#my wrapped was exactly was hilarious as i’d thought it’d be

[lexalovesbooks]

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[the-fiction-witch]

You and I P6

Media - Nowhere Boy Character - Paul Couple - Paul X Reader Reader - Y/n Rating - 18 + Smut - nudity / cuddling / kissing / making out / morning wood / silent sex / secret sex / risky sex / pleasure seeking / orgasms / fingering / riding / cowgirl / begging / moaning / biting / love bites / Word Count - 3721

When morning came they still remained cuddled up in each others arms the soft warmth of the covers around them and the sound of movement around the house

Paul stirred slowly, his eyes opening as he began to wake from his sleep, the early morning sunlight slowly starting to peek through the curtains. He felt how she still lay against his chest, her body still in his arms, her hair still soft and silky as his fingers gently brushed through it, the sound of the house waking still sounding in the background as he slowly woke up more

He felt her stirring against him as he woke up more, he continued to lightly brush his fingers through her hair, feeling how it wrapped around his fingers in soft waves, smiling softly at her sleepy reaction to him waking her up

"Humm… morning" she yawned,

“Morning, luv” he mumbled in response, smiling slightly as he heard her cute little yawn, his voice still a little hoarse and rough from sleep, his hand still gently combing through her hair, enjoying the way it felt against his fingers

she smiled and gave him a little kiss before nuzzling into him "Time?"

He hummed softly at the little kiss, smiling and enjoying the nuzzling that followed, the feeling of her warm against him so sweet and familiar He looked over at the clock on the bedside table, seeing the time and letting out a groan, “6:30… we’ve gotta get up, luv”

"Why? … it’s Saturday,"

He chuckled softly at her question, but he also knew John and the others would be over to practice and be expecting them “Because we’ve got to practice today… the boys will be over later…” He told her, his hand still moving through her soft hair

"… when do her boys ever arrive for practice earlier than half eight,"

He chuckled again, knowing she had a point, the others weren’t exactly known for being on time, hell, he knew he wasn’t exactly great for being on time either “Yeah… good point… we’ve got a couple hours, I suppose… but we should probably get up soon….” He relented

"Ummm did you want to use the window?"

He chuckled again at her sleepy question, loving how funny she could be in her sleepy state

“Are you asking me if I want to jump out the bloody window, luv?”

"… Merely asking if you want to climb out my window and into the garden so you can enter the house through the front door. So when the guys arrive they don't know you spent the night there."

He paused for a moment, thinking about it, it wasn’t a terrible idea, and it would avoid getting lectured by John about the two of them spending the night together “Yeah, guess that’d be a good idea… as long as you’re willing to help me get in through the window from the garden,” he told her, a slightly teasing tone on his voice

"Or… you could go the other direction and just as the boys come upstairs to John's room, you could come out my room in you’re underwear fully embracing it and enjoying the bragging rights?"

He almost groaned at the thought, he could just imagine the reaction of the other lads, if he walked out of her room in his underwear, the way the others would react, particularly John, would be hilarious, and he definitely enjoyed the thought of having bragging rights, especially over John “Christ… that’s a fantastic idea, luv” He told her, a satisfied smirk on his face

"Umm then I can come to give her kisses while you’re practising"

He chuckled again, and the idea of her coming to give him kisses while he was practising was almost too much to bear, it’d be so distracting “I don’t think I’d get much practising done if you were giving me kisses, luv”

"Would you complain?"

He paused for a moment, pretending to think about it, as if it wasn’t obvious that he wouldn’t complain at all “No… I don’t think I would” he told her with a slight smirk, knowing that she'd see straight through his feigned uncertainty

she giggled and pulled him closer into more kisses

He chuckled softly, the tone of her giggle sending tingles through his body, he was happy to be pulled into more kisses, loving feeling her body press against his, he loved her so much, sometimes it was hard to believe she was real, that she was his, He continued to return her kisses, his hands moving to her waist again, his fingers gently gripping her hips as he kissed her back softly, enjoying the familiar feeling of her body against his, loving the way her skin felt against his, how perfect it felt to have her in his arms

"So… what should we do till the boys get here?" she smirked

He chuckled, loving the smirk on her face and the slightly cheeky tone of her voice, he had a good feeling what she had in mind, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want it too, “I’m sure I could think of a thing or two to pass the time…” he told her with a sly grin

"So can I," she smirked and shifted them a little till she sat over his hips again "Shall we?"

He groaned softly as she shifted to straddle his hips again, his hands gripping her waist tightly as she sat on top of him, he could feel his heart begin to race a little and he knew that he wanted her so badly “Christ… yes, please…” He managed to get out, his voice already starting to sound a little breathless with wanting her

"But quiet this time, people are home" she whispered as she shifted her hips a little "ohhhh someone had a nice dream" she smirked at the obvious morning wood

He cursed internally at how good it felt having her hips shift against him like that, and he knew that his dream had very much helped contribute to his current situation “Yeah… yeah, I… had a nice dream… a very nice dream…” He replied, his voice coming out a little breathless as he felt her move against him

"what was it about?" she cooed moving her hips a little against him but not yet letting him inside

He groaned and his head fell back a little against the pillow as she moved again, the feeling of her so close to him but not yet letting him get what he wanted was torturous, he needed her so badly but he wasn’t sure he’d last much longer “God… don’t make me say it, luv…it’ll embarrass me…” He told her, his voice coming out a little ragged

"if you don't tell me, he can't come in" she giggled

He groaned again, a frustrated noise falling from his mouth, of course, she would make him say it first, he should have known this is what she’d do, but goddamn, he wanted her so badly that he’d be willing to do practically anything for her, and he definitely did not want her to stop “It… it was about you…” he finally admitted, his face feeling a little hot as he admitted it out loud

"And what happened?"

He paused for a moment, trying desperately to remember the details from his dream, but it was surprisingly hazy now, and all he could remember were snippets and sensations, he knew she wouldn’t let him get away with just giving her vague details “you were on top of me… just like you are now… and I was… Christ… I can’t remember much, luv” He admitted, feeling a little self-conscious about how much he’d already forgotten

"Tell me" she whined

He let out a frustrated growl, part of him not wanting to say any more because it’d be so Goddamn embarrassing, but the other part of him wanting so badly to keep her happy and have her continue, finally he caved and gave in, deciding it’d be best to be completely honest with her “Goddammit… please don’t judge me for this… ok?” He started, his face feeling hot as he spoke

"I promise"

He took a deep breath before continuing, still feeling a little self-conscious about saying his dream out loud, and he knew she wouldn’t actually judge him for it, but that didn’t stop the feeling of embarrassment

“Right… well… you were straddling me, just like you are now… and you were riding me… quite hard… I remember that bit vividly, luv…oh and I was making you feel good… I remember that too” He swallowed before continuing, his face turning a deep shade of red at his own admission, but he knew her wouldn’t stop until he told her everything “I remember how you felt around me, and how much I wanted you … and I remember how you … how you … God, this is embarrassing…” He trailed off, his voice coming out a little ragged He groaned as he felt her begin to shift on him again, the feeling almost taking his breath away, but he still wasn’t done admitting the details of his dream yet, he knew she’d refuse to give him what he needed until she had all the details “I remember… I’m pretty sure you came… I remember how perfect you look when you cum, and how… how…” He trailed off again, feeling his cheeks turn hot “… and how hot it is when you cum…” He finally managed to complete the sentence, the last part coming out in a low, raspy voice, his breathing ragged and his face red with embarrassment, but he still knew that her weren’t done with her questioning

she giggled "Hummm… I think I had a similar dream"

He paused for a moment, he couldn’t help but be a little surprised that she’d had a similar dream as he’d had, and he couldn’t deny that he was suddenly very curious about the details “Christ… really?.. you dreamed about that too?” He asked, his voice a mix of surprise and interest

"I did, almost the same… except your hands were tied to the bed"

He let out another frustrated moan as she revealed the difference in the dreams, and he felt his heart begin to race at the image he got, but he also began to feel the tiniest bit of trepidation at the thought of having his hands tied to the bed and being completely at her mercy “Bloody Christ… you had a similar dream but with me tied down?” He asked, his voice coming out a little hoarse, his entire body suddenly feeling hot with desire

"Mhm," she nodded as she finally let him inside "Just a silly dream," she cooed starting to move

He let out a strangled moan as he finally felt her sink down onto him, the feeling so perfect he could have sworn he saw stars for a second, he instinctively grabbed her hips, his fingers gripping tightly, his body already tense from how good it felt “God…. Christ….. it’s… luv… that feels so good……” He managed to get out, his voice sounding slightly strangled but his tone full of how much he was enjoying it

"Ssh." she reminds him "My mum will be making breakfast downstairs, and John might be next door"

He groaned at her reminder to be quiet, the last thing he wanted was to have John or her mum come upstairs and discover them, he knew that’d be a disaster. However, it was getting increasingly difficult to keep quiet as she started to move on top of him, he had to force himself not to moan loudly each time she shifted just right “I… I’m trying… but it’s… Christ… it’s so hard to stay quiet… you feel too good……” He managed to get out, his voice coming out as a strained whisper

she giggled and made sure to be slow but purposeful trying to give him the most pleasure, quickly, but without making the bed make too much noise

He let out a breathless whine at the way her were moving, the fact that she was moving so slowly was doing a good job of making the bed less noisy, but it meant that she was teasing him by not giving him what he desperately wanted at a faster pace. He knew that she was doing it on purpose to frustrate him, and he was slowly losing the ability to keep quiet, all he could manage were breathless little whimpers each time she moved against him “Y/n… please… faster… I need…. I can’t…..” He managed to get out in a broken whisper

she giggled "Awww my poor baby"

He groaned again, frustrated and impatient with how slow she was being, he was getting desperate, all he wanted was for her to move faster, but she kept teasing him by continuing to go so slow “Goddammit luv… please…. I need you to go faster… please…. I’m begging you …” He whined, sounding a little more desperate

she grabbed her pillow and put it between the bed and the wall starting to move faster the pillow muffling some noise

As soon as she increased her pace he let out a strangled moan, the tension in his body starting to build at the need to increase in speed, and the pillow between the wall and the bed was doing a good job of muffling the sound of the bed moving, however, it wasn’t doing much to stop his gasps and groans of pleasure “Christ…. Y/n…. that’s…. Oh God… that feels…. So good…..” He whispered, his voice still strained but his tone full of pleasure

she giggled taking his hand and moving it between her legs so this would be enjoyable for her too

He groaned as she moved his hand between her legs, and he began to gently press his fingers against her clit, circling it slowly, all the while still enjoying the feeling of her moving on top of him “Y/n… you feel…. So good…. I want you so much…. Christ…..” he whispered, his voice still coming out as a mixture of a gasp and a

she gasped and whined getting faster as he touched her

As he heard her gasp from her, he knew he was doing a good job at pleasing her with his fingers, he continued to circle her clit, his touch becoming faster and more desperate as the tension built inside him, he wanted to hold on for her but he wasn’t sure how much longer he could take feeling so good “God…. luv… you sound so good…. you feel so good….. I need you …” He whispered into her ear, his voice still strained but his tone full of how much he was enjoying the feeling of her

she bit her lip "…. Fuck it-" She groaned moving at the pace she had last night,

He let out a strangled moan as she suddenly started moving faster, it felt so good he could barely think, all coherent thought seemed to leave his mind and he couldn’t stop the gasps of pleasure and the low moans that left him with every move her made “Christ….. luv….. God….. you feel…. So, so, so good…. So beautiful… so perfect…..” He managed to get out in broken, ragged gasps

"Keep going… please-" She begged holding his hand in place

He continued to keep his fingers moving against her, pressing against her clit and listening to the gasps and moans she was letting out, he could feel his own tension building as she went, but he wanted to see her come first, he desperately wanted to see her reach her peak and hear her come for him again

“Y/n…… I’ll do anything you want…. I’ll keep this up as long as you want…. I need you to cum…..” He told her, his voice still breathy but the tone full of how much he wanted her to cum,

she gasped already clenching around him as she moved

He felt her start to clench, and he knew that they were close, the feeling making his heart race and his own tension continue to get higher, his own breathing laboured from how good it all felt “That’s it…. That’s it luv… let go for me…. Let go… I need to feel you … I need to see you her…” He managed to get out in a broken, stammering gasp, the tone of his voice thick with how much he wanted her to come

"I'm about to-" she whined trying to keep moving as she was on the edge

He let out another groan, desperate to keep her going since he knew she was so close, his hand on her hip squeezing tighter, holding her down onto him “Yes… God yes…. Don’t stop…. Just keep going….. you’re so close……” He said in a broken gasp, his tone almost begging her to keep going

she whined and moved her hips at the same pace doing her best as her legs trembled, before she clamped her hand over her mouth to muffle her scream and she froze up completely her back arching as she clenched and squirted down him

He didn’t have time to register her clamping her hand over her mouth, before suddenly clenching him so tight and completely freezing up, he let out a broken moan as her orgasm washed over him, his own back arching and his hand gripping her hip so hard he was sure he’d leave bruises. It took everything he had in him not to cry out in pleasure, but he eventually managed to make nothing but a strangled gasp, “God….. y/n….. that was…..” He couldn’t manage any more than a few broken words, his body and mind completely overwhelmed by how good that felt

"Did you -" she gasped

He let out another strangled moan as she asked that question, feeling his body tense as he realised he was still so close, but now he was just as desperate for release as she had been a moment ago “No… not yet… Christ….. but I’m so close… I need you so bad……” He told her breathlessly, holding desperately onto those last few threads of control he still had

she moved his hands to her hips letting him move her

He immediately took control once his hands were on her hips, holding her firmly he started to thrust up into her, his eyes focused on her face, his breathing ragged and laboured as he continued to feel so close to the edge “God….. I’m not going to last long……..” He managed to get out, his voice tight and strained, struggling not to just completely lose control and let go

she gasped and moaned against his neck as she was becoming beyond overstiumulated now,

He continued to thrust into her, trying to keep his pace steady and not let himself go too fast, the feeling of her moans against his neck was driving him crazy, and he knew he wasn’t going to be able to keep control for much longer “God…. luv… I’m gonna cum… I’m so…….. close…. I can’t….. I can’t hold….. hold back much longer….” He managed to get out in a strangled gasp

she nodded biting his neck

He completely let go of the last scraps of control he still had as he felt her bite his neck, he let out a ragged moan, and gave one last strong thrust up into her, before he completely fell over the edge and came, arching his back and holding her down against him, his head falling back as he groaned her name through gritted teeth

y/n gasped and collapsed "Fuck-"

He felt her collapse down on top of him, and his arms immediately came up around her, holding her firmly against him. He took a few deep breaths trying to calm himself down, and managed to get out a few broken words “God…. luv…. Jesus Christ….. that was….. that was incredible……” He told her, sounding winded and exhausted, but still enjoying the feeling of her lying on top of him

"I have an opinion…" she gasped

He took another deep breath, finally starting to get his breathing somewhat regulated, and when he was certain he’d be able to speak more or less properly he replied “Go on… what’s your opinion, luv?” He asked curiously, his arms still around her, holding her against his chest, his body still trembling slightly from the orgasm and the exertion of it all

"Riding. is best."

He actually let out a soft laugh at her statement and response, it was such a simple answer, and yet it made perfect sense to him. He let out another soft hum as he thought about it, still holding her close in his arms, enjoying the feeling of her on top of him, and he had to admit he agreed with her “I have to agree with her on that one, luv… God you look incredible when you’re in control like that…..”

"something about coming while riding… is better somehow"

“You’re right… it just feels…. More…. It’s so good…..” He agreed, his voice still coming out a little breathlessly, “I love watching you cum as you ride me, feel you clench when I’m so deep… fuck! It’s so good luv!”

"The issue is if you don't rub on me then it doesn't feel like anything"

He chuckled softly at her remark, and he couldn’t help but agree with her. When her were the one leading and in control, it was up to her to make sure she was getting everything she needed, which meant making sure she could find a good way to rub against him “That’s very true… but I don’t mind one bit…… I think I like you being in control a lot…..”

"Hummm… so tier list is currently riding, is best, missionary is second," she nodded

“That’s very true… I’d agree with that list…..” He agreed, still holding her close against his chest, and he had to admit he was feeling a little tired now from how good she’d both made each other feel

"We need to try standing and bending over next." she smiled giving him a kiss before she climbed out of bed and began getting dressed for the day into her little white lace panties,

He had to hold in a moan as she mentioned bent over, unable to stop the thought of it already popping in his head as he watched her get dressed, the image of her bent over in those white lace panties already starting to drive him crazy

“That sounds good to me… over the bed… in those little panties? Ummm I am very excited,”

she chuckled "Maybe after practice then" she cooed slipping her stockings on

[teawaffles]

Albert’s Drinking Contest: Chapter 3 / End

Note: Some language.

“G-Goddammit……”

“No way, how……?”

Roughly twenty minutes had passed.

And with their glasses in hand, Moran and Louis were both gasping in agony.

Once the match had resumed, the three participants had attacked their glasses, consuming drink after drink like a surging tide. Now that Louis had been saved the trouble of approaching the other two time and again to fill their glasses, the rate at which the wine now entered them had seen a remarkable jump.

Although Louis was not a strong drinker to begin with, his sheer determination to prevail had allowed him to keep pace with his veteran opponents: at this point, he’d already downed a comparable portion of wine.

However, even mental willpower had its limits. Back when he’d consumed his twentieth glass, the intoxication had hit Louis like a brick, and a wave of dizziness swamped him. From then on, Louis had placed his spectacles on the table, and repeatedly rubbed the inner corners of his eyes in a bid to chase away that sense of vertigo.

Now, Louis was attempting his thirtieth glass of wine since he’d entered the match. In other words, Moran and Albert had already drunk an astonishing 51 glasses.

Even as they moaned like spirits of the dead, both Louis and Moran tried to fill their glasses for the next round; but the hands that held those glasses kept trembling, and wine spilled onto the table many times over.

“——This is truly an excellent wine. With this flavour, I can enjoy myself twice as much.”

On the other hand, Albert was still in perfect shape.

Having long finished preparing his next glass, Albert looked at his two opponents, barely able to hold their own glasses, as if watching them from on high.

Despite having consumed an extraordinary quantity of alcohol, he was still unperturbed, and enjoying the taste of the wine. With unfocused eyes, Louis turned to look at his oldest brother.

“Ha, haha — as expected of you, nii-sama.”

In the face of this overwhelming presence, his own powerlessness seemed almost hilarious in comparison, and he chuckled as if he’d given up.

“This isn’t, the time to be, laughing, Louis……”

Moran thumped his back, in an effort to coax some life back into him. But that gesture was much too weak, and looked as though he was simply trying to soothe a badly drunk man.

Yet perhaps that move had worked, for then, Louis knocked back his entire glass. Following suit, both Moran and Albert drained their glasses too.

“Well then, we’ve finally reached the thirtieth glass.”

Watching the three of them, William announced the tally with dispassion. But at this point, it wasn’t clear if his voice had even reached Louis and Moran.

Having reached a nice round number, it seemed Louis was starting to loosen up. With the last ounces of his strength, he turned his head, and looked at Moran beside him.

“Mr Moran. My apologies, but it looks like, this is my end……”

“Wha…… Oi, hang in there, Louis!”

But his desperate plea went unanswered. The moment Louis uttered those final words, just like Fred, he slumped onto the table.

“L-Louis……”

Half-dazed, Moran mumbled the name of the fallen — and William swiftly appeared by his brother’s side.

“You’ll catch a cold if you fall asleep here, Louis.”

Gently, he tucked the blanket he’d prepared around Louis’s shoulders.

Albert looked on in concern.

“William, is Louis alright?” he asked.

“Yeah, it seems he’s just asleep for now.”

“…………”

The two brothers looked on at their youngest sibling, now keeled over; but even as Moran too fretted over his condition, a sense of admiration and gratitude towards the man had grown within him. Despite being drawn into the match, Louis had pressed on and fought alongside him to get this far. If Moran himself hadn’t been so sozzled, he would even have wanted to give the man a huge round of applause.

However, even those ardent emotions dwindled with time. For Moran was now back to square one — as the only player standing up to Albert — and that lonesome despair weighed heavily on his shoulders.

Here was an opponent so tough, that even someone who’d joined halfway had been no match for him.

That raw power sent a chill down Moran’s back. Desperately trying to hold his vision steady, he glared at Albert.

“……How the hell are you still alive?”

Through his hazy consciousness, Moran barely managed to utter that one phrase. Although it’d come from his own lips, to him, it sounded as if it’d been said by someone else far away.

Albert shifted his gaze from Louis to Moran.

“It’s not so surprising, is it? I just genuinely enjoy drinking wine, Colonel.”

“This is no longer in the realm of ‘enjoyment’, innit……”

Perhaps his inebriation had finally tipped over into delirium: at that moment, the sight of Albert lounging with a glass in hand looked almost like that of the devil.

And finally, that time had come.

“Oh, shit——”

In his final moments, with every last ounce of strength he had within him, Moran uttered that cheap curse.

And in an instant, as if someone had flipped a switch — he blacked out. Like a marionette whose strings had been cut, he collapsed onto the table in front of Albert, and began to snore loudly.

“Looks like…… it’s settled, then.”

Watching the sleeping figures of Fred, Louis, and now Moran, William announced the end of the match.

And thus, on this memorable night, the drinking contest had ended in complete victory for the preternaturally strong Albert.

“……Mm?”

Around thirty minutes after that, Fred — who’d been the first to drop out — opened his bleary eyes.

Blinking, he slowly sat up, and saw Moran and Louis fast asleep in a row beside him, with blankets wrapped around their shoulders. Why Louis too?, he thought; but seeing that sight before him, at the very least, he somehow understood that the match was over.

Perhaps it was inevitable, but it had ended in a crushing defeat for Moran, Louis and him.

“Good morning, Fred; though the sun hasn’t risen yet.”

Someone called out to him from the side — by reflex, Fred’s gaze snapped toward the voice, and he saw William smiling gently at him, seated in the same spot from earlier. Beside him was Albert.

“……How long has it been?”

Since he already knew how the match had turned out, for now, still a little groggy, Fred enquired as to how long he’d been unconscious.

“It’s been around thirty minutes since the end of the match. So that makes it around two hours since you passed out,” said William. “It’s past midnight now.”

That voice had a somewhat comforting note to it, as if he was worried for Fred, who’d just awakened from the depths of drunkenness.

Then Albert — who was still enjoying his wine — spoke up in concern.

“Still, the colonel has done this time and again without learning his lesson. Even though wine is a luxury to be savoured and enjoyed.”

“Although you’ve beaten him every time, it seems that argument has yet to persuade him otherwise.”

Looking at Albert, who seemed to be functioning perfectly despite everything, William shrugged in amazement.

Fred had no clue as to how exactly how much wine Albert had ended up drinking; but from the wryness of William’s smile, he could at least tell that it was an amount beyond an ordinary person’s imagination.

Once again, Fred reflected on how it’d been a mistake in itself to challenge this monster to a fight.

“Although Moran seems to have given it his all this time around, as I thought: he was no match for you, nii-san.”

As if narrating Fred’s thoughts, William looked back on the outcome of the battle. Then, Albert picked up a bottle that still contained some liquor.

“Won’t you join me for a bit, William? Just to enjoy the wine.”

Despite having consumed a copious amount of alcohol, Albert was still game for more. But William waved a hand in refusal.

“I won’t. Anyway, I already had my fill over dinner.”

“That’s a pity; now that it’s just the two of us, I’d wanted to discuss its flavour at length with you.”

Saying that, Albert tilted his glass, and gently brought it to his lips. That gesture looked almost as if it’d been calculated down to the millimetre — the atmosphere surrounding him truly befitted that of a British aristocrat.

“…………”

William, the pivotal intellect of their organisation, and Albert, who was speaking to him.

Gazing vacantly at the two men, a thought suddenly struck Fred.

——How did this man come to be what he was today?

Albert had been born and raised as a noble — in this stratified society, he was considered part of the upper class.

But despite the position bestowed upon him by his birth, he had not sunk into the degenerate practices of the nobility; instead, his heart ached for the twisted nature of their country, and he wished to overturn it from its very foundations.

And the catalyst for all that, had been the two brothers he’d picked up.

Rather than indulging in their social positions and means, the Moriarty brothers instead refined their intellect and abilities with unyielding force of will, thus turning themselves into the “Lord of Crime” — an existence working in the shadows of Britain’s underworld.

Fred looked at Louis, asleep to his side, and then at William and Albert, who were engaged in conversation.

It was almost as if they’d been destined to meet.

——Could I, too, get closer to them?

Despite not being related by blood, Albert saw William and Louis as his brothers — the bonds between them were strong. In that case, perhaps Fred’s relationship with them could become even closer than what it was now.

Secretly, that thought blossomed in Fred’s heart.

“Well then, it’s getting late, so we should call it a night. Seeing as they’re asleep, what should we do with Louis and the colonel?”

Paying no heed to Fred’s longing gaze, Albert drained the last of his wine, and calmly got to his feet. Remaining seated, William spoke.

“Since they’re so soundly asleep, I’d hate to rouse them; let’s leave them be a while longer.”

“I see. Then I shall remain as well.”

Listening in to their conversation, all of a sudden, Fred remembered the important agreement that’d been made at the start of the match.

Nervously, he asked after Albert.

“Um, since I’ve lost, I suppose the forfeit will fall on me too……?”

Simply owing to the fact that he’d participated in the drinking contest, as one of the defeated parties, Fred had resigned himself to accepting the loser’s penalty.

However, Albert smiled.

“Aah, no need to worry about that. As you know, this match is a personal matter between the colonel and myself; I’m sorry you got caught up in it.”

“N-no, you don’t have to apologise. Even though it was a rather sudden turn of events, it was still my own decision to participate.”

At that unexpected apology, Fred waved both hands weakly. But Albert kept up that elegant smile of his as he continued.

“You don’t have to concern yourself with the forfeit. Well, even if I were fine with him doing it, the colonel would just be a right bother; so I’d be grateful if you could just tidy up the glasses we’ve used tonight.”

“T-Thank you very much.”

Having expected a bigger penalty, Fred was grateful for Albert’s magnanimity. In his heart, he heaved a sigh of relief, and proceeded to clear the glasses.

As he did so, Albert turned to look at Louis, who was still fast asleep.

“And since Louis was also caught up in this, I’ll exempt him as well.”

Then his focus shifted to Moran, who was slumped beside Louis.

“……Instead, I suppose I’ll have to give the colonel a proper punishment.”

“…………”

Although his voice had been calm, a disquieting feeling lingered around those words. Hearing that, even the agile Fred had unwittingly stopped in his tracks.

