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grantspectortrash · 2 years ago

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Can't Fight This Feeling

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Summary: It's hot in Hawkins, and you need to cool off. Showering with Steve is the only option.

Warnings etc: Some sexual connotations and a bit of nakedness but not necessarily 18+ but if you are a lil baby read at your own discretion. Fluff, pining, best friend to lovers, summer & a girl with a mission to take a shower.

Word Count: 3.3K

A/N: Season 2 Steve vibes. I am actually feral for the Steve Harrington best friend plot. It drives me insane in all the right ways. As always, let me know if you have any requests!

It's the last week of school before summer, and your last week of school ever, and Hawkins High is the hottest place on Earth. Both kids from Hawkins Middle and the high school are sweatier than ever and boy, does maintenance need to fix those damn AC units.

The classrooms are heat-filled death traps and the hallways are filled with the pungent aroma of teenage boy sweat.

It's the last period of the day and you have a free period which means you could go home but, as always, you have to wait for Steve.

The boy is your best friend and your ride home but - quite frankly - in this heat, you have had enough. Your clothes are sticking to your skin and all you want to do is take a dip in the Harrington family pool. Why did he need to go to that stupid last basketball practice anyway?

From Friday he'd no longer be a student, no longer be the swim team captain or one of the basketball lads, he'd officially be an adult. In two weeks Steve was going to work at Scoops Ahoy and you were off to The Great Cookie, both in the food court of the new mall that had opened just outside town. Just thinking about it makes you want to get out of the school ASAP.

As you walk down the mostly deserted school hallways you pray that your workplace will have AC, otherwise you're quitting immediately. Or, you'll steal as much ice cream as possible and make use of Steve being dressed as a sailor and slinging sundaes all summer. Either way, you are not going to be hot any longer. You just couldn’t bear it.

You're on your way to the gym hall when you see Nancy and Jonathon holding hands and talking about something. They both give you a small smile and a polite wave as you pass - those two had become quite the couple in the last few months and you know it had been hard on Steve at first. But, slowly and surely, he seemed to have forgotten Nancy now, which you were glad about. The way he had been pining over her was painful.

You guess after the whole thing with the demodogs, and Will getting possessed by a creature from another dimension, Steve had a little time to think about life. All that shit really put things into perspective. For Steve, and for you.

After experiencing all that horror with Steve, Nancy, Jonathon and the kids you all bore a secret that left nightmares in your dreams and scars on your skin.

It was no surprise Nancy had turned to Jonathon - they shared trauma and bonded over being protective of their brothers. And it was no surprise you gravitated more towards Steve, more than usual at least. Sure he was your best friend, but now the knowledge that something terrible could happen to him somehow made him seem more precious. It made life more precious. Even with this stupid heat, you knew that from now on you'd make every day count. You'd spend as much time with Steve and the kids as possible. You'd live life to the fullest because it was true what they said, Hawkins was cursed, but you weren't going to let that stop you.

You're pulled out of your thoughts when the basketball guys all pile out of the gym doors, right in front of you. They run out and dodge you and they honestly smell dreadful.

"Steve's still in there, Y/N!" One of them pats you on the shoulder as they pass you, leaving a sweaty handprint on your tee.

"Thanks." You mumble and enter the gym hall.

If the hallways were hell then that place was Satan's personal sauna. You're sweaty and pulling your tee away from your back the instant you step into the hall.

Steve is stood in the middle of the room, hands on his knees and breathing heavily.

"Hey," He breaths out, giving you a small wave, "You good?"

You walk closer to him, noticing how sweat is dripping from his hair and onto the floor. "Sweating like a pig, actually. And yourself?"

"I'm dying. I need to get in better shape." He stands up straight and flips his hair off his forehead. "Got any water?"

You ignore the comment about Steve’s fitness, because what he’s saying is a pack of lies, and start rummaging through your bag until you find the water bottle. Steve takes it from you instantly. His hands are damp with sweat.

He drinks it down in three thirsty gulps. He passes you the empty bottle and you sigh, "Thanks. Not like I need it or anything."

You try not to think about how thirsty you are, or how sweat seems to be pooling on your lower back and in the crevices of your elbows and knees. You can't stop thinking about how you're in great need of the Harrington family pool and those little popsicles he keeps in the freezer.

"Hey, I’ll have you know I’ve been sweating my ass of here!" Steve jeers, sticking his tongue out at you.

You push him lightly, trying not to make too much contact with his sweaty body, "Oh sorry Mr MVP. Jeez, butthead."

"You're a butthead." Steve rolls his eyes and walks over to his bag. "I need to shower, you okay to wait?"

A strand of hair flops over his eyes while he waits for your response. You think it's cute, in a way. Not that you would ever tell him that. Or even admit to yourself that you thought that.

He's rummaging through his bag for something and you watch as his arm muscles flex, the sweat glistening on his skin. You swallow and lick your dry lips - is it getting fucking hotter in here?

"Is there anyone else in there?" You point towards the door which leads to the guy’s changing rooms. You have an idea.

"Uh, don't think so. You can wait in there if you want, I guess." Steve picks up his bag and starts making his way to the changing room. He's pulling out a towel and shower gel, leaving a trail of sweat dripping in his wake.

The back of your neck feels slick and hot, even though you've tied your hair up. You glance at your watch - school finishes in twenty minutes, which means the hall is free for at least thirty minutes before gymnastics club kicks off. Not that you think anybody will want to practice their handstands or cartwheels in this heat, you could barely stand still without feeling as though your skin was melting off.

"I'm showering too." You fall in line with Steve.

His stride stutters and his eyes bug out for a second, pulling a look of disbelief, "Uh, no you're not."

"Why not? I'm fucking dying, Steve." You seem suddenly set on your idea, like if you don't shower now then you'll be irritated and sweaty and horrible for the rest of the day. You're showering, no matter what.

"There aren't any cubicles, Y/N. And like, what if someone sees?" He places his hands on his hips and raises an eyebrow.

The pair of you are by the changing room doors now, and you put a hand on the door to push it open, "I'll keep my bra and underwear on. I really don't care, Steve. If you're that bothered, don't look."

You leave the boy speechless and make your way into the room. It smells exactly how you'd expect the boy’s changing rooms to smell - like old socks and dried sweat. There's nobody about, and you spot the shower block in the corner.

"See, we're fine." You turn to see Steve awkwardly standing by the lockers. His bag is on his shoulder and he's repeatedly slicking his hair off his forehead. You can't tell if it's from the heat, or his nerves.

"Can't you wait until you're home?" Steve asks. He tentatively puts his bag down on one of the benches and steps closer to you. "It's not that I don't think you shouldn't have a shower, I mean you do look kind of sweaty. But-"

"Steve, shut up." You pull your hair out of it's tie and run your hands through it, careful to make sure it doesn't stick to your neck, "I'd like to remind you that you've seen me in swimsuits and bikinis since we were like, eight. We spent most of last summer at Lover's Lake together, remember?"

"Yeah...yeah. I know. I taught you how to backflip underwater." There's a faint smile on his lips as he recalls the memory. He reaches a hand up to his neck and wipes the sweat away, then the memory slips from his mind and he's remembering why you're in the changing room. His smile fades and he begins to fiddle with his watch, trying to take it off with his damp, slippery fingers. "It's just, a bra is different. I guess. And I don't want to be a perv while you stand there in your panties."

Steve looks red. Beet red. And it's not from basketball practice - he's blushing. And it makes your brain go insane.

You knew since all the crazy shit had happened that something had changed between you. He'd hold your gaze for too long. He would sneak in your room at night whenever you had called saying you'd had a nightmare. You'd blush whenever he jokingly called you sweetheart, and the pair of you were by each other’s side every chance you got. For a while you had wondered if it was all in your imagination, but looking at Steve all red and blushing, it's exactly the confirmation you needed.

You try to hide your smile, "Steve, I'm going to shower now. Look away, or don't."

Steve shoots you a surprised glance, hearing the defiance in your voice. You put your bag down and pull off your shoes, not even bothering to untie the laces. Your socks come off first, then your sweaty tee.

"Okay!" Steve's head turns away from you, fast. "Okay. We're doing this."

He stays facing away from you until you're both undressed. You're in your bra and pants and even now you feel much cooler. It's a relief. The cold tiles beneath your feet are the perfect temperature. From the corner of your eye you can see Steve, just in his boxers. He's looking at the floor.

You can't help but notice his chest hair, and the way his skin glistens. There's a sizable bulge in his boxers. You look away before he realises you've noticed.

"How do I turn these on then?" You speak and it's the first time Steve looks at you. You can tell he's trying hard to stay focused on your face, the way he always does when you're wearing a bikini in the summer. But, you notice the slight eye movements, the way his Adam's apple bobs as he swallows. You're not even wearing anything overly pretty - just a white bra and cherry coloured panties - but its enough to get Steve looking, even if he's trying not to.

"Right, just here." He leans over and turns on the shower closest to you. From where you're stood the water only touches your feet. You waste no time in ducking into the ice cold stream and cooling yourself down.

You make a noise of surprise as you adjust to the temperature. You close your eyes and run your hands through your hair until its completely wet.

Beside you the sound of another shower turning on fills the room. The thought of Steve showering next to you is enough to make you open your eyes.

He's got his eyes closed as he faces the shower. You watch him, mesmerised, as his grey boxers turn black under the water.

It's the little things that make your heart flutter, even if you try to ignore it. The way he sighs under the water as he tilts his head upwards, his jawline displayed perfectly. The way he smiles absentmindedly, almost as if he's unaware he's doing it. The way his muscles flex as he runs his hands through his hair and down his face.

Steve must feel your eyes on him as he suddenly opens his to look at you. This time he doesn't try to stay focused on your face.

His eyes travel down your body, looking at the way the water streams from the curvature of your breasts and soaks your bra. He gives you a long look, covering every inch of your body. Then, innocently, "Did you want some body wash?"

You laugh, not even meaning to. It's just so silly and funny and absolutely a Steve Harrington move. "Yeah, please." You say, smiling.

He grabs the bottle from his bag and squeezes some into one hand. You half expect him to pass you the bottle, but he doesn't. He sets it down between his feet and steps right into your personal space. You don't dare move, or even breathe. You just watch and wait.

He rubs his hands together, spreading the body wash between them, and then he's rubbing the sides of your arms, lathering them up.

"Steve-" Your voice is barely a whisper. You're not sure if you should tell him no or tell him to carry on. "What are you doing?"

"I'm skydiving. What do you think, butthead?" He's taken your hand into his and is massaging the bubbles onto your skin. Although his words are sarcastic and mean, his tone is anything but. It's soft and caring and you've only ever heard him speak like that when he's comforting the kids.

Steve let’s go of your hand and wraps his arms around you, and instinctively you hug him back, closing the small distance between you. The pair of you have hugged countless times, you're intimate with each other in a way that only the pair of you could explain. Whether it's him slinging you over his shoulder to carry you to his car, or the fact that when he does sleep in your bed the pair of you always wake intertwined and neither of you mind. It was Steve, your best friend Steve, but this was all so new.

He begins rubbing your back, careful to avoid your bra straps. Your head is on his chest and you try to remember what the purpose of this shower was. You were meant to be cooling down, so why are you warming up? Sure, the water’s cool but your heart is beating fast and your mind won't think straight. There's a solar flare inside your heart and your ribs are burnt. Hawkins heat had nothing on you.

"Is this okay?" He asks softly. You can't find your voice at first but when you do it sounds husky and breathless, "Yeah. It's okay. It's good, Steve."

He breathes a sigh of relief that lights you up inside. Then, he's pulling away from you. You frown, worried you've done something wrong, but he's looking down at you with a cheeky smile that you’ve loved for years.

"Feeling cool yet?" He asks, his hands resting on your hips. His thumbs subconsciously move in small circles. There's a smirk on his lips, proving he's enjoying this way too much for someone who's just your best friend.

"Not yet." You smile, a little laugh falling from your lips as he shakes his head at you.

"Okay, if you insist." Steve reaches down to grab the shower gel again and his hair flops in front of his eyes. Instinctively, you reach down and push it away from his face.

"Thanks sweetheart." He looks into your eyes as he thanks you, and your knees go weak. Fucking Steve Harrington and his words and his face and- oh.

He moves suddenly, dropping to his knees. He looks up at you as he puts more body wash into his hands and puts the bottle back down.

The pair of you don't even need words at this point - Steve is looking at you with those gentle, pleading puppy eyes and you nod, giving him the consent he needs.

He begins to rub his hands against the outside of your legs, rubbing from the hem of your panties and sliding them right down to your ankles. Under the cool water, and above Steve Harrington, you feel like you're in a state of bliss. This shouldn't have been happening, but it was. Live life to the fullest with no regrets, wasn't that your new life policy? It only worked if you let life happen, and this was happening.

As he reaches your ankles for the second time he crosses his arms and begins to rub soap suds onto the inside of your ankles. He massages the skin there for a minute, staring up at you and shaking his head slightly in awe of you.

You can't take your eyes off him. You can't stop watching how his hands move. At this point you don't care if anybody walks in - gymnastics club could go fuck itself.

"What're you shaking your head for?" You're breathless, despite the cold water. Steve's hands are moving slowly up the insides of your legs and he pauses when you frown at him. He applies a light pressure to the bottom of your thighs, and you try to concentrate.

"You're just...wow. You're beautiful, Y/N. I cannot believe that you're- that we're- yeah." Steve's grinning like a doofus and you smile down at him.

He brings his hands up your thighs and his thumbs rub against the bottom of your panties. Before you can even register the feeling, he brings his hands away and stands up.

You instantly miss the feeling of him beneath you, the way he was on his knees for you. There's a second where his hands aren't touching your body, but then he places them on your hips and things feel okay again. Better than okay, actually. But admitting that would mean admitting your ever-crushing love for Steve that you had been trying to ignore. It was kind of hard to ignore this, though.

The changing room smells of sandalwood and orange, which is to say it smells like Steve. You want to touch him back, to be close to him again, to feel his warmth under the cold shower.

You take hold of his wrists so that he can't move his hands away from you again.

"I didn't think the hottest day of the year would bring me this." Steve smiles down at you, "Maybe some popsicles, a swim in the pool with my favourite girl, but this? You've outdone yourself, Y/N."

You smile, blushing profusely, "Only took us what, ten years, to figure it out, huh?"

"Figure what out?" Steve raises an eyebrow, totally teasing you.

"You know what!" You take your hands off his wrists and push him lightly. He stumbles back a little into his own shower, where he was meant to be showering alone, and then he's giving you a shit-eating grin. He lunges for you, grabbing you around your waist and lifting you off your feet. You spin around under the water, yelling and screaming like a little girl. Steve is laughing hysterically.

He sets you down and spins you to face him. He switches the shower off without even looking. The pair of you stand there, dripping and smiling and unbelieving that today has actually happened.

Steve smiles at you, "Guess I can't fight this feeling anymore."

He moves in and for the first time in your life, you kiss your best friend. Your best friend who is now something totally more than that. Your best friend who taught you how to backflip underwater, who taught you how to fight off a demogorgon with a bat and a bunch of blunt nails. Your best friend who taught you exactly what love was.

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x y/n #stranger things fic #steve harrington fic #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington fanfic #stranger things

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transsexualhamlet · 3 years ago

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sherlock holmes reactions part 4 (?) ive lost count already but unsurprisingly ive grown even more attached to him

using this as the cover image because i made him a playlist. cause im awful

no legit this is gonna need a read more because it's SO LONG SHIHEWIESHEFSHIEWHF

Had three mental breakdowns this week and realized i do in fact kin sherlock motherfucking holmes. this does not bode well for anything in my life mentally I've diagnosed him with so many things

Oh boy lol you want the list I think hes autistic (undisputed honestly) plus also adhd but on top of that there's the manic depression and uhhh the bpd lmao I dont even think that's it those are just. the obvious ones

But yeah man's a fucking mess and a shit person but in the same way as me so 👍

Some highlights I thought were very funny:

watson: we are in fact going to be waltzing into a place where people are Shooting People you do not have your gun. this is a problem

sherlock: don't worry watson I have my trusty stick!

watson: visible pain

This clearly happens like every day or so with them

but yeah there were some really honestly sweet scenes with them at the apartment and why am i getting soft over the crusty man being gay

have you considered tho. have you considered them

have you considered sherlock, who usually only plays absolute garbage on his violin serenading watson to sleep when he was tired and in pain and watson being so fucking in love with the man and waxing poetic about falling asleep to his music and waking up to see him fallen asleep on the couch next to him and oh my god them

They're just really sweet together for such a completely dysfunctional couple so much of the time lol I just. Sherlock being like.

Sherlock half of the time: watson you're fucking stupid. no i won't take care of my personal needs stfu. watson get a goddamn life. watson shut up. watson no one cares about your goddamn opinion. no i need to disturb you in the middle of the night it's for science. hey watson mind if i manipulate mansplain malewife

Sherlock the other half of the time: HELLO SIR YOU ARE MY FAVORITE MAN TO EVER MAN HELLO MAY I SPEND THE REST OF MY DAYS WITH YOU HELLO I WILL DO ANYTHING FOR YOU WE ARE PERFECT MATCHES I LOVE YOU AND I NEED YOU YOURE SO MUCH BETTER THAN ME PLEASE MARRY ME

They're... they certainly are.

ALSO OH MY GOD.

THIS ONE TIME WHEN SHERLOCK WAS JUST PACING AROUND THE ROOM AT 3 AM GOING "IT DOESNT MAKE SENSE >:(((" AND HUDSON LIKE BARGED IN TO COMPLAIN AND THEN WATSON WAS LIKE DUDE YOU GOTTA STOP DOING THIS AND PROCEEDS TO SAY THE LINE "YOU ARE KNOCKING YOURSELF UP, OLD MAN"

BAHGHSFHGRHEWHEWHIFEW

BRB SOBBING

CALLING HIM AN OLD MAN???? KNOCKING HIMSELF UP?? I DONT KNOW WHATS FUNNIER

The main highlight of this part was I have now gotten to see him have a great time watching his homo homie get married

Its so fucking funny.......

I was prepared for a funny reaction by yuumori sherlock's face when he said it lol but. Damn i was really not prepared tbh

watson: I'm engaged!

sherlock: *pained groaning*

watson: do you... not like her?

sherlock: no she's fine she's great you'll be wonderful together bUT I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE ARE HETEROSEXUAL WATSON DO I HAVE TO MARRY MYSELF THEN WATSON? ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE ME MARRY MYSELF.

watson: yeah... yeah... fair, I feel really bad because you did this whole case and I got a girlfriend out of it and all you got was me leaving you alone fuck man im sorry what are you gonna do without me

sherlock, highly sarcastic: dont worry watson I've always got my handy cocaine! *pulls it out and gets high in front of watson just as he's about to leave*

watson: *in fucking agony*

sherlock: good for you!

I DONT EVEN- THIS SCENE KILLED ME MULTIPLE TIMES OVER WHAT

ITS SO GODDAMN NONCHELANT ABOUT IT SHERLOCK IS JUST LIKE YEAH I WILL IN FACT NOT BE MENTALLY HEALTHY IF YOU ARE NOT WITH ME 24/7 BUT WHATEVER YOU DO YOU /S

I'd like to apologize to watson on sherlock's behalf lmao. man is being a bit too codependent on main

The last thing about sign of four I do need to address is yeah, there's the Horrific Amounts Of Racism in that one and the whiplash hearing it is just ridiculous because they seem to be so knowledgeable in all other areas and fairly... politically correct, taking sherlock's original misogyny as a purposeful character flaw, but then they just mention someone indigenous once and suddenly its all parrotting racist propaganda and just... really awful shit. There's no way I'm gonna speak for the group that just got absolutely hate crimed here but anyone can tell the author just has no clue what he's fucking talking about and it's physically painful.

And I don't know, it's just so bad it seems out of character? Doyle's making these motherfuckers say shit that honestly, Sherlock would know better about. And especially Watson. Come on, you cannot tell me watson is mentally capable of being prejudiced against someone. Please do not make him that way.

I'm not sure how to handle it specifically, or what's the proper way I should handle something like that in a media I otherwise like. Is it ok to say Doyle was clearly a piece of shit on the matter and separate those characters from his bias or is that insensitive?

I don't know, I was Not a fan of it and I'm glad to see they've at least finally shut up about the guy

But anyway yeah, uhhhh onto the short stories because I'm trying to read those before I get to the final problem

Scandal in Bohemia was a fucking ride, first of all, before we even get to Sherlock's girlboss arc we have to discuss how gay the whole situation was and how Doyle's attempt at making them less gay failed spectacularly

Like he's all "ah yes I need to marry off watson and uhhh make sherlock ummmm interact with a woman so they dont look gay" but he does it SO BADLY that it makes them look EVEN GAYER

cause i mean, even the conversation they had about watson getting married back in sign of four was gay af, but how Doyle handled things afterward was in no way straighter.

Cause you know, the man kind of wrote himself into a corner with the fact of Watson narrating these stories. So Watson has to be around to witness them, and to witness Sherlock's own thought process rather privately, so he has to be around sherlock at night, a lot. But trying to come up with a reason for that happening just... it didn't occur to Doyle. He just went. Ah yes this makes sense. And it's Watson just like Sleeping Over At Sherlock's like every other goddamn day and every time his wife leaves town and having them basically still live that cute domestic home life but they have absolutely no excuses for doing it anymore. It's quite funny

Like it was gay already the way they interacted when they officially lived together but it was like, a necessity for them. Now it's not, Watson just comes over because he goddamn wants to, and it's hilarious to me.

LIKE IDK I THINK THEY KIND OF BROKE UP FOR A YEAR OR SO BC OF WATSON GETTING MARRIED AND THEY LIKE DONT HAVE CONTACT WITH ONE ANOTHER BUT ONE DAY WATSON JUST INEXPLICABLY HAS THE URGE TO COME VISIT SHERLOCK ON NO NOTICE AND THEN SUDDENLY THEY ARE TOGETHER NEAR 24/7 AGAIN LIKE BARELY ANYTHING CHANGED AHIEHOEWH

SIT DOWN AND TRY TO TELL ME THOSE ARE NOT HOMOSEXUALS

Watson walks in on no fucking notice after a full year and Sherlock is just. In the middle of some experiment obviously but hes like

Sherlock, carrying around unidenfiable chemical mixtures: W A T S O N you look good you look good! i see you've gained seven pounds!!

watson: uh. thanks??? Hey lol *awkwardly waves* Uh um Wanted to Uhm sEe you

Sherlock: ABOUT gODDAMN TIME AND YES WONDERFUL LOOK LOOK SIT DOWN I HAVE THINGS TO INFODUMP ABOUT

watson: :) ok :) *turns to camera* and we were back to the old days

sherlock: makes a deduction

watson: wowwwwwwwwwwww !! so true bestie !!

sherlock: !!!!!!!!! :))) !!!!! :))) uh fuck im supposed to be smooth Its Elementary Lol

watson: *turns to camera* when i stroke his ego like this and compliment him he blushes like a girl like i just complimented his dress so i do it more because he likes it. this is a homie trait

watson: well i should probably get going! my wife will notice that i am gone my dear buddy bro homie!

sherlock: NO DONT LEAVE IM LOST WITHOUT YOU (pretty much a direct quote lol) your. wife doesn't. get back home until monday. I know this because I am smart and definitely have not been stalking you.

watson: alright :)))))

AND THEN HE FUCKING SLEEPS OVER LMAO FUCKING HOMOS

So yeah they're right back where they were before pretty much and there's a case bc of course there is

And honestly I think this short story specifically was so insane mostly just because of how absolutely fast it all went. Yuumori kind of made me believe the original Irene Adler was more of an important character than she really is? And I think that's. Honestly so funny. Motherfucker shows up for ten pages, girlbosses her way around town, and changes sherlock's entire opinion of the female gender while still keeping him gay?

LIKE NO LOL SHES NOT IN ANY WAY A LOVE INTEREST AND WATSON GOES OUT OF HIS WAY TO SPECIFY THE FACT THAT IN NO WORLD WOULD THEY HAVE BEEN ROMANTICALLY INVOLVED BECAUSE. SHERLOCK. DIDN'T DATE WOMEN.

HE WAS JUST??? SO IMPRESSED AND SHELL SHOCKED BY HER EXISTENCE HE DECIDED IT WAS TIME FOR GIRLBOSS APPRECIATION DAY TODAY AND ALL DAYS HENCEFORTH???

AND THEY HAVE LIKE O N E INTERACTION?? God, the power this woman(?) has. Watson looks at her once like. damb shawty 😳 and she's like "no<3" and he's like FUCK

Like yeah it's pretty much just the king walking up like "help girl the whore is blackmailing me" and sherlock being like "ok lol this will be easy" and then it proceeded to not in fact be easy or even possible

sherlock like... posed as a dead body and tried to get her to give up the location of the photo but she out-acted him and skipped the town the next day after doing the 'good night mr. sherlock holmes' thing with sherlock completely tricked

and she just. sends a letter like "dear sherlock holmes. you're a fucking idiot and i think it's funny that you lost. nice job tho mad respect" and sherlock just SHORT CIRCUITS

the king comes back a bit later like "hey Dude where's my Photo" and sherlock's like oh yeah uhhhhhhhhhhh about that and the king is like HOW COULD IT POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN THAT GODDAMN HARD i would have dated someone more noble if she wasn't so pretty i swear im on a whole different level from her

and then. GIRLBOSSIFIED SHERLOCK HOLMES RESPONDS "from what I have seen of the lady, she seems indeed to be on a very different level from your majesty" ABSEHHESHEFHHFES ROASTED

and the dude just LEAVES

After that I read a few more of the short stories and well the highlights I got from that pretty much were these conversations

Watson: sherlock. honey. have you. eaten anything today

Sherlock: IT DIDNT OCCUR TO ME DEAR WATSON

Watson: ITS FIVE PM

and:

Sherlock: *having one of his Moment Moments at three in the goddamn mornig* GRRRR CRIME ISNT WHAT IT USED TO BE

Watson: MY DEAR SHERCOCK WHAT IS CRIME S U P P O S E D TO BE LIKE ACCORDING TO YOU

Sherlock: no one's original anymore fucking copycats

Watson: so you want the criminals to make things harder for you specifically.

Sherlock, exasperated: yes!

I love them your honor.

#rowan's hyperfixation essays #rowan screams into the void #rowan views moriarty #sherlock holmes

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myhockeyworld87 · 4 years ago

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Not So Dangerous Liaison - Sidney Crosby - Part 12

Word Count: 3,765

POV: Reader

Warning: NSFW, Sweet smut (is that a thing), Language, Oral, Sex

Notes: Big shoutout to the 4 new people that followed me to put me over 800 follwers and actually got me to post this early. Never imagined that this is where I’d be almost a year ago when I started this thing. I had this Crosby piece in my head even back then, and it’s been so amazing watching it come to life.So glad you guys enjoy it. So here’s the smut that has been building between these two since the beginning. Let me know what you guys think! Happy Reading!

Not So Dangerous Liaison Masterlist

Part of you still couldn’t believe you let Sid kiss you right there as you were leaving Mario’s house. You knew some of his teammates saw you, but honestly after the whole night; you just didn’t care. Well, you did, since you really enjoyed your job, but it wasn’t like you couldn’t go back to your old one. They’d already asked you back a couple times, but you’d cross that bridge when you came to it.

You still weren’t sure how a couple nights with Sid had led everyone, including him, to believe that the two of you were now dating. Were you guys that obvious? Of course, you knew Flower and Vero knew that something was going on between the two of you. Which lead you to believe that Tanger and Catherine also had an idea, but Mario? It just seemed unreal since the two of you hadn’t really defined anything until that night.

All these thoughts ran through your brain, as the two of you made your way back to Sid’s house. “What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” Sid asked as you strolled hands linked together.

“I don’t know, everything…nothing…the whole entire night. Does that make any sense?”

He stopped so that he could look you in the eye when he answered. “Kind of. I mean tonight was kind of big a step.”

“Ya think.”

