#like i am so sorry but they should just let Tommy retire and have a bunch of horses

[bubacorn]

[megs-mostly-past-random-fandoms]

A Friend in Need

Based on this request:  May I please request an Arthur Shelby fic? Maybe reader(fem and Arthur’s best friend) has never liked Linda because she tried to control Arthur. She never said anything to Arthur though and when Linda leaves Arthur for someone else, he turns to reader who comforts him? Maybe some unrequited love?

Here you are, lovely! I apologize for the wait! *Familiar characters are NEVER mine!*

Fandom: Peaky Blinders

Warnings: mentions of cheating(I do NOT condone this), mentions of alcohol and drunkenness, potentially unrequited romantic love. Comfort.

Pairings/Characters: Arthur Shelby x platonic(?)!fem reader, Tommy Shelby, brief mentions of Linda Shelby

Linda Shelby was a woman you hated with every fiber of your being. It wasn't like you to be so harsh on other women, but Linda was probably one of the worst in your opinion. She wasn't good for her husband at all and you knew that because Arthur had been your best friend for longer than you could remember. He was a strong Shelby man brought down by a manipulative and controlling woman.

         No longer did Arthur come 'round to the Garrison just to have a drink with you. No longer did he come to the ring to let out his frustration. You knew he had children now, so the fighting thing didn't bother you as much. But the slight turning of his back on his family because his…wife decided that the rest of the Shelbys were no better than dirt beneath her feet? That made a rage build within you in a way you'd never felt before. A rage that was only made worse by her "holier-than-thou" complex. So yes, you despised Linda Shelby, but never more than in this moment right now.

         When the pounding began at your door, you were irritated. You were tired and ready to retire for the evening. That irritation instantly melted away when you opened the door to find Tommy and Michael dragging a (very obviously) drunk Arthur between them. You moved aside to let the three in without a single question. They would tell you when they were ready.

         They plopped Arthur down on the couch as you grabbed a bucket in case Arthur got sick. Tommy turned to you as he straightened his jacket. "Arthur's in a bad way." You snorted out a laugh. "I can see that. Am I allowed to know what's happened or is it family only business?" Tommy arched a brow at you. "You are family, Y/N. Linda walked out on Arthur. For another man." Your eyes widened.

         "SHE DID WHAT?!" Arthur groaned at the suddenly volume of your voice. "Sorry, Arthur," you muttered before practically pulling Tommy and Michael from the room. "You're joking. Tell me you're joking, Thomas," you stated as calmly as you could. You knew better though. Tommy wasn't one to joke like that. "Arthur spent most of the day in the pub. Probably still be there if Finn and Isaiah hadn't found him. I thought I'd seen him at his worst. Turns out, I hadn't."

         "Where is she?!" you growled, "I'll wring her neck! How dare she! The hypocrite!" You moved toward the door only to be stopped by the two non-intoxicated Shelbys. "You don't worry about Linda. Arthur needs you right now." You took a deep breath through your nose, indicating that you were not happy about it. "Fine. But if I ever see her face, no force on earth is going to stop me. Not even you, Tommy." He smirked before tipping his hat and leaving your home.

         With a sigh, you turned back help Arthur. He held the bucket you'd given him near his face as he groaned loudly. "Oh, Arthur," you whispered. You carefully sat next to him and rubbed his back. Arthur glanced at you, or tried to, before letting out another noise of agony. The two of you sat in silence for a bit before Arthur spoke in a mess of slurred words.

         "Sh-Should have been you," was what you managed to catch. "What?" you asked softly. You didn't want to make the headache you were sure he had worse. "Should have m-married y-*hic*-you. Wanted to." You blinked in surprise. What the hell? "Arthur, you're drunk. You don't know what you're saying." Arthur shook his head which seemed to make him feel ill as he leaned over the bucket.

         "We'll talk about this more in the morning over breakfast." Arthur let out another couple of hiccups and set the bucket on the floor next to the couch. You helped him lie down, your mind racing a mile a minute. Were Arthur's words really those of a drunken mind? Or did he mean them? And, if he did, did you feel the same?

         You loved Arthur, sure. He was your closest friend and had been for years. But were you in love with him? Did you love him as more than a friend? You had never thought about it before. "I need to sleep," you muttered. You could think about this more in the morning. You bid Arthur a good night only to find him already snoring from his spot on the sofa. A soft laugh escaped your throat. Then you headed to your own bed in hopes of catching at least a few hours of sleep. You would deal with this in the morning and you only hoped that, no matter what your head and heart agreed on, it wouldn't change things between you and Arthur for the worse.

         You tossed and turned all night, finally givin g up when you caught sight of the dawn through your window. With a sigh, you rose and snuck downstairs to brew a cup of tea and cook breakfast. You knew the smell of a home cooked meal would wake Arthur from his stupor. And you needed the time to think. Cooking always helped you do that.

         Sure enough, a few minutes later, Arthur entered the kitchen. He looked awful, but then, who wouldn't after the night he had? He let out a groan as he sat down at the table. Without a word, you slid a cup of coffee his way before continuing with breakfast. A comfortable silence settled between you while you worked and Arthur nursed his coffee.

         Once breakfast was ready, you sat a plate in front of Arthur before sitting down with your own food. You felt Arthur's eyes on you as you ate slowly. It was like he was trying to decide if he'd messed up the night before. He was trying to piece together what had happened and you let him. You weren't going to bring it up and potentially embarrass either one of you. Arthur was a man who got angry when he was embarrassed and that would only make his headache worse.

         "Tommy tell ya?" he finally asked and you nodded slowly. Arthur's lips dipped into a frown. He looked like he was contemplated every choice he'd ever made in life. "Am I bein' punished?" You arched a brow. "Of course not, Arthur. Linda's choices were her own. She chose to break the vows she made. She chose. Not you. You love her, enough to remain faithful and stop drinking and fighting, at least for a while. She made the choice. You're a good man, Arthur Shelby. A good man who sometimes makes bad decisions, but no, you are not 'being punished' for anything in this situation."

         Arthur grew silent again, pulling another sigh from your lips. You rose from your seat and made your way over to him so you could wrap your arms around his shoulders as you'd done a million times before. You pressed a kiss to his hair. Arthur used one hand to hold onto your arm a little more tightly than usual, as if he were afraid you would disappear. You had never seen the man more broken and you only hoped he would make through this an even stronger man than before.

(a/n: I hope you like it! I am nearly finished with part 2 of “Deduce Me” so I’m hoping to get that posted soon!)

Forever Tags: @fizzyxcustard​ @supernatural4life2022​

[throwsomecheeseonit]

20 Years of Clean (part 11)

My ceiling. That's what I've been staring at for the past 2 weeks it feels like. Two weeks since Brandon and I parted ways, not knowing when I'd see him again.

When we left Tampa he hugged me, gave me a sweet kiss to remember him by and just like that, the distance between him and became greater and greater as we drove away. Haley tip toed around conversation on the drive home. She knew that I was a lost puppy dog. "How was your night?" she asked me. Being sure to ease into the more complicated questions when we were halfway home. I told her amazing it was, how it was so easy being with him. "We kissed." My face instantly turning into a Tomato. "Oooooh. Was he a good kisser? I bet he was. He looks like one." With anyone else I probably would've slapped them silly but it was Hales and she meant no harm. She was a serial flirt. "It was better than I had hoped," sighing into the window. "It'll be alright Michelle. It's not like you'll never see him again." "I know. We just never have any time together. Extended periods of time. I've spent more time watching him on tv then actually being in a room with him." "If the tv's in the room then you're in the room with him," Haley giggled as I rolled my eyes at her. "I'm sorry. It's not funny. I'm just trying to cheer you up. Think about it 4 more weeks, granted they don't make it into the playoffs or the world series and he's all yours. Forever. He is retiring, isn't he?" she pondered out loud. The truth is, I didn't know. I knew nothing at that moment. "Let's change the subject. Did you and Tommy have fun?" Haley instantly perked up, "I'm so glad you asked..." for the next hour and a half she boasted about how much she liked Tommy, what they were doing next weekend, everything that made me jealous (in my current situation). But she was my best friend and that's what best friend do, listen. That's what I did the rest of the ride.

It's two weeks later and besides talking to her about Tommy ad nauseum and working, my days and nights were pretty boring. I would read, clean, and do household duties. I'd very rarely want to sit in the living room or the kitchen because they were stained (in a good way) with Brandons residue. Every time I looked or sat on that couch, I could smell the ocean and remember how comfortable it was in his arms. The only exciting occasions was when Brandon would call or text. He kept up the same routine, calling me during days games, texting me after night games because he knew I was sleeping. He was thoughtful that way. I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't sit up at night and wait for that night text. I never responded back until the next day though. Tonight was different though. It had been 3 nights in a row of night games and I missed his voice.

Brandon: We lost. Oh well. Miss you. Give me a call tomorrow, we need to talk. I'm off.

Me: I miss you. Sorry you lost. Want to talk now.

Brandon:..

The bubbles popped up then went away. Maybe he was tired. My phone started ringing. I bit my lip and went giddy at the thought of him calling me. "Hey," answering the phone. "Hey Babe. You're up late." When he calls me babe, it never gets old. "I told you I missed you. I haven't talked to you in days. I wanted to hear your voice." I could swear he was smiling over the phone. "Where you at," he asked me suspiciously. "I'm in bed, why?" Not knowing where this line of questioning. "Good. Just wanted a visual. I should be there with you," his voice all smooth and seductive. "A visual, you've never seen my room or my bed." "A man can dream can't he. Besides, I have an idea. Your bed is probably so comfy with a nice down duvet." He wasn't wrong. He had me pinned. "You're pretty close. That's pretty eerie." "What can I say. I'm good. How have you been," always interested in me, how I am, what I'm doing. "Lonely," feigning sadness. "Oh baby. You're breaking my heart. The things I would do to you if I was there, to make it all better." His chocolatey voice melting over my whole body, giving me goosebumps. "Like what," egging him on.

[lonely-lost-soul]

Let Me Worship You

(C!Technoblade X Gn!Reader)

Request 9: Could I perhaps request a c!techno x gn!reader where maybe the reader is good friends with Dadza and meets Techno one day and they fall for each other? Bonus if the reader is maybe a great builder like dadza but too shy to actually meet anyone so they just build things quietly and then move on and no one but dadza really knows them? Soft! and/or protective! Techno would be cute but not needed!! 😊😊😊

Requested By: 🍀 Anon

I hope you don't mind the shameless art I made for this lol.

At this point in his life, Technoblade had known Phil for centuries, they started their own brief empire together and he watched him raise Wilbur the best a single father could. It was about five years ago when you started following Phil around, the first time Technoblade met you was entirely by accident. He just needed to drop off some building supplies to Phil and Wilbur when he saw you trifling through Phil’s stuff, you had gorgeous white wings and when the sun hit them just right he saw flecks of gold peek through. His piglin side was immediately enamored with the gold wanted to reach out and run a delicate hand through the feathers. Technoblade set his jaw and summoned his ax to his side, you turned around (e/c) eyes widening with shock and fear. Technoblade couldn’t help but feel pure satisfaction rush through his veins seeing your fright. You held up your hands and everything you were holding tumbled to the ground, wings puffing up with shock and horror. Hearing the noise Phil wandered into the room and was quick to diffuse the situation, you hid behind the taller male and Techno gave a grunt of an apology in your direction.

From that moment forward you were as much of a staple in his life as Phil was, Phil had explained Wilbur had found you half dead a little ways away from his home. You had wings like his and Phil couldn’t let you die without answers, his crows would never let him live it down. After he got what he needed from you, Phil noticed just how handy you were around the house especially when you were building things so he kept you around. Technoblade never really interacted with you unless Phil was there to interpret, you weren’t much of a talker and Technoblade was never one for long-drawn-out conversation anyway. However, when Phil had killed Wilbur and he and Technoblade had to move north you inevitably followed the birdman. That’s when Technoblade really began to understand and get to know you and your little quirks. He noticed that when you concentrated on blueprints to a certain build you’d stick your tongue out all cute like, or the soft songs you’d hum when you thought no one was listening.

But Technoblade always listens.

He also noticed that since you and Phil had moved in there was an abundance of not only Phil’s crows flying around but a few stray morning doves pecking at the snow as well.

With the encouragement of the voices, Technoblade had gathered up enough courage to attempt to hold onto a conversation with you. As he walked up to you he noticed the soft coo of a dove was heard, catching your attention. You turned around and your eyes locked with his own, he watched your shoulders tense and face flush a little as he approached you.

Off to a rocky start already. Great.

“Ugh. Hey?” Technoblade grunted hands crossing over his chest,

‘Hey? HEY? is that the best you can do? Look at them they’re cowering. Good, they should be, which means we’re well known.’

Technoblade cleared his throat a little as you held up a hand with a shy wave, “hello.” You greeted, your voice was soft and sweet like honey in his ears. The exact opposite of Wilbur and Tommy’s, he found himself enjoying the tone. “So um...did I do something wrong?” Your wings folded back and he watched you methodically run your fingers through the feathers.

‘Look at the gold flecks! I want them! I wanna pet them they’re so cute! So small and helpless like a little worm. Worm? Really? What it’s an analogy! A bad one! Shut up she’s giving us a look!’

“No? Did you do something I should be concerned about?”

“No!” You sputtered out in panic, dropping the bricks in your hand stumbling back so they wouldn’t crush your toes.

You had fast reflexes, that’s good.

The morning dove around you cooed in distress fluttering up to your shoulder, nesting there like it was its home. “I’m alright,” You whispered eyes going soft as you scratched under the bird’s chin, Technoblade watched with interest. Technoblade gathered why Phil really liked you, you were almost an exact replica of the mild manner builder, other than the anarchist tendencies.

“Didn’t mean to make you drop your stuff,” Technoblade clicked his tongue softly bending down to gather your materials. “Where do you want them?”

“You don’t have to-”

“I asked you a question kid.” Your mouth snapped shut and your lips pressed into a thin tense line. Technoblade observed as your eyebrow twitched, oh you were annoyed. You didn’t voice your annoyance he couldn’t help but mentally comment how cute that look was on you. A huff spilled past your lips and you directed him where to place the bricks in their proper locations. The both of you fell into light conversation after that, he caused you to laugh a few times and it made him feel oddly warm inside. He didn’t even realize that the sun began to set until you pointed it out, Technoblade rubbed the stubble on his chin glancing at you out of the corner of his eye. You were staring up at the sunset, the orange and red colors shone through the gaps in your feathers, your eyes were alight with wonder. You looked like an old Greek statue, an angel carved out of the finest marble and gemstones.

He flushed when you turned to face him, embarrassed to have been caught staring at you so blatantly. You smiled the tips of your pointing ears turning pink, “You should stay the night.” Technoblade spoke without really thinking about the consequences, “there’s plenty of room.”

“Alright. I think I will. It’s not safe flying at night anyway.” Your smile only growing in size at his offer, he made the right decision then, he led you and your little dove through the snow and into his cabin.

Spring rolled around and there was a little house set up right next to Technoblade’s home. It fit his aesthetic nicely, made out of wood, and always had its lanterns lit, it was your home. However, you began to spend most of your time at Technoblade’s home talking with the retired Blood God. You and Phil also had begun molting which was Technoblade’s least favorite time of the year mostly because of all the feathers. However, this year in particular he was particularly enamored with your shiny golden feathers he would find around his home. Maybe he collected them and kept them in his ender chest, it wasn’t creepy he was cleaning. At least that’s what Technoblade told himself, not because he found your feathers beautiful or anything and was enamored by the shine.

“Hey Kid,” Technoblade asked from his seat across from you in his sitting room, you picked your head up and tilted it to the side in a questioning manner. Your wings were ruffled, messy and you looked uncomfortable to be interrupted from your grooming. “Need some help?” He watched your entire face turn bright red in the process, “look you can say no. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“I’m not uncomfortable!” You argued, “just caught off guard a little Tech. I never thought it’d be something you were interested in.” Standing up from the chair you spread your wings wide, pulled over a stool, and flopped in front of Technoblade. He was a little shocked at how quickly you agreed, they must’ve really been bothering you.

“Do I...just stick my hands in there or…”

You tossed your head back and let out a roaring laugh,

“heh? What’s so funny huh? I don’t wanna hurt you.” Technoblade snapped at you with an embarrassed huff, your laughter slowly dyed down after a few more seconds.

“Sorry I just. Is that what you say to the ladies too?” Technoblade choked and blanked never once have you said something so dirty before, he didn’t even know you were capable of making jokes like that.

“I say that to everyone actually, I don’t discriminate to just women- I’m not helping my case am I? I should stop talking.” It only served to send you into another set of loud giggles, Technoblade was red in the face and stuck his hands into the little feathers by your back. He felt you tense up for a moment before relaxing into his touch, you let out a soft sound of pleasure. Technoblade chose to ignore the sound even if it sent the voices into a frenzy, to mark and claim, and...he was absolutely not going to finish that thought. You both sat there for about an hour and thirty minutes, fixing up your feathers making you preen at the touches. You were smiling like an idiot by the time he was done and you spread your feathers wide, almost like you were showing them off. Technoblade couldn’t help but feel proud that you liked the work he did so much,

“They’re so soft! Thank you Techno!” You turned towards him, eyes practically glowing with adoration. His face turned red, you were stunning, he kissed you that night and by wintertime, the both of you were an official couple.

Phil was quick to catch onto the change in demeanor between the couple, he clapped Techno on the back as congratulations. You were out on another building project, making a little farm because you knew how much Technoblade loved potatoes, you really were attentive. Surprising Technoblade, Phil had also threatened his first cannon life if he ever hurt you in any way, shape, or form. Techno was a little surprised Phil would go as far as to threaten him, but he promised his old friend he wouldn’t let any man, woman, or creature lay their hands on you, including himself.

It was the dead of winter and temperatures had dropped drastically, Technoblade had made both you and Phil warm clothes for the occasion that matched with his own winter gear. He had given you a friendship emerald and in return, you made him a necklace with one of your golden feathers on it.

Technoblade cherished the gift with his entire being. On occasion, while he was out on a long journey he’d press gentle kisses to it when he missed you, and he swore sometimes he swore it moved on its own. He walked into the cabin to see you spread across his couch, a book on your lap, wings curled in tight against your body. He smiled softly dropping the wood he gathered by the door, he snuck over to you and pressed a kiss against your cheek.

“Hi, sunshine,” You greeted turning your head to look at him, his face burned and his chest filled with warmth. Technoblade moved to sit in your lap with a smirk, he plucked the book from your hands to look at the cover. You frowned in his direction, “You lose my spot and I’m hitting you over the head with it.”

“Violent.” He tutted softly bopping you on the head with said book, you shot him a cold look.

“Hypocrite.”

“Nerd.” He responded casually, you let out a little huff, wings ruffling in frustration.

There’s that look, he loved that look. God, you were so cute.

You slapped your hands on his cheeks, and it shocked him back to attention. He felt your fingers spread across his cheeks and your thumbs brush against the apples of his face. Technoblade’s eyes softened and he snuggled into your open palms, he saw you smile and his eyes dropped to a content close. Technoblade did something he hadn’t done in years, he felt the rumble in his throat before it happened, he purred.

His eyes snapped open with fear and embarrassment, but the way your eyes were sparkling quelled the feelings immediately.

“Did you just purr?”

“So what if I did?” He grumbled another purr mixing with a growl,

“That’s the cutest thing in the entire world Mr. Big Bad anarchist. You only purr for me?” The light teasing in your voice sent him aflame, “Aw you do!” You cooed rubbing his cheeks with your thumbs again, he buried his face in your chest as more purrs spilled from his mouth without him wanting them to. “No need to hide it, keep them purrs coming.” Technoblade’s entire face was red as you reached forward to pluck his glasses from his nose. You placed them on the end table and grabbed a blanket wrapping you both inside a cocoon of warmth.

“You tell anyone about this and we’re breaking up.”

“Deal. Your secrets safe with me.” You hummed quietly running his hands through his pink locks melting against your touch. He finally relaxed completely resting the side of his head against your chest to listen to your heartbeat. Technoblade purred and you could feel the rumbles of his chest against your own. The ferocious Blade was akin to a cat, grumpy on the outside but a big softie who wanted attention on the inside. Leaning forward you kissed his forehead, another louder purr was pulled from the man and pressed his forehead back against your lips. “Good boy.~” You teased scratching under his chin he sent you a tired look but the redness in his cheeks gave away how much he enjoyed the praise.

“Shut up. You’re being cringe.” He growled with no real bite or fire,

“Take a nap big guy. You deserve one. You’re safe with me.” Technoblade yawned loudly at your words, his jaw unhinging a little, only proving to show how tired he really was. “I’ll protect you, always.” Technoblade smiled sheepishly and allowed himself to let his guard down just this once to fall asleep in his lover’s arms.

[teacupcollector]

A Helping Hand - Chapter 5

Main Masterlist Series Masterlist

Summary - As a woman who is pregnant you are doing anything if it means survival. Even so you found yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time, or was it the other way around? Now you are in the community of Jackson and you can’t help but attract a certain pair of hazel eyes.

"Joel you didn't need to do this. You could have waited until some of the others could help..." You say in a scolding manner. Joel set a relatively large box down at the foot of the stairs before walking up to you. "I told ya. I don't want to waste any more time." He says and you guide him to the couch and sit down with a huff. "And you are turning into a sap." You says with a giggle and Joel blushes slightly. 

Joel lays a hand on your stomach and smiles when he feels a kick against his palm. "He bein' rowdy?" Joel asks and you sigh leaning your head back. "I think he is just as excited as me." You say looking over and placing your hand on top of his lacing your fingers together. You both stare at each other for a moment before a knock on the screen door breaks it. You both look over and see Dina standing on the other side. "Hey Dina!" You say and grunt as you try to stand up. "Joel help me up please?" You ask with a sigh and he chuckles before gently hoisting you up. You smiles and place a hand on his upper arm and smile. "Thank you." You say before heading over to the screen door and opening it. "He-" "So how is the moving going?" Dina asks in excitement. "It is going okay." You say with a laugh. "Joel refuses to let me or anyone help." You say sending a playful glare over to him. He smiles and walks into the kitchen. "How have you been Dina?" You ask stepping outside with her. "I have... I have been okay..." You look at her concerned before guiding her to sit on the steps with you. "What is it D?" You ask placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm feeling conflicted." She states. "About what?" You ask and she sighs. "Have you... Have you ever had feelings for someone you have no chance with?" She asks her brown eyes meeting yours. "I mean... Yeah there were times I did. Why?" Dina begins to fidget next to you. "Dina... you can tell me anything." You say wrapping your arm around her shoulder. She sighs and leans into you. "I broke up with Jesse... Again." She says sadly. "Does this have to do with the 'Person you have no chance with?'" You ask and she nods. "Let me ask you a few questions." You says and she nods looking up at you. "Have you known this person for a while?" You ask and she nods. "Do you really like this person?" Dina nods again and you form a smirk on your face. "Is this person a spitfire with a scar on her eyebrow?" You ask and she gasps "B-But how!" She exclaims. "I can see the chemistry between the two of you." you say with a small smile. Dina has a blush present on her face and your smile widens. "I'm sure everything will work out the way it should. Now how about we go inside and have something to drink." You say using the railing to get up. Dina stands up next to you and walks to the screen door opening it for you as you both walk in.

Joel walk in with a mug and hands it to you. "Thank you Joel." You say with a smile before taking a sip of tea. He nods and looks at Dina before leaning down and kissing your temple and saying. "I will be at the workshop for a bit. That okay?" You sigh and nod. "You don't have to ask to go places love..." You says placing your hand on his bicep and he nods. "I know I just want to make sure you are okay sweetheart." He says and you lean up and kiss his cheek and he blushes. "I'm not due for a little bit. You don't need to worry. Now get that cute butt down to the shop." You say smacking his butt as he walks past and he lets out a chuckle. "Seeya sweetheart." He says through the screen door before walking down the steps and in the Direction of the shop. You let out a sweet sigh before turning to Dina. "Sorry about that..." You say with a blush. "He doesn't like to much PDA." Dina has a smirk on her face as she sits down and asks "So how is he in the sack?" and you gasp. "Dina!" She lets out a few giggles before calming down. "We just started dating and I- We want to take it slow." Dina nods. You wobble over and sit next to her on the couch and sip your tea some more. "Can I touch your bump?" She asks and you let out a playful annoyed sigh. "Can't keep your hands off of me huh?" You say with a smirk and she nods. "Go ahead." You say lifting your cup off your stomach and to the side table. She squeals and places her hands on your belly.

"How does Ellie feel about you moving in?" Dina asks and you smile. "She has her own space but I think she is glad that Joel has someone to distract him." You say chuckling. "Yeah... He has always been a recluse and only sticking by Maria, Tommy, or Ellie." Dina says and you listen intently. "Ellie told me about the adventures they have been on and how cold he was to her." You begin to tear up and nod. "Yeah she told me about it to." You sniff and Dina immediately looks in your direction. "Hey... What's wrong?" She asks and you shake your head. "Please tell me (Y/N)..." You sigh and try to catch a breath. "I just feel so lucky... I don't deserve all of this. I don't deserve Joel..." You say as tears begin to fall down your cheeks. "Damn hormones." You murmur. "Why do you think you don't deserve Joel?" She asks and you sigh. "He has been through so much. He had a daughter before all this shit happened and I know he is scared." Dina nods wrapping an arm around you. "He is taking this massive step of taking care of me and a baby that isn't even his. I am so scared that he will back out and I will be alone again..." Dina looks confused. "What do you mean again?" She asks and you lean into her. "Anthony..." "Anthony?" You nod. "He is this babies father. I told you I had a sexual relationship with a man and that is his name." Dina rubs your back as you continue.  " I was two months pregnant when he died..." "... And you have been alone ever since." Dina finishes and you nod. "And now I have Joel and he is a dream that I don't want to wake up from and I know I will one day." You say with a sigh. "I'm scared I'm going to wake up and he is going to realize that the baby will be to much to take care of..." "Joel isn't like that." You hear a third voice and look up to see Ellie in the arch way. "He wouldn't do that to you. I hear him talk about you to Tommy all the time." She says and you let out a sad laugh. "I know he won't... It is just a fear I have." Ellie nods and walks closer. "Dina Joel wants you to go to the workshop. He wants you to look at something." Dina nods and stands up. "See you later okay (Y/N)?" She asks and nods. She nods back and walks out the door.

