#natalie Darcy

[lumosinlove]

Hazel, you have me in desperate need for some Alex love

(love you <3)

Alex love! Vaincre snoop below... (Love YOU)

Natalie was sitting on the couch with her guitar. Her eyes were closed as she plucked out a simple melody. Alex smiled as the milk finished steaming, then turned to pour the fresh shot of espresso. He wasn't very good at designs yet but...

She looked up at him when he came to stand over the couch.

He held out the latte. “I tried for a heart, but you get a snail.”

“I like snails.”

“Well, good thing.”

[fruitcoops]

You have some awesome friendship fics when Remus and Lily do manis and go shopping. Have you thought of one where Remus is there when Lily gets her wedding dress or she is there to get him fitted for his suit for his own wedding. Or the same with James/Sirius although I’m not sure how that would work with Reg.

Fic O'Ween Day 2: Candle Wax to continue the excellent friendship vibes from yesterday. Big fest thanks to @noots-fic-fests and character credit goes to @lumosinlove.

TW brief mention of alcohol

“Give it a spin.”

“…I don’t want to.”

“Then put it back.”

“What if it’s the one?”

Remus’ entire face scrunched with a frown in the mirror behind her. “Lily,” he began, with as much concern as if she had just told him the sky was actually emerald green. “Why would you buy a wedding dress you don’t want to spin in?”

“He’s right,” Natalie chimed in, swirling her rosé with a critical glance over Lily’s skirt. “You deserve better.”

“What if—”

“Literally your one requirement was to be able to spin, babygirl.”

Lily studied herself in the mirror again. The dress was pretty and creamy and light around her legs. The bow at the back wasn’t bad, perhaps a little oversized, but that could be fixed. It was already five o’clock, anyway. Two hours should be more than enough time to find a wedding dress.

“You don’t like it,” Remus said gently.

“No,” she sighed. “Not that much.”

“Then try a different one.”

Natalie brightened. “Yeah, what about that off-the-shoulder number? With the sweetheart neckline?”

Lily tipped her head back and forth. “My tits were falling out.”

“Exactly.”

“You do love when James makes a fool of himself,” Remus added.

The fabric slid in a smooth cascade beneath her palms. Probably damp palms. Was it alright for her to touch this fabric when she was nervous? Why was she nervous, anyway? It was her wedding. Her James. Natalie was right—she deserved the dress of her dreams. Lily knew her dreams better than anyone else and always had, through Petunia, through her Master’s, through a whole-ass baby. A dress should be the easiest thing in the world to choose.

“You liked the flowers, right?” Remus suggested, picking at the edge of his phone case. “On the…what was it, the third one?”

“The fourth.” Natalie nodded. “That’s the one with the sweetheart neckline.”

It was a nice dress. And she did like the florals. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Never mind.”

“What?”

“You’re not getting a ‘yeah, I guess’ dress,” Natalie said firmly. “Fuck that. You’re getting an ‘oh my god, I love this, I’m going to make every single guest cream their pants when they see me’ dress.”

“I—”

“What did you like about them?” Remus asked. “The other dresses.”

“I…” Lily trailed off. Her raw inner lip pinched when she nibbled at it. Jesus, her palms really did feel fucking soaked. “I don’t like this fabric. Or the bow. I liked the flowers from the other dress, but I want them smaller. The buttons on the bodice were nice.”

“Remind me what the bodice is?” she heard Remus whisper.

“The top,” Natalie whispered back before raising her voice again. “How about you take that thing off and we look together, hon? Three pairs of eyes are better than one.”

The surge of relief in her belly was a surprise, but not unwelcome. Lily examined the way it lay against her thighs for a moment longer before pursing her lips. “I don’t know, you guys have better things to—”

Immediate protests—far too loud for the pristine establishment—burst from both. “I’m not listening to that,” Remus warned. “Nuh-uh. This is a Lily day and I have the calendar invite to prove it.”

Natalie watched her in the mirror with a dangerous arch to her eyebrow. “You gave me rosé, my hot bestie, and pretty clothes to look at. Don’t take this from me. Now, tell us where to go and we will be your little wedding minions for as long as your heart desires.”

Lily loved her. Dearly. She glanced back once more and caught Remus’ eye, and his encouraging smile. “Calendar invite?”

“Midnight to midnight, Evans.”

“Florals, buttons, and something I can sweat in. Oh, and spin.” She shook her head. “Why did I pick a July wedding?”

Natalie stood and placed her hands on Lily’s shoulders, leaving them nearly eye-to-eye with the help of the pedestal beneath her. Her palms were pleasantly cool on Lily’s overheated skin. “Because you can’t fucking wait to marry James Potter, you utter legend.”

--

Two hours.

Fourteen more dresses.

Lily rolled a fine satin petal between her fingertips, dragged her palms up her waist, down over her belly, across the swell of her thighs. The pale green chiffon faded to blush and back in loose waves over the solid ivory beneath. She rested her weight on her other side and followed the tender shimmer where the light caught each movement. The straps were broad, yet elegant—fawn-colored buttons tracked from the valley of her chest to the top of the skirt, where small flowers had been stitched in rows that dripped through the folds like warm candle wax.

“She looks so fucking gorgeous, I’m gonna cry.”

“I know. Jesus. That’s gotta be it.”