In place of Fred, whose face had paled, William asked after Albert with a wry smile.

“Nii-san, exactly what kind of punishment will you be giving him?”

Albert’s tone remained calm as always.

“Let’s keep that a secret for now. But no matter what it’ll be, I’m sure all of you can look forward to it.”

Saying that, Albert smiled. It was elegant to a fault.

“…………”

As he took the empty glasses, Fred looked at the sleeping Moran.

He’d set up this contest of his own accord: he had it coming for him. And yet, as Fred thought about what lay in store tomorrow for the man he saw as an older brother, he couldn’t help but feel a little sorry.

Just like this, the night to commemorate the founding of MI6, had drawn to a close.

T/N: …Do I really want to know what Albert’s gonna make him do? (ohoho)

Translator’s notes

Drinking capacities

I thought I’d summarise their relative strengths at drinking :3 From weakest to strongest:

Fred (<20 glasses)

Louis (30)

Moran (52)

Albert (52, and then some)

Though William didn’t participate in the end (aww), I would think he’s on par with Louis, and maybe even a bit stronger too.

The illustration

The illustration shows Moran slumped on a tiny coffee table of sorts; but I’m wondering where Louis and Fred are, since they were described as being asleep on the table beside Moran... Perhaps this is an incongruity between the story and the illustration?

[aminiatureworld]

Irrational

Characters: Ganyu, Jean, Keqing, gn!reader

Word Count: 4,100

Warnings: Alcohol

Premise: Emotions aren’t always rational, a fact easy enough to ignore when one is happy or in love, or in any similar situation. However more negative aspects aren’t always as easy to ignore.

In which the reader’s s/o is jealous.

Author’s Note: This is our welcome for Jean! I have to admit she was really enjoyable to write. Especially in a prompt such as this, my guilty pleasure trope.

Not proofread because I’m tired will do so tomorrow.

Ganyu

Relationships were still something that often eluded Ganyu. Friendships, work dynamics, love, they all spun around in her head, and though she sometimes found her bearings, relationships still felt like walking on a tightrope high above a dark and churning sea.

These thoughts and feelings still lingered in her mind, even now when her relationship with you was rock solid she still worried. Ganyu was a mess of repressed emotions; isolated from most of humanity she still felt the need to be absolutely perfect near you, to never let her emotions get the best of her, to be the best partner one can be.

Which is why she hated those stupid love notes.

They’d started arriving about a year and a half into your relationship. At first you’d thought it was from her, but your look of happiness quickly turned to one of embarrassment and slight discomfort when she revealed she had no idea who was leaving little gifts and notes at your desk. Although you made a point to get rid of them as soon as you’d read the contents of the letter they still kept coming, and every day Ganyu saw one of those pink little envelopes on your desk she grew more and more irritated.

And yet Ganyu still didn’t want to tell you, for she was afraid that you would think she was suspecting you in some ways. You couldn’t control what was going on after all, why should she burden you with her fears, with the emotions that threatened to squeeze all the air out of her lungs and tear her thoughts to shreds. No, she wouldn’t burden you with this, she’d take care of it herself. You wouldn’t want to be bothered with her stupidity anyways, it’d only cause more problems.

“I really don’t understand who’s doing this.” You groaned, entering the office one morning to the sight of a rose on your desk, the telltale envelope attached to the stem with a red ribbon. Walking over to it, dragging your feet in a way that made Ganyu, who had been standing behind you, giggle you tore open the letter in one nonchalant movement.

“What does it say?” Ganyu kept her voice as soft as possible, trying desperately to ignore the emotions that were threatening to cut off her throat. How long was this going to go on?

“Oh listen to this,” you scoffed, turning towards Ganyu, a wry sort of smile plastered across your face, “my dear friend – as if whoever this creep is would ever be a friend of mine. I noticed recently that you’ve become quite close to the secretary of the Liyue Qixing. I would never question your decisions – oh of course not – but I find that work romances never last. Perhaps if we were to meet I could explain to you why, though I’m sure you already know the reasons yourself and would never dream in participating in such a thing. Still, I await you reply. Sincerely, your secret admirer.”

With a flourish you bowed, before promptly chucking the letter in the trash. “Well at least they seem finally to be catching on to the fact I’m disinterested. Honestly though, I don’t know what this person is thinking. I really ought to complain to the department, see if they can’t find out why this is happening.”

“I agree,” Ganyu couldn’t help but let disgust fill her voice, “this is harassment. You really ought to tell someone about it.”

“You’re right,” you nodded, before sighing. “I’d hate to be a pain though…”

“You aren’t!” Ganyu shook her head, indignant at the insinuation. “Protecting yourself isn’t being a pain. This isn’t merely distracting, it’s concerning. You deserve better.”

“Thank you Ganyu.” You smiled; glancing around to make sure no one was there you gave her a soft peck on the cheek. “You’re always looking out for me.”

“Of course I am!” Ganyu replied, her face burning slightly. “I love you.” She added softly.

“I love you too.” You smiled. Sitting down you glanced at the rose as if it were a weapon rather than a flower. “A pity they keep sending flowers, I hate to throw out the poor things.” Hesitating you took it in your hands, smiling sheepishly as you stuffed it into your desk drawer. Ganyu smiled back, attempted to ignore the small twinge of annoyance that rattled in her and whispered that she should burn the reminder of her suffering.

The two of you had worked later than usual that day, and it showed the next morning as you failed to show up at your usual spot. Although Ganyu might’ve normally waited for you, today she glanced around her before quickening her pace as she made her way towards the Qixing headquarters. This was the opportunity she’d been waiting for, and though she felt slightly bad about sneaking around behind your back she was also at her wits’ end, and if she wasn’t going to tell you then she was surely going to figure out once and for all what was going on.

The door had been left open by the last person who entered, and Ganyu wrinkled her nose at the irresponsibility of such a thing before walking inside herself. The office was mostly dark, and the contrast of your light being the only one visible throughout the hallway immediately put her on high alert.

Her suspicions were justified when she walked through the door. A man was standing at the edge of your desk. In one hand was a bouquet of flowers and in the other was an all too familiar note. Although Ganyu might’ve normally been merely frightened and appalled she now found herself more angry than anything else, and her words were spat out with a vehemence she hadn’t entirely known she’d possessed.

“What in Teyvat do you think you’re doing here?” She asked, voice shaking slightly. The man jolted and turned around, relazing when he saw who it was. That was a mistake.

“Ah it’s the secretary,” His smile was mocking and the way he bobbed his head made it clear he thought nothing of the half-adeptus in front of him. “I was wondering who would catch me eventually. Didn’t expect it to be the Tianquan’s personal servant.”

“Answer my question.” Ganyu spoke once more, completely unfazed by the insults of a man who was so utterly loathsome. “What are you doing here.”

“You’re rather dull aren’t you,” the man’s tone was a dismissive as before, “I didn’t realize this needed any explanation. I think it’s very clear that I’m here to deliver something to this office’s owner.”

“Do you even know their name?” If Ganyu hadn’t been so angered perhaps she would’ve found the man’s expression hilarious. He seemed to be completely malfunctioning.

“Of course I know it!” He finally let out. “It’s written on the plaque outside the door if you’ve forgotten. But I doubt you would. You seem awfully close to them recently.”

“That’s none of your concern.”

“Oh but it is.” The man’s smile was utterly enraging. “They’re very important to me after all.”

“They aren’t even aware of your existence.” Ganyu spat. Approaching closer she drew herself up as tall as she could. “They’d never have anything to do with someone as worthless and creepy as you.”

“What exactly am I doing that’s creepy?” The man backed away slightly, slight panic mixing with defensiveness. “I’m only showing them how much I care for them! What’s wrong with that? You’re just jealous aren’t you. You want them for yourself, don’t you. Well you can’t have them, because they’re mine.”

“They don’t belong to anyone.” Ganyu replied, voice made soft and hoarse from the anger burning in her chest and pounding in her ears. “And if you can’t see that then you’re even worse a person than I thought you could be. You may think them something to possess, and you worthy to possess them; but in reality you’re lower than dirt and they owe you nothing, not even the air you breathe. You should leave now. You may have no respect for privacy, or rank, or profession. But the Liyue Qixing are nowhere close to incompetent. And if you value a life not spend in total societal isolation or, Morax forbid, behind bars, I suggest you never return.”

“You really ought to listen to her.” Your voice was music to Ganyu’s ears after what had just passed. Turning her head slightly she saw you leaning against the door, a grim smile painted across your face. “She’s the person in this office least likely to simple chuck you out the window.”

Gulping slightly the man finally moved. Shooting one last glare at both you and Ganyu he scuttled out into the hallway. Only when she heard the front door close did Ganyu breathe a sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry you had to see that.” She said, flushed with embarrassment and the lingering anger she felt. “I shouldn’t’ve threatened them, or lost my temper like that.”

“You were utterly in your right.” You smiled. “In fact you were quite gallant if I do say so myself!”

“I lost control of myself,” Ganyu shook her head, “I wasn’t thinking about doing the right thing, or protecting you. I wasn’t thinking of anything. I was only angry. Angry and… well I don’t know.”

“Jealous?” You suggested. Flushing, Ganyu glanced at the ground.

“Maybe.” She whispered.

The half-adeptus glanced up in surprise as you wrapped you arms around her. After a while she returned the gesture, and for a while there was simply silence as you two basked in each other’s presence.

“You shouldn’t feel bad about being jealous.” You spoke after a while. “Every feels jealous sometimes, it’s completely normal. And in this case it was positively valiant! Even if you weren’t thinking of me, you still stood up for me. And I couldn’t be more grateful.”

“I lost my temper.” Ganyu was stubborn in her conviction that what she’d done was wrong. Lessons that she’d taught herself about displaying her emotions passed through her thoughts. “It’s not good to be jealous. I’ll only end up pushing you away if I keep losing myself to my emotions.”

“Being jealous is only a problem when it spirals out of control,” you replied, “being offended at the way someone speaks about your partner, or disliking the fact your partner is getting sent weird letters every day is something that any normal person would be jealous about. Even if the person turned out to be such a lout like that one.”

“You aren’t angry?” Ganyu ventured, still skeptical. You drew away slightly so she could see your face. You were smiling brightly.

“Not a bit.”

“Good.” Ganyu smiled back.

You nodded your head. Apparently satisfied you moved to grab the stuff you’d left in the doorway. Still somewhat unsure Ganyu walked over to you.

“Um, can I ask something?”

“Sure!” You replied. “Anything.”

“Um… can you get rid of the rose in your desk?”

You paused for a moment before giggling. Walking over to your desk you took out the offending flower, opening the window and throwing it out onto the lawn.

“There we go.” You turned around. “I’m sorry if that was making you uncomfortable. Tell me next time you’re feeling jealous, alright?”

“Okay.” Ganyu whispered.

Relationships were confusing. So many invisible lines that one might trip over. Still Ganyu would gladly learn where the lines were in regards to you. For she loved you. So very much.

Jean

Jean didn’t like work parties at the best of times, but now it was all she could do not to scream as she watched the young knight next to you begin to break into verse, proclaiming to all the – hopefully blacked out – knights around you that he loved only you.

Normally Jean was pretty dismissive of the antics of her coworkers. Being the Acting Grand Master she saw it as her duty never to be too punishing, always aware not only of the power she held in such a position, but also of the respect that she had garnered, that she had worked tirelessly for. The Knights of Favonius, from the highest ranked captain to the lowest foot soldier, was comprised up of well meaning, enthusiastic workers. Despite all their faults she cared deeply about them all, and could often sidesteps their antics as the result of their camaraderie.

This time however felt different. Even if Jean knew full well that the knight probably meant nothing serious by it, knew that he was simply drunk and having a good time, she still couldn’t help the coil of emotions that wound taught into her stomach. Scowling slightly into her drink she cursed herself. Maybe she was the tipsy one, for only a fool would be jealous in a situation like this.

“Feeling already Grand Master?” Kaeya’s voice was as cheerful and as unassuming as usual, not at all revealing the fact that he should’ve been utterly plastered. Now he simply sat down across from his irritated coworker, taking another swig before glancing over towards what was capturing Jean’s attention.

“What do you want Kaeya?” Jean asked, attempting to steer the conversation away from its obvious ending. Kaeya was currently the only member of the knights who knew of the relationship between the two of you, and though he took that honor very seriously he was also quick to tease, something made only worse by his current state.

“Ah I see what’s going on.” Kaeya smirked, refusing to cooperate. “What’s going on here? A lover’s quarrel perhaps. No. Our dear adventurer seems hardly happy with the situation. What could it be then?” He let out a sudden gasp. “Is our dear knight jealous?”

“Neither they nor I are ‘our dear’ anything.” Jean pointed out, rolling her eyes. “And I’m hardly jealous. Only pitying the poor soul for the embarrassment he’s going to feel tomorrow if he or anyone in his regiment remembers this.”

“Ahh, I see.” Kaeya replied, tone of voice making it plenty obvious that he didn’t believe Jean one bit. Shooting him a dirty look Jean sighed, once more raising the beer she was drinking to her lips. She didn’t much like beer really, but it was sort of the signature drink of Mondstadt – unless you were rich enough to afford Dandelion Wine on the regular, which few were – and Jean felt the compulsion to blend in with those around her in taste and in manner. Although in this case it was becoming difficult to do so.

Was she jealous? Although Jean would like to say surely not she wasn’t so naïve or so optimistic. She knew very well that she was jealous, but there really was no reason to be so. It felt somewhat below her, to be so blatantly upset by this pseudo-flirtation. Wasn’t she more aware, more mature than that? The answer became very clear when the knight stopped his verbal rambling and attempted, somewhat unsuccessfully, to grab your hand.

“Sir Heinrich.” Jean’s voice had taken on the authority that she rarely liked to use in casual company. “Might I ask you to control yourself in the presence of our guest.”

Heinrich, apparently not so drunk as to be unable to read the now somewhat tense room, immediately and somewhat dramatically, snapped into attention. “G-Grand Master Jean! Yes, of course! I’m so sorry.” Bowing quickly he promptly burst into tears and, proclaiming that he’d betrayed his Grand Master, was dragged outside by some friends, hopefully to sleep off his inebriation.

The tone of the party quickly returned to its jovial origins, anyone still in attendance at 3:00 was either Jean, you, Kaeya, or too drunk to care about what had just happened. Jean, however, was somewhat surprised, and extremely embarrassed, by her sudden outburst. Sinking down on the stool next to you she put her head in her hands.

“I’m going to have to apologize for that tomorrow.” She sighed. Glancing over towards you she reached out her hand, which you quickly took, palm sliding gently into hers. “I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t be! I don’t mind a bit of flattery, but that was becoming… a bit much.” You let out a giggle, the glass next to you an indicator that you were probably a bit tipsy yourself. “Besides, you’re very cute when you’re jealous.”

“I’m not jealous!” Jean scoffed, blushing slightly. “You and Kaeya I swear, incorrigible.”

“How am I not surprised he picked up on it too,” you laughed, smiling fondly. “I don’t mind it, at least not in cases like this. By all means, be as jealous as you want.”

“I’m not jealous.” Jean insisted, shaking her head violently.

Laughing you leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the head, ignoring the scandalized gasps from the remaining crowd.

“Whatever you say, my dear knight in shining armor.”

Jean let out a nervous giggle. What was she going to do with you, now that she loved you so much.

Keqing

Keqing wanted to make it very clear that she never became jealous. Absolutely not, under no circumstances.

She had more respect for herself after all, more respect for you. It was below your relationship to be worried over something such as jealousy, and Keqing for her part resolved never to lower herself to such a level, even if you were somewhat more dismissive of the idea than she was.

“Jealousy is an emotion,” you explained when she asked you why you were so cavalier in regards to the notion, “and since I know both you and I are hardly likely to spin out of control if it were to happen, I don’t really find the idea repulsive.”

“You’re very strange.” Had been all Keqing could respond, not wanting to argue with you about it. It would never happen anyhow. No point in fighting about it.

Now Keqing was somewhat regretting that statement as she watched the woman next to you chatter away while she stood, still as a rock, trying desperately to bite back the retorts that were running through her mind at everything this random lady was telling you.

“It really is such a pleasure to see you again!” You smiled at the woman, some friend of yours and, from what Keqing gathered, a long forgotten one at that. “It’s really been too long.”

“I agree!” The woman replied eagerly, her smile so syrupy that Keqing was surprised it wasn’t melting in the sun. “We really must go out for coffee and catch up.”

“Absolutely!” You nodded, ignoring the stare that Keqing was now focusing on you. “Maybe sometime in the summer?”

“Sounds like a plan! Now excuse me, I have to go.” The woman smiled. Nodding towards Keqing, evidently she wasn’t completely oblivious, she waved before walking away. Waving back you turned around towards your partner, a smile on your face.

“Thanks for stopping for me, I realize that took a little while.”

“It was nothing.” Keqing’s voice was sharp and flat, and she ignored your puzzled look as she turned back towards the Qixing headquarters, determined to forget this entire conversation, and the dark emotions it had managed to dredge up.

The rest of the day was somewhat quiet, though Keqing could tell you wanted to talk about your old friend. She knew that she was being exceedingly rude by ignoring your cues, but she couldn’t help it. The whole situation made her uncomfortable, and she didn’t know how to process that. If she admitted it you’d just chock it up to jealousy and not only would she feel somewhat invalidated, but she’d have to deal with the knowledge that all her boasting had been for nothing. Or, to be more explicit, that she’d been wrong.

“Want to have dinner together?” Keqing glanced at the clock on her desk. The day had long ended, and now it was just the two of you.

“Gladly.” She smiled at you, getting up from her chair. “I’m sorry for making you wait.”

“No worries!” You waved your hand. “I wanted to spend some time with you anyways.” Unlike you did earlier today? Keqing bit the retort back. It would be cruel to say that, and somewhat revealing. Besides she really did want to walk home with you, and wouldn’t taint the experience with her own emotional turmoil.

The walk was a lovely one, for the day had been somewhat hot and now a cool breeze brought in by the sea blew lazily. You were discussing one of the transactions you’d had to check, when Keqing spied your friend up ahead. Before she could change your course the lady noticed the two of you however. Calling your name she waved her hand wildly. Distracted from your conversation you waved back, running up ahead and leaving Keqing behind in the dust.

“Fancy meeting you here again!” You exclaimed. “I was just walking home from work.”

“I was stopping by one of the stalls.” Your friend gestured towards the temporary structure behind her. “I forgot to buy groceries, so I suppose it’s grilled Tiger Fish tonight.”

“It happens to the best of us.” You laughed. Keqing couldn’t stand the atmosphere anymore. The conversation was insipid, the participant who’d brought it up even more so. Unable to stop her frustration Keqing walked, or rather stomped, over towards you. Huffing slightly she grabbed your hand. Turning around your face betrayed surprise, but it was quickly replaced once more with a smile. “Ah, I almost forgot. Lily, this is Keqing!”

“Oh, a pleasure to meet you!” The woman, Lily apparently, smiled. “Are you coworkers?” Keqing felt a flicker of resentment at not being directly addressed. Surely she didn’t need a translator.

“My partner.” You corrected, smiling and squeezing Keqing’s hand, something which did little to relieve the tension she felt.

“I see.” Your friend smiled her saccharine smile. “Nice to meet you Keqing.”

“Pleasure.” Keqing replied, not bothering to keep the irritation out of her voice, after all wasn’t she known for being blunt? “Now we really ought to get going, if we aren’t going to be eating in the middle of the night.”

“Sorry for dashing on you,” you apologized, something which Keqing deemed completely unnecessary. “See you around.”

“See you around!” Lily replied. As she turned back to the stall Keqing started moving again, half dragging you through the streets and to her apartment.

Finally arriving home Keqing breathed a sigh of relief. This, however, was quite short lived.

“What was that all about?” There was amusement in your voice, and though Keqing was glad you didn’t seem irritated with her, she certainly wasn’t happy about the mischief in your smile.

“It was getting late.” She replied curtly. “I’d rather not be cooking dinner in the dark.”

“Are you sure that’s it?” Your voice was slightly sing-song and Keqing rolled her eyes, knowing immediately where this was going.

“Of course, what other reason could there possibly be?”

“I don’t know, maybe you were a little jealous?” You shrugged your shoulders dramatically. Keqing tensed for a moment, before shaking her head.

“Why in Teyvat would I be jealous? After all, they’re just a friend.” Although she hadn’t meant to emphasize that last bit Keqing couldn’t help but feel somewhat irritated. It was just a friend, she was sure of that, sure of you. And yet it had irritated her. It had irritated her intensely. And what was that but jealousy?

“Of course they are.” You smiled gently. “They’re just a friend and you’re just the person I love. But Keqing?”

“Yes?” Keqing found her voice somewhat unsure.

“I don’t mind if you’re a little jealous. As long as you never doubt my affections for you, then it’s okay to be a little selfish. Okay?”

There was a pause, before Keqing walked over to you, wrapping you into a tight hug and burying her face in your neck. Drawing back slightly she pressed a soft and somewhat impatient kiss to your lips.

“Are you sure?” She asked, pulling away once more.

“Very sure.” You replied, before leaning in to kiss her in turn.

Keqing was glad to be carried away by the content feeling of being in the embrace of one’s love. She found today incredibly embarrassing and just wanted to forget the whole matter. And she knew you’d let that happen, for even if Keqing felt irritated, even if she resented your friend for accosting you and not leaving you alone she still trusted you more than anything.

And that was what counted.

[resident-of-storybrooke]

Nothing Good Happens After 2AM (Ch 4)

Rating: M (finally earning that for this chapter)

Words: 2900

Read: ao3, ff.net CH 1 CH 2 CH 3

Summary: Emma took Killian home for the holidays as a fake date. Things seemed to be going well…until it didn’t. What happens when two fools in love didn’t confess their love over the holidays like they planned and have to go back home to reality? This. This is what happened…(A twist on fake dating during the holidays)

AN: Well....shit lol here we finally are! I wish I had a good reason for the year and a half delay. Honestly, I got one not so great review and it shook me a bit and I was already iffy about writing. But thank you to so many incredible souls being so encouraging and supporting me to get back into writing. Thank you to @kmomof4​ who read all four chapters and edited them (make sure to check them out). I really hope you enjoy this last part as I’m so happy to finally have this out for you all. A very late and final contribution to @csjanuaryjoy

tagging some of the fam squad (please let me know if you’d like to be added or removed): @kymbersmith-90 @let-it-raines @artistic-writer @hollyethecurious @hookedonapirate @carpedzem @nowforruin @kmomof4 @wellhellotragic @thesschesthair @teamhook​ @winterbaby89​ @zaharadessert​ @stahlop​ @ultraluckycatnd @blowmiakisscolin​ @peggyswan​ @jrob64​ @klynn-stormz​​ @tiganasummertree​ @batana54​ @pirateprincessofpizza​​

ALL THE LOVE

Ruby made her way back up to the party, excited to see how the rest of the night would play out after her phone call to Emma. As she made her way back into Killian’s apartment she saw the Nolans as they gestured rather animatedly. Then Ruby rounded the corner and looked in to see who they were yelling at. 

Shit. 

It was Killian. 

And from the looks of it they were letting Killian have it. And he was just standing there taking it.  

What the hell did he get into in the last five minutes to warrant this? Ruby was both concerned, but mostly entertained because the sweet sunshine Charmings never yelled. She strolled into the kitchen with a grin, figuring she would enjoy the show. That was until the furious couple saw her - apparently she was their new target. 

“Ruby Elizabeth Lucas! You have a lot of explaining to do.”

Ruby was confused to say the least. How the hell was she involved in... whatever this was? 

“Um...I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

“Bullshit, Ruby!” She was completely taken back, Mary Margaret never swore. “You just told me that Emma thought Killian was dating Elsa. And last time I checked Killian and Emma have been together for the last three months. So please, explain yourself. Now.”

“I feel like it’s not really my place,” she said, darting her eyes toward Killian, but she could tell no one was buying it. “Listen, Snow White and Prince Charming, your poor sister felt pressured to bring a date home for the holidays. She and Killian decided to go to Ruth’s and tell y’all they were dating so you’d back the hell off. And it worked and everything was fine. Then Elsa showed up and spooked Emma because she thought she lost her chance with him. Because shocker,” she looked fiercely at Killian and had to restrain herself from smacking him upside the head, “they’re both in love with each other and are being absolutely idotic and not telling the other the truth.” She turned back toward the stunned silent Charmings, “And you two are not helping the cause!”

Killian looked up in complete shock, his eyebrows nearly reaching his hair. The Nolans stood gaping at her, obviously not expecting her brutal honesty. 

“Listen,” Ruby took a deep breath. “Cut them some slack. You two were acting like Emma was going to turn into some crazy old spinster if she didn’t find a date soon. Also, you two act as though you are a literal fairytale couple.” She shrugged. “Sometimes it’s hard to live up to your kind of love.”

As David stood in shock, Mary Margaret finally spoke up. “We went too far, didn’t we?” That’s when she turned to Killian. “We’re sorry, Killian. We shouldn’t have ever put you in this situation. We love you, we love Emma, and that wasn’t fair...I hope you can forgive our behavior this evening.”

Just as Killian was about to speak up, the door opened revealing an out of breath Emma Swan.

Emma was confused by the odd looks she was receiving as her welcome. She should be used to their bizarre behavior at this point, but this felt different. 

As she made her way over to the group her nerves set back in. She was here to tell Killian the truth. She was going to finally confess her love for her best friend. On his birthday. What could possibly go wrong?

“Right, well, this has been fun. Perhaps we should give these two some alone time.” Ruby elbowed the couple so Emma and Killian could have a moment.

As Emma walked towards Killian she finally took in her surroundings and realized how packed the apartment was. “I wish there were less people here…”

“Why, Swan? I love large parties, they’re so intimate. At small parties-”

“-there isn’t any privacy. I like it when you quote things to me.” Looking at him, she realized how close they were. She wasn’t even aware of her own movement toward him. Then she looked into his blue eyes. She missed them. 

She missed him. 

They stood there, taking each other in. It’d been weeks since they’d been together, really together. Neither one knew how to start. 

“Emma, you came.”

She wished in that moment she had something poetic to respond with, but that wouldn’t be Emma. “That’s what she said.”

The two instantly burst into laughter, the tension dying with every laugh. 

“I missed you, Swan.” Killian reached his hand out to tuck a loose strand behind her ear, Emma leaned into his touch. 

“I missed you too. I’m so sorry I ran…I wish I had a good excuse, but I don’t. I wanted to tell you so many times how I felt. I was going to tell you. On New Year's Eve. I was finally going to tell you. I had this whole plan. It was a good plan. And then Ruby fucking decided to be Chef Julia Child and give me food posioning. And then...I saw how happy you looked with Elsa and I thought, I thought, I’d lost my chance with you.” Emma finally found the courage to look up when she finished.

