#so i went out to buy like $20 worth of ice cream and now both my wallet and heart feel lighter than before!!!!!

[chrisbitchtree]

Money Can't Buy Me Love

For @harringrovelovefest Day 6!

Prompt: Can't Buy Me Love

T - 1k

***

Nothing made Robin madder than knowing she was right, yet no one listening to her, which was why she was so frustrated that Billy and Steve hadn’t gotten together yet, despite her superior matchmaking skills.

She’d been friends with Steve for a few years now, ever since they’d been paired together for training shifts as newly hired employees of Scoops Ahoy ice cream shop back in their hometown of Hawkins, Indiana. It had first been a friendship of circumstance, but then they’d realized how much they had in common, and their friendship had intensified until they were inseparable.

She’d only met Billy the previous spring semester when they’d started studying together for their shared Stats class, but she could tell right away that he and Steve were perfect for each other. Where Steve was sweet and soft, a total romantic, Billy was gruff and brash, full of snark. They bickered over anything and everything any time they were together, but they had the whole opposites attract thing going on. Plus, Robin saw how they looked at each other when Steve would join them for a study session, or they’d all meet up to go to dinner or a movie. You could cut the sexual tension with a knife any time they were in the same room.

Robin wasn’t sneaky about her intent to pair them up, constantly telling them that they try going out on a date sometime, or at least bone each other, even if just to see if they were compatible with each other. She even tried to rope her girlfriend, Heather, into trying to persuade them, but she said she was staying out of it.

But try as hard as she might, Billy and Steve kept refusing, saying that neither of them were looking for a relationship right now, and were perfectly happy as friends. That seemed to be true, both of them members of the same rec basketball team, they worked out together, partied together, constantly featuring on each other’s Instagram stories, and if Steve wasn’t texting Robin, he was texting Billy. She just couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t want to take it to the next level and become the sickeningly hot power couple that they were destined to be.

After months of begging, she’d gotten desperate just before Valentine’s Day. She approached Billy and Steve where they sat across from each other in the cafeteria, sharing a massive plate of fries. “Ok, idiots,” she said by way of greeting. “What’s it going to take to get the two of you to take a chance on each other and prove me right?”

They both paused shovelling fries in their mouth to look at each other before turning their attention to Robin. “$20,” Billy replied, dragging a fry through the big blob of ketchup on the side of the plate. “Each.”

“Ugh, fine,” Robin sighed, pulling out her wallet and extracting two twenty dollar bills. She wasn’t exactly in a financial position to be handing out cash, but it would be worth it when these two boneheads fell head over heels in love with each other.

She handed them each a bill. “You can thank me later, you dumbasses.”

***

Robin knew their date would go well, but she wasn’t quite prepared for just how well it would go. Three days later, on the morning of Valentine’s Day, she left her bedroom and went downstairs, entering her and Steve’s living room to find him on the couch, in Billy’s lap, making out super aggressively. Billy’s hands were down the back of Steve’s jeans, and Billy’s shirt was half off, Steve tweaking one of his nipples, and it appeared that they weren’t kissing so much as trying to swallow each other’s faces.

Robin cleared her throat and they both turned. She smirked at them, her hands on her hips. “So, it looks like I was right. You two are perfect for each other.”

Billy grinned at her. “We have to admit, we were both skeptical, but you were right. We’re made for each other. Look, we got matching tattoos.”

They both pushed up their shirt sleeve to show off what was indeed matching tattoos of a date. Upon further inspection, she noticed that the date was the date before. Holy shit, they were moving faster than she could have anticipated. “Ummmmm, what’s the significance of the date?”

“Our wedding day,” Steve replied. He held out his left hand for her to inspect the silver band encircling his ring finger. “We got married yesterday.”

Billy pulled Steve close and nuzzled his cheek. “We just felt like there was no point in waiting once we got together. It just felt so right to be with Steve, I wanted to lock him in fast. And we only have you to thank.”

“No, no, no, there’s no way. I take it back. You don’t need to be together. You’re too young to be married. There’s so much fun to have out there. You don’t need to settle down. Tell me this is some sick joke.”

Steve broke first, a grin spreading over his face. He started laughing, and it didn’t take long for Billy to join in. He licked a finger, swiping it down Steve’s tattoo, which thankfully started to smear.

“Oh, fuck you,” Robin shouted, walking out of the room to the kitchen. “Why the hell would you do that?”

Billy laughed. “Because it was funny. We’ve been together for weeks, Buckley. We just didn’t want to give you the satisfaction of being right. When you offered us money, it was too good to turn down.”

“Ugh, you guys suck. But I’m happy for you both. And pleased to hear that I’m right. Like I always am.”

[ryansbedroom]

My 2022 in a nutshell!

2022 has been a smorgasbord of ups & downs with the highest highs and lowest lows for all the right reasons.

January: I received a mini talking Oshawott plush that came all the way from the United States still in mint condition after 10 years! Then I built the LEGO 10290 Pickup Truck (which I could've done it months earlier so my grandfather would have an interesting reaction but it's too late now). I drove all the way to Milang so I could take a closer look at a coveted Lightburn Trailer! I even gave the seller some spares. Dad & I went saw The Addams Family 2 at Mainline Drive-In which closed its gates for the last time. I finally upgraded to a better phone; a Samsung Galaxy A25 which performs way better than my older one.

February: I got started on my Lightburn Trailer project by buying a vintage Campbell tail lamp still in mint condition with its original box! The Radio Rentals building on Main North Road in Prospect was demolished. Oreo released a special edition design themed to 'The Batman'. At Grill'd, I also tried their special 'Bruce Wayne Burger'. Bought LEGO's blue edition of the Fiat 500 just to take advantage of its differences.

March: At the Garden of Unearthly Delights which turned 20, me and a buddy named Vincent saw Unusualism starring Raymond Crowe. At Gluttony, dad & I saw Just Floyd which was a fantastic Pink Floyd cover band. I made my first Pikachu Waffle with the waffle iron I bought from Zing. Bought LEGO's 10298 Vespa 125 scooter and it only took a couple of hours to build! The house where my grandmother lived for more than 20 years in Greenock was put up for sale as she moved to a retirement estate in Nuriootpa. I had a wonderful time at WOMADelaid's 30th Year though I had to leave early at 9pm as I had work the next day. Dad & I saw Midnight Oil at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. This was (I think) the first time I saw a show there in 20 years!

April: Bought some goodies from the Comic & Toy Fair at the St Clair Rec Centre in Woodville.

May: I had lunch with Vincent at the Gilbert Valley Hotel in Saddleworth which had decor stuck in the 1970s! Coles at the Central Market closed its doors after operating for more than 50 years. Classic buses came for a visit at the St Kilda Tramway Museum and I had a few rides on bus 1540! The ANZ branch at Ridgehaven moved to Modbury after operating for many years.

June: Went to the Mega Toy Fair at Wayville and bought a few nostalgic things including LEGO's Highway Rig from 1986, a vintage Corgi ice cream van still in top condition and a bag of Dazzeland cups! Saw Top Gun: Maverick with my dad at Hoyts for the first time in LUX! The state's dine-in Pizza Hut in Marion closed its doors forever after more than 40 years. Dad & I went to the Gov in Bowden and saw Steve Hackett: Genesis Revisited (which was worth a two-year wait after they postponed touring due to COVID!) The TREG trailer factory ceased operations due to poor sales. But I've managed to grab a few maker plaques and have them coated.

July: Went to Brixpo at the St Clair Rec Centre which was bigger and better than before and bought that coveted FJ Holden Ute which was a 2014 Brickvention exclusive! Also had a wonderful night at Illuminate Adelaide. Had a bounce at the state's only Flip-Out in Smithfield which closed its doors after nearly five years. Saw Gorillaz and later; Synthony at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Both were absolutely awesome!

August: The ford on Mulkarra Street in Ridgehaven has been upgraded to a low-level bridge which should mean flooding will be very less likely during wet weather. The road & cycle safety centre in Ridgehaven underwent an upgrade including replacement of all the signs and new paths. Bought a few things at the Fisherman's Wharf Markets in Port Adelaide which (yet again!) closed its doors for the last time! Went to the Gawler Show for the first time in a few years. Then I saw KISS at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre with Vincent. I was so delighted to fill that space in my lifetime.

September: On my 32nd Birthday, I got the new LEGO Ferrari Daytona SP3 and the Chevrolet Camaro! I had a wonderful time at the Royal Adelaide Show and I was so glad it returned after a two-year absence due to COVID, only to be overshadowed by the death of Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 96! Several days earlier, I knew she wasn't going to last any longer. It was truly the end of a very ambitious era! Still, she was BORDERLINE LUCKY to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee. Went to the Scott Creek Cemetery where Harold Anderton Lightburn's grave is just a few days after the 20th Anniversary of his death.

October: For the first time in only six years, I've been in a wave pool at Mildura Waves! And I even managed to take footage with my GoPro! We were originally going to travel to Wodonga to visit Uncle Tony & Aunt Heather. But however, the most-unexpected happened as Victoria and other parts of eastern Australia suffered major flooding, forcing us to change plans and instead, we went all the way to Wallaroo and then Port Lincoln.

November: I've taken footage of Hamilton's 'Sizzler' ride being setup for the first time in my life! Purchased both Pokemon Scarlet/Violet from EB Games. My mother turned 70 and I gave her a tin of Lindt Lindor balls!

December: Finally bought my first Knight Rider merch; Playmobil's Light & Sound K.I.T.T. from ToyWorld. I tried to attend the Civic Park Carols but it was too wet! Saw Avatar: The Way Of Water in 3D on XtremeScreen! Got great xmas gifts including LEGO's Atari 2600 model, a Pikachu-style Grilled Sandwich Maker and... A POWERED BICYCLE! Now I can ride to and from work without wasting petrol!

Other notable achievements: The former 'FLAG' semi-trailer (seen in Knight Rider) was found lurking in Arizona after 36 Years by the Knight Rider Historians! So both semi and trailer will be worked on which will take a few years! After 25 Years, Ash Ketchum has become the GRAND CHAMPION! However, it's now officially the end of an ambitious era as Ash Ketchum's epic journey came to an epic conclusion! Though I may still vow to stick to Pokemon to the very end!

We will remember: Queen Elizabeth II, Jason David Frank (a.k.a. the original Green Ranger), Olivia Newton John, Robbie Coltrane, Shane Warne, Meat Loaf, Peter Robbins (original voice of Charlie Brown), Emilio Delgado a.k.a. Luis the handyman, Taylor Hawkins, Gilbert Gottfried (a.k.a. Iago the parrot), Ivana Trump, Anne Heche, Coolio, Loretta Lynn, Jody Miller, Dietrich Mateschitz (Red Bull founder), Terry Hall

And that's about it for me. I would like to wish everyone on DeviantArt a very Merry Christmas and not just a Happy but BETTER New Year 2023! Don't forget to leave your comments below, subscribe and I'll see you all in the year of the National Railway Museum's 60th Anniversary!

[deus-ex-mona]

ice cream ✨always✨ makes everything better!!!!

[janicho88]

Falling For You -Part 2

October

Pairing- Eventual Dean x Female!Reader,  Dean x Lisa(past),  Female!Reader x OMC Justin(past)

Word Count-4008

Warning- Mentions of cheating, little angst, some swearing, fluff. This is going to be a bit of a slow burn. Haunted woods.  Talk of trying to fake a pregnancy, manipulation, trying to steal from significant other/ falsify documents,  Lisa is awful, Justin isn’t much better, talk of being pressured into doing things you don’t want to.  I think that is it

A/N- I had an idea for a one shot, and giving a backstory to Dean and the Reader meeting took on a life of its own. This story is AU, and un beta’d.

Summary- After being burned before you had sworn off finding love for now. Coming home from work one night there is a strange man pounding on your door.  Neither of you knew what this meeting would lead to.

Series Masterlist

The next week kept you busy at work and not giving you much free time in the evening.  Coming or going you always kept an eye out for your new friend though, not seeing him again till the weekend.  Heading back to your apartment after your Saturday morning workout you ran into Dean coming out of his brother’s apartment. 

“Hi stranger, how is everything coming together for you?”

“Hey Y/N, it’s coming.  I found a job, starting a week from Monday.  Still looking for a place though, guess I’ll be crashing with Sam a little longer and putting my stuff in storage up here till I find something.  Work slow down for you yet?”

“Congrats on the new job!  No, not yet.  A family emergency came up, and our new person can’t start till next week.  At least there is a light at the end though.  I hate to run on you, but I’m supposed to be meeting Meg, and I really need a shower.  Talk to you later?”

“Sure, see ya around.”

With the wedding dress found it was time to find Bridesmaid dresses.  Hopefully this went a little better.  Her wedding colors were red, black and silver, you would be happier with a black dress, but Meg was thinking red.  The color of fire, this wedding was going to be hot she said. 

Thankfully you and the 2 bridesmaids Ruby and Sarah were on the same page about finding one and getting done.  None of you wanted to try on tons of dresses. Meg actually approving of the third one you found.  They were free to leave after that, you got to go help her set up a gift registry.  Your fingers were crossed these next six months until the April wedding went fairly quick. Done for the day, she suggested meeting up with Cas and his best man so you could finally meet him.

The guys were meeting you at a local pizza shop so you could grab dinner and talk.  Walking in with Meg you quickly saw Cas, and getting closer to the table, recognized the spiky sandy brown haired man across from him.  Sliding in next to Dean you mentioned how he never said anything about being the best man, when you said you were the maid of honor. 

“Sorry, I think my head was still on other topics then.” He answered you with a small smile

“Wait, you two already know each other?”  Cas questioned looking between you both.

“Yeah, I live across the hall from his brother, remember Cas?”

“I do now.”

“No one ever told me that you and Sam knew each other from Kansas though.”

“I guess we didn’t think about it.”

It was an enjoyable evening out with your friends.  You found out more about Dean’s new job, he found a small auto shop hiring a head mechanic.  The owner, Bobby, had done most of the work himself but was looking to cut back and possibly retire in a few years.  If Dean was still around then and interested he might sell the shop to him.  There was a part time mechanic working there also, Benny.  Dean seemed to think they would get along well.

Dean gave you a ride back so Meg could take Cas with her since they lived in the opposite direction as you two.  “I don’t think I told you last week, but I really like your car.”

“Thanks, Baby is my one true girl.”

“Baby?”

Patting the top of the dash Dean glanced over and smiled at you, “That’s her name.”

You just smiled back, “It’s very nice Dean, I hope the two of you will be very happy together. 

Closer to home Dean told you he was renting a car and leaving for Kansas tomorrow.  He would turn the car in there and drive a Uhaul back with Sam the following weekend.  Apparently his brother wasn’t the best driver and he didn’t trust him to drive that far with his car or the uhaul filled with his belongings.  Sam was flying home later in the week to meet up with him.  Giving him a quick hug outside your apartment door you wished him safe travels and good luck, telling him you would see him when he got back. 

Quickly entering your apartment and shutting the door, you were trying to figure out why you hugged him, and why you suddenly were overthinking it.  You were friends, friends hugged right?  No reason to give it a second thought.

Friday night there was a knock on your door, but you weren’t expecting anyone.  Opening it you were surprised to find Jess on the other side with a pizza box and a bottle of wine.

“Hey, I thought I’d see if you were up for some company.  Sam and Dean started the drive back this afternoon, so it’s just me over there.”

“Sure!  Come on in.”  The two of you spent the evening watching bad romance moves and talking about the brothers.  Jess had known Sam since they were in undergrad at Stanford, and had a few stories to tell you about both of them.  It was nice to learn a little more about Dean.  

When Jess had more wine in her she opened up about Dean’s breakup.  “I met the cheating bitch a few times and never cared for her.  She thought she was better than everyone, always pushing Dean to buy her things, jewelry and fancy clothes.  Apparently she started asking Dean some questions that he thought were weird but told himself she must have been taking an interest in things he liked for once.”

She paused to take a drink of wine. “When Dean was packing up after he kicked her out he discovered some stuff in his safe had been moved around, insurance papers, information on stocks he owns, and even his will was in a new place.  I guess he didn’t think much of it; he was too caught up in the cheating mess, till a lawyer's office called the house like a week later and left a message saying they needed to come in and sign the last paper.  Lisa had either made a copy of his signature or forged it and was trying to put things in her name and change his will for her to inherit even if they weren’t married.  He called Sam because he needed legal help to straighten the mess up and make sure she got nothing.  

Sam went down one weekend and helped him clean it up.  They were looking up something on Dean’s laptop and one of them typed in a wrong word or start of one and some crazy past searches came up.  They looked for more and found searches relating to Dean and what he owns, what his business was worth.  There was even a search on how to fake a pregnancy test.  Sam thinks she was going to try and trick Dean into marrying her if she couldn’t change the papers on her own.  She was stupid enough to use Dean’s computer.  His parents don’t know, he doesn’t want them too.”      

“The first night I met Dean I called him by his last name and he asked something about how I knew and if I looked him up.  I get why now.”

“Dean’s a lot more guarded now.”  She gave you a lot of information to take in, no wonder he wasn’t looking to date again.

