#maybe he was just upset at the amount of added candles in the shop

[rgco413]

A Very (late) Merry Christmas from the Ineffable Husbands in Fairy Village! 🎄🎁

Decided to do some redecorating! Tis the season and all that! (It's late because the decor was hard to get bahumbug >:[ ) Close ups below!

(I didn't get the Santa hat still so Aziraphale went for the classic halo and had Crowley go for reindeer horns arguing that it's still demonic since it's like devil horns 😌)

Link to how the bookshop usually looks like

Link to play the game

Link to my other Ineffable Fairy Village posts

Happy Holidays! 🎄

📚🐍💙❤️🫖🍷

[harrypotter-imaginess]

Part 1 Here!

Commission Info for letters from your favorite comfort character here! 

A/N: If you want to be added to the tag list for this, The draco muggle series, or the Fred and George Weasley best friends Series let me know!

- “What’s the hurry boss? Where are you heading off to?” One of your co -workers asks as you rush around the store double checking all the locks on the entrances and giving your plants one final spritz

- “Hot date?” The other asks with a suggestive raised eyebrow

- “Yes.” You say simply,

- They both sputter at that

- “What? Seriously?!”

- “With who??” The other shrieks

- And right on cue there’s a light tap on the door

- Cue your employees squealing again

- “Him?!?”

- “The hottie with a dye job?”

- George offers you a smile and a wave and you smile back

- “Ainsley I trust you can lock up?” You ask, pushing the key into their hand

- They only nod

- Henry’s looking at you with his his mouth open as he watches you leave, George and you smiling at each other like a couple of lovestruck fools

- “I told you he had a crush on them” Ainsley says with a grin and Henry has a blush blooming on his cheeks as he pulls a five pound note from his wallet

- “I mean I did too- I just didn’t think he would work up the nerve to actually ask them out.”

- A moment of silence fills the air

- “I bet Ten pounds they find out if that’s their natural hair color tonight” Ainsley says with a grin, and Henry looks at her with a slightly mortified expression

- I mean, the implication of how you would find that out is just-

- “Yeah alright, our boss is a prude there’s no way” he says shaking Ainsley’s hand.

- So when George meant dinner- he meant dinner

- You’re at the tower restaurant in downtown London

- It’s on the fiftieth floor at a skyscraper at the heart of London.

- He reserved a table specifically next to a window with a view of the canal and the London eye

- It’s quite spectacular

- “Have you been here before?” He asks

- You’re glad you dressed a little nicer than you were originally thinking

- “A few times, once for a birthday and once-“

- You’re interrupted by your server bringing a bottle of champagne

- George gets a puzzled expression, he hasn’t even ordered yet

- “Compliments of the Owner, we’re still grateful you were able to fulfill that order last minute when our other florist backed out.”

- “Not a problem Charles, it was my pleasure”

- When he’s gone George flashes you a smile

- “I feel like everyone knows you” he says, lifting up a champagne flute as you toast.

- “That was just one person” you say with a smile and a giggle

- “You should have been at the store last week, my brother wouldn’t shut up about you” he says with a grin

- “Who’s your brother?”

- George describes Ron, but it doesn’t spark anything in you until he mentions the red hair

- “Oh yes, Ronnie! He comes by every month to get flowers for his girlfriend, I didn’t know he was your brother”

- What a small world

- You should have seen the similarity from the start, the hair was a dead give away really

- How come no one else at the shop had noticed either?

- “Well one of them” George shrugs

- “How many brothers do you have”

- George grins

- “That’s enough for a volleyball team!”

- “We have a sister too, the running joke is our parents wanted a girl, just one”

- By the time the appetizers are being brought out George has got the family picture from when they visited Bill in Egypt out (charmed so it doesn’t move of course)

- “You have a twin?”

- You know the second you’ve asked it that you said something wrong

- It’s not that George looks upset, or that his expression has darkened-

- He just looks so sad

- The kind of sadness that’s as deep as the Mariana Trench, hidden behind a kind smile and the gentle warmth of longing

- “I did have a twin-“ George knew this would come up sooner or later, he just didn’t want to ruin the nice mood you had going so soon

- “He passed away a few years ago”

- George is waiting for the look-

- The wide eyes, and the slight pout. That overly sympathetic look he’s gotten so often, it’s only natural. It happens to everyone, he won’t hold it against you. 

- And it forms on your face a little, because you can’t imagine what it’s like to lose someone like that. But the next thing that comes out of your mouth is original

- “What was he like?”

- “What?” George is taken aback, he was expecting words of condolence, as is typical for this situation

- “You told me all about Bill, and Charlie, and Percy, and Ron, and Ginny-“

- Now he’s surprised that you’ve remembered all of his siblings names, and correctly at that

- “Now tell me about your twin”

- Your eyes are twinkling when they look to him. All of London stretches out behind you, like something from a painting. Your face is illuminated by the small candle in the middle of your table.

- It feels like something out of a movie, and George is afraid he might cry from the sheer beauty of it

- He never thought he would feel this way again

- “His name was Fred, and he was my best friend”

- He’s talked about Fred before, to his family, to his therapist and old classmates

- But he’s never had an experience quite like this

- “Umbridge? Oh she was the worst, like the bitter old nun who slaps your wrists with a ruler”

- Only worse

- “Anyway Fred and I- we planned this entire thing when we decided to leave school-“

- He tells you about the fireworks in the main hall of their boarding school, and the way they raced through the door and never came back

- “I think I would have liked Fred” you say, a warm look in your eyes

- He would have liked you too, George wants to say

- But that’s a little forward for the first date, he feels like he’s already unloaded enough with his broken family and their loss

- Lucky for him, dessert has just arrived

- “Compliments of the owner, we hope to see you both here again” Charles tells you, setting down two impressive plates of Tiramisu

- “Why do I get the feeling that whatever you did was more than just a last minute order fulfillment?”

- You shrug

- “Well after the whole thing- they started contracting me to do their regular day to day flowers” you shrug, it’s not that big of a deal, fancy places like this use a few different vendors, they probably have a different one for each day

- Which is for the best since your shop can only handle a few days at most.

- It’s not that you can’t produce enough flowers or anything, it’s just you wouldn’t be able to give Ainsley and Henry the leisurely work hours you do now, not while maintaining quality for your existing customers

- And that’s a big no for you

- “I take it business was always this good?”

- With how successful you seem, he honestly can’t imagine you struggling

- You scoff

- “It was tough at first, when I was by myself.” You still remember your family telling you that it wasn’t to late to declare bankruptcy and get a real job. “Things got better when Ainsley showed up- holidays are still tough though.”

- “Ron’s told me all about the hour long line at Valentine’s Day” George says with a grin and you bury your face in your hands with a muffled groan

- “Oh it’s going to be terrible this year.” Valentine’s Day is still a few months away, but you can already feel the dread

- “We started doing appointments only last year- because the amount of people that just show up and ransack the place is just-“

- “Oh I know,” George says. “My store doesn’t even sell anything all that romantic, but the amount of people who show up last minute to buy anything- one time a bloke even bought the decorations I had up.”

- “Have you noticed-“ you voice lowers as you lean forward. “That’s it’s never people looking for things for their significant other, it’s always-“

- “For the mistresses?”

- You nod enthusiastically

- “I thought maybe it was just my store-“ George leans forward as well now, talking very quickly

- “No the same person who ordered flowers two months in advance for their husband, will spend thirty minutes begging for me to put a bouquet together for their special friend”

- George leans back and shakes his head

- “It’s crazy isn’t it? How many people cheat?”

- You sigh, leaning back into your chair shrugging

- “It’s not our place to judge.”

- Especially not when the person in question is shoving fifty quid in your face for a god d*mn cactus and a card

- George knows that, and he knows there have been times that the only reason he was able to keep his shop afloat after Fred left is because of Valentine’s Day

- But still- cheating just irks him

- It’s the most unforgivable thing a person can do, to betray the person they love the most like that

- George knows every relationship is different- and that things aren’t clear cut-

- But he can’t ever imagine doing that to someone

- “I don’t get it though, I can’t even get one lover, let alone two or more” you laugh, and George swears it looks like you’re glowing

- He feels a smile twitch at the corner of his lips, the mischievous streak in him rolling awake after what feels like years of slumber

- “What if I told you I was trying to change that?”

- His arm is on the table, the tips of his fingers brushing against yours slightly

- You feel your face grow hot as his words sink in one by one

- A smile spreading across you face

- “I would say, I’m looking forward to it.”

BONUS:

- “So did you find out if Hottie’s color is natural?” Ainsley asks, a mischievous smile curled onto their lips. 

- “Ainsley, his name is George, he owns a hobby store a few lanes over.” You say as you finish tying the bow on an arrangement. 

- There’s a second of silence in which Henry and Ainsley exchange a look. Henry’s feeling pretty confident right now, Ainsley might have worked here longer than him, but he feels like he knows you pretty well, and he-

- “And yes it is, so you should both stop calling him Dye Job.” You say with a smile twitching on your lips. 

- Henry.exe is broken.

- Ainsley has to hide their joy, internally cheering and wondering how to spend the money. 

- “H-how do you know that?” Henry asks, maybe you’re just saying it so he and Ainsley will stop teasing your new love interest. 

- You stop, looking up from your arrangement in slight wonder.

- Ah, he was right! It looks like you’re trying to come up with an excuse.

- “Well his brothers all seem to have that hair color, I think they get it from their Dad.”

- Ainsley and Henry.exe have stopped working. 

- “YoU mEt HiS fAmIlY??” Ainsley shrieks. 

[radiorenjun]

I Don't Need It

• Pairing: Na Jaemin x Reader

• Genre: Angst, Comedy, Fluff

• Na Jaemin despised the idea of soulmates, he wanted to fight against fate for choosing his soulmate for him. Even if it means his stubborn childhood best friend wouldn't stop trying to make him accept about the similar tattoos on their wrists.

• Warnings: mental breakdowns, heartbreak, rejection, major angst, arguments, flashbacks, physical injuries, fighting, underaged drinking, panic attacks, mentions of death, slight mentions of druGS?, terribly written i dont rlly like this chapt.

• Wordcount : 6.1 k

• Masterlist here!

• Chapters: XIII, XIV

Life had many pros and cons, but people always preferred to see the bright side of it. As they say one of the best feelings in the world was the feeling you get when you found your soulmate, your other half. You had heard a countless amount of stories about it in your youth. Mainly from your grandmother. But sadly, you were one of the unfortunate souls who couldn’t experience the feeling for too long.

 Your sixteenth birthday was supposed to be filled with joy and excitement. But the moment you saw the ink starting to form on your wrist as soon as you blew your candles caused your heart to weigh down in your chest. At that moment, you remembered the feeling of shock and slight disappointment when you realised you had the same soulmate tattoo as Jaemin.

You remembered standing still in the middle of the room, surrounded by your friends and family who eagerly surrounded you to see your new soulmate tattoo as you entered a midlife crisis on the spot. How your mind turned messy with thoughts as your anxiety got the best of you.

‘My tattoo is the same as Jaemin’s. Jaemin is my soulmate?’

‘Oh god, but he doesn’t want to have a soulmate chosen for him. He wants to find his own love and experience the feeling of slowly falling for someone, I can’t possibly take that wish away from him, right?’

‘I’m his best friend, for pete’s sakes! He’s never going to treat me or look at me the same way again.’

‘This is really ironic. Grandma, you really got what you wanted, huh?’ 

The whole situation was almost laughable to you. Oh how your grandmother would probably be doing somersaults in her place if she was here to witness this miracle. But alas, that moment you just wanted to turn into stone on the spot. You wanted time to stop. You knew very well that there was a possibility that you won’t be experiencing that life changing feeling your grandmother always rambles about. 

Though, you had some hope that maybe. Just maybe, Jaemin would be okay with having you as his soulmate. Maybe he would be happy to find out that his childhood best friend, the person who knows him better than his own family, was his soulmate. Maybe life would give you some mercy and decided that Jaemin would change his mind and you would end up living happily ever after.

‘Come on, he would definitely be glad to find out that someone close to him was his soulmate, right?’ 

‘I know him like the back of my hand, surely he would be ecstatic to see that we have the same soulmate tattoo!’

‘I’m sure of it!’

‘Grandma said that there’s nothing better than the feeling of finding your soulmate’

‘He’s your best friend, he wouldn’t be disappointed to see that you ended up as his soulmate, right?’

‘You’ll still get that feeling of happiness you’ve been longing to feel for so long, right y/n?’

Of course, you were only getting your hopes up.

When you turned to Jaemin, who was peeking over your shoulder at your wrist to see your tattoo, the look on his face was enough to push your hopes down to the floor. You honestly couldn’t decipher what he was feeling. But it definitely wasn’t anything along the lines of happiness.

‘What’s that look for, Jaem?’

‘Surprised? Definitely. Disappointment? Pretty clear. Sadness? Yep, it was there alright. Misery? Despair? Probably.’

You couldn’t show anyone your sadness though, you had to keep a bright smile until the day was over if you didn’t want to worry anyone. When Jaemin’s eyes met yours, he, too, was surprised to see your calm reaction. The sad smile you gave him was enough to silence him for the rest of the party. 

It was quite painful when the rest of your friends and family decided to bombard you with questions of who you might think your soulmate could be. Not wanting to make things more awkward, you just tried your best to answer those questions without showing how upset you were with a simple shrug with Jaemin avoiding your eyes for the rest of the day.

At that moment you didn’t know how much pain you’d be in all because of your stupid soulmate mark.

One of the most hurtful things you’ve ever experienced was watching your friends and relatives find their own soulmates with the look of pure happiness stretched across their faces as you stand there with Jaemin by your side with a smile masking your faces and misery glossing over your eyes.

The one that always stuck to you was that time during Christmas. 

It had been a few months since you found out you and Jaemin were soulmates and not much has changed other than your obnoxious flirting and affection towards him. Jaemin had grown less and less affectionate as time passed by. He was no longer attacking you with surprise hugs or giving you cuddles during your movie nights.

You could feel your friendship tearing apart with every step you take, it was hopeless, you didn’t know what to do. You wanted to stop before you ruin your relationship completely, you wanted to stop making things so awkward between you, you wanted everything to stop hurting. You wanted to stop feeling hurt all the time. 

But at the same time, you couldn’t. You feared that once you stop, you’ll give up completely and you were scared that maybe if you stopped, you won’t have the courage to talk to Jaemin anymore. You were scared once you stopped you wouldn’t have the energy left to bare with the pain talking to him brought you. You were scared you’d give everything up.

And you were scared if it did happen, you wouldn’t know what to do with yourself anymore.

They say the moments you spend with your soulmate should be one of the best moments of your life. Was the pain you felt all this time really worth it? Isn’t this kind of toxic? 

Your friend, Yiren, from another town had come to visit you over the holidays to spend some quality time with you. Your parents allowed her to spend the night at yours for Christmas while her parents finished their business in some other town. At that time, you and your other friends decided to hang out at the mall, asking her to tag along so they could meet her.

Yiren was an out-going person, just like you, therefore she got along very well with most of your friends. But when Chanhee finally arrived at the garden you were supposed to meet up at, you couldn’t help but feel your heart sink when you witnessed such an endearing moment between your two friends.

“Hey guys! I’m so sorry I’m late, my brother needed help closing up the shop!” Chanhee exclaimed, waving as he ran towards you. “You loser, just be grateful you have amazing friends who were willing to buy tickets 3 hours early,” Hyunjin clicked his tongue, slinging an arm around his friend’s shoulder who let out a loud laugh. 

“Whatever you say, Hwang Hyunjin.” Chanhee stuck his tongue out teasingly at the boy. “Oh! Chanhee! I got my friend from Busan to tag along with us, I just want her to have more friends here, you don’t mind right?” you asked, slumping down on your seat. “That’s cool, where is she? Actually, where are the other girls?” Chanhee nodded, cocking his head to the side to find the other girls.

“The others went to buy some drinks for us. Don’t worry I made sure to make them order something for you,” Jaemin responded, scrolling through his phone casually. “Why didn’t you join them?” Chanhee asked, turning to you. You let out a wide, nervous smile, letting out small awkward laughs. “She wanted to stick beside me,” Jaemin huffed, trying his best not to roll his eyes out of annoyance.

“Whipped, I see,” he chuckled, watching you cross your arms against your chest before giving him a teasing glare. “You’ll understand once you actually find your soulmate, Chan. I can’t expect you to understand,” you joked in a rather arrogant tone, putting a hand under your chin as you grinned cheekily at your friend.

“It’s not that he doesn’t understands, Y/n. It’s just the fact that you’re really questionable,” Jaemin mumbled under his breath, earning a glare from you. “You two really are a questionable couple,” Hyunjin commented with a laugh. “I swear, my life wouldn’t be this entertaining if it weren’t for the two of you pushing and pulling each other like some kind of weird magnet,” he added with a loud snicker.

You winced internally at his words.

“We’re here!” Nayeon exclaimed in an excited tone, hopping up to you all with plastic bags filled with drinks. “Sorry, the line was so fucking long,” Yiren chuckled, pulling out the drinks from the bag to hand them out. “Nah, it’s fine. We’re not the ones paying after all,” you teased, waving it off.

“Bitch,” Yiren spat at you jokingly, earning a small laugh from your friends. You gingerly grabbed your drink and a straw, stabbing it into the drink before sipping. “Oh! Yiren! Meet Chanhee, he just got here because of business or something,” you squeaked, gesturing to the boy whose head shot up from his drink at the mention of his name.

“What? Me?” Chanhee rambled, stabbing his straw through the lid of his drink. 

“Oh, nice to meet you! I’m Yiren, I’m Y/n’s friend from Busan,” she smiled, outstretching her hand to shake his. “Nice to meet you too, I’m Chanhee,” he nodded, shaking her hand before his eyes glanced down to her wrist. His eyes widened, letting out a loud gasp which alerted all of you. 

“What? What happened?” Mina exclaimed, turning her head to the couple who were staring at each other with equally flabbergasted expressions. “It’s you! Holy crap, it’s actually you!” she exclaimed, using her free hand to cup her mouth. Chanhee slowly stood up, feeling tears gathering in his eyes.

Everyone was shocked. You let out dramatic gasps, recognizing the loving expressions the two of them had on their faces. No one dared to speak as they let the knowledge sink in, feeling the atmosphere tense up for a brief moment as you watched your two friends stare admiringly and longingly at each other.

“You’re real! What the fuck, you’re real and you’re here!” Chanhee managed to choke out, admiring the tattoo on Yiren’s left wrist that mirrored his own. “Hi soulmate,” she laughed, wrapping her arms around her soulmate who wrapped her in a tight embrace. 

Your friends let out loud cheers and squeals at how dramatic their meet-up was, coming forward to congratulate them nonetheless. You couldn’t hold in your excitement for your friend but you couldn’t help but clench your fist tightly by your side, a heavy feeling in your chest piling up once again.

You couldn’t help but feel envious of how happy they looked. The tears in their eyes as they embraced each other so passionately, the bright aura surrounding them. You’ve seen your friends and families do PDA with their own partners but you had never witnessed what finding your soulmate truly looked like. That is, not until now.

Reading strangers’ experiences when meeting their soulmate online was one thing but seeing it first hand in person was a beautiful sight to see. You couldn’t help but turn to Jaemin in your seat, giving him a longing look as you ignored the loud exclaims and cheers of your friend group.

Jaemin’s expression was empty, void of emotion. You couldn’t tell what he was thinking or what he was feeling. Frankly, you didn’t want to know. They say you can see your future with your soulmate if your love was powerful enough. ‘Bull crap, all I see in his eyes is irritation towards me’ you thought with a roll of your eyes.

Jaemin’s eyes met yours, his brow raising at you as if to say ‘what?’

Your eyes widened slightly, taking aback by his sudden gaze, feeling hurt at the fact that he wasn’t fazed at all at the beautiful sight bestowed upon him. The reunion of two soulmates was always something special, it was a priceless moment that they can only share between them.

