#or that my sister almost broke her arm climbing a pile of Stuff

[legobabyofficial]

finding specialized therapy is really fucking hard.

[sapphirelass]

Not you too... - NevillexSister

Hi! So... it’s been a while, but I have been extremely busy with school work and... well to be honest that’s my only excuse XD Anyhow, with maths and physics exams out of the way, it’s finally time for a new uplifting story.

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Please note:

1: I don’t own any of the gifs used, nor any already established characters, so credit to the authors and original creators - You have done a phenomenal job :)

2: English is not my native language, as I was born and raised in Sweden. I have, however, studied English for almost a decade, so I don’t think it’ll be a problem, I just thought I’d let you know ;)

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Word count: ≈1600

Warnings: Torture, The Cruciatus Curse, The Carrows, Light swearing, Extreme angst...

OC: Louise Longbottom (born 1981)

Enjoy!

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1998

March

Hogwarts

“Well, well, well… What do we have here?!”

The frightened first-year trembled and tried to back away.

“I...I.. I was just on my way to the Ravenclaw com…”

Alecto grabbed his jumper and pinned him to the wall. 

“Oh I don’t think so! This isn’t the first time we’ve caught you wandering around, Matthews, and I’m afraid we can’t let you get away with it…”

Amycus pulled out his wand and pointed it at the young boy’s throat.

“DON’T YOU DARE!!”

A furious sixth year Gryffindor sprinted through the corridor, her right hand clutched around her wand.

“Leave him alone! He’s eleven!? And has done nothing wrong! Levicorpus!”

Amycus was hoisted into the air by his ankle as the older student carefully approached the younger.

“Hey, are you oka-” 

But before even getting a chance to comfort the boy, the tip of a wand was pressed forcefully against her throat. The young Ravenclaw knew better than to stick around, especially when Alecto Carrow disarmed his saviour and pushed her against the wall.

“Longbottom… No bloody surprise there, c’mon!”

Amycus was back on his feet and, sadly, a fight between one wandless sixteen year old and two death eaters could barely even be called a fight. The Carrows grabbed an arm each, and made their way towards the dungeons.

***

Neville was, despite the gloomy atmosphere, in high spirits. It was Friday, his last class of the day had been herbology, and he hadn’t received detention a single time that week. He entered the common room and sat down on the sofa with a copy of A Compendium of Common Curses and Their Counter-Actions.

Later that night, Ginny Weasley and Seamus Finnigan climbed through the portrait hole and approached him slowly.

“Hey!”, he said, “Everything good?” 

“Neville… Where’s Louise? Is she okay?”

Neville frowned, “Wha.. Why shouldn’t she be? Where is she anyways, I thought she was with you?!”

“Neville…”, Seamus began, putting a hand on his shoulder, “She-”

“What, Seamus!?”

“She ran into the Carrows.... They were threatening some Ravenclaw first-year and she interfered before she could help herself.”

Neville felt his blood run cold.

“So? What did they do? Where is she?”

“I don’t know, we thought she would be back by now… We… we thought she was with you.”

Neville closed his book, not bothering to look for a bookmark, and left without a word. He didn’t dare to think about what could have happened to his sister, but he knew that he had to find her. Making his way through the corridors, he kept trying to tell himself that she was fine. That she was okay. That he would find her unharmed. Deep down, he knew it was highly improbable, but one can hope, right?

***

“Incarcerous!”

A thick, bloodstained rope wrapped itself tightly around her wrists and ankles, effectively preventing any movements or attempts to escape. 

“You, Longbottom - you and your ‘good-for-nothing’ brother have had your fun. I think it’s about time we teach you a little lesson.”

She sent the professor an angry glare. “So you’re finally going to start then?”

“What?”, Alecto spat

“Well, you are our teachers after all. One would think you would have planned on teaching us stuff from the beginning - it is your bloody job - but I’m glad you finally wanna give it a go…”

With a furious look on his face, Amycus grabbed Louise’s jumper and threw her violently to the floor. He charged and delivered a rough, well placed kick to her cheek before pulling out his wand.

“You really are a stupid little blood traitor, aren’t you? Do you honestly believe you’ll get out of here unharmed?”

“That kick was rather nasty so no, I think it’s too la…”

Her response was interrupted by a swift wand movement followed by a single word.

“Crucio!!”

Louise let out an ear piercing scream and began shaking violently. It wasn’t unexpected, yet she had feared this moment her entire life, and the realization that the time had finally arrived was just as horrifying as the pain itself.

“Maybe that’ll teach you something. Then again, your family never were the brightest of our kind, were they? Not even this lovely curse got the message across so… perhaps a few more times would suffice!”

The death eaters smirked evilly.

“CRUCIO!!”

“CRUCIO!!”

“CRUCIO!!”

***

Hours later the torture momentarily ceased, and Louise’s pained screams had drifted further and further towards what most would call hoarse whimpering. She was shaking, struggled to breathe, and no longer fully capable of taking in all that happened around her. 

“Well, well, well… looking rather shaken, Longbottom. Had enough yet? What do you reckon, sister?”

Alecto looked down at the trembling sixteen year old with disgust. 

“It does seem like the message has sunken in… But don’t you, dearest brother, feel like we should grant her some more… long lasting evidence of what she went through? Something more... physical?”

“What a splendid suggestion! Will you do me the honours?”

“Gladly!”

She pulled a small dagger from her cloak, though Louise had by the time almost passed out and lacked the strength to turn around and look. The girl lay motionless on the cold floor as her teacher grabbed her Gryffindor robes and threw them roughly into a messy pile. Alecto rested her hand on Louise’s collarbone, and repeatedly pierced her delicate skin. 

A couple of minutes later, the siblings stood back to admire their work and muttered sectumsempra before finally leaving and locking the door behind them.

Louise still didn’t react, but was moments later resting in a puddle of her own thick, red, hot blood.

***

“Lou?!” 

“Lou?!!!” 

“L..Lou?” 

As soon as Neville laid eyes on his sister, he ran up to her and pulled her into his arms. The word ‘traitor’ written across her neck caused him to look away for a moment, but he held her close. She was unconscious and her breathing was very shallow, but there was no doubt about it - she was alive!

“Louise, please wake up for me. Please”

 She was barely bleeding anymore, but had lost copious amounts of blood and was in need of immediate medical care.

“Neville, we’ve got to bring her up to the Room of Requirement.”

“But she needs healing!?”

“Yes, but it’s not safe here. They might return, c’mon.”

“Fine, let me just…”

He bent down and untied the ropes before picking her up. Seamus brought the cloak and they left the dungeons hoping that they, for the love of Merlin, would make it without getting caught.

***

“I...not..that!”

“Nev… just saying… don’t know… she’ll… what they did!”

“That doesn’t mean I’m gonna give up!?”

At first it was all incoherent, but eventually she started to pick up full sentences. The pain did however return as soon as she woke up, and she groaned slightly, causing the conversation to die out.

Her brother was by her side in an instant.

“Lou!? How… I.. Are you okay? Here, let me help you!”

He reached out to help her into a sitting position, but she flinched and moved away from his touch. This reaction caused his heart to completely shatter, and he raised his hands in surrender as a few tears left his eyes.

“Lou”, he muttered carefully, “it’s just me. I’m not going to hurt you, I could never…”

She looked back at him, eyes filled with dread and an uncertainty completely unlike anything he had ever seen before. 

“C’mon , L”, Seamus said as he put a hand on her shoulder, “‘tis just us.”

This move, though a very gentle one, caused her to quickly withdraw further as her breath quickened.

“Shut up Seamus”, said Ginny angrily, pulling their Irish friend away as Neville sat down on his knees. He was careful not to touch his sister - the thought of him scaring her being far too much for him to handle - and then placed his wand on a table a few feet away.

“Lou”, he said, once again holding his hands up in surrender, “I won’t hurt you, okay, just… do you know where you are?”

She didn’t respond, but did however look less terrified than before. Deep inside, Neville realized that Louise calming down should make him feel better, but there was something about her that gave him the creeps… There was something uncomfortably familiar about her posture, the nervous shifting and the way she seemed to be staring into nothing, yet he found himself unable to put his finger on it.

Then it hit him. He immediately understood who she reminded him of: 

Their Parents

He closed his eyes tightly and shuddered at the thought. It-it wasn’t possible! It couldn’t be...Neville Longbottom had never been so afraid in his life, but he knew what he had to do. He had to ask. He had to know.

“Lou?”, he repeated softly, “Lou, do you know who I am?”

Not receiving an immediate response worried him, but he gave it the benefit of the doubt - Maybe she just needed some time? 

So he waited. 

30 seconds. 

And waited. 

A minute. 

And waited. 

Five minutes.

No answer.

That’s when it burst. Neville broke down completely. He put his head in his hands and let the tears flow freely, having absolutely no desire to stop them.

“No…”, he stuttered, “No, no, no...not... not you too…”

“Not you too”

~ L

Masterlist

[ilovefandoms102]

Part 16

Summary: Things for you and JJ take a turn 

Taglist:

@ma10427 @lasnaro @certainstatesmantoadartisan @iamaunicorn4704 @fernweh-fangirl @justcallmesams @sspidermanss @tangledinsparkles @jellyfishbeansontoast @hurricane-abigail @outerbongs @gviosca @eb15 @lopineapples

Part 15 Part 17 

Note: I hope you guys enjoy! Let me know what you guys think!

Songs referenced later in the chapter: 

More Than Words- Extreme

You’ll be in my Heart-Phil Collins

===================================

“JJ,” I mumbled, gripping harder on the armrests.

“Why are we at Barry’s?” Pope asked.

“Be right back guys” JJ said, climbing out of the van.

“JJ no!” I yelled, running after him.

JJ rummaged and threw stuff around in Barry’s house. It was so disgusting and smelled like no one had cleaned it in a very, very long time.

“JJ what are you doing?” I asked, standing by the door while he was in the kitchen.

“I know this motherfucker has a stash hidden” he said.

“A stash of what babe?” I questioned, throwing my arms out. I ran after him as he went to the back of the house. We stopped in what I’m assuming is Barry’s room.

“Found it” JJ said, dumping a shit load of cash on the bed. He grabbed a bag, stuffing all of the cash into it quickly.

“So, we’re robbing people now JJ?” I asked rhetorically, following behind him back to the front door.

“I’m sick and tired of people messing with us, we’re getting even” he spat out, slamming the door open. 

“Yeah JJ and ya know, if you keep doing shit like this you know who you’re going to end up like? Your fucking dad!” I shouted, immediately regretting my words.

He slammed me up against the van, grabbing the front of my shirt. I didn’t back down from his stare. I was too angry and stubborn to see what I had said was so wrong. I could see the hurt behind the fury in his eyes. 

“JJ!” John B yelled, coming to my side. I held up my hand, telling him I had the situation handled. 

“You really sprouting that shit on me baby?” JJ asked.

“This is beyond psychotic JJ! Barry knows dangerous people, and he’s going to come after us.” I spat through my teeth. He gripped at my shirt tighter, staring more intensely in my eyes. “Put it back” I whispered.

“No” he said, getting in the van.

I stood still where I was, not knowing what to do to make him see he was being crazy. Everyone else stared at us, I looked at my brother, the sting of tears creeping up on me without my permission. I choked out a sob I didn’t want to come out. I knew I had to say it or this was going to be bad.

“JJ” I said, turning to look at him.

“I’m not putting it back!” he yelled.

“Put it fucking back or we’re done!” I screamed, the tears starting to leak down my face.

Everyone gasped behind me, JJ’s eyes widening. I stood my ground, the adrenaline still pumping in my system caused my whole body to start shaking. 

“Please JJ, put it back. I can’t lose you, please” I whispered, the tears coming down harder.

“Fuck this” JJ scoffed, he got out of the van and started walking away from us. 

My heart shattering, I was losing the love of my life. But, I knew even in a fucked up way, this was all from a place of love. He was reacting because we were threatened, and a gun was pointed at all of our heads. I started after him, but my brother stopped me with an arm going around me. 

“JJ!” I sobbed, leaning on my brother. He turned me around, my head going into his neck as I cried.

“Let’s go bubba” John B said, pushing me to the van. John B drove while I took the passenger seat. I got out my cigarettes, chain smoking them the whole way home trying to ease the pain in my heart. 

Later that evening:

I blew up JJ’s phone the minute we got home from Barry’s, worry pooled deep in my stomach. I knew he was going to take that money to his dad, and who knows what the hell they’d do with it. I cried in my brother’s and Sarah’s arms for hours, regretting everything I said to JJ. 

“I just wanted him to see how unreasonable he was being, I didn’t think he’d actually take it seriously” I sobbed, Sarah ran her hands through my hair.

“He knows that Bubba, he was acting out of anger. You know he loves you.” John B said.

“What if his dad does something to him?! Oh god, I’d never forgive myself Birdie!” I screamed out, jumping up off the couch. I ran to the door, grabbing the keys.

“Bubba!” John B yelled, him and Sarah following after me.

“Where are you going?” Sarah asked.

“I’m going to get JJ” I stated. 

They both piled into the van, I pounded my foot on the gas. We were half way there when two motorbikes pulled up. 

“Pull the fuck over!” one of them said. 

I slammed the gas harder, the guy pulling in front of the van, and I had to slam on the breaks to keep from hitting them. The man took his helmet off, and none other than Rafe fucking Cameron was the one driving.

“Let me handle this” Sarah said.

I ignored her, slamming the door shut. I walked up to Rafe and shoved him as hard as I could.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!” I screeched. 

“Nice to see you too little Pogue” he smirked. 

“What the hell Rafe?” Sarah said.

“Ahhh my beloved little sister” he said.

“Cut the shit Rafe, what do you want” I asked through my teeth.

“I want a lot of things from you little Pogue, but now’s not the time for that. What I’m really here for is to ask why you all thought it was a good idea to steal from a drugdealer.” Rafe said. Sarah and I looked at each other, my fist balled up.

“We didn’t take anything” I said.

“You don’t have to pretend with me, but you should know...Barry is a bad man. He has connections everywhere, and he’s going to come after you all” he said.

“Well thank you for almost dying just to tell us something we already know dumbass” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

“You misunderstand me little Pogue. He knows Maybank has the money, so he’s going to take YOU as his prize.” Rafe said. 

“I’d like to see him try” I said. “I can handle myself quite well with the amount of times I’ve beat your ass huh Rafe?” I asked, smirking at my last statement.

“If you don’t want your friends to die Sarah, you best be getting that money” Rafe said to Sarah. 

All of the sudden, we see a van pull up. Men rushing out, heading for me and Sarah.

“Shit” I said.

“Hey! I said not my sister!” Rafe yelled.

Sarah and I bolted back to the van, men getting a hold of us almost instantly.

“JB!” I screamed for my brother. I saw him run to the back of the van, he pulled the gun I took from Barry out and rang out a shot.

“I suggest you let both my sister and my girlfriend go, or I’m going to blow each of your fucking brains out.” my brother said, deadly calm.

That bought me enough time to elbow the guy that had a hold of me, turning around and punching him in the face. Another trying to grab me, but I kicked my leg out and hit him right where it counts. After Sarah and I got free, we got in the van and I got us out of there. I couldn’t go to JJ’s now because it would lead Barry’s men right to him.

“We have to move the gold tonight, with or without JJ” I said, speeding back to the chateau.

I suddenly got a text from JJ, telling me to meet him at the house. My eyes widened at the message, I sped faster to get to him. We got home and it was completely dark out now. I instructed my brother to get the stuff ready so we could move the gold. Suddenly, a shit ton of fairy lights came on all around the chateau. 

“The hell?” I said, looking around. I spotted a huge ass hot tub in the middle of my yard, my mouth fell open.

“A jet is going right up my butt babygirl” JJ slurred. He was drunk off his ass, sunglasses sitting low on his nose. 

“JJ, what the hell is all this?! How much did this cost?! How did it get here?!” I started asking a million questions to which he shook his head at me. 

“Baby, it doesn’t matter. Come on get in with me!” he said, waving his hand at me.

“JJ, this is insane...seriously how much was all of this?” I asked.

“Well, let’s see. I had express delivery, had to buy the gas, and the lights. So....all of it” he said nonchalantly. My eyes were so wide I’m sure they would have popped out of my head.

“WHAT?!” I screeched. “JJ!” I yelled at him.

“Sweets, it’s fine. I bought this for us! Our friends,no fuck that this is our family.” he said.

“JJ...this is not ok! You could have at least used that to pay your restitution! Or literally anything remotely helpful!” I shouted.

“Ok well I didn’t!” he said, standing up.

His whole stomach was covered in huge bruises, I stared at them. My poor JJ, just wanting acceptance and love. No matter how hard I tried, he would always still look for it from his dad, and when he did, it resulted in another bruise. 

“Baby” I croaked, my hand going over my mouth.

“Now stop all the emotional shit! Get in! I mean it’s sweet right?” he said, finally starting to break down.

I ran to him, getting in the tub and throwing myself into his arms. He broke down completely, body racking sobs escaping from his chest. I held on to him, singing our song softly in his ear. He cried hard, holding me so tight it was almost I struggle to breathe. When he calmed a little he spoke softly to me.

“Will you sing another song for me baby?” he asked. I started singing another song.The sobs coming again from him, shaking me with him.

“Come on baby, let’s go inside” I said softly to him.

We got out, heading inside. I got him in the shower and cleaned him off. I applied some cream to his cuts and made him take some medicine for the pain. We sat on my bed beside each other. 

“I almost killed him” JJ muttered, a silent tear rolling down his face.

“Honey” I mumbles, running my hands through his wet hair.

“I just want to do the right thing for once sweets” he said, putting his head in his hands. 

“I know you do sweetheart, it’s ok” I said, pulling him to me. His head landing on my chest. I combed my hands in his hair, getting rid of the knots that already started to form.

“No it’s not! I’m such a fuck up! I’m so sorry baby, I hurt you. I lost it and I hurt you.” he cried into my chest, his arms going around my waist. 

“It’s ok baby, we were both mad and I said things I didn’t mean” I said.

“You’re right. I fuck everything up just like my dad. I’m becoming just like him” he muttered. 

“JJ Maybank, do you really think I would let that happen?” I asked.

“You’re going to get tired of me eventually. You can’t fix me.” he said.

“JJ, I love you. And I know you love me. I know in my heart, that you are a good fucking person. And I’ll be damned if you or anyone tries to tell me any different.” I said, now my turn to start crying. “I want you, all of you. The good and the bad.” I said, quoting him.

“I just blew 25k on a fucking hot tub! I could have done something to help us and I bought a hot tub!” he yelled, pushing away from me. He turned and planted his feet on the ground, his elbows on his knees, and his head going in his hands. 

“Well maybe we can sell it.” I said.

“It doesn’t change anything! Barry is going to come after us and it’s my fault! I should have listened to you! I was just so mad, and scared. Mad that fucker had a gun pointed at my girl and my friends. Scared because now people know the gold is real and that we have it. FUCK!” he screamed, punching the pillow. 

“We’ll figure it out! We always do..we knew this shit was going to be dangerous, My dad died for this gold.” I said, rubbing his back.

“We need to find somewhere to get this gold cashed, and get out of the country” JJ mumbled.

==========================================

[stardust-walker]

High Hopes: Chapter 9

Previous Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

word count: 2774

______________________________________________________

It wasn't too long before everything came crashing down on her again as Rick honked his horn in front of her and Dove slammed on the brakes to keep from causing a pile up. She grumbled to herself as she reached into her bag to pull out her sunglasses, only to pull out a necklace with a small black crystal attached to it right along with it. The brunette paused for a moment before she let out an annoyed sigh, reached into the bag again, pulled the necklace over her head, and turned off the car. "What's the issue?" She called up to the group by the RV as she exited the car.

"She broke down again," Dale called back to her before her continued to speak to Rick. Dove groaned and ran a hand through her hair as she moved forward to sit in the grass across from the RV next to Carol.

"This is bullshit," Dove mumbled as she twirled the lighter in her hand.

Carol placed her hand on top of the lighter and caused her sister to stop. "He told them about it before. Now you stop it with that thing, we don't need you startin a forest fire or something on top of this." Dove hated when Carol went into 'lecture-mom' mode. It reminded her too much of when she was younger; before she pulled her shit together.

"Sorry, just nervous I guess," Dove sighed as she switched to playing with the necklace around her neck. Carol only hummed a reply as she stroked Sophia's hair. Jacqui rushed out of the RV and nearly succeeded in scaring Dove half to death as she did so. The young woman jumped to her feet as the other woman began to explain.

"It's Jim. It's real bad. I don't think he's gonna last much longer." Jacqui looked around for help. Rick, as always, jumped to help. Sophia let out a quiet whimper from behind Dove as she wrapped her arms around Carol's waist.

Dove stepped closer to the RV as Daryl walked up the few steps and stopped. She hovered by the doorway, her fingers clutched the stone around her neck as she waited for the man to come back out. It was quicker than she thought, but when Daryl descended he didn't have much of an answer. He just shook his head and mumbled. "Looks real bad. So much for givin him a chance."

Dove leaned against the side of the RV and listened as Rick and Jim spoke in the RV. He was asking them to leave him there. She had to respect him for making a decision for himself but it still hurt. It still felt like a failure because she hadn't been able to help him, not that she would have been able to help much anyway. She wiped the tears off her face as Rick came back out from the RV and spotted her. "…He wants us to leave him here."

Dove sighed. "I heard."

Rick ran a hand through his hair and shook his head, "It's what he says he wants."

Dove tapped her foot on the ground as the others joined the group to listen. It was hard for everyone to take in, no doubt about it.

Carol squinted her eyes at Rick, confused. "He's lucid and asking for this?" Dove pushed off of the RV and walked over to her sister's side. She leaned her forehead on Carol's shoulder and squeezed her eyes shut.

Dale spoke up. "Back at camp, when I said Daryl might be right, you misunderstood. I would never go along with callously killing a man! I was just gonna suggest that…we ask Jim what he wants." Dove let out a heavy sigh as she straightened up.

"I mean, I guess I kind of meant the same thing back there. I didn't think that taking a pickaxe to a man's head was the right idea but…by not giving him a choice, look how much more he's suffered for it," Dove motioned to the RV with tears in her eyes. "Because we didn't give him a chance back at camp he's suffered for longer than he had to and for what?" Her voice broke as Carol pulled her into a tight hug. Lori placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as the men continued to speak.

It was Shane who caught her attention. "I don't know if I'll be able to live with leaving a man to die on the side of the road."

Lori spoke up once again, "It's not your call. Either one of you. It's Jim's call."

That was that. It all seemed to happen so fast. Dove pulled Sophia to the side as they brought him down out of the camper. Jim had never been a big guy, but he looked like the walking definition of fragility at that moment as Shane and Rick carried him down the steps and across the road. Dove followed close behind Carol as the group made its way up the hill. She had seen so much death in the past few days that it seemed like a nightmare she was never going to wake up from.

Jacqui knelt down and stroked Jim's cheek in a comforting way and Dove turned her gaze up to the sky. Tears blurred her vision as she moved up again in the procession. Dove stood next to Glenn, she felt the gentle squeeze on her wrist as Glenn turned to move back down the hill. But Dove didn't follow the others down, instead she moved forward and dropped to her knees in front of Jim.

"I'm sorry," she choked out as she fought to keep from crying, "I'm sorry that I couldn't help you or get there faster with the guns I…"

Jim just shook his head, "Ok, Sawyer. Gonna be with my family now." He already sounded like he was so far away from the grassy hilltop. Dove nodded her head and managed a weak smile as she sucked in a deep breath and rose to her feet. She was surprised to see Daryl still stood there as she turned to walk back down the hill. With a nod to Jim, the redneck motioned for Dove to descend the hill first. She paused for a moment before she pulled the keys from her pocket and made her way back down the hill. As Dove got back to the car, she was glad that she was alone once again. At least no one could judge her for crying now.

~

The ride seemed to take forever, but when they finally came to a stop Dove couldn't find herself wanting to get out. It was only the sight of her family exiting the car in front of her that pushed her to open the door and climb out.

