#she also waited 6 more months to get married meaning she lined her marriage up to roughly the two year anniversary.

[vickyvicarious]

"Only seventeen months," replied Dantes. "Oh, you do not know what is seventeen months in prison!—seventeen ages rather, especially to a man who, like me, had arrived at the summit of his ambition—to a man, who, like me, was on the point of marrying a woman he adored, who saw an honorable career opened before him, and who loses all in an instant—who sees his prospects destroyed, and is ignorant of the fate of his affianced wife, and whether his aged father be still living! Seventeen months captivity to a sailor accustomed to the boundless ocean, is a worse punishment than human crime ever merited. Have pity on me, then, and ask for me, not intelligence, but a trial; not pardon, but a verdict—a trial, sir, I ask only for a trial; that, surely, cannot be denied to one who is accused!"

+

"So that," said the abbe, with a bitter smile, "that makes eighteen months in all. What more could the most devoted lover desire?" Then he murmured the words of the English poet, "'Frailty, thy name is woman.'"

I was a little annoyed at Edmond reacting like this, because even though his bitter feelings are understandable, it's not like it would have made sense for Mercedes to put her entire life on hold when everything she knew said he was dead. She was poor and alone and someone she thought of as family offered her a way out, I understand her taking it. Not to mention, she obviously felt deeply conflicted about the choice and clearly still loved Edmond. But, well... she did agree to marry Fernand only a month after Edmond was begging to be told what he had even been imprisoned for. Add in her getting married in the same church she was supposed to marry him (probably a way to honor his memory in her mind) and to one of the people who put him in prison (though she didn't know), and... yeah. I get why he's pissed.

[galactic-pirates]

@ussjellyfish and @purlturtle 🤗🤗 two tags, I feel so wanted. Thank you guys!! ❤️

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

82. More than half are Once Upon a Time as that was the fandom I started writing with my AO3.

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

942,705 which is annoying. I have quit fanfic for the time being and not having made the million is disappointing. I mean I have written more than a million I am sure as I never cross posted anything from my fanfic.net account and I have some on my HD I never posted.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

None at the moment. I still have much affection for Sanctuary, Warehouse 13, The Librarians and Star Trek. There were a number of ideas on my list that I never got round to writing. I feel nostalgia for it but with my spoons (or lack thereof lately) I have to choose. I can’t write original and fanfic, and for now I am wanting to write original.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Fall All Over Again (Once Upon a Time) - 181

Before the first Dark Curse the Evil Queen had a paranoid moment, which meant in cursed Storybrooke, Gold and Lacey were married. Therefore when Belle falls over the town line - Lacey returns. Everyone is shouting at her, and everything is wrong, so Lacey does something she never did once in 28 years of marriage, she turns to Gold for protection. In turn Rumplestiltskin does something that Gold never did in 28 years of marriage - he tells Lacey that he loves her. Belle loved him, so can Lacey fall for him all over again or will the curse mask true love forever?

and the Brighter side of Life (The Librarians) - 150

When Eve takes Flynn home, to meet her parents, she realises with dawning horror that he’s the first serious boyfriend they’ve ever met. The secrets of the library mean her parents know so little about her life, and her new status as an immortal threatens to create a gulf between them. But for now she still has her parents, and it seems if her mom has anything to say about it, the entire annex has gained her parents too.

Painting Layers of Love (Once Upon a Time) - 137 [Abandoned/Incomplete]

Belle French lives alone and she likes it that way. She’s lived alone ever since the terrible car accident which killed her mother and claimed her eyesight. Belle spends her days painting, in complete solitude, until one day she wakes up and hears movement outside. Somebody has moved into the cottage next door. She had grown comfortable in her solitary existence until Mr Gold crashes into her life. Now her future is uncertain, like a blank canvas, waiting for her to apply the paint and decide what kind of story she is creating.

All I Needed (Once Upon a Time) - 129

When Emma told her high school sweetheart Neal, that she was pregnant a month before graduation, she didn’t know what to expect. The last thing she expected to find was a family, and a place to call home.

Transposing Digits (Once Upon a Time) - 122

The phone in the library had always been silent, until one day it started ringing. Belle French answers it and discovers that life really can turn on a dime - or in this case a wrong number.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes mostly. AO3 has stopped emailing me even though my profile says I should get them (I have checked and they aren’t in spam) and if I delay too long I feel awkward about replying. Also sometimes I don’t if I am unsure what to say. But mostly yes I do reply because every comment I receive is treasured, and I want them to know I am grateful.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don’t really do angst - I am Team Happy Ending all the way. My first thought was “The Beauty and the Tragedy” (Once Upon a Time) because the original ending was totally angsty. But I felt bad as even though it was poetic it was sad, so I added an alternate ending happy ending the very day I posted. So I think probably “Ghost of a Memory” (Timeless) as that was just pure pain. Both of these were character death, so not like me.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Oh man I have quite a few pure fluff. The most sickly sweet zero angst, zero anything but sugar though is probably the amusing (for the question) titled “Happy Ending” (Sanctuary). My OT3 got married.

8. Do you get hate on fic?

Fortunately I don’t think I have. I don’t think I am popular enough to have attracted it. I did once get two commenters arguing with each other which didn’t feel good.

9. Do you write smut?

Not anymore really. I did for a time. It was a very big thing in the Rumbelle fandom and I wanted to fit in. I don’t regret it as it was a good writing exercise, and it allowed me to explore a wider range of ideas. However, once I started to drift from the fandom I lost the urge to write it. I wrote mild smut (more feelings) in my Time Will Tell (Sanctuary) fic as it was an important part of the character development/plot. I think if I ever write it again it will be along those lines.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Yes. I have written a couple. They are always the most fun. It’s great to put certain characters together like I loved having Nikola Tesla (Sanctuary) and Claudia (Warehouse 13) meet. I regret that in that crossover I didn’t manage to get HG and Helen ‘on screen’ together. The name clash aside, they are two fascinating women who have a lot in common. I did have on my ideas list more of a Warehouse 12/Sanctuary crossover (with time travelling Myka) but I never got round to writing it. My problem is my fics are so long and writing basically novels is time consuming. Anyway one of the easiest ways to crossover is I have something of a hobby of basically taking the Ancients (Stargate precursors) and seeing how many universes I can crossover with them as a backdrop. Such fun.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not of which I am aware.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Don’t believe so.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

You may laugh as this but I am 99% sure the answer is no, and yet I have some weird paranoia that says maybe? It’s like I think I have forgotten something. Yet I am sure the answer is no. Stupid brain.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

When I’m obsessed I am really obsessed. Like I go all in super hard. But like a flame the hotter I burn, the shorter it tends to live. Afterwards it’s not that I don’t like it anymore, it’s just that it’s not an all consuming thing, and then I find something else to go crazy about.

But that being said if I have to pick one then I will probably say Bering and Wells (Warehouse 13) as it seems to have the most sticking power thus far. I do wonder if that’s because I fell into it when I wasn’t writing, so my obsession (like a fire) was banked and therefore has lingered long term. I still like to take part in the gift exchange every year. And next year if I have the spoons I would like to put together a Bingo for the fandom. With having given up fanfic I’m not really active in any other fandom at the moment. I would like to do some more fanart but aforementioned spoon shortage - it’s a problem.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but probably won’t?

Beyond the Lake. It was a Rashoman Job inspired Librarians fic, crazy complicated which is why it didn’t get done but the concept compels me. I can call this a WIP as I did write a couple of chapters. There was also my Noir Warehouse 13, I had I don’t know 10 pages or so starting on that? But alas never to see the light of day.

16. What are your writing strengths?

95% or so of the time I finish what I start. I have a couple of abandoned fics on AO3 (guilt, guilt) and yeah there’s a few on my HD. But I have written several long novel length fics, and they did get done. So I think I have reasonable discipline.

I’m also never short of ideas. I can come up with something for any prompt if required (probably), and I do like my ideas. I mean I suppose I would (they are mine) but yeah I think the ideas are good. I sometimes doubt my ability to realise them but the ideas themselves, solid.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Many.

I used to think my biggest issue was description but while that does need serious work, I have a far bigger problem - my characters think too much. They don’t talk to one another. When they have a problem they think about it, no conversation. It makes it very static and not much action or banter.

Truthfully I think it’s because I personally think about everything far too much. I don’t talk to people with speaking (I type on discord a lot) but actual conversations? Barely ever. Mum checks in on FaceTime with me almost every day but if it wasn’t for that I would go literal weeks without talking to a soul probably. So anything that happens I am hardwired to think about it - not talk about it - ergo I have absolutely no idea how to craft conversations. What do people talk about?

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

You know it’s funny I have been contemplating this in my serial recently This particular case is set in France and so a lot of people should be speaking French. In the end I decided not to worry about it for the first draft. I think in revision I will sprinkle in some flavour words (like please, thank you etc.) and then keep the dialogue in English but try and make it sound like a plausible speech pattern for them. Maybe say it’s in French but if my character speaks French, then they understand so it’s written in English. I don’t know. It’s like when I try and write Sanctuary with The Five from the 19th century, they sound very different from someone like Claudia who is all pop culture references. I want it to feel accurate but also the reader needs to understand and in novels having a variant of subtitles might be annoying.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

This says wrote for, not published. I am relatively sure I wrote some self-insert Famous Five adventures when I was about six (long before I knew fanfic existed). I definitely messed around with some Diagnosis Murder when I was 9 (again before I knew fanfic existed). Obviously, when I was 11, The Royal/Heartbeat was the first actual fandom, with the posting and everything. I explained how that came to be before.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Ooof. I think… I really liked and the Sins of Atlantis the Librarians/Sanctuary crossover. It was entirely self-indulgent and a lot of fun. I also had fun with the Odyssey: Future’s Legacy (Warehouse 13/Sanctuary) crossover. The Star Wars fusion Across the Stars I did for Once Upon a Time was also cool. Sometimes I have these ideas and they just work for me, they like click something in my brain and unroll and mesh together, and just yes. The Beauty and the Tragedy doesn’t even read to me like I wrote it, there’s a clever poetic twist that is so unlike me. I have a soft spot for quite a few fics. It’s not that I think I wrote them well (I didn’t) but the ideas sing to me. I am my own audience in this respect.

But I think ultimately my answer has to be Between Two Fires, a Once Upon a Time fic. Set on a made-up sci-fi world. I could picture it clearly and it riffs off the Jack and Irina relationship in Alias. It was quite a short fic but there is so so much more of it in my mind. Truthfully one day that will probably get expanded and changed to be an original novel trilogy. I have notes. That fic just stuck with me, there is something there to be developed.

Tagging: @tinknevertalks, @ladyelysandra, @enterprise-come-in, @sarcasticsciencefictionwriter, @urban-trek-thru-middle-earth

The questions!

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

3. What fandoms do you write for?

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

8. Do you get hate on fic?

9. Do you write smut?

10. Do you write crossovers?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but probably won’t?

16. What are your writing strengths?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

19. First fandom you wrote for?

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

[houseofbrat]

Never thought they'd announce divorce before the reality show is released. It also depends how big part of the book their "love story" is. They might announce anytime after Dec 9th, but if Megs has anything to do with the timing, I wouldn't be surprised if it's Christmas or the weekend of Jan 6th-8th. It completely overshadows the memoir and more importantly for her, Kate's birthday. Other than that, the timeline of +- 3 months around March 2023 seems very plausible, as the show and book are the last projects they have lined up.

Everybody knows they live well above their means, have no other sources of major income, burned almost all of their bridges and are painfully slow to release any content (2 years for a 12 episode podcast with 28 producers and a 6 episode reality show? That isn't going to pay off to any company). To book anything else, they would need to either have a baby #3 (seems impossible right now but who knows with them), divorce or start cashing on the children - not sure if it's something Harry would agree on while they're still married, and it would overshadow Megs, so divorce is the only answer.

Given the rumors that H&M wanted the reality show released in January and Netflix said December or never, I just assumed it was going to be never. Particularly when no promotional material from Netflix appeared in November. Meghan must have really sucked it up and signed the approval for Netflix to air it in December.

I’m curious to see how next week is. Will he attend the Rumor of Nope award next Tuesday? Where will he spend the Christmas holidays? I still remember seeing a gossip article from somewhere saying he was going to be back in the UK for Christmas. That option seems more likely given the rumors that allegedly he is “NEVER home” in Montecito. 

I don’t think divorce is a pr move for them. I think Harry has really had it and wants out. I think Meghan doesn’t know what else to do except her “look at me, look at me” pr moves in the press. 

I think if we strip down all of the recent pr moves of them together, I bet most of them were filmed months ago. The Invictus promo that appeared yesterday was supposedly filmed before The Queen passed. Supposedly Elton John’s tour was affected by her passing as well; someone on reddit mentioned there was some kind of delay involved due to it. If that is true, then the two most recent pictures of them together are not that recent and are old. 

I’ve seen it theorized that the recent picture of Meghan, Doria, and Archie together that was released this week is some kind of warning to Harry. 

I just get the impression from everything that is ramping up--particularly with what has happened in the last two days--that Meghan is going to jump the shark and do something nuclear-level crazy, probably with her acceptance speech on Tuesday.

We’ll just have to wait and see how things are on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Maybe she is going to appear on Jimmy Fallon as a “surprise.” I just think Meghan’s pr and the Harkle marriage reality are two different things. 

I think the Harkle marriage is basically like this and probably has been all autumn:

It’s probably going to be a crazy ride the next two weeks. 

[swtki]

HP Boys: Surprise Pregnancy Head Cannons

Summary: The HP boys and their reaction to their s/o (afab) being pregnant when its not planned.

A/N: This takes place post Hogwarts so all characters are 18+, though no real smut happens in this so its not an 18+ fic.

WARNINGS: UNPLANNED PREGNANCY, MENTIONS OF PRO CHOICE OPINIONS, MENTIONS OF SEX IN LITE TERMS, SWEARING, FLUFF, MENTIONS OF ALCOHOL, ALSO THIS IS SUPER LONG SORRY LOL

Draco

So everything is going great for the happy couple, you two just moved into a flat together and are working normal jobs, drinking wine like adults.

And sure, Draco knows he wants to marry you, but he knows you’re not ready to settle down like that so he just plans and dreams.

Due to poor choices, when you’re late by two weeks, you know what it probably is.

Draco doesn’t even notice that you ran out to the store and came back and hid in the bathroom for 10 minutes. CEO of minding his own business ig

You just kinda...walk up to him and hand him all 3 tests while your eyes fill with tears because what if he demands you get an abortion?

Or what if he fucks off to god knows where?

But instead he just looks at you with the most un-draco like smile. Like his face was soft and it looked like he could cry any moment.

“Oh my god,” He says, putting his hand on your belly, “I can be ready for this, but if you aren’t then we can you know...”

“No, I want it” then both of you rejoice bc yay baby!

Cut to 6 months later when your feet hurt so bad you have to lay down and watch while Draco fails to put a crib together.

He eventually gets it done tho.

And when the time comes, he’s built and arranged everything for your bundle of joy.

Harry

So you guys are probably already married, but with everything at the ministry going on, it makes Harry less than a family man.

You both agree that it’s probably better to wait so you can be home and yk...raise it.

Well smart man Harry forgets that to not have a kid you need to use protection.

So of course when your period is late you don’t think about it, until its four weeks late.

That night, you and Harry are laying in bed, and thats when you tell him.

“Harry..I’m late.”

“Late for what?” headass.

You: 😳😐

Him: 👁👁😲😲

He’s hesitant to say anything, because he knows its ultimitley up to you what happens with it until its out.

“I think I want to keep it...you know it wont remember much for the first year and a half so if things are stressful it will be okay and-“

“Love...Its going to be perfect”

Mf built the crib in like 45 minutes I swear.

And of course he forced you to keep up with your vitamins, pre natal care, and appointments.

Swear tho you’re about to kill him because cofFeE

But the way he holds your baby 🥺 its his most valued thing ever now.

Ron

Ron is iffy on the kid thing sometimes.

He does want them, but only later when you guys have lived and travled.

So no, you two haven’t planned nor is it even in the picture when your wedding roles around.

It’s in the early days of the marriage when you see his family at the burrow on the way back from the honeymoon.

And of course Molly knows

Because Weasleys are hyperfertile I swear.

She takes you into the kitchen and puts her hands on your arms, shes got that big Mrs.Weasley smile on too.

“I knew it!” She says and pulls you in for a hug, “How far dear??”

You’re just standing there like🧍🏻

“I can see it by the way you glow! Oh my you and my Ron must be so happy!” This woman doesn’t notice that you’re confused.

“Wait what? Mrs. Weasley what are you-?” Then you count the days, “Oh. Well I guess I just found out for myself”

Her face falls slightly, but then she tells you can make you a potion that will tell you if you are or not, stan.

The stupid potion turns green when you spit into it, so everything is confirmed.

That night, you and Ron are getting ready for bed in the guest room and you decide to tell him.

“Ron, sweetie. We need to talk.” He looks like he’s gonna start crying but sits next to you on the bed.

“Y/N...I know its scary but please, we just got married I don’t want to divorce quite just yet 🥺🥺”

“Ron I-“ you start smiling, “I’m pregnant you dufus.”

