#let my boy run on snow to go find the sun for his besties | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

viastro · 4 years ago

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snow flower | hur hyunjun

ミ★ synopsis: in which hyunjun finds himself falling in love with you over a span of six months. [part of the 12 months i loved you collab]

ミ★ genre: strangers to lovers!au, fluff, humor, minor angst

ミ★ warnings: none !

ミ★ word count: 5,147

ミ★ parings: hyunjun x gender neutral reader

ミ★ notes: hi guys ! this is my first ever oneshot for the boyz i’m literally gonna go into cardiac arrest uh BAKGBSRH i finally decided to start writing for them, but it most likely won’t be as often as i post for seventeen. however, i will try my best ! i love the boyz so much, and i love hyunjun a lot. so make sure to check out the rest of the works that will appear for the 12 months i loved you collab that was created by @sunlightwoo !!

12 months i loved you masterlist

It started out with the sparkle he saw when the two of you first locked eyes.

“You’re insane, Kevin.”

“Just a bit.”

You tilt your head to the side in concern when your best friend sends a wink in your direction, before going back to attempting to slingshot a water balloon at his unsuspecting victim friend, Kim Sunwoo. Letting out a sigh, you glance back down at your phone, knowing that Kevin is literally going to get murdered when Sunwoo gets splashed.

“You want Formation to play when they bring your casket into the funeral home?” You ask Kevin, and he nods his head quietly. You look up to find Sunwoo still talking animatedly to a guy you haven’t seen before, but then again, you can only see the back of his head.

“Kevin, what if you accidentally hit the guy Sunwoo is talking to?” Kevin turns to you, and simply places a finger over his mouth as a means to tell you to be quiet. Your concerned expression turns into one of annoyance as you squint your eyes at him, and he gives you a grin. “I won’t hit Hyunjun, it’s fine.”

“Hyunjun?” Kevin nods his head, turning back towards Sunwoo and preparing the slingshot once again.

“Sunwoo introduced him and I on our first day at uni because he thought we looked really similar.” You purse your lips, leaning over slightly on the bench to try and get a better look at the man. Now curious of what this Hyunjun may look like, you open your mouth to ask Kevin if the man has an Instagram, only for your eyes to widen when you watch the water balloon fly in the air.

“Oh Neptune.”

Kevin lets out a cheer when the water balloon lands right smack on the top of Sunwoo’s head, now drenching the man in water. You watch as your friend looks around angrily, only to stop when his eyes land on you and Kevin.

“KEVIN MOON!”

You let out a loud laugh, covering your mouth as you watch Kevin begin sprinting away from Sunwoo. Your eyes land on the man Sunwoo was speaking to, and you feel your laughter slowly die down when you find him staring directly at you as well.

His black hair is in soft waves over his forehead, catlike eyes staring at you in interest as he nonchalantly wipes away some of the remnants of water from his fancy clothes.

Damn you Kevin…

You raise your hand up to wave at the pretty boy, only to stop when Kevin and Sunwoo run past you, with Kevin screaming bloody murder and there being nothing but murderous intent behind Sunwoo’s gaze as he tries to capture the man.

You let out a bright smile, turning back to find Hyunjun’s features slowly lifting up into a beautiful smile as well. He raises his hand up and waves at you, and you wave back, warmth flooding your face from the simple interaction.

Hyunjun always thought it was bullshit when people said that they can see sparkles in someone’s eyes, thinking that it just depended on what type of lighting they were in. However, as the warm summer sun rests over you, he knows that it’s just you.

The sparkle in your eyes is from you, nothing else.

Then he noticed the strange feeling he’d get when he’d hear your laughter.

You and Hyunjun watch with amused smiles on your faces as Juyeon, Kevin, and Changmin attempt to play Just Dance in your small dorm room.

“Ow! Changmin, your elbows are sharp.” Kevin whines when he accidentally gets elbowed in the side from Changmin’s aggressive dancing. The blonde ignores the black haired beauty, continuing to focus on winning the game.

“Juyeon is taking this very seriously.” You mutter, having noticed the red head’s silence as he sharply hits the dance moves displayed on your tiny TV. Hyunjun nods his head, letting out a small chuckle at the furrow to Juyeon’s brows. He nudges you with his shoulder, causing you to turn to glance at him. “Imagine if Sunwoo and Eric were playing too.”

You let out a smile at the thought of it, making Hyunjun’s heart flip tenfold within his chest. You shake your head, imagining the absolute chaos it would be if Sunwoo and Eric were also in your dorm, knowing their insanely competitive nature. However, Sunwoo has a lab today and Eric has a math lecture, so they were unable to join in on the besties activities.

It’s been a couple months since you and Hyunjun met, having gotten close rather quickly. You later met Juyeon, Changmin, and Eric as summer was coming to an end. Now the six of you hangout more often than not even though Autumn quarter has begun, and your dorm room became the unofficial official meeting spot even though the other five have much larger dorms/apartments.

“I WON!” Kevin shouts, regaining you and Hyunjun’s attention as he jumps up and down in excitement. Hyunjun bites back a laugh at the shock on Juyeon and Changmin’s faces, as Kevin was simply just moving the switch controller whenever it was required, and the two dancers were actually busting their ass off.

“I feel like I just got swindled.” Changmin breathes out, wiping away the accumulated sweat that formed on his forehead. Juyeon runs a hand through his hair, before squinting at the celebrating Kevin.

“Do we murder him?” Kevin turns towards them with wide eyes after hearing the absurd question.

“Heh?”

Changmin and Juyeon exchange a glance in silence, before turning back towards Kevin, who is now staring at the two in fear.

“Yeah.”

“WHAT!”

You let out a burst of laughter as the three begin to chase each other around your dorm. Hyunjun turns to look at you with a smile on his face, the screaming of his friends slowly becoming background noise when the sound of your laughter is all he can hear.

Hyunjun gulps when he feels his heart thump against his chest, noticing how pretty you look when you’re happy. He bites the inside of his cheek, a thought coming to his mind that makes him turn away to try and focus on his three friends fighting each other, promptly ignoring the overwhelming feeling in his chest.

And then you experienced heartbreak.

Hyunjun lets out a groan when his phone rings beside him, glancing at the time to see that it’s 2 in the morning. He rolls over and picks up the cool metal, squinting at the screen when he sees your name shining brightly back at him. Immediately he answers the call and places the phone next to his ear,

“Yn?”

“H-Hyunjun..”

The black haired beauty sits up at the sound of your sniffles, eyes wide open in concern. He climbs out of bed, already walking towards his closet to put on a sweatshirt. “What’s wrong? Where are you?”

“Can you come get me, please? I’m outside of Donghyun’s building.” You mutter quietly, watching your breath crystalize in the cold November air. Hyunjun bites the inside of his cheek at the mention of your boyfriend’s name, already having an idea of what may have occurred.

It’s happened quite a few times with the different guys you’ve dated over the last few months.

“I’ll be there in five minutes, don’t hang up the phone, mm?” Hyunjun says, and you nod your head quietly in response, “Okay.”

Within 5 minutes you notice Hyunjun’s tall figure walking towards you, and his heart breaks when he sees the tears immediately fall from your eyes. You quickly walk over to him, wrapping your arms around his middle and hiding your face in the crook of his neck.

Hyunjun freezes at the contact, cursing to himself at the way his heart practically palpitates in his chest from the warmth you bring him. His arms slowly wrap around you, hand cradling your head as you cry quietly, no words needing to be exchanged for him to know that you and Donghyun didn’t work out.

“Do you want me to beat his ass?” Hyunjun asks quietly, and you let out a wet laugh, shaking your head and holding your best friend tighter. “No, we were only together for a month anyways. Can we just go to your apartment?”

Hyunjun nods his head, and you pull away from his embrace. His heart falls at the sight of your swollen eyes, and he instinctively reaches out and cups your face with his warm hands. You look up at him with watery eyes, and Hyunjun wonders how you’re still the most ethereal being he’s ever seen.

“When will you realize that you deserve so much more than gross Tinder men?” Hyunjun asks you with a teasing smile on his face, completely ignoring the way his heart is beating crazily within his chest at the close contact between you two. You pout up at him, punching Hyunjun’s shoulder lightly even though you know he’s right. Softly, you mutter, “I just want to find someone who loves me.”

Hyunjun bites the inside of his cheek at your confession, before wiping away the leftover tears on your cheeks and letting his hands fall to his sides. He quickly wraps an arm around your shoulders and steers you in the direction towards his building.

“You’ll find someone, yn.” He mutters quietly, and you let out a breath, before leaning your head onto the black haired beauty as the two of you walk in silence.

Hyunjun glances up at the stars in the sky, feeling his own heart break within his chest. He bites back a sad laugh, now understanding what it is he’s been feeling over the last few months of knowing you.

Love. It was love.

And here we are now, the 31st of December. With Hyunjun laying on Kevin’s floor, screaming and punching the air.

“Hyunjun, please. My neighbors actually like me, you screaming is gonna ruin their view of me.” Kevin tells Hyunjun from his desk, not sparing him a glance as he just hears the sounds of his existential crisis going on behind him.

Hyunjun lets out another garbled scream, and Kevin lets out a tired sigh in return. He finally turns around in his seat to see his friend staring at his white ceiling with a blank expression on his face. Raising an eyebrow in concern, but also in fear for his life, he simply grabs a pencil, and reaches out and pokes Hyunjun’s foot.

“Bestie… you good?”

Hyunjun punches the air as his response, and Kevin furrows his brows. He climbs off his chair and walks over to where Hyunjun lays, moving and sitting down beside him. Kevin watches as Hyunjun just stares at the ceiling in silence once again, and he rubs the back of his neck. “I need words, Hyunjun.”

The black haired beauty lets out a breath, before closing his eyes in frustration. Resting his hands over his face he mutters,

“I wanna kiss yn when the clock hits midnight.”

Kevin nods his head, turning away and looking back towards his laptop. Only to pause when the words register in his mind, and he immediately turns back towards Hyunjun in complete shock at what he just uttered.

“You wanna WHAT?!”

Hyunjun groans, sitting up from the floor and glancing at Kevin with a frustrated expression on his face. He runs a hand through his hair, feeling his heartbeat wildly within his chest at the fact that he finally confessed his feelings for you out loud.

“I want to kiss them.” Hyunjun repeats, and Kevin continues to stare at him in shock.

“Like, their forehead?”

“No.”

“Their hand?”

“No..”

“Their booboo?”

“I wanna kiss them on the lips, Kevin.” Hyunjun deadpans, causing the latter to slowly close his mouth and nod his head, turning back to look down at the floor. After a moment of silence passes between them, Kevin glances back at Hyunjun.

“Like, platonically?”

Hyunjun stares at Kevin, before resting his head onto his knees in absolute disappointment and embarrassment. Kevin runs a hand through his hair, quietly asking the universe how he managed to be such a good friend that he’s now stuck in the middle of a situation that he did not ask to be in whatsoever.

“How long have you felt this way about yn?” Kevin asks, and Hyunjun purses his lips when the memory of the first time he saw the way your eyes sparkled comes to mind. He lets out a sigh, letting his head fall back as he says, “Since June.”

Kevin’s eyes visibly widen once again as he raises his hands up towards his face to count how many months it’s been on his fingers. His mouth drops when he counts six months on his hands, and he looks back towards Hyunjun.

“Six months?!”

“Is it really that shocking that I have feelings for yn?” Hyunjun asks, and Kevin shakes his head, shutting his mouth to stop himself from mentioning a piece of information that could possibly make Hyunjun shit himself.

He’s sitting on a bad boy piece of information right now.

“So, do you have a plan on how you’re gonna kiss them tonight?” Hyunjun looks up towards the ceiling and shrugs his shoulders. He turns towards his friend, giving him a small smile.

“We’ll see how I feel tonight.”

Hyunjun is fucking wasted.

If it makes anything better, Sunwoo, Eric, and Changmin aren’t doing very well either. As the three are currently in a drunken argument over who gets to have the last cookie before the clock strikes midnight. They’re incredibly loud, making it a bit hard to listen to the New Year’s Eve special on the TV.

“I get to have the cookie because I’m the oldest out of the three of us!” Changmin declares, wobbling slightly as he points a finger towards the younger two. Eric rolls his eyes, reaching out to grab the cookie again, only for Sunwoo to shove him to the floor.

“Age doesn’t mean shit.”

“You’re a fuckin whorebag, Sunwoo.”

However, amidst all the chaos in the middle of his apartment, his eyes remain on you from across the room. You’re playing a game of UNO with Kevin and Juyeon on the floor, watching as you let out a gorgeous laugh when the two scream at your +4 card.

Sensing a pair of eyes on you, you turn your head to find Hyunjun staring at you with those sharp, catlike eyes of his. Biting back a smile, you place your last card down on the table, shooting finger guns at the boys after winning for the third time in a row, and walk over to where Hyunjun is sitting.

Oh God, Hyunjun thinks to himself as you get closer. The purple LED lights on his ceiling cast an iridescent glow over your features, making him drunkenly wonder how you could manage to get more ethereal as the days go by.

“Hey, stooges! There’s more cookies in the kitchen, so stop arguing.” You shout out towards your three drunk friends, and they all turn towards you with shocked expressions on their faces. They quickly scramble over into the kitchen, slipping and falling a few times as their coordination is no longer intact.

Noticing that they left the single cookie on the coffee table, you let out a giggle, picking it up and turning back towards Hyunjun. You tilt your head to the side at his serious expression on his face, holding out the chocolate chip cookie in his direction.

“Want it?” You ask with a grin, and Hyunjun feels his legs turn to mush.

How am I supposed to kiss them? He wonders, watching silently as you move closer so that your faces are a few inches apart. Without another word, you place the cookie in his mouth, before plopping down on the couch beside him.

Hyunjun quietly chews the cookie, distracted for a moment over how delicious it is, before turning back to look at you. Only to freeze when he finds that your eyes are already on him, tilting your head to the side as he catches your gaze.

“My Hyunjun is such a quiet drunk~” You mutter softly, but Hyunjun feels his heart flip within his chest at the possessiveness of your statement. You reach out and pat down a few flyaways of his black hair, and he wonders if you feel as nervous as he does when the two of you are this close to each other.

“Oh shit! 30 seconds until midnight!” Kevin announces, making the two of you turn back to the TV. Hyunjun watches as you scramble to grab the noise makers (not Sunwoo, Eric, and Changmin, but a close second).

“HAHAHAH! Eric passed out on the floor!” Hyunjun hears Juyeon laugh from the kitchen, watching with blurry vision as Sunwoo and Changmin giggle at the sight of Juyeon carrying out a very drunk Eric into the living room.

“Hyunjun, stand up!” You say happily, and his eyes slowly fall on you, letting you pull him up without a second thought.

“10!” Kevin begins the countdown. Hyunjun stares at you as you squeal excitedly with Kevin, obviously elated to start the new year with your best friends.

“9!”

“8!” Changmin and Sunwoo shout out belatedly, drunkenly eating the cookies as they count down along with the rest of you guys.

“7!”

“6!” You turn your head when the feeling of someone burning holes into your cheek becomes more apparent. You find Hyunjun just staring at you with a dazed expression on his face, and you raise an eyebrow in amusement over how drunk he is.

“5!”

“4!” Hyunjun bites the inside of his cheek once his peripheral vision turns blurry as his focus on you heightens. He slowly leans forward so that your faces are close to one another, and you hear your heartbeat crazily against your chest even with all the ruckus going on around you.

“3!”

“Hyunjun? Are you okay?” You ask, but your voice is barely above a whisper as you somehow lost all control over your vocal chords. He stays quiet, as he continues to stare into your bright eyes as if they hold all the stars in the sky. To him, they do.

“2!”

“Hyunjunie?”

“1!”

“Can I kiss you, yn?” Hyunjun asks in a soft voice, and your eyes widen at the question.

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!” Kevin, Juyeon, Changmin, and Sunwoo cheer as they start blowing into the noise makers. You and Hyunjun continue to stare into each other's eyes in silence, with you gauging the question he just asked, and Hyunjun wondering why his vision is beginning to spin.

“What did you say-” You’re cut off when Hyunjun collapses onto you, making you topple backwards onto the floor. Kevin’s eyes widen at the sight of a passed out Hyunjun laying on top of you, knowing that the latter is going to eat his own ass when the memory comes back in the morning.

While you, you’re left with a warm face and hundreds of questions swarming around your brain as to whether or not you heard him correctly.

“Ugh.” Hyunjun mutters, raising his hands up to his face once the raging migraine hits him. He rolls over in the bed, tightly squeezing his eyes shut as if it’ll make the pain stop. “Why’d I drink so much?”

“Cause you’re stupid.” He groans at the sound of Kevin’s voice, choosing to not snap back as he just doesn’t have the energy at the moment. He listens to Kevin’s footsteps shuffle along his floor, before hearing the sound of plastic rest on his bedside table.

“That’s acetaminophen and water. There’s also a piece of toast for you to eat as you shouldn’t take medicine on an empty stomach.” Hyunjun peeks through his hands to see Kevin standing beside him, and he raises an eyebrow at the man. “You know I don’t care about that.”

Kevin nods his head, running a hand through his hair as he gives Hyunjun a small grin. “Yeah, but yn’s orders.”

Hyunjun squints at his friend, before his eyes widen once he remembers his original plan from the night before. He immediately sits up in bed, only to regret it when the pounding in his head becomes a lot stronger. Kevin hands Hyunjun the toast, and the hungover man quietly chews on it with his eyes closed as he tries to remember what happened the night before.

“Did I kiss yn?” Hyunjun asks Kevin after he finishes the toast, reaching over to take the pills and water. Kevin purses his lips, before shaking his head ‘no’. Hyunjun bites the inside of his cheek, wondering what he could’ve done as he throws back the pills and swallows it down with a large gulp of water.

“Are they still here?” Hyunjun asks, running a hand through his black hair as he takes a glance towards his bedroom door. He only hears the sounds of Sunwoo and Changmin playing games in his living room, but nothing from you. “Nah, they left after preparing breakfast for us.”

“Did I… try to kiss yn?” Kevin only stares at Hyunjun, before shrugging his shoulders and turning to walk out of the bedroom. Hyunjun frowns at his friend, “Kevin!”

“Why don’t you ask them yourself?” Kevin suggests with a wink, before stepping out of Hyunjun’s room, closing the door behind him. Leaving the black haired beauty sitting there, alone with his thoughts.

“Nah, I wouldn’t have kissed yn. I care too much about our friendship, that’s why I decided not to go through with the plan after we ate dinner.” Hyunjun mutters, tilting his head as he still tries to remember what happened the night before. He reaches over and grabs his phone, only to immediately hiss at how bright his screen is. “Why did I think it was a good idea to have my lockscreen be so bright?”

hyunjunie: where are you?

you: i wanted to go to the seoul christmas festival >:D

hyunjunie: it’s not dark enough for you to see the lights yet

you: bleh bleh, it’s the last day

hyunjunie: wait until 6, i’ll come take you

you: mmm, okay

are you sure you’re not too hungover for that?

hyunjunie: nah, i had toast before my medicine today.

i’m 100% cured

you: okay king

hyunjunie: i’ll see you later yn

you: mmhmm

Hyunjun let’s out a smile after your guys exchange, placing his phone beside him as he lays back down, staring up at the ceiling. He sighs, the thought of what he could’ve done the night before still lingering in his head.

“Why did you wait until January 1st to go to this event?” Hyunjun asks as the two of you walk around, just to watch you excitedly walk up to the bright lights without a response. He tilts his head in amusement, only for his heart to go crazy within his chest when you turn around to look at him with a big smile on your face.

“Come here! Let’s take a photo!” You say happily, eyes sparkling underneath the beautiful Christmas lights. Biting the inside of his cheek, he walks up to you and stands close beside you as you take numerous selfies of you both.

“Do you guys want me to take a photo for you?” You glance up at the voice, seeing a mom and her child smiling at the two of you. You look at Hyunjun to see his reaction, only to find him already nodding his head and handing her his phone.

“Can I kiss you, yn?” You stare at him as the memory pops back into your mind, and he looks back down at you.

“You gonna smile at the camera or just oggle me?” Hyunjun teases, making you look away with a scoff. He giggles at your reaction, but it’s a sound of relief as he wasn’t sure how much longer he could take of your intense gaze.

“I’ll take a lot of photos!” She tells the two of you, and you give her a thumbs up. You tentatively wrap your arms around Hyunjun’s arm, before smiling brightly at the camera. He stiffens slightly in your hold, but tries not to let it show as he rests his head over your own, smiling into the camera as well.

“What other pose should we do?” You ask Hyunjun as the two of you pull away, and he glances down at you, shrugging his shoulders. “Anything you want.”

Pursing your lips, you think to yourself for a moment. An image pops up into your mind, causing you to grin evilly as you suggest, “What about one where you’re bowing down to me?”

“Are you crazy?”

You let out a bright laugh at Hyunjun’s immediate answer, and he finds himself automatically smiling back down at you just from the sight itself. He reaches out and fondly pats your head without a second thought, making warmth rush up to your face at the touch.

It’s something Hyunjun’s always done, but the memory of last night is still fresh in your mind. Making you wonder whether all these things he’s done for you have been platonic, or romantic.

His eyes search yours as your laughter dies down, finding you to be deep in thought as the two of you stare at each other. His hand rests on your shoulder, and he doesn’t feel the urge to pull away.

What have I done in my past life to deserve such a beautiful sight like this? Hyunjun thinks to himself as he looks into your sparkling eyes, feeling nothing but warmth as he does so.

“I think the photos are cute! I hope you guys like them.” The mom says, causing the two of you to break out of your trance. She gives the both of you a grin, “I think you guys are a cute couple.”

You immediately sputter, about to deny it in fear of making Hyunjun uncomfortable, only to freeze when you hear him say,

“Thank you.”

You turn your head to glance at him as he waves bye to the mom and her child, before he opens up his phone and scrolls through the numerous photos she took of you and him. He giggles at a few photos, a soft smile on his face as he does so.

“They turned out cute, I’ll make sure to airdrop them to you later.” Hyunjun tells you, and you nod your head without another thought. He gives you a close lipped smile, before gesturing over towards the other christmas lights.

“Let’s keep going so that we can get food, it’s cold.” He begins to walk forward, only to pause when he realizes you’re not beside him. Hyunjun turns back to glance at you, finding you still standing in the same spot. He tilts his head to the side, “Are you coming-”

“Did you really mean it when you asked if you could kiss me last night, Hyunjun?” You ask, and Hyunjun feels his blood run cold at the question. The memory of last night that he couldn’t remember suddenly floods into his brain all at once, and he internally panics at the fact that he actually tried to make a move.

“Did you?” You ask again, tightly squeezing your fist at your side as you await his answer. Hyunjun bites the inside of his cheek, realizing that it’s all or nothing as he answers,

“And what if I did?”

The two of you stare at each other in silence for a moment, the bright christmas lights hanging around you both. His eyes search your face, still finding you to be the prettiest thing he’s ever seen. Ever since that warm summer day, it’s always been you.

You take note of Hyunjun’s gorgeous features, having always known how attractive he was from the moment the two of you met. However, as you both grew closer as friends, as well as your feelings, you knew you had to push it down. Kevin’s the only one who knew of your feelings after a drunken occurrence where you cried on his lap, but the next day you told your best friend to ignore everything you said the night before. You didn’t want any false hope, as there’s always only two possibilities of catching feelings for your best friend.

Friendship ends as the other doesn’t feel the same.

Friendship turns into relationship but this only happens in fanfiction.

You didn’t stand a chance for Hyunjun, but as you stare into his eyes right now on this cold, winter night, you realize you were wrong. The warmth to his gaze has always only been for you, and you were the biggest chance Hyunjun’s ever wanted to take. And so, you finally say,

“I wouldn’t mind.”

Hyunjun stares at you, and you gauge his reaction to your answer. He takes a few steps forward until there’s only a few inches left between your faces. “Please tell me you’re not kidding, yn.”

You let out a soft smile, the sound of your heartbeat in your ears as you stare up at your best friend’s face. “Why would I joke about this?”

Hyunjun’s hands slowly trail up until they’re cupping your face. His thumb draws circles on your cheek, and he breathes out nervously, glancing back up into your eyes to double check. You nod your head, and Hyunjun bites the inside of his cheek, before finally leaning in and capturing your lips in a sweet kiss.

Heat floods your features as your hands reach up and grip at his shirt, the brisk night air being a stark contrast to the love and warmth you feel from Hyunjun alone.

Hyunjun feels dizzy, his heart bursting within his chest after the moment he’s only dreamed of for the last six months is now happening right at this moment. Your lips taste sweet, similar to that of strawberries, and he decides that your strawberry flavored chapstick is truly godsend. He pulls away and rests his forehead on yours after a moment, warmth flooding his features as he stares into your eyes.

“I love you.” Hyunjun confesses, and he watches as the brightest smile he’s ever seen forms on your face. You reach up and cup his face with your own hands as well, pressing a quick kiss to his lips, before pulling away to say,

“I love you too, Hyunjun.”

The two of you let out giggles after a moment, before Hyunjun pulls you into his chest, holding you tightly as he realizes that you’re finally his. He closes his eyes, smiling to himself at the overwhelming feeling of love flooding his chest.

To Hyunjun, love was warm. They had sparkles in their eyes, and had the brightest smile he’s ever seen.

To Hyunjun, love was you.

Love was you.

164 notes · View notes

floralelu · 5 years ago

Text

Le Fleuriste Episode II:

WARNING: MENTIONS OF SEX

Word Count: 3,261

Summary: Lucas yearns to talk to Eliott. But who is he? Will he meet Lucas’ expectations? Or break his heart on the spot?

[A/N] Hello!! Welcome to chapter 2 of Le Fleuriste!! We are excited for you to read this, and please check out chapter one in our masterlist in our bio.

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Lucas lied in bed that night scouring Instagram for this boy he met. Eliott is all he could think about. He thought about the veins that were visible on his hands and the way that they snaked and traveled along his arms. He contemplated what Pantone color would match his crisp blue eyes. He couldn’t get over the way Eliott’s once white apron was stained with dirt and mud from taking care of the flowers in the shop and how his hair was the perfect tousled mess that rested on top of his head. Could he be in love with this boy?

Lucas kept typing Eliott’s name into the search bar in different ways. Elliot? Nothing. Elliott? Nothing. Eliot? Once again, nothing. How many ways could he spell this boy's name and not get a single matching result?

Lucas threw his phone on the sofa cushion next to him. Lucas stood up from the pull out sofa and walked to the balcony wearing nothing but some boxer shorts and a baggy t-shirt. The entrance leading to the balcony sat in front of Lucas’ bed, also known as the couch. Lucas spent his restless nights staring out beyond the balcony staring at Annecy’s skyline.

Annecy is known for being “the Venice of the Alps”. Annecy is surrounded by mountains that are, for most of the year, dusted with snow on their peaks. Lucas loved the colorful buildings of pinks and yellows, as well as the canals and waterways that run through the town. Bridges connected streets together as if they were holding hands. Lucas especially adored Annecy during this time of year because of the greenery. Barrels full of flowers lined the street would bloom and flower, and the bees adored the new floral-filled environment just as much as Lucas did. It was always the fresh start that Lucas needed every coming year.

Lucas stood out on the balcony, it was late, 23:37. The boys were already in bed, sleeping off the Sunday blues. Lucas knew he wouldn’t sleep tonight, not with this boy racing through his mind.

Lucas looked at the streets below him. He could see some stray people walking about, mostly on their phones. He could hear quiet Italian music playing softly from the Italian restaurant down the street. Even though it was early spring, it was quite warm. The breeze brushed Lucas’ face and hair.

If only Eliott were here.

Why was Lucas thinking that? He doesn’t even know if this boy is gay, or any sexuality that involved loving someone like Lucas. Eliott was probably some straight guy who played with feelings of women, or possibly men too, Lucas already knew Eliott was toying with his feelings.

Lucas had never had a boyfriend. He did have one or two girlfriends in high school, but they felt neglected, especially since Lucas never felt the same way about them. Chloe was the last girl he was with, and the one who made him realize he was in fact gay.

He remembered when he first realized it, it sickened him. It happened during one of Emma’s “my mom is out on business so let’s have party” bashes. Lucas and Chloe had snuck off into one of the bedrooms and despite all the alcohol Lucas had drunk, he felt sober at this moment.

