#she wasn’t allowed to celebrate halloween i remember her telling me that too. i wonder what she’s like now

[tanumaskoipond]

OH. I DIDNT KNOW. that the super christian girl from middle/high school went here. and now dresses gothly in mini skirts and lace tops and chunky boots etc etc. barely recognized her passed her on the sidewalk. still remember her telling me that she didn’t hate gay people she just thought we were going to hell one afternoon like nearly out of nowhere when we were in the library during lunch doing reading comprehension quizzes for fun. 😭

[iamtheblondestblonde]

The Clark Kent Effect

Part Two

AN: Here’s part two!! Since the cat is out of the bag now, please go listen to my ex’s best friend by MGK, which was my first inspiration for this story and is the song I always have in mind when working on it. I loved hearing everyone’s opinion on the first part so please keep it up, it really motivates me a lot to see that people actually appreciate my writing. I hope this is living up to everyone’s expectations.. I’m sure everyone has already figured out that there will be angst in this one. 

Word Count: 3.6k

Warnings: none (a first for me)

Part One

My other writing can be found here

When Tito had made you promise to stay in touch you’d thought nothing of it. It was something lots of people said every day without having any real intentions of ever keeping their promise. A trait especially prominent among Americans as you’d come to realize. How many times had some of your colleagues mentioned that you definitely had to make dinner plans together sometime only for that sometime to never come? And while Tito wasn’t an American by all means, living among them tended to force a fast adaptation.

So to say you were surprised when he reached out to you a couple of days later would be a big fat understatement. You’d thought of him from time to time since Halloween, reminiscing what once was but also thinking about what could’ve been with a certain dark haired friend of his if it weren’t for the connection between the two of them.

You’d checked your phone during a trip to the bathroom, waiting on an update on the current office drama from Emily – as the personal assistant she had the inside scoop on one of the chief editors who had apparently managed to knock up one of the models – when you saw the Instagram notification.

@titobeauvi91 wants to send you a message

For a second you were wondering why he was sending you a message on Instagram instead of a text before you realized that neither of you probably still had the same phone number from when you were 18. You’d definitely switched to an American phone number in time with your move and he’d be stupid if he hadn’t done the same thing, especially considering how much longer he’d lived here than you.

For him to go out of his way to dig up your Instagram profile only so he could send you a message really spoke volumes for his character. Your grandma had been right when she’d said that he was going to make someone very happy some day but although she’d had you by his side in mind at that point, you liked to think that it was still going to be true with someone else.

You accepted the request without thinking twice about it and then had to read his messages multiple times to make sure you were seeing correctly.

@titobeauvi91: Would it be totally weird to meet up for coffee together sometime?

In your wildest dreams you never would’ve imagined your ex willingly asking you to spend time with him. But perhaps it didn’t surprise you as much as it should. 

Yes, breaking up with him had hurt a lot, but it had also been a long time ago and it wasn’t like either of you were at fault for your time together coming to an end back then. You couldn’t blame him for his dream coming true after all. The fact that he’d always planned on leaving was no secret, it had only been a matter of time. So when those feeling had shifted from friendship to something more you’d known how things would end but still fell for him. And you’d had an amazing time with him because of it. And then some not so amazing time without him afterwards.

Some of your girlfriends in college had gone through break ups at the same time but you could never really relate to them sobbing in the living room with ice cream and alcohol to help soothe the pain. Your sadness had been more subtle. It was things like wanting to call him whenever something newsworthy happened in your life, missing his comforting hugs and wanting to hear his laugh again that made you feel like a part of your life was missing.

But you’d always been a fan of clean cuts so you’d never allowed yourself to reach out to him, tempting as it was. You had instead focused on building yourself a new life, one without him and without even realizing it your daydreams of conversations with him came to an end. At last you had reached the stage of acceptance. Now, as you stared at your screen you realized that the cut had been made and the edges had already healed, the possibility of something new, or rather something old, but very much something different hanging up in the air above the gap now.

What would you do?

You didn’t respond right away, waiting until your lunch break finally arrived so you could ask Emily for advice. That meant that you would have to fill her in on some things she had no idea of and she definitely wouldn’t be happy about having been left in the dark, but you really had no other choice.

The two of you met up at your usual salad bar around the corner from the office building, a not only convenient but also very delicious place. She’d shown it to you back in the days of your internship and when you’d reconnected after you finally got the job after graduating it had somehow become your regular spot for a shared lunch.

She was the first to make it today, which was rather unusual since her boss liked to give her some last minute errands to run, but you weren’t going to complain about the steaming mug of coffee already waiting for you on the table at your arrival.

“Alright, start talking girl”, she said in lieu of a greeting while you settled into your seat, referencing the text you’d sent earlier about needing some advice. So you did, telling her everything about your relationship with Tito back in 2015 and how the two of you had mutually broken it off after he got drafted. How weird it had been to not only lose your boyfriend, but also best friend at the same time. By the time you reached the more recent part of your story, the one involving Mat in the club, your lunch had arrived and you had to take a quick break so you could actually get some eating done instead of talking.

“Shit I’m so sorry for interrupting your moment back then, I didn’t even realize you were talking to someone. But I also can’t believe I’m only now hearing of all this drama!”

You waved her off, already knowing full well that she hadn’t intended to do so. “That’s because there wasn’t any drama up until a week ago, but now I don’t know what to do. Would it be weird for me to grab a coffee with my ex?”

“Well.. if you say it like that…”, she trailed off jokingly, jabbing her fork in your direction before continuing, “I’m just kidding. You guys were friends before all of that happened so no, I don’t think it’d be weird. But it’s ultimately your decision, do you want him back in your life?”

“I think so, yeah.”

-

Meeting up for coffee had somehow turned into meeting for lunch and slowly but surely Tito managed to secure himself a spot in your favorite contacts again. Seeing him in daylight for the first time after all these years had been weird and it had been obvious that the two of you were very nervous about rekindling again but it didn’t take long until you fell back into your old routine.

Pre-relationship, of course.

He’d make flirty comments from time to time and complimented you often, but you knew not to dwell on it for too long because he’d always been that way. You knew his mother well enough to know that she would be pissed if it were otherwise, you’d heard her chide her son in French for his bad manners more times than you could count when the two of you were younger.

Since you’d mostly seen him one-on-one you didn’t have to deal with any of the complications that stemmed from him being a part of your life again but it seemed like your reprieve was coming to an end. You knew that Tito was just trying to be nice when he’d invited you and your friends to meet up with some of the team at a bar after their game, hopefully celebrating a win but definitely celebrating having the day off afterwards before having to leave for a short trip, but you were having mixed feelings about the entire thing.

It wasn’t like you didn’t want to go, in fact you could use a good night out and some fun, but you knew full well that Mat would be there as well and you had no idea how you were supposed to interact with him. You’d anticipated having to face him again of course, but if it were up to you you’d do it rather later than sooner, especially now since you were close with his best friend again. Tito was no help of course, you couldn’t exactly tell him that you were having unholy thoughts about one of his close friends.

Because that was the truth, Mat Barzal had been on your mind ever since that one faithful night which was now weeks ago. It was ridiculous really, how one guy had managed to infiltrate your thoughts from such a short interaction. He’d only really spoken one sentence to you before your plans and hopes for the night had been crushed and yet you kept seeing him in every guy with glasses that passed by you. Kept hearing him in every booming laugh. 

You should be ashamed of yourself, really, for how easily he’d managed to put you under his spell. Still your thoughts kept wandering back to that little bubble you had shared with him on that dance floor, still remembering how nothing else had mattered in that moment. It wasn’t just lust that had attracted you to him that faithful night, though it certainly played a part in it, but you could tell that there was something more, or at least a possibility of something more.

But you couldn’t have him, a fact that had become blatantly obvious during your time spent with Tito. You were sure that he was interested in you like that at all anymore, but you were also convinced that he still wouldn’t be a fan of you going after his friends. You didn’t want to drive a wedge between the two of them, especially having learnt how important Mat was to Tito since getting reacquainted, something that would be inevitable once the ‘Bro Code’ was violated.

You had to keep your mind, and your hands, away from Mat.

Which proved to be harder than one might think.

You’d donned your favorite overknee-boots for the night out, loving the height boost they gave you, and paired them with a plaid skirt and a cute top, adding a warm pea coat so you wouldn’t freeze too much in the cold winter air. You’d long mastered dancing the line between sexy and sophisticated and if you were being honest, you were quite proud of tonight’s look.

It hadn’t been hard to convince your closest friends to come out along with you, all of them excited for a night out with New York’s finest. Since the guys had a game to play however, the lot of you met up at your place beforehand so you could pre-game a little and save some money in turn. You’d put on the game for background noise and by the time the final buzzer sounded you were definitely also buzzed thanks to Emily and her dangerous ability of funneling alcohol down your throat. The uber ride was short thankfully, the car was pretty packed with the four of you after all and yet you had somehow managed to arrive at the bar Tito had texted you before the team.

“They probably got held up in interviews and stuff, should we get some drinks while we wait?” Your suggestion was apparently a very welcome one so Dana and you made your way over to the bar while the other two set on finding a booth where you could sit down. By the time you had everyone’s drinks they’d managed to secure a place towards the back and you were more than happy to slide in next to Emily.

You were the first one to spot Tito, getting up and excitedly waving him over. They all sported big happy grins, most likely due to the victory over the Leafs earlier. Letting your eyes wander over your group you noticed that Mat wasn’t with them but you didn’t dwell on it too much, instead focusing on congratulating Tito on his two goals. Introductions were quick and in your state of mind you’d forgotten half of the names already but that didn’t stop you from having a good time. 

The group of guys that had sat in the booth next to yours had recognized the hockey players and willingly cleared the table for them after congratulating on a great game and taking some pictures, which was a pretty nice bonus. Mat had apparently forgotten to bring a change of clothes and had to make a detour to his apartment so he wouldn’t have to come to a bar in his game day suit.

All this liquid had taken it’s toll on your bladder though so it didn’t take long until you got up to make a trip to the restroom, telling Emily to stay put when she made a move to come along with you. There would probably be no long line in a bar like this so you could do without company and you also didn’t want to interrupt her conversation with Tito, whom she was asking all kinds of questions about teenage you. Maybe you would regret that later on, Tito was more than willing to give her ammo to roast you for the next few years but right now you didn’t care, just happy that everyone got along so well.

Walking without swaying proved to be more difficult than anticipated, you’d somehow consumed more alcohol than you’d thought and you made a mental note to grab some water afterwards as you pushed through the doors. Once they were shut behind you the music wasn’t as loud anymore and for the first time tonight you could actually hear yourself think, not distracted by noises. Of course your thoughts wandered to Mat, and the reason for his absence tonight.

Were they telling the truth earlier or was he avoiding you?

Unfortunately, this was a question you couldn’t find an answer to and even if you did, there was nothing you could do about it. What you could do however, was get back outside to your friends and have a great time tonight. Without Mat. You checked your notifications on your phone while quietly singing along to the song blasting over the speakers as you made your way out of the restroom, not looking up as you walked.

And then collided with something solid.

With a gasp you quickly grasped on to whatever you could reach so you wouldn’t tumble over and the only reason you knew you hadn’t managed to run into a wall was because strong arms immediately wrapped around you to steady you. Walls didn’t have arms, that much you knew, even in your intoxicated state.

“We really have to stop meeting this way”, a familiar voice sounded above you and your eyes involuntarily snapped up to meet his. Just like last time everything else stopped mattering as soon as you looked up to him, wrapped safely in his arms with your hands splayed on his chest, your phone still clutched tightly in your left one. His gaze made your brain short-circuit so you really couldn’t be held accountable for your next actions.

“I don’t know, I kind of like it”, you hummed while brushing your free hand across his chest and up to his shoulder. You could feel the firmness of his muscles underneath the fabric of his shirt and how his heart picked up its pace at your actions. He pulled you in even tighter and readjusted the position of his hands on your back, one of them now caressing the thin sliver of exposed skin between your top and the skirt, the movement burning itself into your memory.

Your bubble burst when there was an uproar near the bar, a group of guys yelling at a re-run of some football game on the TV responsible for the intrusion. As soon as you realized what you were doing you awkwardly cleared your throat and stepped out of his embrace, his arms dropping from your body immediately. The spot where his hands had rested only seconds ago was now cold as ice in their absence, shivers running up your spine. All of a sudden you wished you had your coat with you so you could wrap yourself up in it, maybe even hide a little from the intense look in his eyes and the rest of the world as well.

Mat seemed to snap out of his spell as well, quickly looking around to check if anyone had seen the two of you with a panicked expression on his face but you were well hidden from your friends, who were sat around a corner. You couldn’t help but feel like a dirty little secret then, something that hurt more than you liked to admit, despite his actions probably being the right thing. If anyone had seen you right now you’d definitely have some explaining to do. So instead you focused on feeling anything but hurt to mask your true feelings.

“Ashamed of being seen with me, Barzal?”, you asked in a flat tone, deliberately choosing to address him with his last name so he knew that you weren’t exactly pleased with him right now. Your words caused the intended effect and he looked like you’d slapped him across the face.

“Don’t be like this, please. You have to know where I’m coming from”, he sighs with a desperate expression, taking a moment to himself to gather his thoughts before continuing, “I have a moment with this girl in a club, a girl that somehow manages to put me under her spell in less than five seconds, and then I have to find out she’s the infamous Y/N, the first love of my best friend.”

His admission left you speechless, unable to form any kind of response as you stared up at him, watching him run his hand through his hair. Oh how you wished you could do the same.

“I know all about you, you broke his heart back then”, he continued and you flinched, not having expected this of all things.

“That’s not fair and you know it. He was the one who left!”, you hadn’t even noticed you’d raised your voice until the group of people in the booth closest to you turned towards you so you took a deep breath before continuing, “I was the one who had to stay back and listen to everyone talking about him.”

“He talked about you as well, you know. When we met at World’s he told me one night how he knew that your relationship would be over soon and how much he missed you already. He knew you’d walk out of his life without looking back. And then you did exactly that.” You closed your eyes at his words, never having heard of the situation from Tito’s standpoint. It didn’t exactly help that it was coming from Mat as well.

“You have no idea how excited he was to finally see you again. I had to listen to him talk about asking you out to lunch for days.” He reached out to brush a strand of hair behind your ear that had fallen into your eyes but you hadn’t even noticed until now, too busy staring at the beautiful specimen of a man in front of you.

“It’s not like that. We’re just friends now.”

“I know, but you weren’t back then”, and with that he dropped his hand again. He smiled softly at you but it was obvious that it didn’t reach his eyes, his sad expression overpowering everything else.

Perhaps this was the universe’s way of saying that you couldn’t have two great guys in your life, that you’d missed out on your chance already. You couldn’t think of any other way to explain this cruel twist of faith otherwise. You wished you could go back to the club, but you didn’t know if you wanted to relive those few blissful moments before everything came crashing down or prevent yourself from stumbling into him altogether. The second option would certainly make everything easier.

But since time traveling wasn’t an option yet you were forced to stand in front of him, thoughts of what could have been running through your mind. Right now he was so close to you but there could’ve been kilometers between the two of you and it still wouldn’t have made a difference.

You knew that and you could tell that Mat did as well, the defeat clearly written on his face and telling you everything you needed to know. At least you weren’t the only one who suffered.

With one last look he moved past you and towards the restrooms, probably his destination all along until he’d run into you. Or more like until you’d run into him, literally. In a split second you decided that you didn’t want your interaction to end quite like this.

“Hey, Barzal?” You didn’t like calling him by his last name one bit and it definitely felt wrong, but perhaps it would allow you to keep the distance you desperately needed.

“Yeah?” You could’ve sworn that a glimmer of hope crossed his face as he turned back towards you but perhaps it was just the shitty light in the bar playing tricks on your mind. Or wishful thinking.

“Good game earlier. Two points is very impressive and I’m sure you made lots of people very proud tonight.”

“Thank you.” 

This time his smile was genuine.

Tagging: @itrocksmysocks​ @nazdaddy @teenagekook

[hehron]

Memories of Halloween

This takes place soon after Harry’s trial in fifth year.

Edit: My fic Mischief On Halloween, if you're curious about how the Marauders spent their Halloweens!

“-And so I have proven that Harry Potter was indeed innocent,” Fred said, dressed in transfigured purple robes, a fake beard and half-moon spectacles.

“Impossible!” George exclaimed, shaking his head so hard that the lime green bowler hat slipped off his head.

“Noooooo!” Ginny moaned, pretending to be a member of the Wizengamot. “Dumbledore! You have thwarted us again.”

“You are no match for the great Dumbledore!” Ron said, dressed as a supporting member. “Or for the great Harry Potter!”

Harry groaned. “Guys…”

“Hermione!” Ron called. “It’s your line.”

“I told you I’m not going to pretend to be Amelia Bones.”

“Spoilsport,” Fred accused. “Harry, come! We must dance to victory!” He dragged Harry over and did a rather embarrassing victory jig.

“I won’t blame the Ministry for thinking Professor Dumbledore’s going senile if he did that over there,” Hermione muttered.

“What are you all up to?” Sirius asked curiously, entering with Lupin and Tonks.

“Just a little role-playing of Harry’s daring escape from the Evil Cornelius Fudge and the Ministry of Magic,” George said, with a cackle.

“Looks like an early Halloween celebration,” Tonks grinned.

“It’s a muggle tradition,” Hermione explained to the rest of them. “Dressing up and going trick or treating.”

“We know! To go to Hogwarts and have Lee Jordan tell us about it! Never been more disappointed, eh, Gred?”

“Oh, the tragedy!”

“Not like you missed anything. You two play pranks on us every day,” Ron grumbled, earning him identical grins from the twins.

“You both must have celebrated it,” Ginny turned to Harry and Hermione.

“Once or twice. Mum and Dad weren’t overly fond of sweets, and it wasn’t as if I was popular with the neighbours’ kids,” Hermione trailed off.

“What about you, Harry?” Lupin asked, both him and Sirius giving him intense looks.

“Erm- I wasn’t allowed to go. Dudley once dressed up as Superman but ended up putting a fuss about having to go around the block for candy. From then on, Uncle Vernon just bought him his own sweets so that Dudders didn’t ever have to walk again.”

“What a lazy pig!” Ginny exclaimed.

“You’ve never gone trick or treating again?” Sirius asked quietly.

“No, but it wasn’t a big deal to me- wait- again?”

Lupin smiled sadly. “Your parents loved Halloween, especially your mother.”

Harry felt the others move away, pretending to talk about the twins’ products.

“Really?” He asked, his heart racing. He was willing to accept any little story about them. Such was his desperation to find out about the parents he never got to know.

“Yeah,” Sirius said wistfully. “On your first Halloween, James dressed you up in little antlers and paraded you around as Prongs Jr. And Lily! She went all out. Decorating the house with pumpkins and toys, inviting all our friends, and showing you off. Merlin, it was the best Halloween we ever had, and we had a lot of great Halloweens.”

Harry listened with rapt attention. He had known his parents had loved him, but to hear it put in such simple terms left a lump at the back of his throat.

“How did you celebrate before?” He asked.

Sirius and Lupin let out fond chuckles, both looking years younger.

“We- we would do all sorts of things,” Lupin said.

“In our first year, we ran into a werewolf,” Sirius grinned, and Harry’s eyes snapped to Lupin.

“Yes, Harry, it was me, but they didn’t know it back then.”

“It was wild! Your mother thought it was a prank and petted his snout. We all thought she was in over her head,” Sirius laughed.

“It was on the next Halloween that they figured out that I was the werewolf,” Lupin added.

“Remember when we tried to crash Dorcas and Mary’s party?” Sirius asked, causing Lupin to playfully groan.

“And of course, it was on Halloween that your parents finally got together,” Sirius seemed to want to say more, but stopped, gulping hard.

“Alice and I’d been trying to set them up for a long time,” Lupin said exasperatedly. “They used to drive us mad with their stubbornness.”

“Alice?” Harry asked, having a fair idea who it was.

“Neville’s mother,” Lupin answered.

“She was your mother’s best friend, along with Marlene McKinnon.” He said, fleetingly glancing at Sirius.

“Alice,” Sirius said in a loud voice, “was Molly’s cousin.”

This caught everyone’s attention.

“Neville’s our cousin?” Ron asked baffled.

“Several times removed, but yes.”

“I wonder if he knows,” Hermione mused.

“This makes you going with him to the ball even weirder Gin-Gin,” George said.

“We went as friends,” Ginny scowled.

“I remember them all,” Tonks interrupted. “Whenever Sirius babysat me, he’d bring me over to their flat.”

“Sirius babysat you?” Fred asked incredulously.

“You’ve met my parents?” Harry asked, at the same time.

“Oh yeah, I knew all of them, well, all except Remus,” She added as an afterthought.

“Remus thought he’d be too dangerous around her,” Sirius said. “Utter rubbish as I’ve told him, in the past and present.”

Lupin sent Sirius a cold look, which he returned, making Harry think they were talking about something else entirely.

“People underestimate the danger of things in the current climate,” Lupin said mildly.

“People underestimate how much time they have left as well,” Sirius said through gritted teeth.

“Exactly. Things should be told before it’s too late.”

“Hold on a minute,” Fred interrupted them. “What on earth are you talking about?”

They both snapped out of it, both seemingly remembering half a dozen eyes on them.

“Whatever you were talking about,” Tonks said airily. “Remus is right. Things should be told before it’s too late.”

Lupin glanced at her, a flush creeping into his cheeks, but refrained from commenting.

“What are all of you doing?” Mrs Weasley asked from the kitchen. “If you’re simply wasting time, you could help me by setting the plates.”

“I’ll help, Molly,” Lupin said immediately. Tonks’ face fell, and Sirius's angry eyes followed him out.

Harry caught Ron’s eye and was happy to note that he looked just as clueless as he felt. Hermione had a frown on her face, and Ginny seemed to come to have come to her own conclusions about whatever that was. Fred and George, deciding it wasn’t interesting anymore, started going off about designing products specific to Halloween, that Harry prayed Mrs Weasley wouldn’t hear.

“Are you all right?” Sirius asked him after a while.

Harry lowered his eyes. He had felt shaken ever since the implications of the story had sunk in.

“It was on Halloween,” He said, his throat scratchy. “They died on their favourite holiday.”

“Believe me, Harry, I’ve spent the last fourteen years thinking about how messed up that is, how fate could be so cruel to us,” He said with pain in his eyes. “But no matter what, I can say with certainty that James and Lily would still love Halloween, would want you to love it.”

“What about you?” Harry asked quietly.

Sirius closed his eyes looking more pained than ever.

“Y-Yes,” He breathed shakily. “I can’t explain it, and I don’t expect you to understand, but Halloween… It was the start of everything good in my life and those memories... They’re enough to get me through it.”

“I get it,” Harry smiled after a minute, looking over at Ron and Hermione, who were bickering over something again. “It was the beginning of everything good my life too.”

[lilana163]

Reunited: Chapter 6

July 31st 1991 was the day Harry Potter would get his Hogwarts letter, usually, one would be excited to wake up to a morning filled with birthday wishes, hugs, and kisses but that wasn't Harry, the only people he wanted to receive hugs, wishes, and kisses from weren't with him anymore. So instead of wanting praises, all he ever asked for is stories, to be more specific he asked for stories about Aurora and James Potter.

" HAPPY BIRTHDAY SQUIRT," Nymphadora yelled from the top of her lungs throwing herself on top of a sleeping Harry.

" Nymphadora Tonks, get off the poor boy!" Andromeda scolded as she held one red velvet cupcake with a lit candle.

" Don't call me that!" Nymphadora mumbled laying beside Harry who rubbed his eyes groggily sitting up from where he laid.

" Happy Birthday Harry!" Ted walked over to the boy ruffling his raven hair which he inherited from none other than Aurora Potter, Andromeda walked over to the two boys holding out the cupcake in front of Harry who chuckled amusingly.

" Make a wish," Andromeda said looking down at the messy-haired boy, Harry smiled brightly at his aunt as he fixed his circular glasses on his nose.

" I wish to hear all the stories about my mum and dad," Harry wished closing his eyes and blowing out the candle, it was no surprise when hearing Harry's wish the boy said it every year but it still and will always carve a hole in Andromeda's heart even if she doesn't show it.

" As you wish," Andromeda answered giving Harry his cupcake while taking a seat on the edge of his twin-sized bed, Ted followed Andromeda and sat on the opposite side all prepared to listen in on the story.

" I remember your mothers eleventh like it was yesterday, your mum and Cissy were extremely spoiled those girls lived like absolute princesses. Anyways your grandmother Druella planed a whole ball it was magnificent, the most beautiful ball I've been to. That morning I and aunt Bella got the honour or so my father said, well we got to give the girls their Hogwarts letters. Oh dear, I must have the picture somewhere! We walked into Auroras room finding her, Narcissa, Regulus, and Sirius all huddled up on the bed together, it was the funniest thing because Sirius somehow managed to get his toes close to Narcissa's mouth, she tended to sleep with her mouth open so it looked like she'd been eating his pale toes when we woke them u-," Andromeda began to tell her story which Harry greatly appreciated since he hasn't heard of the stories of his mum's life from age eleven and up, the brunette was interpreted by a loud pop.

" Master Potter! Happy Birthday," Kreacher squealed rushing up to Harry, ever since the incident when Aurora was 15 Kreacher has been a free elf, even though he had the gift to do whatever he pleased. He made an oath to himself that he would never leave Aurora to thank her for such kindness she gave him. The day Aurora passed, Kreacher made himself Harry's elf and ever since then Kreacher would only obey and listen to the young boy.

