#second best selling beer (holiday beer)

[deklo]

um 🧍

[withacapitalp]

How to Rehabilitate a Jock pt 14

Part One Part Thirteen Link to Ao3 Part Fifteen

Thank you to @stevethehairington for betaing and @thefreakandthehair for always being the world's best cheerleader/support!!! Also everyone @angstflayer-council for motivating me to finish this chapter. I hope you guys like it!! ALSO I FORGOT TAG LISTS FOR PART THIRTEEN SORRY YALL I FIXED IT THIS TIME

Step Fourteen: Ask for a Second Opinion

Eddie and Wayne had a routine for gig nights. 

First Wayne would get home from his shift and go about his normal business. Shucking off work clothes, grabbing a quick cold shower, fixing himself a sandwich with whatever leftovers they had in the fridge- the same thing he did every night when he came back from the plant. Then, when all that was taken care of, he would turn on the radio to listen to the news, grab a beer from the fridge, and pull out the most important thing in their trailer. 

The waffle iron. 

It was an ancient thing, a giant heavy slab of metal that had been passed down from Great Granny Munson herself. Eddie was ninety nine percent sure it would outlive him too, but that was just a fact of Munson life. The cord for the waffle iron was frayed in about half a dozen places, and it smoked if it was powered on for longer than an hour at a time, but there was no denying that the beat up old thing made the best damn waffles Eddie had ever had. 

If Eddie had it his way, they would eat waffles every single day. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They were his all time favorite food and when he had first moved in with Wayne they were all he would eat. Eventually the two of them had come to a compromise- Eddie could have waffles on Sundays, birthdays, holidays, and any day he brought home a test with a grade that had a B or higher. 

And gig nights. 

Of course, that addition had come later. Wayne hadn’t allowed him to play at the Hideout until he was legally an adult. It came from a good place (It was just one of the many many ways Wayne had tried to keep Eddie from becoming his father.) but it was still annoying being forced to wait that long. 

The waffles kind of made it worth the wait though. 

The next part of the routine was Eddie. Eddie would come home egregiously late, and they would eat together. As they ate through ridiculously high stacks of delicious syrupy goodness, Eddie would tell Wayne everything that had happened.

Nothing was off the table. Eddie would tell Wayne about whatever drugs he took, if he drank, if he dealt, whatever his uncle asked about. By now he had learned that Wayne was just looking out for him. And as long as he was honest, Wayne would let him keep doing what he was doing. He just wanted to be in the loop, and that was a small thing to ask. 

This was the first gig night that Eddie was home before Wayne. 

“I didn’t know how to make the batter,” Eddie said as soon as Wayne opened the door, causing the man to jump out of his skin from being started. Eddie gave his uncle a nervous little grin from where he was sitting on the couch, tapping his fingers against his thighs in incomprehensible patterns. 

“And I was also worried about turning on the waffle iron. Figured you wouldn’t wanna come home to a burnt down trailer and a pile of bones instead of your beloved beloved nephew,” Eddie joked, trying to cut through the tension that had been surrounding him since he came home two hours ago. 

The anxiety fueled energy running through his veins was making it impossible to sit still, impossible to make eye contact as Wayne stared at him with a raised brow. 

“What’d you do?” Wayne asked as he hung up his hat with a put upon sigh. 

“Nothing! Geez Wayne, have a little faith,” Eddie complained, tossing his head back and giving an exaggerated groan. This was easy. Playing a game and making a show of things was something Eddie could do in his sleep, and it was so much more simple than the alternative. He even looked Wayne directly in the eye, just to really sell it. 

“You just think I’m a good for nothin’ troublemaker, don’t you? Spill it, old man, I already know the answer! I am distraught that even my own flesh and blood thinks I’m only capable of tomfoolery.”

Wayne grunted, crossing his arms and giving Eddie one long slow look, peeling back all the layers, lowering all the walls. 

“What’d you do?” Wayne repeated, his tone short and to the point. 

Eddie wilted like a flower. His shoulders hunched inward, and his gaze shot straight to the floor. He dragged one of his socked toes across the carpet in the living room, avoiding his uncle’s piercing gaze. 

“Nothin’” Eddie mumbled, “we just got cut short, that’s all.”

That wasn’t even scratching the surface, but they both knew that. There was no way Wayne was going to leave it at that. 

Sure enough, his uncle just hummed, walking into their small kitchenette and pulling open the fridge.

“Y’all ended early ‘cause of the power outage?” Wayne asked, rhetorically, already knowing the answer. 

Eddie stood up from the couch, coming over to the bar and sitting on one of the stools, nodding glumly as he let his head fall in his palm, still avoiding eye contact. 

“Then what’s wrong?” Wayne asked, passing Eddie a beer as he took a sip from his own and grabbed the eggs. 

“I’m annoyed that our show ended early?” Eddie said, hating that it came out as a question. 

It wasn’t a question, he was annoyed about that. The power outage just wasn’t the thing that was bothering him. 

“And?” Wayne pressed, carefully unwrapping the cord of the waffle iron and gingerly plugging it into the socket. The red light on the front lit up, promising delicious fresh waffles in just minutes.

“And I messed up this super easy riff which pissed me off,” Eddie added, his stomach clenching up as he continued to avoid the actual problem. 

The issue was, he was probably one of the worst liars in the world, and Wayne could smell bullshit a mile off. 

“Eddie, you know our rule,” Wayne said, sounding like the epitome of patience as he whisked batter, his back still turned to his nephew. 

“…Always be honest,” Eddie mumbled, his cheeks flushing as he was forced to recite the single rule Wayne actually had for him. 

Eddie could run as wild as he had to, do whatever it took to get through being a boy like him living in a town like Hawkins, but there couldn’t be secrets between them. Wayne couldn’t protect him if he didn’t know what Eddie was dealing with, and Eddie couldn’t trust that Wayne would always support him if he didn’t give him the chance. 

Normally repeating those words was a comfort, a cathartic tradition that settled Eddie’s soul. No matter what he told Wayne, he would still love him, still support him. Nothing Eddie could do would make his uncle abandon him. 

Today it just felt…invasive. 

“If you can’t talk ‘bout it yet, you can say that,” Wayne reminded him, looking over his shoulder for a second so Eddie could meet his eyes for the first time that night, “just don’t pretend like nothin’s there.” 

It wasn’t that Eddie didn’t want to talk about it. He was actually pretty desperate to, but he didn’t know where to start. He hadn’t intentionally forgotten to tell Wayne about Steve, but he hadn’t come up at all in the last six weeks, and with everything that happened earlier, there was no easy avenue to explain. 

“And I’m worried about my friend,” Eddie admitted quietly, starting with the only thing he was absolutely sure of. 

He was worried about Steve. Really, really, worried.  

“Which friend?” Wayne grunted, pouring out the batter for the first waffle with a satisfying hiss of the iron, “Gareth? Or Jeff?” 

“Steve,” Eddie replied, taking a sip of his drink before he clarified, “Steve Harrington.” 

“Richard’s boy?” Wayne wondered, doing nothing to hide his shock at a Harrington mixing with a Munson. 

“Yeah, but he’s nothing like how you’d expect!” Eddie said quickly, rambling away his anxiety as he drummed his fingers on the countertop. “I mean I thought he was for a while, but he’s actually really cool and sweet and thoughtful and funny and stuff. Like he brought us cookies today before the gig, and he babysits all these weird little nerdy kids too! There’s this whole-“

“Eddie, breathe,” Wayne chuckled, giving his nephew a fond eye roll as he put down a plate in front of him. An absolutely ginormous waffle stared back up at Eddie, already glistening with butter and maple syrup. 

It was perfect. Glorious. Eddie’s stomach was growling. 

“Why are you worried about ‘im? Did somethin’ happen tonight?” Wayne asked, turning back to the iron and starting on his own waffle. 

Eddie launched into his story as he dug into his treat. He started straight from the beginning, right from the first time Steve had accidentally sat at their lunch table all the way to tonight and the panic attack in the middle of the parking lot. He even admitted to the tiny crush that he had once had that was burning a hole in the back of his mind every time Steve smiled at him. 

But there was one big glaring hole in the middle. 

Eddie didn’t say a word about the bet. 

He tried to. He really honestly did. But every time Eddie got close to it, he started to think about the disappointed look Wayne was going to give him, and the deep sigh that was coming with it. Wayne never yelled, never insulted him, but there were times Eddie would have honestly preferred if he did. 

Anger would be so much better than the deep shame that always came with knowing that he had done something Wayne would disapprove of. And this was definitely something Wayne would disapprove of.  

“Then he just left with them, Wayne!” Eddie exploded, finally at the end of the surprisingly long story. Both waffles had already been consumed, the dishes were in the sink to soak, and the two of them were sitting on their beat up old couch, with Eddie’s head resting against Wayne’s shoulder. “Steve got in the car and drove off. With his ex-girlfriend. And the guy she cheated on him with!” 

“Sounds like you’re more upset about that part then he is,” Wayne said, the smile in his tone evident. “Is that what’s actually botherin’ you about all of this?”

“Wayne,” Eddie snapped, cutting off his uncle’s teasing before he could even start. He pulled away, sitting up and waiting until his uncle met his eye before continuing, “this is serious. There’s something wrong. Really wrong. And I don’t know how I’m supposed to help him if he can’t even tell me about it.”  

Because that’s what Steve had said. Not that he didn’t want to tell Eddie. That he couldn’t tell Eddie.

That Eddie wouldn’t have even believed him if he could.  

Which was insane, because Eddie was pretty sure Steve could say that he had seen the second coming of Christ, and Eddie would believe him. Steve could tell him that aliens existed, and Eddie would believe him. Steve could even spout off about characters from Dungeons and Dragons coming to life and dragging him on a quest and- 

Well, Eddie wasn’t sure he would totally believe that, but he would definitely listen at the very least! 

Steve wasn’t even giving him a chance to prove him wrong. He was just locking this all inside, holding it and bottling it and expecting it to go away when it wouldn’t. Eddie had been there, and he knew that trying to force something down only made it come up even worse later on. 

“Eddie,” Wayne said with a sigh, instantly putting his nephew on edge. It was a sigh Eddie knew well- the one Wayne gave when he wanted to tell him something that he knew that Eddie wasn’t going to want to hear. 

“You can’t help him if he ain’t ready to be helped.” 

Wayne’s hesitation there was right. Eddie definitely didn’t want to hear that. 

“That is such bullshit-“ 

“Kiddo,” Wayne said, cutting Eddie’s rant off before it could even really start with just one word. 

Eddie’s jaw shut with a snap, and he dragged a sharp breath in, looking at Wayne with wide eyes, trying to silently convey exactly why he was wrong. 

His uncle’s tough exterior melted away, and a gentle sympathy took over. If it was anyone else, Eddie would have bristled, gotten angry, pushed them away. On anyone else, that look would be 

pity. 

With Wayne, it was just kindness.

“Is it just the fact that you have feelings for this boy that’s makin’ you so damn persistent?” Wayne asked in a soft tone. 

Eddie instantly reared back, a surprised laugh bursting out of him. 

“No, Wayne I used to have a crush on him,” Eddie stressed, trying to make Wayne understand. “Back when we were younger. Years ago! It’s gone now.” 

“Eds,” Wayne said in a no-nonsense tone, “be serious.” 

“I am,” Eddie retorted, a heavy blush staining his cheeks as his heart hammered in his chest. “I don’t have a crush on him anymore. I don’t. I can care about my friends without it being a gay thing, so just drop it!” 

“Eddie, I’ll drop it if you can look me in the eye right now and tell me you don’t have any feelings for that boy,” Wayne challenged, keeping his cool as he crossed his arms and leaned back against the cushions, waiting. 

“Well that’s stupid, Wayne. Of course I have feelings for him,” Eddie sneered. He got up and began to pace, unable to hold it all in anymore as he continued to rant. 

“I care about him like I care about all my friends. It’s not like he’s nothing to me, but he’s just a friend, that’s all. I just think that it’s really cool that he was brave enough to join our group, and it’s sweet that he’s trying so hard. He isn’t half-assing it, and he doesn’t half-ass anything! Steve puts his whole self into everything he does and everyone he cares about, and caring that much is such an easy way to get hurt, but it’s like he’s not even worried! I mean, you should see the way he is with the kids! We’re just friends, that’s all, and that’s fine. I don’t need it to be anything more. I don’t want it to be anything more. Look we have a few stupid inside jokes, and some moments, but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s not like I love him, I just-“

Eddie cut himself off, taking a sharp shaking breath in as the reality of it all came crashing down on his head. He took a stumbling step backward, trying to breathe as he staggered back to the couch and fell down into his seat. 

“Fuck,” Eddie whispered, burying his face in his hands, the lump in his throat constricting his breath as his eyes burned. “Fuck.”

A warm hand fell between his shoulder blades, and Eddie blindly tipped on his side, letting Wayne’s arm curl around him as he burrowed into his uncle’s side. 

“It’s alright,” Wayne murmured, rubbing his thumb against the side of Eddie’s head as his nephew tried to catch his breath. “It’s not wrong for you to feel the way you do. It’s not somethin’ you can control. It’s not a bad thing.”  

“I know,” Eddie croaked out, hating the way he kind of didn’t believe the words. 

This wasn’t his first crush, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. Eddie had always known who he was, and he had never pretended to be anything else. He wasn’t ashamed, but he couldn’t help the fear that still lived inside. 

That fear… it was terrifying, and painful. He hated being scared of himself, but he still was. Eddie was scared of the way people would look at him, scared of the way the world would treat him if they knew for a fact instead of just assuming. Scared of the way things would change. 

Scared of the way Steve would probably hate him if he ever figured it out. 

Steve. That’s what this was all about. It wasn’t about how Eddie felt. Tonight was about Steve, and how worried Eddie was for him. 

“Okay but even if I am attracted to him, that’s not why I want to help him,” Eddie said, carefully pulling away from Wayne’s grip and rubbing at his dry cheeks. No tears had ever come, but Eddie did it anyway, just to be sure. 

“Then why?” Wayne asked, genuinely curious. 

Why? 

“Why are you being so nice to me?” 

Eddie looked up at the other boy, furrowing his brow. 

“Why not?” Eddie said with a shrug, going back to his notebook. He was scratching out another tik-tac-toe board to add to the dozens that were already on the page. 

“People aren’t just nice,” The boy insisted, giving Eddie a guarded look. “They always want something.” 

“I want to make this afternoon a little less unbearable, and I want to make you feel better.” Eddie offered, quirking his head to the side and offering the pen to the other boy. “Is that enough?” 

They stared at each other for a long second, until the other boy’s face broke into an incredulous smile and he ducked his head down. 

“You’re really weird,” He said with a soft laugh, taking the pen. It was a lovely sound, like birds singing in the morning, or the first soft strum of a guitar as practice began. 

Eddie needed to hear it again.

“He needed me,” Eddie said softly, lost somewhere in between now and the memory. “Still does. I think.” 

Did Steve need him? Eddie wasn’t sure. All he knew was Steve needed someone and Eddie was the one who knew it. 

“Then be there for him,” Wayne suggested, patting Eddie twice on the back as he stood and walked over to his bed, beginning to pull it out, “You don’t need to know why he needs help to support. Sometimes all someone needs is someone to be there.”

“You’re right,” Eddie replied, sensing the end of the conversation coming. Exhaustion was tugging on his eyelids, and Wayne was beginning to yawn,. “I just wish I could do more.”

“I think you’re doin’ more than you realize,” Wayne offered, settling on the side of his bed and stretching. 

“Thanks Wayne,” Eddie sighed, turning and heading towards his room. 

“Is there anything else on your mind?” Wayne said from behind, stopping Eddie in his tracks. “Feels like you might’ve left something out.” 

Eddie paused, feeling like a mouse caught in a trap. He knew that if Wayne could see his face, he would’ve been done for, but just with his back, there wasn’t enough to prove he was right. 

Briefly, Eddie wondered if Wayne was a psychic, or had some sort of power to know when Eddie was keeping a secret. It felt like there was a big yellow sign above his head, shouting that he needed his uncle to help him before it was too late. 

I think I’m doing the wrong thing, Eddie thought, desperately working his throat, trying to force the words out, I think I’m doing something mean, and it’s going to end up hurting Steve. Badly. I’m doing the wrong thing, and I don’t know how to stop it before he gets hurt.

“No,” Eddie whispered, hating himself for the lie, “there’s nothing else.” 

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[jinweizhang]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF 'EI RASTRO'

Known the world over for its crowded, transient flea market that's held on Sundays and public holidays and offers a diverse range of goods, El Rastro is a bustling shopping area in the city centre that’s open every day of the week and stands out for its jumble of specialist shops, typical bars, historic sites and interesting places like the Museum of Popular Art.

The long, steep street Calle de la Ribera de Curtidores has multiple shops specialising mainly in mountain sports –new and second-hand sportswear by top brands at Makalu, Barrabes, OS20, El Rincón de la Montaña, etc.–, handcrafted furniture, photography –Fotocasión is one of the city's top establishments– and antiques –set around two courtyards with carefully designed architecture, one on either side of the street (Piquer Galleries and Nuevas Galerías), are multiple antiques dealers and restaurants– but you’ll also find bookshops, scraps of fabric, hardware shops and pet supplies for sale.

Scattered amongst the many shops, there’s no shortage of typical bars where you can have a wine, beer or vermouth on tap with some paella tapas or a calamari sandwich, as well as traditional restaurants where you can enjoy a nice cocido (chickpea stew) or some tripe.

The Museum of Popular Art and Traditions, an interesting museum that houses ethnographic pieces from all over Spain, is also worth visiting. In addition, Saturdays at El Rastro, Madrid’s oldest, most traditional and most iconic leisure fair, is held on the first and third Saturday of each month (in Plaza del General Vara del Rey) and features the best antiques, vintage pieces, auction houses, collectors’ items, gastronomy and entertainment.

The popular flea market held on Sundays and public holidays

The image of El Rastro that immediately comes to mind is that of its crowded, transient flea market which is held on Sundays and public holidays. Documents mention the market as early as 1740. Originally a hub for the sale, exchange and general wheeling and dealing of second-hand clothes, it offered an alternative to street peddling. Its curious name (The Trail) may owe itself to the fact that the market was held near a former slaughterhouse and the dead, unskinned livestock transported to it would leave a trail on the ground. In the 16th century, the word “Rastro” was also used as a synonym for butcher's shop or abattoir.

Today, the market hosts over 1000 merchants who start to sell their goods at about 9am and pack up at roughly 3pm. Located in the vicinity of Calle de la Ribera de Curtidores, the market has its hub in Plaza de Cascorro and occupies a large, almost triangular block delimited by the streets Calle de Toledo, Calle de Embajadores and Ronda de Toledo. It also sprawls down other streets, such as Calle de San Cayetano, Calle de Fray Ceferino González, Calle de Carlos Arniches and Calle de Mira el Río, and into squares like Plaza de General Vara del Rey and Plaza de Campillo del Mundo Nuevo.

Depending on which section you pass through, you’ll find different items ranging from artisanal goods, clothing and accessories to kitchenware, trading cards, second-hand albums and magazines, pets and all sorts of objects of varying ages.

[let-them-read-fics]

Bite

Pairing: Vamp!Lisa x Human!Fem!Reader

AU: Vampire

Word Count: ~ 5,564

Warnings / Misc. -- Mentions of Blood

Disclaimer: This writing is a work of fiction, and no disrespect is meant for those mentioned herein.

A/N: Hey everyone! I'm alive! School has kept me crazy busy and I've had my hands full with other things as well, but I finished writing this one and I wanted to share with you lovely peeps. To everyone who stopped by to check in, and to those of you who’ve been patiently waiting, thank you endlessly. I love having you as my readers 💜

PS ~ I hope this isn't too bad for my first one shot in forever! Also, happy Lisa era. I’m so proud of our girl!

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

Saturday, October 31st

You look like an idiot. 

The nurse uniform you have on is obnoxiously cliché; short and tattered in various places to really sell the "sexy" aspect of it, little is left to the imagination. Fake blood stains dot the flimsy material in random patterns and mat some strands of the tacky blonde wig atop your head, making you look like something out of a B-movie at best. 

A bonafide, absolute idiot. 

When you express that sentiment to your best friend, she just rolls her eyes and holds out one last costume for you to try on. She had a few lined up in case you didn't like her other options, and clearly that's come in handy; you've already worked through the previous picks, so she crosses her fingers as your eyes skim over this one.

"Humor me, will you?" She asks, hoping that you'll give in and at least check this last one out. 

"Fine, but this is your last chance. It had better be good." You raise a pointed finger at her in warning. 

"I have a good feeling about this one," she says, smiling as you take the bag from her and slip into the dressing room one final time. 

Her phone chimes soon after, and she's quick to retrieve it from her pocket.

Willow: Are you guys almost here?? Jackson's been asking about you.

Your best friend bites her lip at that, nervously nibbling on it as she rereads the message to make sure she didn't imagine the last part. She's liked Jackson since middle school, and he'll be swinging by the party that you've all been invited to; that's one of the main reasons she begged you to come with her tonight. 

Y/BFFs/N: Still getting ready. We'll be there ASAP tho!

Willow: Alright, we'll see you soon. Don't take all night, or else👩🤛

Y/BFFs/N: Yah, cut the violence!

The sound of your best friend's soft giggling fills the air just as you manage to fasten the costume's last zipper and pull its hood over your head.

Surprise etches its way into your features as you do a spin, taking in the sight of yourself through the full length mirror of the dressing room. The outfit's red and black color schemes complement each other beautifully, giving you a powerful and sensual appeal that the other costumes didn't even stand a chance of doing. You look alluring in every sense of the word. 

"Holy shit," your best friend says when you emerge, striking a pose. "You look hot!" She squeals, clapping a few times in quick succession. 

There's no way you think this one looks bad. 

"I think Wanda would be proud," you grin, tilting your head up and wrapping the cape around your neck. 

"One hundred percent," Y/BFFs/N nods adamantly, in total agreement. The Scarlet Witch getup really compliments your features. 

"Now," she starts, changing topics as she looks in the reflection of her phone's dark screen to adjust some of her hair that's gone astray. "Let's pay and then go. Willow's looking for us, and my future man's wondering where I am, too." 

"Hell yeah!" You chuckle, patting her on the back. "I'll help you finally land him so you can stop pining."

You watch as she takes a moment to decide between coming up with a decent rebuttal to defend herself or agreeing with you, and you smile when she goes for the latter. 

"I'd accept nothing less," she says, holding her head high like a princess. "You are my wingwoman, after all." 

"And the best one in town," you add, tugging her towards the register. She reaches into her purse and pulls out the money to pay before politely handing it to the cashier. 

The teenage boy takes it with a small smile, though the action looks a little comical as his upper lip gets caught on the cheap, plastic fangs he's sporting. His knock-off version of Dracula is definitely…. something… and you can tell that his managers forced him to wear it for the holiday. 

"Come back and s-shhee us," he says, handing your change back. Your best friend takes it, failing to contain her laughter at his messy speech. He blushes crimson, likely cursing the plastic teeth for making him look a fool. 

"We surely will," you respond, giving him a comforting smile to keep his embarrassment at bay. He nods gratefully, and you're quickly pulled out of the store by your best friend. 

"Happy Halloween!" You shout over your shoulder, accompanied by the chime of the bell over the door. 

"You too," he calls back, letting out a soft sigh. 

---

20 Minutes Later -- The Party

Upon rounding the front of your car and stepping up onto the sidewalk outside of Willow's house, your attention is immediately caught by the numerous decorations that she put up last week. 

"Huh," you mumble, gazing up at the skeleton that towers above you, standing 12 feet tall. "I think it's safe to say that this is her favorite holiday…" 

"What makes you think that?" Your best friend plays, feigning ignorance as she pops up from behind a life-sized, animatronic Jason Voorhees. 

"I don't know," you tut, admiring Willow's hard work a little longer. "Just a feeling." 

Y/BFFs/N giggles in her unique way, making you smile at the sound as the two of you make your way up the path towards the house. You gaze down at your feet, careful to step on the stones of the walkway and avoid the motion-activated hands that scramble out of the weeds to grab unsuspecting guests. 

