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vannahfanfics · 4 years ago

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Song of the Sea

Category: General Fluff

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Characters: Eri, Shota Aizawa, Hizashi Yamada

Eri jumped as her bedroom door burst open, followed by a very familiar voice announcing, “Hey, hey, stop what you’re doing, because we’re going to the beach todaaaaaayyy!”

“The beach?” Eri said owlishly as she looked up from her tea table, where she was currently pouring imaginary tea for the myriad of stuffed animals seated around the small pink furniture. As Present Mic waltzed into her bedroom, wiggling his hips in a giddy little jig, his grin was nearly blinding.

“That’s right, my dear! Summer is here, and your therapist thought it would be good for you to go out and get some sunshine!” he explained as he crouched down and picked up one of the ceramic cups. He shook it at her, silently demanding to be served, and Eri giggled delightedly as she used the floral-patterned teapot to distribute. Present Mic took a long, exaggerated sip of air, emerald eyes glittering playfully above the rim of the cup before he pulled it away from his lip with a loud, satisfied sigh. “Delicious! Anyway,” he said, bopping her on the nose as she continued to snicker, “How does that sound?”

“I’ve never been to the beach before,” Eri considered, cocking her head to the side. From what she knew of the beach, it was supposed to be an enjoyable place indeed. Ever since being rescued from Overhaul’s clutches, she had been making considerable efforts to come out of her shell and do things that normal little girls did. A smile spread across her face as she imagined the rolling waves cresting on pristine white sands, tasting the salty sea breeze and feeling the sun kissing her skin. “Yeah! That sounds really fun!” she agreed with an emphatic nod.

“Wonderful!” Present Mic trilled and clapped his hands together. “Let’s go, then!”

“Wait, right now?” Eri squeaked in surprise as he hopped to his feet. She looked hesitantly at her array of stuffed animals. “But I haven’t finished the tea party.” It would be very rude of her to leave her guests wanting tea and snack cakes.

“Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry!” Present Mic tutted, smacking himself in the forehead. “How rude of me! Scoot Mr. Teddy over so I can enjoy some tea too, Eri, dear.” Eri did as he wished, cackling as the tall man wormed his way into one of the wooden chairs, his knees hunched up under his chin. He grabbed one of the chocolate cream-filled pastries and devoured it in nearly one bite, crumbs raining down from his chin. “We’ll finish this first and then go to the beach!”

Eri nodded eagerly and then proceeded to finish serving her guest, along with the newcomer Present Mic. Eraserhead found them there half an hour later, with his friend loudly regaling Eri’s stuffed bunny rabbit with a story about their high school glory days. Eri was cackling maniacally at his gut-bustingly funny rendition of Eraserhead falling asleep on the school rooftop and getting drenched by a surprise thunderstorm.

“And he came trudging into class, dripping wet and had to explain—” Present Mic was interrupted as Eraserhead grunted in the doorway. His head whirled on his shoulders to look at the disgruntled teacher with wide emerald eyes. “Oh, hello, Shota.”

“I thought we were taking Eri to the beach?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, but I had to finish my tea party!” Eri explained with a gesture at her stuffed animals, which all had snack cake-colored stains over their snouts. Eraserhead regarded the myriad of toys with silent consideration before nodding understandingly.

“Right. Of course. Are you done now?”

“Yes, I think so.” At her confirmation, Present Mic jumped up with a triumphant yowl, throwing his hands in the air.

“Yeeeeeeeaaaahhhh! Beach time, beach time! Oh, Shota, did you bring it? Did you bring it?” Present Mic pestered as he zoomed up to Eraserhead and tugging elatedly on his shirt. The dark-haired hero scowled and shoved him away with an irritated, “Yes, yes, now get off!” Eri blinked confusingly as Present Mic bristled with excitement in the corner, and Eraserhead procured a plastic bag to fish something out of it. “If we’re going to the beach, you need a swimsuit,” he explained simply as he handed her the clothing item.

Eri turned it over in her hands, eyes widening. It was a beautiful one-piece; three rows of red ruffles crossed the bust area diagonally, with strings coming up to tie around the back of her neck and others crisscrossing over where her shoulder blades would be. The rest of the fabric was creamy white and patterned with apples, complete with little stems and green leaves. As she admired the cute bathing suit, Present Mic dashed over, tucking his fists under his chin as he practically vibrated with excitement.

“Do you like it?! Oh, when we saw it, we just knew it would look super cute!”

“Mic, that’s gross.”

“Eh? What’s the point of having an adorable daughter without dolling her up for the world to see?!”

“Mic, she’s not your daughter.”

“She might as well be!” Present Mic protested, hugging Eri close. As her cheek squished into his chest, Eri smiled sweetly and looked up at him.

“I love it! Can I go put it on?”

“Of course, of course!” Present Mic trilled, pushing her past Eraserhead to the hallway bathroom. “And while you get ready, Shota and I will get everything ready for our super-duper awesome day at the beach! Yeeaaaaaaaaaah!”

Eri had to giggle at his enthusiasm; she found herself thoroughly hyped for the new adventure as he shut the bathroom door behind her and dragged Eraserhead off to prepare all the necessary items. She wormed out of her clothes and slipped into the bathing suit, careful not to tangle the strings as she tied them around her neck. It took a few tries as she was too short to use the mirror, so she had to fumble underneath her silvery hair to secure the knot. Eri felt pretty accomplished when she managed to do so without asking for the adults’ help. As soon as she unlocked the door and opened it back up, Present Mic was standing there in a muscle tee and a pair of yellow shorts with rainbow music notes all over them, a towel around his neck and that same grin on his face.

“Kyaaaaaa! Shota, isn’t she the most adorable thing ever?” he howled with delight. Eraserhead, sporting a gray tee and some plain black swim trunks, lowered his shades to inspect Eri critically. Though he lifted his sunglasses before grunting his approval, she could see some color rise to his cheeks. Present Mic scurried over to secure her hair into a set of pigtails before ushering her to the door. “We’re gonna have so much fun! Ah, wait, wait, wait,” he said as she stepped out of the door. When she looked back in bewilderment, he was whipping out his cellphone. “Say cheese! I have to show everyone how cute Eri looks on her first day at the beach!”

Eri reflexively smiled, wincing as the camera flash momentarily blinded her. Present Mic snickered to himself as his fingers flew across the keyboard, probably posting the picture everywhere it could be seen. That is until Eraserhead booted him out the doorway, causing Present Mic to yelp and rub his bum with a pout at his friend. Eraserhead just trudged past him, carrying a beach bag full of towels and other assorted items to the car. Eri tottered along after him, pigtails swinging with each trot. As she climbed into the backseat and buckled herself in, she peered curiously into the bag; before she could get a good look, Eraserhead reached back from the driver’s seat to close it.

“You don’t want to ruin the surprise, do you?” he winked. Eri slumped a little as she was playfully admonished, but a surprise did sound fun.

She obediently refrained from peeking during the ride. It became the furthest thing from her mind anyway as they neared the shore; she sat up in the seat to stare at the expanse of blue stretching along the horizon, red eyes wide as they behold the white rolling waves and even whiter rolling dunes. Colorful umbrellas and towels dotted the landscape. Beachgoers lounged in the shade reading books and listening to portable radios, played in the wet sand moistened by the tide, or frolicked in the surf, tossing balls and playing with inflatables. Eri bounced up and down, growing so excited that a little squeal bubbled out of her throat. When she looked impatiently to the front compartment of the car, both Eraserhead and Present Mic were smiling happily at her out of the corners of their eyes.

As soon as they parked, Eri jumped out of the car to dash to the sand. She hopped off the boardwalk into the grainy stuff, gasping as her bare feet sank into the warm grains. She wiggled her toes, appreciating the way the sand moved around her feet like fluid. She then jumped up and down with a squeal, throwing up the fine sand all around her.

“The beach! The beach!” she chanted, turning in a circle as she stamped around. Eraserhead chuckled as he walked up behind her, carrying an umbrella and two fold-out chairs over his shoulder.

“Having fun already, kiddo? Wait until you see the water.”

Eri gasped, whirling around so hard she lost her balance and bumped into Eraserhead’s legs. She could hear the waves rolling beyond the dunes, crashing and frothing. She ran up the side of the dune, grunting as she sunk deep into the sand, to clamber up to the top. She immediately sucked in a breath as the water came into view and the salty breeze hit her nose; it looked ethereal, the way the water rushed in and out, spraying up sea foam as it sank into the sand. Squeals of children and pleasant conversation floated on the breeze, creating a symphony of revelry on the tune of the ocean.

“Wowwww…” she breathed exultantly, looking up at Eraserhead and Present Mic as they came walking up the dune. “We’re really gonna spend the day here?” It almost seemed too good to be true; tears of gratitude and joy welled up in her eyes as she looked back to the gently crashing waves. In the deep dungeons of Overhaul’s compound, she could only dream of the ocean. Now here it was, right before her very eyes, close enough to touch.

“Of course,” Eraserhead smiled. He adjusted his grip on the chairs and umbrella before extending his hand to her. “Let me put this stuff down, and then we’ll go into the water, okay?” Eri nodded without looking at him, spellbound by the push-and-pull of the waves, but she reached for his hand on instinct. It wrapped around her small one, tough and calloused and warm, and led her down the side of the sand dune to the beach. Eraserhead left Present Mic to set up the chairs and umbrellas as he led Eri to the shoreline, where she stopped hesitantly in front of the water. The back-and-forth crashes almost seemed intimidating, now; surely, those waves could suck her right in and spirit her away into the great dark unknown. With a small whimper, she hugged Eraserhead’s leg and tugged at the ruffles of her bathing suit.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let you go anywhere,” Eraserhead chuckled warmly and gave her back an encouraging pat. She clutched tight to his hand as she tentatively inched up to the waterline. As a wave came rolling up, foaming and dumping seashells into the wet sand, she dipped her foot into the water. She squealed and retracted it, giddy with relief.

“It feels good!” Again, as the wave came cresting up, she edged forward, sticking her whole foot in this time. She laughed at the funny feeling of the bubbles popping against her skin and the water swirling around, making the shells bump against her ankle. She quickly leaned down to scoop up one. It was a cracked scallop shell, but the brown-and-cream patterning was so pretty that she still found herself holding it up to the sun to admire it. “So this once had a clam in it?”

“Yep,” Eraserhead confirmed, taking it from her to look it over. “Now it’s an empty shell. It’s broken, but would you still like to keep it?”

“Mhmm!”

Eraserhead whistled to Present Mic, who obediently brought over a bucket that she could drop the shell into. Before she could dive down to get another one, Present Mic tapped her on the head with a tube of something.

“Eri, let’s put on some sunscreen first, okay?”

She nodded obediently, and he leaned down, popping open the cap and squeezing a generous amount of the thick white cream into his head. Eri scrunched up her face as he rubbed it all into the skin of her face, then slicked it over her arms, legs, and the bare areas of her back. She grimaced at first because it made her feel gross and sticky, but she tolerated it because she knew it would make him sad if she objected.

The two men crouched beside her as she weaved her hands through the sloshing surf to catch the shells fluttering up from the deep, picking ones she liked to keep. She spent a good fifteen minutes there while the two looked on until Present Mic cleared his throat.

“Eri, would you like to go swimming?”

She straightened up, salty water dripping from her hands.

“Oh, but I don’t know how to swim…” she said with a longing look out at the sea. It certainly looked fun and refreshing. She glanced back when Eraserhead chuckled and patted her on the head.

“Don’t worry. We have floats for you.” As he said it, Present Mic approached, blowing up the second of a pair of strange-looking inflatables of transparent red plastic. Eraserhead dipped them in the water before sliding them up her arms, nestling them near her armpits. She flapped her arms up and down, giggling at the weird feeling of the plastic rubbing against her skin, and then watched as Eraserhead straightened up and offered her his hand again. Eri’s heart hummed with happiness as she reached up to take it, marveling at how strong yet soft it felt.

Even with all the people around, there hadn’t been a moment yet that Eri felt nervous because she always felt safe with Eraserhead. She wasn’t daunted in the least as he helped her wade out into the surf, the sand squishing beneath her toes and the salt spray lapping at her upper body and face because she knew that he’d never let her be dragged away. As she went deep enough to have to tip her head back, she lifted up her legs and began wildly kicking her legs. The floaties kept her buoyant on the waves, and she bobbed in a circle around his legs, occasionally bumping into him as she panted with effort.

“I’m swimming!” she screeched with delight, laughing as a wave pushed her up against his thighs. Eraserhead smirked as he pushed her a foot away, keeping a hold of her ankle. Eri squealed as she rolled onto her back and drifted on the sloshing water. “Mic, Mic, look!” she called to the blond as he came wading out into the water, his long hair piled into a bun atop his head. At that moment, a wave crashed over the back of her head, drenching her entirely.

“Ah! Eri, dear, are you all right?” Present Mic exclaimed and raced toward her at the speed of an Olympic swimmer.

“Ugh, you’re such a mother hen,” Eraserhead grunted as he calmly tugged the sputtering and coughing Eri close. “You okay?” he then asked, eyebrows pinched together. Eri flipped her dripping silver bangs out of her eyes, blinking rapidly as the salt stung, and sucked in a breath. After gathering her thoughts, she began laughing happily.

“I got wet,” she snickered. Present Mic deflated in relief before scooping her up to mount her on his shoulders. Her squeals of happiness bounded up to join the caws of the seabirds as Present Mic roared and charged the waves, kicking at them on the pretense of defending Eri from the sea. She clutched onto his head as she kicked her little feet too, although that high up, she could only nab some of the bubbly froth spraying up.

After about an hour of playing in the water, Eri retreated back inland to build a sandcastle. They decorated it with the shells she found, as well as bits of kelp and some driftwood. Present Mic declared her the queen of the castle and slapped a seaweed crown on her head; it felt really gross and slimy, so she chucked it at him on instinct, and Eraserhead started guffawing when it slapped across Present Mic’s face like an enormous mustache.

As she was watching a hermit crab scuttle across the sand, a large yawn split her face. She reached up to rub her eye with her knuckles, smearing sand and salt particles over her eyebrow.

“Tired, kiddo?” Eraserhead asked with a lopsided smile. She nodded and stood up to toddle over and hug his legs. He affectionately tousled her hair, which was dry and tangly from the salty water. Present Mic came up behind her to wrap her in a pink floral-patterned towel, and Eraserhead picked her up to carry her to their chairs and umbrellas. As he reclined in one of the fold-out chairs with a long sigh, she snuggled into his neck, playing with the ends of his long black hair.

“Did you have fun?” he asked as she smiled sleepily up at him.

“Mhmm,” she nodded and then yawned loudly again. As she nuzzled into him, enjoying the way the scent of salt mingled with the smell of his cologne, she quietly asked, “Can we come again sometime?”

“Sure.”

“Can Deku and Lemillion come too?”

“Sure. I’m sure they’d love to.”

Satisfied, Eri closed her eyes, embracing the drowsiness threatening to overtake her system. She listened to the rhythmic roll of the waves and the rush of the wind and the squawks of the seabirds and the symphony of shouts and laughs riding the wind. It really was a beautiful sound. As she sank into the sweet twilight of sleep, she found herself reminded again of all the heroes who risked their all to save her from the deep dark of the underground yakuza compound.

Thanks to them… I can listen to the beach anytime I want to. Thank you… My heroes…

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

#eri #shota aizawa #aizawa shota #hizashi yamada #yamada hizashi #my hero academia #mha #boku no hero academia #bnha

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sweater-daddiesdumbdork · 5 years ago

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shit shit shit, okay so i remembered a line from a fic from another fandom and it’s 👀 i’m still shy don’t know why but here goes, so you and chris have a kid and he’s doing the horse riding in his leg and you know beautiful giggles from your kid that is the carbon copy of chris and your kid is like ‘i want more’ but chris tells him/her that it’s bedtime and that mommy’s got to ride daddy too🥵 and you are like 🙈💕

A/N- Gosh I so loved this one since you sent it in, and I'm sorry it took so long to get to. Warnings- NSFW.

It was the perfect evening at home.

That evening you and Chris set up the fire pit outside for the kids to roast marshmallows and make smores just as it was getting dark. Your daughter and son were catching fireflies among the slightly taller grass near the fence, Dodger was trying to catch them in his mouth, but they were to fast. The kids would leap with cupped hands, and into the jar, they would go. Chris sat near the fire pit, poking it with a stick on occasion and called the kids over.

“Who wants to roast marshmallows?” and with a squeal, along with there jar of fireflies and Dodger, they came racing over where you had sticks ready, each one with a fluffy marshmallow on the end. Of course you tried teaching them how to golden brown them off, but all three of them, yes, Chris to, burned them off to make the smores.

“It's not a smore without a black marshmallow babygirl.” Chris would wink at you while you showed more patience to get the desired color. You would roll your eyes at him and stick out your tongue, making him smirk and wiggle his brows. “I got plans for that later.” Giving a wink, just waiting for you to say something.

That fucking tease. You don't say anything to retaliate since your kids are there. Both of them are a sticky mess after the smores, your daughter is leaning her head on your shoulder, watching the fireflies still dancing about the jar, and your son is on his dad's knee, the three-year-old being entertained by the bounce of Chris’s knee on occasion. Laughing high spirited, bouncing in time, they were cute together. But it was late, when you glanced at your phone, and you could feel your daughter was half asleep on your shoulder. “Sweetheart, how about you let them go, and head up for a shower?” You ask while brushing her hair back, and kissing the top of her head. She stirred without a fuss, and unscrewed the top.

Our they all burst to fly away, all of you tipping your heads back to watch the blinking little orbs scatter. “Okay, night mommy and daddy. I love you.” A kiss to the cheek for both you and Chris, a shared hug between you two, and she was pattering into the house and up the stairs for her shower. Your son, who when you glanced over had the same grin his father often had, didn't look the least bit ready for bed. Face all smeared with marshmallow, chocolate, and graham cracker crumbs, still bouncing on his dad's knee. “Come on Bud, you too.” You say gently, but he shakes his head. “No! I want more!” looking over his shoulder at Chris, who gives one more jerk of his knee and stops, hugging his son back against his chest.

“Were calling it a night Pal, m’kay? Besides, Mommy told Daddy earlier she wanted a ride to.” Chris teased you, and you lifted your son off his lap, shaking your head at your husband.

Christopher!

“Hmmm, I thought it was the other way around. See you upstairs?” you retorted, and Chris laughed, nodding.

“Yea Babygirl, just gonna clean up and I will see you upstairs.”

You got both of the kids bathed and tucked in bed, kissing both their foreheads. Promising them Daddy would be in to say goodnight, you went to take your own shower, making it quick before the water went cold on you. After finishing combing your hair and brushing teeth, wrapping a towel around yourself, you went into the darkened room, just the light on Chris’s nightstand was lit up. Chris laid out with a sheet draped over his hips loosely and was flipping through the tv stations, landing on a late-night show.

You approached the bed, and he set the remote aside while looking at youm, his eyes took in your appearance and softened “Hey beautiful.” When you reached the end of the bed, you kept a hold on your towel in case he tried to remove it before you were ready for him to. “Subtle tonight Handsome?” You teased, and he grinned without shame, sliding his hand up along the back of your thigh as you move to your knees on the bed and crawl to straddle him, feeling him through the sheet pressing against your core. You shifted up further to perch on his stomach. “Was I lying? I can't help it, you bring it out in me.”

“Me? Chris, I didn't do anything.” You couldn't hold the soft giggle escaping.

“Didn't you? No matter what your a sexy vixen and still in shock you belong all to me. I just want to love you every day.” He grasped the back of your neck and dragged you down gently so he could kiss you deeply, his tongue seeking entrance with a teasing swipe over your bottom lip, and slipped to stroke your tongue, drawing out moans from how fucking good he tasted, sweet mix of smores, beer, and himself. Your grip loosened on your towel, which he took advantage of, pulling it away so his hands could roam on bare soft skin. He pulled back and looked over your naked body, and your hands fell to either side of his head against the headboard when his hand pressed against the middle of your back, putting your breasts in his face.”See? How could this not drive a man crazy Beautiful.”

His hands cupped your breasts, nuzzling his face into them, place soft kisses and laps of his tongue around your nipple, sucking one into his mouth while rolling the other with a light pinch between his fingertips. You couldn't help but roll your hips, pressing your aching cunt against his stomach and spread your arousal against him, starting to whimper at the sensations he was building in you.

When he pulled off with a pop, and kissing with sharper bites to leave a few marks claiming you, he muttered against your quivering flesh. “Everything okay Babygirl?” Your grasp on the headboard was loosened, and you leaned back against his stomach, burying your fingers into his hair as his mouth still plucked and left messy kisses around your breasts.

“You were right, I do need to ride you.” You whimpered, and he bucked underneath you, his cock pressing against the sheet into your ass. He tilted back against the pillows, and behind you could feel his feet work the sheet down his legs, your hands slide up and down his chest, still grinding your pussy against his stomach in need. His hands grasped your hips to help guide you.

“Go ahead baby, I got you.” He encouraged as you reached between you to line him up with your entrance after you raised on your knees, and slowly lowered yourself, tipping your head back and moaning at the way the stretch burned, bringing you even more of a rush, and Chris’s fingers tightened around your hips, the only way he showed how he was holding his self control to not snap his hips up and fill you. So when hes fully in you, tightening your thighs against his hips and leaning on your hands against his pecs, flexing around his cock, getting used to the feel of him so heavy and full. You were the first to start arching up, grinding yourself against him. He with ease help guide you and admired you from beneath. “Fuck I will never get enough of this.”

You bit your bottom lip in a grin at his praise, as you moved your body on him faster, tilting your hips and underneath Chris thrusted his hips to meet yours, sure to move each other till you both found that spot that made you gasp, flutter around him, crying his name with a need and the both of you worked together to keep that momentum, that heated rush through each others nerves. “Thats right baby... my cock feels good doesn't it?” He let your hips go and grasped your ass, spreading your cheeks apart and arching you forward slightly, just tightening you around his cock, your rocking yourself back against his cock. “Chris-fuck i need to cum...”

Chris shifted to twist the two of you around, landing you underneath him, and grasping your hands in his, weaving fingers around yours to press you entirely underneath him, taking over. You didn't fight it, your head tipping back to give him access to your neck and your legs locking around his hips. Chris didn't hold back, pounding himself into you, chaining urgent kisses along your neck,

Letting him do the work now, you just rocked under his thrusts, rolling your hips to meet him with want and need. Your moans and his grunts were riddled with rushed cursed at how good this all felt. Your fingers dig into how hand, arching yourself to crash into his rutting body. The both of you slick between sweat and your arousal, the air heavy and smelling of sex now.

Chris pressed down on his entire body, his weight heavy against yours and pinning you underneath him, just his hips now grinding and rocking into yours with a single purpose. Your mouth fell open, harder to take in air with your panting little gasps, so fucking close. He gave you open mouth kisses, grunting the words in your mouth. “Cum for me baby, I need you to cum with me.” And you nodded against him, “Yes, yes.. right now.” He released your hands, and you scrabbled to clutch at his back while your cunt locked around him, burying your head into his neck to hold on to anything. His own arm locked around your torso, holding you against him, and sinking himself as far as he could, filling your aching cunt with thick spurts of cum. Chris ended up groaning into a bite he had on your shoulder, having been caught up in the moment.

Your nails had raked down his back, leaving heavy red marks and thigh quivered from being to tensed around him. Loosing his hold with his teeth, he flushed soft soothing kisses against your neck and reached behind him to loosen your legs locked around him. “Its alright, I'm not going anywhere.” he assured you when you whimpered, his hand rubbing your hip as you loosened your hold. Even your nails in his back loosened and you slid them to gently lope around his neck, looking up at him with a satisfied look and sleepy smile. Chris smoothed your hair from your face, smiling down at you and kissing you much more sweetly this time, nibbling on your lips, and drawing your tongue out to meet his, gliding them together until parting.

“You know... I kinda like when you put words in my mouth, I didn't know I needed this till you said I asked for it.” You chuckled softly, your hand rubbing the back of his neck, and he chuckled above you, slowly pulling out with a soft moan from both of you. He settled at your side, and you turned to your hip, allowing him to pull you back into him, spooning you.

“Why you need to just trust me, I know what my girl needs.” Soft kisses crossed your shoulder to your neck, his hand splaying against your hip. “Just like I just know tomorrow morning you will need to be taken again, and then we will go out to breakfast.” You giggle at him and look over your shoulder.

“Sure as hell do Chris.” You grin and he winks.

“Damn straight, I know my girl.”

#amber requests #amber writes #sweater writes #chris evans #💕anon

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shimmeringclouds · 4 years ago

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♔ | 𝐈𝐕

»»-----　♔　-----««

Chorosuke had long since given up on trying to kick the two out, seeing as they had absolutely no intention of moving. Instead, he hesitantly sat himself down amongst you all, eating with a sour frown on his face directed towards Ozo, who either didn't notice or didn't care.

"So, why Akashika?" Ozo asked suddenly after a few moments. You stifled a laugh at the crumbs scattering his cheeks, taking a sip of water to stall for time, noticing how all eyes were now on you.

"Well," you started, pushing your food around lightly with your chopstick, "I just wanted to go on a holiday for a little while. Akashika seemed like the best place." You shrugged nonchalantly, going back to eating your food.

