#might have to try and ask my mum if she'd be able to make it or teach me how to that might be fun

[pathetichoney]

text:

apron/smock is essential shirt & bottoms are up to the employees as long as they are professional

apron comes in many colours/cat patterns by employee choice

annotations:

knotted like a neck tie with buckle for secure-ness; works like a belt loop

large pockets for notepad and/or personal affects; tag has employee surname; front paw pockets for pens

[emeritusemeritus]

Wanna Bewitch you in the moonlight. Pt. 1

[F.W X Reader X G.W ]

Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Title: Just wanna bewitch you in the moonlight.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x reader x George Weasley

Timeline: Predominately set between GOF and OOTP (some canon has been altered to fit the story)

Summary: Both twins like Gryffindor!reader. Reader likes both twins. How will she decide who to chose in the end? Amortentia might be able to help, or not.

Warnings: Smut, mentions of sex, established relationships, threesomes, friends to lovers, all the good stuff. NO Twincest. Mentions of illness, Brief mentions of vomiting.

Tags will be updated along the way.

Part 1

"Oh, y/n dear, how wonderful to have you with us!" Mrs Weasley said wiping her hands on her apron before she threw her arms around you, embracing you in a warm and maternal manner as you stepped inside the Burrow.

"Mrs Weasley, thank you so much for having me," you smiled, wrapping your arms around her, smiling at the comforting feel and smell that encapsulated the entire Burrow and each Weasley inside.

"Oh Mrs Weasley," she laughed pulling apart, "how many times do I have to say, call me Molly!"

"Maybe just once more," you joked, smiling wide as she huffed out a laugh, rubbing your shoulder.

"We're back too you know," Fred said from behind you, leaning on the doorframe with George fixed to his side. She hurried over smiling, pausing briefly to hit Fred's shoulder at his tone, before wrapping her arms around both the boys at the same time. It was a sight to behold, seeing little Molly Weasley trying to reach up to give her two 6ft 3 sons a hug but it was completely heartwarming, seeing their smiles.

"Oh how lovely to have my boys back," she smiles, standing beside them. The entire scene was entirely endearing, particularly the hint of a blush that spread almost in perfect sync upon the twins' cheeks.

"Is Ginny not with you?" She suddenly asks, realising that two of her expected children were not present.

"No they're stopping by Hermione's to get some things before they come home," George replies absently, wandering over to the counter where a fresh batch of scones caught his attention, sat cooling on a wire rack. He reached for one and was immediately intercepted by Molly, earning a swift slap to his hand in a silent warning.

"Right, y/n dear," she says, turning to you with a smile. "I wasn't sure what the sleeping arrangements would be for you all so you can either share Ginny's room with her and Hermione or," Molly began to say, trying to do the mental arithmetic of sleeping arrangements until she was interrupted by George.

"She can stay with us mum, we'll move our beds together and pop up the old cot from Charlie's room," he says, sounding like he had already planned it out in great detail.

"Oh, yes I suppose that would work," she says, completely unaware of the relationship blooming between the three of you. You knew she'd never agree to you sleeping with either of the twins alone, but having the other one in the room seemed to ease her mind that nothing untoward would happen.

"You aren't making her sleep in that old thing!" She suddenly says, horrified at the thought of her guest having to sleep on the death contraption that had been in their family for decades.

"No mum, she can have my bed, I'll sleep on it," Fred says, moving forward to place his hand on your shoulder, doing his best to act innocent, though you could see straight through it.

"Wonderful," Molly says, clapping her hands together as she moves away and busies herself in the kitchen again. She shouts to the boys to help you with your bags, to which they both reply in perfect synchronisation that they already were.

They usher you up the stairs, each twin carrying one of your bags as you make your way to their bedroom. It's exactly as you remember, except it looks like it's been cleaned recently, no doubt by Molly.

"You're not really sleeping on the cot are you?" You ask, turning to Fred. He gives you a look of bewilderment before snorting out a laugh, reaching out for your hand to pull you into his chest, his right arm securing you to his body as it wraps around your waist.

"Not for a single second," he smirks, reaching up to play with a strand of hair that had fallen in front of your ear.

"But we are pushing the beds together," George says from behind you, moving closer to you both.

"And you are going to sleep right in the middle, between both of your handsome," Fred adds.

"Charming," George.

"Well endowed..."

"Boyfriends," they both say, sandwiching you between their bodies. You couldn't help but smile at their antics, realising that they had clearly had this planned for quite some time.

"So I get to sleep on the divide of the beds and fall between in the middle of the night? How romantic," you joked, reaching up to play with the collar of Fred's jacket.

"Ahh we've thought of that too," George says from behind you, reading down to place a kiss to the side of your neck.

Suddenly, both twins pull away and start organising the bedroom. Fred pulls away the small cabinet between the beds and places it next to you near the door, winking at you as he moves back to help George move the beds. They drag Fred's bed over from the right towards George's on the left and create one large bed in the middle of the room. George rushes off to get the cot from Charlie's room and unfolds it for decorative purposes in the space left behind where Fred's bed used to be.

Fred suddenly pulls back the sheets from both beds and then pulls out his wand and casts a charm you'd never heard of. The bed is immediately fixed together through magic, causing you to raise your eyebrows in amazement. He throws the covers haphazardly over the beds before doing the same to the sheets, making it one large duvet. He turns his head to you, seeing you look on in amazement and shoots a cocky smirk towards you.

"Your boyfriend's good right?" He smirks, causing you to roll your eyes slightly. George then moves the cabinet beside you towards the back of the room, sliding it under the space of the desk, kicking the little waste paper bin to the side.

"Fit for a Queen," George smiles, gesturing towards the large bed.

"Or for a fit Queen," Fred quips, gesturing towards you. "Crash test?"

You huff out a laugh at the terrible pun and move to throw yourself down onto the newly extended bed, instantly surprised by the lack of divide between the two and the fact that it was actually quite sturdy.

"You know we could test it out in different ways," George says smirking as he looks at you, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. You look up at him with a sultry look, liking the idea very much, before you turn to look at Fred with the same pointed look.

"Boys! Y/n! The others are here and lunch is ready!" Molly's voice radiates surprisingly well up the stairs of the burrow, effectively ending your next moves and the boys immediately huff and grunt in frustration. You offer them a sad smile before reaching your hand out to George for him to pull you up. He instantly reaches out for your hand in his large one and pulls you up towards him effortlessly.

"Later?" You ask with a small smile, reaching up and pouting so that he'd kiss you. His eyes light up just slightly as he silently nods enthusiastically before reaching down to give you a sweet kiss. You then turn to Fred who is not so patiently waiting his turn before he drags you out of his brothers arms and into his own. He also reaches down to give you a sweet kiss, though his is much more loaded than George's, his tongue licking along your bottom lip as he fights to deepen the kiss. You pull away with a chuckle, placing your hand on his chest. "Down boy," you joke and he grins down at you.

"Not me you need to be telling princess," he cheekily grins, wiggling his eyebrows and poignantly flicking his eyes down to his groin, which seems excited to say the least. You bite your lip and drag your hand down his chest towards his excited member, placing your hand gently over the bulge in his trousers. You flick your eyes up to his face as he stands with wide eyes and his lips parted in a little 'o' shape, following your movements very carefully.

"Down boy," you whisper, teasing as you suddenly pull your hands away and move to walk out of the bedroom door. You can hear George's laughter as you descend the stairs and then a little commotion and 'ow' from George, no doubt caused by Fred.

You greet Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny in the kitchen, followed by George only a minute later and then by Fred five minutes after that. You don't miss the little mock glare he shoots you as he takes a seat at the table, one twin either side of you. All you can do is give him a little innocent, doe-eyed smile before you focus your attention on the array of food that Molly had prepared.

"So, y/n, what are your plans whilst you're here?" Ginny asks you from across the table, pausing at the end to frown at Ron who had shovelled as much food as possible into his mouth and then asked, with a mouthful of food, for Harry to pass the bread rolls.

"I'm not really sure," you smiled with a little shrug, not really considering what was on the agenda.

"She's busy, whatever you've got planned," Fred says bluntly as he pokes at his food, already disliking the idea of you spending time with anyone else whilst you were away from school. You immediately elbow him roughly in the shoulder, earning a laugh from George who watches on silently.

"Never too busy for you Gin," you said, winking at her with a smile. She smiled back and began talking about you girls having a sleepover one night, which did sound fun. Fred muttered something under his breath but you gave him a swift kick to the shin under the table which George snickered at, keeping quiet himself as to not also feel your wrath.

As soon as Fred and George had finished eating they all but dragged you away from the table and up to their bedroom, pausing only briefly for you to shout out your thanks to Molly for a wonderful lunch.

As soon as you were back in their room, you threw yourself down onto the bed, rolling to lie on your stomach as you watched them pull out their trunk of tricks. You'd already agreed earlier on that morning on the train home that you would help them with their new idea for their business, some sort of new confectionary, no doubt with a sinister twist.

From your conversation and actions before lunch, you'd assumed the boys had dragged you upstairs for another reason entirely, but it seemed that their current developments had overshadowed their needs. You had to hold back a laugh at the pair, realising that they were the only two men you knew that would focus on their pranks over sex with their girlfriend.

They had assured you not long after that they had the afternoon and evening all planned out and they would only spend a little time doing this before you could do something more exciting, something you'd really enjoy.

"So they're like puking pastilles but not?" You asked from your position on the bed, bent legs swinging behind you as you watched them concentrate on their project. Fred simply nodded, eyes never once leaving the prototype, his tongue poking out the corner of his mouth as he tried to perfect the recipe.

"Kind of, angel," George explained, using his nickname for you, flicking his eyes up to yours as he spoke, "but they don't make the eater sick, just make them turn pale and sickly looking."

"Ahh make them turn into a Weasley then," you joked. George immediately threw a piece of whatever he had in his hand at you in retaliation and Fred simply snorted, still focusing on the task at hand.

It was the most you'd spoken since they began tinkering, their full attention and focus on their creation. It wasn't exactly the day you had in mind and you were quite frankly thoroughly bored, something you very rarely were in the presence of the Weasley twins. You couldn't blame them, they were in the development stage of their new product, which meant perfecting the recipe and then the antidote which took time and patience.

"Are you adding them to the skiving snack boxes?" You asked after a few more moments of silence, trying to occupy yourself as you sat bored in their room.

"No, they're more like an additional add on," George explained, reaching up to grab something beside you on the bed, briefly pausing to touch your leg as he leaned beside you.

"Ah a savvy business move," you replied cheekily.

When it fell silent again, you rolled over onto your back and stared up at the disjointed ceiling, watching how the wooden beams interlocked at awkward angles and looking at all the various memorabilia and stuff that littered the walls of their room. You briefly considered going to visit Ginny and the others before your eyes started to close on their own accord.

———————————

"Bugger bugger bugger!"

You frowned at the sudden burst of noise, your eyes struggling to open and then focus as you realised you'd fallen asleep on the bed. You sat up, squinting at the light from the windows around you and watched in confusion as George paced around the room in a tizzy.

"George?" You asked weakly, your voice not quite working yet. He turned around with such a speed it was almost alarming. His face looked panicked and nervous and you immediately sat further up in concern, your sleepy haze fading rapidly as worry took over you. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Fred, I told him not to but you know what he's like when he gets something in his head and he wouldn't listen," George babbles, messing with his hair as he paces the room.

"Fred? What's wrong with Fred?" You asked, trying to figure out what George was saying.

"He ate the bloody thing!" He says, throwing himself down onto the rickety metal cot in the corner of the room. It suddenly all made sense to you and a lingering unease settled in your stomach as you thought about the dangers.

"Where is he?" You asked quickly, worried that he wasn't in the room.

"Toilet," George mumbles, running his hand through his hair again.

You immediately leapt off the bed and ran out into the corridor, trying to be quiet as to not alert anyone else as you quickly scaled the wooden staircase that lead up to the next level of the burrow where the toilet was.

You quietly knocked on the door, "Freddie?"

You heard a brief, slow shuffle on the other side of the door and the door creaked open to reveal Fred who looked bloody awful.

"Bloody hell," you said without thinking, looking upon the appearance of your boyfriend. He quickly pulled you into the bathroom and closed the door behind you both. You scrunched your nose at the vague smell of sick that hung in the air but you quickly got past it, moving to stand in front of Fred.

He looked ghostly pale and a little green in his undertone, sweat forming like droplets on his forehead where he had pushed back his hair. His eyes looked sunken and dull, no longer twinkling like usual and his under eyes were almost purple looking. You tried not to react, already feeling bad about your subconscious outburst at seeing him and tried to wipe away a few beads of sweat off his brow. To your surprise, they wouldn't actually wipe off and had become an effect of the sinister sweets they'd created. "How you feeling Freddie?" You asked, trying to keep your voice even.

"At least we know they work, a little too well," he says, deflecting the question. He suddenly lurches away from you and shuffles quickly to the toilet as he heaves whilst clutching his stomach, though nothing comes up. "Sorry," he cringes in embarrassment at you seeing that, "thought I'd got through the worst of that."

"How long does is take for the antidote to kick in?" You asked, concerned about the lasting effects, not knowing exactly how long ago he'd eaten it. He didn't verbally reply but instead gave you a little uncomfortable smile, telling you everything you needed to know.

"Fred Weasley!" You whisper yelled, striking him in the shoulder as you realised he hadn't created the antidote yet. "You frigging idiot!" You hit him again and he just stood there and took it, though he did seem to lose a little of his balance.

"It was more to test out the taste," he said quietly, as if it was an excuse for eating the contraption. "Which definitely still needs work by the way, bloody awful aftertaste, too much caramel." You shot him a look of utter bewilderment as he heaved again, frustration building in you as he didn't take it seriously at all, despite looking like a walking corpse and heaving all over the place.

"Come on, you need to lie down," you said, extending your hand to his to lead him back to his bedroom. You lead him down the stairs and into his and George's room, carefully avoiding anyone else in the house.

"Bloody hell," George said, looking up from his hands, not moving an inch since you'd left, as his brother entered the room, seeing him look absolutely awful.

"At least we know it works," Fred says with the hint of a smirk, though his eyes still looked sad and glimmer-less.

"Bed. Now." You ordered, annoyed at his joking especially at a time like this. Surprisingly, Fred complied without any qualms and threw himself down onto the bed, his eyes closing in relief as he lay there. You tipped out a few loose crumbled papers from the waste bin next to the desk and placed it beside the bed incase he needed it.

"George, can you get him some water please?" You asked, turning your attention back to the notes they'd made on the recipes, trying to figure out if any of the ingredients had a reverser you could use to cancel out the effects.

Fred heaved again and you tensed, turning to offer him some help, only to see him half flinging out of bed to lean over to the bin. You stood and reached out for the bin and placed it into his arms, where he kept it secured and never out of reach.

"What do you mean he's sick? Fred, er, George move out the way!" You heard Molly's voice getting louder and louder, matching the influx of panicked footsteps that seemed to be running up the stairs. She immediately burst through the room and made an ungodly sound as looked upon her son, seeing his frighteningly pale complexion and overall malaise as he clutched his bin, looking helpless.

"Oh my boy," she said, running over to him. She immediately put the back of her hand towards his head and frowned at feeling a lack of temperature.

"That's odd," she mutters. "Are you two okay?" She asks, turning to you and George who are standing off to the side, both a little scared of her reaction and Fred's symptoms.

"Yeah mum."

"Yes Molly," you both replied at the same time, trying to sound completely sincere.

"Did he eat anything on the train?" She asks, trying to smooth his hair down in the front to keep it away from his face. You could tell he tried his hardest to hold back the impending heave but he couldn't hold it any longer and dry heaved once again into the waiting bin.

"Cauldron cake," you said, thinking quickly, "he did eat a cauldron cake on the train, but we shared some fizzing whizbees, didn't we George?" You looked at George, imploring him with your eyes to go along with it.

"Yeah," George said suddenly nodding as he looked at you before turning to his mum, "maybe the cake was bad?"

Molly mumbled something in frustration as she looked at Fred before zooming out the door, muttering something about her apothecary kit which might be of use.

