#ok take a long walk off a short bridge now bye

[just-somedude]

.

[thedeathdeelers]

juke + fairy lights

again, this was supposed to be shorter but like..you know. hope you enjoy tho 🥺

——

He knew she was miserable.

She had caught a cold a few days ago, and she was going through it. Her nose was clogged up, her throat so sore she barely had a voice, and whenever Luke watched her try to get up and out of bed, she would lose her balance, nearly toppling over. Thankfully he had been there every single time to catch her, steadying her before leading her back into bed.

But now, sitting on the beanbag in her bedroom watching her as she scowled up at her ceiling, he knew he had to do something. Anything. He didn’t like seeing her like this, understanding all too well what she was going through - he remembered how awful it felt being stuck indoors doing absolutely nothing for days on end while watching everyone around you go about their day. She was a kindred spirit - he knew exactly how she felt.

Luke sneaked a look at Julie again only to find her staring out her window, a slight frown taking over her features.

Over the last few weeks, before Julie had gotten sick and had gotten stuck indoors, they had started spending their nights lying down side by side on the roof terrace outside her window, watching the stars twinkling away against the dark inky expanse of the night sky. Luke had seen the way Julie watched the sky, a look of wonder in her eyes followed by a smile that transformed up her face, conveying the unadulterated happiness she felt surrounded by the miracle of nature.

But now she was stuck inside, hidden from the lights that brought her so much joy.

Turning his head towards the window, Luke peered up at the night sky littered with stars stretching out as far as the eyes could see. For a fleeting second he had thought of suggesting they sit by her window on the floor and watch the shimmering spectacle from there, but had thought better of it. He knew it wouldn’t be the same, and he definitely didn’t want to move her from her bed or risk make her more tired than she already was.

He racked his brain trying to think up of an alternative, of a way to make her day a little brighter, when he suddenly remembered a picture Julie had shown him of her and Flynn posing in Flynn’s bedroom a while ago. He remembered being completely focused on the Julie in the picture at the time in her cropped Double Trouble t-shirt, but now that he thought back to it, he vaguely remembered seeing a string of lights twinkling away behind the girls in the background.

Hm, maybe...

With a tentative idea forming in his mind, Luke shot up from his seat, bouncing over to where Julie was lying on her bed. He kneeled down beside her, coming face to face with a sorrowful looking Julie.

“Hey,” he whispered, his fingers grazing her cheeks.

“Hi,” she mouthed back, her voice still absent after days of coughing and a sore throat.

“I’m going to go check on something with the guys, but I’ll be right back, okay?”

He watched as the corner of her lips tugged down, a slight pout forming.

She nodded at him, even though he could tell she wasn’t happy about him leaving her.

“I swear I won’t be long, just need to do something real quick.”

She nodded again, her bottom lip jutting out a little more. He chuckled, dropping a kiss to her forehead before getting up and poofing out of her room. He knew if he had spent a second longer looking at her pout, he would have caved and stayed put.

But no - the idea in his head was now fully formed and he wanted to do this for her. He was getting excited just thinking about the small chance that he might be able to make her feel a little better. He had to at least try.

He poofed into Carlos’ room, happy to find the littlest Molina playing on his iPad - communicating with him this time ‘round would be easy.

He moved in closer, clicking the lock screen button 3 times, just as Reggie had instructed him to. As soon as the third click sounded, Carlos’ head whipped up in his direction.

“Reggie?” Carlos quickly swiped out of the game he was playing, and switched to the program Luke knew how to use.

Holding out his iPad in Luke’s general direction, Luke grabbed the fake fancy pen attached to Carlos’ iPad he was told to use, and started typing out his message.

Watching the screen as letters and words started to appear, Carlos corrected himself.

“Ah, hey boy band.”

It usually got on Luke’s nerves when Julie’s little brother still insisted on calling him that, but right now he had more important things to focus on.

He finished typing out his request, and waited. Not a minute later, Carlos reached for his phone and started dialling the number Luke needed.

“Hey Flynn...no everything’s fine. What? How could you say that...I always call just to say hi...no.... Okay fine yeah, boy band needs something. No, not Alex. He’s drumstick. Yeah. Hers.”

Hers?

“Yeah, she’s still pretty sick, I think. Hasn’t really left her room for a few days, but neither has he, according to Reggie.”

Luke could hear Flynn’s eye roll all the way from the other side of the line.

“Yup, pretty much. Uh yeah so he- uh, I think he’s asking if he can borrow your star lights? I don’t know he just said uh-” Carlos referred back to his iPad, rereading Luke’s request. “Yeah, that’s what he said. I don’t know Flynn. Fairy-” Carlos turned his head back towards Luke, and asked “Do you mean fairy lights?”

Luke wasn’t entirely sure what they were called, but he figured they were on the right path.

He typed out his quick reply onto the screen, and watched as Carlos relayed his message to Flynn.

“Okay, yup. Cool, I’ll let him know. Okay okay, yes. Ok bye Flynn!” Carlos quickly hung up even though Luke was pretty sure he could still hear Flynn talking on the phone.

“So boy band, Flynn said the lights will be ready in like 5 minutes. She’ll leave them on her windowsill. She said to just grab them and leave, but she’ll want them back once Julie’s feeling better. She’s assuming they’re for Julie so..”

Carlos shrugged, and went back to his game, losing any and all interest in the ghost still standing in his room.

Luke reached out and quickly ruffled Carlos’ hair, poofing out just in time to hear an indignant yelp escape Carlos as he attempted to swipe at the space Luke had just vacated.

He reappeared outside Flynn’s house, taking his time walking around the perimeter of her house, keeping an eye on each first floor window he saw, unsure of which one led to Flynn’s bedroom. On his third walk around the house, he spotted a bundle of cables with stars attached to them sitting on the outside ledge of one of the windows on the North facing side of the house.

Luke poofed up, balancing precariously on the much smaller rooftop terrace as he grabbed the lights, waving them in the air once he noticed Flynn watching from the other side of window pane.

“You better take good care of her, lover boy,” she said, pointing a finger at him. “And don’t break my lights!”

With one final wave of the lights in his hand, Luke poofed out of there, quietly landing back in Julie’s bedroom. He hid the lights behind his back as he checked on her, making sure she wasn’t looking at him.

Once he was assured that she was asleep, Luke started setting up.

He started by hanging the lights around the top of her bed frame, the higher up, the better. He strung them across her ceiling, making sure to hook up the end of the fairy lights onto the hanging rod of her curtains. He then proceeded by wrapping the rest of the lights down the sides of her bed posts, leaving a couple of the soon-to-be blinking lights to pool onto the foot of her bed.

Satisfied with his work, Luke switched off every single light in her bedroom, plugged in the fairy lights and settled himself next to her on the bed, leaning against the headboard as he watched her sleep, a peaceful expression on her face.

Now all he had to do was wait.

——

A few hours later, while Luke was working through a difficult bridge in his head, his eyes closed as he rested against the headboard, he felt Julie shifting next to him.

He opened his eyes and found that she had turned to face him, her stare fixed on him.

“Hey sleepyhead,” he whispered, a small smile appearing on his lips.

Julie’s lips twitched, her hand appearing from under the covers to wave at him.

“You feeling a little better?” His fingers reached out, pressing against her forehead to check for any signs of the fever that had finally gone down yesterday.

At her nod, his smile transformed itself into a grin.

“Good, ‘cause I’ve got a little surprise for you.”

He could already feel the ball of worry in his chest getting lighter at the way her eyes lit up at the mention of a surprise.

“Come on, close your eyes. I just need you to sit up a tiny bit, though.” At his words, her eyes slid shut, her arms coming out from under the covers to push herself up into a slight sitting position. Once there was a little bit more space behind her for Luke to fit, he took his spot, slipping in between her and her headboard. He placed his hands on her waist, pulling her back towards him as they both settled themselves into a comfortable position, his legs on either side of her.

Once they were set, she leaned back against his chest, her head nestled in the crook of his neck, her eyes still closed but her smile a little wider.

“You ready?” He whispered in her ear, his hands lightly squeezing her sides once.

She nodded.

“Alright. You can open your eyes, boss.”

At his words, Julie’s eyes fluttered open, immediately followed by a small gasp escaping her as she took in their surroundings. Her hands shot up to cover her mouth before they landed back down into the bed a few seconds later in search of his.

He shifted his hands from her sides, moving them to rest on her stomach. Her hands instantly followed suit as she covered his with her smaller, softer ones, her fingers gripping onto his.

He watched her as she took in the show, the glimmering lights above and all around them reflected in her eyes.

Luke nudged her temple with his nose before placing a kiss on the soft skin under her ear.

“I figured since we couldn’t go outside to watch the stars, I’d bring them to you,” he whispered.

Julie’s hands tightened their grip on his, her eyes not leaving the spectacle in front of her.

As he continued to watch her, her eyes flitting from one dancing light to the other, he noticed a lone tear making its way down her cheek.

“Jules? Jules! Are you okay? Is something wrong?” Why was she crying? Did he do something wrong? Was it because he had moved her? Wha-

But before he could start to fully panic, Julie simply shook her head, before turning to face him.

“It’s perfect,” came her quiet whisper. “Thank you, Luke.”

At her words, Luke let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding in. “Of course Julie, anything for you. You know that.”

She stared at him for a few more minutes, the look in her eyes morphing into something that had his stomach erupting into thousands of fluttering butterflies.

“I love you,” she mouthed, her lips tilting up at the corners.

Three simple words. Three simple life changing words.

Luke could do nothing but stare at her, his mouth hanging slightly open, as his brain tried to process what was happening. Sure he had been head over heels for her from the moment he laid eyes on her, the moment he heard her sing. But to have her here in his arms, actually saying these words to him - he felt like he had somehow crossed over, finally making it into Heaven.

In his momentary daze at her proclamation, he had barely noticed Julie shifting again in his embrace, just enough so that she could cup his cheek with her hand.

“Luke?” She whispered questioningly. The sensation of her thumb brushing against his cheekbone jerked him out of his stupor, his hand coming up to press hers closer to his face.

“I love you too.” His voice was low, quiet & soft, but still full of all the conviction he could muster. At his reply, her eyes crinkled up with the force of the smile that was taking over her face.

He loved her. He loved her. He loved her.

He brushed her hand against his face, moving his head just enough so that he could place a kiss on the palm of her hand. The smile on her face didn’t budge as she withdrew her hand, turning her head around so that she was facing the lights in front of them once again.

She settled herself back against his chest as Luke wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, bringing her closer to him, closer to her place in his heart.

FIN

[drreidfics]

Dr. Reid and the Broken Girl pt1.

DR. REID AND THE BROKEN GIRL (Working Title)

Characters : SpencerReid x FemReader

Warnings : Abuse, Hints of Self Harm.

CAUTION // TW // THIS BOOK DEALS WITH MATURE CONTENT SUCH AS PROFESSOR AND STUDENT RELATIONSHIP, SEXUAL ASSULT, SELF HARM, MENTAL ILLNESS AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE. IT ALSO INCLUDES A LOT OF RATED-R MATERIAL. IF THIS IS TRIGGERING OR MAKES YOU UNCOMFORTABLE THEN PLEASE DON’T READ.

Here I am again, on the floor, begging him to stop. There he is again, laughing at my pleas and forcing himself inside of me. Almost every night he climbs into my bed, then in the morning, he pretends everything is normal. When anyone is around, he acts charming. He is able to trick everyone into thinking everything is fine. Well, it's not.

My phone buzzed to life at the side of me. The alarm was going off but I had been up for hours, staring at the flecks of dust dancing around the air. The sunlight streamed in through my thin, white drapes. It was beautiful out. It was the middle of May and bound to be hot out in Arizona. I could feel the warmth on my skin already. I needed to shower and get all this sticky sweat off my skin. It wasn't even mine. I felt disgusting. His touch lingered everywhere on me. The bruises he gave me stained my skin more than the self inflicted cuts.

'Morning Ms. y/l/n. Last night was lovely. See you at lunch?'. It was a text from Mr Reid. He was my psychology professor. Older than me, at thirty, he had long dark hair and deep brown eyes. His hair curled slightly at the end. He was tall and slim. Smart and nerdy, having two degrees and a doctorate, he left his job at the FBI for something less mentally draining. He had worked there since he was twenty-two.  I was twenty-one making our age gap quite small. Look at me, trying to convince myself that it even mattered. He was a lovely guy. Friendly, and handsome. He wouldn't fall in love with a student, and if he did, that student would never be me. He was too smart for that.

"Morning Dr. Reid. Thank-you for taking me. It was a fun eve! Yes, see you at lunch. We can have a chat about the stuff we saw yesterday =)". I read the message over and over again before hitting send. I was nervous as I usually always say stupid things. My low self esteem affected me very much. I was twenty-one, already with one degree and going back to do another. I was still living at Sharon's and I haven't had a boyfriend. He texted me back instantly.

"Can't wait! Need a lift to school? =)" I smiled down at my battered iPhone 6. I couldn't afford a brand new phone. I was lucky in that I only had to work a few hours a week at the local book store and that it was something I enjoyed doing. Sharon was good to me. She helped me pay for and make my way through college. I don't know what or where I would be without her. On the other hand, she brought the human spawn of the devil into my life.

"No thnx, Luna is picking me up =)" I sent but then instantly regretted it. I love my best friend but I would have preferred a ride with Dr. Reid. Our conversations were always interesting and insightful. We could talk about a wide range of subjects for hours and it would only feel like minutes passed.

"Ok, see u soon Y/N"

I smiled, almost forgetting my problems before catching glimpse of myself in the mirror. My fragile, battered body stared back. I sighed. He could never find a girl like me attractive. Not that it mattered anyway. Silly little girl crush.

After debating whether it was best to just find the nearest bridge in town and throw my self off or get ready for school (I am very mentally unwell), I decided on the latter. Luna had already texted me to inform me that she was about to set off. Knowing Luna, which I have had the pleasure of knowing for fifteen years (no sarcasm in there), ten minutes would be ten years.

I staggered down the dreaded stairs, almost losing my footing a few times, feeling light headed. I entered the brightly lit kitchen. It was so bright that I could feel an aching behind my eyes. The decor was simplistic, all white with gold features. Classic business mom who is never home asthetic going on.

       Sharon sat at the island, face absorbed in her laptop. She was in her late forties with short, mousey hair. I believe she would be referred to as a 'Karen'. She looked nothing like Dom. She was short, like me, and fairly slim. He was tall and muscular with broad shoulders. Quarterback star player with the strength to show for it. He could snap us both in half. Dominic is Sharon's only child. Yes, that is correct. She is not my mum. I lost her.

Sharon looked up at me, flashing me a warm smile, still bashing the keys to her MacBook. She took a sip of her black coffee, nibbling on some cold toast. "You look like shit" she stated; matter of factly, her face blank.   '"Thanks?'" I answered with a raised eyebrow. I walked over to the coffee machine and put in a pod, sticking my travel cup underneath. 77Kcals of goodness. All the fuel I will need this morning. "Sweetheart, don't act like that. You know I'm just saying. You need to sleep more" '"I know" I sighed. It was true... "But that makes two of us" I retorted cheekily with a grin.        "Oh sweetheart, don't I know it" she raised her cup as if toasting the comment before gulping the last bit of coffee.

Sharon was my guardian, though not anymore as I was an adult and of drinking age. She still cared for me though as if I were her own. My mom died when I was seven and my dad had a breakdown. He couldn't cope. One day I came home from school and he was gone. He didn't say a word to anyone. He packed up his stuff and  left me. I hated him for a while. The anger within me burned to my core. After a while I felt sympathy. He didn't get the help that he needed. If he did then we both wouldn't be in this mess. We'd be happy - together. I doubt he would know how to contact me now.

Aunt Sharon took me in. She wasn't really my aunt, she was my mom's best friend. She was the only connection to my mother that I had left besides her wedding ring. She loved her dearly and I believe she loves me dearly too. It's not her fault she can't protect me. She works herself to death trying to help me live my dreams. Dom wasn't the child that she had always wanted. He is doing nothing with his life. That is something I will alway's respect of her, single mom raising her child and somebody else's.

I loved her, though she did have the tendency to dish out tough love which often was way - way too harsh. And she was always away leaving me with him. I knew that if I'd only just tell her what he was capable of... What he would do to me when she left... She'd have murdered him herself with her bare hands. But it would kill her. I couldn't do that to her. He was the only thing she had who was blood. Me, I had no-one.

"shit! Is that the time? I'm going to be late. I gotta go, honey. Say bye to Dom for me." she pleaded as she stuffed the last slice of toast in her mouth and gathered her briefcase and her keys. " ...And make sure you have something to eat. You're wasting away!"                                   "Have a good day at work Shaz" I shouted after her. I doubt that she heard me. She was out the door in seconds, jangling her keys and fighting between speaking with me and the ringtone on her work mobile. I heard her professional, scripted 'Hello, Sharon Cormack speaking' as the door slammed behind her.

I made my way through the spotless kitchen Gina, Sharon's housekeeper, always did a good job. I grabbed a bottle of water out of the integrated refrigerator. I also grabbed my iced latte from the coffee machine. It was almost half eight. My first classes start at nine and Luna still wasn't anywhere in sight. I scrambled through my purse for my phone, ready to give her a piece of my mind. That girl would be late to her own funeral.

"You're up early" a voice from behind me sneered. It took all my might to not to curl up in a ball, trembling.

"I... I have school"

No reply. I felt him creeping up behind me, felt his breath against my neck.

"I can think of something much better to do with the day baby"  he whispered as he planted acid kisses on my neck. It burned. I squeezed my eyes shut, putting my hands up defensively. He pushed my back into the counter. A sharp pain ran though me.

"Please stop. I have to go" I whispered as his hand snaked its way up my neck, fist knotting tightly in my hair.

'"Why do you think a whore like you has the right to tell me what to do, hm?"

'- Hello? Katy?'  Luna's smooth voice called out in sing song.

Oh, thank god for her and her timing. He released me from his grasp and increased the distance between us. His eyes were clouded. I could tell he was pissed. I brushed passed him, running towards Luna, who was standing by the open door. I ran straight into her arms hugging her tightly.

"I thought you'd never show." I whispered. She rested her chin on my shoulder, stroking my hair. I could tell that she was staring daggers at Dom and I could tell he didn't care. Like I said, the same routine. Every morning.

By the time lunch rolled around I had had enough. had gotten into a lot of trouble with Ms. Hallows over an overdue assignment and I had spilt water all down the front of my jeans. It looked like I had pissed myself. My saving grace is that they were dark jeans and so it wasn't too noticable. That didn't stop Georgie from laughing and calling me pissy pants for half the day.

Georgie was the kind of girl that you would avoid in high school. Everybody wanted to be her but everyone hated her so bad. She had golden brunette locks, a slim face and a petite nose. Her friends Nova and Ari were just as bad. Everyone used to tell you that when you left high school things would be different. I am sorry to inform you that they don't. Bullies stay bullies forever.

I forced my way through the groups of students, crowded together in the corridors. The last thing I wanted was to be late for my chat with Mr. Reid

"Y/N" I heard Luna calling after me. I could tell that she was chasing me through the crowd of students.  "Y/N. Look, Y/N stop." I rolled my eyes.

"What?" I snapped. I could see the hurt in her eyes. She leaned on the wall, panting. I sighed. "I'm sorry. What's wrong?" I asked. I felt bad for snapping at her. All she wanted was answers, like anyone would have after walking in on what she did. But I don't give answers. I shut down. I don't tell anyone anything. She tried talking once we got in the car. I ignored her and I ran once we'd arrived at school. She didn't even need to speak. I could just tell what she wanted to talk about from the look on her face. I sighed again.

"Luna, I can't talk about this right now."  I saw the hurt in her eyes. If I kept pushing her away then eventually she wouldn't fight to stay. 'Good', a small voice whispered in my head. Maybe that would be for the best. She deserves better. Everyone does. I could just end my life today and nobody would care. I used to fight hard against the suicidal ideations that entered my mind but now I didn't see the point.

"I have my meeting and I can't be late. Taco Bell after classes?" I asked. To my relief, she smiled and nodded, that beautiful smile that I loved so much. She was so easy to please. I smiled and walked away towards room 1980. Dr. Reid's office.

"I love you!" she shouted after me smiling.

"I love you more!"

"Lesbians" Georgie mocked. She was stood near the bathrooms. I rolled my eyes.

"Grow up"

Luna was gay but we weren't together. We had been intimate a few times but nothing had come of it. But so what if it had? We both agreed it felt weird as we had known each other as friends for so long. We didn't want to ruin anything. Luna and I had been friends ever since she opened up my juice box for me in kindergarten and then hit the girl who had stolen my straw. We had been inseparable ever since. She's been with me through thick and thin. I'd hate to think where I'd have been if she hadn't been there when my mom had died. We are and will alway's be the best of friends. In another life I could see us growing old together, adopting puppies and children but sometimes, it doesn't work out. And if you love someone, you have to let them go.

I opened the door to 1980 and as soon as I did my heart fluttered in my chest. There he was, as beautiful as ever. He looked up from the book he was reading, glasses perched on his nose and smiled, he seemed glad to see me.

"Sweetie!" he said, a smile spreading across his gorgeous lips. He's the only person who calls me that.

"Dr. Reid"  I smiled back. My smile was huge and I probably looked so dorky but I don't care. My day just got brighter. I pulled up a chair next to him and kicked my feet up onto his lap. He rested his hand on my calf.

"So what did you think to the book?"

[bnhababyyyy]

Bro’s before that kinda bro

Part 8/?

A/n: Yeah we’re almost done guys!!! This chapter took a long time too but I enjoyed writing it! I hope u guys r doing ok and that this chapter finds you well❤️

—————————————-

You paced back and forth around the common room, with the girls watching you. This was an important moment, you needed to prove yourself to them. Mina leaned forward on the couch, eyes trained onto you. “We gave you as much information as we could possibly give…”

“I hope you pass the test (Y/n)... it may be hard to complete.” Uraraka finished.

Momo crossed her legs, “I know you can do it…. Jirou ask the questions!”

Jirou nodded. “First question… when you walk past him what do you do?”

“Scoff and look away!” You didn’t miss a beat.

“Right. When he asks why you’re at his house what do you say?”

“I'm not here for you, everything isn’t about you anymore.”

She nodded. “And if he asks ‘Can we be friends again?’ What do you say.”

“Uhm.” You stopped in your tracks. “I would say that I...I would kind of like that, and I really do miss him and if he’s ready to be friends again-“

The girls groaned, throwing pillows at you until you sat back down. It was a sunny afternoon and you were practicing how to approach Todoroki’s house since you would be going there. You needed help learning assertive behaviors and thought that the girls would be the best of help in being assertive with him.

The night before Midoriya had asked if you could join dinner with him at the Todoroki household, claiming that he was too scared to go himself. You called him that morning and asked for more clarification, which went something like:

“Midoriya. I’m telling you I shouldn’t go. If Todoroki hates me I’m sure his whole family hates me too!”

You could hear the nervous fidgeting on the other line. “I’m sure his whole family doesn’t hate you…”

“Why are you even going in the first place if you’re too scared to go? Just cancel!”

“I can’t, Todoroki said he couldn’t stand his father and really needed some moral support, I can’t leave if I’m his support!”

You sharply exhaled, pinching the bridge of your nose as you let your mind think. “I can’t stand being around him right now, I promise you if I go it’ll end up with broken glass everywhere.”

“I’ll be the mediator between you two, just focus on something else when you go!”

“No.”

“Please, I bought you ice cream that one time!”

“That was you paying me back by holding your bags!”

“I even let you take care of him when he got that concussion!”

“Midoriya!”

“I really need you there! Please be my moral support!” You squeezed your eyes shut, trying your best to not let him in. “Please?”

You could physically feel him doing puppy eyes over the phone and it got you. It got you. You could hear him smile on the receiver, he knew he got you too. “Fine.”

“Thank you! I’ll text the details soon, Bye!”

You threw the phone far from you, you couldn’t stand him.

Which led you to now. You were sloped against the couch with the girls surrounding you in a circle.

“I mean, what if we do make up. I wouldn’t be mad at him if he wanted to continue our friendship.” You played with the laces on your shoes.

Jirou huffed. “Be honest, do you want him as a friend or are you hoping for something more?” You felt her stare right into your dodo brain.

“Uhm I… I dunno.” You never thought about it that way, you were too busy trying to be friends with him you didn’t realize that you may get a crush on him again. What if you two repeated the cycle?

Mina shook you out of your gloom, “Okay we can deal with that philosophical stuff later! I’m sure Todoroki won’t ask you to be friends with him at the dinner, so let’s focus on being assertive okay?”

You slumped lower onto the floor, feeling the weight of your problems grow heavier. “Ochaco why can’t you go? It’s your boyfriend, and you’re close to Todoroki.”

“Ah that’s because I have a class with Gunhead!” She said.

“But the dinner is at 8! How long are you gonna be training for?”

Uraraka bounced in her seat. “He’s having us train for night watch! We’re learning how to work in teams at night and how to spot suspicious activity, I can’t wait!”

“Aw I’m so happy for you…” you pinched her cheek. “Can you bring me with you so I have an excuse?”

“Oh you’re being overdramatic. I’m sure it won’t be that bad!”

“Maybe...” You lifted yourself from the floor. “I’m gonna go choose an outfit or whatever, have fun on your night watch though.”

The girls all waved you away and wished you good luck, but when you entered your room you fell into your bed. You couldn’t tell if you were making a mistake, if you were really ready to see him now. Everything was moving so fast and you weren’t used to this new way of living. Your friends talked about how you needed to cut him out of your life but that was easier said than done, the feelings you had were so odd.

You would be sad that he treated you wrong, but if you thought about it too long you would get angry, ready to pick a fight with him, then out of nowhere you would wonder if you were being over dramatic. It was a continuous cycle with enough happy memories to make you doubt all of your emotions. You were sick of it.

These thoughts ran in your mind until you rolled onto your back and closed your eyes, practicing the breathing technique Uraraka showed you the other day. Inhaling as much as you could, then exhaling all of it. Inhale, exhale, inhale…… you felt your consciousness slowly slip away, succumbing to the quiet of your room.

Later on you heard this constant humming by your ear, but it was too drowned out by your sleep. It would stop for a while then the noise would return with a few notifications sounding off in between.

You felt around the bed for the noise source and blinked your eyes open when you realized it was your phone. The messages looked a little urgent.

As soon as you sent the last message he started calling you again, audibly panicking from the other line. “(Y/l/n)! Where are you? Why didn’t you respond to my calls!?”

You sat at the edge of your bed, squinting at your window. “Midoriya what time is the dinner at?”

“Eight, our ride is coming in five minutes! I-I was waiting in the common room, but then I got nervous and went outside to check, and then I went back inside and saw the car wasn’t there, but then I saw what I thought was the car and went outside again! I’ve been outside watching the cars pass by in case it’s ours and now it’s getting cold and-”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” You were too groggy to even comprehend what was happening, and sifted through your closet for an outfit. “Is it casual wear or formal?”

“It doesn’t matter right now please hurry!”

“Midoriya calm down it’ll be fine…didn’t Ochaco show you that one breathing technique for calming down?”

“Yeah I mean kind of I-I don’t know.”

You held two outfits in front of you, one was a dress that you’d only wear at a fancy gala while the other was a pair of shorts with a cute shirt. Casual or formal? The question repeated in your head until the heavy breathing on the other line brought you back. “Oh right, okay, inhale as much air as you can… and then release all of it.”

You heard him follow your instructions as you gave up and decided on wearing the dress. You checked yourself out a little bit, the dress shaped you well and the necklace you were wearing with it looked- you paused. You forgot he gave you that. You played with the pendant, recalling how happy he looked whenever you wore it. You remembered the tenderness of the moment when he gave it to you, the way he fumbled with the chain while it was on your neck, how his hand would ghost around your face, when he dipped his head down into almost kissing you that one night...

“Are-are you still there?” Midoriya’s voice piped up.

“Oh right! Ok I’m leaving right now, don’t move!”

“Don’t do anything stupid, do not fall for him!” You scolded at the reflection.

With a reassuring nod to yourself you threw a purse on and rushed outside. When Midoriya came into view he let out a choked sigh of relief. “Wha-Ah you look amazing!”

“Thanks, you look great too,” Midoriya was thankfully wearing a suit, not underdressing you at all. “Where’s the car?”

“Ah it’s across the street, but we can’t leave until Todoroki shows up!”

Your jaw dropped, “He’s coming with us!? I thought he was already there!”

And speaking of the devil, the man himself showed up with an outfit a little too casual compared to the clothes you and Midoriya wore. He was looking at his phone, not noticing you at all. “Sorry, the call went longer than I thought…” His words drifted away when his eyes caught yours and froze. He flipped his eyes between you and Midoriya. “Why are you here?”

His tone was uninviting, telling you to get away from him in a passive aggressive way. It set you off, you rubbed your face feeling emotions bubbling up, but the only one you could focus on was anger. Boiling out the pot kind of anger and you weren’t sure if you could last a whole car ride with him in there.

You stopped Midoriya’s sputtering, “I’m here for him, he wanted me to come so he didn’t feel awkward at your house.”

Todoroki looked at Midoriya for confirmation and huffed when Midoriya gave a reassuring nod. “There might not be enough room for all of us.”

“I don’t mind sitting in the passenger.”

“That seat might have stuff in it.”

“Then you can walk. You know the way to your house right?” You were both pushing each other, trying to make the other back down.

Midroiya poked the both of you, “Okay we can squeeze in right? Let’s hurry over before the car leaves us and all of your stuff Todoroki!”

He dragged the both of you to the car, where the driver loaded multiple boxes into the car. And of course, the passenger seat had a few boxes in them as well.

You pinched Midoriya’s hand, “What’s going on? Why is that guy putting all those boxes in there?”

Midoriya leaned in to whisper, but was interrupted by the slamming of the car door and the driver approaching you three. “Alright, it’ll be a bit of a tight squeeze, someone might have to sit in someone else’s lap… or someone could go in the trunk!”

He said that to be funny. You were supposed to be laughing. But the tensions were so high, all the three of you could do was let out that awkward cough of a laugh. Then you all stood there in the silence.

The driver cleared his throat, “Well I suggest that the lady sit-“

You were already scooting into the furthest seat possible, one seat was completely taken over in boxes. “You guys can sit on top of each other, I’m fine over here.”