Joel is in the workshop as he finishes sanding the last piece of his recent project when Tommy walks in. "Hey." Tommy says as he walks around a few pieces of wood to get to his brother. "Heya Tommy..." Joel says seemingly in his own world. "What did you want to talk about Joel?" Tommy asks and Joel turns to him with a serious look on his face. "I wanted to ask you somethin'" Joel says gesturing for a stool to sit on and Tommy sits down. "What is it?" Tommy asks. "I was wondering if you could talk to Maria about patrol..." He says and Tommy looks confused and asks. "What about patrol?" "I want to take time off... Maybe retire..." Tommy gets a shit eating grin on his face. "You want to retire huh?" Joel begins to blush and nods. " You are so whipped for this girl ain't ya?" "Oh shut it." Joel grumbles before turning around and Tommy laughs. "You got a ring yet?" Tommy asks. Joel stays quiet which answers Tommy's question. "You REALLY like her." "You said yourself that I was gonna get hitched at some point!" Joel snaps and Tommy laughs. "I'm happy for you brother. I'm sure Maria will be just fine with out you on patrol." Joel puts on a small smile looking at him again. "Thank you." He says and Tommy nods and leaves.

A few minutes later Dina walks in. "Hey Joel!" She says with a smile and He smiles back. "Hey Dina thanks for comin'" He says standing up and moving some things out of the way. "Any time Joel so what's up?" Joel stands up and leans over the work bench and grabs a piece of paper and hands it to her. Dina gasps and smiles. "This will be perfect!" She exclaims. "What color are you going to paint it?" She asks excited. "That is what I am hoping you could help me with." He says taking the paper and putting it back on the table. "Hmmm. Her favorite color is (F/C) maybe a few different shades of that color." Dina says and Joel nods writing it down. "What about staining it? For all we know there might not be much paint. Should we stain some parts?" He asks and she shakes her head. "Honestly with this color wood I think it would be better if you uh... Seal it?" He nods "Yeah that would be for the best I think. The lightness of the wood should be enough... I just hope she likes it." Dina sighs and looks at him. "She'll love it." Joel sighs and nods. "I should get home to her. She's probably getting up to mischief and unpacking boxes." He says as he begins to make his way out the door only to bump into his brother. "Tommy, what the h-" "Don't go outside!" Tommy says. "What?" Joel asks trying to get around him. "What do you mean?" He says finally getting outside. Tommy tries to steer him away from the gate. "Joel do-" "Tommy!" Joel's entire body freezes as he hears a pair of light footsteps behind him. He turns around and their eyes meet. "Claire?" "Joel?" (Hello I just want to say that this might be the last part for a while. I recently got a job and it has taken up most of my time. I apologize and I hope you understand.)

Taglist: @gnocchey @laura-m95​

[writing-dead-clovers]

Not All Monsters (Monster AU!Technoblade x abused!child!GN!Reader) (Part 1)

First series on my blog. I do want to add warnings that the reader is abused. If this may trigger you or bothers you, feel free to ignore this story.

Part 2

Philza sighed as he sat the paperwork down. He had been tasked a child who was deemed an 'unscareable'. The child had multiple high class monsters assigned to them. Eret, a demon whose known for his glowing eyes and shapeshifting, came back to the monster realm, sat the child's file down and said "Get a better monster." Sapnap, a magically gifted beast, attempted to scare the child into submission with hallucinations only to be shot down in a matter of seconds by the kid. Dream, a literal dream demon, came back crying for fucks sake.

Someone knocked on the door of Phil's office. He glanced up, seeing the brutish build of Technoblade and Tommy, who was an apprentice Scarer, entering his office. "New kid or is this the same one that had Dream crying?" Phil sighed as he rubbed his temples. "I have no idea how they're doing this. I've sent several high class monsters to scare this kid, and they're just sending them right back as if they're just flies!" "Maybe you should send me or Wilbur to them?" The boar monster said, the gold nose piercing flying up with every huff from his nose. "I literally just sent Wilbur tonight." Phil groaned. Tommy, the odd little winged Tanuki, picked up the file of the child and started reading it out loud. "Y/n L/n, age 5. Fears: unknown. Lives with their mother. No known father." The young apprentice's eyes widened at the pages of the failed attempts of mosnters. "They were assigned BBH? And made him quit? This is the kid that made him quit?! What the actual hell is wrong with this kid?!" The blonde yelled. Phil sighed as he buried his face in his hands, before moving to brush his hair back. "I don't know what to do anymore. I've sent every single monster I know at them. I called in favors with retired monsters and this kid didn't even flinch!" Techno crossed his arms. "Send me to the kid." "Absolutely not!" "Why not?" "We're supposed to scare the kid, not kill them. You work with adults, scaring them to death." Phil stated. "What does he mean scaring them to death?" Tommy piped in. "The things humans call 'heart attacks' is just adult class monsters scaring them. Unlike you, rookie, I'm a high class monster." Techno shot back. "I'm not sending you to this kid, let Will handle them." "Wilbur's a teen class monster, I highly doubt he'll scared them. Bad was an Adult class monster." "Wait, what's the difference?" Techno shot the apprentice a look. "Didn't you go to school for this?" "Yes...?" The pink haired boar monster groaned, face palming. "Adult class monsters, like me, specialize in scaring adults. Teen class, deals with teens. Kid class, handles kids. Then there's baby class, which should be obvious on what they handle. Then there's the grades, A grade is a high class, having a good balance of everything. B grade is a little bit more weak, usually loud noises or any kind of sounds. C grade is just normal stuff like fears of reptiles or similar. D grade is just easy shit, you know, bed wetters and such. Now S grade monsters, such as Phil and soon to be me, we can do everything and anything." Techno explained. "So what class am I? And Wilbur?" "Wilbur's a teen class B grade." Phil provided. "He ranked up? Nice." Techno stated. "And you're probably a D grade." "I AM NOT!" "Your files say D grade, baby class." Phil stated, raising a brow at the apprentice. Techno smirked, his tusks gleaming. "Shut up you pig." "How original, let me know when you can come up with something original, you feathered rat." Phil cleared his throat, gaining the bickering duo's attention. "Sorry Phil." "Sorry da- PHIL! FUCK!" "Ha! Loser." "Shut the hell up." "Are you two done?" Phil challenged. "Did I interrupt something?" The three turned their attention to the new male in the room, a phantom monster. "How'd it go, Will?" The male shook his head. "I couldn't even find the kid, they weren't in their room." Phil's brows furrowed. "Not there? You sure?" The phantom nodded. "I checked everywhere in the kid's room, their closet, under the bed, the bathroom even. Nothing." Phil sighed. "You sure the medical information was correct? They might be one of the dying kids." "It's correct." Techno rolled his eyes. "My turn, I'll show you how to scare a little brat." The male huffed. "Don't let your pride get ahead of you, Techno." "I'm not!" Phil sighed and handed the file to the boar monster. "Try not to kill the kid." "No promises." The towering male said, before leaving the room to go home. He had to study every little detail of the file before tomorrow's shift. You gotta work smarter, not harder, right?

Techno glanced at the file, the light from his desk lamp creating a glare across the photo of the child. "Why are you such a difficult kid?" He sighed. He picked up the photo, a small h/c haired, e/c eyed child staring back. "What's your deal, kid?" The male asked the photo, obviously not going to get a response. Techno sighed before setting the photo down and gathering the file together. Tonight, he had to scare this kid. He couldn't ruin his perfect record. Brushing his fingers through the pink curls of the mane he called hair, he walked from his home to the his job.

Upon entering the Fear Factory, he was immediately annoyed by Tommy. "I bet you can't scare them!" "Shut up Tommy." "You know I'm right, you big piggy bitch!" "Says the one who hasn't even gotten his first job." That shut the teen up. Techno got to his station as Schlatt was downing a bottle of alcohol nearby. "Whatcha got tonight, piggy?" "None of your damn business, like usual." "Aw, don't be like that." The faun hybrid taunted as he made his way over. "C'mon, I bet I can give you some tips!" "I don't need help, goatman." Schlatt rolled his eyes as Techno opened the file to put the information into the machine that would take him to the human world. The faun hybrid leaned over his shoulder, reading the file. "Oh, you got the tough kid. I had them about two weeks ago." "How'd that go?" "The little shit had the audacity to look at me and throw a book at me." Techno smiled slightly. "You got bested by a five year old? How appropriate for what used to be an S grade Adult class." "Shut up, ya runt. I still have my tricks." "Sure you do. What do they have you dealing with tonight?" "John Kerry, 47 year old veteran. Guy beats on his wife and kids. Claimed that while he was in the military that he met and fought the Devil. Pathetic, honestly." Schlatt stated. "Is Tubbo shadowing you tonight?" "Nah, the little runt's shadowing what's his face. The green guy with the mask?" "Sam? Really?" The faun shrugged. "Works for me, honestly. He gets along with Sam's apprentice. That tall kid." "That's Ranboo, he's my apprentice." Techno said, setting the file down. He started fixing his appearance to be the 'Blood God' the humans knew him as. "I thought Tommy was your apprentice." "He's Wilbur's apprentice." The taller monster stated. Schlatt laughed at the statement. "So pathetic, like him?" "Watch your mouth. Those are my brothers." "My apologies, mister Blood God." "Just get out of here and let me do my job." Techno said as he started on the crimson war paint he wore on a regular basis. "Alright, fine. You're no fun." "I take my job seriously." "Boring! Live a little, pinkie." "Whatever." Schlatt walked off to his station to get ready. "Hey, the vet you had a while ago. Whatcha do to get him to die so quick?" "Bullet wounds, took up a human appearance and then showed my true form." "Nice. Mind if I steal that trick?" "If you actually read the report on what triggers your assignments, maybe they'd curl up and die faster." "Nah, where's the fun in that? Do you think pulling the Alien chest thing might be too much?" "It's your assignment. Do what you want." Techno huffed, setting the brush aside. "I'm going." "Good luck, Blood God." "Don't need it, I have skill." The male pressed the button and opened the door, sending him into a closet.

He carefully opened the closet door and glanced around the room. He wasn't expecting the room to be bare, save for a bookshelf, a dresser, and bed. Glancing at the bed, there was the little brat in question. He smirked, getting down on all fours. A low rumble echoed from his throat as he made his way to the sleeping child, or what he thought was a sleeping child. The kid sat up, making Techno stop in his tracks. A sniffle made his ears perk up. He hadn't even done anything and the kid was already crying? How long has it been since he had a job with a child? He got up slowly, resting in a crouch as he stared at the kid who was staring right back. He tilted his head, the child mirroring his actions. The corner of his lip perked up for a split second. "Are you here to try and scare me?" The kid asked. They seemed to be quite timid for a monster scaring child. "Perhaps. Are you scared?" He asked. "Am I supposed to be?" "Very. You should be very scared." He watched the kid wipe their face. "You don't look scary. You look hurt." Techno raised a brow at the child. "Hurt?" They nodded. He stood up, his true height showing. The child's gaze followed him. "You're tall." He ignored the statement and made his way to the child. "What's your name?" "Don't worry about it kid. Now, are you scared yet?" "No." Techno sighed. "My mommy's scarier." "She is?" The kid nodded. "She drinks these nasty bottles and yells at me." Techno wasn't expecting that. "Yells at you?" The child nodded. "How come?" "I don't know, she just gets mad at me." Techno nodded. A moment of silence passed. "I'm a bad child." "Who says that?" "My Mommy." Techno's brows furrowed. Something wasn't adding up. This kid had numerous monsters leaving, some even crying, but they were so meek and timid. He crouched beside their bed. "What's your name, runt?" "Y/n." Techno knew this already. "Y/n, do you know what I am?" "A monster?" Techno nodded. "I'm a very bad monster." "Bad like me?" "How are you bad?" "Mommy says so. She throws things at me when she says that." The male started to question if this kid was being abused. "Does she hit you?" Y/n nodded. "Y/n, where's your dad?" "I don't know. Mommy said it's my fault he's gone." Techno winced at the statement. "Where's your toys?" "Mommy says I don't deserve toys."

Abuse. Had to be.

Techno sighed, before glancing at the window. It was almost morning. "Are you going to leave now?" "I have to." He said, standing up and starting for the closet. "It's okay. Everyone leaves." The male stopped in his tracks. "Will you be back tomorrow?" "I... I can't promise that kid." "It's okay, mister pig. I don't blame you." Techno winced. "I'll see if I can come back." "Okay. Bye mister pig." "Bye, runt." Techon stepped into the closet and back into the monster realm. He raised a brow at the crowd of monsters. "What do you want?" "Did you scare them?" "No, I studied them." He barked. Techno made his way through the crowd before breaking into a run, going straight to Phil's office. He slammed the door open, the three males inside jumping at the loud sound. The boar slammed his hands on the desk. "The kid's abused." "What?!" "How do I get a human license?" Techno asked. "A WHAT?!" Phil shot out of his seat. "Techno, what are you going on about?" "I want a human ownership license." "One, that isn't what those are called." Phil sighed, sitting back down. "How do I get one?" Techno repeated. "You'd have to get someone older than you to vouch for you," Phil started. "Then you can-" "Someone not related to you." Techno groaned, brushing his hands through his hair. "Do you know anyone that can personally vouch for you?" "No. Wait!" Techno spun on his heel. "How old is Schlatt?!" "You're going to trust Schlatt to vouch for you?" "It's better than nothing, Phil." The winged male sighed. "I'll get the paperwork, but you have to have proof that you can handle this kid, Techno. You can't just snatch every human child." "Phil, I can prove it." Phil's gaze flicked to Wilbur and Tommy. "You two, out." They groaned, but obeyed.

Phil locked eyes with Techno. "Why are you suddenly wanting this kid?" "Phil, they're like me." Phil flinched at the statement. "You know they won't be human the second they come into this realm. Once they're here, they can never go back. We can't have another repeat of the the 'Bigfoot' incident." "That was your generation, this is mine." Phil sighed. "I'll get the paperwork, you just need the kid to agree." "So... blood pact like you did with me?" "If that's the way you want to go, you could do the ink mark." "Ink mark?" "Tattoos, in a way. It has to be something they can draw." The boar male nodded. "You're going to go back tonight, aren't you?" "I promised them." "What happened to no promises?" "Shut up Phil."

[saturnsstufff]

The Empress pt.VIII

Weddings!! although I thought this was a lot apparently I was just lying to myself. There's just a lot of information I guess.

Warnings: swearing, mentions sexual activity.

   When morning rolled around you were still in Techno's arms. Your head was to his chest well his his chin rested on top of yours, sheltering you protectively. Techno knew he couldn't stay in bed with you too long. He would have to get ready for the day and go to his office for a couple of meetings. But the way you held onto him made him want to stay. His thoughts lingered to last night. He almost wondered if the emotions from the night had heightened what he felt for you.

   He couldn't help but smile to himself remembering how breathless the two of you were after kissing for so long. He was happy, knowing you were his left a warm feeling within his heart. He always had assumed from early childhood that he would end up alone. None of the court ladies would willingly go to him. Since he was a hybrid, he was just lowly frowned upon. He was always set up with girls for power, or for looks. So him knowing you willingly went to him filled him with utter pride. He knew you weren't the type to find power. You had voiced many times that you just wanted someone to call your own. Start a family and ease down in life.

   His attention was drawn away from his thoughts as you slowly began to stir. Nuzzling your face into his chest more, longing to feel the warmth he offered. His arm pulled you closer. His frim hand rubbing your back gently. You were tired. After the long night you spent together you weren't ready to get up. Your mind fell to last night and you couldn't help but go pink and wonder if it was only a dream. Techno held you so close and was so loving in that moment. Nothing went beyond kissing, but for as long as you two were at it, you had a right to be tired. You still remembered how his hand held your cheek, then the feeling of his arm around your waist. All of it was just perfect.

   You felt his nose nuzzle into your hair. His lips lingering loosely by your ear. "Good morning..." Oh he had a morning voice. His was even deeper than you could have imagined. You slowly fluttered your eyes open. Your half lidded eyes met with his gentle and loving ones.

   "Good morning..." you said softly. You felt him press a ever so gentle kiss to your ear, making you smile slightly. He turned onto his back, wrapping his arm around you. Your draped your arm over him, moving your head onto his chest.

   The rather chilly morning now felt warm and welcoming. If someone had told you months ago, you would be sleeping with the young Emperor, you most definitely would have laughed at them. Yet here you were, laying within his arms like a prized possession.

   "I'll have to get up soon princess..." he said softly. Almost like he was telling himself rather than you. You rubbed your cheek on his chest to move some stray hair of yours away.

   "Do you have to?" You muttered. Wanting to savor this moment like it was your last. A wide smile graced Techno's lips.

   "Plan to keep me here if I do?" Now you smiled wide at his words. Securing your arms around him tightly.

   "Possibly..." his hand moved from your back, up to your ear. Moving some of your stray hairs away from your face to behind your ear. Framing your face like a portrait.

   He let out a light chuckle. His hand moving to rest on your back again, continuing to rub gentle circles. "Well if my Princess orders me to stay... I mean who am I, to deny her?"

   You were back to the forge that afternoon. Hammer in hand as you worked a new sword for Phil. He had came in a while ago with one of his old worn blades. Far too weak to even be remotely saved. So with his permission you asked if you could just scrap this one and rebuild him a new one. He did stress he didn't want to over work yourself, but you explained it wasn't any bother.

   Well you were working you didn't hear the steps that approached you. Far to lost within your own work to pay mind to everything around. "Mighty blade you have there" the voice was smooth as silk. Seraphina.

   You couldn't help but jump in place. Your heart lurching at her voice. She gently chuckled at your startle. "Y...you scared me" you said turning to her with a weak smile. The sweat on your brow proved your work. Your hands, although gloved, were worn with time. Whether Sarah would admit it or not she did have respect for you, she could easily see why Techno had fallen for you.

   "Sorry to hear, I didn't intend to" She said with a soft smile. Looking over what you had just crafted. "Technoblade was right, you make some pretty amazing things. Don't you?" She asked looking to you. You went a faint pink glancing your blade over.

   "I think I do alright" she laughed, resting a firm hand on your shoulder. Her strength almost near Techno's. Almost. You set your hammer and the blade down. Removing your gloves to wipe your forehead.

   "Your to modest. Everyone in the city knows you bested others. Your regarded pretty highly little one. I wouldn't doubt yourself" you nodded slowly. A soft smile on your lips.

   "Thank you General..." her smile never faltered. She wondered about the room and leaned herself on one of the sturdy work benches. With her in front of you, you now fully realized the extent of her height. She was Tall.

   "Technoblade said you would be his plus one to my wedding I hear." She said casually. You opened your mouth to protest incase she wasn't ok with it. "Don't get the wrong idea, I don't mind you being there. I actually came to see if you would like to be my Maid of Honor." She rubbed her neck a bit. "I don't have many friends... and there all men so.. I was curious if you were interested in the position” you offered a shy smile. You where honored of the idea, but you weren't sure if you should be at her day, seeing as you don't know her very well.

   “Are you sure? that's a pretty private thing... I wouldn't want to intrude on that...” She lightly laughed. Her laugh was light hearted and soft. Showing she meant no harm.

   “You wouldn't be intruding. I promise” you nodded slowly. After a bit of silence she spoke up again. “I see Technoblade is in a awfully good mood today” You went pink thinking over last night. 

   “O-oh?” She laughed again at you, not meaning it rudely.

  “Mhn. During the war room meeting he was very light hearted” You tiled your head a bit. You knew techno had mentioned a meeting but not something as important as a war room meeting.

  “There was a meeting? W-what about” you asked carefully. your brow slightly furrowed.

   “Oh nothing important, it was just a casual meeting, we were mostly inquiring about the expansion in the north. Nothing to be worried about” you nodded slowly to her words. Trusting her on this since she had the military back ground. "You see the Empire is ever expanding, taking what land we can. There are a lot of villages out there in need of supplies. If we can reach them, we can help them." She was smiling. You nodded now understanding that the meeting was in good nature.

   After about a month the wedding had finally come. Techno and you were still going strong with a loving relationship as well. After your night with him, it had just became a default thing to just retire to bed with him. Finding comfort with sleeping next to him or sleeping with your head on him.

   It was the night before the wedding, Techno and you were lazily walking the halls together. Having just wanted to be within each others company again. Due to Techno being Emperor he still had his duties to the kingdom. Where he did cherish you, and put your well-being first. He still had to tend to his job.

   With casual steps the two of you wondered into the ballroom. The room was prepared for the upcoming reception. The normal graceful room was now decorated to the highest standard. The accents of gold and reds keeping everything classy. In the corner the instruments lay waiting for the day they are used.

   You were all smiles, the night had went perfect so far. You did mention not knowing how to waltz at dinner. Which made Wilbur laugh at you until tommy took his dinner roll. Techno and Phil didn't mind however, they said one of them could teach you if would have liked. Of course when Techno showed interest, Phil backed off.

   To which that led to tonight. The two of you smiling within each others arms. Techno had walked you to the middle of the room for a wide space. "What if I step on your foot?" You asked giggling gently.

   He chuckled amused. "Then you step on my foot, its not a problem" he was light hearted. Wanting to make the learning experience fun and gentle. His hands moved to his hair, skill fully pulling it up into a full bun. Wanting his hair out of the way completely.

   His hand came and rested on your upper back, pulling you close to his body. He didn't hesitate to move your hand to his shoulder and take your free hand within his. "The movement is simple... We'll start slow and then pick up the pace, ok?" His soft smile put you at ease. "You don't have to get it completely. But I think you will catch on quickly"

   You nodded to his words. He had faith in your learning ability. Knowing you were capable of more than you thought. He made his first step to the left. "Ease up and flow like your water" you couldn't help but look down to your feet. Wanting to make sure you didn't step on his foot. "Step forward" he said as he stepped back within sync. "Now step right... and then step back." You nodded slowly. Your eyes minding his shoes. "Princess... I would like to see your beautiful eyes..." he discarded your hand to lift your head. "Your too beautiful to gaze at the floor" with a small smile he kissed your forehead. "The dance revolves around a box step... lets try going in a fluid motion now..." He was talking slowly so you understood. Not trying to talk down and make you feel uneducated.

   The casual steps continued. Slowly picking the pace up until you two were gracefully sweeping along the floor. He kept your eyes locked within his. Once you had done the steps for a while he did become more daring. Choosing to lock you within his arms before spinning you. He had even dunked you to capture your lips into a loving kiss. Emperor or not, he was a true romantic by heart.

   Once you were slightly panting from the dancing he choose to take a spot on the piano bench with you. You leaned into his side, his arm coming to wrap around you. Rubbing your arm. You adored spending time with Techno, he always gave you a comforting feeling. When you first met him he was definitely aloof and standoff-ish but now he holds you as close as he can manage.

   The two of you sat in silence together, collecting your breath. The moonlight shown down on you both, Illuminating you two as if you were the stars of the show. You gazed down at the piano keys wanting nothing more than to pluck a few keys in curiosity.

   Techno must have saw you glance the keys over. "Do you know how to play?..." you shook your head gently. Plucking some of the low notes to see what tone they had.

   "I've never even been around one..." your fingers danced lightly. Having herd the harder you tap the louder it is. You looked up to Techno curiously. "Can you play?" You knew it was probably rhetorical, but you asked regardless.

   "Of course, my mother taught me. I haven't played anything special in ages, but I still know Moonlight Sonata, or Clair de Lune." He said casually looking over the keys.

   You rubbed your cheek on him a bit. Getting comfortable within your spot. "Could you play for me?..." he smiled lovingly before pressing a soft kiss to your forehead. His lips lingering gently as he mumbled a 'Of course'.

   His hands ever so gracefully took there spots over the keys. Even without his glasses he knew where the keys were. He started a song you weren't quite familiar with, but it was ever so gentle. Everything techno did was done with elegance. Even playing the piano had you completely smitten with him. He was graceful yet he lurked with almost a unknown danger. You knew that he cared about you just as you cared for him. There wasn't a day that went by that he wouldn't ask if you were ok. He would even check to assure you were wearing your earrings, fearful that you would be taken from him too soon.

   Unlike boys within the city, Techno did keep his lingering kisses and more specific names for you behind the closed doors. Choosing to not show his gentle side to those outside his close circle. The truth was you were his weak spot. Yes Wilbur and Tommy were his brothers, but he knew Phil would lay his life to protect them. Techno knew he would lay his life to protect you.

   With the gentle tone of the music you were slowly being lulled into a ever so soft sleep. When your head rolled for a final time you were out.

   When you woke, you were back in techno's bed. Your hand lingered to his side, trying to feel for where your lover was. His side was empty but lingered warmth. With no trace of him you turned towards the bathroom door to see maybe if he had made a quick run. Instead he was looking at his mirror. Pulling his shirt up his arms. His back was on full display. Showing every lingering scar and muscle beneath his skin. When he moved his arms back, the muscles relaxed and tensed, Showing them pull against the white shirt. He must have caught your lingering gaze, because he spoke softly.

   "Good morning my dear..." your eyes flickered up to him as he turned to face you. He lazily walked over and sat on your side of the bed. With a careful hand he moved some of your hair away from your face. His fingers traced lightly down your cheek. "You fell asleep early last night... I figured you would have been more comfortable here..." you nodded slowly. Still trying to fight off the remints of sleep. "Your dress should be in your room..." the dress? You then remembered today was General Hawthorne's wedding. Per her request you were her maid of honor.

   Although you and Techno slept together, he still respected your privacy on dressing. Not only that, but what you didn't know, was that he purposefully never took anything too far for fear of rumors spreading about you. Seeing as the court would run with any sly rumor they could get there fingers on. The last thing he wanted, was to hear your name with 'Whore' or 'Prostitute' near it. If Techno choose to marry you in the future, he knew he would have to do his best to keep your name clean. Of course if you were Empress it wouldn't matter what they would say, either way your word would be law. But still, he wanted to make sure his Princesses name stayed out of other men's mouths'.

   "You should dress and go to Breakfast... I don't know when we will be eating next" you reached out and took his hand. Pulling it close to your chest. You wished nothing more than to cuddle down with him and lay the morning away in peace. He was warm, and you knew as soon as the covers were removed you would be cold again.

   Even with his hand to your chest he leaned down and smiled gently before giving you a sweet, gentle kiss. Since you were still a bit sleepy, the kiss was loose on your behalf. Techno didn't mind though. To him the thought behind it meant more. When he parted you slowly sat up, knowing it was time to start your day. You discarded his hand to rub at your face, trying to make yourself fully coherent. When you finished he gently took your hand into his.