“Did you find that one?”

“Mhmm.”

“Nice, Lupin. Hook it up.” A soft high-five interrupted their muttering. “Can you pick out my wedding dress?”

“Propose to Bliz first. Then we can talk.”

“What do you think?” Lily called over her shoulder. She didn’t bother looking away from the mirror; she looked too good for that.

“Stellar as always, Lils,” Remus answered with a firm thumbs-up.

“Creaming myself as we speak,” Natalie chimed in. “Honestly, babe, you’re beautiful beyond belief. The dress just makes it even clearer.”

She gave a little sway to watch it ripple around her ankles—Remus’ sharp whistle made her jump, though it soon turned to laughter. He drummed his hands on either side of the armchair. “Come on, come on, do the spin—oh, there she goes!”

Natalie whooped. “Throw that ass in a circle, baby! You and me are getting down at that reception.”

A blush heated Lily’s face and neck as she laughed, still spinning, but it looked—fuck, it looked so pretty when Lily caught herself in the mirror again. The dappled colors of the dress warmed her away from fire-engine red, highlighting the pinks of her skin and auburn of her hair where it fell over her shoulder. I want pictures of this, she thought. I want a photo album of pictures where I’m in this dress, and I want James Potter to cry when he sees me in it. “I look so hot right now.”

“You so do,” Remus agreed. They were both leaning forward in their chairs, hands clasped. Lily briefly imagined asking them to find her another dress, just to watch them goggle at her.

But she wasn’t sure she’d take this one off for a million dollars.

“Is it…” Natalie pressed her lips together, eyes gleaming. “Lily?”

She was nodding before the words even began to come out. “This is my wedding dress.”

“Yes!”

“This is my fucking Stanley Cup, oh my god.” Natalie held both hands to her cheeks and turned to Remus, bouncing on her toes. “Oh my god, oh my god, wedding dress—”

“Wedding, wedding, wedding, Lily don’t you dare make us celebrate without you—”

Lily laughed and gathered the skirt up off the floor; it was only a short step to the ground before they were on her with all the force of an ecstatic hurricane. Natalie’s arms were a vice around her waist while Remus held them both and pressed a smacking kiss to the top of her head. She hoped this bodice had proper boning, because her chest was simply going to explode with the light radiating inside her.

“I’m so happy for you,” Remus mumbled against the side of her head. “And I’m so excited, and you look so pretty, and I’m so proud of you.”

Natalie was there in half a second to brush her thumbs over Lily’s cheekbones and ease the lump in her throat. “Look at you,” she whispered, beaming. “Look at you!”

“I know.” She laughed again and it came out a bit choked. Natalie made a small, sympathetic sound as Remus pulled a pack of tissues from his back pocket, but Lily waved them off with a few fast blinks. “God, it’s—happy tears, I promise. I’m so happy. Can I get married tonight?”

“Yes,” they chorused.

Remus nodded, still offering the tissues. “Say the word, I’ll call James right now. I think he wanted to get married the night of the Cup.”

“Only took him eight years to ask,” Lily grumbled.

Their burst of laughter made several people across the store glance over, reducing them to hushed giggling in the best huddle Lily had ever been part of.

--

Soft, pastel thread bumped beneath James’ thumb as he ran it along the cuff on his suit. The pockets and lapels held much of the same—microscopic flowers, leaves, and patterns stitched into matte black fabric under Lily’s incredibly cryptic guidance.

“Looks damn good.”

“Ahblahablah!”

James tilted his shoulders this way and that. There had to be some square inch he was missing. Nothing in the world could possibly be this right. Then again, he was marrying Lily Evans, and that was pretty damn perfect. “D’you think her dress matches the suit?”

Sirius’ eyes flickered to the ground for a half-second. “…probably.”

“You’ve seen it?”

“Maybe.”

Something in James’ stomach gave a funny swoop. A Lily swoop. “How did she look?”

Sirius’ laugh made Harry squeal around the fistful of t-shirt (definitely Remus’) he had shoved in his mouth. “Dude,” Sirius said, shaking his head. “You’re going to lose your mind.”

[tea-moon-ster]

Love is in the Air

hello! this is a sickfic from your sick Lou. I wrote and published this all in one hour, don't ask questions. it contains major Vaincre spoilers, you've been warned!

have a sick Alex O'Hara and his partners taking care of him. this is set after Vaincre, and therefore features a retired Kasey.

all characters belong to @lumosinlove. read it on ao3 here.

“I gotta go to All Stars.”

“No, you don’t.”

“But I do. I can’t miss it.”

“Alex, All Stars was three months ago.”

“I gotta go.”

“No.”

Kasey smiled despite the situation. A sick Alex O’Hara was…something. A helpless bundle of blankets and tissues that insisted he could do everything on his own. I’ve lived on my own for years, Winter. His scowls would have been more convincing if not followed by a series of sneezes every time.

Natalie entered the bedroom with a bag of candy in hand. She popped one in her mouth.

“What is he on about?”                                          

“He absolutely has to go to All Stars.”

Her eyebrows went up with a smile as she approached the bed. “Wasn’t one enough for you, big boy?”

Alex mumbled something, burying himself deeper into his nest.

Natalie sat on the bed next to him, shooting a glance at Kasey, across the infamous pile, who was chewing his lip. Alex sighed in relief as soon as a cool hand touched his forehead. 