"Akashika? Really?" Ozo drawled, raising a brow.

"Is.. Is there something wrong with that?" you asked nervously.

"Not really," Chorosuke replied, a thoughtful look on his face. "It's just that, since Akashika District is a small village in the countryside, not many people know that this place even exists. We rarely ever get visitors, other than those who already have a direct connection to this place."

You hummed. That did make sense, in a way.

"How did you find out about this place, anyway?" Ozo pushed, resting his chin on his palm.

"I came across an article online about Akatsuka Village," You paused, thinking about the contents of the article with a slight smile. "It was talking about a bunch of mysteries this place has, and after a bit of digging around, I found that this area of Japan was quiet and unknown, which was convenient for me."

"'Mysteries,' you say..." Chorosuke groaned.

"'Convenient?'" Ozo asked.

"Karamatsu-niisan must've wrote that article!" Jyushimatsu chimed in.

"Karatsugu." Chorosuke iterated.

Your mind raced to come up with an answer to Ozo, leaning away from him as he came closer, waiting for you to say something.

"Uh, 'convenient' as in..." you cleared your throat, "..I-I've never been to the countryside before. I've always lived in the city, so I wanted to start somewhere that wasn't overwhelmed by tourists and such." You ended with a nervous chuckle, which quickly died down under Ozo's unreadable stare. Should.. Should you say something? Did he even listen to what you said? Why was he looking at you like that? Your cheeks turned pink the longer he held your gaze.

"Ozo," Chorosuke kicked him from under the table, a 'huff' leaving said man's lips. "Stop being creepy. Ignore him, [Y/N]."

"Yeah, yeah..." Ozo muttered something under his breath, which you couldn't quite hear, but it didn't seem to matter as his grin came back onto his face.

"How long are you staying for, [Y/N]-chan?" Jyushimatsu suddenly spoke from beside you, making you squeak. You did your best to ignore the chuckles from Ozo and Dayoko, although the flush on your cheeks only darkened in embarrassment.

"T-Two months."

"Aw, that's it?" Ozo whined. "Well hopefully by the end of it, you'll want to stay for longer!" He winked your way. You glanced away, taking larger sips of water to distract yourself. With that, everyone focused back on their food, finishing the last bits from their bowls. It was mostly silent, save for the clinking of utensils and the gentle song of birds from outside, adding a sort of serenity to the air. It was comforting, an atmosphere you very much appreciated. It was a far cry from what you were used to.

Eventually, you all let out a hum of satisfaction, praising Dayoko for the fulfilling meal. Ozo and Jyushimatsu lay comfortably on the floor, spreading out their limbs as they shut their eyes, large sleepy grins on their faces. You smiled softly at their antics. With the way they acted, you would have thought they were brothers. You didn't want to jump straight to conclusion, though. You'd probably make things awkward if you said something like that.

Dayoko stood up and began gathering everyone's dishes. You attempted to get up and help, feeling bad about her doing all the work, but she waved you off with a smile. Chorosuke placed a gentle hand on your shoulder, gaining your attention.

"[Y/N], why you don't you head on upstairs, instead?" He offered with a smile. "I've had a bath drawn for you. I'm sure it will help you relax before heading off to bed. You've had a long day, after all."

"Can we have one too?" Ozo perked his head up, eyes hopefully.

"No." Chorosuke shot sternly, glaring at the man as he let his head fall back to the floor with a grumble.

"Choromatsu-niisan's no fun..." Jyushimatsu's voice was muffled, his face pushed against the floor.

"Stop calling me that.." Chorosuke was exasperated by now, but he opted to ignore the both of them, turning back to you expectantly. You mulled over the offer. A soothing bath after a warm meal sounded very appealing to you, especially since your back did feel a little sore still after sitting on a rocky train for most of the day.

"That sounds lovely, actually. Thank you, Chorosuke," you smiled appreciatively, slowly picking yourself up from the floor.

"It's nothing. Our guests always receive the best of treatment here in the Midorito Estate," he stated proudly with a bow of his head. Ozo glared up at him from the floor.

"Careful. You're rising again, Chorofappysk-"

A pillow was thrown harshly onto his face, startling him as his head smacked onto the ground with a hollow 'thud.' You gasped, covering your mouth to hide the giddy smile from the others in the room. You felt bad that he got hurt, but you couldn't deny that their childish ways of bickering was starting to become comedic for you.

Dayoko re-entered the room before things could escalate, hooking her arm with yours.

"Ah, Dayoko!" Chorosuke's smile was thin and forced, his brow twitching dangerously as the pillow he threw hit against his side. "Could you please escort our guest to the washroom while I deal with those?"

Dayoko looked unimpressed, not even replying to her brother as she tugged you out of the room, closing the door behind her without so much as a second glance. As soon as it slid shut, loud voices erupted as an argument broke out. You managed to pick out a few insults that were so ridiculous, you couldn't help but splutter a laugh. You tried to cover your mouth to stop them leaving your mouth, but eventually, you couldn't hold it in any longer.

"S-Sorry..!" You apologised to Dayoko through your bouts of laughter, clutching at your stomach as you followed her on shaky legs down the hallways. She looked at you for a moment in surprise before joining in with a playful roll of her eyes. You both giggled and chuckled endlessly, almost completely breathless by the time you had made it to the washroom.

Slowly, you both regained your composure, wiping a couple of stray tears from the corners of your eyes. Dayoko sighed happily.

"Dayon! Dayon!"

'That's the most I've laughed in a while!'

You smiled brightly along with her. "Same here!"

Dayoko took your hand, opening the door to the washroom to reveal, yet another, large washroom. It was slightly steamy in the room, a low mist of wafting over the tiled flooring, which was emitting from a wide bathtub on the other side of the room. You glanced around with wide eyes. The mirrors were somehow clear of any fog, the small plants scattered around the room were perked up and lively, the towels looked so soft and fluffy, hell -- even the toilet seemed to sparkle in its environment.

The girl tugged on your hand, snapping you out of your daze. She wore an amused smile on her face, but didn't comment on your surprised look.

"Dayon, dayon..."

She began telling you where everything you needed would be, and that she would leave fresh set nightwear for you to put on once you were done. You thanked her profusely once more as she left you to your own devices, closing the door to give you privacy.

You looked around, somehow feeling unsure of where to even start.

'..That's stupid,' you thought to yourself with a shake of your head. You began stripping down, neatly placing your clothes in a basket nearby so they could be washed later. Then, you moved over to the bathtub, gingerly placing the tip of your toe into the water, delighted to find it just the right temperature.

You slid in, settling down comfortably with a long sigh of relief, feeling the tension in your muscles fading away. There was a faint aroma of lavender and peppermint in the air, and you took deep and steady breaths to help clear your mind for a moment. It was truly heavenly, sitting in the warm water with your eyes closed and body relaxed. You wished you could do something like this all the time, but of course your situation back home wouldn't allow any kind of relaxation for you...

Another sigh left you, heavy and full of built up emotions. You brought a damp hand up to your face, resting it against your forehead as you frowned sadly. Your chest felt tight for a moment as a memory flashed through your mind. Your ears rang with loud voices, yelling and screaming, a complete one-eighty from what you had just heard downstairs a few minutes ago. It made your head throb uncomfortably, and your eyes suddenly prickled with un-shed tears.

'No,' you thought immediately. You sat up and reached over to a shelf beside you, grabbing a bottle of shampoo that Dayoko had pointed out to you earlier. You squirted a handful of the liquid into your hand, the scent of cherries hitting your nose as you began lathering it into your hair, using the time to give yourself a brief massage over your scalp.

'I have two months to not think about that,' you reminded yourself, finally pushing away any other intruding thoughts from your mind as you busied yourself with washing up.

After a nice long while relaxing and cleansing yourself, you stumbled out of the bath, rubbing at your wet skin with a towel (which was just as fluffy as it looked). You looked over to the door, finding your nightwear and undergarments folded neatly on a small tabletop beside a pot of blooming Dahlias. You admired their vibrant layered petals for a moment before taking your clothes

You slipped on your oversized short sleeved shirt and shorts, perfect for the warm summer night, briefly ruffling your hair with the towel before exiting the washroom. Upon not seeing Dayoko nearby, you decided to make your own way to your bedroom, somewhat confident in being able to find it yourself.

It was clear to you, though, that after only a few turns, you found yourself lost.

"How can I get lost in a house?" you muttered with slight panic. You glanced behind you, turning around. "I'll just... head back to the washroom. She's probably there right now, waiting for me..."

You turned back down the corridor you were sure you had just come from, but... you couldn't' find it. You couldn't' find the washroom you had just been in two seconds ago. Worrying your lip between your teeth, you wondered if it would be childish to start calling out for her, or Chorosuke, to come and help you. Just as you were about to make a decision, a set of footsteps sounded behind you.

You breathed a sigh if relief, turning with a sheepish smile.

"Finished with your bath already? And here I was thinking I could jump in with you!"

You froze, cheeks ablaze for what felt like the hundredth time that evening. It was Ozo, not Chorosuke or Dayoko, wandering causally down the corridor towards you, a hand tucked into his trouser pocket. He kept walking until he stopped right in front of you, leaning against the wall.

" 'Sup?"

»»-----　♔　-----««

#matsuno osomatsu #osomatsu san au #osomatsu x reader #denkimatsu #ozo akashika x reader #ozo akashika #chorosuke midorito #toshio ogami #jyushimatsu matsuno #romantic mystery au

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welcometophu · 4 years ago

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Not Your Guardian Angel: Chapter 7

Marked Book 3: Not Your Guardian Angel

Chapter 7

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Nate leaves early in the morning, waking Pels enough to let her know that the leftover scones would make a good breakfast, and telling her to feel free to make tea before she goes. When she wakes again two hours later, there’s a note on her pillow with the combination for the garage door so she can close it after she leaves, along with Nate’s phone number scribbled below.

It’s weird being in this house alone. She stays curled on the air mattress on Nate’s floor for a long while, listening, just in case his father came home and is upstairs, but there’s no noise. She wonders if Nate even told him she was here. Probably not. Pels wouldn’t have, if she were in his shoes.

She finally convinces herself to get out of bed and go shower, spotting the lavender bubble bath next to Nate’s shampoo. It smells good, and it’s almost tempting, but she decides to just borrow Nate’s toiletries and shower quickly instead. She leaves her hair wet after toweling off, knowing that no matter what she does, it’s going to curl around her face chaotically because that’s what it does.

Once she’s dressed and shoving her clothes from yesterday into the dirty laundry in her bag, she realizes Dad is sitting on Nate’s bed.

“You should clean up before you go.” He nods at where her phone is half-shoved under her backpack. “Someone’s been trying to get hold of you.”

“Be useful,” she says. “Fold the blankets. Put the rest in the laundry.” She crawls over to her phone and tugs the charger from the plug in the wall, shoving it into her pack so she doesn’t forget it, then unlocks the phone to see the group chat with Shane and Jess.

When do you want me to pick you up? Nate sent me the address but he said you were sleeping still. I was still sleeping when he sent it. Maybe you’re awake now too?

Jess had added a picture of herself with bedhead and Shane in the background spread-eagled across her bed still asleep. The time stamp is an hour ago for that first message, and there have been several since, mostly pictures.

We’re spending the day in the Quad because it’s nice and the cats really like being outdoors, whether they are actually cats at the moment or not. Ángel and Hayley put up with it because they love them. We put up with it because well, we’re hanging out with them.

Pels checks the time. I’m just cleaning up here. Lie, since Dad’s the one leaving a neatly folded pile of blankets on the bed, and taking the pillowcase off the pillow she used. You could probably come get me any time. I’ll go outside when I’m done and wait in the driveway.

Great! We’ll see you then! Can you text Nate and let him know we want a box of pastries and I can swing by Teas Please to pick it up? I think he already likes you better than me. He literally thanked me for letting him have you stay over.

Pels’s fingers go still against the keyboard.

“You’re smiling.” Dad kneels at the end of the air mattress. He pulls the plug and pushes on it, the air whooshing out.

“I have literally never had anyone say that someone likes me better than them.” Pels shakes her head, trying to let it go, even though the thought is spreading through her warmly. Sure, she types back.

She helps Dad get the air out of the mattress, and together they fold it up and put it back in the box where it lives under Nate’s bed. She sends the text off to Nate, and gets back an affirmative. Once she’s outside in the driveway, the garage door securely closed behind her, she sits with the phone cradled in her hand, staring at it and trying to formulate words.

Hey. I just wanted to say thank you for yesterday. I really appreciated having a place to stay, and I had fun watching movies.

She should send thank you notes when people do nice things, right?

That’s what friends are for! Nate sends back. And Mallory is giving me the evil eye for hiding in the kitchen to text, so I’d better get back to work. The box for Jess is at the hostess station. Please tell me you ate something for breakfast. I cannot possibly eat all that on my own.

Pels looks down at the crumbs on the driveway. I stole the last cranberry scone and the little tub of clotted cream and I took a cookie for later, she admits. I hope that’s okay.

Totally fine! Have fun today. Let me know if you need crash space again tonight, or if you’re going to sleep at Jess’s, okay?

Right, there’s a question Pels isn’t sure she’s ready to answer. Okay, she sends back.

Logically, it’d be easier to stay in Jess’s room. She lives on campus. Pels could just walk over to the dorm any time when her access will be active again. Emotionally it’d be easier to stay at Nate’s. He made everything seem so effortless. It was kind of nice.

“Is last night what normal people feel like?” she asks, and Dad laughs. It’s such a strange sound that she looks at him, her brow furrowed.

“Last night is what you deserve to have normally,” he replies. “By the way, Jess is almost here.”

Pels shoulders her backpack and brushes crumbs from her shirt. By the time the car comes into view, she’s at the end of the driveway, bag in hand. The trunk pops open as Jess pulls up in her small sedan, all of her windows rolled down.

“Go ahead and toss your stuff in the trunk,” Jess directs, so Pels does so before climbing into the passenger seat.

It’s a newer car than Nate’s, and she’s able to adjust the seatbelt so it’s less likely to choke her, although it sticks and takes a few tries to get it properly buckled. Jess reaches over to help, and Pels draws back so abruptly that Jess stops dead.

“I’ve got it,” Pels says. There’s a sharp note in her voice, and Jess visibly deflates, leaving Pels wincing on the inside. “I mean. I just don’t want—”

“I get it.” Jess focuses on getting the car moving. “Boundaries. This is still weird.”

“I still don’t know why you have a crush on me,” Pels tries to explain. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

“And you don’t actually like me at all,” Jess counters. “I get it, Pels.”

“It’s not—I don’t—” This is more like her usual life, floundering for words and wondering why Dad doesn’t pipe up now to try to help. He’s more than happy to push her into things, but less likely to provide words when she can’t find them. Pels crosses her arm, trying to make herself even smaller than she already is. “I don’t not like you,” she mutters. “I just don’t want to be forced to like you. There’s a difference.”

Jess’s grip on the steering wheel eases, and this time when she says, “I get it,” it sounds less resentful, and more understanding. “I can’t really understand why I have a crush on you either, if that helps. There’s just something about—I saw you and I wanted to get to know you. I wanted to get inside that wall you’ve got up all the time, and now it feels like you’ve built that wall even higher, but you’re peeking over it at the same time.”

“Sounds about right,” Pels admits. “I’m not good at this. Some people make it seem easy, but it’s not for me.”

“It’s okay.” Jess lifts one hand from the steering wheel, reaching towards Pels like she might pat her before Pels pulls away and Jess is left hovering there for a long moment. Jess carefully puts her hand back on the wheel and doesn’t say anything while she navigates to Teas Please.

There’s a short discussion while Pels gets out her wallet and insists on paying for the box Jess ordered. In the end Pels wins, because Jess stays in the car while Pels runs in to give Jess’s name to the girl standing at the hostess station.

It’s a tiny victory, but it feels like she did the right thing.

Jess takes Pels up to Ángel’s room instead of her own, so she can leave her things someplace safe before they head out to the big lawn between several dorms that makes up the Quad. There are several groups out there already, and a pickup game of frisbee at one end of the Quad. Jess heads to where Hayley is reclining on a blanket, leaning up one elbow talking to a tall boy who seems even more lanky in person. Hayley waves and the boy rolls over, coming to his feet before Pels gets there.

He takes the box from her, opening it up and grinning. “This looks great.” His smile is charming, and Pels feels like people must swoon when they see it. “Hi, Pels. I’m Luca.” He pokes through the box, his smile falling away. “No cannoli?”

“Cannoli tonight,” Hayley says. She lies back on the blanket now, her head pillowed on bent arms. “We’re going to order in from Minnisale’s and you can see how good our Italian is up here.”

Luca huffs. “Won’t be anything like the real thing we’ve got back home.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Jess tells him. “There’s a huge Italian community here, and Minnisale’s is one of the best. Third generation is running it now.”

Luca’s expression eases, like he might be appeased. “I suppose.”

“Where’s Shane?” Her voice sounds too loud, and Pels isn’t sure how to interpret the look Jess gives her when she speaks. “I mean—” Pels could try to explain, but that’ll probably just dig whatever hole she’s in deeper. “I just thought there were going to be more people.”

“For you to avoid,” Dad finishes the thought in an all too on-the-nose way.

“Shane and Ángel went to grab lunch to go with the breakfast you brought, and Tanner and Tony are picking up some drinks from the coffee place Ángel took Tony to earlier this week, because Tony really liked it.” Hayley pats the blanket next to her, on the side where Luca wasn’t lying just a few minutes ago. “C’mere, Pels. I don’t bite. I mean, neither do they, and I do spark a little bit, but it’s okay. We’ve been seeing you around for a while. It’s cool that you’re hanging out with us.”

Pels gives Luca a wary look as she slowly sits next to Hayley. Jess sits nearby, but with the box between them, which gives Pels a buffer zone. Pels isn’t really hungry for more sugar, so she ignores the box and lets the others find their own treats.

“Here.” Jess holds out a paper-wrapped something with “Pels” written on it in bold marker. “I think this one is for you.”

Pels takes it carefully, avoiding Jess’s fingers. “Thank you,” she mutters, half to Jess and half to Dad for not pushing her and forcing things she wasn’t ready for. As she unwraps it, she smells the bacon first, peanut butter second, and the sharp scent of cranberries third. Her mouth waters and she takes a huge bite, making a small pleased noise around it.

Hayley sits up to peer closely at the sandwich. “Is that—?”

Pels nods. “Peanut butter, bacon, and cranberries. And it’s so good. Mallory gave it to Nate last night and I wished I’d eaten the whole thing and we hadn’t shared it. He must’ve had her make one for me today.” Which is possibly one of the kindest things she can think of. “Jesus, he is so nice.”

“Nate’s a good guy, that’s why we figured he’d help out last night.” Jess is staring down at the muffin in her hands, and Pels has a small twist of guilt in her stomach. She must have done something wrong for Jess to look so down.

Who is she kidding? Of course she did something wrong. She has no idea what she’s even doing in the first place.

“Jess, I—”

“Make room!” Ángel’s calls out.

They must have met up, because all four of them are returning at the same time. Tony carries a large cardboard box, while Shane has a thermos swinging from one hand, while he leans on his cane with the other. Ángel leads with a covered platter, and Tanner brings up the rear with two paper bags.

Pels isn’t sure where she’s supposed to go, so she simply pulls her knees up, hunching over to see how small she can become in the corner while still protecting her sandwich. She’s half done eating it by the time everyone sorts themselves out in a circle around the edges of the blankets, with food laid out in the middle.

It’s a lot of food.

Luca, Tanner, and Tony tuck in and make a lot of it disappear frighteningly fast.

Somehow Pels ends up between Tony and Hayley, while Jess settles on the other side of the blanket, next to Shane. Pels is incredibly aware of the distance between them, and the way it feels deliberate. She can’t tell if Jess is giving her space or avoiding her, or a little of each.

Shane reaches for a scone, and stops halfway there with a wince. “Fuck,” he mutters. “I think I overdid it.”

“Can I help?” Jess pats his shoulder, then gives him a small shove until he lies down. She immediately reaches for his hip, digging her fingers into the top of his thigh, just below his hip. Shane closes his eyes with a groan, and Jess pauses to pat him reassuringly before continuing.

“That’s friendship,” Dad murmurs.

Pels ignores him, licking the remains of the cranberry and peanut butter off her fingers.

“Is it permanent?” Tanner asks. He waves a hand at Shane. “You said you broke it in January. Shouldn’t it be better?”

“It was a bad break to start,” Shane says, still lying on his side with one hand over his face. “Chances are I’m stuck with a limp this time around. It’s not the first time.”

“Not your first limp?” Tanner asks, confused when Hayley thwacks him across the chest.

“Not my first lingering injury.”

“If it weren’t for bad luck, Shane wouldn’t have any,” Jess says quietly, her fingers pressing with sure motions into his muscles. “Rory figured out it’s his innate Talent—it’s all about Chaos. But he’s been injured before.”

“I don’t heal fast. And I’m accident prone.” Shane bats at her hand as he rolls to sit up. “I’m good. Thanks. My parents are both Talented, so I was raised in the community. We’ve always seen Healers when we’ve had to, and one was involved this time, even though I needed surgery in the end, too. It’s just something else to get used to. And maybe I’ll get a cool cane eventually.”

“You could probably convince one of the martial arts clubs to teach you how to fight with it,” Ángel suggests.

“And that would be cool.” Shane uses his cane to poke at Ángel from across the circle. “I could defend myself.”

“Am I the only person here who isn’t Talented?” Jess asks.

Tanner raises his hand. “I’ve only been Talented since last weekend, so—I can relate.”

“Besides, you’re a farm girl, which is an entirely different kind of superhero,” Shane points out. “I’m pretty sure you could bench press me if you wanted.”

“Not you.” Jess shakes her head. “Pels, definitely. Hayley maybe.”

“Anyone could bench press Pels, she’s tiny,” Tanner says quickly. “I could probably do it.”

Pels’s eyes go wide, because she has a horrible feeling someone might try. She goes to scoot backwards, but Dad’s there, keeping her firmly within the circle. “Please don’t,” she says.

Tony makes a low noise, almost like a growl under his breath; everyone else goes silent. “No one’s going to do anything you don’t want,” he assures her. “They’re all extroverts. Just ignore them.”

For some reason that makes her snicker, and Tony looks surprised, then pleased by her smile. He leans over to speak quietly, while the rest of the conversation wanders off into something else involving Tanner and Luca shouting, while Shane laughs.

“I didn’t want it,” he says quietly. He’s speaking to her, she’s sure of it the way he leans close and keeps his voice low, but his gaze is fixed on Ángel. “I couldn’t trust magic. I couldn’t even trust my own nose. Then he barged into my life, and this happened.” Tony holds out his hand, wrist exposed.

There is so much ink there. The phases of the moon dance in a line down the inside of his arm, and at the wrist are two vivid angel’s wings, wrapping around him.

“Is that all…?”

“Just the wings.” Tony pulls his arm back from her view. “I heard you’ve got one.”

Pels offers her own arm cautiously, wincing slightly when he takes it and touches the mark with his thumb. “It’s kind of a mess,” she says.

“Mm.” Tony’s gaze remains on Ángel. “I haven’t met Rory or Kit, but I’ve heard about them. They seem happy. I know Hayley’s happy with Tanner, and well, Luca—he’s called Tanner’s cat. I thought I had what I was supposed to have before this, even if I wasn’t happy with it. I couldn’t figure out how to change my life, and when I was offered something good, I almost didn’t take it, because I didn’t trust it. I’m glad I did.”

Across the way, Ángel smiles, and Pels wonders if he overheard their quiet conversation. Then Tanner tackles Ángel, knocking him into Shane, and they all go down in a pile before Tanner and Luca emerge as large cats instead.

“How did you know?” Pels makes a face. “I just mean—it’s all so complicated. I’m not good at this. I don’t even know you and talking to you about this feels weird, and then there they are and I don’t know them either. And I’m not ready to cement this whatever it is and get locked into some kind of life that I’m not ready for.”

“I didn’t know Ángel, either. My family adopted him, and I got to know him, despite myself. Give it a chance.” Tony’s gaze flicks at Jess and Shane. “Give them a chance.”

“Everyone keeps saying that,” Pels grumbles.

“Maybe because it’s true,” Dad says. “He has a point.”

“I’m not saying you should start planning a wedding, but give yourself time to figure it out,” Tony suggests. “Don’t hold back because you’re afraid. You deserve good things just as much as they do.”

“I’m not a good thing for them,” Pels says quietly.

Tony just looks at her, and when she blinks, there’s a cat there instead. The cat—Tony—head butts her knee, then meows loudly before jumping into the fray where Tanner and Luca are playing with Ángel and Shane.

He’s so serious when talking, but she can feel the joy in his actions now.

Dad gets up and moves quickly, sitting next to her and somehow taking up space before Jess sits down, even though Jess can’t see him. Pels exhales, even if Dad makes it harder to look Jess in the eye.

“If the afternoon goes anything like the rest of the week, we have now devolved into kitty play time,” Jess says with a soft laugh. “How are you at frisbee?”

Pels touches her finger to her own chest.

“Yes, you.” Jess pushes to her feet, momentarily holding out a hand before withdrawing it quickly and wiping it against her jeans. “It’s frisbee. There’s no accidental touching involved.” Jess waves the frisbee, and Pels follows, Dad trailing after her.

