#oh 8 chapters left. ok. so 8 days. sick works for me

[livvyofthelake]

it's good to know that no matter what other shit i get obsessed with there will always be those guys to fall back on who make me feel ill after one minute spent thinking about them. good thing to have. just in case. you know.

[whatyadrawin]

The Fruit After the Flesh 18+ - Chapter 8

Minors DNI!

Masterlist

Approximately 2,872 words

Pairing: Thomas Hewitt (Headcanon) x AFAB reader

This chapters Warnings:  Sexual language and events, foul language. This is Slasher smut, be mindful of that and use discretion.

A/n: This chapter escalates very quickly. I want to point something out though, as I feel it is important to note which can be found at the bottom of this chapter due to it being a spoiler. Let me know if you want to be in the tag list. I update chapter progress on the masterlist whenever something changes.

Please enjoy this chapter! I worked very hard on it so reblogs, comments, and likes are appreciated very much.

Tag-List: @fan-goddess

Chapter 8

The sun began to pass the middle of the sky, your clothes were wet after you raced to put them on when Tommy left the pond running.

You walked through the forest, juniper trees are sparingly dispersed with the mesquite, the thick branches are heavy with blue buds which smell like cedar. As you get to the edge of the forest you smile as the dangling foliage of the mesquite tickles your shoulders when passing through.

You get inside the house and Luda Mae lets out a sigh of relief,

“Oh sweetheart, I was worried sick about you. Thought you went and got lost in the dang wilderness!”

You wrinkle your brows upwards, you feel awful having made Luda Mae stressed,

“I’m so sorry! I saw a pond when I was exploring and couldn’t help but go for a swim, it was refreshing” you say apologetically,

Luda Mae smiled as she put her hands on her hips,

“You went as far as the pond? Lord, I haven’t been out there in ages. You best try to avoid going through that forest alone hun, it has a lot of dangerous old garbage left over from past times. Take Thomas with you when you next feel like a swim, he knows the forest well.”

You smirk to yourself thinking about Tommy getting all wet and upset in the pond with you, but then you realized she must have not seen him come in yet, -she would have seen him soaking wet and known he was with me?- You look out the window to see if Tommy was in the barn, Luda Mae noticed you looking outside frantically so she asks,

“Everything all right dear? You look like a hen searchin’ for seeds.”

You turn to her and ask,

“Did you see Thomas come in at all?”

“Charlie said he saw Thomas head inside and go to his room, something happen?” she sounded confused as to what he problem could be.

“Oh no, I just…” you paused and thought it may be best to not let her know you were flirting naked with her son in the pond, “…wondered why he wasn’t up here getting his lunch is all.” You hoped to sound authentic.

Luda Mae squinted her eyes at you through her glasses, she didn’t say a word for a good minute,

“That’s strange, I told him to come right back with you for lunch. He’s usually mighty hungry by this time of the day. I’ll go check on him.” She made her way towards the basement door but turned to you and said, “You didn’t see him at all out there?”

“I was just swimming in the pond” you felt bad not being honest but it wasn’t like you were lying, you were just swimming after all. She closed the door behind her as she entered the basement, you hoped Tommy would keep it on the down low about you being a total tease in the pond -I don’t think Luda Mae would want to hear about her son being a peeping tom- you hoped you could get him to ‘accidentally’ peep on you once more just to see his pants get tight again; it was a unique experience to be so perverted after so many years of chastity. You wanted to let yourself loose and play with danger, the thrill gave you adrenaline that aroused you deeply, but you knew there could be serious consequences if Thomas was the kind of man to go too far when giving in to temptation.

Luda Mae returns, she looks a bit upset and it had you panicking internally,

“Is he ok?” you ask hastily,

She tightens her lips into a crooked form, and raises an eyebrow,

��He was gettin’ changed and said he wanted to be left alone. I’m gonna bring his lunch down to him. Must be tired from all the work he’s been doin’ in the barn what with moving all that old lumber ‘round and what not.”

You feel relieved to hear he didn’t tell her what he got up to, but you didn’t like keeping things from Luda Mae. A feeling entered your mind, one of regret and anxiety, -oh no, what if he’s mad at me? Maybe I overstepped a boundary and now he doesn’t want to see me!- In your excitement of being a tease you didn’t stop to think how it could actually be hurtful to him, -maybe he feels embarrassed or violated, or something because of what I did, fuck!- Now you felt sick, you wanted to go check on him and ask if you upset him and apologize if you did but you decided to give him space and try to talk with him tomorrow.

After you ate your lunch, you spent most of the afternoon moving your belongings into the room Luda Mae gave you. The shelves and armoires were big enough to fit everything you owned if you wanted, and the bay window was so charming next to the writing desk, it made you feel so happy being able to live with this family.

Dinner time rolled around and you didn’t see Thomas come up at all, Luda Mae had to go bring his dinner down to him. That night you slept poorly, the whole night was just rumination about what you might have done wrong and how you ruined everything by letting your libido take priority for once, -of course the one time I let loose, I get punished. Why do I have to live quietly, why can’t I just give in and be free with my body!?- You felt cursed.

-

You woke up early the next day and put a robe over your racy night garments, you wandered slowly toward the kitchen to grab some coffee and toast, you were still feeling anxious and upset from last night and were not in the mood to eat much of anything. Of course, Luda Mae was already up bright and early, her hair was frazzled and she was wearing a long white nightgown like a Victorian estate owner,

“Hey hun, how did you sleep?” her voice was gravelly and quiet, you didn’t want to worry her so you lied and said it was very good. You went on to ask,

“I need to do some laundry, is there a washer and dryer in the house somewhere?”

Luda Mae nodded slowly, she said,

“Down in the basement, there’s a room with a washer but no dryer, it went and broke on us a few years back and we just hang it all outside now. Theres a clothing line out back, I can show you when the washers finished.” You thank her and finish up your measly excuse for a meal and head to the restroom to get your laundry bin.

You look in the mirror and realize -oh shit, Tommy’s down there! I should freshen up a bit- You brush your teeth and pin up your hair in a cute half up-do, you find a more attractive robe, a short one, black with cherry pattern details on it, you made this one yourself with silk, it matched your sleeping garments. You spritz on a gentle, fresh perfume and thank god that your lash extensions were lasting this long.  If you were going to apologize to the man, you might as well look cute doing it, -I hope he is more inclined to forgive someone who looks cute…-

The basement door was really damaged, there were deep cuts and scuffs in the wood which led to the paint cracking all over the place. You felt a bit nervous going down to his domain but you were determined to make things right. Luda Mae passed by on her way upstairs and said,

“Make sure you stay down there for the whole wash cycle hun, the dang thing sometimes stops and has to be manually resumed.” She continued on her way upstairs.

You take a few steps; it was exceedingly dark and you weren’t able to see much, you carefully felt for each step with one foot as you made your way down, your red, fluffy, low-heeled slippers didn’t help much. Nearing the bottom, you see a dim light from an old bulb, it’s enough to help you see the rest of the stairs. The basement was quiet and dark, it creeped you out but it was clean at least. The floor was lined with old cement, you saw a long hall where on the left side there was one enormous sliding door made of steel, on the right you saw a small interior door, an old double door next to it, and towards the end there was a corner, all you could see was a dim red light. You were curious about the basement, but it scared you too much to look around, so you look for the laundry instead.

You turn to the right and see that right next to the staircase was an alcove with an old top-load washer and dryer, you walk over to it, the floor to this alcove was old crème colored tile and dark greyish-blue walls, there was a fluorescent light that flicked on when you used the light switch on the wall, it quietly buzzed at you which just added to the eerie feeling. You let out a sigh and began placing your clothes into the old washing machine, there was powder detergent sitting on the ledge of a tub sink where the washer would flush out the dirty water after its cycle.

When everything was ready to go, you turned on the washer and it quietly starting gushing water onto the clothes. You look behind you and see no one is around, you feel a bit anxious, hoping Tommy would come out at any moment and let you know what was on his mind, but the hall remained empty. You waited for a while and got bored of having nothing to look at, so you decide to wander the hall and see what the red light around the corner was.

As you rounded the edge of the wall you saw an old walnut wood door, there were small brass letters nailed into the door that spelled ‘T.H’ the red color of the light gave the area a menacing appearance. -well now I know which door I can’t go through- you decide to head to the old double door and take a look inside; this room was horribly dark, the slot windows were covered in overgrown plants and the wall on the doors side had a massive creepy looking furnace from another time, the rest of the room was sparsely riddled with old furniture and junk.

This basement was fairly boring to you, the small interior door only led to a dingy washroom with a horribly outdated and unkept tub and shower head. The final door was the huge steel sliding door, it looked like the kind of door you would see in a fish market, this made you curious. You tried to push the door but it was unreasonably heavy, you put your whole-body weight into it and it barely moved. The more you tried the more you were out of breath, you took a second to rest before trying again, this time it was able to budge far enough for you to get a glimpse into the darkness where you could barely make out some silhouettes – are those…hanging hooks?-

Just when you wanted to push for a better view, the door is forcefully slammed shut, your arm is grabbed and you are spun around with your back pushed into the cold steel making you let out a soft whimper. You look up to see Tommy looking down at you, his massive hand was effortlessly pinning your arm against the door, his other hand on the door itself keeping it firmly closed. Your other hand was free, trying to steady your body as it flattened against the sliding door.

“Tommy!” you said his name with surprise, you didn’t even hear him leave his room.

He slowly released your hand and backed away, closing his eyes in relief, he pointed at the door and shook his head.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed in there.” You spoke earnestly.

Tommy ran his hand through his hair, and hung his head as he rested his other hand on his hips, he nodded and made his way back to his room, but you call out to him before he could turn the corner,

“Tommy wait, I want to talk to you if that’s ok?”

He turned and came back up to you, the top of his chest was exposed from his grey tank top which had a damaged rock band logo on it; he had soft and loose black cotton pants on that had a handmade drawstring which dangled lazily over top his generous mound. He still had on that leather face mask, it did nothing but tease you, it felt like you would never get to see his true face.

Tommy followed as you walk over towards the washer which had just finished its spin cycle,

“Sorry, I need to get my clothes out of the wash. I wanted to ask if you were mad at me?”

Tommy furrowed his eyebrows, he looked perplexed by your words but did not respond, so you continue,

“After how I behaved in the pond yesterday, I didn’t know that it upset you and I wanted to apologize.”

Tommy let out a sigh, you felt alone in this one-sided conversation, you wish you could read his mind. You turn your back to him so you could continue grabbing your damp laundry, you follow up saying,

“I didn’t know where your boundaries were and maybe I was feeling a little too confident, I feel like I was inappropriate. I want to know how you feel about it.”

You don’t hear him say anything, you expected him to be silent, yet you still wanted to offer the option to respond. Just when you think you were annoying him further, you are pressed against the washing machine from behind, large arms cover over top of yours and his hands pin yours down, they were so big that they fully covered your own entirely. Your whole body is caged in by Tommy’s massive form, you could feel your heart beating so fast you thought it would explode.

Having this beast of a man enshroud you like this was a swift reminder of just how powerful he was, you could feel an ache inside you, a wet slick began to form between your legs and the moment felt intoxicating. Tommy leaned down, your body was unable to resist following his motion, he had you bent forward and unable to move, but you didn’t want to move. You instinctively arch your back and press into Tommy’s pelvic area, you could feel a growing density press through his soft cotton pants and into your delicate center.

You hitched a sharp breath when he pushed himself into you, it was overwhelmingly erotic and before you could let out a moan you hear him speak,

“You fear me?” his deep growling words were carried by a smooth southern accent, you could hear him begin to breathe a bit heavier.

You bite your lip, and reply in a breathy whisper,

“Yes”

He let out a low, amused laugh. For some reason you felt like being bratty, you couldn’t help but push him, seeing if he would snap and do something about you,

“I’m going to keep doing it”

He lets out a playful “Hm?” he knew what you wanted to keep doing but he wanted to hear you say it. His body now pressing in tightly, making it hard for you to breathe, your breasts began to spill out of the robe which caught his eye. He was now so firm that it hurt your soft folds through your panties, this did nothing but burgeon fluids further out of your entrance which soaked the fabric barrier between you both. You continue, your tone now devilish and seductive,

“I’m going to keep pushing you, until you unravel.”

Tommy knew he could never let loose how he wanted, but he liked playing your little game. He never felt such raw emotion before and you made him feel crazy with desire.

He lowered his head so his mouth was just above your ear, and spoke hushed, but firm,

“Good”

-----------

He releases you from his grip and heads back to his room. You remain there still, and speechless, you were left an aroused mess from the interaction, but it gave you clarity for your anxious concerns. You never upset him, you didn’t go too far, Tommy was just as twisted as you were and wanted to see how far you could take him. You knew however, that he was restraining himself, you knew there was a potential for him to break. You wanted him to claim you, You wanted to feel something raw and real, something free and wicked. You wanted him to pour kerosene on the fire inside of you and touch the flames as he watches it burn.

Next chapter-

A/N Continued: So, Thomas behaves in a way that has some real world controversy. He is forceful and threatening, Y/N is depicted as wanting to play cat and mouse with him and push him to break so they find out how dangerous he really is. The same interactions are nowadays being used as part of a harmful rhetoric spewed out of the mouths of misogynists which they claim excuses sexual assault towards women and femmes. I want you to be comfortable in knowing that I am not about that shit and that my only relation to it is via consensual and responsible kink. The activities in my fics are all JUST fantasy and nothing more. I know I shouldn't have to clarify that, but none of you know me as a person and it can suck when you read a fic and find out the author is a creep (it taints the story IMO), so I wanted to put you at ease. I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)

[spnexploration]

Pack chapter 12

Pairing: Alpha!Dean Winchester x Omega!Reader, Alpha!Sam Winchester x Omega!Madison

Series summary: Omega!Reader is thrown into a world she's not expecting when her mate turns out to be a hunter, and she's not used to Alpha & Omega Pack dynamics.

Chapter summary: Dean remains in the local hospital clinic

Chapter warnings: none

Word count: 1.6k

Series Masterlist | Supernatural writing masterlist

Part 11 <- -> Part 13

I awoke feeling something moving beneath me. I whined slightly. “Sorry, Omega, I need to pee,” Sam chuckled. 

I opened my eyes and realised that I had Sam's entire arm trapped, with my face on his bicep and my arms wrapped around it. He was gently trying to pull it out of my clutches. I released it quickly, mortified. 

I couldn't stop the loud whine that left my mouth when I stopped touching him. The pain increased when he was gone.  

Madison rubbed her hand up my arm. “We’ll go see Dean when they open up visiting hours. How about some breakfast?” 

I shrugged and let her pull me out of the bed. She led me to the kitchen and sat me in a chair while she made me some toast. I rubbed my sternum, where the pain was worst. 

Sam came in, fully dressed, while I was sitting at the table, staring into the distance. I’d eaten a tiny nibble of my toast, which sat like a dead thing my mouth. I hadn't felt like any more, after that. 

“Oh, Omega,” he said, looking at me sadly. “Still in pain?” I nodded my head slightly. “Ok, I think visiting hours start at 9. Do you want a shower?” I shook my head. “Alright. Mads, can you help Y/N get dressed?”  

Madison guided me back to my room and gently but firmly got me dressed, including one of Dean's flannels.  

Sam called out from the hallway, “Mads?”  

“Come in,” she replied. 

I heard him walk in but didn't look up from where I sat, slumped on the bed. My whole chest ached. Sam crossed to me and rubbed his wrist on my neck, gently scent marking me. I leaned into his touch, it hurt a little less as he did it. He stopped touching me and I whined. “Does touching me make it feel better?” he asked gently. I nodded. 

“Ok,” he said, sitting next to me and wrapping his long arm around my shoulders. I leant into his embrace, turning my head into the crook of his neck. He didn't smell exactly like what I wanted, but being close to his scent was calming. I started to move my body to get even closer to him, turning my chest to face his. I whined again, trying to get closer. I raised my arm on to his other shoulder and was about to climb on to his lap when he stopped me with his hands on my waist. “Let's go get in the car, you can cling to me there. Mads, it's your lucky day, you get to drive.” 

“Yes!” 

“Please don't kill us all,” he joked. He stood up and brought me with him, wrapping his arm around my waist. He led us to the car and sat in the back with me, letting me climb all over him and change positions a million times, trying to find a way to make it stop hurting. 

---  

Sam's arms were around me, leading me into the clinic. I found it hard to walk, hard to do anything myself. He was half-carrying me by this point. I felt disconnected from reality, still in pain but it was so much worse any time Sam wasn't touching me. 

“Come on, almost there,” he murmured reassuringly. 

The lady at the desk wouldn’t let us in, “Visiting hours don’t start until 9am, it’s 8:45. Take a seat and wait.” She reminded me of Roz from Monsters Inc. 

Sam led me to the plastic seats. He seemed about to direct me to sit down when he looked at my face more closely and instead pulled me on to his lap. He gently guided me to lean against his chest.  

Madison went over to the desk. “It’s only 15 minutes, can’t we go in now?” 

“Rules are there to be followed, kid,” the woman said dismissively. 

“Can’t you see how sick being separated is making his Omega?” Madi was starting to get worked up. 

“Visiting hours are from 9am.” 

“That’s bullshit!” Madi yelled, slamming her hand down on the bench. 

“Omega!” Sam exclaimed, partially moving me off his lap as if he was preparing to go grab her. “Come and sit down, now.” 

Madi glared once more at the desk lady before sauntering over to where Sam and I were sitting. She slumped herself into the chair next to him, looking for all the world like a sullen teenager.  

“Pissing off the staff is not going to get you what you want, Mads,” Sam admonished quietly.  

Finally, they let us through. I clutched Sam as he led me down the corridors to Dean’s room, and waited, held up by Sam, as Madison opened the door. 

“Hey-” Dean started and then cut himself off. “What happened?!” he demanded as Sam and I entered the room. He was sitting up in his bed with a drip in his bad arm, looking much better. 

“Pining Sickness, I think,” Sam replied. He stopped and picked me up bridal style, carrying me to Dean's bed and depositing me next to him on his good side. “Here you go, Omega,” he murmured to me. 

I snuggled into Dean, breathing in his scent. He smelt better than he had the day before, but still a bit sick and unnatural with the drugs they were giving him. I shuffled around, trying to get closer to him to make it hurt less without hurting him. 

“Hey, sweetheart,” Dean murmured. He stroked my head gently and I practically purred. He chuckled. “Seems like you really were worse than me, this time.” 

After a couple of minutes of breathing in Dean’s scent, the pain in my chest had eased. It was still there, but much, much better. My brain was starting to catch up, too. 

I suddenly sat up. “Did you reject me?!” I cried to Dean, starting to push away from him but hindered by the bed rail behind me.  

“What? Of course not!” Dean answered, looking at me and then at the others, confused.  

I turned to Sam, who was behind me on the chair with Madison on his lap. “You said it was Pining Sickness! How could I have Pining if I wasn’t rejected?!” 

“I probably should’ve said ‘something like Pining Sickness’, sorry. You know what I was saying last night about your hormones after you went into shock and the threat it perceived to the bond with your mate.” 

“Oh.”  

Dean rubbed his hand up my arm, “It’s ok, sweetheart. How about you come here with me again?” I slowly lay back down against him.  

A while later, my tummy started rumbling. “You feeling better now, Y/N?” Sam asked me. “The pain better?” I nodded. “How about you and Madi go see if there's a cafeteria or a vending machine so you can pick something for breakfast? You didn’t eat anything at home.” 

I looked at Dean and he nodded. Sam helped me down from the bed then gave Madi some cash. “Don't leave the building,” he warned us both. I followed Madi out of the room.  

“So, what do you think they want to talk about about us?” Madi asked me with a grin when we were down the corridor.  

“Wait, what?” 

“Why do you think they just let us both go without an Alpha? They want to talk about us!” 

I gaped at her. She laughed. I couldn’t tell if she was messing with me or not. 

---  

Dean tried to argue that he should be allowed home or I should be allowed to stay, but to no avail. At the end of visiting hours I cuddled into him on his bed and he kissed my forehead. “You'll be ok,” he murmured. “Just let Sam and Madi look after you, ok?”  

I nodded, blinking back tears. “Get better, Alpha.” 

“Always, sweetheart. Don't worry about me at all, I'll be fine.” He squeezed my arm and then looked over to Sam. Sam came and gently eased me out of Dean's bed, replacing the bed rail behind me, then put his arm around me and led me out. It didn't hurt as much as it had overnight. 

---  

We picked up take away for dinner. Madi and Sam were clearly trying to keep my mind off things, encouraging me to watch TV with them, having unrelated conversations around me that they tried to involve me in, and generally being upbeat. I stayed mostly glued to Sam's side as I still felt better with him, but I was more able to move away than I had been before seeing Dean again. 

When I started yawning, Sam turned the TV off and said to me gently, “Go get dressed for bed. You're sleeping in our room, no arguments.” 

I nodded and did what he said. I had no desire to put myself through the pain of last night again. 

I still felt awkward crawling into their bed in-between them.  

“What,” Madi joked, “are you worried I’m going to go all John Wayne on you? ‘This bed ain’t big enough for the both of us!’” She laughed. “Just get in, Omega.” 

---  

Dean was sitting up in bed, bed rails down, when we came in the next day.  I ran over to him and hugged him. He looked and smelled better, although there was still the underlying strangeness from the medication he was being pumped full of through his drip.  