You felt your enthusiasm waver when you realised you were hoping something that wasn’t going to come. You were clinging on to Jaemin once again in hopes that he would give you the happiness you craved so much from hearing your grandmother’s stories. 

When you finally focused back on Jaemin’s now concerned gaze since he noticed you had spaced out and had begun snapping his fingers in front of your face to snap you out of your deep thoughts.

You couldn’t help but smile brightly at him, ignoring the jolting pain blooming in your wrist and in your chest as you stood up from your seat to join in celebration with your friends. The thought of never experiencing the same happiness they’re going to have once they find their soulmates lingering in the back of your mind.

But fortunately for you, keeping a smile stretched across your lips is what you do best.  

“Hey, I’m here,” Renjun called out, walking into your door without knocking. Your parents were away for the day and your sad hours were hitting you hard that you called Renjun to help comfort you and accompany you. Renjun knew the door was always unlocked for him to enter immediately without knocking whenever you were sad.

“Thanks for coming,” you smiled weakly, nuzzling closer to your bed sheets as Renjun sat on the bed next to you, dumping a plastic bag filled with snacks right in front of you. “You better pay me back sooner or later,” he joked, pulling out two cartons of milk and handing one to you. “When I don’t feel like shit that is,” you chuckled softly, sticking the straw in the carton as you tossed him the remote.

“What do you want to watch?” he asked, adjusting his position on your pillow as he pressed through the options on your TV screen. “The Office? That drama you’ve been wanting to watch? Or-”

“I’m good with anything, Jun. I just- I’m just glad I’m not alone, right now,” you inhaled deeply, sniffling back your tears as you shook your milk carton. Renjun paused, realising you were on the brink of crying again. He clicked his tongue, his eyes darting from the TV screen to your shaking form trying to maintain calm, debating whether to leave you be or make you talk your feelings out.

“You want to talk about it?”

Renjun obviously decided to choose the latter.

You shrugged, looking down at your milk carton so hopelessly, a hurt expression flossing over your features. “I was just having those dreams again,” you gazed up to keep your tears in. You’ve been having these dreams that you were in a completely alternate universe, that you were happy again, that you were in Jaemin’s arms.

That he was looking at you the way you’ve been looking at him for the past two years.

“Were you reading those soulmate moments again before you went to bed?” he asked with a soft chuckle. You huffed, crossing your arms before sitting up straight against the headboard. “Come on! Let me dream! I might not be able to experience the happiness soulmates share when they’re with each other because I decided to ghost mine completely, but at least I can imagine!” you whined.

“It’s the only thing I can do now that I don’t have any hopes of experiencing romance or love and what not,” you mumbled almost inaudibly, sipping on your milk once again. Renjun bit his lip, knowing full well where this was going if he said the wrong thing. “Well, I-”

“It’s not fair, Renjun.”

“Huh?”

He turned to you, watching you stare at the screen which was playing a trailer of The Umbrella Academy with an expression filled with despair. “I’m stupid for getting this worked up for a boy but he’s my soulmate, I have the right to be upset right? He’s my soulmate, I want to experience the same thing others are experiencing, too. It’s not fair,” you whimpered, crossing your arms tightly against your chest.

“Why does he get to be the selfish one? I’m here getting hurt all the time for his own happiness and he’s probably out there living his best life!” you exclaimed exasperatedly, sniffling back your tears. “It’s not fair, I want to be happy too.” You whimpered, furiously wiping away your tears,

“How did we come to this? I’m human too! I want to be selfish too for once. I want to be able to play with my soulmate’s hair, give them little smooches, have cuddles and movie sessions. I want to go on dates with my soulmate too! And take those aesthetic pictures you see on Pinterest too!”

“Y/n, I-”

“He wanted to find love and experience the feeling of falling in love with someone who wasn’t chosen for him, right? Does that mean I have to watch him fall in love with someone else in front of my own eyes? Oh God, I’m so fucking stupid!” you planted your elbows on your thighs, leaning forward to rub your eyes against your palms to avoid looking into Renjun’s sympathetic ones.

“Two years. Two damn years, that’s how long I spent parading myself around like an idiot hoping that he would like me back when all I did, really, was drive him further and further away! I just thought, maybe it wasn’t those immediate soulmate bonds, you know Jun? The ones that take time and effort. But it’s been two damn years. Once again, I’m just fooling myself with something that wasn’t there! I just want it to stop hurting!”

“Y/n stop, your wrist is glowing again-”

“I was so stupid, Renjun. So, so fucking stupid. All this time I knew that I was making the both of us uncomfortable, yet I still kept on going and I still kept on pestering him even if he told me to stop. Maybe I’m the selfish one?” you felt your bottom lip quiver as your scattered mind grew messier with every passing second.

“Why did I trick myself into thinking that maybe one day he would feel the same feelings I’m feeling? I’ve always known he won’t ever love me back. So why did I create false hope? Was that selfish of me to want someone to love and someone to love me back?”

“No, y/n, you’re not selfish.”

“Renjun. My own soulmate doesn’t love me. My own fucking soulmate doesn’t love me. I’m going to be alone forever. I hate being alone. I hate it so much. I hate this so damn much,” your whole body shook harshly with every sob you let out but Renjun couldn’t help but respond with a soft, “you won’t be alone, y/n.”

“The worst part is I told myself for so long that I’ll be okay if it happens. I’ll be fine with watching him happy without me. But the more I think about it, the more selfish I felt. I don’t want to see him fall in love with someone else and be happy with someone else, Jun. I’m so stupid, Why did I ever thought I’d be okay with it when I’m clearly not okay now!”

“Y/n, no, you’re not stupid. Don’t you dare say something like that about yourself.” Renjun pulled you away from the ball you were curling into, making you lean against his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around your back tightly, stroking your head and rubbing your back as he tried to calm down your soft cries.

“You’re not stupid, y/n. You’re really not,” he said in the softest tone he could muster. 

“Renjun. I have a soulmate who doesn’t even fucking want me. If my own soulmate doesn’t want me then who else will? You all always see how he looks at me right? He hates me, he doesn’t even like me. Not one bit.” At this point, you were trying to focus on your breathing, wiping your nose and tears away with the fabric of your shirt.

Your grip on your bedsheets tightened when your heart ached even more. Your heart was screaming and pleading in your chest, crying out for something it can’t have. And all you can do to comfort it was to cry it all out.

Renjun sat there, rubbing your back and stroking your head as he whispered soft hushes, trying to reassure you your worth as you mumbled incoherent sobs, single syllables and broken words against his shoulder. You were hurting so much that you didn’t know if you should stop crying or let it all out to satisfy the pain in your chest.

But sure enough, Renjun held you there until you couldn’t cry anymore. 

“Hey, I told you, you don’t have to give me chocolates anymore. My mom’s going to kill me if I have another sore throat,” you chuckled, pulling up the thin chocolate bar from your locker. Your friend, Nayeon, turned to you with furrowed brows, eyes filled with confusion. “Excuse you, I didn’t give you any chocolates this week,” she responded, pulling out her textbook.

You let out a small ‘huh?’ at her, trying to see if she was lying. Nayeon always gave you half of her lifetime supply of chocolates that she always receives from her soulmate because she wanted to go on a diet and she didn’t want to waste the delicious treats. “He found out I was on a diet and stopped giving me chocolates for the time being. Also, it’s my cheat day today!” she exclaimed, pulling out a chocolate bar similar to yours from her pocket.

“So no chocolates for you,” she waved the chocolate bar in your face jokingly, causing you to chuckle. “Well okay, Nayeon. But if you didn’t give me the chocolate, then who did?” you asked, furrowing your brows at the treat in your hand. “Dumbass, there’s a note behind it,” Nayeon reached over and flipped the candy over, revealing a small yellow sticky note attached to it.

‘I hope you have a great day!

- you know who’

The handwriting gave it away. It was way too obvious, you’ve seen that handwriting more than you could count. There was no doubt in your mind that this was indeed Jaemin’s handwriting. You chuckled when your mind recalled the time Jaemin kept giving you chocolate bars from his mother’s private stock whenever you were upset back when you were still kids. But how could he still remember your favorite chocolate brand? It was quite sweet but unexpected at the same time.

“’I hope you have a great day’, that’s so bland. Sounds like something moms would write on a piece of paper in their kid’s lunch boxes,” your friend commented with a small snicker, pointing at the note attached to the chocolate bar. “This sounds like some weird stalker-ish movie prompt,” she added with a teasing tone, nudging your shoulder. You forced out a small laugh to hide your discomfort.

“Do you really have to say it like that, though? I’d say this might just be someone’s weird prank?” you raised your brow, trying not to give away the fact that you know full well who this chocolate bar is from. “Come on, aren’t you suppose to be the prankster in this situation, y/n?” she giggled, waving her hand off to say she was joking.

“Nonetheless-Ooh! An admirer! Sadly, you’re too whipped for Jaemin to give this fellow a chance,” Nayeon gushed, snatching the chocolate bar out of your palms to inspect the note even further. “It even says ‘you know who’. I’m fully convinced that a Potterhead wrote this, I mean, it’s cute. But do they really have to include ‘you know who’? This isn’t Harry Potter, they ain’t Voldemort,” Nayeon rambled, causing you to giggle in response.

“Shut up,” you mumbled, suppressing the heavy feeling inside of your chest. Nayeon giggled, smacking your shoulder gently as she handed you the chocolate bar back. “I’m just kidding you! So, do you know this supposed admirer?” she asked with a small hum, oblivious to the sadness that had glossed over your pupils.

“Yeah, definitely.” You replied shortly, kissing your lips as you nodded. Her head shot up at you, eyes widening in surprise. “Oh! So are you going to do anything about it? I mean, you found your soulmate already as far as I know but are you going to do anything?” she asked, cocking her head to the side a bit in wonder. You sighed, putting the chocolate in the pocket of your backpack before shaking your head with a small smile. 

“No, I’m not,” you replied, walking alongside her to your next class. “I don’t really want to think about it too much, I mean, it’s just a bar of chocolate, right?”

‘The ones I used to receive from him back when we were still in middle school that is,’ you thought with a heavy heart. You clenched your fists by your side, mustering up the energy you have in your system to put on your usual bright smile. “Anyways, what were you saying about Mr Seong earlier?” 

When you said you didn’t want to think about it too much, obviously you were lying and you thought about it way too much all throughout math class till lunch. As you were doing the assignment your teacher gave you, you couldn’t help but remember the kiss you two shared at the party. Your chest fluttered at the seemingly distant memory

You paused, putting your pen down next to your notebook, propping your elbows on the table before rubbing your face in distress, the tips of your fingers coming up to rub your temples with a heavy sigh. ‘God, I need a damn vacation after all this,’ you thought, putting your arms down as you continued on with your work.

‘The tables really have turned, huh?’

You glanced at the small sticky note attached to the chocolate bar which was now hidden in your pencil case. You let out a silent chuckle, flipping your pen in between your fingers as you stare down at your paper. ‘It hurts,’ you thought, taking a small glimpse at your left wrist. The white bandage that wrapped around your wrist peeking out under the fabric of your sweater.

‘It hurt,’ you bit your lip, darting your eyes back at your paper filled with equations. As you started to continue with your work, your mind wandered to the weekend after the party. 

 You remembered waking up early in the comforts of your own bed sheets, still in the clothes you wore the night before. Your headache causes you to groan against your pillows when you felt like vomiting your stomach out. Apparently, Renjun had magically snuck you in your own home in the middle of the night by using the spare key you had in your pocket. 

How he managed to sneak into your house and get into your room and out without waking your parents was a whole mystery to you. But you couldn’t care less when the events of the previous night overwhelmed your thoughts, resulting in you having a mini mental breakdown in your bathroom when you decided to take a shower.

You and Jaemin kissed! You and Jaemin fucking kissed!

What the actual fuck?!

At the time, you couldn’t help but touch your own lips with the tips of your fingers, giggling softly at the fond memory, feeling butterflies swarm your stomach. Collapsing on the mattress of your bed, snuggling against the pillows as you couldn’t hide the giddy feeling spilling from inside of you. But your little giggle session didn’t last long when your mind finally remembered the full events.

You had a mental breakdown- no, you had a whole panic attack in front of your own soulmate. Jaemin just did what any other male protagonist in a cliche romance movie would do, which was kiss their love interest. You are his soulmate after all. They say one of the most comforting things in the world will always be the first kiss you ever shared with your soulmate. 

They say a lot of things, if you think about it.

What if Jaemin knew that and kissed you just to make you feel better? What if he did it out of pure sympathy? Jaemin was someone who would do anything to make someone’s pain go away, even if he had to share the pain to take it away. You sighed at the thought, remembering how he snapped at you at the dinner party. Or did he just kiss you because you appeared too pathetic in front of him?

‘I forgot, he’d gladly do anything for the people he loved. I’ll never be in that category. Not anymore,’ you thought to yourself bitterly as you hugged your pillow to your chest. 

But then again, why did he kiss you? He was the one who initiated the kiss, right?

Right?

‘Stop trying to give yourself hope, unless you want to get hurt again you might as well go back to being a simp’

You snapped out of your thoughts with a click of your tongue, chuckling to yourself. ‘God dammit, y/n, you’re out of the soulmate game now. The universe really said ‘you’re never going to be happy with your soulmate, ever!’ in the most dramatical way possible. You have fallen out of God’s favor a long long time ago.’

You shook your head in disappointment before adverting your eyes back down to finish your paper.

‘You were dreaming too far.’

“Alright class. For those who haven’t finished their work, you can do them at home and give them to my next week,” your teacher announced as he puts his papers in between the pages of his book. The class groaned, the sounds of chairs grinding against the tile floor pierced your hearing as people started packing up their things. 

You rubbed your eyes in distress, putting your paper in between the pages of your textbook, shoving it straight in your bag carelessly and walking out of the classroom with a heavy sigh. Gripping the saddle of your bag with one hand and the chocolate bar in your other as you make your way to the cafeteria. 

As you entered the crowded place, you spotted a few of your friends sitting at a table nearby at the corner of your eye. Sending them a smile and a small wave you turned your head to scan the room in an attempt to find the table Jaemin was sitting at.

You quickly walked to his table, feeling your heartbeat quicken in your chest with every step you take. Jeno was the first one who caught you walking towards their table as Jaemin had his back turned to you. Raising his brow in confusion as you waved at him with a sheepish smile. 

“Jaemin, is that-”

When Jaemin turned around, his eyes widened to see you standing right in front of him that he almost choked on his cookie. “Hey, uh-” you spoke, taking a breath to calm your nerves before placing the chocolate bar right beside him. “I don’t want to be rude or anything but I just want to return this,” you smiled, trying to ignore the eyes of his teammates boring holes into your figure.

“I’ll see you guys around, I guess,” you shrugged, turning around and whipping your phone out to advert your mind as you exited the cafeteria. You knew Jaemin was going to chase after you when you heard the sound of his friends calling his name which caused you to walk faster to the exit, jogging when you finally got out of the cafeteria.

“Y/n!” Jaemin called out, running after you. 

You sighed, stopping in your step before turning to him with an exhausted expression. “What is it, Jaemin?” you asked, exhaustion lacing your tone. You haven’t spoken to him since that night at the party and you’ve been avoiding him like the plague since then. And frankly, you really don’t want to talk to him about it.

“This is yours,” Jaemin said, his breathing hitched as he outstretched his hand towards you to hand you back the chocolate. “No, Jaemin. I really don’t want to,” you shook your head, a frown stretched across your lips. “It’s a present, is it not? You have to accept it,” Jaemin raised his brow at you, attempting to take your hand but you quickly jerked it back to your side.

Jaemin couldn’t help but wince at the small action. “Y/n, you said it yourself once, right? ‘You can’t reject a gift from someone else, that’s rude and unappreciative’” He quoted, causing your eyes to widen slightly. “Jaemin, you know very well I only said that to make you accept my gifts,” you frowned, wincing at how hypocritical you sounded.

But still, he did not just use the same tactic you used back when you were still bugging him. Not when he whined and complained so much to his friends whenever you weren’t around afterwards.

“I still have the right to refuse your gift, Jaemin,” you frowned, slipping your hand in your pockets. He sighed exasperatedly, “fine, can we at least talk? About that night at the party? Please?” he pleaded, sending you his irresistible puppy eyes in an attempt to get you to say yes.

You bit your lip, feeling your heartbeat increase at the action, butterflies swarming your stomach as you feel yourself turn into mush under his eyes. But alas, your mind couldn’t help but have flashbacks to the party. The heavy feeling in your chest that made it hard to breathe. The burning in your wrist that made you want to chop your own arm off. 

Everything that happened between you two was nothing but a mess.

In your eyes, there was nothing else to talk about. It is best if you two go your separate ways, right?

“There’s literally nothing to talk about, Jaemin,” you deadpanned, gripping the saddle of your bag tightly to keep your emotions intact when you feel a lump starting to build up in your throat. “I don’t understand why you want to talk about this so much,” you sighed, shaking your head as you ran a hand through your hair.

“If you have nothing to say, it’s fine. Then just let me talk,” Jaemin sighed, running a hand through his hair in distress. “Just hear me out, okay?” he said in an almost pleading tone, his lips forming a pout as his puppy eyes bore into yours. You took this chance to examine his features.

As creepy as it sounds, you missed seeing his face. He looks tired. So tired. Dark bags under his eyes, his pink lips forming a small pout as he waited for your response. You furrowed your brows, biting the inside of your cheek for letting out a breath you didn’t know you were holding back.

“I really don’t have time for this. I just came to give you back your chocolate, “ you lied through your teeth. If you didn’t have time, then why did you decide to give him back the chocolate when you have been avoiding him? Maybe deep down, you just want to see him again? Maybe you just wanted an excuse to talk to him?

You didn’t know yourself. Why were you talking to him knowing full well it’s just going to bring you pain again? 

You gave him a small, weak smile. “I need to go Jaemin. The bell’s about to ring soon and I need to get my notes from Renjun before Chemistry,” you sighed, biting your tongue to keep yourself from saying anything else that would make the atmosphere more tense than it already was. 

“I’ll see you around.”

You missed him, but you also want it to stop hurting. 

A/N: this was a really shitty chapter. But i felt guilty for not posting so here’s like a short ass chapter I wrote in like the four hours of free time I had in the past two days. So forgive me this is rlly bad lmfao. BUT HEY FINALLY A CHAPTER WITH Y/NS POV! yeah back to Jaemin’s pov when the next chapter comes out. My exams should be ending soon so I might or might not post somewhere next week idfk man

ANYWAYS

T A G L I S T : @candiednickles​ @itlittlefangirl​ @cherrym4rk​ @gotoartistprofile @d-nghyck​ @kingjvngins​ @aconeptun​ @chaeshii @lixseu​ @morks-watermelon​ @12am-musings​ @cherrystay​ @lowkeyviv​ @btm-taeyong​ @gothmingguk​ @luvlyjaemin​ @cowward​ @smileyyuta​ @cakelyn @uncovermenow666 @comically-sleep-deprived​ @wtfhaechan​ @xcherrybbyx​ @wishing–butterfly​ @wordsgodeep​ @seeing-dreams​ @sweetmoonlight9​ @chwenchew​ @stuckwithhyuck​ @yunoelea​ @angelrenjunie​ @dae-chan​ @jenseoull​ @marklexleaf​ 

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[yeonjunsbxtch]

Turquoise Sky - Choi Yeonjun

Turquoise Sky - Choi Yeonjun

*Sometimes the worst place you can be is in your own head*

Pairing: Choi Yeonjun x reader

Genre: Extreme Angst

Warnings: extreme anxiety, overthinking, depression, heartbreak, swearing, crying, yelling, retroactive jealousy, irrational thinking and behavior. 

