#never too early to prepare for nye!

[passiberri]

New Years Eve' Party Essentials 🍾

⟡ Balloons | Champagne & Glasses | Heels

⟡ Dress | Purse & Glass | Drinks & Carafe

⟡ Balloons | Make-up Bag & Straightener | Jewelry

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[whatstruthgottodowithit]

The Other Evans Girl [Part Thirty Five]

Fandom: Harry Potter [Marauder’s Era]

Pairing: Sirius Black x Original Female Character, Sirius Black x Daisy Evans, James Potter x Lily Evans

Characters: Sirius Black, Original Female Character, Daisy Evans, Lily Evans, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Harry Potter, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Alice Fortescue, Frank Longbottom, Marlene McKinnon, Albus Dumbledore, Voldemort, Peter Pettigrew, Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix LeStrange, Walburga Black, Orion Black, Jasper Thicknesse, Barty Crouch Jr, Mulciber, Walden McNair

Word Count: 6298

Rating: Mature

Summary: Hogwarts is a safe haven, a home for many, but it’s often a place where heartache, love and complex emotions dwell and none know that better than the Marauders. Lily Evans just wants to make it out as a successful witch though the oncoming war and the ongoing advances of James Potter threaten that. Daisy Evans, her twin, has other goals. Join the Evans sisters as they make their way through Hogwarts, prepare for war and eventually find love.

Tags/ Warnings: Hogwarts, Friends, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Marauder’s Era, Teenage Angst, Babies, Weddings, Dating, Crying, Loss of Virginity, First Wizarding War, Love, Kissing, Teenagers, James Potter is a bit of a dick, Hogsmeade, 1970s, Fighting, Loss of Parents, Grief, Babies, Injuries, Gore, Harm, Christmas, The Potter’s Mansion // Daisy’s Dress // NYE Lily’s Dress // NYE Daisy’s Dress // Lily’s Ring // Daisy’s Ring

Notes: Okay so I’ve been working on updating this and I’ve finally gone through all the chapters already written before I start writing more. It’s changed a lot so I’ve decided it’s just better to completely re-upload it.

If you want tagging let me know

LINK TO AO3 // LINK TO PINTEREST // LINK TO ALL PARTS

For a couple of days after she and Sirius had gotten together Daisy couldn’t get a grip on what she was feeling, as if she had been dumped in a tumble dryer and spun until she didn’t know which way was up. For one thing the rumours about Michael were still circulating not to mention added whispers now that Sirius had concretely ended his dalliance with Penny, who as a result had fallen out with all of them. And if that wasn’t stressful enough she was caught up trying to remember who she was and wasn’t hiding her relationship from, a feat made even harder as not only did they have a club meeting but James had arranged a weekend of birthday celebrations for the twins.

If she was being truthful the only shining light in this week had been Sirius who had kept her calm and tried to distract her from the hubbub of Hogwarts. Even when he couldn’t express himself fully it was nice to feel his hand on her thigh under the dinner table or the small reassuring smile he’d give her if they couldn’t be near one another.

When the morning of her seventeenth birthday eventually rolled around Daisy awoke to find Lily at the bottom of her bed, heaps of presents laid out in front of her smiling sister who said, ‘finally! I was beginning to think that you were never going to get up. I’ve been shaking you for five minutes.’ ‘I’m tired,’ Daisy said with a yawn as she sat up. ‘I know last night’s club session took it out of me too,’ Lily said earning a weak smile from Daisy who figured that she wasn’t technically lying if she didn’t respond.

See, Daisy was tired because of the club too, for the most part. Yesterday’s lesson had been on the knockback jinx which she had mastered it quickly only that meant that her and the other early adopters were forced to be flingees rather than flingers, spending the evening being catapulted into cushions that only just took the edge off landing on a stone floor. If it had just been that Daisy reckoned she would’ve fared well only after the meeting everyone had headed back, leaving her and Sirius alone in the attic, which had led to an hourlong make out session on those same cushions. Fortunately Lily accepted her sister’s tiredness for face value, that or she was too interested in her presents as she said, ‘well aren’t you going to dive in?’

Daisy didn’t need telling twice and dove into her small stack of presents, tearing the paper off them excitedly. It didn’t take long, the whole ordeal over within five minutes leaving them with a small stack of presents between them given that their friends and family normally opted to get them joint presents seeing as their birthday was so soon after Christmas. Daisy was opening her present from her parents, a bottle of perfume she was going to see if she liked the smell of before secretly switching with Lily’s, when she realised her sister had an extra present, a small velvet box that she was looking at in awe.

‘What is it?’ Daisy asked, figuring they could only be from James. Lily turned them around, revealing the biggest pair of diamond earrings she’d ever seen to her, Daisy whistled, ‘bloody hell.’ ‘I know,’ Lily said biting her lip. ‘What’s the matter?’ Daisy frowned, ‘they’re beautiful.’ ‘I know I just can’t believe he spent so much money on me,’ Lily admitted. ‘You know James,’ Daisy shrugged. ‘I know but we haven’t been dating all that long. He shouldn’t have,’ she said, ‘I don’t need fancy presents.’ ‘Look, if there’s one thing I know about James it’s that money doesn’t mean much,’ Daisy reasoned as Lily looked at her worriedly, ‘I know they might seem extravagant to you but he doesn’t work that way. If you’d have said you wanted one of his old socks for your birthday he would’ve given you that.’ ‘But it’s still a lot of money Dais. I saw them in the window of the jewellers in Hogsmeade and they cost fifty galleons,’ Lily whispered as if saying the price was something sinful. Daisy sighed. ‘Do you like them?’ Daisy asked. ‘Of course, I do,’ Lily said. ‘Were you excited when you saw them?’ Daisy asked. ‘Yeah,’ Lily said quietly, ‘they reminded me of that pair mum had when we were little…you know the one she lost in the sea on holiday.’ ‘See!’ Daisy reasoned, ‘James probably wasn’t even looking at the price when he bought them he was thinking of how much you’d like them and what they’d mean to you.’ ‘Do you think?’ Lily asked. ‘I know,’ Daisy said, ‘anyway I say don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. If I’d played my cards right I could’ve got a matching set instead, I told mentioned wanting some books about healing.’ ‘Yeah,’ Lily muttered, ‘yeah you’re right.’ ‘Is admitting I’m right your present to me?’ Daisy teased making her sister roll her eyes before her gaze fell back on the earrings, staring at them in awe. And right then Daisy felt relived her gift from Sirius wasn’t amongst the presents even if she had worried for a fraction of a second when she saw only a gift from all the boys in the pile. Now she reckoned it was probably a good idea for him to give her whatever he’d gotten her away from prying eyes.

Since they spent time opening their presents they were the last ones down to breakfast which unfortunately for Daisy meant that she was forced to sit away from her boyfriend. Granted he still wished her ‘happy birthday’ but she couldn’t help but feel envious as James kissed Lily good morning, immediately asking her if she liked his present. Daisy looked to Sirius at the mention of presents but he did nothing more than smirk, which made her confident he still had something up her sleeve. However their lateness meant they didn’t have much time to speak about much else before they were forced to head to lessons.

As Daisy and Sirius took their usual seats in muggle studies, Peter and James in front of them but just out of earshot if they kept their voices low Sirius asked her, ‘so how did you sleep? ‘Fine,’ she said, making sure her friends and the teacher, who was now babbling on about the rise of the household appliance, weren’t listening as she added, ‘but we can’t stay out that long again though. I’m still shattered.’ ‘I know,’ Sirius smirked, adding in a whisper, ‘I gotta say I’d rather be tired.’ ‘Sirius,’ Daisy giggled though it abruptly stopped as she heard a cough from up ahead and looked up to find Professor Burbage watching them along with everyone else. Yet as the teacher turned away taking everyone’s attention with her Daisy found James was still staring at them, with an expression that appeared as though he wanted to say something but couldn’t fearing Burbage’s wrath. Daisy smiled politely at him, hoping her cheeks weren’t too red which they mustn’t have been seeing as he grinned at her and turned back around.

‘I can’t believe you just made me giggle,’ Daisy said embarrassedly. ‘What can I say it’s my charm,’ Sirius grinned though when she didn’t respond to his teasing he frowned and asked, ‘what’s the matter?’ ‘Nothing,’ she replied. ‘Dais?’ he pressed, raising an eyebrow. Daisy sighed. ‘Okay,’ she admitted, ‘it’s just I was thinking about this morning.’ ‘What about it?’ Sirius asked curiously. ‘When I came down for breakfast,’ she said, glancing at him, finding light grey eyes watching her intently, ‘about how I wanted you to kiss me.’ ‘I wanted to kiss you too,’ Sirius whispered. ‘No, I mean I wanted you to kiss me in front of people,’ Daisy explained. ‘Oh,’ he said. ‘Yeah,’ she sighed, ‘and I know I said to wait and everything and if we do tell people the gossip is gonna be so much worse-’ ‘I don’t care about that,’ Sirius frowned. ‘I know but I do,’ she said, ‘I mean you’re not the one who’s having to suffer through the gossip around Michael. I mean I know Penny’s mad at you but she’s not got the whole school on her side.’ ‘Well,’ he said slipping his hand under the desk so he could hold hers, ‘what if we tell some people and ask them to keep it under wraps.’ ‘Like?’ Daisy asked, her brow furrowed. ‘Well your sister and my best friend for one you muppet,’ he teased making her smile, ‘I mean Remus and Mar already know. Alice, Frank and Peter knowing too wouldn’t hurt.’ ‘Yeah, yeah you’re right,’ she said, breathing a sigh of relief. He had a point, surely her she could trust her friends not to say anything. And even if they didn’t go flaunting their relationship to everyone being able to be comfortable in front of their friends would be a lot easier anyway. Sirius smiled and leant in to whisper, ‘and if anyone does squeal,’ his eyes darting to Peter, ‘I’ll knockback jinx them into next week, okay?’ ‘Okay,’ she giggled, quiet enough that only he heard.

After their first lesson the pair didn’t get much time together other than meal times, of which one was cut short as they girls headed to their dormitory to change straight after eating dinner so that they weren’t late getting to the attic for the twins birthday bash. Even though it was a party in her honour Daisy didn’t dress too over the top, opting for a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt tied at the waist and once she was downstairs she felt relieved that she had, as Sirius matched her, though she couldn’t help but feel he pulled off a plain, tight white t-shirt more than she ever thought possible.

When they got to the attic they found it decorated, nothing further than a banner and some balloons but enough to make it feel like a party rather than a club meeting. This was also helped by the fact the boys had procured some food and drinks as well as a party mix of music. It was the perfect little soiree even if it was only the nine of them, dancing and drinking, until the mood mellowed out, leaving them sitting in a circle on the floor playing truth or dare.

‘Okay, okay…truth,’ Lily giggled from where she was sitting in between James’ legs, her back against his chest as he held her at the waist, stopping her tipsiness from taking her down to the floor. ‘Let’s see,’ Marlene said her finger on her chin as she contemplated. ‘Oh I’ve got one,’ Alice giggled whispering it into Marlene’s ear. ‘Oh good one!’ Marlene chuckled, looking back at her target as she said, ‘okay, so, If you had to, absolutely had to, who would you snog… Dumbledore or Hagrid?’ ‘Ew!’ Lily groaned as a laugh rang out around the circle. ‘Come on Lil don’t be a spoilsport,’ James chuckled, nudging her in the side and making her wriggle. ‘Can’t I pick someone else instead,’ she grumbled. ‘I believe the rules state either or and death is not an option,’ Remus said with a grin. ‘Yeah Lil, we’ll throw in Professor Binns as an extra but it’s gotta be one of them,’ Sirius teased. ‘No fair!’ Lily grumbled before she fell quiet seemingly contemplating her choices, ‘I guess…Dumbledore?’

There was a shriek of laughter from all around as Lily’s face fell into despair before she recovered, her eyes roving around the circle for her next victim, ‘okay, my turn.’ ‘Here we go,’ James chuckled but Lily ignored him, her green eyes scanning everyone until the landed on the boy across from her, pointing at him with an accusatory finger as she said, ‘Sirius.’ ‘Yes Lilian?’ Sirius smirked taking a sip of his beer. ‘If you had to kiss any girl in school,’ Lily started. ‘Do the ones he’s worked through already count or not because if not we’ve lost half the school,’ Frank chuckled making Sirius roll his eyes. ‘Okay, excluding the ones you’ve already kissed, if you had to pick any girl who would you pick?’ Lily asked. Everyone’s eyes fell on him as Sirius seemed to contemplate the question with Peter asking, ‘are you trying to remember all the girls you’ve kissed?’ ‘No he’s trying to figure out whether he can say Daisy or not,’ Marlene teased, falling silent immediately after, her hands clasped to her mouth as she realised what she’d said. All eyes fell on the pair as everyone tried to figure out what she meant, or why they looked so nervous. ‘Why would he be thinking that?’ Peter asked confused, ‘he’s never kissed Daisy has he?’ ‘But he wants to?’ Frank asked, confused. ‘Frank sssh,’ Alice said softly, though she was just as intrigued as the others, her gaze fixed on the pair who shared an awkward glance before Sirius grumbled, ‘thanks, Mar.’ ‘I’m sorry it just came out,’ Marlene said apologetically. ‘It’s okay,’ Daisy said, smiling at her friend sympathetically. ‘What’s going on?’ James asked, looking between his two best friends angrily. ‘Sirius wants to kiss Daisy,’ Frank said, ‘right?’ ‘Frank!’ Alice hissed. ‘What I’m right, aren’t I?’ he replied, not that it mattered as none of them were looking at him. Least of all Lily who hadn’t stopped staring at her twin since Marlene had spoken and was now leaning up off her boyfriend so she could say, ‘Dais what’s going on?’

Daisy hesitated, looking between her sister, whose face was far angrier than she’d anticipated and Sirius who seemed to be letting her take the reins on this one. After a beat she said, ‘well, funny story actually.’ ‘You two?’ Lily baulked, looking at Sirius for the first time, a scowl on her face. ‘Yeah,’ Sirius said hesitantly, ‘we didn’t want to say anything just yet.’ ‘But Mar knew?’ Lily snapped, shrugging James off as he attempted to pull her back, saying, ‘Lil, I don’t think it’s like that.’ ‘She noticed,’ Daisy reasoned, ‘we didn’t mean to tell her or Rem-’ ‘You knew too!’ Lily snapped, whipping around to look at Remus who didn’t show any ounce of guilt but simply shrugged and said, ‘I walked in on them by accident.’ ‘And you didn’t think to tell anyone?’ Lily said accusatorily. At that Remus looked as though he was going to defend himself but Sirius got their first. ‘It’s not Moony’s fault we asked him not to say anything,’ Sirius reasoned. Lily shook her head, running her tongue along her teeth as she said, ‘so Mar and Remus were allowed to know? Who else?’ ‘Lil I think you’re a little tipsy,’ James said, trying to pull her back again worriedly. Again she shrugged him off, turning to look at him, her face thunderous as she snapped, ‘did you know?’ ‘No of course I didn’t,’ James said heatedly. ‘No one else knew,’ Daisy said, ‘Lil we were keeping it to ourselves, we didn’t want anyone knowing.’ ‘Oh, so I’m just anyone? Just some friend you can hide stuff from,’ Lily snapped, clambering up to her feet. ‘It’s not like that,’ Daisy said jumping up to follow her but her sister had already started making her way to the door. Daisy rushed to follow her only overtaken by James who pushed past her meeting Lily at the entryway as Daisy said, ‘Lil where are you going?’ ‘What do you care? Besides I thought we didn’t tell each other everything,’ Lily sneered, and then she was gone, leaving the attic with her friends watching her. James started to head out too but not before he turned back, speaking only to Sirius as he said, ‘nice one mate.’

As the door slammed shut behind them silence rained down though it was quickly broken by Marlene who was stringing apology after apology together. Daisy told her not to worry and that the girls should probably head after her, just in case James wasn’t able to calm her down. The boys offered their apologies too but again they were waved off, though they did allow them to help tidy up. Once everyone was out the door Daisy headed to the couch and threw herself down, landing on the cushions with an audible ‘oomph’. Sirius followed suit sitting down next to her and pulling her towards him, her head on his shoulder.

‘Did we do the right thing?’ she asked, after a moment, her fingers playing with his hand which was resting on her thigh. ‘Keeping it a secret?’ he asked feeling her nodding her head back in response, ‘I don’t know. I mean I don’t know if there’s a right way to do anything. If we had told everyone Penny and Michael would’ve been hurt right? Keeping it a secret hurt Lily and though he’d never admit it I think James’ ego was a bit bruised too.’ ‘But we didn’t mean to hurt their feelings,’ Daisy countered. ‘I know and I don’t think it was the secret that hurt them just the fact that they weren’t the first to know,’ Sirius reasoned. Daisy sighed and pulled back, looking at him in a way that made his heart thump. ‘How long do you think they’ll be mad for?’ she asked. Sirius pondered for a moment before he said, ‘I think until the alcohol wears off then I think she’ll come to her senses.’ ‘Yeah, I guess,’ she said. ‘And if not,’ he whispered, leaning in so that their faces were inches apart, ‘I’ll just have to be your new sister.’ ‘But if you’re my sister it means we can’t do this,’ she said as she leaned in and give him a long sultry kiss. Sirius retaliated with gusto, pulling her onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her as hers wrapped around his neck, her fingers in his hair. They made out like that, slow and lazily until they were forced to pull back, breathless.

‘You’re right,’ he panted, looking up at her as his hand ghosted her cheek, ‘I don’t wanna be your sister.’ ‘Good,’ she chuckled giving him another peck and then another but before she could start kissing him properly again he pulled away, telling her to wait as he tilted her on his lap so that he could reach into his pocket and find something. ‘This better be good,’ she grumbled, ‘because there’s no excuse for you not to be kissing me right now.’ ‘It’s your birthday present you git,’ he said handing her an envelope which she took off him, watching him curiously as he settled back against the couch and watched her open it. Her finger slid under the lip of the envelope opening it up wide as she pulled out two pieces of paper her eyes going wide as she read them. ‘Queen tickets?!’ she said excitedly leaning down and kissing him in a series of short pecks punctuating each one with a ‘thank you’. ‘I take it you like them?’ he asked. ‘Sirius this is amazing I love them,’ she said, ‘I can’t wait.’ ‘Well it’s in the summer so you’re gonna have to wait a little,’ Sirius chuckled. ‘I can’t believe you got some,’ she said, looking at them with awe. ‘It wasn’t easy,’ he admitted, ‘but I knew you’d like them.’ ‘I love them. I love you,’ she said excitedly, falling silent as she realised what she had just said. She had said she loved him. And now it was lingering between them in the air. Of course they’d both kind of skirted around the topic when they’d first gotten together, each of them explaining how they were ‘falling’ for the other and yet now it seemed a lot. Well at least to Daisy who immediately panicked, tripping over her words as she said, ‘I mean you know I do. I know we haven’t said-’ ‘Dais,’ Sirius murmured. ‘I mean you don’t have to say it just because I did,’ she rambled. ‘Daisy,’ he said with more force, causing her to fall quiet and look at him. Daisy could feel her heart hammering in her chest as he smiled at her and said, ‘I love you too.’ ‘Yeah?’ she asked. ‘Do you really have to ask?’ he chuckled pulling her in to kiss her and causing her tickets to slip out of her hand onto the couch cushions beside them not that they noticed, too engrossed in the other to care. They stayed there like that for at least another hour before the kissing started getting punctuated by more and more yawns until finally, Sirius told her that it was probably time they headed back to the common room and though Daisy wanted to stay, partly because of the kissing and partly to avoid Lily, she agreed. Thankfully they made it to the Gryffindor tower without getting caught.

‘Right,’ Sirius said as they made it to the bottom of the stairs. ‘Right,’ Daisy said watching him with a smile. ‘Ready to deal with the storm?’ Sirius said. ‘I don’t know,’ she chuckled grabbing him by the waist, ‘I think James might be harder to deal with.’ ‘You might be right,’ he said leaning in to kiss her for a moment before she pulled away placing a hand on his chest as she whispered, ‘night Pads.’ ‘Night Dais,’ he said. And with that, she disappeared up the stairs and into the dormitory. Alice and Mar were sound asleep as she crept in but Lily was missing which she didn’t know if that was better or worse. Electing not to think about it she stripped out of her clothes and threw on an old baggy T-shirt climbing into bed in record speed. Yet as she snuggled down under the duvet she heard movement and the bathroom door opened with Lily walking through a second later, stopping as she noticed Daisy was back. She was dressed in her pyjamas too with her makeup haphazardly washed off, though Daisy didn’t know if that was because she had been crying.

‘Hey,’ Lily said awkwardly. ‘Hey,’ Daisy said pushing herself up so she was sitting. Lily came towards her, hesitating by the end of her sister’s bed before opting to sit down, though she kept her gaze on the blanket as she asked, ‘have you only just got back?’ ‘Yeah,’ Daisy said quietly, watching her sister with worry. ‘I didn’t hear you come in I was in the bathroom…throwing up,’ Lily admitted, finally looking at her twin who frowned and asked, ‘are you okay?’ ‘Physically or otherwise?’ Lily joked, Daisy sighed. ‘Lil we really weren’t trying to hurt you y’know,’ Daisy explained. ‘I know,’ Lily nodded. ‘We just,’ Daisy started, though she soon realised she didn’t know why it had been so important to her not to tell her friends. Of course she hadn’t wanted the gossips to know but Lily was her sister, someone she trusted more than anyone, she figured she had a right to be upset about it. Fortunately just as she knew she would Lily understood and finished her thought for her. ‘You didn’t want everyone knowing, I get it,’ she said, ‘I guess I just didn’t think I was just anyone.’ ‘We wanted it just between us,’ Daisy said, ‘but Rem walked in the night we got together and Mar’s like a bloody sniffer dog. She figured it out straight away.’ ‘I guess that upset me too,’ Lily admitted, ‘I’ve been so wrapped up in me and James I didn’t even realise what’s been going on with you.’ ‘He’s your first boyfriend Lil,’ Daisy said, ‘you’re allowed to be a little wrapped up.’ ‘I know but I don’t want to miss out on stuff,’ Lily said firmly. ‘Well how about from now we promise to tell each other everything first?’ Daisy said. ‘Deal,’ Lily smiled, their argument seemingly forgotten as she excitedly asked details about everything that had happened, clambering into bed beside her sister and listening to the entire tale from start to finish. Lily listened quietly, mumbling ‘oohs’ and ‘hmms’ in between to signal she was listening given that they could no longer see one another, their heads together as they cuddled in the bed like when they were little.

As the story ended the pair fell quiet, allowing sleep to beckon them, pulling them in and out of consciousness. Yet just as Daisy had just started to drift off she heard Lily call her name rousing her from sleep.