“Doctor came around just before, they reckon I can go home today and just take oral antibiotics for the infection.” 

I kissed his cheek, excited that he would be coming home. 

.

.

.

Taglist:

@mrsjenniferwinchester

@lyarr24

@waynes-multiverse

@leigh70

@malindacath

@ellie-andthemachine

@iprobablyshipit91

@123passwort

@muhahaha303

@globetrotter28

@deans-spinster-witch

@kazsrm67

@foxyjwls007

[multifandomlvr]

Chapter 8

Izuku was long gone for his work trip this time.

As soon as Bakugo opened his eyes and actually woke up, he looked at his phone and seen he had a couple of messages from Mina or Pinky as he liked to call her. He jumped out of bed and threw on the first outfit he could find.

He didn’t care whether or not it matched. He needed to make sure Hikari was ok.

By the texts Mina sent to him and he’s sure Izuku, Although Izuku has yet to respond so Katsuki was sure he didn’t see it.

He rushes out the door grabbing his keys on the way. He didn’t care if he paid attention to the laws of driving. He was sure he ran a couple red lights as well.

He got to the university in record time. He rushed in the building bypassing some professors who while he was running past recognized him and didn’t say anything.

He burst in midnight class, zeroing in on Hikari immediately.

“Mr. Bakugo Katsuki. What in the world do you think you’re doing in my classroom?” Professor midnight asked. Katsuki did not say anything. He was still looking at Hikari. All he did was beckon her with his finger and she stood up and slowly came down towards the front.

The two left the classroom.

Midnight just watched the two.

“Alright class we’re going to continue with class. Please re-read the chapter and get with a group of three and talk about it.” She said, going to her desk.

“What was that all about? Who was that guy?” Uraraka asks.

“Its no one.” Mina said. Uraraka looked over at Momo and shrugged her shoulder.

Who was that Hikari going with? She couldn’t get it out of her head. So now she’s cheating on Izuku with two different guys?

Oh! This is so good! Soon Izuku will fall in love with me after I tell him all of this. He will trust me.

Meanwhile in an empty room.

“What’s going on?” Katsuki asked pacing back and forth in front of her.

“Katsuki, you need to stop walking back and forth in front of me or I’m going to be sick again.” Hikari whispered trying not to vomit. She put her head on the desk.

Katsuki walked over and felt her head, she wasn’t warm so no fever.

“I’m going to give you some money for lunch. Make sure you eat. I will be asking Mina. Finish the school day and then come straight home.” Katsuki announced. Hikari picked her head up giving him a confused look.

“What is going on? What do you mean?” She asked.

“You may have a little Katsuki growing inside your belly.” Katsuki said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. He pulled out his wallet and handed her his credit card.

“I will walk you back to class, but when you get to the cafeteria. Take a picture of everything you are eating. I mean a protein, a vegetable, some fruit, and a dairy and get a little treat too. Make sure you eat it all.” Katsuki lectured. Hikari giggled and playfully rolled her eyes.

“Yes alpha.” Hikari said before they abruptly stopped. Katsuki put his hand on her stomach.

“I hope you have me piece of you inside. We are so celebrating if you are.” Katsuki said lowly. Hikari wanted to cry. She wanted this so much. The moment she found out both Katsuki and Izuku were mates she always wanted a family. Of course, two children.

The two walked out and walked back towards Hikari’s class.

“I’ll see you later, make sure you eat and send me a picture.” Katsuki reminded Hikari. She nodded and kissed his cheek.

Hikari opened the door and nodded her head towards Professor Midnight before going up to her seat.

“Hey, what are we doing?” Hikari asked.

“Oh, we were working on some things. I texted you what we needed to do.” Mina said. Hikari nodded.

“Who was that guy?” Uraraka asked. Hikari looked between her and Mina.

“Um, he was just a good friend of mine.” Hikari said.

“Oh, ok. I was wondering if Izuku was going to be the Karaoke party tonight?” Uraraka asked.

Hikari shook her head.

“Um, No. He’s on a work trip right now.” Hikari said. She took her phone out to see about twenty messages from Izuku with about thirty missed calls. And then a couple from Mina.

“Oh, so are you ok if we get together as a group this weekend and work on our project some more?” Uraraka asked.

“Sure, that is fine. Just let me know when you are all coming over. I will have lunch and stuff ready for us.” Hikari said.

The class continued to work on their stuff until the bell rang signaling it was time to move to the next class.

Everyone packed up and left.

The rest of the day went by quickly and it was soon lunch time.

“Ughhhh I am so hungryyyy!” Denki moaned. Neito rolled his eyes.

“Let’s go and get food then you big baby.” He scolded.

“Shinsoooo; Neito is being mean to me.” Denki cried. Shinso smirked and patted his head.

“Come on, lets go.”

Uraraka was talking Hikari’s ear off about something. She could not tell you honestly. Mina went with Kirishima somewhere and Momo went with Shouto.

So she and Uraraka was going to sit with her favorite trio.

Hikari walked the lunch line looking at the food. Nothing was appetizing, she felt sick.

Neito appeared next to her.

“Katsuki texted me, he told me to make sure you ate.” He spoke. Hikari shook her head.

“Can you pick for me? I think I will get sick if I keep looking at this.” Hikari asked. Neito rubbed her back.

“Of course, go sit down and I’ll be right over.” Neito said. Hikari nodded and walked away after giving him Katsuki’s credit card.

Uraraka was the first to sit down so she was waiting.

“Are you not eating anything?” She asked.

“Yeah, um, Neito is grabbing me some food.” Hikari responded. Uraraka nodded.

“When was Izuku going to come back from his work trip.” Uraraka spit out.

“Um, I do not know. It usually varies. Why do you ask?” Hikari asked.

“I don’t know, I was just wondering. He was really nice to me and everyone when we were over last time.” Uraraka hurried and spoke.

"Yeah, he is just a very nice person. He has always been like that.” Hikari said.

Uraraka was going to say something else but the trio came back.

“Here you go sweetheart, I got you a little bit of everything, but also please don’t force yourself to eat. I also grabbed some crackers and a ginger ale.” Neito explained.

“Thank you so much, I’m gonna take a picture and send it to Katsuki and Izuku. I haven’t had a chance to call him back.” Hikari said, quickly snapping a photo.

“Here, read all the messages he sent.” She pushed her phone towards Neito, Denki and Shinso who wasn’t really paying attention. It is not that he did not care, he was just tired as usual.

“Omg, he’s so funny and dramatic.” Neito said. Denki had his mouth stuffed with food. Hikari ate as much as she could, she actually felt a little better after eating.

“Hey, Hikari. I was wondering if I could ask you a question.” Uraraka asked pulling Hikari to the side.

“Um, who is Katsuki? You sent him pictures and he pulled you out of class, are you ok? Is that man bullying? If you are, you can stay with me until Izuku gets back.” Uraraka stated with fake worry.

“Its kind of hard to explain, I’m ok I promise.” Hikari said.

“We need to get to our next class; I’ll see you later, ok?” Hikari said and hurried away.

[misiwrites]

4KINGDOMS RE-READ ADVENTURE part 8

Chapter 33: the tyka hide-and-seek

this one got a pretty banging opening paragraph ngl

takao's daily hobby is just running around the garden finding kai. then talking to him. and kai is like fuck off. and takao is like ok :) i'll come again tomorrow! (and he does)

ralf's been setting up traps for miguel in the castle AJSDBHGD i forgot

so eventually takao is like wait. why do i always know where kai is. YER A WIZARD TARRY

the scene of him finding kai in the labyrinth is cooler than i remembered, pleasant surprise

this was a well written chapter. i got nothing to say. pleased

Chapter 34: the elders promise rei a reality tv appearance

yes we are back to rei unfortunately

it's the second time he talks about himself as a zoo animal. on brand. i mean white tigers are very rare

rei finds a library book that talks about some ancient king having invented the qiang spear fighting and he's like HA HA! FUNNY JOKE! AS IF A BYAKKO-OU COULD BE DOING THAt

oh lol rei thinking that he'll be able to do whatever he wants when he turns 18. you think! i have bad news for you

also rei feeling like he's been abandoned in the palace, better get used to that too. it feels weird reading this now after having worked on the newest byakko-ou chapters because here rei is still all preserved about olivier and doesn't like him much. but he does like the elders enough still to start talking to them in the council

holy shit rei is such an ass, talking shit about both olivier and mathilda here left and right

always thought myself it's fucking funny that daitenji is one of the elders. like idk what kind of role you'd expect him to have but here he is. a tool

this also was actually an interesting chapter, i can't believe i've written good things sometimes. a lot of tension thrown around between the elders and olivier and rei here. i can see this is where i was starting to plan the story much more systematically than before, probably started using my physical notebook for musing

Chapter 35: romantic tyka apple tree garden date (that involves blood)

takao: it was almost funny that kai carried me out of the garden like a princess! but not quite.

AGAIN WITH THE COTTON (CANDY) CLOUDS

takao keeps having weird experiences in the garden and kai is like, it's your magic. and takao is like i don't have magic, and kai is like yes you do. and takao is like no i don't. and kai is like yes you do and this is why. and takao is like wow you said more than 5 words to me in a row

takao is adorable being like "i thought i was pretty mature for having accepted that i didn't have any magic even though i'd been SO disappointed about it earlier!" yes you are a good mature boy. when you let yourself process things first which you never do

okay here, my favourite line that i have ever written, when takao takes a good grip on ryuushinken and gives it a pull. put this in as the quote when you in the future refer to me as a famous author with beautiful prose:

It slid out like sausage in gravy.

Chapter 36: rei gets his ass handed to him by sir livliv

takao is having a mental breakdown over his magic because it's SO uncool, but also over kai leaving soon (or so he thinks)

rei's life is boring and slow again, is it ever anything but

i sure had fun coming up with what kinds of metal-related magic rei's ancestors had. one of them is just uri geller. the one who ate coins was fun

olivier is trying to make rei LOOK AT THE FOLDER! LOOK AT THE FUCKING FOLDER YOUR MAJESTY!!!! and rei is like i can't i'm gay. and runs off to have a call with max

wowow max being like I WOULDN'T MIND FAKE BEING SICK AGAIN SO I COULD LIE IN BED FOR A FEW DAYS! be careful what you wish for in my fic. idiot

he also calls rick "a little bitch"

max telling about his adventures in okkusu like yeah rick was a total ass, we didn't get along at all, hated everything about it. then we had a big fight. now we are friends. and takao's reaction is "Fastest way to a dude’s heart is to punch him in the face"

rei getting all jealous that max has people other than him in his life. it sure is a struggle to be a rei in love.

it's also a struggle to be a rei being told by olivier that he's a stupid little shit who thought he could do things behind his knight's back while olivier knew everything all along

and then this line probably exists in about 100 different variations in the story, because rei never learns

Olivier seemed to read right into my thoughts – which he always did, and would always do, and truthfully I had been a complete fool for ever forgetting the extent of his powers of observation.

so, like takao&ralf, rei&olivier have a nice little king&knight moment of promising each other they'll share everything with each other from now on. and then they actually do! unlike ralf and takao

this chap was not well written tho. it probably took me two hours to go on a quest to fix just about every part of this in some way. i wasn't a good writer after all, emergency over everyone can go home

Chapter 37: max is back

and he was supposed to be all mature and let his feelings for rei fade away but he comes back and is like I FOCKIN MISSED HIM!!!!!!!!!

Ah, well. That only meant that I would have to start over. (But I allowed myself to admire his sad, beautiful face for just a bit longer first.)

i know right. who doesn't love a beautiful sadface

giancarlo being all proud that he got to solve a thing with olivier. he also in love.

gianni is surprisingly smart in this chap and tells max he should focus on the north instead of going around trying to fix rei or whatever. fair. he's also the one suggesting that. you know your highness. why don't you just go to the west to meet the other kings. and max is like. it's not as fun as repeatedly risking my life for rei tho

[zeldaelmo]

Inspiration, Illusions, and Other Inconveniences 👀👀

Thanks for the ask, @louwhose, too! I'm very, very happy that you ask, since I'm planning to finally go back to this story soon!

This is going to be a fiction writer!Zelda/artist!Link story. It's a modern AU where both have a blog.

They’re both unaware of their respective online personalities, mainly because they don’t speak in real life thanks to their strained Princess/Bodyguard relationship.

Zelda rewrites the old legends into fictional (and explicit *cough, cough*) novels and shares them on her blog. Link is like everyone else in Castle Town intrigued by the stories and starts to make fanart for them. They begin chatting and start to fall for each other. In their real life, things get slowly better, too, very much better actually until Link does something that... Well. You'll see!

This story is relatively complicated to explain but easy to read, so don't worry if it's confusing now. I work with some betas to make sure everything makes sense in the end!

I've shared snippets here and here. I think there are some more buried in the wip Wednesday tag. I have 8 chapters finished so far and I'm aiming for... 20? Something like that.

Another snippet under the cut!

'You're late.'

The short message popped open as soon as the blog feature marked him as "online". 

'Oh,' he typed hastily, 'Have we left the state of friendly greetings and went directly to grumpy spouses?'

'Haha, no. I was just wondering if you finally got sick of me.'

'Never.' The answer nearly typed itself.  'Did overtime and just got out of the shower. Weird day, tbh.'

'As in?'

Well. He couldn't tell her that he had accompanied the Princess of Hyrule to an old hotel in Castle Town where she took dozens of pictures only to directly leave again. He didn't even try to understand what that was about — she was safe, she did nothing risky and if her idea of freedom was taking the subway to a forgotten corner of Castle Town to take pictures, he wouldn't question that. Not his place, as always.

He still had neglected his duty and that was no small slip, but the suspicions ghosting through his mind when he followed her to the rooms had been so, so much worse. At least she hadn’t dragged him into something illegal or… dingy on top of the misery of breaking his vows. And who knew, maybe he was in luck and she had enough after the little adventure?

'Just… well. My employer is very strict about a lot of things and I had a conflicting task. But no worries, everything is fine now.'

'Ok? If you wanna talk…'

'Thanks, really, but it's all good.'

Link leaned back, poking his fork into his microwave curry. A moment of silence had become more and more comfortable over the last few weeks between them. He didn't fear the conversation would abruptly end anymore.

Of course, she would offer to listen. It was weird — he did have some workmates he got along well with, Pipit, Groose to name some, but their relationship was quite casual. His old friends from before he left for Castle Town were far away and he was bad at staying in touch. Both his working hours and the confidentiality rules weren't doing him any favors in this regard, so having someone openly care about him was something he didn’t realize he missed. Maybe he would open up to her one day, without details and names, but for now, he didn’t want to dump his worries on her. 

'What about you?'

'Ah. Spent the day with my family who was as annoying as always. But!'

She took a break and Link grinned while he ogled the screen. She liked to do that, but she was a writer, after all, dramatic breaks and cliffhangers were her specialties. 

[footballfanfictions]

The thrill of the chase - Chapter Four

Pairings: Mason Mount/OC, Ben Chilwell/OC

Warnings: Smut (18+)

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

Katie

 “The best way to get over someone is to get under someone else.” Bri advised, her mouth stuffed full of salad. 

I was beginning to regret confessing to her about my mixed feelings for Rory and his new engagement. Bri was a great friend but at times she took over a conversation and made it relatable to something she had experienced which was exactly what she had done. She had gone on and on about her break up with Liam for so long that I considered telling Billy not to bother asking her out because I was so unclear as to whether she was ready to move on or not.

“Have you been getting under anyone recently?” I enquired, hoping with everything in me that she would say no. I really wanted her and Billy to work out and make each other happy.

“Sadly no. My prince charming is out there somewhere.” she sighed.

“Closer than you might think.” I grinned.

“What?” she laughed, confused.

I shook my head and said nothing else before making an excuse to leave lunch. 

I had arranged with Billy to go and help him with the set up of his plan by cutting my lunch short. By the time we had finished, Bri would be coming back to the kit room and I could distract her along the way. 

By the time I got to the unused office that Billy had chosen, he had already finished. The room was full of bouquets of red roses. I had to pinch my nose between my fingers to prevent me from sneezing. 

“That’s a shit ton of flowers Billy.” I laughed, patting him on the back “good job.”

“You think she will like this kind of stuff?” he asked, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. 

I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. “She is a true romantic at heart, she’ll appreciate the effort.”

“I thought I saw you come in here-”

I turned to see Ben, standing in the doorway with his arms folded across his chest but a big grin on his face. 

“We’re setting up Billy asking Bri out.” I explained. 

“Mate you are making the rest of us look bad. I was going to ask Katie to come out with us lot later, now I feel like just asking that isn’t enough.” Ben looked between the two of us as he spoke.

It took me a couple of minutes to register what he was saying. He was going to ask me out. He had said ‘with us’ though which implied that it wasn’t going to be just the two of us, but maybe that was a good thing seeing as I felt awkward enough around Ben at the moment. 

Billy started laughing beside me then said to Ben “I think the silence is your answer pal.”

Ben looked down at his shoes then back up at me.

“Hold your horses Billy. Ben hasn’t actually asked me anything-” I started to ask Ben what he meant but was cut off by the sound of Bri in the corridor just outside the door calling my name.

“Shit a brick it’s time.” I gave Billy one last reassuring squeeze on the arm before grabbing Ben and dragging him through the door by the hand.

“Hi Bri.” I greeted her.

She was startled and looked between me and Ben, our hands intertwined and the door to the office which she knew as well as I did that no one used anymore. She then smirked.

“Oh I see. You did have a lot of work to catch up on.” 

I tried not to blush, conscious that my hand was still holding onto Ben’s but I didn’t really care what she thought we had been doing in there. All I cared about was that Billy got a fair chance. 

So without setting her straight, I said “There’s something you need to see in there.”

Bri’s curiosity got the better of her after a minute of her giving me a very confused look. Once she had entered the office I quietly shut the door behind her and turned to Ben.

“What were you trying to ask me?”

He squeezed my hand with his as a slight blush crept onto his cheeks. “I don’t know if you want to but a lot of the lads are going out tonight and I just wondered if you wanted to join us. Most of them are bringing their girlfriends so you wouldn’t be the only girl there or anything. I thought it might be nice to spend time with each other with no pressure.”

“Yeah that sounds good.” I agreed. 

With his free hand he pulled his phone out of his pocket and passed it to me, asking “Can I have your number so that we can arrange for me to pick you up?” 

I nearly dropped the phone trying to unlock it with just one hand. It felt weird that a boy would hand a girl his phone and not at least have a passcode on it, but maybe he just had nothing to hide. I entered my number to his contacts, saving myself as just my first name. He grinned again as I passed the phone back to him. 

“What are you smiling at?”

“You didn’t drop my hand to put your number in.” he said, squeezing the hand he held again gently before continuing “but I’ve got to get back to training in a minute.”

“You’re not waiting for Billy?”

He shook his head, explaining “I’m his alibi for being late, I’m going to have to tell the gaffer something, not sure what yet.”

“You’re a good friend Ben” I smiled, finally letting go of his hand.

“You are too Katie. Billy thinks a lot of you and you’ve really helped him.”

“He has helped me a lot too, more than he will ever realise.” I said softly, thinking about Billy deleting all of Rory’s social media profiles from my accounts. 

“See you later.”

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

I had been sat at my desk for 45 minutes, unable to concentrate on anything because I was desperate for Bri to come and talk to me. The radio silence was starting to concern me until my phone lit up where it sat upon my desk next to my computer monitor, only the text wasn’t from Bri.

Ben: Is 8 ok to pick you up? If you want to we could get some dinner together before we meet the others? Xx

 I stared at the message for a minute, contemplating a reply. In 45 minutes he had had a change of heart and now wanted to spend some time alone together. Did I want that? 

I sat there with my phone in hand for another few minutes mulling it over in my head before I decided that I should see Ben alone, to test whether we really had a spark or not and to be honest with him about what I knew. 

 Katie: 8 is fine and dinner would be lovely xx

 I followed the message up with another, just giving Ben my address and began to fidget nervously in my seat. I hadn’t been on a date with anyone since my break up and had avoided anyone that had been even remotely interested. What do you even say to someone on the first date? 

I was still wondering how I would talk to Ben alone at dinner when my office door swung open.

“Bloody hell you scared the shit out of me.” I explained. 

My shock was worth it though, to see a beaming Bri in my doorway with one of the huge bouquets cradled in her arms. 

“I just got asked out by a footballer!” she grinned. 

“Yeah I know. Billy is amaz-”

“Liam would absolutely die if he knew this.” she squealed. 

Before I could say anything else she had turned on her heels and left as quickly as she came. 

My mind raced. She hadn’t even called Billy by his name. My gut instinct that she would use him was getting stronger and I felt sick. Billy was a really good guy and deserved better than that. 

I put my head in my hands and massaged my temples. This situation just added to my anxiety and made me feel torn. I should really be loyal to Bri as my best friend but also call her out on her behaviour and pray that underneath it all she did actually have some feelings for Billy. 

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

Ben had picked me up at bang on 8pm. I had hoped he would be a couple of minutes late so that I could have a few minutes to try to settle my anxiety but no such luck. 

He took my hand and led me out to his car, complimenting me on how I looked and holding the car door open for me. 

We barely spoke during the short drive to the restaurant but surprisingly it was a comfortable silence. 