He kissed your forehead, before continuing. “Look (Y/N), I know this is all kind of moving fast, but it’s not like I haven’t been thinking about it…or rather you.” You understood that since he’d kind of been on your mind constantly as of late. “I was stupid last year, after Flower’s party. I thought you’d be this huge distraction to me and set me off my course for everything that I want to accomplish.” A dry laugh escaped his mouth. “It was really the opposite, now that I look back on it. Once I realized, that I could have both, I’ve thought of nothing but you…well, and hockey. It’s like we were made for each other, ya know?” Funny, you actually thought the same thing that first night that you’d really got to know him. Sure, you liked Sidney Crosby hockey player extraordinaire, but Sid the person…well that was someone that you could grow to love. “I think some people, the ones that really know me, realized this long before I did.” You knew he probably meant Mario, and Flower, among others. “But now that I know, I just don’t want to waste any time with all the bullshit stuff.” You cocked your head wondering what he exactly meant by that. “Well, maybe that’s not the right word, because I still want to take you out to fancy dinners and show you off. I just want you to be part of my world right now. Like I don’t want to have to wait, because I don’t think we need to.” You kind of understood what he was saying. It was as if you two had skipped the getting to know you part of dating, because well, you essentially already knew each other. You knew how he took his coffee, and what history books he had and hadn’t read. How even though he told the media oatmeal cookies were a good choice, he never called them his favorites, because secretly chocolate chip were. You also knew how he had to have a certain brand of peanut butter for his sandwiches. He was truly right; you two kind of had been dating all along.

He went to say more, but you stopped him. “You’re right. We don’t need official dinners or any of the other things. I know you Sid, and I think you know me. I like where we’re at right now, so let’s just keep moving forward.”

“So does that mean you’re going to tomorrow?”

“Yes, I’ll go.” You tugged on his hand to continue on to his place.

“And you’ll ride in my car in the parade then?” You hadn’t really given much thought to that. That would be a huge step. His parents would be there and all of Pittsburgh would be watching.

“Um…let’s just see how tomorrow goes.”

“Deal,” He answered, and put in the code to let the two of you into his drive. “So, can I talk you into coming in for a drink? Or maybe…”

“I think we’ve both had enough to drink.” It wasn’t like either of you were drunk by any means but you knew that neither of you needed another glass. “Why don’t you just ask me what you really want?” After last night, you kind of assumed sleeping over was going to be a thing with him.

“Ok. How about you stay the night with me, again?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” You teased him before he pulled you close to him.

“Well if I knew you were waiting for an invitation; I would’ve asked the moment you pulled in the drive.” He spun you around, arms still circled around your waist, and made his way to the door. “So, no alcohol, but do you want something else instead?”

“Just water.” He grabbed two and then led you upstairs to his room. You remembered being up there the night of the Eastern Conference final win, but you hadn’t been adventurous enough to figure out which room was his. You’d simply made your way into what you assumed was the guest bathroom. This time though you took every little detail in. His room was off to the left, done in mostly shades of gray. It had a masculine aura to it. Quiet and understated, there were very few tokens of his hockey career in this room unlike some others in his house. There was a comfy chair by the window, with one of the history books you’d given him sitting on the side table next to it. You could picture him reading there as the rain gently hit the glass. He ducked into a huge walk-in closet, with built-in drawers and shelves, that any person would envy.

“I’m assuming you didn’t bring anything to sleep in.” You shook your head no and he pulled you out another one of his t-shirts just like he had a few weeks ago, then took your hand and headed into the ensuite. A massive jetted tub that could hold the both of you, captured your attention. Gray marble showcased the entire room, which had a double vanity sink and a shower with so many gadgets in it; you weren’t sure you’d know how to turn the water on. There were even two toilet rooms, one for him and one for her, which made you wonder what he was thinking when he’d remodeled the home or was this something in its original design. All in all, the entire master suite took your breath away, kind of like the man who owned it.

You set your bag on the edge of the tub. “Do you care if I lay these out to dry? Since someone threw me in the pool.”

“Of course, I don’t care, and in my defense, you had a bathing suit on already.”

It was true, but he still could’ve sounded a bit remorseful. “My dress is probably ruined though.” You knew it wasn’t but you enjoyed teasing him about it, as you laid the garment out on the tub.

He wrapped his arms around you and peered over your shoulder to look at it. “Hmm seems fine, though I’ll gladly buy you ten to replace it if I can throw you in the pool again.”

“Sid,” you chided.

“What? I enjoyed looking at it clinging to your body.” Your eyes grew wide, and you barely had time to comprehend his words as he spun you around and kissed you hard, turning you into jelly, before releasing you. “So, do you need a toothbrush or anything?”

“What, if I open one of these drawers, am I going to find your secret stash you keep here for all the women that sleepover?”

You were totally teasing him, but he frowned none the less. “You know it’s not like that (Y/N).”

“I know. I was just kidding you. Now, if you have a purple one, I’ll totally take that.” He smiled then grabbed one out of the multi-pack he had in the drawer. The two of you stood at the dual sink brushing your teeth like a couple who had lived together for the last six months. It was kind of surreal. Once you were finished you changed into the shirt he’d offered in the small toilet room. By the time you came out to the bedroom, he’d stripped down to his boxers and was taking pillows off the bed. “You know I forgot to ask you which side you wanted last night.”

“It doesn’t matter, as long as I’m holding you.” It was corny and sweet, and it made you blush. The king-size bed seemed even larger than the one you two had shared last night, as you crawled in under the covers; Sid joining you. He shut the light off, then pulled you near. You were both laying on your sides facing each other, his arm draped across your waist, idly drawing small circles on your lower back. The smile plastered on his face was a mirror image of your own. Neither of you said a word, for a full minute, before you reached over and cupped his jaw, bringing your mouth to his. Your tongues mingled, lightly sucking and tasting each other. You let your hands roam down his chiseled chest feeling the muscles bunch under your touch. Your fingertips just lightly grazing over his skin.

His hand at your back pulled you closer so that there was barely any space between the two of you. You felt him reach for the hem of your shirt, and gently raise it so his fingers could caress your bare skin. Everywhere he touched set you on fire and you felt your legs move restlessly so that one was draped over the top of him. Sid’s hand glided up your sides and along the underside of your breast, making you whimper softly into his mouth. You longed to feel his touch there, and he didn’t disappoint as his thumb gently slid back and forth over your nipple.

You had to break the kiss for a second to suck in a breath of air, for he had you panting with need. But Sid just continued to kiss you; down your jaw, over to your ear, then sucking at the hollow of your neck, while his hand fondled your breast. It wasn’t enough though; you wanted more. Your hips flexed into him and you could feel the hard length of him against your body. He gently rocked into and you groaned from the pleasure. The two of you like teens dry humping each other afraid of being caught by their parents.

He slowed then, coming back up to sweetly kiss your mouth, as his hand dropped away for your breast. “No, Sid,” you whined. “Don’t stop.”

He pulled back to look at you, to make sure that this was what you wanted. “Are you sure?”

“God, yes,” You breathed out, then added. “I want you so bad.”

“Oh god, (Y/N), I want you too.” His mouth was on yours again with renewed passion, only breaking the kiss long enough to strip you out of his borrowed t-shirt. He rolled you onto your back, lifting up to stare reverently down at your body. “You’re so beautiful.” He said the words like a prayer, one full of worship and meaning, and then his mouth was on yours in the same manner. Kissing down your collarbone, to take one of your peaked nipples into his mouth. Your back arched into him and cried out with pleasure, your body responding to his every touch. He moved to your other breast giving it the same lavish attention, as your hands sifted through his freshly shortened locks to hold him to you. Involuntarily, your hips lifted up into him seeking something only he could give. One of his hands forced them back down. “Easy baby.” He whispered, then loving kissed your lips.

His hand at your hip skated down between your legs where he cupped your mound. You were slightly embarrassed as you knew that he could feel the wetness seeping through your panties there. All mortification was lost when the heel of his hand ground into your pussy. It was the exact friction you were looking for and you couldn’t help but moan into his mouth. His fingers danced along the folds of your lace-covered mound, teasing and making you squirm. When his index finger slipped under the edge of your panties, you about jumped off the bed, but his strong body pinned you down. A whimper came out of your mouth, as that same digit slowly dragged up your slit to circle your clit a few times.

He released your lips, both of you breathing heavily, as his finger still tortured your throbbing pussy. Sid’s mouth started its unhurried descent down your body. The covers of the bed falling to the bottom as he went, leaving your body exposed. His finger slid out, as his mouth hovered above the top of your panties. He breathed in your scent, before hooking his fingers around the strings and pulling them down. You lifted your hips up to help him, and in no time, he was tossing them to the floor. His hand glided up from your ankles, over your calves and onto your thighs, where he pushed your legs a little further apart. Lowering his head, he peppered your inner thighs with kisses, and you could feel yourself growing even wetter if that was even possible. The anticipation was killing you. You willed yourself to relax under his gaze, as you looked down at Sid, who was poised at your most intimate juncture. A small smile graced his lips before his tongue flicked out, licking his way between your folds. Just that small movement had you crying out. “Oh god,” you felt his grin grow wider against you, before sucking on your clit, tweaking it with his tongue. Your legs trembled slightly, and you fisted the sheets in your grasp, needing something to hold on to. He slid one of his long fingers inside you and had you moaning out loud. The digit moved in and out working you into a feverish frenzy, as his mouth worried your little nub with his lips and tongue. Everyone knew Sid excelled on the ice, but apparently, he was also an award winner in the bedroom.

You could feel the orgasm bubbling up inside your body, and as he slid a second finger into you; you were close to falling off the edge. Your hips bucked forward into his mouth, and he used a strong arm to keep you pinned to the bed once more. “Please…” you pleaded, as you chased the high that was just hovering out of your reach. He hooked his fingers then, making the come-hither motion; the action tickling that spot that would bring you the pleasure you sought. It started then, from deep within you; the small tremble of your legs, the way you panted out for air, and then it crested. A climax so strong, you found yourself screaming out his name, as wave after wave of pleasure wracked your body. Sid slowed his assault on pussy as the last tremors of your orgasm subsided.

Once your body had finally calmed, his fingers slid out of you as he lifted his head, that signature smirk on his face. He took the back of his hand, wiping away your juices that were left on him, before sliding up the length of your body. His mouth found yours and you could taste your essence still on him. It was heady and intoxicating and brought your body back to life. You skated your hands down his abdomen, to the waistband of his boxers, where you snuck your hand inside to feel his hard erection. He hissed out his pleasure as you took his length in your hand, just stroking him up and down. The garment impeded what you really wanted to do, so you pushed them down and he kicked them off. You continued to pump him, before breaking your kiss to nudge the wall that was his chest, so that you could take him into your mouth. Sid wasn’t having any of it though and he captured your gaze before taking your hand and removing it from his member. “Not tonight baby.” He kissed your lips again, before clarifying. “I won’t be able to last, and I want to be inside you.” You nodded your understanding, and he rolled off you to search the nightstand for a condom.

He ripped open the small pouch with his teeth. “Let me,” you asked taking the thin piece of latex in your hand. You stroked him a few times, biting your lip to keep from taking him inside your mouth. The condom rolled down his shaft and you tugged the tip leaving a small amount of space for him to fill with his seed. He drew your body down on top of him then, your chest pressed against his as your tongues mated together, mimicking what your bodies would soon do. He grabbed your ass and rolled you onto your back again; your legs wrapping around him as he did. Taking his cock in hand, he positioned himself at your entrance, lightly running it between your folds to coat it with your wetness, then nudging ever so slowly the tip inside. His left hand reached up and entwined with your right, as he carefully entered you inch by inch. When he bottomed out, you released a moan of delight at the feel of him within you.

“God you feel so good, baby.” He hissed out before capturing his lips with his. Only then did he start to move, interlacing his other hand with yours as he pumped in and out of you. It was a dance as old as time, and the two of you moved to a rhythm that had your body burning to a feverish crescendo. He sped up his pace, a sheen of sweat building on his brow, and while it may have been your first time with him; you knew that he was close to cumming. Breaking the kiss, he groaned with an effort to stave off his climax, determined to bring you with him. You shifted slightly, changing the angle, and then you were there, the orgasm peaking with each thrust of his cock.

“Sid,” you called out, his name like a benediction as you quivered underneath his body. A few grunts and sloppy thrust and he was there with you, moaning your name in his own ecstasy. With one last push, he slumped down on your body, sated and relaxed. When he went to roll off you, you held him close, just cherishing this moment for a minute longer. You knew the two of you had chemistry, it was there from the moment almost a year ago, but this; this was just on another level.

“I’m gonna crush you.” He whispered, a light chuckle to his voice as you finally let him roll you both onto your sides. As he did, his cock still stayed deep inside your body, though you could feel him going flaccid. He cupped your cheek and kissed you tenderly, his lips soft, gentle, and loving on yours. It was one that spoke to you on some other level, but you didn’t examine it too closely. “That was…” You held your breath waiting for him to finish even though you want to say that it was everything. It was magical, and wonderful, and almost like being in a dream. “Perfect,” he breathed out and you had to agree. It was the one word that encompassed all those things.

“Yeah, it was.” You echoed back. He slipped out of your body then and made a move to leave the bed. You didn’t realize you whimpered until he looked back at you.

“You ok?”

Of course, you were; you just missed the feel of him inside, on top of you and all around you. “Yeah,” you whispered before he leaned down and placed yet another kiss on your lips.

“I’ll be right back.” It hadn’t occurred to you that he was leaving to dispose of the condom until he slid it off. He made his way to the ensuite, where you could hear the water running. You slid out of the bed and padded your way across the floor to find him. He was splashing water on his face. As he padded himself off, he caught you staring at him, so you went and wrapped your arms around him from behind.

“Looks like I should be the one asking if you’re ok?” You dropped a kiss to his shoulder blade as the two of you stared at each other in the mirror.

“Better than ok.” He answered, then turned in your arms, his hands going to your waist and lifting you, to set you up on the vanity. He took the cloth he’d just wiped his face with, wet it, and spread your legs before wiping the remains of what had just happened between the two of you. Part of you cursed the loss, but the gesture was so sweet, it had your smiling in the end. Once he was done, he tossed the rag back into the sink, then wrapped your legs around his hips and carried you back to bed. He kissed your forehead, then your nose and finally your mouth. “Time to sleep.” He whispered and you smiled against his lips.

“Should we set the alarm?” You were so used to both of you getting up for practice that it was a force of habit to ask.

“I think we deserve to sleep in tomorrow (Y/N).” He chuckled. “We don’t have to be anywhere until late afternoon. Which gives us ample time to do that again.”

“Mmm, I do like what you’re thinking there.” He stole one last kiss, before tucking you into his side; your head resting on his chest. Your fingers danced along his skin as he ran his up and down your arm and you thought this just might be a little bit of heaven.

#sidney crosby #sidney crosby imagine #Sidney Crosby Imagines #Sidney Crosby Smut #nhl imagine #nhl fanfic #nhl imagines #nhl smut #Not So Dangerous Liaison Series #hockey imagines #hockey imagine #hockey fanfiction #hockey smut #smut

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dameronsgalaxygal · 4 years ago

Text

I’ve Been Waiting For You - Chapter 10: Angel Eyes

series masterlist

Pairing: modern!poe x reader

Word Count: 3003

Warnings: angst, mentions of death, language, implications of smut.

Song: Angel Eyes

A/N: Alright, ya’ll have been wanting to find out what Poe’s been hiding. Here it is. I’m pretty sure I overhyped it, but oh well. Next chapter will go into more detail, which means more angst. Taglist is open and comments and feedback would be lovely!

Summary: It’s your one year with Poe. Poe has a freakout, which freaks you out.

“Would you have guessed that we would have made it a year?” Poe asked you honestly.

You and Poe were sitting outside a small cafe in downtown Miami on the early morning of your one year anniversary.

“Honesty? I wouldn’t have guessed I would even been in a relationship,” You chuckled softly.

You had officially been living in Florida for over a year, and you had spoken to your parents a total of four times: your birthday, their birthdays, and christmas. You hadn’t heard from Kyle at all, which was surprising. Well, except for one voicemail that you had received on a whim one afternoon a couple weeks ago that you still hadn’t opened. You were doing well, really well, and you weren’t going to allow one voicemail to ruin that for you.

Things with Poe were phenomenal, including the sex. At first you questioned why you waited so long, but you knew you made the right decision. With your past, you needed to be ready, and the first time you two slept together was truly a date you were going to remember. You had never felt so loved by anyone more than you felt that night. You were glad you waited until you were physically and emotionally ready, because if you had slept with him that night after the bar, you wouldn’t be in the position you were in now. Happy.

Poe smiled sympathetically, “I know I tell you this all the time, but I am so proud of you. I’m lucky to be your person. I am lucky to be your boyfriend,” He took a bite of his toast.

You sipped your lemonade as your cheeks turned a bright red and Poe chuckled.

“Blushing, are we?” He teased.

You shot him a look and he winked.

You continued to eat breakfast for a while until Poe spoke again, “So, since you wouldn’t let me plan anything, can you finally tell me what we’re doing today?”

You shook your head, “It’s a surprise.”

“Baby,” He groaned, throwing his head back, “Can I at least get a hint?”

“Nope,” You grinned mischievously.

You had decided to plan out the whole day for you and Poe, a change from the normalcy between you two. On most days, Poe was the one to organize the dates. Today, you decided to take charge. Mostly because there was a big event happening in Miami Beach that coincidentally landed on your one year and you felt like it would be a perfect way to celebrate.

You were taking Poe to the Miami Beach Air and Sea Show. It was perfect. Poe loved fighter jets, and you were very much aware of this. Since you started dating, you had seen Top Gun a total of 12 times, and he had even bought pre-sale tickets for the sequel (which doesn’t come out for another four months), you had noticed more books and antique fighter jets around his house and sometimes he would even talk to you about his knowledge on them. It was no secret he had an obsession with flying. What better way to spend your anniversary than watching him witness what he loves?

You finished up breakfast quickly, checking your phone for the time. You needed to be at least two hours early if you wanted to find parking and get a good spot before the show started. Poe paid the check, the one thing he did insist on doing for your anniversary, before you two headed toward the car.

“Keys.” You held your hand out for Poe to toss you his car keys.

“Can’t you just tell me where to drive?” He pouted.

“Well then what’s the fun in that? Keys.” You repeated, winking.

He rolled his eyes playfully before reaching into his pocket to grab his keys. He placed them in your hand and you pecked his lips before getting in and driving towards the show.

As you started to approach, large billboards surrounded the area with arrows pointing to garages with bold letters that said ‘Event Parking’ and security guards led cars through to avoid any unnecessary traffic.

You pulled around a corner to get through to the parking garage when you noticed Poes face shift.

“Um,” He swallowed hard, “Where are we going?”

You glanced at him briefly and shot him a smile before continuing to drive, “The Miami Annual Air and Sea Show.”

“Oh.”

You frowned, “You aren’t excited?”

He looked at you, “No, no, no. I am. I am..”

“You don’t sound like it.”

He sighed, “I just wasn’t expecting it. How did you find it?”

You nodded, “Well I was looking into things to do for today and this popped up. I thought it would be fun given your obsession with Top Gun and all.”

“Right, yeah.” He smiled softly.

You furrowed your eyebrows at him in confusion but turned back to the road, finally finding a spot to park. His reaction was odd, you had expected him to be more excited. You managed to brush it off once he put a hand on your thigh and squeezed it.

Poe held you close to him as you walked down to the shore. His arm was wrapped tightly around your waist and he chewed his nails nervously, looking around as if he was looking out for something.

You looked up at him, frowning.

“Babe.”

“Hm?” He continued to look around.

“Babe, what’s going on with you?” You reached up to move his hand away from his lips.

“What? Nothing.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Baby,” He stopped walking, putting a hand on your cheek, “I’m fine. Just.. I’ve...I’ve never been here before. Lots of people. It’s intimidating.”

You chuckled, “Poe, there’s nothing to be intimidated by. It’s fun. Everyone sits on the shore and watches the ships and fighter jets do cool tricks and stuff. It’s a way to honor the special forces.”

“Trust me, I know,” He said almost too quietly, looking away.

“Huh?” You tried to meet his eyes.

“Nothing.” He smiled softly, “Come on.”

Okay. This was getting weird. Regardless, you headed to the shore.

You found a spot a bit further back on the sand but with still a good view of the ships and, of course, the sky where the planes would be flying. You laid down a blanket before sitting down.

Poe stayed standing, analyzing the view. He sighed.

“Poe? Are you sure you’re alright?”

He looked down at you before sitting next to you, “Yeah.”

You nodded, putting your head on his shoulder. Soon, a man came onto the loud speaker to thank everyone for joining the show and that it would be starting in approximately half an hour. You turned to Poe.

“Would you mind going to get some drinks? I’ll stay here and watch the stuff. Plus, I could use a little tan.” You smirked.

He chuckled, leaning in to kiss you softly, “Sure. Beer?”

“Margarita if they have them, please.”

“You got it.” He smiled, going to the small bar located on the boardwalk.

Poe sighed in relief as he turned away from you, walking up the dock. He made his way to the bar, waiting in line with his hands in pockets. He looked around as people walked by with food and drinks, talking about their excitement for the show. He took a breath.

“Well, well, well, if that isn’t Poe Dameron.”

Poe shot his head to look at where the familiar voice was coming from. A man and woman stood before him.

Poe clenched his jaw, “Zorii. Hux.” He greeted them.

“Didn’t think you’d come back here after what happened.” Zorii crossed her arms.

“Yeah, what, with how you basically cut everyone off… and with what you did. You’re ballsy, Dameron.” Hux smirked.

Poe swallowed hard, “My girlfriend brought me here. I didn’t know.”

Zorii nodded unsympathetically, “Ah, so you haven’t told her? Because if you did, I doubt she would bring you back here.”

He took a deep breath, his body completely tensing, “No. I haven’t told her.”

“Why not?” Hux asked.

“It’s none of her business.”

Hux chuckled, “I think I would like to know if my significant other was kicked out of the military.”

“Oh, for sure.” Zorii smirked at Hux then looked at Poe.

“It’s not that easy.” Poe stated.

“Really? All you have to say is ‘by the way, I don’t listen to orders very well, so I got kicked out of the service’.” Zorii said dramatically.

“Stop.” Poe begged.

“Oh, what are you going to do, go cry to mommy? Oh wait...” Hux made a fake pouty face.

Poe’s face turned bright red in anger, “Shut up.”

“Like I said, you are ballsy for letting her bring you here. I’m sure it brings back memories,” Hux sighed dramatically, looking around.

“Remember when you were that fucking cocky, you thought you could do whatever the hell you wanted, and you wound up…”

“Dishonorably discharged.” Hux finished Zoriis sentence, a wide smirk plastered on his face.

With that, Poe pushed past the two and rushed back to where you and him had been sitting. You were laying on the blanket, sunglasses on and arms behind your head.

“Y/N.”

You snapped up, “Fuck, Poe.”

You put your hand on your heart, “You startled me,” You looked at him, wondering where the alcohol was, “Where are the drinks?”

“I didn’t get them. We have to leave.�� He said quickly, his breath picking up.

“What? Why? The show hasn’t even-”

“We need to leave.” He gritted his teeth, packing up the bag.

“Poe, what is going on?” You stood up in fear, watching as he bunched the blanket into a ball and handed it to you.

“I’ll explain when we get home. Just please, we have to go.”

You only stared at him for a second before nodding slowly. You had no clue what was happening, but you had never seen Poe freak out like this, so you followed him in hope that you would get some answers soon.

He dragged you to the car quickly, throwing things into the trunk before getting into the car, slamming the door. You jumped at the noise before getting in yourself. He quickly drove off in the direction of his place.

The car ride was silent and awkward. You were sad that your plan for your anniversary didn’t follow through. You thought Poe would enjoy it, from what you knew about his love for aviation and his favorite movie being Top Gun. However, Poe seemed really nervous, even scared, and you were worried, so you let it go. You wanted to know what was going on, though.

You finally got back to his place and he rushed inside, you following shortly behind him.

“Finn?” Poe called out as he walked in.

No response.

“I think he was going out with Rose today,” You said gently.

“Oh thank god.” Poe sighed in relief, heading to the cupboard and grabbing the bottle of vodka and a shot glass.

“Poe,” You put your purse down on the counter, “What the hell is going on?”

He poured himself a large glass before turning to you, “I’m sorry I freaked out like that.” He downed his drink.

“It’s okay,” You walked toward him carefully, “I just want to know what’s going on.”

You rubbed his arm as he took another shot and placed the glass on the counter. He sighed, putting his hands on your hips, squeezing them.

“Baby,” You searched for his eyes.

He took a deep breath, looking at you, “Um…” He searched for what he wanted to say.

You squeezed his shoulder, letting him know it was okay to tell you.

“I haven’t been totally honest with you.” He admitted.

You gulped, “Okay..”

“My mom,” He started, “My mom didn’t die of cancer.”

You cocked your eyebrow.

“She, um, she died in battle.” He took a shaky breath.

“Battle?”

He nodded, “My mom was in the service. Air Force.”

You bit your lip, nodding.

“She died when I was eighteen. Her jet was shot down and she died when it hit land. It exploded and…” He stopped for a minute, looking up to collect his tears.

“She was dispersed immediately.”

Your heart broke for him. You knew he was close to his mom, his tattoo proved that. You understood why being physically in front of fighter jets would be rough for him, his mother died in one. You didn’t understand why he lied to you, but you rubbed it off. He needed to be comforted.

“I’m so sorry, Poe.” You whispered, looking down.

He sighed, “It’s okay. There’s just a difference between seeing fighter jets in movies and having action figures and seeing them in person. Brings me back to the day I found out.”

You gave him a sad smile, nodding. “I understand.”

You didn’t understand his exact situation, but you understood trauma. Bad memories brings you back to dark places, and it probably did the same for him.

“You could have just told me, you know.” You rubbed his arm again.

“I know.”

You sighed. He still seemed uneasy.

“Is that it?” You asked softly, genuinely wondering if there was anything else he wanted to tell you.

I was discharged from the Air Force for disobeying orders. I nearly killed a man and myself in the process. I cussed out my Colonel and slapped my roommate.

“Yeah, that’s it.” He smiled softly.

He wanted to tell you, he wanted to tell you so bad. But his issues didn’t matter. Yours were more important. He needed to take care of you. Make sure you are okay. Right?

“Okay.” You leaned up to kiss him softly.

He kissed you back gently.

“I’m sorry I ruined our anniversary,” He frowned.

You shook your head, “You didn’t. I still want to go out to dinner tonight, if that’s okay with you.”

He smiled and nodded, “I’d love to.”

“Great. We have reservations at six. Until then…?”

Poe smirked, leaning down to kiss your neck, “To the bedroom, madam?”

“Please.”

“Seriously, I don’t know why I waited so long.” You collapsed on his chest, catching your breath.

He laughed, stroking your hair, “Yes you do. You’re just saying that now because you’re realizing how good I am.”

You rolled your eyes playfully, swatting his arm.

“Ow!” He chuckled.

“Oh, you’re fine. What time is it?”

Poe reached over to grab his phone, checking the time.

“4:45.”

“Shit,” You popped up, “We have to get ready.”

“It does not take that long to get ready.” He crossed his arms.

“For you! I have to go home and change and do my hair and makeup. I wasn’t expecting to fuck all day, I actually had plans.” You got up, grabbing your clothes and throwing them on quickly.

He smirked, “What, these aren’t good plans?”

You shot him a look and he winked.

“I’m going to go home and shower and then I’ll come back over and we can go. I’ll be back soon, okay?” You started for the door.

“Okay. I love you!”

“Love you!” You yelled as you left.

Poe sighed happily, leaning back in the pillow. His smile dropped when he remembered he was still keeping something from you. You did deserve to know, but he was so focused on making you feel safe that he didn’t feel like his problems were important. He was so focused on earning your trust.

Your trust. Shit.

He groaned, running his hand down his face. He stayed in bed for a bit until he checked his phone again. It was 5:15 and he needed a shower. Maybe he would tell you everything over dinner. You couldn’t get mad at him at dinner right? He figured out what he would say while he showered.

“Poe!” His door was unlocked, “You ready?” You called out.

“One sec,” Poe emerged from his room while he fixed his tie.

You smirked, “Well hello handsome.” You giggled.

Poe whistled at you. You were wearing a beautiful dark blue tight dress and black heels with your hair curled and makeup done nicely. Nothing too extravagant, but it fit the occasion.

“Hey there sexy lady,” He kissed you urgently.

You giggled against his lips, tapping his chest, “You keep kissing me like that and we won’t make it to dinner,” You teased

Poe wiggled his eyebrows.

You rolled your eyes, “I was kidding. Let’s go.”

He laughed, “Okay, okay. Let me find my keys.”

You nodded as he searched around the kitchen searching for where he last placed them.

“Oh shit,” You groaned in realization.

“What?” Poe shot his eyes to you in fear.

“I forgot a jacket. Do you have something I can wear?” You asked desperately.

He chuckled, “Yeah, just check for something in my closet.”

You smiled and nodded, heading to his room and going into his closet.

You looked for something that would at least match your dress, even though you wouldn’t be wearing it very long. Just while you traveled to and from the car.

