#it'll be a full year tomorrow and i'm still noticing things

[lovely-letters-for-ed]

I've always been so focused on the severed hand behind Ivan in 1x05 when he calls dibs on the victim pirate's gold teeth, that I never noticed the little, comedic ~*POP*~ after Stede exclaims, 'Who knew there was so much to learn about pirating?'

[kelcemenow]

Win Or Lose - Chapter 3.

Pairing Travis Kelce x Reader

Words 1633

Warnings Angst, mentions of pregnancy and miscarriage.

This was a very detailed Anon request that I received and knew I had to give it a go! (I’ll not paste the whole request here as I usually do, as it was rather long but if you want to read it, it’s here. Be warned, it’s rather full of spoilers!) 

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

"Ooh, I like this one!" You clicked on the beautiful white wooden crib, adorned with pale yellow sheets and blankets.

Travis leaned in closer to see the screen better, "That's dope, baby."

You raised an eyebrow, "Dope? You're describing this absolutely gorgeously crafted crib with smooth drop sides and form fitting mattress included as dope?"

Travis grinned and placed a hand on your small bump, "A dope-ass crib for a dope-ass baby."

You rolled your eyes and looked back to the screen, "Why can't we just go and look at these in the store? I think it would be better if saw all of this stuff in person."

"Baby, you know why. One click of a paparazzi camera and we're on the front page. I can just see it now." He lifted his hand in the air as he spoke, "Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce and fine-ass wife spotted shopping for baby items. The whole world will know."

You continued to scroll, not looking at your husband, "Front page? You think that will be the breaking news story of the day?"

"You know what I mean, we need to wait a little longer. Just in case, you know?"

Resting your head onto the back of the couch, you looked towards Travis, "Yeah, I know. We're going to have to tell people soon, though." You rubbed your stomach, "I'm 14 weeks tomorrow."

Travis chewed his bottom lip, "How do you want to do it?"

"I mean, we could just post something on Instagram or something?"

You looked to your husband who was staring down at your bump, drawing circles with his finger, "Nah, I got a better idea. Why don't I say something at the press conference after the game on Sunday?"

You smiled, "You know what, that's not half bad! I like it!"

"I'll tell the guys and coach at practice today so that they have a heads up."

You stroked his cheek, "I love you so much, Mr Kelce."

"I love you to, Mrs Kelce."

You giggled, "It's been almost 3 years and I still get all giddy when I hear that."

He slid closer to you and kissed your lips gently, "That's what you are. My wife, my woman, my girl...Mrs Kelce." He took a deep breath, "And soon, we're going to have a little Kelce running around. And it's going to be so loved." He leaned his head down towards your bump, "You hear that little bean? You're so loved already."

You smiled, "That's another thing. We're going to have to start thinking about names."

"I like little bean!" Travis laughed.

You moved your laptop from your knee and turned to face Travis, "Okay, for a boy...Hunter?"

Travis nodded slowly, "Hunter? Hunter...I like it. Hunter Kelce."

"And if it's a girl...Sienna?"

"Sienna Kelce, that's gorgeous."

You jumped a little, "You like them?"

"I do, I really do. You mentioned the name Hunter once before and I liked it then, but Sienna is beautiful." Travis smiled.

"We'll be able to find out soon which it'll be."

Travis' eyes widened, "Really? Have you called the doctor?"

"Not yet, I was going to wait until after Sunday so that you'd be able to come with me."

Travis shook his head, "No, let's do it now, make the appointment. See if Dr Tomlin has any space tomorrow for us? I'm sure coach will let me dip out of practice early, for this especially."

"You sure?"

He kissed your forehead before laying a kiss on your bump, "Of course."

You watched as he rose from the couch, "Now, foot rub?"

______________________________________________________________

The doctors office smelled of disinfectant and the lights blinded your eyes. You blinked and noticed Travis pacing around the room.

"Will you stop? This is exactly like the bathroom when we took the test. You're making me nervous."

Travis jumped on the balls of his feet, attempting to shed some energy, "I can't help it baby. I'm just so excited."

The office door swung open and Dr Tomlin smiled at you both. He was middle-aged with greying hair, a rounded stomach and broad shoulders.

"Hello, both of you. Nice to see you." He smiled and checked his chart, "So, Mrs Kelce, you're at your second trimester now. How have you been doing?"

You shuffled on the bed, "Yeah, I've been okay, morning sickness hasn't been too bad which I'm pleased about."

Dr Tomlin nodded, "Excellent. Well, I have your results from the ultrasound. Would you like to know the gender of your baby."

You looked to Travis, who had his eyes locked on Dr Tomlin, his lips pursed together and head nodding quickly.

"Yes, please."

Dr Tomlin flipped over a page on his clipboard, "You're having a girl."

Your head whipped to face Travis who was frozen, breathing heavily.

"A girl?" His voice croaked.

"We're having a girl!" You shrieked, sitting up on the bed and opening your arms to Travis who immediately rushed over to you to embrace you.

"Congratulations, I'll leave you two alone." Dr Tomlin closed his clipboard and softly closed the door behind him.

You swung your legs around so they dangled off the edge of the bed. Staring up into Travis' eyes, you held onto his hands tightly. He dipped his head and pressed his lips to your small bump, lingering for a few seconds.

"Sienna Kelce, it's your Daddy here."

______________________________________________________________

Your eyes drifted open as the sound of keys jiggling in the lock rose you from your afternoon nap.

"Hey baby! Travis shouted from the front door.

Pulling the blanket up over your chest, you cleared your throat, "Hey!"

"So, coach is absolutely stoked for us, said he's going to get a gift basket sent to us from him and Tammy." Travis' excited voice grew louder as he made his way into the lounge, "And the guys went crazy when I told them. Honestly baby, you should have seen them, my back is killing me from all of the back slaps! Expect a lot of hugs on Sunday's game."

You giggled and stretched in your horizontal position, "That's amazing, baby."

He leaned down and kissed your forehead, "You had a good nap?"

You yawned loudly, "I did! I was just watching TV and the next thing I knew, I was asleep. You want some dinner?"

You started to lift yourself from the couch when Travis held his hand out, "No no, I got it. You keep resting. In two days, we're going to be announcing to everyone that we're bringing a little Kelce into the world, you're going to need your strength."

You shook your head and laid back down on the couch, "I'd better take advantage of all of this rest now while I can! Because in about 5 months, everything is going to change."

Travis placed his warm hands on your bump, moving his thumbs back and forth, "It's going to be so awesome."

You grinned and watched him disappear out of your vision. Craning your neck, you could just see him in the kitchen, examining the contents of the refrigerator. Your heart swelled as you watched his muscular arms grabbing items and setting them down on the counter top. You knew he was going to be a wonderful Father to your daughter; learning to braid her hair, playing with her dolls on the playroom floor, cheering for her at school sport's days and teaching her the rules of football. You imagined how she would look, wondering if she would get her Daddy's piercing eyes or his dark hair.

Suddenly, a short sharp pain shot to your lower stomach area. You gasped a breath and let out a groan, your hand darting to your bump. The pain repeated, but with a more intense sensation this time, causing you to roll over slightly and curve your back. You squeezed your eyes shut, holding your breath as you rode the pain out.

"You want some tea, baby? I got a nice lemon and ginger one at the store yesterday." Travis called out for the kitchen.

You tried to call his name, but the effort to form words was too much. Instead, your managed a guttural cry, causing Travis to rush to your side.

"Babe, what's wrong. Are you okay?" You heard Travis say through your darkened vision, "Look at me, baby, look at me."

You opened your tear-filled eyes to see Travis' concerned expression as he knelt down beside you, "Something hurts, it's really bad."

Travis' eyes glanced down to your bump under the blanket, "Come on, I'm taking you to the hospital." He kissed your forehead and stroked your hair, "It's going to be fine. Let's go, I'll get the keys."

You peeled the blanket back and hauled yourself up, stopping when Travis' face turned white, his eyes wide and his mouth agape.

"What?"

He swallowed hard and stared at the empty space on the couch where you once were. You turned your head to see a large area of the beige couch now marked with dark red. You grasped at your bump again, closing your eyes as you felt another stab of pain.

"No...no, please no." You croaked.

Travis' breathing became shaky as he held your face close to his, your foreheads connecting, "Baby, look at me. Come on, we need to go to the hospital. Please, let's get up." His shoulders began to tremble.

You blinked wildly as tears started to stream down your face, only halted by Travis' thumb running over your cheek. Using your hand, you pushed yourself up onto your feet and felt Travis' strong hands clinging onto you.

"I got you, baby. It's...it's going to be fine, say it."

You took a deep breath and tried to steady the quiver in your voice, "It's going to be fine."

______________________________________________________________

I found this chapter really hard to write. My heart goes out to anyone that has had to experience this and I cannot imagine what it must be like. I really hope I haven't offended or upset anyone with any incorrect details but I researched as much as I could so that this would be written in the most respectful way possible. If anyone wants to be on my Taglist for future writing so they don't miss another one, let me know!

Taglist @rd14 @dandelionwrites8 @keiva1000 @fantasywritersstuff @caelipartem @anacarangel @she-lives-in-her-dreams @kkrenae @kristencochefski1125 @countrygirl120983 @charmed2000 @nouis-bum @cixrosie @delicateearthquakellama @wordsaresimple-imnot @amylouwho9 @queenisa17 @talicat713 @luvvtrent @purecinnamonextract @savaneafricaine @caelipartem @beyxgrande @caitdaniels @ezgirl1108 @vir-tual @lightsoutstyles @macey234 @s294749w @kelcemesoftly @calirindo @livinginmyfantasies @bernelflo @secretmywritingfictionlawyer @killatravtramp

[ros3ybabe]

Where Have I Been?

hello lovelies. so, I started the challenege, did one day, and all of a sudden I feel off the face of the earth. I fell into a bit of a depression, and while I've managed to pull myself out, life has been busy busy busy! This is probably the 2nd busiest week of the year (the 1st will be in August, and you'll find out why). Here's an update on life:

I fly to Colorado on the 16th, so....under 5 days now. I haven't packed or anything yet, but I plan on doing that either tomorrow or Thursday. And I have to clean and prepack for when I return because....

I signed a new lease for a new place to live! I'll have roommates who I haven't met yet (I'm taking over someone lease, actually), but my lease starts August 18th. I return from Colorado on the 14th of August, so....I'm going to be very busy once I return.

I decided to call it quits on getting a 2nd job. It's going to mess up the schedule with my first job, and it would only make me 200$ more a month, which I'm not worried about missing our on since I'll still sell stuff on depop once I return from Colorado and I'm going full time at my current job.

I've gone out to lunch with my dad a few times as well, it's been really nice hanging out with him and spending time with my dad. I lucked out in the dad department and spending time with him is one of my favorite things!

I've been debating going to San Fransisco in October for an XG concert, but I don't know if I'll have the money or ability to anymore. (thank you new apartment and all those fees and expenses!)

my anxiety has been terrible. I haven't changed anything about what I do, but I did squish a lot of anxiety inducing things into the span of two weeks, which....my bad on that. Now I know, don't do that to myself.

I bought new makeup! The juvias place bronzer, charlotte tillbury setting spray, nyx eyebrow stuff, and blush, ughhh I love buying new makeup, I just wish it didn't cost money!

I've gotten better at doing my makeup! I've had people not even notice I'm wearing it because it looks natural despite being like, a full face! Thank you perfect color matches on my skin tint, foundation, and concealors!

I went to two movies with a friend. We saw the new Strangers: Chapter One and the Planet of the Apes movie. Both were definitely good, in my opinion.

I now have to plan with my boyfriend for when he needs to come down here and get his stuff and work out changing the utilities to our roommates name since I'm leaving. I don't feel like it should be my job to coordinate that, but oh well. I guess it's too hard for him and his best friend (my roommate) to call each other for once?? Ugh, men get on my nerves sometimes.

I need to ask my dad and a friend to help me move upon my return, which also means I won't be able to work that weekend, which kind of sucks.

I need to declutter my room and start throwing away things I don't want or need anymore this week to make it easier on myself when I return from Colorado but hahaha I procrastinate a lot.

I'm stressed about paying rent. I'll have to pay rent for here and rent/fees for the new place before august and then September's rent for the new place, and my new rent is about double what I pay now. so yayy, adulting and finances. I don't feel qualified to be an adult, but here I am, age 21, an adult.

That's about it for now! Lots of stress, lots of anxiety, lots of stuff happening super close together. But that's life, I guess. Forgive me for my absence from my blogs. I also stopped studying spanish for now, and my routines are non-existent. Colorado will change that, tho, for sure. I do plan on updating a little more frequently once things settle down when I'm in Colorado. but for now, it'll be kinda here and there with my posting.

thank you for all the patience and kindness, lovelies. til next time 🩷

[morgana-artt]

Romeo x Mechanic!Male!Reader (Part 1)

Spoilers for LoP

Notes: So I kinda went a bit off the rails on this one and wrote a lot more than I wanted to (especially in part 2 that I'll post tomorrow), my brain kinda went blank but I think (and hope) its still decent enough of a read. I suppose its a bit of a slow burn at first but I hope you Enjoy!

Reader is similar to Sophia and can channel ergo like she can.

_________________________________________

You ran and you ran FAST. What were you running from? Oh, just a group full of puppets that decided to make you their target and that wasn't fair, you were just some guy who enjoyed tinkering in mechanics! You could ramble on that for a while but you needed to get to safety, you were at the hotel but didn't stay for long as you were on your way to what was called Alchemist's Isle for answers to your past and had to go through the Opera House in order to do so.

You panted as you zig zagged bewteen swipes from puppets to alleyways before finally reaching your first destination, you leaned against the statue in the garden out of breath. "This... sucks! All because I need to find- ugh...hopefully it'll be better inside" you spoke to yourself as you stood up straight and made your way into the big building. Opening the large doors you saw how huge this place actually was and despite it seeing better days it still looked beautiful, you looked around not hearing anything before making your way up the stairs and saw a door way further into the building, "This looks like it goes through the main part...'suppose I'll go through there..." you mumbled to yourself before going through the doors.