   His sweet side was pushed away a moment for his concern to come through. "(y/n)... About tonight... Your going to meet some people from the court... You might think I'm overreacting.... But please, trust me on this... Make sure Phil, Wil, Sarah, or I is around when you speak to them..." your brows furrowed slightly as he rubbed your hand.

   "Why?..." you asked confused by this. You haven't herd much about the court besides them trying to set Sarah and Technoblade up together.

   Techno gave out a bit of a sigh. "They.. they have a way of backing people up into corners to make them say what they want. The last thing I want is them backing you into a corner. You may say one thing, and they will twist your words into something more. They live for scandals and power." With his hand moving to rest on your cheek, you leaned into it. Resting your hand on his so you could press a kiss to his palm.

   "I can handle myself love..." you said softly. Trying to put him at ease.

   "My love, you say that. But because you're so close to me... Because you sleep with me nightly... You will be there prime target..."

   With the vows having been exchanged at the church, the reception was held within the ballroom. Per Techno's request you stayed close to him. Next to the lovely brides, and the Royal family, you stuck out quite a lot.

   The buzz of the room danced between the talk of the general finally being married, and Technoblade having a pretty little thing on his arm. When Techno off hand mentioned you being a target, you didn't realize that this is what he meant. The lingering eye's, the longing stares, the pointing. It made you uncomfortable. Even with Techno holding your arm you felt small and confined.

   At the beginning you assumed the whole day would be about the brides. As it was their day. But even two hours into the reception, the glances and whispering continued. Soon it just became too much, you had to excuse yourself. Techno noticed your uncomfort, but sadly he couldn't leave. With a pleading look to Phil, he came over without hesitation.

   "What's the matter?" He asked, his brows furrowing slightly. He glanced from Techno to you. You went to say nothing, but Techno quickly intervened.

   "Could you take her for a walk for me?... She's highly uncomfortable and you know who, won't take their eyes off her" he said lowering his voice as to not perk the attention of lingering guests. Phil's eyes narrowed as he glanced around. His eyes meeting someone, but you couldn't see whom.

   "Oh great I didn't know that bastard was here" Phil seethed. Whoever they were talking about, they obviously had a high distaste for. "C'mon kiddo I'll take you out to the balcony" Phil said, offering his arm with a gentle smile to you. You nodded and changed off men. Fallowing Philza to wherever he would lead. Subconsciously you did keep close to his side. His wing hovering about you, offering almost a shield to wondering eyes.

   Once outside on the balcony Phil had sat by you on one of the stone benches. Giving you some space incase you were not in the mood for general contact. "Too much at once?" He asked softly. You nodded slowly.

   "Techno mentioned I would be a topic... But I thought they would focus more on the brides.." Phil took a chance and rubbed your back reassuringly like your father would have.

   "Sadly with you being Techno's plus one... You are a big topic" you looked up to Phil with a bit of confusion on why.

   "Why?... isn't he allowed a date?" Phil nodded and ran a hand over his hair and down to rub at his neck.

   "Oh he is. But tha' thing is Techno hasn't ever taken interest in anyone really. For every girl he was set up with he would just ignore them until they begged their fathers to reconsider. This is the first time the public, and the Court has seen Techno interact willingly with a woman." You were a bit surprised. Techno always struck you as having past relationships and having a bit of experience under his belt. But it appears you are his up to date experience. Phil slowly started again. "The Court is eager to see how your relationship with Techno evolves. And sadly my dear, your now in the spotlight by quite a bit. If you don't work out for Techno, they will be looking to set you up with someone else. They way they view it, is if you could woo the stoic Emperor, your either sexually involved with him or are just genuinely interesting." He paused to look down at you. "Techno, Wil and I know that your just a genuinely, interesting gal' with a kind heart. But the public doesn't" you pondered on Phil's words carefully.

   "So as long as I'm with Techno I’ll be watched?..." you asked slowly. Wanting to make sure you herd his words correct.

   Phil nodded. "Watched, judged, you will become a popular topic. They will critique you until you marry him or until you fall apart." The idea of being bad-mouthed by others left you a bit saddened. "If you become Empress, they will be forced to shut their mouths'. Disloyalty to the royal family within the court is punishable by death. However, say you part off in the end better as friends, they will double their insults, or maybe lessen them as they try to set you up with others." You took a longing breath. If this is what Techno faces on the daily, you could see why he was always drained. "Luckily in your position, you have control over your fate. They cannot talk and bribe your family into marriage like the court normally does." You looked up to Phil.

   "Why is it like this?... Its wrong..." Phil gave a rough sigh. Rubbing his neck.

   "I.. I genuinely don't know (y/n)... Neither does Technoblade... Even when I was king it was like this..." the silence lingered for a bit before Phil added on a bit. "The Empire is forever growing, but its also severely flawed" you spotted Techno within the room, talking to Sarah. She laughed joyfully, as she should on the beautiful day. "Techno and I have been working with General Hawthorne to try and straighten out this mess for years. Sadly we haven't found anything yet..."

With a spurt of unknown confidence your tone changed. No longer saddened and hesitant.

"I know Technoblade will fix it. Or, he will be the one to destroy it all."

@goldensunshineshit @snobunns @olyink @lolitsellieletsgobro @jackalopedoodles @angelic-scent @coolleviauchihadreamerlove @artsimatsu @justabalroginthenet @seme1e @fangirl570 @sweeetteaa @awlawdtheycoming @idkwhatusernametohave @sugarandspicebutnonice @bambibunz @lynn-draws-blog @buzzybeebee @feathersthewinged @prefesro @astroninaaa @ravennightingaleandavatempus @lifestylesleep @straydog265 @happygalaxymilkshake @vixenfoxpup @truthdaze @alovestruck-fool @justthatfangirloverthere @itscaity-c

[dreamsmp-au-ideas]

I was going to actually post this before asks closed (didn’t get the chance), but Teddy Bear Anon, you are one of my favorite people and a magnificent creature. You get my vibe. 

About Bad canonically being Sapnap’s dad I feel like that has so much extra angst potential when we consider the rest of the found family. Like. Sapnap, Tommy, and Fundy all have dads who started with the best of intentions but for one reason or another ended up slowly becoming a danger to them. I imagine Tommy and Fundy one day showing up with a cake and telling Sapnap “We regretfully welcome you to the shit dad club” and Sapnap is torn between being upset still and laughing over the absurdity of the situation.

Bonus points if Tommy made the cake using a recipe book that Niki gave him, the last gift Niki ever gave to Tommy. Tommy was originally a really bad cook/baker but after the egg really started to take over he went full survivalist. Leaning to cook was necessary but learning to bake was something he did as a way to raise everyone’s spirits. He’s never gotten the flavor quite to match with Niki’s perfectly but everyone agrees he’s gotten pretty decent in terms of skills. He and Fundy in particular will sometimes just spend an entire day in silence baking and then quietly eat their creations while reflecting on the friends they’ve made and lost over the course of L'manberg’s lifetime. When the group got back to the past and Niki made cookies for Tommy and Fundy the pair very nearly started crying.

Tommy is in an interesting position as a character since he did commit a lot of minor crimes and acted as a general nuisance but he was also still a child. (A very traumatized one considering I canonize SMP Earth with its unlimited lives but even more wars. Including against God. Tommy fought God just let me have this.) He acknowledges the moments when he went over the line and has tried to apologize. In particular at some point before the egg fully takes over he pulls aside Jack and tells him that he’s sorry for the way he acted when he was still in exile, taking one of Jack’s lives and all. Jack and Niki in particular are an interesting subject to address and a painful one for immune!Tommy to think about when he sees younger Niki because the three never fully tossed out the hatchet but it was obvious in the eyes of someone like Sam that both of them were growing more and more hesitant to hurt Tommy. It was made worse by the fact neither were even marginally immune, and it didn’t take long for the egg to get to them.

He never stopped being chaotic. Tommy at his core is just that kind of person. He did, however, grow up enough to act in a more mature manner. Started to recognize what’s too much. In particular he became a lot less violent and willing to lash out after Sam Nook in essence reparented him. He’s still an absolute wild card of a person, which in the eyes of Sam and Sapnap is a good thing. For this au I think we should actually address Tommy having severe ptsd and during the building of his hotel/the early days of the egg before it becomes a noticeable threat it shows. He’s a lot more subdued. Shows of aggression all carry a kind of desperation and his typical jokes feel flat. Lashing out at people slowly becomes more of a defense mechanism to see if someone’s going to leave or betray him, to test the limits of how nice they’re willing to be. After all, nice people have only ever been nice to Tommy when they wanted something from him. His eyes, especially after L'manberg is blow sky high, are well and truly gray. The first time Tommy genuinely laughs after filling Sapnap’s room with chickens is considered celebration worthy to them. His pranks take on a more hermitcraft-esque feel to them which honestly makes them more funny.

By the time they get to the past Tommy has recovered, but he still carries the kind of maturity that like Teddy Bear mentioned is reminiscent of age swap Tommy. When he gets especially stressed though, Immune!Tommy will slip into moments where he acts as tired and done with the world as age swap Tommy. With that said, most of the time he just acts like a more mature Tommy. Nothing could ever completely erase his unique vibe which Ranboo has gone on record as describing “Willing to fight God deaf, blind, and backwards just to prove a point." 

Immune Fundy and Tommy get on really well once Fundy manages to catch up with the rest of the group. It gets to the point where everyone from the past is kinda shocked since smp Fundy and Tommy do not get along. At all. Literally the first night Fundy’s back someone goes to wake them up and they find Fundy asleep on top of Tommy which is a wild experience since this Tommy is a goliath who often refuses to take off his full Netherite max enchant armor. He really becomes a "looks like he could kill you but is actually a cinnamon roll” kinda mans.

Also, yeah, this is Dream’s retirement arc. He is literally just sitting in the corner watching Tommy dote on his younger self and Tubbo before completely pile driving two of the most powerful people on the server straight into the dirt. At some point Tommy sits down with past Punz. He tells this Punz that their Punz died protecting him and Tubbo and that Tommy never got to properly thank their Punz so he’s going to thank this Punz. Tommy then gives Punz an entire stack of Netherite. If we’re gonna go ahead and agree on Phoenix Tommy then Tommy is fire proof, meaning he probably spent a large amount of time in the nether to avoid the egg crew and get rare supplies. Meaning he also probably did a lot of mining just to distract himself and it resulted in him being loaded. Tommy used to have a fear of tnt and explosives but he seems like the type of mad lad to say “exposure therapy” and make a massive cavern in the underbelly of the nether.

I think it would also be really interesting to dedicate like, a couple of chapters to other people’s perspectives. I kind of want to set the time they arrive in the past partway through the Pogtopia arc since I like mildly unhinged but not completely gone Wilbur. Plus then it also makes more sense for Techno to be there. Just prefer the aesthetic really. I want to have Wilbur see this version of Tommy and come to a sudden “oh” moment. I want to have a moment where Tubbo looks between his Tommy and this new Tommy, seeing himself nowhere to be found, and has enough what the fuck moments to become aggressively protective of his own Tommy. Especially if immune!Tommy ever admits to the past Tubbo why he is the way he is, what he faced under the thumb of the people he trusted. Which, out of everyone on the server, Tubbo would be the first one from the past to actively learn. 

I am fully on board with Tommy knowing how to sew. That should just automatically be canon in literally ever AU. Tommy for all intents and purposes is still Phil’s child for me. Survival runs in the family the same way that chaos does, so he’s got a ton of basic survival skills that he just doesn’t show off because it’s still Tommy. He would have been completely fine in exile if it wasn’t for Dream. Whenever someone ruins their clothes in the Immune group they automatically go to Tommy and at first the past versions are very confused (except for past Tommy and Tubbo obviously) and then Tommy’s just “Sapnap this is beyond ruined it can’t be saved, let me make you something new” and within a couple days he makes Sapnap a completely new outfit. Like maybe Sapnap fell into a lava pool because Blaze Sapnap Supremacy and his clothes are beyond saving and everyone is beyond baffled when Tommy just acts like this is a weekly occurrence. He’s memorized Sapnap’s measurements and style tastes and already had a new outfit in the works for him that Sapnap immediately adores upon it being presented to him. It takes about a week for past Eret to learn that Tommy stress sews new clothing and he cannot think of a better model. Eret has never had such a full closet. Eret has everything from three piece suits to ball gowns now. Eret lives in terror of the days where Tommy disappears god knows where with Fundy and the two reappear with a new wardrobe for the entire god damn server. 

Speaking of disappearing I really like the idea of part phoenix and part tanuki Tommy for a couple reasons. Being a Tanuki he’d have access to enough magic to hide his hybrid traits, which if they’ve been present for long enough would be a necessity to him. Additionally think about Fundy and Tommy building a den under Church Prime that slowly turns into a maze. Think about it. It starts off simple and then they both start digging more and it gets deeper and deeper and more complicate and the two just refer to it as their den and the only ones who are fully aware of the connotations of that word are Sam, Sapnap, and Ranboo who remember the absolute hell that was trying to navigate the original. Just Fundy and Tommy bonding over the fact they are literally the only creatures on this server that have this catacomb memorized and at the end of the catacomb is their saferoom which connects to rail way that the two spent a month straight on. It goes at least 25k blocks from spawn and it’s a final emergency resort in case they can’t stop the egg and the Immunes needs to regroup and essentially try again (if they keep bringing their younger selves with them then hopefully they’ll finally get an army large enough to stop this, but everyone really hopes it doesn’t come to that.)

I’m working on the first chapter of my fic right now actually if I’m gonna be honest and phoenix Tommy is absolutely without question canon to it but I’ve still been going back and forth on if I want him to be part tanuki as well or just blessed/favored by one like Teddy Bear mentioned. I’m also tucking away the whole thing about the magma blood for later use. Phoenix Tommy just makes sense. They used to call him Zombie Kid for a reason back on SMP Earth, he just literally does not die ever unless he decides he does.

~Snapdragon & Firefly

[brilliantt]

Gangster in Distress

Summary: Tommy was only interested in Y/N to seal a deal with her father. He thought she was a spoilt, rich girl... until a mishap with some thieves makes Tommy reconsider.  

A/N: I just rewatched the movie Ever After with Drew Barrymore and let’s just say it heavily inspired this fic....

It was often that Tommy would sacrifice his own family to ensure a deal or stop a war. A key example being when he convinced John to marry Esme, preventing a battle with the Lee family. Tommy was rather good at pushing his family to the forefront of his problems. Now though? Now it was Tommy’s turn. 

Tommy desired to extend his gin business through London and beyond. The only issue being a Mr Walter Brown. Mr Brown ran an immensely successful distillery in the heart of London and Tommy knew striking a deal with him was his only route to a new found fortune. He had met with the man once at his home, the house exceeding even Tommy’s manor. They had spent a long time coming to a suitable deal. The man had no need for money nor protection, although Tommy tried to persuade him. It was a lost cause; the man’s fine suit and multiple men lingering by the door could have told him that. There was nothing the Peaky Blinders could offer him that he didn't already have, Tommy still persisted.

The meeting had lasted three hours before Tommy watched the man stand up and glance out the window behind him, the view obscured from Tommy. Mr Brown rubbed his white moustache and sighed, resting his gaze back on Tommy. He explained to him that he had a daughter who he wished to see married, and to a financially secure man. Of course Arthur and John were out of the question and Finn was too young for the woman. This left Tommy to take the bullet. It certainly felt like a bullet when the daughter had slammed the door, storming out of her father’s study just after she was told the news. Perhaps it would be for the best, he would have some company and Charlie a mother figure. Not forgetting their union would make Tommy very rich. 

The deal was settled and they would be married the next month, giving Y/N and Tommy some time to get to know each other. He made frequent trips to London to become acquainted with his bride-to-be, the two of them left alone in one of the parlour rooms. The first few times she had sat like a petulant child, ignoring his attempt at conversation, and not being afraid to tell him what she thought of the arrangement. Her expensive gowns and shiny jewellery reminding him of the two different worlds they came from. It was on the fourth visit when he became impatient and decided to move their relationship forward and to try and seduce her. His hands on her waist and wandering lips warranted a red cheek and a view of Y/N’s back as she huffed out of the room. 

The next time he came, he made sure to bring Charlie. She would have to meet him eventually and he could only hope she wouldn’t bring up his actions with a child in the same room. It was fair to say she much preferred the boy’s company, immediately grinning Charlie and bringing out a story book to share with him. It was this moment where Tommy couldn’t completely resent the arrangement. Charlie liking her was more important than him liking her. And after Y/N had taken him to the stables to meet her horses, Charlie would barely release the woman. It was there where Tommy had attempted to apologise for his behaviour the previous visit (not really because he was sorry, but more to remain on good terms with her father). It was also here that when Y/N had distracted Charlie with her most beautiful mare, told Tommy if he tried anything again she wasn’t afraid to use the hunting gun and shoot it at his unmentionables. 

---

The wedding hadn’t been anything special to Tommy. He had already had his dream wedding with Grace and Y/N had refused to have a big attendance, although this didn't stop her from wearing a very extravagant dress. The ceremony was limited to only Y/N’s father, Charlie and Aunt Polly.  Polly had returned to Birmingham the same afternoon, after their lunch, with Charlie. Mr Brown had retired to his room which left the newly weds alone. Except their anticipated wedding night consisted of Y/N leading Tommy to a guest room and shutting herself into her bedroom. 

Tommy spent the next few days, finalising some business and plans with his new father-in-law, while Y/N was busy packing her bags to move into Tommy’s manor with him and Charlie.

The rain was heavy on the day they were to drive back. Despite still being angry at her father, she gave him a tight hug before rushing into the vehicle, out of the rain. It was a long car journey back to Birmingham and Y/N had taken to sulking with her arms crossed, staring out of the window for the first hour. 

Tommy sighed and pursed his lips, “We should at least try to be civil, you know.” By the look on Y/N’s face, he knew his words would cause them to argue. He didn't care though, arguing would be better than sitting in silence for the rest of the trip. He also couldn’t take another minute of watching the woman fidget in her seat, he knew she was itching to speak.

Y/N kept her gaze out of the window, “You and my father dealt me off like i’m a fucking horse. I don’t have to be nice to you.” 

Tommy clenched his jaw, feeling desperate for a cigarette. ”Your father wanted what was best for you.” He heard Y/N let out an amused huff.

“Oh and you’re my knight in shining armour? Lucky me.” Tommy turned to look at her before focusing back on the road. He chose not to say anything, “I don't even see why I had to marry in the first place. I was fine staying with my father.’”

This time Tommy felt amused, “Hmm and doing what exactly? Perching on your little pedestal and looking pretty?" He hid his smirk when Y/N turned to look at him with an annoyed expression. He quite liked riling her up. 

“I’m not just some spoiled little girl, so stop treating me like one.” She crossed her arms again and huffed.

“If you didn’t act like one, perhaps I wouldn’t treat you like one.” Tommy retorted.

"Your perception of women is abhorrent. Just because I'm pretty and like to dress nicely, does not mean you can belittle me. And if you continue to do so, we are going to have problems." Tommy raised his eyebrows. "Besides, you ought to tread carefully, you are looking at the future owner of the Brown distillery. My father may have made a deal with you that doesn't mean i can't change it when i'm in charge."

Tommy felt a smile growing on his face, "You would deny your own husband?" It widened when all Y/N did was smirk at him. The silence grew again before Tommy asked, "You think you can handle running the business?"

Y/N smoothed down her hair that had gone fluffy from the rain, "You may think i just sit around, but I am very much involved in the distillery. I'm more than capable of running the business."

Tommy quickly glanced at her again, finding a sense of respect he didn't expect to feel. 

When Tommy didn’t reply, Y/N scrunched her nose up, "I do hope you're not a husband who will deny me of such a job.” Tommy rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Good, because I wouldn't have listened anyway."

"And what shouldn't a husband deny you of?" Tommy questioned in a teasing tone.

"Hmm,” Y/N grinned. “A good husband should let me do exactly as I please. He will let me work, go to the market, run through the garden without shoes, gallop through the field on a horse, or do absolutely nothing all day."

"And, what about a good wife?"

Y/N stroked her chin in thought and looked at Tommy "Well, I guess that's for you to decide."

Tommy didn’t answer her. "You like horses?" He said a few moments later. 

"Love.” Y/N smiled and looked out the window dreamily, the rain still hitting the window. “I grew up with my grandparents in the countryside, they were from my mum's side, who, well, were not rich like my dad’s. We spent all our time on the farm and from the moment I first laid my eyes on the beautiful horses, that was it."

Tommy smirked, "So the city girl is actually a farm girl?" Y/N’s response was a roll of the eyes.  "The horses you showed Charlie were incredible." His words seemed to divert Y/N back into her bratty state, she crossed her arms again and glared at the man, raising an eyebrow at him. "And I had to leave them behind."

Before Tommy could respond, the car jolted. He lost control for a moment before managing to stop the car. Trees surrounded the pair and Tommy recognised the road built through the forest. He wasted no time to jump out and check each wheel, finding the problem on Y/N’s side, a small hole visible. Y/N rolled down the window, "What happened?”

"The tyres burst, I must have hit a stone or something." He stood back up wiping down his suit. "Come on." He opened the door to her side and gestured for her to get out. 

"What?"

"The house isn't far from here, we can go by foot." Y/N looked at him in shock.

"It's raining and muddy!" She made a motion to her dress, to which Tommy rolled his eyes. He grabbed her arm and pulled her out, dragging her to the boot of the car. He pulled out one of the smaller luggage bags and pushed it in her arms before looking at her pointedly, "You said you grew up on a farm." 

"Past tense, Thomas!" She huffed and re-positioned the bag, watching Tommy grab the two larger ones. He led them around the car and they walked barely a metre before a man with shoulder length grey hair came out of the trees pointing a gun at the two. "Don't be leaving so quick now." He let out a whistle and more men came from the trees, all with guns. Y/N gulped and raised her hands in the air, subsequently dropping her bag, the contents spilling over the floor. She heard Tommy curse and watched him put the luggage down more carefully than her. 

"Y/N go back in the car." Not having to be told twice she rushed back to the passenger side. Feeling nervous when the men advanced on Tommy, a fist fight, four on one beginning. 

Before she could open the door, one of the men had grabbed her, making her yelp and shove him to the ground. She tried to hit the next man who made a grab for her but he caught her arm and held it behind her back. It took three men to stop her struggling, pulling her to where their leader stood. They held her there, Tommy a few metres opposite her being held in a similar position, a cut on his forehead and a bruised eye. The two watched as the thieves began rifling through Tommy’s car and her luggage on the floor.

One of them held up a rather beautiful, expensive looking dress adorned in jewels. “Excuse me!” Y/N spat, missing Tommy closing his eyes in annoyance. ”That was my mother’s dress, you give that back!” She felt the men tighten their hold on her. The leader smirked and stalked over to her. He lifted one of his ring covered hands and caressed her cheek. "Feisty little thing.” He whispered. 

Tommy began struggling, "Let her go.” He demanded, voice strong but eyes tired. “Your fight is against me not her." Y/N could only then see that the two men knew each other. The man removed his hand and walked closer to Tommy. He relented and told the men to release her.

Y/N pushed her way out of their arms, shivering from the rain and annoyed at the mud tracing up her skirts. She raised her chin to the leader, "I demand that you give me back all of my things. And since you shot through one of the tyres and have my driver captured, a horse for the journey back." All of the men’s eyes widened at her order. The leader titled his head, and grinned sarcastically.

“Princess,” He spread his arms out in front of him, ”You may have anything you can carry." His men chuckled around them. Y/N raised her eyebrows, a devious look in her eyes as she glanced at Tommy, who was staring at her in disbelief. 

“Do I have your word on that, Sir? She asked.

The man bowed his head, “On my honour as a Gypsy.”

Y/N nodded once. She walked past the Gypsy, staring at him as she passed. Walking straight over her clothes on the floor, Y/N  made her way to Tommy, the men who were holding him backing away. She lifted his arm up and bent down, huffing as she lifted her husband across her back. The Gypsy man opened his mouth in shock, watching as Y/N gave him a sarcastic smile and a slight curtsy before making her way down the road, holding Tommy on her back.

A ruckus of laughter erupted from the group of men at the sight. Even the leader couldn't help but laugh loudly at the daring girl. "Come back!” He paused, chuckling, “You may have a horse."

Y/N sat in front of Tommy on the horse as they rode to the manor. He knew that this reckless but incredibly clever woman would cause him a great deal of trouble, he just couldn’t bring himself to resent it anymore.

I can just imagine Y/N telling John this story and Tommy having to kick him out because of all the teasing... 

[max-is-tired]

They can tell you that it’s righteous

Fandom: Dream SMP

Prompt: Kidnapping ( @badthingshappenbingo )

A/N: Aaand I’m back on my writing bullshit, let’s go. I started plotting this fic back in January, so it only follows canon up until Doomsday/Techno and Phil finding the portal room, but at least it’s finally done!

Obligatory tags of people who asked: @deadonmercury @littlecatninja​

Warnings: hostage situation, blood, violence, mention of skin melting off, antagonist Quackity, drowning, temporary character death (gotta love respawning), near death experience, beheading.

Read on AO3!!

It had started like such a good day for Ranboo. The sun was shining bright in the sky, the SMP seemed to be at relative peace for once, and there were plenty of grass blocks lying around and waiting to be picked up. So yeah, great day!

Ranboo knew this peace probably wouldn't last long, not with these lands' track record of starting conflicts and trying to kill people on a weekly basis. But when the afternoon rolled around and random explosions had yet to start filling the sky with smoke, the hybrid felt pretty confident that, at least for that day, things were looking up.

The problem was that, by thinking on those lines, Ranboo ended up forgetting the most important rule of the server, the one rule he'd promised himself he would not break, no matter what.

Never, ever lower your guard, especially in times of peace.

He didn't even notice the person sneaking up on him until the very last second. One moment, he was crouching down, happily patting the grass block he'd just placed on the ground and the next, there was a shadow looming over him, the familiar shape of small, feathered wings being the only thing he managed to discern before a sudden, excruciating pain in the back of his head made his vision go white.

Ranboo groaned, stumbling on the ground while his vision wobbled and filled with dark spots. Dark, dirty sneakers stopped just in front of his head, but try as he might, the hybrid couldn't bring himself to move his head enough to look up, the mere thought of it making him wince.

"Sorry Ranboo, nothing personal," a familiar voice muttered, drawing a confused whine out of the kid. After that, everything went black.

+++

Technoblade had been feeling on edge all day -which, by itself, wasn't such a strange occurrence. Being on edge was a given for him, what with the voices in his head constantly chanting for blood and half of the server seemingly having a personal vendetta against him.