The smell was almost as bad as Atlanta had been, but maybe even worse considering how many bodies littered the ground. Dove gagged as she raised a hand to cover her mouth. She grabbed Sophia's hand as Carol wrapped an arm around her and led them along with the rest of the group. She just hoped there was someone alive in there and this wasn't all for nothing.

She watched as Shane attempted to push the garage doors up and shook her head. "I don't think that's gonna work with these. Odds are there's magnets and all other types of crap keeping that thing on lockdown," she hissed as the man began to pound on the door.

She turned quickly as Glenn shouted about walkers. It was taken out quickly by Daryl, but then it descended into chaos just as quickly. "You led us into a graveyard!"

Dale attempted to plead with the man, "He made a call."

Daryl just shouted right back, "He made the wrong damn call!"

Dove watched as Shane approached him and tried to get him to shut up, but that was just as aggressive. Despite Carol's protest, Dove stepped forward and shoved herself right between the two men, effectively pushing Shane back as she reasoned quietly with Daryl. "Listen, how was Rick supposed to know. He made the wrong call, it happened. Don't make it fucking worse by screaming and draw in more walkers or I will be the one to put you in a god damn choke hold," she finished with a hiss.

Shane spoke up again as the others panicked, "Fort Benning, Rick…"

Andrea finally spoke up, "On what? No food, no fuel? That's 100 miles and a suicide mission."

"125. I checked the map," Glenn corrected her.

Dove ran back over and grabbed Carol's arm, "Cmon we gotta go. Let's just take your car and go if they can't make a decision."

Carol's eyes grew wide as she shook her head, "I'm not leaving everyone else here to die."

Suddenly, Rick called back to them. "The camera! It moved."

"You imagined it," Dale shook his head.

"It moved. I saw it move! Someone's alive in there," Rick began to shout and Dove's chest began to grow tight with panic. Rick was pounding on the door and it was making way too much noise. "I know you can hear me. Please help us, we have women and children! We have no food, hardly any gas! We have nowhere else to go." Dove squeezed Carol's arm tighter as she watched Lori try to calm Rick down. "You're killing us!" Rick began to pound the door and scream over again. All of a sudden it seemed like Rick's screams had gotten through and she squinted her eyes as the bright fluorescents invaded her vision.

~

Dove could only look around the huge building with wide eyes as she took in everything. Then she heard someone load a rifle. Her attention instantly went to a man who shouted towards them, "Anyone infected?" Rick's answer about Jim seemed to satisfy the man enough. "Why are you here what do you want?"

Rick answered, plain and simple. "A chance."

"That's asking an awful lot these days," the man answered back. Dove watched the man as he glanced around, surveying the group one by one. For a moment, she thought he was going to tell them all to go to hell and throw them out. Then he spoke again and it felt like a weight lifted off her chest. "You all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission."

Rick nodded his head. "We can do that."

"You got stuff to bring in, do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed." The doctor explained as he approached the group.

"Glenn," Dove called over as he began to run out the door with some of the other men to get the things from the cars. "Just grab my bag from Carol's car. You can't miss it." Glenn nodded at her and she embraced him happily as she accepted her things back into her arms a few minutes later.

She wasn't as happy when she ended up sandwiched in between Carol and Daryl in the packed elevator. She held her bag tightly in front of her as she stared straight ahead at a spot on the wall above Lori's head. Daryl broke the awkward silence. "Doctors always go around packing heat like that," he questioned the doctor and Dove couldn't help herself.

She landed a well concealed punch right to his forearm as she mumbled, "fuckin jackass,"

To her surprise, the doctor answered back seriously. "There were plenty lying around. I familiarized myself with them. But you all look harmless enough." Dove rolled her eyes. "Except you," Jenner pointed to Carl and Dove could barely hold back a laugh.

Once the doors opened, Dove walked closely behind Carol and Sophia. She took in her surroundings as she walked. "We underground," Carol piped up.

"Why. You claustrophobic," the doctor questioned her.

"A little," Carol answered.

"A lot," Dove replied.

Dr. Jenner glanced over his shoulder at them, "Try not to think about it."

Dove rolled her eyes, threw a hand in the air, and mumbled to herself, "Oh wow why haven't I just thought of that before. I'm cured." She thought she heard Daryl snort somewhere behind her and she trained her focus back on her surroundings. This place looked way too sterile. So sterile that it made her skin crawl. Her hazel eyes burned as more lights turned on in the room in front of them.

"Where is everybody," Rick questioned the other man. Maybe that was what was bothering her. There were all these rooms, all these doorways but no one else was around as far as they'd seen.

"I'm it. It's just me here." Jenner answered and Dove felt a chill run down her spine. That didn't seem good at all.

"What about the person you were speaking to? VI?" Lori spoke up from the back of the group.

"VI, say hello to our guests," Jenner called out into the nothingness of the room around them. A computerized voice echoed from the speakers around them.

Dove waited in line to get her blood taken and winced as the needle was inserted into her arm. "So a blood test can really tell if we're infected? I mean, none of us have been bitten."

The doctor just smiled at her as he pulled the needle from her arm and motioned for her to get out of the chair. "Yes. A blood test can tell."

~

Of all things, Dove hadn't been expecting the CDC to have such a collection of wine and she made sure to say so about 5 times. She sat in between Carol and Jacqui, a genuine smile on her face for the first time in what felt like months. "You know," Dale explained, "In Italy, children have a little wine with their dinner."

"I think that sounds like good ol' uncle Dale has had a little too much wine with his dinner if you ask me," Dove whispered to Jacqui before she let out a snort of laughter at her own stupid joke.

"When Carl is in Italy or France, then he can have some but we're in Georgia so that's a no," Lori laughed as she placed a hand over Carl's glass.

"What's it gonna hurt. Come on," Rick chimed in.

The group all sat still as Carl took a sip, only to promptly make a sour face. Dove shook her head and raised her own glass to take a sip. "That's my boy," Lori stated as she poured the wine from Carl's glass into her own.

Dove reached across the table and grabbed the bottle of wine and poured more into her glass. "You wanna slow down there," Jacqui joked as she eyed her glass.

"Listen, I was a therapist. I could probably drink on a professional level at this point, I'm good." Dove shook her head as she placed the bottle back down on the table to more laughs.

"Better stick to soda pop there, bud," Shane laughed at Carl.

"Not you Glenn." Daryl shouted as he walked around the table. Dove turned in her chair, an arm draped over the back so she could see Glenn.

"What," Glenn grinned, his face already a little pink whether it was from the attention being on him or the alcohol.

"Keep drinking, little man. I wanna see how red your face can get," Daryl joked. Dove stopped mid-sip in an attempt to not choke on her drink. Carol patted Dove on the back.

"New rule everyone, we carry alcohol with us wherever we go," Dove raised a hand in the air.

"Why's that," Dale questioned from across the table.

Dove shrugged her shoulders. "Because it actually seems to make Daryl a little more tolerable," she laughed as she ducked her head back into her glass as the group seemed to laugh in agreement. Daryl rolled his eyes as he held out his hand for the wine bottle and actually thanked Dove when she handed it to him.

The clinking on Rick's glass brought everyone back to order for a moment. "We haven't thanked our host yet," Rick stood up.

Dove raised her glass as Dale said his thanks, followed by a loud shout of "Booyah," from Daryl.

Dove turned her head, her hazel eyes locked with Carol's for a second as the other woman actually laughed and raised her own glass. Sophia even seemed to be enjoying herself and for that, she would always be somewhat grateful to Dr. Edwin Jenner for the few hours of peace he has given her family.

_________

@crossbowking​ @momc95​ @chaotic-gary-king-stan​​

[chilling-seavey]

More family outing scenes 🥺🥺🥺 going to the beach, picnics, camping and stuff :D

Oh my gosh, ok listen; growing up, Daniel and his family went hiking and camping and canoeing a lot…I mean what do you expect when you live in Vancouver? It’s like living inside a postcard photo. So it’s no doubt that when his own kids are grown up just enough to enjoy it, he wants to take them camping too. But the Seavey daughters were nothing like he and his siblings were and they only ever tried camping once since it went so horribly...

Daniel had a week off work in the summer and they packed up the car with camping supplies, stocked coolers, and plentiful bug spray and sunscreen and headed up north. Daniel was thoroughly excited for that week and he was absolutely radiating excitement, filling the drive with stories of when he would go camping with his family as a kid. Florence was raised in a household that never did any sort of family bonding activities so she had never been camping before either, a bit hesitant to sleep outside but Daniel’s thrill was certainly rubbing off on her on the drive up.

They arrived at the park an hour and a half later and Daniel parked and headed into the gatehouse to check in and pay. The girls in the backseat were staring out into the surrounding forest silently and Florence glanced back at them, “How are we feeling?”

“Fine.” Penelope answered quietly.

“It’s gonna take some getting used to, I’m sure, but we’re gonna be excited for Daddy, okay?” Florence whispered.

The girls nodded.

“I’m actually excited so I don’t need to pretend.” Clementine retorted.

“That’s very good.” Florence chuckled, turning back around as Daniel got back in the car. He drove them through the park over gravel roads to their campsite which was literally a clearing of grass with a firepit and a picnic table surrounded by trees.

“Okay, let’s set up!” Daniel jumped out of the car and pulled open the trunk. The girls climbed out carefully, hesitantly, and started to look around their area.

“Stay close, okay, girls?” Florence told them before starting to help Daniel unpack the car.

“Where’s the hotel?” Lucy asked softly, standing to the side of the car as she watched her parents stack the coolers and things on the grass.

“We’re sleeping outside! That’s what camping is.” Daniel said.

“Yeah! Outside with all the bears.” Clementine grabbed her youngest sister’s shoulders, making her scream.

“There aren’t any bears.” Florence assured her. She turned to Daniel, dropping her voice, “There aren’t any bears, are there?”

“Sometimes.” Daniel answered.

“Oh my God, Dani.” Florence gaped softly.

“Relax, we’re not gonna be eaten by a bear.” Daniel chuckled, carrying the folded up tent farther down the clearing and set it down on the grass. Clementine rushed right over to help him and he showed her how to pitch the tent and soon it was standing solid and the girls climbed right in to check in out.

“Shoes off in our house, little ladies.” Daniel said, watching three pairs of running shoes get kicked back out onto the grass. He smiled as they talked excitedly and laughed together inside the tent, exploring every little corner.

Florence had finished unloading the car and was setting up their things around the picnic table and he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss to her shoulder.

“What are you doing?” Florence giggled, leaning back against him as if waiting for a kiss but she pulled off his hat and placed it on her own head before pushing him off to continue working. “When do we want to start dinner?”

“5:00 sounds fine. We can explore a little bit first.” Daniel suggested, checking his watch quickly.

“Daddy! I have to pee!” Clementine shouted across the campsite and she came running, nearly tripping over her shoes as she tried to put them back on. “I had that huge slushie in the car and I really have to pee. Where are the bathrooms?”

“On it! I got the map. Let’s go, ladies.” Daniel herded all the children up and all five of them headed down the path towards the bathrooms. Florence was a little hesitant just leaving all their things out in the open but he assured her it was fine and pulled her along. Nearly two minutes later and Clementine was already getting impatient.

“Dad. I’m going to pee my pants!” she groaned, holding onto his arm so he could pull her along.

“Almost there.” Daniel took them across one more pathway and they were face to face with a row of outhouses. All four girls stopped dead. Daniel turned back, “What?”

“What the hell is this?” Florence frowned distastefully.

“The experience.” Daniel said, pulling Clementine after him.

“Nuh uh.” Clementine pried his hand off of her arm. “I don’t have to pee anymore. I don’t have to pee ever again.”

“Oh, come on.” Daniel said, crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s not a portal to hell, it’s a bathroom.”

“It’s smells yucky.” Penelope frowned, hiding being Florence.

Daniel sighed, pressing a hand to the bridge of his nose, “We’ve been here thirty minutes and you guys are already complaining. It’s not a big deal, okay? It’s just a hole in the ground.”

“Ugh!” the girls groaned.

“We’re here for a week you can’t just not got to the bathroom.” Daniel challenged.

The girls stared blankly back at him.

“Flora.” Daniel pouted, desperate for some sort of back up. She sighed, looking down at her frightened daughters and then back up to her husband.

“Fine. To prove I won’t get sucked to the depths of hell, I’ll give it a go.” Florence grumbled.

“No, Mommy!” Lucy shrieked, clinging onto her leg.

It took way too long to convince the girls to finally give the outhouse a try that by the time they had all gone, it was dinner time and Daniel was already exhausted. The trek back to the campsite was sort of an awkward one.

“There weren’t any campsites with plumbing?” Florence asked lightheartedly as she linked her arm in his.

“The experience.” Daniel pouted, resting his head against hers as they walked.

“At least the fire and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows will be a fun experience after whatever that was.” Florence sighed.

“It’s fine. Just one hiccup.” Daniel shrugged, leaning in to kiss her once as they made it back to the site. The sun had started to set and the girls got their chairs around the firepit as Daniel bent down to start the fire…by hand.

Florence gathered their food supplies too cook dinner and set them in her own chair as she watched Daniel crouched by the pile of wood and kindling trying to start a spark. The girls glanced at their mother after a moment.

“Sweetheart,” Florence set her hand on Daniel’s shoulder, “Why don’t you use the lighter?”

“No, no. I can do this. My dad taught us when we were younger.” Daniel assured her, turning back to his work. A few minutes passed.

“Daddy, I’m hungry.” Lucy whined.

“Dammit.” Daniel sighed, pushing his arm across his forehead tiredly, staring down at the lack of fire in front of him.

“You can be a boy scout later, right now we have to feed our children.” Florence said, clicking on the lighter and resting the flame against the kindling. Mere seconds later, there was a good fire going and Daniel was sat on the grass pouting. Florence pulled his head back to kiss him upside down and gave his cheek a quick pat before handing out the metal sticks to the girls.

“Can we have spaghetti?” Penelope asked.

“We can’t have spaghetti, Penny. We can only eat what we packed.” Florence said. “We’re having hot dogs tonight.”

“Aw.” she frowned as her mother stuck the uncooked hot dog on the end of her stick.

“Can we order McDonalds?” Lucy asked.

“No, we can’t order McDonalds, princess. It doesn’t work like that.” Daniel cracked a small smile as he got himself a stick to make his own dinner.

“Why not?”

“Because McDonalds doesn’t deliver outside.”

“Then we can go inside.” Lucy said matter-of-factly.

“I think I burnt it.” Clementine broke the gradually annoying conversation of the six-year-old as she held up her stick with a charred black hot dog on the end.

“Let’s get you a new one.” Daniel chuckled, passing her over a fresh one.

The parents helped the girls roast their hot dogs and stick them safely in buns to eat. When dinner was over, Florence brought over the marshmallows and passed some down the line to make smores. Daniel stuck with Lucy to make sure she didn’t burn her dessert since she was only six; it was a cute sight with her sitting on his lap with both of them holding the metal stick towards the fire, matching concentrated faces making Florence smile and snap a picture.

It was finally peaceful and Daniel was back to feeling that family love and excitement he had when they first arrived, surrounded by his sweet daughters and beautiful wife. They shared little stories around the fire before bed and then got into pyjamas in turns in the privacy of the tent. The girls were tucked into their sleeping bags on the tarp floor of the tent and Florence got herself into her own sleeping bag on the double air mattress they brought for themselves. Daniel said the parents always got better sleeping arrangements…part of that experience. Of course, Penelope was ready to challenge that statement with her annoyed shifting and uncomfortable whines against the ground.

“I can’t get comfortable!” she cried, finally flopping on her back to shoot a pout in the direction of her father who had yet to even try to get into bed.

“Just…don’t think about it as sleeping on the ground. Think of it like sleeping on a really lumpy mattress.” Daniel suggested.

“Daddy’s punishing us.” Lucy grumbled from behind him from her spot beside Clementine.

“What?” Daniel gaped down at her. “I am not!”

“Why do you get the air mattress?” Clementine protested.

“I don’t like this!” Penelope whined louder from the other side of the tent, kicking herself out of her sleeping bag. “It feels weird on my feet!”

“It hurts!” Lucy groaned.

Florence simply glanced up at her husband who was in clear distress as his three children complained; one about the unfairness of the sleeping arrangements, one about the feeling of the sleeping bag, and one about the lumpiness of the ground, and he sighed loudly.

“Fine.” Daniel said, throwing his hands up. “Nell, get up here with the normal blankets we have. Give your sleeping bag to Lucy so she can lay on it like a mattress. Clem, just…relax, okay?”

The girls huffed with annoyance but didn’t put up any more of a fight as Daniel helped them re-settle and got into bed himself, Penelope tucked up between him and Florence. The family shared their ‘goodnights’ and tried to sleep. The girls were already pretty exhausted so they thankfully fell asleep easily, even Florence, but once Penelope was asleep she turned into a full on starfish and Daniel ended up with a hand in his face and a foot uncomfortably close to between his legs and once she moved and actually decked him in the nose, Daniel was getting up. He grabbed one of the blankets, making sure the others were tucked around the ten-year-old and then he was left to sleep on the tarp floor with a single fleece blanket.

It was no doubt that by morning no one was well rested, especially Daniel, but he was the first one awake and struggled off the ground before heading out to make breakfast. He had poured the bowls of cereal at the picnic table by the time the girls were awake and the family gathered quietly around the table.

“How long have you been up?” Florence asked softly, leaning down to kiss her husband before taking a seat beside him.

“All night pretty much.” Daniel answered flatly, but still sent a small smile to his daughters as they thanked him for breakfast. He lowered his voice again to speak with his concerned wife, “I slept on the bare ground because Penelope turned into a starfish and punched me in the face.”

“Oh.” Florence couldn’t hold back her giggle, leaning her head against his. “I’m sorry.”

The family ate their cereal together and then got dressed for the day with a quick stop to the bathroom before heading for the beach. Canoe rentals were open and Daniel jumped at the opportunity to try one out. Florence stayed on the beach with Penelope while Daniel took Clementine and Lucy out on the lake first, the oldest absolute thrilled about the idea of rowing a whole boat on the lake. Lucy wasn’t terribly thrilled, sitting on the floor of the canoe as Daniel pushed them off the sand and into the water before hoping in with them.

Honestly, God bless Clementine for being the more sane and tolerable out of the daughters as she was incredibly invested in the rowing and was eager to point out all the little things she saw around the lake as they went on. Lucy was frowning, her lifejacket pushed up to her chin with how she sat and she wanted nothing more than to go back to the beach to play in the sand.

Daniel was too busy with Clementine to notice his youngest pouting but he certainly noticed when she shrieked and jumped up, screaming at the top of her lungs, “A bug bit me!”

“Lucy! Sit down, Princess!” Daniel tried to grab onto her as she flailed her arm around.

“I’m gonna die! I’m gonna die! It hurts!” Lucy scratched desperately at her arm, the canoe rocking a bit too much in her panic.

“You’re not gonna die! Sit down!” Daniel assured her desperately.

“Lucy!” Clementine shrieked, holding onto the side of the boat as it swayed.

“It hurts! It hurts! Make it stop!” Lucy cried, jumping a little in her dramatic desperation, too preoccupied to even notice that they were still in the middle of a lake. She lost her balance and flipped backwards over the side of the canoe right into the water. Clementine screamed in fear that her sister just died and Daniel swore loudly before jumping in after her. Lucy broke the surface absolutely silent with shock and Daniel grabbed her quickly and held her close.

“You’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay.” Daniel whispered more to himself than anyone as Lucy clung onto him in the water.

“I wanna go home!” Lucy sobbed, her arms around his neck and tears pouring down her cheeks with the lake water.

“Me too.” Clementine grumbled from still inside the canoe.

Daniel sighed and helped Lucy back into the boat and get her sitting where he was before he carefully climbed in too. It was a silent ride back to shore and you can only image Florence’s face when they returned soaking wet and miserable after leaving so excited and ready for adventure.

She jumped up right away and rushed over to them with concern all over her face, “What happened?”

“She fell in.” Daniel replied, scooping up the six-year-old and setting her steady on the sand.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay, baby?” Florence bent down to Lucy’s height and took her face in her hands as her daughter cried louder and threw her arms around her mother’s shoulders.

“I wanna go home! I hate it here!” Lucy cried, earning a few glances from other families around the beach.

Florence looked up at Daniel over their youngest’s shoulder and he simply shrugged tiredly. Daniel helped Clementine out of the canoe and she trudged over to Penelope farther up the beach without another word to her parents. Daniel sighed in defeat as Florence got a crying Lucy out of her lifejacket and then picked her up, petting her wet hair out of her face and held her head against her shoulder.

“Okay. If you want to leave we can leave.” Daniel mumbled.

“I’m sorry, my love.” Florence whispered, pressing a hand to his cheek and pulled him in for a quick kiss. “I know you wanted a fun week.”

“Yeah. It’s fine.” Daniel frowned lightly, glancing past her to the oldest two girls on the sand as they dug with their little shovels, looking absolutely miserable. “Don’t want to torture my family anymore.”

“You’re not torturing anyone.” Florence laughed lightly, pushing his soaked hair back from his face. “Now come on, you return the canoe and I’ll bring the girls back to the site to pack up.”

After their campsite was packed up – ensuring another screaming fit from the girls when a large spider was found on their tent – and the car was loaded, Daniel had to suffer the embarrassment at the gatehouse to ask for a refund for checking out early after only one night. When they left the park, they stopped at McDonalds for lunch much to the girls’ excitement and then hit the highway to head back into the city.

Daniel had been mostly silent since they left the park and the girls had fallen asleep in the backseat after lunch, tired out from an uncomfortable night on the forest floor. Florence set her hand on Daniel’s thigh comfortingly as he drove, “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Daniel shot her his best convincing smile, but it wasn’t very believable.

“Sorry it wasn’t what you expected.”

“It’s fine.” Daniel shrugged. “We’re definitely not doing this again though.”

“Nope.” Florence agreed.

Daniel set his right hand in hers on his lap and linked their fingers together, “Maybe having three girls is different than my parents with three boys.”

Florence scoffed lightheartedly, “You think?”

[chinateacup]

Commission for @asrasdarling

So thankful to @asrasdarling for being such a lovely customer. This commission was super delayed thanks to covid 19, but it’s all ready now! 3k of fluff with MC and Asra having fun with their friends!

Fandom: The Arcana

Characters: Asra, Nadia, Julian, Portia, Muriel, OC

Pairings: Asra/OC, (briefly implied Nadia/Portia)

No rating required

“Camping trip, camping trip, camping trip!”

Julian groaned, tipping his head back. “Pasha, I am begging you to stop chanting that.”

“Come on, Ilya,” Asra shifted the bag on his back, and nudged him with his elbow. “Maybe she’s worried we’ll forget why we’re here.”

“Yes, thank you very much, Portia,” Jenna smiled. She had a picnic basket in her arms. “That explains all the luggage and tents.”

The fields surrounding Vesuvia were beautiful, of course, and usually, Jenna would jump at the offer of a walk in them. But as she was discovering, in the middle of summer, the yellow grass was glaring, and the heat haze made her eyes hurt. The sun beat down heavily on the group of five, and she wiped her brow, gulping water from the canteen Asra had packed. She’d insisted she wouldn’t need it. Thank goodness he’d ignored her.

Despite the punishing weather, Portia still grinned, swinging her arms as she led the way. “You are welcome for the reminder. Come on, it’s just round the corner.”

“Traitors,” Julian muttered. “Both of you.”

“Are we nearing this little spot of yours, Portia?” Nadia called from the back of the party. “I don’t feel it’s fair to let poor Muriel carry all this much longer.”

Jenna looked over her shoulder, and winced. Muriel’s torso had practically vanished under the sheer number of bags slung around his shoulders, not to mention the ones piled high in his arms. Suddenly her picnic basket felt much lighter.

“I don’t mind,” he said quietly. Jenna believed it; he hadn’t even broken a sweat.

“Not to worry, milady, because…” Portia ducked under a branch that proceeded to smack Julian in the chest.

“Ouch!”

“Shush you. Let’s see… it should be right around… aha!” She ran forward past a line of trees into a clearing. Jenna followed close behind, tugging Asra after her, and gasped.