You watched as the two of them looked between each other and agreed on having Midoriya sit on Todoroki’s lap, it was an interesting sight, they both didn’t know where to put their arms, and apologized every time they bumped into each other. Todoroki put his hand by his sides, while Midoriya shifted his hands between his lap. As soon as everyone seemed settled in, the car started moving, and you were just now realizing how tight the space was.

You tried to shift away from Todoroki, but the driver made so many turns, your head continued to bump into his shoulder. Every time it happened you could see him inch away, the both of you stiffening when you fell onto his shoulder. You both didn’t say anything, just adding more tension onto the situation.

You took out your phone and pretended to text someone important. Midoriya noticed your discomfort and cleared his throat, “It’s uhm quiet in here, can you turn on some music sir?” The driver did so but the tension in the air lingered. “Uhm… you look really nice (Y/l/n)! Doesn’t that necklace match well with her outfit Todoroki?”

You felt your heart drop. Necklace? Your hands flew to your neck and felt around for the jewelry. You were in such a hurry to get dressed you forgot to put it back on the dresser, your heart was beating out of your chest.

“Why do you still have that?” His expression was familiar and almost gentle but his tone sounded sharp, you couldn’t decipher what his feelings were. Was he angry? Sad? Disappointed? Either way, the confusing tones were starting to piss you off, and Instead of mulling it over any longer you decided to unhook it and toss it to the floor. “I don’t know, forgot to throw it away,”

His mouth dropped, he looked offended almost. You rolled your eyes as he scoffed and leaned further away from you, making you feel a smidge of regret, but not enough to feel sorry. You all waited for the car ride to end, the music wasn’t loud enough to drown out the tension and you were starting to get sweaty.

When the car slowed to a stop, the three of you nearly bolted out of the car. You all helped the driver with the ridiculous amount of boxes and carried them to the house. You leaned over to Midoriya when Todorki was ahead of you.“Why are there so many boxes? Do you know what they’re for?”

“Yup! They’re a bunch of presents and letters that Todoroki got for his mother…”

“Why?” You knew Todoroki had developed a close bond with his mother, but from what you knew she was still in the hospital, so why were the boxes going to his house?

He gasped. “Wait I forgot to tell you! I’m so sorry, today is her birthday! That’s what the dinner thing is about!”

“What.”

“Yeah sorry about that! I’m sure she will be really nice though!”

“Midoriya.” You let out a sharp breath. “What made you think that inviting me would be a good idea? I don’t want to be here if his mom is coming to visit! That kills the whole mood for everyone!”

Midoriya’s expression changed, realizing his mistake. Yes, you and Todoroki were not on good terms but that didn’t mean you wanted to ruin any opportunities he had to hang out with his mom! You being here pissed him off, how could he relax if you were at his family table?

“Oh yeah I guess you’re kind of right huh…. Maybe you can just be nice for the rest of the night! I’m sure he won’t notice you if you’re quiet.”

You fumbled with the boxes. “Well I should just leave at that point… I’m sure you’ll be fine if his mom will be there.”

Before Midoriya could protest your statement, the door swung open revealing Todoroki’s sister, you were surprised to see that she looked a lot like him. You all filed into the house while Midoriya continued on a list of all the reasons why you should stay.

“You promised!” Midoriya pleaded.

“Yeah but that was before I got all the needed information,” you placed your boxes down in a corner of the house. “You basically made an illegal deal!”

“How could that be illegal if no money was involved!? You’re the one who’s making an illegal- hey!” You were trying to inch out the door but Midoriya caught you by the wrist. “Please don't leave, just stay for like five minutes!”

“Midoriya…”

He flashed his puppy eyes towards you, they were more effective in person, you tried to look away from him but he just followed your eyes. After a quick stare down you groaned. “Fine…” Midoriya was about to cheer but you stopped him, “But only five minutes...after that I’m out of here.”

“Wait, Five minutes after his dad arrives, right?”

“Yes. After his dad comes, no debates okay?”

“Mmm.” he was biting his nails. “I guess we can do that… I’ll just be a little nervous.”

You listened as he went on a rant about all of his worries, while you threw words of encouragement his way. The two of you talked until Todoroki’s sister walked past you two, then did a double take.

“Ah, I’m so sorry I didn’t see you guys!” She was struggling to keep the balance of the plates in her arms as she bowed, “I’m Fuyumi, Shouto has told me a lot about you two!”

Midoriya grinned and returned the bow. “Thank you for inviting us, the food smells great!”

“Oh right! I forgot the chicken was in the fryer!”

You watched her rush through the kitchen and move from task to task too fast to follow. “Did you need help?”

“No, no you two are my guests you don't need to-” a plate dropped and the shatter was heard from the kitchen, “Ah jeez.”

Midoriya and you bumped heads trying to rush into the kitchen, your hero instincts kicking in at the same time. “Just let me, it’s the least I can do.” you pleaded. “Go keep Todoroki company.”

He gave you a nervous nod before turning to Todoroki.

You watched him disappear as you entered the kitchen. Fuyumi was trying to pick up the smashed pieces of the plate when you came in. “Ah I forgot the chicken’s still in the fryer!”

“I can get it,” You picked up a pair of tongs, “How long have you been cooking?”

“Too long, I think my arms are getting numb from mixing all day.” She took a glance at you, “Sorry, you shouldn’t have to help if you're the guest.”

“No, no I don’t mind at all. I know it’s a special day for you guys and I’m sure you want everything to be perfect.”

You opened a trash bag for her to throw out the shards and as she stood, you caught a glimpse of the family resemblance. The Todoroki you knew and Fuyumi both carried themselves similar to each other, her posture and smile washed a wave of familiarity over you. You felt so at ease with her presence, like you didn’t need to prove yourself to her.

“Thank you, I appreciate it.” She snapped you out of your thoughts as she looked at Midoriya and Todoroki with a warm expression. “I think it’s good he has people like you in his life, he’s changed a lot.”

Changed? You could say that, but it was more of a regression than a progression. “That was all due to Midoriya, I don’t think anyone made him change better than Midoriya did. He basically reset his whole philosophy on life.”

She giggled into her hand. “Pff, I’m sure it wasn’t all Midoriya, not with the way he talks about you.”

You almost dropped the trash bag, you couldn’t have heard that right. “What do you mean by that?”

“Oh- nothing! I just talk too much!”

“I mean it’s not like I care about him talking about me…” you reassured yourself. “But what did he say?”

“Well I respect my brother's privacy, so I couldn’t tell you too much… but I guess you could say you’re the reason why he’s been happier lately.”

You gave her a weird look, he didn’t seem happier when he was with you. You didn’t know what he was talking about with her, but she probably didn’t know about the recent events that happened between the two of you, so you decided to just brush it off.

“Just trust me,” she smiled. “But let’s pretend I didn’t say that and set up the table, everyone should start coming any minute now!”

You gave her a quick nod and began putting the dishes onto the table. The food smelled amazing and the table was filled with so many varieties of dishes it was like a buffet, desserts on one side of the table while the meats stayed on another side of the table. You couldn’t believe she made all of that food herself.

As soon as the doorbell rang you could have swore Todoroki tripped out of his chair to answer it. His excitement died down however, when his brother entered the house instead of his mother.

“His brother’s actually kind of cute.” You whispered to Midoriya.

“Please don’t hit on his family members…” He groaned.

“Ew I’m not gonna do that… I mean not until I graduate at least.”

Midoriya gagged and pushed you away as you laughed at his reaction. Everything felt light and joyful, you didn’t think you would need to stay if the room kept this energy, Midoriya would be fine.

“I didn’t know you made friends Shouto!” Todoroki’s brother gestured to the table, “I’m Natsu.”

You and Midoriya bowed while Todoroki took his seat. “Yeah, I guess. Where’s Endeavor and Mom?”

“I dunno, I thought everyone would be here already.” He sat next to Fuyumi and already began making himself a plate. “This looks great, did you make all of this?”

She nodded and passed chopsticks to his side, “Yeah, I had a little bit of help too,” She winked your way and you smiled in return. “I hope they get here before the food gets cold.”

The whole scene felt so domestic, all of you laughing at jokes and funny experiences from school. Praising Fuyumi for how great the food tasted, poking fun at Midoriya for over describing how much he loved her cooking, and learning about Todoroki’s siblings felt so sweet.

Todoroki was barely taking part in the conversations, he was constantly checking the time and shaking the table with his leg. He must have been waiting for a moment like this forever, a moment where him and his family had a normal dinner.

After a while there was a knock at the door and you could feel the excitement buzz through the house. They were finally here. The siblings looked between each other before all getting up to the door while you and Midoriya turned around to watch.

Everyone took in a sharp breath, then Fuyumi swung the door open with a breeze of cold air coming in and Endeavor walked in with… no one behind him… Everyone stayed in the same place looking confused. No one was saying anything and the whole domestic scene was torn away as soon as he entered the house.

Endeavor’s eyes flickered towards the both of you, then turned back to his kids. “Shouto, follow me.” Todoroki blinked hard before following him out of the room, while Fuyumi and Natsu stood by the door whispering to each other.

You leaned towards Midoriya, “And the timer starts now…”

“No, no, no don’t leave me!” He sputtered, “Can’t you feel the tension in here!?”

“Exactly! I don’t wanna be here if it's gonna be this awkward… can you pass me the mayonnaise over there.”

As the both of you argued, Natsu and Fuyumi received a notification from their phones. You didn’t know what it said but the mood in the room changed.

“I can’t believe this… Shouto’s not going to take this well.” Natsu sunk into a chair.

Fuyumi took a seat, putting her head into her hands and rereading whatever message was sent to her. “I worked so hard…”

“What’s going on?” Midoriya whispered to you.

“Like I know! Ask them yourself if you’re so curious.”

Fuyumi readjusted herself in her seat, not looking up at your concerned faces. “Sorry, I can wrap your guys’ food up. I don’t think we’re going to have dinner tonight.”

“Oh no, what happened?” You asked.

“Uhm our mom was supposed to come for the dinner tonight but our dad said she wasn’t ready to come eat with us yet… Something about the hospital not letting her?” She let out a deep sigh, “It’s a little disappointing, since we set this up for her birthday.”

You felt sweat run down your spine. Natsu looked pissed and Fuyumi looked like she was going to cry at any moment and you were nervous about how Todoroki would react. You would feel the same way if this happened to you, it was devastating seeing the mood drop this low, all excitement shot down to the floor.

The room was quiet while you and Midoriya fiddled with your thumbs, you both didn’t know how to respond and it felt too rude to start packing food when the room was this depressing.

The silence didn’t continue for too long, a few minutes later a door swung open with a bang and Todoroki was storming out of the room.

Endeavor called after Todoroki from the doorway. “Shouto, it’s for the best, her health-”

“Shut the hell up, you don’t know anything.” Shouto slammed the front door as he went out, leaving the both of you.

Midoriya pulled you out of your seat, “C’mon let's go check on him.”

Midoriya was dragging you by the wrist as you tried to digest what was happening. You had spent the whole morning training yourself on how to be assertive with Todoroki, not training on how to console him after his father messed up the dinner! You had come in with many expectations on how the night would end, but this turn of events never crossed your mind.

When you got outside Midoriya was by his side in an instant. Todoroki was crouched down, swiping at the tears on his face, letting out broken sobs in an attempt to silence them. You felt your heart sink into your stomach and ran to his side as well.

Midoriya ducked his head to Todoroki’s level, “Hey, hey what happened in there? Are you okay?”

You crouched down and debated rubbing his back, not knowing if that was pushing it. “Talk when you’re ready.”

“I can’t believe I actually trusted that bastard and…. and came here, and for him to say that like he was some kind of saint… like-like he wasn’t the reason why she didn’t come.” His voice was cracking everywhere and it just pinched your heart.

“What did he say in there?” You asked.

“That my mom…”He hiccuped into his sleeve, hiding his face further from you two. “couldn’t come, but I don’t believe him. He hates the idea of having her in his stu-upid house. That’s why.” He paused, trying to control his breathing. “Or maybe she just didn’t want to see me…”

You held back a gasp, “That’s not true at all. I’m sure she would show up if she could.” You placed your hand on his back and felt the slightest shiver from him. “Her not showing up has nothing to do with you.”

“Exactly,” Midoriya chimed. “She would love to see you, I’m sure she misses you and your siblings!”

Todoroki shook his head, “You don’t know that. I hate that man, he ruins everything. He even had the nerve to insult you guys.”

You and Midoriya turned your heads toward each other, “He insulted us!? What did he say?” Midoriya asked.

“He said that the two of you were making me weak. That I’ve been acting weaker every day since I became friends with you two. Maybe he’s right, I can’t control my emotions anymore and…”

“That’s not true!” Midoriya interrupted.

You nodded, “Who cares about what that guy says! Everything he says is false, Midoriya’s the strongest kid in our class, how could he possibly be making you weaker!? Think about it, he’s the one who made you use both of your quirks!”

Todoroki nodded into his arms while Midoriya waved you off, “Ahh, you’re going to make my ego too high!”

“It’s true though, If anything Todoroki has progressed so far because of you. You’re the reason why he’s able to express himself so well, like he isn’t holding back himself from crying or laughing anymore!”

Todoroki’s head popped up from his lap, and looked like he was about to say something but stopped himself. His eyes were red, but if you squinted you could see that familiar gleam he used to give you all the time. It made your breathing hitch, even when you shouldn’t have any feelings.

Midoriya held his hand out to Todoroki and lifted him from the ground. “Why don’t we go back to school, I don’t think we should go back there right now.”

You all nodded, but before you could even walk too far away, you realized you were forgetting something. “Oh wait hold on, I think I left my bag in there.”

“I’ll get it.” Midoriya and Todoroki said in unison, both moving towards the door, but you waved them off.

“No, no, it’s fine I’ll get it,”

“Are you sure?” Todoroki asked.

Him talking to you positively for the first time that week stunned you a little too much. Your mouth opened and closed trying to gather words out for a response. “Uh-yeah, I’m not scared of your dad Todoroki.”

That was a lie. That was the biggest lie you have told that night, of course you were terrified of Endeavor! Who wouldn’t be scared of a guy like that? You couldn’t back down now though, Todoroki and Midoriya were looking at you as if you were Joan of Arc, believing you would storm into the house with no fear.

With a determined expression, you flipped around and marched into the house. The tension from that room hit you as soon as you opened the front door, feeling nausea enter your system. The food from the table was still there, but now no one was at the table, just your bag by your seat, you checked both sides of the room before darting to the table, you did not want to have an awkward conversation with either of his siblings or his dad.

You checked your bag for all of its contents, but before you could leave the table Endeavor’s booming voice piped up behind you.

“I'm sorry!?” You choked on your spit.

“Thank you for caring for my son, you and the green boy.” He stood at the end of the table, keeping direct eye contact with you.

“Oh. Yeah, you’re welcome.”

“Shouto has changed. I believe you and that boy are the reason for it. You let him present a weakness I could never teach him myself.” He continued.

“We did?”

“Yes, you taught him to open himself up, to not hide his emotions to appear stronger, but rather express them and become stronger naturally. Something I could never teach him myself.”

“Okay, well I should get going now-”

“So, for that reason I thank you. Thank you for teaching him to be okay with change, I hope he forgives me someday. There’s only so much I can do now that my children are all grown up…”

You teetered on your toes, waiting for him to stop talking. He had been going on a rant about how grateful he was for you and Midoriya but you didn’t know how to respond. Everyone continued to tell you how much you changed Todoroki but you didn't see it, he was starting to return to his old ways and ignore you. Tonight was the most positive communication you had with him that whole week, none of it made sense.

“I don’t know how much I helped in his development, but I’m sure if you keep trying he’ll eventually forgive you.” You checked your phone, every second in the room with him talking made you want to rip your hair out. “Or he might not, either way you should keep striving for it!”

Endeavor nodded and looked down deep in thought, “Maybe I’ll start calling him. Kids use their phones all the time nowadays, I should be able to reach him through there.”

“Yeah, I guess you could.” You scooted to the front door. “Please tell Fuyumi the food was amazing, goodnight.”

You slipped out the door as soon as Endeavor nodded and let out a sigh of relief when you were outside again. It felt like he was keeping you hostage with his worries and regrets. Midoriya was hugging Todoroki’s hunched form and gave you a wave.

“Are you okay? You were in there for a while.” He asked.

You nodded, “Yeah, Endeavor was just talking to me for like ever. Your dad is really dramatic Todoroki.”

Todoroki lifted himself from Midoriya and wiped his face. “Yeah, I’m sorry. You guys shouldn’t have to deal with my family and their drama. I didn’t intend for this to happen when I invited you.”

He wasn’t keeping eye contact with you but he looked exhausted. You had to restrain every fiber of your being to not hold his face and wipe away his tears, seeing him so devastated pulled on every string of your heart and you hated it.

“It’s fine! We wouldn’t be mad about something like this, but we should call for a ride before it gets too late.” Midoriya said.

“Yeah I’ll call! Maybe we should make plans for another dinner sometime.” You were already dialing for a car service.

You were relieved when the car arrived with full open seats and no need for squeezing. Midroiya ran to the passenger side as soon as it pulled up, leaving you and Todoroki for the back. You and Todoroki slid into the back, not having enough energy to argue after the long day you two went through.

You all talked as the ride began but began relaxing in a comforting silence after a while. You and Todoroki still didn’t make up, but you mutually understood not to talk about it at that moment. A moment to pretend nothing was wrong and that you were all just kids. No expectations or ideas about each other, just warm bodies laughing in the night.

The car ride back wasn’t as tense as the ride to his house. Instead it felt like your connection to him was a little deeper, to the point you could tell when Todoroki was thinking about something that bothered him. From the reflection in the window alone, you could tell he was internally struggling with something serious.

You knew you shouldn’t have done anything, but with the calm air in the car, you couldn’t help but place your hand atop of his. It was almost like you saying ‘I’m here for you’ without saying anything. You held your breath as he flicked his eyes from you to your hands. The moment felt like it was lasting hours and you didn’t know if he was interpreting your intentions the same way.

Your thoughts were cut short when you felt him very gently ghost his thumb over your hand and squeeze it. You hid the smile forming on your face. The both of you kept your hands together while Todoroki rubbed small circles into your hand until the ride was over.

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[soranihimawari]

day 1: shenanigans

foxes den shenanigan (1)

summary: snippets into the slice of life of being one of the few young women who interact with the inarizaki volleyball club. every member is all tough on the outside until they meet kira, yn: the one who had been neighbors with the miya twins all her life. her best friend, nakiri-chan, is convinced at least once in their life all three of them (osamu, kira, and atsumu) had loved each other. this mini series is a going to be a little reflective, a little dramatic, and overall deals with themes of growing up to learn the difference of love. 

genre: slice of life/ angsty-teen love/ rated pg-15+ for language and juxtopostional humour. 

<< |master list| >>

-------[Inarazaki High School, 11:47 a.m.]-------

“you can’t be serious,” my best friend’s voice of disbelief tells me. we were on lunch break when we decided to head to the vending machines by the gym. there were various students talking amongst themselves buzzing with excitement for the annual art festival. 

“oh, but i am,” i said. i took a deep breath when i gripped her shoulders. upon my exhale i nodded.

“b-but your class representative said your homeroom was putting together a maid cafe all because she found out you know how to bake?”

“i blame the last bake sale my cooking club did to raise funds for a new mixer. all the members of the boys’ volleyball team bought a bag of my ‘cosmic star’ cookies.“

“i see. well, it can’t be all that bad, right? if you’re going to be the one coming up with the menu and the baked treats, you don’t really have to wear the maid outfit.”

i hum in response when i place my bill into the machine. the vending machine rumbles before dropping my can of mango nectar. once she buys her drink, she and i head back to our class on the third floor; before we separate, she wishes me luck with coming up with the menu.

“so, what did you have in mind kira-chan?”

“macaroons and maybe tarts. i don’t know what kind yet though. i’ll see ya after classes are over so we can walk home together. later nakiri-san!”

***

the day of the festival approached even faster than you had thought. after many attempts at making various macaroon flavors and tart ideas that paired well with the boba-styled drinks being served, me and the other bakery/cafe volunteers were ready for business. the other students in your class were divided between servers and baristas. the girls and boys who were selected as the maids and butlers were thankfully the only ones that had to wear the full garb. since it was the day before the festival, i decided to do a sampling of the sweets i chose to make for the servers and baristas so they can help our prospective customers tomorrow with describing the menu items. my fellow classmates, the team of five standing next to me (our bakers team consisted of six), were able to try out their own treats and thanked me for showing them how to make the treats. aside from macaroons and cookies, we collectively added two parfait flavors: one was strawberry themed for our school colors and the other was themed around sunset colors.

before the meeting was adjourned, i breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the news from our class rep up until she mentioned something about the bakery staff wearing cat ears and other nicknacks of cafe worker approved jewelry. when i got home that evening, i screamed into my pillow to relieve some excess stress over the maid cafe. 

i immediately called my neighbor and although i wasn’t expecting him to answer the phone, i felt relief wash over me when i heard his normal greeting on the other end:

“miya residence and no, atsumu isn’t the better twin.”

i chuckled at his statement. after years of living next door to them, i can only say that miya osamu was right (also, he was the first person to express the same level of joy in cooking for others). he immediately cleared his throat when he heard me laugh.

“ahem. oh, hey kira-san. what’s up?”

i am not surprised i heard a short lived scuffle in the background as well as atsumums “ack!” in the background followed by a soft thud that only chucking a pillow could have made.

“osamu? it’s me. say, do you still have the cat ear hair clips from last halloween?”

***

the festival was in full swing: streamers lined the hallways as the people visiting came to enjoy what our school had to offer. i heard from nakiri that her class voted on doing a paint by numbers mural. other classes in our year were doing their renditions of living portraits and face painting. apparently, my class along with our neighbors across the hall divided up the cafeteria to encompass both a savory restaurant booth along with our class’ maid cafe. 

i was busy with the other members of my team making sure orders were being ran on time while placing the finishing touches for the treats on the tray. even though i was allowed to wear my pistaschio green chef coat, i couldn’t get away with just wearing a macaroon earrings. to push my bangs back, i had a pair of cat ears clipped into my hair. 

“shift change kira-san!” my class rep’s voice said in an exuberant manner. she was in charge of patrolling the hallway trying to gather more guests to come into our side of the cafeteria. business was steady to say the least, but i recalled i had signed up to take over the advertising part once hers was over. 

“ok! can you give me a few minutes? i need to fix my make up real quick.”

elsewhere, the members of the inarizaki volleyball team were seen wandering around campus enjoying the festival. the twins along with suna had long sinced branched off and found nakiri’s class. 

“hey guys! come to paint?” she offered them a sponge brush and a little to-go container. 

“isn’t kira-chan supposed to be with you?” osamu asked perplexed i wasn’t near by.

“yeah, aren’t you two joined at the hip?” his brother chimed in. nakiri rolled her eyes at the blond before shaking her head. 

“oh? you didn’t hear?” nakiri asked slightly taken aback by his question.

right at that moment, nakiri pointed behind the boys toward where i was standing speaking with over festival goers who were looking at the menu for my class’ cafe. i had a smile on my face when the guests mentioned they’d absolutely stopped by for a refreshing treat. when they waved their good bye to me, i was suddenly greeted by a different family who asked what i would recommend for their five year old (while they would opt for teas, their child really wanted something sweet). after asking a few questions (are they allergic to anything? does their child prefer strawberries or oranges? etc), i pointed out our strawberry parfait as a great option for them to all share. 

“i heard one class chose to do a dessert cafe, but i didn’t think it would be a maid cafe,” rintarou stated flatly. he took the paint and the brush from nakiri before stepping inside to paint his section of the mural. on the other hand, the blond twin elbowed his brother. there was a teasing glint in his eyes. 

“kira-san looks really cute, doesn’t she ‘samu?”

nakiri caught on to how pink the gray haired twin’s cheek became when his brother teased him. for the life of him, osamu couldn’t help but wonder why his neighbor called him asking to borrow the cat ear clips the night prior and now it was all making sense. 

“shut it atsumu.”

“hmm,” nakiri hummed. she tapped her index finger on her lips in thought. “my shift is almost over for the hour, so why don’t we all go visit the cafe, yeah?”

***

“oh my god!” 

my class rep burst through the kitchen doors again when my shift was over causing me to almost drop the parfait in my hands. i had successfully placed the dessert on the tray. one of the front of house staff members gripped her shoulders to calm her down a bit. thankfully, none of the ingrients toppled over, but we did lose a cookie straw in the process.

“breathe class rep,” i saidx. i was trying really hard to not laugh at her panicked expresion. “what’s going on?”

“h-hot miya twins outside.” 

that was all i needed to hear before i pinched the bridge of my nose before cursing my best friend and her family nine generations back for slipping out my secret assignment for the festival.

seeing my neighbors through the window of the kitchen swing doors was honestly the last thing i needed today, but of course we couldn’t always win the fortune of the gods. mumbling a quick, ‘the gods are testing me again,’ caused one of the cooks to snicker. to be fair, i could live without the thought of hearing atsumu’s teasing jokes or osamu’s sass, but alas, i did not win fortune’s favor that hour. also, this was the last outfit they’d expect to see me in because half of the volleyball team had tried (keyword:tried) to get me into a maid outfit for y e a r s. that campaign stopped as soon as shinsuke became captain.

“they’re asking for you to serve them too,” the front of house manager said when he walked into the kitchen shortly thereafter. i was having a good day up until this turn of events, and although it took every fiber of my being to not kill those two, i realized i should handle this in an appropriate manner. i mentioned i’ll handle it relinquishing my duties to my second. 

when i walked outside, i noticed that not only were my twin neighbors outside, they also sent a text to their entire team asking to visit the cafe area. i calmly turn my lips upward in a saccharine smile as i approached their table. it’s the same familiar smile which caused atsumu and osamu’s blood to run cold; they knew i was pissed as soon as i let the spirit of customer service take over my body.

“welcome to the foxes’ den masters,” i greeted them with a bow. “how may i be of service?”

atsumu’s eyes bounced back and forth between me and his brother who seemed to have found the parfaits description very interesting. 

“can i order something off the menu?” atsumu asked in a teasing way. if looks could kill, i’d sent the setter back home with a killer bruise on his shoulder, yet I remember how violence is frowned upon at a festival.

seeing as i did not object to his question when i replied with, “if it is your wish master.”

“can i buy an hour of your time from ya for my dearest younger brother?”

i blinked caught off guard by his forwardness on his twin’s behalf. all of our patrons had ceased speaking to other members of their parties after hearing his proposal. where was a pillow when i needed to scream into one? all color drained from osamu’s face. nakiri looked just as shocked as i was mouthing a ‘sorry’ toward me; she gave me an encouraging smile. (it’s been four years since both of the miya siblings gifted me friendship chocolates on white day as an apology for poking fun at my wacky homemade candies. my parental figure thought it would have been nice to make some for the neighbors’ twins in middle school.) 

my smile disappeared while i pondered my answer to the setter’s eager eyes. to spare both osamu and i further embarrassment, I spoke the first thing that came to my mind:

“if that is what your brother wishes, young master, then he should ask me himself,” i said kindly.

this caught osamu’s attention real quick; his eyes snapped up at me with a curious stare. suna had his phone out obviously documenting the whole thing. i tilt my head to the side and posed my hands under my chin prentending to think before i shrugged.

“he should also know that my shift ends at five-thirty and he should meet me here if he doesn’t mind walking me home. now, if you’ll excuse me, i have to garnish table seven’s parfaits.”

the murmurs of conversations began up again once i bowed and took my leave back into the kitchen. the last thing i heard was nakiri laughing as atsumu exclaimed that they were seated at the table i mentioned and osamu claiming that he’d kill his brother for fourth time that day. 

“i’ll have you know that i could have asked her at any time right?” osamu seethed. “i don’t need you to line up dates for me.”

“yeah, yeah. you hate me, i hate you. we punch each other a little, and then you get to date kira since you’re clearly not going to do anything about this one sided love you think you two have,” atsumu said before resting his chin on his hand. suna caught what atsumu said all on the video he was recording, including nikiri’s stunned face.

“woah, back the fun bus up. seriously?!” she asked. “no wonder kira had been acting a bit more strictly with her recipes lately. look at the little drawings on the menu.”

she was quick to point out the little drawings of the chibi macaroons (“one was blueberry the other was mango orange, a silent reference to you three’s friendship,” she briefly explained) the design team made and colored.

“must be true, look at how red his cheeks are becoming & i don’t think that’s because of anger,” suna replied.

“c‘ mon, let’s go.” atsumu suggests, rising from the table. “i suddenly recall having passed by the boardwalk games section. osamu, you stay here and tell me what i should order.”

—to be continued—

[artificialqueens]

Signed, Sealed, Delivered, Chapter 1 (Crygi, Jan x Nicky) - Joley

ao3 link

“Mail call!” Crystal called out, even though it was only her and Jan in the apartment. She sorted the pile out between the two of them, ending up with two slightly messy stacks. “Looks like you got an international package!”

That brought Jan barreling out of her room, nearly slipping on the rug on her way in. She grabbed onto the counter to support herself, taking a gasp of air before standing upright. “Oh yay!” She grabbed the package with the enthusiasm of a kid on Christmas morning and took it back to her room along with the rest of her pile, not bothering to close the door behind her.

Crystal chuckled, looking over to see her cat perched on the couch, staring into Jan’s bedroom with something of a perplexed expression. “It’s nothing for you, Tic. But maybe she’ll let you play in the box,” she mused before her gaze drifted back to her pile of mail, sifting through what inevitably turned out to be nothing but junk. With nothing else of her immediate interest, she wandered into her roommate’s room, sitting on the bed while Jan was at her desk. “What’d you get?”

Jan carefully opened the box, gliding the box cutter down the tape seams so she didn’t have to rip and yank and risk tearing anything inside. She took the neatly folded letter out first, holding it to her face and taking a deep inhale. The scent of patchouli and vanilla wafted into her nose and made her smile. It was the smell she most associated with Nicky, every package and letter she sent came laced with the aroma of her perfume.

“Bonjour, mon petite poupée,” she started to read, ignoring the way Crystal started to laugh at her butchering of the French phrases. “I hope spring is as beautiful there as it is here. I have sent you a box of macarons—I enjoy them year-round, but my mother always loved to bake them the most this time of year. I wanted to send you some of hers, but hopefully bakery ones will suffice. I’d love it if you FaceTime or Skype me when you get them, I want to see your live reaction, and I sent you enough to share with Crystal, so be nice. Until then, câlins et bisous, Nicky.”