Lucas thought nothing of it, maybe it’ll make the sex more enjoyable. Chloe had started taking off her clothes and soon was completely bare. She walked over to Lucas and started kissing and biting his neck, then kneeled before him and started unbuttoning his jeans.

“Lucas, you’re not hard. Am I doing something wrong?” Chloe asked, gazing up at him.

“No, no, I…” Lucas started. “I think I’m gay.”

Chloe was angry at first, she thought he had been using and experimenting with her, but that wasn’t the case. He just didn’t know what he wanted, and he had finally figured it out. They did makeup in the end, but Lucas knew he had put Chloe through hell and back.

Lucas took a deep breath, smelling the fresh bellflower scents that came from the mountainside. It was calming, and he needed to calm down. Lucas soon returned to the pullout bed, and after hours of lying awake, he drifted off to sleep.

———————————————————————

“Arthur! You’re using all of the eggs! If you’re gonna take them all, at least make me some.” Basile screamed at Arthur as he took away the egg carton.

“Basile, hush. Lucas and the whole world is sleeping, and I know no one who wants to be greeted by your horrid voice this early in the morning,” Arthur whispered, taking the eggs back. “And I’m already making you eggs, idiot.”

“I bet Daphne would love to wake up to my so-called ‘horrid’ voice. She’s in love with me and I’m in love with her, we are in love Arthur,” Basile swooned. Arthur rolled his eyes.

“God, you guys are so loud,” Lucas mumbled, covering his ears with his pillow.

“I’m sorry, Lu, but Arthur here won’t shut up! I’ve been telling him that people are sleeping and he just won’t listen.” Basile persisted.

“Basile, I swear…” Arthur muttered under his breath.

Basile walked over to the pullout and sat next to Lucas, who was turned over onto his stomach with the pillow still covering his ears.

“Come on, Lucas. Have breakfast with us.” Basile said while shaking Lucas awake.

“I might as well, I’m sure as hell awake now.”

“Arthur! Do you hear that? Our boy Lucas is gonna have breakfast with his two best mates before they go off to work!” Basile shouted, jumping up and dragging Lucas to the table.

“Three best mates,” Yann corrected as he came out of his room. “Do you have any idea how loud you’re being, mate?”

“My sincerest apologies, I’m just so excited!” Basile danced over to the table while Lucas and Yann trailed behind him sluggishly.

Arthur brought over the feast that was considered breakfast. It consisted of all of the favorites, sausage, pancakes with maple syrup, bacon, and eggs served in many ways, each to the boys’ liking. This feast was a once a week type thing, usually, Arthur would prepare it with Basile occasionally helping on the side, although he didn’t provide much help at all. Arthur would give Basile little tasks to occupy him such as setting and placing the food on the table. It was one day a week where the gang would catch up with another and talk about their events that happened during the week. Lucas was fond of it because he didn’t get out very much, he didn’t really have a lot of spending money to go out and do things, but that might change in the coming weeks with this new boy who has caught his eye.

“Lucas, are these flowers...yours?” Yann questioned as he grabbed the glass filled with water that contained the bunches of blooms that Eliott had given him.

“Uh, yeah.”

“Who’s the lucky lad?” Arthur asked, chewing on a sausage link.

“Oh, I don’t really know him besides his name. He gave it to my mom and me when we visited the flower shop and I bought her a bouquet.”

“So you received two bouquets?” Basile chimed in.

“Yeah.”

“Well, Lucas, I don’t know about you but that sounds like flirting to me!” Basile laughed.

“Maybe.”

“Is he hot?” Yann asked, cutting up his pancake into smaller bite-sized pieces.

“Well, I would show you a picture, but I can’t find any of his social media,” Lucas sighed. “I’ve looked everywhere!” Lucas rested his head in his hand and played with his food with the end of his fork.

“Well, what’s his name?” Arthur inquired. “This is at Barney’s, yes?”

“Yeah, his name is Eliott.”

“Well, I don’t know anyone who works at Barney’s named Eliott. Are you sure it wasn’t Idriss? He’s been working there since Barney before Barney passed away.” Yann mentioned.

“No, it wasn’t him.”

“This Eliott guy must be new to the shop, maybe you could ask the girls who he is?” Basile suggested.

“Yeah, you know what I think I will,” Lucas smiled to himself in anticipation of his new plans.

“Our Lucas is gonna get a boyfriend!” Yann yelled and patted Lucas on the back.

“Okay, okay, let’s not get carried away.”

———————————————————————

Lucas stepped onto the cobblestone street of King’s Grove. It wasn’t busy today, only a few people milled in the streets. It was Monday after all. Lucas wished more people could enjoy a day like today. Birds were singing in choirs, the sun illuminated everything beneath it, and the sky was bright blue.

Like Eliott’s eyes.

Lucas thought about going to Barney’s first, but he knew he would only embarrass himself, and he couldn’t even ponder how awkward it would be asking for Eliott’s number.

In addition to never having a boyfriend, Lucas had never flirted with a guy either. He remembers the blush that flooded his cheeks after leaving Barney’s with two bouquets in hand. How could he prevent that from happening? Was Lucas even capable of acting cool and casual? He figured he better stick to the people he knew, the girls.

The first stop was The Disco Danish Cafe, only because they were opened first. They always opened at 6 AM bright and early to serve their famous breakfast danishes.

“Lucas! Back again!” Alexia called out as she wiped down the counter.

“No way! You’re here two days in a row?” Manon asked as she came out of the double doors that led to the kitchen.

“I know, I get it, I don’t see you guys enough,” Lucas laughed and rolled his eyes.

“What’s up? Do you want a danish, it’s on the house,” Alexia gestured to the many different flavors of danishes lined up like soldiers in the display case before her.

“Well, I just ate.”

“Too bad! I’m giving you one anyway,” Alexia selected a cheese danish from the display case and wrapped it in parchment paper, then placed it neatly in a bag, sealing it with a sticker of the cafe’s logo. “Here you go, bestie!” Alexia handed the danish to him.

“Thank you so much, by the way, I have a question to ask both of you,” Lucas sat down on one of the pink stools at the bar where milkshakes and other desserts were served. “Could you tell me who all works at Barney’s as of right now?”

“Oh god, Lucas if this is about a boy we aren’t stalking him. It could ruin our business,” Manon said, shaking her head.

“I’ll stalk a boy for you, Lucas,” Alexia said as she rested her head on her hand, smiling. “Especially if he’s cute!”

“He is. His name is Eliott, do you guys know anything about him? Such as his last name?” Lucas questioned.

“Well, I’ve seen a new guy there recently. I mean, Lucas, you have to keep in mind we don’t know our other shopkeeper neighbors that well. We’ve only been here, what? Two years?” Manon looked at Alexia for confirmation. “Yeah, only about two years, Lu.”

“Are you talking about the boy with the gorgeous golden hair? Kinda tall with lanky limbs? Like a spider monkey?” Alexia asked.

“Um, I guess you could describe him that way?”

“Yeah, he’s new. He just started working there in February. He and Idriss seem like great friends for only working there a month or so,” Alexia commented.

“Lucas, this is silly! Why don’t you just go over there and ask for the boy’s number?” Manon tried reasoning with Lucas.

“Manon, I want to avoid embarrassment as much as possible.”

“Come on, Lu! You’re attractive and sweet as honey! He wouldn’t question as to why you were asking for his number, in fact, I think he’d be thrilled to have a number from a boy like you,” Alexia said as she patted Lucas’ head.

“But what if he’s not gay?” Lucas frowned.

“I didn’t even think of that,” Alexia realized, looking quite shocked as to how she didn’t think of that.

“Maybe you could ask Emmy and Kenzie? They’ve worked at their shop longer than we have. Maybe they know who this Eliott boy is,” Manon suggested.

“Brilliant, Manon! I should get on my way then. Lovely seeing you beauties.” Lucas winked and Alexia blushed.

“Bye, Lu!” Alexia smiled and waved after him. “Oh, Manon, just look at how excited he is about this boy.”

“I’m worried he’ll get his heartbroken. You know how clueless boys can be, what if Eliott is the same? And with Eliott potentially being Lucas’ first boyfriend? That’s terrifying,” Manon sighed and shook her head as she switched out the day-old tray of cookies with brand new ones.

“Give it a chance.”

———————————————————————

“Emmy! Kenzie!” Lucas shouted, knocking on The Book Nook’s door. “I know you’re in there just stalling on opening up the store because you want to keep reading your pleasure reads!”

Kenzie finally opened the door.

“No need to call us out like that, Lucas,” Kenzie said as she flipped the sign from “closed” to “open”.

“This is urgent! I have a boy on my mind and I need information on him immediately!” Lucas demanded.

“Oh, do tell!” Emmy enthused.

“He works at the flower shop across the street, he has beautiful golden hair, and the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen,” Lucas might have daydreamed about Eliott a little too much. “His name is Eliott.”

“Eliott Demaury?” Kenzie chimed in.

“Is that his last name?” Lucas perked up.

“Lu, that’s Barney’s grandson!” Emmy exclaimed.

“But, how come I’ve never seen him before?”

“Well, he only came back to work at Barney’s about a month or so ago. He used to work there all the time when he was younger, I’m not sure why he left,” Kenzie commented. “I heard he took his grandfather’s death pretty hard.”

Suddenly, it went quiet. Lucas frowned at that statement. He may not know a single thing about Eliott aside from his name, but he did know that he never wanted to see Eliott be depressed. If Lucas was going to try and be this man’s boyfriend, he wanted Eliott to be the happiest he’s ever been.

“D-Do you know if he’s gay?” Lucas stuttered out.

“Oh, Lu, I have no idea,” Kenzie frowned at Lucas and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. “I do have his Instagram though, in case you wanted to ‘slide into his DM’s’.”

Instantly, butterflies appeared and fluttered in Lucas’ stomach, he could finally talk to Eliott.

“Could you give it to me?” Lucas smiled in enthusiasm.

“Well, of course, my dear boy!” Kenzie and Emmy laughed.

Kenzie wrote down his Instagram username on a post-it note and handed it to Lucas.

“I owe you one,” Lucas clasped Kenzie’s hands and pulled her in for a hug. Lucas noticed the danish he had placed on the counter when he walked in and grabbed it. “Hey! Have this free danish!”

“No problem, Lucas,” Kenzie cracked the seal and opened the bag. “It smells divine! Alexia and Manon make the best danishes in the world, and that’s a fact.”

Lucas soon left the shop and started his walk back home. Lucas pulled the note out of his pocket. This was the key to the door of the unknown. He didn’t know what to expect. He avoided thinking of the possibility that Eliott was straight and had no interest in him, but that wouldn’t explain the extra bouquet he had received yesterday. Lucas folded the note and tucked it back into his pocket. As he walked, he looked ahead to admire the mountains and prayed that this boy would be the one to change his life.

———————————————————————

Lucas decided that going back home wouldn’t be the best option. The rest of the gang would already have already left for work so it would have been Lucas in an empty apartment. Instead, he headed for a park that was a few blocks from the gang’s building. The note with Eliott’s Instagram had been burning a hole in Lucas’s pocket the whole walk here. Now Lucas sat on a bench that overlooked a pond, the note waiting to be unfolded.

Kids laughed as their parents pushed them on the swings and birds whistled back and forth to one another, but Lucas wasn’t paying any attention to them. His focus was on the post-it note that now sat in his hands. Lucas wasn’t sure what to do. He could unfold the note, message Eliott, and everything could fall into place. Or, he could message him and Eliott could think he was a total weirdo and never speak to him again, leading Lucas to never show his face on King’s Grove to avoid a very awkward run-in.

It’s been less than 24 hours and you’re acting like a complete idiot. Pull it together, Luc. You never know unless you try.

Lucas took a deep breath, unfolded the note, and typed the username into the Instagram search bar.

plantjunkieeli

The loading circle just kept spinning and spinning. If this is some stupid sign, Lucas thought, I swear-

The profiles loaded. And there he was at the top.

Lucas scrolled through Eliott’s photos like he would any of his friends, but if he stared just a little longer at the ones that were just Eliott, no one had to know. Lucas went back to the top of Eliott’s profile, his finger hovering over the ‘message’ button.

Here goes nothing

Lucas hit the button and a new screen came up along with the keyboard. He wasn’t sure what to say, ‘Hey, thanks for the flowers, kiss me?’ Probably not. ‘Hi, I like you wanna go out?’ also a no. Lucas put his head into his hands, his phone twisting around as he did.

Why is this so hard? All I have to do is send a thank you, that’s it. Lucas took a deep breath before pulling his head back. He looked at his screen before his eyes went wide.

“You’ve got to be kidding.” he groaned. There in a little gray bubble sat a single ‘h’. That was it, absolutely nothing else. Lucas locked his phone and set it next to him on the bench, closing his eyes as he threw his head back. Lucas sat there for a few minutes, trying to figure out how he was going to fix this. What the hell is wrong with me-

Ping!

Lucas’ head shot up, eyes wide as he stared at his phone. His screen was facing down, making him unable to see the notification, but he had a feeling he knew what it was. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he picked up the phone and turned it over.

plantjunkieeli sent you a message!

Lucas slid his finger across the screen and unlocked his phone, opening up Instagram.

plantjunkieeli: h?

lucallemant: i meant to send hi but my fingers went a little too fast

lucallemant: but hi

plantjunkieeli: hi :)

Lucas’ hands were shaking. It didn’t seem like Eliott was completely weirded out by Lucas, that was a good sign, right?

lucallemant: thanks for the flowers, they’re beautiful

plantjunkieeli: no problem

Lucas sighed, not knowing how to carry on the conversation. He locked his phone and stuffed it in his pocket, standing up from the bench. He started walking in the direction of the apartment when his phone pinged again,

plantjunkieeli: beautiful people deserve beautiful flowers :)

21 notes · View notes

thdorkmagnet · 5 years ago

Text

Merry Stump Day, Marco Diaz!

Hey everyone, Happy Holidays, I bring you all a new story of mine to enjoy! This takes place in my Light of the Sun and Stars AU, with Marco celebrating his first Stump Day ever. I know my story on here is running a bit behind so I’m hoping nothing is confusing but I wanted to go ahead and post this one here as my gift to you all! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Star vs and all its characters are owned by Daron Nefcy and Disney. All rights go to them.

The snow was falling softly onto the peaceful dimension of Mewni, bathing the world below in a blanket of white, making the landscape look like something out of a fairytale. A peaceful atmosphere and festive spirit seemed to have settled over Mewni, no soul left feeling sad or downtrodden on that of the most joyous day of the year: Stump Day. And it came as no surprise at all that Butterfly Kingdom had gone all out in their celebration, since it was no secret that their rulers adored the holiday. Many Mewmans and even a few Monsters wandered the frost covered streets chatting and enjoying the decorations that seemed to hang from every lamppost and home, everything covered in glowing lights and luminescent crystals, creating a beautiful display of colors and cheer. And at the very center of all the festivities stood Butterfly Castle, the residents inside enjoying the most extravagant party in the dimension as the royal family and their friends were all gathered together in the Great Hall for drinks and stories.

And it just so happened that Marco Diaz was currently listening to one of those very stories being told to him by Star's dad, the stump-shaped cup of hot cocoa in his hands all but forgotten as he listened intensely to the story of the very first Stump Day. His eyes were shimmering with intrigue and his sun cheek marks spun away in excitement, while next to him, Star sat with her head resting against her hands looking equally as engrossed in the story as her boyfriend and best friend was. She had even dressed for the occasion, wearing overtop her usual casual attire of a sea green dress, she was now wearing a red fleece jacket that went down to just below her hips and buttoned with three identical black buttons in the middle. Her leggings were now pure white and instead of purple boots she had swapped them out with black ones that had a reindeer face painted on the front of them. She still wore the horns Marco had given her but her hair had been braided back with red string and tied into a festive looking bow at the end of her hair. Marco kept finding himself staring at his bestie, adoring her colorful attire and he silently wished he had dressed up for the occasion as well. But for right now, his attention and focus was entirely on King River as he began his tale.

“Back long ago when Mewni was still young and the people inexperienced, back before anyone knew of dimensional travel and magic and even basic hygiene, lived the original Mewmans,” the king began, his tone light and cheerful but carrying a weight of importance that seemed to suck you in and left you hanging on his every word and Marco found himself impressed by this ability. Star's dad truly had a talent for storytelling. “Back then, everybody only looked out for themselves, only forming small groups and tribes, while everyone else was there enemy!” As River slammed his hand down on the table Marco jumped, his eyes incapable of growing any larger as he learned more about his heritage. “Fights broke out all the time back then, both Mewmans and Monsters constantly at war with themselves and each other as they tried to gain dominance. Until one day, magic was discovered by the Mewmans and with this power came a battle unlike anything the world has ever seen! The greedy and selfish Mewmans began trying to destroy their brethren, hoping to conquer Mewni for themselves! But as the battle continued, it seemed they were all doomed to wipe each other into extinction instead.”

“What about the Monsters?” Marco spoke up and River looked over at the boy with slight annoyance at the interruption.

“Monsters were smart,” Buff Frog answered from his table, where he and the rest of Marco's Monster family sat listening to the story, Star somehow able to convince her parents to let them be there for the celebration, knowing how important it was to Marco to have all his loved ones around on his first real Stump Day. “They know better than mess with magic.”

River cleared his throat, trying to pull the attention back onto him as he muttered, “Yes well, excluding the Monsters who have nothing really to do with this story...” He took a deep breath before continuing in his usual jovial manner, “Anyways, as the fighting grew worse and worse, a blizzard struck out of nowhere, quickly ending the battle as they were all forced to instead seek comfort from the dangerous cold. But all that fighting had devastated the land and what little was left was blown away by the swift and deadly storm. There was nowhere safe for them to go.” River paused for dramatic effect, looking over the watching crowd. Marco was on the edge of his seat at this point, his eyes filled with fear as he began anxiously biting his fingernails, while his girlfriend just smiled over at his cuteness.

“Until,” River finally continued, causing Marco to let out a loud sigh of relief. “Oh good, there's more,” he muttered and Star had to bite her lip to keep from cooing over how adorable her Marco could be sometimes. “They eventually came across a giant tree that seemed to be at the very heart of Mewni, its wooden frame too strong to be blown apart by the wind and its branches big enough to keep all of them safe and dry. The early Mewmans, although still full of hate, had no choice but to gather together around the tree to stay alive. And after a while, as they stayed huddled together, trying to find warmth, they eventually began to let go of their harsh feelings, forgetting about their differences and hatred as a warmth within them started to grow and fill their hearts with peace instead of sensless violence. Eventually, the storm passed but the time the Mewmans had spent together underneath that tree had left a lasting impression.

“They ended the war that day and from there the Mewmans began spreading out across Mewni, creating an alliance of kingdoms that stood with each other rather than against each other. And at the center of all the other kingdoms, stood the most powerful of them all, the Butterfly Kingdom, set up in the very place the fighting and violence had once taken place, now a symbol of peace across the land. In fact, the very tree that kept everyone alive was cut down and used as wood to make the very castle we sit in today.

“But its the stump that was left afterwards that we honor and celebrate every year on this day for bringing us all together and for reminding us that deep down we are all Mewmans!” River finished his speech, before raising his cup high and declaring, “To the stump!”

“To the stump!” came the replied shout from the crowd, Marco shouting the phrase at the very top of his lungs, before gulping down the soothing hot chocolate along with the everyone else. The minute he was done chugging the drink, he let out a deep sigh, leaning back against the table as he said wistfully, “Wow, that was an incredible story.”

“Yeah but King River always leaves out the rest of it,” Jackie commented and Marco gave her a wonder-filled look.

“There's more?” he asked hopefully and Jackie couldn't help but giggle at the sight.

“Yeah dude, in fact Stump Day is completely different now then it was back in the day thanks to Earth.”

“Wait, really!” Marco gasped in intrigue.

“See, on Earth we have a similar holiday called Christmas and after we became allies with Mewni, the Mewmans started adopting some of our traditions, like giving gifts to show your love and appreciation of each other, rather than just spending the whole holiday celebrating the Stump.”

“Which the Stump wasn't too happy about,” Janna pointed out.

“Yeah but it worked out. Eventually even the Stump had to submit to the power of Christmas spirit,” Jackie replied, clenching a fist dramatically. “It's said that the stump's heart was melted after our guy, Santa Claus, showed him the true meaning of Christmas and he even teamed up with him one year to help bring presents to not just the good kids of Earth... but Mewni too.”

“Wow, Jackie how do you know so much about all this?” Marco asked, looking quite impressed with his friend's knowledge.

Jackie gave him a sheepish grin before admitting, “I learned about it mostly from this old cartoon special my parents and I used to watch back on Earth every year. 'How the Stump Saved Christmas', it was pretty cheesy but it was my favorite as a kid.”

Marco let all this sink in, before exclaiming,“Wow, I can't believe I went all these years without knowing anything about Christmas or Stump Day!”

“I can't believe it either,” Star agreed giving him a sad look. “This is my favorite time of year. I can't imagine not celebrating Stump Day. Did you and the Monsters ever do anything for the holiday?”

Marco shook his head. “No, all Toffee ever did was lay a couple of stumps around the castle and that was it.” He let out a long sigh. “I have so much to catch up on.”

“Well your in luck, Marco,” Star told him, inching a bit closer so her side was touching his, as she put an arm around him. “Because here at Butterfly Castle we go all out for Stump Day. We bring you the works!”

“Yeah!” Marco cheered, pumping his fists into the air. But he turned to her with a confused look as he asked, “What are the works?”

“Well first up is carols and stories, which we just did,” Star explained. “Then we got hot cocoa...” She held up her empty stump cup to show him. “Decorations and loved ones...” She gestured to the room around them, Marco smiling brightly at the familiar faces and colorful decorations that surrounded them. “... the stump of course. And last but not least is-”

“Presents!” Star's dad shouted at the top of lungs.

Moon shot her husband a look, before saying politely to the crowd, “Yes, will everyone please move single file into the throne room so gift unwrapping can commence.”

“Ha ha come on slowpokes, I bet I'll be the first to open a present!” River shouted, rushing for the doors at top speed, yelling an annoying battle cry, the others following suit, though at a much slower pace. All the while, Moon buried her face in her hands at her husband's childish and embarrassing antics, muttering under her breath, “Oh River.” Why did he have to be like this every single year?

…

“Oh wow Jackie, thank you so much!” Marco cried as he ripped the last of the wrapping paper, holding the gift close to his chest while his eyes twinkled in delight. “I love it!”

Jackie smiled at him and said, “Glad to hear it, dude.” She held back a giggle as she reminded him for probably the tenth time, “But you have to open the box to see what you got, remember?”

Marco nodded, a sheepish grin on his face as he said, “Right, right, I knew that.” He had done that so far on every single gift he had been given, just as impressed by the packaging as the actual present inside. Not that anyone minded, it was adorable to see the boy so giddy and joyful at the simple act of receiving a gift from his friends and family that they all couldn't help but stop and watch his reactions all the way through. Marco opened up the box and gasped at what he saw inside, his eyes shimmering with gleeful gratitude as he shouted, “Thanks, Jackie! I love it!” He reached inside and pulled out the blue helmet decorated in cute designs, giving the girl a quick hug from the side. “I'll treasure it always!”

Jackie smiled. “I thought you might,” she said. “I figured this way you had your own helmet to wear whenever you want to go skateboarding with me.”

“Wow that's so awesome of you, thanks!” Marco said gleefully. He paused to set it beside him with his other presents before looking around the room in fascination again. It was hard not to, the big room one Marco had never seen before, a giant stump taking up quite a bit of the space there, which according to King River was the original one brought there by the Butterflys who built the castle. Its long roots looped and branched out across the massive space, creating nice places for everyone to sit as they opened presents, usually sitting in groups of three or four. Marco himself was currently squeezed between Star and Jackie, his pile of presents slowly diminishing until only one remained.

The boy frowned for a moment, suddenly feeling his stomach churning with guilt. Star picking up on the change in her boyfriend's demeanor asked, “What's wrong, Marco?”

“I guess I just feel bad that all of you got me gifts but I didn't get anything for any of you,” he admitted.

Star gently put a hand over his, telling him softly, “Hey, it's okay. Nobody expects anything from you, Marco. We're all just happy you're here with us. Everyone just wants your first Stump Day to be special.”

Jackie giggled slightly as she looked over her shoulder at the large pile of opened gifts and added, “Yeah, hence why everyone went overboard when they heard this was your first time celebrating.”

“Maybe just a little,” Star admitted as her and Marco followed their skater friend's gaze.

The hooded teen let out a deep breath, nodding his head in agreement. “Yeah, you're right, guys. I should just enjoy it,” he said, before flashing them a confident grin and declaring loudly, “And next year I'll be sure to give everyone here the best Stump Day gifts they've ever seen!”

“That's the spirit!” Jackie exclaimed, giving him a quick hug.

“But for now,” Star said with a hinting tone, slowly reaching behind her. “You can... open this present I got for you!” The blond gave her boyfriend the brightest grin imaginable as she held up a bright red present with a pretty green bow around it.

Marco gasped with joy the moment he saw his gift, taking it eagerly out of her hands. “Oh wow, Star. This is so great! You didn't have to do this!”

“What and not get my boyfriend a present on his first official Stump Day?” Star teased, giving him a quick wink, which caused him to blush.

“Thanks, Star,” he said shyly.

“So, what are you waiting for? Open it up,” Star said, quickly losing her patience as she tried to guess what his reaction would be to her extra special gift. Her blue eyes sparkled as she watched him rip off the wrapping paper, not taking any time or care to preserve it, which was fine with her, just discarding it onto the floor without a second thought. He looked the box the bright red box over, his eyes incapable of growing any larger as he turned it around in his hands, observing every inch of the cubed surface. He hadn't even known boxes could come in different colors. “Wow, thank you Star, this is so awesome!”

Star laughed, putting her arms around him in a make-shift hug and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. “If I had known you'd like the boxes this much I would have saved you up some.”

Marco grinned goofily at his girlfriend's show of affection, saying brightly, “I guess I'm still pretty much in shock over getting any gifts at all.”

Star and Jackie smiled at him, the skater saying, “Well you deserve every single one, dude.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. But her impatience finally won out as she gave him a tight squeeze and said, “Now hurry up and open it! You're going to love it!”

Marco laughed, saying, “Okay, okay.” he threw the lid off, staring inside at his present, before his smile vanished, his jaw hitting the floor as he gave the object inside a disbelieving look. He was mesmerized, his sun cheek marks spinning a mile a minute as he processed what he was seeing. He looked over at Star with a questioning look, silently asking her if this was really for him and she nodded, her palms pressed together in front of her mouth as she gauged his reaction. The boy quickly looked back at his present before his breath hitched, tears flooding his vision. He reached inside and pulled out the bright red hoodie from within, holding it close to his chest as the box hit the floor with a muted and forgotten thunk.

The material was the exact same as the one he was wearing, soft to the touch, in fact it seemed like almost an exact replica to his favorite choice of clothing. But unlike the identical dozen hanging in his closet this one had festive designs stitched all over it. A stump occupied the center, of course, and below it Star and Marco were holding hands. A set of pretty yellow stars had been stitched in different sections of the hoodie, which he noticed all looked like the ones he had seen topping some of the trees around Mewni. Each sleeve had a green snowflake pattern on it, right at the elbows, and the inside of his hood was lined green as well. “Star, I-I don't know what to say,” the boy whispered under his breath, still struggling to keep his tears at bay. “How did you find this?”

Star held him close to her as she explained, “I had it made for you. I managed to locate the company that made your old hoodies and I asked them to make a specialty one for you. This way, you'll always be able to look back and remember your first Stump Day with me.”

“Oh wow, thank you, Star!” Marco cried, the tears now finally breaking free as they rolled down his cheeks. He hugged her close to him, laying his head on her shoulder as he repeated over and over again, “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love it so much!”

The joy on Star's face was indescribable as she made her Marco happy beyond belief. She loved spoiling him already, adoring the cute little face he would make whenever she surprised him with something. But this accomplishment might have been better than all the others, because she knew she had just made his day and she hoped this would be enough to convince him to agree with her on this being the greatest time of the year. And considering how tightly he was hugging, it would seem she had done just that, the blond royal silently congratulated herself on knowing her bestie well enough to get him exactly what he wanted.

