really?” Cuphead beamed. “Uh-huh. Now you can wallop your foes with bombs!” “Couldn't we do that with our Ex Move and Super already?” Mugman asked. “That's different, kiddo! That was more like a special attack! But now this is just a different weapon altogether!” “Oh, like the Roundabouts?” Mugman compared. “The what now?” “Never mind, I think we get it.” Cup said. “So, it's like a weapon we can just change?” “Yup! Just switch your weapon whenever it strikes your fancy! Try it out!!” “Wow! So nifty!! I can't wait to try it!” “Oh....I probably should have started off with this, Red Casablanca...Your plane was too badly damaged, and I only had time to upgrade your brother's.” “What?!” “I'll upgrade it as soon as I can, but if you need your Aeroplanes now, you just won't have the mini-bombs quite yet.” “Aww man!” Cuphead huffed with a pout. “Well...I don't know if we need them...Uh, Floyd, do you know anything about Djimmi? Djimmi the Great?” “Hoo boy. Djimmi is a genie. Big guy. I wouldn't doubt it one bit if your normal bullets do nothing but tickle him.” “So...we need our Aeroplanes.” Cuphead grumbled. “Alright! Let's get ta work then. No one else is gonna take down Shimmy the Great.” “You didn't even try there.”

The screen faded to the next scene, the boys flying around in what seemed to be a vast desert with a complex maze down below. In the center of the maze, were three pyramids with the largest one having a giant Sphinx head as the entrance. The brothers could see some of the patrons of the carnival down in the maze below, working their way towards the center. “Golly! I don't ever remember going through the maze before.” Cuphead thought. “You always said it was stupid. I've always wondered what the ride in the center was though.” “Wait, there's a ride down there?!” “Yeah? See that big pyramid in the middle there? There's supposed to be a ride in there.” “Golly!! That's so nifty!! We shoul-” “Halt! Who goes there?!” A voice boomed from seemingly nowhere. The brothers looked all around before a large, muscular, red genie wearing a light blue-green vest, pants, and a turban with a beige feather attached to a red gem, also wearing a beige belt and black and beige, short arm gauntlets, appeared before them, on a flying carpet, in a puff of blue-green tinted smoke. “Hah hah hah hah hah! I've always wanted to say that!” The genie chuckled, puffing out some smoke from a wooden cobpipe. “Anyhow, I'd ask you two what's up, but I guess the answer would be us, huh?” “Are you Djimmi?” “That's right, ding ding ding, you are correct!! Djimmi the Great at your carnival guiding service! Which reminds me! I'm actually supposed to tell you that this is a no-fly zone, so I'm gonna have to ask you two to land your planes...” Djimmi hissed dramatically. “So sorry about that.” “But...wait, aren't you flying too?” Mugman asked. Djimmi's jaw suddenly dropped, stopping only when it slammed against the blue-green carpet with a loud clang! “By golly! He's right! I've been caught red-handed! Well, my hands are always red I guess. But still! Don't tell my mother, she'll be so disappointed in me! Oh no!! How could I be so easily defeated?!” Cuphead couldn't help but snicker just a bit at that. “Okay, but all joking aside, we're here on business, Dshjimmi.” “That was not even close, Cuphead.” “Uh oh. Not business! Anything but business! Noooo!!” “What's so bad about business?” Mugman asked, raising a brow. “Yeah, what's so bad about it, Shihdimmi?” “You can't spell it without 'sin'! Well, you could try, but it'd probably look really weird. Like...bisnuss.” Djimmi pointed as he spoke, the same blue-green smoke shot out from his finger as the letters B-I-S-N-U-S-S appeared in red neon lights in the sky. “Huh? Why not B-U-S-Y-N-E-S-S?” Cuphead asked. “That spells 'busyness'.” “Well, you're the smart one, aren't ya?” “Heh. I'd like to think so.” Mugman admitted. “But we're on a time-limit, uh, so...we're only gonna ask once?” “Yeah, we have a question fer ya!” “Well, I have an answer for ya!” “Look Dihgemie, we can either do this the easy way or the hard way. Yer choice. Give us yer Soul Contract.”