Jan smiled broadly as she finished reading the letter, noticing the lipstick kiss print that Nicky signed off every letter with, and gently set it aside. “Okay, it’s like nine at night where she is, she’ll still be up,” she said as she took the pastel box tied neatly with a white lace bow out of the package. “Oh look, this is so cute.” She took out another piece of paper where Nicky had hand-drawn each macaron and wrote the flavor next to it, making a color-coded guide. “Isn’t she so sweet and thoughtful?”

“She told you to share, so yes.” Crystal chuckled, running her hand through her hair to look presentable while Jan called Nicky on Skype.

Nicky answered the call right away. “Hi Jan! Hi Crystal!” She greeted them with energy even though she was dressed for bedtime, wearing a black tank top and white cotton shorts (the latter not being visible in the frame). Her hair was damp, air-drying, and draped over her desk chair. “Did you get my mail?”

Jan nodded, holding the box up for her to see. “Just did. Thank you so much, Nicks. That’s so sweet of you.”

“Of course, I’m still making my way through the gift basket you sent for my birthday. I have opinions on all the different Oreo flavors.” Nicky giggled. They had gotten into a discussion about all the different flavors of the cookie, and she had become obsessed with the idea of trying the variety. So, when her birthday rolled around, Jan had painstakingly arranged a cookie bouquet (along with a few other treats) with as many flavors as she could find.

In the year they’d been communicating, Nicky had both come to expect Jan to go the extra mile and would still be surprised every time. The university course that had brought them together through its pen pal program certainly didn’t require an exchange of presents, but it started with Jan not being to help herself and (unbeknownst to Nicky) progressed into an ever-present desire to impress her.

“We can get to that next, I’m really excited to try these. Which one is your favorite?” Jan asked as she took the bow off the box without untying it and opened it up. “Oooh, it still smells fresh-baked.”

Nicky grinned as she watched her, opening up a bottle of rosé and pouring herself a glass. “I am partial to the red velvet and the apricot.”

Jan licked her lips. “You know I love red velvet.” She plucked the deep red cookie from the box before handing it to Crystal, who was making grabby-hands at it. She waited for her friend to choose and set the box down on her desk. “On three.” She counted down, then took a bite. “Holy shit.” She covered her mouth, not wanting to talk with her mouth full. “Nicks, these are delicious. You’re gonna have to send these on the regular.”

Crystal was enjoying herself just as much. “Is there a word for like, food horny? You know, like it tastes so good, I’m kind of turned on?”

Nicky snorted and Jan looked down and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Just say you like it, Crystal.”

“I do,” she confirmed, then looked down at her phone. “Anyway, gotta go. Bye Nicky, thanks for the cookies!” She waved at the screen before darting right out of the room.

Jan chuckled, knowing exactly what propelled Crystal out of the room so quickly and shouted “Tell Gigi I said hi!” after her. Then she faced forward again, her attention effortlessly returned to Nicky. “Anyway, how have you been?” “No complainings,” Nicky hummed, aimlessly strumming her fingers against her glass. “Did you get around to listening to that study playlist I sent you?”

“Oh my god yeah, I forgot to say anything because I kept listening to it after I was done studying and fell asleep,” Jan admitted with a laugh. “You have impeccable taste.”

She twirled her slowly drying hair around her manicured finger. “Tell me something I do not know, darling.” She winked.

Jan’s breath hitched in her throat and she covered it with a cough. Nicky exuded a seductive beauty so effortlessly and it didn’t take much for Jan to get flustered. If their friendship wasn’t exclusively long distance, her crush would have been impossible for Nicky or anyone else to not pick up on. Hell, Crystal only knew because she had been aching for the release of gushing about her feelings and her roommate lent a willing ear. “Last time I did that, we ended up talking about juice boxes for an hour,” she retorted once her body had unclenched.

Nicky chuckled softly at the memory. It was so easy for them to go off on tangents about the smallest things. It was probably her favorite part of her conversations with Jan, everything flowed so easily, awkward silence simply didn’t exist between them. “That is true,” she conceded. “But I’ve got to go eat dinner. We’ll talk tomorrow, yes?”

“Go eat.” She never quite grasped how Nicky always ate dinner so late at night, but she had all but memorized her schedule by now. “Au revoir,” she cooed, just because she knew it would make her laugh, and waved as she ended the call.

——

When Crystal got the text ‘come hang out, im done with class,’ she was out the door before she even sent ‘ok.’ Gigi was a junior while she and Jan were seniors, but all of them going to the same university had their schedules aligning relatively often. But she and Jan were living off-campus, so she didn’t want to waste any time on getting to her.

“Hey.” Gigi smiled, greeting her best friend with a hug. “Come on, we’re going on a coffee run,” she said, leading the way. Her direct nature was something Crystal had appreciated—she didn’t ask questions, she made statements, and it came off as harsh to some, but Crystal was terrible at making daily decisions, so she was happy to leave it in her hands.

“Sounds good. You should come over soon, Jan got these amazing French cookies from Nicky. I think she’ll let us steal some,” Crystal mused, linking their arms as they walked.

“Cool.” She nodded. “Has Jan told Nicky she’s in love with her yet?” It had come up in conversation in the past, leading to Crystal giving the entire backstory of Jan and Nicky’s relationship. Luckily, Jan hadn’t held it against her and could live with one more person knowing the truth.

Crystal laughed softly and shook her head. “Nope. But, you know, you can’t push someone to admit how they feel if they aren’t ready.” Her tone was a bit strained in the remark, looking straight ahead as she spoke.

But Gigi didn’t notice the shift in her voice anyway. “That’s stupid,” she said flatly. “They’re like, four thousand miles apart, what’s the worst that could happen?”

“Feelings are feelings.” She shrugged as they entered the café. Of course, she could relate to what Jan was going through, but as far as she was concerned, her situation was worse. A pen pal could be out of sight and out of mind, she reasoned. But having a crush on your best friend made day-to-day life excruciating. She was constantly torn between the desire to distance herself so her emotions didn’t overwhelm, and the powerful urge to spend as much time and be as physically close to Gigi as possible. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the latter would always win. “So, how’s your final project going?”

Gigi let out an exasperated groan. “God, I’m killing myself making a dress for the wedding I’ll never have,” she lamented. “I never want to see white lace again once I’m done with it.”

Crystal winced, averting her gaze. “You don’t think you’ll ever get married?”

“Not the takeaway here, Crys,” she rolled her eyes, but there was still fondness in her expression. “Listen, I’ve made it this far in life without a relationship, maybe that’s just my destiny. I’ll just be far too busy taking over the fashion industry to worry about it.”

It wasn’t a personal rejection, but it was painfully difficult for Crystal not to take it as one. Her heart ached and her chest felt heavy with a sudden sadness, coupled with her active efforts not to let it show. “No, yeah, I get it.”

Gigi rubbed her arm gently. “Don’t let my cynicism ruin that hopeless romantic in you. It gives me hope in this cold, dark world.” She looked into her eyes, silently offering the apology she was just a little too proud to verbalize.

Crystal lightened back up, though she was embarrassed that Gigi had such a hold on her emotions without even realizing it. “I’ll do my best.”

——

Crystal returned to the apartment just as the sun was setting. Coffee had turned to dinner and time had just slipped away from her. But when she got inside, she went right over to knock on Jan’s door, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“Come in!”

“Jan, I had an idea!” Crystal let herself in and sat at the desk, as Jan was now in bed with her laptop.

Jan closed the laptop and set it aside. “I’m scared already,” she joked.

“No, no, no, I’m totally serious, and it’s a good idea,” Crystal insisted, shifting to sit cross-legged on the chair. “You and Nicky are like, a million miles apart and that really sucks, right?”

“Yes, thank you for reminding me.”

Crystal waved the comment off and continued. “So here’s the plan—you tell her there’s a big event that you’re going to this summer and you want her to come to visit. Dunno what the event would be, but we can worry about it later.”

The brunette tilted her head to the side. “Like graduation?”

“That’s not enough time. It has to be something that’ll happen in like, a month or something,” she explained. “But you guys will just be so excited to be together that you’ll forget about the event entirely, problem solved.”

Jan stared blankly at her friend, wondering if she had become delirious from too many all-nighters. But then she shrugged, what did she have to lose? “I’ll talk to her about it in the morning, then. It couldn’t hurt to bring up…”

“That’s the spirit!” Crystal clapped her hands together. “Let me know how it goes!” And with that, she left the room with a spring in her step.

And Jan did sleep on it, weighing out the pros and cons of creating an elaborate ruse just to get the girl she was pining after to travel overseas. It wasn’t that they hadn’t talked about visiting each other, but they could never ‘justify’ it, there was always something else they needed to focus on, or the finances just wouldn’t allow it (she wasn’t about to ask her parents to send her to France when they were already paying her bills). The more she thought about it, the more it seemed like a decent idea.

After breakfast and a shower, Jan called up Nicky on FaceTime. “Are you busy? I’ve gotta ask you something.”

“You have my undivided attention,” Nicky assured.

Jan smiled, sitting down on the couch. “So, I’ve got this big event coming up next month, and I know we haven’t been able to arrange a visit yet, but I think this would be the perfect opportunity. I really want to see you.”

Nicky tilted her head in curiosity. “I want to see you too. What is the event?”

“A wedding,” Jan answered confidently. She had decided that it would make perfect sense for the time of year.

“I love weddings.” Nicky’s face lit up. “Whose is it?”

Fuck. Why hadn’t she planned one step further? “It’s…” At that moment, she somehow forgot the name of everyone she had ever known for a brief moment, and she wanted to yell at Crystal for giving her this stupid idea in the first place and—

“Crystal and Gigi’s,” she blurted out.

Nicky knew Crystal had a romantic interest in Gigi just from passing conversations, but she had never quite pieced together the nature of their relationship. She was a little surprised at how serious it apparently was, but decided there was no need to question it. “Oh, good for them. I’ll have to double-check, but I think I will be able to be your plus one.”

Jan didn’t realize she had been holding her breath until she exhaled in relief. “Great! I’m so excited, I’m sure Crystal will be thrilled to hear it.”

“Send her my good wishes, I have to get to class, though,” Nicky replied, exchanging goodbyes before the call ended.

“What am I gonna be thrilled to hear?” Crystal asked as she tossed her bag into her bedroom. The door was always left open so TicTac could go in and out as he pleased. She had just returned from class, dried paint splotches still staining her fingers and palms.

Jan’s face froze. Yet another issue she had not accounted for. “Nicky is going to come visit.”

Crystal beamed triumphantly, getting ready to rub her brilliance in the other girl’s face. “See? I told you it—”

“She’s visiting for your and Gigi’s wedding.”

She blinked, looking at her incredulously. “Mine and Gigi’s what now?”

“Look, I panicked, it was the only thing I could think of. And this was your idea anyway, so if I’m going down, you’re coming to hell with me,” Jan got up as she spoke, pacing around the room as she desperately tried to figure out what to do next. “Just go with it, please.”

It had taken another moment for Crystal to fully process the information. How was she supposed to tell Gigi? What was she going to do if she couldn’t get her on board? But she didn’t want to compound Jan’s panic and make everything worse. “Well, Gigi does have a wedding dress in the works…” She looked over at her friend who was still on the verge of an anxiety attack and rushed to her side, wrapping her arms around her. “Listen, we’ll make this work. I don’t know how, but we will, I promise.”

Jan took a few deep breaths, allowing herself to be calmed down. She hugged Crystal tightly, hiding her face against her shoulder. “Where do we go from here?” Her voice couldn’t reach above a whisper.

Crystal chewed her lip as she rubbed Jan’s back. “I guess first thing’s first—I have to tell Gigi we’re getting married.”

[missjanjie]

Signed, Sealed, Delivered | (1/?)

Title: Signed, Sealed, Delivered Summary:   Jan is in love with her French pen pal, Nicky. Her roommate, Crystal, is in love with her best friend, Gigi. A (perhaps ill-thought out) plan emerges: give Nicky a reason to visit by inviting her to Crystal and Gigi's wedding. With a month to pull the scheme together, no one knows how this will end up. Word Count: 2.8k (this chapter) Relationship(s): Sportsdoll (Jan Sport/Nicky Doll), Crygi (Crystal Methyd/Gigi Goode Rating: T (so far)

Read on AO3

also, thanks to @janssports and @imalwaysaslutfordrag for beta-ing xo

“Mail call!” Crystal called out, even though it was only her and Jan in the apartment. She sorted the pile out between the two of them, ending up with two slightly messy stacks. “Looks like you got an international package!”

That brought Jan barreling out of her room, nearly slipping on the rug on her way in. She grabbed onto the counter to support herself, taking a gasp of air before standing upright. “Oh yay!” She grabbed the package with the enthusiasm of a kid on Christmas morning and took it back to her room along with the rest of her pile, not bothering to close the door behind her.

Crystal chuckled, looking over to see her cat perched on the couch, staring into Jan’s bedroom with something of a perplexed expression. “It’s nothing for you, Tic. But maybe she’ll let you play in the box,” she mused before her gaze drifted back to her pile of mail, sifting through what inevitably turned out to be nothing but junk. With nothing else of her immediate interest, she wandered into her roommate’s room, sitting on the bed while Jan was at her desk. “What’d you get?”

Jan carefully opened the box, gliding the box cutter down the tape seams so she didn’t have to rip and yank and risk tearing anything inside. She took the neatly folded letter out first, holding it to her face and taking a deep inhale. The scent of patchouli and vanilla wafted into her nose and made her smile. It was the smell she most associated with Nicky, every package and letter she sent came laced with the aroma of her perfume.

“Bonjour, mon petite poupée,” she started to read, ignoring the way Crystal started to laugh at her butchering of the French phrases. “I hope spring is as beautiful there as it is here. I have sent you a box of macarons—I enjoy them year-round, but my mother always loved to bake them the most this time of year. I wanted to send you some of hers, but hopefully bakery ones will suffice. I’d love it if you FaceTime or Skype me when you get them, I want to see your live reaction, and I sent you enough to share with Crystal, so be nice. Until then, câlins et bisous, Nicky.”

Jan smiled broadly as she finished reading the letter, noticing the lipstick kiss print that Nicky signed off every letter with, and gently set it aside. “Okay, it’s like nine at night where she is, she’ll still be up,” she said as she took the pastel box tied neatly with a white lace bow out of the package. “Oh look, this is so cute.” She took out another piece of paper where Nicky had hand-drawn each macaron and wrote the flavor next to it, making a color-coded guide. “Isn’t she so sweet and thoughtful?”

“She told you to share, so yes.” Crystal chuckled, running her hand through her hair to look presentable while Jan called Nicky on Skype.

Nicky answered the call right away. “Hi Jan! Hi Crystal!” She greeted them with energy even though she was dressed for bedtime, wearing a black tank top and white cotton shorts (the latter not being visible in the frame). Her hair was damp, air-drying, and draped over her desk chair. “Did you get my mail?”

Jan nodded, holding the box up for her to see. “Just did. Thank you so much, Nicks. That’s so sweet of you.”

“Of course, I’m still making my way through the gift basket you sent for my birthday. I have opinions on all the different Oreo flavors.” Nicky giggled. They had gotten into a discussion about all the different flavors of the cookie, and she had become obsessed with the idea of trying the variety. So, when her birthday rolled around, Jan had painstakingly arranged a cookie bouquet (along with a few other treats) with as many flavors as she could find.

In the year they’d been communicating, Nicky had both come to expect Jan to go the extra mile and would still be surprised every time. The university course that had brought them together through its pen pal program certainly didn’t require an exchange of presents, but it started with Jan not being to help herself and (unbeknownst to Nicky) progressed into an ever-present desire to impress her.

“We can get to that next, I’m really excited to try these. Which one is your favorite?” Jan asked as she took the bow off the box without untying it and opened it up. “Oooh, it still smells fresh-baked.”

Nicky grinned as she watched her, opening up a bottle of rosé and pouring herself a glass. “I am partial to the red velvet and the apricot.”

Jan licked her lips. “You know I love red velvet.” She plucked the deep red cookie from the box before handing it to Crystal, who was making grabby-hands at it. She waited for her friend to choose and set the box down on her desk. “On three.” She counted down, then took a bite. “Holy shit.” She covered her mouth, not wanting to talk with her mouth full. “Nicks, these are delicious. You’re gonna have to send these on the regular.”

Crystal was enjoying herself just as much. “Is there a word for like, food horny? You know, like it tastes so good, I’m kind of turned on?”

Nicky snorted and Jan looked down and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Just say you like it, Crystal.”

“I do,” she confirmed, then looked down at her phone. “Anyway, gotta go. Bye Nicky, thanks for the cookies!” She waved at the screen before darting right out of the room.

Jan chuckled, knowing exactly what propelled Crystal out of the room so quickly and shouted “Tell Gigi I said hi!” after her. Then she faced forward again, her attention effortlessly returned to Nicky. “Anyway, how have you been?” “No complainings,” Nicky hummed, aimlessly strumming her fingers against her glass. “Did you get around to listening to that study playlist I sent you?”

“Oh my god yeah, I forgot to say anything because I kept listening to it after I was done studying and fell asleep,” Jan admitted with a laugh. “You have impeccable taste.”

She twirled her slowly drying hair around her manicured finger. “Tell me something I do not know, darling.” She winked.

Jan’s breath hitched in her throat and she covered it with a cough. Nicky exuded a seductive beauty so effortlessly and it didn’t take much for Jan to get flustered. If their friendship wasn’t exclusively long distance, her crush would have been impossible for Nicky or anyone else to not pick up on. Hell, Crystal only knew because she had been aching for the release of gushing about her feelings and her roommate lent a willing ear. “Last time I did that, we ended up talking about juice boxes for an hour,” she retorted once her body had unclenched.

Nicky chuckled softly at the memory. It was so easy for them to go off on tangents about the smallest things. It was probably her favorite part of her conversations with Jan, everything flowed so easily, awkward silence simply didn’t exist between them. “That is true,” she conceded. “But I’ve got to go eat dinner. We’ll talk tomorrow, yes?”

“Go eat.” She never quite grasped how Nicky always ate dinner so late at night, but she had all but memorized her schedule by now. “Au revoir,” she cooed, just because she knew it would make her laugh, and waved as she ended the call.

------

When Crystal got the text ‘come hang out, im done with class,’ she was out the door before she even sent ‘ok.’ Gigi was a junior while she and Jan were seniors, but all of them going to the same university had their schedules aligning relatively often. But she and Jan were living off-campus, so she didn’t want to waste any time on getting to her.

“Hey.” Gigi smiled, greeting her best friend with a hug. “Come on, we’re going on a coffee run,” she said, leading the way. Her direct nature was something Crystal had appreciated—she didn’t ask questions, she made statements, and it came off as harsh to some, but Crystal was terrible at making daily decisions, so she was happy to leave it in her hands.

“Sounds good. You should come over soon, Jan got these amazing French cookies from Nicky. I think she’ll let us steal some,” Crystal mused, linking their arms as they walked.

“Cool.” She nodded. “Has Jan told Nicky she’s in love with her yet?” It had come up in conversation in the past, leading to Crystal giving the entire backstory of Jan and Nicky’s relationship. Luckily, Jan hadn’t held it against her and could live with one more person knowing the truth.

Crystal laughed softly and shook her head. “Nope. But, you know, you can’t push someone to admit how they feel if they aren’t ready.” Her tone was a bit strained in the remark, looking straight ahead as she spoke.

But Gigi didn’t notice the shift in her voice anyway. “That’s stupid,” she said flatly. “They’re like, four thousand miles apart, what’s the worst that could happen?”

“Feelings are feelings.” She shrugged as they entered the café. Of course, she could relate to what Jan was going through, but as far as she was concerned, her situation was worse. A pen pal could be out of sight and out of mind, she reasoned. But having a crush on your best friend made day-to-day life excruciating. She was constantly torn between the desire to distance herself so her emotions didn’t overwhelm, and the powerful urge to spend as much time and be as physically close to Gigi as possible. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the latter would always win. “So, how’s your final project going?”

Gigi let out an exasperated groan. “God, I’m killing myself making a dress for the wedding I’ll never have,” she lamented. “I never want to see white lace again once I’m done with it.”

Crystal winced, averting her gaze. “You don’t think you’ll ever get married?”

“Not the takeaway here, Crys,” she rolled her eyes, but there was still fondness in her expression. “Listen, I’ve made it this far in life without a relationship, maybe that’s just my destiny. I’ll just be far too busy taking over the fashion industry to worry about it.”

It wasn’t a personal rejection, but it was painfully difficult for Crystal not to take it as one. Her heart ached and her chest felt heavy with a sudden sadness, coupled with her active efforts not to let it show. “No, yeah, I get it.”

Gigi rubbed her arm gently. “Don’t let my cynicism ruin that hopeless romantic in you. It gives me hope in this cold, dark world.” She looked into her eyes, silently offering the apology she was just a little too proud to verbalize.

Crystal lightened back up, though she was embarrassed that Gigi had such a hold on her emotions without even realizing it. “I’ll do my best.”

------

Crystal returned to the apartment just as the sun was setting. Coffee had turned to dinner and time had just slipped away from her. But when she got inside, she went right over to knock on Jan’s door, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“Come in!”

“Jan, I had an idea!” Crystal let herself in and sat at the desk, as Jan was now in bed with her laptop.

Jan closed the laptop and set it aside. “I’m scared already,” she joked.

“No, no, no, I’m totally serious, and it’s a good idea,” Crystal insisted, shifting to sit cross-legged on the chair. “You and Nicky are like, a million miles apart and that really sucks, right?”

“Yes, thank you for reminding me.”

Crystal waved the comment off and continued. “So here’s the plan—you tell her there’s a big event that you’re going to this summer and you want her to come to visit. Dunno what the event would be, but we can worry about it later.”

The brunette tilted her head to the side. “Like graduation?”

“That’s not enough time. It has to be something that’ll happen in like, a month or something,” she explained. “But you guys will just be so excited to be together that you’ll forget about the event entirely, problem solved.”

Jan stared blankly at her friend, wondering if she had become delirious from too many all-nighters. But then she shrugged, what did she have to lose? “I’ll talk to her about it in the morning, then. It couldn’t hurt to bring up…”

“That’s the spirit!” Crystal clapped her hands together. “Let me know how it goes!” And with that, she left the room with a spring in her step.

And Jan did sleep on it, weighing out the pros and cons of creating an elaborate ruse just to get the girl she was pining after to travel overseas. It wasn’t that they hadn’t talked about visiting each other, but they could never ‘justify’ it, there was always something else they needed to focus on, or the finances just wouldn’t allow it (she wasn’t about to ask her parents to send her to France when they were already paying her bills). The more she thought about it, the more it seemed like a decent idea.

After breakfast and a shower, Jan called up Nicky on FaceTime. “Are you busy? I’ve gotta ask you something.”

“You have my undivided attention,” Nicky assured.

Jan smiled, sitting down on the couch. “So, I’ve got this big event coming up next month, and I know we haven’t been able to arrange a visit yet, but I think this would be the perfect opportunity. I really want to see you.”

Nicky tilted her head in curiosity. “I want to see you too. What is the event?”

“A wedding,” Jan answered confidently. She had decided that it would make perfect sense for the time of year.

“I love weddings.” Nicky’s face lit up. “Whose is it?”

Fuck. Why hadn’t she planned one step further? “It’s…” At that moment, she somehow forgot the name of everyone she had ever known for a brief moment, and she wanted to yell at Crystal for giving her this stupid idea in the first place and—

“Crystal and Gigi’s,” she blurted out.

Nicky knew Crystal had a romantic interest in Gigi just from passing conversations, but she had never quite pieced together the nature of their relationship. She was a little surprised at how serious it apparently was, but decided there was no need to question it. “Oh, good for them. I’ll have to double-check, but I think I will be able to be your plus one.”

Jan didn’t realize she had been holding her breath until she exhaled in relief. “Great! I’m so excited, I’m sure Crystal will be thrilled to hear it.”

“Send her my good wishes, I have to get to class, though,” Nicky replied, exchanging goodbyes before the call ended.

“What am I gonna be thrilled to hear?” Crystal asked as she tossed her bag into her bedroom. The door was always left open so TicTac could go in and out as he pleased. She had just returned from class, dried paint splotches still staining her fingers and palms.

Jan’s face froze. Yet another issue she had not accounted for. “Nicky is going to come visit.”

Crystal beamed triumphantly, getting ready to rub her brilliance in the other girl’s face. “See? I told you it—”

“She’s visiting for your and Gigi’s wedding.”

She blinked, looking at her incredulously. “Mine and Gigi’s what now?”

“Look, I panicked, it was the only thing I could think of. And this was your idea anyway, so if I’m going down, you’re coming to hell with me,” Jan got up as she spoke, pacing around the room as she desperately tried to figure out what to do next. “Just go with it, please.”

It had taken another moment for Crystal to fully process the information. How was she supposed to tell Gigi? What was she going to do if she couldn’t get her on board? But she didn’t want to compound Jan’s panic and make everything worse. “Well, Gigi does have a wedding dress in the works…” She looked over at her friend who was still on the verge of an anxiety attack and rushed to her side, wrapping her arms around her. “Listen, we’ll make this work. I don’t know how, but we will, I promise.”

Jan took a few deep breaths, allowing herself to be calmed down. She hugged Crystal tightly, hiding her face against her shoulder. “Where do we go from here?” Her voice couldn’t reach above a whisper.

Crystal chewed her lip as she rubbed Jan’s back. “I guess first thing's first—I have to tell Gigi we’re getting married.”

[stardancerluv]

One Night, Ten Years

Part 2

Summary: What happens after a passionate few hours with Curt Wild.

Warning: fingering

“Y/N, wake up.” Blinking, you gasped and moved back as Nancy, face was all you saw.

“How...” you tried to form logical thoughts but sleep held onto you. “How did you get in here?” You hissed, Curt’s arm tightened around your middle, as you felt him stirring behind you.

“I’ll tell you later but we have to get going.”

Something about tonight made you forget all about what had been important like curfews and obligations. You had felt like your own person, for once someone else was not pushing you as they saw fit.

Desperately, you tried to grasp onto that but you couldn’t. It all fell through your fingers like grains of sand.

“Fine alright, meet me by the food table I need to get dressed.”

“Ok, hurry.”

Once she was gone and the door closed, you turned gently to face Curt. You opened your mouth to speak but he spoke first.

“You gotta go.” He said, his eyes opening slowly. His blue eyes still sleep filled.

“I do.”

He blinked, the raised himself on his elbow. “Simple, don’t. Stay with me and party till I have to leave town.” He pulled you close.

“I want to.” He kissed you then, easily you melted under him. Before you knew it, he was deliciously hanging over you. “Curt, you are making this hard one me.”

He smirked, “That’s the whole idea.”

You closed your eyes. “Why can’t things be different?”

“They can be. Join me in my rocker roller life.” He began kissing your jaw then he moved onto your throat and finally your shoulder.

“We’d get tired of each other.”

“There’s too much I want to show you.” His eyes were lit with mischief.

You made a soft sound. “Damn my life.” You sighed. “All of Camberly will be a buzz if I go off with you.”

Damn, if his smug look didn’t get your heart racing.

“Fuck, Camberly.”

You closed your eyes again. “I have to go.” Opening, your eyes, you saw an air of resignation fill his, something about that you didn’t want. “You could come rescue me so this isn’t goodbye.”

He raised an eyebrow. “How much longer will you be here?”

“I leave Tuesday morning.”

You smiled. “Great! Look, I have no school till Tuesday. If you come there, I can make up some kind of excuse.”

He raised an eyebrow with a happy smile splashed across his face. “Yeah?”

You nodded. “Yeah.”

“Is Camberly a small town?”

“Tiny.”

Rolling, out of bed you shivered as you began pulling on your clothes.

“This is better than late night tv.”

You flushed, you looking over at Curt, the sheet sat low on his hips. He beckoned to you. Crawling over to him, now you were the one who hung over him. “Yes?”

“I want to kiss you before you leave.”

“I’d like that.” You leaned in, your lips meet.

He gasped, breaking the kiss. “Baby...” He breathed. You drifted your hand over the sheet till you reached him.

“We can finish this when we see each other again.”

*****

The bus dipped and wobbled through the night. Looking, out the window you let your mind wander. Nancy, grabbed your arm and leaned in. “Are you going to finally tell me how you ended up in bed with Curt Wild?” You finally looked away from the window.

“Will you cover for me on Sunday?” You slid your friend a look.

“Yes...yes..not tell me.”

*****

“Wow! That is amazing.”

You only had told her bits of what happened, a girl needed secrets you mused walking through the quiet streets.

“So tell me about you and Ricky?”

You could see that a blush darkened her cheeks. “One minute we were talking and the next we were kissing.” She looked over at you and grabbed your arm. “He is such a good kisser.”

You smiled. “Good.”

*****

Carefully, you gave Nancy a boost, “I got you...I got you.” You whispered. Moments, later she opened then climbed into her room. You sighed with relief against the side of the house.

“Y/N, get over here.” You heard her hiss into the night.

You came running over. Without, disturbing her parents you both changed and settled into her bedroom. In no time, Nancy was soundly asleep above you in her bed.

You crept over to bathroom. Closing the door, you turned on the light you looked at your reflection.

Deep down, you felt different. Eyeing, your reflection you tried to see if there any noticeable difference.

You really hoped he showed up tomorrow. You and Nancy, would have to play your cards right. After breakfast getting your school books would help with that greatly.

The rule of the house was nothing, had to be worked on until after church. You needed to show that this was super important.

*****

“Nancy, I will be right there.” Seeing your mother, you stopped. “Hi mother!” You ran upstairs. You grabbed you backpack while there you stuffed in some must needed items. She stopped you on the way downstairs.

“Sweetheart, what are you doing here?”

“Last night,” Your heart raced, lying wasn’t exactly something you enjoyed or did often to you mother. “Nancy, got working on an immense school project. We stayed up late working on it..well the best we could. So that’s why I’m here. I need my school books to get more done.”

“This is a long weekend, you were having a sleep over.”

“Yeah, but now we have a head start!” You added.

“You have worked too hard. Your eyes are bloodshot.” She looked you in the end. Which made nervousness uncoil in your stomach. “Go have fun. And then maybe after church start working again.”

“Ok, mother.”

“See, I told you!” Nancy added, “I knew your mother would want you to take a break before church.”

“I want us to get this done.” You added.

*****

You were all a flutter, as you changed into your dress for church. The shower did nothing to calm your nerveds. You stuffed your bags. If he didn’t then you would never have to worry about lying to your mother ever again. Most likely, you’d never see him again. If he did come, it would be a short time. It would be amazing. Either way all of this would be short lived.