“You can help,” she mutters. “Make them think I’m some kind of miracle worker. They already think I’m Telekinetic. I think.”

Dad claps his hands together, rubbing them quickly. “I never thought I’d hear you actually ask for for help.”

As Jess starts to pull away, leaving Pels so she can move far enough away to throw a frisbee, Pels calls out, “Wait.”

Jess turns back, the frisbee held in one hand. “What?”

“I’m sorry.” Pels doesn’t know how to do this, or what to say to make it right. “I’m sorry I’m such a mess about this. I’m sorry if I don’t seem grateful for your help. And I’m really sorry that I’m terrified of touching you right now. It’s not—it’s not you. It’s just everything. To be honest, I’m not so sure about touching Shane, either, and I’ve already landed in his lap. I’m just not good at this. Any of it. And it kind of freaks me out completely just how okay with it everyone else is.”

Jess is silent for so long that Pels is sure she’s made a mess of things. She’s said the wrong thing. She always says the wrong thing.

She almost misses it when Jess tosses the frisbee at her fast, and the frisbee dips before it reaches Pels. She starts to reach for it, but Dad gets under it, popping it up so Pels can grab at it awkwardly. Her fingers close over the plastic rim, her foot sliding on the grass as she regains her balance.

“It’s okay to be nervous,” Jess says quietly. “I’d be surprised if you’re not. I mean, I’m the only one getting my wish here, right? Shane’s used to chaos because that’s what his entire life has been. I’m used to things working out, because I’m the mathematician—I figure out how to make things balance. And you, you’re not used to people, I guess, so you’re nervous. But I really hope you’ll give us a chance. Just get to know us. It’s okay if it doesn’t get romantic. I mean, I don’t even know if you like girls. But maybe that mark means we can be friends, and I’d be happy to be your friend if that’s how it works out. Are you okay with that?”

Jess makes it sound easy, but she also sounds like she’s giving Pels a way out.

“You could give her a chance.”

Pels stares at Dad, stares at him hard and wills for him to hear her inside voice, so she doesn’t have to go as far as making it an outside voice.

He just stares back, which means she has to choose her words carefully.

“As long as no one pushes me into anything,” she says, her gaze still resting on Dad. She finally looks up to see Jess sprinting as far as the nearest tree.

Jess waves. “No one’s going to push you into anything,” she calls out. “Just throw me the frisbee.”

Dad is suspiciously silent, but Pels can’t afford to say anything again, not with everyone listening. She exhales and tries to relax, loosening her grip on the plastic. It’s just frisbee.

She turns her body, swings her arm before she releases the disk. It goes high in the air, wobbling before it drops straight down. Jess dives for it, sliding across the grass and laughing as she misses it, despite the fresh stains on her jeans.

When Jess sends it flying back to her, Dad pushes her so she crosses paths with the frisbee, stumbling when it thunks her hard in the chest. Pels drops to her knees, rubbing at the ache.

It’s just frisbee, but she really hopes it isn’t also a metaphor for anything else right now.

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#welcome to phu #welcometophu #not your guardian angel #phu marked #marked

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nowoyas · 5 years ago

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Your 'katsudon' looks delicious,.. How did you make it,, 😍

*breaks fingers* alright recipe time bitches, gonna throw this shit under a readmore for ur dash’s sakes

ingredience:

1-2 chicken breasts (I used one cus I got a different brand from usual and these chicken breasts were THICC, u wanna make sure they’re kinda thin otherwise cut em in half or they won’t cook through properly)

rice (1 cup white uncooked is what I used)

onion (half a large yellow onion, I used two small yellow onions cus I’m an onion whore)

panko, which is japanese bread crumbs! (like 1 cup)

1 large egg, beaten

2 more large eggs, beaten, SEPARATE from the first egg

about 1/4 cup flour

salt n pepper baybeeee

grated lemon peel (if it doesn’t have lemon peel, soy sauce, or just so much sugar I didn’t cook it, but you can leave this out if you want :( )

2/3 cup dashi stock

1 1/2 tbsp mirin (rice wine, it’s a cooking wine so you should be able to buy it even if ur not legal drinking age)

1 1/2 tbsp sake (NOT a cooking alcohol, u will need someone to buy it for u if ur underaged)

1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

1 1/2 TEASPOONS, not tablespoons, sugar

if ur life rocks and u can find it, mitsuba which is japanese parsley. if ur life doesn’t rock and u can’t get it (Aka ur me), regular parsley works fine

oil! a flavor neutral cooking oil like canola oil or veg oil. don’t use olive oil. the amount will depend on the size of ur frying pan but we’re gonna b shallow frying this shit

resippy:

set everything out, cook ur rice ahead of time

start by slicing up your onions. what I do is cut the onion in half and then do wedges, then separate the layers and toss that into a bowl. set aside for later

I like to set up ur breading station first so u don’t gotta do it with chicken hands or wash your hands 50000 times, so set out either shallow bowls or plates with ur flour, ONE beaten egg, panko, and then one clean plate for once ur chicken’s all bready

then u wanna prep ur chicken, if ur chicken breasts are thin slicing in half once longways is fine (like chicken tenders) but if u got thicc bois first slice em in half so they’re not so thicc. u want this shit to b able to cook all the way thru because in this house we do NOT stan salmonella poisoning or any matter of food-born illnesses. I find 4 chicken tender-sized slices to b the perfect amount to fit in my pan

if u didn’t prep ur breading station ahead of time, wash ur hands and do it now. ur order is flour -> egg -> panko -> finish plate

if u prepped ur breading station first, then sprinkle salt + pepper over both sides of each chicken not-tender, maybe a lil bit of lemon peel. then, one at a time, cover each piece with flour, then dredge it in egg, and then the panko. b careful to completely cover ur chicken during each step! when it’s bready, place the chicken+seasoning+floureggpanko on the plate, rinse ur fingertips bc they’re probs gettin breaded too, and repeat until all ur chicken’s covered and breaded

get a plate and line it with 2 or 3 paper towels, have some extra on the side too, you’ll need em

now for the fun part and the reason i smell like burn ointment right now: frying!

you wanna get a shallow frying pan and pour enough oil so it’s half an inch deep in. heat it over medium heat 5-10 minutes, you want the oil to be around 350 degrees fahrenheit (176.66 celcius according to google?) but I don’t own a thermometer lmao. take a tiny piece of panko and drop it in the oil, it might sink a lil and if bubbles carry it back to the top kinda slow-ish you’ll know you’re ready to fry. u wanna make sure it’s not too cold or too hot cus too cold won’t get crispy and too hot will over-cook ur breading while ur chicken doesn’t cook all the way thru

drop one of your katsu tenders in the oil s l o w l y. if u did it right the oil probably doesn’t cover the tender all the way--that’s ok, using either tongs or something scoopy or like, long chopsticks, carefully flip it every now and then until the whole thing’s nice and golden brown. remove and set on ur paper towel plate, repeat for the rest of ur katsu tenders. I recommend one at a time so you don’t overcook any of them! it also makes em easier to flip in the oil without being a dumbass like me and having oil pop all over ur goddamn s k i n and burn u cus god knows I do that shit every time or grab fresh hot meat with my bare hands when it’s barely out of the oil

once you’re all done frying, remove ur oil from the heat and let it cool before you even THINK about cleaning that shit. get another frying pan (probs deeper than the one u fried in), toss in ur sake, mirin, dashi, sugar, soy sauce, and onions, and stir it up. heat it until it starts boiling, drop ur heat to medium, and cook it up until ur onions are all wilty.

at this point, put ur fried up chicken in and turn the heat up to medium high. take ur other two beaten eggs and pour em over the chicken so it’s about as evenly ditributed as u can get. nice egg bath for our nice bready chicken.

when the egg’s around half cooked (I’d give advice on what that looks like but it’s kinda somethin u gotta feel with ur heart of hearts), turn off the heat and add ur mitsuba or boring old dried parsley I GUESS and more lemon peel. probably less than i would add. I’m known for eating more lemon than is healthy.

remember your rice? I sure hope so! get some of that shit in a bowl and scoop out some chicken tendie, make sure u get onions and some of the liquid and stuff, and lay that shit on top of the rice.

take a bite and fucking ascend. holy shit. izuku was right. katsudon is so fucking good. the first time I made this shit and tried it I got some rice, meat, and onion and egg all in one bite and yelled “oh FUCK” so loud in my kitchen my roommate came out of her room and I had to let her try some. but don’t be fooled. this recipe could probably maybe serve two, potentially three if ur all small eaters. don’t share. eat all of it urself. c o n s u m e it. I highly recommend gettin a bite with everything in it, cus you’ll fucking d i e.

izuku was so right. this shit slaps. even if it’s not technically katsudon. (I think it makes it oyakodon? but shhhh it’s katsudon if I SAY it’s katsudon) it’s just. so good. i’m a lil drunk cus the sake isn’t resealable so I’ve been drinking it but f u c k this shit’s so good. call me a kinnie but katsudon’s one of my favorite foods now too i’m lowkey crying a little it’s so fucking g o o d

#distant citrus sounds #not bnha #answered asks #anon #recipes #cooking with grae

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the-fiction-witch · 6 years ago

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Little Thumbillina

REAL LIFE: X FAIRYTAILS COUPLE: TBS X READER RATING: ADORABLE!

I smiled as I stretched sitting up in my little bed, my bedposts made of old unused Qtips, with my little blanket woven from the stray cotton's of clothes I hopped out of bed across the wood of the little coo coo clock I live inside. The clock hasn't ticked in years so I had used what I could and built my little house once I got dressed I opened my little trap door and slipped down the chain of the coo coo clock as far as it could go and hopping onto the little wooden decking half way up the wall walking along it to the built in book self and making my way down to the floor or the room my clock is in, I got my little chart I built from some old buttons and lollipop sticks I found whistling as I got sorted out "mimi?" I call and within seconds I heard a little scutter up the staircase and Mimi the little feild mouse ran in the room and up to me cuddling me tight "aww good morning" I smile she happily took my cart as I satin the back as we hurried down the side of the spiral staircase and into the kitchen, the house we live in is very old a lady used to live here and had family often visiting but she passed away not to long ago I had heard from some big people who had come cleaning and re arranging that her grandson was having the house for his county home, well I just hope when he gets here he says out if my way, I climbed up the cabinet to the side of the kitchen over to the little bread bin filling my bag with breadcrumbs and little bits of cheese I filled my jar with jam and hurried off back down to Mimi she looked upset so I smiled giving her a bit of cheese which she happily had and we hurried off upstairs again but as soon as we got back to my room I heard a car so I climbed up the curtian and sat on the other window sil looking out out to the drive it was an old blue car battered a little with a young man stepping out sorting his things I didn't like him already.

I sat waiting for my opportunity I sat on the bookself hidden Behind a little metal model of some rocketship thing watching and waiting for- Bleep bleep bleep bleep "Ughr..." He groans slamming his hand on his beside table to turn of the alarm and turning back over in bed he has been here a couple of months now and o all the rooms to choose in this house he picked mine to live in I didn't mind to much it made it easy for me to hide and sometimes he brings up pizza and toast to bed with him leaving the crumbs everywhere for me and Mimi but all he does is sleep! I climbed down from the shelf and wondered around the floor for things I could use having to avoid the piles of dirty clothes and plates till I reached his dresser so I climbed up using the half open draws as steps having to climb up a shirt sleeve on one of them and walking along the top looking at the watch the face almost as big as me so I kept walking, a pen but it didn't have enough ink to be useful for me, a key? I could use it but he would likely miss it so I gave up with the dressed and jumped the little gap between his dresser and bedside table almost not making it his alarm clock day ticking away, his lamp sat turned off, a bottle at on the table bigger then me it was s press down like soap a little drop was hanging from the nosle so I touched it but it dropped on me all slimy and sticky "Ewwww!" I complain getting a tiusse from the box on the side and getting it all of me throwing my tissue with the other discarded ones on the floor by his bed I looked at the black brick I didn't know what it was but I looked like a mirror but black I saw my reflection and fixed my hair as I did the thing illuminated with red and blue and a big white words saying "JACK CALLING" I went to move away but before I could he picked me up along with the phone I jumped away onto his bedsheets as he answered it "Hello? Yeah yeah I know, alright see you later" he says before putting the thing back on the table and rubbing his eyes with a sigh and he sleeping opened his eyes and saw me "Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" He screams "A bug!" He yells trying to hit me with his alarm clock I jumped and ran around his duvet trying to avoid him hitting me "I'm not a bug!" I yell "Y-yyyyou can talk?" He asked dropping the clock on the floor in shock "Of course I can talk you blithering idiot!" I yell standing up and crossing my arms "Yyoyouyour tiny" he stuttered "Well done" I sigh "now can you kindly apologize for throwing me half way across the room! My size you could have killed me!" I order "I uhh I'm sorry, little lady" he says lifting his knees making the duvet rise a little so he could see me better and I was closer to him "Thank you," I nod "Do you live here?" He asked and I nod "how long have you lived here?" He asks "Longer then you, I was here before your grandmother bought the house" I tell him "Ohhh... I'm sorry I had no idea the house had tiny people in it" he says "No just me" I shrug "Your kinda adorable" he laughs putting his hand on the bed so I sighed climbing in and letting him lift me up looking at me alot "your so small..." he laughs pokeing me with this finger "Owww!" I complain as his poke pushed me over making me fall on my bottom "sorry" he chuckled "Hu your only like just bigger then my thumb, awwwwwwww your like thumbilina" he laughs "Don't call me thumbilina!" I yell getting up and crossing my arms looking very cross at him even stomping my foot "I'm sorry, what is your name?" He asks "Y/n" I answer "Okay y/n, I'm thomas" he smiles "Hello" I nod "can you out me down now!" I complain "Ohh sorry here" he says gently setting me down on his table "So what where you up to on my nightstand then?" He asks "Looking for things, I might need or I can eat" I shrug "Ohh? To eat? Where you looking for your breakfast?" He asks and I nod "uhh well I can take you down to the kitchen to get something's if you like" he offers "You would!" I ask very exited "Sure, I don't mind, your so small I don't mind feeding such a little thing" he smiles getting out of bed and putting clothes on and offering his hand so I climbed on holding his fingers tight "what's the matter?" He asks "I never much liked heights... Plus I'm so very small one slow step to you is a lightning fast earthquake to me" I tell him "Ohh right, well I'll be slow and gentle I promise" he smiled tapping my head "Oww!" I complain holding my head that really hurt "I'm sorry I didn't mean to hurt you" he says as he left the room I kept my eyes shut not liking traveling so high up till we got to the kitchen and Thomas put me down on the side "so what do you eat?" He asks "Breadcrumbs, little crumbs of cheese, jam, anything really?" I shrug "Well, how about I make me breakfast and you take whatever you like" he suggested and I nodded, by the time he was finished making his own food I had my own little saucer full of food he sat me on the top of a little jar or honey while we had our food "so... How did you get this size?" He asks and I shrugged "well have you always been this size?" He asks "As long as I remember" I answer "Well, I don't mind feeding you y/n and carrying you around and things so long as you help me out where you can" he says so I nod.

"Y/n! Where abouts are you?" Thomas asked as he came home "Kitchen" I smile as I sweep "Y/n... I thought you where going to clean the kitchen for me?" He asks as he saw me putting the shopping down on the kitchen table "I am, I did the table and the dishes and now I'm doing the counter top" I complain "I've been gone three hours" he laughs "I'm much smaller then you! Things take long to clean when your small" I complain "You've done what five inches of the counter top, and just putting the dishes in the sink is not doing them" he explained "I'm sorry" I said sadly "Hey I'm sorry y/n, maybe housework isn't for you" he smiles caressing my face with his finger before going and starting to sort the shopping out I helped where I could till everything was away "now I got you a present while I was out" he says "A present for me?" I ask and he nods "Well two actually, first I'll run you a bath" he smiles getting a little teacup putting it on the table and getting the boiled ketel pouring the water inside letting it sit a moment "your first present I got you a little bath bomb" he smiles in wrapping a little paper bag it was in the shape of a bear about the size of me "uhh I think you'll only need about a ear worth" he laughs breaking some of it off and putting it in the tea cup "there that will last you a few baths now" he laughs putting it away "there you have a bath while I set up your other present" he smiles giving my head a little kiss "Thomas! Don't do that I always get scared your going to bite my head off" I complain "Okay, I'll come get you when it's all done" he says going off out to the car so I slipped off m little clothes and climbed in my little teacup bath the bath bomb was lovely making the water smell like strawberries I heard him coming in and out the house with little boxes and bags of things carting them all upstairs I kept hearing loud swearing and clattering up there for a while till I climbed out and got wrapped up in my little towel Thomas made it for me by cutting off the bottom of an old tea towel and once I was all dried off Thomas came back "all done?" He asks and I nod letting him pick me up and I sat happily in his hand "What where you doing?" I ask "Sorting your suprise" he laughs taking me gently up the stairs to his room I watched him confused as he knelt down on the floor "go on have a look" he laughs do I turned and saw... A doll's House it was beautiful it looked like a old beautiful country manor house with three floors "go on, it's your house" he says "What?" I asked "I bought it for you, go on have a look inside" he says so I stood on the floor infront if the front door it even read 'Thumbilina's cottage' on the mail box I opened the little door and went inside there was stairs and a chandelier and book shelfs all of it perfect for my size there where so many rooms, a kitchen a dinning room, all with perfect little furniture the walk opened and I smiled widely at him "I had it made for you, all of it perfect your your little size" he smiles "the stuff works too the lights, the fireplace is electrical, even your TV works" he says "How?" I ask "Runs on little bulbs and a battery in the back, the TV is just my old phone it's charging thought the wall so don't worry" he laughs "look even the kitchen had little plates and cups that are your size" he laughs handing me a tiny little plate just the size for me "the bathtub works too so you don't have to use my teacups anymore, but I will have you bring you the water up" he laughs "and you have a little bedroom with a real bed too" he laughs showing me each room "ohh and upstairs is the best part" he says so I happily ran up the whole room was a wardrobe with little dresses and clothes all of them my size "How did-" I began "Dolls clothes, theres a shop in town they do all sorts of dolls clothes most your sort of size,I got you these for now anything else they have a catalogue I could show you or even take you with me next time" he explained I giggled running in and trying on s little blue dress and letting him see me "awww you look adorable" he smiles "Thomas... I don't know how I could even begin to repay you" I tell him "thank you so much" I smile hugging his fingers "Awe it's okay, do you like it?" He asks and I nod "then that's thanks enough little thumbillina" he laughs "Stop calling me that" I giggled

I smiled cuddling in my soft cosy bed with my tiny teddy bear and.. I remembered "Thomas!" I yell getting out of bed and slipping my little nightie on and my bunny slippers running and opening my window "Thomas!" I yell to his sleeping form in his bed "Hu? Who? What?" He asked sitting up very puzzled turning and clicking his lamp on he had moved my little house to the top of his dresser he didn't like me being on the floor for whatever reason so my second floor window was about level with him as he sat up in bed "what is it y/n? It's like half one in the morning?" he asks checking his clock "I know what time it is Thomas! I remembered" I smile "Re- remembered what?" He yawned rubbing his eyes "I have a present for you" I smile "A present? Couldn't this wait till morning?" He asked "No, quickly before I forget" I tell him "you have to go to the forth shelf down on the built in bookself and push the back panel" I tell him he looked puzzled but got up and did it "Okay there are some bottles?" He asks "Bring a green one" I tell him do he came back with the little green bottle about as big as I am "that's your present" I smile "It's lovely y/n, can I go back to bed now?" He asked "Read it!" I tell him "Okay okay.... Shrinking potion? What? Really?" He asked and I nod "The yellow ones are growth, green are shrinking, I used to use them sometimes when I had to go outside the house and things" I tell him "So... If I drank this? It would make me as little as you?" He asks and I nod "for how long?" He asked "Till you drank a yellow one" I shrug he smiles going back to the shelf getting a yellow bottle sitting it on the bedside table I ran down out my house and jumped over onto his table next to the yellow bottle he took the cork out the green bottle and rank it all I smiled waiting a few moments "Whoa! I see why you don't like me carrying you... This is terrifying" he says I looked and he was my size sat as he had been on his bed so I went and sat beside him "hi" he smiled "Hi, you look different my size" I smile "How different?" He asks "Good different" I smile giving his lips a gentle kiss "that's your present Thomas, as a thank you for everything" I smile making him blush alot "Ohhh well I uhh..." He stuttered "Shhh, come on you can sleep in the dolls house with me tonight" I smile tugging his hand along with me he struggled a bit with it all being so much bigger then him and taking him up to my room "It's much easier to see how pretty you are, when I'm your size" he laughs holding my hands "and it's nice to kiss you without pushing you over" he laughs and I smiled Hugging him tightly "Ummmm I love hugging you now, your perfect cuddle size" I smile giving him a little kiss "come on bed" I smile tugging him to lay in bed with me cuddled up in my doll house bed "goodnight Thomas" I smile "Goodnight y/n, my little thumbillina" he smiles "Stop calling me that" I laugh giving him a kiss and cuddling tightly as we drifted off to sleep.

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dearest-alexander · 6 years ago

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You Are The Reason Chapter V (Tom Holland x Reader fanfiction)

Summary: “I could be anything in the world, yet I wanted to be yours. But you don’t love me yet…or do you?“ The whole world thought you’re together but something’s stopping you, something’s stopping him.

Summary Chapter: “Dreams are excursions into the limbo of things, a semi-deliverance from the human prison.I’ - Henri Amiel

Chapter 5

YOUR POV

Much to our chagrin, traffic jam had caught up right after leaving the hospital premises. Harrison and a sleeping Gabby dropped us off first before heading back to our place. We called out the old guy at the reception who raised a mug of something at us in acknowledgement. My watch read 10:46pm by the time we reached their doorstep. Our dogs’ excited barks could be heard from the other side of the door as Tom wrestled with his keys for a bit.

“Im telling you, he’ll find a way to do it.” Tom argued, pushing the apartment door open.

“Uhm, no. Cause I know Gabby, once she’s tired, she’s tired. You can’t make her do anything not until you’re bleeding to death that is.” I debated back cheekily.

The traffic seemed to go on for the rest of the night ergo, to past boredom, Tom and I exchanged text messages whether Harrison would be able to pull his plan or won’t, among many other silly things. We still have to keep it under wraps since Gabby still has no idea. “What are you two scowling bout back there?” she asked before falling asleep minutes later.

“Fine! Alright! Let’s just ask Harrison tomorrow!” he exhaled with resignation in his voice.

. I brought a clenched fist and elbow to my knees in a sign of victory.

“Bloody hell, you don’t give up do you.” He said after a moment, putting everything on the countertop separating the living room and their kitchen.

I wriggled my eyebrows at him. His face contorted for a second to fight the smile from slipping through. He failed.

“Only for you love.” I said with a laugh, hugging my dog who won’t stop bouncing up at me from the moment we enter the apartment.

“Whatever… How are you lovely?” he knelt down to give Tessa a smooch on her gray head.

I filled the pet bowl with water before dragging my body onto the couch, face down with a heavy groan. I hate traffic.

“You wanna hit the shower first or should I?” Tom asked after minutes of shuffling in and out of the room. I propped my chin but kept my eyes closed as I replied.

“Go ahead, I need a second so these cushion could suck me in.” I wiggled my body as if it would dissipate the stiffness of my legs from sitting too long.

“You know where my room is.” He answered with a small laugh. I heard a creaking noise of the cabinet door then a wisp of wind when he threw something soft and large at my opiate position. I lifted my head when I heard him dematerialized behind the bathroom door.

I scanned the two-bedroom flat from my lying state. It was too tidy for two grown men to live in. Not a crumb or bottles of energy drinks in sight. Perhaps Gabby’s controlling nature had finally rubbed off on Harrison. He and Tom had decided to rent this place from Gabby’s cousin whenever they want to stay a while longer after wrapping up press junkets. Possibly, it was Harrison who wanted to stay longer and Tom being wherever his mate was, would stay until he pleased.

Willing myself to get up, I grabbed my overnight bag and the towel he threw at me to his room, the wall behind the mounted television. Two dogs sniffing happily behind me.

His room reeked with ocean breeze laundry detergent and embodied late adolescence-ness. I noted the lack of articles of clothing and trainers scattered on the floor, unmade bed and wide open luggage last time I was here. His double bed stood at the center of the room, two end tables on either side and dark clothes hung and were neatly stacked on the exposed clothing rack. 10 pairs of shoes in an orderly pile on the floor.

Despite the fact that he had let me sleepover a thousand times, I never heeded nor have I ever had the slight urge to interest myself on what he is like in his solidarity. I pride myself to never the one to snoop around. The prevalent awareness of being in his room haven’t bother me. Up until now. Which was the case I found myself in, prancing around his room as if for the first time in an unnamable light.

His room can’t be categorized as neither pristine nor disorganized. Stuff that usually don’t go well with each other –not that I know anything about interior styling- somehow complemented and blended with his impulsive personality. His obsession on shameless hoarding of any Spider-man merchandise he could get his hands on endured after all these years. “What a total nerd.” I chuckled to myself, setting down his action figure on the same spot. The red and blue collection disparate from the gray overall theme of the room. Letters and artworks from his fans were all compiled inside three black dossiers.