The moment they pulled away, Jackie suggested, “Why don't you try it on, Marco?” The boy didn't even hesitate as he ripped off his old hoodie, Star grabbing it out of the air before watching as he slipped on the new one. He was too excited to even take the time to unzip it, just slipping it over his head and letting it slide down his body before stuffing his arms through. Marco squealed with delight, softly feeling of the fabric with his fingertips and standing up so he could admire himself from every angle. “It fits me perfect!” he shouted, not even realizing the sleeves were just a bit too long and kept falling over his hands. Star would have complained that the makers had gotten the specific dimensions she had given them wrong, but honestly he looked too adorable with sleeves that completely covered his hands. Plus Marco was pleased with it, Star figured she should be too.

Marco sat back down, rolling his sleeves up enough that he had use of his hands, proclaiming to the two girls, “This has been the best Stump Day I've ever had!”

“This is the only Stump Day you've ever had,” Jackie playfully pointed out.

“Yeah but I don't think anything is going to top this,” Marco said.

Star kissed his forehead, making him blush, as she said with a mischievous grin, “Challenge accepted.”

Marco just smiled and laughed, but before he could retort, there was a call across the room. “Star!”

The three looked over to see Moon waving at her, trying to desperately get her attention as River was currently wrestling with one of his Johansen cousins, Rider, to get the mislabeled gift that both thought was addressed to them. Star cringed, before shouting, “Coming mom!” She turned to Marco, giving him an apologetic grin as she sheepishly muttered, “Sorry, duty calls! Be right back, okay?”

“Sure thing,” Marco said, smiling to let her know it was fine. But as he noticed his hood still tucked under her arm, he quickly added, “Oh here let me take that back.”

He reached out a hand to grab it, but to his surprise Star pulled away, frantically shouting, “No, no it's fine. I'll keep a hold of it a little longer. So I can, uh... give it to Sir Lavabo.”

“But Sir Lavabo is off for the day,” Jackie pointed out.

“Well I could at least send it to be washed,” Star quickly countered, her cheeks now coated in a bright blush. “Okay well, I better get going!” she quickly excused herself, running over to her parents.

Marco and Jackie shared a look. “What was that about?” the boy wondered aloud.

“No idea,” Jackie responded, looking equally as confused. But after that, the two let the subject drop, the two settling into a comfortable silence, just watching the others, who were all equally in the festive spirit.

Tom and Janna sat side by side on one of the stumps, the beanie-wearing teen watching as the demon boy opened his gift with a cheerful smile. But it vanished in an instant as he held up the tiny mistletoe in his hands, giving her a questioning look. “Come on, Janna. Mistletoe, really? I thought you would be a bit more clever than that,” he said with a scoff, rolling his eyes. At this point, Tom had been around Janna enough to learn her ways and was almost unfazed by most of her flirtatious charms. Which is why, now she had taken that as a personal challenge, constantly going out of her way with more and more insane schemes to make him blush and lose his cool. But this did not seem to be one of them as she pulled off the oldest trick in the book.

Janna, didn't seem troubled or ashamed though, as she just smirked at him, saying lazily, “Oh Tom, ye of little faith. What is in your hand right now, isn't just mistletoe.”

Tom gave her a stunned expression, asking hesitantly, “Then... what is it?”

“It's a magically infused patch of mistletoe, which makes anyone who touches it have a sudden and uncontrollable urge to kiss whoever is nearest them.” Janna scooted just an inch closer, her elbows resting on her knees as she said flirtatiously, “So Lucitor, where's my Stump Day present?”

Make directed his attention next over to his Monster family who all sat clumped together around their leader, Buff Frog, who waved as he noticed Marco's attention on him. The boy waved back, before pointing to his hoodie and his dad gave him a proud shake of his head and thumbs up. But his attention was quickly drawn back to his rowdy friends, Beard Deer currently getting annoyed with Lobster Claws, who had spent the last minute and a half shaking his present, trying to guess the contents within. The crustacean had a thoughtful expression as he rotated the gift in his oversized claws before giving it another shake, making Beard Deer growl in frustration. “Just open it already, idiot!” the deer Monster shouted.

“Hang on, I like to take my time,” Lobster Claws responded.

“Well at this rate, Stump Day will be over before you get done!”

“Okay, okay, fine,” the crustacean finally snapped, before slowly beginning to peel away the paper, inch by tortuous inch, Beard Deer letting out an infuriated groan, his whole body shaking with mirth.

Marco smiled at his families antics before turning his attention to Higgs, trying not to laugh out loud at what he saw, knowing the consequences for doing such a thing. The redheaded knight and her dad were currently wearing matching green sweaters, Dex grinning goofily while his daughter had her arms crossed in front of her chest, a sour expression on her face. “Isn't this fun, Higgs!” her dad asked with a cheerful demeanor.

“Not really,” the girl grumpily mumbled under her breath.

“What was that, sweetie?” Dex asked, not quite hearing her.

Higgs groaned. “I said this is embarrassing, dad! All the other knights are gonna be making fun of me! I'll be the laughingstock of the castle for weeks!”

“Well I think I you look good, Higgs,” Jak helpfully pitched in.

“I don't need your pity, Jak!” Higgs barked at him.

Dex sniffed, tears filling his vision as he quietly whispered to himself, “Just like her mother.”

“Vioooollet!” a small voice shrieked, gaining Marco's attention as he quickly checked to make sure the twins were okay, but sighed in relief as he saw that Daisy and Violet were still just playing with their new toys together on the floor. The cutesy twin had a set of 'My Little Unicorn's' that her mom had gotten her, while Violet was playing with her new pose-able Monster action figure (a gift from Star apparently). Daisy was pouting as she crossed her arms bitterly in front of her chest. “Stop knocking over my unicorns! They are trying to graze!”

“Yeah well they can't now because a Monster is attacking them!” Violet screamed, before roaring and making her toy stamp around, knocking over several of Daisy's unicorn collection. “Silly unicorns, me smash them with super strong feet!” the girl said in the deepest voice she could, clearly speaking for her action figure.

“That's not fair! You're breaking the rules, Violet,” Daisy whined, pointing an accusing finger her way.

Violet laughed, still speaking in her Monster voice, “Ha ha ha, me Monster, me no care about rules! Now to destroy pitiful horses with my laser vision!” She starting making shooting sounds with her mouth, while her sister just groaned in annoyance.

“Monsters don't even have laser vision,” Daisy pointed out.

“Yeah, well this one does,” Violet told her, breaking character for a moment.

“Fine, than my unicorns use magic to slay the Monster,” the cutesy girl declared, picking up two of her toys and aiming it at Violet's action figure.

“Not if he gobbles them up first!” the creepy kid exclaimed.

“Ha, yeah right, everyone knows unicorns taste bad,” Daisy matter-of-factly stated.

Marco smiled, glad to see the two playing and getting along... sorta. His eyes continued scanning the area looking for their mom, not surprised when he found her surrounded by a large group of guys all craving her attention, which she seemed to be loving every second of. She gasped as she opened up the tiny present in her hands saying in a sugary-sweet tone, “For me? Oh Manfred you shouldn't have” The Mewman in question was smiling ear to ear, a bright blush on his face, while the others were shooting him death glares.

Marco smiled at the older royal, wondering how she managed to capture so many people's attention at once. Everyone always seemed to love her and that was a trait Marco wished he could know more about, since his insecure side still surfaced and caused him trouble every now and then.

The boy let out a deep sigh, letting everything sink in as he just enjoyed the moment. Everything was so wonderful and new and fantastic and he didn't even think he had a word to describe how happy he was to be a part of it. It made him feel special, made him feel like he belonged, like this was where he was always meant to be. He couldn't believe how many Stump Day's had been robbed from him, how many memories he had missed out on due to Toffee's selfishness. But at least he was here now and that was really all that mattered, he realized.

Marco turned to look back at his presents, thinking of how wonderful and incredible his family was, when something occurred to him. Star hadn't opened a single gift. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed, too entranced in his unwrapping frenzy to realize his girlfriend had just been watching him the whole time. He quickly looked around for any signs of Star's presents around the branch they were sitting on, before his eyes scanned the rest of the room, hoping maybe they had all just been misplaced or something. But everyone else was done with their wrapping and he couldn't see a single, unopened box left anywhere in the massive room.

The boy frowned, before turning back to Jackie asking in concern, “How come Star didn't get a present?” He couldn't believe it, if anyone deserved something special on Stump Day, it was Star. She was incredible and she deserved a billion gifts to show her just how amazing she was. How could nobody get her anything?!

“Oh Star usually waits to open up her presents the day after, y'know during her birthday party,” Jackie nonchalantly explained.

Marco felt his heart stop as he screamed in shock, “What?! It's her birthday tomorrow!”

“No, it's today, but she always celebrates the day after,” Jackie replied with a questioning look, taking in the look of surprise on her friend's face. “You really didn't know that?”

The boy shook his head, feeling the color draining from his face. How didn't he know that? Star was his girlfriend and his bestie, if anyone should have known when her birthday was it was him. “Marco,” Jackie's voice softly called, incapable of reaching him as he lost himself more and more to his distressed thoughts. But not only didn't he know it was her birthday, but that also meant he hadn't gotten her anything either. He hadn't gotten his own girlfriend a present on her birthday... which also happened to be on her favorite day of the year! “Marco?” What was wrong with him? He had to fix this! He had to do something for her!”Marco?!” He had to show her just how special and important she was to him! He needed to-

“Marco!” Jackie shouted for the forth time, this time finally managing to gain his attention as he finally met her gaze. The boy noticed the concern in her eyes and the fact he was suddenly feeling light-headed and realized he had most likely just been hyperventilating. The skater gave him a comforting smile, telling him, “Look it's okay you didn't know.”

“No it isn't!” Marco argued, his voice cracking against his will. “I'm her boyfriend, Jackie! How could I not get her anything on her birthday?!”

“Well look, you can just do it next year like we talked about,” Jackie helpfully suggested, but Marco shook his head vigorously.

“No way, this is different,” the hooded teen argued. “I can't be the only one who didn't get her a birthday present. I'd feel awful.”

“Star would understand,” Jackie reassured him.

Marco sighed. “But that's not the point. She shouldn't have to. She is the most amazing person I've ever met, she deserves better.” Marco bit his lip as he tried to wrack his brain for an idea, as he muttered to himself, “There has to be something nice I can do for her.”

Jackie watched her friend closely, judging his thoughtful expression as she realized that the hooded teen wasn't going to give up on this idea. His determination was something nobody could match and once he made his mind up, there was no stopping him. So wanting to cheer up her friend, she helpfully suggested, “Tell you what, how about later we go over to Quest Buy and find something for her. Would that make you feel better?”

Marco's face immediately broke out into a wide grin and he surprised her with a tight hug. “Yes that would be awesome Jackie! Thank you so, so much!”

Jackie giggled and gave him a gentle squeeze back, her heart leaping for being able to brighten the innocent teen's spirits. “No problem, Marco. You know I'm always here for you.”

“Hey guys.” The two pulled out of the hug to see Star standing over them (the hoodie still bundled up in her arms) looking tired but happy and she smiled over to them saying, “Sorry about that. So what do you want to do next?”

Before Jackie could say a word, Marco had grabbed a hold of her arm and loudly exclaimed, “Well actually, me and Jackie just realized that we needed to go do something, so we have to go.”

Star seemed surprised by this, asking, “Now? But the party isn't over yet.”

“Yeah but we really gotta go,” Marco responded immediately, the skater not even having a chance to protest as the boy stood and began heading for the door. He shouted over his shoulder on the way out, “Great party! Had a great time, thanks everyone, bye!”

Star gave Jackie a quizzical look as she was dragged out of the room, but the white-haired teen merely shrugged in reply and gave her a sheepish smile, before following along after the boy, knowing it was pointless to argue with him at this point. Marco's mind was made up, he was getting a gift for Star.

…

Marco and Jackie casually strolled down the bustling streets of Mewni village, dodging joyful peasants that passed by them, all of them in a hurry to get somewhere it seemed. Marco did, however, receive several compliments for his festive hoodie which he just smiled and thanked them for. The streets were crowded with a million things to see and do that day, sellers giving out Stump Day merchandise, decorations and lights that covered every corner of town, and carolers singing traditional Stump Day carols with donations boxes set up to help those in need. Normally Marco would have stopped to enjoy and gawk at all the new sights and sounds, but today the hooded teen barely noticed any of it, he was on a mission and he couldn't afford to get distracted. And so with every step his pace increased more and more until he was almost jogging down the sidewalks, leaving his friend behind in a trail of dust. After a few moments, Jackie called after him with a giggle, "Slow down, dude, you're gonna get run over." "I know, I know," Marco said, himself down enough that he was side by side with Jackie, but the effort left him bouncing up and down with energy and impatience. "But we're so close. I just can't wait to get Star a birthday present. She's always doing so much for me, I really want to return the favor." "And liberating her entire world and then becoming one of her most valued and hardworking members of her commission isn't enough?" Jackie asked in a teasing tone, raising a knowing eyebrow at her friend. "You know what I mean," Marco argued, a grin lighting up his face at her playful demeanor. "This is different from all that. She's my girlfriend, isn't getting her a present on her birthday like one of the requirements of being a good boyfriend?" "You got me there," Jackie replied, shooting him a wink. The two turned to face forward and Marco gasped, his eyes shimmering as the Quest Buy shop finally came into view. "There it is! Come on Jackie, let's hurry!" Marco raced forward, Jackie doing her best to keep up with him, dodging smoothly around carts and passerbys giving them startled looks as they went by. The boy reached the store entrance, Jackie right on his heels, and he slammed the door open loudly shouting, "I'm here to buy the perfect gift!" But he froze as he noticed that the store was completely empty and not just of customers... everything was gone, the shelves empty and the bins picked clean. The only one currently there was a very tired looking sloth, slowly sweeping the floor. "Wh-What happened? Where is everything?" Marco asked looking around the store with a frown. "Uh yeah, we sold out for the day after our Stump Day 99 percent off sale," the sloth explained in an unenthusiastic voice. "Sold out!" Marco whined, putting a hand to his head. "But now how am I gonna buy Star a birthday present?" he asked worriedly. The sloth shrugged. "I don't know. Not my problem." Jackie however was deep in thought, finally saying enthusiastically, "Luckily, I may know a way."

…

Marco stood open-mouthed, staring in wonder at the giant store before him the second he stepped through the portal. Jackie appeared right behind him, before sealing the dimensional tear back up with her pair of scissors. Marco, meanwhile, had yet to blink, afraid he would miss a single fantastical sight from the new world before him."Wwwwhhhoooaaa!" The boy whispered in amazement. The building looked more like a labyrinth than a store, endless rows filled with every item known across the multiverse which seemed to stretch outward into infinity. Marco could see several sloth workers restocking shelves or answering customer questions. He also spotted a large map, or he thought it was a map, it looked more like an ancient code that he wasn't even sure was decipherable, but he was grateful to see it all the same. A giant sign hung above the whole store, reading 'Quest Buy.' "Pretty cool, huh?" Jackie asked, seeing the joy and astonishment written all over the boy's face. "This is the original Quest Buy, everything from our store and then some is here, which means we shouldn't have any trouble finding Star a present." "I'll bet!" Marco exclaimed. “It's so huge! I-I can't believe a place like this even exists." "Well its real, all right," Jackie replied with a chuckle. She gave her hooded friend an eager grin as she added, "So how about we start looking for that present?" "Yeah!" Marco cried, pumping both fists into the air in excitement. He gasped as something caught his eye and quickly latched onto Jackie's arm, shouting, "Ooohh what's that? Let's start over there!" Jackie held back her laughter as the boy dragged her around the store, freaking out over something every couple of seconds. After about half an hour of exploring the store, Marco started to get serious and doubled down on his gift getting mission. That was when Jackie discovered that the hooded teen was a very picky shopper, at least where Star was concerned. Nothing seemed to be to the boy's liking, developing a very critical eye toward the wondrous items from across the multiverse. At some point, Jackie started pitching him suggestions, which didn't seem to help all that much.

"What about this?" Jackie suggested, holding up a pair of star earrings. "I bet Star would like these." Marco gave them a frown, before shaking his head. "Mmm, nope. I can do better for her than that." Jackie nodded and set them back. "Fair enough." The two continued on a few feet, before the skater suggested, "How about a wand charger, she can always use one of those?" She pointed down the aisle where a large selection of charging devices were. "Too formal," the boy replied. "Oookkkayy," Jackie said thoughtfully. "How about this?" The girl gestured to the device. "Its a device that can braid your hair in ten seconds or less guaranteed!" "So can Star's wand," Marco pointed out. "Hadn't thought of that," the skater replied.

“Well what about this?”

“No.”

“Or this?”

“Nope.”

“This?”

“Um, is that box supposed to be buzzing?”

Jackie screamed and quickly threw the box of insta-kill bees back up on the shelf. “Why do they even have that here?” the skater asked, wiping her hands on her pant leg.

Both teens looked around at the massive store filled with a billion items, none of which seemed just right for Star, and they sighed. This was a lot harder than they were expecting.

“Are you in need of assistance?” a mechanical sounding voice said behind them and the two screamed and turned to see a large creature, its body made out of electricity with a large green eye that seemed to make up its entire face. The eyeball blinked red every couple of seconds as it stared at them with a dead look, making both of teens skin crawl.

“Um, who are you?” the boy asked, resisting the urge to hide behind his skater friend. He didn't like the way this thing was looking at him.

“I am Quest Buy's first customer service bot,” the thing explained. “My function is to help our customers find a purchase that is to their satisfaction. Now then, are you in need of assistance?”

The two shared a look, before quickly shaking their heads, Jackie saying, “No, no that's okay. We're good.”

“Yeah, you can go help someone else,” the boy added, hoping he didn't sound too desperate to make the thing leave.

“I'm afraid I cannot do that, my systems have picked up unhappiness from you two and I am unable to leave until you are satisfied with your purchase.”

“Great,” Jackie muttered under her breath. “So now we got a tin can following us around and monitoring our every move.”

“I am not made of tin, I am made of ionized plutonic energy cells which are located in my core processing center, which is stored in my retina chip,” the service bot explained.

Marco gave the thing a long lost look before asking in confusion, “Um, what?”

“Her eyeball powers her face,” Jackie translated.

“Ooohhh,” the boy said, sorta understanding what all that mumbo-jumbo she had been going on about was.

“Yes, that is a more simplified way of putting it,” the service bot agreed. “Now then, is there anything I can do to make your shopping experience easier, I could perhaps give you directions to a section of our store, or read you off some deals we have going, or I could get you set up with our membership program-”

As the bot continued to list off more and more options, Marco and Jackie tuned her out, turning to each other as they began whispering amongst each other. “Well looks like we're gonna be stuck here a while, dude,” Jackie pointed out.

“Yeah I know,” the boy sighed. “Man, why is this so hard? I know Star better than anyone, finding her a gift should be no problem.”

“Well, what do you think she would want?”

The boy shook his head. “I'm not sure, there's just too many options in here, I can't think straight.”

“There has to be something in here she would like?”

“Yeah, but I don't want it to be just any old gift, I want it to be perfect.”

The service bot's voice instantly stopped and the two turned to the machine, giving it quizzical looks. Its eyeball was wildly blinking red and before either could question what it was doing, it simply stated, “Request acknowledged.”

There was a bright flash of light, as it shot a beam directly at Marco and Jackie, who screamed and held onto each other, fearing for their lives, clenching their eyes closed. The hooded boy's life flashed before his eyes and he wondered if this was really the end for him and his friend. But after a few seconds without blinding pain, the boy decided to risk peaking open an eye. The two were now in a giant empty room, their ragged breath echoing off the walls of the open space. Hovering over them was the service bot, who gave them the same empty look as before, though now the blinking red light was gone at least. “Hey, um, Jackie I think we're alive,” Marco told the girl and her eyes flew open as she looked around the room in confusion.

“Where are we?” she asked.

The service bot was quick to answer, saying, “The Wishing Room. A coming attraction to the Quest Buy store opening up to the public sometime next year.”

“Wishing Room?” Jackie repeated skeptically at the same time Marco nervously questioned, “Are we even allowed in here?”

“Yes, I have granted you both temporary access in response to your request,” the bot answered.

“My request?” the boy asked, raising a confused eyebrow.

Suddenly, the bots eye lit up red again, this time Marco hearing his own words and voice being repeated back to him, 'I don't want it to be just any old gift, I want it to be perfect.'

“Okay, that's creepy,” Jackie said, shuddering as a chill went up her spine.

Marco was inclined to agree, but he pushed this frightening moment aside for the more pressing concern he had. “So this room... it can help me get the perfect gift for Star?”

“Yes,” the service bot replied simply. “The Wishing Room can create anything it is you desire.”

The boy smiled and eagerly asked, “Okay great, how does it work?!”

“Whatever you think of will appear here,” the service bot explained.

“Wow, that seems so simple,” Marco gasped in shock. He had thought it would be much more complicated process that that.

“We are designing it to be user friendly, once we work the last of the bugs out.”

“What was that last bit?” Jackie questioned skeptically.

“Nothing to concern yourselves over, the safety of our shoppers at Quest Buy are our top priority,” the bot recited, her monotone voice sounding almost as if she was reading off of a script.

“Okay then,” Jackie said, slowly raising an eyebrow before turning to the hooded teen. “Go ahead and give it a shot, dude.”

“Right,” Marco said with a confident nod. He took a step forward, closing his eyes so he could concentrate on what he was doing, before saying loudly, “Okay room, please give me what Star wants most!”

The boy heard a poof sound and he smiled opening his eyes, expecting to see something amazing in front of him, but he could only gasp and stare open-mouthed at what had been created. Standing before him was a replica of him, except for his mole being on the wrong side, his cheek marks were dull and faded, and wearing a blue hoodie instead of his typical red. “Wh-Who are you?!” Marco asked in shock.

The boy smiled and stated plainly, “Oh I'm Marco Fresh, the new cooler version of you, who is gonna sweep Star off her feet-”

“Nope!” Jackie shouted, waving her hands in front of her and making the fake Marco vanish from sight. “That is not what we wanted!”

Marco just continued to stare blankly ahead, his eyes wide and full of confusion, “D-Did I just make another me?”

Jackie sighed, before telling him, “That must have just been one of the glitches, try again Marco.”

The boy nodded, still looking slightly startled, before he took a deep breath and tried again, trying to concentrate on something Star would like. The blond liked a lot of thing, rainbows, narwhals, that old band Love Sentence she and he had listened to a couple of songs from. Let's see what else? Puppies, sunsets, her home and family, making people smile which always seemed to just make her whole face light up in the cutest way... okay, focus Marco. What was the thing she loved the most in the world?

He heard another poof sound and his eyes snapped open only to see nothing before him. He frowned and looked around a bit, till he eventually found his newest creation sitting at his feet. It was a miniature version of him, wearing only a diaper, with its mole and cheek marks looking the same as the last fake him. Only this time, it had red wheels on its feet. It smiled up at him, before saying, “I'm Baby Marco and I have wheels for hands, Whhhheeeee!” It skidded away, leaving a dust cloud behind it as the two teens could only gap in disbelief at what had just occurred. The two shared a quick look before Marco suggested, “Never speak of this again?”

“Agreed,” the skater said instantly.

“Okay this clearly isn't working,” the hooded boy said with a disappointed look. “Maybe we should just go back to searching the store.”

“Yeah, I think this room is either broken or buggy,” Jackie concluded, her hands going to her hips as she looked around the large space skeptically.

“The Wishing Room is fully operational and had encountered zero glitches in-24- days,” the service bot replied, pausing as her voice changed when stating the number of days.

“Then why isn't it working?” Marco asked, growing quickly frustrated. “Why can't it just do what I asked and make the one thing Star cares about most?!”

The boy looked away from the machine sadly, his gaze connecting with a mirror that had suddenly appeared next to him. He stared at his dejected looking reflection for a few moments before he sighed, squeezing his eyes shut as he asked softly, “Why don't I know what Star wants?”

Jackie the whole time was giving him a thoughtful expression, when suddenly the answer clicked in her mind and a smile lit up her face. She walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder as she gave him a cheerful look with her pair of bright eyes, “Maybe you do.”

Marco gave her a perplexed look. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, maybe the answer is right in front of you,” Jackie explained, gesturing over to his reflected image.

The hooded boy followed her gaze, before cocking his head quizzically to the side, as he asked, “A mirror? But she already has one of those.”

“No, not the mirror,” Jackie replied, with a slight giggle at the boy's cute naivety. “You.”

“Ohhh,” Marco said, finally nodding in understanding. He looked back over at his reflected image, a smile lighting up his face, asking softly, “You really think it's me?”

“Well yeah, I mean what does Star care about more than you,” the skater replied.

“Awwww,” Marco said, his cheeks lighting up with a blush and his eyes shimmering with affection. “That is so sweet!”

Next to them, though, the service bot was starting to act weird, its body twitching and its eye flashing bright red, along with the rest of its electrical body. The two noticed this and Marco asked his friend in concern, “Um, what's it doing?”

“Uhhhh-” was all Jackie got out before it interrupted her.

“Error, error, error!” it began screeching, making the two cover their ears at the loud, obnoxious noise. “Item not found in Quest Buy's inventory! Request unable to be complete!” All the while, its body began shuddering more and more, until it was simply repeating the same phrase over and over, “Item not found! Item not found! Item not found!”

Finally, much to the two's surprise and dismay the machine exploded into a ball of flashing lights and electric currents, the two shielding their eyes from the bright burst of heat. After a couple seconds, the two slowly moved their hands and opened their eyes, seeing a singed and broken patch of ground where nothing remained save for a green card with an eyeball on it. The two just stared at it for a few moments, completely speechless after what had just occurred, until finally Marco asked, “Sooo, are we gonna have to pay for that?”

…

The two were giving the sloth worker sheepish smiles and shrugs as they watched him clean up the last of the mess that the destroyed bot had left behind, shooting them very unhappy glares as he did so. Lucky for them, Quest Buy wasn't making them cover the costs on their one of a kind robot, after they had explained the story to them, since it seemed more due to bad programming then their fault directly. Still, that didn't stop the two from feeling guilty for breaking it but there was little they could do about it now, no sense dwelling on it.

Besides there was still the task at hand and now that that fiasco was over, the two's mind drifted back to their mission as they followed the sloth out of the back room. They watched him as he grumpily stormed away, before Jackie turned to her friend and asked, “So Marco have you figured out what to get Star?”

The boy shrugged, saying, “Not really. I mean it's cool that I'm so important to her but it's not like I can exactly wrap myself up to give to her.”

“True, but on the bright side whatever you get her she's sure to love because it came from you,” Jackie pointed out, elbowing him once in the shoulder.

Marco contemplated that for a few moments, biting the inside of his cheek in thought. He knew that was true that it didn't matter what he got her she would be sure to enjoy, but he still didn't want it to be just any gift, he wanted it to be special... like the hoodie she made for him. It was amazing not just because it had come from Star but that she had put so much care and thought into getting him exactly what she knew he would love. So the big question was, what could he give her that could compare to her amazing present?

That was when it hit him, the answer that had been right in front of him the whole time. How had he not thought of it sooner? It was perfect and he was sure it was exactly what she would want. A smiled brightened up his face as he slowly turned to Jackie, who gave him a curious look seeing the excitement written all over his face. “What? Did you figure out what to get her?” she asked, pretty sure she already knew the answer (if his cheek marks which had turned into flashing light bulbs were any indication than the answer was definitely yes).

The boy nodded, confirming Jackie's suspicions, as he proudly declared, “Yeah, I think I know what she wants.”

“Great to hear, Marco,” the skater said with an encouraging grin. “But we better hurry and get whatever it is though. Quest Buy closes soon.”

The girl started to run ahead, but came to an immediate stop the second she heard her friend say, “Actually...” She turned back to him with surprise. “...it's not in Quest Buy.”

Jackie raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for further explanation, before he added mysteriously, “In fact, we've already got everything we need.” He put his hands on his hips, the knowing smile on his lips never wavering as he just stared ahead with a confident look gleaming in his eyes, until finally his friend asked, “Sooo are you tell me what it is or-” The boy gave her a sheepish look, saying quickly, “Oh yeah right, sorry.”