Pine trees surrounded them, the shade cool and welcome against her skin. A tiny rock pool babbled on the edge of the clearing, half hidden among a thick cluster of purple wild flowers. The yellowed grass had given way to mossy cobblestone, cracked and slippery, with the odd tiny sprig growing between the slabs.

Asra sighed blissfully, tilting his face towards the sky like a satisfied cat. “This place is beautiful,” Jenna whispered, and he hummed in agreement.

“Ta-da!” Portia gestured with a wide sweep of the arm. “Was it worth the trek?”

“It’s incredible,” Julian blinked at his surroundings and dropped his bags at his feet. “When on Earth did you find it?”

“Oh, y’know,” she shrugged. “I used to come here to blow off steam about… stuff.” She glanced over her brother briefly, smile wavering, before it returned in full force. “…But that’s all solved now, so no reason not to share it! And we’ll get a perfect view of the meteor shower tonight!”

Nadia beamed, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you for sharing it with us, Portia. We’re very grateful to you.”

Portia shrugged the compliment off, giggling. “Yeah, well, it’s – it’s no big thing,” she protested weakly, though her face had gone very red.

Jenna glanced at Asra. He winked knowingly.

Near the treeline, Muriel had already set up three tents on the cobblestone, tracing a protection rune in chalk in front of each one. An old habit, and one that he didn’t seem to be growing out of any time soon. Jenna set her picnic basket down while the Devoraks struggled to spread out a blanket, squabbling over which of them was twisting it the wrong way.

She exhaled slowly, and left them in favour of the rock pool. The water looked clean and clear, so she rolled up the hem of her pants, and sat on a large rock to soak her tired feet.

Asra sat right beside her, smiling softly. “You okay, Jen?”

“Yeah,” she replied, yawning. “Worn out.”

“It was a long walk,” he agreed, kicking away his boots and dipping his feet as well. His lips parted in a soft sigh, kicking his legs slowly. “This place kinda reminds me of Kitha.”

“Kitha?” Jenna leant her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes.

“I never told you about Kitha?” Asra chuckled, breath tickling her hair. “It must have been years ago now… Such a cute town. I spent a few weeks down there one Summer. It was burning hot and in the middle of nowhere, and so, so gorgeous. So dry they could build their houses out of tightly packed sand, like an igloo.”

“Mm hm.” With her head pressed against him, Jenna could hear how Asra’s voice rumbled soothingly in his chest. His arm had found its way around her waist, thumb stroking her hip in slow circles.

“Anyway, when I told them I was a magician, they got really excited. One of them literally grabbed me by my collar, and dragged me to their mayor’s house. I thought I might choke.” Jenna smiled weakly at the image, half asleep. “When I got there, the mayor begged me to help them with their drought. It hadn’t rained there for years, and there was only one small well for the whole town to share.”

“Hang on,” Jenna opened her eyes. “You’ve told me this one.”

Asra blinked at her. “Have I?”

“Yeah, a couple of times. The owner of the well had made a deal with a demon so no rain would fall in the town, and people would have to pay to take his water, right?”

“Oh. Yes.” He thought for a moment, before brightening. “Okay, but have I told you about when I first visited Prakra?”

“When Nadia’s sister didn’t recognise you and tried to have you arrested for breaking into the palace?”

Asra bit his lip. “…Kamanar?”

“You convinced Muriel to come with you and they mistook him for a minor deity.” Jenna grinned, pressing their foreheads together. “I know all your stories, my love.”

“That can’t be true! I’ve taken so many trips…”

“And you’ve talked my ear off about them all,” she tucked a curl behind his ear, cradling his face in one hand. “As well you should.”

“Right, I have a goal for this camping trip,” Asra placed a hand on his heart, and his other on Jenna’s. “I swear that by tomorrow morning, I will find a story I have never told you.”

“Aw, just what every relaxing vacation needs. A time-based challenge.”

He giggled, cupping her jaw and kissing her softly. Her fingers tangled themselves in his hair, and he sighed against her lips, pulling her into his lap. The kiss broke, and Jenna looked down at Asra, flushed and staring up at her with an expression of wonder.

“Excuse me?” Nadia’s voice broke them from their trance. The group was already halfway through their picnic, sat around a blanket that (despite all odds) had been spread out quite nicely. She gave them a wry smile. “I hate to interrupt a tender moment, but you should know that I can only protect your share of the cookies for so long.”

“Ooh, tasty.” Asra stood, not even a little embarrassed, and tugged Jenna over by the hand. They sat crossed-legged on the blanket, and he stuck a pastry under Muriel’s nose. He went slightly cross-eyed trying to look at it. “Muri, please eat the tarts. We packed them for you.”

He rolled his eyes, but took it anyway. “Thanks.”

Asra grinned, holding one up to Jenna’s face as well. She smiled, tucking her hair out of the way before taking a bite. “Thank you,” she said around the mouthful.

“You’re welcome,” he winked. “So, Jenna and I were talking, and she seems to think I’ve told her all of my stories.”

“Well, that can’t be true,” Julian poured boiling water over a tea bag, bobbing it up and down by the string, “because I happen to know hundreds of Asra stories. Jenna, have you heard the one where the two of us broke into the palace’s wine cellar in the dead of the night –”

“The Count brought a party in there, and you hid in a barrel for three hours before climbing out of the window with half a dozen bottles stuffed down your pants.” Jenna quirked a brow, smirking. “That all you got, Doc?”

“Oh, she’s good.”

Asra groaned, burying his face in his hands. Nadia leaned over to pat his shoulder. “Come now, don’t look like that. I think it’s rather sweet you know one another so well.”

“Yeah, milady’s right,” Portia took a look sip from what looked like a cup of lemonade. “I mean, that’s what everyone wants in a relationship, isn’t it? Someone who knows all your stories.”

“I will find a new story,” Asra straightened, voice determined. “Mark my words, I will find Jenna a story.”

“Alright, what now?”

“You twist it.”

“I can’t twist it.”

“Twist it.”

“It’s already twisted!” Julian huffed, holding a very wilted bunch of purple wildflowers. “I’m not very good at this.” Muriel snorted in response.

Jenna bit her lip, trying to fold and twist the stems into a crown like he’d showed them. Asra looked down at her lap. “You’ve… almost got it.”

She pouted. “I really don’t.”

He smiled, placing his own creation on her head. The flowers were a little loose, but they held in place nicely. “This is a good colour on you.”

Jenna smiled gently, before breathing a sigh. “Okay, tell me why.”

Asra blinked. “Why what?”

“Why is it so important I haven’t heard all your stories?” Jenna dropped her crown in her lap. “Portia’s right. Isn’t it a good thing that we know each other so well?”

He shrugged half-heartedly. “I don’t know. You deserve a good story.”

“And you have given me more than enough. What is it? Are you sad about losing your ‘wandering magician’ reputation since we settled down?”

“Don’t be silly,” Asra chuckled, guiding her hands to help weave the flower stems together. “I happen to like my ‘always doting on his apprentice magician’ title much more. Though let’s be honest, at this point you could be my teacher.”

Jenna snorted, despite the blush she felt creeping up her face. “You should be so lucky.”

“Yeah, I should,” he grinned shamelessly, but his eyes were still distant. “Look, I just think that… if you know all my stories, and I definitely know all of yours, then where does that leave us?”

She frowned, distantly registering Portia celebrating her finished wreath. “What do you mean?”

Asra shrugged helplessly, not quite meeting her gaze and fumbling with the petals of a flower. “We’re finally done getting to know each other.”

If his voice hadn’t been so earnest, Jenna probably would have burst out laughing. She smiled widely instead, restraining herself. “Asra, I’ve known you for years. We’ve been partners for years! I’d like to think I know you pretty damn well!”

“But what happens now?” He asked, scratching his head. “With us, I mean. Now that we know each other.”

“We keep getting to know each other,” she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “People don’t stop growing, and they don’t stop changing, no matter how well you know them. Look at Muriel. You thought you knew him inside and out; doesn’t he still find ways to surprise you?”

“Surprise me?” Asra laughed. “A year ago if you’d told me he’d come on a trip like this, I’d have had a heart attack.”

“Oof, that would’ve been bad for us,” Jenna winced, clutching at her chest with one hand. He swatted it away, giggling.

“Hey, speaking of!” Asra beamed at Muriel as he trundled over to them. “A surprise.”

Jenna snickered, and Muriel looked between them, confused, before clearly deciding it wasn’t worth dwelling on. “Do you need any help?”

“Not at all,” she smiled, holding up her very loose, very messy, not at all connected flower crown. Well, it was more of a chain really.

He looked it over with a very serious expression, chewing his lip thoughtfully. A few flowers fell away. Asra giggled.

“It’s, um…” Muriel took a moment to find the right words. “It’s terrible.”

“Yeah,” Jenna nodded. “It’s great.”

“It’s perfect,” Asra agreed vigorously. “We should have it pressed and framed. Hang it behind the counter.”

“Please don’t do that,” Nadia called over. She was wearing her own finished crown. Of course it was lovely. “I don’t mean any offense, really, but I must say it out of concern for your business.”

“Aw, don’t feel bad, Jen!” Portia plopped herself down next her, and perched her grass wreath on Muriel’s head. He blushed, mumbling his thanks. “Ilya made some art as well. I call it ‘Very Dead Flowers.’”

Asra smirked. “I’d call it something else.”

Julian pouted, cradling two wilted stems in his hands that could have been flowers once. It was hard to tell. “I really did try my best!”

“I don’t doubt it.”

“Poor flowers never saw it coming,” Jenna said solemnly.

“Oh, leave him be,” Nadia tutted, removing her own wreath and placing it gently on his head. “There. Now no one will ever know.”

Julian flushed beet red, barely stammering his way through a thank you before Portia groaned loudly. “Yeah, yeah, real cute of you. Who has the best crown though?”

“Yeah, Muriel,” Asra backed her up, nudging his friend on the arm. “Who’s the winner?”

He blinked. “Was… this a contest?”

“It is now, apparently.” Jenna motioned with her hand. “So who won?”

“I, um…” Muriel shrugged half-heartedly. “Nadia won.”

“Ah, I think you’re confused,” Nadia said smoothly, shaking her head. “I was not taking part in the competition. I do, however, feel that Julian’s crown is particularly lovely.”

Julian blinked. “Wait, what?”

“No, you can’t do that!” Portia puffed out her cheeks, huffing. “That’s cheating! He couldn’t even make a start!”

“Well that makes no sense,” Nadia tilted her head, smiling playfully. “If he couldn’t make a start, where did the crown come from?”

“You gave it to him!”

“Nah, Nadi’s right,” Asra winked at Jenna. “Congrats, Ilya.”

“Uh, yeah, of course,” she nodded quickly. “Good job.”

“Cheats!” Portia pointed between Nadia and her brother accusingly. “Dirty cheats, the lot of you!”

“Thank you very much,” Julian grinned smugly at Muriel, tipping the crown like a hat. “I will wear this victory like a badge of honour.”

Muriel didn’t return the smile. “You didn’t win.”

“Shush now.”

“Nadia did.”

“I won.”

Asra leaned over to whisper in Jenna’s ear. “We both know who really won, right?”

“Of course we do,” she replied. “I did.”

“Obviously.”

“Is everybody comfortable?” Nadia lay back beside Portia, head resting against a plush cushion. The sun had long set, but it still wasn’t dark. The summer sky was lit up with stars, scattered like gems across dark blue velvet. It made Jenna grateful they’d hiked all the way out to the fields; in Vesuvia, the stars had fallen to earth and arranged themselves neatly on a circular grid. Not that she didn’t like the brightness and bustle of the city, but it wasn’t exactly the best place to view a meteor shower.

Asra was laid on his back, legs stretched out, hands folded on his belly. Jenna lay beside him and linked their arms together just as a comet started to trail across the sky.

Portia made a squeak of excitement. “There’s the first one! Quick, make a wish!”

“Two steps ahead of you, Pasha,” Julian bumped his shoulder against Muriel’s. “What did you wish for, big guy?”

Muriel’s brow furrowed. “Can’t say.”

“Oho, keeping secrets are we?” Julian crooked a brow, pouting slightly. “And here I thought we were becoming friends.”

Jenna chuckled. “No, Julian, you can’t tell someone what you wished for. Otherwise it won’t come true.”

He went quiet. “Ah, right. Of course not.”

Asra rolled his eyes, smirking, and Jenna leaned her chin against his shoulder. “You’re not still upset about your epic tales of misadventure?”

He crossed one leg over his knee so his foot swung in mid-air. “You know what’s wrong with the stories I’ve been telling all these years?”

“How often you tell them?”

Asra snorted, pulling her close with an arm around her waist. “No, the fact that you’re… not in them. They were from a different time in my life. When you weren’t around. Jen, when I lost you, I…” His voice wavered, and he paused, swallowing thickly.

Jenna cupped his face and pressed a kiss to his mouth, feeling him sigh against her lips and relax in her arms. “…Things are different now,” she whispered when they parted. “Different for both of us. I want to make new stories now, happier ones. With you.”

Asra searched her eyes for a moment, before beaming, brushing a strand of hair off her face. “I love you so much.”

Jenna smiled. “I love you too.”

“Is everybody watching us right now?”

“They absolutely are.”

“I was not,” Nadia said smoothly. “However I think one of the Devoraks may be crying.”

Asra laughed. “I bet I can guess which one.”

Portia cackled while Julian spluttered helplessly. “Sh-shut up, you three,” he cleared his throat, pounding a fist against his chest. “Just watch the stars, will you?”

Jenna hummed, resting her head against Asra’s chest just as another meteor left a pale stripe above them. “Hey, there’s another one. Make a wish.”

Asra tucked her head under his chin. “Would it be cheesy if I said I’ve already got mine?”

“Massively,” Jenna mumbled, already half asleep. “But I’m glad that you said it anyways.”

[plotting-against-you]

Taking Care of Vanya

Fandom: The Umbrella Academy

Characters: Diego Hargreeves, Vanya Hargreeves

Warnings: None? If you find one, let me know.

Diego sighed as he sat in his car, staring at the building he had been parked in front of for fifteen minutes. They had only been back 2019 for about a week when Vanya had mentioned heading back to her apartment to grab some of her stuff. She had promised an anxious Allison that she would merely be gone an hour; that she just needed some clothes and some of her more important belongings.

That had been three days ago. She hadn’t come back.

He wouldn’t lie and say that Allison was the only one who was worried. Luther had suggested Five just jump over to her place and find out what happened, but he was insistent that she wouldn’t want that and wasn’t going to invade her privacy that way.

Diego didn’t have his brother’s restraint.

It wasn’t a secret that he and Vanya hadn’t been super close in a long time. Between their less than stellar upbringing, her book, the apocalypse, and all of their years apart, they’d barely ever spent time together that didn’t involve fighting or harsh looks.

But he couldn’t hide the fact that he was worried about her. She was the smallest of them—and yes, he included Five in that list—and though her powers were strong and controlled enough to protect herself, he still needed to know that she was okay.

Shaking his hair, he climbed out of the car and made his way into her building. He’d told the rest of his siblings that he was hitting the streets as he had before they’d jumped back in time, and though he’s pretty sure they only half believed him, no one stopped him.

He took his time walking up the stairs of her building, knowing it wouldn’t take him long to get to the second floor. He’d seen her windows from the outside and noted that she didn’t have any locks on them. He’d have to talk to her about that if she planned on staying there.

Arriving at her apartment, he knocked a few times and waited for her to answer. When she didn’t answer, he knocked again and listened for any sign that she was inside. When he didn’t hear anything, he nearly turned to leave, but that protective feeling in his gut flared up and stopped him.

Testing the doorknob, Diego noted that she at least had the sense to lock her door behind her. Knowing if she caught him she’d make him regret it, he glanced around to make sure he was alone in the hallway before crouching to the ground to start picking her lock. It wasn’t his finest moment as a brother, but he figured he could lie his way out of it later.

Hearing the familiar click of the door opening, he stood and quietly walked into her apartment. He’d never been there and seeing how empty and barren it was hurt his heart a little. Vanya had spent her whole life feeling like nothing, and that’s precisely how she’d decorated her apartment to feel. He made a mental note to show her that she had more worth than that as they moved forward.

Inching inside, he shut the door behind him and moved into her living room. He saw mail piled up on the small coffee table and figured she had brought it inside when she had gotten there. Moving to the kitchen made him pause.

Her keys were lying on the table, along with the jacket she had worn when she left the house. He was instantly on alert, knowing she wouldn’t have left without her keys. Not willingly, anyway.

He grabbed a knife out of instinct as he made his way down her small hallway and noted the open door to her bedroom. He was almost there when he heard a little noise and stopped. He waited quietly for a second before he heard another thump and changed his direction, facing the bathroom.

Diego hesitated as the door was shut, but decided modesty could be thrown out when his sister hadn’t contacted them in three days. Raising his hand, he knocked lightly and cleared his throat.

“Vanya?” Silence. “You okay?”

There was silence for another second before he heard a quiet whimper.

“Screw it.” He thought and opened the door.

His heart plummeted, and he barely registered his knees hitting the ground as he scrambled to get next to his sister. Knife forgotten on the floor of the hallway, he put his hand on her arm only to feel the immense heat radiating off of her.

He felt like an idiot. It was apparent to him now that she hadn’t needed to come back here for any of her stuff, but because she felt sick and hadn’t wanted to bother anyone. She still felt as if she was in their way, and this was the result.

Vanya was curled up on the floor, her face buried into the cold tiles as her body shivered with fever. Her hair was plastered to her face, and Diego brushed it away quickly. Looking around the small room, he saw that she’d either forgotten or didn’t have the energy to flush the toilet after her last puking session and took care of that for her.

Then he leaned over her and tilted her head toward him, causing her to whimper again. “Vanya. Hey, sis, come on and open those eyes for me.”

Her eyes fluttered in response but didn’t open. Cursing silently, he forced himself to come up with a plan. It took only a second before he found himself sliding his arm under her back—he cringed at the sweat sticking to her shirt—and lifted her into a sitting position. Her body pitched forward, and he caught her against his chest. He pushed the worry he felt down inside of him and slid his other arm under her legs before lifting her into his grasp.

Hurrying to the front door, he made the afterthought to grab her keys on his way out. He was careful as he ran down the stairs and sped to his car. He struggled to open the passenger door for only a second, but he figured it out and gently placed her on the seat. He reclined the chair a bit so she wouldn’t flop forward and slammed the door.

He was just starting the car when a hand fell limply onto his arm. Turning quickly, he saw Vanya with her glossy eyes barely open and shook his head. “You with me, Van?”

She groaned a response he couldn’t understand but took it as a yes. “You’ll be okay. I’m taking you to Mom.” Then he sighed. “Next time, just stay at the house, alright? None of us are going to hold it against you if you don’t feel well.”

She groaned again, and he nodded, taking it as another sign that she’d heard him. He turned his attention back to the road and focused on getting home as quickly as possible.

…

Diego didn’t have one care as he kicked open the side door and carried Vanya inside. She weighed almost nothing, which was something he’d worry about when she wasn’t yet again passed out in his arms, and he hurried through the empty kitchen.

“Mom?” Making his way into the foyer, he was annoyed by the unusual lack of people. “Mom! Gonna need some help here!”

He made his way toward the infirmary and shook his head in disbelief because no home should have a built-in hospital, as footsteps came rushing down the stairs.

“Oh my God, Vanya!” Allison gasped as she matched her pace to his.

“What the hell happened?” Five had materialized next to him.

“Thankfully, I don’t share your morals and broke into her apartment,” Diego grunted as he laid her on the exam table Grace had set up. “Found her on the bathroom floor, unresponsive.”

“Oh, my dear.”

All three siblings looked up at their mother as she entered the room and quickly got to work. Knowing she would be pulling out the needles for an IV soon, Five turned to his brother.

“Diego, why don’t you go find everyone else. Allison, maybe go find her some clothes?”

Catching their brother’s meaning, she grabbed Diego’s arm and dragged him out. No one mentioned how his eyes stayed locked on Vanya’s shivering body or how his hand had gripped her wrist to feel her pulse unconsciously.

…

Everyone sat around the living room, murmuring when Grace stepped into the room, smiling at them. Diego looked up quickly, his worry for Vanya only rising as the time went on.

“How’s Vanya?” Ben asked quietly.

“Your sister is doing much better.” Grace nodded. “I was able to give her fluids and get her fever down a bit, so she’s just resting. Thankfully, your brother found her just in time, or things could have gotten a lot worse.”

He could feel everyone looking at him and purposely didn’t look back. “Good.”

“Honey, she actually asked to talk to you,” Grace told him, gesturing behind her. “She’s resting, but I think she wants to thank you.”

He stood immediately, ignoring how his siblings watched him go. He let his feet carry him to the infirmary and stood in the doorway hesitantly.

She was wearing the pajamas that Allison had brought her earlier and seemed to be doing better than when he last saw her.

“You can come in, you know.” Vanya’s voice was quiet but helped to still his wildly beating heart. “Don’t worry; I won’t impale you or something.”

He ignored her attempt at a joke and walked up next to the table. “Why did you do that?”

She looked down at her hands. “I didn’t want to bother anyone. I’m still getting used to this…sibling bonding stuff.”

Shaking his head, he sighed. “Vanya, you could have di-di-died.”

He cursed his stutter, but her eyes went soft. “I’m sorry, Diego.”

“I just…” He pictured her curled up on the floor and had to hold back a shutter. “I don’t think you understand how it felt to find you like that. I thought…”

“I know.” She told them, nervously picking at the skin around her thumbnail. “By the time I knew it was bad, I didn’t even have the energy to get the phone to call any of you.”

He didn’t respond as he knew that was a logical answer, but the fear he’d felt when finding her still filled his chest. He looked up when he felt Vanya’s hand on his.

She smiled. “Mom said I was okay enough to go back to my room. Would you help me?”

Something he thought could be trust and relief replaced the fear, and he moved to help her up. He kept his arm around her even though she felt pretty steady and helped her walk back to her room.

When they got there, he walked her over to her bed and sat her down. “You good?”

She nodded. “Thanks, Diego. For helping me and…”

Her sentence went unfinished, but he knew what she meant. He turned to leave before pausing and looking back at her. “Hey, you know we care, right? You don’t have to hide from us anymore. I just…I thought you should know that.”

She sent him a small smile, and he knew his words had gone a long way in mending their relationship. “I do now.”

Sending her his own, rare, smile he walked out and went to his room, satisfied that he was doing his part to help her know that she wasn’t alone anymore.

Her apartment went up for sale the following day.

[feistypaants-archived]

Between The Pipes [Chapter 29]

Rating: M Words: 2341 Pairing: Kristanna Summary: When a new owner takes over the Arendelle Ice Breakers, Kristoff isn’t sure about his future with the team. That is, until a PR nightmare throws the newest member of the media team, who also just so happens to be the daughter of the new owner, right into his arms. Kristoff and Anna can’t even stand the interviews they have to do together… how on earth are they going to fix this mess? Hockey!AU.

[Chapter Index]

Where To Read: [AO3]

Notes: Something amazing happens.

So so so so so so many that it's close to infinite thank you's to @xmjcx​ for helping me with this chapter. Her wisdom got me over a roadblock I couldn't figure out my way around, so, yeah. I'm just forever grateful. (hopefully this butters her up enough that she's not mad at me for posting it while she's asleep whoops)

Enjoy!

Kristoff had insisted, after their long-running burger dinner, that either she should come to his, or let him come to hers. But Anna had smiled and shook her head, promising that she just had a very bad headache and wanted nothing more than to go to bed. 

“You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” He stroked a nervous thumb over the back of her hand before she leapt out of his truck. 

No kiss.

“I know,” she smiled again, but it still wasn’t reaching her eyes.

Anna waved and left him sitting alone, worried and upset, as he watched her shoulders sag as she made her way up the stairs. He hoped maybe some sleep would help.

But then she didn’t show up the next day. To be fair, she didn’t really have any work to do when there wasn’t a game - she just usually came to watch practice and hang out afterwards - but it was strange nonetheless. 

He had texted her as soon as he got off the ice.

Want me to come over tonight? I’ll bring dinner? Chinese?

aww, you’re sweet. im just not feeling well. maybe tomorrow?

All right… let me know.

of course!