Seeing him or not seeing him, you were torn. Whether you saw him or didn’t see him, you were afraid. You never felt like this for anyone.

After church, the two of you convinced Nancy’s parents to let you two go for some tea. You had told him, that sometimes after church, you got a spot of tea. There were only two possible places in Camberly where you could be.

You relaxed as you settled into your seat that looked out on the main street of Camberly. You tried to relax the best you could. Would, Curt show up and snatch you away.

Nancy, cut right through your relaxation once the waitress was gone. “What are you gonna do if he shows up? And what will you two do?”

“I don’t know.” Her question was hit you like a punch, you could only shrug. Distantly, you expected him to not show. You wouldn’t tell her that.

“You can’t just stay in bed naked.”

You blushed, is that what it would be like? Did you care if was? “Why not?” It came out more whiney that you had expected. The two of you giggled and were giggling when the waitress brought out your tea pot.

“Girls from Camberly don’t do that sort of thing.”

“I am sure we will do other things.” You paused. “Nancy what can we do in Camberly. I can’t exactly walk around with him. People know me.”

She sighed. “I didn’t think of that....Oh...please just don’t start any drugs.” She admonished.

You gave her a look.

“Y/N, we both know his reputation.” She took your hand. “I don’t want you to go down a rabbit hole you can’t climb back out of.”

“I know what I’m doing.”

You watched your friend as if she was in slow motion, her eyes grew large and her mouth dropped open. A breath later coolish hands covered your eyes, “Guess who baby?”

Your heart shot to the top of your head and felt as if it burst into millions of pieces.

You jumped up and turning, a huge smile splashed across your face. You leapt right into his arms. He held you tightly. “I was hoping you’d find me.” You whispered again his throat.

“I’d find you anywhere.” He whispered back.

When you pulled back, you finally took him all in. “Curt?” Now your mouth dropped open.

He had a baseball cap on, so incredibly American you thought. Were those jeans and an olive green jacket. He looked good, very respectable but the furthest thing from the rock and roller you had just rolled out of bed from. He still looked good.

He grimaced and shrugged, as he still held onto you. “From what you said, I decided I’d play it low-key.”

“Thank you!”

He gestured to you. “And look at you. A proper English girl in her Sunday best.” You did in fact look probably just as different as he did.

You gave him a sheepish smile. “It is.” Turning, in his arms, you looked at Nancy. “Let’s go call my mother.” You kissed his cheek. “I will be right back.” You pointed to your tea cup and cookies. “Enjoy some of that, we’ll be right back.”

“There’s a flower in your tea.” He made a face.

“Oh! You can eat those.” You giggled and ran off.

*****

“Mother, umm Nancy and I working really hard.” Twirling the cord around your finger, you finally asked the big question. “We were wondering, can I stay one more night?”

“Did you relax and have fun before church?”

“Yes, mother.”

“And you will have more fun at some point. This is a three day weekend after-all.”

“I promise.” Nancy, gave you a look when you said that and she you had to bit back a giggle that wanted to bubble to the surface.

“Alright, but sweetie sometimes you work too hard.”

“I do.”

“Ok, good. I will miss you but I suppose your father and I go and play some bingo or bridge or something.”

“Thank you, Mother. Thank you, Y/L/N.” Nancy piped in.

“Bye, Mother.” You hung up then and the two of you broke into happy giggles and you hugged your friend tight.

“Thank you, Nancy!” You hugged your friend tight.

*****

Excitement beat heavily in your stomach, as you watched him, toss your bags into the boot of the car.

“Thank you, again Nancy. I owe you.” You gave your friend another tight hug.

*****

“This is so quaint.” You said after walking into the room. Compared to the night before, this was tiny. You turned toward Curt, “Curt are you...” Tossing, his baseball cap aside, he pulled you close.

He nuzzled your throat, you giggled lightly. “Hi baby.” He smiled at you. Some of his chestnut strands fell into his face.

Butterflies were flapping throughout your body. “Hello.” You wrapped your arms around him.

“I’m glad I could find you.”

“I am too.”

“We have lots of time on our hands now.”

“We do.”

“Baby, you intrigue me.”

You flushed. “I’m not terribly exciting.”

“Try me. I’d like to know more then that you drink tea with flowers in them.” He chuckled.

“Alright but let’s get comfortable.”

He smirked. “See, I already like how you think.”

Going over to the bed, you slipped out of your heals, then laid down but instantly made a face.

“Baby, what’s the matter?”

“This bed, is horrible.

He laid down beside you, then he made a face. “Oh, this is horrible.”

“I will take care of this.”

****

Over the course of the almost hour long car ride to London conversation flowed easily between the two of you. Not even realizing it, a level of relaxation fell over you, since you both knew alot more about each other. He didn’t feel so far away. A level of determination filled your heart, you needed to go out there and grab life. Not just be a good Camberly girl. This would be your first steps toward that.

When you entered the place, Curt took your hand. Looking, over at him and you shared a smile.

“Mr. and Mrs. Wildwind?” Inquired, the very tall man behind the check-in desk. Once in front of him, you noticed that his hair was rather oily and his thin mustache had some kind of wax in it.

Curt, gave him a winning smile. “That is us.”

“We just got off the phone with your assistant. The room is ready. We hope to exceed your expectations.”

“I’ve heard good.” Curt, squeezed your hand.

“Will you need both keys or just the one?”

Curt looked over at you. “Darling, you need a key?”

“You can hang onto the key, I don’t need one.”

“Very well.” He retrieving the keys and turning, on a heel he handed the key to Curt. He placed the extra other key in his pocket.

He took your bags. “Right up, here.” The man, smiled for the first time since the two of arrived. Curt ushered you to follow the tall, bird like man.

“You have your own bath. We serve dinner at seven sharp, cocktails end at midnight. Breakfast promptly starts at eight am.” You and Curt shared looks as he spoke. “There is no obligation to join us for any of those.” He gave Curt a smile that made a hot flush fill your cheeks. “We all know how newlyweds are.” He smiled. “And here we are.” He unlocked the door with flourish. He put the bags at the end of the bed. “The bathroom, is right here. Need anything, ring down.”

“Wow,” Curt tossed his baseball cap again. “That guy was interesting.” He started laughing.

“Yes, he was!” You giggled. “I am not waiting!” You slipped out of your shoes and practically hopped on to the bed.

“How is it?”

You looked over at Curt and smiled. “Come over here and see.”

He pulled off his boots, shed his coat and coming over to you, he jumped onto the bed as well.

“This is much better, Mrs. Wildwin.”

“It is, Mr. Wildwin.”

“Baby, this dress.” The way he looked at you, made you tremble.

“Yes?”

You squealed, as he pulled you so you were astride him. “I’ve been wanting to do this all morning.”

A soft ache began in you, as you looked down at him. You moved a little to get comfortable. “Oh? Have you?” You smiled down at him.

He nodded as he rested his hands on your thighs.

“Was that before or after you found out I wear a uniform at school?”

“After.” A smirk curled his lips. “Tell me, baby. Did you talk to your friend about what we did?” His hands gently moved up and down your thighs.

“Curt,” You, whimpered. “You are making it very hard for me to think.

He snickered.

“Few things, a girl has to keep her secrets.”

“You didn’t tell her how you got me hard on stage?”

You flushed. “No.”

“Tell me what you told her.”

You flushed again. “I told her how, we kissed and you fingered me.” His hands stopped high up your thighs.”

“Oh did you?”

You nodded. You could feel yourself getting excited. You didn’t know if it was his hands or simply recounting last night.

A light began burn in his blue eyes. “Would like me to finger you again?”

You nodded. “Yes.” Your voice becoming breathy, trembling as your desire bulit.

His hands went upward, forcing a gasp to break your lips as you felt his thumbs rubbing aganist your panties. You couldn’t stop yourself from moving with his fingers. “Does that feel good baby? You managed, to say yes. “I need to you take off those panties off.”

You swallowd finding your voice. “Ok.” Sliding off of him, you reached under the skirt of your dress and pulled down your panties.

As you did, you saw him shed one of his shirts. Now clad in jeans and a t-shirt you were able to see more of his solid frame as he reclined there. You went to reach the zipper of your dress and he stopped you.

“You pull the darker side of me, baby. I want to finger you under your Sunday best.” You bit your bottom lip at his words. They stoked the thudding between your legs. “So get back up here.”

*****

You moaned and moved over his fingers with abandon. “You’re so wet baby.”

You shook, you had became incoherent. “Yes...yes...” you panted, you arched hard against his fingers. Then moaning something that was his name you shook hard against his fingers and came.

As you crumbled on top of him. You saw him lick his fingers. “I don’t think I could ever tire of watching you cum baby.” Breathlessly, you looked at him and gave him a soft smile. “And..” he made a soft sound, I am going to have to taste more of you.” He gave you a devilish smile.

As you settled a little further down on him so you could lay your head on his chest is when you felt him. You gasped, he was incredibly hard against his jeans. Feeling it broke through the foggy after glow of cumming.

“Oh Curt,” you struggled to find your voice. “You are so hard.”

“I am.” He said simply.

“I want to make you cum too.” Merely, saying those words shook you, making you ache.

His blue eyes slid to yours and a smirk curled his lips, “well then, lets see what we can have you do about that.”

@theblackmaskclub @brookisbi @rosionis @johallzy

[destielstuffandthings]

Detention Confessions

For the wonderful @lillycopen548​. Thank you for the request and sorry it look so long to get this out! Quarantine isn’t as easy breezy as I thought it was going to be, but here it is!

Summary: Teenage Dean is a year older than Cas and is constantly picking on. Little do they know, they had a crush on each other the whole time.

Fic and gif under the cut

He doesn’t really know why he does it.

Ok, maybe that’s a lie. He knows. He just doesn’t want to admit it. Seeing that damn black mess of hair slinking down the hallway every. single. day. is really starting to piss Dean off.

Who does he think he is? With his stupidly blue eyes and ridiculously over packed book bag full of what just happens to be Dean’s favorite books.

Seriously. It’s infuriating.

That’s why Dean finds himself here, in the dirt, on top of Castiel freaking Novak, punching him in the face.

His friends are crowded around them so the teachers can’t see, but they can definitely hear their yelling.

Mid swing Dean noticed how nice Castiel’s complexion is and feels bad marring it with cuts and bruises. But hey, he’s an emotionally repressed sixteen year old in Kansas. What else is there to do but beat up the nerd in school?

He feels a rough hand grip the back of his neck and is lifted into the air. He watches as Castiel sighs in relief when the rest of Dean’s friends scatter like cockroaches when Principal Shurley drags Dean off to his office.

Cas lays there, breathing heavily as he stares up at the afternoon sky. He brings a dirty hand up to his face to inspect his wounds. Thankfully Dean only got a few solid punches in before Chuck broke up the fight. His eyebrow was bleeding and his cheek hurt, but nothing felt broken. He was glad his bully usually left his mouth alone because what’s worse than a swollen lip?

Oh yeah. Parents.

“Castiel!”

The boy groaned as he stood, brushing the dirt and grass off his pants. “I’m fine,” he lied.

A tug on his back pack swung him in a circle and was forced to meet his mothers eye line. “You absolutely are not fine. Who did this to you? Was it Dean? I’ll kick his little----” The redhead glared around the school yard.

“Mom, please. Can we not make a scene? I just want to go home. Mr. Shurley handled it. He’s in with Dean right now.”

The minute those words came out of his mouth he regretted it.

“Is he now? Come on.”

If getting beaten in front of the school wasn’t humiliating enough, Castiel’s mother dragging him by the shirt to the principals office did the trick. His mother shoved the door of Chuck’s office open and her eyes landed on Dean slumped in the chair.

Chuck hung his head and groaned. “Hello, Mrs. Bradbury. I can only guess what you’re here about.” He motioned for her to sit in the chair next to Dean. “I already called. His mother will be here soon.”

Castiel swallowed hard as he watched Dean glare at him from his seat. Even though he was staring daggers, Castiel couldn’t help but map out the freckles on his bully’s face. His narrowed eyes barely showed the bright green color that usually radiated from them.

“This really isn’t necessary, mom,” Castiel whispered and tugged on her arm. “Please. Let’s just go.”

“No. I’m sick and tired of my boy coming home bloody and bruised!” She turned to Dean and pointed a sharp finger at him. “I swear to God if you even look at him again I’ll---”

“You’ll what?” a voice asked from the doorway. Dean shrunk even farther into his seat and lowered his head.

“Mrs. Winchester. Thank you for coming on such short notice,” Chuck said calmly.

Mary looked around the room and when she laid her eyes on Castiel she gasped.

“Oh, damn it,” she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She nodded tersely at whatever she was thinking and looked at Chuck. “Do whatever you think is best. Detention, expulsion. I don’t care. Nothing I do seems to get into his thick skull,” she reached out and smacked Dean in the back of the head, “so maybe he’ll listen to you.”

Charlie let out a humorless laugh and Castiel tried to make himself as small as possible.

“Detention it is. A full week.” Chuck scribbled on a pink piece of paper and handed it to Dean who snatched it out of his hand. He balled it up and stuffed it in his oversized leather jacket.

“That’s it? He beats my child every day and he gets a weeks worth of detention?”

“Mom, please---”

“Unless you plan to press charges that’s the best I can do,” Chuck sighed.

Dean’s head whipped to Castiel with wide, scared eyes.

“No! No of course not. Detention is fine, let’s just go,” Castiel begged as he pulled his mother out of the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~

MONDAY

Just because Dean got detention didn’t mean the bullying stopped. It never worked before, why should this time be any different?

Castiel was “accidentally” slammed against his locker twice and had his books knocked out of his hand on his way to science.

Tuesday

Someone (three guesses who) stole Cas’ clothes out of his gym locker so he was forced to wear his PE clothes, which consisted of shorts and a white tank top, for the rest of the day. He seemed to catch Dean staring at him a lot more than usual. It didn’t seem to have the same “I’m going to pummel you into the ground” heat as before.

Wednesday

The pool was where all Castiel’s worries were washed away. He lived for Wednesday and Friday swim practices. For one, he didn’t have to leave the school the same time Dean and his friends did. Two, flying through the water and timing his breaths gave him something else to focus on. No Dean. No gorgeous green eyes staring down at him as his face was busted up. No stolen glances across the cafeteria that made Cas feel like he was on fire and melting from the inside out. Just peaceful, quiet water to soothe away his worries

Thursday

“Crap.” Castiel sighed as he watched Dean stalk up to him. He closed his eyes and braced for impact.

“You swim?”

Castiel peeked one eye open and frowned. “What?”

Dean huffed and looked over his shoulder at his friends who were gathered by their lockers. “I said, do you swim? Like, on the team.”

“Y-yes.” He gripped his back pack tightly in front of him, hoping to shield whatever blow was coming.

Dean looked at the floor and scuffed a black mark into the marble tile. “K. Bye,” he said a little too loudly and awkwardly before spinning on his heel and making his way back to his crowd.

“What the fuck...”

Friday

Castiel finished pulling on his swimming cap as he walked out into the pool area. It was quieter than usual. No water lapping at the floors, no whistle blowing to signal the start of a race. Just, silence.

He looked around the room and saw three kids sitting on the bleachers. Two were making out and the other was Dean, already staring at Castiel.

A lump formed in his throat as he walked to the coach’s office, only to find it locked. A sign on the door said “Practice is rescheduled for Monday” in bright purple letters.

“Shit,” Castiel breathed out.

“Didn’t get the memo?”

Chills ran up Cas’ spine as he heard Dean’s boots stomp across the wet tile towards him. He walked quickly to the locker room, avoiding the trios gaze, but Dean caught the handle before he could open it. Feeling Dean’s breath on the back of his neck send goosebumps across his skin and he shivered.

Dean huffed a laugh through his nose and watched the boy in front of him shake. “S’matter? Those little Speedo’s not keeping you warm?” he purred.

“Leave me alone, Dean.” Castiel’s hand shoved at the door but Dean caught his wrist and held it gently.

Turning his head over his shoulder, Dean whistled through his teeth. The kissing couple came up for air just long enough to see Dean hook his thumb towards the door before getting off the bleachers. The door echoed loudly as it slammed shut behind them.

“So, what’s it going to be this time?” Castiel’s voice shook as he spoke. “You plan on drowning me or just waterboarding?” Dean let go of his wrist and frowned. Castiel turned around and glared at the boy behind him. “Well? Either get on with it or I need to change.”

Swallowing hard, Dean lifted his eyes to Castiel’s.

“I thought maybe--” Dean picked at his fingers nervously.

“What? You thought what? You’d come here and torment me endlessly? No one’s around, Dean, just get it over with. I have homework to do.”

Dean looked like he was punched in the stomach. His sad eyes lowered to the ground as he took a deep breath.

“I thought maybe you could teach me how to swim,” he rushed out. He brushed a hand through his hair and sighed. “I uh, never learned how and my brother wants to go to the pool this summer. Mom’s never around so I gotta take him and---yeah.”

Castiel’s eyes went wide. “Ok,” he said without thinking.

Dean’s mouth lifted into a grin before he cleared his throat and frowned. “Yeah? I mean, I get it if you don’t want---”

“No! No I do. I will,” he rushed out as he raised his hands. “Do you have trunks? Or shorts? Anything like that will be fine.”

Dean glanced towards the locker room. “I uh, gym shorts?”

Castiel nodded. “Yeah, ok. Um, go change and I’ll start warming up.”

Dean beamed a smile and his eyes lit up. “Ok.”

~*~*~*~

Castiel surfaced for air and shook the water from his face. He glanced towards the locker room and his breath caught in his throat when he watched Dean walk towards the pool. He waded towards the ladder and waited for Dean to make his way down in, shivering when his bare chest breached the water.

He folded his arms over his chest and scowled. “So, what now?”

Castiel stood in the shallows with his bully silently for a minute before deciding what to do.

“Ok, first thing we can do is see if you can float.” He backed up to give Dean room and laid his hands on top of the water. “All you have to do is lay on the surface of the water.”

Dean huffed. “Easy.” He leaned back into the water and attempted to lift his legs off the bottom of the pool. His head dunked backwards before he righted himself and coughed harshly into the water. “Maybe not.”

“Some people can’t get it right away, it’s alright. Here.” Castiel reached out and rested his hand on the back of Deans neck. Dean went still at the touch, his jaw clenching. “It’s alright,” Castiel reassured with a small smile. “This way your head won’t go under. Lift your legs.”

Dean took a deep breath and leaned backwards, smiling when he felt his legs begin to float.

“Good,” Castiel smiled. “I’m gonna let go now and you---”

“No!” Dean’s hand shot out and gripped Cas’ free hand. “Not, uh---not yet. Lemme get used to it for a minute.”

“Alright, Dean.” Castiel let his fingers drift through the short hairs on the back of Dean’s neck. He looked down and didn’t recognize the boy in his arms. His eyes were closed and his eyelashes rested gently on his upper cheeks. A soft smile crossed his face when Castiel moved them into deeper water, gently swaying him in his arms.

“Ok?” Castiel asked quietly.

“Yeah, m’ready.”

“Good, because I’ve already let go.”

Dean’s eyes shot open and his arms flailed to the sides. “Cas!”

“It’s ok, I’m right here. You’re already doing it Dean, just stay calm.”

Dean took gulping breaths until he stilled in the water. “Ok, ok. Fuck. Ok, I think I got it. What now?” he asked nervously.

“Now,” Castiel laid on his back and floated next to Dean, “raise an arm above your head and swipe it back down towards your body. Kick your feet while you do it.” He mimicked his words and showed Dean what to do.

~*~*~*~

Thirty minutes later, Dean was swimming the length of the pool under water.

“You’re a fast learner,” Castiel panted as he tread water.

Dean licked his lips and smiled. “I had a good teacher.”

Castiel nodded as his forehead creased. The question was hanging in the damp air and Castiel couldn’t hold it back anymore.

“Dean, why do you bully me?” he asked quietly.

Kicking his legs, Dean swam closer to Castiel. He sighed heavily, watching it ripple the water. “Because I’m a fucking idiot.”

Castiel snorted and looked up through his lashes at the boy in front of him. “I know how you look at me when you think I can’t see you,” he whispered. “I just want to know why.”

Dean reached out and slipped his finger under Cas’ swimming cap and lifted it off before tossing it on the side of the pool. “Every time I see you walking towards me, my heart stops.” He ran a finger up Cas’ cheek softly and smiled. “Your eyes are so fucking intense they make me wanna look away, but I can’t. They’re the most beautiful color I’ve ever seen.” He sighed quietly and ran his fingers through the boys hair as he looked into his eyes. “You drive me crazy and it pisses me off.”

Castiel felt himself being pulled through the water and was met with warm skin. Dean’s wet hand cupped Cas’ cheek before he leaned in and kissed him. He worked his mouth over Cas’, gently running his tongue across his bottom lip before sucking it gently into his mouth.

“I hate you because I like you, Cas. Like, really like you,” he whispered against the boys mouth.

Castiel felt heat rise in his cheeks as he smiled. “I really like you too, Dean,” he said before pulling Dean in for another kiss.

[supernatural---imagines]

Broken (Sam Imagine)

imagine where sam is in the hospital when he is going crazy, but before hes losing his nails and seeing fire crackers from lucifer. lots of fluff and reder trying to comfort him?

Sure. Hope its ok for you. Haven’t wrote Sam in a while so this was fun.

“Where the hell is he?” Your breath was short and your face was red, you had just ran up 8 flights of stairs after running the whole way from your motel, as Dean and the car had gone a-wall. Your boyfriend was hit by a car in the early hours of the morning, and the receptionist told you he was in the psych Ward.

“Calm down miss.” The doctor put his hand out in front of him cautiously and tried to signal you to sit down, which was met by a dismissive decline. 

“Where is Sam Winchester, why is he in the psych ward? Let me see him!” The doctor explained his condition to you as you paced up and down the room, pinching the bridge of your nose trying to keep it all together. He explained that a nurse would escort you to Sam but only if you calmed down.

“I’m fine, ok? Let me see him please.” You spoke through gritted teeth, trying to keep your emotions at bay. The nurse led you to his room and opened the door. You stood in the door way and your heart broke into a million pieces. He was beat up, cuts and bruises. He was tired, with blood shot eyes carrying bags underneath. His hair was messy and his face unshaven. He was dressed in white scrubs, and lay down on his bed, his head gently propped up with a small pillow. 

He caught you in his gaze and furrowed his brows, whilst squinting his eyes he tried to figure out if it was really you. You walked over slowly to him, as if you were trying not to startle a deer in the woods. He sat up in his bed and tried to offer a smile, but his tired face couldn’t manage it. He was a bit unsure of you as you sat down next to him. His trouble with knowing what’s real and what’s not was getting worse with his insomnia and although a few weeks ago he would have known if you were a figment of his imagination or not, today he wasn’t so sure.

“Hi baby” you spoke gently, picking up his hand softly and resting it in yours. He looked at you searching for answers, his cogs in his mind spinning a million miles per second, trying his very best to know if he could speak to you, or when he opened his mouth would you just morph into Lucifer.

“It’s me. Don’t worry.” You tried to comfort the man but god knows how many of you he had seen in the past while. 

“Look.” You dragged up your sleeve to reveal a large, badly sewn up gash that you had got on a werewolf hunt two weeks ago.

“Remember I got this? That sloppy stitching is the work of Dr Dean, who I ought to sue for this mess of a scar I’m going to be left with. It’s me” you joked. Sam’s shoulders slouched down as he let out a sigh of relief, and as he decided it was ok to relax. You raised his hand that was in yours up to your lips and pressed a small kiss to it. A tear slipped out from your eye and landed on his knuckle, trickling down and dropping onto your leg. 

“Hey don’t cry” he tried to comfort you. He was in hospital, had just been ran over, suffering the most intense mental issues, hasn’t slept for over a week. And he was trying to comfort you. That’s the kind of man Sam is.

“I’m just happy you’re alive baby. When I heard you got hit by a car, my god I thought the worst. I should’ve known better. As if Sam Winchester would get taken out by a car. You’ve been beat up, stabbed, shot, the whole nine. No way would a silly Prius suck the life out of you” He let out a small laugh, although the smile was wiped off his face quickly when his focus shot to the corner of the room and his face winced.

“Is he here?” You asked.

Sam nodded, biting the inside of his cheek.

“It’s ok Sam. You know this isn’t going to take you out either. I will fix this. Me and Dean will fix this for you. I promise” you swore to the defeated man. He bowed his head, strands of hair falling out from behind his ears to cover his face. He took a deep breath to compose himself before sitting back up straight to look at you.

“I don’t think there’s anything out there, y/n. We’ve all looked before” Sam had given up. He didn’t care what happened to him, if he lived or if he died. All he wanted was the torture to be over. He jumped out of his skin randomly, something to do with Lucifer pestering him again presumably. You snatched his focused back to you, and looked into his eyes.They had nothing behind them. They didn’t have the light and love that that used to, they weren’t even sad. They were just done. He was so beyond tired that his brain probably didn’t even have the capacity to feel anything anymore.

“I’m not giving up Sammy. Neither is Dean. Neither should you. This isn’t going to be the end of you. You are the strongest man I know. We will get through this together. As a team.” You squeezed his hand as you spoke. He scooted back on the bed and pulled you back with him, lying against the side of his chest that didn’t have the cracked rib.

“We don’t have much time together before they’ll kick you out, can you just lie with me?” Sam asked. 

“Of course” you reached up to his lips and placed a gentle kiss, trying to avoid his busted top lip. 

“I love you so much” he spoke, voice breaking as if he was saying good bye. 

“I love you too. Which is why I’m never ever giving up on you.” Sam leaned down and placed a kiss on your head. His hand intertwined in your hair and the other holding one of yours. He rested his head on yours and breathed you in. Whispering every now and again that he loved you. This man was ready to die. You tried so hard to hold it together because you were not about to let him comfort you when it was your time to be there for him. You sucked it up and looked up at him, teary eyed, but not quite crying. 

“Please don’t give up Sam. You’ve still got so much more to give to this world.” You begged. He answered by placing a small series of kisses on your cheek down to your lips. Which was something he always did when you needed cheering up. You smiled at him. Cuddling in closer, both of you melting into the hug that you desperately needed from one another. Your heart beats synced together as you cuddled in close. Sam jumping and wincing from time to time, queuing your comforting words to try and reassure him it’s not real, and hes OK.

“I haven’t felt so safe in a long time, thank you for being here.” He spoke with words filled with gratitude. Sam was never one to ask for comfort or a hug when he needed it, it stemmed from years of being on the road with Dean who was against sharing, and John before that who was he exact same. So when you spent time with Sam, making him feel better about anything, he was always so thankful as if you had just done him a massive favour. 

“If i could be anywhere in the world I would always chose to be by your side”

“Cheesy” Sam chuckled, you nudged him playfully, careful not to hurt any of his injuries and laughed with him. You snuggled back in again and planting a small kiss on his neck before burring your face in it. 

“Alright Sam, visiting time up” a nurse called through the doorway to his room, interrupting your moment. You moaned in annoyance. You both sat up and Sam walked you to the door without dropping your hand. 

“Stay strong. I will find Dean and he will come by tonight. Please hang on tight” 

“Bye, baby” Sam kissed you once more before you left, and as soon as you were out of his sight, and hearing range, you broke down. You pressed your back against the wall and slid down it, tears flooding out. 

How the hell were you going to fix this?