…

Night set on Mewni, bringing Stump Day ever closer to an end for the year and for most in Butterfly Castle, they spent that night in blissful sleep, unaware of the world turning. It was silent and peaceful in the castle not a creature stirring not even a gobblemouse, which could be quite the pest this time of year. It seemed nothing could disturb the calm silence of the quiet evening as a gentle snowfall continued into the late hours of the night, not even a gust of wind had blown through to disturb the dream-like state that had fallen over the kingdom.

Star was asleep in her bed, enjoying the quiet as visions of sugar plums danced through her head. The girl let out a deep sigh and licked her lips, muttering groggily, “Mmmm, delicious.” She pulled her arms a little closer to herself, bringing the bright red hoodie right up to her nose and she subconsciously took a long sniff, feeling calmed by the smell of her Marco, a smile appearing on her face as she fell into an even deeper state of slumber.

The door to her room slowly creaked open, Marco cringing as he feared the loud noise would wake her up but Star made no movement from her bed and the hooded teen breathed a sigh of relief. He carefully tiptoed his way over to her bed, making sure to avoid tripping over anything in the dark and, once he made it to her bed, he simply watched her sleeping form for a moment, mesmerized by the rise and fall of her chest as she snored softly. He noticed his hoodie held tightly in her grip and he felt his cheeks flush, causing his cheek marks to spin, and a grin light up his face. It looked like the same one she had at the party and he couldn't help but wonder if she had carried it around with her all day. He imagined she had, she seemed quite attached to it in sleep.

“Star,” he softly whispered, trying to keep his voice low, despite the eagerness and impatience he felt building up inside his chest. He put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle shake, saying, “Wake up.”

The girl groaned, mumbling incoherent things in her sleep while she scrunched up her face, making her resemble and a cute, little rabbit Marco observed. Finally, after a bit more prompting from the boy, Star raised a hand up to her face and lifted her sleeping mask up enough so that she could peek open an eye and see who was disturbing her slumber. “Marco?” she groggily murmured, sitting up some, before letting out a loud yawn. But as she did she realized the hoodie was currently laying against her chest and she quickly tucked it underneath her pillow, her cheeks turning a bright shade of pink, hoping he hadn't noticed it. “W-What are you doing here?” she asked, sounding a bit more awake than before, even though her face told him she was still half-asleep.

“Well it's midnight, so I just wanted to be the first to tell you...” the boy began slowly, before exclaiming loudly, “Happy Birthday!” He surprised her as he threw his arms around her in a tight hug making the blond giggle and beam ear to ear as her favorite person in the universe held her in a close embrace.

“Awww, Marco,” Star cooed, finding him just as adorable and enduring as ever. “You're the greatest!” The girl adjusted her position enough so she would give him a quick kiss on the cheek, reveling in the happy laughter that followed from her sweet Marco.

After another minute of just holding her close, the hooded teen finally pulled out of the hug, saying, “So, did you like my surprise?”

The girl nodded, giving him a loving grin. “Yeah I did.” She sighed, starting to lay her head back when Marco suddenly exclaimed, “Great, because that isn't the only one!”

“Oh really,” the blond royal said, raising a playful eyebrow.

“Nope, which is why I need you to come with me so I can show it to you,” he said, grabbing her arm trying to drag her out of bed.

Star paused, having a sneaking suspicion that he was going to lead her to a waiting surprise party and she debated for a moment on asking him to wait till morning. She could use the sleep... but seeing the look of excitement on Marco's face as he practically bounced around her bed, his body incapable of holding still making him look like an adorable little kid, she didn't have it in her to say no. So she just smiled and threw her covers off, revealing her pink bunny onesie she had gone to sleep in (a gift from her mom), before rising up out of bed. Marco waited patiently as Star took a quick second to stretch before following after him, though he never once released his hold on her arm as she did.

The boy did his best not to completely drag Star as they descended the steps to the bottom floor of the castle, wanting so badly to run the rest of the way, but he fought the urge back, continuing on at what felt to him like an agonizingly slow pace. The moment they reached the bottom steps, Marco released her hand maneuvering himself so he was behind Star, putting his hands over her eyes. “Marco, what are you doing?” she asked with a playful edge to her tone.

“I don't want to spoil the surprise,” the boy replied, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice. He couldn't wait to see Star's reaction.

Star just laughed and said, “Okay then, lead the way Marco.” The hooded boy obeyed guiding the blinded girl down the hall and into the throne room, where the gathered crowd quickly held their breaths waiting for their cue from Marco. The teen brought his blond bestie to a stop, keeping his hands in place as he said in a sing-song voice, “We're heeerree.”

“So then can I open my eyes now?” the girl asked, all this anticipation and build up causing her own excitement to grow despite already knowing what was coming, recognizing the path they had taken by heart and picking up the hushed breathing around her. It was pretty obvious her original suspicion was correct, but that still didn't mean she wasn't looking forward to it. Besides, it was hard not to want to join in when your bouncy, innocent boyfriend is helping hype you up with his own one-of-a-kind enthusiasm.

The boy instantly removed his hands, his eyes remaining implanted on Star as he shouted, “Okay, open 'em Star!” The blond did just that, blinking her eyes open at the same moment a chorus of cheers rang out around the room, all simultaneously shouting, “Happy Birthday, Star!” The girl gasped, a hand flying to her mouth, as she took in the scene before her.The throne room was now covered head to toe in decorations the time and care put into hanging each and every balloon and streamer apparent just from looking at it, even though most of it seemed to be recycled from the Stump Day party. A pile of presents was stacked neatly in the corner and a massive rainbow colored cake the size of the Star sat a short ways away from it on a table with a fancy white tablecloth. It was beautiful and delicious, just looking at it making Star's mouth water and she recognized it instantly as Kelly's work, especially as the green-haired girl only stood a short ways away, admiring it.

But none of this was what really had left her awed and speechless. That honor went to the group gathered there to greet her, consisting of not just the set of her close friends like Jackie, Janna, Tom, Pony, and so on that were to be expected... but also the smiling faces of every single orphan who had ever lived in the castle before, who she considered to be just as much family as her own flesh and blood.

“Oh my gosh, what are you all doing here?!” she asked in disbelief, looking around at the large crowd before her, misty-eyed.

“Me and Jackie invited them,” Janna explained her arm leaning on the skater's shoulder, who shared the same pleased smile at invoking the reaction they got from their friend. “It was Jack's idea actually.”

“Yeah, we figured you'd want everyone here to celebrate,” Jackie said, her eyes shining with bright enthusiasm. “Just consider it my birthday gift to you.”

“Our birthday gift to you,” Janna blurted out, raising a finger in the air.

Star let out a long breath, fighting back tears as she choked out, “I-I can't believe you all made it!”

“Of course we did, you really think we'd miss out on our favorite person in the world's birthday?” Oscar spoke up, giving her a pleasant grin that made her heart fill with warmth.

“Thank you all so much,” she said, her voice cracking a bit and the others all let out a collective aww, before racing over to envelop her in hugs, Starfan13 beating all of them to the punch.

All the while, Marco was just watching his girlfriend's every move with glee, overjoyed to see her so happy and carefree over her surprise as she hugged each and every one of the orphans, laughing with contentment. He couldn't help but feel his heart soar, the extra thumping in his chest filling him with pride for helping put such a beautiful smile on his Star's face. And he hadn't even gotten to the best part yet. Once Star had given out the last of her hugs to the others, Marco turned his attention over to Jackie, who gave him a nods and an encouraging thumbs up to tell him it was time. The hooded teen nodded before sucking in a deep breath, pulling the small, neatly wrapped gift from his pocket as he made his way over to Star.

“I can't believe you all did this for me!” Star shouted, her eyes shimmering with joy and affection for her little family, a hand over her heart. “This is just so... incredible!”

“So then, I'm taking it you liked the surprise?” Oscar asked, jokingly.

Star laughed. “Yes I did.”

“So then, think you feel like getting one more?” Marco asked, offering her his present with one of his cute, signature smiles.

The girl stared down in shock at the gift in the boy's hands for a second, taking in the perfectly folded pink wrapping paper and dark pink bow, before her eyes caught Marco's and Star felt her cheek marks beat once against her will as she felt her face heat up with a familiar blush. Finally she regained control of her senses, saying sweetly, “Oh Marco you shouldn't have,” before taking the present from him.

“Well I wanted mine to be the first one you opened, since I think you're really gonna like it,” Marco said, practically squealing with joy.

“I'm sure I will,” Star said, giving him an affectionate look, while her hands fiddled with the bow, trying to find the best way to open it without making too big a mess. The while time, Marco seemed to be getting more and more eager and impatient for her to open the gift, his eyes darting back and forth wildly and his body beginning to shake with anticipation.

“You should really hurry up and open it, Star,” Janna spoke up. “I don't think Marco can wait a minute longer.” The girl followed her gaze and held back a laugh at her boyfriend's adorable jitteriness, his face turning slightly pale as he held his breath, looking like he might explode if she didn't see what was inside soon. So, not wanting to waste another moment, she ditched the delicate approach as she yanked the ribbon free and then preceded to tear through the wrapping paper in the span of a couple seconds.

The moment she got a good look at her gift she froze, staring at the small strip of cloth speechless. It was a piece of Marco's hoodie, no bigger than her hand, the soft, red material unmistakable from anything else, she had become quite familiar with it over the months she had been with Marco after all. It had been cut off into a circular shape, before being stitched along the sides to hide the jagged edges and Star didn't have a clue who had enough experience there to do such a thing. But even more impressive than that was the pink outline of an octopus, an exact replica to the one on the front of her favorite dress. “Wha- Bu- How?” was all she managed to gasp out, running a finger along the soft cloth as the scent of Marco drifted up to her nose.

“Well I noticed you seemed pretty attached to my hoodie back at the party,” the boy began, making Star blush, but he didn't even notice too busy glowing with pride and joy for his good guesswork. “So I figured you must really like it like me, so I cut out a piece of one of my hoodies for you. The sewing was the hardest part but I-” The boy stopped himself looking over at his friend Higgs, who had been the one to show him how to sew it under the condition that he didn't tell anyone about one of her hobbies, and he quickly corrected himself before he accidentally gave it away. “-figured it out. Its small enough that it can fit inside your purse,” the boy continued. “So that way, you'll always have something to remind you of me, even when we're apart.”

The girl stared at him for a long time in silence, her eyes jumping back and forth from her boyfriend's smiling face to her gift, her throat closed up making it impossible for her to speak at the moment. “Do you like it?” he asked, his patience growing thin as he waited for Star's answer.

The girl nodded, swallowing down the lump in her throat, before squeaking out, “I love it! Thank you so much, Marco!” Then, unsurprisingly, she pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tight as she whispered into his ear, “I can't believe you really destroyed one of your hoodies, just for me.”

“Well of course I did, your amazing Star and I wanted to give you the perfect gift,” the hooded boy clarified, not sounding at all upset or worried that one of his favorite possessions was ruined. “Besides, I do still have twelve others and you did just get me a new one, so it's not like I really sacrificed anything...” the boy sheepishly added.

Star shook her head, still never breaking her hold from her Marco. “Doesn't matter. It was still very sweet of you. I couldn't have asked for a better present from my amazing bestie,” she softly cooed, finally pulling out of the hug to stare deep into his eyes.

“Soooo, what your saying is my gift was... perfect?” the teen slowly asked, looking excited for the answer.

Star nodded, trying to hold back her laughter at her boyfriend's naive cuteness. “Yes, it was perfect,” she agreed, before leaning closer and giving him the gentlest kiss on the lips. Marco reveled in the kiss, before deepening it himself, moving his lips softly against hers, one of the very few times he had taken the initiative where their kisses were concerned. Meanwhile, the others were just watching them in silence, all of them having to hold back their want to gush over the adorable couple, most of the orphans there never getting to actually to see them acting lovey-dovey around each other, since their last time around the two had been before they had started dating. All of them had known that Star and Marco had feeling for each other, but it was another thing to see them actually expressing this in such a way and not a one of them could hide their joy over seeing both teens truly happy.

Finally the young couple's lips parted, staring breathlessly at each other as their eyes just shined with love and affection, brown and blue meeting in a beautiful dance of shimmering pupils. Star looked slowly back over at her crowd of friends watching her every move and felt a small blush light up her cheeks. She had forgotten they had an audience. But she swallowed her embarrassment, saying, “Well then, I guess all that's left to do is get this party started.” The others all let out a cheer of delight, before Star and Marco shared another smile, looking so happy and content just being in the other's arms.

Pony, as soon as she heard her bestie's declaration, she suddenly blurted out, “Okay but first, could someone please turn on some heat, it's freezing in here?” Her teeth were chattering and her whole body was shivering to show just how miserable she was.

Jackie noticed this and quickly nodded, reassuring her with a simple, “I'm on it,” before going over to the fireplace. As she did, Tom gave his friend a skeptical look, saying, “I don't know what your talking about, P. I feel just fine and I literally live in fire.”

Pony just rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Well yeah you think that, you can also light yourself on fire,” she snapped.

“Then maybe all we need is Tom to stay warm,” Janna suggested, wrapping her arms around her crushes neck, the boy giving her an odd look.

“What are you-” Before he could even finish his sentence, Janna had leaned over and given him a kiss on the cheek, causing his hair to erupt into flames, while he himself froze in place with a goofy, surprised smile.

“See, told you. He's the best heat source there is,” the girl smugly said, her arms never breaking hold of his neck.

Jackie, meanwhile, was busy examining the fireplace with a frown. It had somehow gone out during the night and the girl didn't understand how or why such a thing could happen, especially when they were using Phoenix Embers which were supposed to burn for twice as long as wood or coal. And yet, the half-burnt chunks of charred rock were proof that they had once been lit but somehow gone out, no sign of how such a thing could have come to pass. Maybe one of the others had put it out, Jackie thought. But that was unlikely. She leaned down, to try and restart the fire, when she felt a few specks of dust land in her hair and she looked up the dark chimney in surprise. She gasped, her eyes widening in shock, as she quickly stood back up, calling over to her friends, “Uhhh, hey, Star, Marco! You might want to come over here!”

The two gave her an odd look before obeying, running over to join her at the fireplace. “What's up?” Star asked.

“Well you might not believe this but there are a bunch of presents stuffed up the chimney,” the skater said.

The two blinked in disbelief, before Marco asked, “Huh?”

“You know what, think it's better if I show you,” Jackie said before going over to the fireplace and slamming a hand into the brickwork as hard as she could. Instantly, a pile of presents came tumbling down, falling into a pile on the floor, making Star and Marco just gap open-mouthed. It also attracted the others attention, all of them staring over at the three in confusion.

“Whhhoooaaa,” Marco softly whispered. “Who are all these presents for?”

“No idea,” Star said, before walking slowly over to the gifts, examining them closely. “But there has to be like, at least thirty gifts here!”

“The bigger question is, how did they get here?” Jackie asked, before her and Star locked gaze, the two girls both coming to the same realization. “You don't think-” Jackie started.

Star nodded, her hands to her hips. “How else do you explain all of these presents just showing up in our chimney?”

“Good point,” Jackie agreed.

“Hey guys look, a note,” Marco gasped, picking up the small slip of paper lying on one of the gift boxes. The two girls moved so they could look over his shoulder at the light red parchment, while the others leaned forward hoping to satisfy their own curiosity over the mysterious letter. Star asked her boyfriend, “What's it say, Marco?”

The boy frowned in concentration as he slowly read off the poem written in delicate cursive on the page. “For the boy who helped spread the message of equality and peace, with his joyful enthusiasm that never does cease. With his kind acts of bravery and heart filled with light, he ended the violence and ceased the big fight. And although growing up he wasn't taught of this day, the spirit was in him in its own special way. And since none deserve better and his good deeds have shown, a lifetime of presents for every year he has grown.

Merry Stump Day, Marco Diaz.

Signed, SC and S”

An audible gasp and soft murmuring came from the others the second the boy was done reading, while Marco just let the paper in his hands go, numbly watching it flutter to the floor, before looking over at the presents in shock. After a moment of just silent contemplation, he turned to Star and Jackie, who both just stood there completely speechless. “Who's SC and S?” he asked them in confusion.

“That would be Santa Claus and the Stump,” Star explained, still looking amazed by this fact. “I mean, if you think about, it all adds up.” She gestured over to the pile of unopened presents.

“Huh, well how about that, dude,” Jackie said, giving Marco an encouraging grin. “Looks like you just brought the Stump and Santa together.”

Marco gasped, his eyes filling with joy, as he whispered in pure delight and wonderment, “Like in your cheesy Christmas specials?”

“Yep, exactly like that,” Jackie agreed with a chuckle.

“It's a Stump Day miracle!” Starfan13 suddenly shouted out and the others all released a loud cheer.

Tom, however, could only stare wide-eyed, before he blurted out, “Wait, so you're saying their actually real! I always thought they were just kids stories!”

“Of course they're real,” Star firmly stated, crossing her arms and shooting him a glare for ever doubting the Stump. Didn't he know how dangerous that could be?

“Besides you can literally light yourself on fire,” Janna pointed out. “That's honestly one of the least crazy things that's happened to us this year.”

Tom opened his mouth, looking like he was on the verge of arguing but seemed to think better of it, shrugging and saying, “Good point.”

“Soooo,” Marco's voice cut in, bringing all the attention back to him as he looked down at the gifts longingly. “Does that mean these are all for me?”

Star put an arm around the boy, telling him in a sweet voice, “Yep, apparently Santa and the Stump recognized just how special and amazing you are! Just like the rest of us all know.”

The boy blushed, before asking delightedly, “So I get to open all of these?”

Star giggled, before kissing his cheek, “Yep, go ahead. You earned it, Marco.”

“Yeah and you better get started, you've apparently got fourteen years worth to get through,” Jackie added playfully.

“Okay!” the boy yelled, before joyfully diving for the nearest present, not wasting a second as he ripped it open. He gasped, before shouting in pure elation, “Oh my gosh, it's a box!”

The others just watched as the adorable teen opened present after present, oohing, awwing and showing off each and every gift, re-experiencing the joy of Stump Day all over again. Star just smiled and laughed at her boyfriend's joyous reactions, grateful with each new thing he received no matter what it was. She was so enchanted by the hooded teen in fact, that she didn't even realize Janna had snuck up behind her until she was speaking from right next to her, causing the blond to jump slightly. “You know it doesn't seem fair,” the beanie-wearing teen observed and Star gave her a questioning look.

“What doesn't?” Star asked, an eyebrow slowly raising.

“That they didn't get you anything,” Janna said simply, her hands sliding into her pockets. “I mean sure, I get what they were going for, giving Marco enough presents to make up for never getting to celebrate Stump Day before. But what about you? You helped bring peace to Mewni, too. They couldn't have sent you a card or something. Geez, how cruel is that.”

Star considered this for a moment, as her hands began fiddling with the small patch of Marco's hoodie. She couldn't help but grin down at it, still touched by her bestie's thoughtfulness. She couldn't have asked for a better gift for him, the idea of carrying a piece of Marco around with her everywhere filled her with so much joy she wasn't sure their were words to describe such a feeling. And as she slowly looked back up at Marco, seeing the joy and happiness spread all over his gaze, she felt her heart swelling in a way that only her Marco could cause, her crystal eyes shimmering like a thousand diamonds.

Star's face softened into a loving glow as she watched her pure, sweet Marco enjoying his very first Stump Day, every ounce of unparallelled delight and merriment on his face making Star's heart leap. Just getting to see him smile like that, easily made this the best birthday she had ever had, as her boyfriend was rightfully spoiled yet again. Which was why the girl couldn't help but chuckle softly to herself, her eyes never once leaving Marco as she told her friend in a tender, whispered tone, “It's not cruel. They knew exactly what to get me.”

#Star vs #Star vs AU #My Writing #Light of the Sun and Stars #Starco #Jantom #Starcember #Not sure if this counts but what the heck

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coffee-obsessed-writer · 6 years ago

Text

The Pact - Chapter 2

Sam Winchester, Gothic AU

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

A/N: This idea was a long time coming. My first true AU, so please be gentle. This will be a slow burn, multi-chapter fic. A HUGE thank you to one of my besties @kazosa for continuing to remind me of this idea we had been planning for a long time now and for suggesting I finally start it. Hope you enjoy!!

Summary: Lord Samuel Winchester has lost the love of his life due to the actions of the Demon King, Crowley. As he plots secret revenge, his father, the King of Lawrence, decrees that Sam will wed Crowley’s daughter in order to unite the two families to protect the sacred ground the Winchester’s Kingdom is built upon.

Eventual Pairing: Sam Winchester x Crowley’s Daughter!Reader

Other Players: John Winchester, Crowley, Rowena, Dean Winchester (mentioned), Bobby Singer, Jessica Moore (deceased)

Warnings: mild language

Words: 6.3K

Everything Tags:

@sorenmarie87 // @lefthologramdeer // @rockyhorrorpictureshowstyle // @his-paradox // @letsby

Supernatural Tags:

@wings-of-a-raven // @kazosa // @negans-wife // @grace-for-sale // @geeksareunique // @tiquismiquis // @mrsbarnes-rogers // @teller258316 // @spnhollis // @sweet-things-4-life // @hobby27 // @sweetlythoughtfulbird // @theoriginalvicki // @dreamchester67 // @xxwarhawk // @babykalika2001 // @superwhovianfangirl81 // @toobusynerdfighting // @missihart23 // @crowleysreigningqueenofhell // @idreamofplaid // @thewinchesterchronicles // @wayward-gypsy // @closetspngirl // @fatestemptress // @rebelminxy // @22sarah08 // @witch-of-letters // @cole-winchester // @rainflowermoon // @adoptdontshoppets // @foreverwayward // @waywardvalkyrie // @fandomoniumflurry // @gnrfanfic // @blackcherrywhiskey // @jessieray98 // @lyoly // @a--1--1--3 // @31shadesofbrown // @whereismyangel-damnitdeanshare

(I don’t normally tag series, but since this is an AU, I will tag specifically for this one if you don’t want to be on my SPN list. Let me know if you want to hop on any of my tag lists.)

The Pact Tags: @theplaid-wearingmoose // @zombiewerewolfqueen // @silkiechicken // @collette04

The morning of the ceremony, Sam made his way through the maze of tunnels that lead to Singer’s Apothecary. At the end of the corridor stood the oversized wooden monstrosity that led to the lair’s entrance. Using the key given to him by Singer, he made quick work of the lock and let himself in.

Passing through the frigid stoned clad archway, Sam sighed with relief when he came through the other side and felt the warm breath of heat from the fire that was always burning beneath the cauldron. The invisible barrier kept unwanted and unworthy souls out, but the cost of walking through it left a chill in Sam’s spine for days after. Bobby said it worked better than the warding that was used along the Kingdom’s borders. “It’s just a smart play,” he’d said when Sam questioned why he’d set the barrier in the first place, “considering most of the stuff in here could wipe out all of Lawrence in one fell swoop.”

Bobby had always been a friend to Sam, even when John warned him against it. Robert Singer, Maester of the Winchester House, came from a long line of men who both understood battle and books. He was well versed in spell work, warding, potions and history of creatures, both common and mysterious. He acted as a counselor to John when the King wasn’t sure how to attack a certain enemy; he’d turn to Bobby, his trusted friend, and most sought-after advisor. Even when they didn’t agree, John would at least hear him out. So, Sam knew that if he needed a way to influence his father, Bobby would be the place to start.

Sam stepped into the room and let his eyes wander slowly around. The floor-to-ceiling walls of books loomed high above him. Dual spiral staircases rose up towards the cathedral ceilings, to a narrow metal catwalk that stretched out along the perimeter. Vines and greeneries were hanging or draped from the rails, some of them blooming with an array of speckled flowers.

No sign of the old man.

“Bobby?” Sam called out and took a few steps closer to the fireplace. No response. Sam waited for another beat, then called out for him again. “Bobby, you here?”

“Down here, boy!”

Sam followed the direction of Bobby’s voice through one of the heavy black draperies that separated the rooms and down into the root cellar where he was stocking jars of lamb’s blood.

Taking his time on the stairs, he ducked down into the small space. “How do you work down here,” he asked, finally just taking a seat on the cold stones.

“Well, I ain’t ten feet tall like some people,” he snorted and placed the last jar. “What can I do for you, Sam?”

“Tonight… you’re going?”

Bobby nodded then started shaking his head. “What the hell is your father thinking?” he mumbled, knowing that Sam wouldn’t fight him on it. “If you’re here to ask me to muck it up somehow…” Bobby inhaled sharply and passed Sam an admonishing look, “it’s not a good idea, son.”

“No, that’s not why I’m here. I’m resigned to it, Bobby. I am marrying her, and that’s it.”

Bobby gave him a challenging look. “And I’m supposed to just believe that?”

“It’s the truth,” Sam shrugged. “I’m tired of fighting him on everything. If it makes him happy and helps the family and the Kingdom…” Sam trailed off and gave Bobby, his most sincere smile as he repeated the mantra he and Dean had been programmed to live by. “For the Protection of Lands and Family. Saving people and killing things, the family business. Right?”

“Mhm,” Bobby mumbled and offered Sam a hand to stand up. “Come on, you can help me sort the herbs upstairs while you tell me what it is you can here for.”

Once they were back in the Apothecary’s main quarters, Sam took a seat at Bobby’s workbench and began to separate the lavender from the meadowsweet. Bobby worked on the greeneries and kept passing curious glances at Sam from the corner of his eye.

“Well, spill it, boy. You don’t just come and do grunt work with me for shits and giggles. You got somethin’ on your mind. So, speak.”

Sam snorted, the corner of his mouth turned up. “I never mind grunt worth, if I’m in here with you. But you’re right. I do need something. I want to find the Oracle. I know she’s been in town. Last I was down in the taverns, one of the men there talked of visiting her. I want to see her, Bobby.”

“To what end?” he asked, not taking his eyes from his work.

“I want to know how this all plays out. The marriage, the partnership. This tentative peace that lives between us and Crowley.”

It was Bobby’s turn to scoff. “If you think its that easy, you got another thing comin’.”

“What do you mean? She’s an oracle, isn’t she? She can see the future. Isn’t that what oracles, do?”

“Yeah, in theory. Doesn’t mean she can read your future.”

“Why not?” Sam asked, mildly incensed. “What’s wrong with my future?”

“I didn’t mean it like that, ya jackass. I just meant that, you're enchanted. You have been since you were a boy. Why do you think you just broke that hip instead of being killed?”

Sam sat up straighter at the mention of his accident. He hated talking about it… thinking about it. The way the sword pierced him through the back causing him to fall. The horse running across the battlefield, crushing his hip and shattering it to pieces. He was lucky to be alive, much less be able to walk at all.

Dean had carried him all the way to Singer’s Apothecary from the field where he assumed his brother had died. He appeared lifeless, his skin cool to the touch, his heartbeat so faint, it might as well have been non-existent. Dean demanded Bobby fix him… save him. But the old Maester said it was too late, the boy had died from the stab wound.

Minutes later, Sam gasped for air and immediately wailed in pain. The crushed bones in his hip causing a streak of discomfort like he never had before. The burning hot wound from the knife closing completely on its own. The youngest Winchester Prince sat up, eyeing his brother, fear rampant in his eyes.

“Dean… how?”

“I don’t know,” he said as he threw his arms around his brother’s neck, his hands balling into fists and beating against his back in triumph. “I thought we lost you, Sammy.”

Bobby’s voice snapped Sam back to the present, back to the favor.

“Did you hear me?”

“No, I drifted.”

“Hmm. I said the Oracle won’t be able to read you, ya idjit. Whatever your mother cast over you as a baby, it's impenetrable. No spells, potions or lore I’ve ever read can break what she did.”

Sam sighed. “I at least want to try.”

“It's your gold, son. I’ll take you to her, but there’s no time—”

“Make time, Bobby. I need to do this before the ceremony tonight.”

Bobby eyed him with frustration. “You and your father… so damn demanding,” he mumbled and pulled his cloak down from its hook. “Get your stuff, let’s go before your father realizes your gone.”

The Oracle’s hovel was well off the beaten path that led from the Kingdom of Lawrence and into the dense forest that sat between the city and the portal entrance to the battlefields of Purgatory. She lived simply, but she accepted only gold as payment. Samuel’s coffer was full to the brim with as much gold as he could shove in there, unsure of what it would take to get her to read him truly. He didn’t really believe Bobby’s claim and needed to see for himself.

Bobby pulled the reigns of his horse, asking the beast to stop by the walkway that led to her small cabin that was built into the side of the hill. The ornate wagon Sam drove with his two best steeds came to a stop behind Bobby’s mare.