You gulped as you saw a swinging chandelier, "Are you fucking kidding me? One hit and I'm screwed..." you cursed to yourself as you watched the giant fire basket swing side to side, you took a deep breath before getting ready and once it swung to the left you bolted just in time but as you did the one wooden pole that helped you cross snapped in half and broke into the hole. You stared at it, "Well...no going back." you said as you turned to the double doors in front of you plated with gold. You walked towards it pushed the heavy doors and you were met with...a sad disaster.

What would've been a beautiful ballroom of somesort was instead a burnt down ruined stage, you frowned at this something clearly went on long ago judging by how rotten the wooden had gotten but what you also noticed was a body propped up against a giant rundown puppet- or you hoped it was runned down. It had been a year or so when the puppet frenzied calmed down but that didn't stop the few puppets around Krat from attempting to hurt anything that passed them just like yourself.

With very careful steps, at first you throught you were approaching a dead human but no...it was a puppet. It looked badly burnt with half it's face broken off, it had blonde hair and despite the state it was in you could tell it- or he you should say- was quite a handsome puppet. Almost prince like. You shook your head, now was not the time to admire the puppet, you saw his head down and eye closed and crouched to his level. "You look like you went through hell..." you mumbled to yourself, now despite knowing how dangerous these things can be you couldn't help but feel sorry for them as you did stumble upon a few puppets that were friendly and even helped repair a few. This one really interested you but it was a gamble- was this puppet friendly or mad crazed like so many others? You decided to take the risk.

You walked around the puppet and analyzed it, didn't seem TOO bad...yeah he was burnt to shit but none of his internal scraps had been broken. Now you had a power that not many people knew about, you could give ergo to puppets and understand them, you can't remember much but it started to develope later in your teens- it was probably why you felt so intune with puppets you could LITERALLY feel their 'souls' give or take.

Using your handkerchief that was tied around your belt you dusted the soot off the puppet and began to rummaged through your bag, you only had a few tools with you and tighened some lose parts on the puppet next to you. You kneeled in front of him and moved some of his hair away from his face, he really was a handsome fellow but it made you sad at the state of his face maybe you could repair it? If he hasn't killed you yet.

With a deep breath you placed your hand where your heart was, ergo began to twist around your hand before you placed it against the chest of the puppet. You waited. and waited. and waited.

Nothing. You furrowed your eyebrows as usually this would work within seconds, guess the poor thing really was damaged. You began to tinker around him a little longer.

Romeos P.O.V

Something in you had awaken, how? Gepettos puppet had freed you so why did you feel you had awaken from a deep slumber? You heard ruffling and breathing...? You opened your good eye, it was blurry at first but you noticed a moving figure in front of you, talking to itself...a human? Your eyesight cleared up as you were faced into a chest, the person you saw the chest of was bent a little over you looking at your back as you felt a few tugs. You didn't dare to move. What if it was that bastard Gepetto again?Wasn't being brought back to life in a puppet not good enough? He had to be brought back again? No...he can't go through with that...the responsiblitlies...the pain...the desperation. If he could cry he would, he couldn't go back to that. He watched as the person in front of him moved back to look into their bag, Romeo took note of a soft looking man in front of him. It was a human but thankfully not the one he hated but how did you bring him back? He lost his ergo so how could you...were you special? Maybe. He watched you in curiosity as you mumbled to yourself about him not working. The young man in front of you had soft (H/C) and piercing (E/C) eyes, and despite looking like a cat that ran through a hedge head first you were pretty nice looking to him.

The man in front of you turned his gaze to you before jumping following up with a little yelp, "You're...awake? It worked!" you watched the man puff in pride, "Ah...My names (Y/N). Do you have one...?" he asked, you slowly lifted your head a little but it immediately went back down- you had little to no energy in you right now apart from your eye. "I-I-I....R-R-" you tried to speak but it came out so statically and robotic, the guy in front of you smiled softly with encouragement, "You don't have to tell me now, I'm guessing you went through a lot judging by how burnt you are" the man spoke, were you really that damaged? "R-R...Rom..eo" You managed to get out, the person smiled at that. "Well, Romeo. It's nice to meet you, I've only given you enough ergo to start up hence why you're only able to move barely. Of course I can take it out if you no longer wish to live" the man gave you a choice, something you didn't get at first.

You glanced at the one in front of you before trying to lift your arm towards the persons face- you struggled and before your arm fell, the stranger- who himself called (Y/N)- grabbed it in time. He felt soft and warm...you hadn't felt that in a really long time. It was nice.

Your P.O.V

You took a hold of the puppets- now named Romeo- hand into yours, You felt pity and it was clear as day he was conflicted on whether staying alive or not. "How about this- You stay here and I'll gather more ergo which hopefully will give you more strength with it and you can decide later, hm? Of course you can ask me to piss off" you laughed dryly. The puppet stared at you making you feel a little flustered, you weren't used to such things and what made it worse was how Romeo had a hold of your fingers and was staring at them, "Ahem, well...I should be off to get some more ergo, yes? Don't worry, I'll come back" you whispered but felt the tightened grip on your fingers, "N-NO...no...fragile..." Romeo spoke, you frowned. Fragile? Was he scared for you? "Romeo, If you want to even lift your head up I'll have to give you more ergo and I can only give you so much from myself" you tried to reason with the puppet. Romeo was confliced but softly nodded. He let go and you stood up, "as to show my promise I'll leave this with you!" you then gave him a necklace, "it belonged to a dear friend of mine...it means a lot and I'm putting it in your possession till I come back!" You looked down at him. "I'll come back...promise" and with that you walked off to hopefully find enough ergo for your new friend.

As Romeo sat and waited he inspected the necklace, what you had said felt familiar to him- with the dear friend...a promise...it felt sort of like a Déjà Vu for him. He surprised himself with the hope he felt of wanting you to come back, he hoped you did you were...nice. He liked you, you seemed like a good person. Like someone else he knew but has long been forgotten.

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #176

Today was relatively uneventful, but a couple of interesting developments occurred. And I took a bunch of pictures for you, too! Maybe you'll like them...

But first! Tea! Because it is my habitual morning thing, and it is a small bit of magic that I continue to wish that I could share with you.

I prepared a black tea that has vanilla, rose petals, and cream flavoring in it. Incidentally, I found a tiny black feather inside that I had to pull out of my measuring spoon after I scooped the tea; it was odd:

...You can bet that this is now in my box full of all the feathers I find everywhere. It's tiny, but its placement was very weird!

...I brewed the tea normally nonetheless, and today's swirls were lovely. I'm really glad that I got the glass mug so that I can capture them for you:

...I've been tired of being stuck in the house unable to do things. The rib injury is still unresolved even after two years, and it doesn't seem like I am going to be able to return to the water anytime soon to resume mermaid training, if at all, ever. I can't weave wire trees fast enough to earn appreciable income (and I think the repetitive movement of twisting the wire stresses the rib somehow anyway...), and I wanna be able to do things like take J, M, and Br out for lunch and get them nice surprises by my own power.

The grocery 5 minutes down the road has had a sign that says, "Immediate Interviews" for a while now, and I've noticed that they tend to hire neurodivergent and otherwise disabled people, so... on a whim, I went. And even without having rehearsed anything or being dressed all fancy, I made good use of my training in human psychology and development, and used that to answer questions about how I generally like to resolve conflicts. I seem to have made a good first impression somehow (assuming the interviewer was being sincere...), and I was given step-by-step instructions on how to apply on a little slip of paper (which was SUUUUPER appreciated because I cannot hold verbal instructions in my mind for the life of me...). So I applied. I guess we'll see what happens.

To be clear: I do not need an income, per se. I live with M and J, and they both work in a tech field, and currently, my contribution is making sure the house is clean(ish) in whatever ways my injury allows. I used to work in a tech field as a database analyst (I am DAMN GOOD at making machines do what I want), but between the social repercussions of not having been born with a penis and just generally not being able to handle office politics, I wasn't happy there. Office work on a full-time basis is not something that my neurotype can handle.

I'm hoping to be able to do simple things at the grocery on a part-time basis - no more than 20 hours a week or so. I like the grocery store and I like being able to help people, so maybe it'll be a good time. I'll try it and see if it fits, and if it doesn't work out, I can try something else.

On the way home, I took some pictures for you of some flowers and some pictures of the sky and of the sun. I wonder if you'll like these:

...It was difficult to get those last two!! I hope you'll enjoy them!

I spent the rest of the day resting, because I did a scary social impromptu interview thing. I played the Rune Factory 4 game that was suggested to me by one of my readers. It's a delightful game! But... I maaaay have gotten so into it that I forgot entirely to eat anything after breakfast. Whoops. I'm sorry about that. But I'll do better tomorrow, I promise.

I hope you're taking nice care of yourself, too, wherever you are. Maybe someday you'll be able to tell me how you're doing and whether or not you're safe...

Well anyway. Suppose I'll end today's letter here. I don't have much more to say.

I love you. Please stay safe out there, okay? I'll write again very soon.

Your friend, Lumine

[pbandjesse]

Today was a good day. I felt slightly better. Still coughing, but not as weak. I am still really looking forward to going to sleep.

I slept okay last night. I was still coughing myself awake. But I got more rest then I have been. So it was a win.

I woke up at 630 pretty uncomfortable, but I let myself doze for a half hour. James laid with me a bit. I struggled to get up. But I would be okay.

I liked my hair a lot today. And I felt pretty good overall. I loved wearing my new ring. I was feeling positive. James sent me off with my bag packed. And I had a nice drive, but people were still driving stupid. Just going wildly slow. But it was fine. I got to camp and was glad to be there.

Though I discovered the watermelon James has packed me had spilled all over my lunch bag. Ah well. I cleaned that up and soon Elizabeth was coming in. It's weird not having that first hour alone but I won't begrudge someone else wanting to be able to leave earlier.

And we actually had some really nice chats. About art and my drawing project but also about my pipeline theory and some other silly stuff. We had some big laughs.

I worked on my proposal for a diorama workshop and a few other small projects. I did my drawing for the day and realized I had one of the stickers hidden so today actually was the last drawing! I did my favorite Leatherman pocket knife. And closed out the project. I'll order sheets of the stickers as a limited run soon.

As others were coming it there was actually stuff for me and Sarah to do! There is apparently another snow storm coming in tonight so we drove up to the Alaskans to get salt to put all around on any wood surfaces because we have a full camp rental this weekend.

I found out it's a Christian school and so I told Sarah all about how she. I was in highschool we would go on winter retreats and it was the most important thing every year but also it was crazy because they wouldn't feed us for so long so that we would get in some weird space. And she was like Jesse that sounds like a cult. And I am like oh I know.

It was fun driving around off road pouring salt on things. And when we got back we were both a bit tired so we took a break.

Heather would have some schedule stuff for me to work on. They want more free choice and so I worked on some ways for that to work. There might be some kind of choice in what specialities they could go to every day. We will see if it's actually implemented.

I had lunch and did some work on canva. Edited some logos for the music festival. Me and Sarah would go out again to deliver bags of salt and shovels to the different cabins just in case. The snow is supposed to come in quick but then it's going to be almost 60 so it'll probably melt fast too. But it was fun being out. Though I kept tripping on my shoes and making Sarah nervous I was going to break an ankle.

The day would wrap up pretty quickly. I reminded Alexi that my birthday is tomorrow and Chloe was like what! Why wasn't it on the calendar and Elizabeth ran out to write it before I left. I just never noticed it didn't make it to the calendar because I was gone for the last week of January and then I was sick. But everyone wished me well and said they will make a bigger deal next week. Which is not necessary but is also very kind.

I said goodbye and headed out. I did stop at 711 to get a piece of pizza. And I'm glad I did because there was a lot of traffic on the drive home. So it was closer to 45 minutes. Which is whatever but still rough. I enjoyed my music and my podcast and was home soon enough.

When I got back here I did some tidying up because Celia was coming over. I ran around with the vacuum and soon she was knocking on my door.

It was nice to have her over. James would come home soon after she got there. I gave her the tour and talked about what we are going to do in different spaces once we have furniture. And then after talking with James for a bit and playing with sweetp we would set up in the studio to do some painting.

Celia would paint a pill bug and I painted Sweetp. And it was fun. We watched a video about the backrooms and painted and James made us stuffed shells. It was a really fun couple hours. We talked about the history of accents and travel and told stories and it was just a really lovely night.

James ran over to the apartment to feed the aquatics and grab a few things. And Celia left a little before they came back. I watched her from the stoop to make sure she made it to her car. And then when I came back inside I went to get a shower.

James got home soon after I got dressed. And they are downstairs talking to their dad. And I am in bed. Coughing a lot. Which still gets worse at night. But I'm sipping water and hoping that the snow isn't bad. So tomorrows plan goes off without a hitch.

Because tomorrow is my birthday! Jess should be here mid morning, weather permitting, and then we are going to IKEA! I hope that we can get everything easily and then we will spend most of the day building things. I'm very much looking forward to my birthday. James is finishing baking a cake for me now. And Jess will be here. And I'm just really happy. Despite the cough.

Sleep well everyone. I love you all so much. Until tomorrow!!

[thecuriouseyes]

2024 (To The Fools who Dream)

Today, I got up at 5am. I ran 10km. I got home, grabbed breakfast, and then I showered. Sit down in front of my PC and Code for 3 hours. Took a little break, and I continued with designing. Had lunch, and I prayed. Sit down and study Dutch. Now it's 4am. I've prayed again. Tonight, I'd like to clear my mind off a little bit before I do it all over again tomorrow. 

Yeah, that's pretty much how I started 2024. Not too bad, I guess. I hated it in reality, but I cannot neglect it. It is a must for me to maintain discipline

My life is about to change.

So you're wondering where those gifs are from? Those are from a film called Tenet. It's quite a film, should I say. Not really my favorite film, but that bit up there? That's my favorite part.

No more New Year's resolutions for me. I'm done. Today (well, 3 days ago), I decided to restart my whole life. I wanted to write it on day 1, but the beginning is always the hardest. I'm trying to get the hang of it again, like I was back then, still full of hopes and dreams. So it feels foreign, and it turned out to be very challenging for me to maintain a desirable pace.

*Yeah, that's me. This morning, I decided to write down the numbers on my palm instead of putting them on my phone or PC. Those things distract me a lot. It's better for me to just look at my working hand. * 

Actually, I said I'm restarting my whole life but, the routine I'm doing right now? It isn't new. I started doing it last year September. After many heartbreaks, I decided to stand up again. As always, the beginning is always the hardest

"So what's up with the whole life restart?" This is probably what you guys are asking. I'm not happy with my current performance. I feel too sloppy and stagnant. It changes so little, and it made me upset. I've been doing it for quite some time. I just wanted to push myself a lot more.