‘Yeah?’ Daisy asked with a yawn, not bothering to open her eyes. ‘You know how I said before…about telling each other everything,’ Lily whispered. ‘Yeah?’ Daisy questioned. ‘Well, I meant it,’ Lily said. ‘Me too,’ Daisy agreed. ‘That was another reason I was upset,’ Lily admitted. ‘What do you mean?’ Daisy asked. ‘I was upset you’d kept something from me because…because I wanted to tell you something. I thought about it long and hard and I wanted to tell you before anyone…I’ve not even told James yet,’ Lily said pulling back as her sister sat up to look at her, asking, ‘what is it?' ‘I think…I think I want to lose my virginity,’ Lily said quietly. Daisy was taken aback for a moment, the only thing she could make out being, ‘that’s great Lil…I mean if that’s what you want?’ ‘It is,’ Lily confirmed. ‘James hasn’t made you…’ Daisy said trailing off awkwardly. ‘No, no, of course not!’ Lily said rolling her eyes, ‘I mean we’ve done stuff but he’s never made me do anything. In fact, I don’t know if he’s thought about it.’ ‘He’s a sixteen year-old boy Lil,’ Daisy reasoned. ‘Yes I know,’ she said, ‘what I mean is we’ve not discussed it.’ ‘Well, if you’re sure,’ Daisy said. ‘I am,’ Lily said firmly, ‘I guess I just wanted to tell you first, not that I need your permission or anything.’ ‘Of course not,’ Daisy said. ‘But it just felt like a big decision and well, we’ve been through all the big stuff together. This felt like it should be in there too,’ Lily said causing Daisy to giggle, ‘oh what are you twelve.’ ‘Hey you said it not me,’ Daisy said. ‘Yeah well pack it in,’ Lily said earning a few more giggles from Daisy which Lily eventually joined in on until they were in tears from laughing. Finally, as the laughter died down they snuggled back together ready for sleep. ‘Night Dais,’ Lily said first. ‘Night Lil,’ Daisy said resting back against the pillow.

As her sister soon drifted to sleep echoing soft snores in her ear Daisy lay awake, Lily’s words echoing in her mind. They had been through everything together now and well, things were changing, this was the logical next step in both their relationships. So why hadn’t she thought about it?

She supposed she had, when the pair of them were caught up in a moment, she was a teenager after all. But she hadn’t really thought about it in terms of actually doing it as her sister seemed to have.

As Daisy lay there she looked at her sister’s sleeping figure trying to assess if she had aged an extra year that Daisy hadn’t. Because she loved Sirius, she loved being with him, but unlike her sister she didn’t feel ready. Not yet at least but what did that mean? Was Sirius? Would he be upset if she didn’t want to? After all he had a reputation as pointed out tonight, maybe he wouldn’t want to hang around waiting for her to be ready. With those thoughts in her head her mind continued to race until it couldn’t keep going any longer and she finally succumbed to sleep.

✵✵✵

As expected James took the news harder than Lily. When Sirius had gotten back to the dormitory his friends were silent and though Peter and Remus were tucked up in bed sleeping, he wasn’t sure about James as he had the curtains drawn around his bed, sleeping or stewing Sirius didn’t know. Nevertheless he had whispered his name, careful not to wake his other room mates, but received no reply. So, with a sigh, he changed his clothes and climbed into bed and at some point between fretting about his best mate and thinking about his girlfriend, he had fallen asleep.

Yet when he woke the morning after he had come to not by his alarm but rather by his friend who was angrily stuffing things into his bag. Sirius rubbed his eyes and propped himself up on his elbows watching the dark-haired boy, who didn’t seem to notice he was now awake, throwing his things into his school bag haphazardly. As he tossed an inkpot into his bag it bounced off the buckle and clattered to the floor, unlatching as it hit the stone causing a fresh splash of black to form at James’ feet.

‘For Merlin’s sake,’ James said as he flourished his wand causing the ink to magically remove itself from the floor. ‘You know that ink pot never did anything to you,’ Sirius said as his friend bent down to pick it up. James looked over his shoulder at him and scowled before turning back to his sort out his bag. Sirius sighed and sat up swivelling his legs out of bed before he said, ‘mate I’m sorry.’ ‘What for?’ James said, still not looking at him, ‘not telling me or lying to me?’ ‘I didn’t lie to you,’ Sirius countered which was enough to make his friend stop, turning around to look at him as he scowled, ‘you told me you weren’t going to tell her how you felt.’ ‘I wasn’t planning on it,’ Sirius replied. ‘Not until you saw me and Lily together?’ James scoffed. ‘That’s what you’re mad about?’ Sirius gaped. ‘You can’t deny your timing is a little convenient,’ James said coolly, folding his arms across his chest as if challenging him. Sirius didn’t even bother to look shocked, his face stony as he tried to comprehend how his friend could think he’d stoop that low. ‘Mate,’ Sirius laughed, ‘if you think that me getting together with a girl I’ve been in love with forever was some elaborate trick I’m playing on you you’re delusional.’

The pair of them stared at each other for a moment before bursting into a fit of laughter which died off as James dropped down onto his bed with a thunk, Sirius taking a seat beside him as they fell quiet. After a moment of silence James looked at his friend and smirked. Sirius smiled back and said, ‘all forgiven?’ ‘All forgiven,’ James nodded, adding apologetically, ‘sorry I got a little het up.’ ‘You didn’t really think I would try and one up you like that did you?’ Sirius asked. ‘No not really,’ James mumbled, ‘I guess I was just a little hurt you didn’t tell me. I mean Moony knew.’ ‘Because he walked in on us,’ Sirius explained. ‘Snogging?!’ James asked. Sirius rolled his eyes. ‘No, we were cuddled up on the sofa downstairs and he just sorta put things together,’ Sirius explained. ‘And Mar?’ James said. ‘God knows,’ Sirius shrugged, ‘girls man.’ ‘Yeah, I guess,’ James muttered. ‘I’m a little surprised Lily didn’t figure it out to be honest,’ Sirius said. ‘Yeah, me either,’ James replied. ‘I guess you’re a big enough distraction,’ Sirius smirked, nudging his friend. James flushed a deep crimson, all bravado and cockiness gone. Sirius chuckled and then said, ‘how is all that going by the way?’ ‘Good,’ James said, ‘I mean I can’t believe she actually wants anything to do with me but…good.’ ‘That’s good,’ Sirius said, realising he had been so wrapped up in Daisy he hadn’t really had time, or thought, to ask about his friend’s new romance. James didn’t seem to notice. ‘Who would’ve thought we could land the Evanses eh?’ James said after a moment. ‘And me in half the pining time,’ Sirius teased. ‘Oh very funny,’ James said as he got up from his bed, ‘you’re not going to let this go are you?’ ‘Definitely not after seeing how much it annoyed you,’ Sirius said ‘You’re a pillock do you know that?’ James replied climbing up from his seat as did Sirius. ‘It might have been said before,’ Sirius said cockily, laughing as James pushed him back down onto the bed with a thud as he headed to the other side of the bed and grabbed his shoes. Sirius lay flopped on his friends bed for a moment, content that the pair of them had managed to patch things up though he was snapped out of his daydreaming as James threw a pillow at him and said, ‘c’mon, love us as they do even they won’t wait around for us forever.’

Sirius scrambled off the bed and grabbed his freshly pressed uniform so that he could change. After dressing as quickly as he could he threw his bag on his shoulder and then followed James out the door and into the common room where Lily and Daisy were sitting on one of the couches, talking quietly. They stood up, meeting the boys by the other side of the couch with James immediately pulling Lily in for a hug, placing a kiss on her forehead as he said, ‘hey.’ ‘Hi,’ Lily said, pulling back and looking at him with a smile though it faded as they noticed Daisy and Sirius were still standing there, watching each other awkwardly. ‘Okay, are you sure you two are together?’ James said with a chuckle, ‘because I feel like I’m watching Peter and every girlfriend he claims he’s ever had.’ ‘Funny,’ Daisy said, leaning into Sirius as he threw his arm around her shoulders. ‘Yeah, we just didn’t want to upset you with how awesome we’ve got this being a couple thing down,’ Sirius said. ‘Yeah,’ Daisy giggled, ‘didn’t want to make you feel like amateurs.’ ‘Oh very funny,’ Lily said as she started walking towards the portrait hole, James holding her hand. Sirius and Daisy shared a look and then detangled, their agreement to only tell their friends and not the world coming to the forefront of their minds as they headed down to breakfast.

‘So I take it the pair of you made up then?’ James said as they made their way down to the Great Hall. ‘Yeah,’ Lily said, ‘we had a good chat last night, right Dais?’ ‘Right,’ Daisy said, her mind wandering back to the talk she’d had with her sister the previous. In fact her mind had been wandering back there quite a bit, her sister’s revelation about having sex leaving Daisy at a loss. She tried to tell herself not to worry, that everyone is ready at their own time, but she couldn’t help but feel it was a big deal. A milestone, one that they wouldn’t reach at the same time which made her feel aeons behind her sister.

She also worried about what Sirius would say. If he’d want to take it slow with her or expect more given that she’d thrown herself at Michael, overlooking the role jealousy and alcohol had played that night. She hoped he would understand but she knew his reputation amongst the girls of Hogwarts, even if they hadn’t really spoken about it. And even though she knew he would never make her do anything she didn’t want to but she did wonder if he’d get bored. That worried her the most. It worried her so much she hadn’t realised they’d made it to the great hall, with Sirius watching her curiously as he gestured for her to sit down, instead of standing beside the benches staring into space. Daisy clambered into her seat, pretending not to notice him staring. She didn’t have to pretend too hard though as he wasn’t the only one, Alice’s kind eyes scanning the group for any animosity as she said, ‘morning.’ ‘Morning,’ came replies from the foursome. ‘You lot alright then?’ Remus asked watching the couples closely. ‘Yeah,’ Sirius said as he placed his hand on Daisy’s thigh under the table. Daisy glanced at him, trying to ignore the jolt of electricity through her at his touch, only to find him looking at Remus. Her stomach fluttered at the thought of how he could be so casual amongst all these people, as if his thumb wasn’t touching bare skin below the hem of her skirt. ‘Yeah, we’ve smoothed things out though you’re still on the hook for not telling me what was happening,’ James said, pointing his milk-soaked spoon in Remus’ direction. ‘Hey, when it comes down to it I’m nothing if not discreet,’ Remus smirked earning a knowing smile from those who were in on his ‘furry little secret’.

The conversation then took off in various directions but Daisy remained quiet throughout, her mind still spinning over her dilemma. Sirius seemed to notice her quietness, glancing over at her a couple of times and squeezing her thigh in the hopes of reassuring her and though she replied with a small squeeze of his hand each time he could tell her mind was elsewhere and made a mental not to keep an eye on her for the rest of the day just to see if she wanted to share with him whatever she had on her mind.

SIRIUS BLACK/SERIES TAGS

@maeisafangirl @mysteriouslydelicateface @caitlin1996 @imthebadguyyy

[spencers-renaissance]

baby, you’re my new years’ eve

Summary: You and Emily are hosting a New Years’ Eve party for all of your friends, but she’s acting a little weird. You finally find out why when the clock strikes midnight.

Tags: fluff, nye fic, proposal, getting engaged, domesticity, romance, flirting, day in the life 

Pairing: Emily x Reader

Word Count: 3.6k

Masterlist // Read on AO3

It’s almost 10am by the time you get back from your morning errands, laden with bags and a dusting of snow decorating your coat. You shrug out of your coat and scarf, peel off your gloves, and kick off your boots as you venture further into the house you share with your girlfriend, a warm safe haven from the frozen wind outside. All the Christmas lights the two of you had put up together a few weeks ago are turned on, and the warm and happy feeling settling in your chest only intensifies when you shoulder the kitchen door open to see Emily awake and drinking a cup of coffee at the table.

“You’re up,” you smile, knowing that Emily likes a lie-in on her days off, and she damn well deserves it, too.

“You’re back,” she echoes, a matching bright smile lighting up her face. She’s still in her pyjamas, a dressing gown thrown around her shoulders, and her hair has been let down from its bun, a slight curl to it after having slept with it up. She looks absolutely beautiful, naturally.

“I am.” You walk further into the room and put your bags down on the kitchen counter, beginning to unpack them. “I picked up some stuff for the party tonight, but I also got you breakfast.” You grab a plate from the cupboard and load it up with the pastries you’d bought from the local bakery, sold to you by the baker who knows both you and Emily by name.

“Oh,” she gasps in delight. “Have I told you lately I love you?” She reaches eagerly for the plate to place it on the table before reaching around for a kiss.

“You have,” you confirm, amused, “you tell me every day, Em.”

“Because it’s true,” she nods with wide eyes through a mouthful of almond croissant.

Laughing, you grab yourself a plate and a few pastries before joining Emily at the table. “Did you sleep alright?”

“Mm, it was a bit broken,” she admits, not quite meeting your eye for some reason. “But I made up for it with a little lie-in this morning.” Emily never sleeps badly at home. She’s always said that sleeping in her own bed with you wrapped around her is the best sleeping tablet she’s ever tried, but you don’t dwell on it too much.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” you say sympathetically. “You could always have a nap early this afternoon. Need to be in the best shape for partying the night away.”

“Yeah, I might do,” she says, looking back up at you. “If I start to feel tired I’ll try and sleep. Anyway, how did you sleep, Y/N?”

“Like a baby,” you smile. “Woke up early so I thought I’d beat the New Years’ Eve rush to buy up the rest of the snacks. Plus, pastries for breakfast… can’t beat that.”

“You definitely can’t,” Emily says, a smudge of icing on her lip. “Thank you for doing that, sweetheart.”

“Don’t worry about it,” you say, leaning over to wipe the icing off with your thumb, kissing her for good measure. “Icing,” you explain with a grin as you pull away.

“Ah,” she says knowingly, winking at you before leaning back in for another kiss. “Right, come on. Finish your breakfast and we’ll get on with the day.”

The rest of the morning is spent in the kitchen. You’d decided that as much of the food on offer at the New Years’ party the two of you had planned should be homemade as possible, which meant a fridge full of baked goods you’d already prepared but a short list of items that still needed to be made. It was a bit of an undertaking, but it kept you busy. Despite having known the rest of the BAU for years and having been fully incorporated into their family, you still get nervous before each gathering. Being surrounded by powerful, smart, successful FBI agents was always going to be intimidating, no matter how much you considered them your friends.

“Emily, please don’t stick your finger into the butter and then plunge it into the sugar,” you sigh, a little exasperated as your girlfriend shoves her greasy finger into her mouth for the third time.

“What?” she asks, pretending to be insulted. “It tastes good.”

“Yeah, it’s also not very hygienic,” you point out, rolling out the cookie dough.

“Oh, please, what’s a bit of my saliva when you kiss me everyday anyway?” she asks.

“Well, I might think that,” you reason, “but I’m not sure our guests will. Unless you’ve been running around kissing them, too?” You point your rolling pin at her accusatorily as you wait for her response.

“No!” she cries, kissing you in promise of her devotion. “I only have eyes for you, baby. By the way is it too early to have a glass of wine?”

You roll your eyes at that, trying unsuccessfully to stifle a fond laugh. “It’s 11am Emily,” you giggle. “What’s got into you this morning?”

“Nothing,” she says defensively. “I’m just… excited for the party later.”

“Hmm, okay,” you say dubiously, raising an amused eyebrow in her direction. “In that case, you get started on the samosas. Fry up the filling I prepared and roll out the pastry for me? Then all we need to do is put the chips in later on and set it all up.”

“Anything for you, baby,” she smiles, kissing your cheek before getting on with her assignment.

You work together with your ‘happy’ playlist playing over the kitchen speakers for the next hour and a bit to get all the food ready, and by the time the samosas are being fried, you’re both in desperate need of a sit down. “Right, let’s order something to eat and watch an episode or three of Parks and Rec before we need to get ready and set up, how does that sound?” Emily asks as you both begin the mammoth task of cleaning up the bombsite of a kitchen.

“I don’t know, Em, we have so much food in the fridge,” you say, worrying your lip at the decision.

“Yeah, but it’s all for the party tonight, you don’t want to eat it now,” she says, reaching for your hand and squeezing it comfortingly. “Come on, we’ll tidy up afterwards. I’ll order in some UberEats and we’ll relax for a little while. We deserve it after all this.”

“Okay,” you relent, offering her a grateful smile and letting yourself be guided to the sofa by Emily’s hand.

“You’ve done an amazing job at making all this food, sweetheart,” she says warmly, running a hand through your hair. “You should rest for a bit now so you can properly enjoy tonight, yeah?” She tucks a blanket around you and hands you the remote before she pulls out her phone to order you both some lunch.

Sandwiches eaten and two extra coffees polished off, you get started on setting up the house for the party. The leftover decorations from Christmas make the house bright and pretty enough, so it’s fairly easy to make the house look welcoming, but you still have to sort out the food and drink, move the furniture, and put away the valuables. Not to mention getting yourselves ready.

“Everyone’s arriving at 8, right babe?” Emily calls from the kitchen as you move the coffee table to the side in the living right.

“That’s right,” you call back. “But Spencer and Penelope will probably be here early.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me,” Emily says, walking into the living room and leaning against the doorframe as you finish pushing the table aside to make the room more accessible.

“Does this look okay?” you ask, putting your hands on your hips as you survey your living room.

“It looks great, baby,” Emily reassures you, pushing off the door and pulling you into a side hug as you both look at the decorated room. “The Christmas tree is still up which makes the whole room look lovely, and the New Year banner is nice, too. It’s absolutely perfect for what we need it to do.”

“Okay,” you agree, turning to the side to press your face into her neck, kissing her briefly before pulling away again. “Let’s tidy away the expensive stuff and then go and get ready, yeah?”

“Y/N, there are like 15 people coming and nobody’s gonna get off their tits; we don’t really need to put this stuff away,” she promises, but it’s to no avail.

“Well, I’d rather be safe. Even tipsy people can do some damage,” you point out, putting Emily’s mother’s vase in the cabinet along with a few decorations from the mantle.

“Fair enough,” she agrees, heading into the kitchen to continue tidying up after your earlier cooking adventures. You join her a moment later and the two of you work quickly to do the washing up, tidy the counter, and put the dishwasher on. You’re soon looking at a spick and span kitchen, nearly party-ready, and you smile at your girlfriend in satisfaction. “Looks amazing, doesn’t it?” she smiles back at you.

“It does indeed,” you nod. “It’s only 4. You wanna sit down for a bit before getting ready?”

“Absolutely I do,” she says. “Wanna nap with me?”

“Please,” you sigh, grabbing her hand to lead her down to your bedroom. The two of you ditch the trousers and bury under the covers, setting a timer for an hour before promptly falling asleep.

“Want me to wash your hair?” Emily asks as you both stand under the hot jet of water. Your favourite part of moving in with Emily was definitely the shower; you’d moved from a flat with a from a tiny bath and shower combo unit to a beautiful house on the outskirts of DC with a large walk-in shower and the best water pressure you’d ever experienced; it was quite the upgrade.

“Only if I get to do yours afterwards,” you grin, leaning in for a rather wet and soapy kiss.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” she says, spinning you round and pouring a generous dollop of shampoo into her palm, lathering up your hair as she massages her fingers into your scalp in a delicious massage. You can’t help but lean into the touch, just as you always do with Emily, making her chuckle fondly. “Feel good?”

You just let out a happy moan in response, sighing as the water washes the shampoo away and Emily quickly applies some conditioner. “Your turn,” you say, doing the same for your girlfriend as she sighs appreciatively.

You both shave your legs and underarms quickly before finishing up in the shower and towelling off next to one another in the spacious bathroom. “Right, it’s 5.30,” you say, checking your phone while Emily wraps her hair up, “so we’ve got like… two hours, probably, until Pen and Spencer show up.”

“Plenty of time,” Emily says breezily, waving her hand in your direction as you open the bathroom window to air out the humidity.

“Still, better to be early rather than late,” you say pointedly, grabbing Emily’s hand and dragging her away from her perch by the radiator and into the bedroom.

She hums as she drops her towel and peruses her wardrobe. When she turns back around with the dress she plans on wearing, you don’t bother to hide your blatant appreciation. After all these years you’re still somehow blown away with how sexy Emily manages to be. “Naughty girl,” she gasps in mock admonishment. “We don’t have time for that. Your words not mine.”

“Life’s tough,” you sigh heavily, walking over and squeezing her ass lightly, taking great pleasure in making her jump as you pull out the dress you’d decided on earlier in the week. “What do you think?” you ask her.

“It will look absolutely gorgeous, Y/N,” she promises, kissing your cheek. She passes you your bathrobe and pulls her own on as you both head to your adjoining dressing tables to sort out your hair. “Straight or curly?”

“Hmm, straight, I think,” you reply, “you know I love your natural hair. I’m gonna go curly though, so we’ll compliment each other perfectly.”

You put on some music and get ready together in tandem, and it goes about as simply as it can when Emily’s involved. You only have three make-up brushes chucked at you and her desk isn’t a total disgrace by the time you’re finished, so you take it as a win. It’s just gone 7 by the time you’re both dressed up to the nines and ready for the party.

“You look… breathtaking,” Emily says dreamily as she drinks you in, kissing you gently so as not to smudge either of your lipsticks.

“Thanks, Em,” you say shyly. “You look absolutely beautiful, too.” She’s wearing a gorgeous full-length black dress with a deep v neck line and a slit in the right leg. She’s a vision next to your colourful outfit and bright makeup, always complementing one another in just the right ways.

“Right, well, if we both look amazing, it’s time to set out the food, isn’t it?” she asks, winking at you as she leads the way out to the kitchen, shutting and locking the door behind you to prevent any stray party guests from wandering in.

The next hour passes quickly and soon guests are spilling through the door, brightening the whole house with their chatter and laughter, getting started on the wine and party food. Emily is marginally quieter than usual, but you brush it up to her just being tired, especially when she’s roped into a conversation with Hotch and Rossi and immediately perks up.

The whole of the BAU team is here, along with your best friends and the few Couple Friends you and Emily had made over the last few years that made you both feel far too grown up and sophisticated. Your friends quickly mingle in with the rest of the guests, though, which was your biggest worry, so with that relief you let yourself relax and enjoy the party.

Spencer and Penelope snag you into a conversation, plying you with champagne and the samosas you’d made with Emily earlier until you properly let go and enjoy yourself. “Wait, Emily made these?” Spencer asks, slightly incredulous at the idea of his most chaotic friend being even somewhat capable in the kitchen.

“She was supervised, don’t worry,” you laugh, biting into one delicious samosa after another.

“I wish I could cook,” Spencer says as he accepts another one from Penelope’s proffered plate.

“Aw, I’ll teach you baby genius,” Penelope grins. “But I once watched you try and put a croissant in the toaster, so you may be a lost cause.”

“Hey, that was when I’d first joined the BAU,” Spencer protests. “It was the first time I had a salary and could afford such luxuries, you can’t blame me for not knowing what to do with it.” His defenses fall on deaf ears, though, as you and Penelope laugh loudly at his expense. “Derek will defend me,” he eventually mutters before running off to find his boyfriend.

You and Penelope chat easily for a while, introducing her to a few of your friends as you orbit around the downstairs of your house. Eventually, you cross paths with Emily again, who still looks a little tense and quiet. “Hey,” you say, catching her arm and subtly drawing her to the side. “Is everything okay, baby?”

“Yeah, of course,” she says, plastering on a smile you know is fake. “I’m fine, sweetheart. Just enjoy the party, okay? We’ll talk later.”