"Georgie," Fred says quietly as he tries to get his brother's attention. George moves closer to Fred and leans down so that Fred can whisper in his ear. You frown, watching them secretly converse, wondering what they are saying.

Molly returns not a moment later, armed with an array of various potions and elixirs which could hopefully cure Fred.

The truth was, the only thing that was able to cure their inventions quickly were the antidotes, otherwise the symptoms would stick around for roughly 24 hours at most, the effectiveness of the enchanted foods rapidly decreasing once the 12 hour mark passed with the entire malady vanishing after 24 hours. You and George both knew that Fred would be okay tomorrow but it wouldn't hurt for him to at least take some of the potions to ease his queasiness.

"Here eat this, slowly, that's right," Molly says, thrusting some form of wafer towards Fred. He pulled a disgusted face as he ate it but to his credit he did manage to consume it without gagging and keep it down. "Dehydrated ginger root, it should help with the nausea," she explained to no one in particular as she faffed about in the little case, searching for a specific bottle. She eventually gave up and pulled out her wand, mumbling accio to bring the thing she needed to the front.

"Here, drink this, it's dandelion root and burdock oil, it will help with your complexion and ease your tummy," she said to Fred, smoothing back his hair again as another wave of gagging ran through him.

He took slow sips of the potion and raised his eyebrows at the taste, clearly not expecting it to be so tasty.

"We have that at home," you said, not really sure of why you said it but it was funny to see the wizard if equivalent to a muggle drink.

"Really?" Molly asks, turning to you with a surprised look on her face.

"Yeah but it's just a fizzy drink, not really medicinal anymore," you explained with a laugh, feeling a little silly about your random tangent.

"We need to get some," Fred mumbled, drinking down the rest of the potion enthusiastically, causing Molly to loudly warn him to take it steady.

"We could nip into the village and get some for you?" You turn to George, asking him with your eyes if he'd join you, "I know where they sell it." George nodded with a little shrug. You then turned back to look at Fred and Molly who looked at you in surprise, "if it would make you feel better." Fred nodded enthusiastically with a little smile, already seeing a little more colour coming to his face.

"Oh, how lovely, what a lovely gesture," Molly said with a warm smile. "You can take your father's car, as long as you are safe," she said, fixing George with a look of warning.

"How little you think of me," George said sarcastically.

"Or how well she knows you," you snorted, reaching behind him to search for a sweater in your trunk.

"I'll go get the keys," Molly says, taking her apothecary case with her as she moves out of the room.

"Fuck," you mumbled, still searching for a sweater but not finding any.

"What's wrong?" George asks, moving to stand behind you.

"I can't find my sweater," you mumbled again, trying to dig through your belongings but coming up empty handed.

"We've got plenty, borrow one of ours," George says casually, walking straight over to the drawers on the left side of the room and pulling out a thick knitted cardigan that you'd remembered the both of them wearing to the quidditch World Cup. "This okay?" He asks, extending it towards you.

"It's perfect, thank you," you smile, reaching for it and slipping it around yourself, feeling the warmth and coziness of it already, the wonderfully comforting scent of the twins surrounding you. You couldn't help but raise the fabric of the sleeve up to your nose for a closer smell, your eyes closing as you smiled at the scent. You could tell this one was Fred's from the unmistakable but subtle marshmallow sweetness of his natural scent which George didn't have.

When you looked up, the boys were both watching you with smirks on their faces, clearly seeing everything you'd done. You blushed under their intense gazes and turned away, grabbing a few things you'd need and placing them into the little bag you'd brought, making sure you had your little coin purse of muggle money.

"You ready?" You asked George, who was stood next to Fred quietly talking. He turned and nodded, mumbling out 'nearly' and walked over to the little wardrobe hidden in a nook in the corner before pulling out a blue patterned shirt. He slipped off the polo shirt he'd been wearing and you couldn't help but watch as he stood shirtless, slipping into his blue shirt and slowly buttoning it up. You couldn't take your eyes away from him, admiring his naked torso and staring at the small patch of hair on his chest and the beautiful trail that started just below his naval and stretched downwards. He looked at you, amused with his eyebrow raised as he caught you looking and for the second time in minutes you couldn't help but blush. "Ready," he said with a firm nod, appearing by your side.

"Do you want anything else?" You asked, turning to Fred but found him sleeping, clearly exhausted by his sickness or one of Molly's potions had knocked him out cold. George reached for your waist and smiled as he guided you out the door, slowly closing the wooden door as to not wake his brother as you both went on your little adventure.

[ughgoaway]

How do you think the parent-teacher conference would go?

okay yes I have been thinking about this since i originally thought of this au

(Also, quick psa- these are never proofread, so if they are incoherent/ littered with spelling errors...shhh)

I can see matty getting the email through about parents evening and just PRAYING it's with you. Annie has two teachers (bc fuck having a class of 30 kids on your own are you mad) and he thought it might be with the other one. who is fine, she's an older woman and is very lovely... she's just not you

little does he know behind the scenes you had to kind of fudge things to get him for parents evening, your deputy head teacher comes up one day and tells you the plan for parents evening this year, he explains youre only getting half the class. so rather than doing it with your co-teacher, you'd do half and she'd do half. of course, you immediately ask, "Oh... okay, can I see my list?"

you read it and feel your heart drop, Annie wasn't on there. and you swear it's not just because you want an excuse to sit across from matty for 20 mins... you also genuinely love Annie and would love to talk about her and her progress.

you catch the other teacher in the staff room and have a quick chat, "Mrs Richards, do you think we could go over the parent's evening lists? I was just wondering if there's any students that you don't have that you might like?"

"Oh yes dear, let's have a look," she says, grabbing your list, "Ah yes, if it's okay with you, I'd quite like to see Jason's mum and dad. After the paper aeroplane incident last week, I think I need to have a proper discussion with them"

you scream internally, thankful you won't have to have that conversation, and that you might be able to snag Annie, "Oh yes, that's fine with me! why don't we swap for say... Annie Healy?" You say trying to play it off and act like you didn't already have a child in mind when you started this conversation.

luckily, Mrs Richards is completely oblivious to your crush (that you insist is not a crush) and says, "Of course dear, consider it done. I'll send all the emails tonight"

////

cut to actual parents evening and you are wearing your favourite dress. well, favourite appropriate dress. it's nothing much, floral and flowy, but it just works, and you love it.

and you totally did not try on every combination of dresses and shoes that you own to find the perfect one. at 3am.

you definitely did not do that because that would be insane...

anyway, you just finished your appointment with Lucy's parents, and it all went well. You did have to have a discussion about her habit of punching her male peers in... certain places, but it went down surprisingly well.

you completely forget who your next appointment is until you stick your head out of the door and see matty standing with a cig in the corner. for a good few seconds, you just stand and stare, enamoured by the glow of the cigarette lighting up his features. and the way his cheeks hollow as he takes a drag.

matty finally spots you and waves, dropping his cig and crushing it before rushing to meet you. you take a deep breath and straighten up, trying not to die from nerves before this meeting.

"matty! hi! come in, come in, " you say, waving him in. Neither of you notice the receptionist raising her eyebrows at you, calling him matty. she makes a mental note to talk (tease) to you about it later.

he comes in and sits down, and for the first 10 mins, it's a completely normal meeting. You discuss how Annie is doing, how she's interacting with her peers, and what progress she is making.

obviously, googly eyes are being thrown both ways, but you are both beautifully oblivious.

but soon somehow, you both get completely off topic.

"you've never seen true romance! oh love, that wounds me, " matty says, holding a hand to his chest in faux hurt.

you giggle lightly at his reaction, brushing over the pet name so you don't have a mental breakdown over it in front of him.

"I know! I know! it's been on my list for years but I've never got around to it, is it one of your favourites?"

matty then of course goes on a 5 minute rant about how amazing the film is and what it means to him, "I mean I wrote one of our most popular songs about it, as soon as I wrote it at 18 I knew it would be such an important song. to me. to the band. even to our non-existent fans at the time. well, our one fan, my dad"

you smile at him just in awe of his passion for that band, "Oh yeah, robbers, right?" You say shyly, trying not to show the intensity of the stalking you did.

matty just stops and looks at you, his face a mix of cockiness and pure adoration, "Yeah yeah, you been listening to my band?" he teases and pokes at your arm. Soon, his hand slips down and lightly rests on yours as you speak.

you just nod dumbly because how can you focus on what he just said whilst he's practically holding your hand?? thankfully, you catch yourself reasonably quickly and realise just nodding is not the appropriate reaction to what he just said.

you don't know what comes over you, maybe it's his hand on yours, the soft look in his eyes or the gentle smile on his face but you decide to just be honest.

"Honestly?" You say, and matty nods softly, eyes flittering around your face (perhaps even down to your lips) , "I didn't know who you were before, but now? I am a little bit obsessed. I listened to you on the drive-in this morning, " you say whilst avoiding eye contact.

"No way," he says, laughing to himself. He squeezes your hand to encourage your eyes up, and you give in and make eye contact, "what's your favourite song? you've got to tell me that"

"well i-" Of course, before you can finish, there's a harsh knock on the door. you both jump and separate hastily as you spring up and get it.

before you can say anything, the person behind the door starts talking, "Hi, we're Jackson's parents, are you miss y/n? I thought our appointment was at 6. it's 10 past, and I'm kind of in a rush"

you start stuttering out apologies, and matty is already behind you preparing to leave. He quickly grabs your hand and squeezes it as he brushes past.

you squeeze his to grab his attention, "paris. my favourite song is paris", you let go and usher the other parents in. they squeeze past a frozen matty, just standing and gazing at you.

soon you are closing the door to mattys shocked face, giving him one last grin before clicking it shut.

(paris is not my fav song, but it's matty's, so we gotta have a bit of romance)

blurb masterlist here!!

[larissa-the-scribe]

Terrarium Lights, pt. 2.2

Last time on Terrarium Lights: the ghost returned and tried to make sense of nonsensical memories. (next part >>here)

It turned out to be all very well and good to offer the lad help and a place to stay (as much as he could stay anywhere), but then she had to figure out what to do with him.

He seemed to be having trouble figuring out what to do with himself, too, and spent the rest of the day hovering at her shoulder—at which point they both discovered that he quite liked to talk, despite being firmly uncertain about anything he was saying. It was making working on the terrarium rather difficult, and she had trouble with the fine details at the best of times, but she found herself enjoying the company more than she expected.

It was nice to have sound in the house again.

By the end of the afternoon, she had learned he was pretty sure he had been traveling with someone else—the blue-moss cave was one of two places he was pretty sure he remembered, along with somewhere growing purple trees on blue and crimson rocks—he was pretty sure he had studied something at a university at one point, but had no idea what or where—he didn't know if he was from this area but he was pretty sure it seemed kind of familiar—he didn't know his name but he was pretty sure he knew what names were—and so on.

He asked her if she knew any names, and she found herself absently replying that she had no idea, before realizing her mistake.

To tell the truth, she had gotten distracted. When names got brought up, it occurred to her that if she could figure out his name, she might be able to find out who he was. If she started going through obituaries, maybe she could find out who he was—or had been. She was turning over the idea of looking through recent obituaries anyway, to see if any matched; while she wasn’t sure what had happened to the lad, obituaries about old folks dying peacefully in their sleep would hardly work.

Mainly her conundrum was that she didn’t know if she could tell him, either about the research itself or if she found out anything. The lad had gotten startled enough when realizing he couldn't remember his name; she had no idea what he would do if he realized he might be dead.

For now, she decided, it would be more helpful to the lad to listen to what he was saying and try to respond. She was about to rally her forces to his aid (her next strategy being to go through all the names from the Bible that she could remember), but the lad had gotten diverted again and was asking her about the papers open on the top of the desk.

"Oh, those?" she waved a hand. "I was trying to figure out if I'd be able to send a letter or two to Michael to pick up at his layover, but there don't seem to be any good letterships making their way out West. Probably wouldn’t get there in time. I forgot to put them away this morning."

Last night she had been trying to write a letter to him in her head, and had kept getting stuck on their guest. Hopefully, by the time Michael got back she'd be able to share information with him in some way that made sense; for now, she contented herself with keeping her diary updated and detailed.

"Who is Michael?"

"My husband." She took a second to fold the map and directory and timetables up, and stow them in their proper cubby.

"You're married?"

Gail had to chuckle at the surprise written all over the lad's face—the face of a child who finds out their parents' name isn't, in fact, "Mum." "Have been for the past thirty-three years, or at least so I've been led to believe."

"O-oh." He blinked. "I see. Do…do you have kids? I… I hadn't heard any… um…." He gestured vaguely around him.

"Four, but none living here," she said, resuming her work on the terrarium. "The youngest moved out a year ago, and she's working full-time as a professor now. Passed her last examinations for that station not six month hence."

"Ah. They’re all doing well for themselves, then…?" This sudden twist of information had rendered him back to incoherence.

In all fairness to the lad, Gail remembered it taking her some few decades to figure out how to talk to people. "Quite well, I'm happy to say. One took after their father, got into the shipping business. Moved rather far away, up north, where his wife’s family is from, but he writes often. A captain of his own airship now, in fact."

"Ah, congratulations," the lad said with awkward, but heartfelt, enthusiasm.

"The other is working in an orchard a few days journey away, seems quite happy with it." Gail knew quite well she could spend far longer than the lad would care to endure talking about her children, but kept the descriptions short. If he wanted to know more, he would. “From his letters, he seems like he’s getting rather taken with one of the other workers there, though I’m not sure he realizes it, himself. But they all seem to be well settled. I’m quite happy for them, though Heaven knows I’d like to see them more regular. ”

He cocked his head. "And the fourth?"

She carefully measured out how much gravel she’d need in between the layers—perhaps more carefully than she truly needed. "The Lord took him when he was a lad. Not much younger than you."

"Oh." He shuffled his feet. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Gail rested her hands on the desk, looking out the window at the bright, clear day. "Thank you for that. We miss him dearly."

Even after decades of practicing how to talk with others, she never quite knew what line to take in this particular conversation. David’s death had been something she had come to terms with, but it wasn't like it went away. One couldn't just brush over the soul-deep hurt, say that they'd been fortunate overall with getting to have him in their lives at all. But it wouldn't be right to dwell too much on the loss, not when there had been so much good.

She looked back at the ghost in her living room, standing there and watching her with soft sympathy; she wondered where his mother was, if she knew what had happened to him.

Gail dropped her plan of searching through the obituaries for the time being. Death wasn't a matter to be rushed; let him get there in his own time, when he was ready. She turned back to the desk, to the terrarium, and poured in the gravel.

"Maybe I can take you by the university sometime," she said, more abruptly than she meant. "It has been longer than I sometimes remember since I've visited my Charity, and I'm sure you'd find the place interesting. Deep into the city, it is—perhaps you’d recognize something of it. And we'd pass by the lighthouse on the way, too, if we did."

"Oh?" His tone was polite. He could tell that she was shifting the conversation, and was letting her.

"A nice place. A lighthouse and a café and the good souls that run both establishments, and it would break up the journey into the city. Though such a trip couldn’t be immediate. I'd have to let Professor Charity know ahead of time." She smiled to herself—the title still felt new and strange in her mouth, but she liked it. "The city might be nearby, but sometimes the letter system is abominably slow. Practically faster to send a whole package aboard a lettership to catch up with my Michael than to send a note to the university."

She could sense him nodding thoughtfully behind her, as if he knew what she meant. Maybe in some part of his memory, he did.

"I…I'm not sure if I'm quite ready for… something like that," the ghost said in a small voice. "I feel disheveled, and… and… I don't know where I can even go to get a change of clothes, or a bath, or anything like that. I don't… I don't know where I live."

"Ah." Gail turned in her chair, facing him as much as she could and with one arm hitched over the chair's back. "That is a dilemma. No idea at all? Perhaps if you remember a neighborhood of some kind we could take a look. Or I could, rather, if you'd prefer not to go yourself just yet."