The next afternoon a commotion in the hall drew your attention.  Opening the door you found Sam and Dean struggling with some boxes they were both carrying across the hall.  You asked if they needed help, but neither heard you over Sam complaining about Dean not knowing how to pack a box.  Dean was in turn instructing Sam to be careful with the valuables. Seeing you just before he turned inside Dean gave you a wink and said he would talk to you later.

A few hours later a knock at the door had you hoping for a green eyed man on the other side.  Opening it you had gotten your wish.  “Hey, I was heading out to grab some dinner.  Give Sam and Jess some time together, thought I’d see if you wanted to join me?”  

“I actually have lasagna in the oven, it should be done in 20.  Would you like to join me here?” 

Dean’s eyes lit up at the thought of a homemade meal and he readily accepted.  Entering your apartment he removed his coat and asked if he could help with anything.  Handing him the drink he asked for, you told him everything was all set.  Salad was made and the pasta and bread were in the oven.  You washed some dishes while waiting and Dean grabbed a towel to help dry.  The two of you working together easily and talking about Dean’s trip back to Kansas.  When dinner was ready you dished it up setting Dean’s infront of him.  You noticed he wasn’t a big fan of the salad though.

“This is great, my mom isn’t much of a cook so it’s simple meals or take out at their house.  Sam and Jess cook, but it’s not real food.  He gets these plant or veggie burgers, kale and some green shakes.  I need real meat and carbs.”

“Well, you are welcome to stop over here when it gets to be too much. I’m sure I could find something that would save you.”

“Thanks sweetheart, I may take you up on that.”

When you were both finished and everything was cleaned you invited Dean to stay and watch a movie.  It was to give Sam and Jess more time alone you told yourself.  Dean was just a friend, you were hanging out with. 

A short time later your oven timer went off again and you disappeared to pull out the desert you had made.  Grabbing some ice cream from the freezer and cutting into the hot treat you once again plated it up and took some to Dean warning him it was still hot.  You didn’t think Dean’s eyes could go any bigger than they did when you handed him the fresh baked apple pie.  Taking a giant bite his eyes almost rolled back in his head.

“This is incredible, one of the best I’ve ever had.  Trust me I’ve had a lot of pie.”

“I’m sure it’s not really that special, but thanks anyways.”  

“No, I’m serious. Love me some apple.”

“Fall is a good time for apples here.  I would love to go to the orchard some time and pick my own, or even just hang out there one day.  I’ve gone a few times as a kid, but I haven’t been in years.”

“You just want to go hang out with apple trees?”

“Not exactly, there is a lot to do this time of year. Apple picking, pumpkin patches, corn maze, hayrides and a store where they sell baked goods,  fresh produce and other things.  I just think it would be fun sometime.  Maybe next year, I’ll find someone to go with me.”

“Tell you what, you pick a weekend next year and I’ll go with you.  Speaking of weekends, do you have anything going on next Saturday?”

“Um, a baby shower for a friend in the early afternoon. Then catching up on some work around here, why?”

“One of Jess’ friends is having a big Halloween party, she invited me in hopes of getting Sam to lighten up about it.  He’s not a fan of Halloween.  Anyway she said I could bring a friend if you want to go.  It’s a costume party in some old barn.”

You thought about it for a minute.  Was he asking you out, neither of you were supposed to be looking to date right now. He did say bring a friend though.  “I think I can manage that, I’ll have to see if I have a costume.”

“Great! I think she said it starts at 8, there’s supposed to be some haunted woods too.  Not a corn maze, but it can still be fun.  I’ll let you know what time she wants to leave, you don’t care if we ride together right?”

“Nope, not at all.”  At least if you were with his brother and Jess it wasn’t a date.  Why were you so worried anyway?  Dean left a short time later and you cleaned up and got ready for bed. 

The new girl you were training, Anna was finally starting to catch on in her second week.  This meant you were able to get more of your work done, and not have to stay too late.  You needed to find a costume and a baby gift sometime before Saturday. Running into Jess in the hall one night, you asked if you needed to bring anything Saturday. There wasn’t anything, and she was  just happy that you were joining them. 

Since you had just over a week until Halloween many of the costumes were already picked over, you weren’t looking to meet up with anyone so you were also trying to avoid anything too revealing.  Plus it was outside in the evening, and temps were falling so you didn’t want to freeze either.  Finally finding something you deemed would work at the third store you tried.

Saturday came faster than you had hoped.  The shower went well, Kelly was so excited to meet her little boy in a few short months.  You couldn’t wait to spoil him!  Doing a quick grocery store run, you headed home to try and clean a little before you had to get ready.  When 7:30 rolled around you were ready for the knock on your door. 

Opening the door you bit back a laugh at the sight before you, “Howdy Sheriff.”

Dean shook his head sending you a fake smile, “This was one of the few adult costumes left.”

“That’s what you get for waiting till yesterday to get your outfit Dean,”  Sam rolled his eyes, also trying not to laugh at his brother’s attire. He and Jess were dressed as Sandy and Danny from Greece.  

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I had this awesome Batman costume, but it’s in one of the boxes in storage and couldn't find it.  Oh well, cowboys are awesome too.”

“Yeah, but Dean you're a toy cowboy,”  Sam wasn’t able to hide the smile that time.

He sent Sam a glare before turning back to you, “I’m still a cowboy and a sheriff, I can still protect the princess here.  All ready?”

“Yep, I’m good to go.”

You rode in the back with Jess, Dean pouting up front because Sam decided to take his own car instead of riding in Dean’s.  Jess was telling you Sam didn’t want to dress up at all, but she was able to talk him into Danny since it was his own clothes except for the leather jacket and just some hair dye and gel. 

Arriving at Jess’ friends you and Dean followed behind as they led the way to the barn.  They had definitely put a lot of work into the decorations.  There were pumpkins and jack-o’-lanterns everywhere.  Some real, some plastic and other scary Halloween creatures along with orange lights strung all around. 

 There was a dance floor with the DJ already playing and round tables and chairs set up around the floor and a buffet in the back.  

You had never been to a Halloween party this big before.  Jess introduced you and Dean to some of her friends who Sam already knew.  Dean grabbed the two of you drinks and you sat down at a table taking everything in.  This was a little more than you were expecting.  

Sam found you a short time later, Jess was ready to go through the haunted woods they had set up and wanted to know if you two wanted to join.

“I’m game.  How about you, Y/N? Sheriff Dean will protect you.”

“Who can turn that down?”  Scary things weren’t your favorite, but you had a feeling if you said no Dean wouldn’t have gone either and you didn’t want him to miss out.  Justin had hated how some things would scare you, and you wouldn’t want to do something.  According to him you would ruin his fun, you weren’t going to do that to Dean. If you were with the three of them it shouldn’t be too bad.  

Wrong, wrong, oh so wrong!  You were going to have nightmares for a month after that. Most of the actors scaring you had come from the front or side, so you had ended up in the back hiding behind Dean to avoid everyone.  Jess had turned around to say something to you when you noticed her eyes getting bigger.  Quickly turning around you were certain they could have heard your scream in Ohio.  There was a creepy looking person behind you wearing a mask with a white face, green teeth and red eyes holding a giant knife above your head.  You never heard him come up or had any idea he was following you. 

Hearing you scream Dean turned and pulled you close to his chest and then turned the two of you back around so you were no longer facing that character.  He kept you close until you were out of the woods.  When you went back to the barn he took you over to your seat before grabbing you some water.  Kneeling down in front of you, his green eyes carefully looking you over.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m great.”

“You want to try that again?  Especially since you are still shaking?

“I’m really sorry.  I’m not the biggest fan of scary things.  That really caught me off guard.”  

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t want to ruin it for anyone else.  I’ll be fine, really.”  

“Sweetheart, we need to work on your communication skills.  First that bar, now this.  If something is going to affect you like this, you gotta say something.”

“I’m okay, really.  Sorry to ruin it.”

“You didn’t ruin anything.  Sit here a minute I’ll be back.”  Dean walked off coming back a few minutes later with some food for both of you.  

Sitting next to Dean you stared at the plate he put in front of you before talking. 

 “Justin took me to Cedar Point one day with some friends of his, all other couples.  I’m terrified of heights and dropping too, he knew this beforehand.  I’m more of a spin me girl, as long as it’s not too far off the ground.  They were all excited about going on the biggest coaster there, I told them I would watch everyone’s stuff while they went.  This one takes your picture on the way down, one of the girls said if I wasn’t there some stranger would be in the picture with all of them.  Justin took me aside and said when I don’t participate in these things it makes him look bad and ruins his good time.  I should be a better girlfriend and do what he wants.”

“I would really like to introduce your ex to my fist.  If something is bothering you, I really want you to speak up, no matter what, okay.”

“Okay, thanks Dean.”

  When Sam and Jess caught back up to you, she pulled you out to the dance floor with her since her fiancé wasn’t interested.  The guys watched as the two of you enjoyed yourselves.

Arriving back at your apartment that night, Dean followed you in to make sure you were going to be alright.  You assured him you would be fine.  What you didn’t tell him was you were going to be sleeping with the lights on tonight.  He did a quick check of your apartment before going back across the hall.  

Halloween was the following Friday, Meg invited you over to her and Cas’ place to hang out while they handed out candy to the trick or treaters.  Cas had also invited Dean, Sam and Jess.  He must have told Dean you were coming because Dean offered to drive you over with them.

The phone in your pocket started going off snapping you out of your daydreams, “Hello.”

“Hey Y/N, are you still home?”

“Yeah, why what’s up Dean?”

“I’ve been knocking on your door for a few minutes now, everything okay?”

“Yeah,”  looking down you saw the time on your watch.  “I’m sorry I lost track of time. I was sitting on the patio and didn’t hear you.”  Rushing inside you locked the door behind you before quickly letting Dean in.  

“Sorry, let me grab these and I’m good to go.” Grabbing your Halloween sweatshirt and the two containers sitting on your counter you were headed back to the door.

“What’s in there?”

“Oh I got bored last night and made some Halloween sugar cookies and pumpkin cake bars with apple cider glaze for today.”

Dean just looked at you as you rode the elevator down to meet Sam and Jess, “What is that look for?”

“Well, are you going to give me one?”  You were a little lost and just stared back.  “Oh sorry, forgot the magic words, trick or treat.  May I have my treat now?” He asked, pointing to the containers.

“Oh sorry, sure, the bars are a little crumbly, but you can have a cookie now. 

He took a big bite of the orange pumpkin shaped cookie.  “It’s not your apple pie, but it’s very good, sweetheart.” 

The guys disappeared into the basement when you arrived, apparently there was some horror movie marathon on, you were just fine avoiding that.  You three ladies hung out in the living room so you would hear kids coming to the door, and watched the Halloweentown movies on TV.  Meg and Jess compared wedding notes and talked about their different frustrations.  Jess and Sam were getting married in July.

You were happy for your friends, but if you were being honest, also a little jealous.  They had found great guys, been with them for years, now they were getting ready to walk down the aisle to them.  You had thought by the time you were 27 you would be settling down too.  Instead you were swearing off dating right now.  Your Mr Right seems to have taken some wrong turns somewhere and wouldn’t ask for directions.  Apparently you zoned out from the conversation because both girls were looking at you.  “Sorry, what’s up?”

“I was saying I’m not sure I would be cut out for the matron of honor duties when you get married.  We all know I don’t have the patience.  You could have Jess, and we know Sam would be the best man, it would work out great.”

Yep, you definitely missed something. “Wait, when and who am I marrying, and why is Sam already the best man?”

“Really Y/N?”  Meg giving you her best bitch face, “when you and Dean get married.”

“You guys make such a great couple!  I’m so glad he found you!  Lisa was just awful to him from the start, and to cheat on him like that.”  

Lisa must be the reason he left Kansas, no one mentioned her name before.  “Guys we’re just friends, we aren’t a couple or even dating.  Neither one of us want to get back out there right now.”

“Y/N, you can’t let Justin ruin your chance at happiness, it’s been over four months now.  At some point you need to get back out there.  Deano is one of the good ones, you are going to regret it if you let him go.”

“Meg, Dean doesn’t want to date anyone either.  We really are just friends, just hanging out.”

When you walked away to hand out candy, Meg turned to Jess, “any idea how long those two are going to stay in denial about how they feel?”  Jess just shook her head as they both stared after you.

Part 3

Thank you for reading!

Tags- @talesmaniac89 @katehuntington @winchest09 @flamencodiva @whatareyousearchingfordean @waywardbeanie @deanwanddamons @smol-and-grumpy @emoryhemsworth @anathewierdo @malfoysqueen14 @superfanficnatural @jensengirl83 @atc74 @sandlee44 @akshi8278  @fantasydevil2002

Falling For You tags- @halesandy @abuavnee @hearteyes-j2 @vicmc624​ @440mxs-wife​ @wonder-cole​

[nicklangfordmuse]

‘i wanted to make you proud.’

They've been sitting at the waiting room for over an hour now and they're supposed to pick up Shawn in 20 minutes. This definitely ruined their schedule but it was out of their control that the doctor had to perform an emergency C-section before the check up. Not to mention the fact that they have two more patients ahead of them before it was their turn. Shawn is gonna be so annoyed but right now, Nick was acting more like a pregnant lady than his own wife.

"Will you calm down? Stop bouncing your leg, Nick. I don't wanna push this child four months early." Katrina warned him, seeing how frustrated he was getting. "Babe, we should have been finished 10 minutes ago. During your last check up, our sweet child refuses to show their gender so I'm really itching to know now." Nick reminded Katrina and she just shook her, flipping through the magazine.

Checking his watch, he knew they wouldn't make it on time so he needed to make calls already. Pulling out his phone, Nick tried ringing Daria but she must be busy since she wasn't answering. Going for Tyler next, he was relieved that he answered. "Hey, man. Yeah, we're still in line. I don't think we'll make it in time for Shawn. Can you pick him up, please?" Nick let out a breath and shook his head, wrapping his arm around his wife and kissing her shoulder to calm him down. "Yeah, yeah. Just...bring him to an ice cream store or...or the toy store. Get him anything...reasonable. I'll pay for it later. Oh, there's a light saber on sale. Go check that out." Nick gave him permission, hoping that would keep a pout off his face. "I'll let you know when we're finished here. We'll just meet you at home. Thanks." Nick said before hanging up.

"Can he pick Shawn up?" Katrina asked and Nick nodded, assuring his wife that their son is in good hands. "Sorry. I just hate it when our schedule gets mixed up." Nick told her, kissing her cheek which made Katrina giggle. "You don't have to fake it, babe. I know you just wanna find out already if it's a boy or a girl." Katrina teased and Nick chuckled, shaking his head. "Okay, okay. Yes, I am excited. We've been holding off buying stuff for the baby since last month. I wanna shop for baby girl dresses and head ribbons." Nick said, the excitement evident on his face. "Or...baby boy pants and blue bonnets. Remember what we talked about, whether it's a boy or a girl..." Katrina reminded which Nick clearly remembered as he finished her sentence. "We'll love the baby till our hearts melt. I know. Overall, I'm just excited for the baby." Nick assured her which earned a kiss from Katrina. They sat back and waited for their turn which felt like forever.

Shawn was surprised to see that Tyler was picking him up from school but that only meant that his parents were probably busy. They said during breakfast that they'll go to the doctor but he thought they would've been done by now. "Where's mama?" Shawn asked Tyler. "Your mama and daddy are still at the doctor's office. But they'll be home in a while. And since they're not yet here, your dad gave me permission to bring you to the ice cream store and the toy store. What do you say?" Tyler asked, trying to hype up the little kid. Instead, he just nodded and held his uncle's hand.

The trip to the ice cream store was mostly Tyler talking but things changed when they got to the toy store. "You can get any toy you want but you can only get one. And...I still have to check the toy if we can buy it." Tyler said and Shawn already had an idea in mind, remembering what happened in school today. "Go on. I'll follow you." Tyler said and Shawn nodded, trying to find the section of the toy he has in mind. Tyler followed, curious what he wanted to get. After a few minutes, he has a box in hand and showed it to Tyler.

"You...you want this? Are you sure?" Tyler asked in confusion and Shawn nodded with a grin. "You sure you don't want anything? There's a light saber on sale over there." He tried to suggest but Shawn shook his head. "No. I want this. And I want to go home already because I have to show this to Milo." Shawn said, certain of his choice. "Uhm...okay. Sure. No judgements here. Come on." Tyler said, chuckling awkwardly as he brought Shawn and the toy to the counter so they could pay for it and go home.

It took them forever but finally, they're done with the doctor's appointment. Pulling his phone out, Nick saw a text from Tyler. "We're home. And...we bought him a toy but it's not the light saber." Nick was curious so he figured he'd let Tyler know they're done. "Alright. On our way home. Staying for dinner?" He had to ask. "No, thank you. Rachel made dinner anyway. I'll just wait for your guys to get here."

Driving home, Nick was happy about their appointment but he was curious what you Shawn bought from the store. Once they got home, Tyler was alone on the couch, watching TV. "Hey, where's Shawn?" Katrina asked as Tyler got up to greet them. "He's upstairs playing. I wanted to play with him but it seems like he wanted to play by himself." Tyler said. Nick joined on the conversation, curious what was going on. "What did you get him? I'm gonna choke you if you got him a life-size dinosaur. You know that gives him nightmares." Nick warned and Tyler chuckled, shaking his head. He knew they weren't gonna guess what the little boy bought. "He asked for a doll. Well, a baby doll. He's playing with it upstairs." Tyler informed them and the parents got curious. "Okay, well, I just need my cash then I'll be heading home." Tyler added, opening his palm to Nick. Taking out a few bucks, Nick gave him the money as Katrina went upstairs to check on their little boy and the baby doll he bought.