" Thanks, Kreacher but I've told you to call me Harry," he told Kreacher. At his words, the house-elf began to mumble apologies all while banging his head on the white coloured wall.

" Stop hitting yourself," Harry pointed his finger at the house-elf which made the scrawny elf immediately stop to look at the younger boy with teary eyes as he handed him a small velvet picture book.

" Kreacher knows how Mr Harry likes pictures of my dear old  Mistress Aurora, Kreacher found a picture book in the Black manor for Mr Harry it has some pictures of Master James, as well as Mistress Aurora's friends!" Kreacher raised his voice jumping up and down which was very unlike him though he only ever showed that side of him to Harry, the elf beckoned for Harry to open the picture book making his eyes widened in excitement.

" Thank you, Kreacher!" Harry yelled while running his hands on a moving picture of his mother, each page had its own inscription written by Aurora or other initials he didn't recognise.

Taken by Prongs aka the love of your life (1976)

Future Mrs Potter ;) j.p

Future Mrs Lupin ;) a.b

" Who's Lupin?!" Harry asked Andromeda who laughed at the small written notes below the picture.

" That's your parent's friends last name, they would refer to him as Moony though I'm not quite sure why but his actual name is Remus," She responded quickly wiping away a tear as she watched the picture replay, Ted being the only one to notice he began to rub her back in a soothing manner.

Taken by Ara (1976)

My Bubsy is adorable! a.b

" Mum calls uncle Regulus Bubsy?" Harry looked away from the book earning a nod from Andromeda who got up from the bed with tears welling in her eyes.

" Harry I think it's best if you get ready for today, the Weasleys and your aunts and uncles will arrive soon," Andromeda said quickly rushing out the bedroom, she dashed down the hall into her own now allowing her tears to fall from her grey eyes, she walked over to the only picture she had of her sister which laid perfectly on the desk.

The door creaked alerting the brunette of someone's presence, Andromeda turned back to see Ted who sent her a sad smile as he slowly approached her to see what his wife held.

" Eleven, Eleven was the last age I got to see my sister. The pictures Harry carries I look at them, and all I see is a stranger. I never go to truly know her, all I have of her are the 487 letters she would send and this one picture, I probably would have never met Harry if Narcissa was stable enough to take him in," Andromeda muttered holding onto the moving picture of an eleven-year-old Aurora, Ted snaked his arm around her waist pulling Andy into a side hug.

Meanwhile, in Harry's room, Kreacher helped the young boy get ready for his birthday brunch which he was excited for, after many years of asking his mum's side of the family to join and celebrate with the Tonks and Weasleys they finally gave in, much to their distaste.

" Kreacher will pack Mr Harry's things for the Lestrange Manor," Kreacher said levitating shirts and pants into a big brown trunk, Harry nodded in approval before running down the stairs to wait for his guests.

The Weasleys were the first to arrive soon after Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange which made the atmosphere intense as they only acknowledged Harry not sparing a glance to any other.

" Oh that must be Aunt Cissa," Harry jumped up from his seat excitingly running to open the door, Andromeda tensed up not liking how Harry decided on inviting her sisters which whom she wasn't on good terms.

" Happy Birthday Harry!" Draco yelled throwing his hands around his cousin pulling him into a hug, he was soon tugged off by his younger sister.

" Move it Dragon let me bless my dear cousin with my presence, Happy Birthday Harold!" the small blonde said managing to pry Draco off Harry and pulling the green-eyed boy into a hug.

" Thanks, Draco and Aurora," Harry replied ruffling his younger cousins hair which she tried to swat off not wanting her perfectly curled locks messed up.

" Happy Birthday Harry," Lucius gave the boy a thin lip smile before entering the place with such disgust, Lucius only came for Harry and because he lives by the quote happy wife happy life.

Narcissa hadn't said anything to the boy she just stood there awkwardly as Harry waited for her to enter, Narcissa barely visited the boy instead she sent Harry letters or gifts whenever Draco and Aurora were with Harry. The raven-haired boy's eyes were too alike to his mothers, Narcissa only ever looked into his deep green eyes five times in her life, the day Harry was born she caught a glimpse of his eyes while she washed away the blood from being in the womb, Narcissa saw her nephews eyes when she visited Godrics Hollow twice after he was born, and lastly the day she lost her sister, ever since the Halloween in which her twin's life was taken Narcissa couldn't find the courage to look at his emerald eyes until today.

" Aunt Cissa are you okay?" Harry asked with clear worry watching how a tear slipped from his aunt's eye, after hearing her name she quickly got back to reality realising it was not her sister who stood in front of her but her godson instead.

" I'm fine, I just haven't seen you in a while that's all. Now, where are my manners? Happy Birthday, Ar-Harry, Happy Birthday Harry," She smiled showing off her pearly white teeth as she brought the boy into a bone-crushing hug.

" We should probably join the others," Lucius said catching how his wife almost mistaken the boy for her sister.

" Come on, your seats are by me and auntie Trix and uncle Rodolphus," Harry told Malfoys dragging Narcissa by the hand into the dining area, once the group reached the table all fell silent, Lucius looked at the group in disgust before taking his seat by Rodolphus not bothering to return the nod Arthur Weasley sent his way.

" Since we're all here, um well dig in!" Andromeda said forcing a smile as she gestured to the assorted food, to cut the tension they all began to pile different foods on their white plate.

" So Harry what do you have planned for this special day?" Arthur asked from across the table, Harry smiled brightly at the man before turning to Narcissa who was scolding Bellatrix on her manners.

" I would certainly love to hear the different stories about my mum and dad. I was wondering if you could tell a few aunt Cissy," Harry replied turning the attention from Arthur to Narcissa who nodded approvingly. Lucius tensed up seeing his wife agree, he knew that Aurora was always a sensitive topic for Narcissa. Lucius never truly understood how deep their bond ran until his wife quite literally broke down, he had just got her back and he isn't going to let her go back to such a state without a fight. The blonde man was good at hiding his feelings, and because of this, he managed to master an outstanding poker face. Though it was hard keeping up such a show when you see your wife would silently cry into her pillow, the tragic death of Aurora Potter hit Narcissa in waves, Lucius never would've thought the day he lost his sister in law meant losing his wife and the mother of his kids in the process. It was dark times for the Malfoy's so it came as a shock when one day on a very cloudy morning everything seemed just a tad bit better, Narcissa began to shower and dress on her own and that was enough for Lucius to shed a tear, the day he so begged for finally came, it was some progress but it was enough to make his world.

" Well since you are to receive your Hogwarts letter today, I think it's only fitting to start with your mother's days at Hogwarts including your father though do keep in mind that I never really fancied being around James so I don't quite much to tell," Narcissa spoke to Harry with a smile that radiated warmth, Harry's eyes lit up as he jumped up and down his seat eagerly waiting to hear about his parents days at Hogwarts.

" Start with your first day, beginning to end!" He was quivering all over with excitement making all chuckle at his demeanour Narcissa nodded with a twinkle in her eyes seeing how worked up the boy got.

" If you insist," she began breathing out a deep sigh reaching out for his small hand and holding it with hers, "I and your mother were thrilled when we stood in platform 9 3/4, yes we've been there hundreds of times to say our goodbyes to Andromeda and Bella but you get a whole different euphoria when knowing it's you who will be stepping into that scarlet red train. To begin a new chapter of your life, Hogwarts is everyone's second home and that's what made me and your mother feel like it was Christmas morning for our first year. Especially because we had sisters who would constantly talk about the wonders of Hogwarts. I remember my first day like it was yesterday, your grandmother talked to us about making the family proud and so on then um-," Narcissa rambled then hesitantly looked up at Andromeda and Ted who seemed to know her next words, though knowing the story Andromeda was rather curious to hear her sisters view, the brunette was prepared to defend herself if Narcissa were to make a snarky remark making tension collect between the two.

" Well someone pulled us aside to inform us that she'll be running off with a mudblood and live her happily ever after because that was way more important than her younger sisters, who she left behind to fend for themselves in such a gruesome manner in which we had to call home," Narcissa said smiling innocently at the boy who hadn't seemed bothered of the m-word instead he shrugged it off as if it were nothing, unlike the Weasleys and Tonks who gasped at the word which fell so elegantly out of her red painted lips.

" How dare you speak that word in my house!" Andromeda stood up from her seat pushing it back send death glares her younger sisters way, Bellatrix was smirking but soon it faltered seeing her traitor of a sister hold her wand to the side of her dress hiding it from Narcissa's view.

" Now, now calm down Andromeda you wouldn't want to have a petty argument on Harry's birthday. It's not needed to ruin such a special day for him, so I suggest you take a seat so I may continue the story, where I left off before I was rudely cut off," Narcissa huffed glaring at her sister, Andromeda hesitantly sat down with a scowl on her face making it evident she would rather be anywhere else much to Bellatrix's entertainment.

" Aurora loved to keep a happy persona up even in the darkest of times, so even though she felt hurt by what I say was a betrayal of a sister, she found the light in her hurt. I don't know how your mother saw the best in everything, anyways during the boat ride to Hogwarts James went on and on about how gorgeous your mummy was, which she found quite annoying immediately becoming not so fond of him. Yet she managed to get herself married to him and have a wonderful child as well," Narcissa said while Harry sat slightly leaning over the table listening intently while the Lestranges and Lucius glared at the Weasleys who glared daggers at Narcissa still seeming hurt by her words.

" Your mum and uncle Sirius both got sorted into Gryffindor, if I am being honest I saw that coming though if you met your mother one would tell she was a mix of both Slytherin and Gryffindor. I remember how Aurora glanced over at the Slytherin table looking at me with her deep green eyes, I could tell she was shocked and maybe scared but all it took was a reassuring smile and she walked on over to the Gryffindor table," Narcissa told Harry seeing how his eyes began to water, Aurora seemed to notice this and walked over to hug the boy.

" Are you okay Harry?" Bellatrix asked softening her expression seeing how his eyes got tearier by the minute, all attention turned to Harry who nodded blinking away his tears.

" I wish I could've met them, I wish I could've met mum and dad," Harry muttered looking down at his plate not daring to meet the staring gaze of the others.

"They're always with you Harry, even if you don't see them," Andromeda spoke from across the table as she leaned over to get a view of the boy.

" I would like to hear the rest of the story please," he stated trying to change the subject it was silent for a few seconds before the sound of Narcissa clearing her throat broke it.

" Ahh where was, well when your mother...

Flashback:

All houses were dismissed for bed, the corridors were crowded with students all going in different directions. If it weren't for her sisters laugh the blonde wouldn't have found the person she was most eager to speak to.

Narcissa fastened her past swiftly moving past the large crowd of students, she finally spotted the group of five she hung with earlier making a turn for another corridor. Narcissa took advantage and pulled her sister into a dark and empty one, Aurora was ready to punch the living daylights out of Narcissa before she spotted the blonde locks and came to the conclusion it was not a weirdo.

" Cissy," Aurora blurted out throwing herself into her sister's warm embrace, Narcissa was taken back by the action but gave in from hearing a quiet sob.

" Please don't be mad I don't w-," Aurora started but was cut off by her sister who moved to cup her face.

" I'm not mad, nothing could come between us. I won't let our houses define the relationship we have towards one another, and I hope you don't. Nothing will change Ara. Not even you hanging with mudbloods, filthy half-bloods, and blood traitors will come between us. You're my twin, you're stuck with me forever even in the afterlife," Narcissa said whipping away the tears from Aurora's pink cheeks." Thank you, I don't know what I'd do if I lost you," Aurora replied.

End of flashback

Narcissa finished her story, the Weasleys and Tonks had confused faces not hiding the shock from what they just heard, it came as a surprise that Narcissa hadn't cared if Aurora was a blood traitor especially because she speaks so highly on blood purity.

" So you didn't care if Aurora was a blood traitor?!" Andromeda asked in disbelief fighting to keep the hurt she felt from showing, Narcissa and Andromeda no longer had a relationship because of their separate beliefs so it hurt Andromeda to hear that her sister could be so angry at her but not Aurora, as they both seemed to share the same thinking.

" No, why would I care? She was my sister, after all, death would be the only thing to pull us apart not our differences," Narcissa shrugged not understanding why it was such a big deal, Andromeda's eyes began to well with tears as she stood up from her seat.

" I'm your sister, yet you treat me like a stranger! I and Aurora are the same yet you have a blind eye for her? Make it make sense Narcissa, why do you hate me so much? We used to be close yet you let the fact that my husband is a muggle-born tarnish our sisterly bond," Andromeda let out allowing the tears to spill from her eyes onto her cheeks, Bellatrix and Lucius watched the quarrel with amusement knowing it wasn't Andromeda's beliefs which lead to the downfall of their relationship and they both found everything quite funny seeing Andromeda act such away.

" Aurora was a better sister than you'd ever be, don't you dare say the two of you are alike when you are nothing but from that. I don't hate you, Andromeda, so calm down there is no need for this, you're making a fool of yourself," Narcissa spoke unfazed by her sister's reaction, Narcissa would never like to admit it but she could never bring it in herself to hate Andromeda. Though she tried many times, it couldn't change the fact that she loved her sister but it's not enough to forgive Andy for leaving her and Aurora behind, or because Andromeda never really attempted to write or speak to Narcissa until Harry came along.

" I, I have to go," Andromeda stormed off leaving behind an awkward silence. Harry then realised that perhaps it wasn't the best idea to have his aunts in the same room, especially when they hadn't talked in years.

" Cake?" Rodolphus said with a toothy smile trying to ease the tension.

[spookytsubaki]

Gifts

@babes-week prompt No.3 Gifts. And what better to write about than anniversary gifts?  enjoyyyy

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An anniversary to anyone is obviously a special occasion. The flowers, the loving little notes, and the occasional gift. Lydia Deetz found she thrived when planning such things. She had been working on her idea for quite some time now; where to go, what to say, and what she would get her beloved friend. She knew oftentimes, she was the one who was planning meticulously for whatever idea they had set up, but she knew he wouldn’t forget something as huge as this.

After all, who could forget their own anniversary?

She had been able to keep everything hidden for the majority of the week, most of the time just stuffing the supplies in her school bag- then eventually her closet. However, she was surprised he hadn’t tried to pester her at all this week about it. She knew very well by now that anytime a holiday (or anything involving exchanging gifts) was coming, he would try to figure it out, to check all the knooks and crannies of her room, sometimes the entire house. However this year, he seemed almost unbothered by the fact.

Nevertheless, tonight was the night. She had practically raced home from school, ignoring any snide comments Claire offered that day. As she arrived home, she was quick to cover any mirrors that could let him see what she was doing. She then took out all the supplies she had stockpiled over the week: a little black book filled with all sorts of poetry and incantions (More for the mood than anything), A dark cloth, small red candles, a box of candied beetles, and two rings. 

While she knew these things were nothing too special, she figured the little bands might mean something regarding their friendship. She had specifically had them engraved (costing her a good two month’s allowance) and now they laid in a velvety striped box, safe from any peeking eyes. 

She lit the candles, set the beetles directly across from her, and took a breath. She hoped he liked it. She knew it was silly to be this grand over something like this, but he was a showman, and she knew he was always one to be loud and proud of his trinkets. And maybe a bit of her hoped he would see the intention behind the rings. 

So with one last look around, she cleaned herself up and sat down. She was ready, box stuffed in her pocket, candles drawing a lovely silhouette, she summoned him. 

“Though I know I should be wary, still I venture someplace scary. 

Ghostly hauntings I turn loose,

 Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice.”

For most of the week the ghost with the most had noticed his younger friend acting rather strange. He couldn't place his finger on it, but she seemed to be hiding something. He had checked the calendar Lydia had gotten him to see if any special date was coming up. It wasn't Christmas, Halloween, or her birthday. He thought that maybe it was that time of the month for her, maybe that was why she was being strange. 

With a sigh he sat on the old couch in the road house waiting for her to call him, yet she was late to calling him. He checked the time once again and groaned, what was taking her so long? He had missed her all day due to her being at school also known as  hell for her- at least in his mind. The ghost tapped his foot on the ground as he placed his head in his hands. What was his friend up to? As soon as she got home she always called him. 

That's when he finally felt it through his body, she was saying the magic words finally! Once that final saying of his name came he appeared in her room a big grin on his face. “LYDIA!” He yelled happily before yanking her into a bone crushing hug. “Why ya so late on callin’ me?” He asked, looking at the tiny girl with curious eyes. “Ya never wait this long babes.” He continued, still holding her close, not even noticing the whole set up she had. His eyes only focused on her. 

Little did he know he had really messed up on forgetting today.

“So whatcha wanna do babes?” The ghost with the most asked as he let go of her and spun her around a big toothy grin on his face. He looked at her with almost loving eyes as he waited for her answer. 

She watched as the green light filled the room, giving her ghoul a grand entrance as usual. She was excited to see his reaction to everything when he finally took it all in. She should’ve known better than to expect him to just sit down so they could exchange their gifts. As she was tackled in a hug, soft laughs escaped her. 

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I had a lot to do! That’s all!” She explained a big grin on her face. She was sure he remembered. Why wouldn’t he? He was always so good about this stuff- considering it was probably one of the only things that kept him out of trouble. She sat back up, fixing her hair as she kept that chipper little smile on her face. When he asked what she wanted to do, however, she gave him a confused look. She thought she made it pretty clear with how everything was set up. Maybe he was just playing a game with her. 

“Well, I was thinking we could stay here and hang out, after a long day there’s nothing I’d rather do than hang out with you.” She quipped sincerely, fidgeting with the ring box in her pocket. She hoped he would get the idea of this gift. After this year, and certain events ensued, the tension of their relationship had thickened quite a bit.  That wasn’t to say they weren’t still thick as thieves, but every hand brush, every meaningful look, every scheme, one of them was always looking out for the other’s signals. 

He felt his dead heart melt at her words. That was his favorite thing to do with her anyways, just hang out. As he finally looked around he noticed the set up and looked a bit confused, an interesting way to hang out he thought. “What’s this for?” He asked his face still confused as he looked back at her. 

His eyes then landed on the black and white box she held, he tilted his head like a dog. “Fancy box, is it for me?” He asked with a small chuckle. Now he was curious as to what his lovely best friend had planned for him. Maybe there was something special going on today? His birthday? No, no couldn't be that. Maybe it was some mystical holiday she knew about and wanted to celebrate it. 

Whatever it was he was curious as to what if was.  

Lydia frowned slightly when her friend asked her what the set up was. Was he really continuing this game? She looked around at the ornate details she had included. She was fine with playing it this way, it just seemed a bit odd. “For ambiance.” She answered noncommittally with a shrug. 

She had mindlessly taken out the ring box in the process of her getting lost in thought. She stroked the velvet as if using almost for meditative purposes; that is, before she was drawn from her thoughts by his raspy voice. She looked at the box as he gestured to it, as if it had just been placed in her hand. 

“Uhm yeah..But why don’t we wait for a few..” she chuckled nervously, wanting to now back out of her plan. Who was she kidding? She was a child. Why would he like her? She shook away these thoughts. Now was her chance to give it to him, if only she could work up the nerves now. 

“Oh! I got you something else as well! That was the last one in store, apparently beetles are quite a popular sweet.” She teased, handing him the box. This should buy her a little more time to work up the nerves. Besides, if they kept beating around the bush, maybe she would get an easy break. 

“Beetles! You know me so well babes.” With almost delicate hands he took the box and opened it picking up one of the beetles. He plopped it in his mouth almost swallowing it whole as he did. “The beetles are great babes, but I’d really like to see what's in that.” He motioned once again to the velvet box.

With one quick movement he grabbed the velvet box his curiosity taking over him as he needed to see what was inside it. He floated above her as he observed the small box wondering what could be so important in it. What did it have to do with this day as well? He questioned. 

“Why did you wanna give this to me today? What’s so important anyway?” He asked his raspy voice, still curious as he looked down at her about ready to open the velvet box. 

Her grin returned as she thought she distracted him a little longer, and could have her way with time. Unfortunately, it appeared he had other plans and was not so easily distracted. “You’ll see it soon I swe-Hey!” 

With one swift movement, he had snatched the small box from her grasp. She jumped, trying to reach it, but alas, being that short held it’s disadvantages. “Give it back! Come on Beej! I’ll let you see it soon! I promise!” she tried to bargain as she continued her futile attempts at getting the box. 

When he asked her what was so important about today it hit her. He didn’t remember. He wasn’t playing dumb, he truly didn’t remember. Her heart sank as she stopped attempting to reach for the box. “You really don’t remember, do you?” she asked softly, sobering reality setting in. 

Slowly he floated down to her and handed her the box back, he noticed how sad her face went. What could he be forgetting that was so important to her? “Remember what?” He mutters looking at her feeling bad for how upset he made her. 

“Lyds just tell me what today is, I looked at the calendar nothin’ was planned.” He mutters with a sigh. “Ya know I mark everythin’ down since ya got it for me.” 

She shook her head, feeling her heart shatter. Was their relationship really that insignificant? She had put so much thought into it. And he forgot. She handed the box back to him and gave a pitiful chuckle. “Forget it.  Here’s your gift. Happy anniversary Beetlejuice.” She mumbled, brushing past him. How could he forget?

The rings sat in the box, untouched, and engraved in delicate silver letters was the phrase:

‘Till Death do us apart’

[skvaderarts]

Apocrypha Chapter Thirty Four: Homeostasis

Masterlist can be found Here!

Chapter Thirty Four: Homeostasis

Note: That moment when you wrote this chapter as a stand alone prologue back on April 8th, 2019 because it took literally a year to start this series, and my fic Sorting was the precursor to this! I suppose I should throw that into a series list of some sort. Anyway, I’m going to just rewrite some parts of it since they don’t quite line up with this story, and I can’t overlook them. That’s how massive plot holes happen. Feel free to check that one out if you’d like to see how this whole concept got started. It’s still one of my most popular fics. Like 800 reads on a one chapter fic. Just omg wow!

 (-~-)

 Two weeks later…

As the end of august drew closer and closer with each passing moment, so too did the changing of the trees and the atmosphere around the city. What little grass covered the bare areas of the county began to turn slightly yellow, losing its once vivid green hue, and replacing itself, with a soft shade of yellowish brown that resembled mature wheat or straw more than anything else. The last of the summer heat was dissipating and a cold chill bit at anyone foolish enough to go out without some sort of long sleeve to protect them from the unusually early seasonal transition. It was normal for things to fluctuate slightly from year to year, but for the weather to undergo such a drastic change compared to the year before? Madness. But at the end of the day, the environment was going to do as it pleased, and fall coming about three weeks early wasn’t going to turn too many heads in a year where so many people genuinely thought that the world was about to end.

While opinion was divided as to whether or not celebrating Halloween was appropriate considering the sheer number of demonic attacks earlier that year, and the destruction of Redgrave City, no one seemed to make much of a fuss about the concept of decorating for the season. Stores and shops were already starting to hang autumn decorations, and seasonal treats were starting to hit shelves and shops alike. Despite the actual edibility of some of the offerings available, everyone had started to add pumpkin spice to everything because why not? The year had been literally hellish. At the end of the day, everyone needed something to look forward to, and at least the dreary weather that had refused to relent in the past month or so now had a valid reason to exist.

But while everyone else was adjusting to minute changes in the weather, and enjoying the colorful atmosphere, food, and decor that came with the rest of the season, V had additional matters to contend with. It had only been about five days since Magnolia had declared that V was finally in the proper condition to finally leave her watchful gaze, and for the first time in a very long time, V didn’t feel perpetually exhausted. While he’d never truly been energetic, his improved wellbeing and the prospect of transferring himself and his meager belongings into a more permanent dwelling was actually somewhat enthralling to him.

Or at least that had been the case before V had actually attempted to do so.

Despite the fact that the young summoner owned practically nothing, his insistence that he be allowed to move the majority of his belongings by himself had been his downfall, cursing him to an extended period of breathlessness and a general feeling of discomfort. There was a part of this situation that made him wonder how he’d managed to become this awful at physical activity, but then he remembered that he had basically no experience with such matters and decided to just go back to trying to stand up. 

And failing miserably at it.

“This is why I told you to just let me move the boxes for you.” Nero said as he walked past, plopping down one of the final boxes next to the winded summoner. His humorous tone hid an understandable level of genuine concern as she caught sight of his out of breath sibling, berating himself for ever allowing V to carry all those boxes into the house by himself in the first place. Since Vergil wasn’t there to be the voice of reason in this particular situation, and V was too distracted to think that clearly, Nero was going to have to do.

V shrugged in defeat, a pleasant smirk spread across his face as he sat on the floor of his new living room, sprawled out across the space where the couch had presumably once been, and completely in the way of any meaningful progress that Nero was trying to achieve. He’d been in that spot for the last ten minutes, and despite the fact that his breathing and heart rate had leveled out some time ago, he simply couldn’t will himself to get up off of the floor. It was as though his limbs were glued down, and no amount of insistence from his cerebral cortex was going to change that fact. He’d simply lost the ability to get up and do anything, and part of him was okay with just staying there until Nero inevitably decided to just entomb him with his own boxes.

“And normally I would have allowed that, but it seems that a combination of overzealous mismanagement and hubristic foolishness have gotten the best of me.” V said quietly, managing to lift a single leg and nothing else. Good, that was progress. Now if he could just make the second leg obey him, he might be able to actually do something.” The fool who persists in his folly will become wise.”