You pushed through the shrine of jackets, nothing catching your eye until you got to a green jacket with a patch that matched the logo of the Air Force. You pulled it off the hanger and examined it. On the patch read ‘Captain. Poe Dameron’. Your mouth opened slightly.

“Hey, baby. It’s 5:45, are you ready to-” Poe walked in and saw you holding his old Air Force jacket.

Fuck.

Poe ran a hand through his hair, “I see you found a jacket.” He put his hands in his pockets.

“What is this?” You asked.

Poe swallowed hard, “It’s my old Air Force jacket.”

“Your old Air Force jacket? You were in the military?” You rose your eyebrows.

He sighed, “Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Poe sighed, running his hand down his face.

“Poe.”

He looked up at you.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

It was going to be a long night.

taglist <open> @twomoonstwosuns @darksideofclarke @damnyoudameron @demigod-dragonrider-schoolidol @rewritingstarrs @aidela @softly-sad @fanfiction-trashpile @lanatheawesome @fantasticcopeaglepasta @the-cry-of-youth @yeeintensifies @itsamedeemoney @yougottakeeponkeepinon @cloud-leader @multifandomlife22 @aroseamongthestars @liadamerondjarin @eternallyvenus @xremember-me-notx @frietiemeloen

#poe dameron x reader #poe dameron #modern poe #poe dameron fanfiction #poe dameron x you #I've been waiting for you poe #poe x reader

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lindalevanimamm · 4 years ago

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Reality- Chapter 11

The past few weeks have been an adjustment. I started working at Jaehee’s cafe, which is really great. As expected, Jaehee is an amazing boss, and for the most part, the people in this universe are incredibly kind. With some help from Yoosung, I’ve applied to start going to college next semester. I had to get Saeyoung’s help with records. I don’t know how he did it, but I have everything I need to officially live here. I’m mostly enjoying my life, which is weird for me. Normally I’m not happy, but here I have friends and a job and little stress. Zen’s performance is coming up, and he’s got tickets for all of us. I’m really excited about it. I woke up today and went to open the shop with Jaehee. I reluctantly let Saeyoung give me a car, but i’m not keeping it. I told him I’ll only use it until I can get my own. I had decided to bring over dinner, as well as the clothes I borrowed from Saeyoung a few days after the whole drunk incident, but that was when he sent me home with a car. Jaehee and I opened the cafe and got through the morning rush. Around noon, I went on my break. I made myself a cup of coffee and grabbed some food, before sitting down in the back of the cafe. I checked my phone. Unfortunately, no one was online to chat, but there was a text from Saeyoung. I smiled. I read the message and immediately grew nervous. Am I ready? I think so. It’s Saeyoung, I’ll be fine.

Saeyoung: Hey (Y/N)! This might still be too soon, but would you like to go on an official date soon?

(Y/N): I would love to! :)

I sat and stared at my phone. I feel conflicted. I know I like Saeyoung, but it still feels weird. How can he like me? I’m, well, me… Saeyoung answered back quicker than I had expected.

Saeyoung: :). Is tomorrow night too soon?

(Y/N): I’ll check with Jaehee to try to get off, but it should be fine!

Saeyoung: perfect

I tried to hide the smile growing on my face. It will be fun. I know it. I’ll have to go buy something to wear though. I tried to not think about the date and just eat my food, but it was hard. What if I’m too awkward? What if he really changes his mind? What do I do? What do I wear? Ugh. I checked the time. I got up and put my apron back on to get to work. I got back to work, putting on my friendly face for customers. Around an hour later Jaehee stood next to me while I was making a drink. “Is everything okay? You seem to have something on your mind,” Jaehee asked. Oh right I still have to ask her for tomorrow off. What if she needs me? What if it makes her disappointed in me? It’s one night, come on (Y/N). And this is Jaehee, she’ll be honest. “I’m okay,” I paused. “I think. Saeyoung just asked me out.” Her eyes widened slightly before she smiled.

“It’s about time he asked you. Do you feel ready?” she asked.

“I think so. I’m nervous. I don’t know why I am, it’s just Saeyoung,” I replied.

“I’m sure being nervous for a first date is pretty normal. You don’t need to worry. While Saeyoung is interesting, he’s kind. He won’t try anything.” I smiled.

“Yeah I know.”

“When is the date?” she asked.

“Oh yeah, um, he was asking about tomorrow night. I know I’m scheduled to work though so if you need me to I can reschedule,” I offered. Jaehee laughed.

“No need to do that. I can handle the shop on my own, you can go early, or even take all of tomorrow off.”

“Thanks Jaehee, you really are the best.” After our short conversation, the cafe started to get busy again. I did my best not to think about tomorrow, but it was hard and it was distracting me. Thankfully, I kept enough focus to make orders correctly. But the clumsiness did ensue. I completely tripped and spilled an entire order on the ground. It was embarrassing. I apologized a million times to both Jaehee and the customer, both of which were really nice about it. My shift came to an end around 3pm. I waved bye to Jaehee and clocked out. First stop, clothing store. One problem though, I don’t know any. I pulled out my phone and searched for a store. I decided to try one called J&N. When I got there I immediately began looking for something to wear, but quickly was overwhelmed. What do I wear? Is this even cute? I was starting to break down in the dressing room. This looks terrible on me. Why did I think I’d look cute in this? I can’t wear this? Wait. Who knows fashion best? Zen. I decided that before giving up entirely, I would ask Zen for help. I sent him a few pictures of some outfits I was looking at.

(Y/N): *pictures*

(Y/N): Zen helppp!! Saeyoung asked me on a date for tomorrow and I have no idea what to wear or buy

(Y/N): bless me with your knowledge

I waited, and waited. I sighed. Guess he’s probably busy with rehearsals. I shouldn’t bother him anyway. I started to gather my things before I heard a knock at the dressing room I was in. “(Y/N)?” someone called out. There’s only so many people that know me here. Kinda sounded like Zen. I opened up the door and was surprised. It was Zen. He smiled. “Hello!”

“Hello?” I asked. “Why are you here? How did you even know where I was?”

“Oh, you asked me for help so I came, duh. And in the pictures you sent I recognized the dressing room. I was in the area already so I decided to come. Also you really need help. Here try these.” He handed me a pile of clothes. I smiled. I’m glad I have someone who can help. I grabbed the clothes and started trying things on. I came out of the room each time to show Zen. We would discuss and then I’d go back to try on more things. It was actually kind of fun. I tried on the last outfit. Zen and I agreed that this had to be the one, and if it wasn’t then we’d go somewhere else. I looked in the mirror. Woah. I think this looks good. I feel good. I walked out of the room to show Zen. His mouth hung open and he nodded. “Oh yeah. That’s it. That’s what you are wearing tomorrow. How does it feel? Thoughts?” he asked.

“I like it a lot! I feel good in this one for sure!” I replied.

“Good. It looks really good. You look really good I mean. I think Saeyoung will like it, and if he doesn’t then he needs new glasses.” I laughed.

“Thanks, and I think so too. Thank you for helping by the way. I really appreciate it. I would have been so lost, but you swooped in and saved me from looking like an idiot.”

“It’s no problem. I’ve got to head back to rehearsal in half an hour, but I’m sure tomorrow will be great. I’m excited for you two.” I smiled. I went back and got changed into my clothes and paid for my new outfit. I said goodbye to Zen and headed home for the day.

I woke up feeling nervous, which isn’t that unusual for me I guess. Saeyoung told me he’d come pick me up around 5p. I got up at 7a to go help Jaehee at the shop. I ate a small breakfast and made my way there. I was a mess. I kept messing up orders and dropping everything from the pen I used to the actual orders. I was stressed. I was doing a terrible job, just because I was nervous. I need to calm down. It’s just a date (Y/N), get it together. But I couldn’t get it together. Around noon, Jaehee nicely told me I could leave. She really was nice about it, but I still feel bad. I was going to stay until 3 again, which meant she’d be working alone for three hours until another employee came. I guess I always mess things up. I hope I don’t mess up this date. I got into my car feeling down. I leaned down and put my head on the steering wheel and sighed. I was close to tears, I felt so bad. It’s fine. You’re fine (Y/N). Jaehee isn’t like that. She understands. She’s not going to fire you because of one bad day. The customers were so-so about today. I probably made someone’s day a lot worse. I wiped away a couple tears and drove to my apartment. Yoosung and I promised to talk to each other when we felt down. We didn’t want either of us to spiral any further. I texted him as soon as I got home.

(Y/N): T_T today has sucked

Yoosung: what’s going on? What happened?

(Y/N): well, Saeyoung asked me to go out with him today, but I still went into work to help Jaehee. But I guess I was so nervous about tonight I kept making mistakes

(Y/N): I kept getting orders wrong and dropping everything…

(Y/N): Jaehee asked me to leave….I still had another 3 hours I was supposed to work

(Y/N): why am I like this?

Yoosung: I’m sure Jaehee understands, and it’s normal to be nervous. I’d be a mess if I were you too. You’re not incapable, you just had a rough day

(Y/N): yeah I guess so

Yoosung: I know so. Sometimes we have bad days, it doesn’t make us any less of a person

(Y/N): thanks yoosung :)

Yoosung: anytime. Now stop worrying to me and go get ready to have fun!

(Y/N): okay haha

I went ahead and did as Yoosung suggested and got ready. I was still really nervous though. I was done getting ready at the perfect time. I heard a knock at my door and went to answer it. I smiled. “Hi Saeyoung!” He stared at me and I grew uncomfortable, so me being an idiot said, “what’s wrong with you? Stop looking at me.” Saeyoung laughed. I’m an idiot. You didn’t have to be so rude (Y/N) geez.

“Sorry. You look nice. Are you ready to go?” he asked. I nodded. We walked to his car and my curiosity grew. “So what are we doing tonight?” I asked.

“I’m glad you asked. Also I’m glad you decided on pants instead of a skirt or dress.” he stated.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing. Today, in this universe, there is a carnival going on in the city. I thought it would be fun to go, and didn’t want to go alone,” he paused, and then asked with worry, “do you like carnivals? Or are you one of those people that’s afraid of all the rides?” I smiled.

“I actually love them. I’m a huge fan of roller coasters and things. Carnivals are fun.”

“Oh good. I would have had to drop you back off and stopped talking to you if you didn’t.”

“Brutal.”

“I’m kidding...mostly,” he laughed. I laughed with him. “It would be really hard to love someone who doesn’t want to do stupid and slightly crazy things with me.”

“I get that,” I chuckled. The rest of the car ride there was fun. We laughed a lot. Saeyoung really is amazing. As soon as I think the conversation will stop, he starts with something else. I don’t think I’ve ever conversed with anyone so easily. When we got to the carnival, the sun was just starting to set. We parked, bought tickets and went in. Our eyes lit up as we scanned the area. There were kids running around yelling, couples holding hands passing by. Not to mention all of the colorful lights and smells. Oh the smell. It smelled like popcorn and treats. I looked over at Saeyoung, he was already looking at me. I smiled. “I haven’t been to one of these in a really long time. I always got overwhelmed by how many people were here so I stopped going. It’s beautiful,” I told him.

“I’ve only ever been to one, it was for a mission though, so it wasn’t what I wanted,” he replied. I nodded. He reached down and grabbed my hand, I looked down, avoiding all eye contact. “Is this okay? Purely so we don’t lose each other,” Saeyoung asked. I nodded. Before I could process what was happening, I was being pulled away by Saeyoung. We ran to the nearest booth for some food. We got huge things of cotton candy, as well as some normalish food like hot dogs. After that we ran from ride to ride. It was amazing. While we waited in line we talked, mostly about stupid things we’ve done, or things we like. Then we’d laugh and scream on the ride. We both had our hands in the air, smiling until our cheeks hurt. After we had rode all of the rides I was a bit nauseous. We sat down at a table and took it easy for a bit, then we went and played the different games they had. I was terrible at all of them, but somehow Saeyoung was really good. He even won me a cute stuffed bear to take home. The carnival was going to close soon, so we ran again trying to get to all of the rides again. We were running when Saeyoung suddenly stopped in front of me. I ran into his back completely, but he turned around to look at me. “Wait,” he began. I rubbed my head.

“Ow, why did you stop?” I asked.

“There’s one ride we didn’t get to!” he answered. I looked up at him confused.

“What? I’m pretty sure we rode all of them.”

“Nope!” he pointed over at the ferris wheel. “We forgot about the ferris wheel!” I rolled my eyes.

“That’s hardly a ride!” I argued. He gasped.

“It is too a ride! Why wouldn’t it be?”

“It’s not any fun! You just sit there while it slowly brings you around,” I shook my head.

“No it has to be fun!” he whined. Has he never…?

“Have you never been on one?” I asked. He nodded. I sighed. “Alright I guess we have to then, but I’m warning you, they’re not that fun.” He grabbed my hand again and ran towards the ferris wheel. This is probably the last thing we'll be riding. I forgot his childhood was hard, he’s never even been on a ferris wheel. I have to find a way to make it more interesting. We got into the line and waited. When it was our turn we got into the cart thing. Saeyoung was practically bouncing up and down with excitement. I smiled. I guess it’s a little exciting. The wheel began to move, then stopped for more people to get on. Finally, it filled and began to move. I watched as Saeyoung calmed down, he almost looked disappointed. He looked over at me. “Yeah you’re right. This is boring. Why do people even go on these?” he asked. I laughed. “I’m serious why?”

“Do you really not know? Or are you screwing with me?” I asked. How would he not know why people typically ride these?

“I seriously don’t know. I thought they were popular because they’re fun, but clearly that’s not right.” He looks serious. He really doesn’t know? How am I supposed to tell him couples come up here because it’s romantic? Nope. I’m not doing that. He’ll figure it out eventually. He kept looking at me waiting for an answer. I sighed. “It’s for the view,” I told him. Not a complete lie.

“Oh,” he replied. He looked out over where we were. Sure enough the view was amazing. The cityscape beneath us, and Saeyoung here next to me. I could see the city lights in his eyes, it only made his eyes even more beautiful, which I didn’t think was possible. I hadn’t noticed how long I had been staring at him until he turned and looked at me. “Need something?” he asked. I blushed and looked away. Quick think of something to change the subject….

“Yeah,” I looked back at him.

“Go on,” he laughed.

“Wanna know how to make this more fun?” He nodded. I put my hands on the bar in front of me and started swinging the cart back and forth. Saeyoung laughed and helped. So there we were. Two idiots swinging a cart on a ferris wheel back and forth. When we were supposed to get off the worker wasn’t happy and asked us to leave. We had to leave anyway because they were closing down, but whatever. Saeyoung and I held hands as we finally walked back to his car. I was smiling. I just had so much fun, I hope he did too. When we got in the car Saeyoung looked at me. “I don’t wanna take you home yet,” he stated.

“Are you kidnapping me or something?” I asked.

“Yes,” he stated. What? My face dropped.

“Wha-”

“I’m kidding (Y/N). I just don’t want today to end, I’m having too much fun,” Saeyoung interrupted.

“Oh, haha, yeah me too,” I answered. We decided to go and get some ice cream to end our date. We sat in his car and ate the ice cream while talking. When we were done eating there was a pause in conversation, it was the first time that had happened that night. “You know,” Saeyoung began. “I don’t think I expected you to be like this.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, insecurities starting to creep in. Was the date not good? Was he not having fun? He smiled at me.

“I don’t know really. I didn’t think I could like someone as much as I like you. I mean, we’ve known each other for a month maybe, but I feel like I’ve known you for longer. I feel like we’ve been through so much. I guess when I went to your universe I expected you to not actually care about me. I expected you would say that your feelings weren’t real and that it was just part of the game, but you didn’t. You returned the feelings I had. I feel like you care. You’re so fun to be around. I don’t know why you’re insecure. You’re absolutely stunning, you’re kind, you make me laugh. You’re just, you, and I love it. I hate that you feel empty sometimes, or are anxious around people, because, really, people would be lucky to get to know you. I feel so lucky that I get to know you. I’d feel even luckier to get to love you. I never knew people could be as perfect as you,” he finished. I sat there and looked at him with my mouth slightly open. No one has ever said anything that beautiful to me. How do I even respond? How can I respond? He took words right out of my mouth. I’m not perfect, but I love being around him. I didn’t know I could feel like this. Turns out I didn’t have to say anything. Saeyoung leaned over and hesitated, before kissing me. I was in shock at first and didn’t move, so he backed away, looking afraid that I wasn’t interested. I snapped out of it and leaned to kiss him back. His lips felt soft against mine. It felt right and sweet. I poured my feelings into it. How much I care about him, how happy he made me even when I thought he didn’t exist, how happy I am to be here. After a few moments, we separated. I smiled and looked down, a bit embarrassed. I could tell he felt the same way. “Uh,” Saeyoung swallowed. “I guess I should take you home now.” I giggled.

“Yeah, I guess so,” I replied. He started up the car and drove me home. After a minute or two of awkward silence after the kiss, conversation began to flow again. Saeyoung walked me up to my door again. I stopped outside of my door. “Thank you for tonight, I had a lot of fun really,” I told him.

“I did too. We should do this more,” he replied.

“I would love that.” I smiled.

“Can I-,” he paused. “Can we do that again?” It didn’t take long for me to realize what was asking. I nodded. Saeyoung moved his hand to my cheek and kissed me again. I melted into it, wanting to memorize the feeling of his lips on mine. We separated and smiled at each other again. “I’ll see you then, have a good night,” Saeyoung said.

“Thanks, you too.” I moved to hug him before he left. After we hugged, we said goodbye once again and Saeyoung left. I went inside my apartment and smiled. Wow. A whole night where I didn’t feel anything, but happiness. I can’t remember the last time that happened. I got ready for bed, but found that I was unable to sleep. Normally, I can’t sleep because I’m thinking about all the stupid things I did that day, but tonight was different. I couldn’t sleep because I was thinking about how much fun I had and wondering when I’d get to see him next. Eventually, my thoughts slowed and I slept.

#saeyoung choi #saeyoung choi x reader #707 #707 x reader #mystic messenger #fanfic

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nicklangfordmuse · 4 years ago

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The Bachelor Party | PART 1

Nick had no idea whats going to happen tonight. All he knows is that they're going to a hotel, just outside of Boston. So there's people there already to check them in a suite and they'd be checking out at noon the next day. It was quite different from Katrina's bachelorette but hopefully, it would be just as fun.

Getting ready in front of the mirror, he wore a white button long sleeved, which he folded up to his elbows, partnered with black pants. He has a bag ready since he was hinted that they might go night swimming at the hotel so he got an extra set of clothes ready, as well as his swimming shorts. Checking the time, it was 10 minutes till 6 so Tyler and Grant would be there any minute.

Nick went downstairs and saw his family on the couch, watching some Lion King to lift up the little boy's mood. Now he was feeling bad about leaving them. Especially with the bag in hand, he wonderedhat was going on in his fiance's head. "Babe. Uhm...the boys are gonna be here any minute." Nick said as Katrina got up and went to him to fix his collar. "Okay. You look handsome, by the way. As always." She said, smiling lightly which made Nick pout. "I feel bad for going. Maybe I should...just go home later tonight."

Katrina gave him a look and Nick knew what that meant. Raising both his hands, Nick chuckled and surrendered. "You deserve to have a great time just as I did, okay? So don't worry about your pouty son and your...kind of jealous fiance wants to be swimming at the hotel pool with you and see you stunning and." She told him teasingly, giving Nick a quick kiss on the lips. "But it's fine. Come San Diego, we'll have our own jacuzzi, three pool options and several beaches to swim in." She said, trying to look at the bright side before pulling Nick down a bit to whisper to his ear. "And have sex in. Of course." Nick chuckled and shook his head at her. "You're a tease. No boners allowed tonight." He responded with a smirk.

Just a few minutes after, there's honking outside the apartment and he knew it was time to go. "Alright, bubba. Come on. Give me a kiss. I'll be back tomorrow." Nick said and the little boy wrapped his arms tightly around his dad. "I will miss you, daddy. Come home soon." He asked and Nick nodded. "I'll be home sooner than you know it. You'll have lots of fun with mama and Milo here, okay? I love you." Nick assured his son, giving him a kiss. Getting up, he said goodbye to his fiance next. "Have fun, okay? Use your phone, only for emergencies. Just enjoy the night with the boys." Katrina told him, knowing he could easily get worried about having too much fun. "I promise. I love you. I'll be home tomorrow." He said, giving her a couple of kisses before hearing the boys repeatedly honking for him to go out. Chuckling, Nick nodded and waved at his family. "Okay, okay. I'm gonna go. Love you guys."

He went out and was greeted by Tyler and Grant in a red convertible mustang which was just so good in the eyes. "No way. Come on, where did you guys get this?" Nick asked, jogging towards the fancy car. "It's an expensive rental, okay? We're going for a bit of a long drive and might as well look cool for your bachelor party, right?" Tyler said, seeing Katrina and Shawn come out to check the car. "Mama! It's so cool!" Shawn said excitedly, pulling his mama closer to the car to check it. Katrina figured a closer look wouldn't hurt so she went with Shawn. "Where did you guys even get this?" Katrina asked the boys, chuckling. "I have my sources." Grant told them with a grin. "Can I ride, mama? Please. I wanna go with daddy." Shawn begged. They all chuckled, figuring he would ask that. "I'll see if I can rent this car again next time, okay bud? But tonight is your daddy's night so he's gonna get to ride it first." Grant said and Shawn had to nod with a pout. "Okay, big boy. Go inside with mama. We have to go now." Nick said, kissing his son again before kissing Katrina quickly. "We'll bring him home tomorrow." Tyler assured Katrina. "Preferably in one piece, please." Katrina replied jokingly before waving at the guys as they left.

The drive felt so cool and relaxing, just watching the sun slowly setting right before their eyes. About an hour since they left, they finally got to the hotel. The rest of the guys were already checked in the room so they just carried their bags upstairs. Once the suite door opened, he was greeted in surprise with the decorated room. Donnie, Sam and Joe, all high school friends, were already in the room waiting for him. They've decorated the place with just balloons that spelled bachelor party. He was glad that they all got to come since it was close to Rockford anyway.

"Okay, okay. Get settled in before we start with the first order of business." Tyler said, somehow leading the party. "As you can see, we have two bedrooms available. We can just keep our stuff in there and bring the mattresses out here." Tyler said, as if they're going to use the mattresses tonight. Suddenly, the doorbell of the room rang and the guys cheered. "Looks like our first order of business is here." Grant said teasingly and Nick swallowed hard, trying to act cool. But he's seen enough movies and videos to have a clue where this might lead to. Please, no strippers, he begged in his mind. Tyler opened the door and welcomed a hotel staff, pushing a tray. "Thank you, sir." Tyler said, tipping the guy before he left. Nick had a huge relief on his face, glad that it was just food. Taking the cover out, Tyler revealed what was inside. "Steaks and shots. It's dinner time, boys."

Everyone took their seats in the dinning table and was distributed a big slab of steak each, along with some carrots and corn. The boys were about to dig in but Tyler stopped them. "Shots first guys. Come on. Let's toast it." Tyler said before nodding at Nick to make a speech. "Okay, okay. I'm not...big on speeches but...I guess I should get used to it since I'm...saying my vows to a garden full of guests." Nick started, chuckling.

"Thank you, guys. Not just for today. I know the day hasn't started yet but it already feels so amazing, having you guys here with me to celebrate my last days as a single man. I know I'll have you guys by my side for a lifetime. Cheers to a fun filled night and lifetime of friendship." Nick said, raising his shot as did everyone else. "Cheers. To Nick." Donnie said and everyone repeated. They all took their shots before sitting back down to start eating their steaks.

"Okay. No filter, no judgements. Are you excited to finally be officially off the market?" Grant asked as they ate. "Of course, I am. I mean, I've already been off the market since Katrina and I got back together so...it's just...sealing the deal now. No backing out, for her mostly." Nick said jokingly as they all chuckled. "You better put a helmet on your woman's head before she wakes up to this reality." Donnie teased him as the boys laughed. "No need, man. No need. We're both wide awake from the engagement till the wedding. We want this." Nick assured them.

"No regrets? Really? I mean, you were engaged to someone else a year and a half ago. What makes you sure that...this is really it?" Tyler asked.

Nick paused, chewing on his butter-like steak before answering. "Katrina is the love of my life. Back in high school, we've talked about this once or twice, that we want to marry each other. Back then, it wasn't that serious but...a part of me was hoping we both meant it. And...as for Jess, I guess I was scared, you know? I left...everyone years ago, I was afraid that...karma would hit me and she'd do the same to me. So...I popped the question to make sure...I wasn't alone for the rest of my life. It was selfish but...it is what I honestly thought. And for Katrina, I popped the question because I wanted to be with her for the rest of my life." Nick revealed as the guys listened, looking quite serious about the discussion. "And...after what Jess did to Shawn, I'm 101% sure she's not the woman I'd want to be with. Shawn came to my life and he instantly became my priority. My decisions got based on how it would affect Shawn." He added and guys smiled at him, seeing the father in him glow.

"Yeah well, it all came full circle in the end. The mother of your child is also the woman you'll call your wife." Donnie told Nick, patting his back proudly. "Mother of his children, you mean." Tyler teased, smirking at Nick and there was a loud gasp in the room as they all turned to Nick. "Katrina's pregnant?" Grant asked and Nick chuckled, shaking his head as he threw a piece of corn kernels at Tyler. "We're... we're not pregnant but...we agreed that we'd start trying on our honeymoon. She'll stop taking her pills a week before the wedding." Nick revealed and the boys cheered.

"Wow. Shawn's gonna be a big brother soon." Joe teased and Donnie had to chime in. "I doubt they'd take longer than the honeymoon. Knowing Nick, you'd probably get her pregnant before the wedding." He teased and everyone laughed along. Nick could feel his face getting red but he just laughed along.

"Tell me about it." Tyler joined. "This man can't keep his hands off his wife. Wherever they are." The boys kept laughing as they ate. "Come on. If your fiances anything like Katrina, who would want to keep his hands off her?" Nick replied and everyone chuckled. "Okay, okay. No offense but...how is she...in bed? We all know your gal has the best moves on stage but...what about your own stage?" Tyler asked teasingly. Nick was quiet for a while, trying to think of a response. "Let's just say...if she got a few medals for dancing on stage, she deserves a hundred trophies in bed." Nick answered and everyone cheered on. Shaking his head, Nick knew they should stop talking about this. "My wife's gonna kill me if she finds out I talk to you guys about our sex life. Enough of that." Nick said, chuckling.

Once they finished eating their dinner, Nick thought they'd be resting at the room with more drinks but there was a knock on the door. "I'll get it." Grant said, going to the front to open the door. He was greeted by an officer. Two officers in uniform. "I'm looking for Mr. Grant Rhodes." The officer said and the low and heavy tone was enough to catch the attention of the boys inside. "Yeah, that's me. What's...what's going on?" Grant asked before getting surrounded by the boys.

"Hey, hey. What's happening?" Nick asked, feeling like the responsible one since it's his party.

"Mr. Rhodes, we've received an Intel that a red mustang convertible has been missing since 10 in the morning today. It was reported that one Grant Rhodes checked it out from Octa Intelligence Firm without official permission so we're filling it under robbery. We'd like to bring you down at the station for questioning." The officer said, already pulling Grant out of the room to handcuff him but the boys tried to stop. "Hold on, hold on. There...there wasn't a robbery. Grant, come on. You said you got it from a source." Nick said but Grant was quiet. "Look, officers, the car is at the parking lot. You can...you can just...get it there. There's no need to arrest my friend. We're just here to celebrate." Nick tried to explain but Grant is already in handcuffs. "What's the celebration for? Stealing an expensive car from the Governor?" The officer questioned and Nick's eyes went wide. "The Governor? What? No, no. It's my bachelor party and..." Nick tried to explain. "Please, sir. Anything you say can and will be used against you. If this is your party, might as well come with us to the station for proper questioning." The officer said and Nick just wanted to go home already. This isnt how he imagined his bachelor party would go.

Nick was also handcuffed but remembering what he says can be used against him, he stayed quiet, feeling extremely confused and stressed. "Follow us and...don't call Katrina until I say so." Nick told the guys and they nodded, already getting their stuff and following them. Going to the elevator, they were lead to the basement parking of the hotel and the cop car is there waiting for them.

"What the hell, dude? Why didn't you tell me you stole the Mustang? We could've just used our car!" Nick said, feeling a bit angry at the guy. They were sat in the backseat but before the door was closed, the cops put a cover over their heads, preventing them to see what was going on. The door was locked and their hands were cuffed behind them.