He just freezes, for a while. Not saying anything, he just looks at the wall with his mouth ajar.

So you get up and go to Ginny.

“Gin, I broke him.”

“Ew, I don’t want to know about how you and him”

“No, I told him that I’m pregnant.”

“Oh, yeah that would do it. Just I don’t know... Give him a minute?”

You give him several, getting a glass of water then heading back up to the room.

Ginny was right, he needed a minute.

“I don’t...I wasn’t...you were.?”

“You don’t have to stay, but I think we can do it. Plus, you would disapoint your mom if you left so...”

“Okay...we’ll do it. I’ll be the best damn Father you have ever seen.” He says, talking to your womb.

Well...he’s a father I’ll give him that.

Pro of having a Weasley baby: free crib thats already put together.

Even if it looks like a death trap.

“We’ll put some blankets over it don’t worry”

You know how some Dads hold their parters hand during the delivery? Yeah he got sick and was moral support from the outside.

To be fair, you weren’t screaming in pleasure by any means.

Scary. But beautiful.

He shows the kid to everyone, he might be more in love with the baby than he is with you.

Ron see’s the appeal of having kids now.

Neville

Moving in with your boyfriend is always fun, right up until you guys go at it so much you forget protection more than once.

You think about it, then move on with your day.

Until the doctor calls, then “oh fuck”

Romance Neville bf

“Why aren’t you having any wine? I thought it was your favorite?”

“I don’t think fetal alcohol syndrome is my favorite.” BRO HE SPAT

But he looks up with tears in his eyes, and runs over to you to grasp you in a hug.

“Oh my god! You’re pregnant! Oh my - We’re gonna be parents!! Oh my god we’re gonna be parents oh-“ Que you petting his hair till he’s calm again.

Lets be honest, this man probably swapped the herbology books for the parenting guides.

“Well I mean I’m just wondering if we should go with this color or this one”

“Nev, it doesn’t matter. Our baby will not care.”

“I read in my book that Infants actually can recognize mood in-“

He won’t let you do anything during your pregnancy.

Gotta love a man who cries because he loves you so much and you’re having his kid.

“I never had a father, what if I do it wrong? What if the baby hates me and runs away at seven?”

“We’ve got quite a lot of time before then.”

He was there during delivery, letting you crush his hand like a champ.

You can’t help but cry when you see him sleeping on the floor next to the crib, its so sweet.

Fred

You two most likely already had two kids, so you decided to wait a bit so your hands weren’t quite full.

Well...your body decided not to wait.

A test provides the two lines, another wild child.

The two toddlers already run around like thing one and thing two, only with red hair.

I think Fred would gladly make the family dinner, and wear an apron. He’d own it, as he should.

But mf gotta not drop the salad bowl when you tell him of the fetus inside you.

“Fred we are going to have a bee-ay-bee-why.”

Your five year old has just begun to spell 😐

He’s happy tho.

Like over the fuckin moon.

He buys the two kids big brother/sister shirts too 🥺🥺

He knows the drill pretty well, so he isn’t too worried about the future.

But its funny that he still freaks out about the crib and feeding chair since he gave it away, you know because you guys werent having another kid.

He packed a hospital bag and kept it in the trunk, counting down the days.

Hours of delivery (He just sat back and held your hand) only to end up with a room full of 7 Weasley family members.

Fred always said that 3 was his lucky number :)

George

You guys were taking it slow, no marriage until you both felt it was time. And certainly no children before that.

Well you know...things changed when the test was positive.

You slid it over on the table, tears pooling in your eyes. He was stunned and quiet, which made you burst out sobbing because you knew that neither of you planned on having a baby.

But to your surprise he starts to smile.

“I want whatever you want, I’m staying by your side no matter what.”

“I mean...would it really be so bad? A house, a kid, a dog?” He holds your hand as you think aloud.

You both give it a week to think it over and the virdict is to keep it.

Thats when he decides he has to marry you, asap because he loves you and will never let you go especially now.

He loves to gush about the carrier of his child, to him you are a godess.

He’s the Dad with a predestination complex.

“Y/N, I just see him being a star quiditch player”

“George, we don’t know if it’s a him.”

He rolls his eyes “Okay then I can see her being a star-“

He made Hermione take you out for a movie date so he could rearrange your bedroom, since you only had a single bedroom flat.

You come back to a new set up including a cot.

Damn pregnancy hormones make brain go 🥺😭😭

He freaks when your water breaks lol

ceo of driving like a maniac to the hospital.

He can’t hold your hand, he’s pacing back and forth, sweating and maybe crying though he’ll never admit to it.

You get the joy of watching him cuddle the baby while refusing to give your child to you.

“George I’d like to hold-“

“No, you need your sleep honey, don’t worry”

Hogging the child.

Cedric

Its no secret that Cedric wants a baby someday.

And he makes it clear your wedding will be spectacular too.

However, finding out you’re pregnant the week of your dream wedding was a shock.

A shock that made you bang your head into the wall because how could you be so stupid?? We had a plan??

So you decide to wait until after the wedding, that way it wont add onto the stress (happy stress) of the wedding.

Cedric keeps trying to fill your glass at the reception, to which you kindly refuse saying you want to remember the night entirely.

Yeah he’s like 🤨 mhm okay.

You can only pick at the dinner because ew salmon doesn’t sound like an option if you want to keep the contents of your stomach.

As everyone waves goodbye to the car, and you both set off into married life, he leans over.

“I may be out of my mind, but are you...?”

“Pregnant.” His face lights up, pulling you into a hug.

Finally, your car pulls up to a small cottage with lush garden scapes all around, putting a hand out, he walks you both from the car to the door.

“Ced, where are we?”

“Home.”

Somehow it was perfect with Cedric, even when it was rushed.

He loved talking to your womb, even if it was weird that he was talking about the babies future brothers and sisters.

“Cedric, slow down. We haven’t even had this one yet”

Basically he is father of the year before he’s a full father.

He’s there while you deliver, holding your hand and telling you how great you’re doing.

He doesn’t even complain when you insult him <3.

He updates you on everything.

If his eyes aren’t on that child, he’s either asleep or dead.

I think Cedric was meant to be a family man, because he loves everything about being one.

Taglist: @truly-insatiable @amourtentiaa @imdoingathingmom @annasdani @anchoeritic @mullthingsoverinthehotwater @cedricsyellowscarf @faeinorbit

[bridgertonbabe]

Since you're in the mindset of darkest au benophie and I don't feel like sleeping tonight I HAVE QUESTIONS: 1. Do they ever end up marrying? 2. How do anthony and violet and the the rest of the family react? 3. Do they still live on Burton street? Do they move to My Cottage? 4. Is the baby's last name Beckett or Bridgerton? 5. Does Benedict promise to never marry? 6. Do they have more children? 7. Do they even ever have sex again? 8. Does sophie kill herself? 8. I'm freaking out now so I'll stop

*cracks knuckles* Alright, buckle up; let's do this.

They never end up marrying, and by the time Benedict realises he can't live without her, that he wants to be married to her, it's too late.

The family don't find out until after certain events have taken place, with the exception of Francesca, who had known about the little family her brother was keeping secret for some time (though Benedict was never aware she knew about Sophie and Charlie). Benedict shows up in a hysterical state and the truth only comes out then. Anthony and Violet are shocked along with the rest of the family but they're also heavily sympathetic seeing the heartbreak Benedict is suffering from so wretchedly.

For the most part Sophie stays holed up in the bachelor lodgings, being far too ashamed to leave in case anyone spots her. There are a couple of trips to My Cottage where they reside for a couple of months at a time, and while Sophie is a lot freer and her spirits a little more lifted out in Wiltshire, there is still a deep melancholy shadow that follows her around, reminding her that this isn’t the life she ever wanted for herself or Charlie. 

Benedict had wanted to put Bridgerton on the birth certificate but Sophie wouldn’t let him, terrified that someone might find out and it lead to scandal for Benedict’s family (even if her identity and involvement wouldn’t be initially known). So in this timeline, Charlie would be Charles Beckett. 

Throughout Sophie’s pregnancy and for a few months after they’ve welcomed Charlie, Benedict never thinks of marrying someone else, besotted as he is with the son he shares with Sophie. At some point he thinks he’ll probably get away with never having to marry another woman, and while he can’t marry Sophie, they can live as close a life resembling one of marriage as possible. It’s not until his mother and Anthony acknowledge how absent he’s been as of late, barely attending society events and skipping out on family occasions, that Benedict realises there’s a chance that the secret life he’s been leading might be rumbled. Though he hates to be apart from Sophie and Charlie, he begins to attend a few functions to appease his mother. Only when he does, Violet begins pushing him into entertaining the Marriage Mart. Violet and Anthony have assumed Benedict’s low profile has been the result of nursing heartbreak from Sophie leaving, neither aware that Sophie is still very much in the picture. As a means to an end and in order to evade suspicions, Benedict decides to find a young lady to humour with marriage, but one who wants to live as independent a life as he does so he can still see after and be there for Sophie and Charlie. He thinks it will be foolproof plan and satisfy everyone involved - the only problem is that he doesn’t let Sophie in on every last detail of his plan. 

They don’t have any more children together, though that’s not to say one of them might have had another chance at love later on down the line and welcomed another child with a new significant other. 

They are intimate with one another but the times that they do are very few and far between. While Sophie is pregnant and deeply depressed, Benedict hopes making love to her might lift her spirits, and while Sophie does go along with it and never tells him no, she lies there despondent, waiting for it to be over with. There is simply no passion on her end, no burning for him, her melancholy robbing her of any desire. The final time they make love, however, Sophie’s changed her tune and gives him every last piece of her, savouring the intimacy, knowing the memory will be cherished for the rest of her life - and while Sophie knows it will be for the last time, Benedict doesn’t, and he naively thinks their life together has changed for the better. 

No, Sophie doesn’t take her own life. She does have suicidal thoughts during her pregnancy and hopes she and the baby don’t survive the birth, but once Charlie is born, Sophie wouldn’t ever dream of dying and leaving him behind. History might have repeated itself to an extent but she refuses to let death claim her as it did her mother. She regains her strength in Charlie, living and breathing for him and him alone, refusing to leave him in a world without a mother to love him with all of her heart. 

In conclusion, this entire AU is nothing but

[sirenofthetimes]

Every Proposal on Gilmore Girls Was Absolutely Unhinged

This show was rich in couples, swimming in conflict, and desperately lacking in healthy communication. Which made for some batshit marriage proposals! Let's go:

Christopher to Lorelai in Season 1 ep. 15: Christopher Returns

In Christopher's first appearance on the show, he rocks up to Stars Hollow on his motorcycle at the end of the previous episode, out of the blue, and in this one archetypes are made clear: he establishes himself as the irresponsible deadbeat single dad to Lorelai's hardworking, mature yet still fun single mom. They have a weird dinner with everyone's parents where his parents, Straub and Francine, are shown to be even more uptight and awful than Richard and Emily can be. A lot of fighting and yelling and relitigating past choices ensues. Then Lorelai and Christopher go off to have emotional, nostalgic sex on her childhood balcony, and off the strength of that, he walks into her kitchen the next morning and blurts out that he wants to marry her so they can be a "real family". They barely see each other. They know hardly anything about each other's current lives. This is the first time he's visited the town they've been living in since Rory was a child and yet. A marriage proposal. Naturally, she turns him down, but we have not heard the last of Christopher Hayden.

Max to Lorelai in Season 1 ep. 21: Love, Daisies and Troubadours

This relationship was used mostly to discuss Lorelai's commitment issues, the difficulties of dating as a single mom, and have her fight allegations of her being promiscuous (which are not true, she can be very sexually conservative) by having her do something risky like try to date one of her daughter's teachers at the stuffy private school that also exists in her parents' world. So despite them having okay chemistry, they haven't really dated much and broke up after two months before getting back together shortly before the night of the proposal. Max comes by the house to pick Lorelai up and finds Luke there getting his toolbox and relaying the news that Rachel broke up with him (because she has a basic level of intuition and picked up on his feelings for Lorelai). Max and Luke have a very cringy dick measuring contest, Max (in possession of similar intuition) assumes Luke and Lorelai dated at some point but it's not season 5 yet so she's not legally allowed to admit she's into Luke. They argue, Max expresses frustration that their relationship can never seem to get off the ground, and what does he propose as a solution? Yoking their lives together in blessed matrimony. Lorelai is justifiably frustrated and tells him that's not how you propose, that a proposal is supposed to be special and grand. She lists "a thousand yellow daisies" as an example how to truly pop the question and the next day Max arranges for that famous logistical nightmare romantic gesture at the inn, then says some flowery bullshit on the phone and because it's the season finale and emotions are high, Lorelai accepts. Though later, right after her bachelorette party, she runs away and calls off the wedding. They meet a couple more times for closure, and then the relationship is truly dead.

Jackson to Sookie in Season 2 ep 13: A-Tisket A-Tasket

Sookie and Jackson's budding relationship has actually been pretty nice to watch up until this point. They have a fun balance between awkward but cute flirting and comical bickering about produce. But there's something in the area's water supply that makes people unable to clearly express their wants and needs in a romantic relationship so when Sookie doesn't respond how Jackson wanted her to to him saying his lease was up and asking her what she thought, he sulks. The sulking manifests itself in him not bidding on Sookie's basket at the bid a basket auction so she confronts him to see what's up and they actually manage to have a decent conversation about what moving in together would mean. And that could've been a nice ending for that storyline. But shacking up together? Out of wedlock? Impossible. So at their picnic for two, Jackson fakes Sookie out and says he doesn't want to talk about moving in together any more... because he thinks they should get married. Sookie, reeling from that whiplash, accepts, and since the rules of TV beta couples states they must move faster than the main will-they-won't-they couple at all times, they get married, stay married, and continue struggling to effectively talk through big life decisions,with some admittedly nice moments in between.

Lorelai to Luke in Season 5 ep 22: A House is Not a Home and Season 6 ep 1: New and Improved Lorelai

Lorelai and Luke are in kind of a weird place at the moment, with Luke upset with Lorelai for considering selling the Dragonfly to a corporation owned by one of her father's contacts, which would have her traveling and consulting instead. While she's not too serious about it, she's enjoying being courted by the company, but this is in complete disregard for the giant house Luke bought without telling her or the kids he's thinking about having that he also hasn't discussed with her so it's causing problems. This is forgotten however with the news that Rory wants to take time off from Yale after receiving some rare negative feedback, and that Richard and Emily are letting her stay with them after just telling Lorelai they would help her force Rory back into Yale. So when Lorelai walks into the diner lamenting the fact that Rory is making a decision independent from the vision Lorelai had for her life, and Luke comes forth with a nonsensical plan to, again, force Rory back to Yale, Lorelai is touched that she finally has someone on her side. And since she's a veteran of the season finale marriage proposal, she celebrates having her partner agree with her by asking him to marry her. He accepts in the next season's premiere with no hesitation, but eventually their tendency to hide things from each other to not ruin their relationship.... ruins their relationship. Shocking.

Zack to Lane in Season 6 ep 16: Bridesmaids Revisited

Zack is on a bit of a redemption tour after ruining Hep Alien's showcase in front of a major label by throwing a tantrum about Brian potentially writing a song for Lane. This random burst of jealousy sends him on a power trip that has him throwing out their set list and screaming at his band mates until a fight breaks out and the band and him and Lane split up. But when he sees Lane in the music shop some time later putting up a flier advertising her drumming services to other bands, the thought of her daring to potentially continue living her life without him spurs Zach into action. He convinces Brian and Gil to get the band back together and they're in if Lane's in. And his way of getting Lane back is to walk into Luke's while she's working, go off on some tangent about how he doesn't feel good, and propose in front of a huge crowd of gossipy small town people. Lane must have smacked her head on some antique furniture that day because although she at least stops to ask if he's thought about this, when he presents her with the pawn shop ring he got that "belonged to like an Elk or a Moose or something", she accepts and walks right into marriage and babies land and right out of development that would make sense for her character or be interesting.

Christopher to Lorelai in Season 7 ep. 7: French Twist

Ever since Lorelai walked out of her fraught engagement with Luke and into Christopher's bed, he has taken the reality of a woman coping with feelings of rejection by hooking up with the man she keeps stashed in the background for occasions such as these, and spun it into an elaborate romantic tale of two star crossed loves who waited their whole lives to be together. And when Sherry who, guided by the hands of karma, previously abandoned Gigi leaving Christopher to raise her on his own, writes a letter saying she's totally fine now trust her and wants Gigi to spend a few months with her in Paris, Christopher invites Lorelai along for a big romantic gesture trip. They spend most of it jetlagged, but Christopher remembers he's super rich now (as opposed to just being regular rich like before) and he bribes a restaurant to open early for the two of them. Lorelai, basking in the romance™ of it all, confesses her love, and Christopher pounces on that and starts in on a whole speech. Basically, even though he said he'd be willing to wait for Lorelai to fall in line with his vision, he doesn't feel like waiting any more. Lorelai, sensing where this is going, suggests they wait, as they've only been really dating for a couple of months. She also brings up Rory, figuring she'd want to be up to date and present any big changes. But Christopher waves those perfectly valid concerns away, stresses how long they've known each other, insists that they're meant to be, and fate has brought them together. And then comes out with it and asks her to marry him. Which are very intense words for Lorelai, an emotionally vulnerable woman who just broke off an engagement because her fiancé seemed overly hesitant to actually get married, to hear. We don't see her accept, but there's a scene of them returning home where he calls her "Mrs. Hayden" (as if she would ever change her name), and their marriage immediately began to fall apart like wet tissue paper.