Having known Willow your entire childhood, you've grown used to her ways. 

*knock knock*

A strong, iconic synth bassline sounds off from inside, filling the otherwise quiet night around you with its catchy beat as you wait to be let in. Its sound is well known, and you almost instantly recognize it as "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurythmics.

A few seconds later, you hear clambering from inside, followed by concerning groans and shouted apologies. 

Y/BFFs/N arches a skeptical brow at you, perfectly mirroring your thoughts.

Directly after, the door swings open in a flash, and you're nearly tackled by a whizz of curly hair. 

"There you guys are!" Willow shrieks, pulling the two of you close as she nuzzles her face against your cheeks. 

"Yep, here we are," you struggle out, nearly being strangled in her tight grip. She responds by squeezing you even tighter, blinded by her joy at seeing you again. 

After all, it's been a while since all three of you have had the opportunity to spend the night partying together like this. 

"Can't… breathe," Y/BFFs/N squeaks, successfully getting Willow to release you. 

"Sorry," she apologizes, stepping back. "I'm just so happy you're here." 

The freckles that spread across the bridge of her nose look especially adorable with the blush she's sporting, and her shy grin makes you forget about the near-fatality you just encountered moments before. 

"We're happy to be here," you reassure her, returning her smile. 

Your best friend agrees from beside you, nodding her head with a happy look of her own. "Believe it or not, we've missed your weirdness." She adds, cocking her head to the side. 

Willow giggles again, and her eyes crinkle up into those half crescents that could surely melt even the iciest of hearts. She's practically sunshine in human form, and you have to resist the urge to shield your eyes. 

"Yo, Willow! Who's at the door?" 

Jackson.

You feel your best friend tense beside you, and you subtly pat her leg to calm her down. 

Willow falls silent, though her lips go through the beginning stages of answering him; they open and purse, but she quickly halts her reply and shuts her mouth. She knows of Y/BFFs/N's crush on him, and she doesn't want to say the wrong thing. 

Plus, if the lovesick girl wants to run and hide in the bushes, Willow's silence could buy her some time to slip away. 

But alas, she doesn't. 

Jackson appears in the doorway a mere 5 seconds after asking his question with a beer clutched in his hand. He moves to lean against the wooden frame as his pearly smile beams at you, and Y/BFFs/N audibly swallows at the sight. 

For someone who's usually so confident, she can really be shy sometimes. 

"Lovely to see you, ladies," he greets, putting his free hand in front of him as he bows. His accent is modeled after that of Jack Sparrow, as is his surprisingly well designed costume.

You nod back at him. "Hey, Jackson. Long time no see." 

You elbow your best friend when she remains silent for a beat too long, and the action snaps her back to reality. 

"Yeah, hey Jackson." Her voice is quiet -- she doesn't trust it to refrain from cracking.

He smiles, not failing to notice the nervous aura that's quickly taken over the girl beside you. Her eyes nearly pop out of her head when he gives her a curious once-over, and you take that as your cue to save her from the impending embarrassment that's lurking just around the corner. 

"Alright, guys!" You clap, stepping forward. "Let's get to partying." 

Her shoulders relax, and you feel her slip her hand into yours as you enter the house, squeezing twice as a silent thank you. 

15 Minutes Later

Willow stands beside you in the kitchen, mixing a few things together in one of the millions of red solo cups that she bought for tonight. You sneak a peek over her shoulder at the concoction, seeing its light blue color turn purple-ish as she adds a new liquor into the equation. 

In comparison to typical house parties, this one is relatively small; most of the rooms are filled with people, but it's a comfortable amount. Maneuvering around the place is fairly easy, which is always a plus when you're coexisting with sweaty, drunk people. 

"Willow, love, why did you buy so many cups?" You ask, toying with the ripped plastic packaging of one of the stacks. 

"You know I like to be prepared," she laughs, brushing off her major miscalculation. "Plus I can just use the rest of them at my next party." 

You nod, knowing she's right. "Are you having another soon?" 

"I think so. Jiu and her crew are coming back in a couple weeks, so I thought I'd surprise them with one." 

You scoff, humor laced in the sound. "What, they didn't get enough partying done at their university already?" 

Willow turns around, grinning at you as she hands you your drink. "Evidently campus police keep a close eye on them. Siyeon whined about that a lot when she called me." 

"Sounds like her," you chuckle into your cup as you take a sip. 

PFFT

"Eww, Willow! What did you put in this?!" 

Your spit take didn't land on anyone, thankfully, but it did capture the attention of some people nearby. You wave a hand at them as a silent apology, and they go back to their previous tasks. 

The curly headed prankster covers her mouth, though the action does a terrible job of quieting her maniacal laughter. 

"You're lucky Y/BFFs/N isn't over here," you say, wiping your lips with the back of your hand. "She'd avenge me." 

Willow uses a napkin to dab the tears of laughter from her eyes. "Why else do you think I waited until she was busy with Jackson?" She asks, motioning to her lounge room across the foyer. 

You look inside, spotting Y/BFFs/N holding a pool cue in her hand as Jackson sinks another shot into one of the corner pockets. 

The sight reminds you of the pep talk and 2 shots of liquid courage you gave her earlier, and how she disappeared with the promise to make a move and actually talk to him. Now, she looks completely absorbed in whatever banter they're sharing, and although your violated taste buds still ache from the sickly-sweet mixture that Willow made, you wouldn't want her to be anywhere else. 

You can get your own revenge. 

Sneaking a glance around the kitchen, you search for something to help with your retaliation. A small package of streamers lays abandoned on the island, forgotten to be put up earlier, and you slyly grin. Their ribbons sparkle with glitter, shimmering as the multicolored party lights stream in from the living room and land on them. 

It's as if the universe is putting a spotlight on them, just for you. 

After side eyeing Willow one final time to ensure that she isn't catching onto your plan, you act quickly. She stands beside the counter, right where you left her, and you dart to the island to grab the streamers. Your fingertips soon gain purchase on the packaging, and you tear it open in one swift motion. 

Her gaze locks onto yours just as you near her, but it's far too late for her to get away. 

"Take this!" You declare, upending the baggie atop her head. She shrieks as they cascade down her body, getting caught in the creases and wrinkles of her costume as they go. A small wave of glitter tumbles out of the bag as well, coating her hair and clothes. 

Boy, that'll be fun to try and get out later. 

Her head slowly raises once you finish your assault and place the baggie on the countertop beside you, but the look in her eye is unlike anything you've ever seen. 

"You're dead," she warns. Just as the smile drops from your face, an even larger, more sinister one begins forming on hers. 

The floor creaks beneath your feet slightly as you take a step back, and you know you have to high tail it out of there if you want to evade her. 

"Catch me if you can!" You shout, springing into action. You turn around and dart out of the room, gliding past numerous partygoers in the hall. 

Willow's choice of footwear works in your favor, you soon realize; the sharp rapping sound of her heels pierces the air behind you, serving as a tell of how much distance is between you.

Her unstable platforms buy you a little time, and you thank the universe as you rush through the living room and back towards the foyer. You plan to cut across it and hide out in one of the bathrooms until she drops her plan for revenge. 

A grin pulls at your cheeks as you skid into one of the walls, looking like a character from Scooby-Doo as you will your feet to work correctly again and get you to safety. Willow laughs behind you, joining in on the fun. 

"Perfect," you mutter under your breath, spotting a clear path through the foyer. It leads under the stairs, and you can see the open door of the bathroom from where you are. 

Your feet take you past a handful of drunk people, bobbing and weaving through them with ease, before you're racing towards the restroom to take cover. 

Before you can make it there, though, you collide with someone rather abruptly as they step straight into your path. 

Your eyes shut tightly as you brace yourself for impact with the ground, but it never comes. The person reaches out and catches you before you can hit the floor, and a soft apology slips past their lips as they scoop you up. 

Upon hearing that uniquely feminine voice speak its regret again, you peek your eyes open. What you see nearly makes the woman's effort to keep you upright moot; she's so gorgeous that your legs almost give out from underneath you. 

Dirty blonde locks cascade over her shoulders in soft waves, half-mussed, half-pristine from your run-in. Her doe eyes are a velvety chocolate color, and you find yourself getting lost in them. Flickers of red show in them, illuminating almost rhythmically the longer she admires you. 

Are those contacts? You ask yourself. They have to be. 

She seems to be just as affected by your presence as you are of hers. 

"Y/N, I'm coming to get you!" 

Willow does her best to sound like a villain from a 90s horror film as she clambers her way closer to you, bumping into a few people on the way. You're brought out of your stupor by her rapidly approaching footsteps, and you take a step away from the woman. Her hands fall from your waist, where they had previously been resting. 

Stealing a quick look at the bathroom, you feel your stomach turn.

Damnit. Someone's in there now. 

Screw this sexy stranger for distracting you. Now you'll have to deal with Willow's wrath. 

"What's wrong?" 

There's that voice again. 

Part of you wants to brush it off and slip away quietly, but an even bigger part of you is determined to stay where you are and tell her. Something about her pulls you in, and you're having a hard time denying it. 

"I need to hide. I glitter-fied my friend and now she's coming after me." 

The woman's plump lips pull back in a humored smile, and she nods as a chuckle leaves her. "Right," she says, like that's a common occurrence. "I can help, if you'd like." 

"How?" You ask, your brows momentarily knitting together in confusion. When she unties and opens the black cloak that's wrapped around her body, your breath catches. 

"You in?" She asks, side eyeing the foyer as Willow nearly careens into the Egyptian vase that her mother bought her last year for Christmas. 

You take a deep breath and hold your hand out to her just as Willow rounds the corner, and she swiftly pulls you in close before you can be spotted. She winds the cloak around both of your bodies, concealing your faces as the fur-lined hood falls atop your heads. 

Unconsciously, you wrap your arms around her waist and pull her flush up against you to further ensure your safety. She quietly grunts when she stumbles over her own feet, falling into you a little. 

"Sorry," she whispers, though her third apology of the night is unnecessary. You almost want to thank her for what happened.

Especially when her warm breath fans across your right cheek, where her head is angled. 

Every breath you take pushes you closer to each other, and the satin shirt she's wearing slides against your heated skin. She swallows thickly as one of your hands falls to the small of her back, testing the waters. 

When she shifts a little to encourage you, you're acutely aware of the thigh that's worked its way between your legs. 

When did that happen? 

You bite back a sigh as she just smirks, quietly shushing you. 

Willow thunders by, shouting your name and threatening to throw you into the pool when she tracks you down. You want to laugh at that, but you'd honestly welcome it right now. Some cold water would surely bring you to your senses after being led astray by this goddess in front of you. 

Her footsteps grow distant as she makes her way outside, still searching.

The two of you remain as you are for a couple more minutes until you're certain that the coast is clear, and then you part. When she lowers the cloak, you look away; a deep blush has worked its way up your neck and across your cheeks, and letting her see it would surely make you die of embarrassment. 

She keeps her eyes on you as she reties the cover around herself, attempting to get a read on you. The bashful aura that's befallen you is cute, no doubt, but she can sense your arousal. She can smell it on you, and the scent is beginning to drive her crazy. 

You fiddle with the sleeves of your costume, readjusting them nervously.

"So, um… thanks," you say, sneaking a glance up at her. 

The red hues in her eyes are even more pronounced now, and the sight makes you press further into the wall behind you -- the one that you were previously pushed up against. 

"No problem," she smiles, showing off her pearly white teeth. Two of them catch your attention; a set of fangs now shine, looking alluring and threatening all at the same time. 

There's only one issue: you're certain that they weren't there when you first bumped into her. When did she put them in? And why do they look so real?

The feeling of her hand landing on your forearm pulls you away from the millions of questions that're firing off in your head right now. 

"May I ask your name?" She politely requests, dipping her head down sweetly. 

"Y/N," you breathe out, quickly realizing that you'd do just about anything she asked you to. 

"Y/N." She repeats, allowing the letters to blend in her mouth as they roll off her tongue. She looks satisfied for some reason as she says it again, trying it out. 

"I'm Lisa." 

"It's nice to officially meet you," you smile, reaching a hand out. Her touch is gentle but firm as she takes it, shaking it with ease. 

"Likewise, beautiful." 

The grin on your face only widens at the name, and you pull your hand away out of fear of what she might do next. She's already putting you under her spell, and you're sure that another touch would have you fully entranced. 

She studies you with pursed lips for a moment, clearly debating on something. Her eyes flicker over the dips and curves of your body as a smirk grows on her lips. 

"What are you thinking?" You question, curious but teasing. 

"That I'd love to have your body on mine again." 

She's bold, and she says it like the fact it is. No shame, no bashfulness. Just true, honest desire. 

You bite the inside of your cheek at her bravery, silently thanking the universe for it. The likelihood of you gaining the courage to make a move is slim to none even in the best cases, and this was no exception. She already has your heart skipping beats and you've only known her a few minutes. 

"How about a dance?" She suggests, quirking a brow. The look on her face disarms your defenses, and you take a deep breath before agreeing to your demise. 

"That sounds wonderful." 

She dips her head again, hiding her face away momentarily, and you think it's the cutest thing ever. 

She's shy all of a sudden as her cool demeanor slips up a bit, and that never happens. You might just be her downfall, too.

She holds an elbow out and steps forward, allowing you to link your arm with hers and cuddle in close. 

Her eyes scan across the living room as she studies it, but she's unimpressed. 

Sweaty, winding bodies thrash around to some upbeat pop song that's been overplayed on every radio station in town for weeks now, and the idea of taking you there puts her off. 

When a drunk boy comes into view with a dildo strapped to his forehead, her mind is officially made up. 

"Let's go outside," she says, leading you through the patio doors. 

A quaint gazebo sits on one side of the yard, and the dance floor that Willow's family installed a couple years ago occupies the other. Both are decorated with string lights in combinations of gold, purple, black, and orange. Other ornaments adorn the surfaces as well, and you smile when you spot a comically large spider sat atop the gazebo's roof. 

"Where would you like to go?" Lisa asks, keeping her voice low. It's calm and deep, running a chill through you. 

Softer music plays out here, offering a totally different vibe than inside. Some couples -- many of them introverted, assumably -- sway on the dancefloor as the DJ that Willow hired takes a sip of her drink on the raised stage. She adjusts a few switches slowly, not rushing for a second.

"Let's try the gazebo," you decide, glancing over your shoulder at Lisa. She's looking away, but you don't think anything of it as the two of you fall in step with one another on your way over. 

Shit, Lisa thinks to herself. 

Her plans to come to this party, feed, and make a quick getaway are totally derailed. She'd hoped to find a victim that she was attracted to but didn't like, if that even makes sense, and feed like the animal she is. Then she would leave them like all the rest, drained but still alive, and slip away. 

But now she's met you, and any desire for those plans have been thrown out the window. 

You interest her, and that doesn't happen often. She hasn't met someone who's been capable of doing that in years, and she's intrigued. Something about you just pulls her in, inexplicably, and she knows her feelings would be glaringly obvious if you saw her face right now. 

"Woah, look at this," you sigh, stepping out of her hold to check the place out. A bench runs the perimeter of the gazebo, only stopping at the doorway, and the lights look even prettier from inside. They shimmer, looking like star showers as their strings hang down in the windowless openings of the building. 

Lisa quickly learns that she loves seeing you like this. Your eyes are alight, and your sweet smile of wonder warms her heart. Her hands slip into her pockets as she eventually manages to take her eyes off you, following your lead as she admires the decorations. 

She does a twirl, looking around. 

"It's gorgeous." 

"I know, right? This is totally up Willow's alley," you say, grinning at the mental image that you can conjure up of her giddily spiffing the scene up. 

"I'll have to thank her for making it look so special, then," Lisa says, smiling. The place really makes you feel like you're in your own little world; everything about it is just right. The ambience, the decor, the company… it’s perfect, and Lisa's content with how the evening is playing out. 

Her fingers skate down your arm as she nears you, trekking their way down to your palm. She takes your hand and spins you, watching with admiration as your hair flows in the breeze. Now facing her, you thread your fingers together around the back of her neck as she encircles your waist with her arms. 

"Why have I never seen you around?" You ask sincerely, looking up at her. 

She hesitates briefly. "My university is a few towns over. I just come here to visit my family every few months." 

Not a total lie, she thinks to herself. 

"And stop by terrible parties like this, of course." You add, smirking. 

She shakes her head at that. "No, I can't say I do. I just decided to check this one out on my way to my friend's house." She explains. 

Underneath your cloak, her hands find their way to the small of your back. One stays put while the other dips a little lower, testing the waters. 

"And besides," she starts again, feeling you pull her closer. "Meeting you here automatically makes this an awesome party. Not terrible."

"Cheeeesy!" You scrunch your face up and groan, making her laugh. 

"Maybe, but it's the truth." 

"Sure, Lisa." 

She shakes her head and you laugh lightly together, still swaying about. You hold her close enough to rest your head on her shoulder, and the pads of your thumbs rub small circles on the sensitive skin of her neck. She hums at the feeling, and you take note of the way she relaxes in your arms. 

The night breeze appears again, performing a flowing dance of its own as it lulls past you in waves. A slight chill resides in it, mixed with a generous amount of the day's sweet, fading heat, and you're at peace. 

The slow song that had been playing across the yard ends delicately, parting with some melodic feature that resembles a warm embrace, and it blends seamlessly into the next song. 

Turning Page, you recognize it as.  

Huh, how ironic. One of your favorites. 

Lisa's lips brush against your cheek as she turns her head slightly, whispering, "I like this one, too." 

How did she know? You ask yourself. You hadn't said it out loud… 

Maybe she's just a good guesser. Yeah, that's gotta be it. 

You feel yourself melt as she begins singing the words to you. It's hushed and sentimental -- meant only for your ears to hear, and that makes it even more special to you. 

"If I had only felt the warmth within your touch"

She croons, pressing her cheek against your warm skin. You blush, catching yourself when you remember what the next line of the song is. 

"If I had only seen how you smile when you blush" 

She brings a hand up to cup your cheek in her palm, and her other arm remains around you, holding you tenderly. 

"Or how you curl your lip when you concentrate enough"

Now, her thumb runs across your bottom lip. You look into her eyes and find them an even deeper shade of red than they had been before, but it doesn't frighten you for some reason. She glances down at your mouth again, fighting her impatience as she waits for permission from you. 

"I would have known what I was living for all along"

You nod and lace your fingers in her locks, and she doesn't waste another second. 

She leans in, humming against your lips when they meet hers for the first time. Her lipgloss spreads across them upon contact, smudging its precise application, but she doesn't seem to care in the slightest. She draws you in closer, and you bring both of your hands around to cup her face as you deepen the kiss. 

Her mouth is welcoming against yours, and it moves languidly as you get adjusted to one another. Every move makes you feel dizzier than the one before it, and swarms of butterflies take flight in your stomach with no signs of stopping. 

She nips at your bottom lip as her hands dip far lower than before, now kneading your ass as your kisses continue to work her up. 

"Fuck," you curse, breaking away from her lips to catch your breath. She's stolen it all from you, and yet she's still not ready to give you a rest; her mouth drops to your jaw, embracing your skin there before moving down to your neck. 

She doesn't realize how dangerous the game she's playing truly is until it's almost too late. 

Her lips press to the area just above your pulsepoint, where she's learned over the years that blood pumps the hardest and tastes the sweetest. She draws it into her mouth, swirling her tongue over the area as her ears perk up at the breathless sound of your moans. They spur her on, and she nips at the skin, surely leaving a hickey. 

Her senses become even more clouded when you say her name, the title caught somewhere between a whine and command, and she feels the strong impulse to claim you. The sensation is overwhelming, and she knows you can feel it too. 

Your hands tug on the collar of her shirt as she lets her fangs fully extend, no longer suppressing them. They rake across your pulsepoint, making you shiver against her. 

"Please…" 

That's all you manage to get out before they pierce your skin, eliciting a whimper from you. Blood fills her mouth instantly, sliding across her taste buds in velvety waves and calming her constant craving. Your hands tighten in her hair, and the delicious twinge of pain that it provides only encourages her more. 

Your blood is different than anything she's ever tasted; it's richer -- sweeter. A throaty groan leaves her as she savors it, and you shut your eyes in pleasure. It's addicting, but she knows she has to stop herself before she hurts you. If she continues like this much longer, she won't have the willpower to let go. 

She retracts her fangs as she licks your taste from them, and then you feel her warm tongue clean the wound she made. It stings a bit, but in all the right ways.

When she pulls back to look at you, she finds your eyes half-lidded and a pleased smile on your face. It nearly kills her, then and there. 

Her gaze flickers back to your neck to admire the hickie she made earlier, but what she sees surprises her. Below it is a darker, more prominent marking that she's only seen other vampires leave behind before. 

Definitely not a hickie.

Your brows furrow as you look at her neck as well, noticing a faint outline of something growing darker by the second. Blinking a few times to ensure that you aren't hallucinating, you find that it's really there. 

"Lisa, what's on your neck?" You ask. 

"A soulmate mark." She responds, feeling a sense of belonging settle over her as she looks at you again. You just confirmed her suspicions by asking that.

"Same as yours," she smiles.

[nickgerlich]

Going Long

The rest of the world may not appreciate it, but here in the States, American football is king. Well, Canada kind of likes it too, and they have their own league. But outside of here, no one else cares, and “football” everywhere else refers to a match involving a round ball, not one resembling a giant deformed potato.

And we know where it will all end: Super Bowl LVII on 12 February 2023. For a mere $7 million, you can try to buy a 30-second ad spot, but good luck, because 95% of the slots are already sold.

Because 115 million sets of eyeballs is about as good as it gets. Naturally, nowhere near that many tune in for their weekly televised games, but primarily because there are always 17 games being played between Thursday and Monday nights. Those games are also golden as far as networks and advertisers are concerned, but on a smaller yet still significant scale.

Which explains why Amazon inked a deal to broadcast 15 Thursday Night Football games annually over an 11-year period. It’s a deal that has turned heads, raised eyebrows, and either resulted in high praise or scorn.

You see, you have to be an Amazon Prime member to be able to view the game. But that’s not a very strong argument, because there are 153 million Amazon Prime members in the US, meaning if you don’t have it, you probably know someone else who does. Besides, when cable networks have exclusives like this, I only hear crickets. Those subs cost money too. Go to a sports bar if you can’t make this happen.

This week’s game tallied 13 million viewers, and was the most-watched show that evening by a magnitude of five. And here’s the good part-for Amazon, at least: new Prime subs rolled in at record pace during the game, with people ponying up the $120 for the privilege.

This is some of the best marketing thinking I have seen in a long time, because with the holidays looming, and folks wanting to get their money’s worth on the sub, where do you think they might be likely to turn? Yeah. You got it.

None of this came without great expense, though. To be the NFL’s first exclusive streaming deal, Amazon is paying about $1 billion a year. Whoa. They have to sell a lot of holiday gifts to recoup that. But when you consider they get all Thursday Night Football branding rights, this should be money well spent.

One other artifact of note in all of this is that you won’t see a beer ad on Thursday Night Football, or at least not as long as Amazon is sponsoring it. Company policy forbids advertising alcoholic beverages on any of its platforms. Of course, I’m pretty sure that fans watching the game don’t need to be reminded to pop open a cold one. They’ve got that part down pat.

Count me among those singing Amazon’s praises. This is a major advertising coup on the order of returning the opening punt to the end zone.

Dr “Amazon 6, Everyone Else Zero“ Gerlich

Audio Blog

[jinxfirebolt18902]

I licked it so it’s mine - JJ Maybank Imagine

Words: 1.818

Warnings: none?

Pairing: JJ Maybank x female!reader

A/N: I got this idea from a tumblr pic that read the title in a neon light sign. English isn’t my mother tongue so prob syntax mistakes AND F**** ENGLISH PREPOSITIONS other than that I love y’all, hope you enjoy.

—Okay sweetie, go have a good day and make new friends! —She heard her mom telling her as she gently pushed her by her shoulders towards the group of little girls and boys near the teacher. She took a few steps lacking confidence, not sure she wanted to actually be a part of the class. Minutes later a blonde boy with a face that already screamed ‘trouble’ despite the young age furrowed his eyebrows at her new face. He got closer and observed her attentively making her a little uncomfortable. Matching his personality, she furrowed her brows as well and asked rudely “what?!”