I was lazily lugging my index finger on his dust-free shelf, along the lines of books and photographs of his family, co-star photo calls, sceneries when a solid wooden framed picture halted me in my tracks.

Memories gushed in an unstoppable wave. The picture was cropped from the chest and up. I snapped this shot right after the first successful jumping obstacles I finished with my mare. We’re smiling. His cheek pressed onto mine, his other eye was squinting in order to avoid the harsh glare of the sun and my face reddened with sweat and excitement in his riding helmet. My arm was draped around his shoulders while the other extended the camera to fit us in the frame. I remembered hurriedly leapt down to Tom, who was already reaching out for me before my booted feet even touched the damp ground. I remembered stalling in his embrace, his body radiated as if he had somehow swallowed the whole sun, his thumbs that were drawing circles on my hips, pushing down the hitch emanating from my throat. I remembered how I together with his family went to their lake house later in the evening, his dad, stood by my side, with one comforting and familiar arm on my blanket-ed shoulders, staring ahead the setting day had said, out of the blue:

“Sometimes it’s practical to test waters first cause no one wants to dive in murky water, knowing whether we’ll hit the rocks or sand. But this day..” he trailed off, smiling and shaking his head. “He may be daft sometimes but thank you for sticking by him. Thank you for everything you’ve done. Thank you for making him happy.”

Before I could even ask Senior Holland to elaborate, an added weight made the docks screech in slight objection. Tom trudged to where we were, my bottled juice in hand. Frankly, I momentarily lost contact with my body, with my surroundings upon seeing his delightful face, how his curls bounced voluptuously like he’d just been prepped for some bloody movie minutes ago.

All these years, I try not to abide on what would happen if Tom and I just.. that maybe we could… I shook my head to eliminate the thought that’s been trying to eat me ever since once upon a time.

Tom’s POV

We were left to ourselves. Again., I think Harrison and his girlfriend liked to do this on purpose. There's a part of me wanted to strangle them both for doing this, albeit, the half part wanted to get down on my knees and hug them both with praise and reverence, saying "I owe you, big time."

I turned the shower knob off and quickly dressed in a shirt and sweats. I walked out into an empty and barely lit hall. The only evidence of her presence was her dog sitting outside my slightly open bedroom door. I patted his furry head before I knocked gently. She was not the one to get un-clothe with the door left ajar so I peeked inside when I didn't hear a response. She was leaning on my table, holding a picture frame in her hands, and the other clutching the desk. She didn't look up until I spoke.

"Hey, everything ok?"

She seemed startled for a swift second before smiling at me and waving the frame in her hands.

"I had no idea you printed and framed this."

"It was a good day. I should dare you more often." I went to her side, brushing against her as I lean over to look at the picture. I crossed my arms over myself to hide the goosebumps running from the tip of my fingers up to the hairs on my neck.

"Yeah. Really was." She sighed then locked her gaze with mine. I hugged myself even tighter, my fingers dug into my palms to keep from pulling her and crashing my lips to hers.. Heaven knows how badly I wanted no, needed to kiss her. But I’m waiting for her. Waiting for something to cross her eyes that will somehow tell me that she wants this just as bad as I do. I do not want to come across as one of those hot-blooded exes of hers who tried to force her to do something she does not like. But it’s me, I try to tell her with my eyes. I will never hurt you. . I hugged myself tighter to keep my heart from sprinting out of my chest as the moment of pure electricity stretched between us.

Until it wasn't anymore.

"I uhh.. Need to.... Take a bathe." She mumbled and broke her gaze. She handed me the frame and walked away. If she was nervous or felt at least something, she’s hiding it extraordinarily. I could feel my cheeks as they started to redden. She stopped at the door and crouched down in a playful defensive stance against her dog who wagged its tail gleefully. We let out short laughs before she disappeared.

I hung my head to the ceiling and I swear I could hear Harrison say “Youre the world’s greatest idiot..” I groaned.

I couldn’t sleep. My mind has not accustomed with Harrison’s four walls of a bedroom for the past two hours.. Every time she and Gabby would come over, I’ll let her have my bed like the perfect gentleman that I was raised. I didn’t mind the couch nor Harrison’s bed because I knew my sheets would smell like her for the remainder of the week and I would wake up in the morning and bury my face in the pillow. A sweet torture.

I fluffed Harrison's pillow to try to make myself more comfortable. Laying like a starfish on the bed and stared up the ceiling, my mind recalling one type of conversation that had always seem to play out every morning whenever we were alone together..

The couple would show up, their elbows leaning on the countertop, hyperexcitable faces on the palm of their hands, kind of like children waiting for their slices of chocolate cake.

"So...... Did you do it?"

I kept quiet while rummaging the kitchen for her favorite breakfast. Eyes never leaving my task. But shook my head.. "Nah. Wasn't the right time."

"Oh c'mon man!" Harrison exclaimed, dropping his head on the countertop in between in forearms.

"Alright Osterfield , hand it over ." Gabby opened and closed the back of her hands. Harrison produced a 20 dollar bill from his wallet to give her.

“You guys are the worst. I hope you know that.” I scowled under my breath.

"Thanks H olland " She patted me on my naked back..

"Man! How can you chicken out on me like that, you said you're gonna tell her last night....or the night of last week..... or the fortnight......or the months before that." He whined, Emphasizing each time frame then his forearms inching dangerously near the breakfast I'm making. I moved the plate out of the way and my eyes darted cautiously on my bedroom door. Checking for any signs or sounds of movement.

I shrugged, frowning.

"As much as I like winning against Haz, dude, you have to make a move. That window's not gonna be open forever. Take that hunky actor from GQ for example.”

“What? Who?” I snapped my head at her. I tried to sound less nervous and irritated but even to my own ears, I knew I came up short.

“I forgot his name . But we saw him at Jamba juice last week and the punk’s leaning a bit closer, in my opinion.” she shrugged

"She doesn't like me that way." I countered, hoping to get the melancholy disappointment out of my voice. Eyes still casted down.

"She likes you. Everyone with eyes can see it. You're just both too stubborn to admit it." Gabby retorted, before gulping down a carton of orange juice.

“Why? Did she tell you anything ?” I deadpanned but a little hopeful.

"Actions, Holland. Actions. They speak louder than words, like the song, dumbass." She had an elbow leaning on the counter at my side as she regarded me with slight irk and concern.

"But no... She doesn't tell me anything. You know she's always been like that, bottling up her feelings til she knows she can hold it." She placed the cap back on her carton box.

"Well then, i think i'll just wait for that bottle to spill."

"Tom." Harrison interrupted in a quiet tone that I finally looked at him.

"You know she's not her right?. They're both, different. This is a new story. It's gonna be different this time around. You're not running blindly here, not this time." Harrison was never soft spoken and sober , not unless he could help it.

"Maybe we'll just lock you guys up in here for a week and then maybe we'll see. Don't make me do it." Gabby remarked, staring at the something behind me

"Don't make you do what?" Our heads frantically turned to the sound by my bedroom door. Dressed in a sleeveless loose top and pyjama bottoms, her bedridden hair falling on her shoulders, the palm of her hand digging on his left eye. Her healthy skin glowed along with the morning sun. Eyes still glossy from sleep and puffy lips pouted adoringly. It's almost impossible to be that alluring during this early hour in the morning.

"Hey!!!!! Good morning sunshine! Did you just wake up?" Gabby asked, a little too cheerfully, three of us following her every movement.

"Um yeah. I didn't even hear you guys come in. How was your night?" She sat on the bar stool in front of me and Gabby, Harrison seated on the stool by her side then faced his body towards her, chin leaning on his shoulder. I exhaled a great sigh of relief, our kitchen conversation safe from her ears.

"It was fantastic …” Gabby said in a haste, “ , by the way, I heard you got drunk last night?"

"I did. And I'm never doing it again." She moaned, pressing her forehead on the cold counter, arms folded in front of her.

"Here you go." I pushed the garnished plate in her direction and the glass of juice.

She smiled, "You're brilliant. Did I ever tell you that?." pulling the plate near her.

Gabby made a tsk sound then walked back round to the couch. Harrison grabbed the ripe banana off of her plate before jumping out of his seat.

"Hey! That's mine!" She leapt up abruptly but regretted it in an instant. She grunted, dropping her head onto the surface again.

"You're a buffoon." I threw the dish towel resting on my shoulder at Harrison's figure who hustled out of the way. I hand her another.

"Don't you just love them?!" She mumbled under her breath, sarcastically

"Oh and would you mind putting some shirt on Holland, she and Haz may be used to it, but I'm not besides it's completely unhygienic." She instructed, flinging the shirt I discarded upon waking up from the armrest.

"You tell me." I chuckled, putting my shirt on.

It didn’t take long before I became conscious of her little quirks: the way she would pinch her lips when she’s trying to decide about something, how she likes to pop her knuckles that always seem to creep out Harrison and how she always find something nice to say about mean people. Something about her just felt…right; like everything seems to fall into place whenever she’s near.

My body almost jumped when I felt the incessant and loud ring of my phone on the bedside table.. I clicked answer right away .

"You still up?"

"No." I kid.

"Idiot. I Can't sleep." She sighed.

"Me neither. What are you doing?"

"Reading one of your books"

"What book?" I got up and leaned against the headboard.

She laughed. "You know we can just talk to each other, You're literally just across the hall.

"Ok, let's meet."

I hurriedly put on my shirt and walked out the door. She's already on her way to the fridge when I appeared in the kitchen.

"I'm hungry. How come you don't have anything here?" She complained and closed the fridge door behind her.

"Well, we're always at your place anyway."

"Urgh! Let's order pizza. You're paying." She picked up the phone line in the living room and dialed.

I made my way to the couch and will my body to heel before I do something I will regret. Like, I don't know, maybe kissing the day lights out of her until I die from deoxygenation..

"Hey you wanna watch a movie?" I initiated, grabbing the remote from the floor.

12:47am

"You know what? Fine fine! Let's just watch The Breakfast Club and we'll see who's right." She retorted, getting up from the sofa and inserting the dvd on the player, a slice of pizza dangling from her mouth.

"You're gonna be so bummed out when I win the fourth time today." Putting my hands behind my head and stretching my feet under the blanket we shared on the couch. It's already 2 am and All attempts of falling asleep diminished after indulging on a box of pizza, 2 bags of chips and 4 cans of root beers. My previous jitters had died down to a embers as we fell back into an amiable and platonic routine.

"Ha-ha! Move." She sneered jabbing my foot with her finger.

I scooched over backwards for her to settle comfortably on the opposite side her. She rested her head on the armrest. Her sock clad feet lying near my stomach, I boldly closed my hand around them.

We watched in silence for the rest of the movie until we got to the part at the end where Claire gives John his diamond earring.

"See! I told you, I told you! It was an earring not a ring." I sat up and gestured towards the screen. "Oi yow Pizza!" When I didn't hear or feel a slightest of movement I extended my arm on the floor, half my body still sitting on the couch and look at her. I must have known she had dozed off. Her even breaths were calm and soothing halfway through the movie, her face appeared pallid against the television screen. I got up as gently as I could and sat on the floor, over her side. I watched her for a little while, memorizing the way her shutted eyes would twitch every few seconds, her long eyelashes fanned out attractively across her features, her pouted lips carnation in color. I saw a crease formed at the center of her eyebrows and felt a lump clogging my throat. "What are you dreaming about?" I whispered. I reached an index finger to carefully smoothen it out, and lingered.

"I swear, you'll be the death of me. " Before I could help myself, i pressed a feathered kiss to her forehead in replace of my finger.

8:17 am

I felt more than heard the sound of barely audible mumbles as it vibrated from my chest. I squinted my eyes open to see panting smiles from two dogs and instantly became aware of the soft weight nesting on my chest. I don't remember sleeping in this position earlier in the morning but damn it to bloody hell, I wasn't complaining.

I or she must have moved positions during our sleep because now, on this glorious Sunday morning, our bodies lie snugly on the sofa, both my arms around her, one of her hands rested underneath my shirt, atop the unsteady thumps of my heart. Her head on my shoulder. Blanket still draped over us.

"Want. Pancakes." She mumbled, eyes still closed.

A chuckle crept up onto my already- smiling face. I never knew she talked in her sleep as we've had never been in this position before. I stayed still for quite some time, careful to maintain our position in case she woke up and assess the situation with regret or something . It Could be minutes or hours;. I lapsed the ability to comprehend anything right now as I committed this moment to memory

The smell of her hair dominate the entire room, happily suffocating me to my death.

Or How every inch of her molded perfectly into mine; her breathing patterns almost lulling me back to sleep

Or How her warmth masked and overpower my senses, making me forget to think, to breathe.

A nagging thought entered my mind that I was, in a way, taking advantage of her slumberous state, and was about to separate my body from hers but was snapped out if it when I heard her next words. Making my world rattle to smithereens then build back up again.

"Mmmm.. I like you Tom.”

I looked down on her to see if she’s woken. It probably meant anything that I hope to be but still, I couldn't fight the grin that jeopardizes to split my face in half or the euphoria openly transuding over my skin. I pressed my lips on her forehead and slowly pulled her even tighter. And i could die right after this, because she shifted closer- if that was still even possible-and lightly scratched her fingers on my bare and beating pectoral.

I’ll just put the links of my A03 and Fanfiction pages. :)

#tom holland fic #tom Holland story #tom Holland x reader #tom Holland and reader #tom Holland fanfiction #tom Holland fluff #tom Holland and y/n #tom Holland shirtless #yatr #you are the reason fic

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imagineclaireandjamie · 7 years ago

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Flood my Mornings: A King on a Throne

@anne-hedonia said: ...I started wondering about Jamie’s reaction to more of the nuts and bolts of 20th century life, particularly the hygiene. (I know he’s way past that now, but maybe he and Claire could reminisce.) What did he think when he first saw a toilet? Did he think it was as great an invention as I would if I were stuck in the 18th century without one? (I’m not sure I could do the no-toilets-and-wiping-with-leaves thing, I’m just saying.)

This story takes place in an AU in which Jamie travels through the stones two years after Culloden and finds Claire and his child in 1950 Boston.

See all past installments via Bonnie’s Master List

Previous installment: Cozy

(throwing all the way back to Ch 2 on this one)

October, 1951

“Mummy??!!! Mummy!! Mummm-meeeeeeee!!???”

“What-ee-what-ee-what-eeeeeee?” I chorused back from the kitchen.

I’d had the brilliant idea, in a burst of uncharacteristic domesticity, to try my hand at swiss roll this afternoon. It was NOT going well, so I was more than happy to turn from my own personal disaster area toward the pitter patter (well, more of a thundering) of little feet behind me.

“Mummy!!” Bree crowed as she zoomed across the linoleum and leapt into my arms, “I poo-pooed in the potty all-by-my-SELF!!!”

“You DID?” I cried, swooping her up. “Darling, that’s wonderful!”

“Uh-HUH! And Daddy didn’int even hafta tell me to!!!”

I kissed her exuberantly on both cheeks. “Well DONE, sweetheart!!” This wasn’t feigned enthusiasm on my part, not in the slightest. Trying to get Bree out of nappies had been something of a saga over the last six months in the Fraser household.

I’d taken a high-minded notion, while pregnant, that under no circumstances were we going to have two children simultaneously in diapers; and two-and-a-half was a perfectly natural age to make the transition in any case. And so Jamie, Penelope, and I had all thrown massive energies into the imperative of getting Bree using the toilet before Ian was born.

Some children, as it turned out, though, were simply late bloomers when it came to changing their voiding routines. My child specifically seemed to be of the “I will die on this hill unbloomed from pure spite” genus.

It had been a constant rotation of ‘lessons,’ coaxing (read: bribes), endless sit-and-wait sessions as chaperone on the edge of the tub, cheerful reminders, tantrums, eagerly trying new strategies from books and friends, and the inevitable tearing out of our collective hair when she would have yet another accident, usually with impeccable cosmic timing, in public. To think we might actually have the knack of things now, then, would be a genuinely spectacular early birthday gift, and so I was just about as radiant as Bree at the news.

“I’m so proud of you, lovey!”

“FANKS!!!”

Apparently done with congratulations, she wriggled down from my arms and went mrooooming back from whence she’d come, nearly careening into Jamie’s legs as she turned the corner into the hall.

He made her a leg with a courtly flourish to let her pass, shaking his head and grinning as he stepped through the doorway. “It’s almost a wee bit sad, to have her grow past it, no?”

“HA! NO! I’m over the moon!” I declared as I turned to see if I could salvage my failed roll. “Here’s hoping Ian is a tad more precocious, when it comes his time.”

We both snorted as a ‘Poo-pee-poooooo! Pee-poo-peeeeee!’ sounded out from across the house, to the jaunty tune of ‘Jingle Bells.’

“I still can’t for the life of me decide what it is that had her so hung up in the first place,” I lamented as I checked the backup sponge I’d prepared for just such eventualities. “I mean, she’s well ahead of most children her age in so many other aspects!”

“Well, and if she didna take to it at once, it’s no’ entirely without basis. It is a fearsome device, after all.”

“What, the toilet?” I laughed, taken aback, grinning at him over my shoulder as I tidied up a bit, waiting for the second sponge to cool.

“Aye, of course,” he said soberly with an eyebrow raised, as though taken aback in turn. “Do ye mean to say that you yourself were never afraid of the sound when it whisks away?”

“I mean, not that I can recall....What, are you scared of the flush?”

“Well, none so much NOW,” he said with a defensiveness that made my cheeks twitch with glee, “but it’s relatively fresh in my mind, aye? I’ve been using one little more than a year, after all.”

“I suppose that’s right! Erm...How did you come to use one the first time, might I ask? Did you figure it out on your own?” I tried to make it a serious question and only half-succeeded. My voice trembled absurdly as my lips quivered. “Or did you have to have someone —show you—how?”

“T’was on my own merits, thank ye kindly,” Jamie said with a good-natured glare as he plunked down into a chair and put his feet up on the table. “Though I did have a bit of help to point me in the right direction, ken?”

“I don’t ken, but I’m ALL ears.”

“Let’s see, then...” He stretched luxuriously and ran his hands through his hair as he settled in for the tale. “I suppose it would have been....Aye, it was in Inverness. I’d come through the stones, and the American lads had given me a ride into town, some clothes and such. Early that next morning, there was the kind priest who counseled me and gave me help to get to Oxford.”

He’d told me the story, of course, and I found myself uttering a silent prayer for Jamie’s savior, whoever he was.

“Well, he could see that I hadna anything by way of means, and that I was out of my element, forbye. So, in addition to giving me money and a meal, he took me to an inn and arranged for me to have access to the facilities to wash and shave. The keeper showed me to the washroom and handed me a towel, and I thanked him, and he closed the door, and—” He laughed. “I think I just stood wi’ my gob hanging open for a time. Wasna sure where to begin in the great, shining place.”

I could just imagine Jamie Fraser, bedraggled and bewildered, trying to process all that tile and porcelain and gleaming metal with an eighteenth-century mind.

“My bowels must have taken the measure of the place better than my brain, though, for I quite suddenly found myself needing to, erm, well.... Let us say that urgent necessity prompted a verra rapid leap of faith.”

“Jolly good thing you didn’t shit in the sink! That would have been a bit awkward to explain to the innkee—” I stopped and turned from my task of slathering filling on the cake. “You didn’t, did you?”

“Got it on the first try, thank Heaven. It was a matter of deduction, mostly. I could see that the tub was likely for washing the body (a good bit larger than those I’d used before, but still, it recalled the shape of a proper copper tub) and that the sink might resemble a basin on a washstand; so as for the toilet, it was more a process of elimination—no pun intended.”

“Victory!” I cried as the roll finally rolled without cracking.

“A small one, but a great relief it was, to be sure,” he agreed.

I rubbed my upper lip in an effort not to laugh. “So, what did you think of it? Once you’d, erm.... leapt?”

“Didna like the feel of the cold seat on my arse. I think I ended up squatting over it, more like...” He ran a hand over his stubbled chin, giving him the air of a professor, musing over some weighty theorem. “But, to be fair, I do recall a goodly sort of satisfaction in watching and hearing my offerings hit the water—like that lovely thunk when ye drop a stone in a deep pond.”

I choked on the scrap of cake I’d just popped into my mouth. “Glad it—” I wheezed crumbs into my windpipe and had to pound my chest and wipe my eyes. “—was a recreational experience, on top of—educational!” I shook with unbridled delight as I swallowed and leaned against the counter, grinning at him. “What did you think of the toilet paper?”

He sighed, enraptured. “I felt like a proper king. Most luxurious thing I’d ever heard of, using paper to wipe my arse! And SUCH paper—I thought it was fabric, at first! So soft, and gentle as a rose petal,” he intoned with a look of unequivocal bliss. “There are a good many things I miss about my own time, Sassenach, but cleaning myself wi’ leaves and plant matter isna one. I’ll always insist upon paying more at the shops for the thickest, softest stuff, even if I have to live on bread and water to accommodate such lavishness.”

“No need to give up steaks and fried potatoes just yet, don’t worry.”

He crossed one ankle over the other. “Mind, any enjoyment vanished rather quickly when confronted wi’ the question of what to DO wi’ the new contents.”

“Oh NO!” I groaned. “Oh, Jesus H Christ, tell me you didn’t—”

“Well, and I’d lived twenty-five years of my life emptying chamber pots, had I not? Or else seeing to my business in a privy or outdoors, at which point ye simply walk away! But it didna seem right to simply leave it thus, so stark against the white! There wasna a window in the room, thank God, else I might have tried to chuck it out by hand, but I did spend several minutes trying to see if I was supposed to detach the bowl in some way. It’s a true wonder I didna break it and flood the room! But finally,” he said, ratcheting up his volume to be heard over my cackling, “I ended up pushing down the lever by accident, and had I not recently voided thoroughly, I might have wet myself over again from the shock of it! I still hate that sound when it echoes about the walls!”

It was a considerable passage of time before I was able to speak normally again, and even then, it was more of a hacking cough between sobs of laughter. “Quite an adventure you had, my love!”

“Indeed. The bath, though—that was an unmitigated delight.”

Roll cooling, I came over and melted onto his lap, triumphant on two fronts. “And HOW many times did I tell you so, back in the olden days?”

“Endlessly,” he conceded, pulling me close and kissing my neck, “and ye were perfectly right. Pure heaven.”

“I had to sit at the stones, that first time, and seriously think about hot baths—whether I could give them up forever, for you.”

“Well, I’m most flattered,” he said, pressing slow, warm kisses along my jawline. “Though, I willna lie to ye: I would give YOU up in a heartbeat if it meant I could have toilet paper forever.”

“Arse,” I murmured against his lips, which were tight with a grin, like mine.

“Aye, the very one.”