Nero glanced over at him and shook his head for a moment, tempted to just offer to help him up. But he knew better than to try that. V wasn’t going to go for that at this particular juncture, and he knew it. The white haired demon slayer was simply too elated to care. 

“And here I thought you’d finally stopped quoting that damn book, V.” Nero said as he stacked two of the larger boxes, lamenting the sheer number of them. How much stuff had he managed to keep in that tiny guest room?” If these are all books I swear…”

It took a moment, but V finally managed to clamber to his feet, brushing off the small layer of dust that had accumulated on his clothing while he’d been sitting on the floor. The house needed a good dusting, and he’d spent much for the day before letting it air out and attempting to get a head start on the process of making it livable. There were no appliances in the kitchen, and he didn’t really have any plans as to how he was going to work all of the expenses for furniture out just yet, but at least he wasn’t drowning in bills like Dante and he actually owned a plate. Probably. He wasn’t sure if he could find it just yet.

“To be honest, I’m somewhat surprised that you recognized that verse.” An almost smug smirk spread across his face, a knowing look in his eyes as he faced Nero, folding his arms lightly around himself. There was a draft coming in from the open door, and the chilly weather wasn’t helping any.” But then again, I suppose you did read my book cover to cover, so it only makes sense.”

For a moment, a slightly confused look crossed Nero’s face as he attempted to remember the point in which he’d admitted that to V. In all honesty, he couldn’t recall that conversation, but one thing was for sure: he remembered telling Vergil about two weeks prior. His brain stalled for a moment as he realized that his ability to poke fun at his older sibling was now compromised, and he had no high ground to speak of.

“... Vergil told you, didn’t he?” Nero exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassed discomfort. It was more of a statement than it was a question, the younger of the two positive that he knew exactly how his older sibling had found out. It was an interesting revelation to be sure. Nero had assumed many things about his father, that much was certain. But he’d never taken him as the sort to gossip. Regardless, he found it as entertaining as he did embarrassing. Was V going to try to talk poetry with him now that he knew he had some level of comprehension towards the subject matter?

The longer haired devil hunter gave a brief nod, blinking slowly as he chuckled quietly to himself. If only Nero could see the face was making. Pure gold was an understatement. As far as V was concerned, this was probably the most embarrassed Nero had ever looked in front of him, and that was saying something considering the number of times Nico had absolutely destroyed him in front of his three young children.

His mind wandered for a moment as the thought of the little ones crossed his mind. They lived back on the island with his brother, Kyrie, and Nico, and now he resided in this place. But in a strange turn of events, for the first time in his life, he wondered how he would cope with that reality. V had been alone his entire life, only having himself to rely on when things took a turn for the worst. And while he still had Griffon and Shadow, he found himself wondering how the silence within his new dwelling would sit with him. He’d become so accustomed to the sound of children laughing, and the constant but friendly bickering between Nero, not to mention the commotion from the kitchen whenever someone (normally Kyrie) was cooking, or the absolute pleasure that was the chaotic dinners that he’d had the pleasure of participating in. The very concept of missing out on these events actually lowered his spirits a bit when he considered them, because despite the fact that he’d generally been a silent observer, simply partaking in the ambience of domestic bliss, he’d felt… safe there. Wanted.

For the first time in a long time, he wasn’t sure what he thought about being alone.

When he’d made the decision to move away from everyone else, it had been an idea born of a desire to both acquire his own space, and to keep any possible danger that he might attract away from those he cared about. There was no guarantee that this cult was completely wiped out, and V knew that he would never forgive himself if he allowed those that he’d come to value to dearly become embroiled in whatever this mess was that he now found himself in. For once, he had something to lose. And he rather enjoy the view from afar and pine fruitlessly for times that had long since passed than be the catalyst that sent their happy world crashing down in a pillar of flames. Metaphorically, of course.

“You just told me. But yes, he did as well.” V stepped past him, ignoring the flabbergasted look on Nero’s face and heading back towards the van to check and see if there were any remaining boxes. The feeling of the cool air hitting him as he walked out onto the tree lined street helped ease the growing sensation of discontent that he felt in the pit of his stomach. It was like a knot that grew tighter in his throat and his abdomen all at once, not physically inhibiting him in any way, but making him uncomfortable nonetheless. How was it that his own insecurities and anxieties about things that had yet to pass always seemed to steal away what could otherwise be pleasant memories? V had a habitual habit of assuming the very worst, and rarely hoping for the best. After all, he couldn’t be let down if his expectations were low. And yet, in moments like these, he wished for nothing more than to be the type of person who could quietly sweep his worries under the rug and drop his inhibitions, simply reveling in the beauty and wonder of the world he lived in. 

He could count the number of times he’d had reason to feel that way on one hand, not a single thing standing out in his life for positive reasons. And yet, there was a part of him that just wanted him to feel as though he’d accomplished something by making it this far, but cutting himself a break seemed to be out of his realm of ability.

“In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.” V spoke quietly under his breath, his words barely a whisper in the crisp late summer air. He was not aware of the fact that Nero was standing behind him, taking in the change in mood between them.

The younger of the two could tell that something in V’s demeanor had changed in the last few minutes, and he had some idea as to what might be on his mind. From the moment that V had announced his intentions to move out, everyone had been excited for him. But as the actual day that he had chosen to move out approached, the house seemed to grow ever more silent. There was a certain stillness between everyone as they considered what it would be like to walk past his room and know what he wasn’t there. Everyone had grown so accustomed to their little arrangement, and had come to enjoy the company of everyone else present. Even though he’d been given an opportunity to experience something uniquely wonderful, none of them could shake the sadness that came with his departure, V included. And although none of them spoke of this, they all felt it deep down.

Even though everyone knew that he was a ferry ride and a short drive away, it felt like an ocean had sprang up between them. And distance between them was like an impassable wall and, as crazy as it might have seemed, V couldn’t help but feel like he was being selfish for doing something that he hoped would bring them all more safety and security in the long run. Perhaps it was worse having had something and then lost it than it was to live without it. V couldn’t say yet. But one thing he could say was that he hoped he could find some way to preserve that feeling of closeness he felt with the rest of his friends and family, even with an ocean between them. Dante’s office and Magnolia’s shop were close by, not more than a half hour in either direction unless traffic was taken into account. And in an ironic twist of fate, V was not too far from what remained of Redgrave City, his new dwelling closer to it than any of the other residences. This provided him with an interesting possible venture in the future, but he wasn’t entirely sure what he would do if he went there. Visit all the locations he’d nearly been killed in? Go and try to locate more books? Did he even have more books? There had to be about fifteen large boxes stacked on the floor in the living room, and the large majority of them were filled with books, most of which he hadn’t taken the time to read.

Maybe that was a good place to start.

During his momentary lapse of focus, Nero had nabbed the final box and closed the van door, finally drawing V’s attention. They shared a quiet glance at one another for a moment before V simply opted to follow Nero into the house. He took a moment to close the front door behind them and then went up the stairs in the front entrance, feeling the need to find a quiet place to collect his thoughts for a moment. Through no sentient intent of his own, he eventually made it to the second story balcony. V leaned against the second story balcony, closing his eyes for a moment as he considered his next steps and simply took in the cool air. It was a beautiful day, and the weather was perfect. Perhaps he should simply breath and allow himself to just enjoy himself for a moment. Was that truly so difficult for him?

Shortly after his arrival, Nero peaked his head around the corner. He’d noticed that V had disappeared, and had a feeling that he’d gone to some other part of the house. His first guess would have been the backyard, but the second story overlook made just as much sense. One way or another, he was outside.

“I hope it’s not too unlike me to say thank you… for everything. I…” He trailed off for a moment, aware that Nero was there, but unable to find the proper words to express what he was feeling at that moment. He couldn’t even make himself look at Nero as the younger devil hunter approached him, standing at his side in an attempt to see the world as he saw it at that moment. It was a beautiful view.” … Would it be possible for you to thank Kyrie for me? I truly do appreciate… both of you.” A slight tightness gripped Nero’s chest as he took in the sadness in V’s voice. He understood what the problem was now. The idea of V being homesick when he’d barely even left yet was as heartbreaking as it was sweet, and he couldn’t help but feel a similar way about the prospect of him leaving. No, the fact that he was leaving. They’d already brought the last box in. But that didn’t have to be the end of it. “You know that you can just tell her yourself, right? Because when you come over for dinner; and you don’t have a choice but to come over sometime, you can just tell her then.” Nero carefully raised his hand and placed it on V’s shoulder, somewhat surprised but relieved when the older descendant of Sparda didn’t pull away or give him a funny look. “I could tell her, but it wouldn’t be the same. She’s always going to have a spot for you if you decide to drop in, ya know?”

Something that Nero wasn’t accustomed to seeing happened in that moment. Something rare and genuine. What was meant to be a soft smirk became an actual smile, lingering longer than V probably initially intended, and spreading to the rest of his face in a way that none of his clever smirks ever had. There was a certain light that he’d never seen in his eyes before; a glimmer of something foreign to the younger man that he’d never thought was possible. The bittersweet happiness in his face was genuinely touching, and Nero couldn’t think of a moment when he’d ever seen V share so much emotion with such a small gesture. And internally, Nero was happy that he’d played some part in causing him to react in such a way. He knew that he’d never truly understand what it took for V to open up to someone and be vulnerable around them, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t know that it took an awful lot for him to do so.

“I suppose the children will need someone to read them to sleep as well. What will they do without me?” There was a certain tone to V’s voice when he spoke those words that resonated with Nero, the younger of the two considering for a moment if he could actually get away with what he was thinking of doing. After all, the only other person he’d ever seen attempt to do so was Carlo, and V had nearly died of shock when he’d done so. But then again, there was only one way to actually find out.

“You know, you don’t make any sense half of the time. But that’s okay because I know I probably don’t either, and I’m okay with that.” Nero stared at V intently, slightly distracted by all the different thoughts that were colliding within his wayward mind. Much like V, he wasn’t entirely sure how to articulate what he was trying to put into words.” Maybe I’m just glad you still put up with my bullshit, V.” Once again, it was V’s turn to look at Nero funny, although this time he was slightly concerned that his younger brother had come down with some kind of illness. “Likewise. But you need not worry. You've done nothing that I needed to tolerate in the first place.” He turned his body in the same direction as Nero’s, intent on facing him, but his eyes traveled downward slightly, never meeting his gaze. At the end of the day, V was still awful at eye contact. Some things never changed.”...  You never gave up on me. I’m aware of the fact that I can be… difficult. But you’ve persevered regardless. I think what I’m trying to say is… Thank you, Nero.”

Any further consideration that Nero had been giving towards whether or not his idea was a good idea totally went out of the window in that moment when he saw the genuinely touched look on V’s face. It was a fleeting thing, but the young devil hunter was almost positive that there had never been a better time to try and illustrate to V that he actually did care. Truly he did. Nero knew what it was like to feel alone and unwanted. Before he’d met Kyrie and her family, he’d been adrift in a sea of unfriendly faces and bad intentions. She’d been the anchor that grounded him in that storm. But V had never had than until recently, and the idea that he’s spent around twice as long suffering that kind of fate, and still managed to turn out as well as he had was simply soul crushing to Nero. Astounding and a testament to their shared willpower in the face of adversity, but soul crushing nonetheless.

Throwing caution to the wind, Nero did something that he was almost certain he’d regret later and cautiously stepped forward, carefully throwing his arms around V and pulling him into a tight hug. He wasn’t trying to harm him in any way, shape, or form, and he hoped that V wouldn’t recoil in sheer confused terror, but that wasn’t going to stop him this time. There had been some many times that he’d considered doing so and chosen not to out of the fear that he’d upset him in some way. But this time he was done with that. Just this once, he needed V to truly understand that he did in fact care. As touch starved as V was, he hoped it would have a positive effect on him. 

Hell, maybe something as simple as a hug could have gone a long way between their uncle and father. Nero was confident that they'd probably never hugged on another in their entire lives, and he didn’t want to keep that tradition going. There was so much long standing suffering in their family, and he desperately wanted to do something about that, but he had no idea how. All he could do was hope that he hadn’t given V a brain aneurysm for the confusion he was probably feeling at that moment in time.

V wasn’t entirely sure at first how to process what was happening to him. He obviously knew and understood what a hug was, but aside from the one he’d received from Carlo about a month ago, V had never actually experienced such a thing for himself, at least not that he could remember. Perhaps when he had been little, someone had seen fit to show him such a basic level of compassion, but somehow he doubted it. The people at that dreaded place that he’d been forced to call home had never cared about him, of that he was certain. And despite that, he’d persevered. The best revenge in that case had been to do the very thing they didn’t want him to succeed in doing: to live his life and never give them what they wanted most. He refused to simply surrender to the crushing loneliness that he’d once felt and give them that kind of satisfaction. To live and be loved by others was his ultimate insult to the legacy of pain they’d forced him to endure, and although he knew that, he didn’t honestly care. In that particular moment, nothing else really mattered to him but forcing his brain to process what was going on and to respond accordingly.

It took V a little longer than was comfortable with to register that he’d been holding his breath. In one simultaneous moment, he closed his eyes, exhaled, and returned the gesture. Although somewhat clumsy, his intentions had been pure. And despite the fact that neither of them were looking at one another, they both knew that.

Much to Nero’s simultaneous surprise and relief, V hadn't recoiled in horror and stepped away like he’d assumed he would. In that moment, the demon hunter was more glad than ever that he’d gone with his gut and done what he thought was right. And he was even more glad that Vergil and Dante were out of town at the moment “wrapping up some loose ends” so that they couldn’t find some creative way to ruin this touching moment between them.

After a moment, they let one another go, and Nero took a step back, reaching behind the still open doors for something. V watched him, a strange rush of emotions overtaking him as he realized that he had no idea how to react or what to do now that it was over. What a strange thing it was, not knowing how to achieve homeostasis after something as basic as a hug. He really was a mess, wasn’t he? 

Before he could say or do anything, his shock and bewilderment intensified and Nero stepped back towards him and extended his hand to give him something that he’d long since written of as a lost cause. He extended his hand slightly, his fingers brushing almost hesitantly across the surface of the cane he’d genuinely thought that he’d lost forever, trying his hardest to quantify what the revelation that Nero had returned it to him meant to him.

Nero cleared his throat, somewhat worried that he’d broken the entire logical center of V’s brain. Maybe he should have wanted a bit longer to reveal the fact that they’d found the cane to him? No, he didn’t want to worry about him going back and forth up and down the stairs while he was back in Fortuna. This was the best housewarming present he could think of because he knew that it had been significant to V. And now he had it back. This had been the right thing to do.

“Nico said she made some sort of modification to it and that she’d explain the next time she saw you. We found it the day we brought back all of those books.” Nero used his free hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, shrugging in discomfort. He was clearly somewhat flustered. Why was this so difficult?” We thought it might be the time to give it back to you after that cult almost killed you. Can’t have you falling down the stairs in your own house, V. I won’t be here to catch you. But you can always just call, ya know?”

V gave an absent minded nod, turning the cane around in his grasp as the dim evening light. Yes, there was something different about the cane, but he couldn’t place what it was. Had it been lighter before? Regardless, he was just happy to have it back, and the fact that they’d found it and made sure it was returned to him was strangely relieving. Maybe there was just a certain sense of security that came with having it back in his possession. It was difficult to say.

“Thank you. Truly. This is… I don’t know what to say.” V gave Nero a thoughtful look as he glanced in the direction of the door that led inside of the house. He suddenly felt the desire to go and sit down. The last few minutes had been unreasonably taxing, and moving into a new house was a marathon, not a sprint. He gestured for Nero to follow him, the younger man obliging him wordlessly.” Care to join me?”

Nero shrugged. “Fine by me. What are we doing?”

V stopped for a moment, not entirely sure himself. “Honestly, nothing. I just want to go inside.”

The younger of the two shook his head and let out a small sound somewhere between a chuckle and a laugh. V could be so hard to understand at times. There was never a dull moment between them, was there? “Sounds good to me. I’m right behind you.”

(-~-)

Well, this chapter turned out to be way more wholesome than I’d anticipated! I've been waiting to redo this scene for literally a year XD check out the original fic Sorting for a comparison. I literally might just fuck around and build V’s house in the sims just because I feel like it LOL! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I had a blast writing it all night when I should have been sleeping. Take care and I’ll see you all on Friday. Hopefully today goes well since I’m going back to work right after this goes up! Wish me luck everyone!

Additional Note: I won’t spoil anything, but the ex taunt and end cutscenes for SE literally made me laugh to death. I’m dead now, but hell has pretty good wifi. Thank you.

[twittytelly]

What Christmas is About

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Masterlist

A\N: This is my submission to @capcountdownchristmas​ Christmas Challenge/Celebration. My prompt is “Christmas is for Children”.This is my first time writing for Bucky and this is also Endgame compliant - but I have ignored everything the Russos, Markus and McFeely have ever said and gone with my head canon. Hope you all have a lovely Christmas or whatever you celebrate, and to those that find this time of year hard – I feel ya!

Summary: Bucky is looking forward to celebrating Christmas for the first time in nearly eighty years, but you have some reservations. Fluff

Warnings: Swearing, grief, Endgame compliant.

“So what are your usual plans for Christmas?” Bucky asked with excited trepidation.

“Nothing,” You huffed. “Christmas is for children.”

Bucky nearly dropped his phone into his pumpkin-spiced latte. Granted you and Bucky hadn't known each other for very long, but he hadn't put you down as a Scrooge. It was barely October and you already had your couple's costume locked down (you were going to rock The Stark's Halloween Bash as Gomez and Morticia Addams thank you very much).

“Bu-”

“I just find it anti-climatic.” You noted, giving Bucky a stern look indicating that the conversation was over. You picked up your phone and started browsing, ignoring the slight awkwardness that had fallen over your table.

Watching the crisp auburn leaves as they danced in the breeze, Bucky did his best to hide his disappointment. Truth be told he was really looking forward to spending the most wonderful time of the year with you.

Bucky had always loved Christmas. While they were never lavish affairs back at the Barnes' household in Brooklyn, Bucky loved spending time with his family as they all enjoyed their family festive traditions and when Steve lost his mother, the Barnes' had opened up their arms and hearts and incorporated some of the Rogers' traditions with their own. That had all changed when the war dragged Steve and Bucky to Europe. But even then they had come up with their own traditions with the rest of the Howling Commandos. Hydra were capable of many monstrosities, but they could not stop Bucky celebrating Christmas.

But then they did.

If Bucky was ever asked what was the strangest thing he ever saw as the Winter Solider it would probably be a small Christmas tree on a desk in a Hydra base. Creating a new world order didn't seem to go hand in hand with Christmas, but Bucky knew many men who would commit atrocities as their 9-5, then go home to play the role of the loving husband and father. Home life must've sometimes bled into work life.

Freedom didn't grant Bucky with another opportunity to enjoy Christmas as he was either under the ice in Wakanda or 'blipped', whatever that meant. When Bucky had first met you back under the springtime blossom, everything Steve had ever said about the right partner had made sense and Bucky couldn't help but look forward to creating new traditions with you.

Bucky knew you were holding back and desperately wanted to know more. But Bucky knew how hard it was to talk about the past and one of the things he loved about you was how patient you were with him, how you allowed him to open up to you on his own terms. Giving you a reassuring smile, Bucky knew that he had to extend the same courtesy to you.

-

Halloween had come and gone, where you had tried to distract Bucky from loosing the costume contest to Morgan and Happy by making preparations for a large Thanksgiving Dinner. You had invited everyone who would be staying behind in the recently reinstated Avengers Tower and you were planning to host an event that would make Monica Geller jealous. Although deep down you had an ulterior motive. By going all-out for Thanksgiving, you were hoping that no one would bother you about Christmas.

On the day itself, when Pepper helped you prepare the not-so-modest feast you learned that Steve would be spending Christmas with the Starks, (well, Morgan had become Steve's surrogate granddaughter), you hoped that the invitation would be extended to Bucky. Neither of you had broached the subject of Christmas since that afternoon in the coffee shop some weeks ago, and you were hoping that it would stay that way. For years you had managed to get away with avoiding Christmas without getting noticed; though you had conceded that you would now have to buy a few presents. Thankfully, thanks to the internet, you could do that from the comfort of your own bed out of earshot from Michael Bublé and his dulcet tones.

Well, your wish came true. As you loaded up the dishwasher for the thousandth time, you overheard Steve bring up Christmas with Bucky. But to your disappointment, Bucky did not jump at the chance to spend Christmas with his childhood friend.

“I need to see what Y/N is doing first.”

A lump formed in your throat as you knew that the conversation you were dreading was coming.

-

Funnily enough the subject was brought up at the same coffee house at the exact same table. Only now the trees outside were bare and the syrup had been changed to gingerbread. Nervously Bucky reached across the table and took your hands in his.

“Sweetheart, I know you don't want to talk about it. But Pepper's invited us over to hers for Christmas and it's gonna be rude if I don't give her an answer soon.”

“You're right, I don't want to talk about it. Go spend it with Pepper, Steve and the others.”

“But what about-”

“I'll be fine Bucky” you snapped, hoping that he would drop it like he did last time, but you weren't expecting him to look at you like a kicked puppy.

“But I want to spend it with you.”

“Not unless you want to have a miserable time you don't.”

“Y/N, I want to know why you feel this way” Bucky practically begged, tears forming in his perfect grey-blue eyes. Guilt washed over you, but it was too late, the wall had been fully erected.

“Bucky I said that I didn't want to talk about it.” Before you could give him a chance to react, you yanked your hands from his, grabbed your bag and stormed out of the coffee shop; leaving Bucky stunned and alone at the table.

-

Bucky paid as much attention to the darkness blanketing his apartment as the TV show he was watching, his mind racing. He wanted to understand why you felt the way you did, but he didn't want to risk pushing you further away from him; you were the best thing to happen to him in decades.

A sharp knock at the door pulled Bucky from his thoughts, a knock only he would recognise. Jumping from his seat on the sofa, he practically sprinted to the door and almost wrenched it off it's hinges praying that his mind wasn't playing tricks again. His insides somersaulted as his eyes were met by yours and his heart broke as he registered how red and puffy they were.

“I'm an idiot..” you both said to each other in unison, before you both burst into laughter. Any lingering tension was now well and truly shattered. Bucky motioned for you to come in as he headed towards the kettle, knowing that you would need a strong cup of tea to help you get through the impending discussion.

Bucky took his place next to you on the sofa, handing you your warm steaming mug of liquid courage.

“Look sweetheart, the last thing I want to do is to pressure you into something you don't want to do,” Bucky started as his flesh hand reached for your leg. “If you don't want to do Christmas, we can ignore it together or if you'd prefer to be alone I'll go with Steve's to Pepper's. I just ask that one day you'll tell me why you feel the way you do.”

Taking a sip from your tea, you temporarily broke your eye contact with Bucky as you watched his hand trace shapes on your thigh. Taking a deep breath your eye's reconnecting with Bucky's. The time for stalling was over.

“You remember when I told you what happened to my mum?” Bucky nodded, not wanting to interrupt your flow. “Well she first got sick around Christmas time, and by the time the next Christmas came around she was gone. It has always felt weird celebrating Christmas and marking our old traditions without her. And everyone always seem so happy and I feel like I'm doing something wrong for being a bit sad.” You paused as you tried to fight back the tears that were beginning to form. Bucky, pulled you into his arms, silently comforting you by rubbing your back. You leaned into him and found the strength to continue.

“When I fist moved to New York I decided that it wouldn't be worth celebrating Christmas without everyone back home and I was able to slip under the radar. And when the blip happened, everyone was too dazed and traumatised to even think about Christmas. I was dreading this year as everyone was celebrating getting their loved ones back reminded me of what I've lost. But after I stormed off earlier, I thought about what you've been through and what everyone in that tower lost bringing everyone back and I feel so stupid and sel-”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Bucky interrupted. “Everyone is dealing with their own shit and while some people go through more shit than others, it doesn't diminish what you went through and how you feel.” Bucky took your now empty mug from your hands and hugged you.

“I know, but I was so wrapped up in my own isolation, I forgot.” Breaking off the hug, you started fiddling with Bucky's shoulder length locks. “I'm sorry I was a bitch earlier. I would honestly love to spend Christmas with you and the others. But I can't guarantee that I'll be merry all day.”

“That's fine Doll, I don't think any of us can. But I promise that if it gets too much for you we can leave.” For the first time since the coffee shop a smile stretched across your face as thought how lucky you were to have someone so understanding in your life. Crossing the space between you, you showed Bucky how grateful you were by pressing your lips against his.

-

The weather grew colder and New York became coated in a layer of white and before you knew it it was Christmas Day. You decided that rather than to force yourself to enjoy the day, it would be better to just allow yourself to feel what you needed to feel and it felt like a weight had been lifted off you.

After a quiet morning of opening presents in bed with Bucky, the pair of you made it to Pepper's lakeside home and you volunteered to help Pepper prepare dinner. As the pair of you chopped vegetables the pair of you talked about how hard you both found the holidays. However, just as you were about to start serving up you were stopped by Pepper, who asked everyone to join her outside.

After everyone bundled themselves in their coats and scarves, Pepper led everyone to the lake, where at the end of the jetty were a number of wreaths.

“I thought we would remember those who can't be with us today by casting these afloat-”

“Like we did at Daddy's funeral Mummy?” Morgan asked.