Word count: 2k

Song suggestions: The Truth Untold - BTS, STUCKINMYBRAIN - Chase Atlantic, Not Meant To Be - Theory of a Deadman, Black Rose - Trapt

Arthur’s note: hello! 🥰 quick notes about this angst I wanted to add! This is actually a prologue for a story I am writing but I did change a few things so it would make more sense so consider this also a sneak peek! Also, this angst holds a special spot in my heart. I hope you enjoy! ❤️

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It was a gloomy September day. You gazed out the window of your bedroom, watching the wind blow through the leaves on the trees. The weather seemed to match your mood perfectly today. Your stomach turned as you felt your anxiety growing worse. Your anxiety has always been an issue in your life, but lately, it feels as if it is becoming something more.

As you continued to gaze out the window, your phone suddenly started ringing. You looked down at it and saw it was your boyfriend, Yeonjun. The slightest smile appeared on your face as you answered.

“Hi Yeonjun.”

“Hey babe, do you maybe want to go shopping today?”

Your smile grew hearing that he wanted to see you. You and Yeonjun have been arguing a lot lately about the dumbest shit. And of course it was always your fault. You could have sworn your relationship was ruined with the amount of times you almost split. So this was refreshing to hear.

Your smile grew hearing that he wanted to see you. You and Yeonjun have been arguing a lot lately about the dumbest shit. And of course it was always your fault. You could have sworn your relationship was ruined with the amount of times you almost split. So this was refreshing to hear.

"Sure! That would be fun!"

"Also, could I spend the night tonight?"

You grasped your bottom lip between your teeth as butterflies flew around in your stomach. It's been awhile since he has asked to spend the night. So, how could you deny him?

"Yeah! Sounds like a plan."

"Okay! I'll be there in 10."

And with that, you hung up. You quickly changed your clothes into something cuter.

Recently, you've been overthinking everything more than usual. You weren't sure why. Every word and every thought chewed through your mind and your anxiety always seemed the take over. It was almost like you had another person in your head. Every time you two fought, you were afraid he was going to leave you. Your arguments always ended with him wanting to end things. You felt as if you were walking on egg shells around him, trying not to overreact to anything. You were so afraid of him leaving you. You took a couple deep breaths to calm yourself. You were already feeling down today and the last thing you wanted was to argue with him, again.

.

"You like this one?" Yeonjun opened up a red candle for you to smell. You took a quick whiff and scrunched up your nose at the strong aroma.

"Not really, kind of smells like ass." He giggled at your comment and put the candle back on the shelf.

You walked over to the other side of the store to explore more options. You were surprisingly in a better mood than you were before. You and Yeonjun's mini shopping trip has been perfect so far and for a moment, it felt like there was hope for you two.

Just when you thought things were getting better, you stopped in your tracks as you heard a specific song start to play.

'I met you in the dark, you lit me up..'

Say You Won't Let Go by James Arthur

Your heart felt like it dropped and your stomach started to turn.

Your mind suddenly flashed back to the beginning of your relationship, when Yeonjun and you briefly talked about your past relationships. He told you that this song reminded him of his ex. You didn't know much about their relationship or how she broke his heart. All you knew was that this song was now associated with her.

You knew feeling like this was irrational. There was no reason to feel this way about a song. And you knew you were overreacting. But you couldn't help but wonder what their relationship was like. That made you nauseous. Retroactive Jealously at it's finest. Dark feelings and thoughts started to spiral out of control in your head..

'Does he still think about her?' 'Does he miss her?' 'Maybe that's why things have been tense.' 'Does he even still love me?'

You hated yourself for thinking those things and you knew it was irrational, but you couldn't control them. He's never given you a reason to worry about her. You remembered there used to be a time when you never doubted him. But how could you not when he has tried to leave you so many times before? Why was he always so quick to leave?

As you were staring blankly at a blue candle in front of you, you felt a light tap on your shoulder. You jumped a bit, not expecting the sudden touch. You turned around to see Yeonjun, smiling. That smile held so much innocence, so why were you always so quick to take everything out on him?

"Did you pick a candle? Do you want this one?" He pointed at the blue candle that you were staring aimlessly at. 'Turquoise Sky.'

Without thinking, you nodded your head and grabbed the candle. You attempted to smile as you made eye contact with him for a second, before looking to the side.

"You okay?" He asked.

You swallowed hard feeling a lump form in your throat. You knew you couldn't tell him what was wrong. He wouldn't understand. He would just get annoyed that you got upset about something so stupid, again.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go." You said with a not-so-nice tone of voice. You didn't mean for it to come across that way. But for some reason, you felt like you had to mask yourself being upset. Hide your vulnerability. So you portrayed it as anger.

He gazed down at you before scoffing and grabbing the candle out of your hands.

"Okay. Let's go check out."

You watched him as he headed to the register. You mentally slapped yourself. 'Why am I like this?'

.

It was an awkward car ride back. The tension in the car was sickening and you felt frustrated at yourself for causing it. You continued to look out the window as the car came to a stop at a red light. You could feel Yeonjun's eyes on you. You took a quick glance at him and then turned back around. A shaky sigh was then heard from him. Your body flinched at the sound of him slapping his hands onto the steering wheel. You knew you had made him upset, for no reason. You felt the car start going again.

"What did I do?" He asked as his low voice cracked ever so slightly. You couldn't help but stay silent. "Seriously? Why do you always do this?"

"Do what?" You acted stupid. You knew what he was talking about.

"This! We are perfectly fine one minute and then the next minute you act like I am the worst person in the world. Then I ask you what's wrong and you don't say anything! You do this all the fucking time!"

You sat still as his loud voice pierced through your ears. You started to feel your face heat up. You hated when he would yell at you. You couldn't handle it. You knew you fucked up.

"Don't yell at me." You wanted to punch yourself for saying that. What was the reason for acting like this? You knew it would only make things worse.

You heard him chuckle. You know that chuckle people do when they are so frustrated that they can't help but laugh? Yeah, that.

"Why don't you tell me what's wrong or if I did anything wrong? Because I really have no idea."

You wanted to tell him. You wanted to cry to him and express to him that it wasn't his fault. That he didn't do anything. But you were scared. You couldn't admit your insecurities out loud. You were afraid he wouldn't take you seriously.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"What the fuck is your problem?!"

You turned your head towards him, lips parted in awe, not believing what he had just said.

"My problem?! Seriously?!" You raised your voice and let out a soft chuckle. "Maybe this is why I never tell you anything! I'm always afraid you're gonna get mad or you're gonna leave me because I am upset about something!"

You cringed at yourself as you heard what was coming out of your mouth.

Yeonjun paused, taking in a breath to calm himself.

"Y/N... are you happy with me?"

His voice was so soft and low, sounding terrified of the answer.

You looked at him as his eyes held their gaze on the road. He has asked you this many times before, but only when he was rethinking the relationship. You tried taking a deep breath. You knew that you just needed to reassure him. Then everything would be okay, right?

"What does that have to do with anything? You didn't do anything wrong, okay?"

Yep, that was the best you could do.

Yeonjun opened his mouth to say something but shook his head instead. There was something about the tension in the air that felt... different. Something that was inconsistent with all of the other times you two fought.

Yeonjun stayed silent the rest of the way back. The silence added with the tension made you feel even more sick.

.

After what felt like forever, you finally arrived at your house. You unbuckled your seatbelt and noticed he wasn't unbuckling his. You looked over at him and his eyes met yours. His eyes looked empty as he just peered at you with no expression.

"Are you coming in?" You asked him, voice becoming more faint.

"No. I'm sorry." His deep voice was monotone. You had never heard his voice sound so emotionless.

"Why? You-You said you were going to spend the night.."

"I can't. I'm sorry."

You wanted to rip your hair out in anger and frustration. You wanted to go back in time and change what had happened. You didn't know what to do at this point. You felt as if there was nothing else you could do or say.

"Yeonjun.. please."

You gazed at him as he sat back in his seat.

"I can't do this anymore."

Your heart dropped and you started to feel your palms become soaked with sweat.

"Can't do what anymore?"

Even though you knew what he was talking about, you still asked. You needed to hear it.

"Us. We need to break up."

"Yeonjun, I-"

You tried to reach for his hand but he pulled away.

"Don't try to change my mind. It won't work."

You sat up in your seat and faced him. You took a couple deep breaths, building up the courage to let yourself be vulnerable.

"Look, I'm sorry. I was just having a bad day and I took it out on you and I didn't mean to." Trying to apologize the best you could, he let out a sigh.

"You don't understand.." He whispered.

"Please, explain Yeonjun."

He ran his fingers through his yellow colored hair.

"I'm always scared I am going to do something to upset you. Like I said earlier, we are great one minute but then fighting the next. I love you Y/N and I just want you to be happy."

Your world felt like it had shattered as you watched a couple tears fall from his eyes. All this time you were worrying about your feelings, you forgot about his.

"Please, Yeonjun... I'm sorry! Please baby, you didn't do anything wrong! I just overthink someti-"

"Please, don't- don't call me that Y/N. Don't make this harder than it has to be. Please go.."

You looked at him as he avoided eye contact with you. You tried to reach for his hand one more time. This time he didn't pull away. You held his hand in yours, feeling it for what you hoped wouldn't be the last time. He gazed down at your hands and then let go.

"Yeonjun-"

"Stop! Y/N, You need to go. now."

Your heart felt like it had been broken into two. You wanted to fight for him, like you always have. But for some reason, you couldn't. This felt so... final.

He leaned back and reached his hand in the backseat, grabbing the bag with the candle in it. He held it out to you. Your eyes shifted from the bag to him. You couldn't accept this. Not after everything you did.

"Keep the candle."

And with that you exited his car. Without looking back, you unlocked the door and entered your house. You kicked the door closed behind you and immediately fell to your knees.

Once the first tear dropped, there was no stopping the rest from flooding out.

You desperately tried to catch your breath in between sobs. You didn't want to believe what had just happened.

Feeling empty inside as you wept on the floor, you felt as if Yeonjun had just ripped a piece of your heart out. A piece that you would never be able to get back..

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[austarus]

HR Wells x Reader Scars Across Time

**A/N: The picture/edit/gif does not belong to me. It belongs to @acewest360

Word Count: 6245

*Hey everyone! Please remember to hit that reblog button as well as liking and following! Sharing the content makes the world spin~ This is probably going to be the last fic I post until winter break. Things have not been going too well for me, I rarely have time to sit down for myself and write or play pokemon at all. But I promise I’ll be back with more fics and series parts with the winter season

“I can’t feel my fingers.”

“And this is why we keep our gloves on,” you emphasized, taking your gloves off and handing it to him to wear as the two of you walked to your apartment, “especially during a snowball fight.”

“But you’ve got to admit, I nailed BA pretty hard.”

“You did,” you giggled and pecked his rosy-cold cheek. “And I’m proud that you did. Knock some sense into him and Harry while you’re at it.” You mumbled the latter part to yourself. The other Wells doppelganger was still having trouble with his daughter, who’s back on Earth-2. She had ‘kicked him off his own Earth’.

“It’s too bad Jesse wasn’t here; I think she would have liked it.”

“She’s still upset with Harry, HR.”

HR did a half shrug, side-glancing at you as he took your hand in his, “She missed all the failed igloos and speedy snow angels, the laughs and arguments we all ended up having on who cheated or not.”

“She’s busy on her Earth being the Flash, though. That must be taking priority over everything else.”

“I know,” he sighed, taking your hand into his. You felt how frigid they were through the knitted gloves you had given him. His eyes met yours are the two of you walked, the chilly air piercing the layers you have on. The novelist hoped that his doppelgangers daughter has been taking care of herself as she takes care of her city. “Harry shouldn’t have avoided her and the issue between them though, that’ll only create a greater rift between them. I know he’s not good with emotions, but… Something doesn’t feel right, like… it just doesn’t add up.”

You only offered the novelist a half-shrug, not really knowing what to say. “I think they’ll end up talking it out, whatever it is that happened between them. They’ll eventually get through it together.” You unlocked the door to your apartment and pushed it open. The door creaked nastily from its hinges; you’ve been meaning to fix that. “Now, let’s first get you inside and thawed out, I’m pretty sure I have some cold sludge stuck down the back of my shirt.”

The two of you entered your cozy apartment, kicking off any spare snow remnant that had clung onto your boots and clothes. Both you and HR left your boots by the door. A shiver ran down your spine, the ice-water mix shifted in your shirt as you moved uncomfortably through your home. You attempted to not track any water on the hardwood floors, eagerly locating some dry towels while HR brought a laundry basket from one of the rooms. The taller man returned with one as you handed him a fluffy towel. You and HR stripped off the winter-y layers of clothes, placing them into the basket. Your long-sleeve shirt clung to your skin, the cool damp cloth making you a bit antsy to get out of it. The Earth-19 being took the basket to throw in the washer, adding in the appropriate amount of detergent and softener. He whistled throughout completing his task, towel around his neck. HR started drying his hair off as he walked back to the living room.

You turned on the weather channel, overhearing Iris mention something about a serious storm going to hit. Flipping through the channels, you finally landed on the Central City News station and just in time for the weather spokesperson to come on screen. The woman fully articulated the severity the storm could cause as well as how many inches of snow to expect with an estimated time. HR’s ears had perked up, eyeing you from behind the couch as you watched the news. You ran a hand through your damp-ish hair before deciding to set it in a towel turban. Well, it’s a good thing I went grocery shopping yesterday. I should still have the portable heater that Cisco made just in case. The candles and matches should be in a spare drawer somewhere.

You glanced over your shoulder to see HR with chaotically messy hair and the collar of his shirt soaked. You nibbled on your bottom lip while setting down the TV remote. “Hey, um… HR do you want to stay over the night? There’s a winter storm coming and stuff,” You sheepishly wrung your fingers for wanting to ask him to stay the night when you knew he probably had an upcoming deadline to meet. Am I being selfish? I’m mean… we’ve been together for almost a little bit over a year now. Gah, fuck, I’m overthinking again. Stupid past relationship trauma and emotional distress. You just didn’t want to inconvenience him.

You will never deny how safe you felt around him, how you didn’t need to be careful of how to act. You can be you. And HR can be the dorkily cute novelist that he is with no filter in regard to his ideas and thoughts and expressions. The two of you complimented each other, two wounded souls just fixing and adoring each other. It took a couple of weeks for you to open up about your past relationships to the novelist, which he listened with understanding and concern taking hold in his eyes. He had done the same thing you had done. HR had proposed to ask three questions and you would need to answer fully and honestly with the reward in return. A reward of something you had long forgotten because having HR understand your past like you had done with him caused your heart to swell to a grand scale.

HR’s gaze softened at you, a gentle smile gracing his lips. “I don’t mind staying the night.” It’s so much better than sharing space with one grumpy scientist back at the labs who’ll probably hurl objects at me if I do anything out of line in his eyes. He saw that bit of insecurity eating at you, and he would do all he can to brush it away. Your insecurities had lessened over time, but every now and then it pops back up. But it’s understandable, you were trying your best to be a good and considerate girlfriend.

HR’s heart melted when you perked up, a bright smile crossing your face as if your sullen thoughts had washed away in an instant. “That means we can even make s’mores tonight!”

“How-“

“-I bought this handy dandy electric s’mores maker-”

“-Birdy, we’ve talked about this. You can’t buy every single thing from Amazon.”

“But… but the s’mores.”

“Do I need to take your debit card from you?” HR joked at the pout you had given him, the both of you knowing he would actually do no such thing. But he worried of these little impulse buys you get yourself into. Especially when prompted by Cisco, Iris, and Caitlin.

“I will fucking fight you.”

“No, you won’t.”

“You’re right, I love you too much.”

“Was it really necessary though?”

“… Yes, the state of my survival depends on it.”

“Liar,” HR sighed to himself. “I’m guessing Cisco and Iris happened to be browsing through Amazon again when they got bored? And you happened to be with them? Browsing from page to page, especially the bargains section.”

“… Maybe~”

“…”

“Don’t worry, I made sure I paid my rent and taken care of the apartment before deciding to buy the s’mores maker.”

“Good.”

“Plus, I really bought it for you.” HR felt the tips of his ears warm a bit. “You said it was one of the things you used to make with your mom, but now you just don’t have the time to camp or be by a fire to make them. So… I got this for when you’d come over and stuff…”

“How did I ever get so lucky to have someone as precious as you in my life, my little birdy?”

Your giggle allowed his heart to jump through hoops. Hail started pounding on the windows of your apartment catching both your attentions. “We should probably go wash up. I think I still have some clothes you left when you slept over a few times.” An idea lit up brilliantly in your mind, your brain already gathering the necessary materials.

A smile graced HR’s face, feeling his heart flutter as you shuffled to gather his clothes. I would do anything for you. The taller man looked out the window, observing the outside world ravaging in the heaviness of white fluff. The power might go out soon. If we’re lucky, then it doesn’t. But mother nature doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon. “Which drawer are they in?” He questioned, padding off to your bedroom but throwing a glance at you.

“I think they might be in the top left drawer,” you lied to him, needing to buy some time. “I’m not really sure. But if not, you’ll have to look around for them in my closet or something.”

You hurried to the bathroom once he was out of sight, stepping closer to the closet. Twisting the handle, you were greeted with towels on one shelf and scented candles on another. Now, what to choose. You opted for the scents of Balsam-Cedar and Autumn Leaves from Yankee Candle. Scattering the small candle containers around the tub, you made sure they were positioned in a place to avoid any fires. This is going to look simply divine. You mused a cheery hum from your lips as you worked fast. The electric lighter was in a drawer along with the bath bombs for relaxation. You contemplated whether the tiny flower petals were a bit overkill, then figured that it would be. I’m extra as fuck anyway, so why the hell not. You pulled out the mason jar filled with pastel pink-blue hydrangea and hibiscus petals. With everything set up, you just had to fill up the tub with water and work your magic. Shutting off the bathroom lights, you shuffled over to your room right as HR let out an ‘aha!’ when he found his checkered cotton pajama bottoms.

“Come take a bath with me,” you started, taking his hand and squeezing it meaningfully with jubilant warmth within your eyes. “We can warm up faster in less time before the storm cuts out the power.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to…” He trailed off; his other arm held his clothes to his chest. You knew what he meant and nodded assumingly. An ex many years ago had tried to drown you once, but… Your ex isn’t HR. The man in front of you is considerate, kind, dorky, and quirky. The man in front of you is more wholesome and beautiful inside and out than any other man you had been with. You knew the novelist would never dream of hurting you. We’ve proven that much to each other in the past year, we wouldn’t hurt each other no matter what.

“I trust you, HR.” You leaned up and kissed his nose gingerly, “You know I feel safer around you.”

“And I, you,” the taller man allowed you to tug him to the bathroom once you had pulled out your own pajamas and undergarments.

“Before we go inside, I’m going to need to you wait out here for a few moments.”

“Interesting. What are you planning, little birdy?”

“Who? Lil ol’ me? Nothing really!” You responded with a cheeky grin before entering the bathroom. HR just kept that boyish smirk on his face then sneezed. God, he loves you, but he needed to get out of these clothes soon. Another sneeze left him when the sound of water graced the silence in the apartment. The hail had stopped, but heavier clumps of packing snow fell onto the city.

“Done~” you mused with childish delight, opening the bathroom door and ushering him inside. HR held his breath as the scents of the forest greeted him. The candles were beautifully lit around the tub, flickering and wavering as it cradled the bathroom with a dim glow. The bathroom lights were off to allow the candles to work their magic in the darkness. Neither of you would deny the warmth the candles brought as the flames danced happily in their respective glass communities. Scents of cedar oak, maple trees, and autumn leaves flourished in the air, but it wasn’t overbearing. The running water moved gently as you had begun to strip down and out of your clothes. Your movements shook HR out of his trance, tugging his own clothes off, but stopped short of shrugging his pants off when he saw all of you. Your eyes caught his intense gaze. A tight knot formed in the pit of your stomach.