"Hey! Hey! What's going on?" Nick said out loud, trying to kick the doors out. "Shit, shit, shit!" Nick said, panicking a bit as well as Grant. The cop car drove like it was racing and it was starting to stress out Nick already. "Just...just calm down, Nick, okay? We're gonna get out of here." Grant assured him calmly but he just couldn't stay calm. He could hear the sirens going off but just a few minutes after, the car stopped. "What's going on? Why did we stop?" Nick asked but Grant was quiet. The car door opened and Nick was forcefully pulled out of the car. He wanted to go hysterical but there was loud music going off around him. They're definitely not at a station. His cuffs were removed as well as his cover.

"Surprise!" Everyone shouted and Nick was surprised where they are. "What the fuck?" He asked in confusion as the 'cops' and boys were laughing. "Dude, I have enough Benjamins in my bank to buy my own mustang. I would never steal one." Grant revealed as Tyler laughed along. "We just know you'd say no if you find out where we're going so...we had to forcefully take you out of the hotel." He revealed as the boys pulled him inside the club. Stepping inside the dance club, he saw what was inside and he already knew why the guys kept this a secret from him. Girls dancing on stages but there was a big dancefloor in the middle. "Guys, come on. No strippers." Nick tried to stop them but the boys kept pushing him. "Dude, no bachelor party is a success without strippers. Trust us, we got you. They're just there for entertainment. We have our own booth. You can look but you can't touch. We got you." Donnie assured him.

Letting out a breath, Nick knew Katrina would probably get mad but as long as he doesn't get near the strippers, he's all good. "Fine, fine. But we're just here to drink and...dance, but not to socialize." Nick said but Joe and Sam shook their heads. "None for you but who says we can't meet girls for us?" Sam said and Nick nodded at him. "Okay, maybe for you guys but none for me." Nick said and the boys cheered, glad that he's willing to stay now.

The guys made their way inside their booth and drinks were instantly served to them. Nick figured he'd just relax and be prepared for whatever surprise the boys have for him. An hour into drinking, the boys could already feel the effects of the alcohol and Sam already has a woman in his arms. Half an hour later, Nick noticed a familiar face. Unknowingly, he has been in the same club as Mateo was for the past half hour. And it looks like they've had one too many drinks already.

Mateo's group came up to their booth, looking all tough and pissed. "Well, well, well. It looks like... we're now closer to being even. Another failed engagement, Langford?" He asked, trying to mock Nick.

"Who is this?" Donnie asked after taking a shot. Nick stood up, wanting to be at eye level with the guy. "Mateo. Katrina's...ex-colleague and former harrasser." Nick revealed which pissed off the guys so they stood up too. "Seriously, man?" Tyler asked, feeling protective of his friend.

Mateo had that smug look on his face as he shook his head. "I did not harrass her. Get your facts straight. She was...kinda asking for it." He said and that just boiled the blood up Nick's brain. He was almost about to attack Mateo but Grant and Joe stopped him. "Stay out of our way, man. We're just trying to celebrate here." Joe told Mateo but the guy shook his head. "Nah, nah. I've been wanting to go toe to toe with you, Langford. Paul wanted me for Katrina. He saw a future for us and none for you." Mateo kept taunting him and Nick just wanted to punch that teeth down his throat. "You know what, man. Run your mouth all you want but the truth remains. Katrina will never love, even like you. You're nothing to my future wife." Nick said as both crews stopped Nick and Mateo respectively as they tried to attack each other. It caught the attention of everyone, especially the dj who told them to stop over the microphone.

"Stop that, guys. Clearly, there's some beef between two parties so...let's just settle this the way we always settle things here at Rave Wave." The DJ said and the crowd cheered, knowing what's coming next.

"DANCE OFF!" Everyone said out loud as the music got louder and the crowd cheered for both teams.

"Dance off? This guy can't even dance to save his life!" Mateo said out loud, trying to embarrass Nick.

Nick was so pissed and maybe it's the alcohol talking but he's not backing down from this. "I can still beat you even if I have two left feet." Nick said which amped the crowd more, cheering him on and Mateo shook his head as his crew went to the dance floor.

"Nick, you can't dance." Donnie said, reminding his friend of that one ability he's a bit terrible with. Taking one more shot, Nick put his glass down and shook his head. "I don't care. I'm gonna win this for my wife." Nick said, moving towards the dancefloor to get this competition started. "Holy fuck, we're gonna lose." Tyler said, palming his face and shaking his head.

Having no choice, the boys went to the dancefloor and followed Nick. The Bachelor looks so determined to win this but his face showed how drunk he is to be making his decision. "Alright, two teams. You have three rounds to dance to whatever song is on. The crowd will decide who wins after three rounds. Who goes first?" The DJ asked and Mateo raised his hand to get the first dance.

The DJ played Lady Gaga's Just Dance and Mateo and his crew immediately knew how to dance, just following how Mateo was moving. Nick and his boys stood back, watching them move. One did a flip and the crowd cheered. "Can you do that?!" Donnie asked Nick and he shook his head. "We don't need flips." Nick said, trying to think of a dance to lead his team. When it's his team's turn, he suddenly felt embarrassed but he figured he should just go for it. Moving forward, Nick did a few dance moves, ignoring the fact that people are watching. People could tell how terrible he is at dance but his confidence was gaining him cheers. The boys followed suit and started copying Nick's dance moves. Six adult men, dancing terribly to Lady Gaga but it was hella entertaining so the crowd cheered for them. Clearly, Nick won that round.

The DJ changed the song and it was Nick's team's turn to start the round. Once the song played, it was some sort of classical tune that's perfect for slow and elegant moves, something under Mateo's forte.

"What do we do?" Donnie asked, starting to feel embarrassed as they were just standing there. The people started booing and the group knew they lost this round. Mateo came forward and started doing ballet routines that people enjoyed. He clearly knows this genre and Nick just had to give up. "Nevermind. We'd never win against those jelly legs." Nick said, shrugging it off. If this round broke their hopes of winning, then the next round is a sure loss.

The crowd cheered and the DJ announced that Mateo's team won. "Dude, it's just a fun competition. All he'll win is bragging rights. Katrina's still marrying you." Grant tried to give comfort to the groom but Nick doesn't want to take it. "Nah, nah. That's not it, man. I need to win this. I'm like...fighting for my wife's honour here. We need to get the next round." Nick tried to explain and its clearly the drunk in them that's talking.

"For the final round, y'all need to be prepared. Crowd gets to decide the winner here." The DJ announced as Nick and his team, as well as Mateo's team got ready for the next music. The DJ played a track and the entire club was in confusion. What song is this?

Then, the words started and Nick's face lit up, getting extremely familiar with it as the song kept going. "Oh, I'm a gummy bear. Yes, I'm a gummy bear. Oh, I'm a yummy yummy funny... I know this song!" Nick sang and shouted out loud. "This is my son's favorite dance in school!" Nick said proudly out loud, remembering all the times Shawn would ask him to join him in practicing. They dance this a lot in school so how could he forget? Nick ran to the middle of the dance floor and started dancing. He looked so silly but everyone enjoyed it so they started cheering. His best men followed him to the middle and danced along.

"That's...that's not dancing! No one dances like that." Mateo tried to reason but Nick shook his head. "That's where you're wrong, boy. Dancing is when you express yourself with your moves. And this is how I express winning, doing what my son loves!" Nick said out loud and everyone cheered more. "Gummy gummy gummy gummy gummy gummy bear!" Nick sang along, knowing the words by heart as Shawn loves to sing it apart from dancing it. The rest of the crowd danced along, following Nick's dance moves which clearly showed who the winner is. Everyone danced to the tune and the club looked like it was full of dancing giant toddlers and Nick was starting to enjoy this dancing thing.

Unfortunately, Mateo wasn't having the time of his life as losing is something he's not used to. His drunk head pushed him to attack Nick with a kick which caused him to fall. Both teams started a fist fight and Nick isn't backing down, flipping Mateo down to the ground and he finally got to punch him for what he did to Katrina. "That's for being an ass to me!" He said, punching him one more time. "And that's for everything you did to my wife!" He said, getting a few more punches and before they know it, cops arrived.

To be continued...

#verse: baby daddy #it feels too long i had to cut it

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bigdanteague3 · 4 years ago

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Caroline part 3

The big finale.....school started for everyone and we talked on the phone as much as possible. This was long distance and not free so it wasn’t daily. But a few times a week. I’d call and then she’d call to split the cost. Whatever. I remember thinking she’d probably find somebody and we would never get back together but then I remembered how good a girl she was in high school. Loyal to a boy who lived hours away. And she confessed her love to me. And she pursued me. I was kinda...conflicted. I didn’t blame her because I never stopped railing you...and still fucked Amber often but that was winding down because she still had a couple of years of high school. I guess I planned on fucking Amber as long as possible but knew I wouldn’t be around to bump into her anymore. So I wasn’t exactly “worried” that Caroline would find somebody else. But definitely didn’t want her to. Hypocritical, I am.

Anyway, she invites me to come down that weekend. There was the first football game and she wanted to know what kind of liquor I wanted. I didn’t care because I wasn’t a huge drinker. Just said whatever. The plan was for me to pick up her roommate who had to come home for something and take her back. Deal. Little did I know that I would end up in another girls bed (not like that) and she would end up in another boys bed (exactly like that)

I pick up the roommate and she rides with me down there. We were cool. She was hilarious and pretty and we had kissed a couple of times a long time before. But she had a steady and that was in the past. We were really good friends. But something was off on that car ride. She was throwing this weird vibe. Was she mad at me? Why would she be mad at me? We were very cool. Had the dynamic changed since I had started railing Caroline? Was it weird that I was going down there to fuck her? Did it change something in our circle of friends? She wasn’t mean at all. It was like something was troubling her. Maybe she had a fight with her boyfriend? I still don’t know. But I remember it being like a bad omen. It wasn’t terrible...just different.

So we get there and I can’t find Caroline. She gone. Lots of people coming and going and I’m hanging out with Becky from your class and her roommate from my class. They are cool. We have a good time. I don’t particularly want to drink but have a few sips to be polite. Caroline comes in from somewhere and we hug and its different. Hmmm.....but she invited me down right? She wants me here? Anyway, we’re talking and she seems distant. She doesn’t seem to want to be alone with me. I’m not pissed at all. Just kinda....weird feeling. I think I follow her into Becky’s room and we have a short kiss but she politely has to go do something in the other room. Hmmm. Night goes on...I see less of her and its mostly Becky and the other 2 girls and me and some other random people. I drink and drink and start getting semi-pissed. Nobody knows where she is...had to run to the store? The feeling gets stronger and I get drunker. Not used to hard liquor but there I was. I don’t remember anything else about the nighttime.

Daytime....I wake up in a bed with somebody curled up next to me. I see the back of her head. We aren’t cuddling...its just a tiny ass bed with 2 people passed out in it. I think its Becky? I look around the room and its definitely her bedroom. Pictures of her and her sister on the dresser. WTF? What time is it? I don’t remember getting here at all. Had I ever messed around with Becky? Maybe kissed twice? Three times? No groping, no second base, just a few kisses over the year. That didn’t cross my mind. Just some history. All I could think about was why we were here. I knew it wasn’t like the movies where people pass out and don’t remember sex and how this person got here. I knew nothing happened. I also wasn’t really hung over. I just went from the living room to the bed and no time had passed. But several hours had passed, apparently. Her ass was pressed against me but it was more of a lack of space than sexual. She had on sleep shorts and a tee shirt. I still had on yesterdays clothes. I slip out of bed trying not to wake her up...she was pretty out of it. But she woke up. I apologize. I ask her how this happened? Why we were sharing her little ass bed? She tells me she found me in her bathroom laying on the floor. Well, that’s embarassing. I ask her if I had thrown up and she says no. But they weren’t going to leave me there all night. She says her and somebody got my stupid ass in the bed and when she got in...she tried to sleep with her head at the bottom but the covers made that a problem. And she wasn’t going to sleep on the couch because I was an idiot so she just went to sleep next to me. I told her that made sense. And apologized for being an idiot. And thanked her for getting my stupid ass out of the floor.

Then I asked the obvious. She didn’t know. Promised she hadn’t seen her. I was tired of this shit and ready to go home but wanted to find her before I did. Went down to her apartment...knock knock...nobody home. Hmmm. Went back to Becky’s and told her I needed my keys and all the shit at Carolines. She couldn’t help and I knew she felt sorry for me. That and having her pick me up out of the floor was pretty humiliating. Anyway, Becky’s roommate was up by now and I was like WTF? And she told me she knew where Caroline was but I shouldn’t go down there. It was like 3 doors down. Was I pissed? Yeah, not that she was fucking somebody else...but that she called me down here. Anyway, the door was unlocked, some asshole is sitting on the couch. I tell him I need to get my keys from Caroline and he points to the back. I knock on the door and open it and she’s still asleep on some dude. Not like I slept with Becky. No shirt on, he had no shirt on. I assume they had nothing on. But I could only see the upper half. Both her titties with those big pink nipples exposed. She looked at me and just went pale. I played it off like I was just an acquaintance needing her apartment keys. She pointed at her purse. I thanked her, left and went home. She called later to apologize. Said she wanted to sleep with me that night but I had passed out. Which was untrue. She was unavailable all night. Anyway, I was pissed but not furious.

I even went back down there a few months later. Not alone and not because she personally asked me. It was a big group of us going to visit all of them. I even slept in her bed but she sat at the desk all night studying. Yeah, right. She had a pretty major medical emergency around Christmas of that year and spent several nights in hospital. I called her on New Year’s Eve to see how she was feeling. She was better. Her parents had gone out and she was home all alone and watching tv. I foolishly asked her if I could just come over and see her...maybe ring in the new year together. I don’t think I even meant to go over and fuck her senseless after what had happened health-wise. Pretty sure i just meant to kiss her at midnight and kinda clean the page. She said no. I knew she’d say no, but that was my last effort.

5 years later she was getting ready to marry somebody from our school. Not the first dude, not me but somebody else that was older. He’s a nice enough guy. I was leaving the store one day and she pulls in right behind me and blocks me in. She was still driving the same white car from high school. She comes up and I get out and she says I thought that was you. I confirm it was me. I sarcastically tell her thanks for the wedding invite. Other people got one, not me. She looks sad for a minute and said she didn’t think it would be fair to her fiance to invite me. Because of our history. I told her I understood. She looked really sad. I tell her I hope they are really happy together...she says they are. She just apologized again for the way things went down. Said it always bothered her. I told her it bothered me too but that I didn’t blame her. That situation was destined to blow up and I’m glad that summer happened. Not the fall...but the summer. She hugged me and told me she loved me and I said the same.

Didn’t see her for a while. Saw her at the 10 year reunion. Not going to say she flirted with me. But she may have flirted with me. Grabbed my arm when we talked. Didn’t see her for a while...facebook came along....our kids are similar ages and she’s involved in several things so I see her pretty often. She looks as good now as she did then. Same round ass....titties even bigger. She always smiles and its like the old days before the hookup. Saw her a couple of weeks ago in a school parking lot. She was there on official business. There were no kids around. She was carrying a bag. I roll down the window and pull up beside her and ask her if she’s still hanging out in school parking lots after hours. She turns and laughs and leans into my window and we talk for a while. Nothing flirtatious. About general random kid-related stuff. But I know she thinks about it and knows I still remember her big pink nipples and voluptuous ass and choking on my dick.

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mustangshelby04 · 4 years ago

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Pairings: Chris Evans / Charlotte Mackenzie (O/C)

Summary: Saying no leads Charlotte to a friendship she has never imagined.

A/N: I’m trying to force myself to write. Maybe this will light a fire under my ass…. Or my muse’s. She’s a bit flakey.

Chapter 2

Charlie looked around at the boxes filling up her living room. Almost every room in the house was full of boxes. She had brought most of her stuff from Omaha, but she’d ended up buying a lot of new furniture to fill up the new house and plenty of kitchenware to fill up the rather large kitchen. She had a couple of friends that had seen her off, but only one of them had offered to drive to Boston with her to help her move in.

Amanda walked into the house with the last box from the moving POD. “That’s it! We’re done.”

“Define done.” Charlie looked around her. “I’ve still got to figure out where all this stuff goes.”

“Have you even toured your house?”

“A little bit.”

Amanda moved past Charlie and walked through to the foyer. She flung open a pair of french doors and let out a low whistle. “Now I see why you bought this place. There’s a frickin library!”

“Yeah. That was the reason I bought this place.” Charlie walked into the library. “It’s not huge, but it’s mine.”

“I may just move to Boston with you.”

“Be my guest.”

“I don’t think Roger would approve. He wasn’t too keen on me coming here without him.”

“Well, you guys are trying for a baby. If you’re not there, the babymaking is one-sided and that never works out.”

Amanda laughed. “He’s just mad because the doctor told him he can’t play with himself and I’m not there to relieve his blue balls. Show me the upstairs!” There was a knock on the front door and the tall brunette looked at Charlie. “You expecting someone?”

Charlie shrugged and walked over to open the door. Chris stood there with a man and an older woman. “Chris!” Charlie smiled brightly and hugged him tightly. “What are you doing here?”

“We came to help you move in,” Chris said. “Mac, this is my mom, Lisa, and this is my friend Josh.” “It’s nice to finally meet you,” Lisa said, shaking Charlie’s hand. “My son has had nothing but good things to say about you.”

Charlie and Chris had spent the entire night talking that horrible day in Chicago. He’d offered her a ride to the airport the next morning and they hadn’t stopped talking the entire time. Since they’d parted ways, they had texted and called non-stop. Their friendship was an easy one and their conversations were always lengthy and in-depth. Philosophical debates were a favorite pastime for them as well as recommending books to one another.

There was a throat being cleared loudly behind Charlie and she turned to look at Amanda. “This is my friend Amanda.”

“Mandy’s fine,” Amanda said. “She told me she was friends with Chris Evans, but I didn’t believe her because she was so nonchalant about it. I guess it’s true.” She shook Chris’ hand. “Thank you for being there for her when that jackass dumped her like that.”

“It was my pleasure,” Chris said. “It’s great to meet you. Mac talks a lot about you.”

“I’m so mad you get to call her Mac. She never lets anyone call her that.”

“Oh my god, please come in!” Charlie said. “It’s cold out there.” She ushered Chris, Josh, and Lisa inside. “You really didn’t have to come help.”

“It’s the neighborly thing to do.” Chris said. “So, point us in the right direction and we’ll get started..”

“We’ve gotten everything in from the POD,” Amanda announced.

“And the furniture was delivered yesterday,” Charlie added. “Not all of it was put together.”

“I’ll go put things away in the kitchen,” Lisa announced. “Chris and Josh can start building furniture.”

“Charlie, you and I can start unpacking your books in that amazing library of yours.” Amanda declared.

Five hours later, everyone was standing around the kitchen island eating pizza that Lisa had ordered from Leone’s. The place was starting to look like someone lived there. Empty boxes were piled up in the mudroom, ready to be disposed of. The furniture still needed some rearranging, but it was mostly put together.

“You should throw a housewarming party.” Amanda declared.

“I think this is the housewarming party,” Charlie answered. “I don’t know anyone here. Besides Chris. And now Josh and Lisa. You’re leaving me tomorrow.”

“You’re going to make friends at work.”

“I don’t officially start for another two weeks. And it’s far enough away, I doubt I’ll be spending much time hanging out there. Which I am perfectly fine with. It’s one of the reasons why I chose Concord.”

“Your Spartan lifestyle is so confusing to me.”

Amanda had been the most popular girl all through school. When Charlie had moved to Omaha, Amanda had somehow managed to find out her story and took the young ginger girl under her wing. Charlie was sucked into the popular group, but she wasn’t really one of them. Amanda had been a cheerleader, in every school club she could be, and had been in theatre. Of course she starred in everything. Charlie had been the wallflower. The only club she had been in was the Young Author’s Club. She had gone to some games and attended the school plays to support her best friend, but she had always preferred to be the one in the supporting role. It wasn’t until college that Charlie began to find herself and came out of her shell some.

A lot of people didn’t understand her friendship with Amanda. They were polar opposites. But Amanda was an amazing friend. She had come to love Charlie like a sister and that vice was plenty versa. They had just clicked from the first conversation and had been nearly inseparable. They had even attended the same college and had made sure to be roommates through all four years. To many, Amanda seemed like the typical shallow popular girl, but she was actually a very smart woman with a deep, caring heart and soul.

“I am perfectly happy surrounded by my books,” Charlie said. “I just bought another box worth from that second-hand store back home, so I’ve got plenty to catch up on.”

“I keep telling you that you have an addiction to reading. Is there a Books Anonymous you can attend?”

Charlie laughed, but it was Chris that spoke next. “I’m in town for a little while. I have no problem showing you around your new home.”

“That’s a great idea, Chris!” Lisa exclaimed. “There’s plenty to see and do around here.”

“I suppose I’ll have to learn the surroundings at some point.” Charlie agreed.

“And the city.” Josh added. “You’ll need to learn your way around it, too. It can be a bit confusing.”

“That’s an understatement.” Chris laughed. “But Josh is right. We’ll have to plan some days to head into Boston and get you acclimated.”

“I appreciate that.” Charlie said. She noticed Lisa and Amanda stifling yawns. “It’s getting late. You guys have done so much. You really don’t have to stay and finish.”

“I’m going to stay. There’s a couple of pieces I was fighting with that I want to finish.”

“I’ll take Lisa home.” Josh offered.

“Thanks, man.” Chris clapped his friend on the shoulder.

“Yes, thank you, Josh.” Lisa said.

“I’ll walk you guys out.” Charlie offered.

“Charlie, please don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything.” Lisa said as they got to the front door. “Chris will give you my number.”

“Oh, thank you so much, Lisa!” Charlie hugged the older woman tightly.

“Chris hasn’t been himself since his breakup a few months ago. You’ve been such a bright light in his life these last few weeks and he seems to be getting back to who he is. I think you’re a big part of that, so I am eternally grateful to you.”

“He’s never even mentioned a breakup to me.”

“That’s good! It was rough on him. He said you went through a rough breakup, too.”

“I did. I got abandoned in Chicago because I refused to marry him.”

“What a jackass!” Lisa hugged Charlie again. “Well, his loss is our gain. I’ll see you soon, sweetie.”

Charlie waved at Lisa as she headed out and hugged Josh as he said his goodbyes. She joined Amanda and Chris in the kitchen. “And then there were three.”

“Make that two.” Amanda said. “I’m beat and I’m going to bed.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. These hormone injections aren’t fun. They take a lot out of me.” “I’m sorry.”

“It’s all in the name of having a baby.” Amanda turned to Chris. “It was lovely to meet you. Take care of my Charlie-bug.”

“I will do my best.” Chris promised, hugging Amanda. “It was really good to meet you, too.”

Charlie turned to Chris. “Where’s the last of the furniture you wanted to put together?”

“Your bedroom. I need to finish your bed, the dresser, and one more nightstand.”

“I’ll help you.” She grabbed the last box of pizza and headed out of the kitchen. They headed upstairs and into the master bedroom. Amanda was thankfully staying in the guest room at the other end of the house, so they wouldn’t risk waking her with their noise. “I didn’t realize it was getting late.”

“It’s not.” Chris said. “It’s only nine.”

“Really? Huh….”

They set to work on getting her bed finished. “So, Amanda is trying to have a baby?”

“Yeah. She and her husband Roger tried for a year before going to see a specialist. She’s doing her third round of IUI now. If that doesn’t work, they’ll have to try IVF.”

“Wow! That’s a lot to go through to have a baby.”

“She’s been really stressed out about it. I’m glad she decided to come with me to help me move. It’s a nice little getaway for her.”

“It’s too bad she’s leaving tomorrow. I could’ve taken you ladies into the city.”

“We kind of have to head that way anyway. She’s flying back. Her flight leaves at five in the evening.”

“Would you like me to take you guys? I know the way and we could have lunch somewhere.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah!” “That’s really kind of you.”

“Anytime.” He gave her a bright smile.

They were quiet for a long time as they finished putting the frame of the bed together and attaching the padded headboard. When they had moved on to the dresser and the nightstand, Charlie looked across the room at Chris. “So, your mom said you went through a tough breakup a few months ago.”

Chris kept his attention on the dresser drawer he was assembling. “Yeah.” “Did she propose then dump you in a strange city when you said no?”

Chris chuckled softly, but stayed quiet. Finally he said, “I wouldn’t have said no.”

“Oh.”

He sighed and paused in his work. “I really liked her. I could’ve loved her.”

“I’m sorry.”

“We dated for a few months last year and then for a few months this year.”

“What happened?”

“Different schedules. Different life plans. She wanted to be more public. I wanted to be more private. I just don’t think that my business is the world’s business.”

“And she did?”

“She’s a comedian. She loved to talk about our relationship at her shows and she tweeted about us a lot. It really bothered me. We had a huge fight and she walked out.”

“I’m really sorry, Chris.”

“It’s ok.” Chris shrugged.

“It’s really not. You should be allowed to have a say in your relationship. If her being so public about it made you uncomfortable and she couldn’t respect that, then it’s better that you parted ways. You deserve better than that.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She shot him a smile. “The right woman is out there for you. I hope you haven’t given up hope.”

“I’m too much of a hopeless romantic for that.” He watched her for a long moment. Her tongue was sticking out of the side of her mouth as she concentrated on fitting two pieces together. A lock of her copper hair had escaped the messy bun on top of her head and she kept pushing it back behind her ear. “What about you, Mac?” “What about me?”

“Have you given up on finding someone?”

She stopped in her task and looked over at him. “I don’t really have time for dating. I’m always so busy.”

“You had time for the jackass.”

“Barely. And look how well that turned out.”

“How many boyfriends have you had in your life?”

“Um….. Three. One in high school. One in college. And then jackass.”

“What!?”

“What?”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“Were they long term?”

“High school Chad was a year. College Bryan was three years. Jackass Sam was six months.” “You’re thirty-four and you’ve only had three boyfriends?”

“Why is that so shocking?”

“Because you’re gorgeous. You’re smart and funny and witty…..”

“There you go trying to get into my pants again.”

Chris laughed. “It would be a futile effort.”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe not.”

He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Are you trying to seduce me?”

That made her laugh. “If I was, you’d be flat on your back instead of struggling with that drawer.”

“Listen to that confidence!”

“I’m just saying, clearly you can’t resist my charms. Too bad for you I’m not looking for a romantic relationship.”

“Who says it has to be romantic?”

“Oh, please, Chris! You’re a hopeless romantic. Those were your words.”

“True, but I’m also a human male.” “What does that mean?”

“It means: why can’t we have some fun together?”

“Oh my god! You really are trying to get in my pants!”

He chuckled. “Like I said, you’re gorgeous, smart, funny, witty….”

“Ok, Casanova…. Calm down over there.”

“Hey, you brought it up.”

“I may sound confident, but I’ve never had a friend with benefits.”

“Honestly, neither have I. A few one night stands, sure, but not a friend with benefits. Maybe taking a break from dating and having a no-strings-attached thing would benefit us both.”

“How would it work?”

“I’m not a fan of the term ‘booty-call,’ so maybe when we’re hanging out and the urge arises…. We don’t ignore it?”

“Ok. What if the urge arises and we’re not together?”

“That would be a booty-call.”

“So, don’t call it a booty-call. There are plenty of other words in the English language to use.”

“Ok, Miss Book Editor, what words would you use?”

Charlie thought for a second. “How about a tryst?”

“Oooh! I like that.”

“Thought you might. What happens if one of us catches feelings?”

“We’ll stop. Or deal with it accordingly.”

“Easier said than done.”

“You planning to fall in love with me?”

“Not in the near future. You’re not my type, Evans.”

“How so?”

“You’re too much of a jock.”

“No!”

“Yup. You’re up early for work outs and you love sports. You speak fluent bro despite your eloquence and surprising depth. On top of that, you’re always travelling for work. Which, by the way, your job is too rich for my blood.”

Chris nodded in understanding. He wasn’t offended at all. She had him pegged pretty well and his job was a bit crazy to someone not in the industry. He could only imagine what she must make of it being such a…. What had Amanda said…. Spartan. “Ok, Mac, fair points well made. What is your type?”

That seemed to stump her. “Um…. I….. Well….”

“So, I could be your type, but you’re just not sure.”

She rolled her eyes. “Are you planning on falling in love with me?”

He took a moment to think about it. “Not in the near future, but I’m open to all possibilities.”

Charlie rolled her eyes again. “Ok. I’m willing to give it a try if you are.”

Chris grinned. “We’re gonna have some serious fun.”

Please let me know if you want to be tagged in this story. The more people that want to read it, the better. I want my muse to feel the pressure!