Djimmi's eyes widened at the mention of a Soul Contract, his playful grin fell into a shocked frown. Low, ominous bass tones began to play as Mugman caught Djimmi's expression, allowing his stomach to drop. “Why do I get a bad feeling about this?” “Oh, probably because I'm doing this.” Djimmi's body was revealed to have changed to form a string-bass, and that he was the one strumming the ominous music. “But in all seriousness,” Djimmi twirled around, returning to normal, “No.” “You don't understand, Mr. The Great!! We need it!!” “I can't just give you my Soul Contract!!” “Look, Dshjushujshjudgejimmi! If ya won't give it to us, then we'll just hafta take it by force!!” “If that is what you wish!! You will feel the wrath! Of Djimmi! The Great and Pow-OOF!” Cuphead suddenly opened his fire at Djimmi, cutting the genie off from his sentence. Djimmi dramatically keeled over, and fell off his carpet, which swooped down after him and vanished from the screen completely. “Cuphead!! At least let him finish!!” Several versions of Djimmi suddenly began playing 'Amazing Grace' on bagpipes from down below, all wearing traditional Scottish kilts. “Somehow, I think he's just fine.” “Ugh, I hate bagpipes!!” Mugman complained. “Yer the one with the bombs! You can shut them up y'know.” Mugman pressed a new button inside the cockpit of his plane, then pressed his thumb down on the stick, dropping a mini-bomb onto the Djimmis below. As the bomb exploded, all the genies turned charred, black, and wide-eyed before crumbling into ash. A drum and a trumpet began to play as the boys noticed the cob-pipe Djimmi had in his mouth floating in the middle of the air. Djimmi's voice audibly took a deep breath, a light gray smoke puffed up from the mouthpiece to form his figure. Djimmi removed his cob-pipe with his right hand, then let out a large puff of smoke that formed Cup's head with X-es for eyes. “Ah!” “Oh!” The brothers coughed at the tobacco smoke in their faces, attempting to wave it away so they could breathe and see. “Behold!! The Chest of Challenges!” Djimmi pulled his carpet out from underneath himself and a large golden chest flipped out from the rug. The genie crossed his arms with a wide, forced grin as the golden chest's lid flapped open. “Really, I think you boys would love it! It's really the cat's meow!!” Suddenly a golden cat sarcophagus flew out from within the chest, soaring towards Cuphead and Mugman.

The brothers split apart, Mugman opting to get up higher, whereas Cuphead sank lower to avoid the attack. The sarcophagus suddenly split open with a meow and a metallic bink, launching kitty-like scarab-beetles that followed the boys' Aeroplanes. “Skull Shot!” Djimmi's head suddenly grew very large and stretched out when his skull launched from his mouth, as if being pulled out by the teeth. As Mugman moved to dodge the golden scatrab-beetles, he found himself cornered and with no time to react. Djimmi's skeleton-jaw opened wide, and clamped down on Mugman's plane as he flew into the mouth before going off-screen. “You look the fool, falling for the first trick I learnt at genie school.” “Mugman!!” Cuphead growled and began firing at Djimmi once again. “What's the matter? Not a cat person? Aw, now that's just clawful, who doesn't like cats? Unless you're allergic. Or maybe cat's just got your tongue.” Djimmi joked, sticking out his tongue to reveal a white and black cat clinging onto his tongue for dear life. “Mrowr?” “I'm back!!” Mugman suddenly flew back into view, just above his brother. “Oh thank golly.” Cuphead breathed. “Shoot him!!” “On it!” Mugman began firing bullets at the genie, all while the cups tried to avoid the scatrabs chasing after them. “Take this, Dahsjshuzjh-” “Just stop trying.”