When we were seated at the table, he reached across and took my hand, holding it on top of the table for anyone around us to see. 

“Are you ok?” He asked.

“I’m so sorry Ben, I know I must seem like I’m not even in the room right now. I just have a lot on my mind.” I babbled, taking a big sip of water to calm myself down before I went ahead and blurted out everything that was bothering me and ruining the only date I’d had in over a year. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked soothingly, his thumb brushing over my fingers. 

I nodded before starting to explain. “I don’t even know where to begin Ben. When Bri walked into my office earlier she looked like she was on top of the world and I thought it was because she liked Billy back but she didn’t even call him by his name, just said that a footballer had asked her out and how her ex would absolutely die if he found out. I’m just so worried that she will use him. Me and Billy have become really good friends and I don’t want to see him get hurt but-”

“You feel like your loyalty is divided?” he asked.

“I really do. I think I need to sit her down and have a serious conversation with her. Maybe if I explain how much thought and effort has gone into this…” I sighed.

“You really care about everyone around you don’t you?”

I just nodded, sighing deeply. 

“There’s something that I need to tell you too, because you have also become someone that i care about.” I gave him full eye contact as I spoke, he looked back at me with curiosity and a little fear. “A few days ago I had to log into the social media account of one of the other players and I noticed that he was getting a lot of messages from a girl. One of them was about you and my curiosity got the better of me.”

He started to smile and it stopped me in my tracks.

“I’m sorry you have been dragged into all of this.Sam and I were together for a while about 2 years ago. It wasn’t very serious from my side of things but she wanted to settle down, get married and have kids and at the time I was only 21. I wasn’t settled in my career and didn’t feel ready for all of that.” he turned my hand over as he spoke and stroked the palm of my hand with his forefinger distractedly.

“So you broke up?” I asked, feeling stupid immediately, because of course they have broken up. 

“She gave me an ultimatum. Either I settled down with her or she would find another famous footballer to leech from. That’s when she started things with Jorginho. He was still married then, but he is getting a divorce to be with her,”

“They think that you don’t know” I sighed, my mind boggling at the way Ben had been treated and how Jorginho treated his wife. 

Ben laughed. “I know, they think they have been good at hiding it but he is my teammate after all and she is itching to make it public so that she can play up to the role of footballer’s wife.”

“I’m so sorry that they have done this to you.” I said genuinely meaning it. I guess I didn’t know Ben well enough to know what he had done in their relationship that might have led to Sam acting the way that she had, but surely nothing could warrant what she had done in revenge. 

“I think he is coming tonight, but I didn’t want that to stop me from hanging out with the lads and getting to know the group better. He isn’t going to ruin my time at Chelsea. For the record, I am well over Sam too. I don’t want someone who only wants me because I’m a footballer.”

I was about to tell him that I wanted him and potentially make a massive fool of myself when the waitress came over to take my order. I pretended to look at the menu as if i hadn’t already looked on their website and chosen what I wanted to eat hours ago. 

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

We were all embarrassingly tipsy.

I had been sat with the girlfriends of some of the other new players for an hour but because the two of them were German and already knew each other I couldn’t do much but nod along with their conversation that they were kindly conducting in English to try to include me but was about how they were settling into London and struggling to find jobs with their German qualifications.

Ben and some of the other new players had been sat talking and laughing together. He seemed to be having a good time so I didn’t want to go over and pull him away. I didn’t want to come across as needy and I did enjoy looking over at him every so often and catching his eye. 

Eventually one of them stood to go to the bar and the group of boys broke up with Ben coming over to the girls’ table and holding his hand out to me. 

“Do you want to go for a dance?” he grinned, already half pulling me out of my seat. 

I used to go to clubs when I was at university but it had been a long time since I graduated and they had never really been Rory’s thing so we hadn’t continued to go out once we graduated. 

Bri had suggested we go clubbing together plenty of times but I had always resisted knowing that one of us would end up too drunk and in a bad situation as a result. 

I let Ben lead me to the dance floor and put his arms around me. We were both a little too tipsy to keep to any sort of rhythm, we just kind of held onto each other and moved. 

Realising how bad we probably looked to everyone else we started to laugh about it. 

“I swear I can do better, I have just over done it on the beers.” he said, having to speak directly into my ear to be heard. His hot breath tickled, and I tried not to react. 

I already had my arms around his neck, but slipped a hand up into his hair to pull his face back to mine so that I could say something back to him. 

I was going to tell him that I thought his attempt at dancing was cute but I didn’t manage it, because as soon as I held onto him and his eyes met mine I knew that I wanted to kiss him. 

I guided his face closer and our lips met, softly at first, but I was soon tasting his beer on his tongue. I got lost in him, forgetting where I was and who was around me. All I wanted was Ben.

After what felt like forever we broke apart for air and Ben put his face in the crook of my neck, I think to hide that he was blushing again. 

“I’m going to go and get another drink, do you want one?” he asked, guiding me off of the dancefloor so that we could hear each other a little better away from the banging music. 

“Um, yes please. Archers and lemonade.” 

“Be right back. I’ll come and find you if you want to go back to the girls.” he said before leaving me to go to the bar.

I had completely forgotten about the two german girls I had been sat with and I was unsure if I could just go straight back to them but I didn’t have many other options without Ben by my side. 

I walked back over to the tables that were occupied by our group but accidentally bumped into the side of someone while trying to squeeze through a gap in the crowd.

“Excuse you.” the girl spat, turning to me.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to bump into you.” I said apologetically, although unsure the girl deserved an apology for being so quick to be nasty about it.

She looked me up and down and said “What a state.” to the man standing beside her.

I was about to get defensive and angry when I realised that it was Mason beside her. Putting two and two together I realised that this was the not quite famous pop star girlfriend. 

“Katie, your lipstick is a bit smudged.” he said, sounding pissed off. 

I rubbed my thumb at the corner of my mouth.

“Well Katie, how good is it of my boyfriend to tell you what the issue is?” she asked rhetorically, emphasizing my name and the word ‘my’.

I wanted to tell her that I didn’t give a shit about her precious boyfriend but now that things were happening between me and Ben I didn’t want to embarrass him by being a bitch to his team mate and I did still have to have a working relationship with Mason. 

“Whatever I’m bored of this. I’m going to dance.” the girl huffed, walking away.

Mason didn’t follow her.

He stared at me, his lips pursed.

“What is your problem?” I asked.

“I told you he was no good for you.” 

“I don’t need relationship advice from you, thanks though.” that was the best that I could do without being rude and I had to remove myself from his presence before I did anything worse. 

Walking a bit quicker I made it back to the girls’ table and apologised to them for leaving them earlier. They were really nice about it and told me not to worry and that they would probably go and dance with their partners in a bit if they ever stopped talking at the other table. 

Relief swept over me when Ben came and joined us with our drinks. He had got a beer for himself, my archers and had bought a pitcher of some sort of bright blue cocktail for the girls to share which they were appreciative of. 

“He is a good one no?” the brunette one said, Sophia I think her name was. 

I laughed and agreed. Ben was one of the good ones, no matter what Mason thought. I trusted my judgement more than I trusted him. 

I looked at Ben as he sat drinking from his beer bottle. Staring at his lips around it just made me want to kiss him again, away from the prying eyes of everyone else. 

I drank my drink quickly which I knew I would probably come to regret later, then slid my chair closer to Ben’s so that I could whisper in his ear “Do you want to get out of here?”

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

We walked hand in hand back to my flat from the club. My flat was a lot closer than Ben’s house in Surrey and there was no way either of us was driving or patient enough to get a taxi all that way. 

I unlocked the door with shaking hands and pulled Ben inside, all the alcohol I had consumed suddenly making me very brave. 

“I want you” I managed to say. I had been about to explain that I wanted him, and not because he was a footballer, but I just couldn’t get the words out.

He doesn’t waste a moment, lifting me off my feet and carrying me through to my bedroom. He sits on the edge of my bed and lowers me onto his lap, my thighs on either side of him. My head was higher than his and I gripped his hair in my fist as I kissed him deeply again.

His hands found my ass and pressed me down against him. I could feel how hard he was, straining through his jeans. He pushed my dress up and pulled it off over my head and before I could react his mouth was on my neck. 

I shuddered at the sudden chill of being undressed, and the feeling of his tongue against my skin. 

He pinches the clasp of my bra and it pings open, my breasts falling out before him. He smiles appreciatively before cupping one in his hand and leaning down to take the nipple of the other into his mouth. 

I gasp at the contact and rock involuntarily in his grasp. My core, covered only by my knickers reacts in pleasure at the friction caused and I continue to move, taking my pleasure from him. 

He releases my nipple from his mouth and cups my face instead, forcing me to look at him. “God, you are so beautiful”.

He lifts me and tears my knickers from my body, discarding what’s left of the lace garment on the floor as I pull his shirt up and off over his head and proceed to kiss and nip gently at his neck. 

“I want you to ride me.” his tone is commanding but gentle, and I feel hot at the thought.

I reach down and unbutton the fly of his jeans, quickly ridding him of them and the boxers below. His cock springs free against my thigh and I hold back a moan at how thick it feels. 

One of his hands found my hip, the other guides his cock to my core and I sink down to meet it. 

Feeling full I take a moment to adjust and grip his shoulder to steady myself. The hand at my hip squeezes gently in encouragement and I start to move, knowing we’re both too desperate to go slow. 

He leans back slightly and watches me, starting to thrust up. His resolve to not flip us over and take me wavering. 

I reach one hand up to one of my breasts and start to massage it. Ben’s eyes dart to my hand and watch my every move as I start to roll my nipple between my fingers. He doesn’t know where to look when I move my other hand to my clit, beginning to rub it in circles. His grip on me tightens as I writhe towards my release. He must know that I’m close and how could he not from the moans he is eliciting from me.

I cry out his name as my body shudders to its release, my core clamping down on his cock. I continue to rock my hips through it and bury my face in his neck. 

He gives me a few seconds to come down from my high before he lifts me from him and pushes me backwards onto the pillows. He leans over me and presses a kiss to my lips before burying himself back inside me. My legs automatically wrap around his waist and draw him closer. I need to feel him as deep as possible. 

I feel his hand slip between our sweat slickened bodies and gasp as his thumb meets my now oversensitive clit.

I dig my nails into the soft flesh of his shoulder and he doesn’t react, his face is buried in my neck where I’m sure he’s marking me as he fucks me with deep powerful thrusts. I tighten my legs around him and hold him as close as possible, chasing another orgasm. 

There’s no rhythm to our movements against each other anymore, just an animalistic need to come.

He tips me over the edge again first, and I muffle any sound that I make against his shoulder but he feels the familiar sensation of my walls clamping down on him and grunts appreciatively in acknowledgement. A few thrusts later I feel him spill into me. 

He presses his mouth back to mine then and we kiss sloppily while he slips from inside me.

[thrillridesz]

[ to start from the prologue - click here ]

n/a: unedited!

“Oh, you’re here! I don’t think they are here yet so you can just make yourself comfortable first.”

As you stepped into the classroom after your classes, Younghoon immediately leapt up from his seat and removed his bag and his books from the table to make space for you with an embarrassed expression on his face. The overhead fan was whirring away gently while the curtains by the windows of the classroom were undrawn which the afternoon sunlight to stream in, giving the room a bright, warm glow. The room was quiet, save for the faint sound of laughter and yelling coming from the courtyard outside as a group of boys indulged in an after school game of soccer. As the two of you stood in the classroom, the clock above the whiteboard ticked by idly and you frowned.

“Didn’t you say the tutoring session starts at 3pm?”

“I think they might be late…” Younghoon trailed off and you scoffed.

“As a tutor, shouldn’t you be making sure they arrive on time?”

“Well, I tried to call them but they didn’t pick up,” he replied softly, deflating a little and you felt a pang of guilt. Was that too harsh?

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so aggressive. I- I was just wondering.” You clarified with a smile in an attempt to ease the tension and uplift Younghoon’s mood. Sure, the two of you may be rivals albeit unofficially but it doesn’t mean you cannot be cordial. What kind of person would you be? You were competitive but you were no bully.

“It’s ok.” He reassured, shooting you a kind smile that only made the guilt a little worse.

Just then, the door burst open with a loud bang, nearly scaring the life out of you as you jumped. Somehow as you did, your hip bumped into a nearby table and before you knew it you were falling backwards. Closing your eyes, you braced yourself for the impact but only found yourself falling against something soft yet firm. You cracked open an eyelid to realise that there were a pair of strong arms enveloped around you and as you looked up, you noticed Younghoon looking down at you with concern in his eyes.

How did you never notice he had such big eyes behind those glasses?

“Changmin, you sure this is the right room? It feels like we’re intruding in a very personal moment here.”

Immediately, you pushed Younghoon away, trying to fight the pounding of your heart. Younghoon must have noticed the close proximity between the two of you as well because his eyes were looking anywhere but at you. Soothing out your skirt self-consciously, you turned to the doorway where two figures stood, observing the scene before them with amusement.

“Changmin, Haknyeon.” You greeted. You should have known it would be the two of them coming for the tutoring session today.

Just a mere week ago, Changmin had just came back from the hospital recently after an unfortunate incident a couple weeks ago that left him with a fracture in his left leg. Though much better than he was then, he was still wearing a cast around his leg and limping slightly with each step though as they both ambled in. You don’t remember being told the exact details but apparently it had been the result of a rather harsh fall.

On the other hand, as one of the school’s competition players for the softball team, Haknyeon had mostly been missing from classes for the past weeks as he attended and participated in nationals. Though the school had clinched first overall, his grades had taken a drastic dip and with the final exams looming in a month’s time, things weren’t great for him either. If there was anyone in the class who needed extra tutoring, it would be them.

“Y/n? What are you doing here?” Changmin asked, surprised.

“Y/n had some time so she offered to give me a hand in tutoring you guys.” Younghoon replied and Haknyeon frowned.

“Dude, we know we can be annoying and sometimes frustrating to teach but surely you don’t think we are THAT hopeless?”

“Well, we have a lot to go over today so I thought I might need some help…”

“Sure, Younghoon. Sure.” Changmin laughed, shooting him a discreet wink before throwing his knapsack on the nearest table. “Well, what would it be today?”

“Uh…” Younghoon held up a hand as he hurried over to his own desk and drew out a book. “We stopped at Chapter 8 of ‘The Outsiders’ last week so let’s try to finish the whole book today.”

“The whole book?!” Haknyeon exclaimed, his head snapping up.

“Yeah, we’ve got y/n here with us today. Did you really think I was joking about us going through a lot of content today?” Younghoon replied chuckling and you couldn’t help but smile along. You didn’t know he had this side to him and frankly, it was quite enjoyable to see.

“I want to go home…” The latter pouted as he reluctantly drew out his notebook.

For the next hour, the four of you were hard at work, poring over the literature text and notes. There was barely any talking at certain points when you were all deeply engrossed in the material, with only the sound of pens and pencils scribbling against crisp, white foolscap paper. Though you still saw Younghoon as a rival, you had to admit that the man really knew what he was doing. Even as the two of you helped to tutor Changmin and Haknyeon, you couldn’t help but notice how patient yet precise he was in his teachings. At certain points, you even learned a thing or two from him. You should be feeling jealous since he was after all your competition but instead, all you felt was admiration.

Maybe you ought to revise your own opinions on him.

“Hey, y/n. Do you know what Hinton meant by this line right here?” Changmin inquired, pointing at a highlighted text in his copy of the book as you shook out of your daze. Feeling a little embarrassed, you figured you had better concentrate on the tutoring session rather than let your thoughts drift over to Younghoon.

“Ah, which line is it?” You asked, clearing your throat and leaning in. You stared at the text that Changmin had pointed out, scrutinising it as you did. There was a pause before you smiled to yourself.

“This one’s easy! So as you can see over here when Johnny says ‘stay gold’ to Ponyboy, he meant to ask Ponyboy to retain his innocence. It’s actually a reference to one of Robert Frost’s poems that was recited earlier in the book by Ponyboy to Johnny.”

“Wait, really?” Changmin’s eyes widened as he practically pressed his face down against the text, reading it through under his breath again. You pressed your lips into a thin line in an attempt to keep from giggling at his puppy-like reaction to this new tidbit of information. If he went any closer, his nose would definitely be buried in the book.

“Yeah! Don’t you remember? Hold on.” You grabbed the book from him and flipped through the pages, your eyes darting to and fro across the text to scope out the paragraph you had in mind. Finally, you pressed your finger down on a particular page, breaking out into a triumphant grin as you did.

“Here it is!” Handing the book back to Changmin who squinted at the text, scrunching his nose as he did, you watched when the realisation began to dawn on his face. It started with the widened eyes then his mouth formed an ‘o’ shape, before he flipped frantically back to the original highlight text. It wasn’t difficult to pinpoint when exactly his eureka moment came because as soon as it happened, he slapped his hand on the table, a wide dimpled grin forming on his face.

“Oh wow, this is sick. That reference was spot on!”

“Literature works in amazing ways.” You shrugged, giving him a sideway smile and his grin grew even wider, his dimples deepening.

“You’re a genius.” He mumbled under his breath without looking at you as he stared at the text in awe. A little thrown off by his compliment, you could only give him a tight smile.

“I… Thanks.”

“It’s true.” He merely smiled before he turned back to his book, not noticing the bashful expression on your face. You observed as he gleefully highlighted the remaining text, engrossed in his work and you couldn’t help but let the smile on your face linger for a little longer as you gently fiddled with the pen in your hands. Sure, it might just be a compliment but it made you feel validated. It’s honestly surprising how far a simple compliment could go. Turning around, you realised Younghoon was looking at you and when he caught your gaze, he whipped his head away so fast you thought he might get whiplash.

You tried to stifle the snicker that threatened to bubble up from within. Maybe he had heard what Changmin said and got jealous that he didn’t say it to him instead. This ought to show him who was the better literature student.

“Which is me, of course.” You thought to yourself with a soft smile on your face, turning back to your own work.

After what felt like ages of studying, Haknyeon finally threw his head back as he set his pen down, stretching as he did.

“Time out! I’m sorry, I don’t think I can absorb any more information for today. My brain cells are properly fried.”

“Same here, I don’t know how you guys do it.” Changmin quipped, rubbing his eyes as Younghoon set his pen down, a sheepish look on his face.

“Can we just continue some other day? I mean, we are only left with a single chapter.” Haknyeon asked and you exchanged a look with Younghoon. The look he gave you was questioning as though awaiting your response and you nodded, sighing.

“Fine, we can stop here for today.”

“Alright, we’ll just continue this next week then.” Younghoon smiled and the latter threw his hands up in the air in celebration as Changmin pumped a fist.

“Yes! Thanks guys, I don’t think I could mentally take another page.”

You rolled your eyes, chuckling as you did at Haknyeon’s words and his lips lifted upwards into a smile at the sound of your laughter.

“What a sweet laugh.” He thought to himself. Despite himself, Haknyeon couldn’t help but blurt out, “You should let us hear you laugh more often.”

“Is that a jab?” You raised an eyebrow questioningly though you knew he meant no harm.

“Nope. I just think you have a really sweet and cute laugh.”

At his words, you grew slightly flustered and bashful as you tried to ignore the fluttery feeling in your heart at his compliment. You didn’t get complimented very often and even if you did, they definitely didn’t happen twice in one sitting. First, it was Changmin and now Haknyeon. What was going on today?

“... Thanks.” You simply said.

Noticing the very brief yet subtle exchange the two of you were having, there was a weird look on Changmin’s face though he kept silent while Younghoon looked away.

“Anyone wanna go get some snacks?” Haknyeon asked as the four of you approached the gates.

Checking his watch, Younghoon let out a sigh, his brows furrowing together.

“I don’t think I can. I have to go pick up my little sister from kindergarten.”

“Changmin? Y/n?”

Changmin pursed his lips and shot him an apologetic look, shaking his head as he did.

“I can’t either. My mom texted me earlier to get some groceries. Maybe next time?”

Haknyeon pouted, looking a little sad but he turned to you with an expectant look in those puppy dog eyes of his.

“Y/n? I’ve been raring to go to this new ice cream cafe for ages and I’d love to go with someone.”

“Ah, I’d love to but- Wait.” You stopped, frowning as you rummaged through your skirt pockets frantically. The dread began to set in, followed by just plain disappointment and frustration at yourself. How could you have forgotten?

The keys were right there at your bedside table and almost near impossible to miss. You must have been so caught up in your haste that you completely overlooked it on your way out of the house. With a start, you realised that your grandmother had mentioned yesterday that she would be visiting a friend so there was no one at home who could open the door for you. Until she makes her way back, you would be locked out of the house and judging by the time, it wasn’t for another hour or two before she was expected to arrive home.

“What’s wrong?” Younghoon asked, noticing the defeated look on your face.

“I forgot my keys.” You replied, sighing. “Can’t even go home now.”

“Oh,” Changmin said softly, “Why don’t you come with me to the grocery store then? You know, to spend the time?”

At his suggestion, Younghoon’s eyes hardened ever so slightly before he too offered, “If you want, you can come with me to fetch my little sister from the kindergarten as well. Only if you want, of course.”

“Are you guys being serious right now? I asked y/n first!” Haknyeon pouted before turning to you with a wide smile on his face, “ We can go get ice cream together, y/n. How does that sound?”