Could he change his clothes? Should she urge him to try, and perhaps find out there was something wrong? She didn't want to lie to him and pretend he could be normal, but she also didn’t want to discourage or frighten him unnecessarily. But… he deserved to know.

He tugged at the bottom of his waistcoat again. "That's… that's very kind of you. I appreciate it, I really do, but… I have no idea. Honestly, I'm not even really sure where I've been that hasn't been here. Just… vague recollections of things like trees. Or that I was in a city once. But nothing clear, nothing that makes sense."

The ticking of the clock in the background became more present, more audible.

"I’m sorry to hear it," Gail said softly. "I will be honest, I'm not very sure what I can do to help, but… I do think it might be something that will get better with time. After all, you've been telling me bits and pieces of things you remember. Maybe more will come."

"True, but… I don't know." He looked around him, as if hoping something in the room would give him a clue. "Those feel like memories but they also feel… distant? Temporary? Not unimportant, but… I don't think I lived in a cavern of blue moss or whatever weird places I've thought up that don't seem to be from around here. It's all… dark. Did I have a family? A home? A… a change of clothes." He trailed off.

"It will come," Gail reaffirmed, unsure of what else to do. "At first, you didn't even realize that you had memories missing. So maybe, now that you know they are, you can look for them, and maybe you'll be able to hold on to something."

"Yeah." His shoulders slumped, somewhere between resignation and relief. "That's true. Like… what I'd imagine waking up out of a dream is like. I hope."

Gail nodded.

"So, um, yeah… I think for now I'd rather not try and go anywhere new."

"I understand. You're welcome to stay here as long as you need."

"Thanks." He smiled, but his eyes were foggy again. "Even here, every now and then… feels like I can't quite see it…"

"Well, it is getting on towards evening." Gail pushed back her chair. "It’s time for me to light the lamps. That should help."

The blank unfocus didn't change.

Pursing her lips, Gail looked him over, turning thoughts around in her head. "Well, I can't quite offer you a change of clothes—my Michael is of rather a different build than you." She snapped back into motion, busying herself with moving around the room and gearing on the lights, calibrating them deftly. "But if you'd like, you can look yourself over in the washroom. And if it helps, your clothes are fine. Your hair is a tad messy, with a few loose strands and all, but easy enough to put right.” She hesitated, hand on the last lamp. “Only thing with your clothes would be that stain on your shoulder."

"O-oh." The brown seeped back into his eyes, staring at her as she geared the lamp on and turned back to him. He reached up to touch his hair cautiously, as if he expected it to come alive and bite him. "I had forgotten about my hair."

"Just a simple fix needed," Gail assured him. "Washroom is right over there, and we've a decent sized mirror, too. You can go and check the matter out for yourself."

Nodding, he meandered his way over.

Gail went to close the blinds, noting the first stars beginning to poke out of the depths of navy sky.

"Lord, give me wisdom," she muttered. She didn't even know if he could see himself in the mirror, much less do anything to actually alter his appearance.

She didn’t like how she was edging on covering up the truth. She had always taught her children that honesty was better than secrets, and she had no intentions of turning hypocrite at her age.

But how could she break the news to him?

This was the best she could do, for now, to try and tell him—or show him—that something in particular was amiss, beyond what he was assuming.

A few minutes later, he returned with his hair neatly combed and tied back into a proper ponytail. He seemed to have made an effort to clean his face up some, as well. However, the bloodstain on his shoulder remained unchanged, rip and all.

"I'm afraid I couldn't find anything on my shoulder," he said apologetically, if a tad bewildered. "Is it still there…?"

Gail sized him up.

The injury or stain or whatever it was still clearly visible.

"Well, I suppose it might have just been a bit of grime, or shadow," she said, unthinkingly approaching him, "you look quite the charming lad." She dusted off his shoulder, adjusted his tie, as she would with her own son.

He beamed, the melancholy in his features giving way to bashful pride. "That's very kind of you, ma'am."

“Shall we go into the kitchen?” Gail gestured toward it, hoping he wouldn't notice the sudden strain in her smile. “It’s about time for me to get my bread kneaded and in the oven, if you’d like to hang around.”

He nodded and headed towards the kitchen.

Gail waited a moment, looking down at her hand.

The sensation still sat there, like her skin was reliving the moment of touching and not touching. His clothes, his body, had not reacted to her at all. But there had been something there. Nothing physical, nothing solid, nothing like a person--but something. Like the feeling of a blanket that's been drying in the sun but isn't done yet, warm, soft, but wet and clinging. Except not there at all. And still there was a prickling in her hand, like static build-up during a cold winter.

In her mind, too, there was something more, a sudden flash, like an unveiled lamp, a moment of brightness and lostness, emptiness.

She closed her hand around the feeling, keeping it her palm and engraving it in her mind.

It was odd, but it was him. Maybe it meant something. Maybe it could help her figure out some way to help him. And if nothing else, she had connected with him for an instant. That alone was value enough.

He, apparently, had not noticed anything odd.

Squaring her shoulders, she followed him into the kitchen, and decided that, for now, she would not bring up the clinging charge and heat that moved with her.

Previous

Next

[therhythmafterthesummer]

Listen and listen closely Okay … alpha wolf Chan x chubby dream girl but his girl is trying to dom him, staring into his eyes and all that shabang. Hope your brain enjoys this

my brain always enjoys anything related to chris and his girl, honestly KJSDHFSKJDFHJSKDF. you're baiting me, and i'm falling for it. willingly and shamelessly. just like Chris's girl baits him and he falls for it sjdfhskdjfhsdjkf

nsfw Thoughts™ under the cut

listen, our pack mum is capital S Smart, and if there's one thing she knows how to do is how to work Chris up. she has him wrapped around her finger, and she knows exactly what to do whenever she's got a specific need.

you see, she's not trying to dom him, that's never her intention. her intention is to be fucked stupid by her supernatural boyfriend, and she knows just how to do it.

first, there needs to be people around, that way she can prolong the build up. she'd start easy. discreetly avoiding any of his lingering touches. because if there's one thing Chris is gonna do when his girl is there is have his hands on her, doesn't matter how or where. and when he can't get that he'd start to get... needy. because that's what it is, he needs to feel her skin under his hands, absentmindedly squish it whenever his body feels like it.

as the day progresses, she'd start the staring contest, and after a long while, Chris will start growing suspicious.

"What are you doing, pretty?" he'll ask her, amused at first. "What do you mean?" She'll play dumb, all while she stares into his eyes. and Chris will tongue his cheek, and offer a "This is the game you want to play, huh?" "What are you talking about, baby?" she'll chuckle, still playing dumb, removing herself from his space altogether to bring something to whichever guest (or guests) they have in the flat.

that's when he'll join in on the game. because if there's one thing about Chris is that he's ready to engage in his girl's antics at any given moment.

his eyes won't stop following her after that, borderline predatory as he follows his girl's every move. and whenever she stares back, they both feel the fine hairs at their nape stand on end. her with the intense need to submit, and him with the intense need to dominate.

you bet your ass that as soon as the last person leaves their flat Chris is making his move. she won't even see it coming, he'll just throw her over his shoulder and land a smack on her plump bottom.

"You wanted to work me up? You got it, baby. Hope you're ready to deal with the consequences"

and the consequences could go one of two ways:

Chris is ready to edge her for hours. until she's crying and begging and submitting.

or he's gonna force so many orgasms out of her she won't be able to think a single coherent sentece by the time he's done with her.

either way, she'll end up bent over the sofa, getting exactly what she wanted, a worked up werewolf boyfriend that's going to fuck her to oblivion. and let's be real, Chris will get what he wants, too. to fuck her into oblivion and touch as much of her soft body as he can. "you wouldn't let me touch you, huh? i can't believe you. denying me of your delicious body on purpose", he'll just go on and on and on.

(let me clarify that if she genuinely didn't want him to touch her he wouldn't force her. this is all consensual game of predator and prey)

regardless, at the end, once they've both satisfied their primal needs, you know Chris is gonna take her into his arms and mumble words of encouragement while he takes her to the bathroom for a warm bath.

Chris might be an animal, but he's an animal that won't skimp on aftercare. because aftercare means a thoroughly healthy and satisfied mate that will most definitely be ready to engage in any future games.

[flowercrowncrip]

I just found out that one of my carers has asked to cover Christmas Day, but then arranged with my mum to only come in for the morning and evening. Basically, she was trying to get paid the extra money for covering Christmas, while leaving my mum to do the work she's getting paid for. And like, I get why she'd want to get the extra money, but there is absolutely no excuse for going to my mum rather than me about my care needs

Neither of them thought to talk to me about it, which is really shitty of both of them. Care is supposed to be about me being able to live the life I want, but so many carers seem to think it's about making my parents life easier. I kind of had a suspicion before this that this particular carer thinks of me more of a child than an adult (her son is about my age) and I feel this only adds to that suspicion.

As it happens, I have plans to go to a queer get together on Christmas Day, so she's going to have to work all day. Any feeling of sympathy I might have felt about that has completely evaporated having found out she had gone behind my back like that instead of talking to me about it.

[chqnified]

Jumping on the ask game thingy: currently, hands down, mossy moss. The whole mega war situation you went through today had me whipping out the biggest box of popcorn. The way you K.O.'d them is just chef's kiss!

I swear had I done, it would've been deserved

It was a mildly long story with the old lady. So here's what i wrote about her to Alélé

And to add on that, as my dad was finding his keys, she legit got in her car and started trying to reverse.... Like where was she trying to reverse to?!!?? Like babes. Then she yelled at my dad again because he had to get in the van from the other side instead of normally. Her own fault she'd reversed up to the flipping door. Alas.

And that was only at 9am. We had to go with my dad because he was going to drop us off in the town so we could return the faulty shoes. Which was a whole drama again. The manager of the shop wasn't having it and said we did get the right shoe (context, I'd got the max Dr martens shoes, so yk the platform on those are a good 8cm+. What turned up was the regular ones, so 4cm ish? platform. The key difference you could tell it was a different model was the bigger platform didn't have the zip on the side too). She kept showing us the picture on the website, so my mum told her turn the picture to the other side, it doesn't have a zip but these do. She wouldn't do that. So i said look babes, there's one on display right now, you can go compare it. She huffed and said it didn't matter and made one of her employees do the refund (we'd already re-ordered online bc they didn't have size 7 in the shop). As he's giving us the refund, i turn to look back at the manager and deadass she's there having a heated debate with another colleague and holding up the shoe to the display stand, to probably compare.

Yes they were the same design, just with a different size platform and the zip.... That might not seem like a massive deal (asides from the fact that different models size differently too so I'd have needed a size 8 in those.), but we'd been sent the cheaper version too, and by £30- which is a lot. For all the hassle though, they were doing a sale online and we got them £60 cheaper than we originally paid. And £90 cheaper than rpp. So they weren't cheap by shoe standards, but cheap for dr martens.

Drama didn't stop there either. There was this little shit spitting on people in the shopping centre. Had he spat on me, i would've gone for him. 13 year old or not. Idk why people weren't doing anything about it.... Like a kid just spat on you??? That's disrespect. And we've just come out of the pandemic. Spitting is also a well known cause of spreading diseases too. Anyhow. Could tell he thought about doing it to me, luckily for him, he didn't.

People are genuinely so rude too. I'm not able bodied and it's visible by the fact i have a crutch. I understand people may have hidden disabilities too, but with a crutch it makes it difficult sometimes to move spontaneously??? I'm not expecting everyone to get out of my way, but for it to have to be me constantly is tiring. The way if you don't, people will purposely walk into you ..... If I'm feeling it, i will only partially get out of the way, resulting in crashing shoulders. For having a crutch and having been an athlete, I'd like to say i have pretty solid shoulders. So bet it hurts. The way they glare at you and shit afterwards .... I thought it was about giving 50/50 huh? No. You expect a disabled person to get out of your way because you have to get to New Look?! Hope those people's shoulders hurt. Assholes.

It didn't stop there. People let their kids run around everywhere. Again, bad idea, you can figure why running in front of people is bad. Parents will literally watch their kids do it and say nothing. You know the type. One kid ran into me, she fell over lmao. Don't see how that was my problem, she was about 9, so old enough to know exactly what she was doing. She just expected me to move for her. The mum was going to say something, so i gave her the challenging look and she decided against it.

There was more but this is getting long. You get the gist of what was happening all day. Believe me, if i wasn't disabled and in an averaging 7 pain on the daily, i would've jumped so many people that day... It was that bad. I'm not even a violent or aggressive person, it just brings it out when you're being treated like shit all day.

In conclusion. I hope you brought popcorn to read through some of my war situations from yesterday 😌 I'm glad it offers entertainment to some, otherwise my suffering would literally go to waste :D

[riverstardis]

child of mine:

it's grace's birthday!

hugo running away :(

sam got grace a new phone which connie isn't happy about

grace hasn't been taking her epilepsy medication and refuses to take it so connie says she has to come into work so she can keep an eye on her??? because we all know connie always does a great job of keeping an eye on grace in the ED...

david's back!

alicia's walking in behind connie, sam, and grace and cal and ethan walk up behind her and cal goes "i wonder how grace feels about her new step mum? do you think you're gonna all go on holiday together maybe? what's it called, blended family?" while ethan seems to be avoiding looking at her. cal mate leave her alone!!

of course connie immediately tells noel to watch grace. when she says she's going to watch her she never actually means she's going to do it herself does she. she also says she can have her new phone once she's done her physio exercises?? girl it's her birthday give her a break!

oop sam just shared my sentiment. "she needs rest days, she needs time for her muscles to recover" "right so suddenly now you're an expert in physio?" "she's doing too much" "how would you know, you're not with her everyday?" "neither are you." OUCH SSJDJDFF i do not like him but unfortunately he seems to be the voice of reason when it comes to grace

elle and dylan see sam with grace and elle's like "you'd think he'd have more things to worry about than just hounding us" RIGHT??

oop elle says "connie still thinks she's safe" and dylan goes "what on her salary? i'd say she's the biggest prey" that's a good point actually. and if connie lost her job she'd have a lot more time to spend with grace. but i doubt sam wants that cause then it would be even harder for him to get a look in

so if david wasn't really ready to come back to work after years off, how is he ready to be back after a few weeks?

charlotte's been discharged

oh molly drover! she's asking for zoe😬

louise booked a table for her and jez at some fancy restaurant but he can't afford it

connie gives grace a cupcake as a peace offering, apologises and lets her have her new phone... could've been fine if she hadn't hidden her meds in the icing to trick her into taking them

david saying he knows what it's like to want everything to just stop and how much harder it is to get up and try again :((

aand grace has discovered the pill :/

grace goes "you tried to drug me" and connie's trying to defend herself but then realises that she spoke and realises that sam isn't surprised and grace is like "i've always been able to talk. i just didn't want to talk to you because i hate you." and connie goes "well you know what sweetheart, the feeling is mutual." umm wtf :/// and then grace has a seizure

david tries to apologise to robyn but max gets protective of her. poor david :(

connie tells sam he should take grace for a while

connie telling hugo's dad "he's clearly very upset. he just needs a little bit of love, and a little bit of support." you might want to try taking your own advice connie. and by that i mean with grace not hugo! do NOT take on someone else's child because you're finding your own a bit too difficult!!

charlotte is managing to make a lot of noise without moving at all. not even her mouth lol quite a realistic looking doll i'll give em that

ah mo effanga?

lmaoo jez doesn't want to tell louise he can't afford the restaurant so he tells her he's getting an early night and she goes to alicia upset and alicia's like "come on, let's drink gin and talk about how rubbish men are" and then immediately turns to ethan who just happens to be passing and invites him to the pub with them man she is DOWN BAD😭😭😭😭 it's odd that louise seems to have no reaction to this whatsoever though?? surely she would be wondering what the hell alicia's doing inviting a man to their complaining about men session? maybe alicia just knew that ethan was gonna decline so she did it to get herself in the mood for the complaining about men shjsjddjk

connie agreeing to take hugo for a few days??? wow it's a good job you got grace out the way so you can spend all your time with someone else's child isn't it

aww robyn letting david hold charlotte🥺 and jacob not accepting his resignation :)

one episode to go...