Djimmi could see that the boys weren't having as much trouble as he'd hoped, so he put up his hands in the shape of a 'T' as if to call for a time-out. “Wait! Hang on. This isn't working. We need something else. Hmmm...” Djimmi lifted up his arms half-way, as if he were meditating while he thought. “Hmmmm! Hmmmm....” Two stone bars appeared above and below Cuphead and Mugman, as if there was suddenly a floor and ceiling while Djimmi himself slowly vanished. “Wha...Where'd he go?! Did he run away?!” Mugman began to panic. “He can't get away that easy!!” The brothers flew faster, only to find themselves in front of a pillar comprised of Djimmi's various body-parts painted on stone. “Wuh-oh!!” “Guess the odds are really stacked against you now, huh?! Wuhahahaha!!” His laugh seemed to echo throughout the desert, and unable to stop their planes, the brothers found themselves slowing their Aeroplanes down as much as they could so as to not crash, but if nothing was done, it would be inevitable. “Mug!! Whadda we do?!” “Uh, keep firing!!” The boys did just that, however it seemed as if nothing was working, up until a stray bullet hit Djimmi's laughing face, causing him to flinch with a loud, “Yeowch!!” “His face!!” Mugman called out. “Wuh-oh!” “Hey, that's my thing!!” Cuphead whined as both the brothers aimed right at the new-found weak spot. “Wait, really? Whoops, my bad. Aagh!!” Djimmi's face suddenly exploded into crumbles with a puff of white smoke, only for the brothers to be met with a saw-blade in between them and the next pillar. “I kinda saw that coming, honestly.” Djimmi grumbled over the saw.

The brothers were quick to locate the next face, but just as quick to find themselves trapped by the blade. “Hang on, follow me!!” Mugman swiftly glided up and over the saw and quickly switched his weapon over, bombing Djimmi's face, which crumbled instantly. “Ow!” “Let's try to hang back here and wait for an opening!” “There's his face! In the center!!” “But I don't wanna be the center of attention! Or maybe I do? Actually, I do!” Mugman got up close and dropped another bomb on the stone face. “On second thought I don't.” Djimmi's face said as it crumbled to pieces. Once again, the brothers hung back and waited to spot the weak point before trying to break it while dodging the saw. Only this time, there were two faces. “One on top!” “And one below!” “Now there's two ways to go!!” They both chimed. “Wait, isn't that a bad thing?” “Oof!” Mugman bombed the upper one that happened to just a bit closer to them. Once again, the brothers quickly located the weak spot in the center of the next pillar, but this time Djimmi had a bored expression, as if he knew what to expect, and once again, his face was bombed. Finally, only one last pillar stood in their way, Djimmi's face was right at the very top. This time, Mugman had to wait for an opening, but once it was there, he wasted no time in flying up and dropping another bomb. The whole pillar disappeared in a puff of smoke, Djimmi transformed back into his normal self, and waved the stone floor and ceiling away with his left hand. “Yeesh, what are ya, the Blue Bomber?” A hand trailed up to loosen up a necktie that hadn't previously been there moments ago. “I can't believe it, I'm losing to a mug!” “Blue Bomber?! How'd you know my code name?!” “Huh? That's your code name? Who knew? I didn't. I was just referencing a game!” “What kinda game uses 'Blue Bomber' at all?!” “One for the NES.” “The N-E...What?” “This is a cartoon from 1934, what are you talking about?!” Cuphead questioned. “Cartoon? I thought this was a video game!” Djimmi snapped his fingers and a large book appeared in his hands, along with some eyeglasses on his face. “Maybe I should have actually read the script I guess.” After glancing over the script for a few moments, Djimmi then snapped his fingers again, disappearing into yet another puff of smoke.