“His fever went up,” she stated.

Kasey nodded. “Yeah. He’s been talking nonsense since he woke up from his nap.”

She hummed. “I called Ramsey. He and Haley are in Gryffindor for Finn’s game but he asked me to keep them updated. He doesn’t get sick often, he said. Or at all.”

Their fingers met mid-stroking red hair, and held on to each other for a moment.

It was just a fever, nothing to panic about. But it was the first time they got to take care of Alex together, and he was taking a while to get back on his feet. The doctor on the phone had mentioned the stress of the season, that didn’t mix well with the constant moving around of roadies. Alex had scrunched his nose, looking elsewhere, in a silent this has never happened before. Kasey had taken his hand in a firm grip. If there was someone who understood the frustration of your own body beginning to act differently, that was him. And just like Alex was helping through it all, Kasey was ready to do the same. For a fever or an injury, he would be there.

The bundle of blankets stirred.

“Nat,” Alex called without emerging from his nuzzle. “Will you be my date at All Stars?”

Natalie smiled, shaking her head. “Alexander, I was your date at All Stars. Three months ago.”

Alex sighed. “Kasey is sabotaging my presence at All Stars.”

“Is he now?”

“You’d think he’d be more supportive, wouldn’t ya.”

 “So much hate,” she agreed, looking at Kasey with a grin.

He shook his head, bringing another blanket up to the redhead’s shoulders to stop the trembling. And left a kiss there, as if to trap the heat. When he noticed the candies on Natalie’s lap, his eyebrows shot up.

“Speaking of hate, aren’t those candies supposed to be for the weak?”

 She took another one, looking at Kasey. “Alex, baby, do you want your candy right now?”

A low groan answered.

“Yeah, how about later,” she said softly, bringing a third one to her mouth. Point taken.

Kasey scoffed. “Yeah, if there’ll be any left for later.”

One of the few pillows survivors of the blanket nest hit his shoulder weakly, and they laughed. Alex scooted closer to where Kasey was lying at his side, getting comfortable on his chest. Big arms kept him close, drawing a happy sound from under the blankets.

Natalie stared at them for a moment before getting up. “Okay. I’ll go check on the soup. Should I bring it here?”

Kasey looked up at her. “I’ll investigate.”

They shared a quick kiss, and Natalie left a soft peck on Alex’s back before leaving the room.

 Silence lasted…longer than usual. It was a rare thing, with an O’Hara in the room. The raspy breaths and the mix of stirs and trembling were a strange comfort against Kasey, a moving presence that kept Alex from falling into quietness.

“She was stunning.”

He said it so quietly that Kasey had to ask him to repeat.

“At All Stars. She was stunning.” He sniffled against his hoodie. “She, she was wearing that dress. That silk dress. It was wow. How did she call that kind of blue?”

Kasey smiled. “Light steel blue.”

“Light steel blue,” Alex repeated to himself. “She’s always so wow. ’nd so are you.”

“Thank you. You’re pretty wow yourself.”

Alex huffed. “Yeah, I bet. ’specially right now.”

Kasey shrugged. “You are to us.”

He felt a head shaking in disagreement somewhere below his neck. “’M all sweaty and sick and stinky.” Then the head finally emerged. “Why are you here? You shouldn’t be here. You’ll get sick, too.”

His face was red, radiating heat at the mere sight. The weekend scruff had turned into a week-old scruff, and messy hair was in every direction. His eyes were a glassy gaze, and just below, purple circles from sleepless nights were slow to fade. Kasey brought the hair back from the pearly forehead and left a careful kiss there. A fever kiss, half temperature check, half concern.

“Nah,” he replied softly. “I’m fine here.” He gently brought the burning head to rest on his shoulder, chest expanding at the way Alex’s fists grasped his hoodie.

Truth was, it was the first time in years he had the possibility to stay close to Alex with one of them being sick. No coaches or team doctors warning to limit contact with sick players, or roadies and games keeping them apart. Kasey found he missed many things about the League, but there was also a long list of discoveries and relief that didn’t end with letting his body rest. Finally being able to take care of Alexander and being close to him was a wonderful, new thing. And not just for the time of a weekend, or a home game. It was their new life. It was amazing.

He gathered the man closer to him, keeping his voice down to reduce the wincing Alex couldn’t help with too loud noises. We’re going to take care of you. You’re going to rest, and I can give you a massage later. I know your back is still hurting. Dinner will be ready soon. We can have it here or on the couch, if you feel like moving. Then you’ll have your candies. And your meds. And I’ll be here the whole time. I’ve been waiting for this, Berry.

Alexander stirred some more, head buried in Kasey’s neck. “Love you, Winter. In sickness’n’health’n’all.”

Kasey smiled in his hair. “Yeah. ’n all.”

.

.

.