He didn’t even hear from her for another day after that.

She came in on Thursday for a game against St. Louis, and Kristoff took note of the caked makeup over her dark, puffy under eyes. “Hi, baby,” he tried, letting out a heavy sigh of relief when she immediately stepped into his outstretched arms and pressed her nose into his shoulder. “Feeling better?”

Her head shook a firm no against him, but he wasn’t going to push it. Kristoff was just thankful she was _here _and responding to him.

“I’m here,” he breathed into her hair. “Whatever you need.”

He swore he felt her sob against him.

She powered through the night, interviews were jovial and upbeat as she made jokes and teased and talked through play-by-plays with some of his teammates. You could barely even see how much makeup she was wearing on camera - Ryder had been picking flattering angles and lighting.

They had won, she had hugged him, and even kissed him once more.

But she still drove home alone afterwards.

“Man…”

Kristoff turned around in the parking lot, surprised to see Honeymaren walking out behind him. “Real shame, huh?” He felt his eyebrows furrow as she looked down into her bag. Did she know? “I know, I know, I’m not supposed to know but,” she shrugged and smiled sadly up at him. “Her sister has loose lips.”

He nodded once, hoping she would continue. Thank god she wasn’t so tight with secrets either. “Just… God their father is the worst, right? I can’t believe that he just fired her like that.”

His heart was hammering in his throat as she kept talking. 

“You’d think, you know... that’s his kid, right? Give them the benefit of the doubt?” She was shaking her head now. “Apparently he called her all sorts of…” She sighed into a groan and she practically shivered. “Just… horrible.”

Kristoff gave her about thirty seconds to continue before he blurted out a quiet “why?” He ignored how her eyes widened. “Why did he fire her?”

Honey looked shocked now. “She… Anna hasn’t told you?”

He could feel his eyes fluttering slightly as he shook his head. “No…”

“Oh, um…” 

Regret was radiating off of her in waves. She had said too much, he knew she thought it, but… He understood, now. No one wants to be fired - much less by their own parent - not to mention, Kristoff genuinely couldn’t think of a single thing Anna could have possibly done wrong. She was a great employee, and a great on-air personality… But he still didn’t understand why she wasn’t telling him. 

Unless…

His shoulders slumped. “Was it… because of me? Because,” he stuttered for a moment, gripping the strap of his duffel. “Because she was dating me?”

“Oh, god,” Honey cringed, pressing a palm against her forehead. “I… I think you should talk to her. I… shit. I’m sorry.” He watched her cheeks darken as she turned to head back to her car. “I… god, I thought you would’ve known.”

He nodded once, curt and hardly there, as she climbed into her drivers’ side. “Me, too,” he mumbled, before she shut the door.

—

One more day passed before he heard the personalized Disney ringtone she had set on his phone - because you said I was pretty enough to be a princess, remember? - and Kristoff was almost embarrassed at how he dove for his phone. “Anna?”

“Wanna come over?” She sounded so shy, and he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. “I’ll order pizza.”

“Of course, give me a few minutes.”

She hung up almost immediately and he definitely broke a few speed limits getting to her as quickly as he possibly could. And, as if she heard his truck, or his heavy footsteps, or even his panting for air as he sprinted up the staircase, her front door swung open just as he lifted his hand to knock. 

“Hi --”

“No talking.” Anna threw her arms around his neck and led him quickly into the apartment, kissing him deeply as they stumbled over her haphazard piles of belongings. It was only a short walk before he recognized the distinct smell of her perfume that was strongest in the bedroom.

Fuck, he knew they needed to talk, he knew she needed to tell him, or that he needed to tell her, but she was so warm and giving and he had missed her so much. Then suddenly, a moment of clarity as she threw herself down on the bed, fingers tangled in his t-shirt, moving with enough force to pull them apart for just a moment as he locked his arms on either side of her. “Hang on, wait, Anna… We really should--”

Her hand clasped over his mouth. “I said no talking.”

Kristoff blinked a couple times in surprise, eyes scanning over her face. Her nose and cheeks were red, eyes dark and wet, and she had still fucking been crying. But… would this make her feel better? Could he risk turning her down and her kicking him out? She was in control of this whole situation, and if this was what she wanted… 

God, no.

No, it wouldn’t help. He knew her well enough by now to know that for sure, didn’t he?

Turning his head enough to slip her hand from his lips, Kristoff twisted his hips so that he was sitting beside her now on the bed, resting one of his hands on her forearm and squeezing reassuringly. “Anna…” 

Her cheeks were red, now with embarrassment, as he rubbed his thumb back and forth over her skin. “Honeymaren, uh… She told me what happened.”

There was a mixture of confusion and anger and relief washing over her features as she seemed to be puzzling over which one to allow to the forefront. He blew out one breath of air, and had to close his eyes when he heard one heavy sob escape from her throat. “She… what?”

“Not…” He stroked his fingers up her arm to rest below her shoulder, doing his best to reassure her. “Not everything, I don’t think. Just…” She sat up, forcing his hand to leave her arm and settle on her leg. “That he fired you.”

His eyes dragged over the slight swell of her throat as she swallowed before darting back up to her downcast eyes. Kristoff only hesitated for a moment before he scooted a little closer, now hip to hip, and nudged her with his shoulder. “Anna…” She looked up at him, eyes red and puffy, and he tried his best to give her a soft smile. “You can tell me as much -- or as little -- as you want. I’m here. Just… let me know what you need.”

She blinked away a few tears, sniffled once, and then laid her head against his shoulder.

“He…” Another sniffle. “He was never told that our… how we started…” He couldn’t see her face, but he could almost picture her lip caught between her teeth as she struggled for the words. “He didn’t know it was fake. And… I guess someone told him…”

Warren. That scumbag Warren told him. But how the hell did he even know?”

“So… now I’m a big liar.” Her hands came to grasp at his as he flipped his palm up on her thigh, and she let out a small sigh as she started playing with his fingers. “I guess it just… confirmed his suspicions about me - about…” Anna’s head shook against his shoulder and he nodded, letting it go. It was something she wasn’t ready to reveal yet, and he would respect that.

“Anyway, I guess he said… it wasn’t worth the potential scandal?” He could tell it was easier when she wasn’t looking at him. “If everything came to light… About how I got the job, about the… PR stuff… I think he said I wasn’t good enough at it to justify it… I don’t really know,” she laughed lightly, bitterly, as she squeezed at his fingers, and he tried his best not to let the rage bubbling in his stomach boil over. “I kind of blacked out a bit, I think. But… After the All-Star break, I’m… done.”

Kristoff turned his head to press his lips softly against her hair before settling his cheek against her head once more. “Your father is making a huge mistake. It’s going to be a big loss, you not gracing everyone’s screens anymore.”

Anna laughed, quietly but genuinely this time, and he brought his other arm to settle around her hips. “I’m not kidding, really.” He could feel her turn her nose in to nuzzle against his throat. “Listen, I’ve… seen a lot of interviewers and worked with a lot of interviewers, and you have this very, very natural charisma about you. You get even the most resistant guys to talk.” He vaguely lifted their joined hands to gesture at himself. 

“You hardly wanted anything to do with me, if you want to remember correctly.”

“Yeah, well,” he grinned, pinching at the curve of her hip and soaking in the soft sound of her laughter. “That’s what I’m saying. You’re so good at getting people to open up and talk. That’s a skill few possess.”

He wanted so badly to look at her, but Kristoff wouldn’t risk moving if she felt safe here. “And, god, you’re so smart, Anna.” 

A meek “I am?”

“Of course! Fuck, you learned the ins and outs of hockey in a matter of weeks.” He felt her tensing against him. “I swear, you asked questions that even made us impressed. You saw things sometimes that even _I _missed on the ice.”

“No I didn’t.” 

He did pull back then, turning on the bed to face her as he lifted his hands up to her shoulders, pressing firm palms against her. “You did. Anna…” Her eyes rose to meet his and he couldn’t help but smile. “You’re amazing. You’re kind and funny and smart and brave -- you took a job you knew nothing about in a new city and you proved that you could do it. You stood up to people who said you couldn’t -”

“... Like you.”

“... Like me.”

There was a smile on her face and a light in her eyes that Kristoff had been so desperately missing. “You’re… you’re brilliant, and you’ll have no problems getting up from this. And…” He leaned a little closer as his hands dragged down her skin to clasp her fingers in his, holding them tightly between their chests. “I believe in you, so much. Whatever I can do to help, whatever you need. I’m your guy.” 

Anna’s whole body shifted with the deep breath she took in and released, as her eyelids fluttered and she bit at her lip. He wanted to kiss her, but first he wanted to make sure she was okay.

“I have no doubt that you’ll come back from this better than ever. Whatever job you find after this.” Blue eyes rose to meet his, and he felt a warmth growing in his chest. All he wanted from this day forward was for her to be so happy, no matter how that came to be. “What can I do?”

She slid her hands out from his and reached forward to stroke soft thumbs over his cheekbones. “You’re already doing it.” Moving to kneel, Anna shifted forward on the bed to settle between his thighs. “Thank you,” she hummed, before pressing her lips against his. It was chaste and soft and slow, and Kristoff felt his lips stretching into a smile under hers.

“Anytime,” he murmured, lifting his hands to rest on her hips. 

It was different this time as she kissed him. It was different as she wrapped her arms around his neck. And it was different as she looked at him, something new and exciting and raw in her eyes, before laying back and encouraging him to join her. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I…” Her eyes darted across his face, and she reached one hand up to cup his jaw. “I want to.”

“Not…” He had to make sure. “Not like before, right? Not just to escape?”

Anna smiled, and shook her head. “No. I just… want to be with you right now.” Her plush bottom lip was caught between her teeth again as she stroked her thumb across his skin. “I… I think I’ve realized something.”

He nodded, bracing his weight on his elbows as he leaned down to continue. 

And finally, it was so, so different, the way they moved together, softly, slowly, cherishing the moment and the comfort of one another as they found a new rhythm that no longer felt like it used to. It no longer felt like just sex, just benefits, just friends.

It no longer felt like just.

[ifuckedchrisevans]

One Beer - Part Four

Based off the song One Beer by Hardy you can listen to it HERE

High school sweethearts AU with Chris | You and Chris just graduated high school. You have an amazing summer planned before you and your friends part ways for the fall and go on to your separate schools. But what happens when things don’t go as planned?  

PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE

Note: Sorry this took so long! I’m not that good at ending chapters lol :/ Let me know what you think and if you want to be tagged in future chapters :) 

The next three months flew by. Before you knew it, it was the middle of August and Chris’ big move to New York was tomorrow. To be honest, you were trying not to think about it, the thought of him being so far away made your stomach turn, and no, it wasn’t the baby.

You were folding Chris’ clothes when he walked in his room with a bigger duffle bag. 

Chris looked around his room, you had organized everything he was taking with him into piles. Shirts, pants, socks, underwear, shoes, and a nice suit cause “you never know when a great opportunity could present itself.”

“Babe, you know I can do this myself, you should be resting,” he said, joining you on the floor. 

You stopped folding the shirt in your hands and leaned your head on his shoulder, Chris wrapped you up in his arms instantly. 

The two of you sat in silence, trying to ignore your soon to be new reality. 

“I need to keep folding,” you mumbled, leaning out of Chris’ arms

“Baby, just leave it, can’t we just be here,” Chris said, rubbing your back.

“No, I need to finish this, Chris,” your voice quivered. 

“(Y/N),” he whispered, trying to reason with you.

“I said let me finish!” you snapped back, “please, it’s all I have left to control,” you cried. 

And that’s when the flood gates opened. You couldn’t tell if it was your anxiety, the pregnancy hormones, or a little bit of both. 

“Hey,” Chris whispered, “what’s this all about?” he questioned, pulling you into his arms and holding you tight. 

“You’re leaving, there’s a literal human growing inside of me, my pants barely fit me anymore, all of my friends are leaving for college and rushing the sororities we stalked on instagram all year, and I’m just here, left in the dust and getting fat,” you cried, looking at your boyfriend. 

Chris hugged you tighter, to be honest, he had no idea what to say. He finally took a breath and tried his best to say the right thing. 

“I know you’re not going to believe me, but you are absolutely beautiful, baby bump or no baby bump, you’re breathtaking. You’re doing the most selfless thing right now and I am so, so proud of you,” Chris said, his eyes locked with yours. “I can call this whole New York thing off at a moment's notice, you know that. Just say the word and it’s over.”

“I could never do that to you,” you said, there was a hint of pain in your voice. You played with the collar of his shirt. 

“I know,” Chris sighed, you were selfless, pregnant or not, you were always putting others' needs and wants before your own. It was one of the things he loved about you. “Just say the word and I’m back home with you,” he pecked your lips.

“I love you,” you smiled at him. 

“I love you, always,” he smiled, hugging you tight and pressing a kiss to the top of your head. 

The two of you sat in a comfortable silence, surrounded by piles of folded clothes. 

“Can I be honest?” Chris’ voice broke the silence.

You turned your head and looked up at him, waiting for him to continue his thought. 

“I’m kinda glad you won’t be away at school, rushing and stuff,” he said hesitantly.

“Why’s that, babe?” you asked.

“Cause I don’t think I could compete with all the Brads and Chads out there,” he giggled, slightly joking and slightly being serious. 

“You put both Brad and Chad to shame, babe,” you giggled, pressing your lips to his.  

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

The morning you had dreaded was finally here. You rolled over to snuggle into Chris’ side but found his side of his bed empty. You sat up and looked around his room, he was nowhere in sight. 

You put on your glasses and pulled one of Chris’ hoodies over your shorts and t-shirt before you made your way downstairs. 

The sight before you made you smile, Chris stood at the stove with his mom cooking breakfast. If he hadn’t turned to walk to the fridge he wouldn’t had seen you standing there. 

“Aw, you’re up,” he whined.

“Was I not supposed to wake up?” you giggled and walked over to hug him.

“I was supposed to bring you breakfast in bed,” Chris said, before he pecked your cheek. 

“Want me to go back to bed?” you asked.

“I’ll tuck you in,” a goofy smile spread across your boyfriend’s face as he walked you back upstairs. 

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

After you ate breakfast in bed together, you and Chris stayed snuggled up in his bed watching TV. 

“I got you something,” his voice whispered.

“Hey! Not fair, we agreed on no ‘going away’ gifts,” you whined. 

Chris smirked, rolling over to pull a small black box from the drawer in his nightstand. 

“Uhh- C-Chris? Whaaat are you doing?” you said, slightly panicking. 

He giggled, “it’s not what you think it is. Not yet at least,” he winked. 

You took the small black box in your hand and popped it open. You gasped at the small, gold bar necklace that stared back at you. There was a small “C” engraved on one side, and the other side had a simple six letter word, the word that Chris liked to add to his ‘i love you’ messages.

“Always” you whispered, running your fingers over the engraved letters. 

“I love it,” you sniffled, “thank you,”

Chris smiled, pressing his lips to yours. 

You didn’t want this kiss to end and neither did he. This one was going to have to hold you both over for a bit. 

The two of you laid in his bed, tangled up in each other. You stayed that way until the last possible minute. 

“Do we have to leave this spot?” you wondered out loud.

“We could just pretend the outside world doesn’t exist,” Chris joined your thinking. 

“But how will you become a rich and famous movie star who can give your son and baby mama a lavish life?” you giggled.

“Uhh, correction, son and WIFE,” he smirked.

You playfully rolled your eyes at his “correction”. Of course, you wanted to marry Chris, you love him, you’re literally having his child. But, you didn’t want to rush it and make Chris feel like he had to hurry up and ask because of the circumstances. 

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

Chris pulled himself out of bed and got dressed. He pulled you with him, walking down the stairs with the last bag to load into his car. 

The trunk slammed and he turned to give hugs to his family.

“Call us when you stop,” his mom said, she hugged her son, fighting back a tear or two. 

Chris turned to you with a sad smile and took your hand. The two of you walked to the driver’s side of the car. 

“I’ll call you when I stop, I’ll call you when I get there, and I’ll call you every morning and night,” he promised. 

“And I’ll come visit next weekend,” you smiled and took a deep breath. “We can do this,” Chris said. 

You smiled and nodded.

“Now, go catch your big break, make momma some money,” you winked.

Chris laughed and pulled you into his arms one last time. 

“If anything changes, you call me. I don’t care what time it is, I don’t care what I’m doing. I’ll be back here in the blink of an eye,” he said, you could hear a hint of worry in his voice. 

“I promise,” you smiled, “I love you, Christopher Robert.”

“I love you, (Y/F/N , Y/M/N), always,” Chris said before he crushed his lips to yours.

Chris climbed in the car and started the engine. He looked at you with an excited spark in his eye but a sad smile on his face. 

“Love you, ma!” he hollered, looking back at his mom, “I’ll call ya when I stop!”

“Drive safe,” you squeezed his hand before you stepped back from the car. 

“I love you, always” Chris smiled, pulling out of the driveway.

“Always,” you whispered to yourself, holding your necklace.

Chris’ mom came and stood beside you, she put her arm around your shoulder. 

“C’mon, sweetheart, let’s go get some lunch. Our boy will be home soon,” she said. 

The two of you walked back into the house. You sat at the kitchen island while Lisa cooked everyone lunch. 

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

You talked with his sisters about potential baby names and Scott insisted that the baby be named after him, whether it was a boy or a girl. 

You were so relieved that Chris’ family accepted you as one of their own. It was comforting to know you could be at the house without Chris having to be by your side. 

After lunch you weren’t feeling well. Lisa insisted that you did not drive home until you were feeling better. 

You agreed to go take a nap in Chris’ room before going home. 

His almost empty room still smelled like him. Your eyes watered as you tiptoed into the room. 

You fell back on the bed and wrapped yourself in the blankets. Breathing in the familiar scent of your boyfriend who was currently driving miles away from you to follow his dreams. 

“He’ll be home soon,” you sighed to yourself before you drifted off to sleep.

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

Tag List:

@introvertatitsfinest @thegetawaywriter @classylady1234 @patzammit 

@captain-rogers-beard @evansxxx @twittytelly​ 

[knjnvrland]

Prank Wars - ch. 6

> pairing | jungkook x reader

> word count | 4.5k

> genre | college!au, fluff, smut, angst

> warnings | swearing, some really vanilla sexual acts, fingering, unprotected sex.

> synopsis | College can be a stressful time in anyone’s life as it is, why don’t we throw a little prank war in the mix to make it harder?

> fic masterlist

> A/N | English is not my first language, I’m sorry for the eventual spelling mistake, please let me know if you find any!

CHAPTER 6 - No-Bra Girl

Your room was way too bright, did you forgot to close the windows the night before? You woke up annoyed, feeling like you could sleep for 5 more hours at least, but something inside you said you shouldn’t. You extended your arm to your bedside table to try and reach for your phone, but came up empty. Still dazed, you opened your eyes and took a look around: yup, the curtains were left wide open, and by how bright it was, even for a winter day, you could tell the sun has been up for a while. Alice was still asleep on her bed on the other side of the room, you noticed she had the patience of getting into her pijamas, while you only bothered to take off your jeans and bra and fell asleep wearing the same shirt you had on the night before. Oh! The night before! You knew you should’ve said no to the going out after Hoseok’s performance, but how could you say no to Jimin when he was so happy that he didn’t mess up the backup dancing? Hobi too, was so happy to finally deliver what he had been practicing the entire semester, you just had to go. But you surely didn’t need to drink as much as you did.

You got up with a groan and stretched your back, walking over to Alice’s bed to look for her purse. It was on the floor besides her, as always, and you checked it to see if she had your phone. When you realized it wasn’t there you decided to nudge her just to ask, you knew you needed it for something, you just couldn’t remember what now. Alice turned around, not yet awake, and you nudged her again.

“Hey, Al, do you have my phone?” You whispered, when she seemed more awake.

“Huh?” She opened one of her eyes and looked for your face.

“My phone. I can’t find it, do you have it?” Noticing the confused look in your friend’s face you continued “from last night, you must have took it when we got out”

“Have you checked my purse?” She opened her other eye and letted out a yawn.

You signaled ‘yes’ with your head “it's not there either”. Alice frowned and turned to pick up her stuff, looking once again.

“Then I don’t have it, love, you must have forgotten it at the bar, maybe check if one of the boys have it?” She took her own phone from under her pillow and gave it to you, and you dialed the first number you found: Yoongi’s, obviously.

It rang until it reached his voice mail, and the same happened with every single boy you called next. You began trying to call you own number, hoping whoever had it was a nice enough person to give it back, but with no luck still. You kept calling their numbers and after almost half an hour of it, Alice stopped you.

“They're probably passed out, your phone will appear eventually.” She took her own device back from you. “Maybe focus on studying?”

And that’s when it hit you: all your notes were on your phone. You kept them there so it was easier to study on the go, instead of taking notes in your computer like everyone else. And you had a final in two days and already lost half of all the braincells you could spare that morning in search of one of your stupid friends and brothers. And so the panic ensued. You started to hyperventilate immediately and could tell Alice noticed when her eyes grew twice as big as they usually were.

“What happened? What’s wrong?” She took your hands in hers, a method she learned would help someone to focus. It worked on you for a split second, but then you were back to panicking. There was no way you could have all the work done and all the notes taken again in time for the test, you’d fail and have to repeat the entirety of the class and then you’d mess up all your curriculum and have to postpone other classes to still maybe graduate on time and you knew you had to graduate on time otherwise there would be no way you could maintain yourself without your parent’s help and being the youngest you knew they were getting fed up with their children needing stuff all the time and- “Hey, y/n. Breathe.”

You took a deep breath on auto-pilot and finally focused on Alice on her knees in front of you. “All my notes are on my phone, I really need it today.”

“Ok, I’ll drive to Yoongi’s and see if he has it, I have a key to his place, I’m sure we can find it.” She stood up, and you realized she was already showered and dressed, probably doing it all while you called the guys non stop. “I'll come back as soon as possible, I’m taking my phone but keep your computer on so I can message you on facebook if I find out anything” she gave you a peck on the head and left without looking back.

You started to pace around the room, but finally you realized it was to no use and took your books to the living room, sitting on the floor by the coffee table to try and redo all your work, just in case your phone was lost forever.

Jungkook woke up earlier then he wished he did, but he was getting late on school work because of all the practices and end-of-year games he was playing, so he had to make the best out of his weekends. He had a test on Monday and although it wasn’t a final, yet, it still accounted for a good amount of his grade. He also needed to tidy up the place and get his laundry done. There were few things in life that Jungkook took as seriously as his laundry, he just couldn’t stand dirty clothes piling up and his worst nightmare came through when the washing machine in his building broke. Lucky for him, the dorms were closer than the boy’s place and Alice was nice enough to give him clearance to use the machines that were on the basement, and so he had been doing for a while.

He parked his car as close as he could to the entrance and noticed Alice’s wasn’t in it’s usual place. He went straight to the basement, taking his clothes with him in a white laundry sack. Getting there it wasn’t hard to spot the machine assigned to your floor. The building had three rooms per floor and a machine for each of them, with a couple baskets provided and a schedule on the wall. The time assigned for Alice and you was mornings, but you usually washed your clothes late night, after the other room had taken theirs out, so you wouldn’t have to wait there, just having to return the next morning to retrieve your clean itens. Jungkook didn’t knew this when he first started taking his clothes there, just assuming one of you was faster then him in the mornings. 

It was Alice that explained this habit of yours to him, and told him she usually just took your belongings out and left on the basket on top of the machine, so you’d just come and collect it later. He started to do the same and for the first couple of times it was all innocent, but he grew annoyed fairly quick and, just as a small social experiment, started to take an item of your clothing every time he found the washing machine filled with your stuff. It wasn’t supposed to go on for as long as it did, but you never noticed and so he kept going. It has been almost a month now, and he had already filled a drawer at his place with your stuff; mismatched socks, a few shirts, a pair of jeans he knew you liked and even a bra once, granted, but he only took it because the thought of you, at 21, still wearing bras with cute animal printed on them amused him to his core.