You can’t really enjoy the party when the back of your mind is continually worrying about your girlfriend, but you’re able to circle around the house a few more times, chatting with all of your guests as everyone tucks into the alcohol and food. Before you know it it’s nearing midnight and Emily’s in the corner of the kitchen having a serious-looking conversation with Hotch.

Tentatively approaching, you tap Emily on the shoulder. “Everyone’s gonna watch the ball drop in the living room,” you say. “You coming?” You try and smile as encouragingly as possible, taking her soft hand in yours.

“Yeah,” she says, looking a little flustered and you can see a little sheen of sweat on her forehead, “yeah, of course, baby. Let’s go.” She hands her glass of champagne to Hotch in a sort of weird gesture that has you furrowing her eyebrows, but nevertheless she grips your hand firmly and you swan into the living room which is already housing most of the guests, everyone chatting and laughing loudly. The sight of so many people you love and adore has you smiling warmly, and you press your arm up against Emily’s, resting your head on her shoulder as the 2 minute countdown begins.

“I love you so much, you know,” you whisper, just for her to hear in the loud, excited room. “I can’t wait to spend a whole other year together. I feel so lucky to have you.”

She moves her neck slightly causing you to lift your head and you’re met with a happy, excited smile, all traces of the nervous Emily that had been swanning around the party all night disappeared. “I feel even luckier to have you, sweetheart,” she murmurs. “You have no idea.”

You both lean in for a kiss which is quickly interrupted by Derek. “Bit early, ladies,” he calls across the room, “it’s not midnight yet.” He’s got Spencer curled up under his arm on the sofa, resting comfortably next to JJ and Penelope who have also cuddled up together. Hotch and Rossi are standing by the Christmas tree rolling their eyes fondly at their agents.

Emily responds with a purposeful middle finger and a well-practiced sneer, but Derek can’t reply because soon the room fills with a swell of noise as everyone starts to count down.

Everyone cheers as the new year is rung in, but as you turn to kiss Emily, you’re instead faced with her on one knee, offering an absolutely beautiful engagement ring. You gasp loudly, gaining everyone’s attention and everyone stops their celebration as a happy, expectant hush falls on the room, the TV’s celebration the only sound.

“Y/N, I can’t express how much I love you,” Emily starts, voice confident but you can hear the undercurrent of emotion written all over it. “All I want to do for the rest of my life is be with you. Ring in each new year with you, celebrate every Christmas with you, come home from every hard case to you, eat pastry for breakfast with you. You’re all I need to be happy, and you’d make me impossibly happier if you’d do me the honour of being my wife. So, Y/N, will you marry me?”

“Yes, oh my God,” you reply tearfully as soon as she’s finished, tears spilling down your face as she carefully pushes the ring onto your finger and stands up to hug you. Everyone around you is clapping and cheering and celebrating your love but your whole world is shrunk down to the two of you, Emily’s hands on your lower back, her ring on your finger, the press of her body up against yours.

Eventually though, you pull away and kiss her, turning to face your guests with the happiest smile on your face. Hotch is smiling proudly and all the events of the evening slip into place, so you turn to kiss Emily on the cheek fondly. Penelope is crying, naturally, as are most of your friends and everyone crowds round in excitement, congratulating the two of you.

When you finally get a bit of space later in the night, you ask Emily where she’d kept the ring all evening.

“In my bra,” she answers, grinning widely.

“God, how did I not guess that,” you smile fondly, rolling your eyes. You kiss her anyway, though, because she’s hot and you’re very much in love.

“I’m so fucking happy you said yes,” she whispers, keeping her head pressed closely to yours.

“Did you seriously think I would ever say anything else?” you ask, surprised that Emily could possibly think you’d say no.

“Well, I obviously had a feeling,” she admits. “But you can’t help but feel fearful of the tiny probability you’re wrong.”

“Well I didn’t,” you say happily, leaning forward slightly to kiss her softly on the nose.

“No, you didn’t,” Emily replies, gripping her hand. “I seriously love you so much, Y/N.”

“And I seriously love you so much, Emily,” you grin. “I can’t wait to call you my wife, but I’m dead happy with fiancée. That will definitely suffice for now.”

The guests slowly trickle out as the hours tick on, eager to leave the newly engaged couple to themselves. Penelope and Spencer make you promise to have a catch-up brunch in the next few weeks to which you eagerly agree, and Hotch and Rossi both congratulate you like they’re both you and Emily’s dads. Derek gives you both massive hugs and JJ follows up with much gentler hugs and congratulations.

“Tidy up in the morning?” you propose, making Emily’s eyebrows shoot up; you usually insist on tidying up there and then, but she quickly understands as you start to unzip your dress and walk backwards towards the bedroom.

“Tidy up in the morning, indeed,” she agrees, running after you.

“My fiancée,” you sigh happily as you enter your cosy bedroom, pausing to kiss Emily softly.

“Your fiancée,” Emily agrees with a wide grin gracing her lips, leading you to the bed as you both start off this next exciting chapter of your lives together in the most appropriate way you can imagine.

@strippersenseii @criminalmindsvibez

[just-anka]

I realised I haven’t really regularly posted here since like... I don’t even know, September? It’s been a while, anyway. A lot happened, and I now feel like actually writing a post for the first time in a while, so here goes haha. The first bullet point is entirely work waffle so feel free to skip. Apologies in advance for the fact that this post will probably reach novel length by the time I’m done. 

• I took a week off in late September before Ben started his new job so we could go to the mountains for a bit, and it was a much-needed little break from work. And pretty much right after I got back, work got completely mental - nothing bad as such, just one thing after the other, loads of deadlines, so many important things. First I was finishing up data for a paper (first authorship was being debated which is partially why I threw myself into the job so much, but it looks like it’ll be the PhD student before me’s now, which is how it should be tbh, it’s much more hers than it is mine), then the date for my first committee meeting was set and I suddenly had only two weeks to prepare (did not think it was going to be that short notice, whoops, had a very stressful two weeks but all went well - for us, this meeting means presenting our research plan and preliminary data to a committee of four professors so they can give you input, it’s not suuuper formal but still pretty stressful), then I had to write the report for that (I love writing so that one was okay), then there was suddenly a lot to do for a really important cooperation with a company (big money responsibility which stressed me the fuck out), and then, just as I thought I was pretty much done for the year, I realised I needed my lab book up to date for my end of year meeting with my PI (which wouldn’t be such a big deal, except I didn’t have a lab book at the time. Never got around to starting one. So nine months of lab book were written within another very stressful week). Whew. Even writing this out makes me feel like that was a lot haha. 

• After the end of year discussion, I really was done for the year - I officially worked until the 23rd but there was not that much actual work happening, and with the pressure off after months, I properly crashed for a few days. Ben left for England on the weekend after to see his family for christmas etc, and I spent most of that weekend sleeping and doing very little. It was needed. Then my mum came to visit me for the holidays and we had four really lovely days together, also involving a lot of chilling (the only actual thing we did was that magical winter hike that I posted some pictures of the other day). 

• And now I’m skiing! I was planning to go to England as well for NYE to see Ben’s family, but with the corona situation escalating again lately I decided it was too risky for just a few days. So I made a last-minute plan to go skiing by myself instead, because all that involves is a 2 hour train journey. I’m actually staying in a hotel too, which I’ve never done by myself before, I’m usually a dorm in a hostel type of person, but well. Covid has changed a lot of things :D trying to stay safe and away from people, which is of course not entirely possible in a ski resort, but it’s going okay. The skiing itself is great, it’s really nice having some time to go at my own pace and a few days in a row. Today was day 4 and I’ve really found my groove again (more on that later). There’s not much snow though so not many off-pisteing opportunities :/ I’m staying until Monday and then it’s back to work on Wednesday. 

• Speaking of skiing, we’ve got season passes this year, my first season and Ben’s second. We’ve just been doing on the weekends so far - since the 21st of November I just realised while looking back in my calendar! That’s one hell of an early season start haha. We did just one day three weekends and then one full weekend right before Ben left. The first few days were bloody hard. For context, I learned to ski before I learned to walk and loved it as a child, then stopped for a few years because I felt like I wasn’t progressing anymore and was getting bored with it, basically. Then last January I went to France with Ben and his skiing friends and got introduced to freeriding and the idea of ski touring, and now I’m back to loving it haha. I’d ideally like to not have to resort ski anymore at one point (meaning touring) because I know it’s terrible from an environmental standpoint but... idk. It’s currently my only option, and I love it a lot, so I guess it feels okay? Anyway, since I learned to ski so early, it’s the one sport that I’ve always been pretty good at and like, never get scared, at least not on piste. Until this year. The first three individual days were just all kind of horrible, the conditions weren’t ideal with very hard surface and tons of ice and pretty busy slopes, and only steep terrain open as well (Engelberg, our “home” resort - we have a season pass that encompasses a bunch of resorts so we’re not limited to one - is literally dead flat beginner’s slopes, which weren’t open in the beginning, or red runs that should be black and black lol). Pairing loads of ice with my old skis which barely have an edge anymore was... not ideal. I was so scared constantly and it made me like I lost all my ability etc etc. But yeah, turns out I just needed a few days and some easier conditions to get back into it, and now ice and steep stuff and everything is fine again. Who would’ve thought. (a sensible person, probably). 

• But then, the full weekend we skied in December was awesome! Saturday already felt much better and then it snowed a bunch over night and Sunday we spent all day powder skiing, basically. I learned SO much and just had an absolute ball! Definitely one of the best days skiing I’ve had, and one of the best days recently in general. 

• Plus that whole weekend was just lovely, car camping in a campsite full of huge campervans was pretty fun :D I love the looks we get when people see the car and clearly wonder where we sleep. And we’ve got our setup perfected for winter now so both the nights were toasty. Friday night we had dinner in “bed” watching a movie, and Saturday night we sat in the little kitchen (the campsite has it open for everyone, but everyone else there has a camper, so it doesn’t seem to be used much) drinking tea and playing cards and ahh. Camping in the mountains. My ideal life eh? (though the weekend before this wonderful one, we got snowed in because it dumped over a metre over night completely unexpectedly and that was stressful as hell, but I think that’s a story for another day, if ever, I’m kind of trying to forget that day :’D) 

• Yesterday I also finally took the plunge and ordered new skis. Been debating for ages which ones to get but I’ve finally decided and I’m now very excited! 

• Ok this post so far reads as “work and skiing” which is pretty much what November and December were and probably what January is going to be too haha. Ben and I want to ski another week together end of January as well, and there’s some big exciting work things coming up as well. 

• Even though I have to admit, now that I’m on a break, I’ve spent a lot of time dreading work and questioning my career choices and all of that lark... sigh. I love my job most of the time, but I kind of hate having a job? If that makes sense? Sometimes (okay a lot of the time) I just wish I had more time for other things that I care about. But I also now I’m lucky to have that job, especially this year, and lucky to have a job I don’t hate, and get to do a lot of fun stuff on the side, even if it often means little sleep and downtime. 

• Speaking of things I care about, I was on a proper roll with writing for a few days before and after Christmas. It’s ebbed off again a bit, but it was still pretty cool, and my totally-useless-all-cheese-project is now 33,000+ words long and like, half-way there story wise. Had a lot of fun with that. 

• Lastly, Ben is still in England, and he’s coming back next Sunday, and I can’t wait! I miss him so much when we’re not together it’s actually silly. Although it’s less stressful this time than the last few times because... we live together, his work just offered him an unlimited contract from January, and I’m stuck here for another 2-3 years, so it looks like we’ll actually get to be in the same place for now. Which is all I wished for last year, and I’m so damn grateful - that stability really is the best thing 2020 has brought for me. And, as he said, even though we were apart for the start of the new year, it will hopefully bring more time together than any previous year ♡

• Okay I think this is long enough now, if you actually made it until here you’re a hero and I will try and post a bit more regularly again now to avoid this size of mind dump :’D I hope you all got into the new year alright, it feels very strange to me that it’s 2021 because I actually slept through midnight on new year’s for the first time since I was tiny haha but I’m sure a lot of people feel the same way! 

[mjn-air]

hello! i hope you're having a lovely week and i hope the year ahead is kind to you <3 anyway i'm trapped somewhere i don't want to be and i have an unfortunate problem called 'think about hercolyn too much' so here's a new year's headcanon. carolyn obviously has NO patience for new year's because it's just another day in just another year. if anything it's an annoyance having to remember a whole new number. arthur obviously loves it - hats and fireworks and celebrations? he's there for that (1)

and indeed in years gone by arthur has been known to host excellent nye parties that carolyn begrudgingly allows. it's a big house and she insists upon being left alone. eventually mjn takes over their lives and arthur stops doing such lavish parties with loads of guests, and almost stops celebrating altogether until he has the genius idea of inviting martin + douglas over and the first time it is SUPER awkward but eventually it becomes a kind of tradition in its own right (2)

so naturally, herc gets invited on the first new year's that they know him, and he's at the house early because he's there all the time these days (often in the same place, you see) and he's helping arthur prepare nibbles for later and he's doing these little veggie wraps and carolyn's like 'gross. i'm not eating that' and herc and arthur are like yeah whatever we know you like it secretly. and later when the others arrive, there's a super weird energy in the room (3)

because for so long it's just been the four of them hanging out and occasionally a couple of arthur's friends too, and douglas is still a bit guarded with herc, and carolyn is desperate not to show affection in front of her pilots, and herc is desperate to show her affection because he loves her, and arthur loves everyone and wants everyone to have fun, so they crack out the board games and get into a really intense game so they forget the time (4)

and then they're like oh damn it's nearly midnight, so carolyn + herc go to the kitchen to get more champagne but get distracted by bickering with each other and the excuse carolyn will use later is that they were kind of tipsy so her inhibitions were lowered. anyway that's how everyone catches them having a new year's kiss. and never ever lets them live it down. <3 (5/5)

--------------

THANK YOU SO MUCH, LOVE and I hope you too will have a peaceful new year’s eve and nnnggghhh THANK YOU I LOVE YOU AND HUGS AND please get un-trapped soon <3

(I’ll be all alone tomorrow and I will read this ask at least twenty times to comfort myself. it means so much to me I can’t even tell)

[akaashisbabydoll]

A Letter From Me To You

Chapter 1

Mornings, it's not really your thing. You hate mornings. You purposely do not set your alarms before you go to sleep just because you dont want to be waken up in the morning. When you stepped high school, Akaashi has been your personal alarm clock. When he wakes up first thing he'll do in the morning is to call your phone to wake you up. It's been both your routine for years. Up until now Akaashi still calls you early in the morning, he never missed.

"Y/n, finally. I've been calling you for like the past three minutes. Didn't I tell you not to put your phone in silent?" He nagged, as usual.

"Akaashi, good morning to you too."

"Get up and fix yourself, don't make this personal alarm to put in vain." You sighed and he continued "Kuroo and Kenma is on their way to your house by the way."

"Ugh! Why? It's too early to hear Kuroo's annoying voice."

"Well you didn't mind me nagging you every morning." He immediately respond. You went silent. Doesn't what to say after what he said.

Akaashi Keiji, the ultimate hearthrob, the perfect guy you've ever met. Smart, sporty, kind, he sometimes salty too but you don't mind a little spice in your life.

Yes, you got a crush on Akaashi, for a while now. You have just realized that when he transfered school. You've been looking for him unconciously, waiting for his emails, waiting for his calls. You were very confused before on why girls on your middle school likes him so much. And then here you are, frustrated because you missed him even though you're still denial with yourself that you have a crush on him.

You shut your eyes and sighed, he probably heard it over the phone so he asked, "What's wrong?"

You being you, you answered, "Nothing. Whatever. I'll go fix myself now."

"You better."

"Nye nye" you childishly respond. You heard him chuckled on the other line and you smiled. You missed that.

"Bye, y/n i got to go. We have early practice." Before you even bid your goodbye, the line ended. "Bye Keiji, hear you tomorrow morning again." You mumbled.

- - - - -

"Hmmm!! Y/n!! I have now decided to eat breakfast in your house starting tomorrow!" Kuroo cheerfully stated. Hand in his pockets walking backwards, facing us, Kenma and you. While Kenma busy with his games. You rolled my eyes on him.

"You just announced that like you haven't been doing that for a week now." You said. He immediately went to my side and nudge me. "Hey i bring something sometimes too." He defended. You just shook your head with what he said. You don't actually mind Kuroo and Kenma eating breakfast in your home, your parents doesnt mind too. They know both of the boys are your friends.

While you two are walking side by side he just randomly snatched your bag to you slowly and carried it himself. He was too carried away with his talks about this one member from their volleyball team named Lev, who's so tall and bad at receiving. You didn't mind. He casually do that all the time when you walk together to school and when you go home.

When the three of you arrived to school you know that both Kuroo and Kenma goes straight to the gym. Kuroo gave back your bag to you and patted the top of your head. Kenma stopped playing his games so he is now looking at you both.

"Bye kiddo, see ya at lunch?" He said while patting the top of your head.

"You're not gonna sneak away, Kuroo. Yaku will kill you." Kenma inserted.

"Tsk. Fine. See ya at dismissal then. Bye kiddo!" Kuroo said and ran off to the gym.

"Both of you literally have the same age." Kenma mumbled. He turned to you and said, "Bye Y/n, text us if you have an emergency ok?" And you nodded and he went with Kuroo.

Kuroo is older than you while Kenma and you are a year lower. The three of you actually, Akaashi, Kenma and you are both 2nd years.

On your way to your locker you suddenly remembered the letter you got yesterday. You didn't mind it at all. It was nothing special for you. It was just one letter. But then when you opened your locker, a letter fell again. Same color as yesterday. You sighed and picked the letter up.

"He knows me?" You mumbled. For you its getting creepier. You aren't in for this kind of things. Letters and confessions. Especially letters from anonymous. You find iy creepy because someone is looking at you without you knowing and it makes you feel weak. Like anytime he can snatch you away.

You folded the letter and went straight to your classroom. Your classmates greeted you good morning as usual and you greeted back. You were in your table and you were preparing your things to put under your desk for the first subject when your hand felt an object under your desk. You looked at it and its a paper. A pretty paper at that. You looked at it and it's sealed, its different than the first one, it's not pink, it's brown.

You opened it, not sure if it is indeed for you, but you dont care because it's under your desk at the first place.

Different hand writing too. It's short but you know that the first letter you've got is different than this. Starry night? You immediately thought about Van Gogh's painting. The famous Starry Night. Your most favorite painting. Only a few people knows about that, the closest ones are your parents, Kuroo, Kenma and Akaashi. Unless, they mentioned it to someone else? But you know they wont do that because they know you dont want them to talk about you.

You are now kind of shaken with these letters. These are not the simple letter you've been getting. These are different and you can feel it. You don't know what to do now. Here you thought you're going to have a peaceful year.

Updated! Lol gonna fix my masterlist soon probably hehe have a nice day everyone <3

Prologue || Chapter 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MASTERLIST

[acelucky]

A kiss for New Year's Eve

Pairing: Gaddes x Eries Warnings: None  Word count: 

Summary - A very short and quickly written ficlet that I wanted to have up on NYE itself but delays happen! Gaddes escapes a party on NYE as he plans on spending midnight alone with his thoughts, Eries sees him slip away and worried she follows him. The two meet just before midnight. 

Gaddes made the decision early into the night that he would spend midnight alone. While the party ebbed away the night he would prefer to see in the new year without the company of others and content in his own thoughts.

So much had come to pass over the year that he felt he hadn’t had a moment to decompress and fully reflect on all that had changed. So to spend this time alone was a blessing to him.

Looking round at his crew, at Allen and Millerna, Dryden and everyone else who had gathered his heart swelled with love and pride. They drank and danced, ate more than they had in weeks and for the most part Gaddes had enjoyed this, laughing and making toasts. As music played on he felt warm inside and perfectly at peace for the first time in ages. 

He took his chance at 23:45 to slip away, it wasn’t so early that people would question where he was gone. And was too late that should anyone notice he’d left before midnight, they wouldn’t have time to find him. 

Gaddes didn’t travel too far, but rode up into the hills where he could enjoy the view of both the world below and the stars above. Though the air was practically frozen he’d wrapped himself up in a warm cloak and after all the food and drink did not mind the cold air. The grass underneath him glittered with frost, his breath danced in patterns as whenever he breathed out and finally he found the spot where he would rest.

While he had been riding he was sure someone had followed him, though whenever he looked over his shoulders there was no one there. He rest contented that it must have been his imagination in the darkness playing tricks on him. But as he sat and drank from his flask, the feeling creeped over him. 

He stood up and looked towards the rocks and mounds behind him, “Hello?” He asked taking a step forward, hand on the hilt of his sword. 

Gaddes heard soft breathing and then a familiar smell, one that he would never forget. 

“Princess?” He asked into the dark.

A few moments passed and then a figure emerged from behind the cover, her head was bowed as if trying to hide her embarrassment at being caught especially considering her position. 

Gaddes removed his hand from his sword and rushed forward to Eries, as he went to reach out to her and place his hands on her shoulders to make sure she was okay, he remembered his position and stopped short. 

Eries was visibly shivering, it appeared to Gaddes she had left in a hurry and without preparation. Without a second’s thought he removed his cloak and wrapped it round her shoulders.

“Here, this ought to help,” he said as he draped it round her. 

She looked up at him, ‘I hope you won’t think me foolish, I know I shouldn’t have left…but I saw you slip away and I was worried about you.”

Before Gaddes had a chance to respond she continued, “Parties have never been my thing anyway, too noisy and too many people. I much prefer this,” she gazed up at the night sky, a small and innocent smile played on her face.

Gaddes mulled over how to respond, in many ways he was speechless and yet there was so much he wanted to say to her. He and Eries had known one another for a long time and although they’d never been alone together like this, they often would pass one another or have short conversations, sharing in their thoughts and the occasional jokes. Gaddes had developed a fondness for her which he was sure would be unrequited, even if it wasn’t it would never be allowed and so he had never spoken a word of it to anyone.

“Me too,” he agreed, “It’s why I came here, to be alone.”

He regretted his words as soon as he spoke and on seeing Eries’ reaction, the familiar look of disappointment on her face he added quickly, “Not that I mind you being here, quite the opposite.” He could feel his cheeks redden as he made his confession. 

Eries smiled, “I am glad.”

“Come,” Gaddes said and took hold of her hand. He led her to the blanket he’d spread on the grass and helped her to sit down. Behind them her horse followed dutifully. 

Gaddes sat beside her and for a moment they enjoyed the peace in one another’s company.

“I…I…there was a reason that I…” Eries stuttered as she spoke, clearly struggling to get out the words she wanted to speak.

Gaddes turned to her, in a moment of unprecedented confidence that he wasn’t sure where it came from, he took hold of her chin, his thumb gently stroking her skin.

“It’s okay Princess, sometimes no words are needed.”

She gave a small laugh and nodded, this was a side of that Gaddes rarely saw and certainly never quite like this. It suited her, she deserved every happiness.

Gaddes pulled away, afraid he’d overstepped the mark, his hand went back to the blanket and the other grabbed the flask and offered her a drink. She took it gladly and after taking a sip asked, “So you came up here to see in the New Year alone? In a way I think that’s rather admirable and noble.”