Listen, okay, he did blow up their precious country -but only after they decided that a corrupt government was the way to go and, you know, tracked him down while he was in retirement to try and execute him. He felt like the retaliation was kind of deserved.

Still, Techno didn't give much weight to the feeling. He'd learned to never let his guard down after the butcher army, and if someone decided to be stupid enough to attack him in his own home, they'd have to deal with him, Philza, and the small army of hounds living in the pen outside, plus the polar bears. The entirety of the SMP could attack them and he'd be able to at least hold them off enough to get away.

So, Techno spent most of the day chilling, for once, sitting on his couch with a book and Steve curled up nearby while Phil worked on some blueprints for a project of his.

"You keep that up, you're going to end up building a whole city down in that abandoned fortress," he commented, huffing in amusement as the older looked up from the table to glare at him.

"Oh, you shut up," Phil retorted, pointing at him with the quill in his hand. "Do you want the syndicate room to look decent or not? Because if you prefer I can just wing it-" chat cackled at the unintentional pun, much to Techno's dismay- "and have it turn out whatever."

Techno squinted at his friend. "You wouldn't."

"You sure about that, mate?" Phil grinned back, the picture of innocence. Which, when it came to him, meant he absolutely would, the fucker.

"Alright, alright," Techno huffed, rolling his eyes good-naturedly, "leave the old man to his planning, got it."

Phil snorted, pushing his chair back as he stood up. "Now you listen here, you little shit-"

The sound of tapping on glass distracted them from the discussion, attracting their attention to the kitchen window. There, perched on the windowsill, stood one of Phil's crows, holding something in its beak.

After exchanging a curious glance with Techno, the older went to retrieve the bird, opening the window enough to let it hop in. Giving the crow a few pats on the head, he reached for the object, raising an eyebrow when he realized it was, in fact, a folded piece of paper. 

Intrigued, Techno watched as Phil opened the message, his eyes quickly scanning the paper before widening slightly in alarm. Well, that wasn't good.

"Mate, I think you might want to take a look at this," Phil called, urgency obvious in his voice and that really, really wasn't good.

Techno sighed, slipping the bookmark back in his book before standing up. Guess he could say goodbye to his plans for a chill afternoon.

Hello, Technoblade,

heard you guys took in a little stray -should have known, traitors tend to stick together, don't they? Well, jokes on you, I've got him now. Get to the coordinates listed at the bottom of this note, alone and unarmed, before sundown, or Ranboo gets it. An eye for an eye, that's how the saying goes, right?

See you soon,

Q

+++

Techno had been already halfway out of the house the second he finished reading the note, Phil hot on his heels.

"I'm not letting you go alone," the older stated, already reaching for his coat.

"Well, you'll have to," Techno countered.

"You can't go in without backup, especially unarmed and not knowing what to expect!"

"Oh trust me, I'll be anything but unarmed," Techno huffed, letting the axe Ranboo had gifted him slide in his inventory. "I can use the element of surprise, I'll be fine. But the second Quackity sees you, Ranboo is going to be in hot shit, and we don't even know where he's keeping him."

Phil glared, his lips pursed in a displeased frown before sighing in defeat. "That doesn't mean I have to like it."

Techno sent him an apologetic glance, quickly fastening his coat on before stepping down the porch.

"I'll keep my communicator on the whole time," he promised, walking towards the stasis chamber and reaching for one of his ender pearls, "I'll get there, grab Ranboo, kill Quackity if I can and the second I text you you're gonna teleport us back."

"Sounds like a plan," Philza sighed. "Be careful, okay mate?"

"When am I ever not?" Techno smirked. "we'll be back before you know it, old man."

"Fuck off and go save our neighbor, you ass!"

Techno cackled, shaking his head as he set off towards the Nether portal.

Save Ranboo!

Protectiveblade

Blood for the blood god

Techno shook his head, pushing the voices back as he forced himself to keep a clear head. He was pissed, sure, but he knew men like Quackity -he'd met a lot of them in his life, and all of them had fallen under his sword. He would be no different.

The Nether travel didn't take that long, and after that, all he had to do was follow his compass towards the coordinates he'd been given. Techno found himself feeling glad the place wasn't all too far away, seeing how the sun had just started dipping below the horizon when he finally stepped out of the forest.

"Man, look who is here, our guest of honor!" Quackity exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear as he turned to look at him. "Technoblade, how nice of you to join us, I was starting to think you wouldn't come, after all."

Distantly, Techno could hear the ocean waves crashing against the rocks under them, the occasional droplets of water reaching the top of the cliff they were currently on. Quackity was standing just near the edge, gusts of wind ruffling the feathers of his duck wings and trying to slip the beanie off his head -all it would take was a misstep, a small push, and he would plummet towards the unforgiving water below.

But what actually got the piglin's attention was the small structure he could see just behind the man, a small, locked cage rigged with redstone dangling well over the edge and above the crashing waves. And just inside of it, slumped against the metal bars, laid an unconscious Ranboo, left with no armor on but his clothes.

"What did you do to him," he demanded, not even bothering to tear his gaze away from the cage that reminded him too much of the day the butcher army had come for him.

"Ah, watch your tone, Blade," Quackity tutted, a smirk evident in his voice, "all I need is pull this lever, and the kid falls down into the ocean. I heard he doesn't do well in water without his armor… we wouldn't want that, would we?"

Techno snapped his head towards Quackity, baring his tusks in a silent threat.

"I'm here, I followed your stupid directions," he growled, barely able to keep himself from cutting Quackity's head clean off like the voices wanted him to, "now let Ranboo go."

The duck hybrid tilted his head to the side, feigning confusion. "And why would I do that, Technoblade? He's a traitor, he needs to be punished as one."

"A traitor to what?!" Techno asked, bewildered. "L'Manburg is gone, Quackity!"

"And whose fault is that?!" Quackity shouted. "Uh? Remind me, oh great Technoblade, who here razed an entire country to the ground not once, but fucking twice? Please, enlighten me!"

"Government corrupts," Techno answered, his voice low and dangerous, "L'Manburg was rotten to its core, look at what it did to you, to Tubbo, to Tommy! It needed to go."

Quackity laughed, throwing his head back as the wind kept howling around them.

"Oh, yeah?" he grinned, throwing his arms open. "Well, that's my old home you're talking about. And if it was rotten, well, then so am I."

Before Techno could even react, Quackity reached to his side, wrapping his hand around the lever connected to the redstone of the cage. And then, still grinning from ear to ear, he pulled.

"Ranboo!" Techno shouted, watching helplessly as the kid plummeted down towards the ocean water. Quackity's laughter mixed with the howling wind, crazed and high-pitched and making Techno's blood boil.

Ruby red eyes settled on the laughing man, filling with bloodlust as the familiar weight of an axe appeared in his hand.

The voices were growing louder by the second, feeding on his fury and chanting for blood. And this time, Technoblade didn't bother holding them back.

+++

Ranboo woke up to muffled voices, yelling from somewhere in front of him. He didn't know what was happening, or where he was -the voices were somewhat familiar, yes, but he couldn't place them for the life of him and as it was, he could barely even catch a word every four, with how loud the wind was.

Normally, something like this wouldn't have failed to send him spiraling into a panic -he hated not knowing, not being aware of his own surroundings or how he got there in the first place. But his brain felt fuzzy, off-kilter, the only thing he could focus on being the dull throbbing coming from the back of his head. Ender, it hurt.

Fighting down a small whine, Ranboo pried his eyes open, pushing against the sluggishness to try and at least make some sense out of the situation he'd found himself in. His vision was fuzzy, but he could somewhat make out two figures standing somewhere in front of him.

One was standing with his back on him, decked in the familiar iridescent purple of an enchanted netherite armor. The other was a little farther away, enough so that to Ranboo, they looked like nothing more than a blurred blob of amassed colors. Pink was very prominent, followed by something red flowing on their back -they felt familiar, safe, causing Ranboo to relax almost on instinct.

"Technoblade...?" he slurred, confused. What was Techno doing there? They weren't in the Antarctic, there was no snow around them.

Before he could properly think of a reason, however, Ranboo felt the floor suddenly disappear from under him, fear shooting up his spine as he started plummeting down into the abyss. He didn't even have the time to make a sound before something dark and cold enveloped him, shocking him awake as he got twirled and smacked around.

A few seconds of shocked bliss passed, and then everything started burning.

It felt like he'd fallen in a pit of fire, the flames licking at every ounce of his skin as if trying to melt it directly off his body. Ranboo opened his mouth, trying to scream as the pain overwhelmed him in the worst way possible, only for something to fill his mouth and throat, choking him and only strengthening his growing panic.

He was going to die. He was going to die, alone in this darkness, he needed to get out, out, out-

Ranboo crashed on the hard, unforgiving ground, coughing harshly as water rushed out of his airways. Cold, frigid air hit his skin, soothing the burns and making the pain a little more bearable. He could breathe. He could breathe.

Ranboo slumped to the floor, staring up at the ceiling as he tried to get his racing heartbeat under control. He had to fight even just to keep his eyes open, exhaustion weighing him down until he could barely move his head, let alone think about standing up.

A white, furry snout filled his vision, curiously sniffing at his face. Ranboo blinked, a startled sound escaping his lips. The dog blinked back, tilting its head to the side.

"What…?" he whispered, wincing at how hoarse his voice came out. Ender, his throat hurt.

Another snout appeared above his head. And then another, and another, the sound of barking finally reaching his ears. Where- where was he, exactly?

Before he could try and come up with an answer, Ranboo heard the sound of a door opening, followed by a sharp gasp and hurried footsteps.

"Ranboo?"

The hybrid squinted in confusion, immediately recognizing the voice.

"Phil?"

+++

No matter what tricks he might have had up his sleeve, Quackity couldn't stand a chance against an angry, vengeful Technoblade. It took him barely minutes to sink his axe through the other's neck, slicing his head clean off and sending it rolling on the ground under their feet. Techno barely watched as the lifeless body slumped down, ignoring his communicator vibrating with the death message as he raced to the cliff. He knew, he knew there was no way Ranboo had survived a fall like that, but he had to check, had to make sure. 

Crashing waves and wet, glistening rocks were the only things staring back, destroying whatever hope he might have had. Someone more impulsive would have jumped off, in a desperate hope to find the kid still struggling against the current, but Techno knew better.

The ocean was unforgiving, and for someone like Ranboo, even more so.

He sighed, stepping back from the edge and turning around. Quackity's body wasn't there anymore, having disappeared as the respawn mechanics worked their magic -if the man was smart, he wouldn't dare bother Techno again, not unless he wanted to lose his last life and find out how permadeath felt like.

In theory, Techno knew that Ranboo's death wasn't permanent. The kid still had all of his lives, at least before this, and the SMP would bring him back soon enough. Respawning sucked, though -it left you aching and in pain for days on end as your body stitched itself back together after whatever trauma had taken away one of your lives. It was a painful process, gruesome at times, and one Techno wished Ranboo didn't have to go through.

Especially not when it was his fault.

Ignoring the guilt pooling heavily in his gut, Technoblade reached for his communicator, intending to text Phil to bring him back. As it turned out, however, his friend had beat him to it, blowing up his notifications with hurried messages. Guilt now replaced with worry, Techno tapped the screen, reading through the chat.

[Philza] Techno

[Philza] Techno what the fuck

[Philza] Ranboo is here, he's in the dog pen

[Philza] Jesus christ he's covered in burns what the fuck happened

[Philza] Technoblade you better answer your fucking communicator right now or so help me god I will fly there, find you, and drag your ass home myself

[Philza] I saw the kill message where the fuck are you

Techno blinked, staring at the messages with wide eyes. What?

[Philza] Techno, I know you're reading these, answer me right now

[Technoblade] im omw

+++

When Techno slammed the door of his cabin open, he didn't know what he was expecting. A dead body in the middle of respawning, maybe, with Phil watching over it like a silent guardian angel.

He certainly wasn't expecting to walk in on Phil wrapping gauze around what looked like the entirety of Ranboo's body, the bandages visible for the world to see with the simple shirt and pants the kid was now wearing.

Techno barely spared a glance to the pile of soaked clothes lying on his floor, raking his eyes over the enderman hybrid as he tried to work the surprise out of his system. Fine is the farthest adjective the piglin would use to describe Ranboo right at that moment, seeing how his entire body was covered in gauze and he was holding a pack of ice to the back of his head, but he was alive and breathing and for once in his life, Techno had no fucking clue about how that was possible.

"Fucking hell, kid," he groaned, letting his cloak fall to the floor as he trudged inside the house. "You'll give me a heart attack, one of these days."

Ranboo winced as Technoblade slumped on the couch, still a little dazed from the hit to his head.

"Sorry," he muttered, breaking into a coughing fit immediately after.

"Don't force your throat, mate, you gotta let it rest," Phil scolded gently, sending Techno a small glare. "We're just glad you're okay -or, well, as okay as you can be right now."

Ranboo hesitantly looked up, looking at Philza and then at Techno. The piglin nodded in silent agreement and watched as the kid seemed to slump on himself in relief, the tension leaving his body at once. Was it really that surprising, that they'd grown to care for him enough to be worried about his well-being?

The two men exchanged a worried glance, silent words passing between them. Then, Phil nodded to himself, tying up the last of the gauze around Ranboo's forearm before heading to the kitchen.

"How do you guys feel about some tea?" he asked, pulling down a kettle and three mugs. "I'd say we could all do with something warm right now."

Techno made a noise of affirmation, watching with amusement as Ranboo snorted and nodded in agreement.

Maybe things weren't okay just yet, but this? This was a start.

[marshmurmurs]

The role swap au is so cool!! 2 questions if you don’t mind? How would more recent events play out, would they be totally different than how Tommy escaped? What would Techno think? And also: would you mind if someone wrote a fic on this?

I’m glad you you like it! And I’d definitely be cool with someone writing a fic. Anybody who makes any kind of content for any of my aus is immediately added to the list of people I would kill for.

One of the major differences in this au comes from @pegasister60​. She’s been hitting me hard with the Purpled propaganda and I am here for it so now that is everyone else’s problem.

At some point Dream decided to let Tubbo have a visitor. Up until then he had been playing heavily into the isolation to get Tubbo to doubt his friendship with the people of L’manberg. He told Tubbo that they all knew where he was in case they wanted to visit but the only people who knew were Dream and Ghostbur. And Dream made sure to make it clear to Ghostbur that he wasn’t supposed to tell anyone where they were, it was their little secret. Dream brought Purpled to where Tubbo had built his new home. Since Purpled tended to stay neutral and even had conflicts with some of L’manberg’s government, Dream was sure he wouldn’t interfere with any of his plans. He made sure to warn him not to bring up L’manberg though, claiming it would upset Tubbo.

Dream didn’t notice when Tubbo slipped a book into Purpled’s hands. Neither did he notice Purpled hiding it away. As far as Dream was aware, the iron ingots Tubbo gave Purpled were payment for helping automate one of his farms. When Tubbo asked if Purpled would visit again, Purpled promised he would. Dream didn’t realize he just let Tubbo establish a means of contact with L’manberg.

Dream started to catch on to something happening when he noticed Tommy becoming more bold again. Then he started to notice it was rather suspicious that Tubbo kept trying to get leather and ink. They shifted to leaving no physical evidence of the communications, having Purpled remember and repeat the messages sent between Tubbo and L’manberg.

Dream doubled down on the isolation thing. He told Purpled to stop visiting, claiming things were too dangerous in L’manberg and he didn’t want anyone following him and dragging Tubbo into things. Purpled knew he was lying, but couldn’t say anything without revealing that he had been delivering messages between Tubbo and L’manberg, so he agreed to stop visiting on one condition: Dream had to let Purpled leave Tubbo a gift. He agreed. The gift was a bee named Yellowed. He liked the flowers native to L’manberg and could remember the way there and get back. Yellowed continued the delivery service when Purpled no longer could.

Dream intercepted one of Yellowed’s deliveries and realized what Tubbo and Purpled had been doing behind his back the entire time. Underestimating Tubbo had been a mistake. So he went for where it hurt. Neither side saw Yellowed again. L’manberg believed Tubbo just hadn’t had anything to say. Dream had noticed the tracker Yellowed had and hid it with Tubbo. Even Purpled was led to believe that Tubbo had Yellowed with him. Tubbo worried as more and more time passed and Yellowed never returned. He even asked Dream, who said he hadn’t seen the bee around there but offered to help look for how he could’ve gotten out. The explanation that made the most sense was that Yellowed was still at L’manberg and his friends hadn’t yet sent him back with a message. But why wouldn’t they? They promised they’d always send the bee back within a day. It hadn’t even been raining, Yellowed should have been back. Unless they stopped caring. Unless they’ve abandoned him. But surely they wouldn’t. But time continued to pass and the only news he heard of L’manberg was from Dream himself and he couldn’t help but think that might have been what happened.

Dream’s manipulations started hitting him harder after he’d had that bit of connection torn away from him. And with Dream no longer holding back — Did you have fun with Phil when he came over? Oh, he didn’t? Weird, I could’ve sworn he would. I saw him giving Tommy some sort of special emerald, I thought it was a family thing since Ghostbur and Techno also have one. Maybe not if he hasn’t come here. Phil would come out all this way for family. I’m sure he remembers how to get here, or he could just ask Ghostbur or Tommy, he probably still has that compass thing.— it eventually became too much. Tubbo went to the enderchest Dream had given him on the first day of the exile. If Tommy didn’t care about him, about the disk he had, then surely he wouldn’t care if he just... Dream grinned when Tubbo pulled out the disk, thinking he won. But then Tubbo put down a bucket of lava and dropped the disk into it.

Dream was *fuming* he put all his time and effort into this plan all for Tubbo to just ruin everything. He started placing down tnt and Tubbo couldn’t do anything to stop him. He froze up, he looked at the tnt and he was back in the box on stage, Techno’s rocket launcher pointed at his face, he was back in L’manberg as Wilbur pressed the button and everything they’d been fighting for was destroyed around him.

Yellowed’s tracker and the lodestone were both destroyed in the explosion. Both Purpled and Tommy realized something was wrong and immediately left to check. Tommy traveled as fast as he could, but it was nowhere near as fast as a horse on a speed pot could go. He also hadn’t traveled the path enough to have memorized the quickest way to go. Purpled got there and found a crater in place of everything Tubbo had built. He found Tubbo in the crater, injured and dangerously close to some lava, but alive. Purpled threw down an enderchest and quickly began helping Tubbo. Once Tubbo was healed enough for it to be safe for him to be transported by horse, Purpled got him out of there. He didn’t want to be around if Dream decided to come back.

When Tommy got there he looked at the ruins and could only assume Dream had killed Tubbo. He wanted revenge. He’d held off on going after Dream before because Phil had let him know their plan was incredibly stupid — Techno’s in retirement, leave him out of it. Besides, you know how he is about government, if you somehow manage to drag him into this and side with you, you know he’s just going to turn around and get rid of you next. — when Tommy had told him about it in hopes of Phil to help him convince Techno to join them. But Tommy didn’t care anymore. The peace Tubbo wanted for their nation was no longer an option, maybe it never was. Dream had gone too far and Tommy wasn’t going to let him get away with it, even if it cost him his last life.

Purpled took Tubbo to a nearby village. He needed to bring his friend somewhere safe and L’manberg simply wasn’t. A village in the middle of nowhere that nobody knew about was. Or so he thought. Someone did know about the village and that someone happened to visit for some trades while they were there. Needless to say Techno was very confused when he entered a house looking to trade with some villagers and instead found two children hiding inside.

Techno hadn’t really been paying attention to L’manberg after he decided to retire. All he really knew about the situation was that Vice President had been exiled. So when he saw that Vice President hiding out in the village in the middle of nowhere, he was a bit smug. Reasonably so, he’d say. “How’s that government thing working out for you?” He asked. But then Tubbo flinched away and Purpled was shooting him a glare that promised he would stop at nothing to slay him if he made any wrong move. Techno decided he wouldn’t test that out, he was retired anyway. But something was clearly wrong. Normally at a clear challenge like this his voices would demand blood for the blood god. Instead they were screaming at him in panic and worry, the one thing consistent amongst the voices being their desire to keep Tubbo safe. Techno left the two in the building, hoping getting away from them would get the voices to calm. He knew though, when they got like that they wouldn’t stop until they got what they wanted. He needed to get Phil, he would know what to do.

Sorry for the late response I am not good at words <3

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

The Legacy of Alfie Solomons

Summary: Alfie Solomons, grandson of the late, famous gangster has arrived to visit his grandmother, Louise. 

//the anniversary of when I finished Burned on AO3 was last week and I just wanted to revisit Louise and Alfie because I can’t seem to let go of them. Hope you all enjoy!

            It meant something to Louise that she was there for her daughter-in-law. When she had given birth, she didn’t have the comfort of her mother. It was heartwarming to know that Ruby was well taken care of. In fact, she may have been OVER-taken care of. 

            Not including the midwife, there were five women in the room. Ada, Polly, Louise, Ruby, and Charlie’s fiancée who was studying to be a nurse. And it was about as chaotic as it could be. The poor midwife was sidelined as Polly took control of the birth. 

            Ruby was in immense pain and her relatives crowding around her weren’t doing her any good. But she didn’t have the heart or the energy to yell at them. She was too busy screaming to high heavens. She cursed men, cursed their cocks, cursed childbirth, and cursed God. She would’ve continued the list but then finally, she gave birth to her son.

            Alfred Thomas Solomons

             He would grow up to be a very well-educated young man. Quieter than most, he took solace in books and was often soft-spoken as well as shy. But he knew the type of family he came from. The grandson of gangsters who made the family’s fortune through criminal manners. He saw the portraits of his grandfathers. Ones painted of them in their prime in the 20’s and 30’s. Men with calculating stares, intimidating statures, and not to mention power. But his parents and his grandmothers told him stories that looked beyond the men in the portraits. The men who raised their families, who loved their wives, and cared for their kids.

            He grew up to know his Grandad Tommy and heard stories from him. Tommy didn’t spare details either. But he never met Alfie, so he had to rely on his father and grandmother for stories about him.

             “Nan?” Alfie knocked on the door and stamped his feet on the mat to stave away the cold. Winter in Margate was never enjoyable. The high winds on the sea only made everything feel colder than it was. But the young man always made it his job to check on his aging grandmother when his parents weren’t able to. 

            Louise always called Teddy or Ruby without fail. But her mind was slowly going so they felt it was important to keep an eye on her. 

            Alfie used his copy of the key to open the door and head inside. “Nan, you home?” 

            “Oh, Alfie, love come in from the cold!” Louise called from the parlor. “I just let Cyril out and it was unbearable!” 

            The mastiff came padding out of the parlor to greet the young man. But his name wasn’t Cyril. It was Hercules. 

            Alfie frowned at the inconsistency. “You well?” He asked as he removed his coat, hat, and scarf. 

            “You’re asking if I’m well, you’ve only been down the street to the shops. Hasn’t been more than an hour.” Louise chuckled. 

            Alfie hadn’t been to the shops. In fact, he had been in Paris studying. He hadn’t seen his grandmother in more than a month. “What’re you on about?” He smiled and figured she was toying with him. 

            “It’s Sabbath, I didn’t expect you to even go.” 

            Sabbath? Even though they weren’t orthodox, the Solomons family kept a few Jewish traditions. But Alfie hadn’t ever observed Sabbath as his grandfather might have. 

            Besides, Sabbath was on Saturday. It was Tuesday. 

            “Nan, what are you talking ‘bout?” Alfie stepped into the parlor and Louise glanced up at him. A look of confusion crossed her face as she took in his appearance. The tall man only had his grandfather’s messy brown hair. He’d acquired the famous Shelby blue eyes and their slender build. 

            “Alfie…” Her voice was frail and distant. 

            “Nan, it’s-it’s me.” Alfie touched his scruffy cheek. “Know I haven’t shaven in a few days but-”

            “But Alfie was…” She clutched her hand to the shawl around her neck. “I don’t understand.” 

            “Nan, it’s me, it’s Alfie, your grandson.” Heavily concerned he approached her and knelt down. “I said I was coming to visit when I came back from Paris.” 

            Realization slowly came across Louise’s face. “Oh. Alfie.” Her words were disjointed as she tried to piece together her reality. She had been so certain her husband was just coming home from the shop. “Yes, of course. I-I remember.” 

            “Are you feeling alright?” He touched her knee. 

            Louise forced a smile even though there were tears in her eyes. “Yes, yes of course I am.” She smoothed down Alfie’s unruly hair. “Look at you.” She sighed. “You look so much like your father. And he looked-”

            “Just like grandad, yeah.” Alfie smiled. “You’ve told me, nan.” 

            “What stories have I told you about him?” She wondered.

            “Probably all of them.” He chuckled softly.

            “Oh yes, I thought so.”

            Alfie noticed the light in her eyes start to fade. He cleared his throat and went to sit beside her. “But you could tell them to me again. If you’d like.”

            Louise smiled, the glow in her face returning. “We were married in Surrey at Inglewood. It was a lovely affair. But we had our honeymoon in Paris.”

            Her grandson winced. “Do I want to hear about your honeymoon, nan?” He laughed.

            “Oh stop.” She shook her head and rapped his knuckles with her frail hand. “We went to the Eiffel Tower on our third day in Paris.”

 ~~~~

            “These things safe?” Alfie looked skeptically at the elevator as it ascended up the Tower. They were waiting in line to board so they could be brought up to one of the higher floors.

            “I’m sure they are. Why wouldn’t they be?” Louise linked arms with her new husband.

            “Dunno.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Should just take the stairs, that would be safer.”

            “Five steps in and you’d be complaining about your hip.” She predicted with a knowing look. “It would take us all night to get to the top.”

            “Well.” He sighed because she knew she was right. “Right, fine.”

~~~~~           

            “Granddad was scared of an elevator?” Alfie chuckled. He’d been up the Eiffel Tower before and didn’t fear it much. In fact, it was thrilling. “How was he when you got to the top?”

            Louise smiled. “He wasn’t too keen to go to the edge at first.”

 ~~~~~

            “Alfie come see, it’s beautiful!” Louise tried to coax her husband over but he was remaining in the inner part of the top floor.

            “Yeah, love, can see from here.” He looked nervous that she was right against the railing. “You should see the view from over here, it’s magnificent, innit? Much safer.”

            She sighed and walked over to take his hand. “You’re not going to fall off.” She gently pulled him closer to the railing.

            Alfie hoped his palm wasn’t sweating as he followed her. But he trusted Louise and he wanted to show that. “It is quite the fucking view.” He admitted.

            Louise smiled and leaned into his side, “Told you.”

            “Well, I’ve heard that wives are usually right ‘bout everything. So, I ought to keep that in mind now that we’re married.”