You stood unmoving, unsure of what to do as you surveyed the three guys in front of you, all awaiting a response. It was most definitely a harrowing and awkward situation and to be fair, you would have gladly taken up any of their offers… had they asked on separate occasions.

What will you do?

➳  Visit the kindergarten with Younghoon

➳  Go grocery shopping with Changmin

➳  Get ice cream with Haknyeon

[ironwoman18]

Garvez Moments part 12

This is a jump in time for our little Andrew Alvez. He's older and we will see his friendship with Max and Spencer's twins.

Chapter 12: Park and Movies, a kid's life

A little boy, about four years old, black hair and light brown skin ran in his parents room and jumped on his father's legs "PAPI!! IT'S SATURDAY!! IT'S PARK DAY!!" he jumped excited.

Luke Alvez signed still sleepy "your son is here" he whispered at his wife.

"At this hour, he's your son" he rubbed his eyes.

"hey buddy it's too early"

"But you promised to go early so we can go to eat pizza with Sammy, Rachel and Jason" he pouted at his dad.

Jeez... He thought, this kid is Penelope Garcia- Alvez' son. The latino agent signed and nodded "ok let's get ready" the little boy was excited and carefully got out of bed. Then ran to his bedroom "are you coming?"

"I can't... My stupid coworker Daniel needs help with a course today. He said 'I will need you Garcia, you are the best' and yes I know but I work from Monday to Friday until almost midnight. I want my free Saturday"

He chuckled "maybe you can call it sick?" He suggested and she smirked softly.

"Oh babe I wish I could but I'm sure he won't believe it... He knows I wasn't happy and if I don't go he might take revenge" her husband sighed "have fun and take pictures. I will try to be here for movie night and build a pillow fort"

He smiled and kissed her then gets up and goes to get dressed and brush his teeth. She later got up to take a shower. He went to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for them and a veggie one for Penelope. He fed Roxy and Lou with their raw meat and vegetables. Then fed Sergio with his favorite fish snacks.

"Daddy. Doggies can come?" Asked the little boy drinking some apple juice.

"Yeah, they love the park" he smiled.

After some minutes Penelope walked out wearing one her colorful outfit with matching glasses. They ate plannings which movie what they will watch that night.

"I want Cars!" Said Andrew holding his Lightning McQueen up "he's the best!" His parents laughed and after some more minutes they left to their destinations.

Luke, Andrew, Roxy and Lou were on the truck to go to the park, Penelope drove her car to her job's office.

The four of them arrived to the park and the Reid family was already there.

Andrew ran with the two dogs to the twins. They played with the football and had a good time. They took some minutes to eat cookies and juice.

Meanwhile Spencer, Luke and Max talked.

"where's Penelope?" Asked Max sitting next to Spencer.

"She had to go to her job" Luke said looking at the kids "she had to go because her coworker is annoying" he rolled his eyes.

"My boss wanted a meeting and I told him I had to do something else, Saturday are for family and I only change my Saturday if it's something very important"

"Yeah I know. And she does the same but she had to go"

The couple nodded "I know Penelope enjoy her Saturday but if she's there then it most be important" Luke nodded.

"Yeah it is but she will be at the movie night. Drew wants Cars"

Max sighed "Rachel wants Frozen" she looked at Luke "and Jason wants a documentary about whales" she looked at Spencer from the corner of her eye so did Luke.

"What? He's a scientist kind of guy" the other two laughed "he and I watched it at night and he asks me a lot about them"

"Drew asks me about cars and dogs" Luke laughed.

"And Rach wants to control ice" she rolled her eyes "she is the least grounded of the three of them"

"Thats why I never liked Disney tales..." And Max could predict a speech of her husband about fairly tails.

So she stood up "if you excuse me I will go to check the kids" and she left.

Spencer looked at Luke wanting to throw facts at him so Luke also stood up "I will check my dogs" and left.

Spencer had a puppy face looking at them leaving him. Max laughed softly as they reached the kids "I love him and I could hear him rambling about his science things but I know where this is going and he will start to talk about a case they had where this girl killed men because she was obsessed with the Cinderella and I'm not in the mood for that"

Luke laughed and nodded "yeah I read that file when I was studying to be a profiler. It was pretty impressive"

"Yeah and I'm proud of him but... I don't want it right now" he nodded and watched the kids playing with the dogs "Rachel wants a dog everytime they play with Roxy and Lou"

"Dogs are great and they help kids to have responsability"

"Yeah but they are too young for that. Spence and I think we can buy them a dog when they are about 8 maybe 10 years old"

"Those are good ages for a dog" he said looking at them.

They spent the rest of the morning playing and having a good day. They stopped now and then to drink water or eat ice cream.

About three o'clock both couples left to the pizzeria to buy their lunch and goes to the Alvez's house.

The kids wanted three different movies, as the adults expected. Rachel wanted Frozen, Andrew wanted Cars and Jason animal's documentaries.

So Max did a teacher thing. She ordered them to draw what they liked the most about the movie, the fasted and the prettiest will win.

They needed to do it fast but pretty. The first was Rachel who did both things, second Andrew and last one was Jason, mostly because he was perfectionist and wanted accuracy.

Penelope arrived just in time to eat and watch the movie.

They watched Frozen first and the four adults had to bite their lower lip to not laughs as they seemed Andrew softly singing Let it go.

Later they watched Cars and could tell Rachel enjoyed the movie too and lastly they watched the documentary and the three kids were hooked up.

They picked one about lions hunting, Jason's favorite, and they covered their eyes when the lion almost catched a zebra.

That night they slept in a tent, inside Andrew's room and with Roxy as their pillow. Spencer and Max left because they wanted to have a night for themselves. Next weekend was their turn to have the kids so Luke and Penelope can enjoy a free Saturday night.

"Park and movies... This is a kid's life" said Penelope from the bedroom's room.

"the best thing in life" complemented Luke "I just hope JJ's new daughter gets older enough to play with them"

"Oh she will. She's already starting to walk. Baby Erin will play with there three sooner" they smiled and left the room to go to their own.

OOooOOooOO

And that's all for this chapter. I'm sorry it took so long but I ran out of ideas for these fic. If you have more ideas leave then down in the comments.

Just to let you know. Rachel and Jason are 10 month older than Andrew. So they are close in ages. I thought about adding JJ little girl but she is about a year or two years old so she's younger than Garvez/ Maxcer babies.

Hope you enjoyed this and we'll catch up in the next chapter.

[allie1804-fan]

Kerensa Part 2

This is a continuation of Kerensa Part 1 which you can find here

Kerensa (Part 1)

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5 , Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13

Kerensa (Part 2)

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6

Chapter 7, Chapter 8

Warnings: Explicit content.

Chapter 9

It's Really Happening

Keanu tapped his foot absent-mindedly as they waited for their scan appointment time. Kerry placed a hand on his knee to calm him. The truth was, she was anxious too but it took her mind off it to try and soothe his frayed nerves. Fortunately, there wasn’t anyone else waiting as the appointments were well spaced out so they didn’t need to be worried about him being recognised and asked for a selfie!

Finally, the door opened and a couple came out, smiling and holding a string of images of their baby. Kerry and Keanu each crossed their fingers, praying that they would have good news too.

Keanu sat at the side of the examination table and held Kerry’s hand as the sonographer squidged on the cold jelly and prepared to show them their baby.

Keanu let out the breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding as a clear image of their baby came into view. Kerry looked over at him - tears were rolling down both their cheeks with the relief that he or she was still there and growing just as they should be. The sonographer took their time doing all the necessary measurements and checks and explaining what they could see on the screen as she did so.

“Look baby’s hiccoughing there, did you see?”

At the end, they were given photos and a recording of the whole thing would be emailed later.

They left the hospital both feeling high on the joy of the moment. Kerry texted her sister the good news and then Keanu took her to the nearest restaurant they could find - Kerry was ravenous!

Over lunch they talked about the return to the US and Keanu shared something with her that he’d been pondering whilst he was away. Instead of going back to LA, he suggested they fly into San Francisco and take another trip down through Big Sur, maybe to Monterey or Carmel by the Sea. Perhaps a setting a little away from the hubbub of LA and somewhere with towering cliffs would be somewhere more like home that they could be based while in California.

After lunch they headed back to their hotel so Kerry could have a nap – she couldn’t remember ever feeling so tired before. Keanu tucked her in and pulled the curtains then headed out on a secret mission to a department store he’d spotted on their walk back. When Kerry woke up, Keanu had stripped down to his boxers and climbed in next to her She saw a small parcel in silver paper and tied with a bow on his bedside table.

“What’s that?”

“Just picked up a couple of things for you” he grinned “while you were sleeping”

“aww let me see”

He handed her the parcel which she tore open, discovering 2 adorable baby-grows -one featuring jungle animals on a white background and the other simply emblazoned with “I love my mummy” on the front!

“They’re adorable, thankyou”

She set them aside and leaned in for a kiss which he returned. She blinked away a tear, seeing so much love reflected in his eyes. He wiped it away with his thumb.

“What’s up?”

“Nothing, absolutely nothing” she replied “happy tears, you make me so happy,” she said before kissing him again. The kiss started out chaste but soon became more passionate and he eased her over onto her back and started to gently stroke her neck, moving down to her shoulders and towards her breasts.

“This OK?” he asked, unsure if she would feel ready yet, but desperate, after over 2 months, to make love again.

She just nodded and pulled him down into another kiss, moaning as his hands stroked her nipples through her bra. He made light work of removing their clothes, finishing, with her panties which he threw aside before burying his eager face in her pussy.

Kerry’s breath came in short gasps at the sensation of his tongue exploring her folds and teasing her clit.

“God I’ve missed you” she cried.

He looked up and grinned

“Just for the cunnilingus?” he joked mirroring what she’d said to him about her hand-jobs a few days before.

He returned to his task and she stroked his head as he moaned into her, the vibrations of his voice adding another level to her pleasure

“holy fuck” was her next response as he flicked fast over the swollen nub. Sensing she was getting close, he paused and kneeled up for a moment. His chin was covered in her flowing juices.

“Ready to come for me baby?” he said with a teasing look as he licked two long fingers and prepared to push them inside her.

Then he started to lick her again, sliding one hand under her to raise her hips towards his face as his welcome fingers slid inside.

As he began to pump, she thrust her pussy against his hand, she couldn’t get enough of him. His fingers curled with each thrust, seeking her g-spot whilst his tongue was rotating around her increasingly hard and swollen clit. Judging the moment perfectly, he switched to sucking, his whole mouth over her pussy and that’s when she let go - a long, loud moan and a flood of juices accompanying the fluttering and clenching of her cunt around his fingers.

He laid his head on her stomach and kissed it.

“Now that was your mommy cumming baby, she’s loud, isn’t she? And while you’re in there is hopefully the only time you’ll hear that!

Kerry giggled, still a little breathless from the exertion of her orgasm.

Keanu crawled up, straddling her, and kissed her, letting her taste what she’d released all over his face. By now his hard cock was pressing close to her entrance and she let him know she was ready for him, opening her legs and raising her hips to allow his gentle entry. They both moaned as he found his way home. He moved slowly and didn’t push as far as he would normally to start with, but she soon encouraged him.

“It’s OK darling, more, all of you, please, don’t stop”

“Oh god I love you, so much, ah ah, God yes”

Her pussy was already starting to spasm around him and he couldn’t have stopped in a million years even if he wanted to. Her screams took him beyond himself and he came, his face crimson and eyes locked with hers as they shared their joy.

Just 10 days later, Kerry found herself on the terrace of a beautiful cabin-style home on the outskirts of Monterey. The view was breathtaking, stretching several miles along the coast. Keanu stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her, hands gently cradling her small baby bump. He whispered in her ear.

“So what do you think, can you see us here, the three of us?”

“mmmm” she sighed, turning to give him a kiss.

“I love it – and it’s great that we can rent it, gives us a chance to see if it works for you, you know for work”

“and if it does, we can look for somewhere to buy or even build something of our own”

“You’re so generous do you know that?”

“naaaah – you know what I say”

“Can’t take it with you” they said together giggling.

“Right so we should enjoy its bounty OK? You, me, and the baby.”

After a few more days exploring the area, they headed back to LA where there were announcements to be made.

“You’re what?!” his mother said sharply at the news, not really believing her ears.

“We’re expecting a baby ma, in December. Kerry is a little over 3 months along now.”

“Was this planned?”

Kerry looked down at her feet, feeling the piercing gaze of Patricia on her.

“Yes ma, very much and we’re both delighted about it, OK?”

“Well, OK then, congratulations, Kerry how are you feeling?”

“Much better now, the sickness is gone, and having the scan gave us, you know, some reassurance”

His mother seemed to relax then and asked to see the pictures, even getting a little teary as she looked at the images of her grandchild.

“Kim and Karina will be thrilled, they always wanted to be aunties.”

“and you a granny at last” he teased.

“mmm I’ll have to let that one sink in” she laughed.

She was less impressed at the news that they would be renting a place in Monterey and spending far less time in LA but Keanu promised he’d always visit when he was in town and reminded her how often he was out of town with work in any case.

“And you can visit us up there – the place we’ve found has 5 bedrooms so plenty of space for us, the baby, and visitors.”

The news was greeted with surprise, excitement and joy by the rest of their family and friends. Keanu guessed Autumn would find out via the grapevine, but he made no effort to include her.

They also had a meeting with Cheryl, his publicist, choosing to wait until they were asked rather than make a formal announcement. They’d never even confirmed officially that they were a couple, Keanu preferring not to share anything about his private life in a formal way and Kerry being perfectly happy with that arrangement.

For the next few weeks, they stayed in LA but made preparations for the move to Monterey in July deciding what they might want to ship there and what they needed to buy new. Kerry was glad of the distraction this provided.

Distraction was good because of the fear in the back of her mind that this pregnancy wouldn’t last either and on top of that, the film Keanu had shot in Cornwall would have its premiere at the end of June and he’d asked her to attend with him. She was already showing so by then the pregnancy would be unmistakable. The process of being dressed for the event was entirely alien to Kerry and took some getting used to. Karina was her buddy supporting her with it, for which she was eternally grateful. They chose an empire line dress in a light turquoise fabric which complimented her fair complexion. The skirt was full and would accommodate the growing bump and the seamstress would make the final adjustments to the bust the day before.

When the day arrived, Kerry couldn’t quite believe the hoopla around such an event. They couldn’t dress at home, oh no, a suite was booked in a Downtown 5-star hotel where they’d be primped and preened before a limo took them to Mann’s Chinese theatre.

As they made their way down in the elevator with Cheryl, Keanu held her hand, rubbing little circles over it with his thumb.

“Smile” Cheryl encouraged “I’ll be right there the whole time so if he gets pulled away to an interviewer or to the crowd, you’ll never be alone ok. They’ll love you, you’ve made him happy.

That broke the tension a little and Keanu squeezed her hand and grinned.

“Off we go - and don’t forget you get to see your favourite place on the big screen too.”

Happily, there weren’t hordes of press at the hotel so she had time to prepare a little for the pop of flashbulbs and the noisy crowd that they were about to face on the short journey to the theatre. Nothing can really prepare you, but Keanu and Cheryl both worked hard to make it bearable by always talking to her, making her see the funny side of it all.

Kerry felt proud to be by his side and support him in his work, but the aftermath of the public appearance was intense scrutiny. She turned off all her social media and didn’t dare to look at any press. She knew from friends that it was filled with stories that focussed in on Keanu’s previous unhappy experience with Ava and Jen, making comparisons and, she knew, speculating if it would happen again. They were also stalked by paparazzi everywhere they went and were relieved that they would soon be out of the Hollywood glare.

@fortheloveoffanfic @kindainlovewithkeanu @omg-imagine @keanureevesisbae @penwieldingdreamer @paperplanesandwallflowers @witty-wallflower @karlee1225 @bitchyslut99 @toomanystoriessolittletime @ladyreapermc @kissmyromanticquote @tacticalchics @utterlynuts @kylosbitch @thebigbubowski @thelightnessofthebeing @gatsbynouvel @keanuficfiles @fanficsrusz @jardaniswife @cheezbort @mazzylana97 @maggiemoo1892 @girlfriday007 @siriussnape07 @yomnaislame @soarocks @fadingkideclipseempath @franny-banks-world @keanulowe @babylovejongin @lucky134ever @jasmindaughteroftheworld @tomorrowsanotherday @fokinqueen @littlefreya @leftyreea @wheretheriversrunintothesea @iworshipkeanureeves @fics-not-tragedies @ficsnroses @fickenstein @popacherryvisitalibrary @aah8903 @thethirstyarchive @cynic-spirit @australianpsychos @meetmeinthematinee

[itsafanficthing]

The Paper Boy - Chapter 8

A Chapter much sooner than anyone (including myself) was expecting. Hope you enjoy :)

A03 is here

--

“I think I’ve changed my mind about the bike,” Claire said breathlessly as Jamie parked the dirt bike back in the shed.

“Oh?” Jamie asked as he pulled the roller door shut.

Claire nodded excitedly and Jamie snorted with laughter.

He had done a few extra laps around the farm, increasing the speed from their first trip. They would have been back to the main house much sooner, but Jamie loved the feeling of Claire holding him tightly and her squeals as they rounded corners or bumped over the small mounds of the farm.

Her cheeks were pink and flushed and she had tied her wild curls away from her face. Claire’s eyes were still puffy from crying, but she looked lighter than she did before. Jamie handed her the various plants from the feed bag and she happily made her way back to the kitchen for a jar for the plants.

Jamie watched her walk away from him, feeling his heart thump irregularly in his chest. He had been trying to convince himself that he wasn’t in love with her, that he didn’t know what love really was, but watching her walk away from him, a slight skip in her step, Jamie didn’t think he could deny it anymore. He didn’t know if it was love, but it sure was something.

Perhaps it was lust, the way that his body reacted to her- and boy did it react to her. But there was something else about how Claire made him feel. Something deeper. Like she really saw him and Jamie hadn’t really felt seen by anyone since his mother had died, except for Murtagh. Even then, this was entirely different to how Jamie felt about Murtagh.

“Are you coming?” Claire called from the doorway before heading inside and Jamie shook his head briefly, realising that he hadn’t moved from watching her walk away. Hopefully she didn’t notice that.

Jenny had long since finished making jam in the kitchen and was sitting in the living room reading when Claire and Jamie returned. She happily fetched Claire an empty jar for her various plants before giving Jamie a knowing look and returning to her original position on the couch with her book.

“Did ye have a good time?” Jenny asked Claire, though Jamie felt it was more aimed at him. He hated the way his cheeks blushed and Jenny grinned at him before looking back to Claire.

“Absolutely. We went on the bike,” Claire explained as she sat opposite Jenny.

“Aye, I heard ye squealing yer way around the paddock,” Jenny teased and Claire’s face turned pink.

“That was me,” Jamie said as he leant against the doorframe. “Claire was holdin’ onto me so tight, I could barely breathe.”

Jenny rolled her eyes before engaging Claire in a conversation about something or other. Jamie wasn’t really paying attention. He was currently trying to figure out where he should sit.

Next to Jenny… he never sat next to Jenny if he could help it. Besides, she was reading and maybe she didn’t want him to sit next to her.

Next to Claire, well, there was definitely space on the couch, but she was on the two seater and Jenny was on the three. There was more room with Jenny, but again… he never sat next to her if he could help it. Maybe Claire wanted him to sit next to her, although he didn’t know what they were going to do next. Maybe he should turn on the television and watch a movie? Or perhaps a board game? Did Claire like board games? Jamie was a fair hand at chess, and he and his Da played almost every night, but perhaps Claire didn’t like chess. His dilemma of where to sit and what to do was interrupted (thankfully) by the phone ringing. Using it as a good excuse to stall his decision, he went to answer it.

“Lad, ye and Jen need to get to the Doctor’s as quick as ye can,” Murtagh’s voice spoke roughly through the phone.

“What’s wrong?” Jamie asked, his stomach dropping somewhere to his feet.

“Ye Da’s hurt himself at McNully’s farm. It’s no’ bad, but ye’ll need to go pick him up.”

“Da?” Jamie repeated stupidly as his mind hurried to catch up. “He’s alright?”

“Aye, just get there as soon as ye can,” Murtagh said gruffly before ending the call abruptly.

“Jen!” Jamie called through the house, trying to get his sisters attention. “Da’s been hurt, we have to go pick him up from the Doctor, Murtagh just rang.” Jamie heard the scrambling of two people before Claire and Jenny joined him in the hallway, both looking slightly panicked.

“Is he alright?” Jenny asked, picking up her handbag and searching for her car keys.

“Aye, Murtagh said it was’na bad, just that we need to go pick him up.”

“Right. Where are my feckin’ keys?” Jenny said hurriedly as she tipped the bag upside down in her search for them.

“On the kitchen counter,” Jamie replied, opening the front door for Claire. Her face was pale and she looked like she was about to be sick. “Claire, are ye ok?” Jamie asked in concern when she didn’t move.

“Your father… he’s… is he….” She stuttered and her eyes welled with water. Jamie could have kicked himself. She’d just spent the afternoon telling him about losing her parents and then Murtagh calls them with something about his Da with little to no explanation, only that he was hurt.

“Aye, he’ll be fine. Probably just sprained an ankle and canna drive himself home.” When Claire didn’t look at all appeased by his response, Jamie continued. “Truly, he will be alright. It’s farming. People get hurt all the time.”