The boy processed the uncommon attitude coming from a girl and smiled at the change, appreciating the feisty confrontation in contrast with the so common cries or runaways of the other little girls he used to annoy. From then on they became inseparable and her mother always invited him over to play. Their play dates often involved fights, stolen toys and ice cream. As time passed, they grew out of toys but not out of ice creams, and they kept going to the small store that sells popsicles and doing their routine: buy the popsicle, go to the dock in front of the store and sit with their feet hanging as they ate the ice cream.

One of the many times, they were nine years old and just as she was about to give her popsicle the first lick he beat her to it and she whined immediately.

—JJ! —he laughed real hard and took it from her hands, provoking his best friend to become even more angrier.

—Sorry —he shrugged his shoulders innocently and then looked at the frozen candy —But I licked it so it’s mine now.

She punched him on the right shoulder and before she stood up and got away, he handed her his still packaged popsicle with a smile. She sent him another glare before sitting down again and not talking to him for the next 5 minutes.

—C’moooon! You can’t ignore me foreverrrr —he dragged some syllables of his words as he spoke close to her just to annoy her more.

—You’re disgusting JJ.

He smiled winningly at his victory. —But you love me anyways.

Years went by, their friendship grew and their group too, with the addition of John B, and years later Pope’s and Kiara’s. After Kie finished her shift at The Wreck, Pope and JJ were done with the groceries deliveries for the Kooks and John B and she were done at the Cameron’s, each with their different tasks, the crew had agreed on meeting at The Chateau to relax and drink some cheap beers.

John B was stargazing with a nostalgic look on his face; Kie was strumming her ukelele; Pope was sitting on an old foldable beach chair while she and JJ were swinging on the big hammock, beers of can in their hands. She was struggling to open hers as she tried to avoid breaking her nails on the process. She pouted as she extended her arm holding the can to the blonde. He took it and opened it easily but before handing it back he made sure she was still looking at him and carefully dug the tip of his tongue into the little hole, earning a protest from her.

—JJ!

He smirked and enjoyed the reaction he was getting from her. —What?!

—It was my beer!!

He let out a deep laugh as his head fell backwards. —You know the rules, I licked it, so…

Their friends laughed as they nodded their heads at JJ’s passion for teasing her.

Months later, summer days began and holidays welcomed free time and Tourons in Outer Banks. New faces, new adventures, new hook ups. The gang had organized one of the very famous keggers at the Boneyard. Music resonated from someone’s speaker, 5 bonfires had small groups of teenagers of all ages sitting around talking and drinking while larger groups were dancing around the beach. She and Kie were at different fires chatting with Tourons while Pope and John B made sure everyone got their refill. JJ being JJ was sweet talking a brunette into his bed at The Chateau. So far, nothing was out of the ordinary. They were all having a good time. Things got awkward the next day, when the crew woke up and saw JJ’s brunette still there, showing no intentions of leaving. She and Kie had passed out on the pull out couch while Pope slept on the other couch but they all looked a bit shocked, and uncomfortable, at the intruder walking around the kitchen as if she belonged there with them. JJ came out of his room minutes later and got his friends curious stares for breakfast. He shrugged his shoulders and twitched the corners of his lips indicating an “I-have-no-clue-why-she’s-still-here” expression when the girl couldn’t see.

In the afternoon, the intruder announced she’d go back to her family and take a shower but also planned to meet at The Wreck for dinner. Once she left the females of the group scoffed at her.

—Dude, she stuck with us like she’s part of the Pogues, what the fuck?! —Kie complained at no one in particular, but sent JJ a quick glare.

—You gotta fix this. —She pointed her index finger into her best friend’s chest. —There is no way I’m having dinner with her.

After everyone had gone back to their place and taken a shower, shared some family time and run some errands, the Pogues agreed to get together after dinner and go for some ice cream.

—Which flavour did you ask for Kie? —she asked as she licked her cookies and cream ice cream before it dripped on her clothes and hands. Kie gave her a funny look and answered.

—Watermelon, it’s really good actually. Sweet and refreshing.

The boys came walking a few steps behind them as they pushed each other like little kids. The girls rolled their eyes but stopped on their tracks as they heard a voice calling for them. Well more specifically, for the blonde surfer and their leader.

—JJ! John B! —the same brunette they were trying to avoid rushed down to the docks they were standing on.

—Hey there… —John B answered, not wanting to be rude.

Once again, the intruder stuck to the group of friends and hung out for a few hours, constantly trying to flirt with JJ. The brunette playfully hit him whenever he teased her, gently grabbed his biceps when they were sitting down on the wooden dock and tried to get him alone by walking slower than the group, her arms circling around his waist. JJ wasn’t used to his hook ups sticking to him like this, he usually made it clear he was up for a one night stand only but this one didn’t want to give him up just yet.

The brunette had also caught interest in the intense relationship between him and his best friend. The intruder wanted to have JJ’s complete attention but his friend was kind of getting in the way of that. As a girl, she sensed his friend was purposely cock blocking him, which started a silent and very subtle war between them.

The brunette laughed at JJ’s joke and got impossibly closer to him, resting her light weight on his chest. She rolled her eyes and made a signal to Kie to make her look at the intruder and then faked a vomit earning a laugh from Kie. John B and Pope furrowed their eyebrows at Kiara’s laugh, confused at why she was laughing. Kie was the only one who could see her little act.

Moments later they decided to go around the docks and throw some rocks into the water. John B felt a bit more comfortable now and teased the brunette by trying to splash her with the rocks he threw. That was the first time through the night that she had gotten away from JJ and she wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to hit back.

She got closer to her best friend and challenged him with just a look. He rolled his eyes as he smirked, knowing he was in trouble.

—Get her off our backs dude. I wanna spend time with my friends, not her! —she whispered urgently looking up at his eyes as he was taller than her.

—What do you want me to do? Tell her ‘hey me and my friends want to be alone, do you mind?’—he mocked trying to make his point clear but she was having none of it. —Yep, that sounds perfect —she smiled and taped his chest as if the whole matter was solved. He raised an eyebrow and focused his eyes on hers. A second later he had a dirty smirk on his features, then it was her turn to quirk an eyebrow. —What?

—Aren’t you jealous, are you? —his smile grew wider as her scowl deepened. He was quick to snake his arms around her middle and pull her close. —Don’t touch me. Let me go, you’re an asshole. —He pouted and cooed her. —Aww c’mon baby don’t be mad I’m not giving you attention, you know I’m yours. —she just rolled her eyes and sighed deeply as Kie laughed near them, enjoying the whole show.

When she heard too much silence, or the lack of an annoying giggle, in the back, she caught a glance from the corner of her eye and saw John B and the brunette looking at them while Pope told something about dead bodies as he drew patterns in the sand with a stick he had found.

—Careful sis, remember if you play with fire, you get burnt. —John B spoke to her in a mocking tone. The rest, except for the Touron, began laughing.

She takes her chance as JJ’s face is not that far from hers and a wicked smile painted itself on her face before implementing her idea. In less than a second she had stuck her tongue out and slid it from under his jaw up to his bottom lip making the boy freeze and set his blue orbits on her. Her eyes were already on his, shining with playfulness. She was having so much fun having her way. The laughs around her turned into gasps.

She then turned to the other girl and spoke mockingly —I licked it, so it’s mine. —the girl’s jaw fell and she winked at the blonde before walking to Kie and throwing her arm over her curly haired friend, who was wearing an incredulous expression.

—Oh my God, I can’t believe you just did that! —both began to laugh as they walked back to the van and hopefully they would all drive back to The Chateau and spend a real night of friends with no intruders.

[leossmoonn]

chemistry part tweleve

part eleven | part thirteen | masterlist

zuko x fem!reader

avatar: the last airbender

includes - you, zuko, suki, katara, toph, sokka, and aang

special appearences by - iron, azula, and appa (mini sky bison,,, he’s like the size of a shihi tzu)

warnings - language, little suggestive lol

you poured the chips onto the plate, putting all of the dips in the middle. you set it on the island table with the rest of snacks you and the girls had picked up for the christmas party. you were excited, but nervous for this year’s party. ever since you girls went to college, which was three years ago - well, toph just started this year - , you had made it a friend tradition to have holiday parties. you had friend-giving, friend-mas, friend year’s and galentine’s day. 

you and the girls always had aang and sokka there. you usually were the one with no date. toph had a few guys come over sometime, but they never really stuck. since this was your first time having a boy over, one that was really hot, really smart, and seemed really into you, you were beyond nervous. you were terrified. sure, you had hung out with him before, but not when you were gonna drink a few glasses of champagne. so, you decided to just be light on the drinks tonight. otherwise, you would probably end up laying on zuko’s lap, either making out with him or telling embarrassing childhood stories. 

“this looks great, guys! ooh, salsa,” sokka said, his mouth watering.

“yeah, i can’t wait to eat the nachos,” toph said.

both of their hands went to pick up a chip, but you slapped their hands away. 

“no one eats until zuko, katara, and aang are here,” you said. 

sokka frowned, “you suck. suki, tell y/n i can have one chip.”

suki chuckled, “no, y/n’s right.”

“can you let me have a chip? i’m your best friend! and i’m blind,” toph begged with a sweet smile.

suki rolled her eyes, “nice try.”

“i haven’t eaten since this morning!” toph exclaimed.

“get another snack then. these are for our guests,” you said.

toph scoffed, “yeah you mean for your boyfriend zuko.”

sokka smirked, “yeah, you wanna make sure everything is perfect for him.”

“no, i don’t! it’s just polite to wait,” you glared at them. 

sokka smirked, “suuuuure, y/n. keep telling yourself that.”

you frowned, “i literally hate you.”

“love you, too! where are katara and aang, anyways?” sokka asked. 

“they’re picking up some gingerbread house kits for us to make,” toph said.

“yeah, and that takes 45 minutes? i’m sure that’s what they’re doing,” sokka rolled his eyes. 

“i’ll text katara and see if they’re coming back soon,” you said. 

“good. text zuko and ask when he’s coming. make sure to tell him if he doesn't come in the next 15 minutes, i will start eating the counter,” sokka said. 

you rolled your eyes. “what a baby.”

you went into the living room, pulling out your phone. you texted katara, hoping for a quick response. you then texted zuko, suddenly getting anxious again. 

you set your phone down next to you. suki, toph, and sokka came over to sit down.  

“so, when are they coming?” sokka asked. 

“uh, zuko said 10 minutes and katara hasn’t responded yet,” you answered. 

“ugh! next time, one of you go with katara for shopping,” sokka said.

“yeah, cause we are faster than them,” suki chuckled. 

the front door opened and there revealed katara and aang. they had grocery bags in each hands. 

“hey, guys!” katara smiled. 

“god, finally! what took you guys so long?” sokka asked.

“we couldn’t find the special sprinkles you like, sokka,” aang said. 

“oh,” sokka said. 

“and we had to get appa,” aang said. appa flew out from behind aang, landing on your lap. 

you squealed, “hi, appa!” you ruffled his hair softly, earning a lick on the nose from him.

“appa, come here boy!” sokka smiled at him. appa just looked at sokka, turning back to you. 

“appa, come here!” toph said, patting her lap. appa walked across your lap to toph, licking her cheek.

“haha! that sucks,” you laughed at sokka’s frown.  

“sokka, you can redeem yourself by helping me with these groceries,” katara said. 

sokka sighed and got up from the couch, taking a few bags out of their hands and going over to the kitchen. as they set up the treats, you looked at the door, your leg bouncing up and down as you waited for a knock from zuko. 

“you okay, y/n? i can feel your leg bouncing,” toph said.

“yeah, what’s wrong?” suki asked. 

you kept your eyes on the door. “i’m fine,” you shrugged.

suki put her hand on your knee, stopping it. “take a deep breath, okay? zuko was so happy to receive an invitation. and isn’t he gonna wear a matching ugly sweater with you for the ugly sweater contest? it’ll be perfect.”

you sighed. “yeah, but what if i spill guac on him. or worse, i trip and fall over on him.” you shivered as you thought of the cringe that would come from those moments. 

“if you fall, i will make sure to take a picture,” katara said as she walked into the living room. 

you rolled your eyes. “really supportive, kat.”

katara smiled and sat down next to you. “you’ll be fine. like suki said, zuko wants to be here and plus, he really likes you. go and drink some water, take a deep breath, and go be the badass, hot girl i know.”

“yeah, and if he hurts you tonight, i’ll make sure to crush his bones,” toph smiled maliciously, cracking her knuckles.

you smiled at your best friends. “thanks guys, you guys are the best.”

“we know,” toph smiled.

you laughed at her comment, but fell silent once you heard a knock on the door.

oh, god. that’s him. that’s him that’s him

“are you gonna get that, or do i have to?” sokka asked, walking towards the door.

you jumped up off the couch, pushing sokka away. “i got it.”

“alright,” sokka said.

you took a deep breath, combing your fingers through your hair, and pulled your sweater down. you put your hand on the door, slowly opening it.

zuko appeared in front of you, a big grin appearing on your face.

“hey, zuko!” you said excitedly.

“hi, y/n,” he smiled at you.

“come in,” you said, stepping out of his way.

“thanks,” zuko said and stepped in. he took his shoes off and coat, revealing his matching christmas sweater.

you gasped, your eyes lighting up. “you actually wore it!”

“well yeah, it’d be lame not to,” zuko chuckled.

“true. we so have the best sweaters on,” you smiled. 

appa flew over to zuko, licking zuko’s cheek while still in the air. 

“hey, buddy,” zuko smiled. “i would pet you, but i have my hands full,” he said, gesturing to the gift bags he had.

“oh, let me take those for you,” you said. zuko handed the presents to you, you walking over to the christmas tree.

“thank you,” zuko said, walking over with appa cuddling in his arms. 

“no problem,” you smiled. 

“hey, man!” sokka exclaimed as he walked into the room. 

“hey, sokka!” zuko smiled, giving sokka a hug. 

“hey, zuko. long time, no see,” aang smiled. 

“yeah, sorry, holiday times at the JD get busy,” zuko chuckled. “we can hang over break.”

“awesome! gram-gram bought katara and i a vr headset, we can all play on it when you come over!” sokka said. 

“oh, cool! azula’s friend, ty lee, has one, too. i played on it a little,” zuko said. 

“is it fun?” you asked.

“very. maybe you can come over to my place sometime and i’ll have ty lee bring it over,” zuko smiled. 

“yeah, i’d like that,” you grinned. 

you and zuko smiled at each other for what seemed like forever before toph coughed. 

“i can feel the sexual tension between you two, please stop. can we eat now?” she asked. 

you and zuko looked away from each other, pink tainted both of your cheeks. 

“yeah, we can eat now,” you said. 

“alright! let’s get this party on!” sokka exclaimed, running to the kitchen. 

you chuckled, walking over to the kitchen. 

“zuko, you want champagne or beer?” you asked. 

“beer is fine, thank you,” zuko smiled. 

you got out a bottle from the cooler, handing it to him. “you’re welcome. so, what’d you get everyone?”

“well, i got sokka a new wallet. i bought aang a new messenger bag, he mentioned he needed one since his old one is practically falling apart.” “yeah, he's had that thing since high school,” you chuckled. 

“exactly. anyways, so i got suki a $50 gift card to sephora, katara a hoodie that says ‘riding the waves’. i got appa a little ball you can put hay in so he can exercise and eat. i got toph some airpods, and your present is a surprise,” zuko smiled.

“wow, you are an awesome gift giver. and i am very excited about my gift. i can’t wait to open the ones every gave me, not to be greedy or anything. i heard sokka got me my own personal smoothie maker,” you smiled. 

“don’t you already have a nutri bullet?” zuko asked, pointing to the machine that was on the counter.

“yes, but apparently this one can make milkshakes, too. definitely gonna sell the nutri bullet on craigslist,” you smiled. 

“wow, sounds cool. i wish i had one of those,” zuko said. 

you scoffed, “you literally live above a tea shop, you don’t need a blender.”

“hm, true. it’s great being me,” zuko joked. “i bet it is,” you giggled. 

“guys! wanna do the ginger bread house making contest now?” katara asked. 

“yeah!” you nodded, going over to the kitchen table. you and zuko sat down across from each other, grabbing one of the kits.

“alright, we have an hour do to this. the judges are toph and appa. toph will judge taste, appa will judge construction and decor,” suki smiled. 

“what? you trust a sky bison?” sokka asked. 

appa grunted, slapping sokka with his tail. you laughed, “you deserved that.”

sokka rolled his eyes. “yeah, whatever.”

suki sat down next to sokka, pecking his cheek. you looked at zuko, wishing you could do that to him. zuko gave you a small smile, wishing the same thing. 

toph held up the timer. “alright, ready… set.. go!”

you tore the box open, setting out the walls, roof, and decorations. you worked quickly, opening all your materials. you started to glue the walls to the bottom with icing. you looked up for a second to see zuko doing the same thing. 

“ready to go down?” he asked, noticing your stare. 

“nah, i’m ready to win,” you smiled. 

zuko mirrored your grin, going back to focusing on his house. 

you quickly built the rest of the walls, everything surprisingly staying up.

“aw, damn it!” katara exclaimed. you looked over to see two of her walls falling down. 

“it’s okay, baby, you can do it,” aang said. 

katara groaned in frustration, “i held them together for 5 minutes! how are you and y/n’s walls staying on?”

“it’s called having ‘the magic touch’,” you snickered. 

katara frowned, “shut up.”

“hey, mine is falling, too,” zuko said. you looked over to his, seeing one of the walls tipping over.

“well, not mine! i’m awesome!” sokka exclaimed. “and suki is, too!” 

you looked over to suki, who already had her roof on. 

“up top, babe!” sokka said, holding his hand up. suki high-fived him, “yep. we are legendary.” “nope,” you said, glueing on your roof. 

“face it, y/n, you’re gonna lose. suki and i are gonna win,” sokka said.

“hey! no teaming!” katara exclaimed. 

“oh, you’re teaming with aang. you can’t talk,” you remarked. 

“you can team with zuko,” aang suggested. 

you looked at zuko, seeing him already looking at you. he shrugged at you, “you want to?”

“yes,” you smiled. 

“how do you all team if you all have your own houses?” toph asked. 

“well, we can add our points up,” suki said. 

“ah, okay. well, grading will be extra hard, then,” toph smiled. 

“fair,” aang said. 

“no, not fair!” sokka exclaimed.  “yes, fair,” you said. “therefore, you will lose, and zuko and i will win.”

“nope, aang and i will win,” katara stated matter-of-factly. 

“you sure, kat?” sokka smirked, looking at her gumdrops who were falling off of the front of the house. 

katra glared, “you don’t even have any decorations on yet!”

sokka scowled, “yeah, well, suki does! and she’ll help us win all the points.”

“sokka! get to work,” suki ordered. 

“yes, ma’am,” sokka said and started decorating his roof. 

you turned to your own house again, resuming decorating the front of the house. 

“yours looks really good,” zuko said. 

you looked up and smiled. “thank you. yours do, too. i like the flowers on the side.”

“thanks. garden are very important for a nice house,” he said. 

you chuckled, “i agree.”

“15 more minutes left!” toph exclaimed. 

“what? how do you know that?” sokka asked. 

“i set a 45 minute timer so i would know, genius,” toph rolled her eyes. 

“right, right,” sokka said, turning to back to his house. 

“ten more!” toph said. 

“damn,” you muttered. 

“what?” zuko asked. 

“i haven’t finished my snowman,” you frowned and turned your house over so he could see the snow man you made out of marshmallows. 

“i think he looks perfect,” zuko smiled. 

you giggled, “thank you. i think we’re gonna win this.”

“me, too,” zuko smiled. 

“3…2…1, stop!” toph shouted. you put your hands in your lap, waiting for the judging to begin. 

“alright, first up is aang and katara. aka kataang. aang, give me a piece of your room, a wall, and a piece with candy. katara, do the same. appa, go ahead and judge,” toph instructed. 

appa flew around the houses, looking at every inch, nook, and cranny.

“he can’t even talk! this isn’t fair!” sokka exclaimed. 

“do not disrespect the sky bison,” you glared at him. 

sokka scoffed, “he knows it’s true.”

appa grunted at sokka before going back to look at katara’s house. 

“hm, a good amount of sweetness. nice use of the gummy worms. very good, aang,” toph said. 

“thank you,” aang smiled widely. 

toph then judged katara, going to appa to talk over the points. 

“alright. we give you guys a 8.5 out of 10,” toph said. 

“alright, that’s good!” katara high-fived aang. 

“good job, babe,” aang smiled and leaned over to kiss her cheek. 

“next up are suki and sokka,” toph said. 

suki and sokka gave toph pieces of their houses, appa flying around to observe. after 10 minutes after judging, toph gave them the score. 

“8 out of 10,” toph said. 

“what! that’s like a low b!” sokka eclaimed. 

“hey, it's higher than a c,” suki said, putting a hand over his. 

sokka pouted, “fine. let’s see how team (you and zuko’s ship name) did.”

you cut pieces of your gingerbread and handed it to toph. zuko did the same. you bit your lip in anticipation. you knew it was a silly game, but the winner - or winners in this case - got a free dinner to the middle ring or a 2 free drinks at the JD. you wanted the JD coupon so bad. you loved the tea, but also, it gave you an excuse to see zuko randomly. 

“hm, alright. i give you two 9 out of 10. you guys are the winners!” toph smiled. 

you jumped up in excitement, going over to zuko and pulling him in a tight hug. zuko wrapped his arms around you, giving you the feeling of warmth and safety. 

you pulled away, a bright smile on your face. 

“which do you choose. free dinner at the middle ring, or two free drinks at the JD. one of you can get each since there’s enough for both of you,” toph said, holding out the coupons. 

“i want the coupon to JD!” you said, but looked to zuko quickly. “unless you do.”

“you can take it,” zuko smiled. 

“yay!” you squealed and plucked the ticket out of toph’s hand. 

“alright, ugly sweater contest! the prize is money,” sokka grinned. 

“alright, appa will be the judge again!” suki exclaimed, walking over and putting a $20 bill in appa’s mouth. 

“okay, since zuko and y/n are wearing the same sweater, they can each have $10,” katara said. 

“alright, fair,” you nodded. 

“stand in a line,” aang instructed. you went in-between zuko and toph. you all watched in excitement, waiting for appa to hand one of you the bill. 

after five minutes, appa went to toph. 

“alright! you all suck!” toph pumped her fist up in the air. 

“you have to be kidding me,” sokka said, face palming. 

you chuckled, turning to zuko. “maybe next year.”

“yep. i don’t know why we didn’t win. all these sparkles and diamonds give me a headache,” zuko said, looking at his sweatshirt. 

“same. you can change if you want,” you said. 

“nah, i’m good. i wanna be matching,” zuko smiled. 

you chuckled, “yay! i was hoping you said that.”

zuko’s smile widened at your excitement. you felt giddy inside and found yourself staring at his lips. you felt a sudden urge to lean up and kiss him, and go back into your room and make out. zuko must’ve noticed your stare, cause he licked his lips seductively. your face warmed up and you looked away quickly, coughing awkwardly and going to pour yourself another glass of champagne. 

zuko smiled at your retreating figure, looking to your other friends. 

“so, what's next on the agenda?” he asked. 

“present opening!” aang exclaimed, running over to the tree.

you walked over to the living room, sitting down on the bean bag. zuko sat across from you. 

“alright, i wanna go first!” aang exclaimed. 

“alright. here’s mine,” katara said, picking up a big present and handing it to him. 

aang opened it and pulled out new sneakers. “oh, this is awesome! thank you, babe. i love you.”

katara smiled. “you’re welcome. i got them custom-made so they’re your favourite colors and on the logo, it has appa and my name on it.”

“my two favourite things in the world. i love it,” aang smiled, leaning over to give katara a kiss. 

suki then handed her his gift. he then opened one from sokka, toph, and zuko, then you. you ended up getting him a new gaming  headset that has boosted sound system.

“thanks, guys. you are all awesome!” aang grinned. 

“you're welcome, buddy,” sokka smiled. “my turn!”

“alright, here’s mine,” suki said, handing him a banana-shaped present. 

sokka ripped it open, holding it up in all its glory, it was a dark blue boomerang that had a small heart on one end with suki’s name in it. 