Logan to Rory in Season 7 ep. 21: Unto the Breach

It's the end of Rory's time at Yale, and on the heels of her New York Times fellowship rejection, rejections from other newspapers across the country, and the fact that she rejected her one job offer for better things that did not come, Rory's future is wide open and unstable. On the other hand, Logan is completing his character transformation from irresponsible party animal trust fund kid to hardworking and responsible trust fund kid, accepting a job offer for an internet company in San Francisco. The question emerges: How will the young couple handle this next phase of their lives? And when Logan shows up at Lorelai's house in the previous episode, he comes with a solution. He wants to marry Rory and take her to California, and he wants Lorelai's blessing to propose. She gives it, though not without trepidation, and Logan does propose. In the middle of the graduation party Richard and Emily are throwing for Rory, he gets up in front of everyone and takes out the ring. Rory is caught completely off guard and takes him outside to talk about it, where he reveals that he got the job, picked out a house for them to rent, researched newspapers where she could apply to work, and even planned activities for them to do in their spare time. The original plan being that she would say yes to his proposal without knowing all this and walk blindly into her new, pre-arranged West Coast life. But Rory needs time to process the idea of marrying Logan immediately after college, and on the day of her graduation, she declines. Logan decides if he can't marry her, there's no point in being with her at all, and the two go their separate ways, to eventually meet again in a years long affair, for some reason. Though I barely acknowledge the revival.

Honestly, the only proposal that truly makes sense is Lorelai's to Luke in the revival but I won't discuss it here because a) again, the revival basically doesn't exist to me and b) they should've married during the original run of the show.

[stephspurs]

A Family Affair | Euro 2020 Football Fanfiction - BONUS MOMENTS

PSA: To all new readers, you don't have to read the series (link below) to understand this, however it would help so that you can understand the preconceived emotions behind the chapter!

The Proposal | la proposta

warnings; none word count; 1703 writing tools; third person until dashed line, first person thereafter. link to fic masterlist here

13th July 2024, Germany

Amelia and Ben had found themselves experiencing a slight bit of deja vu. The night before the final match of the UEFA European Championship, Amelia was sat in her hotel suite, finalising her preparations for the following evening. A rematch between the Three Lions and The Azzurri. Who would have thought that three years after the last final, the same two teams (give or take a few players) would be in the exact same position.

The difference this time, Amelia had more to think about than just her brother’s feelings. Her relationship with Ben had grown throughout the 3 years that they had been officially together. Countless family holidays shared together, and with each other's respective families had since become a thing of the past as they had successfully managed to merge both the White’s and the Chilwell’s together to create one big happy family. Ben had asked Amelia to move in with him only a year into their relationship, and although outsiders might think it was fast the couple could only disagree with them. They took each stage of their relationship as it came and when it came, just the two of them how it should be.

6 months after moving in together they had adopted a dog together from the local animal rescue centre, a black Labrador called Maverick who was bi-lingual and responded to both English and Italian, much to Ben’s dismay. Amelia began teaching both of her boys (Mav & Benj) simple words in the language of love  and Ben had a harder time retaining it than the pup. Nevertheless, he loved hearing Amelia’s voice when she spoke to him in Italian and it was something he hoped he could hear every day for the rest of his life.

Amelia had continued her role at Chelsea FC as a tactical analyst for the first team, and Chelsea had honored their promise to the girl to allow her to work in depth with the academy talent which is something she found very rewarding and the part she loved most about her job. Of course she loved being around her friends and helping them achieve their dreams but there was something about fostering youth talent that made Amelia really proud to be in the position that she was, to help these young kids from all walks of life make it in the big scary world of professional football. The smile on their faces when they get a call up to an older division, the tears shed by their parents as they wave them off to go and live with their host family nearby Cobham facility, the same eyes that leak a whole different set of tears as they sign their first professional contract with the club - it makes it all worth it.

Something that was eerily similar to the last time Amelia was sat in her hotel room the night before the European Championship Final is that she was, once again, the tactical analyst for the Italian National Team. This time, however, there was no knock on her door with Federico Bernardeschi on the other side waiting to bring her to the English National Team’s base so she could have it out with her brother and Kyle Walker. Thankfully, her relationships with all of the England team had remained intact but that was largely due to another no-contact ban being enforced between her and the Three Lions. This meant that she hadn’t had a chance to talk to any of her friends, let alone her boyfriend Ben, in three weeks. It was painful for both parties, but necessary to ensure that there was no untowards activity or information being shared.

When Amelia was first offered the job she had sat on it for days before making a decision to rejoin the national team. Ben had actually been the one to push her to accept it, it was only something that would make her life better and he didn’t want her to miss out on any opportunity that came her way - even if it meant that the two of them had to be apart both physically and digitally for 3 weeks. That was the thing that held Amelia back from accepting the position on the spot, she would miss the person that became her right hand man. But Ben’s encouragement made the last few weeks easier, and also made Amelia realise just how ready she was to give herself to him...officially.

Marriage had been something that they had both discussed prior as a natural conversation between two people in a relationship that they could see was obviously heading in that direction already, so it was something that was always in Amelia’s mind. She had found herself at florists buying flowers for their dining room table and absent-mindedly thinking about the perfect wedding flowers for her bridal bouquet. However much to Amelia’s dismay, Ben was yet to ask her the most important question of her life and these three weeks apart have made her more desperate than ever to become Mrs Chilwell.

14th July 2024, Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund Germany

A torturous 90-minute match of football later and the Azzurri had done it, back-to-back UEFA European Champions. The only goal of the match coming from her midfield-maestro Jorgi, which was the direct result of a misplay from Declan Rice meaning the ball fell at the feet of Jorginho as he was directly in front of the goal, Jordan Pickford was no match for the beautifully crafted strike which isn’t anything towards Pickford, no keeper was stopping that ball from going in - it was just that good.

This time however, she was the one being consoled by her brother. The pressure of the situation getting on top of her, 3 weeks of no contact with Ben & seeing him for the first time out on this pitch but not being able to kiss him was getting to her, the knowledge that she was again partly to blame for their heartache. Her brother had seen the look in Amelia’s eyes when the whistle blew and the entire bench of the Italian team ran onto the pitch to congratulate the players, she had remained behind. Wrapping his arms around his little sister as she sobbed into his jersey because she was too empathetic for her own good was not how he predicted the outcome of the evening at all, but he was glad he was there for her. Pulling away from her, he tidied up her face and sent her on her way out to the pitch to wrap her Italian friends up in the hugs that they so well deserved, fully aware of the events to follow the wrap up awards ceremony that same night.

______________________________________________________________

I found myself standing in the centre circle at the Borussia Dortmund home ground, with an Italian flag wrapped around my shoulders and confetti all over the floor at my feet. Looking around at the fans who had stayed behind so they could meet their idols, I could not believe my luck in this world.

“I hope you’re not considering a job out here in Dortmund, Mils? I possibly couldn’t be away from you any longer” Ben spoke from behind me, pulling me out of my trance. I whipped my body around at lightning speed and launched myself at my boyfriend, my soul mate.

“Ben” I whispered into his ear as he lifted me from the ground, feet dangling at his mid shin and my arms wrapped around his shoulders so tightly as if to convey all of the hugs we had missed out over the last few weeks apart.

“Mils, I’ve missed you so much.” He said back to me, expressing the exact same sentiments as I possessed. He put me back on the floor and began to push me away from him, in my desperate attempt at a longer hug I wrapped my arms around his torso and pulled myself back in.

“No Mils, I need to see your face as I do this.” He laughed, pushing me off him again and taking a step back from me.

“Benj, what are you doing?” I questioned him, not really believing my own thoughts as to what was about to happen.

“Amelia, my brilliant Amelia. The past three weeks have done nothing but made me realise I never want to spend a day without you again. There are many ways to be happy in life, but all I need is you.  You are my sunshine, you make me unbelievably happy, you make my good days great and my hard day's worth it just to see your smile in our kitchen at the end of it. Your brain is the most beautiful thing I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and I hope our future daughter turns out exactly like you so that I have another you to love.”

Ben had descended to one knee as I stood before him, both hands raised to my face to cover my shocked by bright smile and both eyes stuck directly on his own. I hadn’t noticed the crowd of our closest people begin to gather around us to watch the show.

“So in front of God…” Ben nodded his head slightly, I turned my head to see he was referring to Paolo Maldini and shook my head with a little giggle which was copied by everyone else around us.

“...our family and closest friends I want to ask you the question that I know you’ve been patiently waiting for - will you marry me?” Ben pulled out the most perfect ring from a box that I hadn’t even noticed in his hands.

Dropping myself so that I was crouched and on both knees in front of him, I grabbed his face with both of my own hands and pressed the firmest kiss to his lips. My tears ran down my face and probably all over his, he kissed me back. They say a picture says a thousand words, and while I hoped that at least one of our friends had managed to snap a few of this moment, my kiss said only one word...Yes.

[ohnotoomanyfandoms]

Let's talk about those two chapters!!!!!

You ask, we deliver! Let’s talk about my theories from the two preview chapters of Chain of Iron, shall we? So many thoughts, I’ll have to be brief with each one. Feel free to ask questions on anything I don’t mention or clarifications on points I do touch. 

1. Belial. Who is he possessing? James would be so obvious it’s cheap. The fun plot twist would be Lucie, who complained in Chain of Gold that she’s also Belial’s granddaughter. It would go in perfect irony with Lucie’s line to Grace “I don’t want to do evil things” while she runs around being possessed by a Greater Demon killing innocent mundanes (and probably Shadowhunters too) in London. However, as marvelous as this sounds, it appears Belial is possessing a male body (unless it’s just written to mislead us). In that case, my next best guess (and something I DO NOT want happening) would be Matthew. He isn’t a descendant of Belial’s, but he is magically linked to James via the parabatai rune and bond, so that could be a loophole. What made me think that? At the Devil’s Tavern, Matthew wishes James gone for a second, and James ends up in the shadow realm, Belial’s realm, for the first time in four months.

2. There is something FISHY going on with Hypatia and the Helle Ruelle celebrating Lilith. Well, not really that. What stinks is that Cassandra would feel the need to explain Lilith’s history with the angels to us again and that Cordelia would spend another entire paragraph going over the ceremony performed when Shadowhunter babies are born. We know this already. She’s saying it for our benefit and for a reason. Are the warlocks hiding a Shadowhunter baby? Or alternatively, WHO DIDN’T GET THE CEREMONY? This could also be the answer to our previous question, because we know that “unbaptized” babies can be possessed by demons (like Jace after his rebirth in TMI) so it could solve the mystery of Belial’s possession without needing a blood relation. Or... WILL LILIHT MAKE AN APPEARANCE IN COI/COT?

3. Cordelia will go see Wayland the Smith in this book. When? Well, when Cortana starts burning her, of course. She’ll try to find answers everywhere, consulting books, Jem, even friendly warlocks perhaps, but eventually she’ll have to ask that faerie to take her to Wayland, Cortana’s legendary maker, and make a deal. NEVER PROMISE ANYTHING TO FAERIES, DAISY! That will be a mess. 

4. I think the Gracelet doesn’t work in the shadow realm, which confirms that Belial didn’t cast the spell on the bracelet, because surely his magic would work in his own kindgom? James was thinking of the wedding in the tone he would under the effect of the Gracelet, and in the shadow realm he suddenly has a rather romantic view of Cordelia, like an avenging angel or “a goddess captured in a painting: Liberty or Victory leading the people.” Something to keep an eye on.

5. As we know, Grace and Christopher are supposed to get married, according to the misleading family tree. We don’t know if that will end up happening, but I suppose this is how they could grow closer: we know Lucie has been asking Kit for ingredients for their spells. When Lucie inevitably pulls away from the agreement with Grace because she doesn’t yet want to do full-on necromancy (good call, I hope she sticks by it but I doubt she will), Grace will need to ask Christopher directly - she can’t risk being seen at the Shadow Market, given her mother’s history, so he’s her best option. 

6. Filomena di Angelo will be the name of the Italian Shadowhunter, I’m 99.9999999% sure at this point. Am I happy? No. Speaking as an Italian myself, Cassie couldn’t have picked a worse name. (Yes, it makes me smile that she and Rick Riordan exchange character names, but this name still doesn’t sound right or fitting. Happy to elaborate more in another post if you’re interested!)

7. As I’ve said before, to the delight of our Jordelia hearts, James has no intention whatsoever of cheating on Daisy or breaking his promise to her by seeing Grace. Unfortunately, he won’t be able to help it because Grace’s spell will compel him to go see her at one point. Sad angst and a loss of trust will ensue. UNLESS the magic of the MARRIAGE RUNES is stronger than the Gracelet and can counteract it. That would be dope. But that would also mean a win for us, and it’s only the second book... 

8. The Lucie/Jesse content was too on the nose. it’s only the first two chapters and it’s 1903, stop flirting, goddammit. Apart from that, Lucie is being too reckless. She’ll get in trouble soon.

9. Matthew is going to behave with Cordelia. He would and will never put her in a compromising position or one where she would have to choose between him and James. The “”””kiss”””” was accidental, Cassie said as much in a Tumblr answer. I love their friendship, it’s one of my favorites. But trust me, it’s not going to go anywhere beyond that. Matthew may wish, but he will never act. He likes pursuing loves that are “hopeless”, it’s said as much in the text. 

10. ANNA WAS TOTALLY FLIRTING WITH CORDELIA ON THE EVE OF HER WEDDING TO ANNA’S COUSIN, SCANDALOUS

11. Thomas and Alastair will finally speak at the wedding. Not make up yet, but have a conversation. I just hope Charles doesn’t magically come back from Paris to make an appearance.

12. THE NEXT CHAPTER WE READ WILL BE THE JORDELIA WEDDING (!!!) and all the adults will be there so we’ll see all our TID darlings as well. I am prepared to bet anything that Brother Zachariah will officiate the wedding. I cannot wait.

13. What the fùck was up with the reverse mermaid???????????

Need more analysis or clarifications on some points? Want help believing in Mucie and keeping your faith in Jordelia? WE’VE GOT YOU. Send me all your questions. I would prefer non-anonymous ones, so I can notify you! 

[thebadgerclan]

Never Felt Like This

Pairing: Lucius Malfoy x reader

Requested by Anonymous

Summary: Lucius has never felt like this about anyone...

A/N: Kinda long, but I really like this and how it turned out 😊

Lucius had never felt this way before, not when he’d met Narcissa, not when he’d married her, not even with any of his dozens of mistresses.  But as he watched you where you sat at your desk, quill spinning between your teeth, brows furrowed in concentration, he felt it: the burning sensation in his chest, as if his heart was on fire as it beat beneath his ribs.  Lucius Malfoy was in love, in love with you, for the first time in his life.  He’d met you three weeks ago, when you’d been transferred into his department at the Ministry.  Lucius was cordial when you first met, making idle small talk in an effort to welcome you and make you feel at ease.

But as your personality revealed itself, Lucius was a goner, falling for you more and more every time you spoke.  You were funny, smart, witty, kind, compassionate, and so much more.  You were also beautiful, drawing Lucius’ eye every time you entered a room, but he found that he was more captivated by your personality than your appearance, though you were certainly gorgeous, more so than any woman Lucius had ever met.  

After three weeks of admiring you from afar, Lucius decided he was going to ask you to dinner.  He’d already made reservations at The Golden Snitch, and if you said no, he supposed he’d just take Narcissa.  He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he and his wife had gone out, and he honestly didn’t care.  She had her fair share of lovers, they likely were taking her out every night.  Lucius pushed the thought from his mind as he got to his feet and made his way over to your desk.

His heart was pounding and he felt sweat forming on his brow.  “Hello, Y/N,” he said, voice steady.  You looked up from your work, a smile on your face; a smile that made Lucius swoon.  “Hey Lucius, what’s up?”  He breathed deeply, folding his hands before him.  “I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me tomorrow evening?  I have a reservation at The Golden Snitch for 7 o’clock.”  Lucius saw your eyes dart to his hands, to his wedding band, and he felt his stomach twist.  But you looked back up at him and smiled.  “I’d love to.”

***

The following day passed slower than any day Lucius had ever experienced.  He got nothing accomplished, but when 5 o’clock rolled around, Lucius sprang to his feet, once again making his way to your desk.  “I’m going to head home and freshen up,” he said, and you nodded.  “Alright, I’m heading out as well.”  “I’ll come and pick you up around 6:30?”  “Sounds great,” you replied, gathering your things and Apparating home.  When you arrived, you immediately set about getting ready, changing into a nice dress with matching heels, fixing your hair and touching up your makeup.