#;mod Bonnie #Flood my mornings #the pun was GENUINELY not intended #but there it was plain on the page

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familycuisinee · 3 years ago

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how to make noodles for stir fry from scratch | Family Cuisine

This post may contain affiliate links where, at no additional cost to you, I receive a small commission when products are purchased through those links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Any commisions earned helps keep this site sustainable. Click here for privacy policy.A fun and easy recipe for homemade Chinese Egg Noodles that can be made by hand or with a pasta machine. Perfectly chewy and springy, these noodles will hold up well in your favorite soup or stir-fry sauce without turning mushy.<figure><img src="https://ift.tt/3yLYxlq" alt="Chinese Egg Noodles From Scratch" /><figcaption>Chinese Egg Noodles From Scratch</figcaption></figure>Kids these days are busier than they’ve every been. From the minute my kids wake up til the time I tuck them into bed, I feel like I’m just ushering them from one place or activity to another. And when they’re home, it’s so easy to set them up with TV or iPad.So I try to get then into the kitchen and find recipes that we can all make together. I love making noodles from scratch with the kids because we get to create something tangible (and edible!), it teaches them that not everything needs to be bought from the store, it taps into their heritage, and I get to spend quality time with them.Andy they love noodle-making because it’s so tactile (they get to squish, knead, crack eggs, crank the pasta machine, stomp on dough with their feet) and they feel so proud of themselves afterwards.For us, it’s important that a noodle recipe is fast and fun. After school, activities, and homework, there’s limited time before dinner, bath and bed witching hour. The kids have really enjoyed making these Chinese egg noodles from scratch because I introduced a new “kneading” technique for them: “Why roll the dough when you can beat it?” <h2>What are Chinese Egg Noodles?</h2>Chinese egg noodles are made from wheat flour and egg. These noodles are added to soups (like wonton noodle soup) and also used in many stir-fry dishes like Mie Goreng (recipe coming soon).You will make these in the exact same way as my ramen noodle recipe but with the addition of egg and salt. <h2>Can I Successfully Make Chinese Egg Noodles at Home?</h2>Yes you can! My kids did and so can you.Like making ramen noodles, you will need an alkaline agent - either *baked* baking soda or lye water (aka “kansui” which is sold in bottles at Asian grocery stores). Click here for my instructions on how to EASILY make *baked* baking soda at home.Now, you don’t have to use an alkaline agent, but without it, the noodles could turn out mushy and will fall apart once you add it to your soup broth or sauce. Who want’s mushy noodles? Not I.I also highly recommend using a pasta machine for this dough. You can certainly knead by hand and I did so the first time I made these Chinese egg noodles.While the initial hand-made noodling experience was fun, it was also time consuming and difficult for the kids to manage on their own. Now, we let our pasta machine do all the work and the final results are great every time AND we can even manage it on a school night.Wondering which pasta machine is best to buy? Click here to read my review of two popular Italian-made brands: the Marcato Atlas versus the Cucina Pro Imperia.<h2>Ready to get started?</h2>You most likely will have all the ingredients in your pantry to make homemade Chinese egg noodles from scratch.<img src="https://ift.tt/3BOqvyz" alt="Getting ingredients read for making Chinese egg noodles (alkaline version)" />To make fresh Chinese egg noodles at home, all you need is:<ul><li>All-purpose flour</li><li>Salt</li><li>Eggs</li><li>Water</li><li>Alkaline agent: either lye water (aka “kansui” which can be purchased from an Asian grocery store) or baking soda.</li></ul>To use baking soda to make Chinese egg noodles, you must first bake it in the oven for one hour. Click here for my instructions on how to make *baked* baking soda and why alkaline agents are essential to making many types of noodles.<h2>How to Make Homemade Chinese Egg Noodles From Scratch</h2>Continue reading below for detailed instructions (with step-by-step photos) on how to make Chinese egg noodles from scratch or you can click here to jump to the print-friendly recipe.Read through the instructions and then give it a go yourself. Be sure to leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out (and what you served with it) - I would love to know!You will need the following (serves 4):<ul><li>240 grams all-purpose flour (2 cups)</li><li>1/2 teaspoon salt</li><li>1 teaspoon lye water (aka kansui) or 1 teaspoon baked baking soda</li><li>2 eggs</li><li>1 - 2 tablespoons water</li><li>Pasta machine or Rolling Pin and Knife</li><li>Large mixing bowl</li><li>Fork or spatula or chopsticks</li><li>Measuring cup or kitchen scale. I prefer a kitchen scale (I have this OXO one) because it makes for more consistent measuring as one cup of flour can range anywhere from 100 grams to 300 grams depending on how lightly or tightly packed your flour is.)</li></ul> <h4>Step 1 — Mix flour and salt together.</h4>In a large bowl, add the flour and salt together and mix a couple times with a fork or chopstick.<h4>Step 2 — Make alkaline solution.</h4><ul><li>If using lye water: Crack the eggs into a small bowl and add the lye water (aka kansui) to the eggs.</li><li>If using *baked* baking soda: Dissolve the baked baking soda in 1 tablespoon of water and mix (make sure there are no lumpy bits) and then add the mixture to the eggs.</li></ul><figure><img src="https://ift.tt/3l15YA6" alt="Adding *baked* baking soda to water for homemade Chinese egg noodles" /><figcaption>Adding *baked* baking soda to water</figcaption></figure>Whisk eggs a few times with a fork or chopstick to thoroughly mix the eggs and kansui/baking soda.<figure><img src="https://ift.tt/3thmWOq" alt="Mixing the eggs with the alkaline water for homemade Chinese egg noodles from scratch" /><figcaption>Mixing the eggs with the alkaline water</figcaption></figure><h4>Step 3 — Add alkaline egg mixture to the flour and squish into a ball.</h4>Pour the egg mixture into the bowl of flour and mix with a fork or chopstick.The flour will become a crumbly texture and that is what you want for now. If you put the dough to your nose, you will be able to detect the distinctive smell of alkaline dough.<figure><img src="https://ift.tt/3n6IpIR" alt="Mixing flour and eggs for homemade Chinese egg noodles" /><figcaption>Mixing flour and eggs</figcaption></figure>Use your hands to squish the flour crumbs together into a ball. The dough texture will be softer than my ramen dough recipe due to the addition of the eggs.If the flour doesn’t completely form a ball after a bit of squeezing, then a little water, but only a tablespoon at a time, until you get one cohesive ball.This is what you are aiming for - a dry and crumbly looking dough with barely any crumbs left in the mixing bowl:<img src="https://ift.tt/3zNF1X2" alt="Chinese egg noodles from scratch - Initial dough" />Same as in my ramen noodle recipe, you want to keep the dough on the dry side. If it is too soft and wet then the dough will be hard to roll out and it will be difficult to cut into individual strands because they will stick together.<h4>Step 4 — Knead dough for 1 minute and rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. </h4>Knead the dough for a minute (just squish it around inside the mixing bowl) and then wrap it in plastic (or place it in a bowl covered with a damp towel) so that it doesn’t dry out.Allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.<figure><img src="https://ift.tt/3BQSNJ7" alt="Chinese Egg Noodle Dough" /><figcaption>Chinese Egg Noodle Dough</figcaption></figure><h4>Step 5 — After resting, knead dough for 3-5 minutes.</h4>Take the dough out of the plastic wrap (do not toss the plastic wrap away as you’ll need it again) and knead it for about 3-5 minutes.This is not a difficult dough to knead like ramen dough but little helpers might have trouble doing it themselves. In that case, you can hand your child a rolling pin and use it to beat the dough on all sides for those two minutes. You just hit the dough with the rolling pin, turn the dough over, and repeat. I got this idea from Angie over at Sea Salt with Food who doesn’t knead her dough at all.According to my kids, beating the dough is much more fun than kneading. Use a large-diameter rolling pin, preferably one with a long handle that they can hold on to. But anything will do as long as you don’t hurt yourself.<img src="https://ift.tt/3h6qDBO" alt="Chinese egg noodles "kneaded" by beating the dough with a rolling pin" />The kids had so much fun with this part that they couldn’t stop laughing and giggling. Rolling pin dough-beating was a novelty to them and they took turns doing it while grooving along to music. We are dough-beating and beat-bopping to my son’s favorite song at the moment: “Once I Was 7 years Old” by Ben Shuller.By the end of the song, the result was just like as if we had kneaded by hand - the dough had become nice and smooth. See for yourself:<figure><img src="https://ift.tt/38JyzV1" alt="Comparing Chinese egg noodle dough: Dough when it was first mixed (left photo) and dough after 30 minutes of rest and a bit of kneading (right photo)" /><figcaption>Left: Dough when it was first mixed; Right: Dough after 30 minutes of rest and a bit of kneading</figcaption></figure><h4>Step 6 — Rest dough for another 30 minutes.</h4>Form the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic (or place it in a bowl covered with a damp towel) and rest it for 30 minutes at room temperature.If you won’t be using the dough immediately, stick it in the fridge and take it out 30 minutes before you need it so that it returns to room temperature.<h4>Step 7 — Roll the dough flat with a pasta machine (or by hand).</h4>Take the dough out of the plastic wrap, give it a few quick kneads. Divide your dough in half and return the unused half to it’s plastic wrap or towel-covered bowl.Flatten the other half of your dough as much as possible by hand (or whack with the rolling pin again) and start feeding it through the pasta machine.<figure><img src="https://ift.tt/3jTryaJ" alt="Spread a sprinkle of flour or corn starch on both sides of the dough" /><figcaption>Spread a sprinkle of flour or corn starch on both sides of the dough</figcaption></figure>Starting with the widest roller setting, feed the dough through 3-4 times. Then adjust the rollers to the next setting and feed dough through 2 times per setting until desired thinness. We liked the dough thickness of level 6 (~1.2 mm).<figure><img src="https://ift.tt/3BN2s36" alt="Kneading Chinese egg noodle dough with Marcato pasta machine until thickness level 6" /><figcaption>Our Marcato pasta machine</figcaption></figure>If rolling by hand, be sure to sprinkle lots of flour on the dough and the rolling pin so that the dough doesn’t stick.<h4>Step 8 — Cut dough into long strips of noodles with the pasta machine (or by hand).</h4>Finally we are ready to cut the dough into strands! Our Marcato pasta machine came with two size options - a thick fettucine size and a thin spaghettini size. We used the spaghettini cutter to make thin Chinese egg noodles. (For thicker noodles, which my dad prefers, we tried the fettucine cutter but it was too wide so we just used a large knife to cut the dough into the width he likes.)First, cut the dough in half if it is too long to work with.Next, lightly dust the dough with flour or corn starch and then pass it through the cutters.Repeat with the other half of the dough.If cutting by hand, fold the dough in layers either like a tri-fold letter or into an S-shape. Cut into strands with a large knife to desired thickness. Remember that the noodles will expand slightly when cooked.The first time I made these Chinese egg noodles from scratch, I tried rolling and cutting the dough by hand but the dough wasn’t very elastic so it kept springing back into a smaller shape. I persevered and was finally able to roll the dough thin enough to our liking. But I definitely prefer flattening the dough with the pasta machine.After the dough is cut into strips, sprinkle more flour or corn starch over the noodles before jiggling the shaking them open into long beautiful strands.<h4>Step 9 — Simmer noodles in boiling water.</h4>Bring a large pot of water to boil. Do not add salt. Cook the noodles for 2 to 3 minutes depending on the thickness of your strands. Test cook a few strands before throwing in the whole batch. It is better to undercook the noodles slightly than to overcook them because they will continue to soften as they absorb the liquid in the final soup or sauce.Drain, rinse with cool water so they don’t stick. Serve with your favorite soup or stir-fry sauce.Voila! An easy, fast and fun recipe for homemade Chinese egg noodles from scratch. Easy enough that even my 8-year old can make it by himself and fun enough that he’ll want to make it again and again with his sister (and me!).Be sure to tag us on Instagram (@gingerandscotch) and Twitter (@gingerandscotch) and show us your noodle-making in action.Happy Noodling! -Sandy source https://familycuisine.net/how-to-make-noodles-for-stir-fry-from-scratch/

#familycuisine

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kinkyacademia · 7 years ago

Note

Oh silly Tumblr ate my lovey dovey ask?! I'm sorry it went and did that to you guys. My original ask was asking for a scenario where Aizawa and his fem s/o finally get to take a vacation from work in a cabin off in the country side. I thought it'd be cute for them to explore the woods, maybe go swimming in a lake, and enjoy some "rough housing" under the stars. Thank you for letting me know it got deleted!

So I’ve come to realize that there are three Aizawa requests that all want to go on vacation with this sleepy teacher xD

So I’m gonna bring all three of them together in one big scenario, all for my dear lil strawberries~! I’m going to the situation at a cabin that has it’s own hot spring (cuz as a writer, I can do whatever I want, bois!)

This is the first half I had in mind, which is all fluffy fluff stuff! If you want a part 2 for maybe a little… something some~ Feel free to request that! The ask box is still CLOSED, but I will personally accept the request pertaining to this! It just shows me that you guys like this (and I’m just a tease)! And I hope you all enjoy the reading, my lil strawberries~!

-Mod Shortcake 🍰🍰🍰

Aizawa wasn’t a super adventurous type of guy. He was mostlya homebody, if anything.

But then again, it wasn’t so often that he’d get a vacationfrom being a pro hero or even from being a teacher. He just hoped that hisstudents would be well taken care of in his absence. “Shouta! Hey-” Aizawasnapped out of his thoughts when he heard you snap your fingers close to hisface.

He must’ve dozed off a bit there.

“Hm?” He looked over at you with that same old tired look inhis eyes. You just grinned at him while unbuckling your seat belt. “We’rehere!” You chimed.

They had arrived at a pretty rustic looking cabin out in themiddle of the woods. It was your idea to have this kind of getaway fromcivilization, and when you had explained it like that, Aizawa was on board withthe plan.

“There we go! All of our stuff is packed away, Shouta, so doyou wanna go and look around the woods?” You asked, walking down the stairs.You looked around for your lover, admiring the warm glow of the cabin, but whenyou could find Shouta, you narrowed your eyes on the comfy looking couch rightthere in the living room.

You tone became stern. You placed your hands on your hips.“Shouta.”

There was silence, then a low grunt.

Yup, you know it; he had curled up for a nap.

Walking over to where he was, you loomed over the back ofthe couch, staring at his resting face. “Shouta, we came out here to get away…”

“That’s what I’m doing.”

“Together.”

“You can join me.”

You narrowed your eyes. “No. I wanted to… I don’t know, seenature or something.” You leaned your hand down, starting to play with his darkhair. Aizawa opened his eyes slightly, staring up at you. “You can look rightout the window.”

“You know what I mean!” You huffed. Aizawa sighed, unzippinghis sleeping bag. “We just got here, (F/N). Nature’s not going anywhere.” Heyawned. “Just relax.”

After a few hours of relaxing, you finally managed to pry Aizawa out of his sleeping bag and out of the cabin.

There was a trail that you brought him to, holding his hand so there was no way you could lose sight of him on your little journey. You also brought some bread crumbs in case you ran into any friendly creatures.

You pointed out some deer and chipmunks that went about their lives, laughing when you saw two squirrels fighting over food. The birdsong was pleasant to the ears as well. But Aizawa enjoyed the sound of your joy most of all.

It wasn’t until you both turned around to walk back to the cabin, that you noticed a doe cautiously walking up to you two. “Oh! I bet she can smell the food on me…” You grinned, pulling out the small bag of bread crumbs. That was when you had the sweet idea to take Aizawa’s hand into your own and pour some crumbs into his hand.

“You want me to feed it?” He asked you. You just gave him your signature grin. “Yeah. Look. She’s staring at you.”

“Cuz you put the food in my hand.”

“Shouta.” You gave him a look that he couldn’t help but smile at. “Yeah, yeah…” Aizawa offered his hand to the deer, which slowly approached his hand and sniffed the food before feeding.

It was the sweetest thing to unfold before your eyes, and Aizawa didn’t openly say it, but he didn’t mind this at all.

Then the sunset finally began to shine in through the windows. Dinner was made earlyand eaten while you played some relaxing music.

Aizawa couldn’t help but smile a little at how peaceful andserene these moments felt with you. It was moments like these that he decidedto hold onto whenever he needed to think of something better. You could feelthat too, in both your heart and mind.

And it was moments like these that you’d see a side toShouta that no one else got to see. The side of him that, after a good meal,didn’t mind dancing with you. Simple turns and swaying in each others’ arms,your head resting on his chest, listening to his heart beat… The warmth wasirreplaceable.

When the song ended, so did the dance. You lifted your headslowly and smiled up at Aizawa. Standing up on your toes, you placed a sweetkiss on his lips to which he gladly returned.

“I’m going to go…” You began, your lips still lingeringbeside his, “…take advantage of that hot spring we have in the back.” When youpulled away to vanish upstairs to get your towel, Aizawa stayed behind,thinking of how nice that sounded. A bath didn’t sound so bad right now, especiallyif it meant bathing with you.

#aizawa shouta #aizawa x reader #mod shortcake #sfw #scenario #boku no hero academia #boku no hero scenarios #reader x aizawa #scenarious #boku no hero academia imagines

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fourtrisheafanfic · 7 years ago

Text

Under the Stars CH 4 (Jonerys fanfic)

Chapter 4: Under The Stars ~ Day four (Completed Story)

Summary: Modern AU, a camping trip in Colorado ends up being more than originally planned. Four chapters total.

Links: Chapter 1 (X), Chapter 2 (X), Chapter 3 (X) or Ao3 (X)

Rating: Mature

Words: 11,000+

++++o++++

Chapter 4: Under The Stars ~ Day four

*Jon POV*

"Rise and shine! Time to wake up!" Sam yells from what I can only guess is his tent. I groan at the sound of his cheerful voice, which is an annoying way to be woken up. I keep my eyes closed, hoping this is just a dream and that I really have a good hour or two of sleep left.

My body responds to her before my brain does. I feel Dany lying against me, which immediately makes me excited. Very excited. I feel a pull in my stomach as I bite my lip to swallow my groan.

My eyes pop open to look, immediately confirming that Dany's lithe figure is pressed firmly against me as we are wrapped in each other's arms. Her leg is thrown over my hip, and my hand rests on her upper thigh. One of her arms is wrapped around me, slipping up the back of my shirt and resting directly on my back.

I'm overcome by desire, even though I know I shouldn't be. What I didn't anticipate was a sleeping Dany, adorable drool on her chin and all, pressing her entire body closer to me as she mumbles in her sleep. Oh shit, I feel her core press directly against me as I gasp loudly. I try desperately to untangle myself.

Although not by design, I feel as though I'm taking advantage of her in some way - which is an awful feeling.

Sam is now standing just yards from our tent as he makes his rounds to wake our entire group. His booming voice is close enough to wake Dany this time.

"It's the big day, happy Fourth of July!" Sam calls. "The storm rolled out last night, we are good to do the Ouzel Falls hike. Let's go, let's go!"

Her eyes pop open immediately, taking in our positions. I'm sure she feels my large excitement as well, when her eyes widen and she quickly joins me in untangling herself. Her cheeks are flaming red as her mouth falls open in shock.

Embarrassed I look away because this is not what I wanted. Not even close.

We manage to separate and move to our respective sides of the sleeping bag. For the record, Dany was all the way on my side. I'm just saying.

She sees my face, which must reflect the absolute horror that I feel, and then she releases her breath and smiles bashfully.

"Let's never discuss this moment again, deal?" Dany mumbles and laughs nervously.

"What moment? I have no idea what you're talking about," I say awkwardly, trying to break the tension with humor.

Then Dany surprises me. She gently cups my face and smiles.

"I'm sorry, I was on your side of the sleeping bag," Dany says. "Forgive me?"

I place my hand over hers, and her violet eyes burn into me, watching every move I make. I slide her hand across my jaw until her palm is over my mouth, and I kiss the inside of her hand. Dany bites her lower lip as she gives me a small smile.

"Only if you forgive me too?" I throw back to her with a playful smirk.

We both grin and laugh, the awkwardness immediately behind us.

++o++

"What else can I do?" I ask Dany while beating the next batch of scrambled eggs. She insists on making breakfast for everyone this morning, and I insist that I will serve as her sous-chef. Jamie points out he hasn't had a turn cooking and offers to assist Dany instead. I give him a pointed look, and he immediately announces he will take dinner.

Dany chuckles when I tell her this is the one time I'm giving her permission to boss me around.

"Good to know," Dany smirks, while placing strips of bacon on the non-stick pan. Our group brought two camping stoves. I'm impressed as Dany skillfully manages to have numerous plates of food cooking at once.

"The trick is to time it correctly, you are hosed if everything is ready at the same time," she explains. "Something will end up burning." She asks me to hold off on turning on the stove for the bacon.

Dany and I share a piece of toast to hold us over because the first few batches of food are for our friends. We'll eat last. I feed her the toast while she is cooking, and she blushes. I resist dragging her to my tent like a caveman.

Using my thumb, I wipe toast crumbs off the corner of her mouth as she grins at me. I notice that Sam and Gilly are watching every single move and smiling. Good grief, does Gilly actually have happy tears in her eyes? Because that wouldn't freak Dany out. I discreetly motion the universal 'knock it off' sign at them. Sam motions for me to grab Dany and kiss her. Sam demonstrates by kissing Gilly, as though I am an idiot.

"I'm completely stoked that storm rolled out, a perfect day for Ouzel Falls," Tyrion smiles. "Make sure you wear your suits for our hike out, there will be nowhere private to change once we leave camp."

"Suits?" Dany asks.

"Of course, the best part of this strenuous hike to the falls is swimming," Jamie says enthusiastically. "After our swim we'll eat lunch while we dry off and rest. The hike down is also difficult because so steep."

"I don't have a suit, but I'll just dip my feet in," Dany shrugs and smiles. "I can be towel girl or something."

Sam finds this hilarious. I have noticed that even when I am not within talking distance that all of my friends genuinely seem to like Dany. She's a great girl, so I can't blame them. Part of me wonders if after this trip she will still be in my life.

I need to talk to her.

Shae offers to let Dany wear her extra bathing suit, and I smile at her thankfully.

"Come on, Dany," Shae says. "I need to run to my tent for a minute. You can change now. Jamie, please take over for Dany until we return."

Tyrion watches the girls walk off and then pats me on the back in a good-humored way.

"You are so welcome, my man!" he smirks.

"For what?" I demand.

"You'll see," he laughs.

I'm not quite sure what he's getting at, so I just nod and turn my attention back to the food. I lower the heat a little, not being as skilled as Dany in the cooking department.

Jamie offers me help, but I wave him away. I'm sure Dany will be back soon and I lowered the heat. The remaining campers are getting hungry. I eye the toast and consider having another slice that I can split when she gets back. I decide against it. I'll save the toast for my eggs.

Dany walks back, and I immediately notice she seems uncomfortable. She forces a smile and quickly assesses the food being cooked. She plays with the burners to get us back on track.

"Everything okay?" I whisper, as I place my hand on her lower back.

She looks up at me and smiles, her cheeks flushing red.

She nods her head as to motion not a big deal, "It's just that Shae's bathing suit is more like dental floss with a small amount of fabric," she whispers.

My mouth falls open, and I feel all the blood rush to my lower anatomy. Before I can stop myself, my eyes lower to her lovely rack, which I've been discreetly admiring all weekend long. This time there was nothing subtle about it.

"Jon!" Dany hisses, glaring at me. She punches me in the arm playfully. I can tell she isn't that mad.

"I'm sorry," I laugh. "But in my defense that was a very detailed image and provocative description,"

Dany laughs, too. I pull her into my arms.

"Do you forgive me?" I plead.

She bites her lip, which in itself drives me insane with need, and we stare at each other. She slowly glides her hands up my chest and wraps her arms around my neck.

"I'll decide later," she says with a playful smirk.

I pull her even closer to me, "Oh, yeah?" I lean closer and whisper.

She quickly gulps, as though needing to calm herself. Could she want me, as much as I want her?

"Our eggs are going to burn," Jamie yells. "I need a good breakfast for this hike. Cook or give me the spatula."

Dany and I jump apart, our faces now beet red. Our friends laugh, Jamie is the only one not amused. He huffs while checking the food for himself. He is a cranky little bitch when hungry, but I'm used to it.

We resume cooking - the moment has passed, as we just smile at each other.

++o++

"According to my map we are halfway to the big waterfall, but we can sit for a minute and rest if you guys want," Tyrion offers.

"Yes, please!" Shae and Gilly say in unison.

I left Ghost with Dickon and his friends today. We didn't want to risk this hike being too much for the dog. I glance over at Dany, and I'm impressed at how fit she is. I forgot that the day we drove up and set up camp, she was hiking away from those assholes for many hours. I open my canteen and offer her a drink first. Dany and I packed our backpacks as a couple. I'm carrying our water, and she has our food. It's what the other couples are doing for today's hike.

More than anything I want us to actually be a couple.

The hike so far has had some strenuous parts. Several times, I held Dany's hand to help pull her up a deep incline. My face warms remembering that we'd held hands longer than necessary - often with our fingers intertwined. This can't all be in my mind.

I glance at her, and she is smiling and talking to Tyrion and Shae. They are explaining how they met. Tyrion snidely comments that meeting Shae was the one redeemable thing he could say about my ex, Ygritte. Dany's brow furrows. Maybe she is caught off guard by Tyrion's strong feelings.

Tyrion detested my ex-girlfriend, but he can admit he only met Shae because of her. Last semester Ygritte and Shae worked together in a bar near campus. Tyrion and I were on our way to dinner, and I made him come with me to say hi to Ygritte. The rest is history.

"Would you like some trail mix?" Dany offers as she scoots closer to me.

"I'll have anything you are offering," I smile at Dany, trying to flirt. She gives me a handful of trail mix without noticing.

Okay, I need to work on my flirting skills. Where the hell is Tyrion to coach me? I think about how I've never had to pursue a woman before. Before Dany, it's always been so easy.

Maybe too easy.

"So, did any of your friends like Ygritte?" Dany asks quietly as her eyes meet mine. She seems curious, but not upset in any way.

"That's a hard question to answer." I say honestly, pausing to organize my thoughts.

Dany nods and looks away.

I've noticed that she doesn't push me for information or details. She did the same thing when she saw my reaction to having my shirt off. I know she cares, but she won't demand information that I'm not willing to give.

I also know that if I want a chance with her I have to be open and honest. I want a good relationship. I trust her. She deserves to be able to trust me as well.

"Ygritte is not an awful person, she really isn't," I admit slowly. "And if I'm honest with myself...I could have been a better boyfriend, had I wanted to be."

Dany's eyes dart over, meeting mine as we stare at each other.

"Ygritte was my girlfriend, but I never imagined a future with her. Ever," I continue. "She was a really aggressive person. She was just the girl that pursued me at the right moment, and it worked out. She and I were on the same page for a long time. We were in a committed relationship, but just a casual and fun thing. One day to the next, she decided that she wanted to be married, and expected me to go along with her change of plans."

Dany nods with understanding, and she gives me a small smile.

"Did she know how popular you were with your students?" Dany asks pointedly.

"She did," I frown at the memory. "To be honest some of her own friends made passes at me. Obviously they weren't true friends to begin with."

"It must've been hard on her, knowing that other women are hitting on you left and right," Dany insists. "Offering you sex after a three minute conversation."

I hear the uncertainty and reservation in Dany's voice. I remember telling her that I had only had a three minute conversation with Melisande the day before our run in at the showers. I don't think we're talking about Ygritte anymore.

I feel dread. I don't like where this conversation is going. But I have to be honest, it's all I can do. I just got away from a demanding and conniving girlfriend. Now I need honesty across the board.

I pause to calm down, I feel like I am on a job interview. I hate that Dany sees me as some asshole that has women throwing themselves at me all the time. But I also know it's true.