“HR?”

“You’re…” He couldn’t find the right words. Any word couldn’t justify the beauty in front of him. “You’re elegantly divine.” Is what he settled for as he felt hot oil splash onto his cheeks.

“It’s not something you haven’t seen before.”

“It’s something that I hope I don’t have the misfortune to never see.”

You screamed on the inside as your mind started spinning at his desire. A smug grin grew on his face as you looked away, stumbling over to a jar on the sink counter. HR fully stripped, coming up behind you with his arms encasing you and strong hands resting on your hips as he watched. He pressed a kiss to the top of your head. You leaned back into him, dropping a good two handfuls of flower petals into the water. His body, while chilled from your earlier winter-y activities still provided your own with a spectacle of warmth. Goosebumps gradually ran over every in of your skin. The taller man watched you with tired eyes.

“You know you’re going to have to let me go so we can wash up, right?”

HR pouted, to which you leaned up on your tippy toes to try to kiss his pout away. “Fine, but I think we both deserve some time to cuddle.”

“I was going to trap you in bed, regardless.”

A quiet laugh left his lips. Breaking away from his sturdy limbs and wonderfully sculpted body, you rifled through a drawer for a bath bomb. Milk and Honey~ Unwrapping it and disposing of its bindings into the trash, you set it down into the water as it instantly fizzed.

“Wait, you like bath bombs?” HR questioned with an arched eyebrow.

“Yeah, but only the organically made ones- that way it doesn’t irritate my skin.” You shut off the hot water and pulled out the necessary towels for the both of you.  “Also, they smell phenomenal!”

“They do.”

“What’s wrong?”

“One year on this Earth and I hadn’t even noticed that you had bath bombs too. Do yours also release an underwater firecracker?”

“An underwater firecracker??”

“Yeah, little ocean sparks underwater that also stimulate the water to move like the waves as if pulled from the effects of the moon.”

You just stared down at the slowly fizzing bath bomb in disappoint. “Why don’t you do that? Rude.” The novelist craned his head down to kiss your cheek with a snicker at your evident disappointment.

You stuck one foot in, the warmth enticing you as a hum left your lips before going all in. A wave of relief washed over your muscles as a tired groan left your lips while shutting your eyes. Leaning back, your skin touched the cool marble of the tub as the water drifted in multiple directions. The water rose to just above the top of your cleavage. HR had followed suit once you fully entered, sitting across from you with his legs crossed. A sigh had left him as he felt the tension in his body break away, the scents also helping him ease into relaxation. After a moment he pulled you in between his legs and you humored him because his were so long that they needed the space. Your eyes finally adjusted to the brightness set by the candles from your position.

You eyed the scar on his chest, teeth raking over your bottom lip. The one where Savitar had left his mark. Those thoughts came back. Your throat dried instantly. Swallowing thickly, your mouth moved on its own accord. “I almost lost you.” HR froze as he leaned his broad back against the tub, an arm on the rim of the cool marble. You reached out a hand to trace over the scarred skin. The closer you had gotten- the more you looked at his upper body- was the more you mentally berated yourself under the soft glow of the candlelight. Scared paths and crossroads of tinged undertones on his skin, some faint- others dark and deep. A few were clean and a few others were messy. Even the scar, perfectly hidden by his left eyebrow seemed to be clearer to your eyes now. Your heart sank in your chest, frustration and anger and hurt welling up inside you at the pain HR must have endured over the years. But mostly, anger and hatred towards yourself. How have I been so blind? How many times have my eyes overlooked these? How pathetic and ignorant have I become? HR shivered under your touch, under your gaze over the ugly reminders on his body. “We’ve been together for a year,” you started, “a little bit over a year- and I’m a damned fool for never truly seeing how hurt you’ve been.”

“I…” The words died in HR’s mouth. The sullen look in your glassy eyes, the pained expression on your face. His heart felt heavy, yet it oddly thrummed loudly in his chest. The warmth of the water didn’t help how you were feeling.

“And for that, I’m sorry.”

“Just being by my side and seeing who I am- how I’m worth something, exceeds any grim reminder of my past.”

“But, I didn’t-”

HR took your hand and intertwined your fingers together, “You’re the light of my life, you allowed me to forget my past and accepted me, all of me. I don’t hold it against you that you didn’t notice, we’ve been going through one hoop after another with these crazed villains. Hell, I forget the scars are even there when you’re with me… I feel whole when you’re with me.” The novelist strained emphasis on the last sentence. You felt the tears start to riot in your eyes before streaming down your face. HR gently cupped your face, wiping the tears away with a dry hand. “I’m happy that you overlooked them. I’m happy that I could shed them when I’m around you.”

You were silent for a few seconds. “I’m still mad at Iris,” you whispered with a sharp sniffle, your fingers finding the scar over his heart once more. “No, I’m pissed that she didn’t the willpower and guts to speak up when she had a chance. We… we could have prevented… both of you could have-”

“-We could have gone through a million different avenues, but the results would have led to the same road.”

“Wouldn’t it? You, at least, couldn’t have been hurt if we had done something differently.”

“Iris could have been hurt.”

“You were hurt!” You snapped as your voice wavered. “You were going to die, had it not been for Julian and Cisco and Barry. I… I can’t lose you. Every night, a dark thought slips into my mind. You could have died- You could have died right there when you were just starting to live a life of your own. All because of Barry and Iris.” Your cheeks felt wet and only then did you realize that the tears had pooled up and escaped. His gaze softened at you, nonetheless, the tears didn’t take away from any frustration that you had presented.

HR recognized the bitterness in your voice. The fiery anger within your eyes as you looked up at him with desperation. The same anger that he had long disciplined himself to distance from. Anger blinds all gates of logic within the mind. Because in a way, you were right. Iris could have easily said something when she was disguised as his persona. Instead the queen of the castle seemed reluctant in sacrificing herself, instead allowing the pawn to take the fall. HR had thrown it all away to save someone who didn’t really care to know him and treated him with disdain at first. All to prove to the others that he was worth being on their side. To prove to Savitar that he wasn’t a coward like the projected future had revealed. But most importantly, to prove to himself that he’s capable of more than just standing on the sidelines as backup. The anger and distraught and hate. HR worked tirelessly to move past them. You were his future now. You and the fact that in the end he seemed to earn his spot. Sadly, even at the expense of his own life. At the end of the day those were the cold, hard facts. Ones he willingly chooses to not give in to.

“But I’m here.” HR wrapped his long arms around you, pulling you closer to him. You choked back on a sob. Your anger waned at his gentle touch. “I’m here and I’m alive,” he let out roughly, letting you cry it all out as he rubbed your back soothingly. HR knew everything you had said had been true. And even if it did work out in the end, he didn’t want to imagine a reversal of the situation. If it had been you who had traded places with Iris instead of him. The novelist can only hope that the team wouldn’t have to put anyone else in a situation like that. That Barry and Iris wouldn’t have to play close to this dangerous game of chess again. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you sniffled, calming down with a stutter. You knew that anger blinds judgment. You didn’t hate Iris, but you resented her inability to save both her live and HR’s. HR wet his hands and cleared your face from any remnant of tears. kissing your eyelids sweetly.

“Interesting that you put hydrangeas and hibiscus petals.”

“How so? And how did you know?” you raised a questioning eyebrow at HR.

“The jar’s labeled.” You facepalmed at yourself. Of course, the jar’s fucking labeled, I’m such a dumbass. “But also, I studied the language of the flowers as well as the language of the colors for my writing.”

“So, what do hibiscus plants stand for?”

“From what I recall,” HR scratched the back of his neck in recollection, “they stand for love and affection between family members, friends, and others. A perfect statement of gentle feelings towards the others. It can even symbolize passionate relationships.” You had placed both hands on his shoulders as he spoke, mesmerized by his knowledge of the flower. He wiggled his eyebrows at his later statement, causing you to giggle with flushed cheeks.

“What about the hydrangeas?”

“Ironically, heartfelt emotions,” he kissed your cheek, rubbing the skin of your lower back as he continued. “Gratitude for being understood.”

“I would call it more of a fateful coincidence,” you mumbled, pressing your lips to his for a chaste kiss. But truthfully, he just wanted to roll around in bed with you and kiss you silly to his heart’s content… amongst other certainly heart-fluttering bedroom activities. When you pulled away, your eyes drifted over his figure. “Can- Can I ask you about them?”

Them. HR knew what you were referring too. That curiosity of yours is one day going to land you in trouble, birdy. HR mused to himself with a little noise of thought. He was well past the mental pain, taking up meditation and various things to acknowledge and push past it. But the idea of you feeling the need to know didn’t rub him the wrong way like it should have. Rather, it stirred something deep in his heart, a playful glint hidden in his eyes. “Depends on what’s in it for me, little birdy?”

You thought deeply for a minute and HR remained silent, running patterns over the skin of your arm. You felt warmth build up on your skin with every contact. “One night.”

“One night…?”

“One night, you can do anything to me- within reasonable bounds. You decide when the night can be.”

The Wells doppelganger immediately licked his lips and felt his blood rush at the notion. “Is that your final condition?” Because if it is, this big bad wolf’s going to make sure to devour his little red riding hood all night long. HR tilted your head back, a hooked finger under your chin as his lips skimmed over yours. There’s much planning that needs to be done.

“Y-yeah.”

“‘Yeah’ isn’t a word of confirmation.” Learned that one from a law buddy back on Earth-19.

“Yes,” you won’t deny the anticipation in your voice. The murky white waters retaliated with every movement from the two of you. “One question, one scar.”

“One question, one scar, one night.” The novelist smirked down at you, a cocky look on his face.

“Fair enough.” I essentially ordered one love romp of a night… I’m so fucked, literally and figuratively. I just hope I don’t have to come into the Labs the next day, neither of us.

HR watched you closely, grabbing the body wash as you decided with a focused look on what scar to choose. Your eyes roamed his body. You already knew of his mental scars, and he knew of yours. The novelist waited patiently as you quietly processed the image of them on his skin. Some scars on his body were from hitmen, bullies, or muggers- mainly during his young adult life or when he was creating STAR Labs with Randolph. That bastard probably sent some after me, wouldn’t be surprised since he knew I would be executed if I crossed dimensions. Bath sponge in hand, he lathered your body wash on the sponge with every intention that he would help wash you while he reiterated a scarred tale.

“What’s the story behind the one on your eyebrow?”

That one took HR by surprise; usually human nature would be intrigued with the most noticeable of things- big things. Instead, you pinpointed the one that was easily concealable in plain sight. Settling for the smaller scar in comparison to the others. The novelist took your arm, scrubbing your skin with lips pressed thinly. You opened your lips to ask if he’d rather you choose a different one, but HR cut you off in a matter of milliseconds.

“I got it back during my university years. I was an English Arts major,” he paused for a moment, switching to your other arm to give it the same treatment. “My father obviously didn’t approve, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to keep going with my literary studies, taking up photography in my spare time. One day, I was just walking through the city in the late evening. Dismal and dark, with fog everywhere.” HR rinsed off your arms, gesturing for you to turn around between his legs so he can start on your back. He plucked off the PanOxyl Foaming Wash bottle from beside a candle, using a different sponge specifically for the backwash. You had told him that sometimes you unfortunately get acne on your back and shoulders, so you use this backwash to keep it clean and acne-free. To your surprise he wasn’t revolted in any way, instead he admired your constant diligence with wanting to keep good hygiene, especially since so many factors can trigger different responses from the human body. You silently waited, listening intently as he continued. “I heard whimpers. Cries coming from down the alley. There was this… this small puppy- I-I can’t really recall what breed it was, but it looked hunger and tired and scared.” You looked back at him, heart aching as you saw his eyes show the pain in his heart too. “I thought to myself. How could someone leave a helpless baby animal to starve in the city’s alleyways? Why couldn’t someone have the heart to nurture it?”

“What did you do?”

HR ran the water over your back to remove any bubbles or foaming wash from your skin. “I saw myself in the puppy. Lost. Abandoned. Alone.” he whispered as he raised his chin, eyes finally meeting yours as you fully turned to observe him. Your gaze softened; your wet hand reached out to cup his jaw. Droplets of water fell from your skin into the colored water as he nuzzled into your touch. “I approached it, I wanted to keep it safe and warm. It didn’t object when I picked it up, cradling it like it the baby that it is. It trembled and shivered in my arms.” His heart dipped remembering the way the puppy felt in his arms. One of his larger hands held onto yours, the one cupping his chiseled jaw. “I had to do something, couldn’t just leave it there.” I couldn’t abandon it.

“There’s a ‘but’, isn’t there?”

“There always is…” He let out a mirthless laugh. “Things went south when a couple of drunk guys found me and the puppy. Turns out these were the same guys that had been harassing the little one through the alleys. They had been trying to use the puppy in illegal cage fights.” HR bowed his head slightly. “One thing led to the other, there was a knife and I was running like hell with the puppy. Until they cornered me, hence…” He trailed off, gesturing to his eyebrow scar with a free hand.

“HR,” you whispered, but he squeezed your hand as he took it off his face. Your other hand tightened into a fist in the water. HR’s eyes caught the movement but didn’t say anything.

“They roughed me up pretty good- I’m wasn’t- I’m not a fighter, but I would have been damned if that little puppy had been hurt. I ended up finding the little guy a home where he can be looked after and well-fed and safe.” You unclenched your fist, gently listing it to stroke his stubbly cheek as he concluded. HR ran his fingers down the length of your arm.

“You’re safe.”

“I know. You’re safe too, my little birdy.”

“I know.”

You twisted your body, stretching an arm out as you reached for his Old Spice body wash. It was your turn to help wash him. You started working away at his sturdy chest, obviously doing your best to not ogle at his abs and his entirely toned framework. But he caught your eyes drifting off more than once.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For always listening to me.”

“I love you, HR. And I would do anything in the multiverse to keep you safe and loved. You’re my one one one after all.” You winked at him, eliciting a deep chuckle from his lips. Music to your eyes, smiling as the corners of his lips lifted upwards. “There’s that radiant smile I love so much.” The man blushed but continued to grin.

HR ran a hand through his hair before catching a glimpse of his hair in the mirror. He squinted a bit as he held a lock between two fingers. “Looks to be about that time of year again.” Your fingers threaded through his hair once he released the strand.

“I’m assuming a haircut is needed.”

“Yup”

“I will never understand how men ask for their hair to be done.”

“It’s honestly really easy, with the provided visuals of course. I should take you with me once.”

“I’d be okay with that.”

“Probably going to need to dye my hair black again.”

“I think I have some leftover dye in a cabinet somewhere. You know… I wouldn’t mind seeing silver streaks on you. Makes you look like a sly silver fox to me.”

“… I’ll keep that in mind for next time as long as you allow me to learn how to do those intricate braids in your hair.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Wells.” You leaned up to kiss his lips.” The novelist smirked against your lips as he ran a hand over your bum. Neither of you had noticed that the water was starting to become lukewarm, the candles and warmth of each other distracted the two of you. “It’s a done deal.”

Taking his Old Spice Shampoo in hand, you squeezed a good amount out meanwhile he tilted his head down closer for you to reach. HR’s hands settled on your hips, steadying you on his lap to have your legs wrap around his waist. You scrubbed and massaged his scalp, creating a bubbly hairdo for him. You couldn’t help the giggle that escaped your lips. But once your bright eyes met his baby blue ones, you felt your heart skip in your chest.

HR felt your hands slow as you retracted them but made no effort in submerging them in the water to get rid of the bubbles. Instead your smaller hands rested on his broad shoulders with the tips of your fingers doing a sort of feather-light dance against his skin. The novelist found himself mesmerized by your radiance, never mind the candlelight that continued to flicker around the both of you. You felt hypnotized by his baby blue eyes, pulling you into an ocean of wonder. HR licked his lips with half-lidded eyes as you moved to kiss him deeply, your lips slowly moved against his with a sensual kind of dance to it. The doppelganger breathed you in slowly and he pressed forward. His palm rested on your cheek while his other hand took one of yours to hold onto. The kiss broke but was soon reconnected. Over and over again. The moment wasn’t rushed. There was no hurry to get to the finish line. It was just you and him and the wisps of fire around the two of you. HR nibbled on your lower lip before you reluctantly pulled away. Your tongue ran over your swollen bottom lip.

“We should probably finish up before the power decides to run out,” you started in a low-ish voice. HR noted the slight jitter in it and his heart swelled at the effect of his kisses on you.

“I don’t think it might get to that point. We’d probably end up snowed in, but there’s a chance that the power might not go out.”

“It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“I know. If we must, then by all means,” The novelist murmured, nuzzling his nose with yours before the two of you finished washing up.

HR stepped out first from the foamy waters of the tub, stretching a fine limb over for some dry towels. He handed one to you when you had stepped out after him unfortunately a little less graceful as you almost slipped on the tiled floor. HR’s hand reached out to steady you. Giving him a sheepish smile, you whispered a thank you to which he returned with a wink. He knew you could be clumsy at times, but nevertheless he’s grown to love that about you. HR had come to realize that him being able to catch you from tripping over your feet or stopping you from running into things would give him a sense of ‘being your hero’ or ‘saving you’. It was just a small thing that made him happy. A ‘your hero in-the-moment’ kind of thing.

You wrapped the towel around you to rid your body of the water and bubbles. The two of you had cleaned each other well which made you sigh in contentment because feeling clean and being clean made you feel satisfied and relieved after a long day. You couldn’t help the stare you had fallen into as your eyes roamed over your boyfriends’ body as he dried himself off. Subconsciously, you licked your lips at every dip of skin, every inch of muscle. Wrapping another towel around your hair, your eyes never left HR until he turned towards you. You blinked for a split second and hastily busied yourself with pulling your undergarments from your clothes pile. HR walked back past you with his pajama’s on. The novelist had every intention in extinguishing the candles that were left only to land a soft smack on your ass. You let out a little yelp in surprise at the impact.

“See something you like?” He teased as he blew the fire out. He knew. There was a large mirror in the bathroom after all. A smirk finally settled on his face, one that he had been repressing until he smacked your ass. The heat had stayed on your cheeks from the bath and getting caught.

“Maaaaaaaaybeeeeeeee.” To be honest, it was a nice ass.

HR chuckled, “Well, since you’re done why don’t you get that cute ass of yours in bed while I go and get the smores maker?”

“How can I ever refuse such a generous offer?” You hummed, leaning up to kiss him. The Wells doppelganger nipped at your lips in return then broke away from you. He stepped towards the door. “HR?”

“Hm?” He turned back to you with curious eyes. There was a soft glow that had settled within your eyes. The sight made his body tingle.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

[dreaminpeaches]

Daydream Diary- Homecoming Part 1

I finally finish typing up my first daydream post, I'm a little rusty, I haven't wrote a daydream in a min, so my wiriting style/voice is kind of weird in the beginning, but I'll be slowly getting back into more consistent style the more I write so...yeah

Also my dyslexia be wild so typos are prolly lurking below 

Word Count: 4,817

TW: Loneliness, and Depression

_________________________________________

“And there” Vanessa said as she set down the last mini chair in the scenic outdoor cafe, set in a large old fish tank, she sat crossed legged on her greenhouse ( which was made from an old stranded ufo) floor surround by mini plant people, whose bodies were made of all types of colorful flora, and some fungi, tiny oohs and ahhs shared among them as they gazed at her creation. “Alright, everyone I declare the Sweet Alyssum Cafe to now be OPEN!” She announced. cutting mini red ribbon with regular size scissors. The succulent subjects quickly swarmed their new digs, enjoying every small detail Vanessa had put into the place, most of the stuff was made out of household objects, everything from the candle lit stove to the little chairs made out of paperclips bottle caps. She even decorated the area with some of her mini animal wood sculptures. It wasn’t long before the plant people started sitting down, taking orders, enjoying sweets and chatting amongst each other. One of the flora being who took the role of chef, invited Vanessa to join in the “grand opening” festivities by offering her a large honey (which was large to them but about the same size as half of a twinkie)

“Oh, man I would love to join you guys, but I still got some things to take care of” she took the sweet offering from the chef’s tiny hands “but I’ll be sure to hang out later, promise” she added a wink before taking a bite of the sweet cake.