You’d nearly fainted from excitement when Lucius asked you to dinner yesterday.  He’d had your heart for months, and when you were transferred to his department, you were over the moon.  And now, you were going out to dinner with Lucius Malfoy.  To The Golden Snitch, no less, a 5 star restaurant that you knew was near impossible to get a reservation at.  At 6:30 exactly, there was a knock at your door.  When you opened it, you saw Lucius standing before you, a bouquet of red roses in hand.

He was dressed in forest green dress robes, and you felt your knees go weak.  “You look beautiful, Y/N,” he said, handing you the roses.  You took them gratefully, conjuring a vase of water for them.  “Thank you, Lucius.  These are gorgeous.”  “Not nearly as gorgeous as you.”  You blushed deeply, and Lucius smiled.  “You look handsome,” you said, and he beamed.  “Why thank you, Y/N.  Shall we?”  Lucius offered his arm and you took it, shutting your door before Lucius Apparated away.  

There was a line around the block outside The Golden Snitch, but Lucius bypassed it, proceeding directly to a private table.  There was a bucket of ice with a bottle of champagne, candles lit all around the small, private room.  “Lucius, this is…”  “Exactly what you deserve,” he finished for you, pulling out your chair.  Appetizers appeared on the table as Lucius poured you a flute of champagne.  Conversation flowed easily, only pausing when a waiter came in to take your orders.  The food was spectacular, but halfway through your entree, seared lobster, you grew quiet.

Lucius noticed immediately, but he thought that maybe you were more focused on your food.  But when the two of you ordered dessert and you were still subdued, Lucius spoke up.  “Is everything alright, Y/N?”  “Hmm?  Oh, yes.”  But he knew you were lying, and reached across the table to take your hand, sending sparks through your body.  “Y/N, please, I can tell something is bothering you.  Won’t you tell me?”  “Alright,” you conceded.  “I’m a muggleborn.”  Lucius nodded, expecting there to be more. But you looked at him expectantly, and he realized that was all.

“Alright.”  “Alright?  You don’t mind?”  “Not in the slightest.  I know, I have a certain reputation, but I no longer feel that way.  Your blood status means nothing to me, I care about your personality, and your personality, along with your stunning, ethereal beauty.”  “But you’re…”  “Yes?”  You hesitated, not wanting to offend him.  “You’re married.”  To your surprise, Lucius laughed.  “Yes, I am married.  But let me ask you this, Y/N: do you have feelings for me?”  “I… yes, Lucius, I do.  I do, I have feelings for you, and I have for months.”  “Then that is what I care about.  I have feelings for you too, Y/N, I have since the moment I laid eyes on you.”

“But what about you wife?”  Lucius took your other hand in his, squeezing them gently.  “Y/N, you probably don’t know this, and I would never expect you to, but Narcissa, my wife, and I’s marriage was arranged.”  “It was?”  Lucius nodded.  “Indeed.  We are friendly, but there are no romantic feelings between us.”  “Wait,” you said, cocking your head.  “Don’t you have a son?”  Lucius nodded again.  “I do.  Narcissa and I bedded one another enough in order to have him, but after that, we went our separate ways.  She has taken lovers, as have I.  But Y/N, I have never, never in my life, felt this way before.  

“I have never felt this captivated, as consumed as I do with you.  I have never seen beauty as I see yours, never seen a soul so kind and compassionate as yours, never known someone as perfect as you are.  Y/N, I know this might me sudden, might be too soon.  But Y/N, I am in love with you, I am in love with you with everything I am.  I have never been so in love, never been in love at all, but I am in love with you.”  You were breathless, speechless as you looked at Lucius.  After what felt like a millenia, you spoke.

“Lucius,” you said, heart pounding, fit to burst out of your chest.  “Lucius I… I love you too.  I’ve loved you for...since I met you.”  Smiling widely, Lucius brought your hands to his lips, kissing them tenderly.  “Y/N, will you be mine?  I cannot marry you, but I will give you everything and anything you could ever want. Money, jewels, a wing in the manor all to yourself, say the word and it’s yours.”  You squeezed his hands, smiling as well.  “All I want is you, Lucius.”  “Then you shall have me, my darling.”

The nickname rolled off his tongue with ease, and when he saw how you smiled wider at it, Lucius’ heart swelled.  He paid the bill and offered you his arm, which you took, as you walked home rather than Apparating.  “There are rooms in the manor if you should like,” he said, holding the hand that rested in the crook of his elbow.  “Either to stay the night or to move in.  You don’t have to, though, only if you wish.”  You leaned in closer.  “I’d like that.  Could I, maybe, stay tonight?”  “Of course, my dove.  Do you need anything from your apartment?”  “Pajamas and clothes for tomorrow, but that’s all.”

Lucius brought you to your apartment and you gathered your things before joining him again.  He Apparated you to Malfoy Manor, leading you inside.  “I’ll show you around tomorrow,” he said as you ascended the grand staircase.  “Our rooms are this way, Narcissa’s are down that corridor.”  Seemingly at the mention of her name, Narcissa appeared.  “Ahh, Lucius, you’re home.  I assume this is Y/N?”  “It is.  Y/N, this is Narcissa.”  Being in the presence of Lucius’ wife shot a bit of dread through your heart, and Narcissa laughed softly.

“You have nothing to fret over, dear.  I have no interest in Lucius.  No offense, Lucius.”  “None take, Cissa.”  “Besides, I have Avery waiting for me in my rooms.  Goodnight, you two.”  “Goodnight, Cissa.”  You only nodded, and Narcissa turned and floated down the hall.  “Avery is her paramour, as she calls him.  Now, my darling, I believe our rooms await us?”  Lucius offered his arm to you again, and you took it, following him down the corridor, a massive smile on your face.  The pair of you changed and settled into bed, Lucius’ arms resting gently around your waist.  He kissed your temple and your heart skipped a beat, and you knew it would be hard to sleep tonight.

[365days365movies]

February 18, 2021: The Danish Girl (Review)

Before I go into ANYTHING else...let’s talk about the actual Danish Girl, Lili Elbe, or Lili Ilse Elvenes.

Oh, uh, full warning, this is gonna be LONG, so skip to the bottom if you’re just here for the Review! OK, history time!

Now, what the film The Danish Girl notes about the beginning of the transition is pretty spot-on, from what I can tell. After marrying portrait painter Gerda Gottlieb in 1904, the two lived in Italy and France before moving to Paris in 1912. Yeah, that’s over 14 years before they’re shown doing so in the movie. Inaccuracy #1. In 1908 (here comes number 2), Elbe (Einar at the time) painted this portrait of trees along a fjord in Denmark.

Yeah, NOT in 1926, as the film says. But, yeah, that’s a nitpick, I recognize that. Anyway, the revelation came when model Anna Larssen (not “Ulla”, which is Inaccuracy #3) was late, and Gerda asked Elbe to fill in. When Larssen eventually showed up, she suggested the name “Lili”. Basically, this scene from the movie was pretty goddamn accurate.

Except for the dates, anyway. Because while the movie mostly takes place around 1926 and afterwards, this probably happened closer to 1920, in Paris. So, yeah, Lili spent a LOT more time as Lili in real life. Additionally, Lili was pretty goddamn public about the whole thing, inviting guests and hosting parties as herself, rather than as Einar. At the same time, Gerda was getting pretty goddamn famous for her paintings of Lili, like this one.

Which, yeah, are really good! Also, they were considered lesbian erotica by many! YEAH! And here’s a fun fact: Gerda may not have been straight-up straight. Yeah, the film and the book (we’ll get there) kind of ignored the fact that their marriage was annulled by the Danish government, not by the two of them. Inaccuracy #4. Now, obviously, their relationship ended, and Lili ended up getting together with a man (we’ll get there, too), but there are a LOT of unanswered questions about Gerda’s sexuality, and views of sexuality (which is barely hinted at in the “male gaze” speech in the beginning).

After the annulment, the two just...drifted apart. Their relationship dissolved, and the details on that are fuzzy. By 1930, Lili was headed on a completely different path. She wasn’t a painter like Einar (and it turns out that she thought of them as two entirely separate people, like two souls living in the same body, which the movie got mostly right), and she was mostly unsatisfied with her career, life, and other things. And that is where Drs. Erwin Gohrbandt and Magnus Hirschfeld come in, NOT Kurt Warnerkros...yet. He’d come in for the other five (YES FIVE) surgeries, but wouldn’t be involved with the first. Inaccuracy #5, and also #6, while we’re at it! See, the film would make you think that Lili was the first complete gender reassignment surgery, but she was actually the second. The first would be Dora Richter, in a procedure that was performed by Dr. Hirschfeld from 1922 - 1931. YEAH. BIG-ASS INACCURACY THERE. Here’s Dora, by the way:

Anyway, Lili had her first procedure, to remove the testicles, performed in 1930. In the same year, the divorce between Lili and Gerda was finalized, and Lili legally changed her name. Two more procedures were performed, the first to implant an ovary, and the second to remove the penis and scrotum. Inaccuracy #7, by the way. And, hey, let’s go for number 8! Let’s talk about Henrik, a dude who didn’t exist. He and Hans were both very loosely based on an art dealer named Claude Lejeune.

Claude was an art dealer (there’s the Hans part), and was indeed in love with Lili. They got together around early 1931, and he’d actually been in love with her for a good, long time. He proposed to marry Lili, and she accepted, also hoping that the two would be able to have children together. But to do that, it was believed that Lili would need a uterus. And, obviously, having children would be MILES more complicated than that in basically EVERY way, but this was early in medical science’s understanding of some of that biology.

In any case, however, Lili would need both a uterus and a vagina to feel whole. And so, the fourth surgery was scheduled. And she had that surgery in 1931, a couple of weeks after Dora Richter successfully had the same surgery performed. But, sadly, Lili wouldn’t be so lucky.

Lili’s body rejected the uterus, and while transplant rejections of any kind wouldn’t necessarily be fatal now, they definitely were back then. They attempted to remove it, but that subsequent 5th surgery caused infection, which caused a fatal heart attack three months later. Lili Elbe died on September 13, 1931, at the age of FORTY-EIGHT. Yeah, Inaccuracy #9.

By the way, you may be wondering: what about Dora Richter, the first successful person to get these surgeries? Well, she disappeared...in Germany...as the Nazis were coming into power...yeah. Fuckin’ YIKES.

And so, that’s the true story of Lili Elbe. And there are far more differences than that, I’m sure, but those 9 inaccuracies aren’t insignificant, that’s for sure. Although, it probably doesn’t help that the movie was based on a fictionalized book.

Oh, uh...did I not mention that? Yeah, this movie is based on The Danish Girl, by David Ebershoff, which means that this film is essentially a cinematic game of telephone. Which, uh...not great. Granted, Ebershoof made some other...interesting changes, which the film didn’t inherit. In the book, for example, Gerda is named Greta, and is American? Um...why? I dunno, it’s kind of weird. Oh, and that’s not including one more issue with the movie. But, you’ve waited long enough, huh? Recap of the film is here and here if you wanna check that out! Let’s get to the Review already!

Review

Cast and Acting: 8/10

I am...conflicted. So let me start here by saying that the acting in the film in and of itself is fantastic, all-around. Not a weak actor in here, that’s for sure. Let’s start with the side-roles, for once. Ben Whishaw, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Amber Heard are all good. Heard’s accent is a little shaky, but they’re still all solid performances. OK, how about Alicia Vikander? She’s great! And she won the Oscar for...Best Supporting Actress. Um...wait...Supporting? But not Best Actress? Uh...OK. That’s a little weird, let’s be honest here. But, Alicia Vikander did deserve that win over...oooooooh, Rooney Mara in Carol? Maybe not...damn.

And OK...let’s get into the elephant in the room, huh?

Eddie Redmayne is fantastic as Einar Wegener/Lili Eber, and I genuinely think he had a great shot to win Best Actor...but, yeah, Leonardo DiCaprio definitely deserved it, I think that goes without saying. Hell, that year had a SOLID line-up for best actor. And Redmayne had even won it the year before for The THeory of Everything, another biography where he played Stephen Hawking. But ALL of that said...HNNNNNNNNNG, there should have been a transgender actor cast in this role, ideally. Now, I’m fully aware how difficult that would be, as Hollywood isn’t extraordinarily diverse in terms of including trans actors in massive mainstream projects. It’s better now, but it’s nowhere near ideal. But if anybody knows an actor who would’ve fit this role and performed it well, I’m DEFINITELY interested. So, despite that controversy, Redmayne was pretty goddamn great in this role. But, uh...that doesn’t mean everything is perfect...

Plot and Writing: 5/10

OK, that seems low, I know. But it’s pretty goddamn damning that this movie was based off of a heavily fictionalized book instead of the actual life story of Lili Eber and Gerda Gottlieb. And because of that, there are not only some missed opportunities, but some straight-up damning inaccuracies. That’s a set of pretty poor decisions, I tell you what. Not sure why Lucinda Coxon came to that decision when adapting this screenplay, but it wasn’t exactly nominated for Best Screenplay. And the writing certainly isn’t bad, but it is...overly saccharine sometimes, especially for a film based (loosely) on a true story. I dunno...just not the best set of choices here, sorry to say.

Directing and Cinematography: 8/10

Tom Hooper shouldn’t direct musicals. However, since this wasn’t a musical, directing and cinematography here is pretty damn good! Real talk, this is a gorgeous looking movie, and the way shots are framed are fantastic. Perfect? Weeeeeeeell...given the fact that painting is a main focus of the film, for both Gerda and Einar, there should’ve been more painter-quality shots in here, I think. And while the cinematography by Danny Cohen is pretty fantastic, I can’t say that it’s perfect. Still, in terms of lighting and general skill, it’s still quite a good looking movie.

Production and Art Design: 10/10

But the deficiencies in the direction are EASILY compensated for by the production design! Like, hot DAMN, this is a good looking movie, like I said! That goes from the construction of the sets, to the gorgeous outfits all over the place, especially Lili’s outfits. Some iconic pieces of wardrobe there, that’s for sure! But if I have ONE complaint...this movie never once felt like the 1920s. Yup, good old anachronistic complaints from me again! Yeah, I’ll change the record one of these days, I promise. But even with that, it’s hard to ignore just how good this movie looks, to be honest. It’s just...gorgeous.

Music and Editing: 8/10

As I type this, I’m listening to a track of the film on YouTube, and it is a beautifully delicate tune. I’m not sure that I’d be able to associate it with the film if presented to me on its own, but it’s definitely a nice track to listen to by itself. Playlist worthy? For somebody, almost certainly, but not for me. One of these days, a film like that’s gonna pop up, I swear. But for now, Alexandre Desplat and his score are gonna stay off my iPhone. This really is a nice score, though, I promise. Editing by Melanie Ann Oliver is pretty good as well, and I’ve no complaints about it, to be honest. Overall, this side of things was quite nice, if not the most notable thing I’ve ever seen or heard.

I might have been a little harsh, but it’s still got an 78%.

This is a good movie, but...I dunno, the inaccuracies do bug me. Hell, there are WAY more than what I’d mentioned, and I mentioned a lot. Not to mention the other glaring issue: no trans people at any stage of the production? Really? No script consultants, no writers, no NTOHING? That’s...egregiously bad. Like, holy shit, guys. And, yes, this includes Redmayne, because even though he performed admirably in the role...I dunno. I’m no expert on ANY of this, as a cissexual dude with cissexual experience, but it feels a little...reductive, is all. Like I said, if any other actors have been suggested for this role, I’d love to know. The whole thing feels...I don’t know, just not great. 

And by the way, that’s without even TOUCHING the question as to whether or not this film is authentic to the trans experience. Again, I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA, but I’ve also heard that this film isn’t universally acclaimed in the trans community, so to speak. And I’m definitely interested in the reasons for that. All I know is this: from the perspective of a complete outsider, I was intrigued by this films view of the transgender experience, specifically as seen in the earliest days of those realizations happening and being publicly known and reported on. And that’s all I can really comment on, in truth.

WHOOF. That was a goddamn topic, huh? And now, I’m going to continue on the the month of romance with...wait, the 19th is my 5-year anniversary with my GF, pictured here:

Ravishing. Anyway, I think I’ll let her pick from my choices for this next one. Hold on a sec...OK, then. Sing it with me now! AND DO I DREEEEEAM AGAAAAIN, FOR NOW I FIIIIIIIIIIIIIND...