Killian’s eyes were full of unshed tears. When Emma opened her mouth to try and say something to break the tension Killian wrapped his arms around her. Emma finally took a breath. A breath she had been holding for weeks. He didn’t hate her. 

“Emma, my love, I promise nothing happened with Elsa. She was Liam’s fiance. She’s an old friend and nothing more. You though...you’re so much more than that. I’ve been a coward. I’ve hidden behind our friendship, behind the lie we told your family, and I will not do that any longer. I’ve had three words on the tip of my tongue since the night we met, I swear, and I will not waste another minute without you hearing them.”

Emma extracted herself from his grasp. “Before you do, I have something for you.” 

Killian lets out a sigh, “Really? Right now?”

Without another word Emma pulled the small red box from her clutch and handed it to Killian. He looked at her with curious eyes. “It’s your birthday, open the damn thing, Jones.”

“So demanding. Now what do we have here? It's a-” 

He stopped.  

Mistletoe. 

It was the most infuriating object that haunted his dreams - well, besides Emma. That trip to her home, the infernal garnish was everywhere. 

There was that kiss.

God, that kiss. He relieved it daily, prayed that it wasn’t the last kiss he’d ever share with Emma. Up until this moment he was convinced that would be the case.

“Well, Swan, this is quite the gift. I don’t know exactly what to say.” He scratched behind his ear, a nervous tick they were both well aware of. 

“I, um, do you wanna see if it works?” Killian’s eyes shot up to Emma.

“Well, love, seems only right I try it out with you since you were the one that gave me such a generous gift. Shall we...”

Emma cut him off with a bruising kiss, it caught him a little off guard, but it only took a moment for him to catch up. Killian didn’t give a damn that there was a party going on around them. He finally had Emma in his arms. Emma’s hands wandered to the nape of his neck, holding on for dear life. Killian’s hands roamed down her sides before anchoring on her hips, holding her tightly against him. He cursed the fact that Emma was wearing a dress, even if she did look bloody gorgeous in the tight red piece. He couldn’t wait to have that blasted thing on his floor.

They finally broke for air, still clinging to one another, foreheads touching. Killian was ready to dive back in when he looked up and remembered they weren’t alone. Mary Margaret was crying, Ruby was cheering, and David looked slightly annoyed but Killian saw the small smile he was trying but failing to hide. 

“Come on, love. I think it’s time we faced the vultures. And I’d like you to meet Elsa, if that’s alright with you?”

“Yeah, I think that’s a pretty good idea, Captain.” Emma reached down and grabbed Killian’s hand before they walked over. 

Maybe the trope board wasn't wrong after all. 

CSCSCSCSCSCSCSCS

As the party went on, Killian and Emma were inseparable; the two constantly touching the other. At one point, while talking to Mary Margaret and David, Emma laid her head on Killian's shoulder, something she'd done a million times, but this time Killian placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. 

The two were in their own happy bubble. They pretended to be engaged with those around them, but they couldn't ignore but feel the sparks ignited with each touch.  

"So, Emma? It's nice to finally meet you. I'm sorry for the miscommunication. I feel as though that was my fault." Emma was confused on how Elsa seemed to be privy to their issue, but then she saw Mary Margaret across the room and assumed her friend had filled her in.

"Please, don't be. I was...scared I lost my chance with Killian."

"Oh, honey. I don't think you could ever lose this one." Killian squeezed Emma closer to prove her point. 

Turns out Elsa was hilarious and had wonderfully embarrassing stories about Killian. Emma had a feeling the two were going to be good friends after tonight. 

The party eventually wound down a little after one, slowly the various couples left. That's when Emma realized she was alone with Killian. 

Finally. 

Suddenly, Emma felt her nerves grow. They'd declared their love and haven't left the others' side since, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. She absentmindedly threw out some empty cups as she tried to plan her next move.

"Love," Killian called for her from the living room, "can you come here?" Emma slowly made her way into the room as Killian stretched out his arms to embrace her. 

"Emma, I...I know that tonight has been a lot. Our relationship has always been a lot. And I know the future is uncertain, but there's one thing I want you to be certain of - I will always be by your side. For as long as you'll let me, my love."

She didn't even know a tear had slipped until Killian pulled back to wipe it. 

"I haven't always made things easy. I get spooked easily, but I'm tired of running. I want to be with you, Killian. I love you."

"And I you, my beautiful Swan." 

The kiss started off slowly, different than the one earlier, but no less passionate. Emma brought her hands around Killian's neck, playing with the nape of his hair. As Killian kissed down her neck, Emma didn't recognize the noises that escaped her mouth.

As their kisses continued, Emma was surprised when Killian's legs hit the couch and he fell down. She hadn’t been aware that they moved. Emma said she was tired of running, and she was ready to show him. So she straddled his legs and hovered over him for just a moment.

They felt like teenagers again, making out on a couch like this. She could feel him harden beneath her, driving her wild. But, it wasn't enough, she needed more. Emma started unbuttoning his shirt, the bastard already had the top three undone. Without a second thought, she began to rake her fingers through the coarse black hair. 

"I've been dying to do this since we first met. So soft," she murmured. Killian found a spot behind her ear that made her mewl. Emma brought her lips to his ear, "I've always wondered how it'd feel against my breasts." 

With that, Killian pulled back. "My love, are you sure? We can wait. Because once I have you, I'm never going to let you go." Emma nodded slowly. As she looked into his eyes, she could barely see a trace of blue. His pupils were blown. 

Before Emma could stand, Killian wrapped his arms around her to carry her to his bedroom. He only ran into the wall twice as Emma was no doubt leaving marks on his neck. Killian gently placed her in the middle of the bed. 

"I always swore that if we got here, I would worship every inch of you."

"Killian, please, worship later. I need you now."

"Just a taste. Patience, darling." Killian was beyond thankful at that moment Emma had opted for a dress as he quickly removed her thong.  

Before she could speak, he brought his mouth to her sex. "You're already drenched for me. You..fuck...you taste delicious."

Emma couldn't speak, he was overwhelming in every sense of the word. She grabbed a fistful of his hair, not that she needed to guide him; he knew exactly what he was doing. 

Killian replaced his mouth with two fingers. "That's it, Emma. You look so beautiful like this. I want you to come for me, darling. Come and then I'll give you what you really want."

His voice was deeper, accent thicker. Emma had a feeling she could finish from his voice alone, but right now, it was his fingers and mouth that were going to do the trick. 

Emma lost all control of her limbs as he sent her over the edge. He didn't let up though, he continued slowly licking as she came back down. As her breathing returned to normal, Killian kissed up her body. 

"Worship later, Killian,” she moaned again. “Please. I need you. Now."

"So demanding, Swan,” he observed, taking his pants and boxer briefs off. “I think I like this side of you, all in a commanding voice, chills really." 

He climbed back on top of her, but instead of responding, Emma hooked her legs around Killian and flipped him, so he laid on his back. He looked up in awe, he had never been so turned on than in this moment. 

Emma decided she was tired of waiting, but before she could sink down Killian stopped her. "Give me a moment, let me grab something, I -"

"I'm clean, and I'm on the pill. I...I don't want anything between us."

"Gods, Emma. If you're sure? I'm good too, I haven't been with anyone since...since we met." 

Emma dove down to meet his lips as she sank down onto him. Killian swallowed her gasp as she adjusted to his size. Of course, he lived up to every innuendo, and Emma couldn't be happier for that than in this moment. 

For first times, they were both surprised with how easy it was to fall into rhythm with the other. There were only a few slightly awkward moments, but that didn't stop them from enjoying this moment. Emma's hips met Killian's with each thrust, quickly driving the other wild. 

"So fucking glorious, Emma. You're so tight like this. Ride my cock, such a good girl. I want to feel you come around me this time. You're stunning when you come. That's...fuck... that's it Emma, take what you need, darling."

Before Emma could even respond, Killian decided it was her turn to be flipped on her back. "Now, if I remember correctly, you wanted to know how it feels with me on top."

"That's, ugh, that's not exactly what I said. But I'm not complaining."

Emma felt that familiar sensation growing in her stomach as Killian's pace intensified. "Killian, I'm close. Together, I wanna -"

"Aye, love, together."

Killian felt her tighten around him as she moaned out in ecstasy, pulling him right after her. He gave her a searing kiss as he spilled himself inside of her. Killian fell on top of her, too exhausted to worry about crushing her for a moment. 

"Killian? As much as I love how, uh, close we are now, do you think you can move? I can't breathe, and I need to clean up."

"Oi, you're gonna give a man a complex!" Killian slowly rolled off her, in awe of the glow Emma radiated at the moment. Emma couldn't help but giggle as he was being an annoying ass, but mostly he was still...Killian. 

They were still them. Except they just had mind-blowing sex. 

She could get used to this new addition to their relationship. 

"Stay here, love. Let me." Killian was back in a moment and helped clean Emma. When he finished, he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, just like before. 

"What is it, Swan?"

"Nothing, I'm just happy. It's just so surprising."

"Aye, love, me too. But this doesn't change anything. I've loved you for years now, and we'll go at whatever pace we both see fit, but I'm in this for the long haul."

"As am I, Captain."

The two laid in bed, cuddled close, and shared lazy kisses. When Emma looked at the clock, she saw it was nearly three in the morning. A few weeks ago, Emma had thought nothing good happened after two am; it turns out she was wrong. 

"Swan? Can you tell me what the bloody hell a trope board is?"

[damn-stark]

The Third and Final Act

Chapter 7 of Different Light

A/N-I love how this turned out and I’m so excited that after this chapter we’re moving on to Order of the Phoenix!! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you thought?!

Warning- Talks of death, angst, SLOWBURN, fluff

Pairing- Harry Potter x Malfoy!reader, Fred Weasley x Malfoy!reader

(Let me know what if want to be tagged)

————

...Narcissa and I have heard nasty gossip of you, and we’re believing that it’s only that. We believe you’re smarter and more loyal to our family values than to be seen with that Potter boy. I know you’re smarter. You know what happens if you step out of line. You’re doing good, don’t mess it up. We’ll talk further about this subject when you’ve returned home, as for now I’ll correct Rita Skeeter and her venomous lies.

Your father, Lucius Malfoy.

“I say father should take you back to Durmstrang,” Draco remarks bitterly by your ear, “I don’t know why he hasn’t. After all I’ve told him.” He continues, making you crumble the letter in your hand with one single steel grip. “It’s a surprise he hasn’t scolded you about any of it. But maybe he’s waiting until you get home so you can really get into trouble.”

Jokes on Draco, father doesn’t even know about any of it because those specific pieces of news have been erased off his letters. Draco thinks he’s got you beat, but he's wrong, you've been playing chess, while he’s stuck playing checkers.

And yes you fear your father slightly, but you didn’t plan on returning to Durmstrang, and you sure as hell are not going to be manipulated by your little brother. Hell no.

“I’ve told you to stop eavesdropping on my letters, Draco!” You retort as you shove his face away, causing him to fight back and smack your hand away.

“Don’t touch my hair.” He hisses.

“I wasn’t touching your hair.” You scoff as you stood to your feet and shoved past him. “It’s almost time to return home, let’s see who he believes. You, or me.”

“After all I’ve written, it’s going to be me.” Draco counters.

You snicker and shoot him a smirk before walking out of the Slytherin common room with your head held up high, balling up the letter and throwing it with the rest of the rubbish before you strode off to go meet up with Fred. Finding him minutes later, waiting by the doors that led to the courtyard, carrying a smile that was a mixture of cocky and happy. He waved at your coming figure and pushed himself off the doorway he was leaning on to meet you halfway. “Hello, darling.”

“Fred,” you greet with a sweet smile, noticing his eyes look you up and down before he fixes his gaze on yours and his smile turns into a smirk.

“You look nice. I’ll say, I like seeing you out of uniform.”

At his comment you grow flustered and feel your cheeks begin to warm up, you smile like a dork while you fall by his side and take his comment. “Thank you, but you have seen me without my uniform many times before.”

“Yes, but I can truly admit it now,” Fred continues, beginning to walk beside you as you both walked outside. “Before I had to just think about it.”

“Pfft.” You roll your eyes and tilt your head to keep looking at him. “Sure.”

“I’m being honest, Malfoy, I did.”

You grin and nod. “Okay, well you look good with and without your uniform.”

Fred brushes his hair back and grins. “Thank you.”

“I did want to say,” you begin to bring up forgotten topics. “I’m sorry we couldn’t go to Hogsmeade like you planned, it’s just Rita has already written one rumor that my parents already read and warned me about, I don’t want them to read another article that is true this time and have them send me away.”

“I told you not to worry about it,” Fred reassures you, “I’m fine with walking to the lake and having a nice day by it.”

You shoot him a beaming smile and grab his hand to give him a short answer. “Good, now you did say you had a plan for today, so what is it?”

“Eh, it’s a surprise, don’t be so impatient.”

Even if this date started feeling nice, in the back of your head you still couldn’t believe you were actually doing this, it even felt weird not being here with George. You were so used to hanging out as a trio that just being Fred and you alone felt off, if felt as if there was something missing. You tried to brush that off, but you couldn’t stop thinking of it in the back of your head, especially as it stayed quiet the rest of the walk to the lake.

Thankfully you mustered up a question to break the silence. “I did want to ask, why a date? I mean I know we kissed, but I just didn’t think it'd lead to much else.”

Fred scoffs and plops himself on a piece of dry land, looking up at you until you sit beside him. “Is it so hard to believe that I asked you out because I like you as more than a friend?”

You shrug, “a little.”

“Well I do.” Fred further explains. “I like you. I find you smart, funny and beautiful. Also creative when it comes to pranks.”

You begin to rub your arm as you feel your face burn hotter at his words. Even if you pull yourself together, you still feel butterflies in your stomach and feel your heart race. “I think you’re funny too, hilarious actually. And even if you slack off I think you’re smart and very ambitious. If you weren’t Gryffindor I’d say you’d make a good Slytherin.”

“Oh really?” He asks smugly, “can you picture me in green?”

You nod, “yes. I think it’d suit your red hair, and maybe the snake would suit your behavior when it comes to tricking students.”

Fred snorts, “maybe you’re right. If only I was a Slytherin. Then I’d be even more perfect.”

You snort this time and shake your head. “Okay if that’s what you think.”

Fred shifts his body around so it’d be faced towards you, keeping his eyes fixed on you and offering you that easy going expression that made you ease your nerves and finally be more yourself—“You’ve got something to say?”

You bite back your smile and simply shrug, batting your eyelashes at him, “no, why?”

Fred leans in closer and narrows his gaze on you. “Come on darling say it, or I will get it out of you.”

“Oh?” You raise your brow and cock your head slightly to the side to challenge him.

Fred leans in closer and quirks his eyebrow, smirking and continuing to wait for your response that you weren’t going to give. You notice he was going to part his lips to say something, but instead you cut him off by pressing a kiss on his lips to shut him up. You felt him smile in the kiss whilst he deepened it and then seconds later pulled away to comment under his breath. “Fine I’ll let it pass.”

You express a small content huff of air, pulling out a blanket from your bag and wrapping Fred and yourself with it as the bitter winds hit you, not hesitating to rest your head on his shoulder and wrap your arm around his to build up more warmth between the both of you. Wanting to ask something, but getting beat as Fred asks something first. “Okay, since this is a first date, I’ll ask a common question that’s asked and I still don’t know about you.”

“Hmm, okay.”

“What’s your favorite color?”

You stay silent to think for a moment, humming softly before coming up with an answer that was half true. “Red. But like a fire, red.”

“Ah, so like my hair?” Fred quips.

You giggle and just agree. “Exactly. What about yours?”

“Easy,” Fred quickly answers, “the color of your eyes.”

You choke out a small, “oh,” and push him away playfully. “Shut up.”

Fred chuckles and shrugs, “what? I’m saying the truth.”

You shoot him a pointed gaze and he just whispers, “it’s the truth.” Adding a smug smile before he returned to your side and continued speaking. This time about something else that you knew was going to bring up. You actually were surprised it hadn’t before.

“I still don’t understand why you won’t let George, or I help you with your plan against Rita Skeeter.”

“Because,” you explain confidently, “this plan just involves Hermione and I.”

“But we can help. A lot. It’s what we do.”

“I’m sorry Fred,” you shrug, “but just know Hermione and I got this.”

——

“Okay, I’m here.” Hermione whispers as she makes it to your side by the medical wing.

You look over your shoulder and offer her a smug smile. “Ready? As we planned, remember.”

Hermione hums and nods in comprehension, proceeding to ruffle up her hair and rub more dirt on her shirt so it’d look as dirty as yours.

“The rumor has been spread around, she should be here already waiting.” Hermione let’s you know as she finishes.

You offer one last nod and study your fake injuries on your body one last time so they’d look at least believable before shooting Hermione, a wink that let her know the plan was now in motion.

She smirks and then feigns being angry as she blurts out an argument and storms into the medical wing. “It’s just unbelievable that you’d try and take my boyfriend and I wouldn’t find out, or fight back!”

You smirk one last time before storming in after her and following on the fake argument, carefully examining the room for any sign of a large beetle. “What’s unbelievable to me is that you would try and have two boyfriends! You don’t deserve someone like Harry! He’s too good for the likes of you!”

Hermione feigns a scoff and takes a step towards you to look like you were going to “fight again”, all whilst she and you looked around the room as carefully as possible for any sign of the bug—“like you are?! I’m smarter and better! Harry is my best friend and Krum was my date for Yule ball, they both like me better.”

You glare at her and take a step towards her, following her line of sight and noticing her eyebrows lift and a smile threaten to show. Hermione turns back to you and points her eyes to the windowsill where you see a nasty and the one and only bug. You smirk and step back, getting a pillow off one of the medical beds and throwing it at Hermione. “You’re just a snake who doesn’t know better!”

Hermione grabs a jar off a tray and makes sure to throw it at your feet, throwing back another practiced argument. “Ha! Well that makes two of us, Malfoy!”

You grab another jar and step back towards the window, throwing the jar at her feet and again shooting back. “What is that supposed to mean?!”

Hermione takes a step towards the window and you take another back, getting close enough to be in arms reach of the beetle, pretending to not see it and let Hermione grab one last jar and throw you the popsicle sticks inside at your face before remarking another comment. “Well you’re a Slytherin, figure it out from there, I have.” Hermione then pretends to swing her arm to throw the jar at you, but she spins swiftly and swings to capture the Beetle on the windowsill. “Caught you!”

You grin and turn to the scene, pulling out your wand and threatening it at the Beetle. “Nowhere to run, Rita.”

Hermione laughs and leans in to examine the beetle, smiling mischievously as she looks at what would distinguish Rita and any other regular beetle. “Look at her antennas, they have markings that match her glasses, it’s Rita.”

You look down yourself and find what Hermione is pointing to, smiling wider and getting your hand out to put it under so Hermione could make a quick transition, from the windowsill to your hand so Rita couldn’t fly away, following by quickly grabbing the lid and swiftly jamming it on the jar.

“Okay,” Hermione exclaims, “do it!”

Before much else could happen, you wave your wand and cast an Unbreakable Charm, like Hermione had suggested so Rita couldn’t leave. Looking then to the girl beside you and shooting her a happy smile. “We did it! We make a pretty good team.”

Hermione smiles wider and shoves the jar in her bag, nodding and waving her own wand to repair everything else you both had broken. “We do, who would’ve guessed, huh? A Slytherin and a Gryffindor.”

“Maybe Rita should write more on that, than the lies she spins,” you seeth as you glare at the bag where she’s in.

“Right,” Hermione agrees, beginning to walk out with you in tow, “anyway come on, we should hurry if we want to get to the last task.”

——

“Earlier today, Professor Moody placed the Triwizard Cup deep within the Maze. Only he knows it’s exact position. Now as Mr. Diggory—” The crowd at the mention of Cedrics name erupts in a sudden excited cheer and applause, sending his father to raise Cedrics hand and please his intended crowd even more for a bit until after Professor Dumbledore announces Harry’s last name, “and Mr. Potter,” again the crowd cheers and this time you join in, like Fred and George next to you. “tied for first position, they will be the first to enter the maze, followed by Mr. Krum, and Miss Delacour. First person to touch the cup will be the winner.” Professor Dumbledore manages to continue. “I’ve instructed the staff to patrol the perimeter. Should at any point a contestant wish to withdraw from the task, he or she need only send up red sparks with their wands.” Dumbledore finishes, turning then to the contestants. Sending a moment of silence until the moment Dumbledore turned back around to include the crowd.

“Champions, prepare yourselves!”

You, like everyone else, jump to your feet, cheering and getting wrapped up in the excitement of the last game as the Champions begin to prepare to rush in.

“In the count of 3. One—”

And just before the count could finish, the canon went off and so did the champions, leaving the area and the rest of you to wait for their return. Enjoying the music as they played, and the company of your friends in a happy, excited daze.

“Okay, last bets, Malfoy.” George began as you all sat back down. “Who do you think will come out first?”

You pretend to think and tap your finger on your chin. “Hmm, well I think Harry.”

Fred scoffs, “going with the safe choice I see, well I’ll do the same.”

“Me three.” George pitches in with a goofy grin.

You scoff and throw your arms down, “pfft, well that’s now how it works. No one is going to win that way.”

Fred shrugs, “well then we won’t get into a fight, we still have our other bets.”

“I guess.” You huff out.

Fred and George wrap their arms around your shoulders and attempt to lift your spirits. “Cheer up, Malfoy.”

“Yes, Darling,” Fred joins in, “it’s okay, you’re losing your money to a good cause.”

“But that’s it, I won’t.” You shoot them a smug grin, “in fact I’ll get it all back in that case.”

“Aha, too late for take backs.” George says.

You turn your head his way and shoot him a narrowed glare, not being able to hold back your smile that grew wider on your face. “Fine, I’ll pretend I bet against Harry, for that “good cause.”

“Now you’re getting it.” George exclaims. “Now to wait.”

And just as George mentioned, you and everyone else waited, and waited. Getting excited as Fleur returned and moments later Krum did as well, setting off a longer waiting time as Harry and Cedric still were inside.

Waiting however set off your nerves and even heightened them as time still ticked and didn’t seem to stop. Everything was still an happy daze, the music boomed and crowd roared, it wasn’t until what seemed to be hours later did something finally happen; Harry and Cedric appeared out of thin air and dropped instantly to the ground, causing the crowd to cheer louder and for most of the students, including the twins and you to walk down and join Harry and Cedric.

But unexpectedly before you could reach the pair, the happy daze was broken by a sudden blood curdling scream that caused everyone to grow cautious and quiet until realization hit—that’s where you stopped, halfway to reaching them, before professors and other staff got in the way, you saw what caused the mood to drop. Cedrics, cold and unmoving body.

Your eyes widened and you froze next to the twins, you couldn’t process what you saw at first, you didn’t want to process it, but it hit you so suddenly and you couldn’t stop the tears from breaking from your eyes, and your hand from clinging onto Fred’s like your own life depended on it. He noticed and let you hold onto him, even if it slightly hurt his hand. It’s not like the pain really mattered, not with what you were seeing, not with what Harry blurted so emotionally and broken.

“He’s back! He’s back!” Harry cried, “Voldemort’s back!”

——

Unlike the first time you traveled to Hogwarts, where you traveled with your brother and his friends, this time you were in a compartment of your own, alone and staring out the window to look at the clouded sky that sadly matched the grim emotions that had casted over the whole school and every student after the nights events in the last tournament.

Everything past that unfortunate night so tragically passed in a blur; classes, the speech at the leaving feast that involved talking about Cedric’s death, and saying goodbye to your friends and Fred. Now you were here on your way back home where time didn’t pass as quickly, but in fact much slower as you dreaded the rumor talk with your father. Even if he seemed to treat you much kinder than how he treated Draco, you still didn’t want to talk to him about that. Even if you were going to lie, you still didn’t want to talk about it.

Why couldn’t school go on a bit longer, or why couldn’t he forget it? You thought to yourself as you gazed at the clouds, getting startled at the sound of the compartment door opening.

“Can we share the compartment with you?”

You look back and see Herimone, Ron and Harry at the door. You’re surprised and happy once your sudden fear has disappeared, but don’t show it and instead just answer nonchalantly. “Yeah, come on in.”

“Great,” Herimone smiles, walking on in and sitting across from you, while Harry sat next to you and Ron sat on Hermione's side, but much further as to not be close to you.

“Look what I got,” Herimone continued excitedly, waving a copy of the Daily prophet that she got from her school bag.

“Oh,” Harry sighed, looking at the daily prophet rather unsurely. So in fact, that you had forgotten with all the chaos going around that Hermione, and you had never shared the news of your mission before the last tournament to anyone.

“Not to worry,” you quickly assure Harry, “there’s nothing in there. Just a small piece of the day after the third task saying you won—congratulations by the way—and nothing else worth the read. No mention of Cedric, nothing about it.”

“If you ask me,” Herimone interjects a bit smugly, “Fudge is forcing them to keep quiet.”

“He’ll never keep Rita quiet,” Harry adds, “not about this.”

“Oh,” you smirk, turning to Herimone to see the same expression on her own face, “about that.”

“That terrible witch Rita Skeeter will not write anything for a while,” Herimone continues for you. “Not unless she wants us to spill the beans on her.”

“What are you talking about?” Ron finally speaks.

“Y/N and I found her secret on how she was able to get all the information about the tournaments and everything else without showing herself.” Hermione explains in an excited rush.

Harry eyes her and you suspiciously, “how was she doing it?”

“Yeah, how did you find out?” Ron adds, but unlike Harry only looking at Hermione.

“Rita Skeeter,” Herimone begins, looking at you to finish and finally reveal the news.

“Was an unregistered Animagus.” You grin smugly, “it took Hermione and I some time, but we put our heads together and figured it out.”

Hermione twists her body to take out a small sealed jar from her bag to proudly show it off to her friends. “Rita Skeeter can turn into a beetle.”

“No,” gasped Ron, “you didn’t, she’s not.”

Hermione nods and stretches her hand out to you so could meet it halfway with a high five. “Yes, she is.” Hermione continues to clean the jar, looking closely inside the jar and past the twigs and leaves to find the beetle inside. Ron takes the jar and sees for himself, his eyes amazed and surprised, barely sharing an audible mumble.

“That’s never-you’re kidding.”

