#i'm halfway through making my dream bottles i'm so excited

[silveryclear]

STNAF Coraline AU ch. 4

MDNI ALL CONTENT REGARDING STNAF IS 18+ AND SO IS THIS BLOG

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5

Chapter 6 Chapter 7

CW: Torture, Kidnapping, Obsessive Behavior, Dark Themes

Chapter 4

"Have you been eating anything besides alcohol and junk food?" Carter's concerned voice sounds through your phone.

"Wha- of course I have! Why, I'm doing some grocery shopping right now!" You say with a huff as you push your shopping cart through the isles of the supermarket.

This morning, as soon as you came to, you ran over to Friend without a moment to lose. You jump out of the other room and surprise Friend as the words tumble out of you, worried that a phone call could interrupt you any second now. "Friend! This evening. Dinner. Here. You and me. you in?" Smooth.

His eyes return to normal as the initial surprise of your sudden appearance fades away. He chuckles in amusement. "Well, how could I say no to my favorite Neanderthal~?" After saying those words, his phone rings and he heads off to work. However, not before kissing your forehead and smiling with excitement at you. "Can't wait to see what you've got in store~"

Afterwards, you head to the supermarket and on your way, you call Carter and tell him about everything that has transpired since your last phone call; including your strange reocurring dreams.

Now you're more than halfway through your shopping as you enter the alcohol isle, browsing through the store's selection.

"Only because it's part of your plan." Carter says and you roll your eyes. "I'm just saying, your diet these days could be the reason why you're having those wacky ass dreams. And your obsession with procrastinating your confession definitely doesn't help."

"I'm doing something about it now, aren't I?" You say as you look at the wine prices and wince. "Besides, the dreams weren't all that bad. They gave me the idea for this plan!"

He sighs. You could sense something underlying in his tone, but choose not to comment on it. "True. I guess it isn't all that bad as long you stay in this reality and don't actually fall in love with a figment of your imagination." He ends with a laugh.

"I'm not in love with him!" You say through the phone pointedly. "And what about your fictional game characters?" You raise your eyebrow.

Carter is quiet for a few seconds before bashfully murmurs, "...that's different."

You snort. "Yeah? How so?"

"I wasn't the one who created them."

You scoff. "Tecnicality! Fictional is fictional!"

Carter groans through the phone. "Fine, whatever. But reality sucks, can you blame me?"

"Not at all. Reality definitely sucks." You pick up a bottle of wine and almost shed a tear. "I mean, look at these wine prices! Seriously, I'm willing to look up a tutorial just to avoid paying this much."

"I'd say skip the wine all together. You've had enough alcohol these past few days."

You narrow your eyes and grumble while placing the bottle back on the shelf. "I'd argue, but my wallet is begging for mercy, so I'll let it slide."

You can hear Carter's smooth laugh through the phone and you laugh along. He's more on the reserved side, so the chances that you got to hear him laugh while getting to know him were slim to none. But now that you've known each other for a long time, its safe to say that it's one of your favorite sounds in the world. It makes you feel incredibly lucky to have met him and grateful that such an amazing person is your friend.

Carter goes on to tell you about his day while you finish your grocery shopping. His deep voice is comforting just like ASMR and you can’t help but let your thoughts wander. You think back to when you two met in college and how, during your time together, you became really close friends. You were sure if you didn’t have a big crush on Friend, your friendship with Carter would have progressed into something more.

You shake your head and continue to converse with Carter as you went on with your day. However, by the time the preparations were all set and done, Friend was nowhere to be seen.

You look at yourself in the mirror, all nice and dressed up for your date. What should be an exciting and slightly nervous occasion, felt more like a wave of anxiety and disappointment over your body.

You try to give yourself a smile and whisper in the mirror, “It’s okay, he’s probably running late. That’s just how he is…” Yet, the words felt like sandpaper as they left your lips.

Minutes turn into hours, the evening turns into night. You stay seated at the table, staring blankly at the empty seat before you, your homemade food cold and long forgotten. You look down at your phone, staring at the unread text messages you sent Friend. You try to call him for the fifteenth time, only to be greeted once again by his voicemail.

Tears slowly begin to fall as you come to the harsh realization that Friend isn’t coming. Although there could be a perfectly logical explanation for his lack of appearance, your mind could not think of any as it fell further into a spiral hurt and rejection. Embarrassment also began to seep in as you realize how much work you not only put into the food and decor, but also yourself. You feel humiliated as you look at yourself in the mirror once again and you could only run straight to your room and crawl into the bed as you sob, clutching the bunny plushie that always gave you a semblance comfort.

In the middle of your crying session, you pick up your phone and dial the number of the person you know that will provide you comfort.

“Carterrrrr…” you sniffle and sob through your phone.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Why are you crying? Aren’t you supposed to be on your date with Friend?” Carter’s smooth voice sounded concerned.

”He… he didn’t come. He’s not answering my texts or calls…”

”What?! I’m going to kill him…”

”Carter, I can’t be here right now… I can’t face him after this…”

”Just.. hang on for now, alright? I’m going to pick you up.”

You see the door you thought was only part of your dream open by itself, a soft glow beckoning you to go through it as you did your first night.

”Carter…?”

”Yeah?” You can hear his car engine in the background and his out of breath voice.

”The door… it opened…”

"What? What door?”

”…It’s all real.” You whisper to yourself, however Carter caught it as well.

“Hey! Hey, don’t you go anywhere!” Carter yells through the phone, trying to bring you back from whatever trance you are stuck in. Whatever this was, he knew you weren’t in your five senses at the moment so he was justifiably worried and concerned. “I’m on my way! Do you hear me? Stay right there.” Carter calls out your name over and over again, but all just sounds like a blur.

“I have to go…” is all you say before you hang up and let your phone clatter on the ground.

“Hello? Hello?! Dammit!” Carter curses out loud. He dials your number a few times while driving, doing his best to get to you as fast as possible. His heart sinks when you don’t answer and he can feel his concealed rage welling up to the surface. He dials another number and hopes for their own sake that they pick up.

“Yes?”

“Listen here you pompous bastard. You better hope I don’t ever see your face if you want to keep it intact.” Carter snarls into the speaker, his eyes on the open road as he speeds like a maniac. “After what you did, you’re lucky I���m only letting you off with a warning. For years, I’ve had to watch from the sidelines how your oblivious ass trampled over the heart of the sweetest and most caring person I know. That ends tonight, do you hear me?”

“Loud and clear~” A giggle could be heard through the phone and Carter reels back, eyebrows furrowed with confusion and shock. “You don’t have to worry about Sweetheart anymore… I’ll be taking good care of them~”

Carter recovers from the initial shock and listens to the voice that sounds eerily similar to Friend’s. Knots form in Carter’s stomach when dots begin to connect in his mind. His blood runs cold and he grips the cellphone tightly in his hand, breathing heavily. “You’re not Friend…”

The line cuts immediately and Carter is left alone with the piercing silence inside his car. Not even the engine can be heard through the sounds of his thrumming heart beating in his ears. Carter immediately thinks of you as he frantically tries to get ahold of himself, doing his best to keep himself together long enough to get to you. He has to. Whoever answered the phone, was not Friend. And he couldn’t brush away the feeling that you were in danger.

On the other side, Other Friend grins sinisterly as he shatters the phone with his bare hands, the crushed fragments falling onto Friend’s battered and tear-stained face. Friend shut his eyes tightly, whimpering as the pieces of glass make small cuts on his face.

Other Friend can’t help but laugh at Friend’s helpless state— his hands and feet bound, duck tape covering his mouth and muffling his pathetic whimpers. Nothing gave him more joy than to see his rival trembling on the floor, bruised and bloody from the torture he had inflicted. Nothing except the thought of having you finally in his grasp… of finally making you his. Other Friend shudders in delight at the thought.

“It seems like Sweetheart has been talking me up to their other friends. How cute~” Other Friend giggles, the sound malicious as it vibrates in his throat. He places his boot on Friend’s leg and presses down on it, making Friend writhe and cry out in agony. “Yet, they didn’t tell you. How curious. It’s almost as if they don’t trust you anymore~”

At the mention of your term of endearment, Friend’s pained expression turns into one of rage as he struggles against his binds.

“Oooh, did that rile you up?” Other Friend mocks as he presses down harder on his already wounded leg, a strained whine coming from Friend and halting his squirming. Other Friend chuckles and leans down, his face hovering above Friend’s. “I’m guessing you won’t like what I’m planning to do with them next~”

Friend glares at Other Friend and curses them out, however, it comes out as muffled sounds of rage. Other Friend laughs sadistically and stands up straight. He begins to walk away from the pathetic worm writhing on this floor before looking back at him for one last time, grinning maniacally.

“Do me a favor and do keep it down? I have to go comfort Sweetheart after their date was a no show. And I’d hate for them to be more distraught than they already are~” And with that, Other Friend closes the door and locks it. He stands at the end of the hallway with a sadistic smile on his face. He whistles a tune as he walks away from the door.

Other Friend feels something fluffy brush along his lower leg. He looks down and stares at one of his cats with a serious expression.

“Did you find it?”

The cat gives him a sorrowful meow, bowing its head.

“I don’t need your apologies, I need that vermin found!” He hisses. “Don’t come back unless it is with its corpse, do you understand? I can’t have it ruining everything I’ve worked hard for.”

The cat gives him one last meow and bow before scampering away.

Other Friend sighs in frustration and pinches the bridge of his nose. He quickly picks up his head, button eyes brightening as he senses your presence crawling through the bridge that connects your world to his. His whole demeanor transforms into a lovesick expression.

“Do not fret, my love. No one’s going to ever hurt you again… I’ll make sure of it.” He whispers to himself with a hint of obsession as he makes his way to the bedroom.

Next chapter will include smut :)

Chapter 5

[astrofireworks]

ASTRO WITCH COVEN AU (MJ)

introduction | rocky | eunwoo | moon bin | mj | jinjin

TW: a lot of mentions of blood & also kidnapping

Blood ritualist

Nobody knows for sure what happens in MJ’s ritual room because he’s claimed the top floor of their three-floor coven house

They just know not to go in the room to the right of the stairs if there’s a red ribbon on the door handle until MJ tumbles out of the room, exhausted and usually coated in a light layer of blood 

If you press your ear to the door handle you can hear vague chanting and sometimes a little humming if MJ’s taking a break

One time Sanha tried snooping and sat outside the door watching the crack at the bottom of the door for movement

he heard MJ’s chanting fade into silence and there was a flash of bright light

and then there was a knock on the wall somewhere behind him

oh riP NEVER AGAIN NEVER AGAIN

Sanha doesn’t even dare go up MJ’s stairs now poor baby

Gets results like 777% of the time because he’s really good at what he does, bless his heart

usually comes out of the ritual tired and covered in blood but beaming

cue a dismayed jinjin because he has to do the laundry & even though MJ wears a hooded black ankle-length robe that should technically protect his clothes underneath from stains

MJ manages to stain them anyway

Jinjin has to soak all of his clothes in vinegar every time

Rip Jinjin

But MJ just smiles in his general direction and Jinjin is lost to the world again so never mind

Tends not to talk about his family

Tends not to talk about his life pre-KNK at all actually

What little Astro knows of MJ pre-KNK is what small snippets they’ve gleaned from conversations with KNK or from carefully inferring from things MJ lets slip during small talk

And this much Astro knows:

Whatever came before KNK has made MJ terrified of the dark – he has to have at least a source of light next to him or a human touch grounding him

What Came Before has also made MJ a vegetarian for life

KNK, our token immortal vampires (sparkly or not depending on how much Heejun has had to drink), have been moving around the country with MJ pretending one person or another is his father, uncle, cousin or brother and basically brought our sunshine baby up

Despite being a blood ritualist, MJ never goes near live animals to get blood – he always always always goes to KNK for anything he needs

And more often than not, MJ only accepts requests for rituals that bring small things back to life or rituals that locate someone or something missing

And those rituals exhaust MJ like nothing else can because MJ invests everything he has into getting whatever it is back for his client

Jinjin knows more than the rest, actually

Because the things that hurt MJ before?

If the rest of Astro knew What Came Before, MJ’s sure they’d attempt to form a game plan to go after them

And MJ’s sure they’ll lose

I mean, Astro might be powerful in their own right but they’re firstly newly established and secondly no match for that part of the magical world

And Jinjin, while as full as the rest of Astro (if not more) with the burning desire to punch whatever it was that hurt him before into oblivion, is the only one mature enough to recognise tha

 Also, he’s the only human and the only one incapable of contacting What Came Before

Also he kind of melted MJ over time so really it wasn’t entirely MJ’s fault stupid Jinjin came in with his dumb attractive smile and his stupid handsome face and his cute ass dimples and bright eyes and soft caring hands

And this much Jinjin knows:

MJ was kidnapped at a very young age by another coven, one that practiced sacrificial rituals

He spent a very long month in the basement with about 10 other kids until a rival coven broke into their house and took all the ‘would-be sacrifices’ with them

And all the kids were relieved at first until they realised

They were about to be sold in an auction to other sacrificing covens

And long story very very very very short, MJ was lucky enough to be shuttled back and forth between different buyers for about a year without being ‘used’ before landing into KNK’s lap

Quite literally

One of the cars used by the selling coven crashed into a lamppost on the street a couple of houses down from KNK’s

And upon realising that both the driver and the handler were dead MJ clambered out of the van, bloodied and terrified, right into Youjin’s arms

So KNK cleaned him and the whole accident up and questioned him gently and tried to get him back to his parents but to no avail

And so they raised him

oh my god I never meant to make his backstory like this it just came out

I’m so sorry

But yes brought up by KNK

And so imagine five grown-ass men (with an average height of 185cm, I might add) standing dumbfounded around a kitchen table with a young son with big, watery eyes and a trembling bottom lip  

Because MJ doesn’t want to eat any of his vegetables

Jihun at a loss 

Inseong trying to sing MJ into opening his mouth

I mean, KNK knows that MJ refuses to touch meat of any kind and that he really loves eating rice but they really can’t figure out why MJ refuses to eat his vegetables

It’s because KNK

Really

Cannot

Cook

Ok but to be fair they haven’t really had to cook for the past sixty or so years

And also they eventually figured out that they shouldn’t trust Seungjun with preparing vegetables at all and that the only one in the whole house capable of cooking any sort of green thing without burning it into a crisp is Heejun

Also, Inseong being the closest to MJ and teaching MJ to sing and harmonise and just playing with him and being twin sunshines

Heejun tucking MJ in and strumming lazily on the guitar until MJ drifts off to sleep

Jihun putting a smol MJ on his shoulders and dancing around their newly-installed kitchen while preparing orders for clients

Seungjun being the ultimate softest with MJ, bringing him different charms to play around with

Youjin the only one vaguely serious about giving MJ a proper education and so MJ from a young age learns how to charm clients (beam very brightly at them) and take orders and label deliveries

This makes me so happy adjfhsjkdf but I’m sorry for what’s coming

Had the worst time a couple years later when he found out how KNK was getting their blood and locked himself in his room for about 2 days crying not so much in fear (because really who can be scared of KNK they’re just very tol idiots) than in distress

Inseong sitting outside his room crying and apologising and trying to do everything he could to calm MJ down

In the end it was Jihun who gently talked to MJ through the keyhole about a human family that he was friends with for generations and generations that was looking for an heir and was more than happy to take MJ

And that KNK would get out of his life forever if that was what MJ wanted and if MJ gave the signal KNK would vacate the house for as long as it took for MJ to move out so he wouldn’t have to see them

And another very long story short, MJ decided that he would just stay very far away from KNK’s blood-obtaining means and stay with the hyungs that he loved as family

Because (as MJ came to realise) as vampires there really wasn’t another source to obtain blood from and it ultimately wasn’t really their fault

Loves teasing KNK about their fangs

Once made Heejun cry with relief because he panicked thinking MJ touched his fangs but his fangs weren’t out at the time

Dresses up as a vampire every single Halloween even though he never leaves the house

Knocks on every single member’s door asking for candy though

And he knows they buy candy only for him so he gets them all

Youjin has to make sure he brushes his teeth every time

Youjin: “or you’re going to get fangs and where will we be?”

Seungjun, lazing on the sofa, playing a game on his phone: “you can’t get fangs from eating too much candy”

Youjin: “shUT UP SEUNGJUN I’M TRYING TO TEACH HIM A LESSON HERE”

MJ, a lil shit: “I heard seungjun hyung, I can’t get fangs from eating too much candy!!!”

Youjin: “godDAMMIT SEUNGJUN I’M GOING TO KILL YOU”

Rip Seungjun

MJ, cackling and screeching to a distressed Jihun: “yoUJIN HYUNG SAID A BAD WORD!!!!!”

Eventually starts leaving the house on delivery rounds with Seungjun, but only in the car and in broad daylight

Seungjun complains about having to go out in the sun but Inseong just tells him to shut up, he’s in the car half the time anyway

Seungjun secretly liking having his personal ball of sunshine cuddled up on the car seat next to him and cracking dumb jokes

Sometimes has to stop the car because he’s laughing too hard at MJ’s dad jokes

All their clients cooing over the smiley human teen Seungjun brings around

Eventually one kindly client (affectionally coined the Nam-ster by MJ) offers to teach him some magic

And after a lot of discussion about safety and worried mothering by Youjin and Jihun he’s shuttled to Eric’s house every day for lessons

And so MJ picks up blood magic

And also picks up general human things that KNK has never thought to teach him (like cooking vegetables properly and dealing with other humans and how to pick fresh vegetables at the supermarket)

Anyways back to astro

Came in after everyone else (except Sanha)

Ok so Astro’s house is right next to KNK’s

and one day MJ peeks his head over the fence at their neighbours wondering who the hell moved in next door

and sees Jinjin watering the herb garden patch outside

and :---) well first sight and all that

insists on bringing brownies to their next door neighbours despite Heejun floundering a bit around the oven and burning the brownies slightly

Inseong quietly cheering his baby boy on

His son’s first crush!!!!

Not including that one really handsome client that MJ tripped over his own feet in front of that one time and refused to visit ever again !!!!!!

Bogum’s been stuck wondering what it was he did wrong that the smiley young son never visited again

poor dear

And so KNK clusters around the few windows that overlook the side of the yard that connects with Astro’s and spies on MJ ringing their doorbell

And they all watch as MJ proceeds to charm the pants off of Jinjin

And the rest is history

Inseong crying when MJ moves over even though MJ’s third floor bedroom window directly faces his own and they talk every night before MJ sleeps anyway

What a precious bean can you tell this man is my bias

MJ’s golden triangle (KNK’s coven mark) fading over time after being marked by Astro’s silver curve across his collarbones

Noisy noisy noisy

Oh my god Bin wants to kill him half the time MJ sings all the time and it always wakes Bin up from his post-afternoon-nap nap

If Jinjin wasn’t so attached to MJ and if KNK weren’t so threatening sometimes Bin would have probably charmed MJ’s pants to hang from their ceiling fan or something

I want to say he mothers the rest of Astro because he’s the oldest but really

We all know the truth

Plays very well with Sanha

Could spend all day goading the poor child into doing something stupid

Most of them had to do with bothering Rocky and Bin

Poor Sanha never asked for this

But ok also Sanha really enjoys it so he kind of does

Spends half the time hanging out with Jinjin in the kitchen or in his room

Bet you 10$ anytime you walk in they’re watching anime or cooking

He’s so painfully gone for Jinjin sometimes Eunwoo wants to whack their heads together and tell them to wake up

Sanha could already tell like 2 days after he moved in that something was up between MJ and Jinjin

Eunwoo: desperately crying for his two idiot friends to wake up and get together already

Me: desperately crying bc the colours I’ve matched to Astro in this AU doesn’t match their colours in baby & highly considering editing all the posts so that their colours match

i’m finally getting back to writing out my headcanons instead of keyboard smashing them out to Jiwon bless

[falling-solar-system]

I needed to pee? // Danny Wagner

Authors note: Hi lovelies, this is my first time writing for Danny. So if you guys have any feedback good or bad I would greatly appreciate it.

Summary: when you and Danny met

Warnings: Some cursing. Rude security guards. Harassment. A little bit of mean Josh.

Pairing: Danny Wagner x FemReader

Genre:Fluff with some angst

Word count: 1.5k

Date posted: April 22, 2022

“Come on y/n, we’re gonna be late!” Alex shouts from the living room. Finally finding your favorite pair of boots, you quickly put them on, you head towards your living room. “I'm coming, I’m coming. Cool your jets, we have 30 minutes before the show starts and the walk there is only 5 minutes,” you laughed, as you followed Alex out the door. “Babe, come on, this is Greta Van Fleet here, we gotta get merch, find our seats and get drinks!” With that Alex launches into a full-blown one-sided conversation about how you need to learn proper concert etiquette.

The cool breeze of April made the walk pleasant enough to enjoy the time it took to walk to the venue. Alex and you stood in the queue and talked about what songs you were excited to see performed live. As you guys waited, you chatted with a few people in line, all of them excited to see the guys play as well. You and Alex were lucky enough to score two tickets close to the pit. The Dreams in Gold tour would be the first concert you guys saw together since the pandemic.

As the line moved along and you made it into the building you could hear the chatter of everyone else in the venue. “I'm both nervous and excited,” you tell Alex, as you couldn’t help but feel both the excitement and nervousness bubble in your stomach.” Me too. This is going to be great, I can’t wait to see Jake in all his glory.” Alex sighs, putting a hand over her heart. “ I can’t wait to see Danny,” you smile, joining Alex as you guys lean against each other swooning over your crushes. It’s another 10 minutes of waiting in line before you guys make it through the checkpoint and show security your tickets.

Once you and Alex got through you first went to buy a few items from the merch tables they had. You both were able to get a t-shirt and a cute little keychain. Thankfully Alex had brought a small clear backpack, so you guys put everything in there and went to get drinks before finding your seats. Getting two bottles of water and some candy to snack on while you guys watched the concert, you guys went to look for your seats. “Can you believe we’re finally going to see Greta Van Fleet in concert,” doing a little dance and a little happy scream, you and Alex couldn't contain your excitement.

It’s a little past an hour into the opening act and half a liter of water later that you ask Alex if they need to use the bathroom. “No I’m good, but can you get me some more candy, please,” she asks, handing you her card, “yeah, what kind?” You ask leaning even closer as the band performing picks up in volume. “ Surprise me!” She yells, laughing, you tell her you’ll be back in a few minutes. As you made your way through the mostly empty hallways, you seemed to have taken a wrong turn halfway down. Groaning in frustration when you go through another set of doors and still don’t see a restroom sign anywhere in sight, you continue.

At some points, you could hear the music and the crowd pick up in volume with each door and hallway you passed. Another two minutes and you finally see the sign for a restroom come into sight, with a sigh of relief you carry on the last few feet. When the door suddenly opens and out walks Danny Wagner. A little shocked and confused, you halt your steps and just stand there. I mean come on it’s Danny ( A total Babe) Wagner! That’s when he chooses to look up, which makes you feel like a deer caught in headlights. “I don’t think you’re supposed to be back here?” He says confused and a little apprehensive, not knowing if you’re a fan and how you’ll react to him being there.

A little at a loss for words, you blush as you manage to get out, “ I was looking for the restroom.” You even managed to point out the sign that read restroom, as if he didn’t just come from there. Chuckling a little he nods his head, “ ah right the bathroom, sure you did.” Blushing even harder, you shake your head, “ scouts honor I promise, I just need to pee, but I guess I went too far and there wasn’t anyone around to ask for help. I’m sorry I’m just gonna go find another bathroom. So, umm thanks, your hair looks amazing, and you know enjoy the show.” And there goes any chance you had with him, you think as you turn on your heels ready to book it out of there and go die of embarrassment.

“Hey wait!” You can’t help but wince a little, you just embarrassed yourself in front of Danny and know he’s actively trying to talk to you. Turning around you look at him in all his gorgeous gorgeous glory, long wavy hair, beautiful brown eyes, and a cute smile that could melt you on the spot. “You there?” snapping out of your little daydream of him. You look at him a little confused, “sorry, what did you say?” “ I said you can just use this restroom,” he laughs a little and then adds. “If you want, no pressure.” Now it’s his turn to have a light dusting of a rose tint to his cheeks.

Right as you go to tell him you're fine, Josh comes jogging in to let Danny know they’re on in 30. Although as he sees Danny talking to you, he assumes you snuck backstage to see them. Frowning Josh yells for security, while also addressing you, “Hey you can’t be back here.” Having someone sneak in a few shows back, Josh and the guys made sure there was more security. They didn’t want some crazed person trying to harass them again like last time.” Hey man, it’s fine, she was just looking for the restroom.” Danny tells Josh, wanting to defuse the situation before it escalates. “Yeah sure she did, Sammy almost had his arm broken by a so-called fan that got backstage. No fans,” Josh says as he points at you on the last part.

Being star-struck by seeing, and being near two members of your favorite band, it takes you a second too long to register that Josh has called for security. “ It's fine I’m leaving, I didn't mean to start anything like Danny said I just need to use the restroom.” Knowing it wasn’t anything against you, you knew Josh is just worried about his friend and brothers, as you go to turn, you hear. “Alright kid, let’s go.” A voice from behind you says as another security guard comes towards you and Danny. Still thrown off and confused you back away from them, panicking a little you go to step away from, not wanting them to touch you again. “Hey don’t touch me, I’m going” apparently one of the guards didn’t like how slow you were moving and gave you a shove.

“keep walking kid we don’t have all day,” “hey, what the fuck is your problem I’m going. Don’t put your hands on me!” You yell moving away from the guard, getting upset that they were being rude to you. “Woah hey, that wasn’t necessary, she’s complying.” At this point, Danny is standing next to you again. “We’re doing our job by keeping crazed fans away.” The guards’ tell Danny, as his friend grabs your arm to drag you with them. “ Hey let go of her,” Danny steps in, pulling the guard's arm off yours. “Sir let us do our job, we’re here to make sure you guys stay safe. Now, why don’t you go do yours, pretty boy” the guard tells Danny mockingly.

You could see the annoyance on Danny’s face at the guards' comment, but he stays quiet, instead, he turns to Josh. “Josh please, tell them she's fine man.” Danny looks pleadingly at Josh, conflicted Josh looks at Danny then at you. “I’m sorry man, no fans backstage.” Josh shrugs and walks away, huffing Danny turns to the guards. “ Can I at least be the one to walk her out?” He asks looking at them both, “Danny it’s fine. You have a show to get ready for. I’ll be fine.” You tell him, placing your hand on his arm, giving it a light squeeze for reassurance. “No it’s not, I don't like the way these guys are treating you, you came here to have fun and enjoy the show!” he tries to reason with you, “not to be harassed by security.” he huffs out the last part.

“It’s fine I caused enough trouble. Just go get ready, you got a lot of other people here that want to see you play your heart out.” You smile at him, taking your hand off of his arm. “I also still really need to pee.” “Right, yeah haha, but at least tell me where you’re seating,” he asks, stuffing his hands in his pockets, “ close to the pit.” You giggle starting to walk away with the guards, having them follow you now. “At least tell me your name?” He shouts after you, right before you get to the double doors leading away from Danny. You turn, smiling at his stance, his arms thrown in the air, “It's Y/N, and don’t forget it!” You shout back, turning around you make your way to the nearest restroom!

Author’s note: let me know if you guys would like a part 2.

Here’s the link to part two

[wandsolsen]

Champagne Problems

Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Summary: In which Wanda rejected your marriage proposal, inspired by Taylor Swift's song Champagne Problems.

Warnings: pure angst, cursing.

Word Count: 1.8k

↳ Please, be aware that English isn't my first language, fell free to tell me if there are any mistakes.

You booked the midnight train for a reason, you wanted to contemplate your pain with your head against the train window.

The reason for your suffering had a name, Wanda Maximoff.

You sat down in one of the seats, feeling the hurt in your chest burning hard just for thinking about her. The train wasn't too much crowned, however, it wasn't all empty. There were people talking and people sleeping, you were not sure which was worse.

People looked at you, certainly worried about how miserable you were.

You finally rested your head on the train window, looking at the view from the outside. Unintentionally, you remembered Wanda's hand holding yours as the two of you danced on the dance floor.

Wanda smiled at you, and she looked happy. But she wasn't, at least, not complete. Not happy enough to say yes.

However, nobody could ever have thought that she would say no.

You felt the tears coming out, your mouth trembled as you remembered. Your heart was made of glass and she let it drop it.

You had prepared a speech, but when you got down on your knees, you didn't find the expression of emotion and excitement that you had imagined she would had. Instead, you saw Wanda's body tense and fear in her green eyes.

You were speechless.

She didn't even let you ask, she ran away, leaving you there, on your knees and crestfallen on the dance floor.

You were so broken that you hadn't the strength to reach out to her, Wanda's love escaped beyond your reaches.

You saw the pity look that your family and friends gave to you. You had told them that you were going to propose Wanda that night, you couldn't keep it a secret.

You had bought Dom Pérignon and one of your family members had already popped the bottle in an early celebration, it was humiliating.

"Maybe it's just one of her...What does she call? Oh, yeah," Steve remembered before anyone could answer him. "her champagne problems." Steve was trying to calm you down, but he wasn't succeeding.

Fuck Wanda, you thought, your veins filled with angry. Fuck her and her champagne problems.

But even with all the fury you were feeling, Wanda's picture was still in your wallet along with your mom's ring.

You didn't hate her for leaving, you could never hate her.

You remembered the first time you made Wanda blush, it was in November.

You both met in college, and you thought you were the luckiest person in the world for having Wanda as your roommate. She was organized, friendly and didn't ask too many questions, everything a person could want from a roommate.

"Someone said to me that this door was once a madhouse." You said to her, wanting to make small talk.

"Well, it's made for me." Wanda made a joke, and you chuckled.

"A beautiful and intelligent woman like you in a madhouse? I find it hard to believe."

"Beautiful people do have problems too." Wanda's face was getting flush.

"I know, I know." You said. "I just wanted to praise you because, well, you're definitely one of the most beautiful girls on the campus."

And there it was, Wanda's face all red and her shy smile on her lips. You felt your heart beating faster than usual at that moment.

"So do you?" You continued.

"Do what?"

"Have problems."

"Just champagne problems." She answered.

"Champagne problems?" You asked, with your furrowed eyebrows.

"Yes, nothing meaningful or worth mention," She explained. "when compared to the others issues around the world."

"Well, champagne or not, they're still problems."

She thought about your words for a moment, but didn't say anything. Wanda continued to devalue her own problems, claiming that her issues were insignificant and there were worse things in the world.

Wanda was very reserved in the beginning, it was usually you who started the conversations. It didn't take long for you to fall in love with her.

I mean, how could you not? She was gorgeous and caring. Wanda was kinder than the most people you had ever met. She was a dream girl, with her hair loose and long, her sweet smile and her funny laugh. The way she was always up to help someone in need, and how she tried to empathize with everyone.

Wanda was absolutely flawless.

You only asked her out on a date when you were sure she wouldn't reject you.

Now, seeing from afar, you could see how stupid you were. You should have waited, just kneeling after knowing for sure that she would say yes.

But that's the problem.

You had sure that Wanda would say yes with tears dropping from her eyes. Then, your song would have played, you would have kissed her and held her hand tight while dancing. Your friends would have cheered with joy, and Wanda would have hugged you with a radiant smile on her face.

You let out a breath of pain. You now lived with only wishes. Because she dropped your hand while dancing, instead of holding tight.

Just champagne problems, she would say, about this dramatic situation.

You had a black Chevy that Wanda loved, she enjoyed riding in your car, even if you never go anywhere special. And when the car stopped running and you decided that was time to buy a better one, Wanda didn't let you. Often you saw her on the passenger seat murmuring whatever song was playing on the radio.

Nevertheless, the Chevy wasn't going anywhere. Just like your relationship.

Feeling tired of sitting there in this hurt, you left the train and went to the nearest hotel that you could find, you didn't want to come back home anytime soon.

You lived in a small town, your failed marriage proposal was probably spreading in the mouth of people like a disease.

Your turn on your phone, there were many messages and missed calls from your friends, but no one of them matters to you. Except one.

There was one voicemail from Wanda. Just that. She didn't send you a dozen messages like your friends, just a voicemail.

You set down on the bed, before listening to her voice for the last time.

Hey, Y/N, it's me, Wanda. I think I owed you an apology for leaving you out there standing. I-I can't do this, I'm sorry.

Wanda's voice was trembling, it sounded like she was crying. Why was she crying? She left you, not the other way around.

You didn't know it was possible for your heart to break more, but it did. The sound of her painful voice would haunt you forever.

I really can't give you a reason, I guess I never was ready for commitment. Sometimes you just don't know the answer until someone gets on their knees and asks you, you know?

There was a long pause, so long that you thought the message was over. However, Wanda's voice filled the room again:

You deserve someone better than me, you always had. Someone who is not fucked up in the head like me, someone who will never hurt you like I did. You'll find a real thing out there, she will pick up the pieces of your broken heart and she will patch up your tapestry that I shredded. She will be so perfect that you will not remeber me, or all my champagne problems.

Your vision was blurred because of the tears that fall uncontrollably from your face.

Ours... your friends called, they all are worried about you, please contact them.

There was another long pause.

I lov...

Your heart started to race at the words she was about to say, but Wanda gave up halfway, as if realizing that the words were not true.

Goodbye, Y/N.

And that was it.

Four years of relationship saying goodbye in a voicemail of less than five minutes.

Your throat burned from holding on to crying for so long, you wanted to scream until your vocal cords burst.

You loved her more than anything, and she left as if it were nothing. As if your love meant nothing.

You took the picture of Wanda that was still on your wallet, and tore it into several pieces before throwing it in the trash.

Eventually, the sleep caught you while you were crying in the hotel bed, similar to a friendly hug in the midst of so much pain.

━━━━━━ ᗢ ━━━━━━

You heard that Wanda left town, without looking back, on the same day that she rejected your proposal.

Wanda's sweet perfume was still impregnate, along with your memories with her, in every room of the house that the two of you used to live. You didn't manage to stay there, it didn't take long for you to sell the house and buy an apartment in the city center.

You sold your black Chevy, there was no one around to stop you.

You also sold Wanda's things that she left behind, you didn't want anything to remind you of her. Because after the end of the day, you were still mad at Wanda. For leaving, for didn't give you a good reason, for making your waste four years of your life.

"She would've made such a lovely bride, what a shame she's fucked in the head." That was probably the last thing that someone spoke about Wanda, before another big gossip emerge in your town and they eventually forgot the humiliation that she put you through.

At first, you stayed in your new apartment with your heart broken, just watching futile reality shows and eating junk food. Steve, your best friend, was there all the time giving you emotional support, even though he didn't always know how to say the right thing.

But eventually you had to face reality, after all, you suffering or not, life still went on.

It took two years before you were ready to fall in love again. And two years since you had heard from Wanda, you didn't know about her even on social media, since she had deleted them all.

It was as if Wanda had simply disappeared, little by little, she became a myth in your life, a ghost that haunted you from time to time. Not even your friends and family mentioned her name.

Sometimes you wondered if she really existed, if you haven't invented her in your head.

It was in a bar outside the town, that you met Natasha Romanoff. She was self-confident and carried a death look in her eyes, rigid on the outside, but soft on the inside. She had short red hair and was not very fond of wearing jewellery.

Totally different from Wanda.

Natasha was fun to be around, it was easy to understand her because she was always honest with you.

You started to date her on the very first day of summer. Then, after spending all the four seasons together, you started to carry your mom's ring in your pocket and Natasha's picture in your wallet.

And when you got on your knees, she didn't leave you crestfallen on the dance floor. She said yes, and held your hand tight while dancing.

However, in the end, Wanda was wrong.

You still remeber all her champagne problems.

[imerdwarf]

Love At First Crash

Summary: your car gets taken to the repair shop where you meet the man who will repair it for you.

Prompt:

Pairing: Mechanic!Bucky x Reader

Warnings: flirting, mild angst, idiots in love, happy ending 🥰

Word Count: 2,128 (I AM SO SORRY)

Author's Notes: This is for @the-ss-horniest-book-club's Drunk Drabbles 💜 my first time writing for mechanic!Bucky, thank you so much @jobean12-blog for checking it and giving me your thoughts 💜

It's been just a few days since you've visited the repair shop and met the owner Bucky Barnes. His charming smile made your tummy feel like you had a swarm of butterflies fluttering around inside.

His tight white tank top was pulled so tightly across his chest that his pecs could be seen. His black jeans that sculptured around his thick thighs to show off those thigh muscles, his mechanical outfit was matched perfectly with his black boots.

Your footsteps echoed off the bare concrete walls and floors as you entered the repair shop back from the back entrance. The metal shutters with a dangling chain link was rolled halfway up and a dozen of motorcycles parked next to the doors.

The distant quiet music from the digital radio did very little to quieten your footsteps. Bucky had heard you and rolled himself out from underneath your car. He smirked up when he saw you approach him.

"Hey there doll." Bucky showed off his perfect pearly whites and that was the same smile that gave you the butterfly feeling.

"Hey Bucky," you smiled back and sheepishly shoved your hands in the front of your pockets. You had originally opted to call him James, but he beefy man insisted on Bucky since his close friends and family called him by that name and James had sounded so foreign to his ears.

Bucky stood up, his biceps flexing under his movements and you couldn't stop the creeping flush. You cleared your throat and looked at your car.

"She's looking good!" Bucky's smile grew wider by how excited and happy you were.

"Yes you are," he muttered under his breath but you heard him say something. Your head snaps towards him and grin.

"What did you just say?" Bucky blushed and now it was his turn to clear his throat and rub the back of his neck, unknowingly with his greasy padded fingertips which left a black streak.

"I said she is, she won't be too long in here actually, a few more days." He wanted to exhale his sigh of relief when you nodded your head and looked back at your car.

"Great, you're the best Bucky!"

Bucky was absolutely beaming from the praise but it wasn't a lie, Bucky really was the best. He was so the best in fact that you found yourself daydreaming about the beefy mechanic days after you visited him at the shop.

You were laying on your couch listening to the birds singing outside and staring up at the white ceiling with your hands resting on your stomach thinking about that gorgeous smile of his. You loved the way his hair was always slicked back into a bun and how his shirt was always grease stained, a sign of a hard working man. You knew he was working hard to get your car back on the road as soon as possible, he kept in touch to let you know how everything was going.

You were falling for him, fast and hard. He was all you could ever think about, he was all you dreamed about and he lived rent free in your head.

Your gut clenches from the thought that realistically, he is probably in a serious long-term relationship with a much more beautiful woman, one that must make him happy because he was always in a good mood and always smiling.

Your chances of ever being with him were really slim, and it was such a bitter pill to swallow. He was just a crush and that is all he would ever be. But it didn't stop you from creating scenarios in your head with him. What your evenings would look like cuddled on the couch watching movies, listening to music or just talking to each other. What kind of food you'd cook him, would he kiss you as a compliment? In your head he does.

You wonder what it would be like to have him underne—

"Y/N!" Wanda's voice suddenly breaks through your thoughts and you blink back to reality. You mumble a response and Wanda finds you laying on the couch staring up to nothing, again, "still daydreaming about your hot boyfriend?" She teases and you scoff, sitting up to glare at her.

"He is not my boyfriend. Never was, never will be." Your face drops when you said it out loud, as though it suddenly dawned on you.

"But you have a crush on him right?" Wanda pushes and you regret ever spilling the beans to her in the first place, of course she is never going to let this go.

"No." You lied.

"Then why does he make you look so sad?" Damn it Wanda, "look, I'm not here to pressure you but my brother is back in town and we are meeting at the bar tonight! He misses you and wants to see you!"

"Bucky misses me?!" You may have zoned out again thinking about Bucky. Wanda rolls her eyes and laughs lightly.

"No! Pietro! But I'm sure Bucky does kiss you... I mean miss you!"

You smiled, great now another thing to add to your scenarios.

"What time?"

"8pm sharp! Don't be late!" She kisses your cheek in a friendly manner before skipping out of your door and leaving you alone with your thoughts. You had a few more hours to lay here and do nothing but think about him.

***

The bar was crowded when you arrived and you headed towards the bar to order a drink when Pietro came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist. You screeched out when you turned around and saw it was him, pulling him into a tight hug and keeping your hands on his forearms as he kissed your cheeks.

It might have been innocent, but from where Bucky was stood, it seemed like the two of you were an item and his heart dropped into his stomach and his mood turned sour.

He had no idea you were with Pietro, he knew him because he's a well known lawyer with a lot of successful cases under his belt so he couldn't blame you for being with someone with a clean job while he went to work everyday in a greasy repair shop.

He's only met you a dozen times but he doesn't remember you ever smiling that brightly at him when you were in his repair shop.

"You're brooding." Natasha, one of Bucky's oldest friends told him as she sipped her dry red wine. Bucky rolled his eyes and swished his beer around in his hand.

"I'm fine." Bucky scoffed and turned his angle away from Natasha.

"You're in love." Bucky again rolls his eyes and tries to ignore her. He tries to ignore you both, he tries to contain the jealousy that desperately wants to come out and say something about the way you're not even pulling away from Pietro.

"I'm leaving," Bucky tells Natasha, chugging the rest of his beer before slamming the bottle down on a nearby table, he turns to Nat and points a finger in her face, "and don't follow me."

The catch-up with Pietro was nice, it's been a few years since you've seen each other and he was telling you about his new wife when you saw Bucky storm out of the bar over his shoulder. Your eyes widened, never even noticing he was here and oh god, how this must have looked. Your heart sunk when you saw a redhead follow in his direction, that must have been his girlfriend.

Your mood to stay in the bar any longer was diminished and now all you wanted to do was go home and be by yourself.

You excused yourself from Pietro's grip and bid Wanda a quick goodnight before making a quick exit out of the bar and heading straight home.

Your thoughts kept you up the whole night. You couldn't sleep and tossed and turned throughout the cold night. You kept thinking back to the way he stormed out of the bar, if only you had seen him sooner.

Wanda entered your home early the next morning to find you already sitting up at the kitchen table nursing a hot cup of coffee. You looked exhausted and she could tell you haven't slept.

"Hey." She whispers, putting her hand on your shoulder, "are you okay?" You nod your head and sigh, not being in the mood to talk about things right now.

"I'm fine, just tired from last night." It's a lie that Wanda seems to accept for now.

"Barnes called." Wanda sighs and your head snaps up, "your car is ready to be picked up. I'll go and get it for you so you can rest." You feel upset that he couldn't or didn't want to call you but called your emergency contact instead.

"O-kay."

"I'll be back in a bit!" Wanda leaves quickly, jumping into Pietro's car and rehearsing the conversation in her head before she confronted Bucky.

Bucky was wiping his dirty greased up fingertips on the rag he had stuffed in his back pocket when Wanda arrived with Pietro. He saw him drive off shortly after she got out and Bucky refrained from rolling his eyes.

He was probably going home to you. He thought selfishly to himself. He mustered the biggest smile he could but it didn't fool Wanda.

"Wanda."

"Barnes, you called?"

"Yeah, Y/N's car is ready."

"And you couldn't inform her why?" Wanda queried, noting the disappointing look that swam in his eyes.

"I didn't think Pietro would like that."

Wanda bent over and held her stomach as she laughed. Bucky's eyebrows pinched together in confusion, "What's so funny?" He snapped, angry at how this whole thing was completely unfair.

"I'm sorry- it's just- it's just- oh god- Pietro is my brother and he's married." Wanda said between breaths.

This only infuriated Bucky even further, "good for him but I don't need to know how happy they are together!" He needed to chill and calm down. Jealousy was not a good look.

"He isn't married to Y/N. She's single, has a crush on you, maybe even hopelessly in love with you but that's fine if you want to-"

"She's what?" Bucky asks shocked, there's no way a pretty dame like yourself could love him. He's too basic, too plain.

"Why don't you drop me home in Y/N's car and take her car back to her yourself and you'll see what I mean." It was an offer he couldn't refuse. If Wanda wasn't pulling his leg, and you really were single, he needed to get to you before someone else did.

***

It's been well over an hour since Wanda left to pick up your car. In that time, you managed to take a shower to release your tense muscles, take something for the pounding headache and change into an outfit.

You were really excited to get your car back, making a promise with yourself that you'll be a lot more careful this time and try not to get into more car crashes.

You heard the engine in your driveway and you leapt towards the front door with a smile on your face, your smile growing even wider when you saw it wasn't Wanda behind the wheel, but Bucky. You couldn't put your finger on why you were so happy to see him, maybe it was a little hope he didn't hate you after all.

He got out of the car and strolled up towards you with a matching smile on his own face. His hands were in his front pockets and he looked amazing dressed in all black with a black leather jacket.

"Hi!" Your dam almost breaks, you were awake the whole night worrying about what would happen and then he didn't call you himself this morning about your car, it was easy to jump to conclusions, "I'm so happy to see you."

"Doll, I'm sorry I didn't call- my thoughts- well, I mean my feelings got in the way and I let my jealousy shine brighter than the sun." He chuckled shyly.

"Please you don't need to explain, it's me who owes you an explanation. You see, Pietro and I are—"

"No need doll. Wanda told me everything. It's a pretty warm day, Steve is covering for me back at the shop and I wondered if you'd like to head down to the beach with me?"

You grinned and looked down to your feet before looking into his eyes again, "I can make a picnic?"

"Sounds like a date!"

"A date it is."

Taglist: @smokeybluebrooke-lyn @pinkdiamond1016 @whatrambles @bestofbucky

[crescent-yoon]

Lovers In The Night 🌙

Ib: Lovers In The Night - Seori

Summary: What happens when a boy and a girl meet for the first time, only to have this one night. All by pure coincidence.

🌙

Bullies. That's how you managed to bump into Yang Jungwon. It was funny, really. The bullies were the one that chased you but you didn't know whether to be angry or thank them because that's how you met Jungwon after all.

They were chasing you over god knows what, you had been running from them for so long that you hadn't even begun to remember anymore, when you had bumped into something hard that had caused you to fall onto the ground.

"I'm sorry." You shyly and quickly nodded towards him, hearing the bullies approaching. Their loud feet stomping on the pavement as they ran in your direction.

"Hey!" One of the bullies yelled as they came to a stop a few feet behind you. "Y/N. Where do you think you're going? You can't avoid us."

You couldn't find it in you to move or glance behind you. All you could do was bring yourself to stare at the ground, almost completely forgetting about the boy in front of you.

"She's with me." He suddenly speaks up with a clear of his throat.

Why is he sticking up for me? You thought to yourself.

"Isn't that Yang Jungwon?" You heard another one of the bullies say.

So, Jungwon was his name.

"That is okay, right?" Suddenly, he looks down at you and asks you, "they're not bothering you, are they?"

It was the kind of tone that someone uses when they already know the answer, or the kind of tone a parent uses to lecture a young child.

"N-no?" You couldn't help but stutter as you looked and saw the fear in the bullies' eyes.

What's the matter with them? You internally asked, confused but you wouldn't dare question it aloud.

"Alright, well." He flashed a smile, it seemed almost misleading. "You can leave now. Y/N's with me."

The bullies all bowed politely in acceptance and quickly ran back in the direction the had chased me from. While you still sat on the ground, watching it all.

Once they were out of the two of yours peripherals, he looked down at you with a smile. Though this one was different. This one seemed genuine.

"Jungwon." His dimples showed as he extended his hands out towards you partially for a handshake and partially to help you up.

"I'm Y/N." You returned the smile, dusting of your hands on your pants before accepting his hand.

It seemed as though he was going to say more but his own thoughts had interrupted him.

With wide eyes he asked, "Doesn't your ankle hurt?"

Confused, you had looked down only to see that your ankle was bleeding just a bit, but you had felt fine.

"No, I'm alright." You laughed, nervously. You weren't sure why you were nervous but you weren't uncomfortable.

"Come on." He sighed as he suddenly bent down, back in front of you.

"Huh??"

"Get on my back."

You weren't sure why you had agreed. I mean, your ankle had felt just fine and you had only met Jungwon approximately 5 minutes ago.

"Where are we going?" You asked, wrapping your arms tighter around him as he carefully stood up.

"The convenience store," he grunted as he started walking. "They're always open and you're ankle is going to get infected if you don't take care of it."

You didn't have any objections seeing as how you were quite a forgetful person. By the time you got home, you'd be so exhausted that you'd forget about your ankle entirely.

"It isn't far away. It's probably down the block from here."

"Do you live around here?" You asked as you rested your chin on his shoulder. "I don't think I've seen you around before."

"I used to live around here but recently I moved to Seoul because of the things happening in my life right now."

"Oh, did something bad happen?"

"Quite the opposite, actually." He grunted as he placed me on a chair in front of the convenience store. "Amazing things happened to where I could fulfill my dreams."

More was on the tip of your tongue. You wanted to ask what that dream was but as he was straightening out his flannel he asked, "do you want anything, like a drink or a snack, while I'm in there getting stuff for your ankle?"

Though you were hungry, you had already felt bad enough that he had carried you there and offered to treat your ankle. So, you just shook your head and watched him go inside.

As you waited for him to come back out, you couldn't help but notice how beautiful the moon looked.

Soon, Jungwon had come out of the convenience store with what looked like more than he could carry. He was holding a bag with the handles in his mouth (you had assumed that it was probably items for your ankle), two sodas on his sides, keeping them there with his arms, and two bowls of noodles in his hands. You had stood up to try and help him but he just shook his head and mumbled a firm 'no' at you.

After he has set the items down with a bit of hassle, he slid one of the sodas and bowl of noodles towards you as he put your ankle on top of his thighs.

"I know you said that you weren't hungry but I could totally see through you." Jungwon laughed as he began opening a bag of cotton balls and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. "It was so obvious that you were hungry. I really don't mind buying you food, plus it'll be a good distraction for you."

"A distraction?" You tilted your head, mouth full of noodles as you began to feel a stinging sensation on your ankle.

Now you had known what he meant. It was to distract you from the fact that he was going to clean your wound up and it would burn.

You tried your best to keep still and continue eating as he treated your ankle. You even tried to ignore the fact that now, he had moved on to the cotton swabs and ointment. You were most definitely trying your hardest not to flinch, scared that you might injure him and then you'll both need to be treated.

You were halfway done with your ramen when he had finsished cleaning it and wrapped a bit of gauze over your ankle.

He gently patted your ankle as if he were indicating that he were finished and that it's okay.

"See. All done." He mumbled as he took a bite of his noodles. "And you're ankle is swollen, by the way."

"Thank you." I smiled gratefully at him as I finished eating as well. "I can still walk though. So you really didn't need to carry me and you really didn't have to do all these nice things for me."

"It's fine, really." He tilted his head at me, his dimples reappearing again. "Plus, I was going to ask you for a favor."

It caught you by surprise but you answered with a, 'sure'.

"I don't know the next I'll be around here, so if it's okay with you, hang out with me. Just for this one night."

Somehow he kept managing to surprise you and always, you couldn't find it in you to say no to him.

"Alright." You said, causing Jungwon to burst with glee.

You two had finished eating and before you knew it, he was holding onto your hand and running with you far off into the darkness.

"Where are we going?" You asked a you tried to keep your feet in place with his, wincing from time to time from your ankle.

"That's the beauty of it, Y/N." He yelled over the sound of your footsteps. Though you were behind him, you could hear the excitement in his voice and feel it in the way he gently squeezed your hand. "We don't know! We'll just have to adventure!"

You kept running as far as each other's feet carried you until you two had found an arcade and a claw machine outside.

"Wait, Y/N!" He stopped and pulled you over to the claw machine. "Let's play this! I bet I can totally win you something!"

You were in happy disbelief. How could this boy get so excited over winning something for you and why would he want to do that?

You watched as he attempted and immediately failed. He looked at you in shock and pointed at the machine as if he were in utter disbelief that he had just lost.

"Wait. Did you see that?" He shook his head playfully as turned back to the machine again. "Let me try it again."

At this point, you couldn't help but be amused. You knew that it was a game designed for people to lose but you couldn't help but find it funny (and a quite cute) that he was concentrating so hard.

After a few more attempts, you started to glance at the arcade. Curious about what games you and Jungwon could play on there.

"Can I try it?" You smiled at him after he had lost another attempt.

"Sure." He smiled with an amused look on his face as he crossed his arms and leaned on the glass, putting another coin in the machine for you. "But don't expect to win though. You saw how it went for me. It's deadly difficult."

You couldn't help but shake your head with a smile as you pinpointed the plush doll that you had wanted to win. You really wanted to get the sheep plush. It reminded you a bit of Jungwon for some reason. After a few seconds of trying to center the claw, you decided to push the button that makes the claw grab it.

You jumped up and down in joy and surprise as you had managed to collect it. You hadn't even noticed that you had quickly hugged Jungwon.

His eyes had widened and he stood there in shock. Partially due to the fact that you got a plush doll in your first try and partially because you had just hugged him and he felt tingly inside.

You handed him the sheep plush with a giggle as he still stood like a statute and began walking off into the arcade.

It took him a second to come to realization but he ran after you with the plush doll in his hands and grabbed your hand to make sure that you don't wander off anywhere else.

You had no idea why but you felt all tingly inside when he had done that.

"What do you want to play?" Jungwon asked you as he swayed your intertwined hands together, holding the sheep plush in his other.

"Well, we just have tonight right?" You turned to look at him unsure of the meaning of the gleam in his eyes. "So let's enjoy everything."

You two giggled and played in the arcade for at least a good two hours. Sometimes he'd beat you and tease you a bit for losing, and other times, you'd beat him and do a little victory dance just to gloat. You were having so much fun that you hadn't even remembered about your ankle.

"Where to next, Y/N?" Jungwon smiled at you brightly, the sheep plush still in his hand while a bunny was held tightly in yours, yet he still swung your hands back and forth.

Of course you hadn't mind it, but you were getting serious butterflies everytime he held your hand and showed that smile.

"I picked the arcade, so it's your turn." You giggled at him, a bit shy suddenly.

"Let's just walk around for a while." He continued walking alongside you, holding your hand and putting it in his coat pocket due to the chilly night air.

You two didn't stop walking until you reached a bridge where the night sky could be seen clearly and the moon shine so brightly.

"Does your ankle feel better? I totally forgot about it." He spoke to you as he kept his eyes fixated on the moon.

You glanced back at the moon too as you squeezed his hand, "It's fine. You really shouldn't worry about it so much."

After responding, the summer air seemed to fill the silence before Jungwon spoke once again, "The moon looks beautiful tonight".

But when you glanced back at him, you noticed that he wasn't looking at the moon but at your intertwined hands.

"It does." There was honesty in your answer, but there was also affection laced into the tone of your voice.

Another silence. But at the same time, you felt like your heart was beating so loud that even Jungwon could hear it.

"Can I kiss you?" He spoke after a while, just barely being able to meet your eyes. The shock on your face was evidently clear.

"What?"

And before you knew what had happened, the boy had leaned close, releasing the hand that held yours to cup your face. And nothing had stopped you the moment your lips had intertwined instead, but your heart had urged you to return the kiss.

"I wish we didn't only have this night and I'm kind of sad that it's over so soon."

"Me too." You looked up at the moon, trying to avoid his eyes.

You held onto his hand and he walked alongside you. Not knowing where you were taking him. You two just walked in silence until had stopped in front a house.

1130 Jungwon thought to himself. I'll keep that in mind.

"Well, this is my house." You turned as you smiled at him. "I've got to go inside. My parents are totally going to be in my case in the morning for being home so late. Thanks for tonight, Jungwon. It's the most fun I've had in a long time."

You began to walk towards the door until a gentle force pulled you and Jungwon's lips had met with yours once again.

"Tonight was the most fun that I've had in a long time too, Y/N."

Those dimples reappearing once more.

"Let's trade plushies." He smiled as he switched his sheep plush for your bunny one. "That way, hopefully, you won't forget about me and I won't forget about you too."

Like you'd ever be able to forget Yang Jungwon.

It was then that you knew what that gleam in his eyes was earlier that shone even now, only in front of you.

Affection.

"Hopefully, I'll get to see you again one day. You might see me again sooner than you think."

It was a sentence that you had gotten slightly confused about but you took his weird for it.

"So then.. this isn't a goodbye," you hugged him. "This is just a really long see you later?"

He hugged you back gently, that being enough of an answer for you. After releasing you from the hug, he gently nudged you towards the front door.

"Go on." He smiled with a wave, his dimples peaking out underneath the moonlight. "I don't want you to get in more trouble because of me."

Waving to him as you gently closed the door, you had wondered if you'd really ever see him again.

You ran upstairs and laid peacefully in your bed with your sheep plush, the memories of tonight replaying in your head.

It wasn't until your friend had forced you to watch an Enhypen stage that you knew what Jungwon truly meant that you might see him sooner than you think.

This was Jungwon.

But the secret between the two of you, the one night that belonged only to you two that you had known of. Getting to be each other's Lovers In The Night.

Author Side Note: This was originally supposed to be a Jake X Reader story but I couldn't find images that suited what I had in mind. I soon realized that Jungwon was perfect for this story.

[whosaskingwrites]

Glass Heart (Oikawa x Reader x Kageyama)

A/N: This was the only request that came in for the follower event which by the way I've extended so its still open. So thanks for requesting this it was fun to write! Full disclosure the Akaashi b-day one was supposed to be uploaded first but I haven't finished it yet so...Also I went a little feral on this cause its the first ever request on the blog 💞. I even added it a small thing from one of my favorite movie series. Also I don't know if this is exactly what you wanted but I did my best to fulfill the request. Some things are changed in it but this is the final product.

Details: 9.4 pages 3,305 words (she long)

WARNINGS: Mentions of blood, angst, heartbreak, there's a happy end for Mc tho, manga spoilers??? Kinda not really???

Date: December 7th, 2020

Theme: Glass Heart Syndrome- Similar to the Hanahaki disease, when a person goes through heart break it causes their heart to literally form into glass and break. It will result in the person never being able to love again or die through the agonizing process. The symptoms include dark cracks on the chest stemming from the heart that spread and grow darker the worse the heartbreak is, the victim becomes physically weaker, and they’ll cough up blood. (Taken directly from the request)

Sachi- means miracle. Thank you @msecchi for requesting 💞 hope you enjoy!

Nightmares.

That's what the doctor said to him. "You can't sleep because of the nightmares!" Thats what he was told by them. For ten years doctors told him its just nightmares. But he knew it wasn't nightmares no...He was being haunted by her. Dead and cold e/c eyes stared at him from the darkness as they dulled. A faint shattering sound accompanied it as he watched shards of glass fall.

His heart was cracked black lines trailed against his skin hidden under his shirt. It had cracked all those years ago when he thought she was gone. She had recovered though it was a miracle really that she had. After all he was there when her heart shattered.

Hanamaki and Matsukawa still looked at him with disgust. They supported him sure but they only supported him because they wanted him out of Japan. Iwaizumi didn't look at him the same either, there was always something hidden behind his gazes. He could take the anger from them though it was worth it to know she was still alive.

He loved her. He knew that, Iwaizumi knew it. For ten years he asked Iwaizumi how she was doing "she's fine," was the only response he got. Now he could see for himself if she was fine. The Olympics were here and he was currently on his way to Japan with his team. It'd been a long time since he'd been back. Almost nine years now but he wasn't worried. He curled into the plane seat shutting his eyes and trying to catch some nightmare free sleep...

___________________________________________

"Y/n-chan! You look really pretty today!" He threw an arm around the h/cette's shoulder pulling her roughly into his side. She stumbled a bit peering up at him through long eyelashes. "Can you let me go please Oikawa-san?" She asked shifting to pry his arm off. He held on though and gasped "Eh? Why Y/n-chan!" He shrieked and just like that his arm was thrown off her shoulder and Iwaizumi stood there.

"Dumbass she doesn't like people touching her!" He yelled flicking him in the forehead. He whined and rubbed at the spot "Iwa-chan you're supposed to be on my side!" Iwaizumi simply shook his head before turning towards Y/n. "So Y/n have you decided on a high school yet?" She merely hummed "I was thinking Shiratori-" "No you can't go there!" Oikawa cut off quickly throwing himself infront of her.

"...Can I finish my sentence?" She asked sending a pointed look towards him. "Please do," Iwaizumi supplied as he covered Oikawa's mouth. "Shiratorizawa but my cousin convinced me to go to Aoba Johsai instead," She finished sending a pointed look towards him. He pried Iwaizumi's hand off to speak "You're going to Aoba Johsai!?" She laughed then smiling at him and he felt his heart rate speed up in response.

It'd been a few months since then he was a third year now and her a sparkling brand new first year at Aoba Johsai. Since day one he'd been around her constantly. Walking her to her classes or sitting with her at lunch sometimes bringing her an extra piece of Milk Bread. Of course the team knew he liked her it stared them in the face everyday. He'd smile at his phone everytime she texted or his face would flush slightly when she complimented him. Not that she ever noticed but they knew she was falling to.

She no longer rejected physical touches from him she leaned into them instead. She always smiled at him whenever he appeared in her line of sight. She even started using his first name! Halfway through the school year everybody knew Oikawa Tooru and L/n Y/n were attached at the hip. Fangirls confessed all the time but he rejected them without fail thinking of the girl with s/c skin and e/c eyes. He wanted her confession but it never came to him. He got tired of the team making fun of him one day. They always picked on him so why should they be allowed to do it when it involves the girl he liked?

"Oh please! Like I even care about her! She's getting boring anyway i'll just move on to a new girl. One that's more exciting and not some bright-eyed first year," He had said crossing his arms and looking up indignantly. "Oikawa...You don't mean that," Iwaizumi said slowly looking at him. "Of course I do. She's boring now," He pushed refusing to crack under the pressure.

Of course how was he going to remember that all of this went down a minute before she was supposed to walk into the gym to watch him practice like everyday? He really should have remembered that if he had things might have gone differently. Practice had ended as usual though it had been quieter than he remembered. Something was missing and he knew it.

He shrugged it off as he left the locker room walking towards the front gates to wait for Iwaizumi with Y/n. "Hey Y/n-chan what'd you think of practice?" He waited a moment to see her rush around the corner in a flurry of excitement but it never happened. "Y/n-chan..?" Rounding the corner of the gate he saw the spot they normally waited in was empty no sign of the beautiful girl anywhere.

There was however a piece of paper trapped against the bars. It was a small thing easily loseable but the way it was crumpled and felt soft meant the paper he held was old and probably had been thrown away. He opened it slowly and glared at what he saw on it. 'Kageyama Tobio xxxx-xxx-xxxx' What were the odds he'd find his enemies number here of all places? Astronomically low he knew as he chucked the paper away.

Iwaizumi had come up then pushing him along while he struggled. "Iwa-chan! Y/n-chan isn't here yet!" Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "She went home. She was feeling sick today," He responded easily while Oikawa's nose crinkled. That was impossible he'd been with her all day except for in class. She was perfectly normal in every way today, he'd have know she was sick.

Maybe if he said something to Iwaizumi instead of keeping quiet he'd have seen her and fixed everything. Maybe if he had made them stop at the park like he did everyday instead of being consumed by his thoughts he might have seen a familiar h/c haired girl sitting with a boy that had blackish blue hair and vibrant blue eyes.

He might have seen the boy give her his jacket and a carton of milk when she started crying. Or how he awkwardly patted her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. But instead the duo walked on with him thinking about how to ask Y/n why she lied. Of course for the next two weeks he wouldn't receive a response since she avoided him at every turn.

Eventually though he cornered her right outside the gym after she dropped off Hanamaki's water bottle. He didn't question why she had it or the black and blue jacket she was wearing that was slightly too big for her. Instead he ran after her stopping her before she got to far. "Hey! Y/n-chan why are you avoiding me!?" He shouted towards her.

She and everyone else nearby stopped people whispered as they looked at them but he didn't care. He watched her turn and froze as dull e/c eyes met his own. "Just speeding things up. After all you said I was boring Oikawa-san,"

___________________________________________

He jolted awake sitting up rapidly as he tried to slow down his racing heart. "Hey you okay man?" He turned his head looking at his teammates who looked startled. "Yeah I'm fine...Just a bad dream," He smiled at them before looking out the window. Japan was spread out below them lights twinkling in the dark.

The smile fell from his face as they landed replaced with a sense of displacement and nostalgia. He gripped his bags tightly tomorrow he would be facing his biggest rivals on the court all to see who would win the gold. He didn't have time to think about what happened to the girl he used to know.

___________________________________________

"Wha- who said you were boring?" He asked stepping towards her. She took a step back in response "You did. Two weeks ago when I went to the gym. I heard you," His eyes widened dramatically as he looked at her "No- That's out of context!" He tried to save it but she just shook her head. 

"Don't lie Oikawa-san," Her eyes became more dull as she spoke. "Don't- dont call me Oikawa please. Dont do that please," he begged reaching out towards her. She coughed then putting a hand up to her mouth. As she did the sleeve of the jacket rolled down and he saw them. The thin black lines trailing across her skin and decorating her pale s/c arm.

"Y/n-chan...," he trailed off as his eyes focused on her arm and the thin trail of blood coming from her mouth. She smiled but it wasn't anything. Only a slight twitch upwards no warmth behind it. "Its okay Oikawa-san you helped me you know?" He paused as he looked at her "Helped you..?" She nodded slowly "Yeah! You helped me realize that love is worthless so thank you," He could only watch in horror as the black veins spread further and widened being accompanied by a cracking sound.

Like someone had thrown a ball threw a glass window she collapsed at the same time a shattering sound filled the air. A girl nearby screamed as Y/n fell while someone else yelled for emergency services. "Y/n!" He was shoved backwards as Hanamaki and Matsukawa ran past him.

"What happened!?" Matsukawa yelled as he lifted her head. He looked at him while blood dripped from her mouth. "I- I don't know. S-she said she heard me a-and-," Hanamaki whipped around at that "She heard you!?" He stood blood had left a red stain on his white track pants. 

"If she dies from this I will never forgive you," Hanamaki hissed. "Makki she's- she's not breathing!" Matsukawa screamed pressing a hand on her heart. Paramedics rushed into the area skittering around as the pushed Matsukawa and Hanamaki away. "What happened?" One of the medics asked. "Glass Heart Syndrome," Hanamaki answered back glaring at Oikawa as he spoke.

"We need to get her out of here right away! Lets go!" The medic had run back over towards Y/n helping to pick her up onto the gurney. They paramedics left quickly with her denying Hanamaki and Matsukawa's attempt to go with her. They raced into the gym grabbing their stuff before running back out. Hanamaki shoved Oikawa out of the way and down to the ground as they ran.

___________________________________________

He sighed as he jolted awake for the third time in a row. This was ridiculous she wasn't even dead so why couldn't he sleep without seeing dead e/c eyes? Guilt that's what Iwaizumi told him. He tilted his head to see the time five am was what the clock told him. He needed to meet the rest of the team at seven thirty so he changed and went running.

The streets he ran on seemed so familiar but so different to him. Of course he stopped at the nearby park it was similar to the one he used to stop at with Iwaizumi and Y/n. Those trips long since abandoned after what he did his eyes flittered over the park until they landed on a h/cette. His eyes widened as he looked at her so similar to the last time he saw her.

Slightly taller and figure slightly rounder perfect to him but it hurt to realize it was a pregnancy bump. The h/c hair on her head sparkled and her e/c eyes glittered with a warmth he hadn't seen in years. He began walking towards her almost starting to run until a voice stopped him. "Y/n!" He stopped immediately snapping his head to the side. Barreling towards her was a male with silver and black hair and golden eyes sparkling. He knew who that was...Bokuto Koutarou wing spiker for the MSBY Black Jackals and he was his opponent in the upcoming game.

He slunk closer and it was then that he noticed a little girl hugged to Bokutos chest. She couldn't have been older than five from what he could see but he noticed that running through the girls h/c hair were streaks of silver. He certainly didn't expect her to take the little girl from him and kiss his cheek. His shock was palpable when she reached a hand up to run through his hair. A thin sliver band with a small diamond on it glared back at him glittering in the sun.

Bokuto had lifted his own hand to run it through the small girl's hair the silver came through more prominently as well as exposing dark navy almost black streaks he hadnt seen before. The little girls head turned revealing a single e/c eyes. His eyes however zoned in on the gold band on Bokuto's finger. He was excitedly talking to her while she shook her head and started walking off. He watched Bokuto's eyes widen comically as the wing spiker ran off after her.

He stood frozen as he watched the scene anybody could see a cute family scene. That should have been him handing her their kid not Bokuto. But it wasn't him no it was someone else. So of course he called Iwaizumi to complain.

"Iwa! You didn't tell me Y/n was married to that- that wing spiker!?" He yelled into the phone while Iwaizumi scoffed. "One I shouldnt tell you anything about Y/n since you ruined that. And two thats not your business," He returned the statement with a scoff of his own. "Not my business? Shes married! You know what Iwa. I'll win her back," Iwaizumi laughed then it was laced with disbelief much like his voice was. 

"Sorry you are gonna try to win back a married woman who has a kid and another one on the way?" Iwaizumi was right that sounded wrong out loud but he couldn't back down. "Yes! I'm gonna win her back from that Bokuto guy!" Iwaizumi snorted "Sorry how'd you figure they were married?" Iwaizumi asked with a laugh "I saw the rings and her daughter has silver hair like him!" He stated indignantly.

Iwaizumi did bust out laughing then "Silver hair? Must have dyed it then," Iwaizumi mumbled quietly. "Iwa what are you going on about?" He asked not being able to hear the male on the other line clearly. "Oh nothing just suprised you don't pay more attention to your sworn enemies," He called uninterested. "I pay enough attention to know they're on the same team and will be playing against me," He hissed and Iwaizumi laughed. "I gotta go. See you later Oikawa," He hung up and Oikawa sighed as he put the phone away.

___________________________________________

"Oh are you all here for Ms. L/n?" The team turned eyes landing on a doctor with short brown hair and hazel eyes. He was clearly foreign but they didn't have any questions other than about her. Looking at them all he could see the fear in their faces and sighed. "Well its a miracle really that she lived. One of the worst cases of Glass Heart Syndrome I've seen in years," Oikawa froze as he felt the numerous glares on his back.

"Thank you doctor...?" Hanamaki walked forward looking at the man. "McCoy. Leonard McCoy," He said holding out a hand. "Thank you Doctor McCoy. Can we see her?" Hanamaki shook his hand while the doctor sighed. "Im afraid not. She still needs some time to recover we're going to try some beta blockers but until we try them I can't allow you guys in just incase," He said turning back around and leaving just like that.

The next week was spent waiting for the news. It came during practice one day for them "The beta blockers worked. She starts school again tomorrow at a new school," Matsukawa said as he walked back into the gym. The team cheered in excitement "Wait a new school? Shes transferring?" He asked stopping everyone while Hanamaki scoffed "she lived which was a fucking miracle and now you want her back here at the school that she almost died at with the person who almost killed her?" He flinched at the tone.

___________________________________________

The game had ended with Argentina's victory them winning the gold. He smirked at the wing spiker on the other side who only tilted his head in confusion silver hair following the movement. Iwaizumi smacked him as he approached "Stop looking at Bokuto like that," He said with a sigh. "I won against him and now I'll do it again," He was determined as he huffed. "Also Iwa how could you! Did you even know they got married!?" Iwaizumi scoffed in disbelief.

"Of course I knew she got married. I was a groomsmen along with Ushijima and Bokuto. Hinata was the best man," He processed the words "Sorry did you say Bokuto was a grooms-," before he could continue his questioning the patter of running feet interrupted him. "Daddy!" He snapped his head to the side seeing the little girl again only this time his jaw dropped.

The girl was pulled into a pair of arms which he followed to their owner. Kageyama's side profile glared back at him as he smiled down at the little girl. From this side he saw her other eye was a vibrant blue shade and sparkled in joy. "Hi angel what's going on here?" He lifted the girls hair in his finger and Oikawa saw the silver band around his ring finger while silver hair slipped through his fingers. "Uncle Kashi took me to the hair salon while he was watching me! I got my hair done to match Uncle Bo!" The little girl threw her arms up with a smile.

"Eh? Why not Uncle Tsumu kid?" Atsumu had asked joining the conversation. The girls nose crinkled "Uncle Bo is better than you!" Atsumu threw a hand over his heart and gasped mocking hurt. "Sachi Kageyama what did I tell you about running off?" Everyone turned seeing Y/n walking over with her arms crossed Akaashi stood next to her carrying her bag of stuff a ring of gold stood out prominently on his finger. "M'sorry mama," The girl now identified fully as Sachi frowned looking down with big eyes.

"Sachi. Just because Uncle Bo's sad face doesn't work on me doesn't mean yours will," She tapped her foot twice and Oikawa felt it the black veins trailing on his skin getting bigger and darker. He could hear the crack in his heart as Kageyama leaned over to kiss Y/n. The two of them fitted together perfectly while Bokuto bounded over to Akaashi and threw an arm around his shoulders. "Alright we get it. You two and your miracle are cute!" Hinata claimed as he shoved the two apart.

Y/n laughed as she looked up her eyes flittered over the other team stopping on Oikawa for a moment. He froze under her gaze. The warmth in her eyes faded replaced by the same empty and dead eyes he'd grown used to. The group had headed towards the exit as he felt the cracks happen rapidly. The last thing he could remember was the loud sound of something glass shattering before he collapsed to the ground.

[livsoulsecrets]

Incantava AU - Chapter 2: Though she be but little, she is fierce!

Masterpost

Previous Chapter

Summary: Eleonora is in London for some days for her brother’s photograph exposition. In her last night in the city, she is convinced by her friends to go out by herself and have some fun. Unexpectedly, she meets other Italian there, a charming boy named Edoardo. Not knowing much else about him, she takes her friends’ advice and has a one night stand with him, not expecting to see the boy after that. Little did she know they were bound to meet each other again.

August 22nd

📲 Edoardo’s Instagram Post

📲 Eleonora’s Instagram Story

20:47

Ele took a deep breath as soon as she stepped into the street after leaving the hotel.

Her phone was buzzing, probably with the girl’s texts from the group chat. She decided not to take it out her pocket, instead focusing in what was around her while she walked to the pub Filo said she had to visit. Knowing better than taking her brother’s word for it, Ele also sneaked the book she was currently reading in her bag, just in case the place turned out to be boring.

When she got to the bar some minutes later, Ele sat down at the table around the corner and ordered some tea and took A Midsummer Night's Dream out of her bag, being fully aware she was being away too much of a cliche tourist drinking tea and reading Shakespeare. She regretted nothing, though. Filo was, like usual, wrong and the place proved itself to be quite boring, being mostly empty except for Ele and a couple standing in the bar’s balcony, so reading is probably her best option. Her tea is served after a while and she continues to read the book, thinking she would probably be better off leaving soon, since nothing interesting is happening there anyway.

That is when she caught eye of a boy that was sitting by the bar. He had dark curls falling in his eyes and, even from that distance, Ele couldn’t help but lose her breath with how soft his brown eyes were. He was staring already when she looked up and, unlikely what she would have expected, he didn’t break eye contact.

He was so gorgeous that Ele felt her face burning with his eyes on her.

The girls’ words keep coming back to her mind, telling her to get out there, live a little, have fun. It wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot… Maybe he is not even trying to flirt with her and all of this is a product of her bored mind.

Either way, Eleonora decided that, tonight, she was going to be brave.

Until that moment, Ele was trying to not stare too much, keeping a bit of her focus on the book at hand. So when she put the book down, the boy crooked an eyebrow in her direction, intrigued. Despite her many doubts about her impulsive decision, she didn’t look away and smiled.

The boy gets up from where he is sitting and suddenly the almost empty place seems too small for the two of them. For a second, it almost looks like he may come her way, but a man suddenly appeared next to him. The other guy seemed to be concerned for something when he got there, but, the more they talked, the more the man relaxed. The boy that was staring at her before put his hand in his friend’s shoulder and talked softly, calming him down.

Ele was tempted to keep staring at him, but she didn’t want to look like a crazy stalker, so she resumed reading her book, trying to focus again.

— Uh… Well, hi, I’m Edoardo. — Ele shut the book away too fast when she heard the voice that was coming from the little stage in the corner of the bar.

Somehow, she just knew who that voice belonged to.

She wasn’t surprised when her eyes were met with the scene of the boy with dark curls, Edoardo, holding a guitar in his hands and staring at the few people who were in the bar.

— Alright… The singer Leo hired for today is going to be a bit late, so, I will just fill up some of your time until he gets here. — Edoardo explained, a bit of shyness leaking through his words. He recovered quickly though, starting to play the first chords of a melody Ele felt like she knew from somewhere. — When you were here before… Couldn’t look you in the eye, you’re just like an angel, your skin makes me cry.

Eleonora always prided herself in being able to stay focus on what she wanted no matter what.

And yet, here she was.

She can’t take her eyes off of him. Maybe it’s the way he closes his eyes when he sings or how soft his voice sounds in English, with the hint of an accent she recognizes. Maybe it’s the moments where he opens his eyes just for a bit and they seem to find their way back to hers.

Whatever the reason is, Ele can’t tell herself to go back to her book and stop paying attention to Edoardo.

Perhaps it’s because she simply doesn’t want to.

— But I'm a creep... I'm a weirdo, What the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here. I don't care if it hurts, I wanna have control, I wanna a perfect body... I wanna a perfect soul.

Either way, the songs seems to end just as abruptly as it began and Ele is brought back to reality with a bit of a shock.

Edo plays another two songs until the hired singer shows up in a rush, but Eleonora has to admit she didn’t really listen to anything after the first song, too focused in analyzing the boy while he wasn’t able to take notice of it.

So when Edoardo leaves the stage to go get some water, Eleonora thinks he won’t pay much attention to her again.

She is quickly proved wrong when he walks right in her her direction.

Surprised and speechless, Ele waits.

He gets closer, the water bottle on his hand, the playful smile he had all the time while singing not going anywhere.

— A Midsummer Night’s Dream? — Edoardo asks, pointing at her book, forgotten at the table.

Perhaps confirming his brown eyes were just as soft standing this close as they were all the way across the room does something to Eleonora’s insides, but she will not be the one to admit it either way.

— Yes… It seemed like the right place to read it again, as cliche as it sounds. — Ele answers, still unsure of what she is doing. He turns his eyes to the empty seat across from her and it is like he is asking if he can sit.

Ele has never been very good at flirting, but she likes the little game they have going on, so she bends her neck, silently telling him to give her a good reason to let him stay.

— “Though she be but little, she is fierce.” — Ele doesn’t know what she was expecting as an answer to her silent question, but that was not it. — That is my favorite quote of this book. Guess I’m a bit of a cliche too. — Ele smiles without even taking notice of it and indicates the chair in front of her with her head. The boy sits down, a playful smile on his face, and she tries not to freak out too much over talking to a complete stranger.

Well, that is why she carries a pepper spray around: preparing for the risks.

After living such a carefully calculated couple of years, she can’t help but feel like she deserves one night of carefree decisions.

— I’m Edoardo. — He says, extending his hand across the table. — But I guess you know that already.

— Indeed. I’m Eleonora. — She answers, taking his hand and shaking it. — You are not from here, are you?

— No, but I have lived here for a year now. The accent is not going anywhere though. I’m from Italy. — He explains and Ele wonders if destiny is playing with her somehow.

— Oh, really? I’m from Italy too!

— We are everywhere, aren’t we?

— We really are! It is insane. — She stops for a second, considering what to do next. — Do you always quote Shakespeare to random girls? — Ele asks, wondering what made he pay such a close attention to her.

— Oh, you caught me, that is all I ever do of my nights. — And it is a dumb answer, of course, but that doesn’t stop Ele from laughing.

— Why did you move here?

— You make a lot of questions, you know?

— And you are not very good at answering them. — Eleonora says back easily and Edoardo nods, agreeing with her, the same playful smile resting in his face, making it harder for Eleonora to look him in the eyes without feeling her face getting hot.

— Fair enough. — He complies. — Let’s switch it, then, why did you come here?

— My brother had a photography exposition in a gallery over here, it ended today.

— You are leaving soon, I assume?

— I’m going back home tomorrow.

— I’m going back in a week. For good, I mean. As much as I love London, it isn’t home. — Edoardo reveals.

— I understand, London is awesome, but I don’t think I could give up on Rome for any other city. — Ele agrees.

— Oh… So you going back to Rome, too? That is where I’m moving back to.

Ele almost looks around the place to see if this isn’t a prank Filo is playing on her because it sounds insane that she ended up flirting with the one italian boy in a bar located in the middle of London.

— Guess we will have to make the most of the time we do have left here. — Edo says and it doesn’t go unnoticed by Ele the way he bites his lip after suggesting it. — What do you want to do in your last night?

— I barely know you. — Ele says back, trying to stop herself from laughing and sound as serious as possible. — What if you are a serial killer trying to abduct me?

— Abduct? What am I, an ET? — This boy definitely has no regard for Ele’s heart. If he keeps smiling like that, she may do something dumb like giving in to his suggestion. — But, okay, okay, that is a honest doubt. — He seems to recover himself a bit from Ele’s answer to look her in the eyes again. — Alright, then! We can let destiny decide it for us.

— Destiny will decide if you are a serial killer or an ET? — Ele grins when he rolls his eyes at her, as if they are old friends with an inside joke.

— Of course not… Destiny will decide what we should do. — He says, as excited as a little child about to get a candy with his new idea. Ele is not sure why she is so easy to trust him, but she nods, indicating she may agree with him.

— Okay… And how do we do it?

— Reading, of course. — He says, as if it is obvious. Ele feels halfway between annoyed and flustered with the way he looks at her after saying such thing.

— Are you going to elaborate on that or…

— It is simple: you open the book in the page you were reading and we do whatever it is telling us to do.

— Well… Guess we’re lucky I wasn’t reading Romeo and Juliet or we would have some serious issues. — Ele whispers just loud enough so he can hear it and it’s adorable how he grins back to her. — Can’t believe I’m doing this, but, here we go: the last sentence I read was “My soul is in the sky”.

Edo stayed silent for some seconds until a smile tugged at his lips. It was a good look on him. But, if she was going to be honest, everything seemed to be a good look on that boy.

— That means we should… Look at the sky? — Eleonora wonders, a little too involved with Edo’s suggestion to her own liking.

— Yes! I mean, if you are sure I’m not a serial killer…

— Or an ET.

— Of course, how could I forget the other hypothesis? If you are convinced I’m not a serial killer nor an ET, then, I may know the perfect place to do that.

She tried to resist, God knows she did.

— Okay, guess I’ll have to trust your word.

— Promise you won’t regret it. — Ele hoped he was right.

— Considering I met you some minutes ago, I might. You are a stranger, after all.

— You keep insisting on that, but it is not true! You know my name and watched me singing. I know which book you are reading and where you are from. I have gone to high school with people I knew less about! — Ele laughs, unsure if there is any logic to his thought process.

— If you say so, Edoardo… — Ele trails off.

— You can call me Edo. — It is all he answers, his eyes never leaving hers.

— Not sure if we are this close yet. — Ele mocks and he only shakes his head in disapproval as response while laughing.

Still, she accepts his crazy idea.

And, what is even more surprising, when Edo heads to the restaurant’s exit, she follows.

Next Chapter

[x-useobwa-x]

༄ Swipe, baby! | Part 12 - Oh, a real gentleman, I see

Idol!Taehyung x Reader sm/au

< Previous | Next >

➺ Word count: 1,5k

Genre: Crack humor, Romance/Fluff

╰ You both swiped right on each others tinder profile with no pictures of yourselves.

You keep the details on the low; no names, no nothing, only your ages. To keep the interest until the meeting, you started talking casually, but little did you know that the guy that's trying to get into your pants is no one else than Kim Taehyung, Singer of BTS, and little does he know, that you are completely whipped for the man, an army by heart since day 1.

Start reading!

⇣ ⇣ ⇣ ⇣ ⇣ ⇣

Taehyungs grip around your wrist is tight and his pace is fast, it's taking all you've got to keep up and not stumble over your own feet.

„Tae- Taehyung,“ you stutter. „Can we slow down it's really hard to walk if you- if you pull me like this.“

„You brought this over yourself y/n, you'll have to learn your lesson.“

Hearing your name falling from his lips nearly has you losing your breath. Your name? Said by the Kim Taehyung? The man you've been losing your mind over for around 6 years? This is more than you've ever dared to dream. It almost makes you lose all the confidence you've built up over the evening. It was fun to tease him and drive him crazy, but now that it's close to happening you're getting pretty nervous, and the fact that he pulled himself together and took the upper hand again is almost intimidating.

As soon as you reach the doors Taehyung agressively types in the door code and continues to drag you over to the elevator. He's repeatingly pressing the button impatiently while waiting for it to arrive.

As soon as it's there, the doors open agonizingly slow and Taehyung shoves you through them the second the doors give enough space to do so; unbothered by the fact they did not fully open yet.

With one swift pull he spins you around so your back is meeting the wall on the left side as he slams his hands onto it and traps you between his arms. Seconds later, all you recognize is how he's leaning in sharply, with his face so close to yours that it has your breath hitching in your throat.

„You shouldn't have played me like this, y/n.“ he says while one of his hands is leaving your side to push the button thats starting the elevator.

You're meeting his hand halfway as he's about to bring it back and take it into yours, locking eyes with him. He's in control right now and you don't like it; you have to do something about this.

After stopping his hand with yours and holding it in place for a second, you're guiding it to rest on your cheek, not losing the intense eye contact even for the smallest of moments.

You watch as his bottom lip trembles and his adams apple bobs in his throat before he exhales shakingly.

Within the blink of an eye, what follows next is his lips crashing onto yours and his fingers diving into your hair. His lips are warm and soft and the kiss is greedy and filled with passion and in this moment its taking you everything to not rip his shirt off of him. His teeth are pulling eagerly at your lower lip and as he lets go of it his tongue is softly grazing your mouth, begging for entrance.

As much as you wanted to have a taste of is tongue, you don't get to let him in; the elevator opens its doors and Taehyung pulls away.

„Let's get out of here so we can continue somewhere more comfortable,“ he growls under his breath while he takes your hand, fingers intertwined.

As you walk towards the door, you can't help but feel overwhelmed by the impressive and gigantic building the boys are living in- not to mention how overwhelming the fact, that you're about to enter their dorm and spend a night with your bias, already is.

Taehyung is quick to type in the door code and he doesn't hesitate to push you through the door immediately.

With the sound of the door closing, he's already finding his way back to your body; his hands are gripping tightly around your waist as he's pulling you closer.

Sadly, just as he's about to lean back in to kiss you, nature is suddenly calling. This might not be the best timing, but on the other hand, it's pretty much just fitting into your plan of gaining back the upper hand. It won't hurt to leave him hanging high and dry for once more.

„Not so fast, big boy,“ you say while bringing up one finger, placing it on his lips, stopping him midway.

„What is it?“ he's asking under his breath as he's planting a kiss onto your finger.

„I kinda have to use your bathroom... can I?“

He's pulling away sharply, confusion visible on his face. „Uhm, of course you can... uhh, it's right over there,“ he responds with raised eyebrows as he's pointing into a direction.

You free yourself out of Taehyungs grip and start making your way towards the bathroom as you hear him calling out to you.

„I'll be waiting for you in my room, just walk down the hall on the right side.“

You turn on the spot, sending a nod his way. „Sure, I'll be right there,“ you assure him, making him smile.

But you wouldn't let go of a perfect opportunity to put one on top, not in this fight over dominance. So what you're doing, is forming a silent ,daddy‘ with your mouth, watching as Taehyungs eyes are widening while you turn back around to continue walking.

As soon as you reached the door Taehyung has pointed towards, you're quick to push down the handle- you wanna make him wait, but you don't want to make him wait for long.

Surprisingly the door won't open, though. Instead, you hear a voice calling out to you.

„Uhm, hyung?? I'm still in here so... would you mind??“

Being an Army for so many years, you know exactly to whom that voice belongs to. It's no one else than Jeon Jungkook, and it has you shocked. You would have thought that no one would be in the dorm when Taehyung brings you over, but certainly you've been proven wrong. Too bad that you have to keep the act of not knowing them up.

„E-... excuse me?“ you say nervously.

It doesn't help that now there's a big awkward silence, caused by probably both of you being equally surprised.

„I... uh... I-I'm sorry but-... uh yeah... occupied,“ Jungkook stutters out, being obviously just as nervous as you are.

„Uhh, okay, that's fine. Do you think it'll take long? I really have to... you know... pee.“

„Sadly, I think so... I'm sorry but I have been here for a while already and I don't think that'll change anytime soon...“ he says with the tiniest of voices. He sure sounds embarrassed.

„Oh dear, how long have you been in there?“

„... four hours...“

„Fo-four hours? You poor boy, what happened to you?!“

„I might have eaten 21 buckets of KFC... it's kinda taking its toll right now...“

„What- twenty-one buckets? That's... well, yeah. I can see that might take a while,“ you laugh. „But that doesn't change anything... do you happen to have a second bathroom?“

„Yes, it's actually two doors to the left, it should be free!“ he responds, now a bit more excited.

„Thank you! And... good luck in there!“ you cheer, as you turn away to find the other bathroom.

„Thanks.“

As you are about to pass the first of the two doors, it suddenly shoots open and Hoseok is sliding out of what seems to be his room.

He's leaning onto the door frame, arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

„Hey sexy, how are we doing tonight? Who's your daddy, huh?“

„Someone that's not you,“ you reply as you keep walking, unfazed.

„Fair enough,“ is all he says as he quickly disappears, shutting his door.

That sure was not what you'd have imagined what Hoseok would be like, but who are you to judge, you are not better.

As you push down the handle of the door next to Hoseoks, you are relieved to see that it in fact is the bathroom. You step inside and quickly do what nature is calling for.

Taking two, three glances in the mirror after washing your hands, you straighten your dress, fix a couple strands of hair and are ready to go find Taehyung.

‚Just walk down the hall on the right side,‘ you recall. ‚Shouldn't be too hard.‘

The right side of the hall is pretty much in front of you now, there is only one problem- it hasn't exactly only one door.

„Of course he didn't tell me which one,“ you mumble to yourself. You could try and call out his name, but you aren't very fond of the idea of making a fool out of yourself.

This damn guy. You immediately understood why you had to give your phone away as soon as you saw him and you didn't mind, but right now it wouldn't have been too bad to have it back.

Taking a deep breath you place your bet on the first door there is. Every rational thinking person would mention which door it is if it wouldn't be the first one, so that must be it, right?

Slowly you open the door and dare to peek inside. The lights are out, yet the space is dimly lit by a monitor that's left turned on. The whole room is a mess made out of empty bottles of banana milk, ramyeon bowls and a giant load of KFC buckets.

‚Jesus christ, Jungkook...,‘ is all you think as you close the door again. Not the room you were looking for.

Now you're getting nervous. As it seems, you'll have to go through all the doors, as much as you'd wish that wouldn't be the case.

Gathering some courage, you're knocking on the door next to Jungkooks before you open it carefully.

This time, the lights are on and the room isn't empty either; someone's sitting in their chair working on something on the computer. You immediately figure that you've barged into the wrong room again, but when he's starting to turn around in his chair, you'd feel rude if you would just leave now.

„You must be the girl that's Taehyungs guest for the night?“ Yoongi says with a monotone voice.

„Yes, I am and... you are?“

„That's not important right now. It's just good that I met you before, because...,“ he says while turning back around, opening a drawer, looking for something. When he found what he's been looking for, he reaches for his pocket, pulling his wallet out and turns back around as he continues his sentence. „You're going to stay over night, I assume? So, let me ask you, how exactly are you going to pay for this? I can accept cash,“ he says while lifting the wallet a bit, „....or credit cards,“ he says as he lifts a pocket card reader with his other hand, smirking.

You chuckle. This is probably the most hilarious thing you've ever witnessed. These guys are rich, and yet he asks you for money?

„Excuse me, but... this house doesn't exactly look like you'd need this, are you for real?“

Yoongi lets out a breathy laughter while putting down both of the items in his hands.

„We might seem rich, but I like to be on the safe side, you never know when you run out of money, you know?“ he explains with a smile, his expression kind of thoughtful.

You assume that this mindset probably has its roots in the fact that he grew up very poor, so he'd try to do everything to keep that from happening.

„I think I can understand that,“ you start. „and who would I be if I wouldn't support that? Also I kinda liked the way you asked. It was funny.“

You're laughing as you finish your sentence. Reaching into your bag, you drag out your wallet and pull out a dollar.

„I'm so sorry, but I can't just give you everything I have, since you never know when you run ouf money. But I can give you this as a thanks for the hospitality.“ you mock, and his eyes widen in surprise as you offer him the money.

„Are you for real?“

„Yes, just take it,“ you respond with a laughter.

„Holy shit, this is the first time someone actually does that. Geez, girl, you might not be as bad as I thought!“

„Excuse me?“ You're cocking an eyebrow.

„Nothing, forget it!“ he quickly says.

„Alright... listen, I should probably get going. Keep doing what you do, it's amazing!“

Shit. You didn't think that sentence through.

„What?“

„Uhh, the... the money thingy, you know. It's amazing how you, uh yeah, how you're managing that! I'll leave now, enjoy your night!“ you stutter out.

Yoongis face is decorated with a huge smile.

„No, you better enjoy your night.“

Closing his door behind you, you're taking a deep breath. That was close. You have to be more careful with what you're saying.

Giving the next room a try, you definitely did not expect what just happened, and neither did the person inside expect someone to walk in.

You are peeking your head into Kim Namjoon's room, which isn't a bad thing at all, but his eyes are fixed on you as his mouth hangs open in embarrassment.

He was listening to a song you know all too well, no, he wasn't just listening, he was enjoying it. He enjoyed ‚Expensive girl‘. He danced to it.

„That never happened.“ he says emotionless.

„Deal.“

You know exactly why he's embarrassed, but since he doesn't know that, you decide to take a different route.

„That was a nice song, though. What's it called?“ you say with a soft smile.

Namjoons eyes widen even more when you said that.

„Are you- are you serious?“

„Yes, I am.“

„Fuck yeah it is right?! I knew someone will think so. You know what? I'm sick and tired of hiding that song. I'm sick and tired of pretending I don't like it. It's a good song, and thats the facts, ain't it like that?“ he says with way too much exitement and somehow a hint of aggression.

‚Who hurt this poor boy? Jesus christ, why does he feel so angry?‘

„The song is actually a cover, someone named Rap Monster made it. He changed his name though, but he's really sick!! You should give him a try,“ Namjoon says with a smirk.

You're having a hard time not to laugh. If only they'd know.

„I'm sure he is.“

„You're not in here for me, though, huh? You're looking for Taehyungs room. It's the last door at the end of the hall. After mine there's a couple other rooms following. You probably stumbled into some other rooms before mine, I guess I'm just... yeah, I guess I'm just trying to be nice so you won't waste your time.“

„Trying to be nice, huh?“ you laugh.

„Yeah, I mean, how could I not? You promised not to tell anyone about what just happened, so I'm just giving back the favor.“

„Oh, a real gentleman, I see.“

You both laugh out loud and remain smiling at each other quietly for a few more seconds afterwards. The guy that just seemed like an angry one now doesn't seem angry anymore at all; he suddenly feels warm.

„You're pretty cool, do you know that?“ you compliment him, your voice sincere.

Namjoons smile fades away, and he's staring at you with big eyes.

„I'll go now. Keep your nice taste in music up, alright?“

He doesn't say anything. Instead, he just nods a couple times.

Poor guy. You must have flustered him, although you have to say that this expression looks pretty cute on his face.

With a smile on your face, you wave him goodbye as you close the door behind you.

Namjoon's a decent man. At least he's told you where Taehyungs room is.

So here you are, walking towards the end of the hall, and as you reach it you realize that you're facing another problem. Just as you thought you might finally be able to get this night started, you are standing in the middle of two doors.

‚At least its a 50:50 chance now... instead of tons of possible doors that could be the right one.‘

Namjoon really could have mentioned if it was the left or the right door. But well, you're thankful that you didn't have to open the other 5 doors thanks to his hint, so you're not complaining.

‚Fuck it, let's just go with the left door.‘

Knocking first, you open the door ever so slowly before you step inside a bit. You can't see anyone to your left, but as your head turns over to the right, you find Jimin sitting on his bed in a cute pajama set.

This is probably the purest thing you've ever seen. He was reading a book, and as he faces you, your eyes lock. He looks as if he's absolutely mesmerized; his eyes wide and lips slightly parted, and you'd be lying if you'd say that this moment doesn't make your heart skip a beat.

„....I- uh.... I'm sorry.... wrong room,“ is all you can bring out, your eyes still locked.

He slowly nods at your words.

There's a short moment of silence before you cut the tension that lays thick in the air.

„I should... uhm... yeah,“ you stutter as you point over your shoulder with your thumb. Again, he only nods in response.

Just the second before you close the door, you can hear Jimin whispering a quiet ‚wow‘ under his breath.

As soon as it's closed, you're leaning onto his door. What the fuck was that?

While you're leaning there, though, your eyes fall onto the door in front of you.

Taehyungs door.

‚Alright, y/n. Game on.‘

a/n: jfc what a riDe this chapter was clykslxls. N E WEIGH I HOPE Y'ALL ENJOYED IT!!

And before you ask, y e s. The next chapter will be exactly what y'all are thinking. 👀 🐸☕️

Thanks for reading, ILY ALL SO MUCH 💕💕💕

Taglist: @foreverconfused-foreverlost @depressed-philosophers-daughter @hobisbeech @torrentmgc @rjsmochii @xxqueenwxtchxx @presentlyblooming @xosetsuna @babyboyjiminn @stray-kids-in-your-area @thefooolonthehill @yeosinlana @sippinpeachtea @stbangtan @kpopkermit @d-noona @sarahleslie123 @sociallyawkwardforever @oodlespadoodle @btssouls

[mish-tique]

Rose 🥺🌹's Day 12 live-ask

And oh, goodluck on your job!! I hope your assignment would be fun and not much life-draining, and that it's an enriching experience

Also, 5SOS!!! How good is that album?! Honestly i've died and gone to heaven with take my hand and older

SPOILERS below the rose line babes 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

• "He’s already halfway through his fake Red Bull water bottle" <- YES!! healthy max drinking water!! • "especially because there is no way the FIA pays this man enough, so he turns to the man. " <- i really am loving the fia slander • "Take this time to relax before you’re expected on the podium." <- i'm suggestively wiggling my eyebrows • “Do you think that awful chair will be used again?” <- i'm loving your priorities baby, i just know you've been dreaming of kinky things involving that chair, and once again thanking you for spiting the fia and bastardizing the chair • "The cool-down room is supposed to let drivers help catch their breath and collect themselves, but whenever Max is there with Charles, he only feels his blood pressure rise." <- honey, we call that sexual tension • i am not loving the carlito on carlito violence, i'm loving tho the fact that it's such a source of enjoyment for max, but really boys, just blame ferrari, the ponies need not fight • "Mates, you need a distraction" “What did you have in mind?” "Me" <- i volunteer as tribute too, pick me damn it, let me be your distraction, let me be the one both of you hold up for that tiktok running challenge (sorry for the horny miss missha, you know i'm weak) • in f1, we fight it out on track and fuck it out off track

i love this!!! i might need a second chapter because all bark and no bite? that's not how i know these boys. just makes me more excited for the the other days involving these three. (obvi, you don't actually have to write it, i am plenty fed with all your fics, i am just expressing my excitement for the incoming fics regarding these boys)

and oh my god this angry/hate sex thing works with angel!charles and demon!carlos too, maybe that's their first time, then with max now involved, maybe it was emotions running high due to the whole impending war between heaven and hell ( i really really need me to write that, fuck)

As always, roses for a job well done!!

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

-Rose 🥺🌹

thank you for your blessing! but honestly, everything in health care is draining, no matter how much we love it, whelp. and that album is so, so good? older holds my heart

max drinks his water, so should you!!

fia slander, my second brand after being a carlos and max girlie

i have NOT been dreaming about that chair skghsdkgsd

sometimes carlito and carlito violence is needed for plot reasons skghsdkg sorry not sorry

ROSE TONE DOWN THE PHEROMONES

aaah thank you!! im actually afraid that it's the last carlos/max/charles of kinktober? i mean there will be some foursomes where all 3 of them are in but no threesomes anymore.

and yes. omg. the hate/angry sex should def go to that fic too!

[taxesdeathtrouble]

"I suggested we go to the beach but everyone is checking you out in your swimsuit and now i’m jealous, but i can’t say anything because we’re not even dating." With Chase as the jealous one obvi because I'm garbage for it

this is unfair.

The six of them are at the beach, because Karolina wanted to cool off and dragged the rest of them with her, and at first Chase was excited. Golden sand, hot sun, the ocean breeze- who wouldn’t be, right? Unfortunately, going to the beach with his friends also means going to the beach with Gert. Gert, who’s wearing teeny-tiny swim shorts and a neon pink bikini top.

Unfair.

She’s stretched out on a lawn chair she stuffed in the back of Chase’s car- because of course that’s how it worked out, the two of them driving here alone. Chase thought he was going to die- long, tanned legs crossed lazily as she reads some giant book about the French Revolution. He’s sitting a little bit away, building a sandcastle with Molly, but he just can’t stop looking at her. 

“Did you put on sunscreen?” He asks, just to be talking to her and not staring like a creep.

“Yeah, but it was before we left. Hey, actually, would you help me get my back? I don’t think I put enough on before, and I’m gonna hop in the water soon.” Halfway through her sentence he’s already standing and making his way over to her, and he hears Molly giggle from behind him.

“Yep, yes, I can totally do that.”

Gert stands, handing him the bottle of sunscreen and turning around, and holy shit, is this really happening right now?

He squeezes a bit of sunscreen into his hands and rubs them together, then, a little shakily, starts rubbing it into her skin. 

When he first touches her, Gert shivers, murmuring, “That’s cold,” and Chase gulps down everything he wishes he could say right now. I want you so bad it makes me ache, I’ve been in love with you for so long I don’t know what to do with myself, please god give me the courage to tell you how I feel.

His hands sweep over her shoulders, then down her back, and honestly, this is killing him. She’s killing him. 

When he’s finished, he wipes the remaining sunscreen down her arms, saying, “All done.”

Gert turns around, giving him that megawatt smile of hers. “Thanks, Chase. Hey, wanna jump off with me?” She gestures to the dock, and he nods.

“You first,” she says when they reach the end, and he winds back a bit before running off the edge, hitting the water with a huge splash.

He hears laughter from above him, and he expects it to be her reacting to getting splashed with water, or something, but nope- she’s talking to someone else. The guy is tragically handsome and ridiculously ripped, and Chase is both extremely jealous and vaguely attracted to him at the same time.

“Hey, Gert, you coming?” He’s yelling, kind of, but Gert doesn’t seem to hear him, so he tries again. “Gert?”

Gert touches the guy’s arm, which is so obviously a move that it hurts, and Chase submerges himself again just so he doesn’t have to watch. When he comes up for air they’re still talking, much closer now, and Chase’s heart is pounding. He knows if he gets out of the water, he’s going to end up fighting this guy, but if he stays here he’s going to burst from jealousy, so he turns and starts swimming vaguely left. The monotony of it makes him almost forget wear he’s going, until he’s nearly to the other side of the beach at the entrance to a cave. 

He stands and wades through the water as it gets shallower, then climbs onto a rock, looking around at how purely pretty it is here.The cave kind of glows in a blueish light, stemming from the aquamarine water, and maybe he should be worried about how water probably shouldn’t glow, but he can’t be too bothered. 

“Chase?”

He’s been gone about a half hour, maybe, when he hears Gert calling his name.

Chase turns his head to see her, purple hair dripping as she squeezes water out of it. “Hey.”

She walks towards him and joins him on the rock. “Hey. Is there any particular reason you felt the need to disappear and freak everyone out? We thought you got kidnapped, or something.”

He smirks and flexes a bicep. “With these muscles? Nah.” 

Gert laughs and shoves him lightly. “But seriously though. What gives?”

To avoid answering the question, he says, “Why do you even care, anyways? Shouldn’t you be off talking to that guy?”

Her eyebrows go up. “Wait. were you jealous?” 

His eyes widen as he tries to backtrack. “Uhhh, no, no I was not not, I just-”

“Oh my god you were totally jealous.” Gert looks delighted by this, the corners of her eyes crinkling up as she tries not to smile.

“I wasn’t, I swear!”“Liar, you totally were,” she leans in a little, poking him in the chest. “I can’t believe you were jealous over little old me, wooow- mph!”

He kisses her. It’s only to shut her up- and because of how beautiful she looks in this light- but he still does it. For a moment she doesn’t react, and he thinks he’s fucked everything up, but then she melts into it, moaning as she kisses him back. His palm is on the side of her neck, strands of hair threaded between his fingers as she squeezes his bicep, her nails digging into his skin. It’s passionate, more passionate than any kiss he’s ever experienced, and he kind of can’t believe this is happening right now. Is he dreaming?

Gert pulls back first, breathing heavily as she says, “By the way, I wasn’t into that guy, like, at all, I was just trying to make you jealous.”

“Really?”

“Yes, you dumbass, I’ve been into you since grade school, please kiss me again?” Her voice hitches, and what is Chase going to do, say no?

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

Getting To I Do, pt. 5 of 5

In a few days we’ve all got a very important wedding to (virtually) attend!  I thought it might be appropriate to “re-release” Getting To I Do, my collection of one-shots dealing with the trials and tribulations Emma and Killian go through while trying to plan their wedding amid a town full of friends and family who all have their own ideas about how the wedding of the century should go.  This story was originally written during 3b, and it is the sequel, of sorts, to my first long MC, A Wish Your Heart Makes.  As such, it diverges from canon as of 3x11.  It’s not necessary to read AWYHM to understand what’s going on, but if you want to check it out as a bit of “background reading”, you can find it here.

Missed the beginning? Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Chapter 9: The Bachelorette Party

"Perhaps we were a mite hasty in executing our plan, mate," Killian said from his perch on the cot in the Storybrooke jail cell.

Charming stopped his pacing near the bars that held him prisoner and turned a jaundiced eye to Killian. "You think?" he asked sarcastically. "Why I ever agreed to this crazy plan of yours is beyond me, pirate!"

"Pirate, is it?" Killian said in frustration. "I seem to remember merely suggesting a plan of action. You, mate, were the one who insisted we put it into practice."

Charming blew out a long breath. "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter who's to blame. The real question is how long will it take Emma and Snow to forgive us and let us out?"

"I'm not as familiar with your lovely wife's disposition, Dave," Killian said wryly, " but I fear my Emma will leave me languishing in this brig until we've celebrated the tenth anniversary of our nuptials."

xoxoxoxoxoxox

Earlier that day

Killian swaggered into the sheriff's station, reveling in the absolute, complete happiness he felt. It was a beautiful June morning, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, he was in love and he would be marrying his true love in a mere three days. Life couldn't be better.

Emma was sitting at her desk, busily scribbling at something that apparently absorbed her full attention. Killian lazily leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, one boot crossed over the other. He just looked at her. She was so beautiful, so vibrant. Sometimes he still found it difficult to believe his good fortune. How had he managed to win this woman's heart?

"From the frown draping your lovely features, darling," Killian drawled, "I'd wager you're none too pleased with the object of that paperwork"

Emma jumped, and then brought her hand to her chest. "Killian! You scared the hell out of me!"

Killian strode forward, leaned down and kissed her soundly. "Hardly the effect I was going for, love."

Emma looked up at him in confusion. "Did I forget something? Was I supposed to meet you…or go somewhere with you…or..I don't know? This wedding's got me so crazy I can't even remember my own name."

"I can help you with that," Killian said with a teasing smile. "Your name is currently Emma Swan, but in a mere three days, it will be changed to Emma Jones."

"Only three days!" Emma said with a grin. "I am so excited, I can barely contain myself. Just think, Killian, all we have to do is survive three more days of insanity and then we'll never have to plan our wedding again as long as we live!"

He shook his head, pasting a wounded expression on his face. "Come now, Swan, you cut me to the heart! Here I've been pining for you for what seems like an eternity, and all you are excited about is the ceasing of wedding planning!"

A pleasing pink hue suffused her cheeks. "Maybe that's not all I'm excited about. Maybe I'm a little anxious to be your wife."

Killian leaned over and kissed her once again. Long, deep, passionately. When he pulled back, they were both breathing hard. "Just a small preview of things to come, love."

Emma dragged a hand through her blonde hair. "So you never answered my question," she said in a voice that was not quite steady. "What brings you to the sheriff's station…besides attempting to seduce me away from my work?"

"Does a man need a reason to call on the woman he loves?" Kilian asked with a lazy grin. She evidently found no reason to answer that question, so Killian continued. "As it happens, I've come to ask you to come away with me."

"Tempting as that sounds," Emma answered, "I'm stuck here at work for the next eight hours or so."

"Oh, I wasn't suggesting you neglect your duties, love," Killian said. "I merely wished to…what's the phrase used in this realm?...ask you on a date. I'd be honored if you would join me for dinner on the Jolly this evening. Your mother has monopolized far too much of your time over the past week. I do believe I saw more of you before we began courting than I do now."

"Killian, I'd love to," Emma said, "but I can't tonight. Ruby's throwing me a bachelorette party, and I can't exactly skip it."

"A bachelorette party?" Killian asked. "I'd wager that's another wedding tradition of this realm?"

"Yeah," Emma answered. "One last thing I need to do before all the wedding festivities really get started."

Killian sighed theatrically. "Well, then, I suppose I must resign myself to pining for yet another night. I will eat my lonely dinner alone and dream of our honeymoon."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Killian sat at the bar at Granny's and bit into the delectable creation Granny called a club sandwich. Whatever else might be said about those in this realm, they certainly knew the art of putting food items together to create a harmonious product. Out of the corner of his eye, Killian saw someone sit next to him. Turning, he found himself face to face with Dr. Whale.

Killian and Whale were on pleasant enough terms, but Killian had never had many dealings with the other man.

"Looks like we're both on our own tonight," the doctor commented.

"Aye, that it does," Killian answered. Whale had been courting the wolf-girl rather casually for some time.

"This was supposed to be date night," Whale continued, "but you know how Ruby is. She was bound and determined to give Emma a bachelorette party she would remember."

"That is kind of her," Killian said absently.

Whale shot him a sly look. "You seem to be taking it well," he said casually. "I'd have pegged you for the jealous type. Now me? I don't care if Ruby has her fun…just as long as she comes home to me in the end."

Killian froze, his bottle of beer halfway to his lips. Slowly, deliberately he lowered the beverage back to the counter and turned to face his companion. "Why precisely should I be jealous of a gathering of ladies?"

Whale laughed. "You've never heard of a bachelorette party before? Let me tell you; there's stuff that goes down in those kind of things that you wouldn't believe…and with Ruby planning it, well, it will be no holds barred."

"Suppose you enlighten me as to exactly what stuff occurs at a bachelorette party."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Charming!" Killian thundered as he took the steps to the flat two at a time. "Are you in?"

The door opened just as Killian raised his prosthetic hand to knock.

"What's up, Killian?" Charming asked, a look of alarm on his face. "Something wrong?"

"I'd say there is, mate!" Killian said, pacing the living room restlessly. "Have you any idea where our ladies are this evening?"

Charming's brow furrowed. "Um…yeah. They went to Emma's bachelorette party."

"And have you any idea what happens at bachelorette parties?"

"Well, I've never been to one myself, seeing as I've never been a bachelorette."

"I just had a very enlightening conversation with Dr. Whale, mate," Killian said stopping his pacing and fixed his blue gaze on his future father-in-law. "It would seem these parties can get rather racy. Whale mentioned celebrating one's last few days of freedom, copious amounts of alcohol, and…entertainment. According to Whale, it is not unheard of for ladies to hire handsome men to parade before them unclothed!"

Charming laughed. "Yeah, Dr. Whale runs with an entirely different crowd, that's for sure!"

Killian shot him an incredulous look. "This is your wife and daughter we're talking about, mate! You have no apprehension of them engaging in…that?"

Charming walked forward and clapped Killian on the shoulder. "Relax, Killian. I trust Snow, and I know Emma's unswervingly faithful to you. Don't worry. If I know my wife, if there's even the hint of something risqué about to take place, she'll shut it down."

"Are you daft?" Killian thundered. "Consider who is hosting the party! Ruby's middle name might as well be risqué! And though I trust my Emma implicitly…who knows what may transpire once enough spirits have been consumed."

Killian watched with satisfaction as an uneasy look crossed the prince's face. It was about time the man see the seriousness of the situation.

"Well, you do have a point about Ruby," Charming said slowly. "And, of course, Snow won't drink with the baby and everything, but likely everyone else will. Will Snow really be able to keep control?"

Killian nodded firmly. "You've seen the predicament at long last."

"Yeah," Charming said, beginning to pace himself. "I think maybe I have. So what precisely do you suggest we do about it?"

"Well mate," Killian said, "as I see it we need to observe what is actually happening at the party. Here's what I propose..."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Emma put in her favorite pair of small hoop earrings and then surveyed the finished product. The red dress looked good; she looked like she was ready for a night on the town. She only wished it was going to be with Killian rather than the ladies of the town. Not that she disliked spending time with them; they were rapidly becoming the best friends she'd ever had in her life—not that that was saying much considering the life she'd led. It was just…well, who knows what Ruby might have up her sleeve for tonight. Things could get really awkward really fast.

"You about ready, Emma?" Mary Margaret called up the stairs.

"Just a second, Mary Margaret," Emma called down. She put the finishing touches on her hair and then joined her mother at the flat door.

"You look nice, Emma," Mary Margaret mentioned, looking her over critically, "but your expression! You look like we're going to your execution, not your party!"

They stepped out the door and Mary Margaret turned back to lock the door.

"It's nice of Ruby to throw me a bachelorette party and everything," Emma said carefully, "but…I mean it's Ruby. Who knows what we're about to walk into."

"Don't worry, Emma," Mary Margaret said, patting her on the arm, "I've already talked to Ruby. She's promised to keep tonight's events tame."

The pair walked out of the apartment building and down the street. "No offense, Mary Margaret," Emma said skeptically, "but I'm pretty sure your definition of 'tame' is about one hundred eighty degrees off from Ruby's."

"I already thought of that," Mary Margaret said. "That's why I insisted in being involved in the planning stages. Like I said; don't worry. This'll be no more embarrassing than your average, run-of-the-mill bridal shower!"

If only that would have proven to be true.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Killian, what do you see?" Charming asked in an insistent whisper.

"Not bloody much," Killian responded, repositioning his spyglass to his eye. The pair stood in the shadows across the street from Granny's. It was the perfect night for espionage. There was no moon and the night was black as pitch. Killian glanced through the glass again. "They appear to be merely talking."

"Here, let me see," Charming said taking the glass from Killian's hand. "Wait! They're leaving! They're going into the parlor!"

"What?" Killian hissed. "How the bloody hell are we to keep track of their movements if they're no longer in our line of sight?"

Charming shot him an exasperated look. "Why are you asking me? You're the pirate. Keeping an eye on a room full of high spirited ladies should be a piece of cake for you!"

Killian thought for a moment. A small, rational part of his brain shouted at him to give up the venture. After all, any further movement on their part was sure to be deadly dangerous. Besides that, he had a sneaking suspicion the lass would be less than pleased were she to know his current occupation. But, as usual the rash, impetuous portion of his brain won out.

"We must find a way to infiltrate," Killian said.

"Are you crazy?" Charming whispered loudly. "What are we going to do? Walk in the door and say 'Hi. We were just wondering if you ladies were entertaining male strippers'. How well do you think that would go over?"

Killian rolled his eyes. "Have you no faith at all in me? As you've said yourself, I am the pirate!"

"Okay," Charming said, "so what's your brilliant pirate plan?"

"Clearly using either of the doors is out," Killian said, "the women would hear us immediately."

"So, if we don't use the doors, how do we get in?"

Killian pointed to a window on the second floor. "Do you see that vine that climbs the building? It is easily strong enough to bear your weight and mine as well. I propose we climb the vine, sneak in through yonder window, and make our way to the utility room situated directly above the parlor."

"What good will that do us?"

Killian shook his head derisively. "Must I explain everything to you? The air vents are quite porous in the floor. From our perch in the utility room, we will be well able to see and hear everything that is happening at the party. From that respect, it will be a far superior set up to our original plan where we merely saw the lasses through the spyglass."

Charming looked skeptical. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Have you a better one?"

As it seemed he did not, they put Killian's plan into action. The first phase went swimmingly. With minimal effort Killian and Charming managed to gain entrance to the bed and breakfast. As luck would have it, the window they entered happened to be attached to an unoccupied room. They made their way with extreme stealth to the utility room and dropped to the ground.

"You see anything?" Charming whispered.

Killian felt the tiles give beneath his weight as he peered through the vent. "They appear to be presenting Emma with gifts."

"What kind of gifts?"

"We thought you might need some help packing for your honeymoon," Ruby's voice carried from below. "Here are a few things that both you and Killian can enjoy!"

"Oh…I like that!" Killian said with an appreciative chuckle as he watched Emma pull a tiny scarlet negligee from the bag. "I like that indeed."

"What?" Charming asked. "What do you like?"

Killian shot him a wicked grin. "Have a look for yourself."

"Ugh!" Charming said after a moment. I do not need to have those images in my mind!"

"What exactly is the point of this little number?" Killian heard Emma say laughingly. "I might as well just be naked."

"I'm sure Killian wouldn't complain either way!" Ruby said cheekily.

"Budge up, mate!" Killian said, elbowing Charming.

"Not a chance, 'mate'," Charming replied. "You have no business seeing that either on or off my daughter until you're married." "Oh come off it Dave!" Killian said shoving again. "You are aware I've seen women's undergarments before?"

Charming shoved back, but not before Killian got a glimpse of the current item Emma was holding up. Tiny enough to cover virtually nothing and as see-through as glass. Aye he could appreciate this!

"Look," Charming said in a loud whisper, "we've seen what we need to see. There's nothing going on here we need to be worried about. Let's go before they find out what we've done!"

"Not a chance!" Killian said. "In for a penny; in for a doubloon. We took the trouble to secure access to this establishment; I say we take advantage of it!"

"Let's go, pirate!" Charming demanded, pulling at Killian's arm. A scuffle ensued. The sagging floor tile sagged more and more…and finally gave way altogether. A moment later Charming and Killian found themselves sitting among the rubble of the utility room floor, face to face with a room full of women who were definitely not amused.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Next time you have a brilliant idea, remind me to run," Charming said, pacing the jail cell.

After Emma had gotten over her shock, she'd marched over to the two of them, pulled out two sets of handcuffs and perp-marched them both to the jail. She hadn't said a word as she locked them in, but her face left no doubt that eventually she would be saying quite a lot. Still refusing to speak, the lass had walked back out of the sheriff station and had yet to return two hours later.

The door opened and Emma stepped forward, furious scowl still draping her face. Killian hastily got to his feet and rushed to the cell door.

"Emma, love, I…"

"Save it, Hook!" she growled.

"As you wish." The lass was bloody furious. Emma stepped up to the jail cell and fumbled with her keys. Killian surged forward. She fixed him with a glare that surely had the power to kill, and he hastily stepped back.

"You, get back!" she hissed pointing a finger in his direction. Then she turned toward Charming. "You, come out!"

Charming meekly obeyed. He started apologizing as soon as he'd exited the cell.

"I'm sorry, Emma, we just got carried away." She merely raised a hand. "Mary Margaret wants to deal with you at home."

Charming grimaced. Killian couldn't blame the man. The princess was a force to be reckoned with when she was angry.

"Well, I guess I better go home and face the music," Charming finally said ruefully as he stepped from the station.

Killian watched his mate until he was out of sight and then turned to his own beautiful force to be reckoned with. She was glaring at him, arms crossed, foot tapping impatiently.

"You look lovely lass," he said, affecting a cocky air, "Positively radiant. Is that a new dress?"

"Oh no you don't!" she said, shaking her head slowly, "Not gonna work, buddy. You're not charming your way out of this one!"

He sighed and sat back on the cot. "I thought not, but you cannot blame a man for trying."

"What the hell were you and David doing in that utility room?"

"Behaving as absolute and unmitigated asses."

She snorted, the amused sound giving him hope. "Well, at least you admit it. Aside from being asses, what brought you to that room?"

"Ingenuity and physical prowess."

The glare she shot him could have curdled milk.

"Oh very well, love," he said on a sigh. "After a conversation with Dr. Whale, I became concerned about just what these 'bachelorette parties' entailed. Some of his conjectures—particularly related to male entertainment Ruby might hire—had me more than a little concerned. Your father and I were…merely trying to ensure you weren't subjected to…anything unsavory."

She merely looked at him. And then she was seated beside him on the cot. Her hands came up and cradled his face, bringing it down to hers. This kiss was pure passion and need. The lass was ravenous. Almost unconsciously, his hand came up and cradled the back of her head, the silky feel of her hair and the heat of her lips driving him slowly mad.

She opened her mouth above his, her moan urging him to do the same. He obeyed with alacrity, eager to let her in, eager to join her.

Her hands dropped from his face and settled within the open vee of his shirt, her fingers tangling in his chest hair.

"Emma!" he moaned, wrenching his mouth from hers, unable to stop himself from pressing burning kisses down her jaw, behind her ear, into the nape of her neck. He had to stop this! He had to pull back or he would have his way with her right here on the jail cell cot.

She pushed him, and he hastily moved away. She was breathing hard, her eyes still slightly unfocussed. He saw a slight trimmer in her hands. Whatever she'd intended, it was clear the kiss had not left her unaffected. It left him with a fierce feeling of satisfaction.

"You, Killian Jones, are an idiot," she said in a slightly husky voice.

"Aye, lass, that I am." He would have probably agreed to anything the lass said after the kiss she'd just given him.

A grin flitted across her face. "You are the only man I want to kiss like that…or do anything else that might one day logically follow from a kiss like that. You are the man I choose for the rest of my life."

"Oh, Emma, love…" he said, reaching for her once more.

She evaded his grasp, raising her hand in a gesture to stop him "But you behave like you did today again—you know, like a paranoid, jealous fool—and you better just savor the memory of that last kiss, because it'll be a long time till you get another."

A sheepish grin settled on his lips. "I'm sorry, Swan," he said simply. "I am a fool. I'll not let my impetuous nature get the better of me again. Am I forgiven?"

She leaned forward and pecked him once more on the lips.

"Yeah. I guess so," she said taking his hand and leading him from the cell, "but now you really have to face the music. Granny's sustained a good deal of damage, and she's angry enough to spit nails."

"Ouch," he said with a wince, "perhaps I'd best remain locked in the brig."

She laughed, pulling him on. "Baby."

"Guilty as charged," he good-naturedly agreed.

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

Chapter 10: The Rehearsal Dinner

The bell rang as Killian stepped into Granny's. He scanned the diner and found her in her usual booth, a cold beverage in hand. Killian nervously adjusted his prosthetic hand, asking himself for the hundredth time what had possessed him to request a lunch meeting with Swan's mother.

"Your Majesty," he said bowing formally when he reached the table.

"Killian, she said with a smile, "That's a bit formal, don't you think, considering we'll be family in two days."

Killian slid into his side of the booth and signaled to the wolf-girl that he wished to order.

"Well," he said with a grin, "I don't wish to be presumptuous. After all, we didn't start on the best footing."

Snow laughed again and took a sip of her water. "That's an understatement! Not surprising, though, considering you were actively trying to deceive my daughter and me while working for one of the nastiest witches around."

"Aye, that's true," Killian agreed with a chagrinned grimace, "Cora was indeed quite the piece of work. But if it's any consolation, I had no allegiance to the woman. I was just mercenary enough to align myself with anyone who could further my goal of seeking vengeance on the Crocodile. I was quite sincere in assuring Emma I would have far preferred making an alliance with you."

Snow looked at him reflectively, and he patiently bore her scrutiny. "If you don't mind me asking," she said slowly, "what exactly happened on that beanstalk. Emma was…different when she came back.

Killian smiled as he remembered the first adventure he'd gone through with the woman he loved more than life itself. "We discovered, much to our mutual surprise, I think, that we make quite the team."

"Yeah," she said. "You do, though it took me a long time to see it."

"You wished the best for your daughter," Killian said with a self-deprecating little shrug, "and I was, after all, a pirate."

"You know, Killian," Snow said slowly, "I think you're selling yourself short. You've always been more than just a pirate, although it took some of us longer than others to realize it."

"Thank you, My Lady," Killian said, feeling a warm surge of pleasure wash over him at the princess's praise.

Snow took a large bite of her hamburger and grinned. "You're welcome," she said after she'd swallowed, "but 'My Lady' is still way too formal. Why don't you call me Snow or Mary Margaret?"

Killian smiled. "How about we split the difference? I'll call you 'Lady Snow'."

She reached a slender hand across the table and clasped his. "Deal," she said.

They ate in silence for several minutes. Snow consumed her hamburger and fries in record time. Before Killian had finished half of his sandwich, she'd ordered a second serving of fries and a large milk shake.

"This baby's making me ravenous!" she said between bites. "At the rate I'm going, I'm going to be as big as a house by the time he's born!"

Killian grinned mischievously. "I'm fairly certain, Lady Snow, that it would be in my best interest not to comment upon that."

She swatted his arm and he laughed. It surprised him; he was actually having a good time with Swan's mother. He and her father had formed a fast friendship, but it had never been so with Snow White. She'd never afforded him more than a grudging tolerance when it became apparent that his relationship with Emma was to be permanent.

"I'm glad you asked to meet me today, Killian," she said once she'd sobered.

"Aye?" he asked curiously. "For what reason, if I might ask?"

"I wanted to thank you for all you've done for Emma."

He felt the embarrassment creep up his neck. Ducking his head, he began scratching behind his ear. It had never been easy to receive praise or thanks; it was so much easier to be written off as a filthy pirate."

"It wasn't so much," he mumbled. "She's done far more for me."

"That might be," Snow insisted, "but it doesn't take away from what you've done for her. You've brought her the kind of love and happiness I've been wanting for my daughter from the moment I knew I was carrying her."

"I can promise you," Killian said earnestly, "that she will never want for my love, and I will do all in my power to ensure her happiness."

She laid her hand upon his good one. "I know. When I see you looking at her, I see the same expression my husband wears when looking at me. True love never fades."

"No, it does not."

"So, Killian," Snow said after a moment. "Why did you invite me to lunch with you today?"

Killian took another bite of his sandwich, chewed thoroughly, and swallowed before answering. "As it happens, I wished to thank you as well."

Surprise entered her eyes. "What for?"

"You've worked tirelessly on this wedding," he said, "and I'm truly thankful for your thoughtfulness, as is Emma."

"Really?" Snow asked. "Emma seems to hate all the fuss and ceremony. I thought I was just annoying her."

Killian laughed. "Aye, she has little patience for the pomp and circumstance," he conceded, "but she's craved a mother's love all her life. I can tell you with absolute certainty that the fact that her mother is going to such lengths to make her wedding beautiful, touches her deeply. She appreciates you more than she can probably ever tell you."

Tears pooled in the princess's brown eyes, and she resolutely blinked them away. "Thank you for telling me that," she said in a slightly thick voice. "I never know how well I'm succeeding at the whole mom thing."

Killian smiled gently. "Just love her, and you can't help but succeed."

They sat in silence for several moments merely sipping at their nearly empty drinks. Finally Snow spoke again. "So that was it? You just wanted to thank me?"

"Not entirely," he conceded. "You have done wonders with the wedding preparations, but I wondered if I might be permitted to add to the festivities following the wedding rehearsal."

"Sure," Snow said with surprise. "What did you have in mind?"

"There is an ancient custom in my land," Killian said, "called the presentation of the dowry."

"The presentation of the dowry?" Snow said with a raised eyebrow. Emma had given him that very look on multiple occasions…whenever she felt he was acting as a complete fool. "You want David and me to give you a dowry for marrying Emma?"

"No!" Killian said quickly. "Certainly not! Emma is more than treasure enough for me. What I was speaking of was the second part of the dowry ceremony. It's customary once the bride's family has presented the groom with the dowry, for the groom to present the bride with gifts of his own. It shows his love and gratitude for her."

"And you want to follow that tradition?" Her voice had become soft and gentle.

"Aye," Killian said. "I can never repay Emma for the gifts she gives me every day, but maybe in this way, I can show her a small measure of my devotion to her."

"Killian," she said with a smile, "I think the dowry ceremony sounds like a perfect addition to the rehearsal dinner."

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

"Alright people! Dinner's over!" Grumpy said with a scowl. "Big day tomorrow; time to get your beauty sleep. Some of you desperately need it!"

Emma rolled her eyes from where she sat with Killian at the "head table" at Granny's diner. She leaned over to her fiancé. "Is it just me, or are we getting bossed around way too much at our rehearsal dinner?"

He grinned down at her. "Relax, love. One more day, and then we've run the entire wedding gamut. We must manfully endeavor to allow the cantankerous dwarf his moment of glory, and then our reward will be heaven itself."

"Remind me again who it was who thought it was a brilliant idea to have Leroy as our wedding coordinator."

"That would be your mother, lass," he said with a smirk. "Given the wedding is at the convent, she thought it would give Grumpy an opportunity to rendezvous with the lovely Nova."

Emma rolled her eyes again. "I should have known! My mother and her matchmaking!"

The day had been interesting, to say the least. Grumpy had peppered the entire wedding rehearsal with a steady stream of surliness.

"Come on sister! Get down the aisle while we're all still young!"

("Technically speaking," Killian whispered once she did get down the aisle, "I'm more than three hundred years old, so perhaps 'young' doesn't apply.")

"Ruby! There's no flirting on the way down the aisle!"

"Snow! For the love of the Dark One's sparkly golden face paint! Get ahold of yourself! This is the rehearsal! There's no crying in the rehearsal!"

"Marco, this is a marriage not a funeral! Can you at least try to play the Bridal Chorus with a little more…I don't know…life?"

"Granny, put down the knitting! There's no knitting during a wedding!"

("Charming Junior's baby afghan isn't going to knit itself," Granny said irritably, earning her a glare potent enough to kill).

"Regina! This is a happy occasion! Wipe that scowl off your face before I come over there and wipe it off for you!"

("Oh yeah?" she snarled, "try it and I'll find a nasty curse with your name on it dwarf!)

"Hook! Stop screwing around! This is no time to kiss your fiancée like that! Save it for the wedding night."

(Never one to follow directions, Killian had merely grinned wickedly and proceeded to kiss her again, about ten times more passionately than before).

Somehow, Emma wasn't sure she'd ever know how, they'd made it through the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner.

"Well, I guess we'd better follow Mr. Surly's directions, then," Emma said, preparing to stand. Killian stopped her with a hand to her shoulder.

"A moment more, if you don't mind," he said loudly. Those who had already gotten up and begun moving toward the door stopped and turned back to the man of the hour.

Grumpy glared.

"Your pardon, Leroy. I apologize for the interruption," Killian said, sounding anything but repentant, "but there is one more item on tonight's agenda."

There is?

"Uh, no!" Grumpy said, scowling, "as the wedding coordinator, I have the agenda and every item's been checked off."

"It's okay, Leroy," Snow said, placing a hand on his arm, "Killian talked to me. This is all part of the plan."

Emma looked up at Killian, more than a few questions in her eyes. He smiled down at her tenderly, the skin around his eyes crinkling. Reaching down, he lightly squeezed her shoulder.

"Fine!" Grumpy growled, crossing his arms and plopping into a booth in the corner, "I've just been working my ass off trying to make this wedding perfect. What do I care if you change the agenda at literally the last minute?" He went on to mutter something about pirates.

"I'm pleased to find you so accommodating," Killian said, tongue affixed firmly in cheek. Emma laughed; she couldn't help it. Then she caught Leroy's glare. He looked like he would relish murdering her, slowly. Probably the only thing keeping her alive was the fact that weddings don't tend to go well when the bride's dead.

"To begin," Killian said smoothly, "I'd like to thank the Lady Snow and Leroy for all the work they've attended to to make this wedding the kind of splendid event my Emma so desperately deserves."

There was a smattering of applause as Storybrooke residents returned to their seats, curious as to what Killian planned.

"I, however, have one item that I would like to contribute to the festivities," Killian continued. "There is a custom in my land that on the night before the nuptials, the groom presents his bride with a gift signifying his love, commitment and thankfulness that she has consented to accept his hand. I wished to continue that tradition."

He looked down at her, and the adoration in his blue eyes warmed her to the very soul.

"But I quickly found myself unfit for the task," he said, eyes still fixed on her. "Try as I might, I found myself utterly unable to fix upon a gift that even came close to expressing my love for you, Emma. You've given me the greatest gift a man could ever receive, your love, your friendship, your acceptance. You turned me from a bitter, angry man fixed on vengeance into the man of honor I was all those years ago. You make me want to be a better man."

Emma felt the tears pool in her eyes. He was doing it again—being all eloquent and romantic—and it was going to make her ball like a baby. She hated it when he did this to her! Oh, who was she kidding? She loved it when he got romantic!

"So, I've chosen to modify the ritual," he continued. "Rather than one grandiose gift, I've chosen to procure several mementos of the time we've spent together."

Killian broke eye contact and dug into his satchel, rummaging around until he was holding something small and round.

"The first moment I saw Emma Swan, I knew I was in trouble. She was a beautiful avenging angel 'rescuing' me from the rubble under which I was buried. My heart raced in a way it hadn't since I was a youth fancying my first lass."

"And then I put a knife to your throat and reality came crashing back in", Emma said with a smirk.

"Aye," Killian grinned, "But I couldn't for the life of me understand why I didn't take you down right then and there."

"You could have tried," Emma taunted.

"But," Killian continued as if Emma hadn't spoken, "it wasn't until we climbed that bloody beanstalk together that I knew that spark I felt toward you was something beyond anything I'd ever experienced. And so, Emma, my first gift to you is the giant's magic compass. Had I but known it then, the compass points me true north…right to you."

Killian set the golden instrument on the table before her, and she touched it slowly, almost reverently. Killian turned away and reached back in the satchel. He withdrew a necklace. Emma looked at it closely and noticed its pendant was an exact replica of a magic bean.

"After the beanstalk adventure, love" Killian continued, walking behind her to place the necklace around her neck. How he managed to work the clasp with only one hand, I'll never know! "We were at odds for many weeks. We were enemies, though it was a position in which I never wanted to be. I shoved down my attraction, my dawning love for you because I loved my vengeance more. And then you did something that turned my entire world on its side."

"What was that?" Emma asked, caressing the smooth porcelain of her new pendant.

"You believed in me," he said softly. "When all the world of Storybrooke was crashing down around us, when the bloody failsafe was about to detonate, you offered me the chance to be a part of something—to join you for a higher purpose."

"And, as I recall," Emma said, smiling to take the sting from her words, "you still used some sleight of hand and stole the bean."

"Aye," he said with a grimace, "I was a right nasty git."

"You'll get no argument from me, dearie," Rumple spoke from his table near the door. Belle shot him a reproving look.

"Emma," Hook said, turning back to her after shooting Rumple an exasperated glare. Those two would never be friends; that was clear. "I couldn't do it. I couldn't sail away from you, sentencing you to what I believed was your death. I had to come back—and it was the best decision I ever made."

Killian turned back to his bag and came back with a small, plastic replica of a palm tree. Emma laughed; she couldn't help it. It was so cheap and ridiculous!

"And what exactly is that supposed to be?" Regina asked sarcastically.

"A palm tree, of course," Killian said, presenting the item to Emma with a flourish worthy of the Dark One himself, "to commemorate our adventures on Neverland. It was a place of darkness and danger, but to me, it was a beacon of light."

"How so?" David asked from his place at the next table. Killian looked around in surprise, as though he'd forgotten anyone else was in the room.

"Not sure you want to hear this part, Dave," he said with a wicked grin. "It involves your daughter and kissing. Passionate kissing."

The look on Charming's face was priceless. It was as though he couldn't decide whether to chuckle or scowl.

"Well, just try to spare us the gory details," Charming said.

"Yeah, Killian," Henry said with a grin. "We did just eat, after all."

Killian turned toward Emma and winked, the gesture forcing so much heat into her cheeks she hoped the fire extinguisher was nearby. "Aye," he said with his old pirate swagger, "perhaps the 'gory' details had best be kept between your lovely daughter and myself."

His face became serious, his eyes boring into hers. "That kiss, that astounding kiss was for me the moment of truth. I knew as soon as your lips touched mine that I loved you with a love so pure, so true, that there would never be another woman for me but you. I'd spent three hundred years trying to bury my pain in rum and vengeance, but suddenly the only person in the world, the only remedy for my loneliness was you."

The tears were back, threatening to spill over. Overcome with emotion, Emma reached for his hand. Threading her fingers with his, she brought his hand to her lips and showed him as best she could what his words meant to her.

Emma didn't realize how long they stayed there, staring into each other's eyes until Grumpy cleared his throat. "Well, that was….kind of sickening, but if you're finished, let's break this party up!"

Killian gently disentangled his fingers from hers and held his hand up. "Just a few more minutes, Leroy," he said. "I've but three gifts left to present."

Grumpy threw his hands in the air and rolled his eyes. "Why not? My perfect schedules already blown all to hell anyway."

"Leroy!" Snow chided.

"Well, it is, sister," he grumbled, shooting her a sideways look.

"I shall be quick," Killian assured. "I'd hate to be accused of causing a dwarf to suffer apoplexy due to the destruction of his 'schedule'."

Emma saw the twinkle of mischief in his eyes. Life with this man would certainly never be dull.

Turning back to his satchel once more, Killian drew out a small model of a knight in full chainmail armor.

"Following our successful return from Neverland," Killian said, "and a torturous year of separation, my lass and I were thrust into yet another adventure that led us from the Enchanted Forest to Camelot and back. Emma, love, my love for you grew by leaps and bounds as we worked together to defeat Morgana Le Fay and the Wicked Witch of the West."

"They were certainly first class bitches," Emma agreed.

"Indeed," Killian said with a grin, "but with you by my side, with a prophecy stating that our true love would win the victory, there wasn't a person in any realm I would have envied."

Emma grinned. "Aside from the evil villainesses, the arrow wound that nearly took my life, the fact that Morgana made you convince me you had no feelings for me, evil flying monkeys and my family's lives on the line, it was really the perfect little vacation."

His grin was pure mischief. "Indeed it was, lass."

"Mom," Henry whined, "you still haven't told me that whole story, and it didn't even end up in the book!"

"Patience lad," Killian said, grinning at him. "It's a harrowing tale I'll spin for you in due time. For now, I'm busy sweeping your mother off her feet with my debonair, romantic charm."

Emma swatted at his arm, but couldn't contain the giggle that broke free.

"Emma, love," Killian said, sobering once more, "it was on that adventure you first told me you loved me. The words were the sweetest sound I'd ever heard—particularly coming from lips that only moments before I'd feared would never speak again. But it was more than your love you gave me. You gave me back my father. Was it not for our adventures in Camelot, I would have never learned that my father never left me willingly, but was stolen and imprisoned by Morgana. I feel as though you've given me back my life."

Turning aside once more, Killian drew forth a perfect miniature replica of the Jolly Roger. "And now I present to you my ship," he said, placing the vessel in her hands. "The Jolly has been my home and my family for low these many centuries. She stood beside me when no one else would. I have priceless memories of Liam and Milah, and even young Bae upon her deck. But I tell you right now, Emma, I would trade her away in a heartbeat if it meant coming to your aid. You are my home now. You are my whole world. There is no sacrifice I wouldn't make for you."

Emma stopped fighting the battle and let the tears spill down her cheeks. Killian reached out a gentle hand and swiped at her tears. His face was infinitely tender. She saw it in her eyes. She was the most precious thing in the world to him. She hoped he could see the same reality shining out of her own eyes.

"Killian, that was beautiful," Snow gushed softly.

"Thank you, my lady," Killian said with a bow. "But lest I'm hauled from the premises bodily by a certain ill-tempered dwarf, I'd best speed this along."

Emma laughed.

"I've one last gift to give you, love," Killian said gently withdrawing a heart from his satchel…not a real heart thankfully. You never knew in this town!

"I contemplated having Regina rip out my own heart," he said, teasing glint in his eyes, "but I gathered that would be altogether too dramatic."

"Yeah," Emma said, "not to mention gross!"

"Just so," he nodded. "None the less, this symbolizes a far greater reality. Emma, my love, you are now, and ever shall be the possessor of my heart. It is wholly yours. Never will it stray. Never will you have cause to doubt me. I will stay with you forever regardless of what fate…or fairytale villains throw our way. I will love you to the last beat of this organ, and long, long beyond."

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

It was nearing midnight when Emma made her way down the docks and onto the Jolly Roger. She looked stealthily from side to side, checking to make absolute sure no one was observing her. She grinned to herself as she made her way below decks. She suddenly felt like a teenager breaking curfew. If her parents or Grumpy knew she was here….they'd kill her. Her mother, because it was bad luck for the bride to see the groom after the rehearsal dinner. Her father, because…well, she was making her way to the pirate's bedroom in the middle of the night. And Grumpy, because she was missing out on her beauty sleep.

Emma rolled her eyes as she knocked on the door to the captain's quarters. Sometimes it was easier when she was on her own! Not often, but sometimes.

"Aye?" came the muffled voice from the other side of the door.

Emma opened the door and slipped inside. Killian sat in his chair, his boots crossed on the desk, a book lying open in his lap.

"Swan!" he said, abruptly getting to his feet and letting the book crash unceremoniously to the floor. "Is something the matter?"

She rushed over to him and wrapped her arms around him. "No," she said, burying her face in the soft hair covering his chest, "I just needed to see you, that's all."

She felt his chin rub against the top of her hair. "We've nearly made it, love. This time tomorrow we'll be man and wife."

"Yeah," she said, smiling into his chest, "and then we can try out some…activities…that might give my father a heart attack."

She felt the deep rumble of his appreciative laugh. "That is something I've been waiting for since the moment my eyes first met yours in the Enchanted Forest."

She laughed again, and then stilled, looking up at him. "Killian, I wanted to thank you."

"What for, lass?"

"For being my rock, my unfailing support ever since you came back for us with that bean that took us to Neverland. I never could have survived Neverland or Camelot or the Enchanted Forest without you."

"It was the right thing to do, Swan," he said simply. He didn't like praise; she'd learned that about him early on.

"Yeah, but there are lots of people who wouldn't have done it."

"They would for the woman they love more than life."

She smiled and cradled his face in her hands. She brought it down for a slow, sweet kiss. When they pulled away, she rested her forehead against his. She doubted she would ever tire of kissing this man.

"Killian, those gifts today," she said, uncomfortably, "those things you said. Thank you. They mean a lot."

"It was my pleasure, love," he said, running a hand through her wavy hair. It was the most relaxing sensation she'd ever felt.

"I'm not, you know, good with words and stuff like you are," she stuttered out, "but I wanted to let you know…well…how I feel too."

His smile turned, if possible, even gentler. "No need love," he said. "Open book, remember? I know how you feel for me."

She smiled back letting her thumb caress his lower lip. "I know, but..I still want to say it."

"I'm all ears," he said, catching her hand and placing a burning kiss on her palm.

"Killian, you say I saved you, that I made you a better person, but I want you to know that it goes both ways. You tore down my walls and healed the wounded little girl that hid inside. You showed me that I do matter to someone, that I am worthy of love. You brought a rainbow of color into my gray world. And I love you more than I will ever be able to tell you or show you."

He pecked her softly on the lips. "You'll have a lifetime to try, lass."

"Yeah."

The kiss this time was long and tinged with passion and need. She wished she could stay with him, here in his arms tonight. Reluctantly she pulled back a fraction of an inch. "I should go," she whispered finally, "if my mother finds out I was here…well the consequences could be too terrible to mention."

"Aye," he grinned, "and I'd hate to face the wrath of Grumpy."

With one last, lingering kiss goodnight, Emma walked up the steps, onto the docks and over to her waiting bug. One more night. She needed to wait only one more night, and then she would finally get to "I do."

The End!

[alchemisland]

Moors Mutt - II

Prefer Wattpad?

Rising early, if rising it was and not merely stirring from a wakened restive state, I left the tavern in secret and walked a barren stretch. At pale dawn birds like Aztec idols flighted at my stirring. Cold light stained the pasture either side. Sleepshod, the road to Cairn Cottage found me quiet company. Even the tinkers were not yet to the road in their triskeled wagons.

The air was heavy with lavender. A pebbled stretch stirred a reverie of my late father and a codex of heroic tales he had purchased for me, whose chronicles of high adventure stirred me like nothing prior. At six years old, tales of old Arabia appealed most. Kingdoms wrought of sunstones stark against a tangerine haze, swirling tarot star ever-visible, scorpions armoured like chargers; the sheer cloying madness of it all. I visited them in dreams, jumped from the paths of unruly camels, watced the impenetrable waves humbly part in the wake of royal palanquins.

Their heroes were unlike our knights. More often sulky boys preferring quill to falchion. Brooding teenagehood made me relish the stranger entries, tales without lessons existing solely to unnerve, speaking on the bleak lives of Tartarian wizards.

Into adulthood, I came to enjoy Greek tales best of all. The tragedy of Ajax in his lover's plate leaking on the golden sand. Waves, caressing the moored fleet in passing, bursting against the shale where his pyre burned. Always when I hear crunching pebbles, I think of soldiers marching on the strand near Troy.

Before long, a trap could be heard from the middle distance, the first in a network of wagons due to arrive at Cairn Cottage to transport the priceless contents of Lady Sizemore’s library back to Sperrin, where they would be carefully parcelled and carried by train to the Royal Academy Library. I waited astride the ditch until the crude plume atop the horses head appeared like the mantle of some deposed pagan lord. Ixion's disc four times divided had been fixed to bear this chariot. Its heavy trundle ground debris to powder. I hailed the driver, a wind being, every strand of hair or cloth lank enough to lift stood disarrayed. A peak stole his brow but a smile waved me aboard.

The driver never spoke. There was a sense of grim penitence about all I had met thus far. Their lines of deep regret boldened every jowl and furrowed brow. Each bore the weight of his forebears in full. A place without time and silent, where happiness and sadness could last all of forever. So silent were they, matched only by monks in their solemnity, I christened this ham the abbodrice of Sperrin.

Inside chaos reigned. Lady Sizemore's estate was measured first in paper above coin. Hundreds, thousands, of jaundiced sheets all in disorder busied every surface. Before a single penny changed hands, a great many hours I spent hauling boxes, within which were more boxes where spiders large as potatoes spun temporary wonders above the invoices.

I wonder what effect prolonged tedium has. Such thoughts are entertained in avoidance of work as should never be given lucid credence. An entire day dedicated solely to translating letters in incomprehensible cursive, it felt ridiculous. My mind, perhaps reflecting its surroundings, felt dulled, unfocused. So long I stared, when I pried my eyes I found feint margins plastered across reality.

The previous night's visitations I had pondered, ultimately chalking to anxiety. Nothing substantially portentous. Unfortunately, another day I required before I indulged  cryptozooligcal fancies.

Darkness in ravenfeather arrived premature. I ran to the track where the last impatient husbandman sat in stasis. 'Bound for Sperrin?' I called, already halfway inside.

I arrived at Lar's fiercely humoured. Tired, thirsty and caked in mud golemlike, my gladness at journey's end was quickly consumed by the fury of indignity, having endured the return trip atop a sewagesucker's swine van. Lar tended bar. I wondered had he stirred in my absence. Anticipating a thirst, two mugs were set.

I dropped my satchel and enjoyed relief akin to weightlessness by contrast. We drained tankards like soon-to-war Saxons, spoke of weather, I asked had anyone noteworthy visited, mostly from politeness. When asked had the room served, I replied it had done so more than adequately. Again, politeness.

Not wishing to appear overeager, I spared him details of my dream. If the tale was relayed to me, I should say how convenient the very man hoping to find the beast would experience a vision. Besides, in the unlikely event we found a mangy badger after I'd described a prehistoric horror.. perish the thought.

'Do we depart tomorrow?' Lar grunted as he pretended to dust.

'Short delay as it happens. I'd have said from the door, only for the ale calling. Alas, labour remains. My charges lust for satisfaction. They are at Rome's gates! Distant cousins write in droves. By air, land and sea their letters come, squeezing through grates, shimmying down chimneys. Forget the beast, if they find me I'm dead.' I said, picking at a heel of bread.

'We sank tankards enough last night. I've seen plenty pale on the dizzy morning after the night before. If this delay is to spite me, let me allay concerns, I'm the man for this job. We're the men for this job.' Lar shot a glance at Fergus. A pale lance cleft his brow through the slitted shutters.

I looked to my empty cup then longingly at his selection. Lar fingered a bottle, but reached further back and took another instead.

'My god, man. Boil a pot and toss it down your trousers. No such notions occurred to me. We're expedition mates! I didn't make a dent in the work, really.' I raised a silencing finger to hear the ale splash. 'There you have it. Mystery solved. If the mystery of the beast is this easy, we're laughing.' I inhaled its aroma. 'Listen, chap. There's something else I wanted to talk about before we go. I mean to publish an expedition diary. A chronicle of our adventures. Part scientific tome, part roaring adventure book. Your pub will be the busiest spot in the weald after this. Would you object to such?'

Lar's measured tone returned. Careful as a tiptoeing sinner, he asked 'You good?'

I smiled. 'Only Ben Adhem saw the book, ask him.'

Lar stove the ashen helm crowning his cigarette, plunging the embers into the cold bronze bowl. 'At writing.'

'You should say! I tease, I tease. To answer your question, yes. Humbly, in my hand the pen is like the master mason's chisel, from whence grand cathedrals spring forth from their less divine constituent parts.' Lar was fumbling for his tobacco already and I thought what small use that vice would be in peril.

'I'm convinced.' Lar spoke quickly, stumbling over the words to get them out. I took no offence at his zeal to change the subject. 'Do you have a manuscript at hand?' he asked.

'Not with me, unfortunately.' He stifled a sigh of relief. 'Upon returning home one story heavier, I'll ensure you receive signed copies of every one. I'll sing them My favourite tub of Lar. Yours literately, Beastman. That way you'll know it's me.'

Lar's ale, a home brew, was a swift agent, promising to travel from your mouth to the toilet's in twenty minutes. I joked he might patent it for a medicine. Call it the Midas touch. Everything it touched turns to gold: toilet seat, floor, shoes if you weren't careful.

I spied Fergus. His thumb led a blunt edge across the ribbed bark of a sprig, from which he had carved two lidded eyes and a pursed mouth.

Lar lit a cigarette from the flared end of another, then discarded it on the ashen pyre.

Lar had to raise the hatch for me, which spoiled any hope of a dramatic exit. 'Departure two days hence, on the strict proviso no unpleasant libel suit comes once my story hits print. Rest assured, I'll include nothing untoward, but I reserve the right to artistic licence. Print the myth.'

'Libel is a city crime.' Anticipating my desire, Lar walked while he spoke. I mirrored and slipped through the open portcullis to sleep, perchance to scream.

*

Lying in bed, I wondered what to include in my chronicle; exciting details only, or every charged exchange? Nobody asked how the shipwright felt constructing thousands of ships without prior notice. They only wanted Achilles. The reader will concede, I have included much of the mundane.

Well-oiled, I slept easily. Set like a star I saw things from the blind past, dark present and murky future, useless without chronology, stifling their prophetic nature. The beast came again, shaking the ground where it trod.

*

Lar, blackbird that he was, rose early. He emerged from the fugue state that best pleased his constitution and stretched, his wingspan filling the alcove. He found me in my linen cell, bewhaled as Jonah.

'Terrible day.' He drew the shutters. Groggily, I pulled the sheets down over my face to the sight of Lar's stocky silhouette in the dirty light. Tapping a cigarette loose on the sill, he plonked one cheek on the ledge and struck a match. 'Anything you want from town? I'm going to get supplies. I should be away most of the day. There won't be a return trip before we go. Speak now or forever hold your peace.'

'Ambulo in pace.' I tapped my journal, 'I have everything.'

'Do you have a mac?' he asked. The rain beat down harder.

'No, we're English, some Irish. Although I heard tell that a distant branch traded their roses for thistle stalks.' I smirked.

Lar shuddered, ill-humoured before midday despite protestations he needed no proper rest. 'I mean a waterproof.'

'Oh give me credit. That's humour.'

'We in the smiling countryside call it idiocy. There's a time for revels. Unless you've been up all night, dawn isn't it.' he said somewhat angrily.

'I don't have one and I'd like a loan if that's what you're asking, thank you. I didn't sleep well now you mention it' I tossed my feet onto the cold ground and felt for a sock.

Lar watched the rain spilling in romantic sheets. 'You'll need an ark to get back. It's like a bog when it rains. No one will be able to get you. Not me, not the constabulary, nor anyone else. If the weather worsens, make sure you get back in time. Otherwise, everything will be closed until further boatice.'

'Boatice?' I said.

'Now that is humour. Rain, boats, further notice. Get it?' Lar left, more spritely than when he entered.