This gesture brought a smile to the tiny chef’s face, and he firmly nodded before eagerly running back into the cafe to continue his job.

Vanessea took another bite of the miniature cake before standing up and dusting off her patchy paint splatter sparkly, bunny, and flower embroidered overalls, layered on top of her pastel nasa star studded tee. She exited the greenhouse and crossed the bridge that connected to her room.

She kicked off her garden boots and headed to her room. Vanessa’s room was adorned with plants hanging from the ceiling, the floor splatter with paint the amount of splatters grew closer to the creative nook the area under her loft bed a that Vanesssa use for her painting or potion making, complete with a cluderen pot, a bookcase filled with various spell books, magic ingredients, other magical nit naks, art books, paint brushes, and an easel with some canvas leaning against the wall. One side of the room had a top roll drawer desk, where her PC sat and drawers filled journaling/scrapbooking supplies. The desk was decorated with plants in jars, pots, old soda cans reused as pencil cups and pots, cute mini figures of animals and other cute creatures ( like moogels and pokemon).

Next to her desk was a small compact kitchen where she liked to make tea and other cute snacks when she was too lazy to go downstairs to the actual kitchen. There was a rack with various different types of tea packs mixed in with hot chocolate mix. There also sat her tea pot that was white and had cute little bunny ears on top. The other side of the room was a door that led to the bathroom and her large closet was in front of the room.

Vanessa climbed the ladder to her loft bed, where her furry companions were still asleep, usually Vanessa won’t mind sleeping in with her beloved buddies. But today she had to wake up early to finally finish the cafe for the plant people, so they would all have a nice place to have breakfast together.

Vanessa watched for a moment as her small long eared bunny friend, she named Flaps, slept bundled up in his scarf on top of the much larger yellow, fluffy yet shaggy haired, long ear dog/bear like creature, she named Buddy. While it was cute to watch the two sleep, she knew if she didn’t wake them up for breakfast they both would be pretty upset about it , especially Flaps despite his small size the little guy can put away a ton!

“Come on, guys it's time to wake up, you dont wanna miss breakfast, do you?” Vanessa said nudging her furry friends. Buddy slowly opened his eyes and took a big long yawn and stretched, this motion awoke Flap, who rubbed his eyes with ears and let it a smaller yawn. Buddy looked up and wagged his tail in delight to wake up to a friendly face, Flaps flutter up by his wings and sleepily nodded his head. Vanessa giggled and softly patted Flaps on the head before placing him in her overalls pocket to let him rest a bit longer, Buddy hopped on the homemade dumb waiter as she climbed down the ladder and pulled on pulley of the dumbwaiter to let buddy down and placed him on the floor. She walked downstairs to the sun lit, flower wallpapered, cozy kitchen, Buddy hopped up on a chair with some books stacked on top , patiently yet excitedly waiting for breakfast to be done.

Vanessa quickly whipped up some fluffy, yet super gooey chocolate chip pancakes, decorated extra chocolate chips, strawberries that were freshly picked from her garden, and all topped with mountains of whipped cream,with chocolate syrup.

“Breakfast’s ready” Vanessa said with a smile, holding the plates of pancakes in

Buddy chowed down on the pancakes as soon as Vanessa set the plate down, and the amora from the pancakes served as a pretty good wake up call for Flaps, who sprung right up, and started to devour the flapjack stack. Vanessa smiled and turned around to get to her own plate and she also made herself some tea, she took out a newspaper to read to see if she could find someone in need, or some big event to take part in to kickstart her new adventure, but today's news seem pretty slow today just stuff about an ongoing election in a far off land and someone found their lost cat..aww..how sweet.

"Hmm...nothing in the news today, I guess I could just chill today, maybe I could just work on some terraforming" Vanessa said looking outside at the flower flooded terrain, she had made a forest in the backyard with a lake,a cave that led to an underground lake in the center of a flower field, and a few rivers. It was a beautiful area, but more could be added, a beach, or one of those little gazebo things, or a designated area for picnics, but the backyard lake is already good for those.

While thinking about cool terraforming ideas, Vanessa heard a knock at the door. Vanessa went to investigate.

"Morning, Ms. Vanessa, you've got mail!" said her post-man, a half jackalope half elf fellow as he bowed , Jack as he pushed up his circular specs and handed her a handful letters.

"Thanks, Jack" She said as she took the mail from his hands. "You wanna come in and chat for a while, I got some tea and strawberry chocolate chip pancakes."

"Thats sounds wonderful!" Jack said as his ears perked up, the freckles on his face seemed to lit up and he got a starry excited look in his eyes, he took in deep breath, the aroma of the pancakes were strong enough he could smell them from outside, and he was almost so captaivitaed by the smell he almost fell over, but then quickly shook his head as to get rid of the idea. "B-but the last time I stuck around my boss gave me an earful..."

"Okay, but if you ever wanna hangout, my door's always opened"Vanessa said as she gave a sympathetic shrug

" That's very sweet of you, but I'll be off , uh tell Buddy and Flaps, I said 'Hello'!" Jack said as he waved goodbye to continue his route.

Letters, Vanessa always got a ton them , but never from the same people every time, since most of them were busy people, but it was a nice way to keep in touch with all people she met on her travels,since some of them didn't have phone, or sometimes didn't even know what a phone was, and she found letter to be away more personal. She flipped through the batch of letters as she walked back to the kitchen, this batch came from a friendly, cute photographer, a fashionable bewitching lady, some letters from a group of masked vigilantes, and a letter from an old friend.

“Whoa, look guys it's a letter from Del!” Vanessa said gleefully, showing the letter to Flaps and Buddy. Flaps squeaked in delight and Buddy wagged his tail with joy. Vanessa quickly opened the letter and started reading….

Hey, Vanessa

Sorry, I haven’t gotten around to talking or writing to you as much as I feel like I should.There’s just so much going on, I’ve took your advice from the last letter you sent me, and I’ve started to sell my seashell necklaces on the beach to make extra money, I’ve kind of opened a shop, well the owner of the surf shack let me set up my shop in the area where he used to sell his homemade kombucha (which no one brought well except for me, but I just did that because I felt so sorry for the guy, but I do feel relief that I don’t have to chug that stuff just to keep myself from vomiting anymore ). Christi has start her own atelier teaching people how to make clothes and dresses while making her own clothing line, she also wants the atelier to become a hip place for all the cool people in town to hang, so she’s going to start selling some of her sweets there as well, While Nikki has started her own yoga studio, where she teaches yoga (well, duh) and aerobics, with some help from Christi she also sells some athletic clothing as well (but she makes sure to tell Christi not to make the outfits too fancy and frilly) and she has been training for the town’s sports day games this year.

Naomi got a job at the Zoo taking care of the animals, her animal-talking abilities come in pretty hand, she climbed the ranks from elephant cleaner to head zookeeper pretty quickly, she loves being the camp counselor for when zoo camp starts in the summer, if we wouldn’t listen to her nerding out about animal facts, those little kids sure well, and look to her as some type of animal goddess, it so cute. While we’re still working on our dream jobs, and figuring out what we want to do with our lives, we still make time for our mayor squad tasks, things have gotten so much easier for me ever since I let the other girls help with my mayoral tasks, and thanks for pushing to make that decision by the way. At first we let citizens visit our home if they were in need of help for a task or to make a suggestion, but that got annoying real quick, you won’t believe the amount of people who would show in the middle of the night asking for help to look for their cat, so we made a separate build far way from our house, its about the size of a clubhouse but it does the job. Its there where we take people’s suggestions and at select hours of the day 5 to 8 pm because that fits in with most of our job schedules on Mon-Fri, but 10 to 6 on weekends, so we can still sleep in and have some girl time and movie night afterwards.

Its been fun sharing the town task, it always becomes a mini adventure like the type we used to have when you were around, our next big task is celebrating the town’s 13 anniversary. Naomi said that we shouldn’t because its bad luck, but I want to do it because I really like the movie 13 year, and I want to do something big to prove to myself that I can make a big event without screwing it up..so yeah...hehe. That’s gonna be a thing, I’m kind of nervous, it's times like this I wish you were here, but I KNOW I can do it! I just gotta believe, right? Sorry, if this letter is really long, its just that SOOO much stuff has happened, and I’m busy and then I feel like you’re busy. I don’t wanna slow you down or annoy you, maybe I just miss talking to you..I guess or whatever. I think that’s all I have to update you on...OH wait I forgot to mention...uh.. I maybe...kind of.. like... have a..boyfriend now. Yeah, I met him while we were delivering apples to the annual gala, I kind of bumped into him there, then I started to bump into him EVERYWHERE! I kept running from him because of how embarrassed I felt, and I thought that would make him give up on me, but then he just came to the house and asked me out, and I couldn’t say no so I said yes, of course. He’s real sweet and has the cutest little sister and-- Whoa this letter’s long enough, I guess I'll fill you in later, whenever I get time to sit down and write again. Hope I didn’t waste your time.

From, Del

(P.S I enclosed this letter with a necklace I made just for you, I added a mini jar to this which something I just start doing with my necklaces, I hope I actually remember to put it in the letter, and it actually looks good)

Vanessa shook the letter for more of the contents, the sea shell necklace fell out of the letter with a small clang as it hit the table. She picked up gingerly and looked at it, running her fingers over the textures of each and every seashell,mini starfish, appreciated every little detail in the small jar of beach sand. “Oh, Del” Vanessa said fondly. She quickly went to the hallway mirror, and it looked even lovelier in the mirror and surprisingly it matched with her outfit. Vanessa couldn’t stop grinning, she felt like she could stand and look at it for hours, but it also gave her a nostalgic feeling, she thought about all the adventures she had with Bree and the other girls, how much fun it was to set up parties, parades, and grand opening, she got that similar feeling from holding the mini grand opening for the plant people’s nature cafe. It was nice to see people enjoy what you made, this thought got Vanessa really thinking,

“Hey, since I don’t have anything big to do today, why don’t I pay a visit to Well Sun Valley?” Vanessa said, thinking out loud while looking at her furry friends, who nodded in agreement. “Yeah, wait let’s not just make it a visit I could just like you know, stay” she nodded as she headed back to the kitchen and placed the breakfast plates and cups in the sink “Yeah, I mean still have my wrap stones from all the other places I’ve visited before, so if I need to go back to those place I’m pretty set” she began quickly wash and rinsing the plates, while passively passing them to Flaps, who held up a plate, so Buddy could dry them with his tail. “Shame that I didnt make a wrap stone to Well Sun before I left, but I didn’t even how to make those back then, so its alright, I can just take the train….”

she looked at the clock “Oof, I gotta start packing” Vanessa quickly rushed out the kitchen, but then backtracked and gathered the other letters, and raced up stairs. Vanessa entered her walk-in closet and dragged out her pink and purple holographic suitcase and started to grab a few outfits, while changing her current outfit to a strawberry tee, with a plaid skirt.

She also packed her travel journal to share her adventures, some books and her laptop to keep herself entertained on the train. Once she was done pack she then went to her desk to read and sent responses to the other letters she got, she was debating if she should send a letter to Del or not, she settled on not because she was coming anyways and wanted it to be a surprise! She looked up the time for when the nearest train depart to Well Sun Valley, the nearest one was about to leave itin 45 minutes. Vanessa held out her hand and thought, and two tickets quickly manifested in her hands “Aw, man my manifest powers still need work, I thought too hard” she said, she inspected the tickets closely and she got the important train details right..

“Let’s go” Vanessa said as she placed Flaps on her shoulder and bounced out the chair, grabbed her suitcase, and headed outside with Buddy following behind, she made a stop at the mailbox to put her letters in, she bounced on the wrap portal. She was teleported into a bush and stumbled out “Oof, got to work on those teleportation skills” Vanessa shook her head to regain her equalium. She looked around to see that she landed near a train station that was a small station in a valley across from a lake, not far from a small town. She ran to get in line, but was stopped in her tracks when she saw the no animals sign. “Oof, time to hide, guys” Flaps hid in Vanessa loose curly hair, and Buddy made himself invisible. “Great”

She loaded in with the another passengers and was show by one of the workers to her room in the sleeper car, her room had two beds one on each side.

"Guess, I lucked out" Vanessa shrugged to herself. She placed her luggage under one of the seats, but not before taking out her laptop. It would take 2 days to reach Well Sun Valley, so might as well enjoy the ride. Vanessa headed to the dining car, watch some videos while she soak up the atmosphere,and to see if the cafe has any cute treats.

Vanessa found herself a nice seat near the back so she could get a good scoop of everything. She wanted to get lost in the murmurs of background conversations, the light clanking of plates, cups and utseils, the humming from the coffee machine and warm auroma that was wafing from it that mixed pleasently with savory smell coming from the kitchen

she peered up to check to see if her island was following her and it was, set up her laptop, despite the train having a rustic old times aesthetic the wifi was pretty good, and order herself a cute strawberry parfait.

Vanessa patted Buddy on the head as he snuggled up right next to her, other than the morning rush everything went pretty smoothly. Might as well just sit and enjoy the atmosphere, but just as she was about to, the back door bursted opened, Vanessa turned to see a guy coming out of the back door, he was hunched over--his knees were almost down to floor. At first his face was covered by a mount of messy almost shaggy blond hair. He shook his head vigorously revealing his bright blue eyes that contracted loudly against his ghostly pale skin his face sprinkled with freckles, he had orange headphones that hung around his neck, The blue eyes were surrounded by dark circles,he wore a black turtleneck tunic, and he looked like he was being almost swallowed whole by his baggy orange jacket that draped his shoulders. His blue orbs widened looking like they couldn't believe the scene they were witnessing.

"Oh, oh, God! P-people!? There are actual people!!Thank God!"He said falling to knees taken aback "I-I'm out,I'm out, I'm ACTUAL OUT. T-that means I can find him, I FINALLY--" He tried to run, but ended up tripping over his own feet. "Whoa, gotta sit down a sec" said to himself as he slugged into an empty booth nearby.

Vanessa was pretty confused by what she just saw, a random dude just came out of the baggage car. He didn't seem like a stowaway, he didn't seem sneaky at all, and the fact that didn't even know he was on the train til now. The other passengers were too into their own businesses to worry about what's going on at the back of the car. Vanessa was going to investigate herself, but her stream of thoughts was interruptes by a voice.

"Excuse ma'am, may I see your ticket" said the conductor with his hand out ticket ready

"Oh sure, here" Vanessa as she handed over her ticket.

The conductor punched her ticket and promptly handed it back to her "Thank you, ma'am, hope you enjoy your trip"he gave her a consumer friendly smile, and walked to back

"Hmm..I wonder if I could add his to my travel scrapbook" Vanessa said as looked at her punched ticket.

"Wait no, please let me stay on the train" said a panicked voice from the back.

"I'm sorry, sir but I cannot let you ride the ride without a ticket, I must ask to leave or I will be forced to remove you from the train myself!"

"No, please you don't understand I NEED to be on the train!" The boy said practically begging

"I will not stand for this nonsense on my train" the conductor said as he stomped his foot " You have left me with no choice"

The conductor grabbed the boy by his baggy jacket as he held onto the table for dear life! " NO PLEASE YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!! I HAVE NOWHERE GO!!!

"Well then, you have no business being on this train then"

"WAIT!" Vanessa shouted, making the two stop dead in their tracks. "He's with me!" She held up her extra ticket like it was some holy item. "Sorry, I completely forgot to give you your ticket uh…" she slowly gestured toward the boy.

"Oh, uh Nick!" The boy said as he perked up "Yeah, I'm definitely with her" he pointed toward Vanessa. The conductor let go of Nick and took a closer look at the extra ticket, he looked back at Nick, who gave a sheepish smile, then punched the ticket "Sorry for the misunderstanding, sir." The scary harsh persona the conductor was replaced with a consumer friendly smile. "Enjoy your trip" The conductor returned the ticket and walked away

"Oh God, Thank you!" Nick said as he heaved a sigh "you're a lifesaver" The boy stood up straight all that slouching really did hid his almost towering height compared to Vanessa.

"My goodness, you look awful!" Vanessa said with consider in her voice as she gazed at the disshloved boy in front of her "Where did you come from?"

"It's a long story.." Nick mumbled rubbing the back of his head, just then a growling noise came from his stomach

"I wouldn't mind take some time from my two day trip, hear your origin story over some burgers and fries" Vanessa suggested gesturing towards her table

__________________________

"Hmm I never would have an old times train car to have such hardy burgers on their menu" Vanessa said looking at the posh, script-written menu and then looking at the hamburger meat that was wrapped bacon, topped with cheese that dripped slow as it melted from the heat of the hamburger, topped with cold tomatoes and lettuce all hugged up in two soft buns, served with some nuggets and fries.

Vanessa only had a small bit of the meaty mount, she was already content with her parfait from earlier, while Nick was wolfing his burger like he hadn’t seen food in forever, she never seen some eat food so fast, Nick became quite sheepish when he realized Vanessa was looking at him. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to act like a slob, I just can’t remember the last time I saw food--actually I can’t remember the last time I saw anything.” He wiped his face with a napkin thoughtfully, then timidly gazed at Vanessa’s plate.

“No, no its fine, I just never guess someone as lanky and skinny as you could put away so much” Vanessa explained then she gently pushed her plate towards Nick, “Here, you can have my plate, I had a parfait earlier so I’m pretty full”

“Oh, thank you” Nick said, accepting her offer, and took no time going ham on the beef.

“No problem, you said earlier that you were walking in the middle of nowhere?”

“Yeah, It felt like I was just walking forever, like years but I was getting nowhere, everything was so white it was almost blinding.”

“Do you remember how you got there in the first place, what was your life like before?”

“My life was pretty normal, I lived in a pretty small town, I had friends, I went to school, I used to go rollerskating alot, even I had a job kind of.” Nick said put down the sandwich, and looked out the window thoughtfully “The last thing I remember was that I finally got to talk to this cool guy, I was so happy because he really clicked. I would always see him around and we would chat here and there , but we never really got to have a real conversation, his friend was super protective of him--his friend didn’t get along with my friend, they were always at each others throats, so I rarely got to talk to the guy in a peaceful setting for long. Until one day when my best friend literally pushed me to talk to him, we just started talking and it was just so awesome, it was the last best day I remember having. I felt like I was finally getting somewhere with him and then next thing I know I woke up on the cold hard white floor all alone, with nothing for miles.” Nick started to passively rub the streaks of ketchup on his plate with a lone french fry. “I didn’t sleep or eat, I couldn’t feel anything but emptiness, not only did I lose track of time, I started to lose myself..if was terrifying”

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry...” Vanessa said, she couldn’t imagine being alone like that for so long.

“Yeah, but I’m out of it now LITERALLY, I can finally find him now, I was planning to share something important with him before I woke up in the void. I don’t know where he is but I think this train might lead me to him. Where’s this train going again?”

“Just a sweet town called Well Sun Valley,” Vanessa said proudly “I used to live there a long time ago but now I’m coming back to stay.”

“You think I might find my friend there?” Nick said his eyes gleamed with hope.

“Well, Sun Valley is known for having the magical ability to bring the most interesting people together, I would say there’s a good chance”Vanessa said with a firm nod

“Oh, that’s a relief” Nick yawned his head now resting on his arms, his head slowly tiling to the left, his eyes blinking fighting back sleepiness. “I’m sorry, I think all that walking is finally catching up to me” Nick let his heavy eyes droop closed as he gave into the urge to sleep, all the nervous energy that harvested in body seem to vanish and was replaced by peaceful slow pace breathing, his face sporting rosy cheeks that seemed to have gotten redder than when he was awake.