Hermione goes on to explain all the clues that you had discovered before, and how you had captured her. You only speak up to explain some left out details. “We told her that Hermione would let her go once she got to London. We also put on an unbreakable curse on the jar so she won’t transform. And we also told her that she had to keep quiet, or we will reveal her secrets. Plus I’ve threatened her with my father, as long as she doesn’t make lies about people I won’t tell my father and my father won’t reveal her secrets.”

“Of course.” Ron scoffs.

You shoot him a side eye and only manage to express that as you then see the compartment door open and see none other than your brother and his friends. He looks at you and then those around you and scoffs. “Very clever sister and Granger.” Draco says whilst he slowly inches into the compartment, “you caught some pathetic reporter, big deal.” He glances at Harry and then the Daily prophet beside him and then his smirk widens. “Trying not to think about it are we? Trying to pretend it hadn’t happened?”

“Get out, Draco, I’m warning you.” You seeth as you stand to your feet and threaten him with your wand.

Draco ignores you and keeps jabbing at Harry. “You’ve picked the losing side, Potter! I warned you! I told you, you ought to choose your company more carefully! I told you not to hang around riffraffs like these.” He jerks his head to Herimone and Ron. “Too late now, Potter! They’ll be the first to go now that the Dark Lord's back! Mud-bloods and muggle-lovers first! Well-second, Diggory was the f-”

In an instant without a blink of an eye you and surprisingly everyone else shoots jinks at him and his friends at the same time. Creating a big colorful explosion inside the compartment that came from all directions, even from outside; where after you could see clearly again you notice George and Fred standing by Draco and his friends now unconscious bodies.

“Made it right in time.” Fred said as he looked down to the trio with a smile. “Thought we’d see what these three were up to.” His gaze drifts to you and he shoots you a wider smile that you mirror.

At the sight of your interaction, Harry, unknowingly to you frowns before scooting down to leave room for the twins as they walked inside and stepped over the trio.

“Interesting,” George points out as he continues to look down at Crabbe, “who used the Furnunculus Curse?”

“Me.” Harry reveals.

George winces. “I used jelly legs, looks like they shouldn’t have mixed.”

When you look at Crabbe, you see what had so poorly mixed and couldn’t help but feel slightly bad at the sight of the little tentacles all over his face. You shouldn’t feel bad because they deserved it, especially after how they were acting, and the fact that you also found the courage to use obliviate on Draco, so he’d forget what he learned about you and your new relationships, and what happened just now, but they still looked pretty bad, you couldn’t help but feel bad.

“It’ll go away.” You hear Fred assure you as he notices your expression. “Just some short time fun. Enjoy it. Especially after how your brother has been acting with you.”

You tilt your head and drift your gaze to look at him. “I guess you’re right. Plus I did obliviate Draco’s mind, so he’d forget what he’s been dying to tell my father.”

Fred grins and pushes your shoulder with his playfully. “There you go, that’s smart. See, you don’t have to worry. Not as long as you didn’t erase all his memories.”

“No,” you blurt, “no, I was careful.”

“Good, see you’re fine.” Fred continues to assure you, “just a bit of mindless fun.”

You grin and shrug. “Yeah I guess.” Your eyes then widen and give off a sparkle when you remember what you had yet to share to him about Rita. “Oh, right. Fred, George look at what Herimone and I did.”

Hermione gets the jar and shows it to them, continuing to explain everything she had told Harry and Ron all over again without missing a single beat. Making George and Fred laugh and congratulate you both on your mischievous actions. Bringing some light to the situation that was soon cut off—at least only for you, when Harry unexpectedly calls to you.

“Y/N, can we talk?” Harry asks, causing you to look away from the jar in Herimones hands.

You quirk your brow and your smile falters, but you agree hesitantly. “Of course.”

Harry gives a stiff understanding nod and stands from his seat, making you follow after him and step over Goyle, Crabbe and your brother to follow him out of the compartment and out to the hall. Where you looked at him quite nervously in fact sense this is the first time he’s addressed you without breaking a sweat. When you speak and break the tense silence that had already built, you do so hesitantly. There was something off about Harry, something besides the heavy, grim emotions that was clearly expressed on his face. “Is everything alright, Harry?”

Harry glances to the floor for a brief moment, gently and nervously hitting his fist on the palm of his other hand before his blue eyes flicker up to meet your own gaze. “It’s just when I was taken to the graveyard, when…” Harry pauses and swallows thickly, blinking away to look somewhere else for a moment to gather his thoughts and not grow over emotional when he remembers that tragic night.

His pained expression however makes you speak up to assure him. “It’s okay, Harry, look, that night must’ve been tragic, you don’t have to talk about it okay? Not until you’re ready. You can even write me a letter and hand it to Dobby, he’ll deliver to me secretly if you want.” You offer him an assuring look that only makes Harry’s eyes glisten once he looks at you again.

“No,” he mutters, clearing his throat and continuing more confidently. “It’s fine, I just wanted you to hear this from me before someone else told you, or you heard it from the wrong person.” Harry again pauses to draw in a deep breath and exhale it slowly to share what he’s been meaning to say. “When I was at the graveyard, death eaters appeared and amongst them was your father.”

You blink and blink, feeling your own assurance drop at his words. Not because of what he said, because the truth was that you knew what your father was, you’ve known for a while. You’ve simply been ignorant to the reality, you’ve never really shone a light over the subject after it was discussed for the first time. The only reason you were so...afflicted was because Harry knew the truth, which meant he’d tell your mutual friends, he’d tell Fred. And that fact struck you to the core.

After all you’ve done to keep your friends, to make friends—good friends, and make them see you under a different light than the dim one your family name had casted, it could all be ruined by one simple discovered truth. You didn’t want to lose them, not when you had found something that you truly cared for and looked forward to beside your family. What could you do now? Lie? Draco had shown off your family’s power, without really saying your fathers truth to everyone, especially Harry and his friends; and he’d most likely show that truth off soon too. So again, what could you do? Lie?

“But you knew that didn’t you?” Harry suddenly asks, making you gasp and look at him with a stricken gaze.

“I,” you mouth and pause, looking down to the ground defeated and nodding. “I did, I’m sorry, I should’ve told you, or—”

“It’s okay, you didn’t know that he was going to try and do something, I didn’t even know, no one did. I can’t blame you.” Harry surprisingly reassures you, causing your eyes to widen even more as you slowly look up at him, freezing with your hand on your wrist. Waiting for him to continue so you could come up with something to say. “And well you’re not like your family, you’re good, I can’t blame you for your fathers doings. None of his will.”

You blink again and can’t help the wobbly smile that’s tugging at the corner of your lips. “Not even your friend Ron?” You try to joke so as not to break down in front of him.

Harry looks back to the compartment and spots the redhead eyeing you suspiciously. Such a sight makes a lighthearted laugh escape from Harry’s lips. “He’ll learn.”

“Thank you, Harry,” you smile sweetly, wanting to go in for a hug like you noticed he wanted to, but stopping as you notice that more than one redhead was peeking through the compartments window. “Thank you for your kindness and well,” you giggle nervously and feel your face begin to burn. “For being a friend. Thank you.”

Harry shrugs and hides his blush by looking away, shoving his hands in his pockets and remaining quiet for a moment until that silence returns the tension of the subject you had just discussed mere moments ago. Harry once again flickers his eyes to you and his smile falls and is replaced with nothing but a somber expression that infiltrates his words as well. “And something else. I know you must’ve heard the rumor from that night too, but I just want to confirm it, and hope that you’ll believe me when I say that Lord Voldmort is back.”

Any kind of assurance falls and your expression mirrors his. Of course you heard the news, Harry had even said that night, but just like everyone else you hoped it wasn’t real because the reality of it was devastating and grim. You hoped even after Harry confirmed it that it was just a lie, but you couldn’t deny the truth, you believed Harry. And that’s what struck your heart.

Not hearing him say your father was a death eater, because you knew that. Again you were ignorant to that fact. But you couldn’t be ignorant to the fact that Lord Voldmort was back, because if you were then you’d be foolish. And you couldn’t be that,

Lord Voldmort returning casted a dark shadow over you, over your little brother Draco, his return was unpredictable and could cost a lot to your brother and you.

You had yet to know what his return could mean, but one thing was for sure; even if Draco was mean and had been anything but nice to you this past school year, he was still your little brother, you loved him and couldn’t let him fall into the hands of the looming shadow.

Not while you could help it.

.

.

.

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Tagged- @peter-laufeyson , @swiftlymoniquesblog , @spideyyypeter , @gsvshsjsbs, @accio-prozac , @cherriesanwine , @kokomaesadie , @april-14-blog , @prettypinkpeachh , @pest-ill-ence , @ilovespideyyy , @m3ssytrash , @hogwarts-babe

[sardinesandhumbugs]

30 "when you smile, you knock me out, I fall apart" with Ratty and Mole?

(Also, I haven't actually watched any starkid musicals those were suggested by @residentofskinnymandria but I will be looking into them this weekend :D)

A/N: Thank you for the prompt and for your patience! I procrastinated somewhat on this because for my other OTPs, I would usually go straight for the romance with a starter like this, but by now y'all know that when it comes to Ratty & Mole, the line between romantic and platonic tends to be up to reader interpretation :)

Also a shout-out to @wolfiethewriter for unwittingly providing inspiration for this ficlet, by getting hilariously drunk a few nights back during our Midnight Sun readthrough. I only hope you fared better the next morning than Rat :D

x

Categorically, Rat knew there were worse ways to wake.

But, as Toad started on his fifth verse of 'What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor?' Rat found he could think of no such examples.

He muttered something unsavoury and buried himself deeper into the recesses of the caravan, far from the prying, headache-inducing light of day, and far, far away from Toad's over-exuberant singing – for what little good it would do him. For Toad had inherited his mother's operatic lungs, if quantifiably not her pitch-perfect tone, and both were on full display that morning.

(It could not be said that Toad was a bad singer. It was simply the case that enthusiasm preceded vocal form, and he cared little for meddling things such as keys or sharps and flats when the mood took him. Regardless, even if Toad's voice had been flawless, Rat wouldn't have had the patience for it. Not today. The careening key changes were just the icing on the cake.)

The song briefly rose as the caravan door opened, and Rat recoiled as much from the intrusion of light as he did from Toad's blasted singing. Then the aroma of eggs and bacon hit him, and he begrudgingly shuffled his snout out of the cool, dark safety of the bedcovers.

Mole stood before him, fried offering in paw, and looking significantly less the worse for wear after their previous night's inebriations than Rat. He grinned, and set the breakfast down on the table beside the bed. "Well," he said, "I've never seen you sleep in this late."

"This isn't sleeping in," Rat muttered. "It's suffering."

"Maybe you should have thought about that before drinking so much yesterday," Mole said, the faint admonishment in his tone outweighed by the amusement.

"I'm not a lightweight," Rat grumbled. "It's just whatever Toad puts in his damn drinks to make them green always knocks me out."

"And makes you very drunk, apparently."

Rat hesitated, unsure whether he wanted to know the answer to his next question. "How drunk?"

Mole grinned again. "Nothing too embarrassing. You mostly just gabbled and then got distressed when you couldn't pronounce a word properly."

"What word?"

"I believe it was library."

"...Library?" Rat echoed. "How–"

"You kept saying 'liblary' instead."

"Libla...?"

"Liblary, hm-mm. The second 'l' kept creeping in, however hard you tried otherwise." The humour in Mole's voice betrayed that Rat's efforts, while in vain, had been quite the show.

Rat considered this as best he could while the sensation of galloping horses gallivanted between his ears. Eventually he located what he hoped would be a safe question. "Why were we talking about libraries?"

"Oh, we weren't – just you. Goodness knows why, and we thought it best not to ask."

"DON'T LET HIM STEER THAT CARGO FREIGHTER, DON'T LET HIM STEER THAT CARGO FREIGHTER, DON'T LET HIM STEER THAT CARGO FREIGHTER, URL-EYE IN THE MORNING!"

With a wince, Rat turned a reluctant ear to Toad's questionable shanty rendition, trying to figure out if the words were indeed what he was hearing, or whether it was simply the effects of the hangover. "What verse is Toad on now?"

Mole chuckled. "Ones of his own creation. I think he ran out of official verses he could recall a while back."

As if to compound that fact, Toad skipped the refrain entirely and overshot to the next verse, of which the origin was undoubtedly a Toad Special.

"PUT HIM IN THE LIBLARY 'TIL HE'S SOBER, PUT HIM IN THE LIBLARY 'TIL HE'S SOBER, PUT HIM IN THE LIBLARY 'TIL HE'S SOBER, URL-EYE IN THE MORNING!"

Rat winced again. "I'm not living this one down, am I?"

"Oh, Toad will forget in time," Mole said, with surprisingly surety for someone who had spent only a day and a half in Toad's presence. But, then again, Toad was not the most complicated of creatures. However, Rat noted that Mole didn't make any mention of himself forgetting any time soon.

Mole nudged the plate closer to Rat. "Eat up. You'll feel better for it."

Rat had half a mind to make a comment about food being Mole's solution to everything, but then he caught another whiff of breakfast and his stomach gave an audible rumble. He pushed himself up and made a start on the meal.

"Just out of curiosity," Mole said, "why did you drink so much of Toad's cocktails if you know you always suffer the next day?"

"Honest answer?" Rat asked. "I forgot."

"You... forgot?"

"I had..." and Rat paused as Toad butchered another verse, "more pressing issues on my mind."

Both animals waited out Toad's latest crescendo, enduring the new volumes before he petered out to more acceptable levels.

"Would those issues be green and singing?" Mole asked.

"Usually."

Rat had worked his way through a rash and a half of bacon before Mole spoke again, and the distance between the words belayed an uneasy deliberation. "You didn't have to come along," Mole said. He sat on the bench that ran along the inner of the caravan, which served as table space and seating as the need arose, and the ledge was set just a smidgen too high so that his paws only brushed the floor. "You know, out on the open road. Not if you didn't want to."

"Ah, well," Rat said, "then who would keep you and Toad out of trouble?"

"I think we would have managed."

Rat squinted. "No offence, Moley, but I know you, and I know Toad–" he gestured to the window from which Toad's performance was still going strong, and then immediately regretted it as the alcohol residing in his system sent his head spinning "–and you are both many things, but 'out of trouble' is not one of them."

"We survived this morning without mishap."

There was a crash from outside, followed by a cry of, "It's alright! Everything's good! No need to check!" from Toad.

"Mostly," Mole amended.

"Definitely sounds like you have everything under control here," Rat deadpanned.

"I'm sure everything's fine."

There was another thump, this time accompanied by the unimpressed whinny of the horse.

Mole and Rat exchanged glances.

Mole closed the window. "Look, Ratty, all I'm saying is that you needn't have felt obliged to come along if you'd rather have stayed on your river." He glanced to the wicker luncheon basket that was still half-full from yesterday, and which had seemingly swayed Rat in his decision to accompany the caravan. "We could have had our picnics on the riverbank instead."

"We?" Rat echoed.

"Well, of course. Do you really think I would have gone off on the Life Adventurous without you?"

Rat didn't immediately respond. The horses in his head had calmed, but the outcome was simply that he had more space to think properly through the last couple of days. Truth be told, he hadn't quite been sure which Mole would have chosen – him or the open road – and he hadn't been interested in putting it to the test. His mind played back the eagerness with which Mole had rootled through the caravan, exploring the compact living wagon and settling in with an ease that made Rat wonder whether the caravan's claustrophobic space reminded Mole of his own beneath-ground home. It certainly was a far cry from Rat's riverbank abode, where the house had the space to sprawl along the shoreline and the freshwater breeze meant the air was never still. Not like being underground, he was sure.

"Ratty?"

He had been lost in his thoughts for too long, and now Mole leant into his line of vision. Rat had to think quickly to recall what exactly Mole had asked.

"No, of course not," he said. "Only – well, I would have hated for you to have stayed on the riverbank only on my behalf."

"Like you came along here on mine?"

“And for the picnics,” Rat added. “Don’t forget the picnics.”

“Right,” Mole said with a laugh that said he wasn’t buying Rat’s offhanded dismissal any more than Rat believed it. “How could I forget the picnics?” He patted Rat’s paw and swung off the seat. “Well, you can put all thoughts of picnics from your mind until you’ve recovered — and maybe in future we stick to drinks we’re familiar with, hm?”

“Maybe,” Rat conceded.

It was as Mole threw him one last grin and disappeared out of the caravan that Rat came to the reluctant conclusion that, whether or not his housemate was aware of it, Mole had him wrapped around his little claw. He set the emptied plate to one side and collapsed back into the bunk, thankful for the small mercy that at least Toad had stopped singing—

“Feeling better finally?”

Rat jolted back up, and had to steady himself against the table as his head swam. He located Toad at the window. “Toad! How long have you been there?”

“I don’t know; I wasn’t keeping track.” Toad leant in against the windowsill conspiringly. “If I had known all it’d take for you to join me would be the smile off an undergrounder, I’d have dug him out ages ago.”

Rat grumbled but decided he was still too hungover to bicker over it.

Besides, it was somewhat difficult to argue with when it was true.

[dontasktheradiodemon]

Happy Half-Anniversary

It’s been exactly six months since Alastor and Sir Pentious aka Telly @usedhearts got together. Alastor remembers this! Telly does not. Alastor’s using this advantage to launch an evil surprise.

The evil surprise is a romantic dinner date.

And a very significant bit of love magic.

Alastor

Most people would consider having a partner with only a vague sense of important calendar dates to be a downside. Alastor, on the other hand, thought it was a perfect opportunity to set up a romantic evening on an extremely predictable day and still have it be a pleasant surprise.

The only risk was that Telly might get involved in something else before Alastor could launch his surprise. So to head that off:

🎶 Keep your schedule clear this evening! I'm making one hell of a dinner!

Telly

Telly had no plans, except of the evil variety. And those were more overarching, than set to a specific day or evening. So, when he got the text, he smiled.

🎩  Of course, my love! I will look forward to it. 😄

Alastor

🎶 Wonderful! Then I'll see you tonight! <https://youtu.be/JVBYDZrQqyM>

And with that, all that was left to do was prepare dinner: a five-course meal, half of the ingredients stealthily prepared over the past week so that he could get them ready as quickly as possible tonight, mixed with a quick trip to the bathroom to ensure he'd look his absolute best by the time dinner was ready. By the time he broadcast a message on the ship PA calling Telly to the kitchen, four dishes were laid out on the counter, ready to go, and the dessert nearly ready to pop in the oven.

Telly

Telly had made sure to clean up himself before it was time, knowing when his beloved partner-in-crime liked to have dinner served. He slithered into the kitchen a minute or two after being called, a smile on his face.

"Good evening, darling." He glanced at the table and let out a soft whistle. "My, my, what a spread you've prepared! What's the occasion?" He said in a joking tone.

Alastor

"Funny you should ask!" Alastor swept over to Telly with a plate of deviled quail eggs, pecked him on the lips, and then offered the plate. "Today just so happens to be our six months anniversary."

Telly

Telly had taken an egg and it was halfway to his mouth when what Alastor said fully registered. He frozen and his eyes widened, before he let out a high whine.

"Oh my god, I forgot! I'm sorry, my dear, I....you know how I am with time and dates, my apologies." He looked contrite-- even as he finally ate the deviled egg.

"Mm, these are very good," He mumbled.

Alastor

Alastor laughed. "I knew you would! Which gave me the perfect opportunity to surprise you, didn't it?" He winked, smirking impishly. Like he's just pulled off a hilarious prank instead of a romantic dinner.

"Good, I'm glad! I don't use quail eggs very often, but, *well,* I thought the occasion called for something a little less pedestrian than mere *chicken* eggs."

Telly

"Oh. Oh!" Telly perked back up and smiled, taking another egg to pop into his mouth. He laughed softly. "You're not angry that I forgot then?"

He wrapped an arm around Alastor's waist and pulled him close, kissing his cheek. "Happy Anniversary, darling, all of this looks absolutely delicious, and you certainly did surprise me!"

Alastor

"Certainly not! I know how you are, *mon roi*—if I'd needed you to remember it, I'd have been reminding you for the last three days."

He kissed Telly back and took an egg for himself. "It should be a spectacular dinner, I think! Dessert still needs to be popped in the oven, but—ah..." Suddenly self-conscious, he said, "Well, that's... I'd like to talk to you about that first, actually."

Telly

"Talk to me about dessert? I would think that by now you'd know exactly what I like." He laughed, and then slithered to take his seat at the table. Telly leaned his elbow on the table, and then set his cheek in his hand.

"What is it about this dessert that needs discussing?"

Alastor

"I should hope I do! But no, it's an extra ingredient I wonder about." He took a seat as well, reaching across the table to take Telly's hand. "So. There's some magic designed to—tie two people together. Or strengthen the tie if one already exists. Sometimes it's used to make sure a loved one comes home—my mother made me a special dinner before I shipped off to war to guarantee I'd come back, I think half the mothers in our neighborhood did. And sometimes it's used to try to ensnare somebody—that's where you get those love potions that leave a target completely obsessed."

Alastor squeezed Telly's hand. "Now, I don't think either of us needs a love potion." He laughed wryly. "But, well—we're a couple of dangerous people doing dangerous things in the most dangerous place imaginable. Deck's stacked against us. If we can get one more power out there working to keep us together and make sure we keep coming home to each other, I think we could use it. And this fits the bill." He nodded toward the unfinished batter.

"The downside is if this ever does go wrong and we need to break things off, it'll be a hell of a lot harder, and it'll hurt a lot more, because we'll have to fight against magic that's fighting to keep us together. We'd be gambling on the hope that we're never going to want to separate. And if you don't want to take that chance, that's fine, I pop dessert in the oven the way it is and we'll have a delicious chocolate loaf. But... well." He smiled crookedly, an oddly vulnerable look in his eyes. "A few months ago I wouldn't have been this kind of foolish romantic. But today I am—if you are, too."

Telly

Telly listened, his thumb rubbing against Alastor's hand where they were clasped on top of the table. His head tilted as he thought, and once Alastor was finished speaking, he let out a soft laugh.

"And you said _I_ was moving fast." He snickered again. "I jest, love. That is certainly an interesting idea. I've always thought of love potions as just the types that make someone fall in love, I didn't know they could be used for more."

He took a breath. "I think the benefits would outweigh the risks. We've conquered every hurtle so far with our various relationship issues. I think we can conquer anything else that would come our way. So, in short, yes. Let's do it. You know how security conscious I can be, so something that tipped the scales moreso in our favor, _I_ am in favor for."

He smiled brightly. "How do we do it?"

Alastor

He winced. "I know. I know it's fast." And hid his face behind his free hand. He was, in fact, embarrassed at himself. He wasn't quite betting his whole future on Telly, but he was sure betting a big chunk of it. That wasn't like him.

But Telly said yes. Alastor half-lowered his hand to watch Telly as he spoke, then finally lowered it completely when he finished. They were doing this. He squeezed Telly's hand again, beaming. "There's not much left to it. I dump in a few more herbs, we both add a few drops of blood—it could be any bits of ourselves, but I think blood's more appealing than spit and dandruff, personally—then mix it thoroughly and bake it like any other cake."

Telly

"Blood makes sense." Telly nodded, and then his face blanked momentarily as a thought burst into his head unbidden.

"I don't want to use this particular thing, but I must ask, would semen work for it? Since it is a part of us and everything. Good Lord, that's embarrassing to say, but my brain will not let me not know!" He laughed as he rose and slithered over to the counter.

Alastor

"Ha! It'd work just fine!" He joined Telly at the counter, wrapping an arm around his waist. "I've heard of girls trying to catch guys by mixing their juices in a meal for him. I've never heard of it ending well, but then it tends not to when you use magic to force someone with no interest in you to suddenly become obsessed."

He picked up a cup he'd already prepared with a mix of herbs and spices, most of them ground too small to be distinguishable except for some shreds of dried rose petals. He dumped them in the bowl, then offered a small, sharp knife to Telly that looked like it would be more at home on a witch's altar than in a kitchen. "Would you care to do the honors?"

Telly

"The honors for you, or for myself? Because I think it would be quite romantic for us to prick each others' fingers and all. Romantic and ritualistic in a way that feels thrilling to me." He took the knife and balanced it in his hands, his finger pressed against the tip to inspect the blade.

Alastor

Alastor's eyes lit up. "I meant for yourself, but I like your idea better." He tugged off a glove with his teeth and offered his hand to Telly.

Telly

Telly smiled, and then very carefully took Alastor's hands. He singled out his index finger, holding it and the knife in sure grips. Telly slowly pressed the tip of the knife into Alastor's fingertip and then squeezed it to make the blood appear. Holding it over the bowl he made sure the drops landed before pulling his lover's hand to his mouth, and sucking on it, with a grin.

Alastor

Well hello there, don't mind the sudden music when the knife pricks his finger or the way it swells when Telly slips Alastor's finger in his mouth. Alastor tightened his arm around Telly to tug him closer, pressed his face to the crook of his neck, and muttered, "You can keep the whole damn finger if you want."

Telly

Telly's tongue lapped against the fingertip, and after a few moments, he pulled it free. He took a towel from the counter and gently wiped Alastor's finger clean. He removed his own glove and offered Alastor the knife, handle first.

"Your turn," He said, voice a bit thicker than normal.

Alastor

He pecked Telly on the lips as he  took the knife. "All right..."

And then stopped. Knife to Telly's fingertip, but pressing no further. The thought of breaking the skin made his heart leap into his throat and his blood run cold.

Stupid. It was just enough for a couple of drops of blood. "Tell me if I go too far, darling." Carefully, he pressed the knife just barely hard enough to draw a pinprick of blood.

Telly

Telly only smiled, not even a wince when his finger was pricked. "You're fine, darling. It's only a pinprick, I'm fine." He moved his hand to hold it over the bowl, as he leaned in to kiss Alastor's cheek.

Alastor

"Right. Right, I know." Don't mind if he has to take a shaky breath, he's fine. He kissed Telly back more firmly, then carefully squeezed out a few drops of blood, kissed the fingertip, and slid Telly's finger in his mouth to lick the tiny wound.

Telly

Telly's breath hitched just slightly at Alastor sucking on his finger, too. He leaned in and kissed the corner of his mouth, purring low in his chest.

"Now it just goes in the oven?"

Alastor

How he loved the taste, but how he hated having to give Telly even the slightest harm to get it. He let go of Telly's finger and pressed a little closer to him to feel his purr. "I've got to mix it and stick it in a pan, but essentially, yes. You can take a seat and work on the hors d'oeuvres while I finish up."

Telly

Telly used the recently pricked finger to tilt Alastor's chin up, and smiled at him before he leaned in to kiss his lips. Slowly, he pulled back, whispering a soft 'I love you' against his lips before separating to go sit back at the table.