“Come on,” Bobby urged, looking up into the sky. “Day’s light is fading and its at least an hour ride back. If we’re late…”

“We won’t be. We’ll be there.”

They approached the door, and as Bobby raised his fist to knock, it opened before he could. A woman with long, dark hair stood in the entry, her eyes were as white as snow and the smile she wore was as bright as the sun.

“Robert… my old friend,” she beamed and moved to hug him without hesitation. Sam watched them with a small, satisfied smile. It was odd for him to see Bobby in anyone’s company or affections, except John’s.

“Pamela,” Bobby nearly sang. “Lovely as ever. I brought—”

“The Prince, yes, I know,” she released Bobby’s greeting and turned her haunting eyes towards Sam.

“Samuel Winchester, the enchanted boy prince. I was wondering when you would come to see me.”

Sam’s expression faltered as he looked between her and Bobby. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to read me at all,” he said, leaving out Bobby’s role in the seed of doubt.

“Let’s see what we see, shall we?” she urged with the same, bright grin. “Come,” she took his hand and led him inside towards the center of the room. She motioned towards the round wooden table, covered in a plum-colored velvet cloth. “Come sit at the table and let’s see what the spirits have to offer for you, Samuel.”

On the cloth was a gold leaf triad knot, at each point was a high back wooden chair for them to take place in. Their hands clasped together around the table, eyes closed, breath steady. Pamela mumbled a variety of words in the old Enochian. Some Sam could recall from his old lessons, others sounded foreign to his ears. As she pressed on, the air in the room became cold and heavy at the same time. It made Sam feel as if there was something in there looming over them.

There was a lengthy pause, and just as Sam begun to wonder if it was going to work at all, Pamela began to speak.

“You’re in deep despair,” she whispered, her ghostly eyes wide and raised up to the ceiling. “You mourn her, still. Though her spirit has crossed the veil, you cannot let her go. Need for vengeance drives you to make rash choices. But… they are meant to be made.”

The table began to vibrate, and a breeze cascaded through the room, causing the candles to flicker chaotically. Pamela continued with more Enochian as if she was holding a conversation with the unseen visitor, and then translating it to you.

“You hold jealousy in your heart. Wishing to trade places with your brother. To be gone, in battle. You must realize though, that isn’t your place. Your place is here. With her.”

“Her?” Sam rasped in question. “Her, who?”

“The twin to your soul. The one who holds your future. She’s yet to show herself, but behind the feathers, the dark, iridescent feathers, lies the match to your unburnt flame. She’ll be of great comfort to you when your grief folds you over and renders you useless.”

“That makes no sense to me,” he muttered in reply, looking to Bobby who sat and watched quietly, giving him no type of reaction at all.

“There’s something dark, something laying in wait for… you, your family. A cloud, as black as a reaper’s suit. It waits. When you recognize it, don’t hesitate. Act and you’ll be protected, no matter what you think may happen.”

The Oracle made no sense. Sam couldn’t imagine anything she was saying to apply to him. There were no other women in the world for him. Ever. Regardless of the arrangement of his marriage. That woman wouldn’t be long for this world, that he could be sure of. Whatever darkness she spoke of, everyone knew of the past feud with Crowley, even the traveling Oracle must have heard the tales, so she could easily feed him a warning and apply it to Crowley.

As for Crowley’s daughter, she would be a sacrifice. An eye for an eye. The Oracle never saw that, nor any of his other plans he was hopeful she would have touched on. He was beginning to think that Bobby had been right all along and that Pamela was just saying anything to make him feel fulfilled with going to see her.

Pamela’s hands started to shake and as she quickly spoke in Enochian the entire atmosphere of the room changed, the heaviness was gone, and the warmth reclaimed the small space. She released both of their hands, then brought her nonexistent gaze back to Sam’s face.

“That was it?” he asked suspiciously, “Nothing else at all?”

Pamela just shook her head. “I know you don’t understand your message, yet. But I promise you, dear boy, you will.”

He considered straight out asking about the marriage, and if his plans for Crowley’s daughter would elicit the outcome he wanted, but he stopped himself. Revealing his plans to Bobby would just be stupid. The old Maester would surely try and stop him. Besides, he wanted the truth from the oracle. If he outright asked her, she could just give him the answer she thought he wanted.

Instead, Sam smiled and took her hand in both of his. “I sure hope so, madame. Here, a gift for your time.”

He reached into his coat pocket and placed the coffer of coins into her palm. When the weight of the bag sat heavy in her hand, she gasped slightly in surprise. “No, this is far too much, Lord Samuel. I know you aren’t pleased with what came through, and even if you were, this is just taking advantage.”

“No, take it,” he said and closed her fingers around the bag. “Use it to spread good cheer or help a neighbor if you can’t use it yourself. I just appreciate your time.”

“Well, thank you, M’Lord. I will put these coins to good use. Next time though, its’ on me. No matter what you think now, I have a feeling you’ll be back.” She smirked knowingly and gave him a lingering wink.

After a brief goodbye, Sam and Bobby were back on the road towards Lawrence. They rode in silence for a while until Bobby couldn’t take the quiet any longer.

“Well, feel better?”

“No,” Sam said, “I think maybe, you were right. She couldn’t read me.”

“Then what she was saying, you don’t believe her?”

“No,” he said again, “None of what she said rang true, nor did it feel genuine. I’m not calling her out as a fraud. But…” he trailed off and shrugged, causing Bobby’s expression to fall and replace it with disgust.

“Boy, don’t. That woman is the real deal. No tricks. No hoodoo. She’s a seer, through and through. If she couldn’t read you, or if what she read was false, its simply because of—”

“Whatever mother did.”

“Yes. So, can we move on now, please? Get back, get you cleaned up and get you married before your father realizes you’re not there?”

Sam nodded without saying anything more, clicked his tongue with the reigns to speed the horses up and get home to meet his new bride.

It was the first time ever in your memory that you had been allowed to leave Crowley’s compound and the castle walls that had encased you for nearly your entire life. This day, you could pack your most favorite belongings and leave the grounds for good. You would never have to spend another night locked away in some old, musty turret, dreaming of escape. Though marrying a Winchester was not something you were happy about it, if it meant earning a one-way ticket out, you would promise to be his wife.

The caravan that was carrying you to your new life was moving slowly towards the other end of the realm where the Winchester Castle stood in all its ornate glory. Never having seen it with your own eyes, or any of the realms, really, you had to rely on the stories and descriptions from others. Even the man you were intended to marry, Samuel, you knew nothing about him except what you heard in whispers among Crowley’s people.

To your side, Rowena had her nose buried deep in an oversized book that was nearly as old as she was. Crowley refused to accompany you to the Winchester’s castle, instead of sending Rowena in his place. She complained, of course, but in the end, she relented and went willingly.

You watched her read the book and wondered if she knew the man you’d been betrothed too. Had she been to the Winchester castle? Had she ever met the King? So many questions ran through your mind as to what Rowena could answer for you now that you were out of Crowley’s reach.

“Rowena, do you know him?”

“Who’s that, dear?” she asked, not taking her eyes from the page.

“Samuel.”

“Aye,” she replied, drawing out the word slowly.

Rowena felt your eyes on her but did her best to concentrate on the book in her hand. It wasn’t just any book, and it had been her prize for escorting you to your new home and staying with you until the ceremony was done. She hoped you wouldn’t be peppering her with questions, but once you started, it was hard to stop.

“What’s he like? Is he deformed like some say? Hobbled?”

She sighed deeply and closed the Book of the Damned. “Well, yes, but not as bad as some would like to say.”

“What do you mean?”

“From what I understand, he was wounded in the early days of the war in Purgatory. Some said that his brother carried his lifeless body all the way home from the battlegrounds. Yet, when they got there, the young prince had found life again. It’s not impossible I suppose, I’ve certainly seen my share of men rise from the dead. Either that or the brother is a nit wit and can’t find a heartbeat properly,” she rolled her eyes and waved him off. “He healed, but he walks with a cane and couldn’t return to battle.”

You just grunted in understanding. “Is he kind or is he more like father? Purposely withholding and cruel, and unable to love anything.”

“Your father loves you, dear. He’s just… preoccupied. As for Samuel, I’ve only ever met him once, and from what I could see, I don’ think you’ll have much trouble with him.”

Casting your eyes out of the carriage window, you watched the countryside pass by as the horses slowly made their way towards the Lawrence River. It was the first time you could recall seeing it up close. The sound of the rushing water was soothing to your ears and for the first time, you wondered if you would miss the sound of the waves against the cliffs that would echo through your chambers throughout the night.

So many nights it had helped lull you to sleep, especially when thoughts of things that plagued you invaded your dreams. That led to another question popping in your head. Something you had wanted to ask Rowena for years, but for fear of suffering Crowley’s wraith, you abstained. But now, his influence was far away, and there was no one to stop you from asking.

“Will you tell me about my mother? Now that we’re gone from his walls? He never tells me anything about her.”

Rowena glanced at you, her eyes filled with warning. “You’re just full of questions, aren’t you, poppet? That is not a place you want to go to. Let that sleeping dog lie.”

“But why? She’s my mother, why can’t I know about her? He tells me that I’m so much like them both, but I see nothing of myself in him. He’s cruel, and power hungry. All he cares about are his demons and his Kingdom. Being ‘the Red King’ has gone to his head, made him even more foul and loathsome than before.”

“Easy, child. He may be a right and proper cunt, but he’s still my son. An I won’ have ya speaking of him that way. Fergus is who he is, partially because I was an awful mum to him. Yet, look at what he’s built. If you don’ think that the Winchesters feel the say way about their father, you’re sadly mistaken. No child loves their parent truly, not if that child wants to grow up with power and purpose.”

“I’m not a child,” you mumbled and closed your eyes in disgust at what you heard pour from her lips. Deciding that was enough questions, you turned back to watch the scenery pass by. Rowena opened her book again, thinking the conversation was done, but the way your conversation ended sat heavily on her mind.

“Then stop acting like one,” she retorted and took her hand into hers. “You have every right to ask about your mother. But, its just not something that needs to be discussed now. Know that she loved you and she didn’ want to leave, but she had to. One day, I’ll tell you more, but for now, you just remember that she loved you and only wanted the best things for you.”

You exhaled deeply and when you looked back out of the window again, you could see the tall peaks and turrets of the castle in the distance. The closer you got, the more of the slate gray stones of the towers could be seen coming up through the dense forest that surrounded it. It was exciting and yet, terrifying, to think of being anywhere but your father’s compound. Up until this point, it almost felt surreal. Yet, here you were staring down the place that would become your new home. IF the Winchesters were true to their word and let you live, that is.

There was still some doubt as to the validity of Crowley’s claim to your safety and it had weighed heavily on your mind for the past two days. The deal itself felt sudden and strange, and you couldn’t help but feel like there was something more to it. An undercurrent of treachery so great, that it had the potential to cause irreparable damage to many lives. The Winchesters, after all, were your father’s greatest enemy for many years and the only ones who had ever proved to be so troublesome.

You weren’t going to leave the compound for the Winchester’s and not be prepared to defend yourself. Yet, straight up slaughtering your husband-to-be would most certainly lead to your death as well. There had to be a better plan…

The night before leaving home, you snuck down into the chambers Rowena kept for her visits. There, you paged through the stacks of books until you found the spell you wanted; a simple love spell. “Better safe than sorry,” you had told yourself as you waited for the clear liquid to cool. Once it did, it flashed a bright, blood red and then faded back to its transparent state. Two drops of that in Lord Winchester’s drink would guarantee him to fall head over heels in love with you.

“And unable to slice your throat from ear to ear,” you mused silently, as the castle continued to grow as the carriage closed the distance. It was self-defense if needed, or even an escape plan once you were sure no one was watching. Either way, the potion was hidden away between the swell of your breasts, ready to be used in an instant if need be.

The stone cobbled guard tower came into view, surrounded by at least four of the Winchester Guard. Your heart began to pound just as Rowena gave your hand a squeeze.

“Here we go girly, keep your wits and remember where you come from,” she said then plastered on her best fake, yet charming smile.

Once the carriage was granted passage, you and Rowena were escorted towards the castle’s entrance. When the carriage door opened, one of the Winchester Guards was there to help you carefully down and bowed slightly once your feet were firmly on the gravel.

Looking around, you were already in awe of your surroundings. The stark contrast of where you had lived to this new place was almost shocking. In place of the putrid and dank forest that caged Crowley’s compound, there were trees and greeneries that were dotted with an abundance of colorful, fragrant flowers. The breeze smelled of orchids and fruit instead of sulfur and death. The sun was bright and warm, and the clouds floated by like wispy remnants of cotton candy, instead of the thunderous threatening ones that plagued the sky and loomed over the MacLeod homestead.

This place was alive with beauty and hope, and suddenly you could see why Crowley wanted it so desperately. You’d only been there for a handful of minutes and you already never wanted to leave.

“Come, (Y/N), they want to escort you to your chambers,” Rowena beckoned. When you didn’t immediately comply, she grabbed your hand and yanked you forward. “Will you please act like you’ve been around people before?” she chastised under her breath.

Giving her a dangerous scowl, she recoiled sharply but not enough for the others to notice.

“Remember who helped you get here, dear,” she mumbled before linking her elbow through yours and moving you up the stairs and into the grand entrance of the Winchester’s Castle.

The guards led you through the winding passageways and up to one of the turret rooms. It was sparse in furniture and décor, but you didn’t care. It was the view from the window that captured your attention. From its height, you could see a remarkable amount of Lawrence, including the river and far off foothills that led straight back to the cliffs you used to call home.

“Never again,” you thought and absently touched your cleavage, thinking of the love potion hidden there.

“His Majesty would like you to remain here until the time of the ceremony. Should you require anything, a chambermaid will be up soon to see to your needs,” the guard proclaimed flatly before bowing his head and taking his leave.

“Alright, let’s get you ready for this,” Rowena said and opened the trunk you’d brought with you. She pulled the dress from it and wrinkled her nose. “This is what you’re wearing?” She held the pale-pink colored frock as if it were garbage out in front of her. “Come now, this is so… not you.”

“Father chose it. Said he wanted me to appear chased and innocent,” you mused, clasping your hands behind your back and slowly walking around it.

“Well, your father isn’t here, is he? No way I will let any grandchild of mine put such a wretched color on her body. Surely, I understand why he wants you to appear that way… no man wants a woman for a wife that isn’t pure, but you are a MacLeod for cryin’ out loud. You should be dressed as one!”

“Take it up with Father,” you replied nonchalantly, secretly loving Rowena’s disgust of the dress he chose and laughing to yourself that Crowley assumed you were so chased. It occurred to you then that maybe he didn’t know all that you had been up to while living under his roof. Just because you had been a virtual prisoner in your father’s home, didn’t mean that you didn’t explore your sexuality and feelings of need over the years.

“He won’t even be here until the damned ceremony, the little twat. Suppose in that time I could find you something more appropriate.” Grabbing her wrap from the end of the small bed, she draped it over herself and cocked the corner of her mouth into a pursed grin. “I’ll be back with something more fitting for you. Until I get back, rest dear, you’re going to need it.”

Once she was gone, you slipped the small vile of the potion from between your breasts and held it up to the light. Would it be enough to save you? Would it even work on the hobbled Lord of the manner? Sighing deeply, you returned it to its hiding place and paced the room before closing the trunk and sitting on top of it. Beside you on the bed, one of Rowena’s bags was half open, and out of it stuck the corner of the Book of the Damned. Knowing she would be gone a while, you dared to peek inside. As you paged through the ancient text, a new idea began to form in your mind and a devilish grin right along with it. The magic that the book contained was far too powerful for you, but there were a few spells that you may be able to manage and would certainly help if you found yourself backed into a corner.

Without hesitation, you jumped up from the trunk and opened it again, rifling through it to find your own parchment and quill. Quickly copying down the spells you thought may come in handy, you felt your spirits rise even more than they had when you first laid eyes on the castle.

The dungeons were dark and dimly lit, but Samuel could find his way there blind if he had too. The echo of his hard heels and cane against the stone floor rattled against the walls as he rounded the corner and entered the small room where the ceremony was to take place.

He’d heard the girl had arrived earlier in the day, while he was off with Bobby at the seer’s hut, but he had no desire to see her. Instead, he quietly retired to his own chambers and spent the rest of the afternoon mulling over the things the seer foretold. Mingled with that, were his plans for (Y/N) MacLeod. He tried to think of her only as Crowley’s daughter, hoping it would make ending her life a bit easier. But it did not. Despite his desperate need to enact vengeance for Jessica, a sliver of doubt had begun to seep into his veins. This girl was innocent, wasn’t she? She couldn’t help being a spawn of that creature, just like he couldn’t help being born a Winchester. It had just been their respective crosses to bear. Should she suffer for her father’s crimes? Could he live with himself to take the life of a woman, even if she was a witch in training, that bore the name of his enemy?

These questions and concerns plagued him for most of the afternoon, and even now as he made his way into the chambers where the ceremony would be held, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was going about this plot of revenge all wrong.

Footsteps from behind caught his attention, as his father appeared from the curve of the staircase.

“Samuel,” he greeted, a satisfied smirk buried on his lips. “Glad to see you here, promptly, and even dressed as the Lord of Winchester Castle should be.” John plucked at one of the pointed corners of Sam’s black coat and brushed the wrinkle from the front of the black silk vest worn beneath it.

“Stop it,” Sam mumbled and turned from John, so he wasn’t within is reach any longer.

“Have you seen her yet?” John asked, unphased by his son’s show of rejection.

“No.”

“I’m surprised. I’d thought you would want to taste the milk before you bought the cow,” John scoffed, clearly proud of his joke at the expense of his future daughter-in-law.

Sam just rolled his eyes and limped about the room, gripping the pommel of his cane and preying it would absorb the growing rage he felt towards his father.

“Nervous, son?”

Turning sharply on his heel, Sam glared daggers at his father. “No. Please stop acting like you care how I feel about this.”

“But I do care. This… this is bigger than you, Sammy—”

“You don’t call me that,” he growled and turned away again.

Shuffling towards the table that held a decanter of wine and goblets, Sam poured himself a cup full and drank it in one gulp, relishing in the sting of it as it cascaded down his throat. He was about to pour another when approaching voices from the corridor stopped him.

Bobby entered, followed by a petite woman in a blood red dress that bore a high lace neck and flowing lace skirt. Her shock of red hair and bright red lipstick almost made her hard to look at, yet there was something quite beautiful about her. Sam wondered for a moment if this was the woman that he was supposed to wed. She looked to be around the same age as his nemesis, but witches… they could mask their true ages now, couldn’t they?

“Rowena MacLeod,” John said, half a smile forced on his face. “Lovely to see you again.” He bowed his head slightly and turned to Sam. “This is Crowley’s mother, Rowena. Rowena, my son, Lord Samuel.”

Sam took her hand gingerly and bowed his torso slightly as he shook it. The movement sent a bolt of pain down from his hip to his feet, but his face would never tell the others how badly he wanted to cry out. In turn, she offered a polite smile and curtsy before stepping back, leaving a great distance between herself and the rest of the Winchesters.

Bobby took his place at the forefront of the chamber where there were two small cast iron containers of wildflowers. Candles flickered around the windowless room. As Maester Singer cleared his throat, John and Samuel took their place on one side of him, as Rowena took the other.

“No Crowley?” Sam asked casually, though inside he was deeply disappointed. He had so badly wanted to look the man who murdered the love of his life in the eye.

“He should be here,” Rowena said, trying not to sound annoyed. “He said he’d arrive—”

“And so I have,” Crowley smirked, appearing in the doorway, red smoke dissipating in the air around him. “You know how I like to make an entrance.”

The room fell awkwardly silent as Crowley sauntered into the room, his hands shoved deeply into the pockets of his black suit pants. His dark eyes pounced from person to person, until they landed on Sam. That’s when he grinned. It was smarmy, a knowing type of grin and Sam resisted every urge to lunge at the man, tearing him limb from limb.

“Samuel,” Crowley cooed, approaching the boy and secretly wishing for him to act on whatever was hiding behind his blazing glare. “I hope you accept my sympathies. This can’t be easy for you. Marrying a woman that wasn’t… what was her name again?”

Sam towered over him silently, but inside, he was seething with rage.

“Enough, Crowley,” John warned, his head ticked to the side with frustration. “Can we just move this along, please? Then you and I have some things to discuss up in my chambers.”

“Right,” Crowley said, turning on his heel. “We most certainly do. Alright, let’s go. Where’s the girl?” he asked Rowena absently as he took his place beside her.

“She’s right outside, I’ll get her.”

Rowena scurried from the room, while the men stood in tense silence for what felt like an eternity. Finally, the echo of two sets of footsteps on the stone grew closer. Sam felt his mouth go dry and his chest tighten at what he was about to do. Marrying her was going to be the hard part. Speaking promises of love, caring and adoration for a woman he never met, who’s family he loathed with every bit of his being, would take every bit of strength he was able to muster up.

There was no music, no standing ovation from a crowd of weepy onlookers as there would have been, had Sam married Jessica as intended. A blanket of silence buried the room as (Y/N) walked in linked on Rowena’s arm. She looked to Crowley to come take his place to escort the bride to Sam, but he pretended not to notice.

Sam drew in a deep breath and finally had the courage to look at the woman approaching him. His heart began to pound the moment his eyes landed on her face. The dryness of his mouth extended to his throat, and he found it hard to swallow as he took her in, head to toe.

Her features didn’t resemble Crowley at all, she was nothing like him in the slightest. (Y/N) was beautiful, but Sam didn’t think that was the right word to describe what he was seeing. She was an ethereal being somehow manifesting in his presence. He felt his chest tighten, his hands grow sweaty and nervous. His tongue darted quickly over his lips, desperately giving them moisture that had seemed to leave his body.

Then, he saw what she was wearing, a black, strapless floor-length gown that was covered in tiny, reflective gems that made her simmer as if she were a dark angel straight from one of his childhood dreams. Quick flashes of lustrous blues and purples radiated from the wrap she wore over her shoulders, catching his eyes. When (Y/N) finally met him at the top of the aisle, he saw that the shawl was made from a flock of feathers… dark, iridescent feathers.

“Lord Samuel Winchester, Lady (Y/N) MacLeod, are you ready to be wed?” Bobby asked, holding his hands out, palms up, waiting for them both to accept. He watched as they both slowly nodded, barely holding the other’s gaze. “Great. Let’s begin, shall we?”

#sam winchester x you #sam winchester x reader #sam winchester x reader insert #sam winchester AU #Sam winchester fanfics #SPN AU Series #SPN AU

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spongeekat · 5 years ago

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The 6 Times Peter Wanted To Reveal his Identity (And the 1 Time He Did) Chapter 7

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Masterlist Here

Day 7- Saturday

Januarys in the bronx were still one of Peter’s least favorite times of the year. Still, he couldn’t deny that even in the most affordable areas of the borough, where the buildings were low and the streets were littered with trash, the snow made the city feel entirely new. Rather than grime coating the sidewalks, streetlights reflected off the layer of powder and filled the roads with a soft glow. The snowfall had started a few hours ago, as the sun started to sink behind the tallest structures in the distance, and the temperature began to drop. Frozen weather was one of Peter’s worst enemies, typically spending his nights running around the city in a spandex suit, but tonight he stood wrapped in a heavy winter jacket and jeans. Tonight the snow was okay, granting Peter one last calm before the storm that would send his two lives crashing into one another.

Peter’s eyes were closed, shut so tightly he was seeing stars, when there was a soft rattle against the brick wall opposite of him. Leather boots were scuffing the rungs of the fire escape leading up, and Peter didn’t have the energy to even consider running the time. He balanced on the ledge under his feet, steadying his frayed nerves. Wade was understanding. Wade was kind. Peter had been able to see those facts more clearly than ever over the past week. Even so, Peter had lied to him consistently, invaded his family, and accidentally elicited his care through the idea that he was going to take his own life otherwise. He couldn’t expect forgiveness, or acceptance. He was fully prepared to lose Wade just when he felt their relationship had ascended beyond work-friends, and the barriers that had existed between them had just begun to shatter. They had been intimate beyond their masks and careers; Wade had revealed feelings he would only brush off as a joke when with Spider-Man, and Peter had let him see parts of his life he couldn’t throw into casual conversation during their late night escapades. His feelings were hot in his throat, particularly the attraction he had been hiding for years.

Wade finally made it to the rooftop, and Peter felt the familiar regret of his decision to unmask a week ago. He would accept just being friends over losing Wade any day. So he swallowed back the word love and turned to face his fears head on.

Wade wasn’t wearing his suit. Peter had seen his skin on multiple occasions, and Wade had grown less shy about his appearance over the time they spent hanging around one another, but he typically didn’t take off his suit or mask unless required. But on his face was an unreadable expression; the ridges where his eyebrows would be were drawn together, and he stared at Peter as if he was meeting him for the very first time. Peter opened his lips to speak, but no sound escaped him, and they silently clamped shut.

Wade had the grey canvas bag that Peter had lost days ago in hand. He tossed it forward, and it landed with a heavy thump against the snow just inches in front of the ledge. Peter dropped down and retrieved it, checking his suit pieces were inside, before slinging it silently over his shoulder.

“Hey, Spidey.” Wade muttered. “Thought I’d find you here.”

Peter nodded slowly, shame spreading hot over his neck.

“Ellie ratted you out.” Wade admitted, shifting awkwardly, as if he was just as weary of this conversation as Peter felt. “Gotta say, I’m a little jealous my 8 year old found out who you were before me.”

Peter grimaced, his eyes taking a sudden interest in the patterns his sole left in the snow covering the rooftop. “Sorry, Wade, I- I meant to tell you. I really wasn’t planning...anything that happened. That’s why I was here that night. I was waiting for you.”

“Why now?” Wade asked, a frown pulling his features down. The question jarred Peter, and he had to ask himself the same thing. “After years of being besties and kicking ass, why did you decide now to show me your face? I never expected you to.”

“I know, I..” Peter swallowed against the dryness in his throat, struggling to form a clear answer. It had just felt like such an obvious idea in the moment of insecurity, but now he wasn’t so sure. “God, we’ve just been friends for so long.” Peter’s mouth was spitting out an answer faster than his brain, but he rolled with it. “I wanted you to get to know me more. And I trust you . I trust you with my life.”

“But you trust me less than a child?”

Peter winced. “That was an accident. I didn’t mean for her to find out.”

“You made my daughter lie to me, Pete.”

“I had no idea that was your daughter’s house. I wouldn’t have gone there if I did. It just would have looked really bad if you found out in that moment.”

“I would have understood. Surprisingly, I’m not as stupid as I might seem.” It was clear to see Wade was growing more upset, and Peter’s heart thumped loudly in his chest. The last thing he had wanted to do was betray him. “Were you ever planning to tell me? Or just laugh at me every time I came to see you? Did you call your pals up at the Avengers and let them make fun of me, too? ‘Deadpool tried to turn over a new leaf and take care of someone else for once, but it was Spider-Man all along! What a fucking idiot!’” A cruel smile spread over his chapped lips, white teeth sneering.

Peter’s eyes widened, and he held up his hands defensively. This was going worse than he had expected. “No, it was never like that! I was never laughing at you. I never meant to hurt you. I wanted to tell you who I was from the start! But I’ve kept my identity a secret for so long, I just don’t even know how to tell people. I like being your friend. I like being around you. But it felt so wrong hiding who I was when you were so open about you, and I guess I didn’t want to be stuck just as coworkers or occasional partners or friends. I wanted more… I want more, Wade. Even if I completely messed up.”

In the heavy silence that settled between them, Peter realized exactly what he had just confessed to. Panic crossed his face and bloomed in his chest, amplified by Wade’s own shocked expression and lack of response.

Finally, just as Peter was on the brink of having a full fledged anxiety attack, Wade spoke.

“You’re going to tell me that after making me find out who you were by digging through your shit?” Wade’s voice was quiet, and more serious than Peter had ever heard him.

Despite everything in his head telling Peter to run away before the situation got too tense, his heart was urging him to bare all the hidden emotions he’d been bottling for ages. For once he disregarded his logic, and took a brave breath. “Yeah.” He answered, more meekly than intended. “I did wrong. I’m sorry. I know I can’t even begin to apologize enough, but I’m really, really sorry.”