Forever Taglist

@joannaliceevans-fanficblog

@jamielea81

@southerngracela

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#Chris Evans #OC Charlie McKenzie #OC Charlotte Mackenzie #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans fanfic #chris evans fic

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fericita-s · 5 years ago

Text

Courting Secrets

“Secrets are the things we give to others to keep for us.” Elbert Hubbard

As Agnarr and Iduna grow closer during their courtship, Iduna struggles with how much she can reveal to Agnarr about her past.

Thanks @the-spastic-fantastic for editing this and especially for the great quote on secrets that really sets this up!

Part of When All is Lost, our canon-compliant (mostly) series on Agnarr and Iduna.

Agnarr came to the shop at closing time, greeting Mr. Visser on the way in.

“Good afternoon, King Agnarr. Iduna’s in the back. I’ll go get her.” Mr. Visser turned to walk towards the back of the store, but Iduna had heard the bell on the door and came into the storefront and Agnarr found himself matching her sunny smile.

Agnarr showed her the basket he was carrying with a meal prepared by the kitchen staff. “Minister Wollen suggested I take you on a picnic.”

“Oh? And will Minister Wollen be coming on this picnic?” Iduna tucked her hair behind her ear. She started the day with it in a long braid, but during her work some strands had escaped and Agnarr liked the way it fell around her face.

“No, but my guard will be nearby.” He gestured to where they stood at attention outside of the apothecary. “Discrete, they promise.”

Iduna took his arm, said good-bye to Mr. Visser, and they walked through the Market Square with Agnarr pausing to greet those who wanted to shake the king’s hand. As they left the town proper, they made their way up into the steep hills.

“Where are we going on this picnic? The North Mountain?”

“No, I thought we could go up to the waterfall. There is a nice flat spot there to lay down the blanket for us. For food. We’ll put the food out on the blanket and then sit down on it.” Agnarr was becoming flustered, nervous about their first time together since he had notified the council of his intent to officially court Iduna. He thought that after his confession to her in the woods of his affection for her, their kiss, his finally making his intentions clear, that all would be comfortable in their friendship once more. But this was unexplored terrain, as new to him as kissing her had been. Something he very much wanted to do but wasn’t sure how to do and wasn’t sure how to get right.

They continued their hike in what he hoped she would feel was companionable silence. His hands started to sweat and his grip on the basket grew tighter. He might not know exactly how to behave on this excursion, but he knew dropping all of their food wasn’t a good way to begin.

***

When they eventually sat down with the food spread out, the guard some distance away, Agnarr handed her a plate.

“Take what you’d like!”

They both served themselves from the generous dinner– fruits and cheese, bread and ham.

He tried to think of something clever to say, but it was Iduna who spoke first. And she seemed to also be feeling awkward about their designation as a courting couple. “This feels so strange! I know courting is the time to get to know one another well, but I already know so much about you. I don’t know what to ask, or what to say.”

He smiled at her, trying to help her feel comfortable. “Am I so simple that there is nothing left to learn?”

“Well, then, tell me something about you I don’t know.”

“And then you’ll do the same?”

“Certainly.”

Agnarr cast about, trying to think of something impressive to tell her. An award he’d received maybe? The number of languages he spoke? No, he had already confided in her how he didn’t deserve any of the awards he had been given for the failed Northern Expedition and she already knew how many languages he spoke. He suddenly realized what he could tell her.

“I call you Sunny. As a nickname.”

He could tell she was surprised. She stopped chewing her mouthful of bread and said “I’ve never heard you say that!”

He smiled, enjoying her show of being flustered. “Well I don’t say it out loud. It’s just what I’ve used in my head, when I think about you. You have such a sunny smile, and it makes me happy to see you. It’s like seeing the sun, all bright and cheerful, bringing light to darkness.”

Iduna blushed and he hoped that meant she was pleased. She smiled and he shouted “See! The sun. My Sunny.” As she continued to smile her cheeks turned a deepening shade of red and he asked “Now, what is something I don’t know about you?”

Iduna took a deep breath, her answer coming more quickly than his had. “I didn't know how to read when I started at the academy. Greet taught me. She was a very good teacher, it only took us a few weeks.”

“Or you were a fast learner.”

“Or both.”

Iduna looked at the view from the waterfall, the whole of Arendelle laid in the valley below, the waterfall a pleasant mist in the air. “You’ve done a lot for your kingdom already. I’m very grateful for the academy and for the chance to have a life here. And for the chance to know you.”

Agnarr set his plate down on the blanket, and took her hand. “And I you.”

***

That night in the boarding house, Iduna thought about the waterfall, and how she had swallowed the urge to say “I’m Northuldra.” That was something he didn’t know. But could she ever tell him?

***

From the lighthouse, they could see not only all of Arendelle, but the glittering splendor of the ocean all the way to the horizon. Iduna leaned over the railing, pushing her face into the wind, delighting in the feel. She missed her wind spirit and liked the chance to experience the echo of its embrace.

She thought about saying I showed you how to play with the wind in my forest– the wind spirit tossed us both in the air, and we laughed and you bowed to me and I wish you could remember it too. Instead, she said “I like the feel of the wind. It feels like a friend.”

Agnarr stood next to her, covering his hand with hers. “I’ve noticed that about you. That you like the wind. Whenever we sailed you would lean in to the wind, just like you’re doing now.”

“Hmmm. Then I suppose that can’t count as something you don’t know. I’ll think of something else. But your turn. You tell me something.”

“If I wasn’t king, I would want to be a sailor. Exploring the seas, seeing new lands. Kings don’t often travel to new places though we do meet people from new lands. When I’m in the sailboat or even the rowboat, I love that feeling of freedom.”

Agnarr brought her hand up to his mouth, and kissed it. “But I wouldn’t want to travel without you.”

He looked into her eyes, and began to lean in close. He watched her lips as she formed the words “You were my first kiss.” Then, shyly, “I like when you kiss me.”

He pressed his mouth against hers, the softness of her lips and the warmth of them better than akvavit.

He pulled back so he could see her eyes again and said “That’s another thing I already knew,” and kissed her smiling mouth with his matching laughter.

***

Agnarr took her inside the clock tower, showing her the gears and the moving dancers that came out to announce the hour. Each time they met, each time they had an official courting outing, he felt less nervous taking her hand. Less awkward. Until eventually it felt natural and calming to be touching her, a balm on a weary day, a shared joy on a good one. Now he had his arm around her shoulders, his other hand pointing to the gears and features of the clocks.

“These dancers were modeled after my grandfather’s sisters. So I was told, anyway. They died before I was born so I don’t know if it’s a good likeness.”

Iduna leaned into his shoulder, and stayed silent for a while. “Are we still sharing things we don’t know about each other? “

“If you’d like.” He stopped pointing and moved his hands so they were positioned like dancers, his hands on her waist and holding her hand, her arm on his shoulder and hand in his.

“I'm afraid I don’t know what my mother looks like anymore. It’s been so long since I’ve seen her. Sometimes I can remember, and sometimes I can’t.” She leaned into him, putting her cheek on his chest, and his arms came around her in a hug.

Agnarr stroked her back, wishing he had adequate words to tell her how much he wished to carry her sorrow for her. “I’m so sorry you lost your family. I’m so sorry you are far from them. But I am glad you are here. I’m glad you chose Arendelle to be your home.”

She spoke quietly, her voice muffled against his jacket. “Your friendship is why I didn't leave Arendelle.”

“That makes us about even then. I started the academy partly so I could see you again. I bet that’s something you didn’t know. ”

***

When he bade her goodnight at the door to the boarding house as the clock struck ten, Iduna thought of the words she kept from leaving her tongue when they were still in the clocktower.

My brother Duvka brought me a toy with gears like this clock once.

I tried to return home to him and my family but I couldn’t get through the mist.

The day I first noticed that clock tower in the Market Square was the first time I saw you after leaving you at the castle gates.

And you didn’t remember me.

***

After her riding lesson, Iduna was surprised to see Agnarr in the stables.

“Don’t you usually have a council meeting at this time?” She pulled off her gloves and wiped her forehead with them. It was sweaty work learning to ride a horse.

“We just finished. And I thought of something else you don’t know about me that I could show you here.”

“Oh?” She smiled at his raised eyebrows and playful expression.

“Yes. Lt. Mattias used to bring me here to play hide and seek. He told me it was a good skill for a soldier-in-training to have, which is what I always begged him to treat me as.”

“And how is it that you play this game?”

“I count to thirty and you find a place to hide. Then I come find you. One. Two. Three – “

Iduna shrieked and ran off, already determined to beat Agnarr. She squeezed into a small space underneath a saddle rack and turned towards the wall, biting her gloves to keep from laughing. She wondered what Minister Wollen would think of Hide and Seek as a courting activity.

It seemed less than thirty seconds before Agnarr grabbed her from behind, pulling her out from her spot “I won! I found you! It was easy, nothing in the stables smells as good as you.”

She playfully pushed him, pointing towards the stalls. “My turn now!”

She began to count, covering her eyes with her gloves. When she reached thirty, she began walking through the stables, thinking that with his tall frame and red hair, it wouldn’t be hard to find him. She was looking in the feed cupboard when he stuck his head out of a stall, shouting “Oh Sunny!” She ran to it, but he was already at the adjacent one, shouting “Here, Sunny!” Soon she was doubled over in laughter as he kept appearing in different stalls, the mystified horses whinnying and stepping lively near him.

“Come back out here before a horse kicks you!” she laughed.

Agnarr opened the stall door and grinned triumphantly. “You called mercy. I think that means I won.”

Iduna nodded in agreement. “I suppose you win this round. But I learned to ride pretty quickly. I’m sure I’ll get better at this too.”

They walked out to a bench outside of the stables, and sat down, Iduna enjoying the shade after her lesson in the sun. She turned towards him and asked “Do you still miss him a lot?”

Agnarr’s smile faded and he said. “I do. I loved Lt. Mattias very much. I admired him and wished to be like him. He was so patient with me, never made me feel like I was just his assignment. I know you’ve heard me talk about him before, but what I’ve never admitted aloud is that I miss him more than I miss my father. I was sorry my father died, and I do miss him. But he could be scary. When he was angry, I would hide from him. I think Lt. Mattias saw that and tried to turn it into a game.”

“It sounds like he taught you a lot of useful things.”

“He did. He also told me that you have to remember your loved ones talking. Remember something they always used to say or a conversation you had with them. And then you’ll actually remember their voice, and you’ll never really forget it. A voice might not be as good as a face, but it’s something to hold onto. So I do that with him. I try to remember what he said and the stories he told, and it makes him feel real.”

He picked up her hand and squeezed it. “The portrait I had commissioned of him, you remember, the one I showed you when you first saw the library?”

Iduna nodded, she remembered being awed by the sheer number of books, and delighted that she could read any of them at Agnarr’s invitation. And she remembered the solemn way he had told her about his personal guard and how he had been lost on the Northern Expedition. It had sent a shiver up her spine, a cautionary warning that being from Northuldra was still not a safe thing as long as Arendelle mourned their missing.

“I had that portrait made after he was gone. I described him to the painter, and some others who knew him well did too. Halima and some of the guards who stayed behind. And the painter got his likeness so well, I can’t believe he’d never seen him. So I thought we could try that with your mother. If you wanted to describe her, what you remember, the painter could make a portrait, and then you would be able to see it and remember her face always.”

Iduna leaned her head on his shoulder, a rush of affection at his thoughtfulness making it hard to speak. “Yes, I would like that.” Then, trying to dampen the emotions that threaten to overwhelm her, she cleared her throat. “I owe you something you don’t know yet about me.” She thought of another gift he had given her, and smiled. “The golden mortar and pestle you got me as a gift when I started at Mr. Visser’s was completely impractical, bordering on the ridiculous, completely unusable, and I love looking at it every day and thinking of your generosity.”

“I didn’t know gold was malleable! I thought a precious metal would be a good substance for a mortar and pestle! And besides, you’ve already told me that.”

The both laughed, and when a servant called them inside to eat dinner, Iduna thought about her mother and how she might still be alive, but with the mist closed, she would never know.

***

Iduna gathered her papers at the end of the council meeting on public health, determined not to let Dr. Wagner’s ill humor bother her. Just because he didn’t see the sense in washing fruit before it was eaten didn’t mean it wasn’t sensible. Agnarr put his hand on her shoulder and said “Come on, there’s something I want to show you.”

Iduna followed, and then stopped in surprise as he took off his boots, placing them in the doorway. “Here’s something you’ve never seen me do. Ever since I was little, I liked to skate down these long hallways in my stocking feet. It’s especially satisfying after a frustrating council meeting, which I believe we just experienced.”

Iduna gave a snort and took off her shoes as well. “Is it a race?”

Agnarr grinned. “It could be.”

They began sliding down the hall, pushing their feet against the just-polished wood, and Iduna loved the satisfying feel of her feet slipping on the floor. It was like the wind spirit was pushing her along. She laughed and Agnarr laughed but neither of them slowed down enough before they got to the end of the hallway, and they ended up in a heap of arms and legs and stockinged feet, their laughter echoing down the empty hall.

***

They sat at the top of the tallest castle tower, eating dessert and drinking glogg. The moonlight lit the stained glass in a way that reminded Iduna of the northern lights. She wondered if that’s what the architect had in mind.

“I don’t think I’ve learned something new about you today, Sunny,” Agnarr said, offering a piece of chocolate to Iduna.

Iduna looked down at the castle, to a balcony she recognized as the one where Agnarr had given her a necklace on his eighteenth birthday.

“I left your birthday ball early because I couldn’t stand to see you dance with those women, so perfect in their gowns and their titles and their money.” She tried to keep her voice light, to make it seem like a joke.

Agnarr seemed to understand, and kept his answer light as well. “You didn’t miss much. I accidentally called Lady Alexsandra by your name and she…did not like it. But it did save me the trouble of having to let her down gently later.”

They kept eating, and as Iduna cuddled closer to Agnarr, she had the urge to tell him about the first time he met her in the northern forest. The first time I told you my name you called me Lady Iduna.

***

Agnarr and Iduna walked hand in hand over the bridge, Agnarr excitedly telling her about the construction, how it was the first project completed by academy graduates, and how it heralded a new era in Arendellian technical achievement. She liked hearing the pride in his voice, the joy he took in the accomplishments of others. And her thoughts to turned to what she couldn’t say.

I remember the dam your people build for mine. A project that was supposed to bring peace.

If I told you who I was, would you still be happy to be here with me?

Instead she squeezed his hand and said “Did you know that when we were younger, Eir told me I had to stop holding your hand? She said it would give me a deplorable reputation that would never be unsullied.”

Agnarr turned to hold her other hand as well. “I always wondered why you stopped. I’m glad we can hold hands again now.”

***

Sitting on the castle rooftop, eating sandwiches and waiting for the northern lights to wake up the sky, Iduna breathed in the salty air and wished the breeze would pick up. Feeling the wind made her calm, and she craved that feeling. The longer she sat there, the closer she and Agnarr got to an engagement that everyone from Mr. Visser to Eir to Greet to the kitchen servants told her was imminent, the more she wanted to tell him the things he didn’t know about her that might really matter.

The first time I saw you you were lost in the woods, helping a sheep, and right away I could tell you were kind.

I saved you from the battle.

When the trolls found us, I was worried they were harming you but I was too scared to do anything. They told me you might never remember, and I’m both afraid you will and afraid you won’t.

I brought you to the castle and then ran in the shadows so no one would find me. Sometimes I worry no one ever will.

I have a shawl that my grandmother made. Her name is Elsa. I miss her.

I want you to know who I am, but I’m afraid.

#agduna #mama and papa arendelle #when all is lost #lt. mattias #king agnarr #idnua

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kaffeinic · 5 years ago

Text

Caffeinic | Bang Chan

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

Pairing: Reader x Barista!Bang Chan

Genre: Fluff // Romance

Warnings: Fem!Reader

Preamble: You’ve been going to the same coffee shop for the past four years. You’ve ordered the same thing almost every single day, and you never, ever skip on that part of your morning. So, when Mrs. Park hired a new barista and the once serene café was suddenly flooded with people every second of the day, you were less than thrilled.

It was now the morning after the party, and you had officially concluded you wouldn’t attend another one for a very long time. You’ve spent the last three hours or so searching for your phone, which you did not find. You did, however, pick up your house phone and call a friend.

“Dongil! It’s Y/n.” You said.

“Hey! It’s been a while. How’ve you been?” He asked. You and Dongil had been friends for a solid six years, and you loved him so much - platonically, that is.

“I’m pretty good. What about you?” You asked.

“I’m great~! Hannah and I finally got pregnant!” Hannah was Dongil’s wife of two years. The couple had been together since their Freshman year and you had shipped it so hard. With the news, you suddenly squealed with happiness, completely forgetting why you had been so wound up before.

“Really?! That’s amazing! I am so, so happy for you!” You were dancing in place, a huge smile painted on your lips.

“Thanks! I hope you’ll be able to visit for the shower.” He said. You smiled at his words.

“Of course, just let me know when you set a date.” You replied. He hummed in understanding.

“So, was there a reason why you called, or did you just want to catch up?” He asked.

“Both? You know how I’m always losing my stuff?” You asked him. “I’ve lost my phone. Any idea where my dumb butt would have put it?” You asked. The line went silent for a moment.

“Have you checked in that crack between your bed and the wall?” He asked. You hummed in response. “What about that table by the door?” He asked.

“I’ve checked all of the usual places.”

“I don’t have a clue. I would help if I was there, but I can’t. I’m sorry.” He explained.

“No, no. It’s okay. I’m just used to you always thinking of the right place.” You laughed it off, but now your stress was worsening. Your phone had a lot of important things, and you did not have a lock on it. Why? The world may never know. I needed a plot point.

The two of you chatted for a bit longer before hanging up. Once the tone ended, you let out a sigh. It was then that you thought of calling your phone again. Maybe it was in the house, but you just hadn’t seen it. You prayed that the vibrate function was loud enough for you to hear.

You entered your phone number and called. You heard ringing from your end, but couldn’t hear anything else indicating where your phone was. After a few calls and a lot of roaming around the apartment, you received an automated message saying that your phone was turned off. Maybe it died?

It was half an hour before your usual time at the café, and you gathered your things for the subway ride to get there. Throwing on a coat and scarf, you headed out the door, locking it behind you.

The ride was completely uneventful. You mostly just stared out of the window. Part of you was mostly disappointed about your phone because a certain someone was going to ask for your number. You left the station and walked for about ten minutes before coming face-to-face with the front door of the Park’s coffee house.

Pushing it open, you heard the familiar ring of the overhead bell, the aroma of coffee and sweets flooding your senses. You closed your eyes for a moment, enjoying the weight it seemed to lift off of your shoulders. The feeling was almost immediately replaced when you noticed how crowded the shop was again.

You made your way to the counter, waiting a few minutes until you had gotten through the line.

“You have no idea how glad I am to see you.” Chan said from behind the counter. You smiled, but the expression left your face quickly when you saw the look on Chan’s face.

“What’s wrong?” You asked.

“I don’t know how, and I don’t know when, but Seoyeon got a hold of my phone number. I haven’t slept all night. She’s relentless.” He explained, rubbing the back of his neck as his head hung low.

“Why didn’t you just block the number?” You asked. He laughed sarcastically.

“I did. Unfortunately, she used it to find my Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Tumblr. She found my Tumblr. My phone number isn’t even linked to my Tumblr.” You could see just how done the man was. He ran his hand through his hair, which you could clearly tell he had been doing all day. All you wanted to do was give him a hug, right there. If you did, it would have been around everyone else in the overpopulated establishment, which you weren’t yet comfortable with.

“I-” You searched for the words. “That’s insane.” You said.

“Enough of my whining. Any luck finding your phone?” He asked.

“First off, you can whine to me any time. Secondly, no. No luck whatsoever.” You said. He smiled at your first statement, then looked around.

“Did you check your entire house?” He asked. You could tell he was skeptical, but knew how to deter that.

“I did, thank you very much, but if you remember correctly, I had my phone when you saw me at the party. It was missing by the time I had gotten in your car.” You said. “It wouldn’t have been there anyway.” Chan smiled at your sassy attitude.

“Alright, I surrender.” He said, holding up his hands. “I was hoping you’d be on time today. I made something I want you to try.” He said, turning around. He grabbed a steaming mug of coffee from the back of the station, facing you. When you grabbed it, you giggled on closer inspection.

“A heart? Really?” You asked. It was a latte with a white heart in the middle, with a little bit of design around it.

“Yes, really. It took me two hours to figure that out. A lot of people here got some gnarly-looking lattes.” He said. You laughed, nearly spilling the drink.

“Y/n, be careful!” He said, placing his hands around yours and the mug. You realized at that moment just how much larger his hands were compared to yours. “I just told you how hard I worked on this, and now you’re trying to throw it at me?” He feigned offense. “How rude.”

“Hey, you know that was an accident.” You paused as you looked at the drink. “Thank you, Channie. It’s really pretty.” You said. He smiled brightly - the brightest smile you’d seen from him all day.

“Your spot’s not open, but I don’t think Mrs. Park will mind if you use one of the seats back here. Chan pointed to one of three chairs placed behind the counter.

“I don’t think I should. She’s not here for me to ask.” You explained. He frowned, but nodded.

“There might be a seat somewhere over there.” He gestured to a booth near the back. “If a seat opens up here-” He began to speak, but you cut him off.

“I’ll run as fast as I can. Don’t worry.” You reassured him, smiling happily. You heaved your bag and your coffee to the back of the dining area, searching for a table that wasn’t yet occupied, finding none. There were a few booths with one or two people at them, but no one you recognized. Huffing, you stood like an idiot in the middle of the room.

“Y/n! Hello, dear. Why don’t you sit over here?” Mrs. Park scared you shitless as she pointed to the chairs that Chan had suggested before. After composing yourself, you smiled and nodded.

“Thanks so much~!” You said. You made your way to the back of the service counter, lightly pushing the door open. Chan looked up and grinned cheekily.

“Told you so.” He pulled out one of the chairs and ushered you towards it, placing his hand on your back. To be perfectly honest, if it had been anyone but him, you would have asked them not to touch you unnecessarily, but after having all but cuddled him in the entrance of your apartment, you figured it was excusable. Plus... it was Chan. He could touch you any time. Hell, you kind of wanted him to. Yes, I’m aware of how bad that sounds, but you know what I meant.

You placed your things on the ground, sipping on your coffee. There wasn’t any room for you to study, but at least it was a seat. You’d prefer this over looking like a fumbling idiot in the middle of the dining area any time of the day.

“You look beautiful today, Y/n.” Chan said, drying a mug. He glanced at you and smiled. You looked at yourself, scoffing.

“I’m in the laziest outfit I’ve been in for weeks, no makeup, and my hair barely passable as brushed. Are you insane?” You asked. He laughed.

“I don’t care. You look beautiful.” He said. He hung the mug he was drying on a hook in the back, grabbing another to repeat the process. You felt bad. He was the only employee back here, and the café was busier than you’d seen it in weeks.

“Do you want some help with that?” You asked. Chan looked at the mug, then at you.

“No. This is my job.” He said. “Plus, as you so eloquently said, the café has been flooded since I came here. I must be partially to blame.” He said. You rolled your eyes.

“Mhmm. Alright.” You replied. The next few minutes were mostly filled with Chan taking new orders and making coffee whilst you observed, noting small nuances in the way he moved and spoke. The more you heard his accent, the more normal it became, and you swore you could copy it if need be. Many customers flirted with him, which he only returned with polite smiles. Part of you wondered if he wanted you to act that way.

Chan had this habit of fiddling with his rings when he didn’t have anything to occupy his hands with, which made you smile. He also seemed to have a solemn, almost sad look to his face when he wasn’t in conversation. You couldn’t decide if it was just how he naturally relaxed his facial expression, or if he truly was sad. In the ten minutes you had been watching him, you decided to make it your mission to find out.

The only thing that snapped you out of your daze was the voice of an all too familiar girl. Seoyeon beamed at Chan, twirling her hair around her fingers. She was so unapologetic with her flirting that it was just getting annoying.

“Hi, Channie~!” She said, waving seductively. Chan looked over at her and seemed to struggle to contain the growing frown on his face.

“It’s Chan. Hi.” He seemed as polite as he could be, considering the night he had apparently gone through.

“I saw that you worked here and wanted to try some coffee.” She said.

“What would you like?” He asked.

“Could you make me something special?” She asked. Chan looked down. You couldn’t see his reaction, but you assumed it was unpleasant.

“Could you please just order from the menu?” He asked. She seemed completely unfazed by his very clearly annoyed tone, scanning the menu behind him. Her eyes widened when she noticed you. “What are you doing here?”

“She’s a regular.” Chan said. He turned to you and flashed a weak smile. “She needed a seat.”

“Does that mean I can go behind the counter, too?” Seoyeon asked. Chan immediately turned back to her.

“No.” He said. “What are you ordering?” He asked. She hummed a tune and looked around. “Caramel macchiato.” Chan nodded his head and got to work.

His greeting for her was a stark contrast to his greeting with you. It became more apparent every time you spoke with him just how much he actually enjoyed your presence. You smiled softly to yourself at the thought. It was then that Junseok came bursting through the café doors.

“Y/n!” He exclaimed.

I hope you all enjoyed! I hope this isn’t too much to ask, but I’d really appreciate it if those of you who enjoy this fanfic could reblog the chapters. I’m trying to get some more exposure for the story! If not, it’s okay~ Thanks for reading! I’ll come out with another chapter as soon as I can.

* DISCLAIMER: I do not own any gifs/photos used in this post. I do own the written content. Do NOT repost/edit. *

🏷 @a-toxic-galaxy • @hoshithehamster • @woo-for-woojin

#kpop #fanfictions #headcannons #reactions #ships #imagines #stray kids #skz #bang chan #chan #3racha #christopher bang #christopher #channie #barista #romance #cute #coffee

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fuckcanontbh · 5 years ago

Text

confessions in plain sight *stozier*

So this is for @ceftali in @stoziersecretsanta gift exchange! Sorry if this is late for you, but it is officially two hours into Christmas for me! This is my first time writing these characters so I apologize for any OOC-ness that happens. This is also my first contribution to the fandom, I hope you enjoy!

Note: bold lettering is Richie’s handwriting, words in [brackets] are actual song lyrics. Does contain swearing.

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

The sun beat down on the group, water dripped from their hair, and despite everything huge smiles were on everyone's faces as Mike told a story from the farm. Today was the first day of summer, so all of their backpacks crowded the space as well. Soon enough the group would be dry enough to get dressed and hang out in the club house until dinner time.

"Look, all I'm saying is that half of the problems in horror movies could be fixed if the characters weren't such idiots. I mean, really? If you see the murderer, why would you scream so he sees you?" Eddie's voice was the only noise as the group headed down into the club house. "Y-yeah. But you have to t-th-think that it's for dramatic e-effect. The character's can't always have a s-s-satis-satisfying ending." The group's leader argued further with Eddie, the two of them continuing their debate in a corner of the clubhouse.

"You're actually going to be starting school with us next year, Mike? Maybe now you'll actually believe us on how crazy school can be! All the stories we've told you about Richie and Bev are true, and Richie told me he's got some crazy stuff planned for our senior year!" Ben's excited voice came from another side of the clubhouse, Mike and Bev sitting in front of him on bean bags the group had added when winter made the ground too cold and hard to sit on comfortably. Stan watched all of this happen and then his eyes fell on Richie, who was unusually quiet as he sat in the hammock, reaching into his bookbag for something. "What are you looking for?" Richie jumped at Stan's voice, but quickly pulled a comic out of his bag. "Nothing but the newest X-Men comic, Stanny my boy, you'll never believe the kind of shit Storm cooks up this time!" Stan peered down at Richie, but the boy's grin seemed genuine so he shrugged and sat down, looking over Richie's shoulder. ~ "Alright, we'll see you tomorrow! Meeting at my house at four, right?" Beverly had already made her way up the ladder, but Ben was still waiting for an answer from Richie and Stan. "Haystack, you know I'll be there. Can't let your mom miss me too much!" Stan's hand reached out to smack Richie before he could stop it. "Tell everyone Richie has been uninvited." Ben simply laughed at their antics and shook his head as he climbed out into the little bit of sunlight left.

"We should probably head out soon, did you want to come over for dinner?" The blonde stood and brushed imaginary dust off his shirt and khakis. "Uh, hell yeah! Mrs. Uris makes the best food around here! Don't tell Ben I said that, his mom's cookies are good as hell." "Yeah, yeah. C'mon Trashmouth, I think mom is making meatballs and spaghetti squash." ~ Stan's house had been Richie Tozier free for about thirty minutes when Stan noticed Richie had left his bookbag next to his bed in his haste for dinner. The zipper was mostly undone and everything was one trip away from being all over Stan's floor. The boy rolled his eyes and bent down to zip it up when a small notebook caught his eyes. The book itself was simple on the outside, but it looked like a bunch of random things were also stuck into the book, making it thicker than it needed to be. It also looked like it was almost full, a slim part of the back of the notebook was still flat.