"These hors d'oeuvres are delicious, darling."

Alastor

He silently mouthed *I love you* against Telly's lips, then got to work stirring up the mix.

"Aren't they? I'll have to keep the recipe saved." He grabbed another couple of the eggs before they could all be eaten. "Dessert should be ready about the time we finish the main course, assuming we eat like normal people instead of—well—us." He laughed.

Telly

Telly laughed as well. "Yes, thankfully, I think we've gotten better at not devouring all food in sight instantly." And by 'we' he meant mostly himself.

Alastor

"I don't think I have. Hah!" He finally slid the loaf tray into the oven, took his seat across from Telly, and—with a dramatic flourish—the lights dimmed and several lit candles appeared floating over the table. Pulling out all the stops tonight.

"So!" He gestured at the other plates on the table. "We've got roasted oysters for an appetizer—which I'm *told* are an aphrodisiac, you'd have to tell me—" a wink, "—then a shrimp and watermelon salad for, well, the salad, coq au vin for the main course—and of course dessert." An *actual* five course meal, counting the deviled egg hors d'oeuvres, and Alastor was very proud of himself for that. It felt classy.

Telly

"Well, well! Never thought of shrimp and watermelon together, that'll be interesting. And I'm you'll be well aware if the oysters make me randy," He said, giggling as he reached for one. He popped it into his mouth and hummed as he chewed.

"Mm, delicious, but I expect nothing less from something made by my lovely partner-in-crime."

Alastor

"The salad's a recipe from Louisiana," he said proudly. "Or so I'm told, anyway—I didn't learn it in life, a more recent arrival brought it in.

He beamed at the praise, then took a taste himself. Delicious. "I had to sneak to Earth during my lunch break to get all the shellfish. I think it was worth it!"

Telly

"Well worth it. You spoil me with surface foods, it's delightful." He winked at Alastor. He took another oyster, and smiled.

"Any other plans for us other than dinner, darling? I'm yours all night, you know."

Alastor

Check out that utterly sappy look on his face. Who would have thought it was possible with all those fangs. "I like spoiling you."

He took another for himself. "Well, you tell me how those oysters treat you and that might decide our plans." He laughed. "But no—just dinner and the potion, that's all I planned. The rest of the night is free."

Telly

Telly laughed, a nice and loud one, nearly a cackle but not quite. "Well then, I suppose we'll see where things head after dinner-- if I'm not too full to get up to other activities." He purred and took Alastor's hand across the table.

"This was a wonderful surprise, darling. Thank you."

Alastor

"And I hope I'll be able to give you many more." He squeezed Telly's hand. "If you think this is something, imagine what we'll get up to for our real anniversary!" What *were* they going to get up to? He had no idea yet.

"Say! Speaking of planning ahead, do you know what's only a few months away?"

Telly

He smiled and squeezed Alastor's hand. He ate another oyster-- they were almost gone now. "What?" He asked, head tilting.

Alastor

"Mardi Gras!" He's planning WAY ahead. "As stupendous as our last costumes wore, imagine what we can do if they're not last minute! Now's the perfect time to start working on them!"

Telly

"Oh, yes, having more time to plan for that would be wonderful. But what about our plans to get throw away costumes and toss colored swamp water balloons at people?" He grinned, the expression filled with mischief and evil.

Alastor

"Right!" His eyes lit up. "We can do both. Throw away costumes to ruin everyone else's night, and then switch into our nice costumes. Act like we arrived late after the miscreants ran out of balloons and fled."

Telly

Telly giggled wildly. "Oh, very good! How dastardly we will be." He winked.

"Well, I chose the theme last time, so I think it's only fair that you'd get to pick this time."

Alastor

"Won't we! Everyone's going to be miserable but us!" Alastor finished off the last oyster, then slid over his salad plate. "*Well.* I'll tell you what I'm *not* going to do, I'm not going to wear anything that even slightly resembles a *Hamilton* character." He propped his chin in his hand thoughtfully. "You know—I've always been fond of jester costumes at Mardi Gras, but I can't remember the last time I wore one I'd actually put real effort into. Maybe a jester and his king?" A wink. "Or queen, if you want to do drag again? Assuming you won't be embarrassed to be seen with a clown!"

Telly

"Well, proper court jesters were more than just mere clowns, there are some that were known for their acerbic wit! And isn't the jester's job to be sure to please and amuse their monarch?" Telly winked. He started to eat some of the salad-- his face taking a brief journey at the flavors before landing on pleased.

"I think Queen would work better, just from a logistical standpoint, with my tail."

Alastor

"Oh, I know." For a moment there's something dark in Alastor's smile. "There's a special kind of power in being the only person in the room who can sass the king. Not that I want to sass *you,* darling! But, well. Some people have ambitions to be royalty—personally, *I'd* like to be the one person that not even the royalty can touch."

He watched Telly's face closely until his face journey was completed. Good, he liked it! Alastor took a bite himself. "Then a queen you'll be!"

Telly

"We should pick some suitably fancy colors for the outfits as well. Gold will be a must, I think." He winked, taking another bite of the salad.

Alastor

"Oh, gold is *absolutely* necessary. We could go for the traditional Mardi Gras colors and throw in green and purple—nobody would give our palette any points for originality, but...?"

Telly

"Hm...Maybe add in some black to offset the brighter colors as well, tie it into my natural color pallette! Maybe by then, I could change the pink of my eyes to a purple or green to go along with it." He smiled brightly.

Alastor

"I like the pink of your eyes." He batted his eyelashes adoringly, playing up the besotted lover. "You're the only person I know who makes pinkeye look good."

Telly

"I know you do, darling, but the costume's demands are what they will be." He batted his eyes back. He finished his salad and hummed.

"I think it's time for the main course!"

Alastor

The plates magically slid themselves in place. "I do like that idea—purple, green, gold, and black."

Telly

"It sounds like a plan. What era of royalty would we be styling ourselves after? I suppose a French look would be better considering." He shrugged, and started in on the main course. An almost obscene noise came from him at the first taste.

"This is delicious," He said, taking another bite.

Alastor

His smile threatened to split his face in half. There was *nothing* better than watching Telly eat the meal Alastor had lovingly prepared for him and hearing how much he enjoyed it.

"I don't do chicken nearly enough. But I had a nice Burgundy on hand, so I thought, well, why not mix things up for a special occasion?" He tasted his own. Not bad at all. "Now, this is the part where the American in the room admits he doesn't know the first thing about different royalty eras. You could slap an ermine coat and a crown on anybody and tell me 'That's the fourth king of Prussia, 1305 to 1324!' and I'd say 'Your Majesty!'"

Telly

Telly laughed, shaking his head a bit. "Well then, I suppose you'll have to do some research! I'm afraid I was never one to pay attention to the royalty of the time, I was too busy. But I heard the era right before the revolution was interesting aesthetically." He shrugged a bit, then took another bite.

Alastor

"We'll have to look into it! And see who had the fanciest jesters. As long as I get to wear the little bell hat, I won't compromise on that!"

Telly

"Well, of course you get a little bell hat, you wouldn't be a jester without it!" Telly laughed, taking another bite.

"Did you want to check on the cake, love?"

Alastor

"It's on a timer!" He said this so proudly. Look at him with his timers for his cakes. Makes him feel like an adult who's got his shit together.

... But now that Telly asked he was paranoid. He leaned over to the oven, pulled it open a crack, and peered in. "It looks fine!" And shut it. "It should be just a few more minutes."

Telly

"Time enough for me to finish this off then," He said, smiling. He hummed as he continued to take bites.

Alastor

"Exactly as I planned it!" And he turned his attention to finishing his own plate as well.

Telly

A few more bites, and Telly finished, sighing in delight. "That was a most delicious meal, my darling. And the cake will be a lovely end to it."

Alastor

"I hope so! Niffty certainly didn't complain about the recipe!" A thoughtful pause. "Although I never heard back from that young man she was trying to enthrall." A shrug! No news is good news, probably.

Telly

Telly let out a cackle. "Oh, so you used her as a test subject, eh? How unethical of you." The grin on his face made it clear he enjoyed that bit.

Alastor

"*Au contraire*, she *volunteered!*" He grinned wickedly. "Now, that boy she's had wrapped around her finger the last few days—*he* was a test subject."

Telly

"An unethical test subject! Be still my beating heart!" Telly laughed, dramatically putting the back of his hand on his forehead as he grinned. "You're so dastardly, darling!"

Alastor

"Now, I've done plenty of unethical things in my time; but the *test subjects*—" he leaned across the table to give Telly an adoring look, "—I learned that from *you*, my darling."

Telly

"I'm glad to be such an evil influence, my love." He leaned over and kissed him.

Alastor

Alastor kissed back. He's gonna get his coat on one of the dirty plates and he doesn't care.

Telly

Without breaking the kiss, Telly left his seat and slithered around the table. Settling on his coils, he tugged Alastor closer.

Alastor

*Flexible.* Alastor sank down onto Telly's coils and slid an arm around his shoulders, leaning into the kiss.

Telly

It seemed those oysters were working, because Telly couldn't get enough of Alastor's mouth, tongue flicking in and out. His arms tightened around him.

Alastor

It must be the oysters, because Alastor had them too and he's just as hungry for Telly's mouth. He shifted on Telly's tail, readjusting himself so he could wrap his legs around him instead—

—the oven timer went off—

—and Alastor's footing slipped mid-adjustment, he slid off Telly's coils, and landed on his butt on the floor.

Telly

Telly didn't react in time to catch him, and indeed, was rather stunned to find himself without a deer in his arms a second after he'd been kissing him. He let out a startled laugh and covered his mouth in surprise.

"Oh, darling, are you okay?" He asked, leaning down to help him up.

Alastor

"Please!" He turned his face away, hand held to his forehead. "Don't witness me in my moment of indignity!" Yeah, he's fine.

He accepted Telly's hand, but mainly to kiss it. He got back to his feet, brushed himself off, and turned to the oven. "But, more importantly!" He opened the oven, grabbed a toothpick off the counter to stick in the cake, and examined it when he pulled it out. "Looks done to me!"

Telly

Telly laughed, standing back to his full height as Alastor checked the cake. "Well then, it should cool for a bit, yes? I don't think we want to sear off all our tastebuds with cake that's too hot."

Alastor

"Right you are!" He pulled on an oven mitt to slide the cake out and set it on the stove. It was obviously chocolatey, but sitting in a pan shaped like a bread loaf, and a sprinkling of rose petals on top of the loaf. The petals hadn't come out quite as aesthetically as Alastor had hoped, but then he was a chef, not an artist. It was visible. It got the point across.

Telly

Telly wrapped his arms around Alastor from behind, kissing his cheek and then down his jaw. "I think we have time for a little fooling around while it cools."

Alastor

For a brief moment, Alastor was struck with amazement at the seemingly hypnotic power that libidos held over most human beings, his own beloved included. And then he mentally shrugged and went *eh, sure, why not.*

He turned around in Telly's arms, a disembodied song starting up as he pressed their foreheads together. "Oh..." A nip at Telly's lip. "Maybe just a little time."

Telly

Telly purred, sliding the two of them sideways, so they wouldn't wreck the cake. And then he lifted Alastor onto the counter, slotting his hips between Alastor's legs.  His hand cupped the side of his head as he kissed him.

Alastor

Oh—he liked when Telly lifted him really a lot more than he probably should. He hooked his ankles together behind Telly's tail, hugged him loosely, and hummed along with his own music into the kiss.

Telly

Telly laughed a bit into the kiss, mostly at the humming. His hands slid down Alastor's back, and stroked the tip of his tail. He nipped at Alastor's lips, purring deeply.

Alastor

His tail swished contentedly back and forth on the countertop, brushing Telly's fingers. He took the nip as an invitation and deepened the kiss, seeking out Telly's tongue.

Telly

Said tongue welcomed him, flicking into Alastor's mouth. His fingers continued to play with the tip of the tail, as his own tailtip slid up to wrap around Alastor's leg.

Alastor

You know, he thought he could stay right here for a while. He broke the kiss just long enough to murmur, "Happy half anniversary," and then sank back in.

Telly

Telly got out a 'Happy' in return before his words were swallowed again by Alastor's kiss. He moaned softly against his lips, purring deep in his chest.

Alastor

Well, Alastor should *hope* Telly was happy.

As far as Alastor was concerned, he could keep this right up without change either until Telly got bored with simply making out or until the chocolate loaf had time to cool.

Telly

And Telly was nowhere near bored. He could kiss Alastor all night if they could, and certainly until the loaf was cool enough to eat. They'd have time for more vigorous activities later.

Alastor

Several songs and quite a bit of snogging later, Alastor surfaced from the haze of Mouth with a heavy blink like he was emerging from a hypnotic trance. "Mm—we should... check the..." He pointed toward the cake.

Telly

Telly, equally as out of it, blinked and then nodded. "Yes....the...." He turned his head, as if to remind himself by looking at it. "Cake."

Alastor

"The *cake.*" There was the word. "The *magic* cake." All right, get that fuzz out of his head, time to think straight again. He unhooked his ankles and leaned over to prod the cake pan. "Well, it *feels* cool enough." He pulled out a tray to set the cake on once he'd freed it from its pan.

Telly

"Mm, does it? Good, good." Telly stayed a bit dazed, one hand resting on Alastor's hip. "Do you know what it's going to feel like when we eat it?"

Alastor

"Probably not like anything, really. Unless you're *very* sensitive to magic, which I don't think you are yet." He pulled out a couple more plates and a knife to cut the cake. "If we barely knew each other and one of us was using it to try to force infatuation out of the other, oh, the victim would feel *that.* But since we're already together, it should be more subtle. Imagine if two rocks are already touching each other and then suddenly they turn into magnets. You probably won't notice a change unless you try to pull them apart."

Telly

"Ah, I see." Telly hummed and smiled. "We should feed each other the first bites, just like how we pricked each others' fingers. A nice parallel."

Alastor

Alastor gave Telly the *sweetest* smile. "Someday they're going to make a movie about us, and we're going to have to play ourselves because nobody else will be romantic enough." He pulled over the plates and broke off a bite-sized chunk of one slice. "And we'll be the villains in our own movie, too. All right, at the same time?"

Telly

"Yes, at the same time." Telly grinned, picking a piece off the other slice. He held it out for Alastor to take a bite, and opened his mouth for his own.

Alastor

Part of him still couldn't believe he was doing this. He held out Telly's bite. "Here's to you and me forever." He took his own and kissed Telly's fingertips.

Telly

"Forever," Telly repeated, closing his mouth around his bite, his tongue flicking against Alastor's fingers. He pulled back to chew it and swallow, then grinned.

Alastor

That was that. It was done. Did he feel any different? Some butterflies in his stomach, but he was pretty sure that was from his nervousness, not the cake.

"It's a little on the sweet side." But then he'd flavored it with Telly's tastes in mind.

Telly

"Very sweet, yes. Just like you." He grinned and kissed Alastor. He'd been right, Telly didn't feel any different, which he supposed was a good thing.

Alastor

Kiss! "And here I thought I'd taste a little funny! Like the jester I am." He laughed and fished out a couple of forks for them to finish their slices. "We're going to have to lock the rest of the cake up. Imagine if one of the eggs got hold of it."

Telly

"Ha! I think their feelings towards me would be unchanged, but I doubt you'd want them infatuated with you too!" He grinned and picked up his plate. He took one of the forks from Alastor, and started eating the rest of his slice.

Alastor

"The halls would be filled with scrambled eggs. I wouldn't be able to stop myself." He laughed.

Telly

Telly snorted and laughed. "I wouldn't be surprised, not one bit!" He leaned in to kiss Alastor's cheek.

Alastor

And a return kiss—which left a few crumbs on Telly's cheek. Alastor licked them off without hesitation. A real romantic.

Telly

Telly chuckled. "Once we're finished with the cake, I think we should retire to the bedroom." He leaned in to whisper in Alastor's ear. "I wish to know you carnally," he said, but he couldn't finish the sentence without giggling.

Alastor

Good thing Telly was laughing, because Alastor cracked up immediately, kicking his heel against the cabinet doors. "Would you! Is that what you want! And I suppose you'd like to know me in the Biblical sense as well?" He managed to control his laughter just enough to seductively murmur back, "I think I'd like to know *you* a little better, too." Although he immediately started giggling again.

Telly

Telly laughed harder, wrapping an arm around him. He leaned over to kiss him, even as he still laughed. "Oh darling, I love you."

Alastor

Kiss! "I love you, too."

Then he leaned back to pop the last bit of cake in his mouth. "Shall we?" The dirty plates moved themselves off the table to the sink, and a cake lid drifted down out of a cabinet to cover the remaining cake.

Telly

"Yes, I think we shall!" Telly scooped Alastor off the counter, carrying him bridal style toward their bedroom. "What a lovely halfway Anniversary we've had. Thank you, darling."

Alastor

Someday he was going to get used to being scooped up. Today was not that day. He immediately flung an arm around Telly for support. "Thank *you* for—you know—making it possible."

Telly

"Well, one good thing about my lack of memory in regards to dates, you'll always be able to surprise me!" He laughed, giving Alastor a kiss.

"Now, we shall adjourn to the bedroom!" And off he slithered.

Alastor

"I meant for keeping me around for six months. Can't have an anniversary without a partner-in-crime."

He kissed Telly back. Off to the bedroom they go.

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-yigas]

I feel bad asking because I feel like you're probably tired of everyone being suddenly obsessed with your mpreg fic, but Imma try anyway: is there any chance you'd consider writing a little pregnant sex scene, with Sooga just lusting/obsessing over Kohga's giant tummy? I man, Sooga's breeding kink has got to be beyond satisfied now. With a side order of him talking to the babies and creeping Kohga out, because that image is, frankly, hilarious? XD

No no! Ask away for ANY of my fics! Seriously. Stroke my ego. Pls.

(no cap im amazed that out of ALL my fics, the one with preggy Kohga is the one people liked the most. Ya'll fucked. I love it)

"Move move move-"

Sooga didn't mean to be so rude, but in this crowded hallway, he had to be. Master Kohga was awaiting his dessert, and Sooga was running late (some issue with the ice that he SWORE he took care of earlier). Kohga had been greatly affected by the new pregnancy, mainly in temperament. He was bossier, louder, angrier than he had ever been. And Sooga loved waiting upon him. He made his way to his room, carefully opening the door with his tray in his hands. Kohga sat there, nude, save for his silk robe, and looking bigger than ever. He had his arms folded across his chest, clearly not happy.

"You took. SO long, Sooga."

"I apologize, there was a situation with the ice. But, it's here now. Please, enjoy."

Kohga accepted it from him, before turning the bowl over in his hands. If he accepted it, he’d eat it. If he didn’t, well. Sooga would feel his fury. He breathed a sigh of relief once Kohga started to tuck in, seeming to no longer be quite so angry. Sooga put his cup of tea next to him on the night stand. He made it extra hot, so it’d be just warm enough for him to properly enjoy it. Kohga stuffed his mouth full of his dessert, before sighing comfortably. Good, that was a sound that meant he wouldn’t get hit.

“Sooga.”

“Yes, Master Kohga?”

“You keep staring.”

“I...apologize. You being pregnant is still so jarring to me. You...look exactly how I pictured you.”

“Pfft. Simp.”

He chuckled, finishing off his ice cream, and handing the bowl to Sooga. Sooga took the bowl from him, and put it on the tray, right next to the tea. He was about to hand him the drink, before stopping.

“Master Kohga? You look sore. Would you like a massage?”

Kohga thought it over, before shrugging, putting his arms behind his head.

“Yeah. I’d like that actually. Dealing with this is hell.”

“I’m so sorry, my Master. Please, allow me to ease your poor aches.”

Sooga oiled up his hands, before crawling into bed. Due to his rather obvious belly, Sooga had to massage his hands, legs, and shoulders, rather than having him lay down on his back. Not that he minded. He liked seeing Master Kohga like this. Leaned back against his bed, surrounded by sheets and pillows, just letting himself be adored. Sooga's hands wandered from his shoulders, down to his hands. He held onto one of his hands, lightly massaging his fingers in his hands. It felt good, seeing his fiery husband all relaxed, all settled, all...incredible, really.

“About time you finally put some damn work in, Sooga. I was getting SO pissed after my video call with Mipha.”

“Did she say something rude?”

“No, she was hanging out with Revali, and HE called me a lazy ass. I told him ‘I made a lung, the fuck did YOU do today?’. Guy is so stuck up.”

“Crass as he may be, he has talents to back him up, Master Kohga. But of course, you’re in the right.”

“COURSE I’m in the-oh, that’s the spot~”

Sooga chuckled. His poor Master Kohga needed his knuckles cracked occasionally, and he could tell it made him feel SO much better.

“You needed that, poor thing.”

“Ugh, I really did. Now what do YOU need?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re gawking. You want something. I’m in a better mood, so what do you want?”

He loved how well Kohga knew him. He leaned up to him, lightly pushing his mask to the side. He pressed his lips right against his, and felt his body shiver once Kohga’s fingers lightly fumbled with his ears. He pulled away, trying not to show how excited he was from just a simple kiss.

“You. I want you. If I may be so humbled.”

“Can we even DO that?”

“We can, I asked Mipha.”

Kohga snorted, lightly shaking his head.

“Course YOU’D ask, pervert. Alright, alright. Come on then, ravage me~”

Oh this image would be burned into his mind for the rest of his life. The sight of a nude, plump Kohga, arms spread out to embrace him, and a smirk at his lips. Was he a lucky man or what?

“With pleasure, my Master.”

He wrapped his arms around him, embracing him as he smothered his lips in his. He kept going for kiss after kiss, even while he pulled his already hard cock out. He had been aroused since he walked in, and suffice to say, he was plenty ready. He kept himself snuggled between Master Kohga’s legs, as he slowly pushed himself in. He was usually more romantic, but he couldn’t go through the slow process of prepping him, not today. Instead, he kept his hands on his hips, pulling and pushing him in rhythm to his own movements.

“Hoo, look at you today. It’s crazy, I can boss you around all day, and you can still get super hard for me at the end of the day.”

Sooga nodded, letting Kohga just sit there and watch. Kohga didn’t want to do any work aside from checking out Sooga’s frame, and Sooga didn’t mind at all.

“Always. I love it when you boss me around. It means you have a use of me. Means there’s a task for me, and only me. And I’d do anything for you.”

“Stop.”

Sooga whined as he forced himself to stop moving. His cock was already throbbing inside of him, and every fiber of his being hated not making love to him. 

“D-did I say something wrong?”

“No. You just whine when I make you stop, and it’s cute. Now, pump my cock for me. I’d do it, buuut well. You’re doing it for me.”

Sooga nodded, obeying him as he stroked his cock, nice and fast, just how he liked it. Kohga chuckled, running his fingers through his hair as he sat there, and enjoyed it. He looked right up at Sooga the whole time, letting him suffer. But Sooga didn’t mind. He liked knowing he was pleasing him. Pleasing not only his love, but the bearer of his children. Then Kohga snapped his fingers, and Sooga finally continued, thrusting himself into his ass while he continued to pump his cock.

“You’re so beautiful, Master Kohga. So precious to me.”

He buried his face in his neck, kissing at his bare, warm skin. His lips roamed from his neck, right down to his belly. Something about kissing them as he did...it did something to him. Kohga cried out as Sooga wasn’t being so gentle as he was a second ago, mainly in surprise.

“Geez Sooga, easy boy, easy!”

Kohga tried to hide his arousal in laughter, but Sooga knew better. The way he started to grumble, the way his grip on his body turned desperate.

“I can’t. I really can’t. Look at you. So beautiful, so full of life.”

“Oh. Oh god dammit this was a pregnancy kink-”

Sooga silenced his lips with a kiss, forcing his moans into his lips. Once he parted, Kohga rolled his eyes.

“You wanna fuck me because I’m pregnant. God dammit, Sooga, I thought you were gonna be fucking normal for once.”

“But you’re SO lovely! Look at you! You’re EVERYTHING I wanted! Not to mention ever since your pregnancy, you’ve been SO full of hormones. I can sense them. I can feel them. You’re so needy and demanding, I adore fulfilling every single need of yours. Be it food, massages, or this. I could make love to you for hours if you let me.”

Kohga wanted to tell him off, but god dammit how can you talk shit when you were getting a lovesick stud fucking you up the ass. He bit onto his knuckle, already feeling like he was leaking precum all over Sooga’s poor hand.

“Whatever, Sooga. Just finish me off, you know I get pissed when I don’t finish.”

“So angry~....do you think they’ll be angry too? How adorable, three fussy little ones!”

Sooga was somehow able to keep up the pace while he leaned down to kiss at his tummy.

“Are you three going to be a problem, just like your father? Are you going to be this cute? Are you going to be as cute as he is? I know the answer to the last one! Yes I do!”

Kohga smacked his face with his palm, sighing. God dammit, why did he have to make it weird when he was getting a full throbbing cock right up the ass.

“Sooga, I do NOT want to nut while you’re talking to three fucking fetusus.”

“But they’re precious! I love them! I love YOU! I care about nothing but the four of you!”

Kohga wanted to tell him to shut up, but Sooga let go of his hip, and smacked his ass. Not a weak smack either. A nice, hard smack that you knew was just going to leave a mark. It was just hard enough for Kohga to cum, getting his fluids all over Sooga’s hand. And Sooga, totally obsessed with his pregnant man, licked it all off his hand, as if it was fresh honey. Kohga sat there, heating up like a tea kettle, as Sooga sat there, awaiting further orders. Kohga nodded towards him.

“Alright, alright. You did good. You wanna finish inside?”

“...can I finish...outside?”

“Where are you-”

Kohga didn’t even know why he asked. He scoffed, and motioned with his hand for him to carry on. Sooga pulled out, and, making sure he didn’t put weight on Kohga, started to pump his cock. It was a slow, tedious stroking that Kohga had no idea how he got off to.

“You’re so full of beautiful life. Three CHILDREN. Oh fuck what if they’re all big, strong boys?”

Kohga mumbled some kind of insult, before he shook his head. Sooga’s ‘dad’ fetish was so fucking weird, he didn’t get it. But hey, he liked sounding and Sooga didn’t, they were both kinda fucking weird. So, might as well indulge him.

“Boys, girls, doesn’t matter does it? Because they’re OUR kids, and our family, and-”

Sooga wouldn’t even let him finish his sentence. He came with a swear, and came on his stomach. A big load at that, all over his stomach. Even then, Sooga wasn’t happy with just that, smearing the mess around with his cock. Kohga rolled his eyes, letting him have a moment to do his weird thing. After a second though, he snapped his fingers, getting his attention.

“You done?”

“I...yes. For the most part.”