Now it was Gaddes’ turn to chuckle, “Something like that, too much noise like you said. I love them all dearly and have had the most wonderful evening, but I find it is important to enjoy your own company. There are some moments in life where you just need space and time to think, to put things right in your mind and then start over, or something like that anyway.” 

She nodded, “Well I am truly sorry for disturbing you in that, I could go if you would prefer?”

Gaddes turned to her and shook his head violently, “No, please…stay.”

Eries smiled, her hand rested on the blanket, finger tips so close to touching Gaddes’ hand. 

Just then a firework went off lighting up the sky with golden rain for a second. 

“Midnight,” Eries said quietly, her finger tips now grazing Gaddes’ skin, “I’ve never been kissed at midnight.”

A moment later several more fireworks exploded and so the dance of colour & fire begun across the city and land. All the colours of the rainbow coming to life to greet the New Year. Eries placed her hand on top of Gaddes’ and squeezed. 

Gaddes’ heart thumped in his chest, just feeling her so close, “Happy New Year Eries.”

He leant in, she too following him and closing the gap between them as their lips met for the first time. Gaddes moved his free hand up to her cheek to cup it as his lips moved softly and gently against hers. A New Year’s Eve kiss at midnight, the first of many the two would share. 

[pinkysfaultorbrainsfault]

animaniacs - s1e40: puppet rulers

episode summary: after seeing how small children react to the characters on their favourite tv show, brain decides that he and pinky will be children’s tv characters, too, before cryogenically freezing themselves for long enough that nostalgia tricks everyone into loving them enough to... elect them world leaders.

because people are totally thinking about old cartoons thirty years after they came off the air, right? that’s a thing normal people do.

the rundown:

we open in 1954.

nobody knows when in 1954 though, because whoever owns this calender isn’t ticking off the days. never mind! i’m sure they have more important things to do.

like welding some shit together, or whatever, like this guy is doing. “there. albert einstien’s latest experiment will be a powerful success.” if it’s albert einstien’s experiment, i don’t know why he hired this guy to do it, but i guess that’s between the big man and himself.

turns out the experiment only needs to be “powerful enough to pull five boxcars and a little caboose”, which is fine. fair enough if albert einstien wants to outsource production of his trainset. he’s probably busy being photographed for ridiculous facebook memes that say shit like “masks give you HIV”. 🙄 

meanwhile, as the music swells and the theme tune comes into the musical layers, we see pinky walking towards brain, who is preparing his coffin. it has a little alarm clock on it so he doesn’t miss bill nye the science guy.

“i’m finished, pinky.” he proclaims. he sure is. “with this cryonic capsule, we shall freeze ourselves and awaken fourty years in the future.” which i suppose is a little less morbid than, yknow, being dead. and bill nye should still be on tv, so it isn’t all bad.+

“egad, brain. what will we do in the future?”

“i don’t know, pinky, but it has to be better than what we’re doing now.”

i feel for him. i have never seen these mice in a well equipped cage. would it kill y’all to put some fucking climbers in there??? jesus.

suddenly, some children appear.

“uncle albert,” they cry. “uncle albert, it’s time.” ominous.

“but kiddies, uncle albert is doing an experiment and did you say it’s time.”

ominous! fortunately, “time” here means “time to sit down and watch tv.”

“hey kids!” says the friendly propellor worm on screen. “what time is it?” it is in fact “TIME FOR MEANIE!” as uncle albert and his fluffy brood proudly complain. yaaaay!

YAAAAAAAAAY.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY.

anyway turns out meany’s a bit of a dick.

pinky and brain watch on as the worm gets beaten to death. they are not particularly interested in the violence taking place, until Tiny Einstien Boy Edition (tinestien?) mentions that he wishes “treacle and meanie was president.”

to which brain makes this face.

hm. this is the face i make at my dentist when he asks to see if i’ve been maintaining my crown. sorry that my last dentist exploded my teeth or whatever. that’s kind of why i’m here.

“pinky, are you pondering what i’m pondering?” i want to take a moment out here to point out how fucking tiny brain is pinky is laying on his chest. horizontal and he is still taller than brain i just/?? he’s so fucking small. pinky could just pick him up. he couldn’t do anything. pinky could fucking yeet him like a basketball. or maybe just give him a nice hug.

anyway it turns out brain finally has a use for his cryochamber! he wants to get himself on Time For Meany and “endear himself in the hearts of children.”

anyway so once those kids grow up and become world leaders, they will remember brain fondly enough in their hearts so that... when he thaws out, they’ll, uh, elect him president. not entirely... foolproof, perhaps? but on the other hand if the nice couple from out of the box ran for joint prime minister i’d be pretty hype about it. out of the box doot doot out of the box.

pinky wants his show name to be “big ears.”

brain is more into the idea of being The Iconoclast, an Unconventional Eccentric Who Marches To A Different Drummer. privately that sounds like every single half-bearded nerd man at uni who basically accused me of having my boyfriend do all my coursework for me. does brain intend to hang around cardboard forbidden planet and tell the puppet girls that they don’t have the right to be into guardians of the galaxy? is brain going to be passive aggressive about that 2:2 i got in sculpting and rigging, thomas?????

“oh. i thought maybe you could be noodle noggin.”

we then cut to the studio, where the Fat Ceo Man wants the puppeteer to come up with new puppet characters for the next show. unfortunately, the next show is in three minutes, so he’s not very happy.

good thing he gets this suspicious package in the mail, eh?

as expected, it’s full of mice.

“oh my gosh!” cries our man, who has never seen a mouse before, apparently. “talking puppets!”

“actually we are two laboratory mice who wish to be on your show as part of an intricate plan to take over the world.”

“oh, wow, these are really good.”

so the boys make it on! they probably gave mr puppet man a religious experience, but we don’t see him again, so it’s fine.

“hold it, meany! everyone must meet our two new friends! this is big ears! take a bow, big ears!”

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY.

“and i am the iconoclast, an unconventional eccentric who marches to a different drummer--”

“but you may call me noodle noggin.”

you can’t see it very well in the last image, because uncle albert’s calender is in the way, but this is basically every episode. big ears says something, noodle noggin says something else that’s slightly more pretentious, meany hits him with a big stick.

everyone fucking loves it.

(fuck me. i never actually looked at this screencap close up before. why is pinky in a mousetrap?? why does it have their real names on it???? and why the FUCK do i not have a little brain toy in his own tiny wagon??? hello??? socialist police????)

unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and all projects with talking mice in it must be cancelled absurdly early. and an elmyra reboot of big ears and noodle noggin would be pointless, because brain already gets hit on the head in every episode, so eventually brain has to make the announcement.

“this program has been our last show.” he just sort of... says it, and you can tell pinky definitely wasn’t expecting it. he looks genuinely sad.

but not as sad as the children. even mousetrap pinky looks distraught.

the mice don’t care, obviously, and waste no time in jetting back to the Studio Fridge to activate their cryonic chamber, where pinky makes a very interesting point.

“but brain, why are we freezing ourselves at the height of our popularity?

“to stay fresh in their memory, pinky. we must, to paraphrase milton berle, ‘leave them wanting more’. i’ll see you in the future, pinky.”

there are no good frames for that portion of dialogue but whatever! let’s see how well that goes for them.

conclusion:

so the first thing the boys do upon waking up from ice and dust is to broadcast themselves on tv. “remember me?” asks brain. “it’s your old pal, the iconoclast.”

“and his old pal! zort! big ears!”

it’s very cute.

unfortunately these people are less impressed. they just sort of point, in a scary way. brain invites them all down to the tv station to “shower us in praise and material gifts,” and waits for the fans’ inevitable arrival.

“at last, we can write our own ticket, pinky. no longer in glorious suffering.” alright, hubert von vestra! calm down.

which is when the fans show up. hopefully the fact that they are all morbidly obese is like... coincidental, or to show off the fact that they’re all wearing kid tshirts, right? surely pinky and the brain wouldn’t tell me, a disabled person, that fat people are Bad And Losers? surely not.

“at last, my public has come to shower me with gifts.”

“guess again, noodle noggin!”

“huh.”

“you abandoned us!” cries the crowd. “you went away! you ruined our lives!” as brain tries to grapple with the fact that they are not, in fact, worshipping his image (and uploading pictures of him in the garden of mindy dress to e621) they present him with inordinately expensive therapy bills, because america be that way.

“PAY EM.” yells a gruff man with terrible facial hair. pinky and brain decide they would rather not.

honestly, i’m going to have to give this one to brain. sorry, brain. pinky did make the point earlier, and maybe if brain had thought about it, they might have been able to edit the plan a little and have things work out differently?

or maybe he was just tired of getting hit on the head all the time. ask pinky about that one, b.

brain: 3 pinky: 3 outside influence: 5

“quickly, pinky, we have work to do.”

“you mean taking over the world?”

“no. like finding a good hiding place.”

[laura-elizabeth91]

FROM 2019

Matt Chorley: behind the scenes at 10 Downing Street

Times political expert Matt Chorley speaks with former prime ministers, senior civil servants and spin doctors to find out what the new inhabitant of No 10 can expect in his first 48 hours in office (whoever he may be)

Not many people get to do it. In the past half-century, more people have walked on the Moon than across the threshold of No 10 as a new prime minister.

When the new prime minister stands on those famous steps next Wednesday afternoon he will find it a daunting prospect. They always do. Sir John Major felt it had come too soon. When he was confirmed as the new PM in 1990, his wife, Norma, turned to a friend and asked, “Is it going to be all right?”

Britain’s political system does not allow for a slow and careful transition between administrations, as in America. Some, like Gordon Brown, have years to prepare. Others, like Theresa May, a matter of days. This time, the new prime minister will be named on Tuesday and he will take office the next day, stepping on to a nonstop treadmill charging at 100mph.

“You’re never ready,” says Tony Blair. “The one thing you realise the moment you come into government is that campaigning to be the government is completely different from governing as the government.” Was he frightened? “Yeah, I was … ‘Frightened’ is perhaps not the right word, but I was somewhat overawed, yeah.”

Recalling that night in May 1997 as he willed the Tories to win more seats, fearing a New Labour landslide might spark some kind of constitutional crisis, he adds, “I think I was one of the very few sober people around that night and I was very sober and very, very conscious of the responsibility.”

For David Cameron, there was the psychodrama of five days of coalition talks, before it became clear that he would indeed be PM. Sitting in the leader of the opposition’s office in the Houses of Parliament, he called his wife: “Sam, love, you’d better get your frock ready. We’re going to see the Queen.”

And that is the first thing that happens even before you get to Downing Street: a trip to Buckingham Palace.

The Queen After PMQs on Wednesday, May will formally resign as PM, recommending to the Queen whom to summon as her successor. May will arrive at the palace in her prime ministerial limousine, but be driven away in a private car. The trappings of power fall away quickly.

The audience with the Queen can be a daunting moment, not least because she will remind the new PM that he is the 14th of her reign. Winston Churchill was her first.

Blair was waiting in a Buckingham Palace anteroom for his first audience with the Queen when an official approached to explain, “You don’t actually kiss the Queen’s hands in the ceremony of kissing hands. You brush them gently with your lips,” as he recalls in his memoir. This left the PM-in-waiting baffled, wondering if this meant brushing like a pair of shoes or the very lightest of touches.

Before he had time to work it out, he was ushered in, tripping on a piece of carpet and almost falling directly upon the Queen’s hands – “not so much brushing them as enveloping them”.

Margaret Thatcher insisted her audiences with the Queen were “quietly businesslike”, although she said stories about tensions between the two women were simply “too good not to make up”.

Cameron had a habit of blurting out details of his conversations with the Queen – famously that she “purred” down the phone to him after Scotland voted no to independence.

The speech From the palace it is a short mile and a half car journey down the Mall and Whitehall to Downing Street to address the nation. This speech matters.

“The new PM must first write notes only to be opened in the event of an apocalypse

It has grown in significance. For Thatcher quoting St Francis of Assisi (“Where there is discord, may we bring harmony”), it was a few snatched words to a huddle of cameras. These days it is a big lectern moment. As with May’s “burning injustices”, those first words on the steps of No 10 can set the tone for a premiership, and come back to haunt you.

With the world’s media gathered opposite No 10 and news helicopters hovering overhead, the narrow street creates a cauldron of noise.

It was easier for Blair – Labour apparatchiks had packed the street with Union Jack-waving party supporters. A decade later Brown took no chances. On the morning he became prime minister he went into a room in the Treasury with his gatekeeper Sue Nye and spin doctor Damian McBride to practise delivering his speech without notes – “I will try my utmost” – while his two aides played the role of protesters.

“Boo!” shouted Nye. “You’re a bad man!”

McBride got more into it: “Why did you sell the gold, Gordon? You ruined my pension! You’ve got blood on your hands!” At this last insult Brown stopped mid-speech and demanded to know, “Why is there blood on my hands?”

Some are more memorable than others – Cameron declaring, “This is going to be hard and difficult work,” had the hallmarks of a speech written in haste. It was also delivered in the dark, thanks to the Dark Lord of spin, Peter Mandelson. He advised Brown to leave in the early evening, still in daylight, knowing that by the time Cameron reached Downing Street the gloom would have descended.

The door Having delivered the speech in a blaze of flashbulbs, the new prime minister will turn and walk towards perhaps the most famous door in the world. This is the moment he will have fantasised about.

Waiting behind the door will be Sir Mark Sedwill, the cabinet secretary, at least for now. There has been speculation he could face the chop, although the new PM might soon realise they have bigger things to worry about.

The cabinet secretary, the most senior civil servant in the country, welcomes the new prime minister and their spouse (if they have one) before the couple walk towards the cabinet room, down the corridor lined with Downing Street staff who just an hour earlier will have waved off Team May. Lord O’Donnell, former cabinet secretary under Blair, Brown and Cameron, says, “You’ve got a very frenetic hour when you’re rearranging the furniture. You’re trying to work out precisely what our new prime minister might want. It’s horrible. It’s … barbaric, actually, is the word I would use.”

The changeover is brutal in its speed and efficiency. On the night in 2010 when Brown left Downing Street he was barely out the door when Jeremy Heywood, the No 10 permanent secretary, told staff to “snap out of it. We have a job to do.” And so they dried their eyes and prepared for Cameron’s arrival.

“It’s a bit mawkish really,” says Baroness Bertin, who entered No 10 as Cameron’s press secretary. “You can still, you know, smell them. They’ve only just left. The pizza boxes were still in the bin. We all trooped into Gordon Brown’s office and the table had scratch marks and indentation marks where we imagined mobile phones had been smashed into it.”

The civil servants will line up, clap and smile and make their new boss feel welcome. This tradition is born not out of servitude to new masters but a more practical purpose: in the pre-television age, it was a chance for Downing Street staff to see the new PM and their team up close so they could recognise them about the place.

“It’s very noisy,” recalls Katie Perrior, who entered No 10 in 2016 as May’s director of communications. “There’s lots of back-patting and people are realising, ‘We’re here now.’ ”

Anji Hunter, Blair’s adviser, says this moment illustrates the professionalism of the civil service. “They don’t display their political affiliations. That same group of people had been there an hour before we were there, weeping as Major left with Norma. They had clapped out John Major and they clapped us in, beaming, literally beaming and delightful.”

Blair arrived deeply suspicious of the civil service, believing they were beholden to the long-running outgoing Conservative administration. The same was true of Cameron when he moved in after 13 years of New Labour. “Actually, within almost hours that’s completely gone,” says O’Donnell.

While the clapping and smiling have been going on, the cabinet secretary has run round the back corridor to be waiting for the PM outside the cabinet room.

The cabinet room Stepping into the famous cabinet room can be an emotional moment. Blair said he pictured “a thousand images fluttering through my mind” of Disraeli and Gladstone and Asquith, Lloyd George and Churchill and every other great statesman who had held court and power in this room.

David Cameron, alongside wife Samantha, is ushered into the cabinet room for the first time by cabinet secretary Gus O’Donnell, May 11, 2010ANDREW PARSONS/I-IMAGES

A photographer captured the moment Cameron had his head in his hands as he entered the room, as the enormity of it all dawned on him. O’Donnell was to his left, while to his right was his wife, Samantha, pregnant with their daughter, Florence, who was allowed to enjoy the private moment of history before being whisked off.

By tradition all the chairs around the cabinet table are neatly pushed in; the prime minister’s seat is at an angle. It is also the only chair with arms.

The PM sits. Waiting on the vast coffin-shaped table is bottled water, still and sparkling, and a small dish of mints. It is going to be an intense first meeting. After all the euphoria, the applause and the smiles, it quickly gets serious. Really serious.

The letters One of the first jobs is to write letters to the UK’s Trident submarine commanders giving targeting instructions only to be opened in the event of a nuclear attack where communications with London have broken down.

“Cameron held an ‘Ibiza-style rave’ at Chequers for his wife’s birthday

The chief of the defence staff, General Sir Nicholas Carter, is likely to be on hand to offer advice. However, nobody knows what the PM puts in the letters, which are sealed and taken to the Clyde naval base in Scotland where the submarines are based, with whichever boat is at sea having its letter on board.

The PM must also name a dozen ministers and advisers who would be given a space in the underground nuclear bunker, alongside their families, in the event of Armageddon.

Joining them around the cabinet table might be the heads of the security services. There will be a fast update on the most pressing issues of national security: live counterterror operations, imminent threats and urgent decisions delayed by their predecessor.

“This isn’t exactly an easy first couple of meetings,” says O’Donnell.

“It’s incredibly scary,” agrees Lord Wood of Anfield, a foreign policy adviser to Brown. “It’s a particular kind of torture to make the first act of a prime minister, literally within 30 seconds, this extraordinarily dramatic act of handwritten notes only to be opened in the event of an apocalypse.”

That moment encapsulates the feeling of loneliness that so many prime ministers have spoken of. There is no one to share it with, nowhere to turn. The buck stops with you and you alone.

The team While things are calm but serious in the cabinet room, outside all hell could be breaking loose as the PM’s political team get to meet their new colleagues, tour their new office and try to grab the best desks.

In 2007, while Brown was at the palace his team had a 2pm appointment at the “link door”, a Star Trek-like glass capsule door that connects the cabinet office with the rear of No 10.

“You walk into the pod,” recalls Wood. “It shuts behind you and then hopefully opens in front of you. There was a line of women on the other side who were the PAs, the Garden Room girls and assistants. And we were kind of matched one a piece, a bit like Strictly.

“And the thing I remember is that they all looked very red-eyed. And I only realised three years later when I left, they were crying because they’d just said goodbye to the Blair team. Within half an hour they were hoovering the floor and then lining up waiting for their new team.”

Once through, the political team will rush through the corridors of No 10 to be there to greet the new PM as he walks through the door.

Some teams are better prepared than others. Jonathan Powell, Blair’s chief of staff, held talks with the civil service and even trained frontbenchers in how to be a minister. “I remember Tony not wanting to know anything about that,” Hunter recalls. “Superstitious is the word.”

Keen to make a first impression in 2016, Perrior made a speech to civil service press officers about the importance of loyalty. “Don’t screw me over and I’ve got your back.”

For aides and advisers, the first days will also mean detailed security checks, especially for those covering foreign affairs, defence and national security.

Wood says, “My understanding is that the inquiries have evolved from questions about sexual and other matters to questions about money. I think they care much more now about financial exposure than private life exposure.”

The incoming team will also be warned against using their personal email addresses for government business, and to be wary when travelling abroad, to assume that foreign governments are listening in.

Sue Nye gave Brown’s team some extra advice: always carry your paperwork in a folder (to avoid official documents being snapped by photographers waiting in Downing Street). And never run.

“I was with the prime minister quite a lot, travelling around the world,” says Wood. “If you’re caught on camera running, it looks like something’s gone wrong.”

The house It is a strange quirk of British politics that the entire country is run from three terraced houses knocked together to form the office, state rooms and home of the prime minister.

O’Donnell calls it a “Tardis”. Wood says it is like a “slightly run-down Georgian country hotel”. Bertin remembers “being so overwhelmed really by No 10, the actual presence, actually being in that building, the smell of it. It just was like a sensory overload.”

If changing jobs is hard enough, becoming prime minister also comes with one of life’s most stressful experiences: moving house. The flat over No 11 Downing Street is slightly bigger and has in recent years been taken by the prime minister. At the end of a long day they can head to one of the small lifts that takes them to the top floor. Although in time prime ministers often make a habit of taking the stairs, the only form of exercise they get during an office-bound day running the country.

“Brown struggled to relax at No 10. ‘He didn’t enjoy living above the shop’

New PMs routinely try to suggest they might like to stay in their own home, before security becomes too much. Security arrangements for children and wider family will also have to be agreed. O’Donnell jokes, “We all know from Bodyguard what that can lead to.”

For new prime ministers not used to the increased security, this can come as a shock. On his first day in office, Major went to walk from No 10 to the House of Commons for lunch, but was stopped by police who made it clear this would be impossible for as long as he was PM.

For PMs with young children, working below the flat could be a blessing, allowing them to slope off for an hour. The Cameron children would often be seen playing in their pyjamas as dignitaries visited.

Brown, by contrast, struggled to relax. Wood says, “He didn’t enjoy living above the shop.” Home remained in Scotland, while the Downing Street flat “felt a little bit like a place you were staying in for a long weekend with a few Sainsbury’s bags full of milk”.

Discussions will also have to be had about the position of the new PM’s wife or girlfriend, whether they plan to play a visible role, and whether their own job or interests present a potential political conflict that could derail a premiership in its infancy.

There will be questions of changing artworks, even redecorating, but they can come later.

The new PM has not just one new home, but two. There is also the grace-and-favour country retreat at Chequers, where they are likely to head to for their first weekend.

May used to enjoy using the pool. Thatcher was so concerned with the electricity bills she had the pool’s heating switched off. Blair added a tennis court and invited celebrity friends to stay. Cameron held an “Ibiza-style rave” for his wife’s birthday.

When Major became prime minister he inherited a Chequers reception from Thatcher, but had no guests. So he asked O’Donnell, the PM’s press secretary at the time, who to invite. He replied instantly, “Well, Bobby Charlton ...”

“We just reeled out these people that we’d all love to meet,” says O’Donnell. “We had Jenny Agutter and a whole bunch of cricketers.”

The reshuffle Before unwinding in the Buckinghamshire countryside, there is the small matter of putting together a government.

If the updates on the state of the nation’s security are sensitive, the details of the reshuffle require perhaps even higher levels of secrecy. A small office just off the cabinet room is used for reshuffles, which means the door can be locked so ministerial posts are not spotted by prying eyes. “You need to make sure that you can’t have someone going in moving the names around,” says O’Donnell.

In comes a whiteboard to write people’s names on with magnets. In 2010, as the coalition government was being put together, disaster struck. “For some reason the magnetic thing stopped and all the names dropped off,” Bertin recalls. “I’m sure some people got different jobs as a result.”

The number of ministerial jobs is limited by law to 90 MPs, and a total of 109 paid posts including 22 paid cabinet positions. Downing Street staff are tasked with finding out where key people are in preparation for them to be called in for a job – without letting on why.