[tarnishedxknight]

Gylfie... tried to focus on the paperwork she had been assisting Drace with, but her pain kept hold of her mind, try as she might to push through it. She knew she was pushing herself too hard and too quickly. She knew she needed to give herself more time to recover from the birth of her daughter, but what time did she have? She could not spend forever in Old Archades with Caelen and Myra, as much as she wished she could. Her absence would be questioned if she had not returned, and her excuse of sudden malady would only work for so long. The weeks with them... would have to be enough, until she could visit again, even though her heart cried to have them both at her side again. To be with Caelen, and to be able to be a true mother to Myra, even though she had been unable to connect with her until she had little time left before she returned to Archades.

She shifted uncomfortably, but remained quiet. The faint crease in her brow, the gleam of sweat on her forehead, and the faint pallor to her cheeks made it clear to anyone who paid close enough attention that she was not faring well - something that only credited her excuse, but... a struggle regardless. In truth, she had barely addressed the obvious wyrm in the room to either Drace or Gabranth - only offering a brisk "she's fine" in regards to her daughter, but... not much else. Not out of distrust, but because she could hardly bring herself to speak of her family she... she could barely have, lest she bring herself to tears. It... it was penance, to suffer in silence and keep mum on what her heart wanted, because she had made her decision, and she refused to accept she was wrong.

But the silence was overwhelming, her pain great, and Gylfie let out a slow breath. Would it do her good to talk about it? Would it be better to pretend she was not living two lives?

"I... I named her after you," she finally said, though her voice was barely audible. A cautious attempt to talk about it. A secret shared with someone she trusted more than most.

(( @disillusionedjudge because I got this in my head and needed to share too sdgfhkjdsf))

{ @disillusionedjudge | Awwww, my heart! Drace is so blown away by this, it's not even funny. }

Although she was certainly thankful for the help, and even though Gylfie needed the training if she was to be Judge Magister herself one day, Drace could be beyond the shadow of any doubt that Gylfie was taxing herself overmuch. She was pale, tired, and not altogether as sharp-minded as she usually was. Nevertheless, Drace kept up appearances, never one to tell another woman in so cutthroat a culture that she ought to back off of her duties or that she might not be up to the task. However, things soon progressed to a point at which the motherly side of her took over, and she knew Gylfie needed to sleep.

"Now this document here... needs to be filed differently," she said, passing it to Gylfie. "Make a note that it muse be hand-copied before filing, for it must be placed in two separate archives. Do that and then set down your quill, for it is high time you retired to bed. And no, on this, there is to be no argument," Drace said firmly.

She waited patiently as Gylfie carefully made the note she'd suggested, as the room fell silent. Drace was one unafraid of silences, and yet this one seemed... rather weighty. Glancing at Gylfie as she collected the documents they'd been working on in their proper folders, she couldn't help but think that the young woman wanted to tell her something, but... she knew there was no rushing Gylfie if she wasn't of a mind to share what she was-

Her words stopped Drace cold for all that they shocked her. With widened eyes, she looked to Gylfie. "You... you what?" Drace blurted out, her surprise stripping her speech of all its usual eloquence. "Truly...?" she asked with an uncharacteristic amount of genuine innocence. After a moment, a humble smile came to the usually stern and stoic woman's lips. "Dare I ask with which part of my name you have knowingly cursed your child?" she said softly. A joke, perhaps, but she was also genuinely curious. "Ynarra, I am... deeply honored that you would do such a thing."

"The child is well, then? You've worried Gabranth and I a bit with your brief responses to our inquiries of late. We thought not to pry, but... well we do worry, for you both." Drace moved to lay her hand over Gylfie's on her desk. "But you do need a good night's sleep, my dear," she whispered, her tone nothing if not motherly towards a woman she loved as dearly as if she were her own daughter. "On that I am not bending, no matter how you might try to distract me with flattery." Another joke, but... she knew it would be well taken.

[casspurrjoybell-29]

Forgotten Ties - Chapter 18 - Part 2

*Warning Adult Content*

They were getting close to the mountains now.

They could see them looming up ahead through the trees.

"Wait," Nim called out to the others as he drew to a sudden stop.

"I smell wood smoke."

"A campfire?" Aris asked.

Nim nodded.

Aris looked out towards the mountains.

"We're close now. I only scouted one path through the mountains, so we can't go around. Once we cross out of the woods, we'll be exposed."

"It might not be humans," Marigold suggested. "It could be other hybrids. Maybe we could help one another."

"I'll scout ahead and find out," Nim said. "It'll give the kids a chance to rest before we make the crossing, anyway."

"Okay," Aris said. "Be careful."

As Nim headed off into the woods, Skye wondered why people told others to be careful.

Did that actually do anything?

Did some people need the reminder?

Should Skye be reminding people to be careful?

What if he didn't and then something bad happened because he forgot?

It didn't take long for Nim to return.

"One human," he reported. "A man. I don't smell any other humans and it looks like he's travelling alone but he's camped right at the edge of the treeline. If we try to head up the mountain anywhere near here, he'll see."

"Well, we can take one human, right?" Aris asked.

"But... take him how?" Marigold asked. "We can't just attack someone unprovoked because they're human. That isn't fair."

"I guess we could try talking to him," Nim suggested.

"What if he has a gun?" Aris asked. "A human on his own out here, I wouldn't be surprised. He might not be as interested in talking as we are and none of us are immune to bullets."

"I could talk to him," Skye offered. "I'm not immune to bullets but I am very fast."

"I don't know, Skye..." Nim said. "It's dangerous. I can go instead."

"You said yourself when those soldiers with guns came to take us that if anyone could get away from them safely, it would be me," Skye said. "This is the same. I want to do it."

"He might not be a bad pick," Aris said. "He's non-threatening and honestly, kind of charming. You or I might be able to defend ourselves, Nim but we're also the most likely to scare someone into a situation where we would need to. You're also not intimidating, Marigold but you are defenceless."

"Skye should do it, if he wants to," Marigold agreed.

She offered Skye a smile.

"I believe in you, Skye."

"I do too but..." Nim gestured vaguely. "You really want to do this?"

"Yes," Skye said. "I'm not scared."

"Well... okay," Nim said. "I'll walk you as close as I can without being seen and point you in the right direction. If anything happens, I won't be far away."

"Okay," Skye said.

He really didn't think it was such a big deal.

It was just one human who only maybe had a gun.

When Skye was in a gang for a few days, everyone had guns and none of them had been very nice people.

As they walked away from the group, Nim reached out his hand and held onto Skye's forearm.

He didn't say anything but Skye could tell from the set of his face that he was scared.

Skye patted Nim's hand where it held onto him.

"I'll be okay."

"Hmm," Nim said, his gaze dropping. "Anything can happen, Skye. People aren't always going to be safe anymore. Not that they always were before but..."

"Fifty gazillion years ago, when I was younger, things were pretty dangerous," Skye said. "They'd arrest people for stealing bread and do public hangings and I stole a lot of bread."

"You're tough. I know you are. But so was my mum..."

"So is your mum. She's fine and you'll see her again soon."

Nim gave a firm nod.

"You're right. And maybe she was right. I always thought letting herself get arrested was a huge mistake but who knows what would have happened to us if she'd tried to run or fight."

Nim let out a quiet breath of amusement.

"Yeah. So, maybe things work out, right? Even the bad things can become good if you just keep waiting and looking and give them a chance."

"Yeah," Skye said. "Maybe I'll die but it will be good."

"Not quite what I meant," Nim said as he drew to a stop. "You're not allowed to die. You'll have to go on ahead from here, though because we're getting close. He's straight through the woods here."

"Okay," Skye said as he unzipped his jacket. "I need you to look after my gloves and jacket for me. I can't jump and climb all around as fast with them on."

"All right. Don't get too cold."

Skye was already shivering.

"I hope the guy will share his fire."

Skye started to walk away but Nim pulled him back and pressed a kiss to his lips.

"Please be careful."

Skye returned the kiss with one of his own.

"I will. I promise."

When Skye started to walk away again, this time Nim didn't stop him.

Skye's very first safety precaution was being loud.

He didn't want to sneak up on the man.

He didn't want to startle him and he wanted the man to see him when he was at a distance so that the man would react to him when he was at a distance.

If that reaction was to pull out a gun, Skye could disappear back into the woods before the man stood a chance of putting a bullet in him.

Skye stomped as he walked and hummed to himself.

Up ahead, where the trees thinned out, he saw a man wearing a broad-brimmed hat lean his head to the side, consider Skye for a long moment and then wave.

Skye waved back.

As he walked, Skye collected a few sticks.

He stopped at the edge of the treeline and held them out to the man.

"You can have these for the fire."

The man nodded.

He was an adult but a young one.

There was a blanket draped around his shoulders and a hiking bag on the ground next to him.

"Thank you. You're a bit underdressed for the weather, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Skye said. "I have a jacket and gloves but I took them off in case you tried to kill me and I had to run away really fast."

"I'll be honest with you, I'm not really the killing sort," the man said. "Even in these dark times."

"Did you run away from something? Is that why you're out here?"

"Well, yes and no," the man said. "I've been out here longer than what's going on now and what I'm running from is... Well, I'm not sure I fully understand it myself just yet. The journey I'm on is a spiritual one more than anything."

Skye nodded as he edged closer to the fire and crouched down, though he hadn't understood most of what the man had said.

"My name's Skye. What's yours?"

"Noel," the man said. "Though sometimes it feels like it doesn't belong to me anymore."

"You say a lot of strange things, human man," Skye said as he rubbed his arms. "But you seem nice."

"I try to be."

Noel unwrapped the blanket from around his shoulders and held it out to Skye.

"Here."

"Thank you," Skye said as he took it. "So, why are you sitting here?"

"Waiting for a friend," Noel said. "I haven't seen him in days but I trust him. He'll be back."

Skye wrapped the blanket tight around his shoulders.

He was still cold but he no longer felt like the air was sucking the warmth out of his skin.

"Oh. Another human?"

Noel laughed.

"Oh, no, far from it. He's a lot stranger than you."

"Well, you don't know how strange I am."

"True but he's pretty stiff competition for anyone."

"Okay. Well, I guess what I came over to ask is whether you would shoot us if we tried to go past you on our way to the mountain?"

"I don't have a gun, so you won't need to worry about that," Noel said.

"But... 'we'? You're not alone?"

"No he's not."

[firespirited]

Aside from looking and feeling drained, I've had a nice week.

Still enjoying chilling with Stargate Atlantis even listened to a couple of episode commentaries (the writers have early aughts typical broey vibes though so that's off-putting).

Found a pair of shoes to wear this late autumn as my "vintage" vans mannaz fell apart. After I'd talked about the difficulty of finding shoes that fit me and how many I'd tried that didn't work out, Mum dug up a pair of hiking boots she'd forgotten to send back to dad and said he'd always had the same problem: wide feet with height just behind the toe area as the arch starts. Apparently getting work shoes for his teacher job that didn't hurt was quite a quest. They fit great except for the length so I went online, found the same brand "Queshua" and looked at their hiking shoes of the updated but same series/range. Ordered a male and female model in my size. Only the "guy" shoes fit and they don't have any spring in them like sports shoes do but sports shoes often end up too narrow. I can't risk buying them without going to a physical shop or doing a dozen returns. Queshua from decathlon have a free return from your post box and refund policy. Fantastic.

So basically, I'm elated to have been able to toss out the vans and stick the pastel gradient laces into my new all terrain, waterproof trainers. I'm going to look at their winter models for colder weather. It's reassuring to know there is a brand that tends to fit. I'm hoping to try the thrift store on the outskirts of town one day when the carer isn't too busy but that could be a while (why thrift? Because I generally don't fully know a shoe's problems before I've 'road tested' them) .

I also tried crochet again (every few years I try to knit or crochet from tutorials and it hasn't gone great, you all know I can't think in 3D, so like for the keyboard, it has to be muscle memory and mnemonics) This time I had two different youtube tutorials on half speed and could sort of 'get it' but for the life of me could not properly hold the yarn in the left hand. Mum was around so I sheepishly asked what I was doing wrong. Her first answer was "well have you practiced?" 🙄 (she forgets I'm not the 7 year old who gives up as soon as the dopamine runs out or gets distracted by shiny - i mean i am but I've learned to go back to practicing even if I have to make myself angry or use bribes and limits.) I dutifully produced my series of messed up lines and sat down to show her and she went "oh OK! you're doing it wrong, Here's how auntie Grace taught me" and wrapped the yarn around my little finger, using the middle finger as the main yarn holder and index+thumb to pinch the crochet. Then I had to leave because she kept telling me to "relax my shoulders relax your hands RELAX", I love her but I do not control the muscles when trying to practice a new hard (for me) skill for an audience.

That hands on tip was what made it actually 'take' this time even though I might end up using the ring finger instead. I haven't had much time to practice and made quite a mess of my first attempts at rows with a 3 ply yarn.

Today I was able to proudly show off a 5*30 stitch parallelogram (still haven't got the tension down) of thin cord, it took three tries... but not bad. I'm really hoping I'll be able to grok some more stitches and have something to keep the hands busy that's less taxing on my shoulder. I also need to ask her about auntie Grace, she's probably part of the deaf adult community mum grew up in.

Slowly working towards listing more dolls. You get stuck on junk decisions about whether to bundle, whether to dress them or one of the photos is too blurry and the whole thing stops because there's a missing step or piece. Plan derailed.

I've got incoming which helps with motivation: Elle eedee!!! I didn't click with her the first time then really missed her but now I know how I want to do her eyes. Twilight teens grey for Nicole Steel head (aliexpress 11.11 sales $5) and white.

A Catrine and pink haired Howleen. Catrine is a design I just love and was always put off by the yellowing. Now that I know more about straight peroxide bleaching, I really want another try. I also want to see what happens to that lilac turned grey hair and if it fries or just turns lighter grey, she'll be bald. Their cleaning will be top priority in general but not top on the project list as I have Barbie Marnie who needs just a few more lines of hair to be perfect, a 1/6th BJD to string (need to practice rotary tool sanding and buffing on a damaged barbie before I touch her resin) and probably switching out Jewel Richie's eyes, they're beautiful with the green shimmer details but the visible bevel on the 'baddie' eyes makes them hard to photograph and distracts from looking like a cohesive face. Oooh I might try a line of black acrylic paint first to see if that fixes the issue.

Voilà, big blurb. Not many photos they're all on the desktop. The dogs are happy and well, Lily is a bouncy frolicking 15yo, Talia is learning to be less afraid of the big world and other dogs specifically Gargouille and Elliot.

Talia also threw up in almost every room in the house today, with for her grand finale some raw hide bone she swallowed whole to concentrate on hoarding the other two from Lily. Chihuahuas either have Tardis stomachs or they are mostly stomach because the dimensions of all that came up don't make sense.

Highlights were sharing popcorn with sis and mum on Sunday just chitchatting. Long hot bath to warm legs cold from the inside out. Stunning sights as the sun comes out from behind the mountains:

[darlingpassion]

SO MUCH TO RESPOND TO ON MY END NOW!

You say you're jealous of me, but I was able to read your response very well! ^^ I thought mine was all over the place XD but anyways-

The Greasy+Shiny protecting Poppy one!!! I was thinking about making them friends, or a throuple because I need to write something for Grinypop since I've written Grychoppy XD (like they're all having a date night, but Greasy has to finish up a job and he'll pick up Shiny on the way, so Poppy decides to go grab them a table at the bar they chose. She leaves her table, comes back to drink, and doesn't connect the dots until after her weasels come in and see what's happening). But now that you mention it, I also love the idea of it being Griny and Platonic Poppy. Just- that dynamic in general; Poppy is the introverted cinnamon roll that these sinning extroverts adopted XDDD just- I need Shiny to throw the guy off and beat the shit out of him while Greasy goes to Poppy and pulls her in protectively, then they take her home and soothe her and assure her that this wasn't her fault.

But back to the topic- I WANT TO WRITE ALL THESE SCENES SO BADD MAN!!! I HAVE NO IDEA HOW I'LL BE ABLE TO WRITE COMPREHENSIVELY, BUT I'LL TRY!!!