“Good, I want a bath.”

“...can we stay for a minute?”

“Fucks sake-you can help me wash this off.”

“Deal.”

Sooga leaned down to kiss his lips, grinning from ear to ear.

“I love you all.”

“God you’re an idiot. Hurry up with the bath, I want extra bubbles.”

“Right away.”

Sooga kissed his stomach once more, before quickly jumping out of bed and into the bath. Kohga sighed, looking at his stomach.

“You guys make him so happy, it’s stupid. You better not steal my spotlight, any of you.”

[erin-bo-berin]

Double The Surprise

MASTERLIST

Prequel to Thing 1 and Thing 2

Surprise! A new fic, two days in a row? I know, who am I? This was an anon request to do a gender reveal party of the twins from Thing 1 and Thing 2, so I made it sort of a prequel. I’ve linked the fic in case you haven’t read it. One thing to note, I included Diana, but in a more normal state so no Alzheimer's or schizophrenia. I’ve wanted to write something where she was free of any illnesses, so I added her in this like that. Besides, she’d DEFINITELY be there. Also, take a shot every time I say pink and blue, lord I was getting tired of saying that myself so sorry about that. Enjoy some Spencer and the team cuteness. Happy reading!

Spencer Reid/Reader

Rating: G (fluff)

Word Count: 3,285

You knew it was a mistake to let Penelope be in charge.

Not that she was bad at it at all, in fact she was wonderful. But when she had a secret that she actually wanted to keep a surprise, her lips were sealed tighter than your old jeans.

Penelope Garcia—the technical analyst at the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit and your husband, Spencer Reid’s teammate, coworker and friend���was the best at planning parties. Which is how she had gotten you and Spencer excited about the idea of a potential gender reveal party for the baby you and Spencer were expecting this fall.

You were currently 21 weeks and a bit larger than normal, although your doctor wasn’t worried. She had explained it could be due to the baby being bigger—your husband was over 6 feet after all—or perhaps you were a bit further along in your pregnancy than she first thought. Either way, at the last appointment, she had assured you that everything was looking fine.

The last appointment was also when you were able to find out the sex of the baby. 

Since you and Spencer really wanted to have a gender reveal party with your friends and the other team members of the BAU, you had invited Garcia to come along to the appointment. She would be informed of the sex and also have the results handed to her in a manila envelope, for the baker who would create the cake.

You were regretting your decision though because you were currently dying to know what baby Reid would be. It was amazing though, Garcia hadn’t even breathed the hint of a clue.

She was the worst person to keep a secret, so it was ironic when she refused to give into your pleading.

The gender reveal party was going to be this upcoming weekend, still a few days away and you were struggling with the anticipation.

The party details and planning helped curb your desire to know, though.

When Garcia had first suggested the idea, not long after you and Spencer announced your pregnancy, you were slightly hesitant about it. You didn’t know much about them or if anyone would even come. With the help of Penelope and her promise to take care of everything, you started coming around to the idea.

She was an excellent party planner because even though she took care of everything, she left plenty of room for you and Spencer to decide on details and things you wanted. Many nights were spent laying in bed, the two of you looking at gender reveal party ideas on Pinterest.

You actually thought Spencer was more excited for this party then you were. It was nice to know he was just as excited for it, though.

“Do you think she’d cave and tell us what we’re having if we surprise her with a red velvet cupcake?” you’d asked Spencer, one night that week.

“It’d probably be tempting for her, but I doubt it,” he answered you, “In fact, I’m surprised she’s kept quiet this long. She’s the worst at keeping secrets.”

“I know. I had her pegged to tell us within a day,” you huffed.

Spencer chuckled, kissing your head.

“Just think, it will be worth the wait when we find out what we’re having on Saturday.”

•

Surprisingly, Saturday did come rather fast. Although at the same time, it felt like eons to you. 

You were bursting with excitement for the party, which was to be held at David Rossi’s house.

Garcia had given you and Spencer strict instructions to not arrive until after 2 pm. She, with the help of her boyfriend Luke Alvez we’re going to be setting up everything for the party to keep the final display a surprise as well.

You were just as eager to wear the new outfit that Garcia had bought for you to wear—she really had thought of everything.

You had to admit, the ensemble was pretty cute.

You’d dressed in the sleeveless maxi dress that was designed in an alternating pink and blue chevron style and white flats that were partially hidden by the long skirt of the dress. Your bump was fully on display in the outfit, but it just made the dress seem even cuter.

It also helped that it was extremely comfy as well.

The finishing touch for the outfit was a flower crown. Yes, a flower crown. Garcia went all out when she did things, that’s for sure. 

It was a thin band of flowers that sat nicely on your head. One side was decorated with pink flowers while the other half had blue. With the entire outfit complete, you had to admit, Garcia definitely had picked a cute ensemble.

Spencer had come in just as you’d finished getting ready and whistled, making you blush.

“Why if it isn’t the sexiest baby mama around,” he grinned slyly, wrapping his arms around you from behind, “You look beautiful, Y/N.”

“You look rather charming yourself,” you chuckled.

His appearance wasn’t that much different than it was from his work attire. His suit pants and dress shirt were the same as usual, but Garcia had gotten him a pink and blue chevron tie to match your dress.

“Not exactly something I’d wear every day, but I like it,” he smiled, “Ready to find out what our baby is?”

“More than ever.”

•

The first thing you saw when entering Rossi’s backyard was a sign on the iron gate door to his backyard. 

There were a handful of pink and blue cardboard, cutout circles hanging on the gate door, along with a pink and blue cutout onesie that said We’re here for the sex. It made you laugh. This definitely had Garcia written all over it.

“I’m sure Rossi is thrilled with that hanging on his gate door,” Spencer laughed.

He took your hand and pushed the gate open into a pink and blue wonderland. 

You gasped as the two of you walked further into the backyard. Not only was the actual decorations and set up amazing, but the turnout was just as shocking.

The entire team was there; Emily Prentiss, Matt Simmons, his wife Kristy and all five kids—you’d specifically told Penelope that all the BAU kids were welcomed, you had a special place in your heart for them, just as she did.

JJ was there with her husband Will and her two boys Henry and Michael. Tara Lewis was there as well, always ready for a get together. Of course David Rossi was there as well with his third wife Krystall that he’d recently married again.

Luke and Penelope were of course in attendance, but what surprised you most was seeing the unexpected and surprise guests that Garcia had most definitely arranged to show up.

Former Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner was there with Jack, who was now taller than you. They both greeted you with a hug and their congratulations. Jack said he was mostly excited for cake and you couldn’t argue with that.

Derek Morgan, wife Savannah and little Hank Spencer Morgan had made it too. These kids were growing faster than you would like because now little Hank was 4 quickly approaching 5.

“Pretty boy!” Morgan greeted, hugging Spencer tightly, “It’s about time you became a father.”

You greeted Savannah and Hank, who was in his mother’s arms, suddenly a lot shyer than normal. After speaking to them both for a minute, they too went back to socializing with the others.

What was most surprising was seeing your parents and Spencer’s mom, Diana Reid.

“Mom! Dad!” you exclaimed, hugging them.

“Mom!” Spencer said, hugging Diana, “I’m so glad you could make it.”

“You think I was going to miss my grandbaby’s first party? I think not,” she grinned.

After greeting your parents, you hugged Diana yourself.

“It’s so good to see you Mrs. Reid,” you kissed her cheek.

It had been a little bit since you’d last traveled to Las Vegas with Spencer to visit her, not long after you’d married. Before that, you’d seen her at the wedding.

“Oh honey, you know I told you to call me Diana,” she beamed, “You’re the Mrs. Reid around here. How are you feeling?”

She rubbed a hand across your belly and you smiled.

“Feeling rather large, if I do say so myself,” you chuckled.

“Well there’s a good reason for that,” she winked, making your brows furrow in confusion.

Garcia was just on her way over to the three of you as Diana spoke and suddenly, she sped up, rushing over.

“Diana! How about I get you some punch and refreshments!” Garcia exclaimed, leading Diana away.

She turned to you and Spencer as she led his mother away.

“Take some time and look around before we do the reveal!” Garcia hollered.

“Come on, I wanna check things out,” you told Spencer.

You were beaming so big that he couldn’t help but chuckle and indulge you. He was pretty curious to check out everything too.

First off, there were pink and blue balloons everywhere. 

At the table where the food and refreshments were at, were gold letter balloons that spelled out the phrase Oh baby. 

The actual food spread was rather impressive too. There were finger sandwiches of chicken salad, turkey and ham, mixed nuts, vegetable plates with dip and of course, much to your delight was Alvez’s homemade salsa and guacamole, along with chips to dip. You’d be eating good this afternoon, that’s for sure.

The sweets were all gender themed, which was an adorable touch.

There were blue and pink chocolate covered strawberries, blue and pink cake pops—a mustache on the blue cake pop sticks and a bow on the pink ones—and hilariously enough, there were M&Ms in two bowls. One with peanuts were labeled Nuts and the other with plain was labeled No Nuts, hence the mystery of the baby’s sex.

“That’s ingenious,” Spencer commented, laughing, grabbing a handful of some.

There were blue plates with matching napkins and pink plates with pink napkins, along with alternating blue and pink jars that held the opposing color of plastic ware in them. 

At the very end of the refreshments table sat two huge glass jugs with spigots filled with blue and pink drinks. The blue was named Bouncing Blue Punch whereas the pink was Sweet Pink Lemonade.

“Wow, Luke and Penelope really went all out,” you gaped, amazed.

“And you haven’t even seen the best parts,” Garcia said, seemingly appearing out of thin air next to you, “Come on!”

She tugged on your arm excitedly, dragging you to another section of the party. You laughed, trying to keep up with her, looking behind you at a grinning Spencer who was following behind the two of you.

The first thing she had to show you, made you tear up thanks to the damn pregnancy hormones.

It was a canvas of animals in a little hot air balloon and the “balloons” were made up of thumbprints from all the guests, in the color of their guess of the baby’s gender. Even the kids had all done one.

There were a variety of pink and blue thumbprints, each one signed by the person. At the bottom of the canvas it read: Oh the places you’ll go.

“We all made our guesses and I put this together a week ago so it would be dry and ready to display for today,” Garcia beamed.

“I love it,” you said, your hand covering your mouth, still shocked at how beautiful it was, “Spence, this is going up in the nursery for sure.”

“Definitely,” he nodded, looking at it himself.

“This is amazing. Thank you, Garcia,” you breathed.

“Oh honey, we’re just getting started on the tour. Come on, there’s more to see.”

The next display was another interactive guessing game.

This was a chalkboard that read Twinkle, Twinkle, little star. How we wonder what you are!

One side of the board represented the boy votes and the other represented the girl votes.

“This is where everyone was able to vote as they came in with their guess,” she said.

You looked closer. So far a girl was winning by two.

“I also included two more interactive little games,” Garcia said, leading you to two more chalkboards.

One had Guess The Date written on it and the entire month of September written out. Your due date was approximately September 25th, which was listed at the top and sticky notes covered the dates of different attendee’s guesses on when the baby would arrive.

“Oh that is super cute,” you laughed.

Your eyes scanned over the numerous guesses.

Some had guessed as early as September 6th and others had guessed as late as September 30th.

“Pinterest, I’m telling you,” Garcia quipped.

The next board had a list of girls and boys names. Underneath the board and easel on each side was a basket, in the matching colors, slips of paper inside.

“This here is where the guests have tried to guess what your number one name for a boy and a girl is,” Garcia explained.

“So that explains why you asked for our top name for a boy and a girl,” Spencer mused.

“Yup.”

You looked at each column. There were a total of five names on each side.

The boys’ column included:

Carl

Aidan

Luke

Alexander

Matthew

The girls’ column included:

Daisy

Abrielle

Gabriella

Penelope

Paige

“Penelope? Luke?” you chuckled.

“Hey, for all they know you could be naming a kid after us!” she protested.

You smiled, seeing yours and Spencer’s top two picks on the lists—Abrielle for a girl or Alexander for a boy.

“Last but not least,” Garcia beamed, “You gotta see the cake. It’s amazing.”

The three of you walked to a table in the middle of the party where there were two chairs and a cake resting on the table.

“Obviously since it’s baby Reid, you two will be the center of attention,” Penelope said.

On the table was a beautiful cake decorated with blue and pink icing roses. One side was strictly pink roses and the other blue. The finishing touch was the various sized edible pearls that had been delicately placed in the center of each flower.

You audibly gasped.

“Penelope, it’s gorgeous!”

“Isn’t it though? I was in awe when I picked it up,” she commented.

“So the inside will be the reveal, right?” Spencer asked.

“Yes sir,” she smiled, “You guys ready to find out the gender?”

“Yes, please!”

You were practically bouncing on your heels like a child eagerly awaiting candy.

“First, I wanted to give you guys a little gift,” Garcia said, rushing over to the table where Luke sat, holding a gift bag.

“Garcia, you know we said no gifts!” you protested.

“Yeah, I know. But you know me,” she scurried back over, handing you the bag, “I can’t keep huge secrets.”

“What are you talking about?” you laughed, opening the bag.

Inside was a simple, cute, white baby onesie.

On the front, it said We’re having a baby! with the word baby scratched out.

“Why’s the word baby crossed out?” Spencer asked, peering over your shoulder at it.

He seemed to be just as puzzled as you were.

“Wait, there’s something else in the bag,” you observed, reaching in to pull out the second object.

It was a second white onesie that read Make that TWO babies!

“I couldn’t keep such a big secret obviously, so I told the entire team and they wanted to chip in on a present to announce it to you—this isn't all the gift though.”

You were stunned beyond belief and absolutely overjoyed.

“Twins?! Spence, did you hear that? We’re having twins!”

You turned to see your husband as white as a ghost, starting to sway.

“I-I-I think I need to sit for a moment,” he stammered, falling into the nearby metal folding chair.

“Spence, you okay?” 

You rushed to his side—as fast as your pregnant body would let you, that.

“Yeah, fine,” he muttered, still looking dazed, “Everything just started spinning there for a moment.”

Garcia was by his side with an unused paper plate, fanning him, just in case he was actually going to pass out.

The rest of the party’s eyes were on the spectacle, all of them clearly amused.

“Who knew the kid could create twins! Even his sperm is brilliant,” Derek hollered.

Everyone laughed at that and the fact that Savannah immediately stuck a sandwich in his mouth to quiet him.

“There are kids here, Derek!” she whispered loudly.

“Twins, huh?” Spencer asked.

The poor thing looked dumbstruck. 

“You sure you’re okay Spencer?” you asked, worried.

It’s like it took him a moment for it to finally sink in because he turned to you, a big grin on his face.

“Y/N, we’re having twins!”

He grabbed your face, kissing you, not caring about all the onlookers. You turned scarlet when he pulled away, a tad bit embarrassed that everyone was watching, but you were just as happy as him, so you couldn’t complain.

“My baby boy is going to have twins,” Diana smiled, coming over to wrap her son in a hug, “I was so excited when I heard that I almost ruined the surprise earlier!”

“Oh so that’s what you meant?” you asked, laughing.

That was definitely a good reason for you to be larger than normal. Your body was home to not one but two babies for the next little while.

“You knew, mom?” Spencer asked.

“Oh of course, Penelope called everyone,” Diana answered.

“You know I can’t keep a secret!” Garcia exclaimed, “This was my biggest one yet! It was the only way I could make it without bursting.”

“Speaking of everyone else,” JJ said, bringing up another, slightly larger gift bag, “This is from all of us, Hotch and Morgan included.”

“You wanna open it?” you asked Spencer.

He shook his head, indicating you could, so you did.

You pulled out a long, wood, plaque that read:

Our family is growing by

4 feet

and

2 hearts 

At the bottom, there was an engraving.

Reid Twins

It was absolutely perfect.

There were definitely tears on your end as you made your rounds hugging everyone and saying your thank yous.

You made your way back to the center table to Garcia, who you gave another huge hug.

“Thank you so much for putting together such an amazing party,” you said.

“It was my pleasure,” she smiled.

“Cut the cake already!” Both Jack and Henry hollered simultaneously, making everyone chuckle.

“I can’t argue with that, now can I?” you responded.

You managed to pull Spencer away from the conversation he was having with some of the guests and you both put your hands on the knife, cutting through the cake. It reminded you of your wedding reception, but this was ten times more exciting; you were expanding your family with the man you were in love with.

The entire backyard counted down.

“THREE!”

You looked over at Spencer, a big smile on your face. At this point, you didn’t think much more could surprise you than the news of having twins.

“TWO!”

He winked at you, silently reassuring you that no matter what the result, you two would raise these babies as a team.

“ONE!”

You both lifted up the slice, revealing a two layer cake; one layer was pink and one was blue.

“It’s a boy and a girl!” Spencer cheered.

You were pretty sure this day couldn’t get any better. 

You and Spencer would soon be welcoming fraternal twins; Abrielle Jade Reid and Spencer Alexander Reid. 

Little Abbie and Alex were going to be incredibly loved.

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[colorseeingchick]

Hey Can I ask for a self ship date pls ? I’m a 18yo girl who is 173 cm of chaos and my heart has been stolen by Kise Ryouta from KNB 😩.

We may be very different, he’s more of a warm and a social person while i’m cold in the clouds and ambiverted but his smile, his laugh and how he’s dedicated in basketball made me lose it. I find his whole personality interesting even the more cold and ugly parts of him and he has the pretty face for him too but i’m not the kind of person who can just fall for apparence. He have such a voice too 😳 He has that charming aura, playful but yet still lighthearted and funny. He being two-faced surprisingly don’t bother me that much somehow i understand from where hes coming from. I relate a lot to his overachiever and need to handle all things himself to the point of hurting. As a basketb fan i am also enamored w his way of playing, i gen think he is the best of gom he always do his best to the point of barely breathing and honestly i relate to this too when im into something i love. His quick learning abilities are hyper and i like how Kise try to be honest w himself. I like also the balance he have w masculine and feminine energy and don’t mind him being a dork. His relationship w others characters are gold too like w Aomine and i can see him showing me affection to my touch starved self and just general affection i lack in general even if i don’t say it. Also i can imagine a certain dynamic between us where no one is the lead of the couple but we’re on equal terms.

Now more about me i am an ENTP 8w7, I am independent, creative, honest, prideful and « generous » i don’t think that last one much but my close one describe me like this. I’m very curious, likes experimenting and new things. I am funny/sarcastic, playful and as it iam very memeable but surprisingly top student here who doesn’t behave like it at all both in class and just in general. My aesthetic is a weird mix of everything i love so i am both a tomboy, alt and a baddie somehow. I am into law and economics studies and can talk french, korean and spanish as i learn languages in my free time by myself. I do read, write, draw and listen to music, play all sort of games including sports, get on a walk from time to time, eat cuz food is delicious and just learn in general. I have kind of ✨trust issues ✨so i don’t have many friends. But you sure will have fun w me ! I don’t about chill i have some temper but sure im pretty cool and open minded ! In love i really am a mess, i’m easily flustered but act cool to hide it and because of that i look like someone confident and mysterious except i am not the first one and ugh im lowkey a tsundere so it’s difficult to assume my feelings. But i swear i try !

Thank you for reading me ! I hope i didn’t bother you much.

You didn't bother me at all hun! This was a lot of fun to write so I hope you enjoy :) I think I have a pretty fun date planned for you two if I do say so myself hehe.

Premise: Kise got to know you throughout high school, and saw you as different from his other fangirls. Even though it wasn’t basketball, you also stood out at the top of your class, making you noticeable to Kise. You were actually a good friend (a cute friend at that) and he decided that he wanted to take you on a date during your 3rd year (once the basketball season was over and he had time to make for you). Knowing how fun you are, he had the perfect plan.

As you look into the mirror to examine your outfit, your phone buzzes with the “I’m hereeee ;)” text. You’d decided to lean into your tomboy vibes, given that Kise told you to ‘get ready to do stuff,’ which was not very informative, but exciting nonetheless.

As you walk out, you’re greeted by the blonde man dressed handsome as ever, a dark long sleeve shirt with fitting jeans, his silver hoop shining as the sun starts to set.

“Ready Y/N-chi?” He asks you, smiling as he overdramatically offers his hand for you to grab.

“Ready as ever~” you say as you grab his hand. He pulls you close and winks, flustering you right from the start.

“If I remember correctly, you said something about this being the best date I ever go on?” You take your chance to poke fun at him as well.

“Oh honey, it will be.” You can see the way his eyes shine and his mischievous grin as he walks with a nice hop in his step, guiding you towards the train station.

The train ride was pleasant, his hands protectively on your shoulder and a mean glare on his pretty features when other men looked at you or got too close, but his face was calm as he comfortably bantered with you (you on the other hand were quite unbothered by it all). Once you finally arrived at your destination, you found yourself in the lively district of the city, flooded with restaurants and shops all open late night.

“I forgot how beautiful this area is at night!” You can’t help but say as you look at all the beautiful lights and architecture.

“I had to take a pretty girl to a pretty place, you know?” He squeezes your hand as he drags you along once again, until you end up at your destination.

“I think this’ll be a lot of fun,” he says to you as he pushes open the doors to the arcade, letting all the dark lights and glowing games illuminate your sight.

He buys the coins for you both to play (He’d asked prior if it’d be okay for him to pay for you this date, and you’d agreed), and you set off to play all sorts of games.

It was a lot of fun for the both of you. While the games were enjoyable, playing them with him made it all the better. He also never missed an opportunity to flirt with you, and playing games made it easy. Both of you being overachievers, with Kise being a quick learner and you being open to trying new things made the experience amazing.

“Here, stand like this and loosen your wrists up for a better shot.” you both were playing the basketball game, and to no surprise Kise had absolutely killed it. Now here he is, helping adjust your shot. Standing behind you, he lightly adjusts your waist, turning you a little bit to help your footing. His hands then move up to your shoulders, then down to your wrists, helping guide your form and placement on the ball. While you were learning from him, it was hard to focus with him this close to you. “Y/N-chi, you can focus on me later. You should focus on your shot for now.” He says lowly, teasingly, watching carefully as your face erupts into red. He really did love teasing you, the usually calm, collected, confident top student.

Admittedly, you feel like you got back at him when you watch him try the crane game (the ones filled with stuffed animals) and he couldn’t get it after 7 tries. The frustration was clear in his face, his impatience rising.

“This game is rigged, I know it!”

You ask to try and of course he complies. However, he’s not ready for you to get a cute little stuffed panda on your first try. Suddenly, he’s a lot more embarrassed than you were earlier.

“You definitely used magic or something.” His pout is both adorable and hilarious to you.

You laugh as you hand him the panda. “Here!”

Looking down at the panda and then looking back up at you, he asks, “for me? But you won it!”

“But I want you to have it. It’s cute like you, Kise-kun.”

A huge smile crosses his face as he pulls you into a hug, spinning you around. “Y/n-chi!!!! You’re so generous!! Giving me your stuffed panda~ I’ll take good care of it.”

You have a nice laugh as you watch Kise end the night out by playing Dance Dance Revolution, not afraid to be a bit flamboyant as he goes all out with the footwork and does really well at the game.

After collecting all your tickets, Kise takes you up to the rewards table, telling you that he knows exactly what he wants to get.

“And we have enough tickets for it! Great.”

You can’t help but smile when Kise points to the GIANT stuffed panda hanging on the wall.

“I thought you weren’t the type to return favors,” you recall what he said during a game with Seirin from a long while back.

He blushes, thinking about what he said. “I’m not, just one upping you,” he jokes, sticking his tongue out at you, letting you nudge him in return.

“Do you wanna get food, Y/N-chi?” He asks, his arm wrapped around your shoulder.

“Sure, from where?”

“You decide. I decided on the arcade, you can decide dinner.” He looks at you with a smile, thinking back on how fun the whole night had been. “But I get to decide dinner next time.”

“Next time?” You shoot back, eyebrows raised, a smile forming on your face. “Who said I’d go out with you a next time?”

At your comment, his smile falters as he stares at you for a good second. He gets all serious suddenly, pulling you close (with a giant panda pressed into your side) and making you look into his eyes. “Y/N-chi, would you please go out with me again? Tell me you will!”

Giggling, you smile up at him. “Of course, Kise-kun.”

He sighs out and hums in approval, before pressing a small kiss onto your cheek. “Call me Ryouta.”

~~

Ahhh I hope you enjoyed it! I tried to incorporate as many elements as I could! Please do let me know what you think <3 this was so fun!!!!

[gerberbabey]

cocaine | kiara carrera

madison bailey rlly met her gf ON TIKTOK, thats wild and now i see that my chances arent as low as i believe. anyways love that for them.

writing this made me so damn depressed. like if anyone would like to fall in love w me, im just here...chillin.

masterlist | cocain series: 2 | 3 

summary: Kiara falls in love with someone who isn’t willing to love anymore (story inspired by the mentioned song and this scene).

warnings: that gay shit, cursing, angst, underage drug use, underage drinking, mentions of dying, unrequited love?

♫ Cocaine by Pink Sweat$ ♫

Kooks could talk as much shit as they wanted but it didn’t exactly stop them from showing up at the boneyard for a kegger. They whined and complained about Pogues but still came around to the other side of the island because they knew they would have a good time.

“It’s like watching National Geographic,” Kie winced and you sputtered out a laugh, stumbling back as you tried to keep the water from dripping onto your clothes. There was a pocket of Kooks jumping around to the music, moving in a weird sort of unison that was both stiff and awkward.

“Ew,” Kie laughed as you leaned forward to spit out the water that you had been trying to drink. To be honest it wasn’t that funny of a comment but you were also high of your ass so everything was hilarious.

“I can’t breathe,” you huffed out and Kie had to hold you steady when you stumbled into her. You were laughing so hard that it was at that point where you weren’t even making any noise. She couldn’t stop herself from laughing because of how hard you were laughing.

“Oh my god (Y/N) it wasn’t even that funny!”

“Then why are you laughing?!”

“Because you’re laughing!”

The two of you burst out into another fit of giggles as you wrapped your arms around the girl, resting your head on her chest as she wrapped her arms around you and struggled to keep the two of you standing.

“Are you two ok?” Pope walked up to the two of you just as you stumbled into the sand in a laughing heap. You let out one giggled and took in a deep breath as you stared up at Pope, your head hazy and heavy.

“Chillin dude,” you drawled out and Pope shook his head before he helped the two of you up. Kia brushed off the sand from her curls and you gave an aggressive shake of your head as you brushed out the sand from hair at the same time. Kie let out a noise and Pope stepped back to avoid any sand flying at him.

When you stopped you stumbled to straighten up. Everything around you was moving fast and yet slow at the same time and you let out a laugh.