Both May and Major were propelled into No 10 with such haste they had given little thought to their top team. Brown, by contrast, had been planning it for months, perhaps years, right down to every junior minister and aide. “As with all these things, it goes well until it doesn’t, and then like dominoes you’ve got to rebuild the whole thing,” recalls Wood.

Margaret Beckett was let go as foreign secretary, making way for David Miliband. “It went down like a ton of shit,” says one of Wood’s former colleagues. “She has never forgiven Gordon.”

“Of the many gifts she received, May chose to keep only hosiery from a firm called Luxury Legs

In addition to the rather quaint idea of choosing the right person for each job, other considerations are also taken into account: in the New Labour years it meant balancing Blairites and Brownites; the coalition had to have the right number of Tories and Lib Dems; since 2016, balancing Remainers and Leavers has been seen as critical.

It is likely that only the very top jobs – chancellor, foreign secretary and home secretary – will be announced on Wednesday night. The rest of the cabinet will be rolled out on Thursday, with more junior jobs to follow.

Where the coalition had got into the habit of announcing reshuffles on Twitter, Team May thought this too Cameroon and opted for formal press releases with the Downing Street crest on.

Would-be ministers are brought into Downing Street through the front door or via the cabinet office and left in a small waiting room just off the main entrance to No 10.

“You know what I’ve got, don’t you?” a nervous Boris Johnson asked Perrior on the evening of July 13, 2016. “Yes,” she replied. “But it’s not for me to tell you. It’s for the prime minister. So you just have to wait a little bit longer.” He was then summoned to the cabinet room to be offered the job of foreign secretary, before returning to a makeshift photographer’s studio in a side office where portraits would be taken to mark the occasion.

A slick operation. But not perfect. At one point George Osborne, still resident in No 11, walked past just as someone was shouting, “Can you just repeat that? Philip Hammond is the new chancellor?” Osborne winked and carried on. Perrior explains, “George Osborne got fired via someone shouting in a corridor a little bit loudly.”

The switchboard For new arrivals into Downing Street, “Switch” is about to change their lives. The Downing Street switchboard is staffed around the clock by a team of crack operatives able to get anyone on the phone anywhere at a moment’s notice.

Technology has obviously changed its role. Major and Blair didn’t have a mobile phone. Brown was less of a stickler for process, and would text and email at all hours. These days a prime minister could bypass Switch by whatsapping their ministers, advisers or other world leaders. They could also bypass their press teams by firing off tweets, creating the havoc that Donald Trump seems to thrive on in the White House.

“If Donald Trump were prime minister,” says O’Donnell, “I would have kittens, because that’s just not the way our system works.”

The first job for Switch will be to co-ordinate the congratulatory phone calls. Traditionally, the president of the United States is the first wellwisher to get through.

George W Bush was the first to call Brown. Three years later the White House was on the line again. “I’m speaking to you now from No 10 for the first time,” Cameron told Obama, with a wink to his team.

Expect President Trump to be first on the line next week, too. Or perhaps he will just tweet. Might an early call from Germany’s Angela Merkel or Ireland’s Leo Varadkar help to oil the wheels of a new Brexit deal? Also listening in to those calls will be the chief of staff, special advisers, foreign policy experts and press aides charged with briefing out (some of) what is said.

There will also be hundreds, if not thousands, of calls from friends and family. O’Donnell says, “These may be the extended family that the prime minister’s forgotten all about. They may feel that now their third cousin twice removed has become prime minister, they really need to congratulate them.”

The gifts For some, phoning is not enough. Gifts, many terribly expensive, are dispatched. Anything worth more than £140 is seized by the cabinet office, and if the PM wants to keep it they have to pay for it. In July 2017 May was sent shoes, clothes and make-up. She chose to keep only hosiery from a firm called Luxury Legs.

And then the flowers. Thatcher joked in her memoirs that so many bouquets were sent to No 10 during her final days that “you could hardly move down the corridors for a floral display that rivalled the Chelsea Flower Show”. And they all had to go before the new PM arrived, with even more blooms.

Perrior says, “The place looks like someone’s died. I feel for anybody who has hayfever.”

The office Blair found Downing Street so cramped he considered moving the office of the prime minister to the QEII conference centre. Cameron toyed with moving upstairs to one of the grand state rooms looking out over Horse Guards Parade, where Thatcher had worked, before discovering there were no phone or IT connections. Instead, he chose the room used by Blair, then known as the “den”.

Bertin was not impressed. “It was a bit of a mess, if I’m honest. It was tiny. There were sort of, you know, stains on the carpet.”

When May, who inherited Cameron’s office, visited Perrior in her oak-panelled corner room overlooking the garden, she remarked how nice it was. “I said something along the lines of, ‘Keep your hands off … You are not taking this office.’ ”

In most workplaces having your own office would be a sign of status, but in Downing Street it can leave you cut off from the action.

Chiefs of staff position themselves right outside the prime minister’s office, deciding who gets in and who doesn’t. Everyone insists that the prime minister wants them to be in the room, closest to them, at all times.

“May’s thank-you party for staff came many weeks later, highlighting early on the lack of people skills that would bring her low

“You felt sometimes that you should hover,” says Wood. “Hopefully you caught someone’s eye and then they’d say, ‘Oh, you’d better come in.’ Proximity was everything.”

Under May there was to be no hovering. A sofa outside the PM’s office, used by hoverers, was removed. “It was made clear that you do not linger in this office,” Perrior recalls. “You are only to come when you are invited.”

In the early days of the May regime a small side office was commandeered by her chiefs of staff, Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy.

It became known as the “bollocking room”. “You knew that if you were asked to go in there … it was not going to be necessarily pleasant,” says Perrior.

Cameron had formality forced upon him: the coalition meant Nick Clegg (and his Lib Dem team) were squatters in No 10. Decisions had to be taken formally by both parties, not by a select clique. Conservative spin doctors and policy advisers were told to share offices with their Lib Dem opposite numbers. “I can remember being pissed off about that,” says Bertin, although she now admits it was the right way to ensure the coalition worked.

The night On Wednesday night civil servants will be encouraging the new PM to go to bed early, knowing what onslaught awaits the next day.

In 2007, at around 9pm, Brown went back to his flat – handily for the former chancellor, just upstairs – where his wife, Sarah, cooked dinner and close friends celebrated with champagne.

Next week, the new PM will likely head to their own home, because the Mays will not have moved out. But that does not mean time to switch off. They will have their red boxes of papers to work through, covering everything from a draft speech to a natural disaster or a parliamentary crisis. There is also the black box, known as “Old Stripey” due to its red stripe, that contains the most sensitive material, which even as foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt or Boris Johnson might not have seen.

Before heading off, it is probably wise to gather people for a pep talk, bringing together political advisers and civil servants to begin to cement them into a team. In 2007, Brown told the assembled workers in the Pillared Room, “It’s not every day you meet the Queen at 1.30pm, become the prime minister at 2.45pm, speak to the president of the United States at 4pm and get told by Sarah to put the kids to bed at 7pm.” Cameron made a speech joking about how he and Nick Clegg would get on better than Blair and Brown, which went down badly with those who’d spent years working for the Labour PMs.

May’s thank-you party for staff came many weeks later, highlighting early on the lack of people skills that in the end would bring her low.

The next day All prime ministers have a habit of starting early, and for May’s replacement time will be of the essence. On Thursday teams will be assembled early, at around 6am. The reshuffle will have to be completed, and the new prime minister is expected to make an appearance in the Commons before parliament rises for its six-week summer recess.

The diary will already be filling up. And it will be nonstop and baffling and relentless. Wood explains, “At 7am, you’re meeting with the Scottish Bagpipe Association, who’ve got a problem with tax treatment, and then at 8.15am you’ve got a phone call with the Armenian president ’cause there’s a problem on the border, and then at 9am you’ve got a policy meeting about long-term health policy. And you’ve got to fight against this tendency always to put aside the long-term stuff because there’s always enough short-term stuff to really consume you.”

The departure Like all good things, premierships come to an end. A new arrival in Downing Street means there has been a departure. Out with the old and in with the new.

In 2016, moments before Cameron went out to make his final speech, Bertin caught him just behind the No 10 door to tell him how proud she was of what he’d achieved. “Please don’t,” he said. “You’re going to make me cry.” When he came back in there were more tears, though he held it together. Just.

Leaving the building, and the power and influence it gives, is a wrench. Wood says, “It’s like handing over your most precious possession to someone else and resenting the fact that it’s not yours, but you want them to treat it well.”

Wood left a note to Bertin in 2010. When Bertin came to leave six years later she wrote a note to her children on No 10 paper, saying, “This is what Mummy did.”

And so it ends as it began, with letters. Before leaving Brown wrote three letters: one to Cameron (left under a bottle of whisky), one to Nelson Mandela and one to Aung San Suu Kyi. Most prime ministers leave their successor a note, knowing they are one of just a handful of people alive who know what the job is really like.

Brown had a well-worn joke about this. He used to say that when you finish in your job and your successor is taking over, you hand them three envelopes. When there’s a crisis (and there always is), they open the first letter and it says, “Blame your predecessor.” The next crisis, the second letter says, “Blame the statistics.” And finally the third envelope says, “Prepare three envelopes.” To find out more about what happens when you become PM, listen to Matt Chorley’s Red Box podcast special on iTunes, Acast and Spotify

UK politics

David Cameron

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Comments(84)Newestuyjujy yujuyjujyU

SShayeWestL24 JULY, 2019This was just riveting. Thanks Matt, brilliantly put together.ReplyRecommendReport

JJohn Must21 JULY, 2019EditedDon't fret. Trump will sort it all out for you during the 4PM phone call.ReplyRecommendReport

JJohnny C20 JULY, 2019Great article!ReplyRecommendReport

DDuncan Bell20 JULY, 2019Great piece, except maybe for the photos. Very insightful.ReplyRecommendReport

JJohn Noel HUGHES-WILSON20 JULY, 2019Of course the incoming PM could say , 'No, I am not going to be told what to do by you lot. This is what I want to happen. Now do it.' The idea that the civil service dictate the handover merely hands them power. Who controls the agenda? Sir Humphrey or his boss?ReplyRecommendReport

MMatt - Not the other one20 JULY, 2019According to the Bible of political processes - Yes, Prime Minister - an incoming PM is only applauded if they've won an election. Whoever goes into No. 10 won't have. So, like Jim Hacker, he'll be met with silence.ReplyRecommendReport

HHelsinki20 JULY, 2019Mr Johnson : DON'T BOTHER UNPACKING You won't be there long enough.ReplyRecommendReport

Rramtops20 JULY, 2019I truly cannot envisage Johnson being up to the relentless pressure and grasp of detail required for this job. I'm really quite fearful.ReplyRecommendReport

MMr Malcolm Speirs20 JULY, 2019I do hope The Times hold on to Matt, and that he does not end up at Sky News (where many excellent print journalists have headed of late).ReplyRecommendReport

DDave20 JULY, 2019He will find an empty box labelled “Brexit Britain’s bright sunlit future” and a full waste basket labelled “Brexit Promises”ReplyRecommendReport

MMichael Rose20 JULY, 2019John Noel HUGHES-WILSONYou really have no idea about the workings of government, do you? I doubt that Boris Johnson can tie his own shoelaces, never mind tell them what the civil service should be doing.ReplyRecommendReport

JJohnny C20 JULY, 2019John Noel HUGHES-WILSONMy father was a senior civil servant. He always said, Sir Humphrey ran the country. Yes Minister was how it really worked, most legislation is via Statutory Instruments penned by civil servants and signed into statute by clueless ministersReplyRecommendReport

MMichael Rose20 JULY, 2019Matt - Not the other oneOr hopefully a slow handclap.ReplyRecommendReport

MMichael Rose20 JULY, 2019ramtopsThink how how the majority in the country feels.ReplyRecommendReport

Oozodyssey21 JULY, 2019Mr Malcolm SpeirsHe does seem to be moonlighting in a number of different rolesReplyRecommendReport

TMatt ChorleySTAFF20 JULY, 2019Mr Malcolm SpeirsNo danger of that, I promise. Having too much fun hereReplyRecommendReport

JJohnny C20 JULY, 2019DaveAnd he will paint a bus onto the box full of smiling passengers The sort of people he'll meet in the asylum when his brain implodes due to the promises he made but couldn't fulfilReplyRecommendReport

[nicomacheannothing]

12-31-2020

Last day of 2020! Woot! Yeah, I’m just as tired of this year as everyone else. I feel like I was pretty lucky overall, my entire life didn’t collapse and my everyday social circle was wide enough that I didn’t get the full effect of isolation... but it was still pretty sucky. I’m glad it’s almost over, though I know that all of the world’s problems won’t be solved at midnight tonight haha.  I haven’t written in a while because my Christmas lasted three days. Yup, three. And I was up til 6am on two of those days! I needed time to rest for sure. And, after all that, I was feeling pretty slumpy. I feel better now.  The first day was Christmas Eve day. That was the day I planned to spend with my parents and brother. I did a lot of last minute cleaning and preparation and Christmas and I made brownies. For my birthday, I got this awesome copper brownie pan with little dividers. I was SO excited to try it because I hate baking brownies and then having them get all messed up when I try to cut them. IT WORKED. It worked so perfectly, I was kicking myself for not getting one sooner. The brownies tasted good too. They got eaten faster than my birthday cake haha. I was happy about that. 

My mom made italian wedding soup for dinner (with vegetarian meatballs) for dinner and, thankfully, there wasn’t any drama.  On Christmas morning, I actually got some time to myself, which was the best gift ever, tbh. I drank some tea, listened to some Christmas music and just kind of chilled out? I’m bad at relaxing, so I tried! 😝 I opened presents with Ben and my parents at around 1. My parents stayed up too late and slept in haha. Ben loved some of the surprise presents I got him, like an RGB keyboard. It was weird, this year I feel like I was thinking less about receiving gifts than I usually do at Christmas. I’ve never been a super materialistic person, but there’s always that little part of my chimpanzee brain that’s eager to know what’s in the shiny paper 🤣This year though, when I envisioned a “good Christmas”, I thought about having positive experiences, not getting cool stuff. I’m not sure if that’s genuine adulthood creeping in or just 2020 making me appreciate my time with people haha. 

But yeah, we got off to a late start so I didn’t get to the Browns’ until later. Luckily, they were also behind haha. For my boss’s birthday, Mady and Julius got him a DVD of “Yellow Submarine”. Of course, that made him want to get high 🙄 I warned him that it was too early for that and that nothing would get done for the rest of the night if he took a weed gummy then, but he didn’t listen to me, of course haha. He convinced his wife to also take a gummy while she was cooking dinner! Then he went to bed before it was done 🤣 It was chaos. We didn’t get to eating dinner until midnight. Ben came over and had a good time except the stupid dog hates him and kept biting his shins. That pissed him off, but once he had a few glasses of wine, he chilled out. My brother, not the dog 😝 Unfortunately, I fell asleep after dinner and we were all pretty tired. We didn’t even get to open presents! The next day, the 26th, Austin and I reserved a row of seats on a little Christmas train that takes you on a tour of an elaborate Christmas light display at the ballpark in Grand Rapids. We were going to go with Mady and Julius and get Blimpie subs for dinner. At first, we thought that plans might have to change so that we could open presents, but everything somehow ended up working out! The lights were fantastic and whimsical and of course the Blimpie subs were good.

When we got home, we finally opened presents. We had really good hot chocolate and the whole thing felt like a magical dream haha. I was up too late again, but I didn’t care. :p

So yeah, I didn’t do much the day after that, but a rest day was necessary. Mady and Julius invited Austin and I to Detroit for NYE, but we decided to stay home. Again, I know that the world won’t magically become better when the ball drops, but I’m all for taking opportunities to change our attitudes. Soooo Christmas was pretty good, lets hope 2021 has more moments like those. 

[whatstruthgottodowithit]

The Other Evans Girl [Part Fifty Eight]

Fandom: Harry Potter [Marauder’s Era]

Pairing: Sirius Black/Original Female Character, Sirius Black/Daisy Evans, James Potter/Lily Evans

Characters: Sirius Black, Original Female Character, Daisy Evans, Lily Evans, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Harry Potter, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Alice Fortescue, Frank Longbottom, Marlene McKinnon, Albus Dumbledore, Voldemort, Peter Pettigrew, Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix LeStrange, Walburga Black,

Word Count: 3800

Rating: Mature

Summary: Hogwarts is a safe haven, a home for many. But it’s often a place where heartache, love and complex emotions dwell and none know that better than the Marauders. Lily Evans just wants to make it out as a successful witch though the oncoming war and the ongoing advances of James Potter threaten that. Daisy Evans, her twin, has other goals. Join the Evans sister’s as they make their way through Hogwarts, prepare for war and eventually find love.

Tags/ Warnings: My Writing, The Other Evans Girl, Sirius Black Fic, Sirius Black/You, Sirius Black x OFC, OFC, Marauders Fic, Eventual Sirius Black, Sirius Black x Reader Fic, Sirius Black Fic, James Potter is a bit of a dick but we LOVE it, Hogsmeade, Friends, Hate, Love, Angst, Fluff, Kissing, Implied Sex, Potters, Babies, Weddings, Dating, Friends to Loves, Slow Burn, Eventual Sirius and Daisy, Teenage Angst, Insecurities, Fighting, Arguing, Bullying, War, First Wizarding War, Marauders, Marauder’s Era, 1970’s, 1970s Fashion, Canon Character Deaths, Loss of Virginity, Crying, Voldemort, The Other Evans Girl, Marauders Era to war, Multiple Parts, GORE, injuries, harm, fighting, blood, The Potter’s Mansion // Daisy’s Dress // NYE Lily’s Dress // NYE Daisy’s Dress // Lily’s Ring // Daisy’s Ring

Notes: Sorry its been a while new job and life and that.

LINK TO AO3 // LINK TO PINTEREST // LINK TO ALL PARTS //

TAGS - @maeisafangirl@mysteriouslydelicateface

For a couple of days after Daisy couldn’t get a grip on what she was feeling. She felt as if she had been dumped in a tumble dryer and spun until she didn't know which way was up. On the one hand, she had the rumours about Michael still circulating and on top of that Sirius had let Penny down gently but that hadn’t stopped her from falling out with him and his friends. She was caught trying to remember who she was hiding her relationship from and who she wasn't and they had been forced to practice the club early this week given that James had planned a weekend of celebrations for the twins. The only shining light in this week had been Sirius. He had kept her calm and tried to distract her from the hubbub of Hogwarts. Even when he couldn't express himself fully it was nice to feel his hand on her thigh under the dinner table or the small reassuring smile he’d give her if they couldn’t be near.

Eventually, her birthday rolled around. She woke in the morning to find Lily at the bottom of her bed, heaps of presents between them on the bed. ‘Finally!’ Lily said with a smile, ‘I was beginning to think that you were never going to get up. I’ve been shaking you for five minutes.’ ‘I’m tired,’ Daisy said with a yawn. ‘I know last nights club session took it out of me too,’ Lily said. Daisy gave her a weak smile. She figured wasnt technically lying if she didn't respond.

See, Daisy was tired because of the club too. They had tried the knockback jinx all evening. Some people had taken to it straight away. Lily and Remus knocked it out of the park the first time. James had only taken two tries to get it right and she was sure Sirius had got it in one though he’d taken two just to make sure he and James were even in flinging one another across the room. Everyone that had mastered it had been forced to take on the role of flingee which meant that even after spending the night flying into piles of cushions Daisy was exhausted. It hadn’t helped that Lily and James had walked back together giving her and Sirius a minute or two to hang back. That minute had turned into an hour make-out session in those same cushions.

‘Well,’ Lily said looking at her twin, ‘aren’t you going to dive in?’ Daisy smiled at her sister and then the both of them started grabbing packages and unwrapping them. It seemed to only last five minutes but by the end, they ended up with a good pile of presents. Lily grabbed her last present and opened it presenting the small velvet box to Daisy so she could see.

‘Wow,’ Daisy said looking at the big diamond earrings in the box, ‘Lil those are beautiful.’ ‘I know,’ Lily said, ‘I can’t believe he spent that much money.’ ‘You know James,’ Daisy said. ‘I know but we haven’t been dating all that long…he shouldn’t have. I don’t need fancy presents,’ she said turning them back to face her. ‘Look, if there’s one thing I know about Potter it’s that money doesn’t mean much,’ she said, ‘and I know they might seem extravagant to you but he doesn’t work that way. If you’d have said you wanted one of his old socks for your birthday he would’ve given you that.’ ‘But it’s still a lot. I saw them in the window of the jewellers in Hogsmeade. They cost 50 galleons,’ she whispered as if saying the price was something sinful. ‘Do you like them?’ Daisy asked. ‘Of course, I do,’ she said. ‘Were you excited when you saw them?’ Daisy said. ‘Yeah,’ Lily said quietly, ‘they reminded me of that pair mum had when we were little…you know the one she lost in the sea on holiday.’ ‘See!’ Daisy said, ‘Expensive or not that’s what James would've been thinking of. Hey, I say don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. If I’d played my cards right I could’ve got a matching set…instead, I told him I wanted the new Fleetwood Mac album.’

Lily chuckled and started gathering her stuff to transfer to her bed whilst the two recapped the haul. As they went through Daisy realised that Sirius’ present wasn’t there. Her heart dropped a little but she didn’t let it bother her figuring that it was coming later on. They put everything away and then Daisy got up out of bed and headed to the bathroom. By the time they both got downstairs, the table was full and Daisy was forced to sit on the opposite side of the table to Sirius. He still wished her happy birthday as did the rest of them but she wanted nothing more than for him to lean across that table and kiss her. As they recapped their gifts thanking everyone her gaze flicked to him several times. He noticed but only offered her a small smirk in response. They didn't have time to recap their session last night before everyone started moving to their lessons and they were forced to follow suit. Fortunately, this morning was muggle studies which meant that her friends, minus James and Peter, were being engaged elsewhere.

They took their seats at their usual table with James and Peter ahead of them, just out of earshot if they kept their voices low. The teacher started wittering on about the growth of the household appliance which gave them some chance to talk.

‘So, how did you sleep?’ Sirius said. ‘Okay,’ she said, ‘we can’t stay out that long again though. I’m still shattered.’ ‘I know,’ he said, ‘though I gotta say I’d rather be tired.’ ‘Sirus,’ Daisy giggled. There was a cough from ahead and Daisy looked up to find a stern-faced Professor Burbage watching them…as well as everyone else. James was looking at them with an odd expression but if he wanted to say anything he kept his mouth shut fearing Burbage. As everyone turned away Daisy could feel her face was beet red.