“I don’t think I can do this tonight.” Wade muttered, and rubbed the back of his neck. His eyes travelled back to the ladder he had just climbed up, and Peter could see him bracing himself to make his way back down. He wanted to take a step closer, to stop him, but he couldn’t convince himself to move. “I got a lot of stuff to take care of.”

“Do you need help with anything?” Peter asked, his tone still nervous.

Wade shook his head, and a half hearted, crooked grin appeared on his face. “Nah, I’m moving safehouses, baby boy. Just gotta finish breaking things and dumping the evidence.”

Peter’s heart skipped a beat. “You’re leaving?” He blinked, his stomach twisting at the loss. “Where? Why?”

“Emily and Terry are back. Ellie’s in school. Jobs are done. I thought I was keeping a cute kid from offing himself, but obviously that was fake. We only go out on patrol once every few weeks, if you’re not busy playing house with the Avengers.” Wade shrugged, yawning nonchalantly. “I have nothing else keeping me here. So I’m picking another big city and splitting. Was thinking Detroit. There’s always a lot of work out there for me.” Wade took a few steps back and jumped backwards off the building, grabbing hold of the ladder as he fell and stopping his descent when only his head still poked over the roof. “Better get started. Your suit and everything is in your backpack, by the way, don’t worry. I didn’t steal anything. You can trust me on that, at least. Oh, and Ellie says hey. She wanted me to make sure you were okay, but I figured you could always go tell her yourself.”

Peter was left gaping as the ladder rattled and Wade slid down it without even touching the steps. The window to his second story apartment opened and shut in the darkness below, and suddenly the snow falling on his nose felt quite a bit colder.

----

Last Thursday

By the time Wade had broken his trance, people were already helping the driver out of her car, and Ellie was again at his side, pulling on his sleeve. He tore his eyes off the broken glass outlining the shape of sneaker prints on the road, down to the wide-eyed stare of his daughter, desperately trying to get his attention.

“Did Peter do that?” She asked quietly, worry etched into her features. Wade hadn’t even been sure she was watching, but he was glad that his vision hadn’t been deceiving him. He did, indeed, watch the puny kid leap over a group of people as effortlessly as stepping over a puddle of spit on the sidewalk, barrel roll out in front of a speeding car, and catch it with his bare hands, all without breaking a sweat. Even as the kid took off on foot and disappeared through traffic, he was left gaping at the spot he had been as if he’d wake up from an acid trip and find Peter standing back at his side. But when he looked back up, the woman was being checked over by pedestrians, and a few people were getting off the phone with emergency dispatch.

“I think so.” Wade finally dumbly spit out.

[Obviously it was him, bozo! We were all watching!]

{I was staring at his ass. Thank Odin for skinny jeans}

“Where did he go? We should go find him, Daddy.” Ellie continued to pester, pulling harder on his sleeve.

“I don’t think he’s anywhere nearby, princess.” Wade swallowed. His eyes trained on a dirty looking man picking up the backpack Peter had been wearing that he’d abandoned in the grass, now soaked through bottom with dew. He was always talking about making sure his homework was done, and Wade wasn’t sure using the excuse of ‘I lost it when I ran out into the street and almost fucking died’ would work on his professors. “Stay here.”

He jogged over to the man and tapped his shoulder, who spun defensively with an annoyed look. “That’s my friend’s. Wanna hand it over?” Wade asked, though there was no plan for him to accept ‘no ’ as an answer.

“Fuck off, costume freak. This is mine.” The man hissed out, and tried to walk away, but Wade reached out to grab his shirt to anchor him in his place.

[Don’t take our Peter’s stuff!]

{Yeah, if anyone’s gonna steal from him, it’ll be us!}

“Hey, there’s kids here. Watch the language. Also, my daughter’s right over there,” he pointed, “ and I’m trying to make her think I’m a good person now and all that. Don’t make me get pissy and hurt you. Now, let’s try this again, shall we? Hand over the stupid backpack.” Wade said with a sweeter tone.

Eventually the man relented and Wade wrenched the bag out of his grip, pushing him backwards. The man stumbled, before he fell on his ass against the sidewalk, throwing a death glare up at Wade. “F-Fuck you, asshole!”

When Wade turned around, he was met with Ellie standing there with her hands on her hips, clearly unimpressed with his violence. “Daddy.” She warned. “You said you’d be good.”

Wade paused, looked back at the man, and patted his head like an angry puppy. “Sorry. Seriously, though, get that potty mouth in check.” He half-apologized, and then retreated back to the young girl who still seemed annoyed. “I think it’s time to head home, yeah? I’ll call our taxi.”

“But Peter.” Ellie insisted again. “I don’t want him to be hurt!”

“For being your babysitter, you don’t seem that surprised by what he just did.” Wade said suspiciously, sending his location to Dopinder over text and requesting an SOS.

“Oh, uh…” Ellie dug her shoe into a crack in the sidewalk, suddenly more interested in the mud caked there than answering Wade. She jumped when he crouched next to her, his mask staring down at her face.

“You knew?” He asked quietly. “Did Peter tell you?”

“He told me I can’t tell anyone. Not even you. Not even my best friend.” Ellie whispered back guiltily, unable to stand still under his pressing gaze. “Peter said it was a big secret. But he didn’t tell me, Daddy. I found out by accident. When he was in my treehouse.”

“Why was Peter in your tree house?”

Ellie’s eyes widened when she realized she had said too much, and threw both hands up to cover her mouth the next moment. “I can’t say anything else. I would be breaking our secret ninja code.”

“Well, poop, I can’t break secret ninja code.” Wade sighed defeatedly, and he stood again, holding out his free hand to her. “Fine, fine, I won’t make you tell me. I’ll ask Pete myself.”

{If he ever talks to us again. He’s super strong, and super fine. Why would he want to hang around someone with the face of a moldy fruitcake? We’re lucky he even came today!}

“Can I come with you?” Ellie pleaded.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll text him now. If he responds and says yes, we can go check on him and bring him his backpack.” Wade walked to the sidewalk where Dopinder had dropped them off half-an-hour ago, waiting with her for him to roll back around.

“What if he says no?”

Wade paused, and then chuckled and shook his head. “Then we’ll go bother him anyways!”

---

Day 8- Sunday

At 2:30 in the morning, Peter’s knuckled rapped gently against Wade’s window.

He withdrew his gloved hand, though he could see through the torn curtains that the living room light was still flickering out of the cheap bulb installed overhead. He trained his ears to listen inside the apartment, and could briefly hear a clattering inside that halted at his knocking. He wasn’t sure if Wade would answer, or leave him shivering and clinging to the side of his apartment building. He was dressed only in his spidey suit and his skin was turning blue under the spandex. The snow was still falling, silent and steady, and the spots it landed melted through the fabric and froze his shoulders. On any other normal occasion, he would have chosen to throw on a sweater between dealing with criminals, but tonight he wanted to be as presentable as possible.

Heavy feet made their way towards the window, but it was clear they were in no rush to get there. Peter was sure Wade knew it was him, which explained the hesitancy in his steps, but eventually the curtains were drawn back and Wade’s blue eyes pierced through the window pane and stared back at him. Neither moved for a few seconds, both frozen in their eye contact, until Peter gave an awkward wave and Wade hit the lock sideways on the window. The mercenary turned to walk back towards his bedroom, leaving Peter to stick his fingertips to the surface of the glass and peel the window upwards. When it was cracked open he slotted his fingers in the opening it made and pulled it fully open, twisting and swinging in through the space he created. He landed with a soft thud just inside, standing up straight.

“What’s up?” Wade didn’t turn to face him, choosing instead to grab a box of gun ammo and dump it into a duffel bag bent open on the floor. Peter felt his chest constrict in panic, both at the idea that Wade was serious about leaving, and for what he was about to do. He willed his heart to beat slower in his chest, and reached up towards his head. “Thought you would be out on patrol by now-”

“I’m Peter Parker.”

Peter pulled off his mask, his brown hair sticking up from the static momentarily before it fell back into a neat stack. Wade twisted around with a perplexed look, his lips opening as if to say ‘I knew that.’ Before he could, however, the young man walked closer towards him determinedly. “I’m 22 years old. My birthday was last year in October, so yes, I’m legal to drink, since you keep asking. No, I don’t plan on going to your friend’s bar.”

“Uhhh…” Wade turned fully to face him, staring down at the kid barely a foot away. He looked thoroughly confused but too baffled to comment.

“I’m getting my bachelors in biophysics at the end of spring term, and then moving on to a graduate program in biochemistry. I go to ESU four days a week, and most of the time I’m late to my first class because of Spidey business, but I’m still trying really hard to stay on Honor’s list. I live with my Aunt and she’s amazing and doesn’t make me pay rent, but I still help with bills when I can. I’m just a freelance photographer at the Daily Bugle, though, so I don’t make very much on top of having to pay for school. I was born and raised in Queens, and my three best friends are Mary Jane Watson, Harry Osborn, and Wade Wilson. And recently I’ve been really shitty to all of them, and I wanna make up for it.” Peter finished off the last line with the little breath he still had, inhaled, and continued on with his quick rambling.

“And this is how I should have introduced myself last Sunday. I shouldn’t have panicked and lied. I shouldn’t have let anxiety stop me from coming clean all those times. But I have to say, I’m really thankful for you taking care of me this week. Because Wade, you were helping someone. I may have super powers, I may be Spider-Man, but I never once was unhonest about my feelings. I didn’t realize how much I needed you until you were there, and the time I spent with you, and with Ellie... It meant a lot. I don’t think I can fix things, or make up for what I did, but I just want you to know I was never laughing at you. I was happy to spend time with you. I wanted you to get to know me , and I went about it in the wrong way, and I’m sorry.” Peter stuck his hand out, almost bumping his fingertips with Wade’s chest, and sheepishly smiled up at him. “But it’s nice to officially meet you, and I’m really hoping we can start over.”

Wade gaped down at him, and Peter tried not to focus on the sound of his blood pumping through his ears as the nerves built. His hand started to waver the longer that Wade chose not to respond, and by the minute mark he thought he might have a heart attack. However, not long after that, Wade raised a scarred hand and took Peter’s within his own, shaking it firmly. Peter looked down in surprise as their fingers brushed one another, and by the time Wade withdrew his hand, Peter wished he had held on just a bit longer.

“Did you mean that?” Wade asked, quietly, his voice as stoic as it had been on the roof. “About needing me, helping you, and wanting to spend time with me and junk?”

Peter’s heart leapt nervously, but he nodded. “Mhm.”

“You like me?” Wade asked again to clarify.

“...Yeah. I like you, Wade. A lot.”

“You Like-Like me?”

Was he trying to kill him? Peter groaned and dropped his head into his hands, the embarrassment growing darker on his cheeks. “This is humiliating enough without you talking to me like a little kid.”

“Sorry, sweetums.” Wade’s lips finally split into a chuckle, and Peter watched his feet take steps closer through holes in his fingers. Wade's hand ran down his arm in a sweet way, and the simple action warmed him more than his long sleeves ever could. “I just wanted to make sure.” His arms laced around Peter, a soft pressure surrounding him, and when he finally drug his hands away from his face, he found Wade watching him with a softened expression. “Are you still thinking about jumping?” He murmured, holding tighter as if that was the last thing he wanted Peter to do right now.

“Jumping…? Wade, did you listen to anything I just explained?” Peter tried to look annoyed, but the expression melted away into a grin of disbelief at that fact Wade still hadn’t grasped this. “I literally just said I was here waiting for you, not because I was considering that.”

“Just checking.” Wade hummed innocently into Peter’s hair, pressing his scarred forehead against the tufts of brunette. “I didn’t expect this, just to be clear. I didn’t care if you decided to keep a mask on and cover all that nerdy handsomeness for the rest of your life. But I’m glad you trust me enough to show me.”

Peter felt his cheeks heat up at his word choice, and he wriggled out of his hold and walked towards the window. “Also, one more thing. It’s technically Sunday, so..” He bent over the window sill for a moment to reach down into the darkness, and ripped webbing off of a bag stuck to the wall outside. When he returned back inside the apartment, the smell of spanish rice and enchiladas wafted through the grimy living room. “I brought a peace offering.”

“Daaaaamn, honey, you do know how to apologize.” Wade reached out for the bag, but Peter held it out of reach behind him. “What?”

“You have to promise not to leave because of me.” Peter said pointedly. “If it’s because you actually don’t want to stay here, I can’t stop you. But if it’s because you were mad at me, don’t just pack up and go. I haven’t finished making it up to you, and I plan to keep trying. Don’t take that chance away from me.”

Wade sucked in a breath through his nose, then released it with a nod. “Okay, I’ll stay. But really, it’s rude to buy food for us and tease me with it. Fork it over and you can keep telling me all the things about you I never got to know.”

Peter’s lips twitched and he finally handed the food over to the greedy man, plopping down on the couch beside him. Things weren’t the same, and they never would be, but really, that might be for the better. From nights spent curled up on Wade’s sofa with his feet in his lap, to times they were silently comforting one another on particularly hard days, Peter was glad he could do it without a big obstacle standing in their way. Wade knew about his feelings, and Peter hoped, eventually he’d get a sign that Wade felt the same.

Wade kicked up his legs on the coffee table and passed Peter the second container of food. Peter took it with a small smile and set it down in his lap, but before he could take his hand off of it, Wade’s much larger once reached over and rested on top. He turned his head up to meet his gaze and felt a light squeeze around his fingers, before Wade drew back his arm and started to open his take out box.

“Anyways, back to talking about you. There’s a few things I’ve had questions about for years, but couldn’t ask.” Wade said before he shoved his mouthful of food, his eyes studying his face, as if it was the first time he’d ever seen it.

“I’ll do my best to answer them. As long as it’s not crazy invasive or sexual.” Peter looked back down to his box and started to uncover it, but his hand was still tingling from where Wade had just grabbed it.

“Aww, baby boy, you’re ruining all the fun.”

Maybe that was his sign. Maybe it wasn’t. He had waited 2 years for this moment, and he didn’t mind taking more time to figure it all out.

-----

Peter had planned to leave Wade’s apartment by the morning. However, by the time the sun rose outside and was filtering through the sheets functioning as makeshift curtains, he hadn’t even made a move for the window to head home.

Peter was draped over Wade’s sofa, one leg hanging off the side while the other was propped up on the armrest. Wade himself was laying on the floor just a bit away, his duffel bag full of ammo functioning as a pillow, with his hands crossed reservedly over his chest. They’d finished their food hours ago, somewhere between Peter talking about his childhood and Wade disclosing the circumstances of Ellie’s birth and ultimately meeting her. From there, they’d relaxed into familiar patterns of lounging and joking. Wade had started out as an ottoman for Peter to lay his feet against, before he’d eventually rolled off the couch to stretch his back out against the ground. Humorous conversations transitioned gradually into emotional ones and Peter found himself divulging secrets he couldn’t have revealed to Wade before. Their voices had dropped to a whisper and they were and drunk on exhaustion, but it seemed to help the honesty come more naturally.

Peter felt a tickling on his calf, and when he glanced down, Wade’s toe was sketching out the web lining on his suit. His cheeks went pink, but he didn’t comment on the fact.

“So that’s how Spider-Man came to be? No meteor hitting Earth or deadly scientist experiments? You were just a bullied nerd that got assaulted by a fucking spider?” Wade grinned, focused on his task of making Peter’s skin grow goosebumps. “And the web shooters? Petey, you coulda chosen a thousand other weapons. But you chose to shoot sticky white stuff out of your wrists and swing from it. That’s both kinda dirty and kinda hilarious.”

“Well, it works.” Peter grumbled defensively, and jumped when he felt his a hand closing around his gloves. He looked down to see Wade trying rip them off, and he quickly jerked his hand back. “What are you doing?”

“I wanna see them. I bet you’re just trying to hide a place on your arms that actual webs come out of that you’re too embarrassed about.” Wade teased, and reached up for his hand again. “C’ moooon . If you’ve got nothing to hide then you’ll show me.”

“I don’t have anything to hide.” Peter flushed, scowling when Wade snatched his hand again. “D-Dude, there’s nothing there!” He tried to sound offended, but it came out as a gasping laugh as they played tug-of-war over his wrist. “I’m gonna fall, w-wait, Wade!”

Despite his warnings, Wade gave a pull hard enough that Peter’s weightless body rolled off the couch, landing face-first on Wade’s chest, his fingers still trapped in Wade’s hand. Peter blinked and slowly peeled his head off of the dark grey material of his hoodie, turning his gaze up to find Wade’s eyes just a few inches away, gaping back down at him. He felt his limbs grow rigid and his mind went blank, unable to process the correct response. Should he make a stupid joke? Apologize even though Wade had been the one to make him fall? Maybe get off of him like any normal person would do?

“Uh… sorry.” Peter spluttered, and lifted his free arm to push against the floor to help himself get up. Before he could properly move, however, he felt a hand press on the small of his back and it drug his hips back down against Wade’s pelvis. Wade curled his lips in a smirk, and Peter swallowed in response. “Um.”

“Stay.” Wade murmured, and let his eyes roll back up towards the ceiling again. His hand holding Peter’s hostage adjusted, and he quietly filled the spaces between Peter’s fingers with his own. Peter hesitated, tensely trying to make up his mind on whether he was having a fever dream or not, but Wade’s fingers massaged his back trying to coax him into relaxing, and he eventually managed to. Peter’s head turned until his cheek pressed against the curve of Wade’s sternum, just above his heart. He could faintly hear its beat, steadily pounding, while Peter’s own was fluttering like the snowflakes still falling against the window.

Peter had grown to fall in love with sunrises. While much of New York buzzed with the clamoring of busy lives at all hours of the day, he’d found a particular neighborhood in Brooklyn that seemed to exist outside the realm of daily excitement. On weekends he didn’t have school or other various responsibilities, he raced the darkness to arrive just before daybreak, and perched in whichever tree offered the biggest branch to rest against. There was something magical in the solitude, in watching the people of his city come alive, hearing their presence swell as families left for school and work, and trains started to run through their normal routes. He’d always wanted to share the experience with another person, but he had never really found someone he was comfortable basking in the quiet presence of. Someone where talking wasn’t a necessity, and they were able to appreciate the moment in silence.

Neither Wade or Peter spoke. The sunlight finally reached the holes in the curtain and warmed where their feet curled against one another, and outside the window, the bustle of the Bronx began to crescendo.

“Is this alright?” Wade eventually spoke, his arm slackening its hold slightly. Typically, he didn’t ask permission before touching him, but Peter had the feeling he was asking about a lot more than whether their resting position was comfortable.

“Yeah.” Peter murmured back against the heaviness blanketing them, his breathing slow and focused, as he registered where and how their bodies were touching. “This is definitely okay.”

They were quiet a bit longer, occasionally shifting to adjust slipping legs or to curl their fingers closer together.

“I didn't say it earlier, and I should have, but I really like you, too.” Wade murmured, his voice low and drawn out, rumbling against Peter's cheek. The brunette audibly caught his breath, but didn't interrupt. “It's just still blowing my mind a little. This whole week I thought I was cheating on my love for Spidey with my attraction for you...I didn't know I could actually get the best of both worlds.”

Peter was too caught off guard to speak. Under his ear, he could hear Wade's heartbeat getting faster.

“I wish you hadn't lied to me. But I know the past is a bitch and there's no point in trying to change it. I'm just glad you came back. People like me don't deserve this . I don't deserve someone as good as you wanting to be this close to a shit pile like me. But I've dreamt about this for too long not to take my chance. I don't know what you see in me, but I'm not gonna try to convince you otherwise.”

“I was such a jerk this week. I really am sorry.” Peter grimaced. “But seriously, Wade, don’t sell yourself short. There's a lot to like about you.”

“At least you see it that way.” Wade chuckled, and his fingertips began to paint patterns over Peter’s back. “I won’t question it as long as you don’t come to your senses.”

Peter bit his lip, melting under the sensation of his tracing. There was still one question sitting hotly on the back of his tongue, scorching his throat with nerves. He couldn’t think of a better time to ask it, though, and he willed his jaw to comply so he could speak. “If I had told you that night, when we first saw one another on your roof...what would you have thought?”

Wade paused, and he squeezed his hand lightly. “I think I would have asked you to marry me on the spot.”

Peter looked up at him with wide eyes, before Wade shook his head with a snort. “Bad joke. Sorry. But I have to say, I always assumed you would end up being this cute. I just wish we coulda got to the snuggling and bumping uglies a whole lot sooner.”

Peter’s face went bright red, and he self consciously wriggled his hips away from Wade’s so they rested more against his side. “We’re definitely not doing that right now.” He said, flustered.

“Not yet.” Wade winked, holding onto Peter tighter and letting his hands wander with a suggestive look on his face. “But we could be.”

“Let go of my ass.”

“But Peter-Pie, I’ve wanted to do this for ages. ”

“You do it all the time!”

“To Spidey! And you always hit me! Just once, let me do it to the nerdy boy of my dreams.”

“Wade!”

“That’s not the last time you’ll be calling my name today.”

“I really hate you sometimes.”

---

One Month Later

“Ellie knows Spider-Man. So you better stop picking on us, or he’ll come beat you guys up!”

Ellie looked over at her best friend, Mason, her jaw hanging open with utter betrayal written across her face. Mason appeared as if he’d start crying any moment, dirt scuffs on his cheeks from where the bullies had smushed his head into the muddy snow. He and Ellie had been reenacting a monster truck rally after school in the mounds in his yard when the 5th grade kids walked by, and the excitable 8 year olds had always been their target of choice.

“Spider-Man? Yeah, right.” The biggest of the two kids laughed, kicking snow up so it flew at their faces, and they had to shield their eyes and noses with their sleeves. “Watching the news and playing make-believe isn’t knowing him.”

“She actually knows Spider-Man! He hid in her tree house once and cooked her pancakes!” Mason challenged, hopping up onto his feet and stomping the ground.

“Mason!” Ellie cried, reaching out to tug on his arm. “It’s secret ninja code not to talk about it. You promised!”

“Stupid liars.” The other older boy rolled his eyes, and pushed both Ellie and Mason back until they tripped and fell onto their butts. “C’mon, let’s go. They don’t know any superheroes. They’re just dumb little kids.”

Ellie huffed as they turned their backs, sitting up and glaring at them. “I wish they would stop being such jerk-faces.” She grumbled. “I could call Spider-Man right now and he’d have to show up, because I know secrets about him.”

“You should call him.” Mason looked at her, tears poking at the corners of his eyes in frustration. “Maybe Spider-Man could hang them from a flagpole by their underwear, and when everyone sees and laughs they’ll leave us alone.”

Ellie pursed her lips in thought. It wasn’t a terrible idea…

She stood up and brushed the snow off her pants, before jumping over their makeshift truck course. “I’ll be right back!” She called over her shoulder and ran towards her house at the end of the block. Wade had told her to only use Peter’s number for emergencies, but not getting picked on seemed like a pretty good emergency to her.

She threw the door open and ran immediately to her house phone, clicking through the programmed numbers until she found Peter. She hit enter, waited for the numbers to dial, and bounced on the balls of her feet as the line rang.

“Hello?” Peter finally answered, one ring before she was going to be sent to voicemail.

“Peter, it’s Ellie!” She declared, and she could hear him hesitate. “Eleanor Camacho.” She clarified.

“I know it’s you, Ellie.” Peter said with a short laugh, though he sounded a bit rushed. “I was...um, about to go out and do my job . Is anything wrong?”

“Actually, yeah, I need your help. It’s a big emergency.”

And that was how an hour later, Spider-Man ended up giving a speech on bullying to two 5th grade boys, as Deadpool held them firmly by their shoulders and Ellie and Mason stood smugly behind them.

Life was a lot easier when your Daddy was boyfriends with a superhero as cool as Spider-Man.

She knew her dad thought so, too. When they let the kids go and had escorted Mason back to his house, Peter swung all three of them over the fence into her backyard, setting them down just in front of her sliding glass door. Emily and Terry were inside, but Ellie was pretty sure they hadn’t seen them yet.

“Thank you, Spider-Man.” Ellie flashed her best smile, staring up at the two taller men. She knew she was going to get an earful from her dad for telling Peter he had to help her because she had kept his identity so well, and wasn’t sure if she’d always be able to when being bullied, but she hoped she’d avoid it with her charming personality alone. “Those guys were really mean to me.”

“So about that phone call…” Her dad’s tone was way too fakely sweet, she knew she was in for it. She cowered back a few steps, a guilty look crossing her face. “What did we say about-?”

“Wade, it’s fine.” Peter said, stepping past her her dad towards her. He crouched just in front of her, and placed a soft hand on her shoulder. “If you ever need help, you can always call me. Just maybe less threatening, okay?”

Ellie nodded vigorously, her curly hair blinding her for a moment before she pushed it out of her face. “Less threatening, I promise.” She said back with a smile, and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Peter...can I ask you a question, since you’re here?”

He tilted his head slightly, but nodded. “What’s up?”

Ellie looked down at the front of her shirt and began picking at the fuzz on her sweater to give herself somewhere else to look besides her reflection in the whites of his lenses. ““Um..do you… love my dad?” She mumbled.

She could see him freeze a bit out of the corner of her eye, and his hand squeezed against her shoulder lightly. “I do.”

“That’s good.” Ellie said, pulling up another fuzzball. “When he first met me he was a little angrier. I asked if he and my Mommy were in love and if she thought it was cool he was a superhero, and he told me no one could love him and not to call him a hero ever again.” Ellie turned her eyes back up to his mask, smiling warmly at him. “But he’s my superhero. So I wanted to make sure someone loved him. So he can be happy.”

Peter made a weird noise in the back of his throat. It took him a moment to respond, but he breathed out a laugh and moved his hand from her shoulder up to ruffle her hair.. “Wanna know a secret?” He asked, and turned to glance over at her Dad, who tried to look as if he wasn’t eavesdropping the whole time. “He’s my hero, too.”

Peter stood and ran over to where her dad was waiting, and pulled him onto his back. He jumped in the air, his wrists shooting out as a web caught on her neighbors house and he tugged on it, dragging their bodies forward as they flew over the fence. Ellie watched as they swung away together and she grinned, glancing back over at her treehouse tucked in the tallest oak.

Life was definitely better with her Dad and Peter in it.

#spiderman #deadpool #spideypool #fanfic #my fic #spongeekat #spideypool fanfic

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atypical60 · 6 years ago

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Far be it to not take advantage of Oona’s pre-wedding events to not make it about me. OK?

Remember. It’s all about MOI!!!!

Anyway, last weekend I flew to Cincinnati for Oona’s Bridal Shower. You saw a sneak peak at my last blog post but I’m gonna elaborate more on the weekend.

And boy was this a fantastic Bridal Brunch!!

As the Mother-of-the-Bride naturally.

Number 4 is the only one Oona has stressed. I did that at her shower when we all introduced ourselves. My sense of humor got the best of me as I introduced myself as “…..as Oona exited my Origin of the World…” immediately, I was pulled aside and warned in a kind way to NOT say anything like that at the wedding. (shhhh–don’t tell but I don’t follow rules!)

I took Friday off from work because I wanted a true three-day weekend. That’s the thing about working in a low-level clerical position—you need permission to get a day off. In my other places of employment, it was much easier to finagle time off as a freebie—trust me. I also worked my schedule out to accommodate leaving early on Thursday afternoon so I could fly from Philly to Cincy and enjoy a few extra hours of fun time.

I also took Friday casual to Thursday! I travel in comfort, but not like a slob! J. Crew and Gabor wigs assisted me! Mother-of-the Bride travel attire!

It’s not how it started out though.

For some reason, either I hit horrific weather or I have a displeasure of a delayed flight whenever I travel. I kid you not. And about 45 minutes before we were to board the plane, an announcement was made that the flight to Cincinnati would be delayed.

Welcome to my jet-sit world. I spend more time waiting than flying! I have to say though, that Delta made every effort and boarded us very quickly when the plane arrived!

Besides having an inner hissy-fit, I dealt with this issue by stress eating not one pretzel, but an additional bucket of pretzel nuggets. Fresh and hot off the press. The carbs were murder on my gut but felt so good going down. I also ate a giant bag of peanut M & M’s. And read trashy magazines.

And an added surprise was that these nuggets of carbs were also drenched in greasy melted butter. I wonder why the scale isn’t giving me nicer numbers!!