"Dany, Ygritte was not fazed at all about the students or even her lame friends," I say. "She was confident in herself. More importantly - she trusted me."

Moments of silence pass. Neither of us say anything as we drink water from the canteen.

Then suddenly it's as though a decision is made in Dany's mind. Shrugging, she smiles brightly at me.

"That's great Jon," she laughs halfheartedly. "You're right, there are girls out there that wouldn't be bothered at all. That is so not me! It would drive me insane to have a boyfriend where I had to beat girls off with a stick. I'd be miserable."

Dany hops up and offers to pick up the trash from the group as she did after yesterday's lunch. I stay seated and frown.

Why do I feel like I was just dismissed? Like it was Dany's way of telling me that we won't be dating?

Because that's exactly what she means, dummy.

We get up and continue our hike to Ouzel Falls. We come across several smaller falls and cascades that only motivate us to keep going.

Tackling one especially steep part of the terrain, we all work together to help whomever needs assistance. Jamie and Brienne are pretty badass and can do it alone because of their tall height, both are skilled enough of hikers to help the others. Jamie and I help Shae, and then I help pull Dany up, and I pull her into my arms.

"Thanks, Jon!" she says quickly while squirming to put distance between us. "You should help Jamie with Gilly, she seemed nervous about this part."

I nod carefully, watching as Dany gives me a small smile and then turns and walks away. I stand there and frown gloomily.

Once we keep moving, I notice that Gilly and Brienne link arms with Dany and enjoy an easier part of the hike.

"What happened with Dany?" Sam asks quietly so no can hear us.

"What do you mean?" I snap.

Sam rolls his eyes at me.

"Don't play dumb or get all brooding with me. At breakfast she was two steps away from jumping in your arms and sucking your face off," Sam says. "And now, she is treating you as if you are her older brother or something."

I frown, the ache in my chest is painful because he's right. She is treating me like I have been sent to the "friend zone," a guy's worst nightmare when he is pursuing a girl.

"Look, Jon," Sam says. "I've been your friend for years now. I've always enjoyed the comical aspect to your dating life. Seeing which sexy pushy girl happened to pounce on you at the right time. Don't get me wrong, it has been fun and comical to watch."

I roll my eyes, so glad my dating adventures have been a source of entertainment for my friend.

"But this isn't funny," Sam says softly. "Dany is an amazing girl, I've never seen you light up with anyone else the way you do with her. Jamie and Brienne have a lot of good things to say and they've known her since freshman year. I just don't want to see you blow it." I hear the concern in his voice.

I already have, but it's not my fault!

"Sam, it's complicated," I growl. "Dany isn't into me. She basically just told me that she couldn't handle dating someone with the constant pressure of other girls. It's not like I ask for it!"

"First, lower your voice. Second, you're acting like a damn blind fool," Sam admonishes me, his tone as sharp as nails. My frown deepens, I’m not used to Sam being so blunt.

I frown and shake my head. What does he want me to do?

"Let me remind you, this is the same girl that you have been thinking about for almost a year," Sam points out. "You know she is special, you told me you saw it right away. Remember?"

I nod, admitting how I've felt for a long time.

"I care about you. I hope you know that you deserve good in your life. Your stepmother is a cruel person, you didn't deserve the cards you were dealt. That shit is on her. Don't let her ugliness tear you down anymore," Sam finishes softly.

I lower my eyes and nod. Sam's right. I often doubt myself, which is probably one of the reasons I've never pursued someone that I really wanted to date. I've just been snapped up by the wrong girls.

I turn to watch Dany walking with Gilly and Brienne. Dany is talking animatedly and gesturing. Brienne is hysterically laughing while Gilly's mouth hangs open. I catch enough words to guess the story is about their freshman year in the dorms.

I smile watching them, Dany is gorgeous, funny and kind. No one has ever made me feel the way she does.

I'm not giving up on Dany without a fight.

++o++

Ouzel Falls is breathtaking, the drop more than forty feet through a sliver in the dark rock wall surrounding it. The water flows into a pool filled with boulders and fallen trees. There are small pools of water that are calm and perfect for wading.

The storm that rolled through last night must have scared other hikers away. Our group is the only one up here. It is very hot and sunny today, just what you would expect in early July.

We pick a spot where the huge boulders are flat. The boulders make a perfect place to set down our gear and have lunch after we explore the falls. Our group brought up two sunblock tubes to share. I grab one tube and slip my hand into Dany's hand. I pull her aside so we can help each other. She smiles at me and follows.

I am wearing a rash guard shirt that protects me from the sun while also covering my chest and back. I still need help applying sunblock to the back of my neck so I ask Dany. She also does my face, and she is very careful not to get any sunblock in my eyes. She bites her lip while applying it. I reach out and place my hands gently on her waist. Her mouth falls open for a moment, but I just smile at her innocently. She gulps and then moves on to put sunblock on the tops of my ears.

"Okay, your turn, Dany." I say and wait for her to slip out of her shirt and shorts.

Dany slides her shorts down, and then pauses for a moment before taking her shirt off, blushing furiously. She wasn't kidding, it is the sexiest bathing suit I've ever seen. Dany holds her shirt to her chest and looks away from me.

"Just put lotion on my back and shoulders please," she squeaks while frowning and turning her chest away from me.

I can see how uncomfortable she is, and it's more of a modesty issue. I slather my hands with sunblock and thoroughly run my hands over her shoulders and then down her back. I also do the back of her arms and pull her closer to me.

I add more lotion to my hand and do the back of her neck, while also working out any kinks in her shoulders.

I lean over and whisper in her ear. "Dany, you are so beautiful," I say. "Stunning...you have nothing to be embarrassed about."

Dany turns her head to meet me gaze and smiles. "Thank you, Jon," she replies.

She instantly seems to relax and tosses the shirt she had been carrying with her pile of stuff.

My talk with Sam runs through my mind, I need to convince her that I am the right guy for her. I know it. I know it as much as I know she is the right girl for me.

The water pools are magnificent, and we all go for a swim.

The girls are being especially silly and happy. I feel a twinge of envy at how affectionate Gilly is with Sam. Gilly and Sam are like family to me, and I feel a twinge of sadness because I'm desperate to be close to Dany.

Brienne insists on taking photos from outside the pools, due to the whole iPhone and water thing not being a good idea. Gilly agrees to switch with Brienne after so she can be in the pictures too.

I pull Dany into my arms so Gilly can get a picture of us in the water. Dany blushes but wraps her arms around me. It's a wonderful excuse to hold her close to me. After I tease Dany, asking if she is tired and needs me to carry her again. I offer to let her hold onto my back while I swim.

"Like a baby monkey?" she scowls and laughs at the same time. "No thank you, Jon."

"I was thinking more honeymoon and past the threshold," I joke and gently cup her face, brushing my thumb across her lips.

For the first time in my entire life, the idea of marriage crosses my mind. I can actually picture myself having forever with her. I get lost in my own thoughts for a moment.

Dany is watching me intently, so I snap out of it and smile at her. That would be a great way for me to scare the crap out of her. I will keep these thoughts to myself.

The girls play 'model' while the guys do some laps - and race, of course.

Playing photographer, Tyrion is making the 'models' take turns, Shae is laughing hysterically at how bossy he is. Tyrion may have found the perfect woman as well.

Striking a pose for the camera, Dany wades over to stand in front of the falls. She is laughing as she poses with her arms outstretched. The water reaches her lower waist right below the start of her bikini bottom, and her long hair flows down her back. I breathe in and out to calm myself. I am getting excited just looking at her.

What the hell is wrong with me? I am acting like a horny sixteen year old! But I know the answer, it's her. I'm crazy about her in every way.

Sam notices her too, leaning over to me he whispers."You are so very lucky there are no other single guys in this group," Sam says. "They would be going nuts for a chance with Dany. Jon, you better figure your issues out...and soon."

"I know, I've just got to convince her," I say with determination.

Sam smiles and lets me know that he and Gilly are ready to help in any way they can. They are good friends.

Everyone is having a great time, except for Tyrion. He is peeved no one else wants to play chicken against him and Shae. He tries again to convince Dany to do it, "I know if you tell Jon you want to play, he'll do it. I'm pretty sure he would do anything for you, Dany," Tyrion says innocently, with Shae nodding in agreement.

"Not going to happen, Tyrion. I hate that game. And I am wearing a bikini top that feels ready to fly off my body at any moment," Dany laughs.

"I'm not seeing the issue," Tyrion deadpans as Shae snickers. Her suit is equally revealing.

Dany rolls her eyes, and I've seen enough to want to step into the fray.

"Tyrion, I am going to spend some time alone with Dany. Go away," I smile.

Tyrion waggles his brows at us and then races Shae across the water to give us privacy. I notice he lets her win, and she is ecstatic.

Dany looks at me and smiles, so I pull her close to me in the water. She looks nervous for a moment and then relaxes in my arms.

"I wanted to continue the conversation we were having earlier," I whisper in her ear while holding her close to me.

"Oh?" Dany mumbles sheepishly, with her fingertips resting lightly on my shoulders.

"Yes," I say seriously, staring into her eyes. She nods in agreement. "You know, I’m just a normal guy. The truth is, it doesn't matter to me how many girls flirt or offer it up. I am trustworthy and loyal. I would never hurt you in that way."

I pause while searching her face for a reaction. She is listening to every word, with her eyes studying mine intently.

"I also have one key clarification from our conversation earlier," I lean my forehead against hers before continuing. "If you were my girlfriend, you wouldn't have to beat other girls off with a stick alone. I'd be right there helping as well."

Dany bites her lip and then giggles softly. Her hands move from my shoulder to wrap around my neck, as she pulls me closer to give me a kiss on the cheek.

We end up splashing around and enjoying a swim, Dany tries unsuccessfully to "drown me," but is unable to push me under the water, even when jumping on my back and trying. I greatly enjoy her numerous attempts, but I finally pull her close to me.

"Come here, no more drowning attempts. There are much better ways for us to exert energy," I smirks at her seductively.

Her eyes light up with delight as we embrace and hold one another closely. We share a smile before I gently plant a kiss where her shoulder and neck meet. I quickly realize it's a ticklish spot. Dany squirms in my arms but doesn't break away.

Her laughter rings in my ear, and it's the best sound.

Her smile falters for a moment as her fingertips tracing the seams of my rash guard.

"Do you wear this because of...what happened with your stepmother growing up?" she murmurs gently.

I gulp, meeting her gaze and nod to confirm her thoughts.

She pulls me even closer, pressing her chest against mine as I really appreciate Shae's tastes in bathing suits.

"I wish you didn't feel that you have to, you are perfect - exactly as you are," Dany assures me, similar to how I persuaded her earlier to be comfortable in the sexy bathing suit.

"If we were alone, I would be comfortable going without the shirt," I assure her while sliding my hand to cradle her face.

Dany and I stare at each other, our eyes alternating between our lips and eyes.

I lick my lower lip nervously, "Maybe one day we can come back here...alone?" I ask her with a small amount of in trepidation.

Dany meets my gaze confidently. "I'd love that, Jon," she responds.

I lean over and press my lips to her mouth lightly. Her body responding to me as she trembles. I think she's as nervous as I am. Each time our lips meet, we both give a little more, until our kisses are passionate and loving as our tongues move in a slow dance. My hands roam up and down her sides and back, the feeling of her bare skin only adding to my excitement. Dany's hands are holding onto my shoulders to keep us close. Her hands occasionally touching my hair.

Our kiss during the dare was really good. This is different because we are kissing because we choose to. This kiss is a promise for what is to come.

"Guys, it's getting late. Let's eat!" Jamie calls out, breaking us from our daze.

We smile and kiss one last time before looking around. To everyone's credit, no one is looking anywhere near our direction, giving us a small sense of privacy.

"Tonight, when we are able to be alone, I want to talk more about us, okay?" I ask Dany and smile sheepishly. I want to make us official, but it's also a conversation I want to have when we are alone.

"Yes, definitely," Dany smiles.

We swim over to the rocks and get out of the water; Dany and I had agreed to share a towel so we wouldn't need two. I let her dry off first, of course, forcing myself to look away as she does.

"I can't believe our weekend is almost over," Gilly says sadly while giving Sam a back massage.

"Yeah, it will take us even longer to hike down with the incline, we'll probably get back to camp just in time for dinner," Jamie says. He jokingly asks me if I want to be his sous-chef tonight.

I say no while throwing a grape at him, which he skillfully catches in his mouth. The girls laugh at us.

"We have to be completely packed up and out by ten o'clock tomorrow morning. I already checked, another party has rented our site starting tomorrow," Sam instructs. We all agree that packing most of the gear tonight is the way to go.

As our rest time is winding down, and we are mostly dried off, Sam calls me over to show me something. He has his backpack on him. Gilly winks at me while passing me as she walks over to the girls that are looking at their "modeling" pictures on Tyrion's phone and laughing at themselves.

"What's up?" I ask Sam.

"Do you have pockets with a zipper in those cargo shorts?" he asks.

"Um, yeah?"

"Just in case, better safe than sorry. Take a couple of these," Sam says. He slips two foil packages in my hand. "I'm assuming you didn't bring any as you weren't planning on finding your soulmate on this trip," he smiles.

I quickly shove them in my pocket and close the zipper.

"I am pretty sure that is not going to happen tonight; but just in case, it's better to have them and not need them than the other way around. Thanks, buddy," I say.

We all pack up and get ready for the long hike back to camp.

++o++

We are all exhausted as we trudge back to our camp site after using the facilities at the campground entrance. Jamie is trying to convince us that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches would be a much more enjoyable meal than the grilled chicken and corn on the cob we have slated for dinner.

He looks at Dany for back up, but she laughs at him.

"Sorry Jamie, you lost my vote at the threat of taking away corn on the cob," Dany says.

He pouts because if anyone in our group would have given him a pass, it would have been Dany.

With Brienne on his one side, and Dany momentarily walking on his other, he agrees to make the dinner we had planned. Dany is the best cook we have, and she smiles at him and promises to help him cook.

"We'll have it done in no time. You'll see!" Dany promises brightly.

Jamie smiles and announces to us that Dany is the nicest person in our group. He picks her up good-naturedly and twirls her around. Her laughter rings out as she demands he put her down. The rest of us join in her laughter, too.

"Well, isn't this nice. And here I was worried sick about you, Dany," a guy hisses, stepping out from behind the trees at our campsite. A second guy follows behind him, and moves to stand next to him. I recognize Joffrey immediately from class last year. I can only assume the guy who spoke is Drogo.

My jaw clenches as my eyes narrow.

Jamie places Dany down but stands his ground. Dany looks like a deer caught in headlights, her face expressionless although her eyes open wide.

"I mean this is hysterical. We have been frantically looking for you, and all along you are here – living it up with another group," Drogo spits. "I met Dickon, nice kid. He knew right away where you were and with whom. Did you have fun at the falls today, sweetie?"

"Go away, Drogo, we are done," Dany says firmly.

"I'm ready to leave when you are, Dany. I took the liberty of packing your crap," Drogo spits. Drogo has Dany's hiking backpack that had been in my tent along with her rolled up sleeping bag. These little assholes went through our camp’s stuff.

"Enough games, let's go," Drogo steps toward Dany as she steps back.

"Drogo, we broke up. I don't even know why you are here. I'm not going anywhere with you," Dany says firmly, her eyes darting between Drogo and Joffrey.

A dark look crosses Drogo's face.

"Imagine my surprise finding your things in some guy's tent. You look really familiar. Do we know each other? Are you Jon?" Drogo snaps while scowling at Jamie, who had been standing next to Dany. All of the gear in my tent is labeled with my name.

"Don't worry about who I am, get the hell out of here. This is our camp site and you are not welcome," Jamie says calmly.

"I'm Jon," I say as I walk over to stand next to Dany. Without caring what this little shit thinks, I slip my hand into hers and squeeze it.

I don't think it even occurred to Drogo that she would move on so quickly. Even with her things in my tent, it isn't uncommon for people to share tents as needed and there was a storm that rolled through last night. A combination of disbelief and rage crosses his face. Even Joffrey behind him looks stunned. Drogo steps closer to us, now standing directly in front of Dany. Jamie and I stand at her sides.

"Are you kidding me, Dany? We have one fight, and this is what you do?" Drogo shouts at her, then turns his attention to me. "Get your damn hands off of my girl."

"She's not your anything," I snap.

"Please, Drogo. Just go," Dany pleads. She looks terribly uncomfortable.

"You damn slut! What happened? You had to try to earn your keep in order to join their camping group? I guess you had to work for your rations like a tramp," Drogo hisses.

It happens so quickly. I reach forward to grab Drogo's shirt with my free hand demanding he apologize to her.

Instinctively, Jamie picks up Dany at the same time and drags both her and Brienne away from Drogo and me.

The next thing I know Drogo sucker punches me in the face. I was not expecting it, and I feel the rush of blood from my nose. The bastard then comes at me again. This time I'm ready and sidestep him. I don't even want to fight him. He's a punk and pissed he lost Dany. I just want him to apologize and get the hell out.

Drogo is enraged, and will not stop. Next thing I know, he has tackled me to the ground. We are rolling around and both throwing punches.

I hear Jamie warn Joffrey to stay out of it, unless he wants to make it a three-on-two fight, meaning that both Jamie and Tyrion would jump in.

The girls are pleading for someone to break it up. This is not how I wanted my relationship with Dany to start.

I finally get Drogo in a headlock and hold him still. "Drogo, enough. This is over. Just get the hell out of here and take Joffrey with you," I command. Drogo is furious that I have the upper hand.

Dany has tears streaming down her face as Gilly and Brienne comfort her, but they look equally distressed.

"Screw this shit!" Drogo scream. "Get the hell off of me."

I sigh while releasing him and stepping away. Drogo isn't badly injured. I made it a point to not hit him hard until I could get him in a headlock and end the fight. After his initial sucker punch, he never got a good hit in either. Until this point, it was more of a ridiculous wrestling match.

Drogo scowls at me and turns to walk away. He takes a couple of steps before stopping in front of Dany and turning back to face me.

"Enjoy this bitch, Jon," Drogo scowls. "You've probably figured this out by now, but Dany is completely frigid. Good luck with that. Hope you enjoyed having some kind of a sex life until now."

Dany gasps, mortified that he would say that in front of everyone. Angry tears fill her eyes.

Drogo frowns at seeing her reaction, and for a moment I think he is going to apologize for hurting her feelings. Instead he roughly grabs her by the arm.

"Enough Dany, let's go. You had your fun, but it's over!" Drogo snaps while yanking her towards him.

Dany gasps sharply as Drogo turns and roughly begins pulling her behind him while he trudges away. Even Joffrey looks stunned.

Drogo stumbles when Dany pulls her arm back. Almost tripping, he pulls Dany down at the same time. Dany's chin hits the corner of the picnic table, and she shrieks in pain.

I don't even hear what Drogo is saying as he leans over to check on her.

I see red. That was the last straw for me. I lunge for Drogo and punch him in the throat. An odd gurgling sound comes out of his mouth. I drag him away from Dany and tackle him to the ground and begin swinging. I don't even register the girls screaming and crying, begging me to stop. Joffrey tries to pull me off, so I punch him once in the nose and he falls back. I'm too enraged to stop.

"Jon, stop! Enough!" Sam shouts. He and Jamie both work together to drag me off of Drogo, who remains on the ground, not moving.

"You bastard, how dare you touch her. I'll kill you!" I grunt while struggling to get back to Drogo.

"Shut your mouth and come with me now!" Sam hollers at me. Sam has me by the shirt collar and is dragging me for a walk towards my tent. I am so mad that I am shaking.

We keep walking, past my tent and then further into the forest.

"What the hell, Jon!" Sam yells. "I was afraid you were going to hurt him to the point of earning yourself some damn jail time. You were out of control, reel it back in."

Dany. I need to see her. I turn around and start walking back to camp.

"No way!" Sam stops me. "You and I are going to keep walking until you calm the hell down. Seriously, stop it. Jamie is with the girls and Dickon's group came running when they heard the girls screaming and crying."

I frown, but nod. Sam is right. I lost control. Sam uses his finger to make a loud whistle, and suddenly Ghost runs to our side.

"Come on Ghost, you can help me calm Jon down...and avoid jail," Sam grumbles as we walk.

++o++

I feel anxious as we walk back towards our camp. I regret leaving Dany behind while Drogo and Joffrey were still there. But I was out of control and holding on by a thread. I trust Jamie and Dickon's group were able to kick them out.

As soon as I step into our shared area by the fire pit, I sense something is wrong. The girls have a look of dread on their faces. I scan quickly in search of Dany, but she is nowhere to be found.

"Where's Dany?" I immediately ask.

"Jon, why don't you sit down? Let's get you some ice for those hands," Gilly offers.

I frown, looking around again.

"Seriously, where is Dany?" I repeat.

"Jon, she was upset," Gilly sighs. "The whole fight was so violent. It was just an ugly situation."

"Gilly," I warn. I need to her to spit it out.

"Look, all we know is that she picked up her camping gear and left," Gilly says. "They sent a ranger over to take Drogo to the infirmary. Dany didn't say a word to any of us. Even when we tried to talk to her, she begged us to leave her alone." I see that it pains her to tell me this.

Dany is gone?

"Well look who's back from his anger-management walk," Joffrey says snidely.

We all frown as Joffrey enters our camp. He is holding up his hands as if to say that he is not there to fight.

"Believe me, this is the last place I wanted to come back to," Joffrey scowls. "Drogo left his bag with the car keys in it."

Joffrey motions to the tree they stepped out from behind, and he picks up a backpack we can only assume is theirs.

"You know, when you were my teacher last year," Joffrey turns to face me, "I used to think you were so damn smart. But you're an idiot. This is a little game Dany and Drogo play with each other. It makes their love life more exciting. After all that, you don't even get the girl. She's with him again, taking care of his sorry ass like always."

Blood rushes to my face, a sick feeling settling in my stomach.

"I almost forgot," he laughs. "Dany changed clothes at the main entrance, she asked me to bring this back and return to someone named Sandy or Shanna something?"

Shae's eyes widen at seeing her bikini. Dany had been wearing it when we got back from the falls. Joffrey holds it up so that it dangles, smirking at it.

"This is some sexy shit, Shanna," Joffrey says. "Too bad I didn't get a chance to see Dany wearing it. She made me leave the room before she changed. I think she wanted to give Drogo a private show. Those two freaks...always fighting and then making up."

Tyrion snatches the bathing suit out of Joffrey's hands, and then walks Shae back to their tent.

Before I process what Joffrey is saying about Dany, I decide to deal with him first. I step closer to Joffrey.

"You know Joffrey, I wonder what your friend Drogo, or his cousin Margaery, would say if they were to find out how you're always harassing Dany?" I ask him.

Joffrey looks startled.

"And don't forget, as your teacher last semester I saw first-hand how you leered at Dany in my class," I continue. "Your sick game is up. Dany may be too nice to blow you and your bullshit out of the water, but I'm not."

Joffrey looks worried.

"I don't care if Dany marries Drogo tomorrow...you had better leave her the hell alone and knock off your sexual harassment," I tell Joffrey as I step closer. "Do we understand each other?"

"Yes, I understand," he snaps.

Joffrey rolls his eyes. He walks away and then stops one last time.

"Hey Jon, Dany is with Drogo and going to ride back with us," he calls. "Anything you want me to tell her on your behalf?" The smirk on his face is loud and clear. He is taunting me.

"Just get the hell out of here, Joffrey," I snap.

As soon as he is gone, my friends walk over to comfort me, which only makes me feel worse. How could she do this? I'm such a fool.

I'm pissed and heartbroken at the same time. I shake my head and tell the group I need to be alone. They nod in understanding.

I go to my tent and lie down, my heart aching. All of her things gone. I can't believe after all that, she went back to him. Joffrey's words ring in my ear, "This is a little game that Dany and Drogo play with each other."

How could I be so stupid? I was so sure I meant something to her. Bitter tears fill my eyes, but I blink them away. I refuse to cry over her.

The good news...now I know the girl I've been pining for doesn't really exist. Now I can let her go, and be done.

I close my eyes, trying to sleep. Maybe then I can get some reprieve from the sadness I feel.

Sleep doesn't come. Instead conversations, looks, and warm embraces play over and over in my mind. I sit up, struggling to reconcile what I feel for her in my heart with the fact that she left camp, she left me, and with what Joffrey produced as evidence.

I remember the beautiful girl I met in my classes last year. She was always respectful and kind to everyone around her. She was warm and genuine. I think about that day in February when she entered my office. I couldn't help but stare at her because the bright girl I knew from class was shattered and heartbroken. I never touch people, and I don't really like to be touched myself.

I surprised myself when I pulled her into my arms and held her that day. I think I needed her as much as she needed me. Holding her felt so right. We've never talked about that day.

Joffrey is right. I really am an idiot.

A complete idiot to believe a word Joffrey said, an idiot to doubt Dany for even a minute.

I do know her. In fact, I'm crazy about her, unlike anything I've ever felt before.

I allowed my insecurities and jealousy to cloud my judgement for a moment, and I will give Joffrey credit...he was convincing.

I do trust her.

Even if she was worried about Drogo because of the beating I gave him, she would have made sure he was okay, but I know she isn't going back to him.

I jump up from the floor of my tent. I don't know where she went, but I need to find her.