“this. is. AMAZING! oh, i love you! we are so doing it tonight!” sokka exclaimed, kissing suki. 

you all groaned, telling sokka to shut up.

sokka opened everyone else’s present. you had got him a skateboard.

“thank you, guys. especially suki,” sokka smiled at his girlfriend.  “you’re welcome, baby,” suki smiled, planting a kiss on his cheek. 

“my turn!” katara exclaimed. 

she opened her present from aang first, which was new makeup brushes, which  apparently katara need a lot. suki got katara a humidifier, toph got her a new smoothie/coffee cup, sokka got her a $50 gift card to jc penny, zuko gave katara the sweatshirt, and you got her a polaroid camera. 

“i love all these! thank you,” katara smiled at each of you.

“you're welcome,” you all spoke. 

suki went next. sokka had gifted her a 365 day jar, katara gave her a new makeup pallet, toph gifted suki a new curling iron, aang gave her a new fluffy pillow, zuko gave her the gift card, and you had bought suki a new silk robe.

“oh, these are sick! definitely gonna have fun with these,” suki held up the jar and the robe. 

“you’re welcome,” katara smiled. “alright, toph, it’s your turn.”

“alright, tell me what is it after i open it,” toph said. katara handed her a gift from her. 

katara had given toph a new pair of hiking shoes, suki had given her new guitar picks and a new guitar strap, sokka had given her a new gaming chair, which obviously wasn't there, but he said he it would be delivered to the apartment tomorrow. aang gave her a 5 candle set, zuko had given her airpods, and you had given her a turtle duck stuffed animal where she could warm up in case of cramps or stress. 

“these are awesome. thanks guys,” toph smiled. 

“you’re welcome! alright, zuko’s turn!” suki exclaimed, handing him a gift.

“thanks,” zuko smiled. 

suki had gifted him a sweatshirt with his favorite basketball team, katara had bought him a new phone case, aang gave him a new gaming headset, sokka had given him a new watch, and toph gave him new sneakers.

you nervously gave him your gift, which was pretty huge. zuko smiled while opening it, his eyes lighting up once he saw it. 

“woah, this is awesome!” he exclaimed. 

you had gotten him a new skateboard that had his name written on flames. 

“i know you mentioned you hadn’t had a skateboard since you were in high school and you wanted to get back into it,” you said bashfully. 

“thank you, i love it,” zuko smiled. 

“you’re welcome,” you smiled. “alright, well, my turn!”

“open mine first!” katara exclaimed, handing you her gift. 

you took it from her, opening it gently. she had gotten you a google home. 

“oh, katara, do you know how much i adore you?” you said.

“i know, don’t worry,” katara giggled. 

you had opened the next gift, which as from suki. she had gifted you crocs that said ‘super swag’ on each one. 

“oh, you are feeding my narcism,” you chuckled. 

“you deserve it,” suki smiled. 

you then opened aang’s gift. he had gotten you a new hoodie from your favorite show. “this is like $70! thank you!”

“you’re welcome,” aang smiled. 

you opened your gift from toph, which was a poster with all of the girls and you. 

“how did you get this one made?” you asked, staring at it in astonishment. 

“i know people,” toph grinned. 

you chuckled, “thank you.”

“you’re welcome,” toph said. 

sokka handed you his gift, which was the blender 

“yes!” you squealed.

“i knew you would like it. no need to tell me, i already know i’m the best gift giver,” sokka smirked. 

“hm, i can’t say that until i open zuko’s gift,” you said. 

zuko had handed you his gift. “thank you,” you said. 

“you’re welcome,” zuko said. 

“i’m goanna go and order pizza,” katara said. 

“yeah, me too!” sokka exclaimed, getting up. 

you furrowed your brows. “what?”

“yeah, i need to make sure katara orders the right pizza,” toph said. 

“i need to pee,” aang said. “i have to take appa out,” suki said.

they all got up and left the room, leaving you speechless. 

“what just happened?” you asked, turning to zuko. 

zuko was blushing hard, which made you even more confused. 

“i don’t know. go ahead and open your gift,” he said. 

“alright,” you said. you opened the gift, which was a small, black box. you took the top off, your eyes widening and your mouth agape. zuko had gotten you a silver charm bracelet. the charms were an otter-penguin, the first initial of your name, your zodiac sign with your zodiac gemstone, and a small circle.

“this is so beautiful, thank you,” you smiled. 

“you're welcome. read the text on the small circle,” he said. 

you looked at it, reading the words out loud. “will you… go on… a date… with me?”

you paused for a moment, lowering the bracelet and looking at zuko. 

“so, what’s your answer?” zuko asked, nervously playing with his fingers. 

“yes,” you nodded and smiled. 

zuko’s worried expression went away immediately, and was replaced with glowing, big grin. “really?”

“yes!” laughed, leaning over and giving him a hug.

“YES!” you heard everyone shout from kitchen. they all came back into the room. 

“you guys are gonna make an awesome couple!” sokka exclaimed. 

you pulled away, blushing. “shut up.”

“alright, wanna watch ‘home alone’, now?” suki asked. 

“yeah,” you nodded.

“zuko and y/n, you can sit on the love seat,” sokka smiled, wiggling his eye brows. 

you rolled your eyes, “so immature.”

“i don’t mind,” zuko smiled and shrugged. 

you smiled up at him, walking over to the couch with him. you sat down right next to him, putting your head on his shoulder with no hesitation. zuko wrapped his arm around you and rested his hand on your thigh. your heart pounded against your chest, and warmth shot down from your stomach to between your thighs. 

“do you mind my hand being here?” zuko asked. 

you took a deep, shaky breath. “nope.”

zuko moved his hand, “you sure?”

you grabbed his hand and shook your head. “i’m sure.”

zuko smirked a little, putting his hand back. you sighed contently and leaned into him more, enjoying the warmth he provided.

aang turned on the movie and you all watched it in silence. during the movie, you had moved over to zuko’s lap. you were stretching and ended up on him. you were going to move, but zuko grabbed your waist gently, setting you back down. the gesture had you grinning from ear-to-ear, snuggling into him. 

the movie ended, which signalled the end of the party. everyone but zuko was staying, which made you sad, but you knew you weren’t ready for him to stay the night with you in your room. not just yet. 

so, you just walked him up to the front door.

“thank you for the skateboard,” zuko smiled. 

“you’re welcome. thank you for the charm bracelet. when is the date, again?” you asked. 

“ah, right, sorry,” zuko chuckled. “are you free tomorrow?” 

“i am,” you smiled, clasping your hands in excitement.

“great! i’ll take you out then. make sure to dress warmly,” he said. 

“will do. see you tomorrow, zu,” you smiled.

“see you,” he smiled and went on his way. 

you closed the door, looking down at your charm bracelet dreamily. you were falling hard for this boy. 

note - hope you guys read and enjoy this as new parts are added! if you wanna be on the taglist, message me and/or reply to this post :))

taglist - @sorrythatspussynal @theblueslytherin @charlenasaxen@akiris @the-paintedlady @thatarthistorynerd @freckled-and-daydreaming @fi-chanwrites​

[hueswrites]

hq kinktober [day2] hanamaki & matsukawa

main hq kinktober masterlist

hq kinktober [day2] hanamaki takahiro & matsukawa isseis - double penetration

includes:

simultaneous vaginal & anal sex, all consenting, established relationship, alcohol use

wordcount:

4,136

~~~

You lay in bed with your boyfriend, basking in a blissful post-sex haze while you let your eyes rest. The "ding" of a text coming through Takahiro's phone grabs your attention.

"I'm getting drinks with Issei," he says, rolling out of bed.

You glance at the time. "It's two in the afternoon," you state, giving him a disapproving glare.

"And?" He says, going to the bathroom to take a piss with the door wide open.

"I really wish you would find a job. Is Issei off today or something?"

"Nah. He had a shitty day and his dad let him leave early, so I'm going to keep him company."

You roll your eyes. "Must be nice working for daddy. Why don't you see if you can get a job with him?"

"He actually did say they need someone in the crematory, but I'm not burning up dead people for a living. Besides," he turns to look at you and winks. "You know you love having me here to cook, clean, and fuck you senseless at all hours of the day."

You roll your eyes. He had a point.

~~~

Takahiro finds Issei at the bar, halfway through his second beer and looking absolutely miserable. They greet each other with a nod and Takahiro takes the seat next to him. The bartender is is already cracking a bottle open of Takahiro's usual order, which happens to be the same exact beer Issei preferred to drink. He takes a good, lengthy sip then sets the frosty bottle down with an audible sigh of delight. He looks over at Issei. "Wanna talk about it?"

Issei groans. "No. I just wanna drink." He takes a sip of his beer.

Takahiro unzips his jacket and saunters it off his shoulders, then places it onto the empty stool beside him. He looks up at the top shelf of liquors behind the bar and racks through his brain for something to talk about that would help get his friend out of his slump. "Oikawa's visiting next week. Have you talked to him? You know that'll be a good time. Always is."

Issei only sighs in response. Well, shit. He was really down in the dumps. "I need to get laid, Makki," he grumbles.

Takahiro raises his eyebrows. "What happened with that one foreign chick? Thought you and her had a good thing going on."

"She found someone else. Said she felt like she was fucking the grim reaper and thought I'd end up giving her a curse from one of the dead bodies in the funeral home," he drops his head down onto his forearms and hides his face. "Said she couldn't get the image of dead, shriveled dick out of her head when we hooked up."

Takahiro laughs. "That's fucking weird," he says. "You don't even see the bodies. You just sell the caskets and help families through their grieving."

"Yeah, I know," he groans out in frustration. "I have a decent job making decent money and even have my own place... I guess that's the limit on the amount of good things I'm allowed to have in this life."

Takahiro scoffs. "Don't say that. You're doing really good. Shit, look at me. I've been unemployed for three months now, freeloading off my girlfriend-"

"Your hot girlfriend,"

Takahiro ignores him, continuing, "I'm in a shit ton of debt, and I've now watched every single season of that stupid Korean drama my girlfriend insisted would inspire me to change my life Honestly, that shit made me feel worse."

Issei manages a laugh and lifts his head back up, dark wavy hair now a tousled mess over his forehead. "Yeah, dude. You sound like a bum. Why does she keep you around?"

"I cook and I clean. And," a smug smirk lifts the corners of his lips, "the sex is amazing."

Issei's head drops back down onto the bar top. "Fuck you," he mumbles into the sleeves of his shirt.

"You know, she is a model and a personal trainer. There's no way she doesn't have any single, cute girl friends that would be willing to hook up."

Issei sits back up and finishes his drink, the idea now seeming to lift his spirits. "If you could find someone that'd be interested in a gloomy, boring guy like me, then I'll pay your tab-"

Takahiro smiles and chugs the rest of his beer, then locks onto the bartender. "Another round on this guy's tab, please," he shouts.

Issei chuckles. "You better work some magic, asshole."

~~~

Takahiro returns home to your apartment to find you in the living room, drenched in sweat and in the middle of giving one of your online fitness classes. As you go through the motions of squats and burpees he takes a moment to admire the way your ass jiggles and resists the urge to give it a smack. You would kill him if you did such a thing in front of her clients, and probably withhold any sort of physical intimacy from him as punishment. It's amazing that you even have the energy to workout after your earlier exertion with him in bed.

He decides to make himself comfortable on at the kitchen counter and pulls out his phone, scrolling through your list of friends on Facebook. He didn't know half the people on your list, and he was pretty sure you didn't know them either. It made sense that a popular, attractive young woman such as yourself had so many connections. When the two of you started dating, you warned Takahiro about the amount of attention men (and women) gave you. It didn't bother Takahiro one bit. He loved knowing someone as attractive and talented as you was all his.

Issei may have had the career and the independence, but to Takahiro, you were all he needed. He loved to please you. The cooking and cleaning was no chore to him. You allowed him to stay at your apartment expecting nothing but his love and respect in return. And great sex. You were definitely just as kinky and open-minded as he is.

As his thoughts focused on you, he found himself remembering the early days of your relationship. He met you two years ago at a bar when Oikawa had been in town visiting for the holidays. Both he and Issei were instantly attracted to you. Oikawa noticed their attraction to you and was able to get your number in the blink of an eye. Imagine her disappointment when she learned that neither of the two numbers that texted her the next day belonged to that gorgeous brunette with big brown eyes and a voice as sweet as honey.

He and Issei made a game out of trying to woo you. In the end, you fell for Takahiro's boyish good looks and charming personality. Not that Issei wasn't charming or good looking - you just thought Takahiro had much more going for him, with his talk of wanting to be an entrepreneur and successful business man, while Issei went right into working for his parent's funeral home.

Oh, how the tables have turned.

It's then that an idea pops into Takahiro's head. He brings up his text conversation with Issei.

He sends a text: "Wanna have a threesome with me and ___?"

Issei responds almost instantly: "You serious?"

Takahiro chuckles to himself. He replies: "Let me ask her. I'll get back to you."

~~~

After your class is finished, you shower and get yourself ready for dinner. The news plays on the TV in the living room adjacent from your dining area, but you're not paying attention. You're trying to figure out why your boyfriend is so unusually quiet. He's been on his phone since the two of you sat down to eat, only taking a bite every couple of minutes.

"Hey, Hiro," you start, irritation laced through your voice. "What's wrong?"

"Issei is lonely," he says.

"That sucks," you say through a mouthful of rice.

"He needs to get laid."

You raise a brow. "Okay. How are you going to help him with that?"

"What do you think about letting him join in on our fun?"

You spit out your food.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

He smirks, eyes still on his phone. "Would you fuck him?"

"Takahiro. I'm not even gonna answer that question."

Takahiro hums. "His dick is bigger than mine, you know."

Your face flushes red. "Are you really being serious right now?"

"Yeah. You know he's always had the hots for you. Don't you find him attractive? You did back then, I know that's a fact."

You pause as if to consider. "He's cute. I never liked his hair though. He needs to cut it."

Takahiro snorts. "Babe. Think about it. You already know each other, and you said having a threesome is on your list of sexual fantasies you want to try."

"How do you know about my list?!"

Takahiro skims over your question and continues. "So is that a yes or a no?"

"But he's your best friend."

"Yeah, and that's why it'll be fun!"

You really did want to check off having a threesome from your list.

You let out a huff and frown. "Let me think about it."

Takahiro beams and starts tapping away on his phone. "Okay, so is Friday good with you?"

"Takahiro!" You shout, shooting him your best crazy eyes. You grit your teeth. "I have a class Friday night. Let's do it Saturday."

Takahiro to Issei: She’s in. You free Saturday night?

~~~

Saturday finally arrives, and you and Takahiro are both getting ready to leave your apartment for the night.

"I'm gonna need alcohol before we do this," you said as you rolled on deodorant.

Takahiro is in the bathroom, brushing his teeth. "Aww, you nervous, babe?" he garbled through his spit and toothpaste.

"Yes, Hiro. You're gonna be watching your best friend fuck me."

"Issei and I are cool like that. Always have been."

Silence follows, and Takahiro looks at you through the mirror. You've stopped packing your things and are sitting on your bed, gazing off into space. He frowns. "You know you don't have to do this if it's making you uncomfortable. I'm not gonna force you to do anything you're not sure you want to do."

You look up and glare back at him through the mirror. "I know that, idiot," and then you smile. "I'm just being a brat."

Takahiro rinses his mouth and gives his hair one last comb through before leaving the bathroom and walking over to you. He bends down to give you a kiss and ruffles your hair with his hand. "I love my little brat. Wouldn't have you any other way."

You reach up and cradle his face in your hands. "Love you too."

~~~

The three of you decided to have drinks at the bar in the hotel's lobby Issei had paid for your night together. You told Takahiro that you would feel more comfortable away from home, somewhere that you could let loose and not have to worry about cleaning up afterwards.

The conversation had mostly been the two of them reminiscing on their high school and college years, with you slurping your drink and giggling in between their exchanges. "You guys really chose to go to the same college so you could remain friends?"

Takahiro idly stirs his drink, keeping his eyes on you. Your cheeks are flushed red and your eyes are glossed over, an obvious sign that you were pretty buzzed. You seemed to be enjoying yourself, even offering little flirty comments Issei's way here and there. Takahiro thought it was adorable.

"Once Oikawa and Iwaizumi went away, everything got really boring. Making new friends is a pain," Issei explained. "I don't think other people would be able to handle our sense of humor. We like to make jabs at each other, and other people take things too seriously."

Takahiro hums in agreement. "I hate when people can't take a joke."

You finish your cocktail and the tiny little hiccup that escapes your lips has Takahiro looking at you with adoration. "I don't think many best friends would be down to fuck the other's girlfriend, either." You giggle.

Both men blushed at your blunt observation. Takahiro cleared his throat. "Uhh, you wanna get the check and skedaddle, Issei?"

Issei swallowed the rest of his drink and slammed the empty glass down onto the table. "You always read my mind, Makki."

~~~

The three of you are stripping yourselves naked as soon as you enter the hotel room. You were the first one on the bed, waiting rather impatiently for someone to start giving you attention. Takahiro was quick to climb after you, having discarded his clothes onto the floor. He placed kisses all over your face and your neck, sucking onto your breasts and pinching your hips. You squirmed underneath his touch, curling your toes in delight.

Issei goes to sit in the chair at the side of the room, and the sound of air leaving the cushion as he plops down causes you and Takahiro to stop what you're doing and look up at Issei. "What are you doing?" Takahiro asks, confused.

"M'gonna sit back and watch you two," Issei says. "Lemme see how amazing fire crotch over here really is."

"Watch it, dickhead. I'm no fire crotch. My hair's strawberry brown, idiot." Takahiro growls, returning his attention back to you. He towers over you, eyeing you hungrily. "You ready for this, baby?"

~~~

Takahiro's got two of his fingers deep inside your cunt, pumping into your sloppy, wet heat with determination to get you all warmed up for what's to come. You feel the mattress dip behind you and shiver as a second pair of hands lands on your body. Issei finally had enough as a bystander and was ready to join the action. He presses his lips to your back, between your shoulder blades, and massages his thumbs into your hips.

"Feeling good, baby?" Takahiro mumbles into your ear.

"Mmhm," you nod, both of your hands coming up to rest on his shoulders. Issei hums and slides his hands up to caress your breasts. You lean your head back against him and sigh.

"You're so soft," he says behind you, giving your nipples a squeeze. You moan.

"Tell Issei how you want to be touched," Takahiro says as he continues to work his fingers down between your legs.

"Just keep touching me like that," you breath, voice shaky.

Takahiro slides his fingers out from you and pulls back just a bit, looking at you with dark, heavy eyes. He takes in the sight of Issei's large hands enveloping your breasts, the way you pant softly through parted lips, and the rise and fall of your chest just under your collar bone. The sight makes him groan. He leans back against the headrest and strokes himself slowly.

You take one of your hands and place it over Issei's to pull it away from your breast and down to your stomach. He takes the hint and brings his fingers down further to start massaging your clit. You can feel his length pressing into the small of your back, slight moisture from the tip sticking to your skin. His fingers spread your lower lips and he smears your juices over your hole, teasing your entrance.

"Show me how good you suck Makki's dick," he mumbles against your neck.

You oblige and lean forward onto your hands, pressing one down into the mattress on each side of your boyfriend's legs.

Takahiro watches with anticipation as you lower yourself down to his hard, swollen cock. You pause to tuck your hair behind your ears and the simple action makes his heart flutter. He lets out a pleased groan as you wrap your lips around the tip.

Issei dips two of his fingers into your cunt and you moan around Takahiro's cock. He responds by placing a hand on your head, encouraging you to take him deeper.

You swirl your hips against the palm of Issei's hands like a feline swaying her tail. Takahiro's cock is deep into your mouth now, touching the back of your throat. You press your tongue against the sensitive underside as you suck your way back up, tracing the vein that protrudes through his thin skin.

Takahiro groans. "Fuck, yes," he sighs, tangling his fingers into your hair. "You are such a good girl."

Issei's roused by the sight of Takahiro melting into the bed, and suddenly feels like the luckiest guy in the world for having such a generous friend. He inserts a third finger.

You feel so full and so content. The surge of love you feel towards your boyfriend has you removing yourself from his dick to lean forward even more and plant a tender kiss to his lips. "This feels so good, Hiro," you tell him.

He grins. "I knew you'd like it, babe."

You raise yourself to stand upright on your knees and turn to meet Issei's lascivious gaze. "Let me suck you off," you say, wrapping your fingers around his wrist to stop his hand from working you any further.

"Please do," he says with a smirk. He shuffles back and collapses onto the bed, spreading his legs invitingly.

You lean down and press a kiss to Issei's stomach, then open your mouth wide to take him in. He is larger than Takahiro, so you have to widen your jaw more than what you're used to.

Takahiro watches, sliding his fingers through your hair. "You're so sexy, babe," he says, then sits up and grabs a bottle of lube from the nightstand. He figures now is the time to start working your little pucker open. He comes to kneel behind you and pours a generous amount of lube onto your ass and spreads it through your crack. He takes a slicked up finger and circles it around your tight little hole, easing the very tip in and out as he goes. "God, I love your ass," he says before giving it a light smack.

"Her mouth is something else, Makki." Issei sighs, rolling his head back to rest against the headboard. His hip stutter and buck up into your mouth, hitting the back of your throat by surprise. You grab onto his thighs and muffle a choke. "Shit, sorry," he says, but you're quick to take him back even deeper. The tickle of your nose against his stomach has him groaning loudly.

Takahiro licks his lips and slowly presses one finger into your tight hole. "Tell me if it hurts," he says, pushing his finger past his first knuckle. He pumps it slowly, feeling your muscles loosen ever so slightly. You tense when he inserts the second finger.

"Wait," you tell him, removing yourself from Issei's cock. Takahiro stops and rubs your back softly as the sting of the stretch fades away. "Okay, go ahead."

Issei inches himself back a bit to sit more upright and grabs his cock with his hand. "I'm good for now, darlin'. Just focus on feeling good." You give Issei an appreciative smile before rising up to wrap your arm around Takahiro's neck.

"More," you whisper, pushing your ass back into his hand. Takahiro inserts a third finger and you contract around him, causing a low rumble to send vibrations from his chest into your back.

Issei is back to stroking his cock as he watches Takahiro fuck his fingers into your ass. You play with your clit, the action making your legs shake. Takahiro takes his free hand and pushes yours aside, inserting his own finger into your cunt. "More," you whimper, grabbing onto his forearm. He inserts another finger, and picks up the pace.

"You feeling good, baby?" He asks you.

"So good," you whine.

Issei groans, stroking his cock faster.

Takahiro nuzzles your chin and gives you a kiss. "You wanna try riding Issei first?" he mumbles.

You nod. Takahiro removes both his hands from your body and sits back to catch his breath. You move to straddle Issei's waist and take his cock into your hand. He places both of his hands on your hips and gives you a devilish little smirk. "Ever think you'd fuck a cock bigger than his?"

You snort a laugh through your nose.

"Fuck off," Takahiro retorts from behind.

You lower yourself onto Issei's length, the stretch sending little shockwaves of pleasure through out your body. He squeezes your hips and encourages you to keep lowering your self, watching your expression the entire time.

"How's she feel?" Takahiro asks, keeping his eyes on your cunt as it swallows Issei's cock.

"Fucking amazing," he breathes, slowing rocking his hips up into you. "Not sure how long I can last."

Takahiro moves forward onto his knees. He leans over you and kisses your ear. "Think you can take two?" he says.

"Yes, please."

Issei slides down the headboard just a bit so you can hover further forward over his chest and raise your ass. You feel a wad of lube drop onto your asshole and slide down between your cheeks. Takahiro smears the liquid around inserts his finger into your hole again, just to be sure you're still ready. He removes his finger and then presses the head of his cock to your entrance. He pauses. "You good?"

"Yeah," you breathe.

He slides in slow. You have to place your hand back onto his thigh to tell him to stop while you ease into the feeling of being stretched and filled in both holes.

"Deep breaths, baby," Takahiro says, watching the muscles in your back twitch. You inhale deeply, then exhale and relax.

"Okay."