Pepper bent down to meet her daughter's eye level. “Just like that Morgoona,” Pepper placed a delicate kiss on the young Stark's forehead before straightening up and starting handing out wreaths. You were so enraptured by watching Bucky help Steve with his wreath for Peggy, that you almost dropped the wreath that was placed into your hands. Looking down you felt your eyes well up, as you read your mother's name on the card. You looked up to see Pepper giving you a reassuring smile.

“Thank you” you whispered making your way to the end of the jetty, where Bucky and Steve were making their way back inside. Bucky put his metal hand on your shoulder

“Are you gonna be okay Darlin'?” You gave him a small smile and nodded.

-

The rest of the day seemed to go by in a blur. After everyone ate more food than was believed to be humanly possible, you joined everyone in the living room. Chatting with Pepper while nursing a glass of wine, you watched the scene unfold before you. Morgan had roped Happy into playing Frozen with him for the hundredth time that day; on the sofa on the other side of the room Steve and Bucky were reminiscing about their life in Brooklyn; while in the middle of the room sat Sam, arguing with an instruction manual as he had somehow been given the task of assembling Morgan's doll house.

“That's who you thought worthy of entrusting the shield to?!” Bucky loudly exclaimed to the room. As everyone else erupted into laughter, you saw Sam give Bucky the coldest of death-stares. When the laughter died down, you noticed that your smile was staying on your face. Despite everything, you were enjoying yourself. This is what Christmas is all about.

[holidaysat221b]

2018′s Halloween at 221b - A Sherlolly Celebration Master List

To help get you in the Fall/Halloween spirit, here are all the submissions we received during the 2018 Halloween Fest.  Please give them another look, leave a comment or a kudo (or both!), and show a little love to the creators who took the time to participate in 2018.

We’ve listed where the works are archived, mult-chapter or not, complete or not, and rating.  In progress fics are marked in bold as a reminder for a mod to periodically check for updates.  Tumblr accounts have been tagged where possible, some could only be linked to, and some are completely unknown to the mods.  As always, the complete Master List for all years can be found here.

Alice in Wonderland/Sherlolly Mashup  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo And through the looking glass we see she’s painfully returned. But now off with her head I fear is everyone’s concern.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

All Souls - Written by @geekmama The rain had nearly stopped by the time they reached the village of Grendon and the house where Molly had grown up, and where her mother still lived. He’d been there once before, a few months ago, not long after the Sherrinford/Musgrave debacle, and the house hadn’t changed. Still quite undistinguished from the other residences in this thoroughly middle class neighborhood. For the second time, Sherlock found himself wondering that the unique creature beside him, his beloved, could have sprung from this thoroughly mundane environment. Of course, it had taken him an unconscionably long time to realize exactly how unique Molly was. It seemed irrefutable proof that, while he was very quick in most areas of perception, he could be slow to the point of idiocy in others – and some of them rather essential. It was always possible, Sherlock reflected, as he pulled the car into the drive, that there was more to Molly’s childhood home, too, than first contact had suggested.   (On Tumblr, Complete, Rated G)

By the Light of the Moon  - Written by @mizjoely Annabellioncourt on tumblr said: There’s a lovely old English myth that if someone who truely loved and trusted the werewolf called it by name that it would turn back to human. Others include throwing their human clothes at it and it’d turn back but that’s a bit less romantic. This is my response to that prompt.   (On Ao3, Complete, Rated G)

Corpse Bride/Sherlolly Mashup  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo Yet I feel my heart is aching Thought it doesn’t beat it’s breaking And the pain here that I feel Try and tell me it’s not real I know that I am dead Yet it seems that I still have some tears to shed   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Crimson Peak  - Created by @myqueenismollyhooper  (On Tumblr, Complete)

Dead Man Walking  - Written by @willsherjohnkhanAn alternate reality. Halloween-ish companion piece to The Familiar Stranger…   (On Ao3, Complete, Rated T)

Devoted  - Written by @the-sapphiresky She loved Halloween. It was the one time of the year she could go all out, no holds barred on her morbidity, and no one would bat an eye. She traded her jumpers and comfy trousers for tight leggings, fake blood, bat wings, whatever struck her fancy that year. But this year, the temptation to be morbid wasn’t as alluring as usual.   (On Tumblr, Complete, Rated G)

Edward Scissorhands/Sherlolly Mashup  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo (On Tumblr, Complete)

Happy Sherlolly Halloween  - Created by @darnedchildA Sherlolly kiss pumpkin  (On Tumblr, Complete)

I Had A Dream, Molly  - Written by @thehiddenlawyer Sherlock and Molly, in a rough patch in their relationship, are investigating a mysterious death at infamous 50 Berkeley Square in London, when a thunderstorm rocks the house, and Molly walks away with new abilities.   (On Ao3, Complete in 13 Parts, Rated M)

It’s no secret that Molly Hooper loves Halloween  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo It’s no secret that Molly Hooper loves Halloween, but it is something Sherlock finds endearing about her. They spend the afternoon walking through cemeteries, and the evening at her flat, watching cliché slasher films, and handing out candy to children who happen upon her doorstep. That’s when the activity begins. First it’s footsteps here and there, but then it escalates to objects being thrown, and the lights flickering. Turns out the thrift shop mirror Molly purchased for Halloween decór is a portal for spirits. And by the looks of the I.O.U. being painted on the glass, it seems Moriarty is back for revenge.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Jack the Ripper/Sherlolly Mashup  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo Jack the Ripper is on the loose, but Sherlock and Molly are on the case. They set out to find the identity of the ripper, unaware that they’re closer to the answer than they think…Sherlock’s cousin, H.H. Holmes. With hesitance, they attempt to acquire help from criminal mastermind, James Moriarty, who is imprisoned. He knows the identity of the ripper, but will only speak in riddles.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Life in Death  - Written by @simplyshelbs16xoxo Molly Hooper finds an antique pocket watch in a thrift shop, resulting in her being haunted by the ghost of a Victorian Era Sherlock Holmes, who happens to have once been a tenant of her flat. Follow this annoyed-at-first-sight story full of witty banter, eventual romance, and an attempted murder most foul.   (On Ao3, Complete in 8 parts, Rated T)

Little Red Riding Hood/Sherlolly Mashup  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo Once upon a time, a girl named Molly wandered into the woods in her red hood, only to come across the large black wolf everyone hides away from at night. The first thing she noticed was the strange, but beautiful, cerulean eyes. The wolf, she learns, is in fact a man who can shift into the large beast; a man named Sherlock. Upon finding out that the wolf who attacks her village isn’t him, but another shifter by the name of James Moriarty, Molly begins to set up a trap to catch him. This angers him, and Moriarty bites Molly before he is taken by the men of the village. Sherlock takes care of her through her transition into becoming a wolf herself; a beautiful copper coat covering her. The more time she spends with him, the more she falls in love with him… and he with her.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Nightmare Before Christmas/Sherlolly Mashup  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo My dearest friend, if you don’t mind, I’d like to join you by your side, where we can gaze into the stars, and sit together, now and forever. For it is plain as anyone can see. We’re simply meant to be.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

The Phantom of the Opera/Sherlolly Mashup  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo Close your eyes, start a journey to a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Close your eyes and let music set you free. Only then can you belong to me. Floating, falling, sweet intoxication. Touch me, trust me, savour each sensation. Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in. To the power of the music that I write. The power of the music of the night.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sherlolly Moodboard #1  - Created by @mel-loves-all Sherlock woke in a hotel room without any memory of how he got there. A case had led him to erotic underground clubs the night before. Flashes of hauntingly lonely brown eyes, skin soft as satin and ecstasy so pleasurably intense, it bordered on pain, bombarded him as the scent of crushed berries and sex lingered on the bed sheets.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sherlolly Moodboard #2  - Created by @mel-loves-all Dreams. Fevered, erotic, all consuming. A woman whose beauty takes his breath away. Sherlock doesn’t ever want to wake up.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sherlolly Moodboard #3  - Created by @mel-loves-all Mysterious murders lead Sherlock Holmes to the front door of a leading Historian of Witches and Witchcraft. He doesn’t believe in the supernatural but the beautiful professor’s smile could definitely be described as magical.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sherlolly Moodboard #4  - Created by @mel-loves-all On Halloween night, there’s a murderer on the loose and Molly’s been kidnapped. Sherlock saves her and finally gets his head out of his arse and kisses her from relief and love.)   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sherlolly Moodboard #5  - Created by @mel-loves-all Love is kinda crazy with a spooky little girl like you   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sherlolly Moodboard #6 - Created by @mel-loves-all Who would have thought Molly and Sherlock both had a taste for the macabre on the scariest night of the year? lol, date night.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sherlolly Moodboard #7  - Created by @mel-loves-all What started out as a fun ugly jumper purchase of Molly’s for Sherlock turned into a Halloween themed party where Mrs. Hudson took the grand prize for her “Frequent Flyer” sweater.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sherlolly Moodboard #8  - Created by @mel-loves-allMoriarty. Even in death his presence lingers. All Sherlock can do is be there for Molly as she comes to grips with the remembered horror of the man.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sherlolly Moodboard #9  - Created by @mel-loves-all Was she going insane? This was the urgent missive Sherlock Holmes was sent. A woman in danger. A woman who was being systematically poisoned and driven towards madness. He would not allow it. The beautiful widow, whose vulnerability, but incredible inner strength, drew forth Sherlock’s protective instincts like no one else before.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sherlolly Moodboard #10  - Created by @mel-loves-all “They talk to me, always…whispering all the things they wished they had time to do…all the things they want me to do…for them" He looked around the morgue, and for one terrifying moment, he could hear them too…”   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sleepy Hollow/Sherlolly Mashup  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo The Pickety Witch, the Pickety Witch, who’s got a kiss for the Pickety Witch?   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Spellbound  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo A trailer for both stories in my Spellbound Universe.   (On Youtube, Complete)

Spellbound: All Hallow’s Eve  - Written by @simplyshelbs16xoxo Sequel; takes place a year after the epilogue of Spellbound (I suggest reading that first). Sherlock and Molly encounter a man who’s out for revenge at the Watsons’ Victorian themed Halloween party. Meanwhile, there’s a woman roaming around London, impersonating Emelia Ricoletti. Magic, Mayhem, Mystery, and a Murder (or two) Most Foul.   (On Ao3, Complete in 7 Parts, Rated T)

Spellbound: All Hallow’s Eve Edit  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo An edit created to accompany “Spellbound: All Hallow’s Eve”.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Universally Monstrous - Dracula  - Written by @darnedchild It’s Molly’s voice. The woman he had buried just six days prior.   (On Ao3, Complete, Rated T)

Universally Monstrous - The Hunchback of Notre Dame  - Written by @darnedchild “The Quasimodo Killer?” Sherlock scoffed. “Really, John. That’s the best you could do?”   (On Ao3, Complete, Rated T)

Universally Monstrous - The Phantom of the Opera  - Written by @darnedchild It was a well-known secret that New Scotland Yard was haunted.   (On Ao3, Complete, Rated G)

Vampire Edit  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo Post tfp. Sherlock has opened his eyes when it comes to matters of the heart. A passionate snog in the morgue showed Molly exactly how he felt about her. But there’s danger lurking around the corner… Moriarty never died on that rooftop. He’s a vampire with an agenda… to sire Molly Hooper. By doing so, it will make her undyingly loyal to him, and in turn, burn the heart out of Sherlock. Molly is on the run whilst Sherlock tries to track his arch nemesis down. He finds out that Moran has found Molly, and Sherlock will do anything to save her, but time’s running out.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Veils of Memory Infected With Dreams  - Written by ALC_Punk (@lyssisbored) Molly was dragged into joining a search through the woods, or so she remembers… Yet the fog is growing ever deeper, and she can’t quite place what she’s supposed to be doing.   (On Ao3, Complete, Rated G)

Witchy Woman - Written by @mizjoely Sometimes a witch just wants a night with a hot demon…what’s so wrong about that?   (On Ao3, Complete, Rated E)

[shaekingshitup]

The Few Things (JP3 Part 1)

A/N: Hi booos!! I’m finally back with an update! Hopefully I’ll be putting out content on a weekly basis moving forward. 🤞🏿 If you want to be added/removed from my masterlists please let me know. I’m not the best at keeping it accurate but I’m trying! (I don’t have my list own mobile. Sooo I’ll tag y'all on Sunday lmao) This is the first part in a 3 fic series which are all based on songs by JP Saxe. The first one can be found here. Please let me know your thoughts! Y'all inspire me so much when I hear your thoughts. I appreciate y'all for even taking the time to read this. Thanks boos 🧡🧡

Tagging:

@glittermakesmesmile because she’s an ANGEL beta reader

@twistedcharismaaa & @sarcastic-sunshines because they make me feel like my writing isn’t complete trash!

“How in the world did this nigga get promoted to Dean of Students? He’s a fake doctor, has no basis for his so called curriculum and his overall intelligence is highly suspect.” Nia asked as she adjusted her eyes away from the tv and to her boyfriend. They were chilling on the couch watching the second season of Grownish. Well, Nia was watching it. Erik was.. somewhere else as he gazed at her without quite seeing her.

She stared at him openly watching him gaze off into the distance. Nia placed her hand on Erik’s arm and pinched him gently through his expansive muscles “What are you thinkin babe?” 

“Nuthin” Erik responds almost as a reflex. His eyes lose their haze and he averts them back to the television to see Zoey delivering yet another monologue and awkwardly reuniting with Aaron. Nia doesn’t believe him. She just looks at him looking at the tv. She ponders whether she should push it or just let it be. 

“You always let it be,” her inner voice told her. She contemplated all the times he’s responded with “Nuthin” in response to the inner workings of his mind and she had to wonder whether or not Erik has ever truly allowed her in, if he trust her or if this is just a dance that they will be doing without ever having any concrete answers. With these thoughts on her mind, Nia decides that he isn’t the only one who may need some space for their thoughts and moves to get up while asking  Erik, “Do you want anything to drink?”

At her voice, Erik stirs and he knows he fucked up. He did this. He looks up at her, genuinely seeing her and taking into account the mood change he caused. In an instant he locks his arm around her waist pinning her back down onto the couch. “Ay don’t do that,” he chides as he uses his thumb to rub her side. He could never get enough of how fluffy and soft she was. His hands never ceased to explore her body once the initial contact was made. However, his exploration was short lived as he realized that this wasn’t someting that physical touch could get him out of this time. He can see the cogs working in her brain. She was thinking in hyperspeed but she’d refrained from speaking for now. She was really trying with him and Erik decided it was time for him to do so too. 

Dumbfounded to the nth degree, Nia just glares at him as he remains quiet before her. “He’s gonna tell me not to do this? If he was the King of anything, it would be “Shutting Down & Keeping People Out” she thought. Erik sighs in exasperation. Not at Nia. But with the situation arising as it did. He can tell that she wasn’t going to shake this this time and if he was being real, he knew that she shouldn’t have to. “Look, I” he begins, “I don’t say what’s on my mind quite as much as you’d like me to. I’ve been hearing that shit my whole life, I promise, it ain’t just you.” Nia waits to let him continue because there had to be more. Erik shifts and faces her now softened glare head on. “But I fucks wit you. I don’t want you out here being insecure about my feelings for you. You,” he stops o clear his throat, “you’re one of the few things that I’m sure of aite?”

Nia is stricken by his confession. But she wanted to test it to make sure she wasn’t being persuaded with words rather than action. “Well… what were you thinking?” Nia’s hushed voice comes out as she tries again. He smirks.  “Come closer”. She submitted per usual snuggling closer to look up at her man.

“One year ago today was the first day that I saw you,”. Erik watched as confusion flooded Nia’s face and her argumentative side won out the emotions she was racing through that evening. Erik watched as she lifted herself out of his embrace, only slightly, so she could correct him. “Nuh uh. We met at last year’s Halloween party boo. You ain’t remember? I went as Diana Ross? You was on some bullshit talkin bout your costume was the same all year round ‘A Real Nigga’” she rolled her eyes and snickered remembering the dumbass line that he’d fed her with full confidence. 

“First of all,” Erik states lifting his index finger to count off all the things flawed in her comments, “fix your eyes lil girl unless you ready to get them stuck.” He brings his middle finger to join his index, “Second, I was looking good as fuck that night and you know it. Third, that was the first time I approached you but not the first time I met you.” Erik put down his fingers as he continued.  “You was wearing those black high waisted ripped jeans and cropped blue tee that said ‘Beyonce has been Crazy in Love, Dangerously in Love & Drunk in Love’ all across ya chest just askin a nigga to look.” Your eyes went wide with recollection. That used to be one of your favorite shirts a while back ago before bleach got spilt on it and it was ruined. 

“And in the bottom corner it said, ‘I can’t even find someone I like,’  and all I could think was “Challenge Accepted.” To be honest, I feelin you from jump, you was looking sexy but also I saw how you were selective about who you was showin your attention to and you weren’t paying attention to anyone based on pockets. I was feeling you and I knew that give the chance, you’d reciprocate.”

“Hol Up Casanova! When was this?” Nia asked trying to curb his ego that was coming in real strong right about now. 

“When we went to Saxe’s to celebrate Rico’s birthday” he responded.

“Niggaaaaaa. That was a whole ass 3 months before we even spoke! What took you so long?”

“I mean I was still fuckin on Inayah crazy ass,” at this Nia rolled her eyes, “and I ain’t bout the drama. You know this. Then you were never around. But, the next time I had my opportunity, you know a nigga shot the shot.”

“So you were thinking about me just now?”

“Yeah.” He smiles. “ I was thinking about how stupid I was to wait 3 months. I got a lot of dreams ya know? I’m a driven nigga. I work hard; but my running internal dialogue is more…questions than answers. But you?” he scoffs shaking his head, “you was never one of the questions. Of the life I see for my future, of all the shit that I dream about, you’re what’s already here. You’re one of the few things I know already I could build my world of.” 

PART 2

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

How about 8 and 28? I haven't seen a lot of Clemsim so I'm naturally pretty curious about these two! And I hope you can find some peace soon, lord knows we could all use some! 😵😵😵

“Clemsim babysit a child together. Shenanigans ensue.” 

Read on AO3

Lucy’s giggle is the most annoying thing Aasim has ever heard. 

Nails on chalkboards are mere ambiance noise compared to the high-pitched giggle muffled behind the wooden door. 

Aasim grips the doorknob once more, twisting with all his might while banging against the wood with his free hand. 

“Lucy, I’m not messing around!” He snaps. “Open the door!”

“Nope!” Lucy titters, mimicking his knock from the other side. 

Aasim bounces his forehead off the door, squeezing his eyes shut in an attempt to find his inner calm. 

Lucy kicks the door. 

“Damn i- Dang it, Lucy-!”

“You swore! You swore! I’m telling my mom! You swore!”

“No!” Aasim argues. “I said ‘dang’ it!”

“You said a bad word! I heard it!” 

“Oh yeah?” Aasim grits his teeth. “Well, when your mom gets home, you’re going to be in even more trouble for locking yourself in her room!”

“Nu-uh!” Lucy taps back on the door. “Not if I tell her you locked me in here!”

“She won’t believe you!”

“Yes, she will!” 

He’s going to punch a hole in the damn door. 

He’s actually going to step back and kick it down himself. Then, he’s going to tear that ugly baby doll from her chubby hands, rip it to shreds, set it on fire and make her watch it burn-

Aasim steps back from the door, fingers raking through his already tousled hair. He can’t remember the last time he was so frustrated that he could just cry. 

This was supposed to be an easy evening with an easy thirty dollars earned towards his new bookcase. Mr. and Mrs. Hawker were nice people who always helped Aasim and his family when they needed it. He couldn’t imagine having better neighbors.

When they called his mother up asking if he wanted to earn some cash, Aasim jumped on it without a second thought. For months, he’s had his eye on a nice wooden bookshelf in one of the used shops in town. Huge and made of thick, sturdy wood, it would fit perfectly along his wall, taking up more than half of it. 

Aasim could fit all of his books, notebooks, and even his movies on it. Then he wouldn’t have to keep his books stacked along his wall where they could fall and get damaged if anyone walked near them. 

The only problem was the bookcase was expensive.

But, not as expensive as a brand new one. 

So, Aasim took up doing extra jobs around the house to raise his allowance, as well as jumping at every opportunity to earn cash from helping out the Hawkers. 

Thirty dollars would put his twenty away from his goal, and everything was going smoothly. 

Until Lucy asked him to play hide n’ seek. 

Which was fine- Aasim didn’t mind playing a game with the toddler.

Then she locked herself in her parent’s room and now Aasim might not get that money. Of course, if she completely destroys the room, Aasim might never get another job from the Hawkers. 

“Lucy, please-”

“Nope!”

“You-”

The chime of his phone goes off. Aasim yanks the phone from his jacket pocket. 

Clementine’s picture fills the screen- the one he took of her in the library.

Glancing back at the door, he steps back down the hall to answer with, “Hey.”

“Hey yourself,” she says. “Did you get my text?”

“Uh, no, sorry. I’m… occupied.”

“Oh yeah? Well, just so you know, Louis did get the part in the spring musical!”

“Oh shit, really?” Aasim slaps a hand over his mouth, turning back towards the door. Lucy doesn’t say anything, so he should be in the clear. “That’s great!”

“Yeah! We kept telling him he’d do great. Anyway, to celebrate, we’re all meeting at Omar’s tomorrow for breakfast. Mind if I hitch a ride?”

“What time?”

“Around eight.”

Aasim scoffs. 

“Louis’ll be up and ready by then?”

“Probably not,” Clementine laughs. There’s a brief pause when Aasim hears something fall over from within the bedroom, followed by Lucy’s insufferable giggle. 

“So, what has you occupied?” Clementine finally asks. “You sound distracted.”

“I have, uh… a situation.”

“A situation?”

“Babysitting,” Aasim sighs. “Mr. and Mrs. Hawker went to dinner, so they asked me to watch Lucy until they get back, right? Simple enough?”

“Except…?”

“Except the little-” Aasim glances back at the door, hushing his voice, “-brat locked herself in her parents room and I can’t get her to come out.”

“Did you try asking politely?”

“Did I try- Clementine.”

‘What?” Clementine chuckles lightly. “Sometimes you can be very rude-”

“Oh my god.”

“-and as a result, children won’t listen to you. Because you’re rude.” 

“I’ll have you know that I asked super nicely if she’d open the door and she wouldn’t do it!” 

“Well, what do you do when Aamirah won’t listen to you?”

“I never have that problem with Aamirah because she’s a good kid who knows how to listen!”

Another crash emits from the bedroom, muffled by the walls. 

“She is tearing the place apart and if I break down the door, then I’ll have to fix it before they get home!” Aasim says, pulling at his hair. “I don’t know how to fix a door! And even if I do fix it, she’ll just squeal to her parents that I broke the door down! And that I swore! Which I didn’t mean to do! It just came out!”

Clementine goes silent. 

“…Clem?”

“You’re just next door, right?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m on my way!”

“What? No, Clem-”

“See you soon!”

“Clementine!”

She already hung up. 

Aasim stares at his phone, mouth agape. 

No, no, no…! 

Clementine cannot be here! 

The Hawkers made it clear that no one else was to be in the house! Especially his girlfriend!

“Aasim!” 

Lucy pokes her head out from the bedroom, grinning ear to ear as she waves at him.

Aasim stumbles as he turns himself around, dashing towards the room.

He doesn’t make it. 

Lucy’s already locking the door by the time he grabs the knob. 

“This isn’t funny!” 

Not even twenty minutes later, the doorbell rings. At the same time, his phone buzzes with a little “Here!” message from Clementine. 

Rushing down the stairs, he throws the door open, blocking the doorway. 

Clementine stares up at him with wide eyes, taking in his disheveled appearance. She bites back a grin. 

“Clem, not to be rude-” she raises a brow at him “-but you can’t be here. If they find out you were here, I’m dead. Please leave.” 

She rolls her eyes, moving up the steps anyway. 

“I can see why you’re having trouble.”

He doesn’t stop her- she’s not supposed to be here, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t happy to see her. If anything, Clementine’s the one good sight he’s had all evening. 

She gives him a quick kiss on the cheek before ducking past him. 

“She still won’t come out?”

“No,” Aasim sighs, rubbing at his eyes. “I’ve tried asking nicely, I’ve tried bribing her, threatening to call her parents, begging- I’ve tried everything except breaking the door down.”

Clementine hums, reaching for his hand, smiling, “C’mon.”

Hand in hand, he leads her up the stairs and right to the door. 

Aasim knocks, calling out, “Lucy? Your parents will be home soon! Don’t you want to come out and get ready for bed?”

“Nope!” Lucy giggles. “Nope! Nope! Nope!”

Aasim shoots Clementine an exasperated look, which she returns with an amused grin. Giving his hand a final squeeze, she approaches the door. 

However, she doesn’t knock, nor does she say anything. 

Instead, she pulls her backpack off, unzipping the front pocket. Finding what she’s looking for, Clementine kneels down on the floor, and begins fiddling with the doorknob.

“Woah, what are you-”

…Is she-

Clementine smirks up at him. 

She’s lock-picking the damn door. 

How is she lock-picking the god damn door?

A soft clicking is heard. 

Triumphant, Clementine bounces back to her feet. Aasim knows he must look foolish gawking at her the way he is, but it gets worse when she pulls a dress out of her bag. 

Before he knows it, Aasim’s holding her jacket as she slips the dress over her head, smoothing it out of her clothes. It’s a classic Snow White dress, one you’d see around Halloween time. 