He did the same that day, picking up a grey sweater he had seen you wearing a lot lately and putting it inside his bag. He took out his phone to listen to some music while he waited, and realized he had a few missed calls from Alice, and a message on the group chat asking if anyone had seen your phone. He almost forgot about it this morning, but at the last second he remembered to take it with him to drop it off to you. He had done nothing bad to it, just took a couple of selfies so you’d remember who saved your ass when you retrieved it, and just before he could do anything else, another message popped up on the group chat.

Alice (yg gf): srsly guys, where are you?  Alice (yg gf): I’m @ Yoongi’s and he’s not here?? Alice (yg gf): Has anyone seen anyone? Alice (yg gf): Jungkook doesn’t seem to be home either??? Alice (yg gf): unless,,,, is he dead? Did any of you finally ended him? Alice (yg gf): (jk JK, ily) Alice (yg gf): aha jk jk, got it? I’m so funny lol

Jungkook chuckled to himself and began to type, but someone else was faster.

RM hyung: what got into you this morning? Alice (yg gf): Finally! Do you know where’s everybody? RM hyung: Nope RM hyung: Just got home, there’s no one here Alice (yg gf): wtf where’s everyone? Your sister’s freaking out RM hyung: ?? Alice (yg gf): she lost her phone Alice (yg gf): all of her notes were on it RM hyung: let me shower and I’ll send her what I have from last year Alice (yg gf): yeah do that Alice (yg gf): and pls let me know if you find anyone else Alice (yg gf): I’m going to Jin’s to see if there’s anyone there RM hyung: for sure RM hyung: ttyl

Jungkook locked his phone and took yours from his other pocket, climbing the stairs to your floor so he could return it to you. He only ringed the doorbell twice before you opened the door. Your hair was a mess and he could tell you still haven’t showered. You were wearing the same shirt as the night before and a pair of sweater pants, and the look you gave him when you opened the door warned him you were not in a good mood.

“Hey..?” He greeted you, uncertain.

“What do you want?” He widened his eyes at your rude response and you felt a bit bad and took a deep breath “I'm just having a terrible morning"

“Something related to this?” Jungkook lifted your phone so you could see it and you grabbed it immediately. It had run out of battery but it sure was yours. “You’re welcome."

“Oh my god I’ve been looking for this all morning” you stepped back inside, going to your room to retrieve your charger and turn your phone back on as soon as possible. “You have no idea the hell I’ve been in without it”

Jungkook followed you, closing the front door behind him. He took in the mess you made out of the living room. There was a cup of probably cold coffee staining the glass table and your books were open everywhere. Your laptop was also open but on the sofa, and he could see the messenger tab opened in Alice’s contact and way more blue messages then gray ones, so you must’ve been spamming her without a break ever since she left. There was a blanket on the floor, even though the heater was on a very high temperature, and he picked up a pink marker on his way to your room that he believed was in your hand just seconds before.

“Really why can’t you pick up your phone?” You plugged in your phone but it wouldn’t turn on just yet, so you were pacing around, picking up stuff and dropping it again, clearly anxious and trying to occupy your hands with something “I've been freaking out since I woke up, you could’ve at least texted Alice last night to tell her you had it. I have to tell her you’re here, she’s driving around town looking for any of you, really, what happened after we left for you all to disappear? Yoongi hates to sleep over anywhere that’s not his house, oh great, now I’m worried something bad happened to anyone else. But if it was serious we would know, right? I just really have to focus on the test I have monday, I can’t stress with anyone else’s business. That’s why I never had friends, they’re so much work! Now I have to worry about weather Jimin and Hobi and oh God even my brothers, I have no idea where they are either and I can’t even begin to-"

Jungkook couldn’t stand your pacing around anymore, and as much as he tried to grab your attention to explain, you never. stopped. talking. So he did the only thing he could think of that would surely shut you up: he kissed you. And you know what? You kissed him back. But only for a second before you pushed him away.

“What the fuck?” You were trying to catch your breath. If because of all the talking or the kiss not even you were sure, but Jungkook had this smug smile on his face and you just hated it.

“I couldn’t shut you up” He stated, like it was nothing.

“Never do that again! What if anyone find’s out oh no they already think there’s something weird between us now is not the time to-“… and he kissed you again. But now he had his hands on your waist, pulling you closer, and you took a little longer to react.

“Will you stop?” You pushed him away, confused about the whole situation.

“You were going to start spiraling again, I’m just doing preventive control”

“I'm not going to deal with this now” you turned around, searching your phone again, but it was still dead. You pretended to check the cord, that you knew for sure was just fine, but could still feel Jungkook’s eyes on you. “Stop looking at me.”

“I'm not.” Jungkook deviated way too fast, just giving you the confirmation that he really was watching.

“What are you still doing here, anyway?” You turned back at him and he had his hand on his back, scratching mindless, the motion lifted his shirt just enough for you to peek at his v line. He wasn’t looking at you, so he didn’t notice it, but when your eyes finally locked, you could see there was something there that was new.

“I don’t know, really. Waiting to see if I have to shut you up again…?” He gave you a boyish smile, and although you tried to remain annoyed, the corner’s of your mouth gave you away. “You liked it.” His smile grew.

“No I didn’t" you were quick to answer this time, trying to get out of your room and back to your studies, but Jungkook held your waist again, softer this time, and made you look at him.

“I can do it again” it was barely a whisper, but you were close enough that you understood it perfectly. You couldn’t deny that the kiss did indeed shut your mind up for a bit, as well as your mouth, and it would be nice to have the distraction. You stood on the tip of your toes and started getting closer to him. But you also had to study quite a lot that day, and Alice would be back any second now.

Jungkook noticed your uncertainty and, before he himself could think too much about this, he closed the distance between the two of you.

This kiss lasted longer, at first he was shy, but when you reciprocated, the both of you established a rhythm and he opened his mouth to deepen the kiss, to which you responded doing the same. He had one of his hands still on your waist and the other at the back of your neck, pulling you closer. You had both of yours on his chest, filling him up a little, you admitted. The first move came from you, lowering your fingers through his torso, stopping just at the hem of his shirt. He broke off the kiss and took a good look at your face. Your pupils had doubled in size and a silent question was asked. The answer was your lips back on his. There was anger in the touch, but also passion. He knew the best sex came from either of those scenarios, and the thought of having a bit of both excited him to no end. You motioned for him to take of his shirt and you separated a little for him to do so, finding each other again immediately after. You closed the door and took a few steps back, until you felt the edge of your bed behind your knees. The both of you found the mattress while breaking the kiss for just enough time so you could appreciate his nice physique. 

He started to lift off your shirt and you raised your arms to allow him. 

“Didn't pick you out as a no-bra girl” he breathed out, trying to mask how turned on he was at the sight of your exposed breasts. You rolled your eyes and pulled him back to you, scratching him on the back of the neck as a warning sign, but it had the opposite effect, as all it took from the boy over you was a moan. “I can play dirty too”.

Jungkook then bit on your lip while moving his hand all the way under you to grab your ass, giving it a harsh squeeze. You jumped a little in surprise, but had no other reaction seeing as not a second later he grinded a bit on you. You opened your legs more as a reflex, letting him get comfortable between them. You started to move your hips a bit, trying to get in sync with him while still keeping the rhythm of the kiss. You could feel how hard he was getting and the sounds he made gave you all the clearance you needed to extend one hand between the two of you and start to draw the outline of his member on his pants. He groaned into the kiss and you could feel yourself getting wet because of the sound and the friction.

You started to kiss his neck and he freed one of his hands only to untie the knot on your sweater pants and make his way in between your legs, starting to move his fingers in circles over your panties. You could feel how hard he was and shoved him from over you so you could both get naked already, before any of you had the chance to second guess what you were doing. You never saw someone take off their pants as fast as Jungkook took his, but you were quick to follow.

Before he could get himself comfortable on top of you again, you signaled for him to lie down on your bed “I like to be on top”, his eyes widened not because he was surprised, honestly, he knew you were a control freak, but the time it took him to get comfortable was enough so he could get a good look at your body and damn, he was turned on. You started to kiss him again and he moved one of his hands to massage your clit in between the two of you.

“Don't you want a little bit more of foreplay?” He broke the kiss again to ask but your only answer was to motion on top of his hard member, silencing him immediately. He helped you get in position and soon enough you could feel him getting inside of you. It took you a moment to adjust to his size. It’s been a while since you last got laid and you admit you started to forget the feeling. “Is this okay?” Jungkook had his hand on your waist, waiting for you to move first, you could tell it was taking a tool on him, but his eyes showed nothing but concern. That is, until you started moving. He closed his eyes and threw his had back as you began to go up and down on him, slowly at first but in a nice rhythm.

He started to help you out a bit, guiding your waist with his hands, and you lowered yourself to kiss his exposed neck a bit more. The position gave you the extra friction you needed and you started to move faster. You bit his collar bones as he moaned, and you could feel his chest getting sweaty, but it didn’t bother you at all. He started to trust harder into you and you could feel yourself getting close to your climax, he grabbed the back of your neck pulling you closer so he could kiss you some more, and you could tell he was not far either, as his movements were starting to get sloppy. 

You were really almost there when a sound deviated your attention. On your bedside table your phone had just turned on, and an avalanche of notifications came through all at once. It served as a wake up call and before you could do anything else, you felt Jungkook coming undone under you. You lifted yourself from him and he tried to hug you to keep you close, but you were already getting up from the bed and looking for your clothes. You couldn’t see the expression on the boy’s face as you got dressed again, but confusion was a given. There were few moments in his life where Jungkook was left speechless, specially after having sex with a good looking girl, but you really threw him off. He didn’t know how to react at the sudden change of mood, and could just lay there, watching you get as far from him as possible. Was he that bad at sex? He was sure he wasn’t. Granted, this time wasn’t his best, but he could tell you were enjoying just a moment ago.

You walked to your phone to check what was on it once you were fully dressed again, and with you peripheral vision you could see Jungkook getting up to put on his clothes too. Aside from a few social media notifications, and a few messages from your classmates either asking you for your notes or sending you theirs, it wasn’t much. That is, until you saw a few texts from Alice.

Alice <3: ok asshole I know you have y/n’s phone Alice <3: i’m going home now to tell her Alice <3: and as much as it annoys me Alice <3: i don’t want you dead Alice <3: and you will be as soon as I tell her you have it Alice <3: so you should probably show up Alice <3: like really fast

“You have to go” you didn’t even look at Jungkook and you had no time to worry about hurting his feelings right now “Alice is coming”

“Oh shit, okay.” He only had his shirt left to put back and as he was doing it you got a final glance of his abs. Damn it y/n now was really not the time. “We should talk about this though” Did he catch you staring? From the smirk on his face, probably. But again: now was not the time.

“I was stressed, you were there, no big deal, we talked, now please go” you said while walking to your front door, with Jungkook trailing behind.

“No, I mean it” he was annoyed “I don’t want to make things weird” you took a deep breath with your back turned to him. You didn’t want things to get weird either, and you knew it was best if the two of you took a minute to talk about it, but the thought of Alice getting home and sensing something had happened was mortifying and you didn’t want to risk it.

“It's not weird” you turned to him then, but you didn’t sound convincing at all “really, we’re good, nothing changed, I still find you an asshole, but we’re friends, let’s stay friends, alright?” His lips were pressed together in a thin line and you could not guess what he was thinking at all, but he nodded his head and grabbed his bag he had left by your entrance door. You felt bad all over again so, just as he was leaving you grabbed the hem of his shirt and made him look back at you “we're okay, right?”

He took a second to answer “yeah, we’re okay.” He didn’t change his expression, but you could tell he was genuine, so you let go of him and he left. You closed the door, but only felt relieved once you heard the heavy door of the stairs closing behind him.

You probably stayed a second too long leaning on your door, collecting your thoughts, but your phone started ringing and you noticed it was Namjoon, probably receiving all your facebook messages at once and wondering if you were alive. You would worry about Jungkook some other time, you had a final to ace.

…But you should probably take a shower first and relieve the rest of your stress.

Jungkook got back to the laundry room to get his things, but he didn’t even remember getting there. He was the type of person that liked cuddling after sex, even if it was just a one night stand. He really wasn't used to being thrown out as fast as you did him, and he couldn’t tell if you were really okay or if you hated him. For fuck’s sake, you were his friend's sister, what kind of mess was he getting himself into? By the time he reached the machine, he had already convinced himself that your reaction, although annoying, rude and a little bit hurtful to his ego, was probably for the best. He was removing his clothes from the washing machine when he noticed yours, still on the basket he had put them in. It would probably be there for a while and you would probably forget about it until Alice finds it and brings it up to you. 

Without a second thought, he grabbed the basket and dumped all that was on it onto his bag with his stuff. He closed it with a bit of difficulty and got the hell out of there. Jungkook was no thief, he always intended to give you your clothes back, and that hasn’t changed. He was just thinking of a more creative way to do so, now.

>A/N | I have a really hard time writing fast/small smut scenes, sorry, it will get better in the future, promise. Let me know what you think, though! Also, if your name didn't show up in the taglist please message me, I'm afraid I might get lost in the notifications and forget to add someone. Have a nice day, wherever and whoever you are :)

TAGLIST |  @w1tchcraftt​ @girlwiththeglittereyeliner​ @teresaisla​ @nctssidehoe​  @kawaiimusiccollection​ @nininek12​ @livewittykid​ @namjoonsslutakakoreanmanswhore​ @planhtarxhs​ 

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[lonelypond]

Moonlight Becomes You: Apocalypse Midnight Dance Party, Ch. 21

Love Live, Love Live Sunshine!, NicoMaki, NozoEli, DiaYou, 1.4K, 21/?

Summary: Dia and You chat; Nozomi has visitors.

Happy Tails To You

You moved gracefully through the halls. You moved gracefully everywhere, Dia had to admit. And suddenly Dia was under scrutiny.

“Cat got your thoughts?” “That’s not the phrase.” You stuck out her tongue, “Maybe it is and history forgot.”

Dia glanced around the grubby hallway, “Where are we?”

"My office…” You knocked sharply on a door, then opened it, waving Dia inside and grabbing a duffle bag from a bench, “”Grab a seat. I’m going to change. There’s some caffeinated stuff in the mini fridge. Don’t eat anything glowing.” “Wha…” Dia’s question was interrupted by You’s chuckle. “Kidding. Sit tight, Pim Diffy.”

Dia had decided ignoring You’s provocations was the only way to survive. 

You’s desk was neat. Several framed photos, one of a small, brightly smiling You next to a man on the deck of a ship, another of You and Kanan and a third girl, frolicking on the beach. There were a few...artifacts is the best that Dia could think of to call them, items cast in or forged from various metals that looked like they’d been salvaged from a shipwreck. And one walrus plushy. Dia couldn’t resist and picked it up.

“Nope. You can’t have that.” Dia hadn’t noticed the door open. You looked fresh in cargo pants, a light blue polo shirt, a navy knit cap, combat boots unlaced. She sat on the bench and started to tie them. “My favorite place in Japan.”

“Where?” “An aquarium. I worked there in high school.”

“Didn’t you grow up here?” 

“Mostly. My dad got a transfer in high school and I thought it would be cool. Chance to work with a world class diving coach.” You pointed to the wall behind Dia, where several medals had their own frame. “That’s just my show off for co workers set. You should see the ones I keep to show off for dates.” Dia crossed her arms, “No thank you.”

“Sorry.” You actually blushed and tried to run her hand through her hair, but instead just pushed the knit cap over her eyes. Dia giggled. 

After a briefly awkward silence, Dia got back to business, “So, why are we here?” “You mentioned a vaccine,” You said, “and here we have access to a lab.” Dia pulled out a thin, clear card with several circuit like lit segments, frowning…”I may have some research stored on my device…” Dia placed the card flat on You’s desk and twisted her fingers in the air above it, “but…”

Holographic kanji appeared in the air, glowing red. Dia frowned and pinched the one that read “Dissertation.”

“It was a good challenge. Reverse engineer the vaccine from Eli’s blood. Mom had told me stories about how out of control Eli had gotten before…” Dia spun the chair, “What happens if we can’t…” You leaned on her desk, braced on one arm, the other rubbing her cheek, “In theory, we already have…”

“Or I wouldn’t be here…” “Yeah.” You didn’t sound at all convinced.

“But…” Dia prodded.

You sighed, leaning in to just barely brush Dia’s shoulder, Dia wasn’t even certain the You had noticed the contact, “Yoshiko keeps seeing Apocalypse.” Dia shoved off the desk, shooting back to the wall, You’s treasured awards falling to the ground after they bounced off Dia's head.

“Bzzzzt.” Dia grumped. “Hey, watch my stuff.” You pushed Dia back to the desk.

Dia spun the chair, “Define apocalypses.”

You closed her eyes. “Flames, fire, darkness.”

“Sounds like wildfire season.” You shook her head, “Worse. Yohane has a prophet.” “Yohane has a prophet.” Dia repeated, eyes wide.

“It’s complicated. She’s from the future, like you are. Riko.” “RIKO?” Dia bolted up, “Riko Sakurauchi?” “Maybe.” “My sister’s songwriter is that flying disaster’s....prophet?!?!?!? BZZZZT. I will not permit it”

“Interesting tic.” “What?” ‘Bzzzttttt.”

Dia was right in You’s face, towering, “That is not a verbal tic, that is how I, Dia Kurosawa, express displeasure.”

You discovered that as furious as Dia was, she really didn’t mind being this close to her. “Your eyes are pretty.” Dia continued to loom for speechless seconds, then turned around, “I’m still not entirely sure this is not some elaborate prank.”

“I wish.” You scuffed the floor.

“Where is this lab?” Dia grabbed her card off You’s desk, “I need to see what equipment’s available. And I’m going to need some of Eli’s blood.” “I’ll text Kanan.” You pulled out her phone.

“Make sure you keep that feather brain away from me.”

“Yes ma’am.” 

Y: How’s your crazy? Mine’s way too hot.

K: Crowded. And Nico might kill someone. Y: Is that someone Yoshiko? K: Bingo.

Y: Runs in the family  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

“Lab, please.” Dia tapped You’s shoulder. “Just a minute.”

Y: We need an Eli blood sample. K: I’ll tell Nico.

Y: Let me know.

K: (b~_^)b

###

Yoshiko, no, Yohane, Nozomi corrected herself, had managed to climb on top of Nozomi’s small couch, wings swept out full and seeming cramped under Nozomi’s ceiling. Eli, all three tails wagging, was poised to leap at this new and fun feathered friend. Nozomi could see the future almost, sometimes, in her cards, but she didn’t need the seer’s gift to know what was going to happen next. Neither did Nico, who managed to shake herself out of the shock the appearance of Yohane’s wings had put her in.

“Eli, NO!” Nico ordered. 

Ready to play, Eli barked and leapt before Nozomi could grab her.  

Yoshiko waved her arms frantically, tilting herself off balance, screaming, “No doggie, good doggie, down doggie. HELP!” And then Eli crashed into Yoshiko, Yoshiko crashed into Kanan who had accurately predicted the disaster’s trajectory, and shoved up against the wall into Nozomi’s kitchen was an angel, Kanan, puppy pile, Eli excitedly bouncing on everyone.

Maki watched Nico. Anger and amused exasperation and concern and so many emotions flashed across her face. Settling on determined, she marched over to the pile, reached in, arms around Eli’s chest, yanked back, and let Eli lick her face happily.

“Nico is glad you’re in a good mood, Eli, but calm down.”

Eli woofed, tails wagging and bounded back to Nozomi, who ruffled the fur between her ears fondly.

“I made coffee.” Hanamaru stood in the doorway of the kitchen with a tray in hand, then glanced at where Yoshiko was morosely staring at a new hole in her jeans that Eli had torn, “Oh, that was the noise. Yoshiko, don’t wreck Nozomi’s furniture.” “It wasn’t me, it was that…” Wings fluttering, Yoshiko whined and pointed to Eli.

“Hey, you, pigeon of darkness.” Nico snapped. “Eli can’t help herself.”

“No, I don’t think she can.” Nozomi agreed.

“But she’s never had three tails before.”

Nozomi knelt next to Eli, Eli bopping Nozomi’s nose with her snout, “The face is different, dontcha think?”

Nico moved so she could get a better look, “Yeah, maybe, narrower. Nico’s not sure.” “It’s more like a fox.” Maki offered.

“Fox…” Nozomi’s eyes went wide, “Kitsune. They have….” “Three tails.” Kanan said.

“Or more.” Nozomi had a casual arm around Eli, who leaned into her.

“Oh, Eli, what are you doing?” Nico sighed.

“But she’s calmer, Nico. Isn’t that good?” Maki’s voice was quiet.

“Yeah, she was very aggressive when she changed at the studio.”

“She likes me.” Nozomi hugged Eli, who kept wagging.

“She likes Nico too.”

“She doesn’t like me.” Maki stepped through the crowded room, kneeling down to pet Eli, “but she’s friendly enough now.”

Yohane rose, hands hovering over Eli, “Yohane senses a divine touch, reaching from the past, to save us, a silent strength of the ancestors.”

“Sure, pigeon.” Nico snapped, then shook her head. “Nico’s never been on a set this weird and Nico’s done sci fi porn.”

“WHAT!” A startled Maki got Eli barking again. Nozomi went back to petting, eyes roving over Eli as if to memorize every detail.

“Kidding,” Nico winked, “It was an animated parody of sci fi porn and still not as weird as this.”

Maki, arms crossed across her torso, slunk back to the corner by the stairs.

Kanan’s phone went off. She typed a few messages. “It’s You. We need a blood sample from Eli.” “Why?” Nico asked sharply.

“Can’t say.” “Can’t say?” Nico had a new target. Maki wondered when they could get some time alone together. “You better say.”

Eli with a soft bark broke away from Nozomi and walked to Kanan, bumping against Kanan’s leg until she was acknowledged. 

“Do you want to go see You, Eli?” Kanan asked.

Eli wagged her tails. “I’m going too.” Nico announced. “Of course you are.” Maki muttered.

“No one else move.” Nico turned, grabbed Maki’s arm and started pulling her downstairs.

“Coffee?” Hanamaru asked.

Nozomi snorted. Eli yawned.

A/N: Hello.

[daddysfangirls-marvel]

70 Years to Happiness

warning: language, angst, fluff,

Summary: Reader moves in with the Avengers getting along with the others and has another sit down with Steve.

70 years of grief

70 years of pain

70 years alone

70 years to happiness

 “ What’s your opinion of The Reaper?” Fury asked as he and Tony walked down the hall. It was strange how empty this hall was but Tony put it down to Fury’s doing.

“(Y/n), I think she might be a good person actually.” Fury was shocked by Tony’s response, although he didn’t show it. That wasn’t the response he thought Tony would give but it was good none the less actually it was better than what he wanted.  “ I actually came here because I wanted to talk to her about her history”

“With Steve?”

“No her history in general. She had done a lot of amazing things in these past few decades. And I just wanted to talk about those. I mean she has been running around slaughtering Hydra but at the same time, she was marching for equal rights, abortion laws, civil rights, meeting Presidents, and just helping people. I want to know how and why”

Fury was aware of (y/n) history and the many things she did to help others while hunting down Hydra. Although her goal was Hydra she still stopped to support and help others along the way. She wasn't an entirely bad person she was just a good person doing really bad things to really bad people.

(Y/n) was a very skilled person with too much experience and knowledge. It would be a waste to keep her in that cell but then again he couldn’t just drop her in the streets to do as she pleased.

“Do you think she will be a good team player?”

“Team player? Like one of us? an Avenger... You want to make her an Avenger?” Tony actually hadn’t thought of letting her join the team but now with the idea in his head it seemed like a good one and he liked it.

“Of course we’ll have to take some security procedure. Put a tracking device on her, keep her locked down in the tower, under constant supervision, never -”

“No”

“no? ...You don’t want her apart of the team-”

“No, I’d love to have her on the team. I’m saying no to all the security bullshit. If she’s going to be on our team she is going to be treated like a real member and not some prisoner. She’s a good person.”

“And How do you know that?”

“I just do”

-

(Y/n) looked around the room everything was black and white the color scheme she had given Tony the day before.  It was nice, far nicer than any other place she had lived. There was a walk-in closet, a nice bathroom connected to her room with a shower and a big tub almost jacuzzi like. In the front room, there was an open kitchen and the living room had an L style couch a large flat screen on the wall in between to bookcases. It was all beautiful and fancy and modern. The Best part was her room was right across from Bucky. The worse part was her room was right next to Steve’s.