I run out of the tent yelling for my friends to meet me at the fire pit.

"Guys, I don't care what it looks like. Dany would never go back to him. I don't know why she's not here, but I know she cares about me. And I...well, truth is I'm crazy about her. I've got to find her!" I spit out.

I am rewarded with smiles and encouragement. I get my hiking backpack and flashlight, we have a couple of hours before it gets dark, but just in case. Gilly reminds me that Ghost is a great tracking dog. Brienne brings out her bathing suit that Dany was just wearing.

Everyone wishes me luck as I take off in search of Dany.

++o++

I walk towards the main entrance of Aspenglen campgrounds, with Ghost leading the way. I figure I'll check in with the ranger's station first in case they've seen her.

I enter the park ranger offices, glad I caught them right before they closed for the day. I look around the lobby and I see her. Dany is sitting on a bench with her gear at her feet, with her eyes red and puffy from crying. I do a double take because I was not expecting to see her here.

She doesn't notice me. She seems to be lost in thought while staring at the ground. I slowly approach.

"Penny for your thoughts," I say quietly when I am standing next to her.

She gasps and looks up, but the moment our eyes meet, she looks away and sniffles softly.

"Dany, come here. Please. Talk to me," I say. I sit down next to her and pull her into my arms to comfort her.

She pulls away and looks into my eyes.

"Jon, I'm sorry. I ruined everything. All that drama, the things Drogo said, and your fight with him...it scared me how violent you were with Drogo...I just had to get away. I don't think I'm good for you."

"Is that what you think, that you aren't good for me?" I ask incredulously.

"Well, I'm not!" she snaps.

"Dany, I'm sorry...I've never lost control that way. When he had his hands on you, and then you got hurt...I lost control. I'm not proud of it, at all. It is something I am going to work on, I don't want that to ever happen again," I pause to reach over and check her chin, it is badly bruised but the skin didn't break. "I'm sorry I scared you, it won't happen again."

Dany nods, her eyes show understanding and forgiveness.

"Also, Drogo is a jerk and Joffrey too," I say. "But nothing was ruined, especially not by you. It was one bad part of a great camping trip, that's all. No one is upset with you, Dany. In fact everyone was worried you left. Especially since Joffrey came back to camp and told us you had made up with Drogo..." my voice trails off, the pain I felt creeping back to mind.

"What? Joffrey said that?" She looks confused.

"Yeah, he brought back Shae’s bikini and told us that you were riding back with them. He told me that you and Drogo always break up and then make up," I finish painfully.

Dany places her hand on my cheek, searching my eyes. I frown because I had been so hurt at the idea of it all just being a sick game. She pulls me close, wrapping her arms around me. I allow myself to enjoy her warmth.

"That must have hurt you; I hate that Joffrey did that. But it's not true, Drogo and I were done before I even ran into you," she states firmly.

Dany looks confused for a moment, as though she is trying to work something out in her head.

"I didn't want to keep Shae’s suit so I changed in the bathroom," she explains. "I then asked the woman at the Lost and Found to please deliver it back to your camp tonight. I even told her what lot number it was and watched her write down Shae’s name. I do remember Joffrey was in the lobby waiting for Drogo, who was getting medical attention. I didn't even think he saw what I was doing at the Lost and Found. What an ass!"

I laugh with relief. Joffrey is a snake in the grass. We agree he probably offered to make the delivery himself.

I smile and pull her into my arms. She hugs me back.

After some time, the park rangers let us know they are locking up, telling Dany they can give her a ride to Estes Park if she still wants it.

"Dany, don't go. Please," I beg. "Stay with me."

She nods before turning to the ranger.

"Thank you so much, but I won't be needing that ride after all," Dany tells him.

++o++

As we have a couple more hours of light and our gear, we decide to go for a short hike. Before heading out, we see one of Dickon's friends. I ask him to tell Sam and Gilly that I found Dany, and tell them that Dany is safe and with me. He also takes Ghost back to camp. He was one of the boys that ran to our camp during my fight with Drogo. He tells us that he is glad things are settling down.

We walk in comfortable silence while holding hands. I run my fingertips down her palm, and she shivers and smiles. When we get to a pretty spot, I stop and pull her close to me. Dany wraps her arms tightly around me.

"I'm going to kiss you now, I mean really kiss you," I say while pulling her entire body tightly against mine. I feel her shiver in anticipation, her lips parting as her violet eyes stare at my lips.

I press my mouth to hers and immediately push my tongue into her mouth. I kiss her frantically, I need to feel her. I need to show her how much she means to me. One arm on my shoulder and the other gently pulling on the curls at the bottom of my head, Dany appears to be equally desperate for me.

We kiss for what feels like minutes, but the darkness of dusk tells us differently.

"Jon, it's getting dark. We should head back to camp." Dany says slowly, alternating kisses to my lips, neck and cheek in between each word she whispers.

"I did bring a flashlight, so we could stay right here and keep kissing," I say hopefully, although Dany is already shaking her head no.

"I'm also starving, I am guessing there are some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches waiting for us." She giggles while grabbing my hand and leading me back towards camp.

++o++

Everyone was so relieved when I brought Dany back to the camp. She admitted that she felt so bad about what happened with Drogo and that she felt stressed that she may have ruined the trip. The group immediately put her at ease.

I now sit in my camping chair with Dany on my lap. We are sharing s'mores while snuggling. As much as I'm enjoying our last campfire with the group, I am anxious to get Dany back to our tent to be alone.

When no one is looking we steal short kisses and smile at each other. Dany bites her lower lip and leans down to kiss my neck.

"I wish we were alone," Dany whispers. My cheeks flush with excitement, I'm hoping she wants to be alone with me as much as I want to...and for the same reasons.

"Me too. We will be soon," I assure her.

As we are enjoying our beers, we go around and make toasts. When it's Sam's turn, he holds up his beer. He has consumed his fair share of beers tonight.

"I want to make a toast to Dany. I've never seen my best friend as happy and alive as he has been this trip. And let me add," Sam motions with his hands towards me and Dany, "I've never ever seen Jon be so loving and affectionate. Who knew that the same girl that I've been hearing about for almost a year would be the one to join our camping trip? To Dany!" Sam says, his voice full of emotion.

We all take a drink.

"Sam, what did you mean...you've been hearing about me for a year?" Dany asks. She looks genuinely confused.

The entire group is silent, and Sam's eyes widen as he takes a large drink from his beer.

I feel the blood rush to my cheeks as I lean over and kiss Dany on her shoulder. She turns to look at me, her eyebrows raised.

"On that note, I think Dany and I are going to call it a night. I do want to explain everything to her, but I also want to do it in private," I smile as the group laughs.

Sam looks mortified and apologetic.

"It's okay, Sam. I was going to tell her tonight anyway," I say to him.

We say goodnight and then use our lantern to walk to our tent. Dany leans up and kisses my cheek.

"Be ready to explain when we get to the tent," she teases me and then pinches my butt to stress her seriousness.

++o++

Once we are inside the tent, with our shoes kicked off, I pull her into my arms, kissing her forehead.

"I really care about you Dany, and I have for a while. I want you to know the truth," I begin.

She looks at me, confused. I clear my throat nervously.

"I've mentioned you a few times over the last year to Sam," I confess. "I've always felt a connection to you. I would have loved to get to know you better, even as a friend. The truth is, part of me always wanted more from you...since the day I met you."

"Wow...Jon. I'm actually shocked. I had no idea," Dany blushes while examining me. "So, why didn't you try to get to know me better?"

"First, I knew you had a boyfriend, and I was with Ygritte. And second, you were so aloof...I was sure you were not even remotely attracted to me," I mumble.

Dany starts laughing while shaking her head, she sits on the sleeping bag still chuckling.

"Are you kidding? I had a crush on you the moment I laid eyes on you," she says, her eyes bright with excitement. "But in all fairness, I did decide not to think about you that way because so many girls were after you. It was annoying."

Dany explains her visualization exercise that kept her emotions in check. A sixty-year old with eight grandkids, ha!

"Also, right before Ghost and I found you in the woods," I say in a rush, "the group played a game of Never Have I Ever. I admitted having a serious crush on you. Imagine my horror when Jamie and Brienne knew exactly who I was talking about. When I brought you back to camp, everyone knew who you were already. I wasn't sure if they'd play it cool!"

Dany blushes and then moves closer to me. I hold my breath as she pulls me towards her for a kiss.

I cup her face and pull away from her so I can look at her, studying every feature on her face, committing this moment to memory. I have to tell her how I feel. I don't care if it's too fast. It's what my heart is telling me.

"I'm crazy about you...like nothing I've ever felt before," I smile at her nervously. "I've been waiting until the right moment to ask you something."

"The right moment? Ask me what?" she says, smiling too.

"Yeah," I whisper, "and I just don't want to frighten you."

"You can say anything to me. You should know better, Jon," Dany says.

"Fine, then here goes. I really like you, a lot. And I know this is fast, but I really want us to date...exclusively," I tell Dany.

Her eyes light up and a smile breaks out on her face.

"I would like that too, Jon," she whispers.

"Dany, will you be my girlfriend?" I ask hopefully.

"Absolutely, now kiss me," she demands.

"Dany, you are amazing," I whisper, before giving her a kiss.

++o++

We spent hours gently kissing while talking about our lives, holding each other while lying on top of our sleeping bags. It's a much warmer night without the storm.

Our kisses are loving and slow, as I let my hands roam up and down her body. Then Dany pauses and guides my hands under her shirt as I explore her body.

"Dany," I moan her name softly as I discover she isn't wearing a bra. My need for her is overwhelming.

"Jon, I don't want to go too fast - at least not having sex tonight," Dany whispers while resting her forehead to mine.

"Neither do I," I nod in agreement. "I really want this to work. There's no rush. Let's really get to know each other. I want to know every part of you."

"Well, when you say things like that, you make it hard to be wise," Dany giggles before deepening our kiss and rolling onto her back and pulling me with her.

"Dany," I whisper as I situate myself on top of her. I know she can feel how hard my dick is.

With her lips parted and panting, I can see the lust in her eyes. She wraps her legs around me while pulling off my shirt. Her hands touch my chest and then she pulls me close. Dany’s hand resting on my back. I lie down, letting her feel exactly what she does to me. She moans with desire upon feeling my body's reaction to her. I softly pull her lower lip with my teeth in a teasing way before kissing her again.

I kiss her jaw, her neck, I slowly kiss behind her ear as she whimpers. My hands explore her perfect breasts as I lower my mouth to her cleavage while moving her shirt down one shoulder. Her moans encourage me on.

Suddenly I feel her tense, a frown appears on her face. I quickly pull her shirt back up her shoulder.

“Dany?” I ask with concern.

"Jon, what Drogo said about me - the frigid thing." Her cheeks get red as she clears her throat. "Drogo and I had a terrible sex life, thanks to the combination of his excessive drinking and me not being happy in the relationship. But...I don't think...I mean...."

"Dany, I wasn't worried for even a second that you and I are going to have any issues in the passion department. I already know how you react to me. When the time comes, when we are both ready...we are going to be together. Don't worry about that, okay?" I assure her.

"And let me assure you, my 'delivery' percentages will meet with your satisfaction," I promise her confidently with a teasing smile.

Her breath hitches before she runs the tip of her tongue across her lips. "I'm going to hold you to that," Dany says excitedly as she pulls her own shirt off with a wicked smile.

She laughs and pulls me in for a kiss.

I then kiss down her neck, stopping to lick her collarbone before kissing further to take her nipple in my mouth. Dany gasps and pulls my hair while still pushing my head closer to her.

I growl when she rocks her hips against me, grinding her core against my almost painfully hard dick. I look up to see her smirk as she enjoys my reaction. I kiss to the underside of her breast and gently bite her, she shudders while gasping loudly.

She rolls us over so that I’m laying on my back, sitting up she smiles down at me. Dany moves to straddle me as I sharply inhale.

I watch as she slowly and tenderly kisses my jaw, neck and then finally painstakingly kissing down my chest and stomach.

“You are absolutely beautiful, Jon,” she whispers. “Never forget it.”

I nod before quickly flipping her back over as I resume kissing her passionately.

I’ve never felt as close to someone as I do when in Dany’s arms.

++o++

After hours of giving and receiving affection we decide to get ready for sleep.

As we change into our sleepwear and situate our sleeping bags I have an idea.

“What do you think about sleeping by the fire pit. Since it’s our last night camping?” I ask.

Her violet eyes light up as she nods enthusiastically.

I quietly set up our sleeping bags by the pit and Ghost has joined us, demanding pets from Dany. The moment she stops he nudged her hand with his head. She complies happily, Dany is very affectionate with my dog. Who seems to adore her already.

I know the feeling.

With Ghost sleeping at our feet and Dany and I holding each other before sleep we whisper quietly in between gentle kisses.

"We should be getting back to Boulder mid-afternoon at the latest. May I take you out on a date tomorrow night?" I ask hopefully as I kiss her neck. "I'd like to take you to The Mediterranean for dinner. After, we can walk around Pearl Street if you are up for it."

"Jon, I would love to go on a date with you tomorrow. But we don't need to eat at such a fancy restaurant," Dany says firmly, stopping to look me. "I just want to spend time with you. Let's eat at Chipotle, which is also on Pearl Street."

"It's our first real date, let me spoil you," I whisper.

Dany blushes but agrees. I kiss her nose.

"We can agree that our second date will be at Chipotle, which I think should be the following night," I notify her while she giggles and nods in agreement.

I pull her into my arms tightly so we can go to sleep.

It was a rough start, but it became the start of something beautiful.

"Goodnight, Dany," I whisper.

"Goodnight, Jon," she whispers, kissing me one last time before she falls asleep in my arms.

We lie under the stars while enjoying our last night of camping.

++o+ Story End +o++

#jonerys #jonerys fanfic #jonerys ff #jonerys fanfiction #daenerys targaryen #jon snow #GoT #complete #jonerys fics

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yeehawbisexualold · 8 years ago

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Fries, Wine, and Bubble Bath

A little CS honeymoon fic, inspired by Jen, the queen of our ship.

Rated M. Also on ao3

She dips her fingers in the water to test the temperature. Nearly scalding, just how she likes it.

“You know,” Killian murmurs sidling up behind her, wearing nothing but his boxers, pressing himself against her from head to toe and wrapping his arm around her front, tangling his fingers in the ties of her robe. “This has to be one of my favorite things about your realm.”

“What? Did you not have robes in the Enchanted Forrest?”

Maybe if she thought a little harder, she would have realized that wasn’t what he was talking about. But he always comments on how much he fancies this realms fashions, especially the undergarments. And her brain has been thoroughly jumbled by their earlier activities so she doesn’t beat herself up too hard for the comment.

“No, love,” he chuckles into her throat, sending a shiver down her spine, nosing at the fabric of his robe against her shoulder. “The water faucet. Bathing was such a tiring affair, especially aboard the Jolly, heating the water and transferring it. It’s magical to be able to simply turn a nob until you’re satisfied. And there was nothing nearly as delightful as these bubbles.”

His fingers have worked the knot of her robe open and are working on pulling the robe completely off of her.

“Oh,” she sighs as he slips her right arm out of the sleeve and kisses down her arm to her bent elbow. “When—When I was younger, I always wanted to take bubble baths but the uh,” He rocks his hips against her. “The families I stayed with didn’t offer such luxuries. It’s something I like to do for me every once in a while, I guess do for us now.”

“Were you planning on lighting those?” he asks, kissing back up her arm and hovering over the smattering of freckles on her shoulder blade.

She assumes he’s talking about the candles she has scattered about the room, over twenty in various sizes and scents. She flicks her wrist and suddenly they’re set ablaze. Another flick of her hand and the lights go out, leaving them in a darkened room with just the glow of the candles, varying degrees of light from the different lengths of wicks bouncing along the walls.

He hums, repeating the same process with her other arms, leaving the fabric of his robe pooled at her feet. “The glow of the candles looks excellent against your skin.”

“That’s why I brought them. So I’d look good,” she jokes weekly, faintly lightheaded at the feel of his lips sliding along her shoulder. He twists her in his arms, giving him a better angle to dip his tongue in the curve of her collar bone.

“Get in the water, Swan,” he says lowly.

“It’s Jones now, isn’t it?”

“Aye, that it is,” he agrees, smiling at her nearly blinding. “But you’ll always be my Swan.”

She swoons a little bit. The man definitely is charming. Although, she’s unsure how he would take that comparison to her father. (Who is she kidding? He’d love it.)

She steps into the tub—a large, white clawfoot, rising up on either side and dipping lower in the center but still deep enough to fit the two of them comfortably—and slowly slides down into the bubbles, moaning at the feeling of hot water against her worn out flesh. He gets in behind her, nudging her forward slightly, and settles against her back.

The feeling is delicious, the hot water mingling with the essential oils and, more importantly, all of his slippery skin against hers. She reaches one wet hand out of the water to grab her glass of wine she’s set nearby on the floor.

“Good?” he asks, running his fingers through the strands of her hair, wet at the tips, when she hums contentedly at the first sip.

Perfect, she thinks to herself. Or, nearly perfect if her stomach weren’t beginning to protest. She dries her hands off with a nearby towel and waves one, producing a plate of hot fries slathered in cheese in her other.

“No,” he protests, shifting himself to reach for the plate.

“Why not?”

“I’ve learned to deal with many of your peculiar food habits but I cannot abide by this. You’ll get cheese in the water or the fries will get soggy and I refuse to watch you eat damp fries.”

“Peculiar?” she scoffs.

“You ate pizza in bed last week,” he intones.

“I magicked away the crumbs!” He tries grabbing the plate again and she leans forward “No, I’m hungry and we haven’t done much eating, so I’m keeping the fries.”

“Alright,” he concedes, leaning back and continuing his ministrations of stroking her hair. The combination of the warm, melty cheese fries in her mouth and his fingers on her scalp is pure heaven. She can’t help but thank Zeus, or whichever deity that allowed them an actual chance to take their honeymoon. Or what will be the start of the actual event, tomorrow, sailing around on the Jolly Roger for an undetermined amount of time just her pirate and his two greatest loves, her and the sea.

Tonight, their pre-honeymoon is just as intimate though. And if the rest of it is half as good as this moment, the two of them bickering over fries in the tub, she’ll be a very happy Emma.

“Want one?” she offers, waving a fry in the air to which he answers with a firm "No."

She eats the fries contentedly, washing down the cheese with her wine, and Killian minds himself, humming and rubbing her shoulders the whole time. But as soon as she’s finished and sets the plate aside, his hand gets more adventurous. It slides down her front to rub circles over her belly. His hand trails up to just below her breasts and then down over her navel, brushing along her curls, ticking a line up and down, while he uses his hook to pull her hair off of her shoulder.

He attaches his mouth to the nape of her neck and sucks gently, then begins to slide his lips back and forth—around to one side, back to the nape, around to the other side—his peeking out every so often. His hook moves to her chest, the metal warm from the water, moving in small motions over her nipple.

“Take that off. I know how the straps chafe in water.”

“As you wish.”

Hurriedly, he removes the brace and tosses it to the side of the tub. He brings his now bare, blunted wrist back to her front and continues his movements over her peaked breast.

“Spread your legs a little wide for me,” he asks, voice horse, and she obliges lifting one leg to rest along the edge of the tub. “That’s it, lass.”

His hand slips down to her entrance, his fingers teasing along the slit, brushing the sensitive area in lovingly sweet motions. His fingers dance along in delicate touches, barely grazing the flesh, achieving nothing but driving her mad.

She can feel him rocking against her back, his length slipping along her ass. His mouth is restless against her neck, licking, nipping, and sucking, relentless against the delicate skin, and his stubble unforgiving. She pushes her hips up, desperate for some sort of friction, for anything. He takes the hint and brings his index finger to her clit. The pressure is soft are first, sending light shockwaves of pressure throughout her body. It’s just enough movement to make her feel good but not enough to send her over the edge.

Before long the pressure deepens. He adds his middle finger to the mix and quickens his movements, rubbing tight fast circles. She feels his warm breath on the back of her neck and hears him grunt softly into her ear. He’s nearly as frantic as she is for her to find release and he starts whispering absolutely filthy things about how he just wants her to let go—"I want to make you feel good.“

Her orgasm crashes over her intensely and the only thing that keeps her from slipping below the water is Killian firm grasp, pulling her against him. "I’ve got you, love.”

She takes a moment, leaning against him, her head tucked back into the crook of his neck, and breathes slowly. The tingling sensation in her fingers and toes gradually fades and she’s left to the awareness of his straining erection pressed into her back.

She arches lightly moving her ass leisurely up and down along the velvety skin.

“Don’t toy with me,” he growls and licks along the shell of her ear.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Together, they maneuver her so that she’s twisted around in the water, facing him and straddling his hips. She has no desire to waste any more time, needing to feel his thick length pressing into her. Fresh off an orgasm and she’s practically vibrating with need for him. She grabs him firmly and guides him inside of her. Her hands move to rest on his shoulders—his goes to her hip—and she sinks down, biting her lip hard. (To keep from what? Being loud? They’re on their honeymoon she’ll be as loud as she damn well pleases, residents of Storybrooke be damned.)

They moan in unison when he’s fully seated inside of her and she sits, content to feel him filling her so wonderfully. She’s sitting in a warm bubble bath, with her husband’s dick inside of her, neither of them dead, and life is beautiful.

“Emma…” he moans after a moment.

“Shhh, I’m taking it all in,” she hums, running her hand through his hair.

“Could you take it in a little faster, dear? I only have so much restraint.”

She takes pity on him and begins to move up and down, leisurely. She luxuriates in the feel on him dragging slowly along her walls, thick and hot and just so right. He fits inside of her—fills her up—so perfectly and it’s just one more place that they’re a perfect match.

He begins to thrust his hips up more insistently so, she hastens her pace, rising and falling faster and faster until the room is full of nothing but the sounds of their heavy breathing, their uncontrollable moans, and the water splashing out of the tub, smacking onto the tile. She can’t be bothered to think about the mess they’re causing. It just feels too good. She’s sure Mr. Tidy himself can’t focus on anything other than the feeling of them slapping together.

His thrusts drag along her flesh in just the right way, hitting that spot inside of her perfectly and suddenly she’s falling over the edge again. Not as forceful as before, but the feeling is deeper, numbing out her mind and body. She’s vaguely aware of him moving beneath her, pushing himself into release behind her.

She lays against him, her nose pressed into her neck, utterly blissed out, trying to match her breathing with his.

“Ya did good, my husband,” she mumbles, sloppily lifting her hand to cup his cheek.

“As did you, my wife,” he chuckles and kisses the top of her head.

#captain swan #cs ff #cs smut #my fic #deedee if you're reading this i'm sorry i left out the other fry part

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nofomoartworld · 8 years ago

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Hyperallergic: The Trials of a Hot-Pink Sunbather

Ohad Meromi, “Sunbather” (2016), cast bronze, industrial paint; commissioned by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs’ Percent for Art program, the Department of Transportation, and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (courtesy the artist, photo by Kristof Wickman)

After inching through the public art gamut for nearly three years, undergoing numerous trials by committee and verbal hazing by dissident locals, last fall Ohad Meromi finally unveiled his public sculpture “Sunbather” (2016) to the world.

This ambiguous sunbathing humanoid is endowed with neither gender nor age. Its dimensions approximate the chassis of a Fresh Direct delivery truck. It’s made of about 400 pounds of bronze. It looks like something a pre-schooler might construct out of hot-pink pipe cleaners, magnified a millionfold.

The work has not been installed in a contemplative, tranquil nook like so many pieces in the nearby, walled-in sculpture garden of the Noguchi Museum, which has managed to remain invisible for decades now. Nor, does it occupy a weathered pier just past Socrates Sculpture Park, heroically turning to rust like one of the gargantuan Mark DiSuvero abstractions there. . “Sunbather” is not so sublime. It has been plopped down in the middle of Jackson Avenue in a rapidly gentrifying part of Long Island City, Queens, between four lanes of traffic (not including turning lanes). At rush hour, it seems to revel in a cloud of Volkswagen fumes, as irreverent as someone still smoking Marlboro Reds.

The sculpture was commissioned by New York’s Department of Cultural Affairs through its Percent for Art Program, which has been one of the most prominent public art organizations in New York City. Since 1982, the program has pursued its mission to allocate one percent of the yearly budget of city-funded construction projects to the realization of large-scale public artworks. With this one percent, a few artful human beings are brought to the table with many an artless human being to take part in the urbanism conversation.

But the artless — the developers focused on the bottom line rather than the top of the line — have also benefited from this one percent, receiving a boost by the big-hearted Dostoyevskian idiots of the world who transform uninspiring city plots into destinations for investment.

As Meromi’s “Sunbather” does its thing in the middle of Jackson Avenue, it also broadcasts the message, “Long Island City has arrived!” — which is code for: the idiots (the artists) have thrown in the towel and vacated; the industrial property is now ripe for the bidding war.

Contemplating a work of art in this extraordinarily unsexy part of Queens, as opposed to, say, the ritzy Seagrams Plaza in midtown Manhattan, reminds me that the “everyman” does still exist. “Sunbather” is not there as eye-candy for the out-to-lunch investment banker or the pack of Swiss tourists caught in all-day gridlock between MoMA, the Whitney, and the New Museum. It is there for the un-arty, un-culturally-sophisticated working-class resident, 9-to-5 laborer, and just plain old commuter, who populates our city’s outer boroughs and its 24-hour circulatory system.