 ~~~~~~ 

            “I don’t think you were always right.” Alfie looked amused. Since he was younger, he’d heard stories about his grandfather being one of the most fearsome gang leaders in London in the Twenties. He was almost a mythical figure to him. Someone who was cutthroat but had a gentle side. That had to be the case otherwise Alfie was sure he wouldn’t be there.

            “Well, when I was wrong, I could admit it. Your grandfather didn’t know when to admit he was wrong.”

            “What about Grandad Tom?” He wondered. “Did they get along?”

            Louise sighed with a smile and a head shake. “Not very often. Sometimes I think they liked to argue just for the fun of it. There was one time though, now I wasn’t there. But Alfie told me about it afterward.”

~~~~~~            

            “Tommy.” Alfie greeted.

            When the Brummie turned around, he was surprised to see Alfie’s young son standing beside him.

            Teddy was holding hands with his father, looking around the elegant office with wide eyes.

            Never before had Alfie brought his son along with him on a business meeting. It seemed like standard practice with the type of meetings they had.

            “Alfie. Teddy, good to see you, lad. Getting big, aye?” Tommy certainly didn’t want to scare the young boy.

            Teddy shyly smiled and pressed his face into Alfie’s coat.

            “Go on, say hi to Mr. Shelby, Ted.” Alfie squeezed his little hand to prompt him.

            “Hi.” The four-year-old murmured in a soft voice.

            “Sorry, mate, Louise’s been sick all week. Got a fever ‘n everything. I wanted to give her a break from the little rascal.” Alfie explained.

            “S’alright. My secretary can watch him.” Tommy offered.

            But Alfie didn’t seem convinced. If Lizzie was still working at the company than he might’ve agreed, but he didn’t trust his son around anyone he didn’t know. “Nah, he’ll stay with me. He’s a quiet kid, won’t bother us.”

            “Fair enough.”

~~~~~~~~ 

            “To think that would be his son-in-law one day.” Louise laughed softly.

            “What do you think Grandad would say if he knew mum and dad got married?” Alfie wondered. “Think he’d put up a fuss?”

            “Oh, I often wondered that, especially around the wedding.” His grandmother nodded. “And when you were born as well.

It was such an event. Your grandad Tommy was so proud. You were his first grandchild after all.”

            Alfie smiled. “Yeah, I know.” He had four younger siblings. His three sisters, Elizabeth, Sarah, and Beatrice. Then, his youngest sibling, his brother, Thomas. Charlie had three children, all girls, Ruby’s, and Teddy’s nieces.

            “But your grandad retired when your father was born. He was such a family man. I’m sure he would adore you no matter who your parents were.” Louise gently touched Alfie’s cheek. “He would love you. He’d be so proud of you; I mean such a smart young man.”

            “He sounded like such a great man. Larger than life.” He chuckled.