(Y/n) was aware of Steve being here and Steve was aware she was moving in but neither of them was willing to see or speak to the other yet. Steve for fear of being rejected or causing her any more pain. (Y/n) simply didn’t want to see him he brought up too many memories and emotions for her and she just didn’t want any of that right now. Although they both knew that they would eventually have to see and speak to each other as they lived and worked together now they were both just avoiding it for now.

“I love it” (Y/n) said as she turned around and hugged Bucky.

“None of your stuff is here as we did not know where you lived before so yeah. If you have anything I can go to get it with you but Natasha has offered up part of her closet to you until then.”

“ How about tomorrow today I just wanted to stay in your arms” (Y/n) said as she sighed and squeezed him tighter burying her face in his chest. She forgot what this felt like and it felt so good. “ Can we lay down and cuddle?”

“Yeah, I’d like that” Bucky Chuckled (Y/n) didn’t even let go instead she walked back towards the bed and pulls back the covers kicking off their shoes and climbs in. Both sighed in content as they held each other.

“We use to do this all the time” (Y/n) whispered in his chest as she gently traced shapes on to his side.

“I remember,” he said kissing her forehead it almost seemed natural and off instinct. He liked it and so did she. “ Tell me something”

“what?”

“anything”

“Did you know you took me to Prom twice? Yeah, You were two grades above me so I went to your senior prom and then you took me to mine.” She smiled at the memory she was scared of going to his senior prom because she was the youngest there and she was scared taking him to her senior prom because he was older than her and she was afraid someone would judge them. But both times turned out beautifully and perfect and both times they fell asleep under the stars only to go home in the morning and be scolded for being out all night.

“they were Perfect, you looked perfect,” Bucky said as he remembered a bit of both night. He remembered looking at her all night as she fell asleep looking at the stars. “ I remember the last one... you wore a beautiful long red dress with thin straps you twirled around to watch it flow. You made it yourself.”

“I made it with my mother one of the last things we made together.” She smiled humming at the memory “I still have it.”

“We can go get it tomorrow”

“Yeah, tomorrow.”

-

Steve was leaning against the wall next to (y/n)’s open-door listening as their breathing became even and light, they were sleeping now. He sighed as he pushed off the wall he closed her door before making his way to the gym.

Steve remembered the Prom. His sister was happy when Bucky asked her but scared when the day arrives she feared others would say mean things about her because she was young and with Bucky. Bucky was a lady’s magnet even when he was only focusing on one. She feared the judgment and jealousy of other girls. Steve, who had managed to get a date last minute, was going to and he promised that no one would say anything bad and if they did he would sock them he didn’t care who they were. And he did end up socking someone in the face for saying extremely inappropriate things about his sister this furthered into a fight which caused Bucky and (y/n) to get involve and the three of them were kicked out of the dance. (Y/n) cried that night. Bucky ended up taking her away and Steve went home to cover for her. She never said it but he ruined her night.

Steve never forgave himself for that.

“Am I a joke to you?” Tony said he looked at the punching bag that just flew across the room. Steve always seemed to be breaking gym equipment especially when angry.

 Steve ignored Tony picking up the broken bag and drags it across the floor putting it against the wall. He sits on a bench and unwrapped his hands. “ She’s part of the team now. How does that make you feel?” Steve rolls his eyes but answered his question.

“Happy she’s alive Happy she’s joining us and doing good”

“But”

“Guilty and ashamed because I hurt her I left her... I wasn’t thinking about her and how she would feel back then I just made a decision out of rage and grieve and left her behind alone. I knew I was leaving her alone.” Steve started tearing up as he spoke

“Sad because I have my sister back but not really. She’ll never talk to me again she wants nothing to do with me. As much I want to run to her and hug her and hold her I can’t I know I can’t because if I do that I would be hurting her all over again and I don’t want to do that. I can’t I- I won’t.” He wiped his tears Tony pat him on the back “ She’s my sister and I love her. Even if she doesn’t love me anymore more I won’t stop loving her”

It was an awkward situation sitting next to a crying Captain America. Clearing his throat awkwardly and patting his back he spoke” I don’t think she stopped loving you. I don’t think she hates you I think she just says that because she knows it hurts you and she’s been hurting for a very long time she wants you to feel the pain she felt- But that’s just my opinion. Maybe you should find a way and some time to talk to her. She’s part of the team now she lives here it’s possible.”

Tony stands up shaking his head as he looks at the damaged gym equipment. He was going to start a tap for the things Steve broke. “ It’s late you should get some sleep, Rogers”

“you first” 

“Touche.” Tony said  putting up his hands in surrender “ Alright Steve, not all night”

“Yeah, yeah. Hey... thanks for listening and talking”

“No problem”.

-

“welcome” (Y/n) said as she opened the door to a run-down house. Bucky, Clint, and Natasha had volunteered to help her bring her things to the tower. She assured them it wasn’t much and all of them weren’t needed she could do it on her own but they insisted. “It’s not much.”

Walking into the house there was nothing no furniture, no pictures, no decoration, no nothing the house looked abandoned. They followed her down into the basement where it seemed a bit more lived in. Maps and weapons hung on the walls guns and bullets littered the floor. In the farthest corner of the room, there was a mattress and next to that mattress was an open truck filled with clothes.

“Sorry for the mess. I haven’t had time to clean anything up.”

“How long have you lived like this?” Natasha asked as she dragged her feet through a pile of bullets. (y/n) silences was an answer enough telling her she had been living like this for a very long time. She shouldn’t have.

“Most of this shit belongs in a museum,” Clint said as he picked up an old machine gun which had been collecting dust for the last couple of decades.

“Yeah, I should probably start donating this stuff.” She said rubbing her neck awkwardly

“Or open your own museum. Make some side money.” Clint said picking up a samurai sword.

“How about for now you stop playing around and help her pack, alright? you can be a super ninja later.”  Bucky takes the sword from him and sheath it he spots another truck across the room he opens it and finds hit empty he starts to fill it with the weapons that are laying around. Eventually, Clint and Natasha to start picking up and helping.

“Woah, Holy shit,” Clint says as he finds her rifle scythe he holds it up grinning.

“Ah, yes, yes that’s mine that’s mine.” (y/n) quickly runs over and took it from him she puts it in a special case she then looks around the room and founds another treating it the same. 

“That’s awesome,” Clint says still grinning like an idiot

“What are those,” Natasha asks

“Um ...rifle scythes, I made them myself. I only really use them when I’m trying to be flashy and intimating”

“They’re awesome and you’re amazing,” Clint says still having his mind blown.

“Thank you”

“You should get with Tony and Bruce maybe you could invent something cooler,” Clint says as Natasha smacks his hand he was reaching for the case with the weapons. She pushes him to get back to work. “where else have you been?”

“excuse me?”

“You’ve been alive for almost a hundred years don’t tell me you spent all that time in new york,” Natasha said then Clint whistle getting everyone's attention in one had was a photo album and the other was a picture of her in Paris. (y/n) laughed taking the picture and album from him she put it in her truck with her clothes and other little nick-knacks.

“London, Paris, Spain, Germany, Russia, Romania, China, South Korea, Mexico, Brazil, Poland, Vietnam, And Greenland. My favorite place Brazil. I’d like to go again  Oh and Japan I’d love to go to Japan.” (Y/n) said as she packed her belonging. Clint and Natasha began to talk about the places they have been too. Bucky watched as (y/n) interacted and playfully joked with the other two as they packed her things. She seemed to be enjoying herself and he liked that. Of course, he could still see the tension and pain in her eyes he could still see that she was scanning and observing the room possibly looking for an escape or a threat. He knew the feeling so he wasn’t going to stop her.

By the time they were done, they had packed three trucks with clothes, guns, and files. And a few smaller boxes with nick-knacks. It only took an hour to pack.

“You don’t own much,” Clint says as he got in the car after putting in the last box.

“I’m always on the move and there is always a possibility that someone might find me. Why buy lots of things when I might leave everything behind one day. It would be a waste.” Clint leaned forward looking at her in the front passenger more like glaring at her. He did this for a few minutes before she broke with a smile and said: “ I’m not a materialist person.”

“I’ll take it,” he said moving back into his seat but his place was soon replaced with Natasha

“We’re going to have to schedule a shopping spree”

“if you say so,” she says with no enthusiasm at all. Bucky laughs lightly. You never realize how much you’ve missed someone until you remember them.

-

Six months and (y/n) was adapting well to her new environment. Although it hasn’t been publicly announced she was an official member of the team and doing missions. She had become friendly with just about everyone including Peter. She even helps him with his homework when he needs it and not just history, all subjects.

The only person who wasn’t on good terms with (y/n) and openly created distance from her was Steve, her own brother. They only spoke to each other on missions and if absolutely necessary besides that they never spoke or stayed around each other.  Steve thought it was for the best and (y/n) simply did not want to be around him. But he wanted to change that.

It was just after dinner and most of everyone was lounging around the common room. Steve had just stepped in and (y/n) was standing up getting ready to make her departure. Yeah, it was that bad between the two.

“ (Y/n), If you have a moment I would like to talk to you. In private, please” Steve asked he noticed how the room fell silent and everyone’s eyes were on them. They were waiting for her response. Bucky stood up with her in case she didn’t want to go alone. She looked at him and gave him a small smile before turning to Steve with a scowl.

“Five minutes” he sighed in relief happy to have even that small amount of time... She followed him out of the common room and up to their apartment floor. “ Alright talk and talk fast,” she said as she sat on the couch he sat on the other end letting a gap stay between them.

“I love you. I um... I’m sorry that I left you I shouldn’t have left you but I just wanted to kill them all and avenge Bucky. They took him from us and I thought I had to et them before I came back to you I didn’t want to come back with bad news again I didn’t want to come back empty-handed. And honestly, at the time I was just angry and I justed wanted them all dead and six feet under. I wanted to kill them all with my bare hands and feel their blood. I... I abandoned you... I’ve made a lot of promises and I haven’t kept many of them and I’m sorry.

I know... I know you don’t like me, you probably hate me, I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m not asking for anything like that. I... I just want you to know I love you and I’m sorry I know that this doesn’t change anything. I’d like- I’d like to start talking to you again I’d like for us to be together again.  It won’t be the same I know that but I miss your voice I miss being around you I miss joking with you I miss everything about you. We use to be so close and I know we can’t be that close again but, please, I at least talk to me. You’re right here and I miss you still. I know you hate-”

“I DON’T HATE YOU STOP SAYING  THAT” she screamed standing up turning her back towards Steve who was crying on the couch she couldn’t look at his fac3e not now not like that “... I don’t - I don’t hate you. I never did. I was just angry I still am. And I’ve realized I shouldn’t be this angry and upset but I am. Because after everything that happened you came back and you looked okay you looked fine you looked happy. Then there was me who was sitting in the background suffering. You were surrounded by new friends smiling and I was all alone... You woke up you joined Shield, you fought aliens made friends and became famous... You woke up I never went to sleep.” she didn’t even bother to wipe her tears as they fell she sat back on the couch next to Steve.

“ I guess I was just jealous you slept through all the hardships and woke up to a new and somewhat better America while I had to run around trying to make America better and fighting Hydra. But I did it all for you, you were dead, and I knew this wasn’t an America you would like you would want to be apart of... I still love you I never stopped” She took his hand lacing his fingers with hers and squeezing his hand gently “... I think... ugh I’m going to talk to someone a therapist. I don’t think I should be feeling this way I don’t know anymore honestly. I’ll start talking to you again I’ll try with you... Maybe we can make fix each other and be just like before.”

“or...better?”

“Or better” She gently kisses the back of Steve’s hand and he sighs in relief as more tears spillover. Both of them stayed sitting on the couch holding each other hand. They didn’t talk, they didn’t lean in closer, they didn’t turn on the tv. They just handle hands and relished in the fact that after over a hundred years they were finally together.

“Friday, could you set us up for therapy appointment tomorrow?”

“Of course, sir. Is 9am okay?”

“yes, thank you”

“Hey, Steve, Bucky and I are dating now” (Y/n) said blushing and grinning like a schoolgirl. He hadn’t seen her smile in so long.

“yeah?”

“yeah”

“ Do you think I should give him the older brother talk again or does he remembers?” She laughed. He missed her laughed.

They weren’t there yet but they were on their way to happiness.

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[idkthisisjustforfanfic]

Chapter 8 - Come Sunday

Waking up Christmas morning in a strange bed in a strange house wasn’t the most awkward part of the day. The most awkward part of the day, in fact, was when Harry had given out the majority of his gifts, save for a small box nestled beneath the tree.

I’d sat on the couch to keep myself out of the way--I was already intruding enough on a family holiday, the last thing I needed was to insert myself any more into what was meant to be a family occasion.

I had my knees pulled up against my chest as Gemma tossed her wrapping paper to Robin, who’d somehow been in charge of all of the garbage. I was distracted, really, and only pulled back to the room when I felt something graze against my leg.

Harry--who was seated on the floor in front of me--had the small box in his hand, hoisted up to me, a smile on his face.

I’d almost thought he hadn’t gotten my anything. Which was fine--he was under no obligation to buy me a present of any sort. He paid for every meal we ate together and every Dirty Shirley I’d gotten at The Keg Stand since I’d known him. He really didn’t need to buy me a gift for a holiday on which I was already intruding.

He must have been able to gather all of that from the look on my face, because he simply nudged it towards me. “Open it.”

I stared at it for a second, suddenly very aware of the eyes on me. His mother, his sister, his step-father. I picked up the tiny box, decidedly big enough for a bracelet or a watch or something like that.

The ball of nerves in my stomach was growing with each second, I held it in my hands, made eye contact with him, and then looked back down at the box.

Here’s the thing--I wasn’t much of a gift person. I was shitty at giving them and worse at receiving. Christmas, to me, seemed like it had lost the meaning it was intended to have. Sure, I wasn’t even religious by any means, but even I was aware that Christmas was supposed to be about family and love and friends and that sort of stuff.

Here, sitting in front of Harry’s family with my hands on a box that was sure to contain something pricey, I felt somewhat out of place. The feeling of doom seeped into my stomach--the same feeling that fought its way in every time I thought of the fact that Harry seemed to be rather attached to Charlie and also somewhat invested in my life.

I let my fingers pull at the green paper--revealing a simple, black box. Nothing clanked inside, nothing heavy was hiding beneath the lid. Instead, when I opened it, there was a piece of paper, and scrawled in Harry’s handwriting was one word.

Jamaica.

I looked up at him, my eyebrows dipping in confusion. The rest of his family seemed to be just as lost as I was--Gemma had Charlie on her lap, stroking his back repeatedly, and looked between her brother and I.

“Jamaica?” I asked, setting the piece of paper back in the small box.

“M’going to Jamaica--to record an album,” he said. He was twisted around to look at me, his eyes somewhat hopeful and a small smile still lingering on his lips. He couldn’t tell what I was thinking--there was a tiny bit of hesitance in his voice. “I want you to visit.”

“Visit?” I asked, slightly unsure of all the logistics. I couldn’t necessarily afford to just up and go to Jamaica because suddenly my popstar friend had a reason to be there. Realistically, I still had a job to pursue and a career to try and build.

“Yeah,” he nodded, “come see me.”

“When did this album plan get set?” Gemma asked cheerily, her hair was up in a bun on top of her head, I was thankful for the fact that she seemed to pull some of the attention off of me and my impending answer.

“Few weeks ago, really--spoke with a few people and I’ve had a few meetings. I’m meeting with the guy who’s going to produce it next week.”

“That’s quick,” Anne noted. “Sure you’ve had enough of a rest?”

“Yes, m’sure,” he said, running a hand through his long hair. “It’ll be like a vacation, really. An extended one.” He turned back to me now, apparently still waiting for some kind of answer. “The gift would be plane tickets, if that wasn’t clear.”

I nodded, something still holding me back from joyful agreement. There was no denying that Harry’s gift was more than generous and would be more than amazing. I’d be crazy to not enjoy a tropical getaway with the guy who was maybe possibly interested in pursuing a relationship with me and the guy who I was definitely into.

If I could admit one thing at this point, it was that I had feelings for Harry and that there was no point in trying to deny it. He’d kissed me more times than I could count the day before and for whatever reason, he seemed quite committed to having some sort of relationship with me. Whether or not it lasted, whether or not it was ever official or exclusive was yet to be determined. But the least I could admit was that I liked it.

“That’s very exciting, Harry,” his mom said, a smile on her face as she stood from her spot on the hearth of the fireplace. She came to kiss his forehead and then took the remnants of the wrapping paper from my lap.

“Thank you,” I said, handing it up to her before she walked away.

I wasn’t sure whether or not Gemma was simply proficient in reading a room or if she genuinely had things to do, but she stood and announced that she needed to begin getting ready if we were to make it to a brunch at Harry’s grandfather’s house. Luckily, this broke up the room and got both Anne and Robin to leave Harry and I behind for a second.

“Y’don’t seem too excited,” Harry said, his voice quiet as he kept his eyes on mine. He didn’t seem nervous or worried, really--he was simply observing.

“I am,” I told him, reaching a hand down to rest on his arm. He leaned up against the ottoman, his eyes staring up at me as he waited for me to say more. “I just was kind of planning on really trying to get back to work after the holidays.”

He nodded, bringing his eyes to the floor. Charlie, who’d seemed to adjust to a new house and new people just fine, came to climb up on Harry’s lap.

“I’ll come visit you, for sure.”

“I was kind of thinking if you came down you could stay the whole time,” he said, his eyes still avoiding mine. He looked at Charlies instead, ran his fingers through his fur and seemed completely engulfed in the way that Charlie rubbed his head against Harry’s hand to magnify the pressure.

“The whole time?” I asked. “And do what? Just hang out?” I didn’t mean to sound so judgmental or uninterested or anything like that. I knew Harry well enough to realize that any time spent in Jamaica in whatever fancy house he planned on renting (or buying, who even knew, really) would be completely furnished by him.

Whether or not I could afford anything didn’t seem to be a question with him--it was more an act of chivalry.

“Yeah, I mean, I don’t,” he paused, seemingly unsure of how to respond.

It bothered me somewhat--the thought that I could and would just follow him somewhere with no plan and no schedule and no input.

“I guess I was hoping that you’d come and write with me.”

He didn’t even look at me--he was still using Charlie as a distraction and as a focus of his gaze.

“On the album?”

He nodded.

“Harry,” I said, if only to get him to actually make eye contact. He looked up, blinked twice, and forced a small smile. The fact that he seemed worried about my answer was endearing--it made my heart feel warm and it felt like maybe Jamaica would be a nice break.

He kept his eyes on me now, as if he was hanging on my every word.

“You really want me to write on it?”

He nodded again.

“You don’t think it will be weird?”

“I don’t,” he said. Whether he knew what I meant or not, he didn’t show it. It seemed, to me, like writing songs for an album with someone you were sort of dating might make things weird. I’d never written songs with someone I was into. Minus the whole three and a half days of thinking Liam was super cute.

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll do it.”

**

I was back in London for the entirety of two days before Kyle managed to barge into my apartment, nearly in tears. They were happy tears, he said, fanning at his face and wiping the water from his cheeks.

“I’m just so proud of you,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion as he let himself fall to the couch. I had my suitcase on my floor, it was open and ready to be packed--yet it was still empty.

“Yeah, yeah,” I waved him off, giving Charlie a light shove to get him away from the pile of clothes on the floor beside me. I had no idea what to bring to Jamaica. I was certainly more of a shorts and t-shirt kind of girl in that type of weather than anything else--but something inside me felt like I should bring at least a few nicer outfits.

“This is amazing,” he said, twisting the engagement ring on his finger. “You’re like seriously a rock star now.”

I rolled my eyes and moved a few pairs of pajama pants into the suitcase. “Okay, you’re the definition of overreacting right now.”

He shook his head and fanned himself again. “Okay, sorry, you’re right--I’ll reel it in.”

There was a knock on the door, Charlie immediately flew in the direction of the noise. I hadn’t been expecting anyone, but something told me it was Harry. He’d been much more keen on the whole showing up unannounced thing. In fact, since we’d been back in London, he’d done it twice--and if this was him behind the door, he’d be up to three.

“That’d be appreciated,” I said to Kyle with a smirk, walking over to open the door.

Harry--in joggers and a jumper--was stood behind the door, phone in his hand. “Hi,” he smiled at me, looking over my shoulder to see Kyle.

“Speak of the devil,” Kyle teased, sitting up straight in an attempt to seem more innocent.

I stepped aside, allowing Harry to move into the apartment and for Kyle to get a better look of him. Despite the fact that Kyle--up until the hiatus--had spent just as much time with Harry as I had, he still seemed to be somewhat enthralled just by the idea of him.

Harry walked towards Kyle and took a seat beside him on the couch. “Girl’s night in?” He teased, slapping a hand on his knee in a sign of greeting.

“Something like that,” Kyle shrugged, keeping his eyes on Harry as I made my way back to the suitcase on the floor.

“Can I help you, Harry?” I asked, trying my best to hide the smile on my face as I continued to arrange the clothes in an organized way. Charlie hopped up onto the coffee table, shoving his nose near Kyle’s feet to get a good whiff.

“No, love, just came to say hi, see what you were up to,” he said, pulling out his phone from his pocket to give it a look. He clicked it off quickly and then met my eyes with a smile.

Kyle--much to my dismay--had that big, obnoxious, I’m more excited about this than you are grin on his face. I shot him a look, hoping he’d understand the message.

“Just packing, trying to get my entire life in order before we leave,” I told him.

Harry hadn’t really given much notice. At first he made it seem like Jamaica was a good bit in the future. He made it sound like an eventually, rather than an immediately. Apparently, though, my commitment to him and the album seemed to be enough. My word that I’d accompany him on his find myself trip--that’s what I was calling it--was good enough.

He’d told me on the car ride back to London that he wanted to leave sooner rather than later. He told me that night he wanted to leave in a week.

“You don’t need to get your entire life in order,” Harry smiled, letting a hand rub down Charlie’s back as he made his way onto the couch for more attention. “He’s staying with you, right?” He turned to Kyle, who let his gaze fall down to my cat.

“Mhm--he better not scratch my furniture,” he said.

I grabbed for a sweatshirt and placed it on top of my shorts. “He won’t, he’s not like that.”

“No you’re not, are you, Charlie?” Harry stuck his face out and scratched behind Charlie’s ears. At first Harry insisted he should come with us. He insisted that Charlie would probably like the beach and the sun and the ocean. When I reminded him that Charlie was a cat and not the dog that Harry often treated him like, he agreed that he’d be better off with Kyle and Mark for a while.

At the sound of my zipping one of the compartments in my suitcase, Charlie made a mad-dash for me, interested in the noise and the movement he wasn’t involved in. “I am gonna miss you, though,” I deepened my voice and let my words bleed together as I pulled Charlie into me. He clawed at me a little, making a displeased noise before I let him out of my grasp.

“You can come back and visit if you really feel the need,” Harry let out a laugh and smiled down at me.

“Yeah, well, I’m not paying all that money for a plane ticket when FaceTime exists.”

Harry tilted his head to the side as if he didn’t understand what I was saying. “You can take the charter,” he told me.

“What’s the charter?” I asked.

“The plane. We’re not flying commercial,” he laughed a little, as if the thought was silly and surely, I couldn’t have thought that we were.

I raised my eyebrows at him, a wave of uncertainty washed over my stomach. I’d pictured Jamaica as a vacation of sorts. Beach, sun, sand, alcohol, good food. The only thing, though, that I hadn’t realized, was that this wasn’t just a vacation. This was a vacation a la Harry Styles.

**

Kyle left around 10pm, and Harry felt comfortable enough on the couch to stay. I’d made my way into the bathroom to gather my toiletries, but I could still hear the TV on in the living room.

I was sat on the floor once more, trying to sort my way through the cabinet beneath the sink as I looked for my blow dryer. There was a knock on the wall.

“Hi,” Harry said, leaning against the door frame.