He has no words. 

Still smirking, Clementine opens the door. 

“Hey!” Lucy’s high-pitched voice brings an ache to his ears. 

“Oh my!” Clementine says, voice changed so dramatically that Aasim almost bursts out laughing. “There she is! Safe and sound!

Lucy drops from her parents bed, hurrying to the door to stare up at Clementine in wonder. 

“Who are you?”

“I’m Princess Clementine.”

Lucy gasps, gripping her baby doll close to her chest as she looks over Clementine’s dress.

“You’re… a princess?”

“Why, yes I am!” Clementine smiles, brushing the blond curls away from Lucy’s face. “We were so worried that you’d be trapped in there forever!”

“How’d you get the door open?” Lucy demands. “It was locked!”

Clementine leans close, whispering, “Magic!”

Oh god.

Aasim wishes he had his phone pulled out to record this. 

Lucy eats it up, though, staring at Clementine with those big, blue eyes. 

“Thank goodness Prince Aasim told me you were trapped!” 

…What?

“Prince…Aasim?” Lucy turns her gaze to him. 

“Uh…?”

Clementine shoots him a look. 

“Uh, yes!” he clears his throat, deepening his voice. “I, Prince Aasim, sent for Princess Clementine to free you from this… bedroom…trap place.”

Lucy eats it up, marveling at the both of them. 

Clementine peeks into the bedroom with a frown. 

“Oh dear,” she says. “It seems that this place it quite messy?”

Oh shit-

Aasim steps forward, heart dropping at the sight off loose drawers dumped onto he ground, pillows tossed everywhere, and a lamp on the floor. 

Oh shit, oh shit-

“Lucy,” Clementine places her hands delicately on the girls shoulders. “Would you like to be a princess, too?”

Lucy squeals, and Aasim wants to die. 

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”

“Then you must help me and Prince Aasim clean this mess up,” Clementine smiles. “Once we’re finished, I will make you a real princess! How does that sound?”

“Yes! Yes!” 

Lucy jumps up and down, grabbing Clementine’s hands to drag her into the room. 

The clean up is much easier than it looked. The hardest part was putting the drawers back together, but other than that, the bedroom looked tidy within the hour. 

Once finished, Clementine escorted the toddler to her room, tucking her into bed and making her pinky promise to treat Prince Aasim with respect, and to not tell her parents about what happened. If her parents find out, “all magic will leave this world!”

Aasim can only laugh. 

Exhaustion from all the stress and frustration has him plopping down on the living room couch. He owes Clementine big time. 

He’s going to plan a special date for her. He doesn’t know what it’ll consist of yet, but they’ll make a whole day of it. He’ll take her to the fanciest restaurant he can afford, he’ll write her sappy poetry and read it to her in the moonlight, he’ll sit through one of the gory, action-packed thrillers that she likes so much, he’ll-

Clementine comes down the stairs, grinning to herself as she sits beside him and grabs his hand once more. 

After a moment, Aasim looks to her.

They share a brief gaze before he reaches over, hand slipping behind her head as he brings his lips to hers. She grins, kissing him back with just as much enthusiasm. 

When they break apart, Aasim sighs. 

“I have so many questions.”

[namjuicyy]

A Father’s Love - Chapter One

Masterlist | Requests are open.

Genre: Angst, fluff, smut.

Genre of this part: Fluff, angst.

Word Count: 1.9k.

Summary: Single father, Namjoon, struggles to keep his idol life and his private life separate. When he meets you, everything changes.

Warnings: None.

New Year's for Koreans was a time for family. It was a time where they would all get together and celebrate a bright new future, filled with wonderfully good luck and great grades for their children. Their children, who under absolutely no circumstances, wished for their photographs to be taken professionally, but were forced to because it's what their parents wanted. And, given that you were one of the best photographers in Seoul, of course it was to you they turned for that extra special something.

It's true, all of your photographs were beautiful. Perfect even. Which is why you'd been backed up, taking New Year's family photographs since October. Your life in the west had meant that for two months solid you'd listen to Christmas music on repeat, and come to loathe the fact that Chris Rea was still driving home for Christmas, and had been since 1988. But your life in the east meant you'd be celebrating New Year before Halloween had even had a look-in. To say Autumn was your busiest time was an understatement. Though, the pay was phenomenal so you found yourself not allowing yourself to complain.

Except for when you had one of those families in. The kind where money wasn't a problem for them and therefore no one appreciated objects as they were completely replaceable. And the fact that that little demon's mother had the audacity to moan when you charged them extra for the backdrop the kid had torn in two drove you up the wall. He, in the space of five minutes, set you back at the very least £50. But, of course, you had to remain level headed and professional despite how that woman grated on your last nerve. Just think of the money. You found yourself repeating that phrase on numerous occasions - when the kids were too loud, or were crying, or just weren't doing as they were told.

It was New Year's Eve, your last full day of work before you took the week off and just lounged in your bedsit for the entirety of the time to just avoid people and recharge your batteries. You were looking forward to vegging out on your bed, watching Netflix and forgetting about all of your problems. And you meant all of them. They were all issues for 2019 to deal with, not for New Year's Day when you were the only sad sack sat at home with two men to keep you company. Your favourite men: Ben and Jerry. Two men who provided you with the most orgasmic sensations without actually touching your hoo-ha.

When ten o'clock struck, you were all but throwing your last customers out, saving your work to your hard drive ready to print them in the New Year. You had just started to dismantle the camera when you heard a knock at the door. "I'm sorry, I'm closing up for the night." You stated. You looked up to see a man, tall, but built well, carrying a small child in his hands. Well, you assumed it was a small child, you couldn't see it properly under the thick parka coat that was covered in a layer of white dusting.

"I know, and I'm really sorry to do this to you, I was just wondering if you could take our pictures? Well, mainly Haneul's." He asked. "I'll pay you double for your time - triple even. It's just my mum's putting a lot of pressure on me this year to get a picture of him... us. I can't say no to her again."

You wanted to say no. Your feet were actually begging you to say no, to tell him to leave and never return. But there was something about him you found it difficult to say no to. The softness in his eyes, his desperate, crooked smile that showed off his dimples as he awkwardly smiled at you in the hopes that you would give him this favour, the sadness in his demeanour. Everything from the snow on their matching coats to the fact that he was protecting his son from the cold with everything he had, just warmed your heart and forced you to take pity on him this cold December night.

"Alright." You relented with a sigh. The light that shone on his face when you agreed was enough to make you forget the promise that he made to pay you triple what you would have earned tonight. "If you could take... Haneul?" He nodded. "If you could take Haneul's coat off and put him on that red chair. What backdrop would you like?"

"Whatever you recommend." He replied. You watched him take Haneul's coat off gently, and holding his face in his hands as he softly looked at his son, muttering something as Haneul rubbed his eyes. The amount of love this man was emitting was extraordinary. No father who had ever come into your studio had ever been as loving as this. Usually his head was in his phone, or his mind had been anywhere but where he was needed. But this father seemed to soothe his child easily, and persuade him to get on the chair with no tears, fuss or problems. This was a breath of fresh air for you.

The man came and stood next to you, admiring his son at your angle. Watching you as you moved towards the child and fixed all the aesthetic issues of his crinkled clothes and messy hair.

You moved back to the camera, looking at the current backdrop and liking how it looked. You asked the father's opinion, to which he agreed, and watched as you began taking photos of his unsmiling toddler. You stopped and sighed. "Come on, Haneul. You're the best kid I've had in here today. You're classy, so I don't want to have to resort to cheap tricks and slapstick comedy. So, kid, you're going to give me the happiest smile, yeah?" Haneul nodded. "Good boy. Show me them teefies."

Haneul laughed at your play on the word teeth, which in turn made both you and his dad laugh. "There we go!" You said. "Beautiful." You went a little click-happy with the pictures, but they were coming out so well you couldn't stop yourself.

You could feel his father's eyes flicking between you and his son, looking at the photos you were taking. In the corner of your eye, you could see a bright smile on his face. He seemed almost shocked when you stopped taking photos to look up at him. He was significantly taller than you, and had a beautiful smile. In an odd way, his smile made him look rather expensive. If, of course, smiles could do that. "Okay, Dad. Your turn."

"Me?"

"Unless Haneul has another father."

He laughed. "Where do you want me?" He began to remove his parka.

"If you could sit on that chair too, and put little one on your lap?"

He did as he was told, walking over to his son with his arms outstretched and a smile on his face, enthusiastically praising his son for behaving so well. He picked him up, sat on the chair, and placed a kiss to his son's head. "Remember to smile, baby."

"Yes, Daddy." Haneul replied. He almost snuggled into his father, completely melting your heart in the process. You had never, in all your years of photography, come across a family who actually physically showed just how much they loved each other in a photograph like this. And it was such a breath of fresh air for you. You almost cried.

"Is this okay?" The father asked.

"This is beautiful." You commented, a hand over your heart and a lump in your throat. There was so much love in the room it was kind of overwhelming.

When you'd finished taking the photos, you invited your customer over to your laptop as you always did at the end of the shoot so they could choose the photos they wanted. The three of you huddled around the dining table you purchased for this very reason, and began to flick through them. Haneul was sat on his father's lap, staring at the screen. His father was also staring at the screen, but had more of a look of awe on his face rather than boredom. "These are extraordinary." He commented. "Absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much."

You smiled. "No, thank you. It's been a pleasure photographing you both today."

"How long have you been doing this?"

"Four years."

"Wow. No wonder you're amazing at what you do."

"Thank you, that's very kind of you." You allowed a short silence to fall over the studio before you turned back to talking about business. "So, which ones would you like me to print?"

"All of them?"

"All of them?" You asked him, the surprise evident in your voice which caused him to laugh.

"I have a big family."

"That's going to cost a lot."

"That's fine."

"Okay, well, if you could fill out this form, please. I need your name, address, contact details and payment method."

He nodded and began to fill out the form, setting Haneul down on the floor whilst he did it. Even while he was concentrating, he still somehow managed to keep an eye on Haneul, watching him toddle around the room and look at different bits and pieces, scolding him softly for touching things he ought not to be touching. He looked at you and rolled his eyes, "three-year-olds." He joked.

"He's a good boy. You've done well."

"Than you. He's a terror really, it's all a façade."

"I don't believe that for a second."

He laughed. "That's because he's good at hiding it, aren't you, baby?"

Haneul nodded and flashed you both a cheeky, yet sleepy grin. "At least he's honest." You added. "I bet he behaves for mum though."

The smile that was on his father's face vanished. "His mother is no longer with us."

"Oh." You said quietly. "I'm so sorry. I should have thought."

"No, you're fine. You weren't to know." He handed you his form. "When will they be ready for collection?"

"Well, I have your details so, I could get them printed tonight and bring them to you tomorrow evening?" You don't know why you said that. You hadn't done that for any of your other customers.

"No, it's New Year's. I couldn't ask you to do that."

"Your mum would prefer some prints, would she not?"

"Well, yeah but-"

"Tomorrow evening it is then. Will you be at your home or hers?"

"Mine. It's my turn to host this year."

"Even better. I will see you tomorrow," you peeked at his form, "Namjoon."

"Are you sure? Don't you have family to spend tomorrow with?"

"I'm positive. And no, they're all back home."

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Namjoon started to put Haneul's coat on him. "You have no idea what this means to me."

"Happy New Year, sir."

"Happy New Year."

When he had his own coat on him, he bade you goodnight, got Haneul to wave to you before leaving your studio, grateful for your kindness at such a late time.

As soon as he'd left, you'd got back to work, printing out the prints that Namjoon had paid for. It wasn't until you looked at the cheque he'd left you, you'd realised just how much he'd given you. Seven million won was way more than what you would have regularly charged. You sat back in your chair and sighed, not quite believing what had just transpired.

[thetravelerwrites]

Verith’s First Halloween (Orc) NSFW

Rating: Explicit Relationship: Female Orc x Female Human Additional Tags: Exophilia, Orc, Orc Girlfriend, WLW, Halloween, Trick or Treating, Halloween Party Content Warnings: Pregnancy Mention, Corsets, Sex, Oral Sex, Tribbing, Strap-Ons Words: 4922

A special gift for @aelia-likes-monsters​ for being a wonderful friend, supporter, and bouncer of ideas for me and this blog. She’s the best and I hope this fic brightens her day! This is both a fic for Halloween and Orctober. An orc woman who has always lived in a closed orc community begins dating a human and starts participating in human customs. The first one is Halloween. *Note: "Samhain" is pronounced "Sow-in." Because Irish. Please leave feedback!

The Traveler's Masterlist

“You’re not making your case very well,” Verith said as tucked the folded sheet down over the corner of the mattress. “I don’t understand this human holiday of yours, I never have.”

“Haven’t you ever celebrated it?” You asked her as you tucked the opposite corner down.

“No, of course not,” She said scornfully. “The gym is closed for human holidays and I stay in the community during most of them. Just watching about it on T.V. was mind-boggling.”

Verith was an orc and had lived in a closed orc stronghold community just outside of Willowridge for her entire life. The stronghold, called Willowshield, did a lot of things the old way, as in they made a lot of their own things themselves. You’d been there a few times with Verith to visit her family and was amazed by the weird mix of modern and medieval. They did have some modern things, like wifi and cell phones, but they had their own grocery, farmer’s market, butcher, home goods store, and even had a real blacksmith, cobbler, and glassblower. But they didn’t have a cafe or a crafts store or a gym, so many of the orcs took jobs in town to enjoy a few outside luxuries that Willowshield didn’t yet have.

Verith worked at the local gym as a personal trainer, and you were immediately attracted to her. However, knowing she lived in Willowshield made you feel hesitant to ask her out, fearing that perhaps she just wasn’t interested in humans. Even still, you took extra classes with her to the point where she suspected you were addicted to exercise, but in reality, you just wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, too chicken-shit to ask her out.

It wasn’t until she got annoyed with you following her like a wounded puppy that you were forced to admit your feelings for her. She was surprised, but open to the idea. It only took one date for you to fall in love with her, and she wasn’t far behind. In fact, it had been her idea to move in together.

You’d expected that she’d want you to live in Willowshield, as some non-orc mates had done, but she actually left the community and moved into your small apartment. She said she wanted to understand more about the human world, having been cut off from it most of her life. She’d lived with you for almost three months by this point, but she still struggled to understand human customs and cultures. The newest struggle was Halloween, which was just three days away.

“So people dress up, eat candy, get drunk, and act like assholes? That’s the premise you’re trying to get me to go along with?”

“Please, I’ve been to orc weddings,” You told her, throwing a decorative pillow at her. “I seem to remember a certain hot personal trainer who got drunk at her brother’s wedding and ended up wearing the ceremonial communal wine chalice on her head.”

“Hey, that is a well-respected tradition, I’ll have you know,” She protested.

“Sure, it is,” You said skeptically.

“Okay, well, explain it to me,” She said as she shook out the quilt. “It’s a holiday about being scared? That’s so unnatural to an orc. Orcs aren’t supposed to get scared; we see fear as weakness. Hell, we growl and make terrifying faces at our children when they’re infants to teach them not to fear anything that looks or sounds frightening. We certainly wouldn’t dedicate a holiday to being afraid.”

“That’s not exactly the point of it,” You told her. “See, it originated back with the celts. The Irish practiced Samhain, which literally means “summer’s end,” and they would have a three day revel to celebrate a successful harvest. It was all about the change of the season and prosperity.”

“So, what the hell happened? How did it turn into a glorification of fear?”

“Because Samhain was seen as the death of the year, as in winter, when things die. People are scared of death, so people began associating it with fear. They also saw it as the day when the veil between the living and the dead thinned and the dead walked the earth to haunt and terrorize the living. There was only two ways to prevent the dead from coming after you and playing tricks on you: one, you could leave gives of food or treats on your doorstep, or two, you disguised yourself as a ghost so they wouldn’t know you were part of the living.”

“I guess that makes sense. So why are there little kids running around dressed like Captain America and Disney princesses begging for sweets? Where did that come from?”

“Well, when the Christians tried to purge pagan holidays by appropriating them, they changed it to ‘All Soul’s Day,’ where children would go from door to door, singing songs or performing for the people inside, and would get small cakes, called souls, as a reward. That’s how trick or treating started. Although, nowadays, All Soul’s Day is observed on November 1st, and people just go to church.”

“How do you know all this?” She asked, flopping down on the newly-made bed, ruffling it a bit. “Do all humans know this?”

“No, no, I dated a witch in college. She was so obsessed with the history of Halloween that she often forgot to enjoy it. She saw it as a holy day and used it for remembrance and contemplation. I just wanted to hand out candy and wear cute costumes.”

She frowned and leaned against the headboard. You snuggled up against her very hard, muscled body and sighed.

“It’s fun, I swear. You get to watch scary movies, dress up, carve jack-o-lanterns, go to parties, give kids candy, go to haunted houses and ghost tours. Ooh! We should totally go to New Orleans one year. They’re ghost tours are second to none. Well, besides Georgia’s plantation ghost tours, I guess.”

“A lot of what you just said made no sense to me,” She grumbled, wrapping her arm around your shoulder.

You kissed her cheek. “Don’t worry. By the time Halloween rolls around, you’ll love it just as much as I do.”

“Promises, promises,” She said in a snarky voice.

The next afternoon, the two of you were at the store, trying to shop for a costume. Verith was being rather pessimistic.

“A lot of these are speciest, you realize that.”

“I’m not going to buy one of those, Vee,” You said, looking through the racks. “What about a slutty nurse?”

“But you are a nurse,” She protested. “Why not just wear your scrubs?”

“Because I don’t wear corsets to work, babe. Don’t you want to see me in a corset?” You asked her cheekily.

She snorted, but didn’t disagree.

“What about you? You need a costume, too.”

“Why?”

“Because, my love, it’s a costume party. That’s what one does.” You take two from the rack, examining them judiciously. “I’ll need two, actually.”

“Why?”

“For the trick or treaters! I’m not going to wear my sexy costume for a bunch of kids, that’s gross.” You held up a costume to her body, and she looked down at you quizzically. “No, that won’t fit,” You grumbled to myself.

“Honey, I highly doubt any of these will fit me,” She replied. “I’m 7’5” and built like a brick shithouse.”

“You need to stop listening to slang at the gym,” You said wryly. “Anyway, I think you may be right. We’ll just have to make something. Ooh! What if you wore your running clothes and we pin a number to your back and you go as a marathon runner.”

“But I am a marathon runner,” She growled.

“Fuckin’… I know that, babe… could you just… work with me here, okay? For fuck’s sake?” You groaned in exasperation, clutching her arms. She sighed and shook her head at you.

You ended up buying the sexy nurse costume for the party and a more demure scary Victorian ghost outfit for the trick or treaters. You figured you’d cobble something together for Verith when you got home.

The next day, you went out to a pumpkin patch to pick out a few so that the two of you could make some jack-o-lanterns.

“So what’s this all about?”

“What?”

“Carving faces into vegetables.”

“Oh, that,” You said, picking up a largish one. “It’s another tradition that originated in Ireland, but they didn’t use pumpkins, because they didn’t have pumpkins in Ireland back then.”

“So what did they use?”

“Turnips and gourds and things.”

“Wha…” Verith’s face pinched in confusion. “Ancient humans were so fucking weird.”

You chuckled. “You’re telling me a pregnant woman eating an entire raw horse’s liver in front of her entire extended family is supposed to be normal?”

“There is absolutely nothing weird about that. Pregnant women need the iron.”

You shook your head. “There are several versions of the story about jack-o-lanterns, mostly about warding of spirits and fairies, but a lot of them are about Stingy Jack.”

“Who?”

“Stingy Jack. He was a miserable old drunk who liked playing tricks on people. One day, he tricked the devil into climbing up an apple tree and then placed crosses around the trunk of the tree so that the devil couldn’t get down. Jack made the devil promise him not to take his soul when he died. The devil agreed, and Jack let him go.

“When Jack died, he went to Heaven and was told that because he was mean and cruel, and had led a miserable, worthless life on earth, he wasn’t allowed in, so he was sent to Hell. The devil kept his promise and wouldn’t allow him in, which meant Jack had nowhere to go and would have to wander Earth forever.

“Jack asked the devil how he could get out of Hell, as there was no light. The devil tossed him an ember and Jack hollowed out a turnip, which was the only thing he had with him and placed the ember in it to light his way. When the Irish immigrated to America, they discovered pumpkins were bigger and easier to hollow out than turnips, so they used them instead. Now it’s all anyone uses.”

“And we’re supposed to carve scary faces in these to ward off bad spirits?”

“Essentially.”

“I doubt spirits would find vegetables very scary.”

“And why is that?

She picked one up and put between her thighs, crushing it as if it were made of light cardboard. Pumpkin guts and juice ran down her bare legs and into her shoes.

You took a very deep breath and said, in as even a tone you could, “I see your point, but as hot as that was, and as much as I enjoyed it, we do have to pay for those.”

“Hmm,” Verith said, her lips pursed. “Can we buy some extra ones so I can crush them with my biceps at home?”

After a contemplative moment, you replied, “I think that would be… yes, please, let’s do that. But only if you do it shirtless.”

“Deal.”

That evening, you had a messy carving lesson that led to a pumpkin pie, toasted pumpkin seeds, a small fight of flung pumpkin guts, and kissing on the couch with a scary movie on T.V. and the snacks you’d made that night.

On Halloween afternoon, you had the genius idea of putting Verith in a slapdash scarecrow outfit to scare the trick or treaters. After she jumped up and roared at the first crop of kids and they ran off screaming, she laughed and admitted, “Okay, that was fun.”

She did it a few more times, but couldn’t bring herself to do it to the family with three small half-rabbit girls, hardly more than toddlers adorably dressed as the three little pigs, and she simply sat on the stoop with you, handing out candy to the kids. The father, a tall rabbit man dressed smartly in a white shirt and black slacks, handed us a treat bag full of cookies cleverly decorated like Day of the Dead sugar skulls before they left, their human mother winking as they walked away.

At about eight o’clock, when the trick or treaters began to dwindle, you left the candy bucket on the front step for anyone who came to help themselves, and they two of you went to get dressed for the party.

You ended up doing the marathon runner for Verith, insisting she wear the sports top with her midriff showing, and she huffed that she didn’t understand why she needed one at all as she laced you into the corset of the nurses outfit. You told her to stop griping and led her out of the house and down the street to the party at your friend’s place.

You were ashamed to know that there were “human only” parties going on in town, one of which your own sister was throwing, but the one you and Verith were going to was an open to all kinds party. Anyone who wanted to have a good time was welcome, regardless of tentacles, teeth, or temperament.

The party was huge, and you immediately sought out your best friend since highschool, Rachel, who owned the house with her girlfriend. She was also an orc, but she hadn’t lived in a community like Verith had; she had grown up on a cattle ranch that her family owned on the edge of town.

Her brother and all four of her sisters were at the party, too: dancing, drinking, and having the time of their lives with their various significant others. These orcs, at least, knew how to celebrate Halloween.

Rachel’s brother, Varik, was back in town visiting his family for the holidays, wearing a doctor’s coat. He had moved to the city a few years ago with his fiance and was the first orc in history to be accepted into an accredited medical university. You had worked with him in the hospital before; he was a really nice guy, and his fiance, Elena, who was currently dressed as a renaissance-era bar wench, was incredibly confident and capable, despite her disabilities. They were a really good fit for each other.

“Hey, you got Verith to come!” Rachel said as she came. “Awesome! Let’s turn this party into a huntcraic.”

“A what now?” You asked.

“It’s an ancient custom of throwing a week-long party after a particularly good hunting season,” Verith explained in an undertone. “We rarely have them anymore.”

“Girl, let’s show these tiny humans how orcs party,” Rachel said, grabbing Verith’s arm, who grabbed you in turn, and dragged her through the horde.

“Varik! Elena!” Rachel called, and the pair turned. “Look who’s here!”

“Hey!” Varik said, swooping down on you for a big hug. He was three sheets to the wind and in a great mood, and Elena looked at him with an exasperated smirk. After handing him off to Verith, you went to give her a hug.

“Hey, girl, good to see you,” You said.

“You, too,” She replied, squeezing your back with her forearms. “Got yourself an orc, too, huh? Aren’t they the best?”

“Definitely,” I replied, watching the three orcs talk to each other. Verith seemed to be more at ease since she arrived now that she was with familiar faces. “Is that his real doctor’s coat?”

She scoffed disgustedly. “He never takes it off. I swear, he’d wear it during sex if I let him.”

The two of you giggled.

“I haven’t met your girlfriend yet,” Elena said.

“Oh, that’s right. Verith!” You called, and her head came up. You beckoned her over. “This is Elena, Varik’s fiance. They’re getting married in the spring next year. Elena, this is Verith, my girlfriend. We’ve been dating for about half a year. She was my personal trainer.”

Elena held out her hand, covered by the long bell sleeve of her gown. Verith took Elena’s hand, and you saw a moment of confusion cross her face, but she said nothing and shook Elena’s hand gently.

“So, Varik likes the city?” You asked Elena.

“He does now, but it took some getting used to,” Elena replied. “He lived in the country for most of his life, so it was a bit of a culture shock for him. He eased into it after a while, and now it’s like he was born there.”

Verith’s face was thoughtful, but she didn’t say anything.

Another familiar face caught your eye: the librarian from your college, Holly, although she hadn’t worked there since last year. She’d also been in your creative writing elective several years ago. She was there in a ghost bride costume with another orc dressed like a mechanic you hadn’t met before. They were both looking a little anxious and out of place.