The plane finally arrived and this Mother-of-the-Bride landed after ten in the evening to rain! I was two for two. A delay and rain. It was shocking that a snow storm hadn’t hit!

Cincinnati here I come…

To rain and a delayed flight….

Now…upon departing the flight, one would think I ran to the airport exit to see Oona and Sam. No. CVG is a GREAT airport. It’s so clean and spacious so I couldn’t resist dawdling (now we know where my son, Roman, acquired the gift of dawdle…). I came across a cosmetics vending machine! But I didn’t buy anything!

Why couldn’t I find this at Philly airport during the delay?

Then I came across my favorite part of the airport! Them bones!

Some stop to smell the roses. I stop to take photos at airports of skeletal treasure!

But it was great to be back at Oona and Sam’s and playing around with my grand puppy, Gracie.

My boo, Gracie. OMG. She’s so well-behaved..

Oona and Sam are such great doggie parents…I KNOW they will be fantastic human parents!

Friday brought sun and clouds and brisk weather but it didn’t matter. There’s something comforting in knowing that your daughter and her future husband can brew a great cuppa coffee. They make it strong—just the way I love it. And we sat around gabbing before getting ready and heading out to run errands.

The Mr. Coffee is far better than the grandpa Mr. Coffee we have at home.

Even little Gracie was beggin’ for some!

Ahhhhhhhhh…cawfee!!!

Oona had a nail appointment, and since my nails were looking fine, I passed but kept her company while we discussed family and the wedding preparations.

This freakin’ nail salon! It went on for days! I was jealous–but then Oona told me the price of a mani-pedi and I was glad to be living in the Northeast where nail salons are plentiful….and far less expensive!

Next stop was Marshalls –Oona picked some workout clothing (I didn’t –I’m lazy). And I headed for the cosmetics. Glory be to Gawd—I found two great eyeshadow palettes!

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More on these palettes for my next blog post but boy….at $7.99 each, these palettes were a steal!

We did some food shopping—Sam’s birthday was Friday and his family was coming over for dinner. Oona looked pensive as she realized time was of the essence—she had to head back to the airport to pick up her best friend and maid-of-honor, Lauren.

Did I say food shopping? I sent this pic to Bonaparte to validate that Pennsylvania is the worst state in the USA because of the State-run, Mob-type Liquor stores! You can by this at Trader Joes in Cincy!

And that’s where mom comes in—I assured her I could take care of the cake and she could head to the airport for alone time with her bestie!

BTW, this cake is gluten-free, chemical and preservative-free, sugar free, and lower-fat! Oona added Sam’s favorite candy–Reeses Pieces which are NOT lower fat nor sugar free! But it was a tasty Birthday cake!

Friday evening, Sam’s family came over for a birthday celebration. Being with Sam’s family is like being with……………. family!! We all had a great time and I was introduced to a spectacular aperitif/cocktail: The Aperol Spritz! This concoction of Aperol, Prosecco, and Seltzer with a slice of orange is the most refreshing drink I’ve ever downed!

You read it first. Moving forward, the Aperol Spritz will now be called “Mother-of-the-Bride”. There will be an open bar at the wedding but I may smuggle my private makings! There’s only 148 calories in one of these!

I drank a lot of them during the weekend. In fact, as I write this now, I informed the Frenchman that I’ll be stopping at the store for Aperol, Prosecco and seltzer! He is a bit upset that I am forgoing the beloved Kir Royal but the Aperol Spritz has less calories and with the wedding countdown, every calorie counts!

Saturday was a full day!

Let me tell you something. Oona and Lauren spent a long time getting their hair perfectly coifed. Lauren is great with styling and she styled Oona’s hair in perfect beach waves.

I plopped my Jamison wig on—and had extra time to loll around in bed! Oh, the beauty of wigs!

Jamison and Lilly Pulitzer. You can’t go wrong!

The shower/bruncheon was at LouVino, a Southern-inspired restaurant and wine bar downtown Cincinnati. What a great place! The celebration was downstairs in a private room and Oona’s friends, coworkers, future sisters-in-law, mother-in-law and relatives were in attendance.

The upstairs wine bar at LouVino’s. I’m recommending this place to out-of-town guests for Oona’s wedding!

The downstairs room where the brunch was held…

Thanks to Sam’s sisters, the table settings were beautiful..

Mimosas kept us refreshed and hydrated!

Oh yeah, and water (in the background) also kept us hydrated. The food was so great that I never took a pic–I was too busy shoveling the Warm Brussels Salad into my mouth!

We played girlie games. I won Scattergories. But the best game was where Oona had to guess answers to questions that Sam answered in advance. For ever wrong answer, a wad of bubble gum was placed in Oona’s mouth! It was a riot!

It was only natural that I took myself out of the “Guess the Age” game. I’m no cheater!

Miss Oona getting ready for more bubble gum! She actually did a great job. Out of 30 questions, she got 2/3’s correct!

The prize for the Scattergories win..a cute mug and a Starbucks card!!!!!!!!!!!

Some of the gifts. Crate & Barrel is very popular–eh???

Happy little wine glasses…

Happy little Oona!

The baking girl was thrilled to receive mixing bowls. Did I mention I gifted her with a Stainless Kitchen Aid Mixer…just like mine? I swear the baking is genetic!

This. This was on Oona’s wish list and she was so happy to receive this! (Hmmmm maybe she’ll give me her Mr. Coffee machine…)

BFF’s. They’ve been friends since middle-school. Two beauties!

This photo of us was taken after I was crying…

..and this is why. Lauren, Oona’s BFF and Maid of Honor, gifted Sam’s mom and me with embroidered hankies. Both moms were crying because it was just a touching and generous gift! I’m crying again!

I was very happy to be in attendance. Oona didn’t want a shower in Philly simply because she felt that asking my side of the family and her Northeast friends, was asking them to spend too much money—what with the travel to Ohio and the hotel, she wanted to keep expenses down for everyone. You know—I was very proud of her decision. I think I raised a very conscientious young woman!

And the fact Sam’s family has welcomed Oona really made me feel warm and fuzzy inside!

May I present the future Mrs. Butts. Coming from a very competitive family, it pleases me to have my daughter’s future last name be greatness such as this. When/if they have children and their children are in competitive activities, they can hashtag: #MyButtsgonnakickyours or… #Buttsbekickin’

Some after-brunch fun. Isn’t that dress adorable? It’s a Lilly Pulitzer..and those shoes! The daughter has great taste..and she’s gorgeous!

By the time we got back to the house, the rain came and it was time to head to Sam’s mom’s home for a casual, laid back and fun dinner!

And more Aperol Spritzes!

The recipe? Three parts Prosecco, Two parts Aperol, One part (a splash) Seltzer and an orange slice to make it nice!

Sunday morning brought forth a bit of a hangover and the flight back to Philly. Isn’t it funny how when you wish for a delay, the flight is on time?

Gracie was sad to see me go. I was sad to see me go!

Minimal dawdling on the return. There was no delay. WAIT! Does that say Air France? Yeah…but it’s the plane back to Philly…

And despite the timeliness of the flight home, I did manage to get this sweatshirt as a reminder of a great weekend!

I arrived back home Sunday afternoon. When Bonaparte picked me up, I’m not too sure he was happy to see me because he kept mentioning how tired I looked. He was right. I had a bad hangover FOODover, because of all the food I ate.

Yeah. I pretty-much crashed when I arrived home. Funny how I still think I’m in my twenties sometimes!

Do you ever get sad when you leave someplace and someone? I was incredibly sad to leave but after I arrived home and unpacked and got to telling the Frenchman about the weekend, the sadness lifted and I felt really happy. Happy that I was able to enjoy the weekend with my daughter and her future family! And happy to be back sitting next to my husband on the sofa!

And she’s the reason the weekend was a stellar one! My baby is getting married!

More Mother-of-the-Bride Fun! Far be it to not take advantage of Oona’s pre-wedding events to not make it about me.

#Bridal Showers #Cincinnati #LouVino OTR #Weddings

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andinewton · 7 years ago

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12 Days of Loki - An Avengers Redemption Series Mini-Series - Day Five

Master List

17th December

‘We love the little snowmen, Dadda.’ Vali said, as Loki took the boys and Georgie into school the next morning. ‘But you didn’t tell us what they mean.’

‘Well, I suppose there is no need to keep it a secret. And it involves Little Miss Barnes too.’ Loki glanced down at her.

‘Me?’ Georgie looked up at her besties’ daddy.

‘Indeed. Tonight I am inviting the entire team to the gardens of the compound where we shall have hot drinks, delicious stews, and snowman building.’

‘And I get to play too?’ Georgie checked.

‘You certainly do.’ He smiled as his boys cheered.

‘Straight after school?’

‘Four o’clock.’ Loki confirmed. ‘Bring your warmest clothes and your creative heads.’

‘But I’ve only got one head.’ Georgie asked worriedly.

‘That one will do fine.’ He reassured her with a smile.

‘Last one.’ Stark said, as he brought out another trestle table. ‘Where do you want it?’

‘Here is perfect. Thanks, Tony.’ Sigyn smiled as she indicated to the spot she wanted it in.

‘You’ve got a lot of food on the go here, Red.’ He pointed out she had several portable stoves keeping the stews bubbling away and a table full of bread.

‘I’m hoping everyone will come.’ She shrugged. ‘And some of them are drinks.’

‘And who’s bringing the mead down?’ He asked casually.

‘Haven’t you had enough of that stuff?’ She laughed.

‘I’m determined to be able to handle one glass before Christmas Eve.’

‘Never took you as someone who liked failing.’ She shook her head. ‘And no mead tonight. We have mulled apple cider, and the tea decanter things have non alcoholic versions for the kids.’

‘You think of everything.’

‘Even a pile of hats, coal, and carrots for the snowmen.’ She smiled proudly.

‘You’re enjoying playing hostess, aren’t you?’

She shrugged. ‘It’s nice to have a family this big to celebrate with. It really is like the old days back on Asgard.’

‘The old, old, old days.’ He corrected her. ‘How long until everyone else starts showing up?’

‘About another half an hour. I just wanted to be ready, and couldn’t have done it without your help.’

‘Don’t mention it. We’re family, like you said. The most fucked up family I can think of, but still a family.’

‘You want to be the first to try the cider?’ She offered, and he looked at his watch.

‘Save me some. I have to meet Thor, then we’ll be down.’

‘A bit late in the day for training, isn’t it?’

‘Just a little project we’re working on. C’mon, Cherry, you know everyone is secretive during the holidays.’

‘Fine. I won’t dig.’ She held her hands up in surrender.

‘Good girl.’ He gave her a quick squeeze. ‘See you in half an hour.’

‘Suspicious.’ She sung under her breath as he left, before she went about setting out bowls and cups.

Loki was pleased with the turnout. Everyone on the team who were close enough to come, had, which meant there was a veritable army of snowmen of all shapes and sizes. The kids had a great time, and when everyone was rosy cheeked and cold fingered they had soup and cider to warm them up, seated around several large gas heaters Tony had provided.

‘Do we have a story tonight, Dadda?’ Narvi asked.

‘I think we have done quite enough for tonight, don’t you?’ Loki replied. ‘And I had not prepared one.’

‘I have a story.’ Sigyn said from beside him. ‘I can’t say it will be as good as yours, but I’m willing to give it a try.’

‘If you wish, Petal.’ He took her bowl from her and put it with his own, allowing her to have her hands free.

‘Okay, let’s see. Thor, do you remember, way back when I was Sigyn before, we were about, oh a hundred at the time? We had that ridiculous snow early in the season. So heavy that no merchants could get out of the city for weeks?’

‘I remember it well.’ He nodded. ‘Father had expressly forbidden any of us from leaving the palace because he feared it was a frost giant rebellion, to be so cold so suddenly.’

‘This was the storm that kept me from returning home for ten days from Alfheim?’ Loki asked, and Thor nodded.

‘Even the observatory froze over, meaning no travel was possible, at least not without revealing the fact you knew of alternative methods in and out. Your ravens home were quite frantic.’

‘If a frost giant attack were imminent I would rather have been by my wife’s side.’ Loki argued.

‘You’re getting me off topic!’ Sigyn interrupted them. ‘The point remains we weren’t supposed to leave the palace until Odin was certain there was no breach.’

‘He was very insistent.’ Thor added.

‘And what did we do?’ Sigyn prompted.

‘Thor, it’s one o’clock the morning.’ Sigyn groaned, allowing him entry to hers and Loki’s quarters in the palace on Asgard.

‘It is closer to two, actually.’ He clarified as she pulled her robe closer around her.

‘Are we going into battle? Is it the jotuns?’

‘Nothing so desperate.’ He slung his arm around her shoulders and walked her towards the balcony. ‘However the opportunity to do something…mischievous, even without Loki here, is quite tempting.’

‘What did you have in mind?’ She looked up at him.

‘Let’s play in the snow.’

She looked out onto the balcony, where the white stuff had not only settled but continued to fall. It was ethereally beautiful, and so tempting. ‘If we’re seen…’

‘If we’re seen we can expect a lecture from the Allfather.’ He shrugged. ‘What do you say?’

‘I say you are onto a good idea, brother.’ She grinned. ‘Just give me a moment.’ She ran to the washroom, quickly tidying her hair while conjuring her leathers, warmest coat, and gloves, before reemerging. ‘Ready.’

‘Let’s prove we don’t need the God of Mischief to have fun.’ He smirked, holding his hand out to her.

‘Wait, you snuck out of the palace when it was on lockdown to play in the snow?’ Loki said, aghast at their antics.’

‘Don’t try and tell me you wouldn’t do the same.’ Thor teased.

‘You’d have joined us.’ Sigyn told him certainly. ‘Or have been the instigator.’

‘I do not think throwing caution to the wind when under threat of attack is a story we should be instilling on the children.’

‘Says the man who merrily walked into Jotunheim with his brother and friends thinking to wipe out an entire race.’ She argued.

‘The point is…’ But she didn’t let him finish.

‘The point is that this is a story and no different to you telling the boys about the time with the sun wheel.’

‘I wanna hear if they got in trouble for sneaking out.’ Tony said before taking another sip of cider, which he had to admit, was pretty good. ‘Asgardian teen drama.’

‘We were about a hundred, hardly teen drama.’ Sigyn reminded him. ‘But sneak out we did.’

‘Sig, please.’ Loki tried one more time, but he was booed into silence by the group.

‘Go!’ Thor pushed Sigyn ahead of him out of a side gate, knowing the guard pattern well enough to utilise the blind spot of mere seconds. If they were caught he would use that as their excuse, that they were testing for any weaknesses in their defences, like any good warriors. They were past the training area and into the gardens in no time, the light from the moon reflecting on the snow and giving them enough light to see by.

‘You’re sure no one from the palace can see us from here?’ She checked, looking back at the faint lights in only the highest of rooms, all the lower ones obscured by high hedges.

‘Unless their eyes are that of a hawk, we are safe from prying.’

‘As the realms have yet to produced one with hawk eyes, and it would take Heimdall too long to alert anyone, we should be finished before anyone even realises.’

‘That’s the whole idea.’ He bent down and scooped up some snow in his gloved hands. ‘We should build a snowman, and see how confused the guards when they discover it tomorrow.’

‘I do like that idea.’ She smiled, watching as he rolled the ball around, gathering more snow. ��‘I’ll start the head.’

Once the large balls were made, Sigyn left Thor to construct their creation while she sought out items for facial features and arms, perhaps some buttons if she could find enough. She had just found a second branch for the arm and straightened, smiling at her find, when the sound of a throat being cleared behind her made her freeze. Her muscles tensed as she squared her shoulders, refusing to act as though she were in trouble, she was the princess of Asgard, a commander in their army, and few outranked her, when it came down to it, but the voice that followed made her cringe.

‘This reminds me of the night I caught you sneaking back into the palace from Loki’s room.’

‘Frigga.’ Sigyn breathed, turning with a forced smile on her face. ‘I did not expect to run into anyone so late. Or early. Depending upon your definition.’

‘Indeed, nor I. I’m afraid those sticks you have would make poor firewood. Has the sequestering in the palace become so desperate you have to fetch your own kindling?’ The older woman gave her an amused expression.

‘Truly, no, it was just an excuse.’ She threw the twigs to one side, stones for the features hidden in her pockets. ‘I needed some respite and fresh air.’

‘It is certainly that.’ Frigga pulled her cloak tighter around her, the deep hood sheltering her from the small flurry that seemed to have whipped up. ‘Perhaps it is time to return inside?’

‘I…erm…’

‘This snow is getting worse. Do you truly wish to stay out in it? Especially given the ongoing threat?’

Sigyn sighed, her breath fogging before her. ‘I suppose not. Would you wait for me? I have to retrieve my bag.’

‘Of course.’ She smiled, watching as Sigyn turned and trotted through the snow easily. She was no fool, and it was obvious there was no bag.

‘There you are!’ Thor turned as he heard Sigyn approach. ‘What took so…’

Sigyn raced up to him and threw her hand over his mouth. ‘Shush!’ She whispered harshly. ‘Your mother caught me! You have to get back to the palace so we don’t both get in trouble!’

‘If the two of you get into trouble, then so will I.’ They both spun their heads as Frigga entered the area they had been using.

‘Mother…’ Thor started, but she raised her hand, silencing him.

‘Building a snowman?’ She looked between them, and they nodded. ‘Then you are going to have to go back for those sticks.’ She gave Sigyn a sincere smile.

‘Really?’ Sigyn asked in surprise.

‘And stones for the eyes.’

‘Here.’ She emptied out her pockets, making Thor take them. ‘I’ll be right back.’ And she ran back to where she had dropped the sticks.

Thor just looked at his mother while she smiled pleasantly. ‘You aren’t going to tell Father?’

‘Good gracious, no!’ She laughed. ‘If I do that I will be confessing that I too am absconding from the palace every night for some air because it is so stuffy! I think this should be kept between the three of us. Don’t you?’ She took two of the stones from him and positioned them as eyes.

‘But what of the threat from Jotunheim?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Please. A little bad weather and your father has become overcautious. We had a worse winter than this the year you and Loki were born.’

‘Two arms.’ Sigyn said as she returned.

‘Good girl.’ Frigga took them from her as she offered them. ‘Now, tomorrow night, I suggest we are better prepared and bring a hat and shawl, and make him a good snowlady wife.’

‘Tomorrow night?’ Sigyn asked in surprise.

‘Of course. I am just sorry I did not catch you earlier! I would have loved to have helped build this stout fellow.’

Thor and Sigyn shared a look, happy to not be in trouble, but even happier to have Frigga on their side.

‘A week later there was an entire family of snow people and no one knew who their creators were. It became quite a mystery.’ Thor explained, Narvi sitting on his lap, listening intently.

‘You coerced Mother into breaking an order set down by Odin?’ Loki said in disbelief.

‘To be fair,’ Sigyn smiled at him, ‘she had been sneaking out for longer than us.’

‘I can’t believe you never told me this before! Either of you!’

‘We swore to Frigga we wouldn’t.’ Sigyn shrugged.

‘But now seemed like an acceptable time to break our word.’ Thor finished his cup of cider.

‘I liked your story, Mamma.’ Vali, who was leaning against her, her arm around him, said. ‘Did you break lots of other rules with Uncle Thor when you were you before?’

‘A few, but all the other times Dadda was with us.’ Sigyn grinned at Loki beside her.

‘I suppose I did break my fair share.’ Loki chuckled.

‘You still do.’ Maria Hill reminded him. Even she had turned out for the great snowman build.

‘I have to keep everyone on their toes.’

‘You all do that.’ She added, and it made everyone laugh, the shared camaraderie of being irritants to the management.

18th December

#Avengers #avengers fic #avengers fanfiction #avengersredemption #loki #loki sigyn #loki fanfiction #loki x sigyn #lokixsigyn #logyn #Loki/Sigyn #bucky/ofc #bucky/amelia

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aab0289 · 7 years ago

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Rwby Chibi Xmas Skit Special. (Part5)

“House Trap?” Weiss’ eyebrow raised, as Ruby darted back to her.

“It’s about a kid who misses his ride for a holiday, gets left alone at Christmas and fights off thieves with comical and cartoon like traps that are implausible with physics. It’s one we watch every Christmas!” Ruby bounced up and down, eager to persuade Weiss to watch it.

“I still say Try Hard 1, cos that’s got guns and guns.” Yang winks as she points to her ember celiac and then her arms, making the others sigh at another terrible pun.

“That sounds like a daft premise, but if we’re doing the film, I’ll watch it too.” Weiss hides her interest, as she sees the others head over to the screen.

“I’ll get the presents, the drinks and-” Ruby is about to bolt carrying more stuff than she can carry.

“Let’s do it one thing at a time Ruby. Otherwise we’ll run out of things to do and you’ll likely hurt yourself.” Weiss advises as she takes a few things off Ruby to carry.

“This is going to be awesome!” Ruby declares as she urges Weiss to follow the others already sat in front of the screen. “Come on Xmas Bestie!”

(Transition scene: Kline cuts the cake that fills the screen, with each slice revealing the next skit till all slices are gone.)

Twas The Night Before Christmas.

The screen cuts to the girls going to bed, Ruby leaving a glass of milk and cookies for Santa. She takes a cookie and leaves a note ‘I promise I only had one of your cookies, R.R.’ as she crawled under the sheet.

Weiss waited for the others to fall asleep, before leaving a note next to the cookies, addressed to Santa. She closes her eyes, Zwei curling up with her on the bed, not aware of the sound coming from the chimney. Santa (his face hidden from the audience) makes his way to leave presents, including a giant bone for Zwei, when he picks up the letter. (It’s read as though Weiss is talking.)

It reads: Dear Saint Nicholas, I know I’ve not been the best friend or huntresses this year. I’ve been bossy, arrogant and rude to my friends & team. I know I don’t deserve them but I would like to ask only one thing this year. I wish to be besties (closer friends) with Blake, Yang, and especially Ruby. I know she can be impulsive, reckless and likes to waste my time, but I wouldn’t trade any of them for all the Dust in the world. With sincere regards, Weiss Schnee. P.s. If its possible, could I please have the latest shoe design to go with my combat skirt as a present? P.s.s. Could you please take this note so they don’t find out? I’d like to keep my reputation intact for just a bit longer.

Santa takes the note with him, disappearing up the chimney in a flash and merrily calling out ‘Ho-ho-ho.’, with the sleigh taking off from the view of the window. The scene turns to the room filled with presents as Ozpin starts to narrate.

“It was the night before Christmas, when all through the dorm, not a single thing stirred, not even a dog.” Ozpin stops as Zwei is awake, pulling away at a present shaped like a bone.

“I said, ‘not even a dog!’” Ozpin calls to Zwei who shies away back to bed. “That’s better, where was I? Oh yes, the children all snug in their beds, dreaming of sugary treats.”

Thought bubbles appear from Team RWBY, Weiss dreaming of crepes, Ruby dreams of cookies, Blake of biscuits shaped like fish and cats, while Yang dreams of Kline’s strawberry cake.

“Along with visions of them opening their presents, springing from their beds with sheer delight, upon finding bundles of toys and fine foods of their favourite kind as they wake.”

Thought bubbles now show the team opening their presents and eating tasty food.

“Their faces and cheeks, rosy like roses with the toys from the man with a beard white as snow. Travelling into the night on beasts that fly high, like the sun brightly rising with a new day over their fair city.”

Another thought bubble shows the other students all rosy cheeks at getting what they wished for Xmas. Then of Santa and his reindeers as they fly over Vale.

“The children merrily dreamed of the fun and wonder they’ll experience once the sun comes up. As they remained in a slumber, even as jolly Saint Nick left gifts for the other students too.”

The scene turns to Team JNPR, all nestled in their beds, except one. The screen focuses on the vacant bed as Nora fills the screen.

“Hey, some of us are trying to SLEEP here!” Nora grumbled as she crosses her arms.

“Miss Valkyrie, I’m trying to narrate here.” Ozpin broke from his narration to directly talk to Nora. “You shouldn’t even be awake now, let alone able to hear me.”

“How can anyone get any sleep with such a booming voice YAMMERING on all night?!” Nora protested, not noticing Santa in the background, tiptoeing with a great big sack.

“Just pretend I’m not here (not that I really am).” Ozpin instructed, as Nora mumbled as she adjusted her pillow and then booped herself with her hammer, instantly drifting off to sleep.

“Well, as I was saying.” Ozpin continued his narration, as Team JNPR all dreamed of Christmas morning. “They remained in slumber, dreaming of their presents, even as Santa Claus crept to leave the children their gifts.”

Pyrrha’s thought bubble is of Jaune kissing her under the mistletoe. Ren and Nora are sharing the same one involving pancakes, with Jaune’s being his Volume 4 armour upgrade.

“With but a tap of his nose, he shot up the chimney and flew into the night on his sleigh, not waking a soul. Not even a mischievous pup.”

Santa jumps up the chimney, while Zwei is back to pulling at the present as Ozpin coughs to get his’s attention.

“Zwei, last warning, be a good boy and go back to bed.” Zwei slowly walks back to bed, with a low huff before snoring, in the bed with Blake. “That’s better.”

Zwei dreams of a giant bone, and cuddles from Team RWBY, including Blake and Weiss who give him a cake & a fish of his own.

“Away he flew, like the down of a thistle.”

Santa’s sleigh begins to rise and the reindeer take the lead in heading home.

“Yet I heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight and the sun finally rising on Christmas morning-”

Santa disappears as he calls out one last ‘ho-ho-ho’ as Ozpin continues to narrate.

“Merry Christmas to all.- ” Ozpin’s voice is distorted, another voice is merged, speaking with him, slowly becoming clearer, as the scene is no longer in Vale but a desolate location (the same as from Volume 3’s finale episode). It changes like the pages turning of a book to the very last page.

“-and to all a good night.” Salem says as she turns towards the screen, her eyes glowing red as she smirks before the skit concludes with static.

Thank you for reading this Rwby Chibi Xmas Special, I apologise it’s not all in one post. So I hope you all enjoyed these tales of colourful characters and festive hijinks.

Please let me know what you thought about the skits & wish you all a merry Christmas, even if it’s 2 months away.

#Rwby #rwbychibi #chibi #writing #teamrwby #teamjnpr #velvet scarlatina #rubyrose #weissschnee #yang xiao long #blakebelladonna #jaune arc #nora valkyrie #pyrrha nikos #lie ren #Ozpin #montyoumproject

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motleymoose · 8 years ago

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The Devil’s Backbone

Challenge: @sdavid09 ’s Tale Teller’s Winter Writing Challenge 2016

Prompt: Farm/Country AU & The Devil’s Backbone by the Civil Wars

Characters: Jody Mills x Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester x Donna Hanscum; mentions of Bobby Singer x Jody Mills, Garth Fitzgerald IV, Charlie Bradbury, Ellen and Jo Harvelle, Rufus Turner, OFC (Jax, Ben, Marlene)

Words: ~3,210

Warnings: Language, fluffy angst

Summary: Life had a way of providing Jody Mills with lemons, but she had always been too broke to make lemonade. Yet sometimes there are mistakes one can’t afford not to make.

A/N: I loved writing this. It just came out on its own. No beta, so all mistakes are my own. Feedback is appreciated! <3

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

Farming is a thankless job.

From sunup to sundown, Jody Mills worked. There wasn’t a day that went by when something didn’t break down or escape. If a day did happen to pass by with nothing springing a leak or tearing down a fence, Jody would find herself sitting at the local bar early on in the evening, enjoying a watery beer and rambunctious company.

Those days were few and far between.

And, damn, did she need a beer.

Driving in the last staple, Jody straightened up, stretching out her stiff back and sore shoulders. “Fuuuck me,” she groaned, gazing back at her handiwork. Fixing fence wasn’t something she enjoyed, but at least it would keep the cows in, if even for a short time. Tucking the hammer under her arm, she shook off a glove, letting it fall into the fresh snow, and pulled out her phone. It was late, judging by how fast the sun was disappearing on the horizon, but not late enough for her to pack up and head inside to the warmth.

Sighing, Jody pulled her glove back on, grabbed the bucket of staples and tools, and trudged back toward the four-wheeler. The cows were starting to gather up around the cattle guard, mooing plaintively. She knew it was a long shot, but she fiercely hoped the tractor would start despite the cold. If not, she knew she’d be out way past dark finishing up chores.