February 19, 2021: The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

[siren-of-redriver96]

Villian Heights (part 6)

(reading Wuthering Heights for the first time and  trying to figure out the deal with this book with some assumptions from  previous summaries of the story)

Today:

(from the narrator switch to Cathy’s burial)

(spoilers and kind of heavy themes - also strong language)

(btw some of my quotes may not be word for word because I’m reading it in another language)

narrator, thanks for pointing out Nelly being a good narrator, that’s nice

Cathy sitting by the window, the way it’s described, that’s kinda beautiful

wait - he’s covering her in kisses - she kissed him first ... am I the only one who still didn’t see their bond as romantic until now?

idk - I know this sounds weird, but hear me out: I’ve never really seen them as being “in love” ... this chapter goes more into this direction, but ... I know they declared their love for each other, but to me, it always rather seemed like their bond wasn’t so much romantic love as rather a deep bond between two people whom, growing up together, just had no other reliable relationship for so long, and held each other up during their abusive childhoods, and are also, as Cathy points out, very similar in thinking and feeling ... they’re more like family-like friends to me. Maybe it’s because their bond came out of tragedy and pain they withstood together rather than positive meeting and dating

and Cathy has a point. The whole conflict between Heathcliff and Edgar, the whole tearing her apart between them because neither wants to share - she’s got a point here.

but boy - it goes back and forth between them. I’m not gonna claim she isn’t possessive of him (meanwhile she’s crazy and so is he, so...)

their argument - yeah, they are scary.

and yeah, she suffered from being locked up

Bronte makes a point, however, that he is also possessive of her - nice balance there (and they’re still both insane)

oh - what he did next kinda caught me off guard.

it gets uncomfortable. she said no, Heathcliff, let go please.

that kinda caught me off guard too, though it only lasts one paragraph

it’s sad how much they cling to each other right after that - like I said, this isn’t a run-of-the-mill romantic bond ... they have no one else

poor Nelly, she tried

what?

.............. Catherine was pregnant?

is it just me or did the book not mention that?

it’s said that Cathylin was born at 7 months, but ... I feel like it wasn’t brought up, not even by Nelly, nor by any vizualization

I’m super confused right now, correct me if it was mentioned at any point

I mean, everyone just goes on and on about how sick and crazy Cathy is - nobody ever mentions a bump, a future heir to Thrusscross Grange - and I think this would be something Cathy would elaborate on in her usual way.

and it would be important for Isabella, that’s her brother’s child after all.

and it would be important for Linton, that’s possibly his heir*ess (which would matter to Isabella as then she would be no longer next in line to inherit the estate)

speaking off: HOW. Does Heathcliff not mention anything? He’s not mad at the sheer fact that Linton put a child in Cathy? He’s not mad that his might foil his plans to get Thrusscross Grange?

unless... he’s already planning to either gamble the estate away from a son or wed the daughter to an adopted Hareton - or to a son by Isabella? I’m not sure if England back then had already banned the marriage of cousins

or he just marries the girl himself in the future? Unfortunately that would be legal since they’re not blood relatives :/

Heathcliff’s reaction to Cathy’s death is dramatic, but probably the most sane reaction we’ve seen from him in a while - their obsession with each other is still unhealthy, but you kinda feel for him in this moment

Nelly braiding together Heathcliff and Linton’s hair and putting it back into Cathy’s pendant was pretty wholesome

Linton respecting Cathy’s wish to be buried in more nature, by a hill, and how he was buried beside her, was kinda nice ... their relationship wasn’t healthy, but this was nice

[natthebattygeologist]

A Brush with a Cursed Lily

Royal Court AU

King’s Advisor!Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader

A/N: So here it is, a second part to A Kiss From a Rose. I’m sorry for the wait however I got very busy with work and my university projects. I do so hope you enjoy this. It’s written slightly differently to part 1 as this is all from the Reader’s POV.

I just want to thank @cockslut-padalecki for allowing me to write part 1 as part of the #notmyninth writing challenge and I hope that this angsty follow up does A Kiss From a Rose proud.

Word Count: 2208

Warnings: Angst, angst, more angst, some light fluff, swearing, implied smut, grief, mentions of loss.

Reader’s POV

I ran around chasing after the little squirt who was currently avoiding his bath-time before tripping up and landing square on my backside in a patch of tall Calla Lilies. They were a stunning shade of deep violet and brought back the memories of 6 summers ago. The day I was married off to my best-friend, Steve Rogers, Lord of Rosebury-upon-Sale. I chuckled to myself as my husband rounded the corner of the orangery with our son, covered in mud head to toe, a huge smile plastered on his face. The last few years had been trying at times, and unbearable in others but somehow, we managed to make it through.

“Frolicking in the flowers are we, my petal?” A deep laugh resonated from Steve’s chest as he took in the sight of me, dishevelled and dirtied from my tumble.

“Yes, it’s a rather delightful hobby I have found. Quite the thrilling end to chasing our little gremlin child. Now if you would be so inclined as to help your pregnant wife out of the flower bed, I would greatly appreciate it.”

“Come now love, you know I love to see you in a fluster, but I suppose it would do the baby no good leaving you there.”

I took the hand he so graciously offered me and took our muddied little boy from his father’s hold.

“Now honestly Charlie, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Prince as muddy and dirty as you are right now, you little rascal. Let’s get you cleaned up and fed, then maybe we can go and visit Uncle James before bedtime.”

----------------- 4 Years Earlier----------------

The King summoned us back to court, and what was meant to be a joyous visit quickly became a permanent stay. Upon our arrival we were greeted by a bleary-eyed Prince and an equally as troubled Princess. The King was dying and had called upon his advisor to help prepare for Bucky’s transition into power. To anyone else nothing would’ve seemed amiss, except it was.

When James’ back was turned, I had witnessed Princess Maia acting rather strangely, gathering bouquets of foxglove and trimmings of deadly nightshade. I was almost certain of her intentions but feared my own safety and so kept it to myself, until one night where I couldn’t bear the burden this knowledge held over me any longer.

“Steve, my love, I have something troubling my mind.” My voice came out a hushed and broken whisper.

“What worries you so my petal? I know it hasn’t been easy for you being back, and having to pretend to like Maia, I assure you that I am always here to listen to you and love you.”

“Well, you see, I think I know why the King is sick. On several occasions I have witnessed the Princess with my own eyes gathering bouquets of foxglove and cuttings from the nightshade bush down by the lily patch. I worry that she is poisoning the King, taking advantage of both his and James’ compromised states to hold a sway over decisions that will likely see our kingdom lost to that of her own father.”

I spoke confidently now, having been an integral part of the court for all my childhood. Steve knew better than to question my knowledge of how things ran. He also knew that I would be one of the first to notice if anything was awry, be that with the account books or even the numbers of armed men stationed at each watchtower. After the death of his wife the King only had James as an heir, and so, he vowed that in case any ill befall him I would also be trained, so that if required, I could become a successful Queen someday.

“Steve, I do believe wholeheartedly that this is all a set-up and that we have been blindly infiltrated by our enemy. Things aren’t adding up. The number of guards stationed at The Keep has been halved in sized since the King has fallen ill. It leaves the West of the kingdom in a precarious position. One where an attack could easily happen and be kept quiet. I don’t like the look of it, any of it, and something needs to be done before we are conquered, you are killed, and me resigned to a life of slavery and servitude at the hands of the despicable Wyvern family.” My voice broke and a sob tore through me at the thought of losing everything I have left to the family that has already taken so much from me, starting with my mother shortly after I was born.

“Hush my petal. Tears will do nothing to fix this. The King is aware of the situation, however in our absence the Prince has changed, and he has become blinded by his love for ‘his lily’, though I daresay snake would be the better term for that venomous bitch.” A scoff escaped Steve’s lips before he continued. “The reason the King summoned us is because he has seen what fate has befallen James. He has made his bed, albeit a rather uncomfortable bed, and now he will have to lie in it. The King wishes for you to become Queen after his passing. He wants to stop the plans of Maia’s family before their tendrils of poison can run further into our kingdom than they already have. You my love can bring all this to an end, and I believe you would be able to unite the Kingdoms in a peaceful treaty that could last.”

I curled up into Steve’s side placing a chaste kiss to his lips. He returned it with a hunger and passion before carding his fingers through my hair and tracing them along my jaw.

“Please my petal, let me chase away your worries, after all, if you are to be Queen, we shall need to work on producing some heirs.”

A smirk befell his lips before he ducked his head, nipping at my neck, knowing full well that I would cave to his carnal desires.

--------------- Present Day -------------

After having cleaned up the mucky Prince, Steve and I walked with him through the gardens as evening began to draw in. Fireflies filled the air as we made the trek to the rose garden. As a child it had been mine and Bucky’s favourite place to hide, and on more than one occasion hugs and kisses had been exchanged.

Today this garden holds a whole new meaning as at its centre, beneath a beautiful weeping willow, lay James’ grave.

------------- 3 Years Earlier ------------

Before the King’s passing, he ordered his kings-guard to imprison and execute the Princess for treason against the throne. She was hung at The Keep as a warning to her family that they were next. Their years of planning and scheming had come to an abrupt and distasteful end.

What the Wyverns deemed as an unlawful murder incited a full war between our Kingdoms, it saw both Steve and Bucky fighting on the front lines with me at the helm, as Queen. Soon I had treaties signed with other Kingdoms aligning us for generations to come, until the only one stood against the alliance was the Kingdom of the Serpents. The battle of Roseknappe in the Western borders was the bloodiest battle of all. By this time, I was no longer part of frontline action as I was holed up in the castle under the watchful protection of my elite Queens-guard. When news got out that I was with child the Wyverns stopped at nothing to try and kill me or at the least cause me harm enough for my body to rid itself of the heir I now lovingly grew inside of me. But they needn’t have worried.

When I was around 5 months along tragedy struck our kingdom. The arrival of my husband looking grey in pallor, with sunken eyes and covered in injuries was the first sign that something was very wrong. When the two had left to fight they rode off, side by side, settling any grievances they had over the arranged marriages and uniting to fight to save the Kingdom and keep me on the throne. Steve’s return signalled the end of an era and feelings in my gut that had been dormant for years surfaced in cry of grief so great that it silenced the birdsong for days. Although James was not King, he was still a beloved Prince. My first love and the person who would forever hold a piece of my heart.

In my grief-stricken state I had fallen and managed to land with the sharp riser of the marble stairs squarely in my abdomen. The shock I was in meant that I hadn’t noticed the blood that began pooling nor do I remember what happened over the next few weeks as the doctors and healers frantically worked to keep me alive.

“Steve? Steve? Where’s James? I…. I want to see him. I…” I was interrupted by Steve coming over and pulling me tight to his chest.

“Praise to the Old Gods, my petal, are you okay? Are you in any pain?” worry had seeped into his tone and what looked to be a pang of guilt crossed his normally stoic face. “My love, how much do you remember of the last three weeks?”

A confused expression befell my features before Steve decided to continue.

“Oh, my sweet love, James... James isn’t coming back. The fight at Roseknappe, he saved my life by taking the arrow that was meant to pierce my heart, he sacrificed himself because he wanted me to be able to return to you, so I could love you the way he was never allowed to. So that I could raise a family and keep our Kingdom strong. He died in my arms after begging me to pass you on this letter that he wrote, almost as if he knew he wouldn’t make it back from this war.”

Fresh tears began to fall as Steve handed me the bloodied paper.

My dearest Rose,

How I wish things had been different, and that it was I that got to hold you in my arms at the end of the aisle. I begged my father to change his mind, but he wouldn’t budge. I will never forgive myself for the horrid things I said to you when father made you queen. I was poisoned by the words of a traitor and knowing now I hurt the one true love of my life is the reason why I will fight so hard to save you.

If you are reading this it means I am gone my sweet girl. I know that you will grieve me but please, for my sake as much as your own, I want you to love Steve as wholly as you once loved me. I beg of you to take care of yourself and to keep me close as you grow through the years. I am sorry I will not be there to see my little nieces and nephews, but I know that you and Steve will be the most wonderful parents.

That day in the rose garden, after your first dance in front of the court, when I kissed you. I wanted to tell you then just how much I loved you, but I couldn’t do it. It’s almost as if in my heart I knew you would never truly be mine.

I love you my Rose and I will see you in the next life,

Your Prince,

Bucky

xx

4 months later after grieving the loss of the Prince, the Kingdom was celebrating, not just a victory of war and a long lasting treaty of peace, but the birth of their future King.

Prince Charlie James Buchanan Rogers, heir to the throne of Rosehall and Duke of Snowblossom Grove.

----------- Present Day ----------

“…… and that is the story of how your brave Uncle James battled the terrifying Wyverns to protect your mummy.”

I could hear Steve talking with Charlie as I sat on the bench staring blankly at the grave, wishing with every ounce of strength that I could, hoping to gain just one more moment with my soulmate.

“Come Charlie, let’s get you into bed, then tomorrow we can go riding and Papa can show you the waterfall where him and Uncle James decided to scare me into thinking that your Papa had drowned. Really, they just wanted mummy to go swimming with them, but they knew I wouldn’t go unless there was an emergency.”

After settling Charlie into bed, I took a stroll around the halls before heading to my shared chambers. Laying on the bed next to Steve he protectively wrapped his arms around me, as if he could shield me from the pain the world would throw at me.

“I love you Steven Grant Rogers. It may have taken me a while but, I have always cared for you, and I vow to you now that I will love you until my dying breath.”

“I know my petal, as I will love you, and Charlie, and this little one that we have yet to meet, until mine.”

Taglist: (My Humble Peeps)

@missyredbean

[styw]