“Holly!” You called, excusing yourself from Elena and making your way toward Holly.

She looked up and saw you, relieved to see a face she recognized. She grabbed her orc by the arm and led hem over.

“Oh, hey, good to see you again,” Holly said, giving me a side hug.

“Yeah, you too. You sort of disappeared for a while, there,” You told her.

“Getting my life sorted out, is all,” She said, smiling. She gestured at her companion. “This is my boyfriend, Ravadhi.”

You shook his hand. “Haven’t seen you around.”

He shrugged. “I keep to myself, really. Or I did. Holly insists that we’re too isolated. That’s why we’re here, actually. She thinks we need to get out more.”

“I agree. It can help you get out of a rut, for sure.” You pointed at his outfit. “Nice costume.”

He laughed a little self-deprecatingly. “Actually, it’s my uniform from my last job. I just couldn’t find a costume that fit me.”

“Oh, yeah,” You laughed, pointing at Verith in her marathon outfit, who was laughing with Rachel, Varik, and Elena. “We had the same problem.”

“She’s community, right?” Ravadhi asked. “How did you get her to agree to celebrate Halloween? Communities turn their noses up at stuff like this.”

“Believe me, it was like pulling teeth,” You said. “How’s your sis?”

“She’s great,” Holly said brightly. “She’s going trick or treating for the first time in her life, and then spending the night with some friends. Now that she’s allowed to have friends.”

You smiled sadly. It was an open secret how Holly’s father treated her. You were glad that secret was out and over now.

“Well, good for her. And good for you guys, trying to get out more. It’s a chore getting Verith out anywhere besides the gym.”

“Talking about me, are you?” Verith said as she wrapped an arm around you, an open container of vodka in her hand.

“M-hm,” You said, pulling her down for a kiss. “Just talking about what a hermit you are.” You turned back to Holly and Ravadhi, who were grinning. “She loves to tell me the only reason to leave the house is for the gym and Chinese food.”

“And I stand by that,” Verith said, taking a swig from her bottle. Ravadhi nodded and chuckled and Holly shot him a dry look.

“Oh, my gosh!” Rachel called over the noise. “Tuck is about to tie a bottle rocket to one of his tusks, just to see what happens. I’m not going to miss this.” And she dashed outside.

Tuck was a troll married to Rachel’s sister, Keter. You didn’t know him well, but from what you did know, this was not out of character for him.

“That’s another Halloween tradition,” I said wryly as people began flooding out to the backyard. “People doing really stupid shit just for laughs.”

“Now that’s a tradition I can get behind,” Verith said, kneeling down so you could piggyback and carrying you through the crowd.

The party was as epic as you expected it to be, and you and Verith made your way home, only slightly tipsy, at around midnight.

When you got in the door, she grabbed you by your arms and held your back against her front, growling in your ear.

“Someone had a good time,” You smirked, reaching up to snake your arms around her neck.

“Despite myself, yeah,” She mumbled, kissing your neck. You bit your lip and moaned.

“So, did you enjoy your first Halloween?” You asked her as her hands traveled up the sides of your corset and over your breasts in the bodice.

“Don’t know,” She said seductively. “It’s not over yet.”

You turned and jumped up, wrapping your legs around her waist. She held you up and kissed you hard, kicking her way past every obstacle and taking you to the bedroom, where she laid you down on the bed.

You reached back to undo the laces, but she stopped you.

“No,” she said in a low growl. “Leave the corset on.” She bent down to take off your high heels, then kissed up your calves, using her tusks to split the pantyhose upward. You felt a shiver in your back as the cold, dry, sharp bone scraped up your legs. When she reached the apex of your thighs, she ripped off your hose with little effort and snapped your underwear off as well. The muscles of her arms barely twitched.

She flipped up your skirt while kissing your inner thighs and massaging the skin. Her tongue flicked out to press itself to your bud, and you moaned. She licked a long strip from bottom to top and teased you with her nose. You whimpered and wiggled, and she grabbed your hips to keep you still.

She put her whole mouth over your slit and sucked, gently at first but gaining intensity as she continued. You gasped and your legs shook, and you tangled your hair in the long mohawk style cut of her hair that she usually let fall over her left shoulder. She reached up and pulled the cups of the corset down and kneaded your breasts, pinching and rolling your nipples between her fingers.

One hand continued its massaging while the other came back down and stuck two fingers inside you, crooking them and rubbing that delicious place only she had ever been able to find.

You were almost crying over how good it felt. No one you’d ever been with was as good as Verith at finding all your sweet spots. She could have you cumming in less than two minutes, if she really wanted. But she was drawing it out, working up to the bigger event.

She pulled away from you and reared up, pulling off her pants and underwear and throwing one of your legs up across her torso, positioning herself so that her lower lips were touching your own. She began to rock against you slowly, sweetly.

You reached up under the sports top to grip her breasts and she moaned as the place where the two of you were joined got hotter and slicker. Looking down at it, it almost looked ask if they were kissing down there.

“Oh, fuck,” You moaned. “Faster, baby.”

She was more than happy to obey, grinding her clit into yours vigorously. You could feel the orgasm coming up hard and the wall of pleasure crashed into you that you nearly blacked out. He own pace slowed as she also came, shouting and grunting and biting your ankle gently.

As you were trying to catch your breath, she grabbed you and easily flipped you onto your stomach.

“Don’t you get cozy yet,” She said. “I’m not done with you.”

You grinned and looked up, watching her pull her favorite strap-on for your “special” drawer. She took off the rest of her clothes and climbed over you, kissing your shoulders and back, carefully scraping her tusks across your skin, enough to give you chills but not enough to harm.

She pulled your rear up forcefully and positioned herself against your entrance, and then leaned back down on her hands so that she could kiss your mouth as she entered you. You gasped and laughed. She’d chosen the big one.

Without warning, she sat back up and started ramming into you with enough force for it to hurt slightly, but god, it felt so good. You pressed your face into the pillows and screamed as she thrust hard and fast. You could hear the faint buzzing of the rabbit vibrator built into the strap on and knew she was ready to get hers, and all you could do at this point was ride her wave.

“Oh, fuck, yes,” you cried.

She grabbed your hair and yanked you up. “Couldn’t hear you, baby,” She said. “Does it feel good?”

“Fuck, yes,” you whimpered.

“You look so fucking sexy in that tiny little corset. I just want to rip it off with me teeth.”

“Fucking do it,” You snarled at her. You felt her bend over you and grip the corset in her teeth. You heard ripping, and the rather sturdy fabric of the corset was yanked away from your body as if it were made of paper.

You came. You came hard. You came screaming and swearing. You fell to the bed, and she pulled you back up by your hair. Her speed quickened even further until she finally came too, grunting and growling. She collapsed on top of you, and you collapsed back onto the bed, her body pushing you into the mattress.

But she still wasn’t done. With one hand she hooked an arm under your waist and used the other to cover your mouth, thrusting slowly, and then quickly, with the both of you laying flat against the bed. You cries were muffled against her palm, and her heavy breath blew across your shoulder. She bit down in the same place she always did, her mark, the one she’d left on you the first time you made love, and you came together, panting and growling and cursing. Finally, with the strap-on still planted firmly inside you, she became still and quiet.

You both lay there, gasping for breath. After a few moments, she got up and you felt the toy pull out of your body. You lay there on your stomach with your eyes closed and heard her busy herself with something, but you were so exhausted, you didn’t look to see what.

Not until she lifted you into her arms and took you to the bathroom, putting you in the giant tub she had insisted you install and got in after you, arranging you so that your back was against her stomach and your head was leaning against her chest.

“To answer your question,” She said as she stroked the midline of your abdomen up and down. “I had a great Halloween. Thanks to you.”

“See?” You said. “It’s really a fun holiday. I knew you’d like it once you warmed up to it a bit.”

“Yeah,” She said. “Going to the party helped, honestly. When I left Willowshield, I felt really isolated. There aren’t very many orcs in Willowridge, so I felt kind of alone. Seeing the other orcs not participating made me feel less… out of place.”

You turned to look at her with concern. “Is that what all this has been about? Honey, you should have told me that’s what’s been bugging you. What did we have that conversation about communication for if not for situations like this?”

“It’s different for orcs, babe,” She said. “Admitting you’re worried or nervous is the same as admitting that you’re scared, and to orcs, being scared is just about the worst thing you can be.”

“But I don’t think that way. It’s okay to be anxious about new things, Vee, that’s completely normal. Especially if you’ve always done things differently.” You straddled her lap and pulled her face down for a kiss. “Look, I get that you’re supposed to be this big, bad orc paragon to your people, but you don’t have to be that with me. If you’re worried or nervous about something, tell me and I’ll help you. That’s what I’m here for.”

She smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, I know. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Vee.” You took the loofah from the shelf and poured soap onto it. “Now hold still, you’re literally covered in glitter. Did Dinae hug you? She was dressed as the biggest, sparkliest unicorn I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Verith belly laughed, nearly dislodging you from her lap, and let you scrub her down.

Since my work is no longer searchable, please do me a favor and reblog this story if you enjoyed it. Help me reach a wider audience! To help me continue creating, please consider buying me a Kofi, becoming a Patron, or donating directly to my PayPal!

Thanks for reading!

My Masterlist

The Exophilia Creator’s Masterlist

[faces-in-unexpected-places]

Life Upd8: Moved, Grad School, New Job, Bye-Bye LDR, Do You Have the Time?, Very Happy

Hello!!!!!!!

I’ve MOVED!

So... I moved a few states over, from Ohio to Virginia! Crazy! I am finally mostly unpacked. I start my masters program in forensic science in basically 10 days! It’s been so great, I love the new city. I’m on an urban campus now, instead of a suburban one, which is a cool change! Oh, also, did I mention that

I’m not longer in a long distance relationship!

Abbey and I are now...

MEDIUM DISTANCE.

Lmao, basically, I am about an hour drive away from her, now, which is a wonderful step up from the 7-8 hours away that we were before. We’ve already seen each other a few different times since I moved in on Aug 1st. And I’m going to see her again tomorrow! So excited!

And for those who are wondering, because, in my experience, there are always a few...

Yes, part of my decision to move was based in being closer to my girlfriend (we’ve been together for over 3 years). But my decision to move was also based in a school and city that seemed like a good change of pace and fit for me and my future. It was also based in a great looking program for a discipline of applied biology that has a projected job growth rate of 17% (which is about double the average). And I would get to work in a lab, doing what I already know that I love, but with less ambiguity about where I will find a job, and with the knowledge that I am helping people with my work!

Essentially, I am very happy with my decision. I know that for some reason, there is stigma on LDRs and moving to be together because maybe it’s “a mistake” (but there are just as many stigmas on LDRs for NOT moving to be together because then you’re never in a “real relationship” so basically you never really win, haha). Point is, I am very happy and excited with how things played out, and I don’t think that there is anything wrong with choosing to move and begin a life path that will allow you to be with your partner, as long as you want what comes with the rest of the life path, too. Like, don’t ONLY move for your partner, and not like anything else about your life. But don't be afraid to make choices because you want to be with the person you want to be with! If your choices are well-rounded, then you should absolutely consider the person you love. After all, they love you too!

ANYWAY.

My place is mostly unpacked and looks SO CUTE. Much better than my last apartment, which was, and I say this in the kindest way possible, kind of a dump, haha. No offences, I mean, I got what I paid for. And lemme tell you, that rent was CHEAP. But I definitely appreciate the upgrade in my new place, AND with my new roommate. She is very quiet, seems cool, and HAS A CAT. That is a very important detail. I am hellbent on making this animal love me.

Oh, also, I got a job!!!

Yesterday. Literally.

I spent MONTHS trying to get a job, and nothing came of it. I even flew to Va, short notice, so I could interview for a job that the forensic faculty nudged me towards. And I got an email saying I didn't get the job within a few days. DAYS, YOU GUYS. It did NOT take them that long to decide they didn't want me, lemme tell ya, haha. And that was a bit rough. But I kept at it and, as of yesterday/kind-of-today...

I’m a teacher!

Sort of.

I am a laboratory teaching assistant (TA) who basically teaches a 1 credit class for the biology department. So, I study forensics, but in my job, I get to stay in touch with my roots in biology. So I’ll basically be teaching freshmen non-biology majors about biology. It’s like that class that you need to take for a science credit so you can graduate lmao. But either way, I am really excited about it! I just got my schedule today! I teach two classes back-to-back every Thursday.

The city has been so much fun. I’ve barely scratched the surface of all the things to do here. There’s all kinds of amazing stand-alone shops, lots of museums, and a sharp-looking campus. I’m already excited for all of the potential date ideas with Abbey. Which, oh yeah, by the way, we can actually experience AUTUMN together! With our school schedules in our LDR, we were never been able to visit during the semesters. But now, since we can see each other almost every week, we can spend Fall together! Celebrate Halloween! CARVE PUMPKINS, MAKE THANKSGIVING DIN-DIN, HAVE PICNICS, HAVE PHYSICAL HUMAN CONTACT ON A REGULAR BASIS, AHHHHH.

Basically... my life has shifted DRAMATICALLY. the only things that are the same in my life right now are some of my furniture/possessions and my car. New house, new roommate, new school, new city, new job, big change to my relationship, it’s just all so nuts. But it is a really good change.

ONE DOWN SIDE to all of this is that with me being so busy for the foreseeable future... I probably won't get to work on Do You Have the Time? for quite some time. Of course I will always try! But grad school AND a new job will probably make it pretty difficult. But I won’t forget about it! I never have, and I never will. This story will be completed. It is one of my most important personal/solo goals, currently. I have always wanted to make some kind of awesome multi-media work of art from start to finish, and this will be it. I may do another one after, haha. But this is my first, and I’ve put too much thought and time and DRAWING into it to not complete it. But, like it always has been during my previous semesters, it may be put on hold for a bit.

It really is too bad, in a way, haha. I feel like I was PRODUCTIVE this summer with it. This summer was difficult in some ways because I was worried about having no job, and paying for all this shit, and not having any guidance. Honestly, there were parts of this summer that weren’t so pretty, and difficult for me. But I did my best to cope with it by playing video games (for the first time in probably 7 years!) and by writing! I have to say, looking at my episode list on my blog, I am proud with how far I’ve come with this story! With the giant gaps between episodes 1-4, I wasn’t always sure I’d follow through with it, and actually finish it, or even write a GOOD story. But I think I can. I think I can finish it, and it might take a while or editing and everything, but I think I can make it GREAT, too. It’s a wonderful feeling to watch something you’ve had in your head for years actually start to come to life and take shape. I want to chase that feeling!

Anyway!

Long-story-short, I’ve gone through a LOT of huge changes and have been very busy. Probably will continue to be busy (if I haven't responded to messages I’m sorry! This is why, heh), but you know, life is life. I’ll get into a groove of things. Maybe I’ll have more time for certain things, maybe I’ll have to wait! But that’s how things are right now. And I can’t wait to see what happens next.

I hope that everyone has been doing well, too. Or at least taking care of yourselves. Times can be hard enough these days. Taking care of yourselves can at least make things feel a little more okay. We all deserve that much. Thanks for reading my crazy-long life update, heh. 

I love you all of you guys.

Remember... if I can manage to pull this off, then you can do anything.

Love Like Rockets,

Isaac <3

[awfully-sadistic]

Week 1: Oct 2nd

The Adventures of Dottie and Dodger A series of linear prompt one-shots.

I kind of broke my own rule and couldn’t resist adding in a little something-something special. You’ll know it when you see it. I just hope it’s not too strange. But what the fuck, I can mold this story any way I want.

It was very early morning in the second day of October and Dot was on her way to the office building she and Dodger had purchased just yesterday. Driving down the road, Dot could see that various Halloween objects have been put out decorating yards and roofs with over-sized grim reapers, inflatable and real pumpkins, and strings of lights celebrating Halloween colors, but that wasn’t a surprise. It was as early as mid-September when she began to see signs of Halloween and it excited her.

Halloween was her favorite holiday and the entire month was already promising to bring along the spirit as soon as it could. With the appearance of the Poltergeist yesterday (and the paperwork that followed, but we don’t talk about that), Dot thought that Halloween had definitely come early. She wasn’t complaining. She wished it was Halloween all year-round, but with the spooky month comes attached their busiest time of the year.

It was expected that Human and Supernatural alike call upon the Agency in a tizzy about hauntings, possessions, and other spook factors that wouldn’t normally make an appearance any other time of the year. Obviously, Halloween lowered some sort of barrier that allows the things that go bump in the night liberated freedom this time of year.

She remembered last year; she didn’t think she’d survive much longer running their business out of her home. There were people coming and going and she didn't like the unexpected visitors who would appear in the dead of night for an emergency. She would not admit this, but it was also kind of freaky hearing about all these spooky stories and then having to go to sleep in the same house. There were times when Dodger had been called and invited to stay the night simply because Dot had heard something she wished she hadn’t and her overactive imagination had convinced her that everything was out to get her.

In those times, Dodger was nice enough not to question her intentions as if he had already known what had been bothering her. Then he’d attempt to bore her with interesting tidbits he might have learned that week. It normally had the opposite affect; they’d both stay up all night talking.

Dot finally pulled up to the office space. The building on the outside looked as abandoned as it had on the inside. But Dot figured with a little TLC, the place would brighten right up. A little bit of rose bushes lining the sidewalk to the front doors could work wonders and baby’s breath with some carnations and other filler flowers as accents would make the place seem cheery and fragrant. Someone to take care of the grass would flush this place with some much-needed color instead of the concrete jungle in its place. Trees were scattered about but they looked like they were dying; granted it was in the middle of fall, perhaps they’d look a little different come spring.

It was all one story, (thank god because who liked to climb stairs?), with the parking lot in front right off the road with enough space for the employee range given in the office. There was about twenty-four rooms and Dot knew because she had made a quick run back and forth from her home to make good on the promise about filling the rooms with her old outfits. She had her very own personal dressing room and it felt real fancy if anyone asked.

She just didn’t know what to do with the rest of the rooms. Rooms with more than enough space than an employment of two.

Well, three now with Armand, Jr.

Armand, Jr. or from this point forward known as Armand was the ghost that lived in the Grandfather Clock Dot had named Armand. So, in reality, the clock would be Armand, Sr. There was honestly no reason to tack on a Jr. to Armand, Jr’s name but for the sake of this on-going inside joke now, it was there now and Dot didn’t want to change it. Perhaps it hinted at her personality that she was resistant to change, no matter how little. Dot wouldn’t give it another thought now especially since she was pushing her way through the glass double-doors that would sweep her into the receptionist and waiting area.

Her eyes widened as she took in the receptionist area. It was like a whole new place. Yesterday, there had been cobwebs and dust settled on surfaces and white sheets over various furniture pieces that had been left behind. It had given the place a gloomy look.

Now, there was no sign that there had ever been a speck of dust. The area was brightly lit and felt welcoming. The walls were painted, she now realized. A light, baby blue. She could see there was also an assortment of hanging pictures and magazines laid out on the coffee table nearby and stocked with one of those wooden holders you’d mostly see at an official looking doctor’s office or a dentistry. She was taken back by the presence of a water cooler; she hadn’t seen that yesterday. Perhaps even more surprising was a working 32” flat screen television on the wall opposite the assembly of chairs and it was switched on, mute, showing various flashing pictures about Ashbourne; News. Local stuff. Captions on.

Looking at her feet, she could see that the carpet had been vacuumed recently and perhaps possibly cleaned but she couldn’t tell. But it surely seemed like it because it wasn’t this color yesterday.

Holy fuck, this place was actually functional.

She bumped against the receptionist area, the cutout window reminded her something of a shell and she hung in, trying to take a peek in the back. From what she could see, the police station area with its cubicles was arranged, straightened out, and she thought she could hear voices further back.

“Helloooooo?” she called out.

The voices stopped. Dot strained to hear if Dodger or Armand had been talking to each other but when she felt a light tap on her back, she nearly shrieked. Pulling herself out of the cutout, she whirled around and saw that both Dodger and Armand had come in from the outside with grocery bags in their hands.

Dodger had been the one to tap her. Dot placed a hand over her racing heart, taking in a deep breath to steel her nerves. “Goddamn it, Dodge. What did I say about doing that?”

“Announce ya’self.” Dodger repeated using the same inflection Dot had always used on him.

“Cheeky bastard.” Dot scolded but she had a grin on her face. “Don’t just do that. It’s a good way to get smacked one day.” her gaze trailed down to the bags they held, a question already forming in her eyes even as she finished speaking.

“We thought we’d stock the break room.” Dodger met her halfway, nodding his head beyond the door separating the waiting area from the rest of the office building. Dot followed his gaze before coming upon a sudden reminder. One that sent little shivers up her spine. It had suddenly clicked that she had without realizing, subconsciously noticed, she was the only car in the parking lot.

“I thought I heard voices back there.”

“You probably did,” Dodger said, looking at Armand. “there’s a television set in the breakroom, too. At his insistence.”

“I tried to get one put in the bathroom but I remembered, I do not have to use one.” Armand smiled.

“I reminded you of that.”

Armand’s smile never wavered even as he amended, “Dodger reminded me of that.”

Dot still didn’t feel comforted for some reason but it might have been her overthinking everything. But the banter between Dodger and Armand did a good job of distracting her enough to push that uncomfortable feeling away.

“I didn’t know you could eat, Armand.” Dot said, giving him a rub on the head. In his corporeal form, Armand was physical to the touch which allowed him to hold on to the groceries and appreciate Dot’s gesture. He was also taller than her and she had to stretch her arm up to even do that much. Armand ducked his head and the look on his face was similar to the look he had when he was praised.

“I can eat. I can taste flavors. But it doesn’t do anything for me. I cannot gain any nutrients or get the same satisfaction of feeling full. I think it does help me with energy, but I don’t know for sure.”

“I suspect it helps him keep his corporeal form for longer.”

Dot looked surprised at Dodger’s input, “He can’t hold onto this form for very long?”

“He can go about a full day but needs to rest the next so he’s told me. So, every other day. To see if eating restores any energy to allow him to hold onto this form for longer, I would have to test this theory by feeding him and then checking against how long he can previously hold out, if there’s any change at all. It’s going to take weeks to gain a definitive answer.”

“How exciting.” Dot said dryly before adding, “You do know, he’s not a science experiment. Right?”

Armand, silent through the exchange, finally spoke up, “It’s alright, Dottie. I told him he could try. If it helps you guys, I would love to be in this form for much longer. It just feels right.”

Dot could feel that Armand meant that with every ghost fiber of his pure being. She could feel her heart melting at his resolve and knew he earnestly meant to do anything he could for them. It had been radiating off of him in waves. Armand almost seemed desperate to be of use to them.

For what reason, she still had to find out but she wasn’t about to make him bend over backwards in the meantime. It was even harder to tell if he was mistaking this corporeal form as to partake in being alive again. His comment about trying to use the bathroom was funny but the undertones seemed depressing. He was doing live things or entertaining the thought, but what for? Because Dot and Dodger were alive and he was trying to fit in? Was he staying in this form because it helped them or him?

And was it wrong to encourage him to stay in this form longer in case it feeds into the fantasy? Dot wasn’t one to turn away from anything fantasy related because reality sucked. She daydreamed all the time. She didn’t want to tell Armand to face reality. He shouldn’t have to especially if she didn’t want to.

And why was his personality as eager to seek out praise as often as he did? Was this part of his unresolved business? Ghosts were tricky because there could be many reasons they stayed behind. Armand showed no indication that he was disgruntled or regretful in anyway. If anything, he seemed happy-go-lucky and incredibly naïve. Trusting. Perhaps, too trusting.

She searched Armand’s expression; he stared back at her with a smile that looked hopeful. She knew she couldn’t help him if it turned out he missed being alive if only because she didn’t know how to bring back the dead and the day when that realization hit him was going to break her heart. She hoped that wasn’t the case. With every fiber of her being, she hoped so dearly.

She took the groceries from Armand’s delicate looking arms, signaling the men to follow her as she pushed through the doors to head for the breakroom.

“What would help us is you being yourself, Armand. I don’t expect anything from you except to do what you want to do. If you want to help us, that’s great! And if you want to help Dodger with his weird experiment, you can do that, too.”

Dodger made a discontented noise at the back of his throat as they settled the groceries on the counter in the breakroom. Dot made a note to check the television; to her relief, it was still turned on. To her ‘not relief’, the volume was turned down so low, you could only be in the breakroom to hear it. She hoped to god sound traveled in this building.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been part of an experiment. Do you think it’s fun?” Armand asked, looking between Dodger and Dot. Dot was pulling apples out of the bag before she turned to look at Dodger because she didn’t know how to answer this one.

“It’s fun for me.” Dodger replied, pulling out a hand of bananas.

Armand pulled out a toilet brush scrubber, “How do you eat this one?”

Dot took the scrubber gently from Armand’s long, graceful fingers. “You don’t eat this, honey. And Dodger is going to try to make this experiment as fun for you as he can or I’m going to make him eat this.”

“Noted, love.” Dodger murmured, preoccupied with his groceries to worry about what was in Dot’s hand. Armand had a look of realization on him.

“Oh, it’s Dodger food.”

“Exactly.” Dot laughed.

Putting away the groceries was longer than usual if only because Armand kept asking how to eat everything. And not everything Dodger had bought was for consumption. But Dot had the patience to teach him what was and was not safe to eat. Basically, anything in the fridge but if Armand was unsure, he was to get Dot’s approval first. Dot also had to hand it to Dodger; he did a good job of stocking the breakroom with lots of snacks and he didn’t forget her creamer and fixings for her coffee.