"Just leave it alone, Stan, it's none of your business." The boy brushed his teeth and put on his matching blue and white striped pajamas before climbing into bed. Minutes seemed to drag on forever before Stan stopped fighting himself and turned on his lamp before he grabbed the notebook. "It's probably just some dumb jokes Richie's thought of...or maybe some songs he's working on?" ~ 'Science HW due Thurs 28th' 'hang out after school @ quarry' '[Somewhere I'd never ever known, right at the back of my head, it hit me like a flashlight lighthouse beam of light]' ~ "Seems like it's just somewhere for him to put all his thoughts. Wonder who the song's about..." With the idea that the book was just a glance at Richie's mind as it worked a mile a minute, Stan continued reading. ~ 'Bev is the best!! girl offered me smokes even after i had to convince her skipping mrs. hepburns class was a good idea.' 'FUCK BOWERS' 'Math HW due Tues 4th' '[Cause you talk to me and it goes over my head...]' 'operation: get haystack the girl of his dreams walk her to class!! maybe walk her home sometimes? don't offer too much help bc bev hates that! write more of his sappy poems' 'gotta stop with the your mom jokes, not funny anymore' 'why is history so boring? REMINDER: ask ben to explain' 'start saving money-no more big spending at the arcade' ~ Stan scoffed at the thought of the curly haired boy giving up his favorite past time. "What's he even need to save money for anyway? He's already gotten that truck of his." ~ 'work @ 12-9 sat, sun and @ 5-12 mon, wed, fri' 'do i have an "it" factor? don't wanna miss out on making my mark on the world.' 'i don't even think he knows he does it. soft little smile on his face when he gets to a difficult problem, who does he think he is???' 'ma and dad fought all last night again. big bill asked what was up but i didn't want to talk about it. comedy is a good distraction' 'work @ 12-9 sat, sun and @ 5-12 mon, tues, wed, fri' 'glad i saved up some money, had to buy groceries again. ma's getting real bad again. haven't seen dad in a few days.' 'can't believe i got lucky enough to have such good friends. billy invited us all over for a horror movie marathon, ben and bev were put in charge of snacks. seems operation: get haystack the girl of his dreams is in motion. good for him! now if only i could get bill, mike, eddie, and stan lovers...' '[you've been on my mind boy girl since the flood]' 'ma passed out on the couch last night, guess it's a good thing i'm a lot bigger now. carried her to bed then went for a drive.' 'i swear he gets prettier the more i look at him' 'haystack just told me he scored a date!!!' 'HW due wed 18th' 'dad came home last night. got a good earful from him. maybe i should just stop talking? not like i got the nickname 'trashmouth' for something good. wonder if anyone would even notice' 'taught myself how to make chicken alfredo, actually got ma to eat with me.' 'i think i'm gonna tell him' 'nope. not gonna tell him. there's no way it would end good. out of all of our friends he's the least likely to want me' 'they say it is better to have loved and lost than never to love at all. but then it's 2 am and all you can think about is him, and you know he isn't thinking about you' ~ Stan snapped the book shut and quickly shoved it back into Richie's bag, thoughts flooding his mind. "Who is this boy Richie is crushing on? Is it Eddie? Eddie does yell at him a lot...and they have a bunch of classes together." "I didn't know things had gotten so bad at home. Mrs. Tozier used to be a saint.." "Is Richie okay?" He couldn't pin point why, but as he clicked his lamp off, Stan's chest hurt, but before a tear could escape his eyes he rolled over and pulled his covers up to his chin. ~ "Hey Rich, you left this at my house last night." Stan held the bag in-between them, his eyes refusing to meet Richie's, his chest still tight like the night before. "Stan the Man! My savior, got some important goods in here!" The blonde's eyebrows raised, finally looking at Richie's face just for the boy to look away quickly. "Can't lose my comic so soon now can I?"

"My mom made cookies!!" Ben walked into the living room, plate piled with chocolate chip cookies in his hands. "Ben Handsome, you are nothing if not the son of a saint, if you know what I mean." Richie dived for the plate, one cookie already in his mouth and three in his hands.

"Beep, beep, Richie!" Eddie scoffed and bumped the boy's shoulder, taking one cookie from Ben's plate. Stan watched as Richie's shoulders deflated, and the brunet ate his second cookie much slower. Before he could say anything Mike and Beverly's voices took everyone's attention towards the TV.

"We're not doing more horror movies, we did that like two weeks ago!" Beverly was swatting at the movies in Mike's hands, trying to reach across him to put her VHS into the VCR player. "She's not w-wr-wrong Mike. Let's just do the Disney marathon." At Bill's words Mike sighed and gave in, backing away from the TV so suddenly that Beverly fell forward slightly.

"Did you see that foul play my good man? Foul play I say!" Richie nudged Bill just to be shrugged off as the boy grabbed a cookie and moved to sit on the couch. ~ "I think I'm gonna go ahead and head home you guys. I'm getting one of those notorious Tozier headaches." Richie stood behind the couch as the credits to Bambi played, bookbag slung over his shoulder. "Yeah, yeah, bye Richie." "See ya, Trashmouth." "I think I'm gonna head out too, gotta help my mom clean up a bit before my aunt stays with us." "Dang, bye Stan." "Have fun with that Stan!" ~ "Hey Rich, think you can give me a ride?" The boy nodded and started his truck, hurriedly throwing a couple things behind the bench seat of his truck.

"Only the best for a prince, amiright?" If Stan didn't know better he'd say Richie's ears had gone a little pink. His truck started and he pulled out of Ben's driveway onto the road.

"Are you actually getting a headache Richie? Cause if not, I wanna talk.." His hands gripped the steering wheel a little tighter but Richie put on a smile and glanced at Stan.

"Always knew you could see through me. Don't know if we can have this conversation without your mother though, she wanted to be the one to break the news."

"Oh shut up asshole." Despite his words Stan felt himself smiling as Richie snickered.

"I just want to say I'm sorry first. Because I shouldn't have pried. But I thought it was just gonna be stupid stuff. Maybe some black mail material."

"Wait, you read my fucking journal? Stanley that's fucked dude! I would never do that to you. I can't believe you went through my bag. Guess straight cut Stan isn't as honest a man as I thought. Dude, what is your problem?"

A red light had stopped them, and Richie was able to look at Stan in the eye now, his brown eyes angry, but also coming off as slightly panicked.

"Look, I really didn't mean to get into your heavy shit. I thought it was just gonna be full of those little doodles you do in class and some new song lyrics. I didn't read too much of it Just a couple pages, maybe three tops! It's just got me worried about you."

"What did you read Stanley? Worried I'm sick? I can't really say I'm surprised." Brown eyes rolled and he clicked his tongue as he pulled forward.

"Sick? What- no. I'm worried about your mom and dad."

"You know that's none of your fucking business. We're just fine at the Tozier residence. Nothing has changed, Went works all the time and Ma takes care of the house. Don't start talking like you know anything about them. Get out of my car, Uris."

"Rich-"

"No, I said I'd give you a ride home, and here we are. The Uris residence. Go help your mom clean up and figure out how to stay out of other people's business."

Stan sighed and hung his head as he got out of the truck, only turning his head towards the street when Richie sped off, a cloud of smoke following him. ~ "Beverly, I really messed up the other day." "Sweetheart, Richie is known for the theatrics, don't let it get you down." "Yeah, Stan, that boy is like a rubber ball, he'll bounce back."

A shaky hand worked it's way through blonde curls, brown eyes bounced around the room, landing on Bev sitting in the window smoking, the radio sitting next to her turned down quiet enough for them to talk over, and Mike sitting criss cross on the bed.

"Stan, what even happened? I have never seen you this worried over some little fight with Richie."

"Look, I know it was wrong, but I accidentally read his very personal journal." Stan cringed as he said the words, already feeling Mike's eyes on him when Beverly whipped her head in his direction.

"How do you accidentally read someone's journal man?" "What did you read Stan?

Mike and Bev spoke at the same time, and Bev's cigarette was out before Stan could explain.

"Look, he's just got some shit going on at home, and he doesn't want to bother us with it...andIthinkhemighthaveacrushonEddie." "What was that last part?" "I think he mighthaveacrushonEddie." "Stan, breathe sweetheart we aren't gonna yell at you." "I think he might have a crush on Eddie and I'm not sure why I'm upset about it."

Mike and Bev shared a knowing look over Stan's down tilt head, Bev's eyebrows raised in a silent question that Mike answered with a nod.

"You may be one of the smartest most oblivious person I've met Stanley Uris." "You've had that boy wrapped around your finger since you became friends in second grade." "Guess you just didn't realize he had you around his finger as well."

Mike's words stung at first, but when Beverly pointed out who Richie's crush was, Stan's face lit up like a light. His cheeks dusted with pink as he met their eyes.

"You're being serious. Fuck, now I've really messed up. He thinks I hate him!" ~ "This is such a bad fucking idea. He hates you right now Stan." With a sigh the boy threw the first stone at the second floor window. It took three stones for Richie Tozier to open his window, and only one glance to see Stan before he was retreating again.

"Wait, Richie! Please, I just want to talk. Can we go for a ride?" Stan watched with bated breath as the shadow at the window hovered another moment before it retreated.

"Called that one."

And then Richie was climbing down the siding of his house.

"Be careful! Why didn't you use the front door dumbass?" All Stan got in response was an eye roll and a thumb pointing to the car in the drive way, Went was home.

"Oh." "Yeah, oh. Let's go. Been itching to go somewhere anyway." ~ The only sound in the truck was the two boys' breathing and a soft static from the radio. Stan swallowed air and watched as they passed the movie theatre.

"Look, I really am sorry. I just want you to talk to us more. You're acting like some shitty parenting is where we draw the line, have you completely forgotten that fucking clown?"

"I know. Sorry for being a brat the other day. I just don't like people to see that stuff, I have a reputation ya know? Comedian first, dumbass second, and softie never." Richie turned left, leading to the outskirts of town.

"Yeah, wouldn't want to ruin this perfect "class clown" persona you've got going on."

"Stanley Uris, did you just use air quotes to describe my entire personality to me?"

A chuckle escaped Richie and the truck air suddenly felt much lighter. "You're a lot more than that you know. You're more than some shitty but perfect timed your mom jokes. We keep you around for a lot more than a laugh." "What else am I good at Stan? All I do is mouth off and tell bad jokes." Brown curls came down from Richie's bun as he shook his head, leading the two of them past a sign asking visitors to come back to Derry.

"They may be bad jokes, but they still make us laugh. You're always the first one to put aside time for any of us, all we have to do is ask. And- stop shaking your head. Who took the time when we were all younger to listen to Eddie explain which of his inhalers were for what and how to administer them? Who learned how to cut hair just to help Bev save money and keep it trimmed? Who helped Mike shear the sheep when Spring started just so he could hang out with us sooner? Who practiced endless tongue twister with Bill to help with his stutter? Who did all that? Richie Tozier did. You give us everything and never expect anything back. All I wanna do is give back. God knows you deserve it."

"Hey now, don't bring the big man into this conversation." Despite the levity of what he was saying, Stan could hear the tears on the other boy's voice.

"I didn't mean to make you cry. You just have such a big heart, and I think sometimes you don't know what to do with it...I saw the notes about a boy. You know we wouldn't judge you for that! Shit, none of us batted an eye when Big Bill came out as bisexual, so why would we care. You deserve to be happy, Rich. I just want you to be happy."

The more he spoke, the quieter Stan's voice became and the louder his blood rushed in his ears. Silence enveloped the truck again, and soon the tires came to a stop over a patch of grass.

"Did you mean all of that?"

Richie Tozier was not a small boy anymore, he was all long limbs of 6'2, and had developed a jawline sharp enough to cut a man, but right now, in the dim light of his dashboard, swallowed by a grey hoodie and hunched over, Richie Tozier reminded Stan of that scared boy in the sewers.

"Every last word. And I think you should know that a little birdie told me that I might be the inspiration for some of those lovely lyrics in your book..." Glasses nearly flew off Richie's face with how quickly he shot his head up, worried brown eyes magnified by the lenses.

"Bev, that bitch."

"I wouldn't say that quite yet. She pointed something else out to me too. She said I've had you wrapped around my finger since we met in second grade, but she also said that you've had me wrapped around your finger for a while now too. And I've got to say, she's right. Can't believe she knows me better than both of us. But yeah, Rich, you've had me wrapped around your finger since you told my mom at age six that she had better get used to you because you'd be around for a while."

Richie put the truck in park, unbuckled and shifted to be more in the middle of the truck, and the yellow of the radio highlighted the pink on his cheeks perfectly. "Stan...I don't really know what to say. Still can't believe she ratted me out like that."

"Say you're gonna let us in more. Say she was right. Say you want to give this a shot.”

"I want to give this a shot. I'm pretty sure I've been in love with you since we were twelve." A warm hand gently took Stan's as he spoke, squeezing gently before he scooted just a bit closer.

"Slow down there Tozier, I've only just opened my eyes to the fact that you might be it for me, let me catch up before we start tossing the L word around. Buy me dinner first at least."

A genuine chuckle and Richie moved back to his seat, his hand still in Stan's. "How bout a late dinner at-", brown eyes glanced at the clock,"-nearly one a.m?" "Lead the way, Tozier. I'll be right with you."

#stozier #it #secret santa #this is my first contribution to the fandom #im so nervous rn #send help #thanks

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yehet-me-up · 6 years ago

Text

The Play’s The Thing

Pairing: Jongin x reader

Genre: theater/actors!AU, friends to lovers, fluff

Rating: PG13 for language

Word Count: 2,683

Request: "I can't take making love to anyone but you" NINI SMUT FAMKS

‘Fanny! You are killing me!’

‘No man dies of love but on the stage, Mr. Crawford.’

‘You seemed almost as fearful of notice and praise as other women were of neglect,’ Daniel says to you, with undue pomp and circumstance.

He carries on with the rest of his monologue, so seriously and stiffly that you want to snort. You catch Jongin’s amused look from where he stands and almost cave. For weeks he’s shown an almost supernatural ability to make you lose your ass and laugh at the most inopportune times.

But this isn’t your first rodeo; nor is it your first overly self-important acting partner, and you refuse to break character. Fanny Price would be proud indeed of your composure.

Other than Daniel’s overacting, the dress rehearsal goes off without a hitch. Tomorrow night you’ll be on stage again, this time in full costume and make-up, living your dream. The thought makes your stomach buzz with excitement. No matter how many plays you do, it never gets old.

‘I don’t know how you keep a straight face,’ a male voice says in your ear later, in the dressing room.

His breath teases the skin of your neck and you grin involuntarily. You can’t help it, no matter how professional and composed you try to be Jongin has a certain effect on you. When you turn he’s slinging his bag over his shoulder and raising a brow at you.

You turn off the lights at your dressing station and give him a wink. ‘Patience you must have, my young padawan.’

He turns off his own and folds his arms, leaning a hip on the table. ‘Want to run lines tonight?’

Your grin fades. ‘I think we’re both as ready as we’ll ever be,’ you reply quickly. Best to keep your distance from him, now that this is almost over.

Instantly you regret the words as you watch his face fall. Dammit, he looks like a sad puppy dog and all you can think about is kissing his stupidly handsome face. Therein lies the problem; if you go to the bar down the street, or to his apartment or yours, one more time and run lines with him... you might officially fall in love with him.

Which is definitely not going to happen.

‘We could just get a drink then? To celebrate opening night tomorrow?’

You sigh, caving and hating yourself for it. ‘Alright fine. But you’re buying.’

‘Deal.’ He smiles - so easily, so brightly, you wonder how on earth he’s remained so untainted by the world that joy comes so easily to him.

The walk to Mulligan’s down the street is your hell and your heaven all in one. It’s an exquisite torture to be walking down the sidewalk in NYC with such a handsome man beside you, watching the sky paint a colorful sunset

His arm is warm and strong slung casually around your waist. The way he meanders in an out of conversation with joy. Both would make it seem like you’re a couple to anyone passing by.

You sigh as he holds open the door and escorts you to the familiar booth you usually occupy in the corner.

He even orders for you. Not in a possessive asshat way, like he knows best. But with an ease bred from the fact that he knows what you like. It should shock you, that you’d be fine with someone else taking control, but by this point you’re used to being surprised by Jongin.

‘Are you excited for tomorrow? Or nervous?’ you ask him conversationally once the drinks arrive.

He takes a drink and considers the question, his brows tugging together. ‘Hmm, mostly excited. It may only be my second official rodeo, but I think I’m ready.’

‘That’s good, I’m glad. You’ve been working your ass off. If I didn’t know you were still a rookie I’d have thought you’ve been doing this for years.’

He bows dramatically in thanks. ‘What are you most looking forward to about the opening tomorrow?’

‘Tomorrow I get to catch you in flagrante delicto with Jennifer Rogers and try not to laugh my ass off on stage. So that will be fun.’ You joke with him, but inside the thought makes you want to punch something.

‘Oh, come on. You know I can’t take making love to anyone but you,’ he counters with a cheesy grin.

His eyes are teasing, but they also drift down to focus on your lips briefly and you feel that frisson of heat that stirs annoyingly whenever you think about kissing him for real, off stage.

‘Easy tiger, Fanny Price is a lady,’ you say with a hair flip. ‘The most she does on stage is kiss. Thank you very much.’

‘She does kiss two different men though,’ he says with a waggle of his brows. ‘Scandalous.’

‘Jerk.’ You laugh and throw a sugar packet at him.

He dodges it easily. ‘So. Who’s the better kisser, me or Daniel?’

‘Who’s the better kisser, me or Jenn?’ you counter rapidly to avoid letting him know how much you love to make out with him on stage.

He holds up his hands in surrender. ‘Touché.’

The waitress stops by and he orders another round and some french fries.

‘You know, I saw her and that AADA prick who plays Mr. Rushworth making out in the props closet last week,’ he says conversationally.

Your eyebrows shoot up. ‘Well, at least it’s on brand, right?’

He laughs easily and takes another swig of his beer. ‘They seem happy. I’m glad for them.’

‘Kind of cliche, don’t you think? Falling in love while performing Mansfield Park,’ you say.

He runs his thumb along a deep groove in the wood of the table, his brows pulling together in thought. ‘I think it’s nice. Life imitating art and all that. Especially when it comes to love. More love is never a bad thing.’

You laugh, too loudly for the moment, and take another sip. He runs a hand through his hair and sighs, his lips tugging into a lopsided grin.

‘I know, you think I’m too sentimental,’ he says, holding your gaze.

One day you’re going to sit down and figure out how the hell he gets behind your miles of armor, you think. How he undoes you and makes you more vulnerable and exposed than you’ve ever been. As if there’s something in his cologne or on his touch that makes him your truth serum.

‘No, it’s not that at all,’ you say and swallow around the feelings rising in you. ‘I think it’s sweet that you believe in love so much.’

‘There are as many forms of love as there are moments in time,’ he says dramatically, waving an arm broadly out to his side.

‘Okay fine. I’ll give you that,’ you say pointing at him with the hand holding your beer.

‘You must believe in it to some degree. Even the most cold hearted actress has to have a bit of a soft and sentimental interior. You have to, to do what we do.’

‘Yes, of course.’ He knows how much you hate talking about feelings, but you decide to indulge him. ‘I love my family dearly, natch. My friends. My cats. And I love acting. I’m so blessed to be doing this full time.’

You look around at the dive bar; the faded neon lights, the bikers playing pool in the corner, the waitress carrying a gigantic plate of nachos. You think about your self-described heart of stone and wonder what you’d qualify as love.

‘I love queso, no question. A damn fine cup of coffee. Walks through Central Park when it’s snowing. I love discovering an amazing musical off- off- off- Broadway and knowing it will blow up soon, but I saw it first. Still can’t say I’ve ever personally experienced the kind of love ol’ Jane was so keen on.’

He ponders that while he watches you, a question working its way around his face and you know it’s going to hit you hard when he asks.

‘What kind of love do you have for me, then? Am I on par with queso?’

He doesn’t say it in a smart-ass way. Nor does he say it in jest. There’s something so sincere and open in his face when he asks that your mouth falls open slightly.

You don’t know whether to laugh or cry, and in that moment you see a million ways this could play out. Your creative mind can’t help but imagine endless possibilities.

You could slide back into the guise of the whip-smart, sassy woman you’re comfortable with and tell him he’ll need to buy you more than a few beers to earn the level of queso. Then he will stop looking like every romance lead ever and you’ll put him permanently in the ‘devilishly handsome, talented, and kind, but just friends’ category and all is well.

You could tease that he’s far too delicious to be just queso; that he’s perhaps an expensive dark chocolate. With sea salt. Maybe you’ll watch him with bedroom eyes and lick your lips. Maybe he’ll invites you back to his place and you will have sex, finally. Maybe you’ll get part, but not even close to all of what you secretly want from him.

You could tell him he makes your heart sing and causes you to want all the stupid things you swore you’d never be naive enough to want from a man.

You could tell him you love him more than New York city, damn near more than acting. You could tell him you’ve fallen head over heels for him over the past few months; that you’d even be willing to follow him back to LA when this play wraps.

But… no. He’s not some manic pixie dream boy, here to charm you out of your tough outer shell; or some hero, riding up on his white horse to save you from another night alone in your bed.

He’s just a man who couldn’t possibly want you back, who can’t know how much this question makes you long for things that will never be.

So you look down at your beer to escape the intensity of his gaze and shake your head slightly.

‘Yes, Jongin. I love you like I love queso. You’re equally as good with a beer.’ You give him a warm smile and click your bottle to his before taking a sip.

He chuckles to himself. ‘Are you going to leave me and run off with our oh-so-formal Daniel? Will I be cast aside just like Henry Crawford.’ He clutches his chest like the thought pains him.

‘Excuse me, you’re hardly Henry Crawford.’

He scoffs. ‘What, aren’t I as handsome? As impulsive? As romantic?’

‘Hmmm. Handsome, impulsive, and romantic? Yes, that’s definitely you. But a bastard and a cheat? Nah, you could ever be that.’

The joking leaves his eyes and he watches you curiously. You wonder what he sees.

‘So, you think I’m handsome then?’

You choke on a sip of beer. Shit. ‘Umm. I’m pretty sure anyone with a pulse would know you’re handsome. Aliens on Mars know it. Prehistoric fossils know it.’

He shakes his head, suddenly more serious. ‘No, but you think I’m handsome?’

The change in tone makes your heart race and you awkwardly brush your hair behind your ear. ‘Of course I do. Why does it matter though?’

He looks relieved and leans back in his chair. ‘Because I think you’re the most beautiful woman in the world and I just wanted to make sure you weren’t joking.’

He says it so matter of factly you struggle to accept the compliment. Surely he’s just being dramatic. ‘Ha ha, very funny.’

With a noise of frustration he grips the table and pulls his chair around so he’s sitting side by side with you. He holds your gaze and rests his hand on your knee.

With anyone else you’d be driven mad by how casual and touchy-feely he is. An arm across your shoulders at read-throughs. Nudging your feet with his when you lean against opposite couches at your place. The way he toys with the hair on the back of your neck when he thinks you’re focusing too hard.

‘I’m not kidding. I like you. A lot. You always laugh it off when I say something romantic, so I just assumed you weren’t interested in being more than friends.’

Your mouth falls open. ‘Are you fucking with me?’

He makes the damn puppy dog face again. ‘No, I’m not. I even tried to kiss you once, for real, remember? Backstage after that long night of blocking scenes last week?’

You frown and try to remember. ‘I mean... you helped me fix that necklace that was tangled. And we were standing close, but I absolutely would have remembered you trying to kiss me.’

He looks up at the ceiling and smiles, closing his eyes as if he’s asking for divine guidance. When he looks back at you he seems older, wiser, and more resolved.

‘No, I had my hand resting on your jaw and leaned in. Then you started talking incredibly fast about remembering to face center stage during my monologue and I took that as my queue you weren’t interested.’

‘Oh.’ You laugh to yourself. Has he honestly been just as into me for weeks and I didn’t see it? ‘I figured you were just being nice. You’re really interested in me?’

Once your initial confusion and surprise have passed you get back to the important point at hand. ‘But you live in LA and I live here. I’m older than you.’

Now that you’ve started talking it once again doesn’t feel like you can stop. ‘And I probably make more money, which bothers a lot of men. I’m a morning person and you’re a night owl. And-’

In one smooth motion he lifts his free hand to cup your face and kisses you, cutting you off. He swallows your noise of surprise and works his lips against yours in earnest, his thumb massaging the skin behind your ear.

After a beat your surprise fades and you melt into him. You’d forgotten how amazing kissing someone is when it’s for real and not on the stage.

Then again, you’ve been kissing him for weeks as Fanny Price and he tastes just as true and wonderful as he always does. The way his hand slides up to hold your thigh, however, is definitely not something he’d ever be able to do as Mr. Crawford.

You lean forward and fist a hand in the shirt at his chest, tugging him closer. He smiles into the kiss and you feel his rumble of laughter.

When he’s not being professional as an actor he certainly kisses like he means it. On stage the kisses are prim and proper. Five seconds, timed to perfection. Smudge-proof lip stain, for both of you.

But now that you’re alone he kisses like an earthquake, steady and powerful, decimating your doubt and asking entrance into your heart.

When you pull back, what feels like a second an an eternity later simultaneously, you’re both breathing heavily. He gives you another megawatt smile and you lift your finger to stroke down his neck, in awe of him and the fact that you missed, well, all of this.

‘Does that help your concerns?’ he asked, smug and pleased.

You laugh and kiss his cheek. ‘We’ve got a lot of practical details to sort out. But for now, yes, it does.’

He nods, seemingly unable to stop smiling. ‘Good. About time, too. I’ve been flirting with you for ages.’

‘Well, loverboy. Make good use of those flirting skills and get over here and kiss me some more.’

He laughs and reaches for his wallet, looking for the waitress. When he makes eye contact with her he turns back to you and winks. ‘Let’s go to my place. I want to kiss you in a way that’s far too inappropriate for how much you hate PDA.’

You shake your head in amusement at how well he knows you. ‘Deal.’

#DRABBLEPALOOZA #jongin x reader #kai x reader #jongin fanfic #kai fanfic #exo x reader #exo fanfic #jongin fluff #kai fluff #exo fluff

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ramblingthoughtsofayoungadult · 6 years ago

Text

An Arrangement-Game of Thrones Imagine

Requested: Yes

Warnings: heavy sensuality, long, and mentions of violence

When my parents arranged my marriage to the Red Viper, I only had a fraction of an idea of what I was getting into. Though House Y/H/N was one of the most formidable houses in the South and one of House Martell’s oldest allies, whispers of Oberyn’s liberal view on relationships were the only hints I gathered to what he was like. Despite the regular visits to Dorne during my childhood and the parties we all attended, I never interacted much with Oberyn. Perhaps it was due to my immaturity and that I preferred the company of my girl friends and future ladies in waiting-----all of whom were practically frothing at the mouth at the chance to dance with Oberyn. He would cast a few flirtatious looks our way, making my friends swoon and heat rush to my face, but he was more enteratained by Dara, my older sister. She was always much more forward than I was and made her attraction to Oberyn----and any other man she found interesting-----blatant. The only person more shocked than her at my betrothal was me. While I knew that I was not an unattractive woman, I was comforted by the tradition that the eldest sibling had to be married off first. I liked being alone and learning proper etiquette, horseback riding, and reading. So, when Dara’s match was made, I knew it was only time before I met a similar fate.

“You are so fortunate! The gods are smiling upon you right now!” Tema, one of my oldest friends and ladies in waiting, gushed as she braided my hair.

She was wearing a tangerine linen dress that glided along the floor and her ash brown hair was twirled up into an updo out of her face. Tema was always a good looking girl, but she looked especially good on my wedding day, much like the rest of the ladies.

“I do not know if I feel the same way.”

I gulped as I looked in the mirror. My y/e/c eyes looked more terrified rather than joyful as they should look on one of the happier days of my life. For the past couple of days, I had barely been able to eat more than a few pieces of bread and fruit. Mother and the maester chalked it up to wedding jitters, but it was much more than that. In accordance to Dornish tradition, the betrothal period was less than a moon, giving me only a little time to get better acquainted with Oberyn. One necessary part of getting closer to Oberyn was officially meeting his paramour, Ellaria. I had always heard of the woman but never seen her and she was as beautiful as they said. She was tall, slim but had full hips, and had the tan skin that Dornish people are known for. Her dark brown curls fell to the base of her spine and she moved as though she had all the time in the world. As soon as she laid eyes on me, her dark eyes filled with a contempt that I did not know humans were capable of.