Kie couldn’t help but look at you with a dopey look on her face. She wished she could tell you just how much she loved you. The day Kie had realized she was in love with her best friend was a bit of a stressful one. Kie was a firm believer of the “No Pogue on Pogue macking rule”. Not only did she believe it would change everything if broken, she also didn’t want to have a reason to be tied down to the Outer Banks. She loved her friends, her family, and her life on the island but she knew she was capable of so much more. Deep down in her heart she knew that she was meant to travel the world. That the best way for her to succeed was to get out of the Outer Banks and into the world.

But then one day she looked into your eyes and knew she loved you. That she was in love with you.

You were friends with the Pogues before she’d joined the group but you were the first one she met. You met the rest of the Pogues through JJ, and then had integrated Kie into the group after you started working at The Wreck.

After the betrayal of Sarah Cameron and the pain she went through being ostracized by her entire school, meeting you and then the boys had been her saving grace. Sure you weren’t jumping to your feet to try and help baby sea turtles into the ocean, but you always listened to her. You understood her.

“I mean everyone’s freaking out about plastic straws but the cups are like...more plastic,” you added to her rant and she nodded enthusiastically.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying!”

She was pretty much convinced the two of you were soulmates the day you had played her a playlist that you made just for her.

Yet even though she was so head over heels in love there was too many reasons why she couldn’t tell you.

One of the biggest reasons was your lack of faith in love and relationships. Convincing you that falling in love and being in love was a good thing proved to be a difficult feat. You’d been hurt so much by the concept of love that you’d moved past the point of thinking you’d ever fall in love. You left it behind and believed wholeheartedly that it wasn’t something meant for you. You didn’t believe in marriage and didn’t believe that you would ever find that person. You’d stopped looking and that meant that you couldn’t and wouldn’t see Kie in the way she wished you would.

“Yo (Y/N)!”

You and your friends turned at that and Kie watched you grin as you ran up to the boy who called you. You jumped into his arms and Kie bit her lip.

“Dude! What the fuck is up?!” You yelled as the boy laughed and let you down. You were jumping around excitedly, “Yo when did you get home?”

“Yesterday.”

“Who’s that?” Kie asked JJ and the boy turned to look at what she was talking about.

“Huh? Oh that’s Quincy, he graduated last year I think? Went to the Navy or something, him and (Y/N) were really close.”

“Oh.”

Kie wondered why she never heard about Quincy.

“Kie!!!” You waved her over and Kie pushed down that weird feeling that was rising up and hid it with a smile. She moved to stand by you and tried not preen when you took her hand in yours, intertwining your fingers and holding on tight. She hoped that Quincy would conclude that she was yours. (You may not have been hers, but she was wholeheartedly yours).

“Kie this Quincy. He was my fuckin plug before he left,” you laughed and Quincy crossed his arms and gave you a look. Kie felt a little relieved but then thought about this.

“Didn’t you start smoking when you were like...in middle school?” Kie asked and Quincy laughed while you shrugged.

“Yeah, can you imagine how I felt seeing this 12 year old asking me if I sold?”

Kie tried not to cringe. You’d been smoking for way longer than she’d known you. Your tolerance surpassed JJ, likely because of your lack of tolerance breaks. Kie could argue that at least you’d only smoked weed and hadn’t dove into other, harder drugs. The one time you had, Kie nearly had a heart attack and the boys almost killed a boy for urging you to take it.

You’d told her once that you just really liked how being high made you feel. The strain you smoked made you feel relaxed. It eased your mind and your body.

You told her that you started smoking after your parents separated. They’d fallen out of love and decided that rather than being adults and dealing with their issues themselves, they’d put the weight and stress of their problems onto your shoulders. A year later you had decided you were going to quit because you’d fallen in love with your boyfriend of a year and a half. You nearly did stop getting high, but then your boyfriend broke up with you, didn’t tell you you why, and then ghosted you.

3 days later he’d posted about his new girlfriend (he’d reassured you nothing was going on between them when you were together. The time stamp of the filtered picture told you and everyone else otherwise).

Kie wanted to spite the people who’d led to the walls you built around your heart.

You had guided Kie and Quincy back over to the other Pogues and Kie couldn’t help but cling to you that night. She didn’t like Quincy’s familiarity with you. It was kind of childish really but it’d been a while since you’d looked eager to interact with anybody who weren’t the Pogues. Kie’s heart skipped a beat when she realized how absolutely ok you were with her holding and touching you.

“Hey...(Y/N)?”

“Hmm..?”

The two of you were laying in her bed. The kegger had ended some time ago and though the two of you would’ve usually stayed at the Chateau with the boys, she’d decided she wanted to spend the rest of her night alone with you. She’d appreciated Quincy taking the two of you to her house.

“You really don’t think you’re going to get married?” she questioned quietly and she watched you open your eyes and look into her own.

“Hm...Yeah. Probably not,” you told her honestly.

“Why not?”

“...I don’t know. I don’t think I’d want to commit to someone that much. Plus...I don’t think anyone would wanna commit to being with me either.”

Kie would.

“But what if someone loves you...so so much, but you just won’t open yourself up to them? Would you really risk losing that before you even know it?”

You stayed silent at that. This was something that constantly went through your mind. sometimes you thought about those “what if” moments constantly. What if you’d given that boy a chance? Would you be in love with him now? Would the two of you be happy?

Yet you also thought: but maybe the two of you would be miserable instead. Maybe it would just lead to more pain.

“I don’t know if I could deal with being hurt because of love again.”

“...Ok...”

The two of you eventually drifted off to sleep. Kie’s chest hurt but she dreamt about kissing you.

Kie sometimes wished that she could be the one to bring your heart out of its hiding place. She wanted to be the person that you were willing to finally love. She wanted you to toss aside the risk of getting hurt because she’d make it clear to you that she would never hurt you.

JJ had gotten too high once, and had told her that you and him sometimes went to the dock and just sat there in silence. That the two of you would allow your worries to ease just by being beside one another and that you both knew that even without talking, or venting, or even smoking, you understood how JJ felt and JJ understood how you felt.

Kie wanted that.

She wished she didn’t have to push so hard for you to feel comfort in her, but she would continue pushing nonetheless. Despite how close the two of you were as friends, vulnerable moments were rare with you. 

“Kie, I need you to leave this alone ok? It’s seriously not any of your business,” you’d tried to shake her off and she only became angrier. The boys had shuffled out of the room the moment you’d walked in with Kie yelling at you.

She had went to pick you up and caught you snorting a line of...something, in your room.

“None of my business!? I can’t just let you hurt yourself like this (Y/N)!”

“Kie you smoke with me! Fucking weed is killing me just as much as any other drug would! If you cared so much then don’t cherry pick what you decide to care about!”

“Don’t ever tell me how I feel!”

“God you’re not my fucking mom Kie, just stop!”

“No (Y/N)!”

You’d stormed off after that argument. Out of all the people in your life you thought Kie would be the last person the chastise you for anything you did. You thought she understood. Kie felt terrible when you didn’t come around to the Chateau or even talk to her and the Pogues for the rest of the day. Kie’s heart was in your hands and you were squeezing.

The next day, Kie had bursted into your room crying.

“You can’t be mad at me for just wanting you to be ok...” she sobbed and you held her tight to you. 

“I know Kie, I know. I’m sorry,” you mumbled into her hair before you gave her a kiss on the forehead. She pulled back to look at you and she took in the worried expression on your face. She was hyper aware of the feeling of your thumbs stroking her cheek. Kie shut her eyes and leaned forward to press her lips onto yours.

Her heart broke into a million pieces when you gasped and backed away.

“Oh my god...” Kie sobbed and stood from where the two of you had clung to each other on your bed, “I’m sorry-I just..I’m gonna go-” 

You couldn’t say a word as you watched Kie rush out of your room.

“Fuck!” she yelled before the door slammed shut.

part 2...?

[bitters-enthusiast]

Boozin’

A fic for @timmys-and-scribbles , I love u boo 

The bar was more than likely annoyed with the ginger at this point.

Julian had spent more than a few hours at the Rowdy Raven, his second home, and was drunk off his ass -- even that may have been an understatement. It’d started with a few drinks, just him trying to kill time while Julianne was working at the shop, keeping himself busy and away. Then it turned into him getting sad, a little down, because he didn’t have enough work to keep him steady and busy during a time like this. Wasn’t a doctor rather crucial to a city? Shouldn’t his knowledge and efforts be more needed?

If Julianne were there, she’d be telling him to just be thankful that he had the day off, and that he’d have patients tomorrow eager to hear his advice. 

But Julianne wasn’t there, she was busy. And so, having let the silly, intrusive thoughts take hold of him, he slammed back some more drinks.

More drinks turned into stories, stories turned into singing, and singing turned into slight arguments with other patrons who were getting quite annoyed with the man. Perhaps he’d better find another hobby that isn’t getting drunk and flirting with death.

A couple of hours in at that point, Julian had heard talk of a local musician holding an event in the marketplace in the afternoon in order to make pay for his home. His ears had perked up, and he grinned, even as he took another shot of liquor. Music? A lively night? That sounded exactly his style to the tee, and he’d started to get excited for when Julianne would finally be done with her work for the day. Oh, how he wished to spin her into the night with an exciting tango, or a cozy waltz. If she were there. Waiting for her would be the most excruciating part of his day. But how hopefully rewarding that waiting would be!

A few more hours passed, and at that point, the sun was starting to go down over Vesuvia. Not that Julian could really count the hours --- he was inside, and only whined aloud about missing his wife every other moment or two. 

At the current moment, though, he’d started rambling off a story to his most familiar bartender and friend (at least, Julian would consider him a friend), Reiner. Words slurred and wistful about the time that he’d gone to a city with the Nazali Satrinava -- no, really, it was them, on my life -- to practice his medical studies. While there, they’d caught wind of a puppeteer who used magic to make it seem as if their puppets could move and talk on their own. It was really quite scary, and just added onto the fact that he didn’t like magic at the time. 

“No, really, Reiner,” the doctor laughed, a little too loudly for others’ liking, and he clutched the glass beside him with a firm hand. “One of ‘em, I think it’s name was.. was.. Perhaps Tootie, or something of the sort, and it.. it just moved!”

“It moved, Ilya? Like a puppet is supposed to do?”

“Well, right, duh, but! It moved like a human. And that’s my point. It was absolutely horrible!”

“Right.” the man behind the counter laughed, cleaning out a glass with a soft rag. 

“I’m serious, you can’t take that stuff too lightly, Reiner. It can be rather powerful at times, you know.”

“You were dealing with a puppeteer, Julian.”

“What if she was using real people that she, I don’t know, shrunk! How disastrous would that be? No one would know! She was under the guise of children entertainment!!”

Reiner once again laughed, and set the now-cleaned cup upon his counter to use for someone else who walked in. “You’re quite the theorist.”

“Well, you can never be too careful. Magicians--”

Just then, the door opened quietly, and for the millionth time that night, as soon as Julian heard it, he turned quickly to see if it was Julianne coming to look for him. And this time, he was lucky enough to have his wish come true. 

The woman patted down her blouse, having looked like she just walked a mile to get there. She may as well have -- Julian would’ve waited either way. With a smile, though, she glanced across the room at the semi-familiar faces, before her eyes landed upon her desperate doctor. Placing a hand upon her hip, she smiled, and looked at him knowingly. “Did someone say ‘magician’?”

Julian practically lept from his seat, leaving Reiner behind to continue his work. How absolutely wonderful it was to finally be able to see Julianne’s beautiful face after waiting all day. He stumbled on his way over, and he attempted to laugh it off, hurrying forward to grab Juli in a bear hug. “Oh, Juli, love, I’ve been waiting for you all day. I thought you were never going to put up shop. I’ve been longing for you arms for hours, I--”

As he was speaking, Julianne gently wrapped her arms around him in turn, but shot a glance to the side at the man behind the counter. With a grin, Reiner could already tell what she was thinking. 

“Hey, Annie. Just the usual. He couldn’t be patient long enough to go home himself.”

“Ah,” Julianne nodded, smiling in return. By this point, she knew the staff of the tavern quite well, and had even befriended some of them. It was hard not to -- her doctor was here almost every other day. Her and Reiner were the best of friends out of them all, though, and she trusted him to keep Julian safe and in place when he got hammered -- such as tonight. Pulling away from the hug, Julianne looked up at Julian, and tsked quietly. “Too impatient indeed. Have you been wailing their ears off this time? I’m sure this bar has heard one too many of your renditions of Hound Cries at Midnight.”

When Julianne had pulled away from the hug, Julian had to force himself not to pout. He had craved her affection all day, and just when he’d gotten it...

“No, not today. Though, I do think I should modify that middle section to sound a little more operatic, don’t you think? I--” As he spoke, his eyes continued to search over Julianne’s face, and he began to melt from the inside out. He brought his hands upward, cupping either side of her face, and he crooned, his face adorned with a flirtatious smile. “Ohhh, Julianne, you’re so beautiful. Even after such a long day at work, you’re here, making sure I’m okay and giving me hugs and-- I just don’t deserve such a precious woman.” The redhead pressed a sloppy kiss to her forehead, before pulling her into another hug. 

Julianne was quite used to his drunken behavior at this point, but nonetheless, she still found it hilarious and sometimes flattering. Again, she hugged him back, a light blush on her face from embarrassment. Julian definitely never had volume control when he was drunk. “You’re such a ham, Julian. Don’t you know you’re in a bar?”

Chuckling, Julian pulled away. “What better place to announce your undying love to a beautiful maiden? At least then everyone will know she’s spoken for!” With dramatic flair, the man turned on his heel to face the bar, is arm landing snugly along Juli’s shoulders. With his voice slightly louder than before, he addressed the establishment. “Fellow ... er, uh... hearty drinkers! As some, but not all of you may know, this is my gorgeous, smart, funny, talented, practically perfect wife, Julianne! Julianne, this is Heinrich, Nattak, Erin, and ... was it Izaak? It was Izaak, right, friend? Oh, you absolutely killed  me with your strange noises and your story about the parrot inside the--”

“Julian,” his wife began to speak under her breath. She was flattered by his pride, sure, but this was just more than a little embarrassing. Her cheeks dusted with bright pink, she reached to touch a hand to his chest to try and get his attention as he rambled. 

“Oh! Right, right. Anyways, fellows, this is Julianne! A powerful magician who has stolen my heart--”

“Didn’t you just make a scene earlier about how much you dislike magic?” Some random, gruff man made a comment.

“Yes, well, she’s quite different than any other magician I’ve ever met before. She brings a sort of... fire out within me. Oh, especially when we kiss.” He sighs with an affectionate undertone, and you can practically see stars in his eyes. “Anyway! She’s stolen my heart so graciously, and also given me the best life I could have asked for. She’s really quite great, she treats me ever so well, and makes me--”

Julianne cleared her throat loudly this time, and shook her head in amusement. “Julian, how many times are you going to make this same speech? I’m sure poor Reiner has heard you say these same things three times already this month.”

Turning a little red, Julian chuckled, and faced his wife. He shrugged, as if he were a child getting caught and was trying to justify it. “What can I say? I suppose I just have, ack-!” As he was turning to face Juli, he tripped on a wooden floor board just barely raised above the rest, and he did his best not to stumble to the floor. Laughing it off, as he does, he glanced around the room and gestured to Julianne once more. “I guess I’m just head over heels in love, eh?”

“Sounds like she’s actually a little annoyed wit’ya, bud,” the same gruff man from the corner spoke. It was obvious he’d become a little annoyed with Julian’s drunken antics spoiling his quiet night at the bar. “I’d shut up if ya actually wanted to keep ‘er around. Maybe do less at the bar and more in the bedroom.”

Julian gasped, clutching at the material over his chest. “How dare you, Mr. Corner-Beard! I think I do quite well in that area, thank you! Why, you son’t even have to just take my word! Julianne, would you--?”

Reiner looked between the three of them -- the drunk doctor, his poor wife, and Mr. Corner-Beard -- and paused in his work to be sure that, for the millionth time, Julian didn’t start another bar fight that he couldn’t finish. And as if she read his mind, Julianne, grabbed Julian by his arm, and pulled him toward the exit. 

“That’s quite enough, Dr. Devorak. I think your friends heard enough of your home life today. How about we go home?”

Julian paused, right before the reached the door. He looked at the burly corner man right in the eyes, before he turned to take Julianne into his arms, press a long, dramatic kiss to her lips, and pulled away once more. He looked at the stranger one last time before pulling the door open, and exiting with his... certain dramatic flair.

Julianne stood there in shock for a moment, her face having now turned a bright red. She felt every eye in the place on her, and she could only find solace in one pair -- Reiner’s. The bartender forced himself to hold back his laughter, placing his hand over his mouth. All the woman could do was blink at him, and at this point, Julian was either storming his way home or was wandering around in circles waiting for her to leave alongside him. Reiner finally dropped his hand, only to say a few words before the magician left. 

“Don’t kill him. He has a dance he wants to take you to tonight. Wanted to dip you in the moonlight, or something along those lines.”

Julianne shook her head, turning to walk out the door, and muttered, “Don’t worry, I won’t kill him. I’ll just dip his head into the fountain to sober him up a bit.”

[werejusttouchingeachother]

DUBAI 2019 [August 28th, 5:00AM]

Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 T/W: cursing Words: 2446 A/N: its... the final chapter. i hope it isn’t too disappointing and i can’t believe i just finished my first series (altho short) on here. this is a big moment and i’d wait longer to upload it but it seems right to do it on KyoongDay. for anyone and everyone who’s been with me through the whole ride, @realllllrica​ @jongins-laceglove​, @mongryong-the-corgi​ for hitting me up constantly with feedback, @hkynm​ for the constant support and discussions about baek and writing, @exosnet​ @bbh-net​ for all the support, silent supporters like @baekyoonbi​ @tiredgirltingz​ @lolii-moon​ (YES I SEE AND LOVE ALL OF YOU) and even the anons who reached out and everyone else, i love all of you and thank y’all so so much, may all your lives be filled with the same warmth and happiness that Baekhyunee emits ☀️💕

Dubai International Airport

His hands are nervously drumming against the handle of his luggage as he looks around while you quickly respond to Seoyeon’s text. You push your phone back into your pocket, swallowing slightly as you catch Baekhyun’s gaze from where he stands next to the car while Manager unloads all the bags from the trunk.

It had only been two nights ago when you’d taken Baekhyun to Trance and shown him all of Dubai. Earlier that day, you’d almost broke down as he left your office and thought that you were having a rerun of what happened at New York.

And yet, you didn’t. It felt like ages ago and it killed you now because as you gazed at him, you wished you could redo it all again just to relive every moment with him, the good and even the bad if only it meant to be in his arms again.

No matter how many times you’d been through this, it killed you every time you had to watch him leave.

You sighed as Baekhyun gave you a smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes. Jongin elbowed your side and you turned to the tall man, giving him a small smile as he cocks his head in the direction of Baekhyun.

“Go hug him before he starts crying,” Jongin teases and Baekhyun glares at him, already opening his mouth to curse at him. You grab his hand before he can and drag him around the Prado car, taking him to the front that’s facing the wall for some privacy as you look at him.

“Hey,” you say, cupping his cheeks with your hands. “Don’t stress so much. It’s okay. I’ll fly down sooner than you think, okay? You’ll be busy with SuperM and all the shows at America for a while anyway so forward your schedules to me and we’ll figure something out. Okay?”

He nods, sighing softly in between your hands as his gaze drops to the floor. You squeeze his cheeks slightly and his gaze darts back up as you mumble, “Eat properly, okay? I’ve told Jongin to tell me if you skip meals so you better not do it.”

“You too,” he rolls his eyes, pulling away from your hands and gripping them in his own instead. “You better not lose weight either.”

“You know I won’t. Seoyeon doesn’t let me.”

At this, he pouts. “Maybe you should come with me to monitor my eating and I won’t skip then.”

“Baekhyun.”

“Seoyeon can come too! To monitor you! We can form our own support triangle!”

“Shut up,” you laugh, shaking your head at him. He sighs as you encircle your arms around his slender waist, hugging him tightly to you.

“Soon,” you mumble softly. “I promise.”

Baekhyun holds you to him, asking, “Where’s your car?”

“The parking lot below this.”

“You can’t come see me off inside the airport, right?”

“No, the fans have been waiting for hours.” You look up then, tilting your head back to gaze at him. “Also, Dubai airport security is pretty strict so I can’t get very far inside without a ticket.”

Baekhyun sighs again before pulling back. You stare at each other in silence, eyes stinging slightly as you force yourself to not cry because you know if you did, it’d just hurt him and get him upset too which would then make you feel worse.

He doesn’t say anything as he leans forward, cupping your face and kissing you. You stumble back slightly as he leans his entire weight onto you, your back pressed up against the side of the care as his lips press into yours deeply in a way that you were certain he was savouring and cherishing each nanosecond, memorising it until the next time that your lips could meet again.

You hear someone clear their throat and Baekhyun pulls away reluctantly. He immediately crushes you to his chest again, hugging your head until you’re suffocating and you’re almost thankful that you can’t see him because you weren’t sure how much longer you could keep a grip over your emotions.

Baekhyun loosens his grip around you and you smile as you feel him gently kiss the top of your head before finally letting go. You smile up at him and he gives you one quick kiss before turning around.

You take in a shaky breath and step away from the car as Baekhyun quickly strides to Hyungnim, grabbing the passport and ticket from his hand as he headed for the glass doors at the right corner of the parking lot, leading to the airport. Jongin and Hyungnim turns to give you one last friendly wave and you nod at them with a smile as they follow him inside.

It was an unspoken agreement that both you and Baekhyun abided by—no matter how much it hurt, it always hurt a lot worse if you turned for one last glance so you both always left without looking back.

Your phone suddenly rings with the familiar notification bell saved for Baekhyun and you furrow your eyebrows, grabbing it from your pocket to check the message.

[4:13AM] So you may wanna check the backseat of your car for some pictures from a secret folder that I may have left for you to miss me.

You furrow your eyebrows in confusion as you read the message. Secret folder, what—

Your eyes widen as it strikes you what exactly he’s talking about and you quickly run to the right, leading to the stairs downstairs to where your car was parked.

You’re slightly panting as you unlock the car door, and dive into the backseat, closing the door behind you.

“Oh my god,” you breathe out when you notice a familiar beige box placed on the floor of the car, grabbing it and placing it on the seat.

You grin like an idiot as you open the Louboutin box, fingers finding a hard white paper and turning it to read his familiar handwriting:

Ha, fooled ya! ^^ I know you haven’t worn out the ones I gave you last time (I know everything, okay?) but I really put a lot of thought into this so I hope you use them well. Also, check the glove compartment for the secret folder photos kekekekeke

You mutter curses under your breath as you bite down on your lip to stop yourself from splitting your face open with your grin as you pull away the paper wrappings and gasp aloud when the shoes are finally revealed.

The first thing you notice is that they’re customised—a sleek red body covered with what appeared to be black lacing.

You peer closer and your eyes widen as you feel your heart stutter slightly.

The intricate designs adorning the lace were the exact same that you’d drawn by your own hand decades ago; your first design as a child: the half-circle sun you’d drawn in between two upside-down v’s that were mountains.

A design that was familiar and known to every kid whether artistic or not, it was the one you’d been most proud of as you incorporated it into your very first designs that you’d launched at Paris—both for children and adults, by developing the base circle and triangle into a more elaborate geometric pattern with bold and monochrome colours in a way that it struck as familiar and funky to everyone alike.

A detail you’d gushed about in passing, long ago to Baekhyun—not having expected for him to remember it.

You gaze at the red-soled heels in awe, exhaling softly in disbelief as you wonder how he even thought of doing this. The geometric designs added a beauty to the Louboutins that you didn’t even dream of, heightening its beauty with the complementing red-sole.

You glance at the note again, eyes falling on the last words and reminding you of the glove compartment.

Feeling too impatient to step out, you just throw your leg over the steering and climb to the front seat, grunting as you feel the gearshift hit your side in your hurry. You sit down with a heavy breath, mentally preparing yourself for the photographs of yourself that your insane boyfriend had, for some reason, thought would be hilarious to print them out for you.

“Byun Baekhyun, I swear to God,” you mutter under your breath, opening the glove compartment slowly. “If it’s the blowjob pictures, I’m gonna—”

You stop as you notice the familiar black album cover of City Lights that you were certain you’d last seen in your apartment, next to your sound system with the marker that Baekhyun had carelessly left without placing it back in the shelf.

Frowning in confusion, you take the photobook carefully, recognising it as the one without the photocards. You pull it to your lap, feeling the hard circular disk and opening the last page where it was, except now the shiny silver surface had been signed with the marker:

To my love, my soul and my heart My moon, Y/N

You smile as you read the words, fingers flipping through the photobook and suddenly, a paper falls out onto your lap.

Placing the photobook back in the compartment, you unfold the paper and start reading the letter:

I hope you’re happy cause I didn’t sign anywhere except on the disk, okay? I just wanted to write this because I know I don’t have enough time to tell you and there’s so much I want to say. I’m sure you remember this but the first time I left you in 2017, at Paris—I ran back to the airport’s parking lot and found you in your car just like how you probably are reading this right now, to confess to you for the first time. I knew it was too quick and I knew it might scare you but I wanted to say it anyway. We’ve always rushed, Y/N. I rushed to judge you at Paris, you rushed into a grudge because of my ignorant words. We both rushed at that power room and then we waited what seemed like forever to finally admit the truth to each other. We waited forever to kiss and god, we waited fucking centuries to have each other. I didn’t care when I finally told you I love you because I knew I didn’t want to wait anymore. Because I meant it. I meant it then and I mean it every day—on the many days that I drowsily say it at the end of a call, on the fewer days when we’re both so busy that we forget to remind it to each other, and on the even lesser days that I mumble it into your hair when I hold you close in my arms. I know you hate it when I apologise for the way things are because you say they’re already perfect as is, and I know that if I doubt it, I can always look at you and be reassured of the same. You see me as your beacon of hope, the sunlight in your darkness but you have no idea what you do to me, Y/N. You’re the strongest person I know. The first time I saw you at Paris, you’d been yelling at poor Jun Ki about the broken lights and I remember thinking that you were like some kind of ice queen in her own lair. And then as I pissed you off throughout the show, turned you on at the power room, watched you fall in love with me over tteokbokkis at Paris (okay, it was me who fell in love), I realised how much of a front you’ve put up all your life. And now, I realise how much you’ve grown ever since that first time I met you. Now I’m not crediting myself for it (maybe a little bit) but I like to think that I had something to do with warming all that ice down, melting it away with my light.