“After five years paired with you, I better remember.” He said, taking a sweep around the breakroom. “I’ll have to write a thank-you note to the Agency for giving us their old equipment.”

“Ah, I was wondering where we got half this shit.” Dot commented. “Can’t believe Chief Aldric would part with any of it to help us.”

“He specifically told them to give us the stuff they had in the storage room. If they attempted to give us anything new, they could start working for us. At least, that was what Agent Hartwin told me while sounding very apologetic.”

Dot’s face grew a discontented look about it, “Mm. He’s always been a little cowardly. But that’s the same storage where everything gets thrown in once it outlives its usefulness? That sounds more likely. Yeah, thank them for me too.”

“I kept telling them I could repair almost anything. Everything they’ve given us I was able to repair with no real cost. I had most of the spare parts I needed at home.”

“Well, like you’re fond of saying, their loss.” Dot said, wondering what the inside of Dodger’s house looked like. “It certainly looks like everything works like new. I wouldn’t have thought we got hand-me-downs whatsoever.”

Armand looked lost, “Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Free stuff usually is,” Dodger pointed out. “but they meant to give us their broken and out of date equipment. Perhaps as a way to haze us. Or thumb their nose at us.”

“I don’t think anyone’s used that saying since the 1800’s,” Dot cracked.

“Actually, my dear, the first usage was recorded around the 1920’s. It made a reappearance around the 1930’s but since then I’ll admit it’s a little out of date.”

Dot and Armand stared at Dodger who didn’t say anything after that, content that his lesson had gotten across. Learning something new was never expected or planned as far as Dot was concerned. However, Dodger’s matter-of-fact way of speaking and on a rare note, when he went on spouting facts about word usage or anything else he seemed to be an overnight expert on, she would let him babble on about the little factoids because she would learn something new whether she asked for it or not.

For the most part, he could come across as a know-it-all for those who didn’t know him.

Dot did know him and understood he wasn’t just showing off. He was genuinely sharing something with her and she often replied like a proud mother. “Thanks, Dodge. That’s really interesting.”

“That sounds silly,” Armand said next. He placed his thumb on his nose, “What is the point of this?”

“It’s a gesture that’s meant to disrespect,” Dodger replied. He took a moment to extend Armand’s fingers so he was doing the gesture correctly. “wiggle your fingers. That’s how it’s supposed to look.”

Dot placed a hand over her mouth to conceal the giggle wanting to escape. Armand looked confused, seemingly still not understanding how it’s supposed to be an insult. But he seemed to realize that he was currently gesturing towards them and gasped at the sudden revelation. “Oh no! I didn’t mean any disrespect!” His hand flew off his nose and straightened to his side. “I’m so sorry!”

Dot laughed this time, “You didn’t do anything wrong, Armand. It’s just a silly little gesture and if you want to do it, go ahead. But always at Dodge and never at me.” She gently teased. Armand seemed shocked at the insinuation that he could ever thumb his nose at Dot. The very idea of insulting her whatsoever seemed to pale him more than his ghosted form.

“I’d never!”

The sentiment was sweet and filled Dot with a warm feeling that surely showed in her smile.

“I’ve had the business cards renewed, “Dodger brought up, calling their attention. In a separate bag that Dot hadn’t noticed, Dodger pulled out a cardboard container the size of a medium jewelry box. The top came off like lid and Dodger pulled out a single card. It was a matte black cardstock with their new address and phone number pasted under the name of their office in sprawling gold script. It looked incredibly fancy, Dot was afraid to touch it.

“Sanctum Sanctorum?” Dot asked, looking up at Dodger. “Isn’t that that one place where you-know-who lives in New York or… something? It was all over the news years and years ago, we can’t get away with something like this.”

Armand quirked his head, “Is something wrong with the name? When Dodger explained it’s something you really liked, we thought it was the best idea to go with.”

Dot could feel herself grow soft at the thought they put in for her especially since Dodger remembered a passing comment from more than a year ago. But she shook her head, “You probably don’t know this, Armand, but it’s a really big world out there. Aside from the Agency, there are organizations out there that do bigger work than what we do with a lot more pull and power.” Then she turned to Dodger, “We’re going to get sued.”

“It’s alright. It’s a Latin phrase and the last time I checked, there was no copyright on it. There are plenty of places that use the same phrase. By its very definition, all it means is a sacred place.”

“You really have an answer for everything.” Dot remarked but she couldn’t believe they were actually getting away with calling their new office building a Sanctum Sanctorum. As long as they didn’t put “the” in front of it, maybe it’ll be okay. That way it didn’t seem official and they didn’t step on anybody’s very important toes…

“Well, we better start calling it the Sanctum for short before we get a call from… disgruntled but really impressive superheroes.”

“Superheroes?”

Dot and Dodger glanced over at Armand. In a lot of ways, he really was like a baby. He remembered some things from the time he was alive but other things, you had to explain to him. It was a good thing both Dot and Dodger exhibited patience well beyond their years. Dot cleared her throat taking the lead on this one. After all, she’s been following the history and accounts ever since their appearance.

“Years and years ago, like way before Dodge and I were born and before our parents were born and perhaps even their parents, so we’re talking about grandparents and maybe even great-grandparents, there was a really scary war. Like, we’re talking throw everyone back in medieval times, end of the world as we know it, war. Back then, relations between Humans and Supernatural beings were non-existent as proof of the Supernatural was more or less unverified. Things like Ghosts, Vampires, Weres, Witches, or anything else like that was deemed legend and at most, urban legends. Other times it was fuel for scary stories on camping trips and scaring little children into behaving.

But it was near impossible to prove the existence of anything Supernatural and for the most part, Humans didn’t have anywhere near the impressive range of abilities they have today so everything was really boring and mundane. Even so, Humans were pretty advanced. I mean, the stuff they had back then doesn’t hold a candle to what we have now, but they were pretty advanced in technology and space exploration and in those times, it was pretty impressive especially when we look back in the past and see how far we’ve come. Back then, they could only get to Luna. Now, we have a colony on Luna. See the comparison?”

“Luna?”

“The moon, love.” Dot laughed. “So, circling back to the Supernatural, Humans had sightings, superstitions, and sometimes proof like video and pictures but that eventually ended up as hoaxes most times. They didn’t have the equipment we have today that can verify Supernatural presence without a doubt or equipment that detect latent power in Humans. Furthermore, people liked feeding into the fear that there might be something wandering on this planet other than themselves. Yet, ironically, Humans were, and some could say still are, really arrogant in terms of their chain of command in life. Even if there had been something out there, they would always deem themselves higher than anything else that came along. They’ve just been in charge for so long, it was unthinkable that anything greater could challenge that. And in a lot of ways, Humans were right. They have the capacity to think a lot bigger than they are and when they band together, they can pull off some of the most incredible spectacles. But Humans are also very prideful creatures which prevent them from reaching their full potential.

Or so it’s been hypothesized. After all, they did fight with each other over territory and stupid shit like that impeding their own progress.

In a lot of ways, the Supernaturals should have expected it. But one day, there they were. Tired of hiding, tired of their cultures and beliefs being ridiculed and turned into insulting myths, they just emerged. As I remember every account in the history books have put it, it was like an invasion. However, no one could tell who was put on the planet first. Humans thought they had the right to the world because they’ve been the ones to dominate it. Supernaturals felt they’ve also been there just as long but were forced into hiding because of the discrimination and hatred Humans fueled into their stories turned them into hideous things. Monsters, honestly. They would have been hated.

But everyone hated each other. There were clashes, skirmishes, wars. Cities were decimated because despite the Humans claiming to have dominated the world, they were still Humans. They bled easily, bruised easily, weren’t as psychically or physically gifted like Supernaturals were known; enhanced strength, telekinesis, flight, shapeshifting—as you can imagine, it really tipped the scales in the Supernatural’s favor.

But one day, there was a point where Humans were able to somehow turn it around. If you ask anyone their opinion, there are many guesses as to what happened. Some say that at a certain point, to save themselves, Humans just evolved. In high stress situations or faced with extinction, it awoken something in Humans that allowed them to push back. Others say a miracle took place bestowed upon whatever God they worshipped that saw the Humans suffering and decided to help. And if that were the case, whatever God touched them never fucking appeared again. Kind of ridiculous if you ask me—”

“Dot,” Dodger cut in, steering Dot back into the story. He turned to Armand and explained, “Religion is a touchy subject. Every case she’s had at the Agency concerning the religiously imbalanced turned everything upside down and inside out. She’s never had a good experience dealing with them.”

“Don’t forget they are often the most judgmental and preachy assholes to ever deal with. Sorry.” She cleared her throat, finding her stride again. “Anyway, whatever had happened imbued the Humans with the strength to fight evenly with the Supernaturals. The powers that Supernaturals exhibited were suddenly shared with Humans. If a Vampire had super strength, so did Herbert the Human. If this Werewolf can run very fast, so can Susan the Human. It was both a good thing and a bad thing; that meant Humans wouldn’t be extinct but it also meant it fueled their idea that they were the true inheritors of the World. I mean, what else could convince them if not that moment that they evolved or were God-touched on the butt or whatever.

The fights and wars escalated and this happened all over the World. Human and Supernatural homes and cities and lands were absolutely fucking wrecked. Civilians that didn’t have supernatural abilities, and that accounted for Supernaturals and Humans alike, were housed in safe zones; it was about the only truce Supernaturals and Humans honored. People or Beings who couldn’t fight back to defend themselves should be given protection was the one thing they agreed upon, it was a fucking miracle. Now that I think about it, it might have to have been who was in power back then, honestly.”

“That sounds so terrible,” Armand said. He looked like he was about to cry. Dot was starting to regret telling the story. “everyone really hated each other.”

“Well, I mean, it sort of gets better.” Dot pointed out, “I’m not done yet. I promise the superheroes are coming in.”

Armand’s eyes brightened, “Oh yes! Superheroes! What are they?”

Dot laughed, “Now hold on. Before they came along, we need to get to the part about the aliens.”

Armand looked confused for a second before he finally asked, “What is the aliens?”

Dot and Dodger exchanged glances. Dot seemed worried and Dodger just looked perplexed. The things Armand did and did not know were astounding sometimes. It never failed to throw them for a loop when he asked.

“You don’t know what aliens are?” Dodger asked. Before Armand could reply, he explained, “Extraterrestrial life. Or, a person who is not a national of the country they are living in.”

“Or a movie franchise,” Dot input.

“What is extraterr—”

“Something that did not originate of this earth.” Dodger quickly explained. “Aliens come from outer space. Outer space is the big thing above our heads past the sky with many stars and planets.”

Dot laughed, smacking Dodger on the arm playfully. “I’m sure he knew what outer space was.”

“I, for one, am not quite sure, love.”

Armand replied, “I know! I know now.”

Dot gestured, pulling attention back to her so she could continue with the history of their planet that apparently Armand might need another run through with. She hoped she hadn’t lost him somewhere along all that explaining.

“The aliens. Okay, with the Humans and Supernaturals fighting each other, it seemed like nothing could have been able to stop this on-going war that would surely have pulled us into it years down the road. But we were either very lucky or unlucky because Aliens appeared out of nowhere and blasted all of our collective asses.

The sorry thing about that was the Aliens waltzed into a war that they weren’t even concerned with. They were running away from their own stupid shit. Apparently, history reports from an Alien POW had revealed they were on the run from a fleet from another freaking dimension. It shocked everyone to the core hearing about different dimensions and seeing Aliens that the war against Humans and Supernaturals seemed so… petty, now.

In the meantime, Aliens killed without discrimination. Remember the safe zones that both sides had agreed were untouchable? Aliens struck there first. Humans and Supernaturals alike were being targeted and even dragged into a war that wasn’t theirs. An even larger war on a scale that no one could fathom. We eventually figured out why we were being hit so hard. Aliens had the technology to brainwash their prisoners to use themselves as canon fodder so they’d lessen their own causalities and since the World was ripe with many shields, Humans and Supernaturals found out really fast it didn’t matter what they were. As far as the Aliens were concerned, they were the same.

I remember reading that it was the point where Humans and Supernaturals banded together to fight a common enemy to save themselves. By then, about one-third of the population had been wiped out.”

“To put it into perspective,” Dodger interrupted, “That’s two billion people. Total, our population including the Supernatural was about seven billion. Our history’s worst genocide before the Alien invasion is about six million. Doesn’t even come close to the damage of almost wiping us off collectively as a species and without a certain intervention, we would have been wiped out without a doubt.”

Armand’s brows were furrowed as he tried to imagine what two billion people looked like. The numbers were huge, he understood that much at least. “What is this certain intervention?”

Dot continued with a smile that stretched widely. This was a subject she knew all about as it fascinated her. “This is where the superheroes come in. In this other dimension, people with incredible gifted abilities who use them for good and justice were fighting the Alien race on the other side. Our planet didn’t know at the time and assumed the Aliens were just fighting other bad, stupid aliens. But that wasn’t the case. This Alien race who were crystalline and spindly were called the Dovirs. They had been trying to take over another earth-like planet coincidentally… named Earth-616 but bit off more than they could chew and were chased off. That didn’t mean they were retreating. They were desperate as it had been explained to us. In the midst of this chase, they ripped a tear into another dimension to cheat and bolster their numbers—which they accomplished coming here—to one day go back and try taking over once more.

If my memory serves correctly, and it always does, we’re Earth-6969. Which, by the way, we came away as the winner for coolest planet name. The representatives from Earth-616 landed here and explained it for us. It’s all over history books and by now is common knowledge.

In a lot of ways, Earth-616 is like our planet; same geographical lands and climate. We even have the same cities give or take a couple of small towns that differ between us. Oh yeah, and they weren’t in the throes of war waged in the name of discrimination but for the most part, yeah. We were pretty similar. Granted, they were more advanced in terms of technology but with the appearance of the Dovirs and our access to their technology, we’ve bolstered our own. Earth-616 even shares some of its technological advances with us which was pretty cool of them.

But comparing the two worlds, the Human races are the same, the Supernatural races are the same, we were just lacking our own Superheroes. And Armand, that means they are a band of people that come together despite their differences to make the place they live a better environment for everyone.”

Armand smiled, finally understanding. “So, they’re really important.”

“I’d say that they were. I know there are people who don’t share the same sentiment. It’s stupid and surprises me that this is coming from both sides.” Dot took a deep breath before she went down that road. It was clear to anybody listening that this was a passionate subject for her.

“I’d say we’re getting close to the ideal of living together in harmony, slowly. That’s why organizations like the Agency and what we do popped up. The Dovirs made us realize that we were entirely unequipped to handle an outside invasion. At the same time, we can’t keep fighting each other.

Taking a page out of 616’s example, their Superheroes and Supernaturals and Humans live together in a way that we’re trying to pull together nowadays. I’m not saying their side is perfect; if you pay attention to them, you’d see they just as well have their own issues with discrimination and blatant racism. Their government can be corrupt just as any political power, but we’re all trying to fight that and have been for a long time.

If it’s going to end in our lifetime remains to be seen, but I’d like to think we’re closer than five, ten years ago. It took a long ass time for our present to happen. I mean, the effects of that war are still very present today; tensions between the Humans and Supernaturals are still tense in some situations but for the most part, we’re getting there.

Plus, there’s still that nasty tear between our dimensions that now connect us to Earth-616. Isn’t it cool we’re neighbors?”

Armand was silent for a very long time, his expression reflecting a thoughtful gaze. Dot wondered if she had lost him along the way somewhere. She winced, glancing over at Dodger, “I might have gotten a little preachy at the end, there.”

Dodger shook his head, “Nonsense, I think you’ve pulled together a very beautiful summarization of our history. There wasn’t anything in what you said I disagreed with.”

Smiling, Dot gave Dodger’s hand an affectionate pat before Armand finally spoke which took them both by surprise as he asked, “How do we visit Earth-616? Do we have a very long ladder we climb to get there?”

Dot remained in a stupor for another second before laughing almost in disbelief, “Oh, no, honey. Haha, that’s where the Sanctum Sanctorum comes into play.” She further explained as soon as she saw the confusion in Armand’s features, “There’s a Sorcerer who lives down in New York that bridges the connection between our two worlds otherwise it’d be dangerous keeping that tear unsupervised. It’s complicated. Something about not having our own guardian. From what I know, he spends his time between the two worlds; we’re sort of like his vacation house.”

Then it clicked. Armand’s mouth formed a perfect ‘o’ as his eyes rounded in unison. “That’s why we’re going to get sued!”

“We’re not going to get sued.” Dodger argued.

Dot turned her head to face Dodger, almost jumping when she came face to face with a terrifying red expression. It took her a moment to realize he had pulled something out of a grocery bag and put it on his face.

“Take off that mask,” she scolded before adding, “that is a mask, right?”

“Ah! My Halloween costume!” Armand exclaimed, taking the mask from Dodger’s hands. “Dodger explained in the store why there were so many skeletons and witches on display. Hellowoon.”

“…Why would you think that was my face?” Dodger asked but went unheard as Armand continued.

“You’re supposed to dress as something scary, so I thought this was scary.” The ghost lifted his pale hand up to cover his impressive face with the unimpressive red mask. It had a long nose and angry eyebrows, its mouth furled down in the snarliest of snarls. Dot eyed it wearily.

“That’s great, honey. But you don’t have to be scary if you don’t want to, you can be anything you want. Also, did you say Hellowoon?”

“That’s not what it’s called?” he asked, pulling the mask to one side. He peered out with an amethyst hued eye expectant of Dot to correct him. But she didn’t have the heart.

“Well, it’s official. Happy Hellowoon, everyone!”

“I’m serious, did you really think that was my face?”

“Dodge, I swear to god. Any god.”

There was ring from the front which caught Dot, Dodger, and Armand’s attention. Their heads turned towards where the receptionist desk area sat before they looked at each other again.

“Do we have a literal doorbell?” Dot asked.

“Mm, I think there was a little “ring for service” bell somewhere on the desk. Armand was ringing it incessantly earlier.” Dodger replied.

“I had to make sure it would ring the next time, too.” Armand whispered.

“I’m not sure what that means.”

“What do we do?” Dot asked Dodger lowering her voice to a conspiring whisper. “It can’t be a client, right? You just printed the cards out today.”

“You might have, but I asked around and found out where you relocated. In any case, I let myself in. I hope that’s okay.” The new voice spoke with an authority that told anyone listening that he had every right to be there. It didn’t fail snapping their attention to the doorframe where a tall man stood as if he belonged there clad in a red cape that seemed to have a mind of its own. It moved where there was no wind and occasionally, the man would brush back the flap of the collar out of his face. The breakroom never had a more important guest. In all of her life, Dot never expected to come face to face with anyone as extraordinary or significant as Doctor Stephen Strange.

Dodger leaned in, whispering, “On second thought, we might be getting sued after all.”

“That wasn’t quite the idea I had in mind.” Stephen smiled. It looked like he was confronting a group of guilty children. Well, two guilty children. The third was quite obviously unusual. A flicker of recognition sparked in Stephen Strange’s gray gaze before it landed on Dot. “I was hoping you could take on a case for me.”

Dot swallowed dryly and she gripped the sides of her shirt, then ran her palm down the side of her leggings. She was nervous and it wasn’t coming from Stephen. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Stephen Strange, THE Stephen Strange, visiting the planet just to enlist her services? From what she could remember, she didn’t know how often he visited 6969, but it couldn’t have been that often, right? He had his own responsibilities on his own planet, didn’t he?

“O-Of course,” she put cautiously. She couldn’t help the stutter in her voice mainly because she had never expected in her lifetime to ever run into a Superhero from 616. An encounter was supposed to be rare. Even if their planets were connected by the rupture the Dovirs were responsible for, that didn’t mean the two planets could interfere with one another unless absolutely dire. Unless, that had changed? “What could we do for you, Doctor Strange?”

There was a brief moment when it looked like Stephen Strange looked in approval at being recognized. He all but purred the next statement, “Good, so we know of each other.”

“Y-You know me?”

“Dot Dreadful and Dodger Ainsworth Mac Alister of the private eye institution, Supernatural Investigations. Previously employed by the government sanctioned organization known as The Agency, real creative name, hm? You guys obviously have the superior one.”

Dot laughed nervously.

“You two were employed by The Agency for ten years, partnered for five because you, Ms. Dot, weren’t compatible with anyone who didn’t overload your empath abilities and Mr. Dodger stayed at entry level because he just liked doing the paperwork.”

Dot and Armand looked at Dodger who shrugged. Doctor Strange continued.

“You two quit a year ago and partnered to create your own business citing irreconcilable differences for your departure with the Agency to mask the fact you two were really unhappy there but it was an open secret considering how much Dot was known to push the cases deemed too “unimportant” by The Agency to favor the ones with more publicity to shed the project in a better light. In reality, you understood the corruption taking place once the previous Chief was replaced with Aldric, the mayor-elected official with a discrimination against Supernaturals. Another reason included being tired of being tied up by bureaucracy and wanted to make a genuine difference. Starting yesterday, you relocated to this site after operating out of your home for the last year. I hope I didn’t miss anything.”

“We hired a ghost as a receptionist.” Dodger pointed out. Stephen’s gaze trailed from Dot, then to Dodger, and last to Armand. “His name is Armand.”

“Yes, of course. That’s how he fits in.”

“And this is my Hellowoon costume,” Armand added, lifting the thing to his face. “It’s spooky, isn’t it?”

Stephen pointed, almost doing a double-take. He seemed genuinely taken aback by the outburst but covered it up as soon as the emotion flickered across his face. “Did he just say Hellowoon?”

By this time, Dot stepped up to Stephen, floored by how he knew so much. And it seemed everyone she was meeting lately simply towered over her. She extended an arm out towards the main office space.

“Why don’t you tell us the details of this case, Doctor?”

Stephen glanced down at Dot, giving her a charming smile that Dot could sworn was her imagination. Only in her dreams could someone this amazing exist, right? She had many fantasies about meeting any of the Supers in 616 but to actually be meeting one right now? …Maybe reality didn’t suck for once.

She led the Doctor to a random desk hoping it was to his taste. Maybe she should have paid more attention to the furniture. Once seated, she took out a legal pad and grabbed a pen. She had no idea where the invoices were but it was a good thing Dodger had her back. He grabbed an invoice while Dot recorded the details for any pertinent information.

Doctor Strange had the presence even while sitting to intimidate her. He seemed so regal and she could feel the pen feel warm in her hand. It took a while to realize the warmness was coming from her own hand. She just seemed so flustered! She hoped she looked composed on the outside at least.

“This peculiar case is located in the small town of Whitecrest. I’m sure you know it.”

Dot nodded, getting down to business. She ducked her head and wrote down Whitecrest as she spoke, “I know it. It looks like a little village from a medieval fantasy. Has a tavern and inn, even a functioning blacksmith. Everyone likes to ride horses to get around. It shouldn’t be too far from Ashbourne.”

Armand, seated across from Dodger who was copying the information for the Invoice asked, “Is Whitecrest that different?”

Stephen smiled, approval glinting in his eye. “After the Great War, as your planet calls it, a lot of towns had trouble rebuilding. Or more correctly, the people of states and towns all over had trouble deciding how they wanted to rebuild. Some had the finances to support their ambitious renovations while other towns like Whitecrest ended up looking like a piece of the past.”

“Way past,” Dot input with a smile, looking at Stephen. It was amazing how much of their history he bothered to learn. “Towns like Whitecrest have a lot of problems. It has nothing to do with the people most times. Ah, Doctor, what would you like for us to do while we’re there?”

“I’ll be honest,” Stephen suddenly said in a serious tone. His face took on a pensive expression and he seemed hesitant on admitting something. Up close, Dot could see that there was a gathering of wrinkles at the corner of his eyes and with the addition of the white at his temples made him seem a little older than he appeared just a few minutes ago. Whatever he wanted to say weighed heavily on his mind for a while before he finally continued, “I don’t usually put off my tasks like this but I don’t trust going to The Agency to carry out what I’m about to ask you. I can’t do it myself as I’m needed back home, in fact, as soon as I’m done here, I’ll be heading back to my New York.”

“You’ve traveled a long way to see us,” Dot encouraged. “Whatever you have to ask, I promise we’ll do our best to carry it out.”

Stephen looked up giving Dot a little jolt as their gaze connected. He still looked grave and serious. “I don’t like passing the tasks I can do myself onto anyone else, especially if I don’t know them. But I’m taking a chance on your business.” He paused and his next statement lightened up his features, “What can I say, I have a soft spot for it.”

Dot tried her best to quell the blush that was threatening to rise to her cheeks. She cleared her throat and took her legal pad to fan herself, “Ah, haha.”

“The reason we don’t trust The Agency are possibly the same as yours,” Dodger put quite bravely. Dot was often surprised by the way he spoke as if he knew everything. By the way Stephen nodded convinced Dot that Dodger probably did know everything. Dodger continued, “Then all we have to do is prove that we’re not The Agency. We can complete this job. I’m sure of it.”

Coming from any other man, it may have sounded like boasting and Stephen said as much. “But there’s something in your tone that could reassure me that’s the case,” he admitted with a slight chuckle. “It reminds me of someone else I know. A little egocentric, likes his name on tacky buildings that he owns.”

“That’s not just a little.” Dodger said.