[gyeomork]

Explanation

(im jaebeom x reader)

genre: angst, light smut, fluff, roommate au

warnings: mild cursing, suggestive themes

word count: 3.5k

a/n: so idk if it’s been a long time since i last posted but hey i’m back lol. my last fic got like a lot of love so i was like oh shit wtf thAnk yU. so basically i got kinda in my jaebeom feels because of these pictures i saw and they just kinda hit different so i made a fic lol. anywAy k bye ^3^

“please please please~” jackson begged me. we were currently sitting on the couch in the living room having a conversation about me moving out so his girlfriend could move in. “you guys could just stay in your room and i’ll stay in mine. i’ll try to make my presence as unknown as possible” he looks at me bewildered. “y/n no!” i let out a deep sigh. “alright so let’s say i do move out, where would i go? hm?” “i already have that planned out “ he points at me and smirks “one of my best friends, jaebeom, i told about him right?” i nod. “he’s been living by himself for a while and having kind of a hard time paying for the place so i was hoping you could move in with him” i think about it for a few seconds. “is it cheaper?” he nods assuringly. “ok” i say and he jumps up in excitement. “but you have to do most of the heavy lifting” “ok!”

jackson sets down the last box in my new room. i lay down on the mattress already getting tired from the thought of packing out. “there you go. jaebeom should get home from work at 7 so you have some time to be loud with your music and bad singing”. “hey!” i attempt to kick him but he pushes my foot away. “that’s one thing i wont miss” he continues and i pout. “but overall i’m gonna miss you” he pats me on the head and i smile. “me too”. “listen, i gotta get going but have fun packing out ok! bye~” before i could say bye in return he slams my door shut. he’s not gonna miss me. i put on my music and start opening up the first box.

i finally finish packing out and take a shower to cool my body down. i put on some shorts and a tank top. i check the time and it was 6:43 pm; jaebeom should be getting home soon. I think to make a ‘thank you for letting me live here’ dinner-gift. i walk out my room and was surprised when the front door opened and two shadows walked in. god my first day here and we’re already getting robbed. the tall, wide shouldered shadow turns on the light and reveals a recognizable face from the some of the pictures jackson posted on instagram. he sees me and freezes in shock. the smaller shadow reveals a very pretty woman’s face that automatically turns defensive. “who is she and what is she doing here?” she inquires. i intervene hoping to clear the air “i’m y/n, jaebeom’s new roommate.” i hold out my hand for her to shake. she looks at me and scoffs, then to jaebeom “i can’t believe you” she walks out the door slamming it behind her. jaebeom goes after her and i’m left standing there awkwardly. i go back to my room to avoid more awkwardness when they come back. i can always make that thank you dinner another time. a few minutes later i hear a soft knock on my door. “y/n? it’s jaebeom” i get up and open the door. “i’m sorry i didn’t know-” “no, no it’s fine it’s my fault actually i forgot you were coming today and i forgot to tell her. i’m sorry she was so rude to you, she can be.. defensive at times” he looks kind of stressed. “it’s ok, i won’t take it personally”. “i’m jaebeom” he holds his hand out “we didn’t get to properly introduce ourselves earlier” i shake his hand “y/n” we both give small smiles. we hold hands and eye contact for a little too long. he scans my body and i become self conscious remembering that i don’t have a bra on. i let go and cross my arms over my chest. “i’ve had a long day, so i’ll be going to bed now. good night.” i closed the door as quick as i could without being rude. i scold myself for not wearing the proper clothes. i was so used to living and being so comfortable with jackson that i completely forgot that this is not how you dress around a stranger. especially a man. an attractive man. with a girlfriend. i brush my teeth and go to bed to avoid overthinking.

i wake up early the next morning to make a thank you breakfast instead in hopes of getting on jaebeom’s girlfriend’s good side. jaebeom walks into the kitchen while i’m in the middle of cracking an egg. “good morning” he says in a husky voice. “good morning” i reply back. “you didn’t have to make breakfast, i’m the one that usually makes it” “oh no i wanted to make a thank you dinner last night but..” “my girlfriend” he finishes my sentence for me. “where is she by the way? i want to apologize” he frowns and sighs deeply “she got mad yesterday and left. and i told you it’s not your fault, you don’t have to apologize” he puts his hand on my shoulder and stares dead into my eyes. all of a sudden, i get hot. like extremely. like so hot i begin sweating. like so hot that i hear beeping… beeping? i turn around and realize that the pancakes i had on the stove caught on fire. i immediately start panicking and trying to blow it out and it only gets bigger. jaebeom comes with a fire extinguisher and pulls me away from the fire by the waist. he puts out the fire swiftly and sinks to the floor. i sit across from him and try to regulate my breathing. he squeezes the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger.  god my second day here and i almost burn the house down. what tomorrow? i blow up the whole neighborhood? i get ready for the ‘you almost made my girlfriend break up with me and burn my house down get the fuck out’. but instead he just starts laughing and i do too. “what the hell were you cooking that it caught on fire like that?” “pancakes” he widens his eyes at me. “oh i am definitely cooking from now on” “no i promise i can cook just let me show you” i get up and reach for the pan. he gets up too and stops my hand from even getting remotely close to the pan. “i think we should settle for some cereal” “ok” i sigh. he pours us both a bowl and says “i don’t work today so if you’d like to do something and get to know each other, i’m free all day”. “yeah sure what did you have in mind?” “i was thinking about noraebang (karaoke). i think it’ll be really good to destress after..” he looks to the stove. “stop!~” he bursts out laughing. “so is that a yes or no?” “yes, i’ll go” “what time do you want to go?” i look at the time that reads 9:28 am “maybe around 2-ish”. “ok, 2-ish it is” he gives me a cute smile.

we enter the small room of stress relief and put our stuff down. “you want to go first?” jaebeom asks. “why should i go first?” “you must have the more stress than me, after all you did almost burn our house down” my heart kind of fluttered at ‘our house’ but it was overpowered by the annoyance i felt. i suck my teeth and grab the microphone and remote. i choose a song to terribly sing to and begin. i get a 64 as a score and when i turn around jaebeom is staring at me in disbelief. “yeah, yeah i’m bad at signing ok next your turn” “i wouldn’t say ‘bad’ i’d just say a little.. flat that’s all” “yeah ok here” i roll my eyes at him and shove the microphone in his chest; he snickers. he chooses a ballad and starts singing. and holy shit he can sing. this man sing sing like damn. when he’s done he gets a score of 98. “so this is why to took me here huh. to show off” i accuse him. “no, not at all” he waves me off and laughs. “here it’s your turn” he holds out the mic to me. “no let's do one together” i grab the other mic. we choose a trot and have fun just jumping around and being fools. there was a time when i was laughing my ass off and jaebeom was standing there staring at me, smiling. i guess he was amused by my ugly laugh but either way it made me blush. after dozens of songs later, jaebeom was doing his last one. he chose a slow love song and the way he was singing it could make anyone fall in love with him. he sung with his eyes closed; he knew it like the back of his hand. he turned to face me and opened his eyes to bore holes into mine. the normal me would avert to look at anything other than his eyes but there was something different about this time. i felt like if i did, my heart would stop or my lungs would burst or something would happen where i couldn’t live anymore. i felt like everything i needed to live was in the eye contact we were currently holding. he continues to sing to me with loving eyes and cups my cheek with his soft hands. my face would be hot if it weren’t for his rings cooling me down. the song ends and he drops the hand holding the mic to his lips to his side. he tilts his head to the side and leans in. his lips meet mine and i freeze. his kiss was soft and delicate like he didn’t want to hurt me, like he was scared i would reject him. i close my eyes and kiss him back. that fear was soon replaced by lust and desire. he bends down to put the mic on the table without breaking the kiss. the now unoccupied hand finds its way to my hip, pulling me closer. my hands move to the back of his neck and get lost in his hair. they move to his chest as i snap out of it and push him away. “you have a girlfriend” i say in disgust. “how could you even think about doing this to her?” i furrow my eyebrows “to me?” i reach for the door handle and jaebeom grabs my wrist. “y/n” i shake him off aggressively and walk out of the noraebang and all the way home.

when i get home jaebeom is waiting for me in the couch with his head in his hands. i try to walk past him quickly to my room but as soon as he sees me and jumps up almost immediately to block my way. “y/n please let me explain” “what is there to explain?” i maneuver my way around him. “a lot” he follows me on my way to my room. “no i think i understood the situation very clearly” i try to slam my door but he stops it with his hand. “no you didn’t and you still don’t” “ahh really? what part about you kissing me while having a girlfriend could i not possibly understand?” i succeed in slamming the door this time and lock the door. “all of it!” he yells through the door. i take a deep breath and rub my temples. i take a hot shower to calm my nerves and stay in my room for the rest of the day until it was time to go to bed.

the next day i pack a bag early in the morning and go to jackson’s place. i just couldn’t stay in that house, i needed a break. i think i’ve been more stressed in the last two day than i’ve ever been in my life. i ring on the doorbell and thankfully jackson answers the door. “y/n what the hell are you doing here so early?” “so i don’t have to see jaebeom” “what? why? don’t tell me you guys fought already” “i tell you everything” i walk inside and to the living room.

i finish my story without getting my blood completely boiling. “well, i think you should let him explain” jackson says as if it were that simple. “no! why should i?” “you know how hard it can be to control feelings especially if they’re strong and i know jaebeom, i know he wouldn’t be so irrational”. i know i should trust what jackson says because despite his stupidity at times, he actually gives good advice but i can’t help but get upset thinking about what jaebeom did. i just wish he would have vocalized himself first before making such an impulsive decision. “plus i know things that you don’t” he says persuasively. “ok but give me a few days to cool down” “as much time as you need as long as you listen to him” he pats me on the shoulder. “great so can i stay here?” it wouldn’t be too bad because jackson’s girlfriend knows me and would be understanding. “you- wah~ unbelievable! yes but only for two days ok” “i thought you said i could take as much time as i needed” “you can but not in my house” he gets up to go to his room. “some friend huh” “the best” he shouts down the hallway.

it’s been about four days and i get a text message from a random number.

“y/n hey it’s jaebeom when you see this please respond. i am so sorry for what i have done but if you could just let me talk to you everything will be better, i promise”

i could not believe this man had the audacity to text me. did it look like i wanted to talk to you?

i respond anyway.

“promises are made to be broken”

i turn off my phone in anger. how did he even get my number in the first place? i close my eyes and take a deep breath “jackson!” i yell. he peeps into the room like a kid who got caught stealing a piece of candy. “did you give my number to jaebeom?” “yes but-” “no buts, you’re supposed to be my friend and help me why would you do that?” i say starting to get fed up. “because! you need to get out my house y/n! it’s almost been a week. how am i supposed to get some quality alone time with my girl if you’re here moping around?” i stay silent. now i see why he needed me to move out. he sighs “listen, jaebeom is at work right now so we could go over there-” i cut him off “no. nope, not possible” “y/n listen to me please” he says in a serious tone.  “fine” “ok so we can go and when he comes home i can help let both sides of the story be told and let you guys come to an understanding and everything can be sunshine, happy, and rainbows again” i laugh at the last part. “so do we have a deal?” i sigh deeply in defeat “deal”.

when we get to my shared home, i go to my room to put my bag away and jackson follows with a chair. “why are you bringing that?” “we need to all be facing each other you know. i read somewhere that it helps the brain process information in a more understanding way” i don’t think he did but i’d rather not question jackson at his weird times. i open my room door and walk in to see jaebeom sitting on my bed. i turn back to leave and the door is closed. i try the handle and it doesn’t budge. jackson yells from the other side of the door “you’re not coming out until you guys are all made up” i roll my eyes so far back they nearly get stuck. “y/n” a soft voice comes from behind me. “yes” i answer back with poison in my tone. “please” his voice plead and i found it hard to say no. i turn back and sit next to him on the bed, making sure to keep my distance. “go ahead” “thank you. firstly, i want to say i’m sorry for not speaking my mind before i made such a choice and not trusting you enough to tell you the situation and making you feel used. so that woman that you saw me with that first night was once my girlfriend that i actually considered to be my girlfriend but that was ages ago in college. i got this place when i was in a good enough position to and everything was good for a while but then bills got overwhelming and i needed some help and she was there for me. but then she got extremely controlling and i wanted to break up with her for the longest time but every time i’d try to she’d threaten me by saying that i’d lose this place and that my parents wouldn’t take me back because they told me not to do this and i just felt so trapped” i rub his shoulder in an attempt to console him. “so when jackson said that you could move in i was so relieved like the weight of the world was lifted off of me. that night when she stormed out and i followed her, i broke things off and that had to have been the best night of my life. i didn’t want to tell you we broke up at first because i knew that no matter how many times i’d say it’s not your fault, you’d still blame yourself. and i was embarrassed to tell the truth, i was afraid you’d think i was pathetic. but i feel even more pathetic now that you’re mad at me and you have a right to because it’s all my fault”. i started to feel guilty “jaebeom no it’s not, i should’ve let you explain yourself. i was a insensitive bitch and i should’ve listened to you instead of leaving without notice” “no don’t say that” he cups my cheek just like he did in the noraebang minus the rings so this time, my face was heating up completely. “why shouldn’t i?” i ask, my voice barely above a whisper. “because i hate seeing you beat yourself up and every time you do i want to kiss you until the sun comes up” his face was so close that his breath was brushing lightly on my face. “so why don’t you?” “can i?” “god jaebeom yes”. he crashes his lips into mine with longing and fervour; i return the same emotions. i feel his hands all over me and he lays me down without breaking the kiss. “let me make everything up to you” he kisses a trail down my jaw to my chest. he hastily pulls my shorts down and spreads apart my legs. he kisses the insides of my thighs lovingly and pulls down my underwear.

he collapses next to me and we both catch our breaths. he pulls me on top of him and holds me in his arms. he caresses my cheek “you’re so beautiful” he kisses me on my forehead and i smile. we stay there for a while, enjoying each other’s presences until my stomach rumbles and i curse at myself. “hungry?” he chuckles. i cover my face with my hands and smile shyly. he pulls my hands away from my face and kisses them. “come on, i’ll make you something and i won’t let it catch on fire” i frown at him and he laughs. he puts on his boxer briefs and leaves the room. i soon follow him to his room to steal some clothes from him. i search through his drawer and grab a black long sleeve to put on. jaebeom comes behind me and grabs me by the waist to move me out of the way so he can search through the drawer as well. “is jackson still here?” “no he left a long time ago” i hum in understanding. “wait, how do you know? and come to think of it how did you get out the room?” he freezes in front of me like a deer caught in headlights and runs out the room. i catch up to and jump on his back. he falls to the ground “tell me!” i start pinching him. “ok ok i asked him to plan it” “you ask him to plan for us to have sex?!” “no! i asked him to bring you here so i can apologize and leave after 30 minutes so then i could confess but i guess things took another route”. “ugh i hate you guys” i ease off of him but he turns on his back and pulls me back down on him. “you couldn’t possibly hate me babe”

[notimetoblog]

Not Happening (Pt.4)

Summary: An online dating site clearly makes a mistake when it matches you with the one person you cannot stand. 

A/N: A bit of a longer chapter!! I hope you guys enjoy it! As always thanks so much for all your support and for reading!

PART 1 / PART 2 / PART 3 /  MY STORIES

There was something running through your body that you could not quite place. Maybe it was the need to finally shut both of your friends up. Or, a more plausible option, it was the dread of having to spend the night with Bucky. Part of you kept hoping he would pull one of his trademark douche moves, and just ditch you before his “tour” began. 

A genuine smile spread on your lips as you noticed Steve had joined Bucky where he was still waiting, in front of the first image of the gallery. 

“Hi Steve,” you greeted him with a hug. He looked dashing, but to be honest when didn’t he look just downright gorgeous? He wore a blue button-down shirt that brought out the cool tone of his eyes and was .2 seconds from ripping at the seams thanks to his enormous biceps. His blonde hair was swept to one side, leaving his face clear from any stray hairs. The same could not be said about Bucky, who’s hair despite being tied back in a manbun, had stubborn strands draping in front of his face. 

“Hey Y/N, nice to see you. You look great,” he complimented you with a warm smile. 

Why couldn’t the algorithm match you with someone like Steve? A kind and gentle soul who treated everybody with love and respect. He was an amazing guy, and you had never seen him as anything but a friend, yet the thought still lingered. Would you be able to find someone as sweet and kind as him or would you be destined to be with a rude and obnoxious jerk like Bucky? Craig’s algorithm was currently not tipping the balance in your favor. 

“You ready?” Bucky interjected, flicking his eyes between you and Steve.

“No,” you replied with a serious tone making sure he understood how much spending any amount of extended time with him pained you. 

“What’s happening here?” Steve asked with a grin, his eyebrows quirked up in amusement. “Are you two finally playing nice? Can I stop planning around your constant bickering?”

“Don’t be too optimistic Rogers. I doubt your buddy here will ever stop being an ass.”

Bucky scoffed, his eyes rolling comically to make his opinion on your statement even more apparent. “I’m trying to help you here and you still call me an ass? What do I have to do to get you to at least stop insulting me for an hour?” 

“Stop being an ass should do the trick,” you said, throwing in a wink. “And I wouldn’t call this ‘helping me’. If anything, you’ll drive me away from ever coming back to another gallery.”

“See,” Bucky looked to Steve. “I offer to provide some of my insightful behind-the-scenes knowledge of the gallery to her, a gallery newbie, and she treats me like this.”

“What can I say, pal,” Steve chuckled lightly. “You do have a lot of ass-like behavior to make up for.” 

“You don’t even know what he made me go through tonigh—”

“Ok!” Bucky interrupted. “Steve enjoy your night,” he waved him away, “Maybe you can spend it with Nat and Wanda. And you,” he pointed towards you, “let’s get this over with.”

“You don’t have to do this Barnes,” you said, and you swore there was a lightbulb over your head flashing on as an idea popped into your mind. Maybe you could drive him away before this even began. “I am more than capable of looking at a few pictures on my own. Maybe Steve can help me.”

“Shouldn’t be too big a deal,” Steve shrugged sending another gentle smile your way. 

“No,” Bucky said, almost too quickly. “We’re doing this now. Bye Steve.”

“Ok then,” Steve laughed as he put up his hands in surrender. 

Out of all days, Bucky chose today to keep his promises. 

“Have fun, you two. I hope I’m in no way implicated in whatever murder happens here tonight,” Steve continued to laugh as he walked away in search of Nat and Wanda. 

“Ok,” Bucky began, he took a deep breath as if preparing for something major. “This here is a photograph –”

“Wow!” you faked amazement. “I would’ve spent all night unable to figure out what I was looking at if it weren’t for you.”

“You didn’t let me finish,” he said through gritted teeth. His usually sharp jawline accentuated even more as he tensed it. “You need to listen a little in order for this to work.”

“Fine,” you conceded. 

“So, as I was saying this is a photograph of a waterfall. Without looking at the label, can you tell me where it is?”

You suppressed your first instinct to peek at the artwork label that hung at the right side of the image. Your eyes scanned the image hoping to find any clue that would shed some light on the location of the waterfall. The water flowed over what looked to be an artificial wall covered in oversized and mismatched blocks of concrete, the sunlight soft. Green shrubbery framed the image and the waterfall making the white of the rushing water stand out. At the bottom, blue and pink flowers bloomed bringing in a hint of color and making this location seem even more paradisiacal. The point of view of the image made the waterfall seem to exist on its own, as if nothing existed beyond it. Everything seemed to begin and end with this waterfall. Wherever this place was, you hoped it wasn’t too expensive to get there because it sure had caught your eye. You could almost feel the cooling breeze that would emit from the waterfall; something that could surely help any bit of stress ease away. 

“I don’t know,” you said, noting how the previous interaction with Bucky had all but left your system. The annoyance making way to a much more relaxed you. “But I hope its not too long a trip to get there because it seems amazing.”

“It sure is,” Bucky said, his voice also taking on a calmer tone. “And lucky for you, you could probably be there tonight.”

“Where is it?” you asked, still keeping your eyes away from the label. 

“It’s a place called Greenacre Park. Kudos to you for not cheating. And its right here in New York. Midtown to be exact.”

“This is right here?” you asked incredulously, your pointer finger rising on its own to point at the image. 

“Yes,” Bucky chuckled, “See, you can learn something from me when you’re not being a brat.”

“And the peace is gone,” you sighed.

“Alright alright,” he said with a smile. “I’ll play nice. Next image.”

“Who is this friend of yours? I’d like to meet the photographer.”

“Oh,” his voiced was laced with surprise. “I’ll introduce him to you once we’re done.”

“Is he here, now? I mean I wouldn’t mind meeting him now.”

“Of course, he’s here. It’s the opening of his gallery,” he said, eyes scanning the room. “Not sure where, but we’ll find him eventually. Anyway, the gallery is set up in a sort of spiral fashion. You look at the images along the outer walls first and then make your way towards the center of the room following the images on the makeshift walls we set up. Let’s see if you catch on to why its arranged like this.”

You observed the way the room was set up. The walls that lined the right, left, and back of the room housed a few images. Towards the front of the room, by the door you had entered from, stood a sort of entry way that resembled the beginning of a maze. These were the makeshift walls that Bucky was referring to. They apparently followed a spiraling pattern and more photographs, that you could not see yet, hung from them. The showpiece of the gallery, Bucky explained, could be seen once you reached the very center of the room.

 “I’m sure its not very hard to figure out seeing as you are the mastermind behind it, right?”

“I’m being nice, you brat,” he reminded you, a teasing smile paying on his lips. 

“Five minutes of niceness and I’m supposed to be your best friend?” you teased back. 

“You could try,” he laughed. “You wouldn’t die, you know.”

“Hey congrats, man,” a short-haired man interrupted. He clapped Bucky’s back as he spoke. “This was amazing.”

“Oh thanks, Quill,” Bucky answered, quickly walking away from the conversation.

 “Did you announce to the whole city you supposedly helped plan this thing? Wanted your ego stroked a bit, did we now Bucky?”

“Maybe,” he defended with mock offense. “And I didn’t allegedly plan this thing, I really did plan it out.”

He walked you both over to the next image and asked you to keep your eyes off the label again. You quickly understood that every image was of a spot in New York that wasn’t as known as other more traditional sights in the city. You had discovered an abandoned hospital that you had at first thought to be a European castle. Bucky had chuckled as you had firmly given him your guess for what the image was showing, infusing his response with less of his traditional jerk flare than you had expected. An image of a bridge seemingly ending in what looked like a forest, followed. That bridge was apparently located in Harlem, connecting that area of the city to the Bronx. Surprisingly there was also an image of a portion of the Berlin Wall, tucked a few streets away from the Museum of Modern Art. 

And although all the images had been beautiful, something you happened to mention to Bucky when you asked again to meet the photographer, you audibly gasped at the image you were standing in front of now. You had begun to make your way towards the center of the spiral, now observing the photographs that lined the makeshift walls. 

“Like this one?” Bucky asked from beside you. 

You nodded, unable to form words. In front of you was a beautiful image of what appeared to be a train station. The tracks curved toward the left on one side of the image, disappearing behind a wall that bent along the curvature of the tracks. This curved line drew your eyes to the furthest part of the image only to be drawn back out as you followed the lights that hung from the ceiling. The ceiling was also curved, green and cream tiles decorated the arches on the ceiling creating a beautiful frame for the center piece of the image; a beautiful skylight. Glass tiles littered the skylight. Thick black lines created a puckered diamond shape in the center of each panel. The sunset lighting seeping in from the exterior made this place seem mystical, as if it was from a world that could only exist in your dreams. The chandeliers that hung for the ceiling only emphasized this mystic aura, giving the room a sort of charm that seemed classic and elegant. 

You let your eyes dance a bit more around the image finally succumbing to the curiosity and letting them glance at the label. 

Old City Hall Station, NY. 

“This place looks straight out of a movie,” you said, your eyes returning to the image. 

“Right?” Bucky replied, his eyes not on the image but on you. A small smile on his lips as he noticed how drawn in you were. 

“How do I get there?” you asked turning to face him, surprised to find him already looking at you.

“Not sure,” he replied with a small shrug. “Guess we’d have to ask my friend. Any idea why I chose to organize the images like this?”

You had understood the theme behind all the images, yet you didn’t know what kind of ‘story’ they were supposed to tell. Bucky had been entirely too proud as he had mentioned, multiple times, how the photographs had been arranged to form a narrative. 

Glancing back at the images you could not find another string connecting them other than them being somewhat hidden gems of New York. There were no people photographed, so you couldn’t trace a story line based on individuals. You searched your mind for anything that had stood out in all the photographs but came up short. 

“No, not a clue,” you admitted. 

A smug smirk spread on his lips and you rolled your eyes, knowing what was coming. 

“Thought you would’ve figured it out by now since not-so-bright Bucky organized it.”

“I never called you not-so-bright.”

“Maybe not tonight, but other times you’ve called me far worse.”

“You can’t deny you’ve deserved it. I mean who pulls stunts like the embarrassing one you made me go through tonight?”

A flash of red caught your eye as Bucky began his speech on how he had thought it would be funny to list you as Noah Calhoun’s plus one. A shocked Natasha and Wanda were walking toward you from the center of the room, most likely after seeing the centerpiece of the gallery. 

“Bucky!” Wanda interrupted his ongoing speech. “Wow. I mean, I thought I knew what to expect but I really don’t even know what to say.”

“I’m glad you liked it,” Bucky said with a look you couldn’t quite place. 

“I mean, props to the photographer,” Nat chimed in. “He really knows his stuff. Loved the last photograph. Any chance I could buy it?”

“I don’t think its for sale,” Bucky replied, his tone too biting for such a quick interaction.  

“You sure? Maybe you could ask him? Have him think it over?”

“I’m sure it’s not for sale.”

“Ok,” she backed off, much to your surprise. “Enjoying the tour?” she asked you with a quirked eyebrow. Wanda let out a giggle beside her. 

You had forgotten about why you had agreed to spend your time at the gallery with Bucky. Natasha’s reminder brought back the image of Bucky being a great match for you, according to whosyourmate.com .

“It’s not as dreadful as I expected,” you replied honestly. Who knew Bucky could keep his jerk persona locked up for more than five minutes? 

“Huh,” Nat pretended to contemplate your answer. You knew very well she would rub it in your face if Bucky wasn’t standing right beside you. “Well we’re so glad you’re enjoying yourself. We’ll be chatting with Steve, take your time.”

“So,” Bucky said as Nat and Wanda walked away. “Want me to tell you or you want some more time to figure it out. You need to have it before we see the last image.” 

“So, there was a waterfall, a bridge, the Berlin Wall, a secret subway exit –”

“Oh god! You really are helpless,” Bucky chuckled as you glared at him. “Don’t think about the locations, the story isn’t there.”

You simply stared at him unable to come up with anything. 

“You’re such a rookie,” he said, giving a dramatic sigh as he led you to the next image. 

“I mean it can’t be that obscure if you came up with it,” you said. 

“Yeah, well you already said that and still haven’t figured it out.”

“Well maybe the gallery wasn’t as well-organized as you had imagined. If it had been, I would’ve gotten it by now.”

“Maybe the not-so-bright one is actually you and not me,” he snapped back.

 “Highly doubt that,” you replied. “You barely figured out a widely known movie reference.”

“Calhoun? Figured that out almost immediately. Even made him your plus one, didn’t I? Stop making this about me and just admit you’re lost and can’t even begin to understand what I did here.”

“I never understand what you do, Barnes. Your jerk-like mentality just doesn’t go well with mine.”

He scoffed, looking past you at a woman standing in front of the next image. As soon as she noticed his gaze, she turned toward him, a flirtatious look suddenly overtaking her eyes. 

“Hey there, James,” she greeted him, reaching out for a hug. He obliged and quickly gave her a side hug. It was always strange to hear him being called by his real name, seemed too mature for him. 

“Hi,” he said, eyes darting to you. “This is Y/N. Y/N this is Elle.”

“You look familiar,” she said towards you as you gave her a quick wave. Her eyes moving up and down your figure trying to place you.

 “Maybe you ran into her at that coffee place you like so much,” Bucky suggested. “She practically lives there too.”

She suddenly gasped, eyes going wide as a giant smile spread across her face.  

“Is everything ok?” you asked a bit worried. 

“Everything is fine,” Bucky once again interrupted. “Nice seeing you Elle. Thanks so much for coming. See ya around.”

He abruptly walked you past the image Elle had been standing by and you voiced your disapproval at skipping that image. If you were to figure out this “story” of his it was only fair he would let you see all the images. 

“The lighting,” he suddenly said, stopping in front of an image of cemetery surrounded by gothic architecture. “It’s nighttime here, see? It was morning in the first image and the lighting has shifted through all the images as if you’re traveling not only from place to place but also from morning to night.”

Everything fell into place. The soft light in the first image was due to it being morning time and as you went by, time did too in the images. The train station, for example, had been photographed at sunset, something you had actually noted when you observed the way the room appeared dream-like. And now, as you made your way to the end, it was nighttime in the images. 

“Now, this last image, you probably will immediately recognize but I still want you to look at the label. And quick question, what comes after night?”

“Morning,” you answered, understanding the images had taken you throughout an entire day in New York, ending at the same ‘time’ it had begun. 

You turned the last corner, finally reaching the end of the gallery and your heart dropped at the sight of the last image. 

For the first time, a silhouette of a person was present. The image had been taken from behind this person, who sat on a bench, looking out onto an incredibly familiar patch of flowers. Droplets of dew still remained on the leaves of the flowers, creating little sparkles as the morning sunlight hit them. Your eyes bounced from droplet to droplet, trying to wrap your mind around what you were seeing. 

The patch of flowers wasn’t just any patch of flowers. It was the patch of flowers that you knew and loved. The one you would walk to and observe when you needed a bit of peace. The one that seemed to drown out the busy and noisy atmosphere of the city and transported you to an imaginary and endless meadow. The one you referred to when asked what your favorite place in the world was. 

Your eyes went back to the person that sat on the bench, a figure that was all too recognizable. There you sat, on one of the many times you found yourself at the community garden by your house. The peace this patch of flowers brought to you clearly reflected on your face. Part of  your features visible as you looked to the left.  

An image of you and your most beloved place in the world was the centerpiece of this gallery, a gallery made up of photographs taken by a still unknown photographer, something the people around you were also noticing as they glanced from you to the image and back again. 

In the back of your mind you heard Bucky’s request to look at the label despite already knowing where the photograph was taken. 

This time his name stared back at you not in large black letters, but in a small professional bold font. 

Photographs by James Barnes

Your hand shot up to cover your mouth. Bucky had been behind all the images? This was his gallery?!

And you had been sure nothing could surprise you more than what you had just discovered, but the words Bucky spoke next sent a chill up your spine surpassing all the chills you had already experienced as you enjoyed the photographs. 

“I think whosyourmate.com is onto something. Don’t you?”

PART 5

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Bucky Tags

@camillechan @just-add-butter @buckyisthepuresthuman @carry-on-my-fandom  @creideamhgradochas @sixweekcure4dreams @verycoolveryunique @dugan365 @jitterbuck @buckysmusculararm @headinthe-fridge @buckybarnesappreciationsociety @hedwigthelegend @sappybarnes @sold-my-soul-in-2016 @coal000 @the-soldiers @natcad @winters-beauty @dixonsbugaboo   @sawdustandsugar @silverbvcky  @whyugottabsorude @theoutlinez @killjoynotes  @agentpegcxrter @demonspawn2468 @mlehbleh @books-movies-eternal @buckysbeech @thefridgeismybestie @lionheo04 @pinkfairyfluff @imaginecrushes  @cauraphernelia @angieptt @fridolf-arach @nerdgirljen  @ifyousayyouloveme

“Not Happening” Tags

@metalarmlover @starkxpotts @nephalem67 @boyzines @starfisharchives  @crazybutconfidentaf  @dyanna-corona @fangedmutant @talinalani @xi-i-i-whatsyouremergency @friendly-neighborhood-lich-queen @wisestydia-15 @curlypeter @jayattemptstoruletheworld @justreadingthesefanfics @missinstantgratification @swtmckngbrd  @deathbyarabbit @whogaveuspermission  @thespottedwolf-blog @buckwhitewolf @bilesxbilinskixlahey @ireallyneedcoolusername  

[worryinglyinnocent]

Once Upon A Different Time Episode 316: “The Vault”

A re-work of Once Upon A Time from the beginning of season 3.

[banner by ripperblackstaff]

Catch up on previous episodes:

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Season 3A episodes 1-11

Episode 312: “New York, New York”

Episode 313: “Monkey Business”

Episode 314: “The Wonderful Wizard”

Episode 315: “Cardinal Points”

=====

Once Upon A Different Time

Episode 316: “The Vault” 

Content warning for this episode: Female on male sexual assault (Zelena and Rumpelstiltskin, as implied in canon)

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Storybrooke – Present

“Hello, dearie.”

Emma couldn’t believe her ears, and for a long time she wondered if coming down into the cellar had activated some kind of spell that induced aural hallucinations. Then she remembered that Walsh had been desperate for her to see something down here and had said that she’d know it when she saw it, and since Storybrooke was a place so steeped in magic, it sort of made sense. She switched her phone flashlight on again and advanced a couple of steps forward, stopping short when she came to a wire mesh cage. She caught the hint of movement and turned the light towards it.

Rumpelstiltskin brought a hand up to shield his eyes from the sudden brightness, but it was undeniably him. He was looking very much the worse for wear, his once impeccable suit torn and dirty, hair limp around his face and a few days’ beard growth, but he was alive, which was more than could be said for the last time she’d seen him by the well in the forest, his own dagger through his chest as he defeated Pan.