Nick followed soon after he said goodbye to Tyler and when he got upstairs, he saw Katrina watching from the door cracked open. She was listening to their little boy play so Nick tried to listen to.

"You will poop here and pee here but when you're a bit older like me, you will go to the potty on your own. Mama said I was two years old when I stopped using my diapers." Shawn shared as he tried clipping a cloth around the doll's waist. "There. See? I can put the diaper. I will show this mama and daddy later." He added before noticing his parents by the door. Immediately, his face turned red at the sight of his parents. Finally, the two of them went inside.

"What are you doing, baby?" Katrina asked, chuckling a little as she went closer. "You got that? Tyler said you chose that over the light saber." Nick added and the little boy nodded his shy head. "Can I ask why?" Katrina asked, curious what the little boy was up to.

"Jenna has a baby brother and she said she knows how to change her baby brother's diaper. Because she practices on her dolls." Shawn shared. "She said her mama is proud of her for doing that so I wanna practice too so you can be proud of me. And baby will be proud of me too. I wanted to make you proud." Shawn added with a grin and both Nick and Katrina's heart just melted. They really have the sweetest baby and that's something they're extremely proud of. "We're always proud of you, bub. No matter what." Nick assured their son, kissing her head. "And you know how you kiss my tummy every night before bed? I can feel the baby move after. Your baby sister is always proud of you." Katrina assured him too, revealing the gender of the baby they're about to have. Smiling, Shawn hugged both of his parents, glad that his little efforts for his parents and his baby sister too, were so worth it.

[lyricfulloflight]

50 Questions!!!

That’s a lot of questions folks!

I was tagged by @hellfre (thank you my dear!)

1. What is the colour of your hairbrush?

Pink.  I am not a pick girl, but its a good hairbrush, so who cares what colour it is, right?

2. Name a food you never eat:

Olives.

3. Are you typically to warm or too cold?

Generally too warm.

4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago?

Writing chapter 10 of ‘An Omega’s Worth’ and listening to Hans Zimmer scores :)

5. What’s your favourite candy bar?

Wunderbar

6. Have you ever been to a professional sports game?

Yes. Baseball, Canadian football and tennis.

7. What was the last thing you said out loud?

"Is everything quiet?” To my husband (asking if our kids were sleeping)

8. What is your favourite ice cream?

Mint chocolate chip

9. What was the last thing you had to drink?

Apple juice

10. Do you like your wallet?

Yes!  It has owls all over it.  Super cute.

11. What was the last thing you ate?

Cookies

12. Did you buy any new clothes last weekend?

Has anyone???  I haven’t been clothes shopping in a while.

13. What’s the last sporting event you watched?

I’ve been watching tons of Olympic clips on youtube lately.  I think the last one I watched was synchronized diving from the 2012 London games.

14. What is your favourite flavour of popcorn?

Kettle corn (if that’s not a thing where you are its salty and sweet and amazing).

15. Who is the last person you sent a text message to?

My husband.

16. Ever go camping?

Yup.  Went last summer with my family.  Kids are finally old enough to go.

17. Do you take vitamins?

Not right now.  I have in the past.

18. Do you go to church every Sunday?

No.  I’m an atheist.

19. Do you have a tan?

I’m getting a bit of one from walking home from work.  But really.  Too early in the year for that here.

20. Do you prefer Chinese food or pizza?

Pizza.  But to be fair you cannot get good Chinese food where I live - if I had the option of good Chinese food, I might feel differently.

21. Do you drink your soda through a straw?

Sometimes.  I don’t drink much soda at all.

22. What colour socks do you usually wear?

Whatever colour.  I’m not picky.

23. Do you ever drive above the speed limit?

Sure. 5-10km above the speed limit is acceptable on major roads.  I’m not a frequent speeder, but I have done it.

24. What terrifies you?

Death.  Scorpions.

25. Look to your left. What do you see?

My dining room table and all the clutter on top of it

26. What chore do you hate most?

Vacuuming.

27. What do you think of when you hear an Australian accent?

I think about how everything is Australia is trying to kill you... or how hot it is there (and why I would never go there on vacation for that reason)

28. What’s your favourite soda?

Cherry Dr. Pepper

29. Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive-thru?

Drive throughs - now and generally.  We bring it home and eat as a family with the kids.

30. What’s your favourite number?

3

31. Who’s the last person you talked to?

My husband

32. Favourite cut of beef?

No idea.  I like steak, but I’m not picky about the cut as long as it cooked well.

33. Last song you listened to?

Listening to Hans Zimmer right now - Pearl Harbour score

34. Last book you read?

The Magpie Lord - read it today and really enjoyed it!

35. Favourite day of the week?

Saturday!

36. Can you say the alphabet backwards?

Maybe?  I’m not trying cause its late and I’m too tired for that shit.

37. How do you like your coffee?

Far far away from me.  I hate coffee.

38. Favourite pair of shoes?

My black and red plaid Toms.

39. Time you normally get up?

6am ish... wish it was later, but my kids are early birds.

40. Sunrises or sunsets?

Sunsets

41. How many blankets are on your bed?

I have none - I only use the sheet right now.  But my husband uses a comforter.  We always have separate blankets cause I sleep really hot and he sleeps cold.

42. Describe your kitchen plates.

We have plain white corning ware ones that I like the best and fancy ones that are black and kind of turquoise that are square and we both regret buying, lol.

43. Describe your kitchen at the moment.

It’s cluttered with stuff all over the counters.  It looks like the kitchen of a home where 5 people live...

44. Do you have a favourite alcoholic drink?

I like Moscato - its a really sweet, fruity white wine.  Or Mike’s Black Cherry Hard Lemonade.  Or anything fruity and girly, like margaritas.

45. Do you play cards?

I do.  Not as often now as I used to.  I played crib with my mom a couple weeks ago.

46. What colour is your car?

It’s a weird grey/brown colour.

47. Do you know how to change a tire?

Sadly, no.

48. Your favourite state?

Liquid.

We have no states, so I’ll say my favourite province - which is Ontario, where I was born.

49. Favourite job you’ve had?

The one I have now.

50. How did you get your biggest scar?

It’s not quite a scar per se, but it is a big marking.  I have three black lines on my right knee.  I got them when I fell down a dirt hill at sports camp when I was 11.  It was a deep cut and some of the dirt got stuck in there and then it healed over.  So I have this dirt just stuck inside my knee.  It has never cause me any problems, its just there.

Edit: I just realized my biggest is my c-section scar... but I never think about it, so I forgot...I swear I’m a good mom!  Promise!

I’m tagging: @akasanata, @gerec, @elimaryholmes

[angryhausfrau-writes]

You Can‘t Cross the Same River Twice - Chapter 20

“Boy, there's enough red, white, and blue around here to make even old Ferret Face happy.” Trapper's looking around the park with an expression somewhere between awe and contempt. “Don't remember it being quite so...” He gestures vaguely at the flag bunting and the kids waving sparklers and tiny flags.

“What, it wasn't like this last Fourth of July?” Hawkeye finds it hard to believe that America would have been less patriotic during the death throws of the Korean war.

“I didn't go anywhere near any of this shit last year – got stuck with a twenty-four hour shift in the ER.” Trapper sighs. “Between the noise from the fireworks and all the kids coming in with powder burns, I coulda been back at the front.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.”

The clinic has seen its fair share of kids with burnt fingers – though fortunately nothing worse. And Hawkeye hasn't had the most restful week of his life, either. The constant barrage of fireworks brings back memories of artillery shells and he keeps dreaming about Korea. Just hazy impressions of blood and khaki, but unsettling enough to make him toss and turn half the night.

Trapper nudges Hawkeye out of those thoughts with a brief press of his shoulder. “Course, you were actually over there last year, so I tried not to wallow in self pity too much. I'm sure the coffee you were drinking was way worse than the shit in the ER staff room.”

Hawkeye laughs despite himself. Feels himself relax, despite the crowds, despite the dozens of screaming children – shrieks of laughter so, so close to shrieks of terror and agony. Despite what day it is.

He isn't in Korea. No one is going to die today.

Trapper knocks gently into Hawkeye's shoulder again, clearly reading his change in mood. “It gets to be too much and you wanna go home, just lemme know. Ok?”

Hawkeye smiles, small but genuine. “Thanks, Trapper. But I'm ok, really. And Cathy would never let me live it down if I missed her softball game – I'd lose my standing as favorite uncle.”

“That's true enough, Cathy's absolutely ruthless when crossed.” Trapper grins. “She pretty much single handedly whupped St. John's Episcopal in the interfaith league cuz they wouldn't let a girl play softball.”

“She an adorable little terror. You must be so proud.” And now Hawkeye's grinning too.

By this point, they've managed to fight their way through the crowd to the metal bleachers of the baseball diamond. It's crowded here too – apparently the Fourth of July little league games are a longstanding tradition – but it's a more orderly chaos. The hordes of children are being at least somewhat corralled by their impatient parents.

Except for Becky - who comes barreling out of the ballpark and right into Trapper, managing to knock him backwards a few steps with the force of her momentum. While Trapper's still getting his wind back, she flings herself at Hawkeye in an exuberant hug. He hugs her back, a little bemused – she's not normally so affectionate.

“Thank Christ you're here!” she exclaims when she finally lets go of Hawkeye.

“Don't cuss, Becky,” Trapper admonishes her. Though he's pulled her into another, less violent hug – and it's not like he has much room to complain about bad language.

“Sorry, dad,” Becky says, not looking very sorry. “But we've been here for hours! And all mom and Rob want to do is gossip about boring stuff like who's having babies or what some lady wore to church. At least you two talk about interesting things.”

“Speaking of your ma, she know you're running around loose?”

Becky looks guiltily at the ground and Trapper sighs.

“You better lead us to 'em before Louise sends out a search party. Don't want her to think you've run off to join the circus – though your human cannon ball act is pretty good, just about bowled me over.”

“Sorry dad, Uncle Hawkeye.” This time Becky does look contrite. But she brightens up when Hawkeye and Trapper each hold out a hand for her to take. And then she's tearing off towards wherever Louise and Robert are sitting – the two of them trailing in her wake.

They come up on Louise and Robert a little ways away – though the crowds are thick enough, it takes longer than it should to reach them. Leaving plenty of time for Trapper to watch them as he approaches.

It's still kinda strange for Trapper to see Louise out on the town – especially with a guy who ain't him. But they're friendly enough with one another, if mostly focused on the girls whenever they talk. And Robert ain't a bad guy, even if Trapper finds him unbearably boring. He cares about the girls a whole hell of a lot, and that's worth sitting through him talking about bird watching or the stock market or whatever the hell it is he's talking about now. Proper barbecue technique, by the sound of it.

No wonder Becky ran off.

Even Louise looks glad to see them, her smile a little fixed as she goes to kiss first his cheek and then Hawkeye's. And she's very quick to pull Hawkeye into a conversation about her latest knitting project – apparently Cathy's interest had sparked her own and they all trade knitting patterns now. Trapper smiles as he listens to Becky describe the plot of her latest Nancy Drew novel.

It's funny that it took divorcing his wife for them to find some kinda equilibrium with each other.

And Trapper ain't glad it happened, by any means. Mostly cuz Louise deserved better from him than being a distant shadow of the man she married – and a cheater who'd bedded anyone who'd have him over in Korea. A man in love with his best friend, even if it took him a while to realize.

But he don't mourn the man he used to be. Or see much point in regretting his mistakes. What's done is done – all that matters is the here and now. And this here and this now – a clear summer day, his one daughter sitting next to him and the other waving frantically from the dugout, Hawkeye happy and laughing and here with him – is pretty damn good.

--

Cathy wins her softball game and they all go out for ice cream after. They still woulda gone if she hadn't'a won, of course, but there's a special air of celebration about it on account of the victory.

After they all mob the ice cream cart – along with about a hundred other families - they cram onto a couple of park benches. The girls are talking all in and around and over each other in their excitement. And Louise is attempting to get them to take turns talking – a lost cause in Trapper's opinion. Even Robert is smiling and cracking some pretty terrible jokes. They're loud enough, some of the people walking past are giving them the evil eye.

But Hawkeye is just sitting there. Silent. With ice cream dripping down his arm.

Covered by the loud chatter of the rest of the family, Trapper leans in and says quietly, “You ok, Hawkeye? You wanna cut this short and head home?”

“Nah, I'm fine. Just thinking.” And then Hawkeye laughs quietly. “You know something funny, Trapper? That first week back home I went out and bought knitting supplies and a gossip magazine and an ice cream cone – strawberry, like I'm eating now.”

Hawkeye pauses to lick ice cream off his wrist and Trapper has to look away.

“It felt like – like this forbidden thing, you know? To go out and buy ice cream. Ice cream! It's not like I was breaking the law or anything – I wasn't even buying booze or a nudie mag or anything questionable – but it felt like I was going to get arrested by the cops for being out without a pass, you know? For daring to buy an ice cream cone without orders.”

Trapper nods.

For all that the army was s'posed to bring freedom to Korea, it was pretty damn thin on the ground – for soldiers and civilians. It had taken him a while to get used to the lack of military restrictions when he got back home, too. A while to get used to feeling like a real person again, able to make decisions for himself, able to set his own schedule.

“I had to remind myself that I was a grown adult,” Hawkeye continues, “capable of running errands on my own – going where I wanted when I wanted, without written permission or a curfew.”

Trapper nods again. “It's funny what a guy can get used to, I guess. What starts to feel normal.” He grins wryly. “Not that you've ever given two shits about being normal.”

Hawkeye laughs. “True enough.” And then he bites into his ice cream cone.

--

They get invited over to Louise and Robert's house in the suburbs for a Fourth of July barbecue. And the girls are so excited to show their dad and Uncle Hawkeye their rooms and toys and neighborhood haunts that they can't really refuse. So Hawkeye finds himself standing on Robert's meticulously manicured lawn, chatting with a slew of pastel-clad, pearl-wearing housewives while their husbands congregate around the grill to talk about cars and vacations to the Grand Canyon and other boring things. Trapper, meanwhile, has practically disappeared in a pile of roughhousing kids – occasionally breaking free, only to be pulled back under by the teaming mass. And Louise flutters at the edge of Hawkeye's little entourage – pouring drinks and setting out side dishes.

Hawkeye had offered to help – he and Trapper both had – but she'd said they were guests and ought to take it easy. Hawkeye doesn't know that he feels easy, exactly, in this world of matching bungalows and matching skirt sets but he does his best to relax.

It had helped when the women had gathered around him and started gossiping. All he'd had to do was listen and ask leading questions and he could be almost totally silent without looking bored or inattentive – a trick he'd learned on the boat home, back when he didn't really talk all that much. Back when he felt like he didn't have anything to say that was really him talking.

He doesn't feel that way anymore, but it's still a relief when they all sit down to eat and he can rejoin Trapper. Talk about something other than church functions, PTA meetings, and children's play dates. Even if they're sitting at the kiddie table and his time is mostly spent trying to keep the kids from putting potato salad in each others' hair.

It helps settle something in him to be able to see the kids alive and happy and alive. Helps drive home that he isn't in Korea and today isn't going to end like it did last year. And it helps that Trapper is sitting next to him, pressed against him, real and solid and here.

Trapper presses closer to Hawkeye under the pretense of the table being crowded. And there are a whole lotta kids crammed onto one picnic bench. But more than that, Trapper needs the comfort and familiarity of Hawkeye next to him.

Cuz it's strange, being here at Louise's house. Seeing her and the kids having a life here. Seeing them have a life here with Robert and without him.

Don't get him wrong, it's not any kinda life Trapper'd want to live. He ain't jealous or nothing. But it's strange, being here with the people he used to be so close to - but as an outsider to their lives.

At least Louise seems happy here - with her nice big house and her nice boring husband and her nice gossipy neighbors. Trapper's glad Louise is living the kinda life she wants – the kinda life she'd grown up with, grown up wanting. Glad she can have the kinda life he hadn't been able to have with her.

But he's really fucking glad when the night is over and he can go back home to his own life with Hawkeye.

[ruby-dear]

all of them except 77, 78, 81, 92 and 96

Ember, I know this was you. I’m doing it, but that’s 93 questions you’re asking for so they’re going under a cut. 