I’m getting too damn old for this, she grumbled internally as she revved the ATV and bounced across the frozen pasture, a tally of the next day’s work already forming in her mind. …………… “You really need to hire somebody, girl.” Donna handed Jody the corkscrew as she dug into the dishwasher for wine glasses. “You’re going kill yourself trying to run everything on your own.”

Popping the cork, Jody filled the glasses with Pinot Noir, handing one back to Donna. “I’ve been running it by myself since Bobby died. The only thing that’s changed is I’m getting older.”

Donna took a long sip of wine before biting into a chocolate chip cookie. “Yeah, well, everything else is getting older, too. You’ve spent half your time just trying to keep that old farm house from falling down around your ears!” She flicked crumbs off of her chest as they moved into the living room.

A fire was lit in the stove, and between the warmth and the wine, Jody could feel her defenses relaxing. She plopped into a recliner and pulled a brightly colored quilt over her lap. Donna’s dog Jude got up from the rug in front of the stove and climbed into her lap. Scratching Jude behind the ears, Jody sighed heavily. “Okay, fine. Let’s say I do need to hire someone.” She paused, ruminating. “I can’t pay much of anything, and I don’t have time to train them how to run a tractor or do anything else farm-related.”

Stretching her legs out on the couch, Donna nodded. “That knocks out teenagers and anyone from the city.” She took another drink of wine, her brow furrowed. “Maybe someone retired? I think Marlene was wanting to get Rufus out of the house. And Ellen was saying she was going stir-crazy being cooped up with Jo over the holiday break. Surely one of them could help?”

Jody shook her head as she talked around a mouthful of cookie. “Couldn’t pay either one of them enough. Besides, Ellen’s got the bar now, and Rufus just had his shoulder replaced.”

Rolling her eyes, Donna got up from the couch and went into the kitchen, returning with the bottle of wine and the plate of cookies. “You’re just too damn stubborn.” She topped off Jody’s glass and emptied the rest of the bottle into her own.

Jude’s head shot up when the backdoor banged open. “We’re home!”

A tall, handsomely scruffy man trundled in with a toddler asleep on his shoulder and another trying desperately to push past him.

“C'mon, Dad! I’m freezing!” the boy whined as he ducked under Dean’s arm and dashed into the living room. He launched himself at Donna, giggling as she blew a raspberry on his neck.

“Boots off the couch, Jax,” Dean admonished quietly as he shifted the sleeping Ben in order to kick off his boots. The wiry preschooler grumbled under his breath as he stomped back to the door to take off his winter gear. Dean arched an eyebrow, giving Donna a knowing look. She tightened her lips in an effort to suppress a grin. Rolling his eyes, Dean padded across the living room and shooed Jax ahead of him. They disappeared down the hall, Jax trying to wheedle a later bedtime out of his dad, and Dean barely holding back his laughter as his eldest son continued to come up with excuses. Donna watched them go before turning back to Jody.

“His brother’s back in town,” she whispered, keeping an eye on the boys’ bedroom door. “Got laid off at Boeing. Dean didn’t even know he was in the area until Garth told him.” Donna glanced back down the hallway, taking another swallow of wine. “Sam - he hasn’t been in a good place in a while. Ever since Jess left…” She looked back over her shoulder and beamed. “Hey, toots.”

Dean returned, dressed in a t-shirt and joggers, and dropped onto the couch next to Donna. He snagged the glass from her hand and finished off what little that remained. “Hey yourself. Need a refill?” He gave her a cocky grin, barely dodging a pillow as he pushed off the couch and shuffled into the kitchen for another bottle.

“Something a little sweeter, please!” she called after him before reaching for another cookie.

Jody watched her friends as they teased one another, a pang of emptiness sharp in her chest. Bobby had been gone for almost six years, but she still missed him. Memories of the way his eyes twinkled when he smiled, how warm and comfortable and engulfing his hugs were, the scratchy roughness of his beard on her neck… It was too much to bare. Attempting to hide the tears that were welling up in her eyes, Jody buried her face in Jude’s dense fur, hoping Donna wouldn’t notice.

Luckily, Donna was a little too good at drinking wine, and also too distracted with finding someone to work for Jody. “Hey hey hey, wait. That’s it!” she exclaimed, taking the newly filled glass from Dean and curling up against him when he sat down again.

“What’s it?” Dean quirked an eyebrow, glancing between the two women.

Donna slapped him playfully on the chest, sloshing a little bit of moscato on the blanket. “Sam! If he hasn’t found anything yet, that is.”

Dean’s face turned dark for a moment as he gulped his drink. “What exactly are we talking about?”

Shifting Jude back to her lap, Jody explained, “Donna thinks I need a hand on the farm. Which I do, I guess. I can’t quite keep up with everything like I use to.”

Shaking his head, Dean set his mug down on the coffee table and leaned forward, causing Donna to slip sideways behind him. “Listen, Sam… he’s a good kid. S'been rough since Jess left. He’s - he’s probably not the most reliable at the moment.”

Donna had pulled herself up out of the cushions and was squeezing his shoulder. “Maybe working out there would help him clear his mind.”

Snorting derisively, Dean leaned back into the couch, propping his feet on the coffee table. “He’s broken, babe. Ain’t nothing going to clear his head until he pulls it out of his ass.”

Looking up at the clock above the wood stove, Jody stretched and gently dislodged the sleeping pooch. “Listen, you guys talk it over.” She stood, ambling over to the pile of boots by the door, finding her own. “If you think he’s a good fit, you’ve got my number. I gotta get going; Charlie said she be in early to take steers to the sale barn.”

Donna got up and tripped over to Jody, giving her a big drunken hug. “I’ll call you tomorrow, love.” She pulled back, a goofy grin spread across her face.

Dean appeared beside her, looping an arm around Donna’s shoulder. “C'mon, you lush. Let Jody get going.”

Smiling, Jody bid farewell, and crunched across the frozen ground toward her rusted truck. It was always fun getting together with her old high school bestie, but sometimes Jody wished Donna wasn’t so persuasive. Shaking her head in defeat, Jody turned her high beams onto the deserted blacktop, taking her time to wend her way home. ……………… Three days had passed without seeing hide nor hair of Donna, but Jody wasn’t worried. Her friend was good at making drunken promises that wouldn’t come to fruition right away. She expected probably in the next month or so Donna would finally remember and send Sam out to work.

She mulled the pros and cons of hiring help as she climbed the windmill tower to tighten the brake. She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn’t hear the large diesel dually pull up underneath her perch. It wasn’t until the tall, muscular driver slammed the door that she looked down. Waving, the stranger shoved his hands into the pockets of his Carhartt, shrugging his shoulders up to his ears to keep the biting wind at bay. Intrigued, Jody began her descent, carefully choosing her foot- and handholds on the slippery steel. She was still six feet off the ground when her boot hit a particularly icy rung, sending her feet out from under her.

“Watch it!” a deep voice growled as strong arms impeded her fall.

Surprised, Jody gaped up at the giant of a man holding her awkwardly in midair. The stranger blushed, setting her down on her feet. “Umm, thanks,” she murmured, straightening her ratted hoodie over her frayed overalls. “That could have ended badly.”

Nodding, the man stuck out an ungloved hand. “Good thing I was here then.” He beamed mischievously. “I’m Sam Winchester, Dean’s brother. He said you had some work that needed done?”

Eying him for a moment, Jody accepted his handshake. “Yeah, shit’s breaking faster than I can fix it.” She paused, wondering what the hell Donna was getting her into. “Do you know how to run a tractor?”

Sam’s eyes lit up, and his smile widened. “Lady, I was born on a tractor.”

“Good.” She smirked back at him as she motioned toward the house. “We just shipped steers off to the sale barn, so the herd’s a little smaller. Won’t need as much hay to put out.” She began walking toward the four wheeler, picking up supplies as she went. “You wanna follow me, I’ll show you where everything’s at.”

“Alright.” Sam headed back for his truck - and damn, was that a nice truck - waiting patiently for Jody to get ahead of him. …………………… The wintery months came and went like a screaming banshee, with little to no break from the howling winds and freezing temperatures. Already halfway through March, calves were starting to hit the ground, and Jody was thanking her lucky stars for giving her help like Sam.

Both Donna and Dean were utterly surprised that Sam had even stuck around past December.

Of course, they couldn’t know the real reason he had stuck around for so long. Jody knew all the shit she’d get from her friends if they found out she and Sam were sharing a bunk.

She had a good thing going, and she wanted to keep it that way for as long as she could without any outside input.

The work and the weather were good for driving any thought other than the task at hand completely from his mind. They were getting on good, and Jody could even feel a connection forming between the two of them, something she hadn’t felt since Bobby.

It was well past lunchtime when they finished with the grinding. A heavy cloud of dust and hay floated lazily around the tractors as Jody shut down the bale processor and climbed into the cab to kill the ancient Case. She signaled for Sam to head up to the house while she finished checking over the equipment. Satisfied, she followed him up the drive on foot. As he pulled around the back of the machine shed, Jody kicked off her boots in the pump house and headed into the main house to make them some lunch. she hadn’t even gotten out of her coveralls when a knock came at the door.

“Hey, Cas. What can I do for you?” Jody greeted the Deputy Sheriff, inviting him into the spotless mud room.

Castiel removed his sunglasses, smiling at Jody as he dragged his shoes along the boot scraper before entering. “Afternoon, Jody. Just getting in?” he asked, noting her halfway unzipped winter gear.

Looking down quickly, Jody shrugged. “Storm’s suppose to be in later this evening. Thought we’d better get shit down before it got here.” She led him into the kitchen, pulling out luncheon meat and cheeses from the fridge. “Sandwich?”

Shaking his head, Castiel drew out a barstool, taking a seat across from Jody’s busywork. “I heard you hired on Dean Winchester’s little brother.” It wasn’t a question.

Slowly, Jody spread mustard on a slice of bread, choosing her words carefully. “I needed the help. I’m not as young as I use to be, Cas.”

Humming knowingly, Cas shifted slightly on the stool, fidgeting with his sunglasses. “I know, Jode. It’s just… We got a warrant in. For Sam.” Castiel watched Jody like a hawk as she stacked meat onto half of the sandwich. “He’s a fugitive, Jody. I need to take him in.”

Ignoring Castiel, Jody finished making her meal and pulled a plate from a cabinet. She placed the sandwich squarely in the middle of the chipped dinnerware, grabbed a beer from the fridge, and joined her old partner at the bar. “I don’t care what he did, Cas. I can’t just let you come in here saying you need to arrest him.”

Sitting silently for a moment, Cas pushed back the stool and placed the sunglasses on top of his head. “Listen, the Sheriff’s been gunning for Sam for a long time now. A personal vendetta, I reckon.” He turned back around to face Jody, his eyes pleading with her. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Keep safe, Jody.” He walked out the door, pulling it shut behind him.

Jody stared at the space Cas had occupied for a moment, the cogs turning violently in her head. She had known that Sam had been in and out of trouble since his wife had run off on him, but she didn’t know that he was putting himself in jeopardy of going back to jail.

Finishing her sandwich, Jody threw a couple more together for Sam and headed back out, making a beeline for the machine shed. If she knew anything, it was that she didn’t need this shit, not when she had finally gotten her life back together after Bobby’s passing. It scared her to death, but she knew she was going to have to confront Sam. And, no matter the outcome, she wouldn’t allow her feelings for the youngest Winchester to blur her judgement. ………………. Sam was squatting underneath the faded green Deere, cutting twine from around the front axel. “Be out in a minute!” he hollered, a ball of shredded red twine flying out from behind the tire.

Jody picked up the wad and tossed it into the bucket near the wall. She laid the paper bag full of sandwiches on the oily workbench and fished the cold beer from the pocket of her coveralls. Leaning up against the large back tire of the tractor, Jody waited patiently for Sam to come out. She didn’t have to wait long.

“Hey, you.” Sam’s eyes twinkled as he straightened up and strode over to her. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her to him, kissing her forehead gently. “What did you bring?” He pulled back, a smile still spread across his face. Seeing the troubled furrow on her brow, Sam faltered. “Everything okay?”

Sidestepping the tractor and Sam, Jody went back to the work bench, fiddling with the sack lunch she had brought out. “Cas stopped by…” she trailed off, swallowing back the sorrow and the anger welling up in her throat.

“What did he want?” His voice was shot with steel, eyes hardening as he approached her.

“You didn’t tell me you were on the run.” The tension was almost palpable; she couldn’t control the hurt in her voice any longer.

Cursing, Sam slammed a fist into the workbench, startling a mouse from behind a toolbox. He watched as the little varmint scampered through the gap between the door and the frame. “What did you tell him?”

Numbly, Jody laid out the sandwiches, cracking open the beer with the stationary bottle opener screwed into the side of the table. “I told him to leave,” she said simply.

Exhaling sharply, Sam hung his head, scrubbing at the back of his neck with a greasy hand. “Listen, Jody-”

“No, you listen. I took you in,” she snapped, drawing herself up to her full height. “I’ve risked everything having you here. Hell, I even invited you into my bed, Sam! The least you could do was tell me you had a warrant.”

Shame faced, Sam leaned back onto the bench, eyes glued to a spot on the floor in front of him. “I-I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Jody. I thought I’d be safe here for a little while, that the whole thing would blow over.” He gazed back up at her, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. “I don’t want to cause you any trouble. I’ll finish up chores before I go.”

Jody stared at him, stunned. “Go?” she repeated, her voice small and weak in her ears. “That’s not what I’m saying, Sam-”

Sam shook his head. “No, it’s better if I leave. They can’t do anything to you if I’m not here.”

“But Sam…”

“No buts.” He finished off the last of his beer, folding the paper bag neatly into a smaller rectangle. “I need to finish up feeding the bulls.” Avoiding her eyes, he walked toward the wicket gate, pausing before he opened it. “I won’t forget what you’ve done for me.” With that, he exited, leaving only the bitter March wind in his place.

“I love you, Sam Winchester,” she muttered, pulling the door closed behind her as she watched him unhook the Case from the processor. In her heart, she knew he had to leave, but she didn’t like it. Maybe one day he’d be able to stop running.

And just maybe she’d be there, waiting for him.

#TaleTeller's winter writing days 2016 #sdavid09 #sam x jody #farm au #the devil's backbone #the civil wars #spn fanfic #supernatural fanfic #spn #supernatural #fanfiction #dean x donna #moose fic

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ecofinisher · 4 years ago

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¡Vamos a España! - Chap 15

Chapter 15

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29442912/chapters/74094609

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13819897/15/Vamos-a-Espa%C3%B1a

https://www.wattpad.com/1041034748-%C2%A1vamos-a-espa%C3%B1a-chapter-15

Rollan, Pastor, and Marina sat together in the break on the ground drinking water from a pottery cup.

„You two are drinking a lot of water,“ Marina mentioned as she watched Pastor fill their cups all with water, which was inside a ceramic-made jug. „Aren‘t you afraid you may need to pee during the parkours?“

„I can hold almost a day without peeing,“ Pastor mentioned. „Well I mean during important occasions like this it‘s possible for me,“ „I already went during lunch and I really need to see, that I drink more water or my head starts banging again,“ Rollan mentioned. „I‘m already half wet from standing the entire day in the sun,“

„Maybe a hat would have been nice,“ Pastor commented earning a nod from the girl.

„I‘ve got mines at home. You know a tigerdoe,“

„I actually can imagine you really well with one of those,“ Marina commented making Rollan smile.

„Oh really? Thanks,“ Rollan responded making the girl smile a little enchanted at the tall boy. Pastor noticed Marina‘s interest in his friend, then remembered him mentioning his girlfriend and nudged him on the arm.

„Hey Rollan, you said once you were gone for about a year. Where have you been?“ Questioned Pastor making him nod.

„Oh right, you told me something about a stone, right?“

„Yeah, I don‘t really remember what exactly happened, but it almost got my girlfriend killed, mainly it was my fault, but it‘s a quite complicated story. I barely understood it either, I don‘t have any memories of it, but she and everyone else does,“

„That‘s harsh,“ Pastor commented while Marina nodded agreeing with the raven-haired boy.

„Wow I didn‘t know you had a girlfriend,“ Marina mentioned in a little hurt tone, then Pastor sank his head a little disappointed at his purpose act.

„She‘s amazing. You two will love her, if you once get to know her,“ Rollan commented with a smile making Pastor nod.

„She does sound astonishing. What‘s her name?“ A voice asked making Pastor frown at the sudden interruption.

„Ger,“ Rollan commented, then he noticed Pastor look above his head, then Rollan turned around to see Enrico standing behind him. „Da…..,“

„Gerda?“ Asked Enrico. „Gerda like from the Snow Queen legend, hein?“

„You know, that more people can be called Gerda, right?“ Pastor asked crossing his arms, making Enrico laugh.

„But why exactly would he have a girlfriend named Gerda, which per coincidence is the name of a heroine?“

„Because it is true?“ Rollan answered making Enrico chuckle.

„Okay, let me guess…...she‘s a pretty, blonde girl from Sweden, and what else is she…...ah right…..imaginary!“

„You shouldn‘t just listen to other people‘s conversations and add your unnecessary comment onto it,“ Rollan warned annoyed, then Marina stopped Rollan from getting up.

„Don‘t pay attention to him,“ Marina asked making Rollan frown and sigh.

„Okay,“ Rollan whispered making Enrico chuckle.

„Something tells me you‘re one of those guys, that would simp for a girl to obtain their interests. Why else would you listen to a girl you barely know?“ Enrico asked.

„Enrico, come on, is this really necessary? “ Pastor asked. „Just mind your own business if you don‘t believe Rollan has a girlfriend back in the Scandinavian peninsula,“

„Just let him mind his own business as everyone else is doing and everything is great,“ Marina asked getting up, then Pastor did the same along with Rollan and the trio walked away from Enrico, which rolled his eyes and made his way towards other members.

„You guys do believe, that I have a girlfriend right?“ Questioned Rollan earning a nod from Pastor.

„I don‘t know, what‘s weirder to believe, you finding an ancient stone or you having a girlfriend,“ Marina mentioned making Rollan roll his eyes.

„Gerda really is my girlfriend. I know it‘s hard to believe it but we‘re really a thing,“

„Come, no need to justify things. The boy there isn‘t quite nice compared to the others,“

„He‘s most likely to find in everything you do, show or say a flaw and make out of it a bad comment,“ Explained the brunette girl.

„He could even insult your mother or girlfriend without even getting to know them,

„You‘re now giving me a reason to get mad,“ Rollan mentioned, then Pastor grabbed the boy on the shoulder.

„Hey listening to those sort of guys is just a waste of time, trust me. Now come, our training is about to start and you need to work on yourself there if you want to improve,“

„You‘re right,“ Rollan commented, then followed Pastor to the parkour and lined up on the start position.

„Pastor, Rollan, what about this idea…..Pastor and I give you Rollan a few seconds of a small head start and we pretend to be bad guys tracking Rollan down. Rollan‘s goal would be to be fast and substantial enough to pass through the entire parkour without us catching him, “Marina suggested making Rollan wide his eyes interested at the idea.

„So just like we‘re playing tag with him, but with obstacles?“ Pastor mentioned earning a nod from the girl. „Could be useful,“

„Great, Rollan get in position,“ Marina ordered watching Rollan about to get down on his knees. „Go!“

„I wasn‘t ready!“ Rollan warned, then shrieked as Marina jumped closer to the raven-haired boy.

„It doesn‘t matter. Out there on the streets, you can‘t be ready either, so move it!“ Marina ordered making Rollan ran off, then she began to pursue Rollan afterward confusing Pastor at Marina‘s pursuit of the taller Spaniard.

„Weren‘t we supposed to wait?“ Pastor exclaimed watching the two cross over the cartwheels, then he shrugged his shoulders and noticed two men join him on the start line to prepare themselves for the course.

Rollan stepped at the end of the file of the cartwheels on the edge of one causing it to jump and hit him on his butt, causing him to jump, but continue to race above the ramp taking a look back at Marina, which already was close the ramp shrieking Rollan, which ran toward the iron bar, with the staff attached into them now adjusted differently with the staff in the middle of his chest‘s level. Rollan made a roll facing forward, then jumped up at the pile of bricks and got on the other side down, while noticing Marina being quite closer to him than before. Rollan ran at the first checkpoint and passed quickly through the standing staffs doing the slalom and approached the last staff and looked at the climbing frame, then frowned and ran toward it and jumped up at the bars, then tried to move under the frame as quick and carefree as he could. During the moving, he noticed Marina got on his frame, making him panic and move further, then leap to the next obstacle, then began to climb on the net while the girl got closer and threw herself against the net causing it to dance, this leading Rollan to not continue to pay attention and he missteps on the cord and slides with his leg into it and falls upside down getting his leg stuck in the net.

„You have fallen down. If I was a bad guy, I would have killed you,“ Marina mentioned making Rollan puff his bang off his eye, then Marina removed his feet off the net. „Move on, you‘re not dead yet,“ Ordered the brunette watching Rollan enter into the small barack, where the wrecking rock was, and stopped to watch the rock swing by and crossed the arc moving to the ground covered with various-sized rocks and crossed it quickly, afterward he raced to the second checkpoint and jumped over the water jump to catch the rope to swing over it and landed on the other side and ran toward the climbing wall. Marina followed the raven-haired boy by crossing a few seconds later behind him the moat and observed him climbing the wall carefully, then Marina placed her hands on the wall to observe him going it up.

„That‘s good, now put your leg up over the wall and pull yourself up,“ Ordered Marina watching Rollan follow her instructions, afterward he made it and fell down the wall, making Marina close her eyes while flinching her teeth at his accident. „You‘re alright?“Marina asked, then saw Rollan ran into the labyrinth, then she smiled and climbed the wall after him.

About an hour later Rollan had his turn for the 4th time and stood in line along with Pastor and two other men.

„And how do you think you have been doing right now?“ Questioned Pastor looking at the friend.

„Better I guess,“ Rollan responded. „I made at least one successful round without getting hurt,“

„At least you‘re progressing. This is after all our second day. You see not everyone else is doing superb. Our besties Enrico and Ernesto aren‘t doing well either. Look, they‘re still in the labyrinth,“ Pastor mentioned earning a nod from the raven-haired boy.

„To my luck. They could stay in there long enough,“ Rollan commented making Pastor smile.

„You will see, you will pass this round without one problem and the two will still be figuring out how to get out of there,“

„I still don‘t want to be celebrating too early. A lot can happen,“ Rollan mentioned.

„Don‘t worry, just be positive,“ Pastor instructed making Rollan nod, then the lieutenant, that was present during the parkour blew into a whistle to order the four men to depart and head to the cartwheels to run over the open space of each wheel. Rollan focussed on his footwork to step with each of his foot inside the gap of the wheel crossing the obstacle to the end and reached first along with a tan-skinned man and Rollan followed the man above the ramp to descend it on the other side. Rollan passed under the third obstacle, then left the man to move along in front of him, later on he got to do the slalom around the many standing staffs .

He reached the last staff, afterward leaped at the first iron bar of the framework and moved forward with his arms a little quicker reaching the end and hopped at the next obstacle, and crossed the vertical-standing net alone. Rollan felt excited at how well he was doing at the parkour, then managed to pass the upcoming obstacles, until reaching the second checkpoint to stop and encounter the man from before swinging on the rope to take a leap, then Rollan shrieked as the man flew farther than usual and landed on top of another student, making Rollan cover his mouth to not laugh at the situation.

„I better wait, until they‘re gone,“ Rollan mumbled to himself and began to stamp with his feet on the ground to get ready to jump over the moat and ran toward it, jumping at the rope to swing and he ended up landing on his hands and knees. „Not bad, just move on. You‘re doing well,“ Rollan cheered for himself racing at the climbing wall, then he climbed up the wall on the same spot he did a few times already and reached the top, then before he got down he took a look at the labyrinth to see the many routes and analyzed the one, which would lead out of the labyrinth quicker. „Vamos Rollanzito, puedes hacerlo,“ Rollan motivated himself jumping down of the wall and ran towards the entrance of the maze and took a right turn, then moved at the third corner to the right side and moved on along the corridor meeting a crossing path, then followed the way down leading to a short corridor, afterward he picked the first route, which led to a long corridor and on that corridor he spotted two ways and followed the latter, which had a long zigzag, until the end and Rollan heard someone complain, then stopped to look behind him and encounter Ernesto pass by the corridor going into the wrong direction. Rollan looked back to the front, then moved his head back and sighed.

„Ernesto!“ Shouted Rollan. „Estoy Aqui!“ Rollan watched the corridor to hear steps getting closer and he encountered Ernesto coming back and noticing Rollan, then he sighed relieved, and followed the taller boy.

„You‘re lost too?“ Questioned Ernesto making Rollan shake his head.

„This is my fifth course now,“ Rollan responded earning a nod from the brunette boy.

„I‘m on the fourth, but I and Enrico lost each other. We went different ways and now we‘re somewhere else,“ Explained the brunette boy.

„Come with me, I figured our way out of here before,“ Rollan announced, then ran the corridor down.

Meanwhile on the other side of the labyrinth Ernesto showed up encountering Pastor jumping down from the wall, then both looked at each other perplexed at their meeting.

„Uh you‘re going the wrong direction,“ Pastor pointed out, then he watched Enrico puff and turn his back to the Spaniard to make his way back into the labyrinth, then Pastor shrugged his shoulders and walked into the labyrinth following the other student.

On the exit on the other side of the labyrinth, Rollan made it out along with Ernesto and a third man, then Ernesto raised his hand in victory making Rollan smile.

„The next round will be better for you, hopefully,“ Rollan mentioned, then Ernesto looked at Rollan with a surprised face, making the tall boy frown his eyebrows estranged.

„Why did you help me out?“ Questioned Ernesto making Rollan shrug his shoulder.

„I believe the point of our career is also to help others out of certain situations, no matter how good or bad our relationship is,“ Responded Rollan making Ernesto nod.

„Well…….that actually makes sense, to be honest“ Admitted the brunette boy, then Rollan moved toward the last obstacle, which was another wall and began to climb on it. Ernesto watched Rollan make his way carefully over the middle of the wall, making him ponder about the act he had performed.

Gerda stood in front of the steering wheel of Alifda‘s ship having her eyes focused on the front as her friend Orm sat on the stairs looking at the map of Europe, which they were using to go along the countries.

„So if we keep on going forward we will pass by Denmark by any hours?“ Orm asked earning a nod from Gerda.

„That‘s at least what Alfida mentioned before. She told me before at the moment we were leaving the Scandinavian Peninsula,“

„Alright, this means then we will cross Germany, Belgium, France and we will be in Spain,“ The troll asked making Gerda shrug her shoulders.

„Alfida talked about following the coast to the Netherlands and look for a possible way to make a stop,“

„Okay, but then we go over Belgium, France and arrive Spain, right?“

„I assume it. As long as she‘s the captain I prefer to follow her orders,“ Gerda said. „Maybe we would need to take another way because of the wind or anything else like Alfida mentioned this morning,“

„You‘re right,“ Orm agreed, then moved pages to see separate pages of each country. „Are Kai and Alfida alone in there?“

„So far I know, yes. So far I know, they could be sleeping right now,“

„Just wondering,“ Said Orm looking at the cabin in the middle of the ship.

Inside the cabin, Alfida lied on the hammock using her knife to clean her fingernails, while Kai lied on the other hammock with his hands fold together looking out of the window at the clear sky.

„Are you already sleeping, Alfida?“ Kai asked making Alfida grin.

„Yes, I‘m usually capable to clean myself with a knife while sleeping. It‘s a great talent under us pirates,“ Alfida responded hearing Kai grunt after her sarcastic response, then she looked at her boyfriend, which sat up on the hammock turning himself around on it, afterward he mistakenly flew off the textile landing on his face making Alfida shut her eyes up at what happened to her boyfriend.

„Uh you‘re okay?“ Questioned the raven-haired girl watching her boyfriend get up and adjust the hammock, before approaching his girlfriend.

„I‘ve been thinking. When we‘re in Spain…...we could after we have found the cubs walk around a little and get to know Alicante or any other places around?“ Kai suggested. „It would be cool for both of us to spend more time together,“

„It would be amazing, if we could do that Kai,“

„So this is…..of course if it is possible a yes?“ Kai asked, then Alfida pecked the boy on the face, making him smile a little abashed. Alfida smirked at Kai‘s facial expression, then watched him about to sit on her hammock next to her, just to accidentally cause both of them to fall down on the ground, afterward leading them into a burst of laughter.

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