“Hi,” I said, looking up at him. The fact that we were suddenly alone in my apartment dawned on me. Sure, we’d been alone here plenty of times before, but not since after all of the kissing that occured.

“You don’t feel like--pressured to come, do you?”

I felt my eyebrows knit together--I hadn’t meant to give Harry any sort of vibe like that. “What? No, I’m excited,” I defended, pushing myself up off the floor to be on my feet. “I think I’m just stressed about packing--but I’m thrilled, really.”

“Okay,” he said, his voice quiet and hesitant.

I stepped closer to him, hoping that less distance between us would somehow prove my point. “I really appreciate you asking me to write with you,” I said. “I’m honored.”

He let out a laugh and rolled his eyes a bit. “Don’t be,” he shook his head. “You’re the most talented person I know.”

The compliment made me uncomfortable, but he moved in to kiss me before I could overthink it. He hands landed on my waist, pulling me into him ever so slightly in the harsh lighting of the bathroom. Maybe it was the adrenaline, maybe it was the stress over packing, but my heartbeat was probably loud enough that he could hear it.

I let my hands find his face, cupping against his jawline as he took a few steps back, steadying himself against the wall in my hallway. His hands gripped harder at my waist, keeping our bodies flush against each other.

His lips were warm and soft and I felt like a puzzle piece that fit naturally against him. He made me nervous and unsure and hyperaware, but in this moment, in the dark hallway of my flat, he made me feel comfortable and excited.

I kissed him harder--thankful for the fact that I didn’t need to initiate. The anxiety in my head about the difference between the two of us would have surely gotten in the way. The growing excitement beneath his belt seemed to calm the nerves that threatened to slip into my mind as he moved himself towards my bedroom.

It’s not like I hadn’t expected it--maybe I sort of played it off and pushed the thoughts away. The idea of me sleeping with someone like Harry seemed like a schoolgirl fantasy. It seemed distant and silly and naive. As he pulled me on top of him as he crashed down to my bed, it felt a little more realistic.

His hands were searching my body, searching for skin and searching for connection. I let them wander, finding the hem of my shirt before pulling it away from my skin. I pulled my mouth away from his for a second--a dip in his brows told me he didn’t appreciate that--to lessen the layers of clothing between us.

He managed to sit himself up--I adjusted my legs to straddle his lap. His hair, long and curly, seemed matted to his forehead in some spots. I pushed it out of his face as I stared down at him.

“What?” He asked, a smirk coming into his lips as he reached around to find the clasp of my bra.

I shook my head, feeling his fingers fumble with the clasp. I felt somewhat reassured that he wasn’t too familiar with the maneuver. I reached back and did it myself, letting the garment fall between us as he brought his lips back to mine.

His hips buckled beneath me, pressing into me for more contact. His joggers--however thin--were still in the way.

I pressed a hand to his chest to push him back, he hit the bed with force, letting out a laugh as his head bobbed on top of the mattress.

“Jesus,” he smiled up at me. “Relax, we have all night.”

“I’m sorry,” I giggled, pulling my hands back from his chest to refrain from being too rough.

He shrugged his shoulders playfully, looking around my dark bedroom as if he were amused. “I mean, I guess I kind of like it.”

I took that as a cue to reach for waistband of his pants, letting my fingers slip before the fabric as I leaned forward to meet his mouth again.

His hips buckled again, allowing me the space to push them down to his knees. He kept his lips connected to mine as he reached for the button on my jeans, the warmth of his fingers felt good against my skin.

“Take those off,” I said to him, climbing off from my spot on top of his hips. He shimmied the pants down and kicked them off, giving me time to remove my own pants. He hands found my waist again, pulling me into his side as he laid back down on the bed.

I pressed my lips to his, but he pulled away quickly. “I’m glad you’re coming with me,” he spoke, his voice barely a whisper.

Instead of replying, I kissed him again, letting my hand slip down to his hips once more, reaching beneath the fabric of his boxer-briefs. My hand grasped around him, he immediately let his mouth open into mine.

He pushed himself up, positioning himself over me as his thumb slipped into my panties. He let one finger trace along my inner thigh before letting another make its way closer to my center. If I hadn’t been so in the moment, I would have definitely felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety about the fact that I was about to have sex with him.

Any trace of doubt was pushed out of my mind, though, because the second he slipped a finger inside of me, my hips buckled towards him and a noise escaped my mouth that caused him to smile against my lips.

He worked his finger against my clit, taking great pleasure in the way that I pulled him closer to me.

“Y’like that?” he asked, his voice low and gravelly in my ear.

I nodded, reaching my own hand down to apply more pressure. This seemed to get him even more excited, as he quickly pulled his fingers out and smirked up at me, before letting his head dip down to let his tongue connect with me.

He lifted my right leg over his shoulder, his thumb rubbing at the bottom of my folds as his tongue started moving in and out of me.

“Please,” I said quietly, “can we just do it?”

He let out a laugh, peering up at me from between my legs. “Do what?”

I rolled my eyes--suddenly brought back to the night he drove me home from the bar. He was cheeky and obnoxious and while I might have been livid about his hiatus, I was also somewhat turned on.

“Just have sex with me,” I told him, my voice impatient and pressured.

He laughed again, a big grin on his face as he came back up to hover over me. “My, my, Maggie. I thought you’d never ask.”

[redditnosleep]

The Lake In The Woods

by coffinstuffer

This is a story about my sisters. Juniper and Marigold. June and Mary. Twins born on the first day of September. Two and a half years older than me.

We lived in rural Wisconsin. Our father was a long haul trucker and our mother waited tables at the Denny’s. Mary, June and I were great explorers, charting the woods behind our modest home with construction paper and dulled crayons. We spent most of our time playing outside, sun, rain or snow.

There was safety in numbers. We were always back in time for dinner. In retrospect, I’m not even certain our mother knew just how far from home we strayed.

This is a story about a lake we found, a couple of miles into the wilderness. It was a Saturday in early February. We were bundled up in puffy jackets and snow pants. When we first came across the clearing, it was striking. The most beautiful thing my young eyes had ever seen.

Crisp white snow, sprawling flat as far as the eye could see. There wasn’t so much as a twig or a paw print to interrupt the pristine blanket of powder.

It was Mary who realized there was water beneath. She pointed out the reed stalks that speckled the perimeter. Even approached what must have been the edge, crouched down and brushed away the snow to reveal ice. She was always very science minded. Even with her mere twelve years of experience on the planet, she was one of the smartest people I knew.

So of course, she was the first to ask why we’d never seen this lake before. In all our years of wandering, we must have come this way at least a dozen times. I had no answers. I simply shrugged and pulled my hat down tighter around my ears to stave off the cold.

June was silent. Staring out into the vast expanse of white.

Other people had trouble telling my sisters apart, but I never did. They had the same wavy chestnut hair, grey eyes, and angular jaws. They had the bones of birds, thin and fragile. But June was softer. Quieter. She had more freckles sprinkled across her cheeks. Mary questioned and June listened. That was the way it had always been.

“Do you hear that?” She almost whispered, gaze glued to the horizon.

“What?” I asked, somehow feeling I should be just as quiet.

“The crying… someone is crying.”

“Junie, what are you talking about?” Mary straightened up, dusting the snow off her gloves.

June raised a finger to her lips, requesting silence.

I didn’t hear anything. No birds. No rustling trees. I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced a deeper or more unsettling quiet.

If there’s one skill Mary never quite developed, it was keeping her mouth shut. It only added to the gravity of the situation when her eyes widened in sudden comprehension and a full minute passed before she said anything.

“Where is it coming from?” She wheeled around, staring at the frozen lake, just like June was.

June took a few steps closer to the edge of the lake. There was an odd look in her eye. One I’ve never seen before or since. She looked empty. Like an upright shell with nothing inside it. Her face was devoid of any expression.

Mary, on the other hand, was growing more agitated by the moment.

“We have to look for help!” She blubbered. “There–was a hunting cabin a little ways back, wasn’t there? The Darby boys have a hut out here–we’ll go get them.”

June didn’t give any indication of agreement or dissent. Mary grabbed my shoulder and squeezed it.

“Ryan. You and June stay put. Stay right here and I’ll be back.”

I nodded, confused, more than a little afraid. I still didn’t hear anything. I accepted it all. Because the prospect of both my sisters going insane at the same time seemed less plausible than my just not being able to pick up on what they were hearing.

Mary bounded off, leaving boot-prints in the snow. I watched her run until she disappeared between the trees. When I turned around, June was already a few feet out onto the lake.

I called to her, asking what she was doing. No response.

I yelled that it could be dangerous and that she should turn around. She ignored me.

I started crying. At first they were crocodile tears. The kind a little brother can usually muster when he’s trying to get pity or attention from his older sisters. But it turned all too real when the resounding crack echoed through the air. June sunk below the ice instantly.

My cowardice is probably the thing that saved me. I was paralyzed. Shocked and terrified. There was a gaping hole where my sister had been. No matter how much I wanted to move, to run to her, to save her, I couldn’t do it. I just stood there as the seconds ticked by into minutes and she was surely dead.

Time is a funny thing to pin down. I couldn’t honestly tell you how long it was before Mary showed up, with two of the Darby boys in tow, and I tearfully choked out what had happened.

The Darby boys looked at me in utter bewilderment. Mary frowned with concern.

“Ry… June is right over there.”.

Mary pointed. I turned to look. There was no hole in the ice. June was standing a ways off, next to the edge of the pond, still staring at some undefined point in the distance.

Apparently, whatever sound Mary heard had stopped. The Darby boys rolled their eyes and grumbled about what wild imagainations my sisters had. But they walked us back towards a more clearly marked trail, and said we shouldn’t wander off so far.

June didn’t say a word the whole walk home. The hairs on the back of my neck kept prickling, like someone was staring at me. But any time I glanced over, June was looking straight ahead.

Maybe I imagined it. But I could have sworn there were droplets of water clinging to her eyelashes.

This is a story about how my sister started to change.

I was still a little young to understand the finer points of puberty. But June’s came early. We were sitting on the couch together when she bled through her soft, pink sweatpants.

She didn’t stand up right away. In fact, she probably noticed long before I did.

“Huh. Guess I’m a woman now. Fucking fantastic.”

She started shaving her legs and wearing tighter clothes. She’d put on makeup in the girl’s bathroom at school. She used to have lunch with Mary and I. But with the change in appearance, people started to notice her. It wasn’t long before she sat at the same table as the girls who had money. The girls who lived in big houses, and carried around real leather purses, and drank pilfered strawberry vodka when they had sleepovers. It wasn’t long before June started talking to boys and twirling locks of hair around her index finger as she giggled at jokes that weren’t funny.

June used to come into my room late at night and sit on the edge of the bed.

Sometimes she’d talk to me. Sometimes she would just stare. Either way it seemed threatening in a manner that was hard to place. I would pretend to be asleep if it was late enough. But we both knew I wasn’t.

Sometimes I would cry.

“You watched me die, Ryan.” She would say, in that soft, eerie calm voice. “You didn’t even try to save me.”

“I’m sorry.” Pressing my face into the pillow didn’t hide the tears. But I didn’t know what else to do.

“You don’t love me.”

“I do, June. I’m sorry. I–I was scared–”

“You have no idea what it’s like to drown. All that stuff about it being peaceful is bullshit. It hurts, Ryan. It feels like barbed wire wrapping around your lungs. It’s like being trapped in a tiny box, that keeps getting smaller and smaller until you’re completely crushed.”

She would lean down to whisper right in my ear. Her hand on the back of my neck, squeezing just a little too hard, was icy as the first snow.

During the day, she’d carry around those little chemical hand warmers that skiers put in their gloves. But she wanted me to feel the cold, because it was my fault.

“Say you love me, Ryan.”

“I–I love you, June.”

“Good boy.”

Frank Darby went missing. I was probably the last person to see him alive. Or well, the second to last.

I saw him climbing out of June’s bedroom window a little after sunset, while I was raking leaves. It wasn’t a secret what they’d been doing. I’d gone outside because I could hear the slick sounds and creaking mattress springs through the thin walls.

June climbed out after him, smiling much too wide. Her hair was messy, and her face was flushed. The two of them got into the branches of the tall maple tree that grew beside our house, and shimmied down it.

They walked towards the woods, holding hands.

Just as they were about to disappear into the trees, June looked over her shoulder and winked at me.

The park rangers found Frank about a week later. I didn’t see the body, only heard stories. It’s hard to say what was embellished and warped in the game of telephone that spread through town. But the most common details are that Frank’s throat was ripped out, and his ribs had been cracked open. Whatever killed him took his heart.

My mother fell ill. Stage three breast cancer. I was twelve. June and Mary had recently turned fifteen.

Mary cried a lot. June spent most of her time at the hospital, stroking mom’s hair and feeding her soup.

Sometimes I wonder if her hands were cold. I wonder what my mother thought about that in the fading twilight.

Mom died in the middle of the night in early spring. June was the only one in the room with her.

Joe Darby met a similar fate to his older brother, for a slightly different reason.

Joe asked Mary to the homecoming dance.

At that point, Mary was wearing glasses. We didn’t have much money, so her dress was from the thrift store—several decades out of fashion.

She and Joe swayed back and forth at arm’s length. Smiling awkwardly. Or that’s how I imagine it happened. I wasn’t there.

I was there for the shouting match in our backyard. When June called Mary a cunt and they pulled each other’s hair and fingernails broke skin as they tumbled on the ground together.

Joe went missing shortly after that. Mary spent a lot of time searching the woods for him. After June apologized, they went together. They disappeared into the trees, holding hands, and a pile of bricks settled at the pit of my stomach.

Mary came back with damp hair and stopped wearing her glasses.

A few days later, the police found the shredded remains of Joe Darby. Once again, missing his heart.

This is a story about a lake in the middle of the woods, and how my sisters tried to drown me in it.

It was a foggy winter morning. My sisters kept throwing each other meaningful looks across the breakfast table, communicating in that way twins will. Having a conversation I could never hope to understand.

I was fourteen, and afraid of them both. When they asked if I wanted to go on a hike, I said no. They didn’t insist. They didn’t have to. Mary had made breakfast. The sleeping pills were already in my system.

When the drowsiness hit, I tried to make myself throw up, but it was too late.

They put me on a sled and dragged me out into the forest. I was unconscious for most of it. Just little flashes of trees and sky.

They waited for me to wake up. They were standing over me, completely naked, smiling wider than a human mouth should be able to stretch. They didn’t seem uncomfortable, despite the frigid wind whipping through their hair, and the snow between their bare toes.

“Can you hear it yet, Ryan?” June laughed.

“I’m sure you will soon. You’ll join them. All of them, at the bottom of the lake.”

“Screaming for help.”

“Begging for mercy.”

“It’s a little pathetic, really.”

I wanted to believe I was dreaming. But I knew I wasn’t. In a dream, my sisters would have shifted into something monstrous. Their hands would have become talons. Their teeth would have morphed into fangs around a forked tongue. But they looked the same as they ever had. Identical except for the freckles.

They each grabbed one of my arms and lifted me to my feet with a surprising strength. They stepped in tandem, slowly towards the edge of the lake in a grim procession. I was the star of it all.

My survival instincts must have kicked in about halfway to the ice. I began to struggle and scream, sure that nobody was listening. What is there to do when faced with imminent death but shriek at the heavens for mercy?

As I screamed, there was a swelling chorus of tortured cries. It sounded as if the ground hand opened up beneath me to unleash the anguish of the damned. The deafening noise echoed all around us. Centering on the lake. The lake that was no longer frozen over, but frothing and steaming like the surface of a cauldron.

My sisters held my shoulders firmly and lowered me into the water. Feet first. It was blistering. Painful beyond the point where I could distinguish heat or cold. It burned. That was all I knew.

Perhaps it’s poetic that a Darby saved me.

Perhaps it was divine intervention.

I tend to think it was nothing but dumb luck. It’s hard for me to believe in God anymore. Or at least, I can’t believe in a God that is fair and merciful. The only thing I know for sure is that evil exists. Something dark and twisted claimed both of my sisters, and will never give them back.

But a gunshot rang through the air, just when the water was lapping at my knees.

June released her grip on me suddenly. My center of gravity shifted backwards. It was enough time for me to wrench out of Mary’s grasp and crawl back up the snowy bank of the lake. I couldn’t stand. But I kept pulling myself along, farther and farther away from the water.

Two more shots in rapid succession cracked through the air above me. I saw the eighty-year-old grandmother Helen Darby, with a floral handkerchief tied around her head, holding a double barrel shotgun. Aiming it at the lake.

I didn’t turn around until long after she rushed past me. June’s naked body lay prone on the lake’s shore, bullet wound in her back leaking blood into the ground. Steam floating into the air from her torn flesh.

Mary was nowhere to be seen. I didn’t hear any more gunshots. Helen Darby circled around after a while. She put me back on the sled and dragged me to the hunting hut, where the rangers came to get me.

I lost three of my toes to frostbite. I considered myself lucky.

After my sisters disappeared, Helen Darby effectively adopted me. Whenever my father wasn’t home, she’d make a point to stop by. She’d teach me how to cook, help me figure out how to run the washing machine, knit while I did my homework or watched TV. Most importantly, she’d sit in the living room with the shotgun, long into the night. Making sure whatever had gotten a taste of me didn’t come back for another bite.

When I was old enough, or rather on my fifteenth birthday, Helen gave me a gun of my own and taught me how to use it.

Part of me knew it was all a little bizarre. But I could pretend it was about the grandsons she’d lost. She was just treating me as their replacement. We only talked about what happened at the lake once, and never again after that.

It was a cold night in December. We were sitting by the fireplace, listening to a radio broadcast of A Christmas Carol. Helen had been drinking gin straight from the bottle for a couple of hours. She often got sad when she drank. Her baggy, wrinkled eyes shone with a hint of tears, and the corners of her mouth sagged downwards.

“There’s something wrong out in the woods.” She said suddenly. Unspoken context looming over us. “It takes the little girls and kills the men. It’s been there longer than this town. Folks just stopped believing in it.”

I had so many questions but couldn’t voice any of them. I just stared at her wide eyes.

“It still talks to me. Always talks to me. It tried to make me kill my brother. My husband. My sons… but I’m too old for it now. It can’t do much besides talk. I’ve tried avoiding it but look what that did. No. Somebody has to stay out there.”

She took another long swig from her bottle.

“You know, I’m not going to live forever, Ryan.”

I nodded, solemn. Life already a tangled mess of grief. What better cause could I pursue than wardenship?

“You know what has to be done when I’m gone.” It wasn’t a question. It was a statement. A sigh of relief.

This is a story about how I moved into a small cabin in the middle of the woods. I hunt and fish, and sell lumber to whoever needs it.

I don’t hear the voices or the screams. But some moonlit nights there’s a rapping on my window. I see the silhouette of a shriveled, naked woman with matted chestnut hair.

One day, she will probably finish what she started. Until then, I will keep watch, and do my best to pass along the story.

The worst things happen when we try to forget the warnings of a different time. Don’t wander in the woods. Don’t stray off the path. Something evil might get you. Just like it got to me.

[tamarinfrog]

Heya! just wanted to give you an update on the story!

thesinfulsquidchild submitted:

((I realize that the grammar was…not as good. so, with proof reading, I’ll show you what I got so far. let me know what you think!))

In the year that my father died, the inkopolis extension came. the new shopping centers came with odd fashions to pick. the city took the glory, but gave us The Wolf-fish. My dad left me an apple crate of classic books. he loved horror stories and quoted them in the hospital bed. “they came looking for the Zapfish, and died in tragic places”. on his last day, he sat up suddenly and stared bug-eyed to the train station. with the rusted tracks and abandoned ticket booth. he turned to my mom. “this house is haunted…” he said, and passed from the complications due to his injuries.

This is what my mother told me, and why I never met him. She also told me I was hatched in the morning of this day, and father was off to work at the time. I am probably more tragic than a Shakespeare story, if you ask me. I mean…gotta be real with you. I have some weird secret that I want no one to know of. if they did, God knows what will come of it. Keep in mind, my father was of the Octarian race. Meaning, well…I think you might have a clue on what went on. That is another reason why mother is more sour than a lemon-flavored sour patch squid towards other inklings.  But anyway, lets focus on where I am. At the bus stop that leads to Puffer Springs. all the lights where on, but no one else was here. except for a janitor. “well this is great.” I thought to myself. “I mean, I didn’t expect a party or anything. But, I figured someone would be here.” I stood there quiet for a bit, looking around. I sighed. “Welcome home, Angelo”. I murmured to myself. I grew a small smile as I imagined the shock and joy my mother and step-father would get once they saw me at the doorstep. I looked around the station, and gazed at a mural for the city on the wall.  “wow. when did they put this up?” I commented. “Puffer Springs has never looked so…falsely advertised”. the more I looked around, the more I saw some…questionable things. like this payphone-stand-thing on the wall. Geez, must be such a relief to payphone companies that Puffer Springs barely if ever gets any cell reception. It’d be cool to call my parents from here, but some jackass took the time to rip it out from the wall. who the hell steals a phone anyway? nonetheless, I paced around a bit. behind the reception desk was a T.V up on the wall. on it was playing Guppy and Marco. A show full of dad jokes and very bland humor for my standards. they talked about the economy and other political stuff I have no interest in. then, I looked at the janitor working on the door. I approached him. “Excuse me, but where is Everybody?” I asked. “it’s 10:45. it’s closed.” the Urchin plainly replied. “not a lot of squids get off the last bus to Puffer Springs these days. just you.”. huh. to the point. I decided to egg this on. “so…are you the janitor or something?” I asked again. “looks that way.” he replied again in the same tone. “Well, what do you do exactly?” “I fix this door.” “is that it?” “nope.” he finished as he kept drilling. I was already sick of this small talk. ‘least it was not as bland as Guppy and Marco. “c-can I squeeze past you?” I requested. “nope. Just broke the damn thing.” the janitor replied. “when do you think it might be done?”. “right after you bring me a Fiascola from the machine.” I was little appalled on this proposed deal. “Am I paying for this?” I questioned. “I always rig it when I’m on my night-shift” the urchin stated. I was now in on this. “nice. free as in…free” “free as in no one else is here to say otherwise” the urchin mused. I walked over to the soda machine, looking at the flavors. I assumed he wanted the original, so I pressed the red button. as I heard the jingle from the machine and the clunk of the can, I noticed they had lime fiasco option on it. Jesus, what a waste. back on track, I grabbed the can and went back to the janitor. “here you go, one free-ass-cola” I offered as the janitor took it fro my hand. he cracked the top, took a swig from it and plainly stated “Yummers”. the Janitor was now the one asking the Questions. “so, what’s a fella like you doing here?” took me a moment, but I answered “I live here. well, lived here.” “huh. that’s strange.” the Urchin replied. “when do you think the door is done?” I asked once more. “now.” he said. “goodbye.”. the janitor left the station with the fixed door closing behind him. the lights turned off, and I stood in awkward silence from that whole situation. “uh, bye.” I said sheepishly. this has been the most anticlimactic situation I’ve ever been in. I took a deep breath to calm myself, then walked out of the bus stop.  When I stepped into the navy blue night, I saw no one else. not even the janitor. “well, I’m outside of town” I thought. “mom and dad are nowhere to be found…so dark and cold out here. Guess I’m walking, Alone.” my mind was racing with thoughts. y'know, the bus station might be the newest thing in Puffer Springs. I guess the got state funding or something like that. I suppose it makes a decent first or last impression if it was not the abandoned gear factory in the distance. good gravy, think they’ll get rid of it when hell freezes over. As I start to make my way to my house, I hear the horn of the train go off in the distance. now that I think of it, I missed that sound quite a bit. I remember hearing it in bed, at my old house back in OctoVally. especially in the winter time, when all the leaves are down. I soon got to the entrance to the woods. guess I’m going to hike through them. afterall, through the woods is home, my bed, and my…negligent parents. so, off the woods I go. there is some dank nature here, and garbage. and up front, was a few logs. I do recall this place being called “Saw-Mill park.” I climb up the pile of logs, and balance my way to the edge of one of them. being the playful Inkling I am, I jumped on it like a diving board only for the log to break from it’s point, causing me to fall and hit the ground on the other side of the river. the logs avalanched a bit before returning to stillness. “Oh my god.” I thought. “that was dangerous. man…I could’ve died. that was amazing!”. I chuckled as I sat up. “not gonna die in a place like this.” I said to myself as I dusted off my hoodie. I hiked up the pile of logs, this time reaching another part of the woods. I climbed up and walked again. Soon I reached to the abandoned playground surrounded by a chain-link fence. everything looked grim and rusty. there was a ship-like structure with a tower on it, and a few logs. I haven’t been here in like, 9 or 10 years. I could tell that no one else has, either. now it’s just a place weird animals eat and have babies in. I climb up to the ship, and played with the steering wheel. “Ahoy!” I giggled to myself. I think at the time they we’re going for some weird boat-castle. I donno, something like that. there was no ladder,  no way to get to the other side of the fence. and I can’t just jump over it. Then, I had an idea. it was bad, but it was the best I got. a Good Bad idea, if you will. I hopped on the logs, onto a tree branch, sort of climbing my way to the top. man, it’s been almost two years seance I’ve been to Puffer Springs. things were getting jumbled, so I made a little doodle in my journal. getting back to my “plan”, I saw a powerline, so I jumped and balanced on the cable, making my way above the fence. I tried to land on my feet when I lept off the wire, instead I landed on my chest with a tump and a loud “oof!” escaping my mouth.. hey, coulda been worse.  that’s when I saw a cinnamon red Octoling in a police outfit. rather chubby, and clearly a woman. “Hello, Angelo. it’s been a while.” that’s when I know it was my father’s sister. as I call her, Aunt Mall Cop. we never really hung out much, but it was enough that I could recognize her. “H-hey! what are you doing out here? nothing better to do?” I stuttered. “well, I was just making my rounds until I saw you in the very off limits playground.” she stated, looking unimpressed. “so?” I said back, glaring at her. Auntie sighed. “Get in the car Angelo.” she grunted in annoyance.  “no.” I snapped. “you wanna spend your first night in jail?” she remarked. “…no.” was my response. so, I got in the car, and she drove me to the neighborhood. a litte insight on me and my Aunt, she and I have it…not-so-good. I’ve had a good history of being quite the delinquent back in the day, and she was the one to catch me most of the time. but hey, at least she didn’t make me spend any time in the slammer. or worse. Auntie dropped me off at the house. yup, this is the right address. this is the house that mother moved in when she got with my step-dad. I twisted the knob, surprisingly it was unlocked. I stepped inside to the familiar living room with the sent of pine wood. of course, there was my dad, Ryan. he short marigold tentahair, was very pale, and had a lot of freckles on his face. I walked closer to him, as he was ominous to my persistence. “Hey, remember me?” I quickly announced, breaking the silence with an axe. in response my dad jumped in shock with an “AAAAGHHH! Angelo! ya gave me a heart attack!” in his New-Jersey accent. “good!” I chuckled. “what are you doin-” he cut himself off, thinking to himself.  “ooooooohhh…” he said as it came together. “Angelo, buddy. I though you was commin’ home next day.” he remarked. “well, you thought wrong!” I replied. we stared at each other for a bit. “s-so uh…” he started off awkwardly, “how did yis end up here, ey?” I answered with “I hiked through the woods untill I got caught by…ugh, Aunt Mall Cop. she drove me here…” I crossed my arms. “oh, so Molly drove you here, ey? did you say hi to her?” I just shook my head in response. “I’ll be heading to bed.” I stated. “a'right kiddo. good to hear that voice a'yis.” Ryan chuckled.