[spookypotato]

Baby Natalie

Character by @lumosinlove

[peggyrose19]

o'darwin ballroom dance au thoughts for you all cause i was at competition all weekend and then had a 6 hour car ride home

(basic ballroom info can be found at the end under the cut)

the three of them are all partners together and just switch out depending on the style. nat and alex do rhythm and latin, nat and kasey do standard, and alex and kasey do smooth. but if 3-person ballroom was a thing they'd be excellent at it (a side note - competitions do fun dances after each style and our last one was group latin, so my 3 coaches did it together and gave me this idea cause it was adorable) (want to be clear coaches are platonic friends this specifically was just very o'darwin coded)

alex styles his hair very casually, basically just the way it falls normally but aggressively hair sprayed into place. kasey slicks his back into a neat bun. kasey does nat’s hair for her, pulling it back in a twist back into a fancy ballroom bun with lil sparklies to accessorize

my former coach’s partner has a smooth jacket that’s - well idk if it’s actually velvet cause that’d be quite heavy for dance - but a velvet like texture and it’s subtly shiny under the lights and i imagine alex wearing that for smooth. paired with kasey, in something classic but maybe with some subtle detailing? rip

nat’s latin dress is black with gold detailing. the skirt is a high to low style and it’s super cute and bouncy. her standard dress is long and i wanna go royal blue. maybe red. or green. some bright royal shade. it’s got this beautiful full skirt and she has ribbons on cuffs she attaches to her wrists for certain dances. the dress has silver gemstone detailing on the bodice

they stay in a hotel for competitions and share soft sleepy kisses in the elevator up on the way back, heavy bags hanging off their shoulders. alex insists on carrying nat’s costumes for her (he’d carry her bag too but he doesn’t have enough arms for that)

cheering each other on from the sidelines and the two dancing always smile at their third when they hear/spot them

social dancing and nat is laughing while kasey twirls her all around, alex watching from the side, falling more in love with each laugh and smile from the two of them

falling into bed with each other, all soft hands and quiet giggles. they have passionate and rougher times too but in my head o’darwin are just so somft with each other. alex carefully taking nat’s shirt off and kissing each inch of bare skin he uncovers. kasey standing behind her with gentle hands on her hips, nosing at her neck. alex and kasey taking turns fucking nat and it’s different with both but just as good. alex getting his mouth on kasey and reveling in the sounds he makes

nat steals alex's sweatpants constantly. they fit better than kasey's so she steals his sweatshirts instead. kasey and nat steal each other's hair elastics, one of them always has one on hand

the three of them aren't like all over each other at competition, looking at them you might not guess they were romantically together rather than just dance partners, but you can tell they have a connection with each other through their dancing and know each other well. when partners actually like and know each other it shows and makes it that much better to watch. but if you paid close enough attention (not sure why anyone would but) you'd be able to see the quick kisses and gentle intimate moments between the three of them between rounds

now i'd put them in open, so they wouldn't have to wake up at the crack of dawn like us poor syllabus dancers (rip me), but if they were partners back then:

bb college alex and kasey partnering together kasey's first year (i put alex maybe a year older), and falling for each other towards the end of the year semester. they're never together, not really, but they've kissed and had sex and are close despite the complication of whatever it is their feelings are. kasey transfers schools after his freshman year and they're both devastated but they can't do a whole lot about it. they promise to keep in touch, but it's hard

at his new school, kase meets and partners up with natalie who's a freshman and new to ballroom. he's so shy and awkward around her at first, but he's patient and helps her learn. soon they become good friends and kasey gets less awkward. kasey is terrified to let himself fall for her after falling for alex, but he can't help it; nat is just so bright and delightful, and he finds himself spending hours outside of practice with her, just enjoying each other's company. nat - i don't wanna say wears him down cause that implies she pressured him, it's more she makes her own feelings known, respects his boundaries, and lets kasey sort his own feelings out on his time. together, they eventually decide to start dating, after kasey allows nat to kiss him late one night, saying he just wants to know, but really he's just too scared to say it outright. natalie is the one who asks if he'll be her official boyfriend. he agrees

anyway. back to 5am wake up times. comp starts at 8am, doors open at 7, and if you're in the first few rounds like they would be, that's when you arrive, hair and makeup already mostly ready if you can. nat and kasey staying together for their first competition and it's the first night they've spent together. they're bleary-eyed and exhausted, still new to their relationship, but there's sleepy kisses and gentle touches as they help each other get ready

they compete at bronze and do quite well, especially for natalie's first ever comp. i made my dear newcomer partner dance up to bronze because i've really danced too long to be in newcomer still, and she did great. anyway. it's a smaller comp, only one day. they don't place in anything, but they advance past the first round in every dance they compete, which is still very good

it's a long day for them both, but a fun one. a lot of time spent at ballroom competitions is standing around waiting for results. so there's a lot of that. they sit with the rest of their team ofc. it's a good bonding exercise

i have more thoughts but this is long enough as is so i'll stop for now cause it's nearly 2am and i really need to be asleep. i meant for this to just be headcanons and now it's gaining a plot. ah well

apologies if these don't make sense, i was awake for 20 hours straight sunday and wrote half of them in the car. i've been recovering since. also today i took a 2hr nap at 7pm and now here we are nearing 2am

ballroom basics for those who are very lost

ballroom is split into four styles for competitions:

standard: international waltz, intl tango, intl foxtrot, quickstep, intl viennese waltz

smooth: american waltz, am tango, am foxtrot, am v waltz

latin: intl cha cha, intl rumba, samba, jive, paso doble

rhythm: am cha cha, am rumba, east coast swing, mambo, bolero

in the international dances, you aren't allowed to separate from your partner. you stay in frame - hands clasped basically - the whole time. in american style, you are allowed to separate. there's other differences to some, but that's the major one. rumba, foxtrot, and tango are the ones that are most different.