Takahiro starts to move, and Issei follows. You simply hold yourself still while both men work on finding a rhythm that lets them move together comfortably. One of your hands comes down to rest under your belly button, and you swear you feel the bulge of Issei's cock inside you.

You try taking your mind off the slight discomfort your body is feeling at such an unnatural stretch. The squelching between your legs, Issei's labored breathing as he tries so hard not to cum, the rumble of Takahiro's deep voice giving you all sorts of little praises - "good girl, you feel so good, you're doing so well, I love you so much," and your own voice getting louder as any discomfort you were feeling melts into pleasure.

"I need one of you to touch me," you say through shallow breaths, your body shaking, your hands grasping onto their arms.

"Issei," Takahiro says, quickening his pace. "Make my girlfriend cum."

Issei obliges and presses his thumb to your clit, rubbing quick, tight circles. Your body tightens up around them as you cum, moans sounding like cries as your mind struggles to handle the intensity of your orgasm,

"Oh, shit," Issei groans. "I'm gonna cum."

"Cum inside," you urge.

"You sure?"

You nod, and Issei increases his pace. He grips your hips tightly and groans as his load spills inside you.

You lean forward and give him a kiss, which he can hardly return in his current state.

Suddenly you're yanked back by your hair and pressed against Takahiro's chest, his arm snaking its way around your waist to hold you against him firmly. Issei's cock leaves your body, and Takahiro gives you one good thrust, cumming long and heavy into your ass. He lets out a string of curses into your hair, holding you tight.

His chest is heaving, having emptied every last drop.

Your head spins and your thighs are numb. "Hiro... I need to lay down," you say, tapping your hand against his arm.

"Mm," is all he can mumble before letting you go. You crawl forward and curl up onto your side next to Issei. Takahiro falls to your other side and sandwiches you in the middle.

"Fuck, that was amazing," Issei says, running a hand through his damp, curly locks of hair.

Takahiro groans in agreement, pressing his palm to his forehead, eyes closed.

The three of you lay there, catching your breath.

Takahiro rolls onto his side to face you. "What'd you think, babe?" he asks.

You hum blissfully, eyes closed. "I loved it. Let's do it again sometime."

Takahiro gives your ass a squeeze in appreciation, then reaches over to slap Issei's chest.

"Ow," Issei says, opening his eyes to see Takahiro's hand hovering above his face. He raises one of his own arms and curls his hand into a fist, smacking it against Takahiro's.

You laugh. "Did you guys just fist bump?"

"Sure did," Takahiro says, grinning proudly.

You roll your already aching body over onto your stomach and stuff your face into the pillow.

"Idiots."

[slapshot-to-the-heart]

mistletoe & california snow - t. meier

Here’s the first of the things I’ll be putting out for the Christmas and holiday season! I’ve been working on this for the past few weeks, it’s pretty long - bear with me - but I am proud of it and how it’s turned out. As always, I read all the tags and love seeing and hearing people’s thoughts, so please let me know what you think!

word count: 7.6k+

warning: sexual content (light & brief, but no one under 18 please!)

Timo came into Noemi Silva’s life when she least expected it. It’s a cliché saying, one that had been around since time immemorial, but it was true. He wasn’t looking for anything serious, and she had just gotten out of a relationship a few months prior. But then she had gotten an internship with the Sharks social media team in winter of her senior year of college, and the more time she started spending around the players, the more he realized he wasn’t able to stay away from her. Not in a bad way, but in the kind of way where he simply noticed how radiant she was and wanted to do whatever he could to get to know her, to be around her, in whatever way she’d let him. So colleagues turned into friends, turned into him asking her out two weeks before playoffs started. She didn’t say yes right away, but it wasn’t because she didn’t know, and it wasn’t because she wanted to make him sweat it. She was worried about what people would think; an intern dating one of the team’s star forwards, worried that the office gossip would turn into arguments that she didn’t earn her job, or that she was trying to get people to go easier on her. After a long conversation with Alise, one of her best friends, then her older sister, then Timo, she finally agreed. Them being together wasn’t as big of an issue as she had thought, a few meetings with HR and some paperwork and they had the green light, as long as they kept things professional at work. And then she was offered a full-time job after her graduation, and now, almost three years after they had first met, she was days away from marrying the love of her life. 

He had proposed at the very beginning of the year, on a weeklong trip to Switzerland courtesy of the Sharks’ bye week and a very well-timed nonstop flight to Zürich. Noemi wasn’t an overly sentimental person, she thought as she curled next to her fiancé on their living room couch, watching an episode of Gossip Girl. She never had been, but even she would admit without hesitation that there wasn’t a single thing she would have changed about their engagement. 

---

Noemi’s parents were out of town on a weekend getaway to wine country, so they weren’t able to drive her and Timo to the airport for their bye week vacation to Switzerland. Everything had lined up perfectly that year, and Noemi almost couldn’t believe their luck. She had accompanied the Sharks’ delegation to the past two All-Star Weekends, one the year prior and the other only the weekend before. So they both had a full week off for the first time since the offseason. The Christmas break was great, but it wasn’t nearly enough time to travel anywhere, let alone somewhere outside of the country. They had both been worried about the flight time — for a while, the only option was nearly twenty hours with a seven-hour layover in London — but thankfully, a nonstop flight from San Francisco to Zürich had opened up that they had booked just before the holidays. 

All leading to the current moment, with Noemi, Timo, and their bags in the backseat of Kevin Labanc’s SUV as he pulled up to the curb of Terminal G. “Hope you guys have fun in the Alps, getting snowed on and freezing your asses off while I relax on the beach, getting—”

Noemi cut him off, arching an eyebrow. “Freezing your ass off, Kevin. It may be California, but I think you’re vastly overestimating how warm Santa Cruz beaches get. Have fun, though,” she quipped. 

The corner of his eyes crinkled as he laughed. “Meier, did you know that your girl can chirp better than half the team?” 

“One of her many talents,” Timo said, shrugging as he hefted their bags out of the trunk. Noemi was the first one to hug his teammate goodbye, and then Kevin pulled Timo into an embrace. 

“But seriously, guys. Have fun. Good luck,” he said, looking back at Timo. 

“What did he say good luck for?” Noemi asked, her brows furrowed as they walked through the sliding doors to the check-in counter. 

Timo made a noncommittal noise. “Not sure. Maybe he meant to say good flight?” And it was a good flight, they were both able to get a few hours of sleep in before breakfast was served just as they were flying over Scotland. 

Noemi wrested her back from under the seat before slinging it onto her shoulder and flashing a grateful smile at the flight attendants as they disembarked. She shivered as the cold air hit her on the jet bridge — as soon as they made it out to the gate, she made Timo stop so she could grab a jacket out of her bag, zipping it up all the way to under her chin. Timo snorted; she glared at him. “We weren’t all born with snow in our veins, Timo.”

He held up his hands in surrender. “I didn’t say anything.” 

She had been through the airport once before, but once was nothing compared to the she-didn’t-even-know-how-many flights Timo had taken. He gave her a kiss on the cheek as they reached passport control, moving towards the automated gates as Noemi stood in the line for non-Schengen nationals. “See you on the other side.” 

Timo had already been waiting for ten minutes by the time Noemi got through. Though, all things considered — especially when compared to the hour-plus lines they were both used to trying to get back into the United States — it wasn’t bad at all. “You get through okay?” he asked, kissing Noemi as she came up to where he had settled by a coffee shop. 

She nodded. “Yep, no issues. Asked me why I was here, I said I was visiting family with my Swiss citizen boyfriend, asked how long I’d be here for, I said a week. She told me welcome to Switzerland, stamped my passport, and said to have a good trip.” She tucked her passport into her purse, zipping it closed. 

Timo bent down to kiss the top of her head as she leaned into him, her hands wrapping around his waist. “Let’s get going, then.”

---

The day before they were due to fly out of Zürich, they decided to go into the city. By they, it was really Timo’s decision; before they left San Jose, he had shown her pictures of Zürich in the winter and mentioned the zoo. It was an easy sell, she loved getting to see the lemurs. They had done the zoo in the morning and the national museum in the afternoon, before the sun set just after 5 PM. 

The beer garden he took her to for dinner didn’t have any more indoor seating — something Noemi didn’t have a preference on, but Timo seemed concerned about — so the couple settled outside, warmed by a heating lamp and a well-placed fire pit off to the side of their table. “I feel like a lizard,” Noemi remarked, glancing up at the lamp. Timo laughed, holding her hand and absentmindedly rubbing his thumb over the top as he scanned the menu. “Now, it may come as a shock to you, but I happen to be less-than-fluent in Swiss German, so you’re going to have to help me out here,” she said as she read the menu. “Pictures are only getting me so far.”

He chuckled, leaning over the table “Do you want the raclette or the fondue?” 

Noemi’s brow furrowed. “Raclette?” 

Timo pulled out his phone, quickly navigating to Google. “The best way to describe it is like warmed, bubbly cheese that’s like scraped onto the food. Potatoes, meat, that kind of stuff. As opposed to fondue, which is obviously just fondue.” 

She looked at him, bewildered. “How many ways do the Swiss have to eat cheese?” 

“We’ve been perfecting it for 700 years, No.” 

The raclette was incredible, as expected, and the saison their waitress had suggested paired perfectly. It was nearing eight by the time they had paid the check, and they had an hour long drive back to his hometown, but the night wasn’t over yet. Some of the Christmas lights were still up, and a short walk around downtown led them to a little art gallery that was still open, Timo purchasing a gorgeous oil painting of the city, the clock tower of St. Peter in the background. 

“Belated Christmas present?” he asked, grinning at Noemi, as he arranged for it to be shipped back to California. 

She rolled her eyes. “If you say so.” 

“Merci vielmal,” Timo said to the curator. “Come on, there’s one more thing I want to show you before we leave.” 

Noemi blew on her hands before she stuffed them back in the pockets of her down jacket, following him out the door. She had gotten it a few months after she had been hired by the team full-time; there were a few different people on the social media team, so she didn’t go on every road trip, but it had become an invaluable addition to her wardrobe. She had made the foolish assumption that a November in Calgary couldn’t be too cold, and had only brought a fleece and a raincoat on one of her first trips with the team. It had been one of the worst mistakes of her life, and she had ended up having to run out to a Canada Goose outlet during her lunch break just so she wouldn’t freeze to death. 

Noemi wasn’t sure where they were going, but supposed that she wasn’t in a place to be very skeptical. It was only her second time in Switzerland — she had flown out the summer prior to visit with him and his family — and she certainly wasn’t an expert, so she followed her boyfriend down the street and around the corners of tiny stone-faced apartments and old churches, a light sprinkling of snow dusting itself on her beanie. They walked for a few minutes before coming to the banks of Lake Zürich, where icy water would normally be lapping at their toes, even in January. Noemi hadn’t taken much of a look at the lake on the drive in; if she had, she would have noticed that it was completely frozen over, with couples walking and children playing tag even at the comparatively late hour. 

He squeezed her hand as he stepped onto the ice. “Come on, babe.” 

Noemi bit her lip. “Are you sure it’s safe?” 

Timo nodded. “I called and asked a friend of mine the day before we left, it’s been frozen for almost a week and the weather hasn’t gotten any warmer. It should be at least nine, ten inches thick. Plenty safe.” So she let him take her hand, pulling her out to step gingerly on the ice, one foot in front of the other. 

“Does it freeze often?”

Timo shook his head. “First time since ‘65. You’re getting something special here, No.” The snow gave their feet some purchase on the ice, and it was only a few minutes before they were standing where the middle of the lake should be, looking up at the jet-black night sky. “Can you see Cassiopeia?” Timo asked, looking up to the sky, his hands jamming in his jacket pocket, playing with what Noemi could only assume were his keys. 

After their first date, dinner and a comedy show, they had driven to a stunning viewpoint on the outskirts of the city, bringing a blanket and laying outside stargazing and lazily kissing until they had to go to sleep sometime after midnight. “I could stay here for hours,” he had murmured as she lay against his chest. “Don’t think Boughner would take too kindly to you being late for morning skate,” Noemi had said. But she wasn’t arguing; she would have stayed there the rest of the night if they could. And Cassiopeia had always been her favorite constellation, the first one she pointed out to Timo that night, and one she loved just as much almost two years later. 

It took her less than ten seconds to find it, the familiar “W” beckoning her just like it had a hundred times before. She looked back to where Timo had been just a moment before, mouth half-open, ready to show him the stars. 

But he wasn’t there. Well, not standing, at least. He was kneeling on the ice, a blue jewelry box with a ring inside it balanced in his hand as the other reached out gently for hers. She gave it to him, of course she did. “Noemi Francisca Silva, you came into my life when I least expected it. I didn’t think I wanted a relationship, you weren’t sure either, but somehow after a few months of trying to be ‘just friends,’ we realized that just friends wasn’t going to work. And God, am I glad we figured that out. You’ve somehow fit in my life so perfectly that I have no clue how it ever worked before you were there. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, but even more than that, you’re so full of joy, you’ve always got a kind word to say about anyone, and you’re the best person anyone could ever ask for to have in their corner. I’m so glad you’re in mine.” He paused for a moment, looking back up at her with a half-smile on his face. “You asked what Kevin wished us good luck for back at the airport. Well,” he shrugged, “this is it. Noemi, it’s been the honor of my life to get to love you, and I can only hope you’ll let me do it for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?” 

For as worried as she had been about the ice not twenty minutes before, Noemi barely paid any mind as she crashed down next to him, their foreheads touching as his shaking hands slid the ring onto her wedding finger. It was the easiest answer she’d ever given in her life. “Yes.”

 --

As Noemi straddled Timo in the driver’s seat of his SUV two days before their wedding, the bags of falafel having long since been abandoned in the back seat, she thought that she had never been so grateful for tinted windows and early sunsets. “The milkshakes are going to melt,” she gasped out as his fingers started to trail up her shirt, playing with the line of her bra. 

“We’ll throw them in the freezer when we get home,” he said. Well, there’s not really any way I can argue against that, Noemi considered. So she let him pull her shirt off, undo the buttons on her shorts, and grab a condom from the center console — he had made damn sure to clean it out before filming a “what’s in my car” bit with the video team earlier that week — and slid into her as she tried desperately to keep her moans in check. “It’s okay, baby, let it out. I want to hear,” he said. 

And she was in no place to argue. So she gasped and whimpered while he moaned underneath her, the seat tilted back just enough for him to hit her just right. And Timo knew almost everything about Noemi. You don’t get to be together with someone for over two and a half years without learning about them. He knew she liked waffles over pancakes and hated having to get up early and how she almost cried the first time she got sent to the principal’s office in third grade. He knew her body better than she did, how to send her crashing into an orgasm that left them both breathless with tired, goofy grins on their faces after. 

But as Noemi steadied her breathing, looking out the window — the parking lot was still mercifully empty — she thought that maybe she’d leave out the fact that they had just fucked right across the street from her childhood church. At least we’re not trying to get married there, Noemi thought. I’d take up the whole damn time for Confession just for the past month. 

---

Noemi stuck her head out of the door of her seventh-floor hotel room. The coast was clear. It was the end of February, ten months after they had gotten together, and the team was in the middle of their last big Midwest sweep of the season. Going through the Central Division — plus a stop in Toronto — was incredible and Noemi was shaking herself awake every morning, realizing that this really was her job, but it was also exhausting, and as much as it may have seemed counterintuitive, lonely at times. Well, lonely in a particular way. She had the rest of the social media team, and she was friendly with most of the athletic training staff, and she saw the players pretty much every day, and she was friends with most of them. But the team was a little more than halfway through the trip, and she’d barely gotten to spend any time with Timo. Sure, there were meals, and the few off hours they got had been amazing — when they played the Preds, it was her first time in Nashville, and walking around Music Row had been the highlight of her weekend — but it wasn’t the same as if they were back in San Jose. 

Okay, if she was being totally honest, she missed the sex. It obviously wasn’t like she was finding it impossible to go without, she had dealt with it just fine when he was on a roadie and she was back home, but knowing that they were so close but couldn’t quite get there was a special kind of torture. Until now, when Timo had texted her just five minutes before. Kevin’s just gone out for a run, says he’s getting food after, some baked potato place or whatever. Idk. He’s weird. Anyways, coast should be clear for an hour or so 👀 

Noemi had initially rolled her eyes at the message, not even sure if she’d text him back, but the more she thought about it, the more she was tempted. Fuck it, she thought, texting him that she’d be right over. Which is how she found herself trying to sneak the 50 feet over to Timo’s room without being seen. Everyone knew they were together — they had for months — but the last thing she wanted was to have to explain to Erik Karlsson that the reason she was out pushing curfew was that she just really, really wanted dick. The poor man didn’t need to know. 

So she barely had to tap her fingers on Timo’s door before he swung it open, walking her back towards the bed while holding her around the waist. His knees hit the edge of the bed. Thank God there were two; she wanted him, sure, but even she wasn’t about to cross the line that was having sex in her friend’s bed an hour before he was set to sleep in it. She fell on top of him, sighing as his hands wandered under the hem of her oversized Santa Clara t-shirt, a mainstay from her college years. “Gotta get this off of you,” he mumbled. 

Noemi let out a breathy laugh. “Good things come to those who wait.” She barely had time to let out a gasp before he flipped her over. “It’s only been, what, a week?” Noemi asked, giggling. 

“Too long,” Timo replied, his lips trailing down the column of her neck. Her shirt was quickly forgotten on the floor, his following after a few minutes. She had gotten so worked up over the past week that he barely had to spend two minutes between her legs before she was pulling his mouth back up to hers, her hands fumbling with his belt buckle before finally getting it undone. “Fuck, one second,” he breathed, half-falling off the bed as he stumbled over towards his suitcase, zipping open the inner pocket before pulling out a condom. “You ready, babe?” he asked as he rolled it on. 

She nodded quickly. “Get over here.” He had just pressed into her when the door opened. 

“Brought back some fries to share, thought it would be nice since you didn’t get a chance to—” Kevin hollered as he walked into the room, while Noemi tried frantically to grab anything she could to cover herself. “Oh God. Jesus. Were you two just fucking?”

“In a manner of speaking?” Noemi said, pulling Timo’s dress shirt tightly around her. 

“God, why would you two? I’m not even going to ask. I don’t want to know. You two are gross,” he said, though he had the tiniest of smiles on his face when he finally brought his hand away from his eyes. “I’m going to, I don’t know. Go down to the lobby, and...Watch CNN or something. Be done when I get back.” 

He was gone just as quickly as he had walked in, and Noemi fell back on the bed, her face buried into the nearest pillow. “We’re never going to be able to live that one down, will we?” she asked hopelessly, already knowing the answer.

“Nope.”

---

 A month or so after he proposed, when the post-engagement glow had begun to fade and the equal parts excitement and apprehension about planning a wedding began to set in, they had to figure out how they actually wanted everything to work. Where and when and how and how many, things neither Timo nor Noemi had ever even considered went into planning a wedding. Things like figuring out if their vendor provided linens or if they had to rent their own, things like what to do with the flowers after the reception was over and how to reserve a block of hotel rooms. Enter Mohana. Noemi had been an art minor in college, focusing on watercolor  and digital design, so she sent over bits and pieces, links to Pinterest boards and concept art, and then handed off the responsibility. 

It was important to Timo that the wedding be during a time of year where the team would be able to make it; sure, summers were free, but everyone had vacations to go on and family to visit and he really didn’t want them to have to go to the expense of flying back to California just for a weekend. Even though he knew without a doubt that they would. And neither he nor Noemi thought it was a good idea to do it in spring — spring meant the playoff push and their schedules being filled even more than usual, and they didn’t want it to turn into just one more thing to worry about. Which meant fall or winter, but fall could be hectic with the season starting and most of the weekend dates for their venue had already been booked up. Which took them to December. Her own parents hadn’t really cared, but Noemi’s grandparents hadn’t been exactly thrilled when she told them she wasn’t having a church wedding. They got over it pretty quickly, though a lengthy call from her mom might have had something to do with that. 

Noemi wasn’t initially a huge fan of having a Christmas wedding. Though, really, it wasn’t even a Christmas wedding — it was on the 22nd — she was worried that people would have already settled in with their families, that she’d be disrupting plans and dynamics and traditions, that everyone’s toes would freeze off during the ceremony and suddenly their plans would be waylaid by having to take half the bridal party to the hospital to be treated for frostbite. She might have been exaggerating on the last one a little bit; even Bay Area Decembers rarely dipped much below 50º in the afternoon. But the winery they had chosen as their venue was available, and Mohana loved planning winter weddings, and Timo’s family had already been planning to fly over to spend the holidays with them. And red was her favorite color. So, all things considered, it was an easy sell. 

Planning the wedding itself turned out to me more difficult than either of them had anticipated. The Sharks’ season ended abruptly in the Cup finals that year, so they both got what planning they could out of the way before leaving for Switzerland. Cake tasting was done two days before leaving, and she had ordered her dress in March. Facetime meetings with Mohana were usually done in the California morning, which meant that more than once, she had been explaining vendor costs and asking if they preferred peonies or poppies as they were cooking dinner in his parents’ house. Noemi headed back to California in late August — she would have stayed longer, but was limited to a ninety day stay in a six month period without a visa and didn’t feel the need to go through the trouble when Timo was following a few weeks after. It wasn’t ideal, and she missed him more than she wanted to let on at times, but a month came and went and they were reunited. 

--- 

A soft knock came on the door of the bridal suite. “Everyone decent?” the voice asked.

“We’re good!” Emily called back. It was a no-brainer for Noemi to pick her sister as her maid of honor, who had nearly cried when she asked her early in the summer.

Patrick stepped into the room, closing the door gently behind him. “Can’t have him see you before,” he said jokingly. 

“Wouldn’t want that,” Noemi said, smiling softly. Patrick had stuck around after his retirement, working with the player development staff during the season. Everyone was the better for it, and they were all so grateful to have him still be a part of the family. Even apart from his consistency and dedication on the ice, he had always been a natural leader of any locker room he was in, mentoring younger players without being asked and always being there for anyone who needed him. “It’s what the team dad does,” he always said. 

So it was only natural that Timo and Noemi had wanted to find a place for him in their wedding. He had been all too happy to step up and help them with last-minute preparations the morning of, checking in with their wedding planner Mohana and helping to get all of the organizational details squared away — he had even driven back to the hotel the guests were staying at to pick up one of the groomsmen’s shoes when he had realized he had brought the wrong pair. “You feeling good, kid?” 

Noemi looked at the clock on the wall: half an hour until the ceremony started. She gave him a nervous smile. “Definitely got some butterflies, but they’re good ones. I’m excited.” 

The corner of his eyes crinkled. “Good, I’m glad. I remember when Christina and I got married, I was nervous, sure, but I knew. Knew she was the one, knew she was it for me. I’m glad you and Timo found each other, Noemi. A piece of advice?” She nodded. “Don’t get so caught up in the nerves and feeling like you need everything to be perfect that you forget what the day’s about. It’s about celebrating you, and him, and this marriage that you’re going to be building together. The photos will turn out great, nobody’s going to get food poisoning, and you won’t trip walking down the aisle. So don’t overthink it.” 

“Patrick, I just put my makeup on,” Noemi said, dabbing under her eyes with a napkin. “You can’t just say things like that and not expect me to cry.” 

He bent down, kissing her on the cheek. “You look beautiful, Noemi. This is your day. Enjoy it.” 

Patrick opened the door to the guy’s room just as Timo finished fastening his cufflinks. He looked up. “Were you just with No?”

 Patrick nodded. “She looks amazing, Timo.”

“Course she did,” he said, like it was the easiest answer in the world. ”How was she?” 

“Good. Nervous, but good. She’s with the girls, they were all drinking mimosas or something while they did their makeup,” Patrick said, sitting on the arm of the couch. 

Timo’s eyebrows lifted. “Was she in her dress?” 

“No,” Patrick said, rolling his eyes. Well-meaning though he was, he knew that Timo had been pestering Noemi to show him at least a glimpse of her dress, to no avail. She had ended up keeping it at her parents’ house when his bothering got to be too much. She loved it though. “You’ll see her soon.” Not soon enough, Timo thought. 

“You here to impart some sage wisdom, Patty?” Kevin asked, poking his head out of the bathroom as he straightened his tie. Red for the groomsmen, a subtle plaid for Timo. 