1. Talk about your first love. There have been a lot of those, so let me talk about the first one I really remember. I was in eighth grade, at the time, and she wasn’t exactly a great person looking back but she was cool and confident and she liked me, and she called me her best friend, and probably the best school-related memory I’ve ever had was her tackle-hugging me from across a classroom. I didn’t even realize I liked girls until she’d pretty much left my life completely. Maybe I’m looking at it through rose-tinted glasses now, but I think that’s okay, sometimes.  2. What’s the most beautiful songs you’ve ever heard in your opinion? Most of my favorite songs are Owl City, especially the older stuff. It has a soft, dreamlike vibe to it that I find really pretty even when it’s depressing. 3. How’s your heart feeling right now? Pretty good, I think? 4. What kind of self care is your favorite to do? The fun stuff. Bath bombs, makeup, fancy shampoo. Retail therapy actually works pretty well for me, even if a lot of the time I don’t even buy anything. 5. What’s your skincare routine? Um... Shower? 6. How did you get to be so beautiful? Natural talent and carefully learned confidence. 7. Do you have any stuffed animals? Oh, do I. I have like, seventy Webkinz, and that’s without getting into anything else. You could say I collect plushes, even if I don’t do it as actively now. I have a couple of Eevee plushes, too - I’d say I want to own all of them one day, but I’m like, 95% sure that’s not possible. 8. Best trip you’ve ever been on? Once, we went to Prince Edward Island for a week, and my mom surprised me by meeting up with my best friend’s family, who happened to have gotten a room at our hotel for one night. I think that probably wins. 9. Favorite thing about your room? That it’s starting to look like it belongs to me, even if I want to move somewhere else. 10. Opinion on love? It takes work, but it’s worth it.

11. Are you affectionate? Around people I’m comfortable with, definitely. 12. Who do you look up to? The people who have enough confidence to be unapologetically be themselves.

13. Favorite poet? Robert Frost. When I was eleven, I found a book of his poems, and I loved that book so much I didn’t pay any attention in English class at all.

14. Song that makes you happy? How about one that calms you down when you’re in a bad place? There’s a lot of songs that make me happy. Hard to go wrong with the Pokemon theme, though. As for things that calm me down... It’s Alright by Mother Mother and Misguided Ghosts by Paramore have both got me through a lot.

15. Do you play an instrument? No. I was supposed to learn piano in seventh grade, but I couldn’t read the sheet music so they never let me play, and I tried to learn guitar multiple times but it never stuck for the same reason.

16. Do you do art? Using what (pencil, watercolor, etc)? I paint, though not as often as I’d like to! Using acrylics, usually, but watercolors sometimes.

17. Do you dance? What style of dance? I took ballet as a child, til they kicked me out of class, and I still enjoy dancing but I don’t remember any of what I learned.

18. What’s your zodiac sign? Do you believe in astrology? Gemini. I think it might have some kind of truth behind it, but I’m not really one of those all-or-nothing people. It’s just for fun, you know?

19. Favorite old film? I don’t watch a lot of them. Does The Aristocats count?

20. What’s your hairstyle? It’s long and wavy. I’m getting blue highlights soon.

21. What weather is the most beautiful, in your opinion? Light rain. The kind that dries off before you get inside, when the sky is perfectly clear, but it starts falling anyway and it stops just as quickly.

22. What upsets you most about the world? That however hard we try to fix it, we’re unlikely to get very far.

23. Are you in love right now? Yes. At least, I think so.

24. Do you have a crush? If so, talk about them! I have a girlfriend. Is that the same thing? She’s cute and funny and she thinks the same things about me for some reason, and she knows exactly how much of a disaster I can be and hasn’t run away yet.

25. Do you have pets? Talk about something sweet about them! I have a cat, Little Prince. His sister died about a month ago, and she was the one who usually kept me company (total lap-cat), but ever since he’s usually either close to where I am or comes when I call him over.

26. Do you have a lucky number? Any multiple of seven, but especially fourteen. They’re my favorite numbers for the same reason.

27. Have you ever wished on a star? What about on a fallen eyelash? I try to wish on stars, when I see them. Eyelashes I’m usually more annoyed about than anything.

28. Do you believe emoji spells to work? I think anything has the potential to work, given the right amount of effort and intent. That said, I don’t think you’re going to accomplish anything drastic.

29. Do you believe in magic in general? Oh, definitely. Just look at the world we live in. How can you not believe in magic when it’s all around you? The night sky without air pollution, the sunlight dancing on the water, candy cane white hot chocolate - it’s everywhere, in everything.

30. What’s the most beautiful thing in life, In your opinion? Everything. There’s something beautiful in everything, if you look for it. Today, let’s say the feeling of sliding around on a hardwood floor in fluffy socks, dancing along to one of your favorite songs.

31. Opinion on the color pink? What about baby blue? As a kid, I hated pink. I like it now, though. Blue is my color, light blue especially (particularly with star patterns), so I’ve always liked it.

32. What instrumental sound is your favorite? Am I alloawed to say wind chimes? I’ve always thought they sounded super pretty.

33. Do you like the sound of wind? What about the sound of rain? I love them both.

34.Who makes you happy? My friends. All of them, in different ways, the people who are still in my life for various reasons. I love them.

35. What makes you happy? Light rain, strong wind, good music. My cat’s soft meow when I wake him up by accident. White peppermint hot chocolate. Fall colors, string lights, Halloween and winter holidays. Ice and snow and skating, dressing up for no apparent reason. The trick to it all is finding new things every day.

36. Imagine your ideal life, the life you wish to make, what will that look like? A house big enough for a family. A degree of some kind hanging on the wall. A life where I’m making things because that’s what I love, and I can try new things just for fun, where I don’t have to worry about money so much. The chance to get married someday, maybe.

37. Do you wear makeup? If so what’s your favorite type of makeup or specific makeup product? Favorite store to buy makeup? I do! Unless someone else is doing it for me, I generally keep to lipstick and eyeshadow. I’ve never been especially picky about what brands I use, but I usually go to Nyx because it’s on my usual route when I go on shopping trips, and I’m kind of attached now. Plus, nowhere else I’ve been in person has as many bold colours.

38. Do you wear dresses? If so what’s your favorite dress you own? I like wearing dresses. My favorite that I still have is a longer black dress, and it’s in serious need of either repair of retirement, but I got it for $20 as a cosplay outfit last year and it served its purpose. I wear it around still, sometimes, because it’s generally an easy fix.

39. Ever been heartbroken? How do you deal with it? Yeah, a few times. I vent to my friends, usually, and then I eat ice cream and listen to gnash for a while and eventually I start to feel better.

40. Who’s your closest friend? What do you love about them?

41. Introvert or extrovert? Kinda both? It’s complicated.

42. Do you like MBTI? What’s your MBTI? Is that... Fuck, is that the one with the letters? I think I got ENFP last time, and when I was younger it was INFP.

43. Would you be a fairy, a mermaid, a vampire, a siren, a or an angel? I’ve had people tell me I have ‘fae vibes’ before, so let’s go with that and hope it’s not offensive.

44. What’s the best song a friend has ever introduced to you? I don’t remember enough of them to feel good about picking one. I basically only listen to music I’m recommended now.

45. Parlez-vous français? A little, by virtue of being Canadian and having driven through Quebec. Not enough to carry on a conversation.

46. Most beautiful place you’ve been to? Prince Edward Island, hands down. It’s gorgeous.

47. Where/when do you truly feel at home? When there’s a light breeze, and the perfect song is playing, and the people I love are there. When we’re laughing with each other.

48. Does smiling put you in a better mood? Try it right now, you’re smile is gorgeous! I don’t think it does, honestly? But it does tend to happen when I’m happy.

49. Favorite shoe you own? These ankle boots I got secondhand that have little metal stars on them. I’m gonna be so upset when they finally wear out and I need new ones.

50. Can you walk in stilettos? Do you like them? God, no, I’ve tried. Any heel that’s too sharp or pointy or tall is a major problem for me. It’s part of what makes finding shoes such a pain.

51. Do you feel loved? Not always, but yeah. When I remember, or when I ask, or when I’m reminded.

52. How do you express love to those you care about? I try to tell them, but I’m also the type to engage in constant teasing. I’m the friend that punches you in the arm as a show of affection.

53. Favorite term(s) of endearment? The more creative ones. The basics don’t do much for me, honestly, but it’s more about the person saying them anyway.

54. Most romantic thing someone’s ever done for you? Make me feel like I don’t have to try so hard to feel like myself.

55. When is the happiest you’ve ever been? Walking the downtown city streets in winter. It was cold, sure, but it was gorgeous and I finally felt independent for a while.

56. Are you happy right now? Yeah, I’d say so.

57. What makes you smile? Bad jokes, among other things.

58. Do you laugh a lot? Yeah. A lot more than I used to.

59. What’s your favorite kind of aesthetic? Punk/scenecore. They’ve really influenced my more recent style choices.

60. Do you want to marry for love or for some other reason (like money)? Love, definitely.

61. What would your dream wedding look like? Do you want to get married? With someone I love, and the other people I love there too. Somewhere beautiful. I think I do, someday, but it’s not something I’m so worried about.

62. Favorite flower? Roses. Blue Moon Hybrid Tea Roses, in particular, are especially pretty.

63. Favorite artist? I don’t really have one. I do enjoy looking at art, though.

64. Favorite music artist? Owl City.

65. How kind do you think you are? Is kindness important to you? I don’t know. People seem to think I’m kinder than I believe I am. It’s important to me, yeah, to try and help people and to do nice things.

66. Ever made a playlist for someone? A few times. They were never anything special, as far as I’m concerned.

67. Do you have anything you do to physically comfort you when your sad? Such as a favorite blanket? Or a relaxing bath? Long, warm baths and cuddling with my cat. Warm blankets and stories with happy endings.

68. Early bird or night owl? Night owl. I’m a night person.

69. Morning routine? Wake up, do nothing for a while, actually get out of bed and figure out breakfast. While that’s going on, try and figure out if anything important is happening today.

70. Night routine? Get comfortable, then write or daydream til I fall asleep.

71. What is the most lovely quality a person could have in your opinion? Self-confidence and a willingness to help others.

72. Do you cry often? Does crying help you get the emotions out? Do you feel better after? I tend to hold back my feelings til they all fall out. So I end up crying at least twice a month, usually. It helps, yeah.

73. Do you like hugs? From people I feel comfortable with.

74. When was the last time you kissed someone? On the lips? Never.

75. Are you small or tall? Small. I’m 5��0.

76. Do you like wholesome memes? Yes. They’re cute.

79. Have you ever lived in a different country than you currently live in? Nope. I’ve never lived outside this city, only been on trips.

80. Do you like plane flights? Airports? I’ve only flown once, and I was two, so I don’t remember it very well.

82. The beach or a forest? Sand or bugs? Depends on the day. Today, though, forest.

83. What time of day do you tend to be in the best mood? Evening, usually.

84. Do you push yourself to act together and in a good mood even when you aren’t? Yeah, when I’m stressed.

85. Favorite kind of tree? Either maple or pine. I’m Canadian, what can I say?

86. Do you care about the health of the Earth? Yes, but there’s only so much one person can do.

87. What did you like most about your childhood, if anything? Field trips. Adulthood is sorely lacking in field trips.

88. Do you read a lot? What’s your favorite book? I used to. These days I still read, but it’s mostly fanfiction. My favorite books, though, are Tamora Pierce’s Emelan series and the first two books of Kenneth Oppel’s Silverwing trilogy.

89. What are you most nostalgic for at the moment? Trick-or-treating.

90. What’s your favorite personality trait you have? I try to let the people I love know that I love them.

91. List at least ONE thing you love about your appearance. I have pretty great hair.

93. Do you worry a lot? Constantly.

94. The dazzling lights of the city or the relaxing countryside? The city. The countryside’s nice, but the streetlights and the city skyline are what make me feel at home.

95. Ever changed the shoelaces on one of your shoes? For what reason? I actually don’t know how to tie laces, so no. I’ve never been able to pick it up. I might get someone sense to, if I could find cool enough laces.

97. Do you like doing little acts of kindness? Yeah. It feels good to make people happy, you know?

98. How’s your day/night going? Pretty good! I did just spend over an hour on this, but I finished it, so that’s an accomplishment of its own.

[infinitestarsintheskye]

I was tagged by the ever lovely @besidemethewholedamntime, thanks lovely! 😘

1. What is the color of your hairbrush?

Just plain black. Nothing exciting unfortunately!

2. Name a food you never eat

Mushrooms, and at the moment, cheese. Damned dairy intolerance.

3. Are you typically too warm or too cold?

Both, but usually cold. My internal heating and cooling system is truly buggered, thanks to the fact that I was a premmie baby. Just one of the many fun side effects.

4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago?

Fannying about after having a shower. Every single day I do this and I don’t know why.

5. What’s your favorite candy bar?

CURRENTLY, it is the Galaxy Vegan caramelised hazelnut chocolate and oh my god it’s so good. A lot of vegan chocolate is really crumbly and whilst it tastes good, the texture is just off and that kind of ruins it for me. But Galaxy have really nailed the texture, it’s just creamy and good and just tastes and feels like real chocolate and I was honestly so happy the first time I tried it.

6. Have you ever been to professional sports event?

I have! I went to a few Scottish Premier League (football) games when I was younger, with my dad, before realising that I didn’t enjoy it much. I have also been to one singular hockey match, which really tells you everything you need to know about how I found that. Honestly I don’t really go in much for sports. I enjoy watching horse riding, show jumping and the like, and figure skating, and that’s about it.

7. What is the last thing you said out loud?

“WHAT ARE YOU EATING?!” To the doggo, who had just got a hold of the leftovers of my dad’s lunch.

8. What is your favorite ice cream?

Ben and Jerry’s do an ice cream that has vanilla on one side, and chocolate on the other, with a full ass BLOCK of caramel in the middle, and it is probably the unhealthiest thing I have ever consumed, but oh my god it’s so good.

9. What was the last thing you had to drink?

Tea! Please assume that I am always drinking tea, it is a fairly accurate assumption.

10. Do you like your wallet?

Eh. It’s okay. It’s getting a bit old but I’ve been putting off getting a new one.

11. What is the last thing you ate?

One of those tiny little packets of haribo that are STILL somehow leftover from Halloween

12. Did you buy any new clothes last weekend?

I did! I bought a new top for work, a white jumper bc white goes with everything and I’m a bit lazy.

13. What’s the last sporting event you watched?

On purpose? The 2018 Winter Olympic Ice Dance final when Virtue/Moir FINALLY WON THE GOLD!!! It was on until like 3/4am, and I had 3 back to back lectures the next day, and I was SO TIRED, but oh it was worth it!! I think the mens individual final was on the next night but I FULLY fell asleep halfway through 😬

14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn?

Sweet and salty!

15. Who is the last person you send text message to?

My sister! I was ranting about The Crown and she was just kind of listening haha

16. Ever been camping?

Twice! Both my guide troop. Once just cause, and once bc it was the Centenary of Girl Guiding in the UK and all of the troops in our county pitched up in a giant field for the weekend, which was good fun! Would I do it again? Maybe not. I’m not really that outdoorsy, but I will give anything a go once.

17. Do you take vitamins?

Nope! I probably should, but I swear every time I start taking vitamin C I get a cold. Not sure if this is just my immune system being weird or if I am actually cursed.

18. Do you regularly attend a place of workship?

Nope! I am very much agnostic. I used to live almost right across the road from a church, that was fun on a Sunday morning no need to set an alarm, and I used to walk past, I kid you not four or five on my way to work, which is a lot considering it was ALL ONE ROAD and a fairly short walk.

19. Do you have a tan?

Nope! I’m so pale I reflect the sun back.

20. Do you prefer chinese or pizza?

Pizza!!! I miss it!!! Dairy free cheese suuuuuccckkksssss

21 . Do you drink your soda through a straw?

Not really. I didn’t really before but I’m really not a fan of paper straws and them getting all soggy.

22. What color socks you usually wear?

Literally every single colour. A lot of blue and navy but I’m not kidding, it is every colour.

23. Do you ever drive above the speed limit?

I can’t drive so I can’t go over the speed limit haha

24. What terrifies you?

Oh well, what a fun question. So much. Ultimately failure. Failure to do anything worthwhile in my life, failure to help people, failure in my personal life. The list goes on. And heights. I am truly truly terrified of heights.

25. Look to your left, what do you see?

The doggo!! 🐶

26. What chore do you hate the most?

Sorting through odd socks. All black socks should be burned imo.

27. What do you think when you hear Australian accent?

Neighbors. My mum loved Neighbors in its hayday, and it is always discussed when Kylie or Jason Donovan is on the telly haha.

28. Whats your favorite soda?

Good old lemonade.

29. Do you go in a fast food place or just hit drive through?

Can’t drive so go in. My flatmate and I got really bad for ordering in McDonalds last year after it got put on Uber eats. She was a terrible influence on me I swear.

30. What’s your favorite number?

8!

31. Who’s the last person you talked to?

My granny!

32. Favorite meal?

My mum’s leftover chicken risotto with bacony bits

33. Last song you listened to?

According to Spotify, Smoke by Gia Margaret (suprise surprise, its from the Normal People soundtrack)

34. Last book you read?

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. Such a beautifully written book. Very casually magical and oh so very sad.

35. Favorite day of the week?

Tuesday, but I couldn’t tell you why.

36. Can you say alphabet backwards?

Absolutely not.

37. How do you like your coffee?

I don’t like coffee. I like the smell but it is far too bitter for me and the caffeine makes me feel truly awful.

38. Favorite pair of shoes?

I have a pair of brown boots that are almost victorian in style, they lace up, and made of the softest leather and I love them to utter pieces.

39. Time you normally get up?

On a normal day, usually any time after 10am. I like my bed and I don’t go to sleep until quite late. When I’m working, it’s usually between half past 6 and 9am.

40. What do you prefer, sunrise or sunset?

Sunset. I am very much a night owl.