collegiate competitions have two levels: syllabus and open

syllabus: there's a specific list of moves you are allowed to do at each level. the levels go newcomer, bronze, silver, gold.

open: you can basically do what you want. there are no specific guidelines to the steps you can do. within reason, i mean, you can't just start doing an entirely separate dance. this is when it gets really fun to watch. the levels go novice, pre-champ, champ.

some competitions will let you cross-register, which basically means you can compete at multiple levels. many also compete different styles at different levels, allowed at all competitions, because learning that many dances well is quite difficult and takes a lot of time.

after newcomer dances will start being paired. so if you compete one, you must compete the other. common ones at bronze are intl waltz/quickstep, am waltz/tango, and cha cha/rumba. those were all paired at my competition this past weekend. starting in gold, they'll put three or four dances paired. at open, all dances are paired. so for example, a standard event in all open levels would include intl waltz, tango, foxtrot, and quickstep. each couple would have to dance all four. then separately they would have a syllabus v waltz event, which is open to anyone.

though hosted and mostly attended by college teams, anyone is allowed to enter a collegiate competition. once you get to the higher levels, especially open, most dancers are not still college students. you can't get that good in four years, so if they are college-age they would've had to start beforehand. those who don't register with a team are generally just put in as unaffiliated. schools are registered under the school. coaches can register through the school they coach for as well, if they register together. my coaches have done both. this doesn't really make a difference. mostly just a way of organization more than anything. we still claim my former coach as our own despite her now living and working in a different state and coaching a different team with her partner. we don't like him. i digress.

i hope this helped anyone if you bothered to read it

[xxxregulusblackxxx]

@lumosinlove

What 1989 Vault tracks remind me of sweater weather characters

Slut- Natalie, I don't know why but i think she'd love the song and embrace it. This isca complement

Is it over now and Now that we don't Talk - Leo to Jack. You can not convinced me otherwise, he heard those songs and it was his breakup and after it all over again. And the "Was it over when she laid now on your couch, Was it over when he unbuttoned my blouse" the HE is Finn

Suburban Ledgends - Jack to Leo. The unmarked numbers was the Lions organization. He wasn't over Leo even though they were broken up for over a year because Leo kissed him in a way that screwed him up forever

Stay don't go - We all heard this or at least me and went Harvard Finnlo like when Finn leaves for Gryffindor oh my god that song is so that scene. When Finn heard it he started crying because it just brought back all those memories

[shirbird]

@lumosinlove

finally sports journalists are asking the truly important questions...

[beheworthy]

From Marvel's Thor (2011) script:

[amoratearte]

Queen Rhaenyra of House Targaryen, First of Her Name.

Quick sketch for the series “better outfits for Rhaenyra”, based off Queen Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer), from The Tudors

[lumosinlove]

Lots of weddings on the brain recently…a certain Winter-Darcy one included.

[fruitcoops]

Dream Team

Day Twelve: Natalie Darcy wants snuggles, not struggles, and deserves them too. Characters belong to @lumosinlove! Header is from @noots-fic-fests, where you can find all other tagged fest fics from the last week and a half (wow!)

“Forty-five sixty-seven left,” Alex said, staring directly into Natalie’s eyes.

“What?” Panic. Instant panic.

“Wombat brat pack! Set, hike!”

Black flashed in Natalie’s periphery—collision—fluorescent light above her.

“Jesus Christ,” she wheezed as she was dragged to her feet by a hand twisted in her shirt.

Jersey.

Her jersey.

“Wombat brat pack!” Alex insisted. He was bent and braced for a face-off. Natalie fumbled out something like a protest, something like a whine. She didn’t recognize the faces around them. Was Kasey in net? Why had he let her do this?

A whistle deafened her and she flinched, grabbing her right ear with a gloved hand. “Darcy, out!” the referee barked before crouching again.

Thank god. She backed up on wobbly skates, gliding as much as her ankles would allow. The other players were giants around her. “Oh, shit,” she murmured. “Oh, fuck, oh fuck me.”

The whistle blasted again. They converged on the puck in a seething mass of muscle and Velcro. Natalie backed up as fast as her inexperienced legs would carry her, away from the wrestling and grunting and clatter of carbon-fiber she preferred to experience from a safe distance.

It was a mistake. A fatal misstep in this messy, awful game.

“Darcy!” someone shouted from the melee. One of them had broken free. Alex? He was aiming right for her. Alex would never—but he was, he was bolting toward the goal, the goal Natalie had mistakenly planted herself in front of.

“Fuck!” she shouted, more on instinct than anything else. Alex cut one way; she dove the other, goal be damned, but the puck followed her.

Natalie had never seen Kasey unpadded, such as it was. He looked significantly more terrifying bearing down on her without any Michelin-man sweetness.

“Why are you tall—AUGH.”

They went down in a pile of limbs. Kasey scrambled to his feet. Natalie let herself lie there for a moment, gathering shards of her breath where they had exploded out of her like LEGO pieces.

“Nat!” Alex’s voice made her jump, made her heavy, itchy pads rattle. He tapped the top of her helmet with his stick, like a fucking asshole. “Enforcer!” he said insistently. “Enforce!”