“I should go… I should get home… I-”

“I found them,” Jenny interrupted as she rounded the corner holding her keys triumphantly in her hand. “Come on, Claire. We’ll drop ye home on the way.”

Jenny strode past them without a backward glance, while Claire and Jamie stood somewhat awkwardly in the hallway together.

“He’ll be fine, trust me,” Jamie said, holding his hand out to her. Just like the first day of school, everything always seemed to be easier when they were touching. Claire nodded stiffly before taking Jamie’s hand and squeezing it tightly.

“Dinna forget yer weeds,” Jamie reminded before they walked out the door and Claire huffed out a ghost of a laugh.

“They’re not weeds.”

--

Brian Fraser had indeed done something to his ankle- he’d broken it. Jumping off McNully’s tractor and into a rabbit hole, his foot had landed awkwardly and then his body followed.

“I’m alright,” Brian groaned as Jenny positioned him on the couch, propping his ankle up by almost every pillow and cushion they owned. “Stop yer fussin’.”

“Aye, weel, if ye looked down before ye jumped, ye might no’ be in this position, so ye can just let me fuss,” Jenny grumbled back as she handed him a cup of tea.

“No chance ye could add a little bit of flavour?” Brian asked hopefully, eyeing the whiskey on the cart nearby.

“No,” Jenny answered shortly before she left the room, grumbling something about men and their uselessness.

“Are ye alright, Da?” Jamie asked as he watched his sister go, the consequent sound of banging of pots and pans being handled a little rougher than necessary in the kitchen following her. Whenever Jenny was annoyed, angry, or needed a bit of peace from the men of the house - she baked. This was clearly one of those times.

“Aye, I’m fine. Should have known about the rabbit hole. McNully’s farm is full of the blasted creatures. I got his tractor workin’ though,” Brian replied before taking a tentative sip of the tea Jenny had made him. “No chance ye could add some flavour here, son?” He asked, his blue eyes twinkling.

“If ye think I’ll cross Jen for ye when she’s in a mood, ye have another thing comin’,” Jamie shook his head as his father rolled his eyes at him.

“Yer mother would have given me whiskey,” Brian sighed dramatically as Jamie snorted with laughter.

“She would have given ye a scaplin’ for getting yerself hurt,” Jamie disagreed as Brian smiled happily.

“Aye, yer right.”

The two men sat in silence for a moment, Brian sipping his “flavourless” tea and Jamie wondering how to tell his father what was on his mind without either dying of embarrassment or chickening out half way through.

“What are ye thinkin’ about?” Brian asked, seeing the worried look on his son's forehead. “Ye look like yer fit to burst.”

“It’s nothin, Da,” Jamie shrugged awkwardly. They’d always had quite a good relationship. They were both stubborn as mules and when they each got their danders up, well, explosive was a bit of an understatement. Add into that Jenny and sometimes it was lucky that their house was still standing. Jamie supposed that he was quite like his father in a lot of ways. He always wanted to be just like him when he was growing up, following him around the farm, watching him work. They’d always spoken relatively easily with each other, Jamie felt like he could go to his father if he needed advice or a second opinion- that was until Jamie’s mother had died. A wall went up around Brian and he was less approachable than before. He tried, Jamie knew that he tried to be the same man that he was before, but losing someone- losing a piece of your heart was a hard place to come back from. It was why Jamie would prefer to confide in Murtagh. He was separate from most situations but understood Jamie in a way that his father used to.

“I was thinkin’ of getting a phone,” Jamie said quickly and Brian’s eyes flashed over to his son.

“What for?”

“Playin’ games and lookin’ at naked ladies,” Jamie replied sarcastically. “I’m 16 now, I think it’s time that I had somethin’ like that. All the lads at school have one, and with me doin’ the paper route and school, I think it would help.”

“Aye, and who’ll be payin’ for this phone of yers?” Brian asked as he eyed his son suspiciously.

“I would,” Jamie answered.

“And this does’na have anythin’ to do with the new lass in town?” Brian asked as his mouth twitched in the beginning of a grin.

“It has to do with the fact that I’m growin’ up and it will be a lot easier to keep track of me, if ye can call me.”

“Aye,” Brian agreed, smiling at his son now. “Sounds like a braw idea.”

Jamie sat back on the couch happily. He would need to ask Jenny to drive him into the larger town to actually purchase said phone, but it was one more step toward his independence. Now he just needed to talk to his Da about the thing he was the most nervous about, though he had a suspicion that he already knew.

“That Claire lass seems nice,” Brian continued on, snapping Jamie out of his thoughts. “Her Uncle’s a wee odd, but seems like a good bloke.”

“Aye, she is, they are, both of them - nice, I mean,” Jamie answered. His fingers found a loose thread on the shirt that he was wearing and he started to fiddle with it.

“Jen said that Claire was around earlier,” Brian tried again. He wasn’t looking at Jamie, rather he was staring at the wall, as if he had suddenly seen the most interesting thing and was addressing that, rather than Jamie.

“Aye, took her around to see the horses, and a wee bit of the farm.”

Brian grunted in acknowledgement but didn’t say anything further. He left the space open for Jamie to tell him what was on his mind, Jamie just needed to swallow the lump in his throat first.

“Did… ah… did Lamb tell ye about her parents?” Jamie asked quietly.

“Aye,” Brian murmured in response. “Awful thing to happen.”

Jamie nodded, “Claire… she only told me about them today. I did’na ken before.”

“The lass has been through a lot. I’m glad yer makin’ her feel welcome. It must be hard movin’ to a new place after somethin’ like that. Lord knows what would happen if the ol’ hens in town would say if they found out.”

“I dinna plan on tellin’ anyone else, Da,” Jamie replied defensively.

“I did’na say ye would.” Brian shook his head thoughtfully. “I just want ye to… well… ye ken what it’s like to lose a parent, and a brother. Word travels quick in town and ye remember what it was like to have people in the street tell ye how sorry they are.”

Jamie nodded uncomfortably at the memory; weeks of people approaching him on the street, the old women trying to hug him, the men clapping him firmly on the back. It was awkward and uncomfortable. Everyone knew Ellen Fraser and Jamie wondered if it would be different for Claire because nobody had met her parents. Still he remembered the pity in everyone’s eyes as they watched him go about his life and it used to drive him mad. He didn’t want that for Claire. Speaking of Claire… he didn’t know how to approach the subject with his Da. Though in all honesty, Brian Fraser seemed far too eager to keep bringing her up. Maybe it wouldn’t be as awkward as Jamie was making it out to be. He was wrong.

“Da,” Jamie began nervously. “About Claire… well about Mam.”

Brian hummed in acknowledgement.

“Ye always told me and Jen and that as soon as ye saw Mam, ye kent that ye wanted to marry her…” Jamie twisted and pulled at the thread of his t-shirt. He couldn’t look at his father right now, but he could feel his face flaming bright red. “How did ye ken?”

Brian hummed again, but it was a happy sound, like he was remembering the first time he saw Ellen McKenzie. He seemed to get lost in the memory for a moment before he shook himself slightly and answered Jamie’s question.

“Honestly son, I dinna ken. I saw her and it was like… everything made sense. Asides, yer mother was a fine lass, so every lad that saw her thought that she was beautiful. It wasn’t just love at first sight though, as much as I tell ye both that. It was when she spoke, the first time I heard her voice, it was like… I canna explain it to ye, Jamie. It was like everything clicked. I told Murtagh that I would marry her one day and Murtagh did’na believe me. Every lad thought that when they saw yer Ma. Murtagh included. But I kent it. From the moment she opened her mouth and called me out for staring at her, to the first date when she kissed me goodnight. I kent that I would marry her.”

That didn’t answer Jamie in the slightest and he huffed in frustration which made Brian chuckle.

“I truly canna explain it to ye, lad. I just kent that she was the lass I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.”

“But did ye… a’fore Ma, did ye date anyone else?”

“Aye, a few lasses, and they were fine, thought for a while that I might marry Loita McKenzie-”

“Loita McKenzie?” Jamie interrupted. “Laoghaire’s mother?”

“Aye, we dated throughout highschool,” Brian chuckled at the memory as he shook his head.

“So what was… how did ye…. What was different between her and Ma?” Jamie pressed. His father had just admitted for the first time that he had loved someone other than his Mother. Brian Fraser had always made it seem like it was Ellen and no one else.

“I loved yer Ma, I did’na love Loita,” Brian said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and Jamie thought he might very well hit his father.

“But ye said ye thought that ye were going to marry her,” Jamie argued.

“Aye, but I did’na ken what love truly was until yer mother.”

“That… I… what does any of that mean,” Jamie said in exasperation. It was like talking to the Riddler from the Batman movies Jamie used to watch as a young lad and he was getting annoyed. He just wanted a straight answer.

“The other lasses I dated, not that there were many mind ye, they… I liked them sure enough, was attracted to them, kissed ‘em and… ye ken.”

Jamie felt his face heat up with embarrassment as his father continued.

“But there was somethin’ missin’. I asked myself if I could see myself growin’ old with any of them and the answer was always ‘no’. When I first met yer mother and she cursed me out for starin’, when we went on our first date and she blushed when I pulled out her chair for her, I saw it all. I saw all of our lives in a second. I saw us married, with bairns, I saw us fightin’ and makin’ up. I could see every second of our lives, I could see every moment of my life, what was comin’ and she was there for every second of it.”

Jamie was silent for a moment, trying to figure out how this related to how he felt about Claire. The absolute truth of it was, and as terrifying as it was, when Jamie looked at Claire, he could see the same thing. He may be only young, but his life was mapped out for him. He grew up on a farm and would more than likely take it over from his father. When Jamie tried to imagine what the future would look like for him, Claire stood right there with him, a flourishing vegetable garden beside the both of them.

When he thought about university, the option to go to Edinburgh, study literature like he’d always thought of, there was Claire. Right by his side, wearing scrubs - she would study medicine, of course she would.

When he tried to think of his wedding day, he knew he'd be standing at the front of a church, wearing his father’s kilt and a new jacket. The woman that walked toward him had a wild head of brown curls that would simply not be tamed and she would be blushing something fierce while clutching the arm of her Uncle. It was Claire. It would always be Claire.

But he was only 16. He wasn’t meant to feel things that were this deep yet. He wasn’t supposed to be able to picture his future. Hell, he was sure that other lads his age weren’t thinking about their weddings.

“Ye were 18 when ye met Ma, aye?” Jamie asked carefully.

“Aye, just turned it.”

“Didn’t… weren’t ye… ye were pretty young,” Jamie said bluntly.

“Aye, but that’s the beauty of the Fraser stubbornness, ye ken,” Brian laughed. “When we ken what we want, we dinna let anythin’ stop us.”

Jamie smiled as he shook his head.

“But nah, yer Granny and Grandda, on both sides, were’na keen on the idea of us being wed so young. But that did’na stop us. We kent what we wanted and couldn’t really see the point in puttin’ it off.”

Jamie bit his lip as he tried to decide how much he wanted to tell his father about how he felt about Claire. They were still just friends after all. Sure he might be feeling something for her, but he had no idea if she felt anything for him, beyond their friendship. He wasn’t willing to risk the friendship that they had built because he couldn’t get his feelings for her in order.

“Gettin’ old is a blessin’ and curse sometimes, lad,” Brian Fraser said through a yawn. “Ye meet the love of yer life and ye get plenty of good years wi’ her. Ye raise yer bairns and ye love them wi’ all yer heart. Ye think that yer heart canna get any fuller, and the vision ye had when ye were just a lad is all comin’ true. But then ye lose her, and ye dinna ken how ye’ll ever be alright again. Ye grow old wi’out her and sometimes, wakin’ up… well, it’s hard to do. But I tell ye Jamie, I wouldn’t have traded anythin’ in the world for the life I got to live with yer Ma, no matter how brief.”

Jamie swallowed thickly and was about to reply when a soft snore escaped his father’s lips as he fell asleep on the couch.

While he felt like he knew his father a little better than he did before, he was still nowhere near closer to understanding the depth of feelings he had for one Sassenach that had turned his life on its head.

--

By the time Jamie arrived at Claire’s house on Monday morning to walk to school with her, he was in the possession of a brand new Iphone, and there was only one number that he really cared about getting. He knew that he was more than likely going to get a ribbing from the lads at school about finally getting a phone. They’d all received theirs from their parents when they’d turned 13, something about their parents wanting to keep and eye on them. Brian and Ellen had talked about it of course, but it was just that Jamie was so trustworthy. He always was home when he said he would be, they knew all of his friends' parents, having grown up with most of them themselves and there wasn’t anyone in town that wouldn’t lend Jamie their phone if he’d asked for it. They just didn’t see the point of it, and Jamie couldn’t either.

Anything that the lads wanted to tell him, surely couldn’t be so important that it couldn’t wait until the following day at school. They called him ‘mental’, showed him the games they played on their phones, the pictures they could look up online without their parents' knowledge, but still Jamie couldn’t see the point. Until, that was, Claire had asked him if he had a phone and for the first time, he was disappointed that he didn’t.

Now the weight of it was in his pocket and he couldn’t wait to show her, to program her number into it and begin texting her things that couldn’t wait until the following day at school and that needed to be shared in that very moment.

“Jamie,” Lamb answered the door brightly, a healthy five o’clock shadow growing on his face. “And how are you this fine morning?”

“Well, thank ye, sir,” Jamie answered as he dropped his bag by the front door and made his way to the kitchen to wait for Claire.

“You don’t need to call me sir,” Lamb reminded him. “It makes me feel old.”

“Aye, sorry.” Jamie smiled as he sat at the small kitchen table. He was expecting Lamb to wander off in the house, like he did on the other mornings that Jamie was early and had to wait for Claire. After the first morning that Jamie had picked Claire up for school (had it really only been a week ago?), Lamb had let Jamie direct himself to the kitchen and then went about whatever he was doing before Jamie arrived. Usually making a coffee or a tea, reading the news on his laptop, on Thursday he heard Lamb singing to himself in the lounge room. This morning Lamb followed Jamie into the kitchen and sat opposite, his hands clasped in front of him, an uncharacteristically serious look on his face.

“So,” he said carefully, scratching at the new stubble on his cheek. “Claire told me about Saturday.”

Jamie nodded and swallowed heavily, it felt like he was about to have “the talk” with Claire’s Uncle, which was something Jamie was entirely unprepared for at 7.30 in the morning.

“Is your father well?” Lamb asked in concern and Jamie felt a flush of relief flood through him.

“Oh, aye. He broke his ankle and will’na be walking wi’out crutches for the next six weeks, but aye, he’s fine.”

“Good, good. Claire was very worried on Saturday night,” Lamb said absentmindedly.

“It’s not the worst thing that’s happened to a Fraser on a farm,” Jamie assured Lamb. “I canna count the times he’s broken a finger or a toe over somethin’ silly. I’ve had my fair share of bumps and bruises myself. Part of livin’ on a farm.”

“She also said that you went to see your horses,” Lamb continued as if he hadn’t really heard Jamie’s response.

“Aye, we did,” Jamie answered cautiously.

“That’s good. Her father wanted her to ride, but she screamed her head off the entire time. She did love the animals from a distance, but as soon as Henry put her on top of one she completely lost it. A fair set of lungs on her, Claire has.” Lamb smiled at the memory and Jamie swallowed heavily again. If Claire told him about the horses, would she have told him about her-

“You know about her parents then?” Lamb asked, not waiting for a response before continuing. “How she lost them both in one night? Yes? She’s been through a terrible amount of grief in such a short amount of time. The move out here… she’s getting better, she’s beginning to look like herself again and I… Jamie,” Lamb’s eyes focused clearly on Jamie’s face now. Jamie tried to look back seriously but there was something unnerving about how intensely Lamb was looking at him. “I will not see her get her heart broken, do you understand me? I will not see her go through that… through the pain and grief like she has, again. She trusts you, she likes you and I can see that you bring out good things in her. From what I’ve seen you’re… well you seem alright to me. Do not make me question my judgement.”

Jamie nodded earnestly. “I wouldn’t… I would never do anything to hurt her.” He tried to shrug his shoulders nonchalantly, “She’s my friend.”

Lamb huffed a chuckle at that and shook his head. “I suppose so. Good talk!” he said, suddenly jumping to his feet and making Jamie start at the sudden movement. Lamb busied himself with the kettle while Jamie heard Claire’s heavy footsteps on the stairs.

“One week and I’ve nailed it. Da… Da... Da... Daaaa,” Claire sang as she rounded the corner. “I can do the tie by myself,” she announced, spreading her arms wide for Jamie and Lamb to see. It was a little uneven and the tail was too long but Jamie was so happy to her smiling brightly at him that it didn’t really matter in the end.

“Looks perfect!” Lamb declared as the kettle started to boil. “Best in all the land.”

“I know,” Claire agreed sarcastically. “I should take it up as a career. Professional Tie-Tie-er. I hear it’s a competitive field.”

“As have I, they only take the best my dear. The Best! Are you sure you’re up for it?” Lamb continued.

“When you have my raw talent,” Claire said, “it would be rude if I didn’t.”

“Hear, hear,” Lamb echod as he started to make a cup of tea.

“Ready to go?” Claire asked addressing Jamie who was smiling widely at the pair of them. It was moments like these that had Jamie falling more and more in… something with Claire. Her casual sarcastic humour, the way she spoke with her Uncle, the way her eyes seemed to sparkle when she was joking around. It reminded him of how his mother would laugh with his father and Jamie felt a not-totally-unpleasant heaviness in his stomach at the thought. He really did have very strong feelings for Claire.

--

“I have some news,” Jamie said as they walked to school together.

“Oh?” Claire asked as she shifted the bag straps on her shoulders.

“Aye. Ye asked me on Saturday... ye said that ye would have called me but ye did’na have my phone number,” Jamie reminded her as Claire nodded along in understanding. “Well, that was perhaps because as of yesterday, I did’na have a phone,” he continued.

“You didn’t have a phone? At all?” Claire asked in surprise.

“We have a landline at home, but no, I did’na.”

To Jamie’s surprise Claire started to laugh before she realised that Jamie was not laughing with her and pursed her lips to stop herself. “Sorry. I don’t mean to laugh. I’m just surprised. I mean… how?”

“I just did’na see the need for it,” Jamie shrugged uncomfortably.

“But you do now?” Claire asked as she raised her eyebrows at him.

“Aye,” he answered gruffly, far too embarrassed by the direction the conversation was taking.

“Let’s see it then,” Claire smiled, stopping and holding out her hand.

“What?”

“Let’s see this brand-spanking-new phone of yours. You’re going to need at least one number in it that isn’t your family, after all,” she said practically while Jamie pulled the phone out of his pocket. “No case,” she tutted as Jamie handed her the phone. “You’ll need a case, these break easily.”

“I dinna ken. I’ve never had one before,” Jamie answered as she clicked the screen to life.

“I have, and you’ll need a case. No passcode either. You should put a passcode on it. Stop people from getting into it when you don’t want them too. Seeing all your stuff.” She continued to critique all the things that he hadn’t done as she typed around on the screen. “No photos either.”

“I only got it yesterday,” Jamie defended himself as Claire held up the phone to face them.

“Come on, let’s take one.”

“Take one what?”

“A photo, obviously,” Claire answered in exasperation. “Come on.”

Jamie ducked down slightly, though she held the phone high in the air, angled down toward them. He’d seen a few of the girls at school take photos the same way. He jumped in surprise as he felt Claire’s curls tickle the side of his face as she moved closer to be in the photo with him with a slight huff. He heard the shutter go off, but he was looking at Claire, at how close she was, at the small crinkles at the sides of her eyes when she smiled.

“Look at the camera, you dork,” Claire laughed as she snapped another one.

“Aye sorry,” Jamie mumbled before smiling at the camera and hearing the shutter go off once again.

“Much better,” Claire said as she handed him back the phone and they continued on their way to school. “Now you have my number and some photos. You’re on your way to being a phone aficionado in no time.”

“Aye,” Jamie grinned, “Do you think there’s a career in that?”

“Oh definitely. You can join me in my Tie-tie-ing business. We’ll be millionaires before we even graduate,” Claire agreed happily as they approached the school gates.

“I canna wait,” Jamie said as he followed her into the school grounds.

--

“What’s this, what’s this, what’s this?” Rupert announced loud enough for people three kilometers away to hear. “Who’s phone you holdin’ there?” He asked pointing accusingly at the phone Jamie was about to pocket.

“It’s mine,” Jamie answered gruffly trying to stuff the phone into the pocket of his trousers.

“You!” Angus joined in, “You have a phone? Since when?”

“Since Sunday,” Jamie answered defensively. Claire wasn’t paying attention to them, having spotted Geillis and Mary was making her way over to greet them.

“What happened to “I don’t need one” and “what’s the point”?” Angus asked, with a terrible impersonation of Jamie. Rupert looked between Jamie and Claire, Claire and Jamie before he looked back, grinning widely.

“Lay off, it’s no’ a big deal,” Jamie grimaced as Rupert wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Aye, ‘tis,” Angus disagreed, completely unaware of the unspoken conversation that was happening between Rupert and Jamie. “Yer finally becomin’ a man. We’re all sae proud.” He pretended to wipe a tear from his eye and Jamie punched him in the shoulder.

“Well, give it here then,” Rupert laughed, holding out his hand expectantly. “Ye’ll be wanting yer best friends phone number in there.”