“Let's split up for a little bit! Just until we know what he's doing!” Mugman suggested. “Right!” Cuphead nodded. Suddenly, a gold and blue sarcophagus of the genie descended from above, stopping just short of the edge of the screen. His right hand reached over and opened the coffin, and from the cosmic nebula within, Djimmi, a slug of his former self stretched out with an oddly high-pitched, “Yaaaaaaaah!” “Ew, what the heck?!” “Must be feelin' sluggish.” Cuphead thought. Mugman figured the mini-bombs would make quick work of the slug genie, so he got in close and continued to drop bombs onto Djimmi. Cuphead on the other hand, was forced to stay low, and shoot at the sarcophagus normally. “Go, my Dummy Mummies!!” Suddenly, mummies with a striking resemblance to Djimmi flew out at the boys, groaning out, “Raaaahhh.” “Ah!! A mummy!!” No sooner than Mug had said that, the next mummy that flew out wore an apron and a beehive wig over the wrapped up turban. “Raaaahhh.” This time, the groan sounded as if Djimmi himself were making a rather poor attempt to sound like a mother. “Leave the nice genie man alone! Or else you'll be grounded for the next two months!!” “Oh no, so scary.” Cuphead deadpanned with a sarcastic tone, before shooting at the mummy, making it fade away. “So, ya want scary eh? Put up ya dukes, fellas! Hiya!” Djimmi's eye sockets extended out, launching out his eyeballs that formed planet rings around themselves, at the brothers. “Woah!!” Cuphead scrambled to dodge, turning his plane harshly as he accidentally pulled into a roll to avoid the projectiles. “Oopsie. Talk about an Eyeball Mishap. How'd that even happen?” Another mummy flew out, and headed straight towards Mugman. “Huuuuuur-” The Dummy Mummy was cut off as it just so happened to cross the path of the mug's next incoming mini-bomb before he could process the incoming attack. “Y'know on second thought, maybe that Eyeball Mishap worked out better for me. Hiya!” Djimmi launched out his eyeballs yet again, but this time, Cuphead wasn't able to dodge, and as one eye pushed his left wing down, the other pulled right wing up, forcing the red plane into another roll that caused the young pilot to lose control. “Ahh!! No, no, no, no!!” “Cuphead! Don't over-correct, and pull up!!” With that bit of advice, Cuphead managed to level out his plane again, and pulled up. “Whew..” “Aw man, you were really on a roll, kid!” The boys both focused their efforts, and as Cuphead's bullets hit Djimmi the slug right in the neck, one of Mugman's bombs conked him right on the head, forcing his teeth to protrude outwards from his mouth. “Ouch! I mean-! Is that the best you got?!” Mugman got some distance , then lowered himself to meet Djimmi's sluggish form. He then pulled himself into an aileron roll, and forced the magical energy from his body out, launching a blue Chomper Missile. However, the missile would never hit the slug genie, as the second he saw it incoming, he shivered in fear, and quickly closed the sarcophagus, who's once serious face now shed a single tear before it hopped away. Boink, boink, boink, boink, boink, CRASH! The screen shook as the sound of breaking glass was heard off-screen.“Owie, I got glass in my eye! Aahh!!” The brothers gave each other a shared look of unamusement.

As they looked forward once more, they saw Djimmi before them again, meditating just as he had been earlier. A thin, clear swirl surrounded his head and face as he rolled his head in a clockwise motion. “Huh? What's he doing? Wo-woah...” Mugman mumbled, suddenly feeling completely out of it, as if someone was peering through his memories. The same clear spirals slowly materialized over the boys, but only for a few moments before Djimmi's turban suddenly transformed into a massive light-bulb. “That's it! Hah hah hah hah!” The brothers finally managed to snap out of the strange trance once the spirals went away, just in time to spot a smaller version of Djimmi's turban slowly floating and spiraling down towards them. “Since you two are so fond of playing the roll of the Devil's little puppets...!” Djimmi suddenly changed into a large, disembodied hand that quite clearly belonged to him, he then grabbed a wooden control bar that appeared from seemingly nowhere, and flew up off the screen. “Introducing, for the first time ever, Puphead!!” A wooden marionette flew up, bouncing once the strings suddenly stopped moving. However, this hadn't been just any simple marionette, as his head took the shape of a wooden mug, with a small red nose, and a straight, blue-green straw sticking out, from the head. Puphead also wore a light red t-shirt with matching red shoes and shorts that matched his straw. Mugman shuddered at the sight of the wooden doll, he'd never liked marionettes, they creeped the heck out of the poor preteen, and the similarity to his little brother and himself didn't at all help.

Puphead skipped along through the air, inching closer to the brothers before his legs suddenly stopped moving. He stuck his right arm out and pointed, a small hole opening up at the tip of his finger as his head fell over to the right, limply.