41. How many blankets on your bed?

At the moment I just have my big thick duvet which keeps me very cosy and I never want to get out of my cosy bed, but I FULLY expect that to increase as it gets colder bc I am a cold creature.

42. Describe your kitchen plates

Just plain white, fairly standard.

43. Describe your kitchen at the moment.

Clean???

44. Do you have a favorite alcoholic drink?

Oooh, I like a Bacardi and coke or a gin and lemonade (which according to my gin and tonic loving mother is a sacreligous thing to do to gin). I don’t drink a whole lot, but those are my two go tos.

45. Do you play cards?

I can play cards, but I don’t do it on the regular.

46. What color is your car?

Don’t have a car!

47. Can you change a tire?

Nope!

48. Your favorite state or province?

Don’t really have that here, so I’m gonna be a bit cheeky and say Perthshire 😉. It really is beautiful though!!

49. Favorite job you’ve had?

My current job! It’s just a clothes shop retail job, but the company is so good (which is rare for a big company), the people are so lovely, the hours can suck sometimes, but I enjoy it so much more than waitressing and bar work!

Thanks again so much for the tag! I think just about everyone has been tagged in this, so if you haven’t done this yet, consider yourself tagged now!!

[heylookafanfic]

AUTHOR’S NOTE: The reader is college aged, so about 19-26 years old :). I’m also going to try my best with making all my imagines gender neutral! I might accidentally forget in the future so, please don’t hesitate to remind me via inbox! Enjoy!

Pairing: Jim Hopper x Reader,  Robin x Reader

brief summary: You and Hopper are dating but after a conversation with Robin at work, you start to feel a bit insecure bc of the slight age gap in your relationship.

word count: 1,911 words requested: no, this one came to mind warnings: age gap, mention of abuse, mention of anxiety, mention of depression (drinking and smoking as a coping mechanism), but mainly fluff!

You worked at Scoops Ahoy with Steve and Robin as a summer gig. College is expensive and textbooks aren’t going to pay for themselves. You actually enjoyed working in there because it was in the mall which meant after you got off for the night, you got to grab a large piece of gooey pizza from the food court. The absolute highlight of your day.

12:45pm - Lunch time.

Steve offered to stay out front and sell ice cream while you and Robin ate lunch in the food court. You sat down and began eating a bagged lunch that Hop packed you.

“What’s that say? Robin asked

There was a Post-It note taped to the side of your lunch

She pulled it off and mockingly read: "Have a great day pumpkin!”

“Pumpkin???” she chuckled

“What? Your mom doesn’t call you little pet names?” you defensively joked

The note was obviously from Hop but you  quickly played it off like your mom wrote it.

“My mom and I are on a first name basis - the only thing she calls me is Robin” she chuckled

“You should call her Batman so you guys will be Batman and Robin” you laughed

“Yeah, never happen– woah”

Robin looked past you which made you turn around

“What?” you asked

“Tammy Thompson. Floral romper. Next to Taco Bell”

“I see her but, what about her?”

“ ‘Grade school crush’ Tammy Thompson”

“OH” you said as you caught on

“Dude, she got hot! Like, she was always cute in grade school but she’s gorgeous”

“Is she still your type?

"I don’t know. I don’t really have a type Y/N”

“I find that hard to believe. You think Phoebe Cates is– and I quote, ’outrageously hot’ ” you joke

“SHE IS!” Robin laughs

“What about you Y/N? You got a type?”

“Not really. If the right person comes along, then whatever happens, happens” you shrugged

“You liar, I see you hangin’ around that sheriff dude all the time. You can’t tell me you don’t have the hots for him”

“What?! No! Never in a million years. Hopper’s a family friend and only a family friend”

“Are you sure about that because, every time he stops by the shop, I see the way you make googly eyes at him” she said

“Googly eyes? Maybe that’s you making googly eyes at him Robin!” you laughed

“I like girls, remember?” she laughed

“Well, that’s good news because I was about to say, he looks quite a bit older than you” she continued

You continued eating your lunch but still listened to what Robin was saying

“Like, imagine dating some dude old enough to be your dad. Like, he’d hold your hand while you cross the street and he’d read a bedtime story before bed and you gotta get permission to leave the house and think about what it be like having– christ, I’m gonna vomit!” she laughed

You were secretly hurt by what Robin said because little did she know, she was right about you and Hopper except it’s not a crush– you and Jim are going on 8 months in a serious relationship. It all started after fighting off the demidogs with the kids, Jonathan, Nancy, Steve, and Hopper. Jim offered you to stay with him and El until things died down but you declined because you still had college courses to take care of. Although lab experiments are pretty much running rampid through Hawkins, school wasn’t going to close down for a snow day, let alone Demidogs. College was 2 hours away from Hawkins but that never stopped Hop from driving the distance to “check in” on you. Flat tire? Hop was on the way. Need a space heater for your dorm? Hop wouldn’t let you spend a dime on buying one, he’d be on his way with one in the back of the truck and maybe a little homemade meal prepped by yours truly. Basically, he found any excuse to come and see you. After a heart-to-heart one day after ranting about being a bit homesick, he asked you to move in with him and El.

*Flashback*

“You’ll be in Hawkins and even if it means waking up at the crack of dawn to drive you to class, it’ll be worth it.” he said

“Hop, I don’t want to inconvenience you at all. I mean, it’s a 2 hour drive there and back, that’s a lot of gas, you still have to go to work and is El really going to be okay by herself for a few hours?” you questioned

“Gas isn’t a problem, the truck uses it regardless of where I’m going, and yes, El will be perfectly fine. The kid survived this whole time without me and did you forget she has–”

“telekinesis” you both said

After saying your good byes to your dorm mate and packing your things, you were officially a resident of casa de Hopper. He was thrilled that he’d get to see you everyday. Nothing was official yet but he had a hunch that maybe things would move a long a bit. He apologized for not having a room for you but you didn’t mind the little area of the cabin he prepared for you. You had feelings for him from the jump but after seeing him out of uniform and being an amazing dad to El, you were absolutely sold. Being able to see Hop put this whole 'tough guy’ persona away behind closed doors and being vulnerable at times, had you wishing he’d actually ask you out.

One night, you were sitting on the porch, letting the sounds of the surrounding woods serenade you, when he sat beside you. He brought you a coffee and just sat in silence. The way you looked as you admired the stars– you literally had a twinkle in your eye. Taking a deep breath, he went for it. The man just full on let his heart out to you before quickly regretting it. You looked at him and chuckled. In that moment, he was sure he ruined your friendship, you’d want to move out and never speak to him again. You told him that you have the same feelings for him but never had the courage to say anything. He let out a sigh of relief and cracked the biggest smile. Things went quiet again  until he asked if he could kiss you (consent first!). You nodded and you two lovebirds did a passionate but sweet kiss.That smile quickly went away. He pulled back and took a breath. You asked him what was wrong and he simply said

“It’s not right”

“What?”

“Us”

“Huh?”

“Me and you Y/N. I feel like I took advantage of you”

“What?! No, of course not. In what way?” you asked

“You’re in your 20’s, I’m in my 40’s. There’s an age gap”

“Okay– I don’t see how that’s a problem though”

“When everyone sees us, they’re going to think I’m only using you for sex. Come on, you know if a guy my age is with someone your age, there’s obviously something going on there. The younger person is never the 'secretary’ or 'assistant’.” he said

“Hop, are we or are we not 2 consenting adults?”

“Yeah”

“Do we both have honest mutual feelings for each other?”

He nodded his head

“So, what does it matter what everyone else thinks? We’re both happy. I haven’t been truly happy in a while but when you’re around, the world isn’t so bad” you said

He cracked a smile again.

“Listen, if it makes you feel better we don’t have to tell anyone about us. We can tell them when we’re ready. Deal?” you continued

He put his pinky finger out.

“Oh, so we’re pinky promising now?” you chuckled

“I guess you can say we’re getting pretty serious” he laughed

*End of flashback*

7:00pm– Closing Time

Hop pulled up to the front of the mall and waited for you.

7:00 was his favorite time of the day because that meant he got to see his whole world walk out of the doors of the Starcourt Mall every day. He was blasting “You Make My Dreams” by Hall & Oats with the windows rolled up. It was the song to your realationship but, he’d rather be caught dead than be caught listening to Hall & Oats.

You walked through the doors, yanking off your “AHOY” hat when you hear

“Y/N!”

Getting in the car, you plop down in the passenger side and put your seatbelt on.

Usually “You Make My Dreams” would have you dancing in your seat but you were offaly quiet.

“You okay?” he asked as he turn the music down

“Yeah”

“Now, when you say 'yeah’ ,you’re obviously lying. Seriously, is everything okay?”

You sighed

“Remember when we 1st got together, and we talked about our age?”

“Mhm”

“Robin and I were talking and she mentioned how dating a 'guy old enough to be your dad’ is gross.”

“Did you tell her about us?!” he panicked

“No, of course not. She brought age gaps up when we were talking about crushes and I have anxiety over it now. Are we–”

Hop put his finger up to his lip and shh’d you. He knew you overthink too much and that lead to your anxiety triggering. He took your hand in his, rubbing his thumb over yours.

“Y/N, the minute I laid my eyes on you–”

He paused before choking up a bit

“–I felt the same feeling I felt when I first met Diane. After Sarah passed, we divorced and I never thought I’d be happy again. I turned to cigs and alcohol for help but I dug myself deeper in this hole. Meeting Joyce gave me hope, but I saw how happy she was with Bob and– I wanted what she had. Coming home to someone who gives a damn about you every day. All the stress from fighting the demagorgon and being a dad again, I was ready to throw in the towel. Then, I met you. You were so laidback and carefree and had this aura I can’t describe. You always knew how to light up a room. When I got to know you better and you told me about the hell your dad put you and your mom through, I saw how strong you were and I needed that in my life. I needed someone who can keep me grounded when life becomes too much. That was you. You went back to college and I felt my life falling apart again. That’s why I came to see you so much. When you said you wanted to move in, I drove home that night on top of the world. I told El and we drank hot chocolate the whole night as a celebration. You wanna know the best part, that night we started dating was the absolute best night I had in years. I felt like kid again. Like, my playground crush just said yes to swinging together. Y/N, you are the best thing to happen to me in a long time. Like you said, 'what does it matter what everyone else thinks? We’re both happy’. ”

He kissed you and that kiss had to be at least a minute long.

“You feel better?” he chuckled

“No” you said

“Seriously?”

“I’m kidding, yes I feel better” you chuckled

“Good, now let’s go home” he said with a side smile

[kieranblackthorn]

tell me something I don’t already know

A MALEC FANFIC

read it on ao3

Alexander Lightwood is a Law student who thinks he's made all the wrong choices in life. His internship, his major, his relationships... It all seems wrong. Alec definetely doesn't know how much he's worth. And maybe he needs a handsome guy called Magnus to throw out the window everything Alec thinks he knows... And shatter his heart, only to put the pieces back together again.

Chapter One

Alec’s idea of grabbing a quick lunch wasn’t buying a muffin at the bakery two blocks from work, but here he was. The muffin was fluffy and warm, filled with raisins and with a light cinnamon crust. He would never admit it to Simon out loud, but it tasted absolutely amazing.

“You’re a dude of simple tastes,” said Simon, glancing at his muffin “I can get behind that.”

Alec rolled his eyes. Simon definitely was anything but a man of simple tastes: he wore colorful and silly ties to work – today, it was one filled with tiny ice cream cones –, always spoke loudly, and was currently eating a huge slice of confetti cake.

“C'mon, man, you gotta say that I brought you to a great place!” continued Simon, swallowing a mouthful of cake. “I know you suggested that fancy salad bar, but it was my turn to choose.”

Alec took another bite of his muffin, feeling the grease sticking to his lips.

“This isn’t exactly healthy, tho,” answered Alec, frowning.

“Oh yeah, I know you love being all buff and fit, going to the gym five times a week and eating nothing but leaves. I swear your muscles will rip your suit any day now.”

Alec snorted. “Bennett would kill me in a heartbeat if I ever went to the office without a suit…”

“And I’d finally get to see a homicide trial I’ve been wishing for,” added Simon with a smile, licking frosting off his fingers.

“You probably wouldn’t get to see anything. They would bury you in meaningless paperwork about some petty case. I doubt you’d get a second in court to see his conviction,” he replied.

Alec hadn’t expected how boring would an internship at a law firm be. He had hoped he would at least get to watch some trials, maybe actually talk to the clients. But his job was mostly research and paperwork, sitting on his desk all day, hearing Simon talk about his latest gig with his band. He had thought he would feel like he was doing meaningful work at Bennett & Green Law Offices… but he felt small, powerless and useless. An ant buried in paperwork.

Alec’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a strange man, with a grin from ear to ear, sat down on the remaining chair at their table. He wore a refined bright purple suit, his fingers were filled with golden rings, and his eyes carried heavy, yet elegant, eyeliner.

“Can I help you…?” asked Alec, a little startled.

The man’s smile grew larger. God, Alec thought, he has a beautiful smile.

“You could help me by telling me how do you look so gorgeous so early in the morning…” the guy winked. He actually winked, and Alec didn’t know how to respond to this.

“It’s 11:30?” he answered, feeling a little confused. And also a little dazzled. The curve of his lips and the way he looked into Alec’s eyes were enough to make him feel dizzy.

“Precisely what I mean! This isn’t my finest hour, I must say.” Alec couldn’t even imagine how this man would look in his finest hour, if that was his worst shape. “I’m Magnus, by the way.”

“Alexander.” Alec held out his hand, hoping Magnus would shake it. Instead, he gently took it and pressed his lips against Alec’s hand.

Again, dizzy.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alexander. I was wondering if maybe I could get your number?”

Alec was so surprised he couldn’t get any words out of his mouth. This handsome guy – Magnus –, with his purple suit, wide smile and piercing eyes was trying to get his number? His number, when he had muffin crumbs all over his suit - that couldn’t have been more than 20 bucks –, looked like he hadn’t had a proper night of sleep in two days, and smelled like he had just hit the gym. Ew, Alec was only now realizing he should buy a new deodorant.

“Unless you aren’t interested?” Magnus raised an eyebrow, looking disappointed.

“Oh no, he will definitely give you his number!” Simon barged in, unlocking his cellphone, already with a pen in hand, and began quickly writing something down on a napkin.

“Oh yeah, yeah, sure,” Alec finally managed to say, fighting to stop staring awkwardly at Magnus. He took the napkin out of Simon’s hand, giving it a quick look. Alex noticed that along with his number, Simon wrote down his Instagram username. He sighed inside, not knowing if he would scream at Simon or thank him later.

“Magnus, we are fucking late!” yelled a deep voice across the bakery. It was coming from a tall man, with a crown of curly hair, standing next to the door, his arms crossed. It was almost funny how his black, sober suit contrasted with the pastel tones that decorated the walls and tables. “Let’s go!”

 Magnus took the napkin out of his hand, their fingers brushing for a brief moment.  

“I’m sorry, gorgeous, but I fear our conversation has been cut short by my cranky friend over there. He doesn’t really like to wait. Let’s continue this over text, shall we?” Magnus said, looking at Alec. “Nice meeting you as well,” he added, nodding at Simon.

And with another bright flash of his smile, Magnus walked out of the bakery’s door.

“Wow. He was quite a sight, wasn’t he?” Said Simon after a moment, taking a sip at his Coke.

Alec turned to Simon, a thought forming on his mind.

“How did you know I was gay? I’ve never told you that!” Alec looked accusingly at Simon.

He shrugged. “Lucky guess!” Simon slurped his Coke again. “Besides, if you don’t want to text him, I do! I meant it when I said he was something. He’s pretty damn cute, if you ask me.”

Alec shook his head in confusion. “Wait, are you… Are you gay?”

“Nah, man!” Simon didn’t seem bothered by the question. “I’m pan, actually.”

“I didn’t know that,” replied Alec, feeling a bit warm inside. He had met very few queer guys, mostly back in college. Knowing Simon was pan… It gave him a nice feeling of camaraderie.

“Well, you’ve never asked. And you also haven’t mentioned your sexuality to me before.” Simon grinned lightly “Besides, you haven’t looked  at my desk, because I have a pan flag there.”

“Oh, now you got me,” replied Alec, feeling a little embarrassed. Simon had picked up on the fact that Alec didn’t make a lot of effort to be friendly with him. He found himself feeling a little guilty.

“Your gaydar couldn’t be worse, my dude!” exclaimed Simon, wiping frosting off his mouth. “Should we get back to the office?”

 Alec spent the rest of the day at the office trying not to think of the purple suited guy, but he couldn’t help but check for new messages every twenty minutes or so. His experience with guys was limited, and he would never have the nerve to ask somebody out just like that. In the middle of a bakery, not knowing whether they were into guys. Although he’d had a few hookups, Alec had never thought of himself as attractive, desirable or… hot. God, even the thought of that word made him blush.

When he got home, he was totally spent. His entire body hurt from sitting and typing the whole day, his head hurt from staring at a screen… and also from hearing Simon’s relentless chatter. His suit was itchy, and he took off his jacket when he crossed the door.  

Jace looked up from where he was sitting. His brother was lying sloppily on the sofa with a bowl of cereal balanced on his legs. There was a neat pile of sheet music next to him, along with pens, highlighters and music theory books.