((I hope you like it!))

Tammy’s comments: Sorry for late reply. It’s always hard to find time for long fan fics. *cough* Anyway! This seems like an interesting story so far.

[onceuponamirror]

heart rise above

///// CHAPTER 1

summary: It wasn't an experiment with freedom borne of some Americana fantasy; rather, a road trip of purely logistical intentions. The plan was simple. Drive from Boston to Chicago for his sister's college graduation. That's it.

Or, he drives a Ford Pickup Named Desire.

Mechanic!AU

fandom: riverdale

ship: betty x jughead

words: 4.5k

chapters: 1/?

[read on ao3]

I took my love, I took it down I climbed a mountain and I turned around

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He will later regret saying anything. And he will want to blame Archie, desperately. Will want to throw him out of his moving car—if the car was capable of moving at all.

But really, he will blame himself. He was the one who wanted to stop. He was the one who listened to Archie in the first place.

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It starts innocuously enough; he and Archie are in his living room, frantically pressing away at their video game controllers, his large floor fan blowing cool air straight onto their flushed faces. It’s still May, but the heat came early to Boston this year, and with a vengeance.

However, Jughead is too broke to touch his A/C—or, too uncomfortable with the fact that he is no longer too broke to justify the frugality that makes his life more difficult than it has to be—so he convinces himself the fan is satisfactory.

(He will also later blame the fan. And the heat. It made him delirious. Susceptible to terrible ideas.)

Archie cries out as Jughead’s character delivers a last, fateful blow. The screen turns to victory credits and the redhead throws down his controller. “Damn,” he mutters, as Jughead flashes him a smug grin and cracks his neck.

“I win. You’re buying the pizza,” Jughead grins, stretching his arms out.

“Yeah, yeah,” Archie mumbles, getting out his phone. While Archie places their delivery order, Jughead untangles himself from his fortress of pillows on the ground to check his own phone. JB has called and left a voicemail requesting that he bring an extra, empty suitcase because she may or may not have accumulated more clothes than she realized and whoops!

He sighs, and goes to his hall closet, where he pulls a duffle bag from the pile of things JB has already left in her wake. He’s not leaving for a few weeks, but he knows he’ll forget if he doesn’t put it right in front of himself. He throws it onto his bed to be dealt with later, and as he’s quietly closing the door behind him, he looks up and realizes Archie is watching him.

“What are you doing?” He asks, big eyebrows wrinkling. “Are you going somewhere?”

“Oh,” Jughead says distractedly, pulling his beanie from his head and using it to fan himself. Why does he always wear this stupid wool hat? It’s 90 degrees out with what feels like 99.99% humidity and he’s starting to suspect he’s got a problem with masochism. “Remember that JB is graduating this year? I’m driving out to Chicago for the ceremony and to help her move back to Boston.”

“Wow,” Archie says. “Is she really graduating college already? Damn bro, we’re getting old.”

“I’ve been old my whole life,” Jughead sighs wearily, hopping over the back of his couch to rejoin Archie, who is still on the floor in front of him. His friend grins up at him, and then, with a gasp, scuffles away to face Jughead head on.

“Dude, I’ve got a great idea,” he says, and that’s the moment that Jughead will later curse as he bangs his head against his steering wheel. “Why don’t I come? We’ll do the road trip we always talked about. We’ll camp, or stay in weird towns, go to all the stupid kitschy stuff you love to hate—it’ll be hella fun. My mom has been bugging me about visiting her in Chicago anyway, and I’ll just fly back when you meet up with JB. Come on. It’ll be so fun.”

Jughead wipes a bead of sweat from his forehead, watching the big floor fan chug along. “I don’t know,” he says slowly. “I was just planning on driving there and back.”

Archie raises an eyebrow. “What’s the point of two best friends both having freelance jobs if we don’t take spontaneous road trips?”

He throws his hands in the air. “I don’t know, why do we pay rent anywhere either? Why do we bother working on this mortal plane? Why don’t I astral project my manuscripts? Why don’t we work from the fucking moon?”

Archie looks exasperated. “Dude, what else are you gonna do for the next month? I know you’re in a writer’s block.”

Jughead responds with an annoyed glare; he is a bit stuck on his latest novel, but he’s not about to admit it out loud. Somewhere in his inbox, an email from his editor is sitting and waiting, almost accusatorially, to be opened, and he’s doing his damn best not to think about it.

He settles for a shrug. “I will neither confirm nor deny.”

“Look, what’s that book you were obsessed with in high school? On the Road Again, or something?”

“Just On the Road,” Jughead corrects with a sigh. “And I’ve long shed my preoccupations with that kind of faux, ritualistic idea of American masculinity.”

Archie gives him the look he usually gets when said something beyond his vocabulary. “Whatever. My point is—you need it. I need it. I could write a few road songs. I bet it would help shake you out of your rut.”

He may have a point. Jughead stares at the fan again. He probably will need to get out of this swamp masquerading as an apartment if he’s going to get anywhere on his sequel, anyway, and he and Archie have been making vague plans for a road trip since childhood…

“Once again, not confirming I am in any said rut,” Jughead says in a bored voice, “but it doesn’t sound completely terrible. I guess.”

Famous last words, he’ll realize.

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They made plans to leave that weekend, deciding neither of them (read: Jughead) could come up with any reason not to start sooner than later. Archie had happily announced he would take care of the schedule, and although Jughead thought he maybe sounded too happy to be in charge of the itinerary, he also couldn’t muster up the energy to protest.

The trip starts innocently, and even with the potential for fun. They load up Jughead’s ancient mint green Ford truck with snacks and strap down their bags (and JB’s extra duffle) and first head to the cape for a couple of days at their friend Reggie’s beach house.

Reggie is more Archie’s friend than Jughead’s, but he still greets them both with open, drunken arms. “Bros!” He hollers, grabbing both of them in a crushing hug. He’s wearing a tank top that says Y’ALL READY FOR THIS? and Jughead thinks plainly that he’s not, but returns the hug all the same. “Welcome, welcome, to Casa de Partay.”

“Is that the formal Spanish translation?” Jughead mutters under his breath, but it goes unnoticed.

“Glad you two bachelors are here,” Reggie says cheerfully, “because Moose and Midge have been all coupley and it’s been fucking boring. Let’s shotgun a beer and head down to the water.”

Archie happily complies, although he shoots a worried look at Jughead beforehand. Jughead shakes his head and reaches for a Heineken of his own. He always appreciates the concern, but at 26, he’s long been around enough casual drinking that it no longer makes him feel small and alone in a trailer park every time he sees someone with a beer.

After they polish off their drinks, Reggie leads them down to the sand, where Moose and Midge are waiting for them. Despite also being people that know Archie better than they know Jughead, they’re still friendly towards him.

But they’ve always reminded him of Archie’s popular friends in high school, so it almost makes him more uncomfortable than if they’d been outright rude. He tries to tell himself that he is a damn adult now and the cliquey social judgments that plagued his adolescence are behind him.

They all want to head into the water, while Jughead volunteers to watch the stuff. Archie shoots him a look, but Jughead repeatedly insists he wants to read and will join them later. He settles onto a beach chair, sheds down to his undershirt (and spares Archie a lecture on calling it a wife-beater) and pulls his battered copy of Howl out of his back pocket.

He’d meant what he’d said about Kerouac, but as far as Beat writers go, Allen Ginsberg had always spoken to him. He leafs through it, and tries to focus on the poems, but his mind is elsewhere and after a few moments on the same paragraph, he accepts he’s not going to get anywhere.

He presses it against his chest and sighs, watching Archie and his friends frolic amongst the waves.

Truthfully, he doesn’t want to swim. He’s not a beach guy. The water’s always a little too cold. Sand just gets everywhere and stays everywhere for days. The idea of swimming out so far you can’t touch the ground terrifies him, and not just on a metaphorical level. And he’s definitely never gotten the point of getting thrashed around by 5ft waves for fun.

But seeing the four of them leap and duck under the water, Jughead feels annoyingly like a teenager again, watching awkwardly from the sidelines. You’re an adult. You don’t care. He rubs his temples and closes his eyes, tugging on his hat until it covers his whole face.

About half an hour later, he snaps to attention when something hits him gently across the chest. He pulls the hat above his eyes and sees Reggie standing over him and toweling off his hair.

“Sup, Infinite Jester,” he says, and Jughead has to admit that joke is a little more than clever. “You’re getting a little red. Lube up.”

Jughead realizes the object that had been dropped into his lap is a bottle of sunscreen. “Thanks, Reggie,” Jughead says slowly, still waiting to see if this is a trap; if the bottle is filled with actual lube or something worse. But with a concealed sniff, Jughead determines it to actually be benign and starts spreading it over his forearms and neck.

“No prob,” Reggie says easily, joining him on the neighboring beach chair. “I’m nothing if not a damn perfect host. You having a good time?”

He gives his book a little shake. “Just catching up on some reading.”

Reggie fixes him with a studying look. “Speaking of, I liked your book, man,” he says finally.

This surprises Jughead immensely. Despite having known Reggie for years as one of Archie’s college friends, he realizes he doesn’t know much about him other than that he works in finance and was already rich anyway. “You read my book?”

If he didn’t know any better, he might say Reggie looks somewhat self-conscious. “Yeah. I’m not all bros and beer 24/7, Juggalo. It was good. I mean, fucking sad. But good. Archie says you’re working on the sequel?”

Trying to, he thinks bitterly. Would be, if he had any idea where to start. “Yeah,” he says instead.

“Nice. Well, when I read the first one I was like, mad depressed for a week after. So give the guy a happy ending this time,” Reggie says, closing his eyes and settling back into his chair. He twists his arms up to the sun, as if beckoning it towards him.

Jughead pulls his hat back over his eyes.

A happy ending. What a concept.

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The next few days follow in a similar pattern: Reggie, Archie, and a fluctuating company of beautiful people having a rumpus, drunken time, while Jughead ruminates on the poor life decisions that led to him sitting alone by a bonfire and assuring himself that he’s beyond such hedonistic pursuits.

If this wasn’t such a common occurrence—following after Archie’s plans and finding himself wishing he hadn’t when it always ends with him at the edge of a party, alone—he might actually be annoyed with his friend.

But he wonders if he’s lying to himself when he says that it doesn’t bother him. He and Archie don’t have as much in common as adults as they did as children, and Jughead sometimes speculates whether nostalgia alone is enough to keep their friendship going.

Not that they don’t still have things in common—they both like to write (if albeit in totally different forms), they both like video games…Jughead wracks his brain for an embarrassingly long moment before also deciding they have similar senses of humor.

Sort of. Archie likes his sense of humor, anyway, which is usually the thing that wards most people off.

But none of their differences mean shit, at the end of the day. Archie is like a brother to him, and so if that means he has to be a fringe element at the edge of a beach party for a night, so be it.

Besides, he’s always teetered at the edge of things his whole life. Teetered on the edge of childhood abandonment, on the edge of foster care, on the edge of his family’s addiction, on the edge of his peers, his schools, his life.

Looking in from the outside is an easy place to be; that’s what got him his New York Times starred review, anyway.

So quite literally, no good will come of questioning his comfort zone, and that’s that.

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But once they hit the four-day mark, Jughead is itching to get back on the road, so they both pile back into the truck after long and surprisingly emotional bro hugs from a completely stoned Reggie.

The truck squeals a bit as he turns the ignition. “Did you hear that?” He asks Archie, though the engine is purring fine now.

Clearly also still a little stoned from Reggie’s wake-and-bake breakfast, Archie looks over at him, red eyed. “Hear what?”

“When you drove the car into town last night, did it make a weird noise?” Jughead presses.

“Nah,” Archie says, his head falling against the seat. He closes his eyes. “Man, I’m beat.”

“Good road trip, then,” Jughead says wryly. “Ready to go home to Boston?”

That gets Archie’s attention; he opens one bleary eye at him. “Don’t you fucking dare,” he says firmly. “I’ve got a lot more planned for us.”

Jughead snorts. He hadn’t expected it to be that easy anyway. “Where to next?” Jughead asks, as they pull out of Reggie’s driveway and into the morning light.

“Not telling,” Archie says, pulling up his phone map. “Take a left here.”

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It turns out that Archie has led them back across the state to something called the Basketball Hall of Fame, which Jughead couldn’t find more boring if he’d tried. Archie loves it, and spends the whole time wondering aloud if he’d chosen the wrong sport in high school. But Jughead can’t stand it much longer, and wanders off to find a place to read until Archie’s ready to go.

“Got you an ice cream cone, buddy,” Archie says soothingly, finding the bench Jughead has long since camped out on.

“Great, because I’m twelve,” he mutters, though he eats it anyway.

“Sorry, I know this place isn’t your cup of tea, but the next thing is for you. You’ll like it, promise, or I’ll buy you two dinners.”

“Here’s hoping I hate it, then,” Jughead says dryly, as they make for the car. It makes that weird sound again, but it’s gone in an instant, and the Ford roars to life, so Jughead doesn’t have time to dwell on it before Archie starts feeding him new directions.

When they cross the border into New York state, Jughead gets nervous, but Archie is practically bouncing in his seat with excitement, which appeases him a bit. But if it turns out to be the Football Hall of Fame or the Baseball Hall of Fame or, hell, even the Racquetball Hall of Fame, he swears he’s turning around and going straight back to Boston.

But they turn into a parking lot with a sign reads Welcome to the Motorcyclepedia Museum! and Jughead is awash with relief. Motorcycles. This might actually be good. 

They pay for their tickets and head on in; the experience is completely wacky, and just as kitschy as Archie promised it would be, but actually kind of cool. There are famous motorcycles from history, including one that road in the motorcade the day JFK was shot, and even some from movies, which he particularly geeks out over.

Granted, the bar was pretty low after Archie dragged him to a weekend long beach party of self-indulgence and then the fucking Basketball Hall of Fame, but Jughead has to it to him: this one was pretty fun.

Especially because Jughead always wanted a motorcycle, like his dad, and he’d even learned to ride and gotten as far as the special program certificate as required by the state of Massachusetts. He’d been all set to get one—but then life got in the way, as it does, and the motorcycle suddenly seemed like such a silly idea. He had responsibilities thrust upon him and he wasn’t gonna drop his sister off at school from the back of a bike. So he turned to the truck, and it hasn’t proved him wrong yet.

“Knew you’d like this place,” Archie grins as they head back towards the parking lot. Dusk is settling low over their heads. “So you’re buying dinner.”

“That was not the deal, so, no,” Jughead chuckles, sliding into the driver’s seat. “Alright, I propose we drive a little more, grab some grub, and then find a motel to crash for the night.”

“Sounds good, dude,” Archie says, pulling out his map. “Alright…we wanna get on 90, so we should take highway 87 up the state. Let’s head towards Hudson and stop there for food and beds. Midge told me about how cute it is up there and said we should check it out. Apparently she and Moose went antiquing there once.”

“Golly, Archie,” Jughead drawls, “I didn’t realize this was an elaborate excuse to go looking for the perfect shabby chic bedroom set of our dreams.”

“Shut up,” Archie laughs. “Just drive. It’s getting late and I’m a growing boy. Need to eat.”

“Hate to break it to you pal, but you’re 26. Officially, you’re done growing,” Jughead says, as he puts the key in the ignition. It squeaks at him again, but once again starts without any other issue. He stares at his steering wheel. “Why does it keep doing that?”

“Dunno,” his friend yawns. “I’m sure it’s fine. Come on. Food. Archie hungry. Archie want to eat.”

“Ugh, don’t get all caveman on me. I’m hungry constantly and I still manage to use all my grammatical articles,” Jughead sighs, pulling out of the parking lot. The ride upstate is quiet and twinkling as the stars come out to greet them. Even on the road, the further upstate they get, the brighter the stars become.

However, also the further upstate they get, the hungrier Jughead gets. He realizes he hasn’t eaten much all day and, with an audible growl from his stomach, he decides he might not make it all the way to Hudson.

“What are you doing?” Archie asks, as Jughead starts to cross lanes towards an exit.

“Taking the first exit I see,” Jughead says grouchily, his appetite making him grumpy. “I’m suddenly starving.”

“Dude, it’s not far left to Hudson, just keep going,” Archie says.

But a bright neon sign is visible from the far right lane and Jughead gives a triumphant, “A-ha! A diner. I want a damn small-town-diner burger and I want it now. We’re going there.”

Shrugging, Archie doesn’t argue. That’s another thing that Jughead likes about his best friend: he’s as impulsive as he is go-with-the-flow. It sometimes makes for a disastrous combination of attitudes, as Archie tends to believe following the yen to make a ridiculously sudden 180 in his life will just “work out” but right now, Jughead appreciates the hell out of it. His stomach howls at him.

They pull off the highway and follow the massive neon sign, which just reads Pop’s in bold red letters. Jughead might’ve expected some kind of truck stop diner, given it’s proximity to the road and the set of train cars ambling along a track behind the restaurant, but it seems quaintly doo-wop and almost straight out of time.

He and Archie throw a tarp over their bags in the bed of the truck and hustle inside. Soft, ambient music welcomes them and the crowd is mostly families and teenagers. It just might be a wholesome as it appears.

A round-faced man meets them at the door. “Two?” He asks amiably.

Jughead nods, taking in his surroundings. Something in his chest unlocks to the tune of a jukebox, and the soft red light falling gently over the restaurant sets him at a peace he didn’t know he was missing. It’s quiet. Safe. Calm. Everything a small town diner should be.

Something pokes his shoulder, and he realizes it’s Archie gesturing to follow after him to their table. He slides into his booth and heaves a deep sigh. “This looks good,” Archie says lightly, glancing over his menu.

Good doesn’t begin to cover it, Jughead thinks, gears whirring in his mind. The character in his first book would love a place like this. He’d been planning on setting the sequel in the same city as the first, but now he’s wondering if plopping the hero in a completely new setting is what the manuscript has been missing.

But then what? Move him for what reason? What is he looking for? What would be his motivation?

Jughead wishes he had his laptop, or a pen and paper at least, because this is the first burst of inspiration he’s had in months and he doesn’t want to lose it. But his computer is locked away in the car and he’s too hungry to properly focus anyway.

Their waitress appears at their table expectantly, and she’s very pretty, so Jughead waits for the inevitable drooling and clumsiness from Archie. True to form, the redhead tries to rest his elbow on his menu, but it slips under him and he practically hits his forehead on the table.

She watches with mirth. “Hi,” she says, in a cool, sophisticated voice. “I’m Veronica, and I’ll be your server tonight. Do you need another minute, or do you boys know what you want?”

Jughead thinks that Archie certainly does.

So with a sigh, he folds himself over his menu. “Double cheeseburger. The works. Fries. Pickles. Chips might be good too, actually. Vanilla milkshake. And a black coffee.”

Veronica raises an arched eyebrow. “That’s all for you? Or is there a tapeworm in there somewhere paying rent?”

Archie laughs loudly at her joke—a little too loudly, because she turns to him with a curious, amused look. But, Jughead notes, not an uninterested look either. He’s not surprised. This is the perpetual riddle of Archie Andrews—makes a total clumsy buffoon of himself, yet somehow still gets a date anyway.

He assumes it must have something to do with Archie’s looks and gym schedule, but it’s still always been a bit of a mystery to him. He knows he’s not completely without positive traits, but if he slipped on his own menu and then guffawed loudly at a girl’s joke, she’d look at him like a piece of old gum under a shoe.

Archie ends up ordering a regular cheeseburger and just fries, and Veronica whisks away. As soon as she’s out of earshot, Archie gets a star struck look in his eye and says, “Man, I’m glad you picked this place.”

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Dinner is good—quite good, actually—and surprisingly not too greasy given it’s a small town diner off the side of the highway. Jughead is bereft to go, but he orders a burger for the road, and it’ll have to do.

They load up into the truck; Archie has been sighing for the past ten minutes, like some tortured Shakespearean lover. “Why didn’t I try to get her number?” He asks, for the third time.

Jughead puts the keys in the ignition. “Because we’re going to Chicago, you live in Boston, and she lives in some random small town in upstate New York. I’ll get you a fishing rod when we get home so you can see how many fish there are in the sea.”

Archie just sighs moonily again.

Jughead turns the keys, the now familiar squeaking and clicking sound greeting him. Only this time, it doesn’t immediately stop. In fact, it doesn’t stop at all.

Jughead curses, and tries to turn the keys again. The engine makes a terrible whirring sound and, to Jughead’s horror, smoke starts to rise from the hood of the truck. He immediately pulls the keys out of the ignition and stares, jaw-slacked, as Archie rushes out to open up the hood. He steps back and waves the smoke out of his face. “This looks bad, Jug,” he coughs. “Uh, I think we're stuck.” 

Jughead bangs his forehead against the steering wheel. Hits it once, hits it twice. Repeats it again for good measure.

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