Chaeyoung & Jisoo

Marriage

Age 6 & 7 "Marry me!" A brunette shouts at you, furrowing both of your brows as strands of your hair get blown off by the wind. Same for the brunette, who happens to share the same haircut with you, but she didn't bother and glued her eyes on you. "What? What's "Marry me?" " That was the first you've blurted out to her as you air quoted her.  "Let's make babies!" You furrowed your brows more, looking thoroughly at the brunette who is very weird like Spongebob you've seen from your TV at Home. "Do you even know how to make babies?" You ask, doubting that this kid might be spitting nonsense, and also, you were slightly curious as well, so how did your parents make you and Alice? Park Alice, your old sister used to tell you that a duck delivered you to your parents at the doorway. You wondered if that is possible, if so, then how did a mere duck create a human baby? Surely they're not half duck and half human right? One human and one duck if you plus them both. Weird "I don't know, but I'll marry you," The kid says in front of you. You furrowed your brows more, confused, and opened your mouth to say something when someone else says something first. "You're too straightforward, Jisoo," Ms. Bae says, offering both of her hands at you and the brunette who is currently sitting on the chair beside you, "And also, don't you think you're a little young for that? And also, Jisoo, do your colors now or else your Mama Kim is going to give you vegetables for a month." You see how the brunette furrowed both of her brows as she pouts. You thought it's a little bit cute, but laughed afterwards. "You're still not done with your colors? That must be sad. Do you want me to help you?" You said nicely and saw the brunette's eyes turning from sad to immediately energetic one.  "You will?" She asks you, excitedly.  You nodded your head at her, smiling as well. "I'm Jisoo!" She says, loudly, facing her body on you and then reaches out her other hand to you.   "I'm Chaeyoung." You said, taking her hand on your hand for a handshake, and smiled. That was the start of your friendship with Jisoo. Age 9 & 10 "Marry me," You hear something on your left and glanced at the brunette who sat beside your left. The two of you were sitting on the couch, watching Tangled, shoulder pressed against each other, and you felt her move, facing her body towards you. You remembered, after Meeting Jisoo at school, you immediately asked your sister, "What does “Marry me?” mean?" And you could only think it's a bad thing when you see your sister gasped, eyes wide open, and immediately asked: "Why? Did someone already asked for your hand for marriage?" You thought she sounded mad, but if you lie in front of her right now. She'll get more mad, so you nod your head at her, "There is. Her name is Jisoo," You said.  You saw how your sister smiled teasingly at you, "I see." She says, flashing the smile you hated when your sister Alice teases you about something.  "Anyway, so "Marry me," She air quotes, "Means to tie a knot together with the person you love and grow old with them together." Your sister said and frowned at her, confused more. Tie a knot together? What does that mean? You can see your sister looked at you, again with the smile you hated, and said:  "It's okay, Rosie posie, you're still young. Don't think through that much and ignore it." Your sister said, reaching out to ruffle your hair. You pouted, you did not like it when Alice ruffles your hair, because it'll get messy. So you left Alice's room that night. You wanted to ignore it, but your curiosity got the best of you. Alice was useless, so you thought you'll go to your parents and ask what marriage means. You knocked at their bedroom door, the bedroom where your parents stay, and after a couple of minutes waiting. You hear a click and see your Father who you thought just woke up and widened his eyes when he sees you. "Roseanne, baby," Your father calls you out, bending his knees, and opens his arm for you to hug him. You leaned closer and hugged him, "What's wrong? Did you have bad dreams?" Your father asked and you shake your head at your father. "No, papa. I'm a big girl now," You smiled, distancing yourself from your father's hug, "But I do have some question to ask." You said. "What is it, sweetheart?" At first, you were hesitant to ask your father the question, but when you felt your father tugging softly and caressing your hand. You thought why not give it a go? "What does marriage mean?" Your father stares at you, making you feel uneasy, but when your father starts to smile, you also start to smile. "Aren't you a little bit too young for that, baby? Hmm," "Papa please..." You pouted, "I just want to know what that means so I can sleep peacefully." You playfully tugged his arm, wanting him to give up, and answer your question that has been bugging you since meeting Jisoo. Your could hear your father's warm laugh then reach out to cup both of your cheeks in his palm, "Marriage is where you grow old together with the person you love, Rosie. You grow old with the person you love, stay by their side no matter how tough, support them, and take care for each other."  "Just like you and mama?"  Your saw your father flashes a dreamy smile, "Just like Mama and Papa,"  After talking with your father, you asked yourself whether you wanted to grow old with Jisoo. Do you love Jisoo? You thought she's cute, she's nice, and a little bit loud which is making your ears deaf. You sigh, feeling a sudden mild headache from all the thinking. You decided to shrug it off, thinking she won't bring it to you again. Back to the present, where you are nine years old and Jisoo is ten years old. You were positive that she won't bring it back again, but then, Jisoo proved you wrong. Jisoo was still looking at your eyes, twinkling like Eugene's eyes, from the character of tangled, when he looked at Rapunzel.  You shake your head in response with a smile and you could see Jisoo was still smiling, and was the first to turn her attention to the movie like she did not say anything about marriage just now. Eventually, you followed what Jisoo did and wondered if Jisoo knew what she was asking. Age 13 & 14 "Marry me!" You winced at how loud Jisoo's voice is, the microphone was totally helping Jisoo to make everyone's ears go deaf in the venue. It was recognition day. The day where the teachers held an event for the honor and high honor students and gave their handcrafted medals. You are thirteen now and Jisoo is fourteen. You two were invited to go to recognition day, because you are an honor student while Jisoo is the valedictorian of her year.  Now, Jisoo was making her speech, but you didn't really listen much to it. You knew it was made by the school and Jisoo is only reading them, because the school told her to do so. It was boring until you groaned at the sudden pitch from the microphone.  Jisoo said it again. You found your eyes staring at Jisoo and Jisoo did the same, but with a cheeky grin. You rolled your eyes and shaked your head to the brunette earning a look from the other students, but chose to ignore. You could see Jisoo pout for a second, but then disappeared in an instant and smiled more. You sometimes wondered what is going on in her head. "Okay..." Ms. Kang trails off, "that was a nice speech coming from Ms. Kim. Please give Ms. Kim a round of applause." She says, flashing an awkward smile to everyone and making Jisoo return to her seat. And Jisoo did return to her seat which is a little bit far away from you. You found your eyes following her figure and she caught you staring at her. You tried to stop your chuckle when you saw her wiggling her eyebrows at you and mouthed, "Congratulations."  You mouthed the same and Jisoo flashes her smile more. Around that time, there was something lurking inside you when you saw her smile. You shrugged it off, thinking it's because you're now one of the honor students and you'll be making your parents proud. Age 16 & 17 "Marry me," You heard a yell from the hallway. Somehow, you already know who's voice it is and know who that person is. You smiled at yourself when you immediately recognized it. Feeling proud, though you don't know why. You turned your back and immediately found the brunette's eyes, twinkling like how it twinkled back when you were nine and she was ten. She's looking at you the way Eugene looked at Rapunzel, and since you're sixteen. You started to have an idea what Eugene really felt for Rapunzel. While thinking about that, you couldn't help but to get flustered. You bit your bottom lip, feeling the anticipating stares of the students. You shake your head in response and swore you could see disappointment in some students' eyes. However, in Jisoo's eyes, there was no disappointment or perhaps Jisoo is just good at hiding it. You see Jisoo running to your way, entangled both of your arms with hers and she leaned closer to place her head at your shoulder. You couldn't see her face, so you don't know what she's feeling at the moment, and decided to brush it off. A part of you was disappointed, you at least expected Jisoo will show emotion to you. Or maybe, Jisoo is just totally joking about marrying you.  Age 18 & 19 "Marry me," Jisoo said, quietly but still loud enough due to the microphone. You could hear the screams of the girls and roaring of the boys, but you didn't mind them. Instead you focused your eyes at what's in front of you. That line wasn't for you and somehow, you found yourself wanting to be the same class as Jisoo to be in Jennie's place. You sigh relentlessly at your sit and keep your gaze stable at Jisoo who's doing her best on the stage. Today was a sports festival and your teacher told the president to choose a presentation to present to the whole school. You and your classmates were debating whether to do a school play or a food stall. In the end, your class chooses a food stall and you are in your break. As for Jisoo, Jisoo told you that we're doing a play and she's partnered with the one and only, Kim Jennie from the Cheerleader team. Of course, you were happy that Jisoo got the role, but part of you was a little bit not happy to hear that. You wondered why you felt that, so made a mental note to ask your friend, Lisa, in the cafeteria later. You snapped at your thoughts when you heard loud claps from other students. You also joined them and clapped along. When the play was done, you checked your watch, and noticed that your break is almost done, so you made your way to the backstage to meet Jisoo and say your goodbyes. With a smile, you made your way to the backstage and found Jennie and Jisoo talking and laughing like they're on their own worlds.  You could feel your heart is feeling something unfamiliar and you could only bring your hand near to it, tapping it softly as if you're comforting it.  After that, you decided to walk away from them without Jisoo knowing. While you're on your journey on returning to the food stall, you saw your best friend, Lisa, crossing her arms as she waits for you near to your food stall. You could see how she frowned when she saw your expression and how you held your hand closer to your chest, "Are you alright?" She asked, cupping both of your cheeks, and made you look at her. You shake your head, "I'm fine." You said, looking away, and hoping the Thai will buy your lie.  "You're clearly not fine, Rosie. I know you look away when you lie,"  Lisa really knows you well, even your body language. She also knows them. You looked at her in the eyes, pouting slightly, and decided to tell her what is bothering you.  "It's Jisoo..." You whispered. "What about Jisoo?"  You looked down and asked yourself: What about her? Jennie and Jisoo were only talking, so what's the problem?  "I don't know..." You trailed off, looking down, and started to fidget your finger like a child, "I saw them talking, they looked like they were lost in their own world." You honestly said. "Why am I feeling this, Lis?" You desperately asked your friend. Lisa looked at you, cupping your cheek with her other hand, and giggled, "You're really dense, aren't ya? You're jealous, silly." You frowned at what the Thai said about you and opened your mouth, ready to deny that you're not jealous, but before you can say it to the Thai, Jisoo's loud voice echoed throughout the hallway causing you to look back and widened your eyes when you saw Jisoo still in her prince uniform and Jennie tailing behind her with a... smirk? "Marry me," Jisoo yelled. You freezed up in your position and you could hear your friend, Lisa, who is behind you is trying to restrain her laugh.  Everyone was staring at you, this time you could feel their stares were sharp and kind of serious. You were nervous, pretty nervous, and the fact that Lisa told you a while ago that you're jealous is not helping you at all. You? Jealous? Impossible. You don’t look at Jisoo that way. So why would you be jealous of Jisoo and Jennie?

You shake your head in response, earning a disappointed sigh from the students, but they just smile, because it was like every other time.  Age 22 & 23 "Can you be my girlfriend?" Jisoo asked quietly, holding your hands together with hers, giving a light squeeze, and she seemed almost pleading while looking at you in the eyes. Jisoo finally confessed to you and you were quiet speechless. You always thought Jisoo was kidding every time she asked you for your hand in marriage and now, since she told you that she was serious all this time. You couldn't help, but to tear up. Feeling bad all of a sudden, because you thought she was kidding. All these years, you've been trying to avoid your feelings for the brunette. After all these years, you've been fooling and hurting yourself, because you thought she doesn't love you, but it turns out that she did, and it broke your heart.  "I'm sorry," That was all you could say to her. You were sorry, not because you're going to reject her. You were sorry, because you didn't take her seriously. Jisoo has been hurting all these years and you didn't notice that.  You felt your tears finally falling down, streaming down to your cheeks while you looked at Jisoo in the eyes, "I'm sorry..." You whispered while you tightly held her hands back. "It's okay, Chaeyoung. You don't have to force yourself on me. I won't ask for your hand anymore," She whispered, taking you to her embrace. You cried still while shaking your head, "Now don't cry please. It hurts me to see you cry."  This time, you shake your head more harshly on her embrace. You pulled yourself away from her, looking deeply on her eyes. You could feel your heart ache at the sight, because Jisoo was silently crying too-- just like you.  "I like you, Jisoo." You bravely said, but frowned afterwards, "No-- I don't like you. I love you!" You told her that as you stared on her face.  You could see confusion mixing well with shock on her face, but you only smiled as you wiped your tears away, "You love me?" She whispered, unsure. You nodded at her, "I love you, Kim Jisoo." "Chaeyoung loves me?" She asked, this time, you see her face start to lit up from the happiness. You slowly nodded, you could feel your cheeks are heating up. "You love me!?" She asked, making you giggle at your place and nodded. "Oh my god," Jisoo gasped, her eyes wide as she looked at you. In a second, you could see Jisoo cried more, harder than before. You tried to make her stop crying by giving her an embrace and you could hear her sobs are getting louder instead of stopping. "I'm so happy..." You heard her. "I do." "I love you, Chaeyoung." "I love you too, Jisoo." "Marry me," You giggled, "Aren't we a little bit early for that?" Age 27 & 28 "Marry me?" Jisoo asked sincerely, focusing her eyes on yours. You looked at Jisoo, eyes wide open. You couldn't believe Jisoo just proposed, though she's been asking for your hand for years. You two were still in your undies, Jisoo is on her black lacy set undergarments while you are on your red lacy set undergarments in the bed room. Both of you just woke up from deep sleep and a wild night.  It wasn't a perfect situation to ask for your hand, but you didn't really care. For you, what matters at this moment is that Jisoo proposed and you're finally able to give your answer to her. You bit your bottom lip, still staring at Jisoo, and when you felt something streaming down to your cheeks. You realized that you just cried just now.  Jisoo was looking at you with worried eyes, but you didn't bother. You, instead smile as you cry, and this time, you finally nod. "Yes, I will marry you, Kim Jisoo." 

[thecagedsong]

Forgotten Light: Chapter 4: History

A/N: Hey guys! Afternoon update since I was busy with pancake breakfasts this morning. Another Kendra chapter. Ronodin gets a little pushy, but it’s still G rated and won’t ever get worse than this, you’ll see what I mean. Remember, you are supposed to hate him. Still playing around with the chapter title for this one, and some of you who caught my analysis post a few months ago might recognize some themes.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11

Chapter 4: History

Kendra picked another book off the shelf, noticed it was in a language she couldn’t read, and put it back. Over half the books in this library she couldn’t read, which seems like poor planning on her part.

She wasn’t even sure she wanted to read. It had sounded like a good way to get her mind off her apparently outrageous life story, but there was really no hope of thinking about anything else.

Kendra was the seventeen-year-old daughter of a noble family, very old fashioned, that obtained their status through years of keeping the undead enslaved and trapping dragons and other magical creatures considered dangerous to mortals. Kendra, as the eldest, was expected to follow in her family’s footsteps as jailors, but had grown doubtful that their way of life was right.

Kendra had met Ronodin at the engagement party for her arranged marriage with his cousin, Bracken. Ronodin teased her that his cousin was such an ugly bore, she had fled from Bracken right into Ronodin’s arms. (Kendra had rolled her eyes when he said that). He had been invited, as family, but Ronodin was far from welcome.

He wouldn’t tell her why just yet, but promised to soon, when they trusted each other a little more. Having nearly killed him, she agreed that that explanation could wait.

Ronodin and Kendra started meeting in secret, and talking. They fell in love strolling through the dragon prison her family kept. To throw suspicion off their meetings secret, they told her family that she was fine going through with her engagement with Bracken.

Her wedding was approaching in a couple of months, and they cared for each other more than ever. Kendra knew that not even her family’s love was worth marrying anyone but Ronodin. He had sounded so amazed when he quoted her, awed that someone so amazing could ever feel that way about him.

Kendra had blushed at her own boldness, and simultaneously felt heartbroken over that fact that she had given that feeling up. She was attracted to Ronodin, certainly, but when she tried to summon the life changing love he talked about, she had nothing. Just attraction and the feeling that he was speaking to someone else.

She had apologized, and he said she would just have to let him court her again. He’d do it as many times as it took to stick, he had laughed. He would understand if she wanted to break off their engagement, but he hoped she would still give him a chance.

Kendra promised to think about it.

They devised a plan, to take place just after she and her brother participated in a coming of age trial specific for their family against the dragons of sanctuary. It was a disgusting spectacle, offering the dragons their freedom once a generation, if they can claim the wizenstone first. It would be the last thing her parents ever forced her to do, she had vowed, and arranged for it to look like her servant had kidnapped her in the immediate aftermath.

For, despite everything, Kendra loved her family. They tried to follow the traditions of their ancestors without cruelty, and they had faced hundreds of trials together. By staging her own kidnapping, she would be breaking their hearts, but in a way they would understand. She would preserve their reputation, and be utterly free.

And that was apparently who she was. Kendra hadn’t counted on losing her memory, but maybe she had felt okay doing it for her brother when she knew about her fake kidnapping going to occur. She must have trusted herself to fall in love with Ronodin again, and Ronodin to take care of her. It was a lot of trust to place in someone.

Kendra did wish she had a family picture. If she went to such great lengths to protect them, then she must have wonderful memories of them, locked under the enchantment. She picked up another book, this one in English, The Forgotten Crown.

The library kept with the crimson and black theme, and she picked a black leather armchair by a fireplace. Normal fire, this time, not blue. It was strange, when things were lit by blue fire, it washed out the red and made the black look like a void. Ronodin must have handled the design choices, she couldn’t imagine picking this out herself under any circumstances.

She wanted to warm her feet, but didn’t think she could move the heavy chair, so sat on it sideways. Her black dress rode up her thighs, but the exposed skin felt the warmth from the fire, so she didn’t bother with modesty while alone. Mendigo was standing guard, he’d knock if someone was going to come in.

Kendra curled up with her book, and started reading about what the author called the six great crowns. They were the pillars of immortality that moved the natural world through its extremes: The crowns of the Giants, the Dragons, the Underking, and the Demons, the Fairies, and the Fair Folk. Humans were the interlopers, and the author took a three whole pages to describe why humans were the absolute worst.

Their sins included but were not limited to:

-Having the audacity to not always want immortality

-Ignoring boundaries like disrespectful heathens

-Killing immortals

-Assuming they have purpose

-Not tasting good

And their greatest sin of all: daring to change. Their ability to change affected even perfectly happy immortals, how dare they! After the rant on humans, Kendra got absorbed in the discussion on the powers and functionality of each crown, and there was a diagram of how they related to each other.

It started with an upside-down triangle. Fairies on the top left corner, Demons on the top right, and the Fair Folk at the bottom point. These three crowns were defined by their morality. The Fairy Crown on light, innocence, and creation. The Demon crown on darkness, pain, destruction, and cruelty. The Fair Folk were the forgotten crown, the main topic of the book, after the background was set. They were entirely neutral, and refused to take part in wars, and only ever offered to broker peace. Their power came from their neutrality, and the author recorded rumors of the horrible fall that came from the one time they broke their neutrality.

Kendra was tempted to skip ahead, but the background came first for a reason. The second triangle overlaid the first to create a six-pointed star. They were creatures based on space. Giants were the lower left corner, and took the sky, the Underking on the lower right took the places below ground, and Dragons stood at the top able to dwell high in the air and a ways underground. Their morality mapped the first triangle. Dragons had the capacity to create and destroy, love goodness or love evil, and came in every space on that morality line. Sky Giants tended between creation and neutrality, while the undead and the underking worked between destruction and neutrality.

The first triangle also worked within the second. The fairies tended between the air and the land, Demons below and on the land, while the fair folk, in the opposite of dragons, could only dwell on the land.

The opposites were also important. Dragons were many things, but it was extremely difficult for them to be neutral. Demons and Sky Giants avoided each other’s domains, so it was most difficult to understand their relationship. The Fairy Realm and the Under Realm however, were the most combative pair of opposites. Neither could tolerate the other. Darkness would swallow light, or light banish darkness, it came down to strength, and there was very little middle ground.

What middle ground there was came from the rare case where beings abandoned their magical alignment for the opposite, spiritual alignment. There were rumors of a demon sworn to pacifism, that occasionally helped naiads, and —

There was a single booming knock, the door flinging open with a bang. Kendra spazzed, fumbling her book and sinking into the armchair. The book fell, and Kendra glared at her “fiancé”, who was chuckling at her again.

“You look lovely,” Ronodin said, pausing to take in her disheveled state.

“Your whole ‘let’s make Kendra jump’ deal makes me think yesterday wasn’t the first time I’ve attempted to kill you,” she said. Well, one sleep ago. Time was hard without clocks or the sun.

That made him laugh once more, and Kendra couldn’t help but smile in return.

“No, not the first time, and probably not the last,” he said with a grin, “But you’ve never regretted holding back.” His eyes flicked to her pale legs.

Pale, bare legs. Kendra squeaked, and tried to pull her dress down, but only managed to flip herself onto the floor. She stood up with burning cheeks and a huff.

“I’m sorry, you’re just so easy to rile up. I love that look in your eye,” Ronodin said.

“Mendigo! Come here,” Kendra called, and the puppet came into the room. “Mendigo, next time, please do some gentle knocking yourself instead of letting the guest attempt to destroy the door before entering.”

Mendigo nodded.

Kendra turned and was about to say something when Ronodin squinted at her.