“Rumpelstiltskin? How…” she tailed off. Asking ‘how are you alive?’ felt wrong, as if she wasn’t pleased to see him living. Well, she wasn’t sure whether she was pleased or not but right now any ally against the witch was a good one and if the fact he was locked up in her cellar was anything to go by then he was highly unlikely to be working with her. Thankfully, Rumpelstiltskin seemed to understand her and gave a grim smirk with no humour behind it.

“How am I not dead? Your guess is as good as mine, but since I’m only a couple of steps from full on hell, I’m not entirely convinced that I’m alive yet.” He fingered the blue ribbon around his wrist, the one that Walsh had stolen from Belle’s hair perhaps?

Still, there was no time to waste, not when she could hear voices upstairs above them and she knew that the witch had returned and could find her down here at any moment. She flashed her phone around the cage, looking for a door.

“Well, not sure whether it’s good or bad news but you’re definitely alive,” she said, and she waved him over on finding the opening. “Here, hold that.”

Rumpelstiltskin dutifully took the phone from her, angling the light so that she could see what she was doing, and he sounded somewhat mystified as he spoke again.

“What on earth are you doing?”

“Getting you out of this two steps from full on hell hole, what does it look like?” Emma still carried picks with her as a matter of course from bounty hunting, and now she put them to good use, carefully working the tumblers on the padlock that held the cage closed. “I’m guessing that you can’t just poof yourself out of here or you’d have done it already.”

Rumpelstiltskin snorted. “Well observed.” He seemed to come to himself then, and a sudden panic set in. “Emma, I can’t leave, it’s too dangerous.”

Emma stopped and looked up at him. “What?”

“My magic’s bound to the witch’s will, I have no control, she’s got the dagger. If she has my power then I’m dangerous.”

“Hey, hey, it’s ok,” Emma said, reaching up through the mesh and making to pat his hand where he was still holding her phone, but she couldn’t reach. “I mean, I guessed that something was up with your magic but I’m not leaving you here, power or no power. No one should be kept in a cage. Ever. So we’re getting you out of here and we’ll cross any other bridges when we come to them, ok?”

He looked around frantically, as if expecting Zelena to pop up out of nowhere in the shadows, and nodded.

“Ok.”

“Neal and Belle and me, we’ll take care of you, ok? It’ll be all right.” It was such a strange role reversal, the most powerful magician in the town so scared and helpless, but Emma didn’t think on it too much, and continued to pick the padlock.

“It’s all about the tumblers,” she said as she worked. For some reason, she felt that she really ought to keep talking to him, to keep him calm, and she glanced up at him with a slightly awkward smile. “Neal taught me that, you know. He taught me a lot of things.”

“Not all of them legal, I notice.” There was the faintest trace of humour in Rumpelstiltskin’s voice and Emma took that as a good sign.

“You know, I’m not sure any of it was legal now that I come to think of it, but it’s certainly proved useful over the years.”

“Is Neal all right?” Rumpelstiltskin asked. “And Belle? Walsh said that they were but I wouldn’t trust that overgrown furball as far as I could throw him.”

“Yeah, you and me both,” Emma said. “At least you didn’t almost marry him. But Neal and Belle are all right. They both miss you. They’re not going to believe their eyes when they see you.”

“Yes.” Rumpelstiltskin picked at the frayed cuffs of his shirt. “And probably not in a good way.”

“Hey, you’re alive. That’s a hundred per cent better than they currently think you are, no matter what state you’re in. There.” The lock finally sprung and Emma opened the door a little way. Rumpelstiltskin handed the cell phone back but he did not move out of the cage, looking around the dingy cellar fearfully.

“Come on, Rumpelstiltskin, let’s go. I have one minute and forty-five seconds in which to call David or else he and Regina will storm in here all guns and magical fireballs blazing thinking that Zelena’s turned me into a monkey.” She reached out a hand towards him and he flinched away instinctively; despite the tightness of time Emma had to feel a pang of sympathy and wonder just what he’d endured here in the witch’s lair. “It’ll be ok,” she said, although she had no way of knowing that. Even so, Rumpelstiltskin seemed to accept her judgement and he left the cage, and the two of them made their way quickly down to the other end of the cellar where the light was creeping in. The cell phone flashlight showed that this trap door was simply bolted shut and Emma wasted no time in opening it, peering out to check if the coast was clear. Thankfully the storm cellar entrance was well away from the house and out of line of sight from any of the windows, so she heaved herself out. Rumpelstiltskin followed suit with difficulty, but Emma had learned from experience that sticking a hand into his personal space probably wouldn’t help. He was limping heavily as they made their way towards the safety of the tree line and Emma guessed that it was his magic that usually soothed his ankle in the absence of his cane. As she dialled David, she looked around for a sturdy branch to use as a walking stick. Her father picked up on the first ring.

“Emma? Where are you? Are you all right? I was about to call in the cavalry.”

“I’m not sure that Regina would really appreciate being called the cavalry, but I’m fine. I’m out of the house in the woods heading north. Can you come and meet me by the toll bridge?”

“Of course, but why aren’t you coming back to the car?”

“Long story but I really don’t want to go anywhere near the house. I’ll see you in a few minutes, bye.” It was an abrupt end to the call, but Emma didn’t want to get into discussing Rumpelstiltskin’s continued state of existence when the man himself’s wellbeing was her top priority. She found him a suitable stick and they set off through the forest towards the toll bridge. The progress was slow, but they ought to be able to make it before David, travelling on winding roads as he was. It was clear that Rumpelstiltskin was in pain, and Emma glanced over at him.

“If you want me to help you then I will,” she said. Rumpelstiltskin considered it for a moment and nodded gratefully, leaning on her as they picked their way through the undergrowth.

“Not too far now, then you can rest in the car,” Emma said, trying to encourage him although optimism had never been the best colour on her. Still, Rumpelstiltskin just nodded and gritted his teeth, stumbling a few times but saying nothing, glad to sag against a tree when they finally reached their destination. Emma could see the yellow bug creeping through the trees towards them, and she stepped out into the road to flag David down, beckoning for him to get out of the car and come to her.

“Emma, what’s going on?” David asked. “You sounded so cagey on the phone that I thought something must have happened.”

“Something did happen,” Emma said, and she led the way over to where Rumpelstiltskin was waiting. David stopped in his tracks.

“Woah.”

“Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction too,” Emma said.

“How?” David spluttered.

“Don’t ask me.”

“Don’t ask me, either,” Rumpelstiltskin added dryly. “I never thought I’d be this pleased to see you.”

“Likewise,” David said, and he turned back to Emma, lost for words. “How?” he repeated faintly.

“Zelena had him captive in her cellar. Now, we might not have much time before she realises he’s missing, so if we could get back to town and relative safety as soon as possible, that would be great.”

“Say no more.” David handed over the keys and Emma got into the bug and revved the engine. David dived into the back to allow Rumpelstiltskin to stretch his leg out in the passenger seat.

“This is dangerous,” he warned as Emma executed a screeching three-point turn in the road and took off back towards town at a speed not entirely appropriate for a sheriff without blues and twos on the car.

“I know,” Emma said. “I’ll arrest myself for careless driving later. Right now getting you away from that witch is kind of taking precedence.”

“It’s not your driving I’m worried about, it’s you two. Once she finds out you sprang me then it’s not going to be pretty.”

“Yeah, well, these things never are. But that’s a risk I’m willing to take to get you back to Belle and Neal.”

“I’m putting them in danger, too.”

“Believe me, if you think that they’ll care about that and think that they’ll leave you alone to face this witch, then you really don’t know them at all. They’re fierce and they love you and they’ll weather any storm for you because that’s what family does.”

They were approaching the town and Emma pulled up at the outskirts to allow David out.

“Get a few people together and let them know what’s happened. Mary Margaret, Regina, Granny, the usual, but not Leroy, we don’t want it all over the town just yet. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

David nodded his understanding and sprinted off into the town, and Emma headed around the block towards the pink house on the hill.

“Come on, let’s get you inside. Neal told me where the spare key is.”

Once inside the house, with the kettle boiling and Rumpelstiltskin safe in his own kitchen, Emma dialled Neal.

  Enchanted Forest – Missing Year

“I think I’ve found something.”

Neal looked up. Belle didn’t sound too sure of herself and her brow was furrowed as she pored over the texts surrounding her, but anything was better than nothing, which was what their search had turned up so far. They were sitting on the floor on opposite sides of the library in the Dark Castle, each buried in a pile of books that all had varying degrees of relevancy to their quest. Trying to ascertain Rumpelstiltskin’s state of life or death and whether it was possible to bring him back to the former was proving to be a time-consuming and rather thankless pursuit, but it was not one that Neal was prepared to give up. He was sure, just as Belle was, that his father was not truly dead, and the thought of him spending any time in an uncomfortable limbo was not a pleasant one.

He got to his feet, staggering a little where his legs had gone to sleep under him, and half walked, half hopped over to Belle, easing himself down onto the chaise longue that she was concealed behind.

“Here,” she said, pointing out a passage in an unknown language. “This was the book Mulan gave back to me. It talks a lot about the netherworld, a kind of space between life and death. It’s where lost souls end up if they’re separated from their bodies ahead of time; where they rescued Philip from.”

“Go on,” Neal said. He wasn’t sure if Rumpelstiltskin counted as a lost soul, but he was certainly intrigued.

“Well, it mentions life-bound entities, things that cannot die. When they die, they just float about in the netherworld for a while, until they can be restored. And I was thinking, what if the Dark One is such a life-bound entity? Whilst someone is hosting the Dark One they don’t age, and they’re fairly invulnerable.”

“Yes. Carry on, I can see where you’re going with this.”

Belle grinned. “Good. As I was saying, the Dark One never dies a natural death so far as we know. When they die an unnatural death, then the murderer becomes the new host for the curse. The curse doesn’t die. The curse can be broken, I’m sure of it. But that doesn’t kill it, it makes it cease to exist.”

“And when Papa, killed himself with the dagger, it created a paradox, because the host had died but there was no new host,” Neal continued.

“Exactly. So the life-bound entity, that is, the Dark One, is still alive. And I bet that means that somehow, somewhere, Rumpelstiltskin is still alive too.”

Neal nodded. “That’s a sound theory. So do we have to go to this netherworld to get him out?”

Belle shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. I mean, it’s easy enough to get to really; just a sleeping curse and I’m sure that there are plenty of those here in the Dark Castle. But when Mulan and Aurora fetched Philip’s soul back, they had a physical body for it to return to. I think if we just tried to go after the bit of it that’s in the netherworld, the curse would simply latch on to either one of us as a new host, and then Rumpel will be stuck in limbo forever. We know that his body has to be somewhere, because it vanished in Storybrooke.”

“True.” The two of them fell into silence for a while, contemplating their next move. “Normally you can summon the Dark One by calling his given name three times or summoning him once with the dagger.”

“I’ve already tried calling him by name,” Belle said. She sounded a bit sheepish, as if she was embarrassed to admit that she had hoped it would be that simple. “But the dagger vanished with him. Wherever he is, it is.”

“Find the dagger and we find the Dark One,” Neal agreed. “Find the dagger and we find Papa. The only problem is, where do we even begin to look?”

“That was another thing I was thinking about,” Belle said. “I think we might be looking for answers in the wrong room of the castle.”

“Ok.” Neal raised an eyebrow. “Where would you look other than the large room full of old books?”

“Rumpel’s workroom.” Belle sprung to her feet with an energy that completely belied the fact that she had been sitting cross-legged for the past couple of hours, and she set off towards the tower, Neal hot on her heels.

“Rumpel never let anyone in here without his supervision,” Belle explained as they went. “Not even me. If he had any information about the Dark Curse and how it works, then he would keep it in the safest room, where nobody could find it and take advantage of the knowledge to gain an upper hand. I mean, everyone knows how to summon the Dark One and how to take his powers, but if there was anything else of interest, then he would want to keep it to himself.”

“You’re right.”

They entered the workroom and looked around for any kind of clues. It was just as cluttered and messy as it had been the last time Belle had seen it, and she wondered not for the first time how Rumpelstiltskin had managed to find anything in there. It was then that her gaze was drawn to the books on the top shelf. These were Rumpel’s most potent spell books; she could practically feel the power radiating from them even from this distance. If she was going to find anything then it would be in one of those. She pulled out a chair and stood on it somewhat precariously, reaching down one of the heavy, leather-bound tomes, but before she could open it, something caught her attention. One of the books was not like the others.

“Neal,” she said, voice full of curiosity, “pass me the book from Mulan, would you please?”

Neal dutifully handed it up to her, swapping it for the huge book in her hand, and she returned to the page about life-bound entities.

“I mistranslated,” she said.

“Oh.” Neal sounded dejected. “I take it we’re back to square one, then?”

“Oh no.” Belle seemed increasingly confident. “Far from it. It uses the word locked. That was what I missed. The life-bound entities are locked into the netherworld and they need a key to unlock them and bring them to the corporeal plane.”

“A key? Like, an actual physical door lock key?”

“Possibly, or it could be a combination lock. Or both. But either way, I think I know how to find it.”

“Really?” Neal couldn’t conceal his excitement as he took the book back from Belle and laid it on the workbench. She nodded.

“This book is fake,” she said tapping a green cloth-bound spine. “I think that if I do this…”

She tilted the book at an angle and the top shelf of bookcase swung back into the wall, revealing a little cubbyhole in the stone. Inside was a small package, wrapped in old, worn cloth. Fearing a trap, Belle reached inside and grabbed it, snatching it out before anything could happen to her hand. The shelf swung back into place, closing the hidden alcove, and Belle jumped down from her perch.

“Is that it?”

“I think so.” Belle unfastened the strings holding the package together and spread it out on the bench. Inside was a heavy, beautifully ornate brass key, engraved with the same patterns as Rumpelstiltskin’s dagger.

“Wow.” The two of them looked at the key for a long time, now quite able to believe that they had really found it, and they were one step closer to being reunited with Rumpelstiltskin.

“I guess what we have to figure out now is what this key fits,” Neal said.

“Yes. Unfortunately the book isn’t quite as helpful on that score. But look.”

Belle pointed to the cloth that the key had been wrapped up in. Writing was beginning to appear on it, lines in a spidery writing that Belle recognised as Rumpelstiltskin’s.

“Instructions?” Neal suggested. “Mind you, he’s being as cryptic as ever.”

“Can you blame him? Whoever resurrects him probably ends up in possession of the dagger. He would want to make sure it didn’t fall into the wrong hands.”

“Good point.” Neal shivered at the thought. “So, can we decipher it?”

“It’s a riddle.” Belle ran her fingers over the dark ink. “If we solve it I think it should give us the location of the lock that this key fits. Look here, it’s in verses.

You’ll find me safe below the ground

Where deathless trees fall all around

You hold the key to waken me

From death-like slumber, deep and sound

So wherever he is, he’s underground.”

“Where deathless trees fall?”

“Evergreens, I imagine,” Belle said. “Their leaves don’t die in winter.”

“A pine forest,” Neal suggested. “We’re constantly cutting them down for timber – fall all around. What’s next.”

“But your intent it must be true

There is a test awaiting you

Unlock my power upon the hour

When the moon shines bright and blue.

We have to do this on a blue moon. That’s helpful. Once in a blue moon.” Belle shook her head. “I thought that was just a figure of speech.”

“No, no.” Neal was getting excited now. “If a full moon falls twice in a month then the second full moon is called a blue moon. It’s rare, hence the expression, but it’s not impossible. We’ll just have to wait a little.”

“How do you know all this?” Belle asked, impressed. Neal shrugged.

“Two hundred and fifty years, give or take, you pick up some stuff here and there. What’s the next part?

Blood or love are not too late

Just as upon my castle gate

Find my vault with heat or salt

A single drop restores my fate.”

Neal’s brow furrowed and he looked at Belle. “It’s got to be you or me,” he said warily. “Blood or love, castle gate. The Dark Castle is blood-locked when Papa’s not here – I’m able to get in because it recognises me as kin, I learned that when I was here with Mulan and Philip. He must have extended it to recognise you too. A single drop – a single drop of blood from one of us will bring him back. Heat or salt, though?”

“Snow or ice,” Belle said. “We’ll need to melt it with heat or salt to get to the vault – which must be what the key unlocks.”

“Arendelle,” Neal said suddenly.

“Arendelle? As in the Frozen North? It’s abandoned, no-one’s been there for years.”

“Except for the loggers and iceworkers, right? Perfect place to hide a dark power. Pine trees all around, and lots of snow and ice. What’s the last part?”

“I will not yield to unknown vice

To those who seek too high a price

In you I trust and so you must

Trust me in turn, read the advice.”

“What advice? That’s where it ends.”

“Maybe there’s more when we get there,” Belle said. “But that ties in with the bit about love or blood and true intent. You can’t resurrect him for evil purposes. I guess it’s a kind of safeguard.”

“Papa’s never been controlled by the dagger in all the time he’s been tethered to it,” Neal pointed out. “He’d want to make sure that he could trust the person he relinquished it to.”

“Just us two.” It made Belle sad in a way, that there were so few people whom Rumpelstiltskin trusted. “And if we can’t do it, then the Dark One remains dormant forever.”

“His sacrifice takes on a whole new dimension,” Neal murmured. The two of them were silent for a while, taking this information in.

“There’s a PS,” Belle said suddenly, looking at the riddle again. “Maybe it’s the advice.”

“PS, bring my red coat.” Neal raised an eyebrow. “Not quite sure what that’s got to do with anything, but sure, we can do that. I guess all we need to do now is get to Arendelle in time for the next blue moon.”

“I may be able to help with that.” Belle went over to a shelf and started moving items off it. “Rumpel always used to keep a lunar diary as some spells could only be performed at certain times. Here.”

There was a chart on the wall behind the books, slowly moving along as time passed, showing the phases of the moon.

“We’re in luck.” Belle pointed to the full moon that was approaching. “The next blue moon is in eleven days’ time.”

 Storybrooke – Present

Belle and Neal were still chatting with Henry in the back room of the pawn shop when Neal’s phone rang and he stepped through into the main shop to take the call.

“Hello?”

“Neal, it’s Emma. How quickly can you and Belle get home?”

“Erm, the drive takes about ten minutes.”

“I’m not going to arrest you for speeding, can you get here as fast as you can?”

“Sure, Emma, what’s up?”

“Too complicated to explain on the phone, you need to see it for yourself.”

“Emma, has something happened, are you ok?”

“I’m fine. Everything’s all right but please just get here as soon as you can, I don’t know how much time we have and we need to make a plan.”

“Ok, we’re on our way. Are you sure you’re ok?”

“Yes, Neal, I’m fine, now please just get going!”

“Ok, I’ll see you soon.”

Neal hung up, more confused and worried than he had been before, and Emma’s words had done nothing to pacify him. He rushed back through to the back room and Belle looked up, alarmed by his urgency.

“We need to go home, now,” Neal said. “Something’s happened and it can’t wait.”

“Neal, what’s going on?” Belle asked as she grabbed her coat.

“I don’t know, Em said it was too complicated to explain on the phone.”

“Well, at least we know that the house hasn’t burned down. That’s not too hard to explain.”

“Can I come?” Henry asked. “I mean, if Mom’s there, then…”

Belle and Neal exchanged a worried glance and Belle shook her head; Neal had to agree. Whatever it was that was too complicated to explain was probably magical in nature.

“No Henry, not this time. We’ve got no idea what’s going on and I don’t want to put you in danger. Why don’t you go back to the diner and wait for your mom there?”

Henry shrugged. “Ok.”

They all left the shop together and Neal locked up as Henry left them in the direction of the station and Belle got in the Cadillac.

“He’s going to work out that something’s not as it seems sooner or later,” Belle observed.

“Yeah, we’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, there’s a mysterious emergency at our house and I don’t think it’s your dad breaking in again.”

“I hope not,” Belle said dryly. “We’re just beginning to get along again.”

Neal pressed down heard on the gas and the Cadillac sped along the street towards the pink house, its passengers sitting in a tense silence as they made their way home.

X

Emma shoved her phone back into her jacket pocket and returned to the kitchen as the kettle boiled.

“Belle and Neal are on their way,” she told Rumpelstiltskin, who just gave a slow nod of understanding without looking up. Emma set about making tea, and sat down at the table with him.

“Do you remember anything?” she asked presently. “Anything at all?”

Rumpelstiltskin shook his head.

“No. Not really. I remember dying. It hurt, but not as much as I thought it was going to. I guess I was ready for it.” Finally he looked up, but he didn’t look at Emma; his gaze went straight through her, staring off into the middle distance. “I remember it being dark. And there was water, but it wasn’t wet. I could hear it lapping, but I couldn’t feel it.”

“It sounds peaceful,” Emma said. “I’m sorry you were dragged out of it.”

Rumpelstiltskin shook his head. “It felt like a great weight had been lifted off me. I felt free. But it didn’t feel right. It was like I knew that I ought to be somewhere else.” He looked around the room. “I’m just not sure if this is that somewhere else.” At last his gaze focussed on her. “Then I woke up in a cage in a cellar with Zelena taunting me. Oh, how the mighty fall.”

“Do you know her?” Emma asked.

“Yes. I knew her a while ago. She was an apprentice of mine, years ago. Before Regina. Our parting was somewhat less than amicable. I have not seen her since, though. She went home to Oz and that was the end of it. Until now. I don’t know what she’s doing. I don’t know what she wants. Only that she has my dagger, she has my power, and she needs something from me. Something that she won’t get.”

“What does she need?”

Rumpelstiltskin gave a grim smile over the edge of his mug. “My tears.”

Emma thought about the horrible cage in the cellar, the notion of having no free will, and she shuddered at the thought.

“Don’t worry, I’m stronger than I look,” Rumpelstiltskin said. “I have no intention of giving her what she wants.”

“Well, with any luck, you won’t be in that position. Neal and Belle are coming and we’ll work out a plan to keep you safe.”

“If the witch has my dagger, Emma, then no-one is safe, least of all me.” His voice was hard and sharp but his tired eyes and drooped shoulders lent an air of defeat to his statement. “But I do appreciate your efforts for me.”

“Yeah. Well, I’ve been in a cell myself here in America and I was briefly in your cell in the Enchanted Forest and as much as you got on my nerves, I really don’t want that for you.”

Rumpelstiltskin gave a snort of laughter. “We’re far more alike than you’d like to think, Emma.”

“Yeah, I know, that’s what’s worrying me.”

There was a crunch of asphalt as the Cadillac pulled into the drive, and Rumpelstiltskin and Emma looked at each other.

“They’re here.”

Enchanted Forest – Missing Year

The sun was beginning to set as Belle and Neal pushed their way through the dense Arendelle pine forests towards the top of the hill. The place was eerily quiet, their footsteps crunching in the thick snow the only sound. The woodcutters had gone home for the day and there was no-one else around to disturb them. All the same, Belle had that uneasy feeling of being watched that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, and made her keep looking over her shoulder. Neal was similarly wary, but they pressed on, determined in their goal.

“According to the map, this should be the best place to view the moon,” Belle said as they emerged into the clearing. Her breath was curling into misty tendrils in the air and she had half a mind to put Rumpelstiltskin’s red coat on herself for extra warmth.

The circle of trees certainly looked like it was the scene of some kind of ritual. Whilst many of the Arendelle pines had been cut down, the ones at the edge of this clearing remained untouched. Belle thought again of Rumpelstiltskin’s riddle. They definitely seemed to be in the right place. It was a clear, cold night, and when the moon rose it would shine straight down into the centre of the clearing.

Neal dumped the bag of salt that he had been carrying with him and they set about making a fire by the clearing’s edge.

“You know, I’m not sure how much of this show we’re supposed to clear, but I get the feeling we might be here a long time,” he said.

“Are you having second thoughts?” Belle asked.

“No, more like second guessing. Having gone to all this trouble it would be a huge shame if we turned out to have got it wrong.”

“Well, we can only try.”

The moon came into view then almost on cue, and its light reflecting off the snow gave everything an eerie blue tinge. Belle looked up to the sky and then down at the snow, grabbing Neal’s arm as something began to manifest itself, a dark shape under the surface that became more and more distinct.

“This is it, it must be!” She moved over towards the shape and crouched beside it. It was a circle; it looked metallic, like the key, and it would probably fit a person through it. The entrance to the vault, perhaps? She swept away some of the loose snow on top of it; it couldn’t have been more than an inch or so below the ice and it shouldn’t take them too long to melt through it. She looked up at Neal.

“Ready?”

He nodded and went to fetch a burning stick from the fire whilst Belle grabbed the bag of salt. She thought she could make out a shape moving in the trees out of the corner of her eye, and that awful icy feeling of dread crept up her spine again, but when she turned to look in that direction, there was nothing to see. It must have been a trick of her imagination.

“Come on, let’s get on with this,” she muttered, returning to the vault with the salt. “I don’t like this place, it gives me that creepy feeling.”

“I know what you mean. The sooner we get papa and get out of here, the better.”

It took a few minutes for them to melt through the ice, but then the vault was in full view, and Neal unearthed the key from his pocket.

“Well, it certainly looks like a match,” he said, and he slipped the key into the keyhole in the centre of the door in the ground. “And it fits the lock.”

“Wait.” Belle ran her fingers over the ornately decorated surface. “There’s writing here, verse like the riddle back at the castle.”

“Maybe this is the advice that he was talking about.”

“Maybe.” Belle read aloud.

“Darkness is best left undisturbed

Lest the light become perturbed

If will is strong, I will belong

Once more in life with power uncurbed.”

She glanced at Neal. “It’s a warning, to leave well alone and leave the darkness where it is,” she said. “But Rumpel didn’t write this; it must have been here for centuries before his time.”

“Well, we’ve followed his instructions so far and we’re here with blood and love and good intent. I know intent is meaningless most of the time but I think it counts for something here. His original message just says that we have to read the advice, not that we have to take it. A bit like agreeing to the terms and conditions. We need to know what we’re letting ourselves in for.”

Belle nodded. “I think we know. Ready?”

“Ready.”

Belle closed her hand over Neal’s and there was an ominous thunk beneath them as they turned the key together. Belle sprang back as the key was forced back out of the lock, and the metal door began to ripple, as if it was being superheated from below. Before Belle and Neal’s eyes it melted away, leaving just a hole in the snow leading to darkness beyond.

“Well, that’s not ominous at all,” Neal said grimly. He peered into the vault, it felt a bit ridiculous to be calling to his father in there, but that was what he did.

“Papa? Are you in there?”

There was no response; he hadn’t expected one, but as his eyes became accustomed to the subterranean gloom, he saw the moonlight catch off something metallic. He squinted until it revealed itself for what it was, and he jerked his head up out of the hole.

“Belle, the dagger’s in there.”

“Find the dagger and we find Rumpel.” A wide smile began to spread over Belle’s face as the prospect of reuniting with her love came ever closer. “Can you reach it?”

“I think so.” Neal stuck an arm down into the vault, his fingertips just able to reach the dagger and scrabble for purchase on it, finally getting a grip and pulling it up. They examined it closely; to all intents and purposes it was the same dagger that had vanished with Rumpelstiltskin’s body when he had defeated Pan back in Storybrooke. Nothing seemed different about it. Neal readjusted his grip on the handle.

“A single drop, right?”

Belle nodded. “That’s what it says.”

Carefully and not without a little trepidation, Neal pressed the sharp point of the dagger against the pad of his thumb until a dark bead of blood welled at the tip. It ran down the dagger blade and dripped onto the snow. For a moment, nothing happened. Neal sucked on his wound to close it and the red spot on the snow remained just that. Then everything happened at once. The spot of blood began to smoke, sinking into the snow and turning black, spreading out over the white surface with a rapidity that made Belle and Neal shrink back from it. At the same time, the vault door re-materialised, locking itself with a fearsome clang and then fading back into the ice as if it had never been there.

The tendrils of black were rising out of the snow now, swirling and eddying in the air and meshing together to form something solid, a human shape. Gradually the limbs became distinct, the face developed features, and suddenly, this shape of darkness was recognisably and undeniably Rumpelstiltskin. His eyes blinked open and the black tendrils slithered back down his body and melted away into the snow without a trace.

He didn’t look at them at first, looking at his hands in wonder and disbelief, as if he couldn’t quite fathom what had happened to him. Finally he glanced over and saw them, and he smiled.

“Belle?” he whispered. “Bae?”

Belle nodded, getting to her feet.

“We found the key,” she said. “And we followed your instructions. And well, here we are.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Belle could no longer resist the impulse and she scrabbled over the snow towards him, skidding to a halt before she could careen into him and send him flying, and she threw her arms around him, burying her face in his collar as she tried to fight back her tears of happiness. He still felt like Rumpel, he still smelled like Rumpel. It was more than she could ever have wished for, although she had never given up hope. She felt another set of arms come around her and she realised that Neal had joined in the group hug as well. At length, once Belle was on the verge of running out of air, they broke apart, and Belle wiped her eyes.

“I just can’t believe that it worked and we get a second chance,” she sniffed.

“Well, I’m very glad that it did, for all our sakes. Now, as pretty as this forest is, we should probably go home before we all catch our deaths.”

Belle giggled, yes, his impish personality was back as well. Everything was as it should be.

“That’s a point, Papa. Why did the instructions say to bring your red coat?” Neal asked, holding up the garment in question.

“Just preparing for all eventualities,” Rumpelstiltskin said airily. “I had no idea what state of dress or undress I might be in when I returned and I doubt it’s escaped your notice that it’s rather chilly here. I’d rather not have frozen my unmentionables off as soon as I returned. As it is, the magic appears to be weather appropriate.”

Neal just rolled his eyes in good-natured despair and shoved the coat back in his pack before holding the dagger out to Rumpelstiltskin.

“Here. This is yours. I’ve already said that I don’t want anything to do with it.”

“I…” But whatever Rumpelstiltskin was going to say, it was cut off by an unholy screech from the trees, and Belle screamed as a flying monkey barrelled out of the pines and bowled Neal over, the dagger dropping from his hand as the monkey’s powerful claws dug into his shoulders, lifting him high off the ground.

A fireball flew past Belle as Rumpelstiltskin went all out in his defence of his son; the flame singed the monkey’s tail and it loosened its hold on Neal, dropping him only to grab him upside down in one flexible foot.

Belle knew that something had been following them and she cursed herself for not investigating properly. If a monkey was here then the witch wouldn’t be too far behind. Her eyes went to the dagger lying innocently in the snow, and she launched herself forwards towards it; Rumpelstiltskin was too busy trying to save Neal to pay it any mind, and if it ended up in the witch’s clutches, well, that didn’t bear thinking about. She never made it to the dagger, as another monkey swooped in low, its claws catching around her neck and choking her as it dragged her away from the unguarded blade. Belle could see spots of light dancing in front of her eyes, the pressure in her skull almost unbearable as the monkey continued to squeeze her neck.