You call me your sunshine but you’re my moon, Y/N. Being blinded by these lights all the time, you’d think it’d be easier to see but there’s so many times when I feel lost and helpless, where I have to shine blindly in the direction of the cameras and just blindly smile, pretending that I’m okay. But then you’re there to hold me, you’re there to guide me with your light through the dark. You’re there to tell me that I am okay and I can finally believe it because I know you’re there, holding my hand in my dark that’s blinded by light. You think I shine down on your darkness but you guide me away from mine. There aren’t enough words in any language to ever express how much I love you for the comfort that you are, for the home that you’ve become. And even if there are, I don’t know half as many languages as you so this is the best I can do, okay?

I know you’re a lot better than you were when we first met but I still want you to take better care of yourself, Y/N. I trust Seoyeon to make sure that you aren’t skipping meals and I’ve told her about your little couch situation, so you better start sleeping on that bed, baby. You may not be a model on the runway but it’ll hurt your back and neck and you’re almost always on your feet during your shows so please sleep better. Listen to Jongdae in your room, if that helps (or I’ll make covers of his entire album and send it so you can listen to me instead. Yeah, I’ll do that. Delete his album, don’t listen to him in your room, he has his girlfriend for that). Also as much as I enjoyed your little Arabic tradition, please don’t do it too much. I looked it up and it DOES have tobacco and it IS harmful so you better find another activity to do when you’re stressed about work. Again, I’ve mentioned this to Seoyeon and I think she’s banned you from shisha so yeah, don’t be mad but I love you hehe ^^

My ice queen who became my moon, I love you and miss you already. Fly back to me as soon as you can. Always wanting to stroll more streets with you in yet another exotic city. Always wanting to listen to you throw shade on more tourist guides. Always waiting to be in your arms again.

Your favourite man in the world, Always your sunshine, Baekhyunnieee 'ㅅ'

[the end.]

[sixsclassic]

Refuge- Chapter 1

Cathy finds herself in a new place, finding refuge in her new foster siblings.  WC: 2072

Home. The place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household. It’s quite ironic how those words can have such little 

meaning to so many. Especially Catherine Parr, well Cathy, Catherine was her grandmother’s name and she grew up with the nickname so that her eldery grandmother wouldn’t get confused. Well it was eight years of that and she’s grown so used to it, her friends at school always referred to her as Cathy through grade school. Her life was okay as far as she was concerned, it was perfect. She had a loving mom and dad, and loved being an only child as they put so much focus into her life. Up until Catherine’s father passed away when she was nine, it was horrible. She’d lost her grandmother the year before, her favorite person passing away in her sleep suddenly and she couldn’t handle that her father was gone too. He’d had a heart attack at work and couldn’t be saved, no one saw it coming, it’d been the first time ever he’d been seriously ill. 

Then she watched as her mother slowly spilled away from her for ten months, at first it was the drinking and Cathy could handle clearing the empty beer bottles from the living room, but then her mother wasn’t buying groceries or going to work and her co workers called in a welfare check on the family. And Cathy was quickly removed from the home as her mother was off to rehab, but it wasn’t smooth sailing from there. It was supposed to be only two months, but that two months slowly turned to five years as every time her mother was released, she went right back to drinking. 

So Cathy celebrated five birthdays alone in foster homes with people who could care less other than getting a check from the state, and she was slowly becoming too old for people so her social work thought it was time for her to be placed in a group home. Though Cathy was convinced she’d never end up one, hearing horror stories from her older foster siblings that you’re more likely to be abused or assaulted, but she found out that she was going to be placed in a group home with only girls. But that didn’t help her feelings as she lugged her duffle bag behind her, trailing behind her social worker as they headed up the steps of the porch. 

To be fair it was a nice home, two stories with a wrap around porch, it seemed… stable as far as Cathy could see. Something she hadn’t had in a long time as a lady probably in her forties or fifties opened the screen door, a pleasant smile on her face. “Good morning to you both, come on inside.” She greeted them and Cathy noted the warmth in her voice, something she hadn’t heard in a long time as Melissa, her social worker , stepped into the home, first entering a foyer. A set of stairs descended to the second floor as Cathy craned her neck to meet eyes with a young girl, probably a year or two younger than Cathy. 

The girl had her lips in a scowl with her arms crossed as if telling Cathy she was invading her space, her long brown hair highlighted with bits of bright pink hair dye. Cathy didn’t know what to think as she maintained eye contact with the girl for a moment as the lady spoke. “I’m Helen, and up there is Kat. You’ll be meeting some of the other girls, but they'll all be returning from school in about ten minutes.” Helen explained as Cathy pondered that for a moment, why wasn’t Kat in school with the rest of the girls in the home. 

She didn’t question it as Helen led them towards the kitchen and she offered them each a cup of tea as Melissa spoke up, stating she’d have to get going since she had a hearing to get to in an hour. She wished Cathy luck and told her to call her if she needed anything and then her one life line was gone. Cathy did take Helen up on the tea as she sat at one of the bar stools in the fairly sized kitchen as Helen stood across from her. “Catherine correct?” Helen asks as she places a mug of tea in front of Cathy. 

“Yes, um is it okay if I go by Cathy?” Cathy asked timidly. 

“Of course, so Cathy tell me, how old are you?” Helen smiles as Cathy thought she must at least know how she is but didn’t want to be snippy or make a comment that could land her in trouble on the first day. “Fifteen.” Cathy replies as she took a sip from her tea, while Helen nodded her head slightly. 

“Perfect, you’ll be sharing a room with Maggie. She's very excited to meet you, she’s only a year older than you and I think you'll get along.” Helen explains and it was Cathy’s turn to nod her head in understanding as the screen door creaked open and a flood of voices entered the home. “Helen we’re home!” a voice bloomed over the others and Helen just chuckled as she poked her head out to the hall. 

“In here Catalina, I’d like you all to come meet someone.” Helen says and Cathy’s heart dropped to her stomach, she had no idea how many girls she would be meeting, but they were all about to be her housemates after all. First to enter the kitchen was a tall tan girl, her hair tied back in a bun, she seemed a lot more welcoming Kat did honestly. “Hey, you must be our new fibling! I’m Catalina.” the girl spoke and Cathy smiled at her timidly. 

“I’m Cathy.” Cathy replied, her voice cracking and she felt completely ridiculous to be embarrassing herself in front of the girls. “Nice name, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Catalina added as she headed further into the kitchen, stopping at the fridge as another girl trailed behind her, passing Cathy without saying a word, to be fair Cathy wasn’t sure if she had noticed her. The girl was younger than Cathy, probably around the same age as Kat if she was going to guess. She was as tan as Catalina but had blue tipped hair. Catalina shut the fridge and looked down at the girl, “Maria it’s impolite to not greet new filbings.”

The young girl turned and jumped in surprise as she saw Cathy. “Oh goodness, I’m sorry I didn’t see you! My name is Maria! What’s yours? How old are you? Do you like fish?” Apparently she was quite the talkative one too as Cathy chuckled, feeling even more relieved. 

“I’m Cathy. I’m fifteen and fish are cool.” Cathy replies. 

“Perfect, so Bessie and I have a fish in our room, his name is Gilbert, you’ll need to come and meet him.” Maria explains which made Cathy giggle as another girl bolted her way into the kitchen. 

“You!” she exclaims as she spotted Cathy and pointed to her. 

“Me?” Cathy asks, pointing to herself. 

“Maggie please use your words.” Helen chuckles as the tall brunette girl facing Cathy with a look of pure excitement. 

“You’re my roomie!” Maggie finally spoke as Cathy smiled, relieved to find that she was going to be sharing a room with the girl. 

“Could you show Cathy the room?” Helen asks, “And find Anna and Bessie.” Maggie waved Cathy over to her room and Cathy lifted her bag over her shoulder as Maggie looked back at Helen before stating, “Oh yeah, Anna is setting fireworks off in the driveway and Bessie is holding the matches.” 

“Not again.” Helen sighs as she leaves the kitchen and heads out the front door to find Anna and Bessie, Cathy assumed as Maggie let Cathy up the stairs. Kat was no longer staring at her from the top of the stairs as they passed a number of doors as Maggie spoke, “So that’s Maria and Bessie’s room, then next door is Anne and Catalina, that’s a bathroom, then it’s mine and your’s room, Jane’s room is next to the other bathroom and the last door on the right is Anna and Kat’s room.” 

Cathy nodded her head as they passed the rooms and Maggie opened the door to their joint room, she was already noting how open the room felt. The curtains were open to the two windows in the room, letting in lots of sunlight as the walls were painted a light blue, keeping the room bright. Cathy liked the look of the room already since it seemed homey, something she hadn’t felt in a long time. The one bed had creme colored sheets on it, with some pillows surrounding the headboard. Photos were set up on the wall behind it with a set of books on a nightstand. 

The other bed had simple greenish sheets covering it with a few pillows as well, Cathy assumed that was her side since it was bare and the other side seemed lived in. “That’s your bed and the dresser beside it, is yours.” Maggie says as Cathy thanked her as she set her bag on the bed and began to unpack as Maggie perched herself on her own bed. There was a comfortable silence over the room for a few minutes before Cathy spoke up and asked, “So tell me about the other girls, I met Catalina and Maria, but not everyone else.” 

“Well let’s see there’s Bessie, she’s the baby of the family-” Maggie started as Cathy cut her off. 

“Family?” She questioned as she glanced over at Maggie who nodded in reply. 

“Helen treats us all like we’re her daughter, whatever we want or need, she’ll have it here for us.” Maggie replies as she continues to explain everyone, “Then there’s Anna, she’s hilarious, and she loves a good prank or too. Jane’s the only one with her own room right now, which is probably a good thing.” 

“What do you mean? Sorry I don’t mean to keep interrupting.” Cathy says, starting to feel bad for cutting off Maggie while she spoke. 

“She’s not exactly the nicest, like she’ll snap at you for looking at her. But she does have her nice days, just don’t catch her on the bad ones. Then there’s Kat, she’s okay for the most part, she got in trouble at school last week and got suspended for a week, I still don’t know what she did. Then there’s Anne, she's alright, she’s been here almost a year but she’s never talked.” 

“What about you, how long have you been here?” Cathy asks as she sits on her own bed, looking over at Maggie. “It’ll be two years this week, I’m grateful to have something as stable as this.” Maggie responds, and her answer shocked Cathy a bit, the longest she’d been in a home was three months, she was always bouncing around. It made her a bit more relieved to know that Maggie had been there for a long period of time, that it was something stable. That it was somewhere where she could breathe and not have to worry about having to leave again. 

Maggie leaned her ear up, as Helen called up for her to help prepare dinner, which made the older girl smile slightly. “Cooking is one of my favorite things to do so I always help with it. You can come with you’d like Helen and I can always use an extra set of hands.” Maggie says as she stands up and looks over at Cathy. 

“I’d love to.” Cathy nods which caused Maggie to smile once again. 

“Great.” Maggie replies as she heads towards the door as a question finds its way into Cathy’s mind and she figured it was a good time to ask Maggie. “Before we go downstairs, what’s a fibling?” Cathy asks as Maggie looks back at her. 

“Oh it’s a little nickname Catalina has for all of us, since we all live together and are basically are a family, we’re fiblings, a combo of foster and siblings.” Maggie explains and the term brought a smile to Cathy’s face, maybe she shouldn’t been so happy with being an only child now that she has eight fiblings to call her own. 

Also thank you to @musical-stan-first-human-later for listening to my rambles about this story!

[smolbeandrabbles]

Thank You Muppets, No More Questions! - Ralph Anderson x Reader (The Outsider)

@happyskywhale @wltz-bby​ #MendoTagSquad.

GIF CREDIT: X

Sure Be Cool If You Did / Bienvenue From Hell, Mon Amour / Made in the USA / Cold Night / I Could Not Ask For More /  Under The Weather

Author’s Note: I watched Wreck-It Ralph and The Muppets Most Wanted with @mandy23b​ and this happened. That’s all I wish to say!  100% inspired by the baking scene (and then I stole the song-!) Please enjoy a soft, adoptive father and his little girl 🙏💙

Interrogation Song - The Muppets

Disclaimer: The Outsider characters not mine (Book setting rather than show setting)

Premise: With you out on call this weekend you leave it to your workaholic partner to entertain your daughter...

Words: 2890

Warnings: N/A (Insulin warning?)

____   Kermit, let's begin Describe the day you played Berlin... Hmm, Frog we've got our doubts Can you confirm your whereabouts My alibi is watertight The audience saw me sing all night Hello, I think it's time for good cop, romantic cop... I think she likes me I don't think your puns are helping the investigation You know, I think they did it No they didn't Yes they did, and we can pin it If they did, how did they do it If they didn't, how did they didn't If they didn't then it's easy, 'cause they simply didn't do it If they did it, then I knew it, but we've nothing that can prove it Let's go from the start What do you know about the stolen art I didn't know there was a plan Your accusation is far out man The chances of us committing a crime Are less than .009 Thank you Muppet's, no more questions They didn't, No, they didn't There's no way they did the crime They couldn't they're too stupid They're not criminal masterminds We do not know who did it, but we know who didn't do it So we know who didn't do it yes we know who didn't do it They're incapable of being culpable ---

It was unusual for you to be the one on call of the two of you, but if you were honest with yourself you’d taken it just to give Ralph a break. When the usual ‘Who is going to be on call this weekend?’ question was brought up and no one else said anything, you knew Ralph would raise his hand, because he nearly always did. Instead you snatched his hand back and raised your own. “I’ll do it.” Ralph was not the only one to give you a funny look, but he was the only one to raise an eyebrow and give you a sarcastic; “Well this is unprecedented!” which, if you didn’t love him so much, he would have received a kick for. So you were wandering around the house doing bits of tidying, waiting for the phone to ring and generally odd admin you hadn’t finished. Ralph, on the other hand, had essentially been forced by you to relax – and of course, you had Renee as a secret weapon when that initially failed. That meant they were sitting on the couch together, and watching ‘The Muppets Most Wanted’. She of course thought it was hilarious; Ralph, as he usually was with fiction, was a little bemused – but he would stick it out to entertain her. Of course he would – you were pretty sure he’d do anything for that little girl. You crossed behind them just as the Interrogation begun – and you couldn’t help but pause behind the couch to watch the musical number. Afterall, it wasn’t every day you heard someone singing about interviewing suspects – given how unusual your day job was – you’d seen the movie a couple of times at Renee’s insistence, and this one was one of your favourites. You were happy that Ralph looked content, although you couldn’t help but smirk at his body language as the song continued and pretty soon his bemusement was beginning to show on his face. It was all you could do to snort, making them both turn around. “I’m sorry.” “Finished then?!” Ralph hit pause and turned to you, “Oh you know... If only I was able to sit down. I know every word to this one!” “You would.” He turned back, “It’s the most unrealistic thing to happen so far!” You tsk’d him, but that only caused Renee to turn to him with wide eyes; “That’s not how questions happen-!?” You watch his face wrestle between entertaining her fantasy and telling her the truth. Ralph sighed, opting to be the sensible one, “No.” You, on the other hand, would rather be the unhelpful tease, “Yes, absolutely! Of course it is!” You nodded to Ralph, “Gosh, Renee you should hear him sing.” You reached out to run a hand through his hair, “Always gets a confession.” It didn’t earn you much more than a death glare. Ralph straightened in his seat and then folded his arms, “In that case you’re the French guy! Clocks off at 2, vacation after you’ve solved something, Lunch for three hours!” “Yeah alright Sam, but you’re the one with the car that takes 37 hours to get anywhere-!” Alright, Ralph couldn’t argue that he had an older car than you did, and you liked to tease him about being a relic – but it suited him and still did it’s damn job. Ralph grumbled to himself, but said no more, making you lean over and kiss his face and then her head; “I’ll leave you two to it! We should totally sing our way through an interrogation, though!” That only caused Ralph to scoff with a sarcastic ‘HA!’ as you walked back to the kitchen giggling to yourself.

**

The movie was just about ending when you passed through again, but Ralph had a keen ear and had heard your phone chime. You were fully kitted out, badge, cuffs, firearm holstered. “Call?” “Mhm. I shouldn’t be too long…” You pulled on your jacket, “Be good okay?” “I will!” Renee sat up on the sofa to throw her arms around you, “I love you mommy!” But Ralph just smiled, knowing that you were really talking to him, “I love you too sweetheart. Look after him for me…” Ralph’s arms were around you before you’d let her go, and then his lips were on yours; “If you need back up-” “I’m not calling you…” You kissed him again, “Rest, babe. Please.” “Okay-!” He held his hands up, “Stay safe.” “I will! See you two soon-! Enjoy your afternoon!” You made your way towards the hall side table for your car keys, and Ralph couldn’t help but call after you; “Imagine being told Detective Anderson is turning up to the case and they expect me!” He grinned and you turned at the door, tempted to throw something at him, knowing exactly what was about to come out of his mouth, “Only it’s you, Ms. ‘SS’ Andersson.” You narrowed your eyes, opening the door and wishing you had more time to shout sarcasm; “And then they probably think – oh, thank god!” He cackled loudly “Oh! Okay that’s a good comeback!” As the credits began to roll Ralph turned to Renee; “Well sweetheart, what would you like to do now?” She gave him a delicate shrug; “I’m not sure.” “Oh… Well that’s okay, whilst you decide, I’m going get a coffee, okay?” She nodded absentmindedly, already looking thoughtful and Ralph kissed her forehead gently before he walked off and set about making his coffee. “Ralphie…?” He tried very hard not to smile at the nickname only she got to call him, as Renee called quietly from behind the couch, one shy eye peered at him from over the top, “What is it sweetheart?” Her eyes flicked from his to the cupboard behind him that he’d left open, he followed her eyeline and didn’t have to be a detective to figure out she was looking at the box cake mixture sitting on the top shelf. Cooking wasn’t exactly Ralph’s forte, but he thought he probably couldn’t mess that up. “Ah-!” Ralph reached up and took the box down, studying the back for a minute; “Well… There’s obviously mixture in here… I think we should have everything else…” He pondered this for a moment, taking a sip of coffee. “Dunno what mom is gonna say, considering she’s never my biggest fan if I make a mess in the kitchen…” Clearly it was a little too long for her liking, Ralph felt the pressure on his left calf as Renee wrapped herself around his leg – peering up at him with very nearly the same shade of blue eyes that he had. Ralph couldn’t ignore it; so placing one hand behind him, he touched the top of her head lightly. “Please…!” He smiled, “Aw, you think I’d say no to that face? Don’t worry we just gotta be extra vigilant about clearing up…” Ralph knelt down and scooped her up, setting her down on the counter and handing her the box; “What do we need Renee? Let’s find it shall we?” She began listing off the equipment and remaining ingredients not included in the box – and Ralph stood in front of the cupboards trying to remember your exact set up. He counted them to himself; before settling on the third one in from the right. Upon opening it, there was a bright post-it note that he couldn’t fail to miss. A neat little list of everything that was contained in here; about the one time he regretted ever introducing you to one Ms.Holly Gibney. If anything was even an inch out of place, or in the wrong order, you would most certainly yell at him… Mind you, it’d done wonders for your detective work, so Ralph wasn’t about to complain too much. On a side note, he’d picked the correct cupboard and this list was making it easier to find everything, so he had it all in no time at all. “Alright!” He pulled her, giggling, off the counter and stood Renee carefully on a chair, making sure he supported her – having laid out all the ingredients neatly, “You ready sweetheart – I think you got this, I will be but your humble assistant-!” She beamed up at him, “You’ll be the best assistant, Ralphie!” He couldn’t help his chuckle, “Aw, gee thanks for that – I guess we’ll find out!” But something was apparently missing by the puzzled look she soon got on her face, “Is something wrong?” “Mommy always cooks to music…” That was true enough, in fact there wasn’t a lot you didn’t do to music. “Ah, do you wanna pick something?” “No, you can pick.” “Oh! Well, thank you…” He sat her down and jogged through to your CD collection, trawling the shelves for a little while for an album he could proclaim would be equally kid friendly and something he liked. He found himself staring at one in particular, before he pulled it out. The Muppets Soundtrack – of course. “Oh you have GOT to be kidding me-!?” He turned it over and laughed again at discovering it did indeed contain the ‘Interrogation Song’. Ralph might have been shaking his head, but it was the album that he carried back to the kitchen and popped into the player, making Renee gasp excitedly; “The Muppets!” “Uh huh,” Ralph agreed a little sheepishly, “The Muppets.” Ralph watched Renee carefully, helping her every step of the way so that the mixture was completed with the upmost care – and so that she had the best time doing it. That did of course mean flour everywhere, but he felt he could deal with that himself – and once the batter was made, he helped her pour it into a cake tin and smooth it down. “Tada! Perfect!” She gave him a high-five and then folded her arms, “That’s only half the job-!” “Well decorating is the FUN part that’s for sure. But it’s gotta bake first, huh?” She nodded and he helped her to the floor, before carefully sliding the tin into the oven and setting the timer. “I guess we wait for a little now…” He turned to the CD player upon recognising the song he felt was going to end up the bane of his life now. It didn’t matter, by the time you were back home Ralph would have it completely memorised. They had both spent the cooking and cooling time trying to figure out the next movie to watch, and by the time that was done the cake was ready; “Do you have any idea how you want to decorate it?” “…No.” “Well, head chef, you better start thinking about it.” “Like the Muppets-!” She grinned, and Ralph faltered “Like th- I dunno if my artistic talent is gonna be that good, but there’s no harm in trying I guess…!”

***

"Why are you covered in flour?” You didn’t exactly demand it. But standing in the doorway to your kitchen with your hands on your hips and a raised eyebrow as if to say ‘who has been messin’ in here NOW!?’ was enough. Ralph froze, putting both his hands up in protested innocence; ‘let me explain!’, before placing a finger to his lips he pointed to the living room couch. You turned on your heels to see Renee curled up watching something else. Crossing the kitchen to him as silently as possible you inspected everything �� not a speck of dust in sight, let alone flour, and yet his shirt was now almost covered in white flecks and there was even a little in his hair. Still, Ralph thought ‘covered’ was a little dramatic. You lowered your voice, “Okay, what happened?” He smiled slightly, “We were baking. I tided up.” “Oh. Lord help us. What did you make?” “You’re the one who had the box cake mix.” “Box cake? Oh! Count me in, I love cake. And I deserve it, I’ve been working all day.” He scoffed, giving you a disbelieving look, “Well I’m waiting for the icing to set…” but then Ralph’s face softened, “How was the call out?” “Easy, it’s okay. Nothing massive. No follow up needed, paperwork at the office.” You waved your notebook at him, knowing the question he was going to ask before he did, “Don’t worry I made notes.” “That’s my girl…” Ralph smiled, impressed, and then indicated to the cake sitting on the counter; “Tell me what you think… That’s my hard work.” “Uh huh!” You smiled gently, walking over to it, “You always work hard Mr.Anderson, I don’t think you ever stop.” “I got a lot to work hard for…” You looked back to him, but he wasn’t looking at you and that only made you smile more before you turned your attention to his decorating skills. No one could ever say he didn’t love that girl. The Muppets logo was pretty well drawn all things considered – the characters you assumed had been done by Renee, but that only made you grin so much your cheeks started to hurt. “I sense a theme-!” “Yeah, I’d say.” He grinned gently, and did turn around to you, “I mean I did alright, right?” You crossed back to him, winding your arms around his waist and kissing him softly, “Alright? I’d say that was pretty damn on point, Detective…” “Well. I can’t say I didn’t enjoy myself. I know that damn song now too.” Ralph’s arms held you, and he brushed his nose to yours “Aw! Sweet father-daughter bonding time?” You made a mental note to test him on the lyrics later. That made him look away for a moment and shake his head, cheeks tinted; “…I’m not her father.” You turned his head back to you with your fingertips gently, “You’re as close as Renee’s ever going to get.” And then to help; “I’m not her mom.” “She does call you mommy, though.” You turned back to look at her, and wondered if his feelings had changed since you’d last brought this up with him; “And you don’t wanna be dad?” There was a long pause, as he watched Renee too, before Ralph breathed out; “So badly. But I’m working on it.” He kissed your forehead, “Your last name first.” “It’s her last name too, you know?” “Yeah exactly.” He nodded, touching his head to yours, hands running your arms, “One thing at a time...” Your eyes flicked from her to the screen, and you squinted at the animation for a moment; “Wreck-It Ralph, huh? Wonder why she picked this one!” There was no way Ralph Anderson wasn’t her favourite person ever. You were extremely lucky to have met him, this you already knew from your own point of view – but for her, you could not have asked for a better man. He chuckled; “Oh I dunno! She must have good taste in names. I can’t help that!” “You know Ralph and Venelope end up baking in this right?” “Do they?” You shook your head, “You’re unbelievable! Get over there! Sit and watch it...” “Uh uh, not without you, not this time!” “I need to get changed out of this.” “I think you’re still on call, Miss.” “Oh, shut up!” You grumbled – although he said nothing more, and you found yourselves standing in an embrace in the kitchen watching the screen – you couldn’t remember this one as well as you ought to have; but some aspects had stuck and you smiled; “You know I’m so Fix- It Felix in this.” “Hm? How so?” Ralph was at least following well enough whilst tidying up to know who you were talking about. “Falling for and subsequently swooning over a complete badass!” How could he not be after what went down in Texas? He was anyway; Ralph just wasn’t loud about it. He scoffed, folding his arms, but Ralph couldn’t also help his smirk; “Oh is that so-!?” “Uh huh.” You nodded, pushing yourself up on your toes to kiss him – but he didn’t leave it there; hoisting you up into his arms Ralph carried you over to the couch, “That’s it. You’re officially off call now!” “You’re gonna get me in so much trouble!” He laughed, “Rather you than me – now come on, let’s watch this movie… Besides, there’s cake later!” Renee, upon realising you were back, was only all too happy to crawl into your arms and sit between your legs as you sat between Ralph’s. You turned to him, “You do know what’s going on right?” “I have been following. Besides I’m a detective, I’ll figure it out.” You kissed the top of Renee’s head, “What do you think Sweetie? You think he has this? He has baking down, don’t you think? You both made a beautiful cake…” She beamed in thanks, before staring up at Ralph again, “I think Ralphie knows what’s happening… I trust him.” You swivelled in place to grin at him, before kissing his cheek, “You’re right, I trust him too.” He chuckled, “Oh, okay, you two are gonna make me blush-!” “Always the aim.” You laughed as he kissed you back “Well, I’m a lucky man for you both to trust me…” You were both still staring at him though, with that same look Ralph was so used to seeing at this point, like he could do absolutely no wrong; “I think…” you mused gently, with a sweet smile, “We’re the lucky ones…”

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Thank you for reading!!! 😘❤