“Oh, right, sorry,” she said, and with a couple of deep breaths managed to dim her own light. It was an odd sensation, like walking around with her fist clenched. She would get into the habit again eventually.

Ronodin led her into another room down the little hallway of their living space, where Chinese takeout was set up for the meal.

“I’m going to take a guess and say my suave fiancé can’t cook?” she said, noticing the cartons.

“If you’re going to be rude, you don’t have to eat,” Ronodin said, pulling out her chair for her.

“Do I know how to cook?” she asked.

Ronodin shrugged, “I don’t think so, you usually had servants for that, and you lost any memory of experiences that would help you cook. We’ll just stick to take out for now.”

“You have any trouble out there?”

“If you mean your family, no,” he said. “You seemed to have pulled it off, and no one knows where you went. It won’t be long, I think, before we can find somewhere else, if that’s what you still want.”

“Yes please,” Kendra said, serving herself some friend rice. It smelled good, even if she couldn’t remember if she liked it or not, “Look, maybe its part of the fairy thing, but I can’t live in hiding forever. This place is really nice, even if it could use some color, but if you’re going to make me fall in love with you again, its not going to be here. Sorry.”

“I’m working on it, I promise,” he said, pulling her free hand into his and giving it a kiss. He pressed it to his heart, like he had done when Seth had made her touch him with the glove, and it made her blush again.

“I need that hand for eating,” she complained, lightly twitching her hand to reclaim it. It wasn’t like she was repulsed by Ronodin, but his overly physical affection got tiresome.

“You can have it back if you promise to hold your chopsticks right,” he said.

Kendra huffed, “Not all of us grew up using these. And even if I had, I lost my memory. You should be giving me a lot more breaks than you are for that.”

He simply waited, smiling, still holding her hand tightly. Kendra sighed, “Fine, show me how?”

Ronodin grinned and helped position her fingers. Kendra ordered the variety that Ronodin had brought in order from most favorite to least, and Ronodin commented on what his favorites were.

“Careful, you’re going to want the left overs,” Ronodin said, when Kendra eyed the remainder of her favorite. “I met with our host on my way back in.”

“Oh? I thought you said I arranged this myself before I came down here.”

Ronodin sighed dramatically, “Yes, and part of your ‘oh so brilliant’ arrangement was to loan your wonderful and talented fiancé out to our host for errands. I have to go out tonight. I don’t know when I’ll be back, but tomorrow night is probably the soonest we can hope for.”

“Oh,” Kendra said. Sure, he was often annoying, but he cared for her and was the only company she had besides Mendigo. “I guess I’ll explore the library some more.” She stood up to throw her dishes in the sink.

“You could do that,” he said, coming up behind her. “Or you can ask nicely for your other present.”

“I have the feeling asking nicely doesn’t actually go very far with you,” she put her hands on her hips and faced him, “And presents are meant to be given, not asked for.”

Ronodin’s arm snaked forward, pulling her into a kiss. She had a moment to flail, then he released her, and it was over. “You’re right, my favors have costs. Lucky for you, you just paid in full,” he teased.

“Ronodin!” she said, flushing and shoving him away. “Don’t do that.”

He just grinned cheekily and held a shopping bag towards her.

Kendra snatched it from his hands. “I mean it. I’ve known you two very stressful days, no kissing yet.”

Ronodin bowed his head in mock humility, “My lady, I didn’t mean to irritate you. I had to try the old fairy tale cure somehow. Alas, it appears true love’s kiss wasn’t the cure to this curse.”

She wanted to protest that of course it didn’t work, she didn’t love him. But she’d pulled that line once before to get him to back off and he always looked haunted when she did that. Haunted and sad, she didn’t have the heart to keep throwing that in his face, no matter how rude he was. This was at least as difficult for him as it was for her. And a small kiss didn’t hurt her, not really.

Instead she changed the subject by looking in the bag. “Wood blocks, books, fabric, and paint?”

“Your hobbies were another reason your family was suffocating,” Ronodin explained, “You liked carving, painting, and sewing more than dragon slaying and ‘monster’ hunting. Each of these materials comes from a magic source. The wood comes from different enchanted trees, the fabric is made from the hair of a goat the size of a house or lotus fibers, and the paints are mixed with tears and blood of various magical creatures.”

“Why is that important?”

“Because you are one of the select few beings that can craft magic items,” Ronodin said, “Part of you is that everfull wellspring of magic. You’ve done amazing at dimming it by the way, your control after just a day is astounding. But you can also recharge magical items that have run out of power, and when using the right materials, you can create new ones.”

Kendra’s eyebrows raise, “I thought…” she chased the elusive fact down, “I thought only wizards can create magical items.”

“They create it by crafting a vessel, using the same materials, and then binding their own magic into the object through an enchantment. You can skip that part, with the unlimited magic source you have at your disposal. You are more limited in what you can create, especially when starting out, you generally have to stick to reinforcing and enhancing the properties of the materials you’re using. When you do it right, the item will retain its magic long after you’ve put it down.”

“Wow,” she said, “And I could paint, sew, and carve?”

He nodded, “Enchanting items wasn’t at all in your family’s plans for you, so you tended to craft in secret. It will probably take you a while to pick up the skills again, but at least you’ll have something to occupy yourself if the library fails. The books in there provide some basic theories that will help.”

“Thank you,” she said, smiling and holding the bag close. “This was really thoughtful. I know that since I gave up my memory and my family in one swoop, I don’t have a chance at getting them back. But little connections like this help me feel…a little less lost.”

“I love you, Kendra,” he said, simply, “I’ll do anything to make you happy.”

Kendra smiled back uncertainly, unable to reply in kind. He seemed disappointed when she didn’t respond, but moved on to helping her set up a crafting room.

What kind of person led the life that she did? What would it take for old Kendra to not be a stranger anymore? Ronodin was a lot of things, but he deserved so much more than to have her break his heart at every turn.

[let-it-raines]

your wonder under summer skies (13/18)

Summer in Storybrooke, Maine means one thing for its residents: tourist season. This year, for Emma Swan and Killian Jones, it means relationships ending and friendships changing all the while they attempt to figure out just what their relationship is. It’s somewhere straddling the line between friends and lovers, and there’s no guarantee of a soft landing if they fall into new territory.

rating: mature

ao3: beginning | current

Tumblr: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 

-/-

“Okay, so I would recommend doing a buffet. I know a lot of people stupidly think that’s tacky, but it’s not. That way you have a constant flow of food and people aren’t sitting down waiting. The one thing you don’t want is people tapping their foot waiting for you two to be done with pictures so they can eat.”

“Do pictures take that long?” Liam asks.

“Oh my God, Liam,” Anna sighs through the phone, “we have been over this. Yes, pictures do take that long. This is a special day, and you’re going to want to remember it from every possible angle. Plus, you have to have pictures with family and friends, and it’s not a simple thing with a one, two click. Don’t you ever listen? I feel like you have to listen. You better be listening when my sister is trying to talk to you. She deserves a man who listens.”

“Anna, take a breath,” Elsa sighs.

“I don’t know how you’re planning a wedding with this man. I feel like I have to keep repeating myself.”

“You know,” Emma murmurs, rolling her eyes at Elsa, “there is also the option to have all of the pictures done before the actual ceremony. A lot of couples are doing that now. You can have private time with each other so that Liam isn’t seeing Elsa for the first time in front of all of these people, and it can also streamline the time between the ceremony and the reception.”

“But that first look during the ceremony is so special!” Anna whines. “You don’t want to miss out on that!”

Elsa looks up from her phone to look at Liam, and they seem to have some kind of silent conversation. Emma meets with different couples several times a week, sometimes several times a day, and while she’s used to there being questions and disagreements, she’s not used to have the bride’s professional event planner sister asking a million and two questions over FaceTime.

It’s fine, really. Anna is lovely, but she’s a lot to deal with. Emma is so used to spending time with Elsa and it being calm and soothing, so this is throwing her for a bit of a loop.

At least Liam is being nice. He’s been…kinder lately. Emma should question it when he usually likes to be a bit of an ass to her, but she’s not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Why did she just think that phrase?

Why is that even a phrase to begin with? Who is look a horse in the mouth? Why is it a gift?

“I think taking pictures before the actual ceremony sounds nice,” Elsa finally says, “and so does the buffet. Do you have servers or is it self-serve?”

“We have servers so people aren’t sticking their hands in the food.”

“Perfect. Can you remind me again of the contingency plan for if it rains?”

Elsa and Liam spend another forty-five minutes talking about different options and scenarios with Emma, most of that time spent talking with Anna and listening to plans, but eventually, they’ve covered everything they can and are ready to leave. Emma’s got an appointment with another couple in fifteen minutes, so when Elsa and Liam walk out of her office, she expects them to walk away and go back to work.

She decidedly does not expect Liam to linger around.

“Did you forget something?” Emma laughs, leaning against her doorframe.

“Oh, nothing big. Elsa simply forgot to ask if you were going to bring a date. Anna’s got her obsessing over making sure the envelopes are all addressed correctly, and for some reason she was tripping up over yours.”

“I promise you that I will not be weirdly offended if you guys give me an envelope that says Emma Swan instead of Emma Swan and guest. And tell her not to stress about that stuff. If someone gets offended over how an envelope is addressed, you probably don’t want them at your wedding to begin with.”

Liam chuckles and leans down against the arm of the chair that sits outside she and Mary Margaret’s office. “So, no date?”

“Eh, I don’t know. I’ve still got a month. Maybe I’ll magically fall in love again. Or at least meet a cute guy who would look good on my arm. Or, hey, maybe I can take Killian. He’s a good dancer, would be a hell of a wedding date. I feel like we should probably be each other’s default wedding dates at this point, you know?”

Liam’s smile falters, but it’s just for a second. If she wasn’t used to having to try to read him, she wouldn’t have noticed because just as quickly as it falters, the smile reappears. “He’s seeing someone, you know, so who knows? He might take her.”

“The same someone?” Emma asks before she can stop herself.

“I think so. You still don’t know who she is? I mean – you know, never mind. I told Killian I would stop interfering with his personal life, and I meant it. I can’t keep going behind his back and trying to get information from his friends.”

Emma arches a brow, and she takes a deep breath. Her heart is racing all of the sudden, and she desperately needs it to calm down.

Is this why Liam is being nicer? Because he and Killian had some kind of talk about Liam being too much into Killian’s business? She knew they got into an argument, but how does that translate to her?

Fuck.

Did Killian tell Liam that she was the one he was sleeping with?

No, no, that wouldn’t make sense. Then Liam wouldn’t be asking her if she knew who it was. He can be invasive, but he’s not about to go all FBI or something on her. And Killian wouldn’t do that. It’s against their rules.

“I think that’s probably a good idea on your part,” Emma sighs, pushing off the doorframe. “I don’t know if I’m bringing a date or not yet. Tell Elsa to stop freaking out over the little things, and if Anna gets to be too much, I’m always here to talk about the practical side of things.”

“Thank you for all of this, by the way.”

“It’s my job, but I’m happy to do it. Now go, Elsa is waiting on you, and I’m sure Killian is tired of manning the office by himself.”

“Please,” Liam laughs, “he and Skipper are probably enjoying the silence.”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t going to say that. I’m technically supposed to keep my clients happy. Once I’m off the clock, though, all bets are off.”

“I understand. Goodbye, Emma.”

“Bye.”

Emma waves him away, and as soon as he turns the corner down the hall, she sees her next couple. They’re early. They almost always are, and she thinks they might have the same enthusiasm as Anna does…if not more since they ask for yet another tour of the entire grounds because they’re just not sure of what exactly it is that they want yet.

It takes some kind of herculean strength not to scream since this is the fifth tour she’s given them, and their wedding isn’t until next July.

That’s a year that she has to deal with them.

A year.

Why does she do this again?

Oh, yeah, because most days it’s not that bad, and she usually doesn’t go down the wormhole that is thinking the entire wedding industry is a sham and wondering why people get married in the first place.

Is it for the wedding or the actual marriage?

For at least half of her clients, it’s only for the wedding. She’s obviously not some kind of expert on healthy relationships and only does this because she isn’t qualified to do much else that will pay her this well, but at least she knows that it’s fucked up.

When she finally gets the Taylors out of the club, Emma sighs in relief.

And her stomach growls.

It’s the middle of the afternoon, but she hasn’t eaten all day. Damn, she could go for whatever it is they served for lunch in the dining halls today, even if it’s probably cold right now. Emma checks her phone to make sure she doesn’t have any emails or last-minute appointments, and then she heads down the hallways and through the nearly empty main dining room to get to the kitchen.

Her phone dings in her hand, and she stops walking to look at it.

Killian: Why is my brother asking you if you’re bringing a date to his wedding?

Emma: He said something about Elsa being worried about how to address the envelope.

Emma: Wait. How do you know about that?

Emma: Did he tell you that I said I was bringing you? Because I was joking? Kind of. I don’t actually have a date or plan on having one, but you would technically be the most fun date of anyone in the city.

Killian: Why, Swan, are you asking me out?

Emma: Shut up.

Killian: I would love to go with you, for what it’s worth. I promise I’ll be a better wedding date than your last one.

Emma: That’s not much of a bar you have to leap over.

Emma: Do you want to get dinner tonight? I get off at seven.

She waits for the little bubbles to pop up immediately like they have been, but they don’t. Emma doesn’t think anything of it and stuffs her phone in the back pocket of her jeans and starts walking toward the kitchen again only to see Neal and his dad sitting at the table closest the kitchen entrance.

Dammit.

She should have gone through the back doors, but this way was closer.

What the hell is he doing here?

This is where she works.

Yeah, it’s a public place (if you pay a ridiculous member’s fee, which they unfortunately pay), but something being a public place doesn’t mean he can show up whenever he wants to.

This is her space, not his. They broke up, and there’s got to be some kind of unwritten rule that he simply doesn’t show up to her place of work.

He’s already always at Granny’s, which is bad enough, and then there was the fair and the one time she saw him when she had to go to Target for some new pillows.

But this? This is different?

They could have lunch at fifty different places, and the asshole knows it.

He also knows that she’s just spotted him because he’s staring right at her.

Shit.

Does she turn around and walk away or does she walk straight toward them, ignore them, and then head into the kitchen where she hopes Neal has the decency not to follow her in?

Emma doesn’t really get to make the choice, though, because Neal is standing from his chair and walking right toward her, the smile she used to love plastered on his face.

Was it always that disturbing? Did it always look so much like his dad’s?

“Emma,” he calls out. She bites her tongue. She cannot say anything dumb here. It could get her fired. His family are members here, and she doesn’t think Regina is going to give her a pass because of her personal business with them. In fact, she knows that she won’t. “Hey, how are you doing?”

“Wonderful,” Emma says. It’s not a lie. She’s not doing wonderful at this particular moment, but in general, she’s a lot better than she was the last time she was this physically close to him. “Are you enjoying your lunch? Is there anything that I can get you?”

His head tilts to the side, and his smile widens. “Oh, come on, Ems, you don’t have to be in work mode with me. We’re friends.”

Emma grits her teeth and takes another deep breath. She’s sure everyone in Storybrooke can hear them. Her dentist is going to be thrilled. “We are not friends, Neal. You ended any chance of that when you started sleeping with someone else and started working with your dad again. We’ve been over this, and I really don’t feel like repeating myself again.”

“You’re not still mad about that, are you?”

Seriously.

How is this the same man that she fell in love with? Was she blind to all of this? To how absolutely inconsiderate he is about so much?

“I don’t let you take up that much space in my head anymore, but you can’t honestly believe that I’m just going to forgive you for all that you did.”

His eyes roll. They actually roll.

He’s the one who fucked up, and he’s the one who is trying to act like they’re friends. Yet he’s also the one who’s exasperated by her pushback.

What an asshole.

“It’s not like you waited around long after you ended things before you started fucking Jones? And come on, you always told me there was nothing going on between the two of you, but that’s obviously bullshit.”

What the hell?

How does he…no, there’s no way that Neal could know. No one knows, and there’s no way Neal, who never paid any attention to the little things in her life, could know.

“I’m not sleeping with Killian,” she lies, “and even if I was, it would be none of your business since it would have happened after I left you.”

“I saw you two walking around at the fair, and he got fucking defensive over it when I suggested it to him. He didn’t say it, but come on, it’s pretty damn obvious.”

Emma swallows the lump in her throat so she can focus on her breathing. It’s the only thing she can focus on right now so she doesn’t punch Neal and knock all of his teeth out.

What an asshole.

How dare he confront Killian like that? Why did Killian not tell her?

You know what? It doesn’t matter why Killian didn’t tell her. What matters is that Neal is the worst.

“Neal,” she says slowly, her teeth grinding, “you lost any right to know who I am or am not sleeping with the moment you fucked someone else, so please, unless you need something from the club that only I can give to you, leave me the hell alone.”

He blinks, almost like he’s taken aback by her, and his smile falls.

Good.

“You don’t have to be a bitch about it.”

She opens her mouth, a curse at the tip of her tongue, but there’s a voice in the back of her mind that’s telling her this isn’t worth it. He’s not worth it. She’s got to stop letting him take up so much space in her head like she said she’s not. He doesn’t deserve it.