I can see what you mean about Psycho's laughter towards Smartass' death. That's probably what it is in canon ^^ meanwhile, I'm over here trying to figure out how Psycho could not like Smartass that much and still work for him 😅😅😅 but yes!!! Yes, I want Smartass' team to look out for him on this!!! They may not get along all the time, but they all stick together here 💖💖💖💖

(On laughter being Psycho's response to almost anything, though... Do you think he'd laugh if he saw Poppy die?? His soup/soulmate?? Imagine if he did laugh, but it's cracked and his whole body is shaking, like he's about to cry but instead all that can come out are manic giggles, making his laughter come out more horrific?? This is getting to me fr-)

The first thing that got to my heart especially was 'he only wants to talk to Poppy about this, at least' I know that might just be Smartass not wanting to look weak in front of his men despite them being there for him, but YOU'RE TELLING ME HE TRUSTS POPPY THAT MUCH!?!? OR- OR HE NEEDED HER HELP SINCE SHE WENT THROUGH SOMETHING LIKE THIS WITH HENRY!? HE JUST NEEDS THE SOLIDARITY AND COMFORT SHE'D PROViDE EVEN IF HE DOESN'T EXPLICITLY SAY IT!?!? HIS NOD TOWARDS POPPY IMPLYING THAT HES FINE WITH HER BEING LOTTIES MOTHER FIGURE!? AAAAAAADTTHHRYHFFIYGHGVYYH

And that scene at the bar. Hold up-

"She don't have a mum. Dat's what you tell her."

The two women jumped at the voice behind them- Poppy especially, though Shiny did visibly flinch- before they both looked over their shoulders, seeing the father himself staring right back at them. The look on his face could have been mistaken for a death glare, but they knew him long enough to know that wasn't it.

Poppy glanced between her two friends, still reeling a little from the sudden interruption, before settling her gaze back onto Smartass. She looked guilty, like she was caught doing something she wasn't supposed to. Instead of asking him what he was doing in a place like this, she turned in her stool to face him completely, "I understand... But she asked-"

"She's got me. Lottie doesn't need a second parent t'be rised right." The short weasel stated in that tone that showed this was not up for debate before deciding to hop onto the free stool next to Shiny. The dancer was quiet, turning in her stool to lean her back against the counter to watch them both, "If she needs a ma so much, then she's got Greasy, or-"

He cut himself off then, as if he realized he was two seconds from slipping out vital information to an enemy. The curiosity on both womens' faces turned to surprise- and an acceptance of responsibility for the rabbit- when the boss just nodded his head silently to Poppy. She quietly nodded back, before speaking up about what was on her mind, "I see... Smartass?"

"Yeah, what?"

"We just want what's best for Lottie and you."

"You're the dad, so whatever you think is best we'll do." Shiny added, chiming up from her seat between the two. Her brows furrowed at the littler toon, easily seeing the very small signs in her adopted sibling that he wasn't just ignoring them, "We won't say anything for you."

"Good." Was what Smartass said suddenly. It was curt, but not because he was angry at them specifically. They both could see that he didn't want to discuss this further. If Poppy could switch seats with Shiny, she would have leaned over to hug him (that probably was why he chose to sit next to Shiny instead).

But right now, the two ladies just dropped the subject. After a few seconds in silence, Shiny just shrugged her shoulders and turning back around in her seat before tapping the bar counter with her knuckles, "Well, we're all here anyway. Nothing smooths the tension like a drink. It's on me."

This is a very rushed version of how I see this scene, but I had to write it before work!! Just- Poppy and Shiny letting go of their conflicts and anger about this whole situation when Smartass tells them, respecting his wishes and not drawing more attention to the woman than necessary.

Edit: I re-read your first Smartass' Daughter oneshot, and the way Rena's note said, "You probably don't remember me," heavily implies that she knew what happened. If that is what Rena would write and Poppy got to read it, she would be ALOT more suspicious and less conflicted about the mother possibly being as drunk as Smartass was. There's still a tiny part of her that hopes that that's the case, but the wording in the note is pretty damning. She'd still ask for advice, but more on which part of herself to listen to. She knows what Shiny would say, so maybe she'll go to Wheezy or Greasy? The most level-headed one and/or the most intuitive one? I still wanted to write this scene with Smartass and the gals, tho so I'm keeping it xD

And- and- I also need to write Smartass going to Poppy about what happened!!!

The arrival of the little one- Lottie was a shock to everyone... Yeah, that was a vast unestimation. Poppy wasn't able to sleep the rest of the night; all she could do was toss and turn in her boyfriends bed, wondering so many things. Where did the baby come from? Who was the mother?? Why... Why wouldn't Smartass remember her??? That question had chilled her to the bone (and as much as she didn't want to, she couldn't help but remember Henry. No, no! She couldn't focus on what she went through when her friend was having a crisis!). She could only hope...

"We need to talk."

It was a few days after they had gotten everything baby Lottie would need when Smartass came to her apartment with his daughter in tow. She had fallen in love with the girl already and had thought he was going to ask her to babysit! That was, until she saw the very grim look in the new father's eyes. Her ears flattened against her head, unsure what to expect, "Smarta- Smarty?" (Ass was a part of his name, so could she say that around Lottie? She'll figure that out later)

"O-Of course! Come in. Make yourself at home."

A hundred thoughts ran through the anxious toons mind as she escorted the two weasels to her couch. Lottie cooed and reached up to touch her father's nose, prompting both him and Poppy to smile as he adjusted her in his arms and offered his index finger to her. Once she was fully entranced by the appendage, though, his paternal grin fell, "You read the note, didn't you?"

Immediately, her heart sank. Smartass didn't turn to look at her, only focusing on his daughter (that must have been the only way he could talk about this with her...). Poppy nodded grimly, knowing where this was going, "Yes. Psycho showed me."

His expression somehow turned grimer, the corners of his mouth threatening to tug downwards in a depressing way that Poppy was more than familiar with, as well as his usual anger. Lottie seemed totally oblivious to the fact that she was the only thing keeping her father steady through this, "I ain't acting... I really don't know who she is."

"The thought never crossed my mind." Poppy swiftly assured him, not wanting him to go through the mental torment she went through years ago. Even if he wasn't a touchy person, the rabbit did carefully reach out for his shoulder; he had the chance to pull away if he wanted, "And I know the guys believe you, too. We all do."

Smartass did flinch when her paw made contact, but his arm did tense up under her touch. If course, she immediately went to pull back, "Sorry! Sorry."

"It's fine." His voice was curt and straight to the point. It would have sounded threatening to Poppy, if it weren't for the topic at hand. She knew he had to have been doing everything in his power to hold back. So she just quietly nodded. She waited, until he was ready to speak again, "I've been tryin' to remember, and I can't... But she knows who I am, clearly."

"Smarty, you know it's not your fault, don't you?"

"'Course I do."

The rabbits brows furrowed at that, "Do you really know that? For you??" She had been in this position before. She knew how cruel the mind could be to oneself.

"... Yeah, I do." He repeated it again, so quietly this time. Poppy wasn't sure if he really was convinced of that or not, but she didn't want to push him and risk hurting him more. Things like these had a delicate healing process.

The woman looked down to the baby weasel, now enamored with her fathers pink tie. A thought occurred to her then that she knew she couldn't keep to herself, "... Smarty?"

"Yeah?

"I'm proud of you."

"..." The father blinked before turning his head towards her again. She could see he was very confused- and frustrated, as he usually was when he didn't get something, "F'what?"

"Even if this is all... For lack of better term, shocking to you," Yeah, shocking. That'll work for now, "You still stepped up to the plate for Lottie, and didn't turn her away-"

"Well, why would I?? She's my kid." If it weren't for the baby, Poppy knew Smartass would have jumped to his feet then and there. Now his eyes were narrowed in a glare towards her, but all she didn't feel scared at all, "Her motha' already left her. I ain't givin' her up like her... What'ya grinnin' at?!"

With each venom laced word, Poppy's lips turned up more and more. And despite Lotties' dark origins, she couldn't help but feel so happy and relieved for her now, "That. That right there is how I know you're going to be an amazing father for her."

The defensive look on his face slowly softened. He didn't say anything more, but she could tell that her words had an impact on him. When he directed his attention back to baby Lottie, Poppy took that moment to let her own mind wander. Back to her first 'love'... God, she had been so stupid then. Thinking she had found her prince charming that would whisk her away from her awful life on stage and with her folks. Instead, he just took everything she could give and then some. Who knows if she would have connected the dots without Moony's help.

Her situation and Smartass' were so different, but so similar too. She may only know his side, but that didn't matter right now. Not with her friend barely keeping his devastation in while holding the daughter he had no way to prepare for. He needed her, and she would do anything to help her friend.

Poppy nodded before standing up, making a decision, "You two can stay as long as you like. We don't have to talk about this- or anything else, if you don't want to. But you know I'll listen if you need to... What kind of tea do you like?"

She almost reached over to touch his shoulder again out of instinct, but she stopped herself in time. The mob boss was quiet before shrugging, "I don't really drink that stuff. 'Yer the professional here."

"... Then I think you'll do good with chamomile with honey. I'll be right back." With that, Poppy started her way towards the kitchen.

I had to! I had to write the first time Smartass came to Poppy about this. I just hope i got the right combination of hurt/anger and healing. I wasn't sure when he would talk to Poppy, but it had to be before Shiny heard about Lottie like you said, and I'm not sure if he would invite Pops on the baby shopping trip, so I figured a few days would be a good time for it all to sink in. What do you think?

LOTTIE BEING OVERWHELMED AND EMOTIONAL BECAUSE OF RENA!? 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 She must be PROTECTED! I know she has a support group with her family but I'm still hurting for her! If I was confident in writing adult Lottie, I'd write her unkle of choice comforting her and assuring her everything will be OK 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 Stupid! Your neice needs you!!!!

Omg omg omg King acting all ashamed around Poppy when she realizes!? I'm sorry, but that also got me. Like- it feels like he was hoping she could be a friend (or something more?? The Kingpop lover in me wants to say he's crushing on her here, but I know that that's more than likely not the case XD), and those hopes are drained when she gives him that look. That look of confusion, anger, and disgust for not just his wife, but the fact that he's still by her side through this. I want Poppy to sit there conflicted as she processes all this and trying to figure out whether she should follow them or stay here. She wants to follow King and explicitly ask why he's still with Rena. Why he's always covering for her. Why doesn't he seem to care about this past the fact that it's an inconvenient frustration for him? Why?? But her baby needs her more, so she ultimately chooses to stay.

RYAN!!! Omg omg omg is Ryan going to leave Kingston and Rena now!? Does he cut off his sister!? Whatever happens between them, I N E E E D Ryan interacting with his neice!!!! I need him to be there for her! I need the weasels + Poppy slowly coming around to Ryan and welcoming him into the family!!!! I need Lottie to have a depressed but still more morally aligned than others unkle!

This is do badly formatted, but I gotta get to work. I hope you're able to read this 😅😅😅 as for Poppy getting high on accident... I'm working on that~

WAIT.

Something just occurred to me that I dont think we've ever talked about. A very terrible one, so- trigger warning for sexual assault (the whole Lottie conception thing).

So Rena fucks black-out-drunk Smartass on a really bad night after a terrible fight with King. She was under the influence of hard drugs, but, still- she was more Aware, then he was. He resembled her husband, and in her fucked-up, drug-addled mind, gravitated towards him. Used him. Left early and got pregnant.

It was a fucked up situation all around but Rena was definitely the instigater and in a bad place head-wise; emotionally erratic and a loose canon.

Well... in the universe where they all know eachother eventually- does Shiny k n o w??? Does Poppy know??? If King found out about Lottie, Rena would definitely tell him the whole story. But I don't think she'd go around telling just anyone (or if she'd even care. Or think about it at all. Getting drunk and fucked up and doing 'fucked up shit' (little baby firefly reference for you to lighten the mood XD ) is an all the time kinda thing for her after all). And I doubt that Smartass would, either. So...

??? What do you think? Maybe King tells them. How do they react? 🤔

(Oh god what of LOTTIE found out. She already doesn't want her mother, now she's about to kick this woman's ass)

This... I knew we had to confront it when we started to ship our OC's together, but I was afraid to 😅😭😅😭

Hooooooooo boy. Ok. Lemme break this down. I've been simmering on this ask for the past couple of days cause I wanna D I S C U S S this-

First off- whether or not Poppy and Shiny know what Rena did.

Hm... I feel like it's kind of yes, kind of no? And Shiny knows more than Pops does. Obviously, they don't know who the mother is, and if Smartass can't remember that night, then he's either blocked the memory out or he was that black out drunk. I don't think the darker side of this would really sink in for Poppy early on because, although she does know creeps exist, she imagines them being more confrontational; she did kind of grow up sheltered, and the only creeps she's encountered in Downtown are those who aren't subtle. So she doesn't think about the consequences of leaving your drink open in a crowded bar, or someone waiting until you're inebriated and not sound of mind to invite you over to their place (i really really really want to write Poppy getting drugged at a bar while hanging out with Greasy or Shiny, and they notice and take care if shit. Kind of like your Jim x Reader drabble). It took her a while to realize that how she and Henry met was also pretty predatory on his part, though.

Remember when I told you I imagine Poppy actually being there the night Lottie was dropped off on their doorstep? I also see her, after getting over the shock of a baby in this mobster house, trying to help Smarty retrace his steps so they can figure out where the baby even came from, "Ok, do you remember where you were nine months ago?" "Who the hell keeps track a'that!?" "Nobody, but in this case, we really need to figure that out-" Whether Smartsss remembers and tells her or not, after thinking it over, I think Poppy would suspect that Smartass was also taken advantage of and is scared and sorry for him. She'll ask him if he's OK and assure him it wasn't his fault, even if he tries to brush it off. As usual, Poppy would go into well-meaning-but-kinda-overbearing mode. She hopes that maybe the mother was also drunk- it's still bad for them both, but it's better than if she soberly saw Smartass in the state he was in and slept with him still. She wouldn't be sure if she should keep Lottie's hope up for her mother in this case since they only know Smartass' side, and will listen if he or Lottie says they aren't interested in the possibility that her mother may come back.

Shiny on the other hand, she's encountered nearly every type of fucker you could think of, especially now that she works in the adult entertainment industry. She's even fallen victim to some of them in the past. It's part of why she's so ready to square up and gouge someone's eye out if they give her the wrong vibe- hell, when she's out with her gals, especially Poppy, she's sniffing out for creeps while having fun. It's just second nature to her at this point. So when she was told about baby Lottie and heard that Smartass had no memory of that night, her alarm bells were already ringing in her head. Even if she annoys Smartass, she does see him as kind of like a little brother... A little brother who's a little asshole and got little man issues, but a little brother all the same (yes, that means she sees Stu as her little brother too. And he's a whole lot nicer than her other adopted brother XD), so she's also got that protective streak in her despite constantly teasing him.

She wants to find the bitch who took advantage of him, and tells him they should go find the mother- not for Lotties sake, but for his. Shiny is headstrong, so it'd take a lot for the guys to convince her to don't bother if Smarty doesn't want to go through all that trouble. Shiny wouldn't approve if Poppy tried to encourage Lottoe to be hopeful about her mother. Even if she wasn't such a monster like Shiny is imagining her to be, she still left her daughter. In Shiny's eyes, that's inexcusable. But maybe this is why Shiny hates Rena so much; she got the vibes from that woman without even finding out she was Lotties mother.

So even though Poppy and Shiny don't know the whole story, they both do end up suspecting and worried for him. Shiny would have no issues against telling Lottie that her mother is a bad person, and Poppy is trying to figure out what to tell Lottie when she asks (honestly they'd probably sit down together and go back and forth, especially if this is after Lottie asked Poppy if shes her mother and Poppy needs advice). If either of them met Rena after this?? And found out what she did???? Hoooooo boy.

Shiny is gonna start swinging, regardless if they've fucked or not. Enough said. Rena is a weapons expert, but Shiny inherited her dad's honey badger crack-head determination. It's anyone's fight at that rate.