“Y/N, this is my paramour, Ellaria.” Oberyn grinned as he wrapped his arm around Ellaria’s waist and pulled her closer. “Ellie, this is Y/N of Y/H/N, my betrothed.”

In spite of the dirty look she gave me, I extended my hand towards her in the delicate manner all Southern ladies did. “It is nice to finally make your acquaintance.”

She looked down at my hand as though it were a sodden napkin. “Y/N,” she said.

“Ellie,” Oberyn warned in a teasing tone.

Ellaria gripped my fingers quickly and released them. “I have heard much about the Y/H/N women, but I thought it was impossible for so many women to have such small chests.”

I sucked in my cheeks in embarrassment and gritted my teeth. I was much more used to other Southern girls’ covert insults but Ellaria was a different kind of woman.

“Ellie,” Oberyn scolded.

“No, it’s quite alright, Oberyn, I am well aware of the trend in my family.”

For weeks, Ellaria would make small jabs about my appearance and my house. Whenever Oberyn and I had to do something as a couple, she would get upset and some of my ladies would report to me what her ladies told them. It was awful, but I could not mention anything to anyone for the sake of marriage. While Y/H/N and House Martell have been allies, breaking a betrothal could set us as enemies and though Y/H/N had decent soldiers, the Dornish were infamous for theirs. Plus, it was not as though I could say anything to Oberyn, he obviously cared for Ellaria if he had children with her and stayed with her for so many years. I would just have to deal with it for the time being.

“This heat is dreadful, I feel as though I am in the seven hells,” Willow, another one of my best friends and ladies in waiting, sighed as she fanned herself.

Her words brought me out of the memories of what I had dealt with for the past few weeks. Willow’s platinum blonde hair rolled past her shoulders in small curls and she wore a gauzy silver dress. I always envied her stunning looks and effortless charm around men. She would definitely marry as soon as she decided she was ready.

“Well, you better get used to it,” Tema said without looking up from the top of my head, “we will be living here for a long time.”

“How do they get anything done?” Willow asked. “I walk ten paces and I feel as though I am going to faint.”

“I am sure any of the Dornish guards would be happy to catch you,” Tema said. “And what do you mean that you do not feel blessed? A handsome, honorable, experienced man will be your husband in almost an hour. The Dornes already adore your house and you, you are practically set for life!”

“It’s Ellaria,” Willow said.

I snapped my attention to her. “Willow!”

Tema’s expression fell a little.

“Well, it’s true,” Willow said, pausing for only a second from her fanning. “That woman has been staring at you as though you are a mouse and she is ready to sink her cat claws into you.” Willow continued her fanning. “And her Sand Snakes are simply frightening.”

“Do not speak so loud, the walls have ears,” I hissed.

“She is simply jealous, Y/N, do not worry about her.” Tema rest her hands on my shoulders. “The only thing you need to worry about is the bedding ceremony.”

I groaned. “Please, can we at least finish my hair before we even think about that?”

Tema laughed as she finished braiding my hair.

“Oh gods, the bedding ceremony!” Willow exclaimed. “And with the Prince of Dorne, all of Westeros is weeping with jealousy!”

“Stop it, Willow,” I said, trying to keep the smile off of my lips.

Though the bedding ceremony was usually a point of anxiety for most ladies, myself included, the fact that it was with a more experienced man made me a little calmer. I supposed the silent and not-so silent threat of Ellaria and the Sand Snakes helped distract me from that.

The next hour, I was walking down the aisle in the beautiful gardens behind the Dornish palace, escorted by my father. He was a stoic man and one of the most respected battle strategists in Westeros, but that day, I thought I saw tears brimming in his eye. Much of south Westeros was in attendance, including the Lannisters and Baratheons. Despite the history between their houses, Doran insisted on inviting them to demonstrate some civility. Oberyn, however, wanted to kill them all as soon as he set eyes on them.

At the end of the aisle, I saw all my ladies standing on one side and Oberyn and Doran on the other. Oberyn looked so handsome in his formal robes that were adorned in the yellow and scarlet of House Martell. His eyes seemed genuinely happy and when my father gave me away to him, I felt comforted by him.

The ceremony itself was a blur, but I felt piericng eyes on me the whole time. Sometimes, it was Ellaria and other times, it was her daughters. They sat at the head table with Oberyn, me, and our families. Her daughters were fairly well-behaved as was Ellaria, but her looks never went unnoticed by me. Fortunately, the wine and Oberyn’s sweet words helped distract me from it all. When the bedding ceremony came, I barely acknowledged the onlookers since Oberyn commanded all of my attention.

“I am glad that you are not shy in front of an audience,” Oberyn whispered when we were left alone.

The sounds of the reception strained against the walls of the bedroom. I snuggled closer to Oberyn, finding the heat radiating from his body intoxicating despite the heavy Dornish heat.

“And why is that? Do you plan on having five people watch us every time?” I teased.

“No, Ellaria hates timidity in lovers, so this will not be a point of contemption with her.”

My throat closed up the way it always did when I was nervous. Oberyn had to know that Ellaria’s issues with me did not have to do with whether or not I was timid. There was so much more to her deep disdain for me. Oberyn seemed to notice my apprehension and brushed some y/h/c hair out of my face.

“What is wrong? You do know that she will be joining us more often than not.”

“Yes, but will she want to?”

Oberyn smiled. “Of course. This will take some getting used to but Ellaria is just like me, she likes to share her love.”

“I hope so.”

Being Oberyn’s wife was surreal. He insisted on taking me horseback riding every day and teaching me how to fight.

“You are of Dorne, now, you must learn to fight like one,” he’d once said.

In all honesty, I was definitely not the best at it; Oberyn constantly had to change my posture and remind me of how to hold a weapon. The Sand Snakes and Ellaria enjoyed watching me get frustrated with fighting.

“Perhaps she should stick to walking in the gardens and drinking teas with her ladies!” Tyana, the eldest Sand Snake, called once.

Kym and Obara laughed and Ellaria hushed them, but she had a smirk on her face. Training days were one of the worst days of the week. Other than that, Oberyn would take me on his travels with him and was insistent on taking me to bed every night possible. For the first month, it was mostly just the two of us and he would occasionally slip away to see Ellaria. At first, it hurt, but I reminded myself that she was with him longer than I was. In the fourth month, she slowly eased her way into our bedroom. Many times, she would watch us like a hawk and I would indulge in wine much more when I knew she would be joining us in order to relax.

Her comments and glares continued, but they were much worse when Oberyn was not around. When I would walk in the gardens with my ladies, she would conveniently be in the gardens with the Snakes, who always happened to be brandishing their weapons. She would find me the halls of the Palace and hiss things under her breath at me. My ladies would beg me to tell Oberyn about it, but it was futile. Our marriage had to last in order to maintain our Houses’ alliance.

However, everything came to a head a year later. It was one of the hottest days I had ever experienced in Dorne. My body felt like it was melting and I was drinking as much wine as possible to stay cool. Servants fanned me constantly, but I felt bad since they were obviously suffering as well. When I tried to make them stop, they did not listen since they were much more accustomed to the weather than I was.

“Why don’t we go down to the lake? It’s much cooler there,” Scarlet, one of my ladies, suggested.

“Anything to escape this heat, I feel as though my skin is going to burn,” Willow moaned.

“You feel that way every day,” Tema teased.

“Let us go by the lake, then. We should have some fruits as well.”

“Right away, My Princess,” one of the servants fanning me said and hurried off.

Willow, Tema, and Scarlet helped me to my feet and we slowly made our way out to the lake. There was a sitting area near it but the only issue was Tyana, Obara, and Kym were already in the lake, splashing each other.

“I will never get used to how free they are about clothes,” Tema whispered to me.

“They have the right idea, it is much too hot for this,” Willow gestured to her lightweight dress.

“Do not even think about, you are a lady,” I said.

“And we are in Dorne, why should we not be like them?”

“They are warriors, Willow, we are ladies, the rules are different.”

We sat down at the lounging area and for a few blissful seconds, the Snakes did not acknowledge us. It was relaxing, but then Obara broke the silence.

“Oh, the princess is here!” Obara called. She bowed dramatically. “Excuse our lack of clothing but it is too hot!”

Kym and Tyana snickered behind her.

“It is fine, I understand,” I said in a clipped tone.

I grabbed some grapes from a bowl and chewed some to avoid saying some the worse words brimming on the tip of my tongue. Willow, Tema, and Scarlet tried to carry on conversation in between bites of fruit.

“Come in, Princess, the water’s delightful!” Kym said.

“Thank you, but I am fine here.”

It was so hot that the only thing I could manage to do was close my eyes and nod absentmindedly at the gossip Scarlet, Tema, and Willow were whispering. All of a sudden, I was yanked from my seat and my eyes flew open. The Snakes’ laughter filled my ears and all I could see was the bright sun as I seemingly flew threw the air before landing in the lake. I gasped as I flailed for a moment and stood up. “Princess Y/N!” Willow, Tema, and Scarlet exclaimed.

“Calm down, she’s fine, she need to cool off anyway,” Tyana said.

The cool water probably would have felt wonderful if I was not so upset. I could have screamed at them for throwing me into the lake and every other rude instance I had experienced since I married their father. My body shook with rage as I stared down the Snakes. Before I could speak, Ellaria interrupted me. In her light orange dress, she practically blended into the scenery.

“Girls, what is going on here?” she asked.

“We were just helping the princess cool off, Mother, it is dreadfully hot today and she seemed uncomfortable in the heat,” Kym said with a mischievous grin.

Ellaria looked at me and I stared back. She grabbed a towel from Scarlet and walked towards me. I took a half step back since I had no idea what she might try to do to me. Ellaria did not hesitate to wrap the towel around me and help me back up to the lounge area. My ladies immediately surrounded me, brushing hair out of my face and checking ot make sure I was fine.

“I am just shocked is all,” I muttered.

Ellaria walked closer to the edge of the lake.

“Mother----” Obara started

“Do not speak. We will speak further about this later.”

Then, Ellaria walked over to my ladies and me. “Come, Princess.”

I could not help but be tense as let her walk me back to my quarters in the palace. Scarlet, Tema, and Willow followed closely behind, equally as confused as I was. When we got to my quarters, Ellaria faced my ladies.

“Leave us.”

They glanced at me for reassurance.

“Thank you, but I will send for you,” I said.

All three of them curtsied and left. For the first time since I married Oberyn, I felt comfortable being alone with Ellaria. The tension between us had grown enough and I was confident enough to end it. So, when we stepped into my quarters and the door was closed behind us, I pulled away from her grip and spun to face her.

“Out with it,” I seethed.

“Out with what?” Ellaria stepped closer to me and I took a step back.

“YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN! Every day for a year now, you and your daughters have been torturing me! All the comments about my body, my hair, my accent, and my fighting! I get it, I am not a Dornishman and I should not be with Oberyn, but that gives you no right to belittle and comment on every little thing I do!” I shouted. “And you probably love that I am not with child! Maybe he will kill me because I am barren and you and your daughters could have a front row seat! Admit it! Admit that is what you want! That is what you DREAM about!”

Ellaria frowned. “Princess----”

“I have tried to be polite and behave as well as I can but I cannot do this anymore!” Then, the tears came out and I could not get them to stop. Sobbing quickly followed and I turned away from Ellaria, knowing full well that she was probably giddy to tell her daughters that she broke me.

She grabbed my arm and turned me to face her. Swiftly, her hands grabbed the sides of my face and she kissed me, making me freeze. I had never kissed a girl before and she was soft and smelled like perfume. A second later, she kissed my tears and wiped a few more away before kissing me again, running her hands through my hair. Tentatively, I kissed her back and pulled away, noting how lustful her brown eyes were.

“What...what was that?”

“A kiss, Princess, you are familiar with those,” she said with a sigh.

“But why...?”

“I have wanted to do that practically since I saw you.” She started walking us backwards further into the room. “And much more if Oberyn let me.”

“What?” I muttered.

“He can be selfish sometimes, he thought he was helping you ease into our ways.” She kissed my cheek and then my neck.

“Are you trying to tell me that you have been jealous this whole time?”

“A bit, but not of your marriage.” She played with the ends of my hair for a moment. “I took my anger towards him out on you and I am sorry. I am also sorry for bringing my daughters into this, they will never bother you again.”

It was my turn to frown. Ellaria wanted to be with me that entire time? Every time she joined Oberyn and I, they were the two that messed around while I drank more wine. Then, the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much she would stare at me when Oberyn would hold us both against him as we slept. The way she behaved was like a petulant little boy who did not know how to handle his feelings for a little girl. The entire idea made me laugh a little.

Ellaria glared at me. “Why are you laughing?”

“You being mean to me did not help your chances of being with me at all! I was so afraid of you and your daughters,I thought you would kill me in my sleep,” I said between laughs.

“Stop it,” Ellaria said.

I couldn’t and I fell on the bed laughing and Ellaria was on top of me almost immediately. She smiled as she pinned my hands next to my head and leaned down and kissed me again. That time, I kissed back quicker and felt her push the towel away from me. She released her grip on my wrists and trailed her hands further down my body, feeling every bump and crevice.

“You are an incredibly beautiful woman with an even more beautiful body,” she whispered before kissing me hotly again. “And you are not barren, it would be a sin for you to have this body and not be able to carry children.”

I moaned into the next kiss and she grinned into it, tangling her fingers in my hair as I did the same to hers. I had no idea how much time had past, all I knew was that Ellaria was especially talented in this arena----no wonder Oberyn visited her so often.

“What is this?” Oberyn asked.

I immediately pulled away and saw him standing at the foot of the bed. Ellaria rolled her eyes and stood to greet him.

“You would not let me have fun with her so I took matters into my own hands.” She kissed him passionately and I sat up, wrapping the towel back around me.

They pulled away and Oberyn looked at me. “You enjoyed it?”

“Yes,” I said in a voice barely above a whisper.

Oberyn laughed, that light airy laugh that emphasized how carefree he was, and came closer to me. “You should not be ashamed of enjoying pleasure.” His hand cupped the side of my face and he kissed me deeply. “Why are you wearing a towel?”

“I went for an impromptu swim; I should change before dinner.”

Ellaria walked up behind Oberyn and placed her hands on his shoulders. “The princess has expressed some dismay over not being with child yet, my love. Perhaps we should help change that?”

Oberyn grinned. “Perhaps we should, you would like that, Princess?”

“Now? But what about---”

“It can wait,” Oberyn whispered against my lips before kissing me and pulling the towel away from my body.

The next three years were some of the best of my life. There were a few unfortunate hiccups but, other than that, my life was decent. The Sand Snakes took to helping Oberyn train me in fighting; Ellaria joined my ladies and I on our walks; and I got to horseback ride along the beach. Unfortunately, everything seemed to crash down the moment Oberyn agreed to attend Joffrey’s wedding in King’s Landing.

“I do not have a good feeling about going to King’s Landing, Oberyn,” I said over breakfast the day we were set to leave.

“I do not either; the city is briming with filth and even moreso with politics, but you and Doran are always asking for me to be more diplomatic. Therefore, I am attempting to look past the issues between our houses to enjoy the wedding.”

“This is something you would never look past.”

“Do not concern yourself, Princess, our Prince will not stir too much trouble,” Doran said. “It is required.”

“Even if he did, he would not be wrong for it,” Ellaria said, smiling at Oberyn.

“We should not even think of these things. If the Lannisters even get a whiff of suspicion, it could be all of our heads on a spike,” I said.

“Do you not believe in me, Y/N?” Oberyn asked.

“Of course I believe in you, but I am also well aware of Cersei’s games.”

When we arrived in King’s Landing the next morning, Oberyn and Ellaria insisted on visiting the local brothel. I, on the other hand, knew that it was proper to greet the envoy sent to escort us to the palace and sent both of them off with my love. Lord Tyrion and his guards seemed quite surprised when only I stepped out of the carriage to greet them.

“Princess Y/N, it is lovely to see you again,” Tyrion said as he and his men bowed.

“And you as well, Lord Tyrion, I see you have your own knight now,” I commented, gesturing to the tall, dark-haired man standing next to him.

“This is Bronn, one of my personal guards,” Tyrion said.

Bronn nodded at me. “Pleasure to meet you, Princess.”

“And you as well, Ser.”

“And this Poddrick, my squire” Tyrion gestured to the portly young man standing next to him, who looked at me with wide eyes.

“Princess,” Poddrick nodded at me.

“It is nice to meet you, Poddrick.”

“Princess Y/N, may I ask where Prince Oberyn is?”

“He wanted to do some sightseeing before he greeted the rest of the royal family, he always liked exploring, you know.”

“Oh, but we should fetch for him later,” Tyrion said.

“That would be lovely.”

Oberyn was correct about King’s Landing being disgusting, but I had to behave as though everything was nice. The palace itself was lovely with the vines weaving on the sides of its walls and the rest of the native flora. Since we arrived the day before the wedding, the palace was teeming with high houses.

As soon as I was settled in my quarters, Margaery and Sansa Stark entered them.

“I apologize, Princess Y/N, but your ladies said that you were open to receive guests,” Margaery said in a patronizing tone.

“Oh, we both know you would have burst in here even if both Oberyn and Ellaria were here,” I said as I hugged the soon-to-be queen.

Margaery Tyrell was like another sister to me since I spent so much of my childhood at Highgarden. Many of ours days were passed playing hide and seek outside and making Loras twirl us around when we wanted to play ball.

“I can’t believe I am getting married tomorrow!” Margaery exclaimed. “I am so happy that you are here as well. It feel as though Oberyn held you captive in Dorne as soon as you wed, not as though it is a bad thing.”

“Stop it!” I said, swatting her shoulder. “You must be Sansa.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess Y/N,” Sansa said with a curtsy.

“Please, we are in private, you may call me Y/N. Please, sit,” I instructed, gesturing to the seats in the room. “To what do I owe this visit?”

“I wanted to personally invite you to the dinner tonight. Everyone will be there but you, Oberyn, and Ellaria will be sitting right next to the Royal table!” Margaery exclaimed.

“That is lovely and I honestly appreciate it,” I said. “Oberyn, Ellaria, and I will be more than happy to attend.”

“Wonderful!”

“Scarlet, please fetch us some tea,” I called.

Scarlet nodded and left the room.

“What is it like having a paramour?” Margaery whispered.

“Margaery, surely we should not be asking Prin-Y/N such intimate questions,” Sansa chided with a gasp.

“It’s alright, Sansa, Y/N and I have known each other since we were children.”

“It is quite alright. To be honest, it is one of the most interesting experiences I have ever had. She is always around but never in an encroaching way, but because she wants to be. Oberyn never abandons one of us over the other.”

“And what happens when he must travel alone to some far away house?”

“Margaery!” Sansa gasped.

“What do you think?” I teased.

Margaery covered her mouth with her hand in faux surprise while all the blood seemed to rush to Sansa’s face. Scarlet had perfect timing in her return with tea and cakes so we had something else to focus on.

“I am a little jealous that you got to marry the Red Viper,” Margaery said.

“But you are about to be queen, it is all you could talk about when we were smaller,” I countered.

“Yes, and I am happy with the arrangement and I am not jealous that you have to endure that hellish heat. However, having that lovely wine at the tips of your fingers at all time and the Red Viper’s heart in your hands, it must be nice.”

“It is.”

“When will you have heirs?” Margaery asked.

I sipped some more tea and set it on the table. “We have tried in years past, but it has not worked out.”

“Oh, Y/N, I am so sorry.”

“Do not be, the Dornish are not as strict with the customs as King’s Landing, which I am sure will not be a problem for you.” I glanced at Sansa. “Either of you.”

“I am sure of it.”

“My ears are burning, that can only mean my dearest wife is speaking about me,” Oberyn said as he walked into the room.

He pulled me out of my seat, swept me into his arms, and kissed me with as much passion as he could muster. Perhaps he had had a decent time at the brothel. As soon as I remembered our company, I pulled away and grinned at him.

“Oberyn, we have company.”

He set me down and I realized that Ellaria was standing at the door, regarding Margaery and Sansa with a playful gleam in her eye.

“There is no need to be shy now,” he breathed into my ear.

“It is not about shyness,” I mused. “Oberyn, this is Margaery of House Tyrell, the future queen of Westeros, and Lady Sansa of House Stark.”

“Ladies,” Oberyn said with a bow.

“It is a pleasure to meet both of you,” Sansa greeted.

“And what about me?” Ellaria teased as she walked over to me.

“I am sorry. Margaery, Sansa, this is Ellaria.”

“The paramour,” Ellaria purred, gripping my waist from the other side.

“How lovely,” Margaery chirped.

“Margaery has been so kind to personally invite all three of us to the dinner tonight,” I revealed

“Everyone will be there,” Margaery said.

“Including Cersei?” Oberyn asked.

“Yes.”

I ran my hand over his shoulder, feeling him relax slowly underneath my touch. He needed to remain level-headed as much as possible during our time in King’s Landing.

“It will be nice to make her acquaintance again,” I interrupted.

“Of course,” Sansa agreed.

Margaery set her cup of tea down and stood. “Well, it was lovely meeting both of you but Sansa and I must get ready.” Margaery gestured to Sansa and she mirrored Margaery’s actions.

“Very well, we will see you at dinner.”

Margaery nodded and Sansa curtsied before they exited. As soon as the door closed, Ellaria kissed me and pulled me to the bed while Oberyn sat in a chair.

“May I assume that you enjoyed yourselves at the brothel?” I questioned.

“It is the only redeeming quality of this place,” Ellaria said.

“Could you two try to be on your best behaviors at this dinner tonight?”

“I am always on my best behavior,” Ellaria jested.

I pushed my nose against hers. “Please, this is important to me and Margaery.”

“I do not understand how that girl could marry Joffrey, the little prick.”

“Oberyn!” I hissed.

“It is the truth and we all know it.” Oberyn poured himself some wine. “But I will do my best, the best revenge is the least expected, after all.”

“Fine, you two can plot your revenge while I get out of these clothes and get ready for the dinner.”

Ellaria groaned as I crawled away from her grasp and started walking towards the bath.

“Perhaps you need help getting out of your clothes,” Oberyn murmured. “You seem pretty exhausted from the journey.”

The dinner was as nice as a dinner in King’s Landing could be. There were lights every where and everyone was dressed in some of their nicest clothes. Margaery was smiling kindly to everyone who gave her well wishes while Joffrey did as much as he could to torment his servants. Oberyn divided his time between drinking wine and muttering into mine or Ellaria’s ears. Ellaria was more involved with him than I was. My eyes followed Cersei’s movments as discretely as possible. She mostly sat at the head table and accepted the guests coming up to her and congratulate her on her eldest’s marriage. Cersei was gracious, but most people knew that she was stewing about Margaery since Margaery was the opposite of Cersei in every way. The people loved Margaery for her philanthropy and selflessness while they loathed Cersei’s cruelty.

“Oberyn, we must greet Cersei,” I said.

“Of course.”

Oberyn gestured for Ellaria to join us and we walked together to see Cersei. Cersei was more than pleased to greet Oberyn, knowing that he could not rip her apart the way he wanted to ever since the Mountain killed Elia and her children.

“Your Grace,” I said as I curtsied.

Oberyn and Ellaria echoed my words and nodded at her.

“Prince Oberyn and Princess Y/N, what a lovely sight,” she said in her saccharine voice. “We are so glad you made the trip all the way from Dorne for this occasion.”

“Yes, the wedding is a lovely occasion to celebrate,” I said.

“And you brought the paramour,” Cersei decreed as she looked at Ellaria.

“Yes, her name is Ellaria, Your Grace, ” Oberyn said.

“I admire the Dornish loose views on love,” Cersei admitted.

“Of course, what is not to be admired...Your Grace?” Ellaria questioned.

Cersei nodded. “I hope you enjoy your time here in King’s Landing.”

“We will, Your Grace,” Oberyn said with a challenge in his eyes.

“Thank you, Your Grace,” I said with a curtsy.

When we left, I let out a sigh of relief. It could have gone much worse and I was proud that both Ellaria and Oberyn were able to be diplomatic. Towards the end of the dinner, I found myself mingling with more guests. As I was talking to a particularly boring lord, Jaime Lannister approached.

“The rumors are true, the princess of Dorne has come to grace us with her presence,” Jaime said.

I turned to the handsome blonde knightsguard and smiled. “The infamous Kingslayer, my how time has past.”

He kissed my knuckles and smiled down at me. “I do believe that the last I saw you, you were getting married. When I came back, all the men in King’s Landing were weeping.”

“Stop it, Jaime,” I chimed. “I barely visited King’s Landing.”

“But when you did, it was a little more bearable.”

“You are still a charmer.”

“I try to be.”

“Are you pleased with the wedding?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? Margaery is a lovely girl and Joffrey seems...satisfied with her.”

“I cannot help but be concerned for my friend is all.”

Jaime huffed and glanced around. “Would you mind taking a walk with me?”

I glanced at my table and noted that Oberyn and Ellaria were chatting with Loras and Renly. They seemed to be enjoying themselves enough. “That is fine with me, but what about Cersei?”

“Let me worry about my sister.” Jaime led the way out of the hall and we walked down a couple of corridors. When he was sure were safe, Jaime stopped and looked at me.

“What is this all about, Jaime?” I asked.

“I wanted to talk without wandering ears and eyes.”

“You know as well as I that every time we step foot in a palace, that is all we encounter.”

“Well, it is better to be out here than in there.” Jaime’s gloved thumb grazed my chin. “You truly are beautiful.”

“Thank you, Jaime, but this is not why you asked me step out of the hall.”

Jaime sighed and pulled away from me. “You and I have a decent rapport, do we not?”

“Yes.”

“So, you would inform me if your husband had any plans?”

I groaned. “Jaime----”

“Oberyn would tell you if he had anything planned, would he not? I have to be well informed to protect my family as much as possible.”

“Oberyn plans on being nothing but civil and has been since we arrived, Jaime, and if he had anything planned, he would have every right to exectute it.”

Jaime’s expression faltered because he knew I was correct. He loved Cersei but was not so blind that he could not see the immorality of her behavior towards the Martells.

“Y/N, be careful of what you say.”

“Will the Kingslayer add me to his list if I am not careful? Or will he feed me to his queen? Do not think that I have not learned more than just how to drink wine and experience pleasure during my time in Dorne.”

“I would never do anything to you,” Jaime swore.

“Unless our queen commands you.”

“Stop it!” Jaime grabbed my shoulders and gently pressed me against the wall. “Listen, I am trying to protect you as best as I can, but I cannot do it if you are not careful with your words nor if you do not tell me everything you know.”

“I am careful, Jaime, and I know nothing of what Oberyn has planned.” I placed my hand on one of his. “And I know you care for my wellbeing, but I also care for Ellaria and Oberyn. I wish you could look after them as well, but that would be foolish of me.” “It is not foolish to hope for the best, Princess.”

“Is it bad that I am still not accustomed to that title?”

“No, but you have always been a little princess to me,” he said with a kind smile. “Oberyn is a lucky man.”

“Thank you, but do not act for one moment as though you wanted my hand,” I joked.

“Perhaps I did, did you ever ask your parents about it?” he teased.

“Y/N!” Oberyn called.

I froze and Jaime moved away from me. Oberyn was standing a few yards away from us with Ellaria at his side. “Oberyn, dearest, I was only speaking with Jaime.”

“It is good that you were in safe hands,” Oberyn’s dark eyes never left Jaime as he spoke, “we were getting worried about you.”

“There was no need, I apologize for worrying you,” I said.

Oberyn pulled me closer to him and Ellaria stepped closer to Jaime. I could not make out what she was saying, but her words dripped with venom and Jaime’s eyes widened.

“Ellaria, this is not necessary,” I interrupted. “We will see you tomorrow, Jaime?”

“Yes, Princess.”

Ellaria slowly moved away from Jaime and joined Oberyn and me as we walked down the hall. When we got back to our quarters, it was obvious that the two of them were upset.

“What did he say to you?” Oberyn asked.

“Nothing, we were simply catching up.”

“He would not have asked you to leave the hall if you were catching up.”

“Nothing happened, Oberyn.”

“That is not what it looked like,” Ellaria asserted.

“And you should not be threatening him,” I argued. “He wanted to make sure that there would not be any problems tomorrow.”

“And that is all?” Oberyn asked.

“Yes! Why---” I hesitated and leaned away from him, “you could not think...no, Jaime...Jaime and I...we have only ever been friends, if that!” “He does not look at you like a friend,” Oberyn commented.

“But I look at him as one.” I walked over to Oberyn and grabbed his hands. “I would never do anything more than have a conversation with him. I would never hurt you or Ellaria like that. Do you...?”