“Oh no you don’t!” Rumpelstiltskin growled, and the magic of another spell was shimmering on his fingertips when a cold voice spoke a single word.

“Stop.”

The effect was immediate. Rumpelstiltskin froze, the spell dying on his hand, and even with her vision blurring over, Belle could see the look of fear on his face. The very thing that she had been trying to prevent had happened. The witch had the Dark One’s dagger, and she was more than prepared to use it.

“Excellent.” She moved into view, turning the dagger over and over in her hands, examining it with fascination. “You know, I always did wonder why you would never tell me the source of all your power. As it is, your little besotted maid led me straight to it and your devoted son brought you straight into my hands.”

“Zelena,” Rumpelstiltskin said warily, “whatever quarrel you have with me is with me alone. Let Belle and Bae go, they have nothing to do with this.”

“As much as I would love for them to join my menagerie, you’re right. It would be unfair on them considering the great service that they’ve done for me, in bringing you back to the realm of the living and all. All right. You may go.”

The monkeys duly let go and Belle fell down onto the compacted snow, coughing and gasping for breath. Neal fell from a greater height and hit the ground with a loud thud; he didn’t move.

“Neal!” Belle scrambled over to him; he was still conscious but it was clear that he was in terrible pain. Rumpelstiltskin tried to move too, but he was still rooted to the spot with the witch’s command.

“Oh dear.” Zelena’s voice was full of fake concern. “I think you’d best get that seen to. Looks nasty.”

Belle, helping Neal to his feet, looked over at Rumpelstiltskin. She couldn’t bear to leave him alone under the witch’s power, but at the same time Neal needed medical attention as a matter of urgency and Belle knew that anything she might do to help Rumpelstiltskin would only end up with her in the same state.

“Go,” Rumpelstiltskin pleaded. “Save him, please.”

Belle nodded, and she and Neal made their limping way back towards where they had left their horses. Neal was in no state to ride and Belle managed to get him onto her own horse before mounting herself. She wiped her eyes, willing herself not to cry anymore. There was too much at stake now, and the time for sadness would come later.

Back in the clearing, Rumpelstiltskin let out a long breath of relief as he watched Belle and Neal ride away out of sight. At least he had got them to safety. Now, he could focus on himself. To try and get the dagger back now would be impossible; it would have to be some kind of sneak attack that Zelena wasn’t expecting. Lull her into a false sense of security. That would take time and planning, neither of which he had right now. For now, all he could do was try to resist the dagger’s influence as much as he possibly could. It was hard; the magic that usually hummed in his veins was now a jarring, dissonant screech, painful when he tried to push back against it.

“Oh Rumpel.” Zelena came over, a cruel smile on her face. “All that power that you refused to teach me, and here it is in the palm of my hand. No need for you to teach me when you can just do it for me.”

“Zelena, please. Think of your sister. She wouldn’t want this for you.”

“My sister’s dead, no thanks to you,” Zelena snapped. “So you don’t get to tell me what she would or wouldn’t want. It seems that we’ve got a lot of catching up to do, you and I.”

She smiled as an idea struck her. “Now, where were we before you brushed me aside and turned me this horrific colour?”

“I warned you against the strong stuff, dearie,” Rumpelstiltskin snarled. “Not my fault if you can’t heed a warning.”

“Details, details.” Zelena waved the dagger lazily. “Oh yes, I remember where we were.”

She pressed her mouth hard against his, a kiss with no desire or tenderness in it, just a desperate hunger for complete domination. Rumpelstiltskin sank his teeth down into her lower lip until he could taste blood. Zelena pulled back with a shout of rage, and the stinging backhand around the face was worth it to see her furious expression.

“You wretch!” she hissed, dabbing at her lip. “You’ll pay for that.”

“No means no, dearie. I haven’t changed my mind.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I know.” Zelena’s smile was vicious. “But you forget, dear Rumpel, that now I can make you say yes.”

The light glinted off the dagger, and for the first time since becoming the Dark One, Rumpelstiltskin felt utter terror.

 Storybrooke – Present

Belle and Neal entered the house cautiously, completely unsure of what they might find but hoping against hope that Emma knew what she was doing and that they weren’t walking straight into a trap.

“Emma?” Neal called out warily, and he gave a breath of relief as she appeared in the kitchen doorway and beckoned to them rapidly. “Emma, what’s going on that you couldn’t explain on the phone?”

“It’s complicated,” Emma said apologetically. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to worry you but it’s urgent.”

“What’s going on?” Neal pressed, but then he caught movement out of the corner of his eye behind Emma in the kitchen. “Em, is there someone in there?”

Emma nodded. “I don’t know how, and neither does he, but…”

“RUMPEL!”

Belle burst past Neal and Emma in a flurry of speed and Neal had just enough time to see his dishevelled but very much alive father standing in the kitchen before Belle threw herself into his arms. He staggered under the force of her weight landing against him and leaned heavily against the table as he held her close, burying his face in her hair. They were both shaking and it was clear that they were both crying, and Neal hung back in the doorway with Emma to let them have their moment.

“How…”

“I said, I don’t know,” Emma repeated. “And neither does he. That last thing that he remembers is dying, and then waking up here alive at the same time you all came back from the Enchanted Forest.”

“Do you think he came back with us?”

Emma nodded. “Considering where I found him, it’s pretty likely.”

“Where did you find him?”

“That’s why I wanted to get you over here quickly. The witch had him in a cage in her cellar.”

The colour drained out of Neal’s face. “Emma, please don’t say she has the dagger.”

Emma nodded sadly.

“Oh boy.”

“Bae?”

Belle had released Rumpelstiltskin and he was looking over at Neal. He looked old, Neal thought, and so very broken and unsure, and he pushed all thoughts of the dagger and various complications out of his head, going over and hugging his father. True, their relationship was still a somewhat strained one, but he was incredibly glad of this second chance he’d been given.

“Sheesh, Papa, when was the last time you took a shower?” Neal was horribly aware of how wobbly his voice sounded and how terrible the joke was, but Rumpelstiltskin just gave a weak laugh.

“Well, according to my memory, about a year ago.”

“Come on,” Belle said. “Let’s get you cleaned up and then we’ll discuss what the hell happens next.”

There’s no time, Belle.” Rumpelstiltskin shook his head sadly. “The witch will work out I’ve escaped sooner or later, and I wouldn’t want to be around me when that happens.”

“Nonsense.” Belle’s voice was firm and brokered no arguments. “I’m not going anywhere. We’ve only just got you back. We’ll figure something out, I promise.”

She slipped her arm through his and led him gently out of the kitchen, and Emma and Neal sat down at the table. Neal sighed, running his hands through his hair.

“I know it’s dangerous and I shouldn’t have brought him here and put you and Belle in harm’s way, but I couldn’t just leave him where he was,” Emma said.

“No, you did the right thing. We have to protect him somehow, but I don’t know how. The dagger’s magic doesn’t work outside Storybrooke. If we can leave town, we should be able to stop the witch summoning him back.”

“The monkeys are stopping everyone leaving town,” Emma pointed out.

“Hmm. Tranquiliser guns from the animal shelter?” Neal suggested. “I’m deadly serious, Emma. I know the witch probably likes to play with her food, at least that’s the impression I got from the cemetery, but ultimately all she needs to do to get him back is call him with the dagger and he’ll come to her like that.” He snapped his fingers. “If we can get out of town, then the magic is rendered void.”

“She’ll follow you,” Emma said. “She’s not just keeping him for his power, she needs something from him personally. And I think she’s on a revenge mission, from what I gather.”

Neal raised his eyebrows. “Well, she wouldn’t be the first. And even if she does follow us, her own magic won’t work outside of Storybrooke either so we’re on a level playing field.”

Emma nodded. “Ok, it’s a plan. If we get Rumpelstiltskin out of town then we weaken the witch and possibly can use him as bait to lure her away.” She sighed. “It all seems kind of drastic but right now, I think desperate times and desperate measures spring to mind. We don’t even know why she’s here or what she’s doing, let alone how she brought your father back from the dead.”

Neal shook his head. “Not dead unless you see the body,” he said. “Classic TV trope.”

“Now you’re going to tell me that we’re going to wake up and find Bobby Ewing in the shower.”

“Well.” Neal indicated the ceiling above them as the pipes creaked. “We’re halfway there.”

“I should get back to the station,” Emma said. “David was rounding up all the people who need to know about this development and we’ll probably need as much help as we can get to pull this off.”

“You can say that again. Thank you, Emma. For getting out and getting him back to us.”

“You’re welcome. If anyone deserves a reunion then it’s you three.” Emma got up to leave and took a glance around outside the house form the kitchen window to check that the coast was clear. “Call me if anything happens.”

“You know magic, Em. If she comes here then there won’t be enough time to call you. It’ll all be over by the time I hit your speed dial.”

“Yeah, well, call me anyway.”

“I will. I promise.”

Belle was sitting on the stairs as Emma came through the house to leave via the front door. She was curled up tight on herself, her face pensive.

“Belle? You ok?”

Belle nodded. “Yes, I’m fine. But if I meet that witch again I’m going to pull her throat out for what she’s done to him. He’s not in a good way. I don’t know what she’s done, but I can tell she’s done something, and heaven help her if I get my hands on the woman.”

Emma thought about his flinching reactions to her in the cellar. Belle hadn’t given him time to flinch when she had hugged him before, and he’d initiated the contact with Neal. Emma could tell exactly what Belle was talking about and it made her stomach turn to think of it.

“I’ll see you later,” she said. “Time’s against us.”

Belle nodded. “Thank you, Emma.”

Emma left the pink house, driving back into the town as quickly as she dared, pulling up outside the station and rushing inside. David was there with Snow, Granny and Regina.

“Is it true? Rumpelstiltskin’s alive and you found him in a cellar?”

Emma nodded. “Yeah, it’s true. And we don’t have that much time before Zelena notices that he’s missing so we need a plan. Well, we have a plan. Not necessarily a good plan, but a plan. Here’s what we’re going to do.”

X

“Belle?”

Belle twisted on the stairs and smiled as Rumpel reappeared, clean shaven and in fresh clothes, damp hair curling at his collar.

“You can’t tell me that doesn’t feel better,” she said. “I know that when I was locked up, I would have given anything to feel clean.”

“Yes, this is better. Thank you.”

Together they made their way back to the kitchen where Neal was waiting.

“Hey Papa. We’ve got a plan which we think is going to work. We’re going to leave town.”

“She’ll follow us,” Rumpelstiltskin said plainly. “She needs me and she’s not going to stop until she gets what she wants.

“I know. But out of town there’s no magic. We’ll be a hell of a lot safer, all of us.”

“Neal, I can’t leave town,” Belle said quietly. “You met Lacey. She was what happened the last time I went over that line.”

“I know, but Emma thinks that it’s different now, otherwise the monkeys wouldn’t be guarding the line.”

“I won’t have you take the risk,” Rumpelstiltskin said firmly. “Either of you,” he added. “If I’m going, then I’m going alone. It’s me that she wants, not either of you. If you come, you’ll only get hurt. She’s a vicious woman and she won’t hesitate to use you as pawns.”

Belle shook her head. “No. You’ve been through enough on your own. Now you have us. I’ll go with you forever, remember? I might not be able to cross the town line, but I’ll go with you as far as I can. We’re in this together. And really, Rumpel, do you think she won’t be able to use us if we aren’t there with you?” Her hand went to the back of her head and the stitches hidden beneath her hair.

“You’re stuck with us, Papa.” In spite of the dire situation, Neal grinned and Rumpelstiltskin managed a small smile

“All right. I guess anything’s worth a try.”

Belle sprang to her feet. “I’ll get packing.” She dashed out of the kitchen, leaving Rumpelstiltskin and Neal sitting together. The silence wasn’t awkward, but it wasn’t completely relaxed either.

“Bae… Neal…” Rumpelstiltskin began, but he wasn’t sure where to go from there. Neal just smiled.

“It’s ok. I know.”

“You do? I wish I did. It’s just… When I was… Well… Before I woke up back here, after everything went dark and calm, you and Belle were all I thought about. I just wanted to see you both one last time. And now I have, and I’m so grateful for this second chance, but at the same time, I’m worried that it’s all going to go wrong again.”

“Yeah, I can understand that.” Neal ran a hand through his hair again in agitation. “I can’t promise you that nothing’s going to go wrong, Papa.”

“I’m not expecting you to. I just want you to be prepared. Even if we do make it out of Storybrooke, Zelena’s still going to follow us. And even though there’s no magic out there, we’ll be on our own against her; there won’t be the back-up from the rest of the town.”

“I don’t know. Emma can come and go as she pleases and she’s pretty handy in all respects. I’m sure she’d be up for breaking a witch’s nose.”

He reached across the table for Rumpelstiltskin’s hand but his father flinched away, and Neal had to wonder with the metallic taste of fear in the back of his throat just what Zelena had done to him. He tapped his fingers against the kitchen table instead and got up suddenly.

“We should help Belle, there’s not much time. Hang on a sec.”

Rumpelstiltskin nodded his agreement and go to his feet slowly as Neal left the room and returned ad moment later with his cane. Rumpelstiltskin raised an eyebrow.

“I lost this in Neverland.”

“Well, the curse obviously saw fit to give you a new one.”

Rumpelstiltskin took the cane and tested the weight. “All right,” he said eventually. “Let’s get out of here.”

 Enchanted Forest – Missing Year

Grumpy, stationed at the top of the tallest tower of Regina’s castle with several telescopes of varying degrees of strength and magic, furrowed his brow as something very strange caught his eye through one of the lenses. He quickly refocussed the enchanted telescope that was providing as close a view of the occupied summer palace as possible, and he blinked. The protective barrier had vanished. The green dome was suddenly gone, as if the witch had just decided to move out suddenly. With the barrier gone, he could get a closer view, and he swooped in as close as he dared, past where the barrier had been and right up to the windows of the palace itself. The place was deserted, no sign of any monkeys anywhere, nor of the witch herself.

Grumpy sat back. He had lived through enough skirmishes, sneak attacks and full on battles during Snow and Charming’s reclamation of the kingdom to be wary whenever something like this happened, but all the same, he had to let the royals know what he had seen, as it certainly warranted very careful investigation.

“Hey. Sleepy. Wake up, this is important.” Grumpy kicked his brother’s foot where it was in the way of the trap door down into the castle but all this served to do was make the other dwarf mumble in his sleep. Grumpy sighed and hefted the leg out of the way, opening the trap door.

“Good grief, you’re useless,” he muttered, before calling down into the tower. “Hey! Sneezy! I need you to take watch!”

Sneezy hurried up the steps and as the two dwarfs looked out over the plains they saw a horse galloping hell for leather towards the castle, two figures on its back. One of them was in a bad way, barely holding on, and Grumpy grabbed one of the telescopes from Sneezy, refocussing it on the horse.

“It’s Belle and Neal!”

He thrust the telescope back at his brother and took the stairs down into the castle two at a time, meeting Belle on the horse as she came into the courtyard.

“Help!” Belle called out. “We need a doctor right now!”

Charming and Regina, who had also seen Belle’s approach and rushed out to investigate, came over to help, Regina lifting Neal’s semi-conscious body off the horse with magic and conjuring a stretcher for him as Grumpy raced back into the castle to fetch Doc.

“Belle, what happened?” Charming asked. Belle didn’t reply for a long time, bent double to catch her breath from the furious ride, her shoulders shaking with the sobs that she could only now afford to give in to. Charming guided her into the castle, past Doc as he ran out, and the main war room where their other allies were waiting for them.

“Charming, Grumpy was just telling us that the witch has left the summer palace…” Snow began, but stopped short on seeing Belle.

Belle, for her part, nodded.

“Yes,” she said quietly, wiping her eyes. “Yes, she’s moved her base of operations to the Dark Castle instead. She was waiting for us there, biding her time. She needed…” She broke off, shaking her head with a sigh. “The witch has Rumpelstiltskin. She has his dagger and she can control his power.”

“But I thought…” Grumpy protested.

“He died, yes, but the Dark One can’t be without a host, so he didn’t truly die. Neal and I were able to bring him back to life, but the witch ambushed us and now Neal’s hurt and Rumpel’s under her control and I feel like it’s all my fault for wanting to go after him in the first place.”

“Belle, it’s no-one’s fault but Zelena’s. We can get him back,” Charming said. “We have to.”

“Charming, we can’t it was dangerous enough trying to break into the summer palace when Zelena was in residence there, but now that she has Rumpelstiltskin’s power at her beck and call?” Snow shook her head warily.

“That’s all the more reason to attempt to rescue him,” Charming said firmly. “That kind of power can’t fall into the wrong hands. If we stand any chance of winning the battle against the witch we want the Dark One on our side.”

“No,” Belle said, her voice quiet but strong in the large room, and the rest of the war council turned to her. “No, the only hands that Rumpel’s power should be in are his own. I want your help to rescue him, I want all the help I can get, but if you’re only doing it to so that you gain control over him for your own ends, then you’re no better than Zelena and I’d rather go it alone.”

The room was silent after this grim declaration, and Belle turned to leave just as Doc skidded into the room.

“Neal’s going to be all right,” he said breathlessly. “You brought him here in the nick of time. He’ll need total rest for several days but he should make a full recovery.”

“Thank you so much.” With a final meaningful look over her shoulder, Belle left with the dwarf to go and see Neal, and the rest of the council looked at each other. Grumpy headed towards the door.

“I’m with her,” he said simply, leaving the others in profound and contemplative silence.

 Storybrooke – Present

They were putting the bags into the Cadillac’s trunk when Neal’s phone rang.

“Hey Emma.”

“Hey. Are you ready to go? We’re all set here. Regina’s set up some of her magical telescopes on Zelena’s house and she’s not reporting anything strange. David’s got hold of tranquiliser darts from the animal shelter and he’s gone to get Robin’s help in the forest. If we can pull this off then you should be out of the woods.”

“Well, as far as magic’s concerned,” Neal said. “We’ll still have a very angry witch on our tail but hopefully losing magic will take the bite out of her bark.”

“We’ll just have to wait and see. How’s your dad doing?”

“He’s holding up ok. He’s going to need a lot of sessions with Dr Hopper, that’s for sure. The sooner all this is all over, the better. We’ve been trying to figure out what it could possibly be that she needs him for, but well, packing for a quick getaway took precedence.”

“Rumpelstiltskin’s tears, Belle’s hair… If this was a sci-fi movie I’d say some kind of freakish cloning experiment.”

“Let’s hope not. Listen, Emma, if this goes to plan then I won’t see you or Henry again till I get back. Will you tell him why I left so suddenly? I don’t want him to think that I just abandoned him a couple of days after meeting him and telling him I wanted to be his dad.”

“Sure. I think he’s starting to suspect that something’s not right anyway. You can always call, you know.”

“I was going to ask if I could.”

“Of course you can. You’re his Dad and I want you to be a part of his life just as much as he does.”

Neal smiled. “Ok then. I guess we’ll speak to you once we get to the other side.”

“Good luck. Take the back roads. If something does happen then we want to avoid collateral damage.”

“Of course. See you soon.”

“See you soon, Neal.”

They hung up and Belle looked over at Neal from the Cadillac.

“Ready?” she asked.

“As I’ll ever be.”

He came over and got into the driver’s seat with Rumpelstiltskin beside him and Belle tucked in the back.

“Let’s go.”

Their drive down the twisting lanes that led out onto the main road out of town was a slow one, trying not to draw attention to themselves despite knowing that it wouldn’t make the blindest bit of difference to the rest of the town how fast they drove. Neal noticed the shivering flinch that his father gave and stepped on the gas a little harder.

“Pull over,” Rumpelstiltskin said suddenly, his face pale and anguished and his voice hissing through gritted teeth.

“Rumpel?”

“Pull over before she makes me flip the car!” he yelled. Neal slammed down on the brakes and the car came to a screeching halt.

“Get out. Both of you.”

“Rumpel, we’re not leaving you now!” Belle said, but nonetheless she got out of the car, Neal following suit, with Rumpelstiltskin finally following them too.

“Well, this brings back happy memories.” Zelena’s cold voice cut through the air as the woman herself materialised in the road in front of them. “Of course, none of you remember the last time we had a little soiree like this, which is a shame. You in particular would have loved to see how it ended.” She pointed the dagger at Belle as she spoke, a cruel smile spreading over her face.

“Oh, I can well guess,” Belle snapped. Zelena just laughed. It was an icy sound and Belle couldn’t help but shiver. For a brief moment, she remembered snow and pine trees all around, but then it was gone.

“So, you thought that you could sneak away, like rats leaving the sinking ship,” Zelena said. “It would almost be heart-warming if it wasn’t so pathetic. No-one leaves this town without my leave. I’ve got some big plans and I really can’t have you wandering off before I’ve had chance to enact them. Timing is crucial.” She paused. “I think you know what comes next, Rumpel. Come quietly like a good boy and I might just let them live.”

Neal and Belle did not move, and Zelena rolled her eyes.

“Is this going to be one of those ‘if you want to get to him you’ll have to go through us first’ type scenarios?” she asked.

“Perhaps,” Neal growled. It was too late to call Emma for back-up, they were on their own.

“It’s a touching gesture, it really is, but ultimately it’s pointless. One little wave of this and I can have him gut you with his bare hands. May if I do that he’ll finally give me what I want.”

“No.” Rumpelstiltskin’s voice was quiet but firm, and he brushed off Belle’s touch on his arm as he made his way around the Cadillac to stand as a barrier between Zelena and Belle and Neal.

“No, Zelena,” he repeated. “I’ll come with you quietly. I’ll even come willingly. I won’t fight. Your business is with me, not them.”

“Yes, but they just make such lovely chess pieces in this game of wits that we’ve been playing for too long, Rumpel. I’m certain that I could use them to my advantage. You’ve held out for so long and it’s starting to get wearing. I think you might need some persuasion.” Zelena turned the dagger this way and that. “I wonder what it would be like to strangle your own son after all these years spent desperately trying to get back to him and protect him.”

“Zelena, please. I’ll go with you, I’ll give you what you want. Just don’t hurt them.”

“Why not? You hurt someone I loved. You hurt her so badly she died.”

“What are you talking about?” The panic in Rumpelstiltskin’s voice was rising, but the confusion in his face at Zelena’s words was genuine. “I haven’t touched anyone you love. I’ve never met them.”

“That’s not the point. The point is that I’m not nearly done with making you pay, and even if you do give me what I want after so much resistance, don’t think that we’ll be finished.”

“Run,” Rumpelstiltskin hissed to Belle and Neal. “This is going to be ugly and it’s not your fight.”

Belle looked at him fearfully; his face was chalk-white with terror now but his stood his ground, and Neal pulled Belle away.

“We can’t leave him!”

“We can’t help him if we’re dead, Belle, now run!”

They went all of a few yards before an invisible wall stopped them in their tracks.

“Not so fast. I want you to see this. Because you can’t help him even if you’re alive, my dear. He’s mine now. My little pet.”

Rumpelstiltskin craned away from her touch, eyes closed and breath on the point of hyperventilation, but he didn’t move. He couldn’t move. The moment he resisted, she’d just raise the dagger and he could wave goodbye to any hope of protecting Belle and Neal. Her tongue felt hot and slimy in his mouth and he could hear Belle’s little sob, not for her own sake but for his.

“Well, you two run along now,” Zelena said once she finally released him, and in a whirl of smoke, Belle and Neal found themselves back in the kitchen of the pink house, the Cadillac parked up outside with its doors still open. Belle broke down into tears, yanking the kitchen door open and running outside, running until Neal could no longer see her. He sighed, wiped his own eyes, and dialled Emma.

“Neal? Is everything all right?”

“No. It’s not. You can call off the cavalry. She’s got him.”

  Storybrooke – Present

Belle ran, tears misting her vision as she stumbled along the narrow, uneven path towards the cemetery. The only thing she could hear was the sound of her own snuffling sobs. Neal had not followed her, and she did not want him to. The day’s events had been just as devastating for him and his own emotions must have been just as much of a rollercoaster as hers, but Belle could not stay in the house a moment longer. She needed the space, the air, something fresh and cool against the anger and sheer, unadulterated misery that was burning her up from the inside.

Finally she reached her destination, collapsing onto her knees at Rumpel’s graveside, his headstone solid and unyielding under her shaking hands, and she howled with the pain and injustice of it all, snotty tears streaming down her face.

“Why?” she screamed to the sky. “Why would you do this to us? Hasn’t he suffered enough? Haven’t we all suffered enough? Is this some kind of fairy tale karma, that the villains can never have peace? And what about those of us that love him, do we deserve this heartbreak? He died! He died for all of us and you couldn’t even let him have that!”

She didn’t even know who she was yelling at, perhaps the mystical author who’d written all their stories in the first place, not that he seemed to have much sway now. Of course, the person she really wanted to yell at was Zelena, but that wasn’t an option, so rage at their seemingly hopeless situation would have to suffice. She screamed until she was hoarse and all her anger and adrenaline had died down, leaving her a weeping ball of sadness, her head pillowed on her arms as she leaned heavily on the marble slab that seemed so meaningless now.

“Belle?”

The single word was soft and tentative, but Belle would recognise her father’s voice anywhere, and she lifted her gaze an inch to see him crouching beside her, a basket containing gardening gloves and dead-headed roses abandoned nearby. He’d evidently been tidying up the graveyard.

Moe did not come closer, and it took him by complete surprise when Belle let go of the headstone and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder as she burst into a fresh flood of tears.

“Belle, what’s happened?” Moe asked, cuddling her close like he’d done when she’d still been a young girl, after her mother had died.

“He’s alive,” Belle croaked. “Rumpel’s alive.”

“These aren’t happy tears, Belle. What’s wrong.”

Belle shook her head.

“The witch has him. She has the dagger his magic is bound to. She can control him and he’s her prisoner. There’s nothing we can do. Oh Papa, it’s just not fair! I was so happy when I saw him there, I couldn’t believe my eyes and I couldn’t believe that we’d been so lucky as to get a second chance after death, of all things. We were together again but then we were ripped apart.”

“Oh Belle.” Moe just stroked her back. He might not approve of her relationship with Rumpelstiltskin but she did not deserve this pain, the pain of losing him twice, and in such a horrific way. “There’s got to be something that we can do.”

“What can we do? He’s the most powerful magician there is and if the witch has control of him then she has access to all his power. Face it, it’s useless.”

“You must never give up hope, Belle,” Moe said. “Remember what your mother always used to say. As long as we still have hope, not all is lost.”

“I’m all out of hope right now, Papa. All I’ve got left is sadness.”

“Then you be sad. I’ve got you, sweetheart.”

At length, Belle’s sobs subsided into snuffles and she lightly shook off Moe’s arms around her so that she could blow her nose, and she looked over at the headstone.

“In a way, this is worse than him being dead,” she said quietly. “When someone’s dead you can grieve them and remember them but you know that their hardships are over. Now I don’t even have that comfort to fall back on. I know he’s alive, but is this fate worse than death? I’d accepted that I was never going to see him again; that we would never be together. But now I have seen him again, and we still might never be together. So close, and yet so far apart.”

“Something will happen,” Moe said firmly. “I know you, Belle, and I know you never stop fighting for those you love when they’re worth fighting for. Keep fighting for him, you have to. Someone has to, whilst he can’t fight for himself.”

Belle nodded. “I know. The circumstances are just so bleak but I know I can’t give up on him. I have to be strong.”

“Just remember that you don’t have to be strong all the time.” He reached out and wiped away the tear tracks on her cheeks. “It’s all right to cry. We’re right here for you. True love is worth fighting for. Take it from someone who never learned that lesson.”

Belle managed a watery smile.

“Thank you, Papa.”

They did not move for a long time, looking at the lettering on Rumpelstiltskin’s headstone until the sun began to set.

[artificialqueens]

Something Near Perfect - Part 2 (Shalaska) - Lost Imp

A/N Thank you so much for all the love on part one! I’ve never written anything before, so I’m glad you liked it! xx Lost Imp

Alaska was woken by the light coming through the small window in the sitting room. Turning her head up slightly, she saw Sharon, still sleeping, breathing softly with her arm wrapped tightly around her girlfriend’s waist. Turning ever so slightly to stretch out her legs, she realised she still had her cheer uniform on. They must have fallen asleep at some point during whatever scary film she had let Sharon put on, she thought. She would have to shower before going to the café where she worked, which meant waking Sharon. Alaska quickly resolved that if she would have to wake her girlfriend to move, she might as well do it in the nicest way possible.

Lifting herself up gently so that she was face to face with Sharon, she began peppering little kisses on her forehead, softly moving her way down the bridge of her nose. Sharon stirred and hummed before opening her dark eyes to meet Alaska’s sparkling blue ones.

“Hi” Alaska whispered, before leaning in and kissing her lovers’ soft lips. After a moment they broke apart.

“Hi” Sharon smiled.

“I have to go to work soon” pouted Alaska, “But I do have time for a shower, and I was wondering maybe if you possibly just wanted to come too?”

“Mmm, sorry doll, I don’t think so, I’m not really into taking showers with tall hot blonde girls” Sharon said, failing miserably at hiding the smirk that crossed her face.

“Is that so?” Alaska said, standing up and turning her back to Sharon, “Suit yourself then” as she swayed her hips dramatically in her short cheer skirt walking towards the bathroom, knowing full well that Sharon would follow immediately behind her.

In the bathroom, Alaska turned on the shower and pulled off her top, and then removed her bra. She reached behind her to undo the zip at the back of her skirt but it was stuck. She pulled sharply on the zip but it wouldn’t budge. Suddenly she felt a soft pair of hands on hers, moving them away from the zip. Carefully and patiently Sharon slid the zip open, letting the skirt fall to the floor.

Without turning around Alaska slid her underwear from her hips, letting them join her cheer skirt on the ground. She silently stepped into the shower letting the warm water flow down her back. Sharon pulled off her t-shirt and tight jeans and stepped in under the water behind her.

Alaska began rubbing shampoo through her long messy hair. Again, placing her hand’s on top of her girlfriends, Sharon moved them away, replacing them with her own, gently massaging her girlfriends head and hair. Alaska closed her eyes, allowing herself to enjoy one of the many intimate moments with Sharon that she loved so much..