“As a matter of fact,” Patrick said, “I did have some things I thought about if you’d like to hear them.” 

Timo nodded quickly. “Of course.” It wasn’t just that he respected him for his role on the team and his former place in the locker room, it was his dedication to his family and healthy marriage that made him immediately tune in to whatever he had to say. 

“I know you’ve probably already figured this out already, having been together for as long as you have and living together now, but in case you haven’t. When you’re in a relationship, a marriage especially, you’re on the same team. You’re going after the same goal. Happiness and comfort and strength. Remember that. You’ll have disagreements, you might fight, but don’t let that overshadow the fact that whatever issue you two are facing, you’re meant to go at it together. Two,” he ticked off on his finger, “you’re going to have to compromise, probably more than you realize. Whether it’s what kind of take-out you’re going to get or where you’re going for vacation or what you’re going to do when you hang up the skates, listen to what she says, think about your priorities as a couple, and talk it out. And sometimes you’re going to have to learn when to let it go and let her win, regardless of if you think you’re right or not.” 

“I’m learning that one,” Timo said as he finished tying his dress shoes. 

Patrick smiled. “Good. Last, and probably the most important one, this is your priority now. Your marriage is your priority, she’s your priority. You said you guys talked about kids, yeah?” Timo nodded. “When you have kids, then, your family comes first. Your kids come first. I know it’s sometimes hard for people in our positions to wrap their brains around, when your whole life has been nothing but going to the rink and going to the gym, but there’s things that you’re going to need to prioritize over that, and that’s okay. The team understands it, everyone understands it. If you miss an optional skate to drop your kids off at school, or take off the gym for a week in the summer to go on vacation. If you’ve got to miss a game because your wife’s having a baby, or you take a call in a meeting when you shouldn’t because it’s Noemi and she needs you, that’s okay. Balance doesn’t come naturally to hockey players, hardly ever, but it’s something you’re going to need to learn, even better than you might think you know now. You do that, and you’ll be alright.”

There were less than ten minutes until Noemi had to leave, and Emily had just finished fastening the last button on her dress. Noemi took a deep breath, smoothing over the lace at her hips and straightening the edges of the three-quarter sleeves. “God, it’s really about to happen, isn’t it?” she asked in awe. 

Her mom squeezed her shoulder. “It is.”

“You need me to drive the getaway car?” Alise, her best friend from college asked, eyebrows raised, one hand playing with the skirt of her crimson bridesmaid’s dress. “I like Timo, I really do, but I love you more.”

Noemi let out a snort. “Thanks, Alise, but I think I’m going to have to pass on this one. We put down a fat deposit on this place and I wouldn’t want to lose it.”

“Pity, I just got the tank filled.” 

One of her other bridesmaids brought over the veil, gently tucking the comb in right above Noemi’s low bun. Noemi brushed her fingers over the comb’s pearls and clay flowers, remembering when Timo presented it to her as an early wedding present. “I was thinking it could be your something new.” Her late grandma’s pearl earrings were her something old, a ribbon from her mother’s wedding dress was wrapped around her bouquet, and a blue-edged handkerchief was pinned on the inside of her dress. Needless to say, it was gorgeous, and as Noemi slipped on her heels, she couldn’t help but think that it had all worked out better than she could have imagined. 

Mohana poked her head in, pushing back her dark hair as she smiled at the room. “Everyone ready?” 

“Bridesmaids are good,” Emily said, looking around. “No?”

Noemi nodded, taking yet another deep breath. “Good to go.” 

“Bouquets are outside, I was just with the guys and everything’s perfect, ties are all tied, boutonnières are all in. The second shooter got a few really sweet pictures of Timo’s mom putting his in.” 

“God, I almost forgot about the pictures,” Noemi said, even though the photographer had been in the room while everyone was getting ready. 

“Alright, let’s go get my bride married!” Mohana beamed. She handed everyone’s bouquets to them as they exited, ending with Noemi. She had designed the bouquets herself, white poppies and red roses and eucalyptus branches all tied together with her mother’s ribbon, but the florist had really outdone herself. A perk of working with the business end of the team was that it took her almost no time at all to get the vendor contacts that the team used for all of their formal events, and a perk of being a WAG was that it took her one text in a group chat to get the number of one of the South Bay’s best wedding planners. And Mohana Kaur had been nothing short of a lifesaver. She had taken Noemi’s vague sketches and fabric samples that she had picked up at Michael’s and turned it into what could only be described as a winter paradise. 

The flower girl, Noemi’s niece Elle, grabbed her basket of petals, looking back at her with delight. “Flowers, Auntie No!” 

Noemi nodded, beaming back at the little girl. “Very pretty flowers, El-bear. You remember what to do with them?”

“I go after Tobias,” Tomas’ son was their ring bearer, and had honestly occupied most of the attention at the rehearsal, not like she minded, “who goes after Mommy, who goes after Auntie Emily. And then I throw the flowers while I’m walking.”

“Perfect, sweet girl,” Noemi said, bending down — as much as she could in her heels — and gathering up the youngest Silva in a hug. She loved her four-year-old niece more than just about anyone, and it was moments like this that made her that much more excited to have children of her own someday. Mohana had silently gotten all of the bridesmaids in order, looking at Noemi as soon as she stood up. “Showtime?” Noemi asked.

Mohana gave her a wide smile. “You know it.” After giving her attendants one last cursory look, she laid a gentle hand on the space between Noemi’s shoulders, left bare from her open-backed dress. “You look gorgeous, Noemi, and the wedding’s going to be incredible.” With a nod of her head, she led the wedding party down the halls of the winery, stopping at the oaken set of double doors that stood as the only barrier between Noemi and the rest of her life. She could hear noise behind the doors, the chattering of the people most important to her in her life. 

Emily turned back towards her sister, squeezing Noemi’s hand. “I love you, No. You picked a good one.” She stepped off to the side as the doors opened, and one by one her bridesmaids walked out, then Tobias, then Elle, until it was only Mohana left. She gave Noemi’s veil a final adjustment, and then the music changed. A gorgeous acoustic version of Coldplay’s Yellow, one of Noemi’s favorite songs and one that had become something of a theme in her and Timo’s relationship. It was playing in his car the night of their first date, she was wearing a yellow dress when he told her he loved her for the first time, they had gone to a Coldplay concert at Levi’s Stadium the summer before the wedding, just after he had flown back from Switzerland. 

Noemi took a deep breath, looked down at her ring, and stepped out the door. Some of her friends had been surprised when she told them she’d be walking down alone. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her dad, or wasn’t close to him — the opposite was true. She just felt that there wasn’t a need to feel like someone was “giving her away.” Nobody but herself had the power to do that, so nobody but herself needed to be a part of that element of the ceremony. It was the same reason she had chosen to hyphenate her name instead of just taking Timo’s. She had always loved the idea of a family having the same name, of everyone being easily identifiable as being connected to one another in that sort of way, and she didn’t like the seeming disjointeness that would happen when they had kids, even if if wouldn’t matter to anyone but her. But she also loved her name, loved how it sounded and what it meant and the connection it gave to her ancestors. So Silva-Meier it was. 

Her veil trailed behind her as she made her way down the aisle, past the rows filled with 200 of their friends and family who had proven invaluable resources and support over the nearly-three years of their relationship. She risked a look at the end of the aisle, just off to the side of the eucalyptus-and-rose edged wedding arch. Where her fiancé was, the last time she could really call him her fiancé. Timo wasn’t necessarily more stoic than most of the other men she knew, and he was actually a fantastic communicator, but he wasn’t always one to show his heart on his sleeve. No such uncertainty today. The corners of his eyes were glassy with unshed tears, a few of which threatened to escape down his cheek. Kevin tapped him on the shoulder, handing him a handkerchief. I hope the photographer got that, Noemi thought distractedly. 

It sometimes was hard for Timo to outwardly show his feelings, especially at the beginning of their relationship; Noemi loved Timo wildly, and there was no doubt in her mind that he felt the same, but Switzerland was never known as a particularly warm-and-fuzzy country, he was still an NHL player with all of the expectations and influences of hypermasculinity that came along with that. There were three times in their relationship where Noemi could remember seeing him cry. Eight months into their relationship, when her mom, Katherine, had had a stroke, he sat with her in the chapel of O’Connor Hospital as she sobbed harder than she ever had in her entire life, and he cried with her. The second time was when he proposed, and when she said yes. The third time was the May before, when the Sharks had gotten within one game of finally hoisting the Stanley Cup but fell to the Capitals in Game 6. At home. She had seen him lose games, seen him lose playoff series’, but that had been a whole new kind of hurt that she had never seen from him, and one that she never wanted to see again. 

This was the fourth, and as she reached the end of the aisle, Noemi couldn’t help but think that if she reached up to her eyes, they’d be wet too. Noemi handed her bouquet off to Emily, and reached over for Timo. “Your hands are shaking, No,” he murmured as the crowd settled back down, their officiant extending a welcome to the crowd that the two barely paid attention to. The introduction, the invocation, all went by in the blink of an eye. “Timo, would you like to go first?” the officiant asked. Noemi had been so caught up in the surrealism of the day that she barely realized it was time for the vows. 

“Of course,” he said, giving Noemi’s hands one last squeeze before beginning. “I always thought it was cliché when people say that love comes into your life when you least expect it, or when you’re not looking for it. A 23-year-old in the NHL usually isn’t looking to settle down and get married anytime soon.” Noemi gave a watery laugh. “But with you, I quickly discovered how right that was. Noemi Francisca Silva, you’re everything I’ve ever wanted and, somehow, you fill parts of myself I didn’t even realize were missing until you came along. I could go on for hours about how much I love you, everything about you. I love how whenever Hozier comes on the radio, you turn the volume in the car up so loud I can’t hear anything else, even when you’re singing along. I love how you never wrap a present without curling the ribbons yourself, no matter how many times I tell you we can buy bows. I love how you don’t even have to ask me what kind of pizza I want when we order anymore, because you already know. But most of all, I love how you’re my partner, my best friend, the person I love the most in this world. And in a few minutes, you’ll be my wife. I love you, No.”

“You had an unfair advantage,” Noemi said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I’m calling a foul.” She took a deep breath. “When I look back on our relationship, from the first time we met, to our vacations, to our anniversaries, to the day you proposed, there’s one theme that I keep coming back to. It’s the first thing I thought of when I sat down to write these weeks ago. It’s how you never fail to make me feel so unbelievably loved. It doesn’t matter where we are, or who we’re with. We could be at one of the fundraisers, where you’re meant to be schmoozing with Silicon Valley tech execs, or at a party with our friends. You hear me, you see me, and when I’m with you, I feel like we’re the only two people in the room. The biggest piece of relationship I ever got, from my vovó, was to marry someone who makes you want to be a better person. I’ve never met anyone who does that as well as you do, Timo, and you don’t even have to do anything. I’m a better version of myself, the best version of myself, just from being around you.” She paused, going over the words that she had been rehearsing in her head for two weeks straight whenever her fiancé was out of earshot one last time. “Du bosch mine Schatz, und Ich lieb di Bis dass de Tod eus scheidet.” 

Timo’s breath caught in his throat at her words. He knew that Noemi had been trying to pick up bits and pieces of Swiss German, but he wasn’t always there to help and it was a notoriously tricky language to pick up. That she had done it on her own made it all the more meaningful. “Timo, do you take Noemi to be your lawful wedded wife? Do you promise to love and cherish her, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others, for so long as you both shall live?”  He spoke without hesitation. “I do.”

“And do you, Noemi, take Timo to be your lawful wedded husband? Do you promise to love and cherish him, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others for so long as you both shall live?” Giving her answer was as easy as breathing. “I do.” 

Her nervous hands slid Timo’s wedding band onto his left ring finger, and he moved hers into place above her engagement ring. “Now that Timo and Noemi have given themselves to each other with vows, the joining of hands and the giving and receiving of rings, I pronounce that they are husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.” 

Noemi had had a lot of kisses in her life, more than she could count. There was her first boyfriend, and senior prom, and college parties, and everything in between. But when Timo’s lips met hers, underneath the sprig of mistletoe that hung from their wedding arch, as he became her husband, she knew without a doubt that this was her favorite one.

[rae-g]

Dire Need of a Change: Spring 1 - Life's Better with Joja

The past month has been a whirlwind of events. Quitting your job, packing up or selling most of your belongings (not that there were a ton to begin with), and saying goodbye to the few friends you have made since you moved to the city. But here you were, suitcase in one hand, bus ticket in the other.

“Pelican Town, it is, I guess.” You didn’t sound too confident, but you also knew you had passed the point of no return. You scanned in the ticket, threw your suitcase into the overhead compartment, then took your seat.  While you mostly saw your grandpa while you were a child, you were the only grand-kid that kept in contact beyond birthdays and holidays. The two of you were constantly sending gifts back and forth to each other; a mixture of fresh produce and odd knickknacks. It broke your heart when he passed, but even then you never expected him to leave the entire farm to you.

It’s been years since he died, and you had no clue what kind of condition the farm would be in once you got there. Nor did you have any clue how to get it back in shape! You spent every summer with your grandpa on the farm, but that didn't exactly mean you knew how to properly use a hoe, or what seeds grew in which season. You just hoped that some information was retained over the years.

With a heavy sigh, and a quick swig of your cola, you buckled yourself in. “Pelican Town… Here I come?”

----------

You had a brief but pleasant introduction with Mayor Lewis, and the local carpenter, Robin. They seemed sweet and excited to have a new resident/farmer in the area. While it was a quick introduction, you had a feeling that if they were any indication of the types of folk who live in the town, then this move has already been for the better. Not that you were exactly the largest fan of people in general, but at least they weren't the usual jerks you find in the city. They left you with some basic tools, a few seeds, and a friendly farewell. Just like that, you were immediately thrown into your new life as a farmer.

----------

“Can it literally be any hotter? Ugh. And everything huuuurts.” You wipe the sweat off of your brow and rub your aching arms. You were filthy, sweaty, and in pain, but the first few seeds from your crops were in the ground, and watered. You were already beginning to regret your decision. Sure, working for Joja made you miserable, but at least you weren’t miserable AND in pain. Speaking of, Lewis did mention there was a Joja Mart in town, and given how empty your fridge was, a quick trip to grab some groceries would probably be a good decision while you still have at least some energy.

As you left your new residence, and headed into town, you were a bit overwhelmed by how bright and colorful everything was. You had become so accustomed to the unassuming dull gray of Zuzu City. There were flowers and animals everywhere, and everyone seemed to have a small smile on their face as they wandered around town. It was so drastically different from the city, where everyone carried their head low and rushed to where they needed to go. It wasn’t hard to find the Joja Mart given how much it stood out from everything else in the town; like this giant glob of grey in a field of flowers. You walked in and was immediately greeted with the filtered, yet stale air; the low hum of the fridges; and this empty, depressing, feeling.

“Home sweet home…” You murmur under your breath as you walk in. Most Joja Marts are laid out the same, or have a reversed floor plan. After a few moments to get your barrings, you grab a hand cart and pack it up with snacks, some cheap beer, and head over to the freezers. There was a guy, maybe about your age, wearing the infamous Joja blue. He was restocking the freezers, and looked just about as happy as you did when you worked at the main office.

“Excuse me.” You said, wandering up to the worker. He looked over slightly, barely acknowledging your existence, as he continued working. “Do you guys carry frozen pizzas here? I don’t see any on the shelf.” The worker turned away from you, and started fishing through some boxes. You raised your eyebrow, and was about to ask again when he spoke.

“Cheese, Pepperoni, or Combo?”

“Oh. Uh. Two Pepperonis would be great. Thanks.”

He handed you the square boxes, then went back to stocking without another word. You threw them into your cart and walked up to the register. Guess not everybody in the town is a Robin or a Lewis.

----------

“Well… That will at least get me by until I can get the stove looked at.” You threw the groceries into the pantry and mini fridge, and microwaved a bowl of mac and cheese. It was creeping up to 5pm, which meant Happy Hour! Or hopefully. Lewis had mentioned the saloon in town would be a good way to meet a lot of the people who lived in town, and honestly you could go for a nice mug right now. Something to wear away the edges from the stress of today. You finished your (pathetic) meal, showered, and headed out.

The music was lively, and everything had a warm glow to it. It seemed like 5:30 was when people began filling the seats, chatting with old friends, and gossiping about recent events. You took the far seat next to the fireplace and sipped on your beer. Everyone was already so close and tight knit; maybe coming here wasn’t the best idea. You knew you were going to feel like an outsider for a while, you just didn’t realize how much of an outsider you truly were. Some of these people have roots tracing back generations. They grew up with each other, knew everyone’s likes and dislikes, and even some dirty little secrets. You chugged back your drink and signaled for another round.

After finishing your second drink, you glanced behind you to see someone who looked as outcast as you were. After a moment, you recognized the dead-pan, un-caring look on their face, it was the guy from Joja Mart. You smirked. You knew that look well. You waved over the bartender and ordered another.

You spun around on the bar stool and faced the guy. “Remember, ‘Life’s Better with Joja’.” You said sarcastically, while offering the beer. He looked at you like you were a purple beast with twelve horns and three eyes, but then shrugged and accepted the beer. He looked at the label and gave a brief “Not bad” look, before taking a swig. “The name is _______, by the way.”

“Shane.”

That was the majority of your evening, with very little conversation between the two of you. A night spent by sipping on beers until it was difficult to walk straight. You nodded goodbye to Shane, and stumbled out of the door. Luckily the town was small enough where you could just walk everywhere. You collapsed on your bed, and the first night in Pelican Town came to an end.

[buckyscrystalqueen]

Fresh Start: Part 5

Pairings: Bucky x Reader, Cop!Bucky x Reader

Warnings: Swearing.

Word Count: 2,953

A/N: Got the idea for this one while watching ‘The Town’.

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Why is this necessary?” You asked as you walked up the driveway at the Winchester’s house.

“Because I said so.” Bucky sighed as he pushed the doorbell. You looked over at him with one, final annoyed huff before hiking Jess up on your hip and smiling at the opening door. “I convinced her.” Bucky chuckled as he held out the bag of burger meat, buns, and various bag of chips you had picked up that morning when you picked up holiday decorations and decorations for the house. You had no idea how ‘thank you cookies’ had turned into ‘thank you barbecue and pool party’ but apparently that’s what was happening. “This is my fiancé, (Y/N), and our daughter, Jess.”

“Nice to meet you, (Y/N). Come in, come in. Mary’s just getting Sam and Dean up from a nap.”

“We brought food.” You said, not knowing what else to really say as Jess whined and tried to hide.

“Here, I got it.” John said with a nod as he took the bag from you as you walked past a giant play room that looked like a former formal dining room on your left. “There’s a bathroom down that hall over there, only door on the left if you need to change. It goes straight out to the pool. There’s swim diapers in there for Sam that should fit Jess…”

“Oh, no thank you.” You said as you gave up trying to keep your daughter on your hip and let her straddle your stomach to hide in your throat. “We have a pool, too so we have them.”

“You’re lucky.” He said with a nod as he lead you guys past the kitchen that backed the play room and out to the quaint patio. “Pools are hard to come by here. Beer?”

“Yea, two please.” Bucky chimed in as he set your diaper bag down on the bar that ran along a pass through window to the kitchen. You looked back and moved out of the way as the older of the Winchester boys ran past you and jumped into the pool as fast as he could.

“Dean!” A woman yelled as she walked out on to the patio slowly with Sam’s hand in hers. “Apologize. That was rude.”

“Oh, he’s fine.” You said with a shake of your head as you took your beer from Bucky. “If his biggest issue is he ran past some strangers and jumped in his pool, he’s doing pretty damn good. (Y/N).”

“Mary.” She said with a nod as she shook your hand. “And Sam.”

“When she’s done hiding, this is Jess. Who’s missing out on new friends by hiding.” You tried as you kissed the side of her head. “But she’ll get over it.”

“Well I don’t know about you.” Mary said as she gestured to the pool behind you. “But I’m gettin in. It’s hot.”

“Hot!” Sam repeated as he pulled on his mother’s hand.

“Yea, we’re going.” Mary chuckled as Jess picked her head up to find where the little boy’s voice was. 

“You wanna go play with Sam?” You asked her before taking a sip of your drink and putting it down on the bar by your bag. “You can’t be shy. Man up, little girl. Show these boys you ain’t no pussy.”

“(Y/N)!” Bucky hissed as he flicked your arm. You looked over at him and the giant shit-eating grin John had on his face.

“What? You want her to be a little pussy?”

“You are killing me.” He sighed as you sat down in one of the chairs and took off the dress you had on over Jess’ swim diaper and bathing suit. “You’re really killing me.”

“You love it.” You smiled up at him as you set your daughter down long enough to take off your tank top and shorts.

“Up.” Jess whined as she tried to climb up your leg.

“I know, come on.” You said as you picked her up to go swimming with Mary and the boys.

“So I have water wings and rings galore.” Mary said as you walked down the stairs. “Dean tends to dive through the rings and pops them so we buy them by the case load. And neither of the boys like water wings.”

“Yea… my Ma just chucked us in the community pool.” You giggled as you put Jess in a ring that had a plastic bottom for her to sit on. “You either swam or you were drowning.”

“That’s how we learned, too.”

“I tried to do it with Jess.” You sighed as you looked over at your new friend. “But my lovely fiancé threatened to make me sleep on the couch if I did so she doesn’t know how to swim yet.”

“Really? John was the exact opposite. He practically threw Dean into the pool like a football as I screamed from the kitchen.” You nodded your head and shrugged as you gently pushed Jess toward Sam and his float.

“Yea, I’m not the sensitive one in our relationship. I was raised on the mean streets of Brooklyn, New York by the boys in my neighborhood. I was the only girl my age for like three blocks. And that just kinda stuck. So I don’t coddle. That’s James’ job. I got lucky with that one, too.”

“Isn’t it funny how that always works?” She giggled as she leaned to the side so Dean could get out to jump in again. “You always end up finding the exactly right person to compliment us in the end.”

“True.” You said with a nod as you looked back over your shoulder at the man that literally changed your life in so many ways. “So very true.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I feel so naked.” You sighed as you scratched at your throat where your five gold necklaces usually sat. “’s’not right.”

“Stop scratching, baby.” Bucky said sweetly as he sat down beside you on the couch with a pad of paper in his hands. “All right. Let’s start with the most basic. Hair color.” You groaned and let your head fall back so that your currently wet bottle blonde hair fell back over the side of the couch.

“Why ya gotta go afta the hair?” You asked as you ran your fingers through it for a half second before forcing yourself to stop. You hadn’t before realized you did that at least fifty times an hour, and you were going to try to break that habit with your new personality.

“You can stay blonde.” He said as he wrote other ideas down to help you figure out who you wanted to be. “Or you can let it grow out. It’s up to you.” You sighed loudly and met his eyes before covering your face with your hand.

“Don’t look at me.”

“Hand down.” He said as he reached out to push your hand away from your face, which you were hiding because you didn’t put any ‘hooker make-up’ on for this conversation. You simply had a little bit of eyeliner and some mascara and that was all. “You are gorgeous and you know it as well as I do.”

“Besides the point.” You muttered as you went to run your hands in your hair again before dropping it on the couch cushions beside you and shoving your hands under your thighs. “I feel naked.”

“So we’ll come back to hair color.” Bucky said as he put a question mark beside the idea. “And we need to go shopping for new eyeshadows in natural colors for the make-up part?” You nodded your head because you knew that the blue you loved to wear wasn’t really a respectable color to wear every day. “Alright then. So I found a nice online cooking class on Groupon. Six months, twice a week. They shoot prerecorded videos and post them to the website so you can learn as slowly as you want and watch them as many times as you want as well. And there’s a baking one as well thats the same thing, but once a week for six months that I can sign you up for, too. So you can learn how to cook at your own pace.”

“I’m gunna burn the house down.”

“No you’re not, because I will be right there with a fire extinguisher.” He commented as he drew a line through something else on his list. “So that takes care of cooking. Next is job.”

“I can’t do…”

“Stop.” He interrupted as he looked over at you with a smile and grabbed his phone. “Let’s think about what you can do. Realistically. You are amazing at basic math. You said it yourself that you were good at weighing out weed.”