“I thought was yer best friend,” Angus said momentarily distracted as Jamie handed over his phone with a sigh.

“Aye, second best,” Rupert mumbled before clicking around on the screen. “Ye dinna have a passcode. Ye should have a passcode.”

“Aye, so I’ve been told,” Jamie said under his breath as Rupert passed the phone to Angus.

The phone went around the circle, each of his friends programming their number and giving Jamie a good ribbing for finally joining the current century. He thought that it was done and people would stop giving him shit for it, about to get his phone back from Mary when a female hand intercepted him.

“Is this yours, Jamie?” Laoghaire’s voice asked from his shoulder, making him flinch in surprise.

“Aye,” Jamie could feel himself blushing and he didn’t know why. He certainly wasn’t embarrassed, but he could feel Claire’s eyes on him and he just wanted her to look away for some reason.

“I did’na ken ye had a phone,” she said in surprise as she looked at it. “Ye’ll be wantin’ my number then?”

She phrased it like a question, Jamie was sure it was meant to be a question, but he wasn’t exactly sure how he was supposed to say no, because after all, it didn’t much sound like a question.

He shrugged in response, he supposed it was the safest answer and she almost squealed in delight as she programmed her number. She then rang her own phone explaining that then they would both have each other's numbers. Jamie nodded along dumbly, wondering if his phone alerted her if he deleted her number. The bell rang for the start of school and Laoghaire gave him back his phone, saying something about how he should have more photos and he pocketed it as he and Claire made their way to homeroom together.

“I didn’t realise that you having a phone would be the gossip of the school,” Claire smiled as they sat next to each other.

“Aye, I put it off for so long, the lads were bound to give me shite for it when I finally got one.”

“Not just the lads,” Claire said so quietly Jamie wasn’t sure he was supposed to hear her.

“Good morning all,” Mrs Fox said loudly as she called the class to attention. “Welcome to yer second week back, I trust the first went well.”

As she went through the roll call, Jamie could feel his phone buzzing in his pocket with new message notifications and he couldn’t fathom who would be texting him. His Da and sister both knew that he was at school and wouldn’t message him unless it was an emergency, and everyone else who had his number was currently sitting in the classroom with him. He couldn’t imagine anything had happened in the fifteen minutes since they had taken their seats was so urgent that they would need to text him. He looked covertly around the room. Angus and Rupert were both close to nodding off already. Claire was sitting next to him doodling on a piece of paper. Mary and Geillis were both giggling over something in Geillis’ diary. Louise was staring out the window, clearly not paying attention to anything that Mrs Fox was saying.

“And even though it’s only the second week, the Social Committee have already got their plans in place for the first dance of the year. A welcome back, as it were.”

Jamie noticed all the girls in the class sit up and pay a little more attention to Mrs Fox and he thought that he probably should as well.

“Ye all ken the rules, and I expect ye to be well behaved.” Her eyes narrowed at Rupert and Angus and she continued, “The dance is in two Saturday’s time. It should give you more than enough time to find a suitable outfit, and what does that mean? Weel, let me explain.”

Jamie let his mind drift off again as Mrs Fox explained what should and shouldn’t be worn at a school dance. He’d attended a few dances over the years. His first had been mortifyingly awkward and he didn’t move from the side of the school hall for 90 percent of the night. It was also when his father decided that having the “talk” was necessary so that added a whole other part of it. As he’d gotten older he’d lost more of his inhibitions and as long as he was with his friends, the dances could be more fun.

He’d taken Geillis once, as a date. They were friends though, nothing more, and it was one of the more fun dances that he’d been too. Geillis was hilarious and she was definitely the best person to ask at the time.

Jamie looked at Claire from the corner of his eye, she was still doodling on the side of her page, but she did look like she was paying more attention to what Mrs Fox was saying than before. Should Jamie ask her? Would that be appropriate?

Every cell of Jamie’s body wanted to ask her out, but he didn’t know if that was the right thing to do. He was still trying to figure out what he felt for her beyond friendship…. And the things that she did to his body whilst being painfully oblivious. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to ask her to the dance, maybe it would confuse him even more. But god, did he want to. He wanted to dance with her. To a slow song. They could make it their song. They could share a romantic song together and then they would play it at their wedding, for their first dance. Jamie stopped whatever the hell that train of thought was right in its tracks, and brought himself back into the room.

They were friends, and Claire was still very new to the school, it was only her second week. Of course he should ask her, even if it was just as friends. They could be there for each other, and Jamie could let his imagination run away with him some other time.

The bell rang suddenly and Jamie wondered how in the hell homeroom was over already. The girls immediately congregated by their bags and began gossiping about the dance and what they would wear. Jamie shouldered his bag, preparing to walk Claire to her first class when he was slapped on the back by Rupert.

“Got anyone in mind that yer goin’ to take?” He asked conspiratorially, directing Jamie away from Claire.

“Maybe,” Jamie shrugged casually as Rupert burst into laughter. “Maybe ye should ask Geillis,” Jamie suggested which seemed to shut Rupert up immediately.

“Aye,” he mumbled in embarrassment.

“Thought you’d left without me!” Claire’s breathless voice from behind Rupert and Jamie made them spring apart quickly, as if they had just been caught doing something that they shouldn’t.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Jamie said, feeling his cheeks heat up.

“It’s that your legs are so bloody long, one step for you is about fourteen for me.”

“Sorry, Sassenach.” Jamie slowed slightly as he smiled at her. “So… the dance,” he tried to bring up casually. “Ye think ye might go?”

“I don’t see why not. It seems to be the only thing that all the girls are going to talk about for the next two weeks,” Claire answered nonchalantly with a shrug of her shoulders. “Can’t say I’ve been to many dances before though, do you all do the… what’s it called, the Highland Fling?”

“Och, aye, ye canna go to a school dance wi’out first learnin’ the Highland Fling. Ye’d be laughed out of school,” Jamie said, strengthening his accent and making her smile.

“I might rethink my decision to go if that’s the case. I’ve never “Highland Flung” anything in my life.”

Jamie chuckled as he shook his head. “Nah, it’s pretty normal. The guys stand on one side of the hall, the lasses on the other. At some point one o’ the teachers start dancin’ and then because they look so ridiculous, everyone else joins in eventually.”

They arrived at their first class and began to take out their books, and Jamie felt his phone vibrate in his pocket once more.

“Christ almighty- I’ve only had this thing fer less than day and already it’s going to vibrate my leg off,” he said as he pulled it out to check who had been incessantly messaging him. Claire smiled as she carried her books inside the classroom and Jamie unlocked his phone.

8 new messages - Laoghaire McKenzie with a love heart emoji in the middle of her two names. Jamie rolled his eyes before they ran over the numerous messages.

- Hi Jamie! -

- It’s Laoghaire -

- But of course you already know that! -

- So glad you finally got a phone. -

- Now we can talk whenever we want! -

- Homeroom is boring -

- What are you doing at lunch? -

Jamie swallowed heavily at the latest message.

- A School Dance! I can’t wait! -

[danadeservesadrink]

Do You Believe in Fate Chapter 8

Hope You Didn’t Have Any Big Friday Plans

In which Scully learns of motherhood. Read on AO3 here

Tagging @today-in-fic

“Dana Scully speaking”

“Hope you didn’t have any big Friday plans”

“Why? Missy what’s wrong?”

“Well there was a bit of an accident at lunch today…”

“Melissa you tell me what’s wrong right now.”

“Mom’s in the hospital. She tripped down the stairs, fractured her leg”

“I’ll be right there”

“I didn’t even tell you which hospital!”

“Georgetown?”

“Yes. The emergency center. Room 305.”

“I’m already in the car.”

Scully rushed into the hospital, hurrying past doctors and nurses alike until she got to the emergency ward. A receptionist questioned her but must have seen the panicked look on Scully’s face before showing her on to room 305 at her insistence, where she walked in to find her mother laying propped up on a hospital bed, leg already casted.

“Jesus Mom what happened?” Scully asked, immediately fussing over her despite Maggie’s attempts to wave her daughter away. Scully made a mental note to ask for her chart later.

“It’s nothing dear, I’ll be fine. I tripped on my way downstairs, fell down a whole flight…”

“Did they check you for other fractures? Do you have a concussion?”

“Yes Dana, they checked everything. Apart from some minor bruising the only thing wrong is my leg.” Scully went to interrupt her again, but Maggie shot her a glare that silenced her. “I’ll have the doctor give you a copy of my x-rays but honestly there’s nothing you can do sweetheart. The doctor is very nice, and seemed quite competent.”

Scully seemed to relax, choosing to walk around the side of the hospital bed and sit in the vacant chair beside it, still critically eyeing the cast on her mother's leg.

“I’m sorry. I’m glad you’re ok.”

She reached out and grabbed her mother’s hand, who held it with a squeeze by her side. She looked around the room and only then noticed the absence of her sister.

“Where’s Missy?”

Maggie, sighed and dropped Scully’s hand.

“That's what I needed to talk to you about…”, she pressed her hand to the bridge of her nose, clearly thinking heavily on her next words. “Melissa took Emily home for her nap. And with me going to be out of commission for at least the next few months, were going to have to discuss who will be taking care of Emily.”

And the realization dawned on her that Scully had been so preoccupied with her mother and sister, she had completely forgotten about the whereabouts of her own fucking daughter.

“Oh. Can Melissa watch her…” she knew the answer before the question had even finished coming out of her mouth.

“Dana, your sister has her own life, her own job. She cannot just drop everything to look after your daughter.” She wasn’t shocked by the words, but by the frustrated tone with which her mother scolded her.

“Mom…” Scully felt her cheeks flush with shame. Maggie carried on, staring sternly at her daughter in the chair.

“You do remember that she is your daughter, right?”

Despite her mother being the one in the hospital bed, Scully felt like the one receiving surgery. She attempted to choke out a response but found her voice wasn’t working properly, she simply sputtered at her mother’s sudden accusation. Maggie’s eyes softened, but her voice remained firm.

“Dana no one knows more than me how much you’ve been through. And you know I will support you in any way I can but she’s your daughter. She’s your daughter and you’re going to have to get to know her some day.”

Scully stared at the linoleum floor tiles, her eyes mapping the grey outlines of the squares one by one in an attempt to stop the tears she felt forming. She could feel her mother’s gaze burning into her cheek.

“I don’t know how.” Her voice cracks as she speaks, and she hears Maggie sigh, but still can’t bear to look at her. “I don’t know how to be a mother to her. I’m scared I won’t do it right.” A rogue tear slips down her cheek. “She doesn’t even like me.”

Her mother grabs her hand again, and Scully can only see her concerned look out of the corner of her eye.

“Baby, none of us know. You don’t go into motherhood knowing exactly what to do, you just try. If you try your best, that will be good enough for her.”

Scully was still staring forward, so Maggie gave a gentle tug on her hand to get her attention. She looked up, the figure of her mother blurry through a haze of tears. Maggie leaned into her despite her restricted leg.  

“When Bill came along he didn’t like me much either. Cried every time I picked him up. He refused to eat, refused to nap”.

Scully had to laugh. Of course Bill was difficult, even as an infant.

“But I kept trying. I kept holding him, feeding him. And one day, he just stopped crying. I held him in my arms and he looked up at me with his little eyes and smiled. And I knew I had to have done something right. You kids all turned out ok, anyway.”

Scully smiled up at her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze back.

“Yea Mom, you did alright.” Both women laughed, and finally the tension was released.

“You have to give yourself a chance Dana. Give yourself a chance to be a good mom.”

-

Why was it that staring into the face of her own daughter made her feel so nervous? It wasn’t like she was scared of a baby. Or was she?  

Emily was sitting in her play-chair station, bouncing happily and spinning a little plastic ring. Scully sat with her hand propped up on her hand at the kitchen table watching her. She’d been stuck there for at least 10 minutes, just watching the child bounce and play, unable to interact with her but refusing to walk away to safety. Her child. Her mother was upstairs in bed, she’d put her there herself, insisting she needed rest. Melissa left to go back to her apartment, and she was now alone in the kitchen with a one year old, who she was quickly realizing she was more terrified by than any person she had ever known.

Dana pull yourself together. She’s just a baby.

“She’s your baby”, she whispered to herself, partially as reassurance and partially as a reminder.

When she first got back, after the shock of it all had worn off, when she had rational thoughts running through her head again, she ordered a DNA test for Emily. She didn’t tell her mother, or even Missy. She gets it done through a friend at the hospital, and she handed her back the results in an unmarked folder over private coffee. A manila folder holding a potential explanation of what had happened to her and it had taken her almost 2 weeks to open it. She was torn between wanting desperately for the truth and being terrified of it. Of course, she had thought through the possibilities before hand, being the logical person she was.

Option 1) She was already pregnant when she got abducted. It wasn’t out of the realm of extreme possibility. She had been seeing someone occasionally, the time-frame matched up, and though they had been careful, she knew the percentages. It was unlikely she hadn’t shown any symptoms, but again, she had read of instances where women hadn’t shown pregnancy symptoms until late third trimester. Altogether unlikely but not improbable.

Option 2) Emily was someone else’s daughter. This is what she had rationalized as the most likely answer, given her lack of pregnancy symptoms. The FBI suggested that other women may have been abducted by the same man. She may have stolen the child away during her escape and simply lost the memory. And when she held her, when her mother placed her in her arms and introduced Emily to her as her daughter, she had felt a startling lack of maternal feelings. Usually mothers who reconnect with their children document immediate connection, feelings of easy recognition, familiarity. She could have been holding a lively loaf of bread wrapped in a blanket for all the connection she felt to the little bundle of joy placed in her arms. No, Scully had convinced herself quite quickly that she was in possession of someone else's offspring. But that was before Emily sprouted little red curls from the top of her head. Before her mother pulled out a baby picture of little Dana and even she herself had to admit the resemblance was uncanny.

She opened the envelope at the kitchen table at midnight after she padded downstairs, long after her mother had gone to bed. She’d had another nightmare. Tests, needles, bright lights, the usual vague images plaguing her mind and dampening her brow with sweat. But that night, for the first time, she dreamed of her. Dreamed of the cry of an infant through the blinding lights, and felt her heart lurch at the sound. She woke with a scream just short of her lips, so scared not only for her, but for the child. It was then that she realized. She needed to know.

It was a flip of a coin, option 1 versus 2, neither one a best or worst case scenario. But she miscalculated. With some sick twist of the universe, the coin managed to land perfectly on its side and the rational Dr. Scully was presented with the previously unknown option 3.

She was hers, oh yes, that was undeniable. 46 chromosomes of Scully, in fact. She read the report 3 times, looking for the tiny differences to indicate the presence of two distinct genotypes combining to form one unique human, the way she was taught even back in her undergraduate classes. The natural order of things. The only viable way. She found no differences.

Emily was genetically identical to her, a perfect clonal match, down to the individual base pairs in her DNA.

Option 3 provided little answers and generated so many questions. So many questions even the well educated mind of Dr. Dana Scully couldn’t comprehend. The only solace was that when her mother asked her over tea at the dining table about the ever-so-sensitive subject of maternity, she didn’t have to lie.

Of course, that only spurred her mother on more. She kept subtly leaving the baby with her, asking her to hold it while she prepared a bottle or ran to the garden. It was obvious what she was trying to do, although Scully was obstinate to her intentions. To be honest, the idea of a daughter wasn’t what frightened her. She had always seen herself as a mother one day. She used to play dolls with Missy and Charlie when they were little, and she had fond memories of rocking little plastic dolls to sleep, pressing bottles to their unmoving lips and bossing her little brother around the playhouse insisting that she was too busy with the baby to take care of the chores. She worked with kids at the hospital, mostly got along quite well with them actually. She would have been happy to have a daughter of her own.

But Emily wailed every time Maggie dropped her into Scully’s awaiting arms. She screamed her lungs off for the first few months of her life every time Scully was even in the room. While Scully previously saw the merit of her mother’s actions, it slowly turned into a torture for both of them. So much so that Maggie stopped trying all together. After months of stubborn fits from both Scully girls, Maggie found it best to simply keep Emily in her own arms.

Until now.

She cursed the stairs, cursed her mother’s socks and their hardwood floors, cursed God, who was probably looking down at her and laughing. She cursed herself, a pathetic mother, scared of her own child.

Emily stopped spinning the little plastic rings. She grabbed at a stuffed duck, tattered and stained, perched on the side of the activity seat, babbling happily to herself. The duck managed to elude her little grasp however, and instead fell to the floor.

Immediately, Emily’s eyes welled with tears, and she banged her fists against the plastic surroundings of her seat, bouncing up and down and shaking the entire structure. The screaming started shortly afterwards.

Scully’s eyes widened as well, and she sprung out of her chair, dropping to her knees in front of Emily and grabbing the duck. She placed it in front of the wailing toddler, still bouncing and shaking in her seat.

“Look, here’s Ducky. Ducky’s here.” She shook the toy in her line of site, willing Emily to calm down, if only for the sake of her sleeping mother. Emily opened her eyes and saw the toy in front of her, suddenly ceasing her tantrum. She sniffled and took the doll from Scully, grabbing it rather aggressively by the neck. Scully laughed, despite her trepidation, as the duck was strangled by the fists of a toddler.

Emily looked up at her then, little blue eyes wide, satisfied by the presence of Ducky and intrigued by the giggle Scully let escape her lips. They were face to face, and Scully felt oddly self-conscious. She fixed the collar of her shirt as Emily regarded her. She didn’t cry, though her tantrum induced tears were still dewy on her cheeks.

Scully found herself bringing her hand up, slowly. It was shaking, in fact all of her was shaking, with nerves, emotion, whatever . She brought a hand up to Emily’s cheek and carefully brushed a wet droplet aside with her thumb.

Her skin is so smooth, she thought. She was scared the act of contact would cause the kid to burst into tears again, but still Emily simply returned back to looking at Ducky, who was arguably more interesting than Scully.

She likes the duck more than you. It was a ridiculous thought that caused her to chuckle again. Immediately, Emily’s eyes were back on hers. This time, she pursed her tiny lips, as if in deep thought. She looked down at the duck in her hands, back up at Scully, and then suddenly thrust the yellow duck towards her.

“Ducky” Emily said, leaning again towards Scully and pushing the toy at her. Scully responded with only a baffled smile, which Emily then returned in full toddler exuberance. A gummy, wonderful toddler smile, and for the first time, Scully felt a little twinge in her chest as she looked at her.

She took the duck. Emily clapped her hands together, giggling her own twinkling laugh, like windchimes in a gentle breeze. She then turned and went back to spinning the little purple plastic rings, unbothered by the exchange she had just participated in.

Scully, however, looked as if she’d seen a ghost. Or witnessed a miracle. She held the cloth duck like scientific proof of the unexplainable event, unwilling to let it go, gazing down on it in awe before the tears from before resurfaced.

On the floor of her mother’s kitchen in the soft light of the evening, Scully cried over a cloth duck. She cried over the softness of baby skin, over chromosomes and unknowns, and over all the shit she’s been through. She sank down off her knees and sobbed an apology to the little girl in front of her. She felt her body shake as she sloughed off the moths of feeling like a stranger in her own home, avoiding the kitchen during feeding time and her mother’s disappointed smile. She pressed the duck to her face, feeling the soft fabric absorb the tears off her own cheek, and she inhaled the scent of her daughter.

When the tears had subsided, she looked up at Emily still preoccupied with the little plastic puzzles. She leaned in, clearing her throat, and danced the duck along the top of the seat. Emily’s eyes lit up, and quickly she grabbed at the duck, pulling it in close to her face and hugging it with all the ferocity of a child’s love. She looked up and smiled at Scully again, and the idea that it was all a fluke flew out of Scully’s mind.

Scully reached over and brushed a tiny red curl out of her baby’s eyes, again feeling awed by the softness of her skin against her fingertips.

“Hi Emily”, she whispered into the still air of the kitchen, and Emily smiled at the sound of her name, clutching Ducky closer to her chest.

“I’m your mom.”

[matrixaffiliate]

Endeavor

Chapter Update! FFN and AO3

Chapters 8-14 are Vic's POV, and I promise these chapters are where the fun Tedoire scenes are going to come. Fluff is in sight friends! Our next chapter goes up on September 12th. =)

Chapter 8 

Victoire sat on her bed with her knees up against her chest. She didn't know what else to do.

"Vicky," Dominique stuck her head in. "Maman says it's time for dinner."

"I'll be there in a minute," Vic nodded.

"For someone who just got engaged, you're not as happy as I thought you'd be." Dom leant against the door frame.

"I'm having a rough day is all."

"More like a rough two weeks," Dom flipped her braid over her shoulder. "I still don't understand why you quit working with Uncle Ron."

"I just wanted something more in line with what I want to do." Vic pulled her knees closer to her.

"And what is that?"

Vic dropped her head to her knees. "Nevermind, tell Maman I'm not hungry."

Dom shrugged, "She'll probably come up here then, just warning you."

"Thanks, Dom, I'll take my chances," Vic muttered into her knees.

Vic heard her sister walking down the stairs but surprisingly, she didn't hear her mum coming up.

It was just as well, how would she ever explain to her mum that she'd kissed Ted when she'd just agreed to marry Sean a month earlier? And how would she say how hard it had been not to kiss Ted again? How she'd melted into him? How she still thought about kissing him? How tempting it was to call off her engagement and go running after him?