I started doing mental training, memorizing, and number crunching. I can't just work on my body; my mind needs to work as well. I think I get the hang of it. I can memorize a lot better now, and my mind can operate a lot better. I used to zone out a lot, but it's been a lot less lately. I think this is good. Which means I'm starting to live in the moment. No longer do I dwell on the future and the past. It's okay to think about the future once in a while, and it's also okay to reminisce about the past. Just don't overdo it. It'll make you restless.

I had a weird dream last night. I found myself staring at me when I was a lot younger. He was just looking at me, not saying a single word. One thing is crystal clear. He looks disappointed. I got up and noticed the call to morning prayers.

Heh... I must have been thinking about myself too much. My old self. Yeah, you, Jade, that young, daring teenager with much passion and determination in his eyes. You would have challenged the whole world bare-handed. Where did it go wrong? I miss you, and I miss me. So let me do it right this time. Let me just... make peace with you, and let's try and get our lives back together.

That's why I think that Tenet gif sorta fits what I'm feeling right now. I'm just imagining the two characters as me. Talking to myself. The old me is just that, an old distant memory. Once I'm out there, leaving this place. It's a new life a new beginning. For the old me, it is the end of a beautiful friendship. The current me, it's just the beginning.

I wanted to write this once I'm out of here. I thought that it would be more meaningful, but I do not know what the future holds, and I would rather just live in this moment. I want to write what I feel. There are so many things I wanted to write here, but I'll share them with you all some other time.

I started talking with someone. Now my life is in full motion. I do not know where "this" will go. I promised this someone a lot of things. So I'm going to try my best. This too; I'll tell you some other time.

One last message for myself.

I'm getting there again, kiddo, don't you worry. Just like the old times, I started swinging both my fists again. I will not lose this time. For now, I have to let you go. I'll see you in the beginning.

To all the fools who dreams. The world cannot stop us. The world will never take our hearts!

I do not know how to end this.. I guess I'll end it by saying..

Peace.

[hs-is-loml]

Baby Honey. (c.f)

“And I swear that I'm not thinkin' 'bout you all the time. Just today, yesterday, every day, and tomorrow night”

Pairing: Conrad Fisher x Fem!Reader

Summary: you and conrad have a complicated relationship but that doesn’t stop him from keeping you on his mind. But will you forgive him after what happened? (PART ONE OF TWO)

Warnings: this one is a bit angsty but it'll get better between them in part two i promise!! sorry for any grammar errors

masterlist - part two Only Angel.

Last Summer 

“Conrad, I’m not doing this shit anymore,” you said in frustration.

“Do what, Y/N? You have a part in this just as much as I do,” he deadpanned.

“Yeah, Conrad, because I care for you.”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t,” he muttered.

“Fine.”

It had been a while since you last spoke with Conrad Fisher at the debutante ball. Frankly, it bothered you what happened the last time you saw each other. You came back to Cousins after visiting colleges for your older sister expecting to talk to Conrad again but no. He was wrapped around Nicole and pushed you to the side. 

You couldn’t believe how much of a hypocrite he had become. After saying a lot of shit on debutante balls and how the girls that did them were sheep, he was escorting one of those girls. It was your sister’s year to be a big sister to one of the girls so your family took attendance at the ball. Your heart felt like it split into two seeing Conrad Fisher be announced as an escort.

Before leaving to go visit colleges, you and Conrad had an argument over him not being ready for a relationship but he wanted the things it came with. Conrad Fisher took your heart from a young age from his charming blue eyes to his alluring personality. You and Conrad started a friend-with-benefits situation at the beginning of the summer with you thinking that this would be enough for you. But it never was. 

Conrad knew he messed up the second you walked away from him that night. He never meant to hurt you but he wasn’t enough for you. At the time he couldn’t be what you needed from a person in a relationship. When you left last summer, he didn’t expect to see you again when he accepted Nicole's invitation to be her escort. He needed to get you off his mind. You swarmed every thought he’s had since that night. 

Even his family seemed disappointed in him for stupidly letting the girl go. Susannah remembered the days when she would talk to Laurel and your mom about how their girls were destined for her boys. Jeremiah and Belly always seemed to have a connection from early on always being stuck to each other’s hip. Everyone always knew that you and Conrad would end up together or at least hoped. You brought out the best in Conrad when nobody else could. You made him laugh in the best ways possible. They were truly rooting for you two but noticed that the night at the debutante ball something shifted between you two. 

You two no longer went to go hang out or spend time down at the beach. It was like you completely stopped talking to him in general. Nobody ever had the nerve to ask either of you what happened between you two. Some thought you had just grown from each other though others knew it was beyond that.

“Mom, do I have to do this?” you questioned as you tried on what seemed like the hundredth dress during this fitting. 

“Yes, aren’t you excited to be a deb?” she asked softly.

“A deb without a date, mom,” you said bitterly.

“Who knows maybe you’ll find somebody. You still have time, okay. If not we can figure something out,” she replied back fixing the back of your dress.

This one took your breath away looking at yourself in the mirror. You never remembered a time when you felt as beautiful as you did now. You turned to face your mom and her eyes looked at you in full admiration.

“Oh, Darling, you are truly gorgeous. Always have been,” you hear from the other side of the room surprised to see Susannah here with Laurel and Belly. Your cheeks turn bright red from the compliment. 

“Thank you, Susannah,” you told her.

“Hey, Beck,” your mom greeted from beside you.

“Y/n, you look beautiful,” Belly turned to you in a dress as well.

“As do you, Belly,” you replied.

As all the moms caught up with each other, they agreed to do lunch together wanting to spend more time with one another. This gave you time to talk to Belly as well. You hadn’t talked to each other in a while and it was nice to get updates on what was going on with her life since the last time you saw her. She told you about her Cam and Jeremiah situation and how she finally came to her senses when she decided to be with Jeremiah. Which didn’t surprise you in the way she thought it would. It was something everyone already saw coming. 

You updated her on your life as well telling her how you’ve been applying for Colleges already hoping to get into Yale for business. Though it would be a while before you did a final decision on where you wanted to go and where you would get accepted in. 

“How do you feel about this whole thing?” she asked you referring to the ball.

“Anxious but excited. I’ve seen my sister’s rehearsals and what she had to do before so I’m hoping it’s a similar experience, you know,”

“I forgot about your sister doing this whole thing last summer. She was a big sis, right?”

“Yeah, she was. Too bad I’m a year too late for her to be here,” you admitted.

“Did you already find a date for the ball?”

“No, I’m still figuring that out.”

“I’m sure you’ll find someone in time,” she said with a grin.

“Oh, she was absolutely beautiful in that dress wasn’t she, Belly?” Susannah spoke grabbing a glass of water from the kitchen.

“Yeah, I hope she picks that one. She said that she has one more shop to visit before deciding, but I think that was the one.”

“The one, what?” Conrad asked walking into the room.

“Oh, a dress,” Susannah replied.

“You found your dress already, Belly? That was quick,” he said as he turned his attention towards her.

“No, not me. We saw Y/n at the shop we went to today and she had this stunning dress on!” Belly answered excitedly wanting a reaction from Conrad.

“Oh.”

“You should’ve seen her, Connie. She looked unbelievably gorgeous in the dress,” Susannah gushed.

“She always is,” he muttered under his breath. 

“What was that, hun?” Susannah asked even though she fully heard what he said.

“Yeah, what’d you say Conrad?” Belly teased.

“Nothing, never mind,” he noted as Susannah walked out of the room.

 “Whatcha guys talking about?” Jeremiah questioned coming into the room and sitting next to Belly by the counter.

“Just Y/n,” Belly answered.

“Oh, yeah my friend was talking about her at the club yesterday,” Jeremiah replied.

“About what?” Conrad spoke in interest.

“Not much. He’s another lifeguard at the pool and how he wanted her number,” Jere shrugged. Belly stared at the glass of water that was under Conrad’s tightening grip as Jeremiah spoke.

“You will be seated at table two next to Isabel and Shayla,” Paige directed me to my seat. 

‘Oh kill me now,’ you thought when you saw who exactly was at the table. It was as if the world hated you, sitting at a table with girls you knew were all gossip and something up their ass. Good thing you at least had Belly.

“Y/n! I’m so glad you’re here,” Belly said as you took a seat next to her. 

“Me too, Bells.”

“Please tell me you picked the dress already,” she pleaded.

“Matter of fact, I did… And yes, it was the one you saw,” you smiled.

“Yes!” as she exclaimed it brought the attention of the other girls.

“So Belly, how is it living with Jeremiah and Conrad?” one of the girls asks her moving on from the interaction from before.

“What do you mean?” Belly asked not really understanding what they were actually asking.

“You know like I heard you and Jeremiah were a thing before,” another one said to Belly jealously.

“She still is,” I voiced out.

“So, what I’m getting is that Conrad is still up for grabs though?” a different girl butts into the topic. 

“I don’t know, Conrad is pretty quiet when it comes to him liking someone,” Belly answered. 

“Hey, Y/N! Do you think you could come over today? I need advice on a couple things and I think you’re probably the best person to talk to about them,” Belly asks me as we walk out of the brunch. You hesitated in your answer seeing that Belly had a mischievous grin on her face.

“Oh, Belly I don’t know…” you trailed off.

“Pleaseee?” she pleaded.

“What do you even need help for?”

“I picked out my dress for the ball but I still need to make a couple decisions before everything is final,” Belly said excitedly as we walked out of the club.

“Wouldn’t Susannah be better for this?” you say trying to make an excuse.

“Yeah but I miss spending time with you,” she said looking back at me. 

“Okay.”

You forgot the comfort the Fisher house brought somebody the second you walked in. It was as if Susannah Fisher embedded memories in every wall and decoration as you walked to Belly’s room. You passed Conrad’s room and were thankful the door was shut as you walked by. You didn’t know if you were ready to face him again. 

Hours had passed and you forgot the laughter that comes to this house. You and Belly had spent much time with each other before the accidental meeting at the dress shop. You missed her. Granted you missed quite a lot of people in this house whether you would admit that out loud or not. That was until he walked into the room.

“Belly, your mom wants you downstairs before dinner,” Conrad told her as he continued to mindlessly scroll on his phone.

You took notice of his hair being longer than before and took in his tall structure before you realized you were staring. You turned your attention to Belly who had the biggest smirk on her face. As if she had something planned. 

“Okay, Conrad. Do you mind staying for dinner, Y/N?” as your name fell from Belly’s mouth, Conrad looked up from his phone seeing you in the room looking at Belly with what seemed like a murderous glare. 

“I wouldn’t want to intrude,” you say making eye contact with Conrad.

“Oh, come on, you know damn well Susannah and Jere want to talk to you,” Belly responded looking back to you and Conrad. 

“I’ll let mom know to set an extra plate,” Conrad spoke as he walked out of the room.

“Belly, what was that for?” you yelled to her quietly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she shrugged heading downstairs.

“Oh, sweetie, I’m glad you’re here! I almost didn’t believe Conrad when he told me” Susannah said pulling you into a hug as you walked into the kitchen.

“Thank you for having me.”

“You’re always welcomed here,” she replied as she pressed a hand against your cheek motherly.

Now you knew they were trying to conduct some sort of plan. When you saw the only other open seat at the table was next to Conrad. But you decided to not put much thought into it as you took your seat.

“Y/N!” Jeremiah said surprised.

“Hey, Jere.”

“So I was talking with your mom on the phone earlier and she said you already applied to some universities?” Laurel questioned as everyone ate quietly turning their attention to you.

“Yeah, I did. Hopefully, I can add this whole debutante ball thing on my applications still,” you joked.

“Oh! About that beautiful dress, did you get it?” Susannah asked brightly.

“I did.”

“Sweetheart, you are going to be gorgeous in that dress,” she complimented as your cheeks turned bright red blushing.

“Thank you,” you said softly.

“Y/N, my friend wants to know if he could get your number? He’s one of the other lifeguards at the club,” Jeremiah said teasingly looking toward Conrad. Who seemed very focused on his food and had a death grip on his fork.

“Jere, I don’t know…” you trailed.

“Oh, you could do better than some pool boy, Y/N,” Conrad said bitterly. The light chatter that had built around the table completely fell silent when the boy spoke out.

“Excuse me?” you replied in disbelief.

“You heard me.”

“Okay, so how’s your college admissions, Steven?” you said wanting to move on from the topic.

You stayed at the house longer wanting to help clean up. Everyone seemed to split except Conrad who was also cleaning up the table. You felt the awkward tension building in the air and it made you uneasy. Both of you waiting for the other to speak out before talking.

“Conrad, what was that about?” you referred to the dinner.

“Nothing.” 

“Oh that’s bullshit and you know it,” you scoffed.

“Y/n, get over yourself,” he replied taking the dishes to the sink.

“No, Conrad because you shouldn’t care about that stuff.” as you gathered the cups.

“Okay, but I do,” he said as you walked next to him by the sink to set them down.

“Then stop.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re the one who wanted to end things between us, Conrad,” you snapped harshly.

“This isn’t about us.”

“Then why else do you care?” 

“I don’t.”

“You obviously do after what you said at dinner.”

“Just dropped it, Y/n.” as he grabbed a beer from the fridge opening it.

“No, Conrad. You cannot dictate who I choose to talk to in life just because you decided I wasn’t enough for you.” you said as your voice cracked.

“Don’t say that. When you know it’s not true.” he said putting down the beer looking back at you.

“You never even gave me a reason so my fault for assuming,” you said resentfully. 

“It was my fault and we both know it,” he voiced out. 

[dehydration-stati0n]

{Benn Beckman x Reader}

Rules Word Count: 0.6k Spoilers: None

Waves crashed against the side of the ship, gently rocking it. The cool night breeze made you shiver. Although, watching the ocean under the moonlight as the crews' muffled voices filled the normally peaceful air was worth being cold. You felt at home this way. 

There was a party going on. It wasn't for anything big. Some townspeople told Shanks about a holiday their people celebrated around this time and your captain took full advantage of that.