This perspective on the city reminds me of Hokusai’s “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji” from the 1830’s, the famed woodblock series celebrating quotidian life. In one of the most famous views, we witness the exact moment a gust of wind blows a stack of paper out of a person’s hand. One forgets about the stoic mountain looming far from the action. In other images, the mountain’s tip just barely peeks over the horizon line, as if to say: whoever you are, however far way from the mountain you are in this sprawling landscape, you are still part of the picture. Mount Fuji is just as centralizing as the tallest steeple in any hilltop town, or the highest skyscraper in any financial center. The toothpick of Freedom Tower (whatever its called), asserting its authority all the way out to Coney Island, is our Mount Fuji.

“Sunbather” seems to indulge this premise. Like Hokusai’s prints, Meromi’s sculpture bathes us in life on the outskirts. But however it may undermine the ivory tower of the art cabal, it also, paradoxically, fulfills the dream of another variety of plutocratic mindset. Here, I refer to the multitude of real-estate agents who have achieved an expertise at exploiting artists in order to transform the perception of such peripheries as far more central, and thus far more expensive, than they were before the installment of the artwork.

* * *

Art’s beauty (or repulsion) lies, as they say, in the eye of the beholder, and Meromi’s “Sunbather” is no exception. Its lumpy, anatomically incorrect distribution of body mass is not exactly walking off with the best-on-the-beach trophy. Yet, it’s hard to say precisely which of its displeasing aspects has rubbed so many people the wrong way.

When the work was announced back in 2014, the artist and the Department of Cultural Affairs were slowly backed into a corner by local residents who objected to being left out of the machinations of exactly how $515,000 taxpayer dollars were poised to leave them with a man-who-fell-to-earth. The locals demanded inclusion on the vetting process, and as a result the commentary floodgates sprang open.

In the meantime, Meromi’s work had already been selected by a panel of arts professionals and representatives from the Council Member’s Office and Community Board. It was somewhat late in the game (March 2015) for the sculpture (and its creator) to face the nearly 300 local residents who gathered for a town hall meeting at MoMA PS1 to air their grievances.

The first question from the locals was certainly legitimate: who is this artist the cat dragged in? Meromi, now in his mid-40s, is an Israeli born resident of Brooklyn who has taught at Columbia University and Bard — is a seasoned pro on the international art circuit, having exhibited his work all over the place, and emphatically not the pre-schooler dabbling in pipe cleaners that he may appear at first to be.

But his work, perhaps unintentionally, turns out to be a button pusher. And the pushback it has already received is a healthy sign. One would hope that the outer-borough everyman and -woman would get in on the action, given that it’s the context of their neighborhood that supplies the work with its leverage.

But leveraging anything in this city is no easy trick, and just because something occupies a public place doesn’t make it visible. If anything, there is a level of reverse psychology to the art of sticking out. Even the people most obviously in need attention, consideration, and help — the broken-down woman with her overstuffed garbage bags in the middle of the subway car, or the man at the intersection with two stumps for legs and a cardboard sign asking for change — tend to blend in as if camouflaged by the city itself.

Or is Meromi’s sculpture less about the ignorable victim and more about a kind of subliminal aberration? That is to say, a magical, almost divine presence? Consider the Babushka Lady — the nickname given to the unknown woman caught in the Zapruder film of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy — so called from the headscarf she was wearing as she stood in the middle of the grassy knoll, which is similar to those worn by elderly Russian women (babushka literally means “grandmother”). Is she the smoking gun? Ask Oliver Stone.

In its long life as a permanent fixture on Jackson Avenue, Meromi’s “Sunbather” will go through phases of being seen and unseen. It may stick out lie a sore thumb for one generation, and then wear a cloak of invisibility for the next. It will pulsate over time. People will stop seeing it one day and then wake up the next and say: What is that thing, and who made it?

Despite its current conspicuity, the “Sunbather” is quite conventional and conforming. What, after all, could be more traditional than a reclining nude? Every sculpture park and college green in the Western world displays at least one ambiguously reclining form by the likes of Henry Moore or Anthony Caro. Meromi’s sculpture is perfectly in sync with the subject matter of modernity, as well as a nod to so much art history that it’s hard to know where to begin. (The Parthenon’s river gods? Cezanne’s bathers?)

Ironically, I would think that virtually anything other than a reclining pink figure would have been even more controversial. Imagine if Meromi’s sunbather had been a 20-foot-tall standing naked woman with the body type of an R. Crumb model. Or a man flat on his back? And what about the color? If you look at the classic Crayola crayon set, you will find that we still live in a world where the brown crayon is labeled “brown” and the peach crayon is labeled “flesh.”

Meromi has sculpted perhaps the only politically correct human figure that can be made in the sexually and racially-charged climate we are living in. His pink androgyne seems bred for balance in the current topsy-turvy limbo of race and gender polemics.

The work, which is as anatomically out-of-whack as any bather Cezanne ever painted, is not even the point. Given its title, “Sunbather,” Meromi’s imaginary form — displaced from Cezanne’s pastoral arcadian world of Aix-en-Provence — is more evocative of a person who has survived the radiation storm of a Bikini Island A-bomb test than someone out to catch a few rays in the South of France.

While the comments Meromi has received may at first seem shallow, they are in fact quite thought-provoking. Some outspoken critics plainly call it “bad.” Others have labeled it an “ugly piece of poop” and a body sculpted with “used bubble gum.” One art lover wrote: “This looks like you dug up Gumby’s grandmother and threw it on the median.” Gumby’s babushka? That is like totally Grandma-phobic!

Ohad Meromi, preparatory sketch for Sunbather (2014) (courtesy the artist)

At a recent public discussion at The Sculpture Center, Meromi himself used the word “ugly” at least three times to describe his own piece. Clearly he was getting in on the fun of trashing his art, while cleverly deploying his skill at the art of self-deprecation.

This is of course not the first time that a reclining pink nude shocked the public. Consider Manet’s “Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe” (“The Luncheon on the Grass,” 1862/3), as bold and scandalous today as it ever was. Manet’s infamous naked lady sits between two rude dandies who haven’t even bothered to remove their hats. A scantly clad second woman off in the distance is said to be douching in the river, if you can believe that.

Some of the quotes I found from the time that Manet painted his masterpiece are not unlike the current discourse around Meromi’s “Sunbather.” A critic once wrote of the “Luncheon”: “Some seek ideal beauty, Manet seeks ideal ugliness.”

Or consider the other French Realist of painterly shock and awe, Gustave Courbet. Courbet wrote the book on making art to piss off the peanut gallery, or whatever jury happened to be out there. In an 1850 letter to a friend, he wrote: “I will be so outrageous that I’ll give everyone the power to tell me the cruelest truths.” And in reference to the critical reception of his “La Femme au perroquet” (“Woman with a Parrot,” 1866) he once wrote: “I told you a long time ago that I would find a way to give them a fist right in the face. That bunch of scoundrels, they caught it.”

The post The Trials of a Hot-Pink Sunbather appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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readbookywooks · 8 years ago

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3. The smell of blood ... it was on his breath. What does he do? I think. Drink it? I imagine him sipping it from a teacup. Dipping a cookie into the stuff and pulling it out dripping red. Outside the window, a car comes to life, soft and quiet like the purr of a cat, then fades away into the distance. It slips off as it arrived, unnoticed. The room seems to be spinning in slow, lopsided circles, and I wonder if I might black out. I lean forward and clutch the desk with one hand. The other still holds Peeta's beautiful cookie. I think it had a tiger lily on it, but now it's been reduced to crumbs in my fist. I didn't even know I was crushing it, but I guess I had to hold on to something while my world veered out of control. A visit from President Snow. Districts on the verge of uprisings. A direct death threat to Gale, with others to follow. Everyone I love doomed. And who knows who else will pay for my actions? Unless I turn things around on this tour. Quiet the discontent and put the president's mind at rest. And how? By proving to the country beyond any shadow of a doubt that I love Peeta Mellark. I can't do it, I think. I'm not that good. Peeta's the good one, the likable one. He can make people believe anything. I'm the one who shuts up and sits back and lets him do as much of the talking as possible. But it isn't Peeta who has to prove his devotion. It's me. I hear my mother's light, quick tread in the hall. She can't know, I think. Not about any of this. I reach my hands over the tray and quickly brush the bits of cookie from my palm and fingers. I take a shaky sip of my tea. "Is everything all right, Katniss?" she asks. "It's fine. We never see it on television, but the president always visits the victors before the tour to wish them luck," I say brightly. My mother's face floods with relief. "Oh. I thought there was some kind of trouble." "No, not at all," I say. "The trouble will start when my prep team sees how I've let my eyebrows grow back in." My mother laughs, and I think about how there was no going back after I took over caring for the family when I was eleven. How I will always have to protect her. "Why don't I start your bath?" she asks. "Great," I say, and I can see how pleased she is by my response. Since I've been home I've been trying hard to mend my relationship with my mother. Asking her to do things for me instead of brushing aside any offer of help, as I did for years out of anger. Letting her handle all the money I won. Returning her hugs instead of tolerating them. My time in the arena made me realize how I needed to stop punishing her for something she couldn't help, specifically the crushing depression she fell into after my father's death. Because sometimes things happen to people and they're not equipped to deal with them. Like me, for instance. Right now. Besides, there's one wonderful thing she did when I arrived back in the district. After our families and friends had greeted Peeta and me at the train station, there were a few questions allowed from reporters. Someone asked my mother what she thought of my new boyfriend, and she replied that, while Peeta was the very model of what a young man should be, I wasn't old enough to have any boyfriend at all. She followed this with a pointed look at Peeta. There was a lot of laughter and comments like "Somebody's in trouble" from the press, and Peeta dropped my hand and sidestepped away from me. That didn't last long - there was too much pressure to act otherwise - but it gave us an excuse to be a little more reserved than we'd been in the Capitol. And maybe it can help account for how little I've been seen in Peeta's company since the cameras left. I go upstairs to the bathroom, where a steaming tub awaits. My mother has added a small bag of dried flowers that perfumes the air. None of us are used to the luxury of turning on a tap and having a limitless supply of hot water at our fingertips. We had only cold at our home in the Seam, and a bath meant boiling the rest over the fire. I undress and lower myself into the silky water - my mother has poured in some kind of oil as well - and try to get a grip on things. The first question is who to tell, if anyone. Not my mother or Prim, obviously; they'd only become sick with worry. Not Gale. Even if I could get word to him. What would he do with the information, anyway? If he were alone, I might try to persuade him to run away. Certainly he could survive in the woods. But he's not alone and he'd never leave his family. Or me. When I get home I'll have to tell him something about why our Sundays are a thing of the past, but I can't think about that now. Only about my next move. Besides, Gale's already so angry and frustrated with the Capitol that I sometimes think he's going to arrange his own uprising. The last thing he needs is an incentive. No, I can't tell anyone I'm leaving behind in District 12. There are still three people I might confide in, starting with Cinna, my stylist. But my guess is Cinna might already be at risk, and I don't want to pull him into any more trouble by closer association with me. Then there's Peeta, who will be my partner in this deception, but how do I begin that conversation? Hey, Peeta, remember how I told you I was kind of faking being in love with you? Well, I really need you to forget about that now and act extra in love with me or the president might kill Gale. I can't do it. Besides, Peeta will perform well whether he knows what's at stake or not. That leaves Haymitch. Drunken, cranky, confrontational Haymitch, who I just poured a basin of ice water on. As my mentor in the Games it was his duty to keep me alive. I only hope he's still up for the job. I slide down into the water, letting it block out the sounds around me. I wish the tub would expand so I could go swimming, like I used to on hot summer Sundays in the woods with my father. Those days were a special treat. We would leave early in the morning and hike farther into the woods than usual to a small lake he'd found while hunting. I don't even remember learning to swim, I was so young when he taught me. I just remember diving, turning somersaults, and paddling around. The muddy bottom of the lake beneath my toes. The smell of blossoms and greenery. Floating on my back, as I am now, staring at the blue sky while the chatter of the woods was muted by the water. He'd bag the waterfowl that nested around the shore, I'd hunt for eggs in the grasses, and we'd both dig for katniss roots, the plant for which he named me, in the shallows. At night, when we got home, my mother would pretend not to recognize me because I was so clean. Then she'd cook up an amazing dinner of roasted duck and baked katniss tubers with gravy. I never took Gale to the lake. I could have. It's time-consuming to get there, but the waterfowl are such easy pickings you can make up for lost hunting time. It's a place I've never really wanted to share with anyone, though, a place that belonged only to my father and me. Since the Games, when I've had little to occupy my days, I've gone there a couple of times. The swimming was still nice, but mostly the visits depressed me. Over the course of the last five years, the lake's remarkably unchanged and I'm almost unrecognizable. Even underwater I can hear the sounds of commotion. Honking car horns, shouts of greeting, doors banging shut. It can only mean my entourage has arrived. I just have time to towel off and slip into a robe before my prep team bursts into the bathroom. There's no question of privacy. When it comes to my body, we have no secrets, these three people and me. "Katniss, your eyebrows!" Venia shrieks right off, and even with the black cloud hanging over me, I have to stifle a laugh. Her aqua hair has been styled so it sticks out in sharp points all over her head, and the gold tattoos that used to be confined above her brows have curled around under her eyes, all contributing to the impression that I've literally shocked her. Octavia comes up and pats Venia's back soothingly, her curvy body looking plumper than usual next to Venia's thin, angular one. "There, there. You can fix those in no time. But what am I going to do with these nails?" She grabs my hand and pins it flat between her two pea green ones. No, her skin isn't exactly pea green now. It's more of a light evergreen. The shift in shade is no doubt an attempt to stay abreast of the capricious fashion trends of the Capitol. "Really, Katniss, you could have left me something to work with!" she wails. It's true. I've bitten my nails to stubs in the past couple of months. I thought about trying to break the habit but couldn't think of a good reason I should. "Sorry," I mutter. I hadn't really been spending much time worrying about how it might affect my prep team. Flavius lifts a few strands of my wet, tangled hair. He gives his head a disapproving shake, causing his orange corkscrew curls to bounce around. "Has anyone touched this since you last saw us?" he asks sternly. "Remember, we specifically asked you to leave your hair alone." "Yes!" I say, grateful that I can show I haven't totally taken them for granted. "I mean, no, no one's cut it. I did remember that." No, I didn't. It's more like the issue never came up. Since I've been home, all I've done is stick it in its usual old braid down my back. This seems to mollify them, and they all kiss me, set me on a chair in my bedroom, and, as usual, start talking nonstop without bothering to notice if I'm listening. While Venia reinvents my eyebrows and Octavia gives me fake nails and Flavius massages goo into my hair, I hear all about the Capitol. What a hit the Games were, how dull things have been since, how no one can wait until Peeta and I visit again at the end of the Victory Tour. After that, it won't be long before the Capitol begins gearing up for the Quarter Quell. "Isn't it thrilling?" "Don't you feel so lucky?" "In your very first year of being a victor, you get to be a mentor in a Quarter Quell!" Their words overlap in a blur of excitement. "Oh, yes," I say neutrally. It's the best I can do. In a normal year, being a mentor to the tributes is the stuff of nightmares. I can't walk by the school now without wondering what kid I'll have to coach. But to make things even worse, this is the year of the Seventy-fifth Hunger Games, and that means it's also a Quarter Quell. They occur every twenty-five years, marking the anniversary of the districts' defeat with over-the-top celebrations and, for extra fun, some miserable twist for the tributes. I've never been alive for one, of course. But in school I remember hearing that for the second Quarter Quell, the Capitol demanded that twice the number of tributes be provided for the arena. The teachers didn't go into much more detail, which is surprising, because that was the year District 12's very own Haymitch Abernathy won the crown. "Haymitch better be preparing himself for a lot of attention!" squeals Octavia. Haymitch has never mentioned his personal experience in the arena to me. I would never ask. And if I ever saw his Games televised in reruns, I must've been too young to remember it. But the Capitol won't let him forget it this year. In a way, it's a good thing Peeta and I will both be available as mentors during the Quell, because it's a sure bet that Haymitch will be wasted. After they've exhausted the topic of the Quarter Quell, my prep team, launches into a whole lot of stuff about their incomprehensibly silly lives. Who said what about someone I've never heard of and what sort of shoes they just bought and a long story from Octavia about what a mistake it was to have everyone wear feathers to her birthday party. Soon my brows are stinging, my hair's smooth and silky, and my nails are ready to be painted. Apparently they've been given instruction to prepare only my hands and face, probably because everything else will be covered in the cold weather. Flavius badly wants to use his own trademark purple lipstick on me but resigns himself to a pink as they begin to color my face and nails. I can see by the palette Cinna has assigned that we're going for girlish, not sexy. Good. I'll never convince anyone of anything if I'm trying to be provocative. Haymitch made that very clear when he was coaching me for my interview for the Games. My mother comes in, somewhat shyly, and says that Cinna has asked her to show the preps how she did my hair the day of the reaping. They respond with enthusiasm and then watch, thoroughly engrossed, as she breaks down the process of the elaborate braided hairdo. In the mirror, I can see their earnest faces following her every move, their eagerness when it is their turn to try a step. In fact, all three are so readily respectful and nice to my mother that I feel bad about how I go around feeling so superior to them. Who knows who I would be or what I would talk about if I'd been raised in the Capitol? Maybe my biggest regret would be having feathered costumes at my birthday party, too. When my hair is done, I find Cinna downstairs in the living room, and just the sight of him makes me feel more hopeful. He looks the same as always, simple clothes, short brown hair, just a hint of gold eyeliner. We embrace, and I can barely keep from spilling out the entire episode with President Snow. But no, I've decided to tell Haymitch first. He'll know best who to burden with it. It's so easy to talk to Cinna, though. Lately we've been speaking a lot on the telephone that came with the house. It's sort of a joke, because almost no one else we know owns one. There's Peeta, but obviously I don't call him. Haymitch tore his out of the wall years ago. My friend Madge, the mayor's daughter, has a telephone in her house, but if we want to talk, we do it in person. At first, the thing barely ever got used. Then Cinna started to call to work on my talent. Every victor is supposed to have one. Your talent is the activity you take up since you don't have to work either in school or your district's industry. It can be anything, really, anything that they can interview you about. Peeta, it turns out, actually has a talent, which is painting. He's been frosting those cakes and cookies for years in his family's bakery. But now that he's rich, he can afford to smear real paint on canvases. I don't have a talent, unless you count hunting illegally, which they don't. Or maybe singing, which I wouldn't do for the Capitol in a million years. My mother tried to interest me in a variety of suitable alternatives from a list Effie Trinket sent her. Cooking, flower arranging, playing the flute. None of them took, although Prim had a knack for all three. Finally Cinna stepped in and offered to help me develop my passion for designing clothes, which really required development since it was nonexistent. But I said yes because it meant getting to talk to Cinna, and he promised he'd do all the work. Now he's arranging things around my living room: clothing, fabrics, and sketchbooks with designs he's drawn. I pick up one of the sketchbooks and examine a dress I supposedly created. "You know, I think I show a lot of promise," I say. "Get dressed, you worthless thing," he says, tossing a bundle of clothes at me. I may have no interest in designing clothes but I do love the ones Cinna makes for me. Like these. Flowing black pants made of a thick, warm material. A comfortable white shirt. A sweater woven from green and blue and gray strands of kitten-soft wool. Laced leather boots that don't pinch my toes. "Did I design my outfit?" I ask. "No, you aspire to design your outfit and be like me, your fashion hero," says Cinna. He hands me a small stack of cards. "You'll read these off camera while they're filming the clothes. Try to sound like you care." Just then, Effie Trinket arrives in a pumpkin orange wig to remind everyone, "We're on a schedule!" She kisses me on both cheeks while waving in the camera crew, then orders me into position. Effie's the only reason we got anywhere on time in the Capitol, so I try to accommodate her. I start bobbing around like a puppet, holding up outfits and saying meaningless things like "Don't you love it?" The sound team records me reading from my cards in a chirpy voice so they can insert it later, then I'm tossed out of the room so they can film my/Cinna's designs in peace. Prim got out early from school for the event. Now she stands in the kitchen, being interviewed by another crew. She looks lovely in a sky blue frock that brings out her eyes, her blond hair pulled back in a matching ribbon. She's leaning a bit forward on the toes of her shiny white boots like she's about to take flight, like - Bam! It's like someone actually hits me in the chest. No one has, of course, but the pain is so real I take a step back. I squeeze my eyes shut and I don't see Prim - I see Rue, the twelve-year-old girl from District 11 who was my ally in the arena. She could fly, birdlike, from tree to tree, catching on to the slenderest branches. Rue, who I didn't save. Who I let die. I picture her lying on the ground with the spear still wedged in her stomach... . Who else will I fail to save from the Capitol's vengeance? Who else will be dead if I don't satisfy President Snow? I realize Cinna's trying to put a coat on me, so I raise my arms. I feel fur, inside and out, encasing me. It's from no animal I've ever seen. "Ermine," he tells me as I stroke the white sleeve. Leather gloves. A bright red scarf. Something furry covers my ears. "You're bringing earmuffs back in style." I hate earmuffs, I think. They make it hard to hear, and since I was blasted deaf in one ear in the arena, I dislike them even more. After I won, the Capitol repaired my ear, but I still find myself testing it. My mother hurries up with something cupped in her hand. "For good luck," she says. It's the pin Madge gave me before I left for the Games. A mockingjay flying in a circle of gold. I tried to give it to Rue but she wouldn't take it. She said the pin was the reason she'd decided to trust me. Cinna fixes it on the knot in the scarf. Effie Trinket's nearby, clapping her hands. "Attention, everyone! We're about to do the first outdoor shot, where the victors greet each other at the beginning of their marvelous trip. All right, Katniss, big smile, you're very excited, right?" I don't exaggerate when I say she shoves me out the door. For a moment I can't quite see right because of the snow, which is now coming down in earnest. Then I make out Peeta coming through his front door. In my head I hear President Snow's directive, "Convince me." And I know I must. My face breaks into a huge smile and I start walking in Peeta's direction. Then, as if I can't stand it another second, I start running. He catches me and spins me around and then he slips - he still isn't entirely in command of his artificial leg - and we fall into the snow, me on top of him, and that's where we have our first kiss in months. It's full of fur and snowflakes and lipstick, but underneath all that, I can feel the steadiness that Peeta brings to everything. And I know I'm not alone. As badly as I have hurt him, he won't expose me in front of the cameras. Won't condemn me with a halfhearted kiss. He's still looking out for me. Just as he did in the arena. Somehow the thought makes me want to cry. Instead I pull him to his feet, tuck my glove through the crook of his arm, and merrily pull him on our way. The rest of the day is a blur of getting to the station, bidding everyone good-bye, the train pulling out, the old team - Peeta and me, Effie and Haymitch, Cinna and Portia, Peeta's stylist - dining on an indescribably delicious meal I don't remember. And then I'm swathed in pajamas and a voluminous robe, sitting in my plush compartment, waiting for the others to go to sleep. I know Haymitch will be up for hours. He doesn't like to sleep when it's dark out. When the train seems quiet, I put on my slippers and pad down to his door. I have to knock several times before he answers, scowling, as if he's certain I've brought bad news. "What do you want?" he says, nearly knocking me out with a cloud of wine fumes. "I have to talk to you," I whisper. "Now?" he says. I nod. "This better be good." He waits, but I feel certain every word we utter on a Capitol train is being recorded. "Well?" he barks. The train starts to brake and for a second I think President Snow is watching me and doesn't approve of my confiding in Haymitch and has decided to go ahead and kill me now. But we're just stopping for fuel. "The train's so stuffy," I say. It's a harmless phrase, but I see Haymitch's eyes narrow in understanding. "I know what you need." He pushes past me and lurches down the hall to a door. When he wrestles it open, a blast of snow hits us. He trips out onto the ground. A Capitol attendant rushes to help, but Haymitch waves her away good-naturedly as he staggers off. "Just want some fresh air. Only be a minute." "Sorry. He's drunk," I say apologetically. "I'll get him." I hop down and stumble along the track behind him, soaking my slippers with snow, as he leads me beyond the end of the train so we will not be overheard. Then he turns on me. "What?" I tell him everything. About the president's visit, about Gale, about how we're all going to die if I fail. His face sobers, grows older in the glow of the red tail-lights. "Then you can't fail." "If you could just help me get through this trip - " I begin. "No, Katniss, it's not just this trip," he says. "What do you mean?" I say. "Even if you pull it off, they'll be back in another few months to take us all to the Games. You and Peeta, you'll be mentors now, every year from here on out. And every year they'll revisit the romance and broadcast the details of your private life, and you'll never, ever be able to do anything but live happily ever after with that boy." The full impact of what he's saying hits me. I will never have a life with Gale, even if I want to. I will never be allowed to live alone. I will have to be forever in love with Peeta. The Capitol will insist on it. I'll have a few years maybe, because I'm still only sixteen, to stay with my mother and Prim. And then ... and then ... "Do you understand what I mean?" he presses me. I nod. He means there's only one future, if I want to keep those I love alive and stay alive myself. I'll have to marry Peeta.

#CatchingFire

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