Vic hoped she would never need to explain it all, but once dinner was done, Fleur wasted no time confronting her daughter.

"Two weeks, ma chérie, two weeks," Vic felt her mum sit down at the foot of her bed. "Pourquoi?"

Vic shook her head against her knees, "I'm just having a rough go of it."

"No," Vic felt her mum shift on the bed, and then her mum's arms were around her shoulders, "No, there is something more, Je le sais."

Vic swallowed hard against the tears that she'd been fighting since Ted had walked away from her for the last time.

"Dîtes-Moi, ma chérie, you'll see, it will all feel a bit better if you do."

"Oh, Maman," Vic felt the tears press through her closed eyes.

"Je t'ai eu, ma chérie," Her mum pulled her closer.

Vic clung to her mum and gave in to the tears. She'd managed to keep them at bay for two weeks. She'd distracted herself by pretending to plan her wedding and pretending to look for a new job. But she couldn't hold them back any longer, and her heartache over everything was suffocating.

"I'm a terrible person!" Vic finally managed to get something other than her hiccuped breathing out.

"No, no, you are not," Fleur brushed Vic's hair back from her forehead. "Why do you say such things?"

"I, I kissed," the words were lodged in her throat and she didn't think she could push past them.

"You kissed?"

Vic felt her chest trying to cave in on itself, trying to create a black hole to suck her into.

"I kissed him, I kissed Ted."

"Ah," Fleur squeezed her arms a little tighter around Vic. "And this is why you turned down Ron when he wanted to make you a part of the new business?"

Vic nodded as the tears returned full force.

"Have you told Sean?"

Vic shook her head violently, "I can't! He'll be so mad!"

Vic felt her mum draw in a long breath and let it out slowly. "Do you know why you kissed Ted?"

"He," Vic bit her lip, "He told me that he loved me, that he'd fallen in love with me over the six months of working together. And I just, when he leant in, Maman I wanted him to kiss me."

She started sobbing again. What was wrong with her? She was in love with Sean...wasn't she?

"What did you say when he said he loved you?" Fleur ran her fingers through Vic's hair, trying to soothe her.

"I didn't know what to say!" Vic cried. "I just kept telling him he was my best friend!"

"Sean is not your best friend?"

Vic shook her head.

Fleur pursed her lips, "Vicky, you know I love you, but if Sean is not your best friend, why are you marrying him?"

"Because, because, I, I guess, I mean, I said yes when he asked..."

"And the boy can't be bothered to set a date to marry you," Fleur's voice had gone hard.

"I, I," Vic's voice cracked and she gave in to the sobs again; because her mum was asking questions she didn't have answers to.

"I am going to write a few things down," Her mum stood and collected a notebook and pen from Vic's desk. "I want you to take some time to think about them."

Vic wiped her eyes on her jumper sleeve, "Maman…"

"Non, ma chérie, first you must find yourself, then the answers will come. I can not give them to you."

Fleur set the pen and notebook at the foot of the bed. "If you get hungry, come down and I'll heat up a plate for you."

Then she kissed Vic on the forehead and slipped out of the room. Vic closed her pen in the notebook before she could look at her mum's writings. She already had a pretty good idea of what it said, and she didn't think she could handle those questions right now.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Vic waited until everyone was off at work and school before she left her room the next day. It was easier to not have everyone trying to cheer her up, or asking about a wedding she didn't even know if she wanted now, or why she wasn't wearing her engagement ring all the time.

She'd taken it off on her drive home that Friday and every time she'd tried to put it back on she felt sick. She didn't deserve to wear it. She didn't deserve to wear something that signified love and commitment.

Vic tried to distract herself from that train of thought with making breakfast, but fate had other plans. Sean's picture lit up her phone screen as his call came through.

"Hi," She tried to animate her voice to sound happier than she felt.

"Hey, Vic, I need a favor. Mike is tricking out the Datsun for me today and I need a lift to my flat after work."

"Oh, yeah, sure," Vic forced a smile. "What time do you need me there?"

"I'm thinking of skiving off early and heading out at three."

"Ok," Vic took a deep breath, "Do you want to get dinner together?"

"Why don't we make something at my place?" Sean's voice was warm, and Vic felt her guilt trying to eat her from the inside out.

"That sounds wonderful. I'll see you at three."

"Thanks," Sean disconnected the call.

Vic looked down at the screen as she gripped her phone tightly. Should she tell him tonight? At least he wouldn't have a car to go anywhere if he was angry. Which meant he wouldn't end up with another speeding citation. That would be good. And he'd have to take an Uber if he wanted to go to a pub. That would also be good. But these good things didn't seem to do anything to ease the anxiety and dread that filled her like bile pushing at the back of her throat.

Breakfast now seemed like an unwise decision.

Vic settled for a cup of tea and retreated to her room again. Her notebook caught her eye and Vic decided there was no way she could feel worse right now, she might as well see what her mum had written down.

Her mum's crisp penmanship was daunting as Vic read the few lines.

You and your desires are important. You are a good person. You are brave. You must decide your life's story.

Vic blinked. None of that was what she'd expected.

Vic had expected more of the questions that she had no answers to. The same questions that ran through her brain constantly. The ones that she could hear distant echoes of the answers, and they were terrifying. And even more terrifying were the questions she wouldn't even allow herself to start to ask, because they held answers that made her lungs collapse and her eyes see stars.

But these four lines were strange. Firstly, because they weren't all true, Vic didn't think a cheating person could also be a good person. And secondly, because they weren't what Vic would have found helpful right now. Right now, she needed to know what to do, not have a list of things her mum thought about her.

Vic tried to put it from her mind and opened up her draft of her book again. If only she really could escape to this world she'd built. She could function there better than she could here, at least she liked to think she could. But who knew, maybe she'd find that she was as much a failure in her own world as she was in the real one. The fact that she could tell something was off with her story only reinforced that feeling. Vic spent the next several hours digging through her notes in her manuscript trying to find what was wrong to no avail. She'd done this a few dozen times before already, and like those previous failed attempts, this time around came up with no improvement.

She'd been planning to see if Ted wanted to read through it for her and try to help her get to the bottom of the story's problem, but that plan was obviously out the window.

When it was time to go, she put the manuscript on the back burner again, took a deep breath as she slid her engagement ring back on her hand, and jumped in her car to collect Sean.

Seeing him waiting by the curb made her stomach hurt.

"Hey," Vic smiled as he climbed in. "Do we need to stop at the market on the way?"

"Change of plans," Sean grinned. "Mike finished early, we need to go grab the Datsun, and then I'm taking her to the track."

Vic blinked.

"Oh, alright, where is Mike's? You've never taken me there."

"You know what, it's hard to get to. Why don't you let me drive?"

Vic gripped the steering wheel.

"I'm sure if you just tell me where to go, I can get us there without any problem."

Sean traced her chin and tipped his sunglasses down this nose. "Come on, don't be that girl."

Vic could feel her guilt trying to eat her stomach while her anger tried to burn through her chest. But rather than let either emotion vent out, she undid her seatbelt.

"There's my girl," Sean kissed her, but Vic pulled back and opened the car door.

"We better hurry so we can get your car to the track. Do you want to get dinner after?"

"That's a good idea, you should grab something and bring it to the track."

Vic stared at him after she climbed in the passenger seat.

"Aren't we going to make dinner at your flat?"

Sean pulled out of the car park.

"I'm going to need to be working out how these upgrades are working out, Vic. This is going to take the rest of the afternoon and most of tonight. Not everyone can work on a '78 510 Coupe and I only let Mike do it because he's a friend. I'm going to have to figure out everything that he's screwed up so I can fix it all this weekend."

"Dinner tonight was your idea," Vic felt her voice going shrill and tried to breathe.

"Yeah, but things changed. I still want to do dinner; I just want to do it at the track now."

Vic tried to ignore how angry she was. She tried to ignore how hurt she was. She tried to tell herself that this was her being selfish, and she needed to take an interest in Sean's interests.

She tried.

But by the time they made it to Mike's garage, she was fuming.

Sean undid his seatbelt and Vic locked the doors before he could get out.

"Why won't you pick a date to marry me?"

"Come on, let's not rehash this again." Sean unlocked his door but Vic hit the power lock button again.

"No! Do you even want to marry me? Why did you ask if you won't set a date?!"

"Vic, I love you," Sean tried to unlock the door again but Vic was faster.

"Then why won't you set a date?" Vic felt her volume increasing but she didn't bother to monitor it.

"Why is this so important to you? What's wrong with being engaged for a few years?"

Vic felt the air sucked out of her lungs.

Sean took advantage of her shock and escaped the car. Vic watched him walk into the garage, her driver's side door still open from where her fiancé had run.

A few years.

Those three words echoed in her mind. Sean wanted to be engaged for a few years before they set a date. Vic was sure there was someone out there who thought that was a good idea, but she was not that someone.

Slowly, she stepped out of the car. Her feet carried her inside where Sean was talking with Mike. She slid the engagement ring off her finger and grabbed his hand.

"I'll leave your key in your flat." She set the ring in his palm and turned on her heels before marching out the door.

"Vic! Wait!"

She didn't wait. And when she got into her car, she saw that Sean wasn't running after her. Just as well, he obviously didn't want to marry her, why would he actually work for this relationship?

Vic felt numb as she drove to Sean's flat. She didn't cry as she loaded all of her things into grocery sacks she'd found. She didn't flinch as she left her key on his bedside table. She didn't bemoan when she closed his door for the last time.

It wasn't until she was driving home that Vic realized she hadn't told Sean that she'd kissed Ted.

The numbness made her brash and she popped in her headset and called him.

He sent her straight to voicemail, which seemed to solidify Vic's resolve. If he couldn't be bothered with her call then she wouldn't be bothered to tell him this properly.

"Hey, I was going to tell you tonight that I kissed someone that wasn't you a couple of weeks ago. I don't think that matters much now since you didn't want to marry me, but I felt like you should know."

She hung up and suddenly hot angry tears started falling down her face. Her sobbing came in short gasps and Vic had to pull the car to the side of the road because she couldn't see through her tears.

It was all so messed up!

Why had she even been with Sean? Why had she put up with all the things that drove her mad for so long? Why hadn't she been brave enough to get out of the relationship when she'd first realized she was unhappy? Why had she tried to convince herself she was happy?

But what hurt worse than anything else was that in all of this mess, she'd lost Ted, she'd lost her best friend.

When she'd finally cried herself out, Vic drove home. First, she went through and slowly removed all traces of her and Sean together. She deleted every picture of them together. She pulled down every mention of him in every post. She unfollowed, unfriended, and blocked him on every platform. Then she took her wedding binder, pictures of her and Sean that she'd printed off, and everything that reminded her of him and threw it all into the fireplace. She sat on the floor with her knees against her chest and watched the flames slowly smolder everything she'd wanted to destroy.

"Vicky?"

Vic looked up at her dad's concerned face.

"It's over," she sniffed, "and you were right."

Bill was instantly on the floor next to Vic, his strong arms holding her close.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

"Why am I so stupid?" Vic curled into her dad's embrace and let the tears fall again.

"You aren't stupid. We all have moments like these."

"You don't," Vic sniffed. "You do everything right."

Bill laughed. "Victoire, look at my face and my arms. That motorcycle accident before I married your mum was me being brash. I went for a ride on the beach without my helmet, and I over judged a corner. I'm lucky I only ended up with the scars. Trust me, Vic, I'm far from perfect."

"You didn't get engaged to someone you had been trying to convince yourself you loved."

"No, but you figured it out and called it off," Bill squeezed her shoulders.

"Did Maman tell you what I said last night?" Vic figured her dad would be disappointed in her for what she'd done. She had been avoiding him for fear of what he'd think.

"She did, and I can see where you were coming from."

Vic's head shot up, "What?"

"Well, when someone isn't loved by the person kissing them, it makes sense that when a different person comes along who does love them and does treat them the way they deserve, that they'd be inclined to kiss that new person."

Vic curled further in on herself, "It wasn't fair to Ted, though."

"No," Bill stroked her back, "but I would take some time to figure out how you really feel before you go running back to Ted."

"Ted's great!" Vic defended.

Bill chuckled, "He may be, but you just called off your engagement, Vicky, and you quit your job. Take some time to sort out what you want your life to look like before you go jumping into anything, especially a relationship."

Vic rested her head against her dad's chest and nodded.

"Alright," Vic sighed as the flames turned the last of the items in the fireplace into black charcoal. "I'll take some time to figure myself out."

Bill kissed the top of her head.

"You've got this, Vicky, I know you do."

And for the first time in months, Vic thought maybe she might be able to at least do one or two things right.

[rigelmejo]

listening reading method updates

Some updates because I’ve done Listening Reading Method maybe 10-15 hours within the past week and wow is it worth doing (for me) if done properly:

First some notes of what “properly” means for me: It means I’ve done step 2 at some point (since I’m using all books I have at least vague prior context for whether its this past year or in life I’ve seen them before). It means I do step 2 first. Then I do step 3, with parallel text so I keep my place OR do it in Pleco (doing step 3 in Pleco is strangely super effective for me).

So, I’ve been testing my general listening comprehension. How I’ve tested it: listening to some audio file of a chapter I did with L R method, and see if I can understand it better. So no text aid. Also generally some time gap (at least a few days) between when I did L R, and when I listen to test my comprehension.

Limits of test: this is not new material - I have both prior context of the plot, and doing L R method on the material before means I have intensively studied that audio material with L R method at one point. I’m trying to find some ‘totally unknown’ stuff to test with too we’ll see.

Benefits of the test: its easy to compare my progress, because I’ve listened to these audios many times so I know where my ‘comprehension’ of them was at a few months ago. I can more easily compare.

---

So anyway, has L R Method helped listening comprehension? YES god oh my god. 

I listened to Chapter 9 of Guardian’s audiobook just falling asleep, because I didn’t feel like full on L R Method the chapter (I have done Listening Reading Method for chapters 1-8). I could understand enough to follow the entire main plot and all the main scenes - a few descriptive sentences lost me, but I got all the action-related (touched reached stood cried shouted left side pocket held objects movement and set phrases priest uses for certain expressions), key emotion related (like sad cold warm kind sharp worried investigated pushed shivered and set phrases I remember priest using for certain expressions) details, and got all of the main dialogue (this part context helps for though since words like reincarnation and sundial are fairly new to me and I only understand since I already ran into them in previous chapters I’ve done L R Method with). 

I was freaking FLOORED I could just listen and enjoy the story, so today I listened to chapter 1 again. And YEP - same thing applied. I could follow all of the main plot, main scenes, and certain details. I totally missed the part where he talks about his aunt/uncle but I heard his bad grades, got the letter for a job notice, how he hates phone calls, his plan to go, him getting to the place, what the place looked like and Wang Zheng and all the scenes at the job - so like I mentioned, actions/emotions/real objects being interacted with I can mostly follow. The paragraphs of description background (like Guo Changcheng’s upbringing and how his uncle got him a job) are harder for me to catch everything - I am guessing because there’s more description phrases and less straightforward action=response. (For example - xiao guo sees Lao Wu, they respond, so its easy to follow, or he sees Wang Zheng and faints, or he walks into the courtyard and reads the address - all of these moments directly focus on things and react which is easier to follow). 

For the first time I can say I can listen to just the audiobook and follow it enough to enjoy the plot and what’s mainly going on without any text aid. And I’ve only done the listening reading method for 8 chapters! That’s 40-50 minutes a chapter, around 360 minutes or 6 hours. 6 hours spent Listening Reading Method Guardian, and I already see a huge boost in what I can comprehend in listening! (I also did some random L R method chapters of other stuff so add 1-2 hours - that’s still like 8 hours total... that ain’t much). 

Last time I listened to guardian audiobook without any text aid (a few months ago), I could hear some words I knew and some phrases, and had a vague understanding of when he got to the job (heard courtyard and si ming hao), met Lao Wu (i heard him report for duty), when he talked to zhao yunlan and got generally welcomed, met Wang Zheng and thought ‘he has no feet’ and got scared. No fucking details. The vaguest impression of the main plot mainly because I’ve read the chapter before and knew the scenes coming. But that was still eons better than Before That - around 6 months ago i listened to chapter 1 like 5 times until i could hear some phrases instead of just isolated words. 

This time, I could follow things because I could HEAR what was actually going on, not just because I heard some keywords. I could clearly hear the details about Guo Changcheng entering the courtyard, reading the address and special investigations name, go up to Lao Wu and report in and Lao Wu greet him warmly and excitedly mention how lucky it is he came today that their boss is there! And fawn over how cool the boss is, and all the specifics of the convo with Zhao Yunlan (and half of his appearance like how he’s handsome and heroic looking and had a hand in his pocket and seemed cold until he noticed them and smiled and acted warm and friendly). And all the scenes were like that - like with Wang Zheng I could hear all the details of Guo Changcheng freaking out, eventually noticing her head had been cut and it wasn’t a necklace it was like sewn on and how he passed out. It was soooo much better ToT. The amount of comprehension is sooooo much higher than the last time I tried to listen! It shocks me how much better! This is enough comprehension to actually listen and just enjoy it. ToT

So yeah, I’d say Listening Reading Method, as I’m doing it right now, is making noticeable improvements in my reading skill and listening skill. 

So yeah I’m super curious how listening comprehension is gonna be 20 chapters into Listening Reading Method. 

What I do think this would be good for, if you were studying short term? If you wanted to understand a specific audiobook - doing L R Method with the book until you can listen to the rest. It would probably take a short enough amount of study to do within a month if you already have some skills in the language (since this is with 6-8 hours of study). I saw someone once do SRS Flashcard study based on a show they liked in a foreign language, and within a month they could watch that show they liked without english subs and follow the main plot. I think L R Method with a novel works kind of similar - its intensive study on one story. So within a reasonably short amount of time (10-50 hours maybe, something that can be done within a month) you can get enough comprehension skill of that One story to understand it ok. 

I imagine you need to do L R Method longer, and with either a word dense material (lots of varied vocab) or else multiple stories (ideally different authors and genres), in order to get broader listening skill improvement. Like right now my listening skill in general seems to have improved somewhat... but its more like ‘listening to a show without subs’ is now easier. Not like I can turn on a brand new audiobook and follow it this well. So some slightly easier listening activity is now easier, but for other audiobooks I am probably comprehending more but the listening skill improvement is NOT as drastic as it is specifically with Guardian. 

Testing listening comprehension with materials I have not L R Method with:

Alice in Wonderland (story is shorter/simpler than novel): I can follow it mostly when listening only. I can follow it near entirely (know exactly what’s going on just a few words I don’t recognize) if I’m looking at the video (since it has pictures for context - like watching a show). My listening comprehension drops noticeably if I do NOT look at the video visuals for an aid - since I am used to Alice in Wonderland hitting the original novel beats, not this shorter movie-based version. This level of comprehension makes sense, as its written simpler than Guardian so I should have an easier time following details in this. But lack of context means I have to put more effort into figuring out what scene is what if I don’t have any visual cues. So easier ‘written’ audiobook material is much more comprehensible now (easier than Guardian even since I know most words), but I still need context like an image or prior awareness of the overall plot or else I need to pay more careful attention to follow everything: https://youtu.be/HqCg5y8Nwhg

Sherlock Holmes 血字的研究: Some benefit just like Alice in Wonderland in that I have broad context (I know Watson and Sherlock live and work together to solve issues, Watson is a verteran and doctor). First 5 minutes I can vaguely tell its probably Watson narrating, that he lives in London, that before he might have been injured (I heard bing like sick or?) - I’m truly not sure what happened, and now after 5 minutes I heard ‘great friend’ and ‘touched shoulder’ and ‘gaoxing’ so happy. So I’m guessing Sherlock and Watson are interacting now. What improvement in my listening comprehension I can Notice - is that words stick out, phrases, and sentence structures (like finally, since, therefore, actions). So I feel if I paused I might be able to look up some words I notice but can’t understand, to follow along better. As the 2 of them have their conversation I can catch SOME details and I could probably follow what’s going on IF I had some prior context (like what the general case is about). But I only hear - its a pity, what happened last night, poor lad, fangzi, destination. So i’m not sure if someone died or was hurt or what happened the other night?? But again, conversations seem to be the easiest part to follow. For this particular audiobook I almost feel like if I just kept consistently listening or re-listening, I could understand more... like I probably know more words than I’m catching, but since my brain’s working on trying to catch the main gist plot right now its not grasping any details I might otherwise be able to notice. No prior context of plot, no image - hard lol. Unlike guardian, I cannot follow most of it. But I can catch bits of each scene, most clear are the dialogue parts (but cause I have no surrounding contexts I’m still pretty lost). Also the clear action parts are easier to follow (he spoke, moved, reacted to something). Mostly the lack of context is what’s making me struggle. In the descriptions I hear a lot phrases and words I recognize, but I’m struggling to comprehend them together. Unfortunately context is mostly in the description parts I can’t figure out lol. https://youtu.be/J1sbP6_3680

I suspect an audio DRAMA might be a little easier now. Since they’re mostly dialogue, and dialogue seems to be what I’m finding the most improvement in (from very vague to some of the clearest comprehended parts). I listened to tian ya ke audiodrama a few days ago and it was doable to follow along with - but that was before more Listening Reading Method, and of course my prior context (having seen the show/read part of the novel) means it was muchhhh easier to follow cause I had enough context to guess which scene each moment was supposed to be - so I didn’t have to figure out overall context, just details. 