‘I can’t believe you made me giggle,’ she said. ‘What can I say it’s my charm,’ Sirius said. Daisy sighed, ‘what’s the matter?’ ‘Nothing,’ she said. ‘Dais?’ he said raising his brow. ‘Okay,’ she said, ‘it’s just I was thinking about it this morning…’ ‘About what?’ ‘When I came down for breakfast,’ she said, ‘about how I wanted you to kiss me.’ ‘I wanted to kiss you too,’ he said. ‘No, I mean I wanted you to kiss me in front of people,’ she said. ‘Oh,’ he said. ‘Yeah…and I know we said to wait and everything…’ she sighed, ‘and if we do tell people the gossip is gonna be so much worse-’ ‘I don’t care about that,’ he said. ‘I know but I do,’ she said, ‘you’re not the one who’s having to suffer through the gossip around Michael. I mean I know Penny’s mad at you but she’s not got the whole school on her side.’ ‘Well,’ he said slipping his hand under the desk so he could hold hers, ‘what if we tell some people and ask them to keep it under wraps.’ ‘Like?’ ‘Well your sister and my best friend for one,’ he said, ‘I mean Remus and Mar already know. Alice, Frank and Peter knowing too wouldn’t hurt.’ ‘I guess,’ she said. ‘And if anyone does squeal,’ Sirius said his eyes darting to Peter, ‘I’ll knockback jinx them into next week, okay?’ ‘Okay,’ she said squeezing his hand a little.

After that, the day ran smoothly. The pair barely saw each other for lessons but they did spend lunch and dinner together. Daisy and the girls retired to their room to get ready as they were celebrating the twin's birthday in the attic. Daisy opted for a simple outfit a pair of flares and a floral shirt. Once everyone was ready they met the boys downstairs in the common room. Sirius looked handsome too. He was wearing high-waisted pants and a tight white T-shirt that made Daisy drool.

They all headed up to the attic which had kindly been decorated with a happy birthday banner and some balloons. There was even a drinks and food table though it contained mostly booze. The party kicked off straight away as James saw to some music. After some dancing and a lot of drinks the party mellowed and the gang sat around in a circle, playing the spin truth or dare.

‘Okay, okay,’ Lily giggled. She was sitting in between James’ legs her arm wrapped around her neck and his around her waist keeping her upright as she was a little tipsy, ‘truth.’ ‘Let’s see,’ Marlene said her finger on her chin as she contemplated. ‘Oh I’ve got one,’ Alice giggled whispering it into Marlene’s ear. ‘Oh good one!’ Marlene chuckled, ‘okay, so, Lil. If you had to. Absolutely HAD to. Who would you snog… Dumbledore or...Hagrid?’ ‘Ew!’ Lily groaned as a laugh rang out around the circle. ‘Come on Lil don’t be a spoilsport,’ James chuckled. ‘Can’t I pick someone else instead,’ she grumbled. ‘I believe the rules state either or and death is not an option,’ Remus said. ‘Yeah Lil, we’ll throw in Professor Binns as an extra but it’s gotta be one of them,’ Sirius said. ‘No fair!’ Lily said before she fell quiet seemingly contemplating her choices, ‘...I guess…Dumbledore?’

There was a shriek of laughter from all around as Lily’s face fell into despair. ‘Okay, okay, my turn,’ she said her eyes roving around the circle for her next victim. ‘Sirius,’ she said pointing an accusatory finger at him. ‘Yes Lil?’ he smirked taking a sip of his beer. ‘If you had to kiss any girl in school,’ she said. ‘He’s worked through half of them already how does that count?’ Frank chuckled. Sirius rolled his eyes. ‘Okay, excluding the ones you’ve already kissed, if you had to pick any girl who would you pick?’ she said. Sirius seemed to contemplate the question. ‘Are you trying to remember all the girls you’ve kissed?’ Peter chuckled. ‘No,’ Marlene said, ‘he’s trying to figure out if he can say Daisy or not.’

Silence fell on the group immediately. Lily and James’ eyes seemed to light up as the words tumbled out of Marlene’s mouth and her hand clasped over her lips tightly.

‘Why would he be thinking that?’ Peter said confused, ‘he’s never kissed Daisy?’ ‘But he wants to?’ Frank asked, confused. ‘Thanks, Mar,’ Sirius grumbled. ‘I’m sorry it just came out,’ Marlene said. ‘What’s going on?’ James asked. ‘Sirius wants to kiss Daisy,’ Frank said, ‘right?’ ‘Frank sssh,’ Alice said softly her gaze fixed on the pair sitting next to one another sharing an awkward glance. ‘Daisy,’ Lily said letting go of James and leaning forward, ‘what’s going on?’ ‘Well,’ Daisy said, ‘funny story actually.’ ‘You two?’ Lily said looking between them. ‘Yeah,’ Sirius said looking at Lily and then at her twin, ‘we didn’t want to say anything just yet.’ ‘But Mar knew?’ Lily said snappily. ‘Lil, I don’t think it’s like that,’ James said pulling her back. ‘She noticed,’ Daisy said, ‘we didn’t mean to tell her or Rem-’ ‘You knew too!’ Lily asked looking at her friend. ‘I walked in on them,’ Remus said simply. ‘And you kept it from us?’ she asked. ‘It’s not Moony’s fault we asked him not to say anything-’ Sirius said but he was cut off. ‘So Mar and Remus were allowed to know? Who else?’ she said. ‘Lil I think you’re a little tipsy-’ James said. ‘Did you know?’ she snapped. ‘ ‘No,’ James said. ‘No one else knew,’ Daisy said, ‘Lily we were keeping it to ourselves we didn’t want anyone knowing.’ ‘Oh, so I’m just anyone? Just some friend you can hide stuff from,’ Lily said clambering up to her feet. ‘It’s not like that,’ Daisy said jumping up to follow her but her sister had already started making her way to the door. More people followed now. James pushed past Daisy headed after his girlfriend.

‘Lil where are you going?’ Daisy said as her sister hit the entryway. ‘What do you care? Besides I thought we didn’t tell each other everything,’ Lily said and then she was gone. James followed her but before he exited he turned back and looked at his friends though he spoke only to Sirius, ‘nice one mate.’

Silence rained down after that though it was quickly broken by Marlene who was stringing apology after apology together. Daisy told her not to worry and the remainder of the people started clearing everything away, eventually leaving Sirius and Daisy alone. As the last one was out the door Daisy headed to the couch and sat down with an oomph. Sirius followed suit sitting down next to her and pulling her into his side, his chin resting on her head.

‘Did we do the right thing?’ she asked. ‘Keeping it a secret?’ he said feeling her nodding her head back in response, ‘I don’t know. I mean I don’t know if there’s a right way to do anything. If we had told everyone Penny and Michael would’ve been hurt right? Keeping it a secret hurt Lily…and though he’d never admit it I think James’ ego was a bit bruised too.’ ‘But we didn’t mean to hurt their feelings,’ she countered. ‘I know. And I don’t think it was the secret that hurt them just the fact that they weren’t the first to know,’ he said. She pulled back looking up at him with her large green eyes that made his heart melt. ‘How long do you think they’ll be mad for?’ she asked. ‘Hmm..,’ he pondered, ‘I think until the alcohol wears off then I think she’ll come to her senses.’ ‘Yeah, I guess,’ she said. ‘And if not,’ he chuckled, ‘I’ll just have to be your new sister.’

Daisy giggled as she adjusted herself so she was facing him.

‘But if you’re my sister it means we can’t do this,’ she said as she leaned in and give him a long sultry kiss. Sirius retaliated with gusto, pulling her onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her as hers wrapped around his neck, her fingers in his hair. They made out like that, slow and lazily until they were forced to pull back, breathless.

‘You’re right,’ he said, ‘I don’t wanna be your sister.’ ‘Good,’ she chuckled giving him another peck. ‘Wait,’ he said pulling away and tilting her on his lap as he reached into his back pocket to find something. ‘This better be good,’ she said, ‘because there’s no excuse for you not to be kissing me right now.’ ‘It’s your birthday present you git,’ he said handing her an envelope. She grabbed it off of him with a curious gaze as he settled back against the couch and watched her open it. Her finger slid under the lip of the envelope opening it up wide as she pulled out two pieces of paper her eyes going wide as she read them.

‘Queen tickets?!’ she said excitedly. She leant down and kissed him in a series of short pecks punctuating each one with a ‘thank you’ ‘I take it you like them?’ he asked. ‘Sirius this is amazing I love them,’ she said, ‘I can’t wait.’ ‘Well it’s in the summer so you’re gonna have to wait a little,’ he said. ‘I can’t believe you got some,’ she said. ‘It wasn’t easy,’ he said, ‘but I knew you’d like them.’ ‘I love them,’ she said excitedly, ‘I love you!’

Silence fell on them again as Daisy realised what she’d said. She had said she loved him the first time they got together. And they both knew what the other meant to each other but since that first time, they hadn’t really said it. Doing so seemed... a lot. Well, at least to Daisy. And it must have to Sirius too because he’d told her he’d fallen before but never the words out loud. Not really.

‘I mean,’ she said, ‘you know I do…I know we haven’t-’ ‘Dais,’ he said. ‘I mean you don’t have to say it just because-’ ‘Daisy,’ he said with more force, ‘I love you too.’ ‘Yeah?’ she asked. ‘Do you really have to ask?’ he chuckled pulling her in to kiss her. Her tickets slipped out of her hand onto the couch beside them but neither of them noticed, too engrossed in the other.

They stayed there like that for at least another hour before the kissing started getting punctuated by more and more yawns. Finally, Sirius told her that it was probably time they headed back to the common room and though Daisy wanted to stay partly because of the kissing and partly to avoid Lily she agreed.

They made it up to the common without getting caught which Daisy thanked god for, she wasn’t sure getting detention for being out past curfew was a present she’d want.

‘Right,’ Sirius said as they made it to the bottom of the stairs. ‘Right,’ Daisy said watching him with a smile. ‘Ready to deal with the storm?’ Sirius said. ‘I don’t know,’ she chuckled grabbing him by the waist, ‘I think James might be harder to deal with.’ ‘You might be right,’ he said leaning in to kiss her. They kissed for a moment before she pulled away placing a hand on his chest, ‘night Sirius.’ ‘Night Dais,’ he said. And with that, she disappeared up the stairs and into the dormitory. Alice and Mar were sound asleep as she crept in but Lily was missing which she didn't know if that was better or worse. She stripped out of her clothes and threw on an old baggy T-shirt as she climbed into bed. As she had just gotten snuggled under the duvet there was movement and the bathroom door opened.

Lily walked through and stopped at her bed suddenly noticing Daisy was back. She was dressed in her pyjamas too though her makeup seemed haphazardly washed off, though Daisy didn’t know if she’d been crying.

‘Hey,’ she said noticing Daisy watching her as she came around to her sister’s bed and sat down on the edge. ‘Hey,’ Daisy said pushing herself up so she was sitting. ‘You only just got back?’ Lily asked as her gaze fell to the blanket. ‘Yeah,’ Daisy said. ‘I’ve been in the bathroom…throwing up…I didn’t hear you come in,’ Lily admitted. ‘You okay?’ Daisy asked. ‘Physically or otherwise?’ Lily asked. ‘Lil,’ Daisy sighed, ‘we really weren’t trying to hurt you.’ Lily nodded, ‘I know.’ ‘We were just,’ Daisy started defending herself, ‘you know?’ ‘You didn’t want everyone knowing. I get it. I guess I just didn't think I was just anyone,’ she said finally looking at her sister as she bit her lip. ‘We wanted it just between us,’ Daisy said, ‘Rem walked in the night we got together and Mar’s like a bloody sniffer dog. She figured it out straight away.’ ‘I guess that upset me too,’ Lily admitted, ‘I’ve been so wrapped up in me and James I didn’t even realise. ‘You’ve got a boyfriend Lil,’ Daisy said, ‘you’re allowed to be a little wrapped up.’ ‘I know but I don’t want to miss out on stuff,’ Lily said. ‘Well how about from now we promise to tell each other everything first?’ Daisy said. ‘Okay,’ she said, ‘so tell me what happened!’

And after that, the fight was long forgotten. Lily clambered into the bed beside her sister and listened to the low down on her sister’s love life. Daisy told her all about Michael and then coming back to Sirius. She told her about Remus catching them and practically forcing the pair to admit everything and Mar finding out. Daisy even told her about the birthday present he got her.

Lily listened quietly, mumbling ‘oohs’ and ‘hmms’ in between. They were cuddled in the bed, heads together like when they were little. It was nice, and comforting, for the pair.

As the story ended the pair fell quiet, the beckon of sleep pulling them in and out of consciousness. As Daisy had just started to drift off she heard Lily call her name rousing her from sleep.

‘Yeah?’ she asked with a yawn. ‘You know how I said before…about telling each other everything,’ Lily said. ‘Yeah?’ Daisy questioned. ‘Well, I meant it…and there was another reason I was upset,’ Lily admitted. ‘Why?’ Daisy asked. ‘Because…because I wanted to tell you something. I thought about it long and hard and I wanted to tell you before anyone…I’ve not even told James yet,’ Lily said. ‘What is it Lil?’ Daisy said turning to look at her sister. ‘I think…I think I want to lose my virginity,’ Lily said quietly. ‘That’s great Lil,’ was all she could make out, ‘I mean if that’s what you want?’ ‘I do,’ Lily admitted. ‘James hasn’t made you…’ her sister said. ‘No, no, of course not!’ Lily said, ‘I mean we’ve fooled around and stuff but he’s never made me do anything…in fact, I don’t know if he’s thought about it.’ ‘He’s a 15-year-old boy Lil,’ Daisy said. ‘I know, I know,’ she said, ‘but we’ve not discussed it…’ ‘Well, if you’re sure…’ Daisy said. ‘I am…’ Lily said, ‘I guess I just wanted to tell you first…I mean not that I need your permission or anything.’ ‘Of course not,’ Daisy said. ‘But it just felt like a big decision and well... We’ve been through all the big stuff together. This felt like it should be in there too,’ Lily said causing Daisy to giggle, ‘oh what are you 12.’ ‘Hey you said it not me,’ Daisy said. ‘Yeah well pack it in,’ Lily said. There were some more giggles from Daisy which Lily eventually joined in on until they were in tears from laughing. Finally, as the laughter died down they snuggled back together ready for sleep.

‘Night Dais,’ Lily said first. ‘Night Lil,’ Daisy said resting back against the pillow. As her sister soon drifted to sleep echoing soft snores in her ear Daisy lay awake her mind spinning.

Daisy lay there in silence for a moment. Had Daisy thought about it? Sure, she was a teenager after all. She loved Sirius and boy she loved being with him…but was she ready for that? And if she wasnt would Sirius be upset? He had a reputation after all…maybe he wouldn't want to hang around until she was ready?

Her mind raced until finally it couldn't keep going any longer and she succumbed to sleep.

[talltalesandbedtimestories]

A View To A Winchester (Part 6)

Series Page

Summary: Julie’s starting a new life after divorce in a home with a very nice view.

A Dean X OFC story. No idea how long it will be, but I’ve got time on my hands. I got this idea staring out the view of my home office window and thinking how nice it would be to have Dean Winchester to ogle. I’m thinking it will go the fluffy route, with some angst, and maybe some smut down the line. Not sure yet.

Section Word Count:  3,787

Section Warnings: fluff, angst, R-rated language, drunk-dialing, Dean flirting/arousing/drinking

~~~~~

“I’m going to be a big tub of lard if this goes incredibly bad, really quickly.” Julie mumbled to herself in the kitchen bright and early the next morning. “I’ll eat my rejection in calories.”  

She had not slept well, despite Dean wishing her a good night. And, it had been all his fault. She couldn’t stop thinking about him. And pie.

There had been numerous Pinterest searches late into the night for tips and tricks on how to make the perfect crust. The barely used pastry cutter had been dug out of her wedding gifts box in the basement at about four am. At what was now six am, she was using it to cut the cold fats - a not-yet-tried-by-Julie mix of shortening and butter recommended by one blogger - into the flour.

Next came the slow addition of ice water and another novel ingredient, cold vodka. She had to wait an hour before even starting the dough that morning, placing a bottle of vodka in the freezer to chill. The alcohol apparently inhibited gluten formation which should, in theory, promote a tender and flaky crust. She was not a chemistry gal but she did enjoy learning how to use it to her advantage when it came to food. Forget Bill Nye the Science Guy. She was an Alton Brown, Good Eats fan.

What the hell am I doing this all for? Desperation? Thy name is Julie. What happened to telling Mr. Winchester you had lots of time to get to know him? Hitting the accelerator, baking a pie because you know he loves pie? It’s like exposing Superman to kryptonite. But is Dean Superman, and pie is the kryptonite in this analogy? Or am I Superman and Dean is my kryptonite?

“Fuck. I need sleep.”

She turned the dough out onto the floured counter. The folding was always the part that made her nervous. Her mind wandered to Dean again. Focus, don’t overwork it. Dimpling the soft, crumbling dough with her fingers brought her back to the feeling of his, dancing over her skin.

A weird, tweaked out bliss washed over her. She understood the enjoyment mom got out of cooking for others, even if she wouldn’t admit it. For Julie, it came from baking up treats for co-workers that made their eyes double in size and the occasional dinner parties with friends that ended with a multitude of compliments and full bellies. The parties I use to throw with Steve.

A flour cloud billowed from her continued kneading. Her nose tickled at the dust entering her nostrils. 

She’d lost a lot of their shared acquaintances over the past few months. Julie didn’t have it in her to compete for a mutual friend’s attention. Steve always needed the camaraderie more than she did anyway. She didn’t have the strength or inclination to work that hard for friendships that had already begun to dissolve or become distant over the last decade. The choice to not have children had put them both on a decidedly different path than all their married friends. In her honest opinion, the patriarchal society created a more obvious division between her and her female peers. It didn’t help that she was not one to offer to babysit. Let Steve be the fun uncle. Asshole.

Julie backed away when she realized the folding motion had gotten aggressive. There was no need to take her anger out on the innocent pastry. She separated the dough, formed two balls, covered them in cling wrap, and whacked them in the freezer to prepare for rolling out later. The Great British Baking Show is goddamn addicting.

But Dean. Dean’s lascivious, pornographic attitude toward food had set something off. If a cobbler or a cake could get the kind of a reaction she had witnessed from that man, she really wanted to see what a pie could do. She imagined those green eyes melting her with a gaze of adoration after her pie passed his lips.

I don’t think we’re talking about apples anymore. That mouth. Sweet Jesus. She had picked up on his affinity for lip licking and how his gaze lingered on her own mouth. Oral fixation. He has to be an amazing kisser. I bet he knows how to use that tongue. Everywhere. 

Julie shivered. She poured her second cup of black coffee and strolled to the tiny foyer. The reflection in the hall mirror under unflattering light only magnified the suitcases replacing the bags under her eyes. Her two sizes too big tattered pajamas reminded her of a potato sack. Dean is certainly going to want to get all up in this. Inhaling the aroma first, she then blew in the mug and took a languid sip. So, pie would be a good deflection from your appearance. But the friggin’ pie won’t be ready for hours. And, anyway, it might turn out horrible.

She still had to peel, core, and chop up a ton of apples for the filling. Christ, the sun isn’t even up yet. A yawn overpowered her, despite the injection of caffeine. I should try and take a nap. Her body slipped into her favorite sofa corner. Just a quick one. The mug steamed on the side table. Her lids closed.

~~~~~

Julie’s eyes shot open. Sunlight filtered through the golden sheer curtains covering the sliding doors. The mug was no longer steaming. It was quiet outside.

“Shit.” 

She unfolded out of her seat and rose to stand. Her body creaked in resistance. Discomfort in her muscles delayed their response with a stab of pins and needles. She cringed and cursed under her breath. A swish opened the curtains. Her mouth dropped open.

Lawn’s mowed. Her gaze shot up to Dean’s backyard. Impala’s gone.

“Shit.”

Phone. Julie flew to the kitchen. The phone had been used to look up the crust recipe. She swiped at the flour dusted screen. A groan. It was one o’clock in the afternoon. She groaned again at the notifications. Four messages. All from Dean.

“Shit.”

Knock, knock.

Anybody home?

Hey, Sleeping Beauty. All done with your scheduled lawn service. Was going to drop off your cake. Text me when you wake up so I can make a delivery.

Julie, I had to take care of some business. Be gone until tomorrow. I’m holding your cake hostage. In fact, I’m bringing a few slices with me for the road. Might not be much left. But, seriously, let me know you’re okay. Or I’m knocking your door DOWN when I get back.

“I missed him.” She whispered, in total dejection. She hit reply and began talking out her text. This new tick was happening every time she had a virtual conversation with Dean. “I’m so sorry I didn’t hear you. I teeter between an insomniac and coma patient lately. You can have ALL the cake.”

Her heart skipped a few beats when the phone rang, displaying Dean’s name.

She answered on the fourth ring. “Hello?”

“I was thinking you dropped the phone and ran away after your text message.” Exasperation threaded through the bass of his voice. He sighed, faraway, on what sounded like his phone’s speaker. “Are you trying to play hard to get?”

“I’m still waking up.” It wasn’t a total lie.

“Hm. Pretty impressive. You slept through me knocking on the front and back door.”

“I slept through an earthquake and two aftershocks once.” She offered.

“Bullshit.” Dean stated without hesitation.

“I did.” Her defenses were up. “I was in California.” She didn’t bother to say she had been on her honeymoon.

“You should get that checked.”

“I did. I’m good. Just a sound sleeper when I actually get some needed rest. I take it you’re a light sleeper?” 

“Pretty much. I’m programmed to wake up at the slightest noise.”

“Work took you away again, huh?”

“Yep.”

She waited. “Is this where you tell me what you do?”

He chuckled. “It’s not as exciting as you’re probably imagining.”

“Try me.”

Without missing a beat, he responded, “Bail Enforcement Agent.”

“Wha-?”

“Bounty Hunter. Even though my colleagues don’t particularly care for the term, I’ve found.”

She gave it a few seconds to sink in. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

Her mind replayed the conversation she overheard Dean have with his brother on the phone. He mentioned coming back from a hunting trip. “Is that the business you were in with your brother?”

“No.” He paused. “Let’s say it was bounty hunting adjacent.”

“That’s all I get, huh?”

Another chuckle. “Yep.”

“Now who’s playing hard to get?”

“Not I, sweetheart. You’ll never know what you would’ve been in for today... if you’d heard me knocking.”

She swallowed. A swooshing sound filled the absence of his voice on the line. He’s driving.

“Give me a hint?” A breathy whine escaped along with the question. She bit her lip at the accidental slip.

“Hell. I’ve got someone on the other line. Give me a minute and I’ll call you back.” He hung up abruptly.

She cringed at her reaction. Sexy. Ugh. You are so out of your league with this one. Well, no need to finish working on that pie now. She waved a hand and marched upstairs to change out of her pjs. The crust will keep.

Minutes ticked by. He got busy with work. Bounty hunting? She finished changing and pounced onto her bed, landing on her stomach. Her head shook. It’s an actual thing people do. But he could be lying, leading me on with some absurd and inflated story to see what he can get away with. She’d been that naive with men before, believing what they said at face value. Because, if she wouldn’t flat out lie, why would someone else? Life experience was a hell of a teacher. It turned her hard and cynical and untrusting.

Ten minutes turned into thirty. She browsed through social media apps on her phone. Every second increased her agitation. My window of opportunity has passed.

Over the next half hour, she applied some makeup and gave herself a pep talk in the mirror. “You are channeling all of your pent-up energy, attention, and sexual frustration into this one man. Not healthy. I mean, yeah, the sexual frustration part is totally understandable. But…” she trailed off and stared at her reflection.