            “He seemed like it. But he was very simple when you got to know him.”

~~~~~~~~ 

            “Ah, fucking hell.” Alfie cursed as he burned himself on the stove. He withdrew the challah bread, quickly putting it on the table so he could put his burn under cool water.

            “You alright?” Louise looked over from watching Teddy pull himself up using the chair in the kitchen.

            They were spending a couple of summer weeks in Margate. Teddy was only just learning to walk and was starting to rule the roost, toddling around everywhere, looking for his parents’ attention.          

            “Yeah, s’nothing serious.” He waved his hand in the air to shake off the pain.

            “Well, it smells great.” She marveled at the perfectly baked braided bread.

            Teddy cooed and held his arms up to Louise. She picked him up and held him near the counter. “Look at what daddy made. I can’t wait to try it you can have a piece too, my love.”

            “Labor of love, innit?” Alfie smiled. “Gotta let it cool first though. So, we’ve got some time to watch the sunset.”

            Louise brought Teddy outside with Alfie and Cyril. They went to sit near the bluff in their usual spot. The summer air was warm enough that they didn’t need to bundle up. But the ocean brought in a nice breeze.        

            Louise cuddled up to Alfie, letting Teddy crawl into his lap. Cyril laid down, resting his chin on Louise’s knee so she would pat her.

            “I love these moments.” Alfie murmured as he watched the sky blend into different warm colors.

            “I do too.” She agreed.

            Teddy babbled and tugged on the chain of his father’s glasses.

            “Not the life I expected, but I couldn’t imagine living out me days any differently.” He kissed Teddy’s head and then Louise’s cheek.

           ~~~~~~ 

            Louise smiled with tears in her eyes. “I miss him so much. But I’ll see him again soon, I know I will.” Her eyes glazed over as she went into deep thought.

            “I know, nan,” Alfie said softly.

            “I’ll tell him all about you.”

            His eyes went downcast, not sure what else to say. “Tell him I wish I could’ve met him.”

            “I will.” Louise gave Hercules a pat. “I have so much to tell him.  

            Permanent Tag: @papa-geralt-of-cirilla​ @giftofdreams​ @biba3434​ @kimmietea​ @karmezii​ @enrapturedbythemoon​ @vampgirl1997​ @tarafaithe​ @evelynshelby​

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[crue-sixx]

For Family

Title: For Family

Author: tiddly-winx

Fandom: The Dirt

Summary:  The reader is a hit-man for the mob.  The boys get into more trouble than they can handle.

Warnings: Swearing, descriptive violence, making a murder look like a suicide

Note: Italics mean it was in the past

It all started when you were ten years old, the sweltering heat of an Arizona summer sun was hot enough, but you being left in the car with the windows up and doors locked while your mother, Darla was trying to score more drugs for her and her moron boyfriend  Lucas.  Said moron was waiting outside the car, making sure you couldn't get out and ruin the deal was laughing at you.  Sweat was pouring down your face and you could feel yourself grow weaker every passing second. You eventually passed out, sounds of a skirmish reverberating in the back of your mind.

It was the sound of shattering glass that momentarily woke you from your heat stroke induced stupor, a big fat man with greying hair carrying you to a cool place.  "To the hospital, Henri" the man said to the driver and the smooth motion of the car eased you back into a deep sleep.  When you awoke, you were in the hospital getting fluids and the fat, aging man sitting beside you with all the love of a father in his eyes.

"Hello, Little One" he greeted in accented English  "I am Enrico Gatto.  From this day, I will be your father" he kissed your hand and you nodded in respect and accepted his hospitality with grace.  "What is your name, Little One?"

"Y/N, L/N" you answered weakly.

"No" the old man shook his head "From this day, you will be Gatto.  My daughter" you didn't argue with him even if you could.  You had heard of the Gatto crime family and what they'd do to anyone who disrespected them.  You'd much rather live by their rules than end up in a filthy, battered orphanage with the thousands of other parent-less bastards the family left in their wake.

Your eyes were getting heavy again, and when you felt the gentle caress of his hand on your forehead, he said "Rest now, when you are well again, your training begins..."

In the world of 1981 at twenty years of age you were already the most successful hit-man in the Gatto family.  Your father had ordered you to go to Los Angeles and keep an eye on his biological son there, and if he acted against the family to take him out. For the past ten years of your life, you were trained in business practices, hand-to-hand combat and all the different ways you could fuck with people's minds and lives.  Only a select few of The Old Man's men knew your real purpose there, and they reported directly to you the goings on of the son, Gino.  The only person you answered to was Don Enrico himself.

But to keep up appearances of being a shy, weak damsel in distress, you were told to dress modestly, keep your head down and your nose out of drugs, and use your former name when people asked about it.  Other than that, you could do whatever you want.  But if you ever saw a crow with a messenger pouch on its leg, you had to drop everything and do exactly as the note said, then send the bird back with a white rose petal stuffed in the pouch to tell The Old Man that the job was done.

In your spare time, you rented out a shitty apartment in a filthy building where the renters directly below you were always loud and rehearsing their rock music.  To be completely honest, you knew next to nothing about rock music at all-the only music the Old Man would allow was opera.  The first time you heard them play, you had an epiphany-you actually liked their kind and went down to ask if you could listen to them.

The drummer leaped over his drum set and ran up to you, with a big grin on his face "Fuck yeah you can!"

The bassist and guitarist looked at each other in utter annoyance, the consternation clear on their faces.  Finally the bassist said "Okay, just be quiet and sit on the couch.  You're so lucky you're cute" the guitarist just rolled his eyes.

"Fuckin' teenagers and their fuckin' hormones..." he grunted.

The singer eased his way over and sat down on the couch next to you and said "Hey, cutie!  I'm Vince what's your name?"

You internally rolled your eyes at the word "cutie", you hated pet names like that and if you ever got the chance you would teach this blonde surfer punk some manners.  "I'm Y/N, L/N.  I live right above you!" you added the most annoying valley girl giggle you could muster, to which you saw the guitarist's eye twitch in rage.

When the other three heard where you lived, they kind of looked down in mock shame.  "Sorry" the drummer said "our rehearsals and parties must be so loud it's hard to think up there..." he extended his hand and said "I'm Tommy!  Nice to meet ya!" you shook his hand firmly.

"Nikki" the bassist said, raising his hand and a weak smile.  He seemed to be warming up to you slightly.

In a barely audible voice the guitarist added "Mick" without as much as looking up.

"We're playing at the Whiskey A Go Go tonight!  You should come!" Tommy said and added "we always have parties afterward!  Come to that too!"  It was as if the tall young man was one of those 'Love at first sight' assholes.

"That sounds great!" you said in excitement "What time do you go on?"

"10:30" Nikki said, not at all perturbed at the addition of another fan. 

"Cool!" you then saw a crow with a message pouch in the window, not skipping a beat you checked your watch and said "Shit I'm going to be late for work!  See you later!"

They all waved good bye, some more enthusiastic than others.  You went back to your apartment and opened the message.  Only a single word was written on it "Gino".  You swallowed it right away,  and prepared for a fun time.   You hated that prick ever since The Old Man bought you back to his house.

You knew by now, the few men who knew of your whereabouts had their orders to subdue Gino and wait for you to get there.  They would chloroform him during breakfast and keep him drugged until nighttime. 

When he woke up, you were the first person he saw.  "You have been a bad boy, Gino" you said in a condescending tone "Prostitution and drug trafficking?  Really?"

"Hey!  I'm bringing in cash for the family!" he protested, but with great satisfaction you swing the butt of your handgun across his face, blood spurting from his nose and mouth.

"You know the Old Man's rules" you said "No hookers, no drugs and no kiddies" you cocked the gun, rolling the bullet in the chamber and placing the gun to his temple "When you get to Hell, Gino tell em Y/N sent you" and pulled the trigger.  A reddish pink cloud erupted from his skull, brain matter and bone littered the floor of the warehouse.

You were wearing latex gloves of course, and put it in Gino's dominant hand.  You then placed a typed suicide note at his feet.  When you called it into the police you stripped from your work clothes and tossed them into a burning trashcan along with the gloves.  Underneath you were wearing a tank top and Daisy Duke shorts, waking towards the Whiskey.  One of the other guys had already sent the crow back to The Old Man with the white rose petal.

You came in the middle of a song, the whole place was rocking out and you were genuinely having a good time when the song ended and Tommy saw you front and center. Apparently it was the last song of the night and he ran up and hugged you like you were old friends.  You were taken aback but you returned the gesture, saying "Sorry I was so late!  I was stuck at work!"

"What do you do that takes more than eight hours?" Mick asked suspiciously.

"I work at a nursing home as a house keeping lady" you said, having procured a name tag from Sunnyside Nursing and Retirement Home, complete with your name, picture and job title.

"That's cool, sweetheart" Vince said, another tack on your tally for utterly beating the shit out of this blonde bimbo.

"It's a job" Mick smiled softly, finally taking a liking to you.

"So let's go to that party you were talking about" you winked at them, and they all smirked with knowledge of what they were about to partake in.

When morning came, you were crashed on their couch wearing one of their shirts.  The smell of burning eggs wafted to you and made you cough.  "Who taught you how to cook?!" you shouted as you opened the widow to get the smoke out.

"Julia Child" Mick answered sarcastically, as the toast began burning as well.  "Eat, I wanna talk to you" he slowly sat down across from you.

"It's black" you said "I'm not eating that" you pushed the plate away in disgust.

"Fine" he scoffed but then got serious "Your last name, my sister married a man with that same name" your stomach dropped from its place into your feet.

"What are you getting at, dude?" you asked.

"What are you're parents names?"

You wouldn't answer him, feeling yourself getting tense "I don't like talking about them"  the one thing that got under your skin quicker than anything else was talking about HER.

Mick did his best to try and stop you physically but his physical limitations stopped him from doing more.  "I might be your uncle" he said quickly.  A million thoughts came flooding your head, clouding your judgement.  You were about to say something, but the training you received from the Old Man kicked in so you just walked out in a huff.

You still hung out with the younger members all the time but Mick kept his distance, though from his facial expression it was rather painful for him to see you.  A few weeks went by without hearing from the Old Man, but one day a crow with a message tapped on your window.  You let it in, petting it's head.  The message was some random druggie business associate of the Old Man's, who apparently didn't pay his monthly protection fee and narc'd on the Old Man.

You sighed and got his address from the note where you were also instructed to make him suffer.  But imagine your surprise when you opened the door to find some of the Old Man's fingermen with the dude right here in the apartment.  One of the Old Man's most important lessons was to never bring your work home with you.  Its like shitting where you eat.  You don't do it.

It was late on a Saturday night, the party was raging downstairs with its loud music, people so fucked up that they could barely walk so nobody would notice.  You immediately knew what was going on.  Some men loyal to Gino wanted revenge, but if you were to die today, you wouldn't go without a fight.  You reached for your handgun but shot were fired before you could even get a round off.

Bits of plaster went flying through the air, the impact making the paper thin walls crack and see into the apartments next door.  You dove behind your couch for cover, praying that it was thick enough to stop the bullets.  Sounds of people running and screaming from the whole floor flooded your hearing and you were bought back to your training-imagine an aria.  Soon you couldn't hear anything but said aria, and your focus was reached. 

Almost as if you were a robot, you pulled your gun and fired five shots, three hitting the targets and two missing.  Now that the playing field was more evenly matched, you saw that the remaining two were trying to re-load.  You took the opportunity to push forward the heel of your palm and break a nose, then you grabbed the elbow and immobilized the whole arm.  The man cursed as you performed a perfect hip throw and locked his arm in an arm bar.  With a swift jerking of your hips, you heard a sickening snap as bone went through the skin.

The other guy had re-loaded and a slug went into your hand.  You let out a scream of rage as you rolled the guy with the broken arm on top of you so he could take the bullets meant for you.  You then heard a shotgun blast and everything went quiet.  You pushed the man off you to see Nikki, Vince and Tommy in stunned silence while Mick was expertly holding the smoking shotgun.

"What the fuck..." Nikki started but you shut him up.

"Quiet asshole" you barked, all of your false sweetness now gone.  You peeked out of your window and saw three more cars with armed mobsters pull up and run into the building.

You pushed past them yelling "If you dipshits have enough sense, you'd hightail it out like I am!" you hauled ass down the back stairs and into the alley.  You knew that if they found you here, that your other hideouts were likely compromised as well.  You were about to dash to a manhole and into a sewer when someone pulled you back.  On instinct you ducked and threw the person over your back and rolled into a camel clutch, stretching the person's back beyond what is humanly possible and grasping the head.  The mixture of blonde hair and incoherent screeching of cuss words let you know it was Vince. 

You let him go and said "If you're gonna follow me then hurry up!" you easily lifted the manhole cover and slid it aside, climbing down.

Tommy grabbed your hand and pulled you up "Not without a fucking explanation!" the footsteps were getting closer, shouts of :FIND HER!" were heard.

"If you REALLY want to get blown to hell today then by all means, stay here but I have no intention of dying!  Let me go!" you roared to him.

"NO!" he yelled back, pulling you up.  You pulled a bowie knife from your belt and slashed his hand with it, he reflexively let go and you dropped into the most foul smelling liquid you'd ever inhaled.  You took a few limping steps and vomited.  You heard splashes when more people came down the ladder, and you honestly thought you were done for.

You were shocked when Nikki and Tommy hoisted you in between them and began walking.  You were soon on the very edge of town when you three emerged from the sewer, all smelling like a fucking toilet.  "We're here..." Nikki said, letting his side down and knocking on the door "Marty!  Get the iron ready!  I got a gunshot victim!"

Marty was a pimple faced teenage medical master, having graduated as a doctor at age 12.  He was also a stoner who would take people who didn't have insurance and treat them in his little shack.  He was 18 now so it was his very own home, one that his parents couldn't leech off of.  "Got it!" he helped the others bring you in and laid you down on the floor.

"Jesus what happened?!" Marty said as he was applying some ointment to your scratches you got when bullets whizzed by your head.

"Fuck if I know!" Nikki said "We were having a party when we heard her" he pointed to you "fighting with a bunch of guys then gunshots and people running" when the iron was good and hot, Marty sat you up and handed a dirty dish rag to Tommy.  The tallest young man in the room knew what he had to do, he got behind you and gagged you.

The pain of burning flesh was something you felt before as part of your training but it was always so painful.  As soon as the hot iron came down on the raw, bleeding meat of your hand, you let out a muffled scream and for the first time in years, you l"et tears fall down your face.  Tommy kissed your hair and said softly "It's okay, Y/N...only a little longer..."  when they let you up, your good hand swung out and punched Marty right in the face.  He fell back and cursed you, his eye already swelling.

Nikki turned you so he could look directly at you and said "What the ever loving fuck is going on Y/N?"

"I'm a hitman for the Gatto crime family" you told them plainly.  "The Old Man adopted me when I was ten after he killed my mother and her boyfriend" you were beyond pissed now and looking for blood.  You got up, but a jolt of pain from your legs prevented you from moving.

Nikki and Tommy pushed you back down and said "You're not going anywhere.  You need to heal up and get better before you get revenge" Marty was now icing his eye and about ready to wrap your burnt hand.

"Why are you admitting this freely?" Nikki asked.

"My fuckin' cover's been blown, my apartment's shot to shit and if I cant get in touch with the Old Man, he'll come up here and look for me.  That puts you all in danger too" you said.  "Get me the phone..."

Marty was hesitant, but after looks from the others he relented,  You called and explained the situation to the Old Man, and he promised to come get you the next morning.  He did as he promised and got you in the car, looking as disappointed as a father scolding a wayward child.  "What's the matter?" you asked, taking out a cigarette.

"You've failed me, Little One" he said as he pulled out a revolver and handed it to you.  "Take your own life to atone for your transgressions, or I will torture you when we get back to Arizona..." his voice was full of malice and you simply put the gun beside you and looked directly at him.

"You dishonor your family by refusing a direct order?" he was growing incredulous as you stared him down.

"Family? No" the driver turned around and put a bullet in Enrico's head without a word "You? You bet your ass I would"  the blood pouring out of his nose and mouth was like a fountain, staining his upholstery an ugly burgundy

"Nice shot, Uncle Mick" you smirked as you admired his handiwork.

"That's Pumpkin" he replied.  "You get your love of firearms from your mother's side of the family" you laughed at that.  You knew when you talked to the Old Man on the phone the day before, from the sound of shock in his voice that he was the ones who sent those men to kill you, not people avenging Gino. 

The others met up with them back at the apartment and you apologized for playing them like cheap banjos, to Vince and Tommy for injuring them.  "So how did you change drivers without the Old Man noticing?" you asked them.

Nikki chuckled "I've got some buddies in the mob too.  I called in a few favors people owe me" that was all that he'd say about the subject and you knew better than to ask.

You turned to Mick and said "It seem like we have A LOT of catching up to do..." you decided that you'd let him in your life if he wanted it.

"That we do Pumpkin" he smiled warmly "That we do"

[chameleon-of-the-fandom]

Brothers In Arms: Pt. 1

Words: 1833

(Part 2)

Rick looks at TC. Something in his gut is telling him to check in on Thomas.  He pulls out his cell phone and dials the man's phone number. He listens to it ring once before going straight to voicemail. Not again. He waves at TC to grab the man's attention. As TC heads his way, Rick dials Juliet's number. "This is Juliet Higgins."

"Higgy, it's Rick. Hey, is Magnum there?"

"No, I haven't seen him since he left last night."

"If you do see him, call me please?" "Of course, is everything alright?" Concern drips in her voice.

"Not sure. Thanks." He hangs up and looks at TC.

"Yo, everything alright?" The taller man asks his friend.

"I don't think so. My gut is saying we need to find Tommy. But he hasn't been to the Nest since he left last night."

"Where would Magnum have gone?"

 The boat rocks back and forth, and while that would normally calm him down, it drives the fear deeper into Magnum's heart. The tape on his mouth is sticky, and he can taste the blood in his mouth from when the man in the green shirt punched him for being mouthy. The ties on his wrists aren't quite cutting off his blood circulation, but he's definitely not getting out of them any time soon. His tan Hawaiian shirt is stuck to his skin from the blood that is dried on it. The one thing that does bring Magnum some relief is the fact that his feet aren't tied together. He wonders, not for the first time since they've started this trip, where these three men are taking him. Finally, the boat begins to slow down. He looks around and realizes there isn't any land in sight. One of the men walks down to the lower deck and starts lowering the ladder into the water. Thankfully, it isn't the man who punched Magnum earlier. However, it does bring a sense of deja-vu, and Magnum wonders what he was brought along on this little trip for.

 TC's phone rings. "Katsumoto?" He questions in lieu of a greeting.

"TC. Glad I caught you. Hey, have you seen Magnum recently?"

"No, but Rick and I have been trying to track him down all morning. Why?" TC suddenly gets a terrible feeling.

"His car is currently being processed by CSU." "What?"

"A patrol car was driving down Kapaa Quarry Road, and they found his vehicle on the side of the road, door wide open. When they stopped to see what was going on, there was blood in the vehicle."

Shit. "Okay. What do you want us to do?"

"Make a list of Magnum's enemies. We need to figure who could've done this."

"Yeah, but like we said last time he went missing, he's a private investigator. He makes a lot of enemies. But... Do you find it strange that, so far, the only difference between this time and last, is who found the car?"

"Yeah. But we will follow every lead we get. Okay? Don't be like Magnum. HPD has this covered."

TC nods before remembering Katsumoto couldn't see him, "Alright." As he hangs up, TC looks over at Rick. Fear for his brother rages in his eyes. "A patrol car found TM's car earlier. CSU is processing."

"Okay. So, Katsumoto wants us to create a list of his enemies?"

"Rick." TC calls the man's name to gain his attention. Rick spins around to look at the taller man. "There was blood in the car."

 Juliet watches from her desk as Rick and TC pull onto the estate in the direction of the guesthouse. Curiosity rings through her. She wonders why they are here, at Magnum's residence, when they called earlier looking for him. She glances around for Zeus and Apollo and spots them lying at the door, ears perked from hearing TC's van rumbling in the driveway.

"Come along, lads." She calls to the canines, who jump up and trot to her side. Juliet heads for the men who, on any other day, would be visiting their brother, but seem to have a different agenda on their mind today. She watches TC and Rick both dig out their cell phones from their pockets.

"Hello, gents. Fancy seeing you here." She raises an eyebrow in question.

"Higgy!" Rick greets. "We're just here to visit Magnum." Jules watches the silent man behind Rick minutely flinch. If she hadn't been looking for it, she would've completely missed it.

"Oh. But you called earlier, and he still isn't back. Is there something else going on?" She knows Rick is lying to her but wants to see if he'll confess.

"That's a bummer, man." Rick turns to TC. "Should we wait for him?"

"You know what? I think we should." TC joins in the game.

"You didn't answer the question, gentlemen." It's a game Juliet no longer wants to play.

"What question was that? I didn't hear a question." Rick states, face drawn. "Is there something going on?" Juliet knows her annoyance is on her face. She's never had to hide her true feelings for these boys so far, and she wasn't about to start.

Rick relents. "Katsumoto called TC a bit ago. The Ferrari was found out on Kapaa Quarry Road. HPD found blood inside." His voice was grim delivering the news and the fear between the three for their injured friend was nearly palpable.

"What can I do to assist?"

A look passed between the two men that Higgins didn't want to even try to decipher before TC answered. "You can help us create a list of enemies. Again." His last word passed as a sigh. For being a PI, and former military, their friend sure did get into a lot of binds.

"Of course." She released the dogs to wander the property before joining the men in their trip to the guesthouse.

 Magnum swims, handcuffed to the man in the green shirt, hoping for a chance to attempt what, so far, has been impossible.

Green shirt yanks on the link connecting them, "Hurry up."

"I'm going, but these ribs are killer." Magnum can't help but sass.

"Maybe Mr. SEAL should've thought about that before mouthing off earlier." Black shirt speaks up from behind Magnum. Thomas nearly stops at the mention of his last occupation. Only his training keeps him from physically displaying the shock.

"Woah... He actually speaks." Magnum figures they won't do anything while in the water, especially with him handcuffed to one.

"Get moving." The one up front, Buzz Cut, calls. And this finally shuts Magnum up, because the tone offers no argument. As much as he wants to stop and tread for a moment, Magnum kicks one foot then another, through the twinge in his ribs. The saltwater definitely doesn't help the pain from the cuts.

 A few hours later, the three have a list that was quite long. Rick volunteers to call Katsumoto with the list and for any other information.  

Ring. Ring.

"This is Detective Katsumoto."

"Detective, this is Rick Wright. I have that list for you about Magnum's case."

"As much as I appreciate that, I am no longer leading detective on that case."

"Okay. Who is?" Rick's curiosity is piqued.

"Five-O. As soon as they got wind of it. It was snatched off my desk onto theirs."

"Thanks Katsumoto."

The line goes dead and Higgins questions, "Why would Five-O want this case? It's not high-profile or political."

A look of comprehension passes over TC's face. "Is Commander McGarrett still in charge of the taskforce?" "I believe so, why?" "Oh boy." Rick drags the words out. "Commander McGarrett and Magnum are good friends. Suffice to say, they saved each other's asses a few times."

TC shoots Rick a humorous look, "A few times?"

"Okay.... a lot. Even Nuzo got a kick out of how many times they've rescued each other. Both are troublemakers beyond belief." TC makes a sound of agreement.

"Okay. So McGarrett finds out Magnum's in trouble and wants to help?" "Let's just say McGarrett feels he owes Magnum a few favors. And Magnum insists he doesn't." Rick leans over to TC, "I'm not even sure who owes who at this point."

"I think they're about even." TC murmurs back. Juliet raises her eyebrows in shock.

 Steve looks at his partner. "Steve. I love you brother, but why did we just grab a case? Not to be heartless, but it just seems like a kidnapping. HPD deals with this all time. "

"Look at the name, man." "A P.I. named Thomas Magnum. I'm still failing to make the connection."

"He was a SEAL."

"And this is some sort of brotherhood thing? Sorry brother, there needs to be more explanation." Danny reads the rest of the case information. "I was going to, but you interrupted. He is a friend. We saved each other's asses more times than I could count."

"Gotcha. What else do we know?" Out of respect for the missing man's sacrifice, Danno jumps into detective mode.

"His friends are creating a list of enemies..."

"Which he is bound to have a long one, seeing that he's a private investigator."

"Yeah. He's also the security consultant for Robin Masters."

"The Robin Masters? As in White Knight?"

"Yeah, that's him." Steve was almost surprised at Danno's knowledge of the famous author.

"Okay. So, we know he was taken, probably by force, based on the blood. What about ransom calls? And why not take the car?" Danny fires off the questions as he thinks of them.

 Rick's phone rings as Juliet finally sits on Magnum's couch. He puts it on speaker after answering. "Hello?"

"Rick Wright, this is Steve McGarrett with Five-O. I am currently standing at the gate with my partner, Danny Williams. Would you mind letting us in so we can chat?"

"McGarrett, it's good to hear from you... Maybe not under these specific circumstances, but we're glad you made it out, man." TC speaks up.

"Of course, we'll let you in." Rick gives the two men the code for the gate and then waits in anxious silence for them to enter Magnum's residence.

Knock, knock. "It's McGarrett." Steve calls out as he and Danny enter the home, not wanting to surprise the two former soldiers inside. "Rick, TC. Man, you guys are looking good."

"Just out of curiosity," TC smirked, "what is it with SEALs retiring into law enforcement?" McGarrett laughs in response.

"They don't know how not to be insane." Danny turns to his partner with a raised eyebrow, as if daring Steve to find a valid argument. Steve holds his hands up in surrender.

"I can't argue that one." TC agrees.

"You have that list for us?" Steve finally directs the conversation. Rick nods and looks at Higgins.

"Here it is." She hands it to Steve, and her thoughts turn to Magnum. She wonders if he's okay, and if he's trying to find a way to get back to them.

 The End (for now?)

If you would like another part to this story, please let me know.: Thanks to all my followers!

[lovinlikeloki]

The Lone Wolf

Masterlist // 06

Warnings: Swearing, angst, cliffhanger

Word Count: 3.7k

As I follow Bucky down the winding halls of the Wakandan Palace it finally begins to sink in that I’m leaving. I’m saying goodbye to all of this, to this place that took me in, to these people who stayed at each other’s sides, to my sister. That’s the one that pains me the most, saying goodbye to my sister for the second time, saying goodbye to my sister for an indefinite amount of time.

“You gonna be okay?” Bucky asks, interrupting my thoughts.

“Yeah, yeah I think I will be,” I reply, unsurely.

“You’re strong kid, stronger than you think. You’ll get through this, trust me,” he assures me, and though we aren’t close I believe him.

“...Thank you, Bucky.”

And then the silence returns, but my existential thoughts don’t. We walk the halls to the team and I have a more confident expression, hell I even have a slight bounce in my step.

We reach the room where everyone is and we all begin finalising our plans, we leave tomorrow. Scott and Clint are going to their families, they’ll negotiate and fight for their right to stay with them, and hopefully now that terms are better or something, Tony will fight for them too. Natasha is adamant on going her own separate way but is nothing less than cryptic on where exactly that is. Bucky is staying here, to be cryogenically frozen until Shuri can find a way to get HYDRA out of his noggin. Wanda is going her own way as well, although she’s being more specific, saying she’ll be in eastern Europe, possible going to be near home for a bit, both hers and mine.

Sam and Steve are going to go somewhere in Europe also, keeping it strictly to countries they’ve never been and to people they’ve never met. And that leaves me, I feel almost like a traitor not only going to Tony but getting to stay in the country they all call ‘home’ when they can’t. We agree to keep in contact, at least a text every two weeks of your general area and your status. Phone calls are okay as long as you ditch the phone the second you hang up, we’re on burners for a while.

After we finish I walk over to Wanda, she smiles.

“Are you ready for this, malen’kie?” she asks.

(Smalls)

“Not quite, but what choice do I have, dríocht?” I reply.

(Magic)

“Well, volk, you better go to sleep, get some rest, we leave early tomorrow morning.”

(Wolf)

“I- Wanda, it’s like 6:30pm. How much sleep do you think I need?”

“You forget that I sleep next to you,” Wanda sighs, “I’ve seen your tossing and turning. I’ve been there when you awake. You don’t sleep much and I want you well rested.”

“Well I could just-“

“I am not having a caffeine hyper chihuahua on that jet, now go, sleep,” she interrupts me, shooing me out of the room with a smile on her face.

“Fine, fine, but I hope you’re ready for when I wake up at half three in the morning,” I warn.

“Yeah, yeah Fian, whatever you say,” she replies light heartedly and I go to our bedroom.

I get out my bag and begin packing. I fold all of my clothes as small as I can make them before putting them in my bag. I take all my accessories and add them in too, but not without admiring my iron amulet for a moment or two, and then sighing because it won’t see the light of day for another while.

I make sure my brass knuckles are still in the pocket I left them and make sure I’ve still got my money in my wallet. I’m not sure what I’ll be able to do with sterling but it’ll be worth something to someone, I figure. After I’m done with that I sit next to my bed and sigh. I guess this is it, I’m really going to bed at, I check the clock, at seven thirty-four in the evening, like a child.

I kneel at the side of my bed, my hands together on the bed, fingers interlocked and I begin to pray, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the lord my soul to keep, and if I die before I wake, I pray the lord my soul to take,” I then recite a quote from the Bible, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are out of each other’s sight.”

It’s from Genesis 31:49 and it’s one of the few passages from scripture that I have memorised. I know it because I’ve always prayed it as a way to hope that Wanda is safe, and it’s from the old testament, meaning that it’s part of Wanda’s holy book too.

After I’m done I slip into bed and try to sleep. It takes a while due to the early time and the anxieties I have for tomorrow but finally the white ceiling of the room fades to a dark nothingness.

At one point I do awaken slightly as Wanda slips into the bed, but she simply slips an arm around me and I drift back out of consciousness.

° ∆ -------- ••• ------- ∆ ° ∆ -------- ••• ------- ∆ °

Just as I predicted, I awake at the absurdly early time of 4:30am. I yawn as quietly as I can before slipping out of bed. I stand up and stretch my arms above my head, then I rock my head from side to side, cracking my neck. Then I sit on the floor, one leg out straight and the other bent so that my foot is as close to my hip as possible. I lean over, putting my hand on the outstretched foot and stretch until I feel the slight burn of my muscles. I do that for a couple of minutes before switching and doing the same to my other leg.

After being all stretched out I decide to check my phone, I go through my notifications, starting with Snapchat, opening snaps, and sending streaks. I open the few chats I got and they’re just asking where I am, unable to think of a believable half-truth I just leave them on open. Then I check people’s stories, but since it’s early on a Monday morning it’s just people looking for answers on homework or what exactly they had to do for course work.

Then I scroll through tumblr for a bit, liking and reblogging things every now and then. Then, when I got a notification that someone liked one of my posts, a sense of dread filled me. I know that I’ve made way too many posts on the topic to try to delete them all, that and they’ve been reblogged quite a bit. So in that spirit I decide to make a mini-PSA.

Then I start to get hungry and decide to make my way to the kitchens. I’ve been here long enough that I don’t get lost anymore, but as I’m alone, and it’s dark, and I’m the only one up I feel a little nervous. I’m scared that someone will wake up, or think I’m an intruder, or something.

I sneak as quietly as I can, standing by the walls, not to look like a spy but because it’s where the floorboards are strongest. I then sneak into the room and open a cupboard, I’m not usually one to eat a lot in the morning, especially when I wake up because, like, who just wakes up and eats? That and I want to spend time with the others at breakfast, it’ll be our last meal together.

I pick out some blueberries and put them in a bowl, it’s not much but it’ll hold me over until real breakfast. I sit at the kitchen island, in the dark nibbling on the food when someone flips on the light switch.

I jump and put my hand on my heart, “Lord, you scared me!”

“Sorry Fianna,” Clint apologises, “I didn’t realise anyone else would be awake.”

“Wanda made me go to sleep early, she should know I get exactly eight hours sleep. What about you? Why are you awake at...” I trail off, throwing a berry in my mouth and checking the clock, “Half five in the morning?”

Clint smiles, making his way to the cupboards, “The kids, they usually have me awake around this time. And if not then Nathaniel does.”

“Nathaniel, he’s the little’un, aye?”

“He’s the baby, yeah, he’s almost a year old. How about you, do you have any siblings?” he questions, picking out an apple.

“Aw aye, I have Tommy, he’s wee brother, well I say wee. He’s eleven, and he doesn’t let me forget it. Him, and I count Wanda as my big sister.”

“Oh of course, she’s mentioned you a few times,” he takes a bite, “The puppy dog.”

I scrunch my nose, “You’ve seen that I’m more than a puppy, I’ve got claws, I’ve got fangs.”

“Not to Wanda, to her you’re her little sister. Someone she needs to protect, no matter how capable you are.”

I nod, “She wants to protect me, but she’ll do crazy things to do that.”

“We all do crazy things for family. Sure look at me,” he raises his arms at his sides, “I come back from retirement because the second I leave they all fall apart.”

“So what, you’re the crazy glue that holds the team together?” I ask before taking a second to think, “No, yeah that checks out. You guys are weird.”

“Yeah, yeah we are kinda weird,” Clint agrees, “I mean we’re basically superheroes.”

I shake my head, “Yous are really weird. Seriously, the original team was a super soldier turned icicle who was thawed, a rich bitch in a tin can, an ex-russian assassin, a nerd who can turn into a beast, and Katniss Everdeen. Also Thor, a literal god who’s from space. I mean if you really think about it we’re all from space... but if you don’t really think about it, it helps.”

Clint laughs, “You’re one quirky kid, you know that?”

“I’ve been told.”

° ∆ -------- ••• ------- ∆ ° ∆ -------- ••• ------- ∆ °

We’re eating breakfast and Scott won’t stop cracking jokes. I think maybe it’s because he’s nervous or maybe because it’s the only time he’ll be able to tell his Avengers jokes to the actual Avengers. Some of them are cringy but I have to say that some of them are pretty funny.

“Okay, okay, what do you get when you pass Captain America and the Hulk?” Scott asks.

The others groan slightly but I bite, “I don’t know Scott, what do you get?”

“A Star Spangled Banner,” he says doing jazz hands and I snort.

“That- that was bad, that was a bad joke half-pint,” I tell him, shaking my head.

“Oh yeah?” Scott replies, “Then you go, you give me a good Avengers joke!”

“Yeah?” I look at him incredulously, “Really?”

“Yeah, really,” he confirms.

“Okay,” I say, thinking for a second, “Hey Steve, before I think of this I have an off-topic question to ask.”

“Go ahead,” he replies.

“Do you know what tumblr is? Or how to use it?”