“Hard day at college?” Alec asked, sitting down next to him.

“Hard day at the office?” replied Jace, swinging his legs over Alec’s lap. Lazybones, thought Alec, rolling his eyes.

“You know, same old, same old. I’m growing tired of paperwork… And of my boss. Honestly, this whole Law School thing sucks.”

“Well, you could always get a degree in music with me,” offered Jace, half-joking. He knew Law School wasn’t everything his brother had dreamed of - Alec still wasn’t a knight in shining armor, coming to rescue the less fortunate.

“Yeah, because I’m an amazing singer. Or a piano player. Or a violin player. Maybe I could get into their rattle program,” Alec snorted.

“Seriously, man… You gotta hang on a bit. Getting into Law School was your thing for years. Honor your effort… Even though you’re in an office full of douche bags wearing tuxedos.”

“And Simon.”

“I thought Simon was the master douche?”

“He is actually a pretty decent guy… I think he just wants a friend, you know? I guess I have been a bit rude to him this whole time.” Alec hesitated. Even though he’d been out for years, he still felt uncomfortable talking about his sexuality. “He actually came out to me today. He’s pan. Has a flag at his table too, I just never bothered to look.”

“Do you think he’s cute?” asked Jace, raising an eyebrow.

Alec gave him a light punch on the shoulder. “Jace, I’ve told you that it isn’t because a guy is gay that I’m going to instantly make out with him.”

“I know, man, I’m just trying to be supportive here! God knows that you’ve been on a dry spell lately.”

“Can we please, please, not talk about my sex life?” begged Alec. Not that was much to talk about on that front – or anything, honestly.

“As you wish. But you know I’m always here for boy talk if you need it.” Jace gave him a small pat on the back, chewing his cereal loudly.

They both stared at the TV in silence for a couple of minutes, in absolute silence. Alec thought maybe he could talk about Magnus. Not that there was much to talk about, but still… He kept checking his phone to see if a message would pop up. He was getting anxious.

“Actually… A guy approached me at the bakery today.” Alec glanced at Jace. His brother was staring back, still eating. “And asked for my number.”

“That’s great, man! Did he text you? Let me read it!”

“Well, that’s the thing… It’s been seven hours and nothing. Radio silence.” Alec bit his lip, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“It’s still early. He was probably working, he’ll text you tonight,” Jace reassured him. “And still, if he doesn’t, that doesn’t change the fact that you’re great, alright? You know that, don’t you?”

“Kinda,” replied Alec, half-heartedly.

Jace threw a pillow at him.

“C'mon man, it’s early, I’m telling you he’s going to text! Let me play you something, that’ll cheer you up. Pick something!” said Jace, already standing up to sit at his piano. It was a beautiful, old upright piano, worn out by time. It was one of the few things Jace and Alec had brought all the way from their parents’ house, and its dark wood stood out from the bland decoration of their living room.

“Play me one of your original pieces. You know they are my favorite ones to hear.” Alec slipped into the sofa, closing his eyes. As Jace’s fingers started moving softly, Alec felt his mind drifting far away; listening to his brother play was his personal form of meditating. They had been doing that since they were kids: Alec would lie on their childhood bedroom floor, listening to Jace’s fingers play Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Liszt, Brahms, and eventually Jace’s own original music. Alec had never had any gift for music - his parents realized that soon enough, and left the music lessons for Jace –, but he surely could appreciate a piece that was well-played.

He lied there for what seemed like hours - and it might as well have been. Hos head felt light, like the music had brushed off his worries – work, Simon, Law School, handsome purple-suited guys… Eventually, he got up, made himself a quick omelet, washed the dishes and went to bed – after all, he still had classes the next day. Jace was still in the living room playing, and Alec knew he would be there until his fingers went dormant.

Lying in his bed, almost falling asleep. Alec couldn’t help but notice the light ping of his phone, already after midnight. He picked it up, eyes still half-closed. There, on the screen, was a single line:

“Hey, gorgeous!”

CHAPTER TWO: TO BE POSTED

[omyeol]

ten seconds - iv

word count: 3,760

genre: fluff, humor

<< masterlist >>

Park Chanyeol was nervous.

This was new because he didn’t get nervous a lot of times unless during important meetings.

Well, it wasn’t new, but he was exceptionally good at maintaining his expressions so he managed to look calm. Even though deep down inside he was freaking out.

So, you could say it was a bit new because the last time Chanyeol got nervous around a woman was when Junmyeon set up a blind date for him with a woman a couple of years older than him. He was sweating bullets when he waited at the restaurant and sweated, even more, when it ended. The blind date ended badly—the woman looked down on him and tried to baby him—and he wished he stayed home instead.

(He liked being babied sometimes, but only by his close friends or the people who had known him for a long time).

Ever since that blind date, he tried to lower his expectation every time Junmyeon set him up for a blind date and that was when he stopped being nervous around women.

Until you came.

As cliche as it might sound, Chanyeol never really took a good look at you until you started working in the same company as him. Yes, he might know of you since high school because Jongin had talked so highly of you and since college too because you were a member of the student union, but he never got the chance to work closely with you—or have the chance to actually interact with you.

Yes, Chanyeol had always thought that you were sweet—Jongin never stopped praising you every time he managed to bring you up in conversation—and smart too—because if you weren’t then Junmyeon wouldn’t scout you to work together with him during college and for him too in his company. Also yes, Chanyeol thought that you were beautiful—he remembered that one time when you wore a dress to work and he literally had to stop walking to admire you.

But that was all it was. He knew of you, but he didn’t know you.

The first time he caught a layer of you was when he saw you scolding Junmyeon on the very same day you were wearing the dress. Chanyeol had business to attend with Junmyeon but his steps halted in front of his office when he saw you standing in front of Junmyeon’s desk with your hands perched on your hips.

“I told you plenty of times before to not call me after work hours. We had a deal, remember? You can email or text me and you don’t call me unless it’s urgent or a life-or-death situation. You were the one who started the deal in the first place.” Hearing this, Chanyeol stayed rooted in front of the door and waited until you were done—that wasn’t until ten minutes later, though, when you spotted him hovering outside.

Chanyeol saw how the frustrated look across your face change into a friendlier look—there was even a smile—and that was the first time he felt something stir inside of him, but he let it side. He always pushed it aside even though it happened again a few times after that—even when he passed by your desk every time he was about to go into Junmyeon’s office or when he was in the same elevator as you in the morning.

He saw you smile a lot of times before, but until now, the sight still made him smile. Your smile—no matter if it was small or wide until it stretched to your ears—was always infectious to him.

That’s why when you were smiling at the sight of the ocean as both of you drove by, Chanyeol couldn’t help but smile to himself and feel a little proud of himself of making this decision. It was actually an impulse decision, though. There were only two places to check left and Jongdae had so kindly checked one place because it was on his way to his parents’ place. Chanyeol really didn’t make him check that place by himself and bribe him with a week’s worth of lunch at the sandwich shop near the office.

(Chanyeol totally did.)

“We haven’t arrived yet, but this place has already won me over.” Chanyeol glanced at you a few times and couldn’t help the smile that stretched across his face. You were just too cute smiling while looking out at the ocean like that and if he wasn’t driving, he would have a pretty hard time holding himself back from pinching your cheeks. “The beautiful weather makes it better, too.”

The weather isn’t as beautiful as you are, though, he wanted to say, but instead, he said, “Yeah, it definitely does.”

“Gosh, when was the last time I went to a beach?” You mused out loud and missed the way Chanyeol took another glance at you.

“Should we stop by the beach later?” Chanyeol could feel your eyes on him once the question was out of his mouth. “It’d be fun. It’s been a while since I went to a beach too.” It was out of his mouth before he could properly think about it, but after hearing the ecstatic ‘yes’ from you, he didn’t regret it one bit.

It was not in the plan, actually. His plan was actually to get back to Seoul by dinner time so he could take you for a dinner at his favorite place—and probably a walk in the park around Han river, if you were willing. He had planned to buy some desserts too—ice cream or a bowl of bingsu with you, again if you were willing to do that—before he dropped you off by your door. But maybe, straying away from his actual plan and just riding the flow for once would be nice. Who knew maybe it could probably lead him somewhere he was planning to go.

Naksan beach was beautiful. That was the first thing that crossed your mind when you and Chanyeol got out of the car and finally walked to the beach.

Well, it’s already night and you couldn’t see anything besides the sand and hear the small waves crashing to the shores, but the sight of it was enough for you. There was something refreshing about the wind and the faint smell of the salty water. The wild, childish part of you wanted to take off your shoes and hike up your pants so you could feel the sand between your toes, but the much more mature and rational part of you, that told you to take a deep breath and enjoy it quietly, won.

Taking off your shoes, you felt the sand between your toes and smiled at the familiar feeling. With your shoes on one hand and your bag on another, you stood still and looked down at the sand, trying to capture the sight and memorize it.

“Oh, this is nice.” Turning to look over your shoulder, Chanyeol, too, had taken off his shoes and walked slowly on the sand. It was an interesting sight, watching him walk barefoot with his rather semi-formal attire, but the goofy smile on his face and a faint coo—your heart was about to burst when you heard it—that’s out of his mouth when he felt the sand in between his toes were even more interesting and amusing.

Once he was near, you realized that he had a towel on his hand. He laid the towel on the sand and gestured for you to sit on it. Without really thinking about it, you casually sat on the towel, but then, you felt like your heart about to leap out of your chest when Chanyeol sat next to you. The towel wasn’t really big, so he sat really close and even your thigh could almost touch his.

You didn’t expect this. Never in your life before. Your heart was racing, but you told yourself to calm down. There was no reason for you to act like a fool like this. Chanyeol was just your boss—and your friend too. Nothing to be nervous about.

“We should convince Jongdae and the entire team to pick this hotel. It’s definitely best out of the ones we’ve checked.” It was the only thing you could think of to say, to break the silence between the two of you. You pulled your legs back and rested your chin on your kneecaps, letting out a sigh.

“It’s actually a little bit over the budget we settled, but I think that can be handled. We could figure things out.” You nodded at his words, glad that he thought the same as you did.

The hotel you checked was really nice, though. The beach was only about 20 minutes from there, and there was also a hiking track that led to the mountain and the well-known temple in the area. The facilities they had were outstanding too, and you really thought it was the one. Both of you only needed to convince the rest of the team (and Junmyeon) to pick this one. It wouldn’t be too hard, you were sure. You knew the beach would be a total selling point.

“When was the last time you went to a beach?” You couldn’t help but ask, after thinking about the beach.

“Uh, it’s been so long...” He paused. You turned your head to watch him, watching how he tilted his head up to the sky and blinked his eyes slowly as if it would fasten the wheels turning in his brain. “I think… about two years ago? I guess it’s when I went to Jeju-do with Junmyeon-hyung and Jongdae.” You hummed, nodding softly.

“It must’ve been nice,” you breathed out and Chanyeol tilted his head back down, turning a little bit to see you. “The last time I went to Jeju-do was when I was a kid.”

“You’re kidding.” You shook your head and chuckled at his disbelief.

“There’s no point of going to Jeju-do for the beach when this one isn’t even an hour away from home.” You turned your head away from him and stared at the water crashing onto the shore calmly, letting out a sigh at the memories of you and Jongin visiting the beach at night. “I went here a lot with Jongin when we had tons of things to think about.”

Back in your college day, there was a time in your senior year where you would go to the beach with Jongin almost every month on weekend—if both of you weren’t swamped up with mounting homework and a strong desire to sleep in. Jongin, the one with a car was always up to come with you to visit your parents—who had just moved—and stop by the beach before going back to Seoul. The two of you would sit on the sand and talk about a lot of things. Jongin would talk about the expectations his parents had because he was the only son in the family and how afraid he was of letting them down. Meanwhile, you would talk about the insecurities you had on your studies and the endless what-ifs of how your life would be after college.

But the last time you went to the beach wasn’t with Jongin. Too impatient to call and wait for Jongin, you borrowed your parents’ car and drove here by yourself. It was clearly a different experience, but it was nice. Unlike before where you mused out loud your worries to your cousin, you still kept it to yourself, but the beach was quiet and serene enough that you could hear yourself think.

(You only stayed for about thirty minutes, though. The beach was just too quiet and you were getting scared of staying by yourself).

“The last time I went here was after Junmyeon offered me this job,” you continued, a light chuckle escaping your lips.

“It wasn’t in your plan, was it? To work with Junmyeon?” His voice was soft and low, almost like he was whispering.  

“Well, I was aiming to work at a publishing company, you know. I applied to some companies but the results weren’t what I hoped so I took his offer in the end. Thought it’s better than being jobless for too long.” You shifted around and straightened your legs in front of you because it was starting to cramp. “What about you? Is it really what you wanted since the beginning?”

“I think so? I mean, I’ve never really thought about it because this is what we’ve been doing since the beginning, you know?” You didn’t quite get what he said, but you kept quiet and waited for him to finish your words. “But if there was another career path I’d like to pursue, it’s probably to become a photographer.”

Out of every the encounter you had with Chanyeol back in college, he had always had his camera with him. He didn’t use it every single time you saw him, though, but he always kept it by his side. There was also that one time where you met him when you were doing a freelance job and Chanyeol was there to help his cousin with his photoshoot too. When you saw him that day, you only passed him a smile and said hello briefly. You were way too timid to approach him and spend some time to talk to him back then.

That’s why, if you thought about it, you could’ve laughed at the situation you’re in at the moment. Never in a million years had you thought you’d be sitting on a beach with Chanyeol. This situation was weird but good weird.

Both of you stayed for a little while—Chanyeol asking about Jongin and if you noticed how he’d been too happy and energetic these days (you didn’t). Chanyeol told you about how Jongin had become even better at his job and how Chanyeol felt like telling Junmyeon to give your cousin a promotion. You were surprised at it—glad that Jongin was doing good—and supported Chanyeol of his decision.

“Should we go back now?” You asked once he was done telling you about Jongin. You realized that the night was getting deeper and if you didn’t leave any sooner, you’d reach Seoul at midnight.  

“Yeah, I think so,” Chanyeol agreed and stood up from the blanket, dusting off the back of his pants to make sure that there weren’t sand stuck on it. You waited until he moved a little bit to the side so you could stand up without bumping into him, but he stuck his hand out to you instead.

Blinking your eyes at his hand, you stared at it with furrowed eyebrows and looked up to see Chanyeol smiling down at you softly. “C’mon. I’ll help you up.”

Your heart skipped a beat at the gesture, but you decided quickly to not think too much about it. Inhaling a sharp intake of breath, you put your hand on his and gripped it tightly. He pulled you up to your feet, taking your breath away as he did so. It felt like a rush, having your hand in his—even though it was only out of courtesy—and you hoped that your hand didn’t suddenly become sweaty because that would be embarrassing.

“Thank you.” Flashing him a small smile, you took a step back and let go of his hand so you could dust off the back of your pants.

Before joining him back in his car, you made your way to the convenience store and bought some drinks—a bottled coffee specially for Chanyeol because you figured out how much he liked coffee and a couple of bottles of water. It was, at least, the thing you could do since he paid for dinner and even took some of his time to sit with you on the beach.

The whole day you tried to push the nerves from showing through, but when you finally sat in the passenger seat with Chanyeol driving next to you and none of you saying anything, it all came back to you slowly—meeting your parents briefly and spending a bit of time at the beach. It hadn’t even been long since you started talking to Chanyeol (and meeting with him, too, sometimes) but it gave you a feeling like you had been friends with him for long. Even though, yes, you’d known him for long, but you never reached this level of being friends with him.

It felt nice if you were being honest with yourself. It was kind of nerve-wracking too because while you had told yourself to keep calm and be cool with the whole thing, it was hard. The underlying feelings for him from the early days sometimes liked to come up to the surface and mess with you. Especially when Chanyeol did things that seemed too friendly for you—like when he sat a little bit too close to you or when he suddenly grabbed your hand to help you stand.

You tried your best to not think too much of it, but you couldn’t help it. As the songs from whatever playlist Chanyeol put on filled the car on your way back to Seoul, those thoughts dominated your brain. Your head became quite a jumbled mess that you ended up tuning out everything and fell asleep.

You didn’t know how long you were asleep for, but when you woke up, the car was already parked in the apartment parking lot and there were feather-light touches on your cheek. Those touches were so light it almost lulled you deeper into the dreamland if there weren’t continuous calls of your name.

At the familiar voice, you let out a loud yawn and opened your eyes. Seeing Chanyeol’s face, the realization hit you late. Your eyes widened a bit as you sat straighter in your seat, hands busy tidying your hair.

“We’re here,” he spoke softly, a hint of amusement lacing in his tone.

“Oh, gosh, I’m so sorry I fell asleep.” You hated how panicky you sounded, but you calmed down a little bit when Chanyeol shook his head faintly, a little smile (and dimple) showing on his face.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” You let out a sigh of relief and smiled sheepishly at him, thankful that he was kind enough to let you sleep—although you felt kind of sorry because you weren’t awake to accompany him and talk to him as he drove.

The walk to your apartment was spent in silence. Since you were still kind of sleepy, you couldn’t even find yourself to make a conversation with him. All you wanted was to lean on him and shut your eyes for a few seconds until the elevator reached your floor. Too bad you couldn’t, though. So, you just kind of stood there and fought the sleep coating your eyes.