“Wuh-oh.” Puphead's whole arm began to vibrate as he began shooting at the brothers. Three large, round blue bullets flew out at the boys, and one last pink bullet sailed straight for Mugman! The end of his blue straw closed up as a gloved hand formed. Mugman rolled forward, and parried the round bullet successfully. “I did it!!” “Mugs! Keep firing!!” Mugman tried to use his mini-bombs, but with the shells flying out the way they were, Mugman couldn't get close enough to reach the puppet. He switched his weapon back, keeping a constant line of fire as Puphead shot four more round bullets at them.

Suddenly, Djimmi's mouth appeared from the bottom of his turban, and small black bullets shot out in a circular shape from the red gem. “Woah!!” Cuphead panicked, attempting to dodge the smaller bullets, only to run into the large pink one, leaving the nose of his Aeroplane with a white X-shaped bandage. “Cuphead!” “Don't worry kids! This beating's for free – no strings attached!” Djimmi taunted, firing out more bullets in sync with his little puppet. Djimmi knew just how to defeat these kids. Overwhelm the red one, and frighten the blue one. Unfortunately for our heroes, Djimmi's little scheme was working. Cuphead's Aeroplane couldn't stand much more, but there was no way Mugman would be able to fight on his own! “Cuphead!” “I-I'm fine! Let's just end this quickly!!” Cuphead scowled. He knew they could do this, but he also knew he couldn't last much longer. Mugman looked over at Puphead, assessing the situation. It would seem Puphead was created from their own memories. So if this were Cuphead before him, or even himself, where would he need shoot? Mugman knew he wouldn't want anyone hitting his handle, but there was no way to reach it on the puppet from where they were. What about the belly? Cuphead's tummy was always ticklish, but it also seemed to bruise easily. Wait, that was it! “Aim for his belly!!” Cuphead flew lower, keeping his fire constant as he focused more on dodging the bullets from Djimmi and Puphead, as Mugman flew up to be at straw-level on the marionette. Once there was a break from Djimmi's bullets, Cuphead was able to focus his aim properly, and fired right where he expected Puphead's belly button to be. It was evident that the puppet tried to move his hands to cover his stomach, but the tension in the strings wouldn't allow for it. Cuphead kept up his fire, trying his best to keep an eye on the turban behind him. Puphead evidently didn't like that one bit, his legs curled up to block the fire and he straightened up his head, only to lower it to try and protect his tummy. Mugman seized the opportunity and opened fire the second he saw the handle on the back of his head come into view. With a puff of smoke, Puphead's face changed to have X-es for eyes and a frown, as his hands folded up, and his straw formed a halo. “Knockout!!” “Huh?” “Wait that's it? Whew! Thank golly that's over with.” Cuphead sighed.