“Aw..”Vanessa said looking at the sleeping boy, the poor guy deserve some rest after what he’s been through, but then so realized “Oh, wait I’m going to have to carry him back to the sleeping car” Vanessa was unsure if her magic would work in the area the train was currently in, plus the dining car was pretty much packed at this hour even for late lunch, and she wasn’t so sure if any of these passengers had see magic before nor how they would react to the site of a boy floating in mid air. “I guess I’m just going to have to do this the hard way” Buddy climbed up to the table to eat what was left of the sandwich Nick was eating, and Flaps emerged out of Vanessa's hair to munch on the leftover fries.

“Would you two mind helping me with this” Vanessa said nodding towards the exhausted Nick, Buddy and Flap both sighed and shrugged…

END OF PART 1

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​

[brianc521]

I’m Okay Now

Part 2 of ‘Not Doing Okay’ (reposted since Tumblr took it)

His world is off beat. The man who can play any chord at anytime, can pick up a simple hum and work it into a song, the one who can play guitar and sing all day, he’s off beat.

Has been since she left for the airport with a tear in her eye and a searing kiss he left on her lips to remind of what she was coming home to. Or that he hoped she was coming home to.

He knew she only packed for a few days, and that her flight back was in that time period. He knew deep down that she was coming back, but he couldn’t help the panicky feeling of her leaving for good. The thought scared him half to death.

He’s been MIA since she left, hiding in their condo, that now felt so foreign without her energy. He was slowly starting to understand where she was coming from, and how she felt.

“Hey Shawn!” Rang through the hallway as Josiah walked in.

“What are you doing here?” Shawn stood up quickly, hoping to hide the bottle of liquor he couldn’t get himself to drink.

“Thought maybe you could use someone to talk to? Noticed something was up at dinner the other night, and now you’ve cancelled the studio time here and in Nashville, just wanted to check in and make sure you’re good.”

Josiah looks around and then back at Shawn and he just knows. Shawn sighs, slumping back into the couch, back to hugging her pillow from her side of the bed.

“When does she get back?”

“Tomorrow night I hope.” Shawn mutters.

“Tell me what happened?” Josiah takes a seat on the other side of the couch, across from Shawn.

“I’m not totally sure myself? She wanted to leave when we got back here after dinner. She left the next morning.”

“You don’t know why?”

“I’m sure I could guess, but I don’t really want to.”

“What’s your guess?” Josiah pokes at the topic.

“That she wants to move back home,” Shawn sighs, letting his eyes fall shut as he hugs her pillow tighter.

“I don’t think that’s the case.” Josiah shakes his head. “This sort of thing happened when I started leaving for work after I moved in with my girl.”

Shawn’s head perks up, eyes wide, ears fully listening to everything spilling from Josiah’s lips.

“I know you’re dedicated to your work, and we all love that about you. I’m sure that’s one of the main reasons why she loves you, but you have to remember what she’s doing too? Like we don’t mean to, but we sort of get busy and push them to the side because we know that they’re always there.”

Shawn stews on that for a moment, his mind swirling with arguments on how that’s not true.

“I know you want to say that she’s your main priority and that you love her more than anything, and I don’t doubt that you do, but sometimes we have to face the music Shawn. It’s easy for us to be in the middle of a take, or a shoot, or a show, and go ‘I’ll call her back once it’s done.’ But then it’s ‘I’ll call her after dinner with the team’ and then after that it’s ‘I’ll call her after drinks with the band’ and then before you know it it’s turned into a text saying ‘I’ll call you tomorrow, got so busy tonight.’”

Shawn deflates, he couldn’t even begin to count the amount of times he’d done that to her.

“And they don’t say anything because they feel like if they do then they’re being clingy, or whiney, but sometimes we need a slap in the face. This Shawn, this is your slap. I don’t mean to be in your business, but I heard your phone call earlier this week while we were in LA, she called and you said you were in the middle of a take. I don’t know what it was about, but you never did call her back that night.”

Shawn rubs his face with his hand. “Fuck she said she needed me, fuck.” He sighs.

“Don’t beat yourself up over it, just fix it. It took me awhile to truly find out what was going on, and in your situation it’s different. My girl could run off with her girlfriends and have a good time. Y/n moved to a different country for you, she doesn’t know anyone here, she’s alone when your away.”

That made Shawn feel worse, because now it all seemed to make sense. Her comments about being on the back burner, how she never called the condo home, claiming that she wasn’t at a dinner with friends, or how she felt she was ruining his ‘fantastic’ life.

“Oh my god,” He cries into his hands, how could he let this happen? How could he let her feel so alone? How could he not see it?

**

Josiah stayed for a few hours after Shawn had vented his feelings out. He cried a bit, and mainly just let his thoughts tumble from his mind to his mouth without the worries of saying something wrong. He just let it out.

This morning though he woke up to a call on the main phone from the boutique she works at.

“Hey Y/n, I know you’re out of town but your check is in and has been sitting here since Friday so if you could pick it up or have someone else do it that’d be great.”

He knew she was coming home tonight but he wanted to do it, wanted to do it for her so she wouldn’t have to worry about it.

iMessage to Babygirl: Hey Baby, I can’t wait to see you tonight! I miss you so much. Also worked called and asked if you could get your check and I’d thought I’d do it for you. I love you so much, let me know when you’re boarding the plane.

He then made his way to the boutique downtown, hat and sunglasses working as his disguise from passing fans.

The shop was smaller than he expected, but he could tell why she liked it so much. It was right up her alley. The style of all the clothes was similar to what she wore and the vibe from the store in general made him think of you instantly.

“Hi! Can I help you find something?” A lady asked from behind the counter.

“Hi,” He smiled, slipping his glasses off and walking to the counter. “I’m here to get Y/n’s check,”

She gave him a light lipped smile. “And you are?”

“Oh right,” He shook his head. “Shawn,” He stuck his hand out to greet her. “Y/n’s boyfriend.”

“You’re Shawn?” She asked in shock. “Like the Shawn that was in LA at the start of this week?”

He frowned a bit. “Yeah?”

“I’m Iz,” She shook his hand that was still between them. “The owner.”

“Yeah I’ve heard a lot about you,” He nods.

“Ditto.” She smiles, turning to grab her check. “Tell Y/n that I took the dress out of her check, that’s why it’s shorter than usual.”

Shawn’s eyes furrowed as he took the envelope. “What dress?” He asked.

“The black one? She stopped by before she left Thursday morning to let me know something had happened and that she couldn’t return it like she planned.”

“Return it? Why would she return it?” He asked confused.

“Well when she spoke to me about it the night before, she explained that she had last minute dinner plans that needed her dressed to impress for but knew she couldn’t afford the dress so I offered she’d just buy one of ours, but even with the employee discount she couldn’t afford it. So I told her to just put it on her card and return it the next day.”

His heart stopped. She planned on returning it.

“Oh my god,” He said with a shrill in his voice. “That’s why the tag was still on it, that’s why she got upset when I pulled it off.”

“Oh the tag was off? She still could have returned it.”

“No,” He cringes, shaking his head. “I spilled wine on it. Like all over it.”

“Oh no,” She gasps.

“That’s why,” He stops when he relives the whole night, and how he’d ruined everything. He turns to leave, ideas already swarming his mind on how to make it up before Iz stops him.

“Can you tell her that her training will start when she gets back?”

“Training? Training for what?” He asks.

“Her promotion?” Iz says with a confused face. “She took the manager position.”

His eyes go wide when he realizes how much Josiah was right.

**

He was in the kitchen, lighting the new candle he bought, placing it on the holders you had on the table, creating a romantic sexy glow.

The flowers were in the new vase on the kitchen counter, dinner was plated and waiting at the table as he ran around adding the finishing touches to the now cleaned apartment.

He whipped around, heels sliding on his socked feet when he heard her key slide into the lock. She walked in, small bag behind her as she kicked her shoes off by the door.

“Shawn?” She called, looking up in shock at the spotless entrance. He turns the corner standing down the hallway towards the kitchen. He almost wants to cry when his eyes land on her. It’d only been four days but he missed her like none other.

“Baby,” He sighed from his spot in the door frame.

She looked over, finding him in state she’s never seen him in before. His black joggers were bunched up on his shin, his white hoodie made him look very soft, but his eyes held purple bags under them, and his hair was messy like he’d been tugging on the poor curls since she left.

“Hey,” She smiled, letting the door fall closed behind her.

Before she knows it, he’s running down the hall, picking her up in his embrace, face nuzzled into her neck as he finally feels like he can breathe properly.

“Hi Baby,” He whispers against her neck, taking in her sweet smell, vowing to himself that he’d never let her leave like that again.

“What is all of this?” She asked, seeing the clean apartment and lit candles over his shoulders.

“Dinner,” He says setting her back down, but tightening his arms around her, keeping her close.

“You got dinner?” She asks, looking up at him with a sad smile.

“I made dinner,” He corrects, taking her by surprise. “Chicken and rice, the one thing I’m confident enough not to burn.” He says escorting her to the table.

“Oh Shawn,” She sighs when she sees the flowers and mood lighting in the dining room.

“Shh,” He kisses the side of her head, pulling her chair out for her.

She takes a seat, smiling up at him as he walks back to the counter grabbing a wine bottle and two glasses.

“You thought of everything huh?” She asks, fingers tracing the hem of the cloth napkin by her plate.

“Everything for my Baby,” He says pouring her a glass of wine.

They clink glasses before taking small sips. “I’m starving.” She says picking up her fork and digging in.

He smiles, watching her stuff her face with the meal he made and blushing a bit when she moans at the taste.

**

They’ve been dancing around the big topic all night, finding something else to talk about during dinner that’s now lead them to laying on the couch, looking out at the lights of Toronto.

Shawn takes a deep breath and clears his throat before he speaks up.

“Congrats on your promotion.” He whispers softly.

She moves, turning to face him, with wide eyes. “How do you know about that?”

“Iz mentioned your training when I went to pick up your check.” He looks down at his twiddling thumbs.

“Shawn,” She sighs.

“I’m sorry for everything I did to make you not want to tell me.” He whispers grimmly, tears collecting behind his eyes.

“Shawn.” She shakes her head. “I wanted to tell you,”

“What happened?” He asked softly, “Why didn’t you?”

“You were number one on the 21 under 21.” She shrugs.

His eyes widen a bit and his throat runs dry. “So?” He asks.

“So, that’s an amazing accomplishment. And you also had won at the AMA’s and have the Zedd remix out, and the last of the festival runs.”

“Baby becoming a manager is an amazing accomplishment.” He says shaking his head at her works.

“Not really,”

“Yes really,” He argues.

“Not really compared to yours,”

His heart drops and his eyes fall shut. “Is that what this is?” He asks looking at her, tear threatening to fall.

“Shawn don’t cry,” She moves closer, wiping at his eye.

“Is that why you left?” He asks, voice cracking.

She sighs, and that’s all the answer he needs. He pulls his hand out of hers, the self hatred already flowing through his veins.

“Come back,” She whines, reaching for him. “Shawn,”

“You’re everything,” He says, looking at her with determined eyes. “I mean that with every fiber of my being. You. Are. Everything. I can’t do half the things I do without you. You’re everything, you’re my everything. I just want to take care of you, and love you, and show you off.”

“It hasn’t felt like you’ve been doing that lately.”

He knows he needs to hear what she’s been feeling, but why the hell does it have to hurt him even more than it already does.

“I’m a shitty boyfriend, I know. But I love you, more than I love anything in this world.”

“You’re not a shitty boyfriend.”

“I am, fucking,” He tugs at his curls. “You don’t feel at home here, and you said you don’t feel safe. And you got a promotion and I made you feel insignificant about it. Because I had to push these bullshit things in your face.”

“Stop it,” She shakes her head. “You didn’t make me feel insignificant. I don’t need attention from every single person I know to feel confident. I know who I am, I know what I can do.”

“I know that, but a decent boyfriend would have taken you out. Wouldn’t have made you go out with his dumbass team. Wouldn’t have made you think that you’d have to pay for yourself. Wouldn’t have spilled wine all over you, and then laughed about it.”

At that she giggles. “It was kind of funny now that I look at it. Looking back it almost seems like I was in some 90’s sitcom episode.”

“And a decent boyfriend would have known if you were having money issues.”

“I’m not having money issues, I have just enough, sure I can’t go out and buy a new dress at the drop of a hat, or go to super fancy dinners. But I have a roof over my head, food in my belly, and clothes to keep me warm. I’m doing okay.”

He just stands in front of her, staring at her with wide eyes.

“I love you,” He says with a frown. “And you’re everything.”

“Shawn, you’re everything.” She says getting up and standing in front of him.

He inhales sharply and attacks her with a hug. “I missed you so much,” He says as he tackles her to the couch. “Don’t ever leave me again.”

She giggles, combing through his curls. “Got a lil taste of your own medicine.”

“Fuck I’m never leaving again. I can’t believe that’s how bad it hurts.” He shakes his head.

“It doesn’t hurt that bad, because I know you’re coming home.”

He doesn’t respond to that, just buries himself farther into her neck. “I didn’t know that,” He mumbles into her skin.

She tugs at his curls. “I’ll always come home.”

He looks up, eyes a bit wide. “Home?” He asks softly.

She nods, “Going back really proved to me that this is home. You’re home.”

He smiles, “You’re my home too.”

And yes they had other issues they needed to talk through, and figure out. But as of right now they are both home, and that’s all they need.

[friendshipcampaign]

Session Recap 8/31/19: Gathering Eyes

Deveron looked around before opening his mouth and saying, in Quest’s voice thanks to his kenku mimicry, “This is a beautiful sword here, but I think that someone may have been a little naughty. Can you tell me which way to the Zizisvoynis’?”

Voski thanked him and turned to go, giving him a piece of gold, but Deveron reached out and grabbed her sleeve, pulling out a candle stub. He spoke a word that seemed to be a magical cue, causing the wax to melt in his hand and form a figurine of Eckjeth Siek. He held up a talon and spoke in her voice now, recounting her asking him some questions about whether he’d seen Quest. He then pointed and held up a second finger, pantomiming as if casting a spell, and spoke again. The voice still sounded like Eckjeth’s, but was definitely not her usual tone. There was a strange edge to it.

“The tiefling Quest told you nothing when she came here into the Guild House on the night of Blomhath the 7th. She looked at Truthseeker, was satisfied, and left. Do you understand?”

Deveron stowed the wax away in his pocket. Voski gave him a nod and another piece of gold. He looked scared. She thanked him, sounding cheerful, for answering her questions about guild operations, before turning to the others and saying they should be on their way.

As the party made their way to their next destination, they shared what they had learned with each other -- both about Quest and Eckjeth (and whatever may have happened to her), and about the figures Kriv and Erwyn had seen watching the party. As they talked about the connection to the Zizisvoynis, Ditto asked if anyone else had felt like Lomik was as interested in learning stuff about them as they were learning information from them. As they talked about it, Erwyn spoke up and said he’d just had a concerning thought. He explained that the symptoms of Lomik’s mysterious illness reminded him somewhat of what he’d gone through when he started learning Abyssal. Their refusal of Kriv’s offer of healing, which he knew from experience wouldn’t work, might have been meant to disguise that fact.

The group swung by the DPL’s temporary headquarters again and this time were greeted by the cleric Thodri, who looked fairly haggard but waved as they walked in. After some small talk, Kriv explained that Erwyn had something he wanted to speak with her about. She asked, trying to provide an excuse to speak more privately, if they had a pile of bones for her to look at outside. Kriv said they didn’t but Voski, catching her drift, immediately added that she had a feather from one of the pigeons that might be worth seeing in the lamplight outdoors.

Once they’d stepped outside, Erwyn nervously explained that he was hoping to find out if Creed was alright or still with the organization. Thodri’s face fell when he mentioned Creed’s name. She said that he had come to Veritas with the rest. She’d been with him underneath the city investigating some of the subterranean tunnels the demons were hiding in, when they were ambushed by a large number of them. Apparently he’d been grabbed by a demon with some adhesive quality, then pushed her out of the way before the struggle brought the roof of the tunnel down. They’d checked with the Stormcrows, who said he was still alive, but after what she’d seen she was doubtful. Though it was clear that Thodri was legitimately upset, Erwyn got the impression that she was maybe not telling the entire story. He didn’t choose to pry, however.

“Any luck with that feather?” Thodri said after a pause.

“You know, it’s the darnedest thing; I think this is one of my own quills,” Voski said. “Would you like it?”

The party left Thodri to her work and headed to their next destination. When they arrived at the Pig’s Eye tavern, Ditto approached the bar and asked for something large and full of alcohol. Kriv said he wanted the same -- but sized for him, not Ditto, he added. Voski handed Frileg a lime she’d plucked off the tree now growing in the floor of the Fox & Hellhound, and asked if she could do anything interesting with it in a cocktail. When asked when he wanted, Erwyn stammered for a moment before asking if he could have a glass of milk. Frileg gave him an odd look at the request, but nonetheless obliged.

After ordering some food, Ditto spotted Nilo and Clarity at a nearby table and sat down to talk with them. Nilo asked her if she was still doing her little sparks and magic and stuff and she laughed, saying she dabbled. She then conjured a really fancy hat and placed it on his head. When Clarity commented that it was pretty, Ditto dismissed the hat to conjure a different one to give to her. Nilo then leaned in and told her that he was potentially looking into a “venture” that might require someone with some magical expertise. He added that he’d originally written it off, but had learned some things that might help, and that he was sort of hoping it would allow him to get himself and Clarity out of town for good.

Ditto sent Nilo a Message asking if he could clarify more if they spoke via the spell -- which impressed him greatly. He told her that when the breach happened, a store in the arcane district called Mystic Maggie’s had gone under along with some of the other shops now stuck in the exclusion zone. It had carried a stock of arcane-grade gemstones worth a great amount of money. Nilo had met up the other day with a gnome named Polly, Maggie’s former assistant, who’d given him some tips on getting inside the shop and the key she’d always used to get inside.

Ditto expressed some reservations about the idea, but asked Nilo if he knew anything about who was looking to buy that sort of thing. He mentioned hearing word of a couple of folks from out of town who were asking around for that kind of thing -- a half-elf man who didn’t give any affiliations, and a dwarven woman who didn’t give her name but who wore a pin bearing the symbol of a rat with a knotted tail. Ditto told him she was still nervous, due to her own experiences with bad things happening with magic items. However, for the same reason she also didn’t want them ending up in the hands of someone bad, so she would consider the idea.

“Would it be you, me, and Clarity?” she asked. “‘Cause I’m thinking about my friends, and I know one of them who would definitely be in, one who definitely wouldn’t be, another who probably wouldn’t, and the other is constantly a mystery to me.”

Nilo said they might have another friend along, although it would help if they had someone who could heal. She said she needed some time to think, but that she’d talk it over with her friends, and that she was pretty sure she wanted in somehow. She also impressed on him that he probably wanted to warn any of his tiefling friends in the city to be really careful to avoid encounters with law enforcement for the time being.

At the bar, Voski casually inquired if she could hop up on stage and play some music, despite her lack of guild membership. With Frileg’s stoic approval, she took a seat and began to play. She went through a variety of songs, from local favorites to an old Umedashi drinking tune to even a few show tunes -- which Crispian Hue sang along to over at his table, badly and somewhat weepily. Amaranth, sitting with the boys at the bar, excitedly shouted to anyone who would listen that it was her friend up onstage.

The orc Amaranth had been talking with the other night was playing a game with another patron over in the corner, but eventually walked over to Amaranth and asked if she was going to go for that second Magma Mephit this time around. Amaranth asked her name this time and the orc told her that around these parts she went by Sparrow, as she was the little bird who told people things. When Amaranth laughed and said it was a cute name, Kriv snorted.