“So what, become a drug dealer again?” You asked before looking down at the webpage he was showing you.

“Medical Marijuana. They are looking for an assistant manager AND before you start in on not being able to do it, they teach you step by step, to make sure you know the job before letting you go out into the real world and manage their store. So you will be dealing with something you know, and doing a job that is easy. And the best part is, Mary is the owner and manager. So that’s a bonus. She’s looking forward to seeing your application, which I will help you with since I know you’ve never filled one out. Which leads to my next thing, clothes. 

If this is the route you wanna take, you can still wear your necklaces, your earrings, the bracelets and the rings. All of that. You can keep the blonde hair, you can go natural, you could even dye it purple if you wanted to. But your hem lines need to change. Jeans and shirts that cover your bra’s completely. Only a little bit of cleavage. Shorts have to completely cover your ass. Don’t give me that look. I’m trying to help you here and you know it. I’d suggest sneakers and flip flops as well. Your heels won’t be fun. But you will have to remember that you are NOT a Townie in that environment. It won’t be easy.”

“What about Jess?”

“Jessie can go to day care.” He said as he set his pad of paper down on his knee. “There’s a really good one just down the road and she will be just fine. And if none of this sounds like a good idea to you, and you wanna just be a stay at home mom, you can. I should be hearing back about that mechanic’s job today or tomorrow and I’m confident I’ll get it. With that and what we have saved from selling all your cars, my car, and my bike. All the cash you had stored in your mattress at home, all the stuff we took from your brothers place, all the furniture we sold… all that money is just building up interest in a bank. We could live off just that comfortably for two years. At the end of the day though, doll, you are the one that said you wanted to grow up. Now I will stand by you one way or another no matter what you wanna do. So you think about it.”

“Why is this so hard?” You asked as you threw your hands up in the air.

“Because your brother and I coddled you too much, sweetheart.” He said as he tossed his notebook on the table and got up to check on Jess to see if she was still napping and grab you a joint from the dwindling stash you had upstairs. “All because we loved you.”

“No, you just loved that I mulled drugs the best.” You grumbled as you sat forward to grab his notebook to look at his list again. “The boobs and all.” You didn’t even stop yourself from running your fingers through your hair again as you looked at the list of things to change to make you more of an adult. It was all terrifying and yet, you wanted it. “You’ll still love me, right?” You asked your fiancé as you looked over at him as he walked down stairs. “If I do this… if I become this person for you, for us?”

“(Y/N), I will always, always love you. Because I know the person inside of you. The woman that I fell in love with, the mother of our daughter, that’s the woman I love. What the outside looks like doesn’t matter to me. I just know that you will have an easier time with this if you don’t try to fit the Townie into Vegas and instead fit the Vegas into the Townie.”

“That makes no sense.” You huffed as he lit the joint and passed it over to you.

“Then look at it this way. You love drug dealer me, cop me, and mechanic me. You love me no matter what I look like on the outside. Long hair, short hair, and baggy shirts to tight ones. I feel the same way. And this is all up to you, doll. Like I said, you can stay home…”

“I wanna change.” You said with a nod as you looked at the ember at the end of your joint. “I need to or I can’t let go.”

“OK.” Bucky breathed as he reached out and squeezed your leg. “Then we’ll do it together. Always.”

——

You were reorganizing your closet and putting your more ‘slutty’ tops in a box to stash away before your first day at work, when you stumbled upon a box you forgot you had shoved on the top shelf of your closet. You smiled to yourself, and picked up the first photo on one of the two stacks in Jessica’s baby box.

“God, you were so tiny, little girl.” You said to yourself as you looked at the tiny new born laying on your chest in the hospital. You set it back in the box and flipped off the closet light on your way downstairs to show your fiancé. He was laying on one side of the couch with Jess sleeping on his chest while he watched the Yankee’s game on TV. “I’m interrupting your shit team.” You said softly as you simply climbed over the back of the couch beside him. “It’s worth it.”

“Don’t do it.” Bucky growled lowly as you grabbed the remote before he could and muted the TV. “Yankee hating bitch.”

“Look.” You said as you set the box on your lap and showed him the first photo with a smile. He sat up the slightest bit since he had never seen these photos.

“Oh, my God. Look at her.” He whispered as he put his hand on Jessie’s back so she didn’t slip when he sat up. “She was so tiny.”

“Six pounds, two ounces.” You said with a nod as you picked up that stack and handed it to him. “Eighteen inches long. Born August 14 at 7:38 PM. Born at 38 weeks and two days.”

“You should have gone through these before we came here.” He said as he showed you a photo of Thor holding Jessie on your old couch in your old apartment.

“I only kept three with him in it.” You said as you leaned against his side to look at the photos as well. “When she’s old enough, she deserves to know the truth about him… about us. She has that right.”

“We’ll see.” He said with a small nod as he continued to look through the pictures while you picked up the other stack.

“I was always surprised at how small she was.” You sighed as you looked at the out of order stack of your pregnancy. “I looked like a damn balloon.” Bucky glanced over at the picture of you at a barbecue at your brother’s you were holding and did a double take.

“Holy shit. Damn, you are so fucking hot.”

“Stop that.” You said as you pushed his jaw with your fingertip. “That was about a week before she was born.”

“I hate that I missed it.” He said as he looked at the photo of Jess’ first bath. “All of it.”

“You had about as much of a choice about it as I did, sweetheart.” You reminded him. “Holy shit, look at this one.” You giggled as you showed him a photo of the two of you on the night you got engaged. “Your hair was so long. I miss it.”

“Maybe I’ll grow it back out for you.”

“The beard, too.” You said with a side eyed glance. “Fuck I love that beard.”

“The beard is a pain in the ass.” He sighed as he looked at a photo of Jess sleeping on Dakota.

“Yea, but that beard between my thighs felt amazing.” You said as you flipped through the stack in your hands to try and get them organized. Bucky grunted and dropped the photo in his fingers as the fabric of his basketball shorts visibly twitched. “Oh, look at this one…”

“OK, memory lane is closed right now.” He said as he picked up the stack of photos beside him and put them back in the box. “You, upstairs, now.”

“Damn… is it that easy?“ You teased as he got up to put Jess to bed.

“Yes, I’m that easy. Come on, Dakota.” With a small giggle, you put the rest of the photos in the box and left it on the coffee table before turning off the TV and jumping back over the couch to go to bed with your fiancé.

[uh-drarry]

Day 3 - Candy Canes

Day three! Honestly I’m already surprised that I’ve been keeping this up. But it’s been fun! This is from the wonderful list posted by @remus-john-lupin ! Thank you @bisexualronaldweasley for beta-ing! You’re the best!

These are within the universe of my other content, but you do not have to read those to understand these. Also, I won’t be making them all within the same time period if that makes sense, they’ll take place in different years. This one takes place before Harry is even born in my au. Happy December and Happy Holidays!

“Babe, have you seen the posters around advertising the local Christmas market?” Remus asked his boyfriend. “It opens Saturday, can we go?” 

Sirius turned to him, face full of excitement. “Yes! That sounds like fun. I need to find some more presents.” Remus tried not to laugh at that; Sirius also always bought way too many gifts for everyone. But Sirius always said how he wanted to make up for all the horrible Christmases he had when he was younger, so no one complained; they all just stepped up their game too.

When Saturday finally came around, they decided to go later in the day, hoping they’d still be there when it got dark and all the lights came on. 

Bundled up in hats and gloves, they passed a café and stopped inside for something warm to drink on their walk over. Remus ordered a mocha, his usual, but started to regret it after Sirius got a steaming mint hot chocolate. There was even a candy cane on top of the cup.

Sirius caught him eyeing his drink as they exited the shop and turned away with a laugh to shield his drink, “No, don’t even think about it!” 

“Baby,” he whined at his boyfriend. “You have chocolate and a candy cane!” 

Sirius just laughed again, still trying to keep the cup out of reach. “If I give you the candy cane, will you let me drink in peace?”

“Yes!” Remus replied, holding out his hand expectantly as Sirius handed it over.

With a smile, and a cheerful thanks, Remus opened up the mini candy cane, put it all in his mouth, and started skipping lightly down the street.

He could hear Sirius laughing behind him trying to catch up. “Wow, if I knew that would make you so happy, maybe I would’ve handed it over sooner.”

“What, you haven’t learned that candy is the way to my heart? How long have we been dating again?” Remus took his hand and pulled Sirius into a skip with him.

When they finally reached the market, their cups were empty and they were ready to enjoy the crisp afternoon to the fullest. Remus eyed up a scarf a little while later and Sirius immediately bought it for him to wear. In turn, he caught Sirius looking at some cookies in another booth, so of course he swooped in to buy them. They continued their dance of gift-giving all through the market, never actually buying anything for themselves. 

When the Christmas lights finally turned on, Remus couldn’t help but smile. Every stall was outlined with strings of lights, and there were even more lights spread over the walkways and wrapped around the trees.

They ended up in the little square for food where they found a table to sit and enjoy some dinner and mulled wine. Above them, Christmas lights formed a ceiling, arching up in the middle. Remus could see their reflection shining in Sirius’s eyes and he felt himself falling even more in love.

They sat next to each other, Sirius’s legs over one of Remus’s. When they were done eating, Sirius laid his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. Remus turned to kiss the top of Sirius’s head, grabbed his hand, and put his arm around him.

Keeping them cuddled together, Sirius reached into a pocket with his free hand. “I bought something for us.”

“Oh?” Remus asked, lifting his head to look at him. 

Sirius pulled out a candy cane from his coat pocket and handed it to Remus with a mischievous smile.

“Why are there different colors?” Remus asked, inspecting it closely and peeling it open. The candy cane was pink, blue, and red. Sirius just shrugged, so Remus licked it carefully, a bit nervous. It definitely tasted different, but he couldn’t pinpoint it, so he tried it again.

“Oh, I think this one is flavored like candy floss!”

Sirius grabbed the hand that was holding the candy cane and pulled it to his mouth to try. “Oh! That’s tasty!” Before Remus could pull his hand back, there was a crunch and Sirius pulled back with half the candy cane in his mouth.

“Hey!”

“What? Oh, don’t worry, I’ve got more!” Sirius said around his mouthful. He reached back into his pocket and pulled out another candy cane, this time green and white.

“Okay, what flavor is this one, then?”

Sirius shrugged. “Who knows. I didn’t look at the boxes.” Remus watched, amazed, as Sirius kept pulling candy canes out of his pockets to place on their table. Soon, there was a sizable pile of candy canes; red and white, but also black, green, yellow, pink, blue, and even brown.

“What the hell, Sirius, where did you get these?” Remus asked, eyes wide as he took in the pile in front of him.

Finally, Sirius patted his pockets. “Okay, that’s all of them. And well, when you were in line for food, and I ran to the toilets, I passed a stall selling all these candy canes. I asked for one of each on my way back!”

Remus could only laugh at his boyfriend. “You kept those hidden for an hour? I’m impressed.”

“I’m impressed you didn’t sniff them out, Mr. I Steal All of My Boyfriend’s Candy.”

Remus hit his shoulder and then grabbed another candy cane.

He sucked on the new one for all of a few seconds before quickly spitting it out. “What the hell? Here, taste this one.” 

Sirius leaned in and tried it before pulling away with a thoughtful expression. 

“Hmm, I do think that would be mac and cheese.”

“Well I’m glad I’m not going insane,” Remus mumbled. “Who wants a mac and cheese candy cane?”

Sirius shrugged. “They do claim to have every flavor, the guy behind the counter said these aren’t even all of their flavors; they have a whole storefront!”

They proceeded to open and try every single candy cane. In total, there had been 25 different flavors. Remus was honestly impressed, as well as weirded out, by some of the flavors. The chicken one was particularly concerning, as was the one that tasted like gravy. The molasses candy cane was surprisingly good, and he enjoyed the Oreo, green apple, and root beer ones too. They even found a mint one in there.

“What is this shop, anyway?”

“Er, I think it was something like Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Candy Canes?”

Masterlist <- more ficmas found on my masterlist

[atmilliways]

On the 11th day of Dethmas this writer gives to thee…

Dec 23 - Home (or alone) for the holidays

Toki is totally not lonely because his bandmates forgot about him, and Magnus is totally not guilty about rolling with it to sate his own curiosities.

Like Kevin McCallister, it wasn't like Toki tried to get left behind . . . but he's not entirely mad about it, either.

Anyway, this is my first Magnus/Toki fic, so, hmm.

~

Mordhome Alone

“So,” Magnus said as he crossed the threshold. “This is the famous Mordhaus.”

“Yeah, isn’t it cools?” Toki enthused as he ushered the older man inside. 

It certainly was a step up from the crappy apartment they’d had back when Magnus was still in Dethklok. For one thing, he never could’ve broken in to paint REVENGE IS COMING on the walls here. He’d counted at least eleven snipers that he could see on the way in, and knowing both the band’s reputation for over the top security measures and the limitations of his one good eye, probably at least double that number that he hadn’t noticed. If he weren’t here by Toki’s express invitation, he’d be so many different kinds of dead right now. 

He didn’t need any recon inside this place for The Plan—it would never work to pull anything there, not with so much security in every nook and cranny. But he’d always been curious, so here he was. 

“And none of the other guys are here?” Magnus pressed, still looking around. Fuck, this place was huge. (This could have been his.) “Not even Offdensen?”

“Nah,” Toki replied offhandedly, “they thoughts I was on the plane and tooks offs withouts me to goes on a ski trip, ands now they’re stucks in a blizzards. They can’t gets back and I can’t goes theres. So, I calls you!”

Without any warning that Magnus had picked up on, Toki reached out and grabbed his hand. It wasn’t like he threaded their fingers together or anything, but the surprise connection was more than Magnus felt comfortable with, an uncomfortable feeling in his gut that he wasn’t used to at all and had no idea how to label. (He didn’t do guilt; he didn’t do ‘cowed by how open and naively friendly someone was unexpectedly being’ either. It was definitely, one hundred percent neither of those things.)

“Come ons, I shows you around!”

The young guitarist pulled him from room to room, chattering nonstop. It was annoying in an informative, easy to tune out the rambling bits sort of way. This was the room where Dethklok hung out and played video games, this was the room where they hung out to watch tv and eat snacks, this was the room where they hung out in a surprisingly small hot tub for five male billionaires who didn’t seem to like each other’s company that much, this was the cavernous kitchen that they frequented when they wanted more snacks or possibly even a meal. It was endless and irritating, and Magnus didn’t actually want to spend a ton of time with this babbling idiot, but he reminded himself that this was all part of The Plan and sullenly continued to let himself be dragged around and shown all the shit that he could have had, but didn’t. 

He did ask for a drink, though, to blunt the edges. Toki gestured to someone in his blind spot, and moments later a cold beer was handed to him by a hooded servant. 

“And this ams my room,” Toki told him proudly, tugging Magnus into . . . the smallest room he had seen yet. It was basically a stone box with an on-suite. Model airplanes hung from the ceiling, action figures crowded the edges of his bookshelf, and the desk was piled with unfinished projects and puzzles and crap. One of the pictures hanging on the wall over the narrow bed and beneath a double-sided battle axe was an early promo shot of the band, and another was a close-up of some scary zombie-looking asshole’s face, maybe a relative or something. The rest of the walls were mostly just decorated with taped up posters of boats, planets, and sharks. 

“This?” Magnus repeated. “Seriously? You have . . . and entire fucking mansion that’s tricked out with all kinds of cool shit, but this is your room.”

If it had been him, he’d have his own arcade, giant tv, and hot tub in his room, so he could do all those things on his own if he wanted to. Plus a bitching sound system. Plus bigass windows to let some actual fucking light in. Plus . . . god, was that bed from IKEA or something? Was all of this from IKEA? Riches were wasted on this kid, Magnus decided scornfully. He had no idea how to appreciate what he had at his fingertips. 

Toki shrugged. “I gots all the rest of the place if I wants that other stuff, so this ams just all stuffs I mades by myself. Evens the desk, I puts that together. Just Toki’s.” He met Magnus’ incredulous look with a sudden grin and squeezed his hand. “Comes on, let’s go back to the others room and watch a movies!”

~

It wasn’t until halfway through the movie that Magnus wasn’t even paying attention to—he was looking around and trying to appraise the cost and potential EBay value of anything he saw that wasn’t nailed down and small enough to fit in his pocket—that he realized Toki kept scooting closer to him on the couch. That, after all the hand holding, finally started to set off alarm bells. 

Did the poor simple bastard have some sort of crush on him or something? How embarrassing. So embarrassing that he couldn’t decide if he wanted to try and snap a picture to sell to some gossip rags later or not. 

That was totally why he felt weird and jumpy, and only more so once Toki had inched close enough to rest his head on Magnus’ shoulder. A weird, warm, hyper-awareness bloomed anywhere Toki touched him—first his shoulder, then his side, then (Magnus absolutely did not gulp when this happened) his thigh. He had to wrestle down the impulse to start bouncing that leg restlessly, because he didn’t dare shake him off and potentially ruin The Plan. 

So he stayed still. And the thing about the warmth was that Toki was just radiating with it, and the longer he was so close the more it spread. Magnus felt as though he might incandesce at any moment and he fucking hated every second of it. 

He tried directing his attention to the tv and remembered it was December, so Toki had picked a Christmas movie at random. On the giant screen, Sarah Jessica Parker was covered in egg and screaming in a kitchen. Not the best distraction ever. 

“Needs anything?” Toki asked casually, as if everything was just fine and dandy, apparently somehow not noticing that Magnus was on the verge of starting to worry he might have a heart attack. 

“No,” Magnus grunted. A way out would be great, thanks. He remembered he still had a beer in one hand (his fourth or fifth, at this point) and raised his unencumbered arm to glug the rest of it down. 

“You sures?” Toki pressed, looking up at him with guileless eyes. 

Shaking the last few drops out and tossing the bottle down the couch, Magnus started to say Another drink, something stronger this time, but he couldn’t. Toki’s lips pressed warmly, nervously against his, kissing away the aftertaste of beer. 

He had not come prepared for this. 

He didn’t even need to be here, it wasn’t necessary to The Plan. 

Toki was too goddamned nice, inviting him here and showing him around like he genuinely wasn’t a threat, like he was someone Toki actually enjoyed being around. (Magnus thought pretty highly of himself, but even he had to admit that most people didn’t ever appreciate his presence. Or if they did it, usually wasn’t for this long. Jealous douchebags, that’s all they were, the whole fucking human race.) 

Magnus took it anyway. Fuck it, why not? It had been one thing when he was still in his twenties or thirties, hot in a rough-and-tumble bad-boy musician way, getting his share of action after playing a gig at some nothing bar, but at his age and painful lack of fame and fortune, to have anyone this young and ripped pressed up against him was a rare occurrence. He was taking the kiss out of spite, he told himself, and gave back as good as he got. 

Surely he wouldn’t regret this later. 

Toki sighed against his mouth, bright blue eyes fluttering open. “Thanks you, Magnus.”

“Uh.” Magnus fought against instinctively grimacing at the thanks, which he wasn’t used to. He licked absently at his lip, not realizing he was doing so until the tip of his tongue brushed Toki’s lip too and made the other man giggle. Fucking giggle. “For what?”

“For beings here,” Toki told him. “Is nice to nots be alones on Christmas, don’ts you thinks?”

Magnus wanted to say he’d ever particularly noticed Christmas one way or the other before, but for some reason it (the lie) stuck in his throat. “. . . Yeah, I guess.”

Something in Toki’s eyes shifted and he suddenly looked . . . he looked lonely, as familiar a sight as though Magnus was recognizing it in a mirror (which he definitely never did). He wondered what Toki was gunning for here—a friend with benefits, or something more than that? 

Something ‘just Toki’s,’ a little holiday closeness with someone he thought actually cared?

(That thought didn’t make Magnus feel like a two-bit white masquerading as something better, not even a little bit.)

“You wants to sees my room agains?” Toki whispered?

On the tv, sappy holiday ambiance music played as the movie went out of its way to establish that everyone was friendly and happy and appropriately paired up now, all two-by-two sheep marching into Noah’s ark before the winter flood. 

“Sure,” Magnus said. 

He wasn’t a sheep, he told himself, it had just been too long since he’d last gotten laid. 

Christmas had nothing whatsoever to do with it.

[followyoursecretsmutblog]

the lies you tell IV.

Summary: You and Henry dated for 2 very happy years, when it all came crumbling down. Protection was the only thing on your mind. And now, 3 years later, on a lunch with a common friend, you are hit with the lies you told.

the lies you tell. the lies you tell II. the lies you tell III.

“Chris, are you fucking kidding me? You just find out that I dated someone, and that he was just in my home. And you set me up with someone? Are you out of you fucking mind?” I shout, pulling my hair.

This man cannot possibly be this dim!

“Ava, you said it yourself. You guys can’t be together. You are one of my best friends, I can’t just stand by and see you slowly killing yourself because you are too scared to look for love again.” 

“I’m not scared.” I mumble, folding my arms across my chest.

“Yes, you are. Or you would have already dated other men. Or women.” I shoot him a glare, he holds his hands up in fake surrender. 

“There is no one else I want. Henry is all I want.” I say, my voice cracking, arms falling to my side.

“Don’t take this personally babe, but if he wanted you, he would have fixed the problem as soon as you told him what it was.” Chris points out. 

I look down, not able to meet his gaze. “But, I love him.”

I hear movement, and arms wrap around me. “I know. But sometimes love isn’t enough.” Chris whispers, kissing the top of my head. 

I burry my face into his chest, his shirt soaking in my tears. He just holds me, as if he is keeping me from falling completely apart.

Pulling away, I look at him with tear stained cheeks, red eyes and a runny nose, “Do I still have to go on this date?”

Chris chuckles, pushing my hair from my face, “Yes. You aren’t getting out of it.”

“I hate you so much.” I groan, hitting my forehead against his hard chest.

“I love you, too, Ava.” With one last kiss on my head, he spins me around and shoves me toward my room, slapping my ass.

~~

“Who is this dinner with?” I ask, smoothing my hands over my dress, check myself out in the mirror.

I look good. Well, as good as I can.

“It’s a surprise.” Chris replies, poking his head into the bathroom, looking at me. “You look beautiful.”

A smile blush covers my cheeks and I smile at him in return. 

“Everything will be fine, I promise. He isn’t some crazy person who is going to kidnap and kill you. He’s a friend of mine. I think you even met him once.” He explains as you two walk out of your apartment and to his car. “Sweet guy. Totally awkward around pretty girls.” He chuckles.

I turn to face him, stopping dead in my tracks. “What have you told him about me?!” I shriek, eyes wide. 

“That you are helplessly in love with someone and in need of a good night out.” He looks me dead in the eye. “And then some.” Wiggling eyebrows included.

I don’t know what my face was doing, but Chris’ response to it was hysterical laughter.

“I hate you with everything in me right now.” I huff, stalking toward his car once more.

“Come on, Ava! I told him nothing but good things. I swear!” He laughs as he follows behind me, unlocking the door and opening it.

“The date isn’t with you is it?” 

“First, why do you say that with such distaste? I’m wounded, honestly. Second, no. I will not be there. I am only an escort.” I slide into the seat, adjusting myself comfortably.

“I will kill you. I promise.” I grumble as he slides into the driver’s side and starts the engine.

“I would like to see you try.” He chuckles as he pulls away from the carpark.

The time spent driving goes fast. We talk about new projects, vacations and the upcoming holidays. 

“You know you are more than welcome to come home with me. My family loves you.” 

“I actually think I’m going to go home this year. I miss my family, I haven’t seen them properly since I left.” A sad smile falls on my lips at the thought of when I last saw them. Mum and dad were so supportive of me leaving, thinking it would be best if I were to leave London and start fresh. “But thank you, I know I will have a place in your home and that means everything to me.”

Chris just smiles as he changes lanes. “You are always welcome.” There is a beat of silence. “It’s right up here. Having any second thoughts?”

“Yes.” I answer honestly, “But you are right, I need to get out and try something new.”

“Everything will be fine. Just let loose and be yourself.” He pulls up to the curb, signaling to the attendant to hold on for a moment. “The reservation is under my name.”