You smiled over at Benn as he approached you. He used to really intimidate you when you first joined the crew, but now his tall form and stoic expression make you feel at peace.

“Care if I smoke?” He asked. You shook your head in response. 

The crew gave you a sense of security you never thought you'd have. They made you feel like you belonged, and you'd do anything to keep them.

"Got bored of Shanks' rambling?" He asked, looking down to meet your eyes.

"It's like the only thing he can talk about is that one kid he met years ago."

The older man chuckled, "Just wait till you meet him."

"What about you? You already done drinking?" You questioned.

"I'm tired tonight." He shrugged, "Besides, I'd rather be standing out here with you."

"Aren't you sweet," You spoke, grinning as you leaned on the railing of the boat.

"I mean it. I like talking to you." It might've been the alcohol, but your face heated slightly at his words.

"Whatever." You muttered, averting your attention back to the water.

You tensed slightly when you felt one of his large calloused hands rest on top of yours. You glanced up at him, watching as he took a drag of his cigarette. Your heart started to pound a little quicker in your chest.

There was about a 20-year age gap between the two of you. You had always had a sort of crush on the graying man but figured that it'd never be reciprocated.

"S-So, when do you think we'll get to the next island?" You stuttered, still a little flustered and desperately wanting to change the subject to avoid getting any more embarrassed.

"Yassop was saying about a week," He began, "I think it'll be a little less than that though." His thumb rubbed circles on your knuckles, not helping your flushed state. “Is this ok?” He questioned, noticing how nervous you seemed to be.

You nodded, “Y-Yeah, it’s fine.” You responded, forcing yourself to relax.

You'd be lying if you said you never imagined a scenario like this in your head. Of course, you were a lot more confident in your daydreams.

“Oohhh~ Hey, guys get out here! We've got some love birds on our hands~” Shanks shouted, stumbling over his feet slightly as he approached you both, pushing you closer to Benn. Benn wrapped a protective arm around you to stabilize you as you fell into him.

“Watch it, Shanks, your drunk.” 

“Relax big guy, I know my own strength,” Shanks claimed, throwing his arm around Benn. “So are you guys together~” The pirate slurred, his breath reeking of alcohol.

"Look at how flustered (Y/N) is, of course, they're together." Lucky Roux Chimed in, coming to stand with the rest of you.

"Leave us alone, we're not together," Benn argued, flicking the cook's forehead.

The two drunk men just laughed, enjoying annoying their first mate. You managed to sneak away from them, getting tired of their teasing. You'd find Benn later that night to talk with him again. This party probably wasn't going to end till tomorrow afternoon anyway.

[weird-is-life]

When night falls, I am your escape #9

Sumarry: After avoiding her home town for a long time because of the boy who broke her heart. Y/N goes home to spend the longest time there in 15 years. The problem is that he is home, too. Daniel wants to reconnect with her, but she wants nothing more than to just avoid him.

Warnings: language

Chapters: 9/12

Words: 2.2k Masterlist

A few days later, I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. I didn't even check, who was calling me, I just picked up. I was ready to curse the hell out of some of my friends from London because I thought they were the ones, that forgot about the time zone and called me at that ridiculous hour.

"Hello?" I said very sleepily.

"Morning Y/N, it's Mike"

"Dude, are you seriously calling me at 7 fucking am?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" puzzled Mike.

"What's wrong with that? Some people are still sleeping at this ungodly hour, you know" I yawned.

"Sorry?" he said jokingly.

"Uhh whatever, I'm awake now. So what do you need?" I questioned.

"Right, so I wanted to ask if you would like to come on a hike with us" he quickly said.

"Wait what?" my only a few minutes awaken brain wasn't processing, what he was asking. "On a hike? With you? Who is us?" I quizzed.

"Yes on a hike. Me and a few other blokes, they are chill, you'll like them" I was 100% sure, that Daniel was one of the 'chill blokes', so I didn't even ask.

"Umm, I don't know if I feel up for it" I wasn't too lean on the idea. I mean, the feelings after a conversation with Daniel were still very raw, even if it was like a week ago.

"C'mon, it'll be fun. It's not very long and plus the view is really worth it" he tried to convince me. But I didn't even know why he was asking me in the first place. We haven't hung out in ages, it was weird. It probably had something to do with me and Daniel being relatively okay, now.

"I don't know" I was hesitating, on what to answer.

"Please, do you have anything better to do?" to be honest, no, I didn't have anything better to do, but the thought of hanging out with Daniel still made me a bit anxious.

"When do you want to go?"

"Yes yes, tomorrow early in the morning" he happily answered.

"Don't celebrate just yet, I didn't say yes. I'm just asking for more info" I still wasn't convinced about going with them.

"Oh come on Y/N, just say yes. It will be great, you'll see. Come with us, please, please, please " he pleaded.

It took a lot of convincing, but I eventually said yes. I didn't want to go, but Mike made it his mission to get Daniel and me back to being friends. So he spends a good few minutes convincing me.

We were to go as he said, early in the morning, from Daniel's house. We were going to carpool from there.

Also, I had no hiking clothes or shoes, so I had to go shopping. So my whole afternoon consisted of shopping and baking cookies for the hike.

---

The morning was tough. I mean, when was getting up at 5.30 a.m. easy, never. I still complained a lot, but in the end, I got ready, packed my backpack, which was completely full, and set out to get to Daniel's house.

I think I've been to his house so many times in the last few weeks, that I knew the way like the back of my palm.

If you think about it, it was like the universe was playing a joke on me. I mean, I came here with the intention of not being seen by anyone, especially Daniel, but now I was on my way to go on a hike with him.

Funny. Right? I thought so too.

This distracted my mind and before I knew it, I was getting my backpack out of my car and greeting everybody.

" What's up Y/N, you slept okay?" Mike greeted me.

"Hey, yeah, what about you," I asked, while I looked around for the other guys, but only Michael seemed to be out there.

"Yup, if you are wondering, where is everybody, they'll be out in a minute" he must have noticed my confused face.

"Alright, so which car are we taking?" I asked.

" The truck, I mean it's the biggest, we can fit all the things in there" he pointed at the car I remembered very well. Daniel drove drunk me in that car.

"Ahh that's great," I said with fake excitement. I mean, it was kind of embarrassing, to be honest.

"I'm gonna see, what's takin-" he didn't finish, because they came out of the house. It was only Daniel with some other guy, who I didn't recognize.

"Finally guys, what was taking you so fucking long? Anyways, Blake meets Y/N and Y/N meets Blake" Mike introduced the two of us.

"Nice to meet you," we both said at the same time and then chuckled.

"So is it gonna be just us four?" I asked.

"Yeah, there were supposed to be 5 of us, but one of us got sick, so yeah just 4," Mike said. Daniel was unusually quiet, so I looked at him, only to find him already looking at me.

But my focus snapped back to Michael who was ushering us to the car. He quickly seated himself behind the steering wheel and Blake followed his suit and sat down in the second front seat. That left me and Daniel in the backseat.

"Any music preferences?" Blake turned to look at me.

"Anything great," I said with a cheeky smile. I was very curious about what he would put on. To my surprise it wasn't bad at all, I enjoyed it quite a lot.

After he set the music, I and Blake talked. I learned a few things about him, like, that he works for Daniel, the same as Michael.

But Daniel was still pretty quiet, munching on some weird food. But that just as quickly changed.

"Do you want some? " he nudged my arm. I looked at what he was holding in his hands. I didn't want to just coldly turn him away, so I nodded.

"What is it?" I pointed at the unknown bag. I didn't know what he was offering me, because the front of it was turned his way.

"Try and see" he pushed the bag closer to me. I cautiously took the weird-looking food out of the bag and tried it. It looked disgusting and it tasted even worse. It was like I ate salty grass.

"Ugh, what the fuck is that" I slightly coughed.

"Dried seaweed," he said between laughs

"Yuck, you eat that?" I looked at him in disbelief.

"It isn't that bad" he defended himself.

"It really is" came a voice from the front, it was Blake.

"Right? Thank you" I agreed with him.

" It's only getting worse," I said and immediately reached for my water.

"Okay okay I get, you guys don't like it," he said defeated. You chuckled at that and then the conversation quieted down.

The whole car was almost quiet after that, except for the music playing and a few small talks.

I avoided Daniel's gaze the whole time, it just felt a little weird to be sitting almost right next to him. Yeah, it definitely felt weird.

But I tried to not feel like that, even spoke to him like 2 times.

Me being cool with him was still a work in progress. But the hike itself was much more chilled.

"So how long is it supposed to take?" I asked them.

" Around 3,5 hours" Michael replied.

"3,5 hours? That's quite a lot" I mentally prepared myself for the exhausting journey.

" Don't worry, it's not bad and not even that long. Mike just goes, like he is on his daily walks, so it takes us a little longer" Daniel approached you.

"He does walk really slowly" I laughed with him as Mike walked clueless next to Blake.

"He does, doesn't he? " he smiled at me once more time before he asked.

"Are you enjoying your time in Australia?"

"Umm, yeah. I missed it a lot, London is great, but home is home, you know " I said.

"That's true. I totally get that" of course he did. He was never home, always traveling.

"You live in London too, right?" I asked to make a casual conversation. I wanted to give him a chance to be friends again.

"Partly, when I'm not there, I'm in Monaco or wherever we are racing" the constant traveling sounded exhausting by only talking about it.

"It must be tough, flying so much," I said.

"Yeah, it is. But I'm living the dream, so I can't complain" he smiled.

"What's it like?" I had to ask him. It bugged me sometimes not knowing anything about his life, I mean, I was part of that dream once.

"It's great, I get to travel the world, and see some amazing places. I get to do what I love every day and it opened so many opportunities for me, so yeah I love it" he said enthusiastically. I could see that he really loves what he does.

"That's great" I replied and I didn't know what else to say to him.

"How about you? Do you like being a lawyer?"

"Yeah, sometimes it's a lot, but I get to help people, so yeah I love it, too" I didn't have much more to say.

"It's good to know you, ya know," he said with a smirk.

"What do you mean," I asked.

"I mean, that if I ever get in trouble, I know a pretty good lawyer to help me out" he laughed.

"How do you know I'd help you? " I raised my eyebrows teasingly.

"Wouldn't you?" it was his turn to raise his eyebrows in a cheeky way, now.

"I don't know, I would have to think about it" we were bantering like the old times, "but, hopefully, I won't ever have to do that " I chuckled.

"Hope not," he said and I thought that he was going to stay quiet after that but he added, " but you never know, I can be a bad boy, you know. "

"Okay bad boy, we should pick up our pace, we are falling behind the guys" I said with a laugh.

"We probably should, how the fuck did they get so far with Mike's snail walk" with that we went to join the guys and stayed with them the rest of the way up.

After exhausting 2 hours of walking, we finally got to the place. And let me tell you, it looked way better than I'd expected. The view was really beautiful.

"Let's take a photo together," Blake said to us all, while I was admiring the picture in front of me.

We got another hiker to take the photo. I stood awkwardly next to the guys until Daniel softly pulled me by my sleeve and put his hand around my shoulders. I relaxed and showed a real smile for the photos, which turned out great.

We didn't get to enjoy the view for very long, because we saw some rainy-looking clouds coming our way.

"Uh guys, we should probably go like really fast, those clouds don't look nice," I said with a bit of concern.

"Yup, we definitely should" we didn't waste any time and made our way down.

We were almost at the car, literally like one kilometer away from it, when it started pouring rain.

"Shit, run" I squealed and took off running with the guys at my heels.

The running didn't help one bit, by the time we got to the car, we were soaked.

"I feel like I have a lake in my shoe" I complained.

"Don't mind your shoe, what about my car, we can swim in it after?" Daniel said with a painful expression and I couldn't help but break into a fit of laughter. Soon after I was joined by all the guys.

When we finally calmed down, we all ushered Mike to quickly get us home.

"Hopefully we won't get sick," I said.

"You know what this reminded me of?" Daniel looked at me.

"Not really" I didn't know what he meant.

"That one time I threw you in the sea" he grinned.

"Ah yes, the excellent idea, that you had" I rolled my eyes.

"I remember that. You got sick, didn't you guys" Mike chipped in.

"I got sick and he didn't" I corrected him.

"I still don't understand how you didn't get sick" it annoyed me up to this day.

"It's the Ricciardo genes" he joked.

It was like that the whole ride back. We were all joking and laughing together. It felt nice, it felt right to be with them again. But when we finally got to Daniel's house, i said my goodbyes.

"I can let you borrow some of my clothes to change into. You don't need to drive home completely soaked to the bone " Daniel said.

"It's alright" I didn't want to overstep the begging of our friendship.

"Are you sure?" he asked concerned about me getting sick again.

"Yeah, I think I can survive 10 more minutes. But thank you, really" I appreciated his offer.

"Thank you for today guys. I had so much fun. Thank you. See you. It was lovely to meet you Blake " I gave them one last smile and left.

.....

Taglist: @wonderlandofsu @eniram-du @theworldofemmy @citylights31 @readerselegance @queenanababy @mgajdaaa @tall-tanned-tattoo

Thank you so much for reading. This took a little longer, but we got there. Also huuge thanks to my beautiful beta-reader, you are a real treasure🧡🧡. Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist. Have a great day and stay safe everybody. Peace out ☀️ Chapter#10

[miss-smutty]

The Destructive Secret

Chapter 7

A/N- I'm back! At least I think I am 😂 I wrote this while I was struggling with writer's block so I don't think it's great but the next chapter I'm working on I feel back to the old me 🥳🤞

Summary- Are your lies finally going to catch up to you?

Word count- 2.8K

Pairing- Chris Hems x reader x Liam Hems

Warnings- Mature themes, cheating, swearing, smut

Strictly 18+ only!

Disclaimer: This is an entire work of fiction/AU and has no affiliation to real life what so ever! This is a fictional story about fictional characters who happen to share names and faces with some real people.

Posted: 2nd Sept 2021

Taglist:- @innerpaperexpertcloud @pandaxnienke @chickensarentcheap @jjpogueprincess @longlostinanotherworld @mostly-marvel-musings @darklydeliciousdesires @monet-belle

The Destructive Secret Masterlist <

The guy turned to leave before looking back over his shoulder at the door, his hand on the door handle.

"If it makes any difference I would choose you over your brother any day." He winked as he left the room.