Stephen’s grin widened a little, “And much like that egotistical man, I like you.” Stephen took a glance at his watch and realizing he was pressed for time, decided to wrap it up. “When you get to Whitecrest, there’s a person I want you to see. The name I was given was Fitzsimmons. Word is that he hangs around the tavern or the inn.”

“We talk to him?” Dot asked, writing down the name.

“I’d like if you could. I wasn’t given much information myself but to get to me, it must have been significant. I’ll find out what that is as soon as I get back and you can report to me what that was.”

“Is this case was giving to you and is so significant, would it be dangerous?” Dodger asked. Dot was thinking it but she wasn’t sure she could pose the question without insulting Stephen. She cautiously looked up, thankful for Dodger who always said what was on his mind.

“It could very well be dangerous. But I had been digging around and came upon the conclusion that I could pass the task on if I didn’t have time for it. That is what I’m doing as much as I would like to solve this myself. I was told The Agency had the equipment handled to deal with almost anything but I don’t exactly approve of the publicity my name brings in this world.”

“We have the same equipment The Agency has,” Dot interjected quite confident herself. “so you don’t have to worry there. And we have no problem keeping your name out of anything, anywhere. Even out of our mouths. No one say Doctor Strange’s name.” Dot put a hand over her mouth then mumbled, “Starting now.”

“Can we call him Doctor Cape?” Armand asked.

“That’s insulting,” Dodger said.

“We have to call him something, right?”

Stephen surprised them by laughing. “That’s alright. I meant in newspapers or in any media where the public can get to it. I’m sorry to ask as I’m sure the exposure could help your company—”

“No no no! Don’t worry about that!” Dot exclaimed, wide-eyed. She had almost reached across the table to take his hands but restrained herself and her emotional self by sitting back in her chair and gripping her pen with both hands, longways. “That isn’t why we’re here. We really want to make a difference, doesn’t matter if our names are attached or not. If the people of Whitecrest can benefit from being helped by us or even Doctor Stephen Strange, it’s the outcome that’s important.”

“Besides, if we’re good at our job, our name will get out there somehow.” Dodger added.

Dot was nodding in agreement. Stephen chuckled again, quite entertained by this little group. If it wasn’t the strange ghost that didn’t know how to say Halloween, it was the blunt Dodger and the compassionate leader of the group, Dot, that made up Stephen’s mind.

“Alright then, I’ll entrust this task to you.” he deemed. Dot was filling out the last-minute details such as the date and time as Stephen stood up. For the first time, he took a good look around. “It’s just the three of you, right?”

“Yeah,” Dot said, looking up and following Stephen’s gaze. “it’s big, huh?”

Stephen sent her a wink that sent Dot’s tummy flipping. “I think it’s about the right size. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to take my leave. Do you mind if I meet you here the day after tomorrow, around the same time?”

“Oh, definitely!” Dot smiled. “So, the fourth at around seven-thirty.”

“It’s a date.”

Dot blinked, feeling herself flush this time. Before she had a chance to reflect on it, Doctor Strange opened with a strange gesture with a swing of his hand and an orange portal flickered to life in the middle of their office. From the other side, she could barely make out something that looked like an office and dark wood.

“From one Sanctum to another,” Stephen mused. “Good luck.” He finished before stepping into the portal. It disappeared as soon as his cape had cleared.

Dot, Dodger, and Armand were left gaping.

“Whoooooa! I can’t believe it!” Dot shrieked, throwing her hands up. Legal pad going with them.

“Fascinating. I wonder how he did that,” Dodger sounded just as thoughtful as Stephen had, moving around the spot where the portal had been.

Armand was the only one who wasn’t saying anything. Instead, he was looking at his mask. Dot, noticing, frowned and asked, “What’s wrong, love?”

“I wonder if it’s too late to change my costume.”

[twodaysintojune]

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Supernatural, Debriel, Warnings-None

Find me at AO3

If Dean had an equivalent of Sam’s Halloween hate, more often than not that hated event was Christmas.

And to be fair, growing up listening to joyous songs of peace on earth right after cleaning your father's wounds from a salt and burn, watching movies of people sharing gifts under a massive Christmas tree in a dingy motel room whose only pristine asset was the sink he had just cleaned himself and then growing up trying to make it up for Sam and give him some sort of celebratory feeling…

Yeah, that could definitely make Christmas a detested event for anyone.

Which is why he thought it was kind of stupid to be out here on December 23rd in the mild Kansas cold, waiting for Sam and Jack to finally pick up a tree. Not that he complained about it, with time he had learnt to tone his feelings down and go along everything his people said. He was watching them, hands in his pockets, listening to the jarring Alvin and the Chipmunks styled carols booming out of a speaker that he was sure he would utterly destroy if he had the chance to get anywhere near it when he felt more than saw Gabriel approach him.

“You look like you're having as much fun as a man picking up his last meal.”

Dean snorted, count on Gabriel to be able to tell his mood swings. He had become even better than Sam on it and that was saying something.

“Naw, I was just thinking how on earth I'm gonna tie that monster to Baby without giving her a scratch.”

Cas had joined the other two with an assistant of the lot to help them wrap the tree up. After some struggling by all of them, Jack approached Dean beaming.

“All set?”

“Yeah”

“Well then, let's go kid.”

The trip to the bunker had been good, changing the background music to the good ol’ Zep definitely did wonders to his mood so when he helped everyone get the tree and all the other decorations they had bought into the bunker’s library, Dean was smiling once more. Still, he managed to leave everyone there to hide in the kitchen and prepare some mulled wine for the first time ever.

Doing a new recipe helped him focus his attention on anything else than more bitter than sweet memories but first he had to open the bottles and pour the wine into a pot. After finishing the first task, he saw a sachet of spices he had been about to prepare appear out of nowhere on his hand.

“Thanks Gabe.”

He dropped the sachet and proceeded to add less cups of sugar than what the recipe claimed, knowing that it was easier to add on than to take away. Gabriel, who was suddenly by his side, moved to turn on the oven while Dean cleaned the few instruments he had used and then went to the counter to finish preparing the turkey that was already lying on a cooking pan. Curious, Dean glanced over him and took a look at the humongous bird he definitely didn’t recall buying.

“Where did you even get that from?”

“I may not have much grace but I can spare a bit for the good stuff.”

Dean just snickered while he moved to take the eggs and milk out of the fridge and add another big pot on the stove for the eggnog, nudging Gabriel to leave some space on the counter for him. It was odd, this homely feeling he was getting dancing around the kitchen with Gabriel. It was almost like this was the way things were always meant to be. It took Dean a while to notice Gabriel was humming ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’ but when it finally hit him he couldn’t help but laugh a bit.

“Were you ever even jealous of your half brother?”

Gabriel turned to look at Dean a bit startled and stopped his turkey filling task for a moment.

“Not really... I was kind of curious and a bit upset you know, since dad had forbidden us to bang with them and then he shows up and tells me I gotta give this girl Mary the news ‘cause he was being too much of a coward to show up himself after she told him she was not gonna give up on Joseph...” Gabriel paused for a long enough time fiddling with the spoon in his hands “...that should have been a dead giveaway about what he would do after Lucifer’s fall”

Dean moved to place his hand on the archangel’s shoulder.

“Hey, it wasn’t your fault that he left.”

If he didn’t know better, Dean could have sworn he had seen Gabriel’s eyes glisten for a second.

“Anyway, all that stopped after JJ was born, he really was a cute baby… Too bad he had to grow up.”

Dean laughed heartily.

“Yeah, I get you on that. Sammy was the cutest when he was a kid. If you think his puppy eyes can kill you now you should have seen him then.”

The rest of the day went by with the bunker filling itself with the delicious scent of baked goods that Gabriel naturally did for Dean’s delight and the mulled wine. Despite not feeling like it, Dean had helped hang out the leftover garlands and was preparing some of the open bedrooms for Jody and the girls, who were invited for the celebration by Sam when he stepped into the library with some dusty rags at the same time as Gabriel, who was bringing snacks for everyone.

“Stop!”

They halted when Jack placed his hand in front against them.

“You’re under the mistletoe! You have to kiss!”

Both men looked upwards to find that, indeed, there was a small bundle of mistletoe hanging from a decorated red ribbon right over them. Still confused for the abrupt interruption of their activities, they turned to each other before going back to Jack.

“Uhm, I don’t think this is the way that works kiddo.”

“No, you have to do it! Sam and Castiel already have.”

Dean and Gabriel groaned while glancing their respective brothers, who were now sheepishly hiding behind some of the tree’s branches. Dean could have sworn Sam’s ears were three shades redder than what they should’ve been.

“Seriously? You had to go there now? On Christmas of all times!?”

“We had to! It was the mistletoe!”

Both Gabriel and Dean looked at them in judgemental disbelief for just a second. Then Gabriel sighed and placed the tray with sandwiches and beer on the table before turning towards Dean.

“Don’t worry Dean-o, this ain’t gonna hurt a bit.”

Dean was about to retort when Gabriel’s hands found his neck and pulled his face closer. He felt Gabriel’s lips closing on his with a softness he never would have expected of the guy. Dean knew little about love but he was certain that there had been something more caring in that brief connection than what the occasion would have required.

Gabriel parted almost as fast as he had approached him.

“There, happy now?”

Jack just beamed at his uncle, like he had done tons of awesome things to make the world a better place. Swiftly, both men made way to keep on with their own tasks. When the night arrived and Sam had disappeared with Cas in his bedroom, Dean gave a last round on the library, where he found Jack sitting in front of the tree on the carpet and a bunch of floor pillows he suspected Gabriel had magicked looking in awe at how the lights turned on and off in random patterns.

“You gonna stay here all night?”

Jack turned to Dean with eyes shining in glee. Dean just sighed and went to grab one of the comfy lap blankets, throwing it on Jack’s shoulders.

“If you go back to your room remember to turn off the lights.”

“I will.” The kid stared a second at the man “Dean...? I love you.”

Dean smiled gently and made way to fuss Jack’s hair.

“Love ya too kid. Good night.”

“Good night.”

On his way to his bedroom he was joined by Gabriel.

“Sooo… I got this xxx-mas video right here, you wanna watch it at my room?”

Dean grabbed the case of the video, a latina, an asian and a redhead posing with the mandatory red sheer babydolls trimmed in white faux fur and santa hats. It was funny how even after watching the same shit again and again he always came back to them.

“Sure, why the heck not?”

They played the video after throwing themselves on Gabriel’s bed, filled with multiple silk cushions. Dean had to give it to Kali for teaching her man how to decorate in opulence. He accepted gratefully the whisky he was handled and went to focus on the video. There were no guys in the video, it was just the girls, opening presents that held dildos and vibrators inside and playing with each other. After a while, Dean just sighed frustrated.

“What’s wrong?”

Dean chuckled “I was kinda hoping for an idiot dressed as Santa I guess.”

Gabriel looked at Dean for the longest time and paused the video.

“Not that, Dean, something’s wrong with you today, all these days since Sam pitched in on doing Christmas.”

Dean turned to look at the archangel feeling clearly betrayed for being called out by the only person he would have expected never to be confronted about anything considering how well he was known for running away from facing stuff. And the worst was that he was unable to give a single pretext to get away from the interrogation. He tried, he knew he had tried his best to get around the issue but Gabriel had pressed on and on until Dean spilled it all out. All about the winter days spent in a room without heating, holding Sam closely wrapped in a blanket, the gift giving watched from outside a living room, all the Holidays his father had been out doing only god knows which hunt. He didn’t know when he had started crying in the middle of his rant. Why was he even talking? Why was he allowing anyone besides himself listen to all of this? It’s not like Gabriel would actually care. Heck, it’s not like he still cared about it so why on earth was he tearing this way?

“I’m sorry, Gabe, you don’t even need to listen to this.” Dean grunted softly in the middle of his frustration, looking down onto his already empty glass. Gabriel went to level his sight up by pulling Dean’s chin upwards softly.

“Maybe I don’t need to but I want to.”

Dean looked at him shocked for a second. Who on earth would actually want to listen to him rant about his past? Gabriel moved closer to Dean, overcoming the mountains and valleys of coloured fabric and laying by his side.

“You don’t believe me.” Before Dean could even admit or deny the fact, Gabriel magicked out a small giftwrapped box, the size of a kid’s toy and gave it to Dean. Dean looked the object curiously but didn’t make a move to open it.

“Shouldn’t you have waited until tomorrow?”

“I didn’t get to be your Secret Santa.”

Dean eyed his friend suspiciously but relented and began to tear down the paper. He would never admit it but he actually gasped when he finally found out the small Chevy ‘67 Impala model in front of him. It was just like his Baby, all the way up to its original license plate. It was a silly gift, really, nothing too awesome to think about, and yet he clearly remembered he had been wanting this particular model ever since he had seen it at a mall, ages ago. His father obviously not buying it because there was no reason for Dean to have it knowing they already were riding a real one. Deep down, Dean knew it had never been about the car.

It had been about his father doing something only for him.  

“I know I shouldn’t be peering on your thoughts but you’ve been sending away this image strongly all these past days, I thought it was something you really wanted.”

And now, after so many years there was someone paying attention to him, maybe cheating a little bit but hey, nothing was perfect in this world. Dean could feel more tears welling up, he had to talk before his voice was stolen.

“Thanks Gabe”

The archangel smiled at Dean warmly. There was a myriad of things going through his amber eyes, lighting them like he was able to hold galaxies inside.

“Don’t sweat it kiddo”

Dean snickered softly “I gotta admit I always thought of you as a conceited brat”

Gabriel just raised his eyebrows and smiled as well. “Well, I cannot deny that I have been quite the hedonist my entire life”

“Then what happened?”

“You.”

Dean turned towards the archangel in shock, clearly he must have listened wrong but Gabriel was just there looking at him in earnest. After what Dean thought of as an eternity in silence, Gabriel broke it one more time.

“I know you only see me as a friend. That’s alright. I’m good with the way things are… but I’m not glad if you’re not glad, so if something goes around your head; I’ll be there to listen. Okay?”

“...Okay”

Jody and the girls arrived the following day around five, making everything more chaotic and fun. They had dinner after seven and then watched a silly Christmas movie. Dean found it funny that none of them even imagined for a second that Gabriel was indeed the Gabriel, archangel, messenger of God. They all assumed he was a fellow hunter and Gabriel, well, he didn’t really mind clearing that particular misunderstanding.

Well past midnight they did the Secret Santa swap. Dean had somehow found a plush for Castiel online that according to him was called ‘Sammy Moose’ so it was perfect for him. Sam bickered about it but Cas didn’t put the plush down for any reason other than hold the real Sam close. Gabriel had received from Claire three pairs of silly Christmas socks with googly eyed elves that he immediately wore and some chocolates and Dean received in awe a guitar from Jody who only said she had traded from a colleague that never stuck with any hobby. By the end of it all, they were all singing Christmas carols and finishing all the dessert they could.

Maybe he was being hopeful, or maybe he had had a bit too much spiked eggnog but Dean finally felt like this was a holiday he could actually enjoy.

[holidaysat221b]

2018′s Halloween at 221b - A Sherlolly Celebration Master List

To help get you in the Fall/Halloween spirit, here are all the submissions we received during the 2018 Halloween Fest.  Please give them another look, leave a comment or a kudo (or both!), and show a little love to the creators who took the time to participate in 2018.

We’ve listed where the works are archived, mult-chapter or not, complete or not, and rating.  In progress fics are marked in bold as a reminder for a mod to periodically check for updates.  Tumblr accounts have been tagged where possible, some could only be linked to, and some are completely unknown to the mods.  As always, the complete Master List for all years can be found here.

Alice in Wonderland/Sherlolly Mashup  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo And through the looking glass we see she’s painfully returned. But now off with her head I fear is everyone’s concern.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

All Souls  - Written by @geekmama The rain had nearly stopped by the time they reached the village of Grendon and the house where Molly had grown up, and where her mother still lived. He’d been there once before, a few months ago, not long after the Sherrinford/Musgrave debacle, and the house hadn’t changed. Still quite undistinguished from the other residences in this thoroughly middle class neighborhood. For the second time, Sherlock found himself wondering that the unique creature beside him, his beloved, could have sprung from this thoroughly mundane environment. Of course, it had taken him an unconscionably long time to realize exactly how unique Molly was. It seemed irrefutable proof that, while he was very quick in most areas of perception, he could be slow to the point of idiocy in others – and some of them rather essential. It was always possible, Sherlock reflected, as he pulled the car into the drive, that there was more to Molly’s childhood home, too, than first contact had suggested.   (On Tumblr, Complete, Rated G)

By the Light of the Moon  - Written by @mizjoely Annabellioncourt on tumblr said: There’s a lovely old English myth that if someone who truely loved and trusted the werewolf called it by name that it would turn back to human. Others include throwing their human clothes at it and it’d turn back but that’s a bit less romantic. This is my response to that prompt.   (On Ao3, Complete, Rated G)

Corpse Bride/Sherlolly Mashup  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo Yet I feel my heart is aching Thought it doesn’t beat it’s breaking And the pain here that I feel Try and tell me it’s not real I know that I am dead Yet it seems that I still have some tears to shed   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Crimson Peak  - Created by @myqueenismollyhooper  (On Tumblr, Complete)

Dead Man Walking  - Written by @willsherjohnkhanAn alternate reality. Halloween-ish companion piece to The Familiar Stranger…   (On Ao3, Complete, Rated T)

Devoted  - Written by @the-sapphiresky She loved Halloween. It was the one time of the year she could go all out, no holds barred on her morbidity, and no one would bat an eye. She traded her jumpers and comfy trousers for tight leggings, fake blood, bat wings, whatever struck her fancy that year. But this year, the temptation to be morbid wasn’t as alluring as usual.   (On Tumblr, Complete, Rated G)

Edward Scissorhands/Sherlolly Mashup  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo (On Tumblr, Complete)

Happy Sherlolly Halloween  - Created by @darnedchildA Sherlolly kiss pumpkin  (On Tumblr, Complete)

I Had A Dream, Molly  - Written by @thehiddenlawyer Sherlock and Molly, in a rough patch in their relationship, are investigating a mysterious death at infamous 50 Berkeley Square in London, when a thunderstorm rocks the house, and Molly walks away with new abilities.   (On Ao3, Complete in 13 Parts, Rated M)

It’s no secret that Molly Hooper loves Halloween  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo It’s no secret that Molly Hooper loves Halloween, but it is something Sherlock finds endearing about her. They spend the afternoon walking through cemeteries, and the evening at her flat, watching cliché slasher films, and handing out candy to children who happen upon her doorstep. That’s when the activity begins. First it’s footsteps here and there, but then it escalates to objects being thrown, and the lights flickering. Turns out the thrift shop mirror Molly purchased for Halloween decór is a portal for spirits. And by the looks of the I.O.U. being painted on the glass, it seems Moriarty is back for revenge.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Jack the Ripper/Sherlolly Mashup  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo Jack the Ripper is on the loose, but Sherlock and Molly are on the case. They set out to find the identity of the ripper, unaware that they’re closer to the answer than they think…Sherlock’s cousin, H.H. Holmes. With hesitance, they attempt to acquire help from criminal mastermind, James Moriarty, who is imprisoned. He knows the identity of the ripper, but will only speak in riddles.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Life in Death  - Written by @simplyshelbs16xoxo Molly Hooper finds an antique pocket watch in a thrift shop, resulting in her being haunted by the ghost of a Victorian Era Sherlock Holmes, who happens to have once been a tenant of her flat. Follow this annoyed-at-first-sight story full of witty banter, eventual romance, and an attempted murder most foul.   (On Ao3, Complete in 8 parts, Rated T)

Little Red Riding Hood/Sherlolly Mashup  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo Once upon a time, a girl named Molly wandered into the woods in her red hood, only to come across the large black wolf everyone hides away from at night. The first thing she noticed was the strange, but beautiful, cerulean eyes. The wolf, she learns, is in fact a man who can shift into the large beast; a man named Sherlock. Upon finding out that the wolf who attacks her village isn’t him, but another shifter by the name of James Moriarty, Molly begins to set up a trap to catch him. This angers him, and Moriarty bites Molly before he is taken by the men of the village. Sherlock takes care of her through her transition into becoming a wolf herself; a beautiful copper coat covering her. The more time she spends with him, the more she falls in love with him… and he with her.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Nightmare Before Christmas/Sherlolly Mashup  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo My dearest friend, if you don’t mind, I’d like to join you by your side, where we can gaze into the stars, and sit together, now and forever. For it is plain as anyone can see. We’re simply meant to be.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

The Phantom of the Opera/Sherlolly Mashup  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo Close your eyes, start a journey to a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Close your eyes and let music set you free. Only then can you belong to me. Floating, falling, sweet intoxication. Touch me, trust me, savour each sensation. Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in. To the power of the music that I write. The power of the music of the night.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sherlolly Moodboard #1  - Created by @mel-loves-all Sherlock woke in a hotel room without any memory of how he got there. A case had led him to erotic underground clubs the night before. Flashes of hauntingly lonely brown eyes, skin soft as satin and ecstasy so pleasurably intense, it bordered on pain, bombarded him as the scent of crushed berries and sex lingered on the bed sheets.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sherlolly Moodboard #2  - Created by @mel-loves-all Dreams. Fevered, erotic, all consuming. A woman whose beauty takes his breath away. Sherlock doesn’t ever want to wake up.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sherlolly Moodboard #3  - Created by @mel-loves-all Mysterious murders lead Sherlock Holmes to the front door of a leading Historian of Witches and Witchcraft. He doesn’t believe in the supernatural but the beautiful professor’s smile could definitely be described as magical.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sherlolly Moodboard #4  - Created by @mel-loves-all On Halloween night, there’s a murderer on the loose and Molly’s been kidnapped. Sherlock saves her and finally gets his head out of his arse and kisses her from relief and love.)   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sherlolly Moodboard #5  - Created by @mel-loves-all Love is kinda crazy with a spooky little girl like you   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sherlolly Moodboard #6  - Created by @mel-loves-all Who would have thought Molly and Sherlock both had a taste for the macabre on the scariest night of the year? lol, date night.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sherlolly Moodboard #7  - Created by @mel-loves-all What started out as a fun ugly jumper purchase of Molly’s for Sherlock turned into a Halloween themed party where Mrs. Hudson took the grand prize for her “Frequent Flyer” sweater.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sherlolly Moodboard #8  - Created by @mel-loves-allMoriarty. Even in death his presence lingers. All Sherlock can do is be there for Molly as she comes to grips with the remembered horror of the man.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sherlolly Moodboard #9  - Created by @mel-loves-all Was she going insane? This was the urgent missive Sherlock Holmes was sent. A woman in danger. A woman who was being systematically poisoned and driven towards madness. He would not allow it. The beautiful widow, whose vulnerability, but incredible inner strength, drew forth Sherlock’s protective instincts like no one else before.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sherlolly Moodboard #10  - Created by @mel-loves-all “They talk to me, always…whispering all the things they wished they had time to do…all the things they want me to do…for them" He looked around the morgue, and for one terrifying moment, he could hear them too…”   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Sleepy Hollow/Sherlolly Mashup  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo The Pickety Witch, the Pickety Witch, who’s got a kiss for the Pickety Witch?   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Spellbound  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo A trailer for both stories in my Spellbound Universe.   (On Youtube, Complete)

Spellbound: All Hallow’s Eve  - Written by @simplyshelbs16xoxo Sequel; takes place a year after the epilogue of Spellbound (I suggest reading that first). Sherlock and Molly encounter a man who’s out for revenge at the Watsons’ Victorian themed Halloween party. Meanwhile, there’s a woman roaming around London, impersonating Emelia Ricoletti. Magic, Mayhem, Mystery, and a Murder (or two) Most Foul.   (On Ao3, Complete in 7 Parts, Rated T)

Spellbound: All Hallow’s Eve Edit  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo An edit created to accompany “Spellbound: All Hallow’s Eve”.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Universally Monstrous - Dracula  - Written by @darnedchild It’s Molly’s voice. The woman he had buried just six days prior.   (On Ao3, Complete, Rated T)

Universally Monstrous - The Hunchback of Notre Dame  - Written by @darnedchild “The Quasimodo Killer?” Sherlock scoffed. “Really, John. That’s the best you could do?”   (On Ao3, Complete, Rated T)

Universally Monstrous - The Phantom of the Opera  - Written by @darnedchild It was a well-known secret that New Scotland Yard was haunted.   (On Ao3, Complete, Rated G)

Vampire Edit  - Created by @simplyshelbs16xoxo Post tfp. Sherlock has opened his eyes when it comes to matters of the heart. A passionate snog in the morgue showed Molly exactly how he felt about her. But there’s danger lurking around the corner… Moriarty never died on that rooftop. He’s a vampire with an agenda… to sire Molly Hooper. By doing so, it will make her undyingly loyal to him, and in turn, burn the heart out of Sherlock. Molly is on the run whilst Sherlock tries to track his arch nemesis down. He finds out that Moran has found Molly, and Sherlock will do anything to save her, but time’s running out.   (On Tumblr, Complete)

Veils of Memory Infected With Dreams  - Written by ALC_Punk (@lyssisbored) Molly was dragged into joining a search through the woods, or so she remembers… Yet the fog is growing ever deeper, and she can’t quite place what she’s supposed to be doing.   (On Ao3, Complete, Rated G)

Witchy Woman  - Written by @mizjoely Sometimes a witch just wants a night with a hot demon…what’s so wrong about that?   (On Ao3, Complete, Rated E)