After chatting for a bit, Amaranth slipped into Thieves’ Cant to ask Sparrow if she knew anything about missing tieflings in the city. Sparrow replied that all she was aware of was to warn people to stay away from the workhouse, though she knew of many individuals who’d gone missing. Apparently the official word from the guards was always that they’d been transferred, but no one ever saw them getting moved elsewhere. Sparrow asked if she’d reached out to the Obsidian Shard. Amaranth said they had some concerns about whose pockets they might be in, though Sparrow assured her she’d never heard any evidence they had anything other than individual clients. She told her she’d let her know if she learned anything more about the tieflings.

Amaranth announced, in Common once more, that she was going to order another of the Magma Mephits. She asked Kriv if he wanted in and he agreed reluctantly. Erwyn, still next to them and sipping his milk, looked concerned as they and Sparrow drank the spicy drinks. This time, Amaranth took the heat pretty well, impressing Sparrow a little. Kriv commented that he was fine as well, but probably wouldn’t order it again. When he mentioned “cheating” via Bahamut as he was protected from poison, Sparrow seemed amused -- particularly when he elaborated that he could also sober himself up immediately when needed. Erwyn was incredulous over the whole situation but Kriv assured him it would come in handy someday.

“I’m not criticizing your abilities, I’m criticizing the… your…” Erwyn said.

“You okay there? Your eyes are looking a little…” Kriv said, commenting on the fact that the elf’s eyes were watering just from being near the drinks.

“Exactly!” Erwyn said.

Around the same time, Voski bought a little board of bread and cheese and a weak ale and carried them over to the table where Crispian was sitting. (She nodded politely at his construct guard, Paragon, who didn’t seem to object.) Crispian drunkenly told her that her music was beautiful, with which she agreed. She commented that it seemed like, despite his station, he was spending his time in this commoner’s tavern without irony, which he confirmed miserably.

She asked him about his family, claiming only to have a vague idea that they were involved with the guilds. He said they made constructs, but that the reason they were so successful at it was because they had a “jerk armadillo thing” (a carbuncle, most likely), which created arcane-grade gems and gifted them to the family. However, it was incredibly mean to him. When Voski asked how so, he explained that the “bastard armadillo” (a phrase that he repeated quite often during this conversation) would insult his interests and call him useless, but he wasn’t allowed to say anything that might upset it.

Crispian went on to say that  things had gotten even worse lately, though, because some new people in town were selling even bigger high-quality gems, both threatening their livelihood and making the “bastard armadillo” feel self-conscious. Apparently the creature had said that this was his fault, and his parents (who Crispian was pretty sure liked it more than him, as they’d befriended it when they were young adventurers) seemed to believe it.

“Your voice is really pretty,” he sadly commented to her, after sharing everything.

“It is,” Voski affirmed. “Can I offer you some advice?”

He nodded glumly, and Voski explained that she’d had a friend once who’d theorized there were two essential types of happiness: being generally happy with one’s life and situation, and being happy with oneself. She pointed at Kriv.

“That fellow over there? The broad-shouldered one? He’ll never be happy. It’s written all over him. But he could be happy with himself, and that solves a lot of his problems.”

Crispian asked if she could do that with everyone, pointing at Erwyn. Voski changed the subject.

She told Crispian that no matter his situation, he could still find peace with who he was, and things like his interests or presentation, which could help him gain the confidence that might be the key to interacting with the carbuncle. He asked Voski if she was making fun of him, and seemed surprised when she told him no. She could tell he was in a terrible position right now.

She asked him how serious the threat to his family’s business really was. Crispian elaborated that the newcomers were selling gems that could be used for arcane purposes, which was comparitively rare and put them in direct competition with his family. Her next suggestion was that the carbuncle might also be working through some insecurities, and that he might want to try working with it from that perspective. Crispian just insisted that it hated him.

When Voski changed tactics and asked him what it was that the carbuncle wanted and needed, he elaborated: it wanted a pretty place and nice food and to make fun of him. Ignoring the last part, Voski said she knew someone in town who was both an accomplished interior decorator and the one who’d given her that advice on happiness, who might have some thoughts that could help him improve his situation. She wrote down the name of Tress’ shop for him.

Voski commented that she saw two paths before him. Crispian immediately asked if one of them was dying miserable and alone, and she gently said that wasn’t one she’d been thinking of. She saw two paths: one where he resolved the situation and his family’s business continued running as it had under his parents, and another where he got to forge a new path for himself.

“That’s the terrifying thing about ending a relationship of any kind, personal or professional, that you’ve come to rely on,” she said, “You’re left with yourself. And you sort of have to figure out, with the remains of what you had, where you go.”

After their conversation resolved and Crispian got up to go, thanking her profusely for the conversation, Voski stayed sitting at the table, finishing the leftover cheese. After a little while another bard came in, an orc with a buzzcut and a bass they used as a lute.

Ditto continued chatting with Nilo and asked him if Korrin, who she described as a half-elf with some scales, the watch member she’d known when she lived in the city before, was still a member of the guard and if he felt like they were still a decent person. He noted that they were, and that they seemed decent. After that she walked over to the other three at the bar. Cautiously, she tasted the remains of Amaranth’s drink and felt her tongue tingling unpleasantly enough that she followed Erwyn’s example and ordered a milk.

As it started to get late, the drow woman from the other night stopped by and ordered something complicated at the bar before taking her seat in the far corner again. Noting this, Ditto tried casting Detect Thoughts again and heard her thinking about how boring it was sitting in the warehouse all the time, and that she was again waiting for someone to show up. She then directed the spell towards a particularly nervous-looking man several members of the party had noted throughout the evening. From him she mostly got paranoid rambling, wondering if any more people had been “replaced by doppelgängers” as part of a “conspiracy to cover up the High Temple.”

Voski wandered over to the drow woman, sat down uninvited, and commented that whoever she was waiting on must be really amazing for her to come back again after being stood up. This startled the drow, and her form seemed almost to wobble a little in response. She snapped that Voski had no reason to poke into her business, but Voski commented that she simply liked to watch out for “others” -- which seemed to cautiously pique the other woman’s interest. Voski then carefully pulled away a small piece of her armor on her right arm, near the elbow, to reveal a small, gold coin-sized patch of her scales that was discolored an ugly green.

“You should sometimes be careful about who you put that much trust in, even if you’re thrilled to have it at the time,” she said.

Voski asked the drow who or what she was waiting for here, but got only cryptic answers. The dragonborn cautioned that something would find her if she spent too long in Veritas, before saying that her complicated drink looked good. The drow said it was an attempt to mimic some of the flavors of the Underdark and offered to give her the recipe. She said she’d love that. As they parted, Voski told the other woman that she hoped she wouldn’t see her in the Pig’s Eye again.

Noticing this conversation was happening, Ditto cast another Detect Thoughts at the drow while Voski spoke with her. She mostly got the impression that she was intrigued by the dragonborn -- and approved of her clothing and make-up -- but was a little too distrustful to disclose anything of importance to her. After Voski rejoined the rest of the group, Ditto then slipped away to Send a message to Deveron asking if they were okay or if they needed help, and if the party should meet them somewhere or stay away.

“Stay away,” she got back, and then in two other voices: “Everything’s mostly fine, you know?” and “Doesn’t it look a little ominous out there?”

As the party headed out, Nilo waved at Ditto and said he’d see her tomorrow. There were a few demon pigeons outside, flocking and keeping pace a little behind the party -- who had all donned their protective masks -- as they walked. Voski started playing a Countercharm as they walked. When they arrived at the Fox & Hellhound, the entire roof of the inn was covered with a flock of the pigeon-like quasits. As the party stepped inside, all of them raised their wings to reveal many, watching eyes hidden below.

Jerik, who was at the front desk, looked at the group suspiciously as they walked in, whispering among themselves about the situation. Kriv commented that the pigeons outside were just unnerving, and Jerik pointed out they weren’t doing this to all the other inns on the street. He kept his eyes on the group as they headed upstairs.

As the others made their way to the boys’ room, Amaranth ducked into the other one briefly to check on Tenny, who had curled up sleepily with Tiktik and startled awake when she poked her head in to say hello. The girl told her she was okay and she went to talk with the others. Telepathically, Ditto asked Tiktik if anything had happened while they were gone and they had nothing to report. Once everyone was all together in the other room, Amaranth commented that she had a bad feeling she knew what the demons were interested in, looking meaningfully at Erwyn. Kriv commented they should probably think about moving locations, and specifically that they should drop Tenny off somewhere else, using the demiplane to move her secretly.

Ditto tried a Sending to Nilo to ask if he knew of anywhere that might be a safe place to hide Tenny while the party explored their own options.

“Do you know a safe, secure, private place for a child to stay that’s not The Fox & Hellhound or the Slumbering Grell?” she asked him.

“Wow! Hey Ditto! How are you doing that?” she got back after a moment, “I guess you can’t talk back, huh? Well, I know a few places like that here, there’s--”

The reply cut off. Ditto sighed and cast Sending again.

“Should have said, you only have twenty-five words, and I can’t do this again tonight. Please say a name?”

There was some hesitation, but she got back: “Well, it ain’t very traditional, but Grankhul’s Rest has some real good staff there. There’s also the Thirsty Sage.”

She let the other’s know what she’d heard, commenting that Grankhul’s Rest actually seemed like a pretty good idea, seeing as they now knew the people who ran it. The rest of the group agreed it sounded like a decent plan. Voski asked Ditto about Nilo’s comment about seeing her tomorrow, and she explained a little about the job he’d described to her. When the others started to ask a bit more about it, however, and she brought up the potential buyers in town that Nilo had mentioned, both Amaranth and Erwyn seemed distressed -- especially Amaranth, who paled dramatically at the mention of the symbol of the rat with the knotted tail.

[secureobscurity]

ALL OF THE DISTRACT QUESTIONS!!! 😊

1: Is there a boy/girl in your life?Im workin toward it2: Think of the last person who hurt you; do you forgive them?No fuck them 3: What do you think of when you hear the word “meow?”Kittes! Or the Anamanaguchi song4: What’s something you really want right now?Apple pie5: Are you afraid of falling in love?Yup 6: Do you like the beach?Love it7: Have you ever slept on a couch with someone else?Yeah briefly8: What’s the background on your cell?The beach, and my best friend9: Name the last four beds you were sat on?Mine, mine, parents, hunter’s10: Do you like your phone?I need a new one11: Honestly, are things going the way you planned?A little bit, yeah.12: Who was the last person whose phone number you added to your contacts?My friend uhhhhh... Sara? 13: Would you rather have a poodle or a Rottweiler?Rottweiler14: Which hurts the most, physical or emotional pain?Emotional15: Would you rather visit a zoo or an art museum?Museum 16: Are you tired?Always, perpetually17: How long have you known your 1st phone contact?A few months?18: Are they a relative?No19: Would you ever consider getting back together with any of your exes?HELL no 20: When did you last talk to the last person you shared a kiss with?Last week. 21: If you knew you had the right person, would you marry them today?No that’s expensive 22: Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?No23: How many bracelets do you have on your wrists right now?None24: Is there a certain quote you live by?If you’re going through hell keep going25: What’s on your mind?These questions26: Do you have any tattoos?Nah27: What is your favorite color?Pink28: Next time you will kiss someone on the lips?Who knows29: Who are you texting?Bae? I think I can say that30: Think to the last person you kissed, have you ever kissed them on a couch?No31: Have you ever had the feeling something bad was going to happen and you were right?Yes32: Do you have a friend of the opposite sex you can talk to?My best friend of 3yrs33: Do you think anyone has feelings for you?I hope she does, this would be awkward as hell otherwise34: Has anyone ever told you you have pretty eyes?Yes35: Say the last person you kissed was kissing someone right in front of you?Good for her36: Were you single on Valentines Day?Yup37: Are you friends with the last person you kissed?Yeah38: What do your friends call you?Tye or Tristan 39: Has anyone upset you in the last week?I think yeah40: Have you ever cried over a text?Nope41: Where’s your last bruise located?My leg42: What is it from?A bug43: Last time you wanted to be away from somewhere really bad?Thursday?44: Who was the last person you were on the phone with?Hunter45: Do you have a favourite pair of shoes?No 46: Do you wear hats if your having a bad hair day?No47: Would you ever go bald if it was the style?HELL NO48: Do you make supper for your family?Occasionally 49: Does your bedroom have a door?Yeah 50: Top 3 web-pages?Youtube, Kimcartoon, Netflix51: Do you know anyone who hates shopping?No wtf 52: Does anything on your body hurt?Everything always im ancient 53: Are goodbyes hard for you?Yes, definitely 54: What was the last beverage you spilled on yourself?Milk? 55: How is your hair?Good I hope56: What do you usually do first in the morning?Pee (tmi sorry)57: Do you think two people can last forever?When they want to.58: Think back to January 2007, were you single?Prolly59: Green or purple grapes?Gross neither60: When’s the next time you will give someone a BIG hug?Next time I see her I hope61: Do you wish you were somewhere else right now?Yes in a hotel, some travel destination I have62: When will be the next time you text someone?After I answer all these63: Where will you be 5 hours from now?In bed 64: What were you doing at 8 this morning.Driving home65: This time last year, can you remember who you liked?No I cannot. I try to forget most of the time.66: Is there one person in your life that can always make you smile?Yeah, for now I hope it lasts67: Did you kiss or hug anyone today?Nah i wish 68: What was your last thought before you went to bed last night?I think I was waiting for a reply to my last text69: Have you ever tried your hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end?Yup many times70: How many windows are open on your computer?None right now, just got home71: How many fingers do you have?1072: What is your ringtone?Idk something default maybe73: How old will you be in 5 months?20 still74: Where is your Mum right now?Home75: Why aren’t you with the person you were first in love with or almost in love?I couldn’t be around like I should have76: Have you held hands with somebody in the past three days?I wish 77: Are you friends with the people you were friends with two years ago?Quite a few, yeah 78: Do you remember who you had a crush on in year 7?Nope79: Is there anyone you know with the name Mike?Yeah he cool 80: Have you ever fallen asleep in someones arms?I wish81: How many people have you liked in the past three months?282: Has anyone seen you in your underwear in the last 3 days?Do I count?83: Will you talk to the person you like tonight?I am right now 84: You’re drunk and yelling at hot guys/girls out of your car window, you’re with?My dad, and im not doing this by choice but by pressure.85: If your BF/GF was into drugs would you care?Not much, but moderation is important86: What was the most eventful thing that happened last time you went to see a movie?All the trailers were good87: Who was your last received call from?Mom88: If someone gave you $1,000 to burn a butterfly over a candle, would you?Probably that’s a good amount of money, and im not working right now 89: What is something you wish you had more of?Clarity, and willpower90: Have you ever trusted someone too much?Yes91: Do you sleep with your window open?Yeah i love winter92: Do you get along with girls?Better than guys in my opinion93: Are you keeping a secret from someone who needs to know the truth?probably 94: Does sex mean love?Nope95: You’re locked in a room with the last person you kissed, is that a problem?Yeah just a lil bit96: Have you ever kissed anyone with a lip ring?Nope97: Did you sleep alone this week?Yup 98: Everybody has somebody that makes them happy, do you?Right now kinda99: Do you believe in love at first sight?That’s infatuation, get to know me100: Who was the last person that you pinky promise?I have no clue

[withgraceandlight99]

Through the Eyes of a Child - Chapter 4/?

My hiatus fic | Teen + | Read of AO3 | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 

William’s perspective of his dad’s relationship with Felicity, ‘Team Arrow’, and maybe a girl named Zoe. But first, there’s some heartbreak and pain, because this an Arrow fic after all.

A/N: Thank you all for all the sweet comments that you’ve sent!!! The reception to this has blown me away, and I can’t wait to give you all more stories! Like always, prompts are open, and they are all added to my list of ideas! :)

                                          Chapter 4 - Aunt Thea 

Nightmares woke him up three nights in a row after that, but after another late-night run for ice cream – because they ate the two other tubs – he managed to sleep through the night for four days straight. A new record. On the night that marked a month since he’d come to live here —and since his mom died—he sat at the table, staring at a piece of paper that contained math problems that Felicity wrote out for him. He liked science, but hated math. There was nothing that could convince him that this subject was fun. It didn’t help that his dad took one look at the problems and said, “I have a lot of work to do for the office,” and went upstairs. Felicity had something going on some place, which meant she wasn’t here to help. William rolled his eyes for the hundredth time and tried to focus on the second problem.

Someone knocked on the door, and then rang the doorbell. When Oliver didn’t come down right away, he opened the door, halfway through doing so realizing that it wasn’t a great idea, but he did it anyways.

“Heyyyy!” Thea bombarded him with a hug that could’ve rivaled his grandma’s. She pulled away and tugged him into the Loft. “Where’s Ollie?”

“Upstairs somewhere.”

“And not down here with his son? Idiot. Oliver?”

“Heard that all, Speedy.” He appeared at the top of the stairs, though there wasn’t much of a smile on his face. What was his problem today? He seemed to be a bit of a grump, but he came down and gave his sister a hug.

“I thought you wouldn’t be back for another couple weeks.”

“I thought so too, but I decided that it was time to spend time with my new nephew!” She ruffled William’s hair, even though she wasn’t much taller than him. “Oh, your hair is so cute. Ollie, yours was never this cute. Or this clean.” She leaned in closer to him, her voice dropping to a whisper, “He hates showering, as you can tell.”

William giggled, which did nothing to help Oliver’s scowl. Thea noticed, and whacked his arm. “What’s your issue? You look extra grumpy today.”

“It was a rough day at work. And if you’re okay with keeping him company for a bit, I need to finish something up.” Before getting an answer, he went back upstairs.

Thea let out a laugh and walked to the kitchen. “Your dad has his moments. Trust me. Is there any food left over after dinner? I haven’t had Ollie’s cooking in weeks.”

“Felicity brought French fries home that Oliver threw away.”

Her eyebrows raised. Maybe more about the fact that he called him ‘Oliver’ and not ‘Dad’. He just didn’t want to yet. Thea pulled the cardboard box out of the garbage and squirted ketchup into it. “So. You’re William. You look way too much like my brother.”

“Well, he is my dad, so…” he shrugged and watched her eat the French fries.

“How’s that been going for you?”

“Being here?”

“Yeah. I’d like to hear about it. Did Oliver teach you how to use a bow yet? Did you see the Arrow Cave?”

“No, uh, he hasn’t taken me down there yet.”

“Isn’t that shocking.” She stuck another French fry in her mouth. “It took him three years to tell me that he was the Arrow.”

“The Arrow?”

“Well, first he was the Hood, then the Arrow, then the Green Arrow. It’s complicated. Ask Ollie about it.”

“I think you’re more likely to tell me.”  

Thea laughed and called, “Did you hear that, Ollie?”

“What?” He appeared at the railing.

“Your son just said that I was more likely to tell him about your problem with changing names than you.”

William watched Oliver’s face as it went from annoyed to worried. Whatever the different code names were, it brought something along with it. Fear? Guilt? He wasn’t someone who could pinpoint emotions, but he could figure out this one. From what he could put together, his dad wasn’t a great guy a while ago, so maybe that had something to do with it. Or maybe there was something else wrong.

“He doesn’t need to know about all of that yet.”

So eventually he would get the whole story. How long would that be? William glanced at his dad one more time and then turned his attention to Thea. She had a smile on her face, but it didn’t hide the dark circles underneath her eyes. Not really caring whether or not Oliver heard this, he asked, “What happened to you on the island? Everybody seems to have had…something terrible happen to them.”

Thea shifted around, her gaze flitting everywhere but him before she took a deep breath and looked at him. “My dad died. He was a good-for-nothing man, but…it’s still hard.”

No wonder she hadn’t slept much. Though older, she’d been going through the same thing he had. “I didn’t know that. I’m really sorry.”  

“There were much bigger things to grieve. But that’s why I needed to take some time to myself. Malcolm was a terrible dad, but he saved my life more times than I’m willing to admit.” She shrugged but a thin veil of tears covered her eyes. Apparently she cared more about her dad than she said. Either that or she was crying happy tears. “He died to save me, which is the most loving sacrifice a parent can make, but it—”

“Speedy, he does not need to know about all of that.”