“I don’t know what that means!” Her face was hot. Everything was hot and damp and this was all terrible, why on earth would they choose this day-to-day?

Kasey was coming down the stretch again, snapping the puck back and forth with a teammate. Alex took off toward him with those gorgeous crossovers that showed off the power of his legs but Natalie had no time to appreciate it because she wasn’t in her spot, with her drink, rating asses with Lily until they laughed themselves hoarse.

The fucking nerve of this dude to come at her after everything she had been through.

Natalie turned herself sideways and drove her shoulder into his chest with a hard push off.

It hurt like a mother.

The momentum carried them both sideways, though, enough for Alex to knock the puck around the goal and leave her to her own devices, namely catching her breath and praying for deliverance. Her hair itched under her helmet. It all felt too big to get anywhere.

“Darcy!” Another jersey-bound maniac yelling her name. Delightful. Exactly what Natalie wanted in this extremely low-stress environment.

“What?" she shouted.

"Darcy!"

"What?!"

"Darcy!"

"Oh my fucking--"

“Stop him!”

“Sure!” she laughed, rough and without humor. “Awesome! Will do! What’s the worst that could happen?”

She didn’t even see the guy’s number before impact.

--

Natalie woke up in her bed with a pounding heart and a throbbing head. She twisted the (high thread-count, silky-soft) sheets in her hands and sat up, rubbing sand from her eyes until leftover glitter and makeup streaked the back of her hand. An achy feeling seeped through her arms and feet gradually, a gentle consequence of wearing heels and dancing all evening.

Her head…oh, her head. Her mouth was cotton. Her eyes felt puffy. Perhaps those midnight margaritas hadn’t been the best idea. She stretched her torso from side-to-side, then each arm, and finally her poor beleaguered neck. Alex snuffled in his sleep like a lost puppy, covered up to his neck by blankets.

Kasey was right where he was supposed to be, all cute and fuzzy in the half-moon she liked to cuddle into when it wasn’t too hot out. His hair fell over the side of his face in golden wisps.

Natalie brushed one strand off his cheekbone and tucked it behind his ear. “Kasey, baby,” she whispered. Early-red sun bled under the curtains. “Honey. Kase, wake up.”

Those rat-bastard baby Lions were going to pay up for their party crimes. Natalie enjoyed several fantasies of hanging every item of their clothing on their brand-new picket fence for the wind to ruffle while she waited for Kasey to stir.

At last, he did. He looked like a rumpled, well-loved teddy bear down there, all sleepy blinks and brown eyes and squishable face.

And she squished it. She squished it hard. Her pillow came down with enough force to knock a squawk from his traitor lungs.

“Jesus, Nat, what—”

“You don’t run at me,” she informed him, poking the center of his chest. “You don’t skate towards me fast, you don’t hit pucks at me, it’s scary and I don’t like it.”

One of Kasey’s eyes was only partially open. He still managed to squint at her. “Whuzzat? ‘S your nightmare again?”

“I don’t like it when you do that!” she repeated, whacking him a second, gentler time. “You’re tall. It freaks me out.”

“ ‘M sorry,” he mumbled. “Won’t do it again. C’mere. Early.”

But there was another traitor in her bed. Alex grumbled something and turned onto his belly, his face pointing away from them. Natalie grabbed the sheets at the curve of his lower back and yanked them down as far as she could.

His bare back immediately arched at the chill, knees jerking toward his chest. “Woah—”

“Up, up, up,” Natalie ordered, urging his big lug of a body to roll so she could get a good look at his nonsense-speaking face. After a minute of futile pushing, he let her turn him over.

“G’mornin’,” he greeted. “Did I steal the covers?”

“You made me an enforcer!”

Behind her, Kasey had the nerve to laugh. The pillow found his gut with a satisfying thump.

“And then you yelled plays at me!” she continued, swinging a leg across Alex’s hips.

He looked up at her in unadulterated drowsy confusion, but his hands found her waist for a few soothing strokes. “I…have no idea what you’re talking about,” he confessed. “But I’m so sorry.”

“That—” She caught herself and pursed her lips. “Is a very good answer, and you’re not forgiven, because Kasey ran me the fuck over and you didn’t even do anything. But I will stay here, just for that.”

Alex nodded agreeably. “Okay. Hang on, Kase ran you over?”

“In the game.”

“The game,” he repeated.

“The hockey game. Where you made me an enforcer.”

Steady awareness was returning to Alex’s eyes. His brows creased in the middle. “When…?”

Natalie flicked her hand dismissively. “Recurring nightmare. But you’ve never been there, and you were on my team, and you were too busy chasing Kasey around to help me up after you got mad at me for not being a good enforcer.”

“You’d be a great enforcer. Wait—”

“Alexander!”

“I’m sorry.” And he was laughing too, the jackass, holding her tight around the hips and rolling onto his side so they were facing each other on the mattress. He kissed her nose through his snickering. “Aw, honey, I’m sorry.”

Natalie covered his mouth with her palm and gave it a half-hearted shove. “Yeah, you better be.”

“Oh, god.” He was still smiling when she took her hand back and tucked it between them, pulling Kasey’s over her side to hold. Alex composed himself, broke, and scraped together just enough self-control to look at her with only a bit of a swallowed-down grin. “I’m sorry you had a bad time in your nightmare about being an enforcer in a professional hockey game.”