"What the actual fuck." You shout, storming out of the bathroom in a huff. "There's no way he's gunna stay quiet, it'll be all over the press come tomorrow." You paced the room, your heart beating fast as the adrenaline rushed through you. This was it, this was how it was all going to end. Liam would know as soon as he saw the headlines, all those late night and weekend conferences at the same time as Chris was conveniently away with work.

"To be fair, he does have good taste in men." Chris' usual nonchalance annoyed you, how come he could stay so calm? Why did he make you sound like a crazy person for actually worrying about what might happen.

"It's really not funny Chris, do you want our business known by strangers before we even have chance to speak to Liam and your Mom Chris, she's going to hate me." You feel the warm tears dripping down your cheeks before you even register you're crying. The thought of their mom hating you upsets you more than the thought of Liam hating you. Cathy, their mom was like your own mother, from day one she'd taken you under her wing.

"My Mom would love you no matter what, you know she thinks of you as her own daughter. It's me she's going to blame, Liam's her baby." 

"Yeah you're probably right but still what are we gunna do?" 

"Let's relax babe, you don't know what's going to happen and you can't change it if it does happen so what's the use in worrying about it. Come here."

"You piss me off Chris, you're so laid back. This isn't something you can just sweep under the carpet. It's serious." You needed to take your anger out on him, to let it all out so you could feel better. The four walls of the hotel room were becoming claustrophobic, you wish you could just put your headphones on and just run for a while to clear your head, that's what you usually did.

"I know it is but what can we do? I've done everything we can do, now it's out of our hands. We'll work it out tomorrow, can we enjoy our last night together without all the serious talk?" He raises his eyebrow at you, smiling that sweet, goofy smile of his that has your heart melting.

"You piss me off even more when you look at me like that. I can't stay mad at you and how could I say no to that?" You put your arms around his back, loving the way his height makes you feel so small and safe. He wraps his arms around you, stroking your hair and holding you close.

"That's why I love you yanno." 

"Why?" You ask, looking up at him through your eyelashes, your neck stretching to reach his height.

"Because you never say no." He laughs, a real laugh that you can feel on his toned stomach, shaking against you. It was the best feeling hearing him laugh like that, it'd been so long since you'd heard him laugh. Your life being full of a lot of drama and upset recently that you were appreciative of the little time you had left together.

"Maybe I should start then." You pout pretending to sulk.

"No way, I love how easy you are." He picks you up so you can wrap your legs around him, looking down on him for once. You punch him lightly on his shoulder, still pouting. "Ok, ok I'll stop teasing. You know why I love you though." 

"Tell me." 

He sits down on the end of the bed with you still in his arms, resting on his great big, thick thighs. He moves your hair behind your ears so he can see your face, studying it carefully with a look of adoration in his eyes.

"I love you because you're absolutely drop dead gorgeous, I mean the first time I met you, you literally knocked the air from my lungs. I've been obsessed with you ever since." He shuffles slightly beneath you, getting himself comfy. "This would never have happened with just anyone, I'm not a dick that goes around sleeping with his brothers girls." You give him a questioning look, your eyebrows furrowing. "Seriously, it took fucking everything in me to try and resist you. I'd never felt that before, never been one of them that wants what they can't have. Until I met you. Fuck me you were an absolute bombshell." You frown at him. "Are, still are a bombshell, don't look at me like that." He laughs.

"Tell me more." You whisper, feeling yourself tear up at his revelations as you run your hand through his hair, his eyes closing as you do.

"Am I stroking your ego?" He smiles slyly. "Do you remember the first time you met me?" 

"Of course I do, me and Liam had already been together a year but you'd been in Australia. I was eighteen, young and dumb..."

"And full of..." 

"Do not even finish that sentence, you're ruining the moment." He laughs at you but quickly gets back to being serious.

"You were eighteen and ridiculously mature for your age, I was twenty six and still acted like a teenager. I remember you walking in in that little denim skirt and tank top, smiling at me with that beautiful smile. The first thing I noticed was your eyes, the way they lit up when you smiled. You had me right at that moment, I was smitten. Then you introduced yourself as Liam's girlfriend and my heart sank." 

"I can't believe you remembered what i was wearing, it was twelve years ago." You kiss his forehead, holding his face in your hands. So glad you had the opportunity to talk like this, knowing all this made you know you hadn't made a mistake. "I was so nervous walking up to you, I'd only ever seen you on photos and crushing on you when you were in home and away. Then you're there in front of me looking sexy as hell and I knew I had to make a good impression."

"Little did you know, five years later I'd be bending you over that table and giving you everything you'd been searching for?" He questioned, raising his eyebrow at you with a smirk.

"No, dick! Little did I know you'd sweep me off my feet and make me question everything I ever knew." 

"I am a dick but that's why you love me isn't it?"

"Your ego definitely doesn't need stroking. I fell in love with Liam when I was still a girl and I fell in love with you when I was a woman. People change, needs change and..." 

"And I give you everything you need." His hand travelled to your ass pulling you into him, pressing against his growing erection.

"You do, you need to work on your arrogance though." You laugh. "But seriously I'm done with all this now, we can't go on like this anymore. I want all of you, all of the time."

"So you've made your decision." His lips part, his head resting against your forehead.

"Was there ever any doubt?" You question, running your finger over his lip and grinding against him subtly making him groan.

"Fuck Y/N, I fucking love you so much it's crazy." He says through gritted teeth, holding the small of your back as you raise your hips, your face contorting with need. "What would you do if I asked you to marry me?" His hand travelled down the back of your shorts, cupping your ass in his hands.

"What do you think?" You tease, taking his bottom lip in your teeth and pulling gently.

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking." His face was set seriously, he wasn't joking, he wanted to marry you.

"Of course I'd say yes, once we'd dealt with everything." You smile watching his face light up.

"You're going to be Mrs Hemsworth and mine, not Liam's. I can't fucking wait." He picks you up, gripping your ass making you squeel before planting you back on the bed on your back.

Leaning over you, his palm caressing your stomach, kneeding your breasts with his long fingers. His erection poking into your clothed heat.

"You're so fucking perfect, are you ready to cause destruction?" 

"Like now, in bed or?..." 

"You know what I mean." He laughs, reaching down to attach his lips to your neck, sucking gently.

"If it means I get you then yeah, I'm ready." 

"Right answer. You've made me the happiest fucking man in the world yanno?" His hand moves under your top, pushing it up to your chin as his lips finally meet yours. Kissing you deeply with everything he's got, your body rising from the bed to meet his.

"I think... I can... Make you even happier." You say between kisses, pushing down his boxers, your nails scratching his skin gently as you do. 

He rests on one elbow watching you free his cock from its barrier. You cup his balls in your hand, stroking along the length of his cock with the other. He groans, pushing himself into your hands.

"I'll be happier once I'm buried inside this perfect pussy." He kneels between your legs, pulling your panties off before hovering back over you.

"Go slow baby, I want to feel everything." You whisper.

"Fuck, I can't guarantee how long I'll last." He moans, lining himself up and slipping in making you both moan as his cock stretches your walls perfectly.

He rests on his elbows, holding your face in his hands as he gently thrusts into you, wrapping your legs around him and pushing him in further, deeper. Hitting your spot with the curl of his hips, agonisingly slowly. You look into each others eyes, his forehead resting against yours. Tears in your eyes from the intense intamacy.

"I love you Y/N." He declares gruffly, his voice deep with lust.

"I love you too." You whimper.

Moaning everytime his thighs connected with yours, flesh slapping together, bringing your hips up to meet him. Him grunting with every thrust, your sex noises filling the otherwise silent room. The sound like a symphony to your ears, turning you on even more to hear his exclamations of ecstacy.

"It's always been you Chris." You whisper, making his pace become sloppy, losing his composure and restraint at your words. You can see it on his face as it twists, his cock twitching inside of you.

"Come for me baby." He grits his teeth, the muscles in his jaw tightening as his body goes rigid.

"Ah fuck." He brings you over the edge with the last of his powerful thrusts, your legs shaking around him, the feeling of satisfaction melting through your body simultaneously. A proud look on his face as you both come together and he falls limply onto your sweat laced body.

You stay like that for a while, both enjoying the moment, his cock still twitching inside of you. The heaviness of his body burying you into the mattress but you don't complain.

You don't want him to move, you want to memorise the feel of his heaviness and how his cock feels inside of you. How his rough face feels against your smooth skin, his hair tickling under your chin. You trace the muscles on his back, the defined shoulders and lean waist. Your hands gripping his tight, round ass and you close your eyes, remembering every dip and ripple, dreading the thought of being without him in your arms for at least another couple of weeks.

"I don't know how I'm going to watch you walk away tomorrow." He rolls on to his side, pulling you into him. "I think that's the hardest thing to deal with out of everything."

"I was just thinking the same thing." You looked up at him through your eyelashes, your fingers brushing against his tight pecs. "You know we've been doing this for nearly 6 years now and I don't think I've ever felt as close to you as I do now. It's going to be even harder for me to leave this time." 

"I don't even want to think about it but we only have hours left together, what's our plan?" 

"You mean when and how do we tell Liam?" You ask sitting cross legged in the bed, reality kicking back in. You have to go home to Liam and leave Chris all over again, back to the lies and sneaking about.

"That and when am I going to be able to see you again? I don't want to wait as long as last time, you know how crazy i start getting when I don't see you." 

"We've got your cousin's wedding next week. I'll see you there." You risk a glance at him, pain set on his face.

"You'll see me but you'll be arm in arm with Liam and I'll be alone again." 

"How about once the weddings over and done with, we can tell Liam about us?" You watch his face change, like a little boy.

"A week? I can do that, I think. But I'm not going to the wedding alone." 

"What do you mean? A date? With who?" Panic laced in your voice.

"I don't know but I'm sure I won't be short of options." 

"Are you fucking with me? Liam thinks you're dating a married woman, where you going to find one of those?" 

"I don't know but I'm not turning up to a family party on my own again, my aunties can be fucking brutal." 

"Well don't expect to playing all happy families and me being all nice." You sulk.

"Are you jealous?" 

"Yeah, duhh."

"Come here." He pulls you into arms wrapping his legs around yours. Comfortable silence drifting over you both as he strokes your hair and you fall asleep in his arms.

***********

You wake up in the morning smiling, then remembering what day it is and that you have to leave to go back to boring reality and your smile fades. Chris stirring beside you, his muscly arm resting over your stomach, locking you in place.

"Chris, wake up." You whisper in his ear, admiring his sleepy, perfect face. "It's 9.30 we've gotta check out at 10." He makes an unrecognisable sound of exasperation, his eyes opening, puffy with sleep or lack of in this case.

"Aww man, can't we just stay in bed a little longer, I don't wanna let you go." 

"You need to go check out first so we don't leave the hotel at the same time." 

"Fuck sake. Back to reality it is then." He says all hint of jokiness gone from his tone as he sits up and rubs his eyes. 

"I'm afraid so, I need to go grab my things. Text me when you've left please." 

"Wow! I feel used, do I not even get a kiss before you run out on me?" 

"I was just dealing with the business before I dealt with the pleasure, like I'd just leave without giving you a kiss." You threw yourself on him, wrapping your legs around him as he leant against the headboard. Taking his lips in yours, open mouthed kisses that left you both breathless.

*****

You packed up the couple of things you'd actually taken out of your pull along suitcase, you'd spent most of the weekend naked or slobbing about in Chris' t-shirts so all your clothes were still folded and packed.

You were anxious about going home to Liam and having to pretend again, having to try and not slip up about where you'd actually been. You literally had to go through possible conversations in your mind, conjuring up imagined answers to Liam's possible questions so you didn't get caught out. It was hard work.

Then you got the text from Chris telling you he was out of the hotel and on the road back home, followed by how much of a good weekend he'd had and how much he loves you.

You couldn't help having a spring to your step as you walked through the lobby, a weekend full of love making and reminiscing would have that effect on anyone.

After you'd checked out, the anxiety set in, like stepping out of this hotel would be like stepping in to an alternate universe. A universe that wasn't simple and easy like it had been this weekend but stepping through those revolving doors would mean that will all end. This safe feeling of being alone, away from prying eyes would end as soon as you stepped foot outside and it did, a ominous feeling sweeping over you, goosebumps covering your flesh. Maybe you conjured up the feeling in your own mind, manifesting it into existence but you couldn't shake it.

A feeling of being watched, was it your imagination or not? You didn't know, all you knew was how much you wanted to get out of public and back home. As you stood in front of the hotel, picking up your suitcase to carry it down the stairs, something caught your eye. A flash. And then another flash coming from your peripheral.

[dam-multifandom-tingz]

MARICHAT MAY DAY 1

YAY

As purromised, here we go! Read the actual work here on Wattpad!

"Hey, Chat?" Ladybug asked quietly.

"Yes, m'lady?"

"I'm so sorry, but I won't be able to make patrol tonight. Are you okay being on your own? Just for the night, I promise to make it tomorrow!"

Chat smiled kindly at his partner, at her considerateness. "Of course, bugaboo, don't worry about a thing! Paris will be safe in my paws- er, hands!"

Ladybug giggled at his pun correction. Lately, he's noticed she's not as uptight over his joking or flirting—sometimes she even returns them.

"Thanks, kitty, I knew I could rely on you!" She wrapped her arms around his torso gently, smiling against his shoulder.

"No problem, m'lady," Chat replied, returning the side hug and squeezing her right shoulder lightly.

The two stayed like that for a few moments before she pulled away and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well, I should probably get going, are you sure you're okay with this?"

"Bugaboo, don't worry about me. I promise everything will be okay tonight."

Despite how worried she was, she grinned at him, noticing his features glowing in the evening sun.

"Thank you again. Bug out! See you tomorrow, chaton!"

He waved at her as she swung off, unbeknownst to him to become Marinette. She landed inside her bedroom, calling out her detransformation phrase.

"Spots off."

Tikki then appeared in front of her, smiling brightly. "Here you go, Tikki," Marinette said as she handed her kwami a macaron.

"Thank you, Marinette!" Tikki replied with her mouth full. Marinette giggled and sat down at her desk, continuing her latest design.

"How's the dress coming along?" her kwami asked curiously.

"Going pretty well, I'd say! I think I'm ready to start sewing today! I just need to pick up a few more rolls of fabric from the store and I'll be good," Marinette replied.