Oberyn shook his head. “No, of course not! I cannot help but be jealous sometimes.”

I sighed and sat in his lap. “Would you allow me to make it up to you?” I glanced at Ellaria. “Both of you?”

Ellaria kissed the top of my head and Oberyn kissed me. When he stood, I wrapped my legs around him.

“I am quite hurt, it might take all night for me to forgive you,” he murmured.

“I feel the same,” Ellaria said as she laid down on the bed.

I laughed into Oberyn’s kiss as he pulled off my dress and Ellaria nibbled at every spot Oberyn was ignoring.

“You are bringing her into my house!” Ellaria cried.

It was only a moon since Oberyn was murdered. I could still see the light leave his eyes when I closed my own and it still haunted me. However, the maester was able to give me something to sleep. Doran, Ellaria, the council, and I were sitting outside near the garden when Doran broke the news gently to Ellaria that Tristane and Myrcella were meant to be married and that she would be staying in Dorne.

“Ellaria----”

“How could you do this to me? To Oberyn?” Ellaria hissed, interrupting Doran. “You were always too spineless and weak against them, you will not seek vengeance!”

“That is enough, Ellaria, I do not have to allow you to stay here, I could let you and your Snakes wander for the time being,” Doran griped.

“Ellaria, please relax and sit, we need to discuss this,” I said calmly.

Ellaria turned to me. “There is no need for discussion, she is already on her way, is she not?”

“We need to discuss how this will be handled,” I said, pulling her down to sit.

She huffed as she plopped down in the seat next to mine, gently pulling at the linen peach dress I wore. Ellaria cut her hair shortly after we returned to Dorne with Oberyn’s corpse to show her morning. The Sand Snakes swore vengeance on the Lannisters and the Mountain immediately, and they would get it, but taking it out on a child was not the right way.

“She will be treated as any other esteemed guest. She will be apart of this family soon,” Doran continued.

“She is not a part of this family,” Ellaria spat.

Doran shot her a warning look and I turned to Ellaria.

“I am not a part of this family either, technically, does that mean I deserve to die as well.”

“You are in this family and you know very well that this is different.” “No, Oberyn would want us to treat her as kindly as we would anyone else who was promisted to Tristane. The only difference is her family.”

“Would you spit on his grave as well?”

“This is not about that, this is about making the transition smooth. If anything happens to Myrcella, any chance at reconciling with the Lannisters dies and we go to war. We do not need war right now, we need peace and allies,” I argued.

“I do not want to reconcile and neither did Oberyn.”

“Oberyn is not here now,” Doran murmured.

“If he was, he would be ashamed at how much of a coward you are!”

“Ellaria, stop it! If Oberyn were here, he would make Myrcella feel welcome and show her around. You do not need to do any of that, all you need to do is be cordial, please?”

Ellaria sighed and looked at Doran. “I will not do anything to the Lannister girl but mark my words, I will take revenge for Oberyn.”

“Fine.”

Ellaria kissed me before exiting the room. I turned to Doran and noted his disappointed expression.

“I do not understand why you insisted on keeping her here,” Doran said.

“Because I care for her and she needs me.”

“When Myrcella gets here----”

“Ellaria will not do anything to her, I will make sure of it,” I promised.

“I have always admired your strength, Princess. No matter what, you treated people with dignity and kindness.”

“Thank you, Your Grace, but I have been raised to be that way. May I be excused?”

Doran nodded and I walked over to my quarters. Ellaria was pacing in the room like a lionness preparing to strike.

“El, you must relax.”

“How can I relax? The Lannister girl is about to contaminate our house! How could you not care? I thought you loved Oberyn?”

“Of course I do. Do you not remember the days I spent trying to convince him not to fight the Mountain? He was always so stubborn and single-minded in his quest for revenge. It was not necessary and as honorable as it is that he wanted to avenge Elia, look where it got him! He might still be here if he listened to me!”

“Do not be a coward like Doran,” Ellaria seethed.

“Do not be a killer like Cersei,” I challenged. “Cersei would not hesitate to poison one of your daughters or me if something like this happened to Jaime. All hell would break loose if something happened to Myrcella. You are better than them, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then, you must play a different game to get your revenge.”

“What do you have in mind?” Ellaria asked stubbornly.

“We play the game of thrones. We are a part of one of the main houses in Westeros and we have as much right to the throne as anyone.” I stepped closer to Ellaria. “We could get a Dornishman on the Iron Throne.”

“Tristane? That would be interesting and certainly achievable,” Ellaria said.

“That would be interesting, but it would kill Cersei if it was one of Oberyn’s sons.” I pressed my hands to my stomach and Ellaria’s eyes began twinkling.

“You mean...when did you learn of this?” Ellaria asked.

“When I went to the Maester and asked for something to help me sleep, he discovered that I am a little over a moon with child.”

“Y/N,” Ellaria kissed me and hugged me gently, “I am so happy for you!”

I smiled. “I just wish Oberyn were here, after I lost the other two...”

“Shh,” Ellaria pulled me close. “You know he never blamed you for it, any of it, and I am sure is elated, watching us.”

“Yes, at least I have you.” “Always.”

And from that moment on, we began our plan to take the Iron Throne.

#oberyn martell imagine #game of thrones imagine #got imagine #requested

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thekwanderer · 5 years ago

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November 27 2019

The ride to Agra was 3 hours. It was a little unclear though because google maps was giving estimates of 4 hours. It was a bit of a tight fit as a lot of cars are used to piling in tons of people with little space unlike us Americans who like spacious cars with big comfy seats. It was an uneventful ride and we went out into the countryside. There it consisted of big open plains with some short trees. The sun rose a blood red as most of the light was blotted out by the thick pollution. Along the way, we saw some tall towers with billowing black smoke. These were brick kilns as many of the people living outside of Delhi are brick makers. We stopped at a small rest stop and wandered a little to stretch our legs. There we ran into Anna's family! Anna stayed back because she had seen the Taj before, but her dad, cousins, and sisters were there. We keep seeing them everywhere so Bobby and I think it was fortuitous to see them outside of Delhi as well.

We pile back into the van, and it's another 45 minutes to the Taj. Mercifully Richard agreed to switch with me and sit in the last row with Debbie because I was sitting at an angle due to the slope in the seat. Driving through Agra feels very different from Delhi. It is a lot more rural with short houses with thick clay walls. There was also a lot more cows! I knew that cows were sacred in India, but I had yet to see any. Here the cows wreaked havoc just walking wherever they pleased with cars, motorcycles, and bikes maneuvering around them. There was also a thick dust that coated the ground as the sides of the road were unpaved dirt.

Dev is helpful since Ishan's dad knows him and I'm glad for a longer lasting relationship rather than a one off transaction if we had found a driver through other means. He drops us off by the parking lot and we are able to jump on a large golf cart with 5 rows. We had many people approach us trying to give us tours, but we were very wary since we read on the internet that many folks want to scam you since there are very few official government guides. The ride on the golf carts to the ticket counter is only 1 kilometer and it takes just a few minutes to pull up. Interestingly it was cheaper to buy our tickets via credit card than pay cash. Our foreigner tickets come with the entry fee, shoe covers to go into the mausoleum, and a bottle of water.

After we get through security, we walk down a tree lined corridor to a little red gate. When we walk through, we get our first glimpse of the Taj. It's a bit hazy, but it still is exciting to see the famous site through the doorway of this gate. I'm impressed that there aren't too many folks there. I was expecting throngs of people, but I am told that this is the off season for visitors and that it will pick up in a few months. This site is a famous destination not just for foreigners but also for locals. We see many women in beautiful bright saris because it looks especially stunning against the white background. We make it out of the gateway and slowly walk towards the Taj. We are lucky that we can see the building. Patrick said that one of his friends came a couple of weeks before and couldn't even see the building from the entranceway. The water is pretty mostly because the pools themselves have blue tile. It is amazing having a crew of 6. It made me feel safer that we had other trusted friends watching our backs and we got some great couple pictures and we took turns holding each other's stuff and took pictures of each other.

We bought tickets for the mausoleum and that allowed us to go into the building itself. That is where the shoe covers came in so we could walk around the white tiled floor with less impact. Inside the building its dark and a man gestures us forward. There was no photography allowed inside, so unfortunately we don't have photos. In the center was almost a screen made out of carved marble. Inside this octagon were two graves. The smaller one was in the center, and was for the queen, and then the larger one was off to the side for the king. The king originally built this building as a monument to his favorite wife and ended up being buried there as well. The carvings are so beautiful from Indian marble and the shapes were basically hearts. Also, there was inlaid flowers with 4 different types of flowers made from gemstones. When the guide placed his small flashlight against this flower, the whole stone glowed. It was quite beautiful and intricate.

I didn't realize that this king was Muslim and there was scripture from the Koran on the walls and the whole place had moorish architecture with archways and geometric patterns. Overall we spent 3 hours wandering the complex which was more than enough. We had our fill of touring and headed back to to the car. We headed back to Delhi without incident and even ran into some other guests from the wedding at our rest stop who had left Delhi at 3 am! We were happy with our choice of a later start.

When we got back from the hotel we were really tied. Debbie, Richard and Stephanie got coffee from the cafe, but they didn't have any gluten free options so we dragged them to eat food with us at the more casual cafe where Bobby had butter chicken and I got chicken biriyani. After we were fed, we were ready for bed and hit the pillow around 8 pm.

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curvesandcorners · 5 years ago

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SLOVENIA

Slovenia 5/12/19 – 5/19/19 Republika Slovenija. The country is about the size of New Jersey but ever since I first visited in 2006, it left a big impression on me and I have always wanted to return. And especially with a bicycle. After a trip to Norway didn’t pan out I had committed myself to the idea of another bicycle trip and after a short think, Slovenia was it. Quite a bit of flight itinerary option analysis later, I had a free flight via American Airlines miles to Venice. I had about a month to plan out the trip so wasn’t too stressed. Then work got crazy, then I ended up in LA for the week before the trip, and then all of a sudden I was leaving the next day and I still had a route to plan and accommodations to book. That all somehow comes together no matter how unprepared I am and it would this time as well. So a long flight to Madrid, a short flight to Venice, and a 2 hour train ride later I was at the border town of Gorizia, Italy where I had the day before booked a hotel for the start and end of the trip. The hotel room turned into a bike shop and I re-assembled the Rick Jones that night and would leave the travel case with the hotel for the week. The following morning I pedaled across the border to Nova Gorica in Slovenia and started on my clockwise loop around western Slovenia.

The first day was grey and a little wet, which would prove to be a theme for the trip, but the riding started out pretty good, riding over one Italian hill before unknowingly crossing the official border at some unmarked spot and onto a bunch of small Slovenian farm roads.

Just before the town of Plave I hit a ripper of a descent and satisfied myself with my brakes ability to stop me, and then the Soca River first came into view. I had been waiting to see this river for 13 years, and it did not disappoint with amazingly clear turquoise blue water.

My route for the day would follow small roads along the Soca River valley, hitting small towns, and transitioning between perfect pavement, gravel, and jeep track. The weather shifted from threatening to very threatening but luckily never rained more than a spitting. But what the weather lacked in rain it made up for in gusting wind, and blowing the wrong direction. I stopped for a picnic of leftover pizza from the night before, and though I was exhausted from the travels and jetlag, and despite the wind, made it to the town of Bovec to check in to the friendly hostel I booked. A good meal of trout, in the somewhat humorous and cartoonish Bovec style, and a couple glasses of local wine and I was out like a light.

The next morning my body still wanted to wake up on NY time so I got a late start but when I got intel on the route I had planned I found out my intended one-way foray up to the Mangart Saddle was not going to be possible as the road was closed because of snow. I thought about trying it out anyway, but it is a one way road 30 miles out and back, with 5000’ of climbing, and I’d have to return right back to where I started in order to continue on the overall route. So it was not hard to decide to skip that part and I now had a short 20 mile day. This worked out swimmingly as these 20 miles were stunning and provided reason to stop and take photos almost every 50 feet. The wind was back and working against me and I cursed not following the general advice of doing this route in counter-clockwise direction. I took a wrong turn somewhere and then coming back for a ½ mile with the wind sent me sailing along at 30 mph without a pedal stroke. The Soca cut through a limestone gorge and my path followed more small roads and easy mountain bike trails, with a few river crossings over these lovely bridges.

The mountains I had been pedaling towards started getting closer and closer and pretty soon I found myself at my destination of the Koča pri izviru Soče mountain hut.

The hut is part of the Planinska Zveza Slovenije aka the Alpine Association of Slovenia and I had become a card carrying member the day before my trip, which meant I could sleep in the hut dormitory for a friendly 10 euro fee. It was early so I went on a rainy hike for the afternoon and I was glad I had packed my non-cycling shoes as the hike had me scaling some vertical faces before finding the source of the Soca river, a fissure in the mountain with a bottomless blue hole. The host of the hut fixed me up nicely with a wild mushroom stew, a delicious cottage cheese struklji, and a glass of wine. I climbed up the ladder into the loft dormitory and tucked in with my kindle for a good night of rest.

On the morning of Day 3 I breakfasted with my host again and discussed my cycling plans. She did not like my plan to continue up and over the Vrsic pass. The same snow that had closed the Mangart Saddle had apparently unofficially closed the road over Vrsic, unless your vehicle was equipped with snow chains. My bike was not. She called a hut-friend up on the mountain who confirmed her fears and told me I should not make an attempt. The detour was just not an option I would consider and I had been daydreaming about this pass for weeks so I thanked them both for their worry, but I’d be going up, and walking the bike if I needed to. As I stepped outside in the morning it was cold and grey again but I started pedaling and immediately climbing. Not 30 minutes later I was blessed with bright blue sunny skies that came out of nowhere and I knew I had made the right decision. The Vrsic Pass road is a military road built by Russian prisoners of war during World War I and has 50 numbered hairpin switchbacks, 26 going up on Trenta side and 24 (cobblestoned!) descending on the Kranska Gora side. The road was also absolutely stunning and a pleasure cycling up. The feeling was incredible. I looked behind me to see the valley from where I had just came, the sharp bends of the road getting smaller and smaller as I climbed higher and higher, and the surrounding mountains getting closer and closer and just could not believe this was reality.

Somewhere around switchback 20 or so, I was nearly at the summit and the warnings came true. The temperature plummeted and the road surface was covered with a few inches of snow over a sheet of ice. I ran into an older Austrian couple I had spoken with the day before in their SUV as they were turning around because their vehicle couldn’t make it up the road. Despite the snow we shared this moment of excitement because of the beauty of the mountain peaks and the encouraging sunshine. They asked how it was cycling in the snow and I replied “it doesn’t matter. it’s beautiful” to which they replied in charming Austrian accents “IT IS SO BYOOTTEEEFULLLL”. I pedaled when I could and pushed the bike when I couldn’t and put on all my layers and both pairs of gloves and made my way across the 4 or 5 km of snow covered summit. A well placed hut provided a hot tea to warm myself back up before making the descent. The north side has cobblestones on each of the 24 hairpins which was not ideal for a bicycle moving way too fast, but maybe that extra caution kept me from flying off the road and off the mountain. In any case, the descent was over before I knew it and I paused at Lake Jasna to admire the morning’s accomplishment.

From here I would enjoy 25 miles of picture perfect solitary riding along a tiny perfectly paved road/path through the Triglavski National Park, all the way to Lake Bled.

And somehow this cycling utopia of a road provided me with my only puncture of the trip.

A quick lunch in Bled and a lap around the lake and I continued on my way. After a few km I turned off the paved road and onto a mountain bike trail and started on the 2nd big climb for the day. A much smaller one at 580 m, but a much harder one thanks to the dirt and varying 8 – 15% grade.

But the top would reward me well with this alpine meadow and a view the whole way down the other side of the mountain to Bohinjsko Jezero.

I was further rewarded with freshly paved and absolutely perfect tarmac which allowed me let the bike sing down the swoopy descent. There were a few shouts of excitement as I was having so much fun and my bike felt so good. A few minutes later I was down at the lake (Bohinjsko Jezero).

A quick pedal to look around town and then I had a 5 or 6 km ride back up into the woods to another Alpine Association hut where I planned to stay. I approached a closed looking hut but was happy to see there was a woman doing some work around the back. But unluckily she informed the hut was closed until the weekend. The day was too good to let this setback annoy me so I quickly turned around and another trip back down to town and I managed to find a lovely little hotel lodge to call home for the night with an excellent “Foksner” burger and great selection of Slovenian craft beers. I toasted to an unforgettable day on the bike and was drunk in one pint and asleep in two. The next morning I woke up high on the euphoria of such a good previous day. I didn’t have any epic alpine passes planned for the day but overall it was the biggest day of the trip I had planned. I looked out the window and saw a miserably grey sky and rain pouring down. I checked the forecast and it did not look good.

I reviewed my planned route and saw I had quite a bit of climbing and a lot of it was on mtb trails. This just did not sound fun in 40 degrees and rain all day so I decided to call an audible and re-routed myself to a more direct route on mostly pavement. This cut the day down to a more manageable 95 km. The rain never stopped aside from one hour of respite, and it was indeed cold, but I layered up, put some house music on my Bluetooth speaker on my handlebars, and got into a groove with my cadence and pedaled instinctively. It was great and miserable at the same time. The route would take me along some beautiful roads and some average ones, and eventually I reached my somewhat arbitrarily selected destination of Trojane.

From Trojane I had picked out another Alpine hut for my accommodation. This was about 10 km outside of town and seemed doable from my review of the maps. My confidence was shaken though, by the previous day’s surprise closed hut. I continued out of town towards the woods and the hut. I got to the last remnants of a village before entering the woods and saw a woman outside and asked if she had any idea if it would be open or not. She didn’t speak a lick of English but grabbed her son who did and he knew the hut and was fairly confident it was only open on weekends so would be closed. I knew that would be a pretty terrible thing to trudge up to this hut only to come right back down, all in the cold pouring rain, at the end of a long day, and I also really liked the idea of a hot shower at that point (no showers at the Alpine huts) so I accepted defeat and headed back to Trojane for a hot tea and to figure out accommodation for the night. I met Melita in the Trojane café and we made friends and she was thrilled that I chose Slovenia for my cycling trip. We took a photo on her ancient digital camera. I took advantage of the wifi and successfully booked another cheap room at the wonderfully Soviet-esque meets mid-century modern Hotel Trojane. The hot shower made it worth every single euro (not that many!) and I cranked the heat and used my bike as a drying rack to try to dry off my thoroughly soaked clothing.

After an excellent night’s rest, I had an easy route planned from Trojane to Ljubljana for two day’s in the city. But I wanted more bikes so I planned a big epic murderous ride up to the Austrian border, across three mountain passes, and then back down to Ljubljana. Then I checked on road closure conditions and two of the passes were closed because of snow so I settled for something in the middle with one mountain pass. But before that I had to go see Hut Dom dr. Franca Goloba na Čemšeniški planini, which was supposed to be my destination the night before. I headed back out of town, passed the woman and son whom I had spoken to the day before, and then started to climb up into the woods. I soon realized I had very much made the right choice as the roads up to the hut went from

And they got stupid steep. But eventually, after a couple miles that felt like an a couple hundred, I came to the hut.

What an amazing place. The host was there doing some sprucing up and though she spoke no English I was at least able to confirm she was there the night before. I didn’t regret my decision but I sure was glad I still came to see the hut. The view off the mountain and across the valley below was breathtaking and the grounds of the hut were charming as possible. Picnic tables covered in snow with the sun shining and an incredible view meant I had to enjoy a morning beer.

I enjoyed my beer and went back in the direction I had came but took another trail I thought might be more bike and less hike. It was not. But it eventually spit me out onto another dirt road which was a very fast way back down off the mountain.

I passed through Trojane one last time, grabbed a few snacks, and then quickly turned off the pavement and onto a forest road which was one of my favorite sections of the whole trip. I had the whole forest to myself and enjoyed beautiful and tranquil dirt roads in great shape as I climbed up and down the undulating hills. This heavenly dirt road brought me to another secondary paved road, a small mountain pass, and through a few small villages. I made a friend, enjoyed the rolling hills and perfect pavement, and soon found myself at the base of the Trobelkski Vrh climb. At 460 meters the climb was not insignificant but with grade hovering around 15% it was a worthy challenge, especially on my loaded bike. Luckily it rewarded my effort with another set of amazing views of my surroundings.

At the summit I turned onto a paved main road and had a thrilling 7 mile long descent back down to the Kamnik River. The asphalt was freshly laid and I raced a Subaru WRX down the hairpin turns. Towards the bottom there was a section of road work and the roadworkers were working on laying more of that sweet glass smooth asphalt. I yelled as I passed :chef kissing fingers: “IT’S BYOOTIFULLL” pointing the asphalt and they loved the appreciation and cheered me on with a round of ALLEZ ALLEZ ALLEZ. It was a great moment and made my already ear to ear smile stretch even bigger. I followed my route on into Ljubljana and easily found my hotel and settled in for two days of espresso, beer, and great food. Ljubljana is a lovely little European gem. The River Ljubljanica runs right through it with beautiful buildings and cafes running along it. The food is good, the beer is good and cheap and plentiful, the good espresso is really good, and everyone seems to be happy and friendly. It was a lovely little rest off the bike for two days.

After two days of relaxing, eating, and drinking, it was time to get back on the bike. I called ahead this time to make sure the Alpine hut was open and promised the host I would be there by late afternoon. Then I loaded all my belongings back onto the Rick Jones and headed west out of the city.

After 25 km of flat, boring riding I turned onto a dirt road and climbed a few hundred feet. Then another stretch of flat riding before I started up a really great 400 meter climb to the village of Podkraj. It started to rain along the way which put a bit of a damper on the long and fast descent, especially the -17% portion. I managed that ok but wished for disc brakes and cursed my luddite-ness. I entered into Slovenian wine country and cycled up and down and alongside numerous vineyards.

And then shortly after the village of Dolenje I was gingerly descending around a series of hairpin turns and all of a sudden I was on the pavement with a painful thud. I’m not sure what happened but my tire slipped out from under me as I was making my way around the curve, even though I was doing so really slowly. I crawled off the road and lay out in the grass moaning and groaning. I checked my bike and had to push the brake lever back into position and do my best to re-align the bent derailleur hanger. As I was laying there a car or two passed by, veeerryyyy very slowly and both checked to see that I was ok. A couple came cycling by on mountain bikes in the opposite direction as me and stopped to check on me and we chatted for a while. They were locals and told me everyone knows that road and especially that turn are dangerous and extremely slick.

Once I collected myself I had no choice but to continue on. From there I had 25 km to get to my hut. Luckily my bike worked well enough, even without perfect shifting. The rain started to come down hard with about 20 km to go so I gritted my teeth and pushed on, up into the woods again. The last 8 km or so were really gorgeous but there was no time for photos with the rain so I pressed ahead, anxious to make it to the hut and looking forward to a hot meal and a drink. Some time around 4 pm I got to the Hut Stjenkova koča na Trstelju and looked forward to drying off and going to sleep very early.

As I entered dripping wet I saw two men and a beautiful but terrifying German Shepherd. Then a third man bolted up from behind a table. He was the host, Bostjan, and I had just woken him up from his afternoon nap. “YOU! NEW YORK!?” he yelled out and I confirmed. He commanded I sit down and placed a beer in front of me straight away. From there it would turn into absolutely the most fun night of the trip. Bostjan, and his friends Dragan the casino craps dealer and Miha the former motocross champion of Yugoslavia and the beautiful blue-blooded lineage purebred German Shepherd called Siri welcomed me into their Saturday night party. The beer flowed non-stop, I fortified myself mid-way with a hearty stew, and then again with a late night pancetta party, Bostjan brought out home-made grappa from his fellow communist (“NO, SOCIALIST”) comrades, Dragan brought out his homegrown Slovenian mountain kishkish, we toasted to Tito’s portrait multiple times, and some time around 1 am we had drunken 20 L of Laško beer and the keg was kicked. I couldn’t have asked for a better last night in Slovenia. I will never forget those guys and the fun time we shared.

I woke up the next morning in a haze and hurting just as much from the crash the day before as from the drinking. Bostjan stumbled to the kitchen and prepared me a breakfast of scrambled eggs with beer, along with more pancetta and then I had a short last day to finish out the trip and return to Gorizia.

I was able to enjoy the mountain roads without so much rain this time and after a quick 50 km I was back in Italy and the whole town was closed since it was Sunday. I checked back into the hotel I had started the trip at, went through the tedious process of disassembling and packing my bike back into the s&s case, wandered aimlessly on foot until I eventually found something open ending up back at the same pizza place I had visited 7 days previous (very good pizza!), and got a night of rest before waking up early for the long travel journey of a train to Venezia, bus to the airport, 13 hour flight to Philadelphia, 6 hour layover which worked out perfectly for a happy hour reunion with friends, and then a one hour flight back to LaGuardia where I and thousands of other people would deal with the hell that is LaGuardia construction and transportation. At 2 am I walked back in the door of my Brooklyn apartment, dropped all my things at the front door, and collapsed into bed for a few quick hours of sleep before waking up for work and re-entrance into the real world.

Before I sign off, what sort of bike nerd would I be if I didn’t nerd out on my bike and gear selected for the trip. I wanted this to be a non-camping inn-to-inn or hut-to-hut in this case tour to keep the bike relatively lightweight and make the riding more fun. My Rick Jones has served me well for 7 years now and did not fail on this trip.

-Even with the front rando bag, frame bag, and saddle bag adding on about 15 or so lbs, the bike was spry and handles like a dream.

-Braking is, well…its as good as you can expect from cantilevers I suppose. Pretty decent when dry and alarmingly inadequate when wet, which happened to be most of the trip.

-I refreshed the drivetrain a couple months ago with new 11 speed Ultegra which proved as reliable as expected. I changed out the compact gearing for 46/30 sub-compact chainrings mounted onto my White Industries VBC cranks and really appreciated that choice at many times throughout the trip, both going up the alpine passes in the 30 tooth and cruising along on the flats and downhills in the 46.

-The way-too-complicated electrical system, yes electrical system, consists of the SonDelux dynamo hub powering an IQ-X front headlight, as well as a taillight, and a Sinewave Revolution usb charger. The setup got complicated when I had to make it demountable for packing into the S&S case with quick-disconnects all over the place. One ripped out as I was taking the bike apart, requiring a last minute solder and leaving me not all that confident in the system holding up to the travel and the trip. But it turned out to not be an issue and worked the entire time and survived the disassembly and trip home with no problems or re-soldering required.

-Tire selection was the do-it-all goldilocks of a tire Compass aka Rene Herse Bon Jon Pass 700c x 35 mm. Everything is tubeless compatible but I ran tubes due to the packing wheels tightly into a suitcase a little smaller than the wheels are round. Aside from that sudden crash which probably can’t be blamed on the tire, they were great and gave me the road and gravel performance I wanted, while still being able to handle some rough stuff when the route turned more towards mtb trail.

-Navigation was handled with my Hammerhead Karoo which is enormous but works very well and a great tool for touring and especially good when re-routing on the fly becomes necessary. Between my trip to Oaxaca in December and this trip to Slovenia, I have confidence in the Hammerhead to get me wherever I want to go.

-Bags consisted of a Swift Ozette rando bag out front, a Porcelain Rocket frame bag, and an Oveja Negra saddle bag. It looks like a generous amount of storage but it fills up pretty quickly and I needed all the space they provided for this trip. -Inside the bags I packed: (1) pair bibs + jersey + socks (rotated daily between the set I was wearing), an insulated Rapha gilet, a Search & State rain jacket, arm warmers, knee warmers, toe covers, a pair of full finger riding gloves, a pair of glove liners, and a merino wool neck gaiter. I was very glad to have every last piece of riding gear that I did as the temps and constant rain necessitated wearing everything on several occasions. I treated myself to the luxury of a pair of pants, a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, and a light wool sweater. Being able to change into dry normal clothes and the end of each long, wet day was a treat. And the most luxurious item packed was a pair of sneakers, which although they took up more than half the saddle bag they were also a god-send at the end of the day when I just wanted to take off the cycling shoes and for the couple of short hikes and the two days spent walking Ljubljana. Add in my Fuji XT1, a Kindle, a Bluetooth speaker, a headlamp, two water bottles, phone/wallet/passport, framepump, two tubes, tools, and a daily supply of snacks and that was the bike packed. I was happy with everything packed, and there was not a single item I regretted lugging around by bicycle for a few hundred km.

If anyone has actually read this far. Thank you for reading and now go visit Slovenia. Tell them I sent you and say hello. I am already scheming on a return trip next year with cycling and fly fishing combined.

Nasvidenje!

#bicycle touring #slovenia

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