Turning around to face Sharon as she let the water rinse out her hair, Alaska wrapped her long arms around her girlfriends’ shoulders, pulling her in gently to a slow, soft, passionate kiss. The kiss quickly escalated into a heated mess of hands everywhere, messy kisses scattered across lips and faces, necks and shoulders.

Sharon slid her hand down Alaska’s chest and stomach, slowly reaching lower and lower. This elicited a soft moan from her flustered girlfriend.

“Please Shar, more” she drawled.

The slightly shorter girl was more than happy to oblige, inserting one finger inside the taller girl. Her actions were graciously awarded with another moan, this time longer and deeper. Alaska craved Sharon’s touch, it was more intoxicating than any drug or drink she had ever had.

Although Sharon could have stayed there all day, she knew Alaska had work, and so did she, so she sped up her actions a little bit, inserting a second finger. Alaska threw her head back, exposing her neck, which Sharon eagerly covered in kisses and little nips, which only caused Alaska to writhe more under her girlfriend. Knowing she was close, Sharon twisted her fingers quickly, knowing exactly what to do the give Alaska the most pleasure. Twisting her fingers once more Alaska let out a whine.

“Ah…Shar…I” she moaned, unable to form coherent words.

Pushing her fingers up once more, Sharon sent Alaska over the edge. She held her girlfriend upright as she shook under her. Once she steadied herself Alaska kissed Sharon passionately, over and over.

Both girls were shaken from the trance they were in abruptly as the water turned freezing cold. Leaping out of the shower, they laughed, grabbing warm towels to wrap around each other. Alaska checked her phone.

Eyes widening she ran out of the bathroom and into the bedroom.

“I’m going to be late! I’m going to be late, it’s 9 Sharon, I have to be in at 9:30” Alaska yelled, pulling her clothes on quickly, yanking miss matched socks onto her feet.

“It’s ok doll, I’ll drop you off on my way to work, we’ll be there in 20 minutes calm down” Sharon said throwing clothes on herself too, following Alaska out to the kitchen and grabbing her leather jacket from where she threw it yesterday. Alaska was standing at the mirror, tying half of her wet hair into a messy bun on top of her head.

“It’s 9:05 babe, we’re ok” Sharon assured her girlfriend.

Alaska let herself exhale for the first time in five minutes. She looked over at Sharon, “How do you manage to look so cool and hot in literally five seconds flat?” she asked incredulously.

“Just a gift, I guess” Sharon winked, “Grab a banana for the road babe” she said as she grabbed herself an apple and headed out the door.

Alaska stared at the fruit bowl, knowing she should take something with her to make up for the lack of breakfast, but she didn’t. Her head said no, and she didn’t have time to argue this morning. She grabbed the second motor bike helmet and ran out the door.

“I’ll swing by and get you at four babe, ok? I’m finished after three.” Sharon said, lifting her helmet of her head as Alaska hopped of the back of the bike. She reached forward and pulled Alaska in by her waist to kiss her.

“I’ll miss you” Alaska whispered, against Sharon’s lips.

“I love you. Don’t forget to have a decent lunch to make up for the small breakfast baby”

“I won’t. And I love you too. Bieeee” Alaska said, as she jogged towards the back entrance of the little café.

Alaska enjoyed her work, she liked the people that she worked with, she liked the atmosphere of the cosy little café. She even liked her boss who was a fifty-something year old gay man, who let them organise their own hours and paid them well. It all suited Alaska to a tee, to be able to come to work and have friends and enjoy making the drinks and talking to new people. It was somewhere she felt like she fit in, which didn’t happen too often.

It had been a relatively busy morning by the time Alaska got to have her lunch break at one. She liked to sit out back where they had a small outdoor smoking area, that she and her co-workers had collectively decorated over time, with small paintings on the wall, and little pots of flowers beside the couple of chairs. Usually, it calmed her down to be able to have her own space to sit quietly and eat on her own. Usually. But today that didn’t really work in her favour. Having skipped breakfast, mainly because she was in a rush, Alaska had given her head a bit of power, a little bit of the old control it loved so much, and as she sat staring at the sandwich in her lap, she couldn’t quite bring herself to eat it. She had let her head have access to her actions, and today was just one of those days where it did not want to let go.

She sat like this for a while, staring at her food, knowing her lunch break had to be over soon. Suddenly, one of the guys that worked with her, Jamie, opened the door behind her which made Alaska jump.

“Hahaha sorry Laska, didn’t mean to scare you” Jamie laughed.

Alaska smiled up at him “Sure you didn’t James” she said, sticking out her tongue.

“Do I need to go back in now?”

“No, you have another five minutes before Adore needs to take her break. You’re good. Could I interest you in some fruit salad my dear? It’s got the most amazing strawberries you’ve ever had in your life, I swear” he said, offering her the box.

Fighting very hard with her head, she reached forward, grabbing a small handful of fruit from the box, knowing that she needed to eat at least something small. If not for her own sake, then for Sharon’s, she told herself.

“Thanks Jamie” she said, eating the pieces of fruit slowly, trying to distract herself by listening to the latest story of one of Jamie’s late-night escapades, before making her way back inside to finish the last couple of hours of her shift.

At four o’clock, Alaska was just making her last coffee when she heard Sharon pull up outside. She smiled gratefully, because she had been starting to feel a bit ill over the last hour. Handing over the latte she had made, she grabbed her jacket from behind the counter and headed through the kitchen and out the back.

“See you tomorrow, Adore” she said, kissing her friend on the cheek as she hurried out the door.

“Bye Lasky” Adore called behind her.

Sharon was outside leaning up against her bike, a lit cigarette between her lips. Before she met Sharon, Alaska wouldn’t have generally liked the idea of anyone smoking, but with Sharon she somehow found it incredibly sexy. As her girlfriend walked up to her, Sharon threw her cigarette on the ground and kissed Alaska sweetly on her forehead before pulling back and looking straight into Alaska’s eyes.

Alaska knew exactly what she was doing. She could tell immediately if something was up with Alaska and given how she felt at that moment, Alaska imagined she wasn’t looking her best.

“Let’s get you home baby” Sharon said calmly, unable to mask the concern in her voice as she swung her leg over the bike. Her girlfriend followed, climbing on and wrapping her arms around Sharon, resting her sore head on her shoulder.

They walked silently up the stairs to their flat, only letting go when Sharon had to unlock the door. Alaska walked in behind her, knowing she needed to sit down on the couch, but before she could do so, her vision went blurry, then patchy and then completely dark.

The last thing she felt were her knees giving way to the floor.

[myfunnyvalentinebean]

Soulcember Day 22:

Ink; AU in which anything drawn or tattooed on their body appears on their soulmates. (This can also include cuts and/or bruises if desired.)

Fandom: Septimus Heap

Pairing: Simon Heap and Lucy Gringe

A/N: I can’t believe I got so behind on this. I’ll try to get all the others, but enjoy.

Modern AU

Words and Flowers

Simon was not a very artistic person. He only ever remembered drawing as a child on paper. He never once thought of drawing on his body. This is why it startled him so much when he saw a small flower on his left arm. Simon was confused at first, but he quickly learned that the drawings were from his Destined partner. He started wearing long sleeves. He didn’t have time to be worried about a soulmate. He had his studies to focus on and good friends that depended on him.

Lucy loved to sketch. She wasn’t very good at drawing most things, but she often drew her own patterns for her next embroidery project. This usually included flowers. She’d often practice sketching small flowers in the margins of her paper instead of paying much attention in class.

One day in class, the teacher began to talk about something that actually caught Lucy’s attention: Destined partners. Lucy had heard about them her whole live, but she loved the thought of having one person that you were connected. Thoughts of sending notes through writing on your arm were Lucy’s favorite. It just seemed so sweet. Then the idea occurred to her. She could draw on her arm, that way she could discover who her soulmate was! But what to draw… Why not flowers? She was best at that, and she’d be able to recognize it easily.

“What’d you do today?” Lucy asked Simon, walking up to his locker as he grabbed various items.

“Well, science was pretty interesting today. The teacher said we might get a chance to hear the famous Alchemist, Marcellus Pye, speak. What about you? Did you actually pay attention in any class today?” Simon responded to his friend. Throughout Middle School, the pair had disliked each other greatly, mostly due to their fathers’ dislike of the other’s father. Once they became Freshmen in High School, they both agreed to put the past troubles behind them. They had become fast friends.

“Yes, I paid attention in art class,” Lucy said while crossing her arms.

“I’m not surprised,” Simon said, “I see you added to the collection.” Simon gestured to the ink marks on Lucy’s arms. She drew on them everyday. Almost her whole left arm was covered, but her right arm had a few, more shaky drawings.

“What else am I going to do in math class?”

“I don’t know, math?”

“I think I found a much more productive use of my time.”

Simon rolled his eyes with a fond smile. Lucy never was much for school, and he knew this. He pulled his backpack on and closed his locker. Lucy trotted up to his side. Together, they left the school, chatting about various topics. They walked to Lucy’s house, which lay on the edge of town near where her father ran the toll bridge. A few buildings away, they both stopped.

“Better get going. I doubt your Dad will be pleased to see me. See you tomorrow, Lucy,” Simon said before turning to leave.

“‘Bye,” Lucy returned then walked the rest of the way to her house.

Simon had a little longer of a walk home. He lived in a large apartment complex by the edge of town. He made progress to the small room that housed his family of nine. As he walked, he wore a smile. Lucy Gringe occupied his thoughts. Simon loved to think about Lucy. She was like a beacon of relief when he was stressed. She made sure he didn’t go overboard with his studies and forget to take care of himself.

Simon felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled out the phone that his parents had gotten him for his sixteenth birthday. They had gotten it for him since he was now in High School, whereas his siblings were still in Middle and Elementary School, and he often walked home alone. Simon looked at his phone and saw a text message notification.

Unlocking his phone, he read the message:

From: Lucy Gringe

“let me know when you get home so you can help me with homework :)”

Simon quickly replied:

To: Lucy Gringe

“you mean do it for you??”

From: Lucy Gringe

“I know what I said”

He chuckled and put his phone back into his pocket as he opened the door to the apartment building his family’s room was in. Several hallways and staircases, Simon reached the door to the apartment, the Big Red Door, as it was referred to. He pulled out his keys and went inside. The one-roomed apartment was crowded, as always. Sam, Edd and Erik, and Jojo all sat at a large folding table that filled the main part of the front of the room. They each had various school books on the table, mixed with the plethora of other books that filled the room. Nicko and Jenna played together on the floor on the far side of the room.

“Simon’s home!” the shout came from the youngest of the Heaps, Jenna. She ran up to Simon and threw her arms around him. Simon hugged her back while also closing the door behind him.

“How was school today, dear?” Sarah asked, sitting at the crowded table helping Jojo with his homework.

“It was good, Mum. One of my friends needs help with an assignment, may I go into your room and call them?” Simon said.

“Of course, try to keep it short though. I need your help watching your siblings tonight.” Sarah said before returning her focus to Jojo, who looked thoroughly baffled with multiplication. Simon nodded and walked across the room, dodging various books, toys, and other items on the floor, to the ladder that stood against the left-hand wall.

The ladder led to a small space that Simon’s father, Silas, had found when Sarah had insisted on getting an area away from six growing boys. Simon climbed the ladder into the attic-like space. It was sparsely furnished, only having a bed and a desk, which had the sole laptop the family owned and the drawers were filled with Sarah and Silas’s possessions.

Simon put his backpack on the floor beside the desk and took a seat in front of it. He logged into a video chat and called Lucy’s computer. It wasn’t a long wait.

“About time,” Lucy joked.

“Very funny. What’s so hard this time?”

“Math. Algebra isn’t as easy as you claim it is.”

“Fine, let's get started then.”

An hour later, Simon had finished his homework assignments and had was finishing explaining a problem to Lucy.

“And so, x equals 24. Understand how I got that?” Simon said, holding up a sheet of paper that had a fully worked problem largely written on it.

“I think so. Thanks, Si! That’s the last of it!” she said, “Now, I got a random question for you that’s been on my mind all day.”

“Shoot.”

“Do you want to find your soulmate?”

The question didn’t surprise Simon. He knew that that was all Lucy thought about. She was always drawing on her arm in an attempt to spot her Destined partner. Simon, however, put a conscious effort to not see any markings on his body. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen his bare arms outside of bathing. And even when he bathed, he purposefully didn’t focus on the patterns on his skin.

“One day, but school is my priority.”

This statement was only partially true. Simon loved school. He wanted to be the best student he could be, but that wasn’t the sole reason he refused to dwell on the thought of a soulmate. The main reason, though he’d never tell anyone, was he was afraid that he would discover that Lucy wasn’t his soulmate.

“Should’ve guessed. I’m going to find my soulmate. In fact, I’m doing it tonight.”

“How exactly are you going to do that?”

“I’m going to write them a note and see if they respond!”

“You can’t guarantee they’ll reply to whatever you write. They may already ignore everything you draw. I would have by now.”

“Oh shut up, Si. This’ll work, you’ll see!” Lucy said with a huff. She stood and walked off. She returned shortly, holding a black pen.

“What are you gonna write? ‘Dear soulmate, this is your obsessing soulmate that wants to meet you! Kisses!’?” Simon teased. Lucy stuck her tongue out in reply before writing on her right arm the best she could.

While she wrote, Simon pulled off the jacket he was wearing. He hadn’t had any long sleeve shirts clean, so he had put on short sleeves with a jacket that morning. But it was hot in the space that made up his parents’ room. Simon folded his arms and sat quietly.

His green eyes caught movement on his arm. His first thought was a bug, thus he quickly unfolded his arms and brushed his hand across his arms, in attempt to knock off the supposed bug. Simon looked at his arm to ensure there was no longer a bug on his person, but instead he saw the slow progression of words appearing on his inner right forearm.

The words read:

‘Dear soulmate, I’ve been wanting to meet you for a while now. You probably guessed that from the drawings on your arms. Would you meet me after school at Ma Custard’s Sweet Shoppe? From, your soulmate.’

“There! I did it! I invited them to meet me somewhere tomorrow! And I’m not gonna tell you where so you won’t ruin it!” Lucy said with a satisfied smile. Simon got the feeling that he knew the location, but he decided against informing her.

“Are you sure your dad will be ok with you staying out?” Simon asked, knowing he’d get permission relatively easily.

“If I’m real nice to him at dinner and breakfast,” Lucy said, “Speaking of which, Ma said she wanted help cooking tonight, since Rupert just got home from sailing for about a week. So, I gotta go. See you tomorrow, Si!” Lucy said with a smile. She gave a small wave.

“See ya,” Simon replied before hanging up. He logged out of his user and shutdown the computer. Tomorrow was going to be eventful.

The next day, Simon awoke by an alarm on his phone. Today was an important day, and Simon had to get ready for it. He quickly went through the morning route of waking up each of his siblings and cooking them breakfast. Mum used to do this, but recently Simon thought she looked increasingly tired. He had decided to take responsibility of his siblings best he could, when he could.

Simon soon had a group of tired eight to fourteen years olds sitting around the large folding table that Simon had set up after his brothers had gotten off their floor beds. He gave each of them a portion of the breakfast he had made. While his siblings ate, Simon went to a small area in the room that have a curtain, intended as an area for each of them to change clothes privately.

He slipped on the nicest casual clothes he had clean: a black and white horizontal striped t-shirt, a blue hoodie, and dark jeans. He slipped on his shoes quickly as he crossed back over to his siblings, who were finishing their breakfast meal.

“Okay, everyone, go get ready for school,” Simon told his siblings. They all began to get dressed and collect their items, various banter mixed into the process.

“Hey, that’s my jacket!”

“Too bad.”

“You’re so mean, Edd!”

“What are you gonna do about it, Jojo?”

“Edd, give Jojo his jacket. You have your own.”

“You can’t tell me what to do, Simon!”

“Do I need to get Mum?”

Whatever came up, Simon could quickly solve the problem by threatening to get Sarah. They had all seen their mother angry before, and none of them wanted a repeat of it. Soon, they were all dressed and had their bags ready. It was then that Sarah came down the ladder, looking stressed.

“I’m sorry, I overslept! Come on children. We need to get...ready?” Sarah paused and looked at the scene before her. Every last one of her children were fully dressed, fed (Jenna and Nicko still had crumbs on their face), and ready to leave the house.

“All ready to go, Mum!” Jenna said cheerfully while hugging her legs. Sarah smiled and mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ to Simon. The Heaps, minus Silas, all travelled together through the Ramblings and exited on the street. Sarah took Jojo, Nicko, and Jenna in one direction to take them to Elementary School, and Simon lead his other brothers to the Middle School before travelling alone to High School.

Simon arrived at school and saw unmistakable brown braids charging towards him. Lucy had outdone herself today. She wore a dress that she had clearly embroidered flowers on, but it was obviously the best one she had ever done. Her hair was neatly braided with ribbons perfectly laced through them. Yet, she still wore her brown combat boots.

“‘Bout time you showed up. How do I look?” Lucy said while twirling.

“Like you’re going on a date this afternoon,” Simon said, trying not to stare. She looked gorgeous, but he couldn’t just say that  aloud.

“Well so do you, Mister Stripe-Shirt. Last time you wore that was for that presentation that we had to look professional for,” Lucy said, glancing at his outfit.

“Can I not just want to dress nicely?” Simon said, hoping that she wouldn’t assume HE had a date that afternoon.

“Ok, ok, let’s just get going,” Lucy said before turning to enter the school.

The day passed fairly quickly for both Simon and Lucy. Lucy refrained from adding new drawings to her arms, in hopes to not agitate her soulmate. Simon, for once, couldn’t focus in class. His mind was filled with worst-case scenarios of when Lucy discovered him to be her Destined partner. Would she be happy? Would she be upset? Would she like he was lying? He tried to force the thoughts away. They were only making him more nervous and worried. He needed to make a plan. Simon pulled out a sheet of paper and began to write what he planned to say.

By the end of the day, Lucy was bursting with excitement. She walked confidently down the hallway to Simon and pushed him playfully.

“I’m afraid I have to go on alone. I have a date, and I don’t want you to beat up whoever my soulmate is,” Lucy said with a smile before trotting off.

“You don’t have to worry about that one, Luce,” Simon chuckled to himself. He grabbed his belongings and slipped into the bathroom. All attempts to calm his curly blonde hair were in vain, so he just accepted the organized mess. He then left school to make his own way to Ma Custard’s Sweet Shoppe.

Soon he was approaching the small building that was Ma Custard’s. It was a square, one-story building. It looked smaller than most of the surrounding buildings, but it had a warmth to it that brought customers in for a freshly baked pastry or various sweet candy. Lucy stood in front of the confectionary expectantly. Simon pulled his hood over his identifiable blonde hair and walked up to Lucy.

“Are you the one that wrote the note?” Simon asked, trying to sound casual, but polite.

“Yep, Lucy Gringe. It’s nice to finally meet you,” Lucy said with a smile and holding out a hand.

“Likewise,” Simon said while shaking her hand. He shook slightly from nervousness as he reached up to pull off his hood. It would be best not to avoid the inevitable.

Before he could pull it off, Lucy spoke, “You have the most incredible green eyes.” Simon blushed. Flattery was not what he was expecting Lucy to go too. He quickly pulled off his hood.

“I’m sorry, Lucy. I promise I didn’t follow you. It’s me, I’m your Destined partner,” Simon said quickly, eyes closed. Simon didn’t see it, but Lucy wore a humored expression. She may not be an excellent student, but she had figured out they were soulmates very quickly.

“Si, I want you to open you’re lovely green eyes right now and look at me,” Lucy said softly. He obeyed. Lucy had gotten closer and smiled at him.

“Aren’t you disappointed that it’s me?” Simon asked quietly.

“Why would I be disappointed that I’m going to spend my life with my best friend?” Lucy replied with a small laugh. Simon slowly began to chuckle himself. He had gotten himself all worked up over nothing. Of course, she’d be happy.

“In that case, I suppose we should consider this a date, huh?”

“Obviously.”

“Then allow me to purchase us some sweets to start us off.”

The pair walked into the sweet shop hand-in-hand with smiles on their lips. From that day on, Simon wore short sleeves again, proud to show who he was Destined with.

[musette-thornsong]

OJ - It’s Called A Hustle, Pt. I

Officer Aura Zurie is assigned to parking duty on her first day of work on the FPD. No one on the force takes her seriously due to her being a cell-virus hybrid and see her as nothing more than a useless organism with a pretty face and smokin’ hot bod. To make matters worse, she meets a rather handsome-looking virus whom she almost assumes the worst of because of how they treated her growing up yet thinks otherwise due to the circumstances. When she bails him out of a situation, she will soon come to face the severe mistake she just made.

Warning: Mild language

Words: 1839

–

Aura had just finished her quota of assigned parking for the day (her vehicle included), when she noticed a tall red virus with dreads and a long black trench coat walking on the opposite side the street. The virus proceeded to follow a random unsuspecting cell into a rather old building of an ice cream shop. She became suspicious of what he might try to pull in there, so she took the liberty in pursuing him. When she gets inside, she comes to find the place runned by germs and bacteria serving their own kind and giving a few cells “special discounts”. As she sees the virus approach the counter, the germ running the counter starts to get a little hostile seeing as how viruses are quite known for starting trouble and the establishment was a “no virus” zone.

Germ Vendor: (gruffly) Look here, buddy. I don’t know whatcha doin’ skulkin’ around in daylight hours but I don’t want any trouble in here. So hit the road!!

Thrax: (suavely) Look, baby. I don’t want any trouble either. All I want is to simply purchase your largest container of (enunciates) “ice cream” for my little boy

Aura: (prepares to use her viral taser when she notices a small virus child dressed in a bacteria-like costume right next to him, looking back at her sweetly)

Thrax: (kneels down to the child, smiling) You want the “chocolate” one, the “strawberry” one, or the “vanilla” one, little buddy?

Child: (cutely points to the vanilla vat)

Aura: (turns to leave, feeling guilty about her ill thoughts towards the virus) I am such a-

Germ Vendor: (crudely) Hey back up, kid!! Listen pal, there ain’t no fancy-schmancey virus ice cream joints in your neck of the woods?

Aura: (stops dead in her tracks, immediately turning back around upon hearing the disparaging remark)

Thrax: Oh trust me, baby, there are. But you see my boy, this goofy little skamper right here, loves all things Germ/Bacteria. Wants to be one when he grows up. Isn’t that adorable?

Child: (pulls antenna hood over his head, gives a fart-like toot through the nose of the hood) ~Poooot~

Aura: (stares at the adorable sight) Aww

Thrax: (pleadingly) Don’t crush the little guy’s dreams, right?

Germ Vendor: (getting annoyed, becomes abrupt) Look maybe you can’t read, but the sign says “WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE SERVICE TO ANYONE!!!” Now beat it!!

Random Cell: (shoves past Thrax) You’re holdin’ up the line, bub!!

Child: (toots sadly) ~P-p-p-poooooooot~

Aura: (steps in the middle) Hello? Excuse me.

Germ Vendor: (rudely) Yo, toots, ya gonna have to wait ya turn like everybody else, meter maid.

Aura: (corrects him) Actually, I’m an officer. Just a quick question, are your customers aware that they’re getting slime, snot crust, and mucus with their Cookies n’ Cream?

Random Cell #2: (spits out ice cream upon hearing said question)

Germ Vendor: What are ya talkin’ about?

Aura: Well I don’t want to cause any trouble, but I believe scooping ice cream with ungloved tentacles is a Class-3 Health Code violation.

Tentacled Vendor: (hears this dropping the large scoop of ice cream, walking away while wiping his tentacles)

Thrax: (intrigued by the hybrid’s cunning charm and intelligence)

Aura: It’s kind of a big deal. Of course I could let you off with a warning if you glove those tentacles annnnd…I don’t knoooow…finish selling this nice father and his son your largest container of…… (looks to Thrax) What was it again?

Thrax: Vanilla ice cream, please?

Aura: Vanilla ice cream

Child: ~Poot~

Germ Vendor: (irritated) Fifty dollars

Thrax: Thanks, baby. (rummages his pockets) Oh no, can you believe that? I forgot my wallet. (chuckles) I swear I’d lose my own head if it wasn’t attached. (kneels down) Aww sorry, little buddy. Gotta be the worst birthday ever. Please, don’t be mad at me? (kisses the child’s forehead)

Aura: (heartbroken at the scene, grabs her wallet, gives the money to the vendor) Keep the change.

Aura, Thrax, and the child leave the shop with a large container of ice cream. Thrax stops to praise her unexpected generosity.

Thrax: (praising) Officer, I can not thank you enough. So kind. Can I pay you back?

Aura: Oh no, it’s my treat. Ya know, it just burns me up to see people’s backward attitude about viruses. And I just gotta say you are a great father and an…articulate fella!

Thrax: (smiles) Well that is high praise. It’s rare that I meet someone so non-patronizing. Miss…?

Aura: Zurie. Aura Zurie, Mister…?

Thrax: Thrax Roja (shakes her hand, kisses it suavely)

Aura: (smiles warmly, slightly blushing) And you, little guy. You wanna be a germ? You be a germ. Because this is the City of Frank where anyone can be anything. (places a badge sticker on the costume)

Child: ~Poooot~

Thrax: Heh funny, I tell him that all the time. Okay, two hands. (gives the smiling child the large vat) Now that’s a Birthday smile there. Give the nice officer a “Goodbye Toot Toot?”

Child: ~Poot-Poot~

Aura: (waves goodbye)

Aura went about the rest of the day with her parking duty. It was going well until she spotted the virus child she met earlier dragging the vat of ice cream to an abandoned house up the street. She sees him, Thrax, and several other germs under his employ unloading ice cream vats that were actually filled with drugs and the necessary ingredients for making said drugs. The ice cream shop was actually a cover-up operation for drug smuggling. After the cartons were emptied, they were sold arts and crafts stores with remnants of drugs and passed of as scented decorative cardboard. As if the drugging operation wasn’t bad enough, Thrax and his kid (actually a short adult virus named Fox) made a profit off the drugs sold to erratic cell junkies and found that she had been had. She was just fuming at the thought of being lied to and used once again, even more so by cells’ worst enemy. At the end of the day after all the work was done, Thrax, feeling proud of himself, paid each cohort’s individual payment with Fox getting a extra bonus for his part.

Thrax: Way to earn that diaper, Big Guy.

Fox: (takes his cash and hops in his pimped-out van)

Thrax: (teasingly) What? No kiss bye-bye for Big Daddy?

Fox: (spits out his pacifier, responds viciously) You kiss me tomorrow, I’ll bite your FACE OFF!! (pops on sunglasses before driving off) Ciao~

Thrax: (smiles smugly, and turns to see Aura with her arms crossed looking very upset)

Aura: (angrily) Well! I stood up for you, and lied to me. You liar!!

Thrax: It’s called a hustle, Sweetheart. And I’m not the liar. He is (points in the opposite direction)

Aura: (looks in the pointed direction, sees nothing, then turns back to see Thrax had disappeared) Hey! (runs after him) Alright, slick. You’re under arrest.

Thrax: (plays dumb) Really? For What?

Aura: Gee, I don’t know. How about selling an illegal product without a permit, transporting undeclared commerce across borough lines, false advertising-

Thrax: (whips out the permit and receipt, continues strolling with a smug look) Permit. Receipt of declared commerce. And I didn’t falsely advertise anything. Take care.

Aura: (points out) You told that cell those drug cartons were scented decorative cardboard pieces!

Thrax: That’s right. “Decorated cardboard.” With an random scent. Cardboard that is decorated. You can’t touch me, baby. I’ve been doin’ this since I was born (disappears in an oncoming crowd)

Aura: (eye twitches, following behind) You’re gonna want to refrain from calling me Baby.

Thrax: My bad. I just naturally assumed you came from some little bougie  neighborhood in the Liver, no?

Aura: Uh, no! The rich neighborhoods are located from regions of the Heart to the Brain and I grew up in the outskirt slums of the Liver.

Thrax: (gets sarcastic) Ok, tell me if this story sounds familiar. Naive little bombshell born of seemingly both cells and viruses, blessed with good looks, has good grades, and big ideas decides, “Hey, look at me! I’m gonna move to the Big City where cells, germs, bacteria, and viruses all live in harmony and sing “Kumbaya.” (realistic tone) Only to find, whoopsie…we don’t all get along. And that dream of becoming a big city cop? Double whoopsie. She’s a meter maid. And whoopsie #3-sie, no one cares about her or her dreams. (turns the corner to an open fence) And soon enough, those dreams die and our little pheromone cell hybrid sinks into an emotional and literal squalor living in a box under a bridge until finally she has no choice but to go back home with that perfect round ass, impressive rack, and pretty face strutting all over the place to become…You’re from the Liver, is that what you said? (turns to look her straight in the eye) So how about a hooker. That sound about right?

Aura: (unbelievably shocked, feeling highly insulted still pursue him only to almost gets knocked into by a large germ but dodges, gasps) Oh!

Thrax: Careful now, baby, or it won’t be just your dreams getting crushed.

Aura: (runs in front of him) Hey! No one tells me what I can or can’t be. Especially not some asshole who never had the guts to try to be anything more than a drug lord!!

Thrax: (crouches down to her level) Alright, look. Everyone comes to the city thinking they can be anything they want. Well, you can’t. You can only be what you are. Sly virus, dumb pheromone.

Aura: (angrily states) I’m not a dumb pheromone.

Thrax: Right. (points down) And that’s not wet cement.

Aura: (finds herself sunk up to mid-calf in cement)

Thrax: (walks away) You’ll never be a real cop. You’re a cute meter maid though. Maybe a supervisor one day. Hang in there (disappears from sight with a smile)

Aura soon walked back home to her apartment complex with her cement-hardened feet. Thrax’s harsh and scarring words had cut deep into her core. She couldn’t help but realize every word he said about her was right. She sat down on the couch in her living room and turned on the clock radio, but the depressing music selection only made her feel worse. And a surprise video call from her adoptive parents, Ozzy and Leah, only made it even more depressing when they noticed she was a meter maid and not a real cop, making her safe from harm. She hated that they still treated her like a child and are never supportive of her dreams. Her day could not possibly get any worse.

Neighbor #1: Hey, buddy, turn down that depressing music.

Aura: (turns off the radio)

Neighbor #2: Leave the meter maid alone! Didn’t you hear her conversation? She feels like a failure!

Neighbor #1: Oh, shut up!

Neighbor #2: You shut up!

Neighbor #1: You shut up!

Neighbor #2: You shut up!

Aura: (groans) Tomorrow’s another day.

Neighbor #2: Yeah, but it might be worse!