Don’t want to get your mind off a messed-up relationship with a quick hop in the sheets. Take care of you. Remember? That was my mantra when I signed the divorce papers. Christ, the single hardest thing I’ve probably ever had to do. And, I added my name to that document like John Fucking Hancock. 

She nodded.

“Go out. Get some air. Run some errands. Just be. And be okay with that.”

Julie attempted to make herself believe her words as she went about her day.

~~~~~

Her mom had called to check in while she was out. So had her brother. Kelly, her co-worker, had texted about a project due the next day, bright and early Monday morning. Julie had taken off that upcoming week and wouldn’t be in the office to help. Kelly needed a pep type. Julie didn’t have the strength for a talk. 

Nothing major was planned for her staycation. The only thing she’d sort of been forced into by her old friend, Karen, was to host a mini belated housewarming that Friday night. Aside from the food prep and cleaning, nothing was on her to-do list for days. Now, she debated if she should just hop in the car and go somewhere. Anywhere, to get away from the temptation that was Dean Winchester. With her mother back home, she didn’t have anything keeping her tied to the house. Except the possibility of a very bad decision clad in plaid.

She returned home with a bottle of wine and a bottle of bourbon, the latter item she never drank. Wandering down the aisle of whiskeys in the liquor store made her think of Dean. He seemed like a bourbon guy, or a man that would appreciate the drink. The clerk had recommended the bottle with an unassuming label filled with a beautiful amber liquid.

Not depressing at all. It was six pm when she strolled up the steps to her bedroom. Her hands balanced an open wine bottle and foil wrapped hazelnut chocolates stuffed into her drinking glass. She tipped the glass and dumped the chocolates onto the bedspread.  Let me not be that pathetic and put some clean pjs on at least. The plan was to settle in for an 80s comfort movie marathon. She’d started with “The Goonies”, then “The Dark Crystal”. She had polished off all the chocolates, wrappers littering the bed, and was almost through “Labyrinth” and the wine when the phone lit up.

U up?

Ten o’clock and Dean was messaging. The alcohol buzz and trippy Henson atmosphere contributed to her out of body feeling. She watched her fingers tap the phone icon and dial his number. 

“Sorry about not calling you back earlier. Got a lead on my skip and had to jump on it.” His voice was super close, husky and low.

“Were you on a stakeout?” A throaty laugh in response to her question ignited a full body tingle. It started at the top of her head and worked its way down to the tips of her bare toes. She muted the television, sank into the pillows, and focused on the ceiling. And Dean’s voice.

“Not quite. I found out he was backtracking to visit his girlfriend. I beat him there, talked to her, explained his situation, and how bad it could really get if he kept running. She convinced him to turn himself in.” 

Julie’s tracking was fuzzy on the details. “Is he handcuffed in your backseat now? Or, your trunk?”

“No. Already dropped him off at the police station.” 

“Where?”

“Poconos.”

That was well over two hours from Pike Creek. “Long way for a fugitive.”

“Not really. Just another Sunday drive for me.”

It sounded too quiet on Dean’s end. “On your way back?”

“I was.” He sighed. “But then I decided to stop at a bar. Had a few too many. So, I’m crashing at a classy motel, stone’s throw away from said bar.” 

“Hm. I should be crashing soon, too.” Julie slurred.

Another long pause. “Have you been drinking?”

“Yep.” She popped the “p” out of her mouth with pursed lips.

“Huh. Sounds like you’ve been at it for a while.”

“The almost empty wine bottle would agree.”

He tisked. “Drunk. And I’m missing it.”

The back of her hand pressed against the warmth of her cheek. “You’re partaking in this event virt-,” the train of thought left the station without her. “Not missing it. Did you take the drinking party back to your room?”

“I did. Always keep a bottle of Jack in my trunk.” 

“We should toast, then, to drinking alone… but, not.” Julie sat up and took a swig, even if Dean wasn’t going to do the same.

She didn’t know how much time passed before he asked in an even, steady tone, “You wanted a hint, earlier, didn’t you?”

Silence.

“Julie?” His voice teased out her name, soft and slow.

She battled to focus. “Yes. A hint would be nice.”

“How about a confession?”

Electric currents pulsed under her skin. “A confession would be even better.”

“Okay. I should’ve told you this that first day. But... I’ve been watching you… spying on me… for a while.”

Her posture straightened, bolting upright from her reclined position, now stiff as a board. “I-I…”

“Don’t try to deny it.” Silence. “I noticed you one morning, a couple months back. I was in the kitchen, fixing some coffee. When I looked out the window, you were staring into my backyard, then over toward my house. I just chalked it up to you being a hot, nosy neighbor. And, honestly, I didn’t mind the view. Business casual looks very good on you.” 

A distinct sip filled her ear, followed by a smack of his lips. Those perfect lips. Julie chose to focus on the fact that he used the word “hot” and not “creepy”.

“But then, you did it again the next morning. You were wearing that dark blue sweater. I was jealous of that sweater, the way it hugs those curves of yours.”

In the effort to stifle a swoon, her mouth let out, “I’d trade places with that red plaid flannel of yours any day.” 

He cleared his throat after her admission. “Should I keep confessing?”

“Please. Go on.”

“I could tell you were looking for me, in particular, not just inspecting my property for things to complain about. Call it a hunter’s instinct. You’d seen me before, hadn’t you?” 

“Yes.”

He didn’t exactly chuckle that time. It was a short, almost sweet little laugh. “So... every morning when I was home, I’d wait for you to do your search. I’d batted around the idea of coming out one day to say hi…”

“Why didn’t you?”

“What was I going to say? Hi, I’m Dean. I’m a low-rate bounty hunter with a couple hundred dollars to my name, a shitty little house, and a drinking problem?” He sighed into her ear. “You saw something that interested you. But I do better sticking to the surface level, remember? I know how to work with what I’ve been given. Not much beyond that.”

She wanted to berate him for talking about himself that way. But all she could manage was to ask, “So, you have been playing hide and seek with me?”

He chuckled. “I guess.”

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable with all of that ridiculous behavior. I can usually keep my voyeuristic tendencies to a minimum.” Words tumbled out, sarcastic and apologetic.

“You didn’t make me uncomfortable. My backyard view was made much nicer. And you gave me the opportunity to get to know you.”

Julie scoffed. “How could you get to know me that way?”

“This is where you’ll probably get irritated.”

She waited.

“I used my skills and resources to do a little digging on you.”

She laughed out loud. “Did you bounty hunt me?”

“Kinda.”

“Interesting. You’re lucky I’m drunk right now, because I find it highly amusing.” And pretty damn hot. She sipped. “What’d you find out?”

“Basic stuff. You’re an accounting manager at a bank in downtown Wilmington. No speeding tickets, pretty straight and narrow. You went to school at University of Delaware - nice GPA. Got married about ten years ago…” his voice trailed off.

“You found out all that stuff even before we met?”

“Yes. And I apologize. But I wanted to get to know my pretty Italian neighbor that liked me, too.”

Too. He could have just ended that sentence with “liked me.” “Those are just facts. You don’t get to know someone from a distance.”

“I’ve gotten to know some things. I know when you’re deep in concentration you bite the inside of your cheek. And, when you get frustrated, you scrunch up your nose. You do that a lot when you’re on a work call, heading into the house after a long day. I’ve even seen you skip, sometimes, when you come home on a Friday. Just a few feet or so, when you don’t think anyone’s looking. When you leave the house every morning, you test the handle of the sliding door twice to make sure it’s locked. Your hairstyle of choice is a ponytail. But, on the rare occasion when you let your hair down… well, I’m glad you wore it down last night. And, that I got the chance to touch a few strands. Soft as I imagined.”

He’s imagined that. She had no witty retort for his monologue. He’d knocked every ounce of air out of her lungs. Her entire body was hot and charged from his confession. He’d examined her, been allowed access to her quirks and habits in high definition, and this Adonis of a man sounded downright intrigued by all of it.  Holy shit. The stalkee has become the stalker. And, I’m finding the table turning extremely hot right now.

“Julie, I know you’re not perfect. But whatever asshat of a man let you slip away… I don’t think he had any idea what he had to begin with.” He cursed under his breath. “I shouldn’t be saying all this. Making more of a mess of things.”

“No, you’re not.” She swallowed. “How ‘bout that hint?”

“About what I was going to do if you opened the door earlier today?”

“Yes.”

“Give you back half of your cake and ask you out on a proper date. Whatever the hell that is.” It almost sounded like a low, throaty growl escaped his lips. “But that was earlier today. If I had come home tonight and knocked on your door… I don’t know if I could’ve behaved myself. I would have slammed back too many shots when I got home to work up the nerve. Plus, the adrenaline from the hunt has me riled up.”

God. That voice. She crossed her legs to restrict the pulsing in her core. “What does misbehaving look like?”

The silence stretched out to an excruciating span. “We goin’ there?” he asked.

“Yes.” Her head was spinning. She didn’t really know where “there” was.

“Loose lips...” He mumbled. A noisy gulp of liquid followed. The faraway slam of a glass came next. “Well... my misbehaving hands would end up all over that rosy skin. Every inch.”

She bit her lip and held her breath.

“God.” He groaned, his voice not as close now. “I’d like to say I’d be able to take my time. But it might have ended up hard and fast on the floor.”

An instinctive, quite loud gasp escaped from Julie. She slapped a hand over her traitorous mouth.

“Shit, I’m sorry.” Dean fumbled over his words. “I shouldn’t have… first, I’m telling you I’ve been investigating you… then, I’m talking about ways I’d… it’s just... it’s been a while.”

Julie exhaled a breath. “I pushed you into sharing. When you say ‘a while’...”

“Since I moved to Delaware. Two years.”

The statement woke her from the orgasmic lullaby. “Bullshit. 

He laughed. “Not exactly something I’m proud to share.”

“What the hell are you saving yourself for?”

Without a beat missed, he responded, “You, apparently.”

He stunned her again.

“This has been… well, I don’t know what this has been… I’m going to let you go before the conversation crashes into the point of no return.”

“Dean…”

He sighed. “Yeah.”

“I’ll expect the rest of my cake returned… as soon as you get back.” 

He laughed. “Yes, Ma’am.”

Part 7

Series Page

[vanillacup-cakes]

This is, by far, the latest I’ve ever written one of my year round-ups, and by far, the messiest post. 

2019 was a year guys, so have a really messily written year round up. If I try to tidy it up we’ll be here until December. 

TL;DR

2019.

2019 was a year of love; happy, sad, somewhere in between. 

My heart got broken. 

Hera got married. 

My friends are in love. 

At the end of the Barat, in Pakistani wedding traditions, the bride goes home with the groom. Any events before that the bride always came home with her family. But for this main event, after the actual marriage contract has been signed, after all the festivities, she goes home with the groom. We took it in turns to hug Hera goodbye, I pushed myself to the back of the queue being the crier of the group. 

When I was talking to Hera’s cousin she mentioned that some people have questioned why this little bit of the wedding celebrations causes such emotional responses from the bride’s family and friends, after all, we’ll see her again the next evening for the reception. And it’s not like she’s gone forever, she has just moved out of her parents house. She said that the reason for this was not because we will never see her again but because things will never be the same from that moment on. Not in a good, nor a bad way, it just is. 

Changed. 

Life changes and when one of your close friends get married it changes your relationship with them. Not that you or they love you/them less, not that you or they are less important, not that you or they care less. It just changes. 

it doesn’t even have to be marriage. 

In October, one morning in Peak District I was stood in the kitchen of our rented apartment and in front of me were two of my best friends with their other halves going on about their day eating their breakfast. It was a picturesque little scene I tried to capture as a photo, I was scared of ruining the moment though and my sly camera skills were terrible so I just have a blurry evidence of that moment. Throughout that holiday I caught little moments of the two couples, little moments I can’t really describe but you know it when you’re around it, little moments that made my heart swell and hurt at the same time. Because things are different. Things have changed. 

Change isn’t bad, it can be really, really good. In fact I hope it’s a really, really, really good change for all of them, I just need a moment to accept that we’re no longer in our early 20s and our lives are going to change a lot before more.

2019 was a year of love; the good, the bad, and the bittersweet. 

I started 2019 falling asleep as the fireworks went off. We had gone out for dinner earlier that evening with a friend from work and his missus, to a nice fancy restaurant where desserts are always perfect. I’m not one to go out on New Year’s so I worried that we’d be out long but, fortunately for me, the other couple we’re not up for a long one either so, after dinner, we tried to see if we could grab a couple of drinks in a bar before heading home but, as it was NYE, we had no luck. The other couple went home, we tried a couple more before we gave up and called it a night. 

We were falling asleep when the fireworks went off. In our 20s, supposed to be the prime of your life, and I was cuddled up and happily falling asleep before the new year rang in. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. 

January meant Hamilton and birthday boardgames and lots of ballroom classes. I think this may have been the year that we also started, or tried to, regularly schedule in time for face masks. 

Then it was suddenly February and I received the best Valentine’s day card in existence, I continued to dance, finally saw a Footlights performance and even caught a show put on by CUMTS. Cirque du Soleil was okay too… 

March was when Amy, Izzy and I decided to start our own tradition, every year, no matter what, we’d get together; us and the boys, with the dogs, or kids or goodness know what else life gives us, we’d meet up. We’d meet up somewhere in the UK for a long weekend, where we’d go for walks and cook dinner, and just overall relax and unwind and catch up with each other. Each year starting that October at the Peak District. 

March was when I forgot my water bottle at our last dance class and we had to turn the car around. March was when I got no sleep and still chose to go to work the next day. 

For the three months we had worked in the new building together we had never bumped into each other in such close proximity, and then, suddenly, there he was coming out of the showers as I tried to find an empty stall to check how I tired I looked. I smiled, I can’t remember if I said anything but my heart dropped. 

March was when I got my promotion and all I wanted to do was tell him. 

I gave him his stuff back and I gave him his birthday present; an embossed leather notebook, dotted not lined, perfect for both writing and drawing, he was a design engineer after all. 

In July he wished me a happy birthday. 

In my head, people judge how much it hurt me when we were only together for nine months. But no one has the right to dictate how you feel.  

Back in January, Hera started sending me dance videos, videos she wanted us to learn for her wedding.

By April, the Kate, Olive, Sam and I were in the full swing of Friday on a Monday: Dance Edition. We’d cook a spicy meals (the spice increased in level as we went along, yoghurt or cream became more for taste than for firefighting) then we’d dance. Every Monday, where possible. Sometimes we’d skype Charley, sometimes Charley would be with us in person. 

As per usual we celebrated birthdays not in the correct months; Kate’s November was in January in form of birthday boardgames, face masks and hand massages by Olive. Charley’s January was in May in Claydon house where we discussed medieval fayres and the Jane Austen festival, where we sat in a private chapel and spoke as we wished until a lady came into actually pray and we tried our best to exit quietly. Sam gave Olive a piggy back in the gardens and there were some happy screaming and laughter. Olive’s March preceded Charley’s as we went to Bath in May and had ourselves our own very luxurious baths. Preceded and proceeded by enough Sally Lunn buns to feed a small army. 

My mum randomly won tickets to Look East festival so Charley and I went on an impromptu trip to London and saw Mumford and Sons live. Next time we’ll be prepared with a picnic blanket and more sunscreen for Charley. Indeed we were more fully prepared a month later for West End Live, armed with a cool bag full of food and drinks. What we weren’t prepared for, though, was the vast amount of people queueing. We knew it was popular and we knew there would be a long queue but we didn’t quite anticipate just how big. Having said that, after we admitted defeat we found a little section to the side of Trafalgar square with deck chairs facing a huge screen live streaming the whole event. We didn’t get seats straightaway but sure enough a family with kids left slightly earlier. Instead of standing under the sun for hours on end, Charley and I sat on our deck chairs in the shade in a lovely June day eating our food and drinking to our heart’s content. We decided that in 2020, we’d just do the exact same. We also come out wanting to watch ever single musical there was. 

Speaking of getting the right picnic spot, we are starting to have this ‘Singing on the river’ thing down; picnic blankets a plenty, napkins, cutleries, takeaway for dinner by the river listening to the wonderful King’s men perform renditions of old and new songs. It’s a Cambridge tradition we just can’t miss. 

We did try to keep up monthly dinners in 2019; we went to Varsity, The Red Lion and Petersfield before we had to suspend the dinners as it was time to fly to Pakistan.

After the vaccinations were done, after the visas were sorted, after all the clothes were bought, after all the make-up and hair trials were done, after all suitcases were packed, after all the dances were mastered (somewhat), after the incredibly long wait to see Hera again it was time to get in the taxi and slowly but surely make our way to the train station. Slowly because we had a flat tyre. But it was going to be faster to get on a slow car than wait for another taxi. 

For months on end, as a group, we all had a phrase “After Pakistan”. The amount of things we said we’d do ‘after Pakistan’ and suddenly we were there. Suddenly it was all gone. 

I’m not sure life kept going after Pakistan, you know. 

And yet it did. I came back to work with my new manager fully into the swing of things, nothing had exploded and everything was still chugging along. Suddenly I was being invited to more meetings and prospects of going business trips became a thing. 

I also started sewing classes, along with Olive and Sarah. I stopped ballroom classes and continued with krav maga. 

In October, Amy and Tom picked me up in Cambridge and we all drove to Bakewell together to meet Izzy and Zack. The weather could have been nicer to us but it was the UK in October, we should have known better. So off we went, in the rain, walking down an old railroad track (we did consider cycling but that got confusing and expensive), climbing hills for loo breaks and risking ankles and necks for a hope of a nice warm lunch only to be disappointed because pubs in the middle of nowhere is far and few in between and only serve food at specified hours. Having walked for hours with a small amount of sustenance we took the taxi home and enjoyed a meal at the apartment instead. 

In November, we flew to Bulgaria and what an experience it was. Beautiful sceneries and definitely a hidden gem, but take it from me, don’t take the jeep up the mountain. Find a different mountain, there’s plenty. Explore the gorgeous towns preserved to their original glory and feel like you’ve been transported back in time. Try the local cuisine! Dress up in traditional Bulgarian outfits, it’ll make a wonderful family photo. 

That same month, Hera visited England again. For a mere few days she stayed in Cambridge and we tried to make the most of it as possible. Butch Annie’s was obviously a requirement. And at last, once again, Kate’s November birthday was celebrated in November. In a once in a lifetime opportunity where all six of us were finally back together again to tackle not one, not two but three escape rooms! We got out of every single one of them. No biggie! But just like that, we were all split up again. 

But no rest for the wicked because the very next day I was off to Austria on a business trip. My first ever business trip. It wasn’t all work and no play, in fact, at one point we were chucked out of the office so we can explore Vienna further so we did. We went to Christmas market after Christmas market and I stocked up on Christmas baubles and Christmas presents. My favourite bauble though? Came from the Bury St Edmunds Christmas Fayre. I’ll be on the look out for you again next year!

Before long it was December. With all the hubub of 2019 and the hubub that 2020 will bring (in form of a NYE party) I decided it was best if we had someone else cook for us for Friends Christmas. Secret Santas were exchanged and extra sticky toffee puddings were ordered, no dishes were cleaned by our hands that evening, 

And then it was time to party. 1920’s themed party to ring in the 2020’s…

When I really think about it 2019 was one helluva year. So much has changed, so much will change. There isn’t one month similar to the one before, it’s terrifying. Growing up is terrifying. Changes are terrifying. 

But we have to bury broken hearts and raise a glass to falling in love, we have to hug memories goodbye and smile at the new ones. We have to accept things won’t be the same but that’s not a bad thing. There are still songs to dance to and movies to cry at, rooms to escape and snacks to share. They’ll always be there no matter what… no matter what 2020 will bring. 

[sarakuper]

San Rafael; Work Away

Stop #3, December 21-January 7

Our time in San Rafael was very relaxing, thrilling, and interesting. Some days we spent doing little to nothing, which was nice for a few days but too boring for me at some points. Other days Sean and I did some awesome activities pushing us both way out of our comfort zones. Lastly, we experienced authentic Colombian culture first hand. Being there for holidays and festivals meant we were there for some of the most quiet and exciting days of the year.

When we arrived on Saturday we had no idea what to expect. This stop being our first WorkAway, we wondered…what work would we be doing? How many hours were expected of us? Are any meals included? For that first day we hung out and enjoyed the beautiful location at the hostel, which is located on a steep hill, completely open and overlooking the city. It’s totally lush and absolutely beautiful. The view alone is a reason to spend all day in the hostel relaxing. 

There are 3 people who own the hostel, all Colombian, and all in their 20’s. Lili was there when we arrived, Manuel arrived the next day (Sunday), and Laura arrived after spending Christmas with her family in Medellin. Immediately after arriving Sean and I fell in love with their cat Canela, which is “cinnamon” in Spanish. We thought she was a kitten because she isn’t full sized, but it turns out she is an old lady! She lived on the property with the previous owner, who was thought to be not very kind to her. When Lili, Laura, and Manuel bought the place about a year ago, Canela was pregnant with a dead litter. They paid to have them surgically removed, and since then Canela has been their beloved pet. She is so cuddly and sweet. She jumps on your lap for pets or a nap, and she answer to your calls. She’s the kind of cat that acts like a dog. We immediately fell in love with her. It’s not like we are trying to fill a void or anything... :)

When Manuel arrived on Sunday we discussed the work we would be doing; we would redo the kitchen (and it really needed it) and lunch would be provided. We started making plans for this work Monday morning. I was going to repaint the kitchen and organize it differently while Sean would build some cabinet doors and shelves. Our work load was different each day. Sometimes we felt good with the work we were doing that we spent hours doing it. Other days we did little to nothing. Either way, Leidy and Karen came every morning to clean the hostel, and during our first week Leidy cooked us lunch too. And wow did she cook us the most delicious healthy food!!!

Leidy and Karen live in the same building as the hostel/language school in a separate apartment. Leidy is probably in her late 30’s or early 40’s, and Karen is her 10 year old daughter. Neither of them spoke a word of english, but they quickly became a big part of our trip in San Rafael. Since Karen was off from school she came to help her mom cook and clean every morning. One morning I was doing some henna on hands and legs when Karen told me “linda!” which means “cute” or “pretty” in Spanish. I asked her if she wanted one, and when she said yes I told her to ask her mom first. Next thing you know, I was giving henna tattoos to both Karen and Leidy; mandala type flowers on their legs and their names written on their wrists. I wish I took a photo of this, but I didn’t :(. I did however take a picture of my henna, and finally took a picture with Leidy and Karen on our last day.

From then on, Karen and I would hang out together almost every morning. She would help me study Spanish while also helping her mom work. I would pull up a new vocabulary word I wanted to learn from an app on my phone, and she and I would practice using that word in a sentence. She would then correct my awful grammar before moving on to the next new word. Some evenings after that I saw Karen and Leidy hanging out outside or walking into town. We always talked and all made efforts to communicate as much as possible. My broken Spanish was enough to connect with both of them, but what it really highlighted was that you don’t need to speak the same language to express love and kindness.

Over Christmas Eve we joined Lili’s boyfriend, Brandon, at his house where he was hosting a BBQ. And that’s exactly how Colombians celebrate Christmas; they BBQ on the street with beers and loud music. And they were kind enough to grill lots of veggies for me :)