[crackedoutgiraffe]

The Stars In Your Eyes

Part 2: Chapter 1 Part 2: Chapter 2 Part 2: Chapter 3 Part 2: Chapter 4 Part 2: Chapter 5 Part 2: Chapter 6

Master-list

A/N: Thank you to everyone who comments, votes, and re-blogs! Ask to be added to the taglist.

3/1/2017

“You think Reid should have taken the plea deal?” Alves asked as you entered the office that morning. The group of them were standing around Reid’s desk. 

“Absolutely not,” JJ shook her head. 

“Now that it’s off the table,” you interrupted, “he’s looking at 25 years to life.”

JJ furrowed her brow, “so you think he should have?”

“Of course not,” it was a little offensive that she thought you wanted your husband incarcerated for 10 years. “I’m just saying that 25 years is a long time.”

“And as we know, juries are fickle,” Tara added.

“I still can’t believe that the judge denied bail,” Walker sighed.

“Did you guys see the look on his face when they dragged him out of that courtroom?” JJ was looking at the ceiling.

You did see his face and trying to remember it made you sick. Well, it was that or the pregnancy. The morning sickness was kicking your ass. “Excuse me,” you said as you covered your mouth and made your way to the bathroom. JJ knew what was happening and followed you out.

You got on your knees and start to throw up in the toilet. JJ busted in and held your hair back.

“Morning sickness?” she asked. You tried your best to nod, but it was difficult. JJ helped you clean up and the two of you made your way back to the bullpen. The rest of the team had moved into the conference room, so you went and joined them. 

The meeting was about people in Philadelphia being sprayed in the face with acid. You gave you two cents and got ready to go to the airfield.

“Y/N,” Emily called from behind you, “can I speak to you for a moment?”

You nodded and made your way into her office, closing the door behind you, “what’s up?” you said while sitting down in the chair across from her.

“I want you to stay in Quantico for the next few cases,” she gave you a look of sympathy. “With everything happening to Reid and your pregnancy, I want to make sure that you are here, for him and for your baby.”

“I understand,” you nod. It wasn’t your first choice to stay behind, but it was for the best. 

“Also, Reid was transferred from the police precinct to the Milburn correctional facility, which means you may not be able to see him for a while,” she sighed.

You quietly stood from your seat and left the room. The rest of the team was getting ready to leave for the airfield, so you made your way to Garcia’s office.

“Garcia,” you said in a sing-songy voice, “we are going to be spending a lot of time together.” You grabbed a chair from her table and brought it next to her at her desk. 

“You weren’t there when I showed the rest of the team, but I made a chart with the visitation schedule for Reid,” she had a giant smile on her face as she pulled out an insanely colorful poster board.

“Why do you get to go first?” you pointed to her name written in orange marker at the top of the board.

She lowered the poster and gave you a frown, “because I made the chart.”

“Ok,” you giggled.

The rest of the case went off without a hitch. The team was home the next day. Penelope had you write a letter to Spencer. She had gone to get Emily’s letter and came back squealing. She told you that you could go see Reid in prison now you just had to make an appointment first. The next available time was in a week.

3/8/2017

You were sitting in the cold, beige room waiting for Spencer. You watched as a tall black man entered the room and was followed by a group of prisoners, one of whom was Reid. You watched as he b-lined for you. You tried to give him a hug but you were yelled at by one of the guards.

“Is everything ok, it’s not my mom is it?” he asked as the two of you sat down.

“No, she’s fine. She asked where you were,” you smiled. “Cassie said she was having a really good day.”

“Where did you say I was?” he had a small grin on his face.

You chuckled at the answer to his question, “the beach, she asked if that’s where you were. It seemed to make her happy.”

“Good,” the smile on his face grew making your smile much wider. “How’s the baby?”

“Good,” it worried you that he was worried about you. “That reminds me,” you pulled a small black and white photo from your pocket and handed it to him, “I got a sonogram.”

He pointed to the picture and smiled, “this is our baby?” you nodded and watched as he tried to choke back tears.

“How are you doing?” you asked when he looked up from the picture.

“I’m ok,” his voice was breaking as he talked to you. “I’m really happy to see you. I kind of wish you hadn’t come, it’s not a good idea.” He was looking around the room as if someone was going to attack you.

“Sorry,” you smirked, “you’re stuck with me. Garcia has us on shifts and she took first dibs, but they needed her in the office for a case. I was the lucky one.”

Spencer’s eyes became wider, “A case? Y/N, you should not be here.”

“The last time I saw you, you were being dragged out in handcuffs,” you sighed, “I have every right to be here.”

“What’s the case?”

Why does he care about what the case is, “what?”

“The case. I’m assuming you stayed behind,” he seemed to be stuttering. “Unless it’s local, is it local?”

“No. New York,” you giggled a little bit. “Do you really want to hear this?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “I’d love to have something to think about.”

“Ok, last night they found the latest victim, which is the third in the last six weeks,” you started. “He dumps them in alleys. They’re all female, in their 20’s, Equal opportunity, he crosses race lines. Oh, and the media is having a field day. They’re calling him the bone crusher.” The to of you sat and discussed more details about the case for about half an hour. Reid stopped talking when he hears a few of the inmates talking about you. You could see it getting to him.

“It’s ok,” you smiled. “It’s not my first time in a prison. I can handle it.”

“Sorry,” his voice became very quiet. “I don’t want them looking at you.”

“I don’t either,” you smiled, “but if that’s what it costs to come and see you, I’ll be fine.” The smile of his face warmed your heart. You were trying your best to keep him comfortable but you didn’t know what was going through his head.

“Did you guys get my full panel tox screen results yet?” he straightened his back.

“We did,” you looked down at your hands and sighed. “They were negative for scopolamine.”

“How are we going to prove scratch is behind this?” his voice became higher pitched and he was talking a lot faster. You knew he was stressed out and this wasn’t helping.

“We’ll find another way,” if you could keep your voice calm, he might calm down. “It was really late when they took that blood test, you may have metabolized everything.”

“He’s gonna get away with it,” he whispered.

“Spence, please don’t do this,” you leaned closer to him. “If you give up, we have less to work with. We will get you through this.

“Thank you,” his voice cracked when he spoke. You knew he wanted to cry.

“Visiting hours are over,” one of the guards called.

“I’ll be back soon,” you shouted as he walked out of the room. You made your way back to the office and helped the team finish the case.

Taglist:

@la-vie-en-amour1 @vixengustin88

[bush-viper-cutie]

“A Helping Hand” || YEAR 3 – Ch.13 (HP au)

                              Chapter List

<-- Last Chapter                          Next Chapter -->

Day posted: 8/21/2020

Word count: 3,058

Relationship: EVENTUAL severus X oc (slow burn)

Rating: E for everyone

Warnings: none

-----

A/N: This is my first fan fic I’m writing mainly as a way to practice. This is a retelling of the hp books with an inserted character. Although most every character will be written about, this is mostly for the pro snape fandom. Please do not fear, although this is a severus x oc story, it is an incredibly slow burn as I do not intend for them to get together at all until after the final book events. Chapters will be posted twice a week.

This derivative work follows the events of the Harry Potter books by Jk Rowling and is intended as a fun way to practice my writing. Thank you for reading :D

-----

~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~

It was Friday morning and Heather was already up early before the rest of her house, and probably the rest of the school. All night long she had been twisting and turning with fear that her boggart would be incredibly embarrassing. She knew it would spread like wildfire if it was, much like Neville’s boggart. Already all of the Slytherins were talking about it and she didn’t doubt all of the Gryffindors were too.

The sun wasn’t out yet and the ground floor corridor of the staffroom was still dimly lit from the four or so torches at the ends. She didn’t have time to wait for the sun to rise and shine through the castle windows. She looked down the dungeon steps, keeping her ears tuned to the silence. Professor Snape was not – at least not currently – lurking in the shadows below.

She turned back. It was a clear shot to the staffroom. She un-crouched and ran to the wall the staffroom door was on and crept forward, passed the library doors, looking in for Madam Pince who also appeared not to be an early bird. The gargoyles were still asleep with brows furrowed. She opened the door and stepped in, closing it behind her and turning on her wand light. The staffroom was completely empty except for a handful of armchairs, a couch, and the wardrobe at the very back.

She walked up to the wardrobe and knocked. It wobbled, scaring her back before she composed herself and reached for the knob. All she had to do was pull it open, see what her boggart was, say the charm, and leave. That was simple. The wardrobe thumped loudly and the doors rattled, making her doubt how good of an idea this was.

“Harry could do this.” She nodded and steadied her shaking hand. “Harry has faced Voldemort three times now… I can face a silly boggart.”

At her words the doors rattled more violently, as if insulted. She gripped the knob and turned it but the door wouldn’t pull out. She tried the other door but the doors wouldn’t budge. The wardrobe was unlocked but closed with a seal. She needed the spell that produced sparks and opened the doors. She dropped her hands and cursed to herself.

She didn’t think Professor Lupin just had the counter spell laying around his office. He knew it nonverbally. She groaned and kicked at the ground, slowly heading back over to the staffroom door. She poked her head out and listened for any echoed steps or tiny pitter patters. Whatever time it was now, the whole castle was asleep.

This time she didn’t creep along the wall on her way back. She stopped at the library and out of curiosity pulled on the doors, hearing them creak open. She looked around and pulled them further, stepping into the eerily dark library. There was no Madam Pince to give her a menacing welcome glare as she walked past her desk. Heather headed to the back door where she served detention in and slipped in.

“So dusty,” she coughed. She spotted the large wood door in the back and ran to it, gripping the doorknob. “Please be open!” It was not. The door thumped as she pulled, locked in place. She stepped back and rubbed her hands together. “Knox.” She held out her wand at the doorknob and started down the list of charms she knew. “Alohomora, Recludo, Decierra, Resero!” Nothing.

She sighed. She should head back before people started waking up. The last thing she wanted was to get caught and have to serve another detention in here repairing old books. She was halfway out the door when she turned and held her wand out. “Aparecium?”

There was a green glow along the edges of the large door. It seemed to morph and the hinges appeared on the other side while the door knob shriveled away and regrew on the opposite side. She ran back and pulled the door open, turning on her wand light.

There were books of all sizes on shelves inside. It was a secret book closet. She pulled out a small book off the middle shelf and flipped through it. “‘Banned Herbs and Ivies’.” She set it down on the table and pulled out several more. “‘Transfigurations for Inspection’, ‘Prohibited Potions’?” These were all books of things outlawed by the Ministry, with no seal of approval on any of the spines.

Were these the types of books Draco’s father had in his library? They weren’t dark arts stuff though. She rearranged the shelves to look like no books had been taken out and scooped up the ones she had already. She closed the door and watched it morph back to its mirrored self.

She was out the door and down the corridor towards the great hall, bounding down to the second Slytherin house entrance as far away from Professor Snape’s office as possible. She whispered the password and headed down the steps into the common room, finally able to catch her breath.

Her heart was beating out of her chest and she couldn’t believe what she’d done. This was certainly expulsion worthy. She jumped as a first year Slytherin coughed at one of the desks and quickly headed back to her room, making sure to keep the books as hidden as possible incase her dormmates were awake at all. She lifted her mattress and stuffed the books at the foot end of her bed, not wanting to risk Pansy going through her trunk again.

The rest of the day went by agonizingly slow. Every break she excused herself from her friends to check the books were still in place and every time a professor looked her way she froze, sure they had caught her. She was nearly sick when Professor McGonagall asked her to her office, only to find out she was asking if Harry was still ok after the dementor encounter.

“Heather?”

She jumped and turned back around to face Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They were sitting outside in the courtyard doing essays. It was Saturday morning now and she was still terrified she was yet to be caught.

“Why are you so jumpy?” Harry was crossing his arms, knowing she acted like that when she was worried about a secret she shouldn’t know.

“Oh. It’s nothing.” She turned back as footsteps grew louder, but it was only Marcus walking passed.

“You’re as bad as Hermione,” Ron grumbled.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Hermione opened her book back up and continued her ancient runes essay. “If Heather says its nothing that its nothing. And I don’t care how many times you ask; I’m managing my way just fine.”

“No. You know a secret. What is it?” Harry shook Heather’s arm. “Tell us!”

What could she say? She couldn’t tell them about the books, they’d want to read them and who knows what those spells would do. And she couldn’t tell them her only other secret. They’d kill her. She opened her mouth, willing more ideas forward until she remembered what she’d found out from Professor Snape.

“Marcus is holding full team tryouts today, and he doesn’t know me or Draco know. They’re later tonight.”

“Already? Quidditch season isn’t until October. And isn’t he only missing one player?”

“Harry,” she crossed her arms at him, “Unlike you, I’m not a beloved Quidditch player. I have to actually work to stay on the team.”

Harry’s face went red. “I work at it too!”

“I didn’t see you train once this summer.”

“Neither did you!”

Heather looked away, forgetting he wouldn’t know she had trained for a full week with Draco. “Right. But I’ve been working out, which counts.”

Ron laughed, “You? Working out?”

“Ron! Don’t be rude!” Hermione tried to hold in her laugh.

Heather scoffed and stood. “Well I HAVE been!” She picked up her stuff and headed to lunch, grumbling the whole way. She tensed her arm and poked at it, feeling what she thought was some muscle, though she wouldn’t really know for sure. She had been working out for two months almost and her arms didn’t look any bigger than when she first started.

She found Draco and sat down next to him. “How’re you supposed to do tryouts with your arm still in that thing?”

He set down his fork and clutched his arm tight. “Gee, I don’t know if I can, Potter.”

“Heather! You know he’s hurt!” Pansy placed her hand over Draco’s, “Are you ok?”

Draco nodded and looked back at Heather. “I’ll be there though. Don’t worry about that.”

She figured that was code for ‘I’ll just take off the sling and play’, which was fine with her. Maybe she should invite Harry to watch so they could catch him playing just fine with his arm. Not like that would help with anything since Draco could just say they’re lying.

“So, how’re you thinking of beating Warrington and Montague?”

Heather nearly choked on her juice. She had completely forgotten she had a plan for one of them. She stood up and looked for Fred and George. They weren’t at lunch. She left the table and headed up to Gryffindor tower and knocked on the fat lady.

Neville opened the door and stepped out. “You looking for Harry?”

“I need to talk to Fred and George.”

He shook his head, “They’re not here.”

She nodded and headed back down the steps, finding it incredibly harder to breath. She had forgotten to talk to them yesterday. Now how was she going to get one of the chasers to not show up for tryouts? She couldn’t compete against them… she wasn’t strong enough yet. She got off on a random floor and sat down on a bench, covering her face with her hands. She wasn’t going to make it into the Quidditch team this year.

Someone cleared their throat next to her. Her head shot up and Professor Lupin was standing there looking down at her awkwardly.

“Curious that you’d be placed in Slytherin house while Harry was placed in Gryffindor.”

Heather nodded, “We aren’t that similar.”

“No. I suppose you’re not…” He sat down next to her on the bench. “Is everything alright? You seemed bothered.”

Heather looked down at his tattered robes and shrugged. “I may not make it onto the Quidditch team this year.”

“Oh? Why not? You were on it last year, I heard.” He smiled but his eyes were distant. He was looking a lot better than when he was on the train with them. He’d gained some wait and his cheeks no longer looked hollow.

“Last year no one really showed up for tryouts. This year Cassius Warrington and Graham Montague are trying out as Chasers and… well I was hoping one of them wouldn’t make it to tryouts…” She was hoping Fred and George had more of last year’s sleeping potion.

“Chaser? Why not Seeker? Your d-brother is Seeker. I’m sure you’d be just as great as he – ”

Heather stood up and started pacing. “No. Harry is Seeker and I hate being compared to him. Everyone always compares me to him so I want to be good at something different. I’m a lot better than him in a lot of things but no one notices because he’s ‘The Boy Who Lived’.”

He seemed to flinch at the mention of Harry’s title. He glanced away and chuckled, looking back at her. “Oh, believe me, I know what that feels like.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “It’s hard being someone’s shadow – of course I wouldn’t know what it’d be like to be my sibling’s shadow – but I do know how hard it can be at times.”

Heather sat back down, “Who were you the shadow of?”

He smiled. “A friend. He was very popular without even meaning to – well, that’s not true. He definitely meant to be popular – I guess he just didn’t really need to try. I, on the other hand, had to try very hard – much harder. And sometimes it never felt enough.”

Heather nodded and leaned back against the wall. “That’s how it feels. Everyone loves him even though we’ve been through the same stuff… kinda. And he doesn’t try.”

Professor Lupin stood up. “Who was it you were hoping wouldn’t show to tryouts? I may have a few tasks I need help with,” he winked.

Heather thought for a moment. “Warrington.”

His mustached smile pulled up into a grin. “Ah, what a coincidence. I believe I have some words for him about his essay he turned in yesterday.” He started down the hall, leaving Heather smiling on the stone bench.

Hours later, after dinner, she was standing on the Quidditch pitch next to Graham. It was getting dark and Marcus was pacing in front of them with his hands behind his back, looking out into the grassy lawns for any sign of Cassius. The minutes went by and Heather’s smile was growing as Marcus’ frown deepened.

“Alright,” he said finally. “Let’s begin.”

They went through the same drills as last year but harder. Graham threw the Quaffle with his full force at her, bruising her arms and ribs, and chin at one point. Tryouts were awful, and she knew she’d hardly be able to walk tomorrow, but the look of surprise on Marcus’ face when they showed up and better yet when Cassius didn’t was worth the pain.

She threw the Quaffle a lot farther and straighter than last year, and she didn’t drop it once. Her sweat dripped down her face and the cold wind stung her eyes but she did it. She pulled through. She ended the Chaser tryouts and touched down next to Graham.

“Nice tryouts,” Graham muttered and left the pitch.

She nodded and turned to Draco. “Good luck.”

“Won’t need it,” he smirked and handed her his sling.

Draco took off and Heather watched him pull off the Seeker drills against one other person who had the same problems Draco had last year. This time Draco wasn’t wobbly and never swerved when he looked behind him or to the side, keeping a straight line to the snitch.

She watched Marcus who didn’t seem as angry as when they started. Draco touched back down and they both stayed to watch the Beater tryouts, not too interested in who would take the spots. She handed him his sling back and they decided to leave.

“Did you have something to do with Warrington not showing up?”

Heather shook her head and hid her smile. “No. I didn’t do anything.”

They were heading up the lawn when Cassius and Professor Snape exited the castle entrance, both looking very mean. The four of them came to a halt and Professor Snape stared her down.

“Am I to assume you tried out?” Professor Snape’s voice was bordering on being venomous.

Heather and Draco nodded.

“And I suppose you think you’ve made it onto the team, since Warrington never made it.” Professor Snape stared into her eyes with a piercing intensity.

“Well,” she swallowed, “There were only two spots open… and only Graham and I – ”

He gave her a sickly smile. “Don’t think you’ve made the team just yet. Potter. See, Warrington was – mistakenly – held up. Something I will make sure Flint understands.”

Warrington smirked and the both of them continued down.

“What did you do?” Draco was laughing.

“Nothing.” She watched them enter the Quidditch pitch and turned back.

They continued into the castle and split off. She headed to the library to meet up with Hermione, Harry, and Ron. They were sitting in the back and waved to her as she entered. Harry and Hermione ran to her, excited to know how she’d done.

“Fine… Cassius didn’t show up so I should get the spot…” She sat down and drummed her fingers on the table. “But then he did after it was over…”

“Then you did it,” Ron tried to reassure her. “If tryouts were over then he couldn’t try out.”

Hermione had also noticed her mood. “It’s in the rules.”

“But Professor Snape went down with him.”

Harry groaned loudly, earning an angry shushing from Madam Pince. “What’s he got against us! He just wants Heather not on the team.”

“Oh Harry, why would he want that. She’s a Slytherin.”

“Because she’s a Potter. And he hates me.”

Heather scoffed, “Not everything is about you.” They were all silent for a while and Heather got up. “I’m going to bed early. I’m tired and it’s almost curfew.”

She left and headed down the dungeon stairs, thinking about how Marcus was probably relieved to give Cassius a chance. Anything to not have her on the team. She wouldn’t be as good, and she was smaller, and not as strong. All she had going for her was her speed. Maybe she should have tried out as Seeker and just deal with being the second-best Seeker in the school after Harry.

She entered the common room and saw that Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were at a desk in the back, laughing at whatever stupid thing Draco had said. Pansy was with her friends on the opposite side of the room chatting away. She thought about what Professor Lupin had said, about trying harder to be popular.

She lived as Harry’s shadow, but in her own house she also felt she was a shadow of Draco and Pansy. They weren’t friends, but they talked often, and she also talked to most of their friends without really being friends with anyone. She was just as known as them, but she was not popular at all.

She sighed and headed into the girl’s dorms to take a long bath in one of the cramped tubs. She made sure to actually untangle her hair as she washed it for once. After toweling off and dressing she brushed through her hair again and put it in braids before heading to bed.

If she didn’t make it onto the Quidditch team she’d focus on something else. Something more than just grades. The only friends she had were all Gryffindors, so maybe she could start being friends with her own housemates… the good ones at least – or… the ones who didn’t hate muggles.

~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~

                          Chapter List

<-- Last chapter                       Next chapter -->

-----

@lokilover-39

@halcyonrogers

@krazykatkay456

@lady-of-black-roses

@writingmi

-----