"Wait, what time is it?" She checked her phone, and it displayed 17:34. "Shoot, the fabric store closes soon! Let's go, Tikki!"

The kwami flew inside Marinette's purse as she raced downstairs to the bakery where her parents were.

"Mama, Papa, can I please, very quickly run to the fabric store? It'll be just a few minutes, 15 at most!"

Sabine smiled at her daughter, glancing at Tom, who nodded softly. "Of course, dear. And it's supposed to rain soon, take an umbrella!"

"Ah, right!" Marinette raced back to her room and quickly grabbed the umbrella Adrien gave to her what felt like years ago. "Thank you! I love you both so much! Be home soon!"

Tom noticed his wife's worried expression and started to reassure her. "Don't worry, honey, she should be back in time."

"I hope so." Their conversation was interrupted by a customer. "Oh, welcome! What would you like this evening?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"A few feet of silk, some more feet of chiffon..." Marinette let her fabric knowledge take over as she drifted away into the atmosphere of the store. "There we go!" She gathered everything clumsily, but successfully made her way over to the checkout without tripping.

"That will be €15, miss!" the cashier told her kindly as she started bagging the fabric.

Marinette handed her a €10 and €5 as she grabbed the bags. “Thank you!”

"Receipt?"

"Oh, yes please! Just, uh, stick it in a bag if you don't mind," Marinette replied, chuckling awkwardly.

"Have a nice night! Oh, and be careful! It's raining quite badly out there!"

"Thank you again! Stay safe as well!"

Before Marinette stepped out of the store, she put the bags down and opened the umbrella she brought to protect her fabric.

The rain was coming down much heavier every step Marinette walked home.

Little did she know Chat Noir was still patrolling and just happened to be nearby.

Dang it, this rain...not the best for cats, he thought. He was hopping from rooftop to rooftop and noticed a figure speed-walking home. At closer inspection, the figure turned out to be Marinette.

"Chat Noir?" Her voice snapped him back to reality.

"Oh, hey princess~" Chat replied flirtatiously, despite the shivering. Hopefully, she wouldn't notice...

"Chaton, you're shivering! How long have you been out here??!"

He thought too soon.

"Not long, and I'm fine! I'm not sh-shivering!"

Dang it.

She stood there, the most worried of expressions on her face, and as his eyes closed while he sneezed (very much representing a kitten), the rain stopped falling on him. He looked up and noticed her extending the umbrella she was holding so that he was protected and she was getting rained on.

"Marinette, don't worry about-"

"Do you remember how I got this umbrella?"

"Huh?"

"A very close friend offered it to me on his very first day of public school, the same moment I fell for him. I'm sure he'll won't mind if I lend it to another friend," Marinette said, her smile glowing in the streetlight glow.

Chat was speechless, on two accounts. One, he remembered that day like it happened yesterday. Two, she said "fell for." She was in love with him? Well, Adrien. But still him. He felt his face get hot, praying the rain around them would help him cool down.

She still held the umbrella out, waiting patiently for him to take it. He finally did, and he still couldn't say anything.

"Good. You need it more than I do, my place is only a few more blocks away, not much farther than a quick jog," Marinette told him like a concerned best friend.

"T-thank you, princess," Chat finally managed to say.

"Of course, chaton. See you next time!"

And with that, she waved and turned away, jogging towards the bakery.

"Wait!" Chat called.

"Yeah?"

"Let me take you home," he offered with a sweet smile.

"I...I couldn't ask you to do that," Marinette replied.

"I insist. I promise to take the umbrella if you accept."

She sighed and chuckled. "Alright, fine."

"Give me your bags," he offered gently.

Marinette handed them to him, thankful that there were only three.

"You got the umbrella?" Chat asked.

"Yep," she replied.

"Alright, hold on tight." He let Marinette adjust her bridal-style position in his arms. "You ready?"

She nodded with another smile, and soon enough the two took off.

A few rooftops later, they reached her terrace. The rain was coming down a lot less now, which they were both thankful for.

"Thank you, chaton," Marinette thanked him. "But just because the rain's dying down doesn't mean you get to leave the umbrella with me."

"I knew there was a catch," Chat chuckled. "I did promise, and how could I deny my princess such a thing?"

"You can't. I know karate. Plus, you love the bakery's goods, it would be a shame if you didn't get any more privileges," she responded, as if to intimidate him just a bit.

"Okay, okay, I get your point," Chat laughed. "See you tomorrow, princess." He blew a playful kiss to her before taking the umbrella and leaping off.

Once he was out of earshot, Marinette 'caught' the blown kiss slowly. "See you tomorrow, kitty," she whispered wistfully.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

See y’all for tomorrow—Ghibli AU! Quick heads up, it won’t be a one-shot :3

@marichatmay

[wanderinginksplot]

Warriors in Red Armor

Next | Masterlist

Chapter One

Hound I

"So, are we going to 79's tonight?" Hound asked. He had meant to be subtle about it, but the question burst out of him the moment his well-worn boots crossed the threshold of the small break space allotted to members of the Coruscant Guard.

As break spaces went, the one designated for the Coruscant Guard's clone troopers was an embarrassment. Some determined being had managed to cram a table and a handful of chairs inside, but it was a tight fit. If more than a few fully armored troopers went inside at the same time, none of them would get back out without removing some armor to clear the traffic jam. The lights flickered, the faucet leaked, the floor was always sticky, and the stuffy air held a hint of the chemicals that had been stored there years ago. Since then, the previous break space had been renovated into an office for one of the few nat-born commanding officers and this one had been created for the clone troopers.

Still, the smell of caf was stronger than the smell of chemicals most days and the light from a nearby advertisement screen lit the room so brightly that the flickering lights didn't give any of the troopers a migraine anymore. Hound always was a man who liked to see the glass as half-full. Maybe even a little more than half, if that glass was sitting under the dripping faucet.

Thire snorted at Hound's question, leaning back in his chair until gravity threatened to topple him. "Well, boys? Hound wants to know if we're going to 79's this lovely Friday evening. What do we think?"

Thorn glanced around the room, looking unamused by his brother's antics. "We think I'm the only other one here, di'kut."

"Exactly!" Thire said in triumph, obviously determined to ignore his fellow commander. "It's the weekend! Why wouldn't we go to 79's?"

"Because you've finally realized that it's a glorified zoo?" Thorn snapped, tone venomous. "79's is where civvies go to stare at clone troopers so they can feel like they're being daring. In reality, they're being irritating."

Having spoken his piece, Thorn tossed back the last of his cup of caf, always consumed as dark as his mood. Hound shuddered at the thought. Corrie Guard caf was brewed at the approximate concentration of speeder fuel and could eat through duracrete. Only a trooper who hated himself would drink it black.

Thorn always drank it black.

"So you don't want to go?" Hound asked again, sounding heartbroken.

"No, I'll go," Thorn told him. "Zoo or not, 79's still has the cheapest booze on Coruscant that doesn't use poison as a mixer."

"Well, that's the most excited I've heard Thorn get about anything for a week, at least," Thire smirked. "Commander Fox, you want in on this?"

The Head Commander of the Coruscant Guard, having just stepped into the break room to fill his mug with caf, shook his head. "No, I'm on duty tonight. The Clone Rights group has been cleared to march and the Chancellor wants an extra Guard presence. Stone will be stuck here as well, monitoring any new arrivals."

"Ugh," Hound said, summarizing everyone else's point of view. "Well, we'll be thinking of you both, Commander."

Fox lowered the datapad in his hand to shoot a look in Hound's direction. "Sergeant, don't you have that ARF PR stunt tomorrow at 0800?"

Hound shrugged. "Yeah, but I can do both."

"Make sure you don't miss it," Fox ordered sternly. "The last thing I need is to have to report to the Chancellor that you missed a chance to give the GAR a boost in civil opinion."

Hound saluted and Fox turned his attention to the other break room occupants. "Thorn, if you let your stubble get any longer, it'll be considered a beard and subject to facial hair regulations. Thire, sit on the chair like a normal being, would you?"

Thorn nodded and Thire grinned as he let the chair's legs slam onto the floor. Fox rolled his eyes at their antics, refilled his cup of caf, and left the break area. Hound idly wondered how many of the gray hairs appearing at the Head Commander's temples were due to the commanding officer team. Still, the Chancellor had let Fox choose his own team of COs, so there was no one to blame but himself.

"Meet at 2100?" Thire asked. "That's prime time for 79's and there'll be plenty of talent. I'll go ahead and apologize, vode. When you look this good, you automatically get your pick of the females."

Thire brushed a hand back across his hair - meticulously trimmed to maintain the subtle horizontal lines shaved into the otherwise regulation cut - and grinned at the other two. Hound and Thire rolled their eyes, but agreed anyway.

---

Kai I

"Hey, do you guys want to go to 79's tonight?" Kai asked, perched on the desk she was supposed to be sitting behind. She was always restless and neither of the other women blamed her for the odd choice of seat - even though it made inter-desk communication a bit of a pain.

Arkularia - who, for the sake of Kai's sanity, allowed the others to call her 'Ark' - was the first to respond. "79's? The clone bar?"

"Do you want to drink, dance, or find a one-night stand?" Ransom asked from behind her expansive tech setup. "Because there are better places for any of those. Closer, too."

"No, I want to go to 79's," Kai said, kicking up her chin. "And as for what I want… I want all of them. All three options, please and thank you."

"Did you just try to order a night out? Like from a menu?" Ransom asked. From the tone of her voice, Kai had managed to earn a rare smile from her boss. Of course, that was only a guess since Ransom didn't emerge from her den so Kai could verify the expression.

"No… but can you imagine how much easier that would be?" Kai asked in her own defense.

"It would take some of the fun out of it, I think," Ark said slowly.

Kai chucked a wad of flimsi at her friend and co-worker's head, cheering to herself as it connected and bounced off of Ark's white-blonde hair. "I know that, Ark! C'mon guys, do you want to come to 79's with me or not?"

"I'm out," Ransom said immediately, shutting down the projector option on her desk. She was still illuminated by the ambient light from the schematics on her datapad. The cybernetic implants in Ransom's arm gleamed in the blue glow as she dragged a hand over her shaved head. "I have to work late if we have any hope of finishing our next job on time."

"Ark?" Kai asked, not too proud to sound like she was begging.

Ark sighed, pale eyes hopeless in the face of Kai's wheedling. "Fine, I'll go along."

"Yes!"

"Ransom, are you sure you can't come, too?" Ark asked, her voice a bit desperate.

"I really do have to stay and work on this," Ransom apologized, gesturing at her assortment of datapads. "My condolences."

"We're going to a club, not facing a firing squad!" Kai admonished. "Besides, I just want to find someone fun."

"Like that last guy?" Ark asked, squinting a bit as she applied her prodigious memory to her own question. "What was his name?"

"Not sure," Kai admitted. "But he was so much fun! Great tattoos."

"So you are looking for a hookup! I knew it," Ransom crowed.

Ark frowned. "Why a clone trooper? They're never on-planet for long before they have to leave."

"Exactly," Kai said with a wink. "Love 'em and leave 'em."

"Didn't the last one stick around for a while? I thought I remembered seeing him more than a few times…" Ark pondered.

"Hardcase! His name was Hardcase," Ransom remembered. "He came by every day of his leave."

"Strange name," Ark commented.

"Strange guy," Ransom said with a shrug.

"But he was hot," Kai countered, folding a piece of flimsi to look like a tooka. At least it did in her imagination. "And so much fun. I need another someone like him."

"What happened to him?" Ark asked curiously.

Kai would have blushed if she had any shame - too bad for Coruscant that she didn't. Instead, she pouted. "He moved on with a Zeltron who works at GAR headquarters. That's the best place to meet troopers, but they don't give access to civilians unless they have official business."

"Hardcase didn't seem like the type to ghost you out of nowhere," Ransom mused.

"I… may have freaked out about him asking me to be his girlfriend," Kai admitted. "I don't want anything serious, you know? Besides, I'm the one who introduced him to the new girl. She's a sweetheart. He adores her and she's the same about him. Can't be too upset with that."

Ark and Ransom exchanged loaded glances, but Kai had no interest in a therapy session. "Right! So, Ransom, you're still out?"

"I have no interest in coming along and I have work to do here."

"Well, that was almost nice," Kai congratulated. "Ark, it's you and me. When should we go?"

Ark shrugged. "Why don't we just stop there on the way home from work?"

"Are you kidding?" Kai asked, aghast at the idea. "We aren't exactly wearing Senatorial dress, but we're still too professional for a club! No, we need to go home, change, and meet there. How long do you need?"

"I don't know… half an hour?"

"How long do you need to find an outfit that makes sense in a club setting?" Kai rephrased her question.

"Two hours," Ark corrected herself, sounding sheepish.

"That's more like it," Kai said, satisfied. Her look turned wicked as she said, "Now, let's talk about makeup…"

"Are you sure you don't need any help here, Ransom?" Ark asked their boss, her eyes widening with hidden significance.

"No, it's too late!" Kai denied. "Meet me at my apartment and I'll help you. Let's say eight."

Ark glanced back at Ransom, who gave a sympathetic shrug. Ark sighed. "Fine, eight."

---

A/N - Hello, and welcome to yet another Clone Wars-based story! I can't leave these poor guys alone. They deserve so much more than they got! So, you may have noticed that some of the characters are a bit different from the way they are normally portrayed in fan fiction. The first fic I read with the Coruscant Guard had Thire as a happy joking guy and Thorn as a serious doom-and-gloom trooper. I'm coming to realize that is not typical for fanon interpretations, but those characterizations are embedded in my mind. I hope you didn't find this too jarring!

I'm experimenting with a new Game of Thrones-style POV tracking format. Hopefully that will keep things from getting too confusing as we bounce back and forth across eight different POVs! I apologize for the short length of this chapter, but it's just a simple introduction of (most of) the characters.

[avungerthatgotaway]

Baby it's the Sign of the Times

Eyoo guyzz! This is a new oneshot, I hope you like this❄ I'm currently rewriting my Hawkeye fic, so I'm not gonna post that one for a little. This one is a bit longer than my previous ones.

I totally recommend you to listen to this song while reading, even if you're not a fan of Harry's. It will really help the mood.