Poppy? Ohhhhh ho ho ho, it depends on their relationship. If she just remained uncomfortable around Rena (which would happen in the Pocho, or any weasel ship, timeline. I don't care how alluring Rena turns it up, Poppy ain't cheating on her S/O), then this gives her more incentive to stay away from her. I can see her confronting Rena, even if it has been years at this rate. How could she have gone after a drunken man?! Even if she was having a bad day!? Don't even get me started on Poppy's thoughts about Rena only coming back into Lottie's life when she wants something. The mama bear in her would really rear to the surface if that happened.

If she and Rena started a relationship though??? Oh... Oh hell no. This is so much worse than Rena dropping Poppy for Henry. Poppy also confronts Rena here, but she's so much more angry and disgusted than she was with the topic of Henry. If Rena doesn't show some kind of remose for what she did, Poppy will break up with her... She might break up with Rena anyway- which is pretty big in and of itself because, as I'm sure you've noticed, Poppy has never been the breaker in a relationship. How do you think Rena would respond to that?

Poppy, conflicted and unsure: Shouldn't we... Aren't we supposed to take her condition that night into consideration, too??

Now granted, Rena was also under the influence. But as you said, she was more aware. I think maybe this might make Poppy hesitate? She doesn't indulge in drugs (except that one time Wheezy got her high on weed by accident *cough*) and she prefers to drink on specific times, so she's not so in-tune with how inebriated someone can get and how in control they can be. Shiny, however, she is a hard drinker and smokes (she sticks to Marijuana herself, but she has had a few friends who indulged in more serious drugs. Her slasher self, though, indulges in them greatly), so she does know that there are various levels of sobriety and intoxication. And she's pretty sure Rena wasn't black out drunk like Smartass, especially since she actually remembers that night.

Shiny: that's actually a good point, Pops.

Shiny: *turns to Rena* do you remember what happened that night?

Rena: Yeah-

Shiny: Then kindly go fuck yourself with a sandpaper wrapped cactus that's tipped with E. Coli.

Now as for King... Poppy would have mixed feelings. It's obvious he's not like Rena and doesn't agree with what she does, but why are they still together?? Yes, he loves her, but... *looks at Rena and her cheating hoe-ass* yeah... Meanwhile, Shiny is suspicious of him if he's still with Rena afterall this. What kind of skeletons does he have in his closet?? Other than the obvious. She would try to keep Poppy away from King if this happened in the Kingpop timeline.

As for Lottie. Poppy wants to protect her, so she'll try to stop her from kicking Rena's ass. Yes, she's got training from the navy, but she won't let her little neice get hurt! Let her take care of this, sweetie. You and your father need to get away from this woman. Shiny would jump into the fight first... But she'd let Lottie get her kicks in too. And they can go get a drink at the bar afterwards and either sit in silence or talk about it, whatever Lottie would want.

So, tldr, Poppy and Shiny may not be told all the details, but they would start to suspect on their own. And Riny and Renpop would be nonexistent in this AU.

Fuuuuuuucccckkkk this hurt my heart so bad, especially the part of me that loves the Rena ships despite how dysfunctional they'd be. But we needed this too. What do you think?

[k-dokja]

hello !! can i have 🧡🎁❣💓🎇🌻👁😎 for vivi and mitsuki ? (i love my affiliate girls sm)

EMOJI MEME | Vivi & Mitsuki

🧡 How do they confess that they like someone?

Vivi's honestly pretty straightforward about it once she notices that you might like her back too. Given the chance, she'd probably try to drop it super casually, hoping to not make things awkward between the two of you. Yeah, she likes you but she also likes you as a friend. The idea of losing your friendship because of her romantic feeling is horrible to her. She'd detest it.

Though... there's no saying she won't be weird about it if you turned her down and continue to be friends.

🎁 What gift would they get their s/o?

Anything you want! You'll get it! She's not really in any shortage of money, you just need to show interest and she might (definitely) get it for you. She errs more on the side of fun and hobby gifts, something really personalized. Like if you're into gaming, she will get you a new set-up, a new chair, or maybe even a new console.

Whatever it is, it will have a huge Vivi logo slapped on. You know, just staking a claim and everything.

❣️ What makes them blush/gets their heart pounding?

She gets this weird little fuzzy feeling when you smile at her sincerely. It's just that she received a lot of pampering from people around her all the time. The niceness of another is nothing she's unfamiliar with. But the genuine flavour of it... she just doesn't really know how to deal with it, just make her all warm and blushy.

Even innocuous actions like holding her hand and giving her a squeezing hug make her heart race. Just give her those honest and sincere affections, she loves it!

💓 How do they act when they realize they’re in love/have a crush?

Scream it out in her pillow and get super giddy about it until she realizes that the crush needs to be two ways for this to work. Usually, she tries to keep mum about it but she's horrible at secrets. You will notice her intentional stare at you immediately.

She spends a humongous amount of time around you afterwards. If you don't notice it then, you must be blind or awfully oblivious because she has spelt it out so clearly for you. Do you even want her to say it, too? You're lucky you're so cute.

🎇 Are the feelings they have like a whirlwind or are they able to keep it under control?

Definitely a whirlwind. She won't be able to hide it when she realizes her feelings for you is what it is. It'd not be long before you notice that she has grown to be kinder and sweeter to you. Might even weird you out with how eccentric and entitled she often acts, but it does show her favouritism for you.

And if she's jealous, everybody will feel it. The entire room will feel it. Maybe you will feel it but based on how you're acting, you need to take a better hint!

🌻 Will they do anything for their s/o? Will the crocodile tears win them over or are they stubborn about not giving in?

Bold of you to assume she won't use the crocodile tears back on you. She grew up spoiled, you bet your pretty behind that she has employed this trick more than once on her dad. It always works, too! Anything for his little princess.

Because of that, you turning this trick on her won't work. However, if you ask her nicely about it and maybe bribe her with a promise of affection or two, maybe she'll think about it. Just maybe. (Yes, you will most definitely get what you want, just shower her with compliments later)

👁 What’s their favourite part of their s/o?

In terms of personality, she'd like somebody who's sincere and open about their feelings. It'd probably help if you are a good friend to her. She likes that she can always either have fun or relax around you. She loves that sense of safety and comfort she gets from you.

She's also... one of those people who will literally fall for a smile and a random act of kindness so take that as you will.

😎 How do they impress their s/o?

By getting you to have as much fun with her as possible. There's no point in it if the two of you aren't having a good time. She wants you to associate her with positivity, which means you'll always get giddy to meet her. If you don't know about her drug business, she'd actually try to keep you steering clear of that altogether.

Her idea of fun is mostly dragging you on exciting adventures with her. She'd love to go to places where the two of you can do a lot of activities and take a bunch of pictures together. Although... don't let her drag you shopping, you'll either become a valet or her new favourite doll as she makes you change in and out of like 50 outfits.

🧡 How do they confess that they like someone?

There's like, a fifty percent of chance that the moment Mitsuki knows her attraction to you is romantic, she will immediately tell you about it. However, if you showed to be less inclined to that approach, she will try to get closer to you and get to know you better before confessing.

Her feelings likely won't change during that time, but she does like the more easygoing friendship the two of you developed at that point.

🎁 What gift would they get their s/o?

She likes getting you gifts that you can get a lot of occasions to use. Mostly practical, day-to-day things like your favourite cologne or an accessory that can match your work attire. She gives a lot of thought to your preference in picking the gift for you.

It's the look of delight on your face when you received the gift that makes her the happiest. If you pointed out how she had picked the exact thing you like, she might smother you with kisses.

❣️ What makes them blush/gets their heart pounding?

She's not easy to fluster, to be honest. Not a lot can faze her, and usually, anything too risque makes her deadpan instead of blushing. However, small, gentle acts of chivalry can make her a bit giddy. Like when you help her put on her heels or when you wash her hair after a long day at work.

She has no love for the grandiose displays of love. Most of the time, she finds them ridiculous and showy. Unless you're trying to sell her something, she'd prefer the quieter intimacy. Small kisses on the back of her hand, her palm, or her fingers can fluster her much more than a garden full of roses.

💓 How do they act when they realize they’re in love/have a crush?

A bit confused, if anything. Romantic love is not something she comes across often. When it does come to her, she gets confused immensely. She doesn't like it when she gets mushy feelings. It compromises her calculative mindset.

However, if she can see that her feelings for you won't hamper any of her plans, she'd be far more interested in pursuing you. In fact, by then, there's not a lot stopping her from going after you. She'd be pretty straightforward about it, too. You'd have to be really overlooking her to not notice her intention.

🎇 Are the feelings they have like a whirlwind or are they able to keep it under control?

It's a hit-or-miss. If the feeling isn't reciprocated, she will have a much harder time keeping it under control due to her incessant need to stay in charge. However, once you show any sign of returning her feeling, she will manage it much better.

She's more subdued and demure around you, but only to you. Anyone else can go burst for all she cares.

🌻 Will they do anything for their s/o? Will the crocodile tears win them over or are they stubborn about not giving in?

Ugh, yes, don't even need to burst out crocodile tears, just give her a name and that person will be dead soon as possible. She's not shy about her devotion to you, long as you show the same in return. Although... it's a give-and-take relationship, everything she's willing to give, you should be prepared to give in return to.

She's not one without expectation and to have her entirety, her demands can get pretty high. She won't ask for anything out of your capability, but she won't hold back from asking for extreme deeds either.

👁 What’s their favourite part of their s/o?

On the innocent side, she likes how resilient and caring you are. Genuine and honest kindness is not something she comes across often. Seeing somebody so readily give their all for the sake of others makes her quite shaken and enraptured.

Outside of that, she also loves sincerity and the goodness of heart. It's not something she has of her own, so she feels oddly drawn to it by the nature of opposite attracts. She gets really soft when you do things for her without asking for anything in return, it makes her really believe that your feeling for her is true and pure.

😎 How do they impress their s/o?

You'd be surprised by how much she knows about you once the two of you are together. She keeps track of your preferences and often has better memorization of your schedule than you do. It's not... exactly controlling, not in her mind, anyway.

From how she rationalizes it, she just cares a lot and wants your life to stay on the path. Honestly, if you ever forgot anything, just ask her about it and she will immediately bring it up like it's something you mentioned yesterday. She takes pride in knowing you better than anyone, that's how she stays a permanent fixture in your life.

[newtonsheffield]

Ok I’ll bite and you also got me curious

How’s Mary relationship with her brother now?

So…

How are David and Mary’s relationship?

Look, It's not great. It's certainly not what it once was.

Mary could still remember the day David graduated from the naval Academy. She'd stood at the entrance for a long while, just fifteen, staring up at the grand front of it, her father's hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, chick, we need to find our seats."

Her father had been proud of David, who'd stood winking at them as he was presented. Not Davey Sheffield anymore. Not Davey who'd been her best friend. Who'd hooted happily when she learned to ride a bike, when when she'd skinned her knee climbing a tree, not Davey who'd punched Roger Nellis in the stomach for trying to flip up her skirt.

This was Second Lieutenant David Sheffield now. And Mary could see that while her father was proud to have his son follow in his footsteps, while her Mother was proud, while Rule Britannia thundered around them, her mother was as terrified as she was.

And she watched as David got deployed, watched her mother freeze every time there was a knock at the door that she wasn't expecting, or the phone rang at an odd hour. She watched her mother kneel by the bed and pray and pray that David would be fine.

And he was. He always seemed to escape, though once he'd slipped on deck and broken his arm much to his embarrassment. He'd burst through the door of the house they'd grown up in, where they'd stayed up past when they were supposed to a snuck back downstairs to watch TV with a blanket over it, laughing and smiling and making jokes, he was still her favourite person. Still the older brother she remembered.

So much so that the very first person she'd called when a little girl had propositioned her in the supermarket and she'd fallen a little in love with her and her father at first sight and been David.

"Hey Davey. I went on a date today. A fourth date, actually."

David had cackled, "Please tell me Mum didn't finally wear you down to the point you went out with Nigel Cavendish?"

"Christ-No. His name's Tom Sharma, and I met him at ASDA, his daughter was sneaking sweets into the basket."

"His daughter? Mary if he's married-"

"He's a widower, his wife died soon after she was born. Her name's Katie." Mary had hummed, smiling to herself as she thought about the tiny girl who'd scrambled onto her lap this afternoon, legs swinging as she coloured in a picture of a dog, very haphazardly, chattering away about how she thought she might get to have some ice cream after dinner tonight. And the thing that had settled in Mary's chest the first time she'd ever seen the Sharma's grew a little more.

"okay so... This is going well? You're dating a man who has a little girl and you're happy about this. You love kids, this isn't a spiral right?"

"I- yeah. I... I don't know, it's going great and I, yeah I like Tom, and I like Katie. They're beautiful."

"Let me know when I can intimidate him then."

And it was barely even six months later when she sat with an engagement ring burning into her hand, watching Katie sit on her Mother's lap, her mother laughing delightedly as Katie slyly asked if maybe they could get her a goldfish for her birthday, Tom groaning sheepishly beside her when David nudged her as he sat on the sofa beside her.

"Your daughter's pretty fucking great."

"My-?" Because she felt it, right to the core of her, that Katie was her child, but part of her had expected to have to claw and fight to be seen that way.

David looked bewildered, gesturing at the tiny girl, "Katie? The adorable little thing with angel curls who clings to you? She's your daughter right?"

And Mary hadn't been able to keep the smile off her face when she said, "Yeah, she's my daughter."

She was proud, really, of how her family took to Katie. How her mother held her hand gently as they made their way around stores, how when they'd meet her friends she'd kneel down and say and have you met my Granddaughter Katie before? How her father would sit with katie on his knee while he read his newspaper and David would burst into the house and wink slyly at Katie before he'd say How about, little Kat, you take your Uncle Davey to the cinema hey? Mum's busy with the little Ducky but I want to go and see A Bug's Life, and I need someone to keep me company. And because of that, because of how much they loved her, Mary never thought he'd do this.

She never thought she'd have to stand in her kitchen while her brother, the person she'd been closest to in the entire world held the uniform he'd helped her daughter buy.

"David."

"Mary, I know you're probably really upset with me but-"

She couldn't even look at him, just stared out the kitchen window. "You can leave the uniform in the hall and get out."

He didn't move, just stared at her, his fingers tightening around the garment bag. "Mary, I'm in the military, Dad was as well. It's not a death sentence she's just-"

“She’s my child David! My Child. How dare you?!” She spat it at him, her hands clenched on the side of the table. Angry tears welling in her eyes at the injustice he couldn't even see. How Edwina had crawled into her bed last night and sobbed until she'd exhausted herself.

“She asked me to Mary. Katie came to me about this. She was going to enlist, at least this way she’ll have more authority, She’ll be better trained, more useful, safer.”

“She’s traumatised. Her father just died- She can’t-“

“She’s an adult Mary. She’s the same age I was when I went into the Navy.”

“If she dies, or gets hurt David, it’s on you. I’ll never forgive you for this!” Even as she said it, she'd hoped it would never come to that. But of course it had.

She'd called him, still sobbing from Sophie's voice on the phone, Anger and terror clawing at her, Sophie's mind replaying in her head Mary, I'm so so sorry. She's- I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry

"Mary is everything-?"

"Kate's been injured." Her chest heaved as she sunk to the floor in the kitchen, the cold tile the only thing keeping her present while her chest felt like it had been ripped open again. "She got shot down. She lay in the water for hours, dying before they could go back for her."

The silence was deafening, and but for David's breathing in the other end, but for the shuddered breath he took when he told his wife Katie's been shot down she would have thought he wasn't there.

"My child nearly died becasue of you! She might still die!" She was nearly hysterical, Edwina's sobs still echoing through the house. "They won't even tell me where she is."

"Mary, please I love Katie too. She's your daughter, she's my niece. I love her, and I'm sorry this happened."

"FIX IT!"

His voice broke, "I can't Mary. I'm sorry, I can't. I'm so sorry."