“No, I have no idea what it is, why?” he asks, eyebrows furrowed.

“No reason, but uh, I wouldn’t look it up. For your own sanity of course,” I say before turning to Scott, “Okay, so I heard that Thor’s brother escaped, he was barely noticed, really subtle.”

“Yeah?” Scott looks at me confused.

“Yeah, he was pretty low-key,” I grin and he laughs, as do some of the others.

“Okay that, that was funny,” he chuckles.

“I know it was,” I say jokingly.

“of course Loki was the focus point,” Wanda rolls her eyes from across the table.

“What do you mean, Wanda?” Steve asks.

“This one,” Wanda points a finger at me, “Has always be fond of the god... and his girl.”

Everyone looks at me in shock and I know I have to defend myself, “Okay look, I’ve always liked the mythology on the trickster, how was I supposed to know that he was real? And don’t get me started on Helena, the lore, and legends behind her? They are insane! Besides, that wasn’t Loki, not deep down. And with what I know about Helena it’s not surprising she followed him, hell she probably knew what was up.”

These statements make everyone’s eyes stay glued on me, now slightly wider. I knew a lot about the pair, Loki Laufeyson and Helena Maddidottir, I did a project on them at school. We had to do something on mythology from a different culture and the couple sounded cool so I did research on them.

“What is she talking about? What are you talking about?” Natasha was the first to ask, blonde hair swishing as she looked to Wanda and then me again.

“I- did no one read up on the gods they’ve been working with? In all mythology Loki is known for his emerald eyes, it’s a distinct trait of his so when he tore up half of New York with eyes of cobalt blue I knew it wasn’t him, he wasn’t all there, not really,” I explain as if it’s obvious.

The three of the original Avengers are exchanging looks, clearly lost on how they missed this. People always paint Loki as the bad guy, if they just took a closer look they would see a little clearer. It’s not always about the big picture, sometimes it’s the little picture, the small things that make everything make sense.

“How did we...” Clint trails off. “My eyes were literally the same blue! Was he brainwashed too?”

“How were we supposed to know?” Steve defends, “We never met him before!”

“Thor did! Thro grew up with him! He should’ve realised immediately!” Natasha straight up run Thor over with the bus.

“Oh yeah. Blame the guy who’s not here to defend himself,” Scott pipes in, clearly up for stirring the pot as we exchange a smile.

“They’re literally brothers!” Clint almost yells.

“Adopted,” I butt in, enjoying the controlled chaos I’ve created.

“How did a fourteen year old girl-“ I cut Natasha off.

“I’m sixteen,” I correct, sipping my drink.

“Irrelevant! How did a teenage girl realise this before us? Any of us?”

I smirk, having not even began on the Shadow Walker’s lore. Wanda looks at me, slightly disapprovingly and I grin back. After a few seconds she begrudgingly smiles back, it’s good to see her smile again, I’ve missed it, I will miss it. Slowly the bickering of Captain Crunch, now-blonde Kim Possible and Clint Spy the Arrow Guy fades from my hearing and I just focus on Wanda. Wanda and her smile. It looks so much like his, and that one I will never see again.

° ∆ -------- ••• ------- ∆ ° ∆ -------- ••• ------- ∆ °

We’re on the Royal Talon jet flying out to get everyone dropped off. We’re just in the air at the minute, talking and I guess just procrastinating saying our goodbyes.

Right now I’m talking to Scott, we’re talking about family mostly, about Cassie and Tommy. Cassie is a few years younger than Tommy, but I think that they’d get along.

“Wait, she has a dog?” I ask, “How cute! And Athena is an adorable name.”

Scott laughs, “No, no, Ant-thnena is a maximised bullet ant. It happened by accident when I fought with Darren Cross, but Cassie got attached so I decided against changing it back.”

“An- An ant?” I laugh incredulously, “God and I thought my life was weird.”

“What about Tommy?”

“Tommy doesn’t have any pets, if you asked him though he would probably say he had Lu. That’s uh, that’s what I call the wolf instincts and voice I get when I shift.”

“Ah, I see. So he loves you and your powers just as much as Cassie loves mine?”

“Oh definitely, he... he loves my powers, even with how he found out about them. I mean he was a little scared but as soon as he remembered it’s me he calmed right down,” I tell him, frowning a little near the end.

“You gonna miss him?”

“Like hell. I haven’t been able to see him much for a year now, and this isn’t going to make it any better. He doesn’t even know that’s the worst part.”

“He doesn’t know?” he raises an eyebrow.

“No, he thinks it’s just for a few weeks, he doesn’t know that I might never come back, I mean who’s to say that Stark won’t just boot me out? Who’s to say that he won’t call the feds the second he sees me? I mean, heh, who’s to say I won’t end up killing him when I see him?”

“Listen, I know you hate him, I know that I don’t know the extent of why, but that’s none of my business. But Fianna, he will help you, he’ll help you kid, and you need to accept that help.”

“I want to, I really do, but I don’t know if I can get over it, I don’t know if I can just forgive and forget,” I say stubbornly.

“You don’t need to forgive and forget. Honestly I hate that phrase, it’s stupid, if everyone forgave and forgot then a lot of people would stay in toxic relationships and with abusive families. I think what you really need to do is forgive and remember, it helps you to learn from your mistakes and not fall for things again.”

I think on that sentiment for a minute, “That’s- that’s very wise, Scott. You know you usually seem pretty goofy and a little dopey, but you’re actually a quite sage person, thank you.”

“Thank you Fianna, that’s really kind of you to say,” he smiles to me.

“I’m always honest Scott, it’s part of my code. Along with ‘stand your ground’. So I think I will, I’ll forgive him but I’m still holding that man responsible,” I nod.

He nods and stands up, moving to talk, and I assume fanboy over, Steve while he still can. I scroll through my phone, looking at all of the new contacts I’ve made for everyone. They wanted me to know that I’m not alone, that I can reach out to them whenever I want or need, they’re burner phones for now.

I look around at the faces on the jet, everyone here is losing something the second their feet touch the ground. Clint and Scott, they lose their freedom. Steve and Natasha, they lose people who were like family to them. Wanda and I, we lose each other.

We’re pretty close to New York when Wanda comes over to me. She doesn’t say anything, just sits down next to me and hugs me, pulling my head into her chest and is hug back. We stay like this for a while, her kissing my hair every now and then, whispering in my ear in Sokovian. And every now and then I whisper back in Irish.

I pull back, she holds my arms and she kisses me on the forehead. “Te iubesc, soră mică. Te iubesc atât de mult, e în regulă. totul va fi bine, crede-mă, lupule.”

(I love you, Little sister. I love you so much, it’s okay. Everything will be fine, trust me, wolf.)

“Is grá liom thú, deirifir. Is grá liom thú le mo chroí iomlan. Ní bheith gach rud I gceart, ach ní bheith se comh olc sin. Creidim thú, cáileach,” I say back, slipping into my native tongue just as she did.

(I love you, sister. I love you with my whole heart. Everything won’t be okay, but it won’t be too bad. I believe you, witch.)

Natasha walks over to us and nods to Wanda, she wants to talk to me, talk me through how I’m going to approach this contact of hers. Wanda nods back and moves back to her seat and Natasha takes hers next to me.

She hands me a card, “That is his name there, he knows me as Nadia but I’m pretty sure he knows the real me. Now do you remember the other name of his I told you?”

“I remember, that’s a quirky guy you are friends with,” I smirk.

“Yeah, well, there’s friends and then there’s someone who I found in a dumpster who made me swear not to tell anyone,” she laughs before pointing to the card again, “Now this is the address you need to go to.”

“You sure he’ll help me?” I ask.

“Well between his soft spot for kids, the favor he owes me and his Catholic guilt? I’m sure he’ll get you holed up somewhere,” she smirks.

“Thanks Natasha, it means a lot.”

“Always. Now I know that it’s gonna be hard, leaving your sister, hell I did the same thing about a week ago, but you’ll get through this, I promise.”

“You have a sister?” I ask, having no idea about this before.

“I do, her name is Yelena, we kinda made a mess in Budapest... and a Russian prison... and Russia in general, the few days you were in the Raft I was tearing up the Red Room,” she tells me with a sad smile.

“I’d love to meet her someday.”

“I’m sure she’d love to meet you too. You’d get along, cause a little chaos for sure. I know that’s what you were doing earlier, you were right, but you were just up for some mischief,” she gives me a knowing look and I grin.

“At the very least he would be proud of me,” I laugh.

“He would, he really would.”

° ∆ -------- ••• ------- ∆ ° ∆ -------- ••• ------- ∆ °

Now that I’m in the city I make my way to west midtown Manhattan. It seems like a nice neighbourhood that I’m in, the kids I’ve passed seem nice. I saw a church, it’s nice to know there’s somewhere for me to pray.

I see the plaque on the door of the building and know I’m in the right place, I look back down at the business card Natasha gave me before walking through the door. I go up the stairs and see the writing on the window of the door.

I push the door open and a peppy blonde sitting at a desk looks up from whatever paperwork she’s doing.

“Hi, welcome to Nelson and Murdock, I’m Karen. Do you have an appointment?” she asks.

[raybansandcoffee]

Always in My Head: A London Calling Series: Saturday Night Live Opening Theme (Howard Shore)

So I’ve had this idea in my head for months. Finally, after the world’s worst case of writer's block, I decided I needed to write something different. So, I wrote this. Getting back inside the world of London Calling and Annie’s mind has been weird but refreshing. This is the longest short story tied to London Calling because I couldn’t bring myself to cut it into two parts. So, I hope you enjoy it!

“Good morning, Sugar.” Harry’s raspy sleep-filled voice spoke directly into my ear. It wasn’t really morning. The pain of traveling all the time was you slept when you could and sometimes that was in the middle of the day. We’d landed early this morning from London and both crashed immediately upon reaching our apartment.

“It’s…” I glanced down at my watch. “1:37 in the afternoon.”

“Fine, good afternoon, Sugar.” He kissed just below my ear.

“I think we are supposed to get up,” I said as I turned to my side and buried myself into his chest. “I vaguely remember a text from Jeff and Tommy saying we were supposed to do lunch.”

“We clearly have missed lunch.”

“I know. I told them both to fuck off and that I was sleeping. So I think they said that they were coming over at like 2:00. Evidently you’re supposed to work this week.” I laughed a bit.

“But it’s Sunday and I just want to snuggle my girl and stay in bed.”

“Tell your managers that. I wonder if it will fly.” I knew it wouldn’t. They weren’t just his managers, they were two of his best friends. And the week ahead of us would be one of the biggest of his life. That didn’t mean he wanted to be worried about it today but I knew he needed to be. He reached for his phone on the nightstand and clicked to open it and make a call.

“Hey man.” I heard Jeff answer because Harry had the volume turned up loud.

“I’m not doing anything today.”

“Funny story, buddy. The car is dropping me off right now. Tommy and I will be up in like 2 minutes.”

“Go away. My girl is naked and I’m going to keep it that way.”

“I am not naked! I’ll let you in,” I said loudly as I climbed out of bed.

“You’re betraying me, Annie!” Harry called after me as I pulled a hoodie on while walking to the living room of the apartment. This place was one of my favorite in the world. Harry had fallen in love with New York when we’d made a trip shortly after the boys decided to go on break. He could blend in for the most part and just live. He’d decided that we needed a place here and there was no way I was going to put up a fight about that. I loved New York as much as he did. It was a place that inspired both of us to sit and write and just watch the world go by. I made it just as Jeff and Tommy walked off the elevator.

“Hi guys.” I hugged them both.

“Sorry if we woke you up,” Tommy replied.

“It’s okay. The crazy starts tomorrow. He needs to learn to function on a strict schedule again. Despite having stuff going on with the release of an album this boy still just does what he wants.” I went into the kitchen and started some coffee. "That ends soon.”

“I’m glad you were able to come with him,” Jeff said. “You’ll help us wrangle him for the week.”

“Ha! I should ask for gifts for using my skills to help you. After all these years I’m a pro at making him do shit he doesn’t want to do when he needs to do it. You two make my life easier because he at least feels bad telling you no.” They both laughed as they sat down at the island in the kitchen. A few minutes later Harry wandered into the living room in sweatpants and no shirt. His hair was an absolute mess, one of the side effects of how short it was these days was the bedhead he obtained usually meant his hair stuck straight up. He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me before bending down and kissing my neck. I bent my head backwards and kissed him.

“Hello gentlemen.” His voice was still raspy. “Look at my girl being amazing and making me coffee.”

“Actually I was making me coffee. Want a cup?”

“Yes, Sugar.” He went to the other side of the island and hugged Jeff and Tommy. “So do I get to at least enjoy part of today?”

“Yeah, today is going to be a good day,” Jeff said.

“It’s just dinner and fun today,” Tommy added. “The real work doesn’t actually start until Tuesday. Tomorrow is going to be all done here. We have your stylist coming to decide what you’re wearing for the week and hopefully an early night for you. Then Tuesday you go in and get started.”

“And I get to shop and enjoy New York!” Harry glared at me. “And tag along to watch you work?” He smiled to show his approval.

“Was your Mom coming to the city for the week?” Jeff asked. Jeff knew that I wanted to find an excuse to bring my Mom to New York ever since we’d bought the apartment here. When he managed to book this trip for us he suggested that I bring my Mom along

“Yeah, she flies in on Wednesday. She’s really excited to see the place and be here to represent all of the parents. I’m disappointed that Harry’s Mum and Robin couldn’t join us.” We’d really hoped Robin would be feeling well enough for them both to travel and to have a good week with family but it was just going to be my Mom and we were happy with that.

“That will be fun. She’ll have a good time. I’ll make sure the passes are worked out for both of you with the network for the week,” Jeff said.

“Thanks,” I replied.

“She’s gonna love it. She hasn’t seen the apartment yet so I know she’ll be happy to have some time in the city with us.” It was amazing what we’d been able to convince my Mom to do since she retired. She’d spent six weeks with me last summer while Harry was busy filming Dunkirk. We decided to travel for a lot of it as I’d gotten approached by a travel company who wanted to plan trips that I would take and then write about on my website. It was an incredible partnership that took my Mom and I amazing places. We’d traveled all over England, gone to Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Austria, Holland, and a few trips to France to see Harry when he had a day or two off. She’d also been able to come out to Los Angeles to visit a few times when we were there. She really hated the idea of us spending all of the money on her at first but she was getting a chance to see the world and we were happy to give it to her. I’d heard she and Harry talking last summer when we’d gone to see him in France. He told her he was glad that I’d had someone to travel with while he was busy working so that I wasn’t alone or just sitting in a hotel room waiting for him to come home and sleep.

“Let’s face it boys, I’m not the reason she’s coming here.” I started to laugh as I was talking. “She hasn’t been to New York in ages and loves the city, I somehow managed to get tickets for us to see Hamilton next week when he’s finally done working, and she gets to be the proud gushing mother-in-law as she watches Harry perform Saturday.”

“What can I say? The woman loves me.” He smiled big enough for his dimples to show which of course caused me to smile.

“More than me some days,” I replied as I put his cup of coffee in front of him. I jumped up onto the counter to face them and enjoy my coffee. “So Tommy can you help me arrange a car to go pick her up? She told me she could just meet me at the apartment but I’d rather pick her up at the airport.”

“Consider it done,” he answered as he started tapping away on his phone.

“Thanks.”

“So what does the rest of today involve then? You said dinner and fun.” Harry leaned back. His body language showed that he didn’t fully trust them that he wasn’t going to get stuck working.

“Yeah, your girl planned it.” I smiled proudly before taking a drink of my coffee as Jeff continued talking. “She didn’t want to have a big mob going somewhere. Arranged for a chef to come and cook dinner. Your band is all here and will be coming over as well as Lou and Harry.”

“My girl planned a dinner?” He looked at me smiling.

“Your girl planned a dinner. Remember that little Italian restaurant we went to for our date night when we were here in February to meet with your label?” He nodded. “The chef from there is coming to do the dinner.”

“You’re pretty amazing, Sugar.”

“I try.” I finished my cup of coffee before jumping down off of the counter. I filled it up with another cup before adding sugar and cream. “I also need to try to look like a human. People should start getting here around 3:00. I wanted the band to feel like they could just come hang out with us today. So you three get your schedules for the week figured out and I’m gonna go shower off a red eye flight.” I left the kitchen and went back to the master bedroom. After finding the clothes I was going to put on for the day and stealing Harry’s pink iPhone from his suitcase I went into the bathroom.

I turned on Harry’s record and climbed into the shower. I sang along to every word like I did every morning. He was being paranoid and wouldn’t let me put it on my phone yet. It was just on this pink iPhone that floated around our house. A phone that he refused to allow to connect to the internet for fear that someone would figure out how to hack it and leak it. I wanted to laugh at his freakish paranoia but I got it. We’d been through this before. His mother’s iCloud had been hacked. Photos of us, our family and our friends flooded the internet. The minute the album was mastered and finished it went onto the pink iPhone and stayed on the pink iPhone. He was the only person able to play it for anyone which meant anytime it needed to be played for someone for advance press purposes, opinions from a label or friends we were on a plane flying somewhere with the pink iPhone. He had learned quickly to leave it in the bedroom when I was getting ready because I listened to it every day when I got ready. It gave me the chance to be in awe of his talent every morning and most of the time without him being embarrassed about my gushing.

“So have you listened to the whole album or just this one on repeat?” he asked as I stepped out of the shower.

“Fuck me!” I yelled. He’d been sitting on the sink in the bathroom watching me and I didn’t notice. “The whole album, in proper order. I just happen to like this song most.” I secured my towel around my chest as I walked over to him.

“Kim has always been right about you. So self-centered. You love the songs that are about you most of all.”

“Most of yours are baby.” He laughed before leaning forward and kissing me. “Well most of them that you write. Your album defies logic because most of them are not about me.”

“That is correct.” He kissed me again. “You smell good.”

“I smell clean, something you should try. You still smell like an airplane.”

“I’m gonna shower. Lou sent me a message. She’ll be here soon. Said if we needed to cut my hair tonight we could if I wanted.”

“It is getting a bit shaggy,” I said as I ran my fingers through it. “I like it though.”

“I’ll need to get it cut before Saturday.”

“I know but let’s not do it today. Let’s just focus on being with friends.”

“Sounds perfect. I’m gonna shower. You should keep singing to me though. You sounded good in the shower.”

“Get out of my face.” I started to laugh pretty hard as I walked into the bedroom to put my clothes on. I’d decided on a pair of black distressed jeans and white sweater. I’d decided not to wash my hair because I didn't want to deal with trying to style it. I went into the bathroom to do my makeup and opted to just pull my hair up in a bun.

“You look cute,” Harry said as he stepped out of the shower, towel barely being held up at his hips.

“You look underdressed.”

“Really? I was thinking this would be a great look for dinner.”

“Funny.”

“For real though, you look cute.”

“Thanks baby.” We both finished getting dressed and ready to entertain for the rest of the day. It was nice to have a quiet afternoon with Harry's team and show them some hospitality before a busy week of rehearsals, fittings, and press. His band and team were hardworking and incredibly devoted. Feeding them a nice meal was the least I could do. Harry walked out of the bathroom and caught me playing on my phone.

“Nerd,” he said as he saw me taking selfies.

“You love me.”

“True.”

bookshopbirdie: I’m so excited to be in New York that I’m growing flowers from my head. Don’t worry, @harrystyles is laughing at me…really loudly.

We made our way into the living room to find Jeff and Tommy had made themselves at home and found beer in the kitchen. We’d managed to have as assistant come stock the apartment up with food in advance of our arrival. It didn’t take long before the apartment was filled with friends and good conversation. Seeing how at ease Harry was in this situation made me so happy. He was doing what he loved and not sitting in our house growing bored as he had been at the beginning of the break. Here he was, less than a week out from his first televised performance as a solo artist and it would be on Saturday Night Live. The level of pride I felt was off the charts.

As usual he was being cautious this evening. Not drinking too much and just enjoying the company of our friends. He practically floated around the room between conversations so easily until the hours got late and he plopped himself down in the chair I was sitting in beside me. I’d been in conversation with Claire, his pianist, most of the night.

“Thank you for tonight,” he said quietly in my ear before kissing the top of my head.

“Of course, baby. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. Jeff and I knew you needed to relax before this week. You’ve got an extremely busy schedule and we wanted you to at least have a day to enjoy yourself.”

“Well, thank you. Evidently we don’t have anything until 10:00 tomorrow so we can sleep in a little bit.”

“Fuck yes! THANK YOU JEFF AND TOMMY!”

“For what?” Tommy asked.

“Scheduling him a late morning tomorrow. It means that I get to sleep in tomorrow.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied. “I figured jet lag might kick both your asses and you’d need the rest.”

“You are correct, sir.” Our friends all filed out of the apartment and we were alone again. Hiring a chef and a catering company for the evening seemed like it was a little bit overboard but when I looked into the kitchen to see it clean and hear the dishwasher running I knew it was worth it. We wouldn’t spend the first night in New York cleaning up after a party.

“You looked beautiful tonight,” Harry said as he wrapped his arms around me from behind.

“You smell amazing,” I replied. He may not have drank a lot tonight but I had a fare amount of wine. I heard him start to laugh at me as he slid his hands under my sweater.

“You’re tipsy aren’t you?”

“Maaaaaaaaybe.”

“Oh lord. Let’s get you in bed. We have a long week for you to start out with a hangover.”

“Meanie head.”

“Uh-huh. Meanest ever. Get in the bedroom.”

“Oooo. You’re being forceful. I like it.” He laughed as he pointed towards the master bedroom in our apartment.

“Not being forceful to be fun. Just trying to get you into bed so we can sleep.” We made it into the bedroom and I started to strip my clothes off throwing them on the floor. As soon as I was down to my panties I crawled under the covers. “Not gonna put your pajamas on?”

“Nope.” He just shook his head at me as he picked up my clothes off the floor and put them into the laundry hamper. He reappeared from the closet in his boxers and climbed into bed next to me. I moved closer to him in bed and started to kiss him. He pulled back from me and yawned. “Am I really that boring?”

“No, I’m just really that tired. We had a really busy day yesterday, then flew here at the crack of dawn and have barely slept. So I’m tired, not bored.”

“Fine. Leave me sex starved.” I threw myself onto the bed nearly hitting Harry in the face as I flailed my arms out.

“Oh you melodramatic woman. You had sex last night.”

“We were in a different country. It doesn’t count.”

“You test my patience every day. You are lucky I love you.”

“I know," I said as I climbed into his arms to get comfy. “I love you too, Dimples.”

“Goodnight, Sugar.” It didn’t take much for me to drift off to sleep in his arms. The next morning I woke up without the help of an alarm which was so rare. I did also wake up alone in bed, which was not rare. I was not a morning person and Harry sometimes was. I looked at my watch as I picked it up off the charger. 9:35 AM. What time did they say people would be here? I think it was 10:00 which meant there were likely already hoards of people in my apartment and here I was in bed in just my lace boyshorts. I climbed out of bed and quickly used the bathroom before pulling on really short shorts and the t-shirt Harry had worn the day before. I walked into the living area barefoot to find Harry and Lou with a sheet on the ground and her cutting his hair. “Good morning sleepyhead.”

“Hi,” I replied before going over and kissing Harry and giving Lou a kiss on the cheek. “How’d you sleep baby?”

“Decently. You thrashed a bit in your sleep. Probably the wine.”

“Probably. Did you have a goodnight Lou? You were going out after you left here, right?”

“Yeah, we went to a bar near the hotel and a had a few drinks. You should’ve come with. You would’ve loved it.”

“She probably would’ve but she also needed to sleep. I’m actually shocked she’s awake already.”

“Me too,” I replied as I curled up on the couch watching Lou meticulously cut his hair. My phone started to ring in my hand. I glanced down to see it was Kim and a FaceTime request. I hit accept and saw her walking around the house with one of the twins attached to the front of her. “Hey!”

“How’s New York?” she asked.

“Great. I mean I haven’t seen outside of the apartment yet but it’s great so far. Harry is getting a haircut.” I turned the phone so she could see Harry and Lou.

“Hey Kim!” they both called.

“Hey,” she replied before I turned the phone. “So I’ve figured out a trick.” She held the phone back so I could see the baby attached via a baby carrier to her front. She then moved the camera and I could see the other on her back.

“That is fucking awesome. How did you get them on like this?”

“Magic. It has to be magic. I normally can’t get either of them on without Nate and today managed both. They both have been fussy all day and refused to stop crying. I clearly can’t carry them both so I put Max on like a backpack and Jack on the front. I’m pretty sure there’s vomit in the back of my hair but I don’t care right now. They stopped crying.” The twins were just around four months old and Kim was still home with them.

“That’s quite the trick.” I laid my head against the back of the couch. “I wish you guys had been able to come with.”

“Me too. I could go for actual American food right now. Like barbecue or a really good cheeseburger or something. I love Nate to death but I’m so tired of his attempt at cooking things I would like, he fails every time.”

“We will pack some junk food to bring back. Send me your list. I’ll make sure to go to a grocery store before we leave.”

“You’re an angel. So do you have a big day today?”

“Harry has a fitting today so I don’t have a strenuous day by any means but he’s being demanding and I can’t go out and explore.” I stood up as I saw the elevator door open and walked towards it as Jeff and Tommy entered the apartment.

“Good morning,” Jeff said handing me a venti coffee from Starbucks.

“You’re my favorite person ever, Jeffrey.”

“Hey!” Harry called from behind me.

“Don’t worry, we brought you coffee too,” Tommy replied.

“Less about the coffee more about her saying Jeff is her favorite person ever. I thought I was your favorite,” Harry said.

“You’re all wrong. I’m her favorite,” Kim argued via FaceTime.

“She’s probably right,” Jeff answered. “Hey Kim. How’s London?”

“Cold and rainy,” she replied.

“You’ll have to tag along for their visits to LA soon. Maybe you and Nate can sneak out with them for Harry’s Late Late residency.”

“That sounds like a wonderful dream but I doubt that I’ll be able to leave the twins.” He laughed a reply before heading to Harry to get started with their day. “I’ll let you go. You’ve got a house full.”

“I do and I need to change. I’m in pajamas which is becoming increasingly inappropriate the more people fill my apartment. I’ll text you later. Bye boys!” I said waving at Kim and the twins.

“They would say bye if they could talk. See you when you get home,” she replied before ending the call. Life was different but it was good. I missed being able to drag Kim and Nate along for a trip somewhere but I loved their boys as if they were my own. Knowing that anytime I was home all I had to do was make the short trip to their house and I could get my fill of baby snuggles made the times where I was there alone so much better. I headed into the bedroom and threw on some clothes.

The day was spent watching Harry try on a variety of outfits before they determined what he would wear. As usual I sat quietly observing with my camera and my laptop as I wrote. During the period of transition in our life I’d tried not to write. Harry had really wanted to just disappear. He wanted us to have a normal life, like normal people and not constantly give people access to our lives. It was something he hadn’t had since before going on X-Factor. It had been something we spent a great deal of time discussing during the remaining days of One Direction. We wanted to agree on what I would be doing and have the decision made before the first moment the break started.

I’d really done my best to accommodate that request and only failed a few times. I wrote about topics rather than life. I’d post photos and write about the travel we’d done over the years or about an album I’d been listening to or a playlist I’d made. When I started to get bored of that I’d write about current events which usually drove Harry nuts. I was opinionated and an American ex-pat who started ranting about politics on her blog and caused his management to contact him in regards to the opinions of his ‘friend’, that is until he finally parted ways with Modest and signed with Jeff. Once that happened I was off leash, Jeff didn’t care what I said or did and also knew better than to call me his friend. Modest had always had a hard time respecting the relationship Harry and I had, especially after he put a rather large diamond on my hand.

So those times I’d failed, well I was lucky Harry loved me. He went on a self-imposed social media hiatus, or at least that was what it seemed like. He lurked. He read what people wrote. He looked at the tweets. He searched through their Instagrams. I’d accidentally gotten overly proud of him while he was filming Dunkirk and posted a picture of him in uniform, he looked sexy I couldn’t help it. I’d posted a vague photo of him from Jamaica that thankfully didn’t give away our location. I’d shared a picture of him with my niece and nephew as they slept on the floor in front of the fireplace waiting for Santa Claus. I knew he wanted anonymity but I wanted the world to know he was safe, he was happy and he was loved.

“What are you doing, Sugar?” Harry asked. He picked my laptop up off of my lap and laid down with his head replacing the computer. I ran my fingers through his freshly cut hair.

“Thinking about doing some writing but mostly just enjoying watching you change clothes repeatedly.”

“I saw you taking pictures of me when I’m half naked.”

“Maybe.”

“You’re a perv.”

“So if I went through the pictures in your phone right now there’s none of me scantily clad?” He started to laugh as he blushed a little.

“They aren’t on my phone. I’m not that stupid.” He smiled a devious smile. “They are on my laptop, which you know.”

“You’re crazy.”

“You love me.”

“Yup.”

“Harry, you need to get back to work,” Jeff called from where he and Tommy had set up office on our dining room table.

“Alright. Well, write away sweetheart.” He gave me a kiss before getting back to work.

10 April 2017: New York State of Mind (Billy Joel)

It’s a big week in our world. Giant. Monumental. HUUUUUUGE.

That fantastic fiancé of mine is making his worldwide solo television debut. No big deal, right? It just happens to be on Saturday Night Live as it’s being broadcast live from coast-to-coast in every timezone. Well, I think it’s a big deal, he’s acting like it’s just another thing to do on a Saturday.

He’s so at ease with his job it’s insane. He’s trying to act like he’s not checking Twitter on his phone to see the reactions. He is. He’s so grateful to have his fans and I can tell you I’m so grateful that they all love ‘Sign of the Times’. The excitement I have for everyone to hear the rest of it is unexplainable. I am so unbelievably proud of the work he has put into this record and the quality of the product he’s putting out. It’s my favorite album and I listen to it every day while I’m getting ready. I know the album backwards, forwards and inside out. I’m not saying this just because I share a house with this man, it’s the best album I’ve heard in years. Release date can’t come soon enough so I can stop hiding what songs are my favorites and start using the lyrics as Insta captions, because we all know I will.

Well, this week is going to be busy and fun and amazing. Today is wardrobe fitting for Harry and the band to make sure that they look all pretty for Saturday Night Live. Then tomorrow rehearsals start. Wednesday is going to be my big day. My Mom arrives in the city!! She hasn’t been able to visit us since we got the apartment here and she gets to represent the parents this week as everyone else was unfortunately unable to travel with us. Mom has been instructed to take tons of pictures to capture every moment of this experience so that she can share with the other parents. They also know that it’s very rare that I don’t have a camera attached to my hand to document our life.

Thank you for all of your support of Harry during this experience. I promise you, it will be worth the wait we’ve all endured for this first record. It’s beautiful.

All the love. (Yup….I’m stealing this from him.) xx Annie

“I don’t want to get out of bed,” Harry whined as my alarm went off. He had a table read today. They wanted to incorporate him into some sketches so he got to sit in on the table read. It was going to be one of the few times during our trip that I didn’t have to stay cooped up in his dressing room or the apartment. I made him promise me that I could get out and enjoy the city on my own today and if he was busy take my Mom out later this week. Though she had informed me via FaceTime last night that she wanted to take in as much of what Harry was doing as possible. This would be the first time she met his band. The first time she’d seen Lou in ages. And her first time to our new home.

That was still weird to say. New home. We’d done this on a whim, sort of. We thought having a place in New York for a while might be fun. We found a real estate agent who showed us a few things. Both of us being obsessed with the history of things fell in love with our place in New York immediately. Our building is a former 19th century bookbinding factory that was converted into some of the most amazing condos I’d ever seen. It didn’t take much for us to decide to buy and we were coming up on a year since Harry signed the papers to buy the place.

Ever since we’d been discussing if we were going to keep a house in LA, move out of the city or downsize for a while. We both loved Malibu and the idea of being out of the city a little. We also knew we’d be on the road for the better part of the next year and half to support his record. We didn’t really need houses all over the place but we loved being in LA so it was hard to give up.

“Let’s stay in bed a bit longer,” he said as he snuggled up against me.

“You have a table read today as well as photoshoots. Time for you to go work.”

“And what are you going to do all day?”

“Lay here naked waiting for you to come home.”

“UNFAIR!”

“You’re so fucking gullible. I’m gonna come with you for a little while but I’m off to take pictures. I haven’t been able to explore and photograph New York for a while. So it’s time for me to do some work since the rest of the week is based off of your schedule and my Mom being here.”

“I wish I could go with you and take pictures. I love being your assistant. Spending an afternoon with you as you go out and explore with your camera has become one of my favorite ways to spend a day.”

“I know but you being my assistant would not afford you the life you love.” He started to laugh.

“You’re the only thing I need in life to love it.” I leaned in to kiss him softly. Without even really trying he was the sweetest and kindest person I’d ever met. His arms wrapped around me and held me tightly. “What time do I have to be ready?”

“The car is picking us up at 10:00.” I saw him glance at the clock over my shoulder.

“Then why did the alarm go off at 7:00?”

“You normally like to go to the gym in the morning. You also should eat breakfast and make sure you look presentable and don’t show up with bedhead and morning breath.” He laughed a bit at me. “Plus setting the alarm for this early, despite neither of us being morning people, means that we can lay here and have some quiet time, just us. We won’t likely get much of that for the rest of the week.”

“So very true. Your Mum will be here. There will be lots of friends and people around. Now is a good time for quiet.” He kissed down my jaw line and onto my neck. His lips left featherlight kisses across my collarbone as he shifted my body so I was laying on my back. In a quick movement he was in between my legs and hovering over me.

“You don’t look like you intend on this time being quiet.”

“It all depends on you.” He ducked down and captured my lips. “Will you be quiet?” I started to laugh loudly at him. “I’m going to take that as a no.”

“We should be getting out of bed.”

“We should be doing a lot of things. But the question is, would you rather go to the gym or let me make love to you?”

“If you have to ask that question I clearly am engaged to an absolute buffoon.” He laughed as he started to pull at my tank top.

“I knew your answer. You are not engaged to a buffoon. Just a man who is really excited to get his fiancé naked.” The tank top came off and he started to kiss down my chest. I heard his phone start to ring on the nightstand.

“Aren’t you going to answer that?” I asked.

“No,” he replied barely removing his mouth from my stomach. The phone stopped ringing and then started again. “I don’t care who is calling. We need to have some time this week where it is just us.”

“I know.” His phone finally stopped ringing and then mine started. “Okay, what if it’s an emergency?”