“Okay. Thank you, Chris.”

 “Ava.” His voice sounding a bit strange, I look up and meet his eyes. “If for any reason you feel uncomfortable, or want to leave you call me, okay? I’ll come back and get you. Okay?” 

“I will. I promise.” I give him a smile and lean over to kiss his cheek. “You are an amazing friend, thank you.” He nods and my door opens.

I step out to Chris calling out the window, “Use protection!” I just flip him off, my smile never faltering. 

The restaurant is nice, a little to posh for my liking, but nice none the less.

“Hello, Miss, can I help you?” The woman at the hostess stand asks.

“Yes, I’m under the Evans reservation. Chris Evans.” I say softly, trying not to bring attention to myself. 

Damn having famous friends.

“Ah! Yes, your other guest had arrived just before you. Please follow me.” With a fake smile and swaying hips, she leads me deep into the heart of the room. 

There are so many people here, some that I recognize from tv and magazines.

“I ordered the 1957, not the 1959!” An older gentleman hollers, causing the poor waiter to tremble slightly.

Ohhhkaaayyyyy, a little too rich for my blood.

I turn my attention back to the hostess as she makes a left turn into a nicely lit corner. “Here you are ma’am. Enjoy your dinner.” She says, gesturing toward a table with a candle in the center.

I let out a small thank you and walk closer, trying to see who the man was before he saw me. But he is facing the window, watching everything pass by in a blur.

Come on, Ava. You are a big girl, you can do this. If anything, it’s just one night. Breathe in and out.

I close my eyes for a second, take a deep breath, and open them back up, taking the final step toward the table.

“Hello, I’m Ava.” I say sweetly, my accent making the ‘Hello’ come out as ‘’Ello’. 

He turns his head, a nervous smile on his face. 

I can’t help but giggle at him, “If it wasn’t Chris, of course it would be you.” Shaking my head, he stands up.

“You know how he is. Like a dog with a bone.” He chuckles, kissing my cheek.

“He’s a child, and we both know it.” I kiss his cheek in return.

With a nod, he pulls away to pull my chair out. Once I sit, he tucks me in and takes his own seat.

“Are you disappointed?” He asks, taking a drink.

“No, of course not. I honestly didn’t know who to expect. But I am happy to see a friendly face.” I look up, meeting the bright blue eyes of Sebastian Stan.

“Chris said this would be your first time out in a while.”

“I am going to kill him.” I roll my eyes as he laughs.

“You know he means well.”

“I could sell him on the black market. Get a pretty penny for him.” I muse as the waiter brings me a glass of wine. “He is very sweet, but sometimes he needs to know he can’t fix everyone’s problems.”

“That won’t stop him from trying.”

We watch the waiter leave after we order, as if we are children waiting for the adults to leave before running amuck. 

I turn back to him, his dark hair and blue eyes reminding me of someone else.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Sebastian asks, settling back in his chair.

“About what?”

“Chris asked me to this dinner for you because he knew I was safe. I’m friends with him, and every time we are together we get along. But, I see that every time you look at me, a piece of you isn’t for this.” He answers honestly.

“Seb, I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t want to be here. You are a great person, and I care for you deeply. I just...” I trail off, looking out the window. 

Breathe.

I turn back to him, seeing no judgment in his eyes. “I haven’t gone out on a proper date in years. I dated a guy and now it’s over. First heartbreak sucks.” I laugh at myself, downing half of my glass.

“I get it. So, why don’t we do this.” He sits forward, arms on the table. I watch him, a sneaky smile playing on his lips. “Fuck the idea of this ‘date’, why don’t we just eat, drink a few beers and talk about whatever we want?”

A genuine smile comes from me, “That sounds perfect.”

“Good.” He nods his head, motions for the waiter. “Two beers please.” And turns back to me. “Now, wanna play twenty questions?”

~~

“I swear to you, he did!” Sebastian says as I laugh so hard my stomach hurts.

“There is no way! You have got to be lying!” My sides hurt, I have no idea how I am standing up right. “I know he is a free spirt, but to go skinny dipping? In the middle of winter with all his cast mates? He wouldn’t.”

“I have proof.” I look at him, eyes wide.

“No.” I lean against the wall outside my apartment door, a hand over my heart. 

“I do.” He fishes his phone from his pocket, trying to find the video.

“You have a video of Chris. Naked. On your phone?” I wheeze, tears falling.

He stops scrolling, looks at me and nods. “Of course, I do, he’s my friend.” As if it was the most normal thing in the world. “Here it is!” Turning the screen to face me, I watch my drunken friend get undressed and decides to go for a swim.

“He is an absolute nut-case!” I lay my head on Sebastian’s shoulder, both our bodies shaking from laughter. 

“I was lucky to get it on camera! I was actually trying to get me singing, but this was way better!” He howls.

We stand there for a moment, one of his arms loosely wrapped around me and my head on his shoulder.

“Thank you, Sebastian. Tonight, was wonderful. Better then I could have imagined.” I say as I pull away. 

“Of course. I enjoyed tonight as well.” 

“Maybe we can do it again?” I ask, uncertain if he would even want to.

Why would he? I already told him I am emotionally unavailable. He can do so much better.

“I would like that. It was nice getting to know you. Maybe next time it can be more casual.”

“Yeah, not a huge fan of lavish things.” I giggle.

“I’ll call you.” He smiles, leaning down and kisses my cheek. “Until next time, Ava.”

“I look forward to it.” I put my key in my lock and turn, watching him at the elevator doors close.

I sigh as I push the door open. Tonight wasn’t bad at all. It wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable. 

I close the door and kick my shoes off as my phone rings.

Chris.

“Isn’t it past your bedtime?” I answer.

“I just wanted to make sure you made it home safely.” He defends.

“I did, thank you. Sebastian was nice enough to walk me to my door.” I pick my shoes up and walk to my room.

“That’s good. How was it?” 

“It was fine. We decided to just hangout instead of making it a big deal.” Tossing my shoes in my closet, I start on unzipping my dress. 

“Well I’m glad. I knew he was a good choice!” Chris laughs, I can hear Dodger barking in the background.

“Yes, yes. Seb was a good choice.” My straps fall down my arms, “At least you picked someone I had something in common with.” 

I turn around, dress falling to the ground, phone slipping and landing with a sharp crack as a small scream falls from my lips.

“Ava? Ava! Are you there? Answer me!” Chris shouts, his voice getting increasingly louder and more aggressive. When I don’t answer, he curses, “Fuck it, I’m on my way!”

I don’t move, my body trembling at the man sitting in my desk chair. I open and close my mouth, trying to say something, but nothing comes out.

The man stands up and take a step toward me.

Tag-list: @thiccgeralt - @mary-ann84- @omgkatinka - @suueeeeeee - @hell1129-blog​

A/N: Can you tell I’m a whore for dark haired men with blue eyes?

Also, feedback is greatly appreciated! 

[bananaofswifts]

Never be so polite you forget your power,” sings Taylor Swift at one point on evermore, her second surprise album release in less than six months. Shortly afterward, she follows that statement up with “Never wield such power you forget to be polite.” It’s a line Swift has been trying to walk in recent years, both professionally and creatively, and it’s not a bad summary of the glorious new album, which offers bold and striking new sounds while still coming across as a generous pandemic offering to her ride-or-die fans at a time when they may need her more than ever.

Swift also leans even harder into the new kind of storytelling that she explored on folklore, which was released just as suddenly in July to thunderous acclaim, became the biggest-selling album of the year, and is currently in the running for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards. Reaching back to her country roots in strategy if not in execution, she’s spinning narratives that, for the first time, reach outside of her own experience, sometimes examined from multiple perspectives. As evermore tackles big city disappointments and small-town dreams, crime, and (as always) heartbreak, we witness her songwriting becoming mature, even literary.

Quick tip: Do not play poker with Taylor Swift. She had plenty of chances to tease this new project in recent weeks—from the headfake she delivered when she accepted the American Music Award for Artist of the Year and noted that she was taping her acceptance speech in the studio where she’s currently re-recording her old albums (seeking vengeance for the second sale of those albums’ master recordings) to the lengthy Q&A in Entertainment Weekly that came out earlier this week but made no mention of new music. Yet first thing Thursday morning, she revealed in a post that her ninth studio album would come out less than 18 hours later, two days before her 31st birthday (“Ever since I was 13, I’ve been excited about turning 31 because it’s my lucky number backwards,” she wrote).

Swift indicated that evermore is intended as a “sister record” to folklore, but while this album is clearly an extension of the shimmery indie-rock/singer-songwriter direction unveiled on the previous record, it’s definitely not just leftovers from those sessions; it stands on its own as yet another triumph in a remarkable career. If it’s less consistent than folklore, it’s also looser, experimental, both softer and louder, chilly and warm—ever more.

The intimate, classic-yet-modern sound of folklore (recorded in secret and untroubled by the necessities of touring and promotion and avoiding Swift’s usual glossy and bright production) drew much of the attention, but there were clear precedents to that approach in songs of hers like “Clean,” “New Year’s Day,” and “The Archer.” More radical was her shift away from using her songs as diary entries to writing stories and sketches in the voice of characters, both fictional and real.

Swift mostly left it to listeners to connect the dots in the love triangle that ran through multiple songs on folklore. This time, though, she spelled out her intentions explicitly in a flurry of social media activity (even taking fan questions in the chat window during the YouTube premiere of the video for the opening track, “Willow”). She noted how the evermore songs “mirrored or intersect[ed] with one another,” pointing out the “two young con artists who fall in love,” “the girl who left her small town to chase down Hollywood dreams—and what happens when she comes back,” and “the ‘unhappily ever after’ anthology of marriages gone bad that includes infidelity, ambivalent toleration, and even murder.”

The strongest of these songs stand with her best work. “Tolerate It” is a devastating depiction of a love gone—not exactly cold, but harrowingly lukewarm. “’Tis the Damn Season” is the aforementioned tale of the celebrity returning home for the holidays, and you can’t help wonder if this one is a situation that hits close to her own heart. The twangy “No Body, No Crime” not only features her friends (and former opening act) Haim, it names the central character Este (how meta!) as it recalls the gleeful revenge of the Chicks’ “Goodbye Earl” and the swagger of Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats.”

Aaron Dessner of The National was the primary producer of folklore, but Swift’s longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff handled six of that album’s songs; here, it’s truly Dessner at the helm, credited with all but one of the fifteen songs on the standard edition of the album. Moving away from Antonoff’s pop chops (he picked up the remaining track, the pulsing “Gold Rush”) makes the pleasures come more from sonic details and nuances rather than big hooks.

The songs are less linear structurally and texturally, and the credits are littered with instruments like glockenspiel, modular synth, pocket piano, and chord stick. A glitchy rhythm track powers “Long Story Short,” while the clangy “Closure” is damn near industrial. Dessner’s band is officially credited on one song, but its members appear throughout evermore; Bon Iver returns after folklore’s aching duet “Exile,” this time playing and singing on multiple songs, and Marcus Mumford turns up on the finely-etched grifter’s tale “Cowboy Like Me.” (William Bowery, who Swift outed as her boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, on the Disney+ special Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, gets three co-writing credits here, and even contributes the piano part on the closing title track.)

Not all of the stretches work: “Coney Island,” the duet with the National’s Matt Berninger, strains for “poetic” imagery, with the awkward refrain “Sorry for not making you my centerfold,” while the pairing with Bon Iver on “Evermore” doesn’t recapture the chemistry they found the last time. But damn, the girl can still write a punch line. “I come back harder than a ‘90s trend,” she sings on “Willow,” while on “Closure,” she drops a perfect post-breakup snapshot— “Don’t treat me like some situation that needs to be handled/I’m fine with my spite, and my tears and my beers and my candles.” Swift even seems to nod to the debacle of the Cats movie in the title track, acknowledging that “motion capture put me in a bad light.”

“I have no idea what will come next,” wrote Swift in one of her posts during the brief countdown to the release of evermore. “I have no idea about a lot of things these days.” But there’s little uncertainly in this confident, daring record—a surprising yet natural next step in Swift’s evolution—which feels like it will continue to reveal itself over repeated listens. In the chilling “Happiness,” she sings, “I haven’t met the new me yet,” meaning both her own replacement in a broken relationship and the person who will rise from those ashes. I can’t guess which Taylor Swift we will get next, but I can’t wait to meet her.

[lovely-but-tired]

Pansy cursed as the harsh wind bit as her skin despite the fur coat that sat on her shoulders pulling it tighter she ducked into Twilfitt and Tattings. Puffing out a sigh as embraced the warmer air and let her coat hang around her shoulders.

She smirked at the maze of fabulous dressing gowns all made by the best designers and sold to the wealthiest witches and wizards. She loved the place and its attentive staff that always strived to make each guest feel welcomed and comfortable and ready to give every gallion they owned or more. But the staff wasn't being as attentive as usual. Madame Trance hasn't even come to greet her. In fact she didn't seem to be in the front at all. Waltzing further in with a strut that told any other customers she wasn't to be messed with she set off to find the rode maker.

She was really just looking for herself and find a dress on her own but she preferred being tailed. To be pampered and complemented with each dress she tried on. To be served fine wine and coddled with cucumber sandwiches. She pouted to herself as she wandered the store for five minutes with not even a word of recognition. Moving along she thought about causing a scene reminding the old bat that she was one of the few pureblood families able to buy from the overpriced shop. Had she forgotten most of her precious pure blood customers were serving time damn it.

Whilst in her inner temper tantrum a voice cut through her thoughts like a knife completely drawing her attention and her furry.

"The Nargles infestation is absolutely terrible in here. With all this mistletoe I'm surprised she has a robe left to sell." The voice was so blunt and dreamy almost as if she had been picked up and thrown unceremoniously into the past.

She could picture it plain as day, see it in her mind so clearly it was rage inducing. She could see the dotty girl round the corner with her oversized sweater and robes her necklace with the ugly butter beer corks. Her wand would be resting behind her ear as she stared up at the missile toe with wide eyes. Could the girl even afford to step through these doors? The thought gave her such satisfaction till she remembered rather bitterly that yes she could.

"I wish mum would let us put it up round the burrow. We could get so many people this Christmas. Perhaps even rig it up pop fireworks when two people step under it" The second voice was male but still dreamy and assured. It was laced with mischief.

"Aboslutly brillant idea Ries. Think Uncle Gorgie might even put that into his holiday collection. Perhaps even help us set them up?" The voice seemed the same but so laced with that of a naughty scheming child that it was almost appalling. She didn't even think she could sound so innocent while being so vile.

She wanted to turn the corner. She wanted to turn and see them and sneer and immediate them but now she wasn't so sure she could. They seemed in a class of their own. Then a much older yet still familiar voice spoke.

"Scheming again are we?" He asked and the two seemed to meet his challenge.

"Oh yes very much" the boy answered bluntly. "Having fun is the point of the holidays, after all" he sounded so dreamy and so blunt so much like their mother. The thought made her sneer.

"Is it having fun or forcing me another step towards my grave?" He asked his tone more playful then she had ever heard it.

"Just a step?" The girl interjected. "I thought we'd at least have your foot in the grave by now."

The man gave a sarcastic laugh then told them just as bluntly to go help their sister.

"Draco" she mocked stepping from around the corner only to be thoroughly disappointed she had thought that the combination of her presence and saying his name would upset him but he stayed relaxed, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Then again he had changed over the past few years for the worst that is.

"Didn't think I'd see you here. Isn't this place a little high class for people like yourself?" His features didn't change; he simply acknowledged her existence by turning his gaze towards her.

"Is there a point you want to make Parkinson?" He asked in a bored tone but was different than the one she knew. It was just bored not arrogant and pompous it was if he was bored with her existence. It infuriated her.

"I'm just saying that perhaps Madame Trance doesn't know just how much mud your lot is tracking in." She had wanted a reaction; she wanted to see anger flare in his eyes and him to snap just as easily as he used to.

"It's just business. Buying and selling and all that. As long as I can pay the price I don't think she minds" He answered as if he were brushing her off.

"You're paying the price alright. My mum says that your family's status is in the mud. Ive heard you shacked up with a blood traitor then you pulled a Weasley." Crossing her arms she searched his face looking for something, a clench of the jaw, the balling of his fist but still she was given nothing.

"Oh how the Malfoy name has fallen! Even your parents couldn't even keep their heads straight. Letting that Blood traitor into their home was shameful and the little half breed. Did they lose their brains in the war along with their nerve letting the child of a werewolf into their home. There about as daft as your wife" She finally got something a twitch in his eyebrow must have hit a nerve. Oh how she loved hitting nerves it like gold really.

"Where is she anyway? Hunting those invisible creatures? Heard those two talking about them twins aren't they perhaps they were born with halves of the same brain believing in that rubbish." His grey eyes turned quickly to hard iron and she knew she was getting somewhere then suddenly they softened back to stormy grey. Then she was confused, completely and utterly confused.

"Daddy do you think Grandma will like the blue or the green. I think blue." A girl came into sight, Madame Trance trailing behind eagerly her elegent dresses drapped over her arms.

"Though I suppose the Lavender would match her skin tone but the grey has the most subtle hints of violet. I suppose we'll have to get them all" Upon hearing this the woman stared down at the little customers with glee nodding her head vigorously. "Then the turquoise one for Mrs. Weasley?" The shopkeeper suddenly stopped nodding a small frown crossing her features.

Pansy couldn't help but smirk ready to watch the show.

"Is there a problem with whom we will be buying for?" The girl asked noticing the sudden hesitation, rounding on the women her straight silvery blond hair swishing as she turned. "Surely we won't have to take our business elsewhere as I had a few dresses I was looking at myself. But if you have a problem with where your products will be going after bought I won't hesitate to drop all Malfoy business with this shop" her words were cold, calm and calculated. Each word held venom and air of high importance.

It was as if she was looking at a young Narcisa in her prime. She watched as the shopkeeper gapped like a fish for a moment fumbling over words shaking her head vigorously.

"No no of course not! Course not!" Her voice rang shrilly, her eyes going wide.

"Right what I thought" she responded brushing the women off then turning to her father.

"I suppose you should throw in the powder blue one then" He added and she nodded as if thinking the same thing.

"Come along we need to go find Mrs. Weasleys new robes" The women followed like a puppy wanting a treat.

She was gobsmacked completely gobsmacked the young girl played the woman like any pure blood brat and she did it with complete confidence. Didn't she know her family wasn't seen as anything more then cowards. That their name was ruined well before her time. Yet she played Madame Trance like it was a mere pawn on a chess board.

"Dad why do I have to be here?" A boy asked, coming into sight. His hair as silvery blond as his sisters falling around his grey eyes. He looked bored and aggravated.

"You're the one who said you wanted to come Christmas shopping" his father told his simply.

"I was planning on meeting James at Quality Quidditch. Or before him so I could get the lighting bolt before him" the boy stressed gaining no sympathy from his father. "Well now you two can get it together."

"Why does Scorp not have to hear here but I do?"

"Scorpius went with Luna to the tea shop and from what I remembered you picked 'the lesser of two evils' the boy groaned but walked off mumbling under his breath.

"Are you dad's friend?" She nearly jumped out of her skin she hadn't even heard them approached yet now she had two children on both sides of her.

They looked up with big eyes of powdery blue eyes that held mischief beyond her imagination. Their dirty blond hair curled round their eyes as it hung in waves down the girls back.

"No, I don't think she is," the boy answered.

"Why do you think that?"

"We've never seen her before. Think we'd remember her face. Don't you?"

"Yeah we would."

They exchanged glances then suddenly shrugged uninterestedly with her leaving her like she was rubbish on the ground.

She felt flustered, embarrassed , angry , oh so angry. She nearly started venting when the mother of them all came floating in. Her long red and green robe flowing round her shoulders and an assortment of holly in her hair. It made her almost sick to look at. Beside her was a little boy who stayed close clinging to her hand.

He was exactly what Draco once looked like. Straight pointed features pushed back platinum blond hair and grey eyes. There was no difference really other then that wide curious expression.

"Hello Pansy it's been quite a while" the woman greeted in the same fashion of calm as she did in her younger years.

"Your children are brats did you know that" the words shot from her lips like bullets.

She didn't feel like she was lying though. So far one had bullied a shopkeeper into submission the other had complained about being there and the two creepy ones had already started talking about pranks and were very rude to her.

"Have they been acting out?" She asked her husband.

"No there, about as normal as always" he offered and she nodded.

"Do you have children?" She asked, tilting her head. "Surely you understand that very hard to handle."

Pansy gritted her teeth. "No I don't have children. Though if I did they would more well mannered"

"Perhaps but I like my children the way they are."

"Ginny will be round soon. Had Gemini finished her Christmas shopping?" And now she was being ignored; it was as if she wasn't standing in between the two!

"More Weasleys, how far has your family sunk Malfoy?" She shot at the man behind her not bothering to turn.

"I like to think my family has grown. Whatever we've lost wasn't that important to begin with" Luna smiled as the boy next to her beamed at his father's words. They looked as if he had said something extremely pleasant. She herself had heard rubbish and pure nonsense.

"Whatever you lost wasn't that important!?" She nearly bellowed whipping around to look at him.

"You and your parents have made themselves blood traitors. Publicly!" She felt anger pouring out of her words. "Your mum and dad were once highly respected and now they're going out for tea with that Mudblood lover as if it were nothing. There was a chance Draco! A chance for your parents to have even the slightest bit of redemption and look at what they have done. You could have been there saving grace married respectively and reminded them what pureblood supremacy is. You could at least have some sort of shame in what you and your family have lowered themselves to be!" She was breathing heavily taking in a large breath.

"The woman that you're speaking of is my aunt." She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.

"You mean the werewolf supporter. My mums told me all about that half breed. Honestly those things are dangerous and you've had one in your house!" There was a flash in his eye but he kept a straight face. He seemed to get ready to speak when his voice cut him off.

"Did you just call my cousin a thing?" The voice seethed as she saw the boy who had complained before his eyes filled with malice.

"He is a thing" she knew instantly that she had said the wrong thing. The boy's laid back posture straightened his jaw set.

"A woman with the features of a pug animagious gone horribly wrong has any right to judge others?" He asked though it was obviously rhetorical.

"You are talking to a superior little boy. I suggest" he cut her off with a laugh, his eyes narrowing.

"We're both pure blood. The only difference is that you lack a moral compass and I lack your narrow minded views." His arms crossed, staring at her like she was filthy, his gaze was searing.

"Is there a problem?" The girl asked Madame Trance trailing behind her currently holding multiple robes she looked absolutely terrified looking between the two.

"No no my dear no problem" Trance started in attempting to cover the situation. "You've gathered everything you wanted so we should have Lord Malfoy check out yes yes that's what we should do." The girl's eyes shot over to look at the seamstress, her gaze piercing.

"Puggy over there called Teddy a thing." The boy seethed crossing his arms.

"If this" she paused scanning the dark haired women as if she wasnt sure how to address her. "Women has something she would like to say. I suggest she say it then promptly leave" she was taken aback by her declaration she had never been treated with such disrespect by a child.

"Leave?" Both the seamstress and heiress found themselves saying.

"Yes leave I don't want her in here while I'm doing business" she crossed her arms then looked up at the women who looked uncertain at the request. "Mrs.Parkinson's is a very loyal customer at my shop" Trance's voice quivered as she tried to reason with the younger girl.

"Well then if she is so loyal she'll be able to come back when we leave which will be very soon if she's not gone sooner rather than later" Trance looked past her to her father then to her mother both seemed to be telling her they had no control of this situation.

"Ms. Parkinson, you have made my customer's very uncomfortable. Would you leave them be and stop disturbing them." The girl looked unsatisfied by the sudden alternative but before she could voice it her mother moved to place her hand on her shoulder.

"Them? Their mere presence has disturbed me. This is supposed to be a filth free establishment. Yet all I see is tainted blood!"

"Just leave them be Ms. Parkinson or I will have to ask you to leave" she told her in a broken tone.

She felt defeated looking around at the family with a sneer curling on her lip. But holding her head high she strutted away giving a look of burning hatred at the man she once knew. There was a snicker from behind one of the shelfs the two wide eyed children walked past her, the boy telling his sister that he was completely right. She huffed and resisted the urge to strangle children.