I don't own anything, even tho I'd like to have a few... choice words with Russo brothers about endgame...👍🏼🤔

Warnings: none

Summary: events when Peggy dies, mainly before Steve goes to London, and you comfort him. (I know it's stupid summary, but I don't want to spoil it, sorry)

Genre: angst

I don't mention civil war at all. No other avengers are at Peggy's funeral. There are no romantical pairings, and Sharon is not mentioned cuz she doesn't fit in the storylineeee.

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

She's gone.

In her sleep.

This words crushed Steve inside. He knew this was coming, but he'd never be ready for it, no matter what.

When he came from ice, he met her again. He knew they could never be together. No matter his actual age, Steve still had a full life in front of him. Unfortunately, same couldn't be told for Peggy.

Oh Peggy... She was always his ray of sunshine. Even through darkest of days. It is a cliché, but she was.

Was.

She is gone now.

Why did she have to go? Why didn't he get to spend a life with her? Steve's biggest wish was, and always will be, to spend a happy life with her. He didn't want any of this famous captain shit. He wanted a house in a village and 2 kids with Peggy. And a little dog. Or they'd be of service, and fight next to each other. Nevermind, Steve wanted a life with Peggy. For them to watch each other go grey. Maybe he could've been there for her as a husband now, through her sickness. Or maybe he'd be the one to go first. But still, that'd be a life...

One tear slipped down his rosy cheek, the other one following. Soon he had tearstains on his cheeks, but he didn't care. It was a silent cry. Those carry the most pain.

"Eyo, capsicle! You good there?" Tony snapped him outta his thoughts. Steve forgot the whole team was in the room. Fortunately, he was turned, so they were facing his back. He just couldn't talk to anyone right now.

"Yea yea, I'm good. I gotta go." he quickly got up and exited the room. He climbed up the stairs 2 more floors, but his toughts started haunting him again.

He's going on a plane tomorrow morning to say goodbye for the last time. Oh God, even thinking of a last time kills Steve inside. It's pretty late, but he didn't know what to do until morning. Sleeping wasn't an option, he knew that much. He gave in to overthinking again.

Of Peggy. Of her life. Of what could've happened if he didn't freeze...

"Just stop your crying, it's a sign of the times..."

"...welcome to the final show..."

"...I hope you're wearing your best clothes..."

Steve heard a silent piano in the background, and he heard an angelic voice. He still had tearstained cheeks, but he needed to hear what the voice had to say.

"...you can't bribe the door on your way to the sky..."

He was still clutching his cellphone in his hand, while following the voice. He came in front of Y/N's room. Y/N was a 16 year old avenger. She was very mature and wise for her age.

Her door was opened, and he just leaned against the doorframe, listening to her beautiful voice.

"...if we never learn, we been here before..."

"... why are we always stuck and running from the bullets..."

"...they told me that the end is near..."

Steve was crying a river at this point, and he didn't care. First shock was wearing out, and silent cries became little sobs. Yet, not loud enough for Y/N to hear.

"...just stop your crying, baby it'll be alright..."

"...we got to get away..."

She played final chords on piano, and then she turned around.

2nd person POV

You were singing "Sign of the times" and playing your piano. You loved this song. It was helping you relax, the melody was perfect. During the few last, silent piano chords, you tought you heard something. You softly finished and turned around. It was Steve.

But not the Steve you knew. This one had red puffy eyes, swollen from crying. He was sobbing quietly, trying to stop the sobs, but he couldn't.

You slowly came up to him, like to a wounded animal. He was just so hurt, you could see it in his eyes. You felt bad for him, but you wanted to know what happened. Who could hurt Stevie so badly.

"What happened, Big Guy?" you asked him. Steve just kept on sobbing even harder.

You moved him a little, so he was in your room, and you closed the door. You lead him to your bed, and sit on it, next to him. He was clutching his phone tightly in his hand, so you lifted his hand and gently tried to take it. He wouldn't let it go. You don't wanna pressure him, but whatever is on that phone is causing him this much distress.

"Stevie, cmon big babe" you cooed and rubbed the back of his hand with your thumbs. It may sound strange so someone, but Stevie really was like a big baby, so fluffy and vunerable inside.

He gave in and the phone just slipped from his hand in yours. You read the text and everyting was clear right away. You knew he went to visit Peggy in hospital, you didn't know she was this bad. I mean, Steve and you were close, but still that's too personal. You felt sooo sorry for him. He didn't deserve it. Not now. Not ever.

"Ohh, I'm so sorry Stevie..."

You immidiately hugged him close to you. He burried his head in your shoulder and neck, crying his eyes out, but at the same time trying not to cry. At least not to sob.

"Stevie, bear, it's okay to cry. Just let it all out."

That was all he needed. He started crying and sobbing uncontrollably, and your shirt was soaked in his tears. You didn't mind it tho, if it'll help him to feel better afterwards, he can cry as much as he needs.

After some time he lifted his head and looked into your eyes with his puffy baby blues.

"I'm sorry, Flower, I-I ju-ust can't believe s-s-she's go-one-e" he was still crying. You could see how much Peggy meant to him. You hugged him again, tugging at his hair softly to comfort him.

"Hey, hey no need to apologise Stevie. You cry yourself out, it'll help you. I'm here for you, Bear."

"T-tha-ank you. A-and and please... ca-can you-u not tell a-anyone about he-er ye-et..."

"Shhhh, Bear, I won't tell anyone about her. You wait until you're ready." you whispered.

You understood him. Not everyone in the team knew Peggy existed. And now telling them that she died, and what happened with them would be too much for Steve.

"T-thanks"

"Shhh, it's okay, it's okay." you whispered. You whispered to soothe him, you didn't know what to do when someone's loved one dies. But you wanted to be there for Steve so badly. Little did you know that what you did was just perfect for Steve.

-

Steve at first felt ashamed, because he cried in front of Y/N. But she talked just enough, whispering soothingly. He didn't have streinght to act like a big guy anymore. He craved comfort so badly, and he got it from Y/N. It felt nice.

-

Back to 2nd person POV

Something was bothering you. Steve didn't want anyone to know about Peggy's death which meant he was probably going to funeral alone. You didn't want that for him. At least he needed someone to be with afterwards. You knew Steve and how sensitive he was. You didn't want to think of things going through his head while he's alone after funeral. But if it was in London, as you tought it was, you had a plan.

"Stevie?" you said quietly playing with his hair a little.

"Mhm?" he asked, face still in your shoulder.

"When is Peggy's funeral? Is anyone going with you?" you asked. He lifted his head a little.

"T-tomorrow. L-london. And no. It's too much-h t-trouble for anyone. And I know it is Y/N, do-don't try to o--object" he smiled through his tears. You smiled back at him, your own eyes glistening with tears a little, but you didn't want him to notice.

He burried his head in your shoulder and neck again, like it was his safeplace, and he just cried. You couldn't imagine where those tears come from.

You softly stroked his short blonde locks, and started singing.

"Just stop your crying, it's the sign of the times...

...welcome to the final show

...I hope you're wearing your best clothes..."

Half into the song, you felt more weight on your shoulder. You looked down, and realised Steve fell asleep. You pressed one kiss to his temple, and moved him, so he was lying in your bed.

"Good night, Stevie Bear." you whispered.

-

When you exited your room quietly, you immediately called your best friend, Jon.

It was 2am, but you and Jon were just the best friends, you could call him whenever, and other way around.

Him and his family were going to London, and he invited you to go with them. You declined the offer, because you had to study so. so. much. But this was way more important.

"Heey, Jonny. Is that London offer still on?

Great. When are you going?

Ohhh, in 2 hours?

Yea, I'll be there. Thanks

And by the way, I'll have somewhere to go to tomorrow, around 4pm, I hope you guys don't mind.

Ohh cool. Thank you bruhhhh. Byee"

Great news. They still had a plain ticked to spare, and they'll pick you up soon.

You quickly packed your stuff, careful not to wake up Stevie. Poor baby. With everything he's been through, and now his Peggy dies...

You tell JARVIS to tell Tony you're in your friends house, and to wake up Steve 'round 6am. His flight was in 7. You knew this, and which Church it was in at what time because you did a little research. Aka, asked JARVIS for help. AI already heard everything, so it wasn't news.

You left the tower and went to meet up with Jon and his family.

-

Steve woke up by alarm ringing at 6am. He immediately realised he's not in his room. He was in Y/N's. And then he remembered how you comforted him. He was so thankful for you. Even though, you weren't here, and it was confusing. You probably went to sleep on the couch, or in some other room, and Steve felt bad about it. He quickly got ready, and tried to find you, so he could get you back to your bed. Fortunately JARVIS easened his search.

"Mr. Rogers, ms. L/N went on a trip with her friend a few hours ago."

"Oh. Thanks JARVIS." Steve said, and left the building. You didn't mention any trips, but then again, you two didn't talk anything except Peggy tonight.

-

(timeskip to Peggy's funeral, cuz no one wants to listen about the trip now)

-

3rd person POV

It's so devastating to attend a funeral on your own.

Even more so if it's a funeral of your lost loved one.

Maybe Steve should've brought someone with him. For comfort. At least to feel the familiar presence. He carried Peggy's coffin, and it was enough to make him feel empty and sad. It was nearing to the end of funeral, and Steve didn't want to be alone. He wanted comfort. Like when Y/N comforted him last night.

After the ceremony ended, he stayed behind a little. He craved someone's presence. Anyone familiar. And then he felt a smal hand on his shoulder. He turned around, and it was Y/N. At first, he tought he was hallucinating. But her petite hand on his shoulder felt so real. He felt so grateful for this small human being at the moment, he just wanted to thank God over and over for having her with him.

"Y/N, Flower, what are you doing here?" he asked, still in shock.

"Hey Bear. I figured out you could use some company after the funeral. But if you wanna be alone, I understand, I'll go."

"No no, I mean, if you can stay, it would mean a world to me. You really know me better than I know myself sometimes Y/N. Thank you so much, Flower." he said, and immediately came for a hug. You hugged back, of course.

"I'll stay for as long as you want, Bear. I'm here for you, as long as you want me to stay."

"I want you to stay forever kiddo" he mumbed in your hair.

"Forever it is."

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

@afictionaladventure16 @rae-is-typing @elles-writing @avengersarchive @avengersuniverse

[jatpsometimes]

hello everyone, I return with more angst, this time, Willex!

As The World Caves In

Words: 2,554

Summary: 90s Alive AU where Sunset Curve performed in the Orpheum and are now rising stars. Alex and Willie have met and began dating shortly after the show. Around a year of their relationship, Willie falls seriously ill, and Alex is there to support him.

Disclaimers:

The boys are all around 18, as this is set a year after the orpheum performance where they were all 17.

The boys did not die in this AU, merely just had a bad case of food poisoning.

As this is set in the 90s, Flynn, Julie, Nick and other characters do not exist.

This is based on the assumption that Willie was also alive and 17 in the 90s.

I do not own any of these characters, however both Willie and Alex's parents are my own interpretations.

Ao3 link:

@thedragonemperess

   Alex looks at Willie's face, and smiles weakly. Willie looks...weaker, than usual, and was clearly trying to put on a brave face for his much loved boyfriend. 

   "How do you feel today?" Alex asks, gently.

    "...Better, I think." Wille replies, sheepishly. 

     "Willie, you don't have to pretend you feel okay, you know that, right?" says Alex. 

      "...You're right...well then, my chest hurts when I breathe, and I feel constantly tired. The other day, Reggie brought me in food that his mom made specifically for me, and it looked great and it smelt divine, but I couldn’t muster the appetite to eat it. He just looked so...disappointed, Alex."

   Alex sighed, and took Willie's hand. 

    "He understands though. It's...it's harder on you, and we both know Reggie would never hold it against you."

     "I know just-" Willie begins coughing violently mid sentence, "...Sorry. But it's just, I hate feeling so...useless, y'know? I want to get out and function like a normal person, but even getting out of bed winds me for the next hour, never mind walking out of here."

   Willie looks at Alex. His eyes are so...tired looking. Alex's heart breaks a little more at the sight. Willie's eyes, the eyes that were always so bright and full of life looked so dull now. His face which always bore a smile, so...gray looking, skinnier. Even his arms which Alex loved to be held in were weaker. And yet he was still the man Alex loved, and would continue to love. 

   "Willie...I...look, you just..." Alex stammers over his words.

    "Hotdog. It's okay. I know you're worried, but really, I'll be okay. I'm doing better than I look, the doctors say so. And lord knows they're being paid enough to tell the truth." 

   Alex laughs weakly. Willie still has his sense of humour. That has to be good, right?

   Right.

    A nurse enters the room to inform Alex that visiting hours end soon. Alex nods, and says he'll be out in a bit.

   "You have to go?" Willie says sadly. 

    "...Yeah. I do." 

     "...You'll be back tomorrow though, right?" 

      "Of course. Of course I will."

   Alex kisses Willie gently on the forehead.

    "Is that it?" Willie says, a smirk on his face.

     "Oh- Uh-" Alex stammers as his face turns bright red.

      "You don't have to, you know? I was teasing." 

       "No- I- I just wasn't expecting to hear it. But since you asked," Alex leans in, "sure, that's not all."

   Alex kisses Willie passionately, moving one hand to Willie's shoulder, and the other running through his hair. Willie pulls Alex in closer in suit. The two break apart, both smiling wide.

   "That certainly wasn't all then." Willie laughs.

   "What a 'bye for now', huh?" Alex says, his face still red from his moment of bravery.

    "For now," Willie says, pausing for a second "I love you, Alex." he adds.

   Alex stares at him for a second, unsure of what he just heard. 

   "...I love you too, Willie." 

 

 

   A few months later, Alex is visiting Willie again. Willie is still hesitant to admit it, but with his recently shaved head and the numerous more machines beeping and such around his bed, it is clear to Alex that his condition is worsening.

   "Stay still, will you? I don't want to nick you." Alex says as he slowly, carefully, shaves the recently appeared stubble on Willie's face. 

   Willie does not reply but does become more still, merely watching Alex as he shaves his face with such care.

   "There. Feel better?" Alex asks as he prepares to shave Willie's head. 

   "...Yeah." Willie says, hoarsely. 

    "I'm gonna help you sit up now so I can get your head, okay?" 