Uh, oh. William turned around and raised his eyebrows at his dad, who now stood a few feet behind him, glowering. “What’s wrong?”

“You don’t need to hear any of that.”

“Why not?”

“Because…” Oliver’s gaze flitted to Thea.  “I don’t want you to know about that. You’re only eleven. That’s no time for anyone to hear about everything that’s happened.”

“Well, he’s going to have to hear about it someday.”

“The key word is someday.”

“Ollie, why are you so grumpy right now?”

There was dead silence. William winced when Oliver glared at Thea. It took several seconds, and then his dad sighed and took two steps backwards.

“Sorry.” His voice sounded different than a moment ago. “William, are you okay with Thea being with you for a bit?”

“Yeah.” She could beat bad guys up if they showed up here, right? “I’m okay here.”

“Good. I’ll be back in a bit.” He squeezed his shoulder, grabbed a jacket, and left.

William watched him go, furrowing his eyebrows as the questions whirled in his brain. He’d been here a month, and Oliver had never been grumpy. From the times he remembered, at least.  There’d been a few scuffles between him and Felicity, but there hadn’t been a moment where his dad was stomping around, until tonight. “Where’s he going?”

“He’s got a gym of sorts down in the lair. When he’s mad or upset, he goes down there and works out until he collapses. That’s his way to deal with things.”

“That’s kind of a sucky way to deal with problems.” He’d been forced to do the pacer test the past three years in school, and that was enough working out for him. He didn’t see the point. And his dad liked to work out to calm himself down? “That sounds terrible.”

“That is one thing that I will never understand about him. One of the things. And his obsession with socks.”

This was new information. “Socks?”

“Yeah. He really likes socks. I’m not going to judge him, because it’s a cheaper obsession than a lot of other things, but it’s still a little odd. So if you ever need a birthday or Christmas present for him, buy him some crazy socks.”

“When’s his birthday?”

“May 17th.”

So when Oliver rescued him, it was only the day after his birthday? For some reason, that made him sad. “What’d you get him for his birthday?”

“I meant to get him a baseball cap for the Star City team, but I ran out of time, so I bought him a new knife, which I never had the chance to ask him whether or not he already has it.”

“Oliver likes baseball?”

“Basically any sports. You’ll have to ask him to take you to a game sometime. When we were little, we went to a lot of baseball games together. And ate a crazy amount of popcorn and cotton candy. Our dad would take us, and we’d spend hours there, buying stupid stuff in the game shop. It was so much fun.”

“That sounds like a lot of fun.” He and his mom had been to a few high school football games, but often she had work or money was tight. He knew all about that. But maybe with his dad, they would have more time and more money. Or maybe they wouldn’t have much time, because there was so much more to do.

“Ask him sometime. From what I remember, he hasn’t been to one of those since before the Gambit went down.”

“What’s the…Gambit?”

Thea squinted at him. “You don’t know much about…never mind. Oliver will tell you about that in his time.”

Was he going to hear about anything right away? He glanced at his aunt, who stared out the windows, her eyes distant. Finally, she shook herself out of her trance and smiled at him. “Would you like to play a game?”

“I don’t know if there’s games here.”

“Does he know how to do anything?” The words were muttered, but he caught it. He had good hearing, which some adults seemed to not understand. Thea walked to the fridge and opened the cupboard above it. “I think there’s something up here. Do you see anything from your view? I’m too short.”

“There’s a few boxes of chocolates, and a candle. That’s it.”

“So maybe they don’t have games. Check in the coat closet. I’m gonna look upstairs.”

When she went up to the bedrooms, he dug around in the closet, and at the back, he pulled out a box. Well, it wasn’t a cardboard box. It was a container. Which he unlocked and opened, revealing a bow and several arrows. Don’t play with it. He shouldn’t, but he set it on the floor and sat down next to the box and pulled out the bow. It was big; half as tall as him. And heavy. This was probably the back-up bow, but it couldn’t be the only one in the house.

He stood up and aimed the bow at the kitchen. Where did his fingers go? He’d never held one before, but since his dad was the Green Arrow, he should at least be able to kind of know what he was doing in case he had to be the mini-Green Arrow, right? Or maybe the backup.

With his fingers on the string, he tugged. The string barely budged. What the heck? He yanked again with more force this time, and got the string to move back an inch. At most. Was it locked? Maybe a bow string could be locked so no one like him could pull it back far enough.

“What are you doing?”

He spun around and winced when Thea stood several feet in front of him, eyebrows raised. At least she wasn’t mad. Too bad. “I um…found a bow and I…”

“Wanted to try it?”

He nodded.

Thea rolled her eyes and laughed. “Boys. Always wanting to try anything and everything out. Are you having a hard time pulling it back?” She took the bow from him and got it almost all the way back, proving that it wasn’t locked, because she hadn’t done anything with it before. “Oliver is really strong. The weight of his bow is probably more than I weigh.”

“I didn’t know that that was a thing.”

“Me neither up until a couple years ago. This is Oliver’s backup bow; his other one is way cooler. Felicity designed it for him. Speaking of her, where is she?”

“She’s somewhere. Apparently at a meeting.”

“At Palmer Tech?”

“I think that’s the place she was talking about.”

Thea smiled. “That’s really good. And how are her and Oliver?”

“Am I supposed to fill you in on Oliver’s love life?”

“Yes.” She giggled and tapped his arm. “I’m his sister and I’ve been gone for a month. I gotta know everything that has happened.”

“I don’t really know, and I don’t really want to know.”

“Good point. And you should put the bow back because if Oliver comes in here and sees you with it, I’m going to be in trouble.”

“And depending on what kind of mood he’s in, I might be in trouble too?” He laughed when Thea gave him a thumbs-up.

“You’re figuring this out quickly. But he’ll probably just be mad at me. We’ll put this away. And I was unsuccessful in finding a game, so would you like to go and buy one? You can pick it out. Or…we could watch a movie. Or talk. Or…sleep. I don’t know.” She winced. “I’ve never been an aunt before, if you haven’t noticed.”

“You’re doing good so far. My mom had a sister, and while she was alive, she would let me do things that Mom never would’ve let me do, and kind of encouraged me to be bad. That’s what you’ve done.”

Thea wore a look of horror that made William giggle.

“I’m kidding, Aunt Thea. I’m game for anything, but one thing that I really miss is my Perplexus balls. The box that I had them in was small and it got lost when they were moving it all here.”

“And you haven’t mentioned it to Oliver and Felicity?”

“I…didn’t want to bother them.”

“Pffft. Where can we find those?”

“Target, maybe?”

“There’s one close by. C’mon.” She swiped her keys off the counter and opened the door for him. “I honestly don’t know what a Perplexus ball is. When I was a kid, there wasn’t anything by that name and if there was, I probably hated it.”

“It’s a ball that has a tiny ball inside of it, along with a track of sorts.” It was hard to explain, but he loved doing the different kinds of balls, especially the Star Wars one. When he told her about that one, she laughed.

“Do you like Star Wars?”

“Of course.”

“At some point, we’ll have to have a team movie night and binge-watch all the movies.”

“You have those?”

“Not very often. Usually our nights are spent catching criminals, but sometimes, usually when Oliver’s not around, because he’s a bit of a grump, we watch old movies as we wait until someone commits a crime. When the team gets back together, we’ll have to do something like that.”

On their way to the store, as they sat a stoplight, Thea turned to him. “I’m sorry if this brings up pain, but how are you doing?”

He could only assume she was talking about his mom, so he looked out the window and shrugged. Not many people really understood how he felt. He couldn’t really put it into words, to be honest. What was there to say? ‘My mom died cuz my dad did something to tick some bad guy off and now I’m stuck here’? Because the more he thought about how she died, the more he wanted to throw something. “I guess…I’m okay. I don’t really know what to feel, y’know?”

“Has Oliver told you about our mom at all?”

“He said she was murdered by Slade Wilson?” He still hadn’t gotten the full story on how Slade was on the island.

“In front of us.”

“I-I didn’t know about that.”

Thea released a sad laugh. “I doubt Ollie would want to tell you about that. It was very traumatic for us, but especially me, because Mom died thinking that I hated her. So be thankful that you know that your mom knew that you loved her, because that is something that still haunts me.” She reached over and squeezed his hand. “It’s gonna be okay, William. I promise.”

“I miss her a lot.” He shifted in his seat to look at her. “I miss her tucking me into bed, because Oliver doesn’t do that, and I miss her kissing me before I went to school. And it’s really stupid, but I miss her smell. I can’t smell her anymore, and that just…it makes me really sad.”

Thea pulled into the parking lot and turned off the car. After a few moments, she spoke. “I miss my mom a lot too. She always had something about her that made me feel safe. Almost safer than I felt when I was with Ollie. She couldn’t use a bow or whatever, but she had power. And love. So much love. She did everything to keep me and my brother safe, and I miss that about her too. And…” a tear slipped down her cheek as she smiled. “There was this lullaby that she used to sing me at night. I could never fall asleep, but if she sang that song a few times, I’d go right to bed. I’m twenty-two, but I really miss that.”

William smiled at the image he created in his head. A woman who looked like an older version of Thea, singing the Thea he knew now to sleep. For some reason, it was a comfort to him. That Thea missed her mom too, and that she was still laughing and smiling. She was okay. “How long ago was it that your mom died?” His grandma, actually. She’d been murdered, which meant he never would get to be spoiled by her, and his dad couldn’t bring him home to Christmas. Stop creating sad scenarios. He was too dramatic for his own good. Probably got that from Dad. His mom was always straight-to-the-point, all business, while Oliver seemed to be more emotional and defntiely led a more drama-filled life, based on the month he’d been here.

“She died three years ago. The good news is that it gets a lot easier. And one of the keys is to surround yourself with a lot of great people, and it’ll get easier a lot faster than I did for me. So with that in mind, let’s go buy some Perplexus balls.”

 At eleven or so that night, William sat on his bed, surrounded by five different kinds of the balls. He’d already completed them all, but it didn’t stop him from doing them over and over again. When someone knocked on his door, he set the Star Wars one down and called, “Come in.”

His dad stepped into the room, hair wet with what he could assume was sweat, and t-shirt stuck to his chest. “Hi.” His eyebrows furrowed and he gestured to the things on the bed. “What’re those?”

“Perplexus balls.”

“I’ve never heard of them.” He took a seat on the edge and picked one up. “How does it work?”

“There’s a little ball in each of them, and you have to get it on the start rack, and then you follow the numbers to the end.” He demonstrated for Oliver, who just continued to stare at the one he held in his hands. Was he still grumpy? So far he couldn’t tell, though he would probably be yelling about something if he was still on the wrong side of the bed.

“Where’d you get these?”

“Aunt Thea took me to Target to get them. Mine got lost when you moved my stuff here, and I’ve missed using them.” Crap. Guilt washed over Oliver’s face as he winced and set the ball down.

“Y-You should’ve told me about that. I could’ve gone back to your house and looked. Or…taken you to the store to get some more.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. I should’ve asked you if you had anything else that—”

“Really, Oliver, it’s okay.” He didn’t expect him to feel this bad. “I have them now, and that’s all that matters. Don’t worry about it.”

Thankfully, he dropped the subject. “I’m sorry about today. I wasn’t in a great mood and—”

“Nobody’s perfect.” William shrugged. “Even I’m grumpy sometimes.”

Oliver chuckled, but then sobered. “I guess. But I can get grumpier than some people. It’s a gift of mine.”

“Maybe that’s why my mom would get mad at me for being mopey. I had some of you in me.”

“Maybe so.” He tapped William’s knee as he stood up. “Sometime you’ll have to teach me how to use those…what are they called?”

“Perplexus balls.”

“Perplexus balls. Yeah, I wanna learn how to use them. I’ll see you in the morning.” He walked to the door, and stopped to look at him. “Did you have fun with Thea tonight?”

“Uh-huh. She’s a lot cooler than you.” He grinned when Oliver shot him a fake glare. “G’night.”

His dad smiled. “Goodnight, buddy.”

[nqtkwtn]

1: Is there a boy/girl in your life? Romantically, there's one boy that I actually cares about, a lot. 2: Think of the last person who hurt you; do you forgive them? In the end I forgive everyone. 3: What do you think of when you hear the word “meow?” Cat(?!) Maybe Tony Stark bc he's like a cat?? (sorry not sorry) 4: What’s something you really want right now? To see my mother I miss you 5: Are you afraid of falling in love? I'm afraid to fall hard in love, go slow doesn't hurt anyone 6: Do you like the beach? YAS 7: Have you ever slept on a couch with someone else? Ugh let me think, probably with friend 8: What’s the background on your cell? Plam tree in the purple sky. Very aesthetic I gotta say 9: Name the last four beds you were sat on? -Mine in my room -My friend's resort -My host sister's -idk im not in that many beds 10: Do you like your phone? Hate the fact that the amount of memory I get are not enough. 11: Honestly, are things going the way you planned? I don't really know, does anything ever go as planned? 12: Who was the last person whose phone number you added to your contacts? thb I don't remember no one calls me 13: Would you rather have a poodle or a Rottweiler? Why not both? My neighbour have an adorable, fat, and so not agressive Rottweiler. But poodle are cute and quiet; I like peace. 14: Which hurts the most, physical or emotional pain? Emotional 15: Would you rather visit a zoo or an art museum? ART MUSEUM ANYTIME CONCEPT OF THE ZOO ARE JUST LIKE OH YEAH WHAT PROVILAGE WE HAVE TO JUST LOCK ANIMALS UP AND BOOM WE GET MONEY FROM THAT???!?? 16: Are you tired? YES SO TIRED 17: How long have you known your 1st phone contact? My whole life (hello mother) 18: Are they a relative? uh yes 19: Would you ever consider getting back together with any of your exes? I have one. And if he love me back (which is kind of impossible) then totally. 20: When did you last talk to the last person you shared a kiss with? That time I kiss him. 21: If you knew you had the right person, would you marry them today? No I would want to do a lot of stuff that you won't get to do if you are married. 22: Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? I don't think so. Though he's a good kisser. 23: How many bracelets do you have on your wrists right now? One. And that's my hairband. #standardwoman 24: Is there a certain quote you live by? Cannot think of one. Though there's a lot I like about science, art, and phylosophy. 25: What’s on your mind? Religions are kind of create wars and personally it is dumb I'm so angry. 26: Do you have any tattoos? No. I wish! My mom would kill me totally. 27: What is your favorite color? Black and White is the classic! For color-color, have to be mustard yellow, plant green (like dark green). 28: Next time you will kiss someone on the lips? Totally 29: Who are you texting? No one ever 30: Think to the last person you kissed, have you ever kissed them on a couch? Nope it was very casual. 31: Have you ever had the feeling something bad was going to happen and you were right? A lot and that's not a good thing 32: Do you have a friend of the opposite sex you can talk to? Yes and I live for them they are the best human existed in my life ever thank you 33: Do you think anyone has feelings for you? I think there's one or two, but really not sure. 34: Has anyone ever told you you have pretty eyes? Yes but I don't think that was honest bc my eyes are boring af. 35: Say the last person you kissed was kissing someone right in front of you? I wouldn't care that much since I don't care about him. 36: Were you single on Valentines Day? Yes to the lastest one. 37: Are you friends with the last person you kissed? Yes 38: What do your friends call you? Nine 39: Has anyone upset you in the last week? Oh yes I'm a women of triggered 40: Have you ever cried over a text? Yes it's horrible don't do it 41: Where’s your last bruise located? My knee, it hurt like hell 42: What is it from? Have NO idea. 43: Last time you wanted to be away from somewhere really bad? Month of March, my life was kind of shit and I want to go home. 44: Who was the last person you were on the phone with? One of my exchange friend, we literally talked for the first time ever. 45: Do you have a favourite pair of shoes? My white adidas superstar, or my cheap sandals that I prefer over burkenstock. 46: Do you wear hats if your having a bad hair day? Depends on my mood. 47: Would you ever go bald if it was the style? Totally 48: Do you make supper for your family? Rearly. I'm not that good at cooking. 49: Does your bedroom have a door? If there's none I would have killed myself by now. 50: Top 3 web-pages? twitter, tumblr, ao3 51: Do you know anyone who hates shopping? Yes like almost all males in my life. (Except my exchange friend they are like crazy at shopping) 52: Does anything on your body hurt? My back is quite sore rn 53: Are goodbyes hard for you? Sometimes. 54: What was the last beverage you spilled on yourself? Water. And intentionally. 55: How is your hair? Dry af bc I didn't wash it after swimming in the chrorine swimming pool 56: What do you usually do first in the morning? Grab my f phone 57: Do you think two people can last forever? If they really REALLYYYYY lucky maybe 58: Think back to January 2007, were you single? Oh yeah I wasn't dating anyone when I was seven I don't think 59: Green or purple grapes? GREEN ARE THE BEST 60: When’s the next time you will give someone a BIG hug? When I have to leave everyone of this country and when I met the fimiliar faces. 61: Do you wish you were somewhere else right now? Yes. On a beach, aesthetically tropical. Away from all the BS 62: When will be the next time you text someone? Prob tmr 63: Where will you be 5 hours from now? In this bed I ain't going nowhere 64: What were you doing at 8 this morning. Sleeping like a dead person 65: This time last year, can you remember who you liked? No one ever 66: Is there one person in your life that can always make you smile? Hmmmm not always but prob my cousin she's like the sweetest thing 67: Did you kiss or hug anyone today? Nope 68: What was your last thought before you went to bed last night? It's okay. Not having panick attack or depression is nice. 69: Have you ever tried your hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end? Tbh I don't feel like I ever go all out on something bf 70: How many windows are open on your computer? Prob like 5 71: How many fingers do you have? 10 72: What is your ringtone? That's a good question 73: How old will you be in 5 months? 17 yas bitch 74: Where is your Mum right now? Working 75: Why aren’t you with the person you were first in love with or almost in love? We broke up 76: Have you held hands with somebody in the past three days? My friend 77: Are you friends with the people you were friends with two years ago? No 78: Do you remember who you had a crush on in year 7? Yep bc he'a my ex 79: Is there anyone you know with the name Mike? Phoebe's boyfriend in Friends. 80: Have you ever fallen asleep in someones arms? No oh not that romantic 81: How many people have you liked in the past three months? A lot 82: Has anyone seen you in your underwear in the last 3 days? Not the last 3 days, the last 3 weeks would be a yes. 83: Will you talk to the person you like tonight? No 84: You’re drunk and yelling at hot guys/girls out of your car window, you’re with? Mary 85: If your BF/GF was into drugs would you care? I will care if it's effect their physical or mental health 86: What was the most eventful thing that happened last time you went to see a movie? The fucking butter (in the popcorn) went through my fucking favorite jeans and I'm forever mad. 87: Who was your last received call from? My exchange friend 88: If someone gave you $1,000 to burn a butterfly over a candle, would you? You can buy me with money go ahead I'll do it. (But will feel extremely guilty) 89: What is something you wish you had more of? social skill, life skill, money, good friends, time 90: Have you ever trusted someone too much? Oh yesss this is sensitive subject it hurt like a bitch 91: Do you sleep with your window open? No never I'd be so f paraniod 92: Do you get along with girls? Sometimes, depends. Mostly I'm good though. 93: Are you keeping a secret from someone who needs to know the truth? No 94: Does sex mean love? Not always 95: You’re locked in a room with the last person you kissed, is that a problem? If sex is problem then yes? 96: Have you ever kissed anyone with a lip ring? No 97: Did you sleep alone this week? All week bro 98: Everybody has somebody that makes them happy, do you? Sometimes, I don't like to depend my emotion on certain people bc they are so temporary 99: Do you believe in love at first sight? no 100: Who was the last person that you pinky promise? my host sister