“Are your parents staying over for the night?” Chanyeol asked when the elevator reached your floor. He let you walk out first and hovered his hand on your lower back—you could feel it.

“Yeah, they’re going home tomorrow by train,” you casually answered, each step took you closer to your apartment and left you little time to spend with him. When you finally reached your door, though, you just sighed and turned your back to the door so you could face Chanyeol.

The two of you just stood there. You had to look up a bit to get a good look of his face, which you did—and it was a good idea, to take one last good look of his face before you went to bed. There weren’t many chances where you could see how Chanyeol looked like when he was bone-tired and sleepy—the tiredness might have just caught up to him—and the soft, sleepy look across his face tugged at the strings of your heart. The urge to tuck him into bed was strong, but there was no way you could act on it, so you just did nothing.

Thankfully, Chanyeol broke the silence first. “I’ll see you at the office, then.” Even when he’s tired, he still managed to crack a thin smile for you. The urge to coo was, once again, strong. It didn’t help when he kind of looked like a tired grown-puppy—especially with his messy hair.

“Yeah, sure. Thank you for today, too, by the way. For, you know, picking me and my parents up at the mall and driving them home too.” You were genuinely thankful, even though your parents kind of embarrassed you a bit, but it was all fine because Chanyeol didn’t really think too much of it—bless his heart.

“It’s no problem.” You nodded. And then, Chanyeol did something unthinkable to you. He raised his hand to put it on your hand and ruffled your hair, messing it up a good measure and your heart might have just skipped a fucking beat. “Get some rest, okay?” His voice went a bit low and he trailed his hand lower until he could tuck a little bit of your hair to the back of your ear, before finally dropping his hand to the side. The only thing you could do—other than widening your eyes a tad bit—was just nod dumbly.

“You, too,” you croaked out and cleared your throat.

He nodded at you once, faintly, before turning and walking the short walk to the elevator. You still stayed there, in front of your door, and waited until he got into the elevator and flashed you one last smile for you to keep until Monday before the door closed between the two of you. When it was only just you, you noticed how odd you felt after spending a whole day with him. How the dynamic between the two of you had shifted a little bit into something so familiar but odd at the same time, but also the dynamic that you welcomed with open arms.

Your tired brain wasn’t thinking about the consequences just yet, though. Your brain was still happily indulging the fireworks in your heart. It was still too early to think about the consequences, your heart decided. Even though you were sure that once the morning came and you could think over the things happened today, your brain and heart would be on different sides and you would be left confused by everything.

[blooming-inthedark]

the summer fling.

Marco.

When I was a teenager, I had low self-esteem. I didn’t feel that I was pretty because nobody ever told me I was. Once I started getting attention from boys, they always happened to be ones that I found unattractive. I assumed that if only ugly guys liked me, it must’ve meant that I was ugly too. All the fine guys that the other girls would fawn over would never look in my direction. Then one day, a fine guy did look at me. And this was the attention I thought I wanted until I later learned that it wasn’t.

After my first year of high school, my mom enrolled me into a performing arts summer camp that offered drama, dance, music, visual and martial arts. I was enamored with being in the drama program at my high school, so being able to do the same things in the summer time was really good for me. Enter Marco. Marco was tall, light-skinned, super attractive, and had zero interest in any of the performing arts offered at camp. He was an athlete – he played basketball at school, and almost always wore LA Lakers gear to camp to show that he was all about the NBA. In all of the classes, Marco either struggled to grasp the concept, or spent the whole time cracking jokes and causing fun distractions for everyone else. Classic, knuckle-headed boy who probably meant well but just wasn’t stimulated by the things placed in front of him.

Camp was generally split by age groups, and Marco and I were amongst the oldest: ages 12-16. He was one year younger than me, so I had this false sense of seniority over him. I would often shake my head and roll my eyes at his immaturity, but couldn’t help crushing otherwise. Yes, he probably didn’t value camp like I did, but he was hella cute and somehow found me intriguing too. Marco had the tendency to flirt with me, and the one other girl who was our age, Paris, and somehow we were both okay with going back and forth with establishing finicky, playful romances with him. One week he would be holding my hand and sitting by me in every class. The next week, he would be horsing around with Paris in the hallways and following behind her. Obviously it was nothing serious, just kids being kids, and when he moved to Las Vegas and left camp, I didn’t expect to see him anymore.

Then, I turned 21 and wanted to plan a birthday trip to Vegas with my mom and sister. Marco and I had become friends on facebook by then, and I messaged him to playfully suggest that we should link so he could buy me an ice cream cone while I was there. He agreed, but I was so excited about the real itinerary for the trip, I didn’t take his word as bond. When I finally arrived that June, my sister’s friend picked us up from the airport, and drove us down the strip to our hotel. I took a photo of the palm trees and messaged Marco saying how cool the trees looked. He responded “You’re here :)” and my heart fluttered a little because that let me know that he had anticipated my arrival.

My mom, sister and I went to eat and explored the shops for a little while, but jet lag had us too tired to fill the whole day like we had planned. That night, I was rested enough to go back out on the town. Marco was just getting off and offered to take me on a tour of the strip, so I obliged. When I came down to the lobby, he was waiting in his FedEx uniform. I wonder if my mouth dropped before I started grinning, because cute, lanky, immature Marco had turned into tall, toned, grown ass man Marco, and here he was smiling just as hard and pulling me into a hug. I hopped into his truck and we headed down to the strip to walk and catch up. I couldn’t believe I was spending time with this gorgeous guy who had made time for me. After the general ‘It’s been so long’ spill, he said “When you told me you were here I was like man, my girl is in town. I gotta see her and show her around” I remember being flattered and half-dazed that he referred to me as ‘his girl’, even though I knew it didn’t mean girlfriend. I was wide open already; all of those feelings from camp came rushing back. I was crushing all over again, and it seemed to still be mutual. We walked around to some of the casinos and malls, and basically caught up. It felt great to have a chill night with him, and for the rest of the trip, I found myself thinking about him and hoping we could link again.

One day, my mom, sister and I walked the strip, shopped, ate, got tipsy, and went to see a Cirque Du Soleil show. Afterwards, we were supposed to find a nightclub to go to a dance afterwards. But the alcohol and events of the day once again got to them. We all stumbled into a taxi and headed to the room, but again, after a brief rest period, I still wanted to do more. Enter Marco again. He asked me if I was available to hang out and I jumped on the chance. I had on a pink strapless bodycon dress and sandals for walking, so I was feeling cute. He picked me up again and ended up buying me a drink at one of the casino bars. Sometime after that, we got in the car and found ourselves at some park. We went and sat on the swings and talked for a bit, until I got cold and he offered me the seat on his lap. I took it, and we continued our discussion, moving on to more personal things, like people we had dated and what we planned to do after college. The conversation naturally fell off, and there was a quiet. For a moment we just sat there. I looked up at the stars in the sky and still couldn’t believe I was spending time with him in this way. It was almost surreal. Then, he said into my ear, “Look at me”. When I turned around, there was only a brief hesitation before we fell into a slow kiss. It grew, and grew, until it tapered off and ended as softly as it began. Butterflies ran rampant in my stomach.

We almost drove to the beach because it was only a couple of hours away, but I declined. So, we decided to leave and do some more walking around the mall. All the while we were holding hands, or I was clinging to his arm. I remember us heading back to the car - getting on the elevator to the parking garage. As soon as the elevator doors closed, like magnets we fell back into a kiss, five times as intense as the first. I was completely consumed by his scent, and the way his arms felt around my body. I felt that strange, but enjoyable jolt in the pit of my stomach. I wanted to live in that moment for hours because I had never felt such strong mutual desire. When the elevator doors opened again, a woman appeared on the other side and we quickly dislodged our faces, smirking and facing forward again. When we got back in the car, we talked a bit more and found ourselves making out again, this time with Marco’s hands creeping to the warmest region, and with my hands softly pushing them in the other direction. He dropped me back off to my hotel, we said our goodbyes, and I replayed that night over and over for days, even long after arriving back home in Memphis. Marco and I texted regularly after that, and while I knew it would never turn into anything more, I had hoped that our communication lasted as long as it could.

I saw him in person one last time. Marco visited Memphis months later to see family during a major holiday. He was only in town for a few days, and spent so much time seeing his people that he only had time to squeeze in a visit to my house the night before his morning flight back home. He came in, and we spent no more than 20 minutes together before he left again. Of course after the small talk part of it, we ended with an infamous kiss that got heated… and then got weird. This was the first time I reached down and felt what Marco was packing, and it was huge. I was so caught up in the awe of it, I didn’t stop his hands. I was on my period, and had a pad on. I failed to disclose this information. Instead of palming my booty through my pants, he slid his hand into the back of my underwear to feel the real thing, but went deep enough to this undefined swampy area of blood-tinged sweat. His hand came out clean, but I always assumed that he got in the car and smelled it for whatever reason, because after that I didn’t really hear from him again. I felt awful and ashamed but was never brave enough to ask about it. Of course at this point it doesn’t matter and I don’t want to know.

I never really spoke to him after that. He would jokingly respond to some of my tweets, and didn’t unfriend me on any social media, but I knew we wouldn’t rekindle that flame anymore. At some point he graduated, and got a girlfriend. Currently I’m not sure what he is doing, because we are no longer friends on social media, but hope he is happy and doing well.

I remember Marco because sadly, he was the first guy who has ever made me feel desired physically, even if a large amount of that unfortunately came from lust. Quite a few guys had expressed interest in me and complimented my looks, but I felt no validation on my end because I didn’t find them physically attractive. But Marco was fine and sought after by other chicks, and because of my confidence issues, his pursuing me made me feel good about myself. It wasn’t until later that I realized that while his physical attraction to me might have been genuine, it was purely one-dimensional. Marco never had any intentions on getting to know me as person, and wasn’t drawn to me on a deep level. He was also the first person I felt intense lust for, and as I’ve gotten older and interacted with other men along the way, I can still count on one hand the times I’ve felt this feeling for someone else. Each time, I later assessed the situation as potentially toxic because I realized we were two individuals leaning on each other to fill a physical need that we mistook as an emotional one. Now that I have a healthier sense of self-worth, I turn down a lot of men and find myself being alone more often than I would like. Dating is hard, especially as a virgin, because sex is deal-breaker for most people my age and being horny is sometimes difficult when you’re trying to hold yourself to certain spiritual standards. But my experience with Marco helped me recognize that I have often blurred the line of what I deserve vs. what I put up with, as it pertains to men. I am worthy of a healthy, layered, fully-realized love with a partner who desires me in all ways, not just the ways that feel good. Finding that type of love is a long journey that takes patience, though. I am working on being patient and not taking detours that only satisfy the lower part of me.

I no longer get excited about how people look. Surface-level attraction means absolutely nothing to me if the layer underneath is made of concrete.

Peace to you for reading.

[iswearoncolinodonoghue]

Painted Blue (3/?)

Sorry for the late posting. Hope you enjoy this chapter! 

AO3

“Henry, look!” Emma said to her son. He sat in the coach, looking at nothing, though Emma crouched beside him and pointed to the animals before them.  “You see the giraffes!”

Henry, being only five and a half months, didn’t respond with more than a small smile. Emma knew this trip to the zoo was more for herself than for Henry. But, it was a beautiful day outside, and she didn’t have to work, so she didn’t want to waste the day inside. Emma tickled her little boy’s chest before standing back up to push the coach along the trail that ran beside the animal enclosures.

She pushed him a few yards to where Killian was waiting for them at the ice cream cart. He ran ahead of her and Henry to get cones for the two of them. When she reached him, he handed her a rocky road cone and took a lick at his own mint chocolate chip.

“Thank you for coming with us today,” Emma said as they walked beside each other and Emma pushed the coach.

“Thank you for inviting me. It was wonderful of you to offer me a place in Henry’s life, I wouldn’t miss a fun day like this.”

Emma smiled at him as she took a lick of her ice cream, and he smiled right back, his grin wide. His eyes became fixated on hers, and genuine appreciation was glowing from the smile. She almost blushed at the way his smile light up his face when he looked at her.

“Perhaps after this I could treat the two of you to dinner.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that.” Emma said, unwilling to take more money from Killian. He had already forbid her from paying for her ticket to the zoo. Luckily, Henry’s was free.

“I want to, Emma.” Killian said. “We can go to Granny’s, if you aren’t tired of their food. Henry may be more comfortable there.”

Emma smiled at his consideration of Henry, and after two attempts at refusing to let him buy her dinner, she eventually accepted with the understanding that she’d be buying dinner next time.

Later that evening, Killian and Emma sat at the corner booth at Granny’s Diner, with Henry sleeping in his car seat that rested in the booth next to Emma.

“I’m definitely glad you thought to feed him in the car on the way here. Now that he’s sleeping, it’ll be nice to eat knowing I don’t have to worry about settling him down.”

“Does he get fussy a lot?” Killian asked. He knew what Henry was like the first few months of his life. He was mostly a good baby, but when he was fussy, he was hard to handle. It was almost as if there hadn’t been an in between.

“Not really. But when he does, he gets extremely colicky, and it can be hard to get him to settle down.” Emma said, with a sigh. Killian watched the way she intently looked at Henry. There was a tiredness in her eyes, but they also shined with great love for the babe in the car seat. “But...it’s worth it. Because when he is happy, and laughing or smiling  at me while we play, my heart just melts.”

“Aye, I remember that. I used to read to him a lot, and whenever he smiled at me, or even made any semblance of a sound that wasn’t a cry, I felt like the luckiest man in the world, having this little boy so happy to be around me.”

Emma smiled at Killian. She loved the way he spoke of her son. There was an obvious connection between the two of them that grew while she was finishing her sentence. Her smile faded as her thoughts drifted. She wondered, if Neal had stayed, and he had been the father in Henry’s life that he should’ve been, would he have the same strong connection, or obvious love for the boy as Killian does.

“Did I say something wrong, love?” Killian asked. “I apologize if I’ve upset you,”

Emma shook her head quick to reassure Killian that she wasn’t upset with him. “No, of course not. I just...Henry’s father. I just thought of him.”

“Ah,” Killian said with understanding. He watched Emma struggle internally with her thoughts on the man. “You don’t have to talk about him.”

“No, I do. Well, I mean...I want to. Just...thinking of Neal, his father, makes me think of the last year and a half of my life, and I think I want to tell you about it.”

“You don’t have to, Swan.” Killian repeated, and Emma liked the way he called her by her last name. He reached across the table and held the hand that was not clutching her mug of hot chocolate.

“I know.” Emma nodded. “This is a long story, though.”

“I’m happy to hear it all, if you’d like.” Killian said.

“Well, I’ve said this before, but I feel it’s important to mention. I was in the foster system my whole life until I was 18. Bouncing around, group home to foster home, to a different group home. I never stayed in one place, no one wanted me. Not really.

I aged out of the system, and was sort of homeless for a bit. I was living in Portland at the time, and I stayed at a local women’s shelter for a while, earning little money working at a grocery store. When I was 20, the grocery store I was working at closed, and I lost my job. I turned to stealing to get by, to feed myself. I pawned items I stole for cash.”

She dropped her head a bit as she whispered her secret of being a petty thief to Killian. He could see she was ashamed of her past, embarrassed to be telling him this part of her story. Rather than judge her, because he knows what it’s like to be in a rough spot, and her situation is far worse than any he’s been in, he just squeezed her hand tighter and urged her to continue.

“One day, I broke into and stole a yellow Volkswagen, when as I was driving, someone popped out of the back seat.”

“Neal?” Emma nodded.

“It turned out he was in there because he had also stolen the keys to the car. We got a drink and talked and before I knew it, we were on this whole Bonnie and Clyde act, going to different towns in the country and stealing to get ourselves by.

I was in love. He was sweet, and funny, a little bit older than me, but only a few years. When we made it to the east coast, I was 21 and Neal said he wanted to try and settle down, to make a new life for us. To find a home. And I was ready to. Starting a proper life with the man I loved, someone who loved me, was all I ever dreamed of.

We made a plan. We would go to Tallahassee, and start fresh. Get jobs, a nice apartment, and begin our lives. One day, though, we were in New York, a place Neal had been before, when he discovered police had been trying to find him for over a year. He had stolen a large case of watches from a jeweler he worked for, over $100,000 worth.

Rather than let him run away to Canada like he wanted to, because I wanted us to be together, I suggested he fence the watches, which he hid in a train station locker before he fled to Portland, where he met me. I knew they might recognize him at the station, so I went to get them from the locker, and we would meet somewhere else for him to fence them.

It turns out, before we met up, he was found by the police, and rather than turn himself in, he told them I had stolen the watches, that I still had them, and gave them information on where to find me. He let me take the blame and ten months so he could run free.”

Killian ran his thumb up and down the back of her hand the entire time she spoke. He wanted more than anything to reach across the table and wipe her tears when she began to cry. Eventually, she calmed herself down, and spoke again.

“It was just before my 22nd birthday, that I found out I was three months pregnant.”

“I’m so sorry, Emma.”

She shrugged, and pulled her hand free from Killian’s to use both hands to wipe the tears from under her eyes. She hadn’t told that story aloud to anyone before. She had been trying to erase her time with Neal and her time in jail from her mind.