“Sike!” Djimmi appeared before them with a puff of smoke, he whistled, signaling for his turban to float back onto his head. “Betchya didn't know I could throw my voice like that, did ya?” Djimmi yanked the corner of his mouth off his face and chucked it at the brothers, and much like a boomerang, his grinning mouth came back to him, Djimmi catching it in his hand. He placed his mouth back on, but rather than the usual grin he'd been giving the brothers from the beginning, it almost seemed like he was gritting his teeth at them. “.gnorw no siht tup syawla I !spoohW” Using his two index fingers, Djimmi pushed the two corners of his mouth, twisting it until his grin was right-side up again. “But in all seriousness...Now I'm really mad!! You may be able to shoot magic finger guns and launch little bombs and drink outta your own heads, but can you do this?!” Djimmi twirled around as he descended downwards and out of view. “Um...probably?” Mugman shrugged. Suddenly, Djimmi spiraled back into view, four times larger than he had been just moments ago. His eyes glowed yellow, and he circled his gigantic hands in a confusing-looking motion. Three magical pyramids faded into view, each with a closed, light blue-green eye on all four sides. “Um, never mind!!” “W-woah!” Cuphead bit his lip nervously, looking at everything around him as he kept his thumb firmly pressed over the shooting button. The three pyramids circled the brothers, Djimmi shot them a glare and four clear rings shot out from the gem on his turban. “Cuphead, move!!” Cuphead pulled into a nose-dive, but almost crashed right into a pyramid in the process. “Ah!” Suddenly the pyramid's eyes opened, and Cuphead flew away, feeling that he should flee. After five seconds, four purple cosmic beams fired out from the pyramid, pointing up, down, left, and right, cornering Cuphead as he tried to avoid the beams. “M-Mug...” The child was close to trembling, this was far too much for him, and what's worse was that Mugman didn't seem to hear him. Djimmi smirked, then fired another set of mental rings at Cuphead. The boy saw them coming, and tried to steer out of the way, but doing so caused him to fly into one of the cosmic beams, just before its fire stopped. “Aaaahh!!” Cuphead shrieked, the cosmic blast hitting his body hard. “Cuphead!!” Mugman flew over to his baby brother. “Cuphead, are you alright?!” “Mugman, I-I can't d-do this!! Th-there's too much going on, I-I can't--” Cup shook his head, tears starting to build up in his goggles. “Cuphead, yes you can, I know you can! Alright?!” “B-but Mugman!!” “Shh! Don't worry about that, alright?!” “One more hit, and my plane's going down! I-I can't!” “Just hang on, alright! I won't let you go down!! Just stay calm, take deep breaths, and keep firing! Don't worry about whether or not you're hitting him, just keep shooting and dodging!” “That's what I've been doing!! And it's not working!!” “Just a little bit longer! Okay?!” Mugman expelled the magic of his full Super Meter from his body, melding and morphing with his Aeroplane as he formed a Super Bomb. He flew close to Djimmi, only to be hit by a sudden cosmic beam, causing him to detonate early. “Mugs!!” Mugman backed up from the explosion, flying right next to Cuphead. “I'm not hurt...Shaken, but not hurt.” Mugman bit his lip, having just lost his plan. “I wasted my Super.” There was a pause as the brothers stared down the large genie. “I have one.” “What?” “My Super Meter's full! But there's no way I could make it to him if you couldn't!!” “I know you can do it, Cuphead! Just wait for my cue, alright?” Cuphead looked ahead, worried. It took him a moment, to decide before he glanced at his brother with a soft nod. “Alright...” So the brothers waited, never ceasing their fire on Djimmi.

Soon the pyramid's cosmic rays vanished, and Mugman saw Cuphead's opening. “Now!!” Cuphead unleashed his Super, melding with his Aeroplane as he sailed towards Djimmi. Mugman then noticed another Pyramid open its eyes, and feared Cuphead wouldn't be able to move over it in time. “Cuphead!!” The cosmic beam shot out, just barely missing Cuphead and allowing him to get even closer. “What?! No!!” Djimmi fired another set of rings at the Super Bomb, but Cuphead managed to swivel under them. Djimmi gasped after he saw it, just as Cuphead crashed right into his cob-pipe, causing him to inhale and choke on the tobacco inside. Djimmi began sputtering and coughing, puffs of smoke coming out of his mouth as he did. “You did it!!”

As the final few notes rang out, Djimmi shrank back down to his normal size, his magic carpet allowing him to stay within the boy's view as his massive coughing fit knocked him to his arms and legs. “Ha! Take that, Djimmi!!” “Hey, you finally got his name right!” Cuphead paused. “I did!” He beamed. “But, Djimmi...We need your Soul Contract.” Djimmi was too busy coughing and gasping still, but with the snap of his fingers, the contract appeared before Mugman. Mugman looked it over before plucking it from the air, and shoving it into his cockpit for the time being. “Thank you...Come on Cuphead, let's go. Floyd's not gonna be too happy when he sees your plane.” “I...Yeah, let's go.”

#Cuphead and Mugman: Don't Deal with the Devil #Pyramid Peril #Cuphead #Mugman #King Dice #Djimmi the Great #Puphead #Word on the Wind! {Rebloggable Content}#Drabble #Rewriting #You're Supposed to Hit the Queue Ball!#((Fun fact: The day I finished this was the same day the DLC was announced.))#((There was also a bit of cut content that I just couldn't fit in here but this was super fun to write))#((I was going to include a Popeye reference and have him sing a parody of Popeye's little I'm Popeye the Sailor Man))#((Then the little *toot toot* Popeye does with his cobpipe XD))

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