“FINE!” He threw himself onto his back on the bed as I reached for the phone. I saw that it was Jeff calling but didn’t want to say it before I answered.

“Hello,” I answered.

“Is he in the shower?”

“Nope.”

“Gym?”

“Nope.”

“Shit. I’m a terrible friend, aren’t I?”

“Yup.”

“Have him call me later. Enjoy your morning.”

“Bye Jeff.” I hung up the phone and looked at Harry. “What?”

“You answered a phone call from Jeff during sex?”

“We weren’t having sex.”

“Fine. You answered the phone in the middle of foreplay and it was my manager.”

“I could’ve been an emergency.”

“Was it?”

“Well I don’t know. He asked if you were in the gym, then the shower and then is sort of figured out what was going on and said he was being a terrible friend and you should call him later.” Harry started to laugh loudly.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Our clothes were quickly pulled off and thrown on the floor in the bedroom. Our bodies twisted together and our breathing synced up. The phones might’ve rang again, but neither of us would’ve known. We were in our own world.

“So I’m not going to the gym this morning,” he said as he stood from bed and headed to the bathroom. “Shower with me.”

“Okay,” I replied as I stood up and followed him. Our shower was quick and we got ready quickly. Jeff had wanted to come over to the apartment before we left so that he and Harry could have one last meeting before the week started. I left them alone in the living room while I finished getting ready. I knew I needed to be dressed decently, it was a big day for my fiancé. Not the kind of day you show up to in beat up trainers, a t-shirt with holes in it and yesterday’s eyeliner. Yet considering a good portion of the day I’d be running around the city alone I knew it was also the kind of day I wanted to be comfortable. No heels to try and impress the people who expected Harry to have a model on his arm. He knew he didn’t need a model on his arm, he just wanted me. I put on a pair of black skinny jeans, a light chambray shirt, and a pair of nude flats.

I made sure to tuck a camera into my bag that I was carrying today. I never really wanted to carry around my entire camera bag and had found a purse recently that had a good amount of space for what I’d normally need and a camera or two, depending on the day. I grabbed a portable charger for my cell phone, some extra camera batteries and was ready to go. I walked into the living room and saw Harry and Jeff sitting and talking.

“You ready to go, Sugar?” I nodded as I sat down next to Harry and rested my head on his shoulder.

“Sorry about earlier,” Jeff said.

“Don’t even mention it. It’s nothing.”

“You’ve come along way. You used to turn bright red if I interrupted you two and you saw me the same day.”

“Jeffrey, you also used to turn red. But we’ve become good friends. Now it’s just normal for us.” I laughed. “I just prefer when it’s via the phone and not you appearing in the house.” There were a few times that had happened and then the whole vacation on a yacht that was a terrible idea if you wanted privacy and loved to have sex. Harry and I had to learn how to sneak around, we felt like we were on vacation with parents, it was rather funny.

“I tend to call first after that time,” he replied.

“You ready for today, baby?” I asked.

“As ready as I can be. But I’ve got my girl by my side and my best friend with me,” he said as he glanced at Jeff. We got all of our stuff together and headed down to the street where a car was waiting for us. Jeff climbed into the front seat leaving Harry and I in the back. He grabbed my hand and laced his fingers in mine before bringing it to his lips. He mouthed out a silent ‘I love you’ to me before I rested my head on his shoulder. I watched the city fly by out the car window.

This time tomorrow I’d be headed to the airport to pick up my Mom. I was so excited. It had been months since I’d seen my family. We’d been spending time in England prepping for all of this craziness. We’d also been taking time to go up north and visit Harry’s Mum and Robin. It was hard to leave but Anne constantly told us to live our lives, enjoy the time we have together and go on an adventure. So I promised to take as many pictures of this adventure as possible to show her the next time we made it back home. We pulled up outside of NBC’s studios and I saw a few people who appeared to be hoping they’d see Harry when he made his way into the studio. The door opened and I heard the few girls yell his name.

“Hello,” he said as he walked over. I stood just smiling at how amazing he was at this part of his job. “How are all of you doing?” He made small talk with them while Jeff texted someone on his phone. I grabbed my camera from my purse and took a picture of Harry as he took pictures with these fans. He was dressed like he normally did which was not what most of New York was used to. My friends who lived in the city had monochromatic wardrobes consisting of black, light black (grey), and negative black (white). Here was this tall, skinny, British kid in black skinny jeans, tan Chelsea boots and an obnoxious Hawaiian print shirt. He loved sticking out and being himself.

“Hi, Annie,” one of the girls said. I waived as I walked over.

“There’s my lovely fiancé. She claims she’s my official photographer for the week. Will you be blogging the pictures, Sugar?”

“Of course,” I replied smiling. “I posted a little bit of a blog yesterday and will probably wait until everything is over this week before I share the pictures. My Mom lands in New York tomorrow so I’ll focus on spending time with her and making sure this guy gets where he needs to on time.” The girls laughed. We talked to them for a few more moments before heading into the building.

We were greeted by a PA and led upstairs. I stood back and watched Harry turn on his charm. Every staff member he met smiled at him the way the girls had outside and at every One Direction meet and greet. He had this charisma that would make anyone fall in love with him, or at least that’s what Chris Martin always told me. He shook hands with everyone and I could see him doing the mental process he had on how he’d remember their names this week so that he wasn’t constantly just yelling for random staff and not remembering their names. He always wanted to know who everyone was. Finally someone took us to what would be his dressing room for the week. We all settled in and I watched as Harry looked around to see that the room was set up just how he’d do it himself. Candles that smelled like home. Little things that made it feel like it was his and not just a closet they stuck him in for the week. There was a couch in there and I laid on it as he and Jeff talked.

“You don’t need to stick around if you don’t want to, babe,” he said.

“I’m okay. I heard them say that you and Jimmy were going to be doing some promos during the first part of the day. I want to stay for that.” He glanced at Jeff.

“I think she’d leave me for Jimmy Fallon if he asked.”

“He’s cute and funny.”

“Are you saying I’m not cute and funny?”

“You’re cute.” I glanced up from my phone to see his face shift at my reply. “And funny, I just like getting that reaction out of you.”

“I love you despite you being so mean to me sometimes.”

“Robin informed me that I needed to knock you down a few notches this trip. Can’t let your head get too big or you’ll float away like a hot air ballon. I need my fiancé when this week is over. So expect me to bring you back down to earth.” He flipped me off. It wasn’t long before they took us out onto the stage to start filming some of the promos. I took a few pictures to text to our families and a few on my camera that would be much better.

Eventually it was time for me to leave and him to get to work. I made a deal that I’d come back in a few hours. As soon as I was out on the street with a coffee I was happy. I was in my element. A camera in my hand and no destination, just a desire to explore and take pictures. I had music playing through my headphones so that I could be in my own little world as much as I wanted. Getting lost in New York was something I loved doing, except that one time that I actually got lost. It took Harry a while to find me and so now he requires that he has access to my GPS location so he can find me when I go off on my own.

bookshopbirdie: History is happening in Manhattan, and we just happen to be in the greatest city in the world. In the greatest city in the world.

When it was time to finally head back to NBC’s Studios I hopped into a cab so I could get there without trying to navigate the subway. Sometimes I got lost and while I never had a problem with that happening it often annoyed Harry that I’d not care where I was going. He’d get worried. I managed the tube at home fine when I needed to but I was still learning New York. I was happy spending a day lost but needing to be there for my fiancé in a short amount of time meant not being okay getting lost.

Once I got up to SNL’s floor I was directed to the main studio to find Harry. He was in conversation with Jimmy Fallon when I found him. They’d both been busy earlier so I hadn’t had a chance to meet him but I knew Harry would take the opportunity based on the look he just gave me.

“Jimmy, I want you to meet my fiancé. This is Annie Catalano.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Annie,” Jimmy said as he reached to shake my hand.

“It’s nice to meet you as well. Hopefully Harry hasn’t been too much of a pain to work with today.”

“He’s been wonderful and you’re American.”

“I am. I lived in Iowa for my whole life until I up and moved to London. Then somehow met this guy and I’ve stayed.”

“She’s a huge fan of yours. So is her Mum, she gets here tomorrow.”

“You both made the trip for me didn’t you?” I started to laugh at Jimmy’s question.

“Actually I think my Mom is making the trip just to see Harry. I’m chopped liver. Her future son-in-law however, the sun rises and sets on him.” Harry blushed a bit. My Mom and I were close but she loved Harry. I of course understood why, I fell for him, I knew why everyone else did. We chatted with Jimmy for a little bit before we were ready to leave. “Hey baby, go sit on the stage I want to get a picture of you.”

“Okay, then we are going to get dinner. I need a date night before your Mum gets here and the week gets crazier.”

“Sounds wonderful to me.” I took a few pictures of him goofing off on the stage before we packed up what we needed and headed out to dinner. He had made reservations at a restaurant not far from home and we were completely alone which was wonderful. When we got home and climbed in bed I loaded the pictures onto my laptop to show him.

bookshopbirdie: Hey there @harrystyles!

“That picture turned out good.”

“Yeah it did,” I replied before putting my phone on the nightstand and turning to curl up in bed next to Harry. “I’m not going to head to NBC with you in the morning.”

“I didn’t imagine you would be. You get to go pick up your Mum. I think I’ll be able to have lunch with you both when you get there. Tommy said he’d go with you to get your Mum and then we’d all have lunch at one of the restaurants in Rockefeller Center.”

“Sounds perfect. Tommy doesn’t need to go with though,” I said.

“He knows that. He volunteered to. He’ll pick you up here and go with you and then you’ll all come to see me.”

“Okay.” I leaned forward and softly kissed his lips. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you, getting here wouldn’t have been possible without you by my side.”

“I’ve loved watching every minute of it.” Our conversation slowed and we drifted off to sleep. We had several more busy days ahead to get through. Sleep was precious right now. And in the morning, when our alarms went off, it was obvious we hadn’t gotten enough.

We moved like zombies around the apartment as we got ready. I took the time to curl my hair today and decided since I wouldn’t be running around the city that I could wear heels. I put on a pair of tight black jeans, a gray top, and black leather jacket. I found a pair of black heels and slipped them on before grabbing my purse.

“You forgot something important,” Harry said as he stepped out of the bathroom. I was looking at myself in the full length mirror in the bedroom. I glanced over at him as he held up my engagement ring. “Don’t forget this one, sweetheart.” He walked over to me and slid the ring on my ring finger while he kissed me. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Harry.” I glanced down at my hand and smiled at the ring. I was still amazed at how beautiful it was every time I looked at it. Sometimes I’d been known to get distracted staring at my hand and then get laughed at by all of our friends. He gave me another kiss before I caught him glance down at my ring.

“I did a good job.”

“You did.”

“Not good enough to get you down the aisle yet.”

“When are we going to fit that in? You’ve got an album out in a matter of days and we are on the road on tour for the next year and a half. Planning a wedding sounds like stress neither of us need. But you know what I do need?”

“Me?” he asked. I nodded. “That’s all I need too. You and only you.” One more kiss and we headed out of the bedroom. We discovered that in the living room Jeff and Tommy were waiting for us. They basically had complete access to our apartment and lives this week to make sure that everything happened as it was supposed to. “Hello gentleman."

“Hey you two,” Tommy said. “Annie, are you ready to head to the airport? We have a car waiting downstairs.”

“I am.”

“See you in a bit, sweetheart.”

“Have a good morning, baby,” I said before moving to kiss him. After a few short kisses Tommy and I were out the door and headed down to the car. Today we had an SUV, enough space for the three of us and Mom’s luggage.

“You excited?” Tommy asked. He was sitting in the back next to me.

“I am. I haven’t seen Mom since the beginning of March.”

“I didn’t realize it had been that long. I thought you’d seen your family last month.”

“I’d talked about it but he had so much going on that I stuck around home.”

“He’s lucky to have you,” Tommy said. I looked up from my cell phone where I’d been reading emails to turn and look at him. I smiled and knew I was blushing a bit.

“Thanks, I’m lucky to have him too.”

“So, what do you have planned with your Mom today?”

“I’m pretty sure we will spend the day at the apartment or around there. Maybe go hang out at SNL for a little bit. I know she’ll want to see Harry as soon as she can. We are gonna do lunch with him today in between his rehearsals.”

“That will be nice.”

“I think you and Jeff are joining us. She loves you guys.”

“Your Mom is pretty great. Think she’s gonna be making meatballs while you’re all in town?” I started to laugh, she’d cooked dinner for everyone a few times when she was staying with us in Los Angeles and they all immediately fell in love with her meatballs, it also meant that I was being asked to make them a lot more frequently.

“I think the plan is to make them Sunday so that Harry can rest and enjoy a quiet day at home.”

“And we are all invited?”

“Our doorman will let you in whether you are invited or not. So yes, you’re invited.” It wasn’t much longer and we were at the airport. The driver pulled up somewhere to park and I hopped out of the car to go get Mom. “You don’t have to walk with me, T.”

“I know. I want to.” It wasn’t long waiting before I saw my Mom walking towards us with her backpack on. I’d bought it for her when we were traveling as well as a camera, a laptop and a few things she might enjoy having when she travelled and they all fit nicely in the backpack. I hurried over to her and we embraced in a tight hug.

“Hi, Ma.”

“Hi, Annie.”

“I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.” We finally ended our hug and I saw her look to my right where Tommy was standing. “Hi, Tommy.”

“Hi, Joy. How was your flight?”

“It was great. These kids needs to stop spoiling me. First class was completely unnecessary.”

“You were on a plane so early this morning that the least we could do was make sure you were comfortable. We are going to head to SNL’s studios and meet Harry for lunch. We can stick around there this afternoon if you want or we can head home or do whatever you want.”

“We will figure it out. See what Harry wants us to do.”

“Told ya,” I said looking at Tommy as we got her luggage and started to head to the car.

“Told ya, what?” Mom asked.

“She said that you were coming to see Harry and not her.”

“Well, it’s kind of true. She’s not going to be on Saturday Night Live. This is a big deal, Annie. It’s not like when you send me snapchat videos of you being weird. He’s on SNL.”

“See, chopped fucking liver.” Mom just laughed as she followed me out of the airport and towards the car. We made small talk as we drove through the city but Mom was easily distracted. She’d point out everything we passed that she was excited about, which was pretty much everything. We pulled up outside Rockefeller Center and hurried upstairs, bringing her bags with us.

“Joy!” Harry practically screamed when we walked into his dressing room where he was sitting with Jeff and his band. He jumped up off of the chair and engulfed her in a hug.

“Hi, Harry.”

“Have a nice flight?” he asked.

“It was good, thank you for the upgrade.”

“Of course. Are you ready for lunch?”

“Yes,” she said. “Are you sure you have time for lunch?”

“We made sure he had time,” Jeff added as he stood up and hugged my Mom. She was almost like a mother to everyone. She’d met the whole band, she and Lou had known each other for years and sometimes she and Jeff had been known to text back and forth about things. We headed out of the dressing room and to the elevator to get to one of the restaurants. Harry grabbed my hand and pulled me into him.

“I forgot to tell you this morning how cute you looked.”

“Thanks babe.”

“So tonight we are going to do dinner with your Mom. Just the three of us.”

“Are you sure?” I asked. I knew that this was a big week. Time away from his team was rare. “We had a date night last night. I don’t want to keep you busy tonight too.”

“I always have time for you and our date night last night wasn’t keeping me from anything. It was just what I needed. And tonight, we get Mom time. I thought you’d want some alone time with her tonight. Things just get busier for the rest of the week, so tonight is for family.” He bent down to kiss me as the door opened.

“Come on lovebirds,” Adam said. I flipped him off before walking into the elevator.

“You’re just jealous that the wife didn’t come on the trip.”

“I am. Completely jealous. She says hi, by the way.”

“Tell her I miss her. We will have all of you over for dinner once we are all home. I miss the kids.”

“She’ll love that.” The elevator door opened and we made our way to the restaurant and then were taken to a private room for us to all have lunch. I was in between Mom and Harry with Lou next to Mom.

“So I have an idea,” I said as I leaned forward to talk to Lou. “I need your help.”

“What’s the idea?” she asked.

“Think cotton candy.”

“Okay…”

“Let’s chop my hair and dye it pink. Help him celebrate the pink album.”

“I love it!” Lou said.

“That would be cute,” Mom added.

“Tomorrow he doesn’t need me. Girls day?” Lou asked.

“Perfect. Mom, you okay with that?”

“Of course. I love a girls day with you two.” Lou and I sat silently texting each other ideas for shades of pink to dye my hair, I wanted to surprise Harry with it. We were trying to decide how much of my hair to cut off and what color to go. With a tour approaching short hair might be nice but also buns. I survived on top knots, ponytails and buns of all sorts because I hated taking the time to do my hair most days.

“Are you coming back with us?” Harry asked as we stood to leave the restaurant.

“Of course. But tomorrow I’m stealing Lou. We are having a girls day with Mom.”

“That sounds like a fabulous idea. Maybe you should try and get massage appointments. You need one. Your back has been acting up.”

“You should give me one.”

“I could be convinced to do that.” He kissed me again before stepping into the elevator. The rest of the afternoon Mom and I hung out with Harry’s team and watched a few of his rehearsals with his band. The crowd from the show that gathered to listen to him perform was bigger than I expected and everyone was whispering back and forth about how great he was. I swelled with pride watching him and hearing what everyone said. Once we were done we gathered his stuff, Mom’s bags and climbed into the car that would take us home. We got Mom settled and then headed to a restaurant not far from the apartment for dinner. "A toast to you, Joy. Thank you for joining us this week. It means a lot to have you here to support Annie and I.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she replied. We all clinked wine glasses and jumped into conversation. Harry had Mom and I laughing as usual. I loved how well they got along. I’d been so nervous when he first met all of my family. Our relationship moved quickly and we were unconventional. But everyone loved him and welcomed him to the family as if he’d always been there. We made our way back to the apartment early so Mom could get some sleep. Harry and I headed into the bedroom by ourselves.

“Today was a good day,” he said as he climbed into bed next to me and took my phone from my hand. “So what are you and Lou doing tomorrow?”

“Doing some shopping with Mom. Probably getting mani/pedis. You know, girl stuff.” She had gone out and bought the coloring we would need and we were prepared to do the shopping and the mani/pedis but mainly we were ready to do my hair.

“That should be fun. Your Mom however isn’t a mani/pedi fan normally." He had started to rub my shoulders as I moaned a bit.

“We started to get them done with we traveled last summer. She likes them now. She just hadn’t ever gotten them enough.”

“You’re a good daughter to treat her to this kind of fun.”

“You’re a good future son-in-law to help treat her. I love you,” I said as I turned over in bed so I could look at him. He bent down and kissed me softly.

“I love you too.” We snuggled into each other and fell asleep quickly. In the morning there were alarms and texts and phone calls and emails and people and no alone time after we emerged from the bedroom. “Have fun today,” Harry said before he was ready to head out of the apartment. He wrapped his arms around me.

“Sing pretty today. I’ll see you tonight.”

“I love you.”

“I love you.” He bent down to kiss me and was quickly taken out of the house. “Okay so pink hair?” I turned to look at Mom and Lou who were the only people left in the apartment.

“I’m so excited about this,” Lou admitted. “He’s going to be blown away.”

“I hope he likes it. We all know he loves my hair long, chopping it off might not be the best plan.”

“You loved his hair long, he chopped it off,” Mom said. Lou and I both started laughing.

“And he keeps it so fucking short. I miss the long hair of the man I fell in love with. So yes, this is payback.”

“We’ve cut your hair short before and he liked it. You also know that when you’re running around on tour you enjoy having short hair. And, there’s always stennies.”

“Yes, but first we have reservations for brunch down the street before appointments for massages and mani/pedis.”

“For all of us?” Mom asked.

“Yes, Harry did this last night. When I told him we were having a girls day he took it literally.” They both laughed. We grabbed what we’d need and walked down the street to the restaurant we were having brunch at. We had mimosas and more pastries than imaginable in addition to a great breakfast. Days like this with Lou when we were on the road with One Direction had always been my favorite. We’d steal Lyla and Lottie sometimes and occasionally it would be just us. We’d formed a bond on that first tour that hadn’t been broken in the years since. l knew how important she was to Harry and made sure that she knew she was important to me too.

Once we were done with brunch it was off to a spa nearby. Harry had really arranged for everything. Massages, facials, pedicures and manicures. Of course I picked a blush pink polish knowing that supporting this man I loved’s pink obsession was my goal for the day. We bought some snacks and champagne on the way back to the apartment and Lou got to work. She was getting everything set up so I decided it was time to do an instagram shot of my nails.

bookshopbirdie: Anything is possible with sparkle and a little bit of pink.

We took over the master bath as she chopped my hair off. It was one of those moments where I held my breath and closed my eyes as she did the major cut. It had been well over a year since we’d cut my hair and it was rather long. I felt the scissors and heard them as they cut through my hair.

“Okay, it’s gone,” Lou said. I finally released my breath and opened my eyes. “I still need to give it shape, obviously. But it's gonna be cute.” I reached up and ran my fingers through my hair.

“I’m gonna love it.” Mom was sitting on the counter in the bathroom and talking to us as Lou gave my hair a style and started coloring it. She’d just finished with the last picture of it when we heard the elevator open in the living room and the commotion of everyone in the house.

“Sugar, we’re home!” Harry called.

"Good luck,” Lou said as I took a deep breath and walked towards the living room.

“How was today?” I asked.

“Good. Rehearsals are great. The sketches are going well. I’m getting excited.” Harry turned to look at me and his mouth fell open. “You…you…you cut your hair.”

“Technically, Louise cut my hair.”

“And you colored it…pink.”

“Again, that was technically Lou.”

“It’s beautiful,” he said as he ran his fingers through my hair. “What made you decide to do this?”

“I wanted to support my wonderful fiancé. As he likes to remind me, pink is the only true rock and roll color.” “You are amazing.”

“Eh, I do what I can.” He laughed before kissing me and running his fingers through the pink hair again. Our night was fun and quiet. We were ready for tomorrow to be one final day of Harry in rehearsals before Saturday which would be the big dress rehearsal and live show. We were up early for breakfast with Mom and some of Harry’s team before heading to NBC’s studios. Mom and I did the tour around there during the day as a way to have fun and keep busy while Harry was working. She was having a lot of fun watching him rehearse with his band, which we did make sure to get to.

“He’s incredible,” she said in between songs when they had stopped to talk about some stuff. I was on my laptop doing some writing and she was sitting beside me. “He was always fun to watch on stage with the boys but this is just so different. You have got to be so proud of him.”

“I’m unbelievably proud of him. I mean there’s a line of people sleeping on the street already to see him and they only know what one song sounds like. He’s in his element. It’s nice to see him this happy because of his music and for it to be all his.”

“I can’t wait to hear the whole thing.”

“We can do that before you leave. He’s still being super protective of it but tonight maybe we can listen. It will just be the three of us at home. He wanted to have a quiet night tonight before tomorrow and Sunday which will be lots of his team. And Nick is flying in today.”

“He is?” Mom asked.

“Yeah, he and his Mom are coming to see Harry tomorrow and spend some time in the city for his birthday. They are going to come for dinner Sunday since Jeff has declared that we are making meatballs for everyone.”

“That sounds like a perfect way to spend Sunday, though I'm sure you two will be out late tomorrow night after the show. Don’t they usually have an afterparty?”

“They do and we’ll go but we both are used to functioning on little to no sleep. Lots of travel and crazy these days.”

“Well, I can wake up and get started on stuff. We can go buy everything we need tomorrow before we have to come to the studio.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Harry walked over to us.

“How do I sound?” he asked. “You sound great,” I replied.

“You’re fantastic!” Mom gushed. I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t be the only one who cried tomorrow watching him. “Thank you for inviting me to be here for this. I really like ‘Ever Since New York’, it reminds me of what I listened to when I was your age.”

“That shouldn’t come as a surprise. Your daughter plays most of that stuff around the house so it was bound to influence me at some point. What are you working on, sweetheart?”

“A blog with some of the pictures I’ve taken while I’ve been here. You did sound great though. You look comfortable with the guitar. I like it.”

“Well, they only need me to do a few more things and then we can get out of here and go home. I figured we could get that Chinese delivery we tried the last time we were here. Joy will like it.”

“Yes, she will. So that is perfect.” He finished up what he needed to do and we were in the car headed home. Mom and I both broke into some wine as soon as we go home. “So, Harry, baby, Mom hasn't heard the whole record. How do you feel about playing it for her?”

“Nervous,” he said laughing. “But we can do that.”

“I would really like that,” she replied. He got everything ready and we sat down in the living room, Harry now joining us with a small glass of wine, and he hit play.

I could still remember the first time I heard every song. The first time I heard them played together, in order. I cried. We had listened, just the two of us after he decided the track listing. We were at the house in LA, it was a quiet weekday afternoon with warm weather and the windows open. He was nervous to play it for me, worse than he was now because playing it for my Mom was one thing, but playing the album for me was something he admitted to me terrified him. If the person he loved more than anything hated what he’d done he wouldn’t know how to function. Luckily for both of us, I was in love with the album. The sounds he created, the lyrics, and the emotion struck me from the first time I heard it and still did now.

“We don’t talk about it/It’s something we don’t do/Cause once you got without it/Nothing else will do.”

Meet Me in the Hallway faded to a close and he hit stop. He didn’t want to keep listening to an album with someone if they didn’t like the first track. He knew in that moment that he’d need to leave if the first song didn’t appeal to his listener. He paced when he played it for me the first time in order and I’d been there for every step of him writing and recording the album. He looked up and waited for my Mom to speak. She was someone who always put a lot of thought into what she said when it came to our work, both mine and Harry’s. She wanted to give us her opinion, soften it if she thought it would hurt one of us. She opened her mouth and then hesitated.

“Harry, it’s beautiful.”

“You're not just saying that?”

“No, it’s a wonderful song but so heartbreaking. Just listening I can feel the pain of what you were going through.”

This was the point where I’d get nervous every time the song played to one of our family members. The song was something that broke my heart the first time he played it for me. I knew the exact day he was writing about. The way he felt, the way I felt. It was a day I wouldn’t ever get out of my head. We rarely fought, but we’d been through a lot of stuff in our time together. This song was his emotion on the day of our one of our biggest fights to date. A day that I’d locked myself in the bedroom and refused to leave. My anxiety and depression was getting the best of me. He was always the one who wanted to talk through what we were going through, I wanted to just cry and be fine. He sat on the floor of the hallway for hours that night until he finally got up and walked around the park for a while. When he got home the door had finally been unlocked and he crawled in bed beside me. When he played the song for me I was transported back to our bedroom and could recall everything down to the pajamas I had on that day and shirt he’d grabbed as I threw him out of the room. His ability to channel that pain into something so beautiful was amazing.

“Thank you.”

“You look nervous, Annie,” Mom said.

“It’s a hard song to listen to still.” Harry pulled me into him on the couch, kissing the top of my head. My legs were pulled up into my chest at this point. “A lot of emotions being brought up again. But it’s a beautiful song, one of my favorites.”

“Really?” he asked. I nodded. He started to play the rest of the album. It was always fun to see if people could pick out lyrics that were about me or try to guess if they were about someone else from his past, his mother had done the same thing. Though it didn’t take long for either of them to figure out Sweet Creature wasn’t about me, it was about Gemma. It was Anne’s favorite song he’d ever written and probably always would be. Only Angel started and I watched my Mom’s face light up. It was my favorite song on the record and one I knew the moment I heard it she’d love. The choir, the guitar, the way he channeled The Rolling Stones in the sound, it was something I knew she’d love immediately. The second half of the album always blows me away listening to it and it did Mom as well.

“Harry, you have a masterpiece on your hands. I can now understand why Annie gushes constantly about this album. You did a great job. I can’t wait to actually go out and buy a physical copy of it to have it.”

“Thanks, Joy. That means a lot.”

“So which song is your favorite, Annie?”

“Only Angel.”

“She’s selfish.”

“Why is that?” Mom asked.

“It’s the only song that is blatantly about her and not utterly heartbreaking.” Mom started to laugh loudly. “The rest are a combination of women in my life, women in Mitch’s life, and some of the others that wrote with me. She’s my angel.”

“And when he thinks about me he hears fucking choirs in his head,” I said as I started to laugh loudly. Harry just shook his head at me. We ate dinner and I searched through Twitter.  and took time to post a picture of my hair on Instagram.

bookshopbirdie: Pink is the only true rock and roll color.

“Everyone loved the delivery of stuff earlier today.” He’d had coffee, water, juice, and fruit delivered. Amongst the fruit, platters of cut kiwis to taunt them and make them think he’d be singing Kiwi this weekend.

“I’m having pizzas delivered tonight. Those fans are diehard. They deserve a reward,” he said as he opened up his fortune cookie from dinner. “A dream you have will come true.”

“Well, I’d say that’s true,” I said as I smiled at him and opened mine. “You will marry your lover.”

“One can only hope,” he replied as he rolled his eyes. Mom laughed. She was the only person in my family that we joked like this around. My Dad, Step-Mom, brother and sister-in-law were all anxious for us to settle down and get married. They constantly asked if we’d set a date. Mom just knew it would happen when we were ready for it to.

“Awww, mine is so true.” We both looked at my Mom as she held handed her fortune to us. Harry took it from her and read it.

“There is no greater pleasure than seeing your loved ones prosper.” He smiled before pulling her into a hug. It was another early night for us to go to bed knowing the day ahead of us tomorrow. I laid in there with Harry listening to him talk through the excitement for the next day until he made himself tired enough that he fell asleep.

When we woke up in the morning I made breakfast so he had a meal early and a way to start the day without having to eat something from a coffee shop or cafe. He was off to the studios earlier than Mom and I were. We took time to hang out at home and for me to get dressed since I was dressing nicer than I had all week. I'd gotten a black mini dress with lace on the shoulders and an embroidered bird design to wear tonight. It looked perfect with the pink hair. I grabbed a jacket to bring with me and we were off. Nick had text me that they would meet us at the studios. They were waiting in the lobby when we walked in.

“You look lovely,” he said as he hugged me and kissed my cheek.

“Thanks, you look wonderful yourself. You ready for this?”

“I should be asking you that. You cried sitting in the studio watching me hit play on his song for the first time and we were recording it in advance of when it aired. Are you ready?”

“Yes, I have tissues in my purse and Lou promised to touch my makeup up before we all go out tonight.” All of us piled into an elevator and headed up to find Harry. I walked into the dressing room and he was dressed for the start of the show in all black. A black suit and black shirt. My heart skipped a beat. There were hugs all around and small talk before everyone filed out to give Harry and I a moment alone together.

“You’re going to be amazing,” I said as I was sitting on his lap on the sofa.

“I’m so happy I have you hear with me.” He started to kiss my neck.

“I’d be nowhere else right now. In this moment there is only one place in the world I need to be and that’s with you.”

“I love you.”

“And I love you. You’re going to be great. No matter what happens tonight, you need to remember one thing.”

“That you’re proud of me?”

“Yes, I’m so proud of you. I feel lucky to have been able to be with you through this process. To see you go from being part of a band of five to a band of four to commanding the stage on your own has been a journey that I’ve been so lucky to witness. Thank you for choosing me to be in your life.”

“Thank you for finally saying yes to drinks. I will never in my life complain about a snowstorm again because if there hadn’t been a blizzard that weekend I don’t think I’d have you.”

“I know what you mean. Every time it snows I think about waking up snuggled up next to you in that old apartment under the quilt you gave me and how agreeing to drinks those night and one snowstorm changed my life.”

“It changed mine too.” He kissed me softly and sweetly. I didn't want to leave the dressing room. I just wanted to stay snuggled up to him in this moment forever. That’s when I heard the knock at the door.

“Annie, you need to go get your seat,” Jeff said.

“She’ll be out in a minute.” Harry rested his forehead against mine and looked straight into my eyes. “I love you more than the world.”

“And I love you. You’re going to do amazingly.” One final kiss and I stood up. I opened the door to see Jeff standing there. I hugged him. “Thank you. Thank you for believing in him and getting him here.”

“I had the easy job. He’s amazing and you know it.”

“Still, I’m grateful that you are who is helping him through this. Anyone else wouldn’t be capable of understanding him in the way you do. So thank you.”

“You’re welcome. You should go grab your seat. I have you with your Mom, Nick and his Mom in the front row.” I took off down the hallway and sat down in between my Mom and Nick.

“How is he?” Nick asked.

“As good as we could ask him to be considering what tonight is.” There was still time before the show started and I wanted to show off my dress because Harry kept going on about how he loved it when we were in together.

bookshopbirdie: All dressed up for a big night on the town.

You could hear the announcements throughout the studio that it was almost time to start. As the lights went down Mom grabbed for my hand holding it in hers just as Nick did the same with my other. I looked at them both and smiled as I squeezed their hands in mine. They didn’t let go once, not even when they laughed at the cold open which had Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump, the Grim Reaper version of Steve Bannon that SNL had been using, and Jimmy Fallon as the most frat boy version of Jared Kushner ever. Here we were waiting for the moment that Harry took the stage. The anticipation that led into it was finally going to give us our reward. I thought I’d be less nervous once the show started, but I was wrong. The nerves only built when I heard those words.

“Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”

From the moment they announced that Harry would be on SNL I knew I wanted to write that moment from Annie’s perspective. The pride of seeing him prepare for it and get to the night where he would have the biggest performance of his life. Yes, I know there’s a bit of a cliffhanger. Maybe someday I will write her basically bawling her eyes out as he performs. But for now, this is what I wanted to write.

I hope you all love it. I can’t wait to hear what you think. 

Now it’s time to get back to work on In the Heat of Los Angeles! I miss being in Evie’s crazy brain.

xx AM.