So, not for the first time, she walks away from Neal.

She walks away, knowing there’s only a half of a chance that he’ll bother to follow him, and she heads toward the kitchen. It means that she has to pass Neal’s dad, and she can feel his eyes on her.

The thing is, she doesn’t care.

That part of her life is over, and she’s not going to lie to herself and say that a part of her doesn’t still hurt and won’t hurt when she has to see Neal and Tamara, but she can’t keep dwelling on it.

This summer has been strangely good, and maybe it’s not all that strange since she’s cut Neal out of her life.

“Emma,” Harry, their head chef, exclaims when she walks into the kitchen, her heartbeat racing, “I’m just about to start dinner. Do you want something in particular?”

“What did we have for lunch? I can’t remember the schedule.”

“Pasta salad.”

“Do we have any of that left?”

“In the fridge. Feel free to help yourself.”

Emma picks up a cookie from the half-empty platter next to her. “You know that I will.”

“A cookie before dinner? Are we celebrating something?”

Emma laughs and takes another bite. “Just having a good day is all.” “Well, kid, I hope that continues for you.”

-/-

“Hello?” Emma calls out as she pushes open the front door of Jones Brothers’ Boating. The obnoxious as hell bell goes off, so everyone downstairs should be able to hear that someone has come inside, but no one comes out of any of the offices, not even Skipper.

Huh.

“Killian,” she says as she starts walking down the hallway. “KJ! Are you around?”

There’s still no answer, and when Emma checks the back offices, there’s no one in any of them. She decides to walk up the stairs to the apartment, but when she tries to turn the knob, she realizes that it’s locked.

She’s got a key, could easily let herself in, but if the apartment is locked, that means no one is home.

Where the hell are they?

Emma pulls her phone out of her back pocket and hits Killian’s name. It rings once, twice, several more times, and then his voicemail message comes up.

Well, damn.

This is probably why she should have called first, but Killian never texted her back about the two of them getting dinner. He’s almost always free, and if he isn’t, they’re usually plans she can join in on, but he’s obviously MIA tonight.

Emma swipes through her phone again and calls Elsa.

“Hello?” Elsa questions.

“Hey, Elsa. Have you heard from Killian today?”

“He’s in the back of the ice cream shop. Do you need him?”

“Why is he in the back?”

Elsa groans, and then Emma hears some kind of curse that definitely didn’t come from Elsa. “One of my machines broke today, and when Leroy couldn’t fix it, Killian said he’d give it a go. I don’t think it’s working out for him. Hold on. Let me get him for you.”

“Oh, you don’t have – ”

“Killian,” Elsa yells, her voice booming through the speakers, “Emma is looking for you.”

“Fuck,” he mumbles.

Well, that sounds pleasant.

“I’m pretty sure she could hear that,” Elsa laughs.

“Aye, I know. I didn’t text her back about dinner. Give me the phone.” There are a few hushed murmurings, and then Killian’s voice comes in clearer. “Sorry, love. I’m afraid I can’t get dinner tonight.”

“Oh, well, that’s okay. I’ll pick something up and bring it to Elsa’s.”

She hears him click his tongue, and she’s probably imagining things, but she swears that he’s silent for a few seconds too long. “You don’t have to do that. We can do it another night.” “It’s really not a problem. I’m at your place right now, anyways. I can get us salads from Zoey’s. Does that sound good to you?”

“Uh, yeah. That’s fine. I’m not really sure when I’ll have time to eat.”

“Well, maybe my brain power will help us figure out how to fix the machine.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“You okay?” Emma asks, suddenly worried she’s overstepping here.

Does he not want her to come over?

No, that would be ridiculous.

“I’m perfect, love,” Killian sighs, his voice audibly more upbeat now. “I’ll see you when you get here, aye?”

“Yeah, see you when I get there.”

-/-

Elsa’s store is a mess.

Well, the front is still perfect. All of the round tables are clean and perfectly in their spots, the black and white as classic as it always is, and Elsa is still serving customers and doing custom orders for cakes and birthdays. She’s on the phone when Emma walks in, but she smiles and nods to the door that leads to the back of the store.

It is decidedly not perfect.

Mostly because it looks like Killian has taken one of Elsa’s machines apart piece by piece and he has no idea how to put it back together.

His hair is pushed off his forehead, sticking in at least thirty-seven different directions, and his t-shirt is sticking to his skin from his sweat.

He might be the only person to ever sweat here since it’s usually the coldest place in town.

Elsa’s air-conditioning bill must be insane.

“Hey,” Emma greets, putting their salads down on the table and walking up to Killian, pressing up on her toes to kiss him. He doesn’t kiss back at first, but then he’s there, his lips softly sliding over hers while his hand settles on her hip, squeezing her. “I’ve come to your rescue with food and another set of hands.”

“You’re my savior, love.”

“I know.” She kisses him again, this time much briefer, before sitting down on one of the chairs Elsa keeps back here. “Where’s Liam? Why is he not helping?”

“I’m better with fixing things. He’s manning the shop.”

“No one was there when I stopped by.” “What time was that?”

“A little after seven.”

Killian nods and pulls his salad out of the bag. “He was taking Skipper out. Thanks for this, by the way.”

“Not a problem. You think you’re going to be able to fix this?”

“I think I’m nearly there. I’ve tested it out a few times, but it’s all been for naught. Elsa is going to bloody kill me if I keep giving her hope and then take it away.”

Emma pulls their salads out of the bag, taking the lid off hers and pouring some dressing on before putting the lid back so she can shake it. “She’s got the other machines, though. Can’t she still make flavors?”

“Aye,” Killian sighs as he starts tinkering with the machine, “and she’s got a pretty good stock of all of the flavors. It’s not an emergency, but she wanted me to look at it before she called someone to come fix it. It apparently does not come cheap.”

“Look at you coming to the rescue. Getting those brownie points.”

“And access to the freezer.”

“That will balance well with our salads.” Emma stabs some lettuce with her fork. “You will never guess who was dining at the club today.”

“Cindy Crawford.”

“What?” Emma laughs as she takes a bite. “Why would Cindy Crawford be there? Also, that is the most random guess.”

Killian pokes his head out from behind the machine. “You said to guess. You didn’t say it had to be reasonable.”

“Okay, a reasonable guess then.”

“August Booth.”

“No, but that would be interesting. Is he back in town?”

“I have heard the rumor. So, who was dining at the club today?”

“Neal.”

Killian drops whatever tool he’s using, and it bangs against ice cream maker before clattering against the floor and landing near her foot. “Fuck.”

“Exactly my thoughts,” Emma laughs, kicking the screwdriver back to him. “But, you know, it wasn’t that bad. He was an asshole, of course, but it felt kind of good telling him to fuck off. He told me he thought we were sleeping together, which he apparently told you at the fair.”

“Uh, yeah, he did mention that. I denied it, of course.”

“He was always jealous of you. I don’t know why, but he hated when we spent time together.”

“Well, love, I am devilishly handsome. That’s bound to make any man jealous.” Emma rolls her eyes. She can’t see Killian’s face, but she just knows he’s smirking. “None of our actual friends have picked up on it, so there’s no way in hell Neal actually would. He doesn’t pay enough attention to me, never has.” Emma takes another bite and slams her hand down on the table. “But you know what? I don’t care. He can do whatever he wants, because I’m moving on. I’m happy and busy and life is pretty damn good even if I do have to take you as my date to your brother’s wedding.”

She keeps eating, waiting for Killian to say something, to tease her really, but she just hears him muttering to himself as he keeps working.

“You’re still cool with that, right? I know you said you’d love to, but you know, if you start dating someone else, go with her. I don’t mind going by myself.”

Killian pops out from behind the machine and walks toward her, leaning over the table and placing a soft, lingering kiss on her forehead. “There is no one I’d rather go with than you, love.”

“You don’t have to. Seriously. You know our deal.”

His beard scratches over her forehead, and he pulls away. “I know. I’d still be honored to go with you.” He sits down across from her as he opens up his salad. She gets distracted watching him. The lighting in here is all fluorescents, and it shouldn’t be flattering, but Killian’s tan still shows up, his eyes are still ridiculously blue, and there’s still something so charming about his smile. She watches it as it falls into a flat line, almost curving down into a frown, but then she sees the curve tick upward. “I’m glad you’re happy, Emma. I’ve always wanted that for you.”

She nods, unsure of what to say. “You too, KJ. You know what would make me extra happy?”

“What?” “If you could steal me some of Elsa’s birthday cake ice cream later.”

“Your heart’s desire, love. That’s all I want you to have.”

-/-

-/-

tag list: @qualitycoffeethings​ @mrtinski​ @klynn-stormz​ @scarletslippers​ @jonirobinson64​ @snowbellewells​ @therealstartraveller776​ @thejollyroger-writer​ @sherifemma​ @galadriel26​ @galaxyzxstark​ @idristardis​ @karenfrommisthaven​ @teamhook​ @spartanguard​ @searchingwardrobes​ @jamif​ @shireness-says​ @ultimiflos​ @nikkiemms​ @resident-of-storybrooke​ @onepunintendid​ @bluewildcatfanatic​ @superchocovian​ @killianswannn​ @carpedzem​ @captainkillianswanjones​ @mayquita​ @mariakov81​ @jennjenn615​ @onceuponaprincessworld​ @a-faekindagirl​ @scientificapricot​ @xellewoods​ @ultraluckycatnd​ @stahlop​ @kmomof4​ @tiganasummertree​ @singersdd​ @tornadoamy​ @cluttermind​ @lfh1226-linda​ @andiirivera​ @elizabeethan​ @captain-emmajones​ @csalltheway​ @itsfabianadocarmo​

[pl-panda]

Damienette arranged marriage: part 20

Credits: Miraculous Ladybug team for the elements I take from MLB show. DC for their characters, @ozmav for the AU, @maribat-archive for giving me access to so many different stories to have take inspirations from, @thyladyanput for idea for Chat Damian and me for the plot.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 part 14 part 15 

part 16 Part 17 Part 18

Part 19

Damienette arranged marriage: Part 20

NEXT

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

“But MDC is still...” Alix started and suddenly realization dawned on her. She finally connected the dots. From there, she realized more and more. It was like she woke up from some trance. Image of utter fear and regret on her face was priceless. “No…“

Alix run out of class just as madame bustier entered. 

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

After the matter with Akumatized Alix crashed the classroom and was defeated by ladybug and her team, the classes were canceled. Marinette spent the afternoon with Damian, happy to crush him several times in Ultimate Mecha Strike and several other games.

“Can we play something else now?” He moaned as the big red defeat displayed on the screen. He convinced her to go to arcade to have more choice, which proved to be his biggest mistake. The girl decimated him in absolutely everything. 

“Oh. Ish baby shad that I win?” Marinette tried to imitate english babytalk, but it did not really work in her favor.

“I see no dishonor in losing to a titular champion.” Damian tried to defend his ego, but she only giggled.

“I have an offer for you. If you beat me in any game, you can choose what we do tomorrow.” She tried to motivate him.

“You want to repeat it?” He asked surprised.

“Yes silly. I really like you… I mean spending you with time… No wait! Timing with you spend… Spending time with you! I like spending time with you!” She finally shouted, getting some confused looks from people around. That is until they met Damian’s gaze and run away before Marinette could get more embarrassed.

“I was just kinda... surprised. Not even my brothers want to spend that much time with me.”

“They aren’t married to you now, are they?”

“Only you Angel.” Damian grinned as she blushed deep shade of red. “I challenge you for a dance.”

“What?” She asked confused.

“tt. Dance Off. The game. You asked me to challenge you for a game. That is what I choose.” He explained.

“I… never played before.” She said a bit shyly. 

“Is that a surrender?” He gave her a challenging look.

“Dream on.” She retorted and moved to the panels in the back. there were no people currently using it so they jumped on the platforms. 

Damian confidently got into stance while Marinette just copied him. One of Jagged Stone’s older songs started playing. While the boy immediately started to follow the rhythm and get the perfect score, Marinette clumsily tried to follow his footsteps. She was off balance and hardly following the keys. She missed every third one and never scored perfect. She would definitely loose. 

She stopped dancing and took one deep breath. She focused on the song instead of just pressing the buttons. When she started dancing, there was no more clumsiness or flailing hands while losing balance. She was confident, strong and she would totally kick Damian’s ass in this game just as well as in the others. 

As Damian danced, he kept perfect score. If not for the fact that she’s beaten him in every single other game in this arcade, he would actually pity his wife. At least until she started to get perfect score too. Suddenly, they were moving in perfect synch with music and each other. A crowd gathered around them. People were cheering for them. He was pretty sure he heard some wolf whistles from the boys in the back that were directed to Marinette and he was pretty tempted to drop the game and just throw some things at them. Maybe exploding batarangs. Yeah. That would work… 

By the time they were getting to the final, Damian had a quite firm lead. Then, he heard someone from the crowd actually dare to call some slurs at Marinette and got distracted. It was something along the lines “I want to see your other moves”, He only slipped for a moment, hitting several wrong buttons while getting up, but Marinette got in the lead by mere ten points. She was completely unfazed by the cries and words of the crowd. It was like she was in her own world. Damian caught himself staring at her instead of dancing so he doubled the effort. In the end, she still won. 

“Yeah! You go babe! I want to...” Damian saw red. It was the same guy as before. He jumped over the railing that kept players from falling off the stage and punched the guy mid-air square in the face. There was a cracking sound and the idiot fell down with bloodied nose. The crowd dispersed as if it was never there.

Immediately, almost half a dozen of other guys appeared around to support their mate. 

“Now you just got yourself a problem boy.” One of them commented.

“Actually…” A new voice joined the ‘discussion’. “I think your friend is the one in trouble. He was calling my friend here some very inappropriate names and suggesting several less than legal things.” Alix rolled into the sight.

“So since the girl can’t take some compliments! Doesn’t mean he can punch our friend.”

“He is her boyfriend who was defending her from an elderly man. She is underage so get lost before I call the police.” Alix threatened them. While the idiots were distracted, Damian took the opportunity to grab normal dusters and put them on his fists. He was ready for a fight. The fact that this tugs didn’t pull knives or guns already was close to a miracle. If it was Gotham, he would have a gang-fight on his hands ready and set. 

“Sowwy madame.” The one with broken nose spoke, showing that he also lost some teeth. “I was not awawe of that. You looked so full of confidence that I fowgot myself.” He apologized and got lost with his friends as per instructions. 

“Ugh! I swear they keep getting in trouble.” Alix complained to himself. Damian was suddenly in front of her. Because of her rollerblades she was taller so he had to look up. 

“Excuse me, but where from do you know this criminals?” He started to interrogate her.

“Calm down Short Stack.” She cooled him off. “My brother and I sometimes volunteer at the homeless center. They tend to come there from time to time. One of this guys even works there.” She explained. 

Marinette walked to the scene and practically pulled away the still fuming Damian. “Thanks for the assist Alix.” There was an awkward silence interrupted only by Damian’s breath. He was not tired, only angry. 

“No problem.” Skater girl finally shrugged. “Listen Mari. I wanted to… apologize. Lila is a liar and an idiot. I was even bigger idiot for believing her.”

“tt. My plan worked at least partially I see…” Damian commented.

“Your… plan?!” Marinette shouted at him. “I asked you specifically not to do that because we will have another scarlet moth at our hands!” 

“I think that is something the two of you should solve between yourself so I will leave you to it.” She was about to ride away, but Alix took one last look over the shoulder. “Are we cool MDC?”

“Yes Alix. Yes we are.” Marinette smiled before making an angry face at Damian. Alix chuckled and zoomed away.

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

Late in the night Red Robin, Ladybug and Robin met in the Wayne Enterprises headquarters. 

“Anything new on hawkmoth?” She asked. It was more than a month of them working separately but so far there was little they could do.

“Well, I think I tracked the Akumas to this general area.” He pointed to the holograph map of Paris.

“This is like one-fourth of the city!” Damian was less than amused.

“It is still something. At least Akuma appear on camera.” He said, reffering to the time when Tikki (convinced by Marinette) sneaked into the building to switch Tim’s coffee for the non-caf version so he would get some sleep. He didn’t forgive her to this day, but he would not take vengeance when mr. I-stab-anyone-who-harms-her was on the same continent, much less the same city. 

“So we are not really that close.” Ladybug sighted.

“I do have some suspects. Out of the people in Paris who were not akumatized only handful match the criteria. And then, if you eliminate those who are not living in the area, then you have… an empty list.” 

“So hawkmoth only owns a hide-out in this area.”

“That would be hard, unless he works from the sewers.” Red Robin zoomed on the area. “This is stricltly living space. Not even that many shops. I also don’t believe a shop owner would have time to attack the city on so many occasions. At least not while keeping a steady revenue.”

“So we have literally no clue?”

“Well, if you take in account that Hawkmoth could somehow akumatize himself, we do have one solid lead.”

“Who?” Ladybug was very eager to finally be done with all of this and return to being a normal teenage girl.

“Gabriel Agreste.” Red Robin displayed a profile picture of the artist for reference.

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