"You're a fucking Rear Admiral, David! You outrank nearly everyone in the fucking air force!" She knew it wasn't fair, knew how stubborn Kate could be, but it was so much easier to blame him. David who would take the abuse she hurled at him. "If you've ever cared about me, just bring my baby home!"

"I'm so sorry, Mary."

"This is your fault. This is your fault. This is your fault." She whispered it again and again until she fell asleep, and David never said a word, but she knew he was there.

Mary was numb, weeks later as she watched her daughter get unloaded on a stretcher in an airbase. Watched her weak smile as she woke from sedation, slowly being plugged into monitors but the look in her eyes was different. So much so that Mary was barely paying attention when Group Captain Haverford said,

"Rear Admiral Sheffield mentioned that you might want to-"

"Rear Admiral Sheffield?" Her body had gone cold, her attention snatched back from Kate. "What's he got to do with any of this?"

Group Captain Haverford looked a little perplexed. "He- intervened. Protocol really demands that Flight Lieutenant Sharma recuperate in a military hospital in Germany, these things are standard, but he demanded she be brought back to England. Caused quite a fuss actually, the higher ups are a little put out. I believe she's his niece? He was quite wild about you being kept away, Ma'am."

Mary felt her throat closing over, tears pricking at her eyes as she nodded.

And that night when she drove to David's house, and pushed past his wife to wrap her arms tightly around her brother for the first time since they'd laid her husband to rest. She finally felt at peace.

[helloalycia]

The Wrong Lifetime – Six // Wanda Maximoff

chapter five | story masterlist | main masterlist | wattpad | chapter seven

author’s note: i’m glad you all seemed to like the last chapter! i’m all for slow burn but i didn’t want to leave you hanging too long aha. Now onto dating territory!

Since going to Blackpool with Wanda, we hadn't actually gotten another moment to ourselves. Wedding plans were picking up which kept her busy, and if not that, then I'd only see her in passing in which we'd exchange smiles before moving on.

So, I though it would be good to take her out on a date. A proper one, even if it was to be disguised as a simple outing between soon-to-be sister-in-laws. The plan was to 'bump' into her in town, which we did, then I asked her if she wanted to go to the art gallery. She'd been before, but they'd put in a new exhibition which I thought she might like.

We couldn't exactly hold hands when there, but I made the most of her presence and stood a little too close to her than a friend might. Since she'd kissed me at the beach, I wasn't able to think about anything else. And when shot me a knowing smile, I knew she felt the same.

"I like this one," I told her, pointing to a piece hung on the wall, before squinting to read the plaque. "Jedburgh Abbey from the River by Thomas Girtin."

"And why's that?" she asked, watching me with humoured eyes.

I pursed my lips, glancing between her and the painting sheepishly. "I'm not gonna lie, I just like the way the guy painted the clouds in the sky."

She stifled laughter, not wanting to draw attention from passers-by, and nudged me in the shoulder. "You're unbelievable, milaya (darling). We didn't have to come here if you don't like art."

I gave her a knowing look. "Hey, I love art. Especially when it's by a certain Sokovian artist named Wanda Maximoff."

Rolling her eyes, she shook her head. I grinned at her bashfulness, wanting to tease her but also very true with my words. Her work was my favourite, biased or not, and I still had that amazing portrait she'd done of me in my room back home. It was tucked into one of my drawers where nobody would find it. I didn't want anyone else to look at it since she'd done it for me and it was private... it was a beautiful reminder of the amazing day we'd had.

"You're poking fun, but in all seriousness, I'd actually love for my work to be up here someday," she said softly, looking at the painting before us with hopeful eyes. 

"They wish they were that lucky to score someone as talented as you," I said without skipping a beat.

She cracked a smile, tilting her head in my direction. It was obvious she was losing her patience with me, but I enjoyed watching her lose it. She didn't know what to say, especially when being complimented, and it was endearing to witness.

We remained civil for the remainder of the 'date', refraining from holding hands or gazing at each other longer than friends would, and I was pretty proud of myself for not thinking about kissing her once when we were done.

As we got into the carriage to go back home, the door closed and I was going to ask her how she found it when she moved towards me in an instant, kissing me without question. I raised my hand, caressing her jaw and closing my eyes as she leaned forward, practically on my lap, not that I cared. She sucked on my bottom lip sensually before she opened her mouth, pushing her tongue into mine. I almost forgot how to breathe as she did, unprepared for such an intense kiss.

"I've been wanting to do that all day," she revealed when she pulled away.

I flushed at the contact, a dazed smile on my lips. "Huh."

She chuckled as she sat back beside me more 'appropriately'. "Thanks for taking me. I loved it."

I nodded lamely, still trying to recover from our kiss. "I'm– I'm glad."

She smirked playfully, leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to my lips before sitting back. "You're so cute."

My words still hadn't returned, so all I could do was nod before looking the other way. Her laughter filled the carriage and I wondered how I'd gotten so lucky to be in the presence of someone so perfect.

After exchanging some more kisses and actually being able to hold hands without prying eyes, we reached Wanda's home and she invited me in for some tea. Sadly, that meant we had to let go of one another, but I think she'd given me enough to remember her by as we parted, and she must have thought the same, judging from the smirk she sent my way.

We sat on the patio outside to have some tea and biscuits, enjoying the sunshine and blue skies, a rare occurrence for England. We were chatting mindlessly when her brother decided to make an appearance, helping himself to a seat between Wanda and I.

"How lovely of you to grace us with your presence, Miss Y/L/N," he said playfully, shooting me a charming smile, before reaching to grab a biscuit. Wanda slapped his hand but he stole one anyway, making her roll her eyes.

"Nice to see you, Pietro," I greeted with amusement, always enjoying his presence.

"And you," he returned, before chowing down his biscuit.

Wanda gave me a fed up look over his shoulder which he was oblivious to, and I tried not to laugh as she clearly wasn't a fan of him interrupting our time.

"So, I caught a glimpse of the wedding invitations," Pietro said, making conversation. He glanced between us with a nod of approval. "They're coming along well."

I hummed in agreement, smile becoming less real when he mentioned the wedding. Wanda didn't acknowledge his words as she fiddled with the handle of her teacup.

"Is your brother behaving, Y/N?" Pietro continued jokingly, looking to me. "I know how many admirers he has, but my sister should be his first priority."

"Oh, Piet...," Wanda breathed out with embarrassment, facepalming.

"Of course he is," I assured her brother with a small smile. "He wouldn't dare try hurting Wanda or he'd have a lot of explaining to do."

There was some playfulness in my voice, but an underlying truth to my words.

"It's sweet how close you've gotten," Pietro noticed, looking between us, before settling his gaze on me. "It's about time Wanda made friends with people who aren't me."

Cue another slap. I chuckled at her sheepish expression, amused by Pietro's antics.

"Anyway," he changed the subject for his sister's sake, "mother has been getting on my very nerve about finding a bride because you decided to get married."

Wanda rolled her eyes. "We both know I didn't decide, Piet."

He sighed over-dramatically. "Well, it's because of your engagement that she's now on my back about it."

"Join the club," I joked, knowing exactly what he meant. "My mum was already on my back about finding a husband, but since this engagement, it's ten times more annoying."

Pietro laughed. "Oh, no. Has she lined up suitors? My parents like to point out every pretty woman they see to me in hopes I'll make a move. It's hardly productive."

"I haven't asked her for fear she'll pull out a folder with all of the eligible bachelors in town," I said, half joking and half serious.

Pietro snickered as Wanda rolled her eyes in the background. She should have been happy I was getting along with her brother. He was actually quite entertaining to be around.

"It's funny you say that because you're one of the women my parents pointed out," he admitted.

"Oh, God, so they're saying the same thing to you?" I asked with a groan, and he nodded regretfully. "Isn't it just the worst?"

"You're a lovely girl, Y/N, don't get me wrong," he began gently, "but I don't like you like that."

I raised my hand for a high five. "Me and you both."

Laughing once again, he returned my high five and I was glad we were on the same page. The amount of people that had been hinting at getting to know Wanda Maximoff's very single brother was getting pretty annoying. It was nice to know he was just as irritated at the insinuation as I was.

"Okay, I should leave you both to it," Pietro concluded, slapping his knees and standing up. Looking to me, he said, "Miss Y/L/N, it was as lovely as ever to make your acquaintance."

I smiled as he winked playfully before looking to his disgruntled sister.

"Dear sister, the pleasure is always mine," he continued to tease, and she slapped him once more, making him dodge her and begin to leave. "Love you, too!" he called before heading back inside.

I laughed at his silliness and relaxed in my seat, looking back to Wanda. She didn't seem half as amused as I was as she drummed her fingers on the table and chewed on the inside of her cheek.

"I may be mistaken, love, but it looks like you're jealous," I poked fun at her.

She rolled her eyes and her jaw tensed before she finally looked to me, expression softening. "Can you blame me?" she asked quietly. "You're both single. You're both similar age. Everybody talks."

I shrugged nonchalantly, having a sip of my tea. "True... but I've got my eye on another Maximoff anyway."

She sighed, small smile creeping on her lips. Subtly moving my chair closer to hers, I grabbed her hand under the table and squeezed. My thumb stroked her hand softly as I leaned on the palm of my hand on the table.

"You look really beautiful today," I admitted in a hushed voice. "I should have told you earlier."

She, too, leaned into the palm of her hand as she watched me with an enchanting gaze. "So do you, milaya (darling)."

Unable to resist, I glanced around quickly before kissing her cheek and pulling away. Letting go of her hand, I busied myself with the tea and biscuits again.

"Biscuit?" I offered her, and she began to laugh at my attempt at acting casual.

Playing along, she accepted the biscuit from my hand. But a knowing smile was on her lips as she nodded. "Thank you."

—

Being with Wanda was a luxury in itself, even if we had to keep it private.

To everybody else, we were merely two women about to become family who happened to create a bond that was close. But we both knew what it really was and weren't eager to say it. Because saying it made it true and that meant that what we were doing became realer than it was in our daydreams and hidden moments.

I did find myself wracked with guilt sometimes – particularly the times when Y/B/N would gush about how excited he was to marry her. Wanda was technically cheating on him with me, his sister, but that fact was something that was still blurry to me.

We had no choice but to lie and be secretive. In a world like this, where we would never be able to be together like we wanted to, all we had was secrecy and deception. Did that still make us bad people?

I tried not to think about what would happen when she actually married my brother. The future was something I was adamant on pushing to the back of my mind because I knew what it would hold and I just wanted to enjoy the time I had with her. Convincing myself that what we had wasn't serious, just a heat of the moment relationship maybe, made things easier to accept. But really, I knew that whenever she looked my way with her signature smile and dazzling eyes, it was way more than I envisioned. She was way more.

So, trying not to be dragged down with the weight of reality, I vowed to myself to only focus on the now. Focus on the moments I shared with her whilst we could. Anything beyond that and I'd surely snap.

"Medovyy (honey), the Y/L/Ns are here!" Iryna called behind her, before looking to my family and I as we stood at her front door. "Please, all of you, come in!"

She ushered us into the main hall before closing the door after us. Perfectly timed, the rest of her family left the living room and came to greet us.

Automatically, my eyes found Wanda's and she was already looking my way, her dimple making a show as she attempted to reign in an excited smile. I did the same, trying to ignore the way my heart stirred upon seeing her.

Oleg and Iryna welcomed my parents and then me, kind expressions accompanying genuine greetings. In the corner of my eye, I saw Pietro shaking Y/B/N's hand before Wanda took his place, accepting a kiss on the cheek from Y/B/N. It wasn't jealousy that I felt whenever they were together, at least not entirely – they were to be married, what more could I expect? – but it wasn't anything pleasant either.

"Ah, my favourite Y/L/N," Pietro beamed upon shaking my hand, making my lips twitch upwards. "You excited for dinner? We're having salmon."

"Ecstatic, Pietro," I answered with a playful eye roll. "All I've been thinking all day."

He chuckled at my sarcasm before letting go of my hand and moving over to greet my parents. Wanda was next, her shoulders relaxing when she stepped before me with a soft smile present on her lips.

"It's good to see you," she said, but her eyes said much more than that. "How have you been?"

Exchanging a friendly-looking hug, my body was warm where she pressed against me. Touching her always sent a rush of emotion through me and I looked forward to it every time.

"I've been good," I answered aloud, before whispering into her ear, "Better now."

She squeezed my waist inconspicuously in response before letting go. "That's good. You know, we've got time before dinner and I wanted to show you the painting I've been working on lately. Wanna see?"

I glanced at my parents and hers for permission, knowing they'd heard her question.

"Just try not to take too long since dinner will be on the table soon," Iryna said with a nod. "It's so good to see you girls getting along."

Breathing out slightly, I smiled gratefully before letting Wanda intertwine our fingers and drag me up the staircase. She led me past several doors before we finally reached hers and she tugged me inside.

As soon as the door closed, she was quick to connect our lips in a heated, desperate kiss. I relaxed against her instantly, my hands falling to her side and pulling her closer. Her fingernails gently scratched the sensitive skin behind my neck, giving me goosebumps, and I let out an involuntary gasp at the feeling.

When we pulled away for a breath, her nose brushed against mine and she pressed a final kiss to my lips, slower and more tasteful compared to the first, before smiling at me.

"I missed you," she said, as if reading my mind.

A breathy laugh escaped my lips. "It's only been a week since we last saw each other, love."

She shrugged, arms laced around my neck. "A week too long."

Raising a brow judgementally, I gave her a knowing look. She wasn't embarrassed in the slightest as her half-lidded eyes met mine with a confident smirk.

"Did you just pull me up here to have a quick snog?" I teased her.

"Well, yes," she said, making me laugh again, before adding, "And I wanted to ask you if you'll go to the park with me tomorrow. A picnic. If you want."

She bit her lip anxiously, eyes darting elsewhere as she waited for an answer. I always found it amusing how she could be so confident one second and then so innocently adorable the next.

"Wanda, I'd love to." My thumb rubbed circles on her waist as I kept ahold of her. "I hear it's supposed to be nice weather tomorrow, too."

She pursed her lips. "Even if it rained, I'd still drag you to the park with me."

"Somehow, I feel like that's true," I countered with a ghost of a smile on my lips. She tried to hide her own smile and I continued, "Was there an actual painting you wanted to show me or...?"

Breathing out with amusement, she intertwined our fingers and pulled me to the back of her room where her 'studio' was. Since the last time I'd visited, there were plenty of new additions to her work, all as wonderful as the next.

"This one is from the beach at Blackpool," she said, stopping before a medium-sized canvas depicting the horizon. "When we sat on the bench. Just before I kissed you."

My heart fluttered at the memory and I studied the canvas, recalling it looked similar to her watercolour painting of the same view. She'd done a spectacular replica in oil paints, reminiscent of the trip we took.

"You should already know what I'm going to say," I said, looking to her knowingly. "But just so you can hear it again, I absolutely love this. You're so talented."

She rolled her eyes to distract from the pink spreading across her cheeks. "Thank you... and again, thank you for taking me. Seeing an actual water source upfront really helped me refine my paintings. It feels so much more real now."

I looked back to the painting, noticing what she meant. Either way, I loved both versions of her work, before and after going to the beach.

"You did good, love."

She squeezed my hand gently before sighing quietly with realisation. "We should probably go back down."

"We should," I agreed, glancing at her. "Thanks for showing me these."

She cracked a smile, teeth nibbling on her bottom lip. "Always."

Reluctantly, the two of us returned downstairs and joined the others as they were settling at the dining table. Wanda and I sat side by side, and this time when her fingers brushed mine, I made no move to pull away.

The meal was good, but as usual, I found myself zoning out. The conversation made its rounds, falling to me as the Maximoffs wanted to know how I was doing, then moved on, giving me chance to focus on eating my dinner and getting through the evening. I knew that at one point, everybody was talking about some play that was showing in the theatres.

Bits of the conversation were going in one ear and out the other and I was minding my own business until Wanda's bare foot rubbed against my leg under the table. The sensation of her skin against mine made my knee bounce up and hit the table with surprise, earning everyone's attention.

"Are you okay, dear?" Oleg asked, noticing my discomfort.