      "Sure." Willie says. As Alex helps him sit up, he starts coughing again. When he moves his hand away from his mouth, there are a few drops of blood. He makes hesitant eye contact with Alex, who, aware that Willie doesn't want to be made a fuss over, merely cleans his hand and sighs softly.

   As Alex lathers his head with shaving cream, Willie starts to cry softly. When he notices, Alex stops, cleans off his hands, and sits on the bed beside him.

   "Willie...what's happened, dear?"

    "They, uh...they told me the results of my scan yesterday. The lung cancer...it's progressed. It's spread to my kidneys now. Alex...they uh, they aren’t giving me long to live."

   Alex's shoulders slump in defeat. All the fighting...all the effort and the pain. Willie even lost his hair trying to fight off cancer and...for nothing. Alex stands up, wordlessly, and begins to shave Willie's head. 

   "So, you're just...saying nothing?" Willie says, a tangible note of hurt in his voice.

   Alex bites his lip to stifle a sob. He can't cry in front of Willie right now. Willie is the one who's allowed to cry right now. He keeps shaving. 

   "Alex. Please. Say something...anything."

    Alex lets out a sob, and immediately he feels Willie tense up. 

   "Alex-" Willie starts as he tries to turn around.

    "No, please. Just...just let me finish shaving, please." Alex says, his voice breaking slightly.

   Willie turns around again, facing away from Alex, and lets him finish shaving his head.

   When visiting hours end that evening, Alex hugs Willie as tight as he can without hurting, and pats Willie's back as he sobs and yells into Alex's shoulder. He says it'll be okay, he tries to comfort him, but they both know this can't possibly ever be okay.

 

 

   Alex is in a mall with the other three boys. In front of them is a case of rings. A jeweller walks over to them. 

   "Ah, you're-"

    "Sunset Curve! Tell your friends." cuts in Reggie. The boys laugh.

     "...Yes. My daughter loves you, she's booked tickets to your next tour."

      "Ah! A fan! Or...well, rather a parent of a fan." Says Luke, excitedly.

       "Indeed. Well, how may I help you boys today?"

        "Well, uh, we're looking for a ring." Alex says. 

         "I think, if you follow me this way, you'll find more what you're looking for? This is the...engagement ring section."

   The boys look at her blankly. 

    "Oh. Well, someone's a lucky girl-"

     "A lucky boy, actually." They correct her, all looking towards Alex, who currently looks rather sheepish. The jeweller makes an "oh" face. 

   "Well then, Mr. Mercer? I think this ring right here will be perfectly suited."

   She points to a silver band.

    "We do ring engraving too, if that's your thing."

   Alex looks at the boys. They smile at him and nod, already knowing what he's thinking. 

 

 

   Willie and Alex's parents crowd into the small hospital room. All four of them look ecstatic, an odd sight for a room with a dying man in it. Outside, Luke, Reggie and Bobby are fighting to get a good look.

   "Alex, love...what on earth are you doing?"

   Alex laughs, his hands shaking behind his back. He looks to his parents, who nod, then Willie's, who smile at him. He gets down on one knee beside the hospital bed.

   "Willie, I have loved you since the day I met you backstage at the orpheum. I have loved you since you looked after me during the aftermath of that nasty ass hotdog, and I have loved you since you stayed by me when I came out."

   Willie looks at him, unsure of how to react to what he's hearing. Alex brings out the ring box from behind his back.

   "I know that we can't legally get married. And I know that it will never feel properly real because of that. But Willie...if I could..." Alex trails off.

   "...Go on." Willie says, quietly.

    "Willie...I- Will you marry me?" 

   The energy from the couples' parents in the corner of the room is electric.

   "Of course, Alex. Of course."

    Alex breathes a sigh of relief and stands up to give Willie the ring. The boys cheer and whoop from outside the room, before being shushed, because people are dying here.

   "Alex...did you- did you get a hotdog engraved on this?"

   Alex smiles slightly.

   "I love it. I fucking love it." Willie says, as he lets Alex slide the ring onto his finger.

    "And look," Alex says, pulling out his own counterpart ring from his pocket "mines has a skateboard."

   Willie laughs, the first genuine laugh he's had in a while, but then in a snap back to reality, begins coughing harshly, and both Alex and his parents rush to hold him, and wipe his face of the blood spatters. 

   The rest of visiting hours are spent sneaking the boys a toast of champagne - for they know Willie won't live to 21 - as well as sharing baby photos and many, many congratulations. 

   Days later, Willie signs a deed poll to change his surname to Mercer. Both Alex and Willie reason it's as close as they'll ever get to marriage.

 

 

   A month later, the nights get colder faster now, and Alex notices it more than he ever has as he speeds to Willie's hospital at 11 at night. As his listed emergency contact, the hospital have contacted him as well as Willie's parents. Alex is trying desperately to calm his breathing to concentrate at the wheel before he causes an accident, to little aid, as his vision is blurred by tears anyway. 

   He doesn’t even lock his car doors as he bolts to Willie's room. He can hear multiple doctors in the room, all discussing what's and how's and when's. Alex begs them for information but as he's neither the patient, a (legal) spouse, or a next of kin, they can tell him nothing. When Willie's parents arrive shortly after, they are informed that Willie has went into kidney failure, and as his cancer has already metastasised, a transplant would only delay the inevitable, information they immediately relay to Alex. The doctors give Willie a few hours at most.

   Alex cries quietly at Willie's bedside, holding his hand as he watches his chest rise and fall slowly. The doctors have put him on morphine, to make his passing easier, more comfortable on him. Willie's parents stand behind Alex, Willie's father placing his hand on Alex's shoulder as comfort. 

   "Son...do you want us to give you a minute?" Willie's father asks. Alex nods quietly.

   When he hears the door click shut, Alex lifts his head to look at Willie. 

   "Willie..why'd it have to be you?" he says quietly, weakly as he cups Willie's face and his thumb strokes his cheek. This isn't how it should have been. They should have been able to grow up together, get old, maybe even someday, possibly, get married. They should have been able to hopefully adopt a few kids, to watch them grow up and become adults of their own. And yet here Alex sat, being robbed of his first, his only love.

   Alex buries his head into Willie's hospital gown. He cries out when all he receives is the horrible, sterile smell rather than what he wanted, Willie's warm, wood-ish smell. He doesn't have Willie's hair to stroke, it was all shaved off when the chemo started making it fall out. He looks at Willie's face again. He looks so...fragile. Alex's heart is shattering and he doesn’t know if he'll ever put the pieces back together again. 

   Willie's parents enter the room again, hot drinks in hand, and Willie's equally distraught mother hand Alex a coffee with a weak smile. Alex sips it, and grimaces at the bitter, yet watery taste. Nonetheless he is thankful for the caffeine. 

   A few hours later, while Alex and Willie's parents are engaged in light conversation, Willie's heart monitor starts beeping loudly in an alarm. When the three of them look at the monitor, they can see that Willie is flatlining. 

   "No. No. No this can't- No!" Alex starts shouting. He grabs Willie by the shoulders and shakes him. "Come on Willie, please, no, not now, please-"

   Doctors flood into the room, and Willie's father pulls Alex back out of their way. Alex struggles to get loose but eventually goes limp as he sinks to the floor to wail in grief. The doctors, unable to do anything due to Willie's D.N.R, stand to one side and turn off the alarm. 

   "Time of Death...1:32AM..." one of them says, flatly. 

   

 

   Days later, at Willie's funeral, Alex seems to have been cried out. Even as one of the pallbearers, Alex's face just remains blank, empty. He sits at the front, with Willie's family. He even comforts Willie's younger siblings with a hug as they cry. But Alex himself sheds not one tear. He just stares into the distance. He barely talks. 

   Willie's parents ask Alex to say a few words, and rather reluctantly, he agrees. As he walks up to the front of the small church in Willie's hometown, his hands start to shake and he feels a lump form in his throat. 

   He looks out at the crowd, herded into the very much packed church like sheep. He clears his throat.

   "I...I have known- I knew, Willie, for around a year. I knew him before his diagnosis, when he could still do the things he loved," Alex's voice shakes, "like skateboarding...or helping people, helping me. Not many of you know this, but I loved Willie. I still do. His death doesn't feel real to me and I doubt it ever will. I will miss him dearly, as I'm sure you all will. Uh...thanks for listening."

   Standing at Willie's grave site, it isn't raining. In fact, the sun is shining and the temperature is almost mild. Alex watches in silence as they lower his partner's body into the ground. As they begin to shovel dirt onto the coffin, Alex's facade that even he wasn't aware existed, begins to crumble, and he buries his head in his mother's shoulder and cries out, his tears soaking her nice black coat. He hears other people begin to sob, and had he felt up to it, he would have consoled them. But right at that moment, at that exact time, nothing mattered to him apart from the fact that his partner, the man he loved enough to want to marry, was dead, was gone forever and was never coming back.

 

 

   Weeks later, Willie's parents ask Alex to come to Willie's grave with them. Alex, who had barely left his room since the funeral, reluctantly agrees, letting him pick him up in their minivan. They drive to the cemetery in silence, none of them have the words to talk with, until they're walking over to where Willie was buried. 

   "We know that we didn't ask you...but since it's his legal name, we had to use it for the headstone..." say Willie's parents.

   Alex looks at them, unsure of what they mean. And then he sees the name on Willie's headstone. Willie Mercer. In some strange way, he never expected to see it anywhere so official, so permanent. He realises that Willie's parents are awaiting a reaction, but he blanks on what to do. The sadness of seeing his love's grave taints the small joy that is seeing his own surname on it. 

   "I- I- Thank you." He eventually stammers out, and Willie's parents pull him into a hug. 

 

   For the first time in a long time, Alex begins to feel that things might, eventually, be okay.

[sweet-rintarou]

Having six people in a two-person apartment had, expectedly, cramped up the minimal space there was to begin with, therefore, you had moved the feast up on your apartment's rooftop.

Your friends were only able to drag you out since Yūji had lock-picked your door, only to find you huddled within your covers, your headphones playing your 'sad hours' playlist. It was pathetic, if they were honest.

Luckily, they knew the only way to get out from the dumps were through your stomach, resulting in each person that visited to bring some sort of food. It was a whole feast when you laid out the dishes on the blanket you placed on the rootftop.

"I should be sad more often," you slyly spoke, spooning custard. "This is enough for dinner, and breakfast tomorrow."

"We only brought this so you'd be full enough to talk about your feelings," Osamu stated. "Or you can spill now."

"Yeah, spill the tea, sis," Atsumu hollered, earning disapproval looks all around.

"Honestly," you began, putting down the slice of cheesecake you were about to devour, "you both were right—" referring to the Miya's "—yeah, there is something between Suna and I, but... I don't know, I guess I was a bit sensitive."

"So how do you know Suna?"

It's been about six years since you last saw him. Last time you met him was the same day he disappeared without a trace. No warning, no discussion of him moving towns. He just vanished. It was odd because you did recall having his number and him having yours, but there was no form of contact from him.

"You could say he was my friend in junior high," you told them, "we met and became friends then, and were inseparable for two and a half years, before he left."

"Oh, I vaguely remember him mentioning he used to live somewhere in Shiga before going to Hyogo," Atsumu stated, you only pursed your lips, nodding.

"That's really all I can say, he left me during a vulnerable time of my life," you explained, "I wish I could talk about it with you guys, but... I haven't completely moved on yet."

"We understand," Keiji comforted. "You can tell us when you're ready." I smiled at them, thankful for their understanding.

"Now," you clapped, hoping to slap away the dark atmosphere, "let's eat!"

—

Morning classes were always the most tiring when it comes to your university life. It always felt like waking up on a normal day during high school, which you never enjoyed. Only difference was that uniforms weren't involved.

What was worse than waking up for a morning class, was waking up and getting ready for a class that was cancelled at the last minute. "Professors this careless should get fired," you uttered in annoyance as you packed your things.

"I know, right?" Mirai grumbled, agreeing. "I'm heading straight home, you coming?"

"I'm going to buy some breakfast first, so you can go ahead," you informed her, "do you want anything?"

"A strawberry, cream sandwich, and machiato," she grinned. You both went your separate ways; you mindlessly walked throughout the campus, eyes scanning around to find a nearby cafe.

A hand had suddenly touched your shoulder, causing you to jump in surprise, turning around to see the culprit. Your shocked features shifted to one of annoyed upon seeing Suna, a timid look etched across his face.

"Hey y/n..."

Despite you only ever seeing him through his profile picture on Twitter, you had never really seen him. Since you barely paid attention to the volleyball team's games, you never noticed him. Right now, you finally saw him for the first time in six years. He has changed drastically from the scrawny boy who was shorter than you by a few centimetres.

"What do you want?" Again, you're being sensitive, but you haven't entirely healed from what happened, no matter how long ago it was.

"Uhm, can we talk?"

"We are right now, aren't we?" Your hostile tone caused him to shift uncomfortably. You took notice that he was in his team uniform. He must have come from practice, you thought. "You should go before your teammates notice." Realizing that you're about to walk away, he quickly grabbed your wrist, seizing you from leaving.

"Please," he pleaded, obvious hurt and guilt in his tone, "I'm sorry..."

"I accept your apology," you told him, facing him, "but I can't forgive you."

"Y/n..."

"I can't, Rintarō." His name easily escaping your lips, a name that you have not said in years, it felt so foreign, yet familiar. You hated it. "You left during the most depressing time of my life, do you understand how traumatized I was—still am?" He silently watched, his grip on your wrist loosening, allowing you to snatch your hand back. "So no, I can't forgive you."

"Please let me explain."

You shook your head. "Please leave me alone." Taking large steps away from him, he decided to let you go, his head hanging low in despair, but  he thought only one thing as he watched you grow smaller as the distance grew.

I will get my best friend back.

reconnecting | r. suna smau

masterlist | previous | next

—chapter seven; sad hours

author's note: I hope you guys don't mind that it's written in narrative form, if it makes you feel any better, it was a nightmare writing cuz I haven't done it in so long. After this, it'll proceed with regular smau form. Check out the chapter before, cuz I'm an idiot and wasn't aware of my posts.

taglist: @akaaaashit @chaelysian @baaakaaaaa @missalienqueen @todobruhski @heyitzwolf @shroom-berry @laughingismorefun (send an ask if you want to be added to the taglist)