“You yelled plays at me.”

“I’m sorry for yelling plays at you when you clearly hadn’t been at practice.”

“Alex!”

[tea-moon-ster]

Close your eyes and I'll come to you (in a dream, or not)

Hiya! Here's 1.9k of O'Darwin fluff (mostly Alex/Kasey). In long distance relationships, even just a few days together mean the world. And Alex knows it well.

Contains minor Vaincre spoiler. All characters belong to @lumosinlove.

read it on ao3 here.

Kasey checked his phone before shoving it in his pocket. 4:38 pm. He was right on time.

He quickly put his worn, Rangers-blue sweater on before peeking into the bedroom. Natalie was getting comfortable in the sea of pillows she insisted on keeping on their bed, with two or three blankets involved in the process. The tv, that had been on some period drama the last time Kasey checked, was now a black screen. A slim finger pressed the button just above their bed to lower the blinds, creating the perfect mood for a nap.

Kasey couldn’t quite put a finger on it, but in the last few days Natalie had been a bit under the weather. Tired, sad, cuddlier than usual. She said it was just a bit of stress, and that she was missing Alex. At that, Kasey had prepared her comfort food, rubbed her back, and almost spoiled the surprise he’d been working on for three weeks. He would have to keep it a secret for just another hour.

“Nat,” he called softly, making her look up from her phone. “Going to the store real quick. Need anything?”

Her brows furrowed, as she probably scrolled a mental checklist and wondering what was it that Kasey needed, but it was gone a second. She shook her head, and sent him a small smile. “No, thanks baby. Be back soon, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

She blew him a kiss, that he caught, and then he was gone. He flew down the stairs and got into the car in record time.

The Gryffindor airport was busy with the long weekend in sight. Tourists flying in, locals allowing themselves a few days out. Kasey checked the time and terminal number for the third time, bouncing a little on his feet.

The big screen showing arrivals lighted up with the JFK-GYF flight. People started to come in from the doors in front of him, and he resisted the urge to get on his toes to see better. Alex wasn’t exactly difficult to spot anyway.

As if summoned, the redhead appeared, smiling and talking to a fellow passenger. He didn’t spot Kasey right away, and this gave the goalie a moment to just look at him. It had been a while without a screen or his hockey mask in between them. Kasey distinctly felt the temperature in the room rise, the day becoming sunnier and, sue him, life turning a little sweeter. Alex looked good. The freckles that invaded his face and shoulders were turning more visible again, and he was wearing a sweatshirt that would probably end on Kasey or Nat in the next hour. Messy auburn hair was kept back by a backwards cap, and the worn backpack, the only thing he bothered to prepare for weekends in Gryffindor, was eased on a broad shoulder.

He came to an alt, still talking to the fellow passenger, and shook his hand with a big smile and one last pat on the shoulder. Then he turned, the attentive gaze he always wore on the ice as he led a puck towards the net, now looking for Kasey. His eyes softened the moment he found him, and Kasey felt the urgent need to whisper I missed you, I missed you, even feet apart. Alex would know. The space in between them had to know. Alex reached him in long strides, then engulfed him in a tight hug. Strong arms found his shoulder blades as Kasey’s automatically curled around his neck.

They stood like that for a while, absorbing the other’s presence and swinging slightly, letting the busy flow around them clear out a bit. Alex let out a happy hum against his ear, tightening the hug for a few seconds. Tense muscled finally finding peace. They parted, only for Kasey to find a bright smile, all for him to lean over and kiss gently.

“Hm, happy to see me,” Alex mused, a finger stroking Kasey’s cheek lightly.

“I’m always happy to see you,” he retorted, making Alex chuckle and nod.

“I know you are. Lead the way, Winter.”

They walked to the exit of the terminal in silence. Kasey’s two-inches advantage was perfect for Alex to keep his head on the blonde’s shoulder, an arm around his back, as the goalie took the backpack from him and swung it on his other shoulder. Not because it was heavy -Alex had probably thrown in only a t-shirt and a snack as usual, everything else he might need already at their loft. But Kasey could. It was sensational.

“Made another friend on the plane?”

“Yeah, Juan. Great guy. He’s vising his family for the weekend. Owns a fusion restaurant in Soho, made me promise we’d go sometimes.”

Kasey hummed, suppressing a smile. Every time Alex sat next to someone for more than five minutes, he would make new friends. The goalie could still recall Agnes, an old lady they’d met on another plane that ended up giving them half the muffins she’d baked for her grandkids. That had been a few years ago, and Alex still had semi-regular coffee dates with her.

“We will.”

Kasey slid the key into the keyhole carefully, trying not to make a sound. He and Alex got into the loft quietly, stopping for a second to listen, but the house was quiet. Natalie was still sleeping. They lost their shoes, a satisfied hum coming from Alex, as if to say here I am, as he tiptoed his way to the kitchen. Kasey followed him, and smiled as the other man opened his backpack. Of course. He began to take boxes and boxes of the butter cookies from the boulangerie at the corner of his apartment. The ones that Natalie loved and had for breakfast every time she visited.

Alex smiled back at him with a raised eyebrow, and his hand emerged with three more boxes, colorful tins and elegant letters. He shrugged, looking down at them.