I cleared my throat, straightening up and ignoring the stifled smile Wanda had in my peripheral vision.

"I'm good, sorry about that," I apologised awkwardly, shivering when she dragged her foot back down my leg. "You were talking about the play, right?"

That seemed to distract them, as they leapt right back into conversation, giving me a chance to breathe out with relief. I looked to Wanda, watching her lean on her palm and hide a smirk as she stared at me with mischievous eyes.

Glaring and nudging her in the arm subtly, I looked back to my food, but she didn't move her foot, nor her hand. Both brushed my against me, starting a fire on my skin and making me swallow hard. She kept like that for the whole evening, making my head dizzy and leaving me at a loss for words.

And when I looked her way, she was already staring, definitely knowing the effect she had on me.

—

"I just need to find my shoes and we can go," I told Wanda the next morning, before our date at the park.

She'd come to pick me up at my house and was hanging around my room as I finished getting ready. From her place at my desk, she hummed in acknowledgment before distracting herself with my notebooks.

"I see you're making great use of the notebook I picked out for you," she commented, and I glanced towards her mid-search for my shoes, seeing she was flicking through the already-filled book.

"I have a lot of ideas, what can I say?" I joked, before looking under the pile of clothes near my wardrobe.

She chuckled, before falling quiet again. I wasn't really paying attention to what she was doing until she spoke up after a few minutes.

"Y/N, your writing is beautiful," she said, making me look her way to see an amazed smile on her lips. "I didn't know you could write like this. I mean– I should have because you helped write that letter Y/B/N gave to me, but this..."

I shrugged awkwardly, distracting myself with my search again. "It's okay, I guess."

She exhaled mockingly. "Okay? Y/N, this is miles better than okay. Why didn't you show me this sooner?"

I smiled satisfactorily as I finally located my shoes. Grabbing them, I approached Wanda and took a seat on the edge of my bed, opposite her seat at my desk.

"Because it'll never be anything more than what you're looking at?" I said rhetorically. "It'll only ever be words confined to pages that nobody will see?"

She gave me a knowing look. "I think you forget that my brother is a publisher, dorogoy (dear)."

"And I think you forget that he is the publisher to my brother, dear," I retorted playfully.

She sighed, shaking her head and putting the notebook back on my desk. "You know Pietro would love this, right? He'd sign you in a heartbeat."

I snickered at the ludicrous thought. "Wanda, you're a little biased, love."

She rolled her eyes. "Writers write for audiences. I am an audience. I consume literature. And I'm telling you that it's not just me who would read what you have to write."

I tried not to laugh as I pulled my shoes onto my feet.

"Are you really telling me that you'd never want to get published?" she asked with a raised brow.

My heart ached at the thought of such a fantasy. "Of course I would, Wanda." I met her eyes, which were already peering across from me patiently. "I've dreamed of that. But it's just not what's to happen. My family have told me that many times. In another lifetime, maybe."

She pursed her lips, studying me thoughtfully. I offered her a smile and stood up, holding out my hand.

"Forget that," I told her. "I believe you promised me a picnic."

Thankfully, she dropped the subject and accepted my hand, letting me pull her up. The topic wasn't brought up again and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

We went to the park like she wanted and she brought a picnic basket with her, having packed a lovely variety of finger foods and snacks.

As she was unpacking the food onto the blanket, I narrowed my eyes at her. "You know, now that we're finally alone, I can say how unfair it was of you to do what you did last night."

She played dumb, shrugging, focusing on neatening up the sandwiches on a plate. "I don't know what you mean, milaya (darling)."

"Huh. Sure you don't."

Giggles flew from her lips as she glanced at me through her eyelashes. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. I just love seeing you squirm. You get all tense and it's so cute."

I pursed my lips. "I figured. You've been watching me squirm since we met."

She grinned knowingly before straightening up. "Okay, I made sandwiches and there's also some coleslaw, fruit, cheese... I made some Sokovian dishes, too, if you want to try them. Okroshka – it's like a cold soup. Then there's this olivye salad. It's... well, salad."

I smiled at the thought she put into it all and grabbed her hand between us. We'd set the picnic out behind a tree so we wouldn't have curious eyes watching us. It didn't look like we were overtly hiding, but we still got our privacy, too.

"It all looks great, Wanda," I said with appreciation. "I can't wait to try it."

She squeezed my hand in response before letting go to grab some paper plates. After popping a strawberry in her mouth, she asked, "Do you just want a bit of everything?"

I leaned on the back of my hands as I hummed a 'yes'. She began to put me some food in and I watched her, admiring the sight.

Her hair was half-pulled back today, falling in waves down her back and exposing her perfectly sculpted jawline. Everything about her was perfect – the way she moved was elegant and graceful, even when her hair fell over her shoulder and in her way; she simply moved it back with a flick of her hand and resumed what she was doing. The sun caught her immaculately, her hair glowing bright under the light and her eyes magnificently green as they focused.

As always, she took my breath away.

"Here," she said, holding out the plate towards me and pulling me from my reverie.

I accepted the plate and fork, returning her smile, before she watching as she began to make another plate for herself.

"You sure this is fancy enough for you?" I asked jokingly, stabbing my fork into a carrot. "I heard you and my brother went to a very luxurious restaurant the other night."

She met my eyes, holding amusement in her own. "Jealousy doesn't look good on you, milaya (darling)."

I kissed my teeth and rolled my eyes. "I'm not jealous, I just– it's so annoying listening to him talk about how beautiful you are or how funny you are or how kind you are."

"Oh, so you don't think I'm any of those things?" she teased, trying to get a rise out of me.

I titled my head towards her. "Of course I know you're all those things. But it doesn't mean I like hearing him talk about it constantly..."

Clearly amused, she erupted into laughter and I felt my face heating up with embarrassment. I know it sounded like I was whining, but it was true. Sometimes, I wasn't envious of my brother but rather at the fact that he could actually take Wanda out properly. He could be seen with her in public and hold her hand without fear of getting looks or disowned. He had the privilege of being with her and it wasn't fair.

"You may hear him talk about it, but there's one thing I can assure you that you get that he doesn't," she said when recovering from her laughter.

I stared at her with an exasperated sigh. "And what's that?"

She smiled confidently, glancing around quickly, before leaning forward and kissing me softly. As quickly as it came, it disappeared, leaving me desiring more.

Licking my lips, I couldn't tear my eyes from hers. "You know, you're a really good kisser."

She chuckled at my reaction and I found myself leaning in again, entranced by the way she tasted. Putting my plate to the side, I raised a hand to pull her closer, getting better access to her mouth.

She tasted sweet like the strawberry she'd just eaten and I swiped my tongue across her lip, indicating I wanted her to part her them. She did, allowing me to slip my tongue in and wrestle with hers, revelling in the way she tasted. My heart was thumping loudly in my chest as she let out a moan, it reverberating in my mouth and giving me goosebumps.

When lack of oxygen became an issue, she pulled away breathlessly, flushed cheeks adorned with a smile.

"As lovely as that was, I actually want to eat what I made," she ridiculed playfully.

"Yes, we will," I assured her, my hand moving from her neck up to her jaw. My thumb touched her lips, outlining them tenderly, subconsciously committing them to memory. "We'll get back to it."

She wanted to laugh, but I moved forward and caught her bottom lip between mine, unable to stay away. It was wrong, the rush I felt in my gut and the warmth that spread all over my body and the tingles that travelled down my spine. Because I knew what it all meant, but admitting it was a different story. So, I didn't.

I just continued to kiss the girl before me, knowing I could have kissed her forever and not regretted a single thing.

[inglourious-imagines]

Piece Of Cake (Fred Weasley)

Summary: Fred claims that asking a girl out to the Yulle ball is a piece of cake. Harry and Ron dare him to prove it.

Prompts: fluff list: 2 - "I don't care, just hold me." & angst list: "Try to see things in my point of view." & miscellaneous list: 4 - "My mum thinks I'm dating you." (changed a bit)

Warning: angst at the beginning, some swear words, fluff at the end

Author's Note: This is for @lunalovecroft 's 1K writing challenge! Probably it was meant to be the other way around, but that idea suddenly strucked me and I decided to give it a go. Happy reading ♡

HP Taglist: @alienoresimagines @95swifi

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"You have a place in my heart no one else ever could have." - F.S. Fitzgerald

All the Yulle Ball decoration were making Y/N beyond sick, every ribbon reminding her that she still did not have a date to accompany her throughout the approaching evening. Molly Weasley was so kind to send her as a gift the most beautiful dress Y/N had ever seen in her life and now she was genuinely thinking about not going to the ball at all. 

When she threw herself at the bench in the Great Hall right next to her best friend Hermione who was sitting way too far from Ron, Harry and the twins were seated. Y/N knew about the brightest witch's secret crush on the young Weasley that was slowly but surely growing into something more than just a simple crush. She'd even swear that Ron felt exactly the same about Hermione but she had to promise not to get involved or play a cupid. 

"He didn't ask, did he." Y/N dared to speak up first, glancing from Hermione's sad expression on her face to absolutely oblivious Ronald just a few metres away from them who seemed to be stuffing as much food as possible into his mouth as fast as he could. 

Y/N's eyes wandered from one Weasley to another, much taller one, who's smile was so contagious that she found herself grinning like an idiot for no particular reason.

"What do you think, Y/N." Hermione sighed bringing her back from her daydreaming, "guess he's not the only one who didn't ask, right?" 

Y/N looked at her friend again, simply nodded as she wasn't able to react in any other way. As much as she tried not to, she felt a bit disappointed when the only person she wanted to go to the Yulle ball with, hasn't asked her.

"They've been bickering for the past 15 minutes whether asking a girl out is easy or not." Hermione stated, clearly upset with the whole situation.

"Are you serious, 'Mione? What are their points of view?" 

"Well, Harry and Ron are obviously struggling to even compliment a girl in the right way but Fred reckons there's nothing easier." 

The girls look at each other and burst out laughing in the next second. "Like he'd know how to ask." Y/N managed to get out of her through her laughter, "however, I must agree with Harry and Ron. They're the most oblivious idiots." 

"Tell me about it." Hermione giggled but a trace of hurt flew over her face and Y/N suddenly felt really sorry for her dear friend. 

"Hey Y/N!" Fred shouted out of the blue, his clear voice echoed through the Great Hall causing other students to perk up their heads in order to find out what possibly he has in mind now. 

Y/N threw a look full of question marks to Hermione before turning her head to the tall red-head. "Yes?"

The moment his typical mischievous grin appeared on his face Y/N knew that something either funny and unpleasant to her or something embarrassing is about to happen.

"Will you..." Fred kept on talking as loudly as possible while wildly gesturing with his arms - apparently pretending to dance, "go to the ball..." now he was just pointing at her and him, "with me?"

Y/N's whole face turned brightly red, her nervous eyes wandering from student to student with such awaiting and amused expressions on their faces. Her heartbeat fastened in the matter of seconds that it seemed like it might jump out of her chest. Y/N looked at Hermione for help with such desperation hidden behind her gaze but her friend just simply shrugged, absolutely shocked with the sudden question, just like Y/N was.

A few seconds passed and Y/N was still sitting at her spot totally speechless. She imagined many times how Fred would ask her to the ball but never in a million years did she think it'd be like this - shouting at her in front of the whole Great Hall with absolutely no sign of sincerity or romance; to her it seemed like some sort of a bet to prove his point.

Their eyes for a moment and Y/N realized that Fred was convinced that she's going to accept his offer, confidence was basically radiating off of him. She knew he's not bragging, Fred was one of the kindest people she'd ever met but sometimes, sometimes he just wasn't able to estimate the situation. 

Anger was slowly bottling up in her as she quickly stood up grabbing all her books. As much as it hurt her to say it, Y/N was still able to straighten up looking directly into his eyes. "Sorry, Weasley, not interested. But thanks for the offer, I feel flattered." The sarcasm in her voice was more than obvious. 

Y/N winked at Hermione, rightly feeling satisfied with her as she heard a few laughs from many students when she walked out of the Great Hall leaving absolutely speechless and embarrassed Fred Weasley. 

•••

Y/N rushed into her dormitory, not wanting to deal with anybody at the moment as the anger was slowly transforming into hurt. This wasn't what she imagined.

She threw herself at her bed; her books were casted off on the ground, papers flying all over the place.

"Y/N! Wait!" a muffled voice of the too familiar Weasley filled her ears and before she knew it, Fred was standing in the middle of her dormitory with flushed cheeks due to the long run, doors slammed shut behind him. 

"Let me explain." he almost begged taking a few steps towards her. She quickly got on her feet as she shook with her head couple of times. "Please, no. I don't care if your intentions were the noblest, but it happened and that's it."

"If you could just let me talk."

But Y/N didn't see the regret in Fred's eyes, or how his hands trembled a little bit, she was way too furious to notice all these things.

"Try to see things from my point of view, Weasley! You basically shouted at me in front of the whole school if I want to go to the ball with you! I understand that you just wanted to prove something to Ron and Harry but this is not a game for me."

Every single word that left her mouth went straight to Fred's heart. He never in a million years intended to hurt Y/N, he'd rather suffer himself than have something happen to her. But he was scared, Fred felt truly terrified of asking her out and when the boys confronted him about it, he panicked. He didn't have an idea why he reacted that way. The pounding heart, sweaty palms, the hotness in his cheeks - all this was new to Fred Weasley and he wasn't sure what do to with his stormy emotions.

"I'm real sorry, Y/N. I didn't want to offend you but that doesn't mean I don't stand behind what I said earlier." he tried to ease the tense in the small room, his lips even formed into a cute little innocet smile.

"I don't know, Weasley. I simply think-"

"Let me make it up to you! The ball's tomorrow, just say yes."

Then they were there - Fred's puppy eyes that no matter how serious the problem was, Y/N wasn't able to bring herself to say no. She knew he's very well aware of that fact, he somehow managed to melt her heart.

"Fine. I'll go to the Yulle ball with you, Weasley. Don't make me regret it."

"I can certainly promise you that, Y/L/N."

•••

Y/N was nervously pacing in her new white dress that she got from Mrs. Weasley while Hermione was watching her with an amused expression.

"You know, this isn't funny." she frowned but a part of her was telling her how unreasonably ridiculous she is.

"Actually it is," her best friend couldn't held back the laughter, "you'll be fine. I bet he's even more nervous than you are." 

"Hermione! His mum thinks I'm bloody dating him!" 

"That's just so perfect. Maybe you will be after tonight."

Their eyes met for a moment and then, as if their minds were connected, the girls started giggling like some 13-year-olds. Y/N finally relaxed a bit, just like Hermione did, as they both promised themselves to look after each other during the evening.

"So what do you think?" Y/N winked at her friend, "shall we?"

"Absolutely."

•••

The duo walked together down the stairs leading to the dance hall, side by side, both of them smiling widely. Y/N found Fred's tall figure right away as he was nervously pacing back and forth mumbling something under his breath while George watched him amused. Just like Hermione watched her a couple minutes ago. God, how similar they could be.

"Well done, brother dear. Fucking well done." George whispered into his twin's ear tapping his shoulder. Fred's gaze immediately landed on approaching Y/N making him stop in his tracks. George just smirked and left with his own date to give them some privacy.

Fred was closely watching her every step, how elegantly she carried herself through the room, the beautiful white dress flew around her making her look like an angel descending from the sky. 

"Blimey, I don't think I've ever seen something so beautiful like you." Fred breathed out, his eyes roaming all over her body.

"You don't look too bad as well, Weasley." Y/N blushed at his compliment as she sent him one nervous smile. The truth was, he looked way more better than just 'not bad' and she had to remind herself not to stare at him too much. He pulled her into his side, his scent and warmth immediately embracing her, and she found herself falling for this dangerously good looking red-head. 

"Everybody's turning their heads after you. I swear I even saw a smile on Snape's face." Fred pointed out, his voice filled with obvious jealousy as his grip on her waist tightened. 

"I don't care, just hold me, Fred." Y/N gave him a reassuring smile taking his hand in his, "just hold me."

"I never wanted anything more."