“I’m just ready to move on from it all, and give Henry the life I never had.” She said. Without looking at Killian, she continued. “I also hope, that hearing that story doesn’t lower your opinion of me.”

“Emma…” Killian didn’t know why Emma was concerned with what he thought of her. They had only just met, though he knows that means nothing. He already cares for her, even in just a short time. He’d love to say it’s because she’s Henry’s mother and for only that reason, but he knows he would still find himself caring for this women even if Henry was not around. There was something about Emma that he could relate to, though he couldn’t quite decipher what yet.

“Nothing could lower my opinion of you, Emma. I think your bloody fantastic.”

“Really?” Emma asked, total uncertainty in her eyes.

“Aye. After all you’ve been through, you’ve managed to pick yourself up for this little boy and be a fantastic, loving, dedicated mother. Maybe your past is a bit dark, but you did what you felt you had to do. I could never judge you for that. And I sure as hell would never blame you for what Neal did. If you don’t mind me saying, the man is a bloody wanker.”

Emma laughed at Killian’s last comment. Despite everything she just told him, his understanding was incredible and undeserved, she thinks. Still, she couldn’t help but stand up and circle the table to give Killian a hug on the other side.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Swan.”

[janchriseurope]

Hampton Court Flower Show

Although I really hate gardening... I really love flower shows. We have been to them in Christchurch with Lynnette and Rick, and the Auckland one with Bren. When Mary said she had the opportunity to get tickets for the second day of the Hampton Court show, both Chris and I were delighted. We planned our trip around this date

The day dawned bright and clear with a slight wind. We had a leisurely start, waiting for the bus run to be completed, then headed to the flat at Wimbledon, where we would leave the car for the day. From there, we took the train to the Hampton Court station. We decided to take the boat to the gate to save 15 min walk. Chris can now say he’s been on the Thames!

People were streaming into the site by boat and foot. Pink was the colour of the day. With tents and everything official in what we in Nz would call breast cancer pink!!

Mary and Chris A went their was and Chris W and I headed through the throngs to look at the displays.

The show was set out over 25ha with waterway in between. There was a natural flow to the area which made it relatively easy to get around and see the stalls and displays. However, if I never see one of those plastic cube trundles again it will be far too soon!! You took your ankles and live at risk every time you moved!!

The first tent we went into was the roses. Wow - packed with amazing roses and shoulder to shoulder with hot people!! I was given a David Austin catalogue. Not that I’ll be buying roses any time soon but one can dream...

We got out of the rose tent quickly and headed over the bridge, nice and orderly- to the left those going over one side, right side those returning.

We had an ice cream because Chris W had the start of a migraine and it helped cool his head. He was able to see after about 20 minutes!! Interesting photos taken in this state!!

Around the stalls, everything from gloves for little people to equestrian gear. Know you’re in England now .. I do like the cut of the jackets.

We came across a cheese stall ... yum. Wensleydale cheese with lemon and honey, mature cheddar and cheddar with mustard and beer. Guess what we carted around for the rest of the day. The cheeses were about 5 cm round by the same deep. Having eaten the aged cheddar with dinner tonight, I can tell you it was worth the effort... thanks CW!!! Lol 😂

The largest tent held all sorts of amazing flowers, cactus, and plants. Right inside were the gladdies... I want them ... will be checking out the catalogue with anticipation! The sweet peas ohh was tempted to buy a mixed packet but really don’t want to even think about customs on the way home!! Then there were the tuberous begonias and the LIlies ... did I happen to mention that I actually hate gardening??? Oh yeah I did ...

The Bonzai trees were a wonder ... patience, foresight, inspiration, confidence and... green fingers - non of which I have!! What truly got me gobsmacked was the “weeds” they were selling .... this is the stuff I grow well until Beachy looks, takes a deep breath, and says, nope it’s a weed!!!! Apparently wild woodland was the theme... taken to heart by most of the displays.

Outside in the trade areas were lots of different styles glass houses and gazebos. I didn’t think English suburbs had enough room in their back yard for these. Some were rustic, others Mediterranean and others just plain weird.

Highlight of this area was the wee electric mower that mowed each day... all by its self.. using algorithms and strategically placed wires. Yeah... naaa!!

Into the country style tent with all the goodies for sale. Everything from fresh water pearls to old maps, scarves to Yorkshire woollen coats ... Lisa would have loved the orange plaid one. I bought a necklace to replace my pretty glass one that broke when I knocked it off the dresser in Brugges.

Message sent to Mary that we were sitting outside the pavilion with a cold drink. She joined us and we continued our wander after a well earned sit. Chris found Pork scratching ... phew hot and spicy.. I found mince square .. there were all sorts of pies but they were cold. The mince square, aka fly cemetery for Coasters, was beautifully flavoured but in a short crust. Good but I make better lol 😂

On we wandered. There were several cheese stalls but we had enough and didn’t want to be tempted. Dodging prams, people with wire supports for plants, bloody cubes, zimmerframes, motorised chairs and baby buggies, it was a trail for any saint. I found I got very sarcastic when yet another bloody cube tried to run me over or decapitate my ankles!!!

We finally, about 4.45, decided enuf was enough and headed to find a seat and a drink. We messaged Chris A to say there was a beer for him ... London Pride... if he could find us... good lad, within minutes he appeared and we commandeered a picnic table. Major accomplishment by Mary because the place was packed. Two beers, Pimms and a wine later, we were almost human and ready to launch out on the last leg towards the gate.

A noticeable thing was the number and variety of gins stalls. Not being a gun drinker this didn’t appeal .. also Pimms.. which I do like and did have one... only one at £7!!! It was lovely and cold and I rinsed our the cup with water to get thoroughly hydrated.

We decided to walk to the train station and have a quick look at the castle. Wow huge place it goes on forever... CW said he would have got bored as a bricky because the buildings were so big.

Mary was keeping tabs on the cricket ... shame the NZers playing weren’t as conscientious.....

Chris wandered out the gate, heading the wrong direction and I called to him.. two ‘Bobbies’ were standing there and asked if they could help him .... No thanks I’m just a lost Kiwi.... just like the cricket team... the bobbies were very polite and didn’t rub it in.

Onto a 10 carriage train back to Wimbledon to the car and home. Very weary travellers.

CA and Mary put together a wonderful cold collation, shrimps, salmon, ham, salad, cheeses, bread and crackers. What a feast. Mary and I had a lovely bubbly and an early night... after a little tennis watching.... was had!!

[unexpectedreylo]

The Straight Dope On Galaxy’s Edge

I went to Disneyland Aug. 7-10 for my birthday because where else would I rather be than in the GFFA?  

It’s amazing!  It’s like a Ralph McQuarrie painting come to life.  Even though it is “set” during the ST, it tries to have a little bit of something for every Star Wars fan.  And maybe even for your friends and family who aren’t into it as much as you are.

Don’t believe the hype that it’s not doing well.  Disneyland has had annual passholder blackout dates to keep attendance below crazy levels and while overall attendance is down 3% (probably due to fears of massive crowds as well as higher ticket prices),  I can safely tell you that there was a great deal of interest in Galaxy’s Edge by attendees.  On Thursday and Saturday, everyone made a beeline for it just as the park opened in the morning.  I was doing the Griswold family dash to Wally World myself, power walking the best my middle aged/out-of-shape self could as kids and teenagers went past me.  Requiring reservations for Oga’s Cantina and Savi’s Workshop (where you build the lightsabers) prevented hellacious hours-long lines for those attractions.  Smuggler’s Run has had waits as long as three hours over the course of the summer.  It reached its 1 millionth rider in mid-July.  On Thursday, the longest I wait I saw was 80 or 90 minutes and that was on a weekday blackout date.  The section of the park was busy both Thursday and Saturday mornings.  For what it’s worth, it seemed like half the people at Disneyland overall had some kind of Star Wars t-shirt on.  It was like a Celebration with rides.

Attendance isn’t the only metric.  What really matters is whether people are spending money there and I can vouch that people were buying.  The lightsabers are $200 a pop alone.  There were merchandise I wanted to get but weren’t available, such as the japor snippet necklace and the Rey vest (sizes XS-L were sold out).  White kyber crystals are still sold out.  I saw signs everywhere limiting certain items to one per person.  People were packing the cantina and all of them got drinks.  Ronto’s Roasters did pretty steady business.

Just bear in mind that parks play the long game and it probably serves Disney’s long term interests to allow paying attendees and not just local APs the chance to experience Galaxy’s Edge.  Hell crowds would just make people angry they spent all of that money and couldn’t see or do a thing.

Now, here’s where I’m going to dish some advice to those of you who are planning to go either to the one in Anaheim or at WDW.  The WDW version is at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, so some of this won’t apply to the Mouse House East but I think a lot of it will.

Tip #1--Your best bet is on a weekday, first thing in the morning as the park opens.  If it’s an AP blackout date, that’s even better.  Remember, Disney is like con...you don’t come to sleep.

Tip #2--Stay at a Disney hotel to take advantage of Magic Hour.  I know, I know, they’re $$$ while there are many cheaper alternatives but if you really want to beat the crowds this is the way to do it.  Galaxy’s Edge will not be accessible during Magic Hour (at DL it’s just Fantasyland that’s open) but you can start lining up at the ropes in front of Frontierland and Adventureland.  While GE at DL has three entrances, they will send you the looong way through New Orleans Square and Critter Country when the park fully opens.  If you’re at WDW, stay at the Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, or Pop Century resorts...they’re the ones closest to Hollywood Studios though you’ll still have to take the Disney bus to get there.  (The Swan and the Dolphin are on Disney property but are NOT Disney resort hotels, so no Magic Hour.)  

Another perk to staying at a Disney hotel now is that as part of our travel package we all got free exclusive Galaxy’s Edge lanyards with a pin!

Tip #3--Ladies...I think with the exception of the First Order boutique and the cosplay items, I liked the a lot of t-shirts and stuff for kids more than the ones for adults!  So if you are on the small side, you might be able to fit in the bigger kids’ wear.  For instance I got a great Black Spire hoodie for $40 at Jewels of Bith...the adult hoodie was like 20 bucks more.  My mom liked it so much she got one for herself and my niece.  Note:  the merch you buy inside GE don’t say “Galaxy’s Edge” or have Star Wars logos.  If you want those, you’ll have to buy them in the regular Disney stores.

Tip #4--Oga’s Cantina.  Reservations are required so as soon as you plan your trip, go on the DL/WDW app and reserve right away.  I think now you can reserve up to 60 days in advance...if not, definitely 14 days in advance.  You are NOT guaranteed a seat.  You are given an area to hang out in (at the bar, at a table, or at a booth) and you are to remain there.  You can’t run and grab a booth for instance if a party leaves.  Your limit is 45 minutes and two drinks.  I will say though that service is fast (I guess most drinks are pre-mixed) and in our case, we didn’t even need to stay the entire 45 minutes.  I got the Cliff Dweller (I don’t drink) while my brother got whatever they call the beer and my dad got the teal-colored “white” wine.  My older niece got the blue milk with the Bantha cookie.  She gave rave reviews for both.  The younger niece got the stuff that came from the creature tank.  It sounds gross but she liked it.  There are no restrooms inside the cantina btw.  

Tip #5--Savi’s Workshop.  Again, reservations are required and they should be made as soon as possible.  The lightsabers are $199 and you pay when you check in.  The day I went they were running behind, so while my reservation was at 3:00, I didn’t actually get in the building until like 3:30.  The process takes about 20 minutes.  You are ushered into a shop and there’s a whole narrative and everything.  The “gatherers” have harvested scrap metal and kyber crystals and crafted lightsaber parts.  Based on the “theme” you selected at check in (stuff like “power and control” or “peace and justice”) you are given trays with parts to choose from and a crystal (blue, green, purple, or red).  Your guides are in character and sometimes it’s all earnest af, but then again so are the movies.  I found it surprisingly easy to put these together.  The “gatherers” put the blade in for you then you step forward, turn on the switch, and yay, you got a new lightsaber!  You get to wave them in the air and stuff.  On the way out you are given a free sheath bag to put it in.  If you don’t want to lug your new lightsaber on a plane or have to check it in, you can have it shipped home for $17 at the First Order boutique (though I don’t know if other stores will do it for you too).  

Tip #6--Smugglers’ Run.  The best time to go on the ride, since to date there are no fastpasses, is right when the park opens.  Thursday morning at 8:10 a.m. had the shortest wait, 15 minutes but I pretty much walked right onto the ride.  The next best option is going single rider, which is what my brother and I did the second time we went on it.  It was about half the regular wait time.  Have your camera ready to get that chess table photo op because you will get called right away for your “boarding group” (assigned with a color).  Two pilot, two shoot, two “engineer.”  The light up buttons make it easy to figure out what you have to do but accuracy is tough.  I piloted the first time, shot the second time.  The good news is I did not crash either time.  Which is miraculous.

Tip #7--Other food and drink.  Unfortunately I didn’t get the opportunity to eat at Docking Bay 7 or Ronto Rosters.  I’m told the breakfast wrap at Ronto Roasters is phenomenal.  Don’t expect typical Disney fare in Galaxy’s Edge; the closest it comes is the Star Wars popcorn.  No galactic churros or Mickey ice cream pops here.  In fact an in-character cast member and Chewbacca were really curious about our churros when we went into Galaxy’s Edge on Saturday.  My younger niece even tried to give Chewie a piece to try, LOL.  What you can get is blue milk and green milk.  We got one of each on Thursday to try.  Both were better than the notoriously sweet butterbeers at Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Tasty and refreshing on a hot day.  But I kinda think we all leaned more toward the blue milk.  In fact the nieces insisted on another round of blue milk when we returned on Saturday.  You can get the Aurebesh label soda and water at a variety of stands and at Docking Bay 7.  (Maybe Ronto Roasters too.)  They’re pricey but everything at Disney is 30-50% more expensive than they would be anywhere else.  And the Aurebesh bottles make for low cost souvenirs.

Tip #8--Characters.  Chewbacca and FO stormtroopers were around quite a bit.  I saw Vi Moradi twice and Kylo a couple of times (Chewie and Kylo get treated like rock stars), but I totally missed Rey.  My parents saw her though.  Characters here do NOT sign autographs, something my nieces found out the hard way when they tried to get them from stormtroopers.  LOL.

Tip #8--Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities.  This is where you buy your holocrons and loose kyber crystals (only with purchase of a holocron).  They were still out of white crystals so I bought a red one.  When you put a red crystal in your Jedi holocron, Yoda warns you about the dark side.  Bonus:  the kyber crystals you buy here can be put in your lightsaber from Savi’s Workshop.  So if you buy both a holocron and a lightsaber, make sure you get a different color crystal for each so you can switch them around!  Here you’ll find a lot of Jedi cosplay, Leia cosplay, and the headdress Padme used in AOTC as part of her peasant disguise, among other goodies.  The stained glass portraits of Leia and Queen Amidala were stunning but they were kinda big and 95 bucks apiece.  They had a set of ceramic busts of everyone’s favorite mother-daughter duo for $55 but I didn’t feel like lugging those around at the time.  For older Star Wars fans, this is probably going to be your favorite store.

Tip #9--Other merchandise/shopping.  The First Order boutique is located right next to Kylo’s parked shuttle and across from the “milk” stand.  The Resistance has two carts at the entrance in front of the (unopened) Rise of the Resistance ride.  I kinda like that the underground Resistance is on the “outskirts” of the outpost while the conquering FO is right there in the center of town.  Makes sense for the narrative.  Savi’s and the store where you can build a droid (no reservation necessary...this was a hit with kids) are next to each other.  Everything else is in the marketplace in a series of smallish stalls.  Keep an eye out because nobody has signs.  (Note:  layout might be slightly different at WDW.)  

Tip #10--Wear a hat and sunscreen.  The marketplace is the only area in GE with shade.  The rest of it is out in the sun, so be prepared because in CA it’s easy to get a sunburn and in FL, it’s easier still.  Bring a rain poncho if you’re at WDW because of those hit and run thunderstorms.  

Tip #11-- You don’t have to be a passive tourist.  Some cast members get into it more than others but you’ll get more out of Galaxy’s Edge if you play along.  As Star Wars fans, you’ll get the lingo (for instance they do call kids “younglings” and talk about money as credits) so that’s no problem.  When you’re inside of Galaxy’s Edge you can go on the DL/WDW app and activate your “datapad” and scan stuff at various locations.  My brother did this with his phone while we were poking around and you can earn rankings and stuff within the different factions.

Overall I think what Galaxy’s Edge is now is just the beginning.  Rise of the Resistance opens this winter at both parks and from what I’ve heard, more attractions and shows are in the works.  Personally, I’d love a hair braiding station where you can get your hair done like Leia or Rey or Battle of Geonosis Padme since that’s probably her easiest style!  I want a Reylo night time show!  But it’s absolutely worth visiting as it is.  You can easily spend half the day or longer there, depending on how much you want to do.  Few Star Wars or Disney experiences will ever top entering Galaxy’s Edge, huffing and puffing from having to go up and down hills, hearing the music over the loudspeakers and the cast members and various characters coming out to wave hello to everyone.  Even the stormtroopers.  I felt like I’d just finished the Batuu 5K!  And then seeing everyone gawk at the Millennium Falcon in front of Smuggler’s Run.