“Went to this Russian bakery in the West Village, and the owner said-” he cleared his throat, putting a terrible Russian accent on, “-oh, your tea-lover boy must try this. Give you some blends, you come back for more.” He snickered as Kasey shook his head fondly and studied one of the boxes. Bergamot and cinnamon. His favorite blend. “I don’t think it was a suggestion. Sounded more like a threat.”

Kasey didn’t try to hide a smile as he examined the other tea tins. He couldn’t, not really. You talk to people about me. Alex was a black coffee drinker, and only indulged in tea when Kasey was having it. Kasey could see him, leaning on the counter of a bakery, talking to a huge Russian man about his boyfriend and how he only drank tea, not coffee.

Kasey didn’t know what to say, so he tilted his head and opened an arm for Alex to fit under. And he kissed him, sweet and slow, because the weekend was long, and they had all the time in the world, and Alex talked about him to Russian bakers. They took their time, one of Alex’s hands going for his hair and drawing a happy sound from Kasey, who slid on one of the stools by the counter. Even after they parted, they stayed there, recharging with the other’s presence, reminiscing of times when all that could only have been a bitter fantasy.

Kasey looked for those sweet brown eyes, and passed a gentle finger under one of them, absorbing Alex’s soft smile and gentle hands on his hips. He just looked, trying to convey what he was feeling. I love you. I love how you put your love for us in every action. Thank you for the teas. I feel so lucky to have you. I didn’t think I’d ever get to have you like this.

“I know,” the redhead murmured, leaving a soft kiss at the corner of his mouth. “Me too.”

They spent another few minutes in a soft hug. Swinging in silence, hands moving in circles on the other’s back. Kasey focused on the shoulder he’d watched get slammed against the boards during the Rangers’ last game. It drew more than a few relieved sighs from the redhead melting against him.

At some point Alex parted to squish his cheeks. Kasey indulged him and all the Baby, Baby cheeks, Sweet Snowflake, Winter Seal he received, letting him do. It came to an end when Alex patted his chest a few times, then stood straight.

"We didn't hide the whole visit to Natalie only for her to walk on us cuddling in the kitchen," he claimed. "Let's go, Sweet Storm."

The shades were still submerging the room in a dark and drowsy silence. Kasey could still see Alex’s smile as the man slid next to the bundle of blankets and pillows that still hadn’t moved and threw an arm around Nat’s waist.

He began to move slow circles on her back, delicate but firm enough for her to stir a little, drawing a soft hmm from under the plaid. Alex put a finger on his mouth, and Kasey got the message, crossing the room to sit quietly at the other end of the bed, facing Natalie.

Alex continued his strokes, solid and warm against her back, and when she mumbled hm, Kase, they both hid their laughs in their hands. The stirs grew more impatient, until a blonde cascade of messy hair appeared. A dark eye peeked in the direction of Kasey. He smiled, stroking her cheek.

“Hmm, Kase, keep doing that,” she mumbled, reaching for the hand on her back and bringing it around her waist again.

Alex’s eyebrows shot up in amusement at the same time as Kasey’s, who snorted a laugh out. The redhead pressed more firmly to the girl’s back, and she kept his hand on her waist. The other shrugged, and they waited in silence for Natalie to become more awake and notice whose hand she was trapping.

She stirred a few more times, letting a happy hum out as Alex left a soft kiss on her shoulder, and then slowly began to open her eyes. She looked puzzled at Kasey, who was smiling, and her brows furrowed. Without breaking eye contact, she started feeling the hand on her waist, running her fingers up and down the forearm surer and faster.

She let out a sob. “No.”

“Yes,” Alex whispered back, leaving a peck behind her ear.

It was all it took for Natalie to scramble to a sitting position and jump on Alex, arms going tight around his neck. He grasped her back immediately, strong arms clutching the large t-shirt for a long moment. He buried his face in the nook of her collarbone as he eased them both gently in a lying position. He could hear her sob as she left a series of quick kisses  among his hair, and smiled against her neck.

“You fucker,” she sobbed, holding him in a suffocating grip. “When did you…how…Kase, did you…”

“Yep,” Kasey replied softly. He crossed the bed to fall into the arm Alex opened for him, and let out a happy hum against his chest. “Surprise.”

It took a while for Natalie to detach herself from Alex enough to form a sentence. “All weekend?” she asked as she passed a hand on her wet cheek.

Alex kissed her forehead, her nose, her cheeks before stroking them gently. “’Till Tuesday.”

That got another series of sobs out of Natalie, but it mixed with a watery laugh, that glittered more than every prize the two players could win.

.

.

.

[spookypotato]

Natalie Darcy

drawing and character by @lumosinlove

[nattroan]

── ᡣ𐭩 ֶָ֢ ˚. ᵎᵎ 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒎𝒆

𝓐𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑚𝑒: my name is Isabella,I am a lesbian, I am from Venezuela, I speak Spanish and English and I really like to read

𝓒haracters I write for: Natalie scatorccio, Hazel callahan, Lottie Mathews, shauna shipman, Van palmer, Darcy olsson, Robin Buckley and Misty quigley

୭ ˚. ᵎᵎ𝓜𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡 ๋࣭ ⭑

[mrs-jamesbbarnes]

“You sound kind of Darth Vader-y” says the woman whose best friend is literally Padmé Amidala

[haveyouseenthisseries-poll]