During our time in San Rafael we experienced some epic thunder storms. It rained almost every night, and being in a hostel where the common area is wide open made the storms so fun. Normally when we went into town we did so in the evening and nights, only because the days were so hot, and so walking up and down the hills to the city center was a bit warm… but, every time we went out at night it was like a guessing game if we would get poured on. Every night was cloudy, so there was really no telling. It made it a little more fun :) I love rain in warm weather! 

Another day, after working and panting in the morning, we went to the nearest watering hole for a quick swim. Lili’s mom was in town, so we went together plus Bendzhi, a Chinese girl staying at our hostel long term. The watering hole was amazing for people watching. So many locals go there to cool off and swim. Kids ands dogs run around everywhere while vendors sell snacks from fresh fruit to churros. I wish I had photos, but it was better to bring little to nothing since we were ditching our stuff to go swimming.

Steve was another guy at our hostel, probably in his mid 40’s, and from Canada. We spent a good amount of time with him, especially after hiking to a waterfall with him, and Manuel. The hike was pretty short but beautiful. We walked right by horses and cows/bulls before approaching the waterfall.

Just before NYE Lili left to spend time in San Carlos, another town about an hour west, for the next month or so. Laura and Manuel both went to meet Manuel’s family, and so Sean and I had the hostel to ourselves. We went out in town and hung out at a bar until midnight, when everyone got up to hug and kiss each other. Soon after Sean and I went home to hit the hay. Neither of us were feeling great (my throat was sore and he had an allergy attack), plus we don’t particularly care much for this holiday.  

Something I loved about staying at this hostel was that on most days a group of small monkeys would come looking for food. Of course we bought bananas in preparation of this, and fed them quite often. They are so small and so cute!!! They would call at us until we fed them their beloved bananas.

The most exciting thing we did during our time in San Rafael was a canyoneering trip with Manuel, his sister Julianna, and her husband Freddy. We hiked to a spot along a river, got into wet suits and harnesses, and began our decent in the river. We slid down the rocks, jumped off cliffs, and repelled our way through the river. Sean’s fear of heights kicked in during the last part of the activity. But, there we were.. and there was no turning back! This trip was short, but seriously one of the coolest things we’ve done. We were so high on life from the awesome adventure it was!

Another day Manuel and Laura invited us on a fishing trip again with his sister and brother in law. We fished along a river, and although Sean and I both didn’t catch anything we still enjoyed the experience very much. Colorful birds where flying all around us, calling out to each other, and it was really beautiful to watch. Eventually we made our way to a waterfall where we “parked” our boats to go explore. We climbed to the top of the waterfall where we found a beautiful swimming hole to enjoy all to ourselves. We explored deeper, climbing up the next small waterfall. It was absolutely stunning, and easily the highlight of the fishing trip. We swam and jumped off the rocks (don’t worry- Manuel, a certified guide, checked to see that they were safe first) while enjoying all the beauty around us.

The next day we had the opportunity to visit a Panela farm, watching its production from start to finish. Panela is the natural sweetener widely used here in Colombia, and I think a lot of Latin America. It comes in thick blocks that are chipped at and use as sweeter for many of their drinks, specifically chocolate (the drink) and natural juice. We started by crushing the sugarcane using a machine, followed by a long cleaning process to purify the juice before it crystalizes into a sugar. The colombian family that owns the farm has been making Panela all their lives. The whole operation is run between 4 siblings; 3 brothers and 1 sister, all in their 70’s. The abuela welcomed us into her beautiful home and made us breakfast, and then lunch once it got late enough in the afternoon. I am so grateful to have been welcomed to this family’s farm and home with arms open wide. The love they put into this work, and the history behind it all makes it so special. For so many reasons this day was one I will never forget.

One of the last events that went on while we were gone (and yes, wow, a lot has really happened) was Festivo del Rio, festival of the river. We are not sure how the name is related to the celebrations, but what we do know is that this small town fills up with tons of Colombians from all over the country to come celebrate this festival at San Rafael. Restaurants were packed, the hostel we stayed at was fully booked, and the streets were crowded with happy people. On Friday night we watched part of the parade, where structures of mythical creatures ran the streets breathing fire and pure fun.

At the beginning of this post I wrote that times during this leg of the trip I was bored, yet I didn’t get to writing any of this post until the bus ride out of town. I didn’t realize how many special experiences we had until it was time to write about it. But thats exactly why I do this :)

And now that I am writing this while on the bus leaving San Rafael, it feels bitter sweet to leave. This town is so authentically Colombian. The only other English speakers we met were 3 others from our hostel, one Canadian, one American, and one Chinese who spoke English fluently. Saying goodbye was so sweet, as Laura told me that seeing my face is like getting a dose a diabetes. There’s a bit of a language barrier there.. but what she was saying is that I’m so sweet and she feels that every time she sees my face 😂. As for Leidy and Karen... well Leidy starting to cry. I told her “I miss you” in Spanish because I have no idea how to speak in future tense to say “I will miss you”. Karen, her 10 year old daughter who was my best friend on this leg of the trip, gave me hugs goodbye. I will miss practicing Spanish with her very much. She actually knows how to explain things to me better than the adults!

Anyway, I am so looking forward to Josh’s arrival! This is just the start of what I think will be a very fun month with friends (Sam and Victoria next week) and then my mom and cousin Maria in Cartagena! 

Thanks for reading fam, love you all.

[babemazzello]

Joe Mazzello x Reader - NYE Party

Description: You and Joe have been together for a couple months now and you want to spend New Year’s Eve together.

Warnings: None, just a bunch of fluff.

You and Joe were at someone’s house. They were a good friend of Joe’s, but you didn’t really know them very well. You knew they worked with Joe and they were in the movie business, but it didn’t really matter to you. All you knew was that you were in a big house with a bunch of people you didn’t know and your boyfriend. 

Joe was very protective of you the entire party. He knew you weren’t much of a partier, so wherever he went, you came along. He never left you along to experience an awkward situation with someone you didn’t know. He also had his hand in your back pocket the entire night. His hand gently placed in your pocket, making it clear to everyone that you were his. You liked this protective side of him. It was something that only really came out at parties. He was always afraid that some guy would come over and steal you away. You both knew that wouldn’t happen, but he liked keeping his hands on you just in case.

As the night went on, both of you drank. Small drinks here and there. Nothing to get you drunk, but enough to have both of you feeling tipsy by 11. The house had many rooms and there were enough decorations to fill up a convention center. Streamers, lights, confetti, hats, whistles, beads, everything. Whoever’s house this was really loved the holiday. This was the first time you had a boyfriend on New Year’s Eve and you had been looking forward to the kiss for a couple days now. You had it all planned out in your head.

You were going to be positioned perfectly outside with everyone around you screaming the countdown. Party hats and beads donning your head and neck. The clock would strike midnight and you and Joe would passionately kiss, undeterred by the mass of people around you and the fireworks blasting off in the background. It would be perfect and exactly like a scene out of a movie. 

As the night went on and the minutes passed, you realized that this perfect start to the new year probably wouldn’t happen. You were both pretty tipsy and it was too cold for anyone to be standing outside for longer than a minute. Joe had been mingling with friends all night, and even though you had been attached to his side the entire time, you never really got a moment alone. This made you a bit sad. It was still early in your relationship and you were convinced that he wouldn’t be able to take his eyes off you the whole night, but you were sadly mistaken. It was a bit of a selfish wish, but it was still something you wanted.

“Do you want another drink, Y/N?” Joe asked, taking his hand out of your pocket for the first time tonight.

“Sure, but nothing too strong,” you answer. He leaves you for a split second and comes back with two beers. You each start sipping them while his hand finds its way back into your back pocket. After a little while, Joe talks again.

“Where do you want to watch the countdown?” He asked, scanning the room for possible spots.

“I don’t know,” You replied, also scanning the room. “There’s just so many people here. It’s a little crazy. Joe watched your face. It showed hints of sadness, worry, and anxiety. Emotions you tried to hide behind an optimistic facade. 

“Hold on. Stay here.” He put his hand on your shoulder as he walked away. He made his way through the mass of people, disappearing from sight. You looked around the room. It was mostly drunk people dancing and smiling. Enjoying the night around you. You liked the holiday, but some people lived for it. And it seemed like all those people were here. Joe came back soon after and outstretched his hand for you to grab. “Come on,” He said. You grabbed his warm hand in yours and he pulled you through the crowd. People dancing and bumping into you as you walked. Eventually, you were through the crowd and Joe led you to a door in the closest hallway. It was marked off, but Joe lifted up the tape. I gave him an inquisitive look and took a single step back.

“I don’t think we’re allowed back there.” I joked, pointing at the tape.

“It’s okay, I asked my friend if we could go back here. He said it was okay. He knows we won’t break or steal anything.” He laughed. He pulled me underneath the tape and once we were past, he squeezed my hand to comfort me. He reached his hand out for the first door he saw and slowly turned the knob. Behind the door was a beautiful bedroom that looked fit for a king. It was themed with a brilliant red. There were high bed posts and the covers had traces of gold thread that made the entire room look regal. 

There was a red couch on the other side of the room. It looked like when you sat in it, you would never be able to get up. This made you want to sit on it even more. Joe let go of your hand and laid down on the couch. His head resting on the armrest. He slipped his shoes off and rested his feet on the couch. You just stood there watching him. 

“Are you going to stand there forever or are you going to join me?” He joked and laughed. You slipped your high heeled shoes off and walked over to the couch. You laid on top of him being very careful not to hurt him. Your head resting ever so gently on his chest as his arm came around your shoulders to play with your hair. You reached your arm around to hug his torso as you both laid there, never planning to get up. You could hear and feel his heartbeat through his chest. The sound of his breathing calming you down the longer you listened. The muffled sound of the other party-goers faded away as the two of you laid there. “You know,” You moved your head to look up at him. His eyes sparkling in the dim yellow light illuminating the room. When he smiled, you could feel yourself melting into him even more. You were putty in his hands. “Being here with you is more than anything I could have ever asked for.” 

“I feel the same way,” You reply. 

“I got lucky this year,” He whispered into your hair before he kissed your forehead. “You’re just so beautiful.” He paused for a second. “I know that you don’t really like parties, but it means a lot to me that you came with me. I just want the last seconds of this year to be spent alone...with you. I couldn’t think of a better way to end the year.”

“Me neither,” you whispered. You nuzzled your face back into his chest. His chest rising and falling underneath your head. You could hear through the wall that people were gathering from all around the house. The muffled voice turned into a dull roar as everyone gathered, preparing themselves for the countdown. Neither of you moved from your spot. “Countdown,” you commented. “It must be starting soon.”

“Yeah,” he smiled. Then you began to hear them start counting down in the other room.

10

9

8. You looked up at Joe to see that he was already staring down at you, taking in as much of your face and hair as he could.

7

6

5. You moved your hand from his side to his chest, ready to push yourself up toward him for the kiss.

4

3

2. You pushed up slightly until your faces were even. Joe’s eyes never left yours. The intensity between you was palpable. 

1. Your lips locked in a passionate but lazy kiss. The alcohol in your systems hindering your kissing abilities. You didn’t care, and neither did he. You got to kiss the man you were in love with on New Year’s. His nose pressed into your cheek as you kissed with closed eyes. His hand moved to the back of your head to press himself harder into the kiss. You both tasted slightly of alcohol and it was wonderful. 

When you pulled away, you began to realize how tired you really were. Your eyes dropping and ready to rest right away. You gave him one more quick peck as the party behind the walls roared. You tried to scoot back down to lie on his chest again, but he stopped you. When you look back at him, his face was serious with a hint of scared. You brought your hand up to cup his cheek. You stroked your thumb back and forth hoping to coax him out of whatever trance he was in and back to his happy, loving self. he put his hand on yours and locked eyes with you once again.

“I want to start this year off right.” He said. He paused as he seemed to collect his thoughts. He breathed out and talked. “I love you.” You readjusted yourself in your seat. This was the first time he said those words to you. Words you had been wanting to hear since your first date. Words that now had so much meaning and weight behind them that made your alcohol filled body want to break down and start crying. 

“Really?” you asked, suddenly awake. You were smiling wide and couldn’t contain your excitement. Joe nodded with a wide smile as he held on tighter to your shoulder. “I love you too.” You said with the excitement of a child. You plunged your lips into his once more. The passion was thrilling and you tried to be as close to him as possible. The moment was vulnerable and intimate and you loved every second of it. You melted into his kiss, finally happy to get those words out of your system and into the open. A weight had been lifted off you. You and Joe sat there kissing in the New Year, undeterred by the people through the wall partying and drinking. 

It may not have been the movie ending you wanted, but in many ways, this was better than you could have imagined. 

[redroseinsanity]

Grounded

Late for Daichi’s birthday and Daisuga Day and inspired by passengers stranded in Taiwan on NYE. 

This is possibly the worst way I can spend my birthday, Sawamura Daichi thinks to himself, wedged into a middle seat with a baby bawling its eyes out two rows back on a plane that’s been stuck on the tarmac for two hours.

He knew he’d start his birthday in the air when he booked a flight that left at 8pm, but he’d also hoped that he would be able to spend the rest of the day after he landed exploring the city before his business meetings started on the 3rd of January.

Sadly, fate seemed to decree that he was to turn twenty four feeling like a wretched and squashed marshmallow, a bit too dried out from the aeroplane air and desperately wanting to go to sleep but feeling painfully uncomfortable in the too small chair and with the dig of his seatmate’s elbow in his side. He glanced over at the owner of the offending joint and found a flabby middle-aged man fast asleep in his aisle seat.

With a sigh, Daichi shifted a smidgen over, just enough to escape the jabbing elbow and enough so that he was looking out past the person in the window seat to gaze out at the lights of the airport runway. At least that was beautiful in a way and mildly remedied the fact that Daichi was likely to start his birthday contorted into an unspeakably tiny aeroplane chair with a very sad selection of entertainment available and no water.

“Holy cheeseballs, this plane doesn’t take off soon, I’m going to charge into the cockpit and fly this thing myself,” the window seat passenger muttered, fingers drumming on the cover of his book which lay, rather abandoned, in his lap.

Catching Daichi’s sharp, surprised (and slightly amused look) his way, the window seat passenger offered a wry smile.

“Sorry, I don’t really like being in enclosed spaces, two hours is three hours too long on the tarmac.”

Daichi chuckled as he tamped down rising butterflies in his stomach when he took in porcelain skin and bright eyes framed by soft, tousled silver hair and the most perfect beauty mark.

How had he not noticed this absolute stunner sitting right next to him the entire time? Probably because I was too busy wallowing in self-pity for having to start my twenty fourth year on earth in a flying tin can that refuses to fly.

“Yeah, I wish they would just tell us what’s going on so that I would at least know why I have to spend my birthday in absolute agony in an airplane that’s going nowhere,” Daichi smiled crookedly, rubbing the back of his neck in the manner of a truly resigned man.

The beautiful stranger’s hazel eyes widened as he inhaled sharply.

“It’s your birthday?” he hissed, looking far more aghast on Daichi’s behalf than Daichi had felt in the past two hours.

“Not yet!” Daichi assured him and then checked his watch, “But in two hours.” He sagged into his seat.

“It seemed like a good idea at the time, landing in a gorgeous city on the morning of my birthday and taking the time to wander around,” Daichi explained, shaking his head at himself, “Obviously in hindsight, not such a good plan.”

“This is a travesty,” the gorgeous seatmate pounded a fist on his book, his voice turning into an angry whisper, “We shouldn’t be stuck here with no sign of moving and you shouldn’t be trapped here on your birthday!”

Opening his mouth to assure him that now that he had dug his grave, he was quite prepared to lie in it, Daichi was cut off by an overhead announcement.

“Good evening, everyone. This is your captain speaking. As you all are aware, we’ve been trying to remedy an electrical fault before taking off. However, I’ve just been notified that we require a new part to fly safely and so, we invite all passengers to disembark and we hope to fly within the next three hours as we wait for the new part to arrive and be swapped in,” there was a collective groan that reverberated around the cabin and immediately, people began murmuring among themselves. Daichi strained to hear the rest of the announcement.

“We sincerely apologise for this delay and will be offering complimentary dining and entertainment vouchers for you to use while waiting. Thank you and we ask for your understanding.”

Half an hour later, Daichi found himself back in the brightly lit walkway filled with shops and eateries, backpack slung over one shoulder and clutching several vouchers.

“Hey!” A familiar silver head bounced over, “Y’know, I’m kind of glad just to be out of there,” Daichi’s flying partner beamed up at him, smile rivaling the brilliant lights from above.

“Any longer and I may have lost it and started climbing the walls,” he grinned cheekily, a smile so contagious that Daichi involuntarily smiled back.

“Plus! They gave so many vouchers, you know what that means?” Daichi shook his head, “It’s a sign,” the silver haired angel stage whispered and Daichi stifled a laugh, “You weren’t meant to start your birthday in that torture device disguised as a mode of transport,” he cast a narrow eyed glare back at the plane, “You were meant to eat copious amounts of food and milk their PR team for all their worth!”

With a handful of vouchers being waved gleefully in his face, Daichi couldn’t control the laughter that escaped him.

“Of course,” he held up his own set, a smile colouring his voice, “Would you do me the honours of spending a ridiculous amount of money that isn’t ours with me?”

Linking a fairly toned arm with Daichi’s own muscled one, the fair stranger peeked up under lowered lashes.

“Why,” he purred, setting Daichi aflame with a single word, “I thought you’d never ask.”

“My name is Daichi, by the way,” Daichi said suddenly, when they’d finished two bowls of ramen each and were digging into ice cream, “I forgot that we never really…”

“Try this, Daichi, it tastes like it was made by the gods themselves,” A spoonful of creamy goodness was held up to his lips by a slim hand, “I’m Sugawara, but you can call me Suga.”

It did taste like it was crafted by divine hands and Daichi told him so. He didn’t tell Suga that he was the most insane and fun person he had ever met in his life, he just drank in the other man’s enthusiasm and excited gestures as he told hilarious stories and kept eating his rum and raisin.

“Obviously, when put in that situation, you’ll have to take your shirt off and then run screaming into the traffic!” Suga exclaimed, waving face cream around as he told Daichi about his colleagues who honestly sounded like lunatics.

“Absolutely,” Daichi replied with as straight a face as possible, “In fact, in those kinds of extreme circumstances, I would also recommend dousing oneself with luminescent paint and then running around the neighbourhood banging on a bucket or some kind of crockery.”

“Without question,” Suga nodded gravely, setting the cream down. There was a moment’s pause before they succumbed to a bout of hysterical giggles and Suga moved on to another moisturizer. Suga was devastatingly handsome and with his eyes crinkled at the corners, clear laughter pealing from deep in his belly, Daichi wondered if it was too soon to be falling for someone. He definitely had a crush, but laughing in duty-free at god knows what time with this shining being was messing with his head and heart far more than he had anticipated.

“You can’t say that if you’ve never tried it!” Suga gasped, sitting upright in the cushy armchair that he’d settled into with his loot of creams and a cup of juice.

“I don’t need to try it! I have smelled it and I know that I never need to even lick it ever in my life,” Daichi stated, feeling a little sleepy even though it wasn’t yet midnight. He usually slept relatively early so anything past eleven was technically past his bedtime. His friends teased him for being an old man, but Daichi liked his sleep and woke up early to run so he didn’t mind the good humoured jibes.

“No way,” Suga leaned into Daichi’s chair, adjacent to his, “This is life changing, I swear. You have to have tried it at least once in your life before you say no.” Shifting a little, he folded his legs into the chair, curling in on himself a little. Suga rested his chin on the arm of Daichi’s chair, peering up in so adorable a manner, Daichi nearly had an aneurysm.

“Nope, you can’t trick me into this, I know it’s a trap,” he retorted, taking another sip of his own smoothie and trying to steady his heartbeat. Easy, Sawamura, you hardly know this guy, he warned himself.

I think I know enough to know I want to know more.

Suga let out a shriek that cascaded into laughter as he tore down the hallway perched on a trolley that Daichi was pushing. Daichi’s lungs were protesting and he could feel the two bowls of ramen slopping around in his stomach but he kept going, chasing the honeyed chimes of Suga’s delight.

It was addictive, really. He had no business being so greedy but here he was, hoping that they’d never get called back to the plane so that he could keep spending time in this limbo with the most unreal person he’d ever met. It seemed like a dream, an impossible and far-fetched fantasy set in a space that didn’t exist where time slipped into darkness and all that mattered was this man, burning brighter than the sun.

When the call for them to re-board came, Daichi was sorely disappointed and it may have been his imagination but Suga might have looked a tad upset as well. They trekked over to the boarding gate until Suga turned abruptly, Daichi nearly walking into him before pulling up short.

He halted inches away from ploughing Suga down and stayed there, staring down at the brilliant light in the other man’s eyes as he smiled gently.

“Happy birthday, Daichi,” Suga tilted his head, “I hope you had fun! Better than being stuck on an airplane anyway, no?” Startled, Daichi checked his watch and found the numbers 2.37am flashing back at him.

“Suga,” he started, one hand reaching out to brush the other man’s arm. Suga who had turned to go wheeled back, eyes expectant, expression soft.

“That was the best birthday I’ve had in a long time. Thank you for spending it with me,” he grinned bashfully, earnestly and Suga’s expression turned softer and triumphant all at once.

They’d certainly exhausted themselves in the airport because the moment they’d gotten on the flight, the pair of them had conked out before the plane even managed to pull up off the runway and into the air.

The next thing Daichi knew, he awoke to a fluffy argon hair pressed against the side of his face and a warm weight on his arm. He looked down and realised that Suga looked even more ethereal in morning light. The clear gold glinted off eyelashes and bathed a face that looked even sweeter when asleep.

There was a sudden pang in his gut when Daichi realised that he’d never see Suga again once they got off this flight. With a sudden fervor, Daichi cast his gaze back down and tried to memorize the planes of Suga’s face.

“Well then, this is me,” Daichi said quietly, hauling his luggage off the conveyor belt.

“Well then,” Suga echoed, eyes fixed on his shoes, eyebrows vaguely knitted.

“If you-”

“I was-”

They spoke at the same time and then both tried to gesture each other to go first. Suga cleared his throat.

“I was just gonna say,” Suga hesitated and then seemed to decide to steel himself with the words coming out in a rush, “I’m free today if you’d like to spend the rest of your birthday together.”

Daichi stared at him, the words ringing in his ears but barely processing. Then it hit him, a smile blooming on his face as ecstasy exploded within him.

“Yes,” he heard himself say, and then again just in case he dreamed it, “Yes! I’d love to. It’s already been the best birthday, and it’s all been thanks to you.”

Suga turned a faint pink, then held out his phone.

“Exchange numbers so we can fix a place to meet after dropping off our luggage?”

They parted ways at the taxi stand and just before Suga dashed off to load up his taxi, he turned breathlessly to Daichi, face alight just like it had been hours ago in the airport.

Stretching up on his toes, he pressed a tender kiss on Daichi’s cheek.

“Happy birthday, Daichi,” he breathed, “See you in a bit.”

Daichi watched him go with the sense of being hit by a boulder of some sort, a silly grin plastered on his face and a glow lighting him up from within.