#if i hate this later thas my fault. whatever.

[burning-sol]

i didnt expect to be making a ref but suddenly i was drawing and the things were happening and- anyways, long story short i dunno if this is a GOOD ref but i just drew it spontaneously and its probably more accurate than the old ref SO... YEAH..... transparent ver under the cut.

[wowzah2nd]

"I'm Glad I Did"

Draco Malfoy x Reader

WordCount: 4k

You and Draco have been married 19 years now, but the start of your relationship did have a bit of downs but eventually you life started to look up as the years went on and you both couldn't be happier.

You and draco have been married  for 19 years now, it was rough in the beginning of your relationship, especially being in different houses. Him being in slytherin and you being in hufflepuff. You were a pureblood that was from overseas and moved to hogwarts in your 5th years that was when you first met.

Quick flash back 

 You were walking down the hall rushing to the library, you woke up a bit later than usual and were running late to meet a friend to help with their homework. As you were running you bumped into someone

Boy: watch where you going

 He then got up, as he was getting up you followed him with your eyes till they met him, you stared at them for a long time admiring them till you snapped out of it.

Y/N: oh my goddess i am so so sorry i wasn’t watching were i was going and i didnt mean to run into you

You saying all this while trying to pick up tha books you had ended up you then look up at him again this time he was the one staring at you causing you to panic

Y/N: oh my gosh is there something on my face

You rubbing your face trying to get whatever you thought may be stuck to it, then looking back at him 

He then started to blush realising he had been caught staring at you 

Boy: n-no i was just looking to see if you needed help

That made you stop panicking, you saw his robes after you bumped, you knew they were green which surprised you even more he would wanna help you

Y/N: you wanna help me?

Boy: Y-yeah it was also my fault i was really looking either 

He then knelt in front of you to help pick up you books, you couldn't help but feel a warm feeling in your chest when he help you

You then saw him look up at you causing you to look down and continue picking up your books. Once all your books were picked up you got up and so did he then handing you books back to you.

Y/N: thank you for the help

Boy: no worries it was the least i could do

 He was about to walk away before you stopped him 

Y/N: HEY, could i get you name you never told me 

Boy: you don't know who I am 

He said in a confused tone as if i was suppose to know it 

Y/N: sorry i'm new here so i don’t know everyone in my year yet,

He then made a face in relation as if the pisces just started to fit together 

Boy: no wonder i didn't recognise you, you new duh?

He started to laugh at himself but you decided to stop him since he still hadn’t answer your previous questions 

Y/N: you still haven’t told me your name stranger  

You giggle at him 

Boy: oh right, My name is Malfoy, Draco Malfoy

Y/N: well thank  you Draco Malfoy for your help 

You then put out you free hand to give him a hand shake

Y/N: My name is Y/N L/N nice to meet you 

End flashback 

That was the first time you had met him and you both admitted it was both the best days of your life and the most life changing. Over the years you got to know each other more and more and since you were pure blood it was easy to talk to him. Most of the Syltherin didn’t mind you coming around but some did give you looks such as Pansy Parkinsons. You really hated her. She always had something to say to you, even though you were nothing but nice to her.

Your mother always taught you to never let anything get to you and if someone was bullying you to always kill them with kindness. But that never alway ways worked. One particle day really got you and you didn't leave you room the whole day not even for classes which worried draco

Flash back 

Draco Pov 

Apparently Draco had been looking for you and came all the way to the hufflepuff common room to try and look for you. Even waiting for a hufflepuff near the entrance to get to you since he wasn’t friends with anyone from your house besides you. He  stoped a hufflepuff girl and ask about you

Draco: Hey, by any chance do you know Y/N L/N 

Girl: Yeah ofc everyone knows her, why?

Draco: i just haven't seen her all day and im getting worried 

The girl then made a nervous face, saying that she knew where you were 

Draco: w-what happen to her you clearly know

Girl:... she been in her room all day we don’t know what's wrong she won’t talk to anyone from any year and the whole house is worried about her 

Draco then made a worried expression what could have happened to you to make you stay in your room all day 

Draco: can you please let me in i need to see her and see if she's okay 

The girl thought for a moment then decided to let draco in, probably knowing you two were friends. No one would stop talking about the slytherin prince always hanging out with the sweet hufflepuff princess

The girl knocked on the barrel as the password and let draco in, she then let draco up into the girls dormitory and led him to Y/N rooms

Y/N pov

You were laying face down on the bed eye still full of tears, you havent been able to stop crying all day. Usually you didn’t let anything bother you this much but this one particular thing really got you and you were doubting yourself more then ever 

As you were crying you hear a know at the door, thinking it was another hufflepuff house mate being worried you tried to shoo them away 

Y/N: please go away i said i was fin 

The knocking stopped but a voice you recognised surprised you 

Draco: Hey, it me i've been worried about you all day can i please come in to see you 

You contemplated not letting him in but in the end you decided there was no point fighting it. Anyone could have unlocked your room but everyone was too considerate to try but draco with all the worry you could hear in his voice you knew he’d come in either way 

So you got out of bed, made your way to the door, unlocked it then headed back to laying facing away from the door . Draco immediately entered the room and looked around to find you laying in your bed. He made his way towards you and decided to sit down in your bed

Draco: what's got you all down in the dumps love

You always had a weakness for the nickname he gave you 

Y/N: nothing you should be worrying about, you can go now 

You still won’t look in his direction trying to hide the tears flowing from your eyes, at this point draco was more worried than ever so he decided to get in your personal space. He grabbed you shoulder softly and encouraged you to face him.

And you didn't really didn’t have it in you to fight him off so you turned to face him. ONce he saw the tear in your eye his heart broke and he leaned down towards you and gave you a hug and you gave him a hug back and ended up crying even more.

Draco: What happened to love?

Y/N: you’ll think it’s stupid 

You said still crying 

Draco: nothing you ever say will be stupid to me 

You stayed silent for a bit and draco waited patiently for you to tell him 

Y/N: someone came up to me yesterday asking why someone like you would want to hang around me. I tried to defend myself by saying we're friends but then she said no that can’t be it's probably because I'm your pet since I seem to follow you around. 

You decided to sit up and sit next to him but you couldn't look him in the eye, scared that maybe you were just a pet to him. There was always a saying that every slytherin had their pet hufflepuff and maybe you weren't friends. Maybe you were just a dumb pet.

Draco then gently held you chin and pulled it to face your face so that you now facing him,  the expression he was showing wasn’t one of malice but one of someone who was really worried and cared for you 

Draco: Who said this?

Y/N: I dont wanna tell you

Draco: please tell me love who said this to you 

You paused for a moment contemplating in the end you told him 

Y/N: it was your friend Pansey 

Draco got up from where he was sitting and started to pace angrily, you thought he was mad at you so you decided to apologise for telling him, that made him stop pacing and kneeled in front of you

Draco: I'm not mad at you love i could never be mad at you. I'm mad that my own friend called you my pet, you are not my pet. You're not my pet, you my dearest friend.

It made you happy to hear you weren't some pet to him but you were also sad that he only saw you as a friend since if you had to tell the truth you were madly in love with him ever since you first bumped into him. You looked draco in the eye and noticed he was getting a bit nervous and this worried you 

Y/N: draco are you okay you look nervous, did io do something 

Draco immediately looked back at you 

Draco:no no you didn’t…i just don’t know if i should tell you something 

You gave out a sigh of relief that you didn’t do anything wrong but you were still worried for draco 

Y/N: draco you know you can tell me anything, you worried ill get mad, sad or uncomfortable you'll never make me feel that way so please whatever you gt too tell me get it off your chest

Even though you were worried what he had to say to you, what you said was true you'd always be there for draco no matter what especially how he had been here for you today 

Draco took a deep breathe then spoke 

Draco: y/n l/n i've been in love with you ever since i first laid eyes on you and i would like for you to be my girlfriend. But if you don't feel the same i will gladly stand by your side as your friend  

That left you speechless for a moment then pure joy and happiness just flowed through you body that you flung yourself to draco giving him the most bone crushing hug. You then pulled away and gave him a passionate kiss you've always wished for. You pulled away making eye contact with draco giving him the biggest smile you've ever given. Even bigger when he had given you a puffskein for your birthday 

Draco: i'll take that as a yes then

Y/N: 100 times yes i'll be your girlfriend and also i've loved you since that day too draco i really have 

You both just sat on the floor looking at each other happily until draco broke the silence 

Draco: come on let's head to dinner i think it just started and i dont think you've eaten all day 

You couldn’t say anything just out of pure happiness so you nodded, he took your hand lead you out of your room towards the great hall and the whole way there you never let go of his hand and he never made an attempt to stop either. Once you got to the great hall you were about to let go of his hand and head towards the hufflepuff table but before he could he spoke

Draco: Would you wanna come and sit with me?

Even though you've known draco for a year now you've never sat with him feeling you weren’t welcomed by his friend’s so this surprised you 

Y/N: Are you sure? 

Draco: of course i'm sure, now come on let's get you something to eat

He led yo9u towards the slytherin table which caused most people in the great hall to start looking your way and to whisper to each other especially the slytherin’s. Once you sat down draco started to make your plate which you thought was so sweet since he remembered your favourite food. Once he made you plate he gave it to you so you decided to start eating you noticed he wasn’t so you decided to give him some of your food 

Getting some of your favourite food you decided to feed him, and he gladly accepted which made you smile. But the moment was ruined by someone slamming their hand on the table which got yours and draco’s attention 

Pansey: What the hell is she doing here?

She looked at draco then turned to you to speak 

Pansey: And what are you doing feeding my dracy huh? 

You didn't wanna start a fight so you stayed slightly. You were still upset about what she said so you didn't really wanna look at her. Draco seeing that you were getting upset again decided to stand up for you 

Draco: pansey what is wrong with you speaking to her like that 

Pansey: b-but dra-

Draco: no buts pansy your not allowed to treat her like that, especially now that she’s my girlfriend

Hearing this your turned back to look at draco, you thought you'd have to keep the relationship a secret since draco was always a prideful person but guess you were wrong

Pansey: t-thats a lie why would you be with her a not me a pureblood whos in slytherin 

Draco: because pansy she's a sweet,kind, caring person who is considerate for everyone even slytherin’s. And your a cruel and bitter obsessive person who doesn’t understand i will never be with you

At that last sentence pansey started to cry and ran out of the great  hall, everyone in the room was left speechless even you but draco wasn’t done

Draco: THIS GOES FOR EVERYONE DON’T YOU DARE HURT MY GIRLFRIEND OR YOUR NEXT 

After that he sat back down next to you and all you could do was stare at him, after that day you knew he truly loved you 

As the years went on things never got easy especially during the war draco had to be with his parents and you understood that and never got mad at him for it. Even after the war was over people still looked at him as a death eater but you never did and you always told him.

Once the war was over draco found you and asked you to marry him and you said yes. The time apart you spent when he was on the other side broke you and made you realise you couldn't live without him 

Married life was amazing. Instead of moving into malfoy manor draco got a cottage in france where you could live in peace, far from people who may still have malice for draco or death eaters who may want revenge.  Draco's mother was always supportive of the marriage seeing that you did some good for him but his father never approved of you even though you were pure blood he just saw you as a lowly hufflepuff.

But with Draco's constant love and reassurance it never got to you again and you both lived happily.  Draco became a position master and opened a shop in hogsmeade to sell potions to people who are in need and people are always referred to him when they need a potion. As for you you opened a herbologiest and botanist opening a store where you would grow and sell plants. Which worked really well with your husband's store, you were always his go to supplier.

After 8 years of working and marriage you both finally decided to have a child since you were both feeling ready and more than financially stable. 9 months later scorpius malfoy was born he had his father's hair for sure but he had your eyes draco said.

Having scorpius kept you busy meaning you had to hire people for your store which sadden you a little bit since you wouldn't be working as often but you didn't mind if it mean more time with your son. As soon as scorpius was able to walk draco bought him his first broom which you were mad about but you later got over seeing how happy scorpius was.

5 years later you found out you were pregnant again which excited scorpius so much seeing as he always wanted a sibling mainly a little brother but you had to tell him that it might be a sister.

Scorpius: what do you mean he might be a girl, i want a brother not a sister 

Y/N: i know you do sweetie but i can’t control if we have a boy or a girl so you have ot wait a see 

After hearing we couldn't do anything about the gender he sat in his room sulking for a bit until he heard his father come home. Immediately he forgot all about it.

As the month went by, Scorpius was more open to the idea of a sister but he still wanted a brother. But you a draco didn’t mind as long as the baby was healthy

9 months later a baby girl named  Astra Malfoy was born, she also had a malfoy hair which you were not surprised about the gene was just too strong not to come through. As soon as you got the okay to go home you immediately wanted to introduce her to scorpius.

Y/N: Hey, darling do you mind getting scorp so we can introduce him to Astra 

Draco: of course love 

He gave you a kiss on the forehead before heading upstair to grab scorp, you immediately heard little footsteps running from upstair to the stairs then they stopped right in front of you 

Y/N: hey there sweetie ready to meet your baby sister 

Scorpius: It's a girl?

Y/N: yeah she is i hope that's okay

You immediately lowered yourself so that scorpius could see Astra and the moment he say her you knew he didn’t mind at all. 

19 years after the war

Today scorpius  was heading to hogwarts and to say he was excited was an understatement 

Scorpius: come on mom were gonna be late 

He said as he was pulling you hand trying to make you move quicker

Y/N: we can't go through the wall just yet scorp we have to wait for your father, you know he wants to go through with you 

As you both were waiting for Draco and Astra scorps excitement turned into worry 

Scorpius: hey mom, do you think ill make any friends 

As little sad scorpius thought he wouldn’t make any friends, you knelt down to his height to look him in the eyes as you talk

Y/N: of course you’ll make friends scorp, you the most funny, amazing and fun kid to be around who wouldn’t want to be your friend

At hearing you words he started to smile more but his smile grew even wider when he looked behind you 

Draco: what happening here

He said as he put Astra down, even though she was 6 years old she's still a daddy's girl 

Y/N: i was just telling our amazing son here that he doesn’t need to worry about not making friends cause he’s so amazing 

Draco then looked at scorpius and knelt down to his height 

Draco: your mother is right you know any kid would be lucky to be your friend 

Scorpius smiled again then gave draco a big hug

Draco: well be better be going through that wall now before we miss your train son 

And just like that they got ready with the trolly, scorpius looked scared to go through but draco encouraged him and told him they would do it together and just like that they disappears throught the wall.

Astra looked at the wall amazed 

Astra: where did they go mummy 

Y/N: they went to platform and 9 ¾  and we should be going too 

Astra looked worried too but you told her she would be find and that you'd hold her hand as you went through 

Y/N: let's get a running start okay 

Astra: okay 

So you both decided to run through the wall and once through the nostalgia and wonder hit you once again. Seeing the train once again was magical and it made you nearly tear up 

Astra: wow this is amazing mummy, did you get to ride the train too 

Y/N: yes i did and so did your father, but let's go find them so we can say bye to your brother 

As you were trying to find your husband and son you saw so many familiar faces even though you weren't friends with all of them a lot of them remembered you which was heartwarming to think you made such an impact in their life that they’d remember you. 

Walking through the crowds of students and parents saying goodbye you finally found them 

Y/N: getting on the train before saying goodbye to your dear mother 

Scorpius started to laugh at you silliness 

Scorpius: i would never dream of it mum 

He then walled up to you giving you a big bone crushing hug and you returned it with a kiss on the head 

Scorpius: i already said bye to dad and told him i'll miss him. But i'm gonna really miss you too mum 

Y/N: and i'm gonna miss you so much too sweetie we both will, just promise me not to get into too much trouble 

Scorpius gave you a mischievous grin telling you that he probably wasn’t going to keep the promise long 

Scoprius: of course mum i will 

After giving him one last hug and draco giving him one too, Astra decided it was her turn to say bye as well

Astra: im going to miss you 

Scrpous: and ill miss you too 

Astra started to cry which broke your and draco’s hearts, but scorpius being a good brother that he is comforted her 

Scorpius: dont worry Astra i promise to write you every week and ill also be coming back for the holidays so don't cry so much okay 

Wiping her tears away she say’s

Astra: do you promise 

Scorpius: I promise 

After saying goodbye the train's whistle started to sound indicating it was time to get bored, you watched as Scorpius got on the train and found a sit waving to you as the train left. After all the struggles you and draco had you finally had your happily ever after with two beautiful kids 

Draco picked up Astra and held your hand indicating to head home 

Y/N: do you think he’ll be okay 

You say looking at draco

Draco: i think he’ll do heart, he has his mothers kindness and patience as well as his father amazing good looks

At that comment you started to laugh, your daughter was a it confused as to why you were laughing but she smiled at the comment 

Astra: why are you laughing mummy, daddy is very handsome

Y/N: i know sweetie, he is but let's not say it to much or else daddy might get a bigger forehead

Draco gave out a fake offended gasp as if saying you really did hurt his feelings but you knew he was being dramatic 

Draco: hey you chose to say yes when i asked you to marry me 

Y/N: and i'm glad i did 

At that you gave him a kiss on the lips which caused Astra to giggle

Astra: you two love each other very much 

Draco: yes we do my little star we do 

Y/N: and we love you and your brother too

The End

[countlessrealities]

@petalsxfallen sent: “You’re a fucking dead man, Sanchez!” for Rick (for Petal getting her memories back lol)

Petal's angry voice filled the garage without a warning, so loud that it covered even the noise of the door being slammed open against the wall. Rick visibly jumped, taken completely off guard, and spun around in a hurry, more out of instinct than because he had chosen to.

In truth, he should have expected to have the Gem come finding him sooner or later. Once her memories had started to come back, she had been dazed and confused, too busy trying to make sense of it all to think about what had happened after her Rejuvenation, but obviously that wouldn't have lasted.

However, the scientist had thought that she would have taken at least a few days before recovering enough to storm in on him with all her fury. Obviously, he had made a gross miscalculation.

"H-Holy shit!" He yelped, moving away just in time to narrowly avoid the knife that was thrown at him. It seemed like Petal had no intention of playing around. It was pretty clear that her plan was to hurt him first and talk later.

Useless to say, he was definitely not on board with it.

"W-What the...Stop acting like a crazy bitch!" He exclaimed, activating his personal force field right before she charged on, jumping on him and slamming the blade over and over against the energy barrier. "W-Why the fuck are you so mad at me?! I-It was fully consensual! I-It's not my fault if the version of you w-who's unburdened by all that bullshit has better tastes t-than you do!"

As it was to be expected, those were the wrong words, because they only caused the pearl to shove him against the workbench with a growl, climb on him and resume her stabbing attempts.

"G-God fuckin' dammit!" Rick cursed, trying in vain to grab her hands to immobilise her.

Then his head whipped in the direction of the other occupant of the room. As much as he hated to admit it, he could have used a hand.

"M-Morty! What the fuck?! A-Are you just going to stand there an-and watch as she attempts to murder me?!" She wouldn't have been able to, but that wasn't the point. "G-Get her pink ass off me!"

From where he was standing, leaning against the wall near the door, arms crossed over his chest, Morty shook his head and shrugged. If Rick was hoping that he would bail him out when he had brought all that on himself, then he would be very, very disappointed.

"I-I've already one my part. I-I told you tha-that it was a bad idea, b-but you didn't listen to me. Y-You never do," he answered in a nonchalant tone, even if deep down he was feeling smug. Oh, sweet payback. "Y-You know, Rick, choices have consequences. Y-You always manage to avoid them or-or have others deal with them for you, so...M-Maybe it's about time you face them yourself."

The reply gained him a heated glare from the scientist, but the teen simply ignored it. He knew that Rick would have eventually tried to get back at him for how petty he was being, but by now he was used to dealing with that shit.

Besides, he had the feeling that Petal wouldn't stop being mad for a good while and both of them knew that Rick would have needed Morty to get through it. So, whatever the man would plan, couldn't have been too nasty, unless he was ready to end up being left alone to deal with a murderous, enraged Gem.

[page150]

Ruined 📱César x Reader (Enemies to Friends)

Request: None :(

Pronouns: None Stated

Word Count: 1888

Warnings: angst, mention on killing

It was night time in Los Angeles. The sky with it’s beautiful great white clouds had already turned from bright blue to black. Before, when you had waited on your porch, you noticed a few stars that poked out in the sky. You had felt a light chill in the air and as you stressed inside, you knew it had increased.

In your living room you paced back and forth. Your phone clutched in your hand as you stared down at it. Waiting for anything really. With each random notification you felt your nerves sky rocket. None of them were the ones you needed to ease your nervousness. You tripped lightly on the small hills in the carpet that had been made from your pacing, and looked at it as a sign you should sit down.

Right as you sat down you heard a knock on the door. It was different from your guardians and not like your boyfriend’s. His was sharp and in a pattern that the two of you had created. This one was soft, only one gentle tap.

The door was opened and you felt your heart drop a little. It was only César, but you could barely see him. He was sheltered in a thick black coat, a black beanie that was scrunched in his hand. Memories of your last encounters with him flashed in your mind. All the missed calls, the lies, the arguments. The last thing you wanted to do was have him disturb whatever peace that remained in your empty home.

“Can I come in?”

“Of course.”

In your head you smacked yourself at your response.

He walked in. You noticed that he still had his shoes on. He used to always take them off when he visited, because he knew that that’s how your guardian liked it. You rolled your eyes as he sat down on the couch and shuffled something in pocket. His eyes were low to the ground, head close to his neck. You could faintly hear the quick tap of his sneakers against the wooden floors.

“Is there a reason you're here? No offense, but usually you would call and it doesn’t look like you’re staying for long.” You ask, picking up your phone again.

“Yeah, I can’t stay for long” He pauses. In a way you were glad, you didn’t really want to see him anyways, but then his eyes glance at you, then turned away. “I just needed to ask you something.”

“What?”

He didn’t meet your eyes. You moved to sit down next to him, placing your phone on one of the cushions. You noticed how close you had gotten to him so you moved away a bit. You hated how you missed sitting next to him. Basking in the warmth he produced.

He perked up and put on a fake smile. “Olivia wants you to come to her quinceañera.”

You reply with a small smile at the sound of her name. “Does she really? I’m not that close with her, but I would love to go. Will Monse and Jasmine be there too?”

“Yup. She would really like for you to come. They all miss you.” He whispers.

Your smile falls. Now you’re looking at the ground as well. The chocolate colored wood isn’t as interesting as he makes it out to be.

“I know you didn’t just come here to tell me that. Spit it out. I'm busy.”

Cesar sighs and looks at you. You had never seen him so uncomfortable. It was like you sitting next to him was torture. He didn’t even act like this when he accidentally walked in on you in the bathroom one time. His eyes looked sad. Not glossy enough for tears to fall, but almost. He took a deep breath, mustering up courage to tell you the truth.

“Where’s Latrelle?”

You get up immediately at his words. By the sound of his name the room seemed louder now. Your hands grab your phone again and you sigh in relief as you feel it’s weight, but there were no missed calls from your boyfriend, not even a text message.

“What did he do now? Does he owe you money? I’ll pay for it, how much?” You rambled.

Cesar gets up as well. “It’s not about tha-”

“No I’m serious.” Walking towards your room you grab your wallet and pull out a bunch of crumbled bills. It was the money Latrelle had given to you for your birthday. The smell of the expensive perfume he partnered it with still lingered on the bills.

“This is $150, I can get more if he made a big mistake.” You joked. Cesar didn’t laugh, “so he made a really big mistake.”

“You know what I have to do, y/n.”

“No,” You gulp. “Just take the money. He’ll be back later and I’ll talk to him. I can talk to him, I’m very persuasive.”

“He rolled up on me and Monse, y/n. We could’ve gotten hurt. It’s not my decision, it's Oscar’s.”

“I’m sorry for that and I’m glad that both of you are okay, but you don’t have to kill him! He’s a kid, Cesar. We’re kids!”

“I’m a kid that almost got shot and now it’s his turn! Don’t you care about Monse? Don’t you care about me? I don’t know why you’re still dating him! Just be a good friend and give me the information.”

Something in you was switched on with what he said. Suddenly everything that had made you want to keep the door closed was back again. You dropped your phone and walked towards him. You push an accusing finger into his chest. All your anger that was fueled toward Latrelle moved towards Cesar in a wave that almost swept tears to fall from your eyes.

“I was a good friend and don’t you forget it. I was your friend! You pushed me away! I care about you, Ruby, Monse, Jamal, Jasmine, all of you! But, then you got all secretive and kept hiding things from me. You pushed me to the side and kept me away from your friends. It was supposed to be you and me and I don’t even care if you’re dating Monse now, but I was hurt. You hurt me and Latrelle was there when you weren’t. He was there after you ruined everything! Now you come into my house in the middle of the night asking me to rat him out? After you’ve ignored me for months? Fuck you!”

César opened his mouth to say something, but your phone vibrated on the floor. You both looked at it, Latrelle was calling, on your phone screen you could see the cute photo of you on his back pop up. It was taken at the fair, two weeks after César got Ruby to uninvite you to a party.

César looked away, “You can pick it up. Warn him if you want. You know I could never hurt you.”

Tears rolled down your cheek now. Any words that you wanted to say were clogged in your throat. The phone buzzed and buzzed until it stopped. You fell to your knees and clutched it, bringing it close to your chest. Sobs wrecked through you. They stomped at your heart and you knew what was going to happen. Cesar could only look down at you. He felt something pull him to you but he fought against it. He walked out the door closing it softly behind him.

“Cesar please,” You cried. You got to your feet and chased after him. The night was cold and you shivered at it’s emptiness. All around you the world seemed to have shut down. You and him were the only living things that dared to move.

You ran towards César and he opened his arms to bring you into a hug.

“If I don’t do this our friendship will be ruined. Your life will be ruined, y/n please let me go so I can come back to you.” He cried.

His arms wrap around you. His lovely warmth fought against the chill of night. You realize that the darkness that came from your face being pressed against his chest was more comforting then the darkness you knew would come from the absence of Latrelle. You ignore the feeling of the outline of a gun pressed against your abdomen. He held you up, as you suddenly felt heavy. You both fall to your knees. He pressed a kiss on your forehead, his hands moved to rub circles on your back.

“It’s not your fault, baby. I’m sorry for ghosting you. Life just got so hard. I didn’t want you to have to deal with it. I want you to stay safe.” He cries harder. You just hold him tighter, not wanting to let go. Not wanting it to end. For once you didn’t feel so angry when you thought about him, you could just enjoy his comfort, but memories don’t just disappear like that.

“I will. I can stay safe. I just want you to stay safe too. I know you'll kill him regardless of what I say. I’ll be honest, Latrelle’s made a lot of mistakes.” You take a deep breath. “In a weird way I’m glad you're doing it, he’s made so many enemies, but I don’t want him bleeding out near the gutter like garbage. Don’t hurt him, be quick.”

The both of you sat there in silence for a while. Collapsed in each other's arms like tired returning lovers. César cleared his throat.

“I have to ask,” He muttered. “Why are you so calm about this?

You pause for a moment. Why were you so calm? Internally you didn’t feel calm. You felt like a kid desperate for love. You felt disloyal for ratting out someone who at least attempted to make time for you. Choosing to rebuild friendship with César or to keep someone alive who doesn’t want to change was so incredibly difficult. To calm your mind you told yourself it was going to happen either way. If César doesn’t kill him, Oscar will, or some other person would get him. It was a matter of time, but César had treated you wrong. Feeling a headache storm in your mind you responded.

“I’m not stupid I know how this works. Latrelle could have shot you or Monse. I hate how he always tries to be someone he isn’t. I hate it.”

He looks down at you. Not necessarily a smile, but his face showed that a weight was lifted. One of many. A face that ignored a weight that was now pulling you down. He lifted your chin up moving to kiss you. You turn your head and pull away.

“I don’t think I can. I haven’t forgotten.” You mumble.

He wraps an arm around your shoulders. “That’s okay and I’m truly sorry y/n.”

You nod and look up at the few stars. Maybe there were more, but it was a cloudy night.

“You should go home.” He suggests.

“Okay.” You move his arm and get back up. You suddenly felt sick to your stomach, he noticed it.

“Y/n…”

“Goodnight César.” You replied.

You wrapped your arms around your body and walk away. Leaving Cesar where he was in the dark.

Author's Note: ok so there might be a part 2 to this so stayed tuned! follow my twitter for updates @/thepage150 anyways i got my first 60 notes on a post so you can hold the applause thank you thank you! & REQUESTS ARE OPEN so please leave a request! [no smut/no real people (ex. Harry Styles, Dream)] If you enjoyed this please like and follow for more. I have a huge surprise when we reach 100 <3!! Have a wonderful day ~c'k

[phoenixblack89]

Fera Ingris

Chapter 1 - Dealing with Dixons

It's finally here people! Eekkk! It'll be up on A03 later when I turned my laptop on. Been teasing this for soooo long.

My wonderful tag list:

@lilythemadqueen @boondoctorwho @darylsgirl @autocon23 @browneyes528 @fandomsaremykryponite @writingdeadangel

"Yer take care of yourself lass, don't worry about us."

Phoenix sighed at the man on the other end of the phone, twisting the silver rosary he had given her for her birthday many years ago. The world had changed dramatically for them all since that day. Their history bloody and violent and God sent. 

"Are ye listening lass?" 

"Of course, I'm listening! It's you who isn't! I'm on the way to Atlanta now!  As in I'm already in Georgia! I can't let you three rot in there when we've got things to do!" 

"Lass, we can take care of ourselves. Connor wants to know if ye got our package?" He asked, she stifled a laugh at the noise of the pair fighting over the phone she could hear. 

"Yea I got it. Haven't opened it yet though" she replied, the bike's engine growing colder under her. "What's in it? You guys shouldn't be sending anything. You're lucky Duffy and Dolly got it t' me before I left Boston."

"I know lass but ye need t' keep those safe fer us." She smiled hearing her other friend's voice, clearly having won the battle for the phone. "Look things are getting bad here. You're safe now but things are gettin' weird, we'd never forgive ourselves if anything happened to ye. I love ye too much" 

"I love ya too, you idiot! I'm gonna get you all out. We have a mission! I've got a bag full of your stuff right here on my bike, your clothes, coats, guns." 

"Aye. What?! No? Yea. Let me say goodbye a' least?" Phoenix knitted her eyebrows, hearing the man talking to someone else. A prison guard maybe. "Lass we have t' go. I'll call ye back when things settle aye?" 

"Yea. Just tell me where you are at least?" 

"Sorry lass I got to -" 

The line suddenly died on her and she frowned, shaking the phone and seeing no signal. She ran her hand through her short dark red hair and started the bike up, speeding quickly towards Atlanta and her boys. 

                                                      **********

The sun shined through the thin, flimsy material of the tent, shining directly down into the sleeping pairs eyes. The short, spiky, dyed haired young woman groaned and threw her arm over her face. She sat slowly and yawned. She'd had that dream for weeks, wondering what had happened to her friends. 

Had the prison been overrun by the monsters that lurked in every corner? Were they dead? Or worse... Had they become one of those things? 

She'd slept after her watch shift, which surprised the girl as she had been having a bad bout of insomnia for the last two weeks. Ever since... 

No, she thought don't think about it. 

She glanced at the young boy laid next to her and smiled. When Carl asked if he could sleep in her tent with her the night before she had been hesitant (mainly because Lori rarely let him out her sight) but Lori had said it was okay and she was not going to fight against the long-haired beauty. 

Lori had also said it would be good for her, get her to trust others again. And honestly the boy reminded her so much of her old friend with his boundless energy and smiles. 

A gentle tap to the roof of her tent set her senses on guard. She grabbed her long calf length boots and her Bowie knife and slowly pulled the zipper up. A sigh released from her throat as she squinted up at the crossbow welding man in front of her. 

"We goin' hunting or what?" He snarled at her, obviously still mad at the woman from their disagreement yesterday. It wasn't her fault. He had spooked her... 

Merle approached the dark red haired girl sat by the quarry lake silently. Something was up with her and he was determined to find out what. The sight in front of him worried him slightly, she was nervous and kept flicking her head around. Had she been bit? He was thankful the darkness of the twilight hid him somewhat as he watched. She hissed as she pulled the bloody bandage off her left hand, flexing it and hissing through her teeth. The soft sound of something hitting the surface of the water, made his heart thump. It wasn't raining so why did it sound like it was? 

He came right behind her and watched as she rubbed at the wound, it oozed blood and yellowish white pus as she gritted her teeth. Infection was setting in. Daryl called out his name from camp and the girl spun and noticed him there. 

"Ya shouldn't be down 'ere by herself girlie." He whispered, kneeling and gently taking her hand, examining the injury intently. "Now wha' we gonna do abou' yer hand? Yer can't take what I offered yer."

"Burn it again. Only thing we can do. Not like we can wander to nearest pharmacy, throw my hand on the counter and say fix it, is it?" She hissed as he prodded a sensitive spot, Merle chuckled slightly and helped her to her feet. 

"Nah but China is headed t' the city tomorrow. I'ma go too. I know my meds and I'll get yer what yer need t' be right as rain again, Lil sis." He said with a smirk as they climbed back up the slope to the camp. Daryl and Shane spun round at their footsteps and Merle smirked. Officer ass-hat was on one about something. 

"Phoenix! Where have you been?! We told you to stay in camp until you could fight!" Shane whisper-yelled in her face. 

"Easy there officer. Girl just needed a second by 'erself... Gets a bit loud round here." Merle defended her, placing himself between the well musculared man and the girl who seemed to shrink into herself. "She's fine. I was a watchin' her." 

"I bet you were Dixon." Lori said under her breath. Phoenix glanced at the woman with eyes narrowed. The majority of the camp thought the Dixons were rude, brash and shouldn't be there. Only Phoenix, Glenn, Andrea and Shane knew of the incident that had cemented the brothers in the camp's good graces, well in their good graces. 

Phoenix sat down at the small fire infront of her tent and sighed, her ears picking up on raised voices coming from the Dixon tent. It sounded like Daryl was majorly pissed about something and Merle was defending himself.

Isn't any of your business she thought ignore them.

She gazed deep into the fire, the heat warming her frozen limbs nicely. She hated the cold, not that it was cold but she felt like she was sat on a box of ice in just her underwear. She had experienced working in much colder situations, hell the Irish rain was colder than this. The sweat on her brow made her eyes ache and she closed them, leaning her head back.

"Ahh!" She shrieked, jumping up and thrusting her knife backwards towards whatever had grabbed her shoulder. A deep grunt sounded and her hand was twisted, causing her to release her grip of the blade's handle. 

"Ain't no need t' try t' gut me girl." Daryl growled, his gruff voice instantly calming the nervous woman. She sighed and held her hand out, Daryl raised his chin and regarded whether to return her knife or not for a moment. He relented at her raised eyebrow and dropped it into her left hand. She hissed in pain and clutched at her wrist. Quicker than she could pull away, he'd wrapped his hand around her wrist yanking her closer and pulling the bandage off her injury. He could see how raised and angry it look, grimacing slightly as it oozed at his poking. Tears of pain welled in her eyes as she grit her teeth, he grumbled under his breath and glanced over his shoulder at his older brother. Merle nodded and raised the half empty bottle of whiskey in a salute. "This why Merle is leavin' right?"

"Yea, told him he didn't have to." She whispered as he released her arm, her skin tingled at the lose of contact. Daryl ran his hand over his neck and bit his lip. 

"Ye need meds. Ain't happy a' him, riskin' his neck fer someone like ya." He groaned under his breath. Her mood soured and she shoved him away. He stumbled for a second and threw her a glare. "What the hell is ya problem girl?"

"Someone like me Dixon? Huh? What exactly do you mean by that?!" She folded her arms across her chest. Daryl's eyes flickered downwards for a second to how her arms pushed her breasts higher and more together. 

God she's gorgeous when she's mad he thought, his cock twitching in his jeans. He ducked his head and scoffed.

"Ya know what I mean, can't even hunt without hurtin' yaself." 

"Go away Dixon." She turned on her heel and stormed off up the bank, and climbing up the RV ladder to take watch. Daryl sighed and slopped off back to his brother, who was laughing, finding the whole scene hilarious.

                                                    **********

Phoenix nodded up at the hunter and pulled on her boots and grabbed her bow. She followed Daryl over to his tent where his brother was preparing to go into the city. Merle gave her a once over as she approached, his eyes narrowed at the bow across her back and the stains on the bandage around her left hand.

"Mornin' Firebug." He drawled as the pair stopped. She nodded and heaved her backpack tighter to her shoulder beside her quiver of arrows. "Y'all gonna be alright t' hunt wit' tha' hand?" He questioned, giving his brother a glance. Daryl gave Merle a hooded lidded look and nodded his head up. "Don't wanna waste my time if ya gonna drop down dead on poor Darlena 'ere."

The girl smirked and shoved the older man's shoulder playfully before flipping him off, striding towards the treeline.

"You watch 'er baby brother. She's one of us now."

"Hmm" Daryl said, glancing at the girl as she waited just under the cover of the trees for him. Merle gave a low chuckle and Daryl glared at him. "Stop."

"Come on baby brother, don't be like that." Merle stood and patted him on the shoulder. "Ya been pining after 'er for weeks now. Just give her some of the ol' Dixon charm. If ya even have any!" He barked out a laugh as his brother scoffed and walked away, joining the girl and disappearing into the woods.

                                                    **********

A low whistle drew her attention and she glanced in the direction of it. Daryl raised his hand and pointed off towards the copse of trees in front of him. Keeping her body low to the ground and her steps feather light she approached him. Her eyes darting out at the small herd of deer in front of them, they'd finally found them after two days in the woods. She raised her hand and pointed to the smaller of the two bucks. Daryl nodded and gestured he was going to try and get around them so if they darted he could take a shot. She nodded and crouched lower, using the shrubs to hide her. Daryl wandered away silently as she waited for his signal. 

A loud shriek pierced the air and the deer scattered. Daryl swore and took off after the smaller buck, Phoenix following him at a distance. 

                                                    **********

They stopped by a small creak, Phoenix dipping her hand into it and running it over the back of her neck. She felt like she was on fire, yet icy cold at the same time. The infection in her hand had well and truly set in, she needed to be careful or she'd drop and not get back up.

"We go a littl' further then stop fer the night." Daryl mummered beside her, wiping his soaked red rag over the back of his neck and down his face. She nodded, eyes staring off into the stream. He watched her carefully, the way her hair at the back of her neck was slightly curly, the way her ears twitched as if she was a rabbit or a deer hearing a predator. He found her beautiful and mysterious. A riddle he wanted to solve. He couldn't help his attraction to her physique either, the woman was beautiful. Not perhaps every man's wet dream but he found her incredibly sexy. 

He admired how she wore gothic, all black, metal studded and chained clothes despite the heat, her short dyed dark red hair, the regrowth hinting at sandy blond, spiked with sweat these days that cried out to be tugged as she was kissed, the slight thicker set of her thighs, buttocks and stomach, he much preferred a girl with a bit of weight than the skinny, almost starved look some of the women up at camp had; the ink he could spy under her clothes was calling out for him to discover exactly how many tattoos she had and why she'd chosen them. He had seen a glimpse of the tattoos on her by accident when he'd stumbled upon her at the lake having a quick swim and also when he'd found her in the woods. She kept herself well covered normally, she said she got sunburn easily. He could spy an interesting shaped scar across her collar bone when she wore lower cut shirts, not that she did very much now. 

Not since he'd saved her in the woods a week or so ago. 

He loved how well they worked as hunters together. She knew enough to track decently and was surprisingly quiet on her feet, despite the heavy metal covered, thick platform soled boots she chose to wear. They're only issue seemed to be that they butted heads constantly when not hunting, both taking verbal swipes at each other whenever they tried to have a conversation, sometimes she'd slap him on the arm; Merle finding it hilarious and entertaining to join in. Damn Merle, was his fault she got hurt in the first place. If he hadn't egged her on about her lack of hunting abilities, she wouldn't have been out in the woods by herself in the first place. 

He sighed quietly as she raised to her feet and moved away, eyes scanning the forest floor for the deer's tracks, finding them and leading the way.

                                                    **********

Daryl grunted as he lowered himself down beside the girl, who was turning a stick through the weak fire in front of her. The night was silent except for the light wind. He silently settled down against the log and took out of one of the squirrel for the pair to eat. Daryl made quick work of gutting and skinning the small rodent and shoved it on a stick to slowly roast over the flames. The girl's eyes drifting upwards towards the stars. She looked so peaceful that he didn't want to disturb her. 

"We gotta head back in the morning if we don't find the deer." She nodded and pulled her arms around her own shoulders, shivering slightly. "Come 'ere." He said, holding his arms open for her to settle beside him. Daryl usually hated touching others and being touched was a rarity for him but he'd made the exception for her while they hunted. It was simply for survival he told himself. If she got too cold she'd get sick and then the group wouldn't have a hunter when he and Merle left. And he'd feel that guilt all his life, the kids needed fresh meat so he was doing something for the group. Nothing to do with his stupid little crush. Nope, he was doing it for the group. She shuffled closer and wrapped an arm around his waist. Her head found his chest and she sighed, feeling the heat from Daryl seep into her cold bones. Daryl frowned, she felt hot yet she was shivering like crazy. 

That damn hand. 

He pulled her closer and ran his hand cautiously up and down her arm. She flinched at first then relaxed into his embrace. 

"Ya alright?" 

"Yea. Just cold." She whispered, her warm breath causing goose bumps across Daryl's chest. She blinked slowly, feeling sleep call her. The smell of Daryl's warm body lulling her, she had missed falling asleep in a man's arms. It was familiar and comforting. She felt safe, warm and protected despite the dead walking. 

                                                    **********

The sharp whistle drew her attention to the left. She nocked her arrow and let it fly, hitting the deer in the hind leg causing it to run. The two hunters had caught up to the deer earlier and were driving it towards camp. Daryl was in the rear urging it forward, while she made it turn in the right direction when it veered too far to the left. 

She spotted the steep banks that marked the outer edges of the quarry and smiled. 

Almost home.

Taking another shot to steer the deer towards the lower bank she smiled. The group would eat well tonight. She stumbled and shot at the hind leg again. The deer in one last desperate burst of energy slipped out of her sight but it was very close to camp. Wouldn't take long for them to catch up.

                                                          **********

Phoenix paused and braced her arms on her knees, Daryl whistled in question, asking if she was alright as he walked by her. She held up a hand in reply. He grumbled and walked away. She could hear yells and the sounds of stomping as she neared the rocks that hid camp. 

Daryl was knelt on the ground and looking over the deer. 

"Think we could cut around the chewed up part?" He said looking up at Dale and the others. Phoenix's eyes narrowed as she spotted a new face amongst the men. The group of men didn't seem to notice her as she joined Daryl at his side, subconsciously seeking his protection from the stranger. Fear made her heart pound loudly in her ears as Daryl stood. 

"I wouldn't risk that" Shane said quietly, Daryl sighed dejectedly frustrated he hadn't been able to feed the group more. 

"That's a damn shame. We got us some squirrels... About a dozen or so. That'll have to do."

"Oh my god!" Amy gasped as the head of the walker suddenly began to gnash its teeth. 

"Come on people! What the hell?!" Daryl exclaims as he releases a bolt through its undead head. "It's gotta be the brain! Don't y'all know nothin'?!" 

Phoenix smirked, shouldering her bow as she followed Daryl back into camp. She gave a glance over her shoulder at the group behind her, noticing the exchange of looks between them. 

"MERLE! MERLE! Get ya ugly ass out here! Got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up!" Daryl calls out, Phoenix swivelling her head to see where the elder Dixon was.

"Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you." Shane called, his hands on his hips as the group avoids Daryl and Phoenix's eyes. 

"About what?" Daryl queries, pausing his march around the camp. Phoenix, instinctively, taking Daryl's back with a bad feeling in her gut. 

"DD... Hear him out." She whispers as Daryl narrows his eyes in suspicion. Daryl glances at her briefly before turning back to Shane. 

"About Merle... There was a... There was a problem in Atlanta." The former officer sighs, his hand reaching out as if to pacify the man. Phoenix grits her teeth and reaches for the gun hidden behind her shirt slowly, sensing this was not going to end well. 

"He dead? "

"We're not sure..."

OH shitttt Phoenix thought, slipping the brace of squirrels and her bow off her shoulder. 

"He either is or he ain't!" Daryl stated, his voice raising in anger as his face grew more dark. 

"No easy way to say this so I'll just say it." The newcomer said quietly, stepping into the discussion. 

"Who are you?!" Daryl asked, confused slightly as to what this stranger had to do with his brother's disappearance. 

"Rick Grimes." 

"Rick Grimes?!" Daryl spat aggressively, his face a mask to the hurt and anger underneath. "You got summit ya want t' tell me?" 

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I... I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal... He's still there." 

"What the fuck!?" Phoenix snarled as her eyes narrowed at the newcomer. Her stance widening, readying herself for a fight. Daryl began pacing, his eyes meeting hers, she gave a barely there nod in agreement with him. 

"Hold on... Let me process this. You're sayin' you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there!?" Daryl growled as he paced, the woman edging towards Shane, out of Daryl's path to Rick. 

"Yeah." 

Daryl growls loudly as he throws his rope of squirrels at Rick, who dodges them easily. 

"Hey! Watch the knife!" T-Dog yells as Daryl pulls his knife. Shane dodges Phoenix and gets behind Daryl, quickly putting him into a chokehold. Phoenix steps up behind Shane, her own knife slipping into her grip, her gun giving a low click as she removed the safety and pointed it at the curls of Shane's hair. 

"Okay... Okay..." Shane whispers, lowering Daryl and himself to the ground. 

"You'd best let me go!" Daryl gasped, struggling to free himself. 

"Do as he says!" Phoenix snarls, her Beretta a mere breath away from Shane's skull. 

"Chokehold's illegal!" Daryl grunts, thrashing his legs. Phoenix lowers her gun to Shane's shoulder, ready to pull the trigger if needed. 

"You can file a complaint!" Shane laughs weakly. "Come on man. We'll keep this up all day."

"Like shite we will. I'll shoot ya first mate!" The red head growled as Rick kneels in front of Daryl and Shane, his head tilting to the side. 

"I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that? Do you think we can manage that?" 

Daryl grunts, ceasing to struggle, slapping his hand out to the side of him; silently signalling to the woman to stand down as Shane hums in question. 

"Mmm...Yeah." Daryl replies. 

Shane releases him quickly and steps away as the younger man raises himself to his feet. Shane's eyebrows raised as Phoenix pulls herself to her full height, him and Rick giving her a worried glance. She smirks and makes a show of putting her knife and gun back into their places. Rick turns to Daryl and rubs the back of his neck slowly. 

"What I did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work or play well with others."

"It’s not Rick's fault!" T-Dog interrupted, the large man stepping closer. "I had the key... I dropped it!"

Phoenix scoffed, glaring at the man. 

"Ya couldn't pick it up?!" Daryl questioned, his anger disappearing and being replaced by worry and anxiety. 

"Well, I dropped it in a drain."

"If that’s supposed to make me feel better, it don't." Daryl snapped as he shook his head, pacing in a small circle. Phoenix joining him at his side and glaring daggers at T-Dog. 

"Maybe this will... Look, I chained the door to the roof... So geeks couldn't get at him... With a big ass chain and padlock. Its got to count for something!"

"Hell with all y'all! Just tell me where he is... So that I can go get him." Daryl choked out, his voice cracking with tears as Phoenix gently placed a hand on his shoulder. 

"So we can go get him." She declared, daring anyone to argue with her. Daryl gave her a tiny up nod at her and squeezed her hand on his shoulder lightly. 

"He'll show you. Isn't that right?" Lori spoke up from the door of the RV, she looked to Rick quietly awaiting his reply. 

"I'm going back." He stated quietly. Lori sighed and walked into the RV. 

                                                   *********

Phoenix pulled on her long studded leather jacket and secured her axe into the specialised holster on her back. Daryl stood beside her silently, chewing his lip. The Brit have a slight wobble as she got lighter headed and Daryl's mind came to only one solution to a major issue between the pair.  

"Hey." 

"Hey DD. You ready to go get Merle?" She asked, bending to tie her boot laces.  "Yea... Ya not comin' though."  

"What!? You can't be serious DD! You need me with you so those picks don't leave you there as well!" She snapped back as he turned to walk away. 

"Daryl!" 

"Nah. Ya hurt. Too many geeks in the city fer ya axe. Stay here. Keep safe." He argued back, she growled in her throat and pushed by him. His hand wrapped around her arm in a bruising grip.  

"Dixon..."  

"Listen... Stay here. I don't... Just... Fuck." He hissed. "Merle will be pissed. Real pissed." 

"He'll of been baked in the sun ya mean! He is gonna be stir fried from the heat! He's gonna need someone to calm him down. He ain't gonna hurt me DD... He wouldn't hurt me." She sighed, her head beginning to throb. "I have to Daryl. I owe him one!"  

"Nah ya don't!" 

"Yes I fucking do!"  

"No. Ya stayin' here!" 

 "I'm going!" She yelled, hands on her hips.  

"No!" 

"Yes!" 

"NO! And that's final!"  

The pair continued to argue for several more minutes until Shane interrupted them, the pair literally chest to chest and needing to be pulled apart before fists began to fly. Phoenix huffed and stormed away into the woods as the man agreed with Daryl. Daryl glared after the fiery woman before stomping off to the truck, missing her turning back towards the camp and leaning against a tree with her arm crossed against her chest.    

Phoenix glanced at the truck Daryl stood in. She wanted to wish them luck but knew Daryl was still angry with her. He looked in her direction and nodded his head, a small smile gracing the corner of his mouth. She sighed and walked towards him, he knelt down at the open shutter and tilted his head towards her.  "Keep safe in the city DD." She whispered, gazing upwards into the man's sky blue eyes. He nodded and chewed his thumb. "Bring Merle back. Wouldn't be the same round here without that dickhead." 

"Yea. Be quieter fer sure." He chuckled, smiling fondly at the girl. Phoenix reached up and pulled at Daryl, forcing him to brace himself against the ledge as she hugged him with one arm against her chest. Daryl slowly relaxed enough to enjoy her closeness and leaned his head on top of hers.  

"Please come back." She whispered into his ear as he pulled back slightly, his eyes flitting around camp to make sure no one was witnessing the exchange.  He nodded lightly into her neck, his arm coming to loosely hold her waist. He breathed in her soothing subtle scent and closed his eyes to help him memorise thee moment, just in case. He cleared his throat and pulled away, feeling a certain part of his anatomy starting to stir. She smiled weakly at him with teary eyes and walked away.  

"Hey!"  

Phoenix turned slightly, the breeze making her hair wave over her face softly. Thee sun shining behind her making her hair look like flames licking across the crown of her head. The bruises and cuts across her face hidden in the shadows of her face and hair.  So beautiful Daryl thought, smiling slightly. His mind locking the sight into his memory as he stood and waved to her.  

"Stay safe!" He called to her, she nodded and waved back. Her cheeks tinting pink at his loud show of concern as she smiled softly.   

NEXT

[latte-fairytaekwoon]

Ateez: Another Member Doesn't Like You

Kim Hongjoong:

Hongjoong couldn't understand why his best friend didn't seem to take a liking to you. He thought Seonghwa was just shy and that's why he avoided you. But every time he said you were coming over, Seonghwa would only roll his eyes or let out an angry huff. Hongjoong preferred not to tell you, he didn't want to make you upset. And he didn't know how to talk to Seonghwa about it.

But you weren't stupid. You noticed the glares Seonghwa would often direct at you. You decided to do something about it. Every time you came over, you made sure to clean up all the mess the boys made, not wanting to stress Seonghwa out more than he was. If dishes needed to be done, you offered to do them, making sure to arrange them the way Seonghwa liked, not messing up the system he had. He did notice your efforts and he felt like an ass for being rude to you.

"I'm sorry for not being very welcoming to you at first Y/N. Truthfully I was just cautious of you, I'm just overprotective of my friends, but that's not an excuse for my behavior. Thank you for all you've done for us, for Hongjoong. You make him really happy."

Hongjoong overheard your conversation when you two were cleaning the kitchen one night and he felt very happy to know you two made peace. He felt lucky to have someone as understanding and patient like you. He ended up talking about it with you when you were alone.

"I'm sorry I never said anything to Seonghwa, I should have told him to stop since the beginning. But thank you for not getting angry with him or losing your temper. And it means a lot to me that you are getting along now."

Park Seonghwa:

"Seonghwa, I think Hongjoong doesn't like me." You told him one day.

"Awww come on. I'm sure it's not like that. He's just been stressed out recently, it's nothing." Your boyfriend tried to assure you.

But the more he paid attention, the more he realized there might be some truth to your words.

"Going out with Y/N again?" Hongjoong asked him one day he saw Seonghwa was getting ready.

"Yeah, we're going on a date." Seonghwa told him.

Hongjoong scoffed. "Whatever. Just make sure to pick up some milk on your way back. It's almost out."

Seonghwa noticed the tone in Hongjoong's voice and didn't like it one bit. Putting down his brush, he turned to his friend and crossed his arms.

"Ok, what the hell is your problem?" Seonghwa finally asked him.

Hongjoong only shrugged at him. "It's whatever, just go on your fucking date and get it over with."

Seonghwa walked up to Hongjoong and made him face him. Soon it was nothing but yelling between them two, Seonghwa accusing him of hating you for no reason.

"It's not your fucking girlfriend/boyfriend ok?! It's how much time you spend with them! I get it, you're not in charge of producing music for the group, I am, and I get you don't get to see Y/N that much and every second with them is precious to you, but I already have a lot of stress on my shoulders and I used to always count on you to help me take care of the others, but now I have to do that as well cause you barely have time anymore and it's too much for me."

Seonghwa felt bad for his friend, he finally understood that Hongjoong was just stressed and pressured too much.

"I'm sorry Hongjoong. Truly I am. I didn't know you felt that way. I promise I'll try to find a way to make things easier for you. But you shouldn't have taken it out on Y/N, they're not at fault here."

Hongjoong nodded. "Yeah I know. I'm sorry. I'll apologize to them when they come over."

Seonghwa smiled and put his arm around Hongjoong's shoulder.

"Why don't you come along with us? You look like you need a break."

Jeong Yunho:

Yunho remembers the day you met his group members. He also remembers the faces you and Mingi made when you saw each other.

"You?!" You both exclaimed at each other.

As it turned out, Mingi and you had a past of being enemies when you two were in school. Always trying to one up each other and making the other's life miserable, you both ended up in detention together several times for all the antics you pulled.

"Baby come on. I promise Mingi isn't the cocky, annoying jock you knew."

"Mingi, I promise Y/N isn't the stuck up, bratty goody two shoes teacher's pet you knew."

That's what he would constantly tell the two of you and often tried to make you two get along, always failing and resulting in you two arguing over the tiniest of things. Yunho always felt sad when it happened. He just wanted the two people closest to him to get along. He often tried to play off your banters with humor, but you both noticed the sad tone in his voice.

So one day, you called Mingi over, deciding to put an end to it.

"Look, we both messed up and we're being immature. We're adults now and our actions are only hurting Yunho and he doesn't deserve that. So ..... even though it'll be hard, can we try to have a civil relationship between us so he doesn't feel bad?"

"For once, I actually agree with you."

You and Mingi shook hands, your agreement finally in place. And Yunho couldn't be happier than finding out you two left your history in the past. He was ecstatic.

"Yay! Maybe now Mingi could join us on our dates!" Yunho suggested.

"Absolutely not. Don't push it."

"I am not about to be the third wheel here!"

Yunho laughed. "Ok, a little rough patches still, but at least now you guys are agreeing more than before. Right?"

Kang Yeosang:

If there's one thing that made Yeosang happier than chicken, it was you. He was so happy he found you, he felt like he finally found a piece of himself that was missing. So of course, he was excited to have the members meet you. They all seemed to love you and enjoy your company.

All except Wooyoung. For some odd reason, he didn't really seem to enjoy your company. He became oddly quiet when you were around, giving you weird looks whenever you got close to Yeosang. Later on, it turned to snappy comments.

"Yah! Stop hovering all over poor Yeosang. He doesn't like that stuff."

"Don't pinch his cheeks, he hates it."

"Don't pet him like that! He's not a puppy!"

Honestly, no one knew what the heck was up with him. Seonghwa only smirked every time you two talked about it.

"Don't you see? He's jealous." Was what he told you one day.

Neither one of you understood what he meant. Jealous of Yeosang or you? And why?

Seonghwa rolled his eyes at you two and your cluelessness.

"Wooyoung has been your friend for almost 6 years, yet you've never allowed him to show you affection, you've always pushed him off. But you display all forms of PDA with Y/N and it makes him mad cause you're not like that with him. Get it now?"

That's when it finally clicked with both of you. It all made sense now. To keep peace, you both limited your PDA in front of the others and you even suggested to Yeosang to allow Wooyoung to hug him every once in a while.

"Let Wooyoung hug me?" He raised an eyebrow at you.

"Yeah. And even let him cuddle you sometimes."

Yeosang stayed silent, thinking about it for a bit.

"I'm.....not sure."

"Oh come on! How bad can it be? It's just Wooyoung." You assured him.

"Yeah, Wooyoung. Do you not know how clingy he is?"

Choi San:

San was at a lost. Jongho was usually well behaved and never caused problems, so why was he being like this with you? No he never insulted you or was outright rude to you. But he often decided to leave the room if you were there, even hearing San talk about you seemed to put him on edge. Jongho was fine with you at the beginning, so what the hell happened?

San once asked you if you and Jongho ever argued, to which you said no and honestly, you thought you rarely saw him because he was busy or tired. You didn't think that he was avoiding you on purpose.

San sat the maknae down one day when they were alone. He straight up asked him if there was something wrong, maybe there was a misunderstanding between you two. Jongho only sighed and looked down at his feet.

"I'm sorry Hyung....."

San was taken aback by his words.

"Sorry for what?"

That's how Jongho confessed everything: how he was avoiding you and all conversations about you because he realized he started developing feelings for you and he felt it was inappropriate and disrespectful to you, to San and to your guys' relationship. San was in shock at hearing him say that, he was speechless for a while. Jongho felt so bad, he actually teared up.

"Hyung I really am sorry. I swear I'll try to get over it and I'll never come between you two."

San nodded his head, he understood where Jongho was coming from. He wrapped an arm around him.

"Hey it's ok. I get it, we don't choose who we end up falling for. Thank you for being honest with me. I'm not mad. I swear."

San himself teared up at seeing the boy's tears. He gave him a tight hug, and assured him that he wouldn't tell you about this, Jongho didn't want you to know.

"I'll get over it. I know I will."

"Don't worry. One day you'll find someone too." San smiled at him.

Song Mingi:

"What do you mean you two already know each other?"

It was quite shocking to everyone to find out Yunho and you knew each other. But yes indeed you two knew each other. Both of you used to be in different dance schools, often meeting in competitions and let's just say it wasn't exactly a friendly environment. The rivalry between your teams was strong every time and there was never room for any hint of niceness between any of the members.

So naturally, both of you were on defense mode every time you two interacted. No harsh words were ever said, you two just stared at each other, silently cursing the other for coming back into your life.

"How bad could Yunho have been? He's practically harmless!" Mingi asked you one day.

"He always made fun of us with his friends! Often criticized every move I made."

Mingi also asked Yunho his side of the story.

"They were snobs. Often looking down at us just cause their dance academy was more fancy and expensive."

Mingi wasn't upset or angry that you two didn't get along. It made him more determined to get you two to get along. You both shared a passion for dancing, so why should it matter about what happened before?

Which is why he often dragged Yunho on your dates, it was awkward not just because you were rivals, but who the heck brings someone to third wheel on their date willingly?

His persistence paid off though when he invited you to one of their dance practices. They were all amazing, but you could definitely tell Yunho was on another level and that's exactly what you told him when they asked what you thought.

"You're really great. I can see why you're the main dancer."

"Thanks......do you wanna teach me that one choreo you guys performed at the last competition we were in? I really enjoyed it and you were amazing."

You smiled and agreed, both of you now relaxed and putting your past behind you.

"Omg! That's a great idea! Let's do it Friday! How's that sound?" Mingi exclaimed, overhearing you two.

"I don't remember including you? Do you Yunho?" You teased him.

"Nope." Yunho played along.

"I'm your boyfriend! And you're my friend! I have double reason to come!"

Jung Wooyoung:

Yeosang didn't like you and he made it clear as daylight. He'd often scoff at anything you said, roll his eyes at you or throw in one of his sarcastic comments at you. Wooyoung played it off as that's just how he was to anyone new he met. But days stretched to weeks, then months and he was still being an asshole to you.

It was a particularly bad day for you once and Yeosang made a comment that finally made you break and you started crying, startling everyone. Wooyoung was beyond furious at his so called best friend. After calming you down and taking you home, he sat Yeosang down.

"You're an asshole, I hope you realize that. Y/N has done nothing to you have they?"

Yeosang was silent cause that part was true. Wooyoung demanded an explanation for his behavior.

"I'm mad cause they're taking you away from me ok? I get you're in a relationship but you never spend time with me anymore and every night, you just talk and talk about how wonderful your boyfriend/girlfriend is and I..... I feel lonely ok? I miss my friend... and I felt they were taking you away from me..."

Yeosang finally got that out of his chest. Although Wooyoung understood his friend, that gave him no right to take it out on you. After more serious talking, Yeosang agreed to apologize to you, which he did the very next day. He even bought you your favorite food to make it up to you. He didn't immediately start hanging out with you though, he knew you probably needed space first. But after a while, the three of you started spending more time together. In fact, Yeosang and you had so much in common, you two ended up spending more time together than Wooyoung felt comfortable with.

"Hey! This isn't a 3 way relationship and much less between you two! So stop being so close cause I will get mad!"

Somehow Wooyoung doesn't know if it was a good idea making you two make up.

Choi Jongho:

As soon as San and you locked eyes, it was tension between you two. You tried to avoid him, or if he was around you tried to be as civil as possible, but everyone could tell how awkward you were around him. San however was very stoic towards you, or extremely formal. He wasn't rude, but it was really clear that your presence bothered him.

Jongho asked you two often why, but neither of you wanted to say anything. He was at a loss. He talked about it with Seonghwa and Hongjoong, and they themselves couldn't get an answer out of them. So what the heck was it? Why are you two so tense with each other?

Wooyoung was nagging so much one day when you were all together. He kept asking why you two hardly talked and avoided each other, pestering you two on if you knew each other before and told you guys to be friends. It was so incessant that San finally cracked.

"Stop! Do you think either one of us want to talk about the fact we dated in school and had a rough break up?!"

Everyone went silent at the confession, you hid your face in one of your hands. Jongho was stunned and looked between you two.

"You....and San Hyung?" He pointed to you two.

"Yes Jongho. San and I dated before he became a trainee."

That was all you two were willing to say, neither one of you wanting to recall what happened before in the past. Jongho suddenly felt threatened. What if you still had feelings for him? What if he had feelings for you? What if you left him?

But those concerns were laid to rest when you both assured him it wouldn't happen.

"Look Jongho, what happened between us two stays between us, and it's in the past. This is the present and now you and Y/N are together. So don't worry about it." San assured him.

"Yeah, and if you want, we'll try to get along. Start like new. Is that ok?" You asked him.

Jongho felt relief. He wasn't going to lose you and he didn't have to worry anymore about you two being uncomfortable around each other. It was going to take time, but all of you were mature and were willing to make things work.

Gifs not mine, credit goes to their respective owners.

[7wanderingpaws]

Captain Bucheon 05

(gif is not mine!)

Warnings: language, tension, (a bit unedited)

Word count: 3.6K

story masterlist masterlist

tags: @wooya1224 @to-all-the-stories-i-love @jennxx3 @realllllrica @energeticsirens​ (let me know if you want to be un/tagged)​

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<– Previous

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Fifth: Birthday Party

The winter season had finally given way to spring, the cherry blossoms blooming around the campus. Your dorms still sucked, but one thing that was good was the beautiful pink trees welcoming you whenever you left or arrived from school or work. The entrance was full of cherry blossoms, and when you rushed to your early classes in the mornings, you'd catch cats curled up and sleeping on the fallen leaves.

Even though you enjoyed winter, you couldn’t deny the magical hope spring always managed to plant in you. If the smog wasn’t too severe (and in spring it always was) you could smell the distant scent of flowers, grass and life. Students and professors were scattered around the campus, making videos and pictures, the white and pink cherries a huge attraction even for the dullest person out there.

For some reason, however, this season also made you incredibly sad.

A very unnerving, in the corner creeping, emotion of yearning, longing, pining and all the other synonyms that expressed missing something you couldn’t quite pinpoint were eating you away. The sadness that made your mood so incredibly low and sad that you couldn't enjoy the cherry blossom season as much as you used to. It was a huge love of yours; every year during high school taking a long walk, wearing the uniform skirt not so horrible anymore while you and Yuyeon laughed at something stupid. That magical instance when the gentle breeze blew and the leaves created a pink rain fall--

Someone hitting you with folded paper was what snapped you out of your thoughts. You turned around, glaring at the intruder. “Yah, Oh Sehun!” you shouted, scowling.

Sehun was smiling brightly, your face expression entertaining him. “You looked like you were thinking too deeply. Didn’t want an accident.”

You rolled your eyes and watched him sit down on the bench opposite you. He put his backpack next to him before leaning on his elbows on the table. “Meaning?” 

“You don’t think, you just do stuff. Thinking could have damaged you further and we don’t want-“

Your fist landed on his bicep and he laughed harder, not even bothering to fake the pain. “You are so dead, Sehun!”

After he calmed down he pretended to tap the tears away around his eyes which made you roll your eyes again. “Anyway, you know it’s next weekend, right?”

You frowned. “What is next weekend?” 

Your question came out like a bite of an angry dog but you almost immediately forgot about your bicker when you spotted Yuyeon from afar; she was mingled among a small crowd of students but you could see whom she was talking to very well. After all, you saw the guy almost daily. Chul. 

They seemed to be deep in conversation and he was nodding thoughtfully, taking her every word. While she was explaining something, he looked up to run his eyes over their surroundings carefully which, in your eyes, looked a little off.

“Hey-“ Sehun waved his hand in front of your face, “I’m right here, don’t ignore me. And Yuyeon was supposed to tell you.”

You snapped your eyes back to Sehun, still frowning. “She didn’t tell me anything regarding next week.”

Sehun groaned like a kid. “You’re a terrible friend anyway! You should have known it’s my birthday!”

Your eyes widened and you scrambled for your school diary (that was a huge mess) and aggressively listed through the pages until you landed on the second week of April. With small letters, Sehun’s birthday was noted on the paper with a little flower next to it.

“I’m not a bad friend, look,” you pouted, pushing your diary in his face. 

With a sigh he was fast to push your hand away. “Well, mark it better. You’re coming for a little camping trip.”

“Camping trip? During school?”

Sehun looked at you dumbfoundedly before he started to giggle. “This is university, sweetheart, there is no such thing as school night anymore, and it’s funny that out of all people you complain when you’re the naughtiest kid on the campus. And besides, it’s on the weekend. You don’t work either,” he clicked his tongue and then proceeded to flick your forehead. “So no excuses.”

“Ouch, you DUCK!” you growled, massaging the throbbing skin with your fingers. “Why is your birthday in April out of all months!”

“Whoa, whoa, I could hear you guys from afar already,” a new voice chirped in and your eyes immediately snapped towards your best friend.

A little shocked at her cheerful attitude, you looked at the place you last saw her with Chul but, of course, he was nowhere to be seen anymore. The last thing you'd expect her to be like after a conversation with Chul was cheerful.

“It’s your fault, Yuyeon-ah. You forgot to tell Nari that I’m having a camping trip.”

“Oh,” Yuyeon seemed genuinely surprised as she sat down on the bench next to you. “It slipped my mind completely - and no, not your birthday but the trip!” She held her hands up quickly in defense before he could flick her forehead as well, Sehun’s scowling eyes sending daggers her way.

“Wonderful friends I have,” he muttered and shook his head in disappointment. “Well, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to. Thankfully I have friends who actually care,” he said and stood up, throwing his backpack over his shoulder.

Both you and Yuyeon followed him with your eyes, perplexed at his sudden change of attitude. “Where are you going?” you spoke up at the same time with Yuyeon.

“Have some stuff to do for class. See you, losers!”

“What did just happen…”

“Well. Whatever, Sehun is weird,” you dismissed, not sparing his retreating figure any more glance as you turned to your friend. Swiftly bringing out your phone from your pocket, you searched for one contact you saved in the morning, and pushed the device into Yuyeon’s hands, ignoring her perplexed expression. “I need a favor. You need to call the police for me.”

“What?” She was only able to raise her eyebrows and give you a pathetic look. “What is it about?”

“I need them to come during the festival, it’s the security measures,” you said, almost whining because you yourself hated this irrelevant task you were given. “And I can’t risk that someone particular will pick up the phone.”

Yuyeon sighed but she had a soft expression as she nodded. She still threw you a skeptical look. “First of all, it’s bold of you to think that you’d have the pleasure to speak to the captain of the police himself when I’m sure they have some lowly workers doing this kind of job. Second? Fuck Chul. The hell is he thinking - giving you all the trash work, as if he isn’t the student president.”

Yuyeon mentioning Chul when they were just meeting minutes ago didn’t sit well with you. She didn’t mention talking to him whatsoever and you concluded she didn’t have the intention of doing it at all. Observing her for a little longer, you decided to deal with that problem later. She was your best friend. She would never do something to harm you.

After explaining all the details to Yuyeon, she finally called. It took almost fifteen minutes with the whole call procedure until you could talk with the relevant person in charge. To your and Yuyeon’s surprise, they already knew about the topic.

“Oh, so the event has been reported? And you already have a team to send for that day?” Yuyeon was repeating everything the person on the other side told her, giving you a surprised stare.

You shrugged, albeit worriedly before muttering under your nose: “Why did that fucker-“

“Alright, great. Thank you!” She put down the phone with a huff. “Well, that’s that. They already knew about this.” Her knee was going up and down, her teeth gnawing on her lower lip, tearing the dried skin. “Is Chul testing you or something? Why is he making you do stuff only for it to be already resolved?”

You shrugged again. “At least it’s done. Thank you,” you murmured, widening your eyes into those of a puppy before you pushed out your lower lip, pouting.

Yuyeon rolled her eyes and flicked you on the forehead. What was it with your friends flicking you today?

You scrubbed at the red spot on your forehead as she said: “Don’t mention it. What wouldn’t I do for this troublemaker, huh?” She smiled at you and pushed your phone into your hand. “Are you confident about running? And MCing for that bitch?”

You deflated even more. Your body was not built for running. And Siamsa requesting you to be the MC was just as suspicious as the whole police thingy being already resolved. “Nope! But who cares! It’s Oh Sehun’s birthday and you didn’t even bother telling me about the camping trip?”

She looked surprised for a moment before she realized something. “Oh, right, it slipped my mind. I have class projects and well… sorry. I was supposed to tell you.” Yuyeon looked apologetic and you wanted to ask what was the issue but decided against it.

“It’s okay. But I think he is legit mad.”

“I know.”

><

After that, the days became a blur. You tried your best to juggle running between studying sessions. Sometimes you would stay in the dorm room but the squeals of girls on the corridor would irritate you to the bits which eventually led you out of the dorms and into a coffee shop. 

Assignments were piling up and Sehun’s trip was happening just before the midterms which wasn’t the best news. You tried hard to focus but the unstable job you had was also giving you a hard time. There had been another case where you didn’t manage to bring a box to the right door yet… much later you received a confirmation text. It was giving you stress. And you started to regret taking up the job at some point. Someone must have been delivering them. You were suspicious of this for a while but was too preoccupied with the task at hand to try to catch the culprit.

Well, could they be called a culprit when, in fact, they were doing you a favor? If more than anything, it was the unsettling feeling that you were being played by someone you probably didn't know, since Chul was doing anything but talking about this job.

Instead, he was always hot on your heels, were it the running practice that you swore you’d give up, because coach Lim was relentless, or he was bothering you about the damn MC thing, bugging you about doing well and trying to be your best possible version. Just thinking about having to pretend in front of Siamsa, when you knew she was Baekhyun's ex, and a complete piranha behind the scenes, made you go nuts. It had certainly been a while since you wanted to be done with something this much and at the same time dreading the moment it would come.

If that wasn't giving you anxiety, you also had to make sure not to go to the running track outside of your scheduled training. The possibility of running into Baekhyun was scaring you. Unable to pinpoint why exactly, you just decided to ignore the topic, despite finding yourself daydreaming about facing him again. Daydreaming about certain moments with him that actually happened, but they were buried deep inside you, hidden under stocks and stocks of much more memorable memories than those created with him.

Since you never saw him after that incident where you slapped him, you were more relaxed (and a little guilty).

Currently, you took the empty beer bottle in your hands, music blasting loudly as you stood up on the top of the table, enjoying the cheering from your small audience that you stole away from the birthday boy, Sehun.

You pushed me away with your very hands

Once were so wanted by me

As soon as Yuyeon recognized the lyrics, she jumped up to join you, taking an empty soju bottle in her hand and made a microphone out of it. You were fast to drape your heavy arm around her neck and shouted:

What can I do?

What should I do?

I no longer have your breath with me

But I am still loving you

Sehun was facepalming in the background because you had been high on this song since last year, after the harsh breakup. He knew the signs very well and he could only sigh harder when he saw a message from the only person missing at the late night party:

Just arrived

Coming in now

“Oh, dear,” he scrunched up his face, looking at you exaggeratedly rolling your hips to follow Rain's dance moves. He had to admit you were too good at those moves.

As soon as you heard cat calls, your hands went flying up to your hair, lifting it up to reveal your neck before you pushed your bum out, sliding your hands lower, outlining your breasts.

“Jesus, she is on fire!” someone shouted.

You giggled loudly and Yuyeon slapped your butt, making you squeal before the both of you continued with the song that made you want to weep and give up yourself to someone at the same time; give up yourself to a certain someone.

With the way you used to look into my eyes

You dramatically turned to Yuyeon who mimicked you, both of you staring into each other's eyes before you turned back to back, feeling her bum pressed into yours. With a swift sway of your head, you got rid of your messy hair that was obscuring your sight, spotting a mop of messy blond hair before singing:

Please turn back to me and just feel my heart

And could you please tell me

Your eyes locked with Baekhyun's who was standing motionlessly on the doorstep, staring at you with an unreadable expression. 

That you still love me

The words left your mouth, and you became breathless. 

Was it the booze? Or did Byun Baekhyun just look hundred times more appealing to you after drinking? What was the captain even doing there in the first place? Wasn't he a little old to be here celebrating Oh Sehun's birthday with the kids that he thought you were?

Not daring to even blink, you continued your charade, enjoying the way his eyes wandered down your body when you swayed your hips to the rhythm, rolling your hips to the surface of the table and enjoying yourself a little too much. You were wearing hip jeans and a crop top, the textile straining over your breasts just the way you wanted it to be tonight. The revealed belly and the dimples on your lower back just above the belt of your jeans was teasing enough to bring a little craze to the audience you earned. Your want doubled with the knowledge that Baekhyun was present.

Eventually, you turned to Yuyeon and finished singing the heartfelt song, while your brain was trying to ignore the fact that the person you imagined in this song was present in the room.

“Hey, thanks a lot for dropping by,” Sehun greeted Baekhyun when he walked over to him. Baekhyun had a slight smile on his lips.

“Happy birthday, buddy,” he wished and bumped fists before patting him on the shoulder. “You decided to keep a low image this year?” asked Baekhyun when Sehun pushed a red cup into his hand and sat next to Sehun, once again angled the way so that he could see your eyes the whole time.

Sehun raised a thick eyebrow before tipping his chin towards yours and Yuyeon's direction. “Is that what you call a low image?”

Baekhyun shook his head, but he was amused. He let his eyes wander back to you for a moment, just when you were getting off the table. One guy held your hand, helping you down while bulging his eyes at your breasts. Baekhyun suppressed the annoyance bubbling inside of him at the sight. “Did she have a lot to drink?”

“Well, she had enough to become her old self,” mumbled Sehun, taking a calculating sip from his beer. “Enough to want to make a scene, so I'd watch myself if I were you.”

“She hates me. I don't think she'll even acknowledge me.”

Sehun let out a snort and Baekhyun shot him a curious look. “That whole fucking song was about you. She acknowledged you just fine.”

Baekhyun let out a breathy laugh of disbelief. The images of meeting your heated gaze over the crowd while you were rolling your hips around left him just a little breathless. You were too sexy for Baekhyun. And too forbidden.

Before the both of them could fall into silence, Sehun said: “Did you resolve anything with Siamsa? I love you, dude, but I can't let your stupid ex ruin Nari anymore.”

Baekhyun wasn't surprised at the change of the topic. Sehun had been bugging him after he found out you were requested by Siamsa herself to be the MC of her short stage during the university festival.

Baekhyun was restless about the whole deal, especially after her unexpected visit at his place. About that he didn't tell the younger male, not wanting him to worry even more. “Don't worry, Sehunah, I have it under control.”

“Well, make sure you really do,” muttered Sehun as he leaned closer to Baekhyun. “She acts strong, but she is anything but that.”

><

It was two hours later when you found yourself in the crowd, dancing by yourself. Yuyeon wasn't around anymore, being snatched away by a guy while you were drinking shot by shot, enjoying yourself and at the same time desperately trying to stay sober because Baekhyun was lurking around. And that made your heart beat too wildly; the alcohol had nothing to do with it.

There were so many bodies around you, sweating and grinding against each other. It almost made you want to turn back until you felt someone’s front pressed to your back. Under normal circumstances you’d immediately pull away but his scent wafted over your senses and you just knew.

It was him.

His breath was on the back of your hair, a little irregular, and then you felt his feather touch on the inside of your arms as he trailed his fingertips over the sensitive skin of the inside of your elbows until he let them dance over your wrists and pushed the fingers through the slits of your hands, interlacing your fingers.

Spikes of electricity shot through your insides and you hummed though you knew he couldn’t hear you over the loud music. Involuntarily you pressed yourself back and his breath fanned your neck as he lowered his head.

There were so many things you should have done immediately; push him away or walk away but despite your turbulent emotions that kept clashing in a fight with brain and heart, you felt safe in his arms, in his presence and his touch. His nose traveled your cheek and he nuzzled the side of your face with his. Your heart was about to jump out of your rib cage. The urge to just turn and kiss him was so strong but ugh. You still hated him so much. So, so much. To the point you wanted to scream and shout and at the same time kiss him senseless and let him have his way with you.

“Why is it that whenever I try to avoid you, you appear?” he murmured into your ear and you tried to shimmy away from the ticklish feeling. “Why is it that whenever I’m with another one, you’re the one I see behind my closed eyes?” You felt the lightest of touches of his lips that were parted, so smooth and so alluring, teasing you on the side of your cheek. “Why is it always you, Lee Nari?”

You almost thought it wasn't real. It couldn't. Baekhyun would do anything but a move on you.

But one swift turn and you faced him, his eyes focused on yours. “And why is it always you, Byun Baekhyun?” you squeezed his fingers gently, still interlaced with yours. 

“You should go and rest, Nari, you had enough to drink,” he told you suddenly, moving closer. He realized that booze was talking more than what he would have said under normal circumstances.

Breathily, you zoomed in on his lips, bewitched by the way they shaped whenever he said certain words. The would pucker and form a cute pout and-

“Nari, let's get you to sleep,” he repeated.

“Do you still want me, Baekhyun?” you asked instead, almost eagerly.

Baekhyun wasn't surprised, yet he didn't answer. You were intoxicated and he expected some kind of confrontation, but the longing in your eyes spoke volumes and he knew you wouldn't be slapping him tonight. He had only two cups of beer but he already knew he was acting braver than he should have. The need to kiss you and just be with you only grew and alcohol made his well preserved restraints weaker.

“You don't want me anymore, right?” you said, misunderstanding his silence. You stepped away. “If I would have wanted to build up the bridges you would have said no and still play with my feelings,” you whispered, heart-broken. Even though I still want you so bad…

><><><><

A/N: I do not know when will be the next update, sorry about that. Ive been focusing a lot on AY since my writing juices are overflowing for that story for now. Sorry to make you wait and I do hope you stick around ☺💛

This chapter is a little breaking point; next chapter the festival is going down! Poor Nari...

Here is my new curiouscat if you want to let me know your thoughts ^^

[withluvgen]

When in New York- Warren Worthington III

Words: 1,886

Warnings: bit of angst, language. kissing. 

Summary: Y/N and Warren get sent to New York to look for a mutant, but the tension between the two of them is just too much.

A/N: This went through so much rewrites but I’m kinda happy with how this turned out. Warren is a little bit out of character here I think? I was low-key inspired by a tiktok video by Read Choi about tsundere characters or smth. So yeah here it is haha

REQUESTS ARE OPEN!!! Masterlist in bio.

It wasn’t new for the X-men to be sent to find and help distressed mutants, or mutants who recently found out about their abilities, or mutants being mistreated, or mutants causing mischief, and so much more. But on this day the team was spread thin as there was a suspicious surge of mutant activity. They were split into pairs to search for the mutants in question. (Y/n) was sent to New York City with the last person she wanted to be paired up with, Warren Worthington the third.

It’s not she didn’t like Warren, she just found him to be a bit confusing. At times he can be a bit of a jerk to her, always telling her what to do on missions and acting like she couldn’t take care of herself or that she doesn’t know what she’s doing. Other times he likes to flirt with her, telling her some cheesy pick-up lines, being a little too touchy and clingy, or teasing her a bit by leaning so close to her that thei lips almost touch. The last one pisses her off the most but somehow she got used to it.  The rest of the team knew about the tension between (Y/n) and Warren, but insisted that they work together for this specific mutant search, silently hoping that the two would just get together already.

Jean said that because Warren knew NYC like the back of his hand, and that (Y/n) had the powers of illusion she could use to hide Warren’s wings so they wouldn’t draw in too much attention, they were the best people to be paired up together for this specific mission. As much as Y/N hated to admit it, she knew that Jean was right.

“The professor said that the mutant was last seen causing mischief by the Empire state building. We could ask around to see if anyone recognizes them.” Y/N said as they walked around the city. Y/N was about to take a left turn when Warren grabbed her arm.

“Not the right way, dumbass.” He said with a blank face.

“Well lead the fucking way then, Mister I grew up in New York.” She said as she turned to face him. “You know, you could be a little nicer?”

“What? I am nice?” Warren chuckled as he started to walk again. She walked faster to catch up to him.

“Could you walk a little bit slower?” she said with a huff.

“Not my fault you walk so slow.” Warren grinned teasingly.

“Hey I’m saying this for your sake. My illusions only work within a certain proximity. Walk too far and you can bet that people would scream at the sight of you.” She said trying her best to match his pace. Warren scoffed at her words.

“Gee thanks, (Y/n).” Warren said coldly.

“What? I’m just telling the truth!”

“Yeah. I get it. I look like a fucking freak. Whatever.”

“Oh. Warren, that’s not what I meant.” She said as he stayed silent, continuing to walk towards the destination. “Warren, please. I’m sorry.”

“Whatever, we’re here.” Warren says as he pointed to the Empire state building.

You drop the subject and start to ask around if anyone saw a mutant around lately. You get a lead that the mutant hangs around spray painting the subways a lot. Warren lead (Y/n) to the nearest station and started searching for someone who could easily be a mutant. Luckily there weren’t a lot of people there at the time. The station they went to had no signs of the mutant only a freshly sprayed graffiti on one of the walls.

“Our guy was probably just here.” (Y/n) said as she touched the wet paint. She wiped her fingers on her jeans to get the paint off.

“No shit.” Warren said as he looked around to try and find the mutant.

“Are you still mad at me for earlier?” She asked as he ignores her. “WARREN?!”

Warren bursts out laughing earning a confused look from Y/N. He wrapped an arm around her pulling her into his chest.

“I was just messing with you. I’m sorry.” He said laughing as she slapped his chest and pushed him away.

“God, for someone called Angel a lot you’re not being angelic.” She said as she rolled her eyes at him. “Let’s just head to the next station and get this over with.”

“Hey, I said I’m sorry.” Warren said as he reached out for her hand.

(Y/n) rolled her eyes as she grabbed his hand and pulled Warren towards the trains. Despite the lack of people on the train there were no seats left. The train started moving causing (Y/n) to lose her balance and almost fall. Warren caught her by the arm and steadied her.

“Be careful next time, dumbass.” Warren chuckled.

“Not funny, jerk.” She stands awkwardly trying to balance herself as the guy sitting in front of her stands up and offers her his seat.

“Here, take my seat.” The stranger offered. She noticed that the guy offering his seat to her was quite good looking.

“It’s fine. I get off at the next station.” She said smiling sweetly at stranger, batting her eyelashes a little bit.

“I insist. You’re way too cute to be standing there.” He said with wink as he ushered her to his previous seat.

“Tha-” Y/N was about to say her thanks when Warren interrupted.

“Nah. She’s good.” He said as he pulled her towards him. He holds her close to him burying her face into his chest. Warren was acting a little off, but Y/N found it a bit endearing. She wasn’t going to admit it but she found being in Warren’s arms was oddly comforting.

“She your girlfriend or something?” The stranger asks.

“As a matter of fact, yes.” Warren said nonchalantly. Y/n’s eyes go wide as a blush creeps onto her face. She looks up at him questioningly. He only grins at her.

“My bad. Sorry bro.” he said as he backs away.

The train stops and the door opens. Warren leads her out into the station platform. She only notices their intertwined hands once they stopped walking. He doesn’t let go of her hand until she pulled it away.

“What was that about?” she said staring at him.

“He was hitting on you.” He said casually.

“Yeah, I knew that. It wasn’t exactly uninvited though!” She said a little bit frustrated.

“Don’t tell me you honestly like that guy?!” Warren asked with a snarl.

“Was it not obvious? God, Warren. What the fuck?” Y/N screamed. People started looking but she didn’t care.

“I don’t like that guy.” Warren said his brows furrowed.

“What does it matter? You’re not the one he was hitting on.” She retorted.

“It matters because he was hitting on you!” He said abruptly. He looks down on the ground as if he regrets what he said.

“Wait. Are-are you jealous?” She asked eyeing him curiously.  

“Why the fuck would I be jealous?” He said regaining his composure.

“I don’t know? But you’re acting like you’re a jealous boyfriend right now.” Y/N said looking at him. He avoids eye contact. “It’s confusing, Warren. One minute you’re being a jerk to me like usual, then the next you cock block that guy from hitting on me and called me your girlfriend. Please, tell me what your deal is because it’s honestly really-“

Warren cuts her off by smashing his lips onto hers. Y/N melts into the kiss as he holds her by the waist. She wraps her arms around his neck deepening the kiss. Moments later they break apart as they felt the stares the people were giving them.

“Warren I-” He cut her off again.

“Let’s talk about this later, yeah?” Warren said with a smirk. “I think we just found our guy.”

Y/N looks over to where Warren was looking to see a young boy who was about 17 spray painting one of the walls. It didn’t take long for Warren and Y/N to convince the kid to come with them to Xaviers, so they brought the him along with them and went back home. The conversation that they were supposed have about them long forgotten.

It has been a week since that day and Y/N found herself alone in her room laying on her bed staring at the ceiling, memory of the kiss that happened playing in her head. She couldn’t help but feel butterflies in her stomach. She hasn’t seen Warren all week, she started to wonder if he was avoiding her. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a knock on her door. She stood up to open the door, revealing a rather bashful looking Warren.

“Hi.” He started. “So about New York, I- uh, we never really had the chance to talk about it.”

“Oh. Yeah. I kinda thought you were avoiding me.” Y/N joked. “You want to come inside?”

“I kind of was?” He said as he entered her room and sat on her bed. She visibly frowned at what he said. “I- I don’t know. You make me feel things, Y/N.”

“What?” Was all she could reply.

“When I’m with you, I just want to protect you and wrap you around my arms and to kiss you. And fuck, what happened in New York, I’ve been thinking about that day ever since. I get I can be a jerk to you sometimes but I just get so scared when I think about what I feel for you that it just became a defense mechanism or whatever. This thing, it’s all so new to me, but all I know is that I can’t stand the thought of losing you or you being with someone else. I guess, what I’m trying to say is that-” Warren paused to look at you in the eyes. “I’m in love with you, Y/N”

Warren looked at her hopefully, waiting for her to say something, anything. She stood there taking a while before Warren’s last words finally hit her. He was in love with her. Warren Worthington III, the guy she was crushing on for a while not, was in love with her.

“What?” Was all she could say again. Still in shock of Warren’s confession.

“I said what I said, Y/N. I’m not going to repeat myself. I know you heard me.” He said with an unreadable look on his face.

“Y-yeah. I heard you. It’s just that- wow. You don’t know how long I’ve been dreaming of this moment. And honestly, New York was unexpected but I would want a repeat of that.” Y/N said smirking. She walks closer to Warren as he places his hands on her hips, pulling her closer to him.

“That I can do.” Warren said with a wide grin. “Come here.”

He pulled her to his lap, wrapping his arms around her. She caressed his face before closing the gap between them. The kiss was more gentle and slow, compared to the one they shared in New York. It was full of longing and want, and yet full of passion. Y/N pulls away first, brushing the curly blonde hair out of Warren’ face, as she looked at him longingly.

“I love you, Warren.”

“I know.” Warren said smirking before kissing her again. 

[ddixons-angel]

Fated: Season 4

Summary: Gloria Rhee narrowly escapes Atlanta with her brother as the outbreak reaches the city. Luckily, they find a camp outside the city and together, they fend through encounters with the living and undead.

Starts a little before Season 1 and then follows the main storyline of the show.

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Glenn Sister!OC

Warnings: major TWD spoilers, language, violence (the typical TWD stuff)

A/N: Have I told you all how much I love each and every one of you for taking your time to read this? No? I love you all so so much, I’m so grateful for all of you, and yes that includes all of you silent readers too! Okay, I’ll stop being all sappy and emotional now haha, on to the next chapter!! This week felt really long for some reason... but yay it’s Friday!

Chapter 4

A few days after the run, Gloria was up in the watch platform for her watch shift. She’d taken more shifts than usual, not wanting to stay cooped up inside. She wanted to do more for the group if she wasn’t going on runs anymore. In the middle of her shift, Carol comes up to join her, keeping her company.

“I knew I had a bad feeling about Nina.” Carol says, crossing her arms as she refers to the other day.

“She was right though.” Gloria shrugs it off.

“No, she wasn’t. She’s just trying to turn everyone against you!” Carol frowns at Gloria.

“Well, she wasn’t wrong.” Gloria sighs and looks at Carol, “it was my fault we got caught off guard in the first place, even Daryl knows it.”

Carol’s eyes soften at her words, “Sweetie... Daryl doesn’t blame you for what happened.”

“Yes, he does... he told me the day we came back that he doesn’t want me going on any more runs because of it.” Gloria says, looking up at the sky to prevent her tears from falling.

Not believing it, Carol frowns, “did he actually say that was the reason?”

Gloria shakes her head at her question, “he didn’t need to.”

“Then that probably isn’t what he meant.” Carol tries to convince Gloria but she shakes her head again.

“Carol... I know what I did was stupid. Not listening to Daryl when he clearly heard something outside was stupid, you know that too.” Gloria replies, wiping her eyes. 

“Yes, it was stupid, I’m not going to lie about that. But that doesn’t mean I blame you for what happened.” Carol argues, hating that Gloria was blaming herself, “and it doesn’t mean that Daryl or Glenn blame you for it either.”

“Then why wouldn’t they want me on runs anymore?” Gloria retorts.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” Carol’s mother-bear side was coming out as she turns around to go confront the boys but Gloria calls out to her.

“Don’t. There’s no need for that,” Gloria says, making Carol glance back at her, “I don’t want to go on runs anymore anyway...” 

This part was true, partly. Gloria had given it some thought over the past few days when she couldn’t sleep at night even with Daryl lying beside her. She liked going out with the groups, but over recent events she felt better staying back at the prison. She didn’t want to put anyone else in danger because of her being stupid or careless. 

Carol purses her lips, “well, that’s your choice. But I’m going to find out for myself if that’s what both Glenn and Daryl meant.”

Turning back around, Carol makes her way to the door, Gloria didn’t try to stop her this time. She only watches as her friend leaves her alone. Gloria was grateful for Carol always defending her and having her back, but she also wanted Carol to realize that some battles she shouldn’t help her fight and this was one of them. In Gloria’s mind, it was just a waste of time as she only saw herself to blame for everything that went wrong on that run. 

Carol made her way to Cell Block C and found Glenn and Daryl standing on the stairs to the upper level. The boys were discussing some plans and vaguely complaining about Rick giving up his leader position to be a farmer. Daryl is the first to notice Carol and he nods at her in greeting while Glenn looks over and smiles at her, waving a hand at her. Carol doesn’t smile back at either of them and just crosses her arms, frowning at both of them. 

“Is... something wrong?” Glenn hesitates to ask.

Without hesitation, Carol jumps into her interrogation, “why did you both tell Gloria you don’t want her on runs anymore?”

Daryl and Glenn share a look then both sigh in unison, Daryl uncrossing his arms and he fidgets with the hem of his shirt. 

“You weren’t there, Carol, you don’t know what happened...” Glenn starts, only to be cut off by Carol.

“Well then you should tell me.” Carol retorts, matter-of-factly.

“The assholes held us by gunpoint and gave her a choice. Either they kill me or she stabs herself.” Daryl explains. 

Carol frowns at this new information, “what?”

“She was gonna do it! I saw her holding that knife to herself, Carol... and if we... if we came any later...” Glenn trails off as he replays the scene in his mind, getting emotional.

“That’s her... always sacrificing herself for others.” Daryl says looking down at the steps, “tha’s why we can’t have her on runs anymore, she’d end up hurt for other people.”

Carol nods in agreement then sighs, “you both better tell her that then, because she’s up there on that watch platform thinking you’re both blaming her for what happened, especially after what Nina said to her.”

“That’s just like her to blame herself for everything...” Glenn sighs then looks at Daryl, “I’ll go first... we haven’t talked since that day and I still need to apologize for yelling at her.” 

Daryl nods then pats Glenn’s back as he goes off to find Gloria in the watch platform. Carol looks at Daryl as she leans on the railing of the stairs. Catching her look, he shifts uncomfortably as she stares at him without saying anything.

“What?” he blurts out.

“You two are made for each other with your self-deprecating and self-blaming ways.” Carol finally cracks a smile at him.

Daryl scoffs and rolls his eyes at her words, though he had to admit that he thought the same thing. Gloria was a lot like him when it came down to how they thought about themselves. Although, he never understood why Gloria would think so little of herself. In Daryl’s eyes, she was perfect. Beautiful, smart, and a fighter. Truthfully, he’d never understood why he was the one she chose out of everyone else. She could have anyone she wanted, but she chose him. 

---

Glenn makes his way up the stairs to the watch platform and opens the door to see Gloria sitting cross-legged on the floor, looking out to the courtyard. She glances over to the door when she hears it open then looks back to the courtyard. She wasn’t even sure if she was still mad at him for yelling at her when he did or if she was just ashamed at this point. Glenn walks up to her and sits down beside her.

“Hey...” he sighs, “I’m sorry for yelling at you in the car and telling you not to go on runs anymore.”

“You’re sorry you said it, but you still meant it.” Gloria calls him out straightforwardly. 

“Yes, I meant it, but it’s not because I blame you for what happened, you gotta know that.” Glenn tells her, putting his hand on her shoulder, making her look at him, “you really need to stop doing that, blaming yourself. It’s a bad habit you gotta break.”

“How can I not blame myself when it was my fault? I should have been more careful and cautious.” Gloria sighs, “Daryl thinks the same way.”

“Daryl’s gonna talk to you later about what he thinks.” Glenn informs her, Gloria hums in acknowledgement, “I’m still sorry I yelled at you, I know I should have waited until we were back home and talked to you about it instead.”

”Yeah, you should have, instead you yell at me in front of both Daryl and Maggie then avoid me like the plague,” Gloria mutters, “am I really that scary when I’m mad at you?”

“Have you seen yourself when you’re mad?” Glenn teases with a slight chuckle.

Gloria rolls her eyes at this, “Glenn, no matter how mad I am at you, I’d never hurt you, you know that, right? Even when I say I’ll beat you up, you know I can’t.”

“I know,” he smiles warmly at her, “but it’s not me I’m worried about. The last thing I ever want to see is you getting yourself hurt. You’re my baby sister and I love you.”

Gloria finally smiles at him and nods, “I know, I love you, too.”

The siblings sit in silence as they look out into the courtyard together. Glenn’s glad that she isn’t mad at him for yelling at her and he knew that deep down Gloria understood that it’s because he cares a lot for her. He looks at her thoughtfully and decides to ask her a question he’s been dying to know even before the world fell apart.

“Why do you always do that?” he asks.

Gloria looks at him, “what?”

“Blame yourself for things that aren’t your fault.” Glenn finishes his question.

“How can I not when that’s all Gena ever did to me...” Gloria chuckles bitterly at the memories, “maybe she was right every time.”

“You know that’s not true, you know how she can be.” Glenn sighs, patting her knee. 

Gloria just nods, then looks at Glenn, “do you ever think about her? And mom and dad?”

“I try not to...” Glenn answers, “do you?”

“I do...” she nods.

“You think they’re still alive somewhere?” Glenn dares to ask, a sadness in his voice.

Gloria takes a deep breath, “if dad’s alive, then mom is too. He’d protect her with everything he’s got.” 

Glenn smiles softly and nods in agreement, “Yeah... what about Gena? You think she’s still around?”

“Oh yeah, definitely.” Gloria scoffs her answer almost instantly, “that woman is going to try anything to make sure she outlives me. She has the power to get whatever the hell she wants and I don’t see Gena as a person who would ever want to stop living.”

Glenn laughs at her answer, then remembers something. He reaches into his pocket and takes something out. He reaches out and nudges Gloria’s arm with the hand holding something in it. Gloria looks over, a confused frown on her face as she takes whatever he’s holding. She looks at the item in her hand and smiles at the silver necklace with a letter G pendant strung on it. 

“Where’d you get this?” Gloria asks, curiously.

“Looked through a jewelry store on our run and found them,” Glenn hooks his finger into the necklace he’s already wearing to show Gloria, “got one for Gena too.”

Gloria eyes him playfully, “we were out there gathering supplies, why were you going through a jewelry store?”

Blushing, Glenn leans in and whispers to her in Korean, “I was looking for a ring.”

Gloria’s eyes widen at his words, “you’re gonna propose?!” 

Glenn grins and nods then Gloria nudges him, sharing his grin, “well? Show me what you got.”

“I couldn’t find anything, apparently the first thing people thought was important to loot were the rings in the jewelry store.” Glenn tells her.

“Wow, those people really know where their priorities lie.” Gloria says sarcastically, then she nudges Glenn, “don’t worry, you’ll find the perfect one for sister-in-law.” 

Glenn chuckles at the Korean endearment for Maggie and nods, “yeah, I know.”

---

It was late in the evening, Gloria was in the cell she and Daryl shared folding some clean clothes. The two had decided to move into a cell together for privacy now that there were more people living in the prison. Gloria was only fine with sleeping in a cell if Daryl was with her, she had found that out the hard way when he went out on a hunting trip and she had a horrible nightmare about Tomas as a walker chasing after her endlessly. She'd woken up in a cold sweat, panting. Ever since then, she’d refused to sleep alone in a cell. 

Gloria’s back was turned to the door of the cell when Daryl came back. She was humming a tune to herself, bringing a small smile to Daryl’s face as he walks into the cell and wraps his arms around her waist, hugging her from behind. Gloria lets out a faint gasp from the sudden hug but smiles at the rare sign of affection. 

“It wasn’ yer fault.” Daryl whispers into her ear. 

Gloria sighs softly at his words, “Daryl...” 

“Ya can’t blame yerself every time somethin’ goes wrong.” Daryl says before she can continue speaking. 

She turns around to face him, his hands still resting on her waist, “I should have listened to you instead of brushing you off... if only I listened you wouldn’t have gotten hurt, even if it was just a graze.”

Daryl moves his hand from her waist to her cheek, caressing her skin with his knuckles, “then I should’ve kept pressin’ on it, tha’s on me.”

“Don’t do that...” Gloria says, letting out a breath.

“Shh...” Daryl leans in and kisses her lips gently, "if ya blame yerself ya gotta blame me too, me an’ Glenn never blamed ya or anything, shit happens all the time.”

“Then why’d you tell me not to go on runs anymore?” Gloria questions.

“Ya were willing to hurt yerself for me.” Daryl says, his voice full of emotion, “I can’t have that... I just want ya safe.” 

Gloria nods, understanding and accepting where he’s coming from. He only wanted her to be safe, the exact same thing she wanted for him. Deep down, although she’d never admit it, she felt that there was some truth to what Nina had said about her being a distraction to Daryl. On his own, Daryl would be focused on himself and keeping himself safe, but when he was with Gloria, he’d be focused on keeping her safe and looking out for her. 

“You’re really keeping me locked up in a prison now, Dixon?” Gloria chuckles. 

He smiles at her, “ya’ve been imprisoned in my heart for a long time.”

Gloria gawks at Daryl when she registers his words, “You.... have been spending way too much time with Glenn.”

Daryl laughs and pulls her into his arms, holding her close, “maybe.” he mumbles. 

She giggles and snuggles into his chest. Knowing the real reason why her brother and Daryl had told her to stop going on runs soothed her. Perhaps, she really was overthinking it and giving into her inner demons. Maybe she really did need to listen to Glenn and break her bad habit. 

---

Next Chapter

I really enjoyed writing this chapter hehe we have Carol being real with everyone and stepping up to help Gloria, then Glenn’s talk with Gloria where we find out some more about their family, and yes I am aware that Maggie and Glenn got married in Season 3 of the show but I wanted to change that just so Glenn can get the necklaces, aaaand then we have Daryl being all cute and sappy hahaha Please let me know what you guys thought about this one! I really appreciate each and every one of you, did I say that already? Oh well, I’m saying it again because it’s true, i love you all!!!

I hope everyone stays safe and healthy, please don’t panic, we will get through this!

And as always, I would really appreciate any comments left for me! I’ll be replying to any comments in a new post because this is a sideblog!

Taglist (please let me know if you’d list to be added/removed!):

@twdeadfanfic​ | @fandomfanatic97​ | @crossbowking​ | @watchmeaspire​ | @spidergirla5​ | @kamieshep​ | @letsstarsfalling​ | @molethemollie​ | @alicewinchester99​ | @neilox​ | @womanup22​ | @jodiereedus22​ | @theonlyone-meeeee​ | @theunofficialduke​ | @inlovewdxx​ | @delightfullykrispypeach​ | @mrsfortune1306​ | @wolfkg​ | @funeral-7​

[kyloxox]

𝕀 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕘𝕠𝕥 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝔼𝕩𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕕 (James Potter x reader)

Summary: you and James had a complicated history. You wanted to forget he existed. But you just couldn’t.

AN: this went in a complete different direction then I attended but hope you guys like it!

Lover Series Masterlist

———————————————————————

Laughed on the schoolyard. As soon as I tripped up and hit the ground, ground, ground.

“Hey are we gonna meet up later in the library to prepare for the transfiguration exam?” You asked.

“Sure.” James briskly said as he looked over you to see behind you.

“Sirius! You got them! This is going to be perfect.” James held up a bag full of pop its. “Bye y/n!” James said as he walked with Sirius into the classroom, talking to him whatever god knows what.

“Bye.” You said huffing and walking away to your next class.

-

“Miss. L/N.” You felt your whole body go numb. Of course Mcgonagall chose you first. She placed an apple on on table, gesturing you to stand up and go to the front of the class. As you stood up your chair made a loud shrieking sound. And throughout the quiet classroom it was even more noticeable. You heard some giggles from a pair of boys but you didn’t notice who’s they were. You walked up to the front, your hand gripping your wand.

“Alright Miss. y/n.” She moved out of your way. You shakily held up your wand.

“D-duro.” You tried to say as loud and clear as possible but nothing happened. You heard some giggles behind you but ignored it.

“Duro!” You said more confidently. But still nothing. As the giggles still ensued you gripped your wand tight. “Duro!” You tried one final time. Finally the apple started to turn but instead of to stone it turned into a mush.

“Thank you, Miss L/n, you may sit down.” As you walked to your seat you were finally able to see who was giggled. James and Sirius. Your heart froze. Your best friend was laughing at you, mocking you.

While trying to hold back your tears you sat back to your seat, who now had Lucius Malfoy preoccupying the seat that was empty.

“At least you’re not doing as back as Weasley.” You turned to the front of the classroom to see Arthur’s apple grew wings.

“Shut up Malfoy.” He laughed a little.

“You coming to the slytherin party tonight?”

“No why would I go to that?”

“Cause I want you to.” He looked you up and down.

“Shut up.”

“Whatever worth a try. It’s not like you’ll be over Potter in a night.”

“Excuse me? What did you say?” You turned with a concerned look.

“Everyone knows you’re like obsessed with potter, I mean even he knows. You follow him like a lost dog.”

“I’m not obsessed with him. He’s my best friend.”

“But are you his?” Your lips parted. You never thought of it that way. “Listen come to the party tonight. It’s only slytherins so maybe you can have friends in your own house.”

“Fine, I guess.”

Your name on my lips, tongue tied. Free rent, livin’ in my mind. But then something happened one magical night. I forgot that you existed. And I thought that it would kill me, but it didn’t. And it was so nice. So peaceful and quiet.

It was the first day back for your 7th year. Your last year before leaving your childhood behind. Over the summer you and your dorm mates hung out almost every other day. They showed how wonderful life was in the world of rich purebloods, especially the shopping weekends in paris.

And your life back home had gotten better. Your parents were happy that you stopped talking to James. They believed as he grew older he became the prime example of a blood traitor. And they were more than happy to pay for your expenses. Along with getting better along with your parents they forced you to get a dark mark and join Voldemort.

“You won’t be a main member, just a follower.” They told you. It still felt wrong. But when everyone around you was doing the same thing, it help fizz that tension.

Over the course of the summer you had almost completely forgetten about James and his immature behavior. You barely tried to contact him over the summer and if he wanted you to he could have done it himself, but he didn’t. And you weren’t surprised.

So now as you were walking into the great hall, trying to act like everything was fine with your fellow slytherins you couldn’t help but feel the lingering eyes of James and his friends. Sure you changed a lot of the summer, including a new hairstyle, no more braces and new expensive diamond earrings banging from your ears. But it wasn’t like James should care.

“Bloody hell. It looks like those slytherins corrupted her.” Sirius joked as he saw you. James just slowly nodded his head as he looked at you awestrucked. You changed. Changed a lot over the summer. New confidence. New hair. New friends.

James would be lying if he said he wasn’t sad you guys didn’t hang out over the summer. I mean it was tradition for you guys to spend the first day of summer together, but James was too busy getting drunk with Sirius to notice.

But the fact that you didn’t even acknowledge James was the saddest for him.

It isn’t love, it isn’t hate. It’s just indifference.

“Hey y/n….”

“Potter.”

“Ouch denounced to Potter.” He smirked at you playfully

“Yep…that’s what I denounce blood traitors as.”

“Damn.” He continued to smirk.

“Bye Potter.”

“Wait y/n!” James said as he graded your arm. In that process your sweater as riden up amd your mark was revealed. You quickly gasped and pulled your sleeve down.

“Y/n? What the hell is that?”

“Nothing!” You swiped her arm away from him.

“I knew your parents were going to corrupt you! But I always thought you’d ignore their efforts. Now with your new friends I’m not surprised.”

“Maybe if you were a good friend I wouldn’t have to become friends with the people who you think are “corrupting me.”

“Okay y/n! I’m sorry! I’m sorry for being such an idiot! I’m sorry for acting like an asshole to you for years.”

“I don’t care James! I don’t care anymore! You’re the only one obviously phased by this!”

“Because we used to be best friends! We used to do everything together.”

“Well, people change James and I think we both know who’s the one who did.”

“Says the one who’s a death eater now!” The moment he said that you turned around and slapped him in the face.

“At least I don’t go behind my friends back and treat her like shit!”

“Oh really? Then what do you call this!” He grabbed your arm and forced your mark in your face.

“It’s called being loyal to my parents! My legacy!”

“Legacy? Y/n, are you hearing yourself?!? Two years ago you made fun of this stuff?!”

“Well I grew up. Obviously you haven’t.“

With that you rushed out of the room. Leaving your childhood behind. Leaving your friendship behind. Leaving your best friend behind.

-

One year later

You barely knew where you were going. All you had was an address scribbled on your hand that was smudged. But it didn’t keep you from briskly walking through adandonded streets.

You managed to find the tiny cottage at the end of the lone street. You quickly looked out as you banged on the door. A few seconds later it was opened by James. He looked aged from the stress of the war but he still looked the same.

“James please! Just listen to me! Voldemort is going to come here. He’s going to kill you! He’s gonna kill you!” You shrieked trying time get him to listen to you.

“Please listen to me! Peter he’s….he’s a death eater now-”

“Please y/n, Peter isn’t you. He would never do that.”

“James!” You shrieked again. “Please believe me!”

“How do you even know where we’re hiding out!” He roared at you.

“Because-”

“Peter told her…” Sirius finished before you could finish “Prongs. I think she’s telling the truth.”

“James please.” You looked into his eyes, as glossy as ever. “Lily, Marlene, Mary has already been killed by him, I don’t want to see you with them.” He looked into your eyes deeply. He knew you were telling the truth and he couldn’t risk it.

“We have to evacuate.” James stated to the rest of the members hiding in the small cottage.

“Well?” James raised his eyebrows, holding the door open. You noticed you were the only one left in the room.

“Well?”

“Are you gonna come?” He said amused.

“Haha very funny.” You deadpanned.

“I’m serious. If he sees you here, he’ll kill you.”

“Maybe it’s what I deserve.”

“Don’t say that.” You both stood silent for a moment. Letting the feeling of childhood nostalgia sink in.

“I’m sorry-” you both say at the same time. God another cliche. Your life was such a cliche.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for doing this. God I hate myself so much with this, this thing on my arm.”

“I’m the one who drived you to it.”

“No, no it was me. I thought getting it would be pay back to you. A kick in the chest to you. But I was wrong I was stupid.”

“I’m still in that equation. If I hadn’t treaten you like an asshole you would never have felt the need to do those things.”

“Yea but maybe I should have acted like tha-”

“Shhh.” James said as he moved closer to you. “It my fault. I was afraid. I was afraid of what people would think if I dated you.” He paused for a second.

“I was afraid they would think I was insane for liking a slytherin. So I acted like an asshole. To get you away from me and god was that stupid. Cause it worked. You were smart enough to get away from me. I thought you would just kept clinging, and that’s what I wanted.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that you treated me like garbage-"

“I know... and it was the worst mistake of my life. Cause I lost you, during the time I most needed you, cause I was selfish.”

“James please, I get you’re trying to apologize but we need to leave.”

“We?”

“Yes, we.”

“Just promise me one thing.” He moved closer to you.

“After the war is over, we forget everything. The war, 7th year and we become best friends again.”

“Yes I promise.” You said and not being able to hold back you grab his face and smash your lips into his.

“Bloody hell.” You whispered.

“Wow just like I imagined.” James smirked holding onto your waist.

“Shut up now we really have to go.” You said grabbing his hand and rushing out the door.

“You two are finally done in there?” Sirius snickered to you guys.

“Don’t worry you’ll have your seven minutes in Heaven with someone soon.” James said over to him with a cocky smile. You just laughed, realizing how much you missed this.

taglist: @accio-rogers @llamaluverlizzy @arianna-17-11 @peasantview @girlyisthatweirdkid @timeladygallifrey @malina4ka @outrodaylight @emcchi @sophisticatedslytherin @thatharrypotterfan13

[subtlereferencetomyinterests]

Complexities Unknowable- Chapter Two

Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23274334/chapters/55737937

Chapter One Link: https://tha-best-url-evar.tumblr.com/post/613354402381807616/complexities-unknowable-chapter-one

Masterpost

Relationships: Established Relationship Dukeceit, eventual intrualiceit, background analogince.

Warnings: Remus Says Things, everyone is sympathetic (but there are some misunderstandings and misconceptions about each other at first), food mention, Things will be sad and they will get more sad but then they will get much less sad very quickly as this story progresses (sorry idk how to tag chapter fics??? on tumblr???), cursing, lmk If I missed anything.

Word Count: 1,373

Deceit despised Patton, there was no doubt about that. He didn’t murder-despise him (he wasn’t a monster), but it was still very hard to find anything to like about the things Morality did. And said. And the ways he said it. And especially, especially, the way that sugar-coated empty-headed cotton ball looked at him- like Deceit actually had murdered someone (although Deceit would concede that when those looks were directed at Remus... it was pretty justified).  

But on the subject of things he hated! Being in The Conscious! Whenever he appeared it felt like a million little needles pricking him and reminding him that he was unwelcome. Another con: Deceit struggled without the ability to flow through rooms, undetectable, like in his half of the mindscape. He was far too exposed for his liking. 

Remus, however, loved being topside, and now that word about him was out he was visiting constantly. Remus also loved doing things that were dangerous and hazardous to himself and others when left unsupervised. And Deceit (regrettably) loved Remus. So. 

It was as the snake lifted his head to see a very upset Patton that he began to question if love was worth it, though. This was going to go so well for them.

Deceit had done what he always did when he was thrust into a situation he wanted no part in. He shut his mouth and observed. And instead of yelling at them, or having a fucking heart attack and insisting that Thomas was a terrible person, Patton extended an offer to prolong their time together. Because nothing about Morality was consistent or made even a little sense. 

Deceit had steered Remus away and teleported them back home as soon as they were out of sight. Immediately, Remus turned to him with his hands on his hips and his nose scrunched up. 

“Since when do you care about making a good impression? You love fucking with them! I know I do.”

“Correction: I don’t fuck with them, I make  a formal appearance and explain my point, only to have them act as though I’m fucking with them. I sure love that! My goddamn favorite.”

“Okay, we both know how dramatic you love to get with your ‘formal appearances’. I say split the difference and just drive a screwdriver through his eye; it makes you harder to ignore and it saves you tons of energy! Or show up naked- he’d have a fit!”

“Because I totally wanted to show up in the first place,” Deceit tossed himself onto the couch, (he hardly had to keep up appearances here). Remus flopped down next to him and took up the rest of the sofa without even trying. He wrapped his arms around the other’s middle, right below Deceit’s third set of limbs. 

“I was doing fine on my own!” Remus explained, punctuating the point by burying his face in Deceit’s ribs. 

“Objectively you weren’t.” 

“You know we can’t really hurt each other. I couldn’t have done anything worse than mentally scar Patton!” Remus’ voice was muffled by the fabric of Deceit’s shirt, but he made no move to get up. 

“It’s not them I’m worried about, you moron.”

The snake-like trait heard a tiny gasp from below him. Remus dragged himself up to throw his arms around Deceit’s shoulders.

“Awwww, you care about me, that’s so embarrassing,” he cooed, smashing their lips together messily. He was grinning more softly than usually when he pulled away.

Despite Deceit’s best efforts, a cackle escaped him. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, halfheartedly pushing Remus back. He let himself wrap a few arms around the creative side as his laughter subsided. For a moment, they were calm.

“I wasn’t being serious, by the way. I know you’re absolutely impervious to emotion.”

“I’m fine,” Remus’ response was too quick. 

“Where do you expect to get by lying to me? You think I don’t know why you were so invested in your most recent project? You think I don’t know why you felt the need to crawl up to The Conscious for caffeine instead of conjuring your own rancid brew like usual? I know you’re distracting yourself, Honey.” 

The other trait was silent for an uncomfortable stretch. When he spoke next, it was barely more than a whisper.

“... Sorry, Dee.”

That shook Deceit down to his core. He couldn’t bring himself to be upset at Remus, and he wouldn’t dare think of any of this as his fault. The protective side pulled him up to look him dead in the eyes. 

“Hey- look at me. I’m not angry. Don’t ever think that I’m mad at you for missing your br- for missing him.” 

Slowly, Remus nodded, and Deceit let go of his face. “We don’t need to talk about it,” the reptilian amended. 

If Remus had made him talk all the times that he’d been overflowing with emotion. All the times he’d sworn on his life it wasn’t because he missed Virgil, but of course it was. If Rem had forced him to drag it all out, rather than just holding him close and letting him distract himself- Deceit was sure he would have died by now. So he returned the favor.

He heard the hitching of Remus’ breath as the trait tried desperately to fight down sobs, but he didn’t say anything. It was impossible not to hold some resent for the “light sides”, when this is what they did to them. When this is what they were left with.

He held Remus close and never, ever wanted to let go.

Before long, Deceit had put on a film to occupy their minds. One of their mutual favorites- Pan’s Labyrinth. They’d been completely immersed in the movie before being so rudely interrupted by a certain someone. A certain someone who was somehow an even better cook than Deceit had presumed. Despite such, he would not be swayed. 

Remus, however, looked pretty damn swayed.

“That was weird, huh?” He stated, chomping on cookies (he’d seemed in much better spirits over the past half-hour, thankfully). Deceit merely raised his eyebrows, still standing in the middle of the room. 

“Not a bit out of the ordinary whatsoever,” he double-spoke, too preoccupied with thought to focus on talking front-ways,  “In fact, I don’t think he was put off by your assertion that he’s not usually ‘nice’. He doesn’t seem like the defensive type, does he?” 

Remus shrugged, flopping face-first down into the couch and grabbing the remote.

“Whatever, now we have movie-watching snacks! They could use more finger-nail clippings, but other than that they’re almost as good as mine!” 

Deceit didn’t respond. He paced the floor, tapping his fingers against his leg. Distantly, he was aware of Remus rambling about something or other- but he couldn’t think about that now. There was a very promising opportunity to consider here, if he could just gather it all together.

“Dee-Dee?” Remus had sat up now, leaning forward to peer curiously at the plotting side.

“Mhm.” Deceit muttered automatically. 

“Hey, Budget Scalesona!”

“I agree completely.”

“Dee!” 

Deceit’s head snapped up to look at Remus, whose face was split with a wide grin. He was practically hanging off of the arm of the couch.

“You’re scheming, aren’t you? You’ve got your scheming face on,” he said with delight, “What are we gonna do? How gory do you want it to get?”

“Nothing like that, you sadist, I’m just... thinking.” It was only about 35% sadistic, but who didn’t love to indulge in a little schadenfreude every now and then? If Patton wanted to know why they weren’t huge fans of his, well, then they’d just have to show him. It would be all too easy to get under his skin, get a nice outburst from him that would show him just how mean he could be. The best way to get to Thomas would certainly be his heart (nevermind the old saying, as the closest thing they had to a stomach side would be the insatiable pit that was Remus).  

“I think we’ll have to finish this film later, Dearest,” Deceit hissed, smirking rather slyly.

Remus sighed dreamily, leaning his chin on his hands.

“You’re so hot when you’re planning revenge.”

Chapter Three Link: https://tha-best-url-evar.tumblr.com/post/616160448347275265/complexities-unknowable-chapter-3

[astroninaaa]

clarke griffin sucks here’s why

Hi! I’ve wanted to actually write some anti-Clarke discourse for a while now, specially because I’ve hated her since I first heard her talk to someone else in the show, but I was always hesitant because of blorkes and Clarke stans and all that. Well, I’m doing it anyway.

(DISCLAIMER: all this comes from her depiction in the show. I have no idea how book Clarke is, since I’ve never read the The 100 books. Now buckle up and enjoy my angry and not-that-thought-out rant.) (And I’m putting it under the cut because it is... a lot.)

I know many people started to dislike Clarke after season 3 or whatever, but I believe she has been problematic since the beginning. 

For starters, she put herself in a position of power during season 1, and that’s a fact. People say she “had no choice but to become a leader”, but that’s a lie. Just like Bellamy did, she made the decision to bear leadership: from the moment they arrived, she was already making orders and trying to boss people around. Was she wrong? No, she wasn’t! She wanted to keep herself and others alive, which is a good thing. But she didn’t have to. Btw, if she had never done anything things wouldn’t have change, to be honest, since they did not get to Mount Weather and built their little cute camp around the dropship. I mean, Jasper wouldn’t have been speared and they would have found out about the Grounders a bit later, but I think nothing much would’ve happened. Actually, maybe things with the Grounders would have been easier, considering I firmly believe the theory that the only reason they attacked Jasper in the first place was because he was all happy about finding Mount Weather, the place that had been kidnapping and killing Grounders for a long ass time. 

My point is: I believe Clarke wasn’t actually needed as a leader when they first came down to Earth. I think she was just a spoiled priviledged girl, just like Bellamy said she was, who could not get around to letting go of the power she held. There was no more priviledged and non-priviledged, so she secured her influence by becoming a leader. 

An important statement that people tend to forget: she was just as guilty as Bellamy was for Murphy’s hanging, if not more. She was always talking about justice and whatnot, but when she had the chance to be just, she wasn’t. A knife is not enough evidence to fucking accuse someone of murder — during 1918 and 1919, there was a serial murder going around called “The Axeman of New Orleans”, who used axes he found in people’s houses to kill them (I’m a fan of true crime sorry not sorry). If police went by Clarke’s logic, the dead would’ve been the murderers, which certainly does not make much sense. The least she could’ve done was talking to him separately, conducted a trial or whatever, anything but accusing Murphy of murder before the whole camp. She knew they hated him, and so did Bellamy, and that’s why Bellamy didn’t want her to tell everyone about Wells’ yet. And yes, sure, she was grieving, but grief is still not an excuse for what she did to Murphy, it isn’t. She might have tried to stop the hanging later or whatever, but it was still a direct consequence of her actions and would not have happened at all if she had stopped to think for even a moment. The truth is that Clarke does not comprehend that she can actually be wrong, a fact that repeats itself multiple times throughout the series.

(There are other times she fucks up during season 1, but Murphy’s hanging is what stands out the most to me, so I decided to leave it on that. But don’t worry, I have many other examples!)

I can’t even express how much she pissed me off during season 2. Yes, Mount Weather was a very suspicious place and she was right to be wary, but how could she leave her people and escape? She wanted to get help and all that, but she fucking knew they were bleeding out the Grounders and was definetely aware they would soon try something alike to the 48, and she still left them. She left them alone and clueless to the danger they were in, and she didn’t even know if the Ark had come down alright or if there were other survivors. Mount Weather was lying to them about not finding anyone but she couldn’t be sure of that — everyone could have been fucking dead and she would have left her “people” to die too.

I’m not even gonna talk about Lexa’s betrayal because that wasn’t actually her fault, I admit that. Was she stupid to trust a Grounder? Yes. Should she have considered the fact they tried to kill Raven the first opportunity they got (when Lexa’s cup was poisoned) and the fact that the Grounders did not trust them because of Finn and wrongly Raven? Obviously. Does that make Lexa’s betrayal her fault? No, but she should have seen it coming, tbh.

And, again, she put herself in a position of power where she wasn’t needed. There were actual adults ready to look for a better solution, but she didn’t let them. Of course she didn’t  — how could Princess Griffin let go of her power?

Letting Mount Weather drop the bomb on TonDC was... horrible. It was not the act of a leader and it was not the act of a good person. It was selfish, it was the act of someone who leaves their people to die with the excuse of “looking for help” without even knowing if there is help waiting for them at all. It would have revealed Bellamy’s position, yes, but Bellamy would have preferred that than letting people die like Clarke and Lexa did. THEY LET PEOPLE DIE. Hundreds of people! God, they didn’t save the Grounders and the Skaikru that had come for a DIPLOMATIC AND PACIFIC reunion, but Clarke really thought her deal with Lexa would mean something if a better deal appeared, right? Damn, that was naive.

And then she left her people again by the end of the season, of course. “I bear it so others don’t have to” my ass — Bellamy still went apeshit and Jasper still got depressed and no one actually saw her bearing it, so they bear it too. The only thing girlie did was leave behind responsibility and betray her friends so she didn’t have to face regret for her actions. Meanwhile, people needed her, since she had put herself in a position of power for so long that everyone actually looked up at her, for some unknown reason, since she mainly fucked things up.

I don’t remember season 3 that well, but I know that Bellamy’s rant to her when she came back and was trying to be his friend was absolutely reasonable and true. She fucked off into the woods, represented Skaikru in Polis without them knowing for a while, came back to Arkadia and tried to get some power again, but then no one cared about her. Bellamy was too busy making the wrong decisions because of his emotional pain and sorrow to actually give a shit and they had greater things to solve than filling Clarke’s need to be worshipped.

Also, the whole “blood must not have blood” shit? Funny, real funny. It’s just like Lexa pointed out: “blood must not have blood until it applies to your people”. She is SUCH a hypocrite it pains me. And she did not spare Emerson for “blood must not have blood”, she did it because she knew it would make him suffer more and that came back to bite her in the ass. Karma’s a bitch, I guess. And she tried to make Luna become Commander against her will, which I’m not gonna talk about, but was just really fucked up.

I think my hatred for Clarke peaked during season 4. First, she didn’t want to tell the Grounders the world was about to end again and was apparently okay with letting them burn, until Roan found out and got mad about it. She tried to become Commander, blatantly disrespecting Grounder culture just so she could boss all the people in the world around. “She wanted to help!” “She had no choice!” Yes, sure, she had no choice but lying to everyone and disrespecting a whole nation. She couldn’t, you know, talk about it. Okay. I mean, that’s how Clarke does things, right? Kill and deceive first, give a half-assed apology later. It has been working so far, there’s no reason for her to stop.

Forcing Luna to give them her bone marrow? Very problematic, but “Welcome to Mount Weather” was one of my favorite Raven quotes. Abby was also a fucking bitch for being alright with killing Emori but throwing a tantrum when Clarke finally came to her senses and decided to test Nightblood on herself instead of murdering people who went all the way there to help her, but that’s not what I’m focusing on.

Locking Murphy up while she attempted to kill Emori? Not good. Emori knew from the beginning she would be chosen for testing Nightblood — she is a Grounder, and Clarke’s disregard for Grounders has been made very clear before. (And no, having a Grounder girlfriend in a very unprofessional and non-diplomatic way does not excuse her from discriminating against Grounders.)

And then she took over the bunker, disrespecting Grounder culture once again by betraying the conclave and, well, many people. (I know Echo did it too, but I’m not talking about Echo right now so if someone brings this up I’m gonna riot.) I also think it’s funny how she was always talking about saving everyone and all that shit but was so fucking fast to leave Raven, Octavia, Monty, Harper and Kane to die. You know, the people who were supposed to be her friends and all that. Oh, well.

Then Octavia won. And she still did not open the bunker. Man, opening the bunker would save so many lives, including the life of her oh-so-called best friend’s sister, but she still didn’t do it. Classic Clarke God-complex: she decides who is worth saving, and the Grounders aren’t. Then there’s the whole thing with holding Bellamy at gunpoint and then using “but I didn’t shoot!” as an apology. Bitch, it isn’t about shooting, it is about the fact you looked your supposed best friend straight in the eyes and pointed a gun at him, threatening to kill him if he dared to try and save his sister and many others of certain death.

She sacrificed herself by the end of this season, great. I mean, yeah, that was nice of her. Congrats for doing a good thing for once, I guess, even though she knew she probably wouldn’t be able to get back in time anyway so the least she could do was making sure the others lived. I wish she had actually died then, it would’ve been a great end to her arc (finally saving her friends at the cost of her life after betraying them and leaving them to die repeatedly — damn, I might had even started to like her a bit after that) and I would be able to stand the worshipping of her done at the start of season 5, since she would be, yk, dead. Sadly, that did not happen.

She was a villain during season 5 just like Octavia and I wish she had been depicted that way. She wanted to kill Blodreina (because just overthrowing her wouldn’t do) but she wasn’t okay with letting Madi take the chip. I know these are different things, but see it like that: killing Octavia was a way of taking control of Wonkru at the expense of a life. Madi becoming Commander was a way to take control of Wonkru at the expense of Madi’s childhood. Are any of them good? Not really, but Commander Madi does not envolve killing someone and even has a nice ring to it. Besides, Madi had given consent to taking the chip.

(Another point: Octavia was actually thrown into a position of power, just like everyone claims Clarke was. Octavia was the conclave’s champion and was expected and even obligated to lead, while Clarke simply decided she was more competent than the others and became a self-proclaimed leader. After that, she whined for all seasons about how she didn’t want leadership. Octavia never did that, despite being the one who became a leader unwillingly. Just like Raven put, Octavia and Clarke are the same, but Octavia doesn’t pretend to feel bad for empathy points. Damn, I love Raven.)

She left Bellamy to die in the fighting pit, because now Madi is the one she cares about so fuck everyone else. She gave over Raven and Shaw and let them be tortured for nothing. She betrayed literally everyone and was the one to put McCreary in a position strong enough he had the power to literally destroy Earth. Clarke Griffin was directly responsible for Earth’s end.

And then she said “sorry, I had no choice” and most characters fucking forgave her. I hate the way this series throws Clarke’s half-assed apologies onto us and expect us to accept them. I think it is very annoying, since Clarke would be an awesome villain, but they insist in making her one of the good guys, even with the whole “there’s no good guys” theme, which I wholeheartedly believe to be just a way to justify why Clarke needs to be forgiven again and again and again. It is not much more than bad writing, to be honest.

During season 6 she again becomes a leader without being prompted to. I loved Josephine and I think that the fact Clarke wasn’t actually Clarke was the only reason I didn’t absolutely despised her like I have done for the previous seasons. Again, I would have loved it if she had actually died then. Imagine Josephine becoming a main character for season 7 too? Amazing, brilliant, showstopping, incredible.

And she is not even there for season 7, at least until “The Queen’s Gambit” lol. Guess they finally saw how much of an annoying character she is. The only thing I remember of her is the “I don’t believe in Karma” thing, which was... expected. I mean, someone who has done as much harm as she has can’t believe in Karma anyway or she wouldn’t be able to sleep at night, and Clarke’s whole thing is about pretending to be sorry but not actually trying to change, so we can’t have that.

In conclusion, Clarke Griffin fucking sucks. She is a bad person and the way everyone always forgives every bad thing she does is bad writing. The series tries to sell her as one of the characters on the “good” side, but she actively works against it. She is not even a GOOD villain to watch, like Murphy was for many seasons. She is just an annoying character with a God complex who fucks things up, betrays her friends and lets people die again and again and then is forgiven because she is supposed to be an admirable main character. She is selfish and abusive and manipulative and power-hungry and fucking sucks, so please don’t stan her.

And that’s on that! Nice.

(DISCLAIMER PART 2: this blog DOES NOT support Eliza Taylor and Bob Morley, specially after Arryn Zech’s accusations. I know we cannot be sure of anything, but I prefer to side with a potential liar than with a potential abuser.)

[onewfantaesy]

Step Family AU

“So what do you talk to your therapist about?” Kibum asks that Sunday morning, leaning against Taemin’s doorframe. Taemin only rolls over on his bed and groans.

“Go away.”

“What do you talk about?” Kibum presses, stepping into the room.

“What do you care?”

“Do you talk about me?”

Taemin looks at him with the only eye that’s visible from beneath his blankets and pillows. Kibum can barely see the kid’s face, but the way his eye moves tells him enough.

“Get out!”

“What, what do you tell her?” Kibum asks, moving even closer. Then he continues in a high, snotty voice, “He’s the meanest big step-brother ever, I hate him, he’s so mean to me.”

“Get! Out!”

Taemin pushes off his blankets and rolls out of bed to shove Kibum away.

“Kibum is so mean all the time! I wish I was an only child! Wah wah wah!”

“Leave me alone!” Taemin shouts, and he shoves Kibum hard enough to get him out of the room and then slam the door.

It puts them both in a bad mood all day. By three o’clock, Kibum is texting his mom relentlessly to come pick him up.

Two months later, it’s the fifth time Kibum is forced to sit in the therapist’s waiting room while Taemin has his dumb session. He thought this was only a few sessions, that Taemin would be done with it by now. He’s apparently on session number nine or ten, how many of these does he need?

“If you’re gonna keep bringing him to the crazy doctor, can you not just let Mom pick me up from school instead?” Kibum snaps when they walk in. Taemin’s head ducks down, and it gives Kibum a weird satisfaction to see him so embarrassed, but Jinki looks livid.

“Stop it,” he says carefully. “Be nice. It’s one hour, it won’t kill you to wait.”

Taemin practically runs into the back when he’s called in. Kibum rolls his eyes.

“You know,” Jinki says, his voice tight, “it might benefit you to see someone as well. Your mother and I were talking about it just yesterday.”

“I’m not some lunatic like he is,” Kibum hisses. “I don’t need to go spew my feelings to someone like that little emo freak.”

“Cool it,” Jinki warns him. “Do not talk about him like that. Do you understand?”

“Whatever.”

Taemin’s eyes are rimmed red when he comes back out an hour later, and Kibum wants to make fun of him for being a crybaby, but the look from Jinki tells him he’d be getting more than just grounded if he started making fun of the loser. When Jinki tries to put a hand on Taemin’s shoulder, Taemin shrugs it off violently and stomps away to go to the car.

Dinner that night is tense, and it’s more than just Taemin and Kibum making faces at each other when their parents aren’t looking. There’s something obviously wrong, but Kibum can’t pinpoint what it is. Minjung had started filling all of their plates before dinner the last few times Kibum was over, which was unusual. She usually just put everything in the middle and let you grab whatever you wanted. Taemin looked angry, and for a moment, Kibum swore he looked scared. He also was mostly pushing his food around his plate, enough for Minjung to whisper softly for him to stop.

“I’m not hungry,” Taemin mumbles.

“Taemin, please,” Minjung says softly. “Just a few more bites.”

“I’m not hungry,” he whines.

“Oh my God, stop being such a crybaby,” Kibum snaps. “Just eat it.”

“Shut up!” Taemin screams at him, and he flings his whole plate ate Kibum before bolting to his bedroom.

“What the fuck is his problem!” Kibum shouts.

“Kibum-”

“You’re gonna let him just do that shit to me? That’s so unfair!”

“Maybe it’s best if you went back to your mother’s,” Jinki says gently.

“What, now it’s my fault he’s a psycho?”

“No, it’s just - now isn’t the best time-”

“Oh, so you don’t have time for me anymore? That’s real nice.”

“Kibum, that’s not-”

“Whatever, I’m gonna go call Mom. I don’t wanna be here anyway.”

Kibum stomps down the hall to go to his room. When he passes by the bathroom he and Taemin share, he can hear the kid gagging from inside. Kibum thinks he’s just being a drama queen.

Boa picks him up twenty minutes later. Kibum doesn’t miss the way all the adults look behind exhausted, but he convinced himself he doesn’t care. He just wants to go home.

“They’re going through a lot right now,” Boa says softly on the drive home. “With Taemin. It’s - a very delicate situation.”

“Because Taemin is so gentle, right?” Kibum says with a snort.

“Kibum,” she says, her voice still soft and edged with worry.

“Don’t tell me you’re falling for his bullshit too?” Kibum whines. “Did you not hear what Dad said to me? They don’t have time for me! That’s fucked up!”

“It’s not that they don’t care about you,” she tells him. “But this is something very serious, and it needs to be taken care of as quickly and carefully as possible. To get you mixed in with everything wouldn’t be good for you.”

“What is so wrong with him?” Kibum snaps. “Is he finally going psychotic? I could have told you he was a little asshole lunatic years ago!”

“That’s also why getting you involved wouldn’t be good - for anyone,” she says, her voice flat. “You can be very antagonistic towards him. I wish I knew why, so I could help you, but it’s not good for either of you to be so mean to each other all time.”

“Whatever.”

“You might not go to your dad’s much for a little while,” Boa says. “But we’ll still see them. They’re still family, and we all still love each other very much.”

“Sure we do.”

Boa sighs, but she doesn’t say anything else on the matter.

The next Monday, there’s talk at lunch about how a seventh grader apparently fainted during gym class. Sure enough, Kibum sees Minjung’s car pull up and watches her rush into the main office, only to bring out a very pale, very annoyed looking Taemin a few minutes later. He’s got two big, red scrapes: one on his right arm, and the other on his right leg. Kibum has heard he fainted while running laps on the asphalt. It wasn’t even hot out. What a drama queen.

“Isn’t that Taemin?” Woohyun asks. “Do you think he’s the kid who fainted?”

“Probably,” Kibum snorts, turning back to his lunch. “Probably just doing it for attention.”

Woohyun looks at him, but doesn’t say anything else.

That Wednesday, there’s a rumor that a different seventh grader fainted during gym. During his lunch period, Kibum sees Kai going home with his own mother. That’s odd. Maybe they just both got sick or something?

Kibum puts the fainting thing out of his head. It had to be for attention. Taemin and Kai both take dance class together, they probably thought it up together as some weird prank or something. They’re both losers. That’s all.

A month later, Kibum is waiting after school for his mom to pick him up. He hasn’t been back to his dad’s at all in the last few weeks, but they have had dinner together as one big annoying blended family a couple times. Taemin hardly ate anything either time, and when any of the adults tried to coax him into eating more, it would just set him off and make him start arguing with them. He never got in trouble for it, that Kibum could tell. What a double standard.

But then as Kibum is walking along with Woohyun, he sees Taemin sway a bit next to Kai. His hand his holding on tight to Kai’s arm, but then his eyes roll back and he’s hurtling towards the ground and Kibum’s breath hitches. Taemin passes out right there, on the cement, the only reason he doesn’t crack his head open is because Kai held him and lowered him down as gently as he could.

“Taemin? Taemin!” Kai calls, panicking and lightly tapping Taemin’s cheeks.

Kibum doesn’t know why, but he rushes over to check on the kid. He even kneels down and puts his backpack down so he can get a better look, even takes his sweatshirt off to put it under Taemin’s head.

“Hey, loser, wake up,” Kibum says, his voice shaking. Then he snaps his head up at Kai. “What happened?”

Kai just shakes his head, his lips trembling.

“We have dance after school,” is all Kai says, his voice shaking.

“So what?” Kibum snaps.

“Kibum? Kibum, is that Taemin?” Boa calls, and she gets out of her car after parking it on the side and rushes over. “Kibum, call Minjung and ask her who’s picking Taemin up today, and if it’s her then tell her to come right here. If it’s your dad, call him instead.”

A small crowd is forming, but the fact that a parent is there seems to be keeping most people at bay. Taemin groans just as Kibum tells Minjung what happened, and he blinks a few times and looks at Boa with a very confused look on his face.

“Taemin? Hi Taeminnie, it’s Auntie Boa,” she says gently, holding his hand. Then she asks in a very soft voice, and Kibum can hardly hear her, “Can you tell me what you ate today?”

“I have dance today,” is all Taemin says, and he sits up even though Boa tells him not to rush. Kibum can’t figure out what dance class has to do with any of this, but it’s starting to piss him off that he can’t put it together.

Minjung rushes over quickly, and she looks frantic and worried and like she might cry.

“You’re not going to dance today,” she says as she brings Taemin to the car.

“No, Mom, I have to!”

“Taemin, you’re passing out! Do you not see what this is doing to you?”

“I have to!”

They’re already too far away for Kibum to hear anything else, and Boa just tells him quietly to get in the car.

“What does dance have to do with him passing out?” Kibum snaps. “What is going on? Or you just gonna keep telling me I can’t know?”

Boa sends him a look; it’s soft and full of worry and exhaustion. Whatever’s going on is making all of Kibum’s parents freak out, and he’d like to know now. He’s tired of being kept in the dark.

“You cannot use this against him,” she warns him as she starts driving towards the elementary school to pick up Sehun and Yeri. “I’m serious, Kibum. I don’t even want you saying anything to him about it, so you understand?”

“Okay, okay,” he scoffs. “Will you just tell me what’s going on?”

Boa sighs, and her grip on the steering wheel is so tight her knuckles turn white.

“Taemin and his friend Kai, they’re both in the same dance class. You know that.”

“Okay, yeah, so?”

“They’ve been having - issues,” she says gently. “The dance world can be very cruel. Very harsh. It’s part of the reason we pulled Yeri out of it last year.”

“I thought she just didn’t like it anymore?”

“Well, that too.”

“So what’s so harsh that has him fainting at the drop of a hat?” Kibum scoffs. Then he snorts, “What’s he doing, starving himself?”

The way Boa’s breath catches sends a pang in Kibum’s chest.

“Taemin loves dancing,” she says, her voice shaking. “You know that. He’s such a perfectionist about everything, and then a few other kids said some things to him and Kai. They’re getting older, their bodies are changing, they’re boys. I don’t know all the details, but the two of them have apparently been trying to become very, very thin. They think it will make their dancing better. That they’ll be better if they’re thinner. And poor Taemin - he was already so skinny, I can’t imagine what’s going on in that head of his.”

“When did this all start?” Kibum asks, his voice quiet.

“We’re not quite sure,” she admits. “But it came out when Taemin started seeing this therapist for those poems. Turns out it apparently had nothing to do with his father, but I’m not sure if that ever got completely solved. The eating became the new focus, since it was more concerning.”

Kibum doesn’t know how to feel. He doesn’t know what to do. What to say. But then they’re picking up Sehun and Yeri, and it’s not a conversation they’d have around the little ones anyway.

When Kibum is walking to class the next day, he sees Taemin leaving his lunch period and throwing out a whole, full brown bag of food. He and Kai both. Kibum doesn’t know what to do.

[meet-me-in-the-kitchen]

Imagine: Gotta Get Better

in which she struggles with the loss of their baby, and he tries to keep the nightmares at bay.

TW: mentions of miscarriage and infertility

*

It had been a quiet, cooler Thursday night in July when Y/N had awoken at 3 AM to slick thighs wettened by splotches of liquefied deep maroon blood, and an unfamiliar cracking, pained sensation in her cramping lower abdomen. The same night, Harry had been shaken awake frantically, waking to the love of his life sobbing, the face she’d made still etched in his mind traumatically— shocked, remorseful, hateful, scared.

“Harry,” she had cried, struggling to breathe as his own eyes widened as he swallowed harshly in order to get control of himself. His wild eyes had flickered down to her stained thighs and he’d shut them before meeting hers. “Harry, our baby.”

Their baby. The mass of cells they’d spent enough time thinking of for it to somehow become more than that. Their baby; a magician concoction stirred with the main incredible ingredient which was their love, trust, and devotion all mixed in a heady mixture set to be finished in just five more months. Their baby. Pronounced deficit of any potential for life at 3:12 A.M., after Harry had carried the love of his life to their car and driven to the hospital as quickly as possible.

“Our baby,” she’d sobbed, voice growing hoarse as she curled into herself on the isolating, cool E.R. bed. “Our baby.”

The months following had felt like years. Harry hovering Y/N’s every move, and Y/N denying to let any emotion escape the bottle she had sealed inside of herself, besides for icy glares, and blank looks when Harry had gently suggested maybe she wasn’t doing so good. That he wanted her better for herself. That he loved her, and maybe she should go see a therapist.

“I’m fine,” she’d snapped, rolling over on the bed and moving away from him, shutting her eyes closed, with the raw feeling of something painful begging to be escaped behind them.

He saw the woman he loved trapped inside of this shell she’d constructed around herself. It couldn’t be healthy, he figured. It broke his heart to see her like this, to break apart more each day rather than piece back together. Losing the baby had crushed her, and mourning for the lost life didn’t seem to be doing anything for Y/N.

He’d gone outside for the first time in weeks, because she’d shouted at him and yelled she wasn’t a mental case until her voice had cracked, because Harry had gotten worried when she hadn’t answered from behind the door when she’d been showering... had gotten worried that she’d done something to herself. It was only to get groceries, but he’d been grieving as well and for the first time in weeks, his heart felt a bit lighter once he’d gone outside where it was brighter.

Once he had unlocked the doors and jingled his keys back into his pockets, all the while juggling a few bags of groceries, he’d put on a small smile on his face. A smile that had quickly vanished as peculiar noises sounded from their bedroom towards the end of their flat. He’d dropped his keys, and all of the bags with Y/N’s favorite takeaway (in an effort to get her to eat, the miscarriage had had an exhausting effect on her body as well), and immediately rushed towards the room with a frantic expression on his face.

What he’d found from the doorway was Y/N, clutching herself and the first ultrasound picture under the thick covers, breathing heavily as whimpers fell from her lips and her body shook. As he sat at the edge of the bed, unsure of how to help her but desperate to do so, she’d flung herself at his lap, head at his chest and body awkwardly splayed upon his own as he tried to shush her and gently rub her back and kiss her places until she was comforted.

She’d looked up at him, eyes wet with emotion for the first time in a while, expression completely shattered from her place on him. She’d lifted an arm to her face and wiped it with her sleeve. “I’m so sorry,” she’d sobbed as her body once again shook violently. “I’m so sorry. I killed him. I killed him. I killed our baby,” she chanted, sobs growing louder in volume.

“No, no, angel,” he breathed in sharply, pressing a finger to her wobbling lips as her wild eyes shut as hot tears raced down her sullen cheeks. “Don’t say that. You’re breaking my heart. It wasn’t your fault, darling. Not your fault.”

“I killed him,” she repeated, an animalistic shriek tearing itself from her chest darkly, before she’d clenched her palms into fists and banged them against his chest again and again. “I killed our baby.”

The most heartbreaking noise Harry had ever encountered sounded from the love of his life, slumping in his arms and giving in. Her chest rising and falling quickly with hopelessness, her haunted mind staring at him. “I killed him,” she finally whispered, defeated.

“No,” he harshly sounded. Then, he’d pressed his lips tightly to her forehead, gathered her in his arms, and then rocked her back and forth that night, until her breaths became steady and her eyes became tired and her mind was devoid of nightmares.

He made a mental note to bring her to therapy and sign the both of them up for some exercises together at the local gym.

*

Now, it was December. She still thought about the baby and what could’ve been, but it didn’t always feel like there was a beast clawing its way out of her rib cage darkly, every time she did. Therapy had helped when she’d gone, and Harry had tried so hard for her. He’d kept up a calm facade to help her. He’d dropped meetings, PR, time he could have spent marketing and writing songs to hold her or give her space while still remaining around her about to know she wasn’t alone in this. He’d given her time and opportunity to heal, but he had sharply refused to let her sob violently for hours while he was gone with pictures and baby clothes, blaming herself.

“Tha’s not grief, lovie,” he’d shuddered into the crook of her neck as he held her tighter against him. “That’s self harm.”

One morning when Harry had cracked a dumb joke, not expecting her to respond, she cracked a small smile back. He watched her face curiously for a few moments, before his own mouth stretched into a wide, boyish grin— one that caused his dimples to pop cheekily and for her to realize he was probably hurting too. And that she was in love with him, but had been shit at loving him. His green eyes had sparkled that morning, and he hadn’t pushed it.

They were getting to a good place, but now, as she stared at the test she had been dreading for days after suspicion had manifested itself into her during nights when she was up throwing up and when her breast tissue had gotten sore and swollen, so it hurt to put on her former comfort bras, she wasn’t so certain.

“Oh God,” she whispered, staring at her own reflection in the mirror and finding it ashen-faced, hair pulled back, messily framing her unsettled face as her stomach grew coils that snapped uncomfortably. Her eyes momentarily flickered to her stomach, and her neck had promptly snapped downwards, mouth opening as bile traveled it’s burning path up her oesophagus and out. She turned on the faucet, so the cool rush of water could both steady her heartbeat and keep Harry from hearing what was happening.

“I can’t be,” she swallowed, shaking her head as tears gathered in her eyes. She breathed shakily, nearly falling to the floor before grabbing a hold onto the wall and slowly sitting herself down into a crouched position. “I can’t...”

At the sound of her concealed cries, Harry had set down the mistletoes he’d been hanging around their flat, concern washing over his face and a heavy pang of sad sentiment resounding in his chest at how sad she looked as he opened the door.

Y/N looked up and regretted it almost instantaneously, breaking into more silent cries. The sadness that had washed over Harry’s face was unbearable, it was so out of place compared to his fluffy head of curls and movie-green eyes and jolly ugly Christmas sweater. All of this was unbearable.

“I can’t take it, Harry,” she whimpered, body falling into his as he reaches out for her with long, lean arms and a warm chest and comforting mouth.

“Shh, baby,” he cooed softly into her ear, “need you to tell me what’s wrong, okay? Can’t keep everything locked inside. It’s going to be alright, whatever it is.”

“It says...” she paused, before making the confession. “It says I’m pregnant.”

His arms tense around her, and she doesn’t know how to respond, so she quickly explains.

“The tests aren’t always accurate, but my body’s been showing signs and.. my period’s late. It’s never been late besides..” she trailed off, blinking back tears. His eyes moved to meet with hers attentively.

“I don’t know if I’m ready,” she confessed, looking away from his gaze. “I know you want a baby, but...”

“Hey, now,” he rasped, grasping onto her wrist lightly with one hand while using the other clutch the side of her face as he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. “If you’re not ready, you’re not ready. ‘S your body. I don’t want anything, but for you to be okay, sweetheart. I need you to know that. Seeing you hurt makes me feel—“ he broke off, staring at the ceiling and urging himself not to cry. “It kills me, Y/N. of course I want a baby with you, but that’s someday. What I need more is your health and presence.”

“What if I kill this one, too?” The words that fell form her lips formed a question so fast, so robotically he got whip lash trying to figure out how long she’d been thinking of this. “What if I kill this baby later when it’s actually in a highly developmental stage rather than an early kne, if I wanted to keep it? What if I just can’t.. what if you don’t have babies because of me.”

“Stop,” The command is stern. “Stop doing this to yourself. You can have babies, love. The doctor said so himself. What happened wasn’t your fault. Recollecting things and wondering such harsh things isn’t fair to yourself or your mental health when you’re still recovering. You are perfect, and I love you, with or without babies. I’m enraptured by you. We’ll adopt, we’ll wait however long it takes until you feel ready. I need you to listen to yourself and heal.”

“I don’t want to let it go,” she whispered.

“Then we won’t,” Harry spoke back, kissing her cheek quickly and setting his eyes on her face.

“Is that wrong? Am I moving too quickly?”

“No,” he sighed, hand moving to rest at her waist. “You just need time, baby. Whatever it is, it’s your choice, and I will support you and love you. No matter what.”

A few minutes passed by.

“I don’t want to give it up. It feels like a second chance,” she spoke surely. He smirked at her, clasping their fingers together and gently placing it atop y/n’s stomach.

“Then we won’t,” he repeated.

MASTERLIST| Requests are open!

[let-it-raines]

Catch Me If You Can (1/?)

298 days. That’s how long Killian Jones was away from a baseball field. It’s less than a year, only part of a season for him, but it might as well have lasted a decade as he alternated between physical therapy and spending an excessive amount of time sitting on his couch.

But then he came back and won the World Series.

It’s something no one saw coming, and it’s certainly not something anyone who knows about his arm would predict. Now it’s a new season with new possibilities, and anything could happen. On-field reporter Emma Swan will be there to cover it all even if she is not his biggest fan right now.  

Asking her out live on-air will do that.

Rating: Mature

A/n: Hello, friends! Yes, I’m back with another story! No, I wasn’t expecting it, haha. This is based off of my one-shot Striking Out in that they have the same jobs, it’s the same city, and the premise is slightly the same. But there are quite a few differences though!

This is obviously a fictional story, so some things are going to be different. For one, players for the Yankees are allowed beards here and there are definitely names on the back of jerseys. It’s fun making your own rules sometimes 😉 And since I know I have some readers who are not Yankees fans, I promise you I only picked that team because I had to base the story somewhere where ESPN has an office! 

I hope you guys like this one! ❤️

Found on AO3: | Here |

Tag list (let me know if you want to be added/removed): @snowbellewells @karenfrommisthaven @skyewardolicitycloisdelena91 @scientificapricot @captswanis4vr @emmas-storybook @ultimiflos @jamif @idristardis @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke @tiganasummertree @wellhellotragic @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615 @mayquita @captainsjedi @teamhook @kmomof4 @ekr032-blog-blog @ultraluckycatnd @cs-forlife @andiirivera @jonirobinson64 @mariakov81 @galaxyzxstark @qualitycoffeethings @thejollyroger-writer

-/-

The early March wind whistles through the buildings in Chelsea as Emma opens the door to her favorite coffee shop. It’s aptly named the Grumpy Café for that’s apparently how everyone is before they have their morning coffee, which she totally and completely gets, especially on days where she’s working. As soon as she steps inside, she can feel the heat running through the building, the bustle of people trying to get their caffeine fix even on a Sunday morning, and she has to dodge a group of teenagers who likely aren’t even old enough to drive but are apparently old enough to spend over eight dollars on whatever drink it is they’re all taking pictures of with their phones.

She’s done it before. She’s not judging. Okay, maybe she’s judging a little bit.

Whatever. She just wants her coffee with a splash of hazelnut creamer and possibly a muffin that will totally cancel out all of the work that she just did at the gym. What’s the point of working out if she can’t occasionally reward herself with sweets?

(The point is being healthy and living longer and being able to fit into her favorite pair of skinny jeans, but she doesn’t always remember that when she feels like she’s dying and would like to murder everyone within a five-foot radius of her treadmill. And running is a much smaller monster than Pilates.)

Finally, she works past the teenagers and someone who definitely hasn’t washed their beanie since they bought it, and gets to the counter to put her order in, standing off to the side until Ava, her favorite barista, gives her the to-go cup and small brown paper bag filled with two blueberry muffins, one for both she and Ruby since she’s not interested in having to fight over her muffin when she gets home. After she wishes Ava a good day, she leaves the building, the wind already whipping at her skin, and tries to walk as quickly as possible to get back to her apartment so that she doesn’t die of frostbite or something. It’s not cold enough for that, but it kind of feels like it when all she has on are a pair of black leggings and a white tank top that might as well not exist for how little it protects her from the cold.

At least it doesn’t make her sweat.

She should have brought a jacket with her.

“Hey,” a man yells out at her, and she has to bite her tongue to keep from cursing at him when she has no idea what he wants. Instinctively, she reaches for her keys, placing the sharp edge in between her fingertips as she keeps walking, “you’re that girl.”

And immediately she knows that she is, indeed, that girl, and that this man, while slightly obnoxious in his Red Sox cap and t-shirt that he obviously bought from a tourist shop while in Manhattan yesterday, isn’t going to cause her any danger. Just annoyance.

“That I am,” she smiles, knowing less is more when she’s been recognized lately, only the slightest bit of resentment simmering below the surface of her skin.

“Can I get a picture?”

“Yeah, sure.” Emma sighs before keeping that plastered smile on her face as he comes up to her and wraps an arm around her shoulder before holding his phone in front of their faces. It’s quick, easy, and it’s not the first time that it’s happened to her. It used to be solely because of her job, and while this technically stems from that, it’s entirely different.

She should have bought a box of donuts or something instead of this muffin so that she could angrily munch away after she gets back home.

When she walks up to her apartment building, she presses in the code to get through the gate, before pulling the old creaky thing open, and walking up the four flights of stairs to get to her front door, twisting the key in the knob before quietly opening the door as she figures that Ruby isn’t awake yet. It’s before noon on a Sunday where they’re not working, so Ruby being awake would pretty much be a miracle or a sign of the world ending depending on how you look at it.

(A sign of the world ending most definitely.)

Toeing off her sneakers, the right one getting stuck, she flicks on the light switch to illuminate the main room of their apartment. It’s a small place, really more suitable for two people than the three that live here, but she likes the location and rent price too much to change anything about her living situation. The kitchen is more of an alcove than anything else, just five white cabinets shoved into the corner with white and gray quartz countertops, and next to the fridge is an exposed brick wall that she’s not sure is real or simply there for aesthetics. But she kind of likes it and the way that it brightens up the room as their television sits on a small black desk with plants framing both sides of it, a multi-colored rug sitting on the floor underneath their white couch that’s full of more throw pillows than anyone has any right owning.

The throw pillow thing is definitely her fault, but when she’s shopping and happens to see a good deal on a cute patterned one, she can’t help but buy it, figuring there’s some place for it. Her bedroom is full of them, sitting on top of her white comforter and on the black and white striped chair that’s crammed in the corner with piles of clothes stacked on top of it. She’s sure that designers would hate their place, but it’s their place. They like it. That’s all that matters.

She also has this problem with blankets, but that goes hand and hand with pillows, right?

The plants too. She and Ruby obviously wish they had a backyard or something.

“Morning,” Graham mumbles as he steps out into the hallway into the living room. He’s rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, still dressed in a pair of plaid pajamas pants and an NYPD sweatshirt, his hair curling into wild patterns instead of its usual tamed style. “Have a nice run?”

“My legs feel like they’re not actually limbs anymore, but it was good.”

“You happen to bring me any coffee?”

Emma huffs at that before sitting down at the kitchen table with her cup and her muffin, figuring that she’ll clean up the crumbs later instead of dealing with a plate. “No. I got a muffin, but it’s for Ruby.”

“She’s going to be asleep until at least two. I can eat it, and she’ll never know.”

“You have been dating her for two years. You know she can sniff these things out.”

“Eh.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I. I’ve gotten good at hiding things.”

“That, my friend,” she starts, opening up her laptop from where she left it here last night, and curling her foot underneath her thigh, “is an awful thing to say to your girlfriend’s best friend.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Eat the muffin at your own risk.”

Graham chuckles before stepping further into the kitchen and flipping the switch for the coffee maker, the machine sparking to life as that all familiar gargle starts up, the smell already beginning to permeate through the apartment and overpower the coffee she already has. He hums, something that she’s noticed he always does in the mornings since moving in with them in January, and she blocks it out as much as she can. For so long, it was just she and Ruby here, but then Ruby and Graham got serious and he moved in. It’s only weird in the fact that she has to wear a shirt at all times when in a public space and she can hear some pretty enthusiastic sex noises happening through the bedroom walls. But rent is now split three ways, which is amazing, and Graham has a penchant for home cooked meals, which is something she thinks she’s really going to like when she’s traveling for work.

Graham’s probably going to like it more since both she and Ruby will be gone. Though she thinks he’ll miss Ruby a hell of a lot more than he misses her. She’d at least hope so. It’d be concerning if he didn’t.

Her laptop dings several times, and she already knows that she’s going to have at least ten emails from David detailing her schedule for when she flies down to Florida on Wednesday to cover Spring Training and film her segment on Killian Jones.

Killian Jones.

New York Yankees starting pitcher who has made her life a living hell since October of last year when the Yankees won the World Series. That should have been one of the greatest moments of her reporting career, especially since the team she’s assigned to cover for ESPN won the fucking World Series, but then it all turned her into a viral video online.

There are memes about her, okay?

(She’s only twenty-seven, but some of the things she’s thinking today are making her feel much older.)

And maybe living hell isn’t the right word. At least, not anymore. It was crazy at first, basically a madhouse around her, and she had to log out of all of her social media for two weeks even as she gained hundreds of thousands of followers across every platform where she’s active. She’s now got one of those blue checkmarks next to her name, which she honestly should have had before even if she doesn’t think she’s a celebrity or whatever, and random people stop her on the street for selfies. Selfishly, she kind of wishes that people had recognized her before the incident, but she didn’t get into her job for the fame. Really, that was the thing that held her back when she was offered the promotion, not that her job is really a job that brings much recognition outside of certain circles.

But here she is now.

“Killian,” she starts, holding the microphone to her mouth as she speaks and Killian wipes the sweat from his brow, pushing back his long hair before placing the World Series Champion cap back on top of his head, a bright white smile between his lips. Her heart is hammering in her chest, excitement over the Yankees winning finally starting to sink in. She can’t believe she got to work the Series. Holy shit. “You pitched an incredible game, and helped to lead the Yankees to their win. You’ve had an incredible season, an even more incredible post-season. How is it all feeling right now?”

His grin somehow gets impossibly bigger, the lines around his eyes crinkling, and she recognizes the look in his eyes like she always does. She’s been interviewing him for three years now, even if he wasn’t around much last season after his accident, and following his career around long before she’d actually met him through work, so she recognizes a lot of his mannerisms. It’s odd for her to know every career statistic that he has, to know about all of the publicity around his private life, and yet to have only talked to him while he stands on a field sweating under the glow of stadium lights or in the dimness of the locker room.

But that’s her job. She’s a reporter for ESPN, which is pretty damn awesome, and unlike a lot of people she works with, she actually likes to know what she’s talking about. She’s not a former athlete, not some kind of all-star with household recognition, and she’s a woman. Those three facts make her life impossibly harder, and if there’s anything she’s learned in her eight years working for the network, it’s that for every step that one of her male colleagues takes, she has to take ten. It’s idiotic, sexist, and all around wrong, but if she’s on TV spouting out facts that are incorrect, there’s twenty thousand men at home tweeting her and the network telling them to get the “dumb bitch” off their TVs.

Charming, right?

But it’s her reality. Most people only care about how she looks, about how her ass looks in a skirt, but that’s not what she cares about.

(Even if she has a good ass and works damn hard for it.)

She cares about the game.

And anyone who cares about baseball, cares about Killian Jones.

He reaches up to scratch behind his ear, which is a tick of sorts that she’s noticed, before he leans into the microphone. “Right now, it’s pretty unbelievable. It hasn’t sunk in yet, not really, but I’m happy to be here wearing this hat, having the trophy, the accomplishment. It’s been a long road for me personally, for the team, and I’m in a bit of euphoria over it all.”

“How in the world are you not burning alive?” Ruby says in her earpiece, and she has to keep herself from rolling her eyes with the forced smile on her face. Ruby is a great producer, but she definitely loves giving her live commentary to mess Emma up. “He’s so hot, and I can’t even see his ass.”

Her producer being her best friend is both the best and worst thing to ever happen to her.

“I bet,” she says to Killian, looking up in the blue of his eyes as chants start to ring out across the stadium. Ruby won’t stop talking in her ear, and that’s definitely something the two of them are going to talk about later. “You had a bit of a rocky beginning to the season with your injury from last year still lingering, so how’s that arm feeling?”

“Good as new.”

“Perfect, it looked like.”

Even under his hat she can see the rise of his brow. “You been looking at my arms then, love?”

He is such a flirt. It’s ridiculous. At least he’s not one of the creepy ones. She gets it a lot as a part of her job and the general state of men, but she’s thankful for the fact that Jones never crosses the line. And she’s watched his interviews. He seems to simply be a flirt naturally, no trying necessary.

“Me and a couple million other people.”

He barks out a laugh, his head thrown back a bit, and she can see the sharp underside of his stubbled jaw. Thank goodness the Yankees finally allow their players to have facial hair. Really, it’s for the good of all people. “Well, my sister-in-law tells me most people are looking at my ass, so that’s kind of a relief.”

“Oh my God,” Ruby groans, “there are so many things you could say. But don’t. Ask him one more question.”

“So, Killian Jones, World Series Champion, now that you’ve done something every baseball player dreams of, is there anything else that you want to do?”

His mouth snaps closed, his teeth disappearing in exchange of a closed lip smile, and he tilts his head to the side while his eyes flicker up and down her face, very obviously scrutinizing her before his lips part once more.

“Yeah,” he says, adjusting his hat, “I think I’d like to go on a date with you. What do you say, Swan? You want to go out on a date with me?”

“Emma Swan,” Ruby grits, her voice yelling in Emma’s ear, “if you do not say yes, I will lock you out of the apartment. Think of the ratings.”

Later, she’s definitely going to talk to Ruby about sexual harassment. Not that this is what that is. She could say no. Yeah, he asked her on live television. That’s kind of dick-ish. But he’s not forcing her into it. Ruby might be, but that’s an issue for another time. Right now her issue is that she kind of feels like both vomiting on Killian’s shoes and punching him in the stomach for putting her on the spot like this.

Three years of interviewing him, and this is what he’s going to do.

No part of it surprises her. The next words out of her mouth do since she already knows the repercussions from them are going to be brutal.

“No.”

She’d been asked out on live television by a player who she covers several times a month since he only plays every few games, and she said no. Of course she said no.

They don’t even know each other personally, and realistically, she understands that the whole point of dating is to get to know someone, but she’s not about to say yes on-air simply because she’ll look like a bitch if she says no. And really, she doesn’t think she looked like a bitch. She doesn’t. But apparently, she’s not allowed to have her own thoughts or opinions, have agency over her own life, because even though she was gaining all of that fame online, she was also garnering a lot of hate.

Like, an insane amount of hate.

People online are insane.

She always knew that when she took the step up from being a writer and fact checker who merely listed statistics in articles to being an on-air talent, that it would be a difficult transition. For one, she had to get used to working with a camera, with thinking on the spot, and she also had to get used to how much hate she was going to get for being a woman working in baseball. The world is definitely getting better overall, but that doesn’t mean that tiny, petulant men won’t take issue with her covering games over a former pro who’s only in it for the money.

The money is great, much better than she ever could have imagined, but that’s not why she’s in it. Not at all.

Growing up, she didn’t have a lot. Really, she had nothing. Her parents gave her up for adoption after she was born, but no one adopted her. Ever. She grew up in foster homes and group homes, never really having anyone or anything she cared about until she was fifteen and moved into Ruth Nolan’s home in Portland, Maine. Ruth was a kind older woman who packed Emma’s lunch for school and bought her new clothes and made her feel like she mattered for the first time in a long time. Emma knew that Ruth had a son, David, who lived in New York City and who Ruth was unnaturally proud of, but she didn’t meet him until six months after she’d been living in the house and he came home for Christmas with his fiancée, Mary Margaret.

She’d hated him.

Really and truly hated him. She had a good thing going, and him coming home made her realize just how much she didn’t have anything that belonged to her.

She had nothing.

And it didn’t matter that he was twenty-seven to her fifteen, that he was an adult while she was still a child. The jealousy didn’t stop. It kept festering and festering until she was worried that it would never stop. As an adult, someone who is now twenty-seven herself, she realizes how ridiculous this was, but at the time all she could think about was how terrified she was that having her actual son home would make Ruth realize how much Emma didn’t belong.

All of her worry was for nothing because David Nolan is the nicest man on the planet, and he took her under his wings from the moment that he met her. She resisted, not used to knowing what kindness and affection were, but David made her feel comfortable to the point where her shoulders didn’t tense up, where her head didn’t pound, and even though he was a little too much for her until she got used to more genuine care and kindness, David became the older brother she never could have dreamed of.

He was the one who took her on her first vacation, a weekend trip to visit he and Mary Margaret in New York. The two of them definitely coddled her a little bit, jam packing the days with trips to anything and everything she wanted to go to, but it was fun. And then David took her to a Yankees game with seats behind third base and access to the facilities and food to die for with his special access, and her entire life changed.

Obviously, she’d watched a baseball game before. She knew most of the ins and outs, did for most sports. In all of the homes that she’d been in, sports were pretty much a constant. It was the thing the dads liked, most of the kids too, and even though she hadn’t always enjoyed them (she has some pretty strong feelings about basketball), sports were a constant in her life. Her foster parents would never sign her up to play, never wanting to spend the money on equipment, but watching on TV and understanding what her classmates were talking about made her feel like she belonged.

Then she went to an actual game, felt the atmosphere of thousands of people cheering, heard the ding of the ball against the bat, listened to music played during breaks, ate a hot dog like all of the clichés, and a light switched on in her. If David could work at ESPN, could spend his days studying statistics and helping to put together clips and videos of highlights, why couldn’t she?

Why couldn’t she dream of more than staying in Portland and working in an office as a receptionist or something else that would inevitably make her lose the light inside of her that has already been diminished?

Ruth and David offered to help her take SAT prep courses to boost her score, and they helped her apply to colleges across the country. When she got accepted to NYU, David and Mary Margaret immediately told her that she could live with them, and when David got her an interview at the ESPN offices as an intern the fall of her freshman year, she finally, finally felt like her life was headed somewhere good.

Then she met Neal and…that’s not something she wants to think about.

He’s not someone who needs to take up any space in her mind when she’s got Jones to deal with.

More specifically, an interview with him.

Emma,

Here’s your flight information as well as your rental car number. Everything is under your name, so it should be easy to get once you’re in Tampa. We’re sending Madden with you, but we’re sending Ruby to other ST games to produce with some of our more inexperienced reporters.

Jones can do his segment on 3/09/19 before the game against the Orioles. That’s also who they’re playing on Opening Day, so try to work something in with that. He shouldn’t be pitching that day, so he’ll mostly be free.

Come over for dinner before you leave?

DN

She fires of a quick response before opening up her document filled with the list of questions that she’s been working on for the interview. Jones is a pretty private guy despite how much information on him is out there, so she knows that this exclusive is a pretty big deal. She also knows that despite being the exclusive on field reporter for the Yankees, she got this gig because of what happened after the World Series. It stings, if she’s honest with herself, but she’s learned that sometimes she has to accept things she doesn’t necessarily love for the good of her career. That’s precisely why she, Ruby, and Graham have spent the last six nights sitting in their apartment listing off questions that she thinks resemble more of a speed dating questionnaire than a profile on a professional athlete.

At least there’s some questions about baseball. She doesn’t think Jones would be too fond of her if she dug a little too much into the boating accident that broke his arm and ended his season two years ago or the rather prolific dating history that he has. Then again, maybe him hating her would keep him from asking her out again.

Pros and cons and all.

“Ooh, is that muffin for me?”

Ruby stumbles out of the hallway, her shorts riding up her ass and her socks at different heights around her ankles. Her hair is half tied up in a bun, but it’s mostly falling down her back in dark curls, red streaks spread throughout. She’s basically a zombie waking up this early, and when Emma looks over to Graham standing with his back against the countertops peeling open the wrapper on the muffin, Emma can do nothing but smirk.

At least she’s not saying I told you so.

She’s really tempted though.

“Sure, babe,” Graham smiles, opening up his arm for Ruby to fall into his side, her head resting on his shoulder as she picks at the top of the muffin, spilling the crumbs on the floor all the while Graham kisses her temple. “What are you doing up?”

“I could smell coffee,” she mumbles, her mouth full. “And my phone kept going off because David wouldn’t stop emailing me about all of my work stuff this week. Does he ever sleep, Ems? I mean, he’s got a wife and a ten-year-old. He’s got a life.”

“David can make Mary Margaret swoon and help Leo with his homework all the while emailing us to get our shit together. It’s a talent.”

“It’s annoying.”

Graham chuckles before rubbing his hand up and down Ruby’s shoulder, the affection so easy between the two of them, and Emma feels her stomach twist. She’s in that weird phase where she couldn’t be happier for her friend, couldn’t be happier that Ruby has this person, her person, but where she also feels a lingering loss over having lost someone who she thought was hers.

But again, she is not thinking about that this morning. It’s easier not to.

“Sweetheart, I can nearly guarantee that your boss does not get onto you like my boss does.”

Ruby’s brow raises before she takes a giant bite out of the muffin. “Are you really going to stand here and try to tell me that I can’t be irritated with my boss because you have it harder?”

“That is not what I said at all.”

“It kind of is,” Emma adds in as she brings her knees up to her chest and types in a question about Killian’s nieces on her document.

“But you understood what I meant? I just meant that – ”

“It’s too early for you to keep putting your foot in your mouth,” Ruby laughs, stepping out of Graham’s embrace to get a mug out of the cabinet and pour herself a cup of coffee. “And it’s definitely too early for little miss over there to have been on a run and be back here working. It’s our day off. Let’s do something fun.”

“Like what?”

“Get drunk?”

“Oh my God, no. It’s not even nine thirty.”

“It’s five o’clock somewhere.”

“Okay, Jimmy Buffet.”

“Well now I want a cheeseburger and a margarita.”

“We could always go to the restaurant in New Jersey.”

“There’s a place ten minutes away from here,” Graham interjects, “that sells fantastic cheeseburgers all day long. We go there for lunch a lot.”

“But do they have tacky decorations and overpriced alcohol?”

“They have good food and a TV that works seventy percent of the time.”

“That sounds perfect,” she sighs, closing her laptop even though she knows they probably won’t leave for a few more hours, “but once the season starts, I’m going to have to swear off burgers and any other concession food.”

Ruby guffaws, actually guffaws, her head thrown back and her coffee sloshing around in the mug. “The day you stop eating junk food on game day is probably the day that you go out on that date with Jones.”

Her eyes immediately cut toward Ruby, but the woman can’t be fazed and doesn’t care that she’s being stared at by someone with daggers in her eyes. Graham lets out a low whistle, one that doesn’t match up with the song he was humming earlier, and Ruby simply shrugs her shoulders and takes another sip of her coffee.

“I hate you for still thinking that’s funny,” Emma finally says as her legs stretch out for her to stand up and toss her empty mug into the trash bin, the cup circling the bag before landing in. “And for telling me to say yes for the ratings.”

“To be fair, I always knew that you’d say no, which is honestly probably better for the ratings than you saying yes. I’m so pissed that I didn’t get assigned to you to go to Tampa. I’d pay big money to get to see the two of you get all close and personal, but no, Jeff gets to go with you.”

She rolls her eyes and steps forward to condescendingly pat Ruby on the arm, forcing a smile on her face. “I’m not going to tell you anything that happens, which means you’ll never know because Jeff will never tell. We could have sex right there at Steinbrenner, and you’d never know.”

“I hate you.”

“You wouldn’t have sex with him anyways,” Graham says, and she and Ruby both slap his arm before his lips part in shock. “What? I’m just saying the truth. Emma is a consummate professional, and she’s pissed at Jones for asking her out like that. She’s not going to do anything to mess up her reputation. She’s worked too hard to be taken seriously.”

Graham Humbert: loveable idiot but also one very smart man.

Because he’s exactly right in what he’s said.

“Let’s go get some cheeseburgers,” Emma sighs, wanting to change the subject.

“But you just said it was too early.”

“Whatever,” she laughs, adjusting her sports bra underneath her tank top. She probably needs a shower before she goes or her sweat is going to mold this bra into her skin. “It’s five o’clock somewhere.”

[sirkkasnow]

01 Let Trouble Come To You

Ao3 link

06/30/13 Sunday

Stan registered three things as he stepped out into the heavy summer sunshine:

First, there was an old square-sided station wagon smashed nose first into the side of the Shack.

Second, Ford had just wrenched open the driver’s door.

Third, the occupant of the wagon, a well-dressed woman, looked up – disoriented but conscious – eyes flicking to his twin, then to him.

Son of a bitch, thought Stan, pushing himself into a jog across the lawn. He hadn’t made it halfway before the woman in the wagon clapped both hands over her startled mouth and burst into tears. Ford winced, backing off with the penlight he’d been waving in her face. Stan put a hand on his brother’s shoulder and drew him back another step, leaning in.

“Hey. Hey, ma’am, you okay in there?”

He got a shaky nod that did nothing to interrupt a series of faint jagged sobs, the kind of tears you got when you were trying very hard not to cry. The driver curled in on herself, knees tucked up, a ball of misery he had no idea how to unravel.

Mabel popped out of the nearest door and skidded to a halt in open-mouthed surprise. Stan pointed her way. “Mabel! Pumpkin, go get a box of tissues and a cold washcloth, all right? Ford, what the hell?”

“I have no idea! I heard it just when you did. I was in the lab – “

Stan pinched the bridge of his nose, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“ – testing the new safety features I just installed on the magnet gun.” Ford looked over his shoulder in dawning horror. “Which must have pulled this victim of circumstance right into the house.” Mabel was already back, dashing to the driver’s side with tissues and washcloth in hand. Her bright voice rang out in greeting and got a muffled response.

“Sweet Moses, Ford, you’ve done it this time.” Stan pulled himself upright with a sigh, doing the mental math and eyeing the damage to the Shack’s shingling. The wagon had definitely gotten the worst of it, he decided with a twinge of relief. He noted a few details – Colorado plates, occupied bike rack, the clutter of an extended road trip jammed into the rear compartment. “Ma’am?”

The woman in the wagon had uncurled a bit, finally, pressing the washcloth to her face. She lowered it to reveal fine, sharp features, grey eyes pink at the edges. “Clary,” she said, thick-voiced, then cleared her throat. “Clary Merrick.”

Mabel was patting Clary’s knee. “She says she’s okay! Clary, these are my grunkles, you’ve met Ford and that’s Stan. Welcome to the Mystery Shack! I’m really sorry about all of this!” Her eyes tracked over to Ford, who was looking guiltier by the second.

“It’s all good, Mabel. Just an accident, right? We’ll get a tow truck out here for this poor unfortunate – “

“I’ll take care of it,” said Ford.

Stan bit back a laugh. “You, fix this mess?”

“I’ve figured out a few alien vehicles in my time – “

“You kiddin’ me?”

Stan turned away from the car, tugging Ford along with him. “You do see what kinda shape this thing is in, right? This was somewhere between vintage and decrepit before it got friendly with the Shack. I can probably get it runnin’ again, but unless you have an engine-repair gun hiding in that lab of yours, that’s gonna take time.”

“Stanley. This is my fault.” The corners of Ford’s eyes crinkled with distress and Stan swore internally.

“Look. Fine. We can let her stay here for the night and I’ll take a look in the mornin’, but you’re gonna modify that magnet gun to iron out body panels or we won’t get too far.” Behind them, a heavy click marked the release of the seat belt.

“A tow truck would be fine. I’d really hate to impose.” Clary stepped unsteadily out of the station wagon, pushing out behind her with a careless hand to close the door with a firm thunk.

The four of them watched as the S from the Shack sign wobbled, skittered with increasing speed down the roof and thudded with a deep crunch square into the center of the crumpled hood. A last hiss of steam welled, faded and died.

Clary laid a hand over her brow, drew a long, steadying breath and turned away. “I’d be happy to take you up on a spare room for the night. Thank you so much.”

Their guest – Stan had to keep reminding himself, guest and not expensive, potentially litigious annoyance – pulled a small overnight bag out of the back seat and trailed after the family to the house, pausing to swap phone contacts with Mabel on the way. Waddles trotted by to check out Clary’s ankles, prompting exclamations and explanations on the way inside. He couldn’t blame the lady. Few people expected to be accosted by a pet pig.

Clary spent five minutes in the washroom and emerged looking…polished. Eyes clear, tear blotching gone, hair tucked smoothly away into its twist. The jaunty little silk neckerchief wrapped snugly twice and knotted at her neck had been set straight. Her glance drifted across Stan’s without really sticking and she offered a careful smile, tagging along with Mabel for what sounded like a house tour.

Stan recruited Dipper as an assistant. Clearing the spare room went fairly quickly, boxes of old merchandise stacked off to one side. He fished out a marker and tagged a few for later discount – some of this stuff had to be six years out of date by now, not quite old enough for a retro sale.

“ – and here is your room! Which is now almost completely clear of terrifying cursed artifacts and where you are guaranteed to have a great night’s sleep!” Mabel burst through the door and tossed a heap of pillows on the almost-inflated air mattress, ignoring Dipper’s hey! of protest as he labored away at the foot pump.

Clary stuck her head in, then leaned through the doorframe just enough to drop off a pile of blankets, linens and a large stuffed blue whale. “The whale’s on loan,” she said, when Stan shot her a flat look of disbelief.

“We’ll make the bed,” Mabel sang. “You two go get acquainted!” She nudged Dipper aside and took over foot-pump duties with enthusiasm.

“Uh – yeah, I guess we’ll see you guys in a couple minutes?” Dipper scooped up the sheets. “We’ve got this.”

Stan found himself ejected into the hallway. Clary blinked up at him, expression softened by maybe a quarter smile. “Mabel is a force of nature.”

“You said it. C’mon, sounds like you already got a pretty good look at the joint.” Stan tipped a thumb over at the connecting door. “I don’t suppose you’ve ever been to the Mystery Shack before?”

“I’ve never been to Oregon before, but I know the name, at least. Saw a bumper sticker – “

“Ha!” Clary rocked back on her heels in surprise. “Hear that, Ford?” Stan yelled in the general direction of the kitchen. “Those bumper stickers were a good investment! And Sixer says they’re too ‘plain’ and ‘graphically simplistic’ and ‘don’t even have an address on them Stanley how is anyone supposed to find the place’ to attract customers.”

“Well, they are graphically simplistic!” Ford leaned over to call back through the kitchen doorway. “I don’t know how she found the place, let alone thought ‘What is the Mystery Shack’ was compelling.”

“No, no, I liked it. Very minimalist. What’s the point of advertising the Mystery Shack if there isn’t a little mystery to solve on the way? Besides,” her voice dropped into a barely-audible rumble, “I’d say it was the magnet gun that was really compelling.”

She’d said that in perfect deadpan, and Stan’s grin went wide. “I like you, Clary. How about I give you a tour sometime tomorrow, regular price.”

That got him a doubtful sidelong frown, and Stan laughed. “We’ll eat in like half an hour. Feel free to unpack or get interrogated by Mabel or whatever. Congratulations, you’re the most interestin’ thing to have happened here all summer.”

Twenty minutes later Ford had managed to pad out dinner with some odds and ends from the freezer. They swiped a kitchen chair to wedge in at the dining table. Clary now sported a Mabel scarf pinned across her chest, anchoring a dishtowel-wrapped bundle of what had to be frozen peas at her left shoulder. Stan reckoned she was anticipating a bruise from the seat belt. Smart. Mabel, bless her, led in with loud enthusiasm about the pleasures of summer in Gravity Falls, and a round of questions followed as he loaded up his plate.

“I’m a lawyer,” Clary said into a still moment. “I specialize in federal tax work.”

He hadn’t been tuned in to the conversation, but that particular combination of phrases was enough to both douse Stan’s nerves in ice water and trigger a regrettable reflex. He set an elbow on the table, leaned in, and said: “What’s the difference between a lady lawyer and a pitbull?”

Clary’s focus snapped to him. Stan raised an eyebrow.

The professional mask didn’t slip, but there was a spark of hot defiance at the back of her eyes. “Lipstick. Why did New Jersey get all the toxic waste and California get all the lawyers?”

Stan almost laughed – apparently there was something human in there after all. “Jersey got to pick first. What’s the difference between a dead skunk in the road and a dead lawyer in the road?”

“Skid marks in front of the skunk. What’s the difference between a lawyer and a boxing referee?” Clary relaxed with an arm draped along the back of her chair, looking at him with her chin cocked the slightest bit in challenge. Mabel had both hands over her mouth, stifling a giggle; Ford and Dipper both looked like they wanted to dive for cover.

“A boxin’ referee doesn’t get paid more for a longer fight.” He’d pinned down the accent now – she sounded like Ford, faint traces of a mid-Atlantic cadence all but buffed off by too much damn education. Not Southern enough for Virginia, so – “You’re a long way from home, Maryland.”

“Could say the same for you, Jersey,” she fired back, lips quirked, aware that she’d had the easier lift. “Long Branch?”

Shit, she had him within thirty miles. Stan rolled with it, slung her a finger-gun and a wink. “Close. Baltimore?”

Clary rolled her eyes in return. “There’s not much else in Maryland, but close enough, hon.”

That took some of the starch out, and the discussion relaxed a little. Clary chatted museums with Mabel and Dipper, displaying all the trademark enthusiasm of a hopeless nerd, which was probably going to make dinner even more exhausting than usual for the next few days.

Stan lobbed an occasional joke at Clary for the rest of the meal. She swatted them back with the easy contempt of a bored tennis pro. He was going to have to do some research, because she definitely knew more lousy lawyer cracks than he did.

They left the dishes for later. Ford perched atop the skull side table, Mabel made herself at home on one arm of Stan’s recliner, and Dipper helped pile up a mountain of pillows for himself and Clary. “Are you all caught up on Ducktective?” he asked as Stan got the TV going and started skimming through channels.

“Never seen it, I’m afraid.”

“You’ve never seen it?! Oh my gosh, there is so much going on this week! Listen up, I’ll explain the basics!” Dipper plopped onto a pillow next to Clary and managed to keep it more or less to a whisper, going squeaky as he got to the really good bits.

The whole room went tense and silent for that week’s reveal, then exploded in groans as Mabel waved a dismissive hand at the screen. “Oh, come on! DipDop called that twist like a month ago.”

Dipper puffed out his bony chest. “Well, Mabel, once you’ve seen real weird, mere fiction gets a lot easier to predict.”

“Uh huh. Those real dishes aren’t gonna do themselves.” Stan headed Dipper off at the pass with a brief glare of warning and hauled himself upright. “Clary, you mind helpin’ me round all that up?”

Ford gently shooed the kids up to bed as Stan and Clary cleared the table and headed for the kitchen. She tossed the bag of peas back into the freezer and headed over to join Stan at the sink, taking up a dishtowel, accepting clean glasses and swiping them dry as he passed them over. “That was an adventure.”

“There’s a ton to catch up on, there. Last season was pretty good. You gotta laptop or somethin’?”

“Mmhm. Not sure how much time I’ll have to spare for binge watching, though. What’s your read on the car?”

“Need to have a look under the hood for that. At least a couple days, and honestly, maybe a little more.” Stan watched her lips compress from the corner of one eye. “That thing’s a classic, if you wanna put it charitably.”

“You’re being charitable. I did have – “ Clary smiled briefly up at Ford as he joined them to start on put-away duty. “I did have some work done on it before I left just to make sure it wouldn’t break down. The plan was for a pretty long trip. Not that it matters much at this point.”

“What’s a girl from Maryland doing out in Oregon with a Colorado license plate?”

“I inherited the car. I’m driving to Seattle to scatter my mother’s ashes in the Pacific.”

And damn, what a way to kill a line of inquiry. She handed a dry plate off to Ford, who put it in the appropriate cupboard, looking a little lost. For a good thirty seconds it was nothing but running water and the clink of china.

“So – does the timin’ matter? We could get you on a bus, hook you up with a rental?” Stan was running the mental math again, and yeah, like it or not this one was going to be on him and his brother. Well, dammit.

“She’s dead, Stan, no one’s in a hurry. Least of all me.” A tiny, bitter twist pulled at one corner of her mouth, but she looked up to Ford and her tone was sincere. “Listen. This was an accident, I get it. A very weird accident. I was already planning to make a sort of travel holiday of this, and I’ve got no issue staying in Gravity Falls for a little while – I’ve got the bike and plenty to read. Can you recommend a hotel? A B&B maybe?”

Yes! thought Stan, then No! as Ford opened his mouth and started playing gracious host, of all things. “I wouldn’t dream of it, Clary. I know it’s crowded, but we already have a room set aside for you, and at the very least I can promise you won’t be bored. You’d be right at the center of activity here! I can suggest some hikes, we have lots of games, there’s the lake and the Shack itself of course. You should be able to reach almost anything with that bicycle.”

Stan did his level best to make please, no, come on already faces at Ford over Clary’s head, which was difficult because she was so damned tall. The twins only had about three inches on her. Ford was either missing the signals or being deliberately oblivious. Stan mentally wagered on the latter.

“I’m tempted,” Clary said carefully.

“Please, just sleep on it. I know it’s been a difficult day, and again, I’m so sorry to have put you in this predicament.” Ford lightly plucked the last glass from her fingers and reached up to set it into its place. “We’ll check on both the car and your shoulder.”

For a moment Clary’s lashes dipped down and her fingers twisted into the dishtowel. “All right. You’re very generous, Ford, Stan, thank you. We can go over it in the morning. I’m afraid you’re right, it’s been one hell of a day and I should get some rest. Good night, gentlemen.”

“Good night, Clary.”

“G’night.” Stan dropped a couple of ice cubes into a glass and lifted it in dismissive salute as she headed out towards the repurposed storage room, then gave Ford his very best ‘What the hell, Sixer’ look. What he got back was wide-eyed mock innocence and a shrug.

“Seriously?” Stan said, letting his brow smack lightly into the freezer door.

“I owe her,” Ford said with as much dignity as he could muster. “And it seems to me that she could use the company.”

Stan tapped his head against the freezer twice more before straightening with a groan.

“You were getting bored anyway.” Ford spared Stan a knowing glance.

“I have not been that bored.”

“You were bored enough to take another shot at Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons last week.”

“Yeah, that ended in flames. Let’s hope this doesn’t.”

“She’s interesting, that’s for certain! Perhaps we can make a few minor upgrades to the engine before we send her out again….”

“Ford. Do not.”

It was too late, of course, it had been too late well before Ford had voiced the idea, and he was already jotting notes in his spare pad as Stan watched him wander down the hallway. He’d be up until two in the morning, as usual.

Stan topped off his glass with water and shuffled off towards his own room. Bored. Pfft.

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Clary is talking to the others at the table, and you think you catch something about her doing federal tax law stuff. Yikes.

Crack a lousy lady driver joke.

Crack a lousy cryptid